A: It is and it isnt. If you turn your eyes away from Jerusalem to Israels coastal plain, where 70 to 75 percent of Israeli Jews live, this is not a country of mad extremists. The profile of Israelis is noisy, hedonistic, impatient, rude, warmhearted, materialistic, you name it, but the vast majority gave up the occupied territories years ago. The only reason they object to a far-reaching compromise with Palestinians is that they dont want to be suckers. The common myth here is that we handed them Gaza on a silver plate and got rockets in return. They dont want to see this mistake repeated on the West Bank.
Perhaps even more striking than the popularity of Becoming has been the extraordinary popularity of its author. Obamas 10-city U.S. book tour has attracted sold-out crowds across the country, with fans willing to pay hundreds, even thousands of dollars to see her. One VIP seat for Obamas appearance in Dallas on Dec. 17 is selling for more than $10,000.
The classical music world has long viewed Glass as an outsider. Glass isnt a composer who is offered teaching gigs, although hes been a mentor to scores of young musicians. And this years Kennedy Center Honors, which he will receive Sunday, is one of only a handful of major awards hes received, all late in his career. My first big award was the Praemium Imperiale, the Japanese international arts award founded in 1988, he says. I was 75. I had long ago given up any thought of getting any. In 2015, this was followed by Canadas Glenn Gould Prize and the National Medal of the Arts, bestowed by President Barack Obama. My feeling is, you have to be about 75, he says of the accolades. At that point, when it happens, its, Oh! Thats nice!  He mimes the kind of surprised pleasure one might evince at a thoughtful gift from an office mate. I mean, he adds, if it happens in your 40s, its maybe nicer, but I think if I got an award earlier, I would have been very suspicious  of myself. I didnt have to worry about that.
A day later, Whitaker was still going on The Steve Gruber Show on WJIM in Lansing, Mich.: It was gratuitous. . . . It cant be confirmed. And so I think in the classic, you know, President Trump fashion, it becomes a fact. Hes very effective at these kind of  you know, these statements that either cant be verified or you know sort of fly under any way of confirmation, Whitaker said. History is going to continue to move forward and I guess, you know, reveal whether these statements are true or false.
Tawny port is the opposite of the vintage and ruby styles. Aged in 600-liter vats called pipes, the wine is drawn off, or racked, into large vats once a year so sediment can be removed, then returned to the pipes. In the process, about 3 percent of the wine is lost: some in the discarded sediment, the rest  the angels share  to evaporation. Before the final blend is bottled (usually beginning six years after harvest), the pipes are topped off with younger and/or older wine to balance the flavors and create a house style unaffected by vintage variation. Because the wine is exposed to oxygen in this way, it takes on a browner tawny color and a nutty flavor. Aged tawny, labeled as 10, 20, 30 or 40 years old as an approximate average age of the wine in the blend, is a special treat. A special subset of port called colheita is a single-vintage tawny.
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Kathy F.: Get a metal pan and fill it with ice, then set the ice-filled pan on top of the gum and wait for it to harden. When it finally becomes frozen and hard, use a dull knife to scrape off as much as possible. For the remaining gum, use a dry-cleaning solvent on a clean cloth, and wipe off as much as possible.
DNA is, like, not to be finished. So I wrote a piece called Dolores, right? Its not finished yet. I think beginnings and endings are consensual. Theres no such thing as a short story. . . . The DNA, some people say, is the signature  and every composer has a signature. A lot of people dont know that Beethoven, when he wrote the Fifth Symphony, that second movement  and here, Shorter begins humming in a happy rasp, then resumes  He took eight years to figure that out! But to suffer is not right, either. There just has to be something in the music that knocks at the door, that challenges the gatekeepers. Art induces a kind of funniness. Or a tickle, or jingle bells  laughing all the way. . . . And without ever giving up. Never giving up: That means playing for a long time? No! [laughs] . . . Potential is another way of saying mystery. 
Among them were a package of stories reported by WJLA anchor Jonathan Elias about the dangers of socialism. Eliass series was set primarily in Brazil, whose economic troubles he said were the result of an array of expensive social programs [that are] bloating the government. But he began with references to the political success of Sanders and Ocasio-Cortez, noting over an image of a military parade in Moscows Red Square that it wasnt long ago that socialism was considered a dirty word in American politics.
Some of these tools are easy to find on your phone or tablet, and some you might have to dig for a bit. The location of the controls will vary from device to device, but on most phones and tablets, you pick a photo, then touch edit. That should reveal an icon that looks like a menu, or a dial, which uncovers options. Often its one more layer down for the full set of controls. You may have to touch an arrow or an icon to get there. Check your manual, or just keep digging until you get to the longest list of adjustment controls.
City officials announced in August that they had struck a preliminary agreement with George Washington University Hospital to run a hospital that would be built in Ward 8. The news was welcomed by politicians and activists who have pushed for the closure of United Medical Center, the public hospital in Southeast Washington that for decades has been plagued by mismanagement and poor quality of care.
Police said they determined he had been shot in the 100 block of Irvington Street SW and was either driven to the hospital or made it there some other way.
Eubanks said the timing of his departure seemed right, given that Alsobrooks is about to take over and that he is steeped in projects at the University of Maryland, where he is director of the Center for Educational Innovation and Improvement.
The lawyers did not discuss the substance of prosecutors allegations against Manafort, and there was some dispute over how much Manaforts team had been told. Early in the hearing, Downing said he was not sure how long it would take to respond to prosecutors allegations, not knowing the details of what constitutes the breach. Weissmann said they had lengthy discussions on the issue.
The photo of the smiling pair is the opening image of an album Leggett put together for Baker to mark the end of their parallel journeys. It was taken at the groundbreaking for the Purple Line  a light rail project that will someday connect their two counties and that both men worked hard to push through.
The reason that I knew that you all could rest assured that Id do the best I could is because I had to go home and justify the sacrifices shes made over these 32 years for me, Baker told the crowd. I never wanted to go home and look her in the face knowing that I did not do the best I could.
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Millstein said he spoke to Core officials for the first time this past week, adding that he implored them to reach out to the community. While he recognized not everyone would approve of what he said was Douglass straight real estate transaction with Core, he noted he is a felon and supports integrating former inmates into the community.
On June 19, Kessler emailed May, asking if she was available to discuss potential accommodations for his group. I have demonstrators for a rally on August 12th, 2018 who will be using public transit to arrive at a demonstration site at McPherson Square Metro Station. I would like to coordinate with your department for the safety of my demonstrators and the general public. We are anticipating a potential for violence from left-wing Antifa groups and are concerned about the public transit process being vulnerable points for an ambush, the email said.
The groups plan would not take politics entirely out of the redistricting process. Under the proposal, the four top leaders of the General Assembly  the speaker and minority leader in the House, and the majority and minority leaders in the Senate  would each pick one retired circuit court judge to serve on a selection committee. Those four judges would pick a fifth to round out the committee, which would then pick 22 candidates for the redistricting commission. Of that group, five would be Democrats, five Republicans and 12 independents.
Just a week later, Northam infuriated project opponents by removing two of the six members of the board who were considering the permit. After being roundly criticized, including by the NAACP, Northams office said earlier this week that the two new members would not be seated until after the vote. His office said Thursday that the new members will be sworn in soon but will not vote Dec. 10.
The ground-level effects of the rules that began 3 years ago are evident here in Milwaukee, where deep pockets of poverty have led to the greatest concentration of people affected by the policy. ResCare has received from the state 67,000 referrals for people in the city who must meet the work requirement and were not fulfilling it. Unless she finds a job in a hurry, McNeal will become one of them now that her only child, Traveon, turned 18 and is no longer considered a dependent under state rules, even though he is still in high school.
What we think we can do with $50 million is show the way in these 10 states, Bloomberg said in an interview. If they do things that we think make sense, then we will help fund it.
Two men testified Paquin befriended them as boys at a parish in Haverhill, Mass., and invited them on trips that included visits to Kennebunkport. They said he gave them alcohol and let them drive his car without a license. One of them testified he was drugged.
As a result, if it wants timely compliance with its subpoenas, the House will have to augment an expedited litigation approach with a willingness to bring to bear all of its political muscle against the executive, exactly as our Constitution contemplated. The House will have to use the power of the purse and its legislative options  such as not voting on administration-desired bills  to ensure that its subpoenas are complied with in a timely fashion. The House will also have to prioritize its efforts  choosing just one or two subpoenas to pursue, to keep the public focus on the most important and pressing demands for information and on the administrations unjustified resistance.
Lets not delude ourselves into thinking all of the sudden theres a righteous element in Congress. However, it is encouraging to see senators talking about who are we as Americans and human rights being an essential part of our foreign policy, Sen. Lindsey O. Graham (R-S.C.) told me. And that was John McCains approach to foreign policy, that if you disconnect yourself from your values, you lose your standing and hurt your interests.
Unfortunately for the governor, Maryland was not one of those states. And, while Mr. Frosh has a responsibility to defend the laws of this state in court, no law gives the governor the power to create this commission or decide the shapes of districts. One of these men is doing his job; the other is playing to the media. Thats not to say critics of Marylands districts dont have a point. Some of them are downright Dali-esque in design. But Maryland is not the only state with surreal districts. Thats why I support Mr. Froshs decision to appeal the ruling against Marylands districts to the Supreme Court. I want him to lose, no matter how it might hurt my party, because it creates the possibility of a ruling that would limit gerrymandering everywhere, not just in Maryland.
The United States is an extraordinarily generous nation, but this administration will no longer use taxpayer dollars to support governments that consistently fail to address trafficking. The most urgent types of assistance to these countries will continue, including humanitarian aid and lifesaving global health programs such as HIV treatment and Ebola preparedness and response. But the new restrictions will hold these governments accountable while providing further incentive for them to live up to their responsibility to end this scourge. The United States will encourage Tier 3 countries to step up efforts to eliminate human trafficking, including the establishment of new laws and national action plans.
The question is what Mr. Trump proposes to do now that he has Beijings attention. One approach would be to continue condemning Chinas failure to meet U.S. demands, and press ahead with higher tariffs, then settle in for what might be a protracted trade war. But the collateral damage to U.S. businesses and consumers would be severe. The wiser course, which Mr. Trump has hinted at adopting in recent days, would be a temporary truce: a further delay in additional U.S. tariffs in return for comparable Chinese concessions, to be followed by negotiations  serious negotiations  on the full range of issues between the two countries. Among the benefits of this method: It would preserve tougher U.S. trade measures as leverage for the future, and it would give the administration time to smooth out the other trade disputes Mr. Trump started with friendly countries such as Canada and Mexico, so that he and they may yet present China with a united front.
It is merely a pause or, at best, a reversion to the path we likely would have been on had we skipped the past few months of Sturm und Drang. Thats essentially what happened with NAFTA 2.0, by the way: Trump spent months wreaking economic and diplomatic devastation, only to triumphantly announce roughly the same North American Free Trade Agreement update that would have resulted without all that pain.
Cohens court appearance came just a day after Trump said he was considering a presidential pardon for another keeper of his secrets  Paul Manafort, the former chairman of his campaign, who was found guilty of a host of white-collar crimes and pleaded guilty to others. Why would I take it off the table? Trump asked, during a New York Post interview, about the possibility of pardoning Manafort, who faces a decade or more in prison.
What else do we know related to this charge? We know that Trump adviser Roger Stone allegedly told associates he was in contact with WikiLeaks, the conduit for emails hacked by Russian intelligence. (Stone denies this.) We know that Stone contacted conservative author and conspiracy theorist Jerome Corsi, encouraging him to gather information on hacked Clinton emails. We know that Corsi responded to Stone: Word is friend in embassy plans 2 more dumps . . . Impact planned to be very damaging. (The friend in this email  amazingly and disgustingly  appears to be the anti-American cybercriminal Julian Assange.) We know that Stone issued the tweet, Trust me, it will soon the Podestas time in the barrel, six weeks before WikiLeaks began releasing 50,000 emails that Russian agents had reportedly stolen from Clintons campaign chairman, John Podesta. And we know, from Corsi himself, that he and Stone conspired to lie about the motivation of this tweet.
I admit that, at the time, I did not fully appreciate just how damaging and degrading a Trump presidency could become. Trumps two years of shameless and cynical exploitation of fears and anxieties within the ranks of his white base of support, and his unprincipled governance, have left this country more fractured along racial lines than at any time since the civil rights revolution.
Some argue that such weapons would make nuclear war more likely, but the truth is just the opposite; Russias use of nuclear weapons is more likely if we dont develop submarine- and sea-launched low-yield weapons. Others argue that the development of such U.S. weapons would lead to a nuclear weapons arms race. But the race is already in progress and America is playing from behind, hindered by self-imposed constraints. Yet another group of advocates argues that the weapons are too expensive, but nuclear weapons would account for only about 6 percent of the defense budget at a peak of nuclear modernization  a wise investment, given that they are the ultimate national security guarantee.
But cold weather doesnt rebut the data that shows the planet is warming over climate time scales. Think of it this way: Weather is like your mood, and climate is like your personality. Weather is what occurs in a certain place at a certain time. Climate is the long-term average of weather over decades. The fact it was cold and snowy one day last week? Thats weather. Global warming or not, cold days still occur, particularly in winter. But since 2000, were seeing far more new hot-temperature records than cold ones. In fact, in 2017, we saw more than 10,000 cold-temperature records broken at weather stations across the United States. And more than 36,000 high-temperature records were broken the same year.
Alongside this crackdown, the purges of alleged Gulenists (followers of exiled preacher Fethullah Gulen, whom Erdogan accuses of plotting a failed 2016 coup) have continued unabated. In the high-security prison where Im being held, many inmates are accused of being members of the Fethullah Gulen terrorist organization, as the government calls it. This mirrors my experience when I was first taken into custody: There were two dozen soldiers and a few teachers, all Gulenists. These days anybody the government doesnt like can be accused of being a Gulenist (and/or a supporter of terrorism). The whole process  from custody to pretrial detention to prosecution  tramples upon basic human rights.
As in Janesville, too, the effects of the assembly plants demise on these communities are certain to spread far beyond the loss of the GM jobs themselves  about 1,500 at Detroit, 1,400 at Lordstown and 2,500 at Oshawa, with salaried positions across General Motors making up the rest. Work at local suppliers will dry up. In Janesville, the assembly plant had been the only customer for a seat-making factory whose 800 workers lost their jobs in tandem with the GMers as successive shifts disappeared. And with GM and suppliers offering the best wages in town, their loss has had a particularly harsh effect on what economists call induced employment. Auto work at GM and nearby suppliers accounts for about 8,000 jobs in the four Ohio counties that draw workers to the Lordstown plant, and an equal number of local jobs are likely to vanish as a ripple effect of reduced spending power in the area, according to an analysis for The Washington Post by Susan Helper, an economics professor at Case Western Reserve University and former chief economist for the Commerce Department. Thats about 8 percent of the employment in those counties, Helper says.
His DNA is completely about being a team player, said Rep. Joe Courtney (D-Conn.), who is a close friend and roommate of Perlmutters but is backing Pelosi. I dont know exactly what Eds going to do, but I think there is a very powerful impulse inside of him that I think is going to do everything possible to find a safe landing for the caucus as a whole.
Whitaker never provided any of his records, according to two people familiar with the investigation. He had told the FTC that most of his communications were privileged legal discussions because he provided legal advice to the companys founder. He also said he had a minimal role at the company and wouldnt have personally ever said anything about the business, according to an investigators notes.
The state elections board has investigative and subpoena powers to pursue the allegations. If it chooses, it may hold off certifying the election results until it has completed its investigation. The board also has the power to refer the matter for criminal investigation to state and federal prosecutors; it did so in 2016 after similar reports of irregularities in Bladen County. The U.S. attorneys office declined to comment on any possible investigation.
In two major developments this week, President Trump has been labeled in the parlance of criminal investigations as a major subject of interest, complete with an opaque legal code name: Individual 1.

New evidence from two separate fronts of special counsel Robert S. Mueller IIIs investigation casts fresh doubts on Trumps version of key events involving Russia, signaling potential political and legal peril for the president. Investigators have now publicly cast Trump as a central figure of their probe into whether Trumps campaign conspired with the Russian government during the 2016 campaign.

Together, the documents show investigators have evidence that Trump was in close contact with his lieutenants as they made outreach to both Russia and WikiLeaks  and that they tried to conceal the extent of their activities.

On Thursday, Trumps longtime personal lawyer Michael Cohen pleaded guilty to lying to Congress when he insisted that Trump was not pursuing plans to build a Trump Tower in Moscow after January 2016, casting Trumps repeated claims that he had no business interests in Russia in a new light. A draft special counsel document revealed Tuesday also indicates that prosecutors are closely scrutinizing Trumps interactions with a longtime adviser, Roger Stone, as Stone was allegedly seeking information about WikiLeaks plans to release hacked Democratic emails.

Legal experts said its still unclear how much peril the president might face as a result of the new evidence Mueller has gathered about the Moscow project and WikiLeaks, but his prominence in the prosecutors papers puts the president in an awkward starring role.

Its deeply troubling. Its not a place that anybody wants to be, or where you would want your friends or family to be, former federal prosecutor Glen Kopp said. And its certainly not a place that you would want your president to be.

Trump, identified as Individual 1 in Cohens guilty plea, was said to have received direct updates from Cohen as he pursued a Moscow Trump Tower project with the Kremlin up until June 14, 2016. The president also appears in the draft charging document for Trump ally Jerome Corsi, who allegedly told Stone about WikiLeaks plans to release damaging Democratic emails in October of that year because he knew Stone was in regular contact with Trump. The Washington Post reported this week that Trump spoke with Stone the day after he got the alert from Corsi.

In the draft documents, prosecutors sought to have Corsi plead guilty to lying when he said he didnt know about WikiLeaks plans and urging others to visit WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange to obtain emails damaging to Democrats.

Trump has given slightly differing accounts of his Moscow business ties over time. In July 2016, he tweeted: For the record, I have ZERO investments in Russia. A day later he claimed, I have nothing to do with Russia.

In January 2017, he told a reporter: I have no deals that could happen in Russia, because weve stayed away.

Trumps personal lawyer, Rudolph W. Giuliani, said Thursday that the presidents written answers to Mueller about the Moscow project, which he submitted just before Thanksgiving, conform with Cohens version of events. They discussed a project, starting in 2015, continuing into 2016, and it went nowhere, he said.



President Trump stops to talk with reporters Thursday about his former personal attorney Michael Cohen as he walks to Marine One from the White House to depart for the Group of 20 summit in Argentina. (Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post)

The president, as far as he knows, he remembers there was such a proposal for a hotel, Giuliani said. He talked it over with Cohen as Cohen said. There was a nonbinding letter of intent that was sent. As far as he knows it never came to fruition. That was kind of the end of it.

Alan Dershowitz, a Trump ally and constitutional lawyer, said Cohens confessions dont suggest Trump committed any crime but could suggest that Trump wasnt telling the public the whole truth about the Moscow deal.

This is politically damaging, but Im not sure how legally damaging it is, Dershowitz said. This is all about questionable political behavior. Its a good reason for people voting against Trump. But I dont see a crime yet.

But Tim OBrien, a Trump biographer and frequent critic, said the developments pose significant new challenges for the president.

This is part of the fact pattern that gets to the heart of whether there was collusion between the Trump campaign and the Kremlin during the campaign, OBrien said. I think the unforgiving grinding force of the U.S. justice system, which he has tried to undermine since he became president, is encircling him. I dont think we know where he will land. But he is certainly mired in something that he is ill-equipped, legally and personally, to handle.

Some legal experts argued Mueller appears to be drawing a picture of a candidate who was beholden to the Kremlin. Emails released in the Cohen plea show Trump seeking a financial endorsement from the Russian government on a private project while Russian President Vladimir Putin was offering to say flattering things about Trump.

It creates the potential for Trump to feel an obligation to pay back President Putin, or Russia in general that . . . do not put the best interests of America forward, Kopp said. You are creating a potential vulnerability for a future leader of America.

Trump privately stewed as he followed news coverage of Cohens plea early Thursday morning, a White House official said.

A Justice official called the White House Counsels Office on Wednesday evening to let personnel know that Cohen would be pleading guilty in a case the following day, according to one person with direct knowledge of the notice. They were not told the details, however, which they learned about shortly before Cohens plea Thursday morning.

Giuliani said the president believed the news development was a gratuitous slap from the Mueller team just as he was about to depart the White House for a trip to the Group of 20 summit in Argentina.

In public, Trump was defiant, telling reporters that Cohen was a liar and a weak person who would do anything to save himself from fraud charges he faces related to his taxi business. Speaking before he stepped onto the Marine One helicopter for his trip, he also denigrated Cohens intelligence, calling him not very smart.

He was convicted of various things unrelated to us, Trump said. Hes a weak person, and what hes trying to do is get a reduced sentence. So hes lying about a project that everybody knew about. I mean, we were very open with it.

He questioned the scrutiny of the Moscow project.

There would have been nothing wrong if I did do it, Trump said. When Im running for president, that doesnt mean Im not allowed to do business.

Trump often grows aggrieved seeing Cohen on TV, aides say. Among White House advisers, Cohen is seen as an existential threat  as much or more so than the Mueller investigation itself because of his longtime role as Trumps fixer. Trumps legal team did not learn until Thursday that Cohen had sat for dozens of hours of interviews with Muellers office, according to a senior administration official.

Trump was infuriated earlier this year when Cohen released tapes of him, and asked his lawyers and advisers if anything could be done to stop him from releasing any more.

The Trump legal team cast Cohen as a flawed character whose word is meaningless, as it had when he pleaded guilty in August to eight felony counts, including paying women for their silence about alleged affairs with Trump.

Legal experts said prosecutors were not likely to build a guilty plea  a brick in the overall case  on the word of one person. The prosecutors filings show they have corroborated and buttressed Cohens account with contemporaneous emails, and people familiar with the probe say they have also obtained corroborating testimony from other witnesses.

This is obviously a significant plea and statement. It means that when the president was representing during the campaign that he had no business interests in Russia, that that wasnt true, said Rep. Adam B. Schiff (Calif.), the ranking Democrat in line to become chairman of the House Intelligence Committee. If the president and his associates were being untruthful in real time as they were pursuing this deal, what does it mean now about how much we can rely on what the president is saying about any continuing Russian financial interest?

Giuliani said the president and his business have not tried to hide his pursuit of a Moscow tower project, and voluntarily disclosed some of the documents Muellers team used in its probe of Cohen for lying to Congress. According to a person familiar with the investigation, Cohen and the Trump Organization could not produce some of the key records upon which Mueller relies. Other witnesses provided copies of those communications.

In the White House, two aides said Trump had complained more in recent days about Muellers prosecutors and has kept close tabs on the comments of Corsi and Stone. Trump has praised his former campaign chairman Paul Manafort extensively for fighting Muellers team, which accused Manafort this week of breaching a plea agreement by lying repeatedly to prosecutors as part of his pledged cooperation in the Russia probe. Cohen had not been on the front of Trumps mind, both of these aides said.

Many in the White House try to avoid talking with the president about the Mueller probe, for fear they will be subpoenaed. And both of the aides said it was unclear why Trump was complaining more about the investigation recently. During the midterm campaign, the president occasionally told advisers that people had forgotten about the Mueller probe and remarked positively that it was no longer dominating TV headlines.

Alice Crites contributed to this report.
The inspector general and the Office of Special Counsel have launched at least 15 investigations into Zinkes conduct, 10 of which have been closed. The inspector general has cleared Zinke of wrongdoing in several cases, including a recent finding that he did not improperly alter the boundaries of Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument to benefit a political ally in Utah. But that same office concluded in October that Zinke violated department policy by having his wife accompany him in government vehicles, and by instructing his security detail to take an associate to the airport when he was not in the car.
The six White house employees, who included members of the press office, deleted their social media posts once they were told they had violated the Hatch Act, the Office of Special Counsel said. As a result, federal investigators issued warning letters rather than taking disciplinary action and advised that similar social media activity in the future would be considered a willful violation of the law that could result in further action, according to Erica S. Hamrick, deputy chief of the Hatch Act unit.
That is not the position of the Argentine government, and there was no agreement on that statement, said a senior Argentine official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue. Those are the words of the U.S. government. We have a great relationship with the Chinese, and we want to build on it.
Trump wrote on Twitter: Oh, I get it! I am a very good developer, happily living my life, when I see our Country going in the wrong direction (to put it mildly). Against all odds, I decide to run for President & continue to run my business-very legal & very cool, talked about it on the campaign trail...
Questions have also mounted on social media in Japan, where widely shared blog posts and tweets have voiced unusually strong criticism of a legal system in which, experts say, prosecutors are powerful, conviction rates after indictment are above 99 percent, interrogations can stretch for 20 days without attorneys being present, visits by family members are restricted, and the presumption of innocence is less strong than in the United States or Europe.
I am happy to be freed and welcome any other community service as an alternative, as long as my conscience is not violated, Kim said.
Although France has one of the most extensive railway networks in the world, the map looks somewhat like a wheel: All the spokes originate in midsize provincial cities and converge on Paris at the center. You can get to the capital from Besancon by fast train in about 2 hours. But much of the surrounding area is relatively unserved by public transport. Without a car, a basic commute would take hours, often along a circuitous route.
He told Hungarian media he saw no hint of government infringement on liberties or human rights, despite mounting evidence to the contrary. He vouched for Orban with his longtime friend, the president. And after a meeting with the right-wing prime minister in September, Cornstein pronounced that the two had used their easy rapport to reach the cusp of a deal that would keep CEU in Hungary forever.
DHS officials said Nielsens request did not indicate how many law enforcement officers the agency is seeking, but described the call for help as a unremarkable measure . In line with the Presidents direction and given the very real threat we face at the border from potential mass migration actions  of course, DHS has reached out for assistance from partners across the federal government to defend our sovereignty, protect our frontline men and women, and secure our border, Waldman said in a statement.
The survey will run in two stages. The first will go through central North Korea and along the northwestern coast to the city of Sinuiju near the Chinese border. The second phase will go from an area near the Mount Kumgang tourist region and along the east coast up to a riverside station near the border with Russia. The train will include passenger and sleeping cars as well as a power-generator car and a fuel-tank.
Our soldiers who had fought and died together on the beaches of World War II and the mountains of Afghanistan, and have stood shoulder to shoulder in some of the most difficult places in the world, that are always there for each other, somehow  this is insulting to them, Trudeau said then.
A Victoria Police spokesman said two people were expected to be issued with infringement notices for riotous behaviour and that the investigation was ongoing. On Thursday night, flares were lit during what has been a week of wild celebrations at the normally quiet seaside town. Police were called to complaints of a flare being lit on the Rye foreshore on Thursday night about 11pm, however when they arrived a large gathering of young people dispersed without further incident. No arrests were made.

Last Saturday night, police were pelted with bottles and frightened locals sheltered in businesses after schoolies celebrations descended into chaos. Riot police, dogs and a helicopter were sent to the Rye foreshore as police scrambled to contain a large gathering of youths about 9.30pm. Flares were also reportedly set off from the roof of a house. The incidents have raised questions about the growing number of teens heading to Rye for schoolies, which locals say is ballooning by hundreds of people each year. Some locals believe it is getting rowdier, with residents telling The Age after Saturday's incident that schoolies in Rye had "never been this intense". Army veteran John Perrins from nearby Tootgarook said on Sunday schoolies celebrations had been getting busier over the decade he had lived on the peninsula.

But this is worst Ive seen, he said. Others said they were unimpressed with the rubbish left behind on the beach each day, with Jess Burtt writing on Instagram on Friday: "I pulled in at Rye foreshore and was absolutely horrified of what I saw... thank you schoolies for showing how much disrespect and utter ignorance you can have! "I am so ashamed that the latest graduates heading out into the world to make change can possibly do this to a place they are so lucky to have." However, other locals say teenagers arriving in Rye for schoolies are well behaved and have pointed the finger at the 'toolies' - older people who haven't recently graduated - who join the celebrations and cause trouble.

Jen, who lives directly opposite the foreshore park where the teens gather each night, told The Age on Friday she felt the behaviour of the kids had been great this year. Beachboxes at White Cliffs beach on the Rye foreshore. Credit:Will Salter "It's blown out of proportion and I'm probably one of the people who lives opposite and sees it all. There are a lot of kids there, a huge amount. Yes there is a bigger volume of kids and there has been a bigger police presence this year as well. But as far as the kids go, they've been really terrific," she said. "There have been a couple of incidents, but from what I hear it's older kids coming in and causing trouble. My own son is a schoolie, he was across there... and they said it was a gang of older kids that caused the problem. They'd come from another establishment after it closed. "But it was definitely older people, men in their 30s coming and causing problems. They want to cause trouble, turning up drunk."

She said her father, aged in his 80s, lives next door to one of the large apartment blocks where schoolies have been living and he has had no issues. He has been contacted regularly by local police who have quelled any safety concerns. However, she did say that the event is growing by hundreds each year and she believed the council would soon need to organise more structure on the foreshore. "Over the last five years it's really grown, the last two years it's really pick up pace, so its time for the council to step in and organise." Mornington Peninsula Shire Mayor David Gill said the council had been working closely with police and youth agencies to "reduce negative impacts" of schoolies on locals.
UPDATED: Police have located a Perth woman who had gone missing twice in as many years.

Amber Wilson had last been seen in the vicinity of Rockingham Hospital about 7.20pm on Wednesday.

Missing woman, Amber Wilson Credit:WA Police

Police and SES volunteers were on Friday searching bushland around the area, with police holding concerns for her welfare.

But police announced later Friday morning Ms Wilson had been found.
Thousands of Australian schoolchildren have walked out of class to demand federal government action on climate change are only going to learn how to join the dole queue, a senior federal government minister says.

Students will be protesting across the country asking for climate change action. Credit:Karleen Minney

The "Strike 4 Climate Action"  inspired by a 15-year-old Swedish schoolgirl's activism  will involve children in capital cities and 20 regional centres such as Ballarat and Newcastle.

Thousands of students gathered in Sydney's Martin Place and on the steps of the Victorian Parliament House in Melbourne at noon on Friday to kick off the national protest action.

But Resources Minister Matt Canavan said he wanted children in school learning about how to build mines, do geology and how to drill for oil and gas, "which is one of the most remarkable science exploits in the world".
Buenos Aires: The opponents of the worlds most powerful summit have brought a special guest to Buenos Aires, the host city for the Group of 20 gathering this weekend.

The Baby Trump balloon will fly over thousands of protesters around the summit in a contest of ideologies  and possibly a clash with police.

G20 protester Luciana Ghiotto in front of the blimp. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen

The inflatable effigy of US President Donald Trump, portrayed as a baby in a nappy with a mobile phone in his hand, will be a rallying point for demonstrators including union members, environmentalists, anarchists, socialists and more.

If nothing else, it raises the issue of why the leader of the United States acts like a baby and spends most of his time on Twitter, says one of the men inflating the blimp.
The grim state of the Liberal Party is easy to see from a distance but still has the power to shock when cabinet ministers observe, almost casually, that some of their own side believe the government may have to be burnt to the ground.

The idea is outlandish but real to some who believe their party has lost its way and will need a new conservative direction after losing the next election.

Illustration: Andrew Dyson Credit:

The Liberal Party would be purified in the flames of the election campaign and rise from the ashes of defeat. In this bizarre fantasy, more fitting for a Harry Potter novel than Australian politics, the phoenix would be stronger for the loss of those who were never the partys true believers.

Muttered about more often than spoken aloud, this vision is a serious prospect for those who are resigned to defeat. On Sky News at night, you can hear the theory that the "broad church" of the Liberal Party is gone for good  and that a formal divorce between moderates and conservatives is only a matter of time.
Opposition Leader Bill Shorten is resisting calls to stop the Adani coal mine if he wins the next election, in a position that clears the way for third-party activists to launch a blitz against Labor MPs in marginal seats.

In his first public comments since the Indian mining giant announced it would self-finance a much smaller project than originally proposed, Mr Shorten stressed Labor remained sceptical about the Galilee Basin development but would not revoke approvals if they were already in place by May next year.

"We don't know what they'll be up to by the time we get into government. So we'll deal with facts and the situation we're presented with if we win the election in 24 weeks' time," he said.

"We'll be making decisions at that point based on the national interest. Of course we're not interested in sovereign risk or breaking contracts. We'll be guided by the best science and the national interest."

Environment Minister Melissa Price played down fears the Queensland mine would damage the Great Barrier Reef, arguing it would have "no direct impacts".
London: He could have misspelled his address, or entered an incorrect age  something fairly harmless  but no, the error John Stevenson made in an online form for the US Department of Homeland Security was clicking on the wrong answer to a question.

The US visa waiver ESTA website.

The question asked whether he was a terrorist.

Stevenson, a Scottish grandfather, said he had made an honest mistake, but it might ruin his plans to fly with his wife to New York City on Monday.

He ran into trouble filling out the automated online form on the Electronic System for Travel Authorisation, known as ESTA, that allows people from selected countries to apply for travel to the United States without a visa.
Four Finalists Named in Weber State University Presidential Search

November 30, 2018

SALT LAKE CITY  After an extensive national search, the Weber State University Presidential Search Committee has recommended four finalists to the State Board of Regents for the position of Weber State President: Katherine P. Frank, Frank R. Lamas, Brad L. Mortensen, and Melody Rose.

The Weber State University Presidential Search Committee is honored to recommend these four impressive candidates to the Board of Regents, said Jesselie Anderson, Regent and search committee co-chair. We look forward to the Regents having the opportunity to fully consider these candidates in choosing a new leader for Weber State.

Nolan Karras, search committee co-chair and chair of the Weber State Board of Trustees, added, We thank the universitys trustees, faculty, students, and staff, along with the community as a whole, for their meaningful participation in this process. It truly has been a collective effort.

The 21-member search committee has spent several months soliciting input through public meetings and in-person interviews. The Board of Regents will interview the following finalists (listed here in alphabetical order):

Katherine P. Frank is the Provost and Vice President for Academic and Student Life at Central Washington University and Professor of English. At CWU, she focuses on institutional sustainability and student success, which include the transition to a new university budget model, complete General Education redesign, and opening of an eighth off-campus instructional site. Prior to her current position, she served as Dean of Arts and Sciences at Northern Kentucky University where she led the universitys largest college. She has also served as Dean of Humanities and Social Sciences at Indiana University East and as Chairperson of English and Foreign Languages at Colorado State University-Pueblo. She earned her bachelors degree from Bates College and her masters and doctoral degrees from the University of Washington.

Frank R. Lamas is the Vice President of Student Affairs and Enrollment Management at California State University, Fresno, where he leads 53 departments and programs. He has more than 30 years of administrative experience in higher education. He was also an Assistant Professor at the University of Texas at Arlington and Canisius College in the Department of Higher Education. His research interests include social and academic determinants of retention/student success among college students and leadership. He has previously served as board chairman of the National Association of Student Personnel Administrators. He earned his bachelors degree from the State University of New York at Potsdam and his masters and doctoral degrees at the State University of New York at Albany.

Brad L. Mortensen joined Weber State in 2004 and has served as Vice President of University Advancement for 11 years. He develops partnerships and philanthropic resources that promote educational access, student success, inclusiveness, and faculty and staff vitality. He leads communication and strategic efforts to strengthen alumni and community connections, and recently began guiding Weber State's efforts to support regional economic development. Active with several Northern Utah organizations, he has chaired the Ogden-Weber Chamber of Commerce and United Way of Northern Utah. Utah Business recognized him as 2018 CXO of the Year. His prior professional endeavors include the Utah System of Higher Education, Utah governors office, Arizona legislature, and two policy fellowships. Mortensen earned a bachelors degree from Utah State University, a masters degree from Syracuse University, and a doctoral degree from the University of Utah.

Melody Rose has 25 years of experience in public and private higher education. Currently the President at Marylhurst University, Rose previously spent 20 years with public institutions. As Chancellor of the Oregon University System, she oversaw all seven public universities, after having spent 17 years at Portland State University. At Portland State, Rose founded the Center for Womens Leadership, served in faculty governance, and provided leadership as Department Chair, Vice Provost, and Dean. Across sectors, she has focused on keeping student success and access at the forefront of data-based decisions. She earned a bachelors degree from University of California, Santa Cruz, and two masters degrees and a doctoral degree from Cornell University.

Next steps

The finalists will be on the Weber State University Ogden campus on Wednesday, December 5, 2018, to meet with groups representing faculty, staff, students, trustees, and administration. Each finalist will participate in a public meeting the afternoon of December 5, where attendees from the Weber State community and the general public will have the opportunity to ask questions of the candidates.

Public meeting schedule

Weber State University  Shepherd Union Ballroom C

3910 West Campus Drive, Ogden, UT 84408

1:00  1:50 p.m. Brad L. Mortensen

2:00  2:50 p.m. Katherine P. Frank

3:00  3:50 p.m. Frank R. Lamas

4:00  4:50 p.m. Melody Rose

More information on the public meetings is available at weber.edu/presidentialsearch.

On Thursday, December 6, 2018, the Board of Regents will interview the finalists in a closed session. The board may convene a public meeting at Weber State  Shepherd Union Ballroom C  at 5:45 p.m. that day to select the president. However, it may convene at another time, which will be announced at a later date.

###

About Weber State University

Visit weber.edu to learn more about Weber State University.

About the Utah System of Higher Education

The Utah System of Higher Education (USHE) is governed by the Board of Regents and is comprised of Utahs eight public colleges and universities. The CEO of USHE is the Commissioner of Higher Education. For more information, visit higheredutah.org.

For photos of the finalists, visit the following links.

Katherine Frank

Frank Lamas

Brad Mortensen

Melody Rose
Hollywood history is full of fun coincidences and interesting side details, like certain actors repeatedly appearing in the same movies or the fact that every celebrity credits their success to a pact with the same ancient snake god. But sometimes it gets even weirder than that. Just look at how ...

5 Rival Helicopter Pilots Covering The O.J. Simpson Chase Both Later Came Out As Transgender

When O.J. Simpson, the famous soccer player and star of Capricorn One, fled from police on June 17, 1994, it was huge news. It interrupted the NBA finals, putting annoyed basketball fans among the 95 million Americans who watched the pursuit live. And two helicopter pilots, Dana Vahle and Zoey Tur, were transmitting every moment for rival news stations. Two years earlier, both had covered the uprising in the wake of the Rodney King verdict, presumably while throwing things at each other from their helicopters while trying to get the better angle. Their on-the-job rivalry was serious, with Tur thinking Vahle a jerk. But then later they learned that they had an unlikely kinship.

At the time, Tur was known as Bob, and Vahle was known as Dick. Both were married with children, but neither felt happy, and both eventually realized why. The '80s and '90s were not a welcoming time for transgender people (not that it's a cakewalk now). Vahle's initial steps toward transitioning cost her a job and her marriage, and Tur struggled with depression and suicidal ideation.

But Vahle committed to transitioning in 2011, and Tur followed suit in 2013. Today they're friends and are both much happier, even though they've lost other friends, struggled in their careers, and have written off their own generation as being incapable of understanding them. But they have hope for the future. Indeed, most media coverage of their stories has been positive and respectful. Most of it.
That's not to say everything about her was fake. She is a pastor ... although not for some sleepy village, but for "Seeds of Wealth," a church that promises worshippers that they can "unlock the seeds ... that will release into financial freedom." This church is closely aligned with Mike Murdock, a Texas televangelist who preaches "prosperity theology" -- the idea that donating large amounts of money to churches guarantees not only future wealth, but also a guaranteed spot in The Good Place. All told, he's a pretty questionable person in his own right.

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To be fair, Hayter is only a minister, and probably doesn't have much say over who "Seeds of Wealth" chooses to be involved with. For that, you'd have to speak to the person running it, umm ... Marina Hayter.

The upshot of these revelations is that the BBC, which is already having a hard time persuading people that they're not shilling for the government, is now being accused of hiring Hayter to appear on the show as a supporter of May. We'd make a joke about we'd need to be paid to support Theresa May too, but considering that her own party doesn't like her, it seems a little redundant. (Like Theresa May might be in a few weeks! British political humor!)
Williamson, WV (25661)

Today

Evening rain followed by a mix of rain and snow overnight. Low 32F. Winds WNW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of precip 100%..

Tonight

Evening rain followed by a mix of rain and snow overnight. Low 32F. Winds WNW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of precip 100%.
Bayer plans to cut 12,000 jobs and exit its animal-health business in an effort to mollify Wall Street, which has punished the company over the tidal wave of lawsuits that came alongside the US$63-billion takeover of Monsanto.

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 29/11/2018 (1092 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Bayer plans to cut 12,000 jobs and exit its animal-health business in an effort to mollify Wall Street, which has punished the company over the tidal wave of lawsuits that came alongside the US$63-billion takeover of Monsanto.

The German company announced a rash of moves, including exiting the sun- and foot-care segments, that it said would boost its core pharma and agricultural businesses. The cuts, including a significant number in Germany  where layoffs are politically sensitive  represent about 10 per cent of the workforce. The shares fell 2.3 per cent in Frankfurt trading, erasing initial gains after the announcement.

Bayer is under mounting pressure to prove that its new model makes sense. The Monsanto deal turned it into the worlds largest agricultural chemicals and seeds maker, with giant pharmaceutical and consumer health units under the same roof.

Investors remain unconvinced. The shares slumped after the acquisition was announced and closed, and Bayers market value has plunged some 30 billion euros (US$34.1 billion) since August, when a California jury ruled against its signature weed killer Roundup, saying it may have caused a school groundskeepers cancer. At least 9,000 other lawsuits are pending.

"Todays decisions were not made necessary by the recent acquisition, and certainly not by glyphosate litigation in the U.S.," chief executive officer Werner Baumann said on a call with reporters, referring to Roundups chemical compound. "Absolutely nothing to do with it."

Some investors may be disappointed with the short-term cost of the restructuring, the first strategic shakeup since the Monsanto deal was completed. Bayers fiscal 2019 earnings targets are below the forecast of analysts surveyed by Bloomberg. Nonetheless, "they delivered what everyone was hoping for," said Ulrich Huwald, a Hamburg-based analyst with Warburg Research. "Its a good package on the face of it."

Of the 12,000 job cuts, half will probably come from corporate and supporting functions while another third will be in crop science as the Monsanto integration proceeds, Bayer said. Another 1,250 positions will probably come from pharmaceuticals  with 350 related to a new facility in Wuppertal, Germany. Another 1,100 will be cut in Bayers consumer-health division. Baumann repeatedly declined to say how many of the reductions would be in Germany overall.

Bayers animal-health operations are probably worth as much as 6.5 billion euros (US$7.4 billion), according to Wimal Kapadia, a London-based analyst with Sanford C. Bernstein & Co. That unit sells vet products for both pets and livestock, and its best-selling product line is the Advantage flea treatment for small animals.

After the stock fell about 40 per cent over the past year, Bayer has faced growing questions about how its disparate units will remain competitive. Restructuring and cost cuts were widely expected ahead of an investors day meeting in London on Wednesday. By exiting peripheral businesses like animal health, Bayer aims to plow resources into core units like pharmaceuticals, where it needs to catch up to competitors.

Baumann said the company is most interested in its core areas of hemophilia and hematology, cardiology, womens health and cancer. "We have, certainly, the financial strength," he said.

 Bloomberg News
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - A popular Colorado Springs tourist attraction that takes riders up to the summit of Pikes Peak will reopen again after its fate was in question.

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 29/11/2018 (1092 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - A popular Colorado Springs tourist attraction that takes riders up to the summit of Pikes Peak will reopen again after its fate was in question.

The Gazette reports the Pikes Peak Cog Railway is slated to reopen in May 2021 following a nearly $100 million reconstruction next year.

Broadmoor hotel President and CEO Jack Damioli said in March that the railway would not open this year and could remain closed permanently, noting it had "run its useful life."

Oklahoma Publishing President and CEO Gary Pierson says the railway reconstruction will include the demolition and rebuilding of the track and a remodeling of the depot in Manitou Springs.

The railway plans to decommission four of eight train cars and refurbish the other four.

Oklahoma Publishing is the railway's parent company.

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Information from: The Gazette, http://www.gazette.com
LAS VEGAS - Authorities say a commercial passenger jet bound for Tampa, Florida returned safely to Las Vegas with engine cover damage just minutes after takeoff.

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 30/11/2018 (1091 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

LAS VEGAS - Authorities say a commercial passenger jet bound for Tampa, Florida returned safely to Las Vegas with engine cover damage just minutes after takeoff.

No injuries were reported after Frontier Airlines flight 260 landed at 7:26 a.m. Friday with 166 passengers and crew members aboard.

McCarran International Airport spokeswoman Christine Crews says emergency crews found debris on the runway while the aircraft taxied to a gate under its own power.

Crews says the pilot of the Airbus 320 reported an engine "concern" before circling back to the airport 15 minutes after takeoff.

The Federal Aviation Administration is investigating.

Airline spokeswoman Allison Redmon says an engine cover cowling came loose and separated from the aircraft.

She says passengers were given refunds and were being re-booked on other airlines.
JAKARTA, Indonesia - Investigators of the Oct. 29 crash of a Lion Air flight into the Java Sea say the Boeing 737 MAX aircraft was deemed airworthy when it made its final takeoff from Jakarta.

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 29/11/2018 (1092 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

National Transportation Safety Committee investigator Nurcahyo Utomo holds a model of an airplane during a press conference on the committee's preliminary findings on their investigation on the crash of Lion Air flight 610, in Jakarta, Indonesia, Wednesday, Nov. 28, 2018. Black box data collected from their crashed Boeing 737 MAX 8 show Lion Air pilots struggled to maintain control as the aircraft's automatic safety system repeatedly pushed the plane's nose down, according to a preliminary investigation into last month's disaster. (AP Photo/Achmad Ibrahim)

JAKARTA, Indonesia - Investigators of the Oct. 29 crash of a Lion Air flight into the Java Sea say the Boeing 737 MAX aircraft was deemed airworthy when it made its final takeoff from Jakarta.

The officials summoned reporters Thursday to clarify comments made at a news conference the day before, where some media reported the investigators had said the plane was not airworthy when it took off.

"The NTSC and the Head of Aviation Communication never stated that Lion Air, Boeing 737-8 MAX aircraft registered PK-LQP, was not airworthy," said investigator Nurcahyo Utomo.

The issue of airworthiness is crucial because of concerns over technical issues with the new Boeing 737 MAX that crashed and questions over the airline's safety procedures.

Black box data showed the pilots fought against an automated system that pitched a Boeing jetliner's nose down repeatedly because of a faulty sensor until they finally lost control. All 189 people aboard the flight between the Indonesian capital of Jakarta and a regional airport died in the disaster.

The National Transportation Safety Committee investigators were reporting this week on data from the aircraft's black boxes. The preliminary report stopped short of placing blame for the crash  the investigation is continuing  but it provided new details about the pilots' difficulties handling the highly automated jet and Lion Air's inability to fix problems with sensors on the plane.

The investigators say the cockpit voice recorder, which is still missing and being searched for, is needed to understand what exactly caused the jet to plunge in the Java Sea just 11 minutes after takeoff.

On Wednesday, Utomo said the plane had experienced technical problems on four of the six flights before it crashed. On its penultimate flight from the Balinese capital of Denpasar to Jakarta, as during the final one, pilots struggled to prevent an automatic safety feature from forcing the nose of the aircraft down due to problems with its sensors.

The report released Wednesday noted that during the Denpasar to Jakarta flight a "stick shaker" activation  a warning signal to pilots  continued throughout the flight as the flight crew struggled and eventually succeeded to bring the aircraft under control.

"This condition is considered as an un-airworthy condition and the flight shall not be continued," it said of that flight.

Utomo said that based on maintenance records, flight engineers had made repairs and run tests as needed.

"Based on the test results, the aircraft was declared airworthy, also when the plane departed from Jakarta, the aircraft was in airworthy condition," he said.

Another investigator, Ony Suryo Wibowo, said there were special procedures to be followed when there are problems with an aircraft.

"But in principle, when the engineer has stated it's airworthy, then it's airworthy," he said.

Wibowo said the pilot would make the final choice about whether or not to cancel or abort a flight, and the investigators were trying to understand how the pilot made his decision.

"When the plane is on the ground, the responsibility for airworthiness is on the engineer, and when the plane is in the air, the airworthiness is entirely in the pilot's hands," he said.

Experts say Boeing may need to change its new anti-stall system, perhaps developing an algorithm to disregard sensor readings that appear off-base.

The aircraft maker has a great deal at stake in defending its plane.

More than 200 MAX jets have been delivered to airlines around the world. Pilots at American Airlines and Southwest Airlines complained this month that they had not been given all information about the new automated anti-stall safety system on the MAX.

___

This story has been corrected to show the date of the crash was Oct. 29 and corrected to fix the name of the National Transportation Safety Committee.
TORONTO - Uber is hiring a head of grocery product in Toronto, a sign that the company may be eyeing moves to disrupt the supermarket industry.

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 30/11/2018 (1091 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Uber is hiring a head of grocery product in Toronto, a sign that the company may be eyeing moves to disrupt the supermarket industry. The bread section is seen in a grocery store in Toronto on Wednesday, Nov. 1, 2017. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Doug Ives

TORONTO - Uber is hiring a head of grocery product in Toronto, a sign that the company may be eyeing moves to disrupt the supermarket industry.

The U.S.-based technology giant says in a LinkedIn job posting that the role will help the company define and build "a brand new product offering, which will fundamentally evolve how people purchase their groceries."

The posting says the successful candidate will work with a newly-formed team based in Toronto.

Uber has used the city as its test bed for food-related innovation before, launching Uber Eats there in 2015.

Its chief executive officer Dara Khosrowshahi has also hinted recently that delivering food to someone in their home in 30 minutes or less is "magical" and he sees grocery as being an "adjacency."

Uber Canada confirmed to The Canadian Press that it is seeking a head of grocery, but offered no hint about what its plans for the role are.

In a statement to The Canadian Press, the company would only say, "Our Eats team is always looking to expand into new areas where our technology can help people get food more easily and efficiently."
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - America's next moon landing will be made by private companies  not NASA.

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 29/11/2018 (1092 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

FILE - In this Oct. 12, 2018 file photo, Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Jim Bridenstine speaks during a news conference at the U.S. Embassy in Moscow, Russia. America's next moon landing will be made by private companies, not NASA. Bridenstine announced Thursday, Nov. 29 that nine U.S. companies will compete in delivering experiments to the lunar surface. (AP Photo/Pavel Golovkin, File)

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - America's next moon landing will be made by private companies  not NASA.

NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine announced Thursday that nine U.S. companies will compete to deliver experiments to the lunar surface. The space agency will buy the service and let private industry work out the details on getting there, he said.

The goal is to get small science and technology experiments to the surface of the moon as soon as possible. The first flight could be next year; 2019 marks the 50th anniversary of the first manned moon landing.

"We're going at high speed," said Thomas Zurbuchen, head of NASA's science mission directorate, which will lead the effort.

NASA officials said the research will help get astronauts back to the moon more quickly and keep them safer once they're there. The initial deliveries likely will include radiation monitors, as well as laser reflectors for gravity and other types of measurements, according to Zurbuchen.

Bridenstine said it will be up to the companies to arrange their own rocket rides. NASA will be one of multiple customers using these lunar services.

The announcement came just three days after NASA landed a spacecraft on Mars. NASA wants to see how it goes at the moon before committing to commercial delivery services at Mars.

This new partnership is loosely modeled after NASA's successful commercial cargo deliveries to the International Space Station, as well as the still-unproven commercial crew effort. SpaceX and Northrop Grumman, formerly Orbital ATK, have been making space station shipments since 2012. SpaceX expects to start transporting astronauts to the orbiting lab next year; so does Boeing.

Altogether, these Commercial Lunar Payload Services contracts have a combined value of $2.6 billion over the next 10 years.

NASA wants lots of companies involved to encourage competition and get to the moon fast, so astronauts can benefit once an orbiting outpost is up and running near the moon.

Bridenstine expects to have humans working intermittently on the moon, along with robots and rovers, within a decade.

The nine companies, representing seven states, are:

Astrobiotic Technology Inc., Pittsburgh; Deep Space Systems, Littleton, Colorado; Draper, Cambridge, Massachusetts; Firefly Aerospace Inc., Cedar Park, Texas; Intuitive Machines, Houston; Lockheed Martin, Littleton; Masten Space Systems Inc., Mojave, California; Moon Express, Cape Canaveral; and Orbit Beyond, Edison, New Jersey.

Lockheed Martin already has a moon lander in the works modeled after the Mars InSight lander, which the company built for NASA. Insight arrived at Mars on Monday.

The McCandless Lunar Lander is named after the late astronaut and former Lockheed Martin employee Bruce McCandless, who in 1984 performed the first free-flying spacewalk without a lifeline to the orbiting shuttle, using a jetpack built by the company. The picture of McCandless floating by himself in the blackness of space, with the blue Earth in the background, is one of NASA's most iconic.

Bridenstine said while NASA wants the companies to succeed, the space agency is certain some of the efforts will fail. Expectations should not exceed 50 per cent, Zurbuchen stressed.

"These are not expensive missions," Bridenstine told reporters before the announcement in Washington. "This is like a venture capital kind of effort where at the end of the day, the risk is high but the return is also very high for a low investment."

He added: "Our goal is to learn as much as we can possibly learn and help this fledgling industry develop here in the United States."

___

The Associated Press Health & Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute's Department of Science Education. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
NEW YORK - After repeated food poisoning outbreaks linked to romaine lettuce, the produce industry is confronting the failure of its own safety measures in preventing contaminations.

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 29/11/2018 (1092 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

FILE - In this Nov. 20, 2018 file photo, romaine lettuce sits on the shelves as a shopper walks through the produce area of an Albertsons market in Simi Valley, Calif. After repeated food poisoning outbreaks linked to romaine lettuce, the produce industry is confronting the failure of its own safety measures in preventing contaminations. The latest outbreak underscores the challenge of eliminating risk for vegetables grown in open fields and eaten raw. It also highlights the role of nearby cattle operations and the delay of stricter federal food safety regulations. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill, File)

NEW YORK - After repeated food poisoning outbreaks linked to romaine lettuce, the produce industry is confronting the failure of its own safety measures in preventing contaminations.

The E. coli outbreak announced just before Thanksgiving follows one in the spring that sickened more than 200 people and killed five, and another last year that sickened 25 and killed one. No deaths have been reported in the latest outbreak, but the dozens of illnesses highlight the challenge of eliminating risk for vegetables grown in open fields and eaten raw, the role of nearby cattle operations that produce huge volumes of manure and the delay of stricter federal food safety regulations.

A contested aspect of the regulation, for example, would require testing irrigation water for E. coli. The Food and Drug Administration put the measure on hold when the produce industry said such tests wouldn't necessarily help prevent outbreaks. Additional regulations on sanitation for workers and equipment  other potential sources of contamination  only recently started being implemented.

FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb said he thinks the combination of rules, once fully in place, will make vegetables safer to eat.

"I don't think any one element of this is going to be the magic bullet," Gottlieb said.

Health officials say improved detection may make outbreaks seem more frequent. Still, that is intensifying pressure on growers and regulators to prevent, catch and contain contamination.

PREVENTION

It's not yet known how romaine got contaminated in the latest outbreak.

The spring outbreak was traced to romaine from Yuma, Arizona. Irrigation water tainted with manure was identified as a likely culprit, and investigators noted the presence of a large animal feeding operation nearby.

Subsequently, an industry agreement in Arizona and California was adjusted to expand buffer zones between vegetable fields and livestock. The industry says the change was in place for lettuce now being grown in Yuma, which hasn't been implicated in the latest outbreak. But Trevor Suslow of the Produce Marketing Association said there isn't consensus about the exact distances that might effectively prevent contamination.

He noted specific buffer zones aren't required by the new federal rules on produce safety.

"They look to the industry to determine what is the appropriate distance," Suslow said.

Growers in Yuma also started treating irrigation water that would touch plant leaves with chlorine to kill potential contaminants, Suslow said. But he said such treatment raises concerns about soil and human health.

Meanwhile, the proximity of produce fields to cattle operations is likely to continue posing a problem. Travis Forgues of the milk producer Organic Valley noted consolidation in the dairy industry is leading to bigger livestock operations that produce massive volumes of manure.

TESTING

Already, the industry agreement in Arizona and California requires leafy green growers to test water for generic E. coli.

But James Rogers, director of food safety research at Consumer Reports, said it's important to make water testing a federal requirement. Since romaine is often chopped up and bagged, a single contaminated batch from one farm that skips testing could make a lot of people sick, he said.

Teressa Lopez of the Arizona Leafy Greens Marketing Agreement also said federal regulation can ensure greater compliance, even though the industry agreement has stricter measures.

Despite industry measures implemented after a spinach outbreak more than a decade ago, health officials noted this month there have been 28 E. coli outbreaks linked to leafy greens since 2009.

The produce industry says the failure to prevent the Yuma outbreak could also reflect the limitations of testing water for generic E. coli.

Elizabeth Bihn, a food science expert at Cornell University, said the tests look for the amount of fecal matter in water. The problem is, "some feces has pathogens in it, some feces doesn't," said Bihn, who is part of a federal program helping farmers comply with the new produce regulations.

Testing for specific E. coli strains that are harmful is more difficult, and it doesn't rule out the possibility of other harmful bacteria, Bihn said.

CONTAINING

Whole-genome sequencing is making it easier to detect outbreaks, which is pressuring the produce industry.

The FDA warned against all romaine last week because it said it was able to identify it as a likely source early enough. The agency narrowed its warning to romaine from California's Central Coast after the produce industry agreed to label romaine with harvest dates and regions, so people know what's OK to eat.

The labeling is voluntary, and the industry said it will evaluate whether to extend it to other leafy greens. Gottlieb said improving traceability would allow targeted health alerts that don't hurt the entire industry. The FDA recently hired a former Walmart executive who used blockchain technology to improve traceability in the retailer's supply chain.

Stephen Basore, director of food safety at a Florida romaine grower, said he expects more regulations and self-imposed industry guidelines.

"Anytime there is an issue, the immediate response is saying our protocols aren't enough," he said.

___

AP reporter Josh Replogle contributed from Florida.

___

The Associated Press Health & Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute's Department of Science Education. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
On Wednesday night, Alex Shao stayed up until 2:30 a.m. shoveling snow. He couldnt have been more excited.

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On Wednesday night, Alex Shao stayed up until 2:30 a.m. shoveling snow. He couldnt have been more excited.

The University of Manitoba commerce student is one of five team members of OnTheStep, a new on-demand snow removal service app that launched on Nov. 12.

The team set a first-snowfall goal of five snow removal requests, Shao said. Instead, they got triple that amount after about 10 centimetres fell over the city on Wednesday  which meant the apps founders have had to pick up their shovels to try to meet the demand.

Shao said the first request came while he was still at school on Wednesday.

"I made the biggest scene (running) out of class," Shao said. "I just bolted."

Shao and OnTheStep co-founder Buhle Mwanza spent the rest of their night shoveling driveways across the city, from River Heights to Sage Creek to Transcona.

The app is available on Google Play and in the App Store, and allows users to make requests for snow removal in minutes. After creating an account, users are prompted to include details of the job (like the street address, how big the driveway is and whether the surface is concrete, gravel or brick). The app sets a recommended minimum offer for the job, and allows users to increase this price.

Since launching the app, the OnTheStep team  Shao, Mwanza, marketing manager Tyrel Praymayer, developer Victory Iyakoregha and head of recruitment Tristen Wong  has also announced a partnership with newcomer employment initiative Hire a Refugee that will help them meet the growing demand for their services.

"Being a son of an immigrant family, and kind of feeling like an outsider when I was growing up, I really kind of have a connection with people who are feeling the same way," Shao said. "Were really trying to promote diversity and equality of opportunity for all Winnipeggers, because we really feel like diversity is something that makes Winnipeg special."

Hire a Refugee founder Omar Rahimi said the partnership wasnt necessarily something he expected  the first time he saw snow, he was 18 years old and had just arrived in Canada from the Iraqi refugee camp where he was born.

The initiative is a way for newcomers to find odd jobs they can work  like painting, landscaping, cleaning and, in the winters, snow removal  even if they arent fluent in English, Rahimi said. Its an opportunity he said he wishes he had when he first arrived in Canada in 2001.

"I didnt know what to expect. I was nervous," Rahimi said. "I think the main thing I wish somebody told me at the time is to be patient, and things will get better."

Since starting the employment initiative last year, Rahimi said he has seen how something as simple as shoveling a driveway or cleaning windows can help forge connections between people from different communities. This summer, he was at a job painting garage doors with other refugees from the initiative when the woman who owned the house started chatting with one of the painters.

"They became really good friends," said Rahimi. "Now, she visits their family. They eat each others food. They got to know each other."

Shao said the app is still evolving, and making this sense of community a part of its mandate is front of mind for the OnTheStep team.

"Were trying to really expand our diversity. Right now, I know were all male, but we are trying to get female members onto the team," Shao said. "Its changing every single moment."

caitlyn.gowriluk@freepress.mb.ca
TORONTO - Sleep Country Canada Holdings Inc.'s $88.7 million purchase of Canadian mattress start-up Endy won't mean the two will be amalgamated or that the legacy brand will cease selling products from Endy's bed-in-a-box competitors.

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Endy CEO Mike Gettis, left, and chairman Rajen Ruparell are shown in this undated handout photo. Sleep Country Canada Holdings Inc.'s $88.7 million purchase of Canadian mattress start-up Endy won't mean the two will be amalgamated or that the legacy brand will cease selling products from Endy's bed-in-a-box retailer competitors. Toronto-based Sleep Country said Friday that the two will operate separately and that Sleep Country won't abandon selling the Bloom mattress-in-a-box that it launched in May 2017. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO - Endy

TORONTO - Sleep Country Canada Holdings Inc.'s $88.7 million purchase of Canadian mattress start-up Endy won't mean the two will be amalgamated or that the legacy brand will cease selling products from Endy's bed-in-a-box competitors.

Toronto-based Sleep Country said Friday that the two will operate separately and that Sleep Country won't abandon selling the Bloom mattress-in-a-box that it launched in May 2017.

"Bloom is not going anywhere. We sell it out of our stores and we sell it online and we plan to keep doing that," said David Friesema, Sleep Country's chief executive officer, on a call with analysts. "It is one of our fastest growing product launches we ever had in our history."

Friesema said Sleep Country was interested in buying Endy  built by two friends that met as high school students in Calgary and disrupted the mattress industry when they launched their company in 2015  because of the synergies between the two brands.

Despite Endy and its U.S. rival Casper increasing competition in the sleep products industry, he said the Endy purchase wasn't meant to be a "defensive move."

"We have been watching carefully and we have been talking for awhile," Friesema said. "This is the right time to make the purchase."

Executives said both companies were keen on the acquisition because they will each benefit from it. Endy will be able to leverage Sleep Country's logistics, warehouse and shipping expertise, while Sleep Country will be able to tap into Endy's e-commerce technology and digital marketing prowess.

They said it is unlikely that Endy products will land in Sleep Country stores, though they admitted executives had discussed the possibility but decided to leave the decision up to Endy to make in the future.

Their partnership comes at a key time for both brands. Sleep Country has long been grappling with bed-in-a-box competitors and the growth of e-commerce. It only launched an online sales offering about a year ago and has been keeping an eye on how it can reinvigorate its brick-and-mortar spaces and boost its sleep accessory sales.

Meanwhile, Endy's last year has put it on track to post $50 million in revenues this year, though it has also been challenged by competitors. Casper has aggressively expanded in Canada and is slowly opening retail stores  a feature Endy has yet to delve into.

Friesema said Endy will continue to evaluate whether it should jump into brick-and-mortar.

"We do test things," he pointed out. "That will probably be more likely than ever being in a Sleep Country store, but there is no decision that has been made 100 per cent on that yet."

Rajen Ruparell, Endy's co-founder and chairman, added that for now the company has been focused on growing its traffic online because 100 per cent of its sales are done through e-commerce.

He also said the 38-employee company was committed to remaining as "lean and efficient as possible," even as it grows.

For now, the companies are waiting for the deal  $63.7 million in cash paid at closing and up to an additional $25 million in 2021 based on the achievement of growth and profitability in targets in 2020  to close and regulatory approvals to be received by Thursday.

"It's early days. We just got married last night and we are encouraging the entrepreneurial spirit between the organizations," Stewart Schaefer, Sleep Country's chief business development officer, said. "The team will come together and look under the covers and see where there are synergies."

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TORONTO - Sleep Country Canada Holdings Inc. announced a deal to acquire a Canadian mattress-in-a-box retailer in a nearly $89-million deal that looks to boost its online offerings.

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Sleep Country Canada holdings Inc. says it will acquire online mattress retailer Endy for nearly $89 million. David Friesema, the CEO of Sleep Country Canada, sits on the new "Bloom" mattress, as he poses for a photo at a store in Toronto on Wednesday, May 10, 2017. The Toronto-based company says its signed a definitive agreement to acquire the mattress-in-a-box firm, a Canadian start-up that launched in 2015. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Aaron Vincent Elkaim

TORONTO - Sleep Country Canada Holdings Inc. announced a deal to acquire a Canadian mattress-in-a-box retailer in a nearly $89-million deal that looks to boost its online offerings.

"We recognize that consumer shopping habits are evolving and we remain focused on serving our customers any way they want to shop, and providing them with the choice to navigate easily between traditional and online channels," said David Friesema, Sleep Country's CEO, in a statement Thursday.

The company signed a definitive agreement to acquire the start-up Endy, which launched in Canada in 2015.

Sleep Country Canada will pay up to $88.7 million for the acquisition. It will pay $63.7 million cash at closing and up to $25 million more in cash in early 2021 if certain growth and profitability targets are achieved in the previous year.

The company's revolving credit facility will be upsized by $60 million to $210 million to finance the transaction, which is subject to customary closing conditions and expected to close on Dec. 6 of this year.

Endy will continue to operate separately following the acquisition with founders Rajen Ruparell and Mike Gettis remaining at the helm of the business, Friesema said. Gettis will continue to serve as Endy's CEO, while Ruparell will chair a board comprised of Sleep Country and Endy senior management that will provide general oversight.

"This acquisition will allow us to continue to grow rapidly and exceed customer expectations in a rapidly evolving retail climate, while remaining separate," said Ruparell in a statement.

Sleep Country already sells a mattress-in-a-box product, Bloom, which comes in four different styles and price levels.

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BUENOS AIRES, Argentina - President Donald Trump signed a revised North American trade pact with the leaders of Canada and Mexico on Friday, declaring the deal a major victory for workers. But tensions over tariffs, looming GM layoffs and questions about the pact's prospects in Congress clouded the celebratory moment.

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President Donald Trump, left, holds up his audio translator headphones as he speaks to Argentina's President Mauricio Macri, right, during their meeting at Casa Rosada, Friday, Nov. 30, 2018 in Buenos Aires, Argentina. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina - President Donald Trump signed a revised North American trade pact with the leaders of Canada and Mexico on Friday, declaring the deal a major victory for workers. But tensions over tariffs, looming GM layoffs and questions about the pact's prospects in Congress clouded the celebratory moment.

The U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement is meant to replace the 24-year-old North American Free Trade Agreement, which Trump has long denigrated as a "disaster." The leaders signed the new deal on the sidelines of the Group of 20 summit in Buenos Aires after two years of frequently blistering negotiations. Each country's legislature still must approve.

"This has been a battle, and battles sometimes make great friendships, so it's really terrific," Trump said, before lining up next to Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and outgoing Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto to sign three copies of the deal  Trump using a black marker for his signature scrawl.

The signing came at the beginning of a packed two days of diplomacy for the American president that will conclude with high-stakes talks Saturday with Chinese President Xi Jinping on ways to ease an escalating trade war between the two countries.

"There's some good signs," Trump said. "We'll see what happens."

President Donald Trump, Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, right, and Mexico's President Enrique Pena Neto, left, participate in the USMCA signing ceremony, Friday, Nov. 30, 2018 in Buenos Aires, Argentina. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

For the new North American trade deal, legislative approval is the next step. That could prove a difficult task in the United States, especially now that Democrats  instead of Trump's Republicans  will control the House come January. Democrats and their allies in the labour movement are already demanding changes.

Within hours of the signing, Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer said the deal must have stronger labour and environmental protections in order to get majority support in Congress and "must prove to be a net benefit to middle-class families and working people."

Democratic House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi  who is seeking to become House speaker in the new year  quipped, "The trade agreement formerly known as Prince  no, I mean, formerly known as NAFTA, is a work in progress."

Still, Trump projected confidence, saying: "It's been so well reviewed I don't expect to have very much of a problem."

Trump is describing USMCA as a landmark trade agreement. But most companies are just relieved that it largely preserves the status quo established by NAFTA: a regional trade bloc that allows most products to travel between the United States, Canada and Mexico duty free. During the negotiations, Trump repeatedly threatened to pull out, a move that would have disrupted businesses that have built complicated supply chains that straddle the borders of the three countries.

The new agreement does make some changes to the way business is done in North America. It updates the trade pact to reflect the rise of the digital economy since the original NAFTA took effect nearly a quarter century ago. It gives U.S. dairy farmers a bit more access to the protected Canadian market.

President Donald Trump, center, shakes hands with Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau as Mexico's President Enrique Pena Nieto looks on after they signed a new United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement that is replacing the NAFTA trade deal, during a ceremony at a hotel before the start of the G20 summit in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Friday, Nov. 30, 2018. The USMCA, as Trump refers to it, must still be approved by lawmakers in all three countries. (AP Photo/Martin Mejia)

The biggest changes target the auto industry. The new deal encourages auto companies to invest or expand in the United States and Canada, not low-wage Mexico, by requiring that 40 per cent of a car's content be made where auto workers earn at least $16 an hour; otherwise, the cars won't qualify for USMCA's duty-free treatment.

Trudeau said the deal "lifts the risk of serious economic uncertainty" and said Canada worked hard for a "new, modernized agreement." But he also used the ceremony to call on Trump to remove steel and aluminum tariffs the U.S. slapped on Canada and Mexico. Trudeau also referenced recent downsizing moves by GM in North America as a "heavy blow."

Pena Nieto, who will hand off to his successor Saturday, said he was honoured to be at the signing on the final day of his administration, calling it the culmination of a long process "that allow us to overcome differences and to conciliate our visions."

Before Trump arrived in Argentina he injected additional drama into the proceedings by cancelling a planned meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Also of interest was whether Trump would have an encounter with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who was attending amid global dismay over the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

Trump gathered with the leaders for a traditional group photo, but did not appear to acknowledge Putin or the crown prince as he walked by. A senior White House official said Trump and bin Salman exchanged pleasantries during a subsequent leaders' session. The official spoke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitive nature of the crown prince's situation.

Trump told reporters later: "We had no discussion. We might, but we had none."

The president insisted he cancelled his meeting with Putin because of Russia's actions in Ukraine and not because of the federal investigation into Russian interference in his own election.

White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders made the same point: "On the basis of what took place with respect to the ships and the sailors, that was the sole reason."

Trump announced via Twitter Thursday that he was cancelling the planned meeting with Putin over Russia's seizure of Ukrainian vessels. The abrupt announcement came not long after his former lawyer, Michael Cohen, admitted lying to Congress to cover up that he was negotiating a real estate deal in Moscow on Trump's behalf during the Republican presidential primary in 2016. The news ensured any meeting with Putin would have put a spotlight on the U.S. special counsel's investigation into whether the Trump campaign colluded with Moscow during the election. Trump has denied any wrongdoing.

Russia's foreign minister Sergey Lavrov called the cancellation a missed opportunity, saying in remarks from Buenos Aires that were carried by Russian state television that he doubted "this move would help settling a number of important international problems." He added: "Love can't be forced."

Trump opened Friday with a cordial meeting at the Casa Rosada with Argentine President Mauricio Macri, a longtime business acquaintance. Posing for photos in the gilded Salon Blanco, Trump said they would discuss trade, military purchases and other issues.

The U.S. businessman-turned-politician noted he had worked with Macri's father on real estate developments and joked that when he and Macri first met they'd never have imagined their future roles on the world stage.

Trump and First Lady Melania Trump concluded the evening with the other leaders at a formal dinner and cultural performance at Teatro Colon.

___

Associated Press writers Rob Gillies in Toronto and Deb Riechmann, Darlene Superville and Paul Wiseman in Washington contributed to this report.
BUENOS AIRES, Argentina - President Donald Trump abruptly cancelled a planned meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin as he headed to the Group of 20 Nations summit Thursday, citing Russia's seizure of Ukrainian vessels as a source of tension in a relationship he has fostered in the face of criticism.

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President Donald Trump speaks to reporters on the South Lawn before leaving the White House in Washington, Thursday, Nov. 29, 2018 to attend the G20 Summit in Buenos Aires, Argentina. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina - President Donald Trump abruptly cancelled a planned meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin as he headed to the Group of 20 Nations summit Thursday, citing Russia's seizure of Ukrainian vessels as a source of tension in a relationship he has fostered in the face of criticism.

Trump tweeted his decision from Air Force One shortly after his former lawyer, Michael Cohen, revealed he had lied to Congress to cover up that he was negotiating a real estate deal in Moscow on Trump's behalf during the Republican presidential primary in 2016.

The news ensured any meeting with Putin would spotlight the special counsel's investigation into whether the Trump campaign colluded with Moscow during the campaign. Trump has denied any wrongdoing and on Thursday called Cohen a "weak person" looking for a reduced sentence.

The president arrived in Argentina late Thursday for a global economic meeting expected to be dominated by Trump's seat-of-his-pants diplomacy. The Putin meeting  a continuation of a controversial summit between the two in July  was just one of a series of high-stakes items on Trump's agenda, which also includes talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping on how to ease a rising trade war.

Although Trump had previously floated cancelling the meeting with Putin, White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders told reporters he did not make the final decision until boarding the plane for Argentina and speaking with national security adviser John Bolton and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. The Kremlin said it had not been formally notified of the decision, which came hours after Moscow said the meeting was on track.

"I look forward to a meaningful Summit again as soon as this situation is resolved!" Trump tweeted from Air Force One.

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko praised Trump on Twitter, saying, "This is how great leaders act!"

Sanders also said Trump will not hold formal meetings with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and South Korea's Moon Jae-in, but will instead speak informally with those leaders at the conference. She did not offer any explanation for those changes to the schedule.

President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump walk from Air Force One, Thursday, Nov. 29, 2018, as they arrive at the Ministro Pistarini international airport in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Trump traveled to Argentina to attend the G20 summit. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

The stakes for the sit-down between Putin and Trump were raised this week by Russia's stepped-up aggression in the Kerch Strait, stemming from its years long occupation of Eastern Ukraine. Russia recently seized three Ukrainian vessels and crews. Russia said Ukraine didn't have permission to pass between Russia's mainland and the Crimean Peninsula. Ukraine insisted its vessels abided by maritime laws.

Tensions had already been high over the war in Syria and allegations of Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential race. Trump has sought to improve the relationship with Putin, but was roundly criticized after the July summit in Helsinki for failing to publicly denounce Russia's interference and appearing to accept Putin's denials of such activity.

While Trump's statement was strongly worded, he has made similarly dramatic moves before only to walk them back. In the spring he cancelled a planned summit with North Korea's Kim Jong Un, only to revive the meeting a week later.

The G-20 meeting in Buenos Aires comes amid growing economic uncertainty and global displeasure with Trump's trade policy.

The most pressing issue on Trump's packed schedule of meetings is whether he can reach a detente with Xi over trade after months in which both sides have raised tariffs on hundreds of billions of dollars of each other's goods, shaking financial markets and threatening the global economy. Without an agreement, the U.S. is set to increase the tariffs on January 1.

Departing the White House Thursday, Trump said he was "very close" to a deal with China, but added, "I don't know that I want to do it, because what we have right now is billions and billions of dollars coming in to the United States in the form of tariffs or taxes."

With China, experts said Trump likely wants to see something come out of the meeting.

"I think it's in President Trump's interest to have this meeting be viewed as a success," said David Dollar, a senior fellow in the John L. Thornton China Center at the Brookings Institution. "The markets are looking for some kind of dialing down of the rhetoric, and in particular markets are hoping there will not be an escalation of U.S. tariffs on January 1. So there's a foundation for some kind of agreement."

That approach leaves open the possibility for a preliminary or vague deal. Trump's Singapore summit with Kim produced a vague agreement on denuclearization with few, if any, specifics. Since then progress between the two nations appears to have slowed, but Trump continues to hail the meeting as a historic breakthrough.

Trump's advisers have sought to manage expectations heading into the talks, though some have projected optimism.

"If China will come to the table, or in this case the dinner table, with some new ideas and some new attitudes and some new co-operation, as the president said, there is a good possibility they could make a deal," economic adviser Larry Kudlow said this week. "He's open to it. So nothing is written in cement or stone."

On the ground for just two days, Trump is packing every moment with diplomacy, conducting bilateral meetings with numerous world leaders as well as group events.

Trump's visit will also put him in the same room as Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman for the first time since the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. The U.S. resident and prominent critic of the Saudi royal family was brutally killed last month upon entering the country's consulate in Istanbul, Turkey, a plot that sparked a diplomatic row that cast the future of the U.S.-Saudi relationship into doubt.

U.S. intelligence officials have concluded that the Saudi crown prince, known as MBS, must have at least known of the plot. Lawmakers in both parties have called on Trump to, at minimum, avoid the young heir apparent as punishment.

But Trump publicly announced his decision to effectively give the prince a free pass in the name of "America First," citing vastly exaggerated claims of Saudi military contracts and investments in the United States. The president also views Saudi Arabia as a vital counterbalance to Iranian influence in the Middle East.

While no official sit-down is scheduled, Trump has kept the door open to a casual meeting.

"I don't know that he's going to be there," Trump said last week. "But if he is, I would."

The crown prince arrived in Argentina on Wednesday and on Tuesday White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said, "I wouldn't say that we've ruled out any interaction."

Taking office on an "America First" platform, Trump has long had an uneasy relationship with his position on the world stage and has largely eschewed taking on a moral leadership role. Instead he has tailored his portfolio to promote American interests and to sow disruption. He has slapped tariffs on the European Union and pulled the U.S. out of the landmark Paris Climate Accord and the Iran nuclear deal. Trump also has suggested he might be willing to pull the U.S. out of NATO if member counties don't significantly boost their defence spending.
PORTLAND, Maine - Trade hostility from across the ocean was supposed to take a snip out of the U.S. lobster business, but the industry is getting a lifeline from its northern neighbour.

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FILE - In this Sept. 5, 2018, file photo a lobster walks over the top of a lobster trap off the coast of Biddeford, Maine. Heavy demand from Canada is buoying the American lobster industry as both countries head into the busy holiday export season. It's a positive sign for the U.S. seafood dealers and fishermen even as the industry struggles with Chinese tariffs. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty, File)

PORTLAND, Maine - Trade hostility from across the ocean was supposed to take a snip out of the U.S. lobster business, but the industry is getting a lifeline from its northern neighbour.

Heavy demand from Canada is buoying American lobster as both countries head into the busy holiday export season, according to federal statistics and members of the industry. It's a positive sign for U.S. seafood dealers and fishermen, even as the industry struggles with Chinese tariffs.

China emerged as a major consumer of American lobster earlier this decade, but the country slapped heavy tariffs on exports in July amid its trade kerfuffle with President Donald Trump's administration. Lobster exports slowed to a crawl.

Industry watchers forecast the move as a potential calamity for U.S. seafood, but Canada has boosted the value of its lobster imports from America by more than a third so far this year, up to more than $180 million through September.

Canada has its own lobster fishing industry, which harvests the same species as U.S. fishermen, and the country sells lobsters domestically as well as to Europe and Asia. The country's importing so many from the U.S. this year because it needs enough supply to send to China, said members of the lobster industry on both sides of the border.

"They go there to go to China, to avoid the tariffs," said Spiros Tourkakis, executive vice-president of East Coast Seafood, a dealer in Topsfield, Massachusetts.

The brisk sales to Canada are among a number of unexpectedly positive signs in a U.S. lobster fishery that had been primed for a difficult year. The lobster fishing business is based mostly in Maine, where the catch fell by about a sixth last year to a little less than 111 million pounds. The price to fishermen was also down slightly last year.

This year's catch total won't be available until early 2019, but it appears to have been a strong year, and prices to fishermen seemed to be a little bit better, said Beth Casoni, executive director of the Massachusetts Lobstermen's Association. Lobsters have also been easy to find in stores for domestic consumers, and the retail and wholesale prices have been competitive with recent years.

"Most of the guys feel like they've had a pretty good year," Casoni said. "About a month ago everybody was really concerned about not going to China due to the tariffs. From what I've heard, there hasn't been much of an impact locally."

The Chinese tariffs remain a concern for New England's international seafood dealers, who have seen China grow from a tiny fraction of the international market to one of its biggest buyers. The country took about 5 million pounds of U.S. lobster, valued at $40 million, from July to September last year, and saw those number about halved this year.

The loss of Chinese market share has come at a time when American lobster shippers have also lost ground in Europe, as Canada and the European Union reached a seafood trade deal that put the U.S. at a disadvantage.

A big test for the U.S. lobster industry will be the Christmas holiday in Europe and Chinese New Year, which are typically major shipping periods for the crustaceans.

"My latest thinking is that the U.S. economy is strong and this is going to carry over into lobster," said John Sackton, a seafood analyst and publisher of SeafoodNews.com. "Exports have not stopped, just down about 50 per cent, so some are still being shipped."
BUENOS AIRES, Argentina - Canada is confident it will win legal challenges to American steel and aluminum tariffs that remain despite the new NAFTA deal, Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland said Friday in Buenos Aires following a high-profile signing ceremony for the trade treaty.

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SEAN KILPATRICK / THE CANADIAN PRESS Prime Minister Justin Trudeau delivers short remarks during the Women's Economic Empowerment Conference in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on Thursday, Nov. 29, 2018. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina - Canada is confident it will win legal challenges to American steel and aluminum tariffs that remain despite the new NAFTA deal, Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland said Friday in Buenos Aires following a high-profile signing ceremony for the trade treaty.

"We do not accept the legality of these tariffs," she said. "We have challenged and are continuing our legal challenges. We think this is simply wrong and frankly, we are very confident we are going to win those legal challenges."

Freeland's remarks offer a glimpse into the political and legal heavy lifting set to follow Friday's signing of the trade pact  an agreement reached through hand-wringing negotiations and a ceremony confirmed only at the 11th hour.

U.S. President Donald Trump conceded Friday the process to reach the United-States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, or USMCA, was a battle but went on to say that "battles sometimes make great friendships."

Canadian officials had insisted Canada would not take part in a signing ceremony unless the steel and aluminum tariffs were lifted. Trump imposed them in June, ostensibly on the national-security grounds, and has refused to budge on them.

But Canada's refusal to sign the deal with the tariffs in place softened this week, said one insider: "At the end of the day, removing the uncertainty from the rest of the economy is too important to pass up."

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, right to left, participates in a signing ceremony for the new North American Free Trade Agreement with President of the United States Donald Trump and President of Mexico Enrique Pena Nieto in Buenos Aires, Argentina on Friday, Nov. 30, 2018. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick

In his remarks Friday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau stressed the importance of locking down an agreement while he stood with Trump and outgoing Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto.

Signing on to the three-way trade agreement alleviates the serious economic uncertainty that lingered throughout the negotiations, Trudeau said, adding uncertainty would have only caused more economic damage had the deal not been reached.

"There's much more work to do in lowering trade barriers and in fostering growth that benefits everyone," Trudeau said. "As a result (of the new agreement), the tariff-free access NAFTA guaranteed for more than 70 per cent of Canada's total exports is secure. That's essential for businesses, families, jobs, entrepreneurs, and hardworking people in every corner of our country. "

Trudeau raised the tariff issue with Trump before the three leaders emerged together for the signing ceremony, said officials in the Prime Minister's Office.

A Canadian official also said that the big advantage of signing onto the agreement now is a side letter on the auto industry, which exempts Canada from potential tariffs on exports of up to 2.6 million vehicles  well above current levels.

Friday marked an important deadline for the trade pact because a new Mexican president takes over Saturday who might not honour the tentative deal struck by his predecessor.

Trump acknowledged that Friday was Pena Nieto's last day in office and congratulated him on the achievement of signing on to the deal.

The signing of the three-way trade pact is largely ceremonial because it still needs to be ratified by all three countries before it can formally take effect.

U.S. lawmakers have already indicated they don't expect to tackle the USMCA  or CUSMA, as Ottawa now calls it, except when calling it the "new NAFTA"  until after the new Congress is sworn in early next year.

The deal  32 chapters, 11 annexes and 12 side letters  sets new rules for the auto sector, including a higher threshold for North American content and rules requiring that 40 per cent of car parts be made by workers paid at least $16 an hour.

It preserves a contentious dispute-resolution system the U.S. dearly wanted gone, extends patent protections for biologic drugs and allows U.S. farmers a 3.6-per-cent share of Canada's famously guarded market for poultry, eggs and dairy products  a concession that dismayed Canadian dairy producers.

Earlier this month, a coalition of no fewer than 40 Republicans in Congress wrote to Trump urging him not to sign the agreement, expressing disdain for "inappropriate" and "insulting" language that commits the three countries to supporting and protecting sexual orientation and gender-identity rights.

Separately, a smaller group of Republican senators even tried to convince the White House to hit the gas pedal on ratification efforts, fearful that the new influx of Democrats in the new year will make congressional approval of the deal "significantly more difficult."

And just this week, Democrats whose regions were hit hard by deep job and production cuts at General Motors took their frustrations out on an agreement they thought was supposed to foster North American growth in the auto sector.

"If we're going to see more plants going to Mexico, I'm not going to support NAFTA 2.0," said Michigan Rep. Debbie Dingell. "These are peoples' lives; these are people who work in my district and I'm working hard to keep those jobs here."

With files from James McCarten in Washington

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OTTAWA - A Vice Media reporter must give the RCMP material he gathered for stories about an accused terrorist, the Supreme Court of Canada has ruled in a case that pitted press freedoms against the investigative powers of police.

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Journalist Ben Makuch of Vice Media arrives to the Supreme Court of Canada in Ottawa on May 23, 2018. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick

OTTAWA - A Vice Media reporter must give the RCMP material he gathered for stories about an accused terrorist, the Supreme Court of Canada has ruled in a case that pitted press freedoms against the investigative powers of police.

In its 9-0 decision Friday, the high court said the state's interest in prosecuting crime outweighed the media's right to privacy in gathering the news when all the factors in play were taken into account.

Vice Media said the ruling made it a "dark day for press freedom."

Organizations representing Canadian journalists also decried the decision as setback that imperils their work.

"Police have an important job to do in protecting us from crime, but they cannot expect journalists to do that job for them," said Martin O'Hanlon, president of CWA Canada, a union that represents over 6,000 media workers. "The media is not, nor should it ever be, an arm of the state."

In 2014, reporter Ben Makuch wrote three articles about the involvement of Farah Mohamed Shirdon, formerly of Calgary, with the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant.

Shirdon had left Canada for Turkey in March of that year. A month later, he appeared in an ISIL propaganda video that turned up on the internet. He tore up his Canadian passport, threw it into a fire and said, "With help from Allah, we are coming to slaughter you."

Exchanges between Makuch and Shirdon through a text-messaging service were crucial to the articles.

In 2015, the RCMP obtained a production order under the Criminal Code, directing Vice Media and Makuch to provide documents and data relating to communications with Shirdon, who might now be dead.

Makuch brought an application to quash the production order, but it was dismissed  a decision upheld by the Ontario Court of Appeal.

The Supreme Court agreed to examine Makuch's case, with a full bench hearing arguments last May.

In a previous case, the court had set out nine conditions for assessing the reasonableness of a search of a media outlet.

Vice Media argued at the Supreme Court that lower courts had been incorrectly applying, or failing to apply, that balancing test.

Philip Tunley, a lawyer for the multimedia outlet, told the high court there should be clear protections for journalists when enforcement agencies come knocking.

He said the result of current law and practice was "a chilling effect" on the media's important role in gathering and publishing news in Canada.

Federal lawyer Croft Michaelson told the hearing there was "no merit" to criticisms of the legal framework in place for deciding on police access to media materials.

In its arguments, the Crown called the test a principled and flexible framework intended to curb any potential chilling effect that an order might have on the ability of the media to do its work.

Although the Supreme Court was unanimous in dismissing Makuch's appeal, the judges provided two distinct sets of reasons.

Justice Michael Moldaver said on behalf of the majority that the framework continues to provide a suitable model for considering applications for search warrants and production orders relating to the media, though certain elements should be tweaked.

Even then, Moldaver wrote, the production order for Makuch's materials should stand because disclosure of the materials would not reveal a confidential source, no "off the record" or "not for attribution" communications would be disclosed, there is no alternative source through which the materials could be obtained, and Shirdon used the media to publicize extremist views.

Moldaver added that he struggled to see why a chilling effect should be presumed in such matters, saying this "should be assessed on a case-by-case basis."

Tunley had no comment Friday, and it was not clear when  or even if  the materials would be given to the RCMP.

The Mounties said they respect the judicial process but would not comment on the next steps in their investigation.

"This is a dark day for press freedom, which is a basic tenet of democracy," Vice Media said in a statement. "While we've lost this battle, nothing can shake our belief that a free press is instrumental to a truthful understanding of the world in which we live."

Makuch, who is based in New York, was not at the court for the decision's release, but he tweeted: "I am profoundly disappointed in todays ruling, not just as an appellant in this case or a reporter, but as a citizen of Canada."

The Canadian Association of Journalists and Canadian Journalists for Free Expression also called the ruling deeply disappointing.

"It creates a chill for anyone who wants to speak truth to power or expose government wrongdoing," said CAJ president and CJFE board member Karyn Pugliese. "The country's highest court erred significantly in todays decision."

 Follow @Jim Bronskill on Twitter
The Winnipeg Police Service spiced up its traditional holiday campaign against impaired driving Friday, showing off a newly acquired roadside drug-screening device meant to determine whether a driver has recently used either cannabis or cocaine.

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The Winnipeg Police Service spiced up its traditional holiday campaign against impaired driving Friday, showing off a newly acquired roadside drug-screening device meant to determine whether a driver has recently used either cannabis or cocaine.

The Draeger DrugTest 5000 will be deployed at police Checkstops, said WPS Const. Stephane Fontaine, the forces impaired-driving countermeasures co-ordinator. However, police wont be using it to test drivers without first having reasonable suspicion theyve been using drugs.

"If you suspect that theres been recent consumption of those two drugs, but youre unable to form the grounds that you need to arrest for impaired driving, this is a tool to help you either eliminate going to an arrest or, ultimately, supporting your suspicion," Fontaine said.

"Keep in mind, if the person is showing gross signs of impairment, this device will not be used."

In those cases, police would already have a reason to suspect drug-impaired driving, and would move onto the next step towards laying an impaired-driving charge: formally confirming that suspicion by having the driver evaluated by one of 32 Winnipeg police officers trained to recognize drug impairment, demanding a sample of the drivers blood for testing, or both. (A new federal law makes it a criminal offence for drivers to have more than certain amounts of drugs in their blood.)

The WPS has seven of the $5,000 machines, which are the only roadside drug-screening device approved by the federal government. The force is just beginning to train officers on how to use them, Fontaine said, and each district will receive its own device.

A Free Press reporter volunteered for a screening by the DrugTest 5000.

The reporter spent roughly 30 seconds swabbing the inside of his mouth with a sample collector attached to a plastic cassette, which was then inserted into the bulky analyzer device by an officer. About five minutes later, the device printed out a negative result, indicating the saliva didnt contain any chemical traces of cannabis or cocaine above the devices measurement threshold.

Fontaine said the new device is meant to detect cannabis use within the past six hours, but couldnt say exactly how long a driver should wait after using cannabis before getting behind the wheel.

"Its not a safe thing for me to provide you with some magical number, because of all of the different variables that come into play when youre dealing with cannabis," Fontaine said.

"Everyone wants to compare it to alcohol... We cant do that same correlation with cannabis, and thats simple reality."

The police recommendation to cannabis users is simply: "Not to consume and drive under the influence," he said.

Fontaine wouldnt comment on whether Winnipeg police have noticed an increase in cannabis-impaired driving since Oct. 17, when the drug was legalized in Canada for non-medical use. Drug-impaired driving arrests are only confirmed months later, he said, "when we have the toxicology report back."

"Its very premature to comment on any stats, just because its such a short time period since official legalization," he said. "Ultimately, theres a lot of time that needs to pass before we have all of the answers."

Winnipeg police will start operating the holiday season Checkstop program this weekend. Police are encouraging inebriated revellers to avoid driving by using cabs, public transit or designated drivers.

"Our message is simple: if youre under the influence of alcohol or drugs, dont drive," Fontaine told reporters.

solomon.israel@freepress.mb.caTwitter: @sol_israel
The province is privatizing its wildfire-fighting service, a move that could mean the end of 52 jobs, a union spokeswoman says.

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The province is privatizing its wildfire-fighting service, a move that could mean the end of 52 jobs, a union spokeswoman says.

The province announced Thursday that Babcock Canada will provide wildfire suppression in Manitoba. The global engineering company claims to be one of the largest aerial firefighting businesses in the world, flying 5,500 missions last year.

The province expects to save at least $1 million annually, money that would have gone towards aircraft warehouse repairs and upgrades to smaller planes, Infrastructure Minister Ron Schuler said.

"We believe that this will be a huge saving right up front when there is a fire starting out," Schuler said. "We believe this is very safe. We're getting a very good product and we're getting good value for the taxpayer."

Schuler said the agreement comes after a competitive bidding process that began in August. Manitoba still owns its fleet of seven water bombers, but will be leasing the aircrafts to Babcock, which will partner with Air Spray  another firefighting service  in the province, but the Manitoba Wildfire Program staff will control aircraft deployment.

The deal has the Manitoba Government and General Employees Union sounding the alarm.

"It's extremely frustrating and disappointing to know that the fire crews that we have, that the professionals we have that protect Manitobans  that work is going to be farmed out, it's been sold off," MGEU president Michelle Gawronsky said.

"This is a private company, an international private company that their bottom line is going to be what's important to them, not necessarily ensuring that Manitobans' safety is coming first."

Gawronsky said up to 52 pilots, mechanics and people in clerical positions will be affected by the decision. It is not yet clear when Babcock will take over, but Gawronsky said she has already received notices that as of March 30  when the union's no layoff clause expires  there will be job losses.

Babcock Canada will now provide wildfire suppression in Manitoba. The global engineering company claims to be one of the largest aerial firefighting businesses in the world. (Judy Klassen / The Canadian Press files)

"We don't know how many of these (employees), if any of them, are going to have jobs when this is done," she said.

"What is happening to all these members that work in any of the places right now that this government is busy privatizing, or cutting or slashing? And again, this is a government that promised to provide and protect services Manitobans rely on, and to protect the people that provide those services."

Schuler said Babcock representatives will be meeting with the affected workers to discuss future job opportunities.

"I cant speak for the company. I am under the impression that the company would like to retain some of their services, but... I dont want to get into labour negotiations. That is between the corporation and the employees," he said.

The province is no longer accepting proposals for general transportation air services and air-ambulance service posted in August, as well. If companies that expressed interest can't meet safety and speed requirements, privatization may not occur.

 With files from Jessica Botelho-Urbanski

danton.unger@freepress.mb.ca

jessica.botelho@freepress.mb.ca
While Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was in Argentina, signing the new United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, Manitoba Premier Brian Pallister was in Winnipeg, insisting the federal government now turn its focus to trade issues closer to home.

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While Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was in Argentina, signing the new United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, Manitoba Premier Brian Pallister was in Winnipeg, insisting the federal government now turn its focus to trade issues closer to home.

"The new NAFTA will be arrived at, and all free-traders and all Canadians who understand the nature of our economy as a trading nation will breathe a palpable sigh of relief. Thats dangerous," Pallister told reporters Friday.

"Its dangerous if we dont act on a larger issue. Imagine if we had in our country equal to a seven per cent tariff we impose among provinces on each and every transaction that we made with goods or services  seven per cent additional charge discouraging to do business with each other. We do."

The premier also asserted Canadian families are losing approximately $1,500 per year due to internal trade barriers.

"Ive been working on this file for a long time, and Ive seen only gradual progress. I think now because Canadians understand better than they did before the debates around free trade... The time to strike on some of these items, getting these barriers down, is now," he said.

Provinces have been working to reduce or align regulations cross-country for 23 items, including food and meat inspection, restrictions on tire sizes and weights, and building codes.

Dominic LeBlanc, the federal minister responsible for internal trade, said in a statement Wednesday the Canadian government is already at work on some of the items Pallister mentioned. Ottawa is clarifying labelling regulations for food, modernizing meat inspection and standardizing what can be called vodka across the country, Leblanc said.

Pallister said he wants to see the federal government acknowledge some of its own regulatory hurdles, pointing to the federal finance minister's budget update last week that alluded to provincial barriers.

"First step: admit youve got a problem. In Bill Morneaus statement, he admitted the provinces had a problem. He didnt say anything about the federal problem, so lets start with that," the premier said.

Pallister will raise the issue at the next first ministers' conference, scheduled for Dec. 7 in Montreal.

jessica.botelho@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @_jessbu
OTTAWA  The Manitoba government will not intervene in Saskatchewans court challenge of the federal governments carbon tax.

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OTTAWA  The Manitoba government will not intervene in Saskatchewans court challenge of the federal governments carbon tax.

"We continue to consider options for our own legal challenge," a spokesman for Premier Brian Pallister wrote Thursday evening, on the eve of the deadline to take part in the Saskatchewan lawsuit.

Today, at 4 p.m., will mark the deadline for provinces to weigh in, some four months after Saskatchewans government asked its Court of Appeal to rule on whether the federal plan is constitutional.

The federal Liberals have asked all provinces to put a minimum price on emissions of $20 per tonne by Jan. 1. For provinces that dont, Ottawa will implement a federal carbon tax and rebate the money to residents.

Pallister launched a plan a year ago that would have met that requirement, but fell short of Ottawas escalating carbon levy in 2020.

He withdrew that plan in early October, claiming Ottawa hadnt adequately considered Manitobas hydroelectric glut in insisting on eventually raising the levy.

Thats why Ottawas planning to impose a tax in April on Manitoba, New Brunswick, Saskatchewan and Ontario.

On Thursday, New Brunswick served notice it will follow Ontario in intervening in support of Saskatchewans suit, which argues the move is unconstitutional.

Meanwhile, British Columbia opted Tuesday to support Ottawas plan.

No other provinces are expected to serve notice up until todays deadline. After that point, each has weeks to submit formal interventions.

Manitoba sought an independent legal opinion last year, which found Ottawa had a right to impose a tax on provinces, but had to accommodate provincial initiatives that use different means to achieve the same objectives.

Ontario recently penned its own carbon plan; its unclear whether Ottawa will consider it as it had set a Sept. 1 deadline to submit such proposals.

Federal Environment Minister Catherine McKenna has decried the politicization of her carbon-pricing initiative, while repeatedly signalling out conservative governments for what she deems insufficient action to tackle climate change.

 with files from The Canadian Press

dylan.robertson@freepress.mb.ca
After more than two years of assisting women in a North African conflict zone, a local grassroots group is taking an indefinite break.

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After more than two years of assisting women in a North African conflict zone, a local grassroots group is taking an indefinite break.

The Winnipeg Womens Resource Centre in Bor, South Sudan, is suspending operations "indefinitely," it said in its final newsletter, dated Wednesday.

"I dont want to let it go," said Rebecca Deng, one of the centres founders, who arrived in Winnipeg as a South Sudanese refugee more than a decade ago.

In 2013, after getting the news 33 women had been massacred at St. Andrews Cathedral in Bor, the South Sudanese community in Winnipeg rallied. They decided to try to help the women in Bor by providing them with literacy and job-skills training and counselling.

In 2014, a board was formed, plans were made and money was raised.

In 2016, Deng travelled to Bor to get things going and deliver 24 sewing machines for job training. When she landed in the capital, Juba, she had to dodge bullets after the city erupted in fighting.

That didnt stop Deng, who was determined to get to Bor and get the resource centre programs up and running before returning to Winnipeg.

Over time, the problems of working in a developing country dealing with conflict and facing food shortages were many, Deng said.

The banking system and transferring money was a huge challenge. Not having a building of its own nor a non-government organization on the ground in Bor to work with was also difficult for the grassroots group based in Winnipeg.

Still, it accomplished a lot, she said.

Its literacy class included 56 women, who got training in math and basic business skills. Three sewing classes trained 24 women at a time.

Three graduates got jobs with non-government organizations (including War Child) and several others found work.

"Elder circles" met several times a week outdoors, with an average of 17 women discussing topics such as gender-based violence and addictions. The goal was to get the women talking and developing their own support networks, Deng said.

Deng knows the value of supporting women. The single mom, who didnt speak, read or write English when she arrived in Canada, has since finished adult education and is completing a university degree.

After working, studying and trying to manage the resource centres programs from afar, Deng said, she needs a rest. "Im taking a break to regroup."

She hopes non-profit organizations the group has approached about partnerships in Bor will come around to provide training for women in the city of more than 300,000. "I dont want to give that up."

The board members and those who helped establish the Winnipeg Womens Resource Centre said it was time to "lay it down."

"South Sudan is hard place to work," said Cathy Campbell, a retired St. Matthews Anglican Church priest who befriended many South Sudanese women in the community. She said women in South Sudan and in Canada benefited from the alliances and friendships that were formed.

"We got a huge amount done," said Campbell, a board member of the Canadian Foodgrains Bank. "Some of the relationships will, hopefully, continue to bear fruit in a bigger way."

The Winnipeg Womens Resource Centre in Bor raised and committed $91,370 from 2016 to the end of 2018 for its programming. It spent $77,426 in South Sudan and $4,687 in Canada for a total of $82,113.

The balance  $9,257  is being held by the Primates World Relief and Development Fund, which has committed to spend the money in South Sudan.

carol.sanders@freepress.mb.ca
A new law to protect municipal employees who wish to expose serious wrongdoing in the workplace comes into effect today.

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A new law to protect municipal employees who wish to expose serious wrongdoing in the workplace comes into effect today.

However, not all Manitoba local government employees will be covered, and some may never be because municipal councils must pass a resolution to be covered under the legislation.

Winnipeg and Brandon have been the first to do so, and their workers will immediately be protected.

Earlier this year, the legislative assembly passed amendments to the Public Interest Disclosure (Whistleblower Protection) Act to broaden protections to municipalities, but the legislation gives municipalities the flexibility to determine whether or not to be covered by its provisions.

The legislation also extends protections to school divisions and districts and enhances the investigative powers of the provincial ombudsman.

Finance Minister Scott Fielding, a former Winnipeg city councillor, invited all municipalities to participate.

"Its our duty to protect employees who step forward and speak up," he said at a news conference Friday.

Mayor Brian Bowman welcomed the new protections for municipal employees, saying it will strengthen public accountability.

"Ill say to our valued members of the public service that we absolutely want them to do the right thing, and we want them to feel safe and protected in doing their best to address concerns that they have in the workplace," he said.

Bowman added that local taxpayers may have been better protected from some of the scandals that have rocked the city in the past had the legislation been in place earlier.

Ralph Groening, who was elected as president of the 137-member Association of Manitoba Municipalities this week, said he could not estimate how many municipalities will choose to be covered by the legislation.

"There are complexities to small communities, so that is the challenge and thats why we requested flexibility (to opt in)," he said, noting that some local governments employ as few as three or four administrative staff.

Groening said he anticipated that other cities, such as Selkirk and Portage la Prairie, may be next to opt in.

The Manitoba Civil Service Commission and the provincial ombudsmans office will provide guidance and education to municipalities about the new act.

The legislation authorizes the ombudsman to receive and investigate complaints of reprisals against employees and to make recommendations to address acts or threats of reprisals.

It also clarifies which disclosures are to be investigated by a designated officer of a municipality and which by the ombudsman. It also strengthens the investigative powers of designated officers. And it requires that an investigator take steps to protect the identity and procedural rights of all people involved in the investigation.

Further, it strengthens protection for whistleblowers by prohibiting disclosure of their identities in civil court proceedings or administrative tribunal hearings.

The amendments also ensure that a review of the act is conducted every five years.

The legislation was first brought in to protect provincial employees.

larry.kusch@freepress.mb.ca
While writing her fascinating book, The Politics of Resentment, political scientist Katherine Cramer visited communities throughout Wisconsin to learn about the concerns of local residents. In small towns and rural communities, Cramer heard that residents were frustrated by not receiving their fair share.

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Opinion

While writing her fascinating book, The Politics of Resentment, political scientist Katherine Cramer visited communities throughout Wisconsin to learn about the concerns of local residents. In small towns and rural communities, Cramer heard that residents were frustrated by not receiving "their fair share."

They didnt get their fair share of decision-making power or their fair share of funding from governments. But most notably, residents of small towns and rural communities felt they didnt get their fair share of respect.

It was this feeling of resentment  that residents of small towns and rural communities werent given respect  that partly fuelled support for Donald Trump in rural America in the 2016 presidential election. When the results rolled in, Trump lost badly in the cities and narrowly edged out Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton in the suburbs. But Trump scored landslide victories in small town and rural America.

After the election, Cramer returned to the Wisconsin small towns she had visited to talk to residents about why they had voted the way they did. She confirmed that Trumps belligerent populism and his willingness to shake up the status quo in Washington, D.C., had resonated. Urbanites had not been listening to the concerns of rural Americans, they reasoned; Trump was a powerful response to the perception they were being ignored.

And in the recent U.S. midterm elections, suburban voters tended to turn away from Trump while rural voters staunchly maintained their support for both the president and the candidates who received his endorsements.

If whole swaths of people in a democracy feel ignored and neglected, we should eventually expect a response. That response in the U.S. came in the form of Trump. Could something similar happen in Canada?

If anything, Canada is even more susceptible than the U.S. to the dangers of the urban-rural divide. Canadian society has become more urban over the course of several decades, with both rural Canadians moving to and immigrants settling in big cities. The 2016 Canadian census reveals that more than 35 per cent of Canadas population now lives in the countrys three biggest cities: Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver. As a result, rural Canadas political power has declined over time and its place in the countrys cultural consciousness has receded.

Canadian media, for example, is now concentrated almost entirely in big cities, and its coverage often reflects this. Rural Canadians may feel that issues covered by the CBC in its national newscasts, for example, reflect the concerns of urban Canadians but not their own, fuelling a feeling of being left out and neglected.

We already see an important urban-rural divide in support for political parties in Canadian elections. Political scientists have long recognized that where Canadians live  in either urban, suburban or rural areas  can have an important effect on who they vote for. For example, Justin Trudeaus Liberal party won a strong majority government in the 2015 election, but that included only one-third of the countrys rural seats. The rest went to the opposition parties, especially the Conservatives.

What can be done to ensure Canadas rural-urban divide doesnt result in a Canadian Trump? Writing in the journal Policy Options last year, Sean Speer and Jamil Jivani addressed precisely this question. Among other answers, Speer and Jivani argue that a more inclusive and respectful politics that incorporates both urban and rural concerns could soothe tensions. The key, they argue, is empathy, which is sometimes lacking when urban and rural Canadian talk about one another. Such empathy is particularly important in political parties and the media.

This brings us to recent news of a distinctly rural fundraiser held by Conservative MP Rachael Harder, who hails from Lethbridge, Alta. Harders local party association was responsible for organizing a "Guns and Guinness" fundraiser, in which participants spent the afternoon shooting at clay pigeons and then convened afterward for a barbecue with beer.

In response, federal Organized Crime Reduction Minister Bill Blair harrumphed that the fundraiser was "incredibly disappointing," given that Canada is "seeing recording levels of tragic homicides involving firearms." Blairs parliamentary secretary, Peter Schiefke, labelled the fundraiser "incredibly irresponsible." Blair and Schiefke, incidentally, are from two of Canadas biggest cities  Toronto and Montreal, respectively.

Of course, the only violence involved in Harders fundraiser was directed at clay pigeons. The view that an afternoon of clay shooting has some sort of connection to violent crime will likely strike rural Canadians as a quaintly urban prejudice.

Is it any wonder, in light of dismissive comments such as Blairs, that rural dwellers feel as though they dont get their fair share of respect? Speer and Jivani are right that bridging the urban-rural divide will require a great deal of empathy. It was disappointing to see a federal minister take the opposite view.

Royce Koop is an associate professor and head of the political studies department at the University of Manitoba.
(Editor's note: Winnipeg mother Katharina Nuss was visited by a social worker recently after an anonymous person reported to Child and Families Services that she let her seven-year-old and three-year-old children walk from their home to a nearby bakery on their own as a "confidence building" exercise. The children were unaccompanied, but never out of her sight. Read our related story. She is petitioning the province to enact a "free-range parenting" law for Manitoba.)

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This article was published 29/11/2018 (1092 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

(Editor's note: Winnipeg mother Katharina Nuss was visited by a social worker recently after an anonymous person reported to Child and Families Services that she let her seven-year-old and three-year-old children walk from their home to a nearby bakery on their own as a "confidence building" exercise. The children were unaccompanied, but never out of her sight. Read our related story. She is petitioning the province to enact a "free-range parenting" law for Manitoba.)

I am encouraged by the amount of discussion and conversation that has been happening around whether the law should more explicitly allow children under twelve more independence.

Dan Lett, in a Nov. 3 column, argues that protecting children requires diligence, and I fully agree with that. As I have said before, my issue is not with receiving a visit from a Child and Family Services worker  I understand and support CFSs need to follow up when a concern is brought to their attention.

Katharina Nuss has started a petition urging Families Minister Heather Stefanson to tell CFS to back off and allow free-range parenting. She's shown with her children, nine-year-old Frieda (bottom), seven-year-old Johanna and Raphael, 3. (Winnipeg Free Press files)

What I take issue with is being told that it is not acceptable for children under 12 to be on their own under any circumstances, and that is the focus of the petition I started.

Lett makes the argument that there is no harm done in being overly cautious, and that a few CFS visits that turn up no concern are a small price to pay as it may keep some children from suffering serious neglect or abuse. It seems to be a sensible argument.

However, this does not take into account that the status quo is not neutral, but is actually doing damage. It prevents children from engaging in activities that are key for healthy development. By denying our children opportunities to gradually learn independence, we put them at risk of a number of conditions and challenges. There is a sizeable body of respectable research that demonstrates the importance of self-directed play, outdoor play, risk-taking, and incremental independence for childrens physical, social, emotional and mental well-being.

According to the Council of Chief Medical Officers of Health of Canada, "Access to active play in nature and outdoors-with its risks-is essential for healthy child development. We recommend increasing children's opportunities for self-directed play outdoors in all settings-at home, at school, in child care, the community and nature."

Psychology professor Dr. Peter Gray says "Over the same decades that play has been declining, we have seen a well-documented increase in all sorts of mental disorders in childhood five to eight times as many children today suffer from major depression or from a clinically significant anxiety disorder as was true in the 1950s"

ParticipAction has identified the protection paradox: "Children are overprotected in the name of safety, but trying to keep them safe by keeping them close and indoors may set them up to be less resilient and more likely to develop chronic diseases in the long run."

"Children are overprotected in the name of safety, but trying to keep them safe by keeping them close and indoors may set them up to be less resilient and more likely to develop chronic diseases in the long run."

Dr. Mariana Brussoni et al. state that "The evidence indicates that the overall positive health effects of increased risky outdoor play provide greater benefit than the health effects associated with avoiding outdoor risky play (and) that risky play supportive environments promoted increased play time, social interactions, creativity and resilience.

"These positive results reflect the importance of supporting childrens risky outdoor play opportunities as a means of promoting childrens health and active lifestyles."

As it stands right now, we have a law, enforced by CFS, which says kids cannot be unsupervised until the age of 12.

Reality, however, paints a different picture of what we as a society deem normal and acceptable. Many children under 12 play outside without a parent hovering over them at all times  as they should, according to the research.

Many children walk to school alone, or with friends or siblings, long before they are 12. School patrols are responsible for helping children (often under 12, often unaccompanied) navigate traffic, before they are 12.

If CFS tells parents that children under 12 should never be unsupervised, that means we are turning a blind eye to many such "violations," and the law is being enforced very selectively.

What I am advocating is not for CFS to ignore a concern when it comes in. Rather, I would like to see a change in the law that explicitly allows for children to have these basic freedoms and learning opportunities, and which creates room for parental discretion based on the circumstances and an individual childs maturity. That way, there is no basis for someone to call CFS solely because a parent is not hovering over their child every moment of their day.

CFS then would not have to get involved in such a situation, which frees up valuable resources for them to attend to children and families that truly do need support and protection. Calls to CFS about children going to the local bakery, with a parent watching, are not, in fact, the ones that save lives, but ones that divert CFS resources from situations where the lives and safety of children are at risk. These situations only make parents and children anxious, and damage CFSs reputation.

To use an analogy: we do not aim to address the dangers of driving by saying that staying out of a car is a small price to pay, but rather by trying to balance the need for safety with peoples need to get places.

To use an analogy: we do not aim to address the dangers of driving by saying that "staying out of a car is a small price to pay," but rather by trying to balance the need for safety with peoples need to get places. Similarly, we should try to strike a balance here.

I believe we need to find a way, while protecting all children's safety and well-being, to also honour their need for healthy development.

A change in the law would do both: it would give children the opportunities to develop the skills needed to become competent and confident in the world, while freeing up valuable CFS resources to focus on children and families that truly do need protection and support.

Additionally, it would reflect the reality that our society already expects and allows our children to have gradually increasing independence before they are 12.
WASHINGTON - Former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort may face additional charges after lawyers in the special counsel's Russia investigation said he lied to them and broke his plea agreement, prosecutors said Friday.

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This article was published 30/11/2018 (1091 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

FILE - In this May 23, 2018, file photo, Paul Manafort, President Donald Trump's former campaign chairman, leaves the Federal District Court after a hearing, in Washington. ManafortAos attorneys are heading to court Friday at a time of frenetic activity in the special counselAos Russia investigation. Prosecutors this week obtained a guilty plea from President Donald TrumpAos longtime fixer Michael Cohen and appear to be lining up charges against another Trump supporter. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana, File)

WASHINGTON - Former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort may face additional charges after lawyers in the special counsel's Russia investigation said he lied to them and broke his plea agreement, prosecutors said Friday.

The latest development in Manafort's case comes at a time of public activity in special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation. Prosecutors obtained a guilty plea from President Donald Trump's longtime legal fixer on Thursday and appear to be lining up charges against another Trump supporter.

The prospect of new charges adds to the legal peril of Manafort, the onetime political consultant who already faces years in prison after being convicted of financial fraud crimes in Virginia and pleading guilty to conspiracy counts in Washington.

U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson set a tentative sentencing date of March 5 as prosecutors plan to disclose next week what they believe are the lies Manafort told since pleading guilty in September and agreeing to co-operate with the investigation.

Manafort's lawyers, who deny that Manafort lied, will have an opportunity to respond and a judge is expected to hear arguments before deciding whether he breached his plea deal.

Prosecutor Andrew Weissmann told the judge that prosecutors had not yet decided whether to file new charges against Manafort for the alleged lies, saying, "That determination has not been made yet."

Attorneys Kevin Downing and Thomas Zehnle, right, with the defense team for Paul Manafort, walk from federal court in Washington, Friday, Nov. 30, 2018, after a scheduling conference. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

The same is true of whether they'll pursue the 10 felony counts they dismissed in Virginia or others they planned to drop in Washington as part of the plea deal, Weissmann said. Jurors deadlocked on those Virginia counts and convicted Manafort on eight others.

Trump is facing continued questions about whether he might pardon Manafort. At the same time, he is playing down the significance of the guilty plea of his former lawyer, Michael Cohen, for lying to Congress.

None of the recent moves by Mueller has definitively answered the question of whether Trump or his associates co-ordinated with Russian interference in the 2016 presidential campaign. And they don't directly accuse the president of any criminal wrongdoing or indicate that the president faces legal jeopardy.

But Trump has continually surfaced in Mueller's investigation, with references to him in Cohen's plea on Thursday and in a draft plea offer extended to conservative writer and conspiracy theorist Jerome Corsi and made public this week.

Trump has expressed sympathy for Manafort, Corsi and his longtime confidant Roger Stone, telling The New York Post this week that they were "very brave" for resisting the Mueller investigation. He said a pardon for Manafort, who has denied lying to investigators, wasn't "off the table."

That prospect of a pardon has drawn criticism, including from Mark Warner, the top Democrat on the Senate intelligence committee who said it would be a "complete abuse of power" and could prompt congressional action against the president.

Manafort faces up to five years in prison on each charge in his plea agreement. He is also set to be sentenced in Virginia in February.

Trump has spent recent weeks casting Mueller's team as hell-bent on destroying the lives of those in the president's orbit. Armed with information passed along by Manafort's attorneys to the president's legal team, Trump has accused prosecutors of dirty tactics and pressuring witnesses to lie.

Trump's lawyers' arrangement with Manafort's lawyers was unusual because it continued after he pleaded guilty to two felony charges and agreed to co-operate with the prosecutors. Trump's legal team also has received help from Corsi. He told The Associated Press that while in contact with Mueller's team, he directed his lawyer to informally share information with Trump's attorneys, including Jay Sekulow.

Sekulow also received the draft plea documents a couple of weeks ago. The legal team alerted the Justice Department but privately was put off by a reference to Trump in the document.

Corsi, who rejected the plea deal, has said he expects to be charged by Mueller with lying to investigators as part of the probe's scrutiny of WikiLeaks and whether he or Stone had advance knowledge of the group's release of thousands of hacked emails stolen from Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta. Mueller and U.S. intelligence agencies have said Russia was the source of the material provided to WikiLeaks.

Both Corsi and Stone have denied having any contact with WikiLeaks or having any foreknowledge of its plans. Corsi also denies making false statements to investigators.

___

Associated Press writer Michael Balsamo contributed to this report.

___

Follow Chad Day and Eric Tucker on Twitter: https://twitter.com/ChadSDay and https://twitter.com/etuckerAP
GIG HARBOR, Wash. - Police found no evidence of wrongdoing after investigating allegations that relatives of radio personality Casey Kasem were responsible for his 2014 death but will now turn the matter over to prosecutors, officials in Washington state said Friday.

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This article was published 30/11/2018 (1091 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

FILE - In this Oct. 27, 2003, file photo, Casey Kasem poses for photographers after receiving the Radio Icon award during The 2003 Radio Music Awards at the Aladdin Resort and Casino in Las Vegas. Police found no evidence of wrongdoing as they investigated allegations that relatives of radio personality Casey Kasem were responsible for his 2014 death but will now turn the matter over to prosecutors, officials in Washington state said Friday, Nov. 30, 2018. (AP Photo/Eric Jamison, File)

GIG HARBOR, Wash. - Police found no evidence of wrongdoing after investigating allegations that relatives of radio personality Casey Kasem were responsible for his 2014 death but will now turn the matter over to prosecutors, officials in Washington state said Friday.

The administrative investigation didn't find evidence of a crime, said Gig Harbor Police Chief Kelly Busey. He said he would forward the case to Pierce County prosecutors for review.

The longtime "American Top 40" host had a form of dementia and a severe bedsore when died at age 82 at a hospital in Gig Harbor, southwest of Seattle.

Gig Harbor police opened their investigation last month after Kasem's wife, former actress Jean Kasem, submitted a private investigator's report claiming three of Casey Kasem's children from a previous marriage were responsible for the radio host's death.

Jean Kasem has not commented; The Associated Press has left an email message with her attorney.

It's the latest development in years of legal wrangling between Jean Kasem and her three stepchildren. The groups fought over visitation access to Casey Kasem before his death, with his daughter Kerri Kasem assuming control of his medical care.

Jean Kasem, who appeared on "Cheers," was married to the announcer for more than 30 years but was stripped of control over his medical care in the final days of his life. He died in June 2014 in Gig Harbor, where his wife had taken him after checking him out of a Los Angeles-area medical facility where he was receiving round-the-clock care.

Jean Kasem, 64, has contended her decision to move her husband to Washington state was made to protect his privacy.

Prosecutors in Los Angeles County in 2015 declined to charge Jean Kasem with elder abuse. That year, three of Casey Kasem's children and his brother filed a wrongful death lawsuit in Los Angeles Superior Court, accusing their stepmother of elder abuse.

That lawsuit against Jean Kasem is still pending, as well as a countersuit she filed in response, KOMO-TV reported.

The administrative investigation released this week by Gig Harbor Police found that Casey Kasem received appropriate care and that any medical decisions were made by family authorized to act on his behalf, Busey said.

There was also no evidence of collusion between the family members and doctors "that would construe any part of this incident to be considered a homicide," the department said in a statement.

Kasem's two daughters told KOMO they feel vindicated by the police findings.

"We're very grateful to the police department for conducting this investigation and concluding there is no evidence to support Jean's wildly ridiculous claims," Julie Kasem told the TV station.

___

This story has been updated to correct the spelling of the police chief's last name to Busey, instead of Busy, in one instance.

___

Information from: KOMO-TV, http://www.komotv.com/
KIEV, Ukraine - Ukraine toughened its stance in its increasingly tense confrontation with Russia on Friday, banning entry to all Russian men of fighting age in what Ukraine's president said was an effort to prevent the Kremlin from destabilizing the country.

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This article was published 30/11/2018 (1091 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

FILE - In this Saturday, Nov. 10, 2018 file photo, an aerial photo of the thousand-year-old Monastery of Caves, also known as Kiev Pechersk Lavra, the holiest site of Eastern Orthodox Christians is taken through morning fog during sunrise in Kiev, Ukraine. The Ukrainian intelligence agency is searching the home of the father superior of Kiev's biggest and oldest monastery which is part of the Russian Orthodox Church. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka, File)

KIEV, Ukraine - Ukraine toughened its stance in its increasingly tense confrontation with Russia on Friday, banning entry to all Russian men of fighting age in what Ukraine's president said was an effort to prevent the Kremlin from destabilizing the country.

The ban will last 30 days  as long as the martial law introduced this week in much of Ukraine after Russia seized three Ukrainian naval vessels and their crews.

The naval incident further escalated the tug-of-war that began in 2014 when Russia annexed Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula and supported separatist rebels in eastern Ukraine. It also has prompted global concern and renewed Western criticism of Russia, with the U.S. and its allies expressing support for Ukraine.

Ukrainian soldiers drive APCs near Urzuf, south coast of Azov sea, eastern Ukraine, Thursday, Nov. 29, 2018. Ukraine put its military forces on high combat alert and announced martial law this week after Russian border guards fired on and seized three Ukrainian ships in the Black Sea. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)

Yet, both sides could gain from this. By opening fire on the Ukrainian vessels, Moscow reinforced its message that Crimea is Russian for good. In Ukraine, President Petro Poroshenko is likely to benefit from the martial law he imposed. His approval ratings have been plummeting ahead of March's presidential election, and playing up the Russian threat could help him get re-elected.

In a meeting with security officials, Poroshenko said the ban targeting men between the ages of 16 and 60 should prevent Russian servicemen disguised as civilians from sneaking into the country as they did in Ukraine's east, where Moscow backed the separatist insurgency with troops and weapons in a conflict that has left more than 10,000 people dead.

Ukraine long has imposed entry restrictions on Russian men and the latest move will further tighten them, hurting bilateral trade and other exchanges across the nearly 2,300-kilometre (1,425-mile) border.

Residents of towns and villages on both sides of the frontier make regular cross-border trips to see relatives and shop at local markets, but they won't be able to do so for the duration of the ban.

Ukrainian fighter jets fly during military exercise near Urzuf, south coast of Azov sea, eastern Ukraine, Thursday, Nov. 29, 2018. Ukraine put its military forces on high combat alert and announced martial law this week after Russian border guards fired on and seized three Ukrainian ships in the Black Sea. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)

Cultural exchanges were also caught in cross-fire. Bolshoi Theater's soloist Andrei Merkuriev said he was denied entry to Ukraine to attend a ballet show that he staged in the southern port city of Odesa.

In Russia, officials and lawmakers reacted with dismay but said that they wouldn't retaliate to avoid hurting ordinary Ukrainians.

Poroshenko's move follows Thursday's decision by U.S. President Donald Trump to scrap his much-anticipated meeting with Russian leader Vladimir Putin at the G-20 summit in Buenos Aires. Trump said it wasn't appropriate for him to meet with Putin since Russia hasn't released the Ukrainian ships and their crews.

The latest confrontation began last weekend as the three small vessels tried to pass through the narrow Kerch Strait separating Russia's mainland from Crimea. The Russian coast guard refused to let them pass from the Black Sea into the Sea of Azov, and after many tense hours of manoeuvring fired on the Ukrainian boats and seized them along with 24 crewmen. Ukraine charged that its ships were in international waters, while Russia claimed the boats were violating its border.

A woman prepares to cross the checkpoint at the border with Russia in Hoptivka, Ukraine, Friday, Nov. 30, 2018. Ukrainian officials announced earlier on Friday that all Russian men aged between 16 and 60 will be barred from entering Ukraine for the duration of the 30-day-long martial law. (AP Photo/Pavlo Pakhomenko)

A Crimean court ruled this week that the Ukrainian seamen will remain behind bars for two months pending Russia's investigation into the clash. Activists said they have been taken to a jail in Moscow.

Russia's Foreign Ministry spokeswoman, Maria Zakharova, claimed Friday that Moscow had demonstrated an exemplary patience, trying to prevent the Ukrainian ships from coming through for most of the weekend.

"Not a single country in the world except us would spend the entire day running after those madmen in its territorial waters, calling them, asking who they were and trying to stop them," she said.

There were signs tensions wouldn't be letting up any time soon. Russian RT television on Friday broadcast footage of a convoy of massive vehicles carrying long-range Bal anti-ship missiles moving toward Kerch, near the area where the naval incident occurred.

Meanwhile, a separate fight has been brewing between Kyiv and Moscow over the Orthodox Church.

For centuries, the Ukrainian church has been part of the Russian Orthodox Church. Now, it's moving close to forming an independent church, a momentous step pushed by Poroshenko that would split the world's largest Orthodox denomination. The Russian Orthodox Church and Russian authorities have strongly condemned the move, warning it could trigger sectarian violence.

Ukrainian authorities have sought to portray the Russian Orthodox in Ukraine as supporting Russian-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine  claims that have been rejected by its clerics.

Ukraine's domestic security agency SBU said Friday it had searched the home of Father Pavlo, who leads the ancient Pechersk Monastery in Kyiv, for supposedly "inciting hatred," accusations he vehemently denied. The Pechersk Monastery, the main spiritual centre of Ukraine, is under the jurisdiction of the Russian Orthodox Church.

"I'm feeling the pressure from all sides. But I would like to assure you that I am part of the holy church and I do not recognize any other church," Father Pavlo said, speaking by the ornate gilded altar at one of the monastery's cathedrals.

The search of the cleric's home came a day after Poroshenko announced that the Constantinople patriarchy had approved a decree granting the Ukrainian Orthodox Church independence from the Russian Orthodox Church, a major boost to the president's approval ratings as he runs for re-election.

___

Vasilyeva reported from Moscow. Vladimir Isachenkov in Moscow contributed to this report.
JVP MP Bimal Ratnayake yesterday said two Parliament Select Committees (PSCs) should be appointed to recover the losses and damages caused to the country by the political coup.

He told Parliament that President Maithripala Sirisena was responsible for the political impasse and that he should apologize to the nation for his actions.

"The purported government is not accepted by the international community. Even the Rajapaksa-friendly countries such as Swaziland and the Maldives do not accept it. Only some pro-Rajapaksa media institutions support them. The PSCs should comprise of professionals in the legal fraternity and other respected disciplines in order to enlighten the people on the true situation. Information on the coup should be taught to students so that this would not be a bad precedent. The PSCs should not merely assess the losses to the economy and resources, but should also look into the damage caused to the image of the country. They should recover the losses from those involved in the coup," he said.

(Ajith Siriwardana and Yohan Perera)
SIMFEROPOL AFP Nov29, 2018 - Ukrainian sailors held by Russia since it seized three of Kievs ships have been taken from Russian-annexed Crimea to Moscow, two of their lawyers told AFP on Thursday.



Crimean courts sentenced the 24 sailors to two months of detention this week, despite international calls for their release. They are being taken to Moscows Lefortovo prison, said Dzhemil Temishev, one of the lawyers defending the sailors. Temishev said he and several other lawyers were barred from seeing the sailors in a detention centre in Crimeas main city Simferopol, where they were brought to court earlier this week.
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iShares MSCI Australia ETF's stock was trading at $17.46 on March 11th, 2020 when Coronavirus (COVID-19) reached pandemic status according to the World Health Organization. Since then, EWA stock has increased by 46.2% and is now trading at $25.53.

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Coal mine fire in Russia's Siberia kills 14, dozens missing

MOSCOW (AP)  Russian authorities late Thursday called off a search for dozens of people still missing about 250 meters (820 feet) underground, following a coal mine fire in Siberia that killed at least 14 miners and rescuers. Rescue teams were rushed out of the mine for safety reasons because of a buildup of explosive methane gas and a high concentration of toxic fumes from the fire.

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How can Saudi Arabia be brought low? If the King wont remove from power his 33-old-son, Prince Mohammad bin Salman, there may be no alternative but to do battle (non-violently) with its regime.



There seems to be no doubt that it was bin Salman who gave the order to murder Saudi Arabias dissident journalist, Jamal Khashoggi.

This is not the only reason to take up (non-violent) arms against Saudi Arabia. Others are its massive buying of Western military hardware. Another is its war in Yemen where it has killed tens of thousands of civilians. Another is that it still follows the intolerant strictures of the Wahabi sect of Islam.



In 2015, the German vice-chancellor, Sigmar Gabriel, publicly accused Saudi Arabia of financing Islamic extremism in the West and warned that it must stop. He said the Saudi regime was funding extremist mosques and communities that pose a danger to public security.

In his autobiography, Richard Dearlove, the former head of MI6, the British Secret Intelligence Service (home of James Bond), wrote that some time before 9/11, Prince Bandar bin Sultan, then the powerful Saudi ambassador in Washington, told him that The time is not far off in the Middle East when it will be literally God Help the Shiite. More than a billion Sunnis have simply had enough of them.

Thanks to Wikileaks we know that Hillary Clinton, when Secretary of State, wrote a cable in December 2009 that Saudi Arabia remains a critical financial support base for Al-Qaida, the Taliban and Lashkar-e-Taiba in Pakistan.



In his autobiography, Richard Dearlove, the former head of MI6, the British Secret Intelligence Service (home of James Bond), wrote that some time before 9/11, Prince Bandar bin Sultan, then the powerful Saudi ambassador in Washington, told him that The time is not far off in the Middle East when it will be literally God Help the Shiite. More than a billion Sunnis have simply had enough of them. Another is the evidence that it is considering developing nuclear weapons. Last week, the New York Times in a dispatch by David E. Sanger and William J. Broad asked if bin Salman was laying the groundwork for building an atomic bomb. Saudi Arabia may have arranged to buy an already-made bomb from Pakistan whose own successful nuclear weapons programme was funded in part by Saudi money. Pakistan called it the first Sunni bomb.



Whats to be done? Sanctions have already been imposed by the US on 17 Saudi officials close to bin Salman. Bin Salman has been spared. Trump has made clear in public the reason for this is because Western countries need its oil and, second, the arms market is too lucrative to pass up.



The truth is that, though enormous, the sales are only a small percentage of Americas total arms production. It could be forsaken.



Oil is more problematic, but a boycott of part of its production is doable. Already, oil prices are substantially below the countrys financial needs. Its financial deficit is dangerously-high says the IMF. This is the time to hit it.



The price of oil needs to be driven down. This means other oil producers increasing the production. The first place to start is Iran whose oil industry is savaged by American sanctions. The second is Russia. Other countries that could increase their production are Nigeria, Mozambique, Angola, Ghana and Uganda. Theyll need Western help.



Western countries, with a minor increase in taxes, could reduce the consumption of oil significantly.



Would Saudi Arabia retaliate? Why would it? It needs income badly. It cant afford not to sell as much as it can.



Let Saudi Arabia suffer until bin Salman is sacked and brought to justice.
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Ltd., Fiberspar Corporation, Fiberspar Linepipe Canada Ltd., Fibra Ingenieria y Construccion S.A., FidService, Fjords Processing (Shanghai) Co., Fjords Processing 1 AS, Fjords Processing AS, Fjords Processing Australia Pty Ltd, Fjords Processing France SAS, Fjords Processing Korea Co. Ltd., Fjords Processing Limited, Fjords Processing UK Ltd., Fryma S.a.r.l., GOT German Oil Tools GmbH, GP USA Holding LLC, GPEX, German Oil Tools (Middle East) FZE, Grant Prideco (Jiangsu) Drilling Products Co., Grant Prideco (Singapore) Pte Ltd, Grant Prideco AB TCA Holding LLC, Grant Prideco European Holding, Grant Prideco Holding, Grant Prideco III C. V., Grant Prideco Inc., Grant Prideco Jersey Limited, Grant Prideco L.P., Grant Prideco Mauritius Limited, Grant Prideco Netherlands B.V., Grant Prideco PC Composites Holdings, Grant Prideco S. de R.L. de C.V., Grant Prideco USA, Grant Prideco de Venezuela, Greystone Technologies Pty. Ltd., GustoMSC B.V., GustoMSC U.S., Hebei Huayouyiji Tuboscope Coating Co., Hitec AS, Hydralift AmClyde, Hydralift France SAS, Hydralift Holdings UK Limited, Inspecciones y Pruebas No Destructivas, IntelliServ Norway AS, Intelliserv, Intelliserv GP Holdings LLC, Intelliserv International Holding, Intelliserv LLC, Interval LLC, JiangYin Tuboscope Tubular Development Co., Merpro Group Limited, Merpro Products Limited, Merpro Tortek Limited, Midsund Bruk AS, Mono Group Pension Trustees Limited, Mono Pumps New Zealand Company, Monoflo NOV S.A.I.C., Moyno Inc., Moyno de Mexico S.A. de C.V., NKT Flexibles I/S, NOV (Asia), NOV (Barbados) Holding SRL, NOV (Barbados) SRL, NOV (Caymans), NOV (Malaysia) Sdn. Bhd., NOV - Oil Services Angola LDA., NOV APL Limited, NOV ASEP Elmar Mexico, NOV Africa Pty Ltd, NOV Australia Pty Ltd, NOV Azerbaijan LLC, NOV Brandt Europe France, NOV Brandt Oilfield Services Middle East LLC, NOV CV1 GP LLC, NOV CV2 GP LLC, NOV Completion Tools AS, NOV Completion Tools LLC, NOV Completion and Production Solutions Korea Ltd., NOV DH de Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., NOV DHT Canada Holding ULC, NOV Denmark Cooperatief U.A., NOV Downhole Argentina, NOV Downhole Bolivia S.R.L., NOV Downhole Colombia, NOV Downhole Comercializacao de Equipamentos para Petroleo Ltda., NOV Downhole Congo, NOV Downhole Eurasia Limited, NOV Downhole Europe B.V., NOV Downhole Germany GmbH, NOV Downhole Italia S.R.L., NOV Downhole Kazakhstan, NOV Downhole Malaysia Sdn. Bhd., NOV Downhole Pty Ltd, NOV Downhole Thailand, NOV Dreco GP LLC, NOV EU Acquisition SNC, NOV Elmar (Middle East) Limited, NOV Elmar NL B.V., NOV Elmar Pte. Ltd., NOV Enerflow ULC, NOV Eurasia Holding LLC, NOV European Holding LLC, NOV Expatriate Services, NOV FGS Malaysia Sdn Bhd, NOV FGS Singapore (Pte.) Ltd, NOV Fiber Glass Systems Fabricacao De Tubos E Conexoes Ltda, NOV Flexibles Equipamentos E Servicos Ltda., NOV Flexibles Holding ApS, NOV Floating Production AS, NOV Fluid Control B.V., NOV GEO GP LLC, NOV GEO LP1 C.V., NOV GEO LP2 C.V., NOV GP Holding L.P., NOV GP1 Holding LLC, NOV Gabon SARL, NOV Germany Holding GmbH, NOV Ghana Limited, NOV Grant Prideco Drilling Equipment Manufacturing LLC, NOV Grant Prideco Drilling Products Middle East FZE, NOV Grant Prideco L.L.C., NOV Holding Danmark ApS, NOV Holding Germany GmbH & Co KG, NOV Holding Germany Management GmbH, NOV Holdings B.V., NOV Hydra Rig Pte. Ltd, NOV India Private Limited, NOV Intelliserv UK Limited, NOV International Holdings C.V., NOV International Holdings GP LLC, NOV Intervention & Stimulation Equipment US LLC, NOV Intervention and Stimulation Equipment  Aftermarket Comercio de Equipamentos e Servicos Ltda., NOV Kenya Limited, NOV Kostroma LLC, NOV Kuwait Light & Heavy Equipment Repairing & Maintenance Co., NOV LP (Trading), NOV MSI Pipe Protection Technologies Inc., NOV MSI Pipe Protection Technologies Mexico, NOV Mexico Holding LLC, NOV Middle East FZCO, NOV Mission Products UK Limited, NOV Mozambique Limitada, NOV NL Mexico Holding B.V., NOV Netherlands Finance Holding C.V., NOV Netherlands Finance Holding LLC, NOV North America I/P, NOV Oil & Gas Services Egypt (S.A.E), NOV Oil & Gas Services Uganda Limited, NOV Oil and Gas Services Ghana Limited, NOV Oil and Gas Services Namibia (Proprietary) Limited, NOV Oil and Gas Services Nigeria Limited, NOV Oil and Gas Services South Africa (Pty) Limited, NOV Oilfield Services Tanzania Limited, NOV Oilfield Services Vostok LLC, NOV Oilfield Solutions Ltd., NOV Park II B.V., NOV Process & Flow Technologies AS, NOV Process & Flow Technologies Malaysia Sdn. Bhd., NOV Process & Flow Technologies Pte. Ltd., NOV Process & Flow Technologies UK Limited, NOV Process & Flow Technologies US, NOV Rig Solutions Pte. Ltd., NOV Romania, NOV Saudi Arabia Co. Ltd., NOV Saudi Arabia Trading Co., NOV Services Ltd., NOV Servicios de Personal Mexico, NOV Subsea Products AS, NOV TV2 LLC, NOV TVI LLC, NOV Tanajib Kuwait for Services and Maintenance of Oil Rigs Refineries and Petrochemicals, NOV Tuboscope Italia S.R.L., NOV Tuboscope Middle East LLC, NOV Tuboscope NL B.V., NOV Tubulars and Connectors Ltd., NOV UK (Angola Acquisitions) Limited, NOV UK Finance Limited, NOV UK Holdings Limited, NOV UK Korea LP, NOV Wellbore Technologies Norway LLC, NOV Wellbore Technologies do Brasil Equipamentos E Servicos Ltda., NOV Wellsite Services Germany GmbH, NOV Worldwide C.V., NOV-BLM SAS, NOVM Holding LLC, NOW Downhole Tools, NOW International LLC, NOW Nova Scotia Holdings LLC, NOW Oilfield Services, NQL Holland B.V., National Oilwell (U.K.) Limited, National Oilwell Algerie, National Oilwell DHT, National Oilwell Middle East Company, National Oilwell Services de Mexico, National Oilwell Varco (Beijing) Investment Management Co. Ltd., National Oilwell Varco (Thailand) Ltd., National Oilwell Varco Algeria, National Oilwell Varco Almansoori Services, National Oilwell Varco Bahrain WLL, National Oilwell Varco Belgium SA, National Oilwell Varco Denmark I/S, National Oilwell Varco Egypt LLC, National Oilwell Varco Eurasia, National Oilwell Varco Guatemala, National Oilwell Varco Guyana Inc., National Oilwell Varco Hungary Limited Liability Company, National Oilwell Varco Korea Co., National Oilwell Varco MSW S.A., National Oilwell Varco Mexico, National Oilwell Varco Muscat L.L.C., National Oilwell Varco Norway AS, National Oilwell Varco Peru S.R.L., National Oilwell Varco Petroleum Equipment (Shanghai) Co., National Oilwell Varco Poland Sp.z.o.o., National Oilwell Varco Pte. Ltd., National Oilwell Varco Rig Equipment Trading (Shanghai) Co., National Oilwell Varco Romania S.R.L., National Oilwell Varco Solutions, National Oilwell Varco UK Limited, National Oilwell Varco Ukraine LLC, National Oilwell Varco de Bolivia S.R.L., National Oilwell Varco de Chile - Servicios Limitada, National Oilwell Varco do Brasil Ltda., National Oilwell de Venezuela, National-Oilwell Pte. Ltd., National-Oilwell Pty. Ltd., PT Fjords Processing Indonesia, PT H-Tech Oilfield Equipment, PT NOV Oilfield Services, PT National Oilwell Varco, PT PROFAB INDONESIA, Pesaka Inspection Services SDN.BHD., Pipex Limited, Pipex PX Limited, Pipex Structural Composites Limited, Pridecomex Holding S. de R.L. de C.V., Pridecomex TA Industries, Procon Engineering Ltd., Profab Engineering Pte. Ltd., Profab Services Pte Ltd, Quality Tubing FSC, R&M C.V., R&M Canada Cooperatief U.A., R&M Energy Systems Australia Pty Ltd., R&M Energy Systems de Argentina S.A., R&M Energy Systems de Venezuela, R&M Environmental Strategies, R&M Singapore Holding LLC, R&M UK Holding LLC, RE.MAC.UT. S.r.l., RHI Holding LLC, ReedHycalog, ReedHycalog International Holding, ReedHycalog LLC, ReedHycalog UK Limited, Robannic Overseas Finance A.V.V., Robbins & Myers, Robbins & Myers (Suzhou) Process Equipment Company Limited, Robbins & Myers B.V., Robbins & Myers Foundation, Robbins & Myers GP LLC, Robbins & Myers Holdings, Robbins & Myers Holdings UK Limited, Robbins & Myers Inc, Robbins & Myers Italia S.R.L., Robbins & Myers N.V., Rodic S.A. de C.V., Romaco S.a.r.l., STAR Sudamtex Tubulares S.A., STBH2O TUNISIE, STSA, Screen Manufacturing Company Unlimited, Seabox AS, Slip Clutch Systems Limited, Smart Drilling GmbH, Soil Recovery A/S, South Seas Inspection, Subseaflex Holding ApS, T-3 Energy Preferred Industries Mexico, T-3 Energy Services, T-3 Energy Services Cayman, T-3 Energy Services Cayman Holdings, T-3 Energy Services India Private Limited, T-3 Energy Services Mexico, T-3 Investment Corporation IV, T-3 Mexican Holdings, TVI Holdings, Telluride Insurance Limited, Tianjin Grant TPCO Drilling Tools Company Limited, Tube-Kote, Tubo-FGS, Tuboscope & Co. LLC, Tuboscope (Holding U.S.) LLC, Tuboscope Brandt de Venezuela, Tuboscope Machining Services AS, Tuboscope Norge AS, Tuboscope Pipeline Services Inc., Tuboscope Services, Tuboscope Vetco (Deutschland) GmbH, Tuboscope Vetco (France) SAS, Tuboscope Vetco (Oesterreich) GmbH, Tuboscope Vetco Canada ULC, Tuboscope Vetco Capital Limited, Tuboscope Vetco Moscow CJSC, Tuboscope Vetco de Argentina S.A., Tubular Coatings Solutions Ltd., Tucom Composites Polyester Sanayi Ticaret Ltd., Varco BJ B.V., Varco CIS, Varco Canada ULC, Varco I/P, Varco International de Venezuela, Varco L.P., Varco US Holdings LLC, Vetco Coating GmbH, Vetco Enterprise GmbH, Vetco Saudi Arabia Ltd., Visible Assets, Wilson International, Woolley, XL Systems, XL Systems Antilles, XL Systems Europe B.V., XL Systems International, voestalpine Middle East Free Zone Establishment, voestalpine Tubulars Corporation, voestalpine Tubulars GmbH, and voestalpine Tubulars GmbH & Co KG.
The following companies are subsidiares of Bristol-Myers Squibb: 1096271 B.C. ULC, 345 Park LLC, A.G. Medical Services P.A., AHI Investment LLC, AbVitro LLC, Abraxis BioScience Australia Pty Ltd., Abraxis BioScience Inc., Abraxis BioScience International Holding Company Inc., Abraxis BioScience LLC, Abraxis BioScience Puerto Rico LLC, Acetylon Pharmaceuticals Inc., Adnexus, Adnexus a Bristol-Myers Squibb R&D Company, Allard Labs Acquisition G.P., Amira Pharmaceuticals, Amira Pharmaceuticals Inc., Amylin Pharmaceuticals, Apothecon LLC, B-MS Generx Unlimited Company, BMS Benelux Holdings B.V., BMS Bermuda Nominees L.L.C., BMS Data Acquisition Company LLC, BMS Forex Company, BMS Holdings Sarl, BMS Holdings Spain S.L., BMS International Insurance Designated Activity Company, BMS Investco SAS, BMS Korea Holdings L.L.C., BMS Latin American Nominees L.L.C., BMS Luxembourg Partners L.L.C., BMS Omega Bermuda Holdings Finance Ltd., BMS Pharmaceutical Korea Limited, BMS Pharmaceuticals Germany Holdings B.V., BMS Pharmaceuticals International Holdings Netherlands B.V., BMS Pharmaceuticals Korea Holdings B.V., BMS Pharmaceuticals Mexico Holdings B.V., BMS Pharmaceuticals Netherlands Holdings B.V., BMS Real Estate LLC, BMS Spain Investments LLC, BMS Strategic Portfolio Investments Holdings Inc., Blisa Acquisition G.P., Bristol (Iran) S.A., Bristol Iran Private Company Limited, Bristol Laboratories Inc., Bristol Laboratories International S.A., Bristol Laboratories Medical Information Systems Inc., Bristol-Myers (Andes) L.L.C., Bristol-Myers (Private) Limited, Bristol-Myers Middle East S.A.L., Bristol-Myers Overseas Corporation, Bristol-Myers Squibb (China) Investment Co. Ltd., Bristol-Myers Squibb (China) Pharmaceuticals Co. Ltd., Bristol-Myers Squibb (Israel) Ltd., Bristol-Myers Squibb (NZ) Limited, Bristol-Myers Squibb (Proprietary) Limited, Bristol-Myers Squibb (Shanghai) Trading Co. Ltd., Bristol-Myers Squibb (Singapore) Pte. Limited, Bristol-Myers Squibb (Taiwan) Ltd., Bristol-Myers Squibb (West Indies) Ltd., Bristol-Myers Squibb A.E., Bristol-Myers Squibb Aktiebolag, Bristol-Myers Squibb Argentina S. R. L., Bristol-Myers Squibb Australia Pty. Ltd., Bristol-Myers Squibb Axia Limited, Bristol-Myers Squibb B.V., Bristol-Myers Squibb Belgium S.A., Bristol-Myers Squibb Business Services Limited, Bristol-Myers Squibb Canada Co., Bristol-Myers Squibb Canada International Limited, Bristol-Myers Squibb Delta Company Limited, Bristol-Myers Squibb Denmark Filial of Bristol-Myers Squibb AB, Bristol-Myers Squibb EMEA Sarl, Bristol-Myers Squibb Egypt LLC, Bristol-Myers Squibb Epsilon Holdings Unlimited Company, Bristol-Myers Squibb Farmaceutica Ltda., Bristol-Myers Squibb Farmaceutica Portuguesa S.A., Bristol-Myers Squibb GesmbH, Bristol-Myers Squibb GmbH & Co. KGaA, Bristol-Myers Squibb Holding Germany GmbH & Co. KG, Bristol-Myers Squibb Holdings 2002 Limited, Bristol-Myers Squibb Holdings Germany Verwaltungs GmbH, Bristol-Myers Squibb Holdings Ireland Unlimited Company, Bristol-Myers Squibb Holdings Limited, Bristol-Myers Squibb Holdings Pharma Ltd. Liability Company, Bristol-Myers Squibb Ilaclari Inc., Bristol-Myers Squibb India Pvt. Limited, Bristol-Myers Squibb International Company Unlimited Company, Bristol-Myers Squibb International Corporation, Bristol-Myers Squibb Investco L.L.C., Bristol-Myers Squibb K.K., Bristol-Myers Squibb Kft., Bristol-Myers Squibb Luxembourg International S.C.A., Bristol-Myers Squibb Luxembourg S.a.r.l., Bristol-Myers Squibb MEA GmbH, Bristol-Myers Squibb Manufacturing Company, Bristol-Myers Squibb Marketing Services S.R.L., Bristol-Myers Squibb Middle East & Africa FZ-LLC, Bristol-Myers Squibb Norway Ltd., Bristol-Myers Squibb Nutricionales de Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Bristol-Myers Squibb Peru S.A., Bristol-Myers Squibb Pharma (HK) Ltd, Bristol-Myers Squibb Pharma (Thailand) Limited, Bristol-Myers Squibb Pharma Company, Bristol-Myers Squibb Pharma EEIG, Bristol-Myers Squibb Pharma Holding Company LLC, Bristol-Myers Squibb Pharma Ventures Corporation, Bristol-Myers Squibb Pharmaceuticals Limited, Bristol-Myers Squibb Pharmaceuticals Unlimited Company, Bristol-Myers Squibb Polska Sp. z o.o., Bristol-Myers Squibb Products SA, Bristol-Myers Squibb Puerto Rico Inc., Bristol-Myers Squibb Puerto Rico/Sanofi Pharmaceutical Partnership Puerto Rico, Bristol-Myers Squibb Romania S.R.L., Bristol-Myers Squibb S.A.U., Bristol-Myers Squibb S.r.l., Bristol-Myers Squibb SA, Bristol-Myers Squibb Sanofi Pharmaceuticals Holding Partnership, Bristol-Myers Squibb Sarl, Bristol-Myers Squibb Service Ltd., Bristol-Myers Squibb Services Sp. z o.o., Bristol-Myers Squibb Spol. s r.o., Bristol-Myers Squibb Theta Finance Ltd., Bristol-Myers Squibb Trustees Limited, Bristol-Myers Squibb Verwaltungs GmbH, Bristol-Myers Squibb de Colombia S.A., Bristol-Myers Squibb de Costa Rica Sociedad Anonima, Bristol-Myers Squibb de Guatemala S.A., Bristol-Myers Squibb de Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Bristol-Myers Squibb/Astrazeneca EEIG, Bristol-Myers Squibb/Pfizer EEIG, Bristol-Myers Squibb/Sanofi Pharmaceuticals Partnership, Bristol-Myers de Venezuela S.C.A., CHT I LLC, CHT II LLC, CHT III LLC, CHT IV LLC, CR Finance Company LLC, Cardioxyl Pharmaceuticals, Cardioxyl Pharmaceuticals Inc., Celem LLC, Celem Ltd., Celgene, Celgene A.B., Celgene AS, Celgene Ab (Finland), Celgene Alpine Investment Co. II LLC, Celgene Alpine Investment Co. III LLC, Celgene Alpine Investment Co. LLC, Celgene ApS, Celgene B.V., Celgene BVBA, Celgene Brasil Produtos Farmaceuticos Ltda., Celgene CAR LLC, Celgene CAR Ltd., Celgene Chemicals Sarl, Celgene China Holdings LLC, Celgene Co., Celgene Corporation, Celgene Distribution B.V., Celgene EngMab GmbH, Celgene Europe B.V., Celgene Europe Limited, Celgene European Investment Company LLC, Celgene Financing Company LLC, Celgene Global Holdings Sarl, Celgene GmbH [Austria], Celgene GmbH [Germany], Celgene GmbH [Switzerland], Celgene Holdings East Corporation, Celgene Holdings II Sarl, Celgene Holdings III Sarl, Celgene Ilac Pazarlama ve Ticaret Limited Sirketi, Celgene Inc., Celgene International Holdings Corporation, Celgene International II Sarl, Celgene International III Sarl, Celgene International Inc., Celgene International Sarl, Celgene K.K., Celgene Kft., Celgene Limited [Hong Kong], Celgene Limited [Ireland], Celgene Limited [New Zealand], Celgene Limited [Taiwan], Celgene Limited [UK], Celgene Logistics Sarl, Celgene Ltd, Celgene Luxembourg Sarl, Celgene Management Sarl, Celgene NJ Investment Co, Celgene Netherlands B.V., Celgene Netherlands Investment B.V., Celgene Pharmaceutical (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Celgene Pte. Ltd., Celgene Pty Ltd, Celgene Puerto Rico Distribution LLC, Celgene Quanticel Research Inc, Celgene R&D Sarl, Celgene RIVOT LLC, Celgene RIVOT Ltd., Celgene RIVOT SRL, Celgene Receptos Limited, Celgene Receptos Sarl, Celgene Research Incubator At Summit West LLC, Celgene Research S.L.U., Celgene Research and Development Company LLC, Celgene Research and Development I ULC, Celgene Research and Development II LLC, Celgene Research and Investment Company II LLC, Celgene S. de R.L. de C.V., Celgene S.L.U., Celgene S.R.L., Celgene SAS, Celgene Sarl AU, Celgene Sdn Bhd, Celgene Services Sarl, Celgene Sociedade Unipessoal Lda, Celgene Sp. Z.o.o., Celgene Sro [Czech Republic], Celgene Summit Investment Co, Celgene Switzerland Holding Sarl, Celgene Switzerland II LLC, Celgene Switzerland Investment Sarl, Celgene Switzerland LLC, Celgene Switzerland Sarl, Celgene Tri A Holdings Ltd., Celgene Tri Sarl, Celgene UK Distribution Limited, Celgene UK Holdings Limited, Celgene UK Manufacturing II Limited, Celgene UK Manufacturing III Limited, Celgene UK Manufacturing Limited, Celgene d.o.o., Celgene sro [Slovakia], Celmed LLC, Celmed Ltd., ConvaTec Divestiture, Cormorant Pharmaceuticals, Cormorant Pharmaceuticals AB, Crosp Ltd., Delinia Inc., Deuteria Pharmaceuticals Inc., DuPont Pharmaceuticals, E. R. Squibb & Sons Inter-American Corporation, E. R. Squibb & Sons L.L.C., E. R. Squibb & Sons Limited, EWI Corporation, EngMab Sarl, F-star Alpha, FermaVir Pharmaceuticals L.L.C., FermaVir Research L.L.C., Flexus Biosciences, Flexus Biosciences Inc., Forbius, Galecto Biotech, GenPharm International L.L.C., Gloucester Pharmaceuticals LLC, Grove Insurance Company Ltd., Heyden Farmaceutica Portuguesa Limitada, IFM Therapeutics, Impact Biomedicines Inc., Inhibitex, Inhibitex L.L.C., Innate Tumor Immunity Inc., JuMP Holdings LLC, Juno Therapeutics GmbH, Juno Therapeutics Inc., Kosan Biosciences, Kosan Biosciences Incorporated, Linson Investments Limited, Mead Johnson (Manufacturing) Jamaica Limited, Mead Johnson Jamaica Ltd., Medarex, Morris Avenue Investment II LLC, Morris Avenue Investment LLC, MyoKardia, O.o.o. Bristol-Myers Squibb, Oy Bristol-Myers Squibb (Finland) AB, Padlock Therapeutics, Padlock Therapeutics Inc., Pharmion LLC, Princeton Pharmaceutical Products Inc., Receptos LLC, Receptos Services LLC, RedoxTherapies Inc., Route 22 Real Estate Holding Corporation, SPV A Holdings ULC, Seamair Insurance DAC, Signal Pharmaceuticals LLC, Sino-American Shanghai Squibb Pharmaceuticals Limited, Societe Francaise de Complements Alimentaires(S.O.F.C.A.), Squibb Middle East S.A., Summit West Celgene LLC, Swords Laboratories, VentiRx Pharmaceuticals Inc., Westwood-Intrafin SA, Westwood-Squibb Pharmaceuticals Inc., X-Body Inc., ZymoGenetics, ZymoGenetics Inc., ZymoGenetics LLC, ZymoGenetics Paymaster LLC, iPierian, and iPierian Inc..
Former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen will plead guilty to a federal charge of lying to Congress on Thursday, according to news reports.



He will admit that he misled federal lawmakers about his contacts with Russians during the 2016 campaign season.



Cohen has already testified in a Manhattan courtroom that he made an illegal hush-money payment to Stormy Daniels, a pornographic actress who claims to have bedded Trump a decade ago, in coordination with, and at the direction of Trump.



The latest twist in his saga will come with an attached string of dozens of hours of of testimony that could be criminally damaging to the president.



Cohens new charge comes from Special Counsel Robert Mueller. His previous ones, bank and tax charges to which he has already pleaded guilty, were lodged by federal prosecutors in the Southern District of New York.



He is expected to be sentenced to between four and five years in prison in December for his first federal case. Its unclear if the new guilty plea will involve more jail time.



Cohen has publicly turned against President Trump since the FBI raided his home and offices in April.



Prosecutors deemed the $130,000 Stormy Daniels payment illegal because it was intended to help Trump avoid an embarrassing electoral loss to Hillary Clinton  and was therefore an in-kind political contribution far in excess of the limits of the law.

US, (Daily Mail), 29 November 2018 -
Countryside Properties PLC operates as a home builder and urban regeneration partner in the United Kingdom. It operates through two segments, Partnerships and Housebuilding. The Partnerships segment specializes in the urban regeneration of public sector land that delivers private, affordable, and private rented sector homes in partnership with local authorities and housing associations. This segment also develops brownfield land in the Midlands, the North West of England, and Yorkshire. The Housebuilding segment delivers homes to local owner occupiers; and develops primarily private and affordable homes located in outer London and the home counties. The company also offers estate management services. It has a total land bank of 42,000 plots. The company was formerly known as Hackplimco (No. 121) plc and changed its name to Countryside Properties PLC in January 2016. Countryside Properties PLC was founded in 1958 and is headquartered in Brentwood, the United Kingdom.

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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.

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Cenovus Energy Inc., together with its subsidiaries, develops, produces, and markets crude oil, natural gas liquids, and natural gas in Canada, the United States and the Asia Pacific region. The company operates through Oil Sands, Conventional, and Refining and Marketing segments. The Oil Sands segment develops and produces bitumen in northeast Alberta. Its bitumen assets include Foster Creek, Christina Lake, and Narrows Lake, as well as other projects in the early stages of development. The Conventional segment holds assets primarily located in Elmworth-Wapiti, Kaybob-Edson, and Clearwater operating areas of British Columbia and Alberta, as well as various interests in natural gas processing facilities. The Refining and Marketing segment transports and sells crude oil, natural gas, and NGLs. This segment owns a 50% ownership in Wood River and Borger refineries located in the United States; and owns and operates a crude-by-rail terminal in Alberta. Cenovus Energy Inc. was founded in 2009 and is headquartered in Calgary, Canada.

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There is not enough analysis data for Chinook Energy.

4.8 Community Rank

Outperform Votes Chinook Energy has received 294 outperform votes. (Add your outperform vote.)

Underperform Votes Chinook Energy has received 118 underperform votes. (Add your underperform vote.)

Community Sentiment Chinook Energy has received 71.36% outperform votes from our community.

MarketBeat's community ratings are surveys of what our community members think about Chinook Energy and other stocks. Vote Outperform if you believe CKE will outperform the S&P 500 over the long term. Vote Underperform if you believe CKE will underperform the S&P 500 over the long term. You may vote once every thirty days.

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GlaxoSmithKline Plc is a healthcare company, which engages in the research, development, and manufacture of pharmaceutical medicines, vaccines, and consumer healthcare products. It operates through the following segments: Pharmaceuticals; Pharmaceuticals R&D; Vaccines and Consumer Healthcare. The Pharmaceuticals segment focuses on developing medicines in respiratory and infectious diseases, oncology, and immuno-inflammation. The Pharmaceuticals R&D segment focuses on science related to the immune system, the use of human genetics and advanced technologies, and is driven by the multiplier effect of Science x Technology x Culture. The Vaccines segment produces pediatric and adult vaccines to prevent a range of infectious diseases including, hepatitis A and B, diphtheria, tetanus and whooping cough, measles, mumps and rubella, polio, typhoid, influenza, and bacterial meningitis. The Consumer Healthcare segment develops and markets brands in the oral health, pain relief, respiratory, nutrition and gastro intestinal, and skin health categories. The company was founded in 1715 and is headquartered in Middlesex, the United Kingdom.

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The following companies are subsidiares of Brinker International: BI INTERNATIONAL SERVICES LLC, BI MEXICO HOLDING CORPORATION, BIPC GLOBAL PAYROLL COMPANY LLC, BIPC INVESTMENTS LLC, BIPC MANAGEMENT LLC, BRINKER AIRPORTS LLC, BRINKER ALABAMA INC., BRINKER ARKANSAS INC., BRINKER ASIA INC., BRINKER BRAZIL LLC, BRINKER CANADIAN HOLDING CO. ULC, BRINKER CANADIAN RESTAURANT CO. ULC, BRINKER CB LP, BRINKER CB MANAGEMENT LLC, BRINKER FHC B.V., BRINKER FLORIDA INC., BRINKER FREEHOLD INC., BRINKER GEORGIA INC., BRINKER INTERNATIONAL PAYROLL COMPANY L.P., BRINKER LOUISIANA INC., BRINKER MICHIGAN INC., BRINKER MISSISSIPPI INC., BRINKER MISSOURI INC., BRINKER NEVADA INC., BRINKER NEW JERSEY INC., BRINKER NORTH CAROLINA INC., BRINKER OF BALTIMORE COUNTY INC., BRINKER OF CARROLL COUNTY INC., BRINKER OF CECIL COUNTY INC., BRINKER OKLAHOMA INC., BRINKER OPCO LLC, BRINKER PENN TRUST, BRINKER PROPCO FLORIDA INC., BRINKER PROPERTY CORPORATION, BRINKER PURCHASING INC., BRINKER RESTAURANT CORPORATION, BRINKER RHODE ISLAND INC., BRINKER SERVICES CORPORATION, BRINKER SOUTH CAROLINA INC., BRINKER TEXAS INC., BRINKER VIRGINIA INC., CHILIS BEVERAGE COMPANY INC., CHILIS INC. a Delaware corporation, CHILIS INC. a Tennessee corporation, CHILIS INTERNATIONAL BASES B.V., CHILIS OF BEL AIR INC., CHILIS OF KANSAS INC., CHILIS OF MARYLAND INC., CHILIS OF WEST VIRGINIA INC., Grady's Inc., MAGGIANO'S OF ANNAPOLIS INC., MAGGIANO'S OF HOWARD COUNTY INC., MAGGIANO'S OF KANSAS INC., MAGGIANOS BEVERAGE COMPANY, MAGGIANOS HOLDING CORPORATION, MAGGIANOS INC., MAGGIANOS OF TYSONS INC., MAGGIANOS PROPERTY CORPORATION, MAGGIANOS TEXAS INC., PEPPER DINING HOLDING CORP., PEPPER DINING Inc., and PEPPER DINING VERMONT INC..
Speaker Karu Jayasuriya told Parliament that the gazette notification pertaining to the appointment of a new prime minister had value till the new administration was defeated by a no-confidence motion on November 14.

He said this in response to a statement made by UNP MP Patali Champika Ranawaka that the Speaker had initially accepted former president Mahinda Rajapakse as a legally installed Prime Minister.

"I took the initiative to provide facilities to the new government under the gazette notification which had value till it was defeated by a no-confidence motion," the Speaker said and added that

he had discussions with the President after November 26 under the concept of consensus and compromise. He said President had assured him he would accept any group which had a majority support in Parliament on November 7 but that did not happen. (Yohan Perera and Ajith Siriwadana)
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.

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Och-Ziff Capital Management Group LLC is a publicly owned hedge fund sponsor. The firm provides investment advisory services for its clients. It primarily caters to institutional investors which include pension funds, fund-of-funds, foundations and endowments, corporations and other institutions, private banks and family offices. The firm invests in equity and alternative markets across the world. It employs quantitative and qualitative analysis to make its investments. For its multi-strategy portfolios, the firm employs strategies like convertible and derivative arbitrage, corporate credit, long/short equity special situations, buyout investments, merger arbitrage, private investments, and structured credit. It also invests in real estate and traditional real estate assets including multifamily, office, hotel and retail, loans, portfolio acquisitions, loan pools, operating companies, structured debt products, public securities, and non-traditional real estate assets including gaming, distressed land and residential, cell towers, parking, golf, debt and senior housing. For private equity investments, it considers investments in a variety of special situations that seek to realize value through strategic sales or initial public offerings. The firm typically invests in the energy investments. It prefers to invest in United States. It also manages a buyout fund, Och-Ziff Energy Fund. Och-Ziff Capital Management Group LLC was founded in 1994 and is based New York City with additional offices in Houston, Texas, London, United Kingdom, Hong Kong, Tokyo, Japan, Bangalore, India, Singapore, and Beijing, China.

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Hannover RAck SE, together with its subsidiaries, provides reinsurance products and services worldwide. It operates through Property & Casualty Reinsurance, and Life & Health Reinsurance segments. The Property & Casualty Reinsurance segment offers specialty lines comprising marine, aviation, facultative and direct business, credit, surety, and political risks reinsurance products; and treaty, catastrophe XL, and structured reinsurance, as well as insurance-linked securities. This segment also provides risk solutions for agricultural, livestock, and bloodstock businesses; aviation and space business; and marine and offshore energy business. The Life & Health Reinsurance segment offers group and individual credit life, enhanced annuities, group life and health, and Sharia-compliant Takaful reinsurance products. This segment also provides risk solutions in the areas of critical illness, disability, health, longevity, long term care, and mortality and morbidity, as well as underwriting services. In addition, it offers various financial solutions, including new-business financing; monetization of embedded value; reserve and solvency relief; and divestiture of non-core businesses. The company was formerly known as Hannover RAckversicherung AG and changed its name to Hannover RAck SE in March 2013. The company was founded in 1966 and is headquartered in Hanover, Germany. Hannover RAck SE is a subsidiary of Talanx AG.

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Sasol Ltd. is a holding company. The firm engages in the provision of liquid fuels, chemicals, and low-carbon electricity. It operates through following segments: Mining, Exploration and Production International, Energy, Base Chemicals, Performance Chemicals, and Group Functions. The Mining segment secures coal feedstock for the Southern African value chain, mainly for gasification, but also to generate electricity and steam. The Exploration and Production International segment develops and manages oil and gas exploration and production in Mozambique, South Africa, Canada, and Gabon. The Base Chemicals segment involves the marketing of commodity chemicals based on the group's upstream Fischer-Tropsch, ethylene, propylene and ammonia value chains. The Performance Chemicals segment markets commodity and differentiated performance chemicals. The Energy segment sells and markets liquid fuels, pipeline gas, and electricity. The Group Functions segment includes the head office and centralised treasury operations. The company was founded in 1950 and is headquartered in Johannesburg, South Africa.

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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.
UNP Deputy Leader Sajith Premadasa said yesterday he had no intention of accepting the post of Prime Minister at this point in time but indicated that he could be the party's prime ministerial candidate at a future general election.

Mr. Premadasa said this at a media briefing held at parliamentary complex when responding to s question asked by the journalists with regard to a statement made by UNP spokesman Harin Fernando that Mr. Premadasa would be party's prime ministerial candidate at a future general election.

"Mr. Fernando has referred to what may happen in the future and not about the present," he said and added that in any case it was the party's working committee which had to decide on such matters.

Meanwhile, Mr. Premadasa said the party had decided that its current leader Ranil Wickremesinghe should be the Prime Minister in the event of reverting to status quo prior to October 26.

He said had had not had any political discussions with former president Maihinda Rajapaksa or with anyone else at a recent religious ceremony held in memory of late educationist R.I.T. Alles. "Some media reports said I was playing a political game. Sajith Premadasa does not play political games," Mr. Premadasa said. (Yohan Perera and Ajith Siriwardana)

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Emera Incorporated, an energy and services company, through its subsidiaries, engages in the generation, transmission, and distribution of electricity to various customers. The company operates through Florida Electric Utility, Canadian Electric Utilities, Other Electric Utilities, Gas Utilities and Infrastructure, and Other segments. It generates electricity through coal-fired, natural gas and/or oil, hydro, wind, solar, petcoke, and biomass-fueled power plants. The company is also involved in the purchase, transmission, distribution, and sale of natural gas; and the provision of energy marketing, trading, and other energy asset management services. In addition, it transports re-gasified liquefied natural gas from Saint John, New Brunswick to consumers in the northeastern United States through its 145-kilometer pipeline. As of December 31, 2020, the company's electric utilities served approximately 792,500 customers in West Central Florida; 529,000 customers in Nova Scotia; 131,000 customers in the island of Barbados; 19,000 customers in the Grand Bahama Island; and 34,000 customers in the island of Dominica, as well as gas utilities and infrastructure served approximately 426,000 customers across Florida and 540,000 customers in New Mexico. It also provides insurance and reinsurance services to Emera and its affiliates, as well as offers financing services. The company was incorporated in 1998 and is headquartered in Halifax, Canada.

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The following companies are subsidiares of Exxon Mobil: AKG Marketing Company Limited, Aera Energy LLC, Al-Jubail Petrochemical Company, Ampolex (Cepu) Pte Ltd, Ancon Insurance Company Inc., Barnett Gathering LLC, Barzan Gas Company Limited, Caspian Pipeline Consortium, Celtic Exploration Ltd., Coral FLNG S.A., Cross Timbers Energy LLC, Ellora Energy Inc., Esmeroon Oil Transporta Imperial Oil Limited, Esso (Thailand) Public Company Limited, Esso Australia Resources Pty Ltd, Esso Deutschland GmbH, Esso Erdgas Beteiligungsgesellschaft mbH, Esso Exploration Angola (Block 15) Limited, Esso Exploration Angola (Block 17) Limited, Esso Exploration and Production Angola (Overseas) Limited, Esso Exploration and Production Chad Inc., Esso Exploration and Production Guyana Limited, Esso Exploration and Production Nigeria (Deepwater) Limited, Esso Exploration and Production Nigeria (Offshore East) Limited, Esso Exploration and Production Nigeria Limited, Esso Exploration and Production UK Limited, Esso Global Investments Ltd., Esso Italiana S.r.l., Esso Nederland B.V., Esso Norge AS, Esso Petroleum Company Limited, Esso Raffinage, Esso Societe Anonyme Francaise, Exxo Holdings Inc., Exxon Azerbaijan Limited, Exxon Chemical Arabia Inc., Exxon International Finance Company, Exxon Luxembourg Holdings LLC, Exxon Mobile Bay Limited Partnership, Exxon Neftegas Limited, Exxon Overseas Corporation, Exxon Overseas Investment Corporation, ExxonMobil (China) Investment Co. Ltd., ExxonMobil (Taicang) Petroleum Co. Ltd., ExxonMobil Abu Dhabi Offshore Petroleum Company Limited, ExxonMobil Alaska Production Inc., ExxonMobil Asia Pacific Pte. Ltd., ExxonMobil Australia Pty Ltd, ExxonMobil B Resources Company, ExxonMobil Capital Finance Company, ExxonMobil Capital Netherlands B.V., ExxonMobil Central Europe Holding GmbH, ExxonMobil Cepu Limited, ExxonMobil Chemical France, ExxonMobil Chemical Gulf Coast Investments LLC, ExxonMobil Chemical Holland B.V., ExxonMobil Chemical Services (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., ExxonMobil China Petroleum & Petrochemical Company Limited, ExxonMobil Development Africa B.V., ExxonMobil Development Company, ExxonMobil Egypt (S.A.E.), ExxonMobil Exploracao Brasil Ltda., ExxonMobil Exploration and Production Malaysia Inc., ExxonMobil Exploration and Production Norway AS, ExxonMobil Exploration and Production Romania Limited, ExxonMobil Exploration and Production Tanzania Limited, ExxonMobil Finance Company Limited, ExxonMobil Financial Investment Company Limited, ExxonMobil France Holding SAS, ExxonMobil Gas Marketing Europe Limited, ExxonMobil General Finance Company, ExxonMobil Global Services Company, ExxonMobil Golden Pass Surety LLC, ExxonMobil Holding Company Holland LLC, ExxonMobil Holding Norway AS, ExxonMobil Hong Kong Limited, ExxonMobil International Services SARL, ExxonMobil Iraq Limited, ExxonMobil Italiana Gas S.r.l., ExxonMobil Kazakhstan Inc., ExxonMobil Kazakhstan Ventures Inc., ExxonMobil LNG Services B.V., ExxonMobil Lubricants Trading Company, ExxonMobil Oil Corporation, ExxonMobil PNG Limited, ExxonMobil Petroleum & Chemical BVBA, ExxonMobil Petroleum & Chemical Holdings Inc., ExxonMobil Pipeline Company, ExxonMobil Production Deutschland GmbH, ExxonMobil Production Norway Inc., ExxonMobil Qatargas (II) Limited, ExxonMobil Qatargas Inc., ExxonMobil Ras Laffan (III) Limited, ExxonMobil Rasgas Inc., ExxonMobil Research and Engineering Company, ExxonMobil Russia Kara Sea Holdings B.V., ExxonMobil Sales and Supply LLC, ExxonMobil Technology Finance Company, ExxonMobil Ventures Finance Company, ExxonMobil Ventures Funding Ltd., Fujian Refining & Petrochemical Co. Ltd., Golden Pass LNG Terminal Investments LLC, Golden Pass LNG Terminal LLC, Gulf Coast Growth Ventures LLC, Imperial Oil Limited, Imperial Oil Resources Limited, Imperial Oil Resources N.W.T. Limited, Imperial Oil/Petroliere Imperiale, Infineum Italia s.r.I., Infineum Singapore Pte. Ltd., InterOil Corporation, Jurong Aromatics Corporation Pte Ltd, MPM Lubricants, Marine Well Containment Company LLC, Mobil Australia Resources Company Pty Limited, Mobil California Exploration & Producing Asset Company, Mobil Caspian Pipeline Company, Mobil Chemical Products International Inc., Mobil Corporation, Mobil Equatorial Guinea Inc., Mobil Erdgas Verwaltungsgesellschaft mbH, Mobil Exploration & Producing Australia Pty Ltd, Mobil International Petroleum Corporation, Mobil Oil Australia Pty Ltd, Mobil Oil Exploration & Producing Southeast Inc., Mobil Oil New Zealand Limited, Mobil Producing Nigeria Unlimited, Mobil Producing Texas & New Mexico Inc., Mobil SerLimited, Mobil Venezolana De Petroleos Inc., Mobil Yanbu Petrochemical Company Inc., Mobil Yanbu Refining Company Inc., Mountain Gathering LLC, Mozambique Rovuma Venture S.p.A., Palmetto Transoceanic LLC, Papua New Guinea Liquefied Natural Gas Global Company LDC, Permian Express Partners LLC, Phillips Exploration LLC, Qatar Liquefied Gas Company Limited, Ras Laffan Liquefied Natural Gas Company Limited, Ras Laffan Liquefied Natural Gas Company Limited (II), SPI Limited, Saudi Aramco Mobil Refinery Company Ltd., Saudi Yanbu Petrochemical Co., SeaRiver Maritime Inc., South Hook LNG Terminal Company Limited, Tengizchevroil LLP, Terminale GNL Adriatico S.r.l, Trend Gathering & Treating LLC, Wolverine Pipe Line Company, XH LLC, XTO Delaware Basin LLC, XTO ENERGY, XTO Energy Canada, and XTO Holdings LLC.
First BanCorp (Puerto Rico) is a holding company, which engages in the provision of personal, commercial, and corporate banking services through its subsidiaries. It operates through the following segments: Commercial and Corporate Banking, Consumer (Retail) Banking, Mortgage Banking, Treasury and Investments, United States Operations, and Virgin Islands Operations. The Commercial and Corporate Banking segment consists of the company's lending and other services for large customers represented by specialized and middle-market clients and the public sector. The Consumer (Retail) Banking segment includes consumer lending and deposit-taking activities conducted mainly through FirstBank's branch network in Puerto Rico. The Mortgage Banking segment focuses on the origination, sale, and servicing of a variety of residential mortgage loan products and related hedging activities. The Treasury and Investments segment deals with treasury and investment management functions. The United States Operations segment represents all banking activities conducted by FirstBank on the United States mainland. The Virgin Islands Operations segment includes all banking activities conducted by FirstBank in

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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.
Growing from strength to strength to become one of Sri Lankas Biggest Financial Services Retail Network since it was established on 21st November 2013, mCash is celebrating its 5th Anniversary with great pride, looking back on many milestones achieved within a short span of five years. Launched by Mobitel, mCash is one of the pioneering Mobile Financial Services Platform in the country, which has forever transformed the way Sri Lanka conducts its financial transactions. mCash has truly empowered its customers by enabling people to use their mobile phones for financial transactions, placing them in control of their finances.

The efficacy, speed and convenience of mCash is evidenced by its burgeoning base of customers of Mobitel & Etisalat, who embraced the mobile money platform to enhance their lives. mCash fulfils all the security requirements customers need, as it is licensed by the Central Bank of Sri Lanka and has Commercial Bank as the Custodian Bank and Deutsche Bank as the trustee bank. Further backed by Mobitel, the National Mobile Service Provider, mCash has become a household brand.

Commenting on mCashs 5th Anniversary, Kalhara Gamage  General Manager, Mobile Financial Services at Mobitel says, It is a source of great pride for us to look back at the massive strides that mCash has taken to become one of the most widely used mobile financial services platforms in the country within a short period. Clearly, commitment to innovation has underlined mCashs success at every turn. With every innovation that mCash introduced, it made financial transactions that much easier for people of Sri Lanka. mCash boasts a retail network with over 16,000 Touch Points spread island-wide with hundreds of partners on-board. It offers an amazing variety of services to fulfil every conceivable lifestyle and commercial need of the people. Theres nothing mCash cant do and this attitude will help us forge ahead to achieve even more milestones into the future.

mCash facilitates a wide array of services via the mobile phone such as Deposits, Withdrawals, Sending & Receiving Money, Paying utility & institute bills, shopping, online payments, making charitable donations, Digital Standing Orders and robust B2B business solutions.

Committed to digital inclusivity, mCash has partnered with other mobile operators such as Etisalat, allowing Etisalat customers to experience the wide array of mCash Services and Offers. Any Mobitel or Etisalat Customer could simply get onboard of mCash free of charge by dialing #111# from the mobile. The mCash Mobile App has also further made mCash transactions more user-friendly whereby customers could download it from the Apple App Store, Google Play Store and the Windows Mobile Store.

Most recently, mCash launched Sri Lankas First Ever Mobile Platform to offer Loans up to 25,000 via mCash by partnering with LOLC Finance where customers could apply for loan simply from the mobile. These Digital Loans offer access to finance, a true enabler for grassroots communities.

In yet another innovation, mCash launched Bank Deposits via mCash by partnering with NSB to launch NSB iSaver Service - allowing any Sri Lankan to save digitally by simply visiting 16,000+ mCash Retailers island-wide. This not only inculcates the savings habit but encourages greater adoption as it is a digital savings product.

mCash has entered into strategic partnerships where needed, launching Cardless ATMs with Commercial Bank for the first time in Sri Lanka to allow Cardless Cash Withdrawals for mCash customers and also recently with Sampath Bank, where mCash boasts the largest ATM network in Sri Lanka for Mobile Money Withdrawals with over 1000 ATMs island-wide.

mCash further enhanced the user experience to customers with the introduction of a QR Code for payments where customers can simply scan the code and process a payment. This is currently live for mCash top ups, withdrawals, send & receive money and pay for shopping at any of the mCash merchants and retailers islandwide.

mCash B2B solutions are transforming business and the mCash Robust Platform is empowering sectors such as Banking, Insurance, Finance and Travel to name a few.

mCash rewards customers with popular unbeatable offers during Valentines, Avurudu, Christmas seasons etc. Available at the click of a button, customers can top up their mCash Account digitally using Internet & Mobile Banking Platforms of leading banks.
Bank of America Corp. is a bank and financial holding company, which engages in the provision of banking and nonbank financial services. It operates through the following segments: Consumer Banking, Global Wealth and Investment Management, Global Banking, Global Markets, and All Other. The Consumer Banking segment offers credit, banking, and investment products and services to consumers and small businesses. The Global Wealth and Investment Management provides client experience through a network of financial advisors focused on to meet their needs through a full set of investment management, brokerage, banking, and retirement products. The Global Banking segment deals with lending-related products and services, integrated working capital management and treasury solutions to clients, and underwriting and advisory services. The Global Markets segment includes sales and trading services, as well as research, to institutional clients across fixed-income, credit, currency, commodity, and equity businesses. The All Other segment consists of asset and liability management activities, equity investments, non-core mortgage loans and servicing activities, the net impact of periodic revisions

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NTT DOCOMO, INC., a telecommunications company, provides various mobile services in Japan and internationally. It operates through three segments: Telecommunications Business, Smart Life Business, and Other Businesses. The company offers iPhone, iPad, smartphone, tablet, and feature phone products and services under the docomo name, as well as d POINT CLUB, a point program. It also provides technical and operational services to mobile operators and other companies. In addition, the company offers LTE, FOMA, and FOMA high-speed services; docomo Wi-Fi services; VoLTE voice call services; docomo Hikari, an optical Internet service; and docomo Shop services. Further, it provides optical-fiber broadband, satellite mobile communications, and international services; distributes video, music, and electronic books, etc.; and offers finance/payment services, online shopping service, other life-related services, etc. Additionally, the company engages in the mobile device protection service, commissioned development/sale, system maintenance businesses, etc. As of March 31, 2019, it had 78.45 million cellular subscriptions; and 70.15 million d POINT CLUB memberships. NTT DOCOMO, INC. has collaboration with Tohoku University to research on an artificial-intelligence technology to detect periodontal disease by photographing a person's gums with a smartphone. It also has a mobile payment alliance agreement with Merpay, Inc., LINE Pay Corporation, and KDDI Corporation for merchant stores. The company was founded in 1991 and is headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. NTT DOCOMO, INC. is a subsidiary of Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation.

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11 Wall Street research analysts have issued "buy," "hold," and "sell" ratings for Hugo Boss in the last twelve months. There are currently 6 hold ratings and 5 buy ratings for the stock. The consensus among Wall Street research analysts is that investors should "hold" Hugo Boss stock. A hold rating indicates that analysts believe investors should maintain any existing positions they have in BOSS, but not buy additional shares or sell existing shares.

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The following companies are subsidiares of Illinois Tool Works: A V Co 1 Limited, A V Co 2 Limited, A V Co 3 Limited, ACCU-LUBE Manufacturing GmbH - Schmiermittel und -gerate -, AIP/BI Holdings Inc., Accessories Marketing Holding Corp., Advanced Molding Company Inc., Allen Coding GmbH, Allen France SAS, Alpine Automation Limited, Alpine Engineered Products, Alpine Holdings Inc., Alpine Systems Corporation, Anaerobicos S.r.l., AppliChem GmbH, 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..
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.
(Tokyo) AFP: A Tokyo court yesterday extended the detention of former Nissan chief Carlos Ghosn, local media said, after his arrest on allegations of financial misconduct that have shaken the auto industry.



The extension means Ghosn could remain in a Tokyo cell for another 10 days while prosecutors investigate allegations he under-reported his salary by millions of dollars over five years.



The 64-year-old tycoon was arrested on November 19 and prosecutors have already extended his detention once, while two of the companies he led Nissan and Mitsubishi Motors have voted to remove him.



The extension gives prosecutors until December 10 to decide whether to indict Ghosn on charges of under-reporting his salary. If he is indicted, he could then be released awaiting trial, or held in pre-trial detention.



Prosecutors could also choose to file additional charges against him, and with each charge they can seek to hold Ghosn for another 22 days.



Ghosns detention even before charges have been officially filed against him has prompted some criticism abroad, particularly in France, where the executive holds citizenship.



On Thursday, the deputy head of the Tokyo prosecutors office rejected the criticism, saying: We do not unnecessarily keep people in custody for a long time.

I do not criticise other countries systems just because they are different, Shin Kukimoto added.

Ghosn, who denies the allegations against him, faces an array of claims involving hiding money and benefits he received while chairman of Nissan and head of an alliance between the Japanese firm, Mitsubishi Motors and Frances Renault.



Nissan had been investigating Ghosn and close aide Greg Kelly for months after a whistleblower report, and accused the pair of a scheme to misrepresent the Brazil-born chiefs earnings.



Sources have since said Ghosn signed secret documents instructing aides to defer part of his salary, without disclosing this to shareholders.



The scheme allegedly involved under-reporting Ghosns income by around US$44 million over five fiscal years to March 2015.



It allegedly began after new regulations came into force in the fiscal year 2009/2010, including a law requiring any company executives earning 100 million yen (US$885,000) or more to declare it.



The same source said Nissan funds were secretly used to pay for residences for Ghosn in Rio de Janeiro and Lebanon, homes that local media said cost huge sums and had no legitimate business purpose.



Those sorts of expenses should have been disclosed as compensation but were arranged without shareholder approval and generally in secret, the source added.

Local media also reported that Ghosn used Nissan corporate money to make a donation to his daughters university and fund a family trip, and paid his sister around US$100,000 a year for a fictitious role as an advisor.



Ghosns arrest sent shockwaves throughout the auto industry and beyond, with Japanese and French officials at pains to stress the alliance between the three companies would not collapse.



On Thursday, executives from the three firms reaffirmed their commitment to the alliance despite reports of tension in the partnership, particularly on the part of Nissan, which outsells its French counterpart Renault.



While Mitsubishi Motors and Nissan have removed Ghosn, he remains chairman and CEO of Renault.



French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire on Thursday said there was no question of changing the alliances balance of power.



The rules of the partnership state that Renault chooses the alliances CEO, who wields a tie-breaking vote in board decisions, while Nissan names the deputy.

Japanese media said yesterday that Prime Minister Shinzo Abe would meet French President Emmanuel Macron on the sidelines of the G20 Summit this weekend to discuss the case.



Japans government declined to confirm the meeting, but a spokesman said it was important to maintain stable relations despite the case against Ghosn.
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A special team led by Inspector General of Police (IGP) Pujith Jayasundara, senior DIG of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) and Police Spokesman had left for Batticaloa to probe the killing of two police constables.

The two victims were found dead with gunshot injuries at the Vavunathivu police roadblock this morning.

Video by Wasantha Chandrapala

Pix by Wasantha Chandrapala
Goldman Sachs Hedge Industry VIP ETF's stock was trading at $54.68 on March 11th, 2020 when COVID-19 reached pandemic status according to the World Health Organization (WHO). Since then, GVIP shares have increased by 90.7% and is now trading at $104.2712.

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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 Humana: 154th Street Medical Plaza, 516-526 West Main Street Condominium Council of Co-Owners, 54th Street Medical Plaza, American Eldercare, American Eldercare of North Florida, Anvita Health, Arcadian Health Plan, Arcadian Management Services, Atlantis Physician Group, CAC Medical Center Holdings, CAC-Florida Medical Centers, CDO 1, CDO 2, CHA HMO, CHA Service Company, Care Partners Home Care, CareNetwork, CarePlus Health, CarePlus Health Plans, Cariten Health Plan Inc., Certify Data Systems, CompBenefits, CompBenefits Company, CompBenefits Corporation, CompBenefits Dental, CompBenefits Direct, CompBenefits Insurance Company, Complex Clinical Management, Concentra Managed Care, Continucare Corporation, Continucare MDHC, Continucare MSO, Continucare Medical Management, Dental Care Plus Management, DentiCare, Emphesys, Emphesys Insurance Company, Enclara Healthcare, FPG, FPG Acquisition Corp., FPG Acquisition Holdings Corp., FPG Senior Services, Family Physicians of Winter Park, Go365, HUM Provider Holdings, HUM-e-FL, Harris Rothenberg International, Health Value Management, Humana Active Outlook, Humana At Home (Dallas), Humana At Home (Houston), Humana At Home (San Antonio), Humana At Home (TLC), Humana At Home 1, Humana Behavioral Health, Humana Benefit Plan of Illinois, Humana Dental Company, Humana Digital Health and Analytics Platform Services, Humana EAP and Work-Life Services of California, Humana Employers Health Plan of Georgia, Humana Government Business, Humana Health Benefit Plan of Louisiana, Humana Health Company of New York, Humana Health Insurance Company of Florida, Humana Health Plan, Humana Health Plan of California, Humana Health Plan of Ohio, Humana Health Plan of Texas, Humana Health Plans of Puerto Rico, Humana Healthcare Research, Humana Inc., Humana Innovation Enterprises, Humana Insurance Company, Humana Insurance Company of Kentucky, Humana Insurance Company of New York, Humana Insurance of Puerto Rico, Humana Management Services of Puerto Rico, Humana MarketPOINT, Humana MarketPOINT of Puerto Rico, Humana Medical Plan, Humana Medical Plan of Michigan, Humana Medical Plan of Pennsylvania, Humana Medical Plan of Utah, Humana Pharmacy, Humana Pharmacy Solutions, Humana Regional Health Plan, Humana Veterans Healthcare Services, Humana WellWorks LLC, Humana Wisconsin Health Organization Insurance Corporation, Humana at Home, HumanaDental, HumanaDental Insurance Company, Humco, Hummingbird Coaching Systems LLC, Independent Care Health Plan, KMG America, Kindred Healthcare, MCCI Group Holdings, MCCI Holdings, MCCI Medical Group, MCCI Specialty, MCCI/Lifetime of Aventura, MD Care, METCARE of Florida, Managed Care Indemnity, Medical Care Consortium Incorporated of Texas, MetCare, Metropolitan Health Networks, Naples Health Care Specialists, North Region Providers, Nursing Solutions, OSF HealthCare, PHP Companies, Partners in Integrated Care, Preferred Health Partnership, Preservation on Main, Primary Care Holdings, Primary Care Holdings II, Primary Care Specialists of the Palm Beaches, RMA Medical Centers of Florida, RMA Medical Group of Florida, ROHC, SeniorBridge, SeniorBridge Family Companies (CT), SeniorBridge Family Companies (FL), SeniorBridge Family Companies (IN), SeniorBridge Family Companies (MO), SeniorBridge Family Companies (NY), SeniorBridge-Florida, Texas Dental Plans, The Dental Concern, Transcend Population Health Management, and Transcend Population Health Management II.
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).
The estimated total number of infections remains static over the years The Human T - Lymphotropic Virus is very rare in Sri Lanka and it can lead to neurological disorders The world is heading towards eliminating AIDS, and Sri Lanka has also fast tracked its response to this

The Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) and the Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome commonly known as AIDS are two conditions that people fear. From having no cure in the past, both HIV and AIDs could be controlled today, thanks to extensive research done on both conditions.

Contracted mainly as a result of unprotected sex, HIV/AIDS could also be contracted from unscreened blood transfusions and using used needles for drug intake or even when getting a tattoo. In view of World AIDS Day which falls tomorrow (December 1) the Health Capsule spoke to Dr. Iresh Jayaweera, from the World AIDS Day organising team of the National STD/AIDS Control Programme (NSCAP) who shed light on the importance of testing oneself for HIV, treatments and prevalence in Sri Lanka.

The crucial test

Know your status  the World AIDS Day theme for 2018 calls upon everybody to test themselves for HIV/AIDS. Many of those diagnosed with HIV have gotten it from their marital partner, Dr. Jayaweera said in his opening remarks. Anyone having unprotected sex can be at risk of getting HIV. But the risk is zero if it is a mutually monogamous relationship in which both partners are free of HIV. In Sri Lanka it is estimated that around 3500-4200 people are infected with HIV. But only 2/3rds of them know that they have HIV. Others are in the community. If they dont test and find out, it will lead to the AIDS stage which has a high mortality. It is important to find out ones HIV status by testing, since people with early HIV infections are asymptomatic and only a blood test can detect HIV. According to him, if all the people with HIV in Sri Lanka are diagnosed for treatment their Viral Load in blood will be undetectable after about 6/52 of treatment. In other words if there is an undetectable viral load, the risk of infecting someone is almost zero. This will help to prevent and control new infections. The world is heading towards eliminating AIDS, and Sri Lanka has also fast tracked its response to this. It is only possible if you diagnose 90% of people living with HIV (PLHIV).



Antiretroviral therapy (ART)

As per the guidelines laid by the World Health Organisation (WHO) Sri Lanka, treatment is recommended for all adults and adolescents with HIV immediately, regardless of their CD4+ cell count. Antiretrovirals (ARVs) are a group of drugs that inhibit different steps in the HIV replication process and the cornerstone of HIV/AIDS management. ARVs have been consistently proven to reduce death due to HIV/AIDS and to reduce the development of AIDS-defining conditions. It should be noted that treatment is lifelong.



Treatment literacy

The Health Capsule learned that most people who seek treatment for HIV come from Western Province. Unlike other conditions getting diagnosed with HIV involves a heavy dose of counseling and education to the patients, he further said. It is continued throughout the care spectrum. So PLHIV are well aware about the treatments available and their treatment regimens, their effectiveness and how to adhere to the treatment plan. We also inform the public that effective treatment is available free of charge.



Other types of STDs and symptoms

Herpes simplex Virus, Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C, Human Papilloma Virus and Human T-Lymphotropic Virus are several other sexually transmitted diseases, Dr. Jayaweera added. Hepatitis B and C virus infect the liver and they can lead to Jaundice when severe. These conditions can also lead to cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma of the liver. Various treatment options are available. Hepatitis B can be easily prevented by vaccination. According to him, the human papilloma virus cause genital warts and cervical and penile cancers in addition to other complications and once infected it is difficult to eliminate from the body. On the other hand, the Human T-Lymphotropic Virus is very rare in Sri Lanka and they can lead to neuorological disorders. Out of these conditions it is possible to cure Hepatitis B and C with continuous treatments.



Prevalence of HIV/AIDS in Sri Lanka

From the graphs given (Annual Report 2017), it is quite evident that the cumulative number of PLHIV by province of residence in the Western province is higher when compared to other provinces. Out of that 670 people are receiving ART in Colombo alone.



Awareness on safe sex methods

We are proud to say that spreading awareness on safe sex methods has been a success, he further said. We have been doing it with the Family Planning Association which is our main stakeholder and its success is evident with Sri Lanka still being a low prevalence country for HIV, in which less than 2 out of 10,000 people have HIV. The estimated total number of infections remains static over the years. A recent bio-behavioral survey done by the Ministry of Health showed high levels of condom use even among high risk populations such as commercial sex workers and men who have sex with men. About 10% of newly diagnosed HIV patients belonged to youth age group who are school leavers. It is difficult to introduce education about barrier methods to youth due to various societal factors.



Confidentiality of patients

It is a known fact that contracting HIV is associated with much stigma. This stigma keeps many of those with HIV away from seeking treatment. Stigma and discrimination prevails due to lack of knowledge among people. Therefore it is important to support PLHIV so that they could lead a normal life. Another one of their concerns include confidentiality. The National STD/AIDS Control Programme (NSCAP) had been providing care for sexually transmitted diseases since 1950s and there is a well-established system to ensure the confidentiality of our patients, Dr. Jayaweera continued. Even for the healthcare workers the information will be available on a need-to-know basis for the further care of patients. The staff enrolled is trained at the enrollment as well as refresher training programmes to tackle confidentiality issues, stigma and discrimination. Patient identification is not mandatory to seek treatment. In addition to that, there is a number system instead of using their names. Only the caring physician and his or her team have access to information.

About NSCAP



The National STD/AIDS Control Programme (NSACP) of the Ministry of Health, Sri Lanka is the focal point for the prevention and control of sexually transmitted infections (STI) including HIV. It is a specialized public health programme under the Deputy Director General (Public Health services) of the Ministry of Health. Under the NSACP there are 33 full time STD clinics and 23 branch STD clinics around the country. Of these STD clinics, 21 have the capacity to provide treatments for HIV free-of-charge for people living with HIV. Other than the curative care provided by the clinics, following activities are carried out;

Prevention of transmission of HIV among high risk population including commercial sex workers, men having sex with men, beach boys and drug users .

Scaling up of HIV testing services among general population.

Prevention of mother to child transmission (PMTCT) of Syphilis and HIV.

Information, Education and Communication on HIV and sexually transmitting diseases.



It is important to address the stigma and discrimination related to HIV/STIs which will promote people reaching HIV/STI services and testing including those harder to reach, Dr. Jayaweera said in his concluding remarks. Our main goal of Ending AIDS by 2025 may not be accomplished if the general population is not sensitised on the HIV/STI epidemic in Sri Lanka. Therefore media support with current updates on the available services and care provided by NSACP has become timely and imperative for preventing this epidemic from progression in Sri Lanka. For more information visit www.aidscontrol.gov.lk
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.

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Thomson Reuters Corporation provides business information services in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asia Pacific. It operates in five segments: Legal Professionals, Corporates, Tax & Accounting Professionals, Reuters News, and Global Print. The Legal Professionals segment offers research and workflow products focusing on legal research and integrated legal workflow solutions that combine content, tools, and analytics to law firms and governments. The Corporates segment provides a suite of content-enabled technology solutions for legal, tax, regulatory, compliance, and IT professionals. The Tax & Accounting Professionals segment offers research and workflow products focusing on tax offerings and automating tax workflows to tax, accounting, and audit professionals in accounting firms. The Reuters News segment provides business, financial, national, and international news to professionals through desktop terminals, media organizations, and industry events, as well as directly to consumers. The Global Print segment offers legal and tax information primarily in print format to legal and tax professionals, governments, law schools, and corporations. The company was formerly known as The Thomson Corporation and changed its name to Thomson Reuters Corporation in April 2008. The company was founded in 1851 and is headquartered in Toronto, Canada. Thomson Reuters Corporation is a subsidiary of The Woodbridge Company Limited.

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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.

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The Free Trade Zone Manufacturers Association (FTZMA), one of the largest manufacturing associations in Sri Lankas largest free trade zone in Katunayake yesterday said the current political crisis is having implications on the future order books of its members.



FTZMA membership is made up of mainly large multinational companies with principals from the US, UK, European Union and several other countries.

The zone employs roughly 45,000 workers and has over 52 organizations which operate 80 plants within the zone.



Since the crisis started on October 26, we have had many concerned inquiries from our customers and other stakeholders both local and international regarding the present political situation in the country.

The image portrayed especially in the West has been extremely negative both in the print as well as digital media. Being one of the oldest democracies in the world, this has been debilitating and shameful especially some of the recent incidents that took place in parliament.



This has had implications for most of the future order books of our members as well as the potential of losing GSP Plus for exports to the EU, FTZMA said in a brief statement.



The industry association also said they were extremely disturbed and disappointed with the behaviour of all political parties in not reaching a consensus to the political flux.



Hence, FTZMA urged the Sri Lankan political leadership who are at loggerheads to put the country first rather than their personal agendas.



While it is important to preserve the sovereignty of our country, we must also accept the fact that we are operating on a global platform which is highly interconnected and transparent to our end customers and consumers.



Upholding the constitution, law and order, consistent policy making, and political and economic stability are key to growing our businesses and attracting further FDIs, FTZMA added.
The following companies are subsidiares of MetLife: 1001 PROPERTIES LLC, 10700 WILSHIRE LLC, 1201 TAB MANAGER LLC, 150 NORTH RIVERSIDE PE MEMBER LLC, 1925 WJC OWNER LLC, 23RD STREET INVESTMENTS INC., 500 GRANT STREET ASSOCIATES LIMITED PARTNERSHIP, 500 GRANT STREET GP LLC, 60 11TH STREET LLC, 6104 HOLLYWOOD LLC, AFP GENESIS ADMINISTRADORA DE FONDOS Y FIDECOMISOS S.A., AFP PROVIDA S.A., AGENVITA S.R.L., ALICO EUROPEAN HOLDINGS LIMITED, ALICO HELLAS SINGLE MEMBER LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANY, ALICO OPERATIONS LLC, ALICO PROPERTIES INC., AMMETLIFE INSURANCE BERHAD, AMMETLIFE TAKAFUL BERHAD, American Life Insurance Company, BEST MARKET S.A., BIDV METLIFE LIFE INSURANCE LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANY, BLOCK VISION HOLDINGS CORPORATION, BLOCK VISION OF TEXAS INC., BORDERLAND INVESTMENTS LIMITED, BOULEVARD RESIDENTIAL LLC, BUFORD LOGISTICS CENTER LLC, CC HOLDCO MANAGER LLC, CHESTNUT FLATS WIND LLC, CLOSED JOINT-STOCK COMPANY MASTER D, COMPANIA INVERSORA METLIFE S.A., CORPORATE REAL ESTATE HOLDINGS LLC, COVA LIFE MANAGEMENT COMPANY, DAVIS VISION INC., DAVISVISION IPA INC., DELAWARE AMERICAN LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY, DES MOINES CREEK BUSINESS PARK PHASE II LLC, ECONOMY FIRE & CASUALTY COMPANY, ECONOMY PREFERRED INSURANCE COMPANY, ECONOMY PREMIER ASSURANCE COMPANY, EURO CL INVESTMENTS LLC, EXCELENCIA OPERATIVA Y TECNOLOGICA S.A de C.V., FEDERAL FLOOD CERTIFICATION LLC, FORTISSIMO CO. LTD, FUNDACION METLIFE MEXICO A.C., GLOBAL PROPERTIES INC., General American Life Insurance Company, Grand Bank N.A., HASKELL EAST VILLAGE LLC, HIGH STREET SEVENTH AND OSBORN APARTMENTS LLC, HOUSING FUND MANAGER LLC, INTERNATIONAL TECHNICAL AND ADVISORY SERVICES LIMITED, INVERSIONES METLIFE HOLDCO DOS LIMITADA, INVERSIONES METLIFE HOLDCO TRES LIMITADA, JOINT-STOCK COMPANY METLIFE INSURANCE COMPANY, LHC HOLDINGS, LHCW HOLDINGS, LHCW HOTEL HOLDING, LHCW HOTEL HOLDING LLC, LHCW HOTEL OPERATING COMPANY, LONG ISLAND SOLAR FARM LLC, LUMENLAB MALAYSIA SDN. BHD., Logan Circle Partners, MARKETPLACE RESIDENCES LLC, MAXIS GBN S.A.S., MC PORTFOLIO JV MEMBER LLC, MCJV LLC, MCMIF HOLDCO I LLC, MCMIF HOLDCO II LLC, MCP - WELLINGTON LLC, MCP 100 CONGRESS MEMBER LLC, MCP 1500 MICHAEL LLC, MCP 1900 MCKINNEY LLC, MCP 2 AMES LLC, MCP 2 AMES ONE LLC, MCP 2 AMES OWNER LLC, MCP 2 AMES TWO LLC, MCP 220 YORK LLC, MCP 22745 & 22755 RELOCATION DRIVE LLC, MCP 249 INDUSTRIAL BUSINESS PARK MEMBER LLC, MCP 3040 POST OAK LLC, MCP 350 ROHLWING LLC, MCP 4600 SOUTH SYRACUSE LLC, MCP 550 WEST WASHINGTON LLC, MCP 60 11TH STREET MEMBER LLC, MCP 7 RIVERWAY LLC, MCP 9020 MURPHY ROAD LLC, MCP 93 RED RIVER MEMBER LLC, MCP ALLEY 24 EAST LLC, MCP ASHTON SOUTH END LLC, MCP BLOCK 23 MEMBER LLC, MCP BRADFORD LLC, MCP BUFORD LOGISTICS CENTER 2 MEMBER LLC, MCP BUFORD LOGISTICS CENTER BLDG B LLC, MCP BURNSIDE MEMBER LLC, MCP CENTER AVENUE INDUSTRIAL MEMBER LLC, MCP CLAWITER INNOVATION MEMBER LLC, MCP COMMON DESK TRS LLC, MCP DENVER PAVILIONS MEMBER LLC, MCP DILLON LLC, MCP DILLON RESIDENTIAL LLC, MCP ENV CHICAGO LLC, MCP FIFE ENTERPRISE CENTER LLC, MCP FRISCO OFFICE LLC, MCP GRAPEVINE LLC, MCP HIGHLAND PARK LENDER LLC, MCP HUB I LLC, MCP HUB I PROPERTY LLC, MCP LODGE AT LAKECREST LLC, MCP MA PROPERTY REIT LLC, MCP MAGNOLIA PARK MEMBER LLC, MCP MAIN STREET VILLAGE LLC, MCP MOUNTAIN TECHNOLOGY CENTER MEMBER TRS LLC, MCP NORTHYARDS HOLDCO LLC, MCP NORTHYARDS MASTER LESSEE LLC, MCP NORTHYARDS OWNER LLC, MCP ONE WESTSIDE LLC, MCP ONYX LLC, MCP PARAGON POINT LLC, MCP PLAZA AT LEGACY LLC, MCP PROPERTY MANAGEMENT LLC, MCP SEATTLE GATEWAY INDUSTRIAL I LLC, MCP SEATTLE GATEWAY INDUSTRIAL II LLC, MCP SEVENTH AND OSBORNE MF MEMBER LLC, MCP SEVENTH AND OSBORNE RETAIL MEMBER LLC, MCP SHAKOPEE LLC, MCP SLEEPY HOLLOW MEMBER LLC, MCP SOCAL INDUSTRIAL  ANAHEIM LLC, MCP SOCAL INDUSTRIAL  BERNARDO LLC, MCP SOCAL INDUSTRIAL  CANYON LLC, MCP SOCAL INDUSTRIAL  CONCOURSE LLC, MCP SOCAL INDUSTRIAL  FULLERTON LLC, MCP SOCAL INDUSTRIAL  KELLWO00OD LLC, MCP SOCAL INDUSTRIAL  LAX LLC, MCP SOCAL INDUSTRIAL  LOKER LLC, MCP SOCAL INDUSTRIAL  REDONDO LLC, MCP SOCAL INDUSTRIAL  SPRINGDALE LLC, MCP STATELINE LLC, MCP THE PALMS AT DORAL LLC, MCP TRIMBLE CAMPUS LLC, MCP UNION ROW LLC, MCP VALLEY FORGE LLC, MCP VALLEY FORGE ONE LLC, MCP VALLEY FORGE OWNER LLC, MCP VALLEY FORGE TWO LLC, MCP VANCE JACKSON LLC, MCP VINEYARD AVENUE MEMBER LLC, MCP VOA HOLDINGS LLC, MCP VOA I & III LLC, MCP VOA II LLC, MCP WATERFORD ATRIUM LLC, MCP WEST BROAD MARKETPLACE LLC, MCP  ENGLISH VILLAGE LLC, MCPF ACQUISITION LLC, MCPF FOXBOROUGH LLC, MCPF  NEEDHAM LLC, MCPP OWNERS LLC, MCRE BLOCK 40 LP, MEC HEALTH CARE INC., MET 1065 HOTEL LLC, MET CANADA SOLAR ULC, METLIFE 1007 STEWART LLC, METLIFE 1201 TAB MEMBER LLC, METLIFE 425 MKT MANAGER LLC, METLIFE 425 MKT MEMBER LLC, METLIFE 555 12TH MEMBER LLC, METLIFE 8280 MEMBER LLC, METLIFE ACOMA OWNER LLC, METLIFE ADMINISTRADORA DE FUNDOS MULTIPATROCINADOS LTDA., METLIFE ALTERNATIVES GP LLC, METLIFE ASHTON AUSTIN OWNER LLC, METLIFE ASIA HOLDING COMPANY PTE. LTD., METLIFE ASIA LIMITED, METLIFE ASIA SERVICES SDN. 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LLC, METLIFE CREDIT CORP., METLIFE DIGITAL VENTURES INC., METLIFE EMEKLILIK VE HAYAT A.S., METLIFE EMERGING MARKET DEBT BLEND FUND, METLIFE EU HOLDING COMPANY LIMITED, METLIFE EUROPE INSURANCE d.a.c., METLIFE EUROPE SERVICES LIMITED, METLIFE EUROPE d.a.c., METLIFE EUROPEAN HOLDINGS LLC., METLIFE FINANCIAL SERVICES CO. LTD, METLIFE FM HOTEL MEMBER LLC, METLIFE FUNDING INC., METLIFE GENERAL INSURANCE LIMITED, METLIFE GLOBAL BENEFITS LTD., METLIFE GLOBAL HOLDING COMPANY I GMBH, METLIFE GLOBAL HOLDING COMPANY II GMBH, METLIFE GLOBAL HOLDINGS CORPORATION S.A. De C.V., METLIFE GLOBAL INC., METLIFE GLOBAL OPERATIONS SUPPORT CENTER PRIVATE LIMITED, METLIFE GROUP INC., METLIFE HCMJV 1 GP LLC, METLIFE HCMJV 1 LP LLC, METLIFE HEALTH PLANS INC., METLIFE HOLDINGS INC., METLIFE HOME LOANS LLC, METLIFE INNOVATION CENTRE LIMITED, METLIFE INNOVATION CENTRE PTE. 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DE C.V., ML CERRITOS TC MEMBER LLC, ML CLAL MEMBER LLC, ML DOLPHIN GP LLC, ML DOLPHIN MEZZ LLC, ML MATSON MILLS MEMBER LLC, ML MILILANI MEMBER LLC, ML ONE BEDMINSTER LLC, ML PORT CHESTER SC MEMBER LLC, ML SENTINEL SQUARE MEMBER LLC, ML SLOANS LAKE MEMEBR LLC, ML SOUTHLANDS MEMBER LLC, ML SOUTHMORE LLC, ML SWAN GP LLC, ML SWAN MEZZ LLC, ML TERRACES LLC, ML THIRD ARMY INDUSTRIAL MEMBER LLC, ML VENTURE 1 MANAGER S. DE R. L. DE C.V., ML VENTURE 1 SERVICER LLC, ML-AI METLIFE MEMBER 1 LLC, ML-AI METLIFE MEMBER 2 LLC, ML-AI METLIFE MEMBER 3 LLC, ML-AI METLIFE MEMBER 4 LLC, ML-AI METLIFE MEMBER 5 LLC, MLIA MANAGER I LLC, MLIA PARK TOWER MANAGER LLC, MLIA SBAF COLONY MANAGER LLC, MLIA SBAF MANAGER LLC, MLIC ASSET HOLDINGS II LLC, MLIC ASSET HOLDINGS LLC, MLIC CB HOLDINGS LLC, MLJ US FEEDER LLC, MM GLOBAL OPERATIONS SUPPORT CENTER S.A. DE C.V., MMP CEDAR STREET OWNER LLC, MMP CEDAR STREET REIT LLC, MMP HOLDINGS III LLC, MMP OLIVIAN OWNER LLC, MMP OLIVIAN REIT LLC, MMP OWNERS III LLC, MMP OWNERS LLC, MMP SOUTH PARK OWNER LLC, MMP SOUTH PARK REIT LLC, MREF 425 MKT LLC, MSV IRVINE PROPERTY LLC, MTC FUND I LLC, MTC FUND II LLC, MTC FUND III LLC, MTL LEASING LLC, MTU HOTEL OWNER LLC, NATILOPORTEM HOLDINGS LLC, NEWBURY INSURANCE COMPANY LIMITED, OCONEE GOLF COMPANY LLC, OCONEE HOTEL COMPANY LLC, OCONEE LAND COMPANY LLC, OCONEE LAND DEVELOPMENT COMPANY LLC, OCONEE MARINA COMPANY LLC, OMI MLIC INVESTMENTS LIMITED, PACIFIC LOGISTICS INDUSTRIAL SOUTH LLC, PARK TOWER JV MEMBER LLC, PARK TOWER REIT INC., PJSC METLIFE, PLAZA DRIVE PROPERTIES LLC, PNB METLIFE INDIA INSURANCE COMPANY LIMITED, PREFCO FOURTEEN LLC, PREFCO XIV HOLDINGS LLC, PROVIDA INTERNACIONAL S.A., SAFEGUARD HEALTH ENTERPRISES INC., SAFEGUARD HEALTH PLANS INC., SAFEHEALTH LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY, SEVENTH AND OSBORN MF VENTURE LLC, SINO-US UNITED METLIFE INSURANCE CO. 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JAMES FLEET INVESTMENTS TWO LIMITED, SUPERIOR PROCUREMENT INC, SUPERIOR VISION BENEFIT MANAGEMENT INC., SUPERIOR VISION HOLDINGS INC., SUPERIOR VISION INSURANCE INC., SUPERIOR VISION INSURANCE PLAN OF WISCONSIN INC., SUPERIOR VISION OF NEW JERSEY INC., SUPERIOR VISION SERVICES INC., Safeguard Health Enterprises, Security First Group Inc., THE BUILDING AT 575 FIFTH AVENUE MEZZANINE LLC, THE BUILDING AT 575 FIFTH RETAIL HOLDING LLC, THE BUILDING AT 575 FIFTH RETAIL OWNER, THE DIRECT CALL CENTRE PTY LIMITED, TRANSMOUNTAIN LAND & LIVESTOCK COMPANY, UVC INDEPENDENT PRACTICE ASSOCIATION INC., VERSANT HEALTH CONSOLIDATIONS CORP., VERSANT HEALTH HOLDCO INC., VERSANT HEALTH LAB LLC, VIRIDIAN MIRACLE MILE LLC, VISION 21 MANAGED EYE CARE OF TAMPA BAY, VISION 21 PHYSICIAN PRACTICE MANAGEMENT COMPANY, VISION TWENTY-ONE MANAGED EYE CARE IPA INC., Versant Health, WDV ACQUISITION CORP., WFP 1000 HOLDING COMPANY GP LLC, WHITE OAK ROYALTY COMPANY, and WHITE TRACT II LLC.
The following companies are subsidiares of Lithia Motors: 797 Valley Street LLC, Albany CJD Fiat, Baierl Auto Group, Baierl Auto Parts LLC, Baierl Automotive Corporation, Baierl Chevrolet Inc., Baierl Holding LLC, Broadway Ford, Buhler Ford Inc, Cadillac of Portland Lloyd Center LLC, Camp Automotive Inc., Carbone Auto Body LLC, Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram Fiat of Morgantown, Cranberry Automotive Inc., Crater Lake Ford Lincoln, Crater Lake Mazda, DCH (Oxnard) Inc., DCH Auto Group, DCH Bloomfield LLC, DCH CA LLC, DCH Calabasas-A LLC, DCH California Investments LLC, DCH California Motors Inc., DCH DMS NJ LLC, DCH Del Norte Inc., DCH Essex Inc., DCH Financial NJ LLC, DCH Freehold - V LLC, DCH Freehold LLC, DCH Holdings LLC, DCH Investments Inc. (New Jersey), DCH Investments Inc. (New York), DCH Korean Imports LLC, DCH Mamaroneck LLC, DCH Mission Valley LLC, DCH Monmouth LLC, DCH Montclair LLC, DCH Motors LLC, DCH NY Motors LLC, DCH Nanuet LLC, DCH North America Inc., DCH Oxnard 1521 Imports Inc., DCH Riverside-S Inc., DCH Simi Valley Inc., DCH Support Services LLC, DCH TL Holdings LLC, DCH TL NY Holdings LLC, DCH Temecula Imports LLC, DCH Temecula Motors LLC, DCH Thousand Oaks-F Inc., DCH Torrance Imports Inc., Dah Chong Hong CA Trading LLC, Dah Chong Hong Trading Corporation, Daron Motors LLC, Day Auto Group, Downtown LA, Driveway Motors LLC, Elizabeth Collision LLC, Florida SS LLC, Ford Lincoln of Morgantown, Freehold Nissan LLC, Fuse Auto Sales LLC, Hamilton Honda, Hazleton Honda, Hutchins Eugene Nissan Inc., Hutchins Imported Motors Inc., Jaguar Landrover Mission Viejo, LA Motors Holding LLC, LAD Advertising Inc., LAD Carson-N LLC, LAD Mission Viejo-JLR Inc., LAD Mobu Inc., LAD-AU LLC, LAD-MB LLC, LAD-N LLC, LAD-P LLC, LAD-T LLC, LAD-V LLC, LBMP LLC, LFKF LLC, LGPAC Inc., LLL Sales Co LLC, LMBB LLC, LMBP LLC, LMOP LLC, LSTAR LLC, Lithia AcDM Inc., Lithia Aircraft Inc., Lithia Anchorage-C LLC, Lithia Anchorage-H LLC, Lithia Armory Garage LLC, Lithia Auction & Recon LLC, Lithia Auto Services Inc., Lithia Automotive Inc., Lithia BA Holding Inc., Lithia BNM Inc. (nonoperating), Lithia Baierl-S LLC, Lithia Bryan Texas Inc., Lithia Buffalo-A LLC, Lithia CCTF Inc., Lithia CDH Inc., Lithia CIMR Inc., Lithia CJDO Inc., Lithia CJDSA Inc., Lithia CJDSF Inc., Lithia CM Inc., Lithia CO Inc., Lithia CSA Inc., Lithia Community Development Company Inc., Lithia Crater Lake-F Inc., Lithia Crater Lake-M Inc., Lithia DE Inc., Lithia DM Inc., Lithia DMID Inc., Lithia Des Moines-VW LLC, Lithia Dodge of Tri-Cities Inc., Lithia Eatontown-F LLC, Lithia FLCC LLC, Lithia FMF Inc., Lithia Financial Corporation (previously Lithia Leasing Inc. and Lithia Credit Inc.), Lithia Florida Holding Inc., Lithia Ford of Boise Inc., Lithia Fresno Inc., Lithia HDM Inc., Lithia HGF Inc., Lithia HMID Inc., Lithia HPI Inc. (nonoperating), Lithia Hamilton-H LLC, Lithia Hazleton-H LLC, Lithia Idaho Falls-F Inc., Lithia Imports of Anchorage Inc., Lithia JEF Inc., Lithia Klamath Inc., Lithia Klamath-T Inc., Lithia LBGGF Inc., Lithia LHGF Inc., Lithia LSGF Inc., Lithia MBDM Inc., Lithia MMF Inc., Lithia MTLM Inc., Lithia McMurray-C LLC, Lithia Medford HON Inc., Lithia Middletown-L LLC, Lithia Monroeville-A LLC, Lithia Monroeville-C LLC, Lithia Monroeville-F LLC, Lithia Monroeville-V LLC, Lithia Moon-S LLC, Lithia Moon-V LLC, Lithia Morgantown-CJD LLC, Lithia Morgantown-F LLC, Lithia Morgantown-S LLC, Lithia Motors Support Services Inc., Lithia NA Inc., Lithia NC Inc., Lithia ND Acquisition Corp. #1, Lithia ND Acquisition Corp. #3, Lithia ND Acquisition Corp. #4, Lithia NDM Inc., Lithia NF Inc., Lithia NSA Inc., Lithia Northeast Real Estate LLC, Lithia Orchard Park-H LLC, Lithia Paramus-M LLC, Lithia Pittsburgh-S LLC, Lithia Ramsey-B LLC, Lithia Ramsey-L LLC, Lithia Ramsey-M LLC, Lithia Ramsey-T LLC, Lithia Real Estate Inc., Lithia Reno Sub-HYUN Inc., Lithia Reno-CJ LLC, Lithia Reno-VW LLC, Lithia Rose-FT Inc., Lithia SOC Inc., Lithia SSP LLC, Lithia Salmir Inc., Lithia Sea P Inc., Lithia Seaside Inc., Lithia Spokane-B LLC, Lithia Spokane-S LLC, Lithia TA Inc., Lithia TO Inc., Lithia TR Inc., Lithia Uniontown-C LLC, Lithia VAuDM Inc., Lithia VF Inc., Lithia Wexford-H LLC, Lithia of Abilene Inc., Lithia of Anchorage Inc., Lithia of Bend #1 LLC, Lithia of Bend #2 LLC, Lithia of Bennington - 1 LLC, Lithia of Bennington - 2 LLC, Lithia of Bennington - 3 LLC, Lithia of Bennington - 4 LLC, Lithia of Billings II LLC, Lithia of Billings Inc., Lithia of Casper LLC, Lithia of Clear Lake LLC, Lithia of Concord I Inc., Lithia of Concord II Inc., Lithia of Corpus Christi Inc., Lithia of Des Moines Inc., Lithia of Eureka Inc., Lithia of Fairbanks Inc., Lithia of Great Falls Inc., Lithia of Helena Inc., Lithia of Honolulu-A Inc., Lithia of Honolulu-BGMCC LLC, Lithia of Honolulu-F LLC, Lithia of Honolulu-V LLC, Lithia of Killeen LLC, Lithia of Lodi Inc., Lithia of Maui-H LLC, Lithia of Missoula II LLC, Lithia of Missoula III Inc., Lithia of Missoula Inc., Lithia of Pocatello Inc., Lithia of Portland I LLC, Lithia of Portland LLC, Lithia of Robstown LLC, Lithia of Roseburg Inc., Lithia of Santa Rosa Inc., Lithia of Seattle Inc., Lithia of South Central AK Inc., Lithia of Spokane II Inc., Lithia of Spokane Inc., Lithia of Stockton Inc., Lithia of Stockton-V Inc., Lithia of TF Inc., Lithia of Troy LLC, Lithia of Utica - 1 LLC, Lithia of Utica - 2 LLC, Lithia of Utica - 3 LLC, Lithia of Utica - 4 LLC, Lithia of Walnut Creek Inc., Lithia of Wasilla LLC, Lithia of Yorkville - 1 LLC, Lithia of Yorkville - 2 LLC, Lithia of Yorkville - 3 LLC, Lithia of Yorkville - 4 LLC, Lithia of Yorkville - 5 LLC, Medford Insurance LLC, Milford DCH Inc., Northland Ford Inc., PA Real Estate LLC, PA Support Services LLC, Paramus Collision LLC, Paramus World Motors LLC, Personalized Marketing LLC, Prestige Auto Group, RFA Holdings LLC, Ray Laks Acura, Ray Laks Honda, Sacramento-L Inc., Salem-B LLC, Salem-H LLC, Salem-V LLC, Sharlene Realty LLC, Shift Portland LLC, Southern Cascades Finance Corporation, Subaru of Morgantown, Tampa-H LLC, Tustin Motors Inc., Wesley Chapel-H LLC, Wesley Chapel-T LLC, Zelienople Real Estate I L.P., and Zelienople Real Estate L.L.C..
William Lyon Homes (NYSE:WLH) released its earnings results on Wednesday, November, 6th. The construction company reported $0.37 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.30 by $0.07. The construction company earned $466.90 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $487.15 million. William Lyon Homes had a net margin of 3.04% and a trailing twelve-month return on equity of 6.98%. The business's quarterly revenue was down 12.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.68 EPS.

View William Lyon Homes' earnings history.
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To be held at the Jasmine Hall, BMICH on 13th December at 6p.m.

Across the world, species, particularly species rich in ecosystems are being replaced by less complex landscapes due to human impacts in the Anthropocene. There is now a great urgency to document and conserve the biota of the world in order to establish baseline data for understanding patterns of change and resilience in the environment at both regional and global scales. Cryptogams, including lichens are more often ignored and unacknowledged, although they play a vital role in the ecosystem.



Lichens are self-contained miniature ecosystems and behave as good farmers in the nature. It is estimated that 6% of the Earths land surface is covered by lichens. There are about 20,000 known species of lichens. Some lichens have lost the ability to reproduce sexually, but nevertheless continue to speciate.

Gothamie Weerakoon,

Senior Curator of Lichens and Slime Moulds at the Natural History Museum of London

Her research interests are focused on the taxonomy and ecology of tropical lichens, bio-indication and conservation of lichenised fungi in endangered habitats. Her responsibility as the Senior Curator of British, General and Historical herbaria is to manage and develop one of the worlds largest lichen collections, lichenicolous fungi and slime moulds with approx. 450,000 specimens. She has spent much time in the field in South and South East Asia observing lichens in their native habitats and described more than 75 new lichen species, mostly in Graphidaceae from the Old World tropics.



Lichens are found growing almost everywhere in the world from sea level to high alpine elevations, in many environmental conditions, and can grow on virtually any surface including man-made structures - glass, tiles, fibre, rubber, concrete etc. Longest living lichens recorded from Arctic and Antarctic continents which are over 3000 years old are considered to be among the oldest living organisms.



Lichens play a vital role as bio-indicators of air pollution, ozone depletion, metal contamination and climate change since they are extremely sensitive to environmental changes. Although it goes unnoticed, many animals including humans depend on lichens - mimicry, to capture food, bedding and housing, dyes, antibiotics, perfumes, tea, flavouring agents etc. Tropical regions in the world are the hot spots for lichens. During the last 5 years over 80 new species were discovered in Sri Lanka. For lichen family Graphidaceae, Sri Lanka has been identified as the worlds hot spot. However, these fascinating organisms have not received due attention. Most of the lichens are exclusively found in specific habitats in the country and are point endemics. There is an urge to identify these organisms and conserve in their natural habitats.

The WNPS Public Lecture is open to all members and non-members. Free Entrance.
The current Ebola epidemic in the Democratic Republic of Congo -- with 426 total cases, including 245 deaths -- is now the second largest and second deadliest in history, according to Thursday's report from the nation's Ministry of Health.

A 2000-01 outbreak in Uganda included 425 cases and caused 224 deaths, according to the World Health Organization. The deadliest outbreak occurred in West Africa in 2014, when the disease killed more than 11,000 people.

Accidents, disasters and safety Africa Central Africa Communicable disease control Continents and regions Democratic Republic of Congo Disaster relief Diseases and disorders Ebola Epidemics and outbreaks Health and medical Infectious diseases Non-profit and NGO organizations Public health Vaccination and immunization World Health Organization

"This is a milestone nobody wanted to hit," WHO spokesman Tarik Jasarevic wrote in an email. On average, Ebola -- which causes fever, severe headache and in some cases hemorrhaging -- kills about half of those infected, but case fatality rates in individual outbreaks have varied. The latest outbreak in Congo, which began in August, has a case fatality rate of 57%.

Of the total cases, 379 have been confirmed, and 47 are probable, according to the ministry. An additional 87 suspected cases are under investigation.

On a positive note, 126 patients have recovered, the ministry said.

This is the 10th outbreak since 1976 in Congo, where the virus is endemic, and the second this year.

North Kivu province, which includes the cities Beni, Kalunguta and Mabalako, remains the epicenter of the outbreak, though cases have been reported in neighboring Ituri province, according to WHO. The two provinces are among the most populated in the nation and border Uganda, Rwanda and South Sudan.

"The risk of the outbreak spreading to other provinces in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, as well as to neighbouring countries, remains very high," WHO said in a statement Thursday.

However, there have been no confirmed cases in Congo's neighbors, Jasarevic said. "All neighboring countries have implemented heightened surveillance and are detecting and investigating alerts and suspected Ebola cases."

Cases continue to mushroom

Recent spread of the infection to people in Butembo, a city that's home to 1.2 million, "raised concerns," wrote Lawrence O. Gostin, a professor and faculty director of the O'Neill Institute for National and Global Health Law at Georgetown Law, and his co-authors in an editorial published online Thursday in the medical journal JAMA.

Seeing "gaps in the response," Gostin and his co-authors recommend that the United States and allies "mobilize high-level political attention and resources for the Ebola response" and "develop a plan to deploy public health personnel to North Kivu."

In October, US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention personnel who had been stationed in Congo had been pulled back from the worst affected areas due to safety concerns, a US government official familiar with the situation said at the time.

Not only is North Kivu experiencing spread of deadly Ebola, but long-term conflict smolders there, with 50 armed groups causing intermittent violence, according to WHO.

A senior White House official confirmed this month that US government personnel who had been working on the ground in Beni had been evacuated to other parts of Congo due to safety concerns. The official said that the situation is being evaluated constantly and that in the meantime, the US continues to provide technical and financial assistance to contain the outbreak.

Jasarevic described the overall environment as "complex and challenging."

"On Friday, 16 November, a second attack in one week occurred in Beni," he reported. "UN peacekeepers and government forces engaged with rebel forces. By Sunday, November 18 all activities in Beni were re-launched, including vaccination."

Jasarevic says the response in areas outside Beni has not been affected by conflict, but WHO estimates that more than a million refugees and internally displaced people are traveling through and out of North Kivu and Ituri, and this movement is a potential risk factor for the spread of Ebola.

Despite such risks and safety concerns, Congo's response effort has been robust. The Ministry of Health has 900 people active in the response, according to Jasarevic, and of these, 85% are from the local area. Additionally, WHO has deployed 300 of its own staff to the region.

The latest minstry report indicates that 37,559 people have received an experimental vaccine in a campaign that began August 8. "This includes over 11,100 health and frontline workers, and 9,300 children," Jasarevic said.

The experimental rVSV-ZEBOV vaccine, made by pharmaceutical company Merck, proved highly protective against the deadly virus in a major trial in Guinea, according to WHO.

Gostin and his co-authors are doubtful. "Despite deploying an experimental vaccine, cases doubled in October 2018," they wrote. More generally, they believe that the overall response, which also includes contact tracing and investigational treatments, may not be adequate.

'Cascading transmission' of the disease

"Of 137 confirmed cases between October 28 and November 26, only 19 were found through contact tracing, 32 were on contact lists but lost to follow-up, and 83 (61%) had no known links to confirmed cases," Gostin and his co-authors wrote. "These data suggest contact tracing and vaccination have not prevented cascading transmission."

Gostin also believes that "community distrust is deep after decades-long humanitarian crises, impeding information-sharing and cooperation." They note that WHO and UN pledged enhanced security operations this month, "yet lethal attacks have persisted."

Nora Love, field director for the International Rescue Committee's operations in the region, offers a more nuanced view.

From mid-September through the end of last week, the nonprofit humanitarian group has trained over 730 health care workers who staff the dozens of health care facilities between the group's two field offices in Beni and Butembo.

"It's a very lush green area that rains every day, and the temperatures are pretty nice, but it's definitely a city at the edge of a country, and you can see that it also has been under conflict. There's definitely a tension within the communities here," Love said. "You know that you're in a conflict area. There's always some sort of insecurity happening every single day."

Despite this, she does not feel "unwelcome here from the community," she said, and she does not feel under threat because she works within health facilities, "which are a little bit more isolated than going to a village."

Getting ahead of an infectious disease

"The people who are doing the safe burials have been the most exposed and the most vulnerable because people are very emotional after they lost a loved one," Love said. "And the protocols for safe burial are different than the traditional burials here, and that causes some distress within the community."

Traditional burials involve touching the body of the deceased. To prevent spread of the infectious disease, safe burials require protective equipment and sanitizing the family's environment.

Still, Love has witnessed "violent reactions" at hospitals and health facilities when deaths occur. Patients have been forcefully removed from the hospital by their loved ones, she said.

"Last week, they went to a hospital when somebody died, and they did vandalism and burned some things," Love said. "Luckily, so far, no health workers have been harmed by this, but there's always a watching and being aware that it could flare up."

Violence is not the only challenge, as Beni has recently experienced a "significant increase" in the number of malaria cases, according to a recent report from the Ministry of Health.

Love's main frustration has been the difficulty of getting "ahead of things. Just when we feel we've made strides in one location, then the outbreak has moved somewhere else," she said. As a result, her organization has been exploring new strategies to see whether it can become more flexible and more rapid in its response.

Meanwhile, the larger response persists. Health care workers continue with vaccination efforts as WHO along with Congo conducts its first randomized control trial to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of the experimental drugs offered under "compassionate use" to treat Ebola patients.

WHO said it remains "focused on the ongoing containment efforts to end the outbreak" and recommends that neighboring provinces and countries "enhance surveillance and preparedness activities."

"We want to make sure that the international community does have its eyes on it and not just the UN," Love said.

Jasarevic remains hopeful: "We are confident that working together with all our partners, we can and will end it."
Senate Foreign Relations Chairman Bob Corker said Thursday he was working with senators from both parties to try to cut a deal to formally rebuke Saudi Arabia over its role in the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, the latest sign that Republicans want to go further than President Donald Trump in responding to the actions of a key US ally.

Corker's announcement came hours after Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham said that the CIA has now agreed to brief him on Khashoggi, following outrage from both sides of the aisle that Wednesday's Saudi and Yemen briefing on Capitol Hill did not include the Central Intelligence Agency.

Central Intelligence Agency Government and public administration Government bodies and offices Government departments and authorities Government organizations - US Intelligence services International relations and national security Jamal Khashoggi Lindsey Graham Misc people National security Political Figures - US Politics US Congress US federal departments and agencies US federal government US government independent agencies US intelligence agencies US Senate Bob Corker Chris Coons Continents and regions Donald Trump Legislation Middle East Middle East and North Africa Saudi Arabia White House Yemen

Corker, a Tennessee Republican who's retiring at the end of his term in January, told CNN his hope is to reach a broad bipartisan deal that will piece together various senators' proposals taking aim at the Saudi kingdom. Then, he said, he hopes to use the new deal as a substitute for a resolution moving through the Senate that would end US involvement in the Saudi-led war in Yemen.

"We are working on an amendment that would strike what's on the floor and more fully express ourselves as to what our policy should be towards Saudi Arabia," Corker said.

Exactly what that language entails -- and whether it would seek to end the US role in Yemen or seek to impose sanctions on the Saudi crown prince Mohammed bin Salman -- remains to be seen.

"I think it would have teeth," Corker said of the developing plan, which he said he hoped would be on the floor Tuesday or Wednesday of next week.

Sen. Chris Murphy, a Connecticut Democrat who co-authored the bipartisan Yemen resolution, said he's open to considering a small number of amendments to his plan, but was worried too many changes could weaken the proposal.

"There are strike-all amendments that would be too weak for me to support and I imagine the other cosponsors to support," Murphy said. "But listen, I get it. We're super out of practice in legislating, so all of this sounds absolutely fantastical, the idea that we might have to make tough decisions about what amendments to support, whether it's worth compromising the underlying bill, but this is legislating. This is what the Senate is supposed to do. So let's get into it."

The Senate on Wednesday rebuked the Trump administration by agreeing to discharge the Yemen resolution from the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and send it to the Senate floor, setting up high-stakes votes next week.

Senators from both parties -- including Graham, one of Trump's most vocal allies -- seemed furious after a closed-door briefing with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who defended the administration's response to Khashoggi's murder, saying after the briefing there was "no direct reporting" that connected bin Salman to the killing.

Graham said Thursday that he's been told that the separate CIA briefing on Saudi is now going to happen, expecting it to take place next week and after that the South Carolina Republican will decide how hard to go after the Saudis.

"The CIA called and that's good," Graham said. "They said they are going to brief me, and I said appreciate it."

At this point Graham said he believes the briefing is just for him, but he "hopes" that others can get a briefing if they want it, saying, "I would recommend they brief the entire Senate."

After speaking with the White House on Wednesday, Sen. Chris Coons, a Delaware Democrat and a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, says he believes there is potential for a CIA briefing next week for all Senators on Khashoggi. Coons said there has been no firm commitment yet.

"I haven't heard directly from the anyone in the White House with a commitment that we will be briefed by the CIA Director but I think the message was heard clearly and my expectation is that they'll now reconsider their options," Coons said. "My hope is that we'll get a full briefing from Gina Haspel next week."

Coons also spoke with the director of White House Legislative Affairs on Wednesday and told her that the previous briefing, without senators hearing from the CIA, was a "genuine mistake."

The CIA commented Wednesday after the briefing to say that the agency had already briefed the Senate Intelligence Committee.

"While Director Haspel did not attend today's Yemen policy briefing, the Agency has already briefed the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence and Congressional leadership on the totality of the compartmented, classified intelligence and will continue to provide updates on this important matter to policymakers and Congress. The notion that anyone told Director Haspel not to attend today's briefing is false," according to the statement from CIA Press Secretary Timothy Barrett.
Richard Branson says Virgin Galactic is on the verge of a major achievement: It will send astronauts into space by Christmas.

The billionaire entrepreneur told CNN Business' Rachel Crane this week he is "pretty confident" his space tourism venture can achieve its milestone by the end of the year.

"We have a brilliant group of astronauts who literally believe 100% in the project, and give it their everything," he said.

The first few trips to space will be flown by test pilots without anyone else on board. Branson says he will be the first passenger. Eventually, paying tourists will also make the trip.

"I'm not allowed up until the [test pilots] have broken it in a few times, first," he said. "I would love to have gone on this very [first] flight, but [pilots] are incredibly brave people."

SpaceShipTwo, Galactic's rocket-powered plane, will fly into space after it detaches from beneath the wing of a mothership. It has been thoroughly tested on the ground and at lower altitudes, Branson said. But, the first few flights to space will be "the dangerous ones."

The pilots will fly the space plane at at 2,300 miles per hour, accelerating to top speed in about eight seconds, Branson said.

Earlier this year, the company resumed powered test flights of the rebuilt SpaceShipTwo, named VSS Unity. The latest test in July sent the craft to a peak altitude of 32.3 miles. The goal is to send VSS Unity more than 50 miles above Earth, high enough to earn passengers astronaut wings from the US government.

If Virgin Galactic reaches space before the year is done, it'll put Branson's venture ahead of its direct competitor, Jeff Bezos's Blue Origin. Founded in 2000, Blue Origin also plans to offer paying customers suborbital flights. Galactic could also beat Elon Musk's SpaceX  which has a booming business making unmanned trips to orbit and is gearing up to fly astronauts to the International Space Station next year.

"Safety's all that matters if you're putting people into space," he said. "So none of us will race to be the first."

But, he added, "Virgin Galactic will be the first."

"Elon's done extraordinary things. We hope to do extraordinary things. Jeff, I'm sure, will do extraordinary things," Branson said. "The demand for space travel, whether it's satellites, putting people into space, is enormous...So, exciting times ahead."

The design and flight control systems of SpaceShipTwo were overhauled following a 2014 test flight crash that killed a co-pilot.

Branson has said the accident made him question whether to continue pursuing his riskiest business venture. But the company said it received an outpouring of support, including from customers who had reserved $200,000 to $250,000 tickets to one day ride in SpaceShipTwo. Hundreds of people are still lined up for a shot.

The flight will offer tourists a few minutes of weightlessness and views of Earth's curved horizon.

It's not clear when Virgin Galactic will be fully operational.

Branson is known to set deadlines that aren't met. Virgin Galactic has been developing SpaceShipTwo since 2004, and Branson initially said commercial rides would begin in 2007. Eleven years later, the firm is still working on getting its 600 customers into space.

"Space is difficult. Rocket science is rocket science," Branson said. "I obviously would love to prove our critics wrong, and I'm reasonably confident that before Christmas, we will do so. I think once we're in space, we'll obviously need to do a number of other test flights before I go up, and then before we start putting the ... astronauts who signed up to go into space with us."

Correction: An earlier version of the story incorrectly stated the speed of SpaceShipTwo and the number of customers Virgin has lined up for travel.
The UK has exceeded UN targets for HIV diagnosis and treatment, proving efforts to control the epidemic can work.

The number of people newly diagnosed with the infection fell by 17%, from 5,280 in 2016 to 4,363 in 2017.

An estimated 92% of the of 102,000 people living with HIV in Britain have been diagnosed, according to Public Health England (PHE). Of those, 98% are on treatment, and 97% of those on treatment are virally suppressed, meaning HIV is undetectable in their blood.

The figures make the UK one of the first countries to reach the UN's 90-90-90 targets, which urge countries to achieve a 90% success rate in the diagnosis, treatment and viral suppression of HIV, the health body says.

"Many of us will remember a time when an HIV positive result was effectively a death sentence. Today's report is a poignant and powerful reminder of how far we've come," UK Health Secretary Matt Hancock said in a statement. "Now in the UK, almost everyone with HIV is not only diagnosed and in treatment but living long, healthy lives -- and we're one of just a handful of countries to meet these ambitious UN targets."

The UK figures contrast sharply with the alarming findings of a report published earlier this week, which found "disproportionately higher" rates of HIV diagnoses in Eastern Europe than in the West.

The improved results in the UK were put down to increased HIV testing, higher rates of condom use and a reduction in the time between diagnosis and starting treatment. The availability of pre-exposure prophylaxis, or PrEP, is also thought to have had an impact.

PrEP involves the use daily pills -- usually antiretroviral drugs -- to reduce the risk of contracting HIV through sex, and has been shown to be up to 90% effective, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

But more can be done -- an estimated 43% of new HIV diagnoses in 2017 were made at a late stage of infection, the UK figures showed.

"There can be no doubt prevention efforts to end the HIV epidemic in the UK are working," said Professor Noel Gill, Head of STIs & HIV at Public Health England.

"Our efforts must continue apace in order to eliminate HIV. With an estimated 8,000 people still unaware of their infection it is vital that people seek out an HIV test if they consider themselves at risk, or accept the offer of an HIV test by a healthcare professional, as early diagnosis is key to stopping transmission."

The UK results represent a "great achievement," said Sarah Fidler, professor of HIV and communicable diseases at Imperial College London, who was not involved with the report.

She praised the work of British health agencies, which have "harnessed resources, media, advocacy and messaging around HIV testing."

"The challenge we now face is how to ensure we can sustain these services in the UK," Fidler added. "If we are to maintain the momentum, we cannot afford complacency. Any reduction in HIV prevention or the care of patients with HIV threatens these amazing achievements."

Around 39 million people were living with HIV/AIDS worldwide in 2017, according to UNAIDS, the United Nations program that sets international targets.

Globally, about 75% of people living with HIV/AIDs were diagnosed, the group says.
UTICA, N.Y. -- Local and state leaders are working together to encourage more people to participate in the United States Census.

Thursday dozens of local officials met to discuss the upcoming 2020 census and the steps they can take to make sure everyone participates.

The census happens every 10 years and is used to learn more about trends and people living in a particular area.

The information is then used to help with funding for local infrastructure, education, health care, economic development and community service programs.

This roundtable discussion is used to familiarize the area with the impact of the census and brainstorm strategies to ensure an accurate count.

It drives federal participation in programs because it's a lot of data, so we can understand our communities. And it has to do with congressional allocation appropriation, the number of congressmen estate is determined by the population, said Deputy Secretary of State Mark Pattison.

Census forms will start being delivered in March.
GERMAN FLATTS, N.Y. -- FEMA officials and the New York State Department of Conservation are helping residents in Herkimer County learn more about their risk for flooding.

Flooding is an ongoing issue in Herkimer county. FEMA held a public meeting in German Flatts to discuss a flood plain map proposal. Mohawk resident Donald Meeker says his home has been impacted by flooding in the past.

"Our house was literally surrounded like an island, Meeker said. So, it was kind of scary. Really loud, and we couldn't even evacuate because there was so much water surrounding us."

Local, state, and federal officials want residents to know if they live in the flood zone, and learn about potential changes to flood insurance rates.

"Probably a small, small percentage is going to find themselves outside of the floodplain, but probably more likely there's more properties that are in the flood plain listing now than there was in the past," said German Flatts Town Supervisor Peter Rovazzi.

Flood insurance rates could increase for people whose homes are not up to code with flooding regulations. Next FEMA will begin preparing for their 90-day appeal period that starts in February. The appeal period is a chance for residents to send in any technical concerns about the flood plain maps that they want FEMA to review.

You can check FEMAs website to see if your home is in the flood zone.
NEW BERLIN, N.Y. -- Love animals and want to help during this holiday season? Believe it or not, shelters across the Mohawk Valley will readily accept donations beyond just money.

A Mohawk Valley veterinary agency is trying to help collect items that shelters run out of, and need readily throughout the year.

You can drop donations off at these locations: Leatherstocking Veterinary Services, 117 County Highway 17, New Berlin, N.Y. 13411 New Berlin Veterinary Clinic, 5094 State Highway 8, New Berlin, N.Y. 13411 Pittsfield Veterinary Clinic, 1033 State Highway 80, Edmeston, N.Y. 13335 Heritage Veterinary Clinic, 4 Heritage Drive, Cooperstown, N.Y. 13326 Marcy Veterinary Clinic, 9225 River Road, Marcy, N.Y. 13403

Leatherstocking Veterinary Group is collecting donations that can be dropped off to their clinic through the month of December.

They say any donation, big or small, will help a local pet in need this holiday season.

Items they are looking to collect:

1. Pet food and treats

2. Towels and blankets

3. Kitty litter and cat boxes

4. Puppy or kitten formula and nursing bottles

5. Newspaper

6. Collars, leashes and harnesses

7. Grooming supplies

8. Toys

9. Crates and carriers

10. Paper towels and cleaning supplies

11. Hand wash and hand sanitizer

12. Laundry detergent, fabric softener and bleach

13. Dog and cat beds

14. Flea and tick treatment

15. Heating pads

16. Copy paper, pens, pencils, post-it notes and staples

17. Garbage bags, mops, brooms, and sponges

18. Food bowls or livestock water buckets

19. Rubber and latex gloves

20. Plastic shopping bags

Spring Farm Cares Animal and Nature Sanctuary is specifically requesting: Horse Cosequin, applesauce, pitch forks, Jolly Balls, Himalayan salt on a rope, children's books about animals, and fly masks.

Shelter the donations will be distributed to:

 Leatherstocking Veterinary Services will be accepting donations for Spring Farm Cares Animal and Nature Sanctuary, located in Clinton, NY.

 New Berlin Veterinary Clinic will be collecting donations for the Chenango SPCA,located in Norwich, N.Y.

 Pittsfield Veterinary Clinic will be gathering donations for Super Heroes in Ripped Jeans,Oneonta, N.Y.

 Heritage Veterinary Clinic donations will benefit the Susquehanna SPCA,Cooperstown, N.Y.

 Marcy Veterinary Clinic donations will go directly to Stevens-Swan Humane Society, Utica, N.Y. and Spring Farm Cares Animal and Nature Sanctuary, Clinton, N.Y.
ILION, N.Y.  Ilions mayor is warning residents about elevated lead levels in the villages water, but only those with older homes built prior to 1950 need to be concerned.

The mayor said residents will receive a notice in the mail, letting them know to run their water for 10 to 15 seconds before drinking in order to purge the system.

During the months of August through October, the health department tested water samples in about 20 resident's homes. These samples showed just above the acceptable level for lead and copper.

It did show that there was lead in the water in the places they tested, Mayor Brian Lamica said. It was just above what is allowed, so its not like its off the charts. Its not like its a big issue that people have to really worry about."

Officials said the lead isn't from the water supply, instead it is from the laterals that lead to these homes.

"What I have proposed to our village board is that those residents that are affected, that the village work with them to replace the lateral line which is the homeowners responsibly," Lamica said.

If the village helps with these replacements, the cost to the homeowner would be around $400 to $500, rather than $4,000 if they did it on their own with private contractors.

No formal solution has been announced as of yet.
SIDNEY, N.Y. -- A Hartwick man was arrested this week, accused of making methamphetamine in a New Lisbon home.

According to the Otsego County Sheriffs Office, Anthony J. Pagillo, 32, was arrested Wednesday after deputies received a complaint from a homeowner in New Lisbon.

The homeowner told deputies that the suspect, who had been living in a bedroom in the home, may have had drug paraphernalia in his bedroom.

Deputies responded to the home on Nov. 26 and found chemicals and equipment used to make meth in the suspects bedroom.

A search warrant was obtained, and the New York State Police Contaminated Crime Scene Emergency Response Team (CCSERT) was called to help with the collection of evidence.

CCSERT agents found several items in the bedroom including pseudoephedrine, reagents, solvents, and equipment used to make meth.

The suspect was not at the home when the search warrant was executed.

Pagillo was found and arrested Wednesday in the village of Sidney, and charged with one felony count of unlawful manufacture of methamphetamine.

He is scheduled to appear in court on Dec. 4 at 4 p.m.
Worchester, N.Y. - Otsego County Sheriff Richard Devlin is urging people to check in on their elderly parents' finances more regularly after he says a 91-year-old Worchester man was bilked out of more than $11,000 over a two year period by his caregiver.

Devlin says over the last two years, 31-year-old Stephanie Shulgay had been taking cash advances on the man and his wife's bank account by using their credit and debit cards. He says Shulgay was a home health care aid for the 91-year-old man and his wife before her passing in April.

She was a trusted next door neighbor.

Shulgay also is alleged to have used the stolen money to gamble at local casinos as well as to pay some of her personal bills and some of the bills of her elderly uncle.

The New York State Department of Financial Services was called in to investigate and Devlin says Shulgay turned herself in on Thursday. She was arraigned in the Town of Worcester Court by Judge William Fisher on one count of grand larceny and was released on her own recognizance. She is scheduled to reappear in court on December 4th. We did knock on Shulgay's door on Friday, but no one answered.

Devlin says this case is disheartening, "This is becoming a large problem nationwide with the elderly being victimized, whether it's through phone solicitation or other means. They usually have limited finances to start with and having trouble meeting needs and then to have someone do this, is just horrible."

Devlin urges anyone who hires someone to care for their aging parents, make sure to not have them care for their parents' finances, "Certainly not to let any one person have control of the finances. Theres powers of attorney, theres different things that can be done, theres financial services available, but some people cant afford those, theres an additional cost. Certainly in any case there should be some checks and balances, even if its just a person reviewing the expenses and where the money's going."

Devlin says Shulgay was certified by a local health care agency, "They had her vetted and certified and it still happened. So even when you take necessary precautions, it still happens. So people need to be aware of those things and like I said, a set of checks and balances, spot checking the expenses just to make sure that the person is being taken care of properly."
World leaders are set to open a two-day Group of 20 summit in Argentina on Friday, with global trade concerns set to dominate, while the flare up in Russia-Ukraine tensions and the fallout from the murder of Saudi dissident Jamal Khashoggi are also likely to feature.



While there have been some signs that Chinese and US delegations could reach a ceasefire on trade, there are growing worries that President Donald Trump and President Xi Jinping will not be able to make a breakthrough at their highly-anticipated meeting at the summit.



Before departing Washington on Thursday, Trump said he was very close to reaching a deal with China but added I dont know that I want to do it because what we have right now is billions and billions of dollars coming into the United States in the form of tariffs or taxes. Trump said China wants to make a deal, and was open to one, but said he liked the deal we have right now.



The US began hiking tariffs on Chinese goods earlier this year and Beijing has responded in a tit-for-tat fashion, sparking tensions that a full trade war could erupt.



Trump has already threatened to further increase tariffs on some 200 billion dollars worth of Chinese goods. Ottawa meanwhile confirmed the new trade deal between Canada, the US and Mexico would be signed in Buenos Aires on Friday. However the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) will still need ratification from each countrys legislative body.



Following the G7 summit in Canada in June, Trump triggered a war of words with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, calling him dishonest, and withdrawing support for a joint G7 communique, after the Canadian leader vowed retaliation for US tariffs on steel and aluminium.

Buenos Aires (dpa), Nov 30, 2018
NEW HARTFORD, N.Y. -- New Hartford police are asking for help in a grand larceny investigation at a Consumer Square business.

They are attempting to identify a female (pictured) following a theft at Best Buy.

According to police, it happened at the store back on November 12.

Anyone with information is asked to call (315) 724-7111.
With winter fast approaching, snowmobilers are hopeful for a snowy season ahead. But how prepared are you, or your children when it comes to snowmobiling safety?

The New York State Department of Motor Vehicles is reminding people to not only register their snowmobiles, but to also be educated in the snow.

There are courses available across the Mohawk Valley in order to keep people safe when riding their snowmobiles this season. Course are being held in Westmoreland, Utica, Camden, Rome and Ilion throughout the month of December.

Kids can take the course beginning at age 10, but the courses are meant to help snowmobilers of all ages.

For a full list of courses, head to the DMVs website.
BYRON, N.Y. -- A statewide Amber Alert for a missing 14-year-old girl was canceled Thursday night, as the teen was found safe in Pennsylvania.

The alert was issued for Kamerie Elliot, who was abducted on West Bergen Road in Byron, N.Y. at about 8 a.m. Thursday.



Guillermo Torres-Acevedo Guillermo Torres-Acevedo

Kamerie Elliot Kamerie Elliot

The Genessee County Sheriffs Office said the girl and the suspected abductor, 22-year-old Guillermo Torres-Acevedo, were found safe at about 7 p.m. Thursday.

No further information was immediately available.
HERKIMER, N.Y. -- Two people were injured in a two-car crash, involving a cab, in Herkimer Friday morning.

State police say a vehicle was pulling into the Glenwood Motel on State Route 5, when it was hit by a car in oncoming traffic.

The cab company, Affordable Cab, says the driver of their car was rushed to the hospital.

Authorities say they did have to close a portion of the road while they cleared scene of the crash.

NewsChannel 2 will have more information as soon as it becomes available.
TIPPECANOE COUNTY, Ind (WLFI) - A video of two people in rural West Lafayette drowning a cat in a body of water is getting attention on social media.

The video was uploaded on November 23rd but has since been removed.

It depicts someone in a black SUV giving the person holding the phone an O-K. The person recording then kicks the trap containing a cat, which had a collar on, into the water. It happened at a small pond just south of Hadley Lake on the property of 52 Mobile Home Estates.

To see that happen, I cried, said a woman who was a former renter at the mobile home park. She wishes to remain anonymous for legal reasons. I cried like a baby and I'm not even going to lie. I couldnt believe the heartlessness.

"To dispose of them in this way is unforgivable and it's criminal," said Sharon Dull, who works for North Central Indiana Spay and Neuter.

It was posted by Erik Heat on his Instagram and YouTube pages. News 18 reached out to Heat through Facebook. He said the videos were only found on his pages and that he was not involved in what happened, also that he had cooperated with investigators.

An official complaint was filed with the Tippecanoe County Sheriff's Animal Control department on Monday, November 26th, three days after it was originally uploaded.

Ken Baldwin is the owner of 52 Mobile Home Estates. Our anonymous source said she remembered asking Baldwin about the stray cat situation in the neighborhood when she moved in. She recalled him saying that they keep the population under control using live traps.

He was never very specific about what he did with them, she said. I thought he took them to the humane society or a shelter.

When she saw the video, she recognized the black SUV as Baldwins.

"I saw that video and I immediately knew, she said. I knew that black truck, that black Chevy truck and just the way his voice sounded, I knew it was Ken."

She also recognized the place where it happened.

We took our kids fishing in that pond about 30 or 40 times that summer we lived there, its the same dock as in the video, its the same place, she said.

Dull said her spay and neuter organization had reached out within the past two or three years to help the mobile home park with stray cat problems.

"We have reached out to this specific trailer park and offered assistance to TNR (Trap Neuter Return) the cats, she said. I know of at least three other animal groups who have tried to assist as well."

But she said these attempts to help were always ignored. She also said there are steps the mobile home park could take to limit the amount of abandoned pets that sometimes add to the stray problem.

They could require the tenants who are pet owners to spay and neuter their pets or they could just ban animals all together, she said. They dont have to allow people to have pets.

In the state of Indiana it is a Class C felony to intentionally torture an animal. That comes with a fine of up to 10-thousand dollars and the possibility of one and a half years in prison.

"I really hope that justice is served for this cat, not only for this cat but for any other animals, said our anonymous source. There is no reason that this should be allowed to happen.

Dull has a message for anyone who sees animal abuse happen in our area.

"Report it. We have an outstanding prosecutor that is pursuing these cases, our animal control officers are doing an excellent job, she said. Report these to WE Tipp or just call animal control.

News 18 tried, unsuccessfully, to get a comment from Baldwin today. Anyone with information about the video is asked to contact the Tippecanoe County Sheriff's Department at 765-423-9388.

A black cat with a pink collar that belonged to a family in the Hadley Lake area has recently gone missing. It is not confirmed if the missing cat is the same one that was killed in the video. Anyone who finds the missing cat can contact the WLFI station to be put in contact with the owners.
During the hearing on the Quo Warranto Writ Petition against holding of the posts of Prime Minister and other ministers by former President Mahinda Rajapaksa and MPs supporting him, Senior Counsel Gamini Marapana PC yesterday contended that the Court of Appeal could not grant interim relief prayed by the Petitioners as the matter is pending in the Supreme Court.

The Bench comprising Justices P.Padman Surasena (President/CA) and Arjuna Obeysekera yesterday took up the petition of Writ of Quo Warranto disputing the holding of office by Prime Minster Mahinda Rajapaksa and 48 Ministers.

Gamini Marapana PC with Navin Marapana appearing for Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa submitted that the Supreme Court had already issued an Interim Order proclamation on the dissolution of Parliament.

He stated the Supreme Court had issued the interim Order operative till December 7 and fixed the matter for hearing on December 4, 5 and 6 and that the Interim Order was a temporary one staying the operation of the proclamation of dissolving the Parliament by the President.

If this court grants the Interim Order as prayed by the Petitioners and the Supreme Court vacate interim order, there would be a complex problem, he argued.

K.Kanag Iswaran PC with Suren Fernando appeared for the Petitioners.

Romesh de Silva PC, Manohara de Silva PC, Sanjeeva Jayawardena PC, Ali Sabry PC, Kushan Alwis PC appeared for the Ministers.

The Petition for Writ of Quo Warranto (a writ or legal action requiring a person to show by what warrant an office or franchise is held, claimed, or exercised) was filed by Purported Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and his purported Ministers as well as Parliamentarians of diverse parties totaling 122 petitioners.

Petitioners seek a mandate from the Court requiring the Respondents to show by what authority they claim to function as Prime Minister and/or Ministers and/or Deputy Ministers.

They also the Court for a declaration that the Respondents are not entitled to hold the office of Prime Ministers and Ministers or Deputy Ministers.

They are asking the Court to restrict the Respondents from functioning as Prime Minister, Ministers and Deputy Ministers until the final determination and hearing of their application.

Petitioners in their petition state as follows:

On 14th November 2018, Parliament passed a vote of no-confidence against the purported government of the Respondents.

On 15th November 2018, Parliament convened again and the Speaker stated the in view of the no-confidence vote passed on 14th November 2018, there was, among other things, no government and that he did not recognize Mahinda Rajapaksa as the Prime Minister.

On 16th November 2018, because the Respondents purportedly continued to function in office, Parliament passed another vote of no-confidence against the government.

Therefore under and in terms of Article 48 of the Constitution, the Cabinet stood dissolved from 14th November 2018 Petitioners claims.

They dismay that His Excellency the President notwithstanding the dissolution of Cabinet continues to lawfully be in charge of Ministries of Defence and of Mahawali Development and Environment.

They complain that the in view of the fact that the purported Ministers are unlawful, illegitimate and purported to exercise government power in direct violation of express provision of the Constitution.

They caution that a state of anarchy and chaos would ensue in the country given that the purported Government ha lost two votes of no-confidence and does no command a majority in Parliament. (S.S.Selvanayagam)
LAPORTE, Ind. (WLFI)  A Purdue University graduate killed in the Chicago hospital shooting will be laid to rest Friday. Dr. Tamara O'Neal was one of three people shot to death by her former fiance on Nov. 19 at Mercy Hospital.

O'Neal graduated from Purdue in 2002 with an undergraduate degree in psychology. She was one of two Purdue grads killed in the shooting. Doctor of Pharmacy Dayna Less, a May 2018 Purdue graduate, was also killed. Chicago police officer Samuel Jimenez lost his life responding.

O'Neal's visitation was held Thursday. The funeral is Friday morning in her hometown of LaPorte.

Purdue University President Mitch Daniels released the following statement the day after the shooting:

"We are proud of Tamara and Dayna for the lives of service they chose to pursue. We are deeply grateful and admiring of officer Jimenez for his sacrificial bravery that spared other innocent lives."
Book defends the value of face-to-face diplomacy

Exploring face-to-face diplomacy Associate Professor of Government Marcus Holmes, author of Face to Face Diplomacy: Social Neuroscience and International Relations, argues that face-to-face diplomacy has much value, even in a modern world of communication The reason is the insight social neuroscience offers. Photo by Stephen Salpukas Photo - of - Hide Caption

Many political scientists believe that face-to-face diplomacy has little, if any value. Some even call it dangerous. Regimes change. Leaders lie. They change their mind. The priorities of their country change. Its impossible to look inside another persons heart or mind and glean what they really mean or intend.

Researchers point to British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain, who in 1938 traveled to Munich and seemingly avoided a war by agreeing to hand the Sudetenland to Germany after Adolf Hitler told him he wasnt interested in invading the rest of Czechoslovakia. That was a catastrophic mistake.

They point to former U.S. President George W. Bush, who after meeting with Russian president Vladimir Putin at the Slovenia Summit in 2001, proclaimed, I looked the man in the eye. I found him to be very straightforward and trustworthy. I was able to get a sense of his soul.

Later, Bushs National Security Advisor, Condoleezza Rice, said the president, naively trusted Putin and then (was) betrayed.



{{youtube:medium:center|e6u6J-Xi4r8, Defending face-to-face diplomacy}}

However, those who engage in face-to-face diplomacy regularly, maintain it is invaluable in allowing them to do their jobs, said Marcus Holmes, associate professor of Government at William & Mary.

And Holmes, author of the new book Face to Face Diplomacy: Social Neuroscience and International Relations, agrees with face-to-face practitioners. The reason is social neuroscience.

One of the more important discoveries by neuroscientists in the last 20 years is this idea that we actually have fairly refined access to the minds of other people; in face-to-face interaction, we get clues about the intent of other people and these clues, under certain conditions, can be quite accurate, Holmes said. A system in the brain that has generated a lot of excitement  the mirroring system  suggests that in face-to-face interaction were basically simulating for ourselves what occurs in the brain of the other person. It implies that were on a similar wavelength when we interact face-to-face, and thats not the case when we interact via other modalities  speaking on the telephone, sending a cable, wire or tweet, even an e-mail. They dont allow people to understand each other the way face-to-face interaction does.

Neuroscience brings a very different way to think about face-to-face interaction that political scientists havent fully appreciated over the last several decades.

Holmes said that state departments and foreign ministries around the world are continually re-assessing how to engage. Does it make sense to pursue face-to-face diplomacy? To tweet? Send an email?

One important implication of face-to-face diplomacy is that it allows you to read others, but it also means you can be read, Holmes said. Sometimes this is desirable, other times you might want to keep things close to the vest.

In the book I try to develop the various conditions under which foreign ministries and state departments would want to pursue different types of diplomacy.

There is little question, Holmes said, that the current U.S. administration, under President Donald Trump, values face-to-face diplomacy. The president often talks about personal chemistry, about the value of liking other people and being liked on the international stage.

I actually agree that these are important characteristics, and one of the keys of diplomacy is building personal relationships that can help you sustain through difficult times, Holmes said. The situation with North Korea is very precarious. North Korea has a lot of reasons to distrust the United States. The United States has a lot of reasons to distrust North Korea. The idea of engaging with the North Koreans, in this personal face-to-face way, is a good one when it comes to starting to build trust.

Holmes said he was optimistic when Trump met with Kim Jong-un last summer. He was at least starting a dialogue to try and understand one another, something Holmes said the two countries havent had in a long time because the U.S. has not given North Korea the opportunity to say directly what their iintentions and concerns are.

Do they simply wish to defend themselves from a U.S. invasion, in which case having a nuclear weapon certainly helps, or do they intend us harm? he said. Do they want nuclear weapons because one day they want to strike against the United States? I dont think were able to answer that sitting in our offices in Washington, D.C., New York or Los Angeles.

Ultimately if their concern is their own security, which I think is probable, reassurance will only come from them trusting us. And we need a relationship for that to happen.

Holmes points to the Able Archer training exercises of 1983 as an example of where this question about intention was critical and how face-to-face interaction helped to answer it.

That year, despite heightened tension and distrust between the United States and Soviet Union, the U.S. and NATO launched the most realistic training exercise ever undertaken, Able Archer. It was a simulated conflict escalation that included an attack on the Soviet Union, one President Ronald Reagan was certain no one, especially the Russians, would believe was a real attack or a ruse to obscure a real attack.

Reagan was wrong.

The Russians saw it as more than an academic exercise. They began ramping up their defense weaponry and readied their nuclear forces. Historians report that, fortunately, Assistant Chief of Staff for Intelligence for the U.S. Air Force in Europe Leonard Perroots did not order a counter-rise in the alert level of Western military forces, which the Soviets may have used to justify their fear of attack. The episode ended there.

That moment is crucial for Reagan because it made him understand that he needed to get into a room with a Soviet leader, sit down and explain that not only was the NATO simulation sincerely a simulation, but that the U.S. and NATO had no intention of bombing or invading the Soviet Union, Holmes said. Because of Able Archer, he changed his approach to the Soviet Union, starting with the Geneva Summit in 1985.

Through a series of meetings, Reagan worked with Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev to eliminate intermediate-range nuclear weapons through the INF Treaty.

Reagan had the intuition that if he could convey sincerely that there was no intent to invade or attack Russia theyd be able to move forward, Holmes said. He was right.
Senor Trumpanzee seems to think he's a better president than Reagan was. I doubt anyone would agree but he told right wing operatives Corey Lewandowski and David Bossie, according to their just-released book, Trump Enermies that "The amazing thing is that you have certain people who are conservative Republicans that if my name werent Trump, if it were John Smith, they would say Im the greatest president in history and I blow Ronald Reagan away... got the biggest regulation cuts in history in less than two years, judges, environmental stuff, getting out of the Paris horror show. If you said that conservative president John Smith did that, they would say hes the greatest president. Far greater than Ronald Reagan."





His policies are chipping away at the successful economic engine that Obama left him and slowly but surely, the imbecile is destroying the economy. Steve Benen explained what's wrong : Trump doesn't understand the basics of his own economic policies. Benen, frustrated, was merciless:

A couple of months ago, Donald Trump boasted at a White House event that thanks to his tariffs, theres a lot of money coming into the coffers of the United States of America. A lot of money coming in. Soon after, the president released a video via social media in which he said Americans are taking in a lot of money as a result of his tariffs.



A month later, the Republican reversed course, suggesting to the Wall Street Journal that the tariffs hed spoken about for months may not actually exist. We dont even have tariffs, Trump said, adding, Where do we have tariffs? We dont have tariffs anywhere.



On Thanksgiving, he switched back to his original position.

Now, as of already, were taking in-- right now, were taking in billions. China is-- people dont understand this: China is right now paying us-- right now, paying us billions of dollars a month. Thats never happened before. Its true that its never happened before, but its also true that its not happening now. Nearly a year after Trump launched a trade war, assuring Americans that the fight will be easy to win, the president is still confused about the basics of his own policy.







There is no foreign money coming into the coffers of the United States from China as a result of the tariffs. As Politico recently explained, President Donald Trump said Monday that China is paying the U.S. billions of dollars in tariffs as he ramps up his trade war with Beijing. But thats inaccurate: American consumers and businesses are the ones who will be paying higher costs for imports after he slapped penalties on $200 billion in Chinese goods.



This is not some obscure triviality, only of interest to trade wonks. Rather, this is the principal presidential defense of his entire policy: Trump has told Americans, repeatedly over the course of several months, that billions of dollars are filling U.S. coffers from Beijing. Its proof, according to the Republican, that his entire strategy has merit.



Reality, however, should still have some meaning. The actual amount of money China is paying us as a result of Trumps tariffs is zero. When the American president boasted on Thanksgiving that China is paying us billions of dollars, he was off by billions of dollars.



Trumps entire defense is based on payments that simply dont exist outside his overactive imagination.



Either the president doesnt know this, in which case his entire trade gambit is being driven by his profound ignorance, or Trump understands the details perfectly well, and hes just brazenly lying to the public, hoping Americans wont know the difference.



Either way, if the president sees this money as proof of his policys merit, shouldnt the absence of that money be evidence of his policys failure?

Yes... as well as the bankruptcies his policies are causing across the Midwest-- not to mention the plant closings and job disappearances. Monday, local newspapers across the farm belt ran a report from the Associated Press. Short version: "84 farms filed for bankruptcy in Wisconsin, Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota and Montana in 12 months... Thats more than double the number over the same period in 2013 and 2014."

The number of farms filing for bankruptcy is increasing across the Upper Midwest, following low prices for corn, soybeans, milk and beef, according to a new analysis from the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis.



Current price levels and the trajectory of the current trends suggest that this trend has not yet seen a peak, said Ron Wirtz, an analyst at the Minneapolis Fed.



The increase in Chapter 12 filings reflect low prices for corn, soybeans, milk and beef, the Star Tribune reported. The situation has gotten worse for farmers since June because of the retaliatory tariffs that have closed the Chinese market for soybeans and held back exports of milk and beef. Chapter 12 bankruptcy allows for repayment of debt over three years.



Minneapolis Fed analyst Ron Wirtz says the bankruptcy trend has not yet peaked.



Dairy farmers are having the most problems right now, said Mark Miedtke, the president of Citizens State Bank in Hayfield. Grain farmers have had low prices for the past three years but high yields have helped them through. Were just waiting for a turnaround. Were waiting for the tariff problem to go away.

The Nation, John Nichols wrote that GM's closures confirm what we know-- Yesterday, at, John Nichols wrote that GM's closures confirm what we know-- Trump is a liar and a fool who never cared about the men and women who build cars in places like Michigan and Ohio. This was election year bullshit: "If Im elected, you wont lose one plant, youll have plants coming into this country, youre going to have jobs again, you wont lose one plant, I promise you that."

The heartbreaking reality is that Trump was never going to be a good president for the American workers who build cars and other vehicles in the nations historic factory towns. A reality-TV star with almost no understanding of the complex and demanding circumstance of domestic manufacturing in an age of globalization and automation, Trump peddled a combination of bumper-sticker slogans and past-their-expiration-date policy proposals on the 2016 campaign trail. That was enough to win narrow victories in a number of manufacturing states-- Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, and Wisconsin-- that were hurting after years of bipartisan neglect. It is true that many voters who felt they had been let down by both parties took a chance on Trump. But Trump assumed the presidency without an agenda, and he embraced the schemes of a Congress led by two of the worst players in Washington on manufacturing issues: House Speaker Paul Ryan and Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell.



It was only a matter of time before Trumps facade of empty rhetoric and false premises crashed into the reality of 21st-century economics and technological change. The midterm elections revealed the extent to which confidence in Trump had already crumbled. In the three Great Lakes states that gave Trump the presidency by delivering the Electoral College votes he had needed two years ago-- Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin-- voters handed victories to the Democrats in three gubernatorial races and three US Senate races.

Despite Trump's gigantic tax cuts-- much of which went into big bonuses for top management-- GM is closing down 2 plants in southeast Michigan, one in Maryland and one in northeast Ohio. The idea is to boost profits by slashing 15% of the company's salaried workforce (about 8,000 people). GM sees a future defined by ride-sharing networks, self-driving cars and electric vehicles (though they're discontinuing the Volt). Trumpanzee, who, during his campaign consistently promised-- based on nothing but pure hot air and shameless guile-- that he would bring prosperity to the Rust Belt, had this to say: "This country has done a lot for General Motors. They better get back to Ohio and soon. So we have a lot of pressure on them." I'm sure that will scare them into action; not. And, what about Michigan?

The Sound of Music by Nancy Ohanian

UPDATE: Trump Has A Gut





During a Washington Post interview Tuesday, Senor Trumpanzee was asked about Wall Street's collapse and GM closing plants and laying off workers under his watch. He blamed Jerome Powell, his pick to run the Federal Reserve, with whom, he warned, he's "not even a little bit happy... Im doing deals, and Im not being accommodated by the Fed. Theyre making a mistake because I have a gut, and my gut tells me more sometimes than anybody elses brain can ever tell me."








Sri Lanka signed two multi-million dollar contracts with Chinese firms for a port upgrade project on Thursday in the middle of a political hiatus that has raised doubts over the legitimacy of the government and the legality of the deals, the Reuters reported yesterday.

An official at the state-run Sri Lanka Ports Authority told Reuters it signed two contracts with Chinese firms worth more than $50 million combined on Thursday after the deals were approved by Rajapaksas disputed cabinet last week.

One of Rajapaksas cabinet ministers, speaking on condition of anonymity, also confirmed the deals had been approved by the cabinet, while documents seen by Reuters showed the deals were set to be rubber-stamped at the meeting.

The deals are a $32 million contract to enhance the deep berth capacity of state-run Jaya Container Terminal (JCT) in Colombo with China Harbour Engineering Company, and another one worth $25.7 million for the purchase of three cranes from Shanghai Zhenhua Heavy Industries for the same project, according to the ports authority official.

Asked about the deals, the former cabinet spokesperson under Wickremesinghes government, Rajitha Senaratne, told Reuters:

We will have to re-examine definitely. They dont have the legal power to decide.

The ports authority official said the tenders for the deals had been advertised in state-owned newspapers, as is the norm in Sri Lanka, and that they were sent to a cabinet-appointed procurement panel months ago.

India, which accounts for around 80 percent of Colombos trans-shipment business, has raised concerns over increasing Chinese projects in Colombo.

New Delhi had been pushing Sri Lanka for the award of an estimated $1 billion contract for a second foreign-operated container terminal in Colombo.

But that deal was the subject of an argument between Sirisena and Wickremesinghe just before his ouster, in which Sirisena reportedly said the country couldnt give any more of its assets to foreigners.

The political instability and economic malaise have raised questions over Sri Lankas ability to service large external debt taken to finance reconstruction following the end the civil war in 2009. It owes around $8 billion to China, official data shows.
A communist country also referred to as a Marxist-Leninist state, is a country that is governed and administered by a single party based on Marxist-Leninist philosophy. The aim of a communist state is to achieve communism or a sense of common ownership of the means of production and do away with social classes. Some of the communist states have a functioning political participation process involving a number of non-party organizations such as trade unions and workers representatives. The phrase communist state is mainly used by the western countries to refer to the countries that practice communism. However, these countries do not describe themselves as communists not do they consider themselves as have achieved communism. They call themselves Socialist or Workers States.

Brief Overview of the Communist States

During the Soviet Union era, communist nations could be found in Africa, Asia, and Eastern Europe. However, these communist countries are quickly turning into multi-party state and adopting different philosophies. Some of the multi-party states with governing communist parties include Brazil, Nepal, India, and Russia. Today, there are only five communist states, some of which are struggling to hold on to communism. This article focuses on the five communist countries that are still adherent to Marxism-Leninism.

5. Laos (since 1975)

The Lao Peoples Democratic Republic became a communist country in 1975 after a revolution that was supported by the Soviet Union and Vietnam. Before then, the country was a monarchy. In 1975, Pathet Lao, a communist movement in Laos, with the help of the Peoples Army of Soviet Union and the Vietnam toppled the Royalist Lao Government, with King Savang Vatthana stepping down on December 2, 1975. The Pathet Lao government under the leadership of Kaysone Phomvihane changed the countrys name to Lao Peoples Democratic Republic and allowed the Vietnamese government to have its armed forces in the country and propose advisers to help in managing the country. Laos ruling party, the Lao Peoples Revolutionary Party, emerged from the Communist Party of Vietnam and has governed the country since 1975. The party has three policy-making organs; Central Committee, Secretariat, and Politburo, which is the highest organ. LPRP applies the principles of democratic centralism in its operations. In the past, the party was operated semi-secretly but it is now becoming more open as new leaders take control.The party is run by high ranked military officials.

4. Cuba (since 1959)

The Cuban Revolution of 1959 is one of the bloodiest events in history and a political turning point for Cuba. During the revolution, thousands of citizen were executed for political crimes, with Fidel Castro taking over the government. By 1961, Cuba was a fully communist state with close ties to the Soviet Union. Today, Cuba is the only communist state outside of Asia. Following the revolution, the United States imposed a ban on trade with Cuba. When the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, Cuba turned to China, Venezuela, and Bolivia as new trade partners and sources of subsidies. The ruling party in Cuba is the Communist Party of Cuba. The party ascribes to the Marxist-Leninist philosophy and its role is described in the Cuban Constitution as the leading force of the society and of the state. The original Communist Party of Cuba was formed in the 1920s. It was renamed to Popular Socialist Party in 1944. In 1961, the Integrated Revolutionary Organization. The current CPC was founded on October 3, 1965, with Fidel Castro as the First Secretary of the Central Committee.

3. Vietnam (since 1954)

Vietnams status as a communist country is linked to its association with the Soviet Union. After the Indochina War, Vietnam was partitioned into two; North Vietnam and South Vietnam. North Vietnam, which was allied to the Soviet Union, became communist while South Vietnam, which supported the United States, remained democratic. After two decades of war, the two parts came together and Vietnam became a unified communist country in 1976. It remained a truly communist state until 1986 when it started reaching out for international support leading to several political reforms. The founding and ruling party in Vietnam is the Communist Party of Vietnam. CPV has been the only legal party in the country since 1988 and its supremacy is guaranteed by the constitution. The party has maintained a unitary government and has control over the media, state, and military. The Vietnamese and the countrys press refer to CPV a Dang ta meaning Our Party. The current General Secretary of the Central Committee is Nguyen Phu Trong.

2. China (since 1949)

The Peoples Republic of China has one of the strongest economies in the world. Surprisingly, it is one of the communist superpowers. China was proclaimed a communist country in 1949 under the leadership of Mao Zedong and his Little Red Book. Maos goal was to eliminate capitalism in his country as part of the Cultural Revolution. China is often referred to as Red China because of the influence the communist party has over the country. The founding and ruling communist party in China is the Communist Party of China or the Chinese Communist Party. It is the single ruling party in the country. CPC was founded in 1921 and grew very quickly that in 1949 it drove the nationalist Kuomintang out of China and established the Peoples Republic of China. The party is based on democratic centralism. The National Congress which is convened every 5th year is the partys highest organ. Other organs include the Standing Committee, Central Committee, and Politburo. There are other political parties in China which make up the United Front.

1. North Korea (since 1948)

North Korea became a communist country in 1948 following South Koreas declaration of independence. North Korea declared its sovereignty almost immediately and Kim II Sung was installed as the countrys new leader. Interestingly, the government of North Korea does not consider the country as a communist, instead, the ruling family is promoting a brand of communism anchored on the concept of Juche or self-reliance. Juche was introduced in the 1950s and promotes the ideas of the leadership of Kim and became a state policy in the 1970s. North Koreas constitution was reviewed in 2009 and all the mentions of Marxist-Leninist ideas were removed. The word communism was also removed. The ruling party in North Korea is the Workers Party of Korea. The party was founded in 1949 following the merger between the Workers Party of South Korea and the Workers Party of North Korea.
Panel discussion with Dr. Yasantha Rajakarunanayake, Dr. James Shanahan and Dr. Chrisantha Fernando moderated by Virtusa Executive Vice President, CIO and General Manager Madu Ratnayake

The Sri Lanka Association for Software and Services Companies (SLASSCOM)conducted the first-ever SLASSCOM AI Asia Summit on 7th November at The Kingsbury. The conference attracted over 300 attendees from the industry and addressed topics relating to AI Applications, Data Science, Analytics and Machine Learning. Participants were able to learn and connect with acclaimed international and local speakers present at the event.

Jeevan Gnanam, Chairman SLASSCOM welcomed the attendees and shared his vision for an AI Nation where Data Science and AI become Sri Lankas third pillar of IT exports. He also spoke on the opportunity to use this event as a catalyst to drive a national agenda for AI engaging all stakeholders. This was followed by a keynote by Timothy Kooi, Head of Data Analytics at DHL Asia Pacific who shared examples of AI and Analytics applied in business. Technical sessions were conducted by Dr. Yasantha Rajakarunanayake, Senior Director Technology at MediaTek, Dr. Adam Easton, Chief Executive Officer at SimCentric Technologies, Dr. James Shanahan, Founder and Principal of Boutique Data Consultancy, Dr. Rukshan Batuwita, Data Scientist at Google, Dr. Chrisantha Fernando, Senior Research Scientist at Google DeepMind, and Dr. Sadeep Jayasumana, Research Scientist at Five AI, Cambridge. Christopher Gunawan, Senior Solution Architect, Data and AI, Microsoft, spoke on the role of AI empowering business transformation. Two research case studies were presented by Professor Asoka Karunananda and Dr. Subha Fernando from the University of Moratuwa, representing the Sri Lanka Association for Artificial Intelligence (SLAAI). Svein Olaf Olsen, Co-founder Anzyz Technologies also shared his experience on building a next-generation, self-learning tool to handle Big Data using AI.

Audience at the event

The event also hosted two panel discussions focusing on AI: Where next? and Opportunities for AI Startups. The first panel discussion was moderated by Madu Ratnayake, Executive Vice President, CIO & General Manager - Virtusa, and included Dr. Yasantha Rajakarunanayake, Dr. James Shanahan and Dr. Chrisantha Fernando as panelists. The panel discussion on AI Startups was moderated by C.D Athuraliya, Co-founder, Conscient AI with panelists from several local AI/Analytics startup companies. Ransith Fernando, Managing Director & Co-founder - Forest Pin, Apurva Udeshi, Founder - Zeptolytics, Jerome Perera, Head of Analytics and Data Science - SAKS Global and Nuwan Dehigaspitiya, Founder/CEO & Chief Architect, Boolean Lab contributed as panelists for this session.

The conference concluded with closing remarks from Shevan Goonetilleke, Chief Operating Officer WSO2 and Head of the SLASSCOM Technology Forum. He thanked the conferencepartners and sponsors, including Innovation Partner - GIZ, Strategic Partners - IKT Norge and the Royal Norwegian Embassy, Gold Sponsor  Microsoft, Silver Sponsor  IFS R&D International, Exclusive Enterprise Communications Partner  Dialog Enterprise, and the Startup Sri Lanka Ecosystem Partner  Hatch.
The hottest topic discussed, in Parliament, offices, homes and in the street, is the unruly behaviour of our politicians and especially the threat of a no-confidence motion against Speaker Karu Jayasuriya and his response -- ready to wear jumpers if he had overstepped his powers. With that picture before us, I was curious to find out the functions and duties of the clerk to the House of Representatives, as I felt that the Speaker, an ordinary Member of Parliament, elevated to the high post as Speaker should be guided and advised by some knowledgeable body, of responsibilities and conduct of the person so elected as Speaker. And that responsibility falls on the clerk to the House of Representatives. Here is what I gathered in browsing the internet -- This will be of interest to the public to judge whether our representatives in Parliament are worthy to govern.



The office of the clerk is the legislatures secretarial services. The office of the clerk is a politically-independent organisation, providing services to Parliament, as distinct from services to the government, and providing services to members in their parliamentary role, rather than in their party or electorate capacities. Although the office of the clerks primary client group is Members of Parliament and its principal relationship is with the Speaker, with other presiding officers and with committee chairs, it also deals with office holders such as the Leader of the House, party leaders and party whips and with staff members.

The office of the clerk is a politically-independent organisation, providing services to Parliament, as distinct from services to the government, and providing services to members in their parliamentary role, rather than in their party or electorate capacities



The office of the clerk carries out the functions required under Section 3 of the Clerk to the House of Representatives Act 1988 which provides that 

The functions of the Clerk to the House of Representatives shall be:

[a] To note proceedings of the House of Representatives and any committee of the House.

[b] To carry out such duties and exercise such powers as may be conferred on the Clerk of the House of Representatives by law or by Standing Orders and practices of the House of Representatives.

[c] To act as the principal officer of the Clerk of the House of Representatives and in the capacity to manage that office efficiently, effectively and economically.

[d] To ensure that the staff of the Office of House of Representatives carry out their duties including duties imposed and;

[i] Proper standards of integrity and conduct

[ii] Concern for the public in brief

[e] To be responsible, under the directions of the Speaker of the House of Representatives for the official reporting of the proceedings of the House of Representatives and Committees.



In view of the above, it could be presumed, the Speaker would have consulted the clerk to the House of Representatives when he acted. It would have been sensible, if those creating this ugly situation, discussed the matter with the clerk, unless of course their intention was to disrupt parliamentary proceedings, giving the impression to the public that the government has no majority in Parliament.



Whatever it maybe, the public awaits anxiously the verdict of the judiciary, which will put an end to these despicable tom foolery denounced locally as well as internationally and usher in a stable government. That is the only hope.
File photo: U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinas President Xi Jinping (Reuters)

WASHINGTON REUTERS Nov 29 - U.S. President Donald Trump said on Thursday he was open to a trade deal with China but was not sure he wanted one, as he headed to Argentina for the G20 summit and a meeting with President Xi Jingping.



Trump and Xi were scheduled to meet on Saturday to discuss trade amid increasing tensions between the worlds top two economies.



Trumps hardline trade adviser, Peter Navarro, will attend a meeting between Trump and Xi, a source familiar with the situation told Reuters.

Billions of dollars were coming into the United States, Trump said, because of the tariffs he has placed on Chinese imports. However, U.S. companies and consumers are bearing part of the cost by paying higher prices for the goods.



I really dont know but I will tell you that I think China wants to make a deal. Im open to making a deal. But frankly, I like the deal we have right now, Trump said.
Kiev (dpa) - Ukraine is requesting support from NATO following a recent naval clash with Russia, including a plea to member state Turkey to close the Bosporus to Russian vessels.



We will request that the Republic of Turkey close the Bosporus so that the Russians know that their country has violated international law, Admiral Ihor Voronchenko said Thursday at a conference on maritime security in Kiev.



Closing the Bosporus Strait would prevent Russian vessels from travelling between the Mediterranean Sea and the Black Sea.



Ukraine accuses Russia of restricting access to another waterway on the Black Sea, the Kerch Strait, which connects with the Sea of Azov. The Russian coastguard opened fire and then captured several Ukrainian naval ships in the Kerch Strait at the weekend, alleging they had illegally crossed into Russian territorial waters near the disputed Crimea region.



Russia occupied and annexed Crimea four years ago in response to Ukraine ousting its Russian-backed president in a pivot towards the West.
Parliaments Intelligence and Security Committee (ISC) has stated that the MI5 intelligence agency made a series of mistakes in its handling of the case of Salman Abedi, failing to prevent him from carrying out a horrific terrorist attack.

Abedi detonated a bomb at the end of a packed Ariana Grande concert in Manchester Arena on May 22, 2017, killing 22 people and injuring over a hundred.

The ISCs report stated that, there were a number of failures in the handling of Salman Abedis case and, while it is impossible to say whether these would have prevented the devastating attack on 22 May, we have concluded that, as a result of the failings, potential opportunities to prevent it were missed.

MI5 accepted that they moved too slowly.

In reality, the report and all such admissions are tailored to hide a host of damning facts about Abedis relationship with the British state that explain why such supposed mistakes were made.

The ISC is composed of tried and trusted MPs and Lords selected by the prime minister and sworn into the Queens Privy Council. Its investigation is meant to complete a whitewash begun in December 2017 with a report on UK terror attacks by David Anderson QCbuilding on the cover-up launched in the hours after the attack.

Immediately after the bombing, Prime Minister Theresa May claimed Abedi was a lone wolf, only known to the security services to a degree. Two D-Notices (a request to the press not to report on a particular issue) were issued over the attack and were for the most part slavishly obeyed by the mainstream media. Information soon emerged, mostly via the US, that tore the governments claims to shreds.

It was revealed that the FBI had warned MI5 in January 2017 that Abedi belonged to a North African terrorist group looking for a political target in Britain. Then it was reported that Abedi was in contact with a Libyan Islamic State battalion and that he had twice visited in prison the convicted terrorist and fighter in Libya and Syria, Abdal Raouf Abdallah, which would have triggered extensive security checks as a matter of course.

Abedi regularly travelled from his home in Manchester to Libya to visit his parents, who were members of the anti-Gaddafi Libyan Islamic Fighting Groupwhich is closely tied to the British state. He is reported to have fought with Islamist forces himself. Actively investigated by MI5 in January 2014, Abedi soon had his case closed, to be reopened in 2015 and closed again within one day. At the time he detonated his bomb, four days after returning from a trip to Libya, he was supposedly not considered a threat.

Andersons December report was designed to cover for the security services in the face of these incriminating disclosures. He previously defended GCHQs mass surveillance of the entire population in a BBC documentary and paved the way for the Snoopers Charter with the report, A Question of Trust. He wrote, It is not the purpose of the internal reviews, or of this report, to cast or apportion blame. The case of Abedi outlined was cast in terms of tragic mistakes only noticeable in retrospect.

Anderson made no mention of the fact that came to light in August this yearthat Abedi and his brother had actually been evacuated from Libya aboard a Royal Navy ship in 2014, with the personal knowledge of then Prime Minister David Cameron. He refused to comment on whether he had known about the evacuation when compiling his report and, if so, why he had chosen to omit it.

The only conclusion to be drawn from the available evidence is that Abedi was viewed as an intelligence asset, allowed free rein to participate in jihadist formations aligned with British imperialism in the Middle East and North Africa. Only this explanation makes sense of the incredible lapses in security revealed by the ISC, whatever combination of fact and fiction they may be.

According to the committee, Abedis two visits to Abdal Raouf Abdallah in Altcourse prison brought no follow-up action and were not passed to MI5. He was never referred to the governments Prevent strategymeant to prevent people being radicalized by extremismand did not have his travel monitored or restricted.

Another security failing caused serious concern due to its highly sensitive security aspects and will only be revealed only to the prime minister in a classified report. Concealing this information strongly suggests that it is highly incriminating and possibly relates to Abedis role as an asset in the operation to topple Gaddafi. Theresa May was home secretary at the time when the security services allowed LIFG members to travel to Libya, providing them with passports after they had been previously confiscated and giving them security clearance as part of the military operations to overthrow Gaddafi.

Abedi was never referred to Prevent, yet in 2015-2016 over a thousand schoolchildren were referred to its deradicalization programmes. The UK is a world leader in mass surveillance and had direct links with multiple Libyan Islamist militias. These errors of judgement were part of a deliberate policy.

The ISCs members know this is precisely how MI5 and MI6 operate: maintaining and protecting networks of jihadist fighters, who can be deployed against Middle Eastern and African governments. If some go rogue and kill British citizens, then that is considered collateral damage.

This pattern was confirmed in October, when head of counter-terrorism policing Neil Basu said that fighters returning from Syria were no longer considered the biggest terror threat to the UK. According to the UKs own counter-terrorism strategy documents, around 900 British nationals of national security concern are thought to have travelled to Syria, and 40 percent of them are thought to have returned.

Basus comments prefigured a statement from Chief of the British General Staff General Mark Carleton-Smith last weekend. Smith declared that the threat from terrorism paled in comparison to the threat posed by Russia. Having served as a bogeyman to justify endless wars of intervention and attacks on democratic rights, the terrorists are now far more helpful as allies in proxy wars against rival powersabove all Russia.

The only ISC recommendations likely to be enacted are those which use state-created atrocities as an excuse for yet greater state surveillance and censorship in connection with rapidly escalating militarism. The report states that communication companies were failing to fulfil their duty to detect terror planning online and suggested government pressure be brought to bear.

Home Secretary Sajid Javid jumped at the opportunity, saying We have updated our counter-terrorism strategy, introduced new legislation to allow threats to be disrupted earlier and have increased information sharing with local authorities. We are also ensuring technology companies play their part by stopping terrorists from exploiting their platforms.

The media passed over the ISC report with nothing more than a so what, with no further reporting on it after 24 hours. The BBC and the Guardian said nothing of Abedis extensive connections with Britains Libya campaign in their coverage. BBC home affairs and security correspondent, Dominic Casciani, provided an apologia for MI5, writing, The big problem is that intelligence on suspects is fragmentary. A British-Libyan young man travelling to Libya is not the stuff of red alerts.

The Labour Party maintains its silence over Britains deadly imperialist intrigues. Instead of questioning the government about its relationship with Abedi, Shadow Home Secretary Diane Abbott used the ISC report to call for more police and security: This raises serious questions for the entire policing and security system, not simply MI5 alone. These questions include the proper identification, prioritisation and prevention of terrorists, which is an increasingly integrated process, involving multiple agencies, or at least it should be. But this government has undermined policing with cuts of 21,000 officers. And community policing, the frontline ears and eyes on the ground in the fight against terror, has been hardest hit.

Survivors and those bereaved by the Manchester attack criticised the government and intelligence agencies. Survivor Robby Porter is considering taking legal action against MI5. This could have been stopped, he said, and we're finding out now that it should have been stopped.

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UK terror report confirms Manchester and London terror attackers known to MI5

[17 December 2017]
Brazils fascistic president-elect, former army captain Jair Bolsonaro, hosted a meeting Thursday at his home in Barra de Tijuca, the wealthy beachside neighborhood of Rio de Janeiro, with President Donald Trumps right-wing national security adviser John Bolton.

The hour-long discussion reportedly touched on Venezuela, Cuba, Chinese influence in Latin America and Bolsonaros proposal to ape Trump by moving Brazils embassy in Israel to Jerusalem.

Bolton staged the brief stop in Rio and breakfast meeting with Bolsonaro on his way to the G20 summit in Buenos Aires, where the main question posed is the US trade war against China.

Bolton gave no statement to the press following the meeting, but tweeted: We enjoyed a broad and productive discussion with the president-elect of Brazil and his security team.

Similarly, Bolsonaro, who takes office on January 1, used his Twitter account to describe the encounter as a very productive and pleasant meeting with the National Security Adviser of the United States.

Accompanying Bolsonaro in the meeting was a group of incoming cabinet members who are representative of the most right-wing and military-dominated government to take office since the end of the two-decade-long US-backed military dictatorship in 1985.

These included his future defense minister Fernando Acevedo e Silva and head of the Institutional Security Cabinet Augusto Heleno Ribeiro, who are both retired generals. Also present was his foreign minister, Ernesto Araujo, who has described climate change as a plot by cultural Marxists to undermine Western economies and boost China, and declared that his mission will be to liberate Brazil from anti-Christian globalists.

Boltons visit follows his bellicose speech earlier this month in Miami in which he laid out an agenda of regime change against the governments of Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua. He labeled them a troika of tyranny, an obvious mimicking of George W. Bushs axis of evil theme, rolled out in advance of the US wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.

In the same speech, Bolton described Bolsonarowho has praised the countrys former US-backed military dictatorship and threatened opponents with jail or exileas a likeminded leader and his election as one of the positive signs for the future of the region.

Last Tuesday, Bolton echoed this theme, declaring that Bolsonaros election presented a historic opportunity for Brazil and the United States to work together in a number of areas, such as economy, security and others.

Bolsonaro indicated his alignment with Washington against Venezuela. Venezuela is a longstanding question, we have to find solutions, he said following the meeting with Bolton. Measures need to be taken. Until now, Brazil has not followed Washingtons example in imposing sanctions against Caracas.

Similarly, the incoming Brazilian president has staked out a hard line against Cuba, forcing the exit of some 8,300 Cuban doctors. They were working in remote and poor areas of Brazil under a program known as Mais Medicos (More Doctors), initiated under the former Workers Party (PT) government of impeached President Dilma Rousseff. Bolsonaro has threatened to cut off diplomatic relations with Havana.

No doubt, for the Trump administration, the most attractive feature of the incoming far-right Brazilian president is his anti-China stance, which he promoted during the election campaign, repeating the slogan that China was not buying in Brazil, but buying Brazil. Bolsonaro also staged a trip to Taiwan last February, a provocative affront to Beijing.

For Washington, the principal strategic question in Latin America is countering the growth of Chinese trade and investment, which is challenging its hegemony in a region that US imperialism long regarded as its own backyard.

Anti-Chinese campaign demagogy is cheap, but shifting Brazils economic relations is a more complicated matter.

China has supplanted the US as Brazils number one trading partner. Between 2003 and June of this year, Chinese firms have poured almost $US54 billion in investments into around 100 projects in Brazil, according to figures from Brazils planning ministry.

Bolsonaros incoming vice president, another former general, Hamilton Mourao, recently described Bolsonaros anti-Chinese statements as campaign rhetoric. Mourao cautioned that, while Brasilia would seek closer relations with Washington, we cant neglect the other great actors on the international arena, we cant neglect the relationship with China.

Brazil has been a direct beneficiary of the escalating trade war with China, with its export of agricultural products, principally soybeans, increasing dramatically as a result of rising US-China tariffs.

Similar pragmatic profit interests arise in relation to Bolsonaros pledge to shift the Brazilian embassy in Israel to Jerusalem, an imitation of Trump with the same domestic political aim: currying favor with a powerful evangelical Christian political bloc.

After Egypt canceled a scheduled diplomatic meeting in apparent response to the proposal, Bolsonaro declared that the move had not yet been decided. The Arab countries together constitute the second largest buyer of Brazilian animal protein exports, which amount to some $13.5 billion.

The reaction of the Workers Party and its pseudo-left satellites to Boltons visit has been to intensify a campaign to appeal to Brazilian nationalism and to the Brazilian bourgeoisie on the grounds that the president-elects policies threaten national interests, i.e., the profit interests of Brazilian banks and corporations.

These elements unleashed a cry of outrage over media reports that the ex-army captain greeted Bolton with a military salute, which they charged was a humiliating gesture of Brazilian subservience to US imperialism. Pseudo-left leader Guilherme Boulos of the Homeless Workers Movement (MTST) described the gesture as shameful, an unacceptable subservience, while demanding to know what happened of Bolsonaros campaign slogan: Brazil above all.

The most sinister aspect of this campaign is an increasing attempt to portray the military figures that have been brought into the incoming government as the adults in the room who will curtail Bolsonaros right-wing excesses. The PT-aligned website 24/7 featured a flattering interview with ex-general Mourao, the incoming vice president, expressing his pragmatic approach to Brazils international relations.

On Thursday, following the Bolton-Bolsonaro meeting, the same website published the results of a poll conducted of its readers claiming that 90 percent agreed that the military group that surrounds Bolsonaro should stop him from subordinating Brazil to the foreign policy of Washington.

This appeal to nationalist military officers to save Brazil from Bolsonaro has the most reactionary implications, opening the door to a military coup to save the nation. It is, at the same time, symptomatic of the upper middle class social layer that composes the principal constituency of the Workers Party, which is hostile and opposed to any struggle to mobilize the Brazilian working class against Bolsonaro and to unite it with the workers of the United States and the entire hemisphere in the struggle for socialism.
Life expectancy in the United States continued its extraordinary decline in 2017 after stagnating in 2016 and falling in 2015. Not since the combined impact of World War I and the Spanish Flu in 1918 has the country experienced such a prolonged period of decline in life expectancy.

The annual mortality report from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) highlights the disastrous impact of the social crisis on the American working class. Suicides and drug overdoses, what have been termed deaths of despair, have been identified as the driving forces behind the continuing decline in how long Americans are expected to live.

In 2017, over 2.8 million Americans died, an increase by approximately 70,000 from the previous year and the most deaths in a single year since the US government began keeping records. From 2016 to 2017, the age-adjusted death rate for the entire population increased by 0.4 percent.

The average life expectancy in the US declined from 78.7 to 78.6 years. Life expectancy dropped for males from 76.2 to 76.1 but remained the same for females at 81.1. Life expectancy for females has consistently been higher than males and the gap continues to widen. In 2017, the difference in life expectancy between females and males increased 0.1 year from 4.9 years in 2016 to 5.0 years in 2017.

Age-specific death rates between 2016 and 2017 increased for age groups 2534, 3544, and 85 and over. These statistics indicate a healthcare system failing the elderly and a societal crisis ravaging younger workers. Deaths of despair, including alcoholism, are a leading cause of deaths in younger ages groups.

The US suicide death rate rose to the highest in 50 years last year. Since 2008, it has ranked as the 10th leading cause of death for all ages in the US. In 2016, suicide became the second leading cause of death for ages 1034 and the fourth leading cause for ages 3554. From 1999 to 2017, suicide rates have increased for both males and females, with the greatest yearly increases occurring since 2006.

The average annual increase in suicide rates shifted from about one percent per year from 1999 through 2006 to two percent per year from 2006 through 2017. The age-adjusted rate of suicide among females increased from 4.0 per 100,000 in 1999 to 6.1 in 2017, while the rate for males increased from 17.8 to 22.4.

The study also focuses on suicide in depressed rural regions. In 1999, the suicide rate in rural counties was 1.4 times the rate of most urban areas. The rate in rural areas was 13.1 per 100,000 with urban areas having a rate of 9.6 per 100,000. The difference further increased in 2017 with the suicide rate for the most rural counties (20.0 per 100,000) increasing to 1.8 times the rate for the most urban counties (11.1).

The rate in drug overdoses has skyrocketed in the same period. From 1999 to 2017, the overdose rate soared from 6.1 per 100,000 to 21.7 per 100,000. The rate increased by an average of 10 percent per year from 1999 to 2006, by 3 percent per year from 2006 to 2014, and a staggering 16 percent per year from 2014 to 2017. The rise coincides with the opioid crisis ravaging through parts of the US, concentrated in West Virginia, Ohio and Pennsylvania.

The figures contained in the latest CDC report are a reflection of the diseased nature of American society and the failure of the capitalist system. The last decade has seen a historic rise in social inequality in the aftermath of the economic crash of 2008 and the bailout of Wall Street, overseen by Obama and the Democrats, which saw the greatest transfer of wealth in history from the working class to the rich.

Low-wage, tenuous employment, where it is available, has replaced the jobs that were destroyed in the process. The boondoggle that is known as Obamacare, far from providing the population with healthcare, has funneled billions of dollars to the healthcare industry and increased corporate profits by compelling workers to buy substandard health insurance out of their own pocket.

CDC director Robert R. Redfield lamented over the implications of his organizations report: The latest CDC data show that the US life expectancy has declined over the past few years. Tragically, this troubling trend is largely driven by deaths from drug overdose and suicide, he said in a press release.

Life expectancy gives us a snapshot of the Nations overall health and these sobering statistics are a wakeup call that we are losing too many Americans, too early and too often, to conditions that are preventable.

As indicated by the prevalence of suicide in rural regions, joblessness and social isolation reap a terrible toll. Workers are driven to despair under the ruling class assault against the living standards won by the working class in the 20th century.

There is no solution to the continued decline in life expectancy forthcoming from the ruling class. In reality, the increased death rates are seen as the cost of doing business, necessary to funnel ever greater sums of money into the pockets of robber barons like Jeff Bezos and fuel unprecedented spending on the US military.

A socialist response is required to meet the needs of the working class. A direct assault must be launched on the wealth of the corporate and financial elite. The wealth of the one percent must be expropriated to fund universal healthcare and turn the giant pharmaceutical companies into publicly-owned utilities.

The decades-long campaign to strip workers of their social gains must be reversed. Society must be transformed to ensure that every person has access to high quality healthcare, education and housing, and ensure the right to a high-paying job and leisure. Above all, this requires the building of a mass working class movement independent of both big business parties, fighting for socialism.
Unprecedented weather conditionsa combination of record-breaking temperatures, tornado-like winds and unusually low humidityfanned huge fires that have threatened entire townships in coastal central Queensland this week.

Already, at least 8,000 people have been forced to evacuate in the face of the northern Australian states first-ever catastrophic fire emergency. No one has yet been reported killed, but an unknown number of homes have been destroyed.

Flames as high as 20 metres have suddenly loomed over homes, giving residents just minutes to flee. Comparisons have been drawn with recent devastating bush fires in Western Australia and this months infernos in California.

A firefighting commander, Rural Fire Services Central Region manager Brian Smith said: This is something we dont want to overstate, but theyre comparing this to the conditions in the Waroona fires in Western Australia, which completely wiped out a town a few years ago, and also to the recent California fires.

Nearly 200 fires, with fronts up to 50 kilometres wide, burnt thousands of hectares on Wednesday, causing authorities to warn of catastrophic fire risks from central Queensland north to the tropical city of Townsville.

Around 100 fires were still burning across the state yesterday, and that number could rise again, with five more days of heatwave predicted. More than 40 schools remained closed and the main north-south highway was cut for a period.

Hundreds of firefighters have been flown in from interstate to help relieve their exhausted and over-stretched Queensland counterparts. Queensland Fire and Emergency Services inspector Andrew Sturgeous said the state had never seen fires like this before.

In the region around the central Queensland city of Rockhampton, the official fire danger rating reached 135 on Wednesday, well above the catastrophic level of 100. That rating, the highest possible, indicates fires of such severity that no house can survive, no matter how well constructed.

Residents were shocked and often caught unawares. About 50 people at Campwin Beach, south of Mackay, were forced to leave their homes at 2 a.m. on Thursday. Vicky Crichton told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation she was woken by authorities telling her to evacuate immediately. It was so quick  I just opened the door and it was like opening the door to hell.

In another typical account, Lindsay Barram, 70, told AAP that the people of the small township of Mount Larcom, north of Gladstone, had to flee with just minutes warning, taking just the clothes on their backs. He described the sky turning black, reducing the sun to a glowing red fireball. You could see the smoke getting much, much worse, he said. You knew you were in trouble The wind was just horrific when we left, it was nearly blowing me over, actually.

Queensland State Disaster Commissioner Bob Gee said conditions were not normal for Queensland and people would burn to death if they did not heed warnings to evacuate. Some residents complained of being nearly arrested by police to force them into paddy wagons to flee.

Because of its normally higher humidity, Queensland previously has been spared the frequent fire disasters that strike Australias southern states, but this weeks dry heat broke many records. Summer has not even begun, yet temperatures soared above 40C (104F) in many locations.

Weather bureau forecaster Bruce Gunn said too many records were set on Wednesday to list them all. Temperatures in Rockhampton reached 41.7C and Mackay had an unprecedented six consecutive days above 35C.

The weather conditions were unlike anything seen before, Gunn said. In the past in Queensland, weve only found a few minutes (of catastrophic conditions) here and there in individual events. In Rockhampton we had catastrophic conditions sustained for 3.5 hours. Certainly something outside our experience.

This is a foretaste of a potentially disastrous summer across Australia. In its latest Seasonal Bushfire Outlook, the Bushfire and Natural Hazards Cooperative Research Centre predicted above-normal fire risks across much of southern Australia, due to very low rainfall and above average temperatures. The Bureau of Meteorology, in its detailed outlook for summer, warned that most of Australia has an 80 percent chance of higher-than-normal temperatures between December and February.

In a display of official indifference, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said neither he nor Deputy Prime Minister Michael McCormack planned to visit the fire-ravaged area. Morrison said people needed to focus on the firefighting effort and the firefighting response.

Morrison told reporters in Canberra: The entire country is there to help in this time of great need. But his Liberal-National Coalition government merely activated a national disaster assistance plan, allowing the Queensland state Labor Party government to seek as-yet unspecified federal help and financial assistance.

State Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk described the fire situation as off the charts  nobody has recorded these conditions any time in the history of Queensland. While the fires are unprecedented, however, the emergency provides more evidence of the disastrous impact of the extreme weather events caused by climate change. Scientists have long warned of these processes.

An Australian Climate Council report in 2015 found there had been a nearly 20 percent increase in global fire seasons between 1978 and 2013. As a result, firefighters had less time to carry out hazard reduction burns, undertake training and community awareness campaigns, or give crews a rest. And firefighting personnel and equipment could not easily be shared between countries in the northern and southern hemispheres.

In a report published on Wednesday by the Lancet medical journal, scientists and health experts from 27 organisations around the world said climate change impactsfrom heatwaves to worsening storms, floods and fireswere surging and threatened to overwhelm health systems.

Rising heat and wilder weather linked to climate change made it the biggest global health threat of the 21st century. Already, 157 million more people worldwide were exposed to heatwaves last year than in 2000.

Despite increasingly dire warnings from scientists, Australian governments, like capitalist states around the world, have demonstrated their inability to take the necessary measures to halt global warming. International agreements that have been adopted are totally inadequate, and even these are under constant attack as each ruling class seeks to maximise corporate profits.

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[26 November 2018]

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[22 November 2018]

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[21 November 2018]
As world leaders head to the G20 Summit, the United States is poised to intensify its conflicts with Russia, China and Europe.

Commenting on the fast-approaching event, the German weekly Der Spiegel called American President Donald Trump the terror of the assembled world leaders. No one, perhaps least of all Trump, knows the outcome of the summit in advance, or which part of the world will be the main target of US threats.

Russia

The explosive and unpredictable character of the summit was demonstrated by Trumps hairpin turn Thursday on a planned meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

I probably will be meeting with President Putin, Trump told reporters as he was leaving the White House for Buenos Aires. I think its a very good time to have the meeting.

Just an hour later, Trump took to Twitter to declare that he would not meet Putin, allegedly in protest over the Russian coast guards seizure of three Ukrainian Navy ships after they entered and refused to leave Russian-claimed waters for 12 hours.

In the hour between the statements, Trump spoke with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and John F. Kelly, the White House chief of staff, who were on the plane, and by telephone with National Security Adviser John Bolton.

Over that hour, another event had transpired. Michael Cohen, Trumps former personal lawyer pled guilty to lying to Congress and declared that Trump had, in the words of the New York Times, negotiated to build a tower in Moscow much later during the 2016 presidential election than previously acknowledged.

Figures both inside and outside the White House made clear the connection between Trumps trip and the latest stage in the investigation by Special Counsel Robert Mueller.

Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani said it is hardly coincidental that Mueller once again filed charges against Cohen just as the president is leaving for a meeting with world leaders at the annual summit. The special counsel did the very same thing as the president was leaving for a world summit in Helsinki, Giuliani noted.

A former Pentagon official under Obama drew the same connection. Its all about the political optics in light of the Trump Tower Moscow news and the fact that Trump simply cant bring himself to ever confront Putin in public, he told the Times.

Trumps last meeting with Putin took place in Helsinki, Finland last summer, just days after Special Counsel Mueller had indicted 12 Russian intelligence officers related to the unproven charges of Russian hacking of the Democratic Party during the 2016 election. Trumps refusal to confront Putin regarding the bogus accusations was declared by most of the American and European media to be the low point of his administration.

Since then, Trump has substantially intensified the United States bellicose actions against Russia, initiating a major new round of sanctions and announcing last month that the United States would leave the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) treaty.

There can be little doubt that the acceleration of Muellers investigation and Ukraines triggering of a crisis in the Azov Sea were closely coordinated with sections of the US political establishment seeking a more confrontational posture by Trump against Russia.

Shockingly reckless actions are being proposed in res6ponse to the crisis. The Atlantic Council, for example, advised Ukraine to invite the United States and NATO to send a fleet of armed ships to visit Mariupol, the main city on the Sea of Azov coast and defy Russia to fire on or block NATO from exercising the right to visit Ukraines ports. Those ships should be armed and have air cover but be instructed not to fire unless fired upon.

China

Prior to Ukraines provocation, Trumps central focus was to have been trade negotiations with China. The United States is scheduled to massively expand tariffs on Chinese goods, from the current level of 10 percent to 25 percent, on January 1.

The summit will be the first Trump has attended since US Vice President Mike Pence announced a China policy that the American press has dubbed a new cold war, in which the United States is actively working to block Chinas development of high-value manufacturing as a strategic and military priority.

The G20 summit has been preceded by a furious anti-Chinese campaign in the American media. The New York Times this month published a scaremongering five-part series on the rise of Chinese economic influence, while, on Thursday, the Washington Post published a hysterical op-ed declaiming Chinas ominous plan to penetrate and sway the United States.

Even as Trump was shooting immigrant children with tear gas and rubber bullets, both newspapers ran editorials denouncing alleged Chinese human rights violations against the Uighur population of Western China.

While sections of the American press have speculated that Trump might pull back from escalating the tariffs, Trump said Monday that the prospect of any accommodations was highly unlikely.

Europe

Given Trumps past behavior at international summits, further clashes with the United States NATO allies are entirely possible. Trump is scheduled to meet with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who he will pressure to increase military spending, while threatening the European Union with auto tariffs.

No one can predict the exact contours of the G20 Summit and who Trump will target for military aggression, trade war, threats and intimidation. What is clear, however, is that Trump, while representing a definite faction of the US political establishment, channels the sentiments of the whole spectrum of American politics for an escalation of great-power competition, whether against Russia, China, Europe or all three.
Anyone wishing to know how the Left Party and its trade union and pseudo-left milieu would react to a social uprising in Germany has only to take a look at what the newspapers in solidarity with the party have to say about the demonstrations against the Macron government in France.

The headline, The Language of Violence, greets readers of Mondays Neues Deutschland (ND), traditionally associated with the Left Party. The daily was referring to the mass protests last weekend by the Yellow Vests movement, which is demonstrating against higher petrol taxes in France. Protesters blocked roads and demanded the resignation of French President Emmanuel Macron.

In two separate articles, ND spreads the lies of the French government and the police, which have claimed that the violence in Paris stems from the demonstrators. Paving stones were tossed at police officers, barricades were erected, shops plundered. The police reacted with tear gas and water cannon, ND writes in its cover story. The pre-Christmas Avenue des Champs-Elysees presented a picture of devastation.

Without a hint of criticism, the ND cited Macrons condemnation of the protests: Shame on those who attacked the security forces, shame on those who used violence against other citizens and journalists, the French president said. ND then reprinted the propaganda of the French state authorities blaming violent extremists who took advantage of the opportunity to riot.

Even more hostile was a Page 5 article titled Yellow Vests Groomed for Violence. At the start of the article, NDs French correspondent Ralf Klingsieck suggested that the Paris demonstration should not even have taken place, while presenting salacious details that solicit reader sympathy for the police.

The Champs-Elysees presents a picture of devastation, Klingsieck writes. The Yellow Vests demonstrations on Saturday in Paris, which were not approved by the police, degenerated into violence.

Sections of the approximately 8,000 demonstrators who were prevented from marching in the direction of Place de la Concorde had torn up the pavement to throw stones at the police, who in turn reacted with tear gas and water cannons, the article continues, reading much like a police report. In some places, chairs and benches were piled up in the street to make barricades and then set afire. At the fringes of the demonstration, shop windows were smashed and displays plundered. It took hours for the police to restore calm.

Klingsieck also regurgitates the official propaganda of the security authorities without comment: Their demonstration in Paris was infiltrated by violent right-wing extremists and thugs of the black blocks who disguised themselves by wearing yellow vests, French interior minister Christophe Castaner told the press.

All of these claims are lies. In fact, it was the police who, from the beginning, were groomed for violence and used the language of violence. The security forces started the clashes on the Champs-Elysees and were responsible for most of the riots. Immediately after demonstrators set up the first roadblocks, police units responded with water cannon, rubber bullets and tear gas. Policemen lashed out at the demonstrators with clubs and tried to encircle them. In response, some demonstrators sought to defend themselves with paving stones and set off fireworks.

Junge Welt, the other daily paper close to the Left Party, more or less admitted in its editorial that the violence stemmed from the police, but then also sought to discredit the protests. Both the neo-fascist formation Rassemblement Nationale (RN, formerly National Front) led by Marine Le Pen and the right-wing conservative Les Republicains of former President Nicolas Sarkozy used the growing resistance for their own purposes, the paper wrote. According to opinion polls support for both parties is currently increasing.

This claim corresponds to the stance of the French unions and pseudo-lefts, who argue that the protests merely play into the hands of the extreme right. In reality, figures like Sarkozy are widely hated, while the far right is increasingly denouncing the Yellow Vest protesters as left-wing violent extremists. Marion Marechal-Le Pen, the niece of RN leader Marine Le Pen, said the movement was full of far-left militants. We heard people saying, Capitalism is dead! If thats the ultra right, then it has changed considerably.

The publications around the Left Party are hostile to the protests in France because they are developing independently of the established political parties and unions.

The Yellow Vests movement sprang up spontaneously some weeks ago to protest against the loss of purchasing power through a series of tax hikes and, above all, the increase in fuel tax planned for 1 January, the ND notes, before expressing its central concern. The unions were completely surprised by this and, like the political parties, had no influence on the movement, which organised itself through forums on the Internet.

In recent days, the protests of the Yellow Vests have coincided with a series of strikes across Europe. In France, striking port, refinery and Amazon workers have defended the roadblocks set up by the Yellow Vests. The Left Party regards this development, along with the goals of the Yellow Vests movement, as a threat. In fact, the demands for Macrons resignation, an end to social inequality, and against the militarisation of Europe can only be won through the mobilisation of the French and European working class on the basis of an international socialist programme.

The Left Party, which articulates the interests of the privileged middle classes, is on the other side of the barricades in the class struggle. In the 2014 European elections, the party pasted placards reading RevolutionNo, Thanks! signalling to the ruling class that it would do everything necessary to stop a revolutionary development. Four years later it is clear what that means. In recent weeks, leaders of the Left Party have lined up behind Macron and his plans for a European army under German-French leadership. The ND has also published a comment describing Macrons plans for an EU army as a terrific idea.

The World Socialist Web Site wrote at the time: It is evident that the construction of a European military union and the preparations for war are also directed against growing social and political domestic opposition. Significantly, in his Berlin speech, Macron sought the support of the German bourgeoisie as hundreds of thousands protested in France against higher petrol taxes. Protesters blocked roads and demanded the resignation of the president of the rich. The fact that Macrons appeal has been applauded by the Left Party speaks volumes about the pro-imperialist and anti-worker character of the organisation.
On November 4, police and health department officials in Kansas City, Missouri, carried out a coordinated series of raids on four picnics hosted by Free Hot Soup Kansas City, a Facebook community that organizes picnics where hungry people can eat food and converse in a friendly, public environment. The Kansas City Health Department, aided by police, threw away edible food and bleached a portion of it, claiming that Free Hot Soup was an organization and that the picnics were food establishments that needed permits.

The raids followed a neighborhood association meeting that had as its first action item Remove KC Free Soup at the park. Health inspectors spied on the group using social media to determine the distribution locations.

After video of the health departments actions went viral on social media and sparked international outrage, Kansas City officials let subsequent distribution events go forward. Nellie McCool, who founded Free Hot Soup Kansas City in 2015, recently spoke with the WSWS about the incident.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Josh Varlin: Can you describe what happened November 4? Were you at Prospect Plaza Park when the police and health department came?

Nellie McCool: I was not, I was called while it was happening and I rushed over there right after it happened. The normal crew went out to all their different sites where they like to hold picnics with their friends, and Prospect Plaza Park was met with an inspector who immediately asked to destroy the food.

Weve been at that park three years, every Sunday weve gone and had picnics there, so weve gotten to really know the community. We arent a 501(c)(3) charitable organization, we arent an organization or any kind of establishment. We dont accept any funding or do any fundraisers as a single entity. A Facebook community is the only way we actually exist as an entity, Free Hot Soup.

There are several communities all over the country. I was involved in one in Portland, Oregon, that started in 2013, and then joined the one in Vancouver, Washington, when it started in 2014. I came back and started one in Kansas City when I moved back in 2015.

JV: You mentioned the legal issues. Would you be able to expand on what Free Hot Soup is and why its not a food establishment?

NM: Free Hot Soup is a Facebook community that recognizes socioeconomic disparity. We recognize that there are underprivileged populations in certain parts of our city, in this case in Kansas City, and we dont believe that organizations can be the entire solution.

For instance, Prospect Plaza Park, which is ZIP code 64127, has a household median income of roughly $21,000, which is less than half of the median income statewide. Its 54.7 percent black, and Kansas City has an extensive history of racial segregation. Developer J.C. Nichols wouldnt allow blacks to get mortgages in certain parts of the city, so blacks and any non-white ethnic group were basically cornered into really poor-quality parts of the city. Though those laws dont exist anymore, its obvious when you go to those parts of the city that segregation is still alive.

When you go to this public park, normally people in the community dont feel safe bringing their kids there. There was a boy who was killed in the park in spring 2017. For the short amount of time we are there, we bring food, we use the food to strike up conversations with people, and for that one hour, were told, families in the surrounding community feel safe bringing their kids to this park.

Its much more than a public food service. Its an activist project taking poverty and violent crime and looking these issues in the face and saying, What can I do to help? There are individuals where Ive set up ways for them to get their bills paid through my Facebook community, or get their homes furnished, or get their birth certificate, or take them to the hospital or shelters, or set them up for other families who would like to sponsor them for Christmas.

JV: Free Hot Soup is organizing on social media, using Facebook groups to coordinate distribution of food to people who need it. The authorities were essentially spying on these Facebook groups to do this coordinated wave of raids. What do you think about that?

NM: There are so many different communities who use Facebook groups to coordinate events among themselves. This was, I would say, harassment and stalking. If they knew where we were, why did they not have a conversation beforehand? But they came in and, in the case of Prospect Plaza Park, they came in knowingly about to bleach the food. They had the report written prior to beginning their protocol, which they didnt even follow, because they bleached baked goods, which are considered a nonhazardous food and therefore are not regulated by the Health Department. Then they left it in the park, a public park, for the general public to scavenge through. We saw people scavenging through it when we came back later with 41 Action News and other reporters to discuss what had happened at that park.

JV: What do you think about the involvement of the North Blue Ridge Neighborhood Association and Democratic State Representative Ingrid Burnett?

NM: Their first action step on their minutes was Remove KC Free Soup at the park. Not even trying to give us permits. Its not about public health. Its absolutely, We dont like having you here.

JV: What services, if any, does Kansas City provide to homeless people?

NM: They continue to toot their horn about the 43 organizations that help the homeless, so I guess thats their goal.

Kansas City is tearing down low-income housing projects all over the city and theyre not replacing them. Youve got a limited amount of shelters for single adults. Families with children get priority at low-income housing and shelters. When you tear down these huge low-income apartment complexes, those families are now going into those shelters. So, everybody else who is trying to get on their feet or needs to use the shelter is now put at the very bottom of the list.

These neighborhoods have very limited employment options. Prospect Plaza Park, that ZIP code, the unemployment rate is 46 percent. Youve got tons of people who are working for Jackson County, Missouri, but theyre only making $10/hour.

If theyre living on the street, they are likely using public transportation, which costs money. If they want to take a shower or have a bed to sleep in, they have to pay for a motel, which costs money. Otherwise theyre going to sleep at bus stops or at public parks on benches, which exposes them to theft and other types of harassment, so a lot of them will lose their IDs, Social Security cards and birth certificates and suddenly they dont have any form of identification anymore. For them to get a car or get a home or get a job if they dont have one, they are now 10 steps behind. You have people out there who are homeless and are working but they cant get to where they need to be. The minimum wage in Missouri is one of the lowest in the entire country.
The United National Front (UNF) a short while ago submitted a motion in parliament to curtail funds to the Cabinet ministers, deputy ministers and state ministers of the new government.

The motion was presented by MP Patali Champika Ranawaka at the parliament session which commenced at 10 am today.
In an open letter to New York University President Andrew Hamilton, academics at NYU condemned the life sentence handed down to British academic Matthew Hedges by the United Arab Emirates for supposed espionage. While Hedges has since been granted clemency following international outrage, his case underscores the contempt with which the UAE governmentwith which New York University has deep tiesviews academic freedom.

The hearing that sentenced Hedges to life imprisonment was five minutes long, contained no evidence presented by UAE authorities to substantiate the charges, and did not include an argument in his defense. Hedges, a PhD student at Durham University conducting academic research on Emirati diplomacy, was arrested in May as he was preparing to leave the country.

The letter, signed by 214 faculty and PhD students as of this writing, demands that Hamilton condemn Hedges arrest, sentencing and detention; institute a forum and committee on academic freedom across the university and its international network, including the NYU campus at Abu Dhabi (NYUAD) in the UAE, and take measures to protect academic freedom from governmental interference.

Despite the blatantly unfair trial and the urging of faculty, the initial response of the administration (prior to the granting of clemency) was to insist that academic freedom is safe at NYUAD. In an email, Hamiltons office said, Those teaching and studying at the NYU Abu Dhabi campus engage in rigorous intellectual discussion, scholarly research, and academic analysis every day with no restrictions.

A subsequent statement by NYU left open the possibility that Hedges was guilty, despite mounting evidence to the contrary. It would of course be a significant concern to us if someone engaged in routine scholarly activity were imprisoned for it, said spokesman John Beckman. However it is important to note that we do not have any information regarding the case of Mr. Hedges beyond what has been publicly reported.

John Archer, a professor of English at NYU and one of the organizers behind the open letter, noted: To state that we only have information on Matts case from public reports implies he may have done something wrong. It is eerily similar to [President Donald] Trumps response to the [Jamal] Khashoggi murder.  President Hamilton is out of step, then, with what is known.

The universitys response was both cowardly and dishonest. It allowed defenders of the monarchical regime of the UAE to cite NYU in defense of the regimes antidemocratic actions and whitewash NYUs role in bolstering the countrys image. Abdulkhaleq Abdulla, a prominent UAE academic and flunky of the regime, tweeted, Commenting on the case of #MatthewHedges NYU president, Andrew Hamilton said: Those teaching and studying at the NYU Abu Dhabi campus engage in rigorous intellectual discussion, scholarly research, and academic analysis every day with no restrictions.

In reality, NYU faculty and students know that academic freedom is by no means guaranteed at NYUAD. NYUs Arthur L. Carter Journalism Institute severed ties with NYUAD last year after the UAE barred three professors from teaching in the country. The professors, including Mohamad Bazzi, associate professor of journalism, and Arang Keshavarzian, associate professor of Middle Eastern studies, were almost certainly prevented from teaching due to their religious backgrounds and/or political views.

Despite widespread outrage from faculty and academic organizations at this restriction on academic freedom, the NYU administration covered for the UAE government then as it does now.

In 2015, the UAE prevented NYU Professor Andrew Ross, a labor studies scholar and a signatory of the Matthew Hedges open letter, from entering the country due to his research on labor conditions in the Gulf monarchy.

Bazzi spoke to the World Socialist Web Site about the imprisonment of Hedges and the response of the NYU administration to the faculty protest. He noted that it was unclear if the UAE granted Hedges clemency in response to widespread criticism, or if rescinding the sentence had been planned all along. Either way, however, the regimes actions sent a chilling message.

I would argue that the criticism contributed to this [granting of clemency], Bazzi said. Some might argue that this was the UAEs intention all along, to set an example and get a long sentence on the record, as a warning to other academics and researchers and as something of a slap in the face to the UK government and [Home Secretary] Jeremy Hunt in particular.

There are a lot of indications that this case and the prosecution of Hedges did not live up to international standards, Bazzi explained. The sentence was hurried, and he didnt have legal counsel present when the sentence was handed down. There were also reports that he was forced to sign a confession in Arabic during the investigationhe doesnt read or speak Arabic. Weve now seen the UAE share these video clips Monday morning before announcing the pardon showing Hedges speaking and at one point hes asked for his rank in MI6 [British foreign intelligence] and he says he was a captain, and thats a bit of a farce because that rank doesnt exist in MI6, it doesnt have military ranks. 

Theres a lot of evidence out there to counter the idea that Matthew Hedges was a spy. Its disappointing that NYU chose to focus on this idea that the NYU leadership doesnt have enough information about the case. Its a legalistic way to avoid the central question raised by this case.

The NYU administration's subservience to the UAE government is bound up with the creation of NYUAD itself. The UAE gave NYU $50 million to establish the campus, and Khaldoon Khalifa Al-Mubarak, a leading member of the government, now sits on NYUs Board of Trustees. Mubarak hired the building contractor that enforced brutal working conditions during the construction of the campus.

NYUs student newspaper, the Washington Square News, notes that between 2012 and 2018based on what appears to be a partial data setthe UAE gave over $78 million in gifts or contracts to NYU. This sum nearly equals all major foreign gifts to Columbia University, and surpasses Cornell Universitys total. WSN notes that the Department of Education report supplying this data shows that [the NYU-UAE] relationship is saturated with million-dollar contracts, on top of a $10 million monetary gift from the Executive Authority of Abu Dhabi in 2014.

NYU has pocketed these immense sums while remaining silent on the central role being played by the UAE in the horrific Saudi-led, US-backed war in Yemenwhich has claimed the lives of hundreds of thousands from starvation, relentless bombings and the spread of diseases like cholera, while leaving 14 million on the brink of famine.

The backing that Hamilton and his operatives have given to the UAEs attacks on academic freedom has only bolstered the regime in this blood-soaked campaign.
The Democratic Party won control of the House of Representatives in the US midterm election November 6, making what now appears to be a gain of 40 seats from the Republicans, the largest Democratic victory since the 1974 election held after Republican President Richard Nixon resigned in disgrace over the Watergate scandal.

Some 61 new Democratic representatives have arrived on Capitol Hill, including 31 who defeated Republican incumbents, 12 who won Republican seats left vacant by retirement, 17 who won Democratic-held seats where the incumbent retired, and twoAlexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Ayanna Pressleywho defeated incumbent Democrats in a primary challenge.

Yet despite the turnover of more than one quarter of its membership, the first meeting of the House Democratic Caucus reelected the top three leaders without opposition. The 78-year-old Nancy Pelosi, who has led the House Democrats since 2002, was nominated for House speaker by a vote of 203-32. Steny Hoyer, 79, Pelosis deputy since 2002, was elected House majority leader by acclamation. James Clyburn, 78, the third-ranking Democrat since 2006, was elected House majority whip by acclamation.

The reelection of the Pelosi-Hoyer-Clyburn leadership is a reaffirmation by the congressional Democrats that there will be no significant change in the program, tactics or strategy of the Democratic Party, despite the overwhelming anti-Trump vote on November 6. By one tally, a record 111 million people voted in the midterms, and they gave a nine million-vote majority to Democratic candidates over their Republican opponents.

Far from taking this vote as a mandate to oppose the Trump administrations right-wing policies, let alone move towards confronting Trump directly over his attacks on democratic rights, persecution of immigrants and moves towards economic warfare and outright military conflict, the Pelosi leadership has been at pains to declare its determination to cooperate and collaborate with the White House wherever possible.

Pelosi preached conciliation with Trump as soon as the scale of the Democratic victory November 6 became apparent. She has repeatedly offered to work with the administration on issues like infrastructure spending, prescription drug prices and measures to defend the US election machinery from supposed cyber-attacks by Russia, China or Iran.

And following her insistence during the election campaign that Trumps barbaric treatment of immigrants was a diversion from the real issues, she has remained virtually silent as Trump has ordered the teargasing of women and children on the border, the building of concentration camps and an effective end to the right of asylum, while mobilizing the military to enforce this regime of terror and intimidation.

Democratic strategists have even suggested finding ways to split Trump away from the Republican-led Senate in areas where there is common ground with the Democrats, such as protectionist measures directed against China or federal spending for infrastructure projects, a 2018 version of the notorious triangulation policy pursued by the Clinton White House in the 1990s.

None of these actions come as a surprise to anyone who studies the political record of Pelosi and the Democrats over the past two decades. Pelosi herself is one of the wealthiest members of Congress, married to a real estate investor with a fortune approaching $100 million. She is a trusted servant of American imperialism, chosen by the Democratic leadership to serve on the House Intelligence Committee, where she rose to the position of ranking memberthe senior Democratbefore succeeding Richard Gephardt in 2002 as the leader of the Democratic Party in the House of Representatives.

It is not possible within the framework of this commentary to describe Pelosis right-wing political record in detail. Suffice it to say she specializes in a handwringing verbal condemnation of the worst atrocities of Republican administrations, while doing nothing to stop them. Under Barack Obama, she was a full-throated supporter of the most reactionary measures taken by the Democratic administration: drone-missile assassinations, the wars in Libya, Syria and Yemen, the bailout of Wall Street, the arrest and deportation of more immigrants than all previous US administrations combined.

Pelosi has a noxious record on national security issues, particularly domestic spying, as befits a longtime member of the House Intelligence Committee who was regularly briefed, both as minority leader and as house speaker, on the most sensitive and antidemocratic actions taken by the Bush, Obama and Trump administrations. She voted to establish the Department of Homeland Security in 2002, devised and voted for a resolution supporting US troops after Bush ordered the invasion of Iraq in March 2003, repeatedly backed military appropriations for the war in Iraq, even after the Democrats won control of the House in 2006 based on a limited appeal to antiwar sentiment.

She opposed calls for immediate withdrawal of US troops from Iraq and for the impeachment of George W. Bush for launching a war based on lies. In December 2005, when widespread NSA domestic spying was made public, she admitted having known about it for years, while she was the senior Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee.

In 2007, she devised a legislative maneuver to allow a minority of Democrats to join with most Republicans to renew funding for the Bush military offensive in Iraq (the surge), which ignited all-out slaughter between rival Sunni and Shiite militias in the war-torn country. Pelosi was so identified with the Democratic Partys betrayal of popular antiwar sentiment that Cindy Sheehan, who became a prominent antiwar activist after the death of her son in Iraq, chose to run against her in the 2008 congressional election.

Under Obama, Pelosi was credited with the passage of the Affordable Care Act, an effort to shift the burden of healthcare spending from the government and corporations to individual working people, packaged falsely as a progressive reform. She also ensured passage of the Dodd-Frank legislation, billed as punishment of Wall Street for the 2008 financial crash. But no bankers went to jail and the supposed regulations proved a dead letter. Today, the biggest banks and hedge funds are bigger than ever and engage in gambling even more recklessly than in 2008, setting the stage for an even bigger collapse.

Given this atrocious right-wing record, it is a remarkable fact that the only opposition to the re-nomination of Pelosi as the Democratic leader in the House came from the right, from Democrats seeking to push the party into an even closer alignment with Trump and the Republicans, particularly on issues like trade, immigration and the military build-up. The most prominent leader of this group, Representative Seth Moulton, a two-term congressman from Massachusetts, is a former Iraq War unit commander and the godfather of the political operation that has placed 11 veterans of the national security apparatusCIA operatives, military officers, civilian war plannersamong the newly elected House Democrats.

Meanwhile, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the congresswoman-elect from New Yorks 14th District and member of the Democratic Socialists of America, idolized by the pseudo-left and endlessly promoted by the corporate media, gave her backing to Pelosi, declaring that those opposing her within the Democratic caucus wanted to push the party further to the right. This happens to be true, but it amounts to a self-indictment of groups like the DSA, which claim that this right-wing imperialist party, eternally committed to the defense of corporate America and its imperialist interests, can be pushed to the left.

A lengthy profile in Jacobin, the pro-DSA magazine, effectively endorses Pelosi, citing Ocasio-Cortezs observation that her only challengers are to her right and arguing, Pelosis re-ascent isnt a disasterin a darker timeline, it could have been centrist Steny Hoyer in her place. Now there is a bold perspective: Using a political microscope to find the miniscule differences between a proven war criminal and servant of capital and her deputy for the past 16 years!

There is no way forward for working people through the Democratic Party. The first step in any genuine struggle to fight for jobs and decent living standards, defend democratic rights and oppose imperialist war is for the working class to break free of the Democratic Party and build an independent mass political movement of its own, fighting for a socialist and antiwar program.
Around 100,000 plantation workers held a one-day strike in Sri Lanka on Monday to demand a 100 percent increase in their daily wage. Estate workers in all of the islands hill districts, including Nuwara-Eliya, Badulla, Kandy, Matale, Kegalla, Ratnapura and Kalutara, and in the Colombo district, participated in the industrial action.

The Ceylon Workers Congress (CWC) plantation union called the walkout but did not organise any demonstrations. Despite this, workers held protests and rallies for up to three hours in various districts. Sinhala, Tamil and Muslim workers from other industries backed the strike, while shopkeepers in the major plantation towns closed their shops to register their support.

A protest near Norwood

The plantation workers have been holding daily protests on their respective estates since early October. The National Union of Workers (NUW), supported by the Democratic Peoples Front (DPF) and Up-country Peoples Front (UPF), however, have kept the demonstrations isolated from one another.

Mondays walkout was similarly limited to one day, with CWC officials ordering workers to remain at their estates. The NUW and DPF refused to endorse Mondays strike, but their members nevertheless joined it.

The plantation unions, which also function as political parties, are determined to prevent these wage struggles from escalating out of their control and sparking mass industrial action by other workers, which would lead to a political confrontation with the government.

The unions played the same role earlier this year when railway, postal, water board, university and other workers took industrial action and held demonstrations demanding higher pay and improved working conditions.

When President Maithripala Sirisena unconstitutionally removed Wickremesinghe as prime minister, and replaced him with former President Mahinda Rajapakse on October 26, the plantation unions worked to contain the wages struggle and prevent plantation workers from compounding the political crisis.

Plantation union leaders have been ministers in, and political advocates of, both the Rajapakse and Sirisena-Wickremesinghe governments, and have loyally backed their attacks on workers living conditions.

Workers lining up for a rally at Pussellawa

CWC leader Arumugam Thondaman became a cabinet minister in the newly appointed Rajapakse administration, and immediately claimed that the new prime minister had promised that plantation workers would receive a 100 percent pay rise. Rajapakses promise, of course, was bogus. It was just part of his manoeuvres to secure a parliamentary majority.

For their part, P. Digambaram and Mano Ganeshan, leaders of the NUW and DPF respectively, who previously held ministerial positions in Wickremesinghes administration, backed the deposed prime minister and his United National Party (UNP)-led faction.

The CWC was forced to call this weeks one-day strike in a desperate attempt to dissipate their employees anger. The plantation workers collective agreement ended on October 31, yet nothing has come of Rajapakses fraudulent pay rise promise.

CWC chief Arumugam Thondaman called a press conference in Kotagala after Mondays walkout, declaring that the strike was a great victory and claiming it would put pressure on companies and show the peoples strength to the government.

Thondamans claims, like Rajapakses promise, are meaningless. As in the past, the CWC and the other plantation unions will continue to hold back-room discussions with the companies, and then seek to impose their demands on the workers.

The plantation companies have consistently rejected workers demands for a 100 percent wage increase, offering instead a meagre 20 percent, or 100-rupee, increase on the current basic daily wage of 500 rupees ($US2.70).

Last week Employers Federation of Ceylon Plantation Services Group chairman Roshan Rajadurai told the media that it was impossible to grant workers wage demands amid declining tea prices and rising production costs.

Around 35 percent of our teas are unsold due to market conditions; prices are coming down, he said. Our teas are expensive; there are teas of the same quality at lower prices in the world market from countries such as India.

Rajadurai repeated the plantation chiefs previous 20 percent pay offer and claimed that workers could earn an extra 400 rupees through additional allowances tied to productivity.

On Monday, striking workers denounced the unions and the government. A worker from the Ottery estate in Dick-Oya, near Hatton, told the WSWS: We joined the strike to establish workers unity, but we dont have any faith that the CWC or the other trade union leaders will fight for our demands.

We demonstrated for our wage demand in Dick-Oya town on October 26, the same day that President Sirisena appointed Rajapakse as prime minister. After that the trade union leaders told us to forget about our wage issue.

Workers picketing near Dickoya

On Sunday, a day before this weeks strike, Rajapakse issued a public statement declaring that Sri Lanka was on the brink of economic collapse and compared it to the situation that faced Greece three years ago. He pledged that his government would strictly control public expenditure and that the people must support him like during the war period and build the country.

Mangala Samaraweera, a former finance minister and a leader of Wickremesinghes faction, also warned that Sri Lanka was near economic collapse and referred to Greece. Political stability, he said, could only be established by allowing the Wickremesinghe faction to rule.

These references to the Greek financial crisis make clear that whichever political faction finally seizes control of the government, it will unleash similar attacks on the jobs, wages and social rights of Sri Lankan workers to those imposed on the Greek workers, on the orders of big business and international finance capital.
Sri Lankan chief of defence staff, Admiral Ravindra Wijegunaratne, was arrested on Wednesday and placed in remand until December 5 by a Colombo Fort court.

Wijegunaratne, who had evaded arrest since September, has been charged with harbouring a senior navy officer, Lieutenant Commodore Chandana Prasad Hettiarachchi, who is accused of abducting 11 Tamil youth in 20082009. Hettiarachchi is believed to have led navy personnel who kidnapped individuals and demanded ransoms during the communal war against the separatist Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).

The Colombo Fort magistrate said the military chief had to be denied bail because he could influence witnesses or disrupt ongoing investigations into the Tamil youth abduction case. The magistrate ordered special protection for Wijegunaratne whilst in custody.

The high-profile case covers just one of the numerous war crimes committed by the military during the nearly three-decade civil war. Consecutive presidents and prime ministers have provided legal protection to senior military officials since the war ended in May 2009.

The youth and studentsKasthuriarachchilage John Reed, Rajiv Naganathan, Pradeep Vishvanathan, Thilakeshwaram Nagalingam, Mohamed Saajith, Jamaldeen Dilan, Amanon Lyon, Roshan Lyon, Antony Kasturiarachchi, Thiyagarajha Jegan and Mohomed Anverwere abducted in Colombo and nearby areas. The kidnappers demanded ransom payments from their relatively wealthy families.

According to reports, the youth were held at the Naval Prison in Colombo and later seen in underground cells at the Trincomalee Naval base. Although families paid ransoms, the youth have not been heard of since their abductions.

Hettiarachchi and Sampath Munasinghe, who was a private assistant to former navy commander, Admiral Wasantha Karannagoda, and 10 other navy officers have been arrested as suspects in the case, which has dragged for nearly a decade. Hettiarachchi has also been accused of killing Tamil parliamentarian Nadarajah Raviraj in Colombo in November 2006.

Commenting on the defence chiefs arrest, Jamaldeen Jennifer Weerasinghe, 58, the mother of one of the abducted youth, told the Hindu: I am happy today. She was hopeful that those who took our children away will be brought to justice. Weerasinghe added that if the admiral was innocent, Why did he evade arrest? If he doesnt have anything to hide, why must he run away from the courts?

Weerasinghe, married to a retired army officer, said that if her son were alive, he would be 34. The navy must surely know what happened to our children, she said. But like all other war crime allegations against military officers, those accused in the current case will ultimately go scot-free, or one or two scapegoats will be found to blame.

Nadarajah Wimaleswaran, a member of the Socialist Equality Party, and his friend, Sivanathan Mathivathanan disappeared in March 2007 at Kayts in the navy-controlled Velani area. An SEP investigation and campaign proved that the navy was responsible for their disappearance.

Upon hearing of the military chiefs arrest, Wimaleswarans wife Sivajini told the WSWS: I think that my husband and his friend were arrested by the navy. I heard that some forces were arrested for other such cases, but we dont know what happened to the disappeared persons, including Wimaleswaran... My son lost his fatherwe cannot amend his expectations.

She added: We have been living in a small hut and are poor. Many families that lost the head of their households during the war are living in poverty. This situation was created by governments in Colombo.

As soon as news emerged that police were about to arrest Wijegunaratne, President Maithripala Sirisena moved to protect him and other military officers.

At an August 28 meeting with military officers and the law and order and defence ministry secretaries, Sirisena ordered the police not to provide courts any internal information on cases related to military officers. While Sirisena claimed the information could threaten national security, the real purpose of his directive was to see the cases dismissed due to a lack of evidence.

Sirisena told an emergency cabinet meeting on September 12 that military leaders accused of crimes should not be arrested. Any inconvenience or harassment of the military and war heroes should be stopped, he said.

Two weeks ago, Wijegunaratne accused police Criminal Investigation Division investigator Nishantha Silva of having close connections with the LTTE. Silvas immediate senior officer rejected this crude attempt to discredit the police case, citing the investigators actions against the Tamil separatist group.

Last week, Wijegunaratne was accused of confronting Lieutenant Commander Laksiri Galagamage, a key witness in the case. Galagamage told police that Wijegunaratnes security team physically attacked and tried to shoot him.

The UN estimates that around 40,000 civilians were killed during final stages of the war that ended with the LTTEs military defeat in May 2009. According to recent Missing Persons Office reports, at least 20,000 persons disappeared during the conflict.

Relatives and Tamil people in the North and East have held ongoing protests and demonstrations, demanding information about their abducted and disappeared loved ones.

Security forces are also accused of killing Sunday Leader editor Lasantha Wickrematunga in January 2009, disappearing cartoonist and journalist Pragith Eknaligoda in 2010 and attacking several senior journalists.

Sirisena came to power in January 2015 by exploiting mass anger over the war atrocities and other attacks on basic democratic rights and workers social conditions by former President Mahinda Rajapakses government.

A regime-change operation was orchestrated by Washington and Ranil Wickremesinghes United National Party in order to bring Sri Lankan foreign policy into line with US preparations for war against China. The US and other major powers used the UN to threaten war crimes investigations against the military in order to pressure Rajapakse to break off relations with Beijing.

Sirisena and Wickremesinghe won support from the Tamil National Alliance by pledging to bring justice to the Tamil war victims. They quickly ditched these promises and began encouraging Sinhala communalism to divide the working class.

The defence chiefs arrest is bound up with the factional power struggle gripping the ruling class amid new pressure from Washington and its allies, including India.

Sirisena and Wickremesinghe, who became prime minister in 2015, shifted Lankas foreign policy in favour of the US and India and built closer military relations. Facing mounting financial problems, however, they turned to Beijing, in particular selling Hambantota port to a Chinese company. Washington declared that Sri Lanka was getting caught in Chinas debt trap.

Now the defence chief has been detained amid renewed hypocritical US expressions of concern about human rights violations in Sri Lanka, again designed to warn against any deviation toward China.

Last month, Sirisena instigated a constitutional coup, sacking Wickremesinghe and replacing him with Rajapakse. In the ongoing political crisis, the US has made clear it is backing the Wickremesinghe faction in order to maintain the anti-China shift.

Irrespective of what happens with Wijegunaratnes trial and related cases, both warring factions of the ruling elite depend on support from the military, which was expanded and nurtured during the war and became a formidable factor in official politics.
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As the boat lurches over another huge wave, a whale slaps its massive tail, against the water in front.

These mammals make Olympic gymnasts look like amateurs as they acrobatically lift their enormous bodies in gravity-defying displays.

Africa Animals Beaches Destinations and attractions Dolphins and whales Eastern Africa Ecosystems and habitats Environment and natural resources Landforms and ecosystems Life forms Madagascar Mammals Marine mammals Rainforests Continents and regions Islands and reefs Points of interest

We're traveling across Antongil Bay to the far-flung Masoala Forest Lodge on Masoala peninsula, a vast national park on Madagascar's northeast coast, and the island's last remaining untouched rainforest.

Between July and September, thousands of humpback whales also journey here to calve and mate, during their long migration from Antarctica.

Remote wilderness

Arriving two hours later we're immediately awestruck by deserted honey gold beaches and spectacular rainforests swarming down mountains.

The thick forest has escaped the deforestation that tragically ravages the rest of this Indian Ocean island.

Masoala Forest Lodge is hidden among this green world, on a never-ending stretch of beach, with not another building in sight.

"I chose here for the wilderness," says the lodge's owner Pierre Bester, a South African, who also run lodges in isolated parts of Mozambique and Malawi.

Maria Bester, Pierre's German wife, is there to greet us as we clamber ashore.

The lodge is an effortless blend of rustic and luxury, with a dining hall resembling a long house and seven palm-thatched treehouses, raised on stilted wooden platforms, standing right on the beach.

During breakfast the following morning we're treated to the sight of dolphins swimming past.

Endemic wildlife

A lot of Masoala's wildlife is endemic: strange nocturnal Aye-aye, vibrant Helmet vanga birds and Madagascar serpent eagles among them.

Cut off from mainland Africa 160 million years ago, Madagascar has some of the world's rarest and most unusual flora and fauna.

The forest is a throng of giant buttress roots and towering rosewoods, Ramy and Madagascar dragon trees.

Vines and lianas twist everywhere, headstrong streams rush over rocks and epiphytes glow in the sun.

We're looking for red-ruffed lemurs and find a group of them almost immediately, leaping through the trees, resembling dramatic fireballs with their magnificent crimson fur.

Back on the beach we snorkel among shockingly bright fish.

Rainforest amphitheater

"Often we hear whales singing," says Seraphin, our guide. "Female humpback whales choose their mate by their singing skills. Their song is one of the animal kingdom's most complex."

The following day we travel by boat to a pristine arc of beach, hemmed in by rainforest, where hidden coves stretch far into the distance.

From here we travel by traditional pirogue boat up the Antalavia River to a giant pool of cascades in a natural rainforest amphitheater. Pygmy kingfishers and parrots swoop past as we splash about.

The coastal path back skirts the forest. We have the whole place to ourselves, except for a man wandering across the sand with his cows; and a family returning from their tanety (hillside farm), with homemade shrimp traps and baskets of cassava leaves.

Kayaks are available to explore the sculpted granite monoliths that seem to have been flung across the sea.

"Lichen eats the rocks here, eroding them into these dramatic shapes which rear from the water," Pierre explains.

Orchids are more abundant here than any other African forest; enormous clumps elegantly shroud the trees. The most famous orchid is vanilla. Indeed, most of the world's vanilla is cultivated around Masoala. However, it doesn't grow naturally here -- it's in fact native to Mexico.

"The French brought it over," says Seraphin. "The bees which pollinate the flowers do not live in Madagascar so each flower has to be hand-pollinated, making it extremely labour-intensive."

In 2018 Pierre and Maria opened two new private villas: one on Cap Masaola, a secluded point on the peninsula, and the other on a private palm-covered island with white beaches just off it.

Both can be reached by kayak through the tranquil, turquoise Cap Masaola lagoon.

This is real Robinson Crusoe (in luxury); the area is totally unvisited by tourists because it's so hard to get to.

Pierre, however, has been kayaking here -- it's how he first found this area -- since 1998.

Our final week is spent on Ile St Marie, a small island -- just 63 by six kilometers -- off Madagascar's northeast coast.

Houses are stilted and thatched with big verandas and most restaurant names are the owner's family name preceded by Chez (French for "at home") -- because they are just that. You sit on someone's veranda eating a delicious home-cooked meal of zebu or chicken in a creamy vanilla sauce.

Masoala Forest Lodge, Masoala, Madagascar, Madagascar; +261 32 05 415 87

Marine conservation

We are staying at Princesse Bora, a hotel with a long infinity pool by the sea. The owner, Fifou Mayer, passionate about whales, is one of the founders of Cetamada, an association which protects Madagascar's marine life, and guests are even allowed to go out in its research boats.

The island is perfect for exploring by bicycle and the hotel have some available for guests.

We cruise along quiet lanes, stopping at a crumbling pirate cemetery, dating back to when the island's bays were busy hideouts for pirates (it's close to the East Indies trade route) and a quaint Catholic church, which is Madagascar's oldest.

One day we hire quad bikes and head off to the wild east coast, along dirt tracks, past remote little villages.

We continue our exploration by pirogue through mangroves and wander along beaches, where palm trees lean so far over they appear to be doing press ups into the sea. We swim in the island's lagoon, and visit Ile aux Nattes, a tiny neighboring island, even more isolated than Ile St Marie (and reached by another quick five-minute pirogue ride).

Back at the hotel, Fifou tells us that Malagasy people keep the northeast corner of their homes for their ancestors, so it's a special place.

It seems entirely appropriate that we have spent all our time in Madagascar's northeast, surely the most special area on this island.
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CASPER  Wyoming schools would be required to create a comprehensive safety plan and conduct nationally recognized, proactive security training under a bill advanced by a state legislative committee Wednesday, a measure that represents lawmakers primary attempt to better safeguard schools from active shooters.

The bill passed on a 9 to 4 vote in the Joint Education Committee fewer than two...
Northern Wyoming Daily News sponsors Silver Tree for seniors

WORLAND  Upon walking into the Northern Wyoming Daily News there is a little Christmas tree on the counter adorned with white lights, silver tinsel and silver ornaments with paper silver bells nestled in between. The Silver Tree is a type of Angel Tree but for senior community members who will be alone for this holiday season.

The idea for the silver tree came from Northern Wyoming Daily New...
The government of Uganda is developing a plan to increase its exports to the US under the Africa Growth and Opportunity Act in the next five years.

AGOA, a US trade legislation enacted in May 2000, was is meant to help sub-Saharan African countries export to the US more than 6,000 different products duty free.

The Act originally covered an eight-year period from October 2000 to September 2008, but legislative amendments signed into law by former US president George Bush in July 2004 extended AGOA to 2015. The legislation was further extended to 2025.

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Trade, Industry and Co-operatives Minister Amelia Kyambadde says the new plan aims to restructure Ugandas AGOA business. The minister says much as Uganda has participated in AGOA, the country has no strategy to the extent that some players didnt know who to work with or the quality and standards of goods to export.

Uganda currently lags behind its neighbours Kenya and Tanzania in exports to the US.

In 2017 Kenyas exports were worth US$454 million, Tanzanias were US$145 million, Ugandas $108 million and Rwanda exported just US$66 millions worth.

She hopes engaging SMEs will help the country realise over US$200 million per year.

Under the new strategy government wants to put emphasis on coffee, spices, crafts, and casein as the main preferences of the US market.

Since its inception in 2000, AGOA has given duty-free and quota-free access to the US market on around 6,000 products from qualifying sub-Saharan African countries  with textiles and apparel accounting for some 90% of total exports.

The trade pact was renewed for a further ten years in 2015, which means it is due to remain in place until 2025  a decision that has given renewed impetus to sub-Saharan Africa as an apparel sourcing destination.
Red Dead Online Has Double Rewards in Overrun Featured Series and Call to Arms For the Next Two Weeks
The Budapest Transport Centre (BKK) has severed its contract with German company Scheidt & Bachmann, which had been commissioned to deliver an electronic ticket system, the website Azonnali reports.

Serious problems between the BKK and the German company were discussed by the Budapest urban development committee earlier this month.

BKK CEO Kalman Daboczi said the project is so far behind schedule that Scheidt & Bachmann is in breach of contract.

The company was unable to renew certain bank guarantees as it should have done, and did not meet its obligation despite being urged to do so in letters.

It was then that the BKK began preparations to sever the contract, a step which the BKK wanted to avoid, he said.

According to original plans, the electronic ticket system was to be operational in 2017.

Related articles:

Further Delay In Introducing Electronic Ticket System In Budapest



MTI Photo: Szigetvary Zsolt
The iconic Chain Bridge will be lit in the Scottish national colours of blue and white both today and tomorrow, in honour of Scotlands national holiday: St Andrews day.

Iain Lindsay, the UKs ambassador to Hungary, will address a short ceremony on Eotvos Square before the lights are turned on.

The Chain Bridge will be lit from afternoon until midnight on both days. The building of Budapests iconic bridge and the Castle Tunnel were overseen by Edinburgh-born engineer Adam Clark.

Related articles:

Blue & White Coloured Chain Bridge Coming Soon To Celebrate St Andrews Day

MTI Photo: Lakatos Peter
This week 476 media outlets became parts of the new Hungarian media holding controlled by pro-government forces. The name of the mammoth is Central European Press and Media Foundation.

Two important announcements were made on Wednesday. First, it was revealed that PM Orbans close friend, Lorinc Meszaros further expanded his portfolio: he bought media outlets owned by Austrian businessman Heinrich Pecina, a company owned by Laszlo Puch and also media outlets owned by casino magnate and film commissioner Andy Vajna, as well as Gabor Liszkay.

Shortly after it was also announced that Meszaros is donating all his media companies to the Central European Press and Media Foundation. Next, the Foundation revealed that owners of Echo TV, Figyelo, 888.hu, Lokal, Ripost and Origo.hu also offered their media outlets to the foundation.

This means that important pro-government businessmen including Meszaros, Vajna, Maria Schmidt and Arpad Habony gave up their media portfolios. Vajna (pictured on top) was allowed to keep his radio network and his TV channel, TV2, is not part of the new holding, either.

With this move, the Central European Press and Media Foundation might become the biggest media holding in Europe. When all the deals are finalized, the Foundation will own 476 media outlets.

Photo courtesy of Northfoto.com
The wages of health-care sector public workers, district nurses and health-care workers without higher education qualifications will go up by 72% over the next four years, the human resources minister said. The pay rises will be implemented in four phases between 2019 and 2022, Miklos Kasler said.

The health-care workers concerned will first see their wages increase by 8% in July 2019, then by 14% in January 2020.

Wages will increase again by 20% in November of that year and then by another 30% in 2021, the minister said. The government will spend 14.1 billion forints (EUR 43.5m) on the pay hikes next year and 79.4 billion forints in 2020, he said.

Kasler also announced that the government would consolidate 55 billion forints worth of debt amassed by hospitals. The government has also discussed the reform of basic care and emergency care services as well as its five national health schemes, the minister added.

Related articles:

Employment In Healthcare In Hungary
Hungarys GDP growth rate is set to remain above the European Unions average growth rate of 2.5% until at least 2021, but some estimates say it could exceed the EU average all the way through 2023, the head of the Fiscal Council said.

This above-average growth, however, is not unique to Hungary, Arpad Kovacs (pictured on top) told a business conference in Sopron, in western Hungary.

All four of the Visegrad Group countries are growing faster than the EU average, he said. He also said that Hungary was in the lower tier of the blocs overachievers.

On another subject, the fiscal council head said Hungarys budget was in good shape.

Kovacs also said that 2017 was the first year when the total amount of EU funds allocated to Hungary exceeded the countrys public debt.

Meanwhile, he predicted that an economic crisis would hit around 2020-2022, adding, however, that its impact would be less severe than that of the 2008 crisis. He said there were a variety of ways Hungary could prepare for a crisis so as to ensure that its budget remains stable and its public debt declines.

Related articles:

Hungarys Full-Year Economic Growth To Exceed Expectations

OECD Raises Hungary GDP Growth Forecasts



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Hungarian MEPs were divided on a report passed by the European Parliament calling on Hungary to extradite former Macedonian Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski.

Ruling Fidesz called the document an ideologically-driven attack on Hungary, while opposition MEPs supported it.

The report, which MEPs passed with 470 votes in favour and 116 against, calls on the Hungarian authorities to hand over all of their information on Gruevskis case.

Fidesz MEP Laszlo Tokes said in reaction the Hungarian authorities had handled the former Macedonian prime ministers case lawfully.

He speculated that the migration issue and the Soros lobby were behind the push to oust and convict Gruevski.

Socialist Party MEP Tibor Szanyi accused the European Peoples Party of aiding and abetting Fidesz, saying that the Gruevski case was further proof that EPP was incapable of keeping [Hungarian Prime Minister] Viktor Orban, this real dictator, on a tight leash.

Csaba Molnar and Peter Niedermuller of the leftist opposition Democratic Coalition said the Orban government has embarrassed Hungary on a global scale. We European Hungarians wont put up with Orban turning our country into a collection site for failed politicians, criminals and terrorists, they said.

State secretary for international communications Zoltan Kovacs said in reaction that the European Parliaments pro-migration majority proved once again that only migrants matter to them, and they go after everyone who protects the borders.

In the Sargentini report, the European Parliament defended Ahmed H, who had been convicted of committing a terrorist act, ignoring that he attacked Hungarian police officers and wanted to break through the fence, Kovacs wrote in a Facebook post.

Meanwhile, the EP immediately attacked the former Macedonian prime minister who had built a fence in an effort to stop migrants, the state secretary added.

Related articles:

Local Opinion: Did Gruevski Flee To Hungary With Official Consent?

Hungarian Authorities 'Made No Mistake' In Gruevski Procedure

Opposition Turns To EC Over Gruevski Affair In Hungary



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Two of countrys leading men have joined the movement to end gun violence, since Dierks Bentley and Florida Georgia Lines Tyler Hubbard have both voiced their support for Congress to enact universal background checks.

In conjunction with the Toms apparel companys new End Gun Violence Together campaign, Bentley and Hubbard have directed online followers to the Toms website, where they can send postcards urging action to their representatives. More than 90% of Americans support universal background checks. And Im one of them, reads the default language of the postcards, which are part of $5 million Toms is giving to various organizations around the cause. Establishing universal background checks at the federal level would eliminate the gun show loophole that allows numerous firearms to be sold without buyers being screened.

Instagram Photo

Proud of my friend @blakemycoskie and @toms for jumping into the discussion on how we can work together to #endgunviolence, wrote Bentley on Instragram on Wednesday. He has a gift for bringing people together and Im happy to see him applying it to this cause.

In his own Instagram post on Thursday, Tyler Hubbard appealed to his fans empathy and sense of responsibility. This is not a political post, but a post about the betterment of humanity, he wrote.

In an accompanying video, Hubbard noted the staggering amount of mass shootings that have taken place in 2018 alone. As a proud gun owner myself, thats a right and a privilege I take very, very serious, he said. We can all come together and agree that something has to change. Its unacceptable. We shouldnt have to walk out of the house and live in fear anymore.

Instagram Photo

Country music has had a complicated, often cozy, relationship with guns in recent years. Numerous songs  see: Luke Bryans Huntin, Fishin and Lovin Every Day  have extolled the virtues of guns as part of the sportsmans lifestyle and country living, but country also had ties to the National Rifle Association through its lifestyle brand NRA Country. In the wake of the Route 91 shooting, that relationship appeared to be in flux and many artists including Florida Georgia Line were scrubbed from the NRA Country website.

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Bentley and Hubbard are the two latest high-profile country performers to wade in to the contentious debate around guns and gun violence, a topic on which many other country artists  with notable exceptions such as Tim McGraw, Maren Morris, Brothers Osborne and Eric Church  have remained silent. A handful of other performers have addressed the issue in more subtle ways, with Carrie Underwood examining the lives connected to one cut short by a gun in The Bullet and Kane Brown calling the violent present an American Bad Dream on his new album.

In the last 18 months, gun violence has had a direct impact on country fans, with the Route 91 massacre in Las Vegas counting 58 lives lost and leaving hundreds of others with injuries in late 2017. More recently, a shooter opened fire at the country-focused Borderline Bar and Grill in Thousand Oaks, California  where patrons actually included Route 91 survivors  leaving another 12 people dead.
Conan producer Jordan Schlansky just had his meal, childhood and possibly life ruined by Ralph Macchio.

While shooting a remote in Japan, Schlansky and boss Conan OBrien sat down for a traditional dinner. There, Conan insulted his employee numerous times, calling Jordan the high priest of meaningless conversation and even a pervert for smelling his food before tasting.

The smug Schlansky was no slouch himself, telling the comic that their server only likes OBrien because you are a jester.

Also Read: Conan Chokes up as He Bids Farewell to the One-Hour Format and His Basic Cable Band (Video)

Later, the know-it-all Schlansky explained his obsession with Japanese culture  it was all The Karate Kid Part II, of course.

Recounting his childhood, Jordan insisted multiple times that the 1986 movies Japan scenes were shot in Okinawa, which is a Japanese island in the East China Sea. Unfortunately for the walking Wikipedia, OBrien called in a favor to fact-check his travel companion.

Hi Conan, its me, Ralph Macchio, a video message saved to OBriens cell started. Listen, Im sorry to interrupt, I just wanted to tell that Jordan guy that all the scenes in Karate Kid Part II that are supposed to be Japan were actually shot in Hawaii. Oh, and Jordan, those werent real dinosaurs in Jurassic Park.'

Also Read: Jimmy Fallon Doing Trump Doing Elvis Is What Late-Night Needed This Week (Video)

Schlansky sat in shock.

You fraud! Conan rubbed the moment in. Your childhood hero just came out of my phone and took a st into your mouth.

Watch the video above.

Read original story Watch Conan Producer Jordan Schlansky Get Totally Owned by Childhood Hero Ralph Macchio (Video) At TheWrap
Photo credit: LauriPatterson - Getty Images

From Delish

Hey, you-person who's casually still hoarding a couple servings of mashed potatoes and three measly slices of turkey in their fridge. It's time to throw that food in the garbage. Why? Because the freakin' United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) said you should...because it could very well make you incredibly sick.

According to the USDA, Monday was the very last day you could safely eat all your Thanksgiving leftovers without fear of listeria, a bacteria related to food-borne illnesses. In case you didn't learn your lesson from some of the many (like, so, so many) food recalls that have occurred in 2018, listeria can cause Listeriosis.

The Center for Disease Control calls it a serious infection that "primarily affects pregnant women, newborns, older adults, and people with weakened immune systems." So all you thriving, healthy, 30-somethings might not be in harm's way like the elderly, but c'mon: throw the food in the garbage PLEASE. Don't follow the USDA's instructions and you might suffer from a fever, headache, stiff neck, confusion, loss of balance, convulsions, and muscle aches.

Alas, there's still hope for all the smarty pants out there. If you thought ahead and froze your extra food, you can defrost it anytime in the next six months and then eat it within seven days in the fridge. Go ahead and dig right in or make one of our go-to leftovers recipes.

('You Might Also Like',)
Even the most well-traveled individual can't help but feel a sense of spirituality while visiting the world's southern-most city, located on the Tierra del Fuego archipelago. Ushuaia, a port town in Argentina and the gateway to Antartica, has become a destination for adventure-seekers to experience everything from the arrival of migrating penguins to dog-sled rides through the Valley of Wolves.

As one of the founders of Naya Traveler, Sarah Casewit regularly scouts the best spots around the world so she can curate trips for clients. So her trip to Ushuaia was part work, part playand part awakening. Casewit, who has called Argentina home for the past seven years, found a certain clarity at the end of the world. "Knowing that what lies beyond is the last continent, a white desert of ice, is humbling," she told Vogue.

She traveled down to Fin del Mundo during the Southern hemisphere's spring, when the air is crisp and pure, and Magellanic and Gentoo penguins return to the region. Casewit notes that while the industrial town does feels outdated, that may have enhanced her experience. "What lay beyond the windswept array of steel houses renewed my love for nature and put me back in touch with the great outdoors."

Instead of staying in one of the city's many hotels, the Morocco-native decided to forgo amenities (many of the hotels are resort-style) and stayed in a home on the main strip of town. Upon arrival, Casewit traveled to Tierra del Fuego's tip on Lapataia Bay, where she was greeted with endless valleys that left an impression.

Casewit said that boating along the Beagle Channel is essential to get to know the area. "Nowhere else de you experience the immensity of Tierra del Fuego so intensely as you glide along the dark tides." Visitors will spot Les Eclaireurs lighthouse while en route to Hammer Island, where flocks of penguins are sure to delight. Hiking is also a must: Casewit recommends completing the 3-mile hike to Esmeralda Lagoon for an easy and scenic hike.

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After a day of sightseeing, a proper afternoon tea should be enjoyed at La Cabana, a colorful teahouse at the edge of Glacier Martial. Casewit recommends dinner at Kaupe Restaurant, one of the city's top spots, for a "delicious introduction to local cuisine." When all you want is a coffee, Ramos Generales is worth a stop; its over 100 years old, and packed with history. Below, get a look at Casewit's time exploring the End of the World.

Naya Traveler's Sarah Casewit Explores Ushuaia a.k.a The End of the World

Photo: Sarah Casewit

Photo: Sarah Casewit

Photo: Sarah Casewit

Photo: Sarah Casewit

Photo: Sarah Casewit

Photo: Sarah Casewit

Photo: Sarah Casewit

Photo: Sarah Casewit

Photo: Sarah Casewit

Photo: Sarah Casewit
A Michigan mother who allowed her 6-year-old to amass 26 unexcused school absences spent five days in jail and has been placed on nine months of probation.

Brittany Ann Horton, 28, was sentenced Nov. 16 after pleading guilty in May to truancy, according to a statement from the Muskegon County Prosecutors Office obtained by PEOPLE. In addition to her jail time and probation, Horton was ordered to pay $525 in fines.

She was first contacted by school administrators to resolve the absences back in October of 2017, according to the statement. After attempts to resolve the issue failed  including a meeting Horton didnt attend  administrators handed the case over to prosecutors.

Letters and meetings were set up for Horton in February but she neglected to respond to attempts to contact her, according to the statement. In March, she was charged.

After failing to appear at her arraignment, Horton pleaded guilty in May, but her punishment was delayed to give her a chance to fix the problem, according to the statement.

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Instead, the child accumulated 14 additional unexcused days.

PEOPLEs attempts to contact Horton were not successful.

The areas Operation Graduation program steps in after nine unexcused absences  excused absence, like sickness, are not counted, according to the statement. Prosecution is considered a last resort after options like providing support to parents with the help of other agencies are exhausted, according to the statement.

We go through extraordinary steps to resolve the issue without prosecution, a spokesperson from the prosecutors office tells PEOPLE. Over 90 percent of the cases that are sent to our office, no charges are filed. This case represents one out of many many cases where the mother absolutely refused to deal with the problem, and our office is committed to making sure the children of our community are not deprived of an education.
Gaza City (Palestinian Territories) (AFP) - At least 18 Palestinians were wounded by Israeli gunfire Friday in small protests along the Gaza border, the health ministry in the Palestinian enclave said.

The 18 were hit with live ammunition as a few thousand gathered in different spots along the heavily-guarded border line, the ministry said.

None were reported to be in life-threatening condition.

Palestinians in Gaza have since March 30, especially on Fridays, held often violent protests backed by the strip's Islamist rulers Hamas.

Numbers have dwindled since a ceasefire agreement between Hamas and Israel earlier this month after a flare-up.

At least 235 Palestinians in Gaza have been killed since March, mostly by Israeli fire during border clashes but also by air and tank strikes.

Two Israeli soldiers have been killed over the same period, one by a Palestinian sniper and another during an aborted special forces operation inside Gaza.

Protesters are calling for Palestinian refugees to be allowed to return to their former homes now inside Israel.

Israel accuses Hamas of seeking to use the protests as cover to carry out infiltrations and attacks, and says the army actions are necessary to defend the border.

Israel has fought three wars with Hamas since 2008.

Around 6,000 Palestinians have been shot by Israeli forces over the past eight months, according to the health ministry.

Doctors Without Borders (MSF), which has provided care for Palestinians since the protests began, warned this week that Gaza's healthcare system is being overwhelmed by the high number of casualties.
No criminal charges will be filed against the 42 migrants who were arrested after they clashed with Border Patrol agents at the San Ysidro Port of Entry in San Diego, Calif. on Sunday.

The only two individuals Customs and Border Protection referred for prosecution ended up not being charged because they had medical problems and could not be held at the San Diego detention center, according to reports.

Others were not charged because they came in family units with children. Still others escaped prosecution because in the chaos surrounding Sundays incident, authorities missed pieces of information necessary to file charges, such as the names of the officers who made arrests.

Depending on their country of citizenship and their cases final disposition, the Border Patrol may turn those people over to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, said Customs and Border Protection spokesman Ralph DeSio.

The Trump administration was heavily criticized for the Border Patrols response to the incident after photos showed women and small children running from clouds of tear gas. The migrants were part of a caravan of about 7,000 people that arrived in Tijuana two weeks ago. About 1,000 tried to rush the border and illegally cross into the U.S., Border Patrol chief Carla Provost said.
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP)  Back-to-back earthquakes measuring 7.0 and 5.7 shattered highways and rocked buildings Friday in Anchorage and the surrounding area, sending people running into the streets and briefly triggering a tsunami warning for islands and coastal areas south of the city.

No tsunami arrived and there were no immediate reports of deaths or serious injuries.

The U.S. Geological Survey said the first and more powerful quake was centered about 7 miles (12 kilometers) north of Anchorage, Alaska's largest city, with a population of about 300,000. People ran from their offices or took cover under desks. The 5.7 aftershock arrived within minutes, followed by a series of smaller quakes.

"We just hung onto each other. You couldn't even stand," said Sheila Bailey, who was working at a high school cafeteria in Palmer when the quake struck. "It sounded and felt like the school was breaking apart."

A large section of an off-ramp near the Anchorage airport collapsed, marooning a car on a narrow island of pavement surrounded by deep chasms in the concrete. Several cars crashed at a major intersection in Wasilla, north of Anchorage, during the shaking.

Anchorage Police Chief Justin Doll said he had been told that parts of Glenn Highway, a scenic route that runs northeast out of the city past farms, mountains and glaciers, had "completely disappeared." Traffic in the three lanes heading out of the city was bumper-to-bumper and all but stopped Friday afternoon as emergency vehicles passed on the shoulder.

The quake broke store windows, knocked items off shelves, opened cracks in a two-story, downtown building, disrupted electrical service and disabled traffic lights, snarling traffic. It also threw a full-grown man out of his bathtub.

Flights at the airport were suspended for hours after the quake knocked out telephones and forced the evacuation of the control tower. And the 800-mile Alaska oil pipeline was shut down while crews were sent to inspect it for damage.

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Anchorage's school system canceled classes and asked parents to pick up their children while it examined buildings for gas leaks or other damage.

Fifteen-year-old Sadie Blake and other members of the Homer High School wrestling team were at an Anchorage school gymnasium for a tournament when the bleachers started rocking and the lights went out. People started running down the bleachers in the dark, trying to get out.

"It was a gym full of screams," said team chaperone Ginny Grimes.

When it was over, Sadie said, there was only one thing she could do: "I started crying."

Jonathan Lettow was waiting with his 5-year-old daughter and other children for a school bus near their home in Wasilla when the quake struck. The children got on the ground while Lettow tried to keep them calm.

"It's one of those things where in your head, you think, 'OK, it's going to stop,' and you say that to yourself so many times in your head that finally you think, 'OK, maybe this isn't going to stop,'" he said.

Soon after the shaking ended, the school bus pulled up and the children boarded, but the driver stopped at a bridge and refused to go across because of deep cracks in the road, Lettow said.

At Chugiak High School, acting principal Allison Susel said ceiling tiles came down, books and other items fell from shelves, and water line breaks caused damage.

Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin tweeted that her home was damaged: "Our family is intact  house is not. I imagine that's the case for many, many others." She posted a video of the inside of her parents' home, with broken dishes littering the kitchen floor. A large set of antlers appeared to have fallen off a wall of the living room.

Gov. Bill Walker issued a disaster declaration. He was in an elevator in a high-rise Anchorage office building and said it was a "rough ride" coming down. He described the quake as a 7.2, though it was unclear why his figure differed from that of the USGS.

Walker says it will take more than a week or two to repair roads damaged by the earthquake.

"This is much more significant than that," he told reporters at a news conference.

Walker leaves office on Monday, and he said members of Gov.-elect Mike Dunleavy's staff had been involved with the earthquake response to ensure a smooth transition.

"This isn't a time to do anything other than take care of Alaskans, and that's what we're doing," he said.

In Kenai, southwest of Anchorage, Brandon Slaton was home alone and soaking in his bathtub when the earthquake struck. Slaton, who weighs 209 pounds, said it created a powerful back-and-forth sloshing that threw him out of the tub.

His 120-pound mastiff panicked and tried to run down the stairs, but the house was swaying so much that the dog was thrown into a wall and tumbled down the stairs, Slaton said.

Slaton ran into his son's room after the shaking stopped. The boy's fish was on the floor, gasping, its tank shattered. Slaton put the fish in a bowl.

"It was anarchy," he said. "There's no pictures left on the walls, there's no power, there's no fish tank left. Everything that's not tied down is broke."

Alaska was the site of the most powerful earthquake ever recorded in the U.S. The 9.2-magnitude quake on March 27, 1964, was centered about 75 miles (120 kilometers) east of Anchorage. It and the tsunami it triggered claimed about 130 lives.

The state averages 40,000 earthquakes a year, with more large quakes than the 49 other states combined. Southern Alaska has a high risk of earthquakes because the Earth's plates slide past each other under the region.

Alaska has been hit by a number of powerful quakes over 7.0 in recent decades, including a 7.9 last January southeast of Kodiak Island. But it is rare for a quake this big to strike so close to such a heavily populated area.

David Harper was getting coffee at a store when the low rumble began and intensified into something that sounded "like the building was just going to fall apart." He ran for the exit with other patrons.

"People who were outside were actively hugging each other," he said. "You could tell that it was a bad one."

___

Associated Press writers Becky Bohrer in Juneau, Alaska; Mark Thiessen in Anchorage; Jennifer Kelleher in Honolulu; Gene Johnson in Seattle; Gillian Flaccus in Portland, Oregon; Rachel La Corte in Olympia, Washington; and John Antczak in Los Angeles contributed to this report.
Toronto (Canada) (AFP) - An accused Canadian serial killer will stand trial on January 6, 2020 for the premeditated murders of eight men with ties to Toronto's gay village, a judge ordered Friday.

Bruce McArthur, a 67-year-old self-employed landscaper, was charged earlier this year after coming under suspicion in a probe into missing persons.

Body parts of seven of the victims were found hidden inside large planters that McArthur stored at a client's home in midtown Toronto.

The remains of an eighth victim were later discovered in a ravine behind the property.

Detective Sergeant Hank Idsinga, the lead investigator, said the forensic probe into the killings was Toronto's largest ever.

Excavations or searches were carried out at more than 75 properties in the Toronto area where McArthur had done landscaping work.

Police also looked at 15 cold cases dating back to 1975 for possible links to the accused, before Idsinga concluded it was unlikely more victims would be uncovered.

The victims in the case were McArthur's former lover, two Afghan immigrants, two refugees from Sri Lanka and another from Iran, a Turkish national, and a homeless sex worker.

All went missing from 2010 to 2017.
Pietermaritzburg (South Africa) (AFP) - Former South African president Jacob Zuma will return to court in May for a hearing on whether corruption charges against him should be dropped, a judge ruled on Friday.

Zuma, who served as president from 2009 until February, is battling to quash charges against him linked to a $2.5-billion corruption case linked to a 1990s arms deal.

He has been charged with 16 counts of fraud, racketeering and money laundering.

"The criminal proceedings... are postponed to 20 May 2019," Judge Mjabuliseni Isaac Madondo said during a brief hearing at Pietermaritzburg High Court at which Zuma was present.

The former president is accused of taking around four million rand ($340,000, 280,000 euros) in bribes from French defence company Thales, which is also in the dock.

At the time of the deal, Zuma was a provincial economy minister and later deputy president of the ruling ANC party.

Both Zuma and the French arms maker deny all charges.

The charges were first brought against Zuma in 2005 but dropped by prosecutors in 2009, before being reinstated in 2016.

Beset by scandal, Zuma was forced to resign in February after a long stand-off with the ANC. His successor Cyril Ramaphosa has vowed to root out corruption in government and the party.
Healthcare labs are increasingly using AI tools to develop treatments and in medical research. Photo: Cole Burston/Bloomberg via Getty Images

A healthcare startup that uses data from Apple Watches and Fitbits to improve the outcomes of chronically ill patients has raised $6.75m (5.26m), and is set to announce major new deals with US healthcare providers.

Myia, the San Francisco-based health monitoring firm that has partnered with the American College of Cardiology, said on Friday that the seed funding would help it expand its preventative healthcare platform.

The firm will soon announce two partnerships with large-scale US healthcare providers, its CEO, Simon MacGibbon, told Yahoo Finance.

The funding round was led by BootstrapLabs and Zetta Venture Partners, two Silicon Valley-based artificial intelligence funds.

Myia uses the streams of personal and health data from wearable devices like Apple Watch and Fitbit to monitor chronically ill patients and, by applying machine learning and artificial intelligence techniques, tries to predict relapses before they happen.

We think that remote patient monitoring is going to be a big deal, MacGibbon said in an interview, noting that thus far the data collected by wearables has provided little value for patients and healthcare providers. How on earth can healthcare providers be successful if they dont know whats happening to their patients 99.9% of the time?

Myia aims to reduce the number of emergency hospital visits for patients with chronic and post-operative conditions, and said its platform sets a new bar on quality of life for those who are ageing or homebound.

The company declined to disclose its valuation, but co-founder Alex Gold told Yahoo Finance that it was commensurate with that of other seed funding rounds within the AI space.

The American College of Cardiology and the Boston Consulting Group also participated in the funding round. It is quite a big advantage to have the American College of Cardiology behind us  not just as a financial backer, but as an adviser and for the credibility that they lend, MacGibbon said.

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Through our collaboration with Myia, we are developing tools for clinical teams to monitor and improve their patients health status, said cardiologist Dr John Rumsfeld, the chief innovation officer of the American College of Cardiology, in a statement.

Some 6.5 million Americans suffer from advanced cardiovascular disease, making it one of the largest drivers of hospital admissions in the US. Many of these visits are preventable by a proactive lifestyle and medication adjustments, Myia noted in a statement, and just 1% of heart failure patients today are on the correct dose of medication  something the firm hopes its technology will help change.

The firms funding announcement comes in the same week that Amazon announced it is working with groups within the healthcare industry to make use of unstructured medical data.

Myia employs 12 people in the US, and does not plan on increasing its headcount dramatically until its next funding round, MacGibbon said.

Though Myias brain trust, which includes its chief technology officer Bryan Smith and chief medical officer Dr Farzad Azimpour, is based in the US, the company also uses an off-shore engineering team from Eastern Europe.

The funding gives us two years of runway, MacGibbon said. It will also allow Myia to acquire enough healthcare data to build out its platform. Acquiring the data in healthcare and capturing the requisite endpoints to train algorithms is not straightforward or cheap, he said.

Myia is truly exciting, said Nicolai Wadstrom, the CEO of BootstrapLabs. Myia has the potential to both mitigate some of the most critical illnesses we are facing in our society as well as empower patients to take charge of their own health data.
A powerful 7.0 magnitude earthquake followed by a 5.7 magnitude tremor have caused extensive damage around parts of Alaska after striking near Anchorage.

A tsunami warning was issued for areas of the Alaskan coast - forcing people to head to higher ground - before later being lifted.

The warning covered coastal areas of the Cook Inlet and southern Kenai Peninsula after the initial tremor hit about 7.5 miles north of the city, the United States Geological Survey (USGS) reported.

Part of an off-ramp near Anchorage international airport collapsed, leaving a car stuck between deep chasms in the concrete. Several cars crashed at a major intersection in Wasilla, north of Anchorage.

Anchorage Police Chief Justin Doll said he had been told that parts of the Glenn Highway, a road that runs northeast out of the city past glaciers and mountains had completely disappeared. However, Mr Doll said that there were also reports of damage to a number of bridges, there were no early reports of serious injuries or deaths.

People went back inside buildings in Anchorage after the first earthquake, but the aftershock sent them running back into the streets again.

Images and video started to appear of the damage, with local newsrooms some of the first to highlight the state of their offices. Former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin said that her house had been damaged.

Lawyer Hank Graper was driving when the quake struck. He told the Associated Press that he only realised it was an earthquake after he saw traffic poles at the side of the road swaying.

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Mr Graper called it the most violent earthquake hes experience in his 20 years in Anchorage.

Brandon Slaton from Kenai, Alaska, was soaking in the bathtub when the earthquake struck  the force of the tremor eventually threw him out of the bath.

It was anarchy, Mr Slaton told the Associated Press. Theres no pictures left on the walls, theres no power, theres no fish tank left. Everything thats not tied down is broke.

Alaska averages 40,000 earthquakes per year, with more large quakes than the 49 other states combined.

The state has been hit by a number of powerful quakes over 7.0 in recent decades, including a 7.9 last January southeast of Kodiak Island. But it is rare for such earthquakes it hit so close such a heavily populated area.

The USGS expect a number of aftershocks to hit over the next week - with the possibility of thousands of smaller tremors.

Associated Press contributed to this report
For now, theyre known as Lulu and Nana, pseudonyms that are meant to give them some amount of anonymity amid the international uproar over their birth. As the first babies born after their genomes were edited (while they were embryos, by the genetics tool CRISPR) the twin girls, born in Shenzhen, China are the subject of scientific and public scrutiny that will only escalate as they get older.

Jiankui He, a professor at the Southern University of Science and Technology, stunned the world when he claimed, both in a video posted by his lab and in an interview with a journalist, that he used CRISPR to disable a gene involved in helping HIV to enter healthy cells. By doing so, he gave the resulting edited embryos, including the twin girls, resistance to the virus. Doing so means He violated current guidelines prohibiting using CRISPR on human embryos for pregnancy. For now, Hes claims are only claims, since he has not published his work in a scientific journal for others to review and validate. While he did present his findings at a conference a few days after his YouTube announcement, researchers can only take the data at face value. He says he plans to publish the data, but now that the report has been released to the public, its difficult to predict which journals would accept the manuscript.



The Chinese researchers university denied knowledge of his experiment and said that He has been on leave since last February. Chinese authorities have now suspended Hes work, and Xu Nanping, vice minister of Chinas Ministry of Science and Technology, said Hes study was abominable in nature and violated Chinese laws and regulations, according to the governments Xinhua news.

The reason for the scientific censure boils down to the fact that He pre-empted a continuing debate over how and when CRISPR should be used in people. The technology, discovered in 2012, provides unprecedented precision and power to edit any genome, including the DNA of people, by snipping out portions of mutated genes and either allowing the genome to repair itself or by providing healthy versions of the gene. But because the approach is relatively new, scientists are still learning about exactly how precise their edits can be, and what some of the potential negative and long term consequences of altering human DNA could be.

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Chinese geneticist He Jiankui of the Southern University of Science and Technology in Shenzhen, China, speaking during the Second International Summit on Human Genome Editing at the University of Hong Kong.

Nearly all international genetics groups have guidelines prohibiting using CRISPR to edit human embryos and implanting them for pregnancy, as the Chinese researcher did. Experts fully support using CRISPR in cells that cant be passed down from generation to generation, like skin cells or blood cells.

But what He did will forever change the twins DNA. Because he altered their genomes when they were embryos, those changes were picked up by every new cell that the embryos made as they continued to divide and develop, eventually forming the twins. So when the girls are ready to have children, their eggs too may contain the CRISPR edits that He gave them, and they could pass on their altered genes to their children and all future generations of children in their lineage.

Having the gene itself is not necessarily a bad thing  the edit He made is meant to protect people from getting infected with HIV  but the problem is that scientists arent convinced yet that the HIV protection will be the only thing the CRISPR edit did to the twins genomes.

Its not clear, for example, that CRISPR is as precise as researchers would like it to be. It makes mistakes. In some cases, CRISPR may make unintended changes in random parts of the genome, like an autocorrect feature that mistakenly corrects typos to produce an entirely different word. In other cases, it may not make the edits as consistently as needed, so some cells may be edited while others are not, and some cells may even be partially edited, leaving a patchwork result scientists call mosaicism.

According to experts who reviewed some of the data He presented at a conference days after his stunning announcement, they say there is evidence that both girls born with the CRISPR edits showed such signs of mosaicism when they were embryos, meaning they are now likely to have the same mishmash of CRISPRd and unCRISPRd cells in their bodies. That means that they may not even benefit from the resistance to HIV that Hes grand experiment was meant to provide.

Theres also evidence that compromising the HIV gene may have other consequences  for example, making people more susceptible to West Nile Virus and possibly the flu.

Its because of these unanswered questions  and potential risks  that scientists have favored a moratorium on using CRISPR in human embryos meant for pregnancy, at least until they have a better grasp on how CRISPR works and what some of the long term effects of editing might be. While the U.S. National Academy of Sciences in 2017 allowed for the eventual possibility of human babies whose genomes have been edited by CRISPR, it provided strict criteria for how that should happen: under strict monitoring and only in cases where there is no other medical option.

Neither of those criteria were met in the controversial CRISPR study. The university and the hospital where the births took place denied knowledge of his work, and the scientific community was blindsided that he had been proceeding with transferring human embryos for pregnancy. The gene he altered also does not represent an unmet medical need  among the couples he worked with, only the fathers were HIV positive, meaning they were unlikely to pass on their infection to their children. Whats more, the fathers were on anti-HIV medications, which controlled their infection and make it even less likely they would infect their partners or their children.

In the twins case, what happens when they want to have children? Will they be allowed to have children naturally, and pass on their edited genes and whatever potential side effects might arise from their altered DNA? Or will regulatory or scientific authorities step in and attempt to control whether their genes continue into future generations by requiring the twins to have IVF and only implanting the embryos that do NOT show signs of the edited gene? Would those regulatory and scientific bodies even have the right to make such a request?

The implications go beyond just these twins, says Dr. Kiran Musunuru, professor of cardiovascular medicine and genetics at University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine. If we talk about the sanctity of human life, and the inherent dignity of human life, not much has been gained here. These babies were treated as subjects in a grand medical experiment, and we have to believe that they will be studied for the rest of their lives; its sad actually.

In his presentation and in his video, He justified his unorthodox actions by focusing on the personal. He said the father of the twins now feels motivated to find work and care for his family, and that altering the gene will protect future generations from HIV. But HIV experts say that judicious use and distribution of currently available drugs can effectively stop transmission of the virus, without taking such drastic steps of trying an proven genetic procedure and exposing people to its unknown risks.

While their identities are still protected for now, its unlikely the twins will remain anonymous for long. In bypassing ethical guidelines prohibiting the experiment that he conducted, He not only violated basic tenants of responsible scientific inquiry, but he also forever changed how the girls will be viewed by society, and ultimately the decisions they make as a result of their involuntary status as the worlds first CRISPR babies.
Saudi crown prince faces crimes against humanity prosecution

Case unlikely to advance while prince is in Argentina for G20

Saudi Arabias Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman arrives in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on Wednesday, ahead of the G20 summit. Photograph: Handout/Reuters

A prosecutor in Argentina has accepted a request to prosecute Mohammed bin Salman for alleged crimes against humanity, hours after the Saudi Arabia crown prince arrived in the country for the G20 summit.

It is highly unlikely that such a prosecution could be successfully launched before the prince leaves Buenos Aires, but the move is an embarrassing development as world leaders gather for the two-day summit, which begins on Friday.

The advocacy group Human Rights Watch presented a writ earlier this week, arguing that Argentinian authorities should invoke universal jurisdiction laws to seek prosecution of the prince for mass civilian casualties caused by the Saudi-led coalitions campaign in Yemen, and for the torture of Saudi citizens  including Jamal Khashoggi, who was killed in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.

On Wednesday a source said that the court had accepted the writ, and a prosecutor had asked a judge to determine if either Saudi Arabia or Yemen are investigating the prince for possible crimes against humanity. If no cases have been opened in either country, HRW argues that the principle of universal jurisdiction could apply.

Before that could happen, however, the supreme court would have to rule whether Prince Mohammed is covered by diplomatic immunity  a decision which would be unlikely to come before the prince leaves the country after the G20 finishes on Saturday.

The centre-right government of Mauricio Macri has said it is not concerned by the legal manoeuvres. We dont believe the Human Rights Watch writ will prosper, said a spokesperson for the foreign minister, Jorge Faurie, who greeted the prince at the airport Wednesday.

Mohammed bin Salman is protected by diplomatic immunity and he is also travelling in his official status as representative of a foreign head of state. Besides, cases involving diplomatic immunity can only be decided by the supreme court and his visit will be too brief for it to reach the court. The case is in the hands of the court and the government will not interfere with it, the spokesperson said.

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Kenneth Roth, HRWs executive director, said: The Argentine judiciary, by taking steps toward a formal investigation, is sending a clear message that even powerful officials like Mohammed bin Salman are not above the law and will be scrutinized if implicated in grave international crimes.

A cloud of suspicion will loom over him as he tries to rebuild his shattered reputation at the G20, and world leaders would do well to think twice before posing for pictures next to someone who may come under investigation for war crimes and torture.
Eat This, Not That!

You pour it out, wear it on your sleeve and love people from the bottom of it. But do you take carewe mean, proper careof your heart?For decades, heart disease has been the No. 1 killer of Americans.The good news: You can make quick, easy changes to your lifestyle to cut your risk, and add years to your life, and it's never too late. Here are the top 50 things you're probably doing that put you in dangerfrom the Eat This, Not That! Health to you, with all our heart. Read onand to ensure your
Police have arrested a 20-year-old suspected of carrying out a shooting inside an Alabama mall last week on Thanksgiving Day, a melee which ended with police officers fatally shooting the wrong man.

U.S. Marshal Fugitive Task Force in Georgia took Erron Brown into custody on Thursday morning, the city of Hoover, Alabama, announced in a press release. He faces an attempted murder charge.

Erron Martez Dequan Brown, 20, is charged with attempted murder in the Nov. 22. 2018 shooting at the Riverchase Galleria in Hoover, Ala., according to police. (Photo: ASSOCIATED PRESS)

A Hoover police officer, responding to reports of gunshots, fatally shot 21-year-old Emantic EJ Bradford Jr. at Riverchase Galleria mall after the officer said he mistook Bradford for the gunman.

The gunman shot an 18-year-old man, who sustained non-fatal injuries, and a 12-year-old girl was also wounded during the incident.

Brown allegedly targeted the 18-year-old victim, following a physical altercation between the two inside of the mall. Police have not said who shot the child, The Birmingham News reported.

Police said responding officers saw Bradford armed with a gun and running from officers when he was fatally shot. Police claimed they mistook him as the shooter shortly after. The police department changed its story later, issuing a correction.

Emantic Fitzgerald Bradford, Jr., 21, seen in his senior year of high school, was fatally shot by police responding to reports of a shooting. (Photo: Associated Press)

The victims family and their attorney have said that Bradford had a permit to carry a concealed handgun and that he joined the U.S. Army last year. Authorities have not confirmed that Bradford, who described himself as a U.S. Army combat engineer, had a permit. Firearms are not permitted at the mall, according to its website.

This is an important milestone in the continued work to find answers about what happened in last Thursdays tragic incident, the city of Hoover said following news of Browns arrest. The City of Hoover remains committed to transparency and will continue to communicate with the public as new information becomes available.

Related...

Man Shot Dead By Police After Alabama Mall Shooting

Fatal Police Shooting Of 21-Year-Old Emantic Bradford In Alabama Sparks Protest

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This article originally appeared on HuffPost.
The riots during which an undercover policeman was allegedly beaten by fellow cops(PA)

Four policemen in the US have been indicted for beating up a black fellow police officer who was working undercover.

One of the cops  Dustin Boone  even boasted that its a blast beating people, before the assault took place during protests in St Louis in September last year over the acquittal of a white officer for fatally shooting a black man.

Its gonna get IGNORANT tonight!! he texted on the day of the verdict.

Its gonna be a lot of fun beating the hell out of these s***heads once the sun goes down and nobody can tell us apart!!!!

The riots followed the acquittal of officer Jason Stockley (PA)

Two days later, prosecutors allege that Boone, 35, plus Randy Hays, 31, and Christopher Myers, 27, beat up a protester with a riot baton and kicked him, although he was complying with their orders.

Unknown to them, the man was a policeman working undercover.

His injuries were so bad he could not eat and lost 20 pounds.

Now a US federal court has indicted the three officers plus a fourth policeman, Bailey Colletta, 25, for trying to cover up the incident.

The indictment says the undercover cop, known only as L.H., was beaten up while he was compliant and not posing a threat to anyone.

The protests followed the case of St Louis police officer Jason Stockley.

He killed African-American Anthony Lamar Smith, 24, in December 2011 after chasing him following an alleged drug deal.

Stockley had an unauthorised, personal AK-47 and was recorded on a dash cam during the chase saying he was going to kill Smith.

Shops were damaged during the riots (PA)

After Smith crashed, Stockley fired five fatal shots.

However, Stockley was found not guilty of first-degree murder, provoking huge protests in the city.

During those protests, police were pelted with rocks and deployed tear gas.

Watch the latest videos from Yahoo UK
Rio de Janeiro (AFP) - President-elect Jair Bolsonaro named Admiral Bento Costa Lima Leite his minister of mines and energy Friday, continuing his militarization of Brazil's incoming government.

Seven of ex-army captain Bolsonaro's 20 ministers announced so far are from the armed forces.

"I'm not appointing military people because they're from the military. It's because of their training and what they did when they were active," said Bolsonaro in quotes carried by the Universo Online website.

As with all his major announcements, far-right Bolsonaro used Twitter to share the news. He is expected to announce his environment and human rights ministers next.

The 60-year-old Lima Leite is currently serving as general manager of nuclear and technological development for the Brazilian navy.

The future mines and energy minister will also join the board of directors of Brazil's nuclear development authority, Nuclebras.

Bolsonaro has already put the ministries of defense, institutional security, science and technology, infrastructure, and transparency, supervision and control in the hands of military personnel while his government secretary is a retired general.

And there may be more as retired general Floriano Peixoto Vieira Neto is a strong candidate to be named the executive's secretary of social communication.

"There are two ministers to go. They might both be from the military, I don't know yet," said Bolsonaro.
Around 8:30 a.m. AKST on Friday, a massive earthquake shook the city of Anchorage, Alaska. The National Weather Service initially issued a tsunami warning for nearby coastal waters, but at 10:00 a.m. AKST, the warning was canceled.



CANCELLATION: M7.0 005mi N Anchorage, Alaska 0829AKST Nov 30: No tsunami observed



#NTWC  NWS Tsunami Alerts (@NWS_NTWC) November 30, 2018

Gov. Bill Walker has issued a disaster declaration in Alaska in response to Friday's earthquake, which was approved by President Donald Trump.

A number of people sustained injuries, according to the Anchorage Daily News. Many injuries were due to lacerations from broken glass. One person suffered serious airway burns after fighting a fire at his home, which was caused by the earthquake.

The Anchorage School District has canceled classes and its buildings will be examined for potential damage and gas leaks, according to the Associated Press (AP).

Anchorage Municipal Manager Bill Falsey said that over two dozen mainline water breaks have occurred in the city, leaving some residences flooded, according to the AP.



Major quake here in Anchorage. You can see power outage across much of the city. Lots of damage. #earthquake #anchoragequake pic.twitter.com/nsgeoJf579  Don Rearden (@donrearden) November 30, 2018

Evacuations have taken place throughout the city as stores, buildings and homes have been impacted. Employees working in the air traffic tower at the Anchorage Airport were also evacuated, as the tower is inspected for damage.

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Pictures shared on Twitter show widespread power outages already impacting areas.

For cleanup crews and families and individuals impacted by the damage, south-central Alaska is welcoming a break from typical bitter December cold. Gusty winds and a period of snow, however, can create new obstacles for the crews handling repairs and cleaning up the destruction left behind by the earthquake this weekend.

Road and bridge damage has also been reported in and around the city.



Earthquake Alaska

A tow truck holds a car that was pulled from on an off-ramp that collapsed during a morning earthquake on Friday, Nov. 30, 2018, in Anchorage, Alaska. The driver was not injured attempting to exit Minnesota Drive at International Airport Road. Back-to-back earthquakes measuring 7.0 and 5.8 rocked buildings and buckled roads Friday morning in Anchorage, prompting people to run from their offices or seek shelter under office desks, while a tsunami warning had some seeking higher ground. (AP Photo/Mike Dinneen)

The United States Geological Survey also released an aftershock forecast, warning Anchorage residents to be prepared for aftershocks and ensuing damage. "According to our forecast, over the next 1 Week there is a 4 % chance of one or more aftershocks that are larger than magnitude 7.0. It is likely that there will be smaller earthquakes over the next 1 Week, with 20 to 2,200 magnitude 3 or higher aftershocks. Magnitude 3 and above are large enough to be felt near the epicenter. The number of aftershocks will drop off over time, but a large aftershock can increase the numbers again, temporarily."

Within the first 12 hours following the major earthquake, the USGS reported over 100 aftershocks in the area measuring at least 2.5 on the Richter scale.



#AlaskaEarthquake UPDATE: #SewardHwy MP 104-114, (Potter Weigh Station to MP 104) due to continued settling and aftershocks, rock fall continues in this area, please avoid traveling if possible.  Alaska DOT&PF (@AlaskaDOTPF) December 1, 2018

The Anchorage Police Department is operational in the city and alerted people that many roads and bridges are closed. They added that there has been major infrastructure damage across Anchorage with damage to many homes and buildings.

Former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin shared on Twitter that her house was damaged by the quake.


At the European Council on Nov. 25, leaders from the European Union endorsed the terms on which the U.K. will leave the E.U., and the political declaration that outlines our future relationship. This is a major milestone, after nearly two years of negotiations. Both sides have had to compromise to deliver a solution which works for both the U.K. and the E.U.

For some in the U.K., the compromises made during the divorce proceedings have been difficult to reconcile. But soon this Withdrawal Agreement will go to parliament and my colleagues will have to weigh those grievances against the alternatives  no deal or, worse, no Brexit at all.

So its important to keep the national interest at the forefront of our minds. This agreement was never going to answer all the questions about the U.K.s future relationship with the E.U.  rather it is the mechanism that allows us to begin negotiations on our future economic partnership once we have left, as set out by the European Treaties. These future talks will set the parameters for our trade relationship with Europe and, in turn, our ability to strike ambitious free trade deals around the world with established partners and new rising economies. That, after all, is the principle economic opportunity of Brexit  to grow our trade, on our own terms, with partners beyond the shores of Europe.

Let me reassure those with lingering concerns about the terms of our withdrawal: After we leave the E.U. on March 29, the UK will have an independent trade policy covering goods and services, we will be able to set our own tariffs, and we will be able to negotiate, sign and ratify new free trade agreements. And among our first priorities is an agreement with the United States.

The U.S. is already our single largest trading partner. Trade between our two countries is worth more than 180bn and accounts for a fifth of all U.K. exports. It is underpinned by the worlds closest investment relationship with over $1 trillion invested in one anothers economies. Whats more, over one million British citizens work for American companies in the UK and more than one million Americans work for British firms in the U.S. Good jobs for working people in both of our countries  the benefits of free trade made real.

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Our preparations to begin trade talks with the U.S. are advanced. White House Trade Representative, Robert Lighthizer, recently launched a call for comments on his draft negotiating objectives. On our side of the Atlantic, my team is busy analysing the responses to our own public consultation and we will publish our negotiation objectives before negotiations begin. Just this week, U.S. Ambassador to the U.K. Woody Johnson told us that the United States is ready to get to work.

The relationship between our countries has been special for many years, but Brexit has given us a once-in-a-generation opportunity to raise it to a new level. With our shared history and mutual economic interests, we are in a position to set the global benchmark for how two leading, open and mature economies can trade with each other.

We can revolutionise the rules on the digital economy, encouraging innovation and investment. We can unleash the economic power of data flowing freely across borders. We can lead the world on emerging technologies like AI and the internet of things  tackling together the new challenges and sharing the rewards they present.

Soon, two of the worlds top five economies will have the chance to show how we can liberalise trade in both goods and services, boosting profitability and consumer choice without diluting standards.

Trade can be, and should be, mutually beneficial. Yet trade is not an end in itself. It is a means of spreading prosperity. Prosperity leads to social cohesion which in turn underpins political stability. And it is political stability that is the cornerstone of our collective security.

The security of its people is the most fundamental responsibility of any government. Trade is part of the same continuum and, in that objective, the U.S. will find no firmer ally than the U.K.

Brexit allows us the freedom to create a truly global Britain at heart of the worlds fastest growing markets. To become the worlds foremost champion of free trade and its most ambitious practitioner.

We will use our independent seat at the World Trade Organization (WTO) to help reform the organisation, making it fit for the 21st century. We will pursue trade deals that liberalise trade in services more than ever before. And we will give developing countries terms of trade that will help to fast-track their route out of poverty.

But an independent Britain can go even further. Since the WTO was founded in 1995, the global economy has changed beyond all recognition. Advances in communications technology have transformed the way we interact with our partners and consumers around the world. But the global rules-based system has not kept up with the pace of this change.

We see it as the U.K.s duty to champion a modernization of global trade rules  ensuring that data flows freely and valuable copyright is protected, lifting the red tape that stifles innovation and tackling the alarming rise in protectionism around the world.

In this, our stance is unwavering. We are anti-protectionist and pro-free trade. We will work with likeminded friends and allies in Europe and beyond to preserve and promote free trade around the world.

This will be at the heart of our thinking as we negotiate a future economic partnership with Europe. Then we can establish a truly global Britain once again.
Nairobi (AFP) - Burundi on Friday said it had launched international arrest warrants for ex-president Pierre Buyoya and 16 former senior officials over their alleged role in the 1993 assassination of Melchior Ndadaye, the country's first democratically elected Hutu leader.

"The findings of the inquiry show that these people were involved in this crime -- its planning and preparation and execution," Attorney General Sylvestre Nyandwi said.

The others include 11 former senior defence officials and five civilians close to Buyoya.

Burundi asked the various countries where these men are living in exile to extradite them, saying: "It is imperative that they are questioned on the role they played" in the murder.

Buyoya is currently the African Union's representative in Mali and a respected figure on the continent as well as overseas.

Buyoya, a Tutsi, came to power in 1987 with the help of the army. He stepped down in 1993, when Ndadaye was elected, but Ndadaye was killed just four months later in an attempted coup by hardline Tutsi soldiers.

The murder led to several years of civil war between the two ethnic groups, in which an estimated 300,000 people died.

The country is currently ruled by the Cndd-FDD party, which is an offshoot of the main Hutu rebel group.
SALEM, Ore. (AP)  Oregon regulators and a California winery accused of misrepresenting the Oregon origins of its bestselling pinot noir, an act which infuriated local winemakers, said Thursday after a preliminary meeting they're hopeful they can resolve the dispute.

The owner and a vice president of Napa Valley's Copper Cane winery flew to Portland to meet Wednesday with the Oregon Liquor Control Commission Executive Director Steven Marks. The commission earlier found Copper Cane had committed seven violations with labeling and that it wants to revoke its ability to sell within Oregon.

Its pinot noir grapes are grown in three Oregon wine regions and trucked to California, where it is made into wine. At issue are labels on California winemaker Joe Wagner's Elouan Pinot Noir and Willametter Journal wines that refer to Oregon's winegrowing regions.

Also at issue: Copper Cane's wine is more pronounced than the more nuanced and delicate pinot noirs produced in Oregon, and has cheaper prices. Local winemakers say Copper Cane's Oregon-centric marketing is going to confuse consumers and erode a growing industry here.

Jim Blumling, Copper Cane's vice president of operations, said in a phone interview that he and Wagner had a "collaborative conversation" with Marks to come to an amicable solution.

State liquor commission spokesman Matthew VanSickle agreed, saying "overall, it was a good preliminary meeting."

Copper Cane has a right to a hearing to dispute the charges and the proposed revocation of its ability to sell its products in Oregon, but must request to reserve this right by Dec. 20, which it hasn't yet done.

Blumling said both the commission and Copper Cane want the winery to keep buying grapes from Oregon vineyards.

Rep. David Gomberg, a member of the Oregon Legislature and a critic of Copper Cane, said the winery is cutting into the "prestige" of Oregon pinot noir.

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Last year, 120,000 cases of Copper cane's Elouan wine  the vast majority being pinot noir  were sold nationwide, Blumling said. In comparison, 70 percent of Oregon wineries produce fewer than 5,000 cases of wine per year, according to the Oregon Wine Board.

Oregon wineries also tend to charge more than other states, with the finicky pinot noir being the main seller.

Consumers recognize and are willing to pay for that premium quality, the Wine Industry Advisor, an online industry publication, recently noted.

Wagner's Elouan and Willametter Journal wines refer in labels and shipping and display cartons to Oregon's Willamette Valley, Rogue Valley and Umpqua Valley wine regions.

The Oregon liquor commission says only wines "finished" in Oregon can claim association with an Oregon wine region.

And a label may cite a wine region only if 95 percent of the grapes are from that particular region, according to the Oregon Wine Board.

___

Follow Andrew Selsky on Twitter at https://twitter.com/andrewselsky
Junior Hoilett celebrates after his stunning goal gave Cardiff victory over Wolves

Cardiff City have climbed out of the relegation zone after fighting back to beat Wolverhampton Wanderers 2-1 in the Welsh capital.

Matt Doherty gave Wolves an early lead with a smart finish from a corner, before Aron Gunnarssons acrobatic effort hauled Cardiff level.

AS IT HAPPENED: Cardiff 2 Wolves 1

READ MORE: 5 talking points ahead of the Premier League weekend

Wolves thought they were going to cling on for a hard-earned point but the Bluebirds Junior Hoilett secured all three points with a wonderful curling effort from 25 yards.

Both sides came into the match in desperate need of a win and Cardiff now found themselves in the heady heights of 15th, while for Wolves manager Nuno Espirito Santo the problems are beginning to mount  it is their fifth loss in their last six matches.

Junior Hoiletts stunning winner was enough to separate the two sides

In an effort to snap that streak, Wolves manager Nuno Espirito Santo made some rare changes. Moroccan international Roman Saiss started in defence and Adama Traore was given another chance in a front three.

If Wolves needed any reminder of what awaited them from Neil Warnocks physical side, it took less than five minutes for Aron Gunnarssons long throw to lead to a chance for Joe Ralls; the midfielder sent his shot whistling wide of Rui Patricios near post.

And it was a set play which lead to the opening goal, but at the other end. Warnocks switch to a back three failed to fix their awful record defending set pieces as Wolves took the led against the run of play in the 15th minute.

READ MORE: Ranked! The 30 best strikers in Premier League history

READ MORE: Klopp rejects midfield concerns in feisty derby press conference

A corner was swung in, Cardiff keeper Neil Etheridge made a smart save from Raul Jimenez but he could only push the ball into the path of wingback Matt Doherty who slammed the ball home.

This week Sky has been hyping up their derby day Sunday with several of the Premier Leagues biggest teams in action. This match wont be like them.

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Traore and Gunnarson fight for the ball

For much of the match, ineffective long-ball tactics were the order of the day. Passes frequently went astray, headers were often unclaimed, and shots went wide or high.

Traore was particularly culpable. He often had plenty of space to use his blistering pace on the break but all too often he ran into defenders, or if he did get past them his final ball was poor.

One of the rare moments of quality inevitably came from a set piece, as Harry Arter sent a swerving effort that beat Patricio in goal, but his shot cannoned off the post.

The Bluebirds almost scored straight from the kick off when good work from Victor Camarasa down the right led to Josh Murphy flashing a shot just across the face of goal.

However, that was as good as it got for the opening 15 minutes as Wolves then began to dominate and Ruben Neves and Joao Moutinho finally began to exert some control in midfield.

Matt Doherty gives Wolves the lead

Neves almost doubled Wolves lead when his long-range swerving shot proved too hot to handle for Etheridge.

But to their credit, Cardiff fought back and it took a vital deflection from Conor Coady to send Arters goal bound shot wide.

However, the Bluebirds would not be denied. The resulting corner was cleared to Arter, the Irish international lobbed the ball back into the mixer, Patricio came for the ball but couldnt reach it as Sean Morrison found Gunnarsson who acrobatically equalised.

Aron Gunnarsson equalises for Cardiff

All the momentum was with Cardiff and they took the lead from Junior Hoiletts stunning strike.

A cross was eventually cleared to the Hoilett on the left-hand corner of area, the Canadian international ran onto it and curled a wonderful shot across goal and into the top corner.

It was a strike worthy of winning any match, especially one where chances were at a premium like this one.

Wolves had their chances to haul themselves back level; first Ivan Cavaleiro shot straight at the keeper when given time and space on the left of the six yard box.

Helder Costa then blasted a first-time shot over the bar from almost the same place as time ticked away.
BEIJING (Reuters) - A flammable gas leak at a plant owned by ChemChina subsidiary Hebei Shenghua Chemical Industry Co caused a blast that killed 23 people and injured 22 this week in Zhangjiakou, Hebei province, ChemChina said in a statement on Friday. PVC producer Hebei Shenghua had leaked vinyl chloride during production, and it caught fire and caused a chain explosion that burned trucks and buildings, parent company ChemChina said. In the statement posted on its website, ChemChina apologized for the accident and said it reflected serious problems in its safety management systems. Zhangjiakou, about 156 km (96 miles) northwest of Beijing, is set to host the 2022 Winter Olympics along with the capital. The National Administration for Work Safety Emergency Response said it will launch an inspection of all large-scale chemical plant plants in the wake of the last explosion, the official Xinhua news Agency reported. Public anger over safety standards has grown in China in recent years after three decades of swift economic growth have been marred by accidents ranging from mining disasters to factory fires. In August 2015, 165 people were killed in a chemical warehouse explosion in the port city of Tianjin. The government found that the disaster was causes by improperly or illegally stored hazardous materials. China has vowed to improve industrial standards, but environmentalists say they fear oversight weaknesses persist, including an opaque production process for hazardous chemicals. (Reporting by Meng Meng and Aizhu Chen; Editing by Tom Hogue)
PANAMA CITY (Reuters) - Chinese President Xi Jinping held up Panama as a "natural" partner for deeper ties, according to an article published on Friday ahead of a visit likely to unnerve traditional Panamanian ally United States. Xi heaped compliments on Panama ahead of his arrival on Sunday in a column that he penned in local newspaper Estrella de Panama, saying the country enjoyed "world fame for the Panama Canal, geisha coffee, and tasty tropical fruits such as bananas." He said China and Panama were "natural partners" to cooperate on China's "Belt and Road" initiative, a Chinese government strategy to build global infrastructure projects. Last year, the two countries established diplomatic relations after Panama broke off ties with Taiwan, which China views as a wayward province with no right to bilateral relations. The Dominican Republic and El Salvador followed suit in cutting out Taiwan in favor of China. "In just a year and a half, bilateral ties have gained strength with extraordinary cooperation," Xi wrote. "The entire international community has listened to the declaration of Panama to adhere to the one-China policy and seen the will of our peoples to support the development of bilateral relations in unison." Washington has expressed rising concern over the growing influence of China, which has turned Central America into a proxy battleground for influence between superpowers for the first time since the Cold War.[nL2N1VU005][nL3N1VF1Z1] Panama has insisted its relationship with Washington is still solid. "We believe that the development of an agenda between Panama and China should not affect in any way our relationship with the United States, with which we have had a very strong common agenda for more than a hundred years," said Panamanian Vice President and Foreign Minister Isabel de Saint Malo on Thursday. Xi said that China had become the second biggest user of the Panama Canal, behind the United States. Panama and China opened free trade talks in July that could turn the Central American country into a hub for Chinese goods across Latin America. [nL1N1U51D1] Chinese companies have won multimillion dollar tenders to build a bridge over the Panama Canal and a cruise ship terminal. (Reporting by Elida Moreno; Writing by Michael O'Boyle, Editing by Rosalba O'Brien)
Bouake (Ivory Coast) (AFP) - Schools in Ivory Coast's second city remained closed again on Friday in protest over a violent attack by prison guards on students at a nearby university.

At least eight students were wounded on Wednesday evening, five of them by gunfire, when a group of prison wardens invaded a campus in Bouake and opened fire following a scuffle in a bar, the city prosecutor said.

CEECI, the national students union, put the figure at 11, saying some of them had been shot while other had sustained injuries "from knives or machetes".

Two prison guards were also injured in the brawl.

Following the violence, the organisation blocked classes at two high schools and a number of primary schools, urging pupils to join them in a protest which extended into Friday.

CEECI is demanding the government relocate Bouake prison and its wardens' lodgings which are situated opposite a campus of Alassane Ouattara University in the western part of the city.

"We have ordered the students and school children to go home. Classes will resume on Monday," CEECI head Moustapha Ben Diomande said on Friday.

Students and local witnesses said Wednesday's clashes pitted around 100 students against about 20 guards, who forced their way onto campus and began shooting.

"They were armed with kalashnikovs and machetes, we were just throwing stuff," one student told AFP.

Speaking to AFP, sources from each side confirmed the incident began with a dispute in a bar between a student and a guard, which quickly spiralled.

The guards then went down to the campus, sparking clashes that only ended two hours later when the police and the army intervened.

Bouake, which is located in the centre of the country and has a population of a million, has a long history of instability.

Last year, it was seized by rebel soldiers during a mutiny over wages, and years before, it served as the rebel headquarters following a failed 2002 coup which split the country in half and led to years of unrest.
In August, 6-year-old Clinton Stanley Jr. was kicked out of his new school before he even had a chance to step inside a classroom. Administrators at the Florida school didnt approve of his hairstyle, which he wore in locs, and said he couldnt return until he changed it.

Now the NAACP Legal Defense Fund and American Civil Liberties Union are filing a legal complaint with the states Department of Education, alleging that the private schools hair policy is racially discriminatory. The complaint cites HuffPost data showing that it is not uncommon for private schools in the state to maintain hair policies with clear racist undertones.

The school in question  A Books Christian Academy  is private, but it participates in several of the states voucher programs, which provides publicly funded scholarships for kids to attend private schools based on factors like income. Clinton was supposed to attend A Books Christian Academy on one such scholarship.

But the American Civil Liberties Union and Legal Defense Fund complaint says that A Books policy is illegal, violating federal civil rights laws that schools in state voucher programs are required to follow.

A Books ban on dreads  a style that Black students are particularly likely to wear  does not advance any legitimate school objective, says the complaint. Therefore, A Books policy illegally discriminates against Black students.

The complaint also notes that at one point, school administrators told Clinton that his hair was too long because it fell below his ears. But promotional materials for the school show a white male student with hair falling below his ears.

Clinton Stanley Jr. was excluded from accessing an education at A Books Christian Academy simply because he is a Black male with locs, says the complaint.

Clinton Stanley Sr., who was with his son when he was turned away from the school, documented the experience in a Facebook video at the time. He also wrote about his sons experience in a blog post for the ACLU.

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I was bewildered that the all-white staff in charge of a predominantly Black school would have the audacity to shame something so closely tied to Black identity, wrote Stanley.

Angel Harris, an assistant counsel for the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, said she hopes that the Department of Education decides to investigate A Books Christian Academy and that the school changes its policies. She added that she hopes other schools with similar policies will take note.

The Legal Defense Fund previously sent a letter to the Florida Department of Education about the issue in October. The attorneys decided to file the formal legal complaint when they did not hear back from the department, she said.

The Florida Department of Education does not condone discrimination of any kind in Florida schools, spokeswoman Audrey Walden told HuffPost. She said the department was still reviewing the complaint, which it received Thursday.

In August a HuffPost investigation found that at least 20 percent of private schools participating in Floridas newest voucher program have strict hair policies with specific racial undertones. Floridas newest voucher program  in which A Books does not participate  provides scholarships to students who are victims of bullying. Hair policies in these schools require natural styles and ban dreadlocks. One school even has a ban on progressive hairstyles, while another schools handbook says many styles of fashion are clearly a result of the liberal influence of todays secular society.

This article was updated with comment from the Florida Department of Education.

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This article originally appeared on HuffPost.
By Alex Dobuzinskis

(Reuters) - A former Dallas police officer was charged with murder on Friday for shooting an unarmed black neighbor whose apartment she said she mistakenly entered instead of her own, prosecutors said.

Amber Guyger, 30, surrendered to authorities after a grand jury indicted her on a charge of murder in the Sept. 6 death of Botham Jean, 26, Dallas County District Attorney's spokeswoman Kimberlee Leach said by phone.

Guyger, who lived in an apartment one floor below Jean's unit, told investigators she mistook Jean for an intruder after she entered his apartment by mistake and he appeared in the darkness, police said.

Guyger walked into the apartment after returning from a work shift and was able to enter because Jean's door was slightly ajar, according to a Texas law enforcement account of the incident.

The killing of an unarmed black man by a white officer in uniform sparked demonstrations in the Texas city, with protesters calling for Guyger, a four-year veteran of the Dallas police force, to be charged with murder.

The shooting followed several years of scrutiny of law enforcement in the United States over questions of racial bias.

An attorney for Guyger did not immediately return a call seeking comment.

"We have taken the position from day one that we want to make sure that justice is done for everybody and it's equal justice, it's not one-sided or it's not blinded," Dallas County District Attorney Faith Johnson, whose prosecutors presented evidence to the grand jury, said at a news conference.

Guyger was arrested in September for shooting Jean and initially charged with manslaughter, a lesser offense for an unlawful killing that does not involve malice aforethought. She was released after posting bond of $300,000.

The bond was re-instated after she was charged with murder, Leach said.

Within days of the manslaughter charge, Johnson pledged to convene a grand jury to more fully examine the shooting.

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Jean's mother, Allison Jean, spoke at the news conference on Friday alongside the district attorney.

"I look forward to the next step, which is a conviction of murder of Amber Guyger and also of a penalty, the proper penalty, that will cause her to reflect on what she has done," Allison Jean said.

Guyger was at first placed on administrative leave after shooting Jean but was fired days later, with the Dallas police chief citing her actions the night of the shooting and afterward.

(Reporting by Alex Dobuzinskis in Los Angeles; editing by Bill Tarrant and Leslie Adler)
Hes got a chance: But Betfairs David Haye says it will take a huge fight from Tyson Fury on Saturday

David Haye says the odds are stacked against Tyson Fury this weekend but he warned Deontay Wilder that the giant Gypsy King CAN find a way to beat him.

The former unified Cruiserweight and WBA Heavyweight Champion Of The World fears that the way Fury has lived his life over the past few years may come back to haunt him.

The Brits weight ballooned dramatically during his two-and-a-half-year absence from the ring but despite slimming back down, Haye fears his physical shape could prove to be problem.

READ MORE: Fury calls for Wilder weigh-in to be cancelled

READ MORE: Tyson Fury, Deontay Wilder clash again at press conference

This is the most excited I have been about a fight since Anthony Joshua v Wladimir Klitschko in 2017 and I believe its the most important one since that Wembley showdown, said the Betfair ambassador.

Im expecting something on a similar scale as well in LA on Saturday, with two undefeated fighters going head-to-head  its guaranteed fireworks.

Fighting fit: Tyson Fury works out in front of Los Angeles ahead of the big night

Tyson Fury is the outsider here but he has a history of upsetting the applecart. Nobody goes to Germany and does what he did; grabbing all the belts from the lineal champion, it was an incredible achievement and something no-one predicted.

Im hearing all the same things now  in fact, Im saying them myself!  that Fury doesnt have the firepower to deal with Deontay Wilder, but Tyson can find a way.

Haye added: Im leaning pretty heavily towards Wilder, taking into account how the two of them have lived their lives over the past few years.

Wilder is ready: the star gets kitted up for some promo ahead of the big fight

While Fury has been battling drug abuse and alcohol binges, Wilder has been living healthy, fine tuning in the gym and generally keeping himself in peak condition.

Are we going to see the best version of Fury? Ideally he would have faced better opposition that he did in his two comeback fights although we dont know what hes been doing behind closed doors  hopefully hes been sparring with guys who can emulate Wilders style in some way.

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Fury will to be at his absolute best as Wilder is the real deal. He comes from a fighting family and we know he has plenty of heart  he got up off the floor against Steve Cunningham and hell probably have to do it again here.

Tyson will be aiming for a points win here but at no point will he be able to get excited even if plenty of rounds have passed  it only takes one Wilder punch to knock him out.

But you never know. Maybe he doesnt need any more comeback fights  maybe Fury is Wilders boogyman!
A shooting at Chicagos Mercy Hospital, quickly followed by a false alarm at Marylands Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, sent shockwaves through the medical community this month  and exposed the reality that hospitals, the institutions tasked with caring for the victims of violent incidents, are also at risk of enduring them.

The FBI defines an active shooter incident as one or more individuals actively engaged in killing or attempting to kill people in a populated area. Of the 50 such events that took place in 2016 and 2017, according to FBI data, only four occurred in healthcare settings, compared to 17 in areas of commerce and seven in schools. But the attack at Mercy Hospital, which left a doctor, a pharmacy resident, a police officer and the gunman dead, served as a stark reminder that medical centers must also prepare for the grim possibility of mass violence.

Hospital shootings, while still rare, have become more common over the last two decades, rising from just a handful in 2000 to more than 20 in 2015, according to research from Brown University; a 2012 Annals of Internal Medicine study identified 154 between 2000 and 2011. (Many hospitals shootings are the result of mental instability and suicides or escape attempts, according to the Brown data, which may not fit the FBIs definition of an active shooter incident.)

To keep up, hospitals and researchers are intensifying their efforts to prepare for and prevent these tragedies, joining workplaces of all kinds in running active shooter trainings and partnering with organizations such as Stop the Bleeding Coalition, which promotes the use of tourniquets to staunch bleeding from a gunshot wound. But in this regard, hospitals face a unique responsibility as places where sick and injured people go to heal  thus making evacuation plans both more difficult, and more critical.

Making sure that every hospital has a concrete plan in place to deal with these incidents, and that drills are carried out regularly for these incidents and that those drills are carried out with law enforcement and other community agencies, that would be the dream world, says Jeff Solheim, president of the Emergency Nurses Association.

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Brigham and Womens Hospital (BWH) is one institution that has stepped up security. It publicly rolled out a new security campaign in 2017, two years after a man entered the Boston hospital and fatally shot a doctor who had treated his late mother. (Browns data shows that grudges of some kind motivated 79 of 241 hospital shootings recorded between 2000 and 2015.) The campaign focused on eliminating piggybacking and tailgating  non-authorized individuals slipping into secure areas by following staff members  and urged the hospitals employees to either question suspicious individuals or report them to security.

Even hospitals that havent faced violence first-hand are taking action. Theres no doubt theres been an increased focus on it. It feels like theres a lot more activity going on, Solheim says, though he adds that some institutions could be more proactive. [Hospitals are] adding active shooters into their disaster drills. Five or six years ago, we would never have thought about putting an active shooter in a disaster policy and procedure.

Today, however, hospitals are doing just that. Childrens Health Childrens Medical Center Dallas, a pediatric hospital in Texas, began offering offering active shooter simulations for emergency department staff in 2016. Ninety-two percent of participants said they felt more prepared for such a situation, according to a paper published in the Journal of Emergency Nursing in August. The papers authors called ongoing active shooter classes a definite recommendation for both their hospital and others.

Even the scare at Walter Reed was triggered by this sort of preparation: The military hospital went into lockdown after its emergency alert system mistakenly sounded the alarm about an active shooter on campus. (Representatives from Walter Reed did not immediately provide further context.)

Mishaps aside, Paul Brennan, immediate past president of the International Association of EMS Chiefs, which is involved in drafting active shooter response guidelines for healthcare settings, says staff education and training, robust emergency alert systems and collaboration with local law enforcement and EMS are vital for hospitals trying to stay prepared. Many hospitals also have a workplace violence committee, he says, and many institutions are required to complete an annual hazard vulnerability analysis.

Staff preparedness is key, Brennan says. If youre not teaching and training your staff, and youre not drilling, youre not doing exercises, your staff is either going to forget, or theyre not going to be educated enough to respond well when something happens.

No matter how well-trained, however, Brennan says hospitals face a unique set of challenges when it comes to active shooter scenarios. For one thing, they tend to be quite large, with fairly open campuses. Very few hospitals have every single door locked, controlled, and someone there, with metal detectors, Brennan says. Its really challenging to be 100% confident that you have everything covered.

Perhaps more importantly, the thousands of people inside a hospital at any given time have vastly different levels of training, responsibility and mobility  making it difficult to apply standard advice to the medical environment, Brennan says.

Individuals facing an active shooting are typically advised to first try to run away from the gunman; hide if they cannot escape; and attempt to fight off the shooter only as a last resort. But in a hospital, patients may be either immobile or in the midst of treatment, leaving them unable to run, hide, fight, and raising ethical dilemmas for the doctors, nurses and other caretakers who may be forced to choose between assisting their patients and saving their own lives.

With these difficulties in mind, a paper published in the New England Journal of Medicine in August suggested an additional strategy for healthcare workers: secure, preserve, fight. In other words, hospital employees should first secure areas where life-saving patient care is in progress by electronically or mechanically barring entry to those zones; preserve patient lives by moving them to secure areas, even if that means ceasing non-critical care; and only fight off the gunman if absolutely necessary.

But Dr. Gabor Kelen, director of the emergency medicine department at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, says its not clear how well this strategy  or any  actually works. (Kelen co-authored the 2012 study on hospital shootings, two years after the son of a patient shot and injured a Johns Hopkins doctor before killing both himself and his mother.)

There isnt enough data and experience to know which of the strategies has the greatest yield, and which of these strategies fits to the psychological moment of even trained people, Kelen says.

The dearth of data, Kelen says, emphasizes just how rare these incidents are. He stresses that the percentage of patients and healthcare workers who will find themselves in an active shooting situation is infinitesimal, and that most trainings are undertaken out of an abundance of caution.

You make sure that hospitals are fire-proof and lightning-proof. I would put that in this category, Kelen says. I think the staff appreciates that there is some real attention to their wellness and the patients wellness. I do think that it remains important.

Brennan agrees, emphasizing that most events hospitals train for will never come to pass  but its important to be prepared if they do.

Hospitals traditionally are very, very safe, but its not a never event, Brennan says. Shootings are low frequency, but the results can be deadly.
Donald Trump has said he may be willing to pardon Paul Manafort amid new reports alleging his former campaign chairman lied to Special Counsel Robert Mueller.

Speaking in the Oval Office, the president said a pardon was never discussed, but I wouldn't take it off the table".

Mr Trump also kept up his recent attacks on Mr Mueller's Russia probe, comparing it to the 1950s era of Joseph McCarthy.

"We are in the McCarthy era. This is no better than McCarthy. And that was a bad situation for the country. But this is where we are. And its a terrible thing, Mr Trump said.

Mr Trump, speaking as part of an interview with The New York Post, went on to describe Manafort, as well as long-time confidant Roger Stone and right-wing commentator Jerome Corsi as actually very brave. All three of said to be of interest to Mr Mueller's investigation into Russian election meddling and possible collusion with Trump campaign officials

Prosecutors for the special counsel said in a court filing on Monday that Manafort had lied to them, breaching a plea agreement signed after he was found guilty of eight counts of financial crimes in August. Those charges related to political lobbying work in Ukraine..

In its court filings, the special counsel wrote Manafort committed federal crimes by lying to the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Special Counsels Office on a variety of subject matters.

Manafort said in the same filing that he disagreed with the special counsels allegation. His legal team said they believed he had given truthful answers to all questions.

Mr Trump's interview followed a report in The New York Times that Manafort's attorney has been briefing Mr Trump's lawyers about what Manafort has been telling federal investigators. Such conversations are unusual but not illegal.

Manafort was likely facing about 10 years in prison for the eight guilty counts in the Virginia case, sentencing experts have said.

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Under the terms of the plea agreement, Manafort plead guilty in September to two charges of conspiracy.

The president has been vocal in his support for Manafort, lauding him as a very good person during the Virginia trial.

Meanwhile, key Democrats have rejected the notion Mr Trump may pardon his former campaign chairman. Mark Warner, the top Democrat on the Senate intelligence committee, described the potential move as a blatant and unacceptable abuse of power in a tweet following the presidents interview.

The pardon power is not the Presidents personal tool for protecting himself and his friends, the senator wrote.

Reuters contributed to this report.
The Hague (AFP) - A Dutch church has resorted to the power of prayer to stop the deportation of an Armenian family sheltering there, holding round-the-clock religious services for more than a month to keep police at bay, officials said Friday.

The Bethel Church in The Hague has taken advantage of a loophole in Dutch law which says that police cannot enter the premises while a religious service is underway.

The five members of the Tamrazyan family, who have been living in the Netherlands for nine years, took refuge in the church on October 25 after Dutch authorities turned down their request for asylum.

"The Tamrazyans knocked on our door one night in a panic and asked us to shelter them and protect them from the police. It was urgent," church pastor Derk Stegeman told AFP.

Ever since then, parishioners have held a continuous service 24 hours a day to make sure that it is illegal for police officers to go inside the protestant church.

"We have 500 pastors signed up to lead the services", with some coming from other parts of the Netherlands, said Stegeman, who had recently completed a gruelling six-hour non-stop service.

"It's incredible what people's solidarity can achieve."

- 'Confronted with a dilemma' -

The church has since attracted a blaze of media attention and messages of support on social media, while using its website to appeal for volunteers donations and food.

The Tamrazyans -- two adults, two daughters aged 21 and 19 and a son aged 14 -- left their home in The Hague after learning of the shock decision to reject their asylum claim.

The family reportedly fled Armenia after the father received death threats for his political activities.

In a statement on its website, the church said that it "respects court orders, but finds itself confronted with a dilemma: the choice between respecting the government and protecting the rights of a child".

"The purpose of the Church Asylum is to create rest and safety for the family and to offer some respite to the family during which we invite politicians to discuss with us the family's fate."

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The Dutch immigration service said it did not comment on current cases.

The country's justice ministry has the power to exceptionally grant asylum to minors who are subject to expulsion orders.

The church saga echoes the case which gripped the Netherlands in September in which two Armenian children disappeared to avoid deportation.

Howick, 13 and his sister Lili, 12, were due to be deported to join their mother in Armenia, after a last-ditch legal bid failed to stop their expulsion.

But they were found shortly after the justice ministry said they would be allowed to stay.
Algiers (AFP) - Archaeologists in Algeria have discovered stone tools and cut animal bones that may be up to 2.4 million years old, bringing into question East Africa's title as the cradle of humanity, according to research published Thursday in the journal Science.

The artifacts -- more ancient than those discovered in the region until now -- were found in Setif, some 200 miles (300 kilometers) east of Algiers, by a team of international researchers, including Algerians.

The tools closely resemble those called Oldowan, found until now mainly in East Africa.

The tools were unearthed near dozens of fossilized animal bones which contained cut marks, as if relics of prehistoric butchers.

The bones came from animals including the ancestors of crocodiles, elephants and hippopotamuses.

"East Africa is widely considered to be the birthplace of stone tool use by our ancient hominid ancestors -- the earliest examples of which date as far back as about 2.6 million years ago," said the report in Science.

"The new findings make Ain Boucherit the oldest site in northern Africa with in situ evidence of hominin meat use with associated stone tools and they suggest that other similarly early sites could be found outside of the Eastern Africa Rift."

One hypothesis is that early ancestors of modern day humans quickly carried stone tools with them out of East Africa and into other regions of the continent.

Another is a "multiple origin scenario," in which early hominids made and used tools in both East and North Africa.

"The site of Ain Lahnech is the second oldest in the world after Gona in Ethiopia, which goes back to 2.6 million years ago and is widely considered the cradle of humanity," lead author Mohamed Sahouni told AFP.

The discoveries were made in two layers -- one dating to 2.4 million years ago and the second dating to 1.9 million years old.

- More in the Sahara? -

The findings suggest that the ancestors of modern people were present in north Africa at least 600,000 years earlier than scientists thought.

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Until now, the oldest known tools from northern Africa were 1.8 million years old, and were found at a nearby site.

No humans remains were found. Therefore, scientists don't know what species of hominids were at the site, or what ancient cousin of homo sapiens (who appeared much later), used these tools.

The dig was undertaken by experts from research institutions in Spain, Algeria, Australia and France.

"Now that Ain Boucherit has yielded Oldowan archeology estimated to 2.4 million years ago, Northern Africa and the Sahara may be a repository of further archaeological materials," the study said.

"Based on the potential of Ain Boucherit and the adjacent sedimentary basins, we suggest that hominin fossils and Oldowan artifacts as old as those documented in East Africa could be discovered in North Africa as well."
Large sheets of brown paper covered the glass walls to the City Hall offices of Chicago Alderman Ed Burke on Thursday, as federal agents raided the place of work for Donald Trumps longtime former tax consultant.

The offices were shut down upon the arrival of the federal officials, who quickly obstructed views into the rooms they remained in throughout the day. Mr Burke is reported to have worked closely with the president for nearly 12 years in cutting property taxes for his Trump Tower in Chicago by more than $14m.

Nearly 15 agents brought boxes inside the offices at about 7:30am local time, with a few of them eventually making their way into an underground parking garage across the way while searching for Mr Burkes vehicle.

The 74-year-old Democrat chairs the City Councils finance committee. Hes also a partner at a property-tax law firm. It was reported in June of this year that Mr Trump had stopped using Mr Burke as a consultant, with the alderman citing irreconcilable differences in letters filed with the Cook County courts and the Illinois State Property Tax Appeal Board.

It appeared the raid was coming to a close just after 1:00 pm, with the remaining agents exiting the offices through the back door just before 2:00 pm carrying a computer, two monitors and a cardboard file box, the Chicago Sun Times reported Thursday.

Mr Burkes family responded with shock and confusion to news of the raid, with the aldermans brother and state representative Dan Burke telling the Times he was confident of his siblings innocence no matter the cause.

Its shocking. I dont know what to think, he said Thursday. I dont have a clue. Any time there is this type of thing, where they come in and paper your windows, certainly thats a concern. But I know my brother. For his entire life and career hes been abiding by the law.

Mr Burkes wife, Ann Burke, who serves on the Illinois Supreme Court, was sworn into the top court the same day of the raid.

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The aldermans location at the time of the raid  as well as during his wifes swearing-in ceremony, which reportedly took place inside her offices  remained unclear as of Thursday afternoon.

Mr Burke has come under scrutiny in recent years for numerous business dealings throughout his tenure in office, including a $100m compensation fund for city workers that was operated our of his committee.

The states Inspector General was reportedly unable to look into those funds with transparency during an investigation into Mr Burke, as it was walled off from the watchdog offices.

A message left at Burkes ward office wasnt returned. There was no answer at his City Hall office. His law office declined comment. The White House also did not respond to requests for comment.

Additional reporting by AP.
Former English Defence League leader Tommy Robinson (PA)

A British MEP has warned far-right activist Tommy Robinson poses a potential security risk to the European parliament after being given a job by UKIP leader Gerard Batten.

Labours Seb Dance has raised concerns about Robinsons access to the parliament with the institutions president, Antonio Tajani.

It comes a week after Batten, an MEP for London since 2004, announced that he had appointed the English Defence League founder as an adviser on prison reform and rape gangs.

The decision was condemned by former UKIP leader Nigel Farage and triggered the defection of MEP Patrick OFlynn to the SDP.

MORE: UKIP has now lost 10 MEPs after Bours quietly left party

It has not been confirmed that Batten has used European funds to employ Robinson, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, however many in Brussels believe that is the case.

Dance has now asked Tajani to clarify whether Robinson will have access to the European parliament buildings in Brussels, Strasbourg and Luxembourg.

In a letter seen by Yahoo Finance UK, Dance writes: UKIP leader Gerard Batten MEP has appointed far-right activist Tommy Robinson as an adviser.

European parliament rules specify that accredited parliamentary assistants and officials of the European parliament must submit a criminal record check to the recruitment services in order to secure their employment.

UKIP leader Gerard Batten speaking at a free Tommy protest (Getty)

However, it remains unclear whether a criminal record check is required for local assistants in a member state (in this case the United Kingdom).

If it the case that local assistants do not require a criminal record check, the question is raised whether Mr Robinson would be allowed access to the European parliament buildings, considering the potential security risk that his presence might cause.

As President of the European parliament, would you be able to provide clarity on the security requirements of local assistants in access to parliament buildings in all three places of work?

Robinson was sentenced to 18 months in prison for mortgage fraud in 2014 and 10 months in 2013 for using someone elses passport to travel to the US.

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MORE: EXCLUSIVE  UK MEPs will keep expenses for three months after Brexit at 400,000 cost

In May, the 35-year-old was jailed for 13-months for contempt of court, but that conviction has since been quashed and the case referred to the attorney general.

Batten spoke in support of Robinson at free Tommy protests outside the Old Bailey. And the UKIP leader has defended his decision to employ Robinson, saying that he has only minor convictions and deserves a second chance.

I think hes a good person to have on side, a lot of people respect his stand on things and his courage, Batten told the BBC.

However, Farage accused Batten of taking UKIP in a shameful direction by employing Robinson and OFlynn said it had been a distraction from the partys work on Brexit.




Elon Musk will not be smoking cannabis in public again, the boss of Nasa has assured the public, amid concern about the SpaceX boss's behaviour.

Nasa administrator Jim Bridenstine has said that Mr Musk has promised not to repeat a moment where he smoked a joint and drank whisky on a comedian's podcast.

That incident caused consternation across the space industry, because Mr Musk's rocket company SpaceX is expected to soon begin carrying US astronauts on its rockets. His behaviour had led to worries about whether he was responsible enough to lead an organisation that will take US astronauts to space for the first time in years.

I will tell you that was not helpful, and that did not inspire confidence, and the leaders of these organisations need to take that as an example of what to do when you lead an organisation thats going to launch American astronauts, Mr Bridenstine told reporters at Nasa headquarters, according to a report in The Atlantic.

Those concerns led Mr Bridenstine to personally launch a safety review of the private companies involved in space missions. The contract to take US astronauts back into space is worth nearly $7 billion, and includes stipulations that the staff working on it remain drug and alcohol free.

As well as SpaceX, the process will look at the culture at Boeing. Together, those two companies are planning to begin the first launches with American astronauts from the US since the Space Shuttle programme finished in 2011.

The reviews are necessary to ensure that the companies are able to keep astronauts safe when they head into space, the Nasa chief said. As well as the drink and drugs concerns, Mr Musk raised worries when he talked publicly about working long hours and feeling under intense stress at his other job as the leader of electric car company Tesla.

The reviews had already been considered before Mr Musk very publicly smoked a joint as part of the Joe Rogan podcast, Mr Bridenstine said. But it highlighted an issue of concern to the space agency and Mr Musk has committed not to behave that way in the future, he said.

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They were launched in part because of several failed Nasa missions that led to the deaths of the astronauts involved. Incidents such as the Apollo 1 fire and two disasters involving Space Shuttles led him to want to make sure that the culture at Nasa and the private companies it works with was set up to ensure its astronauts stayed safe, he said.

Rather than waiting untilwe dont believe theres going to be an incident, but if there is an incidentrather than waiting until theres an incident, we do a cultural assessment of our contractors [now], Bridenstine said, according to The Atlantic. We want to get ahead of it. We want to see, right now, today, are they experiencing pressure from schedule, are they experiencing pressure from cost, and are those concerns challenging their thought process in a way that could be dangerous?
Residents were ordered to evacuate some areas near burn scars in Riverside County, east of San Fransisco in California, on November 27, as approaching storms posed risks of mud and debris flows.

Flood warnings were issued in areas across California as heavy snow and rain were expected until Friday, November 30, AccuWeather reported.

This footage was taken at the Marin County Sheriffs main office in San Rafael, California, on the morning of November 29. Credit: Marin County Sheriff via Storyful
Caitlin Miron has found something huge: She was honoured for discovering a chemical compound with the ability to prevent cancer growth, but it could also have significant applications in halting the spread of HIV, too. In an exclusive interview with Yahoo Canada News, the Ontario PhD student revealed why her discovery could be more far-reaching  for everything from HIV to Zika  than originally reported.



There is also a quadruplex forming sequence in an area of HIV thats responsible for infection of a human host, Caitlin Miron, the PhD student at Queens University, Department of Chemistry who identified the compound said to Yahoo Canada News.

Mirons research starts with the study of DNA. Most people have likely seen the double helix model of DNA but in our cells, to access the information in that double helix, the DNA has to become temporarily single-stranded.

Miron uses a necklace as an analogy for how single-stranded DNA functions. The strand of DNA is the chain of the necklace and then beads, or cellular machinery that reads and processes DNA to make proteins, are able to move freely along that chain.

They can keep doing that until they come to a knot, Miron said. Usually the cell has a way to unravel that knot but if somebodys gone there first and used superglue on that knot,it is basically a permanent object and its a barrier so the beads cant get passed it.





The knot is an unusual fold of DNA, a guanine quadruplex or G4, and the newly discovered compound is that superglue that stabilizes the unusual architecture and blocks access to specific sections that come after it.

According to Miron, in the last ten years, research and advances in bioinformatics has show that a number of these knots can form directly in front of oncogenes, sections of DNA that if processed make proteins that contribute to cancer development and metastasis, which is the term used to describe cancer that spreads to a different part of the body from where it began.

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If we can block that process from happening, then maybe were going to be able to prevent certain aspects of cancer development or metastasis, Miron said.

Through Mirons research, it has also been discovered that this compounds affects could move beyond cancer treatment.

These knots are also known to form in a lot of different viruses, the Zika virus has one, so there are applications outside of cancer treatment, Miron said.

In terms of the possible use in cancer treatment in particular, Miron says that there are different knots in different quadruplexes, some of which can be associated with most cancers and some that are more specific.

At least one of [the knots] that leads to cancer cell immortality, that ability to continue dividing over and over again, is associate with about 85 per cent of cancers, Miron said. There is a little bit of potential specificity in there but it may also be something that could be broad spectrum, we dont know at this point.

Incredible news in the field of cancer research this week  congratulations to the Canadian PhD student Caitlin Miron for her groundbreaking work!  Justin Trudeau (@JustinTrudeau) November 24, 2017

Beginning her research

The Ottawa native started her journey with Dr. Anne Petitjean at her lab at Queens University. Morin began volunteering over the course of her undergraduate degree, initially in biochemistry but switching to chemistry after loving her time in the lab. She was initially drawn to the study of DNA in high school, which continued to motivate her research interests throughout her undergraduate degree and into her PhD.

A significant turning point in Mirons research occurred when the PhD student received scholarships from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) and Mitacs Globalink as travel supplements to study her compounds from the Petitjean lab in Kingston, Ontario at the European Institute of Chemistry and Biology (IECB) in Bordeaux, France, under the supervision of Dr. Jean-Louis Mergny.

Dr. Jean-Louis Mergny is probably one of the top researchers in the field of guanine quadruplex recognition, Miron said. Theyve pioneered this kind of high throughput screening platform that you can test a very large number of compounds to generate hits.

When Miron arrived at the IECB, she did not have extensive experience with Mergnys particular study of G4 and she had to learn a lot in the field, using the chemical compounds she brought over from Queens University.

It wasnt a field of research that we werent particularly based in so I had very little experience with the techniques that I was going to have to learn and the field itself, Miron said. It was mostly a matter of just getting there and diving in and asking questions and going from expert to expert with my compounds.

Current status and future plans

At this point in the discovery, the provisional patent has been filed and publishing these findings would be the next step in the process. It could take a year before the formal patent is filed and additional research is required before it could be formally introduced to the medical industry.

We are trying to think about how can we make these compounds more targeted to cancer cells, how can we improve their entrance through a cell membrane into a cell, all those things for biocompatibility, that will be important down the line for pharmaceuticals, Miron said.

With this great success in research and significant notoriety, Miron has been wrapping up the work she has done with the Petitjean lab and the IECB, and is also focusing on bringing the techniques that she learned in France to Queens University. The PhD student was honoured to be recognized for the 2017 Mitacs Award for Outstanding Innovation, calling the whole process and subsequent acknowledgment from Kirsty Duncan, Minister of Science and Navdeep Bains, Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development, an emotional experience.

Its a nice validation of the importance of the research and our progress in moving it forward, Miron said.

As she continues to advance in her career, Miron has her mind set on working in industry versus academia, and is also interested in expanding her scope of research as she plans to move into a post-doctoral program, possibly even leaving her compound discovery behind for others at the Petitjean lab to continue.

I would like to see where it goes but at the same time, if the last four years have taught me anything its that I also really like learning new things, and exploring new fields and getting that kind of multidisciplinary research, Miron said. I would like to stay in health applications but I dont think I would limit myself to just cancer research, Im definitely interested in looking at other things as well.
By Dmitry Zhdannikov and Olesya Astakhova LONDON/MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia is becoming increasingly convinced it needs to reduce oil output in tandem with OPEC but is still bargaining with the producer group's leader, Saudi Arabia, over the timing and volume of any reduction, two industry sources told Reuters. The Russian Energy Ministry held a meeting with the heads of domestic oil producers on Tuesday, ahead of a gathering in Vienna of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies on Dec. 6-7. "The idea at the meeting was that Russia needs to reduce. The key question is how quickly and by how much," said one source familiar with the talks between Russian oil firms and the ministry. "Most people agreed that we cannot reduce immediately, it needs to be a gradual process like last time," said the source, who asked not to be identified as he is forbidden from speaking to the media. The Energy Ministry declined to comment. Russian oil companies Rosneft and Gazprom Neft declined to comment. Lukoil , Tatneft , Surgutneftegas, Gazprom and Novatek did not immediately respond to a request for comment. OPEC and its allies led by Russia have been restraining production under a pact reached in late 2016 to prop up oil prices. Moscow agreed to curb output by 300,000 barrels per day, or one sixth of the overall cut of 1.8 million bpd, but Russian companies took several months to reach that level of reduction. Now, Riyadh has suggested OPEC and its allies reduce output by 1 million bpd from January 2019 to arrest a price decline as Brent crude fell below $59 a barrel this week from as high as $85 in October due to concerns about a possible glut. If Russia bore the same proportion of such cuts as it did under the existing agreement, its share of the reduction would amount to 166,000 bpd. "It was also said that reducing by one sixth this time is a big ask," the source said. A second source briefed on the discussions said: "We need to reduce but would not want to reduce by much." OPEC and its allies will be meeting amid concerns over a slowing global economy and rising oil supplies from the United States, which is not involved in the existing pact. Saudi Arabia is coming under renewed pressure from U.S. President Donald Trump, who has asked the kingdom to refrain from output reductions and help to lower oil prices further. Possibly complicating any decision at next week's talks is the crisis around the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul last month. Trump has backed Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman despite calls from many U.S. politicians to impose stiff sanctions on Riyadh. Russian President Vladimir Putin will meet Prince Mohammed in Argentina at this weekend's G20 summit, which Trump is also to attend. Moscow has so far not committed to any new production cuts. On Wednesday, Putin said Russia was in touch with OPEC but Moscow would be satisfied with an oil price of $60 a barrel. Putin previously said Russia would be content with oil at $70. "We are in contact with OPEC and we are ready to continue our joint efforts if needed," Putin said. Saudi Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih said on Wednesday the kingdom would not cut oil output on its own. "We generally have our reservations about the likelihood of a 2016-style cooperation this time around, though the Russian position will undoubtedly be crucial," JBC Energy think-tank said in a note. (Editing by Dale Hudson)
President Trumps trip to the G-20 meeting in Argentina may be called Lets Make a Deal. He is supposed to meet with Chinese President Xi Jingping Saturday for dinner, and analysts expect the President to discuss the current trade standoff with Xi.

Height Capital Markets Vice President Clayton Allens most recent note on the G-20 tells clients he believes the President is willing to negotiate now more than at any other period in the trade dispute despite recent threats from Trump to escalate it. Allen calls it one of Trumps negotiating tactics, the use of last-minute threats as a way to ramp up pressure immediately before a meeting.

But Allen doubts there will be any detailed settlement negotiated to end the trade dispute writing, We still expect the best possible result this weekend will be a temporary pause in tariffs, including the remaining $267 billion in Chinese imports

Trump has threatened to raise the existing 10% tariff on $250 Billion of imported Chinese goods to 25% in January if the countries fail to end the dispute with the threat of new tariffs on an additional $267 billion of goods not currently subject to tariffs. Allen predicts the new tariffs will be applied in stages rather than all at once if Saturdays meeting between Xi and Trump fails to produce at the very least a pause in the dispute.

President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping shake hands during a joint statement to members of the media Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China in 2017. (Photo: Andrew Harnik/AP)

But one noted China expert hopes there is no temporary pause or for that matter any deal.

We are bleeding technology and so the pain and the cost to the US to actually entering into a deal is far greater than not dealing with them, said Gordon Chang, author of the Coming Collapse of China.

Chang told Yahoo Finance there is enormous pressure on Xi that makes it difficult for the Chinese leader to deal with the United States in good faith.

He owns this trade struggle with the US and if he doesnt prevail he will be blamed by his opponents. He has no incentive to compromise Chang said.

But Height Capitals Allen points out that President Trump celebrates his public persona as a master dealmaker. Allen says it may be more important for the President to announce a deal without details in order to save face. Allen cites the rollout of the deals with North Korea and the EU which, ..are more accurately described as ongoing talks. According to Allen, President Trump will most likely announce a deal with Xi that keeps open the possibility of additional talks, promises additional purchase of US goods but ultimately doesnt force any immediate changes.



Adam Shapiro is an anchor for Yahoo Finance. Follow him on Twitter @ajshaps.

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Lagos (AFP) - Several high-profile figures in Nigeria, including a former government minister, have claimed that President Muhammadu Buhari has died and been replaced by a lookalike from Sudan.

Tweets, Facebook posts and YouTube videos repeating claims that the leader of Africa's most populous nation is an imposter called "Jubril" have been shared and viewed over 500,000 times.

But there is no evidence to back up the claim and the government has not commented.

- What are we verifying? -

Former military ruler Buhari, 75, has made several trips to London for medical treatment since mid-2016. Initially, the presidency claimed he had a "persistent ear infection".

But concern mounted from early last year about his prolonged absences, prompting speculation the condition was more serious and might affect his ability to stay in power.

A lack of information about the exact nature of his illness, his gaunt features and a reduction in public appearances have fed speculation about his well-being.

Claims about Buhari's identity emerged a month after Buhari returned from another lengthy medical trip to the British capital.

The earliest online mention of the claim found by AFP was in a video posted by Twitter user @sam_ezeh on September 3, 2017.

The video has since been shared more than 5,000 times on Facebook and Twitter.

In it, the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) movement, Nnamdi Kanu, speaks to his supporters and says Buhari had actually died.

"The man you are looking at in the television is not Buhari... His name is Jubril, he's from Sudan. After extensive surgery they brought him back," he says.

In separate broadcasts on the outlawed pirate radio station Radio Biafra, Kanu has called Buhari "Jubril Al-Sudani".

But on each occasion, he gave no evidence for the claim.

The IPOB leader is a fervent critic of Buhari and the Nigerian government. His movement wants a separate independent state for the Igbo people who dominate southeast Nigeria.

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Despite the lack of evidence, the claim has been picked up by other opponents of Buhari, who in February next year is seeking a second, four-year term of office.

On April 5, 2018, Femi Fani-Kayode, a former government special advisor and minister under president Olusegun Obasanjo, repeated the claim on Twitter (1).

A similar post on his Facebook page was shared more than 400 times. Press releases and statements by IPOB and its sympathisers have repeated the claim (2).

The rumour appears to have been fuelled further by a real-life event in May this year, when a Nigerian diplomat -- Habibu Almu -- was found dead in the Sudanese capital, Khartoum.

Nigeria's foreign ministry said on May 14 that Almu had been "stabbed to death" and that a Sudanese woman of Nigerian origin had been arrested.

Sudanese police said the killing did not appear to be politically motivated but Kanu and others have claimed the death was linked to an apparent cover-up of Buhari's death (3).

Buhari's appearance has come under scrutiny in many posts. One post compares Buhari apparently writing with his right hand in one photograph and his left in another.

But analysis indicates the image of the right-handed Buhari had been reversed.

One video even speculates on how a dead Buhari could have been operated on to transfer his appearance to "Jubril from Sudan", showing a scene from the 1997 film "Face/Off" (4).

- What conclusion can we draw? -

The rumour has been stoked by Buhari's illness, which saw him receive treatment abroad for a large part of 2017, and the killing of a Nigerian diplomat in Khartoum earlier this year.

Those pushing the claim are known critics of Buhari and his government but have provided no concrete evidence to back up their assertion.

(1)https://web.archive.org/web/20181130090829/https://twitter.com/chimbiko_jerome/status/904380366328389632

(2)http://archive.is/rsSUS

(3)https://web.archive.org/web/20181130091145/https://twitter.com/MaziNnamdiKanu/status/1064273290422886400

(4)http://archive.is/mfzRp
The 21-year-old has since been sacked (PA)

A fake paramedic who is believed to have responded to 999 calls and treated more than 100 patients is now the subject of a police investigation.

The Evening Standard reports that the 21-year-old man has been sacked by London Ambulance Service (LAS), having gone rogue after failing his paramedic exams.

Most of the incidents occurred in July and the man was arrested in September.

Details came to light this week following publication of LAS latest serious incidents report.

The Met Police said in a statement: The 21-year-old was arrested on suspicion of fraud, burglary, theft by employee, assault by beating, dangerous driving, driving otherwise in accordance of license, and driving without insurance.

He was taken into custody at a south London police station and later released under investigation. Inquiries are ongoing.

MORE: Top private girls school asks parents to sign pledge to curb phone use

MORE: Pregnant woman gets two months in jail for stealing Pringles

A spokeswoman for LAS told the Evening Standard: As soon as we became aware of the activities of this individual, we initiated a full internal investigation, informed the police and contacted patients affected. The individuals employment with us was also immediately ended.

Following our investigation, we have improved, and will continue to improve, our security, systems and processes.

Watch the latest videos from Yahoo UK
PUTRAJAYA, Malaysia (AP)  Relatives of people aboard Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 that disappeared four years ago presented five pieces of possible plane debris to the government on Friday and called for a renewed search for the missing jet.

The Boeing 777 jet vanished with 239 people aboard while flying from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing on March 8, 2014. So far only fragments have washed ashore, and two massive ocean searches have been called off.

Grace Nathan, whose mother Anne Daisy was on the flight, said the new debris was found by villagers in Madagascar over the past two years as part of a privately funded search. She said one of the pieces has a readable label and is believed to be a floor panel from the plane.

She urged the government to find more plane debris that could be either buried in sand or floating in waters off Africa to help shed light on one of aviation's greatest mysteries. She also said many private companies are willing to help find the jet on a "no cure, no fee" basis.

"Why should we turn a blind eye to evidence washing up on the shores? It should be looked at as a jigsaw puzzle. The more we have, the more we can learn," she said. "I think the government should be more open to allow (private companies) to continue to search."

Nathan and a few other relatives in the Voice 370 group representing families of those on the plane handed over the debris to Transport Minister Anthony Loke.

Loke said the debris will be verified by investigators but the government is only open to continuing the search if there is credible evidence of the plane's location.

American wreckage hunter Blaine Gibson said the debris has been inspected by independent experts, who believe it is from a Boeing 777 plane. The piece that may be a floor panel indicates the plane may have shattered on impact and that there is no intact fuselage underwater, he said.

Malaysia signed a "no cure, no fee" deal with U.S.-based Ocean Infinity in January to resume the hunt for the plane, a year after the official search of the southern Indian Ocean by Australia, Malaysia and China was called off. But the second search was halted at the end of May after it found nothing.

A Malaysian-led independent investigation report released in July highlighted shortcomings in the government's response to the plane's disappearance, including lapses by air traffic control and a failure to swiftly initiate an emergency response and monitor radar continuously. It also raised the possibility of "intervention by a third party" and reiterated Malaysia's assertion the plane was deliberately diverted and flown for over seven hours after severing communications.

The report said there was insufficient information to determine if the aircraft broke up in the air or during an impact with the ocean.
Retiring senator Jeff Flake acknowledged on Friday that he would not be holding up President Trumps judicial nominees if he was worried about being reelected.

Flake, who announced his retirement in October after several ugly clashes with Trump, has vowed to oppose the presidents judicial nominees until he gets a vote on a bill to protect Special Counsel Robert Mueller from being fired. On Thursday, he halted the progress of 21 judicial picks in the Judiciary Committee and stopped another nominee on the Senate floor.

The bill would allow Mueller to challenge a firing and require a Senate-confirmed official to fire him.

Confirming judges is important, Flake said in a CNN interview. But we need to protect the special counsel. . . . This has to be priority now. You have to take a stand.

I have leverage because we have a narrow majority on the Judiciary Committee and so Im using it, he added. You use leverage to get votes to the floor that should be on the floor.

When asked whether hed have been able to use that leverage if he werent retiring, the Arizona Republican said, Probably not, but its not that it shouldnt be done. I just felt that it was important to do.

Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell said this week that he probably would block another effort to force a vote on the Mueller bill, and called it a solution in search of a problem. Republicans have already blocked a vote on the bill twice this month.

I dont think that was a smart move, said Republican senator Orrin Hatch of Flakes tactics. Its starting to irritate people. . . . Hes a good guy. But I think hes carrying it a little bit far. Senator Ted Cruz concurred that Flakes strategy was not productive.

We dont want to provoke a Constitutional crisis, Flake said. I think its for the good of the country, I really do.
Mike Lynch, former CEO of Autonomy. Photo: Chris Ratcliffe/Bloomberg via Getty Images

The former Autonomy CEO Michael Lynch and ex-finance executive Stephen Chamberlain have been charged with fraud, related to its 2011 sale to Hewlett-Packard (HPQ), by US authorities.

Lynch and Chamberlain have been accused of artificially increasing reported sales numbers in order to meet targets that secured them performance bonuses. Figures were also allegedly presented to portray Autonomy as a money-making software business. The areas affected allegedly include revenues, costs and growth.

Speaking to the Financial Times, Lynchs lawyers described bringing a business dispute over British account standards to a criminal court as a travesty of justice.

Chris Morvillo of Clifford Chance and Reid Weingarten of Steptoe & Johnson continued: HP has sought to blame Autonomy for its own crippling errors, and has falsely accused Mike Lynch to cover its own tracks.

Mike Lynch will not be a scapegoat for their failures. He has done nothing wrong and will vigorously defend the charges against him.

It is claimed that Lynch and Chamberlain booked sales early, lied to auditors and regulators, and backdating agreements. They also allegedly portrayed the business as a software company when it was essentially a hardware vendor.

HP bought Autonomy for around $11bn (8.6bn) in 2011. In 2012 the US tech company complained that financial figures and performances had been exaggerated, and wrote down the companys value by $8.8bn. The recriminations between Lynch and HP have led to several lawsuits between the parties.

READ MORE: German drugs giant Bayer to cut 12,000 jobs worldwide

In April 2018, Autonomys former chief financial officer Sushovan Hussain was found guilty of fraud, altering figures in order to make the company an attractive takeover target for HP.

Charges filed in California posted online argue that as Lynch headed up the company as chief executive, he was responsible for validating the companys accounts and for information given to shareholders. Chamberlain is also held responsible for overseeing Autonomys figures. The document accuses the pair of a scheme to defraud shareholders and of intimidating or paying off potential whistleblowers.

If found guilty of the 14 charges they face, they could face 20 years in jail, and Lynch has been told to pay back $815m from the proceeds of the take over. Chamberlain has been given a demand for $4m. HP are arguing for reparations of $5bn from Hussain and Lynch, in case to be heard in Britain in 2019.
Paris (AFP) - France's parliament on Tuesday adopted a largely symbolic ban on parents smacking their children, a practice which though condemned by the UN still enjoys widespread support in the country.

The measure was unanimously approved in a final vote in the Senate, making France the 55th state to prohibit corporal punishment of children.

It will be written into the Civil Code and read out to couples when they exchange their marital vows, with newly-weds told that "parental authority is exercised without physical or psychological violence".

The measure, which was adopted by MPs in November, had been expected to easily pass the Senate despite some lawmakers on the right railing against what they see as "interference" in family life.

Violence towards children is already banned under France's penal code, but a 19th-century addendum to the Civil Code's definition of parental authority made allowances for parents when "disciplining" their children.

According to France's Childhood Foundation, 85 percent of French parents admit to smacking their children.

Attempts by previous governments to ban the practice have run afoul of conservatives, but resistance has softened in recent years.

The new law does not contain a specific punishment for parents who break the rules.

Its main goal is to encourage society to change its ways, Maud Petit, the MP who sponsored the measure, said.

The legislation brings France in line with international treaties on the rights of children.

In 2015, the Council of Europe, which makes recommendations on rights, singled out France for failing to follow the example of other European countries by banning smacking.

A year later, the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child urged France to "explicitly prohibit" all forms of corporal punishment of children.
BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP)  France says it wants more "transparency" from Japan about an investigation into Carlos Ghosn, head of Japanese carmaker Nissan and French automaker Renault.

French President Emmanuel Macron discussed the probe Friday with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on the sidelines of the Group of 20 summit in Buenos Aires.

Macron's office says he insisted on the importance to France of maintaining the alliance. Both leaders noted that the Japanese judicial procedure needs to run its course.

A French official said France wants more transparency from Japan about the investigation. The official wasn't authorized to be publicly named under government policy.

France's government owns 15 percent of Renault, whose shares fell after Ghosn's arrest Nov. 19.

He is suspected of falsifying financial statements and underreporting income. He has not commented publicly.
The G20 Summit in Argentina kicked off with world leaders huddling on the sidelines to discuss their response to the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was seen discussing the death with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman, who appeared to be ignored during the groups official family photo portrait session.

Meanwhile, confusion remains over whether Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin will meet during the summit.

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The president kicked off Friday morning with a series of angry tweets after the White House reaffirmed he had cancelled an expected discussion with Mr Putin, despite the Kremlin claiming otherwise.

Oh, I get it! I am a very good developer, happily living my life, when I see our Country going in the wrong direction (to put it mildly). Against all odds, I decide to run for President & continue to run my business-very legal & very cool, talked about it on the campaign trail..., he tweeted.

....Lightly looked at doing a building somewhere in Russia. Put up zero money, zero guarantees and didnt do the project. Witch Hunt!

Reports suggest Mr Trump is in a terrible mood and completely distracted as he headed to the event.

The president responded to news of Mr Cohens plea deal by saying he was a weak person and not a very smart person.

Mr Trump will be having a number of meetings at the summit in Buenos Aires starting the day at 6.50am local time and finishing 10.10pm. He said on Thursday he had cancelled a meeting with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, due to the countrys conflict with Ukraine.

The president has downgraded a number of his bilateral meetings as he feels theres nothing in them for him, according to CNN.

Issues such as the trade war between the US and China and the conflict over Ukraine are likely to dominate the agenda.

Ahead of the summit Mr Trump said current tariff levels on Chinese imports would rise as planned.

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The summit is being held in South America for the first time and Michael Shifter, head of the Inter-American Dialogue, a Washington-based think tank, said G20 summits wer once considered an opportunity for Latin American members Argentina, Brazil and Mexico to shape the global agenda.

That turned out to be a fleeting aspiration, Mr Shifter said.

...Argentine president Mauricio Macri, the summits host, has lowered expectations. ... Now a success would be a summit meeting that goes smoothly, without any major disruption.
Ottawa (AFP) - G7 nations on Friday called Russia's seizure of three Ukrainian ships off Moscow-annexed Crimea unjustified and demanded the release of the 24 sailors, saying the standoff had "dangerously raised tensions."

The foreign ministers of Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, and the US, as well as the EU's high representative called on Russia "to release the detained crew and vessels and refrain from impeding lawful passage through the Kerch Strait."

In a joint statement issued by Canada, which currently holds the rotating G7 presidency, they expressed their "utmost concern" and warned that the incident has "dangerously raised tensions" in the region.

"There is no justification for Russia's use of military force against Ukrainian ships and naval personnel," it read.

Ukraine put its forces on alert and imposed martial law in its border regions after the sea confrontation last Sunday, which was the first open military confrontation between Kiev and Moscow since Russia's annexation of Crimea in 2014.

That year saw the start of an armed conflict in eastern Ukraine between government forces and Russian-backed separatists that has claimed more than 10,000 lives.

According to their lawyer, Russia has transferred the Ukrainian sailors -- sentenced to two months of detention -- from Crimea to Moscow.

The Group of Seven industrialized nations urged "restraint, due respect for international law, and the prevention of any further escalation."

At the same time, the group reiterated that it "does not, and will never, recognize Russia's illegal annexation of the Crimean peninsula" while reaffirming its "unwavering support for Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity."
A gas leak caused an explosion this week that killed 23 people in a northern Chinese city that will host part of the 2022 Winter Olympics, authorities said Friday.

The blast in the small hours of Wednesday in the city of Zhangjiakou, some 200 kilometres (125 miles) northwest of Beijing, also injured 22 people.

"Initial investigations have shown that the explosion was caused by a gas leak from the Hebei Shenghua Chemical Co. of ChemChina," Zhangjiakou mayor Wu Weidong told reporters.

"Vinyl chloride spread to the public road outside the factory and was ignited by an open flame."

Fifteen people from the company are now in police custody, city authorities said through their official WeChat account later Friday evening.

Authorities previously reported that a truck carrying combustible chemicals had blown up while entering a factory, igniting other nearby vehicles, but the cause of the explosion had not been known until now.

Thirty-eight trucks and 12 cars were also damaged in the explosion, which eyewitnesses say created a huge fireball that engulfed vehicles on an entire stretch of road.

The explosion occurred in the city's Qiaodong district some 45 minutes away from Chongli, which will host some of the mountain sport competitions during the 2022 Winter Games in Beijing.

Industrial accidents are common in China, where safety regulations are often poorly enforced.

In 2015, giant chemical blasts in a container storage facility killed at least 165 people in the northern port city of Tianjin.
He Jiankui is reflected in a glass panel as he works at a computer at a laboratory in Shenzhen in southern China's Guangdong province - AP

A Chinese government official has declared the research of scientist He Jiankui, who said he created the worlds first gene-edited babies, a violation of Chinese law, and called for all related work to be halted.

The genetically edited infant incident reported by media blatantly violated Chinas relevant laws and regulations, Xu Nanping, a vice-minister for science and technology, told Chinese state broadcaster CCTV Thursday evening. It has also violated the ethical bottom line that the academic community adheres to. It is shocking and unacceptable.

Earlier this week, national and local authorities said investigations had been launched into Mr Hes work and conduct after videos and interviews from him and his lab were published on Youtube, and by two prominent Western media outlets.

The shocking claims have yet to be independently verified by experts and published in a journal, though if true, would represent a monumental leap in biomedical research.

Mr He spoke Wednesday in Hong Kong, defending his work at a global industry summit and describing years of secret, self-funded research. He also revealed a second woman was potentially pregnant as a result of his work, though had suspended further work at the moment given international outcry over the disclosure of his research.

So far, hes claimed to have produced two gene-edited baby girls, dubbed Lulu and Nana, whose DNA was altered to be more resistant to HIV.

All couples he recruited for this study had an HIV-positive father, and a non-infected mother. By using a method called Crispr-Cas9, Mr He was able to target specific blocks of DNA with pinpoint precision.

While the technology to change DNA has existed for decades, it has improved vastly in recent years allowing scientists to make very targeted changes. Still, that practice is surrounded by intense ethical debate, questions on the regulation of safety and is governed by laws in some countries; in the UK, it is illegal to gene edit human embryos over 14 days old.

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In China, where scientists have forged ahead with astonishing speed, regulations are still catching up.

Globally speaking, the field is so new and cutting edge that experts simply dont know the full impact and risk involved for a gene edited embryo as it develops into adulthood, and how changed DNA might pass into future generations.

In the future, such technology could be used to eradicate inherited illnesses, but it could also pave the way for designer babies engineered to have certain traits like hair colour or intelligence.

After news of Mr Hes work came to light earlier this week, Chinese scientists were quick to denounce it, as was his institution, the Southern University of Science and Technology in Shenzhen. Then university has said it wasnt involved in the study, though documents available online about the work included the name of the institution.

US professor Michael Deem is also now under investigation by his institution, Rice University, for his involvement in Mr Hes research. Mr Deem advised Mr Hes graduate work at the university.

A non-governmental HIV/AIDS organisation, Baihaulin, has acknowledged that it helped Mr He spread the word to recruit participants for his trials, according to state media. Bai Hua, the founder of the group, hung up on repeated calls from the Telegraph on Thursday for comment.
President Trumps description of the discussions surrounding the building of a Trump Tower in Moscow, which he provided to Special Counsel Robert Mueller last week, align with Michael Cohens account of those conversations, Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani told the New York Times Thursday.

Cohen, Trumps former personal attorney, plead guilty Thursday to lying to Congress about the timing of discussions related to the Moscow development and Trumps involvement in those conversations. Cohen testified before the Senate Intelligence Committee in August that the Moscow Trump Tower project fell through in early 2016 but admitted as part of his plea agreement that discussions of the project, which involved Trump personally, extended until at least June of that year.

Cohens plea came just days after Trump submitted written responses to Muellers questions following a protracted period of negotiation over the scope of the questions he would answer. Some of the questions pertained to the Moscow Trump Tower project, prompting speculation that Mueller attempted to catch the president in a perjury trap by having him place his version of events on the record only to have Cohen contradict that account in his guilty plea.

Giuliani, however, maintains that Trumps answers to the questions pertaining to the Moscow development are entirely consistent with the account Cohen provided Thursday morning.

The president said there was a proposal, it was discussed with Cohen, there was a nonbinding letter of intent, and it didnt go beyond that, Giuliani told the Times.

Cohen also admitted Thursday that he was motivated to mislead Congress in order to avoid contradicting Trumps repeated claim, made during and after the 2016 presidential campaign, that he did not have any commercial interests in Russia.

I was aware of Individual 1s [Trumps] repeated disavowals of commercial and political ties between himself and Russia, his repeated statements that investigations of such ties were politically motivated and without evidence, and that any contact with Russian nationals by Individual 1s campaign or the Trump Organization had all terminated before the Iowa Caucus, which was on February 1 of 2016, Cohen told the judge.

Asked about Cohens account of the discussions surrounding Trump Tower Moscow, the president accused Cohen of lying, prompting speculation that his written responses to Mueller would contradict Cohens account.

So hes lying very simply in order to get a reduced sentence, O.K.? Trump told reporters before embarking on a trip to Buenos Aires for the G-20 summit.
Fraudster Abdelkarim Rekaya (PA)

A man who pretended to be a victim of the Grenfell Tower disaster, committing a fraud of nearly 90,000, has been jailed.

Abdelkarim Rekaya enjoyed 209 nights in a four-star hotel, before being provided with a flat in Chelsea in the year after the fire.

The short-haired and bearded 28-year-old kept his head bowed as he was sentenced at Isleworth Crown Court to four years and six months in prison.

Rekaya is the latest in a string of fraudsters to be sentenced in relation to the disaster which struck in June 2017 and killed 72.

So far, 13 people have been convicted in separate cases, with a total of more than 630,000 in bogus claims for money that was meant for those whose lives had been devastated.

The Grenfell Tower fire killed 72 people (PA)

Rekaya, from Tunisia, pleaded guilty at the same court in September to fraud by false representation and obtaining leave to remain by deception. He came to the UK in 2008.

You decided to use the situation to your personal advantage, to enrich yourself dishonestly, by plundering the public funds put aside to assist the genuine victims of that disaster in their hour of need, said Judge Giles Curtis-Raleigh said.

As well as fraudulently claiming accommodation, Rekaya was also granted 12 months leave to remain in the UK in November last year, through the Grenfell Tower survivors policy.

Of this the judge told him: You chose to exploit a national tragedy to improve your position.

Prosecutor Catherine Farrelly told the court that Rekaya had claimed to be sleeping rough in the tower on the night of the blaze and had said he managed to escape through the front door.

Ms Farrelly said: This was a complete and utter lie.

MORE: Top private girls school asks parents to sign pledge to curb phone use

MORE: Pregnant woman gets two months in jail for stealing Pringles

Hotel costs came to more than 60,000, while the cost to cover the studio flat in Lots Road, Chelsea, between January this year and his arrest in June amounted to almost 3,000, she said.

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Police said the total cost for the flat amounted to 15,895.77 including furniture, electrical goods and bills.

People on a silent walk earlier this year to commemorate the one year anniversary of the disaster (PA)

After taking into account utilities and other allowances including travel costs, the total cost to the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea amounted to 88,183.70.

Rekaya was jailed for four years for fraud and a further six months for the second charge relating to his right to remain in the UK.

Mitigating, Anthony Metzer QC said his client had had a difficult life and fled Tunisia after being kidnapped and beaten up there.

Bellal Elguenuni, who the court heard had lived in Grenfell Tower for around 10 years, said such crimes had stalled the fight for justice.

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World leaders descend on Buenos Aires this weekend for the G-20 summit, with Russias seizure of Ukrainian sailors, the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, and Britains impending exit from the E.U. all high on the agenda.

But while substantial progress is not expected on these issues in the Argentine capital  the G-20 is oft-derided as a costly talking shop  many hope for meaningful headway on one burning issue: the escalating trade war between China and the U.S.

Chinese President Xi Jinping is expected to sit down with U.S. President Donald Trump on the G-20 sidelines with hopes for a negotiated resolution to the hiked tariffs hes put on $250 billion Chinese imports.

Trump has also threatened tariffs on $267 billion of other Chinese exports while Beijing has responded with $110 billion of its own tariffs on U.S. products, with the tumult upsetting global supply chains and imperiling economies across the globe.

It got bigger than anyone thought it was going to get, says Jeffrey Towson, a private-equity investor and business professor at Peking University. Trump has shown his hand, that hes willing to take it to a more serious level. China hasnt really given an indication that theyre going to match that or try something else.

Although this month Trump indicated that a deal could be struck, his administration has also accused China of not improving unfair practices in an update to a March report.

Read more: Farmers Know Trumps Trade War Is Hurting Them

Trump has long said that intellectual property theft, currency manipulation and aluminum and steel dumping by Beijing contribute to a record $375 billion trade deficit. Theres little sign that the tariffs are correcting that, however, with Chinas monthly trade surplus rising to an unprecedented $34 billion in September.

Nevertheless, analysts are skeptical that any deal could be thrashed out. China appears willing to renegotiate certain aspects of policy, such as boosted IP protection and cyber security regulations, as well as increased market access to bring it into line with WTO rules.

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But Trump has repeatedly said he wants to bring down the trade imbalance by a whopping $200 billion, which would require China imposing artificial limits to trade. Not only is this highly problematic for the worlds largest trading nation, it would also run counter to WTO rules.

The irony is that China is now in a position of trying to uphold the WTO system, and essentially the rule-based international trading order, while Trump has no use for rules, hes a results-based businessman, and doesnt want to be constrained by rules or laws, says James H. Nolt, a China specialist for the World Policy Institute.

The Trump administration appears to be eyeing a system similar to the voluntary restraint agreement that the Reagan government imposed from April 1981 to limit the number of Japanese vehicles imported into the U.S.

Read more: Even this Chinese CEO Whos Benefiting From Trumps Trade War Says Its a Dumb Idea

But while that was relatively straightforward to implement  the handful of Japanese automakers divvied up their own market shares, and instead increased profits by producing higher-quality cars  Chinese trade is spread amongst hundreds of thousands of small and medium-sized exporters. It would also run foul of the WTO, which was formed in 1995 precisely to boost free commerce.

Meanwhile, real action to address the trade imbalance  though nowhere near the quixotic $200 billion target  would be to negotiate Chinese market access for U.S. financial services providers. This is something that the Beijing government has repeatedly supported, though repeatedly stalled rolling out, and has the potential to benefit both nations economies.

Trump, however, is no friend of the banks, being a debtor and many times bankrupted himself, and is lukewarm on the prospect. This is not least that expanding financial services to China wont bring home the low-skilled manufacturing jobs that appeal to his base, and in fact could even facilitate U.S. businesses shifting capacity to China.

That leaves both nations at something of an impasse, with the real fear that Trump might move ahead with the extra tariffs. What China can realistically offer to counter this is unclear.

No country is going to cede sovereignty that way and give up treaty rights, least of all China, which of course suffered under unequal treaties during the 19th and early 20th century, adds Nolt. Theyre quite content to have a rules-based system, even to agree to modified rules, but theyre not going to agree to them based on power alone and might makes right.
Susan and James Kenneavy (Police Scotland)

An air, sea and land search is underway for a husband and wife whose car was found washed-up on a Scottish beach during bad weather.

James and Susan Kenneavys empty Ford Kuga was found by workmen on Drummore beach, near Stranraer in the south of Scotland, on Thursday morning.

The discovery followed heavy rain and flooding on a coastal road.

Emergency services were out at first light on Friday after being halted on the previous night.

A police spokesman said they were seeking the publics help to trace the missing couple, and the movements of their car, with the registration, SJ15UKX.

The emergency services were forced to abandon their search on Thursday night (Police Scotland)

Police said the couple were thought to be both in their 70s, and had not been recently seen at home nor in contact with their family.

We are very worried about Mr and Mrs Kenneavy, said Insp Craig Nicolson.

We know the Drummore coastal road was closed last night due to coastal flooding, but I would ask anyone that saw the vehicle or who knows the whereabouts of the couple to contact Police Scotland.

Dummore Beach (British beaches)

One local Edward Beck, told the BBC hat locals had been aware of weather warnings from the Met Office and the Scottish Environment Protection Agency.

Mr Beck added that conditions along the coastal route could be extremely treacherous and said storm waves of up to 60ft high could hit the main road.

He had known the couple for more than 30 years, reported the BBC.

You can be driving through three, four feet of water and a lot of cars can suck water into the engine and you can get stranded, he added.

That part [of the road] actually looks like its in the sea if you hit it at the right time.

The authorities were first contacted on Thursday afternoon regarding the disappearance.

The HM Coastguard Search and Rescue Helicopter based at Prestwick, Drummore, Stranraer and Portpatrick coastguard rescue teams and lifeboats from Stranraer and Portpatrick were all sent to assist, said a spokesman for HM Coastguard.

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Tehran (AFP) - Iran said Friday the European Union must be given more time to set up a trade mechanism meant to circumvent reimposed US sanctions on Tehran, but warned it could not "wait forever".

Brussels is working on a payment system to continue trade and business ties with Iran after the US ditched a landmark 2015 nuclear deal with Tehran earlier this year and reintroduced a raft of sanctions on the country.

"Europe's efforts for implementing a financial mechanism are continuing despite mounting US pressure," Iran's deputy foreign minister Abbas Araghchi told the official IRNA news agency.

"We believe that Europe must be given more time ... they have so far been unable to introduce operational measures, but we are not supposed to wait forever," he added.

The US sanctions aim to cut off Iran's banks from international finance and significantly reduce its oil exports.

The EU hopes its "special purpose vehicle" (SPV) announced in September will keep the nuclear deal alive and pursuade Tehran to stay on board by giving companies a way of trading with Iran without fear of US sanctions.

But Brussels is struggling to find a host for the SPV and many EU countries are fearful of repercussions from US President Donald Trump's administration.

"Americans are out to block all paths and have already started pressuring countries aiming to implement the mechanism and work with it," said Araghchi, refusing to comment on potential SPV hosts due to the "sensitivity" of the issue.

Austria, Belgium and Luxembourg have already rejected hosting the special payment system, Bloomberg News reported.

Araghchi said Iran will stay in the nuclear deal as long as it meets Tehran's interests, but will "make a different decision" the moment it no longer does.
Damascus (AFP) - Israeli jets bombed several areas in southern Syria and near Damascus on Thursday drawing retaliatory fire from the ground, a monitoring group said.

The Israeli military made no comment on the reported strikes, during which Syrian air defences opened fire for the first time since the deadly downing of a Russian transport plane in September, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

"Israeli forces bombarded for an hour positions in the southern and southwestern suburbs of Damascus as well as in the south of Syria at the border of Quneitra province," Observatory chief Rami Abdel Rahman said.

Syrian state media said air defences downed a number of "hostile targets" close to the capital.

"Our air defences fired on hostile targets over the Kisweh area and downed them," the official SANA news agency reported, citing a military source.

The Israeli military denied that any of its aircraft were hit, while not commenting on the reported strikes.

"Reports regarding an IDF (Israeli military) aircraft or an airborne IDF target having been hit are false," it said in an English-language statement.

It said a Syrian surface-to-air missile was fired in the direction of an open area of the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights but it was unclear if it had hit Israeli-held territory.

Israel has carried out hundreds of air strikes in neighbouring Syria against what it says are Iranian targets, many of them in the area south of Damascus.

Abdel Rahman said there are "weapons depots belonging to the Lebanese Hezbollah (group) as well as Iranian forces" in Kisweh.

Iran and Russia are the government's key allies in the civil war that has raved Syria since 2011, and Moscow's intervention in 2015 dramatically turned the tables against the rebels.

The accidental downing of the Russian transport aircraft by Syrian ground batteries during an Israel air strike on September 17 killed 15 service personnel and prompted Moscow to significantly upgrade Syrian air defences.

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Moscow pinned responsibility for the downing on Israel, saying its fighter jet used the larger Russian one for cover, an allegation Israel disputed.

The move raised fears in Israel that its ability to rein in its arch foe Iran's military presence in its northeastern neighbour would be sharply reduced.

Abdel Rahman said Thursday was the first time Syria's air defences had been called into action since the September downing and the delivery of advanced new Russian missiles.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had told Moscow his government would continue to hit hostile targets in Syria to prevent Iran from establishing a military presence across the border.

He added that Israel would "continue security coordination" with Russia.

burs/scw/kir
Ivanka Trump insisted her father had not authorised the use of lethal force on migrants at the US border.

There was one problem: footage which showed him doing exactly that.

The presidents daughter and adviser appeared visibly uncomfortable after being confronted with the video during an interview on ABC News.

Moments earlier she had described pictures of migrant families being tear-gassed by American forces at the US-Mexico-border as devastating and heartbreaking.

Asked whether she was concerned about Mr Trump authorising troops to use deadly force if necessary, she told Good Morning Americas Deborah Roberts: I dont believe that thats what he said, but his primary role as commander in chief is obviously to protect the nations borders. He has to protect our countrys security.

But lethal force, in this case, that is not something that anyones talking about.

Ms Trump was then confronted with a clip of her father telling reporters last week: If they have to, theyre going to use lethal force. Ive given the OK, if they have to. I hope they dont have to.

After seeing the footage, Ms Trump defended her father.

Lethal force under any circumstance would be the last resort, she said. But he is the commander in chief of the armed forces of this country so he always has to protect the border.

Hes not talking about innocents. Hes not talking about innocent asylum-seekers.

An order signed by the president last week gave permission for troops US-Mexico border to execute military protective activities that the secretary of defence determines are reasonably necessary, including a show or use of force (including lethal force, where necessary), crowd control, temporary detention, and cursory search.

The order applied to 5,900 military personnel deployed to the region ahead of the arrival of a caravan of Central American migrants, mainly of them seeking asylum in the US after fleeing poverty and violence.

On Sunday, US border agents fired tear gas at migrants they said they been trying to illegally enter the country from the Mexican border town of Tijuana.

Pictures emerged of families with young children fleeing the gas, scenes condemned as shameful by American activists and Democrat politicians.
LONDON (Reuters) - A Japanese pilot, who was arrested at London's Heathrow airport as he prepared to fly an aircraft while more than nine times over the aviation alcohol limit, was jailed for 10 months on Thursday.

First officer Katsutoshi Jitsukawa, 42, failed a breath test less than an hour after he was due to have taken off in the cockpit of a Japan Airlines flight to Tokyo in October, police said.

He was arrested last month and had earlier pleaded guilty at Uxbridge Magistrates' Court in London to performing an aviation function with alcohol in his blood exceeding the prescribed legal limit.

Tests showed he had 189 milligrams of alcohol per 100 millilitres of blood in his system, more than nine times the 20 mg limit for pilots.

"Clearly, the consequences could potentially have been catastrophic had security staff and police not intervened and he had continued to perform his role on the aircraft in the state he was," said Inspector Iain Goble, of London's Aviation Policing.

"This is an incredibly serious offence as Jitsukawa, a member of the airline crew, had responsibility for performing a critical role," he added in a statement.

"This conviction reflects he displayed not only total disregard for the safety of all the passengers and staff on his flight, but also the wider public."

(Reporting by Stephen Addison; editing by Michael Holden)
Judge sets Manafort sentencing date as Mueller declines to rule out second trial originally appeared on abcnews.go.com

Special counsel Robert Mueller is pushing forward in his case against Paul Manafort after their cooperation agreement fell apart earlier this week, and prosecutors didn't rule out a second trial against the onetime Trump campaign chairman.

That determination has not been made, special counsel prosecutor Andrew Weissman said, leaving the matter of a second trial open for consideration.

Mueller, who is investigating Russian meddling during the 2016 campaign, accused Manafort earlier this week of lying to prosecutors after signing onto a plea agreement that mandated his full cooperation.

But what Manafort is accused of lying about remains a mystery.

In court on Friday, special counsel prosecutor Andrew Weissman told the court that Mueller would describe Manaforts breach of the plea agreement in a future court filing. Judge Amy Berman Jackson of the U.S. District Court in Washington, DC, set December 7 as the deadline for that filing.

PHOTO: Former FBI Director Robert Mueller, the special counsel probing Russian interference in the 2016 election, departs Capitol Hill following a closed door meeting, June 21, 2017. (Andrew Harnik/AP,File)

Manaforts legal team has disputed accusations that their client lied to prosecutors, telling Judge Jackson in a court filing earlier this week that Manafort believes he has provided truthful information and does not agree with the governments characterization or that he has breached the agreement.

On Friday, Manaforts lead attorney, Kevin Downing, argued in court that defense counsel should be entitled to some form of discovery regarding claims that their client lied.

Earlier this week ABC News reported that Manaforts legal team had been quietly briefing the presidents lawyers about the special counsel inquiry. The presidents lead attorney, Rudy Giuliani, told ABC News Wednesday that Manaforts legal team had shared pieces of information that pertain to our part of the case.

(MORE: Manafort's lawyer briefed Trump's legal team on Mueller probe: President's attorney)

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The news reignited speculation that Manafort could be angling for a pardon from the president, a possibility that the president left open in an interview with the New York Post Wednesday.

It was never discussed, but I wouldnt take it off the table, Trump told the New York Post.

Manafort agreed to plead guilty to two counts of conspiracy in D.C. District Court in September. In exchange for leniency, Manafort was required to provide broad cooperation with the special counsel, including interviews, briefings, producing documents, [and] testifying in other matters.

Already at that point, a jury in Virginia had convicted Manafort on eight of 18 federal counts of tax and bank-fraud charges charges. The jury gridlocked on the remaining 10 charges, though Manafort later admitted his guilt to those charges as part of his plea deal in Washington.

During the Virginia trial, prosecutors invoked his past work as a political consultant for pro-Russia elements in Ukraine and payments from political figures there in connection with the money laundering allegations he faced.

(MORE: A presidential pardon may not cure Paul Manafort's legal troubles: Experts)

He maintained those overseas relationships both before and during his stint as then-candidate Trump's campaign chairman during the 2016 contest. Manafort joined Trump's campaign in March 2016 and was elevated to the campaign adviser position in May of the same year. He departed the Trump campaign in August 2016 after reports appeared in the New York Times and Associated Press that suggested he had engaged in illegal lobbying activities in Ukraine.

Manafort did not appear at Fridays hearing. His last appearance was before the judge in his Virginia case was on Oct. 19. Then, he appeared in the courtroom in a wheelchair with his lead attorney citing "significant concerns" with his health. Manafort has been behind bars since the judge in his Washington case revoked his bail in June, and is currently being held in solitary confinement. He is set to be sentenced separately for charges in Virginia on Feb. 8, 2019.

On Friday, Judge Jackson tentatively set March 5, 2019 as the sentencing date for the Washington, DC, charges against Manafort.
In an upcoming episode of Keeping Up With the Kardashians, Kourtney Kardashian opens up about the decision to freeze her eggs. (Image: Michael Tran/Getty Images)

Kourtney Kardashian is a mother of three, but she hasnt ruled out having more kids in the future. In a sneak peek for Sundays episode of Keeping Up With the Kardashians, the oldest Kardashian sister said that shes in the process of freezing her eggs.

Ive been so up and down emotionally because Ive been doing the shots for the egg freezing, she tells her friends in the teaser. Its like crazy. I feel like I want to jump out of my skin. Im so crazy, I cant take it. Kardashian also showed off the bruises on her stomach from taking hormone injections. The injections themselves werent really a big deal because I have a really high pain tolerance, she says. But I think everything was just really heightened. Some days I would feel so anxious. Its just very emotional, so that I think is the hard part.

Kardashian says she even had to reassure then-boyfriend Younes Bendjima that her mood swings werent because of him. He thinks everything is about him, she says. So Im like, No, this has nothing to do with you. She later added that she feels fine  I just cry myself to sleep every night.

Kardashian, 39, admits that shes not sure if she wants more kids but doesnt want to completely close the door on the possibility. I just feel like this is for safety, she says. I hope that going through all of this is worth it. I dont want to put my body through something like this again. The emotions of it all are just a lot.

That Kardashian is feeling like shes going crazy on the medications for freezing her eggs is completely understood, Spencer Richlin, a reproductive endocrinologist with RMA of Connecticut, tells Yahoo Lifestyle. Before an egg retrieval, a woman will take gonadotropins, which are medications that stimulate the ovaries to produce eggs, he explains.

The reason that you have to give patients these hormones is because normally the body only produces one egg during each cycle, Jane Frederick, a board-certified reproductive endocrinologist at HRC Fertility, tells Yahoo Lifestyle.

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But during stimulation  which takes approximately eight to 12 days, we want to stimulate the ovary to make multiple large follicles each with an egg, Richlin says. We want to retrieve as many eggs as we can for our patients. (In a perfect world, that would mean getting 10 to 15 eggs or more during a cycle, Frederick says.)

The medications and added hormones involved in the process can, for some, bring more emotions to the surface, Richlin says. Add that to the fact that a woman is likely feeling anxious and excited about the outcome, and she can be especially emotional, he says. The eggs themselves can make women feel more emotional, David Ryley, a reproductive endocrinologist with Boston IVF, tells Yahoo Lifestyle. The eggs produce large amounts of estrogen, he says. Some women (not all) get more emotional from estrogen levels that are higher than normal.

Many women will just report feeling different, Frederick says. Its kind of like when youre on your cycle but the symptoms may be more ramped up. But Ive never had someone say they were ready to tear their hair out. She tries to put things in perspective: The good news is you only take the medication for 10 days. Its a very short, focused period of time, so you can ensure that you have preserved your fertility.

Overall, most women seem to think its worth it. Richlin says he has never seen a patient stop in the middle of egg retrieval or IVF due to the side effects. The process of egg-freezing can take as little as two weeks, he says. It is incredibly worthwhile, helps keep options open and is rewarding, as we keep the opportunity of pregnancy open for the future.

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WASHINGTON (AP)  The Kremlin said Wednesday it still expects a meeting between President Vladimir Putin and President Donald Trump to go ahead as planned despite a suggestion from Trump that it could be canceled.

Trump, in an interview with The Washington Post on Tuesday, said he might cancel the sit-down with Putin in Argentina following Russia's seizure of three Ukrainian naval ships last weekend.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Wednesday that the meeting is on and that Russia has not received "any other information from our U.S. counterparts."

Putin's foreign affairs adviser, Yuri Ushakov, noted that the meeting, which is set for Saturday, has been prepared through official channels and Moscow expects Washington to notify it of any changes in the same way.

"This meeting is necessary for both sides," Ushakov said. "It's important in view of the developing situation in the world."

The long-simmering conflict between Russia and Ukraine burst into the open on Sunday, when Russian border guards fired on three Ukrainian vessels and seized the ships and the crew.

In a phone call Wednesday, Trump and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan expressed their concern about the incident, said White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders. She said the two will further discuss it later this week during the Group of 20 summit in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Trump said he would be receiving a "full report" from his national security team on Russia's recent actions in eastern Ukraine and the Black Sea. He said he would decide on a course afterward.

"Maybe I won't have the meeting," he said. "Maybe I won't even have the meeting."

Trump added: "I don't like that aggression. I don't want that aggression at all."

The comments were Trump's strongest to date in condemnation of Russia's recent actions in Ukraine, where tensions are flaring. But White House aides were still planning for the Putin meeting after Trump's comments.

Story continues

Ushakov, Putin's aide, said the naval encounter between Russia and Ukraine likely will be on the agenda of the planned meeting, which will start with the two presidents meeting privately before being joined by senior officials.

He said the Kremlin expects that the talks will touch on nuclear arms control, noting that it's particularly important to discuss them in view of the U.S. intention to withdraw from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty.

"It's extremely important to prevent an uncontrollable and senseless arms race," he said.

Ushakov said the two presidents also are to discuss regional crises, including the situation in Syria, the Iranian nuclear deal and North Korea.

The meeting between Trump and Putin is set to be just one of several high-profile foreign-policy engagements for the U.S. leader on the whirlwind two-day visit to Argentina. Trump also is set to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping over dinner, in what may be a pivotal session to determining if and how the ongoing trade dispute between their countries could be resolved.

The White House on Tuesday warned Xi against trying to wait out Trump in the ongoing talks, suggesting the Chinese economy was not as resilient to a trade war as the U.S. economy.

The warning from Larry Kudlow, director of the National Economic Council, came ahead of the two leaders' high-stakes sit-down on Saturday evening. Over the last year, the two countries have levied a series of tariffs on hundreds of billions of dollars of imports from each other, with the latest round of U.S. duties set to go into force in the new year.

Xi said on Wednesday the international community needs to build consensus to solve the conflict between free trade and protectionism. In a speech to lawmakers in Spain, where he is conducting a state visit before attending the summit in Argentina, he said the world is facing "instability, uncertainty and hot topics without precedents in our history."

"I think we are at a crossroads," Xi said. "In economic terms we need to decide if we are going to follow the economic globalization and free market or if we are going to choose unilateralism and protectionism."

National security adviser John Bolton said Trump will also be meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Argentine President Mauricio Macri, South Korea's Moon Jae-in and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Sanders called the trip an opportunity for the president to cement relations with other world leaders and advance a global economic system based on "free, fair and reciprocal trade."

The Trump-Xi meeting would be the first since the two countries began hitting each other with import taxes earlier this year. The United States targeted $250 billion in Chinese products, and Beijing lashed back by slapping tariffs on $110 billion worth of U.S. goods. The two sides have been in negotiations for months, but Kudlow described them as being stalemated until just a few weeks ago.

Kudlow said the administration has been "extremely disappointed" by China's engagement in trade talks but the meeting between Trump and Xi on the sidelines of the G-20 summit could be a game-changer.

"Perhaps we can break through in Buenos Aires or not," he said.

Kudlow added that if the U.S. doesn't get "satisfactory" responses to its trade positions more tariffs will be imposed. He said Trump is "not going away."

"I hope they understand that," he said.

China's foreign ministry has said a recent phone conversation between Xi and Trump about trade and other issues was "extremely positive."

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Associated Press writers Vladimir Isachenkov and Nataliya Vasilyeva in Moscow and Aritz Parra in Madrid contributed to this story.
The Kremlin was caught off guard by President Trumps sudden cancellation of a planned meeting between with Russian president Vladimir Putin, Russian state news agencies said Thursday.

Trump had planned to sit down with Putin at the G-20 summit in Argentina, but canceled the meeting in a tweet Thursday, citing Russias Sunday capture of three Ukrainian ships and 24 sailors.

Based on the fact that the ships and sailors have not been returned to Ukraine from Russia, I have decided it would be best for all parties concerned to cancel my previously scheduled meeting in Argentina with President Vladimir Putin, Trump wrote.

On Sunday, Russian and Ukrainian forces clashed off the Crimean peninsula, which was annexed by Russia in 2014. Russian border guards opened fire on three Ukrainian ships and captured their crews as they sailed in the Sea of Azov, which is shared by the two nations. Ukrainian president Petro Poroshenko has asked for NATO ships to be sent to the region to provide security.

Foreign military ships entered Russias territorial waters without responding to any requests made by our border guards. Therefore, all actions were taken in strict compliance with the law, Putin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said of the incident.

The cancellation means the Russian president will have a couple of more hours for useful meetings with other leaders, Peskov was quoted as saying Thursday.

Putin and his delegation are already on their way to Argentina, Russian news services said.
CHICAGO (AP)  The Latest on hearing for a prominent Chicago alderman accused of corruption (all times local):

11:30 a.m.

A prominent Chicago alderman has turned down a plea agreement in his federal corruption case that his lawyer says could have meant little to no prison time and will go to trial instead.

Willie B. Cochran's lawyer informed the judge of his client's decision Wednesday during a change-of-plea hearing where the 65-year-old Democrat was expected to enter a guilty plea.

After first huddling with assistant U.S. prosecutors in a hallway, defense lawyer Christopher Grohman told the judge prosecutors made an offer on a plea deal and Cochran rejected it.

Cochran's multicount indictment accuses him of stealing money from a charitable fund, spending some of it at casinos.

Grohman says the deal required a guilty plea to one fraud count. A fraud conviction carries a 20-year maximum sentence, though guidelines would recommend far less time.

The U.S. attorney's office declined any comment.

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12:01 a.m.

A prominent Chicago alderman who pleaded not guilty earlier to corruption charges is scheduled to change his plea.

A change-of-plea hearing for Willie B. Cochran is scheduled for Wednesday in Chicago federal court. Filings don't offer details, including what charges the Democrat might plead guilty to or whether it is part of a plea deal.

Prosecutors allege the 65-year-old stole money from a charitable fund, spending some of it at casinos and using some for his daughter's college tuition. They say he demanded cash from an attorney for developers in exchange for taking action in his official capacity.

The 15-count indictment handed down in 2016 includes bribery and wire fraud counts.

Defense attorney Christopher Grohman informed the court in August that Cochran was talking to prosecutors about a plea agreement.
FREEHOLD, N.J. (AP)  The Latest on the murder charges filed in the killing of a New Jersey family of four at their mansion (all times local):

5:50 p.m.

Lawyers for a New Jersey businessman charged with killing his brother's family says he loved them and had no reason to harm them.

The lawyers say 51-year-old Paul Caneiro is wrongly charged in the deaths of younger brother Keith Caneiro; his wife, Jennifer; and their young son and daughter.

Defense lawyers Robert Honecker Jr. and Mitchell Ansell say Paul Caneiro spent three decades working with his brother and happily attended his family events. Their statement Thursday says "Paul Caneiro just couldn't say no to his family."

Paul Caneiro is charged with shooting and stabbing the victims and setting fire to their Colts Neck mansion, then setting his own house on fire to hide evidence and make it look as if someone had it in for their family.

Friend Brian Bott says technology executive Keith Caneiro was excited about some upcoming job interviews after getting his master's degree this year. Bott says he doesn't know whether he planned to stay in business with his brother.

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1:10 p.m.

Prosecutors are releasing details about how a New Jersey man killed his brother's family and then set fire to their home.

Monmouth County Prosecutor Christopher Gramiccioni revealed Thursday the manner of deaths for Keith Caneiro, his wife Jennifer and their two children in their Colts Neck mansion on Nov. 20. Keith Caneiro was shot on the lawn of his estate, his wife was shot and stabbed, and their children were repeatedly stabbed in the quadruple slayings.

Paul Caneiro is charged with four counts of murder and other charges.

He's due in court Friday morning.

Prosecutors say financial motives stemming from two businesses the brothers ran in Asbury Park prompted the killings.

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11 a.m.

Prosecutors say financial motives led a New Jersey technology executive to kill his brother, the brother's wife and their young children before setting fire to their two homes.

Story continues

Authorities say 51-year-old Paul Caneiro killed the family in Colts Neck and then set fire to that home and his own. They said he set the fire at his own home to destroy evidence and to make it look like the extended family was being targeted.

Monmouth County Prosecutor Christopher Gramiccioni says the financial motive stemmed from two businesses the brothers ran in Asbury Park, a technology firm and a pest control company. He says he cannot detail their financial picture.

Paul Caneiro is now charged with murder in the deaths of 50-year-old Keith Caneiro, his 45-year-old wife Jennifer and their children, 11-year-old Jesse and 8-year-old Sophia. He is also charged with later setting fire to his own house before rousing his sleeping wife and daughters, who were not injured in the blaze.

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10:30 a.m.

Authorities say both a gun and a knife were seized from a New Jersey man charged with murder in the deaths of his brother, his brother's wife and their two children.

A criminal complaint filed Thursday accuses 51-year-old -old Paul Caneiro of the Nov. 20 slayings of his four family members at their mansion in Colts Neck, New Jersey, and then setting fire to the house to try to cover up the crime.

Prosecutors said previously that Paul's brother, Keith, was fatally shot but have not yet confirmed how the other three were killed. The criminal complaint indicates Paul Caneiro may have used the seized knife to stab one or more of the other three victims.

The criminal complaint does not indicate a motive. Paul was a partner in two businesses with his brother.

His lawyer said he planned to comment later Thursday, after prosecutors hold an 11 a.m. briefing.

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9 a.m.

Authorities have filed charges against the brother of the man whose body was found along with his wife and children after their New Jersey mansion was set on fire.

NJ.com reports court records show Paul Caneiro was charged Thursday with four counts of murder in the deaths of his brother, Keith, along with Keith's wife and their two children.

Paul Caneiro has been in custody since authorities accused him of setting fire to his own home. His lawyer has maintained his innocence. Attorney Robert Honecker did not immediately return a call seeking comment on the newest charges.

The Nov. 20 fire at Paul Caneiro's home took place hours before flames were discovered at the Colts Neck mansion where Keith Caneiro and his family lived.

The Monmouth County prosecutor plans to announce more details on Thursday morning.

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Information from: NJ.com, http://www.nj.com
BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP)  The Latest on President Donald Trump at the Group of 20 summit (all times local):

8 p.m.

South Korea's presidential office says U.S. President Donald Trump has reaffirmed a willingness to hold his second summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un early next year.

Spokesman Yoon Young-chan says Trump made the comments in a meeting Friday with South Korean President Moon Jae-in on the sidelines of the Group of 20 meeting in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Yoon says Trump also said a planned visit by Kim to Seoul for his fourth summit with Moon would create momentum for efforts to stabilize peace in the Korean Peninsula.

Kim met Trump in June in Singapore, where they issued a vague statement on a nuclear-free peninsula without describing how and when it would occur. Post-summit talks settled into a stalemate.

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5 p.m.

President Donald Trump will meet Saturday with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, after a travel snag thwarted their plans to meet Friday.

Technical issues with Merkel's aircraft delayed by a day her arrival in Argentina for the Group of 20 summit.

The new plan to meet on Saturday was announced by White House press secretary Sarah Sanders.

Trump has already held several bilateral meetings throughout the day Friday, and is set to meet Saturday over dinner with Chinese President Xi Jinping.

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3:15 p.m.

President Donald Trump says he might have a discussion with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman during a summit they're both attending in Argentina, but so far they've haven't.

Relations between Washington and Riyadh are tense in the wake of the brutal killing of Jamal Khashoggi, a columnist for The Washington Post. Khashoggi, who had been critical of the royal family, was killed by the Saudis at the nation's consulate in Istanbul.

A White House official says that so far, Trump has only exchanged pleasantries with the crown prince at the leaders' opening session just as he did with nearly every leader in attendance.

Story continues

Trump spoke after a meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe where Trump hopes to visit next year.

Trump also met with Australia's Prime Minister Scott Morrison.

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2:20 p.m.

President Donald Trump says he hopes the U.S. and Japan can balance their trade deficit "very quickly."

Trump says the U.S. is doing a lot of trade and other business with Japan, but that he wants faster progress on reducing the trade imbalance.

Trump took office criticizing U.S. trade deficits with other countries. He has vowed to turn around those relationships, including by imposing tariffs.

Trump commented as he sat down with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in Argentina where they are attending a summit of rich and developing nations.

Abe congratulated Trump on a "historic victory" in the November congressional elections. Trump's Republican Party lost control of the House but slightly expanded its Senate majority.

Abe also said the U.S.-Japan alliance "has become more robust than ever" under Trump.

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1:25 p.m.

President Donald Trump chatted with the leaders of Canada, Japan and France during a group photo session at the Group of 20 summit in Argentina.

But he walked by  without appearing to acknowledge  Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Trump canceled a formal sit-down with Putin at the summit over Moscow's seizure of Ukrainian vessels.

Trump also is not meeting privately in Buenos Aires with the crown prince, who is trying to rebuild his image after the killing of Washington Post columnist and royal family critic inside the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul.

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1:10 p.m.

White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders is insisting that President Donald Trump canceled a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin because of Russia's actions in Ukraine and not the federal investigation into Russian interference in Trump's election.

While Sanders says the inquiry has damaged U.S.-Russia relations, she reiterates that "the reason for our canceled meeting is Ukraine." She says hopefully the situation will be resolved "soon so that productive conversations can begin."

Trump tweeted Thursday that he canceled the meeting over Russia's seizure of Ukrainian ships and sailors. He announced the cancellation shortly after his former lawyer pleaded guilty to lying to Congress about a Trump real estate project in Moscow.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov called the cancellation a missed opportunity, saying "love can't be forced."

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10:50 a.m.

President Donald Trump is praising Mexico's outgoing President Enrique Pena Nieto, whose government has been a target of Trump's ire over trade, migration and Trump's proposed wall on the U.S. southern border.

Trump has railed about factory jobs lost to Mexico and the U.S. trade deficit with its southern neighbor  two hot-button issues that vexed relations with Nieto.

But on Friday, Trump lauded Pena Nieto as a "special man."

Trump congratulated Pena Nieto on ending his presidency by signing the new agreement governing trade relations among the United States, Mexico and Canada.

Trump said it's "an incredible way to end a presidency. You don't see that happen very often."

Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador is to be sworn into office Saturday as Mexico's president.

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10:30 a.m.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is calling on President Donald Trump to remove tariffs on steel and aluminum.

Trudeau issued his plea as he joined Trump and Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto to sign the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement, successor to the North American Free Trade Agreement.

There was talk Trudeau would skip the signing over the tariffs. But he attended and used his remarks to declare the tariffs a major obstacle to their economies. He says the U.S. and Canada need to keep working toward lifting the levies.

Trump enraged Canada and other U.S. allies by declaring imported steel and aluminum a threat to America's national security and therefore a legitimate target for U.S. tariffs.

Trudeau says the new trade deal is a major step for Canada's economy.

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9:50 a.m.

President Donald Trump has joined the leaders of Mexico and Canada to sign a revised North American trade deal.

Trump gathered with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and outgoing Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto on the sidelines of Friday's meeting of the Group of 20 nations in Buenos Aires.

The revamped deal, which Trump calls the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement, will replace the North American Free Trade Agreement. Trump has long raged against NAFTA. He says the new agreement "changes the trade landscape forever."

Lawmakers in each country must now ratify the agreement.

That could prove to be a difficult task in the United States, especially now that Democrats will control the House of Representatives come January. Already Democrats and their allies in the labor movement are demanding changes.

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9:45 a.m.

President Donald Trump says a new trade pact being signed by the United States, Mexico and Canada is a "model agreement that changes the trade landscape forever."

Trump spent more than a year pushing the leaders of Canada and Mexico into agreeing to a rewrite of North American trade rules. Trump, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Mexico's outgoing President Enrique Pena Nieto are signing the new pact Friday at the Group of 20 summit in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Trump now faces what could prove a more formidable foe: The U.S. Congress, which must ratify the agreement. He says the parties have "taken a lot of barbs and a little abuse" during the renegotiation.

He turned to Trudeau, saying "It's been a battle," but battles sometimes make "great friendships."

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9:10 a.m.

The Mexican government has presented President Donald Trump's son-in-law and White House adviser Jared Kushner with the Order of the Aztec Eagle. It's the highest honor America's southern neighbor gives to foreigners.

Mexico's Foreign Relations Department says Kushner earned the honor for his work on renegotiating a new trade agreement being signed Friday by Mexico, the United States and Canada on the sidelines of the Group of 20 summit in Argentina.

It replaces the North American Free Trade Agreement, or NAFTA.

Kushner, who has been working on U.S.-Mexico issues, says relations have improved because the countries decided not to work across the table, but on the same side to craft "win-win" solutions to migration, drug trafficking and abuse, and other issues plaguing relations.

Kushner says there's a "strong level of trust" between the U.S. and Mexico, despite news reports citing clashes between the neighbors.

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7:55 a.m.

President Donald Trump is meeting Argentine President Mauricio Macri as he kicks off two days of diplomacy at the G-20 meeting.

The leaders greeted each other warmly Friday as the annual meeting of leaders from rich and developing nations opened in Buenos Aires. Trump spoke about his longtime personal friendship with Macri and said they would discuss trade, military purchases and other issues.

Macri is hosting his counterparts as he struggles with a raft of domestic issues, including trying to halt economic turmoil that has caused the steep depreciation of the Argentine peso.

Trump and Macri enjoy a personal relationship dating back to their days as businessman.

Macri visited the White House soon after Trump took office in 2017.

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7:25 a.m.

President Donald Trump is blasting the investigation in which his former lawyer pleaded guilty to lying to Congress about a Moscow real estate deal he pursued for Trump during the 2016 presidential campaign.

Michael Cohen says he lied to be consistent with Trump's "political messaging." Trump says Cohen is lying now.

In a tweet Friday from Argentina, Trump recalled "happily living" his life as a developer before running for president after seeing the "Country going in the wrong direction."

Trump says "Against all odds" he decided to run for president and continue to run his business, which he calls "very legal & very cool." He says he "talked about it on the campaign trail."

Trump tweets he "Lightly looked at doing a building somewhere in Russia. Put up zero money, zero guarantees and didn't do the project. Witch Hunt!"

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3:25 a.m.

President Trump kicks off two days of diplomacy at the Group of 20 summit in Argentina on Friday after his abrupt decision to cancel a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin overshadowed the proceedings before they even started.

Trump barreled into the two-day meeting by announcing via Twitter that he was canceling on Putin over Russia's seizure of Ukrainian vessels. His agenda Friday is expected to include meetings with world leaders, the signing of a revamped trade deal with Canada and Mexico, as well as a number of group activities for the gathering of rich and developing nations.

Coming into this G-20, Trump faces a series of diplomatic challenges  most notably whether he can strike an agreement with Chinese President Xi Jinping (shee jihn-peeng) to ease trade tensions.
MOSCOW (AP)  The Latest on Russia-Ukraine tensions (all times local):

4:45 p.m.

A senior Russian Orthodox Church cleric says the raid at his home was meant to put the "political" pressure on his church.

The Ukrainian intelligence agency earlier on Friday raided the home of the father superior of Kiev's biggest and oldest monastery which is part of the Russian Orthodox Church.

The Ukrainian church, which has been part of the Russian Orthodox Church for centuries, moved close to forming an independent church  fueled by the conflict with Russia Ukraine's Orthodox communities earlier this year.

There are currently three Orthodox communities in Ukraine including two breakaway churches. Ukrainian authorities sought to portray the Russian Orthodox clerics in Ukraine as supporting separatists.

Father Pavlo, who leads the Pechersk Monastery in Kiev, said in a live broadcast that the raid at his home was ordered personally by the Ukrainian president who has been pushing for a new independent Ukrainian church.

Pavlo said he won't recognize any other church in Ukraine.

Tensions between Ukraine and Russia have escalated since last weekend, when Russian border guards opened fire on three Ukrainian naval vessels near Crimea and captured their crews.

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4:30 p.m.

A Russian activist says she has visited Ukrainian seamen who have been transferred to a Moscow jail.

Russian border guards in the Black Sea near Crimea fired at three Ukrainian vessels on Sunday, seizing the ships and their crews. Russia says they have violated its border while Ukraine says the vessels were in compliance with international maritime law. Two dozen Ukrainian seamen have been ordered to stay in custody for the next two months.

Russian TV station Dozhd on Friday quoted Kogershyn Sagiyeva, a member of the Moscow oversight council which is allowed to inspect prisons, as saying that 21 seamen have been transferred to the Moscow Lefortovo jail while three other seamen are in a hospital in another jail. She said she met with some of the seamen and they appeared to be in good shape.

Story continues

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4:15 p.m.

European Council President Donald Tusk says the EU is expected to extend sanctions on Russia over its "totally unacceptable" seizure of Ukrainian ships and their crews near Crimea.

Tusk said Friday that "Europe is united in its support for Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity," calling the standoff "a cause of great concern."

Speaking on the sidelines of a G-20 summit in Buenos Aires, he urged the leaders meeting there to discuss points of tension including "Russian aggression in Ukraine."

He didn't elaborate on the sanctions or other measures the EU might take.

Russian President Vladimir Putin is among the leaders involved at the G-20. Russia and Ukraine have traded blame over the ship incident.

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4 p.m.

Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban says his country is supporting Ukraine in the latest escalation of tensions with Russia.

Speaking through a translator in Prague after meeting his Czech counterpart Andrej Babis on Friday, Orban says: "The Hungarian position is clear. We are a pro-Ukrainian government."

But he added that "The peculiarity of the situation is that there is a Ukraine-friendly government in Hungary, while in Ukraine there is an anti-Hungarian government."

Orban's statement comes amid a dispute between Ukraine and his country over the rights of the Hungarian minority in Ukraine. But Orban said his support for Ukraine is not going to change.

Orban is considered to have one of the best relationships with Russian President Vladimir Putin's among European Union politicians.

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12:40 p.m.

Russia's foreign ministry says that Moscow is not going to mirror the travel ban that Ukraine has imposed on Russian men.

Ukrainian officials announced earlier on Friday that all Russian men aged between 16 and 60 will be barred from entering Ukraine for the 30-day duration of martial law. The statement is the latest step in the escalation of the long-simmering conflict between Russia and Ukraine which began in 2014 with Russia's annexation of Crimea.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told reporters that Russia is not planning to impose similar measures on Ukrainians. Zakharova blamed the Ukrainian government for implementing a policy that hurts ordinary people.

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12 p.m.

The Ukrainian intelligence agency is searching the home of the father superior of Kiev's biggest and oldest monastery which is part of the Russian Orthodox Church.

Ihor Guskov, chief of staff of the SBU intelligence agency, told reporters on Friday that its officers are searching the home of Father Pavlo, who leads the Pechersk Monastery in Kiev. He said the cleric is suspected of "inciting hatred."

The Ukrainian church, which has been part of the Russian Orthodox Church for centuries, moved close to forming an independent church  fueled by the conflict with Russia Ukraine's Orthodox communities earlier this year.

There are currently three Orthodox communities in Ukraine including two breakaway churches. Ukrainian authorities sought to portray the Russian Orthodox clerics in Ukraine as supporting separatists.

Tensions between Ukraine and Russia have escalated since last weekend, when Russian border guards opened fire on three Ukrainian naval vessels near Crimea and captured their crews.

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10:50 a.m.

Ukraine's president says that the country has barred Russian men between 16 and 60 from traveling to the country.

The move comes as the long-simmering conflict between the two nations escalated in the Black Sea on Sunday. Russian border guards opened fire on and captured three Ukrainian vessels and their 24-member crew.

President Petro Poroshenko tweeted Friday that the restrictions on Russian travelers have been taken in order to prevent the Russians from forming "private armies" fighting on Ukrainian soil.

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10:30 a.m.

A Russian government-appointed ombudswoman says the three commanders of the Ukrainian vessels captured near the Russia-annexed Crimean Peninsula last weekend are being transferred to Moscow.

The long-simmering conflict between Russia and Ukraine bubbled over Sunday when Russian border guards opened fired on three Ukrainian vessels in the Black Sea. The Russians then captured the 24-member crew.

Russia says the Ukrainians had violated its border while Ukraine says its ships were acting in line with international maritime rules.

The Tass news agency on Friday quoted Russian government-appointed ombudswoman Lyudmila Lubina as saying that the vessels' commanders are being transferred to Moscow for interrogation. The other 21 have also been transferred away from Crimea, but it wasn't immediately clear to where.

A Crimea court earlier this week ruled to keep the Ukrainian seamen behind bars for two months pending the investigation.
Laura Loomer, a far-right conspiracy theorist and activist, handcuffed herself to the front door of Twitter's headquarters in New York City on Thursday, after she was banned from the platform for hate speech.

But the protest ended just over two hours later, with little fanfare, when Ms Loomer had to ask police officers to help free her from the cuffs.

The 25-year-old was permanently banned from the social media platform on 21 November after she posted a tweet attacking Ilhan Omar, an incoming congresswoman who is Muslim.

Ms Loomer's tweet, which accused the politician of being "anti Jewish" and supporting sharia law, was deemed by Twitter to have violated the company's rules against hateful conduct.

The 25-year-old was banned for hate speech (Periscope)

Facebook soon followed suit and has also banned the conspiracy theorist.

In response, Ms Loomer spent her short protest dressed in a sweater which had #STOPTHEBIAS written on the back.

The 25-year-old also wore a yellow star, similar to those that Jewish people in Europe were forced to wear in Nazi Germany.

Ms Loomer spent part of her time on Thursday shouting at Twitter employees, telling them that they worked for an "evil" company.

Having only attached herself to one of the two doors, the activist did not fully obstruct the entrance and the company's employees seemed largely unconcerned by the protest as they walked past her.

"They don't want you guys to know the truth," she told other passers by.

The conspiracy theorist alleged that she had been "silenced" for being a "Jewish conservative journalist" and that Twitter was "upholding sharia law" through the act of banning her.

"We have notified the relevant authorities who are responding," a spokesperson for Twitter said, in a statement released during the protest.

"The account holder was suspended for violating our policies. We apply the Twitter Rules impartially and not based on ideology."

Story continues

Despite Ms Loomer's apparent anger, her protest, which began at around 3.45 pm local time, ended at 6pm.

At that point Ms Loomer asked police officers who were present to free her by cutting through the handcuffs.

The 25-year-old previously made headlines after she disrupted Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey's appearance before Congress in September.

As Mr Dorsey prepared to speak, Ms Loomer launched into a tirade against the tech billionaire from the audience.

But she was drowned out by Republican congressman Billy Long, who shouted her down with his auctioneer's patter, to amusement from his fellow politicians.

Ms Loomer has also been embroiled in several other controversies, including an incident last year in which Uber and Lyft banned her after she attacked the companies for a lack of "non-Muslim" drivers.
UTICA, N.Y. (AP)  Democrat Anthony Brindisi defeated Republican U.S. Rep. Claudia Tenney, following a contentious race that was settled by absentee ballots more than three weeks after Election Day.

Brindisi, an attorney and state assemblyman from Utica, was ahead by less than 2,000 votes on election night. On Wednesday, his lead had grown to just under 4,000 as additional absentee ballots were counted. While the results from 1,881 remaining ballots have yet to be reported, Brindisi's lead makes it mathematically impossible for Tenney to prevail.

Brindisi, 40, campaigned on calls for civility and bipartisanship in a district that supported Donald Trump in 2016. He was in Washington on Wednesday to prepare for his new job.

"I'm going to work on issues just as hard for people who did not support me as for those who did support me," Brindisi said Monday during an interview with WKTV-TV. "I believe that once elections are over, that's when the governing begins. When people call my office we're not going to ask them... are you a Democrat or a Republican. That does not matter to me."

He cited health care, funding for new roads, bridges and water systems, campaign finance reform and help for farmers as some of his top priorities.

Tenney has not conceded and her campaign did not respond to messages seeking comment Wednesday. Last week she acknowledged that the numbers didn't look good for her campaign.

"I don't think we have a chance of prevailing," Tenney said on WUTQ-FM radio. "I haven't had a chance to speak to Anthony yet. Of course, we will. My office will do everything it can to coordinate with him and make sure he has a smooth transition."

Tenney was an early and vocal supporter of Donald Trump and whose brash rhetoric had similarities to the president's.

Democrats complained when Tenney's staff sent out a memo attempting to link her Italian-American opponent to the mafia because of his father's legal work for organized crime figures years ago.

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She called her own alma mater, Colgate University, which is in the district, a "left-wing crazy school" and circulated a petition calling for the imprisonment of Hillary Clinton. While defending gun ownership rights, Tenney said during in an interview that many people behind mass murders are Democrats.

Tenney, 57, argued that her comments were blown out of proportion by an adversarial media. But her rhetoric turned off some of the area's leading Republicans, including her predecessor, former Republican U.S. Rep. Richard Hanna, who called Tenney a "pariah" who is "full of anger and hate."

Republicans outnumber Democrats in the district, which includes dairy farms and struggling former manufacturing towns such as Binghamton and Utica. Voters there favored Trump over Hillary Clinton in 2016 by 16 percentage points.

Trump's margins in 2016 meant that to win the district, Brindisi had to appeal to independents and Republican moderates.

Republicans fought hard to defend Tenney. Trump, his son Eric and House Speaker Paul Ryan all visited the district to raise money or campaign.
ATLANTA (AP)  A man suspected in an Alabama mall shooting that resulted in police killing another black man on Thanksgiving agreed Friday to return home from Georgia to face charges.

Handcuffed and wearing a blue jail uniform, Erron Martez Dequan Brown, 20, appeared emotionless during a brief hearing. He appeared to glance back at someone in the courtroom audience.

Brown, of Bessemer in suburban Birmingham, told Magistrate Judge Lillian Caudle he would voluntarily return to Alabama, where authorities now have 15 business days to remove him from the Fulton County jail.

Alabama officials did not indicate when Brown might arrive at the jail in Birmingham.

Court records aren't yet available to show whether Brown has an attorney to speak on his behalf.

Federal marshals arrested Brown on an attempted murder charge Thursday near Atlanta. He is charged with attempted murder in the shooting of a teenager who was wounded at the Riverchase Galleria in Hoover, just south of Birmingham.

Authorities say an officer responding to the scene at the mall fatally shot another armed black man, Emantic "EJ" Bradford Jr., who was initially believed to be the shooter. Bradford's killing prompted demonstrations by protesters who say he was shot because he was black.

Bradford's family has retained a pathologist to perform an independent autopsy, the family's attorney said Friday.

A statement issued Friday by family attorney Ben Crump says the autopsy will "determine whether he was shot multiple times and if he was shot from the front or the back."

The statement said the autopsy results will be released to the media after they become available to the Bradford family.

Protests will continue over the police killing of Bradford, 21, organizers have said.

Bradford's funeral is set for Saturday at Birmingham's municipal auditorium. The Rev. Jesse Jackson will give the eulogy.
Man Utd star Alexis Sanchez will be sidelined until the new year with a hamstring injury

Manchester United forward Alexis Sanchez will miss the rest of the year with a hamstring injury.

The Chilean has struggled at Old Trafford since moving there from Arsenal in January and he will not feature for the rest of 2018.

Jose Mourinho confirmed that he missed Tuesday nights last-gasp victory over Young Boys due to the problem and hit out at the media.

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Mourinho complained that every time a player is dropped or on the bench at United, its a much bigger issue than other clubs.

The first thing I can say is that in every club, when a player is not playing it is a simple managers decision, he explained.

In our club when a player does not play it is always because of the player is not behaving and has disciplinary issues.

Of course that is not the case again.

He has an important injury, I dont want to risk by saying for how long he will be out but from the top of my experience I would say he is not playing this year.

He added: No scans yet but the player is experienced, the player knows what the injury is.

Also from the top of my experience, just the painful scream and the way the injury happened I know its going to be for a long time.

Its not the little muscular injury that in one week or 10 days the player is ready. Its for me and also for Alexis, the feelings before the scans is that the grade is different than the (Victor) Lindelof one and the Lindelof one was not an easy one so Alexis has what I used to call an aggressive muscular injury.

It will be a blow for Sanchez, with reports that he was looking to engineer a move away from Old Trafford in January.

Despite Sanchezs arrival on a lucrative four-and-a-half year contract in January being seen as a coup, considering they beat neighbours City to his signature, he has failed to fire under Mourinho, scoring four goals in 30 appearances.
Mexico City (AFP) - He has tried hard to sound like a business-friendly budget balancer, but Mexico's next president, the anti-establishment leftist Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, still has the markets spooked.

Mexican stocks and the peso have slid as the veteran politician prepares to take office on Saturday for a six-year term.

And the central bank cut its economic growth forecast for 2019 by one-tenth of a percentage point on Wednesday -- to a range of 1.7 to 2.7 percent -- over uncertainty about the future of Latin America's second-largest economy.

Lopez Obrador, 65, won Mexico's July 1 election in a landslide, and euphoric supporters are full of hope that the fiery populist will bring sweeping change, slash poverty and fight endemic corruption.

But his critics -- and he has many of them -- worry he will be autocratic, radical and bad for business.

"AMLO," as he is widely known, has had a combative relationship with the business elite, but sought to sound more soothing as president-elect, promising market-friendly policies and naming the respected economist Carlos Urzua as finance minister.

"The new government will maintain financial and fiscal discipline. State obligations with domestic and foreign companies and banks will be respected," he said in his victory speech.

- People power vs. markets -

Despite that message, the five-month transition period has been full of tension with the business world.

Stocks fell 4.2 percent after Lopez Obrador canceled construction of a new $13-billion airport for Mexico City -- a project backed by the multi-billionaire Carlos Slim -- following a referendum on the issue that was marred by irregularities.

Moves by lawmakers in his coalition to slash banking fees and bring pension funds under state control have also caused market routs.

In all, stocks have lost more than 12 percent since his election. On Monday they hit their lowest level since March 2014.

Rating agencies have taken note. Fitch revised its outlook for Mexico to negative after the airport decision, and Moody's warned the move had created "volatility" and "uncertainty."

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Lopez Obrador, a populist fond of "letting the people decide," nevertheless went ahead with a second referendum -- this time on building a tourist train linking Mexico's most famous Caribbean beaches with the ancient Mayan ruins of the Yucatan peninsula, and a host of other pet projects.

With no supervision by electoral authorities, he won the support of nearly all 950,000 voters who took part.

- All eyes on budget -

That decision-making style has some analysts worried.

"Uncertainty about how the next government's policy decisions will be made could have an impact on investment, both foreign and domestic," said Carlos Serrano, chief economist at BBVA Bancomer bank.

Others say the markets will just have to get used to the new president's style, after decades of buttoned-down governments from the same two parties that had ruled Mexico for 89 years.

"He is different from what markets are accustomed to," said Pamela Starr of the University of Southern California.

But he "will be less radical than the markets are fearing" and "work closely with the private sector," she said.

All eyes are now on Lopez Obrador's first budget, which he must send to Congress by December 15.

"We'll see in that first federal budget whether his team actually puts together a balanced budget, conservative and austerity-driven, or whether they're really going to cut loose and spend," said Duncan Wood, director of the Mexico Institute at the Wilson Center in Washington.
(Reuters) - Marriott International said on Friday that a guest reservation database of its Starwood Hotel brand was breached, potentially exposing information on about 500 million guests.

The company said its investigation showed that an unauthorized party had copied and encrypted information, and that there had been unauthorized access to the Starwood network since 2014.

The company said it had taken steps to rectify the situation. Marriott was not immediately available for further comments.

%InlineRelated-url="https://www.aol.com/article/finance/2018/11/27/crowds-mob-texas-atm-where-dollar100-bills-were-being-accidentally-distributed/23602353/" CTA="SEE ALSO" title="Crowds mob Texas ATM where $100 bills were being accidentally distributed "%

For about 327 million of these guests, the information includes some combination of name, mailing address, phone number, email address, passport number, Starwood Preferred Guest account information, date of birth, gender among other personal details, Marriott said.

Related: Look back at other notable data breaches:

For some, the information also includes payment card numbers and expiration dates, but those numbers were encrypted, the hotel chain said.

There are two components needed to decrypt the payment card numbers, and at this point, Marriott said it has not been able to rule out the possibility that both were stolen.

The company said it reported this incident to law enforcement and continues to support their investigation and has already begun notifying regulatory authorities.

Marriott bought Starwood in 2016.

(Reporting by Munsif Vengattil and Arjun Panchadar in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D'Silva)
By Andreas Rinke and Paul Carrel BERLIN (Reuters) - The European Union and the United States should consider banning from their ports Russian ships originating from the Sea of Azov after Russia captured three Ukrainian vessels there, German Chancellor Angela Merkel's protege said on Friday. Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, who is leading the race to succeed Merkel as leader of her ruling conservatives, also said Germany must be ready to take more responsibility in foreign policy and to spend more on defense. Russia seized the Ukrainian vessels and their crews on Sunday near Crimea, the Ukrainian region which Moscow annexed in 2014, over what it said was their illegal entry into Russian waters, which Ukraine denies. "If it's confirmed that the aggression came from Russia ... then I think there must be a clear answer," Kramp-Karrenbauer told Reuters in a television interview. "One answer might be, for example, to stop Russian ships coming from the region - from the Sea of Azov - from entering European or U.S. ports until this situation with Ukraine is resolved," she said. The comments from Kramp-Karrenbauer, 56, mark a tougher tone than the posture adopted by Merkel, who has called for de-escalation and dialogue. Kramp-Karrenbauer, sometimes referred to as AKK or "mini Merkel", is locked in a close race for the leadership of Germany's Christian Democratic Union (CDU) with Friedrich Merz, a long-time Merkel rival who promises more radical change. Polls show she is more popular with CDU members and voters at large. The winner, to be decided in a vote by 1,001 delegates at a party congress on Dec. 7-8, will take pole position in the race to succeed Merkel as chancellor. On foreign and defense policy, Kramp-Karrenbauer said Germany must be ready to do more -- a message sure to please U.S. President Donald Trump who has repeatedly pressed the German government to raise its defense spending. "Europe - and in particular Germany - must assume more responsibility," Kramp-Karrenbauer said. "We must be ready to take on this responsibility and that has consequences domestically. That means, for example, we must be ready to spend more money on defense at home and abroad." AUTO ANGST Turning to trade tensions with the United States, Kramp-Karrenbauer said she was concerned about plans by top executives from German carmakers Volkswagen , BMW and Daimler to meet U.S. officials at the White House next week. Trump has been threatening for months to impose tariffs on all EU-assembled vehicles, a move that could upend the industry's business model for selling cars in the United States. "In the past, it has only been possible to avert punitive tariffs when we maintained a clear and strong position, for instance as the European Union," Kramp-Karrenbauer said. "Given that, one must take care not to undermine such a strong, united political position through bilateral discussions." The United States currently imposes import tariffs on cars assembled in the EU of 2.5 percent, compared with 10 percent tariffs for U.S.-built cars entering the European market. (Additional reporting by Andrea Shalal; Editing by Gareth Jones)
Politicians visiting Capitol Hill this week might have witnessed a truly elegant display of shade outside a United Methodist Church building.

The sign outside the UMC building referenced Matthew 25:35, a Bible verse about welcoming the stranger that has become a rallying cry for those opposed to President Donald Trumps immigration policies.

But the buildings version of the verse had a twist.

I was a stranger and you tear gassed me, the sign reads. ...Wait a second.

A sign outside the United Methodist Building criticizes federal agents' decision to use tear gas on immigrants, including children, at the U.S.-Mexico border. (Photo: Twitter / @umcjustice)

The sign, located right next to the Supreme Court and steps away from the Capitol, subtly condemned federal agents use of tear gas at the U.S.-Mexico border on Sunday.

Border Patrol agents used tear gas to drive back migrants breaching a fence to enter the U.S. at the San Ysidro border crossing. The wind carried fumes from the tear gas canisters to people hundreds of feet away who were not attempting to enter the country, The Associated Press reported.

No serious injuries were reported from the incident, but photos of a mother frantically dragging her two children away from the fumes sparked outrage among Democratic politicians and immigration advocates.

Both President Donald Trump and Kirstjen Nielsen, the secretary of homeland security, have defended the agents use of tear gas at the border.

On social media, Christian activists who were upset over the images repeatedly pointed to Matthew 25. In that chapter, Jesus teaches that those who care for strangers and others in need will be welcomed into heaven.

The original Bible verse reads:

Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For ... I was a stranger and you invited me in ... Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.

R. Warren Gill is a spokesperson for the United Methodist General Board of Church and Society, the buildings proprietor. Church and Society posted the message to highlight the disconnect between the words of Jesus and the actions of the U.S. government, Gill told HuffPost.

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People are fleeing authentic and disturbing violence, violence most Americans only see in fiction, Gill wrote in an email. And [they] were welcomed at the border with tear gas.

The United Methodist Building (left) is steps away from the Supreme Court. (Photo: Google Maps Screen Shot)

The General Board of Church and Society is the social justice and advocacy arm of the UMC, Americas second-largest Protestant denomination.

The United Methodist Building is the only nongovernmental building on Capitol Hill. It houses offices for faith-based advocacy organizations representing the Episcopal Church, the Presbyterian Church (USA), the Islamic Society of North America and many others.

The sign will change in a few days to reflect the start of the Advent season, Gill said. It has often been used in the past to make statements about the issues of the day or to celebrate particular seasons.

Church and Society sees the sign as an extension of the churchs advocacy work, Gill said. For example, during the confirmation hearings of Justice Brett Kavanaugh, the sign read, Women have the right to live without violence.

Gill said he believes law enforcement officials should be banned from using chemical weapons like tear gas against civilians, especially children.

I think Jesus was clear. We are called to love our neighbors and protect children. We must welcome the stranger, Gill wrote in an email. There were barefooted babies at the U.S.-Mexico border this weekend, and the U.S. government threw tear gas at them.

Its shocking, and its immoral.

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Also on HuffPost

Migrant Belongings Left Behind Crossing Into America

A child's backpack recovered in the Sonoran Desert of Arizona. Photo taken near Arivaca road, AZ. Credit: Michael Wells, mwellsphoto.com

Migrant Belongings Left Behind Crossing Into America

A tree carving from a migrant station in the Sonoran Desert. "America" could refer to the Mexican soccer team or the country whose undocumented labor markets routinely employ those who can make it through the deadly desert. Credit: Michael Wells, mwellsphoto.com

Migrant Belongings Left Behind Crossing Into America

A water drop maintained by the Tucson group Samaritan Patrol. This group often leaves water along migrant trails in southern Arizona for those who inevitably run out. Credit: Michael Wells, mwellsphoto.com

Migrant Belongings Left Behind Crossing Into America

A large "migrant station" near the town of Arivaca, AZ. Migrant stations are places where people rest, eat, change clothes, and leave items behind while crossing into the U.S. Over time, these sites can become large archaeological repositories of items used by migrants. Credit: Michael Wells, mwellsphoto.com

Migrant Belongings Left Behind Crossing Into America

Migrant shrine in southern Arizona near Arivaca Lake. Migrants will often leave offerings at ad hoc shrines along their dangerous journeys. Credit: Michael Wells, mwellsphoto.com

This article originally appeared on HuffPost.
Mexico City (AFP) - Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador will be sworn in as Mexico's next president Saturday, as a country fed up with corruption, crime and poverty seeks a new direction under the divisive anti-establishment leftist.

The man widely known as "AMLO" won Mexico's July 1 elections in a landslide, and his coalition -- led by the party he founded four years ago, Morena -- took strong majorities in both houses of Congress.

It was the biggest win for any president, and the first for a leftist, since Mexico transitioned to multi-party democracy in 2000.

As the sharp-tongued, silver-haired leader prepares to slip on the presidential sash for a six-year term, the question is: what will he do with that mandate?

Lopez Obrador, 65, has been short on specifics of how he plans to deliver the "transformation" he promises.

He inherits a sticky set of problems from his unpopular predecessor, Enrique Pena Nieto.

They include endemic corruption, gruesome violence fueled by Mexico's war on drug cartels, and the caravan of 6,000 Central American migrants camped at the US-Mexican border -- not to mention the minefield that diplomacy with Mexico's giant northern neighbor has become under President Donald Trump.

Facing crises on multiple fronts, Lopez Obrador is promising a presidency like no other in Mexican history.

He has forsworn the presidential residence, the presidential jet, more than half the presidential salary and the presidential security detail, promising to lead his anti-corruption, pro-austerity charge by example.

But critics fear his government will be one of radicalism and authoritarian tendencies. The business world is particularly nervous: the Mexican peso and stocks have plunged since the election.

However, the former Mexico City mayor has not lost his popular support. His approval rating is 66 percent, according to a poll published Monday by newspaper El Financiero.

"I think he still has a fairly romantic honeymoon ahead of him -- but there are signs his support could deteriorate very quickly," said Mexico specialist Duncan Wood of the Wilson Center in Washington.

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- Market jitters -

The biggest warning sign: jitters over the future of Latin America's second-largest economy.

Lopez Obrador has tried to sooth the markets, promising fiscally conservative policies.

But the five-month transition period has been bumpy.

Lopez Obrador incensed business leaders when he announced he would cancel construction of a new $13-billion airport for Mexico City, after holding a referendum on the issue that was plagued by irregularities.

Moves by lawmakers in his coalition to slash banking fees and bring pension funds under state control have also stoked fears.

Mexican stocks have lost more than 12 percent since his election. On Monday, they hit their lowest level since March 2014.

And on Wednesday, the central bank lowered its economic growth forecast for 2019, citing uncertainty over Lopez Obrador's policies.

- Trump troubles? -

Then there is the tricky matter of Trump.

The American president bullied the Pena Nieto administration with his vows to make Mexico pay for a wall on the border and brinksmanship in negotiating an updated trade deal between the US, Mexico and Canada -- which will ultimately be signed the day before Lopez Obrador takes office.

So far, Lopez Obrador and Trump have gotten off to a warm start. Trump said they had a "great talk" after the election, and reportedly even calls his new counterpart "Juan Trump" -- a nod to their shared populism and anti-establishment victories.

But Trump is pressuring Lopez Obrador on immigration, pushing a deal to keep asylum-seeking migrants in Mexico while their claims are processed in the United States.

The day after the inauguration, Lopez Obrador's foreign minister, Marcelo Ebrard, is due to meet with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in Washington for talks on the issue.

"The policies coming out of Washington are putting Lopez Obrador in a very difficult situation," said Pamela Starr of the University of Southern California.

"That said, while Trump has bashed the migrant caravan... he has never bashed Lopez Obrador. That gives me pause to think that potentially the two of them might be able to work something out."

- Vague plans -

Political analysts have been critical of Lopez Obrador's vague plans.

Despite promising sweeping change, he has offered few new policy ideas on his key issues: fighting corruption, crime and poverty.

For his highly energized voter base, that does not seem to matter -- for now.

"They're buying his promises," Mexican political analyst Jose Antonio Crespo told AFP.

"He has generated very high expectations. It will take people a while to figure out who their new president really is."
An agitated Trump tried to play down his ex-aides deal with prosecutors  but experts call it potentially very significant

Michael Cohen in New York in April. Trump could be legally vulnerable on a number of fronts, analysts said. Photograph: Lucas Jackson/Reuters

A deal announced on Thursday between Michael Cohen, the longtime personal lawyer and fixer for Donald Trump, and federal prosecutors has left the president and his family vulnerable to new legal hazards and could represent one of the most significant advances so far in the work of special counsel Robert Mueller, legal analysts said.

Cohen pleaded guilty to making false statements to Congress about a deal he pursued on Trumps behalf to build a Trump tower in Moscow.

Court documents revealed Cohen was in contact with top Kremlin officials about the prospective tower; that Trump was closer to the negotiations than previously acknowledged; and that the deal was alive as late as June 2016  six months longer than Cohen told Congress.

The court filing appeared to expose multiple and repeated public lies by Trump about his links to Russia. I have no deals that could happen in Russia, because weve stayed away, Trump said at a press conference during the presidential transition. I have no deals  because I think that would be a conflict.

Confronted with the contradiction outside the presidential helicopter on Thursday morning, a visibly agitated Trump said this deal was a very public deal  everybody knows about this deal, then denied there was ever a deal, then said if there had been a deal it would have been no problem.

This was a deal that didnt happen, Trump said. That was no deal. If you look  this was an option. To my way of thinking, it was an option that we decided not to do.

Former US attorney Barb McQuade called the Cohen deal potentially very significant, pointing out that in court documents, Cohen admitted to lying to Congress in hopes of limiting the ongoing Russia investigations.

Perhaps the most significant issue Ive seen raised: does Cohen contradict Trumps recent written answers to Mueller? Preet Bharara

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McQuade said: That says to me that  you know people only lie and take a risk like that when the consequences of telling the truth are even worse. So what would be so bad about it? Certainly the mere fact that they were negotiating a building in Russia was not in any way illegal, so what more was he trying to hide there?

Trump could be legally vulnerable on a number of fronts, analysts said. Last summer, Mueller charged Russian hackers with a conspiracy to defraud the United States by tampering with the 2016 election; it is possible that a Trump associate or family member could at some point be charged as a co-conspirator.

Michael Cohen is likely someone to be a trusted confidant who knows about these things and has now agreed to cooperate about them, said McQuade. This suggests that his cooperation is about the heart of the Mueller investigation and that is collusion with Russia.

Other analysts said that the pattern of lying by former Trump aides about the campaigns Russia ties  at least seven former Trump aides and associates have either been charged with making false statements or face such charges  could mean trouble for Trump, if the president were shown to have directed it.

There are an awful lot of Trump underlings now caught lying to Congress and others about Russia and Trump specifically, tweeted Neal Katyal, a professor at Georgetown University Law Center. Why? At whose direction? Who stood to gain from the lies?

Former US attorney Preet Bharara was one of many to point out that just last week, Trump submitted written answers to questions from Mueller, reportedly including questions about a potential real estate deal in Moscow.

This is perhaps the most significant issue Ive seen raised so far: does Cohen contradict Trumps recent written answers to Mueller specifically on the Moscow Trump Tower project, Bharara tweeted. If so and Cohens version is corroborated, Trump is guilty of a false statement.

The Cohen deal could pose difficulties for Trumps family members, too. Court documents referring to Trump as Individual 1 said Cohen briefed family members of Individual 1 within the Company about the [Moscow] project, and that COHEN agreed to travel to Russia in connection with the Moscow Project and took steps in contemplation of Individual 1s possible travel to Russia.

If Donald Trump Jr was part of those conversations, he could be in fresh trouble. In May, Trump Jr told the Senate he wasnt involved with the Moscow deal, and denied awareness that Cohen had contacted the Kremlin to negotiate the deal.

But the brazen nature of Trumps public lying could represent the ultimate hazard for the president, whose party suffered huge losses in elections earlier this month and who himself comes up for re-election in 2020.

Andy Wright, a law professor and founding editor of the Just Security blog, called the Cohen news a bombshell development.

He said: The president was lying to the American people at a critical time during the vetting of his candidacy about whether or not he was pursuing a deal with Russia. Before we get to the law, thats very troubling.

I still think that those fundamental dynamics about lying to American people apply.

The legal process is also incredibly important, but at the end of the day its our democracy that matters more than whether Donald Trump gets punished.
In continued efforts to promote Uganda as a tourist destination, the Uganda Tourism Board (UTB) Thursday hosted a cultural gala for UN delegates who are in the country for the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) Conference currently ongoing at Speke Resort Munyonyo.

The Gala held at the Ndere Cultural Center with also attracted government representatives, the media and other members of the public. It was meant to showcase the beauty of the Pearl of Africa through cultural performances, food, cuisine and true Ugandan hospitality so as to leave a lasting memory in the minds of the delegates for repeat visits after the conference.

Addressing delegates at the event, the UTB Marketing Manager, Ms. Claire Mugabi, said, Uganda is a culturally diverse and rich countrya key selling point for us as a tourist destination. We wanted treat the delegates to a true Ugandan cultural experience at the Ndere Cultural Center. They enjoyed various cultural performances from different parts of Uganda, folklore, food and drink among others.

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Rose Malango, the UN resident coordinator extended her sincere gratitude to UTB for hosting the delegates to a delightful evening of beautifully choreographed cultural performances.

She said, Uganda is truly an endowed country and the cultural experience we have reveled in today highlights the country as culturally diverse and rich but more than that, we were able to see art, unity and enjoy story telling. The delegates have seen Uganda in a way many has never seen or heard about.



Uganda has a rich cultural diversity and is endowed with 64 tribes and language each with a distinct cultural heritage, history, language, food, dance, dressing, beliefs, customs, music and folklore. The country is also known for its food and cuisine punctuated with a wide variety of tropical fruit and organic food, its diversity but also has various uniqueness cultures observed as one moves from region to region.

We hope that we can see repeat visits in big numbers by engaging delegates and other visitors who come to Uganda for conferences and events, Ms. Mugabi said.

The vast majority of tourist arrivals in Uganda are continental visitors from African countries. In 2017, these constituted 80 percent of the total 1,402,409 arrivals for the year while overseas visitors/tourists made up 20 percent or 273,731 of the arrivals.

The tourism industry IN Uganda currently contributes 10 per cent to gross domestic product (GDP), making it the countrys leading foreign exchange earner. The industry contributes more than US $1.4b (Shs5.1 trillion) annually and is projected to earn the country the much needed forex of about Shs10 trillion (US $2.7 billion) by 2020.
Photo illustration: Yahoo News; photos; AP (3), Getty Images

WASHINGTON  Special Counsel Robert Muellers investigation into President Trumps efforts to build a skyscraper in Moscow has led him to ask questions about the role two of the presidents children played in attempting to secure a Russian real estate deal, sources tell Yahoo News.

Muellers interest in the Trump family real estate companys plans for a skyscraper in Russia was confirmed on Thursday when Michael Cohen, the presidents former attorney and fixer, pleaded guilty to lying to Congress about the proposed deal. In charging documents, Mueller said Cohen falsely claimed that the effort to build a Trump Tower Moscow ended in January 2016 in an attempt to minimize links between Trump and the project and to give the false impression the effort ended before the Republican primaries in 2016. Yahoo News first reported in May that congressional investigators had obtained text messages and emails showing Cohens work on Trump Tower Moscow continued for longer than he admitted under oath.

But Cohen wasnt the only person at the Trump Organization who was pursuing deals to build a skyscraper in the Russian capital. Multiple sources have confirmed to Yahoo News that the presidents elder daughter, Ivanka, who is now a top White House adviser, and his eldest son, Don Jr., were also working to make Trump Tower Moscow a reality. The sources said those efforts were independent of Cohens work on the project. One of the sources said Ivanka was also involved in Cohens efforts. And a separate source familiar with the investigation told Yahoo News that Mueller has asked questions about Ivanka and Don Jr.s work on Trump Tower Moscow.

Muellers charging documents against Cohen included a line that described the Trump familys involvement in the project. According to Mueller, one of the things Cohen lied about was that he briefed family members of Trumps who worked at the Trump Organization about the proposed Moscow skyscraper. Prior to joining the White House, Ivanka was an executive at the company. Don Jr. and Trumps middle son, Eric, remain with the Trump Organization.

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A spokesperson for the special counsels office declined to comment on this story. Cohen and his attorney, Guy Petrillo, did not respond to requests for comment, nor did lawyers representing the president.

Donald Trump Jr. and Kimberly Guilfoyle arrive at the lighting of the National Christmas Tree at the Ellipse near the White House on Nov. 28, 2018. (Photo: Andrew Harnik/AP)

A source familiar with the Trump Organization confirmed to Yahoo News that Ivanka and Don Jr. engaged in separate efforts to build a Trump Tower in Moscow. The source said these efforts began years earlier than Cohens project and concluded in 2013.

They were not looking at any other deals after that, the source said.

The source also confirmed that both Ivanka and Don Jr. were aware of Cohens attempts to build in Moscow. According to the source, Ivankas role was limited to recommending an architect and Don Jr. was only peripherally aware of the plan.

Michael was looking at that deal. Don and Ivanka knew about it and Don testified to the Senate Judiciary Committee that he was peripherally aware of it, the source said, adding, Thats why were so perplexed Cohen would lie about briefing them, because no ones ever disputed that they knew he was looking at it.

Don Trump Jr. did not respond to a request for comment on this story. An attorney for Ivanka Trump declined to comment on record.

Just prior to his inauguration, Trump vowed his familys real estate company would do no new deals abroad while he was in office. It would not be illegal for the Trump Organization to have conducted business in Russia prior to that point, and Mueller inquiring about Ivanka and Don Jr.s work on Trump Tower Moscow does not mean they are targets of his investigation. The source familiar with the Trump Organization said the pair were not aware of any work Cohen did on the project beyond the period he initially described to congressional investigators.

White House advisers Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump walk to Air Force One to depart for Argentina and the G-20 Summit with President Trump at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland on Nov. 29, 2018. (Photo: Kevin Lamarque/Reuters)

Theres no question they knew about it, but they had no knowledge of any work on the project after January 2016, the source said.

The Trump Organizations dealings in Moscow have attracted added attention given the U.S. intelligence communitys conclusion that Russian President Vladimir Putin interfered in the 2016 presidential election to help Trump. The president has repeatedly denied that he colluded with Russia and has called Muellers probe a politically motivated witch hunt. Messages obtained by the government show Cohen reached out to Putins office for help as he pursued the Moscow project. He initially said the Russian government did not respond to his overtures, but Muellers charging documents said Cohen did receive a response from Putins government.

On or about January 20, 2016, COHEN received an email from the personal assistant to Russian Official 1 (Assistant 1), stating that she had been trying to reach COHEN and requesting that he call her using a Moscow-based phone number she provided, Mueller wrote.

According to Mueller, Cohen and the officials assistant spoke for approximately 20 minutes and he requested assistance in moving the project forward, both in securing land to build the proposed tower and financing the construction. Mueller said Felix Sater, a developer who was working on the project with Cohen, subsequently followed up.

Sater is a Russian-born longtime business associate of Trumps who first met Cohen while they were both in high school. During the mid 2000s, Sater worked with Trumps real estate company to build hotels in Florida and New York. He also discussed potential projects in Russia with Trumps company during that period. As part of his deal to build Trump-branded properties, Sater had an office in the Trump Organizations Manhattan headquarters and a company business card. Sater was convicted on charges related to a stock fraud scheme involving organized crime figures in 1998. He also spent years working as federal intelligence asset providing crucial information to the government about mobsters and terrorists.

Sater declined to comment on this story beyond saying that his work to build a Trump Tower in Moscow began in 2003.

Correspondence provided by Sater to government investigators that was obtained by Buzzfeed showed that he reached out to Cohen in May 2016 and said Putins top spokesman Dmitry Peskov wanted to invite him to attend an economic forum in St. Petersburg the following month. Sater said Peskov wanted to talk with Cohen there and possibly introduce him to Putin. Peskov was the same official whom Cohen emailed in January 2016. According to Muellers charging documents, Cohen eventually told Sater he couldnt make the trip to Russia on or about June 14, 2016, just as Trump was on the way to securing the Republican presidential nomination.

President Trumps former lawyer Michael Cohen leaves Federal Court in Manhattan after entering a guilty plea on Nov. 29, 2018. (Photo: Andrew Kelly/Reuters)

Trump never managed to build a skyscraper in Russia, but he has tried for the better part of three decades. His first attempt was in 1987, when he traveled to the former Soviet Union to examine possible building sites. According to Buzzfeed, Trumps company announced another exploratory trip in 1996 and that he had his eye on an abandoned factory in the country in 2005.

Reports have previously emerged detailing Ivanka and Don Jr.s involvement in the Trump Tower Moscow efforts. The Buzzfeed report revealed that Sater accompanied the two Trump children to Moscow in 2006. A source told Yahoo News that, while there, the pair held meetings about the project separately from Sater. The book Russian Roulette, which was written by Yahoo News chief investigative correspondent Mike Isikoff and by David Corn, detailed a 2013 effort that involved the Russian oligarch Aras Agalarov and his son Emin. According to the book, Don Jr. was in charge of that project and Ivanka flew to Russia and scouted sites with Emin. The Agalarovs helped Trump host his Miss Universe pageant in Russia in 2013 and helped arrange the infamous June 2016 Trump Tower meeting. The Trump Organization registered the web address TrumpTowerMoscow.com in December 2012. A source familiar with the deal said this was in conjunction with the work being done with Agalarovs.

Trump tweeted at Aras Agalarov about the deal on Nov. 11, 2013, two days after the pageant. He expressed optimism they would get the skyscraper built together.

I had a great weekend with you and your family, Trump wrote, adding, You have done a FANTASTIC job. TRUMP TOWER-MOSCOW is next.

_____

Read more from Yahoo News:
North Korea's foreign minister kicked off an official visit to Communist Vietnam Friday, a trip analysts say carries the potential for the hermit nation to learn from Hanoi's post-war "doi moi" economic transformation.

Vietnam's economy has flourished since market reforms in the 1990s opened its doors to foreign investment and free trade deals, with GDP growth hitting five percent or higher for the past decade.

It has done so while maintaining a single-party Communist state with a tight grip on power and little tolerance for dissent.

It a model that experts say could appeal to Pyongyang -- with an economy long crippled by wide-ranging sanctions and years of self-imposed isolation.

While the full plan for Foreign Minister Ri Yong Ho's three-day visit to Vietnam has not been made public, a diplomatic source in Hanoi told AFP he is due to visit a technology park near the city and meet with agriculture experts.

He will also meet Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc, according to his official schedule.

North Korea's regime wants "to expand their economic relations with other countries and not be completely dependent on China," Kevin Gray, professor of international relations at the University of Sussex told AFP.

"There are also lessons there that North Korea could potentially learn" from Vietnam's opening up, he added.

Ri's Hanoi trip also coincides with a current diplomatic thaw following a series of meetings with Seoul and Washington -- including a landmark summit between North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un and US President Donald Trump in June.

"North Korea is using this period of not testing (its nuclear weapons) to recover its external relations to appear as a respectable member of the international community," said Carl Thayer, emeritus politics professor at the University of New South Wales in Canberra.

Pyongyang "wants to learn from Vietnam's economic transformation", he said, with the caveat that Hanoi's embrace of free trade would be "a bridge too far".

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Economic prosperity is a carrot often dangled by Washington in front of the North in exchange for denuclearisation.

On a July visit to Vietnam US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo remarked on the "once-unimaginable prosperity and partnership" between former war foes Hanoi and Washington.

"Your country can replicate this path. It's yours if you'll seize the moment. The miracle could be yours; it can be your miracle in North Korea as well," he said in comments aimed at Kim Jong Un.

Hanoi's exports to Pyongyang reached $7.3 million last year, mainly of food products, according to official data.
Lagos (AFP) - Nigerian police claimed on Friday that over 100 "bandits" had been killed in a crackdown targeting crime in the northwest state of Zamfara, following a surge in kidnappings for ransom and cattle rustling.

Zamfara has been plagued by violent crime over the past year, with Amnesty International warning in July that people living in the impoverished state were "at the mercy" of armed bandits who take hostages and raid villages.

A joint operation team on Thursday "repelled ambush attacks from armed bandits" at Mahanga Forest in Zamfara State and "in the process killed one hundred and four bandits," national police spokesman Jimoh Moshood said in a statement.

Confirming the death toll Moshood told AFP: "Yes, 104 bandits (were killed). Not people, armed bandits that had been terrorising and killing innocent people."

Over 1,000 policemen had been deployed to Zamfara at the beginning of the month, the statement said, adding that since then 85 people have been arrested in connection with kidnappings and cattle rustling.

Amnesty International Nigeria spokesman Isa Sanusi said it was difficult to assess the success of security operations in the remote region.

"In many cases, the pronouncements of security agencies are quite contrary to the situation on ground in Zamfara state," Sanusi said.

"Bringing the killers to justice is more important in taming the tide of impunity that allowed the security situation in Zamfara state to continue deteriorating."

The kidnappings are just one security concern putting pressure on Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari who is seeking a second, four-year term in closely contested February polls.

Facing criticism for an increase in Boko Haram jihadist attacks, among other security threats, Buhari is working to show that his government is able to tackle rising violence in Nigeria, Africa's largest oil producer.

The problem has sparked the concern of neighbouring Niger.

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In August, Niamey announced it was sending security reinforcements to the Maradi area on the south-central part of the border, which abuts Zamfara.

Nigeria's interior minister said in October that at least 30 bandits were killed in their troubled frontier.

In the last two years, kidnapping for ransom has reached unprecedented levels in the region, where entire villages have been deserted for fear of raids and kidnapping by criminal gangs.

Those abducted are often released within days if the ransom is paid but residents say they can be killed if no money is forthcoming, and their bodies dumped in the bush.
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP)  Although a mere 900 votes separated two North Carolina congressional candidates, the trailing Democrat conceded the race weeks ago. But as the Republican prepared to go to Capitol Hill, election investigators are worried something fishy went on with absentee ballots.

Now, North Carolina election officials have agreed to hold a public hearing into alleged "numerous irregularities" and "concerted fraudulent activities" involving traditional mail-in absentee ballots in the 9th Congressional District, apparently in two rural counties.

The state elections board voted 7-2 on Friday to hear evidence by Dec. 21 before deciding whether to certify the result. Republican Mark Harris leads Democrat Dan McCready by 905 votes from nearly 283,000 cast in eight south-central counties reaching from Charlotte to near Fayetteville.

The hearing will ensure "the election is determined without taint of fraud or corruption and without irregularities that may have changed the result of an election," board member Joshua Malcolm, a Democrat, said in his motion.

If board members find enough problems that could have altered the outcome or cast doubts on the election's fairness, they could order a new election, which could not take place until after the new session of Congress convenes Jan. 3, likely creating a temporary vacancy.

Also on Friday, The Associated Press retracted its call of a winner in the 9th District. The AP, which had called the race for Harris on Nov. 9, said it is treating the board's action as if the race has proceeded to a recount. AP does not call winners in any election that is subject to a recount.

Democrats already won enough House seats nationwide in November to take back the chamber. But a Democratic victory in the 9th District would flip a seat that has been held continuously by Republicans since 1963.

The board's public vote came after a three-hour closed door meeting, with two Republican members joining all Democrats and the lone unaffiliated member in voting to hold the hearing. The state Republican Party had vowed to go to court if the board didn't certify Harris' victory Friday. The board finalized nearly all other Nov. 6 election results earlier this week.

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McCready conceded the race the day after Election Day, when Harris led by less than 1,900 votes. McCready reaffirmed his decision a week later when more counted ballots cut the margin by half. But just ahead of Friday's hearing, McCready said it's critical to determine now whether wrongdoing occurred.

"We must do everything we can to protect the integrity of our ballots and the sanctity of our elections because our democracy depends on it," McCready said in a statement.

Board members have said little publicly about what they're examining. But the focus appears to be on Bladen County, located partially in the district, and adjoining Robeson County, which is entirely in the district. The board confirmed it seized some Bladen absentee ballot applications and ballot envelopes the day after the election.

In separate sworn affidavits released Thursday by the state Democratic Party, two county residents said an unidentified woman came to their homes, telling each of them she was supposed to collect absentee ballots in the area. The residents said the woman took their ballots, which weren't sealed in their envelopes as required by law.

"Because of the way she presented herself, I thought she was legitimate," Emma Shipman, one of the residents, wrote in an affidavit.

Harris said late Friday that the board should certify the race results now while continuing their investigation.

"I support any efforts to investigate allegations of irregularities and/or voter fraud, as long as it is fair and focuses on all political parties," Harris said in a release. "But to date, there is absolutely no public evidence that there are enough ballots in question to affect the outcome of this race."

Harris, a minister and former Baptist State Convention president, received 61 percent of the 684 Bladen County mail-in absentee ballots turned in for the race, or 162 votes more than McCready, according to unofficial results. It's the only county where Harris won more mail-in absentee ballots than McCready.

Bladen and Robeson counties had the highest percentages among 9th District counties of requested mail-in absentee ballots that weren't returned, according to Michael Bitzer, a Catawba College political science professor analyzing race data. The total of nearly 1,700 unreturned ballots in the two counties is greater than Harris' lead. Robeson and Bladen counties were among the hardest hit by Hurricane Florence in mid-September.

Harris upset GOP Rep. Robert Pittenger in the May primary, thanks in large part to a strong showing in Bladen County. Among mail-in ballots, Harris won an overwhelming 96 percent of those votes cast, election data show. Harris supporters attributed his Bladen County primary performance to strong connections with local religious leaders.
Korede, the practical young nurse in Lagos, Nigeria, who serves as the narrator of Oyinkan Braithwaites buzzy and darkly comedic debut novel My Sister, the Serial Killer, cant seem to signal her affections to Tade, the handsome doctor who works in her hospital. Shes unlucky in love, to be surebut not nearly so much as the boyfriends of her beautiful younger sister Ayoola who keep turning up dead.

What the police dont know, but Korede does, is that Ayoola prefers to deliver a knife to the heart rather than risk a potential rejection. Three and they call you a serial killer, Korede reminds her sister, after being called yet again to help disappear the body of a bad date. But when Ayoola attracts the attention of the dreamy Dr. Tade, Korede must decide whether or not to warn him. Blood may be thicker than waterbut Korede is running out of bleach.

Braithwaite, a poet, writer and editor who lives and works in Nigeria, wields a colloquial idiom and quick wit with aplomb, crafting a vibrant world in which sisterly bonds and obligations run up against morality. She illustrates for an American readership that recent re-evaluations of how dynamics should play out between men and women have hardly been confined to the U.S. The deeper questions that abound here are all timely: Is Ayoolas moral compass so damaged because of the sisters abusive late fatherand therefore outside of her control? Did the men perhaps deserve it? Dont all men perhaps deserve it? And arent we all ultimately monsters, each in our own way? (The answers, as Braithwaite knows, are maybe, no, no and no. But asking the questions is provocative enough.)

Braithwaite has updated these downright Dostoyevskian ideas for the social-media set, and the interrogation of how technology intersects with their lives only adds to the novels campy appeal. Ayoola loves to flaunt on Snapchat and Instagramsometimes a bit too soon after committing one of her murderswhile Korede spends her free time watching TED talks. But beneath the Weekend at Berniesstyle morbid hilarity lies a real examination of the often nettlesome bonds of family, and what we owe to the ones we love.

Mancusis debut novel, A Philosophy of Ruin, will be published in June 2019.
By Gabriela Baczynska

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Union's Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier told Britain on Thursday the Brexit deal the bloc agreed with Prime Minister Theresa May was the only one possible.

Barnier was speaking to a nearly-empty EU parliament chamber as the bloc awaits the verdict from London where May is trying to sell the deal to her divided parliament, which will vote on it on Dec. 11. The EU insists the Brexit accord sealed after 18 months of talks will not be renegotiated.

"Given the difficult circumstances of this negotiation and given the extreme complexity of all the issues of the British withdrawal, the deal that is on the table ... this deal is the only one and the best possible," Barnier said.

"Now is the time for ratification," he said.

The Bank of England said on Wednesday Britain risked suffering an even bigger hit to its economy than during the global financial crisis 10 years ago if it left the EU without a deal in four months' time.

"It's not a question of winners and losers because Brexit is a lose-lose. There is no added value," Barnier said.

"I am convinced we will be able to work together for a real and unprecedented partnership," he said of Britain's future relationship with the EU, talks on which will start after Brexit day on March 29, 2019.

During the EU parliamentary debate on Thursday, Brexit campaigner Nigel Farage said May's deal would be voted down in the British parliament as "the worst deal in history".

Barnier received much praise from EU lawmakers on Thursday for his handling of the Brexit negotiations, a sentiment shared in many EU quarters, beefing the Frenchman's chances should he run for the top job in the bloc next year.

(Reporting by Gabriela Baczynska; Editing by Philip Blenkinsop and Janet Lawrence)
MOSCOW -- On an ordinary school day in February, Maria Ushankova's 14-year-old son came home puzzled, saying his class was given a lecture on family values.

A woman, who introduced herself as "an Orthodox teacher," referring to the Russian Orthodox Church, told teenagers that having relationships outside marriage is a sin, condoms don't protect people from HIV or getting pregnant because pores in latex are large enough to let sperm and viruses through, and abortion is murder.

She handed out flyers saying that abortion turns a woman into "a sexually and economically exploited killer of her own children" and showed the kids several excerpts of a film that depicts an aborted fetus being mutilated.

"It was very unpleasant to watch and quite hard on my son," says Ushankova, a professional doula living in Dubna, a small town north of Moscow. "I can easily imagine some teenagers being really traumatized by it. Not to mention that telling teenagers about the ineffectiveness of condoms is, well, weird at the very least."

Ushankova complained to education officials, who acknowledged the material in question was not suitable for presenting to teenagers in schools. The officials suspended the Orthodox teacher from lecturing in Dubna.

[ MORE: 5 things to know about HIV/AIDS around the world.]

The theme of this year's World AIDS Day, occurring on Dec. 1, is encouraging people to know their HIV status. But as the annual day of awareness approaches its 30-year anniversary, countries such as Russia represent one of the greatest challenges global public health officials confront in nations where conservative mores and institutions, such as the Orthodox Church, represent growing barriers to educating the public.

Russia, in particular, faces an escalating HIV crisis. According to a recent WHO report, 130,000 new cases of HIV were registered in Eastern Europe. As many as 104,000 of them were registered in Russia. Russia and Ukraine together account for 75 percent of all new infections in Europe and for 92 percent in Eastern Europe.

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Russia's HIV infection rate is currently at 71.1 new infections per 100,000 people. In Ukraine, it's 37 new infections per 100,000; in Belarus, 26.1 new infections per 100,000 people. Those figures contrast to Western Europe, with 6.4 new infections are found per 100,000 people and in Central European countries, where the rate of new infections is 3.2 per 100,000 people.

[ MORE: 10 countries with the most well-developed public health-care systems.]

What Ushankova's son experienced, however, is hardly an isolated case. While Russian schools don't have sex education lessons on their curriculums, reports of Orthodox teachers and priests lecturing teenagers about sex, gender roles, birth control and abortion surface regularly.

The trend itself is hardly surprising. Since Vladimir Putin returned to the Kremlin as president for the third time in 2012 and, amid Moscow's relations with the West souring, government authorities has pivoted to social conservatism and "traditional values," and the Russian Orthodox Church has grown in power and influence.

In addition to successfully lobbying legislation for its benefit, taking over lucrative pieces of real estate, and interfering with the country's art scene, the Church has also found its way into the school curriculum. It is now controversially trying to fill the niche of sex education, promoting abstinence and condemning contraception as useless or harmful. Meanwhile, roughly 100,000 more people a year have been diagnosed with HIV for the past three years.

Raising Awareness Faces a Conservative Backlash

The idea of talking about sex remains taboo in Russian society. According to a poll released in January 2017 by the independent Levada pollster, 33 percent of Russians don't talk about sex to their family members, deeming it "inappropriate."

In two-thirds of families, parents don't discuss sex with their children, adds Boris Shapiro, professor and head of the psychology department at the Moscow School of Social and Economic Sciences.

And neither do teachers in schools: The few attempts to introduce sex education into the curriculum in Russia over the past four decades failed.

In the mid-1980s, the prominent Soviet psychologist Irina Dubrovina developed a curriculum called "Ethics and Psychology of the Family Life," and for several years it was taught in Soviet schools, recalls Alexander Adamsky, head of the Moscow-based Eureka Institute for Educational Policy Problems.

"Soon enough it quietly died down, having had barely any impact," he says. "People teaching it didn't have any special training, shied away from delicate matters or projected their own prejudices and insecurities on them."

The idea was revisited in the late 1990s. Supported by the Education Ministry and the U.N., Russian educators and prominent psychologists started working on a sex education program for schools. Shapiro was one of them.

"At some point sociologists working on the project distributed survey forms among teachers, parents and students that featured scary words like 'masturbation' and 'clitoris'," says Shapiro, who authored several textbooks on the subject in the 1990s. "Conservative forces, together with the Church, were very vocally outraged and even filed a complaint with the federal Prosecutor's Office. The ministry shut the project down."

Since then any mention of sex education in school has faced backlash from conservative lawmakers and parents' associations that advocate for what they call "traditional family values."

[ MORE: A czar, a ballerina and a conservative backlash in Russia.]

Last year, activists in one of the parents' groups -- the All-Russia Parents' Resistance -- protested against the only state-backed educational initiative that addresses the issue of safe sex: a countrywide lecture on HIV prevention that took place ahead of last year's World AIDS Day. During those lectures, children across the country were shown a short film about HIV in their classrooms and were encouraged to have discussions afterward.

Activists insisted information about sexually transmitted diseases and use of condoms is harmful to children, "molests" them and promotes unhealthy interest for sex among teenagers.

[ MORE: The 10 most health-conscious countries.]

"Adults are broadcasting ideas about starting sex life early, about having sex before marriage and same-sex relations being normal as long as 'sex is physiologically safe,'" says Anna Kulchitskaya, of the All Russia Parents' Resistance. "And early sex life leads to more teenage pregnancies, teenagers contracting STDs, interest in studying plummeting and other problems."

This year, lectures on HIV will be incorporated into biology, history, social studies and safety of living courses, according to Elina Zhgutova, a member of the Civic Chamber, a civil society organization that analyzes draft legislation in Russia and monitors activities of the country's parliament.

The Church Steps In

Conservative institutions didn't stop with opposing sex education. In October 2017 the Association of Parents' Committees and Communities -- another parents' association promoting traditional family values and protesting against sex education in schools -- proposed that the Education Ministry add a subject called "Morality of Family Life" to school curriculums.

By that time the Orthodox Church had already successfully lobbied for schools to teach a course called "Introduction to Religious Cultures and Secular Ethics," which included six subjects to choose from: "Introduction to Orthodox Culture", Introduction to Islamic Culture", "Introduction to Buddhist Culture", "Introduction to Jewish Culture", "Secular Ethics" and a comparative analysis of all four religions.

Since 2012, children in schools across Russia have to study one of those six subjects for a year. "Introduction to Orthodox Culture" remains the most popular subject, according to church officials.

Textbooks and the program for "Morality of Family Life" were written by Nina Krygina, a Russian Orthodox nun, and Dmitry Moiseyev, a Russian Orthodox priest. In 2017 it was already being taught as an experimental, extracurricular subject in selected schools in 60 Russian regions.

The textbook teaches women to obey their husbands, condemns sex before marriage as "skullduggery" and equates abortion to murder. Contraception is mentioned in passing as something that "kills love" and breeds egoism.

[ MORE: The countries seen as the best for women.]

In one of the chapters, authors of the textbook refer readers to an article in another book, "The Science of Virginity," also written by a Russian Orthodox priest. It argues that women's bodies "remember" genes of their first sex partners and replicate those genes in all future children.

The Education Ministry has not responded to a request for comment on the number of schools in which the morality curriculum is being taught now or whether it will be added to the curriculums in schools all around the country. Neither have spokespeople for the Russian Orthodox Church.

In many Russian regions, this subject -- together with extracurricular lectures given by priests -- is already widespread, says Anna Ozhiganova, a researcher with the Institute for Ethnology and Anthropology of the Russian Academy of Science who has been studying the church's influence on education in Russia. "I wouldn't rule out adding it to the curriculum in the future," she says.

Reality Check

A recent survey by the state-backed pollster VTsIOM reflects the trend. A decisive majority of Russians -- 61 percent -- believe the "moral side" of sexual relationships should be the main focus of sex education, while only 30 percent believe that other aspects of sex life should be discussed at school.

As a result, Russian teenagers know little about safe sex, says Daria Rakhmaninova, a biology teacher who is organizing sex education seminars to be available on demand in some progressive Moscow schools.

"They don't know about birth control, they don't know about sexually transmitted diseases," she says. "Some heard about HIV, but that's about it."

In the meantime, the HIV epidemic is rampant in Russia. As of May, 968,698 people were living with the diagnosis, according to Vadim Pokrovsky, head of the Moscow-based Federal Center for Fighting AIDS. Together with those who haven't been diagnosed yet, the number is likely to be much higher -- Pokrovsky estimates the figure to be around 1.3 million.

This year, the number of new infections is going to amount to 100,000. Between 53 percent and 54 percent of those new cases come from heterosexual contacts, Pokrovsky says. "In that sense, for us (HIV specialists) there is no doubt: children need to know how to protect themselves before they start having sex."

Daria Litvinova is a journalist based in Moscow. She has covered all things Russia for The Moscow Times, and has also written for The Guardian, The Telegraph, Coda Story and other publications. You can find her on Twitter here.
Port Moresby (AFP) - As an openly gay man in Papua New Guinea, where sex between men is illegal and stigma and violence widespread, 24-year-old Kapera Patrick remembers thugs pelting him with abuse, stones and bottles.

His life changed when he was taken in by a family in Hanuabada, a settlement in Port Moresby that has become a haven of tolerance, offering sanctuary for dozens in a gay community that is gradually coming out of hiding.

A ramshackle collection of thousands of dwellings built on stilts over the water and connected by rickety and treacherous wooden planks, Hanuabada is a world away from the sanitised districts of the capital that recently played host to Asia-Pacific leaders.

The sprawling settlement, whose name means "big village" in the local Motu language, was built over the sea as locals believe the water protects them from sorcery coming down from the mountains.

A caged pig squats outside many of the huts -- for meat or barter -- and naked children at play squeal with delight as they skip expertly on the narrow and often broken planks that serve as the village's "streets".

Home to as many as 50,000, Hanuabada has become synonymous with a small but thriving gay, lesbian and transgender community that has flocked here as word spread that they would be safe.

"I used to live in a place called Joyce Bay and I got abused. They threw bottles at me, stones at me. And then I heard about this place. I came here and the family brought me in and accepted me," says Patrick, who does informal jobs to get by.

Hanuabada is "a very free place and the people know me. They don't abuse me. I've been accepted for my sexuality," he told AFP, speaking through an interpreter in his native Pidgin.

While nothing like as open as the West, the community has still hosted small drag parties and men both gay and curious come to Hanuabada to meet up, many having their first sexual experiences here.

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Patrick's adoptive "sister", Marelyn Baita, an eloquent 29-year-old, explained how the community grew.

"They used to live outside but some of their friends brought them here," she said. "The community knew them and protected them."

Now the only "abuse" Patrick gets is affectionate and good-natured.

His friends refer to him as "she" and "sister", and wolf-whistle when he poses with -- possibly exaggerated -- campness for photos.

People in the village have accepted the gay community "because that's the way they are," said Baita.

"We cannot change it. That's their personality. That's their life," she told AFP.

- 'Just silly' -

Gay rights advocates in Papua New Guinea detect a gradual improvement in hostile attitudes but say real change cannot come until sodomy is decriminalised.

Parker Hou, who was once beaten up and deliberately burned for his sexuality, said the law meant "illegal" gay people lack access to medical services -- explaining the high rate of HIV.

The law "causes most of our friends to go into hiding. If I'm infected, I'm too scared to go to the clinics," said the 44-year-old, who is campaigning to change what he derides as an "English Victorian law from the 1800s".

"We are using this English law to discriminate against our own Papua New Guinean citizens. I find it just silly," he said with sadness in his voice.

Low levels of education -- nearly half the population is illiterate in the poverty-stricken country -- also plays a huge factor in prejudice faced by the community, says David Lawrence, a prominent gay rights activist.

Bullied and hounded out of school, Lawrence twice attempted suicide but has since become a vocal campaigner and met Queen Elizabeth in 2015 after winning an award for his work.

He said he has met gay people raped for their sexuality and at least three have been murdered, allegedly by "ashamed" members of their family or community.

- 'Dress up like ladies' -

But social media has transformed life for Papua New Guinea's gay community in recent years, said Lesley Bola, who works for UNAIDS.

Members of the community mainly contact each other via Facebook -- often using fake accounts -- and "can express themselves freely" without fear of retribution, said Bola, adding that he had seen a shift in the past 10 years.

Bola works with clinics on changing attitudes in the medical profession but admits it can be a struggle at times.

Being gay in Papua New Guinea is "like survival of the fittest", said the affable 51-year-old.

But small pockets of tolerance like Hanuabada show that attitudes can change with increased "exposure" to the LGBT community, campaigners say -- something Marelyn Baita has seen first-hand with her father.

"When he first came here, seeing gay people, my father couldn't try to understand them. He was so angry. They are men but they tend to... dress up like ladies," she said with a smile.

"He was angry but they continued to live with us year after year and he came to accept them."
Lima (AFP) - Just like the Sentinelese tribal people who recently killed an American who ventured onto their Indian Ocean island, Amerindians from the Amazon rainforest reject all contact with the outside world.

But their way of life, and indeed their lives, are under threat from drug trafficking, illegal deforestation and mineral exploitation.

Peru, half of which is covered by the Amazon rainforest, is one of the few countries left in the world where uncontacted tribes continue to live in absolute autonomy, away from modern society.

The Peruvian Amazon is home to 16 indigenous communities numbering some 4,500 people, according to the culture ministry, that live in voluntary isolation.

Amongst them are the Mashco-piro, Cacataibos, Isconahuas, Matsigenkas, Mastanahuas, Murunahuas, Nantis and Yoras tribes.

Three more communities, around 2,500 people, are in a situation of "initial contact."

They all live in reserves in three regions in the east of Peru: Ucayali, Madre de Dios and Cusc.

Contact between these groups and outsiders is rare, but sometimes violent, in much the same way as 27-year-old American John Allen Chau's encounter with the Sentinelese in the Andaman Islands.

Only around 150 members of that tribe remain on North Sentinel Island and all outsiders are barred from even approaching within three miles (five kilometers) of their land.

- 'Atrocious' -

In the Amazon, this refusal to mix with the outside world is in large part a reaction to previous contact that has seen the Indians suffer attacks and outbreaks of diseases brought by colonizers to which they have no immunity, something that has decimated their communities.

During the Amazon Rubber Boom from 1879-1912, said by an Irish diplomat at the time to have inflicted "atrocious" crimes against indigenous people, many Mashco-piro were captured and exploited in conditions akin to slavery, pushing the rest of their community deeper into the forest to protect themselves.

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However, unlike North Sentinel, the Amazon is not an island and external threats are numerous and hard to ward off.

In this little-populated area, illegal activities pose the biggest threat, in particular drug trafficking as the narcotics gangs look to take advantage of jungle areas that are difficult to access.

"Drug traffickers don't care about protected areas, except to expand" their illegal coca plantations, said police colonel Arquimedes Leon.

"For them, it's the jungle and they couldn't care less."

Beyond that, the Amazon's natural riches attract all sorts of prospectors, whether to exploit its gold or its cedars and mahogany trees, which are in danger of extinction.

Incursions by outsiders "are often violent and displace communities from their habitats," said the Native Federation of the Madre de Dios River, a region considered the epicenter of illegal mineral exploitation in Peru.

- Tourism threat -

But it's not just illegal activity causing damage to the Indians homeland, but also the building of roads to develop tourism in the Amazon.

In January, Peru's parliament voted to authorize the construction of roads through the rainforest, and that despite Pope Francis, who was visiting the region at the time, calling for the protection of uncontacted peoples.

The pontiff hit out at "the great pressure from big business that covets oil, gas, wood, gold, or the monoculture agribusinesses."

His appeal seems to have been in vain. Peruvian authorities have yet to take any measures to protect isolated communities, and all the while Peru continues to lose more than 120,000 hectares of forest every year.

Any project in the area "needs to be planned" to avoid seriously affecting "either the Indians" or the environment, said Nancy Portugal, head of the culture ministry's isolated peoples section.

There's little hope, though, given the minimal surveillance capabilities and meagre resources of the vast region's local authorities.

The Mashco-piro, a nomadic group of around 900 hunter-gatherers, live on two reserves close to the country's major tourist hubs of the old Inca capital of Machu Picchu and the nearby city of Cusco.

To protect the Mashco-piro, the culture ministry has implemented controls to try to prevent unscrupulous tourism agencies from selling excursions to meet the untouched tribes.

But they face an uphill battle.
Don't worry, adult video aficionados. Even though Starbucks will soon begin filtering porn for customers using the chain's in-store WiFi network, Pornhub has a workaround so you can still get your kicks while you sip your grande mocha.

Sure, the desire to watch pornography in such a public venue is a bit unnerving, but who are we to judge. Pornhub, who has as much to lose as anyone in this scenario, on Thursday announced its brand new "Safe For Work" category  specifically designed to help those of you who are just itching to surf to the site while visiting a public coffee shop.

While we were aware some peoples preference in a sexual partner mimics that of their coffee, we were unaware that people were acting on such impulses when getting their caffeine fix, said Corey Price, VP, Pornhub, in a statement. To comply with Starbucks new policy, weve created an option that allow fans to still enjoy great content to which they are accustomed, but that is appropriate for consumption in public places.

From Sexy Waluigi to Toto

Image: Pornhub

The actual content on the SFW page is, well, as varied and quirky as everything else you'd find on Pornhub: music videos, video game clips, and a hodgepodge of other stuff.

In a statement to The Verge, Starbucks recently noted that using its WiFi to view pornography has always been banned, it's just lacked the technological tools to actually filter all that stuff out, something they promised to do back in 2016.

But it seems they finally have things in order and will have the filtering in place by 2019, following public pressure from activist groups like Enough is Enough.

There aren't a lot of details out yet about how Starbucks will filter so it remains to be seen if people will actually be able to access the new SFW Pornhub page or if the entire Pornhub URL will be blocked from view.

Either way, you've got to hand it to Pornhub for not letting any obstacle stand in their way in their attempt at world domination.

In the meantime, if you're craving the ultimate in SFW content from Pornhub, may we suggest these hilariously wholesome videos from Ryan Creamer (a former Mashable employee).
Saudi Arabias controversial Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman faces the possible wrath of an Argentinian prosecutor as well as the potential cold shoulder from world leaders during a G20 summit in Buenos Aires this week that marks his first foray outside the Arab world after the 2 October murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi allegedly at the hands of agents within his political and security entourage.

The prince arrived in Buenos Aires on Wednesday, landing in the city after an official visit to Tunisia, amid calls for his prosecution for war crimes by human rights organisations over his handling of the war in Yemen. Late on Wednesday, Human Rights Watch declared that the Argentinians are moving ahead with a case against him, asking a judge to begin collecting evidence from Saudi and Yemeni sources and the countrys diplomats to render an opinion on his diplomatic status.

The 33-year-old crown prince could have cancelled the trip, and it carries some risks. But hes betting his gamble will pay off.

Argentina, which suffered through its own long night of brutal dictatorship at the hands of thuggish generals, has a constitutional clause allowing for prosecution of international figures on war crimes charges, though it remains unlikely that Argentinian judges indict him, or that Buenos Aires centre-right government would implement any ruling.

G20 summits are generally an opportunity for leaders of the worlds richest, their chief bankers and finance ministers to discuss trade and the management of the global economic system. Last year, Saudi King Salman cancelled his trip to the G20 summit in Hamburg, dispatching his finance minister and another top official instead in the wake of the crisis surrounding the ongoing blockade against Qatar

Amid continuing global uproar over the killing and dismemberment of the Saudi journalist, Prince Mohammad too could have easily cancelled  dispatching another official in his place. Instead, he arrived a day or two early.

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The summit may present some awkward moments at the seaside Costa Salguero convention centre, where the event will be held. It will be the first time the prince will confront Justin Trudeau, prime minister of Canada, with which Riyadh cut trade ties over a tweet by Ottawas foreign minister calling attention to human rights abuses in the kingdom, in what was seen as an epic temper tantrum by the young would-be monarch.

German chancellor Angela Merkel and the Dutch premier Mark Rutte, who have both suspended weapons sales to Saudi over the Khashoggi killing and the Yemen war, will also be attending the leaders summit, which begins on Friday.

The Saudi crown prince is going to be keen to make this trip as an expression of him having weathered the storm following the Khashoggi affair  but a real test of that is going to be whether or not world leaders will actually have their pictures taken with him, shaking his hand, said HA Hellyer, senior associate fellow at the Royal United Services Institute and Atlantic Council.

Theres still a lot of domestic anger about the Khashoggi affair in a lot of western capitals.

As always, huge and raucous demonstrations are planned against the gathering of the world leaders, and protesters will likely invoke Prince Mohammads name and image as a trope to underscore a capitalist system they consider brutal and exploitative.

But the prince probably calculate that the prestige of appearing among world leaders in photos and handshakes outweighs the risks of encountering protesters or snubs, or the relatively minuscule possibility of being arrested on charges of war crimes against Yemeni civilians.

World leaders at least years G20 summit in Hamburg (Wikimedia Commons)

Being photographed shaking hands with world leaders not only solidifies his international stature and quells any doubts about whether hes become a pariah to lawmakers in the US considering punishments against him; it may also subdue any talk of replacing him as heir to the Saudi throne at home.

The administration of Donald Trump, who has described Prince Mohammad as the cornerstone of his ill-defined vision to secure a Middle East peace and confront Iran, has already done its part to launder his image. In a widely derided piece that included several inaccuracies, secretary of state Mike Pompeo described critics of the crown prince as appeasers of Iran.

Abandoning or downgrading the US-Saudi alliance would also do nothing to push Riyadh in a better direction at home, he wrote in The Wall Street Journal on Tuesday. The crown prince has moved the country in a reformist direction, from allowing women to drive and attend sporting events, to curbing the religious police and calling for a return to moderate Islam.

Even Turkeys Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who has spearheaded the effective campaign of leaks that have kept the Khashoggi matter in world headlines for nearly two months, has insisted hes willing to meet with Prince Mohammad at the summit.

The prince has asked Erdogan about the possibility of a meeting in Buenos Aires. Erdogans answer was: Well see, Turkeys foreign minister Mevlut Cavusoglu told the Suddeutsche Zeitung on Monday.

Mr Erdogan has all but accused the prince of ordering the killing of Khashoggi, insisting the murder came at the behest of the highest levels of the Saudi government, while absolving King Salman.

On Wednesday, more possible evidence tying Prince Mohammad to the murders emerged in a report by the newspaper Milliyet, alleging that the team of killers dispatched from Riyadh initially planned to be killed in two villas in the northwestern Turkish province of Yalova owned by two Saudi businessmen, Mohammad Ahmed al-Fozan and Abdulaziz Ibrahim al-Omary, it described as friends of Prince Mohammad.

Mr Erdogan has repeatedly insisted he wont allow Khashoggis killers to get away unscathed. But there are also indications that the Khashoggi affair is falling off Turkeys agenda.

A number of conscientious journalists and human rights activists continue to follow up the savage murder, columnist Deniz Zeyrek wrote in the opposition newspaper Sozcu on Tuesday.But at the government level we dont hear the same determination and loud voice of 10 days ago.
While most children are gearing up to send their Christmas wishlists off to the North Pole, a little boy in the U.K. was busy penning a more somber type of letter  one to his father in heaven.

Teri Copland wrote on Facebook that her 7-year-old son, Jase, recently asked her if he could send a note to his late father, James Hyndman, via the Royal Mail, a British courier company.

"Mr. Postman," the handwritten envelope read. "Can you please take this to heaven for my dads birthday, thanks."

The boy's mother dutifully sent the letter, not expecting any sort of response  but Copland said what her son received in return "restored (her) faith in humanity."

Jase was sent a letter by Sean Milligan, an Assistant Office Manager at the Royal Mail, on Nov. 28, explaining that the letter he sent to his father had, in fact, been delivered.

"I just wanted to take this opportunity to contact you about how we succeeded in the delivery of your letter, to your dad in heaven," Milligan wrote to the young boy. "This was a difficult challenge avoiding stars and other galactic objects on route to heaven. However, please be assured that this particular of mail has been delivered."

"Royal Mail's priority is to get our customers' mail delivered safely," the note concluded. "I know how important your mail is to you. I will continue to do all I can to ensure delivery to heaven safely."

Milligan immediately took to Facebook to share her gratitude over the kind gesture. At the time of publication, her post has already been shared over 250,000 times and racked up nearly 50,000 comments from people around the world.

"A few weeks ago my 7 year old [sic] son posted this card to his dad in heaven and today he got a lovely reply from the postman," she wrote on Facebook. "I actually cannot state how emotional he is knowing his dad got his card... you didnt have to make the effort to do this you could have just ignored it but the fact that yous [sic] have made the effort for a little boy you've never met is such a lovely thing to do."

"Royal Mail you've just restored my faith in humanity and thank you it honestly means the world to him please share this so all the staff at Royal Mail know just how greatful [sic] we are," she added.
The woman had previous convictions, including theft and criminal damage (Getty)

A pregnant woman has been sentenced to jail for two months in Ireland for stealing and causing criminal damage to a tube of Pringles.

Kathleen McDonagh had started eating the crisps before paying for the 1.30 snack at a Tesco shop in Cork.

The 25-year-old had previously been banned from the store and a string of previous convictions, including for theft.

McDonagh said she had only opened the crisps so that security would let her pay for it.

Instead, she was arrested and subsequently jailed for damaging the product as it could no longer be sold.

The incident took place in a Tesco store in Cork, Ireland (PA)

The incident took place in December 2016 but has only just come to court.

She had already been banned from the store at the time of the incident.

MORE: Appalling moment police are attacked with bricks and fireworks by mob of up to 100 teenagers

MORE: Hunt for missing couple after car washes up on Scottish beach

McDonagh was known to its staff when she took the tin of Pringles and headed to the self-checkout area.

Security staff approached her to order her to leave the store when she popped the Pringles top and opened the foil seal.

An inspector told the court that she said: I opened it so you have to leave me pay for it.

McDonaghs lawyers asked for leniency from the court, explaining that she was recently married and several months pregnant.

She had also pleaded guilty.

Regardless, the court imposed a sentence of four months, with two months suspended.

The judge said it was difficult to see her actions as anything but smart Alec behaviour.

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By Matthias Williams and Daren Butler KIEV/ISTANBUL (Reuters) - President Petro Poroshenko said on Thursday Ukraine was on the cusp of securing its own independent church, snapping centuries-old ties to a Russian clergy that Kiev accuses of meddling in its affairs. Poroshenko's comments came after the Ecumenical Patriarchate in Istanbul, home to the global spiritual leader of Orthodox Christians, announced it had drafted a constitutional charter for an "autocephalous", or self-governing, Ukrainian church. Ukraine's push to create an independent church has incensed Moscow at a time of escalating crisis between the two neighbors following Russia's capture of three Ukrainian vessels that Kiev fears may be a precursor to a full-scale invasion. Relations collapsed following Russia's seizure of Crimea from Ukraine in 2014 and the outbreak of a Kremlin-backed insurgency in eastern Ukraine that has killed more than 10,000 people. "Today, at the Holy Synod of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, historical decisions have been taken on the creation of an autocephalous Ukrainian Orthodox Church," Poroshenko said in a televised address. Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew will soon announce when the Ukrainian clergy is to meet to pick the head of the new church, Poroshenko added. Earlier, the Ecumenical Patriarchate said in a statement that "the Holy and Sacred Synod drafted the Ukrainian Church's Constitutional Charter". CHURCH RIVALRY Ukraine had sought the Ecumenical Patriarchate's consent to establish an independent church and won its backing in October, prompting the Russian Orthodox Church to break off diplomatic ties with the Istanbul-based Patriarchate. Ukraine's leadership accuses the Moscow-backed faction of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, widely known as the Moscow Patriarchate, of being a tool of the Kremlin to spread Russian propaganda and foster Russian expansionism. The Moscow Patriarchate strongly denies this and says it is working to promote peace in Ukraine. Russia accuses Poroshenko of manufacturing crises, both on the church issue and in the naval standoff that erupted on Sunday, in order to whip up Ukrainian national pride and boost his sagging popularity ahead of elections next March. Poroshenko said Russia had tried to thwart Ukraine's bid for church independence but added: "The Lord was with us because we are leading a righteous struggle for our independence." Ukraine and Russia trace their Orthodox Christian roots to Volodymyr the Great, the prince whose baptism in 988 in Kiev led to the christianisation of the region known as "Kievan Rus". Two large Orthodox Churches compete for influence in Ukraine. The Moscow Patriarchate, which is aligned with the Russian Orthodox Church, earlier dominated in Ukraine but has been challenged by a rival, known as the Kiev Patriarchate, formed after the 1991 break-up of the Russian-dominated Soviet Union. Support for the Kiev Patriarchate swelled after the annexation of Crimea. It supports church independence and Ukraine's closer integration with the West. (Additional reporting by Natalia Zinets in Kiev; Editing by Gareth Jones)
Friedrich Merz is thought to be neck-and-neck with Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer - REUTERS

The pretender came out fighting on Wednesday night at the most important hustings in the race to succeed Angela Merkel. Friedrich Merz, an old rival of the German chancellor, is vying to make a remarkable comeback by replacing her as leader of her Christian Democrat party (CDU).

And he didnt hesitate to attack her record as leader, claiming she has abandoned the partys conservative profile.

You don't need to copy every single Social Democrat policy, that just doesn't have to happen, he said, referring to the Germanys main centre-Left party.

By the time Mr Merz had finished a speech in which he appealed for more funding for the Germany military, several audience members leapt up in a standing ovation.

Wednesday's hustings in Dusseldorf was make-or-break for Mr Merz, who retired from politics in 2009 after losing to Mrs Merkel in a battle for control of the party.

He is locked in a three-way race to take over as CDU leader when Mrs Merkel stands down next month and, if polling is to be believed, he is neck-and-neck with Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, the current party chairman and a Merkel loyalist.

The third candidate, Jens Spahn, is lagging far behind.

While Mr Merzs unlikely comeback has attracted support from more conservative areas of Germany, he needs the backing of the party here in North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW), Germanys most populous state, if he is to pull off what would be a stunning upset.

The state will send close to a third of the 1,001 delegates who will elect the new leader in a secret ballot at the party conference in Hamburg on December 7.

North Rhine-Westphaliais traditionally more Left-leaning than other parts of Germany, and was one of few places where Mrs Merkel gained votes in last years election.

But in a worrying sign for Mr Merzs opponents, their reception at Wednesday's hustings was polite but subdued in comparison to Mr Merzs.

Whoever convinces NRW has won half the battle, Franz Otterbeck, a long-time party member says. Merz comes from North Rhine-Westphalia, he's from the Sauerland region and they're straight talkers there, but I don't know if that has helped him.

Story continues

CDU candidates for the party chair Friedrich Merz, Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer and Jens Spahn Credit: REUTERS/Thilo Schmuelgen

Mr Merz's strategy of openly attacking Merkel and her government has proved risky.

Since leaving politics in 2009 he has followed lucrative career in the private sector and is the only candidate who hasnt been involved in the party as it has slumped from close to 40 per cent in the polls to less than 30 over the last three years.

He has ruffled feathers in the CDU by accusing the party of shrugging its shoulders at the rise of the populist Alternative for Germany party (AfD) and becoming too social democrat.

But he appeared to go too far last week with a call to change the right to asylum in the German constitution  comments that attracted criticism from across the political spectrum.

When he said that he took things to a needlessly complicated level, says Dr Otterbeck, who fears Mr Merz may have ruined his chances with the move.

Polls regularly show Ms Kramp-Karrenbauer is the most popular candidate with the general German public, and the mood in the exhibition hall reflected how close the race is.

We did a little quiz on our way in where we had to pick out which candidate said what, and we realised we couldn't really tell the difference, says Renate Hermanns. In the end they are all conservatives.

But Ms Hermanns says she knows she who is backing. Merz is the only one who is smart enough to take on international politics. He has strength, power and emotion.

Ms Kramp Karrenbauer, she says, is too indecisive: too Merkel-like.
Debris and mud rushed down from the barren areas left behind by an August wildfire in Trabuco Canyon, California, on Thursday, November 29. Heavy rains had prompted flash flood warnings from the National Weather Service.

Thousands of residents were ordered to evacuate because of the warnings. These videos were shot by Orange County Public Works at the Trabuco Canyon Road bridge over normally dry Trabuco Creek.

The Holy Fire burned for more than a month in August and September, torching more than 23,000 acres. Credit: Orange County Public Works via Storyful
Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.), right, shown Aug. 23 at the Capitol with Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.), just sank President Donald Trump's judicial nominee Thomas Farr. (Photo: J. Scott Applewhite/ASSOCIATED PRESS)

WASHINGTON  In a shocking defeat for President Donald Trump, Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) announced Thursday that he cant support his controversial judicial nominee Thomas Farr, torpedoing the nomination.

Scott said in statement, first reported by The State, that a 1991 Justice Department memo leaked this week raised concerns for him over Farrs role in a voter suppression scheme that took place during the 1984 and 1990 campaigns of Sen. Jesse Helms (R-N.C.). Farr worked with Helms campaign at the time.

I am ready and willing to support strong candidates for our judicial vacancies that do not have lingering concerns about issues that could affect their decision-making process as a federal judge, Scott said in his statement. This week, a Department of Justice memo written under President George H.W. Bush was released that shed new light on Mr. Farrs activities. This, in turn, created more concerns. Weighing these important factors, this afternoon I concluded that I could not support Mr. Farrs nomination.

Without Scotts support, and with Sen. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) already saying he was a no vote, Farr doesnt have the votes to be confirmed to the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina. Every Democrat opposed him.

Civil rights groups and the Congressional Black Caucus have been trying to sink Farrs nomination for nearly a year. The 64-year-old attorney wrote North Carolinas extreme voter ID law in 2013, which was later struck down by a federal appeals court. The court found the law targeted black people with almost surgical precision.

Farr also defended the states racially discriminatory gerrymandering in federal court in 2015 (and lost), and he may have lied to the Senate about his role in disenfranchising tens of thousands of black voters when he worked for Helms in 1990.

It is unconscionable that the Senate would even consider someone with Thomas Farrs record, Sherrilyn Ifill, president of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, said Tuesday. In 2018, this should simply be unacceptable.

Story continues

Scotts rejection of Farr marks the second time hes opposed one of Trumps court picks. In July, the South Carolina Republican refused to support circuit court nominee Ryan Bounds, citing his record of racist writings in college. His vote killed that nomination, too.

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By Sanjeev Miglani and Hesham Hajali NEW DELHI/CAIRO (Reuters) - Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman met Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and told him about plans to scale up investments in India's tech, farm and energy sectors, an Indian official and the Saudi news agency (SPA) said on Friday. The two leaders, who are in Argentina for the G20 summit, met in the prince's residence in Buenos Aires and discussed Saudi Arabia's readiness to supply India with oil and petroleum products. The G20 summit in Buenos Aires is the first major international event the Saudi prince has attended since the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul in October. The Saudi prince told Modi he would soon be finalizing an initial investment in India's National Investment and Infrastructure Fund, a quasi-sovereign wealth fund, to help accelerate the building of ports, highways and other projects, a top Indian diplomat said. "The crown prince also referred to future projects for investments, in sectors such as tech, energy and farm," Indian Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale, who is accompanying Modi to the G20, said in a readout of the meeting. Ways in which Saudi Arabia could replace its agricultural imports from other countries with Indian agricultural produce were also discussed, the Saudi news agency said. Since he took office in 2014 at the head of a Hindu-nationalist government, Modi has sought to expand ties with Saudi Arabia and other Islamic nations to deny arch foe Pakistan an advantage and to leverage India's fast-growing economy as an attractive investment. STABLE OIL The meeting with the Saudi crown prince was Modi's first in a set of "bilaterals" on the sidelines of the G20 that will be followed by meetings with U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping. "We expect that in the next two to three years there will be significant scaling up of Saudi investments in India," Gokhale said. The two leaders also talked about cooperation in arms manufacturing and Saudi Arabia's efforts to develop a domestic arms industry, SPA said. Modi stressed the importance of stable energy prices and the two leaders discussed ways in which Saudi Arabia, a top crude oil supplier, could help stabilize prices, particularly for India, Gokhale said. India, the worlds third-biggest oil importer, has been grappling with a combination of soaring prices and a falling currency, which makes imports of dollar-denominated oil more expensive, until a recent fall in oil prices. Saudi Arabia has told India it is committed to meeting its rising oil demand and is the "shock absorber" for supply disruptions in the oil market. The crown prince also discussed with Modi Saudi oil giant Aramco's investment in refineries in India, including the company's project to build a large refinery on the western coast of India, SPA said. The two leaders also explored investing in solar energy through Softbank's Saudi-backed Vision Fund and opportunities to export Saudi non-oil products to India. (Reporting by Sanjeev Miglani in NEW DELHI and Hesham Hajali in CAIRO; Editing by Leslie Adler, Darren Schuettler and Paul Tait)
Hong Kong (AFP) - A scientist who upended a Hong Kong conference with his claim to have created the world's first genetically-edited babies cancelled a fresh talk and was heavily criticised by organisers Thursday, who labelled him as irresponsible.

He Jiankui had told a packed biomedical conference Wednesday he was "proud" to have successfully altered the DNA of twin girls born to an HIV-positive father, an apparent medical breakthrough.

But details of the experiment, which has not been independently verified, triggered an immediate backlash and He said the trial had been halted.

The founder of an HIV support group reported to be based in Beijing said Thursday that he regretted introducing families to He for the trial, according to local media.

Bai Hua, the group's head, said he had introduced 50 families to He's team.

"In the beginning we did not understand what it was they were really doing. Actually right now my personal feeling is that they are a bit crazy," he told RTHK.

Bai added that he had spoken to two of the families involved in the trial and questioned whether the risks and ethical issues had been fully explained to them.

"The team all along emphasised that the chance of success was high, and that there were risks, but they were low," he told RTHK.

Professor He was supposed to speak at the summit again Thursday but disappeared from the schedule.

David Baltimore, a Nobel laureate and chairman of the organising committee, told reporters it was He's decision not to attend.

Organisers of the Second International Summit on Human Genome Editing denounced He's "unexpected and deeply disturbing" claim that human embryos had been edited and implanted, and called for closer supervision of the field at the conclusion of the conference Thursday.

"Even if the modifications are verified, the procedure was irresponsible and failed to conform with international norms," they said in a statement.

Story continues

"Its flaws include an inadequate medical indication, a poorly designed study protocol, a failure to meet ethical standards for protecting the welfare of research subjects, and a lack of transparency in the development, review and conduct of clinical procedures," it added.

- Life-long impact -

University professor He, based in the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen, said the twin girls, born a few weeks ago, had their DNA altered to prevent them from contracting HIV. Eight volunteer couples -- HIV-positive fathers and HIV-negative mothers -- signed up to the trial, with one dropping out before it was put on hold.

He said there had been "another potential pregnancy" involving a second couple, but it is unclear whether that pregnancy is still ongoing.

Experts warned that editing human embryos can create unintended mutations in other areas -- so-called "off-target effects" -- which can have an impact through the lifetime.

Southern University of Science and Technology distanced itself from He, saying he had been on unpaid leave since February and had "seriously violated academic ethics".

He, who was educated at Stanford University, said the twins' DNA was modified using CRISPR, a technique which allows scientists to remove and replace a strand with pinpoint precision.

Co-creator of the technology Jennifer Doudna said she felt "horrified" at hearing He's talk, adding she felt deeply concerned for the people affected and questioned whether they really understood the procedure.

Summit organisers said germline genome editing could become "acceptable" in future if rigorous criteria are met, including "strict independent oversight".

However they added that there were too many scientific and technical uncertainties to permit clinical trials at this stage.
A "must-run" segment defending an anti-Muslim extremist is broadcast on a Portland, Oregon, local TV station. (Photo: )

Sinclair Broadcast Group, which owns local news stations that reach a collective 40 percent of Americans, rolled out a must-run segment Wednesday morning that defended a far-right conspiracy theorist.

The segment, by former Trump campaign senior adviser Boris Epshteyn, blasted Twitter for banning Laura Loomer last week for promoting hate, Media Matters first reported. Loomer, an anti-Muslim extremist who had around 260,000 followers on the site, would use the platform to claim without evidence that Sharia law had gone into effect in places like Michigan.

In his segment, Epshteyn defended the tweet that finally got Loomer kicked off Twitter  an attack on Muslim Rep.-elect Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.).

Omar had condemned the evil doings of Israel in a 2012 tweet, writing, Israel has hypnotized the world. The message, as Omar explained more fully during her campaign, was a criticism of the nation of Israel and its violent conflict with neighboring Palestine, not of Jewish people.

But Loomer, who is Jewish, used Omars 2012 tweet to claim the representative-elect is anti-Jewish and participates in a religion in which women are forced to wear the hijab.

Epshteyn also pushed the false notion that Omars message was a hateful critique of Jewish people, framing her ban as unfair conservative censorship. He went on to ask why Loomer had been banned when Louis Farrakhan, the leader of the Nation of Islam and a known anti-Semite, had not been.

In a series of tweets from its official account, Sinclair said Epshteyns comments dont reflect the companys views and emphasized that they were labeled clearly as commentary. However, there was no acknowledgment of the segment being a must-run on all its stations.

We'd like to take a moment and address some concerns regarding a commentary segment by @borisep that was aired on Sinclair stations this week. The opinions expressed in this segment do not reflect the views of Sinclair Broadcast Group.  Sinclair Broadcast Group (@WeAreSinclair) November 28, 2018

When Boriss segments are aired on our stations, they are labeled clearly as commentary. We also offer our stations reporting from the Beltway and beyond that are not partisan or bias in any way.  Sinclair Broadcast Group (@WeAreSinclair) November 28, 2018

Twitter has been called out for its remarkably uneven policy of banning members. Yet Loomers hateful anti-Muslim rhetoric has been well-documented on the website. She was also previously banned from using Uber and Lyft after tweeting complaints about the Islamic immigrant driver[s] employed by both services.

Story continues

Epshteyns message directly follows another eyebrow-raising segment Sinclair reportedly broadcast to its nearly 200 networks. In it, Epshteyn defended using force, including tear-gassing children, against the Central American migrant caravans.

Sinclair is known for making stations air its right-leaning must-run segments. The company demanded earlier this year that local news anchors recite a script bashing the mainstream media, and a video compilation of the bizarre mandate went viral.

This story has been updated to include Sinclairs response via Twitter.

Related Coverage

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How To Hit Sinclair Where It Hurts, According To An Anonymous Sinclair Anchor

New Sinclair Segment Defends Tear-Gassing Of Migrant Children At Border

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Bratislava (AFP) - Slovakia's prime minister clashed with the defence ministry on Friday over a deal to acquire US-made F-16 war planes in what is slated as the NATO member's biggest military purchase.

The defence ministry announced Friday that it had concluded three agreements to buy 14 Lockheed Martin-made warplanes plus arms and training valued at 1.58 billion euros ($1.8 billion).

Hours later, Prime Minister Peter Pellegrini issued a statement saying that the contracts were invalid because they had not been approved by the finance ministry.

"Premier Pellegrini considers the contracts regarding the purchase of F-16 fighters signed earlier in the day by the defence ministry to be invalid for the moment, as the finance ministry still hasn't approved the deal," a statement said.

The defence ministry is headed by Peter Gajdos from the hard-right Slovak National Party (SNS), a junior coalition partner to Pellegrini's populist left SD-Smer Social Democracy.

Analysts suggested Friday that the clash was likely rooted in an internal power struggle within the coalition.

A former communist NATO and eurozone member of 5.4 million people, Slovakia is seeking to replace its ageing fleet of Soviet-designed, Russian made MiG-29 fighter jets.

The US State Department approved the F-16 deal in April. Pellegrini's government had formally decided in July to go ahead with the purchase.
Southwest Airlines has apologised after an employee mocked a child's name (Stock)

Southwest Airlines has issued an apology after a boarding agent mocked the name of a five-year-old girl.

Traci Redford told ABC7 that she was travelling with her daughter Abcde (pronounced Ab-city) at John Wayne Airport in California when the Southwest employee at the gate noticed her daughters unusual name.

Redford and her daughter, who has epilepsy, were boarding the plane early when the agent started mocking my childs name, laughing, pointing at me and my daughter and talking to other employees.

According to Redford, she immediately asked that the gate agent stop, saying: Hey, I can hear you, so if I can hear you, my daughter can, too. Id appreciate it if youd just stop.

The incident escalated further, according to Redford, when she was made aware of a Facebook post by the same agent of Abcdes boarding pass, where the employee continued to mock the five-year-olds name.

While I was sitting there, she took a picture of my boarding pass and chose to post in on social media, mocking my daughter, Redford said. It was actually brought to my attention by somebody who had seen it on Facebook and reported it to Southwest Airlines.

The airline has since released a formal apology, stating: We extend our sincere apology to the family.

Name shaming? This Texas woman claims a @SouthwestAir agent made fun of her 5-year-old daughter's name as they were preparing to board their flight at @JohnWayneAir in Orange County.



Her daughter's name is Abcde (pronounced Ab-city). @ABC7 pic.twitter.com/iHpBPoakYI  Veronica Miracle (@ABC7Veronica) November 28, 2018

We take great pride in extending our Southwest Hospitality to all of our customers, which includes living by the Golden Rule and treating every individual with respect, in person or online.

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The post is not indicative of the care, respect, and civility we expect from all of our employees.

The airline also said that while it does not disclose personnel actions publicly, it has reached out to the employee involved and was using this as an opportunity to reinforce our policies and emphasise our expectations for all employees.

According to Redford, she's using the experience as a chance to teach her daughter that "not everyone is nice and not everyone is going to be nice and it's unfortunate."
By Lisa Lambert WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Legislation to protect the special counsel's office probe into possible Russian election interference stalled in the U.S. Senate on Wednesday, spurring Republican Senator Jeff Flake to make good on his threat of opposing judicial nominations until the bill moves forward. Fellow Republican Vice President Mike Pence was called in as president of the senate to break a tie vote on confirming Thomas Farr as a U.S. District Judge in North Carolina, after Flake voted "no." Flake is a strong advocate for the protection bill, known as the Special Counsel Independence and Integrity Act, which would make it harder for President Donald Trump to undermine the investigation of Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election. The measure has already been approved at the committee level with support from both parties. Trump has called Special Counsel Robert Mueller's probe, which is also looking into possible collusion between Moscow and Trump's 2016 presidential campaign, a witch hunt. Russia denies interfering in the 2016 election and Trump has denied any collusion occurred. Speaking to reporters earlier on Wednesday, Flake, who is retiring soon, said he believed the bill could pass but that he had been told "somebody will block it." "So my commitment to not vote for judges before the committee or on the floor until we get this done stands," Flake said. Shortly after, Republican Senator Mike Lee took to the floor to block the bill, saying it goes against the U.S. Constitution and gives the special counsel's office too much power, "creating a de facto fourth branch of government." Flake in turn put the Farr nomination in jeopardy, creating a tie with his vote. Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell had said on Tuesday he would "probably" block a renewed effort to bring the bill to a vote, calling it "a solution in search of a problem." With Republicans holding a slim majority in the Senate, Trump's nominees should win approval without much resistance. Farr, though, already faced a tough time, with moderate and progressive groups objecting to his positions on civil rights. As a lawyer for North Carolina in 2014 he defended the state's voter registration law, which civil rights groups said intentionally suppressed minority votes. (Reporting by Lisa Lambert; Addditional reporting by Susan Heavey and Susan Cornwell; Editing by James Dalgleish)
Washington (AFP) - Local officials in a Washington neighborhood have voted to rename a street outside Saudi Arabia's embassy in honor of slain Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

If approved by the city council, the advisory commission's measure means a stretch of road going past the expansive embassy building in the upscale Foggy Bottom neighborhood would be ceremonially renamed "Jamal Khashoggi Way."

Khashoggi, a US resident, was murdered in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul in October.

After initially denying the murder, Saudi Arabia has acknowledged Khashoggi was killed inside the consulate but blamed his death on a "rogue" operation.

Top officials from the administration of President Donald Trump have said they've seen no direct evidence linking the murder to Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, but the CIA reportedly has found a connection.

According to CNN, the idea to change the street's name started about a month ago following an online petition.

"We suggest renaming the street address of the Saudi Embassy into Jamal Khashoggi Way to be a daily reminder to Saudi officials" that such killings are "totally unacceptable and as an expression of Washington's unstinting support for freedom of the press," the petition states.

A similar action was taken outside the Russian embassy, where a street was this year renamed in honor of prominent Vladimir Putin critic Boris Nemtsov, who was assassinated in Moscow in 2015.
Taiwan will enact a separate law for same-sex unions after conservative groups won a recent referendum battle, the premier said, as LGBT activists Friday urged the government to abide by a landmark ruling to offer equal marriage rights.

Gay rights campaigners want the existing marriage law to be amended and have said separate regulations would make them second-class citizens.

But conservative groups argue that gay marriages should not come under the current Civil Code, which defines marriage as between a man and a woman.

Taiwan's top court last year voted to legalise gay marriage, the first place in Asia to do so. It ruled that the change should be implemented in two years but did not specify how it wanted gay marriage to be brought in.

Premier William Lai of the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) announced the plan for a separate law during a meeting with lawmakers Thursday to review the party's local election defeat last weekend.

Some observers have said the gay marriage issue played into the results and hit a nerve in conservative southern Taiwan, the DPP's traditional stronghold, where it lost control of Kaohsiung city for the first time in 20 years.

President Tsai Ing-wen had championed gay marriage before she was elected but has since said there needs to be more consensus in society.

Rival referendums on same-sex unions held alongside the local elections Saturday saw "pro-family" groups defeat pro-gay campaigners in what Amnesty International called a "bitter blow and a step backwards for human rights in Taiwan".

A referendum on whether marriage should only be recognised as between a man and a woman in Taiwan's Civil Code won more than seven million votes, as did another calling for same-sex unions to be regulated under a separate law.

Gay rights activists had proposed that the Civil Code should give same-sex couples equal marriage rights, but only garnered three million votes.

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"We have to respect public opinion and abide by the referendum outcome. We have to revise a law other than the Civil Code, which is (to enact) a separate law," cabinet spokeswoman Kolas Yotaka told reporters, quoting the premier.

She said the government would abide by the Constitutional Court ruling when drafting the new law.

"As for the characteristic of the separate law and what it will be called... we will propose a bill that reflects and meets public consensus," she said.

- 'No more division' -

LGBT activists in Taiwan now fear their newly won rights under the court ruling are under threat.

"We hope the social turmoil can come to an end soon and cause no more division and harm to any more families," rights group Marriage Equality Coalition Taiwan said in a statement.

According to the group, three gay people committed suicide after the referendum result while more than a dozen have attempted suicide or self-harmed.

It urged the cabinet to abide by the top court ruling as well as consulting gay rights group when drafting the bill.

"Pro-family" groups on Friday urged the government to realise the referendum outcome as soon as possible and vowed to set up a taskforce to monitor the law-making process.

"The ball is in the government's court. The people are watching with their eyes wide open if it acts seriously and responsibly to realise their decision," said the Coalition for the Happiness of Our Next Generation in a statement.
Lorena and her two children hold out their arms to show the numbers they were given to be on a list at Casa del Migrante to seek political asylum in the United States on Nov. 28, 2018. (Photo: Adria Malcolm for Yahoo News)

JUAREZ, Mexico  At approximately 1 oclock on Wednesday, a white van adorned with a pink heart decal surrounding the letters DIF pulls up to the foot of the Paso del Norte, one of the bridges that leads from Juarez to El Paso, Texas. Two young men in black fleece jackets embroidered with the same pink heart  the logo of Juarezs department of family services  emerge to assist their passengers: a group of wary-looking asylum seekers.

There are exactly 31 of them, nearly half of them small children, some too young to walk. They have no backpacks or suitcases, clinging only to each other as they as they climb cautiously from the back of the van and quietly form a line by a fence next to the bridge entrance.

A man and woman wearing orange and tan shirts with the Mexican flag on their sleeves appear to have arrived separately but at the same time as the asylum seekers, and seamlessly replace the DIF workers, employees of the municipal government in Juarez, as their shepherds. They are with Grupos Beta, the humanitarian branch of Mexicos federal immigration agency, whose mission is to offer assistance and protection to migrants.

The Grupos Beta officers, who refer questions from reporters to their superiors, each clutch a clipboard holding several sheets of lined paper, which they appear to be double- and triple-checking meticulously. Its unclear whether this version of the list contains the names of the migrants, each of whom has an identifying number written in black permanent marker on the inside of their wrists.

Including children.

These organized drop-offs have become a regular occurrence at the Paso del Norte over the past few weeks, ever since Mexican authorities began removing hundreds of asylum seekers from the bridges between Juarez and El Paso, where theyd previously been camped out. The encampments emerged over the summer, after CBP began placing officers in the middle of the international bridges to block those without documentation from proceeding to the port of entry  forcing asylum seekers to wait on the Mexican side for permission to cross. Earlier this month, Mexican officials ordered all those camped out on the bridges between Juarez and El Paso to relocate to la Casa del Migrante, a Catholic-run migrant shelter located approximately 30 minutes away from the Paso del Norte by car.

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According to various advocates and others who observed the situation on the bridges over the summer, it was volunteers with the Mexican Red Cross who first created a waiting list to help maintain order within the encampments as asylum seekers waited for their turn to cross. The list was then transferred to the Casa del Migrante along with the asylum seekers, when they were forced to move there in November. Accounts vary on when, exactly, and with whom, the practice of tracking migrants with numbers on their arms originated, but it has now become a part of the process for all who wish to seek asylum at one of the U.S. ports of entry in El Paso.

What, in part, started as an effort by the municipal government in Juarez to offer shelter to the growing encampment of asylum seekers on the bridges has evolved into a complicated, ad hoc arrangement of Mexican NGOs, municipal, state, and federal agencies to funnel asylum seekers away from the U.S. ports of entry in El Paso. At the center are U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials, who control the flow of migrants, notifying Mexican immigration authorities in Juarez how many people from the list can be allowed over the border each day and when.

A representative from Grupos Beta collects the names and list numbers from asylum seekers after they arrived in a group of 30 from Casa Del Migrante in Juarez, Mexico, on Nov. 28, 2018. (Photo: Adria Malcolm for Yahoo News)

A spokesperson for CBP acknowledged that officials in El Paso communicate to Mexican immigration officials in Juarez how many new asylum seekers can cross the border each day, depending on capacity at the ports of entry, stating that CBP is not denying or discouraging travelers from seeking asylum or any other form of protection, or from claiming fear of return to their home country. But the ACLU and other local immigrant rights advocates argue that U.S. border officials are violating their responsibilities under federal and international law, by preventing migrants who say they are fleeing persecution from freely accessing official U.S. ports of entry.

So far, most asylum seekers whove been thrust into the new Juarez system have only had to wait a few days before they are allowed across the bridge. But in Tijuana, across from San Diego, where CBP has relied on a similar waitlist process to meter the flow of asylum seekers, the recent arrival of thousands of migrants traveling in caravans from Central America has overrun shelters and led to confrontations with local residents, a clash with border guards who used tear gas to disperse crowds attempting to climb the border fence  and months-long wait times.

They also warn of the high potential for corruption within such operations, noting that similar wait-management systems have also recently emerged in Matamoros and near other border crossings across from the Rio Grande Valley in Texas, where migrants have reported Mexican officials demanding payments in exchange for a spot on the list.

Though CBP denies involvement or knowledge of how the waitlist process in Mexico works, Blanca Navarette, director of Derechos Humanos Integrales en Accion, a Juarez-based human rights organization, calls CBP a violator of human rights that transfers its responsibility to receive [asylum seekers] to the Mexican authorities.

Clearly, the root of the problem is CBP, said Alan Dicker, an El Paso-based advocate who has been observing CBPs interactions with asylum seekers at the ports of entry as a volunteer for the ACLU. Dicker dismissed the agencys claim that restricting access to ports of entry is simply a response to capacity constraints, noting that in the past, CBP has opened temporary facilities to accommodate influxes at the border.

Migrants wait outside Casa del Migrante in Juarez on Nov. 28, 2018. (Photo: Adria Malcolm for Yahoo News)

If they decided to put a few more processing officers here to expand their capacity, they could do it very easily, he said. They have decided not to do things like that anymore and artificially create this sort of capacity issue.

After the group of 31 crossed Wednesday afternoon, another smaller group was transported from the shelter to the bridge at seven that night. Anyone else who attempted to present themselves without documentation that day was stopped, including a 15-year-old girl and her mother whod traveled by themselves from Guatemala.

When the diminutive pair, both of whom were well under 5 feet, approached the halfway point on the bridge without documents, the CBP agents physically blocked them from passing. But that was the extent of their interaction with U.S. authorities, who instead allowed a private security guard  contracted by the state bridge authority in Juarez to oversee pedestrian tolls and other activity on the bridge  to swoop in and tell the women that if they wanted to request asylum in the United States they had to go back to the bottom of the bridge, talk to the Grupos Beta people in orange, go to Casa del Migrante and get on the list.

Customs and Border Patrol agents stop a woman and her daughter at the International Boundary Line of the Paso del Norte Port of Entry between Juarez and El Paso on Nov. 28, 2018. The mother did not verbally declare asylum to the agents before a private security officer explained they sign up to be put on the list for entry to ask for asylum. (Photo: Adria Malcolm for Yahoo News)

Shaw Drake, policy counsel for the ACLU of Texas Border Rights Center, said that sequence of events illustrates the crux of the problem with putting CBP agents in the middle of the bridge with general instructions to turn away anyone without documents.

CBP summarily turning them away with no questions whatsoever potentially puts people at risk and is in violation of [the agencys] legal responsibility to inspect and process people who are presenting themselves to agents at the ports, he said. Without any conversation with that person, those agents have no idea if that family or individuals were Mexican citizens, immediately fleeing violence in Juarez or any other situations they may have been facing.

Mexican citizens seeking asylum in the United States are being directed to the shelter in Juarez along with nationals of Honduras, Guatemala, Cuba and various other countries.

The entire baseline of post-World War II refugee law is to ensure that governments do not return individuals into the hands of their persecutors, said the ACLUs Shaw, arguing that there is no other more clear-cut case of non-refoulment [violation] than returning a Mexican asylum seeker to Mexico and into a system that requires them to interact on multiple levels with the Mexican government.

A young woman named Lorena and her two young children left their home in southern Mexico at 4 a.m. on Wednesday and boarded a plane to Juarez, carrying an assortment of personal records, including police reports documenting the consistent death threats she and her family have received from local cartel members who murdered one of her brothers for refusing to pay a quota.

Lorenas children play outside in Juarez on Nov. 28, 2018, after spending the day traveling from southern Mexico to seek asylum in the United States. (Photo: Adria Malcolm for Yahoo News)

Within a few days of her brothers murder, Lorena said, the men who killed him began targeting her and other members of her immediate family. Sometimes they would deliver the message by phone, other times in person, but it was always the same: They were going to kill Lorena and her kids.

Faced with similar threats, Lorenas other brother fled to the United States, where he successfully obtained asylum. Now, she and her children hope to do the same.

Upon arriving in Juarez, the three were greeted by Alex Varela, a U.S citizen and former Marine from El Paso who has spent much of his life on both sides of the border and has parlayed his binational savvy into a variety of odd jobs ranging from construction to the occasional gig as a private security guard for Americans doing business in Juarez. Varela, who also runs a soup kitchen with his church, in the past has helped escort asylum seekers over the bridges that span this part of the Rio Grande to make their claims at one of the official U.S. ports of entry. He says he agreed to do the same for Lorena after meeting her family and hearing about their plight during a recent trip to southern Mexico with his church. But its been at least two years since Varela last accompanied a family to request asylum at the border, and a lot has changed since then.

Alex Varela talks on his phone on Nov. 28, 2018, after taking a woman and her three children to his relatives home in Juarez,. (Photo: Adria Malcolm for Yahoo News)

Before, Varela recalls that asking for asylum at the border  the first step in what can ultimately be a lengthy, complicated legal process  required little more than walking across the pedestrian bridge and presenting oneself at the U.S. port of entry in El Paso.

You would go, talk to someone, and youd start the paperwork, he said.

However, since this spring, CBP agents have been stationed in the middle of the Paso de Norte and other bridges, at the international line that technically separates the U.S. and Mexico, essentially blocking anyone without documentation from reaching the port of entry. This arrangement, which began following the implementation of the Trump administrations ill-fated zero-tolerance policy, resulting in the separation of thousands of immigrant families along the southwest border, has continued  even as the White House has implemented policies to prevent migrants from seeking asylum except at official ports of entry.

Lorena and her children shop at the grocery store in Juarez with Alex Varela on Nov. 28, to buy food for the temporary home they are staying at until their numbers are up on the waiting list. (Photo: Adria Malcolm for Yahoo News)

Previously, under international law, even refugees who crossed the border illegally could still request asylum by presenting themselves to border agents.

Ahead of Lorenas arrival this week, Varela went to survey the situation at the Paso de Norte, where he says he explained to a CBP officer that he was trying to help a Mexican family seek asylum in the United States. He was told they had to get on the list and was referred to Grupo Beta, who instructed him to bring the family to the migrant shelter and wait for their numbers to be called. So when Lorena and her children arrived in Juarez on Wednesday, thats what Varela did.

By the time Lorena and her children got to Casa del Migrante on Wednesday there was no more space for them; the 280-bed shelter was full. A woman named Rosie, who said she did not have the authority to allow media into the shelter, took Lorena and her children inside to put them on the list. They returned a few minutes later with numbers 1173, 1174, 1175 scrawled on their inner wrists in black ink, and a piece of paper with a phone number to call the shelter in the morning to find out what numbers were being processed that day.

Its how you would mark an animal, said Varela.

A woman from southern Mexico holds out her arm where administrators at Casa del Migrante wrote a number on her arm to hold her place in a growing list of asylum seekers in Juarez, Mexico, on Nov. 29, 2018. (Photo: Adria Malcolm for Yahoo News)

Outside the shelter, Lorena said the woman had asked her for all three of their names, dates of birth, where they were from, and why they wanted to leave. She also said the woman told her that the United States isnt granting asylum to anyone right now and that if she attempts to cross, her kids will be taken away. Under current administration policy, which changes frequently, neither is true.

Varela would take Lorena and the children to a vacant house owned by one of his relatives in Juarez until space opened in the shelter or their numbers got called, whichever came first. But not everyone who arrives in Juarez is fortunate enough to have a local contact. As Varela waited for Lorena outside the shelter, a young man and woman from Cuba arrived by themselves, only to hear that they too would have to find somewhere else to stay.

Lorena and her children arrive on Nov. 28 at the temporary home in Juarez where they are staying until their numbers are up on the waiting list. (Photo: Adria Malcolm for Yahoo News)

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HOUSTON (AP)  Texas' attorney general sued the San Antonio police chief Friday for what he said are violations of the state's immigration law targeting "sanctuary cities" and sought millions of dollars in sanctions.

The lawsuit Ken Paxton filed in state court was a rare enforcement action of Senate Bill 4, passed last year by the Texas Legislature and mostly upheld by a federal appeals court.

SB4 is one of the toughest state laws targeting illegal immigration. It prohibited law enforcement agencies from refusing "detainer" requests from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, doing anything to stop an officer from asking about a suspect's immigration status, or stopping them from cooperating with immigration authorities.

Several big-city police chiefs staunchly opposed SB4, including William McManus, San Antonio's police chief. They said the law would discourage immigrants from helping the police and make it harder to prosecute crimes. The Pew Research Center has estimated 1.6 million people without legal authorization live in Texas.

Paxton's lawsuit accused McManus of improperly handling a human smuggling case in December 2017 in which 12 immigrants were found inside a tractor-trailer.

ICE typically prosecutes major cases of human smuggling, which occur frequently in South Texas due to the proximity of the U.S.-Mexico border. But in this case, McManus repeatedly declined the help of an ICE officer, instead having the driver charged with a state crime and releasing the migrants to Catholic Charities.

He also contacted the legal group RAICES, which worked with the migrants to obtain visas for witnesses of crimes who cooperate with law enforcement.

That infuriated top Texas Republicans who supported SB4. Paxton, who is himself under indictment for securities fraud, accused San Antonio of having "put the safety of police officers and the public at risk by defying state law."

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The city responded Friday with a statement accusing Paxton of "furthering a political agenda."

San Antonio changed how it deals with human smuggling cases after a July 2017 incident in which 10 people died after riding inside a packed trailer that made it through a U.S. Customs and Border Protection checkpoint. More than 20 migrants were detained as material witnesses. Some were ultimately deported.

Police policy now says that officers "will not refer" migrants to ICE unless the person has a federal deportation warrant, and that the department along with other groups will assist victims and witnesses with getting visas.

Paxton's lawsuit asks a judge to prohibit San Antonio from enforcing that policy of committing "future violations of SB4." It also demands civil penalties of at least $25,500 a day for every day after Sept. 1, 2017, when the city policy took effect. That alone would surpass $11.5 million, and the lawsuit also demands other civil penalties.

City spokesman Jeff Coyle said federal officials had been consulted on its process for handling human smuggling cases.

"The City has a long history of cooperating with federal authorities and we will continue to do so," Coyle said.

The Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, which opposes SB4, said Paxton's lawsuit "overstates the requirements" of the law.

"No one  neither immigrant nor local official  should be intimidated by today's filing," MALDEF said in a statement.

An ICE spokeswoman declined comment Friday.
EU and UK flags fly during a Brexit demonstration. Photo: Alberto Pezzali/NurPhoto via Getty Images

The UK markets have failed to rally from their autumn slump, and Theresa Mays proposed Brexit deal does not appear to have instilled renewed confidence in investors.

There are stocks that some believe hold such advantages over their competition that they could be Brexit-proof, offering unique opportunities compared to peers and able to deepen their appeal regardless of the outcome of the vote on 11 December.

Bioventix

Bioventix (BVXP.L) is one such company. The company is the product of a management buyout in 2003, led by chairman Ian Nicholson and chief executive Peter Harrison, and has seen its stock price quintuple since its 2014 IPO.

They provide monoclonal sheep antibodies, used in diagnostic processes such as blood testing. Their long-term vision, refining their product with an aim to secure revenues for 2025-2035, allows them to increase the switching risk for their customers.

Keith Ashworth-Lord, who runs the Sandford DeLand UK Buffettology Fund, explains its revenue model: Every time a test is done on one of the machines, the big five machine manufacturers  JNJ, Siemens, Roche, Abbott and Beckman Coulter  they just take a royalty, typically 2%.

Its a very small part of the cost of the machine manufacturer, thats the beauty of it. Its like an annuity.

Bioventixs financial data. Chart: Yahoo Finance

Ashworth-Lord is bullish on their prospects, calling it one of his bomb-proof businesses, regardless of the Brexit that is ultimately delivered, stating Brexit, has absolutely no impact on it.

He continued: Its a must-have product. Theyre the only ones who make it, for tests on the appropriate machines.

Bioventix makes up 3.85% of the Buffettology fund, the fourth largest holding in a concentrated portfolio, and Ashworth-Lord has used the latest sell-off to top up on holdings, saying: When we had that mini-correction last month, that was great, that was wonderful.

I just went shopping  My only regret is that the correction wasnt deeper and longer lasting.

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Synairgen

Synairgen (SNG.L) is a much smaller company than Bioventix, with only a 15m market capitalisation, but has its own advantage over other companies.

The company was founded by three scientists from Southampton University, Stephen Holgate, Donna Davies and Ratko Djukanovic. Focusing on asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), Synairgen uses its facilities at the Southampton General Hospital, where its BioBank comprising various human samples, allows it to test potential treatments on both diseases.

So valuable is the collection of tissue that the company keeps its resources in several places to ensure it is well protected. The BioBank is a rare resource that could be in demand regardless of Brexits effect.

Synairgens financial data. Chart: Yahoo Finance

Because other, non-human models give less accurate guidance on the effectiveness on treatments, Synairgen offers access to companies that partner with it to test their own drugs. A small company valued at about 6m (5.3m), it is at risk if it cannot find larger partners to do business with, but a 5m payment plus royalties from its partner Pharmaxis shows the scale of the payoff when the business model works. That risk might be why the company is priced superficially cheaply, at just over eight times earnings.

Optibiotix

Another life sciences company enjoying recent success is Optibiotix (OPTI.L), which develops and utilises microbes that can be added to food or used in supplements to improve human health. It is now valued at 95m after its recent run-up.

They currently focus on obesity, high blood cholesterol and diabetes, conditions which increasingly affect the worlds population. Selling across the world, any obstacles to exporting could harm the companys prospects, but a recent development could leave them in demand regardless of the type of exit that is eventually negotiated.

Optibiotixs financial data. Chart: Yahoo Finance

Shares have spiked over 30% since last Thursday after its SlimBiome ingredient was given medical device status and a CE mark, which allows it to be marketed as a medical device in the European Economic Area (EEA), Switzerland, Australia and New Zealand. It also signed distribution deals to gain access to emerging markets. Approval for its products under EEA regulation means that Brexit may have a limited effect on reaching markets abroad.
Social policy should not be determined by a trade agreement. In a letter delivered to President Trump earlier this month, 46 conservative members of Congress said they were deeply concerned by the unprecedented inclusion in the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) of sexual orientation and gender identity (SOGI) language, for the first time in a Free Trade Agreement.

This language is housed in Article 23.9 and Article 23.12, 23 being the chapter on labor. It requires the parties to protect workers from discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity (SOGI), and to promote equality in these areas. As we have seen in recent years, of course, such edicts often run headlong into the constitutional right of religious business owners not to violate their core beliefs, in addition to raising thorny questions in a variety of areas including bathroom privacy. This stands to take away freedoms from every private business and churches as well. Congress is also concerned this would violate the constitutional separation of powers because Congress has steadfastly refused to include SOGI language in federal law, and the executive branch does not have legislative power to force new policy through a trade agreement.

The member letter is right. A trade agreement is not the appropriate place to adopt such a controversial social policy. As the letter states, It is especially inappropriate and insulting to our sovereignty to needlessly submit to social policies which the United States Congress has so far explicitly refused to accept. And the agreement is due to be signed tomorrow.

To be clear, there is a legal question of whether the current language would create a new obligation for compliance. But there is also a concern about the precedent this would set for future trade agreements and the strong likelihood that an activist court would point to the language as an excuse to cement these policies in U.S. law. On top of that, the language stands in stark contrast to the Trump administrations own approach to the issue, as the president is working to undo Obama-era executive orders that went beyond federal law to implement SOGI protections in certain contexts.

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Why is this happening? According to an article in Politico, Canada wanted an entire chapter advancing Justin Trudeaus social policy, and the current language is the resulting compromise. But self-government means that Americans decide the rules for Americans. It does not mean that unaccountable, appointed bureaucrats negotiate behind closed doors, promising foreign governments that we will pass laws or policies on issues like this.

Although trade agreements can contain language relating to human rights and anti-discrimination policy, such as agreeing not to use child or slave labor or to enforce anti-discrimination laws in accordance with a countrys national law, a trade agreement is no place to be advancing an unsettled and controversial new concept. There are good reasons for civil-rights laws to be decided by the legislature, not the executive, not the least of which is that the Constitution specifically gives this power to Congress.

This was a problem when Barack Obama issued executive orders in 2014 declaring gender identity to be a protected class in government employment and contracting. Its also a problem when an executive agency like the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) rewrites anti-discrimination law in a trade agreement. A trade agreement may require approval from Congress, but it is not given the same level of scrutiny as real legislation.

Because Congress has granted the president Trade Promotion Authority (TPA), he has the ability to negotiate fast-tracked treaties. (Notably, this delegation of authority has been questioned as unconstitutional.) Congress will not be able to debate the language negotiated by the president or add amendments. Congress will be presented with an up-or-down vote on the entire agreement. That isnt how laws should be made, and the USTR should not oblige Congress with a duty to affirmatively legislate. But because of TPA, if the SOGI provisions are included in the agreement, they will become law unless Congress is willing to vote down the entire thing. They will be passed by both houses and signed by the president.

Speaking of the president, meanwhile, a recently leaked memo from the administration contemplating this very issue (in the context of federally funded education programs) held that, under federal law, sex refers simply to biological sex and not to ones chosen gender identity. Thus the USTR has clearly put the Trump administration in a difficult position, entirely unnecessarily. It appears the people who have made their way into the USTRs office are not on board with the administrations policy on this issue.

Trump should not allow this. The U.S. retains sovereignty to determine its anti-discrimination policies for itself, and for Canada to foist its preferred agenda on us is indeed insulting. Its frankly embarrassing for the USTR to have agreed.

The United States is a world leader, and what we do is often pointed to as best practice by other countries. Is this best practice? The language has cost us friends in some of the developing countries in Africa and other continents with more traditional and conservative views on marriage, the family, and sexuality.

The members of Congress who signed the letter are right to urge the president to fix the problem before the agreement is signed tomorrow in Buenos Aires. President Trump has an excellent record for constitutionally sound policy, and the USTR should not be allowed to blemish that record at Canadas boorish insistence. If the White House ignores or tries merely to minimize the problem, it will be up to Congress to have the courage to vote down the agreement and insist on a redrafting that stays within the limits of legitimate and constitutional trade negotiations.

 James Dobson is the founder and president of Family Talk and the James Dobson Family Institute, a nonprofit organization that produces his daily radio program, Dr. James Dobsons Family Talk. Jenna Ellis is the director of public policy at the James Dobson Family Institute.
President Donald Trumps plan to make Central American asylum-seekers wait in Mexico while their cases move forward contains a fatal flaw, according to half a dozen experts interviewed by HuffPost: The obscure provision of immigration law underlying the plan specifically exempts immigrants from being forced to return to Mexico after applying for asylum.

The White House is reportedly close to clinching a deal with Mexicos incoming government to send asylum-seekers back across the southern U.S. border while their cases wind through Americas beleaguered immigration courts. But even if Mexicos president-elect, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, supports the proposal, the Remain in Mexico plan is riddled with legal problems that cast doubt on its feasibility. The Trump administrations apparent interpretation of the Immigration and Nationality Act is perhaps the most glaring.

An American well-wisher, left, is swarmed by migrants as he hands out canned soup, adding his efforts to those of many local Mexican groups distributing food outside of a sports complex where more than 5,000 Central Americans are sheltering in Tijuana, Mexico. (Photo: Rebecca Blackwell/ASSOCIATED PRESS)

This is clearly not what the asylum statute contemplates, Barbara Hines, a law professor at the University of Texas at Austin, told HuffPost. Its just one more way to try to keep people from applying.

The Department of Homeland Security has not explained the details of the plan that Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is trying to negotiate with the incoming Lopez Obrador administration.

DHS did not respond to a request for comment on this article.

But the broad outlines of the plan under negotiation, first reported by BuzzFeed News earlier this month and later elaborated by The Washington Post, would require asylum-seekers arriving from Mexico to return there once their credible fear interviews have been conducted in the U.S. The interviews are the first major step toward filing an asylum application.

A Safe Third Country agreement that would require migrants to first apply for asylum in Mexico, instead of being allowed to enter the U.S. to state their case, is off the table, according to that countrys soon-to-be interior secretary, Olga Sanchez Cordero.

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That leaves only one obvious way to make the plan work. The Department of Homeland Security would rely on a provision of the Immigration and Nationality Act that allows the U.S. to return migrants who arrive at legal ports of entry by land back to the country they came from while they await deportation proceedings, according to several legal experts on immigration.

But theres a catch: Asylum-seekers dont appear to be subject to that section of the law.

The problem with the Trump administrations plan lies buried in the complexities of the Immigration and Nationality Act. Section 235 of the act does, in fact, allow the U.S. to send migrants back to Mexico if they arrive by land while they await deportation proceedings. But the same section of the law exempts people who make asylum claims and pass their credible fear interviews from getting sent back to a neighboring country.

The takeaway is that our government hasnt thought it through, David Leopold, an immigration lawyer with decades of experience, told HuffPost. Theyre so focused on closing the door to asylum that they havent really thought about the fact that the statute doesnt cover what they want to do. You cant just throw someone outside the United States and say, Now, apply for asylum.

Theres no way to predict whether the courts will agree with the experts consulted by HuffPost. Immigration law is notoriously complex, and the meaning of the statute wasnt immediately obvious to everyone interviewed. It contains a maze of references that require jumping from one section of the law to another to decipher its meaning. Some had to read it multiple times before arriving at the conclusion that it exempted asylum-seekers.

If a student in my class wrote this, theyd get an F, said former Chief Counsel of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Stephen Legomsky, who now works as a law professor at Washington University in St. Louis. However, he too thought a literal reading of the provision showed it exempts the asylum-seekers Trump wants to repel.

None doubted that the Trump administration could try to push forward, but all suspected it would face an immediate challenge in federal court.

At the very least, we can say with 100 percent confidence that this is a difficult legal question that will have to be answered by a judge, assuming this change does come out, Sarah Pierce, an analyst with the nonpartisan Migration Policy Institute, told HuffPost.

Those challenges wouldnt be limited to the plans dubious legality. Pushing asylum-seekers back to Mexico would wreak logistical mayhem on an immigration court system already backlogged by more than 1 million cases.

Until now, asylum claims have been made and litigated in U.S. immigration courts. Forcing asylum-seekers to fight their cases in Mexico would require the U.S. to either set up immigration courts in that country, shuttle migrants back and forth across the border for hearings, or require video-conferencing. Any of those new burdens could lead opponents to challenge the plan as a violation of due process.

Im having a hard time even getting what theyre imagining, said Stephanie Leutert, director of the Mexico Security Initiative at the University of Texas Lyndon Baines Johnson School of Public Affairs. The logistics seem really insurmountable.

Lee Gelernt, an attorney at the American Civil Liberties Union, declined to comment on his organizations analysis of the contiguous country provision until the Trump administration formally announces a policy. But for the plan to work, the U.S. government would have to ensure that migrants who were returned to Mexico would be safe and that they would receive the same legal guarantees and due process there that they would in U.S. courts.

Those two threshold requirements are going to doom any proposal, Gelernt said. I suspect there will be other legal defects.

And Trumps own words have undermined his immigration policies in the past. Last month, a federal judge temporarily blocked the Trump administrations plan to strip Temporary Protected Status from Haitian, Salvadoran, Nicaraguan and Sudanese migrants, contending that the presidents harsh words about them may imply racial bias.

The Trump administration has long envisioned turning migrants who arrive by land from Mexico back to wait there while their deportation cases move forward. The idea was first floated in a sweeping executive order on immigration signed by Trump five days after taking office.

But three weeks later, Mexicos secretary of foreign affairs, Luis Videgaray, flatly rejected the idea.

The Lopez Obrador administration, however, appears willing to put the idea on the table as part of a larger plan to reduce Central American migration through Mexico to the United States.

The new president, who takes office Saturday, has publicly discussed the idea of offering more Mexican work visas for Central American migrants and proposed working with the Trump administration to encourage private investment in southern Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras, in an effort to encourage people to stay in their home countries.

Behind closed doors, Lopez Obradors team is trying to persuade the Trump administration to secure about $20 billion in private investment over six years for Mexicos impoverished southern region as part of the deal that would allow Central American asylum-seekers to wait in Mexico, according to Spanish newspaper El Pais.

Clarification: Language in this story has been amended to clarify the timeline of reporting about the plan under negotiation between the U.S. and Mexico regarding asylum-seekers.

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This article originally appeared on HuffPost.
Donald Trump stands alongside Rod Rosenstein during immigration meeting in May: Getty Images

Donald Trump has appeared to confirm he wants Rod Rosenstein in prison after the president retweeted a meme of a number of his perceived enemies behind bars, including the deputy attorney general.

Asked by the New York Post on Wednesday evening why he thought Mr Rosenstein belonged in jail, the president responded, He should have never picked a special counsel.

He followed it up on Thursday morning with a fresh attack on Robert Muellers investigation into possible election collusion between Russia and the Trump campaign team.

From left to right: Robert Mueller, John Podesta, Rod Rosenstein, Barack Obam, Hillary Clinton, Eric Holder, Huma Abedin, James Clapper, Bill Clinton, James Comey and Loretta Lynch (Twitter)

Did you ever see an investigation more in search of a crime? At the same time Mueller and the Angry Democrats arent even looking at the atrocious, and perhaps subversive, crimes that were committed by Crooked Hillary Clinton and the Democrats," he tweeted, without providing evidence.

"A total disgrace! When will this illegal Joseph McCarthy style Witch Hunt, one that has shattered so many innocent lives, ever end-or will it just go on forever? After wasting more than $40,000,000 (is that possible?), it has proven only one thing-there was NO Collusion with Russia. So Ridiculous!

Brian Klaas, an American political scientist at University College London, told The Independent Mr Trump's prison tweet was an escalation in his "dangerously authoritarian behaviour".

"Rod Rosenstein has been a bulwark of the rule of law against Trumps attempts to politicise it as a weapon to prosecute his opponents and protect his political allies," he said.

"And now, simply for properly doing his job, the president is pushing the message that Rosenstein should be in jail. Its extremely dangerous for the foundations of American democracy to politicise rule of law like this."

The tweet, posted by Trump-supporting account @The_Trump_Train, included shots of Barack Obama, Bill and Hillary Clinton, and Mr Mueller, with the caption: "Now that Russia collusion is a proven lie, when do the trials for treason begin?"

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Rumours were rife before the midterms Mr Trump was set to sack Mr Rosenstein, who was charged with overseeing Mr Mueller's investigation after the then-attorney general Jeff Sessions recused himself.

Mr Trump has publicly railed against Mr Rosenstein's refusal to end the probe in the past, but said last month he had a "great" meeting with the lawyer aboard Air Force One.
Buenos Aires (AFP) - The leaders of the United States, Mexico and Canada on Friday signed a huge regional trade deal to replace the old NAFTA, denounced by President Donald Trump as a killer of US jobs.

"This is a model agreement that changes the trade landscape forever," Trump said at the signing ceremony in Buenos Aires, on the sidelines of a G20 leaders' summit.

Trump said negotiating the deal known in Washington as the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement, or USMCA, had seen the leaders take "a lot of barbs and a little abuse."

But he insisted that the "incredible milestone" would aid US workers, especially in the auto industry, while putting in place "intellectual property protection that will be the envy of nations all around the world."

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was less effusive about the renegotiated pact, but said the USMCA would resolve the threat of "serious economic uncertainty" that "would have gotten more damaging."

While praising the "historic" nature of the deal, Trudeau also told Trump that the progress gave "all the more reason why we need to keep working to remove the tariffs on steel and aluminum between our countries."

Mexican President Pena Nieto, on his last day in office, called the revamped version of NAFTA important in shoring up "the view of an integrated North America with the firm belief that together we are stronger and more competitive."

For Trump -- whose G20 diplomacy is overshadowed by legal troubles back home and his abrupt cancellation of a bilateral meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin -- the signing was a victory.

He said he did not foresee a problem in getting congressional approval. "It's been so well reviewed I dont expect to have very much of a problem," Trump said.

On Saturday, he will meet with Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping to address the trade war triggered by Trump's insistence on China ending what he says have been decades of unfair trade practices.

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- 'Polluting legacy' -

While the leaders presented a united front, Trump's tearing up of the old NAFTA, which he has repeatedly ridiculed, was a shock to the system that prompted months of severe tensions between the long-peaceful neighbors.

Trump himself acknowledged that it hadn't been easy, but said "battles sometimes make great friendships."

Even at the signing ceremony, there were echoes of the uncomfortable background to the USMCA, which Trump has made exhibit number one in his case to voters that he is putting "America first."

All three leaders stood at lecturns adorned with the US presidential seal, with Trump taking the middle position.

But while Trump proudly refers to the USMCA -- a title that again puts the United States in the leading position -- Trudeau pointedly called the deal being signed the "new North American Free Trade Agreement" and the "modernizing NAFTA."

Mexico has its own version in Spanish, accentuating its name first.

For the Sierra Club, a US environmentalist group, the "hastily sealed" deal will promote Trump's "polluting legacy for years after he leaves office (via) special handouts to corporate polluters like Chevron and ExxonMobil."

But in a statement, US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said the updated pact "marks a critical step in modernizing and rebalancing North American trade."

"The new agreement secures strong outcomes for farmers, ranchers, businesses, and workers across North America, including in areas such as auto manufacturing and intellectual property."
Speaking at the G-20 summit Friday, President Trump expressed frustration with the recent acts of Russian aggression directed at Ukraine in explaining his last-minute cancellation of a previously scheduled bilateral meeting with Russian president Vladimir Putin.

We dont like what happened, were not happy about it, no one is, Trump said when asked by reporters about the Russian attack on Ukrainian ships in the Kerch Strait off the coast of Crimea this week. And hopefully theyll be able to settle it out soon because we look forward to meeting with President Putin. But on the basis of what happened with the ships and the sailors, that was the sole reason for the cancellation.

During a meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, President Trump addresses canceling his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin: "We don't like what happened" in Ukraine pic.twitter.com/22yMAO9WV6  CNN Politics (@CNNPolitics) November 30, 2018

Russian warships fired on, and subsequently seized, three Ukrainian ships and 24 sailors during a violent clash in the Black Sea on Sunday. The attack is the most explicit act of Russian aggression directed at Ukraine since the annexation of Crimea in 2014.

The White House abruptly cancelled Trumps meeting with Putin in response, citing the Kremlins failure to return the captured ships and sailors to justify the cancellation while leaving open the possibility that the situation might be resolved.

Based on the fact that the ships and sailors have not been returned to Ukraine from Russia, I have decided it would be best for all parties concerned to cancel my previously scheduled meeting . . . in Argentina with President Vladimir Putin. I look forward to a meaningful Summit again as soon as this situation is resolved! Trump tweeted Thursday while en route to the summit.

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The cancellation announcement came just an hour after Trump told reporters he believed it was a very good time to have a meeting with Putin.

In response to the attack, Ukraine has increased its troop presence on the border with Russia and enacted a ban on Russian men of military age entering the country.

The new restrictions will prevent the Kremlin from forming squads of private armies that are representatives of Russian official troops and will not allow them to carry out operations, which they tried to do in 2014, Ukrainian president Petro Poroshenko said Friday in announcing the new policy.
The Trump Organization considered giving Russian President Vladimir Putin a penthouse worth $50 million as part of a failed 2016 project to build a Trump Tower in Moscow, according to multiple reports.

If we have Putin in the penthouse every oligarch in Russia would want to live in that building, Felix Sater, a businessman who worked on the project and suggested the idea, told The Washington Post. BuzzFeed News first reported the plan Thursday.

The attempted real estate development was back in the spotlight on Thursday after Michael Cohen, President Donald Trumps former lawyer and fixer, pleaded guilty to lying to Congress about the timing of his negotiations over the project. He had told the House Intelligence Committee that the talks ended in January 2016, but hes now admitted he was in talks during Trumps campaign as late as June 2016.

Its not clear whether Trump was aware of the penthouse plan. HuffPost has reached out to the Trump Organization and the White House for comment.

Trumps lawyer Rudy Giuliani told CNN: The president never heard of this and the concept never got anywhere beyond an unfunded letter of intent and never even a proposal or draft contract.

Trump on Friday morning tweeted a defense of his business activities. Against all odds, I decide to run for President & continue to run my business-very legal & very cool, talked about it on the campaign trail, he wrote. Lightly looked at doing a building somewhere in Russia. Put up zero money, zero guarantees and didnt do the project. Witch Hunt!

Oh, I get it! I am a very good developer, happily living my life, when I see our Country going in the wrong direction (to put it mildly). Against all odds, I decide to run for President & continue to run my business-very legal & very cool, talked about it on the campaign trail...  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 30, 2018

....Lightly looked at doing a building somewhere in Russia. Put up zero money, zero guarantees and didnt do the project. Witch Hunt!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 30, 2018

The Trump Organization tried in vain for 30 years to get a foothold in Russia and Ukraine, exploring possibilities for more than 20 developments, according to The Wall Street Journal.

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But the 2016 development is the focus of heightened interest now because of Cohens admission that he lied about it. Court filings on Thursday refer to Trump as Individual-1. Sater is Individual-2, CNN reported, citing people familiar with the matter.

Sater and Cohen worked together furiously behind the scenes to try to get the Trump Tower Moscow deal off the ground, BuzzFeed News reported. Sater recalled that he had told Cohen about the penthouse idea and Cohen loved it.

My idea was to give a $50 million penthouse to Putin and charge $250 million more for the rest of the units. All the oligarchs would line up to live in the same building as Putin, Sater said.

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President Donald Trump, front center, listens to Frances President Emmanuel Macron as they pose with world leaders for a group picture at the start of the G-20 Leaders Summit inside the Costa Salguero Center in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Friday, Nov. 30, 2018. Bottom row from left are South Africas President Cyril Ramaphosa, Britains Prime Minister Theresa May, Japans Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Argentinas President Mauricio Macri and Chinas President Xi Jinping. Middle row, from left, are European Councils President Donald Tusk, the Netherlands Prime Minister Mark Rutte, Spains Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, Frances President Emmanuel Macron, Indias Prime Minister Narendra Modi and South Koreas President Moon Jae-in. International Monetary Fund Managing Director Christine Lagarde stands in the top row, second from right. (Photo: Ricardo Mazalan/AP)

Leaders of the Group of 20 have agreed to fix the world trading system  but only 19 of them agreed to support the Paris accord on fighting climate change.

Applause rose up in the hall Saturday as the leaders, including U.S. President Donald Trump, signed off on a final statement at the end of a two-day summit.

The statement acknowledges flaws in the world trading system and calls for reforming the World Trade Organization. It doesnt mention protectionism however, because negotiators said the U.S. had resisted that.

The statement says 19 of the members reiterated their commitment to the Paris climate accord but the U.S. reiterates its decision to withdraw.

The non-binding agreement was reached after difficult all-nIght talks by diplomats. (AP)

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President Donald Trump with Chinas President Xi Jinping during their bilateral meeting, Saturday, Dec. 1, 2018 in Buenos Aires, Argentina. (Photo: Pablo Martinez Monsivais/AP)

Chinese President Xi Jinping R meets with his U.S. counterpart Donald Trump in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Dec. 1, 2018. (Photo: Xinhua/Li Xueren via Getty Images)

Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks during his press conference at the G20 Summit in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Dec. 1, 2018. (Photo: Mikhail Svetlov/Getty Images)

President Donald Trump and German Chancellor Angela Merkel attend a meeting during the G20 leaders summit in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Dec. 1, 2018. (Photo: Kevin Lamarque/Reuters)

G20 leaders and their partners pose for a photo at the Colon Theatre during a gala at the G20 leaders summit in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Nov. 30, 2018. (Photo: G20 Argentina/Handout via Reuters)

Argentinas President Mauricio Macri greets Ivanka Trump, the daughter and assistant to President Donald Trump, far right, as Juliana Awada, Macris wife, first lady Melania Trump and President Donald Trump, looks on at the Teatro Colon for the G20 leaders dinner, Friday, Nov. 30, 2018 in Buenos Aires, Argentina. (Photo: Pablo Martinez Monsivais/AP)

Demonstrators march during the Group 20 summit, in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Nov. 30, 2018. (Photo: Andres Martinez Casares/Reuters)

Indias Prime Minister Narendra Modi (L), Russias Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergey Lavrov (2-L) Russias President Vladimir Putin (C) Russias Presidential Aide Yury Ushakov (C-R) and Chinas President Xi Jinping (R), hold a meeting in the sidelines of the G20 Summit in Buenos Aires, on Nov. 30, 2018. (Photo: Mikhael Klimentyev/Sputnik/AFP/Getty Images)

Protesters with signs of the face of, from left, Russias President Vladimir Putin, Chinas President Xi Jinping, President Donald Trump and IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde, covered by the Spanish phrase Get out imperialists!, march against the G20 summit being held in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Friday, Nov. 30, 2018. Leaders from the Group of 20 industrialized nations are meeting in Buenos Aires for two days starting today. (Photo: Martin Mejia/AP)

President Donald Trump is welcomed by Argentinas President Mauricio Macri as he arrives for the G20 leaders summit in Buenos Aires, Argentina November 30, 2018. (Photo: Marcos Brindicci/Reuters)

Leaders attending the G-20 Summit pose for the family photo at the Costa Salguero Center in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Friday, Nov. 30, 2018. (Photo: Ricardo Mazalan/AP)

President Donald Trump and Saudi Arabias Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman are seen during the G-20 summit in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Nov. 30, 2018. (Photo: Marcos Brindicci/Reuters)

Saudi Arabias Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman adjusts his robe as leaders gather for the group at the G-20 Leaders Summit at the Costa Salguero Center in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Friday, Nov. 30, 2018. (Photo: Ricardo Mazalan/AP)

Riot police block an avenue as protesters march against the G20 summit being held in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Friday, Nov. 30, 2018. Leaders from the Group of 20 industrialized nations are meeting in Buenos Aires for two days starting today. (Photo: Sebastian Pani/AP)

Russias President Vladimir Putin and U.S. President Donald Trump are seen during the G20 summit in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Nov. 30, 2018. (Photo: Marcos Brindicci/Reuters)

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, second from the right, confers with National Security Adviser John Bolton, far right, as President Donald Trump, left, answers questions from members of the media during a meeting with Japans Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Friday, Nov. 30, 2018 in Buenos Aires, Argentina. (Photo: Pablo Martinez Monsivais/AP)

Saudi Arabias Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, left, and Russias President Vladimir Putin speak at the start of the G-20 summit in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Friday, Nov. 30, 2018. (Photo: Natacha Pisarenko/AP)

President Donald Trump meets with Indias Prime Minister Narendra Modi, right, and Japans Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Friday, Nov. 30, 2018 in Buenos Aires, Argentina. (Photo: Pablo Martinez Monsivais/AP)

Argentinas first lady Juliana Awada welcomes U.S. first lady Melania Trump as she arrives for a visit at the Villa Ocampo museum during the G20 leaders summit in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Nov. 30, 2018. (Photo: Pilar Olivares/Reuters)

PHOTOS: Trump participates in the G-20 summit in Buenos Aires, Argentina

Chinese President Xi Jinping attends the opening of the G20 leaders summit in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Nov. 30, 2018. (Photo: Sergio Moraes/Reuters)

President Trump, Canadas Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, right, and Mexicos President Enrique Pena Neto, left, participate in the USMCA signing ceremony on Friday in Buenos Aires, Argentina. (Photo: Pablo Martinez Monsivais/AP)

U.S. President Donald Trump and Argentinas President Mauricio Macri meet before the G20 leaders summit in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Nov. 30, 2018. (Photo: Kevin Lamarque/Reuters)

A figure made of recycled materials resembling President Trump is seen during a protest ahead of the G-20 leaders summit in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on Thursday. (Photo: Pilar Olivares/Reuters)

President Trump and first lady Melania Trump leave the White House to travel to the G-20 summit in Argentina Thursday. (Photo: Jim Young/Reuters)

Demonstrators perform outside the presidential palace ahead of the Group 20 summit, in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on Thursday. The writing on the banner reads: Property of the G20, who chooses? (Photo: Sergio Moraes/Reuters)

Turkey President Recep Tayyip Erdogan look Buenos Aires for G20 Leaders Summit 2018 at Ministro Pistarini International Airport on Thursday in Ezeiza, Buenos Aires, Argentina. (Photo: Daniel Jayo/Getty Images)

Balloon depicting President Donald Trump is seej utside the Congress building in Buenos Aires on Thursday as part of the Peoples Summit. (Photo: Alberto Raggio/AFP/Getty Images)

Chinese people wait for Chinese President Xi Jinping ahead of the G-20 leaders summit in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on Thursday. (Photo: Sergio Moraes/Reuters)

Frances President Emmanuel Macron and first lady Brigitte Macron visit the Remembrance Park, a monument on the banks of the Rio de la Plata in memory of the 30,000 people who disappeared or were killed under the 1976-1983 military regime, in Buenos Aires Thursday. (Photo: Ludovic Marin/AFP/Getty Images)

Members of the human rights organization Madres the Plaza de Mayo (Mothers of Plaza de Mayo) march together ahead of the G-20 summit in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Thursday. (Photo: Carlos Garcia Rawlins/Reuters)

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Volvo is scaling back plans for its new assembly plant just outside Charleston, South Carolina, as a result of the trade war triggered by President Donald Trump .

The $1.1 billion factory opened earlier this year and was expected to earmark about half of its capacity for export markets, including China, where Volvo's parent, Zhejiang Geely, is based. But the Chinese market for American-made vehicles has largely dried up as a result of tariffs the Chinese have enacted in response to Trump's import tariffs.

That is impacting a number of automakers with manufacturing operations in the U.S., including BMW and Ford, as well as Volvo.

Volvo's North American CEO, Anders Gustafsson, warned earlier this month that the tariffs could force the company to rethink plans to ramp up production and hire new workers at the South Carolina plant. A company statement issued this week confirmed that "trade issues may impact the pace of the expansion."

Volvo's global CEO, Hakan Samuelsson, went a step further, telling some reporters at the Los Angeles Auto Show on Thursday that Volvo is slowing the pace at which production is being ramped up in Charleston, a move that will also result in a slowdown in hiring, a company spokesman confirmed.

The factory started producing the S60 sedan and will add the next-generation XC90 sport utility vehicle in 2021. The initial, 1,500-man workforce was originally expected to grow to about 4,000 once up to full speed. But that now appears to be a figure in play.

"We  thought Charleston could build cars for China," Samuelsson told USA Today. "That will not work."

The big question, Gustafsson and other Volvo officials have told CNBC, is whether the trade war with China is a temporary matter or one that could drag on for some time. Volvo appears not to be taking chances and is now making plans to shift at least some of the production of the new Volvo S60 sedan to one of its two plants in China.

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BMW (BMW-DE) is studying similar options, the company has confirmed, for some of the sport utility vehicles produced at its own South Carolina assembly plant. The plant has become "the highest value exporter of U.S.-made vehicles," North American CEO Bernhard Kuhnt said during a Los Angeles Auto Show presentation.

Ford (F) has not said whether it will have to make cuts at any of its own U.S. plants producing vehicles like the Mustang that it had been exporting to China.

While China has seen an explosion in production capacity in recent years, many automakers still find it makes sense to import some vehicles for that market, often lower-volume models that can't be produced there profitably.

Until recently, imports were saddled with a 25 percent tariff. Ironically, Chinese President Xi Jinping has taken several steps to reduce automotive trade tensions this year, like lowering those tariffs to 15 percent on cars brought in from other global markets. But in response to the first round of the Trump trade war, China increased duties on American-made vehicles to 40 percent.

The White House has sent a series of mixed and often conflicting signals about how efforts to resolve the trade dispute are going. If anything, the president has indicated an interest in finding a way to match the higher Chinese tariffs on American-made vehicles.

Meanwhile, Trump continues to threaten to apply new tariffs on automotive imports from Europe and other trade partners, as well as China.

"Get smart Congress," Trump said in a Wednesday tweet, arguing that "the countries that send us cars have taken advantage of the U.S. for decades."

WATCH: Twelve US execs explain how Trump's trade war affects their bottom lines
After his longtime lawyer Michael Cohen agreed to cooperate with special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation on Nov. 29, President Donald Trump dismissed Cohen as trying to get a much lesser prison sentence by making up a story. (Photo: ASSOCIATED PRESS)

WASHINGTON  Donald Trumps former personal lawyer and fixer Michael Cohen pleaded guilty on Thursday to lying to key congressional intelligence committees to help his ex-boss, but even worse news for the president is now just five weeks away.

Come Jan. 3, the House version of that committee will no longer help Trump undercut special counsel Robert Muellers Russia investigation and will almost certainly help it instead.

Playtime is over, said Rick Wilson, a prominent Republican critic of Trump who has been sounding the alarm about Trumps connections to Russia since 2016. There is no more fun, funny, amusing moment when Donald Trump gets to have Devin Nunes run interference for him, go out and lie to the press for him.

Nunes is a Republican congressman from California and Trump loyalist and was a member of his transition team. For the past 22 months, the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, which Nunes chairs, has openly worked with Trump and his White House aides to discredit Mueller with selective leaks to conservative media. Nunes even wrote a memo that he claimed would prove Muellers investigation was an abuse of power and then had Trump declassify it for general release.

Nunes office did not respond to a request for comment.

Rep. Adam Schiff, the California Democrat who will take control of the committee in January, said he will restore oversight of the intelligence community, including outstanding questions in the Russia investigation.

He added, We will do this work regardless of the posture of the president or the White House, as the American people expect and as is our job.

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, who will likely become speaker in the new Congress, after her party picked up 40 seats in this months midterm elections, said that oversight committees will be looking for the truth, not covering up for Trump, and that she hopes Republican members will work with them.

House Republicans have been complicit in the Trump administrations culture of corruption, said Pelosi spokeswoman Ashley Etienne. Our challenge will be to overcome the Trump administrations stonewalling.

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That Mueller used Cohens false congressional testimony to charge him in federal court serves as a warning to those who have already testified on the Russia probe as well as those who will do so under Democratic control.

The world will look a lot different, Wilson said. The Trump White House will keep creating new opportunities to perjure themselves.

Cohen worked for Trumps business and for him personally for nearly a dozen years. He previously pleaded guilty to arranging illegal payments in the closing days of the 2016 campaign to a porn actress and a Playboy model to keep them from discussing the affairs they said they had with Trump. Thursdays plea was regarding Cohens false testimony to Congress about Trumps efforts to build a hotel in Moscow.

Trump claimed during the campaign  falsely  that he had no business interests in Russia. In fact, Cohen told a federal judge, negotiations to build a Trump hotel there continued through most of the 2016 campaign, and Cohen had lied about it to Congress to protect Individual 1, the owner of the company he worked for, which is to say, Trump.

As he left the White House on Thursday morning to attend the G-20 summit of the worlds largest economies in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Trump falsely claimed that his efforts were well known throughout the campaign and that he had every right to pursue the Moscow project.

If I did do it, there would have been nothing wrong. That was my business, he said, and then added that the only reason Cohen pleaded guilty Thursday was to avoid getting a long prison sentence. Hes a weak person and not a very smart person. What hes trying to do is end  and its very simple. Hes got himself a big prison sentence, and hes trying to get a much lesser prison sentence by making up a story.

Muellers decision to schedule Cohens new guilty plea just as Trump was leaving the White House on a foreign trip where he was to meet one on one with Russian President Vladimir Putin echoed Muellers indictment of a dozen Russians for interfering in the 2016 election just days before Trump was scheduled to meet with Putin in Helsinki.

The timing was not lost on Trumps lawyer handling Muellers criminal investigation. It is hardly coincidental that the special counsel once again files a charge just as the president is leaving for a meeting with world leaders at the G20 summit in Argentina, Rudy Giuliani said in a statement. The special counsel did the very same thing as the president was leaving for a world summit in Helsinki.

Trump went ahead with that meeting in July, for which he received renewed criticism for appearing to accept Putins denial of having interfered in the election on Trumps behalf. But Trump canceled this coming meeting just minutes after boarding Air Force One. He blamed the decision on Russias recent aggressive actions toward Ukraine in the Black Sea, though, rather than the Cohen plea.

The FBI has been investigating Trump and his campaigns contacts with Russia since before his election. Trump openly praised the countrys authoritarian ruler throughout his campaign, and Putins spy agencies worked to elect Trump by stealing emails from Democrats and releasing them through an ally, WikiLeaks. Trump repeatedly praised WikiLeaks and pointed to the stolen emails as proof that Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton was corrupt.

Trump fired FBI Director James Comey not long after taking office and told first Russian diplomats visiting the Oval Office and then NBC News that he had done so because of the Russia investigation. Mueller, who served as FBI director under Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama, was appointed special counsel to continue the probe after Comeys firing.

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Tunis (AFP) - Police in Tunisia have arrested 12 suspected members of the Islamic State group and seized bomb making materials since a suicide attack last month, the interior ministry said Friday.

The authorities have also "dismantled four takfiri (Sunni extremist) sleeper cells in several parts of Tunisia", the ministry said in a statement.

The announcement follows an attack by 30-year-old female suicide bomber Mna Guebla on October 29 that wounded 26 people on the capital's busy upmarket Avenue Habib Gourguiba, in the first militant attack in the capital since November 2015.

The attack went unclaimed but the Tunisian authorities said the suicide bomber had sworn allegiance to IS.

Police have arrested 12 people suspected of supporting IS, an interior ministry spokesman told AFP, without specifying where and when the arrests were made, nor the suspects' links to the perpetrator of October's attack in Tunis.

The suicide bomber had contact with IS officials "inside and outside the country, and liaised with them over the internet", the ministry said in its statement.

The IS officials had taught the bomber how to make explosive devices, and she built the one used in the attack, the statement said.

A laboratory producing explosives and electronic components has also been uncovered in a Tunis suburb, the ministry said.

The four dismantled cells are suspected of having been in contact "with terrorist officials entrenched in the Tunisian mountains to organise a series of attacks... aimed at sensitive targets with weapons, a car, poison or remote explosives", the statement said.

Investigators confiscated "a very large quantity of explosive and chemical products, along with a drone equipped for remote bombings", the statement added, without specifying where the haul was found.

In a separate statement late on Thursday, the interior ministry said a police patrol had been targeted by an armed group in the middle of Kasserine, a marginalised city in western Tunisia.

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A passerby was shot and wounded, the ministry said.

The attack was claimed by IS in a statement on its Telegram account, saying its fighters had opened fire on the patrol.

Thousands of Tunisians have joined jihadist groups fighting in Iraq, Syria and neighbouring Libya.

In November 2015, a suicide bombing killed 12 security agents on a bus used by the presidential guard, in an attack claimed by IS.

In June 2015, a student went on a shooting rampage in the coastal resort of Sousse and killed 38 people, including 30 Britons and an attack in March that year on the Bardo National Museum in Tunis left 22 people dead, all but one of them foreign tourists.

Those attacks, also claimed by IS, devastated Tunisia's crucial tourism sector.


Allow me to quote Skipper, the endearing and knowledgable leader of the penguins in Dreamworks Animations 2005 masterpiece Madagascar, when he said, cute and cuddly boys, cute and cuddly.

While the flightless bird was directing his squad after getting busted by New York City police for escaping the zoo, he might as well have been instructing Tyler Seguin before his game against the Calgary Flames on Wednesday night.

During warmups, the Dallas Stars, um, star, noticed a female spectator had placed an adult refreshment on the edge of the boards while taking in the action. To add some hilarity to the situation, Seguin purposely skated into the glass where the beverage was sitting.

Classic.

Oops did I spill your drink? Let me buy you another one pic.twitter.com/jgjqTf6tLo  Pete Blackburn (@PeteBlackburn) November 29, 2018

After seeing what was probably somewhere between $10 and $15 hit the ground, the victim of this heinous crime was upset. Most men would panic at this point, but Seguin went on to show the world that he is a champ. The 26-year-old flashed that perfect smile in her direction  a grin thats basically impossible to stay mad at.

Bold move. But, what can I say? Its simultaneously beautiful, inspiring and sickening.

Tyler Seguin is a beer-spilling menace. (Getty)

Having seen this and heading out to a local establishment with a few friends after my shift, I decided to try this move out myself. So, I walked up to a woman at the bar, knocked the full beer that she was holding right out of her hand without a word and smiled in her direction.

To make a long story short, this strategy didnt work nearly as well for me. She wasnt impressed and her boyfriend (who I was completely unaware of) might have roughed me up a bit before I was politely thrown out of the building.

I guess things are a little different when youre not raking in $9.85 million a season starting in 2019-20 and your appearance can only be described as a solid six after a few drinks.

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Just to rub some salt in the wounds of the average Joe, Seguin went on to assist on Jamie Benns second period goal before netting the overtime winner in his sides 4-3 victory over the Flames.

Jerk.

More NHL coverage from Yahoo Sports:


By Roberta Rampton BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) - The United States, Canada and Mexico signed a North American trade pact on Friday, with President Donald Trump brushing aside concerns that he could face difficulties getting the deal through the U.S. Congress. The leaders of the three countries agreed on a deal in principle to replace the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), which governs more than $1.2 trillion of mutual trade, after acrimonious negotiations concluded on Sept. 30. Friday's signing potentially ends a big source of irritation for the U.S. administration as it pivots to a much bigger trade fight with China that threatens the global economy. All eyes are on a meeting between Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping on Saturday after a G20 summit in Buenos Aires. Trump had vowed to revamp NAFTA during his 2016 presidential election campaign. He threatened to tear it up and withdraw the United States completely at times during the negotiation, which would have left trade between the three neighbors in disarray. The three were still bickering over the finer points of the deal just hours before officials were due to sit down and sign it. "It's been long and hard. We've taken a lot of barbs and a little abuse and we got there," Trump said after the signing. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau still had a few barbs of his own on Friday. He called the deal by its old name NAFTA, prodded Trump over U.S. steel and aluminum tariffs, and said General Motors Co's decision to cut production and slash its North American workforce, including in Canada, was a "heavy blow." "Donald, it's all the more reason why we need to keep working to remove the tariffs on steel and aluminum between our two countries," Trudeau said. Mexico's outgoing President Enrique Pena Nieto was warmer. On his last day in office, he said the new deal was forged with the "firm belief that together we are stronger and more competitive." Legislators from the three countries must still approve the pact, officially known as the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), before it goes into effect and replaces NAFTA. But the U.S. landscape will shift significantly in January when Democrats take control of the House of Representatives, after winning midterm elections in November. Presumptive incoming Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi described the deal as a "work in progress" that lacks worker and environment protections. "This is not something where we have a piece of paper we can say yes or no to," she said at a news conference on Friday, noting that Mexico had yet to pass a law on wages and working conditions. Other Democrats, backed by unions that oppose the pact, have called for stronger enforcement provisions for new labor and environmental standards, arguing that USMCA's state-to-state dispute settlement mechanism is too weak. "There is still a ways to go to gain support in the new Congress for this agreement," said Representative Bill Pascrell, the top Democrat on the House Ways and Means trade subcommittee. Still, Trump and U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer expressed confidence that the NAFTA replacement would pass Congress. "It's been so well reviewed I don't expect to have very much of a problem," Trump said. Lighthizer said the pact was negotiated from the beginning to be a bipartisan agreement. "I think we'll get the support of a lot of Democrats," he told reporters. Trump had forced Canada and Mexico to renegotiate the 24-year-old agreement because he said the existing pact encouraged U.S. companies to move jobs to low-wage Mexico. U.S. objections to Canada's protected internal market for dairy products was a major challenge facing negotiators during the talks, and Trump repeatedly demanded concessions and accused Canada of hurting U.S. farmers. Matt Blunt, the head of the main lobbying group for GM, Ford and Fiat-Chrysler , applauded the deal, saying it would keep north American automotive manufacturing competitive and included a first-ever provision to address currency manipulation. "However, we remain concerned that the continued imposition of steel and aluminum tariffs on Canada and Mexico will undermine the benefits of the USMCA," added Blunt, who heads the American Automotive Policy Council. Foreign brand automakers have expressed concerns that the new rules of origin, which require more high-value content be produced in the United States or Canada, will be too burdensome. BDI, Germany's main industry association, said in a statement that the autos rules of origin were "a retrograde step compared with NAFTA." (Reporting by Roberta Rampton, Matt Spetalnick and Caroline Stauffer in Buenos Aires and David Ljunggren in Ottawa; Additional reporting by David Lawder, Richard Cowan and Lisa Lambert in Washington; Editing by Susan Thomas and Rosalba O'Brien)
By Kylie MacLellan BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) - British Prime Minister Theresa May urged Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to hold those responsible for journalist Jamal Khashoggi's murder to account and said he should take action to prevent the recurrence of such incidents, her office said on Friday. The G20 summit in Argentina is the first major international event Prince Mohammed has attended since the murder of the Washington Post columnist, a critic of the crown prince, in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul in October. The killing has strained Saudi Arabias ties with the West and battered Prince Mohammed's image abroad. Saudi Arabia has said the prince had no prior knowledge of the murder. "The Prime Minister stressed the importance of ensuring that those responsible for the appalling murder of Jamal Khashoggi are held to account, and that Saudi Arabia takes action to build confidence that such a deplorable incident could not happen again," May's office said in a readout of her meeting with Prince Mohammed. May had earlier pledged to be robust when she talked to bin Salman and said that the investigation into Khashoggi's killing must be full and credible. May is keen not to alienate allies around the world as Britain prepares to leave the European Union next year in its biggest foreign and trade policy shift in more than 40 years. French President Emmanuel Macron told the crown prince earlier on Friday that Europe would insist on international experts being part of the investigation into the murder of Khashoggi. May will also meet with Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan on Saturday, a senior British official said, with discussion likely to include Turkey's investigation into the killing. May also encouraged the Saudis to end the conflict in Yemen. Western nations are calling for an end to the Saudi-led military campaign, launched by Prince Mohammed, as a humanitarian crisis there worsens. "On Yemen the Prime Minister set out the urgent need to bring an end to the conflict and bring relief to millions threatened by famine," she said. She urged Saudi support for United Nations Special Envoy Martin Griffiths and for progress at the upcoming Stockholm talks. Britain has come under pressure to cease arms sales to Saudi Arabia because of the high death toll in air raids by the Western-backed Saudi-led coalition in Yemen. (Reporting by Kylie MacLellan, writing by Sarah Young and Caroline Stauffer; editing by Guy Faulconbridge, Hugh Lawson and Tom Brown)
Kiev (AFP) - Ukraine on Friday barred Russian men aged 16-60 from entry as tensions mounted between the two countries over Moscow's seizure of three Ukrainian ships last week.

The move came after Kiev imposed martial law in border regions this week in response to the Russian seizure of the ships and 24 sailors off Moscow-annexed Crimea.

The incident was the most dangerous in years between the ex-Soviet neighbours -- who are locked in conflict over Russian-backed separatist regions -- and has raised fears of a wider escalation.

"As of today, entry is restricted for foreigners -- in the first instance for male citizens of the Russian Federation age 16 to 60," the head of the border service Petro Tsyhykal said at a meeting with President Petro Poroshenko that was broadcast live.

Poroshenko said the restriction will not apply to "humanitarian cases".

Moscow slammed the move, but said it will not impose similar restrictions on Ukrainians.

Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said the decision was part of the "ill-conceived, wild direction" of the Ukrainian leadership.

She told a press briefing Friday that to try and mirror the travel ban "would lead to some kind of insanity".

Belarus, which has become a transit point between the two countries since direct flights between Kiev and Moscow were suspended in 2015, said Friday that Ukraine had barred entry for 144 Russians this week.

"Different airports in Ukraine banned entry to a total of 50 Russians arriving from Belarus in one day," a representative of the Belarusian border service told Russian agencies.

"Thus, since the start of the week, 144 Russian citizens travelling via different airlines, including foreign ones, have returned to (Belarus') capital Minsk."

- Ukrainian sailors 'taken' to Moscow -

Moscow and Kiev have traded angry accusations since Russian navy vessels fired on, boarded and captured the three Ukrainian ships last Sunday.

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Courts in Crimea sentenced the 24 Ukrainian sailors to two months detention, despite international calls for their release.

US President Donald Trump scrapped a planned meeting at the G20 summit with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin over Moscow's detention of the sailors.

Russia insists they crossed into Russian waters illegally, with Putin saying the border guards "fulfilled their military duty" in seizing the ships.

Crimea's human rights ombudsman Lyudmila Lubina on Friday told Russian media that the sailors have been transferred from Crimean jails to Moscow.

Ukraine has called their detention "illegal".

Kiev imposed martial law for 30 days in 10 regions that border Russia, the Black Sea and the Azov Sea on Wednesday.

The decision came after Poroshenko warned of a build-up of Russian tanks near Ukraine's borders, escalating the most dangerous crisis in years between the ex-Soviet neighbours.

Ukraine, which has said it fears it is now under threat of a "total war" from Moscow, this week launched military drills in the Sea of Azov, with soldiers role-playing repelling a Russian attempt to land on the coast.

European leaders this week rebuffed calls from Ukraine for greater support against Russia, after Kiev urged NATO to send ships into waters disputed with Moscow.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel asked Kiev to be "sensible" following the request from Poroshenko, just hours after the European Union failed to agree to threaten new sanctions against Moscow.

But, while blaming Russia for tensions, Merkel showed no signs of being ready to back military support.

Ukraine has also urged Western governments to impose more sanctions on Russia over the incident.

EU President Donald Tusk said Friday he was "sure" the bloc will roll over its sanctions on Russia next month because of Moscow's "aggression in Ukraine".

"The escalation in the Sea of Azov is a cause of great concern to us. Russia's use of force against Ukrainian ships is unacceptable," Tusk told reporters before the start of the G20 summit in Argentina.

"Europe is united in its support to Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity. This is why I am sure that the EU will roll over sanctions against Russia in December," he added.

NATO spokeswoman Oana Lungescu said the issue would be raised at next week's regular meeting of alliance foreign ministers in Brussels, where Ukrainian Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin is also expected.
Urzuf (Ukraine) (AFP) - A Ukrainian general wearing camouflage and a bulletproof vest looks out from his Mi-8 helicopter flying over the Sea of Azov, the flashpoint of rising tensions between Kiev and Moscow.

"Our presumed enemy is Russia. We don't have any other enemies," says Sergiy Nayev, Ukraine's commander of military operations in the pro-Russian separatist east of the country.

The 48-year-old general is observing from the skies anti-aircraft defence exercises near the village of Urzuf on the coast of this small sea, after the Russians seized three Ukrainian military ships and 24 sailors nearby on Sunday.

Ukraine's soldiers are practising repelling a Russian attempt to land on the coast. The ex-Soviet republic believes it is now under threat of a "total war" from Moscow.

"Did you see? We got it!" shouts Nayev as a surface-to-air missile destroys a rocket representing in the exercise an enemy plane.

The incident at sea last weekend was the first open military confrontation between Kiev and Moscow since Russia's annexation of Crimea in 2014.

That year saw the start of an armed conflict in eastern Ukraine between government forces and Russian-backed separatists that has claimed more than 10,000 lives.

Kiev has imposed martial law for a month in its border regions as it claims Russia is reinforcing its military presence at the Ukrainian frontier.

Nayev says Russia has moved "more than 150 planes and helicopters (and) more than 250 tanks" near the regions of Donetsk and Lugansk, which are partly controlled by the rebels.

The military exercises at Urzuf on Thursday were planned in advance and take place every two months, but this time in a more tense atmosphere.

"Here, some 30 Russian planes could attack," says the general, explaining why he has beefed up the anti-aircraft defences.

As for the separatists, they "don't have any planes but they have tanks and artillery. All that comes from Russia," Nayev says -- an accusation Moscow denies despite evidence to the contrary.

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Two Su-25 fighter planes and two Mi-24 helicopters are taking part in the exercise along the Ukrainian coast of the Sea of Azov not far from the key port of Mariupol.

"By sea, Russia is only about 50 kilometres (30 miles) from here," says Nayev.

But he says the Russians don't come to this area of the Azov. "One day, two ships came but I sent out two (military) planes and they left."

And if the Russians did show up, the Ukrainian defence "is capable of destroying many Russian planes," says Nayev.

Nor should they try to come by sea, the general adds.

"The enemy will not land here. It would not make any sense for him to do that since we will retaliate."
Madrid (AFP) - The UN refugee agency appealed on Friday for an urgent solution to the plight of 12 migrants stranded in the Mediterranean, as activists said they had evacuated one of them to Malta.

Spanish aid group Proactiva Open Arms, which helped a Spanish fishing vessel rescue the migrants more than a week ago, told AFP that one young man suffering from dehydration had to be evacuated to Malta in "a highly weakened state."

The 11 others also needed to get to a safe port as soon as possible, the group said. The 13-strong crew of the "Nuestra Madre Loreto" fishing vessel rescued the migrants on November 22.

The migrants from Egypt, Niger, Senegal, Somalia, Sudan, had originally set out from Libya and were found drifting in a rubber dinghy in Maltese waters.

The Spanish authorities had already tried to get Tripoli to take them back and were in talks with Italy and Malta.

But Pascual Dura, captain of the aid vessel sheltering them, told AFP that both countries had already refused to let them dock at their ports.

The Madrid office of the UN refugee agency appealed on Friday for an urgent solution.

It had been in touch with the Spanish authorities since Monday, it said "... to express deep concern at the possibility of a forced return of the people rescued to Libya".

More than 106,000 migrants have arrived in Europe by sea since the start of the year, according to the International Organization for Migration, and at least 2,119 others have died in the process.
ISTANBUL (AP)  The two women in the photograph were smiling, but Halmurat Idris knew something was terribly wrong.

One was his 39-year-old sister; standing at her side was an elderly woman Idris did not know. Their grins were tight-lipped, mirthless. Her sister had posted the picture on a social media account along with a caption punctuated by a smiley-face.

"Look, I have a Han Chinese mother now!" his sister wrote.

Idris knew instantly: The old woman was a spy, sent by the Chinese government to infiltrate his family.

There are many like her. According to the ruling Communist Party's official newspaper, as of the end of September, 1.1 million local government workers have been deployed to ethnic minorities' living rooms, dining areas and Muslim prayer spaces, not to mention at weddings, funerals and other occasions once considered intimate and private.

All this is taking place in China's far west region of Xinjiang, home to the predominantly Muslim, Turkic-speaking Uighurs, who have long reported discrimination at the hands of the country's majority Han Chinese.

While government notices about the "Pair Up and Become Family" program portray it as an affectionate cultural exchange, Uighurs living in exile in Turkey said their loved ones saw the campaign as a chilling intrusion into the only place that they once felt safe.

They believe the program is aimed at coercing China's 10 million Uighurs into living secular lives like the Han majority. Anything diverging from the party's prescribed lifestyle can be viewed by authorities as a sign of potential extremism  from suddenly giving up smoking or alcohol, to having an "abnormal" beard or an overly religious name.

Under Chinese President Xi Jinping, the Uighur homeland has been blanketed with stifling surveillance, from armed checkpoints on street corners to facial-recognition-equipped CCTV cameras steadily surveying passers-by. Now, Uighurs say, they must live under the watchful eye of the ruling Communist Party even inside their own homes.

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"The government is trying to destroy that last protected space in which Uighurs have been able to maintain their identity," said Joanne Smith Finley, an ethnographer at England's Newcastle University.

The Associated Press spoke to five Uighurs living in Istanbul who shared the experiences of their family members in Xinjiang who have had to host Han Chinese civil servants. These accounts are based on prior communications with their family members, the majority of whom have since cut off contact because Uighurs can be punished for speaking to people abroad.

The Uighurs abroad said their loved ones were constantly on edge in their own homes, knowing that any misstep  a misplaced Quran, a carelessly spoken word  could lead to detention or worse. In the presence of these faux relatives, their family members could not pray or wear religious garbs, and the cadres were privy to their every move.

The thought of it  and the sight of his sister, the old woman and their false smiles  made Idris queasy.

"I wanted to throw up," said the 49-year-old petroleum engineer, shaking his head in disgust.

"The moment I saw the old woman, I thought, 'Ugh, this person is our enemy.' If your enemy became your mother, think about it  how would you feel?"

___

Tensions between Muslim minorities and Han Chinese have bubbled over in recent years, resulting in violent attacks pegged to Uighur separatists and a fierce government crackdown on broadly defined "extremism" that has placed as many as 1 million Muslims in internment camps, according to estimates by experts and a human rights group.

Uighurs say the omnipresent threat of being sent to one of these centers, which are described as political indoctrination camps by former detainees, looms large in their relatives' minds when they are forced to welcome party members into their homes.

Last December, Xinjiang authorities organized a "Becoming Family Week" which placed more than 1 million cadres in minority households. Government reports on the program gushed about the warm "family reunions," as public servants and Uighurs shared meals and even beds.

Another notice showed photos of visitors helping Uighur children with their homework and cooking meals for their "families." The caption beneath a photo of three women lying in bed, clad in pajamas, said the cadre was "sleeping with her relatives in their cozy room."

A different photo showed two women "studying the 19th Party Congress and walking together into the new era"  a nod to when Xi's name was enshrined in the party constitution alongside the likes of Deng Xiaoping and Mao Zedong.

Becoming Family Week turned out to be a test run for a standardized homestay program. The Xinjiang United Front Work Department said in February that government workers should live with their assigned families every two months, for five days at a time.

The United Front, a Communist Party agency, indicates in the notice that the program is mandatory for cadres. Likewise, Idris and other interviewees said their families understood that they would be deemed extremists if they refused to take part.

Cadres, who are generally civilians working in the public sector, are directed to attend important family events such as the naming of newborns, circumcisions, weddings and funerals of close relatives. They must have a firm grasp of each family member's ideological state, social activities, religion, income, their challenges and needs, as well as basic details on immediate relatives, the notice said.

Families were to be paid a daily rate of 20 to 50 yuan ($2.80 to $7.80) to cover the cost of meals shared with their newfound relatives. Some families might be paired with two or three cadres at a time, according to the notice, and the regularly mandated house calls could be supplanted with trips to the local party office.

A February piece on the Communist Party's official news site said: "The vast majority of party cadres are not only living inside villagers' homes, but also living inside the hearts of the masses."

Overseas Uighurs said the "visits" to their relatives' homes often lasted longer than five days, and they were closely monitored the whole time. The cadres would ask their family members where they were going and who they were meeting whenever they wanted to leave the house.

"They couldn't pray," said Abduzahir Yunus, a 23-year-old Uighur originally from Urumqi, Xinjiang's capital. "Praying or even having a Quran at home could endanger the whole family."

Yunus, who now lives in Istanbul, said his father used to lament to him about being visited three to four times a week by the administrator of his neighborhood committee, a middle-aged Han Chinese man. The surprise house calls began in 2016, and it was "impossible to say no," Yunus said. They often coincided with times traditionally designated for prayer.

"Their aim is to assimilate us," Yunus said. "They want us to eat like them, sleep like them and dress like them."

After Yunus's parents and older brother were detained, only Yunus's sister-in-law and 5-year-old brother remained in the house. Around the beginning of 2018, the Han Chinese man started staying with them full-time.

Uighurs said they were particularly repulsed by the thought of male visitors living under the same roof as their female relatives and children  a practice contrary to their faith. Women and kids are sometimes the only ones left at home after male family members are sent to internment camps.

In recent years, the government has even encouraged Uighurs and Han Chinese to tie the knot.

Starting in 2014, Han-Uighur spouses in one county were eligible to receive 10,000 yuan ($1,442) annually for up to five years following the registration of their marriage license.

Such marriages are highly publicized. The party committee in Luopu county celebrated the marriage of a Uighur woman and a "young lad" from Henan in an official social media account in October 2017. The man, Wang Linkai, had been recruited through a program that brought university graduates to work in the southern Xinjiang city of Hotan.

"They will let ethnic unity forever bloom in their hearts," the party committee's post said. "Let ethnic unity become one's own flesh and blood."

___

Not all "Become Family" pairings involve Han Chinese visitors. A Uighur cadre named Gu Li said she regularly pays visits to a Uighur household, staying three to five days at a time.

"We've already started calling each other family," she said in a telephone interview from Xinjiang. "China's 56 ethnic groups are all one family."

Gu said civil servants of many ethnicities  Uighur, Han and Kazakh  participate in the program.

All government employees in the region are required to conduct such visits in order to better understand villagers' needs, according to Gu: "Because we're always sitting in our offices, we don't know what they really need. Only through penetrating the masses can we truly serve them."

As with many of the government's other initiatives in Xinjiang, the "Pair Up and Become Family" program is presented as a way to rescue Muslim minorities from poverty. Public servants show up at homes bearing bags of rice and gallons of cooking oil, and their duties include helping with chores and farm work.

Xu Jing, an employee at Turpan city's environmental bureau, recounted her shock after entering her assigned relative's home. Xu said the only light in the residence came from a small window, and she realized that Xasiyet Hoshur wasn't lying when she said she lived on 3,000 yuan ($433) a year.

"But it's OK, everything is getting better," Xu wrote in her reflection, published on Turpan's government site. Hoshur's daughter was attending university on a 5,000 yuan ($722) national scholarship.

On the one hand, China maintains that employment and living standards are key to warding off the temptations of religious extremism. On the other hand, official descriptions of the visitation and homestay program are laden with suggestions that the ethnic minority families are uncivilized and that their way of life needs to be corrected.

One notice, first highlighted by University of Washington ethnographer Darren Byler, focused on a Uighur family's use of a raised, cloth-covered platform for eating and working. In traditional Uighur culture, this setup is preferable to a table, but the testimonial published by the Xinjiang Communist Youth League said frequent use of the platform was "inconvenient" and "unhealthy."

The post quoted a cadre saying: "Even though we already purchased a TV and rice oil for our relatives, after living with our relatives for a few days, we still insisted on using our own money to buy our relatives a table and lamp."

In the People's Daily, a Uighur baker in Kashgar named Ablimit Ablipiz was quoted praising the party for improving his habits. "Ever since these cadres started living in my home, we've picked up a lot of know-how about food safety and hygiene," Ablipiz said.

Uighurs must also conform culturally. Over the Lunar New Year, an important Chinese holiday not traditionally celebrated by Uighurs, cadres encouraged households to hang lanterns and sing "red songs," ballads honoring the party's revolutionary history. Byler said families could not ask whether the meat was halal and acceptable to Muslims when they had to make or eat dumplings for the festival.

___

Thousands of miles away, in Turkey, Uighur relatives in exile watch what is happening with dread.

Earlier this year, Ablikim Abliz studied a photo of his uncle's family gathered around a table. Clad in thick winter jackets, his uncle and the smiling Han Chinese man beside him both held chubby-faced children in their laps.

His uncle had posted the photo to his WeChat page along with the caption "Han Chinese brother."

The 58-year-old Abliz said his entire extended family in China has been sent to internment camps. When he saw his uncle's photo, his first reaction was relief. If his uncle had been assigned a Han family member, Abliz thought, that meant he was safe.

But the consolation was short-lived. A friend who tried to visit his uncle in Turpan this summer told Abliz that his uncle's front door was boarded up and sealed with police tape. Abliz has not been able to reach any of his family members since.

As for Idris, he fears that his sister is living under immense pressure with her Han Chinese "mother." Shortly after her sister's first post about her new relatives, a friend responded on WeChat: "I also have one! You guys better be careful!"

The same friend later posted photos of herself and a Han Chinese woman doing a Chinese fan dance, playing the drums and wearing traditional Han clothing.

His sister would never have volunteered for such a program, Idris said. She and his younger sister had been trying to get passports to bring their children to Turkey and reunite with Idris, but their applications were not accepted.

Last summer, both of his sisters deleted him on WeChat. A few months later, his aunt deleted him, too. For more than a year, Idris has not been able to communicate with his relatives. He wonders, with growing unease, how they're getting along with their new "family."
Washington (AFP) - The US Department of Homeland Security asked the Pentagon on Friday to extend its deployment of troops to the US-Mexico border into next year.

Approximately 5,600 active-duty troops are currently supporting border agents as part of a contentious mission ordered by President Donald Trump ahead of the mid-term elections in November.

The border deployment was supposed to wrap up by December 15, but due to an "ongoing threat" may now be extended until January 31, Department of Homeland Security (DHS) spokeswoman Katie Waldman said in a statement.

"This request refines support to ensure it remains aligned with the current situation, the nature of the mission, and CBP operational requirements," she said.

Pentagon spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Jamie Davis said the Defense Department was still reviewing the request and did not have an immediate response for DHS.

In addition to the 5,600 active-duty forces, another 2,100 or so National Guardsmen have been deployed to support operations at the border.

Their mission is to assist short-handed border patrol agents deal with the arrival of large groups of migrants in so-called "caravans."

Critics have called the deployment order a political stunt, coming as it did in the days ahead of the November 6 elections.

In the Mexican city of Tijuana, across the border from San Diego in California, more than 6,000 migrants are camped out hoping to apply for asylum, or sneak into the United States in some cases, fleeing poverty and violence in their home countries.

Much of the US troops' work so far has been to put up mile after mile of concertina and barbed-wire fencing along the border.
Washington (AFP) - The former right hand man of notorious Mexican druglord Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman was sentenced Friday to life in prison, judicial sources said.

Damaso Lopez Nunez, known as "The Lawyer" when he worked for the ultra-violent Sinaloa cartel, had been convicted of trafficking by a federal court in Alexandria, Virginia.

The 52-year-old was captured in Mexico in May last year and extradited to the United States two months later.

He was considered a potential witness against Guzman, who is currently on trial in New York.

According to the US Department of Justice, Lopez was the deputy head of a Mexican maximum security prison in 2001 when he helped Guzman escape. He then joined the cartel as Guzman's lieutenant.

In that role he took part in the production and shipment to the United States of tons of cocaine, heroin, methamphetamines and marijuana, according to the US Justice Department.

He also directed some of the killings and kidnappings associated with the Sinaloa gang.

And he was linked to the May 15, 2017 murder of Mexican journalist Javier Valdez, an AFP contributor.
LOS ANGELES  Volkswagen is deciding where to locate a new factory in North America to build electric vehicles for the U.S. market, the German automaker's new head for the Americas said on Wednesday.

Scott Keogh, the newly appointed CEO of Volkswagen Group of America, said a new plant was needed to build a vehicle yet to be revealed under the Volkswagen brand, priced between $30,000-$40,000, that is due in 2020.

"We are 100 percent deep in the process of 'We will need an electric car plant in North America,' and we're holding those conversations now," Keogh told journalists at the Los Angeles auto show.

An electric car that could take on Silicon Valley's Tesla is part of the massive investment in electric vehicles that Europe's largest carmaker plans to make.

Volkswagen announced earlier this month it would spend almost 44 billion euros ($50 billion) on developing electric cars, autonomous driving and new mobility services by 2023, while exploring areas of cooperation with U.S. automaker Ford.

To meet a production timeline for 2020, the new electric car will initially be sourced outside of the United States, Keogh said, but then will be produced at the newly chosen site.

Volkswagen's existing U.S. plant in Chattanooga, Tennessee, where the Passat and Atlas are built, could be one option as there is enough room at that facility, but it will not necessarily be chosen, Keogh said.

Tesla has thus far captured the largest share of the U.S. market for electric vehicles, but a host of new models will hit the market from German automakers and others over the next two years.

For Volkswagen, although it is behind Tesla, it is not necessarily too late to capture a U.S. market that presents a "massive opportunity," Keogh said.

"The market timing actually is quite perfect," he said. "You need to have this intersection of, 'Can you get costs down enough that you can produce a car at that price point, make enough money, have the technology capabilities that this is a car that we would want to put in the marketplace, and have market acceptance?'" he said.

Story continues

"And when all these things intersect that's ideally when you want to throw the dart."

Reporting by Alexandria Sage



Related Video:
US president Donald Trump and Chinas president Xi Jinping will discuss trade at the G20 summit in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Photo: Artyom Ivanov/Getty Images

Here are the top business, market and economic stories you should be watching today in the UK, Europe and abroad:

G20 in the spotlight

A two-day annual summit of the worlds top economies will open on Friday in Argentina with leaders struggling to contain the fallout from a US-China trade war that has roiled global markets, hurt business confidence and upended traditional trade flows.

Onlookers and attendees are bracing for the kind of divisive geopolitical drama that US president Donald Trump often brings to the international stage.

The bitter US-China trade dispute has pitted the worlds two largest economies against one another, with each side imposing tariffs on hundreds of billions of dollars of imports.

All eyes will be on a planned meeting between Trump and Chinese president Xi Jinping on Saturday to see whether they can make progress toward resolving differences that threaten the global economy.

Criminal charges over $11bn Autonomy deal

The United States has filed criminal charges against the high-profile UK executive Mike Lynch over the $11bn (8.6bn) sale of the British software company Autonomy to Hewlett-Packard (HPE) seven years ago.

The charges filed in a court in San Francisco carry a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and include 14 counts of conspiracy and fraud.

British entrepreneur Lynch co-founded Autonomy in 1996 and served as its CEO. In 2011, the company was bought by HP, but the deal turned sour a year later when HP wrote off three-quarters of the British companys value. It accused Lynch and his colleagues of financial mismanagement.

Lawyers for Lynch, who has always denied any wrongdoing, said in a statement on Friday that the indictment was a travesty of justice and he would contest the charges.

Stock market overview

European stock markets were sinking on Friday, with Londons FTSE 100 (^FTSE) down by about 0.7% in mid-morning trading. The DAX (^GDAXI) in Germany and CAC 40 (^FCHI) in France were also in negative territory, erasing much of the gains accrued this week.

Story continues

US stock futures were slipping ahead of the open on Friday and WTI crude futures (CL=F) were also down to trade around $51 per barrel.

Asian markets mostly edged up on Friday, with Chinas benchmark Shanghai Composite (000001.SS) leading the way with a 0.8% gain.

Australias ASX All Ordinaries (^AORD) bucked the trend by dropping 1.5%.

With files from Reuters
Mitchell Dworet and Melissa Willey have never met and dont have much in common. Dworet, whom everyone calls Mitch, is an outgoing real estate agent from a busy part of Florida; Willey is a reserved stay-at-home mother of nine from a small town in southern Maryland. But one thing unites them: both had kids on a high school swim team, and now both of those kids are dead.

Dworets 17-year-old son Nicholas was killed during the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., in February. Soon after, some parents of other children who had been victims of gun violence contacted Dworet, offering him support, guidance and understanding. A month later, 1,000 miles north in Maryland, Willeys daughter Jaelynn, 16, was shot to death by a fellow student at Great Mills High School. When Dworet heard about it, he contacted Willey on Facebook. I felt like I should reach out, he says. I wanted to pay it forward.

Read the full cover story here.
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President Donald Trump speaks to reporters on the South Lawn before leaving the White House in Washington, Thursday, Nov. 29, 2018 to attend the G20 Summit in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Search for a new Yakima police chief

The city of Yakima is making progress in finding a new police chief. City officials issued a request for executive recruitment services Nov. 1, asking for proposals from search firms.

The deadline for proposals is Friday. The city had received proposals from two recruiting firms as of Thursday.

City officials said recruiting a chief can cost $20,000 to $25,000.

City Manager Cliff Moore said the city hopes to pick a search firm by the end of the year and have the new police chief in place by April or May.

The chief will supervise 128 officers, oversee a budget of about $30 million, and manage a department that responds to more than 150 calls a day on average.

Yakima police Capt. Gary Jones is serving as interim chief.
Should U.S. troops be removed from Afghanistan, site of the longest running war in U.S. history?
Hanukkah is just around the corner, which means it's time for the annual Yedioth Ahronoth sufganiyot survey. The traditional taste test, which this year included 55 participants, is designed to help you decide which deep-fried Israeli delicacy is worth the calories and subsequent guilt. Here are some of the best sufganiyot for 2018.

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A few editorial notes

1. If there is something we have learned from this year's tasting, it's that no matter how sophisticated the decorations, fillings, and coatings of this fried delicacy, in the end, what we prefer are the simple and classic strawberry jam doughnuts.

2. It's unfortunate (or fortunate, depending on one's point of view) that pastry-cooks put more effort into the design of the sufganiyah (thus overpricing it, some even sell their product at double-digit prices).

Sufganiyot (Photo: Assaf Levi)

3. Another important point to note: dear pastry chefs, please stick to the calendar. We understand you've been working days and nights trying to improve your recipes, but, having witnessed sufganiyot displays as early as September, we ask you to be patient and wait until the holiday season before displaying your product. It's best to eat sufganiyot during the cool season of the year, not in the hot summer days. Just the thought of ingesting this oil-soaked sponge during the sweat-filled mid-September days terrifies us.

4. Roladin's head chef, Shlomi Fadida, reminded us that the customer is always right, even when it comes to Hanukkah's sweet treats. Back in August, for example, Roladin held a huge tasting survey, in which customers took part in determining the bakery cafe chain's choice of leading sufganiyah flavors for 2018 (though we would have preferred to know that the sufganiyot menu is planned by experienced bakers and not by costumers the chain is trying to please).

The taste test

Among the survey's participants this year are families from Gaza border communities, Israeli navy soldiers, experienced Israel Postal Company staff members and start-up employees with a sweet tooth.

When it comes to the presentation of this year's sufganiyot selection, the decision was unanimous: these are not pastries, but works of art. Therefore, when it came time for a final ruling, we have taken into account the sufganiyah's look as well. We also put emphasis on taste, texture, and price.

The results

Best nostalgic taste

The classic sufganiyah is something we will always cherish, and when made properly, they win every time. The long-serving Hazvi bakery in Bnei Brak received the most praise from our tasters, young and old alike. It seems everyone wants the classic sufganiyah with jelly and sugar powder.

Price: NIS 3.5 apiece.

Address: 78 Kahneman St., Bnei Brak.

Orders and reservations: 03-6740674

The most surprising

Jacobs Bread boutique killed it this year with a sufganiyah collection based on salty snacks, like Bamba Bisli, popcorn, and even lime and mint cream.

Price: Starting at 8 NIS apiece.

Orders and reservations: 03-55511333

Nomili Patisserie Cafe's sourdough

We've never heard of this before: sufganiyot made from natural sourdough and pure butter. Dan Kelly, a Paris-trained pastry chef, concocted this recipe for Nomili Patisserie Cafe in Kfar Saba. The sufganiyah come with a pastry creme or Belgian chocolate ganache filling. Our tasters loved it.

Price: NIS 10 apiece.

Address: 3 Sokolov St., Kfar Saba.

Orders and reservations: 09-7662616.

Macaron-based sufganiyah

The fairy-tale sufganiyot of the Showroom Bakehouse have excited our tastersboth in terms of presentation and variety of fillings. The collection called "Hypnotic Macaron" is based on classic flavors of macarons such as pistachios, strawberries, berries, champagne and more. Each sufganiyah is decorated with fondant icing that adds an interesting twist to the presentation of this deep-fried dessert.

Price: NIS 14-16 apiece.

Orders and reservations: click this link

David Outmezgine's 'Volcano'

Personal truffles sufganiyah wrapped in chocolate and topped with a thin gold or silver foil, created by confectioner David Outmezgine. The coating explodes in the mouth, revealing a rich filling in a variety of flavors inside. The most popular sufganiyah was Outmezgine's "Volcano," which is filled with cappuccino cream. "It's not a sufganiyah anymore, it's reminiscent of a Ferrero Rocher chocolate ball with a fried dough texture," said one survey participant. It's a pity that it is overpriced.

Price: NIS 45 apiece; delicious, but pricy.

The chain's reservation center: 03-9393655.

Paris in Biscotti

The Biscotti patisserie chain takes the well known "Paris-Brest" French dessert (made of choux pastry and a praline-flavored cream) and incorporates into its collection of sofganyot, turning the holiday delight into something new. Our tasters especially enjoyed the Ferrero Rocher-style filled sufganiyah with a nougat coating and hazelnuts crumble.

Price: NIS 10 apiece.

Orders and reservations: 03-5704015 / 03-5704018

Roladin's Pierre Herme-inspired sufganiyah

The Roladin chain drew inspiration this year from the collaboration between the Pierre Herme French patisserie and luxury Swiss chocolate brand Lindt. The result looks pretentious and over-designed. The most liked offering is the "Royal," a sufganiyah with milk and bitter Lindt chocolate cream filling, chocolate almond sable, profiterole, and a chocolate-hazelnut shot. The "Infinity Vanilla"filled with a white chocolate pastry cream with caramel and almonds crunch and a vanilla shotis also worth a try.

Price: NIS 12 apiece

Orders and reservations: click here.

Pretzel bagel sufganiyah

The pretzel bagel sufganiyah by the boutique bakery "Elchanan Bread Culture" in Mishmarot (a kibbutz in northern Israel) was the star of our survey, perhaps because it reminded our tasters of the American-style doughnut. The recipe was invented by baker and owner Eldad Shmueli, and the variety of sofganyot includs a filling or top with flavors of chocolate, nuts, vanilla pastry cream, pistachio praline, strawberry jam, raspberry jam, guava jam, citrus jam, salted caramel and Dulce de leche

Price: NIS 9-11 apiece

Orders and reservations: 04-8838200

Dallal Bakery

You can't argue with the quality of the Dallal Bakery shop. Here too the sofganyot filled with Dulce de leche / chocolate / vanilla / pistachio were among our tasters' favorites, as well as a kids' favorite, especially the classic ones.

Price: NIS 8 for filled sufganiyah, NIS 5 for a classic sufganiyah

Orders and reservations: 03-5109292

Boutique Central's brioche

This year, the Boutique Central patisserie chain serves Brioche sofganyot. On the menu: filled sofganyot with various flavors, such as creme brulee, creamy pastry creme enriched with white chocolate and vanilla sticks, and yummy chocolate cream. Our tasters especially enjoyed the almond tuile sufganiyah, which was ranked especially high.

Prices: NIS 6-7 for a baked or classic brioche sufganiyah, NIS 9 for a sufganiyah with filling.

For orders and reservations, click here

Tatti Bistro's cinnabon

How much further can we go? Our tasters liked the cinnabon sufganiyah, so who are we to argue? The gimmick belongs to the Tatti Bistro, and they come with a cinnamon pastry cream and cream cheese filling or with a coffee-walnut filling.

Price: NIS 8.5.

Orders and reservations: 03-5392500

Metuka's Sabrina sufganiyah

Metuka bakery's take on a classic Sabrina cake was well liked by our tasters. The bakery offers a Sabrina sufganiyah with vanilla cream and fresh strawberries.

Price: NIS 12 apiece

For deliveries: 1-700-723-723

Shani Bakery

The Shani Bakery in Haifa serves bite-size sofganyot suitable for children. They are filled with "Kinder Click"a Kinder Bueno filling topped with Belgian chocolate ganache and crunchy Click chocolate bar ballsor with a chocolate cream with chocolate and colored candy toppings.

Price: NIS 6-11 apiece, 64 for a package.




















A year ago, on December 1, 2017, the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court in The Hague, Fatou Bensouda, decided to close the "Marmara case." This is the same old story from 2010, in which Israeli forces commandeered a flotilla, led by the Mavi Marmara, on its way to Gaza. Nine activists were killed during the takeover.

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Following the incident, a number of investigation committees were established, most prominently that of the UN Security Council, led by former Prime Minister of New Zealand Jeffrey Palmer. The Palmer Committee determined that Israel used excessive force, but that the blockade itself was legal. Following that conclusion, Bensouda decided to close the case in 2014.

In 2015, a committee of three ICC justices demanded the case be reopened. Bensouda appealed the decision. After her appeal was rejected, she again investigated and again decided to close the case.

IDF forces board the Mavi Marmara (Photo: IDF Spokesperson)

But last week, a panel of judges ordered the prosecutor to open an investigation, in order to file a claim against Israel. The authority to file a claim, it should be noted, is that of the prosecutor alone. Thus, for years the prosecutor has ruled that there are no grounds for an investigation, and various panels of judges insist on having one anyway.

That Gaza flotilla was an initiative by IHH, a Turkish-Islamic organization. Even before the flotilla set sail, European intelligence sources noted that IHH was linked to the global Jihad movement, including al-Qaeda. The European Union's delegate to the International Convention for the Suppression of the Financing of Terrorism, Jean-Louis Burgier, affirmed that IHH is connected to the global terrorist network.

Fatou Bensouda

When members of the organization were aboard the Mavi Marmara on their way to Gaza, they chanted the song of annihilation, "Khaybar Khaybar, ya Yahud, Jaish Muhammad, sa Yahud" ("Khaybar, Khaybar, O Jews, Mohammeds army will return" is a thinly disguised call to murder Jews, referring to a battle in Khaybar when Mohammed slaughtered scores of Jews).

One of the flotilla's prominent members was Sheikh Raed Salah, leader of the northern branch of the Islamic Movement in Israel, who energized the participants with hate speech. Like other members of the global Jihad, IHH members made it clear, even before the incident, that they were destined to be martyrs. Of the 500 participants in the flotilla, 40 were members of the IHH and of the nine killed, eight were IHH members.

A few months after they returned to Turkey, members of IHH traveled to Tehran to meet their ally, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, then president of Iran. Saleh Ozer, the organization's leader, declared: "We are here today with the yearning and determination to build a Middle East without Israel and America." Similar statements were made by IHH leaders later on.

IHH members attack IDF soldiers (Photo: IDF Spokesperson's Unit)

All this information, and probably additional information, was available to Bensouda. One cannot "accuse" her of being overly sympathetic to Israel, but she understood that this was a planned provocation by a terrorist organization that forged an alliance with "progressive forces"the red-green alliance of jihadists and the radical left, whose only common denominator is anti-Semitism.

Considering these facts, an investigation should have been launched against Turkey, which sponsored the flotilla and the IHH, and encouraged and equipped them. In the struggle between Jihad and its supporters and a free country, the West was supposed to side with the latter.

But presumptions go through a dangerous change when it comes to Israel. It is fighting an organization that is recognized as a terrorist organization, whose members declare in advance their desire to become martyrs, an anti-Semitic ideology dominated the deck, but wonder of wondersthe ICC court's judges repeatedly demand an indictment against Israel.

During the last round of discussions at the UN General Assembly, various committees submitted nine condemnations of Israeland not even one proposal against any other country in the world. This is a shameful extension of the obsessive bias against Israel. These organizations have an automatic majority against Israel, but what about the judges?!

In the United States, a bipartisan majority in Congress passed the "Hague Invasion Act," which states that if there is an attempt to arrest an American soldier or an American citizen for prosecution, the United States will invade The Hague in order to release the detainee, which sounds like a strange law. But reality, it turns out, is even stranger.
Back in 1985, a statue of Captain Alfred Dreyfus, created by the Sculptor Louis Mittelberg, was erected in Paris Place Pierre Lafue. Now, over 30 years later, the statues replica made Aliyah to Tel Aviv.

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The idea to bring a replica of the statue to Israel was born when Beit Hatfutsot, the Museum of the Jewish People, showcased an exhibition called The tales of a French-Jewish family, which chronicled the story of the Dreyfus family for several generations.

'A tribute to Captain Dreyfus'

Dreyfus great-granddaughter, Yael Perl Ruiz, is excited about the new statue. Now, the younger generation, that doesnt know the story, can learn about the Dreyfus affair and find interest in it. Its of tremendous importance, she said.

The statue, named a tribute to Captain Dreyfus, memorializes the famous story of the Jewish French artillery officers ordeal, that stirred France in the late Nineteenth Century.

Dreyfus being publicly humiliated after his conviction.

In 1895, Dreyfus was falsely accused of treason and of spying for Germany. This was followed by a highly public trial that stirred raging anti-Semitic sentiments in the press and the French public, and ended in a humiliating conviction and public stripping of his ranks.

Dreyfus was sent to exile in the infamous Devils Island in French Guiana, known for its horrible conditions (featured in the successful book, and later film "Papillon," telling the tale of an inmates life on the island.)

Dreyfus' hut in Devil's Island.

The French public was torn on Dreyfus, a rift illustrated by writer Emile Zolas open letter, "JAccuse," blaming authorities of anti-Semitism. This caused a political outrage that lead to Dreyfus exoneration and clearing of guilt.

Dreyfus returned to France and later served his country in World War One. The affair has since become an international symbol of the struggle against racism and anti-Semitism.

Dreyfus great-granddaughter said that the family feels the posing of the statue in Israel is a meaningful event that brings closure. He returned from the island traumatized, he had nightmares. He only survived because he was a person with strong values, she said.

An anti-Semitic caricature presenting Dreyfus as a traitor.

The statue was erected between Rothschild Avenue and Herzl Street in Tel Aviv, near the French Institute. Dreyfus 91-year-old grandson attended the unveiling. Emile Zolas great-granddaughter, Martine Le Blond-Zola, also attended the ceremony alongside her close friendDreyfus' great-granddaughter Yael Perl Ruiz.

Philippe Val, the former editor of the magazine Charlie Hebdo that suffered a terror attack in 2015, also attended the ceremony.
The Chief Rabbinate publishes a list of foreign rabbinical courts recognized for the performance of conversions and divorce. The move follows a petition by ITIM Institute against the so-called 'blacklists' of disqualified courts.

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Their goal is to finally regulate a domain that has been characterized by vagueness and uncertainty. However, criteria have not yet been determined for the Rabbinate to recognize individual rabbis from abroad.

Rabbinical Court (Photo: Gil Yohanan)

To date, the Chief Rabbinate has denied the claim that it maintains lists of recognized rabbis or rabbinical courts, and certainly the existence of a secret "black list" of those who are disqualified in their eyes. According to the Chief Rabbinate, each case is examined on its own merits. The rabbinate also admitted that it had never formulated criteria for the recognition of rabbis abroad. However, two years ago, after being criticized by the court, it undertook to formulate such measures.

Now, for the first time, two lists, whose existence has previously been denied, have been published; including some 80 courts around the world that the Chief Rabbinate recognizes to perform conversions, and about 70 that are recognized to testify regarding an individual's "marital status."

However, a list of individual rabbis, if it indeed exists, was not revealed. In addition, the rabbinate published the recently formulated criteria for recognizing new courts. Yet the courts appearing on these lists do not necessarily fulfill all the requirements, but have been approved for reasons that have yet to be explained.

The new criteria stipulate that Rabbis from foreign courts who wish to be included on the list will be invited to an oral examination performed by rabbis of the Rabbinical Court of Israel, and appointed by the rabbinate. The test will examine their knowledge in theory and in practice in the laws of divorce and conversion. Based on the results, the committee will then decide whether to recommend recognizing these courts to the Chief Rabbinic Council.

Justice for rabbis who were rejected in the past

ITIM organization, which led the legal struggle to formulate the criteria, welcomed the publication of the lists, which are expected to make life easier for those who apply for assistance with state religious services.

"This is another important step towards the regulation of relations between the State of Israel and Diaspora Jewry, and we are happy that after our adamant struggle, the list has finally been published and there is something to work with," said ITIM Director Dr. Shaul Farber

Despite the achievement, Farber expressed reservations about the composition of the list and the new criteria.

"We must examine why rabbis whom the Chief Rabbinate say are trusted are not on the list. But it is a positive step towards transparent and improved religious services for the Jewish public in Israel and abroad."

ITIM also called on the Rabbinate to act fairly and impartiality towards community rabbis whose conversions have been rejected with no explanation given.

Rabbi Lau meets with European rabbis

The list  'a source of concern'

Shmuel Shetach, the director of the Ne'emanei Torah v'Avodah, a religious Zionist movement, also expressed reservations about the move.

"The list of rabbinical courts published is one step forward and two steps backwards. Instead of publishing clear and equal criteria that will bring about a de facto recognition of all communities abroad, the rabbinate continues to play games and excludes a large part of Diaspora Jewry, "Shetach said.

"While the time has come for a methodical listnot 'black lists' leaving bureaucrats to do whatever they wantthe fact that the current list does not include rabbis and important communities abroad is a source of deep concern.

"We expect and hope to see a completion of the process of recognizing the rabbis of the Diaspora, which can advance the healing of the great rift between Diaspora Jewry and the State of Israel," he added.

Meanwhile, the Conference of European Rabbis (CER) announced Tuesday that it had reached an agreement with the Chief Rabbinate according to which, the State of Israel would recognize conversions and divorce from Europe only if they were performed in courts approved by senior rabbis from the Chief Rabbinate.

European rabbis expanding their activities

A delegation of CER's rabbis, headed by CER's President Rabbi Pinchas Goldschmidt, arrived in Israel last week and met with Chief Rabbi David Lau. Lau promised them that the rabbinate would not recognize conversions performed by "roving" rabbis, but only those belonging to recognized courts.

The rabbis issued a statement pledging to "expand its activities and provide court services to smaller communities There will be no conversion in places where there is no infrastructure for Jewish communal life. An international database will be set up to promote closer cooperation between the courts in Europe and in Israel."
An Airbus A340 government aircraft carrying German Chancellor Angela Merkel and her delegation to the G20 summit was forced to land en route after suffering technical problems on Thursday evening, the captain said.

Around an hour into the trip from Berlin, the captain told passengers he had decided to land at Cologne-Bonn airport in northwestern Germany after the "malfunction of several electronic systems", but said there had been no security risk.

It was not immediately clear when a new aircraft would arrive to continue the 15-hour flight to Argentina.

Merkel and other passengers initially remained on board the aircraft, called "Konrad Adenauer" as mechanics inspected its brakes and several fire engines waited nearby, according to a Reuters reporter on board.

Later, the delegation travelled by bus to a hotel in Bonn. Delegation sources said efforts were underway to organise new flights for Merkel and Finance Minister Olaf Scholz, possibly on a commercial carrier.

The delay could complicate Merkel's schedule at the two-day meeting in Argentina, where the Group of 20 industrialised countries already expect to face "very, very difficult" negotiations on myriad issues.

Merkel, who had planned bilateral meetings with the presidents of the United States, China, Russia and India, was unlikely to arrive in Buenos Aires until Friday evening, German government sources said.
WASHINGTONThe United States on Thursday displayed pieces of what it said were Iranian weapons deployed to militants in Yemen and Afghanistan, a move by President Donald Trumps administration to pressure Tehran to curb its regional activities.he presentation of hardware by the Pentagon, much of which was handed over by Saudi Arabia, coincides with growing concern in Congress over US military support for the Saudi-led coalition in Yemens civil war, which has led to a deep humanitarian crisis.

Members of Congress have escalated their opposition to Saudi Arabia after the October killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi. Despite administration pleas not to downgrade ties with the Saudis and thereby counter Iran, the Senate voted on Wednesday to advance a resolution to end military support for the Saudis in Yemen.

If Iran were found to be shipping arms to Yemen, Afghanistan and other countries, it would be in violation of UN resolutions.

We want there to be no doubt across the world that this is a priority for the United States and that its in international interest to address it, said Katie Wheelbarger, the principal deputy assistant secretary of defense for international security affairs.
Journalist Marc Lamont Hill was fired by CNN Thursday following comments he made about Israel's treatment of the Palestinian.

"Marc Lamont Hill is no longer under contract with CNN, a network spokesperson said.

During a speech he was giving, Hill called for a "free Palestine from the river to the sea."

"I support Palestinian freedom. I support Palestinian self-determination. I am deeply critical of Israeli policy and practice. I do not support anti-Semitism, killing Jewish people, or any of the other things attributed to my speech. I have spent my life fighting these things," he added on Twitter
Culture Minister Miri Regev slammed the decision to reject Moshe Edris appointment as police commissioner: the Israeli government knows how to take dramatic decisions. Officials should be decided on in the government with the help of a committee, appointed by the relevant minister, that advices on possible candidates.
Syria has approached the UN Friday, following a series of attacks it said were initiated by Israel and the US.

The Syrian Foreign Office said attacks are a direct consequence of the USs lack of respect to international law and human values, in line with the targets of Israeli aggression.

We ask the UN Security Council to act in order to immediately put an end to this aggression, said the Syrian statement.
A.D. JOHNSTON High School English and Spanish teacher Micaela Zelinski stands in her classroom in Bessemer. She recently won an award for helping launch a Book Club and Reading Club at the school.

By LARRY HOLCOMBE

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BESSEMER - A.D. Johnston High School English and Spanish teacher Micaela Zelinski said she loves a good book and maybe the only thing better is sharing it with others.

She's particularly drawn to contemporary young adult literature with the hope that she'll find something she can incorporate in her classroom or with the school's relatively new Book Club.

This is Zelinski's second year teaching. Last year, she launched an after-school Book Club. She said the "small but tight-knit" group read a variety of good books, starting with "The Walled C...
By RALPH ANSAMI

[email protected]

BESSEMER  The Gogebic County Board of Commissioners on Wednesday received a $31,297 check from the Michigan Counties Workers Compensation Fund.

The 2017 dividend check is for the countys portion of the self-funded programs division of the Lansing-based agency.

MCWCF Administrator Timothy McGuire said county commissioners throughout the Upper Peninsula sit on the workers compensation board. Gogebic Countys representative is veteran county board member Joe Bonovetz, of Bessemer. There are a total of 11 members on the board.

Because of the...
Households in Hobart are facing moderately unaffordable rents as Tasmanias capital city topples Sydney as the least affordable city to rent in the country, according to the latest release of the Rental Affordability Index (RAI).

[Hobart] is in a housing gridlock, Ellen Witte, a partner at SGS Economics and Planning said.

Witte said that rental affordability in Hobart further declined over the winter. As a result, the average-income household is now spending 30% of its income on rent, which subsequently makes saving for a deposit on a mortgage difficult.

The RAI, which is released biannually by National Shelter, Community Sector Banking, SGS Economics & Planning and the Brotherhood of St Laurence, is an indicator of the price of rents relative to household incomes based on new rental agreements.

An RAI of 100 and below reflect that households would be required to spend up to 30% of their income on rent, while an RAI of 100-120 indicates that households are facing moderately unaffordable rents.

Greater Hobart hit an RAI of 101 in June 2018. This means that median rents in metropolitan Hobart are now unaffordable, even to median-income rental households.

National Shelter Executive Officer Adrian Pisarski said that the market conditions remains poor, with little or no improvement for low- and moderate-income renters in the capitals, and shows poor affordability in the regions.

It is clear to National Shelter we need a national housing strategy to help improve the dire situation far too many renters across Australia experience, he said.

Compared to improvement in purchase affordability, renters are doing it tough. While we have many housing markets in Australia, none of them are positive for renters. We need a multi-party commitment to improve rental affordability over the long term.

Other Australian cities, including Sydney, saw improvements in rental affordability. In many cases, however, the gains did not reach low-income households.

Looking beneath the headline figures, rental stress is affecting the majority of very low-income households in Australia. Pensioners and single parents are hit particularly hard., said Andrew Cairns, CEO of Community Sector Banking.



Conny Lenneberg, executive director of the Brotherhood of St Laurence, had a similar sentiment, noting the struggles many Aussies have to go through to achieve a decent home.

High rents are pushing unemployed people on very low Newstart payments into deeper poverty, she said. Jobseekers are forced out to the urban fringes of our cities to find suitable accommodation, but that places them far from jobs and public transport connections. Housing-cost pressures mean some renters on Centrelink are being pushed into homelessness. We need to raise Newstart and its very modest rental supplement as a priority.
News

Washington, DC - President Donald J. Trump Signed S. 3554 into Law:

S. 3554, which extends for one year, through November 24, 2019, the collateral requirements for Small Business Administration disaster loans.
News

Phoenix, Arizona - Wednesday, Governor Doug Ducey ordered that flags at all state buildings be lowered to half-staff immediately until sunset Thursday, November 29, 2018 in honor of the life and legacy of Congressman Ed Pastor, who passed away Tuesday night. Flags will also be lowered on the day of interment, which has not been set.

Today, Arizona mourns the loss of an Arizona trailblazer and true public servant, Congressman Ed Pastor," said Governor Ducey. "Born in Claypool, Arizona, Congressman Pastor served 23 years in Congress, becoming the first Latino to represent Arizona in Congress. Before that, Congressman Pastor served three terms as a Maricopa County Supervisor, as an aide to Governor Raul Castro, in numerous community roles, and as a high school chemistry teacher. The first in his family to graduate from college, he earned both a bachelor of arts degree in chemistry and law degree from Arizona State University. My deepest sympathies go out to Congressman Pastors family and loved ones. In honor of his life of service, I'm ordering flags across the state be lowered to half-staff in recognition of the long-lasting impact he will leave on Arizona.
Arizona News

Phoenix, Arizona - Kirk Adams, chief of staff to Governor Doug Ducey, Monday announced his planned departure from the Governors Office. Adams has served as chief of staff since January 2015 and will remain on staff until December 14, 2018.

Kirk Adams has been a critical member of my team and key to our successes  leading the 2014 transition committee, serving as chief of staff since day one of my first term and most recently seeing our team through one of the most historic legislative sessions in state history, said Governor Ducey. Kirks long list of accomplishments prior to joining our team has grown exponentially over the last four years thanks to his unrivaled talent, policy depth, remarkable leadership and ability to build consensus among Arizona stakeholders. I am grateful to Kirk for his service and for his work to build an exceptionally talented team that will help continue Arizonas success as a national leader for opportunity, jobs and economic growth.

Adams, a native Arizonan, helped lead the Governors Office staff through a number of significant events from tackling a billion dollar budget deficit, to the negotiation of Proposition 123, a measure that settled a long-standing lawsuit and increased K-12 school funding by $3.5 billion over ten years, to the historic 2018 legislative session which saw included 20 percent teacher pay raises by the year 2020 and the unanimous passage of the Arizona Opioid Epidemic Act. Earlier this year, Kirk oversaw the governors efforts to honor the late Senator John McCain during the memorial services hosted at the Arizona State Capitol.

I will be forever grateful for the opportunity Ive had to serve as Governor Duceys chief of staff, said Adams. The decision to leave this role is not one I made lightly  Ive often said I have the best job in the country, and that is attributed to the governors leadership and the exceptional team we built over the last four years. While I will miss the job and every member of the governors office, I am looking forward to new opportunities outside of state government.

Adams previously served in the Arizona House of Representatives, first elected in 2006, and was elected as House Speaker just two years later. He is an Aspen Institute Rodel Fellow and previously served as chairman of the Arizona Leadership Council for the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB). Kirks four-year tenure as chief of staff exceeds the average length of service for a gubernatorial chief of staff, which is less than three years according to the National Governors Association.
Arizona News

Phoenix, Arizona - Governor Doug Ducey announced that Daniel Scarpinato will serve as Chief of Staff, succeeding Kirk Adams who announced his departure after four years in the Governors Office.

Daniel Scarpinato was instrumental to the development and execution of our achievements during my first term as governor. He has also been a leader and collaborator among our team and staff  making meaningful contributions in policy, communications, and operations strategies, said Governor Ducey. Daniels experience, his ability to solve problems, and his reputation for working with others to get things done gives me great confidence in his ability to lead our exceptional team as we advance an agenda of opportunity for all.

Daniel Scarpinato previously served as Governor Duceys Deputy Chief of Staff for Communications and Strategic Planning from January 2015 through July 2018. In July, Scarpinato joined the governors 2018 re-election campaign, serving as Senior Advisor. Prior to joining the Governors Office, Daniel served as the National Press Secretary for the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) in Washington D.C., and before that as Western Regional Press Secretary for the NRCC. Additionally, he has served as Director of Communications for the Republican majority in the Arizona House of Representatives, worked as an education and political reporter for the Arizona Daily Star and as editor of the Arizona Capitol Times Yellow Sheet Report. Daniel was born and raised in Tucson, Arizona and is a graduate of the University of Arizona, where he served as Editor-in-Chief of the Arizona Daily Wildcat.

The Governor also announced Gretchen Conger will serve as the sole Deputy Chief of Staff with an expanded portfolio of responsibilities.

Its no wonder Gretchen Conger has won the respect of countless leaders in public policy and in the business community. Gretchens deep expertise in policy and budget, coupled with her extensive relationships has allowed her to turn proposals into reality by working with stakeholders and our Legislature, said Governor Ducey. In her new elevated and expanded role, Gretchen will help ensure the success of my agenda to continue moving Arizona forward.

This marks Congers second promotion within the administration, where she served as Director of Legislative Affairs before being elevated to Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy and Budget in 2016. Prior to joining the administration in January 2015, Conger served as the Executive Director of the Arizona Chamber Foundation and as the Vice President of Public Policy for the Arizona Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Gretchen, a graduate of the University of Arizona, also led a successful ballot measure campaign in 2012 and worked in state government as the legislative liaison for the Department of Financial Institutions and the Department of Real Estate.
Arizona News

Phoenix, Arizona - Attorney General Mark Brnovich issued a warning today about deceptive flyers appearing on residences in the Phoenix area that promote a solar energy effort.

The flyers claim to be a Public Notice from the Maricopa County Solar Initiative, and claim that Arizona and the Federal Government ITC (26 USC  25D) are paying to have solar energy systems installed on qualified homes in this neighborhood. The flyers tell consumers to call to schedule their site audits. Consumers who call are subjected to a solar sales pitch by a private company. In addition, the Maricopa County Solar Initiatives website improperly uses a modified version of the county seal, but the Solar Initiative is linked to a private business and is not associated with the county. The Solar Initiative is also not registered to do business in Arizona.

Similar flyers previously appeared in Clark County, Nevada, this summer, and law enforcement officials there have warned that the Clark County Solar Initiative notices are deceptive.

Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich has aggressively prosecuted businesses masquerading as government agencies, including obtaining consent judgments against Mandatory Poster Agency and Compliance Filings Service, resulting in full restitution for Arizonans totaling hundreds of thousands of dollars.

A picture of the Public Notice is below:

A picture of the improperly modified county seal used by the Solar Initiative is below:

If you believe you are a victim of consumer fraud, you can file a complaint online at the Arizona Attorney Generals website. You can also contact the Consumer Information and Complaints Unit in Phoenix at (602) 542-5763, in Tucson at (520) 628-6648, and outside of the metro areas at (800) 352-8431.
Arizona News

Cottonwood, Arizona - Attorney General Mark Brnovich announced former City of Cottonwood employee Hans Burnett was sentenced to three years probation, 120 hours of community service, and 60 days of deferred jail time after he pleaded guilty to one count of Criminal Damage in connection with his previous work as a foreman at the City of Cottonwood Water Testing Laboratory in 2016.

Burnett instructed his subordinate employees to modify test results and rewrite the paperwork associated with Cottonwood drinking water compliance samples. The altered results were submitted to the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ) as part of the Cottonwood laboratorys drinking water compliance obligations. Coliform is a category of bacteria that drinking water quality rules require be tested for on a regular basis. No one is known to have been sickened as a result of the altered test results.

The Arizona Department of Health Services alerted ADEQ after they discovered the issue at the City of Cottonwood lab. ADEQ sent inspectors to the public water systems and collected water samples. Analysis of samples is now ongoing through a separate lab. ADEQ continues to monitor the data submitted from water samples.

Burnett was sentenced Monday afternoon in Yavapai County Superior Court.

Assistant Attorney General Adam J. Schwartz prosecuted this case.
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In the wake of Sunday's precautionary seven-hour closing of the Delaware Memorial Bridge and resulting traffic jams due to an ethylene oxide leak at Croda's neighboring chemical plant  which Croda in a preliminary investigation blamed on a bad pipe gasket  James Markos, a risk and reliability engineer and former chemical-plant power supervisor, sends this link to a U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazardous Investigation Board (CSB) video.

It shows how ethylene oxide can endanger lives and property when it catches fire.

The video and text explain an ethylene oxide explosion at a Sterigenics medical equipment sterilization plant in Ontario, Calif., back in 2004. A two-ton door was blown 75 feet, the lab was wrecked (its steel walls badly bent), and the nearby control room cut apart by blown-out windows and falling computers. Four workers were injured.

There have been "numerous explosions" of ethylene oxide in industrial situations, due to incomplete monitoring and lack of training, sometimes magnified by lack of proper equipment, CSB says.

In the California plant, technicians and their supervisor, while testing the unit after a successful sterilization, bypassed procedures for repeatedly flushing the gas out of the unit before opening it, because they thought the lengthy process was unnecessary with sterilization materials removed. Lacking monitoring sensors, they didn't realize the gas remained in explosive concentrations, the board found. So when the gas reached a burner flame, it ignited, with "catastrophic results."

Fourteen years later, at Atlas Point, Croda installed monitors and sensors earlier this year when it finished the new ethanol-to-ethylene oxide unit where a pipe leaked Sunday. The unit remained closed after the bridge and the other operations at the 140-acre plant complex reopened late Sunday.

Besides Croda's on-site monitors, state officials set up field monitors by the bridge and on other properties bordering the site soon after the leak was reported Sunday at 4:15 p.m. Fire company and Croda officials say monitors showed ethylene oxide concentrations outside the plant property did not reach dangerous levels. But the bridge was still closed as a precaution until after 11 p.m.

Ethylene oxide is also toxic, and a carcinogen for people who are regularly exposed to it. But the escaped gas dissipates harmlessly, if it can be diluted before it reaches a flame or spark, company and state officials said. Firefighters poured water to spread the gas and ensure it wouldn't blow up. Delaware state environmental officials are continuing their investigation.

A check of state records shows a handful of environmental violations at the site since Croda took over in 2007, and none in nearly four years:

In January 2015, Croda told the state Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control that emissions from a new electric generator, which burns gas from Wilmington's Cherry Island landfill, "far exceeded" its permitted discharge of nonmethane organic compounds. Three days later, the company said it had fixed the problem. The state had the company detail what went wrong and how it was fixed, and give "reasonable assurance" it wouldn't happen again.

In 2014, Croda missed a state deadline for its operating permit renewal, which was later granted on schedule.

In May 2008, less than a year after taking over the plant from another British company, Uniqema, Croda told state environmental officials it had released 96 pounds of ethylene oxide into the atmosphere from an uncontrolled machine.

"Croda did not understand which chemicals it was processing at the time of the incident, nor did it recognize the presence of ethylene oxide" in the tank that leaked, and it took too long to report the leak, according to the violation notice. The state also told Croda to document what happened, as the law requires.

Earlier in 2008, an annual compliance review (partly covering the period Uniqema ran the plant) found "several instances where required monitoring (of boiler emissions) was either not conducted or not reported as required." The department threatened to pull Croda's operating permits unless it explained what happened and why it wouldn't likely happen again.
- The two police men have been attacked by some military men at Sofoline in Kumasi

- The 4th Infantry Battalion soldiers reportedly attacked the two police men after they went to rescue their colleague who was under attack by the same soldiers

Some military men of 4th Infantry Battalion at Sofoline in Kumasi have been spotted attacking two police men who went to rescue their colleague under attack.

The two police men who went to the rescue of their colleague under attack by the soldiers were not spared, as they were also beaten.

According to reports by MyNewsGH.com, the police men revealed that they did not know what caused the attack that was meted out to their colleague.

Soldiers attack policemen in street fight Source: Supplied

Source: UGC

READ ALSO: Policeman caught on camera stealing a phone from the Marina Mall

The soldiers also seized the magazine of the policemens service rifle in the process.

The Suntreso Patrol team dispatched to the scene to rescue the affected officer upon tip-off met the absence of the incident

Upon their arrival at the scene, they did not the police officer and were told by eye witnesses that the affected police officer was seen heading towards the military barracks.

READ ALSO: Video: Kofi Adomah's resignation from Adom FM is not real - Evangelist Addai

The patrol team decided to pursue the police officer to the military barracks but midway, but they could not as some ambushed military men came out to block the road and engaged them in a brawl.

Meanwhile, the police officers have been issued with medical forms to attend hospital for treatment.

No arrest has been made and the Magazine with the rounds of ammunition has equally not been recovered.

READ ALSO: JJs mother said Zanetor was another mans child - Nana Konadu

Meet Ghana's Peculiar Female Tiler: Faces of Ghana| #Yencomgh

Click here to get the latest exciting English Premier League news. Get match highlights, reports, photos & videos all in one place.

Source: Yen
Beautiful voluptuous Ghanaian actress, Lydia Forson, has criticised the Akufo-Addo government over failure to live up to expectation.

According to the bubbly actress, she was not impressed with the general performance of the current government, as seen by YEN.com.gh in a Citinewsroom.com report.

She said plainly that Akufo-Addo government has failed to deliver on its promises.

READ ALSO: Tell the truth or I expose you  Afia Pokua warns Captain Smart over divorce saga

Responding to a question on whether the governments performance ticks all her boxes, Lydia Forson said: No, absolutely not.

You know when they won the election I wrote a piece, it was supposed to feature in the New African Woman. I said that you know what, they were setting themselves up for failure, she explained further.

READ ALSO: Ghanaian women reveal why they would go in for rich guys than dabi dabi ebeyeyie men

She stated, however, that she would not completely discredit the president or completely give up because if Ghana does well, it is to the benefit of everyone.

But still, she believes the government was arrogant about their promises prior the 2016 elections because the president knew he could not really fulfil the promises he was preaching.

My article was based on their social media promises. They wanted to win by any means necessary. But I think when you have been in opposition for a very long time you forget what is like to be the head that wears the crown. So maybe any other party government may not be frustrated as we are. Maybe things take time to pick up, Lydia Forson elaborated further.

But because of all the promises they made and the boldness with which they made them. They were almost arrogant about their promises, she stressed.

READ ALSO: She must hit the gym  Fans fear over latest photo of Maame Serwaa displaying her large melons

Forson reasoned that the NPP probably were doing old school politics during the 2016 elections.

She said even though she was not surprised at the turn of events, she was expecting that the government does exactly what it promises within the timeliness.

Her comments are similar to those of journalist Caroline Samson, who said in an earlier report by YEN that she had regretted voting for Akufo-Addo because he has failed Ghanaians.

READ ALSO: She is now a big girl  Ghanaians excited over latest photo of Sarkodie and his daughter

Meanwhile, the actress has been in the news recently following a make-up photo of hers which was criticised by fans.

She was also in the news following a video in which her friends acted as armed robbers to surprise her on her birthday.

Lydia was captured in the video screaming the name of Jesus to be saved from the armed robbers.

READ ALSO: Christian Atsu pays 7,000 pounds to set African prisoners free

Yenkasa: Some Musicians Share Thoughts on Kuami Eugene's 'Rockstar' Album| #Yencomgh

READ ALSO: 5 crucial things that are more important than building a national cathedral

Click here to get the latest exciting English Premier League news. Get match highlights, reports, photos & videos all in one place

Source: Yen
- A clash between landowners and land guards at Dodowa has left several people injured

- Patients at the Dodowa Hospital were left traumatized as a result

- This was after the land guards stormed the hospital after those injured in an earlier clash were rushed there

A gunfight between land guards and landowners at Dodowa has reportedly left several people injured, YEN.com.gh has learnt.

The incident, which occurred on Wednesday, November 28, 2018, reportedly left several people injured and some patients are traumatized as a result.

This was after some victims of a brawl were taken to the hospital for treatment, after they had sustained machete wounds following a fierce clash between two factions.

READ ALSO: Admit your mistakes - Top music executive 'descends' on NAM1

As the hospitals authorities were busily providing treatment to the wounded, the irate groups then stormed the facility to continue with their scuffle.

The Medical Superintendent of the Dodowa District Hospital, Dr. Ken Brightson, who confirmed the incident, said the scene became more chaotic when he insisted on giving medical care to some victims in a vehicle who were being taken to the police station to write a statement.

This was because the only police officer who was in the vehicle with the other victims had called for reinforcement, and the presence of the team led to a fight and subsequent gunshots.

According to Dr. Brighton, patients on recovery have been left traumatized after the repeated gunshots left the hospital in chaos.

READ ALSO: Conti and Katanga to revert to all-male halls - KNUST authorities

Brain Storming: What is the Full Meaning of VAT? | #Yencomgh

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Source: Yen Ghana
- A Mobile Money fraudster, Nurudeen Abdul Ganiyu, has been sentenced to 10 years in prison

- He allegedly duped several people with over 30 registered SIM cards

- He reportedly used the money to construct a 3-bedroom house

A 32-year-old mobile money fraudster, Nurudeen Abdul Ganiyu, has been jailed for 10 years by a Wa circuit court.

Ganiyu reportedly duped several people, including the former Upper West Regional chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Alhaji Abdul-Rahman Abubakari affectionately called Alhaji Short.

According to a report by MyNewsGH.com, the convict was arrested in October 2018, and had in his possession over 30 registered SIM cards, which he registered with different names using falsified national identity cards.

READ ALSO: Admit your mistakes - Top music executive descends on NAM1

YEN.com.gh understands that he succeeded in duping more than 50 people of various sums of money.

Proceeds of his activities spanning two-years have been channeled into the construction of a three-bedroom apartment located at the Driver Vehicle Licensing Authority (DVLA) offices, one of the prime areas within the Wa municipality.

According to him, the house is at lintel level, but the court has ordered the confiscation of the property to the state.

Ganiyu was convicted on his own plea of guilt, and upon his arrest, showed no signs of remorse as he gave details of his modus operandi to the police.

READ ALSO: Land guards fire gunshots at Dodowa; patients traumatized

Meet Ghana's Peculiar Female Tiler: Faces of Ghana| #Yencomgh

Click here to get the latest exciting English Premier League news. Get match highlights, reports, photos & videos all in one place.

Source: Yen.com.gh
The much anticipated Africas first and biggest platform of connecting mobile, internet and Technology in contributing to Sustainable Development Goals achievement is to be officially opened in ACCRA GHANA (WEST AFRICA) FROM 29 TH NOVEMBER TO 29 TH DECEMBER 2018.

Ghana Mobile Congress (GMC-2018) seeks to Connect Ghana to Africa to Create Sustainable Jobs in Mobile, Internet and Technology. To enhance this strategic national priority is by promoting, facilitating and empowering existing industry players and start-ups.

The theme for the one (1) month event that will provide insights into Mobile, Internet and Technology is Connecting Africa to Create Jobs. It will showcase current and future Mobile related technological developments to connect Ghana to Create Jobs by existing industry players and awarding start-ups nationwide with such mission.

CONNECTING MOBILE, INTERNET AND TECHNOLOGYOPENS IN ACCRA GHANA

Source: UGC

Industry players which include Infrastructure providers, Mobile operators, Hand set manufacturers, Distributors and retailers, Content and applications providers, Manufacturing technology, Other service and product providers and Start-ups will Connect, Create, Innovate and provide opportunities for next generation services and open new vistas of growth to Create Jobs.

Delegates, participants and the world at large will promote, network their new or existing businesses and find employment creation opportunities in ICT and other sectors of the economy on Job creation foundation platform.

There will be discussion forums on Jobs Creation, Technology, Policies, Business Opportunities and Digital Life by the Media, Government & regulators, Executive & judiciary arms, Ministers of state, Members of parliament, Ministries, Departments, Agencies(MDAs), Metropolis, Municipals, Districts,Assemblies(MMDAs),Country's representatives, Investors, Consultants, Entrepreneurs, SMEs, Executives, Business sector giants,Academicians, Associations,Not-For-Profit organizations, Civil societies, Policy makers, Opinion leaders, Exhibitors, Lecturers, Students, Religious leaders, Traditional rulers, Special invited guests, General public, Shopping & Public centres etc. GMC-2018 development objectives include, connecting Ghanaian industry players in mobile, internet, technology to the African market to create sustainable employment opportunities.

Thus,showcasing skills, new products, technologies for Africa and global market.

Recognising ten (10) Job Creation Start-ups new innovations and initiatives nationwide.Establishing Job Creation Foundation platform for promotionof job creation , network organisation, people and resources for sustainableemployment in ICT and other sectors of the economy.

Also,outlining Governments policies in making Ghana a strong definitive voice in Africas mobile,internet, technology to create business opportunities.Gathering of leadership from the African and global telecom ecosystem and ICT industry to provide insights into current and future developments.

The venues for the one (1) month Ghana Mobile Congress 2018 activities are:

1. Advanced Information Technology Institute (AITI)  Ghana-India Kofi Annan Center for

Excellence

2. Circle Mall, Accra Digital Centre and other selected venues nationwide.

3. Selected Mobile, Internet, Technology hubs, Centres and Organisations nationwide

PARTNERS:

Media, Government & regulators, Executive & judiciary arms, Ministers of state, Members of parliament, Ministries, Departments, Agencies(MDAs), Metropolis, ,Districts, Assemblies(MMDAs), Countries representatives, Investors, Consultants, Entrepreneurs, SMEs, Executives, Business sector giants, Academicians, Associations, Not-For-Profit organizations, Civil societies, Policy makers, Opinion leaders, Exhibitors, Lecturers, Students, Religious leaders, Traditional rulers, Special invited guests, General public, Shopping and Public centres etc.

Source: Yen
Europe, NATO Sidestep Calls for Military Aid to Ukraine, Voice Support



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UPPER DARBY  The Upper Darby School Board Tuesday night approved architectural services to cost out the option of building a middle school in Clifton Heights.

A 7-0 vote appointed Hatfield-based firm KCBA Architects to determine the viability and cost of building a potential third middle school on a 13-acre plot of land owned by the district along North Springfield Road in the borough. The cost for KCBAs services was approved for $4,780 which will provide very preliminary information if a plan would fit at this space.

Board President Rachel Mitchell and Ken Rucci were not present at the meeting.

Any suggestion to build on the Clifton Heights land has struck a chord with borough residents who actively use the ballfields located there for youth sports, carnivals and holiday celebrations. After Clifton Heights schools were absorbed into the Upper Darby School District in the 1970s a lease agreement was made to allow the borough to use the ballfields for $1 a year.

Residents are concerned that building a school on the land would remove the active recreation spaces there.

Clifton Heights Mayor Joe Lombardo has been supporting his constituents on the matter and addressed the board and administrators Tuesday before the vote. He said traffic on North Springfield Road is already a nightmare with Westbrook Park Elementary and Holy Cross Catholic schools in the area. Lombardo asked that the borough be involved in the process as it carries on.

The district is looking to build a new school to accommodate approximately 600 students as overcrowding continues at deteriorating Beverly Hills and Drexel Hill middle schools.
MEDIA  An attempt to disband the countys Board of Prison Inspectors Wednesday failed on party lines, with Democrats on Delaware County Council supporting the measure and Republicans opposing it.

County Councilman Brian Zidek made the motion to eliminate the five-person prison board and replace it with a County Jail Oversight Board. Currently, the prison board consists of three members appointed by the countys Board of Judges and two appointed by county council.

Zidek was proposing an oversight board that would include the countys chief executive, Marianne Grace; two Common Pleas Court judges, including the president judge; county Sheriff Jerry L. Sanders Jr.; county Controller Joanne Phillips; county council Chairman John McBlain or his designee; and three citizen members appointed by Grace for three-year terms with approval of county council.

In reading the proposal, Zidek stated, County council has concluded that it is in the best interest of the county to elect to cause the jail to be governed pursuant to the modern statute and to dissolve the Prison Board and implement a County Jail Oversight Board.

Zidek and Councilman Kevin Madden voted in favor of the motion. McBlain and council Vice Chairman Colleen Morrone and Councilman Michael Culp opposed it.

Zidek described the manner in which the prison board was operating as wholly unacceptable. He said any requests by him through email or phone calls to discuss matters have not been answered.

The current prison board has not been responsive to county council, he said. We can do better.

In addition, he said attorneys representing the prison board have declined to come before county council to discuss about $500,000 in fees.

The prison board is considering ways to operate the 1,800-prisoner facility, which is currently managed and operated by a private firm, The GEO Group. The contract with the Florida-based private firm expires Dec. 31.

Related to that, the prison board is reviewing requests for proposals for firms interested in running the facility.

It has also hired Phoenix Management to do an analysis of private operation versus a county-run facility. That $100,000 report was initially thought to be finished in the summer and has now been postponed until March, citing gaps in collecting information from other counties.

In 34 days, we have nobody managing this prison, Zidek said, adding that the prisoners and hundreds of GEO staff would be impacted by any changes made by the county or by the company at that time.

County officials have said the prison board has its authority through a statute passed by the Pennsylvania Legislature in 1839. Zidek maintained that at that time, prisons were work houses and largely self-sustaining. He also said the 1839 act required prisoners to be held in solitary confinement yet they are not.

He also maintained that the funding of the jail is discretionary on the part of county council, not required and dependent on a review of prison accounts.

However, he said, the Prison Board does not maintain accounts and requests that the county council fund the operations of the jail in advance based on a contract with a third party that has not been audited in apparent violation of the 1839 Act.

He also noted that the state Legislature has updated the 1839 Act, including a 2009 amendment to the Pennsylvania Prisons and Parole Code, as well as a provision allowing for counties like Delaware that are governed by a Home Rule Charter to set up a County Jail Oversight Board.

Nether Providence resident Christine Reuther said the Pennsylvania Senate Judiciary Committee, headed by then-state Sen. Dominic Pileggi, R-9 of Chester, Delaware County opted out of the oversight board requirement a year later in a retroactive amendment.

It was passed and, once again, Delaware County was able to keep its 19th century Prison Board, she said. However, she claimed that county council has had the authority for the past eight years to change the way the prison is governed.

In making her opposing vote, Morrone explained she needed an opportunity to better review the proposal at hand to give meaningful feedback for the proposal. McBlain contested claims that Zidek were making by stating they were subjective in manner.

In the proposal, Zidek named Jan. 8, 2019, as the date for the Oversight Board to be effective with an organizational meeting to occur within 15 days later. After the motion failed, Zidek said he planned to revive the issue at future council meetings.
A Ridley Park chiropractor has been charged with writing fraudulent painkiller prescriptions for patients, including Percocet, Xanax and Oxycodone.

Marc Steven Persson, 40, of the 600 block of Academy Road in Swarthmore, is charged with six counts each of delivery and criminal attempt to deliver a controlled substance, as well as seven counts each of forgery and procuring a drug by fraud.

Every day, opioids are killing our loved ones across the state, and the abuse of prescription drugs still remain a risk factor when it comes to heroin use and addiction, said Delaware County District Attorney Katayoun Copeland in a release. While the majority of practitioners here in Delaware County are law-abiding professionals who care deeply about their patients, the reckless and careless actions of Mr. Persson show a complete disregard for the well-being of his patients who he put in grave danger.

Ridley Township officers were dispatched to Perssonal Health Chiropratic at 100 E. Chester Pike May 9, 2017, where they spoke to two of Perssons employees, according to an affidavit of probable cause written by Ridley Detective Shawn McGee.

The employees said they became suspicious after getting multiple notifications from local pharmacies that Perssons patients were presenting prescriptions that were being rejected and flagged as fraudulent, according to the affidavit.

Persson had previously been partners with a medical doctor who provided prescriptions for Perssons chiropractic patients, according to the affidavit. The doctor left around March 2017 and another doctor came in for one day to fill the spot.

The affidavit states that the employees received notice from a local pharmacy April 7, 2017, that one of Perssons patients had presented a prescription for 90 pills of 5 mg Percocet written on a pad belonging to the former partner, but signed by the second doctor. After reviewing the signature, the employees identified it as Perssons handwriting, according to the affidavit. The doctor also confirmed he had not written the prescription, the affidavit says.

The employees were notified by another pharmacy May 9 that someone posing as the former partner had called in a prescription for another patient, but provided an incorrect Drug Enforcement Agency number for that doctor. That prescription was for Xanax and the nerve pain medication Gabapentin. The same patient had previously filled a prescription fraudulently signed by the replacement doctor for 120 pills of 5 mg Oxycodone, according to the affidavit.

At least two other patients were also able to fill allegedly fraudulent prescriptions for the narcotics Hydromorphone and Oxycodone-Acetomenaphine.

The employees said they recalled Persson specifically requested that they pull the charts for five patients April 6, 2017, including those identified in the affidavit.

McGee and Ridley Detective Sean Brydges spoke with Persson last May. During that interview, Persson at first stated that he had used his former partners prescription pad to provide the April 7 Percocet prescription, but had signed the prescription using his own name, according to the affidavit.

He allegedly said he believed it was OK for him to do that because the patient had received the same prescription from the second doctor before.

When presented with the prescription bearing the second doctors forged signature, Persson allegedly admitted that he had forged the signature and had fraudulently written or called in prescriptions for at least three other patients.

Persson stated that he may have written/forged more, however, he could not recall how many prescriptions but stated there were more, according to the affidavit.

Perssons wife, also an employee of the practice, additionally told investigators that her husband had been writing or calling in fraudulent prescriptions after the doctors stopped working there, according to the affidavit.

Investigators interviewed one former patient who indicated he had seen a doctor at the chiropractic office in January 2017, who wrote him a prescription, but had not seen one there since March.

There were no doctors writing the prescription, as soon as I would come in he (Marc Persson) would hand me my prescription and I wouldnt ask questions, just think it was normal routine, the patient said, according to the affidavit.

Detectives also interviewed both doctors. The former partner said he had requested that Persson return all of his prescription pads left at the business, but could not confirm that was done. The second doctor also said he had not given Persson permission to use his name, signature or DEA number, according to the affidavit.

Online court records indicate Persson was preliminarily arraigned Nov. 13 before Magisterial District Judge Philip S. Turner and released on $50,000 unsecured bail. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Dec. 3 before Turner.

Deputy District Attorney Sharon McKenna, chief of the Narcotics Unit, is prosecuting the case. It was unknown Wednesday whether Persson has an attorney. He did not respond to a call seeking comment.
He had a working session on November 30 with the province that ranks first in the Central Highlands and third in the country in terms of forest coverage and forms part of the Central Highlands Gong Cultural Space, the Masterpiece of Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity.

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc (R) (Source: VNA)



The province is projected to accomplish all its set targets, with its GDP growth to reach 8 percent, and GRDP per capita, VND45.36 million this year.

It, however, is dealing with declining prices of key farm produce, low human resources quality, and complicated political security and social order.

PM Nguyen Xuan Phuc said the province has built some hi-tech productive production models and achieved encouraging outcomes in constructing new rural areas, generating jobs, and taking care of peoples health and policy beneficiaries.

However, the poverty rate in the province remains high, especially among ethnic minority people. There are some villages where all households are classified as poor, he said.

The province has yet fully tapped potential and advantages of some sectors, such as agriculture while its 4,900 businesses are operating mainly as small and medium-sized ones, he said.

He instructed competent ministries and sector, including the Ministry of Finance, to work with the province in assisting over 100 ethnic households living in landslide and flooding-prone areas in Krong Pa district to move to safer places.

This is an important work that needs to be promptly done to ensure the life of people living here, he said.

While approving the provinces goal of balancing its budget, he suggested the locality to focus on high-tech farm and forestry processing; tourism service; and developing a selected industry based on its comparative advantage like wind and solar energy or processing industry for its future socio-economic development.

He asked the province to drastically improve its business environment, sharpen its competitiveness, and assist business development. Each office, district, and commune needs to work harder, especially in tackling difficulties to make it easier for businesses to promote production and tap the provinces strengths.

He also asked the locality to continue reforming administrative procedures, and tapping its land resources and position as the centre of the Cambodia-Laos-Vietnam development triangle.

Gia Lai needs to draw high-tech projects into agriculture and make the best use of its advantageous tourism features to create jobs for local people, he said./.
Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc (R) welcomes Cambodian Minister of Planning Chhay Than (Source: VNA)



Chhay Than said his working visit aims to tighten collaboration between the two planning ministries, and thanked the Vietnamese Government and the Ministry of Planning and Investment for supporting his ministry in human resources training.



He informed the host of the successful outcomes of the talks between the two planning ministries, during which they discussed different measures to expand collaboration in all fields and drafted a Cambodia-Vietnam connectivity programme.



The minister confirmed that Cambodia always remembers Vietnams support for its past struggle for national liberation from the Khmer Rouge genocidal regime as well as the current nation building and development cause.



He also extended his sympathy to the Vietnamese Government and people over severe losses caused by recent floods and storms.



The Vietnamese PM appreciated cooperation results of the two planning ministries, which, he affirmed, have contributed to socio-economic development in each country and the bilateral relations.



He welcomed the ministries signing of an agreement framework on Vietnam-Cambodia economic connectivity by 2030, urging both sides to early build a master plan on the two economies connectivity by 2030 as mentioned in the agreement framework.



He voiced his belief that the ministries will promote the cooperation tradition to help tighten the bilateral relations./.
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Considered to be the Ten Best UFO Photos Ever Taken I am sure that we could add more pictures to this list but these are considered ten o...


By FreeBeacon , Nov. 29, 2018





Defeated Democratic gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams' lawsuit against Georgia over the 2018 election attacks the state over restrictions to early voting, but she supported legislation in 2011 to reduce the early voting period in the state.





Abrams' group Fair Fight Action filed a lawsuit on Tuesday in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia over what it called the state's "grossly mismanaged" election system, following her loss to Republican Brian Kemp. Abrams vowed to take the state to court in a contentious speech on Nov. 16 acknowledging her defeat but calling Kemp's victory illegitimate and accusing the former secretary of state of systematic voter suppression.

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By Politico , Nov. 28, 2018





As President Donald Trump threatens to shut down the Mexican border access and demands $5 billion from Congress to build a wall, Gov.-elect Gavin Newsom, Attorney General Xavier Becerra and state lawmakers are heading to Mexico City this week to celebrate the inauguration of Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador.





The message: The country's most populous state wants to work with Mexico despite the president's rhetoric.

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By Town Hall , Nov. 28, 2018





Let's revisit this post from election week, in which I highlighted a number of notable Republican victors in the media's much-discussed "year of the woman." Since that piece went live, a number of the tentative outcomes have changed: Young Kim narrowly lost in California, Martha McSally narrowly lost in Arizona (though could end up in the Senate anyway), and despite winning comfortably, Cathy McMorris Rodgers stepped aside from leadership, with Liz Cheney taking her place as the top-ranking Republican woman in the House. A number of female incumbents from competitive districts also lost by a hair, such Mimi Walters and Mia Love, the latter whom was defeated by a white man. Oddly, identity fetishists on the Left don't seem to be complaining about that outcome. But one of the results that remains intact is the victory of Cindy Hyde-Smith, who became the first woman ever elected to Congress (in either house) by Mississippi voters.

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The event, themed Developing Vietnam coffee towards sustainability, aims to promote and honor the value and image of Vietnam coffee in general and farmers in particular.

It also offers opportunity to connect and cooperate for investment, expand production and seek markets for the purchase and processing of products between companies and producers in value chain in order to improve the competitiveness of Vietnamese coffee products in the integration period.

The festival will include many activities such as displaying high-quality coffee booths from famous growing areas, a celebration ceremony, a seminar on developing the coffee sector in value chain and visits to effective coffee production models.

The program will also advertise and introduce images, potentials and strengths of Dak Nong to call for investment.

Dak Nong now is the third largest coffee growing province with over 127,000 hectares and a harvest output of 267,500 tons./.


By Breitbart , Nov. 28, 2018





El Centro Station agents patrolling east of the Calexico Port of Entry came upon a suspected illegal immigrant who just crossed the border from Mexico. During an interview, the agents learned the man is a Honduran national who claimed membership in the hyperviolent MS-13 (Mara Salvatrucha 13) gang, according to El Centro Sector Border Patrol officials.





The Honduran national told agents he traveled through Mexico as part of a large group of caravan migrants coming from Central America with the intention of filing for asylum in the U.S., officials stated.

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Photo for illustration

The Vietnam Southern Food Corporation (Vinafood 2) represented Vietnam at the tender and won the contract with a price of USD469.8 (CIF price) a ton.

The tender is part of the total volume of 250,000 tons of rice which the country opened to contractors on October 18th, 2018 under the Government-to-Private (G2P) form. During last months tender, Vietnam won 29,000 tons, including 15,000 tons of Vinafood 2 with a bidding price of USD427.68 a ton, and 14,000 tons of Vinafood 1, priced at USD427.5 a ton.

Recently, on November 20th, Vietnam also gained a deal to ship 118,000 tons of 25% broken rice to the market in its tender for importing 500,000 tons of rice based on G2P contracts, while the remaining rice volume will be supplied by Thailand and other countries.

The Vietnamese and Thai rice suppliers were required to ship the combined volume of 203,000 tons of rice to the Philippines before December 30th this year./.
The October 2018 edition of the World Economic Outlook predicts that global economic growth will remain steady between 2018 and 2020 at the 2017 growth rate of 3.7% (IMF 2018). This exceeds the growth rate in any year between 2012 and 2016.

So, the global economy is growing, but so is uncertainty. Headlines that have appeared in the Financial Times in 2018 include: Stocks unsettled by global trade uncertainty, Counting the costs of Brexit uncertainty, Latin America faces up to growing uncertainties, Italian bonds under pressure from budget uncertainty, and Boeing deal with Embraer faces political uncertainty".

A Google news search for uncertainty gives about 0.6 million results for the whole of 2017, but 2.5 million results for the first ten months of 2018. Can we measure 'uncertainty' more precisely? Or compare the amount of 'uncertainty' in the US to that in China, the UK, or Ireland?

Measurements of economic and political uncertainty have been made only for a set of mostly advanced economies (Baker et al. 2016). We have constructed a new index of uncertainty for 143 countries using Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) country reports. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first effort to construct a panel index of uncertainty for a large set of developed and developing countries.

Constructing the World Uncertainty Index

We constructed the World Uncertainty Index (WUI)  a quarterly index of uncertainty  for 143 individual countries from 1996 onwards. The WUI is defined using the frequency of the word 'uncertainty' (and its variants) in the quarterly EIU country reports. To make the WUI comparable across countries, the raw count is scaled by the total number of words in each report.

In contrast to existing measure of economic policy uncertainty, two factors help improve the comparability of the WUI across countries:

The WUI is based on a single source. This source has specific topic coverage  economic and political developments.

Reports follow a standardised process and structure.

The process through which the EIU country reports are produced helps to mitigate concerns about the accuracy, ideological bias, and consistency of the WUI. But we only have one EIU report per country per quarter, meaning there is potentially quite large sampling noise.

Stylised facts

This dataset allows us to establish five key facts:

1. Global uncertainty has increased significantly since 2012. Figure 1 shows that average uncertainty has increased since 2012, well above its historical average (computed between 1996 Q1 and 2010 Q4). The index spikes near the 9/11 attacks, the SARS outbreak, the second Gulf War, the euro area debt crisis, El Nino, the Europe border-control crisis, the UK referendum vote for Brexit, and the US presidential elections.

Interestingly, while text-based measures of uncertainty have been rising since the early 2000s, financial market measures rose until about 2010, but have fallen back to low levels (Pastor and Veronesi 2017).

2. Uncertainty spikes are more synchronised in advanced economies than in emerging and low-income countries. Within advanced economies, uncertainty synchronisation is higher in the euro area countries (Ahir et al. 2018). We find that uncertainty synchronisation is positively related with trade and financial linkages (see Figure 2), even when controlling for business cycle synchronisation, so that more integrated economies tend to be characterised by similar uncertainty spikes.







3. Uncertainty is higher in emerging and low-income economies than in advanced economies. You can see this in Figure 3. There is significant heterogeneity. For example, the WUI for the UK, because of the increase in uncertainty associated by the vote in favour of Brexit, is higher than those of many emerging market and low-income countries.

4. There is an inverted U-shaped relationship between uncertainty and democracy. As countries move from a regime of autocracy and anocracy towards democracy, uncertainty increases (Figure 4). As countries move from some degree of democracy to full democracy, uncertainty declines.

5. Increases in the WUI foreshadow significant declines in output. This is shown in Figure 5, which runs a standard panel-VAR estimation on GDP growth on shocks to the WUI uncertainty country-level index.

A valuable dataset

We believe that this dataset can be extremely valuable to researches for many applications.

First, since innovations in the WUI foreshadow significant declines in output, the WUI could be used as an alternative measure of economic activity when these are not available (such as quarterly GDP for many countries).

Second, the dataset can be used to examine the impact of differences in the level of uncertainty across countries on key macroeconomic outcomes.

Third, the broad country coverage allows us to tackle important research questions so far not explored because of data limitations, such as the role played by institutions and regulations in affecting uncertainty and shaping the response of economic variables to uncertainty shocks.

References
Second award win for Failte Irelands Meet in Ireland team this week

Failte Ireland has been awarded a top digital technology accolade for its meetinireland.com website  a platform for meetings, incentives, conferences and events (MICE) professionals looking to bring business to Ireland.The website, which was designed by Simply Zesty, won the top spot in the Best in Travel, Tourism & Sport category at The Spiders, Irelands leading technology awards. Meetinireland.com was recognised for its innovative design and appeal for its target market, as well as helping to deliver 80 business meetings and events opportunities worth in excess of 35m alone in the first year since it was launched.The award is the second accolade the Meet in Ireland team has won this week, having being named IBTM Stand Personnel of the Year in Barcelona and beating off competition from 270 other exhibitors from around the world. IBTM World is a leading global event for the MICE industry, and the award recognised the Meet in Ireland teams professionalism and innovation in selling Ireland as a MICE destination to more than 4,000 buyers.Meet in Ireland Manager at Failte Ireland, Ciara Gallagher said:Our Meet in Ireland website is an essential platform for the work we do to promote Ireland as a world-leading meetings, incentive, conference and events destination. Like every trade platform we attend, our website needs to put us a step ahead of our international competitors, showcase the best of Ireland, and provide MICE professionals with compelling reasons to consider Ireland for their event or conference. The website has proven to be a key part of our wider business strategy, and has contributed significantly to our targets whilst still very much in its infancy.The Spider Award win is the icing on the cake, with the team also being named IBTM Stand Personnel of the Year in Barcelona earlier this week. This win is important as it shows that the work we do to stand out from the crowd at these major international trade events is working, and the way in which we are selling Ireland as a MICE destination is resonating with buyers, which in turn leads to more business for Ireland.The Meet in Ireland brand is the official MICE (meetings, incentives, conferences and events) brand for the island of Ireland. Owned and managed by Failte Ireland, it facilitates a partnership with Tourism Ireland and Tourism Northern Ireland to promote Ireland as a leading conference and meeting destination overseas.

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Cambodian Prime Minister Samdech Akka Moha Sena Padei Techo Hun Sen (Photo: AFP/VNA)



The visit will be made at the invitation of Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc, according to a statement released by the Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs on November 29th.

Vietnam and Cambodia officially established diplomatic relations on June 24th, 1967. The two nations have regularly maintained the exchange of visits at all levels.

Vietnam has become one of Cambodias leading economic partners with two-way trade reaching nearly USD3.8 billion in 2017, up more than 25 percent year-on-year. The two countries are striving to raise the figure to USD5 billion in the coming years.

Vietnam has to date invested in 206 projects in Cambodia with combined registered capital of USD3.02 billion, ranking in the top five foreign investors in Cambodia. Meanwhile, Cambodia has poured USD58.1 million into 18 projects in Vietnam.

In 2017, up to 835,000 Vietnamese visited Cambodia while 222,000 Cambodians went on tours of Vietnam./.
Due diligence in Russia has never been simple. Two recent developments make it more complicated. One makes business more transparent. Sort of. The other makes it less transparent. Foreign companies working in Russia will place themselves at peril if they dont pay close attention to both.

The Public Register of Bribers

The Russian General Prosecutors Office created a public register of companies that have been convicted since 2014 of violating Article 19.28 of the Code of Administrative Violations (prohibiting improper payments on behalf of, or in the interests of, legal entities). The register, which is available here, identifies, for each case, the name of the company, the court and the date of the court decision. However, it contains no information about the facts of the case, the underlying evidence, or the amount of fine.

The register is designed to help state procurement officials comply with a law that bans companies that have been convicted of bribery from participating in state tenders for two years by making all of this information easily accessible. (Although such information was previously available, collecting it required going to the individual courts.)

While the register is designed for Russian state officials, foreign companies concerned about anti-corruption due diligence would also be well advised to make sure that their local partners are not listed. If so, they should immediately attempt to obtain an explanation from the listed company of the facts and circumstances of the case, conduct public source research to obtain additional information about the matter, and evaluate the risks of continuing to work with the listed company. Failure to take such steps could be interpreted by regulators as turning a blind eye to a (now) open and notorious red flag. Even if the relationship is purely historical, they should confirm that the company has not previously committed any impropriety for their benefit. The register is, after all, available to the DOJ and SEC who will likely use it as a source of investigative leads.

Finally, the register is also useful in that it provides a clear and accessible measure of Russian enforcement trends. For example, the register reveals that in 2018, 280 companies have been prosecuted, in 2017 429 companies were prosecuted and in 2016, 349 companies were prosecuted (disproving the oft-heard claim that Russia does not prosecute corruption cases.) Analysis of the data contained in the register also highlights enforcement trends across industries and regions.

Hiding UBOs

While the register makes available more information about local partners, another law simultaneously makes it harder to know with whom one is working. As a general matter, companies regulated by the Russian Central Bank must publicly disclose information about their beneficial owners, governing bodies and business activities. However, Federal Law 482-FZ, which attracted little notice when it was passed last New Years Eve, allows the government to exempt from this requirement the following classes of companies:

banks and credit companies

insurance companies and their depositaries,

non-governmental pension funds and their managing companies

investment funds

Based on this law, in September-November this year the Russian Government issued a series of decrees allowing insurance companies and their depositaries (Decree No. 1322 dated November 3, 2018),non-governmental pension funds and their managing companies (Decree No. 1150 dated September 28, 2018) and managing companies of investment funds (Decree No. 1201 dated October 5, 2018) to avoid public disclosure of information about their shareholders and controlling individuals (usually treated in practice as companies and individuals who by virtue of their role in the governing body or their ownership share may exercise control or influence over company decisions) who are subject to foreign sanctions.

On November 23, the Russian Government issued two more decrees (Decrees 1404 and 1405, both dated November 23, 2018) allowing banks to avoid public disclosure of information about their controlling individuals, sole executive bodies and their deputies, board members, chief accountants and their deputies, as well as directors and chief accountants of banks branches who are subject to foreign sanctions. Both decrees will take effect on December 5, 2018.

In short, 482-FZ makes it all the more important to conduct thorough due diligence on Russian counter-parties and to obtain from them appropriate anti-corruption certifications as well as certifications that their UBOs are not subject to any sanctions.

____

Tom Firestone, pictured above left, is a partner in the Washington, D.C. office of Baker McKenzie and co-chair of the firms North America Government Enforcement Practice. He previously served as Resident Legal Adviser at the U.S. Embassy in Moscow. Roman Butenko, above left, is an associate in Bakers Moscow office and is currently on assignment in the firms Washington office working on FCPA issues.
This article was written exclusively for Fethiye Times by Casey Russell.

From 10th December, for six days, the mysterious and world renowned whirling Dervishes will take centre stage at the Konya Mevlana Culture Centre, and perform their Sema dance on the evening of each day.

The Mevlana ritual dance  the Sema  is meant to represent the true journey to maturity and enlightenment, and, over time it has become part of Turkeys traditional culture and history, this is despite Rumi coming from Persia, which is, today, modern day Iran.

Watching The Mevlana performance is the one of the main reasons that people visit Konya, so, here is an informative guide to what to expect when you witness this once in a lifetime spectacle.

The Mevlana performance

The dance, when performed, is split into seven different parts.

The ritual begins with a nat-(I.e, eulogy)-exalting Prophet Muhammed, who represents divine love. The name for this part is called the Nat-l Serif

Afterwards, part two continues the same exalting as in the first one, but also in this section, the sound of the special dervish drum, called a Kudum, starts to echo through the hall.

When all of the exalting has stopped, the third part begins with the haunting sound of a special reed flute, which is called a Ney. The Ney is meant to represent the Breath of God.

The fourth section is when the dervishes, lead by the master-(called a Seyh)-,walk out in a circle and give a greeting to their friends. They do this three times.

In the fifth part, there are many selams, a special prayer said by the Dervishes. Each selam has its own different meaning;

The first is the humans perception of his own service and of his glorious creator.

The second, is a human beings total amazement in the presence of Allahs power.

The third, is a humans sacrificing his mind to love, and all of his feelings to love. This is said to be your way of surrendering to Allah, and becoming part of him.

In Islam, it is called Fenafillah, meaning Die before you die.

The last Selam is his completion of his spiritual journey. The Seyh Efendi and the the Semazenbasi take part in the turning of this Selam. At this point, they are both overjoyed having faith in the Prophets, Books-(I.e.- The Quran, The Torah)-, The Angels and Allah.

The Sema

After some more reading from the Quran, the dancing begins. After receiving permission from eldest son of the Seyh-(master), by kissing him on the hand, the dervishes drop their large black hirka-( a long, heavy black coat)-representing their deliverance from worldly attachments.

Now with their black robes removed, it reveals a long white robe underneath.

With their right arms extended reaching up towards the heavens and their left arm pointing to the ground, Grace from above is received from Allah, and is distributed to humanity. The dancers gracefully spin, and in unionson, all the dervishes eventually start spinning together, creating a hypnotic and mesmerising constellation.

Walking among them, the master checks to see if the dervishes are doing the performance correctly.

The dance is repeated over five, 10 minute sessions, and finishes with the hafiz, a scholar who remembers the whole Quran through memory, chants passages from the Quran, thus, completing the spectacular ritual

The performance takes place every Saturday throughout the year, but we went during December, where from the 10th-17th of December each year, theres a performance each evening in remembrance of Jalal Al-Din Rumi, renown Afghan philosopher and poet who created the dance.

The Order of the Mevlevi

When Rumi died on the seventeenth of December, 1273, his son organised his followers into the brotherhood called the Mevlevi, or whirling dervishes.

In the centuries that followed, hundreds of schools were set up to teach the dance, but ultimately, the teachings of Rumi and his ideology started to influence the countrys political, economic and social life, so in 1925, Ataturk banned them as he considered them, an obstacle to the countrys advancement.

They were revived in 1957, however, and the Mevlana are now so popular, that in 2017, the Mevlana Museum was noted as Turkeys most visited museum. There is evidence in all walks of social media posted by people from all over the world that Rumis verse and poetry are still celebrated and followed today. Instagram is often awash with phrases from Rumis writings and often people will post a  saying which they dont even know the origination of..Rumis beliefs are still standing strong.

Where to get your tickets

To get tickets for the grand Mevlana performance finale-on the 17th -, follow this link, its really recommended to book them in advance and be warned, dont leave it too late:

https://ebilet.konyakultur. gov.tr/?NewAccount=&Type=1

Tickets for the performances from the 10th to the 16th December can be pre-ordered or bought fat the door. Usually, the performance will begin at 7pm, so to guarantee a seat, its advisable to arrive at the Culture Centre by 6:30pm. There are salep sellers outside the centre and traditional crafts and Mevlana souvenirs for sale at small stalls inside and the area has a really wintery, seasonal feel.

For more information, please visit this website: https://ilikevents.com/event/ 3118-konya-whirling-dervishes- festival

Getting there

Konya can be reached from Fethiye by car in under 7 hours. Buses also operate regularly to Ankara, where a connection can be caught to Konya.

Going by train and flying is also an option, where you fly to Istanbul or Ankara, and catch a connection either by aircraft or rail to Konya.

In my next article, Ill bring you a Whistle Stop Tour to give you ideas of where else to visit and what to do in one of my favourite citiesKonya.

Casey Rusell

I am Casey Russell, a 15-year-old home schooled traveller, writer, photographer and sailor.

I live aboard my familys Oceanis 45 foot sailing yacht and travel extensively throughout the mediterranean for most of the year exploring the lost islands and hidden archaeological treasures of the region.

Photography is a hobby of mine and this year i am keen to explore new techniques and effects, the articles that I write are always accompanied by awesome images.

So, Come along with me on my travels and let me show you the hidden corners of this magical region

To read more articles by Casey please visit his blog, Adventurer in Training
How to fund your business is one of the biggest topics of discussion between entrepreneurs these days, particularly after a credit crunch and a recession. There is a range of funding options available, yet choosing the right choice for your business can mean the difference between success and failure.

Below are some of the best ways to fund your business when youre looking to get off the ground.

Make use of your Savings

The savings that are sitting in your account, making little interest in the current financial climate, are a great way to make your money work for you. Funding your business with your own personal savings means you wont need to ask anyone else to help you get started.

Not only will you avoid getting into any debt at the outset, but it also shows future investors that you are committed enough to put your own money behind your business.

Apply for Business Grants

Business grants can be difficult to find yet there are thousands available, in different forms. Getting through the application process might be tiresome and frustrating, but the fruits of your labour could pull through with significant results.

If you qualify for a business grant, it could provide exactly the right kind of boost you need to get your business off the ground. Alternatively, the cash injection can help it grow in more substantial and better ways.

Seek an Angel Investor

An Angel Investor is an individual or a group of people that offer an amount of cash in exchange for a share in your business. They could be someone youve worked for in the past, a friend or someone found through a funding network.

When making your pitch to an Angel Investor, its important to demonstrate you know what youre doing, which includes ensuring you have an exit strategy should things go pear-shaped.

Some tips to help include:

Demonstrate your passion for your business. Angels wont be interested in investing in businesses that are trying to cash in on the latest trends.

Show that you have experience on your side, whether that is through an unpaid advisor or simply the age and employment history of your team. Angels want to see that you can deal with a tough and changing economy effectively.

Provide solid plans and analysis that demonstrate you know your market and have the expert knowledge needed to be successful.

Develop a way to keep in touch with investors who you wish to attract. This is especially helpful if you do not have a strong track record as a successful entrepreneur. Sending them big company updates and developments will help keep them in the loop.

Take out a Bank Loan

Despite the closures of many high-street banks, there are still some that havent yet closed shop. Make sure you have a solid business plan and clarity on how you will receive your revenue before you approach any banks.

While banks may be much stricter with how much and who they will lend to, The government has earmarked additional funding for small businesses. Ask your bank about the Enterprise Finance Guarantee Scheme which may help you secure finance.

Use your Credit Card

Using your credit card to fund the early stages of your business may not be ideal, yet it is a viable way to secure the cash flow that you need. If you need a low sum of cash for a short period of time, theres no reason to rule this method of funding out.

When using this option it is important that you are able to pay the money back quickly as the cost can rise once any interest-free periods have run out.

Try Crowdfunding

Crowdfunding sites like Kickstarter and Indiegogo can be a fun way to raise money for your business. To get started you set a goal for how much money you need and individuals will pledge amounts to help you meet it. Usually, you offer incentives for people to pledge, such as a free book for a certain amount of money.

It is important to remember that there is no long-term return on investment for this type of funding and you cannot write off donations for tax reasons.

Consider a Short-Term Credit Option

If you are refused finance from the banks, that doesnt mean that no-one will ever lend to you. Online credit companies offer you smaller amounts that Banks usually dont accommodate.

This form of finance often requires less documentation than bank loans and relies largely on your credit history and credit rating. You will have to undergo an affordability assessment to ensure you can meet repayments and interest rates can often be fairly high.
LearnLux, a Boston, Massachusettsbased digital financial wellness platform, secured $2m in seed funding.

Backers included Sound Ventures, Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff, Underscore VC, and former Wealthfront CEO Adam Nash and others.

Founded by sibling duo Rebecca and Michael Liebman in 2015, LearnLux provides a digital financial wellness platform with interactive learning tools that teach personal finance in an engaging way.

The company offers learning materials and tools around topics like 401(k), Healthcare, Benefits and Taxes to increase employee productivity and utilization of voluntary benefits. For employees, it delivers financial guidance on demand, enabling them to make informed decisions through lessons tailored for all knowledge levels.

FinSMEs

29/11/2018
Rags, a Lehi, Utah-based fashion brand, raised $1.5m in second seed funding.

The round was led by Kickstart Seed Fund, with participation from existing investor and board member Jeremy Andrus, CEO of Traeger Grills, as well as James Ho of AEA Investors and Davis Smith of Cotopaxi. In conjunction with this financing, Curt Roberts, partner at Kickstart, will be joining Rags board of directors.

The company, which has now raised a total of $3m, intends to use the funds to accelerate its growth and expand the product line.

Founded by Rachel Nilsson in 2014, RAGS is known for its innovative (RAG) design that has a patent-pending neckline that makes it very easy to pull on and off, with no buttons and snaps.

Each style is unique eith new releases of limited-edition designs coming out every week.

The companys offering currently includes products for kids, kids tees, dresses, seasonal, baby pouches, women, men, and accessories.

FinSMEs

29/11/2018
Visitors at Vietnam's stall (Photo: VNA)

The bazaar 2018 had more than 40 representative agencies of countries with over 100 stalls. The Vietnamese Embassy had two stalls displaying traditional handicraft products and cuisine.

Vietnams stalls attracted the attention of diplomatic corps and local visitors with special products such as lacquer product, water puppet, Dong Ho painting, traditional long dress, palm leaf conical hat and bamboo dragonfly, as well as Vietnams popular dishes of noodle soup, pumpkin and green pea sweetened porridge and coffee.

In addition, the Vietnamese Embassy also cooperated with the Hanoi Trade Joint Stock Corporation (Hapro), Trung Nguyen legend Group and Dakmark Food Joint Stock Company to display and introduce Vietnams agricultural products such as whole bean coffee, instant coffee, tea, rice, pepper, coconut and cashew nuts. It attracted many businesses and visitors to learn about the agricultural products of Vietnam.

The bazaar is an annual activity organized by DMEDD in order to introduce and sell handicraft products and food of countries.

All proceeds of the fair were donated for children in need in Turkey./.
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Hoang Lien Son mountain range

The magazine revealed that thanks to the newly-installed cable car system to the peak of Fansipan - the roof of Indochina, the number of tourists increased significantly. The range, located around 195 miles northwest of the capital city, "remains rugged, rural and a world away from hectic Hanoi.

National Geographic said the scenery and life around Hoang Lien Son are still wild and natural. Tourists can enjoy hiking in and around Hoang Lien Son National Park and nearby Muong Hoa Valley, then rest at houses of Hmong, Red Dao, Tay ethnic minority groups and others.

Each year, the magazine announces the world's best tourist attractions based on nominations from the worldwide travel community.

Other spectacular places that made the list are Canterbury Region, New Zealand, Dordogne (France), Dakar (Senegal), Peruvian Amazon, Mexico city (Mexico), Greenland (Demark) and others.

Hoang Lien Son is one of Vietnams grandest mountain ranges. Apart from the Fansipan peak, Sa Pa Town, with its picturesque rice terraces and dreamy cloud scenes, is a major tourism draw./.
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Christoph Miller, head of the trade fair department at VDW, said: For German manufacturers, ASEAN is a major customer region with a highly dynamic character. More and more production is being generated in the ASEAN region or being relocated from other markets into the ASEAN region. For the most part, these trends are emerging from the automotive and automotive supply industries, electronics, shipbuilding and general machinery construction.

A German machine tool (Photo: VNA)



The overall potential of the ASEAN region shows that after the strong years from 2012 to 2015, current machine tool consumption has stabilised at a level of about EUR3 billion (USD3.4 billion), based on total imports to each country. Drivers here are Thailand and Vietnam, he said.

Among export markets for the German machine tool industry, ASEAN as a whole region is ranked seventh. The two biggest markets in the region  Vietnam and Thailand  are also major export markets for the German automotive industry, ranking 14th and 16th, respectively.

Overall, it is clear that Asia  with China as the biggest export market, followed by Japan, the Republic of Korea and ASEAN  is a major export region for the German machine tool industry, he said.

VDW, together with major machine manufacturers and control system manufacturers, has launched a project to define a universal interface based on the OPC Unified Architecture format (a machine to machine communication protocol for industrial automation developed by the OPC Foundation), he said.

According to VDW, Germany will debut high technologies and new solutions in metalworking at METALEX 2019, which will be transferred to countries in the ASEAN region.

Germany is eyeing the ASEAN market due to the regions dynamic and strong development. In addition, the Industry 4.0 trend will provide opportunities for German companies to launch high technologies and new solutions in metalworking, together with know-how, to ASEAN and Vietnam in particular, it said.

According to the Vietnam Customs, Vietnams machinery and equipment imports were worth USD24.58 billion in the first nine months of the year, accounting for 14.2 percent of the countrys total import revenue.

China, the Republic of Korea, Japan and Germany were the biggest suppliers of machinery and equipment to Vietnam.

According to experts, more and more firms have invested in machinery and equipment to increase productivity and efficiency to improve their competitiveness in the global market./.
This blog covers software patent news and issues with a particular focus on wireless, mobile devices (smartphones, tablet computers, connected cars) as well as select antitrust matters surrounding those devices.
It has been seven years today since the brutish assassination of my friend and colleague Charles Ingabire by the barbaric government of Rwanda ruled by the abominable Paul Kagame . Charles Ingabire



It has been seven years today since the brutish assassination of my friend and colleague Charles Ingabire by the barbaric government of Rwanda ruled by the abominable Paul Kagame .

Charles Ingabire was an exemplary journalist and a model of integrity to many of us fighting for a free Rwanda.

We often forget that prior to his assassination , he was repeatedly targeted for assaults , he was just recovering from one ( he had been severely beaten ) in which he had sustained severe injuries .

He had been living in severe distress and fear for his life but still he would not relent on his determination to continue informing our people. It was something he took to heart. It was personal to him. It was not a job, it was a duty.

On numerous occasions , when we were faced with the cruelty of Kagames despotic regime and its diabolical agenda , we would get discouraged but he always refused to give up. To him abandoning the fight for the right to inform and being informed was never an option. Never.

Many years after Charles Ingabires assassination , the now famous whistle blower Edward Snowden said that  when exposing a crime is treated like committing a crime you are being ruled by a criminal  .

Today , Inyenyeri News Group remembers Charles Ingabire , a hero in his own right.

Noble Marara
Greetings, No doubt, there is a lot to be concerned about this year; however, 2020 has also been quite a year for recorded music. Let u...
FUJIFILM Corporation (President: Kenji Sukeno) has today signed an agreement with Yestar Healthcare Holdings Company Limited (hereinafter Yestar) to invest about 6 billion yen in the company by subscribing to third-party allocation of its new shares. After completing the required investment procedures, Fujifilm will acquire 9.56% of the company's shares issued. The Yestar Group handles processing and marketing of Fujifilm's medical X-ray films, photographic products, and industrial films in China. Through this investment, Fujifilm aims to reinforce a comprehensive business partnership with Yestar Group and further expand its business in the Chinese market, which continues to make economic growth with the nation's 1.3-billion population.

Since establishment, the Yestar Group has expanded business as the agency for Fujifilm's photographic products in the Chinese market. It became Fujifilm's exclusive agency for color photographic papers in the Chinese market in 2013, distributing Fujifilm products across China's photographic market. It entered into the medical field, commencing to process and market Fujifilm's medical X-ray films in 2010. The Yestar Group has continued to broaden its scope of business to include medical equipment and other products, boosting its presence in China's healthcare market.

Through this investment, Fujifilm is reinforcing its partnership with Yestar Group especially in the field of medical equipment business. Fujifilm and the Yestar Group will accelerate offering a wide range of Fujifilm's products and solutions across China. Fujifilm also plans to explore the possibility of working with Yestar Group to jointly develop products specifically designed for the Chinese market.

By providing products and solutions optimized for diverse market needs, Fujifilm will continue to contribute to further improving the quality and efficiency of medical care, maintaining and boosting human health and enhancing the quality of life.
Pinch of Salt: So much to be thankful for
The ranking, which was announced by the Vietnam Report Joint Stock Company in Hanoi on November 29, aimed to honour enterprises that are profitable, have potential to become key pillars of the Vietnamese economy and contribute to the introduction of Vietnamese brands to the international business community.

The Viettel Military Industry and Telecoms Group, Samsung Electronics Vietnam, Honda Vietnam, PetroVietnam Gas Joint Stock Corporation (PV Gas), Vietnam Dairy Products Company (Vinamilk), Joint Stock Commercial Bank for Foreign Trade of Vietnam (Vietcombank), Hoa Phat Group, Vietnam Joint Stock Commercial Bank for Industry and Trade (Viettinbank) and Vingroup also made into the Top 10.

PetroVietnams total revenues reached VND499.5 trillion (US$21.47 billion) in the first 10 months of 2018, 21.1% higher than the set target and up 23.6% year-on-year.

In the reviewed period, the group contributed VND90.9 trillion (US$3.9 billion) to the State budget, 23.2% higher the yearly target.

According to the Vietnam Reports survey, the average pre-tax profit of the top 500 most profitable companies in 2017 grew more than 65% from 2016. The sectors with the highest return on asset (ROA) and return on equity (REO) were telecommunications, information technology, pharmaceuticals, healthcare, transportation, food, beverages and cigarettes.

The survey said most business insiders expect technology to remain the leader in attracting investment.

Technology was the most common answer among enterprises (51.4% of respondents), construction and real estate (40%) and retail (34.3%).

In the Profit500 Ranking, the companies with the highest average pre-tax profits are in telecommunications, information and technology. The enterprises have potential to show stable growth profit indicators.

In the 2018 Profit500, the number of firms in construction, building materials, real estate (14.8%), electricity (12.8%), finance (11.2%), and food, beverages and cigarettes (10.4%) accounted for a majority of businesses on the list.
Lost above the rooftops of the city : Drone disappears without a trace in Bonn city

Bonn Drone pilot Sebastian Heider lost his drone over the rooftops of Bonn city center on Wednesday when he wanted to capture images of the Christmas market. He is now looking for clues as to what happened and offering a reward for its return.

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It suddenly became a drone that no longer did what the owner wanted it to do and it disappeared without a trace. That's what pilot Sebastian Heider from Bonn experienced when he lost control of his "DJI Mavic Pro Platinum" in the city center on Wednesday.

Heider was there to take pictures of the Bonn Christmas market and the City Skyliner tower. He had obtained permission from the public order office, the police and the university. The only condition was that he not maneuver the drone directly over people at the Christmas market and in the city center. Two positions had been approved by the authorities: the roof of the "Sinn" fashion store and the roof of Bonn University.

The drone had already seen 300 flights, 45 flying hours and 400 kilometers. And flying is not only Heider's hobby, he takes aerial photographs for various clients. According to Heider, the flight over the fashion store "Sinn" went without a hitch and then he went to the Hofgarten in Bonn. After he had set up the drone, he started it and positioned it above the university up in the air. "At some point I realized that I no longer had any control," said Heider in response to a GA inquiry.

Heider offers reward for the missing drone

He's been flying for seven years, but that's never happened to him before. "I have done many flights, so I know what I'm doing," says Heider. There was always a connection between his remote control and the drone, 100 meters away, he says. But on this day, he could no longer control the 30 x 30 centimeter flying object, which weighs one kilogram. Besides that, it drifted away in the wind, which is normally not possible, as it can hold its position through a special mechanism. The mode to get the drone to return to the pilot did not work either.

One day after the incident, he suspects a software error. He wrote a post on Facebook and hopes that someone has found the drone. He also contacted the manufacturer to report the bug.

Heider can imagine that his "DJI" was either picked up and taken by someone or stuck on a roof. He is currently looking at the roof of the University of Bonn, where he received the last two GPS data. He also contacted the university to get possible information about the whereabouts of his 1,500 euro drone. If someone found his drone, Heider wants to pay a reward. On the device there is a name tag with his address and telephone number.

Drone pilots have to take a few things into account

"The drone is not fault-free," says Heider. " If you fly with it, you have to follow some rules." Theoretically, someone could be injured. The German Air Traffic Act (insurance obligation according to Section 43 Para. 2 of the Air Traffic Act) obliges you to take out insurance. Without insurance, high fines are imposed.

As a general rule, the pilot may only operate his drone within visual range. Flying over industrial and railway facilities, crowds, nature reserves and airport control zones is prohibited. The drone pilot also has to pay attention to weather conditions and obstacles in the flight path at all times. With insurance coverage, a flight altitude of 100 meters is permitted, but flying is prohibited at night. However, there is the option of obtaining special permits if you can show proof of a drone driver's license.

Orig. text: Felix Schroder
The visit will be made at the invitation of Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc, according to a statement released by the Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs on November 29.

Vietnam and Cambodia officially established diplomatic relations on June 24, 1967. The two nations have regularly maintained the exchange of visits at all levels.

Vietnam has become one of Cambodias leading economic partners with two-way trade reaching nearly US$ 3.8 billion in 2017, up more than 25 percent year-on-year. The two countries are striving to raise the figure to US$ 5 billion in the coming years.

Vietnam has to date invested in 206 projects in Cambodia with combined registered capital of US$ 3.02 billion, ranking in the top five foreign investors in Cambodia. Meanwhile, Cambodia has poured US$ 58.1 million into 18 projects in Vietnam.

In 2017, up to 835,000 Vietnamese visited Cambodia while 222,000 Cambodians went on tours of Vietnam.
English Estonian

The annual general meeting of shareholders (the Meeting) of AS PRFoods (the Company) was held on 30th November 2018 in the conference room Beta at hotel Radisson Blu Hotel Olumpia, located at Liivalaia 33, Tallinn, Estonia.

The Meeting started at 11:00 and ended at 12:02. 21 shareholders, holding 26,066,058 shares, attended the Meeting representing 69.17% of the total votes represented by all the shares with voting rights. Therefore, the Meeting was competent to pass resolutions.

The following resolutions were passed at the Meeting:

1. Approving the Companys 2017/2018 annual report (18 months)

The shareholders decided to approve the annual report of the Company for the financial year 2017/2018 in the form submitted to the annual general meeting.

Voting results:

Votes No of Votes Proportion to total votes (%) In favour 26,064,058 99.99% Against 0 0.00% Impartial 2,000 0.01% Did not vote 0 0.00% Total 26,066,058 100.00%

2. Deciding on sharing the profit

The shareholders decided:

(a) To confirm the net profit of the financial year of 2017/2018 (18 months) in amount of 57,000 euros and retained earnings of AS PRFoods of 1,904,000 euros as at 30 June 2018;

(b) To transfer 1/20 of the net profit in amount of 2,850 euros to statutory reserve capital;

(c) To pay dividends in amount of 386,829 euros on account of the retained earnings, i.e. 0.01 euros per one share:

 the shareholders entered to the share register of AS PRFoods as at the end of workday of accounting system on 28th December 2018 have the right to dividends;

 based on the above the date of changing of rights attached to shares (ex-date) is 27th December 2018  from that date the person having acquired the shares is no more entitled to receive dividends for the financial year of 2017/2018;

 dividends are paid to the shareholders on 5th April 2019, by transferring the relevant amount to the bank account attached to the securities account of the shareholder.

(d) not to distribute the remaining net profit.

Voting results:

Votes No of Votes Proportion to total votes (%) In favour 26,058,858 99,97% Against 0 0% Impartial 7,200 0,03% Did not vote 0 0.00% Total 26,066,058 100.00%

3. Appointment of auditor for the financial year 2018/2019 and determining auditors remuneration

The shareholders decided to appoint AS PricewaterhouseCoopers (register code 10142876) as the Companys auditor for the financial year 2018/2019 and to determine the remuneration of the auditor pursuant to the agreement to be executed with the auditor

Voting results:

Votes No of Votes Proportion to total votes (%) In favour 26,056,218 99,96% Against 0 0.00% Impartial 9,840 0,04% Did not vote 0 0.00% Total 26,066,058 100.00%

All decisions at the meeting were adopted in accordance with the stipulations of the law and Companys articles of association.

Indrek Kasela

AS PRFoods

Member of the Management Board

Phone: +372 452 1470

investor@prfoods.ee

www.prfoods.ee
Across the urban transit spectrum, electric scooters have arrived with a big splash. The small, dockless vehicles, a product of the tech startup scene that carry riders at around 15 mph, have helped to upend the old transit paradigm and sharpen a "micro-mobility" focus. But for scooters to be a viable transit solution that can thrive and grow, they need to be integrated into a city's transportation infrastructure and managed through partnerships that maximize their benefits and minimize their negative impacts.Scooters have enormous potential as an inclusive, efficient system in the model of bikesharing systems that have already taken off across the country. With a low barrier to entry -- rides generally cost a couple dollars -- electric scooters offer residents in car-focused cities such as Los Angeles and Austin an alternative way to travel short distances. A new study from Populus , a transportation-focused data-analysis company, found that scooters have already had an impressive 3.6 percent average adoption rate (by comparison, over 12 years carsharing systems like Zipcar came in at 2 to 3 percent), while 70 percent of the Populus survey's respondents supported them.Unlike traditional bikeshare programs in cities such as Los Angeles, where the Metro transportation agency formally introduced 1,400 bikes in neighborhoods including downtown and Venice, scooters have come via the private sector with startups leading the way. With a haphazard roll-out in many areas (the CEO of Bird reportedly announced his scooter company's arrival in Santa Monica with a LinkedIn message to the mayor ), residents and officials worry about a series of operational issues.First, scooters have no home dock, meaning they are often left strewn in random locations. Their batteries are charged by contract workers who, seeking to ensure the biggest payout, sometimes gather as many as possible in a single location, or even hold them until they are reported stolen and a $20 reward is issued. Then there are insurance questions, as well as helmet and general safety concerns. New York City, where sidewalks are narrow and bike lanes are already cluttered, has simply banned scooters.For most cities, though, outlawing a promising and appealing transportation alternative isn't viable. Just as cities partner with industry in other sectors, calculated, careful, regulated partnerships for scooters hold the most promise.For scooters to integrate into a city's existing transportation system - and to ensure they are safe for riders from teenagers to professionals to the elderly - each company needs to work with local government, following the model of New York City's Citi Bike. That might get easier with industry mergers and consolidations: In July, the ridesharing company Lyft acquired Motivate, which owns Citi Bike and which, Lyft says, is responsible for 80 percent of bike-sharing in the United States (for instance, it manages bike-sharing programs including metropolitan Washington, D.C.'s Capital Bikeshare and Minneapolis' Nice Ride). Lyft has also started to roll out its own scooters in select cities.In one example of an evolving partnership, San Francisco first banned scooters, but then implemented a formal proposal process to review permit applications. Using metrics including operational experience, equitable community outreach and labor plans, the city recently decided to issue permits to two companies, Scoot and Skip. While not a full partnership, this model is a step in the right direction. ensuring that the city is involved in the groundwork for these companies to operate and hopefully thrive.Thoughtfully constructed partnerships for scooters can ensure that both residents and government have the chance to welcome this sustainability-focused alternative and that scooters can co-exist alongside pedestrians, bikes and cars. As an alternative to car usage and a supplement to bikesharing, scooter companies working in concert with government have the potential to transform the way people participate with the transportation framework around them -- and how we think about getting around.


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> 70 years

> 75 years

> 80 years

> 85 years

> 90 years

No estimate

Monterey Park, Calif., Census Tract 4817.11

Shelby County, Ill., Census Tract 9595

Chatham County, N.C., Census Tract 201.04

Stilwell, Okla., Census Tract 3769

The Bronx, N.Y., Census Tract 396

Pascoag, R.I., Census Tract 129

Dallas

About the data

Just how long many Americans will live is largely a reflection of where they were born.For the first time, neighborhood-level life expectancy data covering most of the country were published in September, revealing large disparities. The joint effort by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the National Association for Public Health Statistics and Information Systems, and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation utilized death records reported by 48 states.Life expectancies generally mirror demographics. Babies born into neighborhoods with more white residents, or those with high incomes and college-educated populations, tend to live longer. Communities with poor access to food and health care have low life expectancies. Major gaps are further present across neighborhoods in close proximity within the same cities. As a response, places such as Alameda County, Calif., and Kansas City, Mo., have launched initiatives aimed at advancing health equity.Weve identified several outlier neighborhoods, represented as Census tracts, from the data. Some have extremely high or low estimated life expectancies. In other neighborhoods, the normal assumptions about race, poverty and other demographic characteristics as they relate to health do not seem to apply.While neighborhoods with exceptionally high life expectancy are predominantly wealthy, there are notable exceptions scattered throughout the country. One that stands out is in the northern part of Monterey Park, a small Los Angeles suburb with some of the highest concentrations of Chinese Americans of any U.S. city. Despite the tracts median income of only $40,000 and high poverty, those born there were projected to live an estimated average of 93 years (+/-7). The neighborhood is close to a senior center, medical center and park. Several other Asian communities had similarly high estimates. Another demographically similar neighborhood with about the same life expectancy is a section of New York Citys Chinatown.Educational attainment is one of the strongest predictors of a neighborhoods life expectancy. But select areas with average or below-average levels of education still have exceptionally high estimated longevity. One is an area of rural Shelby County, Ill., made up of several small villages and farming communities. Census estimates suggest more than half the population has no education beyond high school, yet its life expectancy is nearly 92 years (+/-7).Most neighborhoods with the highest life expectancies tend to be communities of affluent residents with high levels of education. The tract with the nations highest estimated life expectancy is found in Chatham County. Its average life expectancy falls between 90 and 104 years, when the margin of error is considered. The area is a wealthy enclave with two large retirement communities: Fearrington Village and The Preserve at Jordan Lake.At just 56 years (+/-2), Stilwells estimated life expectancy is the lowest of any Census tract in the nation. The community, traditionally dependent on agriculture and ranching, is home to a large contingent of Native Americans, and about half of all children there live in poverty.Predominantly black communities typically have low life expectancies, according to the CDC. This isnt true of a few African-American neighborhoods in New York, though, such as a tract in the Williamsbridge section of the Bronx. About 78 percent of its residents are black, and more than a quarter live in poverty. However, the neighborhoods estimated life expectancy is 86 years (+/-8).By most measures, Pascoag is a typical lower middle-class to middle-class community. An unincorporated village northwest of Providence, it has relatively high numbers of children living in poverty, along with education levels and household incomes somewhat below national averages. Yet its an outlier in that its estimated life expectancy was about 90 years (+/-7).Dallas offers an example of the vast differences in life expectancy that can be found in close proximity. Six predominantly African- American tracts making up an area of southeast Dallas recorded life expectancies between 65 and 69 years. For mostly white neighborhoods on the other side of an interstate highway a few miles to the north, the numbers were in the low to mid-80s.
SPEED READ:

The Trump administration's new guidance allows states to change who receives health insurance subsidies and how they are used.

The new rules undermine the Affordable Care Act and could lead to the proliferation of health plans that offer fewer benefits and consumer protections.

CMS Administrator Seema Verma discussed the new guidance at the conservative American Legislative Exchange Council conference on Thursday.

The Trump administration released new guidance for states on Thursday that would undermine major tenets of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), or so-called Obamacare, President Obama's signature health reform law.Most notably, the new "State Empowerment and Relief Waiver Concepts" urge states to start offering federal subsidies to people buying plans that dont comply with the ACA. It would be a boost to short-term and association health plans, which offer fewer benefits and consumer protections but at a lower cost.By introducing these concepts, the Trump administration is accomplishing some of the same goals -- and in some instances, taking them further -- that Congressional Republicans had in mind when trying to repeal and replace the ACA in 2017, Larry Levitt, senior vice president of the nonprofit Kaiser Family Foundation, told The Washington Post The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) is also giving states the option to put subsidies into a consumer-driven account that people could use for health-care costs other than monthly premiums. Its a similar approach that CMS Administrator Seema Verma took in Indiana, where she helped redesign the state's Medicaid program.States will now also have some freedom to decide who is eligible for subsidies. Under the ACA, anyone with an income 400 percent of the federal poverty line is eligible for subsidies on the insurance marketplace. This new guidance would allow states to tweak or add to that regulation, perhaps prioritizing younger, healthier populations over lower-income residents.Finally, states will have more flexibility to establish reinsurance programs, which use government funds to protect insurance companies from the most expensive patients and bring down premiums for everyone. Reinsurance has been used in several states since the beginning of the ACA to hold down costs.As HHS released this information, Verma gave remarks at the conservative American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) on Thursday outlining and defending this plan.For far too long, states have looked to Washington with a 'mother, may I?' approach," Verma said. "Washington has placed unworkable restrictions on the states, in the process undermining the very goal of its own policy, which was to make insurance more accessible by making it more affordable.But many health experts say the federal governments recent actions regarding the Affordable Care Act are what's driving up health costs and driving down the insured rate. The Trump administration has, among other things, repealed the ACA's individual mandate, which required everyone to have health insurance, reduced the open enrollment period by weeks, cut ACA outreach and marketing funding by more than 90 percent, and made it easier to buy short-term and association health plans that don't comply with the ACA. (States are fighting the latter move either by banning or restricting the sale of those plans or by taking the matter to court.)As a result, fewer people appear to be signing up for insurance: At the open enrollment midway point, 2.4 million had signed up, compared to 2.8 million this time last year. According to a Georgetown University report , last year was the first time the number of uninsured children rose in a decade. The Congressional Budget Office predicts that an additional 5 million people will lack health insurance in 2027.Verma fought back on those assertions."No one can say that this [is] due to the Trump administration. This chaotic and declining market is what the administration inherited in 2017," she said at the ALEC conference.Premiums have finally showed some stabilization this year, with the price of average plans decreasing by 1.5 percent across the country.Many opponents of the Trump administrations approach to the Affordable Care Act argue that it chips away at the consumer protections and that more popular aspects of the law could also end up on the chopping block -- like protecting people with preexisting conditions and allowing young adults to stay on their parents' insurance until theyre 26.Verma says those concerns are overblown.Critics of state flexibility will always assume the worst. Indeed, cynics will always be able to imagine negative ways states might screw up if given some flexibility," she said. "But if a state does get something wrong -- unlike the federal government -- states have the flexibility and the incentive to fix it."
SPEED READ:

New York is really the test case of how much you can push bail reform absent of legislative action, says Aubrey Fox, executive director of the New York City Criminal Justice Agency.

Mayor Bill de Blasio has made criminal justice reform a priority of his administration.

New York City's bail reforms have contributed to a 27 percent drop in the city's jail population and a one-third reduction in the number of people facing bail. The city now has the lowest incarceration rate of any big U.S. city.

Like many states, New York hasn't changed its bail procedures in more than 40 years. Despite increasing calls for bail reform around the country, only California has eliminated cash bail and only a handful of other states -- including Alaska, Delaware New Jersey and New Mexico -- have reformed their systems to cut down on people sitting in jail because they can't afford bail.New York City got tired of waiting on the state.Over the past three years, the city has implemented and expanded a series of programs and rules meant to lower the number of people who have to pay bail in the first place or who have to sit in jail -- often for months -- if they can't afford it.New York is really the test case of how much you can push bail reform absent of legislative action, says Aubrey Fox, executive director of the New York City Criminal Justice Agency, a nonprofit that assists the citys bail diversion program.It turns out, cities can make meaningful change on their own.Over the past four years, the city has reduced the number of defendants facing bail by almost one-third, itsjail population has dropped by 27 percent, and it now has the lowest incarceration rate of any big U.S. city, according to New York Citys Office of Criminal Justice. (During that time, arrests were down citywide, which contributed to these drops.)The city reached another milestone recently, helping the 10,000th defendant avoid bail and instead await trial under supervised release, which is the anchor of the city's bail changes. The city has partnered with nonprofits that help evaluate whether a defendant should qualify for supervised release, and if so, work with the defendant to make sure they attend all their court dates.There is a social worker assigned to the case. The defendants have to call, and they have to come in. The amount of contact is determined by the social worker, says Fox. If they have other needs like counseling, drug treatment or need help with a job, our social workers can offer those supports.Since the program launched, 87 percent of defendants under supervised release have attended all their court dates, according to the New York City Criminal Justice Agency.The supervised released program started as a pilot in 2009. In 2015, a year after the inauguration of Mayor Bill de Blasio who set his sights on reforming the citys criminal justice system, the city pumped more than $17 million into expanding the effort across all five boroughs.The mayor wants to eliminate cash bail. He has been very clear that a lack of cash shouldnt be the reason people are in jail, says Elizabeth Glazer, director of New York Citys Office of Criminal Justice.Under de Blasio, the city has also eliminated jail sentences of less than 30 days, launched an online bail website and expanded the bail expediters program, which places people inside the courthouses to coordinate bail payments with family members while simultaneously keeping judges and jailers abreast of the status of a bail payment. Bail expediters keep nearly 2,000 people a year from being booked into jail, according to New York City.The city also passed new bail rules in 2017 aimed at reducing the number of people incarcerated. But it hasn't been living up to all of them.According to a new analysis by the Bronx Freedom Fund, an organization that posts bail for low-income residents in the Bronx, the city regularly violates those 2017 rules. For instance, 76 percent of the organization's 238 clients who had bail posted from April to September were not released within four hours as required. And 70 percent were notgiven access to their contact information while in custody, which is often stored on phones seized during their arrest.City officials acknowledge that improvements can be made to the system and note that several factors can delay the release of a defendant, such as needed medical or mental health care and outstanding warrants from other jurisdictions.We are always looking for ways to improve the bail process and make it faster, says New York City Department of Correction Press Secretary Jason Kersten. We expect to reduce our discharge time and streamline the process even more in the future.Meanwhile, up in the state capital, lawmakers have been locked in a stalemate over bail reform for years. Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo has called for bail reform, but his efforts have been blocked by the Republican-controlled state Senate. In November, however, the Democrats regained control of the Senate. Time will tell if the city gets an ally from above.
It was his 63rd birthday but instead of staying home to celebrate Wednesday, Andres Garcia got in his truck and drove 25 miles to Los Angeles City Hall to see the little sidewalk vending business he's run for 15 years finally become legal.There, in the ornate City Council Chambers, he and more than 200 other sidewalk vendors  "micro-entrepreneurs" as Councilman Curren Price Jr. calls them  rose up to cheer, embrace one another and shout in Spanish, "we won, we won," as the council voted 13-0 to legalize street vending in the nation's second-largest city."For us, it's very important," Garcia said of the LA street vendors whose numbers have been estimated as high as 50,000. "If someone complains, the police, they could come in and take everything from us. Make us throw all our stuff away and we lose all our money for that day."In recent years, police have often looked the other way, he said, but he has been hassled more than once in the past when somebody complained that he stakes out space to sell chips, candy, drinks and other items in Hansen Dam Park, a popular recreational area in the farthest northeast corner of the city's San Fernando Valley.Passage of the ordinance takes away that risk but marks just the beginning of a new day for street vendors. The city must still implement a system for issuing permits to vendors and to figure out how much to charge for them.
About 58 inmates are attempting to sue the state of Iowa over the recent ban of pornography in prisons, claiming it violates their constitutional rights.Inmates at Fort Dodge Correctional Facility are upset about the new law, which went in effect Nov. 14 at all nine state prisons and shut down the designated "pornography reading rooms." The men filed a class action suit in October in U.S. District Court, but a judge told them Nov. 1 that they would have to file amended and substituted complaints on the proper forms, and that each plaintiff must pay a filing fee or file an application to proceed as an indigent person by Friday.U.S. District Senior Judge Robert Pratt also said two signatures on the lawsuit are illegible and may not be included.So the lawsuit, at this time, hasn't been accepted by the court.The inmates' lawsuit, which is confusing and difficult to understand, claims the legislation was passed under the guise of "morality" and was brought by a "Government contrived of Nazis or tyrants.""It is our contention to stop this tyranny, arising from a group of religious tyrants/slaves, who hide behind the mantle of righteousness, and law, and have no regard for the Declaration of Independence and/or United States Constitution as they stand."The lawsuit also suggests that if women correctional officers can't handle an environment that allows photos of female nudity and related images, "they should find employment elsewhere." The plaintiffs ask what's next -- outlawing photos or images of models wearing fashion, swimsuits or lingerie?The lead plaintiff of the lawsuit, 70-year-old Allen Curtis Miles, was convicted of first-degree murder in Polk County District Court for the fatal stabbing of Cheryl Kleinschrodt in March 1982.The reading rooms, which were supervised by prison staff, allowed prisoners who were not convicted of sexual or sexual-related offenses to look at sexually explicit materials, according to the Iowa Department of Corrections. Inmates would receive these materials in the mail but officials would store them until an inmate requested to view them and be taken to a reading room. Once the inmate was done, the materials would go back to storage.The inmates who received less explicit materials, like nude photos or a Playboy magazine, would be allowed to keep those in their cells, Iowa Department of Corrections spokesman Cord Overton said Thursday.But the new law also bans inmates from having those in their cells.The reading rooms were set up in response to a federal court ruling in the 1980s that found Iowa's prison rules dealing with sexually explicit materials were unconstitutional.During the legislative session when the bill was proposed, Iowa prisons legal counsel Michael Savala said the department modeled the new legislation after a Federal Bureau of Prisons policy and state officials believe it will stand up to court challenges.Overton said he couldn't estimate how much the reading rooms were used because that information wasn't tracked. Staff members who would supervise the rooms may have been supervising other rooms at the same time, so it makes it impossible to provide an estimation, he said."When we discussed this issue with lawmakers, the broad point was that any staff time spent supervising these types of activities was staff time that could be spent more productively," Overton said.Time spent screening, sorting and supervising the use of these materials could be better spent focusing on security and rehabilitation, Overton said.Overton pointed out that the prison population has grown significantly since the 1980s and '90s, especially the sexual offenders, who have always been prohibited from having these materials. There are more than 1,000 sex offenders in an overall population of 8,594 inmates, as of Thursday.Notice of the ban went out to inmates in July so they had time to cancel subscriptions or let family and friends know that nude and sexually explicit material would not be allowed on or after Nov. 14, Overton said.Overton said department leadership advised inmates and staff that if pornography was found during the course of a routine search it could lead to discipline. But there haven't been any real issues so far, he said.Judge Pratt, in his response to the inmates' lawsuit filing, suggested the plaintiffs file separate complaints because prisoner complaints, he said, present "unique circumstances not present in other civil actions and a multitude of problems may arise." He pointed out several concerns if a single suit is brought by more than one inmate, including that the prison population is transient and lawyers have limited ability to meet with plaintiffs to discuss strategy or draft documents. Pratt said it's also likely that one inmate may take control of lawsuit and act on behalf of others without legal authority or permission from others.Pratt warns the inmates if they fail to comply with his order, it could result in the dismissal of the case.The inmates hadn't filed any amended or substituted complaints as of Thursday morning.
Four St. Louis police officers were indicted Thursday on federal charges claiming that three of them beat an undercover colleague during protests last year and all four then covered it up, federal prosecutors say.The indictment also claims that several of the officers exchanged messages that "expressed disdain" for protesters and "excitement about using unjustified force against them and going undetected while doing so."Prosecutors allege that officers Dustin Boone, Randy Hays and Christopher Myers threw a 22-year police veteran to the ground and kicked and hit him with a police baton on Sept. 17, 2017, amid protests downtown that followed the acquittal of former police Officer Jason Stockley on a murder charge for the fatal shooting of Anthony Lamar Smith. They believed the undercover officer was a protester and assaulted him "while he was compliant and not posing a physical threat to anyone," the indictment says.Officer Bailey Colletta is accused of lying to a federal grand jury investigating the incident.All four of the accused officers are members of the St. Louis Police Officers' Association, which is providing them with legal representation, according to Jeff Roorda, business manager.Roorda referred all questions to the officers' attorneys, saying, in part, "We encourage elected officials, the media and the public to allow them their day in court without speculation about their guilt or innocence."Hays' and Colletta's lawyers declined to comment. The others did not return messages.After learning that the person they attacked was an undercover officer, the three male officers lied about the arrest, claiming the man resisted arrest and was not compliant, the indictment says. They also tried to contact the undercover officer to dissuade him from pursuing disciplinary or legal action, the indictment says.The undercover officer is identified only by the initials "L.H." The age, gender and initials match only one officer: Luther Hall. Hall was working undercover aiding other officers in identifying criminal activity, sources said.At the time of the assault, police sources said Hall suffered a bloody lip during his arrest.But sources close to Hall said Thursday that injuries from the assault were much more extensive. He has not been able to return to work.Hall was kicked in the face, which inflamed his jaw muscles to the point where he could not eat. He went from about 185 pounds to 165.The cut above his lip was a 2-centimeter hole that went through his face.He also sustained an injury to his tailbone, which still causes him pain, the sources said.And in October, he underwent surgery to repair two herniated discs in his neck and one in his back. He is still wearing a collar to keep his neck immobile.Myers destroyed Hall's cellphone with the intent to obstruct any subsequent investigation, sources said, and Boone, Hays and Myers obstructed justice by conspiring to prevent information about the beating from reaching federal investigators. Colletta and Hays were in a romantic relationship at the time of the incident and investigation, the indictment says.Colletta initially denied knowing Hall and denied that she had ever come into contact with him on the night of his arrest, the indictment says, and lied when saying he was "brought to the ground very gently."The indictment says the officers exchanged a series of messages during the days of protest duty.In one Sept. 15, 2017, message, Myers writes "let's whoop some ass."On Oct. 5, 2017, Hays writes "going rogue does feel good."Boone later replies that "it's gonna be a lot of fun beating the hell out of these (expletive) once the sun goes down and nobody can tell us apart!!!!" On Sept. 17, he wrote that it was "a blast beating people that deserve it."Boone, 35, Hays, 31, and Myers, 27, all face charges of depriving Hall of his constitutional rights and conspiracy to obstruct justice. Myers also faces a charge of destruction of evidence relating to the cellphone, and Colletta, 25, faces a charge of attempting to obstruct grand jury proceedings.U.S. Attorney Jeff Jensen declined to comment, saying he would not make any statements outside of a mews release announcing the charges.St. Louis Public Safety Director Jimmie Edwards, who called the officers "outliers" in a statement, said the four officers have been suspended without pay from the police force.In his own statement, Police Chief John Hayden said police sought the FBI's help after learning about the allegations involving Hall."I am deeply disappointed in the alleged actions of these individual officers; however, it is in no way reflective of the hard work and dedication exhibited by the men and women of our Department who serve the community on a daily basis with integrity and honor," his statement says.Hayden said Hays had eight years with the department, Myers had three, Boone had two and Colletta, 18 months.The officers could face up to 20 years in prison if convicted, although recommended federal sentencing guidelines will likely call for much less prison time.Others alleged mistreatmentAll four were among the 200 officers assigned to the police "Civil Disobedience Team," prosecutors say, working protest duty.They're also among current and former officers that St. Louis city prosecutors have purportedly excluded from testifying in criminal cases.St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner, in a statement Thursday, said her office had dismissed 91 cases associated with the officers and would continue to review "cases where these officers' testimony or involvement is fundamental."Following the alleged assault on Hall, then-Acting Chief Lawrence O'Toole asked police union leaders for a donation to cover the cost of a broken camera. Roorda confirmed at the time that the union's nonprofit foundation, Shield of Hope, donated $500 to Hall to help cover those expenses or any other costs.It was not immediately clear whether Thursday's indictment would close out a federal investigation into police activity during the controversial police "kettle" on the night of Hall's arrest.St. Louis Mayor Lyda Krewson and O'Toole were among the officials who asked the U.S. attorney's office to investigate less than two weeks later.The mass arrest prompted criticism by a federal judge and a series of federal lawsuits alleging that police violated arrestees' Fourth and Fourteenth Amendment rights to be free from unlawful seizure and their First Amendment rights to assemble in public and express their views free from retaliation.The suits say arrestees were pepper-sprayed and physically injured even when attempting to be compliant with police orders.Former Post-Dispatch reporter Mike Faulk, who was among the reporters assigned to cover the protests that night, was also arrested and has filed his own lawsuit.Police supervisors have said that protesters blocking the street and refusing to disperse were given multiple warnings about possible arrest and the use of chemical munitions. They denied seeing any inappropriate use of force, saying pepper spray was used only on those who resisted police orders.After the indictments were announced, Tony Rothert, legal director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Missouri, wrote that "there has still been no real accountability for the individual officers who engaged in the same behavior toward protesters. St. Louis officials must address this rampant lawlessness by its police.""We expect professionalism from every City employee," Krewson said in a statement. "No exceptions. The charges brought against these officers today do not reflect the standards we hold ourselves to as public servants."Police have also said multiple officers have been injured by rocks and bottles thrown by protesters on various occasions."In a few instances, some officers have fallen short of the professionalism required to work in our Police Department," Edwards said in a statement. "I take accountability and transparency very seriously. When a public safety employee acts outside the scope of their authority, it is imperative that they be held accountable to the fullest extent of the law."Hall was not a member of the Ethical Society of Police, a police association which represents primarily black officers.But the organization's community liaison, the Rev. Darryl Gray, said the group has been calling on the department to investigate the assault ever since it happened."Anytime we have police officers who are labeled as rogue officers, other officers need to know there is accountability and there are consequences to police officers who think they're above the law or try to hide their own viciousness and hatred behind the badge and under the cover of darkness," Gray said.
Description

GIS  30 November 2018: The Prime Minister, Minister of Home Affairs, External Communications and National Development Unit and Minister of Finance and Economic Development, Mr Pravind Kumar Jugnauth, highlighted today the proposals of Government with regard to the Financing of Political Parties Bill during a press conference held at the New Treasury Building in Port Louis.

He emphasised that accountability and transparency will be the underlying principles of the Financing of Political Parties Bill with the objectives to prevent undue influence and corruption as well as to avoid donations to a political party being appropriated by unauthorised persons.

All political parties, he said, will be required to register with the Electoral Supervisory Commission (ESC) and added that the parties will be allowed to receive donations from private individuals and corporate bodies subject to appropriate transparency and disclosure rules. Donations from religious groups, parastatal bodies and any state-owned-enterprise as well as anonymous and overseas donations will be prohibited, he stated.

Prime Minister Jugnauth further underlined that provision will be made for State funding to political parties and candidates taking part in National Assembly/municipal council/ village council/ Rodrigues Regional Assembly elections. A Political Activities Public Financing Fund, under the supervision of the ESC will be established and the ESC will be responsible for the disbursement of funds to qualified political parties and candidates.

Moreover, the Prime Minister outlined that candidates will be eligible for State funding provided they obtain at least 10% of the total number of votes polled in their respective constituencies. He also spoke on the present expenditure limits that are being revised in line to promote more accountability.

Speaking on the functioning of the ESC, he highlighted that the institution will be endowed with necessary resources to inspect, verify, review and investigate the financial affairs of political parties and thereby recommend legal proceedings in case of violations. Breach of the legislation will be sanctioned by fines and loss/suspension/reduction of public funding, he added.
Code for America Reaches 10,000 Users for ClearMyRecord.org

Seattle Takes Data-Driven Approach to Firefighting with New Platform

New What Works Cities Offshoot Will Address Economic Mobility

Former U.S. Secretary of Defense Ash Carter called upon Americas innovators and technologists  in both the public and private sectors  to use their work "with a public purpose," in a written piece published by The Atlantic last week.Carters piece essentially paints the rapid-fire development of new technology and innovations as a double-edged sword, noting that this progress has "brought immeasurable improvements to billions around the globe" but also that it "now threatens to overwhelm us." Carters words are also a bit of a call from on high for technologists to channel the intense focus on public purpose that drove progress for past generations, saying that our own priorities should drive change just as much if not more than market forces.The piece is notable for the civic tech community, because it serves as one of the most public and prominent declarations of support for their core mission by a powerful voice in recent memory. Carter himself is no stranger to civic tech. In addition to leading the Department of Defense from February 2015 to January 2017, Carter has overseen the founding of the Defense Digital Service, as well as the Defense Innovation Board, which includes major civic tech leaders such as Code for America Founder Jennifer Pahlka.The national civic tech group Code for America has now reached 10,000 users for its clearmyrecord.org site, which is a free service aimed at helping eligible folks in several California counties reduce or dismiss convictions from criminal records.Code for America announced the milestone recently on its Twitter page, also noting that a future step will see them bring the platform to other states. Its currently only in use in California, largely in the most populous counties of that state, including Alameda, Contra Costa, Fresno, San Diego, San Francisco, Santa Barbara, Santa Clara and Solano.Clear My Record is a nonprofit service, and the way it works is fairly simple. Basically, users go to the site and complete a pre-screening form that will be used to help a participating attorney understand their unique situation. The attorney next determines what their options are for clearance, and then after a period  usually within four weeks  the applicant learns what their next steps will be.The service can be used to clear multiple convictions within California at once. The site has a support team, and it also notes that its application process is easy to understand, only requiring 10 minutes to complete.Code for America itself is a nonprofit and nonpartisan group that uses technology to help government better serve people. In line with that mission, Clear My Records central goal is to help eligible folks get convictions off their records in order to better position themselves for basic needs such as jobs, housing and education.Seattle is now prototyping a new platform called FireSTAT , which could help the Seattle Fire Department use data and performance metrics to improve its decision-making processes and ultimately become more efficient.Richard Todd, a strategic advisor for Seattles citywide Innovation and Performance team, detailed the creation of FireSTAT in a recent blog post , saying the platform actually grew out of his team reorganizing its work to focus on three service offerings: results-driven management; use of data analytics in problem-solving; and redesigning existing services and processes to have greater impact. FireSTAT seems to be a solid example of all three focuses.To develop it, the team worked directly with the fire department, Todd said, noting that it had previously seen a chance to improve its work with its operational data, but a host of obstacles stood in the way. Namely, the fire department found it difficult to access data sets spread throughout 13 systems monitoring performance that were essentially hard-to-read spreadsheets, and a structure that didnt lend itself easily to using data for problem-solving  an undertaking that was largely only possibly via direct communication from leadership to groups.These are, of course, problems that many public agencies within cities face, and they are also problems that many innovation teams such as Todds are called in to address. In the blog, he details what his team did to work through these problems and how their early FireSTAT efforts have yielded results.Three mighty philanthropic organizations have come together to fund an offshoot of the civic innovation group What Works Cities, and this offshoot is aimed at helping address economic mobility in communities throughout the nation.The three philanthropic groups involved are among the most recognized in the country  Bloomberg Philanthropies, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the Ballmer Group. Earlier this month, the trio announced they would be giving a total of $12 million in the service of analyzing economic mobility throughout Americas communities, as well as ultimately building new ways to help residents bolster their economic prospects. An announcement for the effort said that it will work to identify barriers to economic mobility, understand the impact of potential interventions, and share what works.This is notable for civic technologists as well as those who work for local and state government for a few reasons. In recent years, fostering better economic mobility among citizens has become a bedrock issue for those working to make a difference, one that if solved has a positive impact for an array of other challenges including access to technology, digital skills training, health, housing and education.Today, economic mobility is top-of-mind for city leaders around the country, said Patti Harris, CEO of Bloomberg Philanthropies, in the announcement posting. Through this new partnership, we will follow the data to help communities develop approaches that have the potential to increase opportunity and improve residents lives.A group of 10 cities in America will work with What Works Cities, which is a long-tenured Bloomberg Philanthropies campaign aimed at helping cities overcome obstacles with the use of data-driven governance. This work will see those cities working to now engage their communities with the use of data-driven governance to measure economic mobility challenges, as well as to subsequently develop, prototype and spread solutions.The new effort is being billed by organizers as an offshoot of What Works Cities.
During a reception in Hanoi on November 29 for Secretary of the Party Committee of Hunan province Du Jiahao, Politburo member Binh wished that both sides would seriously realise the common perceptions of their senior leaders and increase exchanges to improve the efficiency of cooperation in diverse areas.

He wished that Hunan and Vietnamese localities would facilitate the sharing of experience in Party building, socio-economic development, and economic and trade collaboration, contributing to the healthy, stable, and effective development of Vietnam-China relations.

Du, for his part, expressed his belief that under the leadership of the Communist Party of Vietnam, the Vietnamese people would surely accomplish tasks set by the 12th National Party Congress.

He affirmed that the Chinese Party, Government, and people are willing to further foster the comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership with Vietnam, adding that China pledges to continue facilitating high-level exchanges and meetings, strengthen political trust, and promote strategic connectivity with Vietnam.

Hunan stands ready to step up practical and mutually-beneficial cooperation with Vietnamese localities in the fields of economy, trade, investment, education, and tourism, thus laying a solid foundation for the friendship between the two parties, nations and people of China and Vietnam.

The same day, Vice Secretary of the Party Committee and Chairman of the Peoples Committee of Hanoi Nguyen Duc Chung held talks with the Chinese guest.

The two sides informed each other about their respective party and national situations, and discussed ways to nurture ties between Hanoi and Hunan in the near future.
The decision by the California town, Paradise, not to undergo a full-scale evacuation was a difficult one that will be reviewed for months or years. The decision by Sonoma County officials last year not to send an alert during the devastating fires there was followed by much debate.In the future, decisions made about when to alert, whom to alert and how may be made easier by a set of guidelines developed by the Governors Office of Emergency Services (Cal OES).A bill, SB 833, signed into law last year, tasked Cal OES with drafting definitive guidelines on mass alerting and evacuation and those guidelines have been developed. The report is being turned over to an advisory board for full adoption, according to Mitch Medigovich, deputy director of logistics management of Cal OES.Cal OES worked with stakeholders at the city and county level to identify best practices and develop some guidelines and standards with the knowledge that some flexibility will need to be incorporated for localities, depending on the local environment.The intent is to have a fairly comprehensive guide, to have roles and responsibilities, templating for calls and the action thats going to go on, Medigovich said. Its going to focus on a whole series of guidelines to help those that havent thought through this or havent used their systems much.As Medigovich noted, a disaster like the Paradise Camp Fire can happen quickly and require quick thinking and action. Having templates and guidelines for what to do in certain situations gives emergency management and public safety officials a head start on how to take action.Inevitably the time you are going to need to make that emergency alert is going to be at 2 a.m. on a Sunday, he said. So, the prepackaged messaging and knowing whos cleared to release and who has the ability to do it really has to be well-established and thought through, so you can get the right message out in a timely manner.The report explains how to take advantage of the Integrated Public Alert and Warning System (IPAWS), Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEA), how and when to use geo-fencing, etc. This breaks down and explains how you would use your broadcasters on the emergency alert side of that versus Wireless Emergency Alert messaging, Medigovich said.There is discussion of reverse 911 systems and other tools in the proverbial tool box, including using sirens and going door to door. Medigovich said there are many technological tools to use and users need to realize that those are constantly being updated so that if one didnt work as needed at one time, it may have been updated to be more effective.We saw that with geo-fencing, he said. People said, Well, that tool doesnt allow me to do what I want to do. And you say well, yeah, it has certain limitations, but it continues to get better and people may have had outdated information in the past.Often, the first time a jurisdiction is forced to use mass alerting becomes a learning experience and sometimes a painful one. But establishing a good program with good training and best practice usage can help.An example is Lake County in California, which was hit by wildfires in 2015 and struggled with alerting. When faced with more fires in 2017, the process of using IPAWS and WEA went much better. They made releases on the broadcasting side  Wireless Emergency Alerts, social media  and demonstrated absolute proficiency in 2017, Medigovich said.
(TNS) - As rain begins to fall in Southern California from the latest storm, towns and counties prepared for the imminent problems it could cause, especially in areas previously affected by wildfires.Amid worries of mudslides and debris flow, parts of Riverside County where the Holy fire had burned in August were placed under mandatory evacuation Wednesday afternoon. The rain also prompted Orange County officials to issue voluntary evacuations for communities that may receive mud and debris flowing from Holy fire burn areas.Though no mandatory evacuations were put in place in Los Angeles County, officials in the Los Angeles area also remained cautious as the ingredients for potentially dangerous conditions were in place.Los Angeles CountyThe Woolsey fire, which burned through more than 96,000 acres in Los Angeles and Venutra Counties, has consumed vegetation from many hillside communities in Los Angeles County, leaving many homes and roads vulnerable to possible mudslides, rock slides, and debris flows.One to two inches of rain is expected to fall in the Woolsey fire burn areas throughout Wednesday night and Thursday, said Eric Boldt, a meteorologist for the National Weather Service.Issues are expected to come from the rain, Boldt said, but he expects them to be minor, such as small mudslides and rocks coming off canyon walls, possibly leading to road closures.Emily Montanez, a spokeswoman for the L.A. County Office of Emergency Management, said officials were not fretting quite yet over the predicted rains. She said officials were in a wait-and-see mode over the weather.Officials with Los Angeles Countys Department of Public Works have been inspecting flood infrastructure in burn areas, such as storm drains and culverts, making sure they are clear and able to handle the coming storm, said Steve Frasher, public information officer for the department.Frasher said officials have also been working with homeowners to set up sandbags and small plywood walls to divert some water flow and small mudslides away from homes and along driveways and into the road.Though it is possible, Frasher said there are no large mudslides expected for the burn areas.Its certainly not an amount that would trigger a dire warning. Its not a Montecito or La Tuna Canyon scenario that we had last year. However were always mindful that theres that potential out of any rain event, he said.Malibu Mayor Rick Mullen said residents in his city remain cautious as their once grassy and bushy hillsides are now left bare and charred.Were kinda in unknown territory cause the scale of loss of vegetation is pretty unprecedented, Mullen said. People have been sandbagging their properties left and right and are being cautious and preemptive.Most problems in burn areas come from heavy downpours that remain in one area for a long period of time, Boldt said. Yet with wind gusts blasting at about 40 to 50 miles per hour along the mountain areas, the storm is expected to blow through the area rather quickly. Downpours are expected to last only 15 to 20 minutes at a time, with the heaviest rains coming between after midnight and through 6 a.m. Thursday, he said.Still, county officials warned that residents within burn areas should prepare their families and animals for possible evacuation, having their cars full of gas, backed into driveways and with several evacuation routes in mind.Riverside CountyWith the National Weather Service in San Diego forecasting rainfall in the region through Friday of around one inch near the coast to two to four inches in the mountains, officials in Riverside and Orange counties were on high alert for flooding and potential mud and debris flows in the burn areas of this summers Holy fire, which burned some 23,000 acres in and near the Cleveland National Forest.Mandatory evacuations were put in place Wednesday afternoon for some areas burned by the fire as the storm is forecasted to bring periods of heavy rain into the area.The evacuation order issued around 3 p.m. affected 1,017 homes and approximately 3,500 residents. Fire officials went door-to-door to notify residents and give evacuation information, said Capt. Fernando Herrera, a public information officer with Cal Fire/Riverside County.Because of an approaching storm, a mandatory evacuation order has been issued, effective at 3 p.m. on Nov. 28, Herrera said in a statement. Evacuations are mandatory for the Amorose, Alberhill, Glen Ivy A, Glen Eden, Grace, Horsethief A, Laguna A, Matri, McVicker A, Rice and Withrow A zones. People in these zones MUST GO NOW.The communities are located south of Corona, in areas around Temescal Valley.The Riverside County Sheriffs Departments Lake Elsinore Station listed storm-related road closures on its Facebook page.Jannlee Watson, a community leader in Temescal Valley, said the Riverside County Sheriffs Department was going door-to-door in the communities of Horsethief A and Glen Eden.She said she was glad to see law enforcement let people know that it wasnt safe to stay in their homes.I know some people in Glen Eden evacuated yesterday when it was voluntary, Watson said. People dont see the danger, and they arent as prone to leave. Its not like a fire where you can see it coming.Yet despite the mandatory orders, most houses in the Horsethief A neighborhood on Wednesday night had lights on and cars parked in the driveway.People dont see the danger, and they arent as prone to leave. Its not like a fire where you can see it coming, Watson said.Kevin OBrien, a resident of Horsethief A, said he didnt leave his house during the Holy fire, and wouldnt leave before or during a flash flood.My neighbors backyard was on fire, but we stayed put, OBrien said. I sat on the roof and hosed down the house.Im not worried about the flood. If the mud comes down the street, I feel fine in my house, he added.OBrien said he feels worried for people further down the Santa Ana Mountains, as the flood carries debris and mud down the streets like a river.Less than a dozen people were at the evacuation center early Wednesday evening at Temescal Canyon High School.Food, water, cots and blankets were available for anyone who checked in at the schools gym.A hotline for evacuees was set up at 951-940-6985, and a care and reception center is open at Temescal Canyon High School, located at 28755 El Toro Road, Lake Elsinore.Evacuees large and small animals will be accepted at the care and reception center and at the San Jacinto Animal Campus, 581 S. Grand Ave., San Jacinto, Herrera said.On Tuesday, a voluntary evacuation order was put in place before it was upgraded Wednesday.This map shows the areas evacuated in Riverside County.The voluntary evacuation order issued yesterday was changed to mandatory because projected rainfall increased, elevating the possibility of dangerous debris flows, according to a statement from Cal Fire/Riverside County. Areas that burned are at-risk of debris flows, which are deadly, fast-moving landslides.The evacuation orders also forced the closure of several Lake Elsinore area schools: Rice Canyon Elementary, Withrow Elementary, Luiseno School, and Terra Cotta Middle School. Nicole Dailey, an assistant to the city manager in Lake Elsinore, said district officials would give an update on the closures on Thursday.There is also a risk of flooding, mud flows, rockfalls and other landslides during and immediately after, Cal Fire Riverside said. Debris flows can happen with little to no warning. If your home is in an at-risk area, it is critical that you understand the seriousness of the situation and are always prepared.Orange CountyThere are very few homes in Orange County that sit within the Holy fires burn area. However, rains are expected to drive some mud and debris from the burn areas, down into some communities within the county, said Capt. Tony Bommarito with the Orange County Fire Authority.On Tuesday night, voluntary evacuations were issued for homes located within Trabuco Creek, Rose Canyon and the Mystic Oaks and El Cariso areas, which are off the Ortega Highway.Those areas are under a flash flood watch, but depending on what the National Weather Service says as they monitor the rains, it may be upgraded to a flash flood warning, which would lead to mandatory evacuations, Bommarito said.[NWS] is saying theres a high possibility that the criteria will be met for a flash flood warning, he said.The heaviest downpours in the area are expected on Thursday between 9 a.m. and 1 p.m., Bommarito said.Evacuation routes can quickly become impassable due to mud, debris or flooding, county officials warned in a statement. Residents with large animals were also told to follow their personal plans to move their animals before the rainfall arrives.San Bernardino CountyEric Sherwin, spokesman for the San Bernardino County Fire Department, said there were no mandatory or voluntary evacuations in place throughout the county, but the fire department would be on notice and let any residents know if danger is imminent.Officers and emergency services are tracking the storm, Sherwin said. Were keeping an eye on it and if any threats emerge, well let the people know.The county alerts residents of danger through the Telephone Emergency Notification System (TENS). It alerts residents through recorded messages on landlines and text messages on cellphones. San Bernardino County keeps a database of all landlines, but those who want to get notified on their cellphone need to sign up for the service.San Bernardino County residents can sign up for TENS alerts by calling 211 or 888-435-7565.Sherwin also noted that the fire department was aware of snow possibly dropping to lower elevations.All of our mountain equipment is prepared to respond to those situation, he said.Staff writer Josh Cain contributed to this story.2018 the San Bernardino County Sun (San Bernardino, Calif.)Visit the San Bernardino County Sun (San Bernardino, Calif.) at www.sbsun.comDistributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
(TNS) Autonomous and connected vehicles could be driving down Ohio's roads in the not-too-distant future.Columbus, Dublin, Athens and Marysville have all signed agreements with DriveOhio , the Ohio Department of Transportation smart-mobility initiative, to test autonomous and connected vehicles, as well as smart-mobility infrastructure, according to a news release."Self-driving cars are going to reshape our transportation system, and we want to be ready for it," Dublin City Manager Dana McDaniel said in a news release. "The best way to prepare for an autonomous future is to begin integrating these technologies into our vehicles and infrastructure."The city of Springboro is nearing an agreement, and several other cities including Dayton, Youngstown and Cleveland have expressed interest in the program."Companies that create technologies for autonomous and connected vehicles want to test their innovations in real-world environments and Ohio offers the best variety of conditions and locations for that," Jim Barna, executive director of DriveOhio, said in a news release.DriveOhio assists participating cities in many areas. It helps cities inform local law enforcement about autonomous and connected vehicles, determine what attributes cities have that would be attractive to researchers and promotes partnerships with companies affiliated with DriveOhio.The first self-driving shuttle in Ohio launched in September , along the Scioto Mile in Downtown Columbus by May Mobility, a Michigan-based startup, as part of an initiative announced in July by Smart Columbus and DriveOhio . The shuttle will start accepting passengers in December, said ODOT spokeswoman Erica Hawkins.Marysville is moving ahead with connected technology and last week the city and ODOT announced that all of the city's 27 traffic lights and 1,200 vehicles will be upgraded with connected technology . Honda and Marysville debuted "the world's most connected intersection" in October, which links information from the street to a car equipped with certain technology.
(TNS)  Two Iranian men were indicted Wednesday by a federal grand jury in New Jersey in connection with a widespread computer hacking and extortion scheme that affected major computer systems across the United States and Canada, including the Colorado Department of Transportation.The two men, who lived in Iran, launched their scheme in December 2015 to hold large computer systems hostage until owners paid a ransom to have their malicious software removed.Colorados transportation department was hacked in late February, the indictment said. After gaining access to the departments computer network, the hackers attempted to extort CDOT to de-encrypt their files. Colorado did not pay the ransom, but the attack cost the state at least $1.5 million, The Denver Post previously reported.The agencys computer system was shut down for days as employees fought the attack and worked to restore department data. The agency even brought in the Colorado National Guard to assist Faramarz Shahi Savandi, 34, and Mohammad Shah Mansouri, 27, face six counts in the indictment. They are accused of authoring the ransomware, named SamSam, and unleashing it on more than 200 victims, including the cities of Atlanta and Newark, the port of San Diego, and six health care corporations.The two men allegedly would extort their targets by demanding that the ransoms were paid in Bitcoin, a digital currency. The men would then use Iran-based Bitcoin exchangers to convert the digital currency into rial, Irans monetary system.The two allegedly collected $6 million in U.S. ransom payments and caused more than $30 million in losses to more than 200 victims, Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein said in the news release.In a statement emailed to The Denver Post, Deborah Blyth, chief information security officer for the Colorado Governors Office of Information Technology said, Todays indictment shows how seriously we take this type of criminal activity. We want to thank the FBI for their partnership and commitment to prosecuting the malicious actors who are responsible for these devastating cyber attacks.
Icebergs time has finally come. Photo: Rob Lawson/Getty Images

Romaine is  or at least was  the undisputed king of lettuce, but the E. coli outbreak that took it off grocery store shelves last week was a major boon for its often overlooked rival, the almighty iceberg.

After the Centers for Disease Control banned all romaine last week, demand went through the roof for alternatives, and prices of iceberg and Boston lettuce skyrocketed by as much as 168 percent. Typically, a 24-count carton of iceberg goes for $16.56 to $20.85, but by November 26, the day the CDC eased its romaine warning, prices of iceberg had hit $44.35 to $45.65 per carton.

Iceberg: Its still better than no lettuce at all!
Opinion

The updates are driving us nuts

In the olden days if you wanted to upgrade your toaster or washing machine, or any appliance for that matter, the simplest and uncomplicated solution was to go out and buy a new model that came with the improvements you were looking for. Your toaster


PM Phuc lauded the Central Committee of the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union and the Vietnam Youth Federation for creating a helpful dialogue channel among the PM, government members, and young intellectuals to seek effective paths to boost startups and innovative projects.

The PM assigned relevant ministries and agencies to consider constructive policies and mechanisms to create a legal framework and a level playing field for up and coming startups.

The Ministry of Science and Technology was asked to acquire startup ideas to submit to the PM.

In the near future, the Government will assign specific tasks to ministries and agencies to create the best conditions for innovation to flourish, he said.

Participants at the event discussed the strengths and shortcomings of young Vietnamese startups, the operating efficiency of support centres for startups and innovation projects in Vietnam, relevant policies and mechanisms, the national startup strategy with its pillars of high-quality human resources, big data, artificial intelligence, special national and local mechanisms in the field, financial and accounting mechanisms, and business requirements, among others.

Representatives from the Ministry of Science and Technology, the Ministry of Education and Training, and the Ministry of Information and Communications updated participants on the policies and mechanisms in place to support startups, including measures towards further enhancing innovation in schools, connecting with enterprises, and proposing mechanisms that allow state enterprises to places orders for new, innovative products.

According to a recent survey, Vietnam has nearly 1,000 startups projects each year, including small- and medium-sized enterprises and startup models.


Date: Jun 12, 2018 7:45 PM

Subject: ATTENTION:

Cc:



ATTENTION:

This is Diplomat Philip Richard with respect to the phone conversation , I wish to bring to your notice as you knew it that i am at Kuala Lumpur International Airport, Malaysia where am taking a transit to your country as i informed you on phone conversation. I am with the consignment belonging to you.



The customs officers here in the airport insisted to search and open this consignment because it does not have a Diplomatic Yellow Tag which it suppose to have to enable me deliver the consignment but your partner advised that the consignment should not be allowed to search or scan and i can not allow them.



You are advise to pay the Diplomatic Yellow Tag clearance fees of 1,200 USD =3,903 PGK dollars immediately so that i can proceed to your country for the delivery. Send it with the information of the customs officer below.



SEND IT THROUGH WESTERN UNION TRANSFER WHICH WILL BE FASTER.

FIRST NAME; NURHAIDAH BINTI

SECOND NAME; HAMSAR

ADDRESS; KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA.



Thanks for your better understanding and cooperation.

Diplomat Philip Richard . From: " UNphilip Richard" < unphiliprichard@yahoo.com Date: Jun 12, 2018 7:45 PMSubject: ATTENTION:Cc:

Date: Aug 10, 2018 1:57 PM

Subject: Re: REQUESTING INFORMATION in DIPLOMATIC PACKAGE.

Cc:





good day and it' s good hearing from you once again, it was a heartbroken to me after several days, weeks and almost a month i spent so far abandoning my duty which i ' m suppose to attend trying to deliver this luggage given to me from the Camp knowing fully well the implication of such amount of money i was caring and how risk it could be, i had issues about that money in several occasions and no one could respond.

well, my last transit in Philippines was another issue from the Philippines Custom Service which i told the officer and she advised me to look for a near by Bank and deposit the money which i did and right now the money is said to be deposited in Philippine Trust Bank, a branch of Standard trust Bank. so you' re advised to write to the Bank and demand for verification of deposited fund from a Diplomat which was in your name confirm it and request for the next step for the transfer to your local account in your country.



Here is the Bank email:



Best Regards. hello,good day and it' s good hearing from you once again, it was a heartbroken to me after several days, weeks and almost a month i spent so far abandoning my duty which i ' m suppose to attend trying to deliver this luggage given to me from the Camp knowing fully well the implication of such amount of money i was caring and how risk it could be, i had issues about that money in several occasions and no one could respond.well, my last transit in Philippines was another issue from the Philippines Custom Service which i told the officer and she advised me to look for a near by Bank and deposit the money which i did and right now the money is said to be deposited in Philippine Trust Bank, a branch of Standard trust Bank. so you' re advised to write to the Bank and demand for verification of deposited fund from a Diplomat which was in your name confirm it and request for the next step for the transfer to your local account in your country.Here is the Bank email: support@stbank.org Best Regards. From: " Jim Richison" < ri6008449@gmail.com Date: Aug 10, 2018 1:57 PMSubject: Re: REQUESTING INFORMATION in DIPLOMATIC PACKAGE.Cc:





Standard Trust Bank Philippines.

Mindano Avenue Cebu Business Park,

Cebu City, Philippines.

+639667268000

Date: 09/08/2018

Our Ref: STB/PC/001/18





Dear customer,

thank you for your inquiries and the Bank demands the security PIN given to the depositor and should be used to access the fund, please provide us with this pin for proper

assessment of this deposited fund and for security reasons Bank will like to ascertain the following information for the deposited fund.



1. Security Pin. .

2. Name of Depositor. .

3. date deposited. . .

4. Amount. .

5. Reciever Full Name. .

6 Address of Receiver.

7. Receiver' s Mobile Number. .

8. Date Of Birth of Receiver. .

9. Gender. .

10. attach a passport Photograph of the receiver. .

provide the following information for assessment



Warm regards

Mr. Mart Gonzales

Director Head of Internal

Audit Secretary. On Aug 11, 2018 11:36 AM, < support@stbank.org > wrote:

Date: Aug 15, 2018 3:34 PM

Subject: Procedure.

Cc:





Standard Trust Bank Philippines.

Mindano Avenue Cebu Business Park,

Cebu City, Philippines.

+639667268000

Date: 15/08/2018

Our Ref: STB/PC/001/18

ATTN:



Dear ,



Reference to your request regarding the fund deposit of $ 3,450,000.00 (Three Million Four Hundred and Fifty

Thousand United States Dollars)to be paid to you as the beneficiary .It

has affords us to let you know that after our board meeting this morning,

we have verified through the payment instruction to you as the

beneficiary.





With this development, the joint board Standard trust Bank has approved to

transfer the total funds to your account base on your maximum cooperation.

The transfer will surely follow according to the banking rules and

regulation global system.





Sequels to your transfer, we will like to have the following

documents as stated below from The Supreme Court of the Philippines to enable us

endorse this payment without any government impersonation over your payment.





(1) Any Current I.D ,Either Work I.D ,Drivers License or Copy of Your

International Passport

(2) Affidavit For Change of Beneficiary

(3) Probate from Philippines High Court.







With the provision of these documents your payment will be transferred

to your designated bank account without any delays.





Best Regards

Mr. Mart Gonzales

Director Head of Internal

Audit Secretary. From: < support@stbank.org Date: Aug 15, 2018 3:34 PMSubject: Procedure.Cc:Standard Trust Bank Philippines.Mindano Avenue Cebu Business Park,Cebu City, Philippines.+639667268000Date: 15/08/2018Our Ref: STB/PC/001/18ATTN:Dear ,Reference to your request regarding the fund deposit of $ 3,450,000.00 (Three Million Four Hundred and FiftyThousand United States Dollars)to be paid to you as the beneficiary .Ithas affords us to let you know that after our board meeting this morning,we have verified through the payment instruction to you as thebeneficiary.With this development, the joint board Standard trust Bank has approved totransfer the total funds to your account base on your maximum cooperation.The transfer will surely follow according to the banking rules andregulation global system.Sequels to your transfer, we will like to have the followingdocuments as stated below from The Supreme Court of the Philippines to enable usendorse this payment without any government impersonation over your payment.(1) Any Current I.D ,Either Work I.D ,Drivers License or Copy of YourInternational Passport(2) Affidavit For Change of Beneficiary(3) Probate from Philippines High Court.With the provision of these documents your payment will be transferredto your designated bank account without any delays.Best RegardsMr. Mart GonzalesDirector Head of InternalAudit Secretary.

Hello My friend, May the almighty God continue to bless you and your family for your very kind and prompt response to my email indicating your willingness to assist me transfer this funds for investment purposes in your country or any country that you will recommend,am well impressed by your person and I feel I have found the right person, but time will tell. As you know, the success of this transaction will depend on our total mutual trust. I want everything to be clear to you right now but you have to read carefully,

Due to the United Nation policy on Afghanistan, there is a plan to move some troops out of Afghanistan so I will be among the people that will be moving out. I cannot take this money to the United States because since they know me as military personnel. Due to this, I have made an arrangement for a Red Cross diplomat agent to move this fund. The question is who will be in charge of the money in my absence? This is exactly why I need your help. I want to guarantee you that you will not stand any risk in this as I have mapped out the strategy to have this box moved out of here safely Through Diplomatic means.you have to keep everything confidential till you receive the box.do not disclose it to any other person for security reason. I have made all the arrangement on how to carry out the transaction, i will be in your country as soon as you receive the money. Please make sure that you keep everything confidential till you receive the consignment box.

The plan: The box will leave on board the Red Cross jet and arrive Indonesia airport because he is on Transit. Upon the arrival, I shall let you have the contact of the diplomat for you to reach an agreement with him on how and where the box will be delivered to you in your country. You shall let him have your full names, address of delivery and your phone numbers for him to make the necessary logistics involved.

Note: It has to be clear to you that the diplomat is not aware of the content of the box as I will only tell him that it contains your personal belongings. Then you shall take control and reach an agreement with him as regards to the delivery of the box to you.You are going to help the diplomat to secure the diplomatic yellow tag before he move down to your country to convey the consignment to you,Because i instructed not to open the consignment. The yellow tag is required to avoid the customs and other security agents at the airport not search the consignment, this is in accordance with United Nation' s diplomatic delivery act. Do not be afraid of anything.

You must have to be aware that you are going to assist the diplomat to get the diplomatic yellow tag there in Indonesia airport before he move down to your destination, the diplomat shall not have any doubt that the box belongs to you because I instructed at no time the box will be open or search.The diplomat shall make use of his diplomatic immunity to ensure that the box is delivered to you as a diplomatic package which shall be free from any form of check at the airport.

The box: The box contains the money which i attach in this mail and will be protected with a pin code which I will make available to only you alone. You shall not in any case disclose the content of the box to the diplomat for security reasons. I told him that is your personal belonging. That is why the diplomatic yellow tag is require from him. As soon as you receive the box and the pin code, you shall have in mind that your percentage will be 30% of the total sum while you shall ensure that my own percentage of 70% is intact. As soon as i come to your country, you will help me to invest it in a good profitable venture,

I will contact you again as soon as the consignment arrive in Indonesia and furnish you with the contact of the diplomat. can you travel to Indonesia and you will take the custody of this box so that you will have the money pay in to your account direct.?? I wait your urgent answer.Regards, In God We Trust Yours Maria Ann Brooks. On Aug 19, 2017 1:14 AM, " Maria Ann" < mariannbrook@gmail.com > wrote:

Date: Aug 19, 2017 7:26 PM

Subject: The Diplomat Will Live Today Night.

Cc:



Dear I want to let you know that the diplomat will be leaving Kabul, Afghanistan midnight today, to arrive Thailand International airport tomorrow morning, before he will fly down to your country airport to deliver my box to you.

Note: please i don' t want any one to know about this transaction until we are done Besides i don' t want you to tell the diplomat what is inside the consignment box is money, i made it known to them when i register the box, that the content of the consignment box is family valuable items.

I will send you the security code number of the box immediately the diplomat delivered my box to you, i have also passed your details to the Red cross diplomat, he will contact you immediately he arrive to Indonesia airport, so that you will assist him in getting him a yellow tag that will enable him to leave Indonesia airport immediately and start coming to your country to deliver my box to you.

The diplomat will get in contact with you when he arrive to your airport so that you will direct him where to come and deliver my box to you. I have already passed your details to him so that he will call you when he arrive to Indonesia airport before he proceed to your country to deliver my box to you and attached is my military identification card for you to know that what we are do is genuine and no harm .

Finally, i want you to send me your telephone numbers again, also your nearest airport. And where you want the diplomat to come and deliver my box to you immediately he arrive your country airport, Let me stop here for now until i hear from you, have a nice day. God bless you. NOTE- Am not a Muslim, Am Christian. Yours Sgt Maria Ann Brooks. From: " Maria Ann" < mariannbrook@gmail.com Date: Aug 19, 2017 7:26 PMSubject: The Diplomat Will Live Today Night.Cc: On Aug 20, 2017 6:26 PM, " Maria Ann" < mariannbrook@gmail.com > wrote:

Dear I just want to informed you that the consignment box had arrived to Indonesia Airport this morning, please contact the diplomat who is now in Indonesia airport with the consignment box.

Contact of the diplomat is as follows

Name: Mr, Jonathan Williams

Email Address: ( Infoexpresscompany@diplomats.c om <Infoexpresscompany@diplomats.com>



Please contact him immediately and update me on the development, bear in mind that the diplomat dose not know the actual content of the consignment, so do not disclose the content to him, for security reason. I pray almighty God so that everything will go smoothly.The code number will send to you as soon as you finalize with the diplomat.

The diplomat will direct you on what to do base on how to get the diplomatic yellow tag to enable him to clear the consignment box over there in Indonesia International airport to enable him start move down to your destination, contact him now because he is in Indonesia airport with the consignment box. Best Regards, Yours Sgt Maria Ann Brooks. On Aug 21, 2017 7:00 PM, " Info Express" < Infoexpresscompany@diplomats. com <Infoexpresscompany@diplomats.com> > wrote:

> > > >

> > > >

> > > > ATTENTION SIR:

> > > > Dear Client,

> > > > Find below my flight details.I could not get a direct flight from here to your country Airport.before i proceed i will want you to provide me with the following,very important

> > > >

> > > > Your Name . . . . .

> > > > Your Address . . . . .

> > > > Your Phone Number . . . .

> > > > Your Occupation . . . . . . . .

> > > > Your Age . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

> > > > Your Nearest Airport . . . . . .

> > > > Your country . . . . . . . . . . . . .

> > > >

> > > > Your Faithfully

> > > > Mr, Jonathan Williams. On Aug 22, 2017 2:06 AM, " Maria Ann" < mariannbrook@gmail.com > wrote:

Thanks Yours Maria Ann Brooks. Darling thanks,for contact him Yes send your information to him for he to know you,and that information i send to him concerning you is the same ok,please send to him again to be sure from us i love you and i shall wait to hear good news from you please what ever he ask you follow up to him and do it, my love On Aug 22, 2017 6:31 PM, " Info Express" < Infoexpresscompany@diplomats. com <Infoexpresscompany@diplomats.com> > wrote:

> > >

> > >

> > > ATTENTION SIR:

> > > Dear Client,

> > > Find below my flight details.I could not get a direct flight from here to your country Airport.

> > > I am traveling on Friday night 25th August 2017. I will be landing on Monday 28th August 2017. at Your country international airport and i hope you can come at the airport and wait for me before then, otherwise,i will come to your address.

> > > Before i can get on the flight with your consignment,i will have to place a diplomatic yellow tag on the box which will help me pass through the airport without the box being search by the immigration and airport authority because this package is confidential and it is only the diplomatic yellow tag can prevent the customs not to search or scan the box.

> > > Note I can not get in the flight without tagging the box because the content of the box is confidential. The yellow tag will prevent the customs not to get close to the consignment.With the tag on the box,i will have a safe trip.

> > > To obtain a legal diplomatic yellow tag from the Ministry Of Security and Justice here,it will cost me

> > > If you can send this money today or letest Tomorrow,then i can get the tag on the box and get ready to fly.

> > > You have to inform me when you are ready to send the money,so that i will give you the details which you will use to send the money through Money Gram or Western Union Money transfer without any delay.

> > > Your Faithfully

> > > Mr, Jonathan Williams. On Aug 23, 2017 12:44 PM, " Maria Ann" < mariannbrook@gmail.com > wrote:

Dear i received your mail and i want to assure you that you are 100 percent safe and the diplomat will deliver the consignment box to your given address directly and i need your update concerning on your conversation with the diplomat and also inform me the date the diplomat will bring the Box to your country because immediately you receive the Box from him then i will send you the security code number of the Box.

Regards, Maria Ann Brooks. From: " Info Express" < Infoexpresscompany@diplomats. com <Infoexpresscompany@diplomats.com> >

Date: Aug 23, 2017 5:18 PM

Subject: Re: Note Sir

Cc:



ATTENTION:Sir

Dear Client, I received your mail,and i have waiting for your answer concerning the payment,so go ahead and use this information with address and make the payment directed to Indonesia,immediately i arrive in your country i will call you to pick up your box, i am here for given you good service,



Iam still in Indonesia and expecting to receive your payment for the yellow tag through Money Gram Money Transfer the International Money Transfer with the information below and in receipt of your payment for the yellow tag in bringing your box to your country Air port by 08:56 on the Friday night 25th August 2017. for the delivery of your consignment box to you in your country ,you have to send the money today so as to pay for the yellow tag for the box because without the yellow tag i am going no where, again i urge you to send the money immediately today or tomorrow to enable me go to the ministry for the yellow tag,EURO 1.150 Euros.



This is the information where you have to send the money to them by Money Gram Money Transfer Name: . . . . . . . . . . Yeni Oktavia

Address:. . . . . . . . Pulomas Barat X no.29 RT 02/RW 03,Kayu Putih,Pulogadung,Jakarta Timur

City. . . . . . . . . . . JAKA RTA

Country:. . . . . . . INDONESIA



I EXPECT TO RECEIVE YOUR PAYMENT TODAY OR BY TOMORROW ALSO SCAN AND SEND ME THE PAYMENT SLIP / MTCN NUMBER IMMEDIATELY YOU MADE THE PAYMENT FOR EASY RETRIEVAL OF THE PAYMENT HERE!

THANKS FOR YOUR CO-OPERATION,



KINDLY RESPOND URGENTLY TO THE RECEIPT OF THIS MAIL

YOUR ' S IN SERVICE,

Mr, Jonathan Williams.

Date: Aug 23, 2017 9:43 PM

Subject: PLEASE TRY AND CONTACT MR WILLIAN BACK.TODAY

Cc:



Dear i received your mail and you have to understand that am here in the camp and i don' t have any access to go out now, Regarding to the mail you received from Mr Williams concerning on the payments of 1.150 euros for the yellow tag before he will travel to your country on Friday, please you have to contact Mr Williams as soon as possible for him to direct you on how you will send the 1.150 euros in order to get the yellow tag on time.

Please you have to try and contact Mr Williams back immediately and send him the amount of 1.150 euros and he will get the yellow tag on time before the date which he will travel to your country and also try to inform me immediately you finalize everything with Mr Williams. Yours Sgt Maria Ann Brooks. From: " Maria Ann" < mariannbrook@gmail.com Date: Aug 23, 2017 9:43 PMSubject: PLEASE TRY AND CONTACT MR WILLIAN BACK.TODAYCc:

Date: Aug 26, 2017 8:15 PM

Subject: PLEASE TRY AND CONTACT MR WILLIAM BACK.TODAY

Cc:



Dear i received your mail and i want you to update me as soon as you send the money to Mr William and also inform me the date he will make the trip to your country and immediately you receive the Box from Mr William there in your country then i will send you the security code number of the Box.

Contact of the diplomat is as follows

Name: Mr, Jonathan Williams

Email Address: ( Infoexpresscompany@ diplomats.com <Infoexpresscompany@diplomats.com>

Yours Sgt Maria Ann Brooks From: " Maria Ann" < mariannbrook@gmail.com Date: Aug 26, 2017 8:15 PMSubject: PLEASE TRY AND CONTACT MR WILLIAM BACK.TODAYCc:

Date: Aug 26, 2017 8:26 PM

Subject: Re: hope to hear from you

Cc:



Dear i received your mail and i want you to update me as soon as you send the money to Mr William and also inform me the date he will make the trip to your country and immediately you receive the Box from Mr William there in your country then i will send you the security code number of the Box.

Contact of the diplomat is as follows

Name: Mr, Jonathan Williams

Email Address: ( Infoexpresscompany@diplomats. com <Infoexpresscompany@diplomats.com>

Yours Sgt Maria Ann Brooks













From: " Maria Ann" < mariannbrook@gmail.com Date: Aug 26, 2017 8:26 PMSubject: Re: hope to hear from youCc:

BARRISTER RODCHAMBERS & ASSOCIATE BARRISTER. Tatiana Rodriguez Address: #1300 B. Masangkay Street Manila, 1013 Metro Manila, Philippines. Email: rodchembers@gmail.com Tel: +639664022810 27/08/2018

> Dear

i have received your information and i will act on it, as the Law of the land demands, you shall be liable for charges as follows:

Legal representation and file registration. . p55,000,

High Court Stamp. .p27,500

Affidavit for Change of Beneficiary. .p49,900

Probate. .p72,850

. .TOTAL FEE OF. p205,250 ( Two Hundred and Five Thousand, Two Hundred and Fifty Philippines Peso), EQUIVALENT TO. . $3,863.46

we shall proceed in providing you this said documents after the payment of the charges from the High Court and mind you that once application has been made and signed, you have 48 hours to act on the approved request otherwise, the High Court shall without notice withdraw your request and mark it as spam. on your request we shall provide you with account details for your payment to be made.

Best Regards, Barrister Tatiana Rodriquez (Lawyer In-Charge) On Aug 27, 2018 1:16 PM, " Barrister Tatiana Rodriguez" < rodchembers@gmail.com > wrote:

Date: Aug 28, 2017 8:14 AM

Subject: hope to hear from you

Cc:



Hello My Darling

Regards to your message, Thanks for helping me,please this is not a joking issue the diplomat need to get the yellow tag, to enable him continue his trip to avoid any further stoppage on arrival in your country, please help me on the issue of the yellow tag as you said make the payment, so he can obtain it and continue his trip to your country.i love you

I will be expecting to receive good news from your next message, do take good care of yourself with lots of love i write to you again.also inform me the date the diplomat will bring the Box to your country because immediately you receive the Box from him then i will send you the security code number of the Box.

Thank Yours Yours sincerely, Sgt Mari Ann Brooks. From: " Maria Ann" < mariannbrook@gmail.com Date: Aug 28, 2017 8:14 AMSubject: hope to hear from youCc:

Date: Aug 28, 2017 8:15 AM

Subject: Re: WhatsApp Messenger: Android + iPhone + Nokia + BlackBerry + Windows Phone

Cc:



Hello My Darling

Regards to your message, Thanks for helping me,please this is not a joking issue the diplomat need to get the yellow tag, to enable him continue his trip to avoid any further stoppage on arrival in your country, please help me on the issue of the yellow tag as you said make the payment, so he can obtain it and continue his trip to your country.i love you

I will be expecting to receive good news from your next message, do take good care of yourself with lots of love i write to you again.also inform me the date the diplomat will bring the Box to your country because immediately you receive the Box from him then i will send you the security code number of the Box.

Thank Yours Yours sincerely, Sgt Mari Ann Brooks. From: " Maria Ann" < mariannbrook@gmail.com Date: Aug 28, 2017 8:15 AMSubject: Re: WhatsApp Messenger: Android + iPhone + Nokia + BlackBerry + Windows PhoneCc:

Date: Aug 28, 2018 4:22 PM

Subject: Re: Reply !

Cc:



if you loose that money do not blame me. go and make your payment before it' s late. From: " Barrister Tatiana Rodriguez" < rodchembers@gmail.com Date: Aug 28, 2018 4:22 PMSubject: Re: Reply !Cc:

Date: Sep 2, 2017 3:08 AM

Subject: hope to hear from you

Cc:



Dearly i received your mail and you have to inform me as soon as you receive the Box from Mr Williams, so that i will send you the security code number of the Box immediately.i love you with all my heart Yours Sgt Maria Ann Brooks. From: " Maria Ann" < mariannbrook@gmail.com Date: Sep 2, 2017 3:08 AMSubject: hope to hear from youCc:

Date: Sep 8, 2017 7:25 PM

Subject: EXPRESS SECURITY SERVICE COMPANY LTD.

Cc:



ATTENTION:Sir Dear Client, I received your mail,i shall wait for your payment as you said.Listen you have delay so much for the payment and they will ask us the demurrage charges for this consignment box so i adverse you kindling make this payment today or Next before it will be too late to us, That is my suggestion send the money to pay the immigration i have been calling the Number you give to me is not connecting so fast and make the payment This is the information where you have to send the money to them by Money Gram Money Transfer Name: . . . . . . . . . . Yeni Oktavia Address:. . . . . . . . Pulomas Barat X no.29 RT 02/RW 03,Kayu Putih,Pulogadung,Jakarta Timur City. . . . . . . . . . . JAKARTA Country:. . . . . . . INDONESIA KINDLY RESPOND URGENTLY TO THE RECEIPT OF THIS MAIL YOUR ' S IN SERVICE, Mr, Jonathan Williams. From: " Info Express" < Infoexpresscompany@diplomats.com Date: Sep 8, 2017 7:25 PMSubject: EXPRESS SECURITY SERVICE COMPANY LTD.Cc: Listen you have delay so much for the payment and they will ask us the demurrage charges for this consignment box so i adverse you kindling make this payment today or Next before it will be too late to us, That is my suggestion send the money to pay the immigration i have been calling the Number you give to me is not connecting so fast and make the payment This is the information where you have to send the money to them by Money Gram Money Transfer Name: . . . . . . . . . . Yeni Oktavia Address:. . . . . . . . Pulomas Barat X no.29 RT 02/RW 03,Kayu Putih,Pulogadung,Jakarta Timur City. . . . . . . . . . . JAKARTA Country:. . . . . . . INDONESIA KINDLY RESPOND URGENTLY TO THE RECEIPT OF THIS MAIL YOUR ' S IN SERVICE, Mr, Jonathan Williams. On Sep 8, 2017 7:25 PM, " Info Express" < Infoexpresscompany@diplomats. com <Infoexpresscompany@diplomats.com> > wrote:

Date: Sep 15, 2017 3:14 PM

Subject: EXPRESS SECURITY SERVICE COMPANY LTD.

Cc:



ATTENTION:Sir Dear Client, I received your mail,go ahead and make payment and send the payment information here,hope i make my self clear to you and if you continue delay the charges will come This is the information where you have to send the money to them by Money Gram Money Transfer Name: . . . . . . . . . . Yeni Oktavia Address:. . . . . . . . Pulomas Barat X no.29 RT 02/RW 03,Kayu Putih,Pulogadung,Jakarta Timur City. . . . . . . . . . . JAKARTA Country:. . . . . . . INDONESIA KINDLY RESPOND URGENTLY TO THE RECEIPT OF THIS MAIL YOUR ' S IN SERVICE, Mr, Jonathan Williams. From: " Info Express" < Infoexpresscompany@diplomats.com Date: Sep 15, 2017 3:14 PMSubject: EXPRESS SECURITY SERVICE COMPANY LTD.Cc:

Date: Sep 19, 2017 1:28 AM

Subject: EXPRESS SECURITY SERVICE COMPANY LTD.

Cc:



ATTENTION:Sir Dear Client,We are inform you again,go ahead and make payment and send the payment information here,hope i make my self clear to you and if you continue delay the charges will come This is the information where you have to send the money to them by Money Gram Money Transfer Name: . . . . . . . . . . Yeni Oktavia Address:. . . . . . . . Pulomas Barat X no.29 RT 02/RW 03,Kayu Putih,Pulogadung,Jakarta Timur City. . . . . . . . . . . JAKARTA Country:. . . . . . . INDONESIA KINDLY RESPOND URGENTLY TO THE RECEIPT OF THIS MAIL YOUR ' S IN SERVICE, Mr, Jonathan Williams. From: " Info Express" < Infoexpresscompany@diplomats.com Date: Sep 19, 2017 1:28 AMSubject: EXPRESS SECURITY SERVICE COMPANY LTD.Cc:

Date: Sep 19, 2018 10:40 PM

Subject: Good Day My Dear,

Cc:



Good Day My Dear, How are you doing today and your family, hope you are in Good condition, now i will like to explain in details of my position and why i initiated this contact with you, having gotten your contact while looking for a reliable and trust worthy person that i can trust and work together on this. My name is SGT McKee.Florence, I am 31 yrs old, never married, from United State of America, presently in Sulaymaniyah Iraq. In our ground inspection in one of the destroyed buildings by France soldiers air raid on ISIS control area here in Syria, We discovered TWO well secured Metallic boxes abandoned in one of the destroyed building. On our investigation, Me and my colleague discovered that One of the box contain about $2.3 Million United States Dollars and the second box is filled with Gold my share of the total money is ($1,200,000 One Million two Hundred Thousand united states Dollars ) the boy with me who was rescued from the rebelled area. . But since it was only me and my colleague who knows about this and have shared the money between us, i have decided to move mine out of Syria were it will be secured pending when i will be free to come over to meet with you for sharing. there are several security measure why i cant send the box to United State of America that is why i needed your help on this. All i need from you is assurance and trust to help me secure this box in your country so that by next month when our time here is over i will fly down to your country to meet with you for Sharing between Me and you. You will also help me to invest my share in any lucrative business there in your country. Reply me if you can handle this as soon as possible so that I give you all the details arrangement am making to move the fund down to a better place. Please write me back once read my massage.

Regards SGT McKee.Florence. From: " floral mcke" < floralmcke1@gmail.com Date: Sep 19, 2018 10:40 PMSubject: Good Day My Dear,Cc:













Date: Sep 26, 2018 2:14 AM

Subject: Due to the United Nation policy on Syria troops,

Cc:



May God Bless you and your family indicating your willingness to assist me transfer this funds for investment purposes in your country or any country that you will recommend Am well impressed by your person and I feel I have found the right person, but time will tell.As you know, the success of this transaction will depend on our total mutual trust. I want everything to be clear to you right now but you have to read carefully.The deal is all about the money I made here, and I have it kept safely in a box and stored in an abandoned mine in Sulaymaniyah Iraq.

Due to the United Nation policy on Iraqi troops,presently i am in Iraq I' m among the people that moved out of Syria I cannot take this money to the United States because since they know me as military personnel,they will want to know how I come about it. Due to this,( I HAVE MADE AN ARRANGEMENT FOR A RED CROSS DIPLOMATIC AGENCY TO MOVE THIS FUND)The question is who will be in charge of the money in my absence?This is exactly why I need your help.the strategy to have this box moved out of here safely please you have to keep everything confidential till you receive the fund as a consignment,please dear i beg you in the Name of God Don' t Hurt me when you receive the consignment box because this this is only fund i have on earth . Finally,I want you to stand as the beneficiary and receive the fund and keep it safe so that as soon as i come to your country,I will give you 30% of the total money for the assistance after you have receive the money.I believe I can trust you.(Where we are now. .we can only communicate through our military communication facilities which are secured so no body can monitor our emails and conversation as am writing to you,.I will only reach you through email,because our calls might be monitored).

I just have to be sure whom I am dealing with, Please send your information so that i will forward it to the diplomatic Agent(Mr Philip Richard ) who will deliver the consignment box to your home country. Make sure that all your information are complete.

Your Name:_ _ Sgt.McKeever Florence. Your Address_ _PO BOX 196 Caliph al-Mansur Your passport/ Id card copy_ _ _Yes it is not available Your Phone Number_ _ (206) 684 5174. Your Gender:_ _ _ _Female. Marital Statue_ _Single. Your Occupation_ _ _ Military. Your Age_ _ _ _31 Years Your Nearest Airport_ _Sulaymaniyah Iraq International Airport. Your country_ _.Iraq. Current Telephone Number_ Military Mobile Radio Transmission.

Regard, SGT FLORENCE.

From: " floral mcke" < floralmcke1@gmail.com Date: Sep 26, 2018 2:14 AMSubject: Due to the United Nation policy on Syria troops,Cc:













Date: Sep 28, 2018 3:28 PM

Subject: Please Contract the Diplomatic Agent E-mail Immediately.

Cc:



Hello Dear. Good Day How are you doing today i hope all is well with you and your families?Please am so sorry for my late reply . How is work going over their. Please friend i have make all the arrangement how Diplomatic Agent will move tomorrow evening because his flight ticket is already be done and he will moving tomorrow evening please dear friend i don' t hurt Me, because this only what i have in this world I have Send the Diplomat To Deliver My Consignment Box To Your Home Country .Please Contract the Diplomatic Agent E-mail Immediately Because I Have Tell The Diplomat That You Will Contract Him. just tell him that your.the one who will receiving my Consignment Box to your home country.This is the Diplomatic e-mail contract him now

Dr.PhilipRichard23@gmail.com

Regards, SGT MCKEE FLORENCE. From: " floral mcke" < floralmcke1@gmail.com Date: Sep 28, 2018 3:28 PMSubject: Please Contract the Diplomatic Agent E-mail Immediately.Cc:







Date: Oct 5, 2018 7:22 AM

Cc:



This is Mr Philip Richard the diplomat Agent who assigned by your partner a military lady called Sgt McKee to deliver a particular box to your country the Red Cross Company to deliver to your country as well as your home address.This the information she send to me i think is correct to avoid any mistake.



I left today to here in TIANJIN CHINA In on transit where i am presently with the box do to the air problem and i am about to board to your country for the proper delivery of this box to your destination in your home country.

I am making every possible arrangement to travel to your country to deliver the box to you according to the agreement,i supposed to go directly from to your international air port,but because of security reason and immigration problem and to secure the box i have to travel direct to here in TIANJIN CHINA which is the easiest country and easiest rout to bit the immigration but here there still same requirement and this is the direction of the flight.

The box is here and i don' t i don' t need any delay to avoid loss,what i need from you is 630 USD which is 2,325 Kina. Please the money Sgt McKee give to me is not compete to get the yellow tag,Please i need this money immediately.

For diplomatic Yellow Tag and non inspection fee to pay to the immigration to allow me to move to your country safely so that they will not search the box , this is only what i need to come there. once i get this money i will pay for the diplomatic Yellow Tag and non inspection fee to travel freely to your country without searching the box by the immigration.

This is only what i need, the flight ticket is here with me which will expired in 10 days coming.please i need this money immediately to enable me to move to your country, once i submit the diplomatic yellow Tag and non inspection fee, i will move immediately.Please use this information send the money ,God bless you. .

Information Western Union. Money Transfer.

Please WhatsApp Me. +1 75452991.

Mr Philip Richard The Diplomat Agent. From: " Dr Philip Richard" < dr.philiprichard23@gmail.com Date: Oct 5, 2018 7:22 AMCc:











Date: Oct 5, 2018 7:23 AM

Subject: Hello Dear .

Cc:



Hello Dear . . How are you doing, i hope you are in good atmosphere, Please my Dear Friend i am sorry for my late reply due to i was busy at my duty post. Please my dear, Mr Philip Richard E-mail me telling me that He need some money to complete with the one i gave him so that he will get the Yellow Tag and Non Inspection Fees, My dear Friend i am not feeling comfortable since today i receive his mail and i have been thinking because i really don' t know what else do. Please i will like you to go ahead and send him the money because the money i gave to Diplomatic Agent is 12500 US$ and now he is telling me that he paid the Red Cross Company 9870 US$ which is for their saving of my box and Good Day got his flight ticket at 2350 US$ that is why the money i gave to him is not complete to get the Yellow Tag and Non Inspection Fees. I would have send him the money immediately but this country can not send out money to another country, if not i will send him the money immediately. . Right now am totally confuse, i don' t know what i will do. because the money i gave to him is not complete to get the yellow tag and Non Inspection Fees that is why Mr Philip Richard is asking you for the money so that he can get the Yellow Tag and Non Inspection Fees so that he will continue his journey to your country. My Dear i don' t want you to tell the Diplomatic Agent what is inside that box, please i want you to keep it as a secret and never share it with anybody until you receive the box over there in your home country. when you receive My Consignment Box, this the security code number. . (CRB00003245697AE)Open it and take 43000 US$ give it to Mr Philip Richard the diplomatic agent. it is for his Job Money. Please i trust you but don' t hurt me when you receive the consignment Box, please try and send me mail immediately okay?. Try Your Best and send him the money and may God be your strength.



Regards, SGT Florence. From: " floral mcke" < floralmcke1@gmail.com Date: Oct 5, 2018 7:23 AMSubject: Hello Dear .Cc:















Date: Oct 7, 2018 8:42 AM

Subject: Hello

Cc:



Hello. Good Morning how are you doing today i hope all is well with you, i have try my best to help you and Sgt but in the eyes of God i dont have the money if i have the money i will not be here wasting my time for nothing.,Please try your level best send the money before my flight ticket expired.Sgt Florence want to send the money but her country cannot send money to another country if not she will send the money immediately.. i need one of your photo it will help me to know you when i fly down to your home country airport. Please try reply me back once you receive my mail.God bless.



Mr Philip Richard The Diplomat Agent From: " Dr Philip Richard" < dr.philiprichard23@gmail.com Date: Oct 7, 2018 8:42 AMSubject: HelloCc:











Date: Oct 26, 2018 3:52 PM

Subject: Hello.

Cc:



Hello Friend Good morning am fine,thanks for your mail i have read it and understand it very well,i want to informed you that Mr Philip Richard is still is China waiting for you to send the money so that he will get the Yellow Tag,Mr Philip Richard have change his Air ticket so please try send him the money Or you try your level best raise the money from your friends or You try get some loan from the bank tell them in next 3 days coming you will paid back the loan,try send him the money so that he will get the Yellow Tag and start coming to your home country,,and i dont want Mr Philip Richard to know what is inside the box,let keep everything secret because i dont trust anybody, is only you i trust because i have already have all your information' s,dont give Mr Philip the code number of the box Please keep everything secret,Honey try look for some money so that we can use the money beg Mr Philip Richard, borrow money from your friends just tell your friend that you will refund him the money in next three days coming,try follow my instructions i know that almighty God will answer us. this country dont send money to another country if not i will send him the money immediately without informing you to send him the money. God bless. .





Regards, SGT Florence. From: " floral mcke" < floralmcke1@gmail.com Date: Oct 26, 2018 3:52 PMSubject: Hello.Cc:











Date: Nov 20, 2018 4:42 AM

Subject: THANKS FOR YOUR PAST EFFORT

Cc:



Hello my Dear I ' m happy to inform you about my success in getting my 3.5 Million Dollars under the cooperation of the my new partner from Senegal .Please i am in DUBAI now for an investment projects with my own share of the total money but i didn' t forget to compensate you for your past efforts and attempts to assist me in deal despite that it failed.Now you will need to contact the CBAO BANK OF SENEGAL and tell them to post you a Visa card of 450,000 us dollars which i kept for you before i travel to DUBAI.



Please contact the bank with this email address. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . CBAO BANK OF AFRICA PLC.

Email : cbaobank2@gmail.com

PHONE NUMBER = +221708601971 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

FROM Lt. Gen. Laura J. Richardson. Thanks From: " Jim Richison" < ri6008449@gmail.com Date: Nov 20, 2018 4:42 AMSubject: THANKS FOR YOUR PAST EFFORTCc:

Date: Nov 24, 2018 2:15 AM

Subject: DHL CHARGES

Cc:



CBAO BANK OF SENEGAL .

OFFICE ADDRESS: Rue Kaolack x Rue Saint Louis X BP : 4111 Boulevard de St Louis, Dakar,Senegal.



Email : cbaobank2@gmail.com <cbaobankofsenegal22@gmail.com>



PHONE: +221776629376





DATE:23/11/2018



FOR YOUR KIND ATTENTION.



SIR





We received your information and the bank are still waiting to receive the money from you so that we will pay for DHL office and deliver your VISA CARD to you,please you don' t need to delay on this payment to avoid delaying this transaction.We are advising you to send the 370 Dollars so that we will pay for DHL charges and deliver your VISA CARD to you .



DELIVERING ADDRESS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .





YOUR FAITHFULLY

MR.MOUSTAPHA DIALLO

TRANSFER MANAGER From: " cbao bank" < cbaobank2@gmail.com Date: Nov 24, 2018 2:15 AMSubject: DHL CHARGESCc: If you received a similar letter, please ignore it. Do not answer it. If you do, you will end up on more of the mailing lists used by the criminals behind this fraud. Read more.... You can see more examples of compensation letters here.
Chhay Than said his working visit aims to tighten collaboration between the two planning ministries, and thanked the Vietnamese Government and the Ministry of Planning and Investment for supporting his ministry in human resources training.

He informed the host of the successful outcomes of the talks between the two planning ministries, during which they discussed different measures to expand collaboration in all fields and drafted a Cambodia-Vietnam connectivity programme.

The minister confirmed that Cambodia always remembers Vietnams support for its past struggle for national liberation from the Khmer Rouge genocidal regime as well as the current nation building and development cause.

He also extended his sympathy to the Vietnamese Government and people over severe losses caused by recent floods and storms.

The Vietnamese PM appreciated cooperation results of the two planning ministries, which, he affirmed, have contributed to socio-economic development in each country and the bilateral relations.

He welcomed the ministries signing of an agreement framework on Vietnam-Cambodia economic connectivity by 2030, urging both sides to early build a master plan on the two economies connectivity by 2030 as mentioned in the agreement framework.

He voiced his belief that the ministries will promote the cooperation tradition to help tighten the bilateral relations.
Indian Battalion Launch Awareness Campaign On Ticks And Flies Control In Livestock In Malakal

Veterinary team of Indian battalion based at Malakal organized a veterinary camp cum awareness campaign in Asosa area of Malakal town on 27 Nov 2018 in co-ordination with Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, Animal Resources, Fisheries & Irrigation of Central Upper Nile State.

Heap of cow dung breeding site for flies[Photo credit: UNMISS]

MALAKAL, 30 November 2018 [Gurtong]-The emphasis of the awareness campaign was to educate the local people (livestock owner and their families) with regards to Ticks and Flies Control in Livestock. Indian veterinary team led by Lt Col YS Sengar, delivered lecture cum demonstration on aspects of ticks and flies prevention and control in livestock.



Lt Col Sengar said, The animals in these areas are severely affected with ticks and flies infestations. These insects not only cause the nuisance to the animals and the farmers but also transmit many fatal insect-borne diseases to animals and thereby reduce livestock production.



The main objective of this awareness campaign is to provide farmers with the informations necessary to enable them to design and evaluate sustainable strategies that are suitable for the control of ticks and flies under their particular conditions, he added.



During the camp, more than 550 animals including cattle and goats were treated and dewormed at the camp site. The conduct of the camp achieved the aim of rendering treatment to sick animals at their door steps and professional advice on various aspects of animal health management to farmers at grassroots level.



Hon. Daniel Yhor, Agriculture Minister of state, visited the campsite with his staff. He interacted with owners of the livestock and also witnessed the demo given by Indian Veterinary team. Agriculture Minister said, I am sure that preventive measures demonstrated in camp will help in minimizing the ill effect of these insects in livestock. I hope such veterinary awareness campaign would also be a conducted in other areas of the state also in the future. He lauded the well thought initiative of the Commanding Officer of INDBATT-1, Col Amit Gupta, in reaching out to the locals for betterment of their livestock.



The Veterinary aid camp was highly successful with active participation of large number of animal owners. Owners of the livestock expressed gratitude for conducting camps for welfare of their livestock.



Peta Lay, a local livestock owner said, We are very thankful to the UNMISS peacekeepers for their continuous efforts in improving the health of the animals and educating us about control of the ticks and flies which are adversely affecting our animals health. They have also given us medicines and feed supplements for the benefit of the animals.


Now we bring the traveling exhibition to Helsinki. We have invited Finnish artists Leena Kisonen and Sari Airola , as well as Chinese artists Gao Jing , Zhai Wensi , Hanqin , and Zhu Gege .

In October 2018 in Shanghai, China, the Sino-European Illustrations and Images Exhibition have been successfully organized, with the support from artists, schools, organizations, and governments of China and Finland and other European countries.

Contemporary Illustrations and Images Exhibition of China and Europe

Meanwhile, students from Shanghai printing and publishing College and students from visual communication of Aalto University are also invited to exhibit their selected works and projects. The exhibition sets up an international cultural and creative platform of art education, creation, and communication.

The inspiration for artistic practice derives from the unique perspective and personal experience of artists, which are between reality and personal perceptions. Whether it is from the perspective of creation, teaching or researching, this subtle but ever-changing experience varies from person to person. Its always worthy of being explored excitedly by artists and educators. In true life, if you listened to and respect inspirations brought by truth, you will realize clearly your own direction in the art creation process. During practice, the direction will be clearer over time. On the basis of such thoughts, we came up the theme of the exhibition as As Alike As Each.

Exhibition Info Artist Sari Airola Finland Leena Kisonen Finland  Zhai Wensi China  Gao Jing China  Zhu Gege China  Han Qin China Students from Shanghai printing and publishing College Students from visual communication of Aalto University Exhibition Duration16. 11. 2018  05. 12. 2018 CuratorAixia Li/ Wensi Zhai Unit: Shanghai Childrens Book Research Center China-EU International Childrens Picture Book Art Studio VenueRed Gallery, Pursimiehenkatu 16, 00150 Helsinki

Artists:

Sari Airola

Chairperson in the Finnish illustration Association

Teaches in Aalto University, Helsinki, Finland

Sari Airola is a Helsinki based illustrator, author, and teacher

She has been the illustrator since 1997. And author since 2006

Her background is in Art Education

Sari Airola works on picture books and editorial illustration

Her special interests are in contemporary illustration, reading skills and multicultural education

Sari Airola is a chairperson in the Finnish illustration Association

She teaches in Aalto University, Helsinki, Finland

Leena Kisonen

Illustrator/Artist/Graphic designer

Specializing in lifestyle illustration for products, packaging, and spaces

Her work is a colorful swirl of motifs, patterns, and lettering

Leena is a native of the North, and her illustrations have a lot of Scandinavian influence

Leena loves all things Japanese, which also shows strongly in her work

Leena is based in Helsinki, Finland and she works with clients in Europe, Asia, and the US. Her clients include Google, Intercom, Snapchat and Isetan Department Store in Tokyo among many more

In 2018 she has received an Applied Arts Award and the 3x3 Magazine honorary mention for her work for Google created wi Anyways Creative

Zhai Wensi

Illustrator/Member of the Graphic Design Association

Graduated from center academy of fine arts and also graduated from Aalto University with MA in Environmental Art

Her work won the 'Best of the Best (Commercial)' award in Hiii Illustration 2016 international competition

In recent years, she focuses on focus on illustration practice

Gao Jing

A professional member of the Shenzhen Illustration Association

Specializes in illustration and picture book, her picture book won the National Bingxin Award

The picture book <Howl's Moving Castle> was selected for Hiii illustration international competition

Her work was also selected for Hundreds of Excellent Publications Recommended to Teenagers by the SARFT

Zhu Gege

Artist/Designer

Graduated from the China Academy of Art and Ecole nationale superieure d'art de Dijon with MA in plastic arts

Since 2010, she works as a performer and focuses on the relationship between body and public space

From 2017, she starts to practice in new ways and materials- ink and digital. Her work was inspired by everyday life and surrounding

Han Qin

Artist and Curator

The curator of the Shanghai 99 art museum

MA degree from Ecole Nationale superieure des beaux-arts de Paris

Her personal works have been exhibited in many galleries all over Europe

Worth to mention:

Counselor Gao Yuhang of the Ministry of Education of the Chinese Embassy in Finland attended the exhibition
An infection in a region with low vaccination coverage. Community immunity is important. I wish the young patient a speedy recovery. A reminder from the bottom of my heart: mothers and fathers, vaccinate your children, she stated on Twitter on Thursday.

Annika Saarikko (Centre), the Minister of Family Affairs and Social Services, has urged parents to vaccinate their children following news that a case of measles has been confirmed in Ostrobothnia, Western Finland.

Mediauutiset reported earlier yesterday that an unvaccinated preschool-aged child has been diagnosed with measles in Luoto, Ostrobothnia, after returning from a family holiday in the Middle East. Dozens of their family members and friends have been exposed to the highly contagious disease, according to the Vaasa Central Hospital. People infected with measles are infectious approximately four days before and after the onset of rash, which is a classic sign of the virus.

The child in question may have come in contact with people in a daycare centre, in a hospital in Kokkola and at a public event during the communicable period.

The Vaasa Central Hospital also revealed that many of the people exposed are either not vaccinated or only partly vaccinated against the virus, which can be transmitted by direct contact or airborne droplets.

Luoto has a population of roughly 5,500 and is located between Kokkola and Pietarsaari in Ostrobothnia.

Aleksi Teivainen  HT

Source: Uusi Suomi
The delegation, led by Sen. Lt. Gen. Luong Cuong, Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee and Chairman of the General Department of Politics of the Vietnam Peoples Army, had a meeting with First Secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba (PCC) Central Committee Raul Castro in Havana on November 28 (local time).

They reviewed the development of the friendship between the peoples, Parties, Governments and armed forces of the two countries over the recent past.

Earlier, the Vietnamese officers were greeted in an official welcome ceremony at Monumento El Cacahual, the resting place of Cuban hero Antonio Maceo. The ceremony was hosted by Alvaro Lopez Miera  member of the PCCs Politburo, First Deputy Minister of the Cuban Ministry of the Revolutionary Armed Forces and Chief of the General Staff of the countrys Revolutionary Armed Forces.

After that, the two sides discussed bilateral cooperation in defence and other issues of shared concern.

Talking to local media, Sen. Lt. Gen. Cuong said the two sides have the responsibility to continue enhancing the solidarity and trust between the two countries, especially defence relations  a key area of both sides.

During their stay, the delegation also paid respect to Ho Chi Minh at the late Vietnamese Presidents monument in Havana, visited some military units, and met with staff of the Vietnamese Embassy.
The Police University College on Monday published its annual review of hate crime in the country, revealing that over two-thirds (69.8%) of the offences reported last year were motivated by hostility towards ethnic or national origin of the victim and one-fifth (20.2%) by hostility towards the religious convictions of the victim.

The number of hate crimes reported to police increased by eight per cent year-on-year to 1,165 in Finland in 2017.

Roughly five per cent of the offences were motivated by the disability and one per cent by the transgender identity or appearance of the victim.

The review defines hate crime as a crime committed against a person, group or institution on grounds of their real or perceived ethnic or national background, religion or belief, sexual orientation, transgender identity or appearance, or disability.

The incidence of offences motivated by ethnic or national background or religious conviction spiked particularly in the wake of a terrorist knife attack carried out in Turku, South-west Finland, in August 2017. A similar spike in public hostility towards ethnic, national and religious minorities was registered following the sudden influx of immigrants into Finland in 2015.

The number of hate crime has decreased and evened out slightly after the spike in 2015, although it remains at a higher than earlier, Jenita Rauta, a researcher at the Police University College, told Helsingin Sanomat.

Offences motivated by religious convictions were most commonly committed against Muslims.

The Police University College also reported that the majority, or 813, of the 1,165 hate crimes reported to police were motivated by hostility towards the ethnic or national origin of the victim. Such offences were most commonly assaults and took place in a public outdoor place, such as a road or marketplace.

Verbal slander, threats and harassment, however, made up a half (582) of the hate crimes reported last year, following a 42 per cent increase in the incidence of such offences.

Aleksi Teivainen  HT
The 15-billion-euro infrastructure project is so massive that, if completed, it would have a notable impact on the economic situation in Finland.

Kustaa Valtonen, a co-founder and board member of Finest Bay Area Development, reveals that the development company will shed further light on how it intends to fund its ambitious project to build an underwater railway tunnel between Helsinki and Tallinn on Monday, 3 December.

This would be the biggest project in Finland since the mid-1800s, when the channels were being built. That project was worth roughly 50 per cent of the countrys gross domestic product. This will have a smaller impact, but will be impactful nonetheless, he said on Thursday.

Finest Bay Area Development signed a letter of intent for building the 100-kilometre-long underwater railway tunnel last year with a business consortium consisting also of Fira, Poyry and A-Insinoorit. The objective was to proceed with the planning stage and consolidate the consortium by bringing in new partners from China.

Valtonen on Thursday was tight-lipped about the details of the funding arrangement but reiterated his confidence in the multibillion-euro project. The objective, he affirmed, is still to begin commercial operation in late 2024.

Weve promoted the project on several fronts, he told Uusi Suomi. One of these is looking into the environmental impacts, a process that started last spring. Weve had an average of 40 people working from our partners, mainly from Poyry, since last May.

Markku Oksanen, Poyrys head of infrastructure, water and environment in Northern Europe, has similarly stated that the past year has gone according to plan.

Valtonen and Peter Vesterbacka, the other co-founder of Finest Bay Area Development, have previously announced that external funding for the project will be sought especially from China and elsewhere in Asia. The fundraising effort began last summer with a tour with stops in Beijing, Shanghai, Singapore and Hong Kong, according to Valtonen.

The official environmental impact assessments will begin shortly in Finland and later in Estonia.

Both Finland and Estonia have expressed their tentative support for the infrastructure project. Finnish Prime Minister Juha Sipila (Centre) and Estonian Prime Minister Juri Ratas conceded last spring that private funding will be required to construct an undersea tunnel between the two capitals.

The project is also discussed today by Finnish Minister of Transport and Communications Anne Berner (Centre) and Estonian Minister of Economic Affairs and Infrastructure Kadri Simson.

Aleksi Teivainen  HT

Source: Uusi Suomi
The conference, known as the Astana Club, took place in the Kazakh capital on November 12-13 and was the fourth such annual conference to be held. Participants included the heads of state and former heads of state of Belgium, Portugal, Pakistan, Turkey, Poland, Egypt, and Croatia, as well as dozens of leading foreign policy figures and Nobel laureates.

HEADS OF STATE , Nobel laureates and foreign policy experts recently gathered at a secretive conference in Astana, Kazakhstan, for the unveiling of a  Global Risk Report  identifying the greatest threats to world stability in 2019.

The Astana Club abides by so-called Chatham House rules which mandate that the opinions of participants remain anonymous for the purpose of debate. The event took place in the Nazarbayev Centre in Astana and was chaired by the president of Kazakhstan, Nursultan Nazarbayev.

The key themes of the 2018 Astana Club were Global Risks for Eurasia in 2019 and Toward a Greater Eurasia: How to Build a Common Future. The focal point of the event was the unveiling of the Global Risk Report, which was compiled with the input of 1000 leading figures in politics, economics, conflict, and international relations representing 60 countries.

Key authors of the report include the Vice President of Egypt and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Mohamed El Baradei and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Rajenda Pachauri. The report predicts mounting geopolitical crises in the year ahead, fuelled by economic protectionism, climate change, and spiralling income inequality.

A total of 10 key risks well face in 2019 were identified:

Escalation of the confrontation between the US and China

A high likelihood of a full-scale trade war breaking out between world powers

A further degradation of relations between Russia and the West

Escalating violence in combat hot-spots across Eurasia

The growth of separatism and ethno-nationalist conflict, particularly in the Middle East

The intensification of environmental challenges and water shortages

An increased threat from cyber-attacks, particularly on national infrastructure

The beginning of a new arms race

An increased likelihood of a nuclear or [similar] technological disaster

The rules of the conference mean that it is unclear which global figures made these particular predictions, but we know that they were informed with data provided by dozens of government bodies and think tanks.

In a closed-door meeting, the president of Kazakhstan introduced the report by remarking we havent observed such levels of confrontation in a very long time the so-called multi-polar world order is being left in the past.

He went on to say that the changing balance between global players threatened to bring about large-scale military conflict in the year ahead.

Nazarbayev also concluded his speech with a pointed warning to the United States, China, and Russia, saying it is necessary to realise that misunderstanding and miscalculation in crisis situations invariably leads to military confrontation.

The report also calculated that cyber-attacks similar to the 2017 WannaCry incident allegedly perpetrated by North Korea will cost governments as much as $1 trillion in 2019. It was also predicted that the cost of trade wars, particularly between the US and China, may be as high as 17% of global GDP, a level last seen during the Great Depression.

All of this will likely affect prosperity in the West, with mounting signs of an economic slowdown already becoming clear.

The 1000 experts consulted for the report were also asked to give their opinions on the likelihood of certain scenarios being realized next year. These opinion polls made for similarly grim reading:

77% of participants predict the world will become more vulnerable in 2019

56% believe protectionist policies will escalate and that globalization will be rolled back

68% believe the trade war between the US and China will escalate significantly

Of these, 18% predict a full-scale global trade war in 2019

Economy inequality, which is already at its highest level since 1929, is predicted to reach record highs in 2019, further fuelling global instability.

It was also widely predicted that Americas withdrawal from the Iran Nuclear Deal will greatly increase the likelihood of a large-scale war in the Middle East before the end of next year. Other flash points for concern include rising tensions in the South China Sea, where China is currently building military installations on disputed territory.

Of particularly great concern throughout the conference was the state of European unity, with fears that it may unravel in the year ahead. Chairperson of the Kazakh Senate's Committee of International Relations, Defence and Security and daughter of the president, Dariga Nazarbeyeva, used her speech at the conference to draw attention to the implications of a divided Europe.

European unity is at its weakest point in decades Brexit, the migration crisis, the aggravation of contradictions between older and newer members of the EU, and the emboldening of Eurosceptics tests the strength of Europe.

Those present at the Astana Club also listed a number of recommendations to mitigate the risk of global conflict in 2019. One of the boldest suggestions put forward by several former heads of state was to introduce an updated version of the 1975 Helsinki Accords, in which the Western world first agreed to improve relations with the Soviet Bloc.

A contemporary version of the Helsinki Accords would include strengthened pledges concerning nuclear non-proliferation and would be aimed at improving relations between the United States, China, Russia, and the European Union.

Other recommendations included the creation of a Central Asian Schengen Area that would provide visa-free travel between Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan.

It was also suggested that Chinas controversial Belt and Road infrastructure initiative, which links China to the region and with Europe, be taken advantage of as a vehicle for cooperation.

Whether these suggestions will amount to anything concrete remains to be seen. What the 2018 Astana Club meeting does reveal is the immense levels of anxiety felt by world leaders at this current point in time. The predictions made in the Global Risk Report, and the responses to them, suggest that the world is on the verge of serious economic and political catastrophe.

The decisions made in the year ahead may affect global peace and prosperity for a generation. As Ahmet Davutoglu, the former prime minister of Turkey said in his closing speech; now is an absolutely critical time for humanity.

Text: Adam Oliver Smith - HT

Images: Vladislav Semyonov
The annual event, themed Information safety on artificial intelligence platforms and smart devices, is co-organised by the Vietnam Information Security Association (VNISA), the Information Security Department and the Vietnam Computer Emergency Response Team (VNCERT) under the Ministry of Information and Communications (MIC).

In his opening remarks, MIC Deputy Minister Nguyen Thanh Hung emphasised that, after 11 years, the Vietnam Information Safety Day has become an important annual event and a large international forum to discuss and share information, experience and measures, contributing to raising societys awareness of information security.

In order to promote the work of ensuring information safety and cyber security, state agencies and social organisations should pay attention to updating new knowledge and technology for their staff, while installing technical systems that ensure information standards and meet the requirements for preventing and combating cyber-attacks, Hung said.

He suggested that the community of information security businesses accelerate the research and application of modern platforms and technologies to create new information security products and services, which respond to the constantly changing cyber-attack risks in a more effective manner.

During the plenary session on Friday morning, delegates were updated with a report on the reality of Vietnams information safety in 2018, assessment indicators of the VNISA, and presentations delivered by large corporations, both at home and abroad (Amazon, Google, Cisco, Huawei, Jiral and Viettel, among others), on the issues of protecting consumer information, ensuring information security for Internet of Things (IoT), and AI-based cloud computing in service of the implementation of the fourth Industrial Revolution in Vietnam.

In the afternoon, delegates attended two discussion sessions, featuring digital transformation, IoT and data security, AI technology, cloud computing, and ensuring information safety.

An information security demonstration zone has been held for the first time within the framework of the Vietnam Information Safety Day. (Photo: ictnews.vn)

A display showcasing the latest information safety products and technologies was held within the framework of the programme, featuring 25 pavilions from leading businesses and corporations, both at home and abroad. Especially, there was also a demonstration section of information security technologies for experts, researchers and engineers to introduce their latest products on information security and safety.
This year, Vietnam will bring the countrys iconic pho noodle soup and fried spring rolls, or nem ran, to the festival.

The ASEAN Culinary Festival 2018 features a live cooking show with celebrity chefs from the RoK and Malaysia. There will also be cuisine and beverage booths that will present information on gastronomy tourism in various ASEAN nations.

The event has been annually held by the ASEAN-Korea Centre since 2016 to give Koreans a better understanding of the traditional cuisines and culinary skills of ASEAN countries which are top priorities of the RoKs New Southern Policy.

The food festival is expected to foster cultural exchange between the RoK and ASEAN member states, creating closer ties among their peoples that will pave the way for more Korean visitors travelling to Southeast Asian nations.

According to the ASEAN-Korean Centre, ASEAN member states welcome around 7 million tourist arrivals from the RoK each year, who come not only for popular tourist destinations but also to taste local foods. Da Nang is emerging as one of the destinations most favoured by Koreans.

Nem ran (or cha gio as it is known in southern Vietnam) is a tasty, traditional dish. It is so popular that it is hard to attend a Vietnamese wedding, funeral, or Tet (Lunar New Year) party without seeing a tray loaded with these delicious spring rolls.

Meanwhile, the pho noodle soup originated from Hanoi before it was brought to the south where people added their own influences to the dish. This year, travel site Rough Guides named pho among the worlds top 15 foods that are easy on a globetrotters pocket, while the dish was also listed as the worlds 20th best food experience by the travel publisher Lonely Planet.
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Solar Company Reassessing Array For Pontoosuc Lake Country Club

PITTSFIELD, Mass.  Nexamp believes there is still a path to getting a solar array at Pontoosuc Country Club.

The Boston-based company was just recently denied by the Conservation Commission because of the access road to the proposed 6.5-megawatt array infringed on wetlands. The array was hotly contested among the neighbors, who mounted a coordinated opposition to the project at Conservation Commission and the Zoning Board of Appeals meetings on it.

In the wake of that denial, Nexamp's business development manager Joseph Fiori asked the Zoning Board of Appeals to hold off on voting for that permit in hopes to reassess the project.

"We have our work cut out for us. We do think there are solutions and we want to be able to propose those solutions in a comprehensive way," Fiori told the Zoning Board of Appeals on Wednesday.

The ZBA agreed to table its vote until January to give Nexamp time to make any changes to the proposal and seek either an appeal, resubmit a new plan, or find an alternative that does not require the Conservation Commission's approval for the access road. Fiori said the company hasn't had time to look at alternatives yet.

"We received today the actual order [from ConCom] and have read through those comments this morning and we are sort of waiting on that to determine how best to address those concerns," he said on Wednesday.

The issue has been before the Zoning Board of Appeals for a few months. In October, there was a lengthy meeting with Nexamp presenting its plans and the neighbors giving a presentation opposing it. The ZBA later held a site visit to see the lay of the land themselves.

ZBA member Esther Bolan said she was willing to vote on it Wednesday night but the other members agreed to give Nexamp a chance to further address concerns raised by the ZBA, the ConCom, and the neighbors.

"There is a lot to address," ZBA Chairman Albert Ingegni.

Ingegni also said the ZBA was ready to cast a vote on the issue Wednesday night. The ZBA and the ConCom approvals are separate and have different focuses. However, the ZBA prefers to have any Conservation Commissions issues addressed first for instances such as this when changes could be required.

The neighbors who have been fighting the plans have realized that the victory with the Conservation Commission isn't the end and had attended the ZBA meeting in great numbers only to have the hearing continued.

Ongoing Coverage:
A number of residents continue to question the reasoning behind a proposed bylaw that would allow accessory dwelling units. While there has been some pressure toward allowing units only in owner-occupied buildings, the board has so far leaned against that.

Williamstown Planning Board Fields Questions on Housing Bylaw

WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass.  Several of the residents who attended Tuesday's Planning Board meeting have, for months, been following the board's discussion about a possible bylaw amendment to open up opportunities for accessory dwelling units or ADUs.

But some were much newer to the conversation, including one who asked why the board is looking at changing the bylaw in the first place.

"I don't understand why we want to turn it into a split-level town," Andrew Munzer told the board. "It's the wrong direction. I think we should stick with what's made this town great for hundreds of years and not deviate in a way that's going to split up all these houses."

The Planning Board members responded, in part, by noting that the ADU concept is not new in Williamstown. In fact, town meeting passed an accessory dwelling unit bylaw in 2012. One problem is that the bylaw was so limited in scope and restrictive that it has seldom been used; just four ADUs have been permitted since the 2012 vote.

Another problem is that while new two-family housing is permitted by right in the town, conversions of single-family homes are not allowed at all, a fundamental fairness issue that frequently has led planners to note at meetings that if the town does nothing, someone can buy an existing home, tear it down and build a new duplex on the same lot. The board has discussed the possibility, should the current ADU bylaw draft not be successful, of simply amending the current bylaw regarding duplexes to strike the word "new."

But the draft bylaw under discussion goes further, allowing both conversion of single-family homes and construction of detached ADUs, something struck from the 2012 bylaw, which allows only conversion of existing structures that have been in place for 10 years and which meet setback requirements.

What it wouldn't do, planners argue, is fundamentally change the nature of the town.

"Are we trying to change the face of the town by shoving additional housing in? No," Planning Board member Alex Carlisle said in direct response to Munzer's comment from the floor. "The idea is this is minimal change to the town while adding housing in a niche."

Chris Winters, the longest-tenured member of the board who joined in 2006, said increasing housing choices in town has been a point of discussion for the body for at least that long. That discussion led, among other things, to a 2013 housing needs assessment commissioned by the Affordable Housing Committee and a 2017 Planning Board study of housing issues backed by a grant from the Massachusetts Housing Partnership.

Winters argued that while fears of unintended consequences from the proposed bylaw are overstated, the consequences of the town's simultaneously aging and declining population are real.

"Rather than talking about lot line-to-lot line construction, we should be remembering that we're losing population," Winters said. "The worst thing that could happen to this town and our property values is if the school district self-destructs because there aren't enough kids to have an excellent school. That's what I'm worrying about. That's the end of Williamstown as I know it when people don't want to move here because the education system is not seen as excellent.

"We're losing population because young families can't move here. Are there issues with jobs and economic development? Sure. But we can't address that. All [the Planning Board] can do is address the zoning issues."

The board members believe that much of Williamstown's existing housing stock is underutilized, and allowing more ADUs would, for example, let older residents to age in place and bring in rental income from a portion of the property.

"It addresses the issue of the fact we have a town that's fundamentally built out," Planning Board member Stephanie Boyd said. "So how do you add more housing units to a town where all the lots, for the most part, have houses on them?"

For the most part, the residents who spoke from the floor of Tuesday's meeting expressed support for the principle of allowing ADUs, though some insisted that owner occupation needs to be a requirement for additional units on a property.

Roger Lawrence, a frequent participant at meetings of the Planning Board and other town bodies, told the planners that instead of crafting Williamstown's own ADU bylaw, it should simply have an up-and-down vote on a model bylaw drafted by the commonwealth to give communities options to consider. Specifically, Lawrence said the Planning Board should put forth a bylaw amendment that keeps the owner-occupied language included in the model bylaw.

"It's pretty clear to me having read [the model bylaw] that owner-occupancy is one of the central tenets of the document," Lawrence said.

Other residents who approached the podium were either opposed or agnostic on the question of owner-occupation.

Paul Harsch, who raised other concerns about the proposed bylaw in general, asked how the town could legally evict renters in the ADU if a property changes hands and the new owner does not plan to be an owner-occupant. Ann Hogeland echoed that sentiment but recommended that any ADUs be allowed only with the approval of the Zoning Board of Appeals.

"I think that would alleviate some of the concerns we're hearing about parking because the ZBA would do a careful review," Hogeland said.

She also suggested that instead of allowing up to three dwelling units on a property -- two in a subdivided existing home plus a detached ADU -- the Planning Board scale back the proposed bylaw to allow only either an internal ADU or an attached ADU at a residence.

"Perhaps we should move slowly," Hogeland said.

Hugh Guilderson said the town needs to move to promote more moderate-income housing or it will run the risk of going the way of the Cape Cod town he left to move to Williamstown.

"[Williamstown faces a] future with no school teachers, no EMTs, no nurses, no plumbers  because moderately priced housing simply was disappearing," Guilderson said.

One resident, Kevin Kennefick, used Tuesday's meeting to ask the board whether the ADU bylaw its drafting would be applied equally across the town's residential districts. It would. Unlike the redistricting that was part of a more ambitious bylaw revision to which Kennefick strenuously objected and which the Planning Board ultimately pulled earlier this year, the current bylaw would apply to all of the town's residential zones.

In light of last year's decision to pull bylaw amendments intended to increase flexibility and options for property owners, the Planning Board on Tuesday discussed whether any bylaw proposed this year should be one that the panel is reasonably certain will receive the two-thirds majority vote needed at town meeting.

"There's a balance between what I think we should do and what you guys think and what could be passed at town meeting," Boyd said, referring to the audience at Tuesday's meeting. "We want to make it easy and less expensive to encourage housing types that aren't too expensive  I'm thinking maybe we should leave it the way it is and work on something else."

Carlisle, the lone member of the five-person Planning Board to argue in favor of owner-occupation, said he would hate to see the board spend a year working on a bylaw amendment that fails in May.

At another point, Boyd, who has been siding with the majority against owner-occupation, asked whether an ADU bylaw that had that requirement might be better than nothing.

In the end, though, Boyd suggested the one action step the Planning Board agreed to Tuesday to move the current draft bylaw forward: the creation of an information sheet to explain the issue to voters who have not been as engaged in the process.

"Proposals can fail because people haven't had time to understand them," Boyd said. "A marketing plan, essentially, would be helpful."

Planning Board Chair Amy Jeschawitz tasked Boyd with drafting an information sheet that would include background on the reasoning behind the bylaw, examples of how it could be applied and arguments for and against its most controversial aspect, owner occupation. Jeschawitz also hopes to include guidance she is seeking from the town counsel about issues that may arise from enforcement of an owner-occupation provision.
Russian news agency TASS cited a report by Russias Federal Security Service (FSB) as saying that the FSBs border guard forces captured three Ukrainian navy vessels in the Black Sea as they were attempting to illegally enter the Russian waters, and Russias ships were forced to use weapons. Russia has also instituted criminal proceedings against that act of national border infringement. Meanwhile, the Ukrainian side reported that Russian ships blocked its three navy ships traveling freely through Kerch Strait to the Sea of Azov. Ukraines Foreign Ministry has asked Moscow to return the seized sailors and compensate for the damage caused by the incident.

The aforementioned case has caused a tense atmosphere in Ukraine because of security concerns. The Ukrainian parliament voted in favour of President Petro Poroshenkos proposal to impose martial law over 30 days in border areas. Kiev has also urged its allies and partners to take appropriate measures, such as imposing new sanctions and strengthening existing sanctions, and granting military aids to help Kiev defend its territory and sovereignty. President Poroshenko even called on the Ukrainian parliament to declare the state of war.

For its part, Moscow flatly rejected the charges of Ukraine. After an urgent meeting of the United Nations on the incident, a representative of the Russian delegation at the UN said three Ukrainian navy vessels had illegally violated Russias waters and refused to withdraw as the Russian ships warned, affirming that the action has violated the UN Charter as well as international law and practices. According to the spokesperson of the Russian President, Ukraines imposition of martial law is an interior affair of its own, adding that this, however, risks increasing conflicts in Ukraine, especially in the southeastern region.

The UN and countries have expressed deep concern about the conflict in Kerch Strait, calling on the two sides to resolve the issue through peaceful negotiation, refrain from actions or words that could hike tensions, and keep tight control to prevent the case from dangerous escalations. The European Union (EU) and the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) have urged the cooling of Russia-Ukraine tensions in the Black Sea, while asking Moscow to restore free movement in Kerch Strait. NATO called on Russia to ensure free access to Ukrainian ports in the Sea of Azov in accordance with international law. Germanys Defence Minister Ursula von der Leyen also urged Russia to free the captured Ukrainian ships and crew. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Austrian Foreign Minister Karin Kneissl emphasised that the tensions should be resolved through negotiations and that the West should seek dialogue with Russia, as in the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) framework.

Meanwhile, the confrontation at sea between Russia and Ukraine is threatening to become a new obstacle in Russia-US relations, which have inherently been not so smooth. In an interview granted to The Washington Post on November 27, US President Donald Trump revealed that he is likely to cancel a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin on the sidelines of the G20 Summit 2018, in Buenos Aires, Argentina, this weekend, due to the Russia-Ukraine collision case in Kerch Strait. Ukrainian media said a US reconnaissance plane has entered the Black Sea.

The Moscow-Kiev relations, which have long been tense over territorial issues, have now worsened more seriously. The relations between Russia and the West, especially the Russia-US ties, have also become difficult to heal after a series of turbulences over the past few years. In that context, the only solution to remove the conflict detonator towards normalising relationships is that the parties concerned calm down and sit at the negotiating table. At a recent urgent meeting of the UN Security Council, UN Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs Rosemary DiCarlo emphasised that only constructive actions could help the stakeholders remove deadlocks concerning the confrontation in Kerch Strait.

International observers said there is presently an urgent need for the parties to take constructive actions with aims to cool down the tensions following the recent clash in an area of sea with strategic significance to both Russia and Ukraine.


The red line shows the path crossing over a wetlands to the airport, paralleling the runway and exiting through Airport Road to Route 2. NORTH ADAMS, Mass.  Opponents and proponents of the planned Mohawk Bike Path in the West End held forth on Wednesday at a standing-room-only hearing at City Hall.

Many of the arguments at the state Department of Transportation public hearing were repeats from past hearings during which abutters on Chenaille Terrace had asserted the bike path on city land would be detrimental to their neighborhood.

Project manager David Shedd, Greenman-Pedersen Inc. transportation engineer Matthew Kearney, and other MassDOT representatives explained the project and took public comment.

"The plans are not complete, and we still have some design to go ... and the purpose of the hearing is to solicit your input regarding the project," Shedd said. "The plans are not yet complete, and we may not be able to answer all of your questions or respond to all of your concerns at this time."

Kearney gave an updated outline of the project and said this 1-mile segment of the proposed trail would begin in Williamstown at the former Spruces and follow Route 2 to Galvin Road, where it would cross the roadway and continue to Harriman-West Airport and eventually follow Airport Road back to Route 2.

Of this, 0.8 miles will be paved, 0.2 will be sidewalk and shared lanes, and 0.07 will be the boardwalk over the Paull Brook to the airport grounds.

Where the path joins Route 2, there will be a 6-foot grass buffer between the path and traffic and where the path crosses the road there will be a HAWK, or High-Intensity Activated crossWalK, beacon.

Kearney said the light will only be activated when a path user hits the button. This will trigger a flashing yellow light that eventually turns solid yellow, then red. The light will blink red once the path user is finishing his or her crossing.

There will be two overlook areas, one at the former Spruces and one at the airport. He said these areas should draw people and keep them from stopping on the trail in residential areas.

"We want to make sure the places where people slow down and stop aren't right behind houses, so we are looking at an overlook area at the airport," he said.

Shedd said the North Adams branch is estimated to cost $3.2 million and is not yet funded. The funding should be available in fiscal 2020 and the project should land on the county's Transportation Improvement Plan. The Williamstown section that will run from Simonds Road to the Spruces is on the TIP for 2019. The North Adams section could go out to bid as early as October of next year once clearing the 75 percent and 100 percent design review processes.

What started off as a slow trickle of community speakers turned into a deluge of unsupportive abutters and interested residents supporting a bike trail in the community. The hearing stretched toward the three-hour mark.

One comment that came up frequently was optioning to move the path closer to the Hoosic River on the north side of the road and avoiding neighborhoods, Route 2, and crossing Route 2 altogether.

"I am for the bike trail, but I am for a very safe bike trail and I believe that crossing Route 2 is a very big mistake," resident Wendy Champney said. "We have a beautiful resource we have the Hoosic River ... and we are so blessed to have this and we ignore it."

Jane Culnane added that moving the path would get it away from homes. She noted that some areas of the path would be less than 50 feet from residences.

Lauren Stevens of the Hoosic River Watershed Association said alternative paths would create other issues with different abutters. It would bring the trail through private property and, in some cases, would require the removal of homes.

He asked that those against the path to try to look at it as an asset.

"With the Ashuwillticook Trail where people originally wanted the state to put up fencing between their properties and the path," he said. "They ended up taking the fences down because they wanted access to it ... it is another way to look at it of really increasing backyard space for the folks who live around there."

Shedd said moving the path closer to the river would create more environmental challenges as well as affect more private property. This first section in North Adams would be entirely on public property.

Engineers have repeatedly stated that areas along the river have issues including restrictive space and grading, private property, and proximity to the railroad. There are several bottlenecks designers are trying to parse to get the trail from Airport Road to Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art.

Culnane had more specific questions about the barriers and natural barriers that would be installed between homes and the trail and was told that the city would maintain them unless residents preferred to do it themselves.

She also asked if barriers would be put up to shield homes from construction and was told that typically this would not be done but could be looked into.

Shedd said because of the nature of the project, construction won't be continuous in one area.

"You could be on one portion of the project and you may not see someone for the first season it is such a big project," he said. "It is not a continuous operation along the whole corridor you would only be impacted at certain times."

Culnane also wanted to know if people's property would be surveyed before construction to make sure no damage was done during the work. Shedd said this is typically only done for projects that include blasting but could be added to the project.

Along with Culnane, resident Jennifer Bloxom had concerns about how the construction would affect wildlife and the stasis of the environment.

Kearney said he has tried to minimize impact on the environment and wetlands.

"We tried to stay outside of the tree line on the grassy area. I understand that doesn't help during construction," he said. "All I can do at this point is design it as best as possible to avoid the impact on the wildlife while respecting the wishes of the abutters as much as possible."

Culnane said it would take away from the beauty of the area. Many purchased their homes Chenaille Terrace, a quite cul de sac, because of this natural beauty, she said, and was sure a bike trail would disturb the deer, bear, and bobcat that people are used to seeing.



MassDOT engineers and designers answered questioned and updated residents on the project on Wednesday. Resident Bret Beattie, however, saw the path as an opportunity for people, specifically youth, to interact with nature.

"When I think about wildlife and I think about youth and the need for youth to engage with nature not looking at it through a glass window but seeing a deer on the trail," he said. "Stopping dead in their tracks because they see some nature."

Another one of Bloxom's concerns was increased flooding on her property, which is bordered by a waterway.

Shedd said it is not in the scope of the project to alter the waterway, and it should not make any flooding worse.

One resident was concerned about bikers parking their vehicles in their neighborhoods to jump on the trail and Kearney said it would be up to the city if or how they wanted to enforce parking. He added that there would be designated parking along the trail.

There were also concerns about sidewalks and the signal. There were worries that with so many more pedestrians in the area using the signal traffic would back up.

In general, there was a safety concern about crossing the road but avid biker and user of the rail trail Barbara Lampron said drivers really "respect" the light in Cheshire where the trail crosses Route 8 and that it works well.

A general sentiment that resonated throughout the night was that the proposed path was a done deal.

"I see that this horseshoe red and I hear a lot of words and people are expressing their concerns and anything in favor of that red is acknowledged," Champney said. "Is it a done deal? Is it in cement? I feel like a sheep being herded the slaughterhouse."

City Councilor Jason LaForest had similar concerns and noted many of these same issues were brought up at previous meetings, but the path has not changed dramatically.

"I see you taking notes on things that already have been voiced for the second and third time, so I hope that will be addressed as you get to a higher percentage of your design phase," he said.

State Rep. John Barrett III said he thought it was getting late for a design change and that the designers and project managers are following the directive of the community.

"It should be understood that the whole concept of this latest one, and I don't mean to throw the mayor under the bus here, it comes from the town of Williamstown and the city of North Adams," he said. "It is based on what the local community wanted so when you ask if this is a done deal I don't know if it is, but these people are carrying out the directive they received from the local community."

He did say he thought a bike path was important to the area and while he was neither in favor nor in opposition to the selected path, he thought was important to protect the neighborhood.

There was support for the path in general and almost all of those who opposed it said they often used the rail trail or were avid bikers. The issue seemed to really be the location.

Others came out in full support including City Councilor Joshua Moran who felt the path was critical for development in the city and area.

"It will not only offer up the best views in the Hoosic River valley but will be the catalyst that will usher in a bike-pedestrian path that will connect Lanesborough to Williamstown," he said. "This is not an easy project, but I believe this design represents the best possible route."

Beattie agreed and feared that if the city did not go forward now, it would be left out.

"I know this will be a sacrifice for some in this room, but it is for the generations to come and great sacrifices have always been made by the current generations for the generations to come," he said. "We don't want to be left out and kick the can farther down the road and we have to start somewhere, or we will be left out of this opportunity."
South Berkshire Evacuates Sheffield Campus, Dismisses Classes

In a school community update just before 5 p.m., Regulbuto wrote that the potential bomb threat was brought to the attention of the administration on Friday morning, the building was evacuated and first-responders called.

The decision to evacuate students from the campus was made in conjunction with the Sheffield Police Chief Eric R. Munson III.

The Police and Fire department and State Police and Arson and Bomb Unit responded to the campus. The school buildings and campus were thoroughly searched, and law enforcement declared that the buildings and campus are safe.

Sheffield Police are still investigating the incident.

Students and staff who need to pick up their own possessions or vehicles will be allowed to enter through the schools' main entrances only between 5 to 6:30 p.m. Friday evening and Saturday from 9 to 11 a.m. There will not be access to the buildings from the community entrance.

"A huge thank you to the staff, first responders, Berkshire School, Massini Bus Company, our students and families for the immediate response, support and understanding as we dealt with this incident today," Regulbuto wrote. "The community came together to ensure our schools are a safe place for students and staff to learn and grow.

"Enjoy the weekend, and hug everyone a little tighter tonight."

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SHEFFIELD, Mass.  A potential bomb threat at Mount Everett Regional School has forced the evacuation of the campus and early dismissal of school, according to school officials. In an email communication to the school community shortly before 11 a.m., Superintendent of Schools Beth Regulbuto stated that the more than 600 students were headed to Berkshire School "in accordance with our Evacuation Procedures."

Students will be dismissed directly from the Berkshire School evacuation site on their regularly scheduled afternoon buses. Children in Grade 4 and under will be brought to the Sheffield Senior Center if no one is home to receive them.

"As soon as the fleet of buses can get to the Berkshire School campus, students will be put on their regular bus to head home," Regulbuto sent in a follow-up email at 11:30. "I will send a follow-up message as soon as we can confirm a dismissal time."

All after-school activities on the Sheffield campus are canceled. New Marlborough Central School, located in Mill River with Grades prekindergarten through 4, will be following its regular school day.

The public junior-senior high school has an enrollment of about 360 and the attached Undermountain Elementary School has about 290 in Grades prekindergarten through 6. Berkshire School is a private day and boarding school on Undermountain Road, less than three miles away from the high school.

Regulbuto was asking parents not to come to the campus because emergency personnel need it to remain clear to transport students to the evacuation site. Students and parents will be apprised as to when they can recover personal items from the campus.

Parents can call 1-413-229-8778, Ext. 158, in the event of an emergency. Information will be provided to the school community as it becomes available.

Mount Everett Regional is part of the Southern Berkshire Regional School District that educates children from the towns of Alford, Egremont, Monterey, Sheffield and New Marlborough.
The Old Man of Israel

The Fellowship | November 30, 2018 The Old Man of Israel

Yitzhak Sadeh



Lived: August 10, 1890  August 20, 1952

Why you should know him: Known as The Old Man, General Sadeh was the commander of the Palmach, the elite fighting force that came before the IDF, which he helped found upon Israels establishment.

Born Izaak Landoberg to a Jewish family in what was then the Russian Empire, he was the grandson of a rabbi and studied under another rabbi before joining the Imperial Russian Army in World War I. During the war, Yitzhak saw much action and was decorated for his bravery. After the war, he helped Joseph Trumpeldor found the HeHalutz (Pioneer) movement, and made aliyah (immigrated to the Holy Land) in 1920.

Once in the Holy Land, Sadehs military experience was put to use, first as a Haganah (the precursor to the IDF) commander in the Holy City, Jerusalem. In 1929, Arabs rioted and began carrying out attacks against Jews. Sadeh took part in the battle defending Haifa during this violence. He again defended the Jewish people during the 1936-1939 Arab Revolt, establishing the Nodedet, or Wandering Troop, in Jerusalem. During this same period, he was commander of the Jewish Settlement Police and founded the commando arm of the Haganah, the Jewish peoples elite strike force.

As World War II took place, Sadeh continued his work protecting the Holy Land. In 1941 he founded the Palmach, the elite Haganah unit that prepared for guerilla war in case the Nazis and their Axis partners invaded what was still British-mandate Palestine.

Sadeh commanded the Palmach until the end of the war, after which he led operations to bring Jewish immigrants (many of them Holocaust survivors) to the Holy Land.

Although older, Sadeh continued his service as Israel fought for her independence in 1948. He first defended his kibbutz from a full-scale Arab attack, then counter-attacked with his troops, conquering much of the Jezreel Valley. In June of that year, Sadeh established the IDFs first armored brigade, which not only captured Lod Airport (now Ben Gurion International Airport) but opened up the road to the Negev Desert. Later, his forces in the Negev crossed into Egypt and Gaza.

When Israel had at last won her independence, the Palmach was disbanded and Sadeh retired from the military. In his later years, he wrote stories, plays, and essays, promoted sports, and Israel, and became known as a beloved and colorful character in the Jewish state before passing away in Tel Aviv in 1952. In his memory, the Yitzhak Sadeh Prize for Military Literature is given each year, while many kibbutzim and streets throughout Israel have been named for him.
The chief of army staff, Tukur Burutai has ordered a thorough investigation into a militia camp training in Rivers state.

This comes shortly after the Rivers state governor, Nyesom Wike, accused the army of disrupting the training of the Rivers State Neighbourhood Safety Corps Agency Training programme. According to the governor, in a statement on Thursday, the House of Assembly passed a law approving the Rivers State Neighbourhood Safety Corps Agency.

The governor noted further that, the Nigerian Armys action is aimed at instigating insecurity in the State.

Wike, also mentioned that Zamfara and Kogi States have vigilante groups, which were commissioned and the Chief of Army Staff did nothing.

However, in a statement by the defense Headquarters on Friday, it stated clearly the intention of the army to investigate a discovered militia camp at NYSC Orientation Camp, Nonwa Gbam, Tai Local Government Area (LGA), Rivers State.
Chinese authorities on Thursday ordered suspending research activities of persons involved in the gene-edited babies incident, denouncing the matter as "extremely abominable in nature" and in violation of Chinese laws and science ethics.

The gene-edited twins matter reported by the media has brazenly violated Chinese laws and regulations and breached the science ethics bottom line, which is both shocking and unacceptable, Xu Nanping, vice minister of the Ministry of Science and Technology, told Xinhua.

Xu said the ministry is firmly against the research, noting that clinical procedures of gene-editing on human embryos for reproduction purposes are explicitly banned in China.

The ministry has ordered relevant units to impose the suspension, said Xu.

He Jiankui, a Chinese researcher based in Shenzhen, Guangdong Province, claimed on Monday to have altered the DNA of twin girls born a few weeks ago to prevent them from contracting HIV. His claim remains unproven but the incident has triggered a heated debate in the scientific community and on social media.

China's National Health Commission (NHC) also spoke against the incident. Zeng Yixin, deputy head of the NHC, said unlawful activities on the matter will be investigated and wrongdoings will be resolutely dealt with.

As science and technology gain rapid progress, research and applications in this field must shoulder more responsibilities, and codes of ethics should be strictly abided by, Zeng added.

The China Association for Science and Technology (CAST), a research society mainly comprised of researchers and scientists, said He Jiankui's candidacy of an award for young scientists will be disqualified, as CAST adopts a "zero tolerance" attitude to those who breach scientific ethics and norms.

Huai Jinpeng, Party chief and executive vice chairman of CAST, characterized the matter as "extremely abominable in nature" and said it has seriously damaged the image and interests of the Chinese scientific community.

People and institutions involved in the matter have "brazenly challenged the bottom line of scientific research ethics and desecrated the spirit of science," said Huai.

"The Chinese scientific community is committed to its original aspiration that science and technology shall always serve mankind and sustained healthy development of society," he noted.
The Nigerian army has demanded an apology from online news publication, theCable over a recent report on their platform.

In the publication by the online news platform, it claimed the army had removed Christian Chukwu, as it spokesperson and appointed someone else.

The army says the malicious report not only undermines the reputation of the senior officer which he has built over the years in the course of his career as well as misleading members of the public.

See full statement by army below

The attention of the Directorate of Army Public Relations has been drawn to a news report trending in the online media published by the Cable titled ARMY REPORTEDLY REMOVES TEXAS CHUKWU AS SPOKESMAN, RE-APPOINTS USMAN.

In the said story, the report stated inter alia, that Army reportedly removes Texas Chukwu as spokesman, reappoints Usman.

The Directorate wishes to state categorically that the report is not only malicious but an attempt by the writer to tarnish the reputation of the senior officer which he has built over the years in the course of his career as well as misleading members of the public.

The write-up further alleged that his removal followed outcry from different quarters on his inability to manage information on counter-insurgency campaign, which is completely untrue and unsubstantiated.

Contrary, the Directorate wishes to state that, the re-appointment of Brig Gen SK Usman is a routine deployment in the NA following his completion of the Strategic course at National Institute of Policy & Strategic Studies NOT based on media management as alleged by the report.

It is also pertinent to state that i am proceeding to a Strategic Course at NIPSS #Jos. The Directorate wishes to state that the writer has only succeeded in exhibiting his ignorance or complete lack of knowledge about postings and appointments in the @HQNige

The Directorate therefore calls on the authority of @thecableng to advice the reporter to cultivate the habit of verifying facts as well as balancing his report before rushing to the press.

The medium is requested to tender an unreserved apology to the senior officer as well as the Directorate of Army Public Relations through the same medium within 24 hours or be ready to face legal action.
Chelsea youngster, Callum Hudson  Odoi, put in a scintillating display during his sides Europa league clash with Paok Thessaonki at the Toumba stadium, Greece, yesterday which ended 4-0 in their favour. The 18 years old also got on the scoresheet after a mazy run down the left hand channel before going on to assist Alvaro Morata for their fourth of the night with a wonderful pin point cross from the left for the Spaniard to nod home.

The youngsters goal sets him apart as the youngest player to have scored a goal at the competition since 2009. Amasing isnt it???

The win yesterday saw the Blues returned to winning ways after their humiliation at the hands of Tottenham during the domestic meeting between side over the weekend. It also preserved their 100 percent run in the Europa league.

Callum whose goal during the clash yesterday was his first for the Blues in a competitive fixture then took to his twitter handle at the end of the match to react by revealing how happy he is to get his first goal for his club.

What he said:

https://twitter.com/Calteck10/status/1068274295158292481
Governor Nasir el-Rufai has allegedly ordered for the arrest of eight retired workers in Kaduna state for conducting a prayer against him.

The workers said they have not been paid their entitlements since they were disengaged by the government.

Emmanuel Dogo, leader of Kaduna state Retired Workers Forum, said the prayer Alqunuci, (an Islamic prayer, which is said to be powerful, is invoked by those seeking justice) was done because they became frustrated.

All efforts to make the government pay our entitlements had proved abortive, so what we do is to pray for Gods intervention, he said.

It is because of this prayers that the governor ordered for the arrest of eight of our members in Zaria. Yesterday (Thursday), they were asked to report to Kaduna state police command.

They were later taken to the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) and were detained. We have been to the state CID, trying to find out what their offence but they told us that they will charge to court.

Alice Ayuba, chairperson of Kaduna State Disengaged Women Teachers Forum, according to theCable, said both Muslims and Christians who were sacked and not paid, constituted prayer groups.

Retired workers used to hold prayer programmes and according to what I heard, in Zaria, where our Muslim brothers were praying, the governor ordered for their arrest because they saying the Muslim prayers called Alqunuci.

I am not a Muslim, but I am told that very powerful prayers that are usually offered there. Like me that I am talking to you, I served the government for 16 years. I was sacked without being given anything. I am the chairperson of Disengaged Women Teachers Forum, Kaduna state, while those who were arrested belong to the Kaduna state Retired Workers forum.

But we work hand because we are pursuing the same goal. Since there is nobody to fight for us, we resorted to tell God our complaints, because we believe that only God can fight this injustice for us since the governor is very powerful and nobody can face him. So we have handed everything to God, that is what led to this kind of prayers.
President Muhammadu Buhari has urged the peaceful coexistence of people practicing Islam and Christianity in Nigeria.

Buhari in his opinion on religion published in the Church Times, UKs largest Anglican newspaper on the 30th November, 2018, said though a Muslim, he is also a descendant of Abraham, just like Ajayi Crowther.

Buhari urges Nigerians to mix with people of to different religions, noting that, thats the only way great possibilities can be reach.

Read full opinion here

In 1844, the Revd Samuel Ajayi Crowther returned home to Yoruba land (now part of modern-day Nigeria). Twenty years earlier, he had been kidnapped and sold to European slave traders who were bound for the Americas. He was freed by an abolitionist naval patrol, and received by the Church Missionary Society. There, he found his calling.

Crowther made his voyage home to establish the first Anglican mission in Yoruba land. He came with the first Bibles translated into Yoruba and Hausa languages. He opened dialogue and discussion with those of other faiths. And his mission was a success: Crowther later became the first African Anglican bishop in Africa.

Today, Nigeria has the largest Christian population on the continent. The messages and teachings of Christianity are part of the fabric of each persons life.

Along with the millions of Christians in Nigeria today, I believe in peace, tolerance, and reconciliation; in the institution of the family, the sanctity of marriage, and the honour of fidelity; in hope, compassion, and divine revelation.

Like Bishop Crowther, I am a descendant of Abraham; unlike him, I am a Muslim. I believe our two great religions can not only peacefully coexist but also flourish together. But Muslims and Christians must first turn to one another in compassion. For, as it says in Amos 3.3: Do two walk together, unless they have agreed to meet?

As they are People of the Book, I believe that there is far more that unites Muslims and Christians than divides them. In fact, I believe that the messages of the Bible are universal: available for anyone to exercise, and instructive to all.

We must resist the temptation to retreat into our communities, because, if we do, we can only look inwards. It is only when we mix that we can reach new and greater possibilities.

Whichever religion or religious denomination they choose to follow, Nigerians are devout. Anything that Nigerians believe will place impositions on their practice, and belief is therefore sure to cause widespread alarm.

And, unfortunately, there are those who seek to divide Nigerians  and our two great religions  and to do so for their own advantage.

I stand accused  paradoxically  of trying to Islamise Nigeria while also being accused by Boko Haram terrorists of being against Islam. My Vice-President is a devout man, a Christian pastor. He, too, is accused of selling out his religion, because of his support for me.

This is not the first time that I  nor, indeed, my Christian-Muslim evenly split cabinet  have been the subject of such nonsense. Fortunately, the facts speak differently from the words of those who seek to divide us from one another.

Since my administration has been in power, Boko Haram has been significantly and fatally degraded; I have befriended church leaders and church groups both within and outside our country; my Vice-President has addressed and opened dialogue with Muslims up and down our land.
Heres a story of Adenike, an amputee student of Ibadan Polytechnic, shared by a Twitter user, Awa Ti Ibadan.

She lost her leg at the age of 5 due to serious medical complications and this never deterred her from chasing her dreams in life.

Efforts are being made on social media to solicit for funds to make life better for the promising damsel whose good behaviour has been attested to by her friends and coursemates.

Read her story:

As a toddler, Adenikes legs began to rot away. At age 5, her two legs were amputated in order to save her life. My friend @ayaworanho3d did a documentary on Adenikes story. It was nominated for the best documentary at the AMVCA 2018.

Despite her state & paucity of funds, she chose to go to school, believing her condition will not stop her from having an education. Today shes a student of the Polytechnic of Ibadan. Adenike is a cheerful girl, always smiling & full of life despite everything.

The current prosthetics which she uses no longer functions. She has outgrown the prosthetics, making it difficult for her to move around without human support.

If you know any organization that supports amputees or foundations that can help provide funds (or prosthetics) PLEASE

Help mention them on this tweet. If you can help make recommendations to individuals that can help Adenike get new prosthetics & a new life again, PLS help.

PS: Adenike did not demand this but my heart really wishes to gives this a shot for her. A new prosthetics for Christmas.

Watch Adenikes documentary video by Aderemi Davies:
Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers state has said that the Nigerian army isnt interested in the fight against Boko Haram, rather in causing disruption in his state.

The governor said this, in reaction to the disruption of the training of the Rivers State Neighbourhood Safety Corps Agency Training programme by the army recently.

According to Wike, in a statement on Thursday, Nigeria cant be safe, if his state his unsafe. He noted further that, the army was causing insecurity in the country just to attract more security votes, making mention to the $1b the army got from excess crude oil account.

See full statement below

The disruption of the training of the Rivers State Neighbourhood Safety Corps Agency Training programme by the Nigerian Army is the worst act of irresponsibility, aimed at instigating insecurity In the State.

The Army is not concerned about the killing of soldiers in Borno. They are only interested in creating insecurity in Rivers State.

If you dont want Rivers State to be safe, then Nigeria will not be safe. They want to use their guns against us.

Zamfara and Kogi States have vigilante groups. They commissioned them and the Chief of Army Staff did nothing. The House of Assembly passed a law approving the Rivers State Neighbourhood Safety Corps Agency.

The Army is the agency causing insecurity mainly to attract more security votes. They collected $1Billion from our excess crude account, yet our soldiers were killed.

All they are doing is to intimidate people for political reasons. When you fight a state blessed by God, you will crumble. Nobody can intimidate us in Rivers State.

We did not hire boys for political reasons. This has been a transparent process and that is why the personnel are trained at the NYSC Orientation Camp at Nonwa.

We involved the Police and the DSS to ensure that the trainees are profiled for the good of the society. The main aim of this agency assist the security agencies with intelligence and information, since there is a lacuna in this regard .

The State Government will continue with the training. All the antics of the Nigerian Army will not deter the government and people of Rivers State.

No one man has been a Chief of Army Staff forever. Every job has an expiry date. When Buratai leaves office, he will be held to account for his illegal actions.

If they stop the training elsewhere, personnel of the Rivers State Neighbourhood Safety Corps Agency will be trained at the Government House Port Harcourt .
Vanguard



Mutterings over a widening gulf in the Presidency with associates of President Muhammadu Buhari and those of Vice President Yemi Osinbajo pursuing stealthy separate political aspirations have surfaced.

The Nation



Atiku to Buhari: sign Electoral Act Amendment into law PEOPLES Democratic Party (PDP) National Chairman Prince Uche Secondus has demanded the immediate resignation of Inspector General Mr. Ibrahim Idris and Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Chairman Prof. Mahmood Yakubu.Secondus, who spoke at PDP National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting, said the party has lost confidence in the capacity of the IG and the INEC Chairman to guarantee free

ThisDay

The federal government Thursday expressed reservations over moves to grant the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, United States of Americas visa, fearing it might be deemed to be an endorsement of the main opposition partys candidate by the US government.

Guardian

Nigeria is planning to supply electricity to Burkina Faso, a West African country, amid cries of acute power deficit by Nigerians.

The Sun

We thought the various state houses of assembly would justify their mandates but that has not been the case. Sylvanus Viashima, Jalingo Comrade BobboiKaigama is the national President of Trade Union Congress (TUC) and a governorship aspirant on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Taraba state. He speaks on new minimum wage,

Daily Times



A detective with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Adekunle Odofin, on Thursday gave the Federal High Court, sitting in Maitama, Abuja, a graphic

Leadership



Hon Ali Isa (JC) representing Billiri/Balanga federal constituency of Gombe State is the chairman, House of Representatives Committee on Emergency and Disaster Preparednes

Daily Trust



An emergency meeting of six African leaders including President Muhammadu Buhari yesterday ended in Ndjamena, the Chadian capital with a resolution to adopt new strategy in the fight against the Boko Haram insurgents. President Buhari had convened a one-day consultation with Heads of State and Governments of the Lake Chad Basin Commission (LCBC) to address

Tribune



The Presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar, has said that the 2019 election is a must win for the main opposition, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). Speaking at the meeting of the
Senator representing Kaduna Central, Shehu Sani has reacted to a statement by the federal government, urging the U.S not to grant Atiku Abubakar visa.

Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, recently during an interactive session with newsmen advised the United States, against granting visa to presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for now. According to Mr Mohammed, though he knows that the prerogative to grant anyone visa, lies solely with the U.S, but granting Atiku visa now, would be confused as endorsing one candidate against the other.

However, in his reaction, Shehu Sani said it would be very unpatriotic to ask another country not to grant visa to a candidate, especially when the person has no proven criminal case or has breached a national or international law.

He wrote:
Senator Ben Bruce of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), has taken a huge swipe at the present government of President Muhammadu Buhari.

The senator, who is a strong member of the campaign team of Atiku Abubakar, PDPs presidential candidate in a tweet on Friday, asked why the countrys refineries are still not functioning.

The senator said the Buhari led government, promised that the refineries, will become functional on 2018, and 2018 will end in a few weeks, yet the situation of the refineries is still the same.

Ben Bruce said the APC led government cant talk of the next level, if the present level hasnt been fixed, revealing that Nigeria now imports fuel from Ghana.

He wrote:
Chinese President Xi Jinping (L) meets with Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez in Madrid, Spain, Nov. 28, 2018. (Xinhua/Li Xueren)

MADRID, Nov. 28 (Xinhua) -- China and Spain agreed on Wednesday to build on the 45th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties to jointly promote the development of the relationship and deliver more benefit to the two peoples.

The consensus was reached at a meeting between visiting Chinese President Xi Jinping and Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez.

Xi said he was very glad to visit Spain for the first time after his re-election as Chinese president in March.

Since the establishment of China-Spain diplomatic ties, bilateral relationship has withstood changes in the international landscape and enjoyed a healthy and stable development, he said, noting that the friendship has stayed as strong as ever.

Praising Sanchez's endeavor to develop bilateral relations and his support for the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), Xi said China always cherishes the traditional friendship with Spain and highly values Spain's important role in international affairs.

China is willing to "work with Spain to enrich the content of China-Spain comprehensive strategic partnership, uplift the level of cooperation in various fields," so as to set an example for different civilizations to communicate and learn from each other and for countries with different social systems to achieve win-win cooperation.

Xi stressed that the two sides should strengthen the "guiding and driving" role of high-level exchanges in the development of ties, cement exchanges and cooperation between the two government departments and legislative bodies, deepen political mutual trust, and continue to extend mutual support and understanding on issues concerning each other's core interests and major concerns, so as to forge ahead the steady development of bilateral ties.

"There are multiple advantages including historical and geographic factors for China and Spain to conduct cooperation on the BRI," said Xi, calling for greater synergy between the BRI and Spain's "Strategic Vision for Spain in Asia" and the "Mediterranean Corridor", r economy and trade contacts, and more cooperation in such areas as ports, shipping, aviation, new energy vehicles, finance.

Xi also called on the two sides to optimize technology and innovation cooperation, deepen people-to-people exchanges, and strengthen exchanges and cooperation in culture, local areas, tourism, journalism, medical care, cultural heritage protection, and sports.

China stands ready to maintain communication and coordination with Spain on improving international governance, tackling climate change and other global and regional hot issues, Xi added.

"China supports the integration process in Europe. China and Europe should support each other and strengthen collaboration in jointly safeguarding global order and promoting global governance," said Xi.

"We are willing to seek greater synergy between the BRI and Europe's development strategies, jointly advance Eurasian interconnection and promote development and prosperity of the Eurasian continent,"said Xi, expecting the Spanish side to play a positive role in this regard and safeguard the correct direction for the development of China-Europe relations.

For his part, Sanchez said that Xi's visit is of great historic significance and will open a new era for Spain-China relations, as it is the first visit by a Chinese head of state to Spain in 13 years and coincides with the 45th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between the two countries.

Hailing the "satisfactory" development of bilateral ties, Sanchez said Spain and China have become important trading partners, with increasingly r cultural and educational exchanges. The Chinese in Spain have also made positive contributions to Spain's development and the friendship between the two countries.

Under the new situation, Spain stands ready to increase political mutual trust and expand exchanges and cooperation with China. And Spain will actively take part in the construction of the Belt and Road, which is of historic significance, said Sanchez.

Sanchez said that Spain firmly supports multilateralism and has similar positions with China in international affairs, expressing the will to ly communicate and coordinate with China, in order to promote the healthy and stable development of Europe-China relations.

After the talks, the two leaders watched the signing of a number of bilateral cooperation documents in areas including culture, economy, people's livelihood, advanced materials, telecommunications, third-party markets cooperation, education and finance.

The two sides also issued a joint statement on strengthening comprehensive strategic partnership in the new era.

Before the talks, Xi was welcomed by King Felipe VI with a grand ceremony at Plaza de la Armeria next to the royal palace.

The Chinese president was also conferred with a golden key to the city of Madrid by Mayor Manuela Carmena at a presentation ceremony held in Madrid City Hall.

Noting that her citizens have been fond of the Chinese Spring Festival and recognizing the ties between Madrid and China, Carmena said she looked forward to more cooperation between the Spanish capital and China.

Xi said that Madrid became a friendship city of Beijing back in 1985 which injected vigor into every field of cooperation between the two countries.

Delighted to accept the golden key, he said it will carry forward the friendship between China and Spain and hoped the doors of mutual exchanges will open even wider.
Day Without Art is one of the events hosted by the Global Health and AIDS Coalition for World AIDS Week on campus. The event consists of covering up art pieces to mourn the loss of people who have died from HIV or AIDS.
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Note: Beware of Fraudulent Recruiting Activities. If an employer asks to pay money for any purpose, do not pay at all and report us at contact us form. Apply as per instuctions & dates mentioned in official job ad. Govt jobs may not be applied online here. Human typing error is possible. Error & omissions excepted.
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to reporters before leaving for the G20 Summit in Argentina from the White House in Washington D.C., the United States, on Nov. 29, 2018. Donald Trump said on Thursday that considering the unsolved confrontation between Russia and Ukraine, he has decided it would be "best" to cancel his scheduled meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin. (Xinhua/Ting Shen)

WASHINGTON, Nov. 29 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Donald Trump said on Thursday that considering the unsolved confrontation between Russia and Ukraine, he has decided it would be "best" to cancel his scheduled meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Trump tweeted during his flight to Argentina that "based on the fact that the ships and sailors have not been returned to Ukraine from Russia, I have decided it would be best for all parties concerned to cancel my previously scheduled meeting... in Argentina with President Vladimir Putin."

"I look forward to a meaningful Summit again as soon as this situation is resolved!" he added.

The remarks marked a U-turn of Trump's previous notes hours ago before leaving for the trip that it is "very good time" to meet with Putin in Argentina.

While speaking to the media before leaving for Buenos Aires, Trump said he "probably" would meet with Putin, although he threatened earlier on Tuesday to cancel the scheduled meeting due to his displeasure of the ongoing Ukraine-Russia confrontation near the Kerch Strait that separates the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov.

"I probably will be meeting with President Putin. We haven't terminated that meeting," he said. "They would like to have it. I think it's a very good time to have the meeting."

He added that he would get a final report on the Ukraine-Russia tension during the upcoming flight.

"I'm getting a full report on the plane as to what happened with respect to that and that will determine what I'm going to be doing," Trump said.

Trump also told the media that he would have been willing to meet with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Argentina, but there was no time in his schedule.

The Ukrainian Navy said Sunday that Russian forces opened fire and seized three Ukrainian ships near the Kerch Strait, adding that six Ukrainian military sailors were wounded, two of them in serious condition, in the attack.

Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) said the three Ukrainian ships, namely Berdyansk, Nikopol and Yany Kapu, breached the Russian border and conducted dangerous maneuvers in spite of orders of accompanying vessels from the FSB and Russia's Black Sea Fleet.

The Ukrainian Navy said in response that it has informed Russia in advance about the passage of Ukrainian vessels from the Black Sea to the Sea of Azov through the Kerch Strait, calling Russia's actions an "act of aggression."
Gastrotraveling

Just two blocks from the White House and within walking distance to everything the nation's capitol has to offer, it's easy to see why The Willard InterContinental in Washington DC is known as the "Residence of Presidents" and has remained an anchor in a town that's undergone countless transformations over the hotel's 200 year existence.

Gastrotraveling

In 1862, National Hawthorne wrote, 'The Willard may be much more justly called the center of Washington and the Union than either the Capitol, The White House, or the State Department. Welcoming its first presidential patron, Martin Van Buren, followed by Franklin Pierce in 1853, and then Abraham Lincoln's inauguration in 1861 where he took residence in the days leading up to his Presidency, the hotel has welcomed nearly every U.S. president since.

Gastrotraveling

Key moments include President Coolidge hanging his hat in the Willard Suite for a month in 1923 where he also took his second oath of office. First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt & President Roosevelt celebrated Teddys 60th birthday here in 1938 and Dr. Martin Luther King sat in the hotels lobby with his closest advisors in 1963 making final edits to his famous I Have a Dream speech. In 1968, the hotel was tragically shuttered descending into abandonment until preservation groups and a Historic Landmark designation saved it from demolition reopening in 1986 after a complete restoration to an even higher level of grandeur.

The Willard Intercontinental

Although its facade inside and out exudes timelessness, it's hard to believe that in addition to its rebirth in 1986, the property has undergone a metamorphosis since its inception. Starting Suite for as a row house on the corner of 14th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue in 1818, The Willard spent its first 30 years under a series of different names before Henry Willard took over as manager in 1847. He immediately spearheaded a complete makeover tearing down the original exterior replacing it with a new brick exterior and larger interior. It remained this way until 1901 when it was completely torn down to make way for the soaring Beaux-Arts style structure you see today.

Gastrotraveling

The grand main lobby that opens to Pennsylvania Ave. is also connected to the other side of the block by Peacock Alley, an opulently appointed corridor leading to the F Street NW entrance while also connecting to 3 historic ballrooms and a room showcasing an extensive mixed media exhibit documenting the property's evolution with photos and newspaper clippings from its early years, coverage of famous guests, to its eventual abandonment and restoration.

The Willard Intercontinental

A crown jewel in the many events held at The Willard on an annual basis, cherry blossom season is the most significant celebrating their unique role in hosting Japan's first delegation to the United States on behalf of President James Buchanan in 1860. Every March 20  April 15, real cherry blossom trees are displayed in the common areas while Cherry Blossom Afternoon Tea, Japanese inspired cuisine, specialty cocktails, and nightly programs promote traditional Japanese art and culture.

The Willard Intercontinental

Refreshed Luxury

Ranging from 425 square foot Classic Guest Rooms up to 3,000 square foot Presidential Suites, The Willard has a wide range of choices with some of the largest hotel rooms in the District including The Jenny Lind Suite complete with a sunken spa tub allowing you to luxuriate in front of windows overlooking close up Washington monument views.

The Willard Intercontinental

Commemorating its 200th birthday in 2018, The Willard completed a 6-month $18 million renovation impacting all 335 guest rooms and suites. While maintaining original historic flairs, bathrooms are now enhanced with walk-in marble showers and in-room technology upgrades include furniture with integrated power outlets & USB charging ports. Customized drapes, reupholstered antiques, gold leaf embroidered headboards, and crystal lighting further define the interiors' impeccably appointed ambiance.

The Willard Intercontinental

Cafe du Parc

Renovations also encompassed onsite authentic French brasserie Cafe du Parc including reinvented menus and the addition of several new Pershing private dining rooms featuring birds-eye views of the lobby and Peacock Alley.

The Willard Intercontinental

Cafe du Parc showcases Executive Chef Luca De Marchis's philosophy that traditional dishes should maintain the essence of their core ingredients yet evolve with modern culinary techniques and influences. Originally from Sestri Levante, a small Italian village between Cinque Terra and the French Riviera, Chef De Marchis' Mediterranean and Italian culinary roots are richly displayed in classic dishes likeSupreme de CanardandSteak au Poivre.

The Willard Intercontinental

Rooted in his birthplace of Tokyo, Sous Chef Gyo Santa's passion for Japanese culinary traditions is expressed in the quality and freshness of ingredients balanced with presentation like their grilled Vegetable Strudel and salads including their signature blueberry Kale.

The Willard Intercontinental

In-room dining here isn't merely an amenity but a must-do experience. Even turndown service includes a bit of history with small servings of animal crackers, opera cake, and peanuts upon arrival commemorating Swedish Nightingale Jenny Lind who stayed at the Willard in December 1850 while on her national tour managed by P.T. Barnum.

The Willard Intercontinental

Round Robin Bar

Open since 1847, The Round Robin Bar at the Willard features portraits of past guests like Walt Whitman, Alice Roosevelt Longworth, and Presidents Wilson, Harding and Coolidge. Their monthly History Happy Hour is a 2-hour event distilling American history through cocktails and a hands-on mixology class led by Jim Hewes, winner of Historian of the Year in 2017 by Historic Hotels of America, who has been serving up cocktails for over 30 years at this iconic watering hole.

The Willard Intercontinental

Round Robin's signature mint julep was established when U.S. Senator Henry Clay famously shipped in a barrel of Kentucky Bourbon for his diplomatic efforts. Known for bringing together the North and South, Clay frequented the bar to imbibe juleps during his 40 years in Washington. Without a doubt, the Mint Julep is an iconic American cocktail, says Hewes who still uses Henry Clays original recipe including sour mash corn whiskey distilled in Bourbon County. To this day, the Mint Julep is The Willard's most popular drink with nearly 20,000 of them served each year.

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Sebelum Anda bermain, Anda perlu mengetahui apa yang Anda butuhkan untuk masuk ke dalam permainan roulette kasino online ini. Jika Anda sudah mendaftar di situs judi casino online dan sudah memberikan user ID, login terlebih dahulu dan pilih menu live casino yang tertera di situs judi tersebut. Pertama pilih dealer dan putuskan sendiri, lalu pilih meja atau kursi di dalam ruangan. Jika namanya tertera dan berwarna coklat, maka kursi tersebut sudah ditempati oleh pemain lain, dan pilihlah kursi kosong berwarna hitam.

Kasino Roulette adalah salah satu permainan paling populer di situs perjudian kasino. Jadi dalam permainan ini kamu harus menebak angka berapa yang akan keluar. Ada 36 nomor berbeda dalam permainan populer ini di mana sebuah bola kecil diputar dan dilemparkan ke dalam mesin roulette. Anda harus menebak dari mana bola kecil itu masuk dan di nomor berapa ia berhenti. Ada banyak jenis pilihan angka dari 0-36, dan mereka dihitung secara berbeda. Sebagai agen casino terpercaya, panduan permainan roulette ini juga memberikan informasi tentang jenis pilihan dan nama permainan roulette casino online sebagai berikut:

Jika Anda ingin bermain roulette di situs kasino online, caranya sangat sederhana. Anda dapat bermain di Kasino ION, Kasino Sbobet, dan Situs Kasino. Di bawah ini adalah artikel panduan bermain di mana Anda dapat mempelajari roulette langsung dan memainkannya di situs judi online mana pun.

tangkapan layar

Sebelum Anda bermain, Anda perlu mengetahui apa yang Anda butuhkan untuk masuk ke dalam permainan roulette kasino online ini. Jika Anda sudah mendaftar di situs judi casino online dan sudah memberikan user ID, login terlebih dahulu dan pilih menu live casino yang tertera di situs judi online tersebut. Pertama pilih dealer dan putuskan sendiri, lalu pilih meja atau kursi di dalam ruangan. Jika namanya tertera dan berwarna coklat, maka kursi tersebut sudah ditempati oleh pemain lain, dan pilihlah kursi kosong berwarna hitam.

Panduan Bermain Online Kasino Roulette

Kasino Roulette adalah salah satu permainan paling populer di situs perjudian kasino. Jadi dalam permainan ini kamu harus menebak angka berapa yang akan keluar. Ada 36 nomor berbeda dalam permainan populer ini di mana sebuah bola kecil diputar dan dilemparkan ke dalam mesin roulette. Anda harus menebak dari mana bola kecil itu masuk dan di nomor berapa ia berhenti. Ada banyak jenis pilihan angka dari 0-36, dan mereka dihitung secara berbeda. Sebagai agen casino terpercaya, panduan permainan roulette ini juga memberikan informasi tentang jenis pilihan dan nama permainan roulette casino online sebagai berikut:

1. Straight Up: Penempatan angka tunggal dari 0 hingga 36. Contoh perhitungan straight up adalah mengalikan taruhan dengan 35. Ini adalah jenis taruhan tertinggi dalam permainan roulette kasino, jadi 50 dikalikan dengan 35 memberi Anda 1750, mengapa jenis taruhan ini menghasilkan pengembalian yang begitu tinggi? Hal ini karena tidak mudah untuk memenangkan pilihan nomor dengan memilih hanya satu nomor dari banyak.

2. Taruhan split: Jenis taruhan yang ditempatkan pada dua angka atau di antara dua angka yang berbeda. Misalnya, menempatkan di sela-sela angka 9 dan 12 atau 13d dan 14 dihitung sebagai jenis taruhan split. Setiap nomor dapat ditempatkan dalam jenis ini selama nomor tersebut berdekatan dan persis seperti Gambar A dan B. Untuk taruhan ini, jika Anda memenangkan contoh dan mengalikannya dengan 850, Anda akan menerima jumlah taruhan yang dikalikan dengan 17. .

3. Taruhan jalanan: bertaruh dengan 3 angka ke bawah, misalnya 1,2,3 atau 10,11,12. Semua taruhan jalan akan menerima kemenangan dikalikan dengan 11. Misalnya, 50 dikalikan 550.

4. Taruhan sudut: Jenis taruhan di mana empat angka ditempatkan saling berhadapan, seperti 13,14,16,17 atau 19,20,22,23. Semua angka valid karena terdiri dari 4 angka yang diisi seperti kotak dan taruhan dikalikan 8 (misalnya 50 kali 800).

5. Taruhan baris: Atau, Anda dapat mengatakan bahwa ada 6 jenis taruhan yang terdiri dari 2 baris, tetapi 6 poin dengan 2 peregangan, seperti taruhan jalanan. Misalnya, jika Anda memilih angka 7 hingga 12 dan 13 hingga 18, taruhan 50 adalah 5 kali dan kemudian dikalikan dengan 250 kemenangan.

6. Kolom Inner Bet: Jenis taruhan vertikal dengan 12 poin berturut-turut, seperti kolom numerik 1,4,7,10,13,19,22,25,25,28,22,24,34 atau kolom lainnya. Dan jika dia memenangkan kolom, 50 taruhan digandakan dan 100 taruhan.

7. Lusin : Jenis taruhan menempatkan 12 angka tetapi menempatkannya pada kotak berbentuk seperti contoh Kolom A dengan angka 1 sampai 12 dan odds dengan kolom lain untuk dipilih dengan memilih 1 kotak pertama untuk Kolom A. Kalikan dengan 2, 50 taruhan 100.

8. Zero part : Cara bertaruh 0.1,2,3 sama persis seperti di gambar, karena berdekatan dengan angka 0, anda hanya bisa bertaruh 0.1,2,3. Menempatkan taruhan ini mengalikannya dengan 50. hingga 8.

9. Zero Corner: Bertaruh pada angka 0.1,2 atau 0.2,3 adalah dua pilihan karena Anda hanya bertaruh mendekati angka nol. Jenis taruhan ini dikalikan 11 jika taruhan menang.

10. Two Dozen: Jenis taruhan dengan hanya dua pilihan: 1-18 atau 19-36. Jika taruhan Anda adalah 50, itu dikalikan dengan 1 hingga 50 jika Anda menang.

11. Merah atau Hitam: Masukkan taruhan Anda dengan memilih Merah atau Hitam sebagai warna angka yang muncul saat taruhan 50.

12. Genap/Ganjil: Pilih angka yang menghasilkan jumlah jenis taruhan ganjil.
A worker gives technical instructions to a farmer at a wheat field in Xunxian County, central China's Henan Province, May 18, 2016. (Xinhua/Zhu Xiang)

BEIJING, Nov. 29 (Xinhua) -- For thousands of years, Chinese farmers have relied on their experience to grow crops, but Zhang Yufeng in central China's Henan Province has recently turned to big data.

A screen in his field shows temperature, humidity, wind, rain, soil conditions, pest control and disaster warning information.

In March, the warning of a cold spell reminded him to take precautions, which prevented a loss of 133-hectares of wheat.

The data and information Zhang receives is provided by a satellite-land system at the local agricultural meteorological station in Xun County, the city of Hebi.

The system, put into operation in 2015, gets real-time data on temperature, humidity, wind direction, soil temperature and humidity, etc., with 39 sets of land-based sensors installed in the field. The data will be compared with that collected by Fengyun meteorological satellites to provide accurate data that will then be sent to farmers.

"Important data such as pest control information, and best wheat harvest time can be provided timely, which helps increase yield by about 25 kg per mu (0.067 hectare)," said Ren Liwei, an official of the local meteorological bureau.

The station has also developed a mobile app to make the latest land data accessible to farmers, anywhere and anytime.

With cameras installed in the fields, farmers are able to look at their land on the phone. If farmers find pests or any other problems, they can take photos, upload them and get help from experts via the app.

"Messages will be sent to my phone telling me the best time to sow, spray insecticide, water, and harvest. We feel much more secure with big data behind all this," Zhang said.

FROM EXPERIENCE TO BIG DATA

Jiang Huizhi, a senior agronomist in Xun County, has witnessed how experience and big data matter in agriculture.

"In the past, farmers mainly relied on experience that was gained and passed on by generations. One example is the 24 traditional Chinese solar terms," he said.

The 24 solar terms are important astronomical points on the Chinese calendar, and were added to the UNESCO list of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2016.

"One farmer's proverb says, rice will be harvested in the field when Autumnal Equinox falls, usually between Sept. 22 and 24," he said.

Now, farmers have come up with new sayings, one of which goes, "drones spray insecticides, and big data shows the right time to reap."

"We didn't have technologies or advanced equipment in the past, so we had to turn our to experience, which has played an essential role in agriculture," he said.

"Now, technologies such as big data and the Internet of Things provide farmers with accurate and scientific data in various aspects, helping us to better irrigate, manure, and spray insecticide," he added.

According to Jiang, the wheat yield per mu has been increased from 200kg to 300 kg in the 1980s to 650 kg today in the county.

"High technologies are especially helpful in forecasting disasters such as cold spells, gales and freezing weather," he said.

"It is the trend to grow crops with big data," said Guo Yujie, associate professor with North China University of Water Resources and Electric Power. "The application of big data, high technologies and the Internet of Things will be stepped up, with fewer people farming in China."

At Qixing farm, the largest paddy farm in northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, a big data center has been built, which receives data collected from high-resolution Gaofen-1 satellites.

"The big data system has covered an area of 81,300 hectares at Qixing farm, providing data on land, environment, machine and other related business management," said Peng Rongjun, director of the farm.

A total of 200 monitor spots, 20 meteorological machines and 20 sets of underground water-level monitoring equipment have been installed in the fields at the year-end of 2016, creating an Internet of Things that collects production data.

Heilongjiang is China's largest grain-producing region, accounting for one-tenth of the country's grain output and one-fifth of the country's authenticated green food.

The provincial agriculture department has been developing an agriculture big data service platform in the province since 2017.

The platform consists of one data center, 16 cloud-computing platforms, and 84 sub-systems, providing data on planting and production, machine management, manuring, crop protection, green food and quality control, etc.

A number of 1,359 machine cooperatives, 6,055 family-run farms and 27,000 machines can be monitored with the machine management control center, covering an area of 6.33 million hectares.

Data on manuring can also be collected on an area of 8.67 million hectares, and on pest control over 2 million hectares.

SMART AGRICULTURE

With the help of big data, smart agriculture is also on its way.

At the 400-hectare vegetable greenhouse of Zhonghe Group in Hebi, the roller shades can be controlled to changes in light, temperature and humidity, all at the mobile phone.

"It took much time and labor to manage the roller shades by hand, and workers sometimes had to work against big winds, which was quite tough," said Wei Aihu, director of the company's information department.

"Now, with the help of the smart control system, much labor has been saved, cutting down costs of nearly 800,000 yuan (about 115,246 U.S. dollars) each year," he added.

The company has also been equipped with automatic irrigation, ventilation and waste clearing systems.

"Big data helps us know about the environment accurately, thus reducing loss from meteorological disasters or risks. Productivity has also been lifted and costs cut down with smart equipment," he said. "Big data will be further applied in agriculture."

China released a plan on the application and development of big data in agriculture in 2015, aiming to build a national-level agriculture data platform.

So far, a number of tech companies have taken part in the development and application of big data in agriculture.

Aliyun, Alibaba's Cloud computing subsidiary, has launched a cooperation program with Shaanxi Haisheng Fresh Fruit Juice Co. Ltd. to develop an agricultural smart system, with artificial intelligence technology applied.

For example, the growth cycle of a sweet melon can be monitored by scanning a barcode. The company is able to control the whole process from sowing and growing, to harvesting and transportation, guaranteeing quality.

"Agriculture in China has entered a new era with three data collecting systems, satellites in space, drones in the sky and the Internet of Things in the fields," said Wu Wenbin, a scientist with the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences.

A triangle-shaped robot, developed by Wu's team, is working in the corn field in Minzhu Township in Heilongjiang, planning a route for itself, and measuring the height of the crops and monitoring factors influencing their growth.

"With such robots, we will be able to collect and analyze data, and operate machines on mobile phone, which will become the mode of agriculture in the future," Wu said.
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Argentine students in an advanced Chinese language class hold papers with "G20 Argentina welcomes you" written in Chinese characters on Wednesday at the Confucius Institute at the University of Buenos Aires in the country's capital. [Photo by XU JINGXING / CHINA DAILY]

Nation seen as the champion of global economic governance, free trade

China can play a big role in boosting the international community's confidence in safeguarding the multilateral trading system at the G20 Leaders' Summit, experts said.

President Xi Jinping will attend the two days of meetings in Argentina starting Friday.

Leaders of the G20 nations will meet in the capital, Buenos Aires, amid the slowing growth of global trade and investment at a time of growing worries about protectionism.

China's foreign policies, featuring mutual respect and win-win cooperation, remain in step with the purpose and goal of the G20, so it can push for the forum to play a more important role under the new circumstances, said Xu Xiujun, vice-director of the Institute of World Economics and Politics at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

As an important contributor to global economic governance, China has been actively engaged in macroeconomic policy coordination and multilateral cooperation under the framework of the G20, Xu said.

Xu highlighted the role of the G20 in coping with the financial crisis 10 years ago, saying the G20 countries should take collective action to deal with the challenges that the existing trade system are facing in a bid to enhance global economic growth.

Speaking highly of China's role in ensuring the success of the G20 Summit held two years ago in Hangzhou, Cambridge University professor Alan Barrell said he expected a more significant role for China this time in advancing globalization, according to Xinhua.

Barrell lauded China's consistency and determination in pursuing common development and advancing globalization. He questioned the anti-globalization actions of some countries, saying protectionism is not the answer to global trade.

"Protectionism eventually brings bad things  It always has shown to be bad in the long run," he was quoted as saying.

He said Xi's speech at the recent China International Import Expo in Shanghai demonstrated China's resolve to further open up and push for more balanced global trade, because "China is not only exporting, but also welcoming imports".

With economic globalization suffering setbacks and free trade under threat, the G20 Summit in Argentina, themed "Building Consensus for Fair and Sustainable Development", will focus on issues like the global economy, trade and investment, sustainable development, infrastructure and climate change.

Argentine President Mauricio Macri said that as host, his country will continue the consensus and results achieved at the summit in Hangzhou.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said at a news conference on Wednesday that China hopes the summit will send out a positive message of upholding multilateralism, advocating the spirit of partnership, improving global economic governance, dealing with climate change, guiding innovative growth and promoting inclusive development.

He added that China hopes the summit achieves pragmatic outcomes so as to inject fresh impetus into the world's economy in pursuit of robust, sustainable, balanced and inclusive growth.

Zhou Fangyin, a senior researcher at the Guangdong Institute for International Strategies, said the effectiveness of the G20 in international coordination of economic policy should be emphasized.

The effectiveness of the G20 comes from countries' commitment to multilateralism and united actions, Zhou added.
The actors of "The Lion King," from left Antony Lawrence who plays Scar, Calvyn Grandling (Simba), Josslynn Hlenti (Nala) and Mthokozisi Emkay Khanyile (Mufasa), pose for a photo in Seoul. Courtesy of Clip Service



By Kwon Mee-yoo



The first-ever English production of Disney's hit musical "The Lion King" has landed at the Keimyung Art Center in the southern city of Daegu and is receiving rave receptions in sold-out performances almost every day.



Based on the 1994 animated film of the same name, the musical portrays the journey of a lion cub on his way to his rightful place along with whimsical depictions using masks and puppets of a variety of animals living in grasslands.



Calvyn Grandling from South Africa plays Simba, the young lion who searches for his path of life. Grandling performs the coming-of-age story convincingly, based on his personal experiences.



"I'm from South Africa and I had to make a choice when I was 20 years old  going to university or joining The Lion King. I chose The Lion King to make money for my family and the show provided that opportunity for me," Grandling said. "Simba is forced to go on his own journey, away from his home. He feels guilty for something he is not. I used to look at that for negative, but I learned how to overcome personal struggles from Simba. It's a really big on for an actor to be true on stage."



The show's most famous tune "The Circle of Life" represents much to Grandling as well.



"When I go back home, people call me the lion king and chant Nants ingonyama from the song The Circle of Life. Listening to the song has so many meanings to me as it explains the whole story with great lyrics, music, ensemble and the heartbeat that goes through the show."



Grandling said unlike his father Mufasa's full mask, his face is half covered by a mask and half exposed to complete the lion's appearance.



"It's like half the circle of life as if it portrays Simba's journey to the king," the actor said.



Mthokozisi Emkay Khanyile, who played Mufasa in London's "The Lion King" production, joined the international tour for the solemn yet affectionate father of Simba.



"The Lion King has a lot of Asian influences in set, costume and puppet design as well as African style. It is exciting for me to share it with Korean audiences," Khanyile said. "Since we are playing set in Africa, a lot of tiny little adlibs I add to the show and character come from my experiences."



Khanyile's Mufasa mask is one of the most impressive props of the show. "With the Mufasa mask, I am very big and domineering. There's a point in the show in which he takes off the mask and puts his swords on the ground to communicate with his son, showcasing the loving father side. So the mask carries a lot of meaning, even when you do not have it on," Khanyile explained.



The moment is when he sings "They Live in You," a song newly arranged for the stage version.

"There is so much subtext going on this song. Mufasa tells his son to look at the stars and the stars are kings of the past looking over them. It's intangible, but the song encapsulates the father-son sentiment so perfectly," he said. "The song is reprised by Simba in the second act as He Lives in You and shows the spiritual support when needed. It's so delicate and beautiful and I am grateful to sing it every night."





A scene from musical "The Lion King" / Courtesy of Disney
By Park Hyong-ki





Goldman Sachs Group in New York / AP-Yonhap
By Jin Yu-young





"Absurdimals" by Gwendolyn Javor
Weld County District Attorneys Office(FREDERICK, Colo.) -- Prosecutors released discovery documents on Thursday in connection to the murder case against Chris Watts, the Colorado man sentenced this month for killing his pregnant wife and their two toddlers.



The release included photos, text messages and video of the moments after Watts killed his wife, Shanann Watts, 34, and daughters, Celeste, 3, and Bella, 4, in August at the family's home in Frederick, Colorado.



In a video recorded by a neighbor's security camera, Chris Watts is scene loading items, including a red gas can, into his truck the morning after the murders. Authorities believe he used the truck to dispose of the bodies.



Watts pleaded guilty to all three killings after initially telling police hed strangled his wife in a rage because she killed their children.



"My babies are gone, I put my hands around my wife's neck and did the same thing," Watts said during his confession. "I just felt anger. Nothing, I didnt feel anything."



He had said his wife murdered the children because their marriage was imploding, but investigators concluded that he killed all three of them.



"I was scared. I didn't know what else to do," said Watts, after telling investigators he buried their bodies in a remote oil field.



Shanann's body was discovered in a shallow grave, and the childrens' were found in oil tanks, court documents show.



"When I came home and then walked in the house, nothing. Vanished. Nothing was here," he told KMGH-TV at the time he said his wife went missing. "My kids are my life. ... I mean, those smiles light up my life."



Watts was sentenced to three consecutive life sentences without parole on Nov. 19.



Shanann Watts' parents sued Christopher Watts for her wrongful death after his sentencing, seeking funds to cover funeral expenses, the loss of their daughter's future income and compensation for emotional distress.

Copyright  2018, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.
Russia deployed another S-400 air defense missile system on Thursday in northern Crimea amid tensions in the Kerch Strait, the authorities said.

The fourth battalion of the newest S-400 system took up combat duty in northern Crimea, Russian Black Sea Fleet spokesman Alexei Rulev said.

The other three battalions have been deployed in the eastern, western and southern parts of the peninsula since Crimea was incorporated into Russia in March 2014 following a local referendum.

Before the deployment in Crimea, the fourth battalion successfully completed drills at the Kapustin Yar testing ground in Astrakhan Region, according to the Russian Defense Ministry.

Russia has strengthened its forces in Crimea amid ongoing confrontation with Ukraine in the Kerch Strait and the Sea of Azov.

Ukraine put its armed forces on full combat alert and imposed 30 days of martial law after Russian forces shot at and seized three Ukrainian naval ships near the Kerch Strait for allegedly violating the Russian border Sunday.

Russia's S-400 system is designed to destroy air targets, including warplanes, ballistic and cruise missiles, at a distance of up to 400 km and at an altitude of up to 30 km.
Kim Seol-kyung is a translator who graduated from Ewha Womans University Graduate School of Translation and Interpretation (GSTI) with a master's degree in English-Korean translation in 2015.





She was first introduced to literary translation while at Ewha GSTI, where courses were stimulating and intriguing, and the translation of both fiction and poetry, especially from Korean to English, was intrinsically motivating for her.





"I had to give it a go eventually, and the Korea Times Translation Awards seemed like a great opportunity."





She translated novelist Kim Ae-ran's "A Covering Hand" for the 49th Modern Korean Literature Translation Awards.





"I was amused by the touch of irony weaved throughout the story including the subtle twist at the end which leaves speculations about the credibility of a young character and which is also implied in the story's title, 'A Covering Hand.' The writer's calm, descriptive style of writing was also an aspect I personally looked forward to in translating the work," she said.













For Kim, translating an entire work requires a certain rigor and commitment and maintaining momentum was a considerable part of the effort. Other than that, the translation process itself was an enjoyable and gratifying experience for her.





Kim believes that a good translation is a faithful representation of the original work and a seamless read in the target language.





"As a translator, I sometimes think what I do is similar to an actress who plays her role, except in the linguistic sense. The more my performance is in tune with the text, the more my effort is unnoticeable, the more my personality remains undetected in the end product, and the writer's is left intact, the more likely the gig will have been a good one."


Yang Eun-mi

Yang Eun-mi is a poet who earned her master's degree in creative writing from the University of Edinburgh where she won the Grierson Verse Prize. She is currently working on her doctoral thesis regarding problems in Korean-English translation, how global readers react to English editions of Korean literature, and most of all fundamental factors that might be hinder Korean literature from globalizing.



Ed Bok Lee is a poet who authored poem collections "Whorled" and forthcoming "Mitochondrial Night." Lee, raised in South Korea and the United States, earned his master's degree from Brown University.



Yang and Lee met in 2014 when they were both in residency at the Toji Cultural Center in Wonju, Gangwon Province, and decided to collaborate as co-translators of contemporary Korean poetry. "There aren't enough contemporary Korean poets translated into English. As a poet of Korean descent who is fluent in English, I wanted to contribute to this in some way," Lee said.





Ed Bok Lee




By Jung Da-min







The Corea Image Communication Institute (CICI) held a winter gathering Monday at the Grand Hyatt Seoul.







At the CICI-Korea CQ Winter Welcoming Gathering, members of CICI reviewed this year's cultural events, where opinion leaders home and abroad gathered to learn about and experience Korean culture.







CICI's plans for next year have also been revealed.







Among the nine main events held this year were: A tour of KEB Hana Bank Place 1 and lecture on '2018 Economic View' in February and a visit to 'Nine House' in Gapyeong, the house of Jazz vocalist Nah Youn-sun and her husband In Jae-jin, Jarasum Jazz Festival director, in May.







August saw the Culture Communication Forum 2018 (CCF 2018), where 10 delegates from 10 countries were invited.







In October there was a visit to the National Hangeul Museum and a special lecture by Seung H-Sang, Chief Commissioner of the Presidential Commission on Architecture Policy.







2018 participants also experienced a visit to CEO of Designhouse, Lee Young-hey's hanok "Jiwoohun" and a lecture on hanbok by Kim Young-jin, CEO of Tchai Kim in November.







In 2019, CICI's event series will kick off with the CICI Korea 2019 Korea Image Awards on Jan. 10.







Main events that will be held next year include a special lecture by Kim Rando, professor of consumer science and trends at Seoul National University, as well as a visit to Chief Commissioner of the Presidential Commission on Architecture Policy, Seung H-Sang's "Iroje."







Additionally, there will be a special lecture by professor Yoo Hong-jun, former director of the Cultural Heritage Administration (CHA).







Interested parties can also expect a visit to the Yoo Geum Museum and a special lecture on "Preservation of Hanok in North Korea" by Dr. Elisabeth Chabanol  director of the French School of Asian Studies and team leader of French-North Korean joint investigation.






A South Korean train is departing from Seoul Station for a joint railway inspection with North Korea, Friday. Yonhap



A South Korean train departed for North Korea on Friday for an 18-day joint railway inspection that the Koreas are conducting as part of efforts to modernize, and eventually reconnect, rail lines across their border.



The train, made up of six cars and carrying dozens of South Korean officials and experts, left Dorasan Station, just south of the inter-Korean border, around 9:05 a.m. for Panmun Station, near the North's border city of Kaesong.



The train will be used to inspect 1,200 kilometers of rail track in the North through Dec. 18.



The inspection is part of a summit agreement between the leaders of the Koreas, signed in April, to modernize and eventually reconnect rail systems across their border in a bid to foster reconciliation on the Korean Peninsula.



"The inter-Korean railway connection project is intended to overcome division and open a new future of the Korean Peninsula," Unification Minister Cho Myoung-gyon told a ceremony at Dorasan Station to mark the launch of the inspection.



"Through the one connected railway, the South and the North will prosper together and the ground for peace on the Korean Peninsula will be consolidated. The trains running on the track will also carry peace and prosperity with them to Northeast Asia and the world," he added.





South Korean delegates aboard a train moving toward North Korea for a joint railway inspection. Yonhap





The train crossing into North Korea. Yonhap
President Moon Jae-in delivers a speech before the start of a dinner meeting with South Korean residents living in Argentina at a hotel in Buenos Aires, Friday (KST). Yonhap



By Kim Yoo-chul



BUENOS AIRES  South Korea wants to sign a working-holiday visa program with Argentina to allow eligible people to travel and work in each other's country, President Moon Jae-in said Friday (KST).



"At a meeting with Argentine President Mauricio Macri, I will suggest plans for building mutual trust and improving relations. One of them is to sign a working-holiday program," Moon said at a dinner meeting with some 230 South Korean business leaders and residents living in the Argentine capital.



The program will allow Koreans to gain a unique travel, work and life experience and enhance their understanding of Argentina's culture  and vice versa, Moon said.



The upcoming summit between Moon and Macri scheduled for early Saturday (KST) marks the first such South Korea-Argentina meeting in 14 years, according to Cheong Wa Dae.



"Separately, South Korea is also eyeing a deal with Argentina to help South Koreans living here get more tax breaks and even pension benefits," Moon said, adding such increased exchanges will strengthen the longstanding ties between South Korea and Argentina.



"South Korea will provide more assistance to ethnic Korean living in the Argentine capital and other cities here to help them better understand the Korean language, history and culture," Moon said.





President Moon Jae-in, center, is briefed on fallen Argentine heroes who fought for democracy during the military dictatorship during his visit to the National History Museum in La Plata, Buenos Aires, Friday (KST). From 1976-1983, a brutal military junta ruled Argentina. Yonhap
Conscientious objectors celebrate their release outside a prison in Daegu, Friday. Yonhap



Most conscientious objectors imprisoned for refusing military service were released on parole Friday, following the Supreme Court's recent not-guilty verdict.?



The Ministry of Justice said that 58 inmates convicted for refusing to serve in the military, due to religious beliefs and reasons of conscience, were released from prisons and detention centers nationwide. The release reduced the number of such objectors serving jail terms to 13, it said.



The 58 people have spent more than six months in prison, the ministry said, adding that five other imprisoned conscientious objectors found unfit for parole in the ministry's screening won't be released this time.





A released conscientious objector holds out his hand to his family waiting for him outside the Daegu prison, Friday.





A total of 58 conscientious objectors were released on parole, while 13 who have not yet met minimum requirements for it are still behind bars.





The release came after the Supreme Court on Nov. 1 acquitted a man indicted for refusing conscription on the grounds of religious faith.







The released conscientious objectors will engage in various social services. Yonhap




Foreign ownership of South Korean land increased 1.8 percent in the first half of 2018 compared with the end of last year, the transport ministry said Friday.







Foreigners owned 243.25 million square meters, or 0.2 percent, of Korean land in the first half. It was up from 238.90 million square meters at the end of December, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said in a statement.







The value of land held by foreigners also increased 0.5 percent to 30.282 trillion won ($26.9 billion) from 30.118 trillion won during the same period, it said.







By country, 5 out of 10 foreigners who hold property in Korea were from the United States, with others from Japan, China and Europe, the statement said.







Chinese people had made an aggressive investment in land on Jeju Island, a southern scenic resort island, until 2014, but their land purchases began to fall off in 2015, it said.






The Salvation Army started its annual year-end street fundraising campaign on Friday. It is collecting donations at 440 red kettles across the country until Dec. 31.







The religious institution had a launch ceremony at 11 a.m. in Gwanghwamun, central Seoul.







This year's target is 14.5 billion won ($12.94 million), up from 10.8 billion won last year.








Members of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions destroy signs that read "flexible working hours" and "irregular employment" at a rally on Yeouido, Seoul, Nov. 21, the day the umbrella union held a strike. / Korea Times photo by Shin Sang-soon
President Moon Jae-in and first lady Kim Jung-sook arrive at Ministro Pistarini International Airport for the G20 summit in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Thursday (KST). AP-Yonhap





By Kim Yoo-chul



BUENOS AIRES  President Moon Jae-in plans to ask U.S. President Donald Trump to meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un as early as possible, a presidential aide said Friday.



Finding a breakthrough to the stalled denuclearization talks between Washington and Pyongyang will be the main topic at Moon's summit with Trump in the Argentine capital early Saturday (KST). Cheong Wa Dae and White House officials said only translators could be allowed to attend the meeting.



"Moon plans to deliver his hopes at the upcoming meeting with Trump for an early second summit between the U.S. and North Korea to advance the denuclearization process of the North," the aide told The Korea Times, asking not to be named.



White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders told reporters aboard Air Force One that Trump's meeting with Moon had been changed to "pull-asides," meaning Trump will meet "informally, not formally" with him on the sidelines of the G20 summit.





Moon and first lady Kim Jung-sook arrived in the Argentine capital, Thursday, to participate in meetings with leaders from the advanced economies.















U.S. President Donald Trump talks to reporters with first lady Melania Trump as they leave the White House in Washington, D.C., Friday, (KST) to travel to the G20 summit in Argentina. Reuters-Yonhap



The Trump administration is pushing hard for a second summit between Trump and Kim by "early 2019," hoping to provide momentum to the stalled denuclearization talks that have so far produced few tangible results since the two leaders' June meeting in Singapore.



Moon, who has claimed the role of "mediator and facilitator" on North Korean issues, is facing pressure to keep the denuclearization talks going after a planned meeting between U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and his North Korean counterpart Kim Yong-chol over the specifics of a second Trump-Kim summit was called off by the North because of a "matter of scheduling."



It remains to be seen whether Moon will deliver any handwritten messages that he may have received from Kim to Trump. Washington wants Pyongyang to present details in achieving final, fully verified denuclearization (FFVD).



An early second summit between Trump and Kim is crucial for several inter-Korean economic projects that have been put on hold due to growing fears that fast-developing inter-Korean relations may get out of step with Washington.



Moon is moving quickly to improve inter-Korean relations. But his engagement-focused North Korean policy is in jeopardy due to little progress despite concerted efforts in bringing a lasting peace to the Korean Peninsula.



His approval rating in South Korea this week fell below 50 percent for the first time since he took office in May last year. A survey showed support for Moon was down 3.2 percentage points over the week to 48.8 percent.



The continued fall in his approval rating coincides with worsening economic indicators and a widening income gap between the haves and have-nots.



North Korean leader Kim Jong-un shakes hands with South Korean President Moon Jae-in at the Military Demarcation Line (MDL) that divides the two countries ahead of their summit at the truce village of Panmunjeom in April this year. AFP-Yonhap
Chinese President Xi Jinping's state visit to Argentina will facilitate in-depth dialogue and cooperation between the two countries, as both sides will deal with the core agendas concerning global development, Jorge Faurie, Argentine Minister of Foreign Affairs and Worship, said in a recent interview.

During Xis stay in Argentina, he is scheduled to have his fifth meeting in three years with Argentine President Mauricio Macri. The number also verifies the importance of bilateral ties as each meeting between the two leaders means an upgrade of bilateral cooperation.

Faurie, who has attended three meetings between Macri and Xi as accompanying official, said he is impressed by Xis farsighted speech with inspiring connotation.

Hailing the extensive cooperation between the two countries, Faurie said that they have made great progress from cooperation in railway transportation, energy, agriculture, finance and other fronts since establishing comprehensive strategic partnership in 2014.

Both countries can realize win-win outcomes through complementary economic and trade cooperation, given that Argentina is putting trade high on agenda, while China is keeping opening itself to the world, the minister suggested.

By engaging in energy and infrastructure projects in Argentina, Chinese companies have greatly bolstered Argentinas economic growth, he added.

The huge Chinese market with 1.4 billion population provides a precious trade opportunity for Argentina, said the minister, adding that a growing relationship with China is of vital importance for his country.

Hosting the G20 Summit is an unparalleled chance for Argentina. We expect to strengthen cooperation with China to push the summit for positive outcomes, the minister said.

He added that his country has borrowed the experience of Hangzhou Summit in agenda design, venue arrangements, and meeting security when preparing for this years meeting over the past year.

Inclusive growth will be emphasized at the G20 Summit to increase the welfare of people all over the world, Faurie said.

China, as one of key players in global agendas, is always future-oriented when facing the big issues concerned by the international community, the minister hailed, adding that it plays a constructive role whenever in dealing with climate change or moving forward international trade.

Faurie stressed that Argentina is a staunch supporter of multilateral trade. Given the irreversible trend of economic globalization, an economic and trade collaboration with China is of positive significance for Argentina.

He illustrated that China has accumulated rich experience in digital technology, which Argentina is now in need.

Faurie also affirmed his countrys willingness to participate in Belt and Road construction, saying that the co-construction will intensify Argentinas ties with other countries including China, and push for common development of countries and regions along the route.

This year marks the 5th anniversary of the initiative, and we expect to draw a blueprint for future development along with China, he said.




A train carrying a team of South Korean officials that will inspect railway sections in the North with their North Korean counterparts passes a section of the Gyeongui Line at the demilitarized zone in Paju, Gyeonggi Province, Friday. / Joint Press Corps




By Yi Whan-woo





Moon Chung-in Yun Kun-young
A soldier watches a guard post in Cheorwon, Gangwon Province, being removed on Nov. 15. / Korea Times file



By Kim Bo-eun



South and North Korea completed the demolishing of guard posts within the demilitarized zone and removing landmines from the Arrowhead Ridge in Cheorwon, Gangwon Province, Friday.



These actions were part of a military agreement signed at the third inter-Korean summit in September, aimed at reducing military tension and building trust.






A college student gives a speech during a rally organized by progressive activists at Gwanghwamun Square, downtown Seoul on Nov. 18, to welcome North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's possible visit to the South. / Korea Times photo by Suh Jae-hoon







By Yi Whan-woo



Progressive-minded activists are calling for North Korean leader Kim Jong-un to visit Seoul promptly to speed up inter-Korean reconciliation.

But this has irked some conservatives because the activists are holding rallies where they speak highly of Kim and demand that South Koreans should welcome him in a "respectful manner."

On Nov. 18, left-wing activists organized a rally at Gwanghwamun Square in downtown Seoul. The rally was the second of its kind since the group was launched on Nov. 7.

The group, roughly translated as the Committee for Paektu Praise, is named after the Mount Paektu bloodline, a three-generation lineage of North Korean leadership descended from founding leader Kim Il-sung.

The rally was held only 50 meters from the U.S. Embassy in Korea. The event involved speeches in which participants welcomed the young North Korean leader's possible visit to the South in advance.

They underscored Kim's promise to come here during his September summit with President Moon Jae-in in Pyongyang and hung massive photos of the two leaders holding hands and a panoramic view of Mount Paektu.

Among the placards were ones reading "We welcome Chairman Kim Jong-un's Seoul visit," and "Let's bring forward unification by implementing the agreements reached by the leaders of the South and the North."

"It is a courtesy for us to welcome Kim, as President Moon was welcomed by North Koreans," said senior committee member Kim hang-sung. "It is good for peace and unification of the Korean Peninsula."

Participants wear flower-shaped masks and hold placards and flags of the Korean Peninsula to welcome North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's possible visit to Seoul. / Korea Times photo by Suh Jae-hoon



Some participants wore flower-shaped masks and wore stickers reading "Seoul," "visit," "fervently," and "welcome" on their cheeks.

During the speeches, seven participants, including four college students, shared what they thought of Kim and how his possible visit would contribute to inter-Korean relations.

"My first thought was that he has a really good voice," said a Hongik University student surnamed Koo, referring to Kim's New Year's address at which he proposed reconciliation after carrying out a series of military provocations a year ago.

"I believe what we saw on television is Kim's genuine character," Koo said.

A Kwangwoon University student surnamed Lee said, "Everyone should welcome the visit of North Korea's supreme leader, because praising and encouraging inter-Korean relations will take us to unification."

A Sungkyunkwan University student surnamed Kim accused the U.S. of "preventing Kim's visit," saying, "The U.S. has been separating the South and the North and Kim's trip will prove how we can overpower the U.S."

Another student surnamed Choo said Kim's New Year's address was "full of his thoughts to resolve the people's issues in an autonomous and self-reliant manner."

The speeches were followed by artistic performances, including a play in which the actors and actresses criticized conservative lawmakers for opposing Kim's visit and called for "a unified effort" for peace.

Another play was about Naengmyun (cold noodle) and taedonggang beer that gained public attention in Seoul during Moon's Pyongyang visit.

The audience chanted and cheered as the actors sang a song about delicious North Korean food.

At a separate rally also held at Gwanghwamun Square, 10 anti-U.S. activists, including a pastor, held a prayer meeting. They called for "kicking U.S. imperialists out of the peninsula" while protesting against the U.S. Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) battery in the South.

"The U.S. is only asking North Korea to denuclearize without mentioning a peace treaty at all," said the pastor, whose name was withheld. "The U.S. should declare an end to the Korean War if it deems the South as its ally. Otherwise it is merely plotting to separate the two Koreas forever."

Some conservative activists organized a rally protesting the pro-Kim rally.

"I don't understand how they can advocate Kim and not denounce him," one protester said. "Kim has no intention of giving up his nuclear program and those pro-Kim activists are committing treason. The rallies should be stopped immediately."

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Unification said on Nov. 19 that Kim could visit the South within this year, despite little progress being made in the Washington-Pyongyang talks on denuclearization.

"We will make preparations to ensure that the agreements that the South and the North agreed upon, including Kim's trip to the South, take place without a hitch within this year," ministry spokesman Baik Tae-hyun said. "I hope that progress in the denuclearization talks can help speed the peace process on the Korean peninsula."

Regarding the talks between Washington and Pyongyang and their impact on Kim's possible Seoul trip, he said, "It is a matter that needs to be worked out by those countries."

Chung Dong-young, chairman of the liberal Party for Democracy and Peace, said the National Assembly should arrange a speech for Kim if he visits Seoul.

Chung, a unification minister during the Roh Moo-hyun presidency (2003-2008), visited the North.

"Kim's declaration of denuclearization and a new vision of state strategies in an address to the National Assembly will mark a turning point on the peninsula," Chung said at a party leadership meeting.

"The issue was discussed during a dinner meeting between National Assembly Speaker Moon Hee-sang and leaders of five major political parties on Nov. 16 and conservative opposition parties didn't express negative or opposing views on Kim's parliamentary speech."

Chung said the North Korean leader should keep his promise to visit Seoul, saying it would also be beneficial to the North.

Twenty-four members of the Jeju provincial council presented a motion for a resolution calling for the leaders of the two Koreas to visit Mount Halla together.

The measures came after President Moon said on Oct. 28 that he could climb Mount Halla on South Korea's southernmost Jeju Island with Kim.

Paektu and Halla are the tallest mountains in their respective countries.

Political sources believe Kim's possible visit to Mount Halla will facilitate cross-border reconciliation.
South Korea and Australia agreed Wednesday to extend a free English-language training program for young North Korean defectors as part of efforts to help them sharpen their competitive edge in the global community, the unification ministry said.



The unification ministry signed the agreement with Australia's foreign ministry and UTS Insearch, a language school of the University of Technology Sydney, to extend the 30-week language course for another three years through 2021.



The three sides have jointly funded the program since its inception in 2016.



Under the program, five North Korean-born college students in South Korea have been given the free education every year, and the number of beneficiaries will rise to seven from 2020, officials said.



Those aged 18 or older can apply for the program in February and March next year. The selected will be sent to Sydney to learn English from June 2019 to February 2020, the ministry said.



The program is part of efforts to provide more support for North Korean defectors, whose number has exceeded around 30,000. (Yonhap)




A train bound from South Korea heads to Jejin Station in Goseong County in Gangwon Province in May 2007 after passing the military demarcation line that divides South and North Korea during a test of the connecting section between Gyeongui Line and Donghae Line. Yonhap



South Korea is sticking to the plan to hold a groundbreaking ceremony for inter-Korean railway and road connection projects this year as the two Koreas are to begin a joint inspection of the rail system in North Korea this week, a unification ministry official said Thursday.



After a months-long delay, South and North Korea are set to launch an 18-day joint inspection of the western and eastern railways of the North on Friday. A South Korean train will leave for the North early in the day with dozens of officials and railway experts on board.



This is part of the two Koreas' plan to modernize and reconnect their railways and roads as agreed upon by their leaders in April.





Imjingang Station in Paju, Gyeonggi Province, connects South Korean district of Munsan to Gaesong in North Korea through Gyeongui Line railway. Yonhap



They later promised to hold a groundbreaking ceremony for the cross-border projects before the end of this year. There is nevertheless speculation over whether they can make good on the promise due to a delay in the railway inspection and a failure to hold a similar road inspection in the North.



"It was agreed to hold (the ceremony) within this year. We plan to stick to the agreement," the official told reporters on condition of anonymity.



The joint railway inspection was initially scheduled to take place in August, but the U.S.-led United Nations Command disapproved it, citing procedural problems. The disapproval was seen as reflecting Washington's displeasure with its possible violation of sanctions.



The U.N. Security Council recently decided to grant a sanctions exemption, allowing the once-suspended project to go ahead.





A South Korean, right, and a North Korean shake hands as the two Koreas start building a road inside the Demilitarized Zone in Cheorwon, Gangwon Province, Nov. 22. Yonhap


By Kim Hyun-bin



The government's lack of policies and budget to contain highly infectious tuberculosis is stirring fears of a possible outbreak.



In the wee hours of Nov. 19, a tuberculosis (TB) patient in his 40s left a TB specialized hospital where he was in quarantine and disappeared. The patient only identified by his surname Kim was diagnosed with TB and had been getting treatment at the Seobuk Hospital in Seoul for three months.



Kim took advantage of the lax nighttime security at the hospital and changed into ordinary clothes and departed, according to police.



The Eunpyeong Police Station in Seoul has been trying to trace Kim's whereabouts but has so far been unsuccessful.



The U.S. Centers for Disease Control notes, "The bacteria that cause TB are spread through the air from person to person when a person with the disease coughs, speaks or sings. People nearby may breathe in these bacteria and become infected. People with TB usually have symptoms and may spread the TB bacteria to others."



TB patients are treated separately from other patients due to the highly infectious nature of the disease, however, when a patient runs away it becomes a desperate chase by police and creates public fear of a possible outbreak.



Even though there have been several cases of TB patients on the loose, the government has been irresponsible in its response; and the lack of a budget has made it difficult to prevent and manage TB patients.



Among the 35 Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) nations Korea has the most TB patients accounting for 77 out of every 100,000 people.



Police pursuit of runaway patient



There have been several incidences where a TB patient has broken quarantine. On Oct. 4, a patient in his late 50 ran and was caught on the subway in Seoul still wearing a hospital gown.



Hundreds of passengers on the subway had to be evacuated and health officials had to conduct an investigation.



Currently, there are no government countermeasures but to chase after TB patients who defy quarantine measures.



The Korea Center for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) has requested the government and the National Assembly to allow isolation wards to be built in the hospital to prevent TB patients from fleeing, but has been rejected for three consecutive years.



"When a TB patient is hospitalized they are not allowed to leave, however, we do not have isolation wards that prevent such patients from leaving. They are being treated in ordinary wards that have open access," Seo Hye-sook head of the medical treatment department at Seobuk Hospital said.



Under the Fire Services Act, it is mandatory for regular wards to be in an open area, allowing medical staff to constantly watch over patients.



However, most treatments are provided for free and there is a lack of budget and personnel to manage TB patients.



"It wouldn't be a surprise if all medical staff became infected with TB. The working environment here is really bad. When Kim left the hospital during the weekend, there were only two medical staff on duty. We are heavily short of personnel," Seo added.



Only 500 million won in gov't support



The problem comes down to money. The isolation units requested from the government are estimated to cost 4 billion won ($3.5 billion) each, however, it is having trouble coming up with the money.



"We have asked the Seoul city and central governments to pay for 2 billion each to construct the isolation units. The city government came up with the funding but the central government did not. That is the reason we are strongly requesting the National Assembly for the money," a KCDC official said.



There is a shortage of government funds to be appropriated for specialized TB hospitals. According to the KCDC, there are seven hospitals nationwide that provide free TB treatment for families in need. However, the total yearly budget to treat the patients is 500 million won each.



"We have more TB patients than any other OECD nation, but there is a big hole in managing them. Even just one TB patient on the loose could become a grave threat to the public. Facilities to treat TB patients are direly needed but we are having difficulty receiving the funds we need," a KCDC official said.




Society of Ieodo Research President Koh Choong-suk, front row sixth from left, poses for a group photo during the sixth Ieodo International Seminar on Jeju Island, Thursday. / Korea Times photo by Park Ji-won



By Park Ji-won



JEJU ISLAND  Global maritime experts on sea disputes gathered on Jeju Island to discuss how to resolve territorial conflicts in the East Asian region.



They said at the sixth international seminar on Ieodo, a rock near Jeju, that related countries, especially China, need to cooperate and uphold the rule of international law. Tensions have been intensifying there following China's efforts to expand its territory in the region in a battle with the United States for supremacy.



Under the theme "Beyond East Asian Maritime Conflict," the two-day forum ran through Friday where experts from the U.S., China, Japan, Vietnam and the Philippines gathered to share their knowledge to seek peaceful cooperation regarding the disputed island and territories among the East Asian countries. The seminar was divided into three sessions  two were held on Thursday and the remaining one on Friday. Each session was followed by a discussion, which included a Q&A period.



The Society of Ieodo Research, a Jeju Island-based think tank, was hosting the event while The Korea Times, Hankyoreh Media Group and the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries were co-sponsors.





Seen is the Ieodo Ocean Research Station run by the South Korean government near Ieodo, a submerged rock situated 149 kilometers southwest of the country's southwestern Marado, in December 2013. / Korea Times file




By Jung Min-ho





Many Filipinos have reacted with fury after a Korean lawmaker belittled their country during a recent

with Korean daily Dong-A Ilbo.





The reactions came after Rep. Lee Un-ju of the minor right-wing Bareunmirae Party said the people of Korea "would have lived in a country worse than the Philippines" if former military dictator Park Chung-hee had not ruled the country.





"Filipino soldiers shed their blood and died in Korea," Romeo Santos Mandinggin, a Filipino man and a fan of Korean culture, told The Korea Times. "By all means she should (apologize), but I doubt she will."





Belittling the Philippines, which was one of the first countries to send troops to South Korea during the Korean War (1950-53), is nothing but a disgraceful act, another Filipino said.





"The Philippines may not be as rich as Korea is right now, but part of Korea's development is due to the help of Filipinos even after the war," Jerry Yusi said.





The lawmaker made the comment as she defended the economic policies of Park, whom she compared with former dictators in other countries such as the Philippines' Ferdinand Marcos.





"There have been many dictators across East Asia and Africa," Lee said. "Most of them failed to develop the economy, unlike former President Park. We should recognize his achievement."





While some Koreans took her remarks just as a political attack against liberal politicians, who generally share negative views of Park, others found them very offensive to the people of the Philippines and diplomatically problematic.









A senior official at the Philippines Embassy in Seoul said the

about Lee has been brought to the attention of a person in charge and the embassy may issue a statement.


Members of the Korean Kindergarten Association hold a rally at Gwanghwamu Square in central Seoul, Thursday, to protest the government and the National Assembly's move to revise laws to strengthen regulations on private kindergarten operations. / Yonhap



Preschool operators claim revision bills infringe on private assets



By Kim Jae-heun



Private kindergarten owners from across the country have protested the government and the National Assembly's moves to pass revision bills aimed at enhancing their transparency, saying all private preschools would have to close down in the event of the bills' passage.



Thousands of members of the Korea Kindergarten Association (KKA) gathered at Gwanghwamun Square in central Seoul, Thursday, protesting the bills the Assembly's Education Committee plans to pass early next month.



The three bills were submitted after the disclosure of widespread corruption among private kindergarten owners, including accounting fraud and budget misappropriation.



Under the bills, private kindergartens will have to adopt a state-run accounting system for public institutes, while the founders of the kindergartens will be prohibited from serving as principals. Private kindergartens will also have to outsource children's meal services to operators only certified by the institution's operation council.



The KKA said it agrees with the purpose of the three revisions but the government did not invite it to take part in the revision process.



"We oppose the bills as they exclude us. The government has to recognize founders' individual assets," Lee Deok-sun, an official of the KKA, said during the rally. "The three bills do not solve the main issue and they only strengthen the punishment of kindergarten operators and criminalize them. They are unjust bills that do not recognize individual assets, which is the main idea of a liberal democracy."



Lee said if the government pushes through the three bills, kindergarten operators across the country will have no choice but to shut down their facilities.



He also urged the government to provide private preschools with the same financial support as public ones.



"If the government is going to keep arguing that kindergartens are also schools, it has to pay teachers' salaries like it does for elementary, middle and high schools," Lee said. "If the government says private kindergartens are not needed, we'll close and leave. But if they are needed, it should pay them fees because the operators' private assets are used for child education which is a public service."



According to the KKA, around 150,000 people joined the protest, while police said only 3,000 people were present at the scene.



Some of the protesters were parents because the KKA had reportedly requested each member kindergarten bring two parents to rally.



A 37-year-old mother surnamed Lee said her son's kindergarten had asked her to join the protest to prevent the kindergarten from closing down.



The KKA also collected signatures on the spot to urge President Moon Jae-in to provide direct subsidies to parents of preschoolers. The petition required both parent and children's names.



Meanwhile, a civic group named Political Moms held a press conference just behind the KKA's rally to demand faster movement to pass the revision bill.



"We don't have much time as the Assembly's regular session is almost at its end," a member of the group said under the condition of anonymity.


The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) has brought opportunities to Latin America and contributed to the harmonious progress of human society, said Eddie Tapiero, a Panamanian specialist on international affairs during a recent interview with Peoples Daily.

China is willing to see the development of other countries and regions around the world, he said, adding that the BRI connects the whole globe and provides opportunities for common development.

Tapiero is the author of La Ruta de la Seda y Panama, or Silk Road and Panama, the first book on Belt and Road study in Latin America.

Starting researching and collecting related information before China and Panama established diplomatic ties, Tapiero spent five years on writing the book.

He introduced that his original intention to write this book is to understand what the BRI truly is, as the initiative is believed to be opportunities by some and a threat by the others.

The BRI is indeed an initiative of peace and development, said Tapiero, noting the 21st century is a time of high civilization in which wars and conflicts shouldnt occur so frequently any longer.

He believes the BRI is an opportunity for all participants to have equal dialogues and a platform for exchanges in various fields at different levels. It enables each party to find solutions and seek common development through consultations, he stressed.

Sharing similar experience in history, Latin America and China have both created splendid civilizations and weathered hardships, Tapiero said, raising a question that how could it be possible for a peaceful country like China to cause such hardships for other countries?

Today, the international situation is going through profound changes. The BRI proposed by China is not for intensifying competition but promoting coordination and cooperation, as China is a country that is willing to see the common development of mankind, Tapiero noted.

The BRI has enriched bilateral relations between China and Panama, Tapiero said.

In November 2017, China and Panama signed a memorandum of understanding to jointly promote the Belt and Road construction, the first one of this kind inked between China and a Latin American country.

The BRI provides rare development opportunities for Panama, said Tapiero. The Panama Canal connects not only two oceans but also two giant markets, he noted, adding that Panama hopes to become a key hub in the Belt and Road construction.
Kim Jung-ju, 87, wartime forced laborer at Nachi-Fujikoshi's aircraft part factory in 1945, wipes away tears during an interview with The Korea Times at her home in Seoul, Nov. 21. Korea Times photo by Choi Won-suk



By Lee Suh-yoon

They told her she was going to a boarding school in Japan.



"Ms. Ogaki, my Japanese homeroom teacher, told me I could meet my sister in Japan," Kim Jung-ju, 87, said in an interview at her home in Seoul last week. "There, I could also keep studying, enter middle school and stay in the same dormitory as my sister."



In the final years of Japan's occupation of Korea  which started in 1910 and ended with Japan's surrender at the end of World War II in 1945  hundreds of thousands of Koreans were mobilized in factories and mines scattered across East Asia. Roughly 250,000 Koreans were estimated to have been forced into labor and sexual slavery during the harsh colonial rule.



Kim, a native of Suncheon, South Jeolla Province, was one of over 1,000 teenage girls mobilized to assemble Japan's war supplies at a factory run by Nachi-Fujikoshi from 1944 to 1945 as part of an all-female "volunteer labor corp."



A landmark ruling Oct. 30, in which the Supreme Court ordered Nippon Steel to compensate four male forced laborers, finally opened a path for people like Kim to win their long court battles against Japanese firms.



Last Thursday, the Supreme Court ordered Mitsubishi to compensate five female forced laborers who, like Kim, were sent in their teenage years to an aircraft factory in Nagoya from 1944 to 1945. Kim's older sister Kim Sung-ju, 89, was one of them.



On the same day, the court also ordered Mitsubishi to compensate five atomic bomb survivors who were forced to work in its factories and shipyards in Hiroshima.







In her sister's footsteps



Like her sister did, before leaving the previous year, the 13-year-old Kim Jung-ju "borrowed" her father's seal from the family coffer and signed the papers given to her by Ms. Ogaki. Her father was not home, having been enlisted into a labor group in a city in Korea. Her mother was dead. Her grandparents did not know.



As she left her home in Suncheon in February 1945, her grandmother hung onto her, sobbing. A Japanese policeman peeled her away from Kim, threatening to arrest her. After a short farewell ceremony held in front of the city hall, Kim and hundreds of teenage girls from other parts of the country were herded onto a ship in Yeosu and taken to Toyama Prefecture on the west coast of Japan.



On her arrival, Kim realized something was wrong.



"There was no sign of my sister anywhere  that's when I started crying," Kim said, her eyes tearing up again.



They were shown to a two-story dormitory that hosted hundreds on each floor. Around 30 girls slept in each room, which had two rows of tatami mats lining the floor. Girls from the southwestern Jeolla region like Kim were assigned to the first floor, and those from Gyeonggi Province, the second.



"It was one of the coldest winters in Toyama's history, but they didn't give us a single pair of gloves or socks," Kim said spitefully. "In summer, I could not take a single bath."



The girls woke up at 5 a.m. every day. After everyone took turns washing their faces at the taps, one scoop of rice and watery miso soup was handed out to each person.



"Before leaving for work, they made us sing Japan's official military song," Kim said, her voice suddenly breaking out into a marching tune, "Katte kuruzoto isamasiku.." (Bravely swearing to return with victory..)

Together, the girls walked for over two hours to get to the factory.







"The factory was huge, rows of machines next to narrow passageways. The floor was slippery, coated over with black oil," Kim said.



Every day, each girl had to shave 25 to 30 steel ball bearing discs used in jet engines.








By Jung Hae-myoung







The Supreme Court upheld the High Court's decision, Thursday, imposing a life sentence on Lee Young-hak, 36, for sexually abusing and murdering his daughter's friend and abandoning her body in the mountains in Gangwon Province.







The court dismissed Lee's appeal saying life imprisonment was the appropriate sentence considering his age, cognitive state, environment, relationship with the victim and his behavior after the crime.







A local court initially handed down the death penalty for his "inhumane and horrible crime," saying "In the name of law and justice we give him the death penalty, separating him from society forever."







However, a high court commuted the penalty to a life sentence, saying "the murder was accidental and he was mentally unstable before the crime, so it can't be concluded that he is likely to repeat such an offense."







Lee was indicted in September 2017 for luring his daughter's friend to his house, sexually assaulting the girl after giving her sleeping pills, killing her and abandoning her body.







He was also known as "molar father" because he had lost all his teeth except one molar, while being treated for the rare disease gignatiform cemetoma.







His 15-year-old daughter, who was indicted for abetting her father's crime, was sentenced to six years in prison. According to juvenile criminal law, her sentence can be reduced to four years for good behavior.


People watch a TV screen showing U.S. President Donald Trump and South Korean President Moon Jae-in, left, at the Seoul Railway Station in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, March 2, 2018. Yonhap



By Kim Yoo-chul



BUENOS AIRES  The main topic of the upcoming summit between President Moon Jae-in and President Donald Trump is how to break an impasse in the denuclearization talks between the U.S. and North Korea.



There are, however, other issues that will be high on the agenda. Sources say the two leaders may discuss the possible easing of sanctions against the North, the suspension of U.S.-South Korea military exercises, and how to minimize the effects in South Korea of General Motors' restructuring.



Moon arrived in the Argentine capital late Thursday to participate in high-profile meetings with the leaders of advanced economies. The Moon-Trump meeting is scheduled for early Saturday.



"Instead of giving direct advice to move ahead with the denuclearization talks, Moon plans to reassure Trump that the United States is doing the right thing in bringing a lasting peace to the Korean Peninsula. Also, Moon will inform him of possible outcomes if the stalled talks are revived," a presidential aide told The Korea Times.



The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) has recently granted a sanctions exemption at the request of South Korea for a survey that would help reconnect railway links between the two Koreas.



The UNSC placed extensive sanctions on Pyongyang for its nuclear program back in December 2017. The United States initially proposed the sanctions, which were adopted by a vote of 15 to 0. Because of the nature of the sanctions, the exemption raised expectations in South Korea that similar measures will follow.



The aide added the government believes that complete denuclearization will be hard to achieve unless Washington offer's some incentives.






By Yi Whan-woo



Cheong Wa Dae is looking into possible hacking cases, in which emails intended to create a rift in alliance between South Korea and the United States have been sent out using the accounts of at least two senior officials.



Citing recipients of these emails, the presidential office said this is to either steal classified information on North Korea policy or drive a wedge into the South Korea-U.S. alliance by using fake documents.



"We take each case very seriously and asked the National Police Agency to look into them thoroughly," a presidential aide said asking not to be named.



The latest cases increased concerns over fake news at an alarming rate. This was because vernacular newspaper The Asia Business Daily, after obtaining a fake document on the U.S. mistrust of South Korea, published a related story on Nov. 27.



"It is way beyond a misreport and what we're facing is the most malicious case in journalism history," said Cheong Wa Dae spokesman Kim Eui-kyeom. "The way false information has been produced and disseminated is very elaborate."



He added Cheong Wa Dae will "hunt down those who are responsible," claiming the information itself was aimed at creating a rift between the two allies and therefore is anti-governmental.



In the first case, someone who pretended to be Presidential Secretary for State Affairs Yun Kun-young sent mails at the beginning of this year to multiple ministry officials.



The suspect then demanded recipients to hand over digital documents related to North Korea policy.



It remains uncertain how many shared classified information with the suspect.



One of the recipients raised a question over why such sensitive content was sent through Yun's private email address, and not the one created by Cheong Wa Dae. He called Yun to confirm accordingly.



Sources familiar with the case speculated the suspect hacked into one of Yun's private email accounts that had not been used for years.



Cheong Wa Dae sought to track down the suspect but failed to do so because the IP address used when writing emails was from abroad.



In the second case, someone impersonated cyber security staff at the National Security Office and sent emails to dozens of security experts.



The email had a PDF file attached.



Titled "Evaluation of the situation of the Korean Peninsula and Northeast Asia," the document stated gaps are widening between South Korea and the U.S. over denuclearization methods. It also stated Washington's mistrust toward Seoul is growing.



The document was purportedly issued by the National Security Office and the Asia Business Daily reported it as if it was an exclusive on Nov. 27.



But the presidential office confirmed the document was forged, pointing out that its font, style and other details are completely different from Cheong Wa Dae's.


South Korean President Moon Jae-in, center, arrives for the opening of the Group of 20 summit at the Costa Salguero Center in Buenos Aires, Argentina, early Saturday (KST), Dec. 1. AP-Yonhap

Leaders agree to maintain NK sanctions



By Kim Yoo-chul



BUENOS AIRES  President Moon Jae-in and U.S. President Donald Trump have agreed to maintain sanctions on North Korea until complete and verifiable denuclearization of the North.



Trump, however, said North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's visit to Seoul, if realized, would be a positive factor in creating new momentum for the denuclearization talks. On Sunday, Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One his next meeting with Kim is likely to be in January or February.



Moon and Trump had bilateral talks for 30 minutes on the sidelines of the G20 meeting in the Argentine capital, Saturday.



Only translators were allowed to attend the Moon-Trump meeting, and there was no joint statement after the talks.



"The summit was mainly about how to advance the stalled denuclearization process," Moon's chief press secretary Yoon Young-chan said. "They agreed that sanctions should remain until final, fully verifiable denuclearization (FFVD) is achieved."



This contradicts earlier thoughts and expectation that the Moon-Trump meeting would encompass the phased and reciprocal denuclearization of the North. Rather, the meeting apparently failed to resolve differences between Washington and Pyongyang over this.









Trump's apparent refusal to accept Moon's "sanctions-easing" pitch shows that the United States and North Korea still remain far apart on the pace of denuclearization and possible sanctions relief. Washington and Pyongyang aren't prepared for major concessions at this time, another presidential aide said.





President Moon Jae-in shakes hands with U.S. President Donald Trump before the start of their informal 'pull-asides' meeting at the Costa Salguero Center in Buenos Aires, Argentina, early Saturday (KST), Dec. 1. Yonhap




South Korea's Defence Ministry on Thursday (November 22) released a video of South amd North Korean military officers meeting at the border to reconnect a road across the two countries.

In the video, which was filmed in mid-November, military officers from the two Koreas were at the military demarcation line (MDL) during the road construction in the demilitarised zone (DMZ). Military officers from the two Koreas had short talks about the schedule and progress of construction, the ministry added.

The two Koreas reconnected a road across the MDL inside the DMZ on Thursday in joint efforts to exhume remains of soldiers killed duringKorea War, which was part of military agreement signed in latest inter-Korean summit in Pyongyang.

The 3 km-long tactical road was established in a site that the two parties have designated for the project as it was a notorious battle site of the war. (Reuters)




According to the World Health Organization, Poland has some of the most air polluted areas on the planet, ranking alongside places with infamously bad air such as Beijing and New Delhi.

Poland has some of the most polluted air on the planet.

Coal produces around 80 percent of the country's energy, though the government wants to halve this figure by 2050.

University of Silesia researchers are testing air quality, taking to the skies of Katowice in a hot-air balloon with measuring equipment.













Handout photo taken and released on November 27, 2018 by environmental organization Greenpeace, shows a Greenpeace activist after he climbed a 180 metre-high chimney at Poland's Belchatow coal-fired power plant Belchatow. AFP via Greenpeace



POST DOCTORAL RESEARCHER AND COORDINATOR OF AIR MONITORING PROJECT AT UNIVERSITY OF SILESIA, MARIOLA JABLONSKA, SAYING:

"The smallest particles enter the respiratory system and they have an impact on our health, so knowing the composition and amount of the pollutants' particles in the air is very important."

A 2016 World Health Organization report found that 33 of the 50 most-polluted places in the EU were in Poland, mostly in the country's south.

Katowice, which lies at the heart of Poland's coal country, is one of them.

The local mayor wants residents to be aware of the relationship between what they use to keep their houses warm and their health.

MARCIN KRUPA, MAYOR OF KATOWICE, SAYING:

"Everyone has someone who worked in the mines or still works in the mines, so there are certain mining traditions that have been uninterrupted for many, many years. And now breaking this impasse by the necessity of switching to another source of energy is a bit difficult. But through this education, we see that it succeeds. We see it more and more often that a grandchild asks their grandmother or grandfather: 'Why are you burning this, not something else? You see the smoke coming out of chimney and this smoke is bad for us.' And people are becoming more and more aware."

In this Nov. 21, 2018 photo a miner passes by a lorry at at the Wujek coal mine in Katowice, in Poland's southern mining region of Silesia. The mining industry has long been a source of pride and employment for generations of Silesians. For decades, its rich seams of hard, black coal were used to heat homes and provide electricity across Poland. AP



Earlier this month the government approved regulations that aim to ban the dirtiest coal. But the change will only take effect in 2020.




Jincheng, a town in northern China's Shanxi province, has made noticeable efforts to improve its environment by curbing its polluting industries, but it hasn't completely cleaned up the mess.

Mr. Gao, a local shepherd who tends a flock of sheep blackened by the soot from nearby coal mines and plants that have since closed, said that things have improved in recent years.

"Before, it all used to burn and stink. Everything was polluted. It burned and stank." said Gao.

Despite efforts to close dozens of local collieries and chemical plants, the city still failed to meet environmental targets set by the central government.

The city came short of meeting its target of cutting concentrations of lung-damaging PM2.5 particles by 10 percent last winter, and recorded 1,819 pollution violations, the most of the 28 cities.

After it was ranked the worst performer among 28 northern cities forced to impose special pollution measures, its mayor was summoned to Beijing in April to come up with an explanation.

While he admitted embarrassment, he told officials that the pollution cuts were hurting the city's economy.

Despite obvious measures taken to clean up the city's coal operation, such as putting roofs over polluting coal mines, the legacy of the industry has sunk deeply into the lives of residents.

Zhang Haibin, a 44-year old farmer living in a largely abandoned hamlet on the edge of a defunct coal deposit, said that despite the closure of the nearby mines, his house is literally falling apart.

"(Closing the mines) was useless. There are cracks everywhere, just like in this house. And this house started getting cracks long ago. This is what opening up a coal mine did to us," he said, pointing to the many cracks that riddle his home.





A chimney stands next to an empty road in Jincheng, Shanxi province, China November 12, 2018. Picture taken November 12, 2018. Reuters



While surviving mines have benefited from the closure of smaller rivals, coal-dependent businesses - including local truckers - are struggling with higher compliance costs and intense competition.

Though less labour-intensive, gas has now emerged as the major bright spot for the city, with its seams rich in coalbed methane (CBM), which has replaced coal as a source of heating for many outlying villages.

"We are in that transition mode, and clearly in transition, you have a bit of growing pains, but the transition is irreversible, said Randeep Grewal, chairman of Greka, which has drilled more than 4,500 CBM wells in Jincheng.

Beijing has promised a more business-friendly campaign this year, but Jincheng is under greater scrutiny after last year's failures, and leniency is unlikely.

Jincheng's coal districts are now in a state of siege as inspectors scour mines, washeries, chemical plants and storage depots for violations.







Workers gather at the entrance to a coal washing plant in Jincheng, Shanxi province, China November 13, 2018. Picture taken November 13, 2018. Reuters



On Monday (November 19), inspectors discovered 19 firms had failed to follow guidelines to restrict output during a smog outbreak last week, the latest in a series of problems uncovered in Jincheng throughout the year.

Ma Jun, a Beijing-based environmental campaigner, said that many cities in Shanxi rank the lowest when it comes to law enforcement because their governments lack the resources to adequately regulate polluters.

China has made efforts to cut the share of coal in total energy use, with the figure expected to drop to 58 percent by 2020, down more than 10 percentage points in a decade. It has also already met a 2020 target to cut the amount of carbon dioxide it emits per unit of growth. (Reuters)




The 7th Korea Multicultural Youth Awards has been held at the Korea Press Center where ten outstanding students were awarded for setting a great example for their peers from diverse cultural backgrounds. Nigerian-Korean model Han Hyun-min who was named one of the 30 most influential teens of 2017 by Time magazine was there to encourage biracial students to pursue their dreams.








For South Koreans seeking an escape from the everyday grind, a 24-hour lock-up at a fake prison gives them "a sense of freedom." It's an unconventional means of escape, but the participants here are paying $90 a night to stay in a South Korean prison.

Tucked away in the northeast corner of the country, the "Prison Inside Me" facility hosts stressed out workers and students who are willing to spend 24 hours in solitary confinement.

28-YEAR-OLD PRISON STAY PARTICIPANT, PARK HYE-RI, SAYING:

"Ironically, it feels this prison is giving me a sense of freedom."

Here, there's a ban on any kind of communication, mobile phones, clocks, or even mirrors, and customers say the solitude allows them to get away from their busy lives.

South Korea has an infamously demanding academic and work culture. According to data from the OECD, South Koreans worked over 2,000 hours in 2017, putting in the third-longest hours among OECD countries.

The country's suicide rate is double that of the U.S., and one of the highest in the world.

Co-founder Noh Ji-Hyang says part of the inspiration for the mock prison came from her husband, a local prosecutor who often worked about 100 hours per week.

CO-FOUNDER OF PRISON STAY, NOH JI-HYANG, SAYING:

"At first people say it would be stuffy to be in a prison cell. But after their stay, they say this isn't a prison - the real prison is where they return to."

Since last July, the South Korean government has cut working hours to 52 in a week, but the policy has drawn criticism that says its standards are too vague. (Reuters)







A participant meditates before being locked up in a cell at Prison Inside Me, a mock prison facility, in Hongcheon, South Korea, November 10, 2018. Since 2013, the facility has hosted more than 2,000 inmates, many of them stressed office workers and students seeking relief from South Korea's demanding work and academic culture. Reuters







Park Hye-ri, 28, a startup business program manager, stretches while being locked inside a cell of Prison Inside Me, a mock prison facility, in Hongcheon, South Korea, November 11, 2018. "This prison gives me a sense of freedom," Park said. "I shouldn't be here right now, given the work I need to do. But I decided to pause and look back at myself for a better life." Reuters

Park Hye-ri, 28, a startup business program manager, puts her mobile phone outside a cell of Prison Inside Me, a mock prison facility, in Hongcheon, South Korea, November 10, 2018. Reuters







Participants are seen through the windows of Prison Inside Me, a mock prison facility, in Hongcheon, South Korea, November 10, 2018. Reuters






China, Spain to jointly usher in new chapter of Belt and Road construction

Citizens from Madrid take photos with a promotion board of the Yiwu-Madrid train. Photo by Jiang Bo from Peoples Daily

Spain has become an indispensable trade partner of China in Europe, and China remains the largest non-EU trade partner of Spain. The bilateral trade between the two sides has exceeded $30 billion.

The Belt and Road Initiative is a bond linking more and more Chinese and Spanish, and the Yiwu-Madrid freight route is an example.

The 13,052-kilometer railway starts from eastern Chinas city of Yiwu. It is the longest among all China-Europe freight routes, and also the one that crosses the most countries with the highest cargo load factor. In addition, it is the longest freight train route in the world as well.

It takes a minimum of 16 days for the train to arrive in Madrid from Yiwu, which opened a safe, efficient, convenient and green logistics channel for China-Spain trade exchanges, said He Jinfa, general manager for imports at Zhejiang China Commodities City Group Co., Ltd.

Overseas Chinese in Madrid welcome visiting Chinese President Xi Jinping. Photo by Du Shangze from Peoples Daily

Currently, three trains run on the track from Yiwu to Madrid every week, and one operates the other way around.

So far, 13 autonomous communities, as well as major seaports and inland ports of Spain have established cooperation with the rail route for joint development of the cargo service.

Yiwus imports from Spain hit $10.1 million last year, 106.97 percent higher from a year ago. Total exports of Spain to Yiwu increased three folds when compared with that in 2014.

China-Europe freight trains are creating opportunities for Spain, said vice president Juan Lazaro of CEOE, a Spanish institution that represents the Spanish business community.

Apart from the China-Europe cargo service, the investment from Chinese enterprises to major Spanish ports in recent years also contributed to the rapid growth of Spains trade with China as it has largely improved the operation efficiency of these ports.

On June 12, 2017, Chinas shipping company COSCO Shipping Ports signed a deal with Noatum Ports Holdings (NPH), the largest operator of container terminals in Valencia, Spain, to buy 51 percent equity of the latter.

Chinese team brought advanced management and operation mode, creating new opportunities and benefits for the Spanish port city and its people, noted Mar Chao, commercial and business development director of the Port Authority of Valencia.

The NPH handled a total of over 3 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) in the first 10 months of this year, registering a 12.8-percent growth year on year.

It handled 326,000 TEUs in May alone, the best single-month performance since the establishment of the company.

At present, the company has 416 employees, only 3 of whom were sent from China. Along with more than 1,000 positions from labor outsourcing, the company has created over 1,500 jobs for the local community, introduced Sun Kai, CEO of NPH.

In 2016, Spanish telecommunications company Telefonica started cloud services in Brazil, Mexico and Chile by adopting cloud technologies and experiences of Chinese tech giant Huawei.

In 2017, Chinese oil and gas enterprise Sinopec and Spanish-based general contractor Tecnicas Reunidas S.A. established the consortium Al Zour Refinery in Kuwait.

In 2018, the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China led financing to encourage Chinese and Spanish enterprises to build photothermal power plants in Dubai.

On Oct. 16 this year, China Three Gorges Corporation and Spanish constructor ACS Group agreed to jointly develop and construct the 1,100-megawatt Inga III Hydro-electric Dam in the Democratic Republic of Congo. It is another successful cooperation between Chinese and Spanish companies to expand third-party markets.

In recent years, enterprises from the two countries have conducted batches of projects in the Middle East, Africa and Latin America through financing, labor division, technology cooperation and consortiums.

Secretary of State of Trade from Spains Ministry of Industry, Trade and Tourism Xiana Margarida Mendez Bertolo told Peoples Daily that third-party market would be a focus of China-Spain cooperation.

Chinese and Spanish enterprises enjoy complementary advantages in multiple aspects, she said, adding that they can not only enhance cooperation in third-party markets in Latin America and Africa, but also jointly explore the markets of other Belt and Road countries and regions.
By Andrei Lungu



Seoul recently hosted Romanian Minister of Foreign Affairs Teodor Melescanu. His visit came after Moon Hee-sang, the speaker of the National Assembly of the Republic of Korea, visited Bucharest last month. The reason for these bilateral visits is something that, unfortunately, few Korean or Romanians are aware of: 2018 marks the 10th anniversary of the signing of the strategic partnership agreement between the Republic of Korea and Romania, which opened a new chapter in bilateral relations between the two countries.



Romania, the seventh most populous member of the European Union (EU), signed a strategic partnership with Korea even before the EU did, being one of Korea's first such European partners. The Republic of Korea was also Romania's first strategic partner in Asia and is still its only such partner in the Asia-Pacific. The two countries share many commonalities: they are both market economies and democracies, but with a history of authoritarianism; U.S. military allies, hosting U.S. troops and missile defense systems; and being important geopolitical actors in their respective regions.



Because of the communist regime that ruled Romania throughout the Cold War, the history of these bilateral relations is rather short. Romania established diplomatic relations with the Republic of Korea in March 1990, just three months after the Romanian revolution that brought down the Ceausescu regime, which had strong relations with North Korea. But this three-decade history hasn't stopped Romania and Korea from reaching a high level of cooperation.



Since 1990, relations quickly developed, especially in the economic field. Daewoo acquired an automotive factory in the Romanian city of Craiova and a shipyard in Mangalia, at the Black Sea. Unfortunately, because Daewoo's financial difficulties over the past two decades, it had to sell both assets, the Craiova factory now assembles Ford vehicles. But Romania hosts other important Korean investments, from companies such as Samsung, Doosan and Hyosung.





Andrei Lungu (andrei.lungu@risap.ro) is president of the Romanian Institute for the Study of the Asia-Pacific (RISAP).


By Carl Bildt



STOCKHOLM  Suddenly, the debate about creating a joint European Union army has gained real momentum. After French President Emmanuel Macron recently proposed the idea, U.S. President Donald Trump disparaged it (in a tweet, of course), but German Chancellor Angela Merkel endorsed it (while urging caution).



The issue came to the fore this month with the centennial of the end of World War I, which naturally focused Europeans' attention on matters of war and peace. While touring WWI battlefields, Macron observed that "peace in Europe is precarious," and that "we will not protect Europeans unless we decide to have a true European army."



The goal of establishing a European army dates back to the earliest stages of European integration after World War II.



In 1954, the French parliament refused to ratify a treaty that would have established a European Defense Community and joint military force comprising West Germany, France, Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg.



After that, the structures of integration that would eventually underpin today's EU tended to be more economically oriented, and territorial defense was left to NATO and the U.S. security umbrella.



But over the last few decades, there has been more movement toward establishing a common EU foreign and security policy, and new structures and institutions have been developed with that goal in mind.



Still, today's discussion of European defense is truly novel. Until now, the EU has primarily fostered cooperation in the area of research and development, while various country groupings have worked to establish different defense and security capabilities. In the next seven-year budget, there will likely be substantial funding for such projects.



Macron is right to think that the EU's strategic environment has become increasingly fragile.



Europeans today are confronted with a revanchist Russia, an assertive China, and a disruptive US. Although the U.S. has expanded its military capabilities in Europe in recent years, it has previously regarded the continent primarily as a platform for operations in other theaters.



And now that Trump has cast doubt on America's commitment to defend Europe, renewed proposals for a European army should come as no surprise.



Still, Europe is home to only three countries with a robust strategic culture: France, the United Kingdom, and Russia. All three have a deep-seated institutional understanding of geopolitical power dynamics and the use of military force.



Indeed, Russia's own program of military modernization suggests that it is becoming increasingly reliant on hard power to pursue its interests.



Meanwhile, France has launched the European Intervention Initiative, a new framework uniting countries with real defense capabilities and a willingness to use them.



Most important, this new grouping will include the U.K. even after it leaves the EU. That said, Macron's vision of a European army under a central EU-level command will remain aspirational for the foreseeable future, for the simple reason that countries seldom give up their armies voluntarily.



Nonetheless, it is worth considering Macron's broader goal, which extends well beyond immediate concerns such as Trump and Brexit.



In short, Macron is calling on Europe to develop a more coherent and autonomous strategy for pursuing its security and defense interests in the 21st century.



Needless to say, this project will encounter many hurdles. Russia's use of nuclear forces can be deterred only by those of the U.S.



The French and the British don't like to admit it, but their nuclear arsenals are simply insufficient, especially now that Russia is upgrading its own.



Beyond nuclear deterrence, the U.S. will also likely remain at the center of command, control, and intelligence when it comes to continent-wide operations.



Moreover, Europeans will also have to resolve a number of internal tensions. Germany will insist that all new programs be housed within EU structures, while demanding parliamentary approval for all operations.



But the British will no longer belong to the EU, and will remain skeptical of French talk of strategic autonomy, which could imply a weaker NATO. The same goes for eastern EU member states, which are even less willing to countenance a delinking from NATO or the U.S.



Despite these difficulties, there is an emerging consensus on the need to restructure European defense. The ostensible impetus is the growing threat from Russia, China, and the broader Middle East.



But the uncomfortable reality is that renewed interest in military integration also reflects the erosion of Europe's strategic position as a result of Brexit and, in some respects, Trump.



I expect that a French army  not a European one  will be marching down the Champs Elysee on Bastille Day for decades to come.



But I also expect European countries to become more assertive in defense of their sovereignty, and to act collectively when it comes to security.





Carl Bildt is a former prime minister and foreign minister of Sweden. Copyright belongs to Project Syndicate (www.project-syndicate.org).




Resorting to force only backfires while achieving nothing



The union of auto parts maker Yoosung Enterprise held a news conference Thursday and apologized for its recent use of violence. Expressing deep regret, the union vowed not to cause a similar situation again and wished for the speedy recovery of an injured executive.



The violent incident occurred a week ago. Last Thursday, a group of union members broke into their CEO's office, locked up two executives and assaulted one of them. The executive surnamed Kim suffered severe injuries, including a broken nose, requiring 12 weeks of hospitalization.



The union had been staging a sit-in in the company's Seoul office since Oct. 15, demanding direct negotiations with the company's owner concerning the management's alleged union-busting activities.



Unionized workers said the assault was accidental and continued for only a few minutes. The unionists' acts were unthinkable, however. Violence cannot be tolerated in any situation. If people try to solve problems with their fists instead of through talking, this society is sure to fall into chaos.



Unlawful acts, whether by individuals or groups, should not be condoned. The union's apology was more than natural in this regard. Those unionists who took part in the assault should be punished accordingly. Police officers on the scene allegedly stopped short of actively preventing the violence. The police should also get to the bottom of this response as well as the case as a whole through a self-audit.



The management of the company is hardly free from blame, either. The company's chairman was placed under court custody in February last year on charges of committing unfair labor practices, including attempts to neutralize the union, and was later jailed for 14 months. This year, too, the company avoided meeting with the union, holding just one set of negotiations in 45 days.



Violations of law and order are happening in various corners of society. On Tuesday, a 70-something farmer threw a firebomb at the car of Chief Justice Kim Myeong-su. Korea should never allow any of these types of violent incidents to recur.



A country with the lax rule of law cannot defend human rights and democracy. All members of society ought to abide by laws and regulations, and the law enforcement authorities ought to enforce them strictly.




President should urge early US-NK summit



South Korea is stepping up as a chief negotiator amid a prolonged deadlock in U.S.-North Korea denuclearization talks. Cheong Wa Dae confirmed that President Moon Jae-in will be meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump on the sidelines of the Nov. 30-Dec. 1 G20 summit in Argentina.



It will be the sixth Korea-U.S. meeting since Moon took office in May 2017. There are rising hopes that the meeting will serve as an impetus to move along the stalled talks between the U.S. and North Korea. It is expected that Moon will bring up the need for an early U.S.-North Korea summit to build on the first one held in June in Singapore. A meeting between U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Kim Yong-chol, vice chairman of North Korea's Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea, had been scheduled for early November in New York before the U.S. midterm elections but was scrapped at the last minute. There has been no headway in restarting bilateral negotiations since then due to the two sides' differences on denuclearization.



With the stalled U.S.-North Korea negotiations, it is feared that Moon's peace process is at the brink of coming to a halt. Many Koreans had initially held his active engagement with North Korea in a favorable light. But more are starting to turn their backs on the President's failing diplomacy with the North after several summits with Kim Jong-un did not lead to visible progress in denuclearization. His approval rating dropped to a record low in the 40 percent range last week, showing the public's growing discontent with Moon's leadership. In particular, many people are getting more frustrated with the Moon administration's disastrous performance on economic issues.



During these depressing times for President Moon, one of the few things he can still rely on for public approval is diplomatic achievements. That is perhaps one of the reasons that Moon is still strongly pursuing Kim's visit to Seoul this year. But Pyongyang has not made any clear moves on this yet, and Washington is also not forthcoming about it. Rather than focusing on this, Moon should, during the meeting with Trump, first reaffirm our government's commitment to work in tandem with the U.S. to achieve the two countries' shared goal of North Korea's denuclearization and peace on the Korean Peninsula.



The Moon administration's rush for economic cooperation with North Korea is also frowned upon by many Koreans at a time when Washington is still firm on sanctions against Pyongyang. On Friday, a South Korean train headed for North Korea for a joint railway inspection for ultimately reconnecting rail lines aimed at expediting reconciliation of the two Koreas. Although the U.S. expressed support for the inspection, Washington has shown concern about the swift progress in inter-Korean relations amid international sanctions. Moon should assure President Trump that Seoul will be consulting closely with relevant parties concerned when proceeding with inter-Korean projects. He should also urge President Trump to meet with Kim again at an early date for a breakthrough in denuclearization talks.






By Hyon O'Brien



Once a year the Ewha Alumnae Association of North America meets in a city where one of the regional chapters hosts an annual general meeting. This year it was the turn of the Toronto chapter in Canada. About 350 alumni from Canada and the United States attended this gathering. The International Foundation for Ewha Womans University, a fund-raising group for Ewha, always holds its annual meeting at the same time. On Nov. 3, a gala dinner was attended by the two organizations as a joint event. During the banquet, the chair of the Ewha Foundation presented a sizable check to Ewha President Kim Hei-sook, who flew in from Seoul to receive the donation and to address the alumni.



I was in the audience witnessing the presentation of the scholarship funds. Sitting next to me were unexpected and most welcome guests: Sally Gale and her daughter, Sarah Chapman, fifth- and sixth-generation descendants of Mary Scranton, the American Methodist missionary who founded Ewha in 1886 with only one student. From that extremely modest beginning, Ewha has produced more than 220,000 graduates. Currently about 21,000 students are being educated at the undergraduate and graduate levels. Uniquely among women's universities, Ewha offers Ph.D. degrees in many fields.



I am one of the beneficiaries of Mrs. Scranton's foresight and vision of opening a school for young women in Korea at a time when educating girls was not a priority in Korea. My mother never went to school. Growing up on a farm in a remote village, she was taught only the womanly skills of cooking, sewing and housekeeping. During my growing-up years, my mother always encouraged me to pursue education and cheered me on at each step of the way. She was happy and proud that I had obtained the education denied to her.



I have been reading Tara Westover's memoir "Educated," which describes her hunger for learning and her own fight, every step of the way, to get educated. Her Mormon parents thought their children should be homeschooled to protect them from the bad influence of public school teaching. However, they didn't fulfill homeschooling to the level where their children could compete later on to enter college if they wished. Tara's parents never encouraged them to study and learn. For them, knowing their church's teachings was good enough.



Tara somehow managed to enter Brigham Young University and from there she went on to Cambridge University and Harvard. Her parents rejected her because of her passion for study. They felt Tara had betrayed them by going into the corrupt world and accepting the unwholesome teachings of secular institutions. Tara suffered tremendously from this rejection. She felt abandoned by her family as a punishment for her aggressive pursuit of education. At the end of her story, she tells how she found allies in three of her brothers who also left their mountain home in Idaho to get educated, while the remaining three siblings came to regard her as a bad seed who had turned her back on Mormon teachings.



On the topic of education, I have previously mentioned the Philanthropic Educational Organization (PEO). In 1869, seven women founded this organization as they were graduating from Wesleyan College in Iowa. Its motto is "Women Empowering Other Women through Education." Now almost 150 years later, the PEO has been instrumental in educating more than 100,000 women.



I joined this group 25 years ago while I was working as a librarian in Teaneck, New Jersey. One of the volunteers at the library was a member and recommended I join her chapter. I joined immediately knowing that by acting together with that group of nearly a quarter million women in the United States, my small contributions can become a large and meaningful amount. I am so glad I am one of the members of this worthy charitable organization.



Education was highlighted at the Miami Book Fair, an annual event since 1984. It always brings an interesting group of authors who come to speak about their books. This year I was able to see Julian Castro, the former secretary of housing and urban development and mayor of San Antonio, talk about his new book, "An Unlikely Journey." He talked about his grandmother emigrating from Mexico as an orphan and how he achieved the American dream from humble beginnings. He encouraged the audience to get educated and never to give up fighting against injustice in our society.



The other author I had the privilege of hearing at the Miami Book Fair was John Kerry, the former secretary of state, senator and presidential candidate. In his book, "Every Day is Extra," he said he tried to write down what has mattered most to him during his life journey. He said he was always guided by the words from the Bible, Luke 12:48, that "to whom much is given, much is required." For him, the notion of social responsibility has been a guiding light. Towards this end, he emphasized the need for all to have access to quality education.



I end this piece with words of wisdom from Nelson Mandela: "Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world."





Hyon O'Brien (hyonobrien@gmail.com) is a former reference librarian now living in the United States.


President Moon Jae-in prays at St. Vitus Cathedral in Prague, Czech Republic, during his recent visit on the way to Argentina for the G20 summit. At his side is first lady Kim Jung-sook. Yonhap



By Oh Young-jin



Will President Moon Jae-in make a U-turn on his key policies that are alienating the public in order to recover his sagging approval? His approval rating has dipped below 50 percent for the first time since he took office 18 months ago.



You would be wrong to think President Moon would reverse the minimum wage rises, revoke the exit from nuclear power in the nation's energy mix and slow the rapprochement with North Korea.



The progressive president could not even if he wanted to.



You may call Moon's lack of flexibility many things.



It may be the curse of a single-term presidency. Because presidents have no re-election to worry about, they neither have a chance nor need to change the course of their actions, let alone reverse them.



One may say the presidential system has outlived its usefulness as a state governing formula. Look at many president-led countries and one would, with few exceptions, see legislature and judiciary virtually at the beck and call of the chief executive whose power has grown comparable to a dictator. The problem is that a dictatorial leader can't help but clash with the people, whose power is multiplying thanks, among other things, to technology. Emmanuel Macron of France and Donald Trump of the U.S. are examples.



Then, it is the nature of Korean politics. It is the extreme case of the winner-take-all gamble and the take-no-prisoners battle, leaving little room for political compromise. The Moon government's policy of cleaning up old ills, is an arbitrary and encompassing social purge that can target political enemies, present and potential.



The other side, the conservatives, can be as vindictive when they take power. It can be a vicious cycle of the plurality-ruled democracy, the alternative being the authoritarian monarchy. One would choose the first over the second but with less enthusiasm than before.



Put these factors together and one can picture with a sense of clarity what is transpiring in Moon's mind or, more correctly, in the mindset of the governing class of progressives.



For them, any adjustment in the policies of minimum wages, nuclear power and North Korea is the same as showing a weakness they can't afford, because it risks inviting the conservatives to stage pack attacks on them just like wolves finding their prey.



Backtracking on the agenda, more importantly, is bound to create an internal schism, alienating supporters and turning them into the worst of enemies.



The late former President Roh Moo-hyun lost his support base as he pushed for the settlement of the Korea-U.S. Free Trade Agreement (KORUS FTA), which was the core agenda of international trade-friendly conservatives.



The imprisoned former President Lee Myung-bak's presidency turned into a basket case when his key presidential pledge to create a nationwide canal faced strong public opposition, forcing Lee to scale down the project.



Maybe a two-term presidency would ease the single-term presidents' conundrum and enable them to use more flexibility. For Korea, attempts to revise the Constitution for a presidential term change have been tried but thwarted at a very early stage because of the failure to create bipartisan consensus.



It is an open question as to how effective the term change would be, considering the general decline of the presidential system.



It would be almost silly to expect the current government to discontinue what it is doing in the way it has been doing it before the end of its term.



The risk is expected  an unpopular president deprived of all his political capital, with the nation rudderless and adrift, if the economy doesn't improve, renewable energy stays out of mainstream and the North Korean issue is stuck. As things stand, none of those things have a good outlook.



The opposite could be more dramatic. If Moon's determination pays off, the nation would see a new opening in its economic development through collaboration with the North, one of the few new potential growth engines; the nation-dividing issue of growing income inequality addressed and the environment becoming safer from fears of a disaster like the 2011 Fukushima nuclear crisis.



Adding a sense of rigidity to Moon's agenda is the hallmark of presidential chief of staff Lim Jong-seok, a former pro-North Korean student activist in the 1980s and 1990s. In 1989, Lim masterminded the unauthorized and daring visit to the North of Lim Su-kyung, who heaped praise on the North during the tense inter-Korean rivalry.



Despite the passage of time, it is hard to miss that Lim's brand of "my way or no way" ideology has pervaded the approach the Moon government is taking in its agenda promotion.



Surely, Moon's agenda cannot be replaced by that of a conservative leader, and its success would be pivotal to the nation's further growth. But the people's patience is running out fast.








By Park Yoon-bae





It is interesting to read a news story about former U.S. President Jimmy Carter's push for a pullout or reduction of American troops from South Korea in the late 1970s.



We Koreans have known relations between Seoul and Washington deteriorated because Carter tried to implement his campaign promise to withdraw U.S. troops from Korea.



Let's take a brief look at a transcript of an hour-long conversation between Carter and then South Korean President Park Chung-hee during their meeting in Seoul on June 30, 1979.



Last week, Korea's semi-official Yonhap News Agency reported on the content of the transcript found and released by James F. Person, a professor of Korean studies at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies.



The transcript confirmed our perception that the two presidents were poles apart over the troop issue, as well as the human rights situation in South Korea then.



"I can't promise that we will freeze forces levels," Carter told Park. And he questioned the South's commitment to a hike in its defense budget to counter the North's rapid military buildup.



But Park made clear his strong opposition to the withdrawal of the U.S. Forces Korea (USFK), telling Carter U.S. troops should stay for the time being because the North's military was superior to that of the South. He warned of miscalculation on the part of North Korea.



What draws more attention is another White House document detailing Carter's secret drive for a three-way dialogue between the two Koreas and the U.S. to ease tension on the Korean Peninsula, in a bid to create an atmosphere conducive to making good on his troop pullout promise.



From the early months of his tenure in 1977, Carter pushed for such a tripartite session, believing an inter-Korean detente could lay the groundwork for eventual troop withdrawal. He even selected Jakarta, Indonesia, as the venue for the planned meeting of senior officials from the three countries.



The plan was evident in a note his national security adviser Zbigniew Brzezinski sent to then Secretary of State Cyrus Vance on Aug. 5, 1977. The note reads: "The President has read your paper concerning possible trilateral discussions between North Korea, South Korea and the United States, and has indicated that you should proceed to implement the suggested steps."



But the dialogue plan fell apart as Pyongyang showed no interest.



Imagine what would have happened if such talks had taken place and Carter had succeeded in withdrawing U.S. troops from the South, or at least cutting back their numbers. It is, of course, meaningless to dwell too much on such a historical "what if."



Yet Carter's troop pullout drive and his human rights diplomacy might have affected the downfall of the dictatorial Park regime one way or another.



Park, a general-turned-dictator, seized power by staging a military coup on May 16, 1961. After that, the strongman tightened his grip on power with the ambition to become president-for-life.



But about four months after meeting Carter, Park was assassinated by Kim Jae-gyu, then director of the Korean Central Intelligence Agency.



There was speculation that Park pressed ahead with a secret program to develop nuclear weapons in preparation for a potential withdrawal of U.S. troops.



As he told Carter, Park was well aware the USFK could not stay in Korea forever. This might have allegedly made Park consider a clandestine nuclear program.



Now, we Koreans need to think about what role the USFK should play, particularly in case the two Koreas and the U.S.  and possibly with China  sign a peace treaty after the North dismantles its nuclear arsenal as promised by its leader Kim Jong-un.



Some critics argue the U.S. would never remove its forces from the South, to protect its own geopolitical and security interests in the region. They also say the U.S. wants its military presence here more than the host country does.



It is true that Washington is using its Asian ally as a strategic outpost to contain a rising China, although President Donald Trump once called South Korea a "free rider" in the bilateral defense alliance. (Actually, South Korea is not a free rider as it shares the cost of stationing 28,000 U.S. troops here. Currently Seoul pays 960 billion won ($850 million), or about half the total cost.)



Yet no one can rule out the possibility of a USFK pullout when a lasting peace regime is in place on the peninsula, or when South Korea loses its strategic value. And if we can afford to maintain peace on our own, we have no reason to host foreign troops on our soil.



Park Yoon-bae (byb@koreatimes.co.kr) is the chief editorial writer of The Korea Times.




Taiwan's case should be a lesson for South Korea



President Moon Jae-in's policy to phase out nuclear energy is triggering controversy once again following Taiwan's referendum last week that voted in favor of nuclear power, rejecting President Tsai Ing-wen's strong push since taking office in 2016 to phase out nuclear energy by 2025.



The Moon administration has looked to Taiwan as a benchmark in carrying out the nuclear-phase out policy. So the result of Taiwan's referendum has prompted opposition parties to call for a reconsideration of Moon's anti-nuclear push. There are 24 nuclear power plants in Korea and five new plants are in the pipeline. The Moon administration has called for phasing out the nuclear power plants by 2082 and increase the use of renewable energy.



The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy said that Taiwan's referendum will not have any impact on the government's energy transition policy, and that Taiwan's situation is different from ours. The ministry pointed out that a massive blackout last summer has increased the Taiwanese voters' concern about a stable power supply and this affected the referendum. However, it is necessary for the government to look closely at the Taiwanese case and reconsider its swift push to go nuclear-free for several reasons.



First, it is being carried out without sufficient communication with the public. A recent survey by Gallup showed a strong public discontent over Moon's anti-nuclear energy policy. According to the survey, 68 percent were in favor of maintaining nuclear power, while 28.5 percent wanted a reduction of nuclear plants. It would be a good idea to carry out a referendum since it is an issue that will have a tremendous impact on Korea's economy and people's lives. Some opposition lawmakers are also calling for a referendum.



Second, it does not make much sense that the President is talking about phasing out nuclear energy when he is trying to sell Korea's nuclear power technology abroad. Moon will travel to the Czech Republic, Tuesday, before heading to Argentina this week to take part in the G20 summit scheduled for Nov.30 to Dec. 1. Moon will also visit New Zealand from Dec. 2. It is expected that he will meet with Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis and seek the country's support for Korean companies' bid to take part in the construction of nuclear power plants pushed by the Czech government. Moon will explain the strengths of Korean companies in this regard.



The government and the ruling Democratic Party of Korea are maintaining that it is a global trend to reduce nuclear energy. While that is true to some extent, it is also true that some major economies including Japan and France are slowing down the pace of their nuclear-free policies.



Many people still believe that without nuclear energy, maintaining a stable power supply will be difficult. The Moon administration should consider the people's concerns and reflect them in its basic energy policy which will be announced early next year. The plan should include proper consideration into the stability, cost-effectiveness and environmental impact of its energy shift initiatives, as well as ways to raise the competitiveness of our nuclear power industry.




A Galaxy Note 9, which uses curved edge panel technology that was allegedly leaked by Samsung Display's subcontractor to a Chinese company. / Korea Times file



By Kim Rahn



A Samsung Display subcontractor has been caught allegedly leaking key technology and equipment for a smartphone that Samsung Display spent 150 billion won ($133.6 million) and six years developing to a Chinese company.



The Suwon District Prosecutors' Office said Thursday it arrested three officials from the subcontractor, Toptec, and indicted eight others without detention for the alleged leak.



The officials allegedly handed over drawings of the curved edge panel for the Galaxy smartphone screen and 16 sets of production equipment to the Chinese display company. The leaked technology has been designated as "national core technology."



Through the leak, the subcontractor made 15.5 billion won, which is about a 10th of what Samsung Display spent over the six years it took to develop the technology.



Despite 26 years of cooperation with Samsung, Toptec committed the crime because its sales this year were expected to drop significantly compared to the previous year, according to the prosecution.



Prosecutors launched the investigation in August after being notified of the leak by the National Intelligence Service's industrial technology protection center.



"The officials used borrowed-name phones as well as personal emails instead of company emails to cover up the illegalities," a senior prosecutor at the Suwon office said. "We plan to collect the company's illicit gains."



The prosecution said the leak would help the Chinese company produce display panels, the quality of which would be similar to Samsung's, but without time and cost of development. It estimates the leak will cost Samsung 6.5 trillion won over the next three years.



Toptec, however, said it exported its own equipment to the Chinese firm but did not leak Samsung's technology to it.



Toptec head Lee Jae-hwan said on the company's website that it exported the equipment, which Toptec developed, in March after telling Samsung Display in advance.



"We never provided Samsung Display's technology or other business secrets to the Chinese company, except for the equipment export," Lee said. "We expect the truth will be revealed in future trials."


LG Uplus engineers check the firm's 5G equipment in Songdo, Incheon, Nov. 30. / Courtesy of LG Uplus



By Baek Byung-yeul



Korea will become the first country to start commercial fifth-generation (5G) network services as major mobile carriers -- SK Telecom, KT and LG Uplus -- will launch the super-fast network service at midnight on Dec. 1.



The three mobile carriers will start the 5G service in Seoul and other major cities. Their next-generation network services will focus on enterprise uses as there are no smartphones supporting 5G networks yet.



Verizon, a U.S. mobile carrier, launched its 5G services in four cities including Los Angeles, Houston, Sacramento and Indianapolis, but Korean mobile carriers have claimed they will actually be the first ones to launch the next-generation network service. Verizon's hardware for the 5G service is not approved by the 5G service standards set by 3GPP, the industry standards body.



Though launching the super-fast network service seems to be something worth commemorating, the three mobile carriers will likely have hush-hush celebrations due to a recent fire at a KT cable tunnel in Seoul, Nov. 24, which led to a network blackout.



To celebrate their 5G launch, the three mobile carriers were scheduled to host press conferences showcasing their 5G demos and trials this week but they all canceled them saying it is time to join forces to solve the accident together.



SK Telecom and LG Uplus announced their 5G services for enterprise use while KT didn't give any details of its service as the firm has been focusing on recovering from damage caused by the fire.



SK Telecom, the country's largest carrier, said Myunghwa  an auto part company based in Banwol Industrial Complex, Ansan, Gyeonggi Province  will become its first 5G customer.



SK Telecom said Myunghwa will use its 5G-AI machine vision service to check the quality of auto part products. The high-resolution images of production lines will be sent to a cloud server which will use an AI server to verify the quality of the products.



SK Telecom said its 5G service for corporate purposes will be provided as a package that has mobile routers and network services. The firm added usage fees will be different at first as it offers customized services.



To take the leadership in the 5G era, LG Uplus has been rushing to establish its 5G networks across the country since October.



LG Uplus said it will have more than 7,000 base stations by the end of December. It has set up 4,100 5G base stations in 11 cities including Seoul, Incheon, Daejeon, Bucheon, Goyang, Gwangmyeong, Hanam and other cities in Gyeonggi Province.



LG Uplus said there have been growing demands for its 5G mobile routers, which requires a monthly payment of 50,000 won for 10 GB.



To expand its business-to-business portfolio using the 5G network, LG Uplus said it will adopt its 5G service to various sectors such as the remote controlling of heavy equipment and agricultural machines, drones, CCTV, smart factories and smart cities.


Chinese President Xi Jinpings upcoming state visit to Panama will consolidate friendship and serve as a new opportunity to push ahead with comprehensive and in-depth development of bilateral ties, Oyden Ortega Duran, former president of the Panamanian Association of Friendship with China, told Peoples Daily in an interview.

The visit will be the first one paid by a Chinese head of state since the two countries established diplomatic relations.

Though the two countries are far apart, their peoples are closely connected, Ortega remarked, adding that the Panamanian society highly expects the visit to be paid by the Chinese President.

In history, Chinese-Panamanians have made active contributions to the development and construction of Panama, as well as to the friendly people-to-people exchanges between the two countries, said Ortega, who is also a judge of the Panama Supreme Court of Justice.

Now, Chinese-Panamanians account for nearly 8 percent of the Panamanian population. With rising social status and influence, they have become an important force for Panamas development and a vital bridge of China-Panama friendship, Ortega introduced.

China is the second largest user of the Panama Canal, and the largest supplier of commodities for Panamas Colon Free Trade Zone. In less than two years since the two countries established of diplomatic ties, they have made marked achievements in cooperation in economy and trade, tourism, culture and infrastructure.

A rising number of Chinese enterprises are eyeing successful investment in Panama, which has forcefully boosted local economy and improved peoples livelihood.

Panama has taken an active part in the construction of the Belt and Road after establishing diplomatic relations with China, said Ortega.

The Belt and Road Initiative is conducive to mutually beneficial cooperation and common prosperity, and provides new ideas and wisdom for common development of the world, he added.

Panama hopes to board Chinas fast train of development, in order to become Chinas gateway to the other regions in Latin America, and play a vital role in extending the Belt and Road to Latin America and aligning development strategies, he said.

China, by constantly proposing opening-up measures and sharing results of its development with the world, is a stabilizer of global economy and a strong force for development, said the Panamanian official.

The just-concluded first China International Import Expo showcased Chinas resolution to open itself wider to the world, and provided a platform for Panamanian products to enter the Chinese market, said Ortega,

Taking the state visit of President Xi as an opportunity, Panama will expand agricultural cooperation with China, so has to have more Panamanian agricultural products reach Chinese consumers.

He believes that President Xis upcoming visit will open a new chapter for Panama-China exchanges and cooperation. Panama looks forward to joining hands with China for a better future of both sides.
American Chamber of Commerce in Korea (AMCHAM) Chairman James Kim, center, moderates a panel discussion between leaders of four other foreign commerce chambers in Korea, at a seminar at the Grand Hyatt Hotel Seoul, Friday. From left are British Chamber of Commerce in Korea CEO Sean Blakeley, European Chamber of Commerce in Korea President Christoph Heider, Kim, French Chamber of Commerce in Korea Chairman David-Pierre Jalicon and Korean-German Chamber of Commerce CEO Barbara Zollmann. / Yonhap



By Nam Hyun-woo



Five foreign chambers of commerce in Korea expressed concerns about the Moon Jae-in government's regulatory environment Friday, saying it needs to be more predictable and consistent.



The chambers of the United States, Britain, the European Union, France and Germany held a seminar and adopted a joint statement. This is the first time the chambers have held a joint event and expressed their shared worries about the country's regulations.



In the statement, the chambers stressed the government needs to "give greater weight to the predictability and consistency of regulatory environment" and "improve coordination between all government agencies to ensure consistent and predictable enforcement of rules and regulations."



It continued that the government's announcement to potentially eliminate the flat tax benefit for foreign residents who have been in Korea for more than five years will create "economic disincentives for foreign companies, triggering relocations and involuntary repatriation of employees to lower-cost jurisdictions."



"We believe it is beneficial for the economy to continue the flat rate even for those who have been in Korea for more than five years," the statement read.






Members of the Korea Federation of Micro Enterprise hold a press conference in front of a KT building in Seoul, Friday, to urge the company to provide proper compensation to small business owners who saw losses due to network blackout from fire at the firm's communication center, Nov. 24. / Yonhap



By Jung Hae-myoung



Small business owners in Seoul are calling for compensation from KT for the losses they suffered due to a communications blackout, following a fire at the telecom company's underground network cable center, Nov. 24.



More than 150 small business owners from affected districts  northwestern parts of Seoul as well as Goyang in Gyeonggi Province  gathered near the KT building in Ahyeon-dong, Seoul, Friday. They said they had suffered sales losses of 30 percent to 50 percent compared to normal weekend activities, backed by data collected by the Korea Federation of Micro Enterprise (KFME).



"There are still some shops that are disconnected. In an economic downturn, KT has made small business owners' situation worse," Choi Seung-jae, the president of the KFME, said at a press conference. The conference was held in front of a tent the group set up near the KT building to receive complaints from affected business owners.



"Even if the system is restored, people assume they cannot use credit or debit cards and visit other places," he said. "It is hard for small business owners to get their customers back," he added.



The KFME received sales reports from restaurants near Hongik University to compare sales amounts. One restaurant selling fried rice used to have consistent sales of 1.7 million won ($1,500) per day, but this dropped to 498,000 won on the day of the network blackout.



An owner of a pork grill restaurant in Chungjeongno, surnamed Hong, said the situation was worse than just losing customers, because of the buildup of surplus supplies.



"We order ingredients considering the average number of customers per week. Fewer customers mean we are left with unused ingredients which we can't use later," Hong told The Korea Times.



Another restaurant owner, who wished to remain anonymous, complained that she could not receive any group reservations because he phone line was still disconnected.



"My shop is located right below a big company building, so we take a lot of group reservations from company staff, but after the disconnection, we lost a whole bundle of customers," she said.



Kim, an internet cafe owner in Yongsan, said she could not get any proper response from the KT staff when she asked when the internet connection was going to be restored at the time of the incident. Even though it has been reconnected, she is still anxious.



"I am still worried, because I don't know how to get all the regular customers back," she said.



KT said Thursday it will reimburse six months of fees for wire telephone customers, and three months of fees for wireless customers. However, it did not say how it would compensate small business owners.



The KFME says its members will launch a boycott if KT does not compensate them properly and apologize to them sincerely.






By Jung Min-ho







New Zealand has become the latest country to block Huawei from supplying technology for a next-generation mobile data network over national security concerns.





Spark, one of New Zealand's biggest telecom carriers, said on Wednesday that the Government Communications Security Bureau rejected its proposal to use the Chinese company's equipment in its 5G mobile network towers.





The decision comes as many nations are increasingly wary of what they see as a possible Chinese cyber-espionage threat  an accusation Huawei has denied. Australia, New Zealand's key ally, decided in August to bar the company from taking part in its 5G infrastructure rollout, as did the United States. Many countries, including Japan, Germany and the United Kingdom, are reportedly considering the same move.





A Huawei spokesperson in New Zealand said: "We will actively address any concerns and work together to find a way forward."





Following the decision, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang expressed serious concern during a press briefing in Beijing, saying the economic cooperation between the two countries is "mutually beneficial in nature."





"We hope New Zealand will provide a level playing field for Chinese enterprises' operations there and do something conducive for mutual trust and cooperation," he said.





Huawei says its equipment poses no security risks, but experts say governments should be cautious about allowing the company, which allegedly has close ties to the ruling Communist Party, to build and manage the future generation of wireless technology.


Korea's single-stage rocket with 75 tons of thrust is test-launched from the Naro Space Center in Goheung, South Jeolla Province, Wednesday, as part of the nation's efforts to develop its first space vehicle. / Courtesy of Korea Aerospace Research Institute

Joint Press Corps

Joint Press Corps



By Jun Ji-hye



Korea successfully test-launched a first-stage rocket booster powered by a domestically developed engine, Wednesday, paving the way for the development of the nation's first space vehicle entirely designed and built in the country.



The 75-ton-thrust engine was fired up and launched the first-stage rocket at the Naro Space Center in Goheung, South Jeolla Province, at 4 p.m., as part of the country's long-term project to launch the Korea Space Launch Vehicle-2 (KSLV-2), dubbed Nuri, in 2021.



The Ministry of Science and ICT said it achieved an engine burn-time of 151 seconds, which exceeded its goal.



It earlier said the test launch would be considered a success if the engine maintained a burn-time of about 140 seconds.



The test rocket also reached a maximum altitude of 209 kilometers, 319 seconds after liftoff, and safely landed in international waters southeast of Jeju Island.



The ministry and the Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI) verified the engine's performance and flight control systems during the test.



"Through the test launch today, we confirmed that technical preparations for the development of the KSLV-2 are going smoothly. We will have our own space vehicle in 2021," said a ministry official. "We applaud the efforts of researchers of KARI and other experts who have participated in the development."



The ministry noted it will further analyze data from the test to confirm details of the performance of the engine, adding the government will continue to give its efforts to develop space technologies that will contribute to the nation's economic growth.



The test rocket was transported to the launch pad, Tuesday.



Officials of the ministry and the KARI held a meeting later that day and checked the results of a rehearsal.



The ministry and KARI had initially planned to conduct the first test-flight, Oct. 25, but this was delayed due to mechanical problems.



At the time, the ministry said problems arose in the rocket propellant pressurization system.



The three-stage KSLV-2 rocket is scheduled to be launched in 2021, with four Korea-developed booster engines being used in the first stage and one in the second stage.



If successful, the KSLV-2 will be used to place unmanned satellites in orbit and for other commercial applications.




By Nam Hyun-woo





Renault Samsung CEO Dominique Signora

Renault Samsung and GM Korea are desperate to secure new model production orders from their headquarters, according to industry analysts Wednesday, as they need to assemble new cars here to boost sales and keep their plants running.



The two carmakers have brought several new models assembled abroad into the country this year, but these have largely failed to compete with locally produced vehicles, the analysts said.



They stress it is a must for the companies to manufacture cars at their local plants if they want to compete with other automakers and maintain the size of their workforces.



Renault Samsung is paying keen attention as to whether its head office will allocate new models, including the Twizy micro electric vehicle, to its plant in Busan.



"Getting new models is critical to sustaining the plant and expanding our product portfolio," a Renault Samsung official said.



"New model allocations will be made based on the group's efficiency. Though we have not been informed about new models yet, headquarters appears to be discussing this."



Renault Samsung has suffered faltering sales throughout this year. From January to October, the French carmaker's Korean unit sold 190,525 cars, down 15.1 percent from the same period last year.



To address the sluggish sales, in May Renault Samsung rolled out the Clio hatchback, which is one of Renault's best-selling models in Europe. It is manufactured in Turkey.



In order to meet domestic consumers' preference for imported cars, the Korean unit even placed Renault's emblem on it, instead of its own, but ended up selling just 3,052 in the period, far short of its monthly sales target of 1,000.



Market observers attribute the slow sales of the Clio to its uncompetitive price range  19.9 million won to 23.2 million won depending on trim.



"Since the Clio's release, there have been doubts over the car's success in Korea because of its price," an industry source said. "Also, it was affected by domestic consumer sentiment of not seeing the car as an imported model which they are willing to buy even at a higher price."



Another concern for Renault Samsung is the arrest of Nissan Chairman Carlos Ghosn, because Nissan's Rogue SUV accounted for 47 percent of the Korean unit's manufacturing output last year. Reportedly, Ghosn opted for Renault Samsung when Nissan was allocating the Rogue in 2014.



Since Renault Samsung's production contract for the Rogue will end next year, it is uncertain whether the company can win another production order from the Japanese carmaker.





GM Korea CEO Kaher Kazem
By Nam Hyun-woo





GM Korea CEO Kaher Kazem speaks during a launch event for the new Malibu sedan in Gangwon Province, Monday. / Courtesy of GM Korea
European Chamber of Commerce in Korea (ECCK) Chairman Dimitris Psillakis, fifth from left, and EU Delegation Ambassador Michael Reiterer, sixth from left, pose for a photo with other ECCK chairpersons during a press conference at the Lotte Hotel in downtown Seoul, Tuesday. / Courtesy of ECCK



EU ambassador calls for revisions to Korea-EU FTAs



By Nam Hyun-woo



Many European companies are expressing disappointment with the Moon Jae-in administration, saying regulations change too frequently without reflecting the opinions of private-sector stakeholders, according to the European Chamber of Commerce in Korea (ECCK), Tuesday.



The ECCK members also called for the Korea-EU free trade agreement (FTA) and Korea-European Free Trade Association to be revised in accordance with changing business conditions. They say these agreements rather act as hurdles to promoting bilateral cross-border transactions.



"In Korea, there are still many cases where rules and regulations that affect foreign businesses change too quickly without adequate input from stakeholders," ECCK Chairman and Mercedes-Benz Korea CEO Dimitris Psillakis said during a press conference at the Lotte Hotel in downtown Seoul.



"Sometimes policies change without adequate evaluation on whether the new policies have the desired effect without unintended consequences."






The five-year-old boy's Buddha-like appearance has added to his popularity online. Photos from the South China Morning Post



By Laurie Chen





A five-year-old boy from northeast China with a life-threatening kidney disorder has notched up a million followers on social media as he live-streams to raise money for his medical treatment.



Nicknamed "Little Rock", the boy's Buddha-like appearance has added to his popularity online, news website Thepaper.cn reported on Tuesday.



His parents regularly set up the live streams from their home in Changchun, Jilin province to raise funds and they draw an average of 1 million views.



Little Rock was diagnosed with nephrotic syndrome  which has a range of symptoms caused by kidney damage  when he was 14 months old. As a result of his medication, the boy is only 1 metre tall and weighs almost 35kg, giving him a short and plump appearance.





The boy's parents have urged him to give up live-streaming, but he says he wants to continue.



He told the news website he had received huge support from his online fans.



"There are lots of aunties, uncles, brothers and sisters who care about me, and I can earn money for my medical fees," Little Rock told the news website. "I want to make my own money and take the responsibility away from my parents. I believe that I can recover."



His family has already spent all their savings of 300,000 yuan (US$43,000) and sold their house to pay for the boy's medical treatment, including an operation.



But his medical fees continue to put pressure on the family. His mother is a property manager and his father a manual labourer, and their combined income barely covers the boy's health care and living costs, according to the report.



Although Little Rock's condition has improved since he was first diagnosed with the syndrome, he has to take regular medication costing more than 7,000 yuan per month to avoid the risk of blood clots and acute kidney failure.





Little Rock is unable to attend kindergarten because of his condition.
Spain's King Felipe VI, right, poses with Chinese President Xi Jinping before a gala dinner at the Royal Palace in Madrid, Spain, Wednesday, Nov. 28, 2018. Spain has rolled out the red carpet for visiting Chinese President Xi Jinping, who is seeking global allies amid souring trade clashes with Washington. AP-Yonhap



By Liu Zhen





Beijing is stepping up efforts to strengthen ties to Europe, with China saying its relationship with Spain is the best in history and calling for greater cooperation with Germany and France.



Spain rolled out the red carpet for Chinese President Xi Jinping, who is seeking allies as trade clashes with Washington raise the temperature of international relations.



Heads of state Xi and King Felipe VI reviewed a guard of honour at the royal palace in Madrid on Wednesday, while Xi's wife Peng Liyuan and Spain's Queen Letizia watched the formalities from a podium.



In his meeting with the king on Tuesday, Xi said relations between China and Spain were the "best in history".





Spain's Queen Letizia, left, speaks to Chinese First Lady Peng Liyuan before a gala dinner at the Royal Palace in Madrid, Spain, Wednesday, Nov. 28, 2018. AP-Yonhap



"We should continue to support each other on the issues of core interests and big concerns," Xi was quoted by state-run Xinhua as saying, suggesting more cooperation on trade, tourism and third-party markets under China's "Belt and Road Initiative" framework.



The Chinese president will follow his two-day visit to Spain by flying to Argentina on Thursday for a G20 leaders' summit the next day, and then visit Panama and Portugal until December 5.



In addition to Xi, other senior Chinese officials are stepping up engagement with Europe as China seeks to stabilise its external relations while it is locked in a trade war with the United States.



At an economic forum in Hamburg, Germany, Vice-Premier Liu He called on Germans to work with China against unilateralism and protectionism.





Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez (back C-R) and Chinese President Xi Jinping (back C-L) look at Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi (L) and his Spanish counterpart Josep Borrell (R) as they sign agreements between the two countries at the Moncloa Palace in Madrid on November 28, 2018. AFP-Yonhap



Liu met German Chancellor Angela Merkel during his four-day visit. He brought a message from Xi to Merkel that China "is willing to cooperate closely with Germany to enrich the strategic connotations of bilateral cooperation and strive to promote global economic governance, safeguard multilateralism and free trade, and build an open global economy".



China believed protectionist and unilateral approaches brought more economic uncertainty, not less, Liu said.



Foreign Minister Wang Yi, who accompanied Xi to Spain, discussed the G20 summit in Argentina with his French counterpart, Jean-Yves Le Drian, by phone on Wednesday.



Xi and French President Emmanuel Macron are to meet in Buenos Aires. Xi and Macron met during the French president's state visit to China in January, when trade was high on the agenda.





The Vice Premier of the People's Republic of China Liu He (R) talks with German Transport Minister Andreas Scheuer (C) and Hamburg's mayor Peter Tschentscher (L) at the Chamber of Commerce in Hamburg, northern Germany, on November 27, 2018. Liu He is in the Hanseatic city to attend "The Hamburg Summit: China meets Europe" conference. AFP-Yonhap
In this file photo taken on Nov. 8, 2017, U.S. President Donald Trump, and Chinese President Xi Jinping pose at the Forbidden City in Beijing. Chinese Ambassador to Washington Cui Tiankai said China will retaliate "in proportion" if the United States sanctions its top official in the restive region of Xinjiang over alleged human rights abuses. AFP



China will retaliate "in proportion" if the United States sanctions its top official in the restive region of Xinjiang over alleged human rights abuses, China's ambassador to the United States said on Tuesday, adding that Beijing's policies in the region are to "re-educate" terrorists.

Chinese Ambassador to Washington Cui Tiankai told Reuters in an interview that China's efforts to combat international terrorism are held to a double standard, comparing Chinese actions in Xinjiang to U.S. troops battling Islamic State in Iraq and Syria.

"Can you imagine (if) some American officials in charge of the fight against ISIS would be sanctioned?" Cui said, adding "if such actions are taken, we have to retaliate."

Cui did not elaborate on specific actions China might take.

Beijing has faced an outcry from activists, academics, foreign governments and U.N. rights experts over mass detentions and strict surveillance of the mostly Muslim Uighur minority and other Muslim groups in Xinjiang.

In August, a United Nations human rights panel said it had received many credible reports that a million or more Uighurs in China are being held in what resembles a "massive internment camp that is shrouded in secrecy".

U.S. officials have said the Trump administration is considering sanctions targeting companies and officials linked to China's crackdown on minority Muslims, including Xinjiang Party Secretary Chen Quanguo, who, as a member of the powerful politburo, is in the upper echelons of China's leadership.

Cui said that while the United States was using missiles and drones to kill terrorists, "we are trying to re-educate most of them, trying to turn them into normal persons (who) can go back to normal life," Cui said.

"We'll see what will happen. We will do everything in proportion," he said, responding to a question on how China would retaliate to possible U.S. sanctions on Chen.

Cui's comments are the strongest response yet to U.S. threats on the issue.

Any such U.S. sanctions decision against so senior an official as Chen would be a rare move on human rights grounds by the Trump administration, which is engaged in a trade war with China while also seeking Beijing's help to resolve a standoff over North Korea's nuclear weapons.

U.S. sanctions could be imposed under the Global Magnitsky Act, a federal law that allows the U.S. government to target human rights violators around the world with freezes on any U.S. assets, U.S. travel bans, and prohibitions on Americans doing business with them, U.S. officials have said.

Chinese authorities routinely deny any ethnic or religious repression in Xinjiang. They say strict security measures ? likened by critics to near martial law conditions, with police checkpoints, the detention centers, and mass DNA collection ? are needed to combat the influence of extremist groups.

After initial blanket denials of the detention facilities, officials have said that some citizens guilty of "minor offences" were sent to vocational centers to improve employment opportunities.

At a briefing in Washington on Monday, a Uighur woman, Mihrigul Tursun, 29, told reporters she had experienced physical and psychological torture, including electrocution while strapped to a chair, during 10 months in Xinjiang detention centers.

Tursun, who wept and shook as a translator read her prepared statement, said her three children were taken from her while she was in detention and that her four-month-old son had died without explanation in government custody.

Rejecting Chinese government claims that the detention facilities serve vocational purposes, she said many of the dozens of other women in her cell were "well-educated professionals, such as teachers and doctors."

Tursun said she witnessed nine women die during one three-month period she spent in detention, including from sickness after being denied medical treatment.

Reuters could not independently verify her account, though numerous former detainees have begun to share similar first-hand details with media. China's embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Tursun's statement.

Independent assessments of the conditions in Xinjiang are nearly impossible given restrictions on journalists from openly reporting from the region.

U.N. human rights chief Michelle Bachelet has called on China to allow monitors in Xinjiang, though Beijing has responded by telling her to respect China's sovereignty. (Reuters)
Ambassador of Argentina to China Diego Guelar

Buenos Aires and Beijing are nearly 20,000 kilometers apart, but the relations between the Argentina and China are as close as neighbors, said Argentine Ambassador to China Diego Guelar in a recent exclusive interview with Peoples Daily.

During the interview, the ambassador expressed his welcome to and expectation toward Chinese President Xi Jinpings upcoming state visit to Argentina, as well as the Chinese leaders attendance to the 13th Group of 20 (G20) summit to be held in the countrys capital Buenos Aires.

Bilateral trade between China and Argentina totaled nearly $13.81 billion in 2017. Now, Argentina has become Chinas fifth largest trading partner in Latin America, and China remains Argentinas third largest one globally.

The two countries have complementary economies and are getting more and more closer, noted the ambassador, who expected that products from Argentina, such as shrimps, beef and wines, can become big stars to Chinese consumers.

Meanwhile, Argentina and other countries in the region are also in particular need of Chinas infrastructure capacity, technology and investment, said Guelar.

The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) proposed by Chinese President Xi Jinping is a great proposal that offers not only win-win scheme but also common development, said Guelar.

It brings an extraordinary opportunity for the world, and an interesting, increasing, and enlarging market, he said, adding that the Belt and Road Initiative has undoubtedly achieved remarkable success.

Argentina is expecting that President Xis visit can bring more good news to the joint construction of the Belt and Road, especially in trade, infrastructure, and other aspects closely related to peoples livelihood, he noted.

Guelar admires President Xi very much. He spoke highly of Chinas achievements in the new era, praising the country as a locomotive driving global economy. He believes that Chinas fast economic growth is one of the highlights that have received the most attention from the international community in the first half of the 21st century.

Its hoped that President Xi can contribute more wisdom to an open world economy, said Guelar.

The world has been haunted by trade protectionism recently. In such a context, the G20 summit, featuring multilateralism in essence, is bound to send a clear signal of opposing protectionism and supporting the multilateral trading system, noted Guelar.

Its also hoped that all leaders can reach consensus and jointly play a leading role in promoting sound development of the world economy and improving the well-being of people from all countries.

Guelar said he felt honored to have attended the G20 summit in Hangzhou, China two years ago. He told Peoples Daily that China assumed a very serious and successful presidency of the G20 in implementing the agenda of Hangzhou summit, making the event a big success.

Its a great experience of leadership for China because all participating members spoke seriously about consensuses but its not easy to reach consensus, he remarked.

Argentina hopes to successfully host the G20 summit with reference to Chinas experience, said Guelar. The international community desperately needs the G20 platform where the decision on the worlds issues has to be obeyed and respected by all countries, both the powerful and the relatively weak ones.
Ukrainian navy sailors are conveyed to Kiev district court of Simferopol, Crimea, Nov. 27. Twenty four Ukrainian navy sailors from three seized by Russian border guard service Ukrainian war ships were arrested by Russian Federal Security Service for violation of Russian sea border. The incident caused sharp political conflict between Ukraine and Russia. Ukraine declared martial law in 10 regions durations for 30 days. EPA

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko speaks during a parliament session to review his proposal to introduce martial law after Russia seized Ukrainian naval ships off the coast of Russia-annexed Crimea, in Kiev, Ukraine Nov. 26. Reuters



Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko on Tuesday warned of the threat of "full-scale war" and said Russia had sharply increased its military presence on their shared border as tensions escalate between the ex-Soviet neighbours.

The crisis also threatened growing diplomatic fallout with US President Donald Trump warning that he may cancel a long-awaited summit with Russia's Vladimir Putin.

Trump is scheduled to meet Putin at the G20 summit in Buenos Aires at the end of this week, but he told The Washington Post that it would depend on the results of a report about the incident being prepared by his national security advisers.

"Maybe I won't have the meeting. Maybe I won't even have the meeting," he said.

In Ukraine, Poroshenko warned that the clash at sea could herald more drastic developments in the simmering Ukraine-Russia military standoff.

"I don't want anyone to think this is fun and games. Ukraine is under threat of full-scale war with Russia," the president said in an interview with national television.

The number of Russian units deployed along the Ukraine-Russian border has "grown dramatically" while the number of Russian tanks has tripled, Poroshenko said, citing intelligence reports but giving no precise timescale for the buildup.

He spoke after Russian forces seized three of Kiev's ships off the coast of Crimea on Sunday and captured 24 Ukrainian sailors.

On Tuesday, a court in Simferopol, the main city in Russian-annexed Crimea, ordered 12 of the sailors to be held in pre-trial detention for two months.

Three hospitalised sailors were also formally detained for two months. The rest are to appear in court on Wednesday.

The move stoked already high tensions between Moscow and Kiev, as Russia continues to accuse the sailors of crossing illegally into Russian waters and of ignoring warnings from its border guards.

Kiev has demanded the release of the sailors and urged Western allies to impose further sanctions on Moscow.

The US State Department on Tuesday termed Russia's actions "a dangerous escalation" and said Washington wants to see "our European allies doing more to assist Ukraine."

Putin warns of 'reckless acts'

The incident was the first major confrontation at sea in the long-running conflict pitting Ukraine against Moscow and Russian-backed separatists in the country's east.

It has raised fears of a wider escalation -- in a conflict that has killed more than 10,000 people since 2014 -- and prompted international calls for restraint.

Putin on Tuesday warned Ukraine against any "reckless acts" after Kiev declared martial law in response to Moscow's seizure of the navy vessels.

The Ukrainian parliament late on Monday voted in favour of Poroshenko's request for the introduction of martial law in border areas for 30 days.

This gives Ukrainian authorities the power to mobilise citizens with military experience, regulate the media and restrict public rallies in affected areas.

In a phone conversation with German Chancellor Angela Merkel Tuesday, Putin expressed "serious concern" over its introduction.

He said he hoped Berlin could intervene with Ukrainian authorities "to dissuade them from further reckless acts".

Moscow has accused Kiev of planning Sunday's confrontation as a provocation aimed at drumming up support for Poroshenko ahead of elections next year and convincing Western governments to impose further sanctions on Russia.

Putin said Kiev's actions were "clearly taken in view of the election campaign in Ukraine".

Sunday's incident has been playing out on Russian and Ukrainian television screens, with dramatic footage of Russian ships chasing down a Ukrainian tugboat that was trying to pass through the Kerch Strait from the Black Sea into the Sea of Azov.

Sailors on Russian TV

Russian state television late on Monday aired footage of some of the captured sailors being questioned by Moscow's security services.

One of them is heard saying "the actions of the Ukrainian armed vessels in the Kerch Strait had a provocatory character" -- parroting the version of events put forward by Russian authorities.

Ukraine's naval commander, Igor Voronchenko, said the sailors were pressured into giving false evidence.

"I know these sailors, they were always professional. What they are saying now is not true," he told Ukrainian media.

Western governments have rallied behind Kiev in the dispute, accusing Russia of illegally blocking access to the Sea of Azov and of taking military action without justification.

The European Union, Britain, Canada, France, Germany and others expressed support for Kiev on Monday, in statements pro-Kremlin newspaper Izvestia denounced as "predictably anti-Russian".

The foreign minister of Austria, which holds the rotating EU presidency, said Tuesday that the bloc will next month consider further sanctions against Moscow over the flare-up.

"Everything depends on the accounts of events and the actions of both sides. But it will need to be reviewed," Karin Kneissl told reporters.

UN chief Antonio Guterres on Tuesday called for "maximum restraint," urging both sides "to take steps without delay to contain this incident and reduce tensions". (AFP)
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The University of California, one of the premiere public university systems in the nation and one that boasts 65 Nobel prizes, enrolls thousands of students who don't have enough to eat.

Let's say that one more time: More than one in five UC students say their financial situation has often forced them to skip meals or reduce the size of their meals over the past year, according to a survey of tens of thousand of students.

Altogether, 22 percent of UC students said they skip meals or reduce meal size "somewhat often," "often" or "very often."

"It's definitely high," said Devon Graves, who's now a UCLA graduate student and the UC Student Regent.

"I hear stories about how students have to make those tough decisions of whether to eat or not to eat because of not having enough money for food," he said.

Student advocates say that should worry the public, although they acknowledge that administrators throughout the system have taken steps to address the problem.

WHERE TO FIND HELP

Before the issue came to statewide attention in 2015, students were hard pressed to find help with food or housing. Campuses operated food pantries in tucked away, unused spaces, often converted closets.

UC President Janet Napolitano's office changed that by directing campuses to set aside funding to better stock the pantries, make them more visible, remove the embarrassment and stigma of seeking the services, and help students who qualify sign up for Cal Fresh, formerly known as the food stamps program.

Each UC campus has created a "basic needs" hub:

UC Riverside operates a food pantry as part of a new basic needs effort to help students with food and housing. (Courtesy of UC Riverside)

FOOD INSECURITY IS RELATED TO HOUSING INSECURITY

Advocates point out that there's a strong link between housing and food.

"I remember having enough money to pay for rent and making my rent payments but not always having enough money to pay for food," said Graves.

The UC Office of the President did not have anyone available to talk about how the survey results related to current efforts to reduce hunger on campus. But a UC spokeswoman said Napolitano has been working on the issue, including a 2016 initiative to add 14,000 new, affordable beds for students by 2020. Campuses have opened 5,000 so far.

And last year UC Regents approved $27 million to help students find affordable housing.

But with all that help, advocates say UC needs to have stronger long-term plans to help students meet their basic needs.

"We're just beginning to invest in [students' basic needs]," said UC Santa Cruz researcher Tim Galarneau, who's co-chairing UC's food access and basic needs efforts.

"This isn't a quick turnaround where you flip on the light switch and it's solved," he said. "This is going to take significant time once we measure it and begin to intervene."

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Its tempting to see last Mondays blockbuster announcement by General Motors of roughly 14,000 job cuts and closings of four U.S. plants amid a drastic change in its production strategy as a reproach to Donald Trump and his half-baked industrial policy, such as it is.

Trump certainly took it personally, throwing tantrums about the announcement in interviews and on Twitter. They better damn well open a new plant there very quickly, Mr. Trump told the Wall Street Journal, referring to a plant in Warren, Ohio, slated for closure. I told them, Youre playing around with the wrong person. In tweets, Trump said he was considering cutting all GM subsidies, including those for its electric cars (which, of course, go to customers, not the company).

What may have irked Trump most deeply is that GMs announcement exposed his industrial policy as a sham. Hes acted as though threats and bluster were all that were needed to keep manufacturing jobs in or bring them back to the United States, augmented somewhat by a corporate tax cut that turns out to have fattened the pockets of executives and shareholders, leaving crumbs for rank-and-file workers in the form of modest one-time bonuses.

In a market economy, you do what the market demands. Veteran auto executive Bob Lutz

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But both Trump and GM have been less than honest about the companys announcement, its justification and its aftermath. The reason may be that its the result both of immutable market forces and Trumps own policies. Neither side in this dispute has an incentive to be entirely candid.

Trump cant acknowledge that GMs actions genuinely are dictated by economic realities, including increasing market interest in electric-car technologies and self-driving vehicles, as well as a persistent decline in American consumer interest in the midsize sedans turned out by the factories on the chopping block. Trumps trade wars with China and Europe also are forcing the hand of automakers such as GM.

Ford stated earlier this year that tariffs on steel and aluminum had cost it $1 billion in profit; GM hasnt given a number, but Chairwoman and Chief Executive Mary Barra said after the announcement that trade issues were among the headwinds the company faces, and investment analysts figure its tariff-related costs also approach $1 billion.

....for electric cars. General Motors made a big China bet years ago when they built plants there (and in Mexico) - dont think that bet is going to pay off. I am here to protect Americas Workers!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 27, 2018

Meanwhile, GM cant admit that it relied on a host of government subsidies, and that asking to operate in a pristine free-market environment wont help its bottom line.

In a market economy, you do what the market demands: The decline of cars and the rise of trucks has been too rapid for anyone to forecast, says Bob Lutz, a former top executive of each of the Big Three U.S. automakers (GM, Ford and Chrysler).

Its part of the commoditization of vehicle ownership, Lutz told me by email. (He does worry that GM has both waited too long to cancel most of its sedan models, and placed too strong a bet on EVs and self-driving cars, acceptance of which is still in a somewhat distant future.) As for Trump, with whom Lutz says he usually agrees, Hes playing to his blue-collar voting base. Ill bet hes shut down some unprofitable hotels, resorts and casinos in his day.

If Trump has a strategy to shore up the manufacturing sector of the U.S. economy, its not readily visible. His jawboning of corporate executives is an approach without staying power. The fantasy started in December 2016, when Trump  as president-elect  staged a theatrical meeting in Indianapolis at which he claimed to have saved 1,100 jobs that Carrier Corp. had been planning to move to Mexico. Over time, Carrier moved 600 of the jobs to Mexico after all, and its parent company, United Technologies, moved an additional 700 jobs at a nearby plant there as well.

In August, when the iconic Milwaukee-based American motorcycle maker Harley-Davidson said it would shift some production overseas, Trump threw a conniption, calling for a boycott of the company. But its rationale was inescapable  the European Unions retaliatory tariffs in response to Trumps tariffs on steel and aluminum imports threatened to stifle European sales, a bright spot compared with declining U.S. demand. The trade war could cost Harley $100 million, the company said.

When bluster doesnt serve, Trump has filled the gap with fabrication. He continues to claim that his policies have inspired U.S. Steel to open six or seven new domestic steel mills; the company says no such plans exist. On Thursday he claimed that BMW had just announced a major new plant: the company says a new engine plant is under consideration, but no decision has been reached on the plant, which has been under consideration for years.

The best indication that Trumps rhetoric is becoming a spent force is that his corporate targets are shrugging it off. Early in his term, when his approach was novel, companies in his crosshairs at least made a show of coming to terms. More recently, theyre offering him scraps, as when Pfizer responded to his demand for lower drug prices by briefly deferring a few price hikes. (Higher prices already are back on the schedule.)

Harley-Davidson and GM have stood firm. Thats unsurprising, because market realities are more meaningful for their bottom line than Trumps fits. GM, in a bland statement following Trumps outbursts, reiterated that Mondays announcement would support our ability to invest for future growth and position the company for long-term success and maintain and grow American jobs.

GM, however, doesnt deserve any encomiums for honesty. Consider the companys case against tariffs, as set forth in a comment the company filed with the Commerce Department on June 29. The document applied to Trumps threat to jack up tariffs on automobiles and parts, on top of the steel and aluminum tariffs he already had imposed.

The comment opens with a plug for a globally competitive auto market (i.e., one without tariffs). It proceeds to warn that broad tariffs on imported autos and parts could lead to a smaller GM  and risk less  not more  U.S. jobs, while undermining GMs competitiveness against foreign auto producers. The higher auto prices that result would reduce demand for new vehicles, GM said, shedding crocodile tears for lower-income buyers who would be hardest hit by tariff-driven price increases and who can least afford to absorb a higher vehicle price.

The GM filing is being widely taken as a prediction of what has begun to pass  lower sales, higher prices, job cuts. But it skates entirely over the inconvenient truth that GM, and its fellow U.S. carmakers, have profited handsomely from an auto tariff. Thats the so-called chicken tax, a 25% tariff that has blocked the imports of foreign-made pickups, SUVs, and vans for 56 years.

The tariff is known as the chicken tax because it was imposed in 1962 in retaliation for a European tariff on U.S. chickens. That particular trade dispute has long since ebbed, but the truck tariff was never removed. The result is that the pickup market today is entirely dominated by U.S.-made vehicles.

In fact, as GM indicated in its layoff announcement, that market has become its bread and butter. The top-selling vehicles in the U.S. are American-made pickups  the Ford F-Series, Chevrolet Silverado and Ram pickup, followed by a handful of Japanese models made in U.S. plants.

This looks good on its face, but the American automakers addiction to the big vehicles on which they have no foreign competition has turned them into nobodies in the sedan market. There the seven bestselling models are all Japanese, led by the Toyota Camry.

The reasons for the emphasis by GM, Ford and Chrysler on larger vehicles are obvious  theyre more popular with the American public, and the profit margins are 40% to 50% higher on the trucks than on sedans. But over the long term it could leave the Big Three with outdated inventories if American tastes shift back to the sedan sector. And its not good for public environmental policy.

As pickup and SUV makers, the American companies have a vested interest in low gas prices and policies that encourage more fuel-inefficient vehicles. Its no accident that the Trump administration has been trying hard to erode fuel-efficiency standards, especially the stringent rules set by California; the tighter the rules, the harder it is to meet them with a manufacturing mix tilted steeply toward big, hulking pickups.

GMs forgetfulness about the chicken tax wasnt the only misleading aspect of its comment on the tariffs. The company also mentioned its disciplined deployment of capital, implying that it was devoted to spending capital where it was most likely to promote growth. What GM didnt mention was how much capital it had shoveled out in utterly unproductive share buybacks  $14 billion announced since March 2015, of which all but $3.4 billion already has been spent.

In other words, now that GM has wasted nearly $11 billion on buybacks, its scurrying to regain $6 billion annually by cutting $4.5 billion in annual costs through plant closings and layoffs and reducing capital expenditures by $1.5 billion a year.

The shareholders got their money in advance; middle managers and rank-and-file workers are going to pay the freight, along with the communities of Warren, Mich.; White Marsh, Md.; Warren, Ohio; Detroit; and Oshawa, Canada, which will lose plants that were their employment keystones.

But Trump cant do much about this, even if he genuinely wishes to. His own policies are either irrelevant to whats happening in the manufacturing sector, or making things worse. Hes proposed nothing to make things better. He ought to listen to the hard truth being offered by GM, Harley-Davidson, Carrier and other companies he thinks he can bend to his will: Reality trumps Trump.

Keep up to date with Michael Hiltzik. Follow @hiltzikm on Twitter, see his Facebook page, or email michael.hiltzik@latimes.com.

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To create new chapter of China-Portugal relations in the new era

Chinese President Xi Jinpings upcoming trip to Portugal, the first state visit to the country by a Chinese leader in eight years, and that by President Xi since he took office as Chinese president, will mark a historical moment of China-Portugal ties, and will surely move the China-Portugal comprehensive strategic partnership into a new era.

Located in the westernmost part of the Eurasian continent, Portugal is both a hotspot for outbound investment and an effective platform for trilateral cooperation for Chinese enterprises. It is also a good friend and partner of China in the European Union (EU) and on multilateral diplomacy.

With frequent high-level exchanges, constantly deepened political mutual trust, and rich fruits from bilateral pragmatic cooperation in various fields, the China-Portugal ties are at its best in history.

China is the largest Asian trading partner of Portugal, while Portugal is Chinas fifth largest investment destination in Europe. According to incomplete statistics, Chinese investment in Portugal has exceeded 9 billion euros, covering various areas including energy, electricity, finance, insurance, health, and medical service, and achieving remarkable economic and social benefits.

Portuguese investment in China is also growing steadily. As the first country in the EU to establish the blue partnership with China, Portugal is about to be the first country in Europe to make concerted efforts with China to promote the Luban Workshops, and will probably be the first euro zone nation to issue yuan-dominated bonds in China.

As we have seen, the pragmatic cooperation between China and Portugal in various fields, while conveying sound development momentum, has become a model for state-to-state relations featuring mutual benefits and win-win results.

Portugal is an ancient seafaring nation as well as the European starting point of the ancient Maritime Silk Road. People from all circles of the Portugal society have natural affinity and passion for taking part in the construction of the Belt and Road.

Portuguese President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa and Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Costa have both expressed clearly that Portugal supports and is willing to participate actively in the construction of the Belt and Road and effectively coordinate Portuguese development strategies with the Belt and Road Initiative, so as to share with other countries the opportunities and benefits created by the construction of the Belt and Road.

As an ancient Chinese saying goes, Amity between people holds the key to sound relations between states, connectivity among people is a crucial part of the construction of the Belt and Road.

To this end, Portuguese people are actively learning Chinese. Since the year 2013, Sao Joao da Madeira, the Portuguese city that has long been called the city of shoes, has started to promote the education of the Chinese language.

Today, Chinese is a required course for approximately 800 students in the twelve public primary and secondary schools of Sao Joao da Madeira, a vivid example of the Chinese fever and China fever in the Portuguese society. And certainly, the number of Chinese students who are learning Portuguese is also growing significantly over the recent years.

During President Xis visit in Portugal, China and Portugal are going to issue a joint statement, and the two heads of state will also witness the signing of a series of agreements on important pragmatic cooperation in a wide range of areas.

China and Portugal should seize the historic opportunity brought by President Xis state visit, earnestly implement various results of this visit, and make the most of such historic opportunities as the 40th anniversary of the establishment of the China-Portugal diplomatic ties.

I have every confidence that President Xis state visit to Portugal will make significant contributions to the development of the China-Portugal comprehensive strategic partnership in the new era.

Cai Run is the Chinese Ambassador to Portugal.
California Republicans, drummed out of office by the carload in the recent election, have exited whining.

Theyve figured out why they got thumped so badly, and its simple: California, that dastardly state, allowed voters to vote. The result was that seven Republican House seats turned Democratic, including all four in Orange County, transforming that once reliably GOP stronghold into a blue streak.

I just think its weird, outgoing House Speaker Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.) said of Californias system of allowing every vote to be counted, even if its filed with local election officials days after election day. California defies logic to me.

Theres no evidence of ballot box shenanigans. Former California GOP Chair Shawn Steel

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Ryan wasnt alone in implying, if not stating outright, that something illegal happened in California. Rep. Mimi Walters (R-Laguna Beach) issued a fund-raising appeal immediately after the election, accusing Democrats of trying to steal this Republican seat.

Lets be candid about this: Walters claim was despicable. The two-term member of Congress offered not a whit of evidence, and her bid for a recount has gone nowhere. She lost, according to the final count, by more than 11,000 votes and almost four percentage points. To smear the electoral process as your own political career is ending merely raises the question of whether you ever deserved a seat in the House to begin with.

The GOPs focus on California is understandable, given its decline in the state. But its probably a mistake for the party to avoid noticing that its problems are more widespread. Ryan lamented that the party was down by only 26 seats on election night but today, three weeks later, its losses come to 40. California, however, accounted for only five of those late gains.

The most comprehensive whine about Californias vote has come from Shawn Steel, a former state Republican Party chair, writing in the conservative Washington Times. Steels argument deserves careful scrutiny, especially since he concedes at the outset that theres no evidence of ballot box shenanigans in California.

Instead, Steel complains, California has changed its voting laws to allow more voters to vote. Taking Steels particulars from the top, they are:

1. Noncitizens voting. Steel wrote, Some California communities allow even illegal immigrants to vote. Thats true, but its not relevant to the House outcome, since noncitizens cant vote for congressional candidates in California or anywhere else in the country. Noncitizens are permitted in some jurisdictions to vote in local elections. Is this a big issue? Steels lone example is San Francisco, where a tide of 49 noncitizens were registered to vote in a school board election.

2. Criminals voting. Steel is exercised about California rules allowing convicted criminals in county jails or on various forms of probation or supervised release to vote. But hes talking mostly about those with misdemeanor convictions, who are allowed to vote nationwide, or those who have served their sentences. Just about the only criminals barred from voting in California are felons in prison or on parole, he writes, but he doesnt explain whats wrong with that.

Steel grouses that California actually does allow felon voting, but thats just gaslighting. Hes referring to the downgrading of some felonies to misdemeanors under Proposition 47 of 2014, which passed by an overwhelming 60%-40% vote. The measure reduced some cannabis possession and petty theft counts, including shoplifting and check kiting, to misdemeanors, and allowed anyone previously convicted of felony counts for those offenses to petition to change their records. But by definition, the charges no longer were felonies; in other words, this isnt felon voting.

3. Motor voter problems. Steel goes to town on this one, and hes got something of a point  just not as much as he claims. Theres no evidence of fraud, as he calls it, as opposed to technical glitches. As my colleague John Myers reported in September, the system allowing Californians to register to vote at the DMV was something of a mess, affecting 23,000 of the 1.4 million voter registration files sent to elections offices between the inception in late April and early August.

About 1,600 of these errors involved people who did not intend to register to vote. No illegal immigrants were mistakenly registered to vote, officials say. Some errors involved changes to voters party preferences, but theres no evidence that the errors favored Republicans or Democrats, and in any case such errors wouldnt even affect California primaries, since party preference is no longer a factor in those votes, much less the general election.

4. Teen preregistration. The state has begun registering 16- and 17-year-olds to vote, in preparation for their casting ballots after they turn 18. Steel calls this a thinly veiled effort to capture voters while theyre young and more likely to identify as liberal Democrats and notes that of the nearly 89,000 minors that participated in the program, only 10 percent registered as Republicans.

Theres an obvious solution to this for Republicans: Start advocating policies that young persons find appealing, rather than the racist, anti-immigrant, anti-LGBTQ pap that the GOP has become identified with. Maybe then more young people will register as Republicans.

5. Absentee and conditional ballots. Steel complains that absentee ballots were mailed to every voter in some counties, a system that will be expanded statewide in 2020. So what? Steel also observes that absentee ballots have to be postmarked by election day, but are valid if theyre received within a given number of days. Again, so what? If your interest is in making sure that all valid votes are counted, then by definition a vote cast by election day  and verified by a postmark  should be valid and given a grace period to arrive at the election office.

Then theres the states rules allowing voters whose ballots have been rejected to have a chance to fix them. Federal judges in Florida and Georgia have ordered similar arrangements.

Finally, theres ballot harvesting, which the GOP seems to have decided is a fount of fraud. California allows anyone, including campaign workers, to submit an absentee ballot for a voter. In most states, this task has to be done by a voter or family member. Steel asserts that Californias rules allow for coercion, but he can cite only one alleged case, involving an Assembly race between two Democrats last year in which a single voter claimed a campaign worker pressured him to turn over his completed absentee ballot to her. He refused.

When pressed, Republicans acknowledge that they lost for far more conventional reasons. Ryan, speaking at a Washington Post event after the election, admitted that money played a role.

We got massively outspent, he said. You get a couple of billionaires dropping a hundred million dollars on your head, that leaves a mark.

This is an amazingly hypocritical remark, considering the extent to which the GOP has relied on the patronage of billionaires such as Sheldon Adelson and the Koch brothers over the years  President Trump even awarded Miriam Adelson, Sheldons wife, the Congressional Medal of Freedom this month, after her family donated more than $87 million to GOP candidates in the midterm elections.

Ryans complaint was echoed by Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-Costa Mesa), who got turfed out after a 30-year career in the House  quite likely because of voters discontent with the GOP efforts to roll back the Affordable Care Act and the tax cut bill and its costly effect on many California taxpayers (though Rohrabacher voted against the measure). The reason I lost and we lost, he told The Times, is because you had Bolshevik billionaires who pumped in enormous sums of money to defeat us. That was it.

Ryan also conceded that Republicans faced midterm head winds, which are traditional things, and we do have to face up that theres a suburban voter issue that we do have to attend to. Hes speaking in code: He means President Trump, who is turning off suburban voters by the thousands.

Steel may be right to warn Republicans that they face even stronger head winds in 2020. And he may be right that their ills have something to do with greater enfranchisement in states such as California. But its not about fraud  its about more voters coming to the polls with reasons to vote against GOP policies.

Keep up to date with Michael Hiltzik. Follow @hiltzikm on Twitter, see his Facebook page, or email michael.hiltzik@latimes.com.

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For more than a decade, Leslie Moonves was one of Americas highest-paid executives.

The former CBS chairman and chief executive collected nearly $70 million last year, and his lucrative employment deal guaranteed him an extraordinarily generous payout  as much as $140 million  should he exit the company on his own terms.

But it is doubtful that Moonves, 69, will collect a penny of severance.

He is in an untenable legal position, C. Kerry Fields, a business law professor at USC Marshall School of Business. Hes tainted goods right now.

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Since August, two high-powered New York law firms have been investigating Moonves alleged misconduct, including how the former CEO  who was fired in September  struggled for months to contain a widening sexual harassment scandal. Lawyers have interviewed more than 350 people in the probe, which is also reviewing CBS workplace climate, according to a person familiar with the situation who was not authorized to comment. Separately, the New York Countys district attorneys office and the New York City Commission on Human Rights have opened investigations into Moonves conduct.

More questions emerged this week when the New York Times uncovered new details that Moonves had offered roles on CBS shows to several actors in an effort to silence those who knew about his past sexual encounters. The paper also reported that Moonves deleted text messages from an iPad that he used for work in an attempt to destroy his communications with longtime Los Angeles talent manager, Marv Dauer, who was seeking parts for his clients on CBS shows.

Dauer represented actress Bobbie Phillips, who has accused Moonves of sexually assaulting her during a 1995 meeting in his Warner Bros. offices in Burbank, when he was in charge of the bustling TV studio, according to the New York Times report. Dauer kept the text message exchanges with Moonves after they began communicating late last year when the #MeToo movement galvanized women to speak up about past mistreatment by powerful men.

CBS cant pay Moonves a $120-million severance, Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, an associate dean at the Yale School of Management, said in an interview. There should be no severance coming his way. And CBS board should try to claw back some of his past pay  although I doubt that they will do that.

People close to the matter say the investigators  Nancy Kestenbaum and Mary Jo White  have been looking into whether Moonves was candid with investigators who were hired to review the sexual harassment allegations. The two lawyers are expected to deliver a report to the CBS board in the next few weeks, according to knowledgeable people.

Then, CBS board will determine whether Moonves should be fired for cause.

CBS and a representative of Moonves declined to comment. Phillips attorney could not be reached. Dauer declined to comment.

It is extremely rare for companies to deny severance payouts to departing CEOs, corporate governance experts said Thursday. However, Sonnenfeld said that if investigators determined Moonves destroyed evidence and offered parts on CBS shows in exchange for silence, that would likely be considered cause for termination.

If the board doesnt consider this a dereliction of duties and misconduct, then I dont know what would qualify as cause, Sonnenfeld said. This is over-the-top abuse of power.

Companies typically calculate how much they will spend in litigation costs if they deny a departing executive their severance package, said Charles Elson, director of the John L. Weinberg Center for Corporate Governance at the University of Delaware. Then boards fashion a settlement agreement with the executive to avoid a costly, and often protracted, legal fight.

There is always litigation around these things, Elson said, adding that CBS should take a tough line.

This is not just about him, this is about others down the line, Elson said. I always believe that it is worth it not to settle because you dont want to set a precedent.

In September, as CBS ousted Moonves, the board reserved $120 million for a possible severance package, according to a regulatory filing. The two investigators were only a few weeks into their review of his conduct. After they deliver their report next month, CBS board will have 30 days to decide whether Moonves should be fired for cause. The company must inform Moonves of its decision by Jan. 29, according to the regulatory filing.

In the event the board determines that the company is entitled to terminate Mr. Moonvess employment for cause under his employment agreement and Mr. Moonves does not demand arbitration  the company will have no further obligations to Mr. Moonves, CBS said in the filing.

In addition, CBS agreed to provide Moonves with office services and security for up to two years to facilitate him serving as a transition advisor to the company. Those payments, too, are in doubt.

Under Moonves contract, which was due to expire in 2021, Moonves was eligible to receive as much as $140 million in severance. But amid the scandal, CBS board in September said that it would take $20 million from his possible payout and donate it to organizations that promoted the #MeToo cause and safe work environments.

CBS is expected to decide which groups get the money in mid-December.

The September shake-up further weakened Moonves hand because of a separate settlement agreement that demanded the resignations of six board members who had been aligned with him. Those board members were replaced by younger individuals who dont have an allegiance to the longtime television chief.

CBS plans its annual meeting with shareholders on Dec. 11, when the reconstituted board is expected to be ratified.

The New York Times exposed the fraught relationship between Moonves and Dauer, 75, who represented a cadre of daytime soap opera stars in the 1990s and early 2000s.

But Dauers business had fallen on hard times, and he looked to his old friend, Moonves, for help securing work for his clients. Dauer told the New York Times that he reached out to Moonves in December, when Hollywood was reeling from sexual harassment allegations. After the outreach, Moonves attended Dauers 75th birthday party and suggested he would find work for Dauers clients, according to the report.

But the proposed CBS roles for Dauers clients were not as big or lucrative as the manager had hoped. And Phillips, the actress, didnt want to participate, the report stated.

While there was no deliberate extortion, it certainly seems unseemly, Fields, the USC professor, said of the dealings between Dauer and Moonves. The loss, or destruction of evidence, and the fact that he was trying to reward these people with acting jobs, certainly suggests culpability on Moonves part.

meg.james@latimes.com

Twitter: @MegJamesLAT
The phrase pivot to video haunted digital journalists in 2016 and 2017, as publication after publication announced that they were laying off writers to redirect their resources into making videos. Mic, a digital publication focusing on a millennial audience, was one of the outlets that adopted that strategy. In 2017 it laid off 25 people, mostly from news and editorial, to become the leader in visual journalism, founder Chris Altchek wrote at the time.

The pivot, it seems, did not save them. On Thursday, Mic laid off most of its staff amid reports that it is preparing to sell itself to Bustle Digital Group. But the pivot was just a symptom of a bigger problem: how to make a digital journalism venture profitable. Mics other attempts to turn $60 million in venture funding into a sustainable business model also failed. Pivot or not, this ending was coming.

The layoffs, first reported by Recode, were announced during a Thursday morning staff meeting with Altchek. According to one laid-off staffer, the meeting was brief and expected: Earlier media reports revealed the dire situation. The layoffs included Mics entire editorial team, video and written, the staffer said. The company, founded in 2011 as PolicyMic and rebranded to simply Mic in 2014, employed more than 100 people as of September.

Mics traffic dropped precipitously over the last year. In April, Digiday reported that Mics website was down to 5 million monthly unique visitors. Just a year earlier that number was 17 million. None of Mics other sources of audience  particularly Facebook  were offsetting that steep drop.

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Mic Publisher Cory Haik announced in a note to staff that she was resigning from the company. Our business models are unsettled, and the macro forces at play are all going through their own states of unrest.... I am proud to have been a part of an org that earnestly tried to solve some of these confounding issues. And I hope you all take some comfort in knowing that your work will transcend this moment.

The Wall Street Journal reported in September that Mic was considering an acquisition offer from another media company, as executives believed the company would have to either sell or cut costs within a year. Earlier this week, Recode reported that Mics show on Facebook Watch had been canceled, limiting the companys options even further.

Mics former executive news director, Kerry Lauerman  who also resigned  said in an interview that he was proud of the work Mics team achieved.

Clearly, there were some risks taken that didnt pay off. Today, the staff is really sad, but were enormously proud of the work weve done through it all, Lauerman said. He singled out the work of the Facebook Watch video team, noting that it had recently produced stories embedded in the large migrant caravan in Mexico. He also highlighted the work of Serena Daniari, a trans reporter who produced a series documenting what its like to be a trans person in a public space.

Lauerman and Haik are both former employees of the Washington Post.

Mic was one of many publications that pinned its hopes for growth on traffic that came via Facebook as it pushed to meet its investors expectations. Most newsrooms have come to regret making hiring and investment decisions based on the whims of a company that really doesnt care much about journalism, said Bill Grueskin, a professor at Columbia Journalism School. Facebook was often opaque toward its media partners. And in the case of average watch time on its videos, Facebook overestimated that key metric for two years.

Mic wouldnt be the first site to have funders that are driving unrealistic growth targets, forcing the company into a relationship with such a dubious and fickle company, Grueskin said.

Thursday was the latest version of a bleak ritual that has become standard when digital media companies purge their staffs, a ritual that has become more frequent since Facebooks announcement in January that its users would see fewer posts from publishers  as opposed to friends  in their feeds. The Outline laid off six staffers over the summer, months after a $5-million funding round. LittleThings shut down. In February, Vox Media laid off about 50 employees.

With each layoff, the newly unemployed staff writers and video producers flood Twitter, suddenly among the ranks of digital medias growing pool of freelancers and job hunters. And with each layoff, there seem to be fewer digital outlets that could hire them.

The lessons that some publications, like Mic, learned the hard way are starting to sink in at others, according to Grueskin. As digital advertising increasingly becomes a space dominated by major tech companies such as Facebook and Google, some publishers are starting to seek out other sources of revenue including subscriptions, donations, events and apps.

Once you move your media firm into that arena, your dependence on other platforms drops off, and you can treat Facebook with the same disdain that theyve treated newsrooms for years, Grueskin said.

Ohlheiser writes for the Washington Post.
Air New Zealand, known for its quirky advertising, has floated a touch of political commentary in its latest ad.

The airline from below the equator has launched a Christmas ad that depicts a summit attended by children who are on the naughty list and trying to come up with ways to get back in Santas good graces.

Youngsters from around the world fly to New Zealand, of course on the Auckland-based carrier. A boy from the U.S., wearing a dark suit and a Trump-style red hat emblazoned with Make Christmas Great Again, pushes his way past other delegates to reach the tarmac first, reminiscent of a certain 2017 NATO photo op.

During the summit, the kids all offer ways to be nicer and get off of Santas naughty list. When it comes time for the U.S. boy to offer his change of behavior, he muses: I have to say, Im not naughty at all. In fact, Im the nicest person I know.

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That gets a round of laughter from the summit crowd, much as when President Trump told the U.N. General Assembly in September that his administration had in less than two years accomplished more than almost any administration in the history of our country.

The U.S. boy then responds just as Trump did  Didnt expect that reaction, but thats OK  but the nice meter appears unaffected.

It falls to the New Zealand kids to make a round of promises to push the meter all the way to nice (although be nicer to the kids from Australia was done with fingers crossed).

Funny videos are nothing new for Air New Zealand. The Kiwis have produced in-flight safety videos featuring nude flight attendants, fitness guru Richard Simmons and a plane full of characters from The Lord of the Rings movies, which relied on New Zealand for most of the outdoor scenery.

In early November, Air New Zealand released a safety spot with loud, hip-hop music and dozens of brightly dressed dancers.

As for the behavior-challenged children, the ad suggests that their summit put them back on Santas nice list.

hugo.martin@latimes.com

To read more about the travel and tourism industries, follow @hugomartin on Twitter.
Over the last few decades, designer Cynthia Hart and her husband, Bob Hart, a developer, have honed an oft-repeated routine: He finds a great deal on a house, proclaims they can just move right in, she thinks not and remodels it, and then settles in the family.

Before long he finds a buyer, locates another house to purchase, says they can move right in, she remodels it, and so on. Thus far, the couple have moved 25 times.

Were still together after 30 years, Cynthia said. How about that?

This time, when Bob told Cynthia about the 7,500-square-foot house on a 16,000-square-foot property in the gated Mulholland Estates community, she thought, Oh God. Dont do this to me.

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Then she saw the house and was further dismayed. Although the 1990s-circa home was nice enough, its style was confusing and disjointed. Cynthia, who studied at UCLA and Otis College of Art and Design, discerned it was probably built on spec by a developer trying to appeal to the widest range of buyers, who were alternately looking for Tuscan, French country, Spanish or traditional.

He put it together in one pot, she said.

The house was awkward, with its faux stone front and unremarkable entryway, its closed-off rooms, a sunken bar in the family room and a pervasive darkness. It was tired, Cynthia said.

But she warmed to the idea of giving the house new life and had a singular vision: Santa Barbara Mission, light and bright, simple and elegant. Let it sing, she said.

The couple bought the house at the end of 2015, then took their time planning and designing until construction began in March 2016. She relied heavily on her fabulous general contractor: John Donaldson of JDC Construction + Development Group.

The scale of the remodel was immense and ended up costing about $3.5 million and taking 2 years, including a year for the landscaping.

Crucial to the project, the facade and front rooflines had to be reworked. The new white plaster exterior, the barrel tile roofing and black metal divided-light windows all serve up the Mission style Cynthia wanted. The house that she said screamed for an entryway got a fountain surrounded by tile decking, set in front of wide glass front doors, flanked by gas-lit sconces.

Inside, the kitchen got a major makeover with a giant marble-covered island, soapstone perimeter counters, custom cabinets, painted marble tile backsplash, a Sub-Zero refrigerator with a glass door and a Wolf range. The marble floors are easy to keep clean  key for a family with five rescue dogs.

Removing a large peninsula opened the kitchen to the family room. They removed the sunken bar, brought that area up to floor level and connected the whole space to the covered terrace and pool with a wall of accordion-style glass doors.

The couples daughter Mia, 13, got to decorate her own room upstairs. While Cynthia favors muted, neutral tones, Mia is into color, especially purple. Because the family had more bedrooms than needed, two rooms were combined to give Mia hang-out space.

Mia hopes to be an architect and designer; toward that end, she and her mom are starting a charitable effort that will help needy families decorate a room in their homes. Everyone deserves to wake up in a room they love, Cynthia said.

Today, their house exudes the calming, soothing peace and simplicity that Cynthia was after. However, based on her and Bobs pattern, would she consider moving and doing another major remodel?

I toy with the idea of selling. I started thinking about it, she said. Then again, Im 62 years old this year; the house came out so amazing  I think Ill stay.

hotproperty@latimes.com
The scenic hills and fertile plains of the future suburb of Hacienda Heights were originally part of the 50,000-acre Rancho la Puente. The territory was under Spanish and then Mexican control until it was officially given away by land grant in 1845.

The recipients of the rancho were John Rowland and William Workman, two immigrants from Taos, N.M, who arrived in the area at the head of an overland caravan of settlers in 1841.

Rowland and Workman would both leave their marks on the history of the region. The former became the namesake of nearby Rowland Heights, and the latter founded the sprawling Workman-Temple family dynasty, which produced the 18th mayor of Los Angeles and bequeathed its name to the citys historic Temple Street.

Upon the two mens deaths in the 1870s, the rancho went into foreclosure, passing into the hands of legendary land baron Lucky Baldwin, where it remained until his death in 1909.

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In 1913 its new owner, a transplanted Ohioan named Edwin Hart, dubbed it North Whittier Heights and subdivided the land into 5- to 50-acre tracts of what was marketed as Lemon and Orange Land.

He also established the first packinghouse to collect the harvest of the areas citrus groves and avocado orchards for shipping across the United States.

North Whittier Heights remained predominantly agricultural until the 1940s, when a citrus blight devastated the industry. Demand for housing after World War II saw the unincorporated community begin its transformation from farmland into a suburb of greater Los Angeles.

Portions of North Whittier Heights were cleaved away in 1957 when the industrial districts of the town incorporated as the city of Industry, in a scheme to avoid paying county taxes on unincorporated land.

In 1961, one year after the orange groves along Hacienda Boulevard were plowed under to make way for development, and the local library took the name Hacienda Heights Branch, the community officially adopted the new moniker.

As with the rest of the San Gabriel Valley in the 1970s and 1980s, Hacienda Heights became a major destination for Chinese and Taiwanese immigrants to the United States. This demographic shift  along with opposition from other communities where it was originally proposed  led in 1988 to the construction of the Hsi Lai Buddhist Temple in the hills above Hacienda Heights.

Neighborhood highlights

Safe suburban home: Hacienda Heights is the dictionary definition of a suburb, with pleasant tree-lined streets, plentiful single-family homes and a low crime rate.

Take a hike: The nearby Puente and Whittier hills offer hiking trails, wildlife preserves and scenic views of both the San Gabriel Valley and the Los Angeles Basin.

(Los Angeles Times)

Neighborhood challenges

Drive to work: Because there are few large employers in Hacienda Heights, most residents need to commute to nearby employment centers for work.

Expert insight

When I speak to residents, the biggest draws are the schools, the safety and the diversity, said Michelle Chen, a real estate agent with eight years of experience in the area.

Parks and nature areas sit to the south of the suburb, and on the west side, hiking trails slither through the Hacienda Hills.

Its an active community. People enjoy the parks and local restaurants, as well as the community center that opened four years ago, Chen said. She added that most residents are here to stay, since an overwhelming majority own their homes instead of renting.

Market snapshot

In the 91745 ZIP Code, based on 26 sales, the median sales price for single-family homes in September was $678,000, up 5.9% year over year, according to CoreLogic.

Report card

Of the 15 public schools in the Hacienda Heights boundaries, five scored above 900 on the 2013 Academic Performance Index. Those include Los Molinos Elementary at 953, Grazide Elementary at 952, Wedgeworth Elementary at 943, Mesa Robles at 918 and Los Altos Elementary at 914.

The two biggest high schools in the area, Glen A. Wilson High and Los Altos High, scored 835 and 795, respectively.

Times staff writer Jack Flemming contributed to this report.

hotproperty@latimes.com
Peter Williams pointillist painting technique, crowding thousands of tiny dots of enamel color within pencil-drawn contours of people, places and things, is not the same as the celebrated one pioneered more than a century ago by Georges Seurat and Paul Signac. His look yields a very different feel from the measured, careful tone of those French Postimpressionists.

Brash color is plainly important to the 14 Williams paintings in his Los Angeles debut at Luis De Jesus Gallery, most (though not all) of which explode with pointillist dots. Rather than the scientifically inflected approach of letting pure hues painted on a canvas mix only when they reach an observers eye, the Delaware-based artist, 66, uses staccato dots in an almost ritual way.

Fixated, determined, relentless  those are the descriptors for the pointillism of big, roiling, undulating crowd scenes in works like Wild Thing, I Think I Love You and A Foolish Trick. A gallery handout also connects the dots to Australian aboriginal art and African scarification patterns. Whatever the sources, the painters steadfast focus drives the viewers.

Peter Williams, A Foolish Trick, 2018, enamel on canvas (Luis De Jesus Gallery)

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Peter Williams, West Ward and East Ward, Neither at Least, 2018, enamel and pencil on canvas (Luis De Jesus Gallery)

In the latter work, a rider mounted on horseback, ancient symbol of heroic triumph, is impossibly balanced on a tightrope before a staring, wide-eyed throng. The rider stands precariously on a variation of a Pan-African flag, a white mask worn over his black face. The foolishness of the balancing trick is transformed into trenchant racial spectacle.

Williams also deftly layers imagery, as in West Ward and East Ward, Neither at Least. A uniformed man and an extravagant tree of life  a topsy-turvy house is entangled in its branches  are cargo for a boatful of women who are guiding the vessel across choppy water.

George Washington crossing the Delaware mixes with the Middle Passage of slave ships from West Africa to the West Indies, all while conjuring the prehistoric river goddess Styx, powerful deity of the hellish underworld. Thousands of dots and brightly colored patterns stitch them (and us) together.

Elsewhere, those persistent dots and their colorful capacity for exuberant intensity enliven a marvelous portrait of L.A. Congresswoman Maxine Waters, arms spread wide, eyes glistening and a broad smile across her face. Williams explodes the little dots, too, enlarging the marks into the big red-white-and-blue balloons of a boisterous political rally. As it does for several other portraits of women (actress Pam Grier, activist Patricia Okoumou) that he collectively titles Queens, the obstinate pointillist technique is transformed into an unmistakable manifestation of the subjects committed character.

Peter Williams, Queens: Maxine Waters, 2018, enamel and pencil on canvas (Luis De Jesus Gallery)

Luis De Jesus Gallery, 2685 S. La Cienega Blvd., Culver City. Through Dec. 15; closed Sundays and Mondays. (310) 838-6000, www.luisdejesus.com

christopher.knight@latimes.com

@KnightLAT
Riffle through Sandy Rodriguezs dense rack of painting supplies and youll turn up feathers, withered plants and a container of cochineal powder, the fiery red tint produced by the insect that feeds on the leaves of the prickly pear cactus. You might also find a jar of bulbs from the orchid Laelia autumnalis, known as flor de los muertos (flower of the dead) in Mexico, where it primarily grows.

I found these at a nursery in Santa Barbara, says Rodriguez, holding up a tiny bulb. You take the bulb, remove the exterior layer with a potato peeler, then you boil it, slice it, dry it, then you grind it. It becomes a gum and it stabilizes color. A berry color mixed with this will last 500 years.

Rodriguezs Mar Vista studio is part painting studio, part scientific lab. Here, the artist crafts the natural tints and other materials used in the works now on display in Codex Rodriguez-Mondragon, her solo exhibition at the Riverside Art Museum, and in the group show Here, currently on view at the Los Angeles Municipal Art Gallery.

For two years, Rodriguez has been studying natural sources of color  plants, flowers, insects and oxides  and has researched historical methods of preparing them, including indigenous techniques that predate European colonization. (Those orchid bulbs? She located them via a friend who studies medieval history and supplied her with a recipe for how to prepare them.) But its not just her materials that nod to the past. She has used these pigments in a series of paintings inspired by the elaborate codices of the Mexican colonial era.

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The series, titled Codex Rodriguez-Mondragon, after her fathers and mothers surnames, serves as a curious record of our time. Like colonial codices, her paintings function as literal and cultural maps, delineating borders and capturing aspects of the landscape, including flora and fauna. But they also record the current political moment  in particular, issues of immigration. Look closely at one of Rodriguezs large-scale map paintings and you will find images of protests, deportations and the tent city where migrant children, separated from their parents, are warehoused in Texas.

Another detail is drawn from the now famous image of a tent city for children in Tornillo, Texas. (Carolina A. Miranda / Los Angeles Times)

In Rodriguezs studio, a work-in-progress charts child separation centers along the U.S.-Mexico border. (Kirk McKoy / Los Angeles Times)

At this moment, I feel like there is so much hostility and aggression towards Mexican and Central American and Latino communities, Rodriguez says. This is a way of presenting these cultures. Its incredibly important to present this type of other rich, cultural production, historic, material  this wealth of civilization.

Some of the richness lies in the materials themselves  the centuries-old techniques that produce her colors, as well as the paper on which she paints: amate, a type of paper from Mexico handmade from the bark of the mulberry tree and various species of ficus. Amate was once employed by indigenous cultures in spiritual practice and for the creation of codices before the conquest. During colonization, the Spanish often burned works produced on amate, since they represented potent symbols of indigenous knowledge and faith.

Its outlaw paper, says Rodriguez. It was illegal at the time of the conquest.

Curator Todd Wingate, who organized the exhibition at the Riverside Art Museum, says that Rodriguezs materials are often what first draws a viewer into her work. But theres this whole other element that is so timely, he says of the politics, and she does it with such devastating grace.

Three generations of painters

Certainly, painting is something that runs in the artists blood.

Sandy Rodriguez at work in her Mar Vista studio. (Kirk McKoy / Los Angeles Times)

Rodriguez was born in San Diego to a clan of Mexican artists for whom painting represented both pleasure and craft. I grew up with paintings all around the house, she says. Grandmas house smelled like caldo de pollo [chicken soup] and oil painting.

Her maternal grandmother created works that she sold at the familys curio shop in Tijuana. Her maternal grandfather, whod been adopted by a Catholic monsignor as a child, created religious imagery  some of it adapted from the work of Spanish Baroque painters such as Bartolome Esteban Murillo.

Growing up, around the house, there were always these ascending Virgins and dark paintings, she says. I thought they were my grandfathers paintings, and all of a sudden I go to LACMA and theres Murillo and Im like, Hey, thats like from my house!

Rodriguez releases an infectious laugh, reddish curls grazing her polka dot dress.

Her familys artistic traditions have other curious chapters too  like the time she went to art school with her mom, Guadalupe Rodriguez, who is also a painter.

It was 1993 and Rodriguez had enrolled as an undergraduate at California Institute of the Arts. Intrigued by what she was learning, she suggested her mom apply to the program.

I went my first year and I said, Its a feminist art program, Mom  youd love it! she recalls. So picture 19-year-old Sandy with crazy hair and crazy outfits, [performance artist] Coco Fusco up front, and my mom in the back, playing with my hair.

Her classmates at the time included now prominent painters such as Mark Bradford and Henry Taylor. And my mom would be making birria by the loading dock and having tequila parties, says Rodriguez, containing more laughs. We are three generations of painters.

She emerged from her studies in the 90s at a time when painting was a bad word in the art world, she notes. But I painted anyway. Painting is something Ive always come back to.

An installation view of Sandy Rodriguez: Codex Rodriguez-Mondragon, at the Riverside Art Museum through Jan. 27. (J6 Creative)

The spark of color

It was a family trip to Oaxaca, the southern Mexican region known for its centuries-old art and textile traditions, that served as a tipping point. At a bookstore, Rodriguez acquired a bottle of cochineal (cochinilla in Spanish), the brilliant red pigment whose use as a color dates back to the pre-Columbian era. Intrigued, she took the powder back to her studio, then in Leimert Park. (From 2014 to 15, she was an artist-in-residence at Art + Practice, co-founded by Bradford.) But at first, she was unsure what to do with it.

Then Mexico erupted in protests after it was revealed that 43 students at a rural teachers college in Ayotzinapa likely had been abducted by police, turned over to gangsters and killed. Tens of thousands took to the streets at the end of 2014 in Mexico City, where protesters set fire to the door of the presidential palace and to an effigy of President Enrique Pena Nieto. As she saw the protests play out in the media, Rodriguez realized that she now had a use for the cochineal.

The light came on, she says. Thats when I realized that color could have as much meaning as what I showed in the painting. ... It could be this specifically loaded material that could reference a history, a culture  it could stand in for mexicanidad and ruptures and all these ideas.

She used the cochineal to create a series of canvases that depicted the fires that raged during the Ayotzinapa protests, as well as the infernos that regularly devastate Californias hills. The intensity of the reds in these works is practically visceral  as if it cannot be contained by the canvas.

Cochineal was just the beginning, however. It was, she says with a smile, the gateway colorant.

Painter Sandy Rodriguez fabricates her own ink from desert plants and indigenous techniques. (Kirk McKoy / Los Angeles Times)

A Chicana codex

Further research led her to a book by Diana Magaloni Kerpel, Colors of the New World: Artists, Materials, and the Creation of the Florentine Codex, published by the Getty Research Institute in 2014.

Most color history texts focus on Western European traditions. Magalonis book tracks the history and meanings of tones employed in the Florentine Codex, the encyclopedic 16th century ethnographic study of colonial Mexico put together by Franciscan missionary Bernardino de Sahagun  a key colonial text that was written with the aid of indigenous scribes in Spanish, Latin and Nahuatl, the Aztec tongue. In it and other works of the era, color was often used as a way of subtly communicating information about an event.

If you used cochinilla, which is translucent, you use it to describe elements of the terrestrial, Rodriguez says . Then theres the iron oxide red thats opaque  that communicates the underworld. Its this coded use of color.

Rodriguez began to study the history of natural pigments in both Mexico and the U.S. She went on medicinal plant hikes in the California desert. She learned what was edible and what functioned as tint. She began to chronicle the flora and fauna she encountered on amate paper  albeit with contemporary twists: Her painting of a prickly pear cactus (Opuntia basilaris), for example, features the ghostly outline of a helicopter whose profile is also a skull.

As she progressed, Rodriguez began to settle on the idea of creating her own codex.

It was having all of these sketches from this area, and thinking about what makes California and each bioregion so rich and so interesting, and wanting to identify and remember where those medicinal plants came from.

A detail from Rodriguezs painting-in progress reveals plants and a night sky. (Carolina A. Miranda / Los Angeles Times)

Plus, it was thinking about the border and these artificial boundaries that have been placed, and trying to layer these narratives  its historic, its contemporary, its this precise political moment all in one.  I wanted to create a mestizo Chicana codex.

In many panels, the artist includes representations of herself as a tlacuila  a scribe.

Looking back 500 years, she feels a distant affinity with the scribes who labored to create the Florentine Codex.

There is a massive plague that happens at the end of the book, she notes. And theyre all dying, so they cant go out and get color, and so everything is black and white.  They end up sequestering themselves so they can tell their story.

It was the end of the world, she says ruefully. Thats what it feels like now: the end of the world.

Sandy Rodriguez: Codex Rodriguez-Mondragon

Where: Riverside Art Museum, 3425 Mission Inn Ave., Riverside

When: Through Jan. 27

Info: riversideartmuseum.org

Here

Where: Los Angeles Municipal Art Gallery, 4800 Hollywood Blvd., Hollywood

When: Through Jan. 6

Info: lamag.org

ALSO

The best of times, the worst of times: art in the age of rising white supremacy

Guadalupe Rosales used Instagram to create an archive of Chicano youth of the 90s  now its an art installation

In advance of the midterms, Barbara Kruger reprises MOCA mural that asks Who is beyond the law?

Review: Exhibitions by Kwame Brathwaite, Deana Lawson and Meleko Mokgosi challenge how blackness is represented

Sign up for our weekly Essential Arts & Culture newsletter 

carolina.miranda@latimes.com | Twitter: @cmonstah
As November gives way to December, our picks include three musical tales: one about witches, another about stranded travelers and one about shut-ins. Looking for more? A sassy solo comedy returns to SoCal, a dance company marks a milestone and a festive light show tries to fill you and yours with the holiday spirit.

Have broom, will travel

Which witch is which? Youll find out when the national tour of Wicked, the Tony-winning musical prequel to The Wizard of Oz, returns to Tinseltown. With Jackie Burns and Kara Lindsay. Hollywood Pantages Theatre, 6233 Hollywood Blvd., Hollywood. 8 p.m. Friday, 2 and 8 p.m. Saturday, 1 and 6:30 p.m. Sunday; other dates through Jan. 27. $62 and up. www.hollywoodpantages.com

Two against the world

L.A. Opera Off Grand presents the world premiere of prism, composer Ellen Reids dark fable, with libretto by Roxie Perkins. Its about a sickly young girl and her doting mother who have isolated themselves from the outside world. (It contains explicit language and adult subject matter.) REDCAT, 631 W. 2nd St., L.A. 8 p.m. Thursday-Saturday, 2 p.m. Sunday. $69. www.laopera.org

Composer Ellen Reids new musical fable, prism, is set to premiere at REDCAT this Thursday night. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

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Canadian hospitality at its finest

Waylaid by the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, travelers from all over the world depend upon the kindness of strangers in small-town Canada in the Tony-winning musical Come From Away. Ahmanson Theatre, 135 N. Grand Ave., L.A. 8 p.m. Thursday and Friday, 2 and 8 p.m. Saturday, 1 and 6:30 p.m. Sunday; other dates through Jan. 6. $30-$135. www.centertheatregroup.org. (Also at Segerstrom Center for the Arts in Costa Mesa from Feb. 5 to 17.)

The national tour of Come From Away is at the Music Centers Ahmanson Theatre. (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)

Still moving and grooving

JazzAntiqua Dance & Music Ensemble marks its 25th anniversary with Freedom! Jazz! Dance! This celebratory program incorporates spoken word and music by the likes of Kamasi Washington and Gregory Porter. Nate Holden Performing Arts Center, 4718 W. Washington Blvd., L.A. 8 p.m. Saturday. $25, $35. www.ebonyrep.org

JazzAntiqua Dance & Music Ensemble with Albertossy Espinoza, left, and Jason Poullard, celebrates its 25th anniversary in a concert on Saturday. (George Simian)

Southern belle has something to sell

Shes back, yall. The sassy, brassy and not-exactly classy Dixie Longate (Kris Andersson) returns to Southern California in her hit off-Broadway one-woman comedy Dixies Tupperware Party. Kirk Douglas Theatre, 9820 Washington Blvd., Culver City. 8 p.m. Thursday and Friday, 2 and 8 p.m. Saturday, 1 and 6:30 p.m. Sunday; other dates through Dec. 30. $35 and up. www.dixiestupperwareparty.com

Dixie Longate (Kris Andersson) sells containers and comedy in Dixies Tupperware Party at the Kirk Douglas Theatre in Culver City. (Bradford Rogne)

Let there be lights

All is merry and bright at Grand Parks Winter Glow. This monthlong holiday-themed family-friendly attraction in downtown L.A. features more than a dozen large-scale nighttime light installations created by local artists. Grand Park, 200 N. Grand Ave., L.A. Friday through Dec. 25. Free. www.grandparkla.org
Immigration issues have dominated headlines in the U.S. for much of the Trump administration, but the plight of migrants and refugees stretches far beyond the American borders.

The Swiss documentary Eldorado examines just that  looking at the European migrant crisis specifically in countries such as Lebanon, Italy, Germany, Switzerland and other areas along the Mediterranean Sea.

When we look specifically at the scope of the United States and what has been accepted into the United States, as of a couple of years ago, it was only thousands of people that were brought in and were seeing that number decrease, Amnesty International USA field organizer Muna Sharif said at a recent Envelope Live screening of the film.

This xenophobia that has been spreading as part of the narrative is causing countries like Germany and Italy and Switzerland to close their borders and not welcome refugees and not allow people to apply for asylum so its only adding to the problem.

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 Amnesty International USA field organizer Muna Sharif shares some startling facts and puts some perspective on the current refugee crisis.

Sharif was joined by the films director, Markus Imhoof, at the screening, which was held at the Montalban in Hollywood. The screening was followed by a conversation with Times critic Lorraine Ali in which Imhoof went into detail about his personal story behind the film  an encounter during World War II with an Italian refugee child named Giovanna.

In the beginning, I was too shy to show it. I wanted to hide it because its my personal love story, he said.

Imhoof then found old letters as well as a doll that brought his relationship with Giovanna back to the surface. With the help of my friend I then opened my heart, so it grew more during the shooting into the film, he said. So for me, its kind of an emotional bridge to the theme.

 Eldorado director Markus Imhoof talks about how his own personal life story became a central story in the film.

Another challenge Imhoof faced during filming was getting access to the camps. It was very difficult. It took months and months to go get the permission for every single step, he said. And then they gave me 2  hours to shoot and only because of the migrants, the refugees starting to shout and to interact  we couldnt go out because it took longer because we have to listen to them.

To film in the ghettos where the workers live, Imhoof had to use small spy cameras. This was difficult because these people are ashamed that they are living there, he said. They are all hoping that they will succeed and if they would show where they live, its a big shame for them.

 Eldorado director Markus Imhoof talks about gaining access to the refugee camps and the shame the people feel if their families were to see their living conditions.

However, despite the terrible living conditions these migrants and refugees face, it remains cheaper for the countries to deny them asylum and then hire them to work illegally. One such example is the Mitsubishi factory in Italy.

Mitsubishi is working with these slave labors, and everybody knows, and its much cheaper than if they would have to pay normal salaries, Imhoof said.

 Eldorado director Markus Imhoof discusses how its more economical for countries to deny refugees asylum and instead use them as cheap slave labor.

For more information on future Envelope Live screenings and events, click here.
Recently, Italian fashion brand Dolce & Gabbana sparked anger in China and from people around the world when it launched a controversial marketing campaign on social media to promote a major fashion show in Shanghai. The campaign featuring a Chinese woman struggling to eat Italian food with chopsticks was met with disgust by many Chinese and prompted accusations of racism and racial stereotyping.

Rather than reflect on the huge backlash to the so-called "love China" marketing campaign, Stefano Gabbana tried to brush it off and push the blame away from D&G and toward China, which only added fuel to the fire.

This led to a slew of reactions on Chinese and overseas social media, and designers Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana issued a video offering their "sincerest apologies" and apologizing for their "misunderstanding of Chinese culture." However, the apology has failed to quell the anger.

More recently, many Chinese have taken to social media to shine a spotlight on the culture of chopsticks. For example, one user on Twitter wrote that she wants to see an apology video by D&G that shows how to properly use chopsticks and explains the cultural meaning behind them.

Another Twitter user also highlighted the importance of chopsticks in Chinese culture, writing that while China is a friendly and civilized country, D&G insulted people across China by poking fun at Chinese culture.

This reaction has led to the creation of a short video that has gone viral on Chinese social media. The popular video explains the cultural meaning behind chopsticks. Below is a translation of the video with some added words for clarity.

Screenshot of the video

The video begins by pointing out that chopsticks have a long history in China. In fact, Chinese people have been eating with chopsticks for about 4,000 years. When Chinese were using chopsticks thousands of years ago, where was Rome or Italy?

Chopsticks might appear like two simple sticks, but chopsticks are pairs of equal-length sticks designed according to the Tai Chi (Daoist) idea of Yin and Yang. According to the Tai Chi way of thinking, Tai Chi produces two opposing forms and these two forms produce four phenomena which in turn act on the eight trigrams.

If you have used Chinese chopsticks before, then you already know that they have a rounded end and a flat end. What you might not know is that the rounded end of the chopstick represents heaven and the square end represents earth. Chinese people eat with the rounded end because it represents heaven. As an old Chinese saying goes, people regard food as their heaven.

Traditionally, the standard length of a Chinese chopstick is 7 cun and 6 fen. One Chinese cun is equal to 1.312 inches and one Chinese fen is equal to 0.1312 inches. Therefore, the standard length of a chopstick is 9.97 inches in length. The meaning behind those numbers is that all human suffering is believed to be caused by seven emotions (i.e. happiness, anger, sorrow, joy, love, hate, and desire) and six desires (i.e. pleasures derived from the senses: eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body, and mind). Thus, eating with chopsticks becomes a way of controlling them.

The movement of chopsticks should be elegant, creating an effect that combines stillness and motion. When Chinese grab their chopsticks, their thumb, index finger, and middle finger represent the three great powers in nature: heaven, earth, and mana key concept in Chinese philosophy.

As you can see, these two "things" are much more than simple eating utensils; they represent a key part of life for a 5,000-year-old civilization. Chopsticks are a fascinating application of the principle of leverage. They embody Chinese wisdom and the profoundness of Chinese traditional culture and they are a great invention, because they enable people to eat hot food, which is believed to promote Yang in the human body. These small sticks are dynamic and static like Yin and Yang, round like heaven and square like earth, and an integral part of Chinese culture.

Some might wonder what all the fuss is about. For example, a China correspondent for the BBC reacted to the news by writing that "everyone in China" is being overly sensitive, suggesting that the core of this problem lies with the Chinese people and not D&G.

But what D&G did with their marketing campaign on social media is turn an important Chinese traditional value into a joke to sell more high-end luxury items. In the eyes of Chinese, D&G attacked the very core of what it means to be Chinese, and people across China responded accordingly. To try to brush it off as just a big fuss over nothing just feeds into the ignorance that caused this mess in the first place.
Chris Evans may not have actually hung up his Captain America shield just yet.

At least according to Marvel Cinematic Universe director Joe Russo, who told the Associated Press that Evans is not done yet.

I think it was more emotional for him than us, Russo said about Evans last day of filming on Avengers 4. Only because hes not done yet. I dont want to explain what that means but the audience will soon understand what Im talking about.

In October, Evans posted a heartfelt message on Twitter that he had officially wrapped filming on Avengers 4.

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Playing this role over the last 8 years has been an honor, Evans said in a tweet that many fans interpreted as a possible farewell to the character.

Evans has been playing Steve Rogers, a.k.a. Captain America, since 2011s Captain America: The First Avenger.

In addition to Avengers: Infinity War and its untitled follow-up, Russo and his brother Anthony have directed two solo Captain America films  2014s Captain America: The Winter Soldier and 2016s Captain America: Civil War.

These stories are reflective about how my brother and I feel about life and the way that we see things, Russo said about these films. For us it really is about, in what ways can we surprise the audience and tell a very challenging story we think is reflective of life.

While Russo did not reveal any specific details about Avengers 4 in the video interview, he did confirm that at this point in time the movie is about three hours long.

Avengers 4 is scheduled to hit theaters May 3, 2019.

tracy.brown@latimes.com

Twitter: @tracycbrown
The soon-to-be-released Mary Poppins Returns puts a fresh spin on the 1964 original movie, but the world premiere of the Disney sequel Thursday night in Los Angeles was all about the legends.

Take Dick Van Dyke. Outfitted with a custom cane bearing the parrot from Poppins umbrella, the 92-year-old arrived to screams, a swarm of photographers and dozens of onlookers stretching their necks to catch a glimpse of movie magic at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood.

Dick Van Dyke and Emily Blunt share a moment on the red carpet for the premiere of Mary Poppins Returns. (Rich Fury / Getty Images)

RELATED: How Mary Poppins Returns star Emily Blunt and director Rob Marshall aimed to make a joybomb on the soul 

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He starred alongside Julie Andrews as Bert and Mr. Dawes Sr. more than five decades ago, a performance that earned him a Golden Globe nomination.

The new film, opening nationwide Dec. 19, follows the next generation of Banks children, who prompt Mary Poppins return to Cherry Tree Lane. Played by Emily Blunt, Poppins brings with her joy and imagination to help offset the familys financial hardship that threatens foreclosure on their longtime home.

When Van Dyke first arrived on the 2018 set to play Mr. Dawes Jr., his eyes just lit up. He was beaming, production designer John Myre said on Thursday nights red carpet.

On set, he said, a dancer initially stood in for Van Dyke to demonstrate his routine inside the London bank.

We were all concerned, Myre explained of the nonagenarians safety. The scene called for a big leap onto the desk of Colin Firths character, followed by a tap-dance break. Myre built a set of steps hidden behind the desk, in case he had any trouble.

But in a moment as animated as the man himself, Van Dyke said, I wont need that. Take it away, and executed the moves flawlessly, according to Myre.

Lin-Manuel Miranda and Dick Van Dyke (Axelle/Bauer-Griffin / FilmMagic)

Director Rob Marshall was moved to tears and couldnt call cut, said his partner, John DeLuca. And Emilys like, Ah, hes crying! Emilys laughing. It was the most moving thing. Just to have that presence  everyone felt it. It was fearless, DeLuca said.

It didnt hit me that he was a legend. But my mum said, OK, so Joel, Dick Van Dyke is an A-lister, child actor Joel Dawson told The Times. He plays the youngest of the Banks children, Georgie. You have to be serious with him, his mother noted, but he promised, Shes not strict like that. Shes actually a really nice mum.

Some of the cast and crew of Mary Poppins Returns at Thursdays premiere. (Alberto E. Rodriguez / Getty Images for Disney)

RELATED: For Rob Marshall and David Magee, the time was right to bring back Mary Poppins 

The movie also features a cameo from another Hollywood great, Angela Lansbury. She acts and sings as the Balloon Lady in the films finale, the favorite song of lyricists Scott Wittman and Marc Shaiman.

When we heard her singing our song, literally the top of my head screwed right off and flew into outer space, Shaiman said on the red carpet. I still cannot believe it when she comes on screen and sings a song that we wrote.

Mid-interview, Wittman and Shaiman were interrupted by a surprise visit from Richard M. Sherman, who co-wrote the music and lyrics for the 1964 film. He and his brother Robert brought to life the classics Chim Chim Cher-ee, A Spoonful of Sugar and Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious.

Wittman and Shaiman gave Sherman all the songs and scripts during production, describing him as their fairy godfather. With their idols arms wrapped around their shoulders, the wide-eyed Wittman and Shaiman told reporters, This is the man. Hes the rabbi. Were just the congregation. We were trying to honor him the best that we could.

Sherman assured them, I was thrilled because it was right in keeping with what Bob [Robert B. Sherman] and I had started, like walking in the same direction.

Karen Dotrice, who played Jane Banks in the 1964 film, and Richard Sherman, who co-wrote its music. (Alberto E. Rodriguez / Getty Images)

RELATED: Versatile Emily Blunt steps into the timeless shoes of Mary Poppins 

Karen Dotrice, who played Jane Banks in the 1964 film version, was also in attendance. Emily Mortimer plays a grown-up version of the character alongside Ben Whishaw as an adult Michael Banks.

Mortimer was on set when Dotrice returned to Cherry Tree Lane for the first time in 54 years, since she was a child.

That was an amazing day. It felt like a stamp of approval in a way that she showed up and did this cameo in our movie, Mortimer recalled. She was really moved.

As the countdown to the screening neared, a hurried Blunt rushed by. Asked how she was feeling that night, she exclaimed, Nervous!

It was the same for Sherman the night of the 1964 premiere.

[It was] a great blur. I was very, very nervous, he said. Worried if people would even like my things. Like this ridiculous word, Supercalifragilistic. We didnt know what to expect, but it worked out. Here we are.
Its no wonder Warner Bros. held back the family dramedy Head Full of Honey from critics until the last minute. Actor-filmmaker Til Schweiger has remade his 2014 German film Honig im Kopf (which translates to Honey in the Head, but was also released as Head Full of Honey) for American audiences and the result is a raucous, wildly implausible, overlong jumble saddled by a host of misguided creative instincts. Its a potentially warm and delicate story that required a scalpel, but saw the blunt end of a sledgehammer instead.

In theory, the idea of a towering actor such as Nick Nolte playing a doddering granddad lost in a fog of Alzheimers disease is an intriguing choice. And as the flamboyantly-named Amadeus, a recent widower and former veterinarian at a crossroads, the three-time Oscar nominee tears into the role with no small amount of conviction.

Unfortunately, his Amadeus is so ham-handedly scripted and directed by Schweiger (Lo Malinke and Jojo Moyes co-wrote)  and played for too many appalling or disturbing laughs  that Nolte can never quite get a handle on the characters trajectory, alternating between agitation, confusion, delusion and only fleeting moments of clarity without enough of the necessary shadings.

If this approach was meant to duplicate the roller-coaster ravages of the disease, thats fine, but the films absurdly broad, fever-pitch tone too often smothers Noltes hard-working performance; Amadeus is ultimately more amped-up characterization than flesh-and-blood character. (See Blythe Danners lovely turn in the recent What They Had as a master class in portraying the descent into Alzheimers.)

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Unfortunately, the rest of the cast also falls prey to Schweigers aggressive, uncalibrated style, chiefly Matt Dillon as Nick, Amadeus devoted if distracted son, and Emily Mortimer as Nicks beleaguered wife, Sarah. Playing a badly behaved couple stressed by work issues, infidelities and the dizzying intrusion that occurs when Amadeus moves in with them and their 10-year-old daughter, Tilda (a not-quite-ready Sophia Lane Nolte, Nicks real-life daughter), Dillon and especially Mortimer  who spends the first part of the film in a state of unbridled apoplexy  are all over the place.

The pressures for Nick and Sarah vis a vis the larger-than-life Amadeus quickly pile up as he nearly burns down their house, turns their refrigerator into a urinal (the films most groan-worthy moment), clutters the place up with his old junk, flings food in the air and sets off a crazy fireworks explosion. They know Amadeus belongs in an assisted living facility but cant yet make the leap.

But their angst  and what shred of credibility the movie may have retained  goes kablooey when Tilda, who has bonded with Amadeus in a way Nick never could (of course), decides to gramps-nap the old guy and whisk him off to romantic Venice, the site of his favorite memories with late wife, Margaret.

How Tilda and Amadeus make their way to Italy is so thoroughly improbable, not to mention ridiculously irresponsible and dangerous, that it irrevocably sinks the picture. This pie-in-the-sky journey includes a car chase that finds a dazed Amadeus behind the wheel in London traffic, an aborted train trip through the Alps, a truck ride with a smelly flock of sheep and other frantic set pieces that play more like ha-ha trailer moments than any kind of remotely rational narrative choices.

Although this well-intended film, featuring on-the-nose narration by Sophia, certainly aims for heartfelt, it lands somewhere between mawkish and strained, rarely missing an opportunity to make noise, crash things, land a punch, stretch for the uneasy laugh and generally overreact.

This isnt helped by Schweigers excessive use of unflattering close-ups, as if we wont get what the characters are saying or feeling if were not literally in their faces. Jacqueline Bisset, in a dreadfully written role as Sarahs free-spirited mother (she wears turbans, enough said), and Eric Roberts as an unlikely doctor, are especially badly shot.

------------

Head Full of Honey

Rated: PG-13, for language, some suggestive material and thematic elements

Running time: 2 hours, 7 minutes

Playing: ArcLight Hollywood; the Landmark, West Los Angeles

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At 28, Sandra Bland had the world in front of her.

Driving from Illinois to Texas, Bland was ready for a fresh start at a new job at her alma mater, Prairie View A&M University, near Houston. But shortly after arriving in Texas, she was pulled over by a state trooper for failing to signal a lane change.

What started as a seemingly routine traffic stop on that day in July 2015 quickly escalated, with trooper Brian Encinia slapping Bland, pulling her out of the car and yelling, I will light you up. It ended with Blands arrest for allegedly assaulting the officer. Three days later, she was dead, found hanging in her cell at the Waller County Jail. Her death was ruled a suicide.

Say Her Name: The Life and Death of Sandra Bland, a new HBO documentary from Academy Award-nominated filmmakers Kate Davis and David Heilbroner, retraces the events of Blands disquieting arrest and the familys subsequent lawsuit, while exploring questions raised about the circumstances surrounding the African American womans death.

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The film premiered in April at Tribeca Film Festival to an audience that included members of Blands family, some of whom were seeing the documentary for the first time. It debuts Monday on HBO.

What made Sandy special was what she made of herself as a woman. She was educated, articulate, ambitious, Heilbroner said in an interview here during the festival. Heres someone who really represents the best that we could hope for, taken down by the authorities.

News of Blands death spread quickly, in large part because of a social media push that adopted the hashtag #SayHerName, which gives the film its title. Within four days, the case made national headlines and soon caught the attention of Sheila Nevins, then-president of HBO Documentary Films.

I was very moved by her, Nevins said. I thought there was more to the story. I thought this woman probably did not commit suicide unless she was provoked or something.

Nevins immediately thought of Davis and Heilbroner, who previously collaborated with HBO on several films. The married couple first came to Nevins attention through Davis 2001 documentary, Southern Comfort, which was acquired by HBO and won the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance. Their documentaries have picked up numerous awards, including an Emmy, two Peabody Awards and an Oscar nod this year for their short film, Traffic Stop.

Blands death came at a time when the Black Lives Matter movement was making its presence felt, with protests breaking out nationwide over the much-publicized deaths of Trayvon Martin, Michael Brown, Walter Scott and Eric Garner. In the days following Blands death, the still-grieving family was reluctantly thrust into the spotlight.

There have been many incidents with black women and black girls, but their names didnt have staying power, Sharon Cooper, one of Blands four sisters, said after the Tribeca screening. For whatever reason, Sandy was chosen for a time such as this, so we felt like we had to pick up the armor and move forward.

After a dozen phone calls to the familys lawyer, Cannon Lambert, and an hours-long meeting near Chicago with Blands sisters and her mother, Geneva Reed-Veal, the filmmakers finally got permission to shadow the family as they searched for answers.

When we talked to the family and asked whether they would be willing to make a documentary, Cannon Lambert looked at me and said, If it turns out that we cant prove that Sandy was murdered, do you still think you have a film worth making? I said, Absolutely. She never should have been arrested in the first place. She never should have been jailed, says Heilbroner, a former Manhattan prosecutor. Whether someone went in there and killed her or whether she was ultimately driven to suicide, the system lynched her.

The couple began shooting 10 days after Blands funeral, the same day Lambert filed a lawsuit in federal court on behalf of the family, claiming wrongful death and civil rights violations. Arresting officer Encinia, the Waller County sheriff and local law enforcement agencies were named as defendants.

Though Davis and Heilbroner had never met Bland, they had access to her video blog, which put the young womans ebullient personality and humor on full display. In her #SandySpeaks series, which she began shooting on her cellphone months before her death, Bland shared messages of unity among races and her thoughts on civil rights, police brutality, racial identity and her love for children and education. Im here to change history, she cheerily says in her first video.

The documentary weaves together the troopers dashcam footage, a bystanders video recording of the incident, candid interviews with family members, friends and Waller County Sheriff R. Glenn Smith and District Atty. Elton Mathis. (Encinia declined to be interviewed for the film.) Interspersed throughout are clips from the #SandySpeaks videos, allowing viewers to hear directly from Bland. Davis used the videos as a guide in addressing themes of the film.

She really was about blacks and whites not being in a polarized standoff  that we need to hear each other, Davis said. Hearing law enforcement speak in combination with Sandras own messages of love and compassion helped me see on a sort of meta level that we all come to things with biases. Its everywhere throughout society.

The filmmakers felt it was crucial not to sugarcoat Bland, whose brushes with the law  a DUI and marijuana possession charges  as well as bouts of depression, are addressed in the film. We didnt want this to be a film about Saint Sandra Bland, Heilbroner noted.

As protests erupted at the jail and across the nation, conspiracy theories began to pop up. Why was Bland alone in a cell? Why was a large trash bin with a plastic liner placed in her cell? Why were there no fingerprints or DNA on the bag Bland allegedly used to hang herself?

Say Her Name tracks the Waller County investigation and the familys lawsuit to their surprising conclusions. While the family still does not believe justice was served, they hope the film will carry on Blands messages of racial unity and the need for change.

I wanted to go from what happened to what happens now, Reed-Veal said. The main thing is, almost three years later, everybody still is keeping up with the story. That was the thing that I wanted in the beginning  for her not to be forgotten.

Say Her Name: The Life and Death of Sandra Bland

Where: HBO

When: 10 p.m. Sunday

Rating: TV-MA (may be unsuitable for children under the age of 17)

calendar@latimes.com
Taraji P. Hensons personal belongings were scattered throughout a rented Beverly Hills mansion off Mulholland Drive, the site of a one-time charity event the actress was hosting. In the mix were a Chanel tweed coat, an Adidas track jacket, a form-fitting Alexander McQueen dress, shoes by Christian Louboutin and bags from Valentino and Miu Miu.

For many, cleaning out a closet is a fresh start. However, Hensons charity yard sale represented much more for the Empire star. On a sunny September afternoon, Henson, clad in a red Gucci dress, was selling pieces from her wardrobe to benefit her new nonprofit, the Boris Lawrence Henson Foundation. The organizations focus is to combat what Henson believes is a stigma surrounding mental health challenges in the black community.

I noticed that my white friends would always say, Im going to see my shrink at 3 oclock,  she said. Theres no shame in their game. Its a part of taking care of your total health. Well, we dont look at it that way. In our community, its taboo. Its taboo to even talk about it because well call each other crazy or were demonized or were misdiagnosed. There are trust issues because there are not enough of us in the field.

Taraji P. Henson is on a mission to change the stigma around mental health issues in the black community. (Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times)

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This was the impetus for launching her foundation. Hensons longtime friend Tracie Jade Jenkins serves as the organizations executive director. The nonprofit is named after Hensons father, who suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder following his service in the Vietnam War. We had a cat, and the cat got into the blinds one time, Henson recalled. My dad woke up in a rage.  I was 17. I was like, How long ago was Vietnam? He was still dealing with it.

Although her father died in 2006 of liver cancer, Henson wants his legacy to live on through the organization. He was a big part of my life, said Henson, who plays Cookie Lyon on Empire.

Hes a big part of why Im the way I am and who I am. He has a lot to do with my Cookie-isms on the show, she said, revealing a tattoo on her left bicep that reads, The Truth. I thought, What a great way to celebrate his life. A man who walked in his truth, and he wasnt ashamed.

Taraji P. Hensons fall gathering for the Boris Lawrence Henson Foundation. (Vivien Killilea / Getty Images for The Boris Lawrence Henson Foundation)

Henson said her father was always honest about his struggles. He wore his heart on his sleeve, she said. My father attempted suicide. There was a lot of trauma there, you know? But he was open and willing to talk about it.

Her fathers candor made it easier for her to cope as an adult raising her 24-year-old son, Marcell, who faced his own tragedy in 2003. My son and I have experienced a lot of trauma, she said. His father was murdered when he was 9, and then my dad passed away from cancer  after that.

She and her son struggled with the tragedies. For so long, weve been taught to sweep it under the carpet, she said. Weve been told, Youre strong. Get over it. Time heals all pain. Well, sometimes it doesnt. Sometimes you need someone to talk to outside of a friend  a professional.

Tracie Jade Jenkins, left, with Taraji P. Henson, who launched her new nonprofit organization, the Boris Lawrence Henson Foundation. The organization is named after the Empire actress late father. (Vivien Killilea / Getty Images for the Boris Lawre)

However, Henson had difficulty finding a therapist she could connect with. Looking for an African American psychiatrist was like looking for a unicorn, she said. And I needed help. My son needed help. I was like, Something has to be done. We have to talk about this because we cant walk around with this pain and not do anything about it.

If I have issues with whats going on in the world, I cant talk to a person who doesnt look like me because race is going to come up, she said.

After doing some research, Henson and Jenkins discovered that there were 2,837 psychology PhDs awarded to U.S. citizens in 2008, according to a report by the American Psychological Assn. Of the recipients, the report found that 76% were white, while 5.8% were African Americans. (Less than 1% of those PhDs were given to Native Americans; 5.2% went to Asians; and 9.7%, to Hispanic students.) Hensons organization wants to change those statistics for psychologists of color, particularly among African Americans.

Taraji P. Henson. (Michael Nagle / For The Times)

We need to get more children interested in becoming therapists, Henson said, explaining that she plans to eventually award scholarships to black students who are interested in pursuing a career in the mental health field. She also plans on working closely with school districts to provide therapists, social workers and counselors to African American children in under-served communities.

But right now, were focused on starting an open, honest dialogue and putting a face to it  like myself, Henson said. I think the people trust me saying, Its OK. Im not perfect. And money doesnt make your problems go away. Just because Im pretty in front of the camera and on a carpet, I still have to go home to real problems. We all need help, and its OK to talk about it. So here I am. Lets eradicate the stigma around it.

This has been 35 years in the making, added Jenkins, who first met Henson, who grew up in Washington, D.C., in junior high school when they were 12 years old. Over the years, weve been talking about ways to give back. Once we realized that there was so much going on in the mental health segment, we were like, This may be a place where we can be useful.

Trai Byers, with Kaitlin Doubleday in a scene from Empire, plays Andre, a character with bipolar disorder, on the Fox show. (Matt Dinerstein / Fox)

Mental health is also a subject that hits close to home professionally for Henson, whose oldest son on Empire has bipolar disorder. The actress applauded the shows attempt to shine a light on the subject. I thought that was so bold, she said. I was proud to be a part of a show that was speaking on such an important subject matter, especially in our community.

As guests perused her staged closet, Henson explained how the idea behind her launch party came about. I love garage sales, she said. I almost missed meeting the great David Fincher for Benjamin Button because I was having a garage sale. So I end up with all this stuff every year because I like to shop. I was like, Whats a way that I can make these clothes work for themselves? And then we started talking about this foundation and I was like, I know. Ive got it. We can marry my garage sale [with the foundation] and well call it a boutique, and thatll be the launch of the foundation. And here we are  with all my stuff.

The racks included clothing and accessories from Veronica Beard, Topshop and Fendi. Some of it, Im like, No, I need to take that back,  Henson said with a laugh, adding that the sale included her very first pair of designer shoes, what she called a Giuseppe Zanotti wrap-up shoe.

A pair of shoes at Taraji P. Hensons luxury closet sale, which benefits the Boris Lawrence Henson Foundation. (Vivien Killilea / Getty Images for The Boris Lawrence Henson Foundation)

Im a girly girl and I like to shop, she said. What can I say?

Also on display were purses, ties and a blazer, all hand-painted by Washington, D.C., artist Cierra Lynn. Proceeds from the items benefitted the organizations first initiative called A Little Piece of Heaven, for which 15 inner-city school bathrooms are set to be painted with bright, visual, empowering messages to combat bullying, suicide, depression and self-harm. Although her fashion items were exclusive to the party, the general public can also get involved by donating to the organization through prizeo.com/taraji. Those who still contribute have a chance to win a trip to meet Henson during the premiere of her upcoming film What Men Want.

Later in the day at the charity sale, Henson turned to the crowd. I know were here to have a good time, she said. But we are on a mission to save and heal our community. Get drunk and shop.

A look at one of the outfits from Taraji P. Hensons fall luxury closet sale in support of her nonprofit organization. Her nonprofit was inspired by her father who dealt with mental health problems. (Vivien Killilea / Getty Images for the Boris Lawrence Henson Foundation)

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This Sunday night  unusually early due to a leap year in the Jewish lunar calendar  marks the beginning of Hanukkah, the Festival of Lights, which commemorates an age-old miracle. According to legend, a tiny amount of oil used by the Hasmoneans to light the menorah in the temple lasted for eight days.

So Jews make traditional fried foods like sufganiyot (jelly doughnuts), bimuelos (sweet dough balls similar to Argentinian bunuelos) and sfinge (Moroccan fritters) to honor the history. But the undisputed alpha dish of this holiday is the latke, or potato pancake.

Latkes are delicious  and a royal pain for the person making them. In fact it was last year, mopping my brow frying for friends as they drank cocktails within earshot, that I decided Id officially had my last canola-oil-steam facial.

Recipe: Oversize russet and root vegetable latkes 

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This year Im transitioning latkes from their more expected role as a la minute party fare to the centerpiece of a low-key meal any time during Hanukkah (and beyond). By increasing the size of each pancake and using two skillets, you can make a latke dinner for four with precisely two flips of a spatula, and serve them fresh from the frying pan with minimal attention.

Even if Im going for mixed-media latkes such as in this recipe, I always begin with at least some standard russet potatoes, usually no less than half the total volume. Potatoes bind the other ingredients and provide an unbeatable baseline crunch.

Latkes and pomegranate salad. (Christina House / Los Angeles Times)

Recipe: Early winter salad 

After grating them with an onion (and here, an apple), I soak the potatoes in water. That way, everything remains snowy white until youre ready to squeeze it out. And squeeze you should: More than anything else, eliminating as much liquid as possible before you fry optimizes the interplay of moist-to-crunchy that, to my mind, defines latke nirvana. The added step of encasing the shreds in a towel and applying some elbow grease, a method I learned from L.A. jewelry designer and chef Samantha Rifkin Garelick, really makes a difference.

Potato starch (and an extra egg yolk) help glue the pancakes together without the dense glueyness of all-purpose flour, and I add the salt last, which gives it less time to leach liquid into the mix.

Finally, I divide the batter into two larger, relatively loose cakes, spreading the mixture atop the hot oil without packing it down, which allows the latkes to cook and release steam (read: moisture). Think of these as wannabe rostis, minus the clarified butter and plus added sweetness thanks to the right amount of apples, sweet potatoes and beets.

Recipe: Golden labneh 

Of the many things I learned cooking alongside Chrissy Teigen and her mother, Vilailuck, over the course of two Cravings cookbooks, choosing peanut oil for frying was one of the most life-changing. Things fried in peanut oil crisp and brown with less burning; taste lighter and less greasy than foods fried in other oils; and acquire a subtle toasty flavor. I always default to it now, though canola or safflower work well if peanut allergies are an issue. Heat your oil to medium and not much higher; you want the insides to cook along with the outsides.

As the latkes fry, you can make a sexy little salad whose tart dressing and pomegranate seeds  natures Pop Rocks, as far as Im concerned  are the perfect foil for the latkes richness.

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When his mothers health was declining, Dennis Hutson moved to Allensworth in Californias Central Valley. The town, founded in 1908, was created on the principle that African Americans could own property, run their own town and live peacefully while pursuing the American dream. Population 471, the town is now just 5% African American.

Its the kind of place where everyone knows everybody. Some cite the demographic shifts of African Americans moving to cities, and others the closure of the Allensworth railroad stop, for the economic downfall of the area. There is not even a service station or corner store in the town.

Dennis Hutson directs two farmworkers as they auger holes for trees to act as a windbreak on his farm. Gabriel Scarlett / Los Angeles Times

When his mother, Nettie Mae Morrison, moved to Allensworth in 1979, Hutson began visiting. He was amazed by the poverty and lack of economic development. A Methodist preacher and Air Force chaplain, he said God spoke to him and told him to be a positive change in the community.

Dennis Hutson preaches to the small congregation at First Baptist Church in Pixley, Calif., in August. Gabriel Scarlett / Los Angeles Times

Since then, he has purchased a 60-acre farm, hired several African American farm hands, and is now on his way to owning a sustainable, organic farm. In a country in which less than 2% of farmers are African American, Hutson hopes to provide a boost to this once-thriving town.

He is doing it to honor his late mother (the unofficial mayor of Allensworth) and to provide economic opportunity for his African American brothers and sisters.

After a morning of work on his farm and checking his fields' water levels in the evening, Hutson rests. His wife and most of his family live in Las Vegas. He jokes that all of his decades in the Air Force and tours around the world helped prepare him for this  his most remote posting. His wife plans to join him within a year, when the farm is more functional, and they will build a home.

Hutson points to a dike in his alfalfa fields. After the harvest, the process starts over and he floods the fields for several weeks. Gabriel Scarlett / Los Angeles Times

Hutson checks irrigation valves in his alfalfa fields. He could not recall any rainfall over the entire summer. Gabriel Scarlett / Los Angeles Times

Hutson rests at home after a long day in his fields. Gabriel Scarlett / Los Angeles Times

In the evening, Hutson drives to the edge of his farmland to visit his mothers grave.

I think she would be very pleased and proud to see what we have done here, he says. I think that part of the reason that she hung on so long was because she wanted to see the progress here and that someone other than herself was working for this community.
A key Democratic legislator called Thursday for the immediate resignation of the chairman of the California bullet train project, the most powerful reaction yet to a scathing audit of the $77-billion high-speed rail program that is far behind schedule and over budget.

Assembly Transportation Chairman Jim Frazier said California High Speed Rail Authority Chairman Dan Richard should step down after a hearing on the audit, which asserts the state wasted billions of dollars because of poor management.

The state financial review earlier this month faulted the agency for issuing construction contracts before it owned land, failing to document that the work it paid for was actually completed correctly and relying too heavily on costly outside consultants.

After being assured multiple times that these ongoing issues were being addressed, it is apparent to me that the authority has been less than forthcoming, Frazier, of Oakley, Calif., said after the hearing. They have continually lied to us about performance.

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Richard has had every opportunity since 2012 to correct these problems and has failed. Richard owes it to California taxpayers to step aside and let new leadership take over.

In an emailed statement, Richard said rail authority officials are open to constructive advice, but have no need to respond to errant and uninformed attacks.

The tough statements by legislators Thursday reflect the fast-changing political climate confronting the project as its chief proponent, Gov. Jerry Brown, prepares to leave office in a month.

Richard was chosen by Brown in 2012 to deliver on one of the governors most ambitious goals of his long political tenure: the nations first bullet train, linking almost every major city in the state.

Richard was not at the hearing Thursday, which staff said earlier in the week was the result of previous personal commitments on the East Coast.

Dan Richard, chair of the California High Speed Rail Authority, directs a 2015 board meeting in Los Angeles. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

The program has more than doubled in cost from the $33 billion estimated when voters approved a $9 billion bond in 2008. It is now 13 years behind schedule.

California Auditor Elaine Howles review warns that the state is at risk of missing a federal grant deadline to complete 119 miles of construction in the Central Valley, which could result in Washington demanding a refund of as much as $3.5 billion.

A clawback is a significant risk not only to the rail authority but to the state of California, Howle told the joint legislative audit committee hearing. The audit found the rail authority would have to double its rate of progress to meet the deadline, leaving serious concerns that it can be achieved, she said.

Rail authority Vice Chairman Tom Richards told legislators he believes the project can meet the 2022 deadline, but will consider a Plan B: asking the Federal Railroad Administration for a delay.

One of the most daunting issues in the project is what it will actually cost to complete the job. The authoritys 2018 business plan warned that costs could reach $97 billion, though outside critics expect a cost well above $100 billion.

There is significant risk that the cost of this project is going to continue to accelerate more than it has to date, Howle said.

Richards said the authority is moving to implement the recommendations suggested in the audit and will reduce reliance on outside consultants by increasing staff.

The audit found that 145 out of 184 tasks said to be finished by the states main consultant were missing documentation on their completion. The incomplete documentation, Richards said, was troubling and embarrassing, but measures were already underway to correct the issue.

Richards acknowledged that plans to share some sections of existing track were not what the voters approved and that the money does not exist to complete a partial operating system from Silicon Valley to the Central Valley.

But he took exception to the audits finding that costs have inflated by billions of dollars because of the decision to launch construction prematurely.

He said that the federal grants required an early start to construction or the loss of the $3.5 billion. Rather than causing billions of dollars in delay costs, it amounted to only $600 million, meaning the state was still ahead by $3 billion.

The alternative was to leave billions of dollars in federal funds on the table, he said.

Frazier had a different view.

Flawed decision-making and poor contract management by the authority have led to billions in cost overruns, he said. Delays in construction continues to cost California taxpayers billions. This is simply unsustainable.

ralph.vartabedian@latimes.com

Follow me on Twitter @rvartabedian
Two former officials in Californias liquor agency pleaded guilty Thursday to running a bribery scheme that for years targeted karaoke bar owners in Los Angeles Koreatown.

Wilbur M. Salao, 46, and Scott Seo, 49, entered guilty pleas during a morning hearing in a downtown federal courtroom, the U.S. attorneys office said in a statement.

Seo, who became a consultant for bar owners after a stint in the California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control, admitted to paying thousands of dollars in bribes to Salao. Salao, an ABC supervisor who oversaw operations in Koreatown until he left the agency last year, pleaded guilty to a charge of conspiracy.

The men were arrested in October after an FBI investigation into their ploy to shake down bar owners.

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Stanley L. Friedman, Seos attorney, said his client regrets his conduct and pleaded guilty in order to acknowledge his mistakes and bring closure to the matter. An attorney for Salao did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

In pleading guilty, Seo acknowledged paying more than $28,000 in bribes and kickbacks to Salao between the end of 2011 and May 2016. In exchange, prosecutors said Salao helped Seos clients by, among other things, fast-tracking liquor license applications. Salao also targeted enforcement raids at bars that refused to work with Seo.

For example, in December 2011, after ABC agents raided a karaoke bar, the owner paid Seo $60,000 in cash to help resolve his problems, according to court records. Seo shared some of the money with Salao, who gave the bar a temporary license to remain open. Seo also admitted to sending Salao lists of businesses for the ABC to target, passing along violations they were likely to discover, such as operating after hours.

As part of his guilty plea, Seo agreed to cooperate with the FBI and prosecutors as they continue to investigate corruption in Koreatown. Along with sharing information he knows, Seo is required under the deal to serve as an undercover informant if investigators ask him to do so, according to a plea agreement filed in court.

If prosecutors decide Seo has provided significant assistance, they will ask U.S. District Judge John A. Kronstadt to show some leniency when he sentences Seo. Although he faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison, his attorney said he is hoping his client will receive something significantly less than that.

The terms of Salaos guilty plea were not made public, leaving it unclear whether he, too, is cooperating with authorities. Salao faces up to five years behind bars.

Investigators obtained a series of text messages between the two men as they discussed their scheme, according to the indictment filed against them. In one exchange, Salao expressed delight that Seo had managed to get a $3,000 consulting payment from a bar owner facing ABC violations.

Damn! 3K just like that? We are gonna rape Ktown! Salao wrote in a message to Seo, according to the indictment.

Later that day, prosecutors said, Seo told Salao that he wanted to meet to discuss a plan for using the Korean news media to pump fear into Ktown. Salao responded by saying: Im open to whatever lines our wallets! according to the indictment.

Salao also tipped off Seo to impending raids or undercover operations by the ABC and the Los Angeles Police Department, prosecutors said. He once sent Seo a photograph of an undercover LAPD officer, which allowed Seo to warn a client to conceal illegal activity from police.

The arrangement with Salao allowed Seo to bolster his business by $60,000 in illicit profits, prosecutors found.

joel.rubin@latimes.com

david.zahniser@latimes.com
Indian students show their Chinese calligraphy works. (Xinhua/Zheng Huansong)

As a conventional symbolic resource within a cultural system, language is the ultimate tool to decipher foreign culture, as well as a key to communicate with foreigners. Following Chinas swift development and the revival of traditional Chinese culture, educational authorities in many countries have decided to include Mandarin as part of their college curriculum, to help the younger generation comprehend the rising power that is China.

Russia

As of 2019, Mandarin will be included in Russias Unified State Exam, a national exam that every student must pass after school to enter a university or a professional college. Anzul Muzayev, deputy director of Federal Service for Supervision of Education and Science, told Russia Today that currently, over 17,000 students are learning Mandarin as their second language, while in 2019, hundreds of students will pass the Mandarin test in their Unified State Exam.

According to Russia Today, the exam will include 42 questions and will be divided into four sections to focus on listening, reading, grammar and vocabulary, and writing, and those taking the exam will have three hours to complete it.

Over the past 10 years, the number of Mandarin learners in Russia has grown significantly. In 1997, around 5,000 Russians chose to study Mandarin, while in 2017, that number stood at 56,000.

UK

Although Mandarin has long been offered as an A-level, which is a standardized examination in secondary schools across the UK, minus Scotland, this year Mandarin bucked the trend in regards to the falling popularity of language learning in the UK. According to the Telegraph, the number of students taking an A-level in Chinese has overtaken German for the first time this year, becoming the UKs third most popular language.

Governmental statistics have shown that 3,334 British students took an A-level in Chinese in 2018, while the number of students signing up for Chinese as a subject has increased by 8.6 percent year-on-year.

Mark Herbert, director of schools and skills at the British Council, told the Telegraph that the increasing popularity of Chinese with the young British public is welcomed.

Our research shows that Mandarin will be one of the most important languages for the UKs future prosperity and global standing, he added.

Ireland

Irish Minister for Education and Skills, Richard Brunton, launched the Irish governments Strategy for Foreign Languages in Education 2017-2026, which sets out a roadmap to promote Ireland as a top nation in Europe for the teaching and learning of foreign languages. According to the plan, Mandarin will be introduced in high schools as a leaving certificate subject, while the subject will be officially included in the Leaving Certificate Examination, the university matriculation exam of Ireland, in 2020.

Richard Brunton told media sources that several short-term Mandarin teaching programs had started since 2014, to help Irish students further understand Chinese language and culture. The inclusion of Mandarin in the Leaving Certificate Examination will further strengthen such a goal.
Prosecutors Thursday declined to charge four Barstow police officers who fatally shot a black man while he was at the wheel of a car, finding that they reasonably used deadly force to protect their lives when the vehicle clipped one of them.

Diante Yarber, 26, was driving the black Ford Mustang in a Walmart parking lot when officers fired 30 rounds into the vehicle on April 5. His death received widespread publicity and sparked large protests in front of Barstow City Hall and police headquarters. The incident came a month after the high-profile killing of another African American young man, Stephon Clark, by police in Sacramento.

Yarber was wanted in connection with a stolen vehicle, and officers believed he was likely at the wheel because the car was registered to a relative, a report by the San Bernardino County district attorneys office said.

The officers were aware Yarber was a gang member known to carry guns and run from law enforcement, the report said.

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Citing body cams recordings, prosecutors said Yarber ignored instructions to turn off the ignition and show his hands after he was stopped.

Instead, he put the Mustang in reverse and struck the front of a patrol car, the report said. Yarber then accelerated the car toward an officer who pointed his handgun and ordered the driver to stop. Hemmed in, Yarber reversed and struck a passenger who had bolted from the Mustang.

Yarber careened the car into another patrol car and then struck Officer Vincent Carrillo in the left thigh after putting the car in reverse. ,After Yarber drove forward and struck another patrol car, Carrillo and Cpl. Jose Barrientos, afraid for their safety, fired their handguns, the report said. Officers Matthew Helms and Jimmie Walker almost simultaneously opened fire, the report said.

The Mustang then rolled to a stop after striking a patrol car and a civilian vehicle and officers called for medical help to render aid.

In this case, Officers Carillo, Officer Helms, Officer Walker and Corporal Barrientos each had an honest and objectively reasonable belief that Yarber posed a threat of seriously bodily injury or death to themselves, prosecutors wrote.

Yarber was pronounced dead at the scene while a 23-year-old female passenger was airlifted to a trauma center with multiple gunshot wounds. Two other young men fled from the car during the incident, officials said. Yarber is the father of three girls, ages 9, 7 and 1.

Yarber had prior convictions for fleeing the police and misdemeanor domestic violence and was on three years probation at the time of the shooting. Court records show he was charged in March with violating his community supervision.

The report from prosecutors noted the background of two of the officers. Walker in 2010 was charged with four misdemeanors including violating a persons civil rights and he later pleaded guilty to disturbing the peace and public intoxication.

Another officer at the scene, who did not shoot, also had a troubled history. Officer Andrew Buesa while at the Los Angeles Police Department was discharged in connection with misconduct in a 2002 arrest

Yarbers family has said the shooting was unjustified and filed a federal lawsuit claiming excessive force was used.

Grainy cellphone video from the scene captured the sound of gunfire as police rounds pierced the vehicle and appears to show the Mustang moving slowly backward as the officers fired. But the video does not show the full incident.

BPD Officers Walker, Barrientos, Carrillo and Helms drew their weapons and began to shout profanities and other violent threats at Diante Yarber as he attempted to step out of the vehicle, the lawsuit alleges. The BPD Officers began to take aim at the vehicle and shout threats, profanities and racial slurs.

Family attorney S. Lee Merritt has alleged officers never attempted to render aid to the dying man. Merritt and Yarbers family had demanded that the officers face criminal charges.

richard.winton@latimes.com

Twitter: @lacrimes
Four swastikas were found painted across the face of a Crenshaw mural depicting African American women Thursday morning, police said.

Los Angeles police took a report about the incident shortly before noon near the intersection of Crenshaw Boulevard and 48th Street, LAPD Officer Jeff Lee said.

No suspects are in custody, and Lee described the vandalism as an isolated incident. The case is being investigated as a possible hate crime, and officers are canvassing the area for witnesses or surveillance video, Lee said.

The mural, Our Mighty Contribution, depicts a number of African Americans icons including Martin Luther King Jr. and Harriet Tubman, as well as several Black Panthers holding guns, according to Jasmyne Cannick, a political consultant who said she immediately contacted LAPD Chief Michel Moore after she was alerted to the vandalism.

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Vandals deface Black Panther mural on Crenshaw Blvd. in #SouthLA with swastikas. https://t.co/UH3NXO4TkF  Jasmyne Cannick (@Jasmyne) November 29, 2018

The swastikas  each of which covered the face of a female Black Panther  were cleaned off by the artist Enkone, who helped create the mural, Cannick said.

People just have always had a lot of respect for that mural and what it represented in the community so even though this is a city like full of graffiti, that mural was usually untouchable, she said.

Cannick said the area is home to a number of businesses and attracts a lot of foot traffic, making it hard to believe someone was able to paint such hateful symbols unnoticed.

For a community that already feels like its being pushed out, and we have very little left around here, she said. That wall is kind of a big deal.

The incident comes less than a week after a Seattle man was accused of yelling anti-Semitic slurs before driving his car toward two Jewish men who were leaving a Hancock Park synagogue.

Mohamed Abdi Mohamed, 32, pleaded not guilty this week to two counts of assault with a deadly weapon, and police have labeled that case a hate crime as well. Mohameds family has issued a statement saying he is mentally ill rather than hateful.

Hate crimes in Los Angeles have increased only slightly in 2018, rising from 223 at this time last year to 231 as of Monday, police said.

Rep. Karen Bass (D-Los Angeles) said the incident is a reminder that racist attacks can happen just as easily in Los Angeles as they might elsewhere.

When people think of racism like this, they think about some far-off time in some far-off land. But this is today, in South Los Angeles, on Crenshaw. These are swastikas on Black faces, she said on Twitter. An attack on one of us is an attack on all of us.

james.queally@latimes.com

Follow @JamesQueallyLAT for crime and police news in California.
A killer convicted in Honduras and an MS-13 gang member also from Honduras were arrested in California last weekend after crossing the border illegally, Border Patrol said Friday.

The two are being held up by federal authorities as examples of some of the criminals who have traveled through Mexico to the border with Central American caravans hoping to enter the U.S., many through the asylum process.

Both arrests occurred Saturday.

Around 11 p.m., agents detected three people crossing the border about one mile east of the San Ysidro Port of Entry, authorities said. The trio was arrested and taken to a Border Patrol station for processing. There, documents indicated that one of the men had been released recently from prison in Honduras after serving 10 years for homicide and three years for robbery.

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The man, 46, admitted hed been released four months ago and traveled with the caravan to Tijuana.

The mans record was confirmed with the Honduran Consulate in Los Angeles.

The two other men with him, ages 22 and 38, are also from Honduras. One had been deported previously, authorities said.

All three are being held in Department of Homeland Security custody pending deportation proceedings, officials said, with no criminal charges filed. It was unclear why they werent being charged with illegal entry under the Trump administrations zero tolerance policy.

Earlier in the evening near the Calexico Port of Entry, Border Patrol agents encountered a 29-year-old man suspected of being in the country illegally, authorities said. The man told agents that he was a Honduran citizen who had traveled with the caravan, and that he was an active gang member with MS-13, a notoriously violent group.

He also was being held pending immigration processing and repatriation to Honduras with no criminal charges filed.

Davis writes for the San Diego Union-Tribune.

kristina.davis@sduniontribune.com
A man has been sentenced to four years in prison for burglarizing the homes of people who were attending funerals, the Los Angeles County district attorneys office said.

Brett Rogers, 45, pleaded no contest to two felony counts of first-degree residential burglary of two Los Angeles homes as part of a sentencing agreement, the district attorneys office said Thursday.

Rogers had also been accused of breaking into a Glendale womans home and stealing her engagement ring while she was attending her husbands funeral, according to Ricardo Santiago, a spokesman for the district attorneys office, but as part of the plea deal that charge was dropped. Rogers still must pay restitution for all three burglaries, Santiago said. The ring has not been recovered.

Rogers was arrested eight weeks after being caught on video on March 11 entering a home on Nagle Avenue in the San Fernando Valley, police said. He parked his car in the driveway, walked up to the front door and rang the doorbell, which was equipped with a surveillance camera.

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When there was no answer, he walked around to the rear of the home and tried opening the back doors, according to the LAPD. Rogers then walked to a garage door and kicked it open. When an alarm sounded, though, he fled in his car.

Four days earlier, Rogers was seen burglarizing a home in West L.A., police said. In both cases, the residents were attending loved ones funerals.

Police said Rogers also may have burglarized homes in Lakewood.

After releasing video footage from the attempted break-in at the Los Angeles home, police received numerous calls from the public that helped them identify Rogers.

He was arrested May 11. A restitution hearing is scheduled in January.

alejandra.reyesvelarde@latimes.com

Twitter: @r_valejandra
Hollywood screenwriter Gloria Katz  who co-wrote American Graffiti and helped give Princess Leia her power in Star Wars  has died. She was 76.

Willard Huyck, Katzs husband and longtime collaborator, told the Hollywood Reporter that she died Sunday, their 49th wedding anniversary, at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles after battling ovarian cancer.

The couple shared an Oscar nomination with director George Lucas for American Graffiti and secretly doctored his script for Star Wars. The Reporter quoted Katz as saying they shaped Carrie Fishers Leia into someone who can take command, not just a beautiful woman that schlepped along to be saved.

They also wrote the screenplay for Steven Spielbergs Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, which Lucas executive produced, and later co-wrote Lucky Lady, Messiah of Evil, French Postcards, Best Defense, Howard the Duck, and Radioland Murders.

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Born in Los Angeles on Oct. 25, 1942, Katz majored in English at UC Berkeley, then earned a masters in film at UCLA. In 1969, she married Huyck, a college friend of Lucas at USC.

The Reporter quoted Katz as saying in a 2017 interview that Lucas wanted her husband to write about cruising for American Graffiti, and I sort of came with the package.

She said Lucas had a lot of reservations about his Star Wars script as filming was about to begin.

He said, Polish it  write anything you want and then Ill go over it and see what I need,  she said. George didnt want anyone to know we worked on the script, so we were in a cone of silence.

Katz said she and Huyck tried to add as much humor as possible and wrote about 30% of the films dialogue.

Katz was on the board of the Writers Guild of America, was an advisor at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures, set to open next year, and served as chair of the Photographic Arts Council Los Angeles.

Survivors include their daughter, Rebecca.
Relations between President Trump and the incoming president of Mexico, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, were always going to be complicated. The question is whether they will become toxic.

Trumps threats to close all or parts of the U.S.-Mexico border have antagonized the incoming administration in Mexico City, which takes office on Saturday, and members of Lopez Obradors transition team have sent mixed signals about their own intentions, creating uncertainty in Washington and among investors.

The impasse in Tijuana, where several thousand mostly Central American migrants are stuck on the border, poses the first major test of relations between Trump and Lopez Obrador. But there is a long list of potential confrontations.

In addition to differences on immigration, Lopez Obrador, a leftist, has hinted he may support legalizing some drugs. He accepts the scientific consensus on climate change and advocates forcefully for human rights, issues that set him apart from Trump. He also wants to shift more of Mexicos trade into Latin America to get out of the U.S. shadow.

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They are on a collision course, said Eric Olson, an expert on Mexico and Central America in the Washington office of the Seattle International Foundation, an advocacy group. There are potentially many fault lines. The new government will be trying to carve out a position independent of the U.S.

Lopez Obrador won his July 1 election with a large majority of the popular vote, giving him a strong mandate, and he enjoys wide national approval.

Despite the insults Trump hurled Mexicos way during the 2016 presidential campaign and his early months in office, the outgoing government of President Enrique Pena Nieto managed to work with the White House.

That was largely achieved through back-channel diplomacy between Pena Nietos powerful foreign minister, Luis Videgaray, and Trumps son-in-law and senior advisor, Jared Kushner.

On some of his dozens of trips to Washington, Videgaray went straight to the White House, circumventing the State Department. And Kushner was crucial in revising a new trade treaty among the United States, Mexico and Canada to update the North American Free Trade Agreement, a key Trump goal.

Pena Nieto, whose overtures to Trump helped send his approval ratings into single digits, will reward Kushner on Friday by awarding him the Aztec Eagle, the highest honor Mexico bestows on foreigners.

Jared Kushner was extremely important in keeping relations on track, Geronimo Gutierrez, outgoing Mexican ambassador to the United States, said in Washington.

Lopez Obrador and the party he leads are likely to look to Latin America for trade deals and other concerns, and may withdraw from the U.S.-backed Lima Group of South American countries trying to restore democracy in Venezuela  a pet project of the Trump administration.

For now, the Trump administration is putting out a welcome mat. Mexicos incoming foreign minister, Marcelo Ebrard, a former mayor of Mexico City, already has met at least twice with Secretary of State Michael R. Pompeo, and they are scheduled to meet again Sunday. Pompeo made a point of stopping in to see Lopez Obrador, Ebrard and other members of their party during a whirlwind visit to Mexico City in July.

Immigration and trade remain the chief U.S. concerns. The Trump administration wants Mexico to allow migrants to remain in Mexico to await processing of their American asylum claims, to no avail so far.

Lopez Obrador campaigned on a different approach for immigration, but much of it was vague and focused on long-standing issues such as helping to improve conditions in Central America, where many of the migrants originate.

It is very hard to understand right now exactly where the new Mexican government may be going on immigration, said Roberta Jacobson, who retired in May as U.S. ambassador to Mexico. Trump has not nominated a successor.

Pena Nieto was seen largely as helping Washington through a policy critics called detention, retention and deportation, Carlos Antonio Heredia Zubieta, an analyst at a think tank in Mexico City, said in a telephone briefing arranged by the Wilson Center in Washington.

Lopez Obrador is unlikely to follow the same playbook. But his first letter to Trump was sufficiently positive, and lacking in policy detail, as to keep the U.S. president on his side.

Just spoke to President-Elect Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador of Mexico. Great call, we will work well together! Trump wrote on Twitter on Oct. 3.

In a subsequent speech in Miami outlining the administrations Latin America policy, national security advisor John Bolton barely mentioned Mexico, focusing instead on U.S. opposition to leftist governments in Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua.

Lopez Obrador has been very careful at handling the ego of President Trump and will play that game until something unexpected happens on the border, said Sergio Aguayo, a political analyst at the College of Mexico, a think tank.

Aguayo thinks Pena Nieto, either deliberately or inadvertently, allowed the recent migrant caravan to cross Mexico to help Trump with his base before the midterm election, as the U.S. president stoked fear by warning of an invasion. But it left a high-power bomb for Lopez Obrador, Aguayo said.

Even a leftist president of Mexico has reasons to avoid antagonizing Trump.

Theres a difference between doing Washingtons dirty work and having an ordered system that tries to recognize [migrants] rights while also taking care of your own people, said Earl Anthony Wayne, who served as U.S. ambassador to Mexico from 2011 to 2015. They are trying to walk that line.

tracy.wilkinson@latimes.com

For more on international affairs, follow @TracyKWilkinson on Twitter
A grand jury on Friday indicted a former Dallas police officer on a charge of murder in the death of her unarmed black neighbor, whom she says she shot after mistakenly entering his apartment, thinking it was her own.

Amber Guyger was arrested on a manslaughter charge three days after the Sept. 6 shooting of her 26-year-old neighbor, Botham Jean, a native of the Caribbean island nation of St. Lucia who attended college in Arkansas and had been working in Dallas for accounting and consulting firm PwC.

Guyger told investigators that after finishing her shift, she returned home in uniform and parked on the fourth floor of her apartment complexs garage, rather than the third floor, where her unit was located, according to an affidavit prepared by the Texas Rangers. She said she got to what she thought was her apartment  Jeans was directly above hers  and found the door ajar. She opened it to find a figure standing in the darkness. She said she pulled her gun and fired twice after the person ignored her commands.

Guyger has since been fired from the department, and Jeans family has filed a lawsuit against Guyger and the city of Dallas. The federal suit argues Guyger used excessive force in the shooting and contends the department did not give her adequate training.

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The circumstances of the shooting sparked outrage and led many to question Gugyers account of what happened. Critics, including Jeans family, also wondered why it took three days for Guyger to be charged, why she wasnt taken into custody immediately after the shooting and whether race played a factor in her decision to use deadly force.

A public viewing was held Sept. 13 before a funeral for Botham Jean at a church in Richardson, Texas. (Shaban Athuman / The Dallas Morning News)

Responding to criticism that the original manslaughter charge was too lenient, Dallas County Dist. Atty. Faith Johnson said the grand jury could decide on the more serious charge of murder, which it did.

Jeans killing thrust Dallas into the national conversation on the intersection of race and law enforcement, a dialogue revived by the high-profile trials of officers charged with murder in police shootings.

In October, white Chicago officer Jason Van Dyke was found guilty of second-degree murder in the 2014 on-duty shooting of black teenager Laquan McDonald. Van Dyke shot McDonald 16 times.

And in August, former Dallas-area officer Roy Oliver, who is white, was convicted of murder after firing into a car filled with black teenagers leaving a house party in 2017 and fatally shooting 15-year-old Jordan Edwards.
With his signing of a new deal with Mexico and Canada to replace the quarter-century-old North American Free Trade Agreement, President Trump on Friday claimed a victory for his hard-line approach to trade. He had pushed to the brink and won concessions, just as he said he would.

Hanging over the win, however, is not only the question of whether Congress  with a new Democratic House majority in January  will approve the deal, but also what the future cost of Trumps bruising tactics may be for U.S. trade relations generally  including with China, the worlds other economic superpower.

The American president had shown this countrys two neighbors that going it alone and ignoring age-old alliances can pay off, at least in the short term. Yet if the United States no longer values established norms of restraint and mutual consideration, Canada and Mexico  as well as other longtime trading partners  are not likely to feel constrained, either.

A first test looms here at the Group of 20 summit of leaders of the worlds most developed nations, which opened just after the three North American heads of state signed their trade pact in a ceremony on the sidelines. The central question at the gathering is whether Trumps trade war with China will grow hotter, especially if President Xi Jinping remains as resolutely hard-line as the American president, given the potential risks for the global economy.

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Trump and Xi are set to meet over dinner after the G-20 concludes Saturday.

The bottom line is that if the Trump-Xi meeting ends badly and the two countries slip into a deeper cold war mindset, the U.S. is likely to become more vocal about engagements by its traditional allies with China, said Eric Miller, a global fellow at the Wilson Center in Washington.

For example, Miller added, for the United States this means pushing Canada to limit its engagements with China.

Yet Canada, perhaps in response to Trumps aggressive trade stance, is exploring new trade opportunities with China. It is doing so though one of the new NAFTA provisions seeks to restrain Canada or Mexico from making deals with a state-run, non-market economy  namely China.

Trump touted the revised accord with Mexico and Canada as a truly groundbreaking achievement. But there was no disguising the tensions lingering from his zero-sum, winner-take-all approach to negotiating with allies.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who considered skipping the formal signing that Trump was eager for, chose not to follow Trumps lead and hold up the agreement for the cameras. And he pointedly declined to refer to the agreement by the name that the brand-conscious Trump had given it  The United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, or USMCA, an acronym that Trump says recalls the title of a catchy hit song from 40 years ago, YMCA.

Even after concluding the deal, Trump has not lifted duties on Canadian and Mexican steel and aluminum, which meant those countries have left in place retaliatory tariffs against U.S. goods. Europe and China have imposed counter tariffs against American products as well.

While manufacturing and business groups applauded the signing Friday, because the pact lifted the uncertainty that has been weighing on companies, down at the grass roots there was less joy.

Any gains will continue to be offset by the losses farmers are experiencing from retaliatory tariffs as long as they are in place, said Brian Kuehl, executive director of Farmers for Free Trade, a bipartisan campaign co-chaired by former Sens. Max Baucus and Richard Lugar.

The trade deal has the potential to benefit U.S. farmers. It kept intact the largely tariff-free provisions that have boosted trade among the three nations to more than $1 trillion annually, while pressuring Canada to open its dairy market. Auto trading rules were tightened and provisions would push Mexico to raise wages, which could slow the loss of jobs to that country.

Even so, congressional Democrats have signaled they wont support the deal without additional protections for workers, though the new NAFTA calls for some more safeguards than the agreement it would replace.

The basic issue is Mexicos structure of keeping wages way, way down, said Rep. Sander Levin of Michigan, a foremost voice on trade issues for House Democrats.

The revised pact, which comes after a long, difficult negotiation, wont replace NAFTA until its been approved by the legislatures of all three countries.

Trump since his campaign had called the 1994 NAFTA the worst trade deal in history, though much of it is carried over in the new version. The president falsely claimed the new deal was the largest trade deal ever made and asserted that it will lead to high wages and higher wages in the auto industry and bring back jobs that have been moved overseas.

Trump did not refer to General Motors recently announced plans to cut jobs at five North American factories, four in the United States and one in Canada. Trudeau did, however, calling it a heavy blow. He urged Trump to remove tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminum, which have been cited as a factor in GMs decision to cut costs.

Make no mistake, we will stand up for our workers and fight for their families and their communities, he said, before addressing Trump directly. Donald, its all the more reason why we need to keep working to remove the tariffs on steel and aluminum between our countries.

Despite Trumps hostile rhetoric about unauthorized immigrants crossing into the United States from Mexico, he appeared to be on better terms with that nations president, Enrique Pena Nieto, who was serving his final day in office.

Prior to the signing ceremony, Pena Nieto awarded Jared Kushner, the presidents son-in-law and advisor, who was involved throughout the trade talks, the Order of the Aztec Eagle, Mexicos highest award.

Afterwards, as the G-20 summit began, much attention focused on whether Trump would engage with either Russian President Vladimir Putin  a day after abruptly canceling their scheduled meeting here  or with Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, whose alleged complicity in the murder of U.S.-based Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi has roiled relations between his country and the United States.

Trump has continued to accept Bin Salmans claims of innocence, just as he has accepted Putins insistence that he did not interfere in the 2016 election  despite, in each case, U.S. intelligence agencies conclusions to the contrary.

As the many leaders gathered for the traditional family photo, Trump kept his distance from the two controversial autocrats, who greeted each other with grins and an exaggerated handshake, appearing to revel before the cameras in their shared notoriety.

Soon, however, he exchanged pleasantries with Bin Salman, according to a White House official. The president later told reporters that the two men had no discussion but that we might before the summit concludes on Saturday.

Trump continued to insist that he canceled his planned one-on-one meeting with Putin because of Russias recent seizure of three Ukrainian vessels and their sailors. He called that aggression the sole reason for the cancellation, suggesting that his action had nothing to do with new, damaging developments in the special counsels investigation of possible collusion between Russia and his 2016 presidential campaign.

As Trump left Washington for Argentina on Thursday, his former attorney and fixer, Michael D. Cohen, pleaded guilty to lying to Congress about the Trump Organizations business dealings with Russian interests in 2016, and implicated the president.

Undercutting Trumps claim that Moscows hostile actions were to blame for the newest tension with Russia, White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders gave summit reporters a statement blaming the special counsels probe for straining U.S.-Russia relations.

The Russian Witch Hunt Hoax, which is hopefully now nearing an end, is doing very well, she said. Unfortunately, it probably does undermine our relationship with Russia.

Trump began the day by illustrating that the investigation back in Washington, led by special counsel Robert S. Mueller III, is what is most on his mind even as he meets with world leaders.

In a tweet, he defended himself amid the news that, with his knowledge, his lawyer continued to negotiate with representatives in Moscow for a proposed luxury tower there well into 2016, longer than theyd previously admitted. The president tweeted that the business effort was very legal & very cool.

UPDATES:

4:25 p.m.: This article was updated with new context and analysis about the new North American Free Trade Agreement.

12:30 p.m.: This article was updated with comments from President Trump and Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders and details from the G-20 about Russian President Vladimir Putin and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

7:25 a.m.: This article was updated with staff content.

This article was originally published at 4:50 a.m.
U.S. Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke unleashed a scathing personal attack Friday against a congressman who had called on him to resign, accusing the Arizona Democrat of drunkenness and using taxpayer money to cover up inappropriate behavior.

Zinke sent his tweet after Rep. Raul Grijalva wrote an opinion column, published in USA Today on Friday, saying that Zinke must resign because of what Grijalva called ethical and managerial failings.

Its hard for him to think straight from the bottom of the bottle, Zinke tweeted. This is coming from a man who used nearly $50,000 in tax dollars as hush money to cover up his drunken and hostile behavior. He should resign and pay back the taxpayer for the hush money and the tens of thousands of dollars he forced my department to spend investigating unfounded allegations.

The tweet also included the hashtag #TuneInnForMore, a reference to a legendary Washington, D.C., dive bar frequented by Grijalva.

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Zinkes extraordinary accusations are aimed at the top Democrat on the House Natural Resources Committee, who is seeking to head the panel once Democrats take control of the House in January. The committee oversees Zinkes Interior Department, and the back-and-forth on Friday sets a sharp tone for their relationship if Grijalva becomes chairman.

Grijalva released a statement in response to Zinkes tweet that did not directly address the Interior secretarys accusations.

Rep. Raul Grijalva (D-Tucson) speaks with reporters in July. (Mike Christy / Associated Press)

The American people know who Im here to serve, and they know in whose interests Im acting, Grijalva said. They dont know the same about Secretary Zinke.

Zinke spokeswoman Heather Swift didnt immediately respond to a request for comment.

Zinkes comment on hush money is a reference to news reports last year about a settlement between Grijalva and a former staffer who accused him of being drunk and creating a hostile work environment. Grijalva acknowledged last year that a new employee had left his staff and that hed signed a nondisclosure agreement preventing him from discussing the details.

His spokesman, Adam Sarvana, repeated what Grijalva said then in defending the congressman on Friday.

Hes not drunk at work. He doesnt slur his words on the floor, Sarvana said, referring to the House floor. He doesnt create a hostile work environment.

In Fridays column, Grijalva questioned Zinkes fitness to serve as Interior secretary amid multiple investigations into allegations of wrongdoing by him and his department. The congressman specifically mentioned the Interior Department inspector generals referral to the Justice Department of an investigation into a land deal between the chairman of the energy services company Halliburton and a foundation that Zinke created in his hometown of Whitefish, Montana.

Zinke has denied any wrongdoing in the deal with David Lesar, whose company does significant business with Zinkes agency.

Grijalva also accused Zinke of driving out senior staffers in the agency, administering policies that benefit energy companies and dumbing down science, particularly when it comes to the effects of climate change.

As ranking member, I have sent dozens of unanswered letters seeking information about Interior Department policies and Mr. Zinkes conduct, Grijalva wrote. Should I chair the committee in January, as I hope to do, those questions will only intensify as part of my and my colleagues legitimate oversight duties.

House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi responded to Zinke on Twitter: We couldnt have a clearer contrast with the values-based leadership of @RepRaulGrijalva to protect the planet for our children than @SecretaryZinkes toxic, special interest agenda.

The head of a conservation group that frequently criticizes Zinke called the secretarys tweet a new low.

Its also foolish to pick a fight with a member of Congress who will soon have oversight and subpoena power over your agency, said Center for Western Priorities executive director Jennifer Rokala.
Los Angeles Police Chief William J. Bratton sent an unmistakable and very public message in 2003 when he appointed renowned criminal defense attorney Gerald Chaleff to be his special assistant for constitutional policing in the aftermath of the LAPDs Rampart corruption scandal. That message began with the job title: constitutional policing. It was a signal that Bratton recognized that some officers violated peoples rights in the course of conducting searches and making arrests, and that fixing the problem would be a complex and ongoing challenge that required expertise from outside the uniformed chain of command.

Since that time, Brattons example has been followed by police chiefs and sheriffs around the nation, including Los Angeles County Sheriff Jim McDonnell, who in 2015 appointed two constitutional policing advisors  civilian attorneys who counseled and reported directly to him.

The move demonstrated a significant shift in the department after the administration of Sheriff Lee Baca, who was sentenced to three years in prison for his role in covering up decidedly unconstitutional practices by jail deputies, such as brutally beating inmates.

Creating the positions was McDonnells clearest signal that he planned to lead the department in a new direction.

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Eliminating those positions also sends a message  and its a very bad one.

After defeating McDonnell in the Nov. 6 election, Alex Villanueva announced that he intended to scrap the two constitutional policing slots once he is sworn in as sheriff Monday. That pleased his supporters in the deputies union, which sees the civilian advisors as meddlers. But the move is sending a chill through the community of reformers who keep a wary eye out for any backsliding in the still-troubled but improving Sheriffs Department.

Villanuevas approach is puzzling, at the very least.

Villanueva later said he would appoint a new set of advisors with more limited roles. McDonnells advisors  Diana Teran and Sergio Perez  are being transferred to the office of Inspector General Max Huntsman.

But Huntsmans unit is very much outside the department and reports not to the sheriff but to the L.A. County Board of Supervisors, whose authority over sheriffs matters is limited. The department is best served by civilian advisors with outside perspectives but inside positions, warning the sheriff when his policies, his deputies, his command staff  or the sheriff himself  are headed toward ethical or legal trouble.

Thats what constitutional policing advisors do. In the often insular world of law enforcement, where a bureaucracy of badges becomes set in its ways and top commanders tend to just say yes to the sheriffs ideas, civilian advisors take part in the highest level of decision making and ask tough questions. Like, Why do we keep making the same mistakes? Or, Are we acting in a manner that is humane and effective as well as legal?

When deputies misbehave, the advisors counsel the sheriff on the discipline process and may take a lead role in recommending appropriate punishment for actions that drift outside the bounds of constitutional policing. The countys lawyers could do the same thing, but their duty is at all times to limit financial liability, even if that means settling with deputies and allowing them to stay on the job when they should be terminated. Constitutional policing advisors can counsel the sheriff to terminate employment if its the right thing to do, even if it means a larger payout. Ideally, over time, the advisors help create a culture in which misbehavior is caught and corrected early, without terminations or payouts, and limiting instead of incurring financial liability.

Enter the Fray: First takes on the news of the minute from L.A. Times Opinion 

Its the role in discipline that especially irks the deputies union  and Villanueva, who argues that McDonnells constitutional policing advisors improperly undermined previous settlement agreements in a quest for tougher punishment. He claims their actions resulted in deputies being discharged when they should have been kept on. He intends to create a truth and reconciliation process aimed at examining wrongful convictions of county residents  and wrongful terminations of deputies. No longer set on eliminating constitutional policing advisor positions, Villanueva says he will select new advisors who will participate in the new process but not inject themselves into the discipline system.

But in police and sheriffs departments across the country, monitoring discipline is an essential role for civilian advisors. Besides, there are already ample avenues to appeal allegedly wrongful convictions, including a civil service review system that for a long time was notoriously tilted toward deputies, not against them.

Villanuevas approach is puzzling, at the very least. He has yet to make a convincing case that the real problem facing the Sheriffs Department was too many deputies facing too much discipline, or that constitutional policing advisors were running amok. To the contrary, the advisors represented an important step forward. Getting rid of them  or curbing their role  would be a troubling step in reverse.

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The media center of the 13th Group of 20 (G20) summit in Buenos Aires, capital of Argentina, officially opened on Nov. 29 to welcome more than 2,000 journalists from both home and abroad. (People's Daily Online/Zhao Duo, Zhao Jian)
President Trump has attacked special counsel Robert S. Mueller III and the investigation into Russian election meddling so often and so disgracefully that it can be difficult to sustain a sense of outrage. But Trumps statement on Wednesday that a presidential pardon for his former campaign chairman Paul Manafort is not off the table is an alarming escalation in his efforts to undermine that probe and, more generally, the rule of law.

For months, Trump has denounced the investigation as a witch hunt, steadily feeding a self-serving narrative in which prosecutors are corrupt and untrustworthy and the legal process is not to be believed. Along the way, he has fired his FBI director over this Russia thing  and more recently, pushed out his attorney general, who had angered the president by (rightly) recusing himself on the Russia probe. This week, Trump tweeted that prosecutors were viciously urging witnesses to lie.

But to signal so brazenly, as he did on Wednesday, that silence or lack of cooperation on Manaforts part could eventually be rewarded with a presidential pardon is especially appalling.

The only message Trump should be sending to Manafort and others caught up in Muellers investigation is to tell the truth and accept the consequences.

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If Trump is rash enough to actually grant a pardon to Manafort or to others who have been caught up in Muellers dragnet, that should immediately trigger an impeachment investigation by the House of Representatives.

Trump no doubt would justify clemency for Manafort on the grounds that, as the president has asserted without evidence, Mueller is a politically motivated prosecutor whose investigators have treated people horribly & viciously and ruined their lives for refusing to lie. Another interpretation, of course, would be that Trump was using the pardon power to reward Manafort for not implicating him in wrongdoing related to Russia.

Manaforts actions have contributed to the speculation that a pardon might indeed be on the table. After he was convicted of financial crimes related to his work as a political consultant in Ukraine, he avoided a trial on additional charges by accepting a plea bargain that required him to pledge full cooperation with Mueller. But on Monday the special counsel announced that after Manafort signed his plea agreement, he committed federal crimes by lying to the FBI and the special counsels office on a variety of subject matters.

Thats not all. On Tuesday, the New York Times reported that one of Manaforts lawyers had repeatedly briefed Trumps attorneys about Manaforts conversations with federal investigators after Manafort agreed to cooperate with Mueller. Legal experts have called that a violation of legal norms.

You dont have to be a conspiracy theorist to suspect that all these developments are related. After pushing Jeff Sessions out of the Justice Department, Trump did not take the obvious step of of designating Deputy Atty. Gen. Rod Rosenstein as acting attorney general. Instead, he installed Sessions chief of staff, Matthew Whitaker, who was critical of the Mueller probe before he joined the administration. That clearly threatens the credibility of the investigation.

For the moment, Mueller has been proceeding on several fronts, including an exploration of whether Trump associate Roger Stone is linked to WikiLeaks and the release during the 2016 campaign of Democratic Party emails hacked by Russians. (Stone has denied any wrongdoing.) On Thursday, prosecutors announced that Michael Cohen, Trumps former lawyer and fixer, had pleaded guilty to lying to Congress about when discussions about a possible Trump real estate project in Moscow came to an end.

Given these developments, Trump might be tempted to take action against Mueller from which he so far has reluctantly refrained.

Congress could provide an insurance policy for Mueller by passing the Special Counsel Independence and Integrity Act, which would codify a Justice Department rule that special counsels can be fired only for good cause and would allow a counsel to appeal his or her dismissal in court. But on Wednesday, GOP leaders in the Senate blocked a vote on the bill.

Enter the Fray: First takes on the news of the minute from L.A. Times Opinion 

The ultimate check on Trump committing his own version of Richard Nixons Saturday Night Massacre is the threat of an impeachment investigation. A presidential pardon may not be reviewable by Congress or the courts, but an impeachment inquiry would have a duty to determine whether the pardon power had been used to perpetuate a cover-up.

Trump repeatedly has insisted that there was no collusion between Russia and his campaign. If the president is confident of his innocence, he should stop the disgraceful attacks on Mueller and expeditiously nominate a new attorney general whose impartiality when it comes to the Mueller investigation cant be questioned.

As for pardons for those the special counsel has prosecuted, Trump must take them off the table. The only message he should be sending to Manafort and others caught up in Muellers investigation is to tell the truth and accept the consequences.

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To the editor: Former California Democratic Party Chairman Eric Bauman has been accused of a clear and escalating pattern of  horrific and dehumanizing behavior. In response, Bauman stated: I deeply regret if my behavior has caused pain.

This is not an apology. This is gaslighting. He is not even allowing that his behavior is indeed the problem.

Had he stated, I deeply regret that my behavior has caused pain, he would have at least admitted that the pain is a valid and natural response to his behavior, which suggests the behavior is indeed inappropriate or damaging. Instead, his statement suggests that the pain in question is itself doubtful. He then goes on to imply that his use of alcohol is to blame for his actions.

I am not impressed. Women and men are encouraged to come forward and report harassment on the job; they shouldnt receive clever language that breaks that harassment down to absolutely nothing in return.

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Bethia Sheean-Wallace, Fullerton

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To the editor: It is difficult to see how White House policy advisor Jared Kushner could be worthy of any honor, especially one from Mexico, a country his father-in-law endlessly insulted and bullied.

Certainly, Kushners own reputation has been sullied by his support for the ruthless Saudi crown prince, his deceitful activities regarding Russia and his serial lying on his financial disclosure forms.

Accordingly, a prestigious award given to selfless and courageous people like Nelson Mandela and Cesar Chavez seems to be tainted now that it has been bestowed upon Kushner by a seemingly hollow, titular figure in the outgoing president of Mexico.

My cynical side looks for a hidden motivation by the scandal-plagued Mexican president.

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Jim Hoover, Huntington Beach

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To the editor: I am a veteran of the U.S. Army. I did basic training at Fort Ord, Calif.

The most memorable and unpleasant experience I had was being in a small room with my gas mask on, then being told to take the mask off. The room was filled with tear gas, which quickly went into my eyes, nose and throat. It was as if sand had been thrown into my eyes, and my nose would not stop running.

It is totally disabling. The point was to make us appreciate our gas masks, and we sure did.

I cannot imagine anyone who does not pose an actual threat  and migrant women and children do not pose a threat  being tear-gassed. Had our president been in the military, he would know how inhumane it is.

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Rudolph Silva, Yorba Linda

..

To the editor: I recently watched President Trump on television address this invasion, the tear-gassing, his indomitable wall and the successful thwarting of the attempt by Central Americans to storm our border.

Something about Trump struck me: The tone of his voice, the glaring facial expression and the words that he used all suggest that he lacks any semblance of compassion for these people.

Yes, we have to control our borders, and the United States cannot take in every impoverished, fearful and hungry person who wants in. But is there any reason why the president cannot express at least a modicum of concern for these desperate people?

Trumps words and demeanor show nothing but contempt for them. How sad that our president is so mean-spirited.

Dennis G. Cosso, Arcadia

..

To the editor: The liberal media are obsessing over the fact that women were among those tear-gassed at the border. Why is this worse than tear-gassing men?

If we believe it is so terrible that the women rushing the border were treated as harshly as the men, then we should prevent women from becoming firefighters, police officers or soldiers.

I know my statements are politically incorrect, but they are just as incorrect as the medias logic.

Joseph Delvaux, Covina

..

To the editor: The use of tear gas on helpless and desperate people  including children, whose cardiovascular systems may sustain serious damage from tear gas  must not become the new normal.

This, along with Trumps comment that barbed wire used properly can be a beautiful sight and the continuing caging of children, violate all norms of decency.

Rep.-elect Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) has said that sending 5,000 caseworkers to the border to process asylum applications instead of deploying that many troops would have been a better use of taxpayer resources and could have prevented this abhorrent moral and humanitarian crisis.

I guess that just isnt Trumps style.

Ken Levy, Los Angeles

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Eighteen months into his investigation of Russian interference in the 2016 election and its possible links to President Trump, Robert S. Mueller III has retained his ability to surprise.

Repeatedly, Mueller has caught outsiders, including White House lawyers, unawares with major developments in his case. That happened again on Thursday with Michael Cohens guilty plea to a charge of lying to Congress.

As Trump lashed out, accusing Cohen, his former personal attorney, of lying to get a lighter sentence, Trumps lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, insisted that Cohens sworn statements were consistent with the presidents. The disarray in Trumps camp was obvious.

The weeks events reinforced a central theme of the investigation: Mueller and his team have amassed thousands of emails, tons of written records and hundreds of hours of witness testimony; White House lawyers, by contrast, have to rely heavily on what their client, the president, is willing and able to tell them.

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Increasingly, Mueller knows much more than they do, and the pace of his inquiry is accelerating.

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VERY COOL? MAYBE LEGAL

Trumps habit of lying about matters small and large has created a constant concern for his legal team. Theyve long resisted the idea of his sitting for an interview with Muellers prosecutors for fear Trump would commit perjury.

Cohens guilty plea, as Chris Megerian wrote, at minimum exposed several more statements by Trump that were untruthful or, to be charitable, misleading.

I have nothing to do with Russia, Trump said at a news conference in February 2017. To the best of my knowledge, no person that I deal with does. That was just one of numerous times during his campaign and since that Trump insisted that he had nothing or no deals or no business with Russia.

In fact, right up through June of 2016, just weeks before the Republican convention, Cohen was still pursuing talks on Trumps behalf aimed at putting a Trump tower in Moscow, he admitted in court.

Cohen said that he had lied about those talks in testimony to Congress out of loyalty to Trump, identified as person number one, in court documents.

On Thursday, Trump initially called Cohen a liar, but by Friday morning, he confirmed the essence of what Cohen said, tweeting that he had lightly looked at doing a building somewhere in Russia.

While he ran for president, he continue[d] to run my business-very legal & very cool, he wrote.

Whether that would have been cool with voters in 2016 well never know  Trump clearly had doubts about that at the time since he strenuously denied then what he now admits.

Whether all was legal also remains unknown.

No law prevents a developer from pursuing a project in Moscow, even if hes running for president. But some news reports have suggested that Cohens negotiations included inducements for Russian President Vladimir Putin that could have violated U.S. laws.

Moreover, Cohens negotiations with Russian officials took place at the same time that other Russian officials were hacking into Democratic Party computer systems, stealing emails and beginning to distribute them in an effort to help Trumps campaign.

What Trump or others in his circle knew of those efforts remains the focus of Muellers probe.

MANAFORT BACK IN COURT

Earlier this week, the special counsels office dropped another big piece of news, accusing Paul Manafort, Trumps former campaign chairman, of having lied to the FBI after his guilty plea.

As Chris Megerian reported, the prosecutors didnt specify what Manafort lied about. At a presentencing hearing on Friday, they said they would file a detailed description next week. The judge presiding over Manaforts case postponed his sentencing until early March.

Meantime, the Guardian reported that Manafort met during the 2016 campaign with Julian Assange of WikiLeaks. Manafort denied it, as did WikiLeaks.

Both the accusation against Manafort and the plea deal with Cohen came days after Trumps lawyers submitted written answers on his behalf to a list of questions Mueller had posed. That has many legal experts wondering if Mueller was waiting to get Trump on the record before tipping his hand.

SUMMIT IN ARGENTINA

Trump left town just after Cohens plea, heading for the G-20 economic summit in Buenos Aires.

The center of attention there is likely to be his planned meeting on Saturday with Chinas Xi Jinping. As Don Lee reported, the dinner meeting could prove a key moment in the continuing trade war between the U.S. and China.

Ahead of the talks with Xi, Trump said he wont back down on higher tariffs. And his economic advisor, Larry Kudlow said, China must do more.

But Trump also signaled that he could be open to a deal that would deescalate the confrontation. At least some administration officials fear the economy is heading toward a slowdown, possibly a recession, in 2020 and dont want Trumps policies to take the blame.

On Friday morning, Trump met with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of Canada and Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto to sign the updated version of NAFTA.

As Eli Stokols and Don Lee reported, Trudeau used the signing ceremony to openly showcase the tensions between the U.S. and Canada. Pena Nieto, who was on his final day in office, was more conciliatory.

As Stokols wrote, Trump has a history of creating controversies at such international meetings.

THE BLUE TIDE RISES

In the three weeks since election day, Republican fortunes slipped from bad to worse. The latest evidence came Monday, when TJ Cox, the Democratic candidate, grabbed the lead in the nations last undecided House race over Republican Rep. David Valadao in Californias 21st District.

By Wednesday, as a couple of additional counties in the Central Valley district completed their count, Cox solidified his lead, giving Democrats their 40th pickup in the midterm election.

With nearly all the ballots now counted nationwide, Democratic candidates overall have amassed more than 60 million votes. Thats a huge increase over the previous record for a midterm  44.5 million won by Republican candidates in 2010  and indicative of the huge turnout the midterm election produced.

The Democratic edge, 53.3% of the total vote, compared with 45% for Republican candidates, is also huge. Their 8.3-percentage point lead is one of the biggest for either party since World War II. Those numbers, by the way, come courtesy of the invaluable Dave Wasserman of the Cook Political Report.

The 235 House seats the Democrats will hold in January corresponds closely to their margin in the popular vote. Gerrymandered districts held back Democratic gains in a number of state legislatures, including Wisconsin, Michigan and North Carolina, but proved less of a factor overall in congressional races.

California proved a disaster area for Republicans. At the top of the ticket, their candidate for governor, John Cox, won just over 38% of the vote  the worst showing for a major party candidate for governor in the state in 40 years.

Down the ballot, the pattern continued: Every House race that Democrats targeted ended up falling their way.

As Mark Barabak and Sarah Wire wrote, the GOP wipeout in the state has generated tough questions for the soon-to-be minority leader of the House, Rep. Kevin McCarthy of Bakersfield.

McCarthy repeatedly asked his California colleagues to vote with Trump on issues that hurt them in their districts. That helped solidify his relationship with the president, but may have contributed to at least some of the losses.

PELOSI RIDES THE WAVE

Not for nothing does Rep. Nancy Pelosi of San Francisco have a reputation as one of the savviest political players in Washington.

For a month, her opponents within the Democratic caucus claimed they had the votes to block Pelosis return to the speakership, but as Jennifer Haberkorn reported, when the actual votes were counted in the caucus, the anti-Pelosi faction received half as many votes as they did when they challenged her two years ago.

Pelosi still needs to win over some colleagues before the full House votes on Jan. 3, but with no declared opponent, her path seems fairly smooth.

Exactly how many votes Pelosi still needs to get remains a bit unclear. She has about 200 nailed down and needs at least a dozen more.

Winning the speakership requires a majority of the votes cast. That would be 218 if every member voted.

But at least some of those who have said they wont vote for Pelosi on the House floor plan to abstain, which reduces the total needed. And at least one Republican seat in the House may still be vacant on Jan. 3: North Carolinas board of elections has delayed certifying one congressional race amid reports of possible voter fraud by the Republican campaign involving absentee ballots.

Meantime, the Democrats filled several other seats in their leadership lineup. Oakland Rep. Barbara Lee lost her race to Rep. Hakeem Jeffries of Brooklyn, whom many House Democrats see as a potential future leader. As Wire wrote, Lee would have been the first black woman ever in House leadership.

And Rep. Cheri Bustos of Illinois was elected to lead the House Democrats campaign committee. She, along with Jeffries and Rep. Ben Ray Lujan of New Mexico, who led the Democratic election effort this year, are among the top prospects for the next generation of potential Democratic leadership.

LOOKING AHEAD TO 2020

Democrats and Republicans see costs and benefits of Trumps MAGA rallies, Noah Bierman reported. Democrats say the rallies helped GOP candidates in some conservative areas, perhaps tipping the scales in a couple of Senate races. But Trumps presence also spurred a higher turnout of Democratic voters.

And presidential hopefuls from the Democratic left are scrambling to figure out how to ride the blue wave, Evan Halper reported. The progressive campaigns are analyzing what worked and what didnt in the midterm elections.

ONE BIG NEGATIVE FOR CALIFORNIA DEMOCRATS

Amid the celebrating over their election successes, California Democrats have to deal with a big internal problem  the resignation of the state party chairman, Eric Bauman, after Melanie Masons deeply reported article that brought to light numerous accusations of sexually explicit comments and unwanted touching.

Bauman initially said he would take a leave of absence, but on Thursday, amid calls from Gov.-elect Gavin Newsom and other top Democrats for him to leave, he resigned.

As John Myers, Phil Willon and Taryn Luna wrote, Democrats now have to figure out what went wrong to allow Baumans rampant misconduct to go on as he rose into the party leadership.

THE REST OF THE WEEKS NEWS

Trumps threats against General Motors fit a pattern: More bark than bite, Noah Bierman reported.

The number of immigrants in the U.S. illegally is the lowest in more than a decade, according to new data from the nonpartisan Pew Research Center, Jaweed Kaleem reported.

California Atty. Gen. Xavier Becerra clashed with Trumps acting EPA chief over climate change, Halper reported.

The number of uninsured children in the U.S. increased last year, reversing more than a decade of progress, Noam Levey reported.

Californias senators ask Congress for $9 billion for wildfire recovery, Wire reported. The money could come in an end-of-the-year spending package.

The administration is preparing to extend troops stay on the border, even though their mission is unclear, David Cloud reported.

LOGISTICS

That wraps up this week. Until next time, keep track of all the developments in national politics and the Trump administration with our Essential Washington blog, at our Politics page and on Twitter @latimespolitics.

Send your comments, suggestions and news tips to politics@latimes.com.

If you like this newsletter, tell your friends to sign up.

David.lauter@latimes.com

@davidlauter
Days before the November election in which California Democrats expanded their dominion over the state with sweeping victories in almost every electoral battleground, a handful of people inside the partys inner circle knew of a problem that would ultimately topple their leader.

Serious allegations had been quietly lodged about the behavior of Eric Bauman, the state partys chairman. Shortly after the accusations were revealed, Bauman apologized. And on Thursday, less than 24 hours after a Times investigation found that multiple party members accused the Los Angeles Democrat of making crude sexual comments and engaging in unwanted touching or physical intimidation in professional settings, he announced his resignation.

I have made the realization that in order for those to whom I may have caused pain and who need to heal, for my own health, and in the best interest of the Party that I love and to which I have dedicated myself for more than 25 years, it is in everyones best interest for me to resign my position as chair of the California Democratic Party, Bauman said in a written statement.

Now the partys remaining leaders are left to wrestle with a broader issue: determining what fostered the kind of internal environment that could severely damage the Democrats brand.

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I think that were frankly at a stage where this is a wake-up call and the culture of the organization needs to up its game and up its professionalism, Lt. Gov.-elect Eleni Kounalakis said.

Elected officials and activists alike said the Democratic Party must take a more inclusive approach to leadership, with more roles for its most junior members. And few denied the accusations against Bauman had cast a bright and uncomfortable light on the partys inner workings.

Kounalakis said an unprofessional workplace culture made her uncomfortable as a California Democratic Party staff member in 1992. She said shes surprised it hasnt changed much.

Its almost like a family, Kounalakis said. People have been more comfortable to let their hair down. I think what can go along with the congeniality is a comfort level that you can say and do whatever you want, and that is really what has gotten out of hand.

Bauman led an organization that raised $29.8 million this year. That money helped fuel a historic string of election day victories  eight statewide offices including governor, half of the congressional seats formerly held by Republicans and three-quarters of all positions in the California Legislature.

Though just more than two dozen are on the state partys payroll, its ranks reach deep into communities across California, with no shortage of ideological young volunteers and charismatic candidates. The recipe for political victory is often an intense blend of heart and hard work that attracts those with particular, if not idiosyncratic, personalities.

But at its core, the party is still a place of work  a multimillion-dollar organization with employees who have rights and where all employment laws must be followed, said Shawnda Westly, the partys former executive director.

Over the last year, as the #MeToo movement has swept through Hollywood studio lots and legislative chambers, Democrats have led the charge for strong laws protecting the rights of sexual harassment victims. The state party had updated its own rules too and conducted sexual harassment prevention training at its Sacramento headquarters this summer.

Assemblywoman Laura Friedman (D-Glendale), who led this years effort in the Legislature to revise sexual harassment procedures and policies, urged the party to implement new training for employees and top leaders as well as clear instructions for when to report allegations of improper behavior.

Our party must fully evaluate where our system failed and fix it, Friedman said. Im already starting to see finger-pointing, as its tempting to blame bystanders, potential witnesses and even victims who stayed silent. But I believe its important to remember that the system failed everyone.

Daraka Larimore-Hall, second vice chair of the party, said he first learned of an allegation against Bauman on Nov. 17. But he said others were aware of a formal complaint days earlier and called it troubling on a lot of levels that officials did not loop him in.

By the time I was talking to people, they had talked to other folks and felt they werent being listened to or believed, and they felt things were being lost in the politics, Larimore-Hall said. Its just weird that we werent all made aware and part of the conversation and allowed to be helpful.

Larimore-Hall said he quickly realized the limitations of the partys bylaws. Theres no rule requiring someone in Baumans position to take a leave of absence during an investigation, nor is there a system in place to protect all whistleblowers in such a political environment, he said.

This is going to be a very long process to heal and fix, Larimore-Hall said. This is on us as an institution.

State Controller Betty Yee, who did not support Bauman during his razor-thin election as party chairman in 2017, said she had been deeply concerned about what she saw as unchecked bad behavior inside the party during his tenure.

Culture develops from the top, Yee said.

On Wednesday, when confronted by The Times with allegations of inappropriate behavior, Bauman said that he would seek treatment for what I now realize is an issue with alcohol. Democratic Party employee rules prohibit alcohol use during work hours.

Yee said she had seen otherwise in meetings with Bauman.

Often times Ive smelled alcohol on his breath in early hours of the day, she said. I believe Ive witnessed him consuming alcohol in early hours of the day.

RL Miller, a Democratic activist who supported Bauman for chairman, said she has been to the leaders Los Angeles home for political functions where Scotch flowed freely. She said a loose, celebratory culture within the state party increased the acceptance of drinking, crude language and other behavior that would otherwise be glaringly inappropriate in a professional workplace.

I think that to a certain extent the party has reflected the Sacramento boozy late-night culture, Miller said.

Some Democrats said recent events must be a catalyst for change. The party needs to undergo a complete transformation, Yee said, from local political clubs to its uppermost echelons, to ensure that victims of harassment within the organization and those running its campaigns feel comfortable voicing their concerns.

I think people were looking the other way. I think people were intimated about speaking up, Yee said. We now have the voices of the victims, and that should inform us of what do to ahead.

john.myers@latimes.com

phil.willon@latimes.com

taryn.luna@latimes.com
He was concertmaster in two of the nations top six orchestras for a combined 42 years. But then, leading the violins of a major orchestra ran in the family.

Glenn Dicterow was the associate concertmaster, and then concertmaster, of the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra from 1971 to 1979.

Harold Dicterow, his father, was principal of the second violins of the Philharmonic for 52 years.

I led the first violins, while my father led the seconds, said Dicterow.

The younger Dicterow, who turns 70 Dec. 23, made his debut as soloist of the Los Angeles Philharmonic in Tchaikovskys Violin Concerto in 1960, when 11.

After stepping down as concertmaster of the L.A. orchestra in 1979, he became the concertmaster of the New York Philharmonic Orchestra the following year, making his New York Philharmonic debut the same way he did in Los Angeles in 1967 when he was 18  soloing the Tchaikovsky.

He stayed as concertmaster for 34 years, considered a New York Philharmonic record.

The irony is, concertmasters typically dont last too long, said Dicterow, who stepped away from that job in 2014 to accept a full-time position as a tenured professor at the USC Thornton School of Music, where he holds the first Robert Mann-endowed chair in violin and chamber music.

Making that move back to the West Coast proved a definite homecoming.

I have two daughters and three grandchildren all living in the same town, so its very convenient for us, he said. (His wife, Karen Dreyfus, teaches viola at USC.) And not being concertmaster means I have more time now to do concerts, such as the one in Irvine.

It also means his Amerigo String Trio, which he and Dreyfus co-founded in 2009 and named after Italian explorer Amerigo Vespucci (the source of the word America), can be more active than giving only a few concerts a year. And he can be more involved as faculty artist of the Music Academy of the West in Montecito.

His Dec. 8 concert at Winifred Smith Hall in the Claire Trevor School of the Arts complex at UC Irvine is sponsored by Chamber Music OC, which was co-founded by Kevin Kwan Loucks.

Loucks and Lyris Quartet will be joining Dicterow onstage, and theyll be performing the Concerto in D Major for Violin, Piano and String Quartet, Op. 21 (1889-1891), by Ernest Chausson.

The 10-year-old, Los Angeles-based Lyris Quartet will also perform the Second String Quartet in A Major, Op. 26 (1853-1861), of Johannes Brahms.

Itll be a first time collaboration for Dicterow, Loucks and Lyris Quartet, but Dicterow previously performed with Loucks wife, violinist Iryna Krechkovsky, in an all-strings concert, also presented by Chamber Music OC, at Soka University in Aliso Viejo last March.

That concert was an extremely positive experience for me and I look forward to this concert, Dicterow said.

Michael Rydzynski is a contributor to Times Community News.

IF YOU GO

What: Chamber Music OC presents An Evening with Violin Virtuoso Glenn Dicterow, who joins the Lyris Quartet and Kevin Kwan Loucks

When: 8 p.m. Dec. 8

Where: Winifred Smith Hall, UC Irvine, W. Peltason Drive

Cost: Tickets start at $15 (students: $5)

Information: (949) 824-2787; chambermusicoc.org
Where to begin the story of Michelle Wulfestieg?

With her stroke at age 11? The one that paralyzed her right arm and leg.

Or with her stroke at age 25? The one that took her whole body to the brink of death.

Or perhaps the story should begin the moment she says the voice of God told her: Go back!

It was the hardest thing Ive ever done, she says, tearing up at the thought of that day 10 years ago.

But go back she did.

And when she woke up in the hospital  as her family planned her funeral and her friend wrote her eulogy  she vowed to dedicate the rest of her life to bringing comfort to the dying.

And then, unlike most who promise things when, say, the airplane hits severe turbulence and is being tossed around like a toy, she actually kept that vow.

Wulfestieg is the executive director of the Southern California Hospice Foundation, which has served more than 2,500 terminally ill children and adults, bringing them groceries and hands to hold  and sometimes celebrities like Oprah Winfrey and Selena Gomez.

It is why she has been named Orange Countys 2018 National Philanthropy Day Outstanding Founders Award recipient.

I wasnt frustrated or angry because I knew I had a purpose. Michelle Wulfestieg

Growing up in a mountain town near Idyllwild, Wulfestieg built forts, climbed trees and rode motorcycles and horses.

It all changed the night in sixth grade while she lay stretching in bed. She heard a whooshing in her head and felt a pounding on her skull, and then she passed out.

Doctors did a scan and found a brain anomaly called an arteriovenous malformation, which had caused a stroke. It was so deep that surgery would likely kill her or damage her brain. They did radiation instead, but told her parents she probably wouldnt live past 30.

A few weeks after radiation, Wulfestiegs left leg went limp.

Then my right arm went out completely, like dead meat, she says.

Her hair fell out, her friends fell away. One classmate actually thought she was faking it for pity and pushed her out of her wheelchair. She felt hopeless and depressed, but determined.

I thought, You know what? Im gonna do whatever I can to have my best life and be normal, she says.

She went out for the volleyball team, training her left hand to do what her right hand used to do. When all the girls ran, she walked.

But I showed up every day and I made the team, she says.

Later, when she was a student at California Lutheran University, she got a job taking notes  with her one good hand  for other students with disabilities.

It was at college that she signed up for a class called Death and Dying. One assignment was to volunteer at a hospice.

Wulfestieg, then 21, was assigned a grandmother named Betsy who had also had a stroke, but was bed-bound. She asked the woman what she missed most. Her answer: Reading.

I said, Lets form a book club, Wulfestieg recounts. She began bringing books to her bedside to read aloud. When Betsy died two months later, her family asked Wulfestieg to give the eulogy.

Wulfestiegs professor announced one day in the class that Wulfestieg had been asked to eulogize her patient  as had one other classmate. A boy named Steven.

Oh my gosh the cute guy Ive been eyeing all semester, Wulfestieg thought.

The feeling was apparently mutual. The cute guy waited for her after class that day. Six months later he proposed.

Michelle Wulfestieg has been named Orange County Philanthropist of the Year. She started the Southern California hospice foundation, which has served more than 2,500 terminally ill children and adults. (Photo by Don Leach / Staff Photographer)

So he was the one who was with her two years later, the night she had her second stroke as she sat in their Newport Beach home, putting the final touches on her thesis for her masters in leadership at Chapman University. Steven got her in the car and sped down the street to Fire Station No. 7, where he pounded on the door, hollering for help.

In fact, if not for Steven, she believes, she wouldnt be here today.

He fought for her when they wanted to take her off life support later that night at Hoag Hospital, when the organ donors were being lined up.

I was told my whole life that I wouldnt live past 30, so my family was prepared, Wulfestieg says. But my husband was like, No, Im not going to lose my bride.

She was in the deepest coma, a level 3 on the Glasgow Coma Scale, basically brain dead.

When Wulfestieg tells this part of the story, it is with tissues in her hand, dabbing tears in her eyes.

It was the most beautiful thing Ive ever seen, she says. This beautiful warm place. And then I started hearing prayers, my mom and my husband. And then I heard prayers from everybody in the world, for everything we pray for, for hope, for healing, for forgiveness, for reconciliation.

Eventually though she heard what she describes as The Voice telling her to go back. And then she heard her husband begging her over and over to open her eyes.

Finally, on her eighth day in the coma, she did.

It was the hardest thing I ever did, she says.

Back home, her husband set up a hospital bed in their living room. She could form thoughts, but could not yet speak. She would have to learn how to feed herself again too, and read, and walk. But she remembers a profound sense of peace.

I wasnt frustrated or angry because I knew I had a purpose, she says.

Only five months later, in the spring of 2008, Wulfestieg, aided by two classmates supporting on either side, walked across the stage at Chapman to receive her masters. Two years later, the Southern California Hospice Foundation hired her as their first employee to build their nonprofit.

Michelle Wulfestieg with patient Geanne Suddendorf and dog Daisy at the Victoria Health Center, as part of the ongoing Pet Therapy Sessions provided by the O.C. Hospice Center, in 2005. (Photo by Douglas Zimmerman / Staff Photographer)

Under Wulfestiegs leadership, the foundation has partnered with hospices throughout Southern California to help more than 2,500 dying patients with basic needs, such as utility bill payments and groceries, and sometimes to grant dying wishes.

Last week, Wulfestieg caught wind that an 80-year-old surfer named Clifford wished to see the ocean one last time. The next morning she was at his house with a gurney. A van took them, along with his sister, to Balboa Peninsula. At 14th Street, they carried his gurney onto the sand down by the waves.

There was not a cloud in the sky, she says. You could see Catalina Island. His sister held his hand.

If a dying wish involves a celebrity crush, Wulfestieg isnt shy about reaching out. Gomez, Harrison Ford and Winfrey are some of the stars shes arranged visits with.

Wulfestiegs story could be a Lifetime movie if it ended right there. But she isnt finished. Her plan is to build a house for people who are facing the last days of their life but have nowhere to go and no money, so they can transition with dignity and peace. She is calling it the Heavenly Home Project. And she just launched the campaign.

Who am I to take on that challenge? she says. But if not me, then who?

Lori Basheda is a contributor to Times Community News.
In 1958, a Texas native named David Tallichet was managing a Long Beach hotel when he looked out onto the harbor and saw a spot he thought would be ideal for a restaurant.

The site boasted a prime view of the whole waterfront scene, perfect for the Navy town Long Beach was back then.

Tallichets dreams and that of his partners eventually became The Reef, whose Polynesian theme pulled hungry patrons away from the downtown.

Tallichets Reef soon expanded to other ventures and into a company called Specialty Restaurants Corp., which was founded in Long Beach and since the 1980s has been based in Anaheim.

The family-owned enterprise is celebrating its 60th anniversary this year, a remarkable longevity for any Orange County company, especially one in the volatile hospitality world. Throughout its 60 years, it has owned and operated about 100 restaurants throughout the United States and Mexico. At one point, it ran 77 restaurants at once. It also went public for a period, trading on the American Stock Exchange.

As it were, Tallichet never cared for Specialty Restaurants Corp. being a public company and later regained control of the operation to keep it in the family. Now the company has 19 distinct restaurants, said John Tallichet, one of Tallichets children who now heads the company as CEO.

Tallichet, who died in 2007 at age 84, left behind a legacy as one of the pioneers of the themed restaurant. As if that werent enough, he was also well known as a collector and restorer of vintage aircraft, having as many as 120. During World War II, Tallichet was a pilot in the European theater. After his service, he continued flying, never losing his love for aviation even as his restaurant empire amassed.

Specialty Restaurants maintains an aviation division  perhaps one of the only hospitality companies anywhere to do so. Among its prized possessions is one of the B-17 Flying Fortresses used in the 1990 film Memphis Belle.

John now uses his dads old office. It has various memorabilia about, some of it aviation-related. Particularly noticeable are the dark hardwood floors with nails pounded in by Tallichet himself.

John likes to talk about his father and how Specialty Restaurants remains very much a family affair. At 15 years old, John himself started at the bottom: salad boy at the Reef. It was a notch above being a dishwasher.

My dad used to pay us less than other people and expect us to work twice as hard, John said with a laugh, adding that he eventually became the general manager. The Reef was a place we all had to pass through in our leadership. It was proving grounds.

In Southern California, Specialty Restaurants owns Whiskey Reds in Marina del Rey, Orange Hill in Orange and the 94th Aero Squadron in Van Nuys. as well as The Proud Bird, a food bazaar and events center near LAX. (Don Leach / Staff Photographer)

Tallichets Depression-era mentality meant everyone earned their way.

Thats intertwined in the thoughts that go into the company today, John said. Its not about me or any one individual. Its really about what we do as a family, what we do as a company with our restaurants and how they play a role in the community.

Much of the Tallichet family remains involved. Johns brother, William, is director of development and aviation. Davids first wife (and Johns mother), Cecilia, still makes her way around the company HQ. John and Williams children have had roles at the restaurants, which, in Southern California, include Whiskey Reds in Marina del Rey, Orange Hill in Orange and the 94th Aero Squadron in Van Nuys. The company also owns The Proud Bird, a food bazaar and events center near LAX.

Specialty Restaurants employs as many as 2,000 nationwide during peak seasons.

One aspect that makes the company unique is that all its restaurants are different and most are destinations unto themselves, boasting scenic views. Some are located on publicly owned properties that are leased.

You have to be good enough to have people come out to you, John said.

Specialty also does 40% of its business in hosting events.

You could come for dinner for two and come back with 200, John said. He added that people are known to have their first date at a Specialty restaurant, get engaged there and also have their wedding there.

There arent many places where you can go in and do all of those things in one place, John said.

Specialty likes the number of restaurants it has now and plans to reinvest in all of them. Though it used to do design in house  Tallichet loved that aspect to the extent that people wondered if he was really running a construction firm, not a restaurant group  Specialty now relies on Costa Mesa-based Hatch Design Group. It also celebrated its 60th with 1958-themed specials.

As for the companys future, John said its not necessarily trying to be a trend-setter, but it wants to stay current. It cant hold on too tightly to the past.

You have to make room for the things that people like, he said. Change is just part of a restaurant. Sometimes its upsetting to some people, but if it works right, you dont upset too many people who go there. And you create an attractive restaurant for new people.

For more information about the company and its nationwide portfolio, visit specialtyrestaurants.com.


When Costa Mesa moved to voting districts this year for its City Council elections, one of the stated goals was to expand the electoral power of local Latino residents who, by all accounts, had never had one of their own elected to the council.

The Nov. 6 election was the first held under the new balloting system and, if the results are any indication, it seems the mission was accomplished with the victory of Manuel Chavez.

The 23-year-old doesnt shy away from the challenges and opportunities of his new position as the representative of District 4, a densely populated, predominantly Latino slice of the Westside ranging from Harbor Boulevard west to Monrovia Avenue and south to West 17th Street. Its the area hes lived in throughout his life.

That inspires me and humbles me at the same time, he said. It makes me want to do my best and work my hardest, because I know I can make a big impact immediately.

He and fellow council newcomers Andrea Marr and Arlis Reynolds are expected to be sworn into office Tuesday.

Though Chavez is one of the youngest people ever elected to the City Council, he views his age as an advantage.

People my age who have not been involved in politics and dont know how to approach the council now can, because they can approach me, he said.

History

Though its hard to definitively determine the backgrounds of the nearly 50 different council members since Costa Mesas incorporation in 1953, the election of Chavez  as well as Marr and Reynolds, both of whom have Latino heritage  appears to be groundbreaking.

As far as I know, this is historic, said city spokesman Tony Dodero.

Thats not to say Latino residents havent sought council seats. Community activist Mirna Burciaga mounted unsuccessful bids in 2004 and 2006, and Eastside resident Lee Ramos, who has served on several city committees, came up short in 2014 and 2016.

However, when they ran, Costa Mesa council members were elected at large, meaning residents citywide could vote for any candidate.

With the new district-based system, voters in each of six designated areas elect a candidate to represent them.

In this years election, seats were available in Districts 3, 4 and 5.

Chavez said he felt very comfortable running in District 4 because I knew the area very well and  I knew the issues we faced.

Costa Mesas move to voting districts began in 2016, when Kevin Shenkman  an attorney with Malibu-based law firm Shenkman & Hughes  threatened to sue the city, alleging that its at-large voting method violated the California Voting Rights Act of 2001 by diluting the ability of Latino residents to elect candidates of their choice.

As of the 2010 Census, Latinos made up about 36% of Costa Mesas population. In District 4, the proportion is about 79%.

We are very happy to see Mr. Chavezs success, just as with the many other candidates who won in their respective cities first-ever district-based elections, Shenkman said. Mr. Chavezs victory is especially gratifying because it is clear he felt he could speak his mind in a district election system.

Disconnection

Growing up, Chavez said, his Westside neighborhood was close-knit  the type of community where people have one anothers back.

He attended local schools, including Estancia High, where he became involved with Save Our Youth, a nonprofit that works to provide area teenagers with resources and mentorship to help them succeed in middle school, high school and beyond.

After graduating from Estancia, he went to UC Irvine, where he majored in political science and religious studies and obtained a bachelors degree in the former.

He now works as an auto dealer funding coordinator.

Though he had the support of his community and classmates, Chavezs high school experience revealed a sort of disconnect, he said  a feeling that his neighborhood was looked down on or somehow viewed as separate from the rest of the city.

He recalled a visit to Mesa Verde, one of Costa Mesas most affluent neighborhoods.

It kind of opened my eyes up a little bit, just how different it was, he said. Its the same city, but theres a big gap, a big disparity. It was nicer there than in my part of town.

To Chavez, it seemed some people were more interested in finding ways to change the Westside rather than improve the quality of life for its existing residents.

Certain people feel like were not worth investing in until they put nice condos in, he said.

Thats not to say he doesnt want his home community uplifted and improved. But those efforts cant come at the expense of those who already live there, he said.

Chavez said he came to realize that someone needed to step up and ensure his communitys voice was heard. Otherwise, he said, they would keep ignoring us.

Future of the Westside

The Westside historically has been home to some of Costa Mesas densest, lowest-income neighborhoods and been peppered with properties that have deteriorated or sat dormant as former industrial businesses moved out.

In 2006, the city approved plans aimed at revitalizing the area and attracting new residential and mixed-use developments.

Chavez, though, said flashy new apartment complexes arent necessarily what his constituents need the most. Rather, they need the city to consistently devote time and resources to tackling issues that residents encounter every day, he said.

My big vision is really just the nitty-gritty business stuff  Who needs a speed bump? Who needs a light fixed? he said. The minutiae  thats what my area needs the most.

I think part of my role will be finding that balance for everyone to prosper together.

Editors note: Profiles of Andrea Marr and Arlis Reynolds will be published next week.

luke.money@latimes.com

Twitter @LukeMMoney
Waring Abbott/Getty Images(WASHINGTON) -- The admission by President Trumps longtime personal attorney Michael Cohen that he lied to Congress about the Trump Organizations plans to build a Trump-branded skyscraper in Moscow has brought new scrutiny upon the sworn testimony of other Trump associates  including his oldest son.



Rep. Adam Schiff of California, the ranking Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, has called on the committees Republican leadership to accelerate the release of transcripts from interviews they conducted behind closed doors to the special counsel and the public so they could be analyzed for any misleading statements.



We believe other witnesses were untruthful before our committee, Schiff told ABC News on Thursday. We want to share those transcripts with Mr. Mueller.



A Republican committee aide said the transcripts are currently being reviewed and declassified by the intelligence community. Democrats have said they will release the transcripts publicly when they assume control of the committee in January.



The main focus of the Cohen plea agreement Thursday surrounded plans he participated in to develop a Trump Tower in Moscow  an effort that Cohen had told Congress ended in January 2016, before the Iowa caucus and  the very first primary, according to court fillings accompanying the agreement. Special Counsel Robert Muellers team determined that, in fact, discussions of the deal extended well beyond that  as late as June 2016, the filing says.



As Cohen well knew, Cohens representations about the Moscow Project  were false and misleading, the court filing says.



According to two congressional sources familiar with the questioning of Trump Organization employees, several people tied to the Trump Organization were asked about the same Moscow project. Their answers  in light of Cohens admission  could put them in the investigators crosshairs.



During his appearance before the Senate Judiciary Committee in September 2017, Donald Trump Jr. was asked about the project, and his answer appears to contradict Cohens latest assertions.



Do you know if they were also exploring building a Trump Tower in Moscow? Trump Jr. was asked, according to a transcript of the remarks released by the committee.



We had looked at it earlier than that, but it sort of faded away I believe at the end of '14, he replied.



But not in 2015 or 2016? the senate questioner pressed.



Certainly not '16, Trump Jr. answered. There was never a definitive end to it. It just died of deal fatigue.



An attorney for Trump Jr. did not respond to ABC News request for comment.



The presidents longtime executive assistant, Rhona Graff, his longtime security chief, Keith Schiller, were also asked about the deal by congressional investigators, sources said  as was the person identified in Thursdays court filings as Individual 2, who based the filings appears to be Felix Sater, the broker for the Trump real estate business pushing the Moscow deal.



Representatives for Graff and Schiller did not immediately respond to ABC News requests for comment. Sources close to the Trump Organization told ABC News all documents related to communications on any Moscow projects were turned over to Congress, and company officials are confident the testimony given by members of the Trump family and Trump employees was consistent with the facts.



Sater declined to comment. In an interview with ABC News earlier this year, Sater told Chief Anchor George Stephanopoulos that he kept pushing the deal through 2016 despite Trumps pledge not to engage in any new foreign deals. Sater said he spoke only to Cohen about the project.



But the Mueller team notes in court filings another person who was not interview by Congress would have known about the Moscow plans  the president himself, who is identified in the court papers as Individual 1.



Cohen discussed the status and progress of the Moscow Project with Individual 1 on more than the three occasions Cohen claimed to the [congressional] committee, the court filing says. And he briefed family members of Individual 1 within the company about the project.



Only a month after discussions about the Moscow development finally broke down, then-candidate Trump told ABC News: I have no relationship to Russia whatsoever.



In a statement, Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani said Trump was asked about the Moscow development in written questions from the Mueller team.



The president said there was a proposal, it was discussed with Cohen, there was a nonbinding letter of intent and it didnt go beyond that, Giuliani said.

Copyright  2018, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.
Chinese consumers are willing to pay a premium price when it comes to quality products, but have become more rational when it comes to what they spend their money on overall, said a report recently released by Nielsen, a global measurement and data analytics company.

Nielsen's latest study, published on Nov. 28, showed that Chinas Consumer Trend Index reached 112 points in the third quarter of this year, down 1 point from the last quarter. The index, which measures perceptions of local job prospects, personal finance and willingness to spend, rates Consumer Trend levels above and below a baseline of 100 with optimism or pessimism, respectively.

Since 2015, Chinas Consumer Trend Index has surpassed the global average, amounting to 114 points in the first half of 2018, far higher than the worldwide average of 105.

Increase in disposable income means upgrade in consumption

Data from the National Bureau of Statistics showed that Chinas GDP increased by 6.5 percent between July and September of this year. Andy Zhao, president of Nielsen China, explained, "Thanks to a slew of stable policies, employment, finance, investment, foreign investment, foreign trade and expectations, we have seen a positive and stable trend. It has laid a solid foundation for Chinas economy."

Chinas per capita disposable income increased by 9 percent year-on-year in 2017, according to the National Bureau of Statistics. "The disposable income of residents has increased significantly, which effectively boosts consumption and plays a positive role in driving economic growth," said Zhao.

The report indicates that Chinese consumers are willing to spend more money on their hobbies, with 36 percent willing to pay a premium price for things which interest them. For example, those in a middle-income bracket spend an average of 600 yuan per year on cinema tickets, and females in this bracket spend an average of 40,000 yuan per year traveling outside of China.

Rationality in spending

Although consumers are willing to pay more for certain products, the report also shows that Chinese consumers have become more rational when it comes to spending overall. When making decisions on where to spend money, consumers now consider product quality over a brand name.

Consumption upgrading means we not only enhance the product quality but also upgrade consumption concept. Amid a frenzy of consumption upgrading, consumers have been more mentally mature, more practical and rational, and no longer willing to spend for the consideration of face or famous brands. A new type of consumer culture is forming, noted Zhao.

Nielsens data showed that between November 2017 and October 2018, consumers preferred to purchase premium personal care products. The growth rate of such products reached 28 points, much higher than products in other price tiers. As for daily necessities, consumers were more likely to buy quality goods at low prices where possible. The value market of these products amounted to 46.8 percent, higher than those in other price tiers.

At the same time, consumers also chose to reduce their total expense through membership or group purchasing. Nielsen found that 31 percent of consumers currently hold a membership to enjoy discounted prices, while 65 percent rely on group buying products to save money.

The continuously evolving e-commerce sector is another reason why Chinese consumers are making more rational decisions when it comes to spending money. The integration of online and offline social experience has become the new market trend, meaning consumers can compare a range of products on a number of e-commerce platforms. Social e-commerce, which allows users to interact and contribute to online buying and selling of products and services, witnessed an increase of 439.2 percent year-on-year, according to Nielsens data.

As the link between online and offline develops, consumers are becoming savvier as to what constitutes a good deal, where they can save money and what brands to trust. New retail has been integrated with advanced technologies like big data, artificial intelligence and modern communications. It has become a driving force of Chinas business transformation, explained Zhao.
Two residents from Huntington Beachs working class Oak View neighborhood want an Orange County Superior Court judge to reconsider a ruling that exempted the city from complying with state-mandated legal protections for undocumented immigrants exiting police custody.

Victor Valladares and Oscar Rodriguez, as well as other parties advocating for immigrants, filed a request Monday seeking an expedited hearing with Judge James Crandall on their request for a new trial.

Joining Valladares and Rodriguez in the challenge are the Rev. Samuel Pullen and Henry Josefsberg of Los Alamitos Community United, which is seeking to overturn their citys decision to ignore Senate Bill 54, the states so-called sanctuary city law.

The American Civil Liberties Union and the Latham & Watkins law firm are representing the challengers. A meeting on the issue is scheduled for Friday in Superior Court.

The Los Alamitos group joined forces with the ACLU in April to sue that city over its ordinance exempting it from SB 54, which in many cases prohibits state and local police from notifying federal officials before they release immigrants from custody who may be eligible for deportation.

In September, Crandall sided with Huntington Beach City Atty. Michael Gates, who argued that the law is unconstitutional as it applies to charter cities, including his and Los Alamitos, which can adopt local laws that sometimes differ from the states general laws that govern noncharter cities.

The ruling made Huntington Beach the first city to successfully challenge the controversial state law. Gates has said the decision exempts each of Californias 121 charter cities.

But attorneys fighting Crandalls ruling contend it adversely affects Oak Views safety, health and overall livelihood.

Charter cities, the attorneys challenging the law contend, do not have unfettered authority under Article X1, Section 5(b) of the California Constitution to disregard state laws that regulate police conduct.

The SB 54 exemption in Huntington has made Valladares and Rodriguezs neighbors, and their loved ones  reluctant to interact with the Huntington Beach Police Department and are more afraid to access public services due to their fear that Huntington Beach and its law enforcement officials are participating in federal deportation programs, according to court documents.

Gates, however, called the activists efforts for a new hearing a Hail Mary pass, adding that he expects Crandall to dismiss their request.

But Rodriguez said he believes the challengers have a shot.

Were doing this because immigration in our community is something very close and dear to what we do as activists and as a community, he said.

Valladares and Rodriguez founded ComUNIDAD, a grassroots organization in the Oak View area, which is bounded by Warner and Talbert avenues and Gothard Street and Beach Boulevard.

Our issue here for police should be about public safety, not immigration, Valladares said, adding that Gates arguments in court felt like a direct attack on Oak View.

The activists say residents have remained fearful since April, when the City Council authorized Gates to sue over SB 54.

Huntington Beach Police Chief Robert Handy has said Oak View community members should rely on trust already built with police officers and ignore political and media rhetoric.

The state is also pushing back on the charter cities challenging SB 54. On Nov. 8, California Deputy Atty. Gen. Jonathan Eisenberg filed a notice of appeal of Crandalls ruling, pushing the case to the state 4th District Court of Appeal for review.

State Atty. Gen. Xavier Becerra said at the time that his office will continue to defend the rule of law in our state and the California Values Act in court for the safety and well-being of all of our residents.

Priscella.Vega@latimes.com

Twitter: @vegapriscella
Dick and Carol Stein loaded up a moving van and trailer in mid-October and drove away from their Laguna Beach home of 54 years, headed to a community in Northern California that Carol called delightful, peaceful.

Three weeks later, the couple were fleeing the Camp fire, which consumed their new house in Paradise.

We left a very beautiful home that my husband had done so much personal work on, and that was heartbreaking. And then now, everything that weve ever gathered together through our 66 years [of marriage] is gone too, said Carol, 83. You can imagine the adjustment were facing.

Dick, Carol and their daughter Linda  their live-in caregiver for several years  uprooted from their Laguna neighborhood on Oct. 18 to move closer to the couples grandson and his family in Chico.

Family photos, genealogical records that Carol had collected, nine bicycles and medals from Dicks road racing years  all of it went into the moving truck.

But on Nov. 8, all their nostalgic, wonderful memories  gone, said the couples youngest daughter, Susan.

Dick Stein, 85, and Carol Stein, 83, had to flee the Camp fire in Butte County twice on Nov. 8. (Courtesy of Susan Stein)

We didnt know if we were going to escape it

The morning the Camp fire alighted on the eastern edge of Paradise and began roaring across more than 150,000 acres of Butte County, the Stein family was unaware of the coming danger.

Linda was at a bocce tournament in Reno with Susan, a legal secretary at the Irvine law firm Goe & Forsythe. Their parents were tinkering in their new kitchen, where Dick, 85, was installing a faucet.

Carols phone rang with an urgent message from Matthew Schneider, their grandson in Chico. His wife, Adele, had received an alert on her phone that the east side of Paradise was being evacuated. The Steins prepared to leave their home in west Paradise immediately.

Dick began gathering clothes. Carol took cat treats into the bedroom, trying to coax their two 9-year-old cats, Misty and Dixie, to come out from under the bed and into carriers.

Dick and Carol Stein and their daughter Linda moved into this four-bedroom, three-bathroom house on the west side of Paradise three weeks before the Camp fire destroyed it. (Courtesy of Susan Stein)

Within 15 minutes, flames began tearing down their street at 50 mph.

They were gigantic  Id say 30 to 40 feet high. Just one solid mass of fire, Carol said. The fire moved so quickly into our area  we didnt know if we were going to escape it.

With a few clothes, Carols ruby necklace and the ashes of her recently deceased nephew in hand, the couple loaded up their car again, this time to leave Paradise. The trees across the street were in flames as they left.

My biggest concern most of the time was having to leave my cats behind, Carol said. That was really hard on me.

The fate of the cats is unclear.

The Steins headed to Matthew and Adeles home, joining what Carol called a mass exodus from Paradise.

At the bocce tournament in Reno, Susan received a call from her mother saying they were evacuating. Skyway, the only road out of Paradise still open, had been turned from two lanes to four, yet they were still stuck in traffic. The air was so thick with smoke that they had to blindly follow the taillights of a truck in front of them. And they had no water.

Then the phone call to Susan cut off.

We were just dumbfounded, really. Just didnt know what to do, Susan said. We were just hopeful we would get another call.

Susan and Linda pored over news channels, trying to find updates about the fire. They saw stories about people abandoning their vehicles to run from the flames. Information was scarce because the Camp fire, which took over two weeks to contain, had just begun. It would become Californias deadliest wildfire, killing 88 people and wiping out nearly 19,000 buildings.

An hour after Carols call cut off, she called back.

What a great relief that was, just to hear their voices, Susan said. And then to hear their story, [it] was just amazing that they made it out.

Dick and Carol arrived at the Schneiders home in Chico later that day, but they werent safe for long. That evening, Chico was evacuating. Dick and Carol got into their car and, for the second time that day, fled the Camp fire. This time, they drove toward Reno, where they finally reached safety.

For two weeks, the couple stayed at a Reno hotel with Susan and Linda. The daughters spent every day with their parents, filing for emergency insurance funding, setting up a post office box to receive paperwork and, as Susan said, helping them [get] their balance back.

They come from very hardy stock, I guess, because they are really resilient and just staying positive and [putting] one foot in front of the other, Susan said. They are really strong people.

Members of the Stein family are, back row from left, Dick, Susan, Carol, Catherine and Linda Stein and, front row from left, Leah, Matthew, Adele and Jason Schneider. (Courtesy of Carol Stein)

One big happy family

The Stein family story began in Laguna Beach, where Dick grew up. Carol moved to the city from San Bernardino as a senior in high school. She said the two met when her friend  Dicks brother encouraged her to invite Dick to a high school dance.

Dick and Carol married soon after and had three daughters: Catherine, Linda and Susan. In 1964, the family bought a home on Starlit Drive across the street from their high school best friends, Suzie and Jerry Johnson. Only four families lived on the cul-de-sac when they moved in, Suzie Johnson said, and most of the yards were dirt lots.

They kind of pioneered the street, said Rick Balzer, a Berkshire Hathaway Realtor who helped the Steins sell their Laguna house.

Dick began a plastering company and, according to Balzer, became the creme de la creme of plastering contractors around Laguna Beach.

They were like old-school Laguna family, said Kristine Torrance, another Berkshire Hathaway Realtor who helped the Steins sell their home. Theyre just the sweetest, nicest couple.

The Stein and Johnson children grew up together, running back and forth between houses and playing on the street. Starlit Drive soon filled in with other families.

We had years and years of lots of children and lots of fun on this street, Suzie said. It was one big happy family.

When the Laguna Beach community heard that the Camp fire had consumed the Steins Paradise home, offers of help poured in. Relatives and high school friends called, emailed and sent pictures with supportive statements.

Everybody is coming out of the woodwork, Susan said.

Suzie and her daughter, Janet Mitchell, created a GoFundMe campaign to help the Stein family begin to rebuild their lives.

When you get older [and] you dont have a home base, its kind of hard, Suzie said.

As of Thursday evening, the effort had raised more than $5,500.

Its been tremendous, Carol said.

After a week staying with various family members, Dick, Carol and Linda left Wednesday for Oregon, where Catherine lives. They are searching for a place to lease in Northern California. They still hope to live close to their grandsons family, whose home in Chico survived the fire.

We really, truly feel lucky to be alive, Carol said. That in itself is enough to keep us going.

Three weeks after the Camp fire destroyed their Paradise home, the Steins are looking for another place to live in Northern California. (Courtesy of Carol Stein)

faith.pinho@latimes.com

Twitter: @faithepinho
Spain in winter? Its not exactly Hawaii. Average highs, Accuweather says, are in the upper 50s, while lows are in the 40s. Dress in layers. And plan to spend time inside in some of the attractions of this coastal city, including La Sagrada Familia and the Picasso Museum, and you can warm yourself by strolling Las Ramblas.

You can do all of this and save on an airfare thats below $400. Here are the details.

Fare: $396 round trip, including all taxes and fees, from LAX to Barcelona, Spain, on Norwegian.

Restrictions: The fare, subject to availability, is for travel Jan. 18-Feb. 27, returning by March 27. This is a LowFare, Norwegians equivalent of basic economy. You can carry on a bag and a personal item.

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Info: Norwegian, (800) 357-4159

Source: Airfarewatchdog

travel@latimes.com

@latimestravel
When Mariza Llamas was 16, a trip from her home in Gibraltar to the neighboring town of Algeciras, where her relatives lived, took two ferry rides and a stopover on another continent  a full day of traveling.

This was in the 1970s, when tensions between Spain and Gibraltar, the British outpost at the southern edge of the Iberian Peninsula, were at their worst. Spain had long tried to claim Gibraltar, a territory it had lost to Britain in 1713 after the War of the Spanish Succession. In an act of spite toward Britain, Spanish dictator Francisco Franco closed off the border in 1969, forcing thousands of people who normally crossed into Gibraltar for work each day to choose between their jobs and their families in Spain  and splitting up relatives who lived on either side.

Every Sunday, Llamas remembers, families would rush to the border, separated by two fences and a 325-foot stretch of no-mans land, to yell messages to one another, desperately trying to communicate about a newborn grandson, a death in the family, or just to say hello. One man, Manuel Marquez, jumped the border fence so he could attend the funeral of his father, whod died while the border was shut down.

It was very sad, everybody shouting and waving, Llamas said. It was a very sad time.

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In Llamas case, her great-uncle was ill, and her mother, who was born in the Spanish town of Algeciras but lived in Gibraltar, longed to see him. So twice a year, the family undertook the arduous journey to visit, first catching a ferry from Gibraltar to Morocco, and then another from Morocco to the port in Algeciras. In a car, the trip would have taken 30 minutes.

In 1982, seven years after Franco died, Spains new democratic government reopened the border, promising goodwill to the people who lived on this 2-square-mile speck of land at the doorstep of Europe.

But by then, Gibraltarians fervently identified as British and harbored a deep mistrust of the Spanish government, which, for all its promises, never fully backed off its quest to regain its lost territory.

That fraught relationship  and Spains desire to assert more control over Gibraltar  came into sharp relief last week when Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez announced that Britains pending withdrawal from the European Union gave Spain unprecedented authority to intervene in Gibraltars affairs with Europe.

He also said the issue of joint British-Spanish sovereignty over Gibraltar was now up for discussion.

Gibraltars relationship with the European Union after Brexit will now have to pass through Spain, Sanchez said at a news conference in Madrid.

In response, British Prime Minister Theresa May rejected Sanchezs interpretation of Britains withdrawal agreement and argued that joint sovereignty was not negotiable.

The rock of Gibraltar looms over the adjacent harbor in a night scene. (Marcos Moreno / AFP/Getty Images)

The contradictory interpretations of the withdrawal agreement have left residents of the British outpost and the surrounding Spanish region uncertain about which country will truly dominate Gibraltars future with Europe.

Gibraltar and the nearby Spanish municipalities, known as the Campo de Gibraltar, are mutually dependent. Every weekday morning, the border zone is a human traffic jam, as 13,000 Spanish workers walk, bike and drive into Gibraltar. Spain is Gibraltars second-biggest trading partner after the U.K., according to Edward Macquisten, chief executive of the citys chamber of commerce.

That mutual dependence was a significant factor in Gibraltars resounding rejection of Brexit. In the 2016 referendum, 96% of the voters here cast ballots to remain in the EU.

Now, with Britains withdrawal on the horizon, questions abound. Will Spanish workers need visas to work in Gibraltar? How can Britains government, located on an island 1,500 miles away, navigate Gibraltars complex economic reality during trade negotiations?

The biggest fear on both sides of the border, however, is a repetition of history. If the EU does grant Spain greater power to intervene in Gibraltar, will the Spanish government again close the border for political gain?

Weve had this fear that what happened in 1969 will happen again today, said Juan Jose Uceda, a representative of the Assn. of Spanish Workers in Gibraltar who moved to London after Franco closed the border. We have always had this fear that in any moment we can be covered by the shadow of nationalists.

Gibraltar, a city of 32,000 people with its own parliament, is an oddity born from a colonial war fought three centuries ago. Just a step away from Spain are streets with names like Winston Churchill Avenue, iconic red London telephone booths, and restaurants advertising British high tea and fish and chips. Gibraltarians  whose ancestors are a mix of British, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian and Maltese  speak with English or Scottish accents in conversations peppered with Spanish words like vale, bueno, pero, and si. Feisty Barbary macaques, the only wild monkey species on continental Europe, roam the streets and pester tourists.

Most iconic to Gibraltar is its looming limestone mass that juts into the Atlantic, giving the city its nickname, the Rock. The famous rock makes a cameo in John Lennon and Yoko Onos wedding portrait; the two were married in Gibraltar in 1969.

Its citizens pride themselves on strong self-government, modeled on the English system, and identify as British Gibraltarians.

But the city has long been a source of contempt for Spanish politicians. In particular, they denounce the stark economic contrasts between Gibraltar and the Campo de Gibraltar.

Blocks of apartment houses crowd a neighborhood near a cruise ship dock in Gibraltar. (Matt Cardy / Getty Images)

Gibraltar boasts a healthy per capita gross domestic product of $110,000 and a growth rate of 6% to 8% each year; La Linea de la Concepcion, a city of 70,000 on the other side of the border, is one of Spains poorest. Gibraltars level of unemployment is around 1%, while La Lineas is 35%.

Spanish politicians also describe Gibraltars economic practices as unsavory. They argue that the citys low corporate tax rate and lack of a value-added tax make it a tax haven that attracts a disproportionate number of online gambling companies into its borders. They charge that the ports at-sea refueling, known as bunkering, pollutes Spains coastline and reduces potential revenue for its own nearby port at Algeciras. And they chastise Gibraltar for the rampant smuggling of cheap tobacco across the border into Spain, which makes it impossible for Spanish companies to sell tobacco at a competitive price.

Brian Reyes, editor of the local daily the Gibraltar Chronicle, calls such charges misinformation.

Madrid papers like the easy narrative of Gib as tax haven, that they pollute the environment, said Reyes. Spain uses it as a political issue.

Juan Franco, the mayor of La Linea, said politicians in Madrid dont understand that, far from harming the region, Gibraltar is necessary for La Lineas survival.

Gibraltar is practically the base of our economy, he said.

Sanchezs rhetoric  and particularly the notion of shared sovereignty over Gibraltar  surprised observers, who normally associate calls to reclaim Gibraltar with the political right, not Sanchezs socialist party.

Jesus Verdu, a law professor at the University of Cadiz who studies Gibraltar and the surrounding region, called Sanchezs words extraordinary. His rhetoric, Verdun said, seemed like timely political posturing: Andalusia, the province bordering Gibraltar, will hold elections on Sunday, and Sanchez, who governs a fragile coalition in the Spanish parliament, is looking to strengthen his support there.

Right now, Sanchez has a weak government with a lot of problems. Hes fighting against the rights interpretation that he is anti-patriotic, Verdu said. He wants to play the Gibraltar card to reaffirm his nationalist sentiment.

Gibraltars connection to Britain is evident in the street names. (Meg Bernhard / Los Angeles Times)

Sitting on a coffee shop terrace on Gibraltars main cobblestone street before work one morning, Giselle Charlton, 59, and a group of friends began talking about the issue of joint sovereignty they saw discussed on Spanish news the night before.

They dont need Gibraltar, said Charlton, who was born here. I dont listen to a lot of Spanish TV. Every time we do hear it, we get annoyed.

Her friend Adrian Traverso, a tour guide, stopped by the terrace to offer his own opinion.

If you give a donkey a carrot, it will follow. It you hit the donkey with a stick, it wont, he said. Were the donkey. And weve been hit by the stick multiple times.

Even if Spain is granted greater control over Gibraltars affairs, the government will have a hard time persuading residents to approve joint sovereignty. In a 2002 referendum on the issue, 99% of Gibraltar voters were against shared sovereignty with Spain.

Reyes attributes Gibraltarians strong sense of identity to a shared historical struggle, from World War II to Francos border closure.

During World War II, the Rocks entire civilian population was evacuated, most to Madeira, Jamaica or London.

Nearly all returned.

This communitys identity is deeply, deeply, deeply rooted in that rock, Reyes said. It is very simple. It means it is my home. Its where my child grew up. Its where my parents grew up. Its where my grandparents grew up. Im not imported. My roots are here.

Bernhard is a special correspondent.
He was an ordinary welder in a boring job. Geng Shuai was about to turn 30 and knew that if he did not find an outlet for his passion to create things, he would be trapped in mediocrity. Then came his Einstein moment, during the mundane chore of cooking.

After chopping meat and vegetables with a rather blunt cleaver, he was busy cooking when his cellphone rang. When he hung up, he accidentally put the phone down on the cleaver. And on flicked a mental lightbulb.

The shapes synced perfectly.

I realized, Mmmm, you could make a cellphone cover out of that. Cleavers are common in Chinese kitchens, and Gengs family happened to have a lot of old, blunt ones. So he took the leap.

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I liked it, so I went ahead and made it, he said. I thought it was quite handy. It was accidental design, not intentional.

Geng put together a video to promote his product on the Chinese video-sharing and streaming app Kuaishou. Holding the cleaver by its wooden handle, he flipped open the cover to reveal the cellphone nestled inside, held it up to his ear then slid it into his pocket  all set to a song about a legendary ancient hero and his green dragon crescent blade.

Unlike Gengs first invention, an automatic pancake press, the cleaver cellphone case went viral in two days.

But not in the way he had hoped.

Geng Shuai works on a cellphone case made from a meat cleaver in his workshop. (Gaochao Zhang / For The Times)

Where he saw a bold design and an adventurous statement, Chinese netizens saw a hilarious failure. One of them wondered if you needed to buy a new pair of pants every time you tried to pocket the case. Another wondered how you avoided cutting off your ear. Better not try to fly with it, someone pointed out.

Geng saw the funny side. He also saw an opportunity. Maybe people were not lining up to buy his invention, but they were watching his video  by the millions. And they seemed to appreciate his cleaver design.

So his next design was a cleaver-comb. He blunted the edge of the cleaver, just as he had for the phone case. He livestreamed a video, dragging the metal comb through his lank hair.

Sure enough, money began to trickle in as newfound fans clicked on a button during his livestreams to send him virtual gifts in appreciation of his inventions. Then the money started to pour in.

Geng, 30, wears a ponytail and looms tall, with broad shoulders and a working mans hands evidenced by the layer of black under each nail. But his smile, naive and hopeful, could belong to a small boy.

He grew up in a small village outside Beijing. At the main crossroads, papers litter the road and one of Chinas ubiquitous scratchy speakers blares out a promotion for cheap mandarin oranges being sold from the back of a truck. An elderly man, face as wrinkled as a walnut, putters by on a three-wheeler.

Geng nearly let his dreams die here.

Geng Shuai with his Captain America theme screen. The shield is made from a huge Chinese wok. (Gaochao Zhang / For The Times)

The son of a welder, he started cutting knives and guns from steel plate at age 7 using his fathers tools. He did well at school but found it a little narrow, convinced the wide world offered a better place to learn and create things. So he quit school after 9th grade and followed his father into a welding job  only to discover that it was narrow and repetitive too. He worked all day, rarely able to make things after work because the lights at the welding shop were switched off and the door was locked.

By 25, he was married with a child, and his life was beginning to look to him like a black tunnel leading nowhere great.

But the exhilaration of inventing his pancake press inspired him.

I felt ecstatic because we are in a rural area and people have the stereotype that were just farmers, were country people and we dont have the ability to make anything from scratch. People, especially your neighbors, think you are just an ordinary country guy who could never invent anything. His family still uses the pancake press. Well, occasionally.

At almost 30, with a wife and two children to support, he quit his day job this year. His mother was appalled.

She said, You are not so young. Youre turning 30. You should not do that because theres no future in it and its risky. You should find a stable job in a company and support the family.

She was right about the risk.

I want to do something I have a passion to do. Thats what will drive me to work harder, he says. He churned out a series of sculptures made entirely of welded-together nuts. Sales were disappointing.

Once he started to gain online followers, he was deluged with messages asking why his products cost so much, in a nation where cheap high-volume production is king.

Every single product took a long time to make because it was handmade, he says. Hardly anyone who inquired went on to buy.

I dont think Im very good at sales tactics, he acknowledges. He preferred dreaming up new creations.

But his videos grew more and more popular. The cleaver cellphone cover has been seen 24 million times, the comb video 8 million. Fans begged him never to make anything useful. One sent him a prestigious new-release cellphone, so that he could stream higher-quality videos.

What I wanted to do at the very beginning was to sell inventions and bring convenience to peoples lives. But now I realize that people really like the way I present my inventions. And I also realize that this way, I get to do something new all the time.

If sales of one of his products had taken off  say the cleaver cellphone cover selling for about $100  he would probably have been stuck churning out thousands of them, day after day. But making a living by livestreaming has given him the freedom to hop from one wild idea to the next, without having to worry about whether it might sell  or might be practical.

In fact, the wilder and more impractical, the more his fans cheer him on with their gifts. He is living in a mad inventors fantasy land  and getting paid to do it.

In one video he dramatically flicked open a fan made of four cleavers; that got 5 million views. There was his happy chair  an uncomfortable metal frame with restraining straps and four robotic hands to tickle the soles of feet and underarms (14 million views). There was the earthquake-proof noodle bowl, allowing the table to jerk around, while the noodles remain steady enough to eat (20 million views). There was the heavy metal man-bag  an accessory in the shape of a mallet weighing several pounds  in which he stuffs a cellphone, a wallet and a roll of toilet paper (15 million views). There was a motorized wheelbarrow  comprising a motorbike welded onto a wheelbarrow. This thing has a really bad temper, he says (8 million views).

Theres his clunky shoe that converts into a stool (6 million views). A bath sword with a shampoo compartment and scrubber (14 million). And a battery-operated umbrella with a spinning canopy designed to flick the raindrops away. There is his zipper alarm, to avoid embarrassing wardrobe malfunctions.

His workshop is a little too neat for the average man cave, wall shelves stacked neatly with rows of nuts in jars arranged by size and shape, like candies kept out of reach of the children.

Some of Geng Shuais creations sit on a shelf in his workshop in Yang village, China. (Gaochao Zhang / For The Times)

For months, his parents were bemused as to how his impractical inventions were bringing in almost twice what he made as a welder. But in March, his brother, Geng Da, 27, joined the operation; last month, his father, Wen Jun, 55, joined in too.

When he first created his cellphone cover, Geng applied for a patent only to be advised that his sales (about 20 so far) did not warrant a patent.

But you never know when your product will go viral, he says. A major online sales platform recently approached Geng with a product placement contract for his videos. And Kuaishou invited him to Beijing for a branding exercise and a string of interviews with Chinese media.

Now that he is bringing in a regular income, his mother accepts that this strange occupation might be a real job.

But it took a while. Maybe she was worried that the neighbors would see it as an unprofessional job for someone who doesnt take life seriously.

His father, on a low wooden stool, carefully creates an array of components for the cleaver cellphone cover, the shriek of his angle-grinder rending the village air. He does not say much, but exudes an air of pride when asked about his sons enterprise.

I know my son has a really individual, original mind, he says quietly.

As for Geng, he is happier than he has ever been.

I never thought I could go this far. I feel this helped me to realize my dreams. I can try new things and be as creative and inventive as I want to be.

Gaochao Zhang in The Times Beijing bureau contributed to this report.

robyn.dixon@latimes.com

Twitter: @RobynDixon_LAT
Syrian state media said the countrys air defense systems had deterred a major bombardment of military bases in the south of the country late Thursday, and suspicion immediately fell on Israel, which has attacked military targets there before.

Citing military sources, Syrian television said its air force had successfully repelled enemy targets, but did not specifically identify the enemy or the targets. The Saudi-owned TV network Al Arabiya reported that Israeli planes had attacked positions held by Iranian militias near the town of Kiswah, south of the capital, Damascus.

The Israeli army did not claim responsibility for the bombardment and declined to comment on the report. It did say that a missile was launched from Syria toward the Israeli-held Golan Heights, but that it did not know if the missile had landed in Israel.

During a Syrian surface-to-air missile launching, one launch was identified towards an open area in the Golan Heights. At this point, it remains unclear if the launch indeed landed in Israeli territory. IDF troops are searching the area.  Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) November 29, 2018

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A reporter with state-run Syrian Arab News Agency said that air defense systems had been able to stop all incoming missiles and that none had reached their targets. An earlier report said Syrian air defenses had shot down unspecified targets over Kiswah.

Images posted online by individual Syrians showed a heavy bombardment and the contrails of antiaircraft missiles against the night sky.

BREAKING: #Israel tried to attack #Syria but failed to get past the S300 air defence system!https://t.co/YQ8ykZqfe2  Partisangirl  (@Partisangirl) November 29, 2018

The Israeli army said reports that its aircraft had been hit were false.

Syrian opposition forces reported that the bombing was taking place close to an area where the Iranian-backed Lebanese militia Hezbollah has a growing military presence that has deeply concerned Israel, which shares tense borders with Lebanon and Syria.

Iran and Russia are the principal allies of Syrian President Bashar Assad, whose government has been fighting a civil war for nearly eight years.

Iran sponsors and trains several militias that support Syrias military effort and Israel fears Tehran is using the cover of war as a pretext to establish permanent military bases at short distances from Israels border.

Hezbollah, a regional powerhouse, has won significant victories over insurgent groups that held the border area, expelling them and allowing Iran to expand its positions in southern Syria into established military bases.

The latest outbreak occurred hours after flight tracking services indicated that an Iranian cargo jet had landed in the Lebanese capital, Beirut.

Tehran >> Beirut: Iranian Cargo 747

EP-FAB / Fars Air Qeshm / QFZ9964

Usually to Damascus - last Beirut visit was oct16 pic.twitter.com/8mkkURa7MZ  avi scharf (@avischarf) November 29, 2018

It is the first known Israeli military engagement in Syria since the downing of a Russian intelligence-gathering jet on Sept. 16, when Syrias aerial defense system mistakenly targeted the plane after an attack by the Israeli air force near the Syrian city of Latakia.

In a radio interview earlier Thursday, reserve Maj. Gen. Amos Yadlin, a former head of military intelligence, said that Israeli airstrikes in Syria, a regular if infrequent occurrence since the start of the Syrian civil war, have been reduced almost to zero since the Russian plane was downed.

Yadlin, the head of the Institute for National Security Studies in Tel Aviv, said he believed Russian anger over the jets loss had been directed not only at Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, whom Russian President Vladimir Putin has refused to meet since, but also at Iran, which was disrupting Russias attempts to stabilize Syria by developing precision missile-building facilities.

One result, he said, was that Iran was changing tactics and was transferring some weapons-building capabilities from Syria to Iraq and Lebanon.

Tarnopolsky is a special correspondent. Times staff writer Nabih Bulos in Beirut contributed to this report.
Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko announced Friday that Ukraine would bar Russian men from entering the country as part of a 30-day martial law imposed this week amid escalating tensions between Russia and Ukraine.

Poroshenko said the ban on Russian males ages 16 to 60 would prevent the creation of private armies that could be coordinated by Russian armed forces inside Ukrainian territory, something Kiev accused Moscow of doing during the lead-up to the annexation of Crimea in 2014 as well as in the eastern regions of Ukraine, where an armed conflict with Moscow-backed militias has killed more than 10,300.

We will not let the Russians carry out operations they have been planning as far back as 2014, Poroshenko said on Twitter. Shortly after the announcement on Friday, Ukrainian media reported that nearly all Russian citizens  male and female  were being denied entry to Ukraine. The Ukrainian government also announced travel restrictions to Crimea and any territory controlled by Russian-backed separatists.

The ban offered some clarity on what has been a confusing three days since Ukraine went under martial law. Ukraines parliament approved Poroshenkos call to impose martial law in response to Russias attack on three Ukrainian naval vessels near the Kerch Strait on Sunday. Russia detained 24 crew members from the ships and charged them with illegally crossing the border.

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While martial law began Wednesday across 10 regions, it has so far been uncoordinated, leaving many wondering how the measure will prepare the country for a potential Russian attack.

Russian President Vladimir Putin dismissed the call for martial law as a provocation meant to boost Poroshenkos slumping approval ratings ahead of the presidential election in March.

Meanwhile, Poroshenko has faced criticism at home as well, with many saying that martial law was declared as a political stunt rather than an act to defend the country.

Poroshenko has defended himself during a media blitz this week, which has included appearances on CNN and NBC, in which he warned that Ukraine is under threat of a full-scale war with the Russian Federation and that the conflict risks spreading to previously unaffected areas such as Kharkiv, Ukraines second largest city, about 40 miles from the Russian border.

Poroshenko claims he has evidence that Russian forces along Ukraines borders have quadrupled and martial law is essential to preparing the country in the wake of the Kerch Strait incident.

We hope that states within NATO are now willing to deploy naval vessels to the Sea of Azov, Poroshenko told the German Bild newspaper Wednesday. The same day he helicoptered to an army training facility near Ukraines northern border with Russia to inspect preparations.

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization so far has not announced any plans to move naval vessels into the Sea of Azov, which is jointly controlled by Ukraine and Russia. All allies expressed full support for Ukraines territorial integrity and sovereignty, NATO head Jens Stoltenberg said. Any plans for additional support for Ukraine will be discussed next week at a meeting of NATO foreign ministers.

Though western countries have expressed concern with the escalating tensions between Ukraine and Russia, few have offered concrete support. We can only resolve this in talks with one another because there is no military solution to all of these conflicts, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Thursday.

Many details of the martial law order have been left to regional officials to interpret for themselves. Some officials have stated that martial law bans any kind of protest from taking place, while others have debated whether it would allow firework sales ahead of the New Years holiday.

They dont even know what to do with [martial law], said Dmytro Bulakh, a Kharkiv region deputy and anti-corruption activist. I think martial law needed to be put in force in 2014. That was real war.

But some believe instituting martial law is meant to grab the attention of Ukraines western partners and convince them of the seriousness of the situation when Ukraine has increasingly few options. Ukraine lost most of its naval capabilities when Russian annexed Crimea in 2014.

Martial law is mostly being used as a tool to pressure for more support from the international community, said Yulia Yesmukhanova, a Ukrainian political analyst and independent consultant on governance projects. Poroshenko is using the tools he has, even if they arent effective.

Russia has been more decisive, declaring it will move new S-400 surface-to-air missile batteries to Crimea in response to the Kerch Strait incident. On Friday, a Russian court in Crimea ordered the 24 captured Ukrainian troops to be held in custody for two months pending possible trial.

UPDATES:

11:10 a.m.: This article was updated with Los Angeles Times reporting.

This article was originally published at 1:20 a.m.
Mexico will embark on an era of high expectations and profound uncertainty Saturday under the leadership of one of the countrys most enigmatic political figures  Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador.

Lopez Obrador, who rode populist rhetoric and a vow of a national transformation to a landslide election in Julys balloting, is set to begin a six-year term as Mexicos 57th president.

The inauguration will mark the stunning revival of a twice-defeated presidential aspirant who ran under the leftist banner of his own party  and who represents a stark departure from Mexicos recent run of mostly drab, technocratic leaders.

I am not going to be a flower pot, Im not an adornment, the silver-haired president-elect, who turned 65 this month, warned in a recent YouTube message. I have a mandate.  The Mexican people want an end to corruption and impunity.

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Despite his overwhelming electoral victory, Lopez Obrador remains a divisive figure: His supporters laud him as a kind of savior for a Mexico gone terribly awry, while his critics fear the return of an old-style Latin American caudillo, or strongman, poised to turn back Mexicos slow march toward democracy.

The inaugural guest list includes an eclectic array of world leaders, among them U.S. Vice President Mike Pence and a pair of Washingtons key adversaries  the socialist presidents of Venezuela and Cuba, recently dubbed, along with Nicaragua, Latin Americas troika of tyranny by John Bolton, the U.S. national security advisor.

Lopez Obradors ascendance has buoyed hopes of an improved economic and security panorama for many Mexicans, despite doubts among some about his ability to govern after years as a noisy dissident denouncing the mafia of power  his depiction of Mexicos long-entrenched ruling classes.

His campaign vows to fight corruption and shrink poverty resonated deeply in a period of desultory economic growth, rising crime and seemingly unchecked official graft.

More than 4 of 10 Mexicans, in excess of 53 million people, still live in poverty, while the country is on pace to exceed last years record of more than 31,000 homicides, and a string of former governors is facing corruption charges. Public outrage with corruption during the administration of outgoing President Enrique Pena Nieto helped fuel Lopez Obradors electoral victory.

Lopez Obrador, with scant experience in foreign affairs, faces an immediate potential clash with Mexicos northern neighbor. President Trump has vowed to shut the border in response to the looming presence in the border city of Tijuana of thousands of bedraggled Central Americans from migrant caravans, most seeking to enter the United States.

A sign of cooperation between the two countries occurred on the sidelines of the G-20 summit in Buenos Aires on Friday, when the United States, Mexico and Canada signed an accord revising the North American Free Trade Agreement  which Trump had long threatened to cancel, leading to months of acrimonious negotiations.

The agreement, which still requires approval by Congress as well as lawmakers in Mexico and Canada, spares Mexicos new leadership a battle with the Trump administration on trade.

As a presidential candidate, Lopez Obrador condemned Trumps neo-fascist campaign of hate after his incendiary characterizations of Mexican immigrants as criminals and rapists. But, as president-elect, Lopez Obrador has sought to avoid antagonizing Trump.

The two populist leaders from opposite ends of the political spectrum appear to have developed a cordial relationship, exchanging friendly telephone calls as their representatives have met in Mexico City.

Upon donning the tricolor presidential sash, Lopez Obrador said he plans to deliver an address Saturday afternoon from a balcony of the National Palace to people gathered in Mexico Citys central square, or zocalo, where a cultural festival is planned.

Its going to be a party, said the man known as Amlo, a nickname based on his initials. Its not a change of government, its a change of regime. It begins a new era.

Dismissed as a sore loser and gadfly after crushing defeats in Mexicos two previous presidential contests, the resolute shopkeepers son from steamy southern Tabasco state retained faith in his ability to mount a comeback.

Lopez Obrador has already backtracked on some key issues  conceding, for instance, the need to keep the military in the streets to combat rising cartel violence, an acknowledgement that Mexican police are not prepared to handle the challenge from organized crime. Lopez Obrador unveiled a 50-point plan that would, among other measures, increase prosecutions of graft cases, criminalize influence-peddling and even expose the president to criminal prosecution for corruption.

Lopez Obradors almost evangelical belief in his own transformative capabilities led Enrique Krauze, the Mexican historian, to label him in 2006 as the Tropical Messiah, a moniker that has stuck.

I will not fail you, Lopez Obrador told ecstatic crowds gathered in the zocalo on the night of his election. I want to pass into history as a good president of Mexico.

Lopez Obrador, the first avowed leftist to assume Mexicos presidency in recent history, repeatedly pledged to use his position to eradicate Mexicos seemingly intractable inequities.

For the good of all, the poor first, he declared in the zocalo.

Lopez Obrador regularly mocks his detractors as fifi, or snobs.

He will assume power amid considerable ambiguity about how he plans to accomplish  and fund  his sweeping agenda. His campaign promises include cash grants and free university educations for the young, enhanced pensions for the elderly and disabled, stable gasoline prices and reduced violence. The money, he says, will come from savings achieved in reducing corruption and running a more austere government, cutting official salaries and pensions and doing away with sundry perks, including the presidential aircraft and bodyguards.

Many are skeptical.

Some people think that starting tomorrow, the prices of gas, electricity and gasoline will go down  but that cant be, Jose Guadalupe Rios, 55, owner of a small grocery store and a Lopez Obrador supporter, said Friday in southern Mexico City. Amlo doesnt have a magic wand to change everything from one day to the next  besides, he cant end corruption in a day.

Following the election, Lopez Obrador toned down his often-combative rhetoric and called for reconciliation, reaching out in particular to critics in the business sector.

Those reassurances helped ease doubts among Mexicos business elite. Some on the right have long charged that Lopez Obrador, if elected president, would morph into a kind of Mexican Hugo Chavez  the late Venezuelan leftist firebrand chief of state.

But much of business conditional support for Lopez Obrador withered with his decision in October to scrap a partially built, $13-billion airport project for Mexico City, an announcement that sent the markets and the peso plummeting. The move  after a special election that critics called rigged and involved only about 1% of registered voters  would discourage investors, business leaders said.

This week, Mexicos Central Bank warned in a quarterly report against public policies that create worry in markets and a loss of confidence in Mexico as a destination for investment. The Banco de Mexico did not mention the incoming government in its report, but the statement was widely seen as a cautionary volley in advance of the presidential shift.

While many in the business community remain suspect, there is no doubt that Lopez Obrador enjoys broad public support.

He will assume office with a 66% approval rating, according to a poll this week by El Financiero newspaper. That compares to a 70% disapproval rating for Pena Nieto, whose six-year term is widely viewed as a failure.

Lopez Obrador won 53% of the ballots cast on July 1, defeating his nearest challenger by some 30 percentage points. It was the largest percentage garnered by a Mexican presidential candidate since 1982, in the heyday of the Institutional Revolutionary Party, or PRI, which dominated Mexican politics for much of the 20th century.

Despite his rebel oratory, Lopez Obrador was for years a PRI stalwart, before joining a leftist breakaway current in the late 1980s. He served as mayor of Mexico City from 2000-2005 under the banner of a leftist party from which he subsequently split.

He is the first president in modern Mexican history not associated with a traditional political party, having been elected as the standard-bearer of his own bloc, the National Regeneration Movement, or Morena. Since the elections of July 1, Morena has become the countrys most potent political force, although it was formed only four years ago.

With the opposition deeply fragmented, Lopez Obrador and his allies will control both houses of congress and the mayoralty of Mexico City, the capital, a concentration of power not seen since the days of PRI hegemony. Many Mexicans find that a disquieting prospect.

I think with Lopez Obrador we face a future of fear, said Afredo Lopez Vasquez, 37, an engineer in southern Mexico City. Im worried that he could try to remain eternally in power.

Starting Saturday, many will be watching closely to see how Lopez Obrador transitions from sideline agitator and perennial candidate to the central figure in a vast edifice of power that he has spent years denouncing.

The campaign will be permanent, wrote columnist Jesus Silva-Herzog Marquez in Mexicos Reforma newspaper. Lopez Obrador will not convert subtly to orthodoxy. He will keep viewing politics as an epic combat of symbols and not as an administration of the ordinary.

Cecilia Sanchez of The Times Mexico City bureau contributed to this report.

patrick.mcdonnell@latimes.com

Twitter: @PmcdonnellLAT
Commercial operations of the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market in Mindanao were delayed to middle of next year, according to an official of the Independent Electricity Market Operator of the Philippines. Target [for the start of the operations] is next year, around middle of the year or thereafter, IEMOP president Francis Saturnino Juan said. IEMOP took over the operations of the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market, the countrys trading floor of electricity, from Philippine Electricity Market Corp. in September. Juan said WESM Mindanaos commercial operations were delayed because of the ongoing software audit of the new market system. It will be the one used for WESM Mindanao, he said. Energy Undersecretary Felix William Fuentebella earlier said there were still some technicalities that needed to be resolved. WESM is a centralized venue for buyers and sellers to trade electricity as a commodity where its prices are based on actual use (demand) and availability (supply). WESM began commercial operations in Luzon in June 2006 and in the Visayas in December 2010. It was created under the Electric Power Industry Reform Act of 2001 to reflect the actual cost of electricity and lower power prices through more efficient production and competition. Fuentebella said the New Market Management System for WESM Mindanao remained to be completed.The system that PEMC is auditing to make it five minute intervals is taking longer so they are looking at October to make it online and applicable, he said. Trial operations for the integration of the Mindanao grid to the WESM was launched June last year. The trial operations program signaled the start of implementing test cases of a market-based mechanism for the efficient scheduling, dispatch and settlement of energy withdrawal and injections in the Mindanao grid. Mindanao posted excess generation supply starting 2016 with the entry of 748 megawatts of new generation capacity. This is expected to increase further by 1,260 MW this year. Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi said the establishment of WESM Mindanao signals the start of a competitive electricity market in the region whose costing is very transparent. WESM facilitates a transparent electricity market with which Mindanao power generators will have an avenue to trade un-contracted power supply. WESM will provide consumers more sources of electricity to choose from, increasing their chances of lower-priced energy, he said. WESM Mindanao will enable a transparent and fair mechanism to bring in more competition, more investors and a sustainable business climate that will eventually redound to empowering consumers from Mindanao of their power of choice, said Cusi.
Minister of Education Tarek Shawki has issued decrees amending the examination schedule for all students to avoid Coptic feasts, reducing future exam times for grade 10 students from two to three hours to 40 to100 minutes, and temporarily suspending the use of tablets in exams.

Shawki said that the 600,000 students in grade 10 in 2,500 schools nationwide still need time to be trained in using the tablets and so will sit first term exams using the old method. Tablet-based exams will be introduced in the second term.

Shawki also cancelled monthly exams for grade 10 students until they have all received tablets.

We must prevent teachers from exploiting students by pressuring them to take private lessons, said Shawki. He added that when students receive their tablets all exams will be graded by computer and teachers will not be able to interfere.

The new education system comes into force this year for kindergarten, grade one and grade 10 students, and will be gradually rolled out until it covers all schools.

Next academic year the new system will be applied in grade 11. The system will be applied to preparatory stage pupils only after it has been rolled out to cover all secondary stage students, said Ministry of Education Spokesman Ahmed Saber.

The Education Ministry plans to distribute 708,000 tablets among grade 10  or first secondary  students. The ministry has already received 55 per cent of the tablets.

As soon as the rest arrive they will be distributed among students and teachers. The ministry expects all tablets to be allocated by the end of December, said Saber.

The shorter exams, reduced from up to three hours to between 40 to 100 minutes, will not apply to current end-of-term papers, says Reda Hegazi, head of the General Education Sector at the Ministry of Education.

This year the duration will be as usual since students are yet to be trained in using the tablets and need to be familiarised with the new type of exam questions, said Hegazi.

The exam schedule has been also amended so as not to include more than one subject a day.

There will be a reasonable space between exams so as to avoid Coptic feasts and to provide students with time for revision, said Hegazi.

The new education system is based on digital learning and eliminates testing based on memory.

Students will be trained to use their tablets to log onto educational websites, among them the Bank of Knowledge, York Press and Encyclopaedia Britannica.

Tests will be sent to students tablets, and will be answered and marked electronically.

Students will be required to complete 12 exams in each subject during their three secondary school years. The highest six grades will be used to calculate a students final grade.

In April Egypt received a $500 million loan from the World Bank earmarked for teacher training and upgrading the educational system.

*A version of this article appears in print in the 29 November, 2018 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly under the headline: No tablets in exams

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Global Economic Perceptions Are Shifting Imnplications for Stock Market

Our researchers spent a good portion of the holiday weekend researching a continued capital shift that is taking place in the US equities markets and throughout the global market. Over the past 20+ months, a massive capital shift has taken place where investment capital fled weaker global economies and rushed into the US stock market because of a tremendous value opportunity that existed at that time. Technology, Biotech and many others equity sectors were skyrocketing  in some cases 2~3% a month. This ROI, along with the benefit of a stronger US Dollar, created a very unique environment where foreign capital could rush into the US markets, land pretty much anywhere and become relatively safe from foreign risks/devaluation.

Yet, over the past 45+ days, the US equity markets have declined dramatically and our researchers wanted to investigate if this capital shift dynamic had abated or ended recently. This could be a very important question for investors to understand because the most to safety for capital is one of the most critical functions of capital preservation.

Capital operates under the premise that certain risks will be allowed as long as ROI is sufficient to offset those risks. Capital tends to move away from hostile environments and towards environments that are stable and capable of generating returns with limited risks. The only time capital rushes towards high-risk returns is when managers become greedy with their clients money. Yes, these types of returns can be tremendous when there is little risk, but these high-risk returns often result in unknowns that can be catastrophic for investors (think Greece or Puerto Rico). Overall, far greater capital is deployed in more traditional investment sources that are lower risk and produce lower ROI as a means of supporting long term objectives.

The question before our research team is has the capital shift that we believe has taken place over the past 18+ months changed direction or changed focus and how can we profit from this dynamic? It is our believe that capital is still searching for the safest and most capable ROI on the planet in comparison to global economic and currency risks. Has the economic environment changed so much that capital is now searching for new sources of safety and return?

Our researchers focused on four key aspects of the global economy in an attempt to answer these questions :

_ China/Asia Future Economic Expectations/Realities

_ Europe/EU Future Economic Expectations/Realities

_ Arab/Russia Future Economic Expectations/Realities

_ US/North America Future Economic Expectations/Realities

By focusing on these different regions of economic power and capital, we believe we can attempt to develop a better understanding of where capital will find suitable investment environments and stability over the next 12 to 18+ months and better understand how capital will be deployed in the future.

The new cycle is full of concerning headlines from all over the planet. Russia and Ukraine appear to be headed into a conflict. Turkey and Saudi Arabia have already entered a war (of sorts) over the Jamal Khashoggi murder with could conflate into broader issues for Iran, Syria, Russia, the US, and many other nations. China is experiencing an economic slowdown that could result in a populous uprising if conditions dont improve soon  as we are starting to see in Hong Kong. Regions of Europe are already cracking under a severe banking/credit risk scenario with little to no hope of support from the EU. And thousands of migrants are rushing the US border attempting to flood into the US illegally as they feel it is their right to invade a nation that is offering entitlements to all invaders. If we step back and really consider all of this, the world certainly appears to be unraveling before our very eyes. The fabric of society that was in place 20+ years ago seems to be tearing apart more and more each second.

As long as the US Dollar continues to strengthen above $92 and Gold/Silver continue to form a deep price base (as we recently suggested here: https://www.thetechnicaltraders.com/metals-moving-in-unison-for-a-massive-price-advance-part-ii/) we believe the US equity markets will quickly find support near current lows and attempt a new price rally that should push prices back towards new price highs before the end of January 2019. Take a look at this Weekly chart of our Custom US Equity Market Composite Index.

Although the recent price decline has been dramatic and concerning, the reality of this price correction is that it has dropped to the middle level of longer-term support originating from the 2012 to 2016 price range. When we take a very long-term view of the markets, the middle (green area) of price rotation has continued to act as resistance and support for price over the past 2~3 years. In 2015~2017, this area acted as resistance. In late 2017 and early 2018, the US equity markets began a dramatic acceleration that resulted in this same area becoming support for the price (seen in Feb 2018). Overall, this recent price decline is likely a result of the US Fed prompting longer-term concerns and the US elections prompting some levels of uncertainty in the markets.

How will investors digest the remaining 30+ trading days for 2018 and early 2019 in light of this retracement and new price valuation? Will these price levels be viewed as advantageous buy levels of will further pricing concerns prevent investors from pulling the trigger? Well continue our research and attempt to more clearly illustrate our findings in the next part of this multi-part research article. Right now, think about how the global markets are set for the next 30~90 days of trading action and think about what you believe will be the likely outcome of the new year (the end of the Christmas season, the start of a new year and the continued shifting global economic headlines).

We believe 2019 and 2020 will be incredible years for skilled traders with big price swings and fantastic opportunities for traders. Please take a minute to visit www.TheTechnicalTraders.com to learn about our research team and how we can assist you in finding great trades. We have been calling these market moves with incredible accuracy over the past 18+ months because of our proprietary research tools and skilled researchers. Try our services and see for yourself how we can help you become a better trader. Stay Tuned for Part II

Chris Vermeulen

www.TheTechnicalTraders.com

Chris Vermeulen has been involved in the markets since 1997 and is the founder of Technical Traders Ltd. He is an internationally recognized technical analyst, trader, and is the author of the book: 7 Steps to Win With Logic



Through years of research, trading and helping individual traders around the world. He learned that many traders have great trading ideas, but they lack one thing, they struggle to execute trades in a systematic way for consistent results. Chris helps educate traders with a three-hour video course that can change your trading results for the better.



His mission is to help his clients boost their trading performance while reducing market exposure and portfolio volatility.



He is a regular speaker on HoweStreet.com, and the FinancialSurvivorNetwork radio shows. Chris was also featured on the cover of AmalgaTrader Magazine, and contributes articles to several leading financial hubs like MarketOracle.co.uk

Disclaimer: Nothing in this report should be construed as a solicitation to buy or sell any securities mentioned. Technical Traders Ltd., its owners and the author of this report are not registered broker-dealers or financial advisors. Before investing in any securities, you should consult with your financial advisor and a registered broker-dealer. Never make an investment based solely on what you read in an online or printed report, including this report, especially if the investment involves a small, thinly-traded company that isnt well known. Technical Traders Ltd. and the author of this report has been paid by Cardiff Energy Corp. In addition, the author owns shares of Cardiff Energy Corp. and would also benefit from volume and price appreciation of its stock. The information provided here within should not be construed as a financial analysis but rather as an advertisement. The authors views and opinions regarding the companies featured in reports are his own views and are based on information that he has researched independently and has received, which the author assumes to be reliable. Technical Traders Ltd. and the author of this report do not guarantee the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of any content of this report, nor its fitness for any particular purpose. Lastly, the author does not guarantee that any of the companies mentioned in the reports will perform as expected, and any comparisons made to other companies may not be valid or come into effect.

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In France, hundreds of thousands of people have participated since mid-November in the yellow vests movement to protest against the rise in fuel taxes and, in general, against the ever-increasing cost of living. This movement is the inevitable result of a palpable economic crisis, and the brutal austerity imposed by the current government.

Between cuts to social services, tax increases and other austerity measures, the yellow vests testify to the suffocation of the French population given stagnant wages and the continual rise of living costs.

Reunion: a movement that looks like a revolution

On Reunion Island, the French overseas department, the movement of the yellow vests is especially large and radical, so much so that the government has imposed a curfew. Since the beginning of the movement, the island has been completely blocked; the roads and the harbour are barred, the schools and administrations are closed; the hospitals have been slowed down; and while some businesses are open in the morning, many have been closed altogether.

Strong bonds of solidarity have been established among the demonstrators. Barricades are regularly maintained and protected and the movement is supported by a good part of the population. Thanks to social networking services, the protesters are able to assemble quickly and their roadblocks are very mobile.

This is the greatest crisis that the island has experienced since the 1990s. So far, the demands of the movement are numerous, and no clear direction has yet been established. Reunionese are waiting for recognition of their grievances by the government, but for now, the state has only responded by sending in the police.

The yellow vests must put on their agenda the overthrow of Macron's government / Image: Flickr, Erder Wanderer

The fact that the yellow vests movement has found a greater echo among Reunion workers is not surprising. For several years now, the inhabitants of Reunion Island, although French, suffer much more acutely than their compatriots on the mainland. In Reunion, everything is 30 to 50 percent more expensive, partly because all products are imported. This is not to mention the fact that 40 percent of the population lives below the poverty line and one-third of the working population is unemployed. For the youth, the unemployment rate is 56 percent. The Reunionese have the understandable impression that they are second-class citizens. Their island is mainly governed by metropolitans from the mainland, while the Reunionese themselves face mass unemployment. More than anything, they feel abandoned by the government. The fuel tax hike was a spark that ignited a long-simmering crisis.

In response to the movement, the Minister of Overseas France, Annick Girardin, visited the island on 28 November. She promised that the price of fuel would drop immediately and talked about making "other announcements" regarding the cost of living. The yellow vests promised the minister a big welcome. They swore that 300 barricades would be erected, saying "No cars will pass". An appeal was launched on social networks to show this to the minister.

Given the power of the Reunion movement, the Macron government may be forced to make concessions. But it will soon resume its offensive against the workers and the poor, and the Reunionese, already some of the most affected by the crisis of capitalism, will be among the first victims.

The actions of the yellow vests in Reunion shows the way to follow for their comrades in mainland France. The whole movement must now put on its agenda the demand for the overthrow of the Macron government. This will only succeed if the movement on the mainland is as powerful as that on Reunion.

Macrons empty promises

Macron gave a speech at the Elysee on Tuesday morning that was one, long provocation. The yellow vest protestors are demanding, at a minimum, immediate measures against the high cost of living today. However, the president mainly talked about the situation that will face the world by 2050. Despite speaking of the need for the government to change [its] method, not a single concrete measure was announced. His promise to review gas taxes every three months was nothing but a vague proposal, offered without explanation or a timescale.

In terms of immediate measures, he promised "consultations" that will be organised in the coming months. Of course, nothing positive can come from these, but that is not the goal. The hope was that by merely announcing consultations, the government could demobilise the yellow vests. Macron was saying: why bother mobilising, when weve already promised to talk?

However, there is too much anger and exasperation in French society for this movement to be content with vague promises, delivered in a patronising tone. The fight will continue on Saturday, with an important step forward: the simultaneous mobilisation in the streets of the yellow vests and the CGT (among others). In several cities, joint demonstrations and marches have been announced. Ideally, this should be the case everywhere, under common slogans: against the taxation of the poor, against austerity policies, and so on.

The role of the unions

Why is the government not giving in? Because Macron fears, quite rightly, that any concession will encourage the struggle of the masses, which will lead workers to say to themselves: "to get something, you have to act like the yellow vests! But on the other hand, by refusing to give any ground, the government runs the risk of enraging and radicalising the movement.

Experience shows that a government is confronted with this conundrum when the exasperation of the masses and their fighting spirit have reached such a fever pitch that they are on the threshold of a powerful social explosion. Certainly, no one can say if this explosion  or rather, a second explosion (the yellow vest movement is already explosive)  will actually take place. But the conditions are ripe. And now, the ball is in the camp of the labour movement: the unions first, but also parties of the left. They must intervene in this movement, support it and, above all, rely on its momentum to build a general offensive against the Macron government.

Left to itself, the yellow vests may run out of energy and disperse in the long run. The government will probably not yield to the strategy of blockading roads, businesses and institutions. The government will "unblock" them, one by one, and will count on the movement to become fatigued. This is why the movement must increase in strength, and cross a decisive threshold. The strategy of blockages must transform into a vast movement of strikes. This is the route to victory. But in the immediate future, the yellow vests cannot organise these strikes themselves. This is the role, first and foremost, of the workers organisations. They must throw all their strength into this battle  not in three months, but now.

Embed from Getty Images

Instead, union leaders have distanced themselves from the yellow vests and even attacked them (Laurent Berger, CFDT, has been the most virulent). Fortunately, the unions rank and file have reacted differently, especially in the CGT, where the position of the leadership is highly contested from below. And for good reason: it is scandalous. Philippe Martinez (general secretary of the CGT) initially refused to support the yellow vests action on 17 November, under the pretext of refusing "to march with the National Front" (whose organised presence was marginal). Then, he called for union members not to participate in the demonstrations of 24 November. Instead, the CGT called for demonstrations on 1 December. Finally, he still does not clearly support the cancellation of fuel tax increases. Instead, he prefers to ask for a salary increase  as if these two demands were contradictory!

While Martinez piled up excuses to stay away from yellow vests, the CGT's rank-and-file activists intervened in the movement, or at least expressed their support. Such examples of solidarity must increase. Wherever possible, the CGT activists must advise the yellow vests to organise general assemblies, where the question of strikes can be raised. The movement of the yellow vests can play an important role in organising a large movement of strikes. It will not be difficult to connect the two, because many yellow vests are workers. If they are won over to this strategy, they will become excellent advocates for this cause in their workplaces. It is necessary to rely on the extraordinary combativity this movement has aroused.

General assemblies will also make the movement more democratic and more effective. The designation of eight spokespersons (by what mechanism and by whom, it is unclear) has put this issue at the centre of discussions. Democratic control of the grassroots movement is needed, with elected and recallable delegates at the local and then the national level. This would also displace the extreme, right-wing activists who seek to thrive on the current confusion. A clear, anti-capitalist stance will be much more appealing to the majority of yellow vests than the nationalist demagogy of the far right.

"Apolitical"?

Some will say, "No! The movement of yellow vests is apolitical and must remain so. The same people often object to the involvement of the unions. We must not give in to this call, which always favours the most right-wing elements. The yellow vests reject the current political system (rightly so), and are wary of both political and union leaders (again, rightly so). But their movement is not at all "apolitical". Some of their emerging demands  such as the dissolution of the National Assembly  are not only highly political but also very radical. And they need to find a clear expression in the left and the trade union movement.

Despite some claims, the movement is not at all "apolitical", some of its demands are not only political but also very radical. And they need to find a clear expression in the left and the trade unions / Image: Flickr, Erder Wanderer

The CGT and France Insoumise, in particular, must explain that we will not be able to overthrow the government without a strong movement of renewable strikes, because blockages and demonstrations will not be enough. At the same time, they must present a programme of breaking with the capitalist system, whose crisis is the fundamental cause of the high cost of living and all the masses suffering. Not to intervene politically in this movement would be to abandon the terrain to the right and the extreme right. We must not allow this.
Cooks appearance didnt strike me as noteworthy because of anything he said or did while in Idaho, but rather because of what was transpiring outside the school during his visit. Apples 2016 donation was spread across 114 schools in 29 states, the Idaho Statesman reported, focusing on "districts where the low-income student population is at least 96 percent." Two years later, Cook was greeted at a recipient Idaho school by crowds of both supporters and protesters, including one who criticized Apples donated iPads as a poor replacement for "real teaching."

Jeremy Horwitz
Egypt's Minister of Military Production Mohamed El-Assar discussed mutual cooperation in defence manufacturing with Saudi Arabian officials in Cairo, the ministry said in a statement on Friday.

El-Assar met with the chair of the kingdom's state-owned Military Industries Corporation, Mohammed bin Hamad Al-Mady, who is leading a delegation to Cairo in the run-up to Egypt's first military and defence industries expo, EDEX 2018.

During the talks on Thursday, the officials discussed ways to boost cooperation and improve exchange of technology and experience in the defence industry.

The two sides emphasised the need for strengthening coordination in defence manufacturing between all Arab countries, and particularly Egypt and Saudi Arabia.

Saudi Arabia is showcasing its latest defence products in the biggest pavilion at the defence fair, which runs from 3 to 5 December.

El-Assar said in a press conference on Friday that 373 companies from 41 countries are taking part in the exhibition.

The global gathering is expected to draw 10,000 visitors including defence ministers, senior military officials and major defence manufacturers, he added, according to a statement by the military.

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The Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) announces the call for entries for the 2021 COMESA Media Awards. The Award scheme is conducted every year to recognize and reward journalists who have contributed to regional integration by publishing and producing broadcast stories on the subject.

Objective of the Awards

The objective of the Awards is to promote reporting of COMESA regional integration projects hence raising public awareness, understanding and participation and ownership.

The parameters for eligible entries include the following:

1. Relevance: The entry should address economic developmental issues relevant to regional integration such as trade, transport, aviation, energy, transport, ICT, investments, gender, agriculture among etc

2. Regional dimension: The entry should have a regional dimension i.e. applying to or applicable to more than one regional State

3. Knowing COMESA: The entry should demonstrate awareness about COMESA regional integration programmes

Information on COMESA programmes can be obtained from;

Website: http://www.comesa.int/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/comesa_lusaka

In Member States, information can be obtained from Ministries that coordinate COMESA activities nationally. These are mainly ministries responsible for trade/commerce, foreign affairs and/or regional integration. (https://www.comesa.int/members/)

Eligibility

The awards are open for published and broadcasted works in the fields of print, radio, television, and online media. Only journalists who are COMESA nationals are eligible for the competition. The competition is open to individual journalists and not media institutions or organisations;

Submission of entries

The entries shall be works published/broadcast by a recognised media institution between 1st January 2020 and 31 December 2020 in any of the 21 COMESA Member States.

Entry forms are available on the COMESA website: www.comesa.int

Languages

All works entered for the competition shall be in one of the COMESA official languages, namely English, French and Arabic.

Categories

Entries shall consist of the following:

(a) Print Journalism: Features/articles should consist of a minimum 700 words and maximum 1,500 words published in mainstream newspapers, magazines/ journals and newsletters.

(b) Radio Journalism: Documentary or discussion programmes of minimum 5 (five) minutes and maximum 10 (ten) minutes duration and not exceeding 15MB;

(c) Television Journalism: Documentary or discussion programme of minimum 5 (five) minutes and maximum 10 (ten) minutes duration and not exceeding 15MB.

(d) Online/new media: Features/articles of a minimum 700 (seven hundred words) and maximum 1,500 (One thousand five hundred) words published in mainstream newspapers (including online editions), magazines and reputable journals.

Adjudication and awards

Selection of the best works will be done by an adjudication panel identified by COMESA Secretariat from Member States. The winners will get sponsorship to the COMESA Heads of State Summit, a monetary award, a trophy and a certificate.

Respects for Copyrights:

All works submitted must be original and in conformity with copyright requirements.

Deadlines

 Entries submitted are those published or broadcasted between 1st January 2020 and 31 December 2020

 All submissions should reach the COMESA Secretariat by 31 January 2021.

Submission

An online entry form is provided on this link: https://www.comesa.int/comesa-media-awards-2021/

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Les membres du Cabinet ont pris note que le salaire minimum passe a Rs 10200 a partir du mois de janvier 2019, que la hausse de salaire est de Rs 300.00 payable le 31 janvier 2019 entre autres.

1. Cabinet has agreed to the recommendations made by the National Wage Consultative Council in respect of the revised National Minimum Wage to be effective as from

1 January 2020 which are as follows:

(a) a monthly guaranteed income of Rs10,200 for a worker in a Non Export Oriented Enterprise which comprises the national minimum wage of Rs9,700, inclusive of salary compensation for year 2020, and a special allowance of Rs500 payable by Government;

(b) for a Mauritian worker in an Export Oriented Enterprise, the Council has proposed a monthly guaranteed income of Rs10,200 which includes the national minimum wage of Rs9,000, inclusive of salary compensation for year 2020, and a special allowance of Rs860 plus an additional allowance of Rs340 payable by Government; and

(c) for a migrant worker already in employment up to 31 December 2019, the monthly guaranteed income would be Rs9,860 comprising a national minimum wage of Rs9,000, inclusive of salary compensation for the year 2020, and a special allowance of Rs860.

Cabinet has also agreed to a monthly salary compensation of Rs300 being paid to workers earning up to Rs50,000 monthly as from 1 January 2020.

2. Cabinet has taken note that the Prime Minister would chair the High Level Committee on the Elimination of Violence Against Women which would comprise, inter alia:

(a) the Vice-Prime Minister, Minister of Education, Tertiary Education, Science and Technology;

(b) the Minister of Land Transport and Light Rail;

(c) the Minister of Social Integration, Social Security and National Solidarity;

(d) the Minister of Tourism;

(e) the Attorney General, Minister of Agro-Industry and Food Security;

(f) the Minister of Youth Empowerment, Sports and Recreation;

(g) the Minister of Labour, Human Resource Development and Training;

(h) the Minister of Health and Wellness;

(i) the Minister of Gender Equality and Family Welfare;

(j) the Minister of Arts and Cultural Heritage; and

(k) the Minister of Public Service, Administrative and Institutional Reforms.

The mandate of the Committee would be:

(a) to assess the current state of affairs with regard to the elimination of violence against women in terms of legislative framework and its enforcement, policies, procedures and awareness/sensitisation campaigns undertaken; and

(b) to identify problem areas and formulate a new strategy to eliminate violence against women.

3. Cabinet has taken note of the arrangements being made by the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Centre to ensure preparedness in view of the 2019-2020 cyclonic season and torrential rains. In this connection, the Vice-Prime Minister, Minister of Local Government, Disaster and Risk Management chaired a Committee comprising representatives of relevant Ministries and institutions, including local authorities to take stock of the current situation and actions being taken, inter alia, for the cleaning of drains, rivers and water courses.

Cabinet has also taken note that the Emergency Alert App is already operational and alerts people on natural calamities and safety measures to be followed. It allows users to receive timely information and updates generated by the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Centre in case of natural disasters such as cyclones and flash floods.

Cabinet has further taken note that the Ministry of Social Integration, Social Security and National Solidarity has already established the list of evacuee centres for the cyclonic period 2019-2020.

4. Cabinet has agreed to the introduction of the Medical Council (Amendment) Bill into the National Assembly. The object of the Bill is to amend the Medical Council Act to remove the requirement that a person be required to undergo an entry examination before being registered as a pre-registration trainee.

5. Cabinet has agreed to the Rules of Procedure, the Financial Document and the Guiding Principles for Bilateral Co-operation Mechanism under a Memorandum of Understanding signed between the Ministry of Energy and Public Utilities and the Ministry of Environment, Land and Sea of the Republic of Italy in February 2018. The Memorandum of Understanding covers cooperation in the field of renewable energy, construction energy efficiency and climate change. The Ministry of Energy and Public Utilities has identified four projects for funding, namely:

(a) installation of roof top solar panels on 200 houses of low income household;

(b) feasibility study for the development of offshore wind farm;

(c) installation of 100 kW PV system at water treatment plants; and

(d) GIS and remote sensing application for management of water resources.

6. Cabinet has taken note that the Medical Council (Continuing Professional Development) (Amendment) Regulations 2019 would be promulgated. The main amendments in the Regulations are as follows:

(a) a general practitioner or specialist would be excused from attending CPD courses or training programmes if he is:

(i) a newly graduated medical practitioner who is given registration by the Medical Council of Mauritius during the period August to December of that particular year; and

(ii) a registered medical practitioner who has resumed practice after coming back to Mauritius from overseas during the period August to December of that particular year;

(b) medical practitioners who follow online CPD courses or e-training programmes approved by the Medical Council of Mauritius would be able to accumulate one credit point; and

(c) registered medical practitioners attending local/international conference would be allowed to accumulate four credit points per day with a maximum of eight per conference.

7. Cabinet has taken note that the Ministry of Health and Wellness has implemented, at the end of September 2019, a web-based Border Health Control System at the Airport, as part of the overall strategy to improve the process of active surveillance of incoming passengers travelling from countries endemic to vector-borne diseases, to prevent the outbreak of such diseases in the country. Under this system, the officers of the Airport Health Office are now able to concurrently input the information retrieved from the Health Declaration Forms of passengers. coming from various countries. The other Health Offices, the Communicable Diseases Control Unit and the Directorate of Public Health of the Ministry of Health and Wellness are now connected to the new system on real time.

8. Cabinet has taken note of the recommendations of the Conference on Diabetes and Associated Diseases held recently in Mauritius. The main recommendations of the Conference were, inter alia, to:

(a) develop and prepare a National Service Framework for NCDs with a strong focus on diabetes given its multiple NCD linkages, complications and comorbidities such as sleep apnea, depression and cognitive dysfunction;

(b) develop and prepare the National Integrated NCD Action Plan;

(c) carry out the Mauritius and Rodrigues NCD Survey and the Mauritius and Rodrigues Nutrition Survey in 2020;

(d) creation of more Health Clubs throughout the country to promote physical activity and healthy lifestyle; and

(e) develop a Cardiovascular Disease Register.

A Steering Committee chaired by the Director Health Services (Non Communicable Diseases and Health Promotion Unit) would be set up to look into the implementation of the recommendations in close collaboration with the Ministry of Youth Empowerment, Sports and Recreation, the Mauritius Sports Council and other relevant authorities.

9. Cabinet has taken note that the New ENT Hospital would be officially opened to the general public on 2 December 2019.

10. Cabinet has taken note of the progress achieved in the implementation of the National Electronic Licensing System by the Economic Development Board. The key objectives of the National Electronic Licensing System which is co-financed by the European Union are, inter alia, to:

(a) improve the licensing procedures by streamlining the application process and the use of automated workflows;

(b) develop a user-friendly interface for submission of applications 24/7;

(c) provide electronic and online payment facilities;

(d) provide more clarity and certainty to the applicant by introducing an online monitoring and tracking by both applicants and public sector agencies; and

(e) allow data to flow seamlessly among public agencies using the Governments data sharing platform.

11. Cabinet has taken note of the setting up of a multi-stakeholder Steering Committee to recommend and monitor the implementation of appropriate measures for safeguarding the image, visibility, integrity and repute of the Mauritius International Financial Centre.

The Steering Committee would be chaired by the Ministry of Financial Services and Good Governance and comprise officials from the relevant Ministries and institutions.

12. Cabinet has agreed to the contents of the Southern African Community (SADC) Qualifications Alignment Report and its submission to the SADC Technical Committee on Certification and Accreditation. The Mauritius Qualifications Authority (MQA) which has the mandate to develop, implement and maintain the National Qualifications Framework (NQF) of Mauritius, has agreed to align the NQF with the Southern African Development Community Qualifications Framework (SADCQF) with a view to enhancing the recognition and portability of local qualifications with those of SADC and vice-versa. The SADCQF is a reference framework for education and training. It is a regional mechanism for comparability and recognition of full qualifications, credit transfers, creation of regional standards and facilitation of quality assurance in education and training at regional level.

13. Cabinet has taken note that an International Conference on The 2019 Cross Country Perspectives in Finance (CCPF), with special theme sessions in Sustainable Development in Developing Countries, would be held in Mauritius from 30 November to 4 December 2019. The Conference would be co-organised by the Africa Research Center, Southwestern University of Finance and Economics, Asper School of Business, University of Manitoba and the International Center for Sustainable Tourism and Hospitality, University of Mauritius. The aim of the Conference is to thoroughly examine contemporary global health and medical tourism issues, stimulate dialogue, and develop new perspectives in the field within the globalised environment. Around 70 local and foreign participants would attend the Conference.

14 Cabinet has taken note that the Ministry of Environment, Solid Waste Management and Climate Change would organise the Assises de lEnvironnement

on 16 and 17 December 2019. The objectives of the Assises are mainly to ensure a concerted and critical approach in order to address national challenges in the environmental sector and come up with a feasible Master Plan taking into consideration the aspirations of the Mauritian population. Various stakeholders including Ministries, parastatal bodies, the private sector, academia, research institutions, non-governmental organisations and the civil society would be involved in the consultations.

15. Cabinet has taken note of the arrangements being made to ensure availability of livestock and poultry meat for the end of year festivities. No shortage of slaughter cattle, sheep, goat, pork and poultry is expected in December 2019.

16. Cabinet has taken note that in the context of the celebration of Christmas at national level, the following activities would, inter alia, be organised:

(a) the National Christmas Celebrations at the Domaine du Moulin, Goodlands, on

21 December 2019. The programme would include a series of fun activities for children, the Nativity scene, live carols by solo singers and groups, a popular show and a firework display;

(b) a Fun Day for children of the Centres de Lecture et dAnimation Culturelle on

7 December 2019 at the Pointe Canon Open Air Theatre, Mahebourg;

(c) an annual Christmas event by the Nelson Mandela Centre for African Culture on the theme of 200 Voices for Christmas on 14 December 2019; and

(d) the 22nd edition of Songs for the Season by the Conservatoire National de Musique Francois Mitterrand on 14 and 15 December 2019, at the Caudan Arts Centre, Port Louis.

17. Cabinet has taken note of the activities being organised in the context of World AIDS Day, observed on 1 December, namely:

(a) the launching of activities at the Municipal City Council of Port Louis on

29 November 2019, including HIV Testing and Counselling with a view to encourage people to come forward for the HIV test;

(b) sensitisation programmes on TV and Radio as well as in the Prisons Department;

(c) awareness sessions and HIV Rapid Testing in different communities across the island in the Regional AIDS Units; and

(d) an HIV testing day by PILS at Caudan Waterfront in collaboration with other NGOs and the Ministry of Health and Wellness.

The theme for this year is Communities make the difference.

18. Cabinet has taken note that Motorways and Main Roads (Amendment No. 2) Regulations 2019 would be promulgated with a view to classifying the newly constructed Fort William Road as a Main Road B 172. The Regulations would come into operation on

01 December 2019.

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This engagement is very timely, for both the CBC and ICC. The impact of COVID-19 has necessitated a change in trade dynamics, emphasizing the need for greater reliance on business and private sector-led growth.

Through this MOU, CBC becomes the partner, through which we can strengthen the participation of African businesses in multilateral negotiations related to trade, investment and sustainable development, said Mr. Marday Venkatasamy, Chairman of the COMESA Business Council, during the CBC-ICC MOU signing ceremony which took place during the ICC/ World Chambers Federation Action Network Meeting, held on 9th November, 2020.

The event was graced by over 70 business leaders representing business Associations from Africa and the rest of the world, including CBC Board Directors and ICC members. In his remarks, the ICC Secretary General , Mr. John W. H. Denton AO said, There are enormous similarities between the objectives of ICC and those of CBC. The fact that we are now able to come together to work for the advancement of the interests of business in Africa is a fantastic opportunity. We will not let you down. We look forward to working closely with CBC and are greatly honoured by the trust they have shown in ICC by seeking to join forces for the common endeavour to improve the lives and livelihoods of all those who live in Africa.

With the signing of the MOU, the parties will develop an implementation plan on facilitating business partnerships and increasing inter-regional trade; advocacy and strengthening African business participation in multilateral policy; business facilitation measures to advance Sustainable Development Goals. Furthermore, it will address key emerging issues for business, such as digital trade facilitation, SMEs sustainability, and other strategies to facilitate movement of goods and services particularly within the COVID-19 pandemic period.

During the event, a high-level panel of business leaders from the CBC and ICC engaged on strengthening partnerships for business in international markets and COMESA. The panel was moderated by Mr. Southworth, Secretary General, ICC- United Kingdom. The key discussions focused on trade facilitation, private sector participation in global policy, financial inclusion for women and SMEs, and a roadmap for a digital-inclusive economy. In the dialogue, CBCs Chief Executive Officer, Ms. Sandra Uwera, stated,  The MOU provides a platform for leveraging synergies between CBC and ICC, for linking global business to African markets and vice versa, promoting digital trade facilitation and strengthening the voice of African business in international negotiations .

Dr. Amany Asfour, CBCs Board Director, underscored, Digital financial inclusion is a key priority for African continental and COMESA regional integration agendas, essential to the facilitate cross border payments, alleviate poverty and improve livelihoods for SMEs, particularly women-led enterprises. Mr. Christopher Holden of the Global Alliance for Trade Facilitation highlighted public-private partnership to accelerate the policy frameworks for trade facilitation in Africa as key to realising the opportunities offered by the African Continental Free Trade Area. The panel recommended strengthening public-private dialogue, private sector participation, and financing of National Trade Facilitation Committees as a way of ensuring an improved business environment.

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Parliament said the decision reflects a premature and unilateral action and does not serve relations between Egypt and Italy

Egypt's parliament  the House of Representatives  said in a statement Friday afternoon that it expresses regret that Roberto Fico, speaker of the Italian parliament (chamber of deputies) announced that it has decided to suspend parliamentary relations with the Egyptian parliament until the on-going investigation into the death of the Italian student Guilio Regeni reaches a conclusive result.

"This is a premature and unilateral decision that does not serve the investigation into the death of Mr Regeni," said the statement, adding that "Fico's decision also represents a jump into a hasty conclusion and does not serve the objective of revealing the truth and reaching justice on this case."

Egypt's parliament said "it is committed to the rule of law, not intervening in the work of the investigation authorities, and so unilateral measures do not serve the interests of the two countries."

Guilio Regeni, an Italian student who was preparing a thesis on Egyptian trade unions, was killed in Cairo in January 2016.

There were several press reports that he was torture before he was murdered.

Regeni's death led Italy to summon its ambassador from Cairo, but it decided to send a new ambassador this year due to a positive progress on the case.

A number of top-level meetings between Egyptian and Italian officials in the past few months said they were highly satisfied about the progress of the investigation into Regeni's death.

A number of senior Italian officials, including president of the Italian chamber of deputies Roberto Fico, also visited Cairo one month ago, with all of them heaping praise on the cooperation between judicial authorities in Cairo and Rome over Regeni's death.

Egypt's president Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi met Italy's prime minister in Sicily this month, with both also insisting that they are keen that investigation into Regeni's death reveal the truth and refer murderers to justice.

The statement of Egypt's parliament on Friday said the relations between Egypt and Italy are historic and strong at all levels.

"So we are highly surprised that Mr Fico issue such regretable statement and take such unjustified decision on the part of the Italian parliament," said the statement.

"It is also surprising that this statement comes after Egyptian and Italian prosecution authorities held a joint meeting to complete the mutual cooperation on the investigation into Regeni's case."

"In this meeting, the two parties exchanged viewpoints in a positive climate and assured that the investigation is progressing in a very constructive way, and that they are determined to continue on this cooperation until they reach a final result and a suitable decision in the near future and in line with judicial efforts," said the statement.

The statement added that the Egyptian parliament is committed to the principle of the rule of law, and the necessity that investigation goes forward in a climate of integrity and neutrality, and "without politicizing legal issues."

"In this light, we see that the statement issued by president of the Italian parliament represents a unilateral and premature behavior that does not serve the interests of the two countries and does not contribute to securing the goal of reaching the truth or achieving justice, particularly as the cooperation between the Egyptian and Italian prosecution authorities is remarkable and unprecedented," said the statement.

Egypt's parliament stressed that it is highly necessary that no party jumps into conclusions in line with international standards followed, and in line with all legislations and law in this respect.

Egypt's parliament said the Egyptian statement has a sure interest in revealing the truth about Mr Regeni's murder as this crime was committed on the land of Egypt.

"The Egyptian state at all levels was keen to stress this fact, not to mention that it was also reiterated by speaker of Egypt's parliament during his meetings with Mr Fico in both Rome and Cairo," said the statement, concluding that "Egypt's parliament urges that investigation into the case takes its course in line with the principle of the rule of the law without exercising influence or intervening in the work of investigation authorities."

The statement said "we stress again that as the Egyptian-Italian relations are so deep, it was necessary that the Italian parliament does not jump into hasty conclusions or takes a unilateral action on a criminal case which is still under investigation and a matter of complete cooperation between concerned authorities in the two countries."

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Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman met Indian Prime Ministry Narendra Modi and told him about plans to scale up investments in Indias tech, farm and energy sectors, an Indian official and the Saudi news agency (SPA) said on Friday.

The two leaders, who are in Argentina for the G20 summit, met in the princes residence in Buenos Aires and discussed Saudi Arabias readiness to supply India with oil and petroleum products.

The G20 summit in Buenos Aires is the first major international event the Saudi prince has attended since the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul in October.

The Saudi prince told Modi he would soon be finalizing an initial investment in Indias National Investment and Infrastructure Fund, a quasi-sovereign wealth fund, to help accelerate the building of ports, highways and other projects, a top Indian diplomat said.

The crown prince also referred to future projects for investments, in sectors such as tech, energy and farm, Indian Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale, who is accompanying Modi to the G20, said in a readout of the meeting.

Ways in which Saudi Arabia could replace its agricultural imports from other countries with Indian agricultural produce were also discussed, the Saudi news agency said.

Since he took office in 2014 at the head of a Hindu-nationalist government, Modi has sought to expand ties with Saudi Arabia and other Islamic nations to deny arch foe Pakistan an advantage and to leverage Indias fast-growing economy as an attractive investment.

Stable Oil

The meeting with the Saudi crown prince was Modis first in a set of bilaterals on the sidelines of the G20 that will be followed by meetings with US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping.

We expect that in the next two to three years there will be significant scaling up of Saudi investments in India, Gokhale said. The two leaders also talked about cooperation in arms manufacturing and Saudi Arabias efforts to develop a domestic arms industry, SPA said.

Modi stressed the importance of stable energy prices and the two leaders discussed ways in which Saudi Arabia, a top crude oil supplier, could help stabilize prices, particularly for India, Gokhale said.

India, the worlds third-biggest oil importer, has been grappling with a combination of soaring prices and a falling currency, which makes imports of dollar-denominated oil more expensive, until a recent fall in oil prices.

Saudi Arabia has told India it is committed to meeting its rising oil demand and is the shock absorber for supply disruptions in the oil market.

The crown prince also discussed with Modi Saudi oil giant Aramcos investment in refineries in India, including the companys project to build a large refinery on the western coast of India, SPA said.

The two leaders also explored investing in solar energy through Softbanks Saudi-backed Vision Fund and opportunities to export Saudi non-oil products to India.

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Syria has sent the UN Security Council complaints over the latest Israeli airstrikes that targeted an area home to military bases south of Damascus, saying such ``aggression'' aims to prolong the Syrian crisis.

Syria's Foreign Ministry said Friday the complaints also referred to strikes against Islamic State gighters in Syria by the US-led coalition that claimed civilian lives.

The coalition offensive, which began in September, aims to drive the IS group from their last pocket along the Syrian-Iraqi border.

Syrian state media reported the Israeli strikes on Kisweh, south of Damascus, late Thursday. Israel hasn't commented.

They were the first reported Israeli strikes inside Syria since September, and after Russia delivered S-300 air defense systems to Damascus last month.

*This story was edited by Ahram Online

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French President Emmanuel Macron told Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman Europeans will insist on international experts being part of the investigations into a Saudi journalist's murder, an Elysee official said on Friday.

In a five-minute exchange on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Argentina, Macron conveyed "very firm" messages to the prince over the murder of Khashoggi and on the need to find a political solution for the situation in Yemen, the official added.

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Forty three US soybean ships have sailed for Argentina since July as the South American nation has raced to top the list of US soybean importers. Prices for the US crop have fallen by 15 percent due to Beijings import tariffs.

A ship named the Torrent is scheduled to dock in the Rosario grains hub on December 4, ending a 5,000-mile trip to carry soybeans from the US Great Lakes to Argentina.

The Torrents 20,000-tonne cargo is one of 14 ships the Argentine soy crusher Vicentin has lined up to import US soybeans, according to port data reviewed by Reuters. The shipments are among the first significant Argentine purchases from the United States in two decades.

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One of the consequences of the trade war is that US beans have to find a new home, said Thomas Hinrichsen, president of Buenos Aires-based brokerage J.J. Hinrichsen SA, which cut the deals for Vicentin. You are in the money to ship cheaper US beans into efficient crushing plants in Argentina.

One of the worlds top soybean exporters, Argentina usually has no reason to import beans. However now, the country needs US beans to feed its massive soy-crushing industry after a drought. What is left of the nations own crops will go towards feeding pigs in China.

The combination of the drought in Argentina and the soy glut in the United States caused by the trade conflict has directed US soybeans toward Argentina, said Guillermo Wade, manager of Argentinas Port and Maritime Activities Chamber. He added: They are being used to keep our crushers working while freeing Argentine soybeans to go to China.

Buenos Aires also seeks to export more soy and byproducts to India and Southeast Asia, according to Argentinas International Trade Secretary Marisa Bircher. The countrys current top soymeal buyers include the European Union, Vietnam and Indonesia.

Clearly, this US-China conflict is generating a change in the grain trade, Bircher told Reuters, adding: We have a very good relationship with China we are negotiating to open the market to soybean meal before the end of the year.

Also on rt.com Crop stop: Beijing plans complete ban on American soybeans as trade war escalates

Statistics from US Department of Agriculture showed that a year ago 282 soybean cargo vessels were loaded in the US bound for China and none to Argentina.

China, the worlds biggest soybean importer, has been curbing purchases of the crop from the US, and now seeks to stop imports altogether. The move was part of the escalating trade war between the two countries. In July, Beijing imposed a retaliatory 25-percent import duty on US soybeans as part of the tit-for-tat trade dispute with Washington.

For more stories on economy & finance visit RT's business section
The Russian-led gas pipeline project Nord Stream 2, which is aimed at delivering Russian gas to Europe via Germany, must be completed, according to the German Federal Minister for Economic Affairs and Energy Peter Altmaier.

The minister says the conflict between Russia and Ukraine has nothing to do with the project.

These are two different issues, two different areas, Altmaier said in an interview with ARD television, stressing that his office strongly opposes the termination of the pipelines construction.

On Wednesday, German government spokesman Steffen Seibert confirmed that Berlin is committed to the Nord Stream 2 pipeline despite escalating tensions in Ukraine.

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I have taken note of the criticism but nothing has changed in the basic view of the economic project, which is what Nord Stream is, Seibert told journalists in Berlin.

The Nord Stream 2 pipeline has been slammed by Ukraine, the US and some other nations for various reasons. They have stepped up criticism of the project since Ukrainian Navy vessels violated the Russian maritime border in the Black Sea on Sunday morning, triggering an unavoidable standoff.

Ukrainian officials have repeatedly appealed to Germany and the European Union, asking for the project to be put on hold. According to Kiev, the future pipeline would bypass Ukraine and deprive its budget of transit fees. At the same time, Berlin and Moscow assured Kiev that gas transit through Ukraine to Europe would be maintained.

At the same time, the White House has attacked the pipeline as another step towards deepening Europes dependence on Russian gas, that is allegedly used by Moscow as a manipulative tool. Washington threatened to impose punitive measures against corporations engaged in the construction of the gas pipeline.

Moreover, the US government is currently trying to fight for its own share of the European energy market, trying to sell more of its liquefied natural gas (LNG). In October, The German federal government agreed to co-finance the construction of a 500 million ($576 million) LNG shipping terminal in northern Germany.

The Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline project is set to run from Russia to Germany under the Baltic Sea. It is expected to double the existing pipelines capacity of 55 billion cubic meters annually. Nord Stream 2 is projected to provide transit for 70 percent of Russian gas sales to the EU. The project, led by a subsidiary of Russian energy giant Gazprom, is being implemented in partnership with German energy firms Wintershall and Uniper, French multinational Engie, British-Dutch oil and gas giant Royal Dutch Shell, as well as Austrian energy company OMV.

For more stories on economy & finance visit RT's business section
French President Emmanuel Macron will discuss the recent arrest of ex-chairman of Nissan Carlos Ghosn with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe at the G20 meeting amid a Japan-France spat over the troubled motor alliance.

Ghosn was arrested in Tokyo on November 19 over suspected financial misconduct. The 19-year partnership between auto-making giants Renault and Nissan is reportedly facing the biggest test ever amid the scandal. Nissan fired Ghosn as chairman after a nearly two-decade reign over the Japanese automaker.

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French multinational Renault currently holds 43.4 percent of Nissans shares, while only 15 percent of the French automakers stocks belong to the Japanese car manufacturer. The scandalous arrest has reportedly prompted Nissan to resume attempts to change what the Japanese company considers Renaults outsized control of it. Now, Renault has shareholder voting rights in the tie-up.

The leaders of Japan and France are planning to discuss the future of the cooperation between Nissan and Renault, in which the French government has the largest stake, the Mainichi, one of the major Japanese newspapers, reports. The French President reportedly wants an explanation of the circumstances of Ghosns arrest.

The parties are reportedly arranging a short meeting on the sidelines of the Group of 20 summit of the worlds major economies, which starts this week in Buenos Aires, according to the sources close to the issue, as cited by the media.

The French side is reportedly planning to request greater transparency of the Japanese probe, claiming the case surrounding Ghosn has been recently underreported.

Last week, Japanese Industry Minister Hiroshige Seko and French Finance and Economy Minister Bruno Le Maire reaffirmed the two countries support for the Renault-Nissan alliance.

Earlier, the board of Mitsubish Motors that is allied with Renault and Nissan fired Carlos Ghosn as its chairman following the arrest. Ghosn wont be able to perform his duties, considering his arrest and Nissans dismissal of him as chairman, according to Mitsubishi Motors CEO Osamu Masuko, who was chosen acting chairman pending a shareholders meeting.

For more stories on economy & finance visit RT's business section
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman exchanged a high-five and laughed heartily together on Friday as they took seats next to each other at a plenary session of the Group of 20 summit.

Russia has refrained from criticising Saudi Arabia over the killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.

Putin said in October he lacked information about the matter and said Russia would not tear up its relations with Saudi Arabia because of it.

Putin and Prince Mohammed are due to hold bilateral talks on Saturday, according to Kremlin documents seen by Reuters.

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries as well as Russia and other leading oil producers will meet in Vienna on Dec 6-7 to discuss further steps on the oil market as prices have been declining due to oversupply.

Riyadh has suggested OPEC and its allies reduce output by 1 million barrels per day from January 2019 to stem the price falls.

* This story was edited by Ahram Online.

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The European Union will extend its existing economic sanctions on Russia next month, a top official with the bloc said on Friday after Moscow's action against Ukraine's navy in the Sea of Azov.

European Council President Donald Tusk will chair a summit of EU leaders on Dec. 13-14, which is due to roll over for another year the bloc's measures against Russia's defence, energy and banking sectors, punishment for Moscow's role in the turmoil in Ukraine.

"Europe is united in its support to Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity. This is why I am sure that the EU will roll over the sanctions against Russia in December," Tusk told a news conference in Argentina, where the leaders of the world's 20 biggest economies were meeting.

Tusk said Russia's use of force against the Ukrainian navy vessels was "totally unacceptable". Last weekend, Russian ships fired at Ukrainian ones on the Sea of Azov, and then seized the boats and its sailors.

The EU first slapped sanctions on Russia after it annexed the Black Sea peninsula of Crimea from Kiev in 2014. The bloc has since stepped them up as Moscow went on to back rebels fighting government troops in east Ukraine.

The EU's Russia hawks have called for new sanctions against Moscow following the latest flare-up in tensions between Moscow and Kiev but that is not expected swiftly, if at all.

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NSMQ 2021: We are not intimidated by ...
Post Mortem

KTU appeals for Naga-Kuki amity

By Nagaland Post | Publish Date: 11/30/2018 12:11:40 PM IST

The Nagas and the Kukis basically profess the same biological, cultural and religious fundamentals and had lived together in harmony for generations. There were unfortunate incidents in the history between the brothers owing to some misunderstandings and misinformation.

Both sides in the entire conflict suffered casualties, uprooting homes and villages and killing one another in hundreds, whereof the Kukis termed and apprised the aftermath as genocide, ethnic cleansing and holocaust that does not fit and qualify at all the event in the International Court of Justice as a crime the Kukis accused the NSCN of.

The unpopular accusation and observation of Black Day by the Kukis spearheaded by the Kuki Inpi Manipur is read (seen) as sowing seeds of discords and vendetta among the younger generation. It is also unfortunate of the motive of making a particular tribe a scapegoat and party over the past incident which was not a validated historical account. Such a ceremony invites counter observation which ultimately evoke unprecedented conflict.

The negative aspect of war and killing begets human nothing but sadness and sorrow. As we are of the same progenitor, it is time for us to reconcile the pass mistakes and bridge the broken relation and political affinity. It is time to come together and uphold the common hope and future.

Distortion of facts and historical accounts and handing down animosity to posterities are the gifts of the false leaders. Nagas and Kukis as a people of Christ and for Christ must learn to live in love and to forgive and forget and reconcile to rebuild the damaged relation between the two communities.
Russian President Vladimir Putin will have a brief impromptu meeting with US President Donald Trump in Argentina just as he will with other leaders at the G20 summit, RIA news agency cited Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov as saying on Friday.

Trump on Thursday abruptly cancelled a planned meeting with Putin in Argentina after Russia captured three Ukrainian navy vessels and their crews off the coast of Crimea.

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By Michelle Exstrom

One emerging issue in education is the need to better prepare all students with workforce skills before they leave high school and hit the job market.

Until now, students may have acquired basic skills outside of the classroom through unique opportunities or part-time jobs. The business community, however, is hungry for workers who are both educated and prepared with applicable job skills after they leave high school.

Students also are acquiring large amounts of student debt taking college-level courses, many without completing a degree, only to find that their chosen career only requires a specific licensure, credential or apprenticeship.

As the traditional education system has struggled to prepare students for todays job market, state and local policymakers have begun to look to other high-performing countries, like Switzerland and Singapore, that have much more effective systems for students to choose and succeed in a career pathway. (Watch an NCSL webinar with the woman who leads the Swiss system.)

In those countries, these opportunities are embedded in every student's secondary experience, and all students leave the system with their secondary education, sometimes completion of college-level coursework, and meaningful job experience and skills.

Indiana businesses, educators and policymakers have been studying and observing the systems in Switzerland and elsewhere and desire to provide a similar experience for all students in the Hoosier State. The legislature has passed several bills to establish the groundwork for meaningful career pathways for all students, and Governor Eric Holcomb recently created a Workforce Cabinet to study and implement a plan.

On Dec. 12, NCSL will partner with Holcombs Workforce Cabinet to host a statewide summit in Indianapolis.

During this event, 300 educators, business leaders, executive branch leaders, legislators and school district administrators will gather to learn from U.S. and international experts how to establish a system of youth apprenticeships, career pathways and rigorous career and technical education to build a strong workforce to bolster Indianas economy.

The summit also will feature speakers from across Indiana to discuss efforts already underway, and participants will determine the next steps to bring these opportunities to all students.

Michelle Exstrom is the director of NCSL's Education Program.

Email Michelle
By Express News Service

NEW DELHI: Air India will see a substantial reduction in its debt burden with the airline set to transfer around Rs 29,000 crore of total debt worth around 55,000 crore to a special purpose vehicle (SPV). According to civil aviation secretary R N Choubey, the SPV has already been set up as Air India Assets Holding Ltd (AIAHL).

The move follows efforts by the government to bolster the airlines health, including considering ways to reduce its interest outgo. This transfer of more than half its debt to the SPV will significantly reduce financial pressure on the airline. However, the approval of the lenders would be needed before the debt can be transferred to AIAHL.

Meanwhile, plans are also apace to ensure that the airline realises benefits to the tune of Rs 2,000 crore by way of cost cutting and revenue enhancement measures. As part of revival plan for the airline, a ministerial panel on Tuesday approved a proposal for strategic sale of its subsidiary AIATSL.
By Reuters

SINGAPORE/LONDON: Gail India is proposing to swap three liquefied natural gas (LNG) cargoes across the first quarter of next year, trade sources said on Friday.

The Indian importer has 20-year deals to buy 5.8 million tonnes a year of U.S. LNG, split between Dominion Energy's Cove Point plant and Cheniere Energy's Sabine Pass site.

With few LNG tankers available to ferry the fuel to India, Gail has already struck swap deals for a chunk of its Sabine Pass and Cove Point volumes.

Under the proposed swap, Gail would sell its share of output from U.S. export plant Cove Point in return for taking delivery of LNG into India.

Gail is offering a cargo a month from Cove Point for loading in the first quarter of next year in exchange for corresponding deliveries to India, one of the traders said.

Participants must submit offers by Dec. 3, the sources said.
By PTI

New Delhi, Nov 29 (PTI) Micro-blogging platform Twitter Thursday said it has recorded over 48 lakh tweets related to ongoing assembly elections in five states during October and November.

"With elections currently ongoing in the states of Chattisgarh, Mizoram, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Telangana, Twitter saw more than 48 lakh tweets in relation to assembly elections over the past two months (October 1 - November 28, 2018)," Twitter said in a statement.

It added that the conversations have continued to peak with over 2.5 lakh tweets posted in 36 hours between November 27-29.

"While conversations in India grew with the state elections, people across the world also leveraged Twitter to see what's happening in India," it said.

The top hashtags, in term of conversation volume, were #bjp, #congress, #rajasthan, #madhyapradesh and #telangana.

Other popular hashtags included #telanganaelections2018, #votebjpsecuremp #madhyapradeshelections, #rajasthanelections2018, #mizoram, #bjp4mp #bjp4telangana and #assemblyelections2018.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi's November 26 tweet urging citizens to vote was re-tweeted 3,266 times and received 13,283 likes.

A tweet by Congress President Rahul Gandhi on November 18 featuring a video from his press conference was re-tweeted 7,098 times and received 24,018 likes.

"Twitter is where political conversations happen and where you can see all sides of a conversation.

The vibrancy of Indian elections is already visible on Twitter," Twitter India Head of Public Policy and Government Mahima Kaul said.

With over four million tweets related to the assembly elections, it's clear that regional parties and leaders are using the platform to connect with the voters, opinion makers, youth and media, making it the most talked-about Indian state elections on Twitter so far, she added.

The micro-blogging platform has introduced several initiatives to providing real-time updates on campaign trails, connecting voters to politicians and also enabling citizens to have their voices heard during the elections.
By Bloomberg

Indias foreign ministry is investigating claims by expatriates in Ethiopia who say they are being held hostage by local staff that havent been paid after the financier Infrastructure Leasing & Financial Services Ltd. began defaulting on $12.6 billion in debt.

Seven Indian workers from the shadow lender, which rocked financial markets after it began missing debt payments earlier this year, have been detained since Nov. 25 at three sites in Ethiopias Oromia and Amhara states by unpaid local staff, according to an emailed letter from the employees.

They said the possible termination of some road projects being built by Indian and Spanish joint ventures may have triggered local employees to panic. The workers said police and officials are taking the side of locals against the expatriate staff and that they were caught in the middle of corporate disagreements, blame games and bureaucratic issues.

Oromias police commissioner general, Alemayehu Ejigu, the states deputy spokesman Deressa Terefe, and Amhara states spokesman Nigusu Tillahun didnt immediately respond to two calls and two text messages.

#SOS @rashtrapatibhvn @GRamnathkovind @narendramodi Sir we seven people are hostage by locals in Ethiopia, due to non payments of #ILFS What is employee's fault sir.even we didn't get salary from last 5 months all worked in Ethiopia for #ILFS help please b4 it's 2late #sos #Help  neeraj raghuwanshi (@chota86) 29 November 2018

An official at the Indian embassy in the capital Addis Ababa said it was closely following up with local Ethiopian authorities and IL&FS management to resolve the issue, while a separate official in the foreign ministry in New Delhi confirmed they were looking into the matter. A spokesman for IL&FS declined to comment.

Concerns of project termination and absence of senior management from project camps might have triggered panic in local employees and led them to believe confining expat employees might force the organization to pay their salaries, the employees wrote in a letter addressed to the Indian and Spanish ambassadors, as well as a number of Ethiopian ministries and the local World Bank representative.

Cant Send Funds

The son of detained IL&FS employee Sukhvinder Singh Khokher said his father has been in touch with the Indian embassy and there are efforts underway to try and get the local Ethiopian staff paid.

"The local Ethiopian workers shut the gates and the local policeman support them," Satinder Pal Singh Khokher, who works for the Aditya Birla Group in Gujarat according to LinkedIn, said in an interview. I have tweeted my concern to the Prime Minister of India."

According to the employees letter, management cited restrictions imposed by the Reserve Bank of India for its inability to send funds. IL&FS had defaulted on paying both taxes and local employee pensions for nine months, the letter said. Ethiopian Revenue Ministry spokesman Addis Yirga and Attorney General Office spokesman Zinabu Tunu said by phone they couldnt comment on the employees concerns expressed in the letter.

We tried to reason with local employees and tried to assure that salaries will be paid in due course and restricting expat colleagues will not result in what they are trying to achieve. the employees said in the letter.

The detention of IL&FS employees in Ethiopia, who were reported to be working on road construction projects for joint ventures between IL&FS Transportation Networks Ltd. and Spanish firms Elsamex S.A. and Ecoasfalt S.A., illustrates the sprawling nature and global reach of the beleaguered infrastructure lender. The firm hasnt stopped missing debt payments even after the Indian government fired the lenders board and tapped well-known Indian banker Uday Kotak to help lead the firms recovery as the company reeled under $12.6 billion of debt.

Representatives of Elsamex SA and Ecoasfalt SA in Spain were not immediately able to comment when contacted on their office numbers on Thursday.

Asking for Help

Several men identifying themselves as IL&FS employees in Ethiopia, who didnt respond to requests for comment, have been tweeting Indian politicians asking for help.

We 7 employee from #ILFS are hostages by local labor/staff at in Ethiopia from last 4 days coz of nonpayment of creditors and local salaries, Neeraj Raghuwanshi said in a tweet on Nov. 27, in which he tagged Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. #ILFS denied to send fund from India. Kindly save us. Day2day situation worsening.

#SOS We 7 employee from #ILFS are hostages by local labor/staff at in Ethiopia from last 4 days coz of nonpayment of creditors and local salaries. #ILFS denied to send fund from India. Kindly save us. Day2day situation worsening @narendramodi @sushmaswaraj @udaykotak @arunjaitley  neeraj raghuwanshi (@chota86) 27 November 2018

Raghuwanshi posted a screen grab of an email he wrote pleading for help, mentioning IL&FSs local partner, the Ethiopian Roads Authority. He said the Authority would not take any action to help the detained employees before local staff were paid.

Ethiopian Roads Authority director general Habtamu Tegegne didnt immediately respond to two calls to his office phone. The Spanish ambassador to Ethiopia, Borja Montesino Martinez del Cerro, didnt immediately respond to two emails seeking comment.
Chetana Belagere By

Express News Service

BENGALURU: The Vijayapura police cracked a double murder case of a mother and son, earlier thought to be familicide, and arrested a 28-year-old man. The accused, who had an extramarital affair with the woman, killed her and her son after she refused to divorce her husband and marry him, police said. Hemanth Kumar M, 28, a resident of Sidlaghatta, near Chikkaballapura, was working with a private firm.

He was charged with murdering Shravani, 26, and her two-and-a-half-year-old son Sai Manas, at their house near Ice Factory, off Mandibele Road, of Vijayapura Town in Devanahalli taluk, on November 19.

Police said that Shravani, an MSc postgraduate working with a well-known firm, was married to Rajesh, a teacher at a private school in Chikkaballapura, around four years ago. At noon on November 19, Shravani and her son were found dead in the house when her husband had gone to school.

Shravanis father filed a complaint, stating that due to some reason, Shravani had killed her son by feeding him pesticide and had ended her life after consuming the same. He did not suspect Rajesh or anyone else.

But the crime scene suggested foul play, as there were strangulation marks on Shravanis neck, and the towel used to strangle her was also found around her neck.

We intensified the probe and found out that she was in touch with Hemanth. He was picked up for questioning and confessed to have killed both mother and son. Hemanth revealed that Shravani was his classmate in college and they shared a romantic relationship. However, they ended up marrying different individuals, police sources said.
Sinduja Jane By

Express News Service

CHENNAI: The number of new HIV positive cases detected in the State decreased from 11,775 in 2016-2017, to 10,527 in 2017-2018. However, Chennai tops the list with the highest number of new cases, shows data shared by the Tamil Nadu State AIDS Control Society.

Next to Chennai, Salem and Tiruchy reported a high number of cases. Those reported from Salem are 751, and Tiruchy 623. Experts say the reason for these districts having reported more cases could be because of a higher floating population. However, activists urge for segregated data collection to know the actual reasons.

Chennai is a big city where almost 20 per cent of the States population lives. Moreover, being an urban area, it receives floating population like migrant workers and others. They get tested here, so the numbers indicate the population. Similarly, Salem and Tiruchy are bigger districts with more area to cover, Dr K Senthilraj, Project Director, State AIDS Control Society told Express.

Asked about cities like Coimbatore and Madurai reporting lesser number of cases when compared to the above mentioned districts, Senthilraj said, Salem and Tiruchy have a greater area to cover than Coimbatore and Madurai. However, a source in the department said, The number of cases reported from areas like Tiruchy and Salem, have been higher for the last two decades. It could be because of people from other districts coming to the tertiary care centres here and getting tested. But, again, we dont know the actual reason why these districts continue to report more number of cases. To know so, every individual case record should be tracked, he added.

Collecting mere data is not enough, the officials should analyse the reason for the increase for better programme planning. The increase in numbers could also be attributed to better data collection in these districts and better reporting. But, we really dont know the actual reason. Complete detail of the cases and also the reasons for the person coming to the particular centre for screening and their background, should be collected.

Officials should plan their control and prevention programme based on the same for better results, said P Kousalya, President, Positive Women Network.
By Express News Service

NEW DELHI: The Ministry of Home Affairs has granted sanction to the CBI to prosecute Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Kumar Jain in a disproportionate assets case, a senior government official said on Thursday.

The agency alleged that Jain laundered black money worth Rs 16.39 crore in 2010-11 through 54 shell companies and via three hawala operatorsJeevendra Mishra, Abhishek Chokani and Rajendra Bansal.

According to sources, Jain had used Rs 16.39 crore for benami purchase of 200 bigha of land in the names of Vaibhav and Ankush Jain.

Proceedings under the Prohibition of Benami Property Transaction Act, 1988 (PBPT Act) were undertaken by authorities against Jain and his shell companies and concluded by holding the minister responsible.

The health minister had appealed against the order but the appeal was dismissed in May 2018 and the land has been attached for confiscation.

Jain admitted in a writ petition before the Delhi High Court that the Rs 16.39 crore in black money was laundered using shell companies controlled by the three hawala operators in Kolkata.

The efforts of the AAP government to regularize unauthorized colonies during its first tenure, from December 28, 2013 to February 14, 2014, and the present tenure are linked to the health ministers investment in agricultural land.

The proposed regularization of unauthorized colonies will convert these agricultural lands into residential and commercial land, which will provide huge returns on the investment by Jain.

A case was registered under various sections of the Prevention of Corruption Act against the health minister, Vaibhav and Ankush by the Central Bureau of Investigation in April 2018.

Reacting to the development, Delhi Bharatiya Janata Party chief Manoj Tiwari said, Such people should be behind bars, the MHAs decision shows that Arvind Kejriwal and his associates are criminals

in nature.
Express News Service

NEW DELHI: Weather-beaten men and women in thousands quietly made their way to the Capitals landmark Ramlila Maidan where farmers outfits are holding a programme to demand farm loan waivers and higher crop prices. The farmers started their march from four nodal points  Nizamuddin, Sabzi Mandi Station, Anand Vihar Terminal and Majnu Ka Tilla.

Over 200 farmers bodies and other organisations participated in the march under the banner of the All India Kisan Sangharsh Coordination Committee. The farmers bodies included the All Indian Kisan Sabha, the Yogendra Yadav-led Jai Kisan Aandolan and Medha Patkars National Alliance of Peoples Movements (NAPM).

AIKSCC members and farmers from across the country march towards the heart of the capital on the first day of the two-day march in New Delhi.

Yadav, who is the leader of Swaraj India, led the Chalo Dill rally from Bijwasan to the Ramlila Maidan. Farmers from Odisha, Haryana and Rajasthan joined him .On Friday, the agitating farmers will march to Parliament Street on Friday to protest against the anti-farmer policies of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government in the Centre.

Sarkar toh nara dene ka kaam azadi se kar ri hai. Jai Jawan jai kisan. Par aaj kisan hi roti kai liye taras rahe hai. (The government has been raising slogans of Jai Kisan Jai Jawan since Independence. But now farmers are the ones struggling for food), said Lala Prasad Singh, 58, from Bihars Vaishali.

One of the demands of the protesters is the implementation of two Private Member Bills that were introduced in the Lok Sabha in 2017. Swabhimani Shetkari Sanghatana leader and MP Raju Shetti, who is also a part of the AIKSCC, had introduced the bills in which he had sought a loan waiver and that the recommendations of the Swaminathan Commission with respect to the remuneration for produce be implemented.

Sushila Devi from Samastipur, Bihar was one among the many women farmers in the rally. We want the loan waivers so that we can save our homes. The mukhiya tells us to pay Rs 2-3 lakh or vacate the house, she said.
Drew Angerer/Getty Images(WASHINGTON) -- Democrats have said they've heard enough from Rep. Steve King, whose thorough record of provocative immigration rhetoric has prompted calls for Congress to formally censure the Iowa Republican firebrand.



At a rally one day before the midterm elections, King was recorded in Webster City, Iowa, speaking about jalapeno peppers when he referred to immigrants as "dirt," according to The Weekly Standard.



"I guess I'm going to have to go and get some dirt from Mexico to grow the next batch," King said, prompting a supporter to interject, "Trust me, it's already on its way."



King then let out his latest inflammatory comment: "Well, yeah, there's plenty of dirt, it's coming from the West Coast, too, and a lot of other places, besides. This is the most dirt we've ever seen."



That exchange led more than 140 organizations to sign onto a letter to House Speaker Paul Ryan and Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy to censure King's "anti-Semitic, anti-immigrant, racist and homophobic" language before the end of this Congress. Spokespersons for King, Ryan and McCarthy did not respond to a request for comment Thursday evening.



Several House Democrats -- less than 50 days from taking majority control of Congress -- told ABC News they agreed King should be censured.



"The things that he says are so deeply unfair, disturbing and unbefitting of a member of Congress. And I do think that censure is appropriate," said Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., an immigration lawyer by trade and one of 12 sitting lawmakers who are naturalized citizens.



Though rare, Congress can take a number of actions to discipline its members for breaking House rules, including a fine, formal reprimand, censure on the House floor or even expulsion. Rep. Paul Tonko, D-N.Y., said he supports censure in order to restore racial unity across the country.



"I would get behind any effort to make certain that we begin to heal and not continue to hurt as a nation and be divided as a nation," Tonko said. "There's a lot of healing that's required and I think leadership requires us to be those healers."



A representative has not been censured since former New York Congressman Charles Rangel in 2010 after being convicted of 11 ethics violations. Before that, the last censures came in 1983 and only six congressman have been censured since 1900.



King is most notorious for disparaging Dreamers in July 2013, when he said, "For every one who's a valedictorian, there's another 100 out there that they weigh 130 pounds, and they've got calves the size of cantaloupes because they're hauling 75 pounds of marijuana across the desert."



"This has certainly been repetitive. It is abhorrent. It should not be tolerated," Texas Democratic Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee said.



Though supportive of censure, Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., expressed frustration that King's "fringe" bombast creates national attention.



"He should be censured, but he doesn't represent America," Khanna said. "Censure him, but don't make that the topic of conversation. I mean, who cares? He's some random member of Congress who represents 5 percent of the views of the American people. That's not America."



Rep. Jan Schakowsky, D-Ill., demurred on the question of censure, but tied King's rhetoric to President Donald Trump's hard-line stance against illegal immigration.



"Many of us, most of us, are really disturbed with the words that [have] come out of Steve King's mouth, as well as the president's," Schakowsky said.



While Trump is threatening to shut down the federal government early next month if Congress does not approve $5 billion for border security by Dec. 7, Democrats insist they will not vote to keep the government open if the bill includes money for the president's long-promised border wall.



"One thing I do know is we should not give a dime to this concept of a border wall," Khanna said. "I would be a 'no' vote. I don't think the wall is right. I think it fosters xenophobia and I don't think it's based on facts. I'm all for protecting our border, having border security, making sure that we're protecting our border in a way that is legal and humane. But the border wall is rhetoric that is not in the interest of this country and so I wouldn't support that."



Jackson Lee said her message for Trump is that Congress will take care of border security, but she would also vote against any spending bill that funds the president's wall.



"I will not support the funding of a border wall," Jackson Lee said. "I will encourage the president to get that funding from Mexico, which is what he campaigned on."



King, himself a major supporter of Trump, was re-elected to a ninth term in the House in November.



Copyright  2018, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.
Argentine officials are distancing themselves from the US version of how they view China trade after a meeting during the Group of 20 summit.

White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said that Presidents Donald Trump and Mauricio Macri met Friday and ``reiterated their shared commitment'' to face challenges including ``predatory Chinese economic activity.''

But a senior Argentine official told The Associated Press later that the ``adjective used by Sanders is too strong and doesn't reflect'' Argentina's relationship with Beijing.

The official was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.

China is one of Buenos Aires' top trading partners and the main importer of Argentine agricultural commodities that are the backbone of its economy.

The US-China trade war has eclipsed the two-day G-20 gathering with the world wondering if Trump and Xi can reach a truce on a dispute that has rattled markets.

The two leaders will meet on the sidelines at a high-stakes dinner in Buenos Aires on Saturday.

Most analysts doubt they will reach any overarching deal this weekend that would settle the conflict, but if the two sides agree to a cease-fire, it could buy time for more

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Sumi Sukanaya Dutta By

Express News Service

NEW DELHI: Concerns over exorbitant fees in private medical colleges across the country have prompted the government to consider bringing in a regulatory mechanism. It has asked the Board of Governors (BoG) regulating medical education in India to come up with measures to regulate the fee structures. Officials in the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare said the issue was raised after the Centre received a number of complaints about private colleges charging over `1 crore for the MBBS course.

We have asked the BoG to look into the matter urgently and devise ways to regulate the fee structure, a senior official in the medical education division of the health ministry said.The BoG, under Niti Aayog member Vinod Paul, had replaced the Medical Council of India in September after the government scrapped it through an ordinance.

The MCI was often asked to recommend ways to increase seats in medical colleges that could have ended up lowering fee charged per student, but nothing came out of it, said the official. Now, the BoG has been tasked with holding consultations with various stakeholders and find ways to do the same.

Public health experts have criticized the government over the unabashed sale of MBBS seats in a country that is crippled with acute shortage of doctors.

Gurinder S Grewal of Association of Doctors for Ethical Healthcare said, When we talk about malpractices in healthcare, we also have to keep in mind that if one has to shell out such humongous amounts to become a doctor, what ethics he or she will have when they start practising, Grewal said.
Express News Service

NEW DELHI: If we have the power to elect the Prime Minister, we also have the power to bring him down. Our condition has gone from bad to worse in the last few years. Despite the governments tall promises, it gave us nothing, warned Om Prakash from Uttar Pradesh. The septuagenarian farmer from Bareilly summed up the anger among farmers, who have congregated at the heart of the capital in Ramlila Maidan. Farmers from north, south, east and west India are in Delhi to wake up the government for relieving them of the agrarian crisis which they have been pushed into.

READ | Dilli Chalo: Thousands of farmers march to capital demanding loan waiver, better prices

The politics of mandir-masjid (temple-mosque) cannot run this country. The government needs to instead focus on the crisis we are facing. The Centre is looting us, and it needs to stop, Bhagwan Singh, another farmer from UP, said.From below the Vindhyas, Shekhar and Palani from Tamil Nadu carried the skulls of four debt-burdened farmers who ended their lives after being unable to pay off their loans. We are all here for the same goal that the government should hear our voices, said Ayyakkannu, leader of National South Indian Rivers Inter-Linking Farmers Association.

READ | #DilliChalo farmer's rally: Support pours in both online, offline

The main demands include adopting two private members bill in the joint session of Parliament  The Farmers Right to Guaranteed Remunerative Minimum Support Prices for Agricultural Commodities Bill and The Farmers Freedom from Indebtedness Bill  for freeing farmers from debt and for providing remunerative prices of agricultural products. We have been agitating for loan waivers and better MSP, said Jairam, who came from Tapi in Gujarat.

Several farmers lamented how they have become landless and are working for meagre wages. We are landless, homeless. What will the government give us? asked Krishnadev Sharmas from Gaya in Bihar.

Dase Gowda from Hasaan in Karnataka and his group nodded in unison to assert that farmers would not relent till the government hears their grievances.

No to Bullet train



Farmers from Maharashtras Palghar town also had their own grievance  PM Narendra Modis ambitious Bullet train project. These farmers want to save their land, which is likely to be acquired for the project.
By Express News Service

KOCHI: A Thiruvananthapuram native who went absconding after swindling crores of rupees from several people after offering them nursing jobs in Canada landed in police custody on Thursday. Udayakumar of Vadakkethattu Veettil in Thiruvananthapuram was arrested by the police.

Puthencruz police officers said the accused, who possessed only a Class VII qualification, cheated people claiming to be a doctor with a government hospital in the state capital.

He used to show victims his photographs in doctors attire to gain their trust.

His arrest came after two cases were registered against him on complaints lodged by two nurses of Kolenchery Medical College, alleging he cheated them of Rs 80 lakh after offering jobs.

Complaints alleging he took money after promising the victims he would arrange loans from various banks.
By Online Desk

A mall in Kolkata faced backlash on social media after it barred a woman from breastfeeding her seven-month-old baby on November 27.

The mother, Abhilasha Arup Das Adhikari, took to Facebook to express her experience, stating she was asked "not to do home chores" in the shopping centre.

She wrote on the Facebook page of the South City Mall that there was "no place to breastfeed" and that the "staff at the mall had suggested that she feed her baby in the toilet". She described the idea as "disgusting" and gave the mall a poor rating.

However, it is the response of the shopping centre that has irked netizens across India. Replying to her allegations, the centre replied, "funny you found this to be an issue".

The mall later issued an apology claiming to have a feeding and changing room for babies on every floor. The Vice President of the mall, Manmohan Bagri said that the response to Das Adhikari was posted by an employee of a social media agency that managed their Facebook page. "The rude and aggressive reply was posted without our consent. We have removed the agency," said to TOI.
By Online Desk

A 22-year-old woman, residing in Mumbai's Buddha Colony area in Kurla, was arrested under Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (PoCSO) on charges of sexually assaulting her 17-year-old husband.

However, the woman claimed that her relationship with her husband was consensual. She said that they even have a five-month-old daughter from the relationship.

According to TOI, the minor boy's mother, who resided in the same area, had filed a police complaint on December 2017 where she alleged that the woman, who met her son two years ago, had tempted him into having a relationship with her.

The complainant also mentioned that the young woman, who married the boy on November 8, 2017, came to the latter's house at 10 pm on two weeks after the marriage along with her parents and brother.

"She claimed to have married my son and demanded to stay with us in our house which I refused," the woman said in her complaint, adding, the woman had earlier married twice and is a divorcee.

Following the opposition by the boy's family, the woman threatened to harm herself and left the house. The boy too followed her. They never returned.

The boy's mother claimed that ever since the boy entered into a relationship with the woman, he had been under huge stress as the latter always threatened of committing suicide. This is the very reason why he failed Class X exams, the boy's mother claimed.

According to the police, the accused has requested a bail whose order is expected on Friday evening. The court allowed the woman, now lodged in Byculla jail, to take custody of her baby.

The accused claimed that her husband couldn't be just 17-years-old as he has an elder sister who is 18. It is impossible for any mother to conceive two kids within one year's span, she said.

Apart from slapping sections under PoCSO, the police also booked her under Article 359 of the IPC for kidnapping and criminal intimidation.
By Express News Service

VIJAYAWADA: A first year student of Nuzvid IIIT allegedly attempted suicide by jumping from the hostel building on Thursday morning.

Nuzvid Circle Inspector M Ramkumar said Sushma Pavani (16), who hails from Warangal district in Telangana, went to the terrace of her hostel building around 9 am and jumped from there.

Some senior students, who were returning to the hostel from the mess after breakfast, saw Pavani lying in a pool of blood. They immediately informed the matter to the IIIT administration. The girl was rushed to government hospital in Vijayawada. The girl suffered a fracture in the leg and minor injuries on the body in the incident and her condition is stated to be stable.

The police said that the girl attempted suicide due to pressure from her parents to excel in studies. It was hinted that there might be some other reasons behind her extreme step. However, no case was registered.

Suicide Helpline OneLife: 78930-78930 Roshni, Hyderabad-based NGO: 040-66202000
By Express News Service

HYDERABAD: Describing the youngest State in the country as sher, TRS supremo K Chandrasekhar Rao thundered that BJP and Congress would not be able to confuse it or its people. Even your father would not be able to create confusions in Telangana, he said, addressing PM Narendra Modi at a rally in Asifabad.

ALSO READ: KCR is an apprentice of Congress says PM Modi

KCR continued to lash out at BJP, Congress and TDP on Thursday. He alleged that Congress and BJP were trying to create confusion in the State. Are any of the 19 BJP-ruled States giving free power to farmers? Do they have a project like Mission Bhagiratha? And still you come here to bluff and confuse people of Telangana, he said.

Telangana has its own culture (tehzeeb) and civilisation (tamadhun). Here all the people live with dignity and self-respect. Telangana is the best example not only for the country, but for the entire world. Modi, learn from Telangana. Your mind is congested with religion, Rao said in one of his sharpest attacks yet against the Prime Minister.

ALSO READ: KCR retorts to Modi, asks PM not to spread lies

At Kagaznagar, KCR warned people against believing Congress and BJP leaders. You should not even believe me by just what I say. Go to your villages, discuss with your fellow citizens and then decide who speaks truth and whom to trust.

Muslim reservations next term

Rao said that the Federal Front would form the next government at the Centre. I will play crucial role in the Federal Front. The Muslim and ST reservations would be made possible then, Rao said.
By Express News Service

HYDERABAD: Verbal fights between politicians can get quite boring. But, when its AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi and BJP leader Raja Singh hurling insults at each other, one can expect some fireworks.

The fight when Singh claimed that he wished to chop off Owaisis head. I will be satisfied only when I behead him, he claimed. On an ordinary day, Singhs statement would have turned enough heads on its own. But Owaisi, with his equally outrageous reply, stole Singhs thunder. Why brother? Are you not getting satisfaction at home? he asked Singh.

ALSO READ: Will BJP's Shahzadi give Akbaruddin a tough fight in Chandrayangutta?

Speaking at a public meeting at Tandur in Vikarabad district, Owaisi said, Whats absurd is that a contestant belonging to PM Narendra Modis party said that he would be satisfied only when he beheads Akbaruddin Owaisi and puts it under his feet. If you do not get satisfaction in your home, then you should go to a hakim (physician). You can go to an expert. There are many ways to get satisfaction. I cant explain everything here because there are moezzins and ulemas present, the Hyderabad MP said.

He then asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi if he agreed to his party member Singhs comments. The next time when you (Modi) come to Hyderabad and give a speech, you should issue a clarification. If you do not, then I will understand that you too are not getting satisfaction, Owaisi said.

Akbar joins in on the fun

AIMIM leader and Asaduddins brother Akbaruddin Owaisi on Wednesday said that BJPs ideology is dirtier than Gangas impurity. Akbaruddin said that though the BJP government has spent `7,000 crore on the Ganga-cleaning project, it is still dirty after four years. The only pollutants are BJP, RSS, Narendra Modi and Mohan Bhagwats ideology, he claimed.
By PTI

MUMBAI: He was only 13 when he joined acting to financially support his family but now that the wheels of fortune have turned in his favour, Christian Bale believes he owes it to himself and his audience to "choose interestingly".

Considered one of the finest contemporary actors of his generation, Bale has an enviable filmography that boasts of the mega-successful Batman trilogy besides critically acclaimed performances in "The Prestige", The Machinist, American Psycho, American Hustle and "The Fighter", for which he won the best supporting actor Oscar.

His turn as former US vice president Dick Cheney in "The Vice" is already being seen as an award season favourite.

ALSO READ | Managed to see tiny-tiny scratches of this incredible country: Christian Bale on India visit

The 44-year-old actor, who was in India to promote Netflix's Mowgli: Legend of the Jungle, said he did not always have the power to choose in his career.

"I have been fortunate enough now but it hasn't always been the case. In fact, I started acting because my family needed the money. It was the only way we could support ourselves. So, we did not have that option," Bale told PTI in an interview.

"But then I found myself to be incredibly fortunate and there is a great deal of luck involved in that where I'm able to choose right now. It might change in the future. But since I am able to choose, I owe it to myself and to the audience to try to choose interestingly and as well as possible," he added.

Directed by Andy Serkis, who is considered the expert in performance capture technology, Mowgli features Bale in the role of Bagheera, the brother-mentor panther to man-cub, played by Rohan Chand.

It is also an accidental debut for the actor on the streaming platform as the film was earlier supposed to be released theatrically by Warner Bros, who sold the project to Netflix.

But Bale does not concern himself about how a story is presented.

"What this new platform does allow, in conversations I had with directors, is that sometimes you have to cherry-pick so much to fit the story into two-hours that it does seem like there is a liberation now in being able to tell film quality stories of maybe six hours.

"The nerd in me adores that because you get to explore a character so much more, provided obviously, the director can keep that entertaining," he said.

The film also gave Bale a chance to be a part of the performance capture technology.

"It is new for me. I knew that Andy is a master at it so he would guide me through it. I think it's got incredible potential and I'm intrigued to see how it progresses and what more can be done with it. But it was really enjoyable," he said.

With the film's world premiere and then media interviews, not much time was left for the actor to explore India but he landed here earlier to tick off some of the places from his list, including Chand baoli stepwell that featured in Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight Rises.

ALSO READ | I am 44 now and everything hurts: Christian Bale

Bale said he had only managed to scratch the surface of the country but hopes to return in future.

"We had an absolutely eye-opening time here. I brought my family and we spent the last four days going from New Delhi, Agra, Jaipur, the whole golden triangle," added Bale.

Speaking of Batman', we visited the stepwell that inspired Christopher Nolan to include those scenes in The Dark Night Rises'.

"But obviously, it's just scratching the surface. It's just a fascinating country. We had a wonderful time here. I loved the food, I mean I grew up eating Indian food. My family will be returning," he said.
By PTI

MUMBAI: A 14-year-old 9th grader Veer Agrawal raised Rs.14 lakh and used it to fund artificial limbs for about 300 physically-challenged patients from low-income families.

Veer Agrawal, who studies in American School of Bombay, was all smiles on the successful completion of the four-day 'Jaipur Foot' camp for which he had raised funds to the tune of Rs.14 lakhs. The funds raised enabled the 'Jaipur Foot' camp held at Risod in Washim district of Maharashtra from 23rd to 26th November, organised by Seth Bhagwandas J Agrawal Charitable Trust.

About 350 physically challenged people from nearby districts visited the camp, out of which about 300 were found fit for treatment with prosthetic legs and were able to walk again. Over a dozen were also provided with wheelchairs.

Expressing his joy at helping people regain their mobility, Veer said, "A road accident some years ago resulted in a thigh bone fracture that left me bedridden for weeks. The agonizing experience always haunted me and motivated me to do something for physically challenged people from financially weak backgrounds and help them experience the joys of walking and running once again.

"I learnt about the concept of 'Jaipur Foot' camp and decided to set up a crowdfunding campaign on the website of the organisers. I also got support from my parents in this noble initiative."

Speaking on what drew him to rural India, Veer added, "Through my research on the net, I found that there are many needy people in rural India who did not have access to and could not afford a prosthetic limb. This motivated me to take up this cause in rural parts. It is fulfilling to see them walk again. I am deeply thankful to all who supported this cause and made this camp so successful."

Fitting amputees with the 'Jaipur Foot' costs about Rs.5,000 per patient. The artificial limb is customised to fit the patient as per their size and post-fitment, the patient is able to walk normally again.

Amputees who lost limbs in accidents and polio-affected persons were among those who benefited from the camp.
U.S. President Donald Trump has rattled the world trade order by imposing unilateral tariffs to combat what he calls unfair trade practices by China, the European Union and other major trading partners of the United States.

The actions led to tit-for-tat retaliation, including a growing tariff war with China that threatens to engulf all trade between the world's two largest economies.

The following is a rundown of major U.S. tariff actions and retaliatory measures in 2018:

U.S. GLOBAL TARIFFS

- 25 percent tariffs on imported steel and 10 percent tariffs on imported aluminum, imposed on March 23 on national security grounds. Exemptions have been granted to Argentina, Australia, Brazil and South Korea in exchange for quotas, and negotiations over quotas continue with Canada, Mexico and the European Union.

- 20 percent to 50 percent tariffs on imported washing machines, imposed Jan. 22 as a "global safeguard" action to protect U.S. producers Whirlpool and GE Appliances, a unit of China's Haier Group

- 30 percent tariffs on imported solar panels, imposed Jan. 22 as a "global safeguard" action to protect U.S. producers Solar World, based in Germany, and Suniva, owned by China's Shunfeng International Clean Energy Ltd

- Trump is considering tariffs of around 25 percent on imported cars and auto parts, based on a U.S. Commerce Department study of whether such imports threaten U.S. national security.

The new U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement trade deal protects Canadian and Mexican production in the event of such tariffs through a quota system. Trump has pledged not to impose auto tariffs on Japan and the European Union while trade negotiations with those partners are underway.

U.S. TARIFFS ON CHINA

- 25 percent tariffs on $50 billion worth of Chinese technology goods including machinery, semiconductors, autos, aircraft parts and intermediate electronics components imposed July 6 and Aug. 23 as part of "Section 301" probe into China's intellectual property practices.

- 10 percent tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese goods including chemicals, building materials, furniture and some consumer electronics, imposed Sept. 24 as a response to Chinese retaliation. The levy on these imports is scheduled to increase to 25 percent on Jan. 1, 2019.

- If an agreement with China cannot be reached, Trump has threatened to impose tariffs on an additional $267 billion worth of Chinese goods, representing all remaining imports from China, including cell phones, computers, clothing, footwear and other consumer products.

- U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer said on Wednesday that Trump has directed him to pursue all tools to raise the U.S. tariff rate on Chinese autos to the 40 percent that China is now charging on cars and trucks built in the United States. The United States charges 27.5 percent tariffs on Chinese vehicles.

CHINESE TARIFFS ON UNITED STATES

- 25 percent tariffs on $50 billion worth of U.S. goods including soybeans, beef, pork, seafood, vegetables, whiskey, ethanol and motor vehicles, imposed July 6 and Aug. 23 in retaliation for initial rounds of U.S. tariffs.

- Tariffs of 5 percent to 10 percent on $60 billion worth of U.S. goods, including liquefied natural gas, chemicals, frozen vegetables and food ingredients, imposed Sept. 24.

- Based on 2017 U.S. Census Bureau trade data, China only would have about $20 billion in U.S. imports left to levy in retaliation for any future U.S. tariffs, of which $16 billion were commercial aircraft, largely built by Boeing Co. Retaliation could come in other forms, such as increased regulatory hurdles for U.S. companies doing business in China.

CANADIAN TARIFFS ON UNITED STATES

- Canada on July 1 imposed tariffs on $12.6 billion worth of U.S. goods, including steel, aluminum, coffee, ketchup and bourbon whiskey in retaliation for U.S tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminum. (https://tinyurl.com/y8w5g895)

MEXICAN TARIFFS ON UNITED STATES

- Mexico on June 5 imposed tariffs of up to 25 percent on American steel, pork, cheese, apples, potatoes and bourbon, in retaliation for U.S. tariffs on Mexican metals.

EUROPEAN UNION TARIFFS ON UNITED STATES

- The European Union on June 22 imposed import duties of 25 percent on a $2.8 billion range of imports from the United States in retaliation for U.S. tariffs on European steel and aluminum. Targeted U.S. products include Harley-Davidson motorcycles, bourbon, peanuts, blue jeans, steel and aluminum.

The list of these products can be found here (http://trade.ec.europa.eu/doclib/docs/2018/may/tradoc_156909.pdf)

INDIAN TARIFFS ON UNITED STATES

- India, the world's biggest buyer of U.S. almonds, on June 21 raised import duties on the nuts by 20 percent and increased tariffs on a range of other farm products and U.S. iron and steel, in retaliation for U.S. tariffs on Indian steel. .

U.S. TARIFFS ON TURKEY, TURKISH RETALIATION

- The United States on Aug. 14 doubled its duty rate on Turkish steel to 50 percent and Turkish aluminum to 20 percent, citing national security concerns amid a deepening diplomatic dispute over the detention of an American pastor. Turkey, which already had imposed retaliatory tariffs on $1.8 billion worth of U.S. autos, coal, paper, almonds, machinery and other products, responded by doubling its own tariff rate on many of these goods.

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By PTI

LONDON: The kicks a mother feels from her unborn child may allow the baby to 'map' their own body and enable them to eventually explore their surroundings, according to a study.

Published in the journal Scientific Reports, the study measured brainwaves produced when newborn babies kick their limbs during rapid eye movement (REM) sleep.

ALSO READ | Gene-edited baby claim by Chinese scientist sparks outrage

Researchers from University College London (UCL) in the UK found that fast brainwaves -- a brainwave pattern typically seen in neonates -- fire in the corresponding hemisphere.

For example, the movement of a baby's right-hand causes brainwaves to fire immediately afterwards in the part of the left brain hemisphere that processes touch for the right hand.

The size of these brainwaves is largest in premature babies, who at that age would usually still be in the womb.

The findings suggest that foetal kicks in the late stages of pregnancy -- the third trimester -- help to grow areas of the brain that deal with sensory input, and are how the baby develops a sense of their own body.

The fast brainwaves evoked by the movement disappear by the time babies are a few weeks old.

"Spontaneous movement and consequent feedback from the environment during the early developmental period are known to be necessary for proper brain mapping in animals such as rats. Here we showed that this may be true in humans too," said Lorenzo Fabrizi from UCL.

"We think the findings have implications for providing the optimal hospital environment for infants born early so that they receive appropriate sensory input," said Kimberley Whitehead from UCL.

"As the movements, we observed occur during sleep, our results support other studies which indicate that sleep should be protected in newborns, for example by minimising the disturbance associated with necessary medical procedures," Whitehead said.

The babies' brainwaves were measured using electroencephalography (EEG) and were recorded continuously during sleep.

Active sleep was identified behaviourally according to cot side observation of rapid eye movements, largely irregular breathing and frequent, isolated limb movements.

A total of 19 newborns aged two days on average took part in the study, and they were between 31 and 42 weeks corrected gestational age when studied.

Corrected gestational age takes into account their age if they were still in the womb; a baby born at 35 weeks and being one week old would have a corrected gestational age of 36 weeks.
Sanskriti Talwar By

Express News Service

NEW DELHI: Students, lawyers, doctors and other sections of the society came out to support the farmers with food, water and medical care.

While the students from Delhi University, Jamia Millia Islamia, Jawaharlal Nehru University and Ambedkar University marched with the farmers from different assembly points after receiving them from the railway stations, doctors set up a medical camp right at the Ramlila ground.

All preparation for the farmers march began a month ago. We started collecting funds from fellow students, teachers and nearby shopkeepers by distributing pamphlets and informing them about the march. Since morning, we are standing at the station to receive them. Food and water have been made available to them with the help of these funds, said Ashutosh Kumar, a PhD student of International Studies at JNU.

Hemantika, a PhD student of Gender Study at Ambedkar Uinversity, after interacting with some farmers at Anand Viahr Railway Station asserted that the struggle of farmers and students is connected. We might be saying we are here as volunteers, but we are also here for ourselves as the same corporations are taking away their (farmers) childrens right of education.

A group of lawyers greeted the march led by Swaraj Abhiyan leader Yogendra Yadav.

At Ramlila Maidan, senior resident doctor of AIIMS Dr Harjit Singh Bhatti, along with 25 other doctors, set up a camp to support the farmers in whatever capacity they can. The farmers are agitating for years now, but no one is listening. As a native of Punjab and from a farmers background, I can understand their pain. The farmers are committing suicide, taking to other professions because the government is failing to address their issues. It is disheartening, Bhatti said.
By Express News Service

NEW DELHI: CBI director Alok Verma was divested of his powers in order to protect peoples faith and instil confidence in the agency, the Centre reiterated before the Supreme Court on Thursday. But the bench made it clear that it would first consider whether the government had the power to divest the CBI director of his duties, or whether it had to approach the committee.

Alok Verma

Justifying the Centres decision, Attorney General K K Venugopal told the three-judge bench headed by Chief Justice of India (CJI) Ranjan Gogoi that the mandate of the high-powered committee  comprising the Prime Minister, CJI and Leader of the Opposition  was limited.The committee is functus officio (an officer or agency whose mandate has expired because it has accomplished the purpose it was created for) and hence the question of going back to the same panel for any action doesnt arise, Venugopal argued.

He said the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) had the power of complete superintendence over the CBI, and the provisions of the Central Vigilance Commission Act, 2003, made it clear that such superintendence was not restricted to corruption cases alone.

This led the CJI to ask, If the CVC wrote to the government under its power of superintendence of investigation of corruption cases, could the government issue its order under the residuary power?

Venugopal said the primary concern was to protect peoples faith, and instil confidence, in the CBI, as public opinion was turning negative since its top two officers were at loggerheads. The next hearing is slated for December 5.
By PTI

NEW DELHI: A group of farmers were raising chants of 'Jai Jawan, Jai Kisan' while a few volunteers were offering tea to other peasants at Delhi's Ramlila Maidan to beat the cold.

Thousands of farmers from across the country converged Thursday at the historic Ramlila Ground after journeys that took some as long as 36 hours to complete to press for their demands, including debt relief and remunerative prices for their produce.

They spent the night at the ground before marching to Parliament on Friday morning. Kartar Singh, 50, a sugarcane farmer from Sambal district, Uttar Pradesh, was anxious about the march and was sleepless, but he's not complaining.

"We have not come here to sleep. Farmers have converged in Delhi to remind the Centre that the party leading it had made promises of waiving off loans in its manifesto. And, it has been four-and-a-half years since they came to power," he said, with an edge of anger in his voice.

Singh, a father of two sons is from Fatehpur Sarai village and, his younger son (22 years) has taken the field work while he is away.

"My wife and children have told me, that I should fight and stay even for a week in Delhi, if needed," he told PTI.

Inside the tents, farmers, both men and women, from all parts of India tried to sleep on a chilly night, while many sat huddled together, discussing the next strategy and family issues.

But, a group of volunteers, belonging to welfare organisation 'Khudai Khidmatgar' offered some comfort to these wearied farmers in the cold weather.

Shahjeb Jamal, a civil engineering student at Jamia Islamia and a volunteer with the group lugged around a steel container and handed out steaming tea in paper cups to farmers as they huddle around.

"Our organisation's philosophy as envisioned by its founder Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan, is service and public harmony, and so we are here. We stand with the farmers," he said.

A group of 25-30 doctors also offered medical aid till about 11 pm. Some of them had taken off from work to volunteer. Rashid, a junior resident at AIIMS was among the doctor's volunteers who attended to people till Thursday night.

"I took an off today from work, as I had to be here. They feed us, and we are not doing any favour by helping them, we are serving them," he told PTI.

Doctors also came from Aligarh Muslim University and Rohtak and Chandigarh and other Delhi hospitals to assist farmers, many of whom complained of body ache as they had travelled long distance.

"One person had fainted, so, after first aid, we sent him to LNJP Hospital," said Mahtab Alam, a doctor at a Delhi government hospital.

The Ramlila ground, known for hosting big political events over the years, resonated with slogans like 'Ayodhya nahi, karz maafi chahiye' on Thursday.
By PTI

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court Friday accepted the request of former solicitor general and senior advocate Gopal Subramanium to relieve him from the role of assisting the court as an amicus curiae in a matter related to the Jagannath temple in Puri.

A bench of justices Madan B Lokur and Deepak Gupta said since Subramanium had requested the court to relieve him from the role of amicus in the case, it would appoint somebody else to assist it in the matter.

A lawyer, appearing for one the applicants in the matter, told the bench that it should appoint a senior lawyer who is "conversant" with the customs of the ancient temple as an amicus in the case.

When the lawyer claimed, "Gopal Subramanium did not know anything", the bench shot back, "Do not say all this".

The lawyer said that issues related to the Jagannath temple should be heard by a five-judge bench of the apex court as they were "serious" and violence had also taken place there last month.

"This should be sent to a five-judge bench," he said, adding, "There was a total confusion and a big riot happened there".

The bench, which relieved Subramanium from the role of amicus, said the matter would be heard in the second week of January.

On June 6, the top court had appointed Subramanium as an amicus curiae to assist it in the matter in which a plea was filed highlighting the difficulties faced by the devotees at Jagannath temple and their alleged harassment or exploitation by the sevaks (staff) of the temple.

On October 10, the court had said that no policeman should enter Jagannath temple "with weapons and shoes" after it was alleged before it that during the October 3 violence at the shrine, cops had entered there with boots and guns.

The violence had erupted there during a protest against the introduction of queue system for devotees at the temple.

The Odisha government's counsel had termed the allegations as "absolutely false" and said that no policeman had entered the temple as the incident had taken place at the office of Shree Jagannath temple administration which is situated around 500 metres from the main temple.

Nine policemen were injured in the violence during a 12-hour bandh called by a socio-cultural organisation protesting the introduction of a queue system for devotees visiting the temple, police had said.

In July, the top court had directed the Jagannath temple management to consider allowing every visitor, irrespective of faith, to offer prayers to the deity.

However, it had said that allowing of every visitor, irrespective of faith, would be subject to regulatory measures regarding dress code and giving an appropriate declaration.

It had directed the Centre to constitute a committee to look into the issues raised by the district judge of Puri regarding alleged exploitation of devotees, abolishment of hereditary Sevaks and appointment of Sevaks in the temple.
By UNI

JAMMU: A day after a senior professor referred Bhagat Singh as 'terrorist', the University of Jammu authorities on Friday disassociated him from teaching, an official here said.

The professor has been disassociated from teaching so that his contact with the students could not be established to avoid any law and order problem in the campus, a senior JU faculty member here told UNI.

He said that enquiry committee has been set up and the entire episode is being ascertained before submitting report to the higher ups.

Prof Manoj K Dhar, Vice Chancellor, Jammu University had constituted a high-level committee headed by the senior-most professor, to look into the complaint of students that senior professor and the head of the political science department, M Taj-ud-din on Thursday called freedom fighter Bhagat Singh a 'terrorist' while teaching students.

The incident, however, came to light after a video clip of the episode recorded by a student went viral on the social media.

I was teaching Lenin (Russian revolutionary) & in that context, I said state calls any violence against it 'terrorism'. Someone took a 25-second video out of my 2-hrs lecture. Terrorist word came in that,it wasn't what I meant. Still,if anyone is hurt,I'm really sorry for it. 2/2 pic.twitter.com/jotmc3OGWf  ANI (@ANI) November 30, 2018

The students, however, in a complaint submitted to the Vice Chancellor have alleged that the professor had hurt their feelings by describing Shaheed Bhagat Singh as a terrorist and they sought a strict action against him.

Meanwhile, Prof M Taj-ud-din in a video of him circulated on social media soon after the episode claimed that he had no intention to hurt anyone's feelings and apologised.

I was teaching the biography of Vladimir Lenin in the classroom and was explaining to students how he was referred to as a 'terrorist' by the czars.

Then I explained how the state had referred to Bhagat Singh as a 'terrorist'. I had no intention to demean the personality of Bhagat Singh or for that matter hurt anyone's feelings.

If it has happened, I am sorry, the professor expressed.

He said that he has respect for the great Bhagat Singh and he was teaching that the British people used to term the freedom fighters as terrorists, who were fighting the revolutionary movement and his remarks were related to that context only.
Namita Bajpai By

Express News Service

LUCKNOW: After bringing laws to regulate the fee structure and curriculum of primary and secondary schools in the State, the Uttar Pradesh government is ready with the draft of The UP Private Universities Act-2018, much to the chagrin of private stakeholders. The draft of proposed bill had been in public domain for suggestions and objections for the last one month.

The departmental meeting to examine and analyse the objections raised on the draft bill and to take a final call on the suggestions to be incorporated in it, is slated for Friday. The bill is likely to be tabled in the upcoming winter session of the state Assembly, starting December 18.

ALSO READ: Private varsities in Karnataka under scanner for alleged irregularities

While the state government claims it has taken the step to simplify establishment of private universities in the State, Private Universities of Uttar Pradesh Welfare Association (PUUPWA) feels that after the new law, the private universities will stand to lose their autonomy and freedom to run institutions as per the norms laid by their own governing bodies.

The government is now going back on its promise of autonomy, a PUUPWA member said. At present, 27 private universities in UP are governed by 27 different Acts. The government has formulated one common Act, which is binding on all institutions, to ensure qualitative growth of higher education in the state, a senior official in higher education department said.

In the proposed draft bill, a copy of which is with this newspaper, the state government has made a provision to set up a committee to evaluate proposals for private universities in the State. This committee will send its evaluation report to the state government within a month for final approval. All the private universities will be governed as per norms laid down by the UGC.

On the need to bring a new Act for private universities, a senior higher education department officer said that it is merely an attempt to streamline the establishment of private universities in the state. Many a time, frivolous institutions set up campuses without meeting the guidelines set by the regulatory bodies over infrastructure, logistics and courses. Devising huge fee structures, they admit students but fail to deliver quality education, the officer said.

These provisions have made the private stakeholders edgy as they believe that the presence of a government official in the academic council will lead to red-tapism.

Writes to government

PUUPWA has written to the special secretary, higher education, UP government, to review it decision to bring the new bill
By Online Desk

Pakistan must turn into a secular state to better its ties with India, said Army Chief General Bipin Rawat on Friday. He was delivering a lecture during the National Defence Academy (NDA) passing out parade ceremony in Pune.

Pakistan is an Islamic State. They must willingly become a secular country like us. If they have to stay hand-in-gloves with us, they have to develop themselves as a secular state, General Rawat said.

General Rawat's statement comes amid Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan expressing willingness for greater engagement with India.

Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan on Thursday acknowledged that it was not in the countrys interest to allow its soil to be used for terrorism. Khan said he is ready to talk to PM Narendra Modi at any time.

READ | Pakistan's mindset has 'changed', ready to meet PM Modi for talks: Imran Khan

General Rawat said he feels that Pakistan's claim of taking strong steps towards good bilateral relations is contradictory unless there is a direct impact visible on the ground about its claims.

The Army Chief added that a positive step from Pakistan is what is needed presently because India has a clear policy that terror and talks cannot go together.

Talking about the induction of women in the Indian Army in a front-line combat role, General Rawat said, "You will see an increase in the role of women in armed forces. We have not yet taken them in the front-line combat role. We feel we are not yet ready. Western nations are more open. Boys and girls are operating together in big cities here but people in the Army do not only come from big cities."

He said keeping women officers in fields like language interpreter and military diplomacy would be more beneficial. "We are seeing if women can be given Permanent Commission. In some fields where we need permanency and male officers in a command-oriented Army don't fit everywhere, keeping women officers will be beneficial," he said.

(With ANI inputs)
Sanskriti Talwar By

Express News Service

NEW DELHI: Students, lawyers, doctors - were among the various section of the society who on Thursday extended their support to farmers during their rally with food, water and medical care.

While the students belonging to Delhi University, Jamia Milia Islamia University, Jawaharlal Nehru University and Ambedkar University Delhi, marched with the farmers from different assembly points after receiving them from the railway stations, the doctors awaited for them at Ramlila Maidan with a medical care camp set up.

"All preparation for the farmers' march began a month ago. The students started collecting funds from fellow students, teachers and nearby shopkeepers by distributing pamphlets and informing them about the march. Since morning we are standing at the station to receive them. Food and water arrangements have also been made for them through the funds collected," said Ashutosh Kumar, a PhD student of International Studies at JNU.

Hemantika, a PhD student of Gender Study at AUD, after speaking to some farmers at Anand Viahr Railway Station came to the conclusion that the struggle of farmers and students is "all connected".

She said: "We might be saying we are here as volunteers, but we are also here for ourselves as the same corporations are taking away their (farmers) childrens' right of education."At Ramlila Maidan, Senior Resident AIIMS Dr Harjit Singh Bhatti, along with 25 other doctors set up a camp to support farmers in "whatever capacity they can".

"The farmers have been agitating since years now, but no one is listening. As a native of Punjab and holding a farmers background, I can understand their pain. The farmers are committing suicide, switching to other professions because the government is failing to address their issues. It is disheartening for me," Bhatti said.
By ANI

BUENOS AIRES: Prime Minister Narendra Modi who is on a three-day official visit to Argentina to attend G20 summit, stated that terrorism and radicalism are a threat to the world.

Speaking at the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) Leaders' Informal Meeting at the sidelines of G20, Prime Minister Modi asserted that people involved in financial crimes are also a big threat and called on the world leaders to work together to curb out black money.

The Prime Minister also noted that BRICS is "an engine of global growth" and the nations have to work together for the greater good.

"We have to talk in one voice for the interest of developing nations in the United Nations and other multilateral organisations. This is the reason we have come together for BRICS," Prime Minister Modi emphasised.

Ministry of External Affairs Official Spokesperson Raveesh Kumar tweeted, "In his first of the many engagements today, PM @narendramodi participated at BRICS Leaders' Informal Meeting on the margins of #G20Summit. Reaffirmed India's commitment to globalisation and reformed multilateralism."

Prime Minister Narendra Modi started off his second day here by taking part in the BRICS Leaders Informal Meeting at the Alvear Palace Hotel.

Leaders of the other BRICS nations - President of Brazil Mechel Temer, President of China Xi Jinping, Russian President Vladimir Putin, the President of South Africa, Cyril Maraphosa also reached Argentina before the session.

Following the meeting, Prime Minister Modi is scheduled to arrive at the Centro Costa Salguero, the G-20 Summit venue for a Leaders Retreat and the Plenary session.

The Prime Minister is one of the leading speakers at the conference's first session titled 'Putting People First', where he will be touching on the issue of women's empowerment.

Prime Minister has a meeting slated with Chinese President Xi for the fourth time after the plenary session, following which he shall be meeting with new President of Chile Sebastian Pinera.

There will be a Russia, India, China (RIC) Informal Summit in the evening, which will be followed by a cultural performance and a leader's dinner. Apart from these, Prime Minister Modi will also participate in the first-ever trilateral meeting between Japan, America, and India.

Prime Minister Modi previously held separate bilateral meetings with the Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and the United Nations (UN) Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres on November 29 (local time) and addressed a 'Yoga for Peace' event.
Directed by Ahmed Fawzi Saleh, the film won Best Arab Film Prize and Salah Abu Seif Prize at CIFF's Horizons of Arab Cinema Competition, and won the United Nations Population Fund award

The Egyptian drama Poisonous Roses won three awards during this months Cairo International Film Festival, which closed on Thursday.

The awards, which were announced during the festival's closing ceremony, include Best Arab Film, the Salah Abu Seif Prize (Special Jury Prize) and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) Award, giving the film the highest number of awards at this years festival.

Poisonous Roses was screened within the Horizons of Arab Cinema section of the festival.

Directed by Ahmed Fawzi Saleh (also known as Fawzi Saleh), the film is based on Ahmed Zaghloul Al-Shitis 1990 novel titled Saqrs Poisonous Roses.

The cast of the film includes Ibrahim El-Nagari (in the role of Saqr), Merihan Magdi (Taheya), Mahmoud Hemida (the magician), Mohamed Berakaa (the sheikh), Safaa El Toukhy (the mother).

The Egyptian protagonist Saqr lives and works in a tanning district, but ha a dream to escape the area.

In his review of the film published in the CIFF's daily bulletin, Egyptian critic Adham Youssef praises the film's cinematography and its visual richness, which "made the story engaging and appealing to viewers," he writes, pointing also to the successful story and plot.

"Salehs film can be seen in a more humane context that does not deprive the impoverished working class of its agency. The characters in the film are powerful and capable of deciding on their lives. Poverty is present, but it is not the moving catalyst in their lives. In addition, the humane context is shown in a way how Saleh pushes the dynamics of the Egyptian working class hence the same story can be seen and heard in other places of the world," he wrote.

Poisonous Roses

Youssef also said that the director, who graduated from the Higher Institute of Cinema in 2009, dedicated his scriptwriting thesis graduation project to this film and spent years working on it until it saw light at the International Film Festival in Rotterdam in 2018.

In Rotterdam, the film was nominated for Best First Film and Best Film  FIPRESCI Prize; it was also nominated for Best Film at the Sao Paulo International Film Festival 2018.

Born in Alexandria in 1981, Saleh has contributed to many documentary films as a researcher, and co-writer, as well volunteering with human rights groups' focusing on improving life for children and labourers in Egypt.

His previous film Living Skin (2010) sheds light on the lives of children working in the Cairo's leather tanning industry. Through personal stories of love and play, the documentary reveals the grim reality of work in the tanneries, where working children are exposed to hazardous chemicals that are harmful to both humans and the environment.

Living Skin won several awards: the Best First Work Award at the Tetouan International Meditteranean Film Festival 2011, the Jury Special Mention Award at the Abu Dhabi Film Festival 2011, the Best Film (Jury Prize) at the Luxor African Film Festival 2011 and the Best Documentary (First Prize) at the Baghdad International Film Festival 2011.

The 40th edition of the Cairo International Film Festival took place between 21 and 19 November.

The Golden Pyramid for best film was awarded to A Twelve-Year Night, by Alvaro Brechner (Uruguay, Argentina, Spain).

For more arts and culture news and updates, follow Ahram Online Arts and Culture on Twitter at @AhramOnlineArts and on Facebook at Ahram Online: Arts & Culture

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By PTI

MUMBAI: Industrialist Vijay Mallya left the country in "normal course" and not under suspicious circumstances as claimed by investigating agencies, his lawyer told a court here Thursday.

A special court for Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) cases is hearing the Enforcement Directorate's (ED) plea to declare Mallya a fugitive under the Fugitive Economic Offenders (FEO) Act.

Arguing before judge M S Azmi, Mallya's lawyer Amit Desai said his client is a non-resident Indian (NRI) with a permanent address in London and he had substantial business overseas as well as in India.

Mallya is accused by the ED of defaulting on bank loans to the tune of Rs 9,000 crore.

He is also accused of diverting some of the loan amount.

Advocate Desai, while opposing the ED plea, said that Mallya had cooperated with the Debts Recovery Tribunal in its proceedings in relation to the loans given to his firms.

He left the country for London on March 2, 2016 via Germany, where he attended a conference of World Motorsports as a director, Desai said.

Mallya was then one of the owners Force India, a Formula One team, he added.

The investigating agencies had claimed that he left the county under suspicious circumstances.

Desai, however, argued that "Mallya left the country in normal course and before any case was registered against him."

Further, FEO Act is a draconian law as it permits confiscation of a person's property even before the trial starts, he said.

"As per the criminal procedure, property is confiscated only after the accused is held guilty. Under this law, the question of confiscation of property comes even before the first witness is examined," he said.

ED counsel D P Singh rebutted Mallya's defence that he cannot return to India because of the conditions of the bail granted by a court in the United Kingdom which restrain him from leaving the country.

Mallya can give an undertaking before the UK court that he wants to return to India, Singh said.

The arguments will continue on Friday.
By Express News Service

ELURU: A doctor working at a public health centre (PHC) in West Godavari district was tested positive for swine flu and receiving treatment at the Eluru Government General Hospital (GGH). The doctor reportedly contracted the H1N1 flu virus when he had gone to visit a family member in Hyderabad, who was also tested positive for the virus.

According to officials, the 34-year victim, who hailed from Tanuku town, was working at Manchili PHC of Attili mandal on outsourcing basis.

About 20 days ago, the doctor went to Hyderabad to visit his aunt, being treated for swine flu, and stayed there for three days. After his return, he was normal and worked.

However, three days ago, he complained of fever and took treatment. As the fever showed no signs to reduce, he went for blood tests at the Eluru government hospital where his reports said he was affected with swine flu.
By Express News Service

BENGALURU: Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy used the opportunity at the 63rd Kannada Rajyotsava Award ceremony to urge people to maintain regional unity in the state.

I appeal to people not to divide the state into old Mysuru, Hyderabad Karnataka, Mumbai Karnataka and coastal Karnataka, he said. Do not bring hatred among people. Encourage us to govern. Our government is committed to the overall development of the state, and not on the basis of region-wise preferences.

Kaamegowda, the 82-year-old shepherd

from Mandya district, got glad tidings

on Wednesday when he was informed

that his four-decade-long effort to

create 14 ponds in his village, had

been recognised by the state

government | Express

Kumaraswamy said his government was not limited to one district or region alone. Do not widen the gap between the government and the people or between various regions of the state, he added.

At the ceremony, where 63 awardees were honoured, the CM said some vested interests were trying to widen differences within the state by instilling jealousy and hatred. As a state, Karnataka is united. Do not try to break it, he said.

He also pointed out that the selection committee for the Rajyotsava Awards had covered all the districts of Karnataka while selecting the awardees.

Kumaraswamy once again hit out at the media during the event, saying the media is responsible for widening the gap between people and the government.

The ceremony was attended by ministers DK Shivakumar and Jayamala, among others.
By Express News Service

KOCHI: Kerala is staring at a major security challenge as a significant number of militants and left-wing extremists from other states are using the state as a hideout, disguised as labourers.

Though the state government and the Centre continue to insist on mandatory valid identification documents, such as the voters ID and Aadhaar, for the people seeking jobs in Kerala, a majority of them still get away by providing school certificates and other ID.

The arrest of three Bodo militants from Perumbavoor on Thursday has revealed the lacunae in the security system as none of them had any valid ID and were working in a plywood factory which recruited them without asking for the same.

We have been directing the local factories and other units to collect valid ID from those coming from Northeastern states, but they pay scant regard to our directions, said Perumbavoor DySP G Venu.

Its not possible for the police to do door to door verification as hundreds of people from Bihar, West Bengal, Jharkhand and Assam reach Perumbavoor every day.

A big concern to Intelligence agencies is that are inter-state labour contractors bring workers from other states in large numbers.

If we look at the profile of the people arrested by Central agencies from the state, the situation is really worrisome, said a senior officer.

Major arrests in Kerala

In December 2007, CPI (Maoist) central committee member of Malla Raja Reddy was arrested from Angamaly. In October 2015, the Ernakulam Rural police arrested a native of Jharkhand, said to be an area commander of the People Liberation Army, the armed wing of the banned CPI (Maoist).

The suspect was identified as Jitendar Oraon, a native of Latehar district. He was working at an electric wire-manufacturing unit at Chambannur, near Angamaly, for the past three years.

In February 2014, the police arrested Paravai Badusha from Anchal village near Kollam district. He was wanted in connection with several terror cases. Badusha was linked to the murders of BJP leaders in Salem and Vellore in 2013 and was also a suspect in the Bengaluru bomb blast.

In June 2014, the police arrested Hyder Ali alias Engineer Ali, a suspected extremist who was on the run for more than two decades, from Palakkad. In November 2015, a wanted Bodo militant identified as Dimga aka Lidion Basumatary, 34, was nabbed from Kozhikode.

In April 2014, a top militant identified as Zia-ur-Rehman alias Waqas was arrested from Munnar. The 24-year-old Pakistan national and terror suspect was working as a labourer.

In August 2018, the NIA nabbed two terrorists identified as Mustafizur Rahman, 35, of Birbhum village, and Abdul Karim of Murshidabad of West Bengal, who were posing as migrant labourers, from Kottakkal in Malappuram.

They were the prime accused in a blast and IED planting case at Bodh Gaya in Bihar on January 20, 2018, and allegedly belonged to Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB).
By Express News Service

BHUBANESWAR: Two senior leaders of the BJP, former Union Minister Dilip Ray and national executive member Bijay Mohapatra today quit the party, giving a severe jolt to the saffron outfit's Mission 120 + in Odisha ahead of the 2019 elections.

While Ray announced his resignation from the BJP in a Twitter post, Mohapatra wrote a joint letter to national president Amit Shah with Ray to quit the party. Earlier, Ray had met Speaker Pradip Amat to resign from the Assembly. Amat accepted the resignation of Ray from the Assembly in which he represented the Rourkela constituency.

In a post on Facebook, Ray also announced his decision to not contest from Rourkela: It is with deep anguish that I have also decided not to contest the upcoming Assembly elections in 2019 from Rourkela, he said.

Dilip Ray and Bijoy Mohapatra

In the three-page post on Facebook, former union minister Dilip Ray said, Riding on the charismatic presence of Narendra Modi and the progressive change of the BJP had promised, I had envisioned a whole lot of development works for the city and had promised to fulfil the long-ignored dream and aspirations of

the people who had reposed their faith in me. I did put up the best of my efforts to the best of my ability and left no stone unturned on my part to materialise the dreams and aspirations of my constituents but at this stage, I acknowledge my failure in living up to their expectations and therefore, taking up the moral responsibility, I have decided to quit as the member of the State Legislative Assembly as well as from the membership of BJP.

It is with deep anguish that I have decided to quit as the Member of State Legislative Assembly as well as from the Membership of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). pic.twitter.com/pXMrezRU9H  Dilip Ray (@DilipRayOdisha) November 30, 2018

Addressing a media conference here, Mohapatra regretted his decision to join the BJP in 2013. Asked about his next move, Mohapatra said he has not taken a decision as yet. After Dilip returns from the foreign trip in two weeks, both of us will take a decision on our next move. I will take a decision whether to contest the forthcoming elections after a meeting with Dilip, he added.

On the speculation over his joining the BJD, Mohapatra said that since the political scenario in Odisha is now in a state of uncertainty, he will take a decision in this regard after his meeting with Ray.

Called on the Hon'ble Speaker of Odisha Legislative Assembly today morning and tendered resignation of my seat in the assembly from Rourkela constituency. pic.twitter.com/uAaEaxF3Qb  Dilip Ray (@DilipRayOdisha) November 30, 2018

Mohapatra alleged in his letter that despite repeated efforts to appraise Amit Shah of the sorry state of affairs in the party in Odisha, there was no move to take corrective measures. Neither you nor any senior central party leader bothered to consult, review or take corrective measures. Be it the Mahanadi water

issue, or the unfulfilled promises of a second bridge over river Brahmani, the super specialty hospital at Rourkela or the dreams of lakhs of jobs for Odia youth which we sold at Paradip during the inauguration of the Oil Refinery  nothing, absolutely nothing materialized, the letter said.
By Express News Service

CHENNAI: The proceedings in a criminal case pending against former DMK minister K N Nehru before the Special Court for Political cases against MPs and MLAs, have been quashed by the Madras High Court. The charge against Nehru was that he had deterred public servants from discharging duty during a protest against demonetization at Trichy in November, 2016.

Justice N Anand Venkatesh quashed the proceedings, allowing a plea from Nehru. The prosecution case was that on November 28, 2016, Nehru and other accused, had organised a protest near the Passport office at Trichy against the decision to demonetize `500 and `1,000 currency notes. When they were told to disperse, as they had not obtained the prior permission, they refused to oblige. On the other hand, the Inspector attached to Gandhi Market police station and his policemen were allegedly manhandled by the petitioner and his men.

The Judicial Magistrate in Trichy took cognizance of the charge on November 8, 2017. After formation of the Special Court, the case was transferred to it and the petitioner appeared before it on November 12.

When the petition came up for hearing today, Nehrus senior counsel N R Elango cited a judgment of the Supreme Court and pointed out that the complainant and the investigation officer are one and the same person.
By PTI

CHENNAI: The Madras High Court has made it clear that it cannot stall the probe by the Special Investigation Team appointed by the Tamil Nadu Governor into the alleged sex scandal at Madurai Kamaraj University in the state.

A division bench of Justice M Sathyanarayanan and Justice P Rajamanickam said Thursday, "We cannot stay the probe by SIT, all we can do is only ask the university whether it has implemented the provisions of the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act."

The bench also directed the university to file a report on the proper implementation of the Act in its institutions.

The direction came on a plea by Revolutionary Students Youth Front seeking to stall the probe conducted by the SIT and constitute a new team headed by a woman official to investigate the scandal in which assistant professor Nirmala Devi allegedly tried to lure college girls to offer sexual favours to higher officials.

When the plea came up for hearing, the Advocate General filed a status report, which said the professor "voluntarily" confessed during custodial interrogation that she tried to lure girl students of her college only to offer sexual favours to other two accused in the case Murugan and Karuppasamy.

It was further submitted that with the assistance of cyber crime cell the call data records (CDR) of Nirmala Devi, Karuppasamy and Murugan were obtained from Mobile Service Providers (MSPs). The report said the records were analysed and relevant evidence of conspiracy was established.

"The calls made and received by the accused were analysed, and the concerned were summoned, examined and statements recorded. The calls among the three were corroborated based on the voluntary confession and the facts were verified," it was submitted.

The seizure of all digital evidences was done after following due legal procedure, the report added. Nirmala Devi, assistant professor at Devanga Arts College in Aruppukottai, was arrested on April 16, a day after an audio clip went viral on the social media, in which she purportedly sought to persuade girls to consider extending sexual favours to senior officials of MKU, to which the college is affiliated.
M Sabari By

Express News Service

SALEM: The District Police in four districts, Salem, Dharmapuri, Namakkal and Krishnagiri which comes under Salem Range, has instructed to give tea for drivers who are passing national highways to reduce accidents. On Friday, Salem Police started to give out tea for vehicle drivers, especially for goods carrier drivers.

As Salem is an important point to reach Bangalore and Chennai, there are more vehicles including goods vehicles from Kerala, Coimbatore, Tirupur and Erode districts, which pass through Salem. These goods carrier vehicles mostly travel at night time, hence drivers are prone to nodding off at the wheel.

The District police are taking various steps like creating barricades, cat eyes, caution boards and signals at accident spots to make the highway patrol police to monitor the accident spots regularly.

Following these steps, the accident rate has come down in Salem district and in other districts within the Salem Range as well. The police found that most of the accidents were taking place around 2 to 5 am.

Following the Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG, Salem Range)'s instructions, Salem district police on Friday have started to give out tea for vehicle drivers passing Karipatty and other accident-prone spots.

The police have also advised the drivers to park their vehicles in parking lots if they were sleepy.

Speaking to Express, Salem Range DIG Senthilkumar said that this year till November, around 425 persons were killed in road accidents in these four districts.

Last year, more than 800 people lost their lives in mishaps in these 4 districts. Due to steps taken by the police of these four districts, the accident rate came down to 425 this year.
By Express News Service

NAGAPATTINAM: A group of government employees, including revenue staff, held a demonstration at the collectorate here on Thursday. They were protesting the alleged lack of action against those who attacked revenue officials carrying out Cyclone Gaja relief work. Members of the Tamil Nadu Revenue Department Officials Association and Tamil Nadu Government Employees Association (TNGEA) held the protest. They raised slogans against the lack of action taken against suspects involved in the assaults.

Addressing media, TNGEA district secretary A T A Anbazhagan said, All departments, particularly the Revenue and Rural Development departments are putting in tireless work to restore normalcy in the areas affected by the cyclone. However, miscreants, unknown assailants and certain political parties have been disrespectful of our work and assaulted them. They should be arrested at once and the welfare of employees involved in cyclone relief should be protected.

M Sridhar, the then tahsildar of Vedaranyam and workers accompanying him were allegedly assaulted by a mob near Kovilpathu on November 21 when he went to enquire relief works to the central kitchen in Periyakuthagai. Four people have been arrested, but main accused R Kathirvel is absconding. Earlier, VAO Selvi and her colleague were allegedly assaulted in Agarkadambanur.
By UNI

BUENOS AIRES: US President Donald Trump said on Friday he will discuss defense and trade cooperation with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe during their meeting at the G-20 summit.

"We have many things we will be talking about, in particular, protection, military type, also trade," Trump told reporters ahead of the bilateral meeting.

ALSO READ | PM Modi, Trump, Shinzo Abe discuss major issues of global interests on G-20 sidelines

The US president added that the trade deficit between Japan and the United States is quite significant, but it is going down.

He said Tokyo is working with his administration on balancing the deficit and it should be achieved quickly.

Trump also commended Japan for buying US fighter jets and underlined the importance of continuing this partnership.

Abe congratulated Trump on "historic victory" in the 2018 midterm elections.
By PTI

BUENOS AIRES: President Donald Trump Friday lauded "good signs" ahead of talks with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping on resolving their trade war.

"There's some good signs, we'll see what happens," Trump said in Buenos Aires, where he was attending the G20 summit and was to have dinner with Xi on Saturday.

If we could make a deal, that would be good. I think they want to, and I think we'd like to.

Trump has slapped punishing tariffs on more than USD 250 billion in Chinese imports so far this year, demanding that Beijing end allegedly unfair trade practices and reverse industrial policies criticized by other major economies.

China responded with its own tariffs on USD 110 billion in US goods.

ALSO READ | Trump thinks US will have a trade deal with China

But Trump has threatened to target the remaining USD 267 billion worth of Chinese imports as well, hitting Apple iPhones and laptops produced in China.

Ahead of the G20, White House economic advisor Larry Kudlow detailed what Trump wants out of China.

"China should change its practices and come into the community of responsible trading nations," Kudlow said, stressing that he considers the US economy in far better shape than China's to weather a prolonged trade war.

"We are in a position to deal with it and handle it very well," he told reporters.

China will have to give way on "fairness and reciprocity," he said, warning that US concerns over intellectual property theft and China's forced technology transfers "must be solved".
By Express News Service

NEW DELHI: One of the first foreign leaders whom Prime Minister Narendra Modi met after landing in Buenos Aires for the G-20 summit was Saudi Arabias crown prince Mohammed Bin Salman, who has been linked to the gory murder of journalist Khashoggi in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul October 2.

While Modi thanked MBS, as the prince is often described, for keeping oil prices stable despite the global crisis, and for hosting the large Indian community which works in Saudi Arabia, MBS in turn pledged to significantly ramp up Saudis investments in India over the next few years across various sectors.

Modi also attended a Yoga for Peace event organised by the Art of Living foundation, and met UN Secretary Antonio Gutteres, who lauded Indias role and hoped for Delhis support at the upcoming global climate change conference.

On Friday, before the Summit began, Modi attended the BRICS leaders Informal Meeting, where he stressed the need to reform multilateral institutions, including the UN and its security Council, and the need to counter unilateralism and protectionism. He then met Chinese President Xi Jinping, the fourth such meeting this year, and both leaders agreed that there had been a perceptible improvement in bilateral relations since their informal summit in Wuhan in April, and hailed the series of initiatives and high level meetings between the two sides.

Later in the day, after the G20 Leaders Retreat, Modi will attend the first-ever trilateral meeting between Japan, America and India as well as the 2nd Russia India China trilateral (after a 12-year gap).

MBS: From reformer to Mr Bone-saw

Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the de facto ruler of Saudi Arabia, was hailed internationally as a reformer who would bring the winds of change to the deeply orthodox Muslim nation. Until October 2, when the first reports of the grisly murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul Turkey startled the world. Many reports described him as Mr Bone Saw, alluding to the instrument allegedly used to dismember Khashoggi. This is likely to lead to some awkward moments at the G20 Summit, where MBS, as the prince is known, arrived two days early. But even though the CIA claimed that MBS was behind the murder, US President Trump defended him. Presidents Xi Jinping of China and Vladimir Putin of Russia too have no issues with MBS
By PTI

BUENOS AIRES: India underscored its firm commitment to make the Indo-Pacific a region for shared economic growth as Prime Minister Narendra Modi, US President Donald Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Friday held their first trilateral meeting on the sidelines of the G-20 summit here, amidst China flexing its muscles in the strategic Indo-Pacific region.

Asserting that India will "continue to work together on shared values," Modi said, "When you look at the acronym of our three countries -- Japan, America, and India -- it is 'JAI', which stands for success in Hindi."

ALSO READ | PM Modi meets Chinese President Xi Jinping on G20 summit sidelines

The prime minister said the 'JAI' meeting was a convergence of vision between the three nations.

"This is a very good occasion for the three countries -- countries which have shared values, democratic values. We will continue to play a big role together for world peace, prosperity and stability," he said.

Modi underscored India's firm commitment to make the Indo Pacific a region for shared economic growth and common prosperity.

The prime minister articulated five action points that would serve the common interest of promoting peace and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region.

He assured all countries of the inclusiveness and openness of this framework and highlighted the importance of working jointly in areas such as connectivity, sustainable development, disaster relief, maritime security and unfettered mobility.

Modi also underlined the importance of building consensus on an architecture in the Indo-Pacific region based on principles of mutual benefit and respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity.

"JAI (Japan, America, India) trilateral marks the coming together of three friendly nations. Today's historic JAI meeting was a great beginning. PM @AbeShinzo, @POTUS and I held fruitful talks aimed at furthering connectivity, maritime cooperation and a stable Indo-Pacific," Modi tweeted after the meeting.

The Japanese premier said he was happy to participate in "the first ever 'JAI' meeting" and hope that it would reinforce the trilateral partnership and its close cooperation "towards realising a free and open Indo-Pacific".

Appreciating India's growth story during the meet, Trump said, "The relationships between our three countries is extremely good and extremely strong. With India, maybe stronger than ever. We are doing very well together. We are doing a lot of trade together. We are doing a lot of defence together, a lot of military purchases."

The leaders emphasised the importance of cooperation among the three countries on all major issue of global and multilateral interests such as connectivity, sustainable development, counterterrorism and maritime and cybersecurity.

They shared their views on progressing a free, open, conclusive and rule-based order in the Indo-Pacific region, based on respect for international law and peaceful resolution of all differences.

The trilateral meeting took place at a time when China is engaged in hotly contested territorial disputes in the South China Sea, and with Japan in the East China Sea.

Both the areas are said to be rich in minerals, oil and other natural resources.

China claims almost all of the South China Sea.

Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan have overlapping claims in the waterway, which includes vital sea lanes through which about USD 3 trillion in global trade passes each year.

The US has been conducting regular patrols in the South China Sea to assert freedom of navigation in the area where Beijing has built up and militarised many of the islands and reefs it controls in the region.

Prime Minister Modi, in his keynote address at the Shangri La Dialogue in Singapore in June, expounded India's stand on the strategic Indo-Pacific region.

"India does not see the Indo-Pacific Region as a strategy or as a club of limited members. Nor as a grouping that seeks to dominate. And by no means do we consider it as directed against any country. A geographical definition, as such, cannot be," he had said.

Modi, Trump and Abe also agreed to cooperate in various ways and together with other countries.

They also agreed on the importance of meeting in "Trilateral Format" at multilateral conferences.
By ANI

BUENOS: Prime Minister Narendra Modi in a bilateral meeting with Saudi Prince Mohammed bin Salman stressed upon stabilising energy prices, with specific emphasis on how Saudi Arabia can contribute to the same in India, Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale said on Friday.

Gokhale said that Prime Minister Modi had a very warm and cordial meeting with Salman, who called India an important partner of Saudi Arabia.

The two leaders specifically focused on how Saudi Arabia can enhance its investments across a number of sectors in the next two to three years. They agreed upon setting up a mechanism at the leadership level which will go into the possibilities of concrete action in terms of investments, technology, manufacturing, energy, food security and defence. The mechanism will show significant scaling up of Saudi investments in India within a span of the next two to three years.

The Saudi Crown Prince also informed the Prime Minister that Saudi Arabia will be finalising an initial investment to the National Infrastructure Fund.
By ANI

WASHINGTON DC: The United States on Thursday welcomed efforts by India and Pakistan to increase people-to-people contact, days after the two countries laid foundation stones for the Kartarpur Sahib corridor.

In a briefing here, US State Department deputy spokesperson Robert Palladino told reporters, "I'm aware of the reports of this Kartarpur corridor, as you referenced there. I understand that it's kind of a visa-free way for Indians to visit this important Sikh site. And of course, the US -- we would welcome efforts to increase people-to-people ties between India and Pakistan."

The route along the India-Pakistan border is three kilometres away from Gurdaspur in Punjab. Once opened, it would allow Sikh pilgrims a direct access to the historic Gurudwara Darbar Sahib in Kartarpur, Pakistan, where Guru Nanak Dev died in 1539.

ALSO READ | Of what use is Kartarpur corridor if Pakistan continues to support terrorism: Hardeep Singh Puri

Replying to a question on US President Donald Trump's tweets on stopping aid to Pakistan at a time when the US is seeking its cooperation on bringing the Taliban to the negotiating table, Palladino underlined the need for Islamabad to "build confidence and trust in bilateral relations" with Washington.

"The Secretary (of State Michael Pompeo) has emphasised the need for Pakistan to deliver the outcome and build confidence and trust between our two countries, and our policy towards Pakistan is clear," the State Department spokesperson said.

Ties between the US and Pakistan have been strained since this year after the Trump administration hit out at the Pakistan government for its lacklustre approach in combating terrorism on its soil by halting military aid to Islamabad.

Commenting on the now-cancelled meeting between Trump and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, Palladino asserted, "It was aboard Air Force One, I believe, that (the announcement of cancelling the meeting) took place and the Secretary of State was with the President at the time. But what's clear is the President's tweets on the subject were quite clear at what we looked for, and that is the return of the Ukrainian sailors and the vessels. The aggression that we've witnessed this week is unacceptable and a strong message has been sent."

On November 25, Russian guards fired upon and captured three Ukrainian naval ships after they illegally entered into the Russian territory of the Black Sea. The incident drew international condemnation especially by the US, further leading to Ukraine preparing to impose martial law in its border areas with Russia.

ALSO READ | Majority in India appreciating Kartarpur Sahib corridor: Imran Khan

Reacting to the same, Palladino said that the captured Ukranian vessels and detained crew members should be released by the Russian government and Washington is going to be "firm" in this position.

Replying to another question on the prospects of having high-level talks with North Korea, the State Department spokesperson said that deliberations would happen soon, while their policy on North Korea's denuclearisation remains unchanged at the same time.

"We are looking forward to having high-level talks. Our policy hasn't changed on North Korea. Progress (of denuclearisation) has been made, and we are hopeful that more will be made on North Korea as well. The Secretary and the President have been clear that we're not going to be forced into artificial time constraints. We've made great progress at the summit in Singapore for the final, fully verified denuclearisation. We are going to continue to push forward on that. And of course, future dialogue will take place and it'll definitely be something that Special Representative (Stephen) Biegun will be leading," Palladino elaborated.

Replying to a query on the comments of the head of the Iraqi militant group Asa'ib Ahl al-Haq, who recently said that the Hashd al-Shaabi should have a role in security along Iraq's border with Syria, Palladino said that the security of Iraq and its border is the Iraqi government's responsibility. (ANI)
By Online Desk

Southwest Airlines has put out a statement apologising for mocking a 5-year-old girl named 'Abcde' (pronounced Ab-city), when she and her mother were about to board a flight back home from Santa Ana, California, to El Paso, Texas.

According to an ABC7 report, Abcde's mother Traci Redford alleged that a gate agent burst out laughing at the girl's name, discussing it with other employees before going on to post a picture of the boarding pass on social media.

Name shaming? This Texas woman claims a @SouthwestAir agent made fun of her 5-year-old daughter's name as they were preparing to board their flight at @JohnWayneAir in Orange County.



Her daughter's name is Abcde (pronounced Ab-city). @ABC7 pic.twitter.com/iHpBPoakYI  Veronica Miracle (@ABC7Veronica) November 28, 2018

In a statement to Buzzfeed News, Airline spokesperson Chris Mainz offered a "sincere apology to the family" and said the employee's social media post "is not indicative of the care, respect, and civility" expected of employees.

Southwest has "followed up with the employee involved, and while we do not disclose personnel actions publicly, we are using this as an opportunity to reinforce our policies and emphasize our expectations for all employees," Mainz said.

"We take great pride in extending our Southwest hospitality to all of our customers, which includes living by the Golden Rule and treating every individual with respect, in person or online," he added.

Traci said that her daughter had heard the employee mocking her and asked why.

"She said, 'Mom, why is she laughing at my name?' And I said not everyone is nice and not everyone is going to be nice and it's unfortunate," she said.
Reporter

Noelle McGee is a Danville-based reporter at The News-Gazette. Her email is nmcgee@news-gazette.com, and you can follow her on Twitter (@n_mcgee).
One of Editor & Publishers 10 That Do It Right 2021
The Government is working on finding the best arrangement to cope with the influx of tourists arriving through the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge to minimise the impact on Tung Chung residents.

Speaking to reporters today before attending the Executive Council meeting, Chief Executive Carrie Lam said the Government has been reviewing the passenger flow regularly since the bridge was commissioned about a month ago.

After taking measures to mitigate the situation according to the circumstances, an improvement has been seen over the past two weeks, Mrs Lam said.

She added the Government has been discussing ways to improve the situation with the transport and tourism sectors in the hope of finding a solution that all parties will be satisfied with.

The Government will continue monitoring the situation and liaising with the Zhuhai and Macau governments on how to improve the arrangements.

Mrs Lam also appealed to the public for tolerance.
The Hospital Authority today said it has informed all public hospitals and out-patient clinics to suspend using an affected batch of influenza vaccines immediately.

This follows an announcement by the Department of Health on the immediate suspension of the use of a batch of quadrivalent seasonal influenza vaccines (box label: R3J721V; syringe label: R3J72).

The authoritys seasonal influenza vaccination service is expected to resume gradually from December 1.

The Department of Health, including its Elderly Health Centres, will suspend seasonal influenza vaccination service until the supplier dispatches a new batch of vaccines.

Its School Outreach Vaccination Pilot Programme, on the other hand, is not affected as the vaccines used are supplied by another company.

The supplier of the affected vaccines, Sanofi-Aventis Hong Kong Ltd, has taken a precautionary measure to suspend the market supply of a batch of quadrivalent seasonal influenza vaccines and will arrange to dispatch new vaccines to local private healthcare facilities as soon as possible.

According to Sanofi, about 175,000 doses of the affected batch of vaccines have been imported to Hong Kong and part of the batch has been distributed to the Department of Health, the Hospital Authority and healthcare facilities.

So far, the Department of Health and the Hospital Authority have not received any adverse reports in connection with the affected vaccines.

The department advised those who feel unwell after receiving the vaccination to consult healthcare professionals.

Samples of the concerned batch of quadrivalent vaccines were found to contain white particles by Taiwan authorities. The company said it has not received any report regarding the presence of white particles in the same batch of vaccines supplied to Hong Kong.

The Department of Health has requested the company to submit a report regarding the presence of white particles in the affected vaccines.
There will be other entities and structures supporting the legislative structure. The judicial cluster, and then the executive cluster will be relocated to the area  some ministries will be housed here including finance. Other facilities like banks, hotels will be built around this place
Muleya who moved around carrying a bag containing a knobkerrie, okapi knife and snuff box which he used to intimidate victims before sexually abusing them, had before the rape conviction, been convicted of attempting to rape another girl in Binga in February this year and senteced to 30 months in prison.
It is incumbent on you all to deepen and sharpen the execution of your skills in relation to staff procedures, logistics, leadership, command, geopolitical studies and military technology. The tactics in both conventional warfare and low intensity operations, United Nations peace support and peacekeeping operations, among other subjects which students were exposed to, will be useful in the broader duties officers may encounter during their career responsibilities.
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on Third Shots

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(Newser)  A rookie white cop, a young black man shot to death by police, and a firingbut the story doesn't develop in an expected way. Writing for ProPublica, Joe Sexton takes a deep dive into the 2016 shooting of 23-year-old RJ Williams in Weirton, West Virginia. Williams was shot by a police officer after he waved a gun at the officer and another cop who had just arrived on the scene; the gun turned out to be unloaded. Those two officers arrived after newbie officer Stephen Mader, who had been trying to de-escalate the situation because he suspected Williams was trying to pull off a "suicide by cop." Mader said Williams didn't seem like a threat, instead showing a "red flag" of being distraught as he repeatedly asked Mader to "shoot me," gun at his side but not raised. Mader didn't shoot him, but when officers Ryan Kuzma and Michael Baker showed up, Kuzma did.

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A Hancock County prosecutor later deemed the shooting of Williams justified, citing a legitimate fear for the officers' safety, and Mader doesn't disagree with that finding: He acknowledges that while he "wouldn't have felt justified" shooting Williams, he understands that Kuzma may have had a different perspective, and that Kuzma fired only when Williams raised the gun. What Mader does take issue with: the fact that he was fired, leading to his lawsuit for wrongful termination. At least one person appreciates what Mader did: Williams' sister, who reached out to Mader on Facebook to thank him for being someone who "was looking at [Williams] as a person" in his final moments. She recounts Mader's reply: "He said that he just wished that he could have had a few more seconds, that he wished it would have turned out different, that my brother would still be alive." Read the full story here. (A teen killed by cops in San Diego called 911 on himself.)
(Newser)  A Florida 12-year-old is facing seven felony charges for allegedly bringing a package of THC-laced gummy candies to school and sharing them with his classmates during a morning gym class at Mulberry Middle School in Polk County, ABC reports. Several students became ill with symptoms that included stomach pain, nausea, and dizziness after eating the Green Hornet brand gummies.

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Of the two boys and four girls who ate the pot candies, five were taken to the hospital and one was picked up by their parents, the Ledger reports, adding that the boy who brought the gummies to school did not consume them. The kids are reportedly recovering. Edible marijuana products are not currently legal in Florida, which has a medical marijuana program but not a recreational one. I warned us that all of this was coming, Sheriff Grady Judd, called by the Ledger a staunch opponent of medical marijuana, said. (In Washington, some old pot convictions were tossed.)
(Newser)  At least 12 people have died from drinking tainted liquor in a village in eastern India, a government official said Thursday, the AP reports. District Magistrate Sumit Gupta said another 25 people were being treated in a hospital in the Nadia district of West Bengal state. Gupta said the deaths occurred over the past two days after workers at a brick kiln consumed the cheap liquor bought from local sellers. The Press Trust of India news agency said four people have been arrested. Deaths from illegally brewed alcohol are common in India because the poor cannot afford licensed brands. Illicit liquor is cheap and often spiked with chemicals such as pesticides to increase potency. (Read more India stories.)
(Newser)  Some two decades ago, a passing motorist found the remains of a woman near Lake Powell in southeastern Utah. She had been killed with a gunshot to the head, and her body was wrapped in duct tape, tied with rope, and put inside of a sleeping bag that was wrapped in a carpet. Unable to identify the woman, authorities called her the Maidenwater victim. On Wednesday, the Garfield County Sheriffs Office announced that it had identified the woman as Lena Reyes-Geddes of Youngstown, Ohio, FOX reports. Reyes-Geddes was originally from Mexico and authorities were able to identify her body using DNA samples from relatives in that country, per KSTU. Authorities renewed their investigation into the case in October.

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Reyes-Geddes, 37, had been driving from Ohio to Texas in April of 1998 to visit family, according to the Salt Lake Tribune. Twelve days after she started her drive, her body was discovered near Maidenwater Spring. Her fingers and thumbs had been cut off at right angles, according to police documents obtained by the Tribune. Police have not disclosed how they made the connection between the Maidenwater victim and Reyes-Geddes. For a time, they reportedly thought that serial killer Scott Kimball, currently serving 70 years in a Colorado prison, was tied to Reyes-Geddes death. However, they no longer believe that to be the case and say that they have identified a suspect, who they say died by suicide in Nevada in the early 2000s. They have not named that person. (Read more cold cases stories.)
(Newser)  A Minnesota man accused of faking his own death seven years ago to collect a $2 million life insurance policy arranged for a stand-in corpse to be dressed in his clothes in Moldova, according to a judge's detention order. Igor Vorotinov, 54, also planted his identification on the body before placing the corpse along a road in the Eastern European country, a US judge said in rejecting Vorotinov's request to be freed pending trial. US Magistrate Judge Katherine M. Menendez ruled Wednesday that Vorotinov posed too great a flight risk. In her ruling, Menendez said Vorotinov showed "substantial resourcefulness and cunning," the AP reports. Vorotinov was indicted in 2015 on one count of mail fraud. He was arrested this month in the breakaway Moldovan region of Transnistria and returned to the US.

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Prosecutors say Vorotinov took out the life insurance policy in spring 2010 and designated then-wife Irina Vorotinov as the primary beneficiary. The couple divorced later that year. In 2011, Irina Vorotinov, 51, identified a corpse in Moldova as her husband's, prosecutors allege. She then returned to the US with a death certificate and cremated remains and received the life insurance payment. Money was then transferred to her son, and to accounts in Switzerland and Moldova. She has pleaded guilty to her role and is serving a three-year sentence. Alkon Vorotinov, 28, pleaded guilty to one count and was sentenced to probation. The identity of the corpse is still unclear, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports . The scheme also included a 2011 funeral service at a Minneapolis cemetery, where an urn was placed in a niche. Tests later determined the remains were not Vorotinov's.

(Read more weird crimes stories.)
(Newser)  Ukrainian officials have barred Russian males between the ages of 16 and 60 from traveling to the country in the latest escalation of tensions between the neighbors. Petro Tsygykal, chief of the Ukrainian Border Guard Service, announced at a security meeting on Friday that all Russian males between 16 and 60 will be barred from traveling to the country while martial law is in place, the AP reports. President Petro Poroshenko told the meeting that the measures were taken "in order to prevent the Russian Federation from forming private armies" on Ukrainian soil.

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The long-simmering conflict bubbled over Sunday when Russian border guards rammed into and opened fire on three Ukrainian vessels near the Crimean Peninsula, which Moscow annexed in 2014. The vessels were trying to pass through the Kerch Strait on their way to the Sea of Azov. The Russians then captured the ships and their 24-member crew. The announcement follows Thursday's decision by President Trump to scrap a much-anticipated meeting with Russian leader Vladimir Putin. Trump said it isn't appropriate for him to meet with Putin since Russia hasn't released the Ukrainian seamen. (Putin has accused Poroshenko of provoking the incident to boost his popularity.)

(Read more Ukraine stories.)
(Newser)  A renowned photojournalist whose images have shed light on the challenges of China's economic rise hasn't been heard from in almost a month and is believed to be in state custody. Lu Guang, a first-place winner at the 2004 World Press Photo awards, had been meeting with photographers in Urumqi, capital of Xinjiang province, when he last contacted his wife on Nov. 3. She became worried when the US green card holder failed to meet a friend in Sichuan province two days later, Xu Xiaoli tells NBC News from New York, where her husband lives in addition to Beijing. She contacted the wife of the photographer who had invited Lu to Urumqi, who told her both men were taken away by state security. "The authorities haven't informed me of his whereabouts," Xu adds of Lu, though the Hong Kong Free Press reports he may have been taken to the city of Kashgar.

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It's unclear if Lu's detention is tied to his workhis photos showcase China's pollution, AIDS patients, and drug and worker abusebut "he believed, after confronting the faces of the destitute, that there were things that people should know," Xu tells the Guardian. "At the very least, he believed that [his photos] might motivate them to help others, to trigger change and make things better." The US embassy in Beijing says it's "deeply concerned" by the detention reports, and "we strongly condemn China's worsening abuse of human rights." Meanwhile, the Committee to Protect Journalists calls Lu's detention "a high-profile illustration of the cruel and arbitrary way that China detains journalists and other civilians in Xinjiang." (Read more China stories.)
(Newser)  A pundit who appears regularly on CNN made remarks at the United Nations Wednesday that apparently caused him to lose his gig at the network. "Marc Lamont Hill is no longer under contract with CNN," was the curt notice from a CNN rep to Mediaite, which first reported the news. What seems to be the reasoning behind his ejection: In his UN speech, Hill implored nations around the globe to boycott Israel and called for a "free Palestine from the river to the sea." It's that phrase specifically that's receiving the most backlash from pro-Israel groups (including the Anti-Defamation League), as it's been appropriated by Hamas and other anti-Israel groups and is widely thought to refer to erasing Israel and establishing a Palestine that reaches from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea, Politico notes.

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In a series of tweets Thursday, Hill insisted, "I do not support anti-Semitism, killing Jewish people, or any of the other things attributed to my speech. I have spent my life fighting these things." He said his goal is to "support Palestinian freedom" and "Palestinian self-determination" and that he's simply "deeply critical of Israeli policy and practice." He also said the phrase "river to the sea" has a "variety of meanings" and "precedes Hamas by more than 50 years." Per Al Jazeera, many pro-Palestinian activists, journalists, and politicians are calling Hill's firing a "kowtowing to right-wing Israeli groups." A petition started by Intercept journalist Ryan Grim, calling for CNN to rehire Hill and offer an apology "to the world," had more than 4,700 signatures as of Friday morning. (The DOE takes a new look at an Israeli-Palestinian battle at Rutgers.)
(Newser)  President Trump has joined the leaders of Mexico and Canada to sign a revised North American trade deal. Trump gathered with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and outgoing Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto on the sidelines of Friday's G20 summit in Buenos Aires. The three sat a table, pens at the ready, spurred to sign with a "let's go" by Trump that was echoed by Trudeau and Pena Nieto. The revamped deal, which Trump calls the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement, or USMCA, will replace the North American Free Trade Agreement (aka NAFTA), which Trump has long raged against. He says the new agreement "changes the trade landscape forever," reports the AP.

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Lawmakers in each country must now ratify the agreement. That could prove to be a difficult task in the US, especially now that Democrats will control the House of Representatives come January. Already Democrats and their allies in the labor movement are demanding changes. Trump spent more than a year pushing the leaders of Canada and Mexico into agreeing to this rewrite of North American trade rules. He noted to Trudeau that "it's been a battle," but battles sometimes make "great friendships."

(Read more USMCA stories.)
(Newser)  A Canadian police officer is hospitalized in stable condition after a fellow cop shot him numerous times during a Thursday altercation, reports the CBC. Det. Sgt. Shane Donovan and Const. Nathan Parker of Niagara Regional Police Services were conducting a follow-up investigation at the scene of a DUI crash in Pelham, Ont., around noon when an argument arose, reports the Toronto Star. It's not clear what the dispute was about, but the Toronto Sun reports that it escalated into a fist fight before Parker was shot at least three times.

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Ontario Provincial Police Commissioner Ron Taverner described the apparent chain of events as unheard of. "It's very sad and our thoughts are with the Niagara Police today," he said. Per the Sun, there may have been "bad blood" between Donovan and Parker, who pleaded guilty to discreditable conduct and unnecessary use of force against a prisoner in 2015, in the latest of several offences since 2005. In 2012, Parker was also penalized for conducting his own investigation into a commanding officer who'd previously been cleared of wrongdoing. (Read more police shooting stories.)
(Newser)  Originally slated to compete with Disney's The Jungle Book in 2016, Mowgli: Legend of the Jungle joins Netflix's extensive library on Dec. 7 following a limited release this weekend. The change comes after the film's sale by Warner Bros, which ultimately decided against a major releaseand perhaps for good reason, as reviews put Andy Serkis' film starring Rohan Chand at a distant second to Disney's offering. Four opinions:



It's "somewhere between a film that's for kids and yet, in its persistent cruelty and bleakness, definitely not for kids," writes Matt Zoller Seitz at RogerEbert.com. "Mowgli is repeatedly beaten and tormented, even locked in a cage at one point," he notes, adding this "sits oddly with the slapstick comedy." He was also off-put by the animals' faces, "vividly" reflecting the actors who voice them.

Mowgli "fails to deliver the bare necessities," Michael Rechtshaffen writes at the Hollywood Reporter, blaming "performance-capture that falls unpersuasively short of state-of-the-art and a prestige cast (including Christian Bale, Cate Blanchett and Benedict Cumberbatch) that curiously fails to engage." He, too, references scenes "certain to scare the crap out of the kiddies."

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Brian Lowry is thankful for Netflix's save, however. "This is one of those happy occasions where the Netflix model allows a project that might have been lost in the theatrical wilds to find its place," he writes at CNN, arguing "this darker, more distinctly British take" on Rudyard Kipling's book is "well worth the time," not least because the "dialogue possesses a certain poetry."

Glenn Kenny was much less taken with the script by Callie Kloves. Placing the story in early 20th-century India, it "diverges from the Kipling stories considerably and at times uneasily" and "makes some daring moves exploring what one might call the dual nature of Mowgli." But "while not everything here works, what does is impressive," Kenny writes at the New York Times, commending Chand on "a scarily credible physical performance," despite being just 11 at the time of filming.

(Click for more movie reviews here .)
(Newser)  "I'm pinching myself," Linda Fairstein wrote on Twitter on Tuesday morning. And for good reason: The Mystery Writers of America had just bestowed on her its prestigious Grand Master honor. Just two days later, however, Fairstein was lamenting a different move by the MWA. In a first, the group rescinded the award because of an outcry from fellow writers. But it wasn't Fairstein's books that upset them; it was her big role in the wrongful conviction of five teenagers in New York City's infamous Central Park jogger rape case of 1989. The details:

Taking it back: "After profound reflection, the Board has decided that MWA cannot move forward with an award that lacks the support of such a large percentage of our members," the group said in a statement. "Therefore, the Board of Directors has decided to withdraw the Linda Fairstein Grand Master award."

"After profound reflection, the Board has decided that MWA cannot move forward with an award that lacks the support of such a large percentage of our members," the group said in a statement. "Therefore, the Board of Directors has decided to withdraw the Linda Fairstein Grand Master award." Why: Before she turned to fiction, Fairstein led the sex-crimes unit of the Manhattan District Attorney's Office. While she didn't prosecute the Central Park case, she observed the interrogations of the five teens eventually convicted, reports the Guardian. The teens say their confessions were coerced, and the convictions were overturned in 2002 when serial rapist Matias Reyes confessed. DNA evidence backed him up.

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Initial backlash: One of the authors leading the charge against Fairstein was Attica Locke, who pleaded with the MWA to reconsider the honor. "She is almost singlehandedly responsible for the wrongful incarceration of the Central Park Five," wrote Locke of Fairstein. (Locke is working with Ava DuVernay on a Netflix series about the case, per Deadline Hollywood.)

One of the authors leading the charge against Fairstein was Attica Locke, who pleaded with the MWA to reconsider the honor. "She is almost singlehandedly responsible for the wrongful incarceration of the Central Park Five," wrote Locke of Fairstein. (Locke is working with Ava DuVernay on a Netflix series about the case, per Deadline Hollywood.) Her response: Fairstein disputed the "singlehandedly" part, but she also reiterated that she still believes the five teens weren't as innocent as people think. "Talk to me about the other 6 men viciously attacked in the Park that night, which these and others admit doing," she wrote. "You don't care about them? Good night."

Fairstein disputed the "singlehandedly" part, but she also reiterated that she still believes the five teens weren't as innocent as people think. "Talk to me about the other 6 men viciously attacked in the Park that night, which these and others admit doing," she wrote. "You don't care about them? Good night." Consistent: The Washington Post notes that Fairstein has defended the prosecution for years, and still does to this day. It takes note of a 2002 interview with the New Yorker in which she said: "I think Reyes ran with that pack of kids. He stayed longer when the others moved on. He completed the assault. I don't think there is a question in the minds of anyone present during the interrogation process that these five men were participants, not only in the other attacks that night but in the attack on the jogger."

The Washington Post notes that Fairstein has defended the prosecution for years, and still does to this day. It takes note of a 2002 interview with the New Yorker in which she said: "I think Reyes ran with that pack of kids. He stayed longer when the others moved on. He completed the assault. I don't think there is a question in the minds of anyone present during the interrogation process that these five men were participants, not only in the other attacks that night but in the attack on the jogger." The books: Fairstein is known best for her best-selling series of novels featuring prosecutor Alex Cooper, per USA Today.

Fairstein is known best for her best-selling series of novels featuring prosecutor Alex Cooper, per USA Today. The jogger: The victim, Trisha Meili, has since come forward to talk about her ordeal and her recovery. Shape Magazine has a profile. Meili wrote a book of her own.

The victim, Trisha Meili, has since come forward to talk about her ordeal and her recovery. Shape Magazine has a profile. Meili wrote a book of her own. Trump's voice: Most of the coverage on the author controversy notes that Donald Trump famously took out full-page newspaper ads after the teens were arrested. "Bring Back the Death Penalty. Bring Back Our Police!" they read.

(The convicted teens agreed to a $40 million settlement with the city.)
(Newser)  After a 6-year-old Michigan girl missed a bunch of school without the appropriate notes from home, the school tried to meet up with her mother to find out what was going on. After school officials say letters to Brittany Horton went unanswered and she didn't show up to meetings, they contacted the Muskegon County Prosecutor's Office, which charged Horton with truancy in March, reports People. She pleaded guilty in May, per FOX 17 News. Prosecutors pushed off punishing the 28-year-old mom, however, trying one more time to work with her to remedy the absenteeism issue. What happened next: Horton's daughter racked up 14 more unexcused absences, adding up to 26 days missed in total.

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The end result for Horton at her sentencing on Nov. 16: five days in jail, plus nine months of probation and $520 in fines, reports the Muskegon Chronicle. The girl's absences fly in the face of the area's "Operation Graduation" initiative, which takes a hard line on truancy and gets involved after a student has nine absences (not counting those for legitimate illnesses or other excused reasons). "We go through extraordinary steps to resolve the issue without prosecution," a prosecutor's office rep tells People, adding that the vast majority of such cases the office sees don't result in charges being filed. "This case represents one out of many, many cases where the mother absolutely refused to deal with the problem." (A California mom got 180 days for her kids' absences.)
(Newser)  New Mexico is among the 50 states, everybody knows that. Well, everybody but a clerk and supervisor at the Washington DC Courts Marriage Bureau. Just ask Gavin Clarkson, a New Mexico resident who recently got a marriage license in the countrys capital (which is not a state). When Clarkson (whose now-wife Marina lives in DC) handed over his New Mexico driver license to prove his identity, the clerk refused it and instead requested an international passport, the Las Cruces Sun News reports. Clarkson protested, and the clerk checked with a supervisor.

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They come back and say my supervisor says we cannot accept international driver's licenses. Do you have a New Mexico passport, Clarkson, a recent candidate for New Mexico secretary of state, recounts in a Facebook post. Clarkson says the clerk even complimented him on his command of the English language (though its his wife, who is from Argentina, who has a slight accent). About 20 minutes later, everything was sorted out and the clerk apologized. "We understand that a clerk in our Marriage Bureau made a mistake regarding New Mexico's 106-year history as a state," a DC courts rep told the Sun News. "We very much regret the error and the slight delay it caused a New Mexico resident in applying for a DC marriage license." (New Mexico tops the list of least politically active states.)
His Royal the Crown Prince yesterday hailed the government innovation competition - Fikra as a testament to Bahrains commitment to continue placing citizens at the heart of all development efforts. Fikra has tremendous potential to advance competitiveness across various sectors, His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, the Crown Prince, Deputy Supreme Commander and First Deputy Prime Minister said.

While meeting the 12 project owners shortlisted for competition at Gudaibiya Palace, Prince Salman provided four winning projects owners with an opportunity to present their ideas to the Government Executive Committee. HRH the Crown Prince noted that the government continues to advance innovation and excellence across all its work streams, in line with the aspirations of HM King Hamad.

A total of 565 applications underwent intensive review by a number of committees before being evaluated by a Ministerial Committee. Members of the public also participated in the review process by voting for the ideas of their choice. The three projects that have been selected by the Ministerial Committee are: Hospitality by Ahmed Al Turaifi working at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, E-Volunteer Platform by Shaikh Salman bin Ahmed Al Khalifa, Mubarak Al Tamim, Mai Salah Abdulla and Hisham Mubarak Albufalasa, working at the Ministry of Interior; and The National System for Appointments by Adel Al Qallaf working at the Ministry of Justice, Islamic Affairs and Endowment.

Members of the public voted for the Work from Home project by Abdullah Mohammed Al Ahmed working at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and Nouf Mohammed Al Ahmed working at the Ministry of Finance.
The extraordinary session of Islamic Conference of Culture Ministers kicked off in the Kingdom yesterday under the patronage of His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa highlighting the theme Together for Safeguarding Human Heritage and Countering Extremism.

The conference was attended by the President of the Bahrain Authority for Culture and Antiquities (BACA), Shaikha Mai bin Mohammed Al Khalifa, Director-General of the Islamic Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (ISESCO), Dr Abdulaziz Altwaijri, Secretary General of Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), Dr Yousef bin Ahmad Al-Othaimeen Sudans Minister of Culture, Tourism and Antiquities, Omer Suleiman Adam, and culture minister of Islamic countries. In her opening speech, BACA President stressed that culture is the best means to resist the challenges currently faced by Arab and Islamic countries.

She highlighted the Pearling Path Visitor and Experience Centre in Muharraq, which was inaugurated recently within the Muharraq as Capital of Islamic Culture, and as part of BACAs efforts to implement cultural infrastructure projects. ISESCO chief highlighted the importance of the extraordinary sessions theme, calling on the International Community to safeguard Islamic heritage in Al-Quds City form Israeli aggression. Sudans Minister of Culture, Tourism and Antiquities congratulated BACA on the success of its events held as part of the Muharraq as Capital of Islamic Culture.

The conference featured the signing of various memoranda of cultural cooperation, including the signature of a cooperation agreement on arrangements for the 11th Islamic Conference between ISESCO and the Ministry of Cultural Affairs in Tunisia, a Mou between ISESCO and the Arab Centre for Tourism Media, and a MoU between ISESCO and the Arab Regional Center for World Heritage.
Is Lack of space a limiting factor for development in todays busy world? Many studies have pointed fingers in this direction. However, here in Bahrain, TaaWin, a company established by a group of Royal University for Women students, has figured out a way to solve this scarcity in an interesting way. Their work, the RestnGo book, which is transformable to a portable chair has turned many heads including that of the top experts in the region. And they were not alone in the quest. Students from Shaikha Hessa Girls School with their CONTRIVE Company also grouped together in a bid to help others.

Knowledge Hunt, a mobile application developed by their company aims to enhance teaching, learning and developing soft skills. The Knowledge Hunt, according to the students, is an educational and dynamic board game connected to an application available on App Store & Google Play. TaaWin has won the university Product of the Year Award, while CONTRIVE has won high school Company of the Year Award. Both teams representing the Kingdom of Bahrain, have competed amongst many regional teams, yet earning the title and winning the YEC 2018 competition. All this happened at 12th Annual Young Arab Entrepreneurs Competition organised by INJAZ Al Arab, a member of Junior Achievement Worldwide (JA).

Held in Kuwait at the Jumeirah Messilah Beach Hotel & Spa, the annual competition highlighted the achievements of students throughout INJAZ Al Arabs company programme. The two-day event held a busy agenda, mainly presenting the winning teams with awards given by INJAZ Al Arab, FedEx, MBC Al Amal, Citi Foundation, and Boeing. Representing the Kingdom of Bahrain at the YEC 2018 fills our hearts with honour and pride. We are proud of Bahrains participating teams, we are proud of all the fresh and innovative ideas presented, last but not least, we are grateful to our stakeholders continuous support and efforts which brought us here today, said Hana Al Sarwani, the Executive Director of INJAZ Bahrain.

Dr Abdulrahman Jawahery, GPIC president and INJAZ board member, congratulated Her Highness Shaikha Hessa bint Khalifa Al Khalifa saying,  Your Highness has played a vital role in leading by example, supporting and motivating INJAZ students throughout this journey, which brings them to where they stand today. The teams have earned their success and have definitely raised the bar for creativity during this important regional event. Asheesh Advani, Junior Achievement Worldwide CEO, said during his welcoming speech: The Junior Achievement alumni network now has business leaders, political social entrepreneurs, corporate executives and job creators all over the world.

This years regional competition was organised in partnership with global and regional entities, mainly FedEx, MBC Al Amal, Citi Foundation, and Boeing, with the support of local partners from Kuwait including Zain and Kuwait Airways.
Ahmed Faress will compete in his third bout at Brave Combat Federation during Brave 19 which will be held on 8th December at the Sun City Resort, Johannesburg in South Africa. Faress is the first Egyptians to sign in the growing bantamweight division of Brave Combat Federation. Currently has a record of 10-2-0 in his professional career, he is set to face Nkosi Ndebele, who will make his professional debut at Brave 19.

Ndebele has an amateur record of 12-4-0 and trains at the Nova MMA Academy in South Africa. In his previous fight, Faress faced Bharat Khandare, the first Indian ever to compete in the UFC. Faress dominated the bout forcing the hometown hero to tap in front of his fans at Brave 5: Go for Glory. Training alongside Hassan Abo Ali and Ahmed Amir, Faress is among the fighters from Egypt to break into the global scene. Faress will be making his return after a break of more than a year. The prospect from Egypt believes that Brave 19 will be a major break in his career.

Brave Combat Federation is an organization for the fighters, the bouts get tougher and one needs to keep evolving to survive in such an organization. This fight is very important for me since I will be fighting in a weight class above my usual fighting weight. I am here to prove and give my best to show that I got what it takes to compete at the highest level, said Faress. In the bout, Faress will move up a weight class to fight in the featherweight division at Brave 19.
Adapting the principle of change is inevitable to survive in a world characterized by constant change, unstable conditions and turbulent markets, Bahrains Oil Minister told companies in the region. Change is not easy, but it remains a necessity, and with change comes the shift that helps sustainability, said Oil Minister Shaikh Mohammed bin Khalifa Al Khalifa in his address to the 13th Annual Forum of the Gulf Petrochemicals and Chemicals Association (GPCA) in Dubai, UAE, yesterday.

More than 2,000 top Executives and representatives of top international and regional companies from 52 countries were present at the event which began on Tuesday and ends today. The forum was also attended by a delegation of the Gulf Petrochemical Industries Company (GPIC), led by its Board of Directors Chairman Dr Ahmed Al Sharyan and GPIC President Dr Abdulrahman Jawahery. GPCA Chairman Yousef Al-Benyan, welcoming the participants, stressed the need for more mergers and acquisitions among industrial companies in the GCC to maintain the competitiveness of the petrochemical industry in global markets.

Described the gathering as the most important on the agenda of the petrochemical sector in the region, Dr Jawahery, in his comments, said the regional petrochemical sector had grown by 3.7 per cent in 2016, increasing its production capacity to 150 million tonnes, exceeding the global average of 2.2 per cent. He pointed out that going with the boom of many advanced and complex transformation projects between 2017-2018, it is expected that this growth and development would continue, signifying a shift in focus from materials and basic chemical products to specialized high-value products.

GPCA Secretary-General Dr Abdulwahab Al Sadoun said the industry would have to continuously strive to build on what has been achieved and strengthen the momentum. The GPCA is the first grouping of its kind in the Middle East and has witnessed a steady expansion in its activities since its establishment in March 2006 to direct the chemical and petrochemical industries in the Gulf region towards a new era of fruitful cooperation.
Kuwait Finance House (KFH) announced winning two awards at the 25th edition of the World Islamic Banking Conference (WIBC), which includes The Global Award and the Regional Award  for the GCC. The conference was held from the 26 to 28 November 2018 at ART Rotana Hotel in Amwaj Islands, Bahrain. Kuwait Finance House was the platinum sponsor of the event held under the title Islamic Finance and Sustainable Economic Growth in the Age of Digital Transformation.

The conference was held under the patronage of His Royal Highness Prime Minister Prince Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa and the Central Bank of Bahrain as a strategic partner. Abdulhakeem Al Khayyat, the Managing Director and CEO at KFH-Bahrain said: We look forward to supporting more prestigious economic events that contribute to the development of both the Islamic sector and the national economy.

As part of one of its subsidiaries, Kuwait Finance House participated in a panel discussion entitled: Digital Technology  a digitizing campaign for an international bank, in which the discussion addressed several vital topics related to the Islamic banking sector. For more than two decades, the World Islamic Banking Conference (WIBC) has been recognized as the largest and most influential international event, bringing together large numbers of international Islamic banking and finance institutions.

Through the strategic support of the Central Bank of Bahrain, the next generation of the World Islamic Banking Conference will focus on transforming Islamic finance into a global proposition by facilitating strategic opportunities, addressing systemic challenges and linking institutional investors in international markets with industry catalysts, think tanks, partners and institutions.
Prince Akishino, the second son of Emperor Akihito, has raised the question about the use of public funds for a ritual following next year's Imperial succession.

The Prince was speaking at a news conference prior to his 53rd birthday on Friday. He will be first in line to the throne after the accession of his brother, Crown Prince Naruhito, on May 1st, 2019.

In reference to the ritual known as "Daijosai," which is to be held in November of next year, Prince Akishino said he wonders whether it is appropriate to pay for the highly religious event with state funds.

He said that after considering relations between the Imperial family and the Constitution, he feels the ritual should be financed from the budget for the Imperial family.

The government disbursed public funds earmarked for the Imperial family's official duties to cover the cost of the previous Daijosai ritual the year after Emperor Akihito ascended to the throne in 1989.

The government explained at that time that it was an important ceremony for the state as well. It was the first such rite held under the post-war Constitution, which stipulates the separation of religion and the state.

Following the example, the government has already decided to pay for the upcoming Daijosai event with public money.

The government spent about 20 million dollars of public money for the previous rite. The Imperial family's budget is relatively small, at about 2.8 million dollars for the current fiscal year.

If the budget is to be used for the next rite, the ritual would have to be scaled back in a major way.

It is very rare for a member of the Imperial family to express an opinion different from what is determined by the government. - NHK
The rate of rental car accidents involving foreign drivers in Osaka Prefecture is four times higher than those involving Japanese drivers, according to recent data released by the Internal Affairs and Communications Ministry.

A study of foreign drivers conducted by the ministry's Kinki bureau between April and November, which covered 53 rental car outlets operated by three companies, showed Thursday that 3 percent of the total 3,973 foreign drivers had car accidents - surpassing the 0.7 percent of accidents in which 36,272 domestic drivers were involved.

According to the Institute for Traffic Accident Research and Data Analysis, between 2014 and 2016 the total number of rental car accidents caused by foreign visitors in Japan nearly tripled, while the number of accidents resulting in injuries or deaths among domestic rental car drivers decreased during that period.

"Unlike before, when group tours by bus were popular, these days foreign tourists are more likely to travel individually or in a small group by renting cars, and the support system for foreign drivers has not yet caught up with the increase," said Takashi Shimojitosho, a communications ministry spokesman responsible for the research.

The number of foreign visitors who arrived at Kansai International Airport and then used rental cars doubled from approximately 42,800 in 2014 to 99,100 in 2016. - Japan Times
Suspected Boko Haram terrorists in the early hours of Friday reportedly attacked troops of 118 Task Battalion at Arage village Borno S...





Suspected Boko Haram terrorists in the early hours of Friday reportedly attacked troops of 118 Task Battalion at Arage village Borno State.





This is the second attack on the formation in less than 48 hours.





According to a military source, who pleaded anonymity, the early morning attack was suspected to a reprisal of Wednesdays attack where the insurgents suffered heavy human and equipment casualties.





Todays attack was successfully repelled, though seven personnel were injured, the source disclosed.





The casualty on the side of the insurgents could not be ascertained and there was no official statement from the military authority as of the time of filing in this report.





Recall that the Army had on its verified Twitter handle yesterday disclosed that, Boko Haram met their water loo and suffered heavy casualties on Wednesday evening Nov. 28, 2018; when they attempted to infiltrate 118 Battalion location at Arege in Abadam Local Government Area (LGA) of Borno state.




Shehu of Borno, His Royal Highness (HRH), Alhaji Abubakar Umar Ibn Garbai Elkanemi, has dismissed claims by security operatives that the ongoing military operations, particularly in some parts of the state and the Lake Chad Region, was yielding positive result.He insisted that even in Maiduguri, the state capital, residents and farmers cannot move out of the city beyond 5 kilometres without being killed or kidnapped by insurgents.This is even as Organised Labour yesterday pleaded with President Muhammadu Buhari to immediately sack all service chiefs and heads of the nations security apparatus and set up a high-powered probe into the immediate and remote causes leading to recent slaughter of over 100 soldiers by Boko Haram terrorists in Melete, Borno State.The monarch stated this when President Muha-mmadu Buhari paid him a courtesy call at his palace in Shehuri, Maiduguri.The President had visited the monarch before proceeding to the Chief of Army Staff Annual Conference where he was special guest of honour.The recent onslaught by terrorists have left over 20 farmers killed, while harvesting their crops in their farmlands, with several villages of Bale Shuwa, Mammanti and surrounding communities of Konduga, Mafa Council areas on the outskirt of the metropolis, razed by rampaging terrorists without confrontation.The Shehu of Borno, while applauding President Buhari in the fight against Boko Haram, said there was much to be done for the people of the state to be free from terrorists atrocities.He said: On behalf of the traditional institution in Borno, I want to commend Your Excellency for the commitment you have given towards ending the lingering crisis of Boko HaramIt is unfortunate that despite all efforts put in place to restore peace in our land and the North East, we the people of Borno State are still under Boko Haram siege.Nobody can dare move out of Maiduguri by 10 kilometres without being confronted/attacked by Boko Haram.Quite a number of farmers are being killed and kidnapped on a daily basis around Molai General Area, which is just 10 kilometres away from the metropolis, along Maiduguri -Damboa -Biu road.Most of the surrounding villages and communities in Konduga, Damboa, Mafa and other local government areas have been razed down in the last two weeks.We plead that the federal government and the security agencies review the strategies in nipping this lingering crisis in the bud.
A onetime Deputy National Publicity Secretary of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Timi Frank, on Friday lambasted the Minister of Inf...

A onetime Deputy National Publicity Secretary of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Timi Frank, on Friday lambasted the Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed for cautioning the United States, US, against granting visa to the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar.





Rubbishing the remark by Mohammed, Frank said Nigerians will joyfully elect Abubakar in the forthcoming elections and not Americans.





In a statement he forwarded, the former APC spokesperson reminded the Minister that the American government does not believe in the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari which has since been described as lifeless by President Donald Trump.





Frank stated that the Waziri of Adamawa has become a nightmare and a sleepless tablet for the government of APC, hence the total loss of common senses by some of its officials.





Frank warned Mohammed and other APCs apologists against heart attack when they later see Atiku Abubakar, being received on a red carpet very soon in the United States of America.





While challenging APC government to provide just one evidence of corruption perpetrated by Atiku Abubakar, Frank said the same failed government that said the Waziri Adamawa could not visit America was already jittery now that Atiku is poised to prove them wrong.





According to Frank, it was easier for the Minister to, bring APC to power with lies and propaganda against President Goodluck Jonathan but it is now impossible to sustain the lies because of their obvious failures.





The statement reads, Why is Lai Mohammed speaking from both sides of the mouth? The Minister is about to lose his job thats why he is talking like someone under the influence of codeine or tramadol. The simple advice for Mr. Mohammeds close allies is to get him tested for probably the negative effects of banned substances.





At this stage, it is too late to stop America from granting Atiku entry Visa because the country has confirmed that it has nothing against the Presidential candidate of the PDP.





Instead of this clueless government to seek for help from the American government in fighting the resurgent Boko Haram and fully liberate the people of the North-east from the hands of insurgents, what is more important to Lai Mohammad and the APCs government is the issuance of U.S. Visa to Atiku.





The American government will not fall for propaganda from a lifeless government like that of APC and President Muhammadu Buhari in granting Visa to anybody because it is a place where rule of law is strictly adhered to.




Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo , says the Federal Governments Social Investment Programmes(SIPs) are designed to provide solutio...





Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo , says the Federal Governments Social Investment Programmes(SIPs) are designed to provide solutions to the problems of poor Nigerians. VP Osinbajo.





Newsmen report that the programmes include, N-Power, National Home-Grown School Feeding Programme (NHGSFP), National Cash Transfer Project (NCTP), and Government Enterprise and Empowerment Programme (GEEP). N-Power, veritable technology platform to boost education  Osinbajo





Laolu Akande, Senior Special Assistant to the President, Media and Publicity, Office of the Vice President, in a statement on Friday in Abuja, said Osinbajo spoke at a conference in Lagos.





Osinbajo delivered a speech at the 90th birthday of Chief Olu Akinkugbe and the Fifth anniversary of the Olu Akinkugbe Business Law in Africa Fellowship conference, at Lagos Business School on Thursday.

The vice president said that the Buhari-led administration was focused on uplifting the poor in society through its SIPs.





He said that the programmes were aimed at ensuring that more Nigerians improved their lives and contributed more to the nations economy.





Osinbajo said that the problems of the poor in society must be addressed to help economic growth.





A lot of our ideas in our social investment policies are micro credit loans to market women and petty traders and all of that are borrowed heavily from the Indian model.





 A lot of the programmes that we are working on today; the Conditional Cash Transfers that we give to the poorest in society are based on many of these models.





But these models are the products of a legal framework; theyre a product of a way of thinking about dissolving the problems of the poor.





And we if we do not dissolve the problem of the poor, no matter how fancy our economic models or policies are, the vast majority of our people will be poor, consumer spending will be low, and generally speaking our economies cannot be where they ought to be, because the vast majority are so far behind, he said.





According to the vice president, the rule of law remains the most potent weapon for socio-economic revolution because the success of African economies and commerce will depend largely on the enforcement of laws and regulations.





He further said that it was time for Africa to rethink and re-engineer its jurisprudence.





Osinbajo highlighted some challenges confronting Africa ranging from how to provide opportunities for millions of young men and women, to extreme poverty, illiteracy and disease, desertification resulting in famines and conflicts over land and water.





All of these challenges clearly will define how the future of the world itself will shape up in the coming decades; simply because Africa has the population and continues to increase in that population day by day.





Commerce and economic development cannot thrive where the majority is desperately poor, illiterate and exposed to diseases all the time.





The countrys effective market, any countrys effective market, GDP, and human development indices depend on the standard of living of its people. The law and administration of justice can change the bleak narratives on poverty, he said.





He said that Africa needed the capacity to undertake complex economic studies of its diverse situations and present alternative or comparative perspectives, which could form the basis for more confident negotiations.





Felicitating with Akinkugbe on his 90th birthday, the vice president described him as a quintessential Nigerian business icon with a legacy of ethical conduct.





Olu Akinkugbe Business Law in Africa Fellowship was, itself, an investment in knowledge and scholarship, in people, and in the future of Africa. He said that theOlu Akinkugbe Business Law in Africa Fellowship was, itself, an investment in knowledge and scholarship, in people, and in the future of Africa.





On his part, Akinkugbe described Osinbajo as one that gave Nigerians hope for the future of the country. It is often not the case that you have people with complete understanding of the problems that we face in the country.





He (Osinbajo) has intervened in the different struggles in this country.  May God help you to continue to give your best to Nigeria, Akinkugbe said.





Newsmen report that on Aug. 2, the federal government said the sum of N140 billion out of the N500 billion budgeted for its SIP in 2017 has been released.




Anambra State Governor, Chief Willie Obiano has spoken out on allegations that he is supporting President Muhammadu Buhari to return f...





Anambra State Governor, Chief Willie Obiano has spoken out on allegations that he is supporting President Muhammadu Buhari to return for a second term.





The Governor who spoke through the Commissioner for Information & Public Enlightenment, Mr C.Con Adinuba on speculations about endorsing any presidential candidate for the 2019 election, said such information was untrue.





Adinuba said stories of Obiano endorsing one presidential candidate or the other were merely configuration meant to use his name to sway support for their principal.





The commissioner in a press release said, As the 2019 general election approaches, it is interesting how various politicians and political parties have been swooping on Governor Willie Obiano of Anambra State in the belief that his role will be critical in deciding who wins the presidential vote.





For instance, operatives of two of the leading political parties in Nigeria, the All Progressives Congress (APC) and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), have taken to the social media to create the impression that the governor has endorsed their candidates in the forthcoming election.





Some have even gone as far as reproducing a video of an event which took place in 2014 in a bid to give the impression that the event has just occurred, but this is not true.





He stated that Obiano was neither working for Buhari nor Atiku as he was his own man, who is steadfast about his party, which he said also had its presidential candidate.





He said, The enormous attention paid to Gov Obiano by various national political parties as well as their agents is flattering. Indeed, we are not aware of any state governor who has in recent times received this level of attention in Nigeria.





Gov Obiano is the Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA). He is also the APGA National Leader. These positions place heavy responsibilities on his shoulders. Therefore, any talk about his endorsing the presidential candidate of another party, let alone joining another party, is sheer wishful thinking.





APGA has a presidential candidate in the 2019 general election in the person of General John Gbor (retd). This is in sharp contrast to the situation during the two previous presidential elections when APGA had no candidate, and was consequently constrained to form an electoral alliance with the ruling party.




President Muhammadu Buhari, Thursday requested for the revamping of bilateral and multilateral platforms of engagement by Heads of Stat...





President Muhammadu Buhari, Thursday requested for the revamping of bilateral and multilateral platforms of engagement by Heads of State and Governments of the Lake Chad Basin Commission, LCBC, so as to stamp out the remnants of the terrorists from the region.





President Buhari in a consultation with the Heads of State and Governments LCBC in Ndjamena, capital of the Republic of Chad, also blamed poverty and the shrinkage of the Lake Chad as the main reason for the renewed insurgent activities in the region.





A statement by the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Chief Femi Adesina in Abuja last night stated that the Nigeria President called for concerted efforts from the Heads of State and Government to make the region safe.





According to him, There is no gainsaying that also fueling the crisis are the twin menaces of poverty and the continued shrinkage of the Lake Chad, which have rendered the people of the region vulnerable to terrorist activities. Attention is drawn to the Lake and its resources, which have always been the source of livelihood for the millions of people that live within and around the basin.





He charged the Presidents and Heads of Governments in attendance to make concerted efforts to ensure the actualization of efforts to recharge the Lake, through Inter-Basin Water Transfer, from the Congo Basin.





President Buhari stressed that if meticulously pursued, the project has the capacity to unlock the economic potentials and provide solutions to the myriad of interrelated challenges confronting the region.





As Chairman of the Summit of Heads of State and Governments of the Lake Chad Basin Commission, President Buhari assured of his commitment to providing the required leadership and direction for the actualization of peace and security in the area.





The meeting the statement noted was called to address the recent upsurge in terrorist activities in the region, and the Nigerian President rallied his colleagues from Chad, Niger Republic, and Republic of Cameroon to a fresh onslaught against insurgents, particularly the Boko Haram group.





Times as these call for quick interventions and measures, President Buhari stated, adding:





As you are aware and have witnessed in recent times, there are new developments of security concern in our sub-region. The region in the recent past has witnessed increasing attacks, particularly on military formations by elements of the Boko Haram terrorists as well as the renewed kidnapping of people. These activities are aimed at weakening our collective resolve to eradicate them from the region.





We must not cave in. The groups renewed strategy of increasingly mining the general area as well as its recent deployment of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) for surveillance activities have proved to be critical factors in the resurgence of attacks in the region.





Commending what he called the untiring efforts of the leadership of the LCBC, and officers and men of the Multi-National Joint Task Force (MNJTF), President Buhari noted that the efforts of those who strive to bring peace and stability to the region would never be forgotten.





We are committed to ensuring that the ideals of restoring peace, stability and viability of the Lake Chad Region to its glorious state, for which some of you have paid the ultimate price is attained, he vowed. President Buhari submitted:




President Muhammadu Buhari has challenged the Heads of State and Governments of the Lake Chad Basin Commission (LCBC) to strengthen their efforts towards curbing the activities of Boko Haram terrorists in the region.He made the call on Thursday at a one-day consultation with the LCBC leaders in Ndjamena, capital of the Republic of Chad.We must not relent and allow the enemies of the region to succeed in their quest to destabilise the area, said the President who added, We must reinvigorate our collective will and commitment towards eradicating terrorism from our region.We must remain focused and true to ensuring sustainable development. To this end, I have requested that bilateral and multilateral platforms of engagements by member countries affected by the conflict be revamped to ensure collective actions towards stamping out the remnants of the terrorists from the region.The meeting was convened to address the recent upsurge in terrorist activities in the region, and President Buhari rallied his colleagues from Chad, Niger Republic, and the Republic of Cameroon to a fresh onslaught against insurgents, particularly the Boko Haram group.Times as these call for quick interventions and measures. As you are aware and have witnessed in recent times, there are new developments of security concern in our sub-region, he was quoted as saying in a statement by his spokesman, Mr Femi Adesina.The region in the recent past has witnessed increasing attacks, particularly on military formations by elements of the Boko Haram terrorists as well as the renewed kidnapping of people. These activities are aimed at weakening our collective resolve to eradicate them from the region.The President, however, told the meeting, We must not cave in.The groups renewed strategy of increasingly mining the general area as well as its recent deployment of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) for surveillance activities have proved to be critical factors in the resurgence of attacks in the region. Renew Assault On Terrorism President Buhari thereafter commended what he called the untiring efforts of the leadership of the LCBC, and officers and men of the Multi-National Joint Task Force (MNJTF).He noted that the efforts of those who strive to bring peace and stability to the region would never be forgotten.We are committed to ensuring that the ideals of restoring peace, stability and viability of the Lake Chad Region to its glorious state, for which some of you have paid the ultimate price are attained, the President vowed.He added, There is no gainsaying that also fueling the crisis are the twin menaces of poverty and the continued shrinkage of the Lake Chad, which have rendered the people of the region vulnerable to terrorist activities.Attention is drawn to the Lake and its resources, which have always been the source of livelihood for the millions of people that live within and around the basin.In this regard, the Nigerian leader urged the Presidents and Heads of Governments in attendance to make concerted efforts to ensure the actualisation of efforts to recharge the Lake through Inter-Basin Water Transfer from the Congo Basin.He stressed that if meticulously pursued, the project has the capacity to unlock the economic potentials and provide solutions to the myriad of interrelated challenges confronting the region.As Chairman of the Summit of Heads of State and Governments of the LCBC, President Buhari assured them of his commitment to providing the required leadership and direction for the actualisation of peace and security in the area.He reiterated an earlier promise he had made to troops fighting terrorism, saying, We are committed to ensuring you have the requisite and enabling equipment to optimally function.Your welfare is and would continue to remain our priority. Together, we shall restore the Lake Chad Region to its glorious days.Other nation leaders in attendance at the consultation were President Idris Deby of Chad, President Mahamadou Issoufou of Niger Republic, and Prime Minister of Cameroon, Philemon Yang, who represented President Paul Biya.In a joint communique, the Heads of State and Governments resolved to change modus operandi, collaborate more, and renew assault on all forms of terrorism and criminal acts, till wholesome peace was restored to the region.
The Centre for Anti-Corruption and Open Leadership, CACOL, has charged President Muhammadu Buhari to make open his source of finances fo...

The Centre for Anti-Corruption and Open Leadership, CACOL, has charged President Muhammadu Buhari to make open his source of finances for the 2019 election.





CACOL was reacting to the recent pronouncement by the anti-graft agency to monitor the expenses of politicians and political parties ahead of the election.





CACOL warned that the fight against corruption should not be seen to be one-sided or aimed at giving the current leadership in the country an undue advantage over others.





In a statement by its Executive Chairman, Debo Adeniran, CACOL said, During a one-day retreat for 36 state governors and key election stakeholders that was organized by Centre for Values In Leadership, CVL, Mr. Ibrahim Magu, who spoke through Olanipekun Olukoyede, his Chief of Staff, was reportedly quoted, We shall keenly monitor the financial affairs of political parties to ensure that the use of public funds to finance political parties and prosecute campaigns at all levels of government is checked.





He was also reported to have said that political parties would be required to keep proper records of all incomes, contributions and expenditure, and to open their books for inspection by relevant security agencies after every electioneering cycle; including the costs and source of funds of litigation/s after the elections.





As much as we agree with the EFCC czar that the costs of political electioneering in Nigeria is much on the high side and over-burdening, it is our belief that all political parties and the entire ruling class emanating thereto, are guilty of unnecessary monetization of our political space, with a view to stifling all genuine efforts at reversing the moral and economic fortunes of the country as no politician could be better than the process that throws him up.









In this wise, we would recollect how President Muhammadu Buharis regime bemoaned the over-monetization of the political space during his electoral campaigns to the effect that he was going to reverse the ugly trend when he eventually assumed power.





Almost four years into his administration, the watchful and critical section of the nation, are yet to notice any change in policy direction. We certainly agree with Ibrahim Magu that, Much of the money being misappropriated is either from health, security, education, road construction, personnel costs etc.; the case of arms procurement by the NSA under President Goodluck Jonathan government is apposite.





It is however curious that though the Muhammadu Buharis regime has, on occasions, lampooned the previous governments for allegedly using taxpayers money to fund election campaigns, he too has not bothered disclosing to the public how his campaign team is raising money for his re-election, in the spirit of transparency, full disclosure and leading by example as many are already alleging.





This is one of main reason the fight against corruption seems not to be succeeding enough as much as President Muhammadu Buhari, whom majority of us agree still has his integrity intact, would have wished.





For those efforts to be properly appreciated and for the generality of Nigerians to take full ownership in the fight against this destructive scourge, the EFCC, ICPC, CCB and other anti-graft agencies in the country must be seen to be independent and non-partisan. This could only happen when the rules are universally applied and overtly seen to be so.




The Nigeria Police has replied the allegation by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) against the Inspector General of Police, Mr Ibrahi...





The Nigeria Police has replied the allegation by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) against the Inspector General of Police, Mr Ibrahim Idris over his perceived romance with the ruling party.





The PDP National Chairman, Mr Uche Secondus, had accused the IGP of working for the incumbent to arrest and intimidate its opponents.





Secondus, who spoke at the National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting of the party in Abuja had also asked the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Professor Mahmood Yakubu, to resign his position.





He claimed that the INEC chairman lacked the will and capacity to conduct free and fair elections next year.





But Force Public Relations Officer, Mr Jimoh Moshood, dismissed the allegation in an interview with Channels Television on Thursday.





He also described the call by the main opposition party for the resignation of the police boss as laughable.





Ahead of the general elections in 2019, the Police spokesman stressed that the force has remained apolitical and does not work in favour of any political party.





He, therefore, challenged the PDP to make public or report any case of compromise by the police.




The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) says students may spend more time at home since no solid agreement has been reached...





The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) says students may spend more time at home since no solid agreement has been reached in its negotiation with the federal government.





Abiodun Ogunyemi, national president of ASUU, said this on Thursday while speaking with reporters in Lagos.





The union commenced an indefinite strike on November 5.





Ogunyemi appealed to parents and students to show understanding, saying the industrial action is meant to avert total collapse of the countrys university system.





We want to call on our students and parents to show understanding with our struggle as we are in this together, he said.





The whole essence of this struggle is to ensure that our students get worthy and deserving certificates that they will be proud of anywhere they may find themselves in the world.





The struggle is to ensure too that we save Nigerian universities from going the way our public primary and secondary schools have gone.





Today, most parents are sending their children and wards to private primary and secondary schools around the country because of the perceived or alleged falling standards.





We do not want our universities to go the same way because a lot of our parents may not be able to afford the private university fees.





Ogunyemi asked Nigerians to rise up and join the union to put pressure on the government.





The sad thing now is that the World Bank is giving funds to some private universities to thrive over public universities, he saidd.





Unless Nigerians rise to the occasion and join ASUU in putting pressure on both the federal and state governments to pay adequate attention to our universities, secondary and primary schools, we may be facing a total collapse of our educational sector.





We met on Monday in order to reach an agreement on the key issues we are agitating for but nothing tangible came out of the meeting.





Rather than come out with firm commitment on what to do about these demands, they were appealing to us to go back to the classrooms while they tackle the issues; and to us they have missed the point.





We were told that the negotiation will continue on Friday, November 30 but up till now, as we speak, I have not received any notice of meeting to that effect.




Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike has declared that the State Government will continue with the training of recruits in the Neighbour...





Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike has declared that the State Government will continue with the training of recruits in the Neighbourhood Watch.





He added that the state will not be deterred by the actions of the Nigerian Army.





He said the Nigerian Army had been transformed into a political weapon that had abandoned her security responsibilities.





He stated that the disruption of the Rivers State Neighbourhood Safety Corps Agency Training programme by the Nigerian Army was the worst act of irresponsibility, aimed at instigating insecurity In the State.





The Governor said this at Odiokwu, Ahoada-West Local Government Area of Rivers State where he flagged off some projects.





He alleged that Zamfara and Kogi States have vigilante outfits which were commissioned by the Nigerian Army and the APC Federal Government and wondered why the Nigerian Army would disrupt a legal training exercise.





Governor Wike said that the State Government worked with the Police, the DSS and other Federal Agencies to ensure that only law-abiding citizens were recruited by the Rivers State Neighbourhood Safety Corps Agency.





The Army is not concerned about the killing of soldiers in Borno. They are only interested in creating insecurity in Rivers State.





If you dont want Rivers State to be safe, then Nigeria will not be safe. They want to use their guns against us.





Zamfara and Kogi States have vigilante groups. They commissioned them and the Chief of Army Staff did nothing. The House of Assembly passed a law approving the Rivers State Neighbourhood Safety Corps Agency. The Chief of Army did not challenge the law in court, but today he sent troops to invade the training camp.





All they are doing is to intimidate people for political reasons. When you fight a state blessed by God, you will crumble. Nobody can intimidate us in Rivers State.





We did not hire boys for political reasons. This has been a transparent process and that is why the personnel are trained at the NYSC Orientation Camp at Nonwa.





We involved the Police and the DSS to ensure that the trainees are profiled for the good of the society. The main aim of this agency assist the security agencies with intelligence and information, since there is a lacuna in this regard.





No one man has been a Chief of Army Staff forever. Every job has an expiry date. When Buratai leaves office, he will be held to account for his illegal actions.





If they stop the training elsewhere, personnel of the Rivers State Neighbourhood Safety Corps Agency will be trained at the Government House Port Harcourt, the governor said.




Reshape ADF for relevance, departing president says

Departing Australian Dairy Farmers president Terry Richardson says the peak dairy body needs to be significantly changed to stay relevant and the states will need to help make it happen.
A professor at the National Defense University of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) revealed on Thursday the first details of China's new armed reconnaissance drone following its debut at the Airshow China 2018 earlier this month.

The GJ-2 is believed to enhance China's border patrol and counter-terrorism efforts.

Made by the Chengdu Aircraft Design Institute under the Aviation Industry Corporation of China, the GJ-2 is a medium-to-high altitude armed unmanned reconnaissance aerial vehicle, Li Wei, a professor at the National Defense University, said in a report published on the China Youth Daily Thursday.

Installed with a turboprop engine, the aircraft can reach a top speed of 370 kilometers an hour at an altitude of 9,000 meters, and can stay in the air for 20 hours, the report said.

The GJ-2 has six weapon bays under its wings capable of carrying as many as 12 small missiles, making its strike capability better than its predecessor, the GJ-1, Li said in the report.

It is also equipped with a reconnaissance system, including a synthetic aperture radar and an electro-optical pod, which can provide more detailed information on the target, the report said.

Wei Dongxu, a Beijing-based military expert, told the Global Times on Thursday the GJ-2 is an enhanced version of a "bomb truck in the sky" that can also provide real-time information to field commanders.

The GJ-2 made its debut at the Airshow China 2018 in Zhuhai, South China's Guangdong Province earlier this month, although the PLA Air Force did not provide details then.

Media reports said the GJ-2 is the PLA version of the Wing Loong II, Chengdu Aircraft Design Institute's latest drone for export.

Wei believes that the GJ-2 is more capable and reliable than the export version.

The PLA version will be better in terms of anti-jamming, battlefield communication and customization potential, Wei said.

China has a long border in high altitude areas like Southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region, where patrols are risky and inefficient. The GJ-2 would solve the problem if deployed, the China Youth Daily report said.

It can also conduct counter-terrorism and stability maintenance missions, the report added.

Wei also compared the GJ-2 with US drone MQ-9 Reaper, stressing that while the two are similar in terms of armed reconnaissance, the Chinese drone uses lighter composite materials, allowing it to carry more ammunition.

It is also much cheaper than the US drone, Wei said.
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Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko is asking NATO allies to send naval ships to the Sea of Azov to aid his country and "provide security" amid tensions with Russia. Poroshenko's comments were published Thursday in the German newspaper Bild.

NATO spokeswoman Oana Lungescu responded to Poroshenko's request by saying the military alliance already has a strong presence in the Black Sea region. She said NATO ships routinely patrol the area and several NATO allies conduct reconnaissance flights over the region. "We will continue to assess our presence in the region," Lungescu added.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel also rejected Poroshenko's request, urging Kyiv to adopt a "sensible" approach "because there is no military solution to these disputes."

Also Thursday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said he could play a mediator role between Ukraine and Russia. He has held phone talks with leaders on both sides, and said he would continue discussing the issue with Russian President Vladimir Putin and U.S. President Donald Trump at a G20 summit in Argentina.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Putin and Trump will have their own meeting Saturday to discuss relations between the two countries as well as regional conflicts and disarmament issues.

Russian forces seized three Ukrainian vessels and their crews Sunday as they tried to make their way through the Kerch Strait to the Ukrainian port of Mariupol, in the Sea of Azov. Ukraine said Russia used a tanker to block access to the Kerch Strait, which under a treaty is shared territory. Russia said the vessels illegally entered its waters.
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Fearing Punishment, Iran's Students Turn Away From Politics

11/30/18

Source: Radio Farda

Nearly ten years after a harsh crackdown ended Iran's youth-driven Green Movement, sometimes called the "Persian Spring," it appears university students have lost their appetite for political activism amid ever tighter restrictions on freedom of speech.



Iranian students protesting arrests and expulsions in June 2018

(source: Iranian daily Ghanoon)

"Iranian students are reluctant to participate in political activities," said Hossein Salimi, the president of Allameh Tababaei University in Tehran, one of the largest universities in the country.



Speaking to the state-run Iran Students News Agency (ISNA), Salimi, a former cleric, said the main reason students have lost interest in politics is that they fear the consequences of expressing their opinions.



According to Salimi, 60-70 percent of the licenses his university issues for student gatherings go unused.



"Although nearly all of the students' requests to hold meetings are approved by the supervisory board, most of the licenses are not used," Salimi said.



Hossein Salimi, head of Allameh Tabatabaei University in Tehran, Iran

Salimi, who was welcomed by students four years when he replaced a hardliner as the president of the university, says the era of "certain political activities" among Iranians is over. His countrymen, he says, have lost interest in expressing their thoughts and ideas at "emotional" meetings that lead to political instability.



However, Salimi argues there is no reason students shouldn't be engaged in politics, as long as the "red lines" of the ruling establishment are respected, of course.



According to Salimi, if student political activities go beyond what is considered acceptable by the ruling establishment, "the managers of the universities lose control and other institutions (security and intelligence entities) step in, bringing a host of other problems."

The Iranian student associations, once highly active during the presidency of reformist Mohammad Khatami (1997-2005), are currently under the close supervision of different intelligence and security organizations, and are effectively silenced.



Hundreds of "starred" Iranian students have been kicked out of their universities for raising their voices. A star next to a student's name in official university records in Iran means a partial or complete ban from state universities. Although President Hassan Rouhani formed a committee in to resolve the issue of starred students, the fate of an unknown number of them is still in limbo.



Read article on "starred students" by Iranian daily Ghanoon

Furthermore, hundreds of students' rights activists were arrested after the nationwide anti-establishment protests that swept the country in late December 2017 and early January this year. Most of those arrested were not involved in the protests but were taken into custody as a "preventative measure." Many were given long prison sentences and some are still awaiting a verdict.



All these developments have led to a significant decline in Iranian student participation in political activities. Even conservative student groups supportive of the ruling establishment have reason to be cautious.



Last week, an ultraconservative student group asked Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei to attend a gathering at Tehran University and take questions from students about the performance of the Islamic Ruling System since its inception nearly four decades ago.



However, days later, under heavy pressure, the group withdrew its request, signaling that the ruling establishment prefers students, even those who support them, stay out of politics entirely.
The U.S. Senate voted 63-37 Wednesday to move forward legislation seeking an end to U.S. involvement in the Saudi-led war in Yemen. The vote is mostly a signal to the administration because House Republican leaders have not indicated they will take up the measure.

The vote was evidence of the widening gulf between the White House and U.S. lawmakers regarding Saudi Arabia, even after two top members of President Donald Trump's national security team provided a classified briefing to the full Senate.

Nearly two months after a dissident Saudi journalist was killed at the kingdom's consulate in Turkey, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Defense Secretary Jim Mattis urged preservation of Washington's historically close ties to Riyadh, including U.S. support for the Saudi-led military campaign in Yemen.

That message fell on increasingly deaf ears as senators of both parties blasted the exclusion of CIA Director Gina Haspel from the closed-door encounter. The CIA is widely reported to have concluded that Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman ordered the slaying of Jamal Khashoggi, a U.S. resident.

"Not having Gina Haspel at this briefing is a cover-up," the top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Bob Menendez of New Jersey, told reporters. "It tells me volumes about what really is going on here."

"Look, he [Salman] is responsible for this death [of Khashoggi]," said Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Bob Corker, a Tennessee Republican. "The fact that he hasn't come clean, the fact that we haven't forced him to come clean, is creating a problem. And Congress is likely to respond to this."
IRAN: Fallout Over Zarif's Money Laundering Comments Deepens

11/30/18

Source: Radio Farda

The Islamic Republic's Prosecutor-General says Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif's recent accusations of rampant money laundering in Iran are baseless, and the conservative block in Iran's parliament is threatening to have him impeached over his comments.



Iran's Foreign Minister Javad Zarif (R) &

Iran's Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani

Threatened with impeachment over their stand on FATF

In a highly controversial remark November 11, Zarif said that those who "profit in the billions of dollars" from money laundering in Iran are spending millions from their windfalls to prevent the passage of legislation requiring more financial transparency in Iran.



The foreign minister went on to implicitly accuse unspecified state agencies of mounting the campaign against President Hassan Rouhani's package of laws against money laundering, known collectively in Iran as the Palermo Bills.



"We cannot challenge the scenes set by these wealthy and mighty state organs," he said.



Later, Zarif clarified that he had not accused any specific state agency of money laundering. Nevertheless, allies of the Islamic Republic's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, have gone on the defensive.



Eight days after Zarif's comments, the head of Iran's judiciary, Ayatollah Sadeq Amoli Larijani, characterized Zarif's accusations as a "stab right into the heart" of the Islamic Republic ruling system, saying that if there is any evidence of widespread money laundering by state agencies, it should be referred to the judicial department.



The Islamic Republic's Prosecutor-General, mid-ranking cleric Mohammad Jafar Montazeri, later disclosed that Zarif had written a 12-page letter to his office to clarify the controversial remarks. Montazeri said the letter, which Zarif wrote at the judiciary's insistence, was "devoid of evidence" supporting his accusations.



The Rouhani administration has defended Zarif's comments, saying they are fully endorsed by the cabinet and reflect the government position against money laundering.



"Based on reliable statistics, nearly 10-15 billion dollars are annually laundered in Iran," Zarif's first deputy, Morteza Sarmadi, told Iran Students News Agency (ISNA) November 20. "Zarif has not accused opponents of the Palermo Bills of money laundering. He has only condemned individuals benefiting from money laundering."



Iranian Ambassador to London, Hamid Baeidinejad, also joined the chorus to defend Zarif by insisting that the Islamic Republic's authorities have long been aware of the high level of money laundering in the country.



"The authorities have been monitoring the main smuggling points of entry for years and are fully aware of the precise amount of money gained through these points of entry," Baeidinejad tweeted November 20.



"Smuggling narcotics in Iran amounts to $3 billion, and hard currencies and goods $12.6 billion, each year," Baeidinejad continued, adding, "Forty million liters (roughly 10.5 million gallons) of fuel are smuggled out of Iran every day. The money gained through such deals is lining the pockets of those involved in money laundering."



International transparency watchdog Financial Action Task Force (FATF) has demanded that Iran adhere to anti-money laundering standards and enact laws to prevent financing of terrorism. The adoption of anti-money laundering and terrorism financing laws (the Palermo Bills) by Iran could also help its standing with European countries that have pledged to help Iran continue doing trade despite U.S. sanctions.



The opponents of the Palermo Bills argue that their implementation is a threat to Iran's security. Analysts say the real fear in circles loyal to the Supreme Leader is that adhering to the financial transparency requirements would prevent Iran from financially supporting the Lebanese Hezbollah and Palestinian Hamas militant groups.



The Islamic Republic and North Korea are the only countries on the Financial Action Task Force blacklist, but the Paris-based organization has suspended counter-measures against Tehran while it works on reforms.
The Food and Drugs Authority (FDA) has lauded Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia for introducing the paperless port system.



According to the FDA, the paperless port system has improved efficiency and significantly increased the number of consignments inspected by the Authority daily.



The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of FDA, Delese Mimi Darko, who heaped praises on Dr Bawumia at the opening of mini lab for the FDA at the Tema Port, stated that the paperless system necessitated the establishment of a laboratory at the Tema for quick trade facilitation.



The FDA would like to take this opportunity to thank the Vice President, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, for the introduction of the paperless system and also the inclusion of the FDA in the three main agencies mandated to carry out joint inspections at the port. This mandate has necessitated the establishment of a mini laboratory at the Tema Port.



Data available to the FDA indicates that with the introduction of the paperless and Joint Inspection Management Information System at the Tema Port, there has been an overwhelming increase in the number of consignments inspected by the Authority on daily basis, according to her.



Meanwhile, the Ghana Ports and Harbors Authority (GPHA), is confident of the complete roll out of the paperless port system by the second quarter of 2019.



The Vice President, Dr Bawumia, earlier emphasized the removal of customs barriers in the country and mandatory joint inspections to enhance transparency at the countrys ports.



Government would soon begin the implementation of a risk clearance system at the pre-arrival stage. This will make it possible for compliant importers to sit in the comfort of their offices and get customs clearance. Every activity will be fed into the risk engine to enable the system to keep records of importers.



In addition to that, government plans to also introduce the First Port Rule in Ghana, which would ensure that goods destined for countries such as Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger are paid in Ghana to check the dumping of goods destined for neighbouring countries, according to him.



Importers and stakeholders have expressed satisfaction with the implementation of the National Single Window and Paperless Port System at the countrys ports.



Analysis of the monthly Import Performance of the Customs Division of the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) between 2015 and mid-year 2018 indicate that revenue realized from imports has been increasing year-on-year.



Total import revenue recorded for half-year 2015 was GH3,584.11 million.



It increased to GH5,252.43 in June 2017 as against GH4,330.26 million recorded in June 2016.



For the first half of this year, about GH5,798.76 million has been collected from importers.



The GRA projects a 30 percent growth in revenue by close of the year.

Source: Daily Guide









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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Enepa Ventures, a fertilizer distribution company, has denied categorically allegations that it sold untested fertilizer to COCOBOD.



According to a release issued by the company, media reports alleging the unwholesome transaction are not only false but they are attempts to malign the company and its product Cocoa Nti and to ridicule the companys high won reputation established over many years as a leading fertilizer and agro-chemicals distributor.



We wish to state emphatically that Cocoa Nti, a fertilizer that has been specially formulated for cocoa in Ghana, went through the rigorous test processes of the Cocoa Research Institute of Ghana (CRIG) prior to its certification by CRIG.



Prior to, during and after the testing of Cocoa Nti, the Company has in addition subjected itself to all legal processes and administrative formalities at Cocobod relating to the qualification of the company and its product Cocoa Nti for purchase and distribution to cocoa farmers, the release stated.



The press release issued yesterday said contrary to media reports, Cocoa Nti is not manufactured in Morocco and the Company has never at any timementioned that the Product is manufactured in Morocco.



The company, thus, urged the general public and its esteemed customers especially the hard working cocoa farmers across the country to ignore the publication and treat it with all contempt.



Enepa Ventures will continue to work with farmers and all stakeholders in the Agric Sector to support farmers with fertilizers and agro-chemicals of the highest grade and standard to boost the production of food and agricultural products in Ghana.



We will continue to be guided by our core values of Integrity Hard Work, Innovation and Service to God and Country, the release noted.

Source: Peacefmonline.com









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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The John Mahama campaign team is counting on contributions from supporters to help raise money for the nomination forms and filing fees, to enable him contest in the partys presidential primaries.



The National Democratic Congress, NDC, has set January 19, 2019, for its Presidential primaries, and nomination forms for the aspirants will cost GHc 20,000, while the filing fee will cost GHc 400,000.



On how the Mahama camp plans to raise the money, the campaign spokesperson, James Agyenim Boateng, said we are counting on the goodwill of people.



Many people have been pledging support for former President John Dramani Mahama. I have followed many people who say they are more than ready to support raise the money to be able to buy the forms as well as be able to pay the filing fee and we are ready for the reception we are getting.

Former President Mahama is viewed by some observers as the front-runner and he is expected to contest the primary against the likes of the Second Deputy Speaker of Parliament, Alban Sumana Bagbin; Joshua Alabi and Spio Garbrah among others.



A former Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the National Health Insurance Authority, Sylvester Mensah; a former MCE of Kumasi, Kojo Bonsu; Nurudeen Iddrisu; Stephen Atubiga and Goosie Tanoh, among others have also declared intent to contest the flagbearer position.

A member of the team, Richard Quashigah said Prof. Alabi will not be forced to back out of the race while describing the fees as unacceptable.



I had hoped that the General Secretary will not have come out with figures like that. Previously, it was 50,000. The argument stays that we are a social democratic party, we dont do thing like other political parties in this country because we are of a unique stock. And so if now we will also be taking the same trajectory as the NPP then it is most unfortunate. This figure is unacceptable and very much on the high side. It will appear that we have put the party up for sale to the highest bidder which ought not to be the case.



The NDCs General Secretary, Johnson Asiedu Nketia, however said the fees were moderate.



He has said the fees will help cater for the expensive cost associated with holding elections.



If you compare these monies against the cost of organizing the activities we are talking about, you will realize that the party will still have to raise money to supplement whatever will be accruing from these filing fees so I do not see how anybody can say that it is outrageous. NPP three years ago was charging 500,000. We were all with you here in this country, did you complain?

Source: citinewsroom.com









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Nigerian artiste, Mr. Eazi has released a new documentary in support of his new mixtape Lagos To London.



Titled Lagos To London: The Documentary, it offers an insight into the thought process of Eazi, and decisions about his career.



I want to shed some light on how music is consumed in Nigeria, says Eazi to Rolling Stone. The world needs to know that the music scene in Lagos isnt just afrobeats  theres afropop, alternative music, theres a dance scene.



The documentary details how Afrobeat has invaded London  often referred to as the backyard of Lagos  a place where Eazi worked as a phone salesman in Jul 2016.



At that time my music was not even getting played on the radio in Nigeria, recalled the Bankulize act to the American publication. Its so funny: My music started out in Ghana, moved to the U.K. and then to Nigeria. To this day, the U.K. is my Number One streaming location on Apple Music and Spotify.



Eazi also shared his thoughts on how Afrobeat has made an impact on the global music scene.



The other day I saw [the K-Pop group] BTS put out a song, and my fans were tagging me: Mr. Eazi, the beat in this song sounds like something you would have done. Obviously the song was inspired by African drums, explains Eazi.



At the end of the day, the next time a BTS fan hears a Mr. Eazi record, theyre gonna think its familiar. Its all helping.



Watch documentary below-









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The government is still determined to bring North Korean leader Kim Jong-un to Seoul in December despite being given the brush-off by Pyongyang.

Seoul tried to invite Kim for Dec. 13 and 14 but shelved the plan when the North requested a delay. Now it has started talks with the U.S. to somehow make it happen.

"President Moon Jae-in is considering the option of persuading North Korea again after gaining the U.S.' understanding," a source said Thursday.

Moon is in Argentina for the G20 summit, where he plans to meet with U.S. President Donald Trump on the sidelines on Saturday to discuss the issue.

The South informed the North that the optimum time for the visit would be Dec. 13 to 14, but North Korea requested that the trip be postponed until next year due to concerns for Kim's safety.

But it now intends to push for the date again and discuss the matter with the U.S. at the G20. If Trump does not oppose the idea, it would send another invite to the North.

Cheong Wa Dae ordered police to look into security for the visit. A government official said, "We checked three hotels in Seoul. There isn't much time, but we will be able to make preparations quickly once the order is given."

The Institute for National Security Strategy said in a report Thursday, "A visit by Kim to the South before the end of this year is unlikely in the current circumstances, but given his style of leadership a surprise cannot be ruled out."

"Although the chances are low, an informal meeting could take place in [the border truce village of] Panmunjom if there is a need to create momentum for a second U.S.-North Korea summit," the institute added.

The government is determined to provide fresh momentum for U.S.-North Korea dialogue and implement inter-Korean agreements that are on ice while sanctions against the North continue.
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President Moon Jae-in's approval rating slipped 3.2 percentage points to a record-low 48.8 percent this week, according to research firm Real Meter on Thursday. This is the first time that Moon's approval rating has fallen below 50 percent.

The rating has been falling for the past nine weeks. In early May, just after the April 27 summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, it stood at a starry-eyed 78.3 percent, while only 15.5 percent disapproved of his leadership.

But in the latest poll, 45.8 percent disapproved of Moon's leadership. In his hometown of Busan, neighboring Ulsan and surrounding South Gyeongsang Province, Moon's approval rating plunged to a paltry 37 percent.

He is also rapidly losing his support base among 20-somethings, the self-employed or small-business owners, mainly due to his failed economic policies and the recent stalemate over North Korean denuclearization.

The latest poll was conducted on 1,508 adults across the country from Monday to Wednesday.


The Supreme Court ruled Thursday that Japanese companies must compensate Koreans who were forced to labor for them during World War II.

It was the second ruling by the highest court this year in favor of victims of forced labor under the Japanese occupation. The court held that a 1965 treaty with Tokyo waiving all claims in return for a lump sum payment cannot void the rights of individual Koreans to file for compensation.

The court on Thursday found in favor of Yang Keum-deok (87) and five family members of Korean women who were forced to labor by imperial Japan during World War II against Mitsubishi Heavy Industries. Earlier, the court found for six other victims in their compensatory lawsuit against Mitsubishi.

The Japanese company must pay W100-150 million to each female victim and W80 million to each male victim (US$1=W1,121). The Seoul Central District Court also ruled in favor of three surviving family members of Kim Kong-su, who was forced into labor by Nippon Steel during World War II. Nippon Steel owes Kim's family W100 million.
The Scottish Ensemble

The Bridge is a new collaboration between With the question mark hanging of United Kingdom's wider cultural relations with the rest of Europe as a result of BREXIT, four organisations are joining together to create a new Europe-wide collaboration.is a new collaboration between Scottish Ensemble (UK), Ensemble Resonanz (Germany), Trondheim Soloists (Norway) and PLMF Music Trust (Estonia) supported by the Creative Europe programme of the European Union. Over the course of two years, these four organisations will come together to explore, share and develop ideas around artistic innovation and audience diversity in the classical music sector, as well as initiating a string ensembles network.

The Bridge emerged from a shared belief in the importance of embracing new ways of presenting classical music and keeping this art form vibrant, relevant and growing, as well as an awareness of how ambitious and innovative smaller ensembles and organisations can be within the sector.The Bridge will consist of both industry-focused and public events, so that the two year project will culminate in a three day festival of string music in Glasgow in 2020. The festival will include a major new commission as well as innovative and powerful live experiences designed to showcase the string repertoire."With the UK's imminent departure from the EU, strengthening cultural connections has become more important than ever. By fostering and protecting existing cross-cultural respect and understanding, and enriching our shared European musical heritage and finding ways to make it more accessible, responsive, diverse and innovative, we believe The Bridge can inspire long-term change within the classical music sector and encourage more people to enjoy the power of this shared musical tradition." - Jenny Jamison, Chief Executive of Scottish EnsembleFurther information from the Scottish Ensemble website
KAMPALA  The Bank of Uganda Deputy Governor Dr. Louis Kasekende has assured Parliament that the Central Bank has embarked on investigations inside the Banks security department after reports that the former Executive Director, Justin Bagyenda breached the Banks security and sneaked out with bags whose contents remain a mystery to date.

Dr. Kasekendes pronouncement on Thursday followed concerns raised by MPs on the Committee of Commissions, Statutory Authorities and State Enterprises (COSASE) who wondered why the Bank hasnt taken any disciplinary measures against the Bank security team who watched on as the bags left the Bank.

Dr. Kasekende said: I want to assure this Committee that the breach in security is a very serious matter. There are a number of issues that have been revealed here and we have Committees of the Bank that we will fully investigate in parallel to any investigations that have been directed by this Committee.

The Deputy Governors remarks followed the Committee findings, after review of the CCTV footage of the Bank that Ms Bagyendas bodyguard, Juliet Adikolet and driver Job Turyahebwa carried bags out of the Bank while the security officers; Beatrice Kyambadde and Charles Omoro looked on.

COSASE was forced to institute a select Committee headed by UPDF Representative Francis Takirwa whose report revealed that there was a lot of negligence on part of security officers who knew what to do but didnt do what they should have done adding that the contents of the bags remain a puzzle as the input from the four suspects, who are now under Police custody didnt reveal much given they all denied knowing contents of the bags.

Among the MPs that raised concerns were Francis Mwijukye who questioned how somebody in charge of security could allow bags to get in without verification, Why didnt you think it wasnt important to verify. Who asked you not to verify. In all this you see security, it isnt just a person above the bank, but you really see the connection. This isnt just about Bagyenda but we need to interrogate it further, said Mwijukye.

He was backed by COSASE Chairperson, Abdu Katuntu who said: What this bag cant afford to do are officers carrying items from that institution and may end up in unauthorized hands which might be disastrous. You as top leadership, you should take this issue seriously.

Nathan Itungo (Kashari County MP) asked Kasekende if he had had the opportunity to watch the footage showing how the bags moved out of the Bank, to which Kasekende admitted not having seen.

Kasekende said: I havent had the opportunity to watch that video.

The Deputy Governors revelation attracted concerns with Katuntu chipping in saying the matter has to be investigated to its conclusion because there is property at the Bank at stake, and the country isnt in the know of what property it was.

Elijah Okupa (Kasiro County) wondered why Bank of Uganda kept on Bagyendas bodyguard on the payroll yet the matter came to the knowledge of the Bank in March, one month after the bags had been sneaked out of the country.

He suggested to have Adikolet sent back to Uganda Police for reassignment as the nation cant risk the Central Banks property with a person of her calibre.

As the MPs kept on raising questions, Mwijukye pointed out at Kasekendes lack of interest at the matter, wondering how he hasnt found time to look at the footage, I want to know why the Governor wasnt interested? He asked.

Kasekende replied: We have a lot of interest when things like this happen, as reported by the Director Security yesterday, the communication from Security went to the Governor, the issues you are raising now are to the Deputy Governor, give us an opportunity and give me an opportunity, I will also talk to the Governor when I go back, what was he told, when was he told and what decision were made.

We will definitely do investigations and hand over staff to our own disciplinary Committee. Of course, the issue of the emergency door, any breach of security will be investigated, Kasekende added

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LONDON  Uganda has been named one of the secret suppliers of weapons that originate in the EU, US and China to South Sudan, defying an arms embargo imposed on the troubled nation by the European Union and United Nations, a new report shows.

The report published by the London-based Conflict Armament Research (CAR) says the diversion of the weapons appears to have taken place without the knowledge of the original exporters and may have breached the end-user and non-retransfer condition of sale agreements with South Sudans neighbours, it says.

Some of the military material retransferred from Uganda to South Sudan in potential violation of non-retransfer and end-use restrictions was exported to Uganda by states, including some EU member states, that had already imposed regional or unilateral prohibitions on arms supplies to South Sudan, the report reads in part.

Weapons and ammunition purchased by Uganda from EU member states Bulgaria, Romania and Slovakia were diverted to the South Sudanese military and armed allies in Sudan.

The so-called retransfers took place after the EU imposed an arms embargo on South Sudan, the report says. It also notes an instance where a US military jet that was previously used in the Ugandan airforce was deployed in South Sudan in possible violation of arms export controls.

South Sudan arranged for Uganda to issue end-user certificates (the essential paperwork for an international arms transfer)to make it look like these weapons were for the use of the Ugandan armed forces when in fact they were always destined for South Sudan, Mr Mike Lewis, the head of CAR regional operations was quoted in the report as saying.

However, Deputy Defence Minister Charles Okello Engola said Uganda would never undermine an international embargo and took measures to ensure weapons did not cross its porous borders.

I have nothing to do with a country procuring equipment from other countries and passing through our country. We dont have any powers of doing that, as Uganda, to supply equipment to other countries in that kind of manner, he said.

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Officers with the Paradise (CA) Police Department find themselves with very little to dono longer receiving calls for domestic violence, burglary, disturbing the peace, or any other incidents occurring on a typical shift before the worst wildfire in California history leveled the town in a matter of mere hours.

The area remains off limits to anyone but the first responders still searching the area for decedents and protecting against looterseven though there is very little of value remaining to loot.

Residents who fled the flames are still being held back from the devastated town at check points posted on every road into the area. The reasoning is that if people are let in, they may remain, and it will quickly devolve into a lawless mess with little to no infrastructure.

According to the Los Angeles Times, eight of the town's 20 officers lost their homes in the blaze.

But they remain on duty, patrolling a town that no longer exists.
Officers with the Groveland (MA) Police Department had just rescued a 44-year-old hunter who had capsized a canoe on Parker River, when they found themselves in the same predicament. Image courtesy Groveland PD / Facebook.

Officers with the Groveland (MA) Police Department had just rescued a 44-year-old hunter who had capsized a canoe on the Parker River, when they found themselves in the same predicament.

Officers went back out on the river in an effort to recover the man's firearm from the bottom, when their canoewhich they had commandeered from a nearby home, struck something under the surface and capsized.

According to the Boston Globe, firefighters joined additional responding police officers in the rescue of the two stranded patrolmen.

Police Chief Jeffrey Gillen said that both rescue efforts were complicated by a strong current a river higher than usual because of heavy rainfall.

The State Police dive team went to the scene to recover the twice-sunken firearm, Gillen said.
Officer Sierra Reprogal is pictured with Bridgette Crumley after she helped deliver Crumley's newborn baby girl at roadside. Image courtesy of Dickson PD / Facebook.

An officer with the Dickson (TN) Police Department performed some roadside heroics as she assisted a woman in labor in giving birth to a baby girl.

Bridgette Crumleyalong with her husband, three-year-old son, and mother-in-lawwere all packed in a car early Tuesday morning when they realized they werent going to make it to the hospital in time for delivery.

Officer Sierra Reprogal responded to the Crumley family's frantic 911 call just as the baby was "crowning"that moment when the infant's head begins to appear.

By the time EMS arrived, Officer Reprogal had already delivered the child and had the baby safely wrapped in her mother's arms.

"Congratulations to Officer Sierra Reprogal for an outstanding job," the department said on its Facebook page. "Every call or stop is different and you never know what the next second holds. This Officer delivered a baby on the side of the road. This goes to show that an officer's job is very stressful. One minute, you may be holding the hand of someone who is taking their last breath.....or, on this day with Officer Reprogal, you may be watching a new life take its first breath. Wow! Think about that for a moment."

Reprogal said on her Facebook page, "Literally one of the best things I've ever done or been a part of."

This is the second incident reported this week of an officer delivering a baby at roadside. Sergeant Brian Maynard with the North Carolina State Highway Patrol delivered a baby on Saturday night near Raleigh.
SK Group is mulling investment of up to US$5 billion in a new automotive battery plant in the U.S., chairman Chey Tae-won said Wednesday.

SK Innovation in a board meeting on Monday decided to build the plant in Jackson County, Georgia. It will be capable of producing 9.8 GWh of car batteries a year. It plans to break ground early next year with an aim to start production in 2022.

The initial investment totals $1.6 billion, and the plant will employ 1,400 workers, but that could be increased to 6,000.

Chey was speaking at the opening of SK Hynix' Washington office, where he told some 200 guests including Oklahoma Senator Jim Inhofe, representative Suzan DelBene and former U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell that the company hopes to "grow together" with U.S. society.


Officers with the Everett (WA) Police Department will help wait tables at Buffalo Wild Wings restaurant at a local mall in a charity event to raise money for Special Olympics.

The event is part of the nationwide "Tip a Cop" campaign to raise money for Special Olympics.

Sergeant John Zeka told the Everett Herald, "This gives officers and the community a chance to get together in a positive way. We can meet and talk to people and its not the 911 call. It gives both sides a good opportunity to meet when its not something bad that has happened."

The event is set to take place on December 1st from 1100 to 1600 hours.

According to the Herald, last year's event at a Red Robin restaurant in Everett raised more than $4,600.
The Michigan State Police provides extensive vehicle-operation training to its recruits. Photo: Michigan State Police

Many people do their best to avoid driving in bad weather. They do it only when they get caught in a storm or if they absolutely have to be somewhere like work or school. As law enforcement officers, you rarely have the option of staying at home and waiting out the storm.

And there is evidence that driving in dangerous weather conditions is one of the reasons so many officers are killed in patrol vehicle accidents. In most years, more officers are killed in vehicle crashes than in felonious attacks. So far 2018 is an exception, with more than twice as many officers killed by felonious gunfire than in on-duty crashes. Still, one of the big differences between accidental death and murders is that accidents can be prevented more easily because there is by definition no malicious intent involved in an accident.

The best way to prevent accidents is to learn to recognize the hazards and train on how to prevent them from causing a tragedy. And if any law enforcement agency knows how to train officers how to drive in dangerous weather it's a state highway patrol.

Consider the Michigan State Police, an agency that is charged with performing patrol and investigative duties in much of the state while also serving as the highway patrol. Recruit training in the MSP academy requires each student to complete 50 hours of driver instruction, including 40 hours behind the wheel and 10 hours of classroom work. In addition, working officers often return to the academy for in-service emergency vehicle operations courses (EVOC), which includes instruction in what to do when driving during dangerous weather conditions. "We encourage commanders to rotate their people through," says Lt. Michael McCarthy, MSP's precision driving unit commander.

Losing Traction

Ice and snow, especially black ice, are some of the most dangerous road conditions faced by MSP officers. McCarthy sums up the primary hazard presented by the state's slick roads when he says, "The problem is that you tend to break traction and become involved in a skid."

MSP makes sure its officers know how to survive when their vehicle's tires break traction. The academy has a full-size skid pad, and each recruit gets 1.2 hours of training on it. In order to pass, they have to recover from three out of four skids.

McCarthy, a 24-year veteran of the MSP, says people tend to complicate the skid recovery process. The most important thing is not to accelerate or brake. Then you have to bring the vehicle back under your control. "You hear about counter steering, you hear about steering into the skid, but we teach a little bit differently," McCarthy says. "We tell our students to look where the car wants to go and steer to that spot. It's basically the same thing as steer into the skid but a lot of people don't realize what steer into the skid means."

Your car goes where you look applies to all driving, according to McCarthy. "Even in a simple exercise like the serpentine maneuver, if you look at the cones instead of the space between them, you will hit them," he explains.

The 80% Rule

The skid pad teaches MSP officers what to do if they get in trouble, but the most important lesson they learn is how not to get in trouble. They are taught to never exceed 80% of their skill level and the vehicle's capability even in emergency driving conditions, answering shots fired calls, responding to officer needs help calls, or pursuing suspects. "You always need to have a little bit of your skill and the vehicle's capability to recover if anything happens," McCarthy says, adding that regardless of the type of call, "You have to get there safely before you can do anyone any good."

Speed is the primary reason law enforcement officers exceed 80% of their driving skills. McCarthy says it's particularly important that officers understand the difference between their patrol SUVs and smaller vehicles. "The faster you go with a heavier vehicle, the more inertia it has and the less it wants to do anything other than go straight. The faster a vehicle goes the harder it is to turn or brake," he explains, adding that slick roads from ice, snow, or rain means you have to slow down to safely operate your vehicle in the 80% parameter.

That 80% rule is based on good weather conditions. When the weather turns nasty and road conditions deteriorate, so do both the skill level of the driver and the capabilities of the vehicle.

McCarthy uses this example to explain how the driver's skills can even go to 0%. If a driver can't see from rain, fog, or a whiteout blizzard, even if that driver is highly trained and highly skilled, then any movement exceeds 80%, he says. "What you should do when the weather turns so bad that you can't see is turn your hazards on, work your way to the shoulder, come to a stop, and remain stopped until conditions improve."

Flash Flooding

One of the least understood dangerous road conditions that imperils both first responders and civilian drivers is the flooded roadway. A good rule of thumb for you to remember is that if you can't see the curbs, the water is too deep. A fast current of less than a foot is enough to wash most passenger cars off the road and carry them away. An SUV is higher and can probably run through up to two feet of water, but don't bet your life on it.

In 2018 alone, two officers were killed when their vehicles were washed off the road, one in Kentucky and one in Missouri. McCarthy says the hard-and-fast rule is that no one should attempt to drive across a flooded roadway or bridge. And he rejects the mindset that officers have to charge through to get to calls, no matter the dangers they face. "If you don't think you can get there safely, then you need to weigh your options," he says.

What often happens when a vehicle is flooded off a roadway is that it comes to rest in water deep enough to submerge it. And a vehicle can also crash into water and sink. This is why Michigan State Police officers are offered optional training in underwater escapes.

The underwater escape course is some of the most involved training the MSP offers. It actually requires officers to rescue others from a vehicle underwater and escape from a submerged vehicle themselves. The academy has a submersible car that it dunks into a deep pool. The "car" was built by Rousch Performance for the MSP, and it's constructed of stainless steel so it won't rust.

In the class, officers are trained how to escape from the vehicle while high and dry, then they are sent into the pool to demonstrate their understanding of the concepts. Divers take each officer down to the submerged vehicle with scuba. The officer is then fitted with a blacked out dive mask because visibility in Michigan's bodies of water can be minimal, belted into the driver's seat, and then they have to escape.

Escaping from a vehicle that has crashed into water requires a clear head. You can't panic. If you can escape before the vehicle goes down, then do it. If you can't, you need to get out of your seat belt and get a window open. The seat belt release button should work because it's not electric. The same is not true of the driver and passenger side windows. It's likely that the windows will not operate once the car is under water. This is why the MSP issues a glass breaker to its officers. Once the window is open, you should let the vehicle fill with water to equalize the pressure in and out and open the door. The final step is to leave the vehicle and swim to the surface and hopefully to safety.

Strap Yourself In

Accidents happen. Regardless of how skilled you are, you can still make a mistake. Or more likely somebody else will make a mistake in a vehicle around you. So wear your seat belt. McCarthy says MSP policy requires officers to use seat belts any time their vehicles are moving.

Many officers ride around without buckling up because of an archaic law enforcement myth that a seat belt will trap you in your vehicle during an ambush. Experts who study such incidents say they can find no evidence of that ever happening. They say officers should always wear their belts when driving. The alternative is to be seriously injured or killed should you be involved in a serious crash.
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The UNSC's sanctions committee on North Korea wants to find out how the luxury car got into the North in the first place, an official told RFA.

The UN Security Council is checking whether a Mercedes-Benz sedan President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un rode together in Pyongyang violated sanctions, Radio Free Asia reported Wednesday.

The open-topped sedan used in the car parade through Pyongyang in September is thought to be a remodeled S600 Pullman Guard worth W1 billion (US$1=W1,121). But the UN banned supply and sales of luxury goods to the North in 2006.

Since the first batch was not rolled out until 2008, the car's import probably violated the sanctions.

The committee is also checking whether Kim's gift of 2 tons of pine mushrooms to the South Korean government violated the sanctions. A UNSC resolution adopted in December last year bans direct or indirect sale or transfer of North Korean agricultural products.

But a Foreign Ministry official here said there was no violation of the spirit of the sanctions. "Basically, the sanctions aim to prevent the North from benefiting from economic gains, and we dont think that applies to the mushrooms."
Beauty Valley is On the Rise

From:ChinaDaily | 2018-11-28 23:22

The Oriental Beauty Valley 2018 International Cosmetics Conference, took place on Nov 23-24, in Fengxian district of Shanghai, not only brought foreign companies insight about Chinese market but also supported Chinese brands to seek opportunities in overseas markets.

The event, a beauty industry gathering held right after the China International Import Expo in Shanghai and the World Internet Conference in Wuzhen, Zhejiang province in early November, successfully demonstrated Chinese beauty industry players' commitment and confidence to integrate with the world's beauty and health industry, according to the event organizers.

"We hope this conference can help develop a communications and innovation platform between Shanghai's beauty industry and the rest of the world," said Xu Kunlin, deputy mayor of Shanghai.

Themed at "Better Life Empowered By Beauty", the conference attracted more than 380 leading business representatives, industrial experts and government officials from more than 10 countries and regions. Speeches and forums featured in-depth discussions across topics such as beauty industry's development trends, how technology can support business growth and future development.

Representatives from foreign companies such as Japan's Shiseido, the United States' Nu Skin and Italia's Interco Group shared their opinion on a broad range of topics such as how a foreign company could better adapt to overseas market, how technologies such as artificial intelligence could support business development and how beauty industry could maintain sustainable development.

Kentaro Fujiwara, president and CEO of Shiseido China, who had worked in France and Germany for many years, shared Shiseido's story and understanding about Chinese market. He emphasized that "respect, objective driven and diversity" were three key elements in supporting a company's development in a foreign market.

Chinese companies' representatives from JALA Group and Beukay Cosmetics shared their efforts and achievements in market expansion and innovation.

Xu Kunlin, deputy mayor of Shanghai delivers a keynote speech at the conference. (Photo provided to China Daily)

"The gathering not only offered demonstration opportunities for Chinese brand but also support Chinese businesses to seek development opportunities in overseas markets," said Zheng Chunying, chairman of JALA Group. JALA is a Chinese beauty products developer and manufacturer established in Shanghai Fengxian district in 2001. After 17 years of development, the company has become an industrial leader with more than 40 million members both online and offline, according to Zheng. Its skincare and beauty brands such as CHANDO and MAYSU have accumulated a huge number of loyal fans in China.

The innovation-driven enterprise said that it now controls over three world-leading technologies, which are three-dimension bioprinting skin of Asians development and application, studies on epigenetics and researches based on results generated from outer space.

Meanwhile, JALA has paid great attention on internationalization over the past 17 years. Zheng said JALA had long been committed to be the top player in Chinese market and is getting prepared in terms of talent pool expansion, quality control, legal environment studies and long-term global vision establishment. JALA will establish a department to overlook work in overseas market in 2019 to speed up into foreign markets.

Apart from industrial information sharing, government officials were present to give participants hints on the latest trends and regulation policies in China.

For instance, China implemented a new registration policy to shorten approval time for imported non-special use cosmetic products on Nov 10 nationwide. Li Jinju, deputy chief of Cosmetic Regulation section of the National Medical Products Administration, was invited to provide more detailed information on this new policy which was trialed in the China (Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone in March last year.

Li also shared some figures about China's cosmetics industry growth over the past three decades.

Zhuang Mudi, Party chief of Fengxian district, delivers a keynote speech at the conference. (Photo provided to China Daily)

In 2015, China's businesses reported 300 billion yuan ($43.26 billion) industrial output value, a sharp rise from 350 million yuan in 1985. The figures further doubled to nearly 700 billion yuan in 2017 and there are more than 4,700 businesses involved in the industry, Li said.

Yu Jian, general manager of shopper behavior specialist Kantar Worldpanel, released the Kantar Worldpanel Beauty Panel which concluded from 40,000 samples from 373 tier 1 to tier 5 cities in China. The report said that cosmetics is leading the growth in fast-moving consumer goods sector. And both Chinese and foreign brands are attracting consumers in their own ways.

The top 10 beloved domestic brands including CHANDO and Inoherb; and the top 10 beloved foreign brands including Estee Launder and Lancome were unveiled during the 2018 Shanghai Oriental Beauty Valley International Cosmetic Award Ceremony at the conference.

Oriental Beauty Valley

The conference also strongly boosted awareness of the Oriental Beauty Valley in Fengxian district and marked a milestone in Fengxian's beauty and healthcare industry construction.

Fengxian district, in south of Shanghai, launched the Oriental Beauty Valley construction plan in 2015 to support its economic upgrade and transformation.

According to the Fengxian district government, the Oriental Beauty Valley is different from traditional industrial parks and economic development zones which formed by new buildings and factories in a designated area.It will be a cluster which has a complete industrial chain including raw material procurement, research and development and marketing. In the long-run, the valley will also develop headquarter economy, cultural creativity, travel and leisure, e-commerce, sports, financial services, fashion and luxury industry to develop a beauty and healthcare centered and multiple industries coexisting industrial system.

"We will build a health and beauty industrial ecosystem which combine products, culture and service under one roof to achieve integration of industry, urban and culture," said Zhuang Mudi.

After three years of development, Fengxian district has reported outstanding results in promoting the beauty industry development. The statistics from the Fengxian government show that the Oriental Beauty Valley is home to more than 200 companies including US Melaleuca, Nu Skin, China's Cosmax and one of oldest Traditional Chinese Medicine pharmacy chain operator Leiyunshang. Construction of Wuxi App Tec's biopharmaceuticals R&Dcenter in Fengxian, involves 3.5 billion yuan overall investment, started in Nov.

To date, more than 3,000 types of products are produced in Fengxian. About 25 percent facial masks used in China are produced in the Oriental Beauty Valley, according to Zhuang.

Fengxian also lured many beauty and healthcare service providers such as China Essence and Fragrance Research Institute and a testing center supported by East China University of Technology.

The Oriental Beauty Valley 2018 International Cosmetics Conference in progress (Photo provided to China Daily)

The Oriental Beauty Valley was recognized as the Capital of China's Beauty Industry by the China National Light Industry Council in Sept last year.

Du Tonghe, vice-president of China National Light Industry Council, said that Fengxian has established an industrial cluster which cover skin care, perfume and healthcare over the past few years.

"Fengxian has established a strong position in China's beauty industry in terms of market scale, product quality and brand awareness," said Du. "Inmy option, Shanghai is the only region that can take the title."

Looking ahead, Fengxian will continue to support beauty industry development and provide tailor-made support to high-tech companies which plan to raise fund from capital market. The district has established a 2 billion-yuan industrial supportive fund for companies, according to Zhuang.

"We will make the Oriental Beauty Valley a cradle for the first-class companies" he said.

Fengxian will also strengthen industrial cluster construction, research and development, services and talent pool development and build eight service centers including testing, design and marketing centers.

"We will help companies explore both domestic and international markets and makes the Oriental Beauty Valley the starting point for companies enter the world market. We will also make the valley the first option for foreign companies which keen to enter into Chinese market," Zhuang said.

The overall industrial output value of beauty and health businesses will hit 100 billion yuan in 2025, according to the Fengxian government
Carriers eye paid add-on services to lift revenue

From:ChinaDaily | 2018-11-30 07:18

Cabin upgrades, pre-booked in-flight meals, paid priority security checks and boarding, and other additional services will soon become more commonplace for most passengers in China, according to industry experts.

Due to the more relaxed policies and regulations on paid ancillary services, carriers are expected to earn more revenues from such services, they said.

In China, smaller and budget airlines, such as Tianjin Airlines, Spring Airlines and Lucky Air, have been actively trying to operate more ancillary services, such as the prebooking of paid food and paid luggage check-in services. State-owned carriers, however, have been more cautious, and they only provide options like prepaid seat selection on international flights.

In the past decade, the ancillary revenues of the top 10 carriers with the biggest portion of such revenues surged from $2.1 billion in 2007 to $29.7 billion in 2017, at an annual compound growth rate of 30 percent.

United Airlines, Delta Air Lines, American Airlines, Air France-KLM Group, Lufthansa Group, and Air Canada, respectively, make up the top six, according to IdeaWorksCompany, a US airline consulting firm.

The ancillary revenues of State-owned airlines in China, including Air China, China Southern Airlines and China Eastern Airlines, make up 4 percent of their total revenues, lower than the average 10 percent for global carriers, according to consultancy firm Roland Berger.

"All the stakeholders are gradually showing more enthusiasm in providing ancillary services in China. The sector is expected to see a significant growth potential, driven by the rapid growth of the air travel market in the country," said Yu Zhanfu, a partner at Roland Berger Strategy Consultants.

"When taking flights becomes more common, just like taking subways and buses, and the number of travelers continually grows, demand will become more diversified. Carriers can increase additional charges and profits, by lowering flight ticket prices and refining and specifying products," Yu said.

For example, British Airway cooperated with British retailer Marks & Spencer, to provide more high-quality in-air food with better-designed packaging.

In addition, many carriers clearly guide consumers to book their in-flight meal beforehand online, which can help airlines to better manage the supply chain and increase revenues.

"There were some policy restrictions regarding the charging of ancillary services in the civil aviation sector, but the regulations are becoming more relaxed, which will create more opportunities for Chinese airlines," Yu said.

Meanwhile, a survey showed Chinese travelers are more than willing to pay for cabin upgrade services at the boarding gates or after they board planes, especially when they have purchased flight tickets with big discounts, yet many airlines don't provide enough such services, according to a survey by Carnoc, a major civil aviation website portal in China.

"The survey signals what kind of services can be made to better ancillary services, based on the thoughts of travelers," Yu said.
New York, NY -- (ReleaseWire) -- 11/30/2018 --Voila Catering stands upon its commitment to offer a wide range of catering services for a variety of events in Manhattan and surrounding areas. As one of the premier service provider, the company engages corporate lunch caterers in New York City and New York to serve the clients in the best possible manner. Whether it is executive board meeting or staff training, team building event or any other office gathering, Voila Catering stands out in every occasion.



As a full-service business, the company comes up with a wide selection of menus and dishes to ensure that their clients have the perfect catering service. When it comes to organizing an event, they take care of every minute detail, ensuring that the clients receive the quality service on all counts.



From office party to corporate catering, the company is ready to bring smiles on the faces of the delegates that attend the event. The other social events they have successfully served in include sweet 16 party, confirmation gathering, an anniversary party, baby shower, or any other type of get together.



Over the years, the company has also satisfied the guests by offering quality cocktail wines. The standard menu comes in with various delicious choices. However, if one wishes, one can ask for a customized menu. Moreover, they take pride themselves on their experience by bringing exquisite food and beverage menus to their expertise in event management.



The professional staff uses their experience to understand the vision of their clients for food and serve them accordingly. With vegan guests in mind, they also bring extensive vegetarian options that can be included so that one of one's guests have something to enjoy. From catered breakfast to catered lunch to catered dinner, Voila Catering can be relied upon for their passion and dedication in serving clients.



For more information about lunch catering in Westchester and Manhattan, New York, visit http://www.voilacaterers.com/breakfast-catering-lunch-catering-manhattan-upper-east-side-midtown-nyc.



About Voila Caterers

Voila Caterers is a well-known catering company that is located in New York and at present it serves a varied range of customers. The company has been able to grow through the referrals that they receive as a result of their extraordinary customer satisfaction rate.
Buzz!

The song is a taste off Sutej Singh's new guitar-freakout album The Emerging.

The past couple of years have seen relatively little experimentation in the Indian music scene, at least in terms of heavier sounding genres. The electronic movement is yet to die down and the alternatives to it are frightfully stale; worn-out rock or worn-out metal. This exciting development arrives from Solan, a small developing town between Shimla and Chandigarh, thanks to an effort that began over two years ago. Sutej Singhs new song from his upcoming album The Emerging, while clearly rooted in the past, is a welcome breath of fresh air.

It has been an excruciatingly long time since something like Oceans Apart has come out in the scene. It is a loud, theatrical and dramatic instrumental piece (the whole album features no vocals), complete with big riffs, shredding for days and massive production. The composition makes no bones about what it is, and neither does Sutej, the brains behind it. The basic essence of Oceans Apart is largely influenced by John Petruccis solo project, Dream Theater and other 90s guitar-driven operas. Sutej Singh is completely fine with taking a dated genre and reintroducing it to the mainstream, and the music benefits from his fully involved and exclusive effort.

Listen to Oceans Apart here:

To look futher into the technical aspects, the guitar playing is not to be ignored; Singh can shred and noodle and do almost anything with sheer prowess. What also stands out is his songwriting capability. The guitarist picks and chooses moments to let loose, opting to write coherent songs instead of using an album to advertise his chops. Oceans Apart starts with a lonely guitar melody that builds and builds into a huge, anthemic riff that fills your ears entirely; it is supplemented by booming drums and bass, raspy rhythm guitars and a whole ton of orchestral instrumentation. It is this element that gives the song (and the album) its drama, and the listener the much needed emotion (commonly known among millennials as 'feels'). Every little space between the instruments is covered by big strings, most rhythm sections are augmented by violins, and at times strings are used as the main instrument instead of the guitars (notably Oceans Apart). There are moments where the guitar even sits back in the mix; the strings are front and center and hit you like a train. Its an intense experience.

Mixed and mastered in Germany (thanks to Christian Moos at Spacelab Mixing Suite and Joachim Erig's Mastering Ranch respectively), the album features Scott Higham (Ghost Community, Ex-Pendragon) on drums throughout the album except the title track (Haken's Raymond Hearne fills in for The Emerging). Bassist Kylon Amos, flautist Gina Luciani and Leon Ross (orchestral arrangements) feature in Singh's most ambitious project so far.

Sutejs writing process is simple but labored; he would start with a guitar melody and add layers as they naturally occurred to him. While he wrote parts for all the instruments himself (except the bass) and recruited session musicians to bring them to life, ideation with available resources and talent resulted into three years to complete the album. Sutej Singh composed The Emerging an instinctive manner without much regard for how this sound would sit in todays musical landscape. He is not particularly into electronic genres, and this song sounds better for it; though the production is modern, he has no time to make you contemplate with sparse instrumentation and subtle textures. The song is massive, very over-the-top and proud of itself.

Older generations of listeners will recognize the old-school elements like the screaming guitars and big riffs, but there is a generation of listeners who are too young to have a reference to it; a generation saturated by electronica and djent. To them, this will be alien and familiar at the same time.

You can pre-oder the album here:
Buzz!

Check out the glimmering new track from the Delhi rock band

Its about time Kraken unleashed to the world their brand new direction. Although anyone whos seen them at the occasional show over the last few years knows that theyve taken a melody-heavy direction that avoids cliches, theres finally sonic proof with their upcoming album LUSH.

With their first single, Yooo! Its a Letter From My Koi Fish, there was a signal towards indie, math and rock influences. Now theres one of their earliest compositions  Clowns Arent Funny After Midnight  thats made it to the final tracklist of LUSH. Its got a happy hardcore vibe, but remains unpredictably delightful for fans of guitar noodling, prog and whacked-out vocals.

Guitarist Moses Koul tells us that the album  which got its name LUSH very spontaneously  is more about emotions and effects than chanelling influences of bands they admire. He likens listening to the album as a nice walk in a forest. Moses talks about places, people and experiences more than anything music-related while describing the process of making LUSH, which was recorded by Keshav Dhar. He recalls when the band visited Austria to play at European Bike Week in 2015. That visit, as a band and playing to a crowd that didnt even know they had guitars in india, that influenced us.
United Therapeutics Corp. (UTHR) announced that Health Canada has approved Unituxin or dinutuximab for injection, in combination with granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor, interleukin-2, and 13-cis-retinoic acid, for the treatment of high-risk neuroblastoma in pediatric patients who achieve at least a partial response to prior first-line multiagent, multimodality therapy.

Unituxin was previously approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in March 2015.

The company said that it looks forward to launching the product for Canadian patients during the first half of 2019.

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Business News
Home  Just In  After public fury, govt withdraws odd-even rationing on Kathmandu roads

Kathmandu, November 30

Apparently hit by the fury expressed by members of the public on social media and some spontaneous efforts to break the order, the government on Friday decided to withdraw the odd-even rationing imposed in the operation of vehicles and motorbikes in Kathmandu Valley.

In its bid to facilitate the movement of foreign VVIP guests during the Asia Pacific Summit beginning in Kathmandu today, the government had restricted the movement of vehicles from Thursday to Sunday.

However, public expressed their fury against the decision, forcing the government to go back on the second day.

The Metropolitan Traffic Police Division says all vehicles can play the roads, irrespective of their registration numbers, after 11:30 am today.

The Division informs that the Ministry of Home Affairs has directed it to take back the decision.
Indian shares opened modestly higher on Friday to extend gains from the previous session.

The benchmark BSE Sensex was up 132 points or 0.36 percent at 36,302 in early trade, extending gains for the fifth straight session.

The broader Nifty index was up 37 points or 0.34 percent at 10,895, while the rupee strengthened further to hit a fresh three-month high on fresh fund inflows from foreign investors.

Housing finance companies are surging after the RBI relaxed asset securitization norms for NBFCs. HDFC rose about 1 percent, Dewan Housing Finance soared nearly 6 percent and Indiabulls Housing Finance advanced 1.8 percent.

Yes Bank jumped more than 6 percent after recent sharp losses.

Tata Motors fell 2.3 percent after its JLR unit temporarily halted operations at its U.K. engine factory.

Asian Oilfield Services rallied 5 percent on winning a contract worth Rs 27.65 crore from ONGC.

Inox Leisure rose over 1 percent on fund raising reports.

JSW Energy was little changed after it emerged as the sole bidder for Monnet Power.

Vodafone Idea tumbled 3.7 percent as ratings agency CRISIL downgraded the ratings of its debt instruments.

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Oil prices resumed declines on Friday amid worries about falling demand after China reported its weakest factory growth in more than two years.

Global benchmark Brent crude dropped 0.88 percent to $59.38 per barrel while

U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were down 1.46 percent at $50.70 per barrel.

China's manufacturing PMI stood at 50.0 in November, missing expectations for a score of 50.2, which would have been unchanged from the October reading.

The non-manufacturing PMI came in with a score of 53.4 - also shy of expectations for 53.8 and down from 53.9 in the previous month, adding to signs of slowing growth in the world's second-largest .

Amid deep divisions between the U.S. and China over international trade, analysts expect little progress on trade on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Argentina this weekend.

U.S. President Donald Trump told reporters on Thursday that he was close to doing something on trade with China but is not sure if he wanted to do it.

Traders also await the outcome of OPEC meeting in Vienna next week amid expectations that OPEC and Russia would agree some form of production cuts in view of an emerging supply glut.

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Market Analysis
Hexcel Corp. (HXL) said Friday that it has agreed to acquire ARC Technologies, Inc., a supplier of custom RF / EMI and microwave absorbing composite materials for military, aerospace and industrial applications for an agreed-upon purchase price of $160 million.

Hexcel noted that the acquisition will strengthen its existing advanced materials portfolio in structural composites and thermoplastics as well as provide new opportunities for growth and market penetration.

Founded in 1988, ARC Technologies is a privately-owned manufacturer with about 170 employees working at two locations in Amesbury, Massachusetts.

The company has a wide range of capabilities for producing RF / EMI and microwave absorbing materials and specializes in combining absorptive metallic filler compounds - including carbon, iron and nickel-coated graphite - with a proprietary blend of polymer resins to generate various matrix materials including structural composites and thermoplastics.

Hexcel noted that ARC Technologies is expected to generate about $50 million in revenue in 2018.

The transaction, anticipated to be accretive to Hexcel's earnings in 2019, is expected to close early in 2019.

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Business News
The Swiss stock market ended Friday's session with a slight increase. The positive performance of the pharma heavyweights helped the market to avoid a loss. Traders were in a cautious mood at the end of the week, ahead of the G20 summit this weekend.

U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping will hold a highly anticipated meeting at the summit to discuss the trade dispute between the two nations. Trump and Xi are due to hold a dinner meeting on Saturday on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

The Swiss Market Index increased by 0.25 percent Friday and finished at 9,037.76. The Swiss Leader Index dropped 0.3 percent and the Swiss Performance Index slid 0.01 percent.

Among the index heavyweights, Roche climbed 1.9 percent and Novartis rose 0.7 percent. Meanwhile, shares of Nestle slid 0.1 percent.

Lonza advanced 1.2 percent and Swisscom added 0.8 percent.

The luxury goods companies struggled ahead of the G20 summit. Swatch Group and its rival Richemont declined 1.2 percent each.

Julius Baer dropped 1.7 percent, Credit Suisse decreased 1.2 percent and UBS fell 1.1 percent.

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Market Analysis
Shares of Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings (LH) continue to see substantial weakness in afternoon trading on Friday after falling sharply early in the session. After hitting its lowest intraday level in over a year, LabCorp is currently down by 10.4 percent.

The early sell-off by LabCorp came after the life sciences company lowered its full-year guidance due to weaker than expected volume growth in LabCorp Diagnostics.

LabCorp said it now expects full-year adjusted earnings of $10.95 to $11.05 per share compared to its previous forecast for earnings of $11.25 to $11.45 per share.

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Business News
After ending the previous session slightly higher, treasuries saw some further upside during the trading day on Friday.

Bond prices moved to the upside early in the day and remained positive throughout the session. As a result, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, dipped by 2.2 basis points to 3.013 percent.

With the continued decrease on the day, the ten-year yield ended the session at its lowest closing level in well over two months.

The strength among treasuries came as traders looked to the safe haven of bonds amid uncertainty about the outcome of the highly anticipated meeting between President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping.

Trump and Xi are due to hold a dinner meeting on Saturday on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Ahead of the meeting, Trump has offered mixed remarks about the likelihood the U.S. and China will reach an agreement to end the escalating trade dispute between the world's two largest economies.

"I think we're very close to doing something with China, but I don't know that I want to do it because what we have right now is billions and billions of dollars coming into the United States in the form of tariffs or taxes. So I really don't know," Trump said Thursday before departing for the summit.

"But I will tell you that I think China wants to make a deal. I'm open to making a deal," he added. "But, frankly, I like the deal we have right now."

In U.S. economic news, MNI Indicators released a report unexpectedly showing a substantial acceleration in the pace of growth in Chicago-area activity in the month of November.

MNI Indicators said its Chicago business barometer spiked to 66.4 in November after falling to 58.4 in October, with a reading above 50 indicating growth in business activity. Economists had expected the index to edge down to 58.0.

The unexpected jump reflected increases across all five of the barometer's subcomponents, with resurgent orders, solid output and higher unfinished orders the month's key drivers.

Reaction to news regarding the Trump-Xi meeting is likely to drive trading early next week, while the monthly jobs report is likely to be in focus toward the end of the week.

Traders are also likely to keep an eye on Congressional testimony by Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell as well as reports on manufacturing and service sector activity, construction spending and factory orders.

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Market Analysis
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has registered a case against a Delhi-based chit fund company and its directors for cheating lakhs of investors to the tune of Rs 10,000 crore by promising to double their investment in a year.

The CBI booked Karol Bagh-based firm tviexpress.com and its promoters and directors Tarun Trikha, Varun Trikha, Veena Trikha, Sikha Trikha, Shakti Sharad, Anoop Kumar and Kabita Ganguly under charges of cheating, forgery and violation of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) guidelines.



It was alleged that the firm was engaged in the business of share trading, commodities trading, holiday package booking and air-ticketing without any legal sanction or approval required under law.





"The firm and its functionaries have been accused of collecting money in the name of Pacific Royal Airlines. They siphoned and misappropriated more than Rs 10,000 crore of investors' funds by inducing them to invest in their schemes by offering double returns on their investments within a year. But these promised returns were never paid back," the investors' complaint alleged.



"The accused had created a software through which it was promised that investors can redeem their investments, but it never worked."



The CBI's move comes after the Supreme Court's May 9, 2014 order to probe all chit fund companies. The case was earlier being probed by the West Bengal Police.
The Asia Pacific Summit beginning in Kathmandu on Friday has created further controversies, particularly due to the disputed fame of the organiser and the governments investment in the summit. Therefore, most of major Nepali and English broadsheet dailies published from Kathmandu on Friday have published reports about the event. Likewise, the abduction and murder of an eight-year-old boy in Gongabu of Kathmandu has also been featured on the front pages of major newspapers today.

Meanwhile, the Nepal Army took action against dozens of officials and personnel for their involvement in irregularities concerning recruitment of personnel. Many newspapers have covered it on their front pages.

The meeting of Nepali Congress district presidents among other political, sociocultural and economic issues has been featured on the broadsheet covers today.

Important

Asia Pacific Summit controversy intensifies

Kantipur says Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli and his wife are among 1,500 couples who will receive blessings from the Unification Church amidst the Summit today. The Kathmandu Post informs that various government agencies are spending millions of rupees for various purposes during the summit.

Meanwhile, the government is receiving international guests, though it is an INGO function, reports Naya Patrika.

Another child murdered in Kathmandu

Prayas Kunwar, an eight-year-old boy living in Gongabu of Kathmandu, was found murdered on Thursday afternoon, according to newspaper reports. He was missing since Tuesday evening. Police have said he was murdered after the abduction.

Meanwhile, police arrested Mahendra Sarki, a driver of the guesthouse operated by the victims father, in connection with the case. It has been learned that he had told the investigators about the location of his body.

Court martial in Nepal Army after recruitment irregularities

The national military organisation says it has taken action against 173 personnel after they were found involved in irregularities during the recruitment of personnel. Kantipur says 11 persons including three officers were fired from the job.

While the army had begun a court martial process against 187 persons, 14 of them were found innocent.

Ignored

Cabinet likely to endorse staff adjustment law next week

After months of discussion, the government has finalised the ordinance to mobilise existing civil servants at local, provincial and federal levels, Rajdhani reports in a four column story.

The Legislation Committee of the Council of Ministers finalised the draft ordinance on Thursday, and it is likely that the next Cabinet meeting to be held early next week will endorse the draft.

The law will come into effect after President Bidya Devi Bhandari enacts it.

Ncell CGT hearing deferred again

The Supreme Court once against postponed the hearing on the issue of capital gains tax to be paid by Ncell, Gorkhapatra reports.

A five-member bench of the apex court is looking into the case for past few months. The Supreme Court had included the case in the cause list of Thursday when it published its weekly schedule. However, the case was already removed when the court published its daily cause list yesterday morning.

Trade deficit goes on increasing

The Kathmandu Post reports in a snippet that Nepals trade deficit ballooned 40.3 per cent in the first four months of the current fiscal year. Rising imports of fuel and agricultural goods continue to dent the economy, the report informs, citing the data of Trade and Export Promotion Centre.

The countrys trade deficit amounted to Rs 454.47 billion as of mid-November.

Minister Ganskota threatens private media

Communications Minister Gokul Prasad Banskota has warned media owners and journalists to their about their investment s and jobs while writing about news stories against the government, reports Republica.

Speaking at his weekly press conference, Minister Banskota said the media should not write against the government as it is the main source of news as well as advertising revenue.

Interesting

New Everest height after 13 months

Recently, the Nepal government has completed measuring the height of Mount Event, the highest peak of the world. Now, it is preparing the report and it is likely that the publication of the result will take next 13 months, Rajdhani reports in its snippet.

It is the first time that the government is measuring Everest.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday arrived here to take part in the G20 summit during which he will have several bilateral meetings, including with Chinese President Xi Jinping.



"I look forward to meeting leaders from other G20 countries to review the work of G20 in the last 10 years of its existence and chart the ways and means to meet the new and upcoming challenges of the coming decade," Modi said in his pre-departure statement.



Modi will also be part of a trilateral meeting with US President Donald Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe at the summit.



In a press briefing at the White House, US National Security Adviser John Bolton has said that Trump's bilateral with Abe "will transform at some point during that meeting into a trilateral meeting" with Prime Minister Modi.





Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale said in New Delhi on Tuesday that a meeting between Modi and French President Emmanuel Macron is also being worked out.



Modi would also meet the United Nations Secretary General, presidents of Argentina and Chile, German Chancellor and the prime ministers of Spain and the Netherlands.



During the meeting, Modi is expected to highlight the risks posed by oil price volatility and urge more countries to join the International Solar Alliance.
China and Indian will conduct a two-week joint military drill from December 10 in the Chinese southwestern city Chengdu with an aim to improve their capability to counter terrorism and mutual understanding.

The joint exercise between Asia's two largest armies comes after their 73-day showdown at Doklam plateau near their disputed border last year.



At the 7th India- China joint military exercise, 100 troops from each side will participate with the main to better their counter-terrorism efforts and skills.



"The two sides are preparing for the exercises now. The drill will promote understanding between the two militaries," Defence Ministry spokesman Col Ren Guoqiang said here.





Ren said the drill, 'Hand in Hand', will be held from Dec 10 to Dec 23 that will include live shooting and adoptive and basic training.



India and China have warmed up to each other after the Doklam stand-off with Chinese envoy Luo Zhaohui saying that both countries are having best time of their relationship.



Both sides are in talks to set up a military hotline to avert Doklam-like crisis in the future.
US President Donald Trump has cancelled a meeting with Russia's Vladimir Putin at the G20 Summit in Argentina ' title=' G20 Summit in Argentina '>G20 Summit in Argentina because the Russians continue to hold Ukrainian vessels and sailors seized last weekend in an incident in the Black Sea.

"Based on the fact that the ships and sailors have not been returned to Ukraine from Russia, I have decided it would be best for all parties concerned to cancel my previously scheduled meeting in Argentina with President Vladimir Putin. I look forward to a meaningful Summit again as soon as this situation is resolved!," Trump wrote on Twitter on Thursday.



The president made the announcement from Air Force One en route to Buenos Aires for the gathering of the leaders of the 20 major economies, Efe reported.





The Kremlin on Wednesday said that the US and Russian presidents were set to meet December 1 in the Argentine capital to discuss topics such as terrorism and nuclear disarmament.



And a statement released on Tuesday by the White House detailing Trump's summit schedule referred to bilateral sessions with Putin as well as with the leaders of Argentina, China, Germany, India, Japan and South Korea.



Last Sunday, a Russian coast guard vessel intercepted two Ukrainian gunboats and a tug just off the Crimean Peninsula in the Kerch Strait, a body of water linking the Black Sea with the Sea of Azov.



Russian vessels opened fire on and seized the ships, injuring at least three Ukrainian seamen in the process.



The detained sailors have since been put on trial in Simferopol, Crimea.



The incident came six months after Russia opened a bridge connecting the Russian mainland with Crimea, which was annexed by Moscow in 2014 following the overthrow of Ukraine's elected president.



Since the opening of the bridge, Russian authorities have drastically stepped up inspections of Ukrainian civilian and military ships passing through the Kerch Strait, seen by Russia as part of its territorial waters.
Heres the good news. While its not the first time Prime Minister Tuilaepa Dr. Sailele Malielegaois administration has assured us, if ever we needed reassurance about how not to be buried in debt and our ability as a nation to pay, the Minister of Finance, Sili Epa Tuioti, is the man of the hour.

With so much talk and fear about debt trap, Silis take on how Samoa is handling its growing foreign debt is reassuring. Thats of course if we are to take him seriously  which we should since he is a Cabinet Minister who is duty-bound to tell the truth.

On the face of it, he seems genuine enough. Take the story titled Samoas debt levels manageable, says Sili published on the front page of last weeks Samoa Observer for instance. Given the number of questions asked about the Governments ability to pay our foreign debt, Sili was quite adamant.

As Minister of Finance, I can confidently say that Samoa can afford to pay off their loans, he said, emphatically.

In our budget every year we have set aside funds to pay on interest on all our loans with A.D.B., World Bank and China. There is no reason why we should not be able to pay and for Samoa as well, we only borrow for the essential need, such as the economical social infrastructure that is going to help us for the social economic wellbeing of our people to try and drive our economys growth.

Okay then.

For the uninitiated, the Governments total foreign debt stands at $1.1 billion. Thats the official figure by the way. Some critics argue it is much, much bigger than that and they have their reasons.

From what weve been told so far, $416 million of it is owed to China, Samoas best friend. A lot of that debt is due to infrastructure developments that we can argue we dont really need. Dont ask me to explain. All you have to do is start counting the white elephants in Apia and the areas nearby, and you will know what we are talking about here. Can we say for sure whether these infrastructural developments are essential? You be the judge.

Suffice to say, these developments dont come for free. And they are not cheap either. They will cost this country much more than the principle plus interest of the loans we are paying.

Going back to Minister Sili, he assured that funds are being set aside by the Government annually to go towards debt servicing.

For me as Minister of Finance, where we are today, we are able to pay the debts, he said. What about the next 20 years? It will be the same and it would be irresponsible for us to borrow beyond our means certainly as Minister of Finance, we are keeping a close eye on the debt level.

Were not going to borrow money for something we dont need, we are also keen to make sure we borrow for what we need, not what we want.

Fantastic.

But here is a snag, if the Government was on top of its finances, given the picture that Sili has painted, why then has it allowed something that our forefathers would not have dreamt of doing when they shed blood, sweat and tears to lay the foundation for the Samoa we have today?

Last week, the Minister of Revenue, Tialavea Tionisio Hunt, confirmed that eight church Ministers of the Congregational Christian Church of Samoa (C.C.C.S.) have been charged for not filing their tax returns. He went to say they intend to charge more.

Due to the Courts busy schedule we cannot charge a whole lot so we have to limit it down to eight Church Ministers per week, he said. The law applies to everyone. The law does not wait until it is accepted by a certain group. We have given church ministers eleven months and those who continue to defy the law will face the consequences.

They did not tax the church Ministers alofa back then. Whats more they would not have dreamt of charging the Church Ministers so that they would end up in Court.

That is not what is happening today. Which is the irony of it all. If everything was all so fine and dandy as the Minister of Finance claims, why is this Government trampling on the dreams of our forefathers by disrespecting the their wishes in relation to Church Ministers?

You see, when our forebears decided that Samoa is a nation founded on God, it obviously was something they revered, respected. What has happened since? How did we arrive where we are today?

The simple answer is this. When our forebears secured Samoas freedom, there was no need to tax Church Ministers because there was no debt to pay. Times change, we accept that. We also accept that developments cost money and a lot of developments have been implemented since.

And for more than 50 years after Samoa became independent, the Government did not tax church Ministers because there was no need.

But because they have created a hole they need to plug, this is why they have committed the unthinkable. Not only have they taxed a sum of money people give as alofa, they have gone as far as to change Samoas ao o faalupega. Now dont rush over these Samoan terms. If you dont understand, ask someone to explain what it means.

Personally, this in the Samoa that I know, and understand, has got to be the most disrespectful thing anyone could do.

Lets see. So the Government charges Church Ministers for not filing their tax returns, what about Government corruption, abuse of power and mismanagement of public resources as has been identified time and time again?

Have a wonderful Saturday Samoa, God bless!
An Australian newspaper article that reported plans by the Chinese government to fund the building of a wharf in Savaii has shocked the Chinese Ambassador, and attracted a strong rebuttal from Prime Minister Tuilaepa Dr. Sa'ilele Malielegaoi.

The Australian newspaper on Monday reported that China is negotiating with the Samoa Government to fund the redevelopment of Asau wharf on Savaii, a project which the newspaper claims will have major economic and strategic implications for Australia and the United States in the Pacific Islands.

Chinas Ambassador to Samoa, Wang Xuefeng, was shocked when approached by the Samoa Observer to comment, and said he was not aware of any negotiations between the two Governments.

I have to check this news and I will answer you, he said, before pulling the printed copy of the article out of the hands of the reporter, and pushed it into his pocket.

I dont know and I am not aware. I havent heard of this and I am not aware of the whole thing. I will read the news first.

This newspaper has not heard from the Ambassador after that exchange, which took place on Wednesday, after the diplomat officiated at the handing over of medical aid valued at $500,000 to Samoas Ministry of Health.

The Prime Minister also rubbished the article by The Australian newspaper, saying his Government was only in discussions with China on the Vaiusu wharf.

The project that we have in discussions with China is the Vaiusu port. I do not know where the report came from, he said, when asked by this newspaper, during his weekly media broadcast programme on Thursday.

Look. We are very bright people. We will never do that thing of building a thing we cant pay for. Dont underestimate us. You should tell off those journalists. As I said, I like that journalist for his stupidity, in one instance is helping us in another. His stupidity is helping us to expose to whichever rich Arabian somewhere, that there is a port that needs to be built that will be excellent for fishing!

But the strong rebuttal from both the Ambassador and Tuilaepa on Chinese government involvement clashes with statements made by the Asau Member of Parliament, and the Minister for Agriculture and Fisheries, Lopaoo Natanielu Mua in April this yearwhich points to funding from Beijing.

The Prime minister announced that funding through the Chinese government has been secured to deepen and widen the channel in the Asau Harbour, Lopaoo said, and indicated that the port redevelopment project will take two years to complete.
Meafou Toloa is the 2018 Dux for Laumua o Punaoa, a Methodist Technical and Creative Centre at Faleula.

The 19-year-old daughter of Meafou and Leiataua Toloa from the village of Toamua, she was overall top performer in the second year class of 2018 and came first in communication, mathematics, and Christian education but came third in computer studies.

I am truly thankful that I have achieved such an achievement like this, but in every journey if we want to attain a goal we have to be prepared to go through so many obstacles.

I admit it was not easy to budget my time wisely but also help my family with chores but I am happy to say that I did this all for them.

I am simply ecstatic that God has helped me throughout my journey but not forgetting the never-ending support from my parents, she said.

Speaking to the Samoa Observer, she said there were times she wanted to give up but it was her parents who kept her going.

At times I would be confused with some of the work given but I pushed myself so I can aim high and achieve my dreams.

But with everything I did, I kept looking back at my parents and their sacrifice just so I can have a better future.

And not forgetting providing them with a better life so I can repay their kindness and they fought so hard just for my sake, she added.

Becoming an accountant in a bank is her dream and she has vowed to work hard to achieve that dream.

The reason why I chose this is because I like mathematics and that this particular subject will help me in the area of finance.

I just want to thank everyone like my parents, families, friends but most importantly our Heavenly Father for everything that has helped me face everything, she said.

Other awards were the first year overall student, which was won by Ruta Afasene while the award for Student of the Year went to Alaivaa Ioane. The award for best leadership went to Alis Lui.

More graduation stories and pictures on pages 6-7.
Allegations that an Australian tourist was raped has led to the arrest and charging of a man.

This was confirmed in a statement by the Ministry of Police.

The 30-year-old tourist lodged a complaint on Wednesday against a 32-year-old male of Sinamoga.

This is in connection to an alleged rape in the early hours between 4am and 5am on the same day.

The victim was taken to the Moto'otua Hospital for medical check, stated the police statement.

The defendant had since been criminally charged with sexual violation and remanded in custody. He is scheduled to appear in court for criminal mention on December 10, 2018.
The Human Rights Protection Party yesterday celebrated its 39th birthday and Prime Minister Tuilaepa Dr. Sailele Malielegaois 20 years as Prime Minister.

Speaking at the party headquarters yesterday where the celebrations were held, the Prime Minister acknowledged the presence of deputy council, Le Mamea Ropati, who is a founding member of the party.

His presence is paramount, as we reflect in 1979 our efforts to dominate Parliament, but we missed one vote. Otherwise we wouldve reached a milestone, a new party and yet we were less one vote and like every event afterwards, there is a prayer of thanksgiving.

Tuilaepa said the partys main goal is to protect the rights of everyone, including those who do not support them.

We set aside our salutations and our differences and we come together as members of the H.R.P.P.

You are the chosen ones to serve our country and its never an easy task, a task that needs everyone on board, he said.

As Samoa progressed into the future, no one could see the future, but all they can do is prepare, added the Prime Minister.

Tuilaepa then set out guidelines and reminded the party members to follow suit.

One must follow in order to lead and one must serve if you want to lead, he said.

According to Tuilaepa, the work of the party is broadcasted through a question and answer programme with the media on a weekly basis. Successful projects that the Government has embarked on include preparations for the Pacific Games, doctors working in clinics in villages and the exporting of Samoan bananas.

The rationale behind the change in the national airlines branding from Polynesian Airlines to Samoa Airways was then explained, with the P.M. saying it will showcase Samoa to the world.

There are ongoing negotiations for a second Airplanea little bit bigger than the current (737-800 aircraft)for the Samoa Airways, thanks to the perseverance by the Minister Lautafi Purcell and his team for this milestone.

The Government is also working on building a jet bridge at the Faleolo International Airport as well as extending the runway to allow bigger aircrafts to land.

Amongst other ongoing Government-sponsored projects he acknowledged was the Vaisigano bridge, a double lane road from Saina to Faleolo and the rebuilding of the Maliolio bridge in Savaii. The recent success of Samoa Rugby Union to secure a seat at the World Rugby Union Board was also commended.

Deputy Prime Minister Fiame Naomi Mataafa praised Tuilaepa on reaching the milestones in his 20 years of service in office.
The Samoa Law Reform Commission turned ten yesterday, and celebrated the occasion with a ceremony in their offices.

The organisation was established in 2008 to enable Samoa to formally review and examine its laws. In just 10 years, the commission has undertaken reviews of dozens of Samoas most important pieces of legislation.

Commissioner Teleiai Dr. Lalotoa Mulitalo Seumanutafa said Samoa is still learning how best to engage with the commission model, and how to best benefit from it.

Like any other legal transplant from overseas, the Commission needs time to take root, and we as Samoans need time to get used to this law reform commission setup, she said.

Looking deeply into whether modern principles or customary concepts benefit Samoa more is just one of the ways the commission addresses Samoas laws.

The most challenging thing is finding our own feet. How do you promote customs and traditions in formal laws? How do you accommodate the individual principles (Constitutional) in law making alongside the communal (Samoan customary setting) principles?

Now this, we must continue to try and address, Teleiai said.

Whatever the outcome, it must be relevant and useful, she continued.

Going forward, at least 21 outdated laws of Samoa are on the chopping block, following a recommendation earlier this year which was endorsed by Cabinet.

The commission also hopes to review the Family Laws of Samoa, a review endorsed by the Ministry of Justice and Courts Administration.

This is not a small project, given what family means in Samoa, and to Samoans.

The Commission hopes to commence preliminary doctrinal, legislative, case law, text and scholarly article publications, overseas commission reports review etc, in early 2019.

Prime Minister Tuilaepa Dr Sailele Malielegaoi gave the keynote address at the celebrations, and told the commission team he knows the importance of allocating necessary resources to their work.

For effective law making in Samoa, law reform plays a crucial role, through its consultative law reform process, in ensuring that our laws are suitable and relevant to the needs of our people.

For the Commission to move forward, we must allocate the necessary resources, time and money to improve its awareness and the process upon which law is made and reformed for the benefit of our people, Tuilaepa said.
BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP)  The U.S. has been blocking progress at the Group of 20 summit on fixing world trade rules, fighting climate change and tackling migration, according to European officials involved in the discussions.

The divisions among the world's leading economies were evident from the moment the Argentine president opened the summit Friday with a call for international cooperation to solve the planet's problems.

President Donald Trump sought to use the summit to make his own trade deals. Meanwhile, two men under heavy criticism from the West lately  Russian President Vladimir Putin and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman  appeared to seek refuge in each other, bonding with a tough-guy hand grab as the leaders sat down around a huge round table for talks.

Security concerns also weighed on the two-day talks in Buenos Aires. Argentina's security minister said eight gasoline bombs were discovered in an area of the capital where a protest against the G-20 summit began in the afternoon.

Diplomats from the Group of 20 countries were haggling hard over a final summit statement, with deep divisions over what language to use on the Paris climate accord and the World Trade Organization.

Two European officials involved in the discussions said the U.S. was stymieing progress on both.

So an unorthodox solution emerged: Because of resistance from the Trump administration, an official in the French president's office said the statement may have language that sets the U.S. apart. For example, a draft says 19 of the participants agree on the importance of upholding the Paris climate accord, but the U.S. doesn't.

The officials said the U.S. was also blocking any mention of migration in the final statement.

The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren't authorized to speak publicly about the closed-door discussions.

Argentine President Mauricio Macri kicked off the summit by acknowledging divisions within the G-20 while urging world leaders to have a "sense of urgency" and take actions "based on shared interests."

The summit is meant to focus on issues such as labor, infrastructure, development, financial stability, climate sustainability and international commerce.

But as the gathering got underway, those themes seemed like afterthoughts, overshadowed by contentious matters from the U.S.-China trade dispute to the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

European Council President Donald Tusk urged G-20 leaders to discuss "trade wars, the tragic situation in Syria and Yemen, and Russian aggression in Ukraine." He said the European Union is expected to extend sanctions on Moscow over its "totally unacceptable" seizure of Ukrainian ships and their crews near the Crimean Peninsula.

"Europe is united in its support for Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity," Tusk said, calling the standoff "a cause of great concern."

Russia and Ukraine have traded blame over the weekend ship incident  which Trump cited in canceling a much-awaited meeting with Putin at the G-20. Russia's foreign minister regretted the move, but said "love can't be forced."

Also looming large amid dozens of bilateral meetings in Buenos Aires: the gruesome slaying of dissident Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi in Saudi Arabia's Istanbul consulate and how the Saudi crown prince, who is alleged to have ordered the killing, is received by world leaders.

As soon as he arrived, the crown prince was confronted by French President Emmanuel Macron, who pressed him on the Khashoggi investigation and the Saudi-backed war in Yemen.

Bin Salman told Macron not to worry, but Macron countered, "I am worried."

Saudi Arabia has denied that bin Salman played a role, but some leaders may be cool toward him to avoid seeming to legitimize a man who U.S. intelligence agencies concluded ordered the killing. Trump's administration has made clear it does not want to torpedo the longstanding U.S. relationship with Riyadh, however.

It is the prince's first significant appearance overseas since the killing. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who has been sharply critical of Saudi Arabia over the incident, is also in attendance.

Leaders of the United States, Canada and Mexico, meanwhile, met in the morning to sign a trade deal replacing the North American Free Trade Agreement that was struck following months of tough negotiations that analysts say left a bitter taste among the partners.

Trump called the pact a "model agreement that changes the trade landscape forever."

It must still be ratified by lawmakers in all three countries, and passage in the U.S. could face a tough road in the House of Representatives after Democrats won a majority in November midterm elections.

Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto, whose six-year term ends Saturday, said the deal modernizes the trade framework, highlights a need for economic integration in North America and protects labor rights and the environment.

Trade agreements should "move along with the economy," Pena Nieto said.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called on Trump to remove tariffs on steel and aluminum, saying they remain a major economic obstacle.

While Trump canceled his meeting with Putin, the U.S. president was still scheduled to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping, but analysts were not optimistic about prospects for a major breakthrough on the two countries' trade disputes a month before U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods are set to ramp up.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel was supposed to get in to Buenos Aires early Friday, but her arrival was delayed when her plane suffered a technical problem.

British Prime Minister Theresa May's attendance at the summit marked the first time a U.K. prime minister has visited Argentina's capital. The only other prime minister to visit the country was Tony Blair, who went to Puerto Iguazu in 2001. The two countries have long been at odds over the South Atlantic islands known as the Falklands in Britain and the Malvinas in Argentina.

Argentine Foreign Minister Jorge Faurie said the recent establishment of more flights to the disputed islands was a positive development.

Regarding May's visit, he said: "Dialogue must be maintained."

"We are not withdrawing our historic claim," he added. "The focus of this opportunity is in the reestablishment of trust."
Kathmandu, November 30

The Nepal Army says Khokana town of Lalitpur is more appropriate than nearby Pharsidole village as suggested by some locals to consider the beginning point for the ambitious Kathmandu-Tarai fast track.

The national military organisation assigned to carry out the assignment presented its arguments for retaining Khokana as the starting point during a meeting of the Development and Technology Committee of Parliament today.

The parliamentary panel had summoned the army after locals of Khokana protested the government plan claiming the construction works would destroy their culturally rich settlement.

But, Chief of the Engineering Department of the army, Major General Yogendra Khand, said more land would be acquired and permanent structures would be lost if the starting point was changed to Pharsidole. It would also result in the increase cost, according to him.

Meanwhile, the army called on political and administrative leadership to create a conducive environment to begin the construction works.
Happy crew, happy boat is a saying that Race for Water Intendant, Christelle Brigeot-Mathieu, keeps in line with her responsibilities.

Christelle is part of the Race for Water 2017-2021 odyssey around the world to promote clean ocean and how to best reduce plastic leaking into the ocean.

She spoke to the Samoa Observer earlier this week about how she loves her job, and being only one of three females on board the boat.

My role is to obviously buy all the food and also make sure that the boat is clean, Christelle said.

I have to make sure that everyone is doing their daily routine like cleaning the bathroom during the hoovering and cooking. Everyone cooks - two crew members at the same time; one chef, one sous-chef, and they have to cook for the whole day.

Sometimes there are better cooks than others, but we help each other and we make sure we have a good food, good meal, because for us when were on sea, when we are sailing, one of the most important thing during the day is sharing a good meal together, and talk about something else rather than the job.

Because French obviously like a good meal, Christelle said she has to be a little mother on the boat in distributing rations for the crew.

I have to make sure we have a lot of fruits for our voyage. When we stopover at a certain place I go out to buy food.

Last Saturday as the Race for Water docked at the Matautu Wharf, she went to the fish market at 6am to buy lobsters and crabs.

I know that there is a fresh market and supermarket, so I try to buy local because when we stay at one island we try to buy fruits from the island, the fish, the meat from the island and we try to eat like the locals, she said.

For the next navigation to Tonga, I will buy fresh fruits from here because we have nothing left from the last navigation, so everything will be from Samoa, good bananas, good pineapples.

We have everything on the boat. I know that this crew they like fresh fruits. So I always make sure we have plenty of mangoes, avocados etc.

Christelle said some time she would spend about $1,000- $2,000 tala, maybe more depending on their stops. For Samoa, they are only here for a week.

Its only one week this time, last time it was two weeks of sailing so it was a bit more. I try to have a budget, but at the same time I try to buy things that will make the crew happy, so I try give what they want, because were a Foundation and we do not have enough money, but we have enough to buy local.

Sometimes the ration goes faster, so she has to keep some away and give the each crew member a small portion at a time.

Like for the mangoes, I have to keep some away and give them little by little. So I have to give them bits otherwise they can eat everything in two days and then there are no more mangoes. So Im like a little mother for the crew, Christelle said.

I try to make everyone happy, so that they have what they want to eat because when you are away from your family, sailing for two weeks, we dont have internet, the food is very important and also the cleaning of the boat, because when everything is messy, when everything is dirty is not good.

I make sure that everything runs smoothly and everyone is happy. Sometimes it is a challenge, I miss my family, and anything can happen in France when youre away.

Christelle joined the odyssey in Tahiti last two months and has never regretted her decision.

I enjoy it, its wonderful. Its such an opportunity to travel and work for a cause, its so interesting. And being in Samoa, its so wonderful.

I have never been here before. We got a chance to cruise around the island a little, its a beautiful island. I am very excited to be here.

She is not only a mother for the crew; she also has a part to play in the general operation of the boat.

I help out on the float when we arrive. I do my watch also 2 hours per day and per night when were sailing, I do pretty much the work of the crew, but I take care also of the interior and everything, Christelle.
Kiwis, John and Raewyn Lamond, are amazed with what Samoa has had to offer them as tourists.

Its very beautiful, very pretty. I think its prettier than Fiji and Tonga, Raewyn told the Dear Tourist team.

The elderly couple flew into Samoa to celebrate Raewyns 72nd birthday and they have been staying at the Tanoa Tusitala Hotel.

Yesterday we did a tour of the south side. We had lunch at a beautiful beach fale and also, both of us at the ages of 78 and 72, climbed down the slippery ladder into the trench and the back up again, Raewyn proudly said.

The couple spoke of their swimming adventures with the fishes at Piula Cave Pool, their visit to the Robert Louis Stevenson house at Vailima and the flea market.

It was absolutely beautiful and a lovely experience, we enjoyed the beauty of it but just the knowledge that the guide has, she was really great.

It was very wet when we went to the market the other day. I think there was more rain coming through the roof than there was outside, laughed John.

They were also very impressed with the richness of the culture and religion in Samoa.

We love that Samoa is founded on God, said Raewyn.

We also love that there is still discipline within the communities with the younger generation; thats something we need to get back into in New Zealand, added John.

Amanaki restaurant was the couples top recommendation for a dinner spot, claiming it was good value for money.

Although their trip has been great, they are looking forward to returning to New Zealand.

Weve enjoyed this but when youve been away for a week or more, youre just keen to get back home again. But we have really enjoyed it.

They have been married for about 20 years. They have six children and 13 grandchildren.
Qualcomm has launched a new $100 million fund to invest in artificial intelligence startups looking to run their algorithms on devices in the field  rather than in the Internet cloud.

The fund is part of Qualcomm Ventures, the San Diego companys corporate venture capital arm with nearly $1 billion under management. Qualcomm Ventures has invested in 150 companies worldwide over nearly two decades.

The artificial intelligence fund will emphasize investments in startups working in autonomous cars, robotics, machine learning and other applications where the processing is done on smartphones and other gadgets that contain mobile processors, said Quinn Li, head of Qualcomm Ventures.

Some artificial intelligence applications require hefty computing power to crunch data that gleans information for users. These AI applications typically ship data over the Internet to data centers to perform the processing.

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Qualcomm, however, has focused the fund on artificial intelligence applications where a significant amount of the processing can be done on smartphones, at cell towers or on other devices outside of data centers. The company refers to this as edge computing.

Mobile processors and connectivity chips are core pieces of Qualcomms business, and the company believes the roll out of high speed, low latency 5G networks will enable more artificial intelligence processing to occur in cars, phones and Internet of Things devices.

Our interest on the artificial intelligence is more around AI in smartphones and local devices, said Li. Our belief is a lot the processing in these devices, which are already intelligent, a lot of the artificial intelligence algorithms will be able to run on edge devices.

Qualcomm Ventures first investment from the AI Fund is in AnyVision, an Israeli company that has developed face, body and object recognition technology used in security cameras.

They have deployed in a lot of areas, like casinos, security applications to robustly detect faces, and their algorithm is actually implemented on the camera, said Li.

Performing artificial intelligence processing on smartphones, cameras and other devices -- without having to ship data over the Internet-- may help resolve certain security and privacy concerns, Li said.

Qualcomm Ventures expects to invest in about 15 companies through its artificial intelligence fund.

Li declined to say how much Qualcomm put into AnyVision, but it was not the top investor in the startups $28 million Series A round. Qualcomm Ventures typically invests between $1 million and $10 million in startups.

Qualcomm Ventures has invested in a handful of artificial intelligence startups in the past, including San Diego-based Brain Corp., which makes software that powers self-driving floor clearing robots used by big box retailers, convention centers and other large venues.

For over a decade, Qualcomm has been investing in the future of machine learning, said Chief Executive Steve Mollenkopf in a statement. As a pioneer in on-device artificial intelligence, we strongly believe intelligence is moving from the cloud to the edge.

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mike.freeman@sduniontribune.com;

Twitter:@TechDiego

760-529-4973
The Grossmont Healthcare District is transitioning from at-large to by-district voting for its board members.

The district supports health-related community programs and services in East County, is the landlord of Sharp Grossmont Hospital and is governed by a five-member board of directors.

The directors represent more than 500,000 people inside a 750-square-mile area throughout East County.

Since forming in the 1950s, Grossmont has used an at-large election system, but in order for it to meet the requirements of the California Voting Rights Act of 2001, board members will now be elected only by the voters residing within a specific election district or zone.

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The district will hold a public hearing on the new election plans at 6 p.m., Monday, Dec. 3, at its Conference Center at 9001 Wakarusa St. in La Mesa. A Grossmont district board business meeting will be held a half-hour before the presentation and hearing.

The hearing will provide details about the transition process with a presentation highlighting the districts demographics and mapping. The public will be able to give input about the composition of the new districts and map ideas.

Additional public hearings will be held next year at which further input will be taken related to the content of proposed maps.

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The Rancho San Diego Sheriffs Station is looking for senior volunteers for patrol duties in Spring Valley, Jamul, Rancho San Diego, and in unincorporated La Mesa and El Cajon.

Volunteers typically work about six hours a week and must be at least 50 years old, be a U.S. citizen or legal resident who has applied for citizenship, have a valid California drivers license and automobile insurance, and have medical insurance. They also can have no felony convictions.

Prospective volunteers must also pass a background check, attend a two-week volunteer patrol academy course in January and be physically able to perform the duties of the position.

Tasks for volunteers include:

Traffic control

Neighborhood patrolling

Foot patrols at shopping centers

Home checks of residents who are on vacation

Checking on the welfare of seniors

Assisting crime prevention officers with public presentations

Our volunteers act as a second set eyes and ears in the community, said Craig Carlson, one of the stations volunteer administrators. They patrol schools, parks, neighborhoods and shopping centers, and when they see something suspicious or out of place, they call it in.

Carlson said volunteers are important parts of the You Are Not Alone program when elderly residents are called daily and visited weekly.

The San Diego County Sheriffs Rancho San Diego Station is at 11486 Campo Road in Spring Valley. For information on how to volunteer, call the station at (619) 660-7021.

karen.pearlman@sduniontribune.com
Live Nation, the worlds largest concert and live events promoter, will for the first time in its history offer a season-long lawn pass at all of its 29 amphitheaters in the United States.

The list of participating venues includes the newly named North Island Credit Union Amphitheatre in Chula Vista (which, from 2016 until Nov. 1, had been known as Mattress Firm Amphitheatre.)

A full list of participating venues appears below.

Dubbed the Live Nation Lawn Pass, the 2019 season pass will give music fans unlimited access to attend concerts at the amphitheater in their respective cities. Pass holders will have unreserved lawn seats, which typically are behind the reserved seats.

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The outdoor concert venues offering the lawn pass range from Ak-Chin Pavilion in Phoenix to Xfinity Center, outside Boston. Five of the 29 participating venues are in California: North Island Credit Union Amphitheatre in Chula Vista (which held 31 concerts in 2018); Concord Pavilion in Concord; Glen Helen Amphitheatre in San Bernardino and Shoreline Amphitheatre in Mountain View; and Toyota Amphitheatre in Wheatland.

Lawn Pass prices will vary from $99 to $399, depending on the amphitheater. The passes for the 2019 season at North Island Credit Union Amphitheater are priced at $299 each, plus service charges.

The passes will be available from 1 p.m. Tuesday until Dec. 18 or while supplies last, at lawnpass.livenation.com and will be issued in the name of each pass-buyer. The passes will come in laminate form with the owners name and a special barcode. The pass will only admit the pass-holder once per concert. Matching ID may be required to gain entry.

Live Nation Lawn Pass amphitheaters

Ak-Chin Pavilion (Phoenix, AZ)

BB&T Pavilion (Camden, NJ)

Blossom Music Center* (Cuyahoga Falls, OH)

Cellairis Amphitheatre at Lakewood (Atlanta, GA)

Coastal Credit Union Music Park at Walnut Creek (Raleigh, NC)

Concord Pavilion (Concord, CA)

Coral Sky Amphitheatre (West Palm Beach, FL)

Darien Lake Amphitheater (Darien Center, NY)

Glen Helen Amphitheater (San Bernardino, CA)

Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre - Chicago (Tinley Park, IL)

Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre  St. Louis (St. Louis, MO)

Isleta Amphitheater (Albuquerque, NM)

Jiffy Lube Live (Bristow, VA)

KeyBank Pavilion (Burgettstown, PA)

MIDFLORIDA Credit Union Amphitheatre (Tampa, FL)

North Island Credit Union Amphitheatre (San Diego, CA)

PNC Bank Arts Center (Holmdel, NJ)

PNC Music Pavilion (Charlotte, NC)

Ruoff Home Mortgage Music Center (Noblesville, IN)

Saratoga Performing Arts Center (Saratoga Springs, NY)

Shoreline Amphitheatre (Mountain View, CA)

The Dos Equis Pavilion (Dallas, TX)

The Pavilion at Montage Mountain (Scranton, PA)

The Pavilion at Toyota Music Factory (Irving, TX)

The XFINITY Theatre (Hartford, CT)

Toyota Amphitheater (Wheatland, CA)

Veterans United Home Loans Amphitheater at Virginia Beach (Virginia Beach, VA)

White River Amphitheatre (Auburn, WA)

Xfinity Center (Mansfield, MA)

george.varga@sduniontribune.com

Twitter @georgevarga
As if diving into the lives of a big extended family over two decades and three generations werent quite enough for Lindsey Ferrentino, the rising playwrights latest work poses an added degree of difficulty: An actual, functional swimming pool onstage.

Of course, Its only 3 feet deep, points out Anne Kauffman, whos directing the world-premiere La Jolla Playhouse production of Ferrentinos The Year to Come.

To which Ferrentino adds with a smile, speaking of her eight-member cast: And luckily they all know how to swim.

Even if no lifeguard proves necessary in the Playhouses Mandell Weiss Theatre, The Year to Come still seems to represent a kind of swimming-the-channel moment for the prolific and prize-winning Ferrentino, whose recent, acclaimed off-Broadway works Ugly Lies the Bone and Amy and the Orphans were more intimately scaled.

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The topper is that the new play not only visits with the same Florida family over nearly 20 years worth of New Years Eves  it does so backward.

For the Florida-raised playwright, the inspiration for that mode of storytelling sprang from the here and now.

I think it was two things, Ferrentino says of what prompted the piece, as she chats before rehearsal at the Playhouse alongside Kauffman. It was right after the 2016 election, and everyone in the country was sort of asking, What happened  how did we get here?

So it seemed sort of a natural thing to look backward. And then I was thinking a lot about narrative and myth and how stories change over time, and a lot about family ritual, and my own familys rituals.

This is not my family (in the play), but we do meet every New Years Eve. And its the same place, but the group and what we talk about and who attends changes over the years.

The same stories are often told, but the stories warp as time goes on. And I was just thinking about that in relation to this country.

If that makes The Year to Come sound like an overtly political play, both Ferrentino and Kauffman say politics often filter into the work more obliquely and indirectly.

For the plays family, its sort of like an object thats used as a tool, observes Kauffman. Sometimes its shoved in the closet, sometimes its put out as a tablecloth. People really use politics against each other; they might use it in place of a personal argument they want to be having.

For Ferrentino, the idea was to sort of have the politics of the last 20 years affect these characters daily lives. So if politics is brought up and discussed, its in the way that you do it in your daily life  in order to, say, poke fun at a politician rather than necessarily debate policy.

Its sort of how the national narrative thats been playing out over the past 20 years filtered down from D.C. to Florida to these peoples lives. Politics is above the play and sometimes drops down on the characters. And some years it affects you more than others.

To Kauffman, The Year to Come also connects with the political sphere in another important way, and it has everything to do with how the director sees Ferrentino stepping up to make a statement on such an ambitious scale.

Its about the idea of challenging yourself to do something big and messy and that you havent done before, explains Kauffman, a distinguished graduate of the University of California San Diegos MFA theater program and now one of New Yorks most respected directors.

This is kind of a leap, but I think about all the women who are jumping into politics right now, who are going from the private to the public sector. And this need to be courageous at this moment, and really tackle more than you can chew.

That attracted me to this, and is very appealing to me, because were in desperate, dire times now. Its not about closing the door and sort of hiding under your covers, or wrestling with the familiar.

This is a moment where I feel we have to open our doors and look at our whole country and our neighbors, and the people who are disagreeing with us and agreeing with us, and try to figure out how to embrace that, and how to move forward.

Turning to Ferrentino, Kauffman adds: I like that your challenge right now in terms of artistic development is sort of mirroring whats going on in the country.

Ripple effect

The cast thats been getting its feet wet with this brand-new piece includes some well-known names. Jane Kaczmarek, a seven-time Emmy Award nominee for Malcolm in the Middle, plays Estelle; Adam Chanler-Berat of Broadways Amelie and the Playhouse-bred Peter and the Starcatcher is Jim; Marcia DeBonis (off-Broadways Small Mouth Sounds) is Pam; Jenna Dioguardi (off-Broadways The Wolves) is Abigail; Pomme Koch (Broadways The Bands Visit) is Sinan; Jonathan Nichols (TVs Greys Anatomy) is Frank; Ray Anthony Thomas (the Playhouses Glengarry Glen Ross) is Joe; and Peter Van Wagner (of the Public Theaters Othello) is Pop Pop.

Hard to say how many of them have shared billing with a swimming pool, and Kauffman says that aspect of the show has been an adventure.

Its kind of astonishing, if you have a pool onstage, how much you take for granted, she says. Like, the ripple effect  no pun intended  that it causes for the whole production.

The cast of La Jolla Playhouses The Year to Come sits poolside. (But not, as it happens, beside the pool that sits on the Playhouse stage.) (Jim Carmody)

But if a pool isnt something you generally see inside a theater, Ferrentino has a history of showcasing characters you dont always see in plays. Ugly Lies the Bone focuses on a traumatized female war veteran; Amy and the Orphans is built around a character with Down syndrome (the story was inspired by the playwrights own aunt), and in its off-Broadway staging was portrayed  at Ferrentinos insistence  by an actor with the same developmental condition.

With The Year to Come, Ferrentino says, I was more interested in a family you dont see onstage  like as a unit. One that felt closer to my family  this big, loud, messy group of storytellers, full of different generations and ages and races and sexual orientations. Sort of this big, microcosm, melting-pot family.

And in my family, and I think also in this family, people when theyre telling stories are competing with each other. Everyone sort of speaks over each other and speaks at the same time, in conversations that loop back 10 minutes later, without having to re-reference what you talked about.

I was interested in the way those big group conversations happen and develop and are enacted.

To Kauffman, a founding member of the investigative theater troupe The Civilians (whose work This Beautiful City is now being staged at San Diegos Diversionary Theatre), The Year to Come feels like a comedy.

Ferrentino isnt so sure: I never think I write comedies. I think I write funny things, but I was really surprised that Amy and the Orphans was called a comedy by every reviewer and marketing person. I never thought that play was a comedy.

No matter how the new play is labeled, though, Ferrentino knows this about it: I just want to say a lot. I dont want to worry about whether someone might feel like this is too much or too loud or too long. Or too political, or not political enough.

I just wanted to write something that made the audience be in the space where theres a lot to take in, a lot to process. And not even necessarily come to a conclusion, but just be thinking about the country.

Where we are now, and where weve come from.

The Year to Come

When: Previews begin Dec. 4. Opens Dec. 9. 7:30 p.m. Tuesdays-Wednesdays; 8 p.m. Thursdays-Fridays; 2 and 8 p.m. Saturdays; 2 and 7 p.m. Sundays. Through Dec. 30.

Where: La Jolla Playhouses Mandell Weiss Theatre, 2910 La Jolla Village Drive, Playhouse/UC San Diego Theatre District

Tickets: About $20-$86 (discounts available)

Phone: (858) 550-1010

Online: lajollaplayhouse.org

Deep dives

A few other plays staged locally in recent years have featured pools of some sort onstage. A quick look:

A Room With a View: The Old Globes 2012 world-premiere musical, based on the movie, had characters cavorting (in the nude, no less) in a pond during a ragtime number.

Dive-in Theater: This site-specific event from San Diego Actors Theatre offered work that unspooled in and around the pool at LAuberge Del Mar.

The American Plan: The Old Globes 2008 staging of the Richard Greenberg play showcased a swimmable water feature that complemented the setting of a Catskills resort.

Guards at the Taj: A pool of a very different kind: The 2016 Playhouse staging of the Rajiv Joseph piece, set during the building of the Taj Mahal, had its actors sloshing around in water turned crimson by gruesome deeds.

jim.hebert@sduniontribune.com

Twitter: @jimhebert
The Big Apple for less than $100 a night? Yes! New York City will celebrate its annual Hotel Week Jan. 4-14. Go to www.nycinsiderguide.com/hotel-week-new-york-city to find out just how low your favorite hotel is willing to go. If that doesnt hit your sweet spot, know that the citys Pod Hotels are offering rooms for two, in January and February, starting at $79 a night. The WinterWow deal is available at Pod 39 (145 E. 39th St.), Pod 51 (230 E. 51st St.) and Pod Brooklyn (247 Metropolitan Ave.). Rooms at Pod Times Square (400 W. 42nd St.) will start at $85 a night. Youll get a compact room with a queen bed or bunk beds and a private bath. (At Pod 51, rooms are private, but some share baths.) Youll have minimalist furniture, a safe, a hairdryer and a flat-screen TV  but no minibar, coffeemaker or room service. Wow rates include one free drink, per person, at the hotels bar. The daily facility fee is $17.22; it covers Wi-Fi and weekday walking tours. Book online at www.thepodhotel.com.

Savvy travelers will keep in mind that NYC celebrates Winter Restaurant Week Jan. 21 through Feb. 8. Two-course lunches will run $26, and three-course dinners will go for $42 at some of the citys top eateries. For a list of participating restaurants and their menus, go to www.nycgo.com/restaurant-week.

The Kenwood Inn & Spa in Sonomas wine country. (Kenwood Inn & Spa)

The luxe Kenwood Inn & Spa in the heart of Sonomas wine country is offering a deal worth toasting this winter. Stay two nights midweek and your second night is free. The deal is valid Sundays through Thursdays through March 14. It includes a gourmet breakfast buffet each morning, a daily wine and cheese reception, guest passes to Parkpoint Health Club and a complimentary late-night cordial bar. Rates start at around $330 per night  with your second night free. Youll also pay a $35 nightly resort fee. The tranquil Mediterranean-style Kenwood Inn has a pool and two hot tubs and is surrounded by vineyards, orchards and ancient oaks. Book the winter package online at www.kenwoodinn.com/packages.

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For the week of Dec. 16-23 (only), rates at Renaissance Indian Wells Resort & Spa will start at $99 a night  with the $33 nightly resort fee and $28-per-day valet parking charge waived. The reason for the Elves at Work package is that the resorts pool, fitness center and Cava restaurant will be closed for a quick renovation. The resort will provide a free shuttle to the Hyatt Indian Wells next door (within walking distance), where guests will have access to the pool and fitness center. Other restaurants at the Renaissance will remain open, as will its spa, which will offer 50-minute massages and facials for just $69 during that week. Bump the nightly rate to $109 to include breakfast for two daily. Book online at www.marriott.com/hotels/travel/pspsr-renaissance-indian-wells-resort-and-spa.

Downtown Portlands newest boutique hotel, Woodlark, is set to open on Dec. 15, and those who book before that date (for travel through February) can get a super introductory rate: Pay $125 a night  instead of $250 a night, the starting rate for those who book after opening day. Woodlark gives new life to two historic structures, built at the turn of the 20th century at the intersection SW Park and Alder, in the heart of the city. Both custom-renovated structures are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The new hotel features 150 contemporary guestrooms, a 24-hour fitness center with a climbing wall, a restaurant helmed by celebrity chef Doug Adams, a cocktail lounge and coffee bar. Woodlark is dressed with a collection of photographic prints by Portland native Imogene Cunningham. The hotel has no resort fee. Book online at woodlarkhotel.com.

For as little as $190, enjoy a two-night weekend stay at the Rosarito Beach Hotel & Resort, just south of the border. The Real Mexican Weekend Experience is valid for Friday/Saturday-night stays in a standard oceanfront room through Dec. 22. It includes Saturday breakfast and a Saturday night mariachi dinner show for two adults. Youll get day passes for the Casa Playa Spa and a 20 percent discount on certain massages. A big bonus: Youll get a Fast Pass for quicker border crossing back to the U.S. when your weekend is done. Theres no resort fee, but parking costs $3.50 per night. Check out the resort at www.rosaritobeachhotel.com, but book by phone at (800) 343-8582.

Lake Tahoes Tahoma Meadows Bed & Breakfast Cottages has a deal for couples who need a break from holiday madness. Tahoma is on the lakes serene West shore  away from the crowds, glitz and casinos of Tahoes North and South shores. Stay in a private cottage with a queen bed for $99 a night through Dec. 20. The deal includes breakfast for two. Theres a two-night minimum required for Saturday stays. Learn more at www.tahomameadows.com, but this deal must be booked by phone: (530) 525-1553.

DaRosa is a freelance travel writer. Find more of her articles at www.AlisonDaRosa.com. Prices quoted here are subject to change. Restrictions and blackout dates may apply, and all deals are subject to availability.
November 30, 1922 Evening Tribune

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.

Thursday, November 30, 1922

Although Prohibition banned the production, transportation or sale of alcoholic beverages in America from 1920 to 1933, in San Diego it proved impossible to stem the flow of liquor into the United States from Mexico, where it was still legal to drink.

Rum runners brought cargoes of liquor in speedboats directly from distilleries in Tijuana and Ensenada to secluded beaches from the Silver Strand to San Onofre. Canadian ships would leave from Victoria and Vancouver with cases of liquor, anchor in international waters off the coast, and and return empty to Canadian waters having mysteriously disposed of their product.

Coast guard and customs officials faced a difficult task enforcing an unpopular law.

Here are the first few paragraphs of the story:

BIG BOOZE PLOT LEARNED HERE

SMUGGLERS PLANNING TO LAND HUGE CARGOES

Operating at night in lonely coves and secret or seldom used harbors and inlets, vast liquor cargoes were to be poured into southern California by rum runners engaged in a million-dollar illicit booze conspiracy, before the newly passed Wright law become effective, according to advices reported unearthed by federal prohibitions agents assigned to the office of Harold H. Dolley, it was learned here this morning.

According to evidence reported in the hands of federal agents, thousands of cases of imported liquor were to be dumped into southern California during the first two weeks in December at widely separated points and at approximately the same time, in order that federal agents would be unable to break up more than one or two of the huge landing parties, if any hint of the smugglers plans should reach their ears.

Despite the fact that the huge organized gang of smugglers probably knows of underground leaks which have resulted in federal agents learning of their plans, a desperate effort will nevertheless be made to land the liquor before the law goes into effect, which makes every peace officer in the state a federal dry agent, in the belief of government enforcement officers.

Canadian, Mexican and South American ports will constitute loading points for million dollar shipments of illicit booze, federal men say, with the majority of the booze coming from Canada, according to advices received by them.

Mysterious tips reaching Dolley recently convince him that at least six men familiar with coast and shipping conditions are working together on the huge liquor merger to supply their trade with sufficient stock to last until after the first of the year.

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.
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Kathmandu, November 30

PATA Nepal Chapter organised a felicitation program in honour of Deepak Raj Joshi, CEO of Nepal Tourism Board and 1st Vice Chairman of PATA Nepal Chapter on 29th November at Bricks Cafe, Kupondole, Lalitpur.

The program organized in recognition of his achievement of Highest IIPT Champions in Challenge Award 2018 from International Institute for Peace through Travel and Tourism at International Travel Crisis Management Summit (ITCMS) in London.

He is the first Nepali to win this award.

At the summit, he was also named Tourism Peace Ambassador and to honour that award PATA Nepal chapter gave him a symbol of peace in the form of a Lord Buddha statue.

PATA Nepal Chapter Chairman Sunil Sakya extended congratulations to Joshi and appreciated his efforts in bringing back the tourism from the crisis phase.

Talking at the event Joshi thanked the entire tourism industry and its stakeholder for their continued collaboration and support. I was just doing my duty; nothing extra. I am just the face but the recognition is for the entire team and tourism fraternity. I always love to take challenges and challenges have always given fruitful outcome form me.
A convicted killer in Honduras and an MS-13 gang member also from Honduras were arrested in California last weekend after crossing the border illegally, Border Patrol said Friday.

The two are being held up by federal authorities as examples of some of the criminals who have traveled through Mexico to the border with Central American caravans hoping to enter the U.S., many through the asylum process.

Both arrests occurred last Saturday.

Around 11 p.m., agents detected three people crossing the border about one mile east of the San Ysidro Port of Entry, authorities said. The trio was arrested and taken to a Border Patrol station for processing. There, documents indicated that one of the men had been recently released from prison in Honduras after serving 10 years for homicide and three years for robbery.

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The man, 46, admitted hed been released four months ago and traveled with the caravan to Tijuana.

The mans record was confirmed with the Honduran Consulate in Los Angeles.

The two other men with him, ages 22 and 38, are also from Honduras. One had been previously deported, authorities said.

All three are being held in Department of Homeland Security custody pending deportation proceedings, officials said. It was unclear why they werent being charged criminally with illegal entry under the Trump administrations zero tolerance policy.

Earlier in the evening near the Calexico Port of Entry, Border Patrol agents encountered a 29-year-old man suspected of being in the country illegally, authorities said. The man told agents that he was a Honduran citizen who had traveled with the caravan, and that he was an active gang member with MS-13, a notoriously violent group.

He also was being held pending immigration processing and repatriation to Honduras, with no criminal charges filed.

kristina.davis@sduniontribune.com

Twitter: @kristinadavis
Gordon Walker has resigned as the CEO of the Regional Task Force on the Homeless a month after leaving for missionary duty in Rome and has been replaced by Tamera Kohler, the organizations chief operating officer who had been serving as interim head.

Board members made the decision to accept his resignation and hire Kohler as the new CEO in closed session at the task forces Wednesday afternoon board meeting.

Walker had been CEO of the task force since July 2017. He had been credited with helping to dramatically reduce the number of chronically homeless people in Utah over a decade while director of the states Division of Housing and Community Development.

After retiring from that position, Walker served as a missionary for the Mormon Church in Germany for 18 months and was recruited by the task force shortly after returning to Salt Lake City.

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Earlier this year, he surprised many members of the task force by announcing that he had been called back to missionary service, this time to help with the opening of a Mormon temple in Rome.

He vowed to return next March, if not sooner, and said he left his possessions in storage in San Diego with the intention of moving back.

The announcement did not sit well with some board members, who openly questioned the direction the board was headed in October during the last meeting Walker attended.

Kohler also came to San Diego with an impressive track record, having earned recognition for her work with Walker in Utah and later as the homeless strategy and investment division director in Seattle, Wash. She was hired as the task force COO in October 2017.

Greg Anglea, CEO of Interfaith Community Services in Escondido, was among the board members who expressed concerns last month about the task force moving forward with an interim CEO while also searching for a temporary COO to fill in for Kohler.

On Wednesday, he said the board had made the right call.

I think its an excellent decision, he said. I mentioned at the last full board meeting that to not have a permanent CEO in place is problematic for where the Regional Task Force is right now.

Anglea also praised Kohler for the work she has done so far on the task force.

Shes done an excellent job as the COO and we have a lot of faith in her to tackle the big challenges, he said. I have a lot of confidence in Tamera as our CEO.

Anglea also said the board made the right decision Wednesday in appointing San Diego City Councilman Chris Ward as chair of the task force.

Ward, who also is chair of the citys Select Committee on Homelessness, had served as vice chair of the task force and will replace San Diego County Supervisor Ron Roberts as chair.

Im honored to have been selected to serve as chair and look forward to working closely with newly appointed permanent CEO Tamera Kohler, RTFH staff, and the board as we continue serving San Diegos homeless population, Ward said in a statement released Wednesday. I look forward to building on the considerable progress made over the last two years in redesigning this organization to more effectively collaborate with regional stakeholders and serve vulnerable populations across the county.

Im thankful for the trust of the board to lead us in the year to come, and look forward to the promising opportunities ahead, he said.

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
The performance begins with Bea Sullivan-Knoff emerging on stage with a brown paper bag over her head. It says, on all four sides, Touch Me.

Sullivan-Knoff, a 26-year-old transgender performance artist in Chicago, appears fully nude, inviting the audience to objectify her, she said. Its supposed to be ironic, a literal depiction of the way she and other transgender people feel when the government dictates the terms of their bodies: deeply vulnerable, sometimes terrified.

There was something empowering about being able to do that and being fine at the end of it, she told The Washington Post.

But in 2016, a venue where she was scheduled to perform called with disappointing news, Sullivan-Knoff said. She could neither perform fully nude nor, as Sullivan-Knoff proposed alternatively, only from the waist-up, because a Chicago ordinance prohibited it.

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So Sullivan-Knoff agreed to change her performance - and then she sued the City of Chicago in federal court, arguing that its ban on the exposure of female breasts in establishments that serve liquor is unconstitutional.

Sullivan-Knoffs case rests on two main points, one traditional and one relatively novel.

She argues, as does the Free the Nipple movement, that laws barring women but not men from exposing their chests are unconstitutionally discriminatory and based on little more than societys sexualization of women. But she also questions the very definition of female breasts in the context of transgender people and whether authorities can fairly apply laws based on binary gender to gender-non-conforming people. That problem, she suggests, extends beyond ordinances censoring breast exposure.

For example, she questioned, would police enforce the ordinance against a transgender woman who is legally female but whose breasts are biologically male? What about against a transgender man who is legally male but whose breasts have yet to be surgically reduced? Are those breasts still female"in the eyes of authorities?

In a ruling earlier this month, a federal judge in Chicago appeared receptive to considering the questions Sullivan-Knoff raised - or at least curious about them.

At minimum, wrote U.S. District Judge Andrea R. Wood in the Nov. 12 ruling, these questions pose serious concerns in the abstract, as nothing in the text of the Ordinance provides a clear answer.

In the ruling denying the citys motion to dismiss, Wood agreed that Sullivan-Knoff put forth compelling arguments. She was unpersuaded by the citys defense that female breasts are treated differently than male breasts because they create a sexual environment. Chicagos attorneys argued that the purpose of the law is to combat the secondary effects resulting from the combination of nude and semi-nude dancing and alcohol consumption, but Wood called that into question.

She allowed Sullivan-Knoffs case to move forward on her claims that the ordinance violates the Constitutions Equal Protection guarantee, meaning its discriminatory against women, and that as applied to transgender people its unconstitutionally vague.

Stating female and assuming we can all understand whether that applies to us doesnt work when you start to look at trans and intersex folks, Sullivan-Knoff said. You can find so many different kinds of bodies tied to those two gender markers. The diversity gets lost when you just say its either an F or an M.

Sullivan-Knoffs questions arent just hypothetical. For example, in 2010, police in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, told WBOC News that they werent exactly sure how to apply a law banning female breast exposure to a group of transgender women, some who had not fully transitioned, who were sunbathing topless. They ultimately decided not to enforce it, because they said the women still had male genitalia.

Nan Hunter, a law professor at Georgetown University and scholar at UCLAs Williams Institute on sexual orientation and gender identity law, said that Sullivan-Knoffs case reflects the complications transgender people encounter when trying to comply with laws written for a binary gender world. Hurdles arise for those seeking to change their gender markers on drivers licenses or passports, Hunter said, or for those seeking redress for discrimination based on gender identity, which can be complicated because many laws are restricted to sexual orientation or sex.

When it comes to laws policing bodies, she said, gender fluidity can create a situation where you can have an anomaly, in which the traditional binary gender notions dont always apply to gender-non-conforming individuals.

The trans movement is forcing institutions across society to question the extent to which gender categories are necessary or even useful, Hunter said. Sullivan-Knoffs case, she said, is one of those fascinating cases where the law itself may be minor, but it ends up raising really important questions.

In court, the City of Chicago argued that displaying bare breasts almost invariably conveys sexual overtones and cited a U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit ruling that upheld a ban on female toplessness in 1998.

But Wood was skeptical of that reasoning, noting that the heightened sexual nature of female breasts might just be a product of societys sexual objectification of women. She cited a federal ruling last year that struck down an ordinance in Fort Collins, Colo. U.S. District Judge R. Brooke Jackson agreed with plaintiffs, the Free the Nipple campaign, that a law banning women from exposing their chests in public perpetuates a stereotype engrained in our society that female breasts are primarily objects of sexual desire whereas male breasts are not.

Mary Grieb, Sullivan-Knoffs attorney, argued that Chicagos ordinance blatantly advances the same stereotype Jackson ruled against in Colorado, a decision that remains on appeal. Grieb may face an uphill battle: In a 2-1 ruling in 2017, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit upheld Chicagos public indecency law banning exposure of female breasts, an ordinance similar to but separate from the one Sullivan-Knoff is challenging. Writing for the majority, Judge Diane Sykes said the government had a legitimate objective to uphold traditional moral norms and public order.

But Grieb said Sullivan-Knoffs First Amendment protections as a performance artist are likely to bolster her case.

The city is relying on societal conventions because that has worked in the past and has been enough to justify these types of laws, Grieb said. But as society has evolved, the law is slowly but surely, I hope, evolving to catch up.

Published by the Washington Post.
A mother is furious after a California Southwest airlines gate agent mocked her daughters name Abcde and posted about it on social media.

Traci Redford was boarding a flight at with her daughter Abcde, who pronounces her name Ab-city, at John Wayne Airport in Orange County when an employee mocked her daughters name, KABC-TV reported.

Redford and her daughter preboard flights because her daughter suffers from epilepsy.

The gate agent started mocking my childs name, laughing, pointing at me and my daughter, and then talking to other employees, so I turned around and just said like Hey, I can hear you, so if I can hear you, my daughter can too, like Id appreciate if youd just stop. Redford told KABC-TV.

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The employee took a picture of Abcdes boarding pass and posted it on social media.

Redfords daughter did not understand why the employee was laughing.

She asked me, Mom, why is she laughing at my name? Redford said.

I said, You know honey, not everybody is nice  and not everyone is gonna be nice. And you know, its unfortunate.

Redford made a formal complaint to Southwest after she found out about the post from someone else who saw it on Facebook. After two weeks, she says Southwest has not done anything.

Southwest responded to the Daily News with a statement:

We extend our sincere apology to the family. We take great pride in extending our Southwest Hospitality to all of our Customers, which includes living by the Golden Rule and treating every individual with respect, in person or online. The post is not indicative of the care, respect, and civility we expect from all of our Employees. We have followed up with the Employee involved, and while we do not disclose personnel actions publicly, we are using this as an opportunity to reinforce our policies and emphasize our expectations for all Employees.

Some social media users are not empathetic with Redford  and say she should be mocked instead

A TX woman is upset that a Southwest agent made fun of her five yr old daughter's name; Abcde. That's not a name. That's pieces of a name. It's like she got a name at IKEA and just didn't put it together.  Matt Fernandez (@FattMernandez) November 29, 2018

I feel sorry for the couple hundred little girls who will be teased and bullied because selfish irresponsible abusive mothers like #TraciRedford named them "Abcde." My deadname is a misspelled ugly weed to be unique, it's misery. I couldn't imagine living with that name.  Zan Pyreanor  (@ZanPyr) November 29, 2018

Oh dear. The gate agent was wrong...but woman, you cannot name your child ABCDE and expect smooth sailing ffs https://t.co/qSWUW9kedQ  Louisa  (@LouisatheLast) November 29, 2018
Once she popped the lid on her chips, the fun stopped for this woman.

An Irish woman was sentenced to two months in prison after she opened a can of Pringles without paying.

Kathleen McDonagh, 25, opened a can of Pringles in a Tesco store  where she had been banned  in Cork, Ireland without paying for them, BBC reported.

McDonagh received a four-month prison sentence with two months suspended for criminal damage done to the can of Pringles  which costs less than $2  almost two years ago on December 27, 2016.

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Staff recognized McDonagh, who had the chips and was headed toward the self checkout. She was asked to leave the store by security, and responded by popping the lid off a can of Pringles and breaking the seal.

I opened it so you have to leave me pay for it, McDonagh said, according to an inspector.

McDonagh said in court she opened the chips so security would be forced to let her pay for them.

The officer told Judge Brian OShea the can of Pringles was not fit for resale and cited a 1.50 loss.

She had no permission to be in the store, the officer said.

McDonagh has a history of criminal damage, including 14 previous theft charges, as reported by the Irish Examiner. Two of McDonaghs prior offenses were for criminal damage, but the past sentences did not seem to affect her, OShea said.

He cited her actions as smart Alec behavior.

Her legal team noted she was recently married and several months pregnant, and entered a guilty plea asking for leniency.

She deliberately opened the product when she was asked to leave, however, the judge noted  and sentenced her to prison for the criminal damage.
A leading earthquake expert says San Diego should consider accelerating replacement of aging water pipes and completing a comprehensive inventory of local buildings, especially structures made of unreinforced brick.

While San Diego faces less risk of a major earthquake than Los Angeles or San Francisco, Dr. Lucy Jones told San Diego officials this month that the risk of damage might be similar here because those cities are better prepared.

Thats primarily because San Diego was held to lower standards than Californias other cities when ambitious state requirements for buildings, bridges and water systems were adopted in the 1970s and 1980s, Jones said.

The lower standards, which were based on the lesser perceived risk in San Diego, made retrofits cheaper for property owners and taxpayers. But the trade-off is that San Diego now has more vulnerable buildings and infrastructure, Jones said.

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And the perception of risk for San Diego went up in 1990 when scientists discovered that the Rose Canyon Fault, which extends from San Diego Bay up through La Jolla and into the ocean, is active and dangerous.

The picture changed when we discovered the Rose Canyon Fault and proved that it was active, Jones told the City Councils Infrastructure Committee. That really changed your risk.

Jones, a longtime research associate at Caltechs Seismological Laboratory and author of a book on natural disasters called The Big Ones, said San Diego is also behind Los Angeles and some other cities in additional ways.

In 2015, L.A. began replacing aging pipes with new seismic-safe pipes made in Japan. Jones, who helped craft the replacement plan in L.A., said San Diego should consider following suit because the more flexible pipes could avert disaster.

She said the water system is typically a citys most vulnerable point in an earthquake because shifting ground cracks pipes, potentially depriving a recovering community of its crucial water supply.

James Nagelvoort, director of San Diegos Public Works Department, said city officials have upgraded many of the citys large water transmission lines, but that smaller pipes only get upgraded when a problem requires their replacement.

He said the citys approach has been similar on other structures, such as buildings and bridges, where upgrades typically only happen when there is new construction, not retrofitting

An example is the new version of the W. Mission Bay Drive Bridge now under construction, which includes seismic-friendly pipes and supports that are driven deep into the bedrock, Nagelvoort said.

Were not racing out there and replacing every building that we have, he said. We dont have the money or the resources to do that.

Jones stressed that the cost of seismic-friendly pipe is quickly coming down, primarily because L.A.s commitment to replacing all its pipe has created new competition by spurring more companies to enter the expanding market.

San Diegos 280,000 water and sewer customers would face higher bills if the city decided to follow L.A.s lead on seismic pipe retrofitting. And those increases would come amid additional spikes to pay for Pure Water, a $3 billion plan to recycle treated sewage into drinking water.

Jones said San Diego could start the process by creating an inventory of how many pipes there are in the citys water system and how old each pipe is.

Jones said San Diego should also consider following L.A.s lead on buildings. A new law there requires mandatory retrofits of quake-vulnerable buildings within 25 years.

She said unreinforced brick buildings are the most dangerous. San Diego would need to inventory how many such buildings there are in the city before considering any retrofit requirements.

Councilman Mark Kersey, chairman of the Infrastructure Committee, said he invited Jones to give a presentation because he thinks San Diego officials should be more vigilant.

Its something we dont often think about around here because we havent had the big ones here like theyve had in other parts of the state, but were at risk, Kersey said.

david.garrick@sduniontribune.com (619) 269-8906 Twitter:@UTDavidGarrick
Kathmandu, November 30

Police in Kathmandu say they have detained some human rights activities while they were staging a protest in front of the Indian Embassy here.

Amnesty International Nepal, one of the leading human rights groups of the country, has organised the demonstration in relation with a human rights violation case in India.

Those detained include AI Nepal Chairperson Bikram Dhukuchhu and General Secretary Karna Bahadur Kunwal. They are kept at the Metropolitan Police Circle office in Lainchaur.

DSP Hobinda Bogati, spokesperson of the Metropolitan Police Range, says the demonstrators were arrested as they obstructed the movement of VVIPs who are in Kathmandu for the Asia Pacific Summit.

He assures that they will be released soon.
After meeting with advocates for asylum seekers and visiting an immigration detention center Thursday, Governor-elect Gavin Newsom spoke of the need for greater urgency and support from the state, local and federal governments in addressing the current humanitarian crisis at the border.

It goes without saying, this moment demands a sense of urgency this moment demands leadership, not just from the national level, not just from the state level, but substantively from the local level as well, he said.

Praising California as a state of refuge during a news conference in San Ysidro, Newsom said the state should invest more financial support in addressing the challenges and issues related to the thousands of Central American migrants  and U.S. asylum seekers  currently waiting in Tijuana.

The soon-to-be governor also discussed the economic importance of California and Mexicos relationship on the border, as well as stressed the need depoliticize the issue.

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My job is to be constructive... to try to find ways to bring people to the table and to address what legitimately can be described as a humanitarian crisis, Newsom said. Were all in this together... I think we need to humanize this issue, not politicize the issue.

Newsoms address came just hours after he visited the Otay Mesa Immigration Detention Center and met with asylum seeker advocates from several local organizations including Casa Familiar, Jewish Family Service of San Diego and the ACLU of San Diego and Imperial Counties.

The stop in San Diego also comes just days before Newsom  alongside other members of the California delegation  is scheduled to attend the inauguration of Mexico president-elect Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador.

Newsom, who was scheduled to meet with Mexican officials Thursday and Friday, has said he hopes his meetings will help reaffirm and build upon the deep economic, political and cultural bonds that connect Mexico and California.

Over the weekend, Newsom was critical of a tear-gassing incident at the border wall  a concern he said he raised directly with aides to President Donald Trump. On Thursday he struck a far softer tone, focusing on the need for groups to work together and not talk past each other in tackling the challenges presented by thousands of asylum seekers.

But Newsom and local advocates chastised federal officials for ending a program to help asylum-seeking families reach their final destinations in the U.S. and for not coordinating their release with relatives or service providers while they await a court hearing.

Since the program was ended, the San Diego Rapid Response Network opened a shelter earlier this month to aid migrant families. Newsom was impressed after his visit Thursday.

The first thing I saw when I walked into the shelter was a beautiful young child, couldnt of been more than three-years-old, about as innocent a girl as can possibly be in this debate, and if we dont have that picture in mind then we are not being true to ourselves in this discussion and this debate, he said. You can moralize it, you can politicize it, but that young three-year-old is a victim of circumstance and I feel a deep sense of responsibility to help change the course of her life and literally the hundreds of thousands of others that I think need that same kind of empathy and compassion.

We cant do everything ourselves, but I know we are capable of doing more, he added.
A sedan driver going the wrong way on Interstate 5 in downtown San Diego died early Friday when he slammed into the front end of a fire engine headed toward a pedestrian injured by a hit-and-run driver, authorities said.

The 41-year-old driver of a 2002 Toyota Corolla, a San Diego resident, died in the crash. Two of the four firefighters in the engine suffered minor injuries.

The 1:50 a.m. collision closed southbound freeway lanes until about 5:30 a.m.

The sedans front end was demolished and the front end of the fire rig sustained major damage in the collision.

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The engine crew was headed to aid a pedestrian, believed to be in his 40s, who was hit by a sedan in the left lane of I-5 just north of state Route 94 about 1:40 a.m.

A witness told San Diego News Video that the driver of a tan Toyota hit the man, stopped, opened a car door and checked on the pedestrian, then took off.

Several other people pulled over and assisted the injured man until the California Highway Patrol got there. He was taken to a hospital with moderate cuts and scrapes to his face, arms and legs, CHP Officer Jake Sanchez said.

He said witnesses could give no description of the driver.

An officer at that scene then reported that a driver caught in the freeway backup pulled a U-turn and was headed north in southbound lanes, CHP Sgt. Brent Lowry told San Diego News Video.

Moments later, a wrong-way driver slammed into the San Diego Fire-Rescue engine in the left lane of I-5 near the state Route 94 eastbound transition lanes. The sedan driver was dead when medics got to him.

CHP officials could no immediately confirm whether the car that made the U-turn was the same one that hit the fire engine, but Sanchez noted there are no off-ramps between the two collision scenes.

All four firefighters were taken to a hospital for evaluation and two had minor injuries, fire spokeswoman Monica Munoz said. She said they were all released from the hospital and would all be able to work their next shift.

Southbound I-5 was closed near state Route 94 while crews cleaned up the scattered wreckage and removed the two vehicles.

pauline.repard@sduniontribune.com

Twitter: @pdrepard
Three people were killed and eight were injured when a pickup fleeing from Border Patrol agents hit a spike strip, veered onto an embankment and rolled Thursday afternoon on westbound Interstate 8 near Boulevard, authorities said.

Border Patrol agents gave chase to the Chevrolet Silverado pickup, which had two people in the cab and nine in the bed, about 4:25 p.m., CHP spokesman Officer Travis Garrow said. The truck crashed while fleeing at an extremely high rate of speed on the two-lane interstate east of Crestwood Road near the Golden Acorn Casino.

It was spike-stripped by the Border Patrol, continued westbound, went up a dirt and rock embankment and rolled, ejecting either nine or 10 people out of the vehicle, Garrow said.

Three people were killed and eight more were injured, three seriously, in a rollover crash during a Border Patrol chase Thursday afternoon on Interstate 8 east of Pine Valley and west of Boulevard, authorities said.

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A male driver and a female passenger were believed to be the only occupants seated in the cab of the truck, Garrow said. Nine men were in the bed, which had no camper shell or other type of covering.

According to a CHP incident log, witnesses reported the pickup was weaving in and out of traffic and passing other motorists using the center median and right shoulder at speeds of more than 100 mph.

Three people were killed, including the only woman, and the rest sustained moderate to major injuries, Garrow said.

Cal Fire San Diego said three of the victims sustained major injuries and five others suffered minor injuries.

Garrow said the trucks driver was in Border Patrol custody Thursday night. Border Patrol officials said they were preparing a statement about the incident.

The ages and immigration statuses of the victims were not immediately known.

All lanes of WB I-8 closed west of Kitchen Creek due to an overturned vehicle collision.  Caltrans San Diego (@SDCaltrans) November 30, 2018

Both westbound lanes of I-8 were shut down approaching the Crestwood Road exit, and the interstate remained closed as of 7:30 p.m.

Motorists were being diverted off westbound I-8 and onto Old Highway 80 at Ribbonwood Road, several miles east of the crash. Vehicles were being allowed back onto westbound I-8 at Crestwood Road.

Border Patrol policy states that agents may get involved in pursuits only when the benefit outweighs any immediate danger created by speeding or other emergency driving techniques.

Federal officials have said pursuits involving agents are rare, but Thursdays crash was the second in the past 16 months that resulted in three deaths.

The other triple-fatality chase happened in August 2017 after Border Patrol agents spotted a Black GMC Envoy that, according to an alert, was associated with an armed and dangerous man suspected of murder and human smuggling.

When the agents tried to pull the vehicle over, the driver sped off. The vehicle was traveling at high speeds when it went off Interstate 15 and into a Rancho Bernardo ravine, killing three of the four people inside.

Twitter: @Alex_Riggins

(619) 293-1710

alex.riggins@sduniontribune.com

UPDATES:

8:35 p.m.: This article was updated with additional details, quotes and background information.

7:30 p.m.: This article was updated with additional details to show three people were killed and three were seriously injured.

5:45 p.m.: This article was updated with additional details, including the number of confirmed fatalities.

This article was originally published at 5:20 p.m.
The pickup involved in the crash that killed three people during a rainy pursuit by U.S. Border Patrol agents had just driven across the international border in a human-smuggling attempt, the federal agency said Friday.

Eleven people were in the Chevrolet Silverado pickup  nine of them in the bed, which had no camper shell  when it crashed along westbound Interstate 8 near Crestwood Road on Thursday afternoon.

Everyone but the driver was thrown from the truck.

The driver of the pickup was identified Friday as Luis Alberto Virgen, 21, a U.S. citizen who has been living in Tijuana, California Highway Patrol officer Travis Garrow said. The passengers are not believed to be U.S. citizens, he said.

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Virgen was arrested on suspicion of three counts of gross vehicular manslaughter and is expected to be arraigned next week. He remained jailed Friday in lieu of $150,000 bail, according to online jail records.

On Friday, the Border Patrol said that at about 4:10 p.m. Thursday, its agents spotted tire tracks from multiple vehicles near the U.S.-Mexico border. The tracks crossed into the United States and headed north.

That, the agency said, was indicative of what it calls a drive-through smuggling event  smugglers driving people across the border.

Authorities believe smugglers removed a piece of this vehicular border barrier, known as a tank trap, along the U.S.-Mexico border in Campo and drove into the United States on Thursday. The suspected smugglers also cut the wire, authorities said. (Photo courtesy U.S. Border Patrol)

Authorities say this photo depicts what the border barrier in Campo looked like after smugglers cut and removed a piece of it to cross into the United States from Mexico. The smugglers then slipped the T-shaped pole in the bottom left corner back into place. (Photo courtesy U.S. Border Patrol)

Along with the tracks, agents found a piece of a vehicle. Officials did not specify what type of car part it may have been.

Ten minutes later, agents spotted the Silverado, which was missing the same type of part that had been found near the suspicious tire tracks.

Agents gave chase in their vehicles, with lights and sirens on, the Border Patrol said.

The fleeing truck raced off and jumped onto Interstate 8 at Buckman Springs Road, then headed east roughly 15 miles before getting off at Ribbonwood Road. It got right back on the freeway, this time heading west.

According to a CHP incident log posted online, witnesses reported the pickup was weaving in and out of traffic, as well as passing other cars by driving on the center median and right shoulder at speeds topping 100 mph.

The Border Patrol said that after the car started heading west, agents rolled a spike strip out across the freeway east of Crestwood Road, which is near the Golden Acorn Casino.

The speeding truck ran over the strip, and about a minute later, the vehicle headed up a dirt and rock embankment along the freeway and rolled.

It was raining at the time of the crash.

Ten of the 11 people in the truck were thrown from the vehicle. Three of them died, including a 38-year-old woman who was riding in the cab of the Silverado and was the sole woman in the truck.

One of the men killed was 34 years old and the other was believed to be between 18 and 25 years old, the San Diego County Medical Examiners Office said Friday night. Their names were not released.

Eight others in the pickup sustained injuries ranging from moderate to major. All passengers except for the woman who died were in the bed of the truck.

No further information about the victims was available, including their names, ages or country of citizenship. Garrow said the passengers have not yet been identified.

We are still working on that, he said.

The surviving passengers remained hospitalized as of Friday morning, Garrow said.

About an hour after the crash, around 5:30 p.m., Border Patrol agents discovered a second vehicle believed to have been involved in the incident and arrested a suspect, identified only as male, in connection with the vehicle, according to the agency.

Late Friday, the agency released photos of the specific site in Campo where authorities believe suspected smugglers entered the country by cutting and removing a piece of a barrier along the international border.

The barriers  put in place to block vehicles from crossing the border  are referred to as tank traps.

The photos depict a T-shaped pole, which authorities said had been cut at the base and lifted out of the way. The suspected smugglers also cut through the wires.

After driving across the border through the newly created hole in the barrier, the smugglers replaced the pole so as not to arouse suspicion, the agency said. They also tied the wires back together.

The Border Patrol said the incident is under investigation and that the agency is fully cooperating with the CHP in their investigation of the collision.

When it comes to chases, the policy of the Border Patrol states that agents may engage in pursuits only when the benefit outweighs any immediate danger created by speeding or other emergency driving techniques.

teri.figueroa@sduniontribune.com

(760) 529-4945

Twitter: @TeriFigueroaUT

UPDATES:

11:55 p.m.: This story was updated with the ages of the three people who died.

6:55 p.m.: This story was updated with additional details and photos.

4:20 p.m.: This story was updated to note that Virgens bail was set at $150,000, according to the jail website.
Thursdays downpour turned Tijuanas outdoor migrant shelter into a mud pile and by nightfall, officials began transporting hundreds of people onto buses to a facility 11 miles further away from the border.

Conditions had been steadily worsening over the past few weeks at the overcrowded Benito Juarez shelter, which was plagued by serious illness, food shortages and a lice infestation. With more than 6,000 at the shelter, it was at double its capacity.

Around 6 p.m. Thursday, buses began arriving and officials from the National Commission for Human Rights in Mexico, a federal agency, urged the migrants to transfer to the new facility, about 30 minutes away.

Many were wary about making the move and less than 500 chose to make the trip. Some specifically said they did not want to split up after traveling more than 2,000 miles by caravan from their homes.

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Were better off suffering here, said Samuel Roman, 22, of Honduras. We came all this way and dont want to go backwards. They want us away from the border.

Leonel Acosta, 20, also from Honduras, got on the bus with his brother. Its better than being wet, he said.

Commission representatives told the migrants that going to the shelter was voluntary but that their new accommodations would be under roof instead of outside, that they would have electricity and could come and go without restriction.

As heavy rains fell Thursday at Benito Juarez, families struggled to shield their sleeping children.

Its horrible in there, said Mirna Carnales, 32, a migrant from Honduras who spent the night holding a ripped nylon sheet over her 11- and 3-year-old sons.

In the morning, the sun shed light on rapidly deteriorating conditions inside the shelter. Children inside tents coughed while adults outside waded through mud puddles as they tried to salvage wet blankets, bedding and clothes.

The shelters conditions were already substandard before Thursdays rain. On Wednesday, migrants reported a lice outbreak, several people had fevers and cleanup crews found maggots in trash cans. Scattered throughout the shelter were plastic bottles of urine from people who could not wait in long bathroom lines.

Migrants who have run out of money have begun selling cigarettes or renting their phone chargers to earn enough to buy food.

The food lines are long and sometimes when you get to the front they run out of food, said Cristian Israel Partillo, 24, from El Salvador.

Partillo said he makes a little over 10 pesos a day, or less than 50 cents, selling cigarettes.

The rains motivated a number of people to climb on the buses Thursday night that lined the street outside the Benito Juarez shelter.

Carlos Hernandez, 29, and his girlfriend Rico Marquez, 24, both from Honduras, said they didnt care that the new shelter, a vacant event space called El Barretal, was further away.

Everything in there is wet, Hernandez said. My girl has a cold and a fever shes sick. I dont want to be wet anymore.

Earlier in the day, Mexican border officials blocked a group of about a dozen migrants attempting to march to Mexican Immigration offices near the San Ysidro Port of Entry. The small group planned to stage a hunger strike until immigration on both sides of the border agreed to speed up the asylum process.

They demanded that the Mexican government more quickly issue temporary humanitarian visas, that the U.S. government accept more asylum claims each day, and that Mexican police stop deporting caravan members.

The group originally planned to walk to the border but they only made it one block before meeting a blockade of federal police officers.

Officers told the group they did not want a repeat of last Sunday, when what started out as a peaceful march escalated into hundreds of migrants rushing the border. Some threw rocks at U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents, who responded by shooting tear gas at the crowd that included women and children.

Authorities arrested 42 people from the migrant caravan after the clash. On Thursday, U.S. Customs and Border Patrol said they would not file criminal charges against the migrants but that they still face administrative removal.
The longtime president of a veterans charity co-founded by former Rep. Duncan L. Hunter was convicted Thursday by a federal jury in Washington, D.C., of spending money meant for the charity on jewelry, shopping and other personal expenses.

Patricia Driscoll, 40, of Maryland, was found guilty of two counts each of wire fraud and tax evasion, and one count of first-degree fraud, according to an announcement by U.S. Attorney Jessie K. Liu.

She is scheduled to be sentenced in March and faces decades in prison.

Driscolls defense attorney decried the verdict, insisting his client broke no laws.

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The jury did not get it right  Patricia Driscoll is innocent, attorney Brian W. Stolarz said in a statement. We are very disappointed by the verdict and the governments misconduct in this case. We will appeal. This is not the final chapter to this story.

Driscoll resigned her position at the helm of the Armed Forces Foundation in July 2015 after 12 years of service amid a scandal involving what the nonprofit alleged was Driscolls misuse of funds.

The charity was established in 2001 to promote veterans emotional and physical health through outdoor activities and small grants to help needy military families pay bills. On its 2015 federal tax filing, it disclosed that it had found evidence that Driscoll had misspent more than $900,000 for personal purposes, starting in 2006.

The foundation reported about $44 million in revenue during those years, according to public tax records.

Driscoll was indicted in September 2016 on eight felony counts but three of those charges were dismissed before the trial concluded, court records show.

Prosecutors accused Driscoll of falsifying donors and donations, failing to disclose fundraising commissions she paid herself and using foundation money for personal purposes  including shopping trips, legal fees and covering bills for her private defense-contracting business.

Some of the suspect spending included a trip to a jewelry store, a grocery, a dermatologist and more than $65,000 in legal fees related to her accusations of domestic violence against her ex-boyfriend, NASCAR driver Kurt Busch, in 2014, according to court records.

Shortly after Driscoll was indicted, the Armed Forces Foundation announced it was suspending operations and planned to shut down.

The nonprofit was co-founded by former Rep. Hunter, R-Alpine, who helped recruit Driscoll to run day-to-day operations. The mission was to support veterans by hosting events and awarding grants to needy servicemembers.

Hunter was succeeded in the House by his son, Rep. Duncan D. Hunter, R-Alpine, who promoted the organization and attended charity events after he was elected to Congress in 2008.

The elder Hunter served as an unpaid member of the nonprofit board as his career in public office winded down, at one point serving as chairman. He left the foundation in 2012.

In an unrelated criminal proceeding, the younger Hunter and his wife and former campaign manager, Margaret, were indicted in August on 60 counts of felony crimes stemming from their alleged personal use of more than $250,000 from the coffers of Hunters political campaign.

Both Duncan and Margaret Hunter have pleaded not guilty to all charges. Duncan Hunter was re-elected to a sixth term earlier this month and faces trial next year.

Neither the former or current congressman immediately responded to requests for comment Thursday.

Driscoll was the subject of sometimes-colorful news articles in 2014, when she got into a bitter dispute with Busch, the champion race car driver known as The Outlaw.

The two met in 2010 and began dating. Driscoll recruited Busch and the NASCAR organization to help the Armed Forces Foundations cause. Working together, they raised money to assist military families and brought veterans to races to boost their morale.

The couple broke up in 2014, and Driscoll accused Busch of domestic violence. She alleged he smashed her head against the wall of a motor home at Delawares Dover International Speedway in September 2014. She sought a temporary restraining order that led to a court hearing.

At the hearing, Busch testified under oath that he believed Driscoll was a paid assassin. He said he once saw Driscoll go out for the evening dressed in camouflage and boots and return hours later wearing a trench coat over an evening gown spattered with blood and other matter, according to reports.

Driscoll later said some of the stories Busch told on the stand seemed to come from a movie script she had been writing.

NASCAR suspended Busch in early 2015 amid the allegations and later reinstated him when prosecutors decided there was not enough evidence to charge him with a crime.

The Armed Forces Foundations relationship with NASCAR drew the attention of an investigative reporter for Kickin the Tires, a website that covers stock car racing. The news site obtained foundation records that raised questions about Driscolls handling of the funds and published its findings in a news article in 2016.

Federal investigators later found evidence that Driscoll misused foundation assets and tried to cover up the misspending. She also made false statements to donors about how their money would be used, investigators said.

For example, prosecutors alleged Driscoll told donors that 95 percent of their contributions would go to help military families and veterans. They said she made the claim knowing that only a fraction of the money would be used for that purpose.

Driscoll also falsely categorized and caused others to falsely categorize expenses in the Armed Forces Foundations books and records as being for the benefit of the veterans, troops, and their families, when, in fact, they were for her own private benefit, the U.S. Attorneys Office said in its statement Thursday.

At the same time Driscoll was spending the money meant for the charity, the foundation reported that it provided financial help to between as many as 220 military families each year, the foundation website reported.

morgan.cook@sduniontribune.com
The McMillin Co. has severed ties with all or part of its Liberty Station properties, including many of the retail stores in the former Naval Training Center and the historic North Chapel, according to records newly filed at the county assessors office.

McMillin executives, who have declined for weeks to discuss their plans for the city-owned former military base, did not respond to questions Thursday after The San Diego Union-Tribune confirmed the sales of at least three lease agreements.

But documents recorded with the county in recent days show McMillin-owned companies transferred properties along Historic Decatur and Truxton roads to an out-of-state company that manages premier commercial and residential properties in California and beyond.

McMillin-owned companies Liberty Station Marketplace LLC and Liberty Station Marketplace Investors LLC transferred at least three leases to Seligman Liberty Station LLC over the past two weeks.

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Seligman Liberty Station is a newly incorporated company owned by Seligman & Associates of Southfield, Mich. The company, which manages many premier commercial and residential properties across the country, did not respond to requests for comment Thursday.

The transactions have further worried residents and tenants at Liberty Station, who have complained for months that McMillin was closing the chapel and making other plans for the property without informing those who most use the historic buildings.

The only thing I can hope for is that Seligman is going to do what McMillin has never done -- and that is to be open to something other than just gutting the chapel, said Ronald Slayen, a Liberty Station tenant who is working to preserve the historic chapel.

Earlier this year, McMillin informed two separate congregations that the church would not be available for weekly services after December. At the same time, McMillin advertised the facility for rent as a restaurant, retail space or reception venue.

The advertisements were questioned because the chapel served as the final house of worship for thousands of sailors headed off to fight World War II and has been designated as a historic site by the U.S. Department of Interior.

A spokeswoman for San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer confirmed the transactions Thursday after being asked about the sale by the Union-Tribune.

The city is responsible for ensuring the new leaseholder has a good reputation as well as the experience and financial capability necessary to fulfill the terms of the ground lease, spokeswoman Christina Chadwick wrote in an email. As long as the leaseholder meets those requirements, the city must approve the transfer.

Chadwick also said Faulconer is committed ensuring that the North Chapel is preserved and maintained for future generations, albeit for a broader array of uses.

Weve been in close contact with the new owner at Liberty Station and have received assurances that the North Chapel will continue to be used for a variety of purposes as allowed for under the ground lease, she wrote. The new owner has found an experienced operator that will be seeking to book a wide range of events, including but not limited to religious gatherings and weddings.

The mayors office said it will be up to the new operator to work out specific agreements for those interested in using the North Chapel for an event.

Henry Garon, an attorney who attends one of two congregations that will no longer be able to attend services at North Chapel, said he is considering legal action as a way of retaining rights to the 1940s church.

Its supposed to be used in the manner it has been used, Garon said Thursday. Theres grounds for an injunction to continue to use it until a new permit has been approved.

Hilary Nemchik, a spokeswoman for Elliott, said the city attorneys office examined the transfer terms.

Our office reviewed the lease sale documents and advised our client, she said in an email. If you have additional questions, you can contact the Economic Development Department or the Mayors Office.

News of the transfer did not sit well with Councilwoman Barbara Bry, who previously requested an investigation by the city attorneys office into McMillins handling of the historic U.S. Navy base that was turned over to the city in the 1990s.

I am incredibly frustrated and disheartened that the public and I are learning about McMillin selling Liberty Stations master leasehold in the newspaper, she said in a statement Thursday.

Bry has not received responses to a series of questions she posed to City Attorney Mara Elliott two weeks ago.

We need to get to the bottom of this and reassert the city of San Diegos authority to hold McMillin accountable for maintaining and protecting the Naval Training Center, which should be viewed as a regional treasurer, not a commodity that can be re-sold to a newly formed LLC based out of Michigan, she added. San Diegans deserve better than that.

The 360 acres just west of Lindbergh Field were closed by the U.S. military and dedicated to the city in 1997. The city later approved the lease with McMillin, which promised to maintain many of the historic buildings as well as develop hundreds of homes, offices and retail space.

City officials would not specify Thursday which buildings were transferred by McMillin and which, if any, were retained. Terms of the deal were not immediately available, but the 66-year master lease previously was valued at some $300 million.

The lease transfer was first reported by the Times of San Diego online newspaper. Liberty Station tenants were informed of the sale by email, which directed them to send their next rental payment to Seligman Liberty Station LLC.

Please send the same amount as you paid in November for the month of December, the email stated. If there is a discrepancy, it will show up on January statement.

jeff.mcdonald@sduniontribune.com (619) 293-1708 @sdutMcDonald
Throughout our careers advocating for healthy oceans, we have rarely seen so many people energized  not just in San Diego County, but everywhere  to protect our coasts. The threats are real and imminent, and people in San Diego are passionately fighting to protect our coastline from industrial projects like expanded offshore drilling and irresponsible management of resources.

Earlier this month, leaders from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) visited San Diego as part of a national listening tour to share their agencys vision for U.S. oceans and to hear from local stakeholders and residents.

It is no surprise that top agency leaders would visit San Diego. This region is one of the most beautiful places in the world to enjoy warm weather, local seafood and a lively community of surfers, divers and other ocean enthusiasts. Still, San Diego faces some big challenges. Pollution, whether oil slicks or sewage, doesnt respect state or international borders. Imperial Beach and the Tijuana Estuary have collectively had 78 closures this year as a result of sewage from Mexico. This cannot continue. There is so much to lose.

This year, orcas from the Pacific Northwest visited the California coastline and left an impression on young people and tourists who had never seen anything like it. Visitors to these beaches watch breaching dolphins and enjoy fish tacos sourced from locally speared albacore tuna. The California coastline is wonderfully unique. The marine life is a draw for tourists and vital for California livelihoods. Thats why it is so important that NOAA takes what it heard from San Diegans and translates it into policy action that will maintain the delicate balance that allows the Pacific Ocean and San Diegos economy to thrive.

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Californias tourism, recreation and fishing sectors provide nearly 600,000 jobs and over $42 billion in GDP for our state  jobs and revenue that are inextricably tied to the health of the Pacific Ocean.

Our hope is that NOAA will continue to uphold its longstanding reputation as an agency that protects and preserves our marine resources. At the listening session, the people of San Diego sent a clear message: expanding offshore drilling activities for oil and gas is not wanted here. The best way to boost San Diegos economy is to continue growing our thriving tourism and recreation businesses. We hope that NOAA officials will take that message to heart.

NOAAs Blue Economy plans include expanding offshore energy exploration and promoting offshore aquaculture. Everywhere the agency has been so far, its heard from local stakeholders and coastal residents about their visions for a Blue Economy  one that relies on a clean coast, not new offshore oil drilling.

Here in San Diego, people value habitat protection that allows for rapid regeneration of fish species because they love Pacific seafood. Visitors and residents alike appreciate that they can surf, paddle, dive and swim, without having to worry about harmful chemicals in the ocean from oil spills. It is widely recognized that new offshore drilling would threaten the ocean tourism dollars our ocean brings to the state every year. People of Southern California know that.

An open dialogue like the NOAA listening session paves the way for policies that promote a healthier and cleaner Pacific Ocean.

We hope San Diegans can continue to experience oil-free beaches and enjoy healthy marine life for generations to come. Hopefully, NOAA will do the right thing and support our already-blue economy  looking for new offshore oil wont make it any bluer.

Savitz is Oceanas chief policy officer for North America. Dedina is the executive director of WILDCOAST and the mayor of Imperial Beach.
Law enforcement officers have inherently difficult jobs that can involve split-second, life-or-death decisions. When these decisions go badly or seem wrong in retrospect, police chiefs, sheriffs, prosecutors, judges, politicians and the public are often inclined to give officers the benefit of the doubt. But officers should never be above the law, especially when suspects are roughed up without provocation.

Which brings us to sheriff Deputies Nicholas Morgan and Joshua Nahan. On May 7, they were caught on video making what appear to be unprovoked attacks on a man and his son in Vista. On Tuesday, to the surprise of police reform advocates, the county District Attorneys Office announced that Morgan would be charged with two counts of misdemeanor assault without lawful necessity by an officer and Nahan with one count of the same offense. The last time a peace officer in San Diego County was charged with mistreating a suspect or someone in custody was more than a decade ago.

Law enforcement officers hold a position of trust in our community and are required to abide by the rules in the exercise of their powers, District Attorney Summer Stephan said in a statement. The evidence on which the charges are based shows the force used by the two deputies exceeded the legal line, violating that public trust.

In an April interview with The San Diego Union-Tribune Editorial Board, Stephan vowed to always do the right thing, no matter what when asked about misconduct by law enforcement officers. In the Vista case, she upheld her campaign promise.

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Twitter: @sdutIdeas

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Rapper Lil Jon, aka the King of Crunk, returns to San Diego to get behind the decks at an epic nightclub appearance on Dec. 14 at OMNIA San Diego. Enter here for a chance to win a prize you wont be able to turn down (for what).

*Please note that, by entering this contest, you are opting to receive PACIFIC newsletters and other promotional materials. Winners chosen on Dec. 11.
Last week, the Vice President of the European Investment Bank (EIB), the European Unions policy bank, met top government officials in Nepal to discuss funding renewable energy and sustainable development for rural communities. The bank is already investing in various hydropower sector projects in the country, and contributing to Nepals ambitious plans to develop 4,000 kilometres of transmission lines and 40,000 megawatts of hydropower generation by 2040. While the EIB seeks to increase its footprint in Nepals energy sector, the experiences of communities in Lamjung district of Nepal, aggrieved by the EIB-funded 220 kV Marsyangdi Corridortransmission line, suggest the bank must pay closer attention to addressing potential impacts faced by local communities, if its investments are to be successful.

The negative impacts of hydropower generation  including forced displacement, reservoir-induced seismicity, disruptions to wildlife, and reduced output during dry seasons  are well documented. However, the impacts of transmission lines, including resulting human rights violations, are lesser known and discussed.

There have been numerous disputes in Nepal between communities affected by transmission lines, and project developers. Central to these disputes is the failure of developers to adequately consult and compensate local communities for various impacts that disrupt their livelihoods, cultural norms, and social fabric.

Many affected communities are anxious about the potential health and safety impacts of transmission lines, including electrocution, electromagnetic radiation, and increased lightening. These concerns have all been documented in their complaint to the EIB. While the concerns with toppling towers have been independently verified, the connection between the transmission lines and radiation as well as increased lightning is not scientifically corroborated, nevertheless, these remain issues that the communities are concerned about, and towards which no real communication has happened to assuage their anxieties. The World Health Organisation has, as well, encouraged a dialogue on the risks of radiation from transmission lines.

Affected communities are also concerned about environmental impacts including deforestation, forest fragmentation, ecological disruption to birds and animals, and cumulative impacts from associated hydropower projects which need transmission lines to be economically viable. Additionally, landowners are prevented from building infrastructure or planting trees below transmission lines, and banks tend not to accept the property as collateral for loans. This leads to a decrease in the earning capacity as well as the value of the land.

Minimal benefits

Despite suffering significant impacts from transmission lines, affected Nepali communities tend to receive minimal benefit from such projects. Transmission lines consist of a series of towers with wires strung between the tops of the towers. Landowners whose lands are used to build towers are given 100% compensation for land under the towers. However, over 95% of the land used for transmission lines falls under the transmission wires between the towers and is compensated at only 10% of market value. Affected communities also complain about lack of information about projects. As a result, multiple high-voltage electricity transmission lines in the country have encountered opposition from local communities, including indigenous peoples, Dalits, and other marginalized communities, many of whom are seeking a stronger voice in project design.

Internationally, there is increasing recognition of the various impacts of transmission lines on communities, and the need to engage with affected peoples and compensate at the individual and community level. An increasing number of governments and project companies in Europe, North America, and elsewhere  who have been extending their transmission networks, largely to transport newer, zero emission generation  have taken steps to provide significant community-level benefits, and fair compensation to individual landowners, often more than 100% of the value of land under the transmission line. They also provide better information disclosure and consultation about the projects and their impacts.

A consortium of European transmission operators and civil society organizations have organized as the Renewables Grid Initiative to collect and codify experiences in this regard, including the technically challenging issue of how to involve communities in early routing determinations, and when and how to undertake modifications to avoid harm. Indeed, many developed countries have much stronger protections for landowners at home than when they invest in Nepals transmission sector.

Unfortunately, communities in Nepal who request that transmission lines respect their rights are labelled as anti-development and extortionist. The importance of transmission lines to Nepals hydropower energy gold rush is used to justify irregularities in project completion and ignore affected peoples grievances. Peaceful protests have been dispersed by armed paramilitary forces, and communities have faced detention, false criminal cases, and other forms of intimidation for raising their voices. Community land rights are dismissed under pretexts that a developing country like Nepal cannot afford to pay its citizens as much as developed countries. However, communities are only asking to be paid in full for the harms they have suffered, nothing more. This is a fundamental tenet of Nepali property law.

The problems in Lamjung

Communities in Lamjung district of Nepal affected by the EIB funded 220 kV Marsyangdi Corridor transmission line is one example of a community raising its voice. The Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA), the government-owned institution responsible for implementing the Marsyangdi Corridor, is expected to start construction imminently. However, many community members are still in the dark about the transmission line, which will pass through their homes, businesses, lands, and community forests. Frustrated, the communities recently filed a complaint with the independent Complaints Mechanism at the EIB. Communities want more information about the route of the line, as well as its health, safety, economic, and environmental impacts.

Many Lamjung community members are especially frustrated because they have recently had their land taken for a different Chinese funded 132 kV transmission line. The communities have alleged corruption in the implementation of that line, and say it was constructed without adequate information disclosure or compensation. Some community leaders have met with the NEA, and asked it to remedy gaps in the 132 kV line before beginning work on the 220 kV line. The NEA, acknowledged the need to improve transmission line policy and assured communities that mistakes will not be repeated but appears to be going ahead with the 220 kV Marsyangdi Corridor without any changes.

Stakeholders in Nepals energy sector, including the EIB and NEA, should consider implementing recommendations made in a recently-released expert report on preventing conflicts in transmission lines. The report was developed for the World Bank by an international dispute resolution firm and recommended a policy dialogue on benefits sharing with local communities and exploring alternative ways and means of meeting local energy and economic needs, including for ecological resources.

Once underlying policy gaps are addressed, individual transmission line projects must consult with communities, especially indigenous communities, in a process to seek their consent.

Good business sense

There are instrumental reasons for projects to build productive relationships with indigenous peoples and local communities over the life of a project, including effectively engaging from the beginning. Resulting costs are likely to be substantially less than the price of responding to conflicts, especially when delays are factored in.

Given the strong business case to change how transmission lines are implemented in Nepal, the European Union must ensure that communities are made whole on the loss they suffer as a result of its transmission lines and associated hydropower sector development. This will help ensure that the European Union is meeting its stated goal of supporting sustainable development in Nepal.
The Camp Fires toll is still being calculated  at least 14,000 homes destroyed, 85 people killed, hundreds still missing  but Northern Californias Butte County faces a long, expensive road to recovery.

Sierra Nevada, the craft beer pioneer headquartered in nearby Chico, is determined to do its part.

On Tuesday, Sierra Nevada brewed its batch of Resilience IPA. Every penny from this beers sales will be donated to the Camp Fire Relief Fund, launched last week with a $100,000 donation from the brewerys founders.

Sierra Nevada asked other breweries to make Resilience IPA, donating their sales to the fund. More than 300 agreed, including many from San Diego County: AleSmith, Ballast Point, Belching Beaver, Bitter Brothers, Coronado, Fourpenny House, Green Flash, Karl Strauss, Mason, Mike Hess, Mikkeller, Modern Times, Rouleur, Saint Archer, Second Chance, Societe and White Labs.

There may be more, as the list grows every day. The fundraisers impact wont be felt for awhile, as the IPA needs several weeks to ferment and finish.

Still, mark your calendar: Second Chance has announced that its Resilience IPA will be poured at its Rancho Bernardo brewery, 15378 Avenue of Science, Suite 222, and its North Park tap room, 4045 30th St., on Dec. 22.

Read more from Pete Rowes column here.


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Newport Beach, CA -- (SBWIRE) -- 11/30/2018 -- The Cotier Properties Group is the perfect choice for clients looking to either sellor buy a coastal home. The group assumes a middleman role in the real estate business. The real estate is among the most competitive industries in the global market. Creative designs are being used to come up with luxurious homes located along the coastal beaches at relatively low prices. The Cotier Properties Group ensures a well-connected link between the investors and potential clients through their website. House owners can now display their beach houses for potential customers to see and buy without the hustle of house hunting.



The Project Manager said, "Nothing can diminish the joy of either selling, buying or even owning a home like unexpected repairs. Home appliances that are correctly working could one day suddenly break down due to normal wear and tear, often at the worst possible time. With HomeGuard HomeWarranty, Inc. Home Protection Plan, Cotier Properties Group,can reduce the impact of these unexpected annoyances and save you money."



Corona del Mar is famous for its beautifulbeaches, cliffside views, tidepools,and a beautiful shoreline. Beaches in the area include Crystal Cove State Park south of Corona del Mar as well asCorona del Mar State Beach which is accessible by paths winding down the steep hillside. Investors acquire pieces of land and establish well-built homes for commercial purposes. For a budget ranging between $ 729,000 - $ 3,385,000, Cotier Properties displays Corona Del Mar homes for sale and guarantees potential customers a chance to be homeowners.



"Cotier Properties Group specializes in Coastal California living. Our website is continuously expanding and changing with updated information. We urge clients to use our website as a tool to search for their next home and sign up for detailed valuation reports related to various communities throughout the region. We look forward to hearing from you. If you have a queryrelated to real estate or the coastal California culture, our team of dedicated experts will attend to you. Our Easy-to-use mortgage calculator also helps you calculate payments; know how much your monthly payment is, for your mortgage," sales manager said.



Newport Beach is a beautiful coastal city in Southern California. It is known for the Balboa Fun Zone, stunning ocean views, relaxing beaches, and picturesque harbor. It is one of the bestholiday destinations as it is home to many big events such as the Ensenada Yacht race, Independence day on the beach, Christmas Boat Parade, and many more. The list of to-do activities in Newport Beach is endless; surfing, hiking, sailing, and just walking by the beach are but a few. Springtime in Newport Beach is fun; it is home to the start of the Newport to Ensenada International Yacht Race, the Newport Beach International Film Festival, and the Toshiba Classic. During summer, Newport Beach hosts the Families Bike Parade and Carnival and co-hosts the Celebration at Mariners Park and the annual Independence Day Parade. Visit their website to view Newport Coast homes for sale.



About Cotier Properties Group

Cotier Properties Group makes it a reality to those dreaming of one day owning a beach house. They offer affordable financial and mortgage plans to suit people from all walks of life.



Contact Details.

Cotier Properties Group,

15 Corporate Plaza Dr. Suite 250 Newport Beach, CA 92660.

Tel: (877) 221-8164.

Email: info@cotierproperties.com

Website: http://www.cotierproperties.com
Pune, Maharashtra -- (SBWIRE) -- 11/30/2018 -- According to the Graphical Research new growth forecast report titled "Europe Air Source Heat Pump Market analysis based on Product, Application, Industry Analysis Report, Country Outlook, Growth Potential, Competitive Market Share & Forecast, 2018  2024", by Graphical Research. says, Europe Air Source Heat Pump Market size is set to surpass USD 7 billion by 2024.



Europe ASHP Market is predicted to surpass USD 7 billion by 2024. Government efforts toward modernization and renovation of existing infrastructure coupled with rising demand for space heating across polar climate regions will drive the business growth. Furthermore, financial support for the development of sustainable buildings will encourage the product demand. The European Investment Bank (EIB) approved funds of around USD 100 million for the construction of zero emission buildings in 2018.



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Favorable government initiatives and norms toward reduction of GHG emissions by the use of renewable technologies will stimulate the air source heat pump market size. The Government of UK introduced Renewable Heat Incentive scheme with an aim to encourage the adoption of renewable heat technologies amongst communities, businesses, and householders through financial incentives.



Low maintenance, ease of installation and low cost are some of the prominent features which will drive the Europe ASHP market growth. Rising adoption of energy efficient units coupled with green building standards and codes will further complement the product deployment. For instance, the European Union introduced the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD) to strengthen the energy performance of new constructions through the deployment of energy efficient units.



Denmark ASHP market will grow owing to the government policies in support of decarbonization of the energy systems along with modernization of existing infrastructure to sustainable establishments. In 2014, the Danish Ministry of Climate, Energy and Building developed a strategy with an aim to reduce 35% of the heat consumption from existing buildings by 2050.



Air to air heat pump market size will grow on account of its key features including cost effectiveness, ability to purify air, high energy efficiency, and zero ground work expense. In addition, rising focus to reduce electricity bills coupled with ongoing technological progressions to meet the rising demand across residential sector will complement the business landscape.



Make an inquiry for purchasing this report @ https://www.graphicalresearch.com/request/1025/inquiry-before-buying



Commercial air source heat pump market size is predicted to witness growth owing to growing demand for HVAC systems that are easily integrable with the conventional system across new and existing buildings along with retrofit & replacement of cooling & heating systems.



Norway ASHP market size is projected to surpass USD 600 million by 2024. Government targets to phase out fossil fuel fired boilers coupled with national schemes including Enova Subsidy, to promote the use of heat pumps will augment the product deployment.



Key players operating across the Europe air source heat pump market include Bosch Thermotechnology, BDR Thermea Group, NIBE, Danfoss, Viessmann, Husky Heat Pumps, Glen Dimplex, Climaveneta, Swegon Group, Vaillant, Grant Engineering, Trane, Finn Geotherm UK, Systemair AB, and Stiebel Eltron.



Segments We Cover:



Europe Air Source Heat Pump Market Statistics, By Product

Air to air

Air to water



Browse key industry insights from this 2018 report @

https://www.graphicalresearch.com/industry-insights/1025/europe-air-source-heat-pump-market



Europe Air Source Heat Pump Market Trends, By Application

Residential

Residential, by product

Commercial

Industrial



The above information is provided on a regional and country basis for the following:

Austria

Norway

Denmark

Finland

France

Germany

Italy

Switzerland

Spain

Sweden

UK



Related Reports:



1.Europe LNG Bunkering Market Size by Product (Truck-to-Ship, Port-to-Ship, Ship-to-Ship, Portable Tanks), By End-Use (Container Vessels, Cruise-ships, Bulk Carriers, Ferries, Offshore Support Vessels), Industry Analysis Report, Regional Outlook (Norway, The Netherlands, Germany, Belgium, Denmark, UK, Spain, France, Italy), Competitive Market Share & Forecast, 2018-2024



https://www.graphicalresearch.com/industry-insights/1034/europe-lng-bunkering-market



2.Global Automotive Air Filters Market is set to surpass USD 8 billion by 2024. Expansion in the automotive industry, increasing disposable income of consumers, rising environmental concerns due to automobile pollution emission and surging demand for cars and two-wheelers (particularly in BRICS countries) are some of the major factors driving the industry growth.



https://www.reuters.com/brandfeatures/venture-capital/article?id=64798



About Graphical Research

Graphical Research is a business research firm that provides industry insights, market forecast and strategic inputs through granular research reports and advisory services. We publish targeted research reports with an aim to address varied customer needs, from market penetration and entry strategies to portfolio management and strategic outlook. We understand that business requirements are unique: our syndicate reports are designed to ensure relevance for industry participants across the value chain. We also provide custom reports that are tailored to the exact needs of the customer, with dedicated analyst support across the purchase lifecycle.
Valley Cottage, NY -- (SBWIRE) -- 11/30/2018 -- The competitive landscape of the market for garbage bag market is a mildly fragmented one marked with the presence of quite a few large players, according to a report published by Future Market Insights (FMI). The key players in the European garbage bag market are Novolasta, s.r.o Senkvice, Extrapack OOD, Pack-It BV, Achaika Plastic S.A., DAGOPLAST AS, Terdex GmbH, International Plastics, MirPack TM, Plasta.It, Primax D.o.o. The key players are now focusing on research and development of garbage bags in a bid to stay ahead in the competition. These market players are also trying to expand their geographical reach through collaborations with local players.



So far as geography is considered, the market for European garbage bag has been segmented into Germany, France, Italy, Spain, U.K., Russia, and BENELUX. Belgium, Netherlands, and Luxembourg comprise BENELUX.



Request more information of Report with table of contents and Figures @ https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/sample/rep-eu-3034



Owing to the high demand of garbage bags across Europe, the market is anticipated to soar registering a good CAGR during the forecast period of 2016-2026.



Demand for Biodegradable Garbage Bags to Bolster Growth



The market has been segmented into five categories, so far as material is considered. The segments are, namely Low-density polyethylene (LDPE), Liner low-density polyethylene (LLDPE), High-density polyethylene (HDPE), Polypropylene (PP) and others.



High-density polyethylene (HDPE) is characterized with high performance and extreme tensile strength and with these qualities, HDPE is forecasted to spearhead the European market for garbage bags. This segment accounted for 30% of the total revenue of the European market in 2016. During the forecast period of 2016-2026, the segment of HDPE is expected to expand at a CAGR of 5.5%.



These garbage bags have the ability to contain substantial amount of weight and are cost effective as well. Such characteristics are expected to propel the market for high-density polyethylene garbage bags. Furthermore, high-density polyethylene or HDPE bags come with biodegradable versions. Biodegradable HDPE bags are made of domestic biomass material thereby diminishing oil dependency. They are also easy to recycle and are frequently used.



Developed economies of countries like the U.K. and Germany are expected to fuel the demand for premium garbage bags. These premium garbage bags come with qualities like odour control and ability to stretch and people from the developed countries are willing to pay the extra bucks for these premium quality garbage bags. As such, the opportunity for such premium quality garbage bags are increasing.



Request to Report Methodology @ https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/askus/rep-eu-3034



Stringent Government Policies to Restrain the Growth of the Market



Governments of several European countries are implementing strict measure to contain the usage of plastic bags. They are imposing regulations wherein the sales of lightweight bags are getting restricted. Countries like Italy, France are applying a complete ban on HDPE plastics bags that are meant for single use. Such bans, though restraining the growth of the market for HDPE garbage bags, help to diminish the harmful effects of plastic bags on the environment, specifically the oceans, lakes, rivers, and the wildlife that inhabit in those water bodies. This is one of the major restraining factors of the European market for garbage bag.



In addition, imposition of extra charges and increased taxation by the governments of various European countries on the use of plastic garbage bags are dampening the spirit of the market players. Customers are charged extra for plastic garbage bags at various convenience and retail stores. Such government initiatives play a major role in the diminishing the usage of plastic garbage bags in Europe.



This review is as per the findings of a new report by Future Market Insights (FMI) titled, "Garbage Bag Market: Europe Industry Analysis & Opportunity Assessment, 2016-2026."



Ask a question to Analyst @ https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/ask-the-analyst/rep-eu-3034
Valley Cottage, NY -- (SBWIRE) -- 11/29/2018 -- Palm oil is an edible vegetable oil extracted from the reddish pulp of the oil palms. Sustainable Palm oil is naturally reddish in color because it has the component of high beta carotene. Sustainable palm oil means the palm oil which is manufactured under the guidance and rule of the Roundtable on sustainable palm oil (RSPO). To produce certified sustainable palm oil, manufactures has to follow the environmental and social criteria set by RSPO. It can also be kept in the room temperature. Palm oil also contains very little cholesterol. It is also used in products where animal fats are not accepted for the religion issues. It has been noticed that the palm oil is used in several industries to make the ultimate product. Those industries are also growing. So the demand of the palm oil will be more. So the market will expand very fast in the stipulated period of time.



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Global Sustainable palm oil Market Dynamics: The market of sustainable palm oil market is anticipated to be driven by the various used of the product in a different way. It has a great cooking properties, even it can be used in the high temperature. Its smooth and creamy texture and having no smell make it a perfect ingredient for many recipes like it is used in the bakery (specially for biscuits). It has a natural perspective effect which helps the longevity of the food byresisting the oxidation that spoils them. It is also the highest producing vegetable oil crop which makes it very efficient. It needs less land required by other oil crops to produce same quantity of oil. It makes this cheaper than the other oil in the market.



Sustainable palm oil is also used in the cosmetic industry. Sustainable Palm oil ingredients are used in the skin care products, make up products. Due to have the rules and regulations of RSPO the producers are not able to destroy the environment and wild life. It keeps the social interest towards sustainable palm oil production and the conflict cannot be created between the communities and workers. Palm oil is available as an ingredients such as palm kernel oil, palm kernel stearin, palm kernel olein, partially hydrogenated palm oil, asorbyl palmitate, Palmate, Sodium Laureth Sulphate etc. Palm oil used as a frying fat for many food items, as a shortening in bakery products.



Global Sustainable Palm oil Market Segmentation, Regional Outlook, Market Players:



Sustainable palm oil market can be segmented on the basis of application of the palm oil such as food, soap and detergents, pet food and cosmetics. Then food also can be sub segmented such as bakery, ice cream & other frozen desserts, confectionery products and margarine. Palm oil market also can be segmented on the basis of types of the palm oil availability in the market such as palm kernel oil, red palm oil, fractional palm oil, white palm oil.



Geographically, the global palm oil industry can be divided by major regions which include North America, Latin America, Western and Eastern Europe, Asia-Pacific, Japan, Middle East and Africa. Indonesia and Malaysia captured the highest market share in terms of the production of palm oil. Other production countries are Thailand, Columbia, Nigeria and Ecuador. China got the first position in terms of consumption of palm oil followed by EU, India, Indonesia and United States. Malaysia was the highest exporter of palm oil.



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The major players identified across the value chain of global sustainable palm oil market include New Britain palm oil limited, Golden agri resources limited, IOI corporation Berhad, Wilmer international limited, Cargill, SIPEF group Belgium, Kulim berhad, Sime Darby plantation sendirian Berhad, Hap seng Plantation Holdings Berhad, Kuala lampur kepong Berhad.and United Plantation Berhad
An international team of archaeologists and paleoanthropologists has uncovered 2.4-million-year-old stone artifacts and cutmarked bones at the archaeological site of Ain Boucherit in Algeria. The discovery, reported in the journal Science, suggests that humans ancestors inhabited the Mediterranean fringe in North Africa much earlier than previously thought. The Ain Boucherit evidence also argues for early spread of stone tool manufacture and use from East Africa, or a possible multiple origin scenario of stone technology in both East and North Africa.

East Africa is widely considered to be the birthplace of stone tool use by our ancient hominin ancestors  the earliest examples of which (Oldowan stone tools) date as far back as about 2.6 million years ago.

Similar examples of stone tool manufacture and use have been identified in Ain Hanech and El Kherba, Algeria, dating to nearly 1.8 million years old and generally considered to be the oldest archaeological materials in North Africa.

The research team, led by Dr. Mohamed Sahnouni, an archaeologist at Indiana University, CENIEH (Spain) and CNRPAH (Algeria), explored the nearby deposits at Ain Boucherit, located in the High Plateaus of eastern Algeria, and reports evidence of Oldowan stone tools and butchered bones from two distinct deposits estimated to be about 1.9 and 2.4 million years old, respectively.

The assemblages contained stone tool manufacturing lithic debris similar to that recovered from the earliest sites in East Africa.

Additionally, fossil bones, many showing the hallmark V-shaped gouges and microscopic chipping that suggest butchery and marrow extraction by stone, were also found.

The Ain Boucherit stone tools were manufactured of locally available limestone and flint and include faces worked into choppers, polyhedra and subspheroids, as well as sharp-edged cutting tools used to process animal carcasses, the researchers said.

These artifacts are typical of the Oldowan stone technology known from 2.6-1.9 million-year-old sites in East Africa, although those from Ain Boucherit show subtle variations.

The lithic industry of Ain Boucherit, which is technologically similar to that of Gona and Olduvai, shows that our ancestors ventured into all corners of Africa, not just East Africa, Dr. Sahnouni said.

The evidence from Algeria changes the earlier view that East Africa was the Cradle of Humankind. Actually, the whole of Africa was the Cradle of Humankind.

At this moment, the most important question is who made the Ain Boucherit stone tools.

Hominins contemporary with Lucy (3.2 million years old) probably roamed the Sahara, and their descendants might have been responsible for leaving these archaeological puzzles now discovered in Algeria, that are near contemporaries of those of East Africa, Dr. Sahnouni said.

Future research will focus on searching for human fossils in the nearby Miocene and Plio-Pleistocene deposits, looking for the tool-makers and even older stone tools.

_____

Mohamed Sahnouni et al. 1.9-million- and 2.4-million-year-old artifacts and stone toolcutmarked bones from Ain Boucherit, Algeria. Science, published online November 29, 2018; doi: 10.1126/science.aau0008
The scale of operational challenges with BWTS fitted by tanker owners was revealed by Intertanko at a forum in Singapore on Friday. Tim Wilkins, regional manager (Asia-Pacific), environment director, Intertanko, said the feedback from its members was that in their assessment 60% - 80% of systems did not work correctly.

This does not mean the systems do not work at all, but do not function in the way they should, however, Wilkins also added, Failures are unfortunately becoming a daily problem.

To address the problems contingency measures are being put in place. We have guidance, we have the industry going through contingency measures, built on very clear transparent measures to ensure regulators and port states and the flag administrations are very much in the picture.and so that information can be sent to the IMO in the future and they can understand exactly what is happening with the systems and the regulation, Wilkins told the Singapore Registry of Ships (SRS) Forum.

Read more: Operational problems continue with Ballast Water Treatment Systems: ABS

It is understood that owners fitted systems on vessels such as newbuildings, but never tested them, and are only finding out now when they start to use the BWTS that the systems do not in fact work properly.

In some respect there has been recognition these systems arent installed correctly and as a consequence the IMO have also said ok lets make sure these systems are validated and operating properly before that vessel goes on trading. So a newbuilding during sea trials you need to validate that system is working correctly, he said.

With the focus of industry discussions now firmly on the IMOs 0.5% sulphur cap from 1 January 2020 Wilkins commented of ballast water management: It is yesterdays conference issue, but its todays operational issue.
Three institutions are challenging the lucrative fees and extraordinary - but legal - rights of the manager of Vital Healthcare Property Trust.

The manager, Canada-based Northwest Healthcare Properties Management, is resisting this attempt to abridge its current sweet deal.

Northwest has appointed Graham Stuart to the board but unitholders have nominated Paul Mead and proposed five other resolutions which have been included in the trusts notice of its annual meeting. Stuart was chief executive of Sealord Group for seven years and chief financial officer at Fonterra before that.

The rebel investors want the trust deed altered to remove Northwests current right to sack any so-called independent director at will and for any reason.

Mint Asset Management, Accident Compensation Corp and ANZ New Zealand Investments also want to remove another clause in the trust deed that allows Northwest to unilaterally alter its fees.

The three institutions say the trust deed gives Northwest "an unacceptable imbalance of power" in managing Vital's affairs.

Northwest bought Vitals management contract in 2011 for $11.5 million and has pocketed about $100 million in gross fees since then, an almost 870 percent return on investment over that period.

Over that same period, distributions to unitholders have risen from 8.1 cents per unit to 8.56 cents, a 5.7 percent increase.

The rebels want to alter Northwests fees so that they align better with the interests of unitholders and to amend all policies and procedures to ensure that the boards primary duty is to unitholders, not the manager, as at present.

And the rebels also want the size of the five-person board increased to six directors with a minimum of four truly independent directors, at least two of whom must be elected by unitholders.

Northwest correctly says in the notice of meeting that none of this can happen unless it agrees to it.

The nature of the matters raised in the proposals cannot be determined by a unitholder vote. They require the agreement of others and this can only be achieved through reasoned commercial dialogue."

Northwest says over the course of this year we have engaged in good faith on multiple occasions to address the concerns raised by the proposing unitholders and that it has made a number of changes to its core governance documents as a result.

It has also voluntarily suspended its right to sack independent directors or to alter its fees until March 31 next year, assuming no material change in circumstances, while independent chair Claire Higgins leads a review of the fee structure.

But the three unitholders, who collectively hold less than 10 percent of Vitals units, have sought to dictate the terms of our fee review, including proposing terms that go well beyond what a reasonable board would accept.

Higgins points out that these unitholders have significantly diverted the time and resources of the board and senior management team away from running the core activities of managing Vital.

Vitals structure has in no way impeded total returns to investors, she says, citing figures showing Vitals returns to shareholders over five years at 104.1 percent and over 10 years at 284.3 percent.

That compares with the 71.8 percent return from NZXs all real estate index over five years and 175 percent over 10 years.

However, the price of Vital units has fallen 3.9 percent in the past 12 months while the NZX50 Index has gained 8 percent.

Higgins says Vitals structure is an appropriate, valid and common business structure for a business like ours. Indeed, two of the proposing unitholders themselves operate externally managed funds.

She also raises a previous investor revolt in 2011, led by ACC, which tried to alter Vitals structure.

That resolution was voted down by a significant majority. She notes that ACC had largely sold its Vital stake by the time of that vote and has since rebuilt its investment in Vital although at no point has our structure changed.

In fact, ACCs actions were instrumental in rejecting a proposal to buy Vitals management contract from the former manager, ANZ-owned ING, for $14 million, a sum Vitals then independent directors managed to beat down to $8 million.

At that point, two other institutions, the New Zealand Superannuation Fund and Westpac, still thought that was too much, opening the door for NorthWest to swoop in and snatch the contract from under their noses.

We note that a number of the externally managed trust funds operated by the proposing unitholders pay fees that are broadly analogous to Vitals fees, Higgins concludes in her letter to unitholders.

Northwest owns nearly 25 percent of Vital's units, making it practically impossible for unitholders to vote in favour of removing it as Vital's manager - such a vote would require 75 percent of those voting to succeed.

(BusinessDesk)





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Reserve Bank governor Adrian Orr says the central bank thinks theres a sweet spot in which it can require banks to hold more capital with no trade-off to efficiency.

Orr has already warned banks a number of times that the central banks current review of bank capital requirements is going to require them to hold more capital.

The Reserve Bank plans to release its final consultation paper on the matter in mid-December.

Orr told a Business NZ forum in Auckland that central bank officials expect to hear one side of the story loud and clear, that capital costs banks. We need to hear a broader perspective than that to best reflect New Zealands risk appetite.

Currently, New Zealand banks have to hold at least 8 percent of their risk-weighted assets as capital and a 2.5 percent buffer but all New Zealand banks significantly exceed that minimum.

Orr said thats because banks aim to achieve a high credit rating. The ratings agencies are fallible however, given they operate with as much art as science.

Bank owners would like to operate with as little capital as possible so they can maximise their returns.

But the most bank owners can lose is their invested capital if their bank fails, while the wider public loses much more, Orr said.

Hence, we need to impose capital standards on banks that matches the publics risk tolerance. We have been reassessing the capital level in the banking sector that minimises the cost to society of a bank failure while ensuring the banking system remains profitable.

The Reserve Bank has made an explicit assumption that New Zealand is not prepared to tolerate a system-wide banking crisis more than once every 200 years.

The last time a bank was at risk of collapse in New Zealand was in 1990 when the government had to bail out Bank of New Zealand to the tune of $380 million. BNZ was sold to National Australia Bank two years later.

We have calibrated our sweet spot thinking about economic output and financial stability benefits.

Unlike many other countries, particularly Australia, New Zealand doesnt have any system of guaranteeing bank customers deposits.

In the event of a bank failure, the Reserve Bank is supposed to operate whats called Open Bank Resolution, which would involve using some or all of customers deposits to shore up a collapsing bank.

Many observers have noted that this would be politically untenable for any government. The temporary deposit insurance New Zealands government put in place during the GFC suggests that view is correct.

Orr noted many of New Zealands banks are foreign-owned  the four largest banks are owned by Australias four largest banks  and that it would be naive to expect a foreign taxpayer to bail out a domestic banking crisis.

Hence, New Zealand needs to assess its own risk-tolerance and decide who pays to clean up any mess and the scale of that mess.

Currently, the big four Australian-owned banks have a distinct advantage over their New Zealand-owned rivals in that they are allowed to use their own internal models to decide how risky their lending is.

Orr didnt mention that in his speech, although in July he said the Reserve Bank had made an in-principle decision that the big four banks will have to report their capital positions using both their own internal models and the standardised models the other banks are forced to use.

On Wednesday, deputy governor Geoff Bascand said the Reserve Bank will allow the big four banks, ANZ ASB, Bank of New Zealand and Westpac, to continue using their own internal ratings-based models to calculate how much capital they need.

However, the central bank does plan to limit the advantage that gives them over the other banks. The way the Australian-owned banks have used their internal models has become excessive relative to actual risks, Bascand said.

The big four are responsible for more than 86 percent of bank lending in New Zealand.

(BusinessDesk)

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The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment still hasn't finished its investigation into Chinese subsidies on imported hollow steel sections and won't say when the investigation will be finished.

The ministry was asked to investigate by New Zealand Steel, which claims imported goods are being dumped on the local market, and that China is unfairly subsidising those firms. MBIE has to look at whether goods are dumped separately from whether they're subsidised.

Both studies were meant to be completed in October, but MBIE hasn't finished its investigation into whether Chinese subsidies are damaging the New Zealand manufacturer. A provisional measures report in July found minimal levels of subsidies.

A September High Court judgment complicated matters for the ministry. It has already looked at two separate steel products at the behest of NZ Steel and found in both cases the level of subsidy was so small as to be negligible. The local steel maker appealed the first decision, and in September and Justice Jillian Mallon ordered the ministry to reconsider NZ Steel's earlier claims that subsidised Chinese imports of galvanised steel coil damaged the domestic injury.

"The investigation into the alleged subsidisation of hollow steel sections from China is on-going and we are unable to indicate when a final decision is likely," MBIE's trade and international manager Jim Robinson said in an emailed statement. "MBIE is ensuring that its process in the hollow steel sections investigation reflects High Court decisions."

NZ Steel, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Australia's BlueScope Steel, is the country's largest steelmaker. It considers that steel manufactured in China is subsidised by the government there and that imports of it cause material damage to the domestic industry.

Chinese steel exports have been a bone of contention around the world. US and European producers accused the Asian nation's subsidies and overproduction of undercutting their local industries.

MBIE this month finished its investigation into whether Chinese and Malaysian hollow steel sections were being dumped on the local market to the detriment of the local market. It concluded the imported goods were being dumped by one of four Chinese producers looked at, but not at a big enough level to injure the local industry.

Similarly, it found Malaysian products were also being dumped, but decided the investigation should be terminated because the volumes coming from the South-East Asian nation were so small.

The dumping report shows NZ Steel sets its prices of hollow steel sections based on maintaining market share. That means it responds to price offers and import flows, but it charges a premium to reflect the benefits of local supply and that it can provide short lead times, greater flexibility, local currency pricing, and good product quality and service.

While MBIE agreed NZ Steel's margins were squeezed and that it lost market share, it couldn't blame one Chinese producer.

(BusinessDesk)

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Stride Property Ltd & Stride Investment Management Ltd (NZ: SPG) Placement Size Increased Following Strong Demand

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New Zealand shares rose for a fourth day in heavier-than-usual trading as major institutional investors reallocated their portfolios, pushing up heavyweight stocks including Spark New Zealand and Meridian Energy.

The S&P/NZX 50 index increased 28.66 points, or 0.3 percent, to 8,823.54, marking a 0.8 percent gain in November. Within the index, 29 stocks rose, 17 fell and four were unchanged. Turnover was $299.2 million.

Trade Me was the best performer in November, up 25 percent in the month at $6.13. While the shares dipped 0.3 percent today, they've been buoyed by a potential $2.54 billion takeover by UK private equity firm Apax Partners. This week Australian media reported a rival suitor may emerge.

Fletcher Building shares fell the most in November, down 20 percent, after the construction firm warned annual earnings may be weaker as Australia's market slows. The stock was down 0.6 percent today at $4.76 on volumes of 2.8 million.

Nineteen companies traded on volumes of more than one million shares on month-end rebalancing, with Spark and Meridian moving on volumes of 10.7 million and 7.2 million respectively. Spark rose 1.4 percent to $4.23 and Meridian was up 1.7 percent at $3.305.

Matt Goodson, managing director at Salt Funds Management, said the upcoming G20 leaders meeting, where US President Donald Trump will meet his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping, was top of mind for many investors.

"It's very important for sentiment in the short-term and the longer-term economic outlook," he said.

Freightways increased 2.9 percent to $7 on a volume of 5.1 million shares, compared to its daily average of 203,000.

Synlait Milk rose 4.9 percent to $9.19 on modest volumes, leading the index higher. In contrast, A2 Milk dropped 5.1 percent to $10.35 on above-average volumes of 2.3 million. The dairy companies are closely aligned with Synlait supplying A2, and the stocks often move together.

Growth stock Pushpay Holdings fell 2.7 percent to $3.30 on above-average volume of 3.2 million shares. Fellow software firm Gentrack fell 2.3 percent to $6, extending its decline for a second day after delivering a downbeat outlook for Europe and the UK.

Of companies with volumes of more than two million shares, Auckland International Airport gained 2.1 percent to $7.20, Ryman Healthcare increased 0.4 percent to $11.59 and Kiwi Property Group rose 0.4 percent to $1.385.

Vital Healthcare Property Trust was unchanged at $2.12. The healthcare real estate investor's external manager is facing a showdown with three institutional investors at its upcoming annual meeting over its management fees and contract terms.

Goodson said the resolutions put forward by Mint Asset Management, Accident Compensation Corp and ANZ New Zealand Investments are non-binding, and that a robust negotiation might be a better way to effect change.

Outside the benchmark, Pacific Edge fell 13 percent to 35 cents, matching the price paid in a placement raising $7 million.

(BusinessDesk)





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The government is offering $238 million in grants to encourage new tree planting, especially of natives, as it tries to get one billion new trees in the ground by 2028.

Cabinet ministers Shane Jones and Damien O'Connor today announced the opening of two grants, funded through the Provincial Growth Fund and allocated by the Ministry for Primary Industries' forest unit.

The first scheme will offer direct grants to landowners to help cover the cost of planting and establishing trees and indigenous regeneration, with $118 million available over three years. Indigenous trees will get preferential treatment, with the scheme supporting the planting of 60 million trees in that time, of which two-thirds are hoped to be native.

A second scheme will offer $120 million to co-fund projects that reduce barriers to planting. The idea is that the applicants for commercial projects will fund at least half, but applications with strong social and environmental benefits may be able to negotiate better terms. The scheme expects to support workforce development, improving information for landowners, environmental restoration, science and research, and seedling and nursery production.

"Officials will monitor the roll-out of the new grant scheme to ensure our focus remains on putting the right tree in the right place for the right purpose," Jones said in a statement.

The new grants account for more than half the $480 million available to support the one billion trees programme, which is a key element of the government's efforts to tilt the economy towards action on climate change, land erosion, water quality and regional unemployment.

Separately, state-owned commercial farmer Landcorp Farming, which trades as Pamu, this week put out a tender document seeking an afforestation partner.

The document said the SOE's current expansion and diversification plans are using a significant amount of its time and capital. It's interested in finding a partner to help fund and manage part of its future afforestation programme. The farmer wants to capture the afforestation potential for land well-suited to forestry, including carbon farming and traditional rotation forestry.

"Pamu anticipates the arrangement to involve it contributing land suitable for afforestation and the partner group funding the forest establishment and ongoing management of the forests," the document said.

(BusinessDesk)

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Related News:

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Army called after storm cuts links to Canadian islands



Montreal, Nov 30 (AFP) Nov 30, 2018



Canada's Quebec province called on the armed forces for help Thursday after a violent storm cut nearly all communication links with a group of islands in the Gulf of Saint Lawrence.

Only rare satellite telephones were able to connect Iles-de-la-Madeleine and its 13,000 residents with the mainland after two fiber optic sea cables were severed, Quebec emergency services said.

There were major power outages and the local airport control tower had broken down, leading to the call for army help.

"It's the type of request that one makes when provincial government capacity is exceeded," Quebec's Minister of Public Security Genevieve Guilbault told reporters.

On Twitter she added that a Canadian military plane would be ready to help on Friday morning.

Almost 2,000 of 7,000 homes on the islands -- located north of Prince Edward Island and Nova Scotia provinces -- lost power in the winds that reached 130 kilometers per hour (81 miles per hour), the Hydro-Quebec power company said.

Electrical and other specialist repair teams were expected to have arrived with the military by Friday.
Brazil's Bolsonaro names seventh military man to cabinet



Rio de Janeiro, Nov 30 (AFP) Nov 30, 2018



President-elect Jair Bolsonaro named Admiral Bento Costa Lima Leite his minister of mines and energy Friday, continuing his militarization of Brazil's incoming government.

Seven of ex-army captain Bolsonaro's 20 ministers announced so far are from the armed forces.

"I'm not appointing military people because they're from the military. It's because of their training and what they did when they were active," said Bolsonaro in quotes carried by the Universo Online website.

As with all his major announcements, far-right Bolsonaro used Twitter to share the news. He is expected to announce his environment and human rights ministers next.

The 60-year-old Lima Leite is currently serving as general manager of nuclear and technological development for the Brazilian navy.

The future mines and energy minister will also join the board of directors of Brazil's nuclear development authority, Nuclebras.

Bolsonaro has already put the ministries of defense, institutional security, science and technology, infrastructure, and transparency, supervision and control in the hands of military personnel while his government secretary is a retired general.

And there may be more as retired general Floriano Peixoto Vieira Neto is a strong candidate to be named the executive's secretary of social communication.

"There are two ministers to go. They might both be from the military, I don't know yet," said Bolsonaro.
Yazidi women want to join court case against French cement giant



Paris, Nov 30 (AFP) Nov 30, 2018



Yazidi women who survived rape and slavery at the hands of the Islamic State group in Iraq and Syria have applied to join in a court case against French multinational cement giant Lafarge, accused of paying millions to jihadist groups including IS, the women's lawyers said Friday.

They have made an application to be "civil parties" in a criminal case brought in France against Lafarge and several of its executives for complicity in crimes against humanity and financing a terrorist organisation, the lawyers said in a statement.

Lafarge allegedly made multi-million dollar payments to Islamic State in order to continue operations at one of its cement plants in northern Syria in 2013.

This allegedly included payments by Lafarge for large amounts of oil, one of IS's main revenue sources.

French investigative judges indicted Lafarge in June 2018, and eight of its executives were charged in 2017.

Amal Clooney, wife of actor George Clooney, and one of the counsels for the victims, said the case would allow Yazidi women "to have their voices heard in a court of law".

"Since August 2014, ISIS has targeted Yazidis in Iraq and Syria through forced displacement, executions, kidnappings, and the sexual enslavement of women and girls," she said.

This case "provides an opportunity to establish that ISIS, and all those who assisted them, will be held to account for their crimes, and that victims will be awarded just compensation.

"And it sends an important message to corporations that are complicit in the commission of international crimes that they will face legal consequences for their actions," she added.

Lafarge is suspected of paying nearly 13 million euros ($16 million) to IS and other militant groups to keep the Jalabiya plant running long after other French companies had pulled out of Syria.

The payments by the Lafarge Cement Syria (LCS) subsidiary were considered a "tax" in exchange for which militants allowed free movement of the company's staff and goods inside the warzone, according to investigators.

A source close to the probe said investigators also suspect that Lafarge sold cement to IS.
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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.
Golden Age A Billionaire Backer and the Murky Finances of the AfD

All eyes are on the AfD's finances following reports of large donations from Switzerland and Holland. Now, reporting has revealed that the right-wing party has enjoyed big-money support from the very beginning.
Baldwins, the UKs largest specialist agricultural business advisor, is partnering with New Zealand-based agricultural software provider Figured.

Figured is a complete livestock, crop and production tracking tool which is digital, online and cloud-based, and is an essential forecasting tool that works hand-in-hand with Xero  a cloud-based platform.

It is the only farm accounting software which allows a whole team to collaborate around the same data in real-time, from wherever they are working.

Baldwins partnership with Figured forms part of the firms mission to provide added value to its 3,750 farming clients across the UK.

It is also a strategic collaboration for both firms to support product development and open-up new opportunities that will drive the UK farming industry forward.

Andy Ritchie, Head of Baldwins National Rural Team, added:

Combining the experience of our team with the detailed capabilities of this software will unlock a higher level of reporting and even better advice for farmers up and down the country.

For example, farmers will now be able to forecast future cash flow based around differing scenarios, while also tracking livestock and crop production.
Mr Kitson, of Kitson & Sons Butchers, first travelled down to the English Winter Fair at Stafford Showground, the first major festive prime stock highlight of 2018 staged over the weekend of November 17 and 18, to again claim the overall victor, following up the next weekend with the title winner at LiveScot, the Scottish Winter Fair in Lanark.

He just failed to make it another unique Winter Fair hat-trick when narrowly missing out on the supreme champion at the Royal Welsh Winter Fair in Builth Wells the following Tuesday.

It was a ground-breaking feat he first achieved two years ago when purchasing all three Winter Fair supreme champions, the first time an independent family-run retail butchers had pulled off such a coup.

The English Winter Fair victor was a British Blue heifer from Andrew Dickinson and Lisa Powdrill, from Heage in Derbyshire. There was spirited bidding for the best in show, with Mr Kitson, who was accompanied by his two butcher sons, Henry and Oliver, winning the battle with a successful call of 3,400.

The Kitson family have been long time supporters of the English Winter Fair, purchasing four champions in recent years. Interestingly, the 2018 supreme champion was first sold at Leyburn Auction Mart in March this year by local beef farmers, Bainbridge Bros, who run the Abbeybain British Blue herd in Marrick.

The fact that the title winner was bred in North Yorkshire had added appeal to Mr Kitson, who always strives to buy prime beef, lamb and pork from local farmers wherever possible, so providing a major boost the regional agricultural economy.

Less than a week later, Mr Kitson was at the Scottish Winter Fair, where a bid of 3,300 netted him the supreme champion for the third year in succession. It was a Limousin-cross heifer from Perthshires Wilson Peters, of Cuilt, near Crieff, who also provided Kitson & Sons 2016 supreme champion purchase. His latest victor had a successful summer show season, standing first at the Royal Highland Show and champion at Dunblane, Kirriemuir and Braco shows.

Three days later, Mr Kitson was at the Royal Welsh Winter Fair in a bid to secure their supreme champion, narrowly missing out as the under-bidder to the show judge, who went to a heady 6,600 to claim his chosen champion. However, Mr Kitson didnt leave empty handed, claiming the best butchers beast.

Supreme champions at Christmas shows staged at regional auction marts were also on his shopping list. At CCM Skiptons annual festive highlight, Mr Kitson bagged the title-winning British Blue-cross heifer from local breeder John Stephenson, of Bordley, for top price in show of 2,726.

He also paid 436.50 each for the champion trio of Pietrain-cross pigs from Daniel Thackray, of Fewston, near Harrogate. The total outlay 1,039.50 was a new record high price for pigs at the Skipton Christmas highlight, also believed to be the most paid for prime porkers anywhere in the UK this year.
The appealing combination of interactive workshops with talks from sheep industry experts attracted a record number of attendees at this years event, held at Hexham Livestock Market, Northumberland.

The popular event forms part of the NSA Next Generation programme, a scheme dedicated to encouraging and supporting younger sheep farmers. And despite uncertainties of what the future may hold for this particular group of young people, the event was filled with enthusiasm for the sheep sector and a determination from the next generation to move their sheep farming careers and businesses forward.

The event began with six NSA Next Generation ambassadors from the class of 2018 engaging the audience with their experiences of working as sheep farmers in varying situations. Working on the programme, NSA Communications Officer Katie James says:

Delivering both the positives and negatives of their own personal stories, these were honest accounts of the sometimes difficult situations our young farmers can find themselves in, but throughout all of the presentations shone the passion these sheep enthusiasts have for this sector and for the importance the UK sheep industry has in feeding and shaping our nation.
Finland among the best in the world

Finland is a small country on a global scale. The population of Finland makes up just 0.07 per cent of the world's population and its area as much of the total world area. But even a small country can jump to the top of the world, and this is what Finland has done: in international country comparisons of positive things Finland is often among the top countries next to other Nordic countries.

In honour of Finland's centenary celebrations, we collected a list of comparisons in which Finland is one of the best in the world. The list below was last time updated on 5 December 2018, when Finland was for the last day one hundred years old. An updated list is available at Independence Day 2019.

Society

Finland is the most stable country in the world.

The Fund for Peace, Fragile States Index 2018

Finland is the freest country in the world together with Sweden and Norway.

Freedom House, Freedom in the World 2018

Finland is the safest country in the world.

World Economic Forum, The Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Report 2017

Finland is the fourth best country in the world.

The Good Country Index, Results

Finland has the best governance in the world.

Legatum Institute, The Legatum Prosperity Index 2018: Finland

Finlands police and internal security as a whole are the second best in the world.

The International Police Science Association, World Internal Security and Police Index

Finland has the least organised crime in the world.

World Economic Forum, The Global Competitiveness Report 2018: Organized crime

Next to Norwegians and Icelanders, Finns feel the second least insecure in the world.

Gallup, Law and Order Index 2018

Finlands judicial system is the most independent in the world.

World Economic Forum, The Global Competitiveness Report 2018: Judicial independence

After Danes, Finns vote in the freest and most reliable elections.

Pippa Norris, Thomas Wynter and Sarah Cameron, Electoral Integrity & Campaign Media: The Electoral Integrity Project 2018 mid-year update (The Electoral Integrity Project, University of Sydney & Harvard University)

Finland has the third least corruption in the world.

Transparency International, Corruption Perceptions Index 2017

Finland is the third most prosperous country in the world.

Legatum Institute, The Legatum Prosperity Index 2018: Finland

Protection of property rights in Finland is the best in the world.

World Economic Forum (WEF), The Global Competitiveness Report 2018: Property Rights

Availability of official information in Finland is the best in the EU.

Center for data innovation, The State of data innovation in the EU: Freedom of information

Finnish banks are the soundest in the world.

World Economic Forum, The Global Competitiveness Report 2018: Soundness of banks

Finlands pension system is the third best in the world. (34 countries in the comparison).

Mercer, Melbourne Mercer Global Pension Index 2018

Finland has the third most personal freedom and choice in the world.

The Social Progress Imperative, 2018 Social Progress Index: Finland

Finland has the fourth best press freedom in the world.

Reporters Without Borders, 2018 World Press Freedom Index: Ranking

After Denmark and Sweden, Finland is the most socially just EU country.

D. Schraad-Tischler & C. Schiller: Social Justice in the EU  Index Report 2017 (Bertelsmann Stiftung 2017)

Among the worlds richest countries, Finland is the third most dedicated to policies that benefit people living in poorer nations.

Centre for Global Development, The Commitment to Development Index 2018 (CDI)

Finland is the best country in the world in a comparison of human wellbeing.

Sustainable Society Index, Main results 2016

Finland is the third best country in adhering to the rule of law in the world.

The World Justice Project, Rule of Law Index 20172018

Finland is the best country in protecting fundamental human rights in the world.

The World Justice Project, Rule of Law Index 20172018

Satisfaction and trust

Finland is the happiest country in the world.

Sustainable Development Solutions Network, World Happiness Report 2018

Finns are the second most satisfied with their life among Europeans.

Eurostat, Percentage of the population rating their satisfaction as high, medium or low

Finns are the most satisfied with their accommodation in the EU.

Eurostat, Percentage of the population rating their satisfaction as high, medium or low

Among EU citizens, Finns are the second most common to have someone to rely on in case of need.

Eurostat, Persons having someone to rely on in case of need.

Finns' trust in the police is the highest and in the political system and in the legal system the second highest in Europe.

Eurostat, Average rating of trust

Finns trust news the most in the world. (37 countries in the comparison).

Reuters Institute, Digital News Report 2018

Finns' trust in other people is the highest in Europe.

European Commission, Fairness, inequality and inter-generational mobility: Social Capital: Trust in people

In Finland, consumers' confidence in the economy is second strongest in Europe.

European Commission, Business and consumer surveys

Equality

Finland is the third most gender equal country in the world.

World Economic Forum, Global Gender Gap Index 2017

Participation of genders in working life in Finland is the second most equal in the EU.

European Institute for Gender Equality (EIGE), Gender Equality Index 2017: Work / Participation

Finnish women's gender equality in working life is the fourth best in the world.

The Economist, The Glass-Ceiling Index 2018

In Finland, power is divided between genders the third most equally in the EU.

European Institute for Gender Equality (EIGE), Gender Equality Index 2017: Power

Finland has the third most female MPs in European countries.

Inter-Parliamentatary Union (IPU), Women in Politics 2017

Finland has the second lowest poverty rate in OECD countries.

OECD, Poverty rate

Finland has the fifth lowest income differences in OECD countries.

OECD, Income inequality

Environment and energy

The air in Finland is the cleanest in the world.

Finnish Meteorological Institute, Finland tops WHO air quality statistics

Finland is the water richest country in the world.

Keele University, The Water Poverty Index: an International Comparison

The risk to be exposed to natural disasters is lowest in the world in Finland together with Bahrain, Sao Tome and Principe and Singapore.

Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC) and the European Commission, INFORM Global Risk Index Results 2018

Finland has the most forests in Europe.

FAO, Global Forest Resources Assessment

Finland has the third most wetlands in Europe.

Eurostat, Wetlands cover 2% of the EU's land

The share of renewable energy of total energy consumption is the second biggest in Finland of EU countries.

Eurostat, Share of energy from renewable sources in the EU Member States

Education and human capital

Finland has the most human capital in the world.

The Lancet, Measuring human capital: a systematic analysis of 195 countries and territories, 19902016

Finland ranks as one of the top OECD country in education.

OECD, Better Life Index: Education

Education in Finland answers to future needs the third best in the world.

Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) & Yidan Prize, Worldwide Educating for the Future Index

Finland is placed third in a comparison of lifelong learning in EU countries.

European Commission, European Innovation Scoreboard 2018: Lifelong learning

Finnish adults are the third best in literacy and numeracy of OECD countries.

OECD, How's Life? 2017: Measuring Well-being, Education and skills: adult skills

Finland is the most literate country in the world.

J. W. Miller and M. C. McKenna, World's Most Literate Nations: Rank Breakdown

Finns are the second biggest library users in Europe.

The European Bureau of Library, Public Libraries  Statistics

Information society and competitiveness

Finland is the second best in the world in using information and communication technologies to boost competitiveness and well-being.

World Economic Forum (WEF), Global Information Technology Report 2016: Networked Readiness Index

Finland has EU's best digital public services.

European Commission, The Digital Economy and Society Index (DESI) 2018: Finland

Finland has the strongest digital knowledge capital in Europe.

<European Commission, The Digital Economy and Society Index (DESI) 2018: Finland

Finland has the second most wireless mobile broadband subscriptions per inhabitant in OECD countries.

OECD, Wireless mobile broadband subscriptions

Finns use most mobile data per subscription.

OECD, Digital Economy Outlook 2017

Finnish enterprises are most likely to have their own website of OECD countries.

OECD, Digital Economy Outlook 2017

Finland is the third best country for business in Europe.

European Chamber, Best European countries for business 2018

Finland has the third best economic environment for business growth.

Grant Thornton, Global Dynamism Index 2015

Corporate ethics in Finland is the second best in the world.

World Economic Forum (WEF), The Global Competitiveness Report 20172018: Corporate Ethics

Finland is the second best country in the field of clean technology. (40 countries in the comparison.)

WWF & Cleantech Group, The Global Cleantech Innovation Index 2017

Finland's sustainable competitiveness is the fourth best in the world.

SolAbility, The Global Sustainable Competitiveness Index 2017

Children's well-being and school attendance

Finland has the second lowest inequality among children in the world.

UNICEF, Fairness for Children: A league table of inequality in child well-being in rich countries

Finland is the second best country to be a girl in the world.

Save the Children, Every last girl: Girls opportunity index

Finnish children have the fifth most secure childhood in the world.

Save the Children, The Many Faces of Exclusion: End of Childhood, Report 2018

Young people (aged 11 to 15) in Finland are the fourth satisfied with their life among young people in welfare countries.

UNICEF, Child Well-being in Rich Countries: A comparative overview

Finns aged 15 are the third most satisfied with their lives among same-age young people in OECD countries.

OECD, PISA 2015 Results, Students Well-Being

Finnish fourth graders' knowledge of science is the second best in OECD countries.

M. O. Mullis, I. V. S. Mullis, P. Foy and M. Hooper, TIMSS 2015 International Results in Science

Finns aged 15 are among OECD countries the second best in literacy and the third best in science.

Ministry of Education and Culture, PISA 2015: Finnish youth still at the top despite the drop

Health

Finland is among the worlds top 25 countries in life expectancy at birth. Differences at the top are small.

WHO, Life expectancy

Finland has the least underweight (under 2,500 g) children born of OECD countries.

OECD, Low birth weight

Mothers' and children's well-being in Finland is the second best in the world.

Save the Children, State of the Worlds Mothers 2015, 16th annual report

Finland has the world's third lowest infant mortality rate (deaths at the age of under one year).

UN, SDG Indicators, Infant mortality rate

Maternal mortality is the lowest in the world in Finland together with Greece, Iceland and Poland.

WHO, World Health Statistics 2018: Monitoring health for the SDGs

The second lowest number of children weighing under 2.5 kg are born in Finland in OECD countries.

OECD, Health at a Glance 2015. Infant health: Low birth weight

Finland has the second lowest total mortality from cancer in EU countries.

OECD, Health at a Glance: Europe 2018: Mortality from cancer

Finnish adults are the second least likely to smoke of EU countries.

OECD, Health at a Glance: Europe 2018: Adults smoking daily

Finland's share of actively exercising people is bigger than in any other EU country.

Eurostat, How much do Europeans exercise?

Capital city

Helsinki is the third best city to live in. (65 cities in the comparison).

Metropolis, The Best Cities to Live in (2016)

People living in Helsinki have the highest satisfaction with the place where they live, alongside with people living in Stockholm.

European Commission, Quality of Life in European Cities 2015

Helsinki is the second most appealing city in the world for startups.

Nestpick, Startup Cities Index

Helsinki is the most equal city in Europe. (33 cities in the comparison).

Spotahome, Equality in Europe

Helsinki is fifth best in the ability to compete for talented workforce.

INSEAD, Global Cities Talent Competitiveness Index 2018 Rankings

Helsinki is the third best city in terms of technology, innovation and entrepreneurship. (40 cities in the comparison).

J. Gibson, M. Robinson & S. Cain, CITIE  City Initiatives for Technology, Innovation and Entrepreneurship (Nesta, Accenture & Catapult 2015)

Among European cities, Helsinki is the fourth best in supporting digital enterprises and entrepreneurs.

Nesta, European Digital City Index 2016

Of European big cities, Helsinki is the easiest and most pleasant to get around in. (20 cities in the comparison).

Politico, Urban Mobility Index

People living in Helsinki are the second most satisfied with cultural facilities among inhabitants of EU capital cities.

Eurostat, Satisfaction with cultural facilities in EU capital cities

Helsinki is the most honest city in the world.

Readers Digest, Most Honest Cities

The Helsinki-Vantaa airport is the best in the world.

Lonely Planet, Helsinki takes the worlds best airport award for 2016

And in these we are also at the top of the world

Finland has the third most space per person in Europe.

Eurostat, Population density, persons per km

Finns drink most coffee per person in the world.

International Coffee Organization, Coffee Trade Statistics

Finns drink the most milk per person in the world.

Dairy Nutrition Council, Maidon kulutus maailmalla 2015 (Milk consumption in the world in 2015)

Finland has the most Summer Olympics medals per capita.

Medals per Capita, Total Medals per Capita: All Time (Summer)

Finnish adults' English skills are the sixth best in a comparison of 80 countries.

Education First (EF), EF English Proficiency Index

The Finnish passport has the third most influence in the world.

Passport Index, Global Passport Power Rank 2018

Finland has the second most islands in the world.

WorldAtlas, Which Country Has the Most Islands?

Finland has the most heavy metal bands per inhabitant in the world.

Big Think, A World Map of Heavy Metal Density
Epstein Hebrew Academy will hold a 24-hour online crowd-funding campaign through the website Charidy.com, and donations will be quadruple-matched. Epsteins Chanukkah Charidy Campaign (online at www.charidy.com/eha) begins at 4 p.m. Dec. 4 and the schools goal is to raise $400,000.

This is the schools first online crowd-funding campaign, and Epstein has secured benefactors who will allow donations to have four times the impact through a quadruple match.

We are excited to partner with Charidy.com, the premiere crowd-funding source for the Jewish world, to help us reach the broader St. Louis community, family and alumni, said Rabbi Yaakov Green, EHA Head of School. Monies raised from campaign will make it possible for every student to attend, regardless of their financial situation and enable continued investments in our curriculum.

EHA Fundraising Campaign Chair Caroline Goldenberg stressed the importance of supporting Jewish education.

Jewish education is a critical component to the strength of our Jewish community. I look forward to parents, friends and students of EHA coming together on Dec. 5th.

Dr. Mark Friedman, a parent at EHA, encouraged the wider Jewish community to participate.

Just as I give to my medical school to ensure great doctors continue to fill our hospitals, I encourage all Jews to give to EHA, supporting the next generation of steadfast, commitment and knowledgeable Jewish leaders for years to come.

The campaign will be live at Charidy.com/EHA beginning at 4 p.m. on Dec. 4 for a 24-hour window.
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.
Christmas started in style at Ocean Village this week, with a visit by Santa Claus on Tuesday evening accompanied by Disney Princess Cinderella, Star of PJ Masks and Catboy and his friendly elf for the ceremony to switch on the blue and white Christmas lights.

Music from Adele look-and-sound-alike Nikki Rae and the entire Prior Park School Choir, delighted the crowds, and visits to Santa's Grotto, which is in O'Reilly's this year, raised funds for Research into Childhood Cancer. Entry to the Grotto is 5, and appointments can be booked with Santa by phoning 200 400 48 .
The Spanish cancer association AECC (Asociacion Espanola Contra el Cancer) has launched a new initiative to extend its services to the international community on the Costa del Sol.

AECC'S FREE SERVICES Social attention. Social worker. Psychological therapy. Individual and group, both for the cancer victim and for their family. Physiotherapy. Prevention and rehabilitation of Lymph oedema for women affected by breast cancer. Management of orthopaedic material. Pressure mattresses, articulated beds, wheelchairs, etc. Diverse workshops for cancer patients and their family members. Handcrafts and DIY; keep fit class; sewing class; dance; emotions workshops; healthy eating workshops; oncology makeup and skin care. uSmoking. A group helps smokers overcome their addiction to tobacco. uLaringectomised unit. Patients' group. uSchool campaigns. Prevention for a healthy life. uNutrition programme. Help with healthy eating. uAccommodation. Residential flats are available for children and adults going through treatment and their families. uActivities. Gala dinner parties; gastronomic events; walks; talks and conferences; music events; charity markets; Christmas events - charity nativity scene, wrapping presents, Christmas market. uHelpline. 658 946 903 How to volunteer : The Spanish Association against Cancer in Fuengirola and Mijas is looking for independent people with ideas and the desire to carry out volunteer work in the Pink Ladies with the full support of the AECC. Anyone interested in becoming a Pink Lady or Pink Panther is invited to contact the AECC on 658946903.

On Tuesday the town hall offices in La Cala de Mijas hosted the launch of the AECC Pink Ladies, a group of volunteers of different nationalities who will help convey the work and help provided by the association to residents on the Costa del Sol who may not speak Spanish.

The Pink Ladies (and Pink Panthers - the gentlemen) speak a variety of languages and are trained to carry out the already multiple services that the AECC offers to cancer patients and their families.

The new cancer support group has been set up by the Fuengirola and Mijas branch of the AECC, whose president, Paula Casas Biedma, attended Tuesday's launch, along with the Malaga provincial chairman of the association, Pedro Gonzalez.

They were accompanied by the Mijas councillor for Foreign Residents, Roy Perez, the head of the Foreigners Department, Anette Skou and Health councillor Maria Carmen Gonzalez, along with their staff and the new volunteers.

Having only just got off the ground, the new group is still looking for volunteers, who speak English, Scandinavian languages, French, German, Arabic or Russian, as well as any other languages spoken by international residents on the Costa del Sol. They stress there is no requirement to speak Spanish; the group is formed by foreigners to help foreigners.

"Our volunteers carry out the type of work that they enjoy doing," said Paula Casas. "What are you good at? What do you enjoy doing? Well that's the type of work you can carry out at our association," she added, stressing that the association is like "one big family".

The Pink Ladies are also looking for "testimonial volunteers", people who have been through cancer themselves. A period of training is provided to enable these survivors to offer a positive view of their experience to others who are in the initial stages of the same cancer, serving as an example, and offering and emotional support, all in the patient's own language.

Home help

The Pink Ladies are also setting up a home help group. These volunteers visit the sick person and their family in their homes and do whatever jobs are necessary while they are there, as well as providing company. Volunteers are also required to help transport patients to and from hospital for appointments.

Finding a job that suits a volunteer doesn't stop there. The new group is keen to accommodate people with a variety of skills who can organise charity events, help with paperwork, or work in the AECC charity shop.

One of the main reasons for setting up the Pink Ladies in this area is that many foreign residents on the Costa del Sol are not familiar with the association and unaware of the help available.

The volunteers will also be involved therefore in awareness campaigns to help prevent cancer and at the same time raise funds for the association.

"There are a lot of people in need of our services, but it is essential that we have foreign volunteers. It doesn't cost them anything, as we don't make our volunteers become members of the association," explained Paula, who has been a volunteer in the AECC for nearly 30 years.

"It breaks my heart when we are contacted by a foreigner with cancer and all they want is someone to talk to in their mother tongue and we are not able to help," added Paula. "With the Pink Ladies this will change," she said.
A British man with an arrest warrant against him in connection with the death of a man outside a bar in Fuengirola in August, was arrested as he got off a plane at Malaga airport last Friday.

related news Hunt on for British man who allegedly fatally punched a man and returned to the UK

The 45-year-old Briton has been questioned about the incident which caused the death of 65-year-old Mario Sauco.

Witnesses said that the British man punched Sauco to the ground, causing him to hit his head on the pavement. The assailant then apparently tried to help Sauco up before fleeing. The injured man spent ten days in a coma before he died in hospital.

The suspect has been released until a further court appearance.
In the early hours of 29 December 1993, a baby in a hurry to be born brought forward the opening of the Costa del Sol Hospital in Marbella. The new facility was not due to receive its first patients until later that day, but when a local woman, Belen Ortiz, whose waters had broken, drove past with her husband on their way to Malaga and saw lights on, they decided to stop and see if someone there could help.

related news Work to complete the hospital extension is expected to cost around 40 million euros

The surprised staff set to work and Nuria, the baby, "christened" the hospital which at the end of this year reaches its 25th anniversary.

Later that day, the hospital opened its doors officially, at the allotted time. There was no ribbon-cutting, just a guided tour for the media given by the then hospital director, Jose Maria Bonet, and Francisco Cano Bueso, the provincial Health delegate.

Since then the hospital has continued to evolve to adapt to the needs of the fluctuating population of the western Costa del Sol. Its unique catchment area has meant that from the offset, a large proportion of patients were foreign. Now 25 per cent of the annual patient total is of a nationality other than Spanish.

From day one a group of volunteers was there to deal with the problems the language barrier poses for foreign patients. Coinciding with the opening of the hospital, journalist, volunteer and fundraiser Marion Winter set up a small group of volunteer interpreters.

The language barrier

"I had been working at the Universitario hospital in Malaga for five years and I approached the newly appointed director of the Costa del Sol before it was finished," said Marion whose proposal was accepted and she had her volunteers ready for the opening day.

Now, 25 years on, the group has grown and continues to help make communication between patients and hospital staff less stressful. Three years ago the interpreters set up an association, AVICS, presided over by volunteer Vicki Rhodes. Now coordinator Monica Pons organises the shifts for 19 volunteers, who among them speak English, French, German, Dutch, Arabic, Polish, Swedish and Danish, among other languages.

Recently the hospital has also set up a video interpreting service for sign language to help communication with deaf patients.

Stunted growth

The hospital has received numerous accolades over the years, from both public and private organisations, and has grown in innovation and technology. Its aspirations to grow physically, however, were truncated almost a decade ago when work on the new extension came to a standstill.

The contractors had accepted the job in exchange for the right to run the new underground car park. In 2010 the council objected to users having to pay to park at the hospital and refused to issue a licence. The political and legal dispute was to go on for years. Meanwhile, hospital staff and patients have been coming and going in the shadow of the skeleton of an unfinished extension building.

A new chapter in the long saga was written just this week, however, when the Junta de Andalucia announced it will come to the rescue with public funds to finish the project.

Fluctuating numbers

Over the last 25 years patient figures have increased along with the population, while activity at the hospital has also varied with the country's economic situation. Growth slowed in the years of the financial crisis and picked up speed again in 2014 and 2015.

The average daily total of emergency cases was at 110 in 1994 and reached a maximum of 358.7 in 2007. From then it started to fall to 293 in 2012. Last year the daily average number of cases in accident and emergency was 325.

In 1994 there were 5,892 admissions. This figure hit a peak of 19,201 in 2008 and last year it was at 18,111. The average bed occupation figure was 84% in 2006. Last year this was back down to 65%, only just slightly higher than the initial figure of 64.5% in 1994.

The increase in the local population is best reflected in the outpatient figures. In 1994, a total of 23,196 visited a specialist as outpatients. Since 2014 this figure has remained steady at around 246,000.

"This hospital has continued to evolve and is in good health," said Torcuato Romero, the current director of the Costa del Sol Health Agency (which includes the Hospital Costa del Sol, the Hospital de Alta Resolucion in Benalmadena, which opened in 2008, and the CARE centre in Mijas, open since 2005).

"We have adapted to society's new circumstances and problems, and we have done that with a team of dedicated professionals who feel proud of being here and taking part in a common project," said Romero.

The Costa del Sol's accolades have come on a local, national and international level. This was the first hospital in Spain to be accredited by the Joint Commission International system in 1999, and in 2017, it received the 'Best in Class' distinction as the best hospital in the country. This year the Costa del Sol was runner-up in the 'Best in Class' hospital category and was singled out as the hospital with the 'Best Service' in the Internal Medicine section.

"One of the biggest achievements of this team is that we continue to take on new challenges, always with the patient at the centre of every decision. The evolution of the hospital has shown that we are not scared of innovation," said Maria Luisa Hortas, now the director of the clinical laboratory, who has worked at the hospital for the last 20 years.

Francisco Gutierrez was among the first professionals brought in to help set up the hospital. "I came in to help them set up and I stayed and now I've been here 25 years," the 54-year-old says with pride. He has fond memories of the hospital's early days. "This was something very different from what this area had before. It was much needed," he said.
Thursday 6 December will mark the 40th anniversary of the day Spaniards voted for democracy and ended almost 40 years of dictatorial rule. Constitution Day is a public holiday, although it is not celebrated with the same panache afforded to other Andalusian celebrations.

However, 6 December is also Finland's Day of Independence and Finns along the coast will come together in Torremolinos to celebrate the declaration of independence from Russia in 1917. A celebration will be held in the Palacio de Congresos and will start with the traditional raising of the flag. This will be followed by an evangelical-Lutheran service at midday. The main celebrations will begin at 2pm and will be attended by the consul of the Finnish Embassy in Madrid.
Torrox's annual Dia de las Migas, which is held on the last Sunday before Christmas every year, has been plagued with political controversy ahead of this year's event.

The town's cleaning company has threatened to strike over salary and working hours during the weekend of 15 and 16 December, coinciding with the fiesta.

In addition to the strike, opposition councillors and some residents have demanded that the poster advertising the day be taken down as they say two of the characters featured on the image resemble the mayor of Torrox, Oscar Medina and president of Malaga's Diputacion, Elias Bendodo, both of the PP political party.

The opposition argues that it has been used as a political message ahead ofthe regional Junta de Andalucia elections in December.
Eight years after work on the Costa del Sol hospital extension came to a standstill and a long court dispute commenced, the Junta de Andalucia has announced that is to make public funds available to finish the project.

related news A quarter of a century watching over the health of the Costa del Sol

It was in 2010 when the firm with the contract to build the extension stopped work after not obtaining municipal permission to build a car park.

The contractor, a subsidiary of Seville firm Abengoa, then took the authorities to court for loss in projected profits as it was through the running of the underground parking facility that it planned to finance the work.

The Junta in turn started legal proceedings against the builders, who meanwhile filed for bankruptcy and went into administration.

Now the regional government, at its last cabinet meeting before this Sunday's elections, has given the green light to releasing a sum of 12 million euros to terminate the original contract and compensate the construction firm. The sum, according to the Junta, corresponds to the value of the completed work, as stated in the conditions of the original contract.

Having severed all its ties with the original contractors, the Junta will then be free to put a new contract to complete the work out to tender.

The original project was due to increase the size of the hospital by 70 per cent, giving it an extra 3,100 square metres for outpatient surgeries, 1,380 square metres for inpatient wards and an extra 888 square metres for operating theatres.

Now new plans will have to be drawn up. The deputy minister for Health at the Junta, Maria Isabel Baena, in Marbella on Wednesday, said that the new plans, expected to cost a million euros to draw up, would take into account the existing premises and the current needs of the hospital.

"Not only are the old plans, obsolete, but medicine advances at a rate of knots and the challenges this hospital has ahead of it mean that we have to revise the extension plan so that we can take a qualitative and quantitative step forward. We are going to bring in new services," said Baena.

The deputy minister did not want to offer a start date for the work, given the administrative process ahead, however she did estimate that the project will cost the Junta de Andalucia around 40 million euros.

The entire scheme was expected to cost some 48.5 million euros, of which around half was spent.
A father or mother who has custody of children will lose the right to live in the couple's family home when they start to share with a new, stable partner. The new legal decision from the Supreme Court says that the other parent would have the right to ask a court to annul part of the divorce settlement so the house can be sold or another arrangement made once a new partner has moved in.

The ruling applies to those situations where the former couple have children and a divorce settlement that contains shared assets from the marriage. The association of family lawyers in Spain praised the decision for "putting an end to many unfair situations", although some legal experts said it could be hard to prove when a new partner was living in a property full-time.

The decision by the top court was made after an appeal of a case in Valladolid that was sentenced locally earlier this year. Here a man complained that he was still paying for half the mortgage of the former family home despite a new partner living there.

Experts said it could be hard to prove when a new partner has moved in permanently

The court pointed out that the loss of the right can only occur when the new partnership is stable and stressed that it wasn't questioning somebody's right to carry on with their life, but rather that it shouldn't be done at the expense of somebody else. It added that the same logic was being applied as in other changes made to divorce settlements when a third party became involved.

The judgment states that there is a "real possibility to stay in the property -for the children- if the mother acquires half of it or if it is sold and another property is bought."

The ex-wife of the man who brought the original case said this week that after losing the house she would have to ask for an increase in maintenance in any case from her former husband.
Greek companies plead guilty to illegally discharging oil in US waters

In a federal court in Beaumont, Texas, two Greek shipping companies, Avin International, and Nicos IV Special Maritime Enterprises, pleaded guilty this week to charges stemming from several discharges of oil into Texan waters.

According to the US Department of Justice, the spills emanated from the 2002-built MR Nicos IV. Avin International was the operator and Nicos IV Special Maritime Enterprises was the owner of the MR - a Greek-flagged vessel. The MRs Master, Rafail-Thomas Tsoumakos, and the vessels Chief Officer, Alexios Thomopoulos, also pleaded guilty to making material false statements to members of the US Coast Guard during the investigation into the discharges. Both companies pleaded guilty to one count of obstruction of an agency proceeding, as well as one count of failure to report discharge of oil under the US Clean Water Act, and three counts of negligent discharge of oil under the Clean Water Act. Under a plea agreement, the companies will pay a $4 mill criminal fine and serve a four-year term of probation, during which vessels operated by the companies will be required to implement an environmental compliance plan, including inspections by an independent auditor. Tsoumakos and Thomopoulos both pleaded guilty to one count of making a material false statement and face up to five years in prison when sentenced, a date for which had not been set by the end of this week. The international ports of Houston and Port Arthur are no ones dumping ground, said Assistant Attorney General Jeffrey Bossert Clark for the US Justice Departments Environment and Natural Resources Division. Vessel operators coming to the US must not foul American waterways. Those who knowingly discharge their waste and lie to the Coast Guard to dodge their legal responsibilities under federal law are on notice that our investigators and prosecutors stand ready to hold them accountable. We take the violation of our environmental protection laws seriously, said US Attorney Joseph D Brown for the Eastern District of Texas. We expect shipping and oil companies to do the same. They can do terrible damage to our coastlines and wildlife, and we all have to make sure that does not happen. The Coast Guard Investigative Service will continue to vigorously investigate and hold accountable individuals and corporations who illegally discharge pollutants into the marine environment, said Brian Jeanfreau, Special Agent-In-Charge of the USCGs Investigative Service, Gulf Region. According to documents filed in court, the Nicos IV was equipped with a segregated ballast system, a connected series of tanks used to control the trim and list of the vessel by taking on or discharging water, the latter involving an operation called de-ballasting. At some point prior to 6th July, 2017, the MRs ballast system became contaminated with oil and that oil was discharged twice from the vessel into the Port of Houston on 6th and 7th July, 2017, during de-ballasting operations. Both Tsoumakos and Thomopoulos were informed of the discharges. Tsoumakos failed to report the discharges as required under the Clean Water Act. Neither discharge was recorded in the vessels oil record book, as required under MARPOL and the Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships. After leaving Houston, en route to Port Arthur, Texas, the deck crew was instructed to open the ballast tanks, and oil was observed in several of the tanks. After arriving in Port Arthur, additional oil began bubbling up next to the vessel, causing a report to the USCG. During the ensuing investigation, both Tsoumakos and Thomopoulos lied to the USCG, stating, among other things, that they had not been aware of the oil in the ballast system until after the discharge in Port Arthur, and that they believed that the oil in the ballast tanks had entered them when the vessel took on ballast water in Port Arthur.




Alaska hit by powerful earthquake, buildings damaged



Los Angeles, Nov 30 (AFP) Nov 30, 2018



A powerful earthquake rocked Anchorage on Friday, violently shaking homes and businesses, sending scared residents into the streets and damaging buildings in Alaska's largest city.

The 7.0-magnitude quake struck at 8:29 am local time (1729 GMT), in the middle of the school run and as workers were heading out for the day.

The US Geological Survey said the epicenter was about eight miles (13 kilometers) north of Anchorage at a depth of 25 miles.

Police in the city of around 300,000 said it had caused "major infrastructure damage."

"Many homes and buildings are damaged," the police department said in a statement. "Many roads and bridges are closed. Stay off the roads if you don't need to drive."

There were no immediate reports of significant injuries.

A tsunami warning was issued for the Cook Inlet and the Kenai Peninsula following the massive quake but was quickly lifted.

Residents posted pictures and videos to Twitter of damage to their homes and stores -- belongings knocked off of shelves, broken windows and pictures scattered on the floor.

Local CBS affiliate KTVA posted a video of a room shaking back and forth with panels falling from the ceiling and lights flickering on and off as people hid under desks.

"Everyone just sprinted out of the coffee shop I was at in Anchorage in the middle of a huge earthquake," Nat Herz, a reporter with news portal Alaska's Energy Desk, posted on Twitter.

"Car alarms going off, etc. But not seeing any serious damage here aside from random stuff falling over. People going back to computers, meetings," he added.

Alaska Senator Lisa Murkowski said the authorities were worried about access to power following the quake.

"It's winter. It's cold. It's dark. And we're not sure what the power situation is," Murkowski said. "We're worried about breaks in gas lines."



- University, airport closed -



ENSTAR Natural Gas company asked residents to beware of gas leaks while the main water company said there had been water main breaks.

Municipal Light & Power warned of possible downed power lines and said it was seeking to restore electricity to affected customers.

About two and a half hours after the quake, Municipal Light & Power said approximately 7,000-10,000 customers were still without power.

The company said there was no damage to electricity generation infrastructure.

The University of Alaska announced it was closing for the day. "All non-essential personnel should go home," it said in a tweet.

Anchorage airport temporarily halted incoming and outgoing flights after the air control tower was evacuated.

In an audio recording posted online, an air traffic controller could be heard telling a FedEx cargo plane to go around -- abort its landing -- as the quake hit.

A video posted to Twitter showed a buckled road on a highway exit ramp leading to the airport and a stranded car.

The Anchorage School District told parents to come pick up their children "when you feel it is safe to do so."

The Trans Alaska Pipeline, one of the longest crude oil pipelines in the world, was shut down as a precautionary measure so crews could inspect the system.

White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said President Donald Trump had been briefed about the quake and was monitoring damage reports.

"To the Great people of Alaska. You have been hit hard by a 'big one,'" Trump tweeted. "Your Federal Government will spare no expense. God Bless you ALL!"

Alaska was hit by a 9.2 magnitude earthquake in March 1964, the strongest ever recorded in North America, which left 139 people dead.
It's been about 37 years since the AIDS epidemic spread fear and havoc among women, men who have sex with men (MSM), transgender folks, and substance users in the United States. Many of us who are younger don't know what those days were like. But World AIDS Day should be a time when we remember those we have lost to the virus. This year, I spoke with some of the people in my hometown of Los Angeles who fought for the lives of our communities.

June 5, 1981 marked the beginning of the AIDS crisis in Los Angeles. Five gay men all shared common symptoms -- Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia, cytomegalovirus infection, and candidal mucosal infection -- as their immune systems began to deteriorate. By 1982, this mysterious plague would claim the lives of hundreds of people in the U.S. alone. It wasn't until the groundbreaking work of Michael Gottlieb, M.D., and the late Joel Weisman, D.O., that we had an appropriate name for this disease -- acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS). The World Health Organization now asserts that more than 70 million people have contracted HIV globally, and about 35 million have died.

This era was a challenging time; people would watch their lovers and friends hold their last breath of hope. According to Richard Zaldivar, founder and executive director of The Wall Las Memorias Project, the AIDS epidemic was hyper-visible in major cities, like Los Angeles and San Francisco.

"What I remember in the '80s was gay men living in fear," he said. "I think the most telling experience I had was traveling to San Francisco. I was there alone. I wanted to get a feel for what it was like to be openly gay."

Zaldivar, who was not out at the time, went on to recall "walking into a bar in Castro Street. I thought it was going to be robust and popular, but I only saw about nine men. Their energy level was very down, like they were depressed. It was a scary time. That to me was AIDS in the 1980s."

Zaldivar worked in local politics in Los Angeles back in the late 1980s. He was not out about his sexuality, which is why he would make trips by himself to San Francisco to experience an intimate connection with what the city had to offer. The conversation between HIV and homosexuality -- not to mention the denial of bisexuality within the gay community -- was out of the picture.

"We also have to go back to that period of time and chat about homosexuality being illegal," he said. "We were dealing with a virus no one knew about, and on top of that, it was not legal to be gay. Times were different."

Artist and HIV activist David Wojnarowicz was appalled at the fact that the government could be so apathetic about the fact that people were dying from AIDS. "I want to throw up because we're supposed to quietly and politely make house in this killing machine called America," Wojnarowicz wrote. "I'm amazed we're not running amok in the streets, and that we can still be capable of gestures of loving after lifetimes of all this."

Wojnarowicz's provocative memoir, Close to the Knives, illustrates the madness that took place during the early AIDS epidemic. Doctors had no clue what was going on, and to top that off, they were mistreating patients by neglecting them, keeping them quarantined, and at one point even "injecting AIDS patients with human feces," as one doctor in Long Island was caught doing. Wojnarowicz's powerful depiction of the AIDS crisis reads as a manifesto and reminds people of the human condition. Art, activism, and scholarship were coming together to bring about much-needed change and awareness.

Related: Early Latinx AIDS Activism Holds Lessons for Today

"When I first heard about [AIDS], it was on the news -- they were calling it GRID (gay-related immune deficiency)," shared Salvador Fuentes, with Ventura County HIV/AIDS Advisory Committee in California. "This was eye-opening. I already knew I was gay and it was controversial. The epidemic wasn't visible, other than what I saw. But people were quietly talking about it at gay bars and other safe spaces."

Fuentes was diagnosed with AIDS in 1987; back then, doctors called it ARC (AIDS-related complex). He witnessed the death of close friends who had terrible side effects from AZT, which caused nausea, mood swings, and cramping.

"AZT only borrowed time," he said. "It did more harm than good  We were essentially lab rats."

Leaders such as Zaldivar took on the responsibility to fund HIV work at a time when elected officials were too cowardly to voice the need themselves.

Zaldivar's efforts to get Los Angeles County funding for HIV work was a success, with the help of a state assembly member and board members from The Wall Las Memorias Project, which consisted of mothers from the community, as well as Catholic priests. The Wall Las Memorias was founded in 1993, and although they received much pushback from elected officials and the Sierra Club, they were able to build an AIDS memorial in the Lincoln Heights neighborhood. Elected officials were scared of supporting such a controversial subject, fearing conservative Latinx voters would not re-elect them for another term. Meanwhile, the Sierra Club members at the time thought that the AIDS Memorial Project would be a conflict of interest with the city's Department of Recreation and Parks regulations.

Despite these hurdles, The Wall Las Memorias now celebrates their 25th Annual Noche de Las Memorias, a tradition that started on December 1, 1993. This vigil honors the people we have lost to AIDS and takes place in Lincoln Heights, where they have the AIDS monument. Zaldivar noted that it took the work of individuals to build the network of support for people living with HIV long before it became a popular cause to champion for celebrities and elected officials.

"We weren't waiting for politicians to make decisions, we were going to the community about this," said Zaldivar. "Nobody wanted to talk about HIV/AIDS. Nobody wanted to deal with this. So we did it."
Every December starts with World AIDS Day, and the month both ends the year and includes my birthday and that of my daughter. That makes it even more of a time to reflect on where I've been, what the past year has entailed, and where I'm heading as a person dedicated to the HIV movement, accountability, and justice.

When I reflect on 2018, what I feel most of all is a tenuous and troubled balance between despair and love.

Most days, I've been waking up queasy with distress over the persecution of immigrants, transgender people, and people of color in the United States and worldwide, and the mounting evidence that the Earth, as we've thought of it, is far from eternal.

A few days ago, despair was all I could see, for hours. I felt like all my ancestors were screaming GET OUT GET OUT GET OUT. It took all I had to get the merest sense of being in the here and now with my feet on the ground.

I woke up this morning with a sense of love. I'm not sure why. But if I've learned anything in the past two years, it's that moments of love and connection are precious and not to be turned away.

And even though it's a few hours later now, and the despair is creeping back in, I'll take this as my cue to try to stay focused on that which sustains and inspires me.

Moving Into a Political Home

If you are feeling isolated or adrift, I can suggest just one thing to do in the coming year, if you have not done so already -- find a political home.

In times when it can be easy to feel isolated, having a political home means I have a place to turn to when I'm struggling to understand, "What can I do?" A political home allows shared values to be put into action and amplified through collective efforts.

This year, I affirmed that Positive Women's Network of the USA (PWN) is my political home in the HIV movement. For over a decade, I have seen PWN practice a politics of fierce love with integrity and courage, and I am honored to support this work.

This means that I will be working toward the achievement of PWN's policy agenda and supporting its leaders and staff in whatever ways I can.

I am also committed to the path laid out by PWN leaders and comrades in A Declaration of Liberation: Building a Racially Just and Strategic Domestic HIV Movement by HIV Racial Justice Now, which affirms that "any response to the impact of HIV must be rooted in a racial justice framework."

Many Ways to Be Complicit

My dedication to organized efforts and accountability in the HIV movement comes, in part, from my understanding that state violence comes in many forms, and that there are many ways to be complicit.

My grandparents were able to come to the United States from Amsterdam, Holland in 1939 because my grandfather worked for an international company and the borders had not yet been, for the most part, sealed against the Jews who later sought to flee. But my grandmother's brother, as a young man, went on to become general secretary at the Joodse Raad -- the Jewish council of businessmen set up by the Nazis during their occupation.

In some cases, members of these councils were able to use their privilege and access to smuggle kids out of the country or do other things to try to mitigate the harm of fascist genocide. I don't know much of anything about my grand-uncle, or what he was or wasn't able to do. I do know that he, along with the rest of the Judenraat and the vast majority of my family, was ultimately sent off to the camps and killed.

I've spent my whole life wondering what I would have done in that setting -- or in any of the myriad times of mass violence against Jews, like the pogroms that likely affected the other half of my lineage in Eastern Europe and sparked their flight to the U.S. generations before my father's side -- if I had the fortune to survive for any length of time.

The HIV Entry Ban is Back

So, perhaps that's why I do not feel at all at home in the machinations of national and international elite policy circles that continue to justify the siting of AIDS 2020, a multimillion-dollar international AIDS conference, in the United States during a time of violence and rampant persecution.

The International AIDS Society has said it will move or cancel the conference if the U.S. reinstates a ban on the entry of people living with HIV. But here's the thing: There's no need for the Trump administration to reinstate a politically controversial HIV entry ban in name, if they can just do it in practice. To pretend otherwise is naive, indulgent, and dangerous.

Shamefully, the U.S. already has a de facto ban against the entry of many people living with HIV, thanks to January's revision of practices at consulate offices that grant or deny visas to those with expensive health conditions, those who aren't rich, and a myriad of other reasons for denying entry that can be cited besides HIV status. And there's also the longstanding ban on entry to people who have used drugs or done sex work, which kept people out even during the Obama administration when Washington, D.C. was home for AIDS 2012.

The lack of recognition of this all-but-ban is dispiriting. It is despair-inducing, not just because it feels disingenuous and sad. It also puts me in mind of other ways I've seen so many people of privilege act as if Trump-era right-wing leaders and followers are bigoted and stupid, rather than well-organized, strategic, and powerful.

Just because the work of the Trump administration and allies results in chaos doesn't mean it's not intentional. For example, their work to erase any rights or dignity of trans people is not newly minted or unprecedented. It's been outlined in the reports and plans of groups like the Family Research Council for a very long time. The apparent chaos keeps us scattered, camouflages the intent, and makes it harder to see the full impact.

Seeking to keep despair at bay for just a little while, I won't go much further into it at this point. I will, though, share just two recent stories that should be sobering:

An independent autopsy report verified that the murder of Roxsana Hernandez, the Honduran trans refugee-status-seeker who was living with HIV, included physical assault as well as denial of water and medical care.

Fewer than half of the Kenyan delegates to a recent United Nations meeting were able to secure visas to participate.

But here is something to love: Gatherings for people of conscience in the HIV movement are taking shape, as those long pushed aside by the International AIDS Society and other elite players show the rest of us what needs to happen. Soon we will hear what the global HIV community will provide as alternatives to this misguided event. I hope you will join me in supporting them and repudiating the elite strategies that slam doors instead of opening them.

Why We Fight

For many years, I've looked to the words of HIV activist Vito Russo in his 1988 Why We Fight speech as a grounding document. I invite you to look at this section of it today, but substitute living as an undocumented immigrant or living as a trans woman of color instead of living with AIDS:

Living with AIDS is like living through a war which is happening only for those people who happen to be in the trenches. Every time a shell explodes, you look around and you discover that you've lost more of your friends, but nobody else notices. It isn't happening to them. They're walking the streets as though we weren't living through some sort of nightmare. And only you can hear the screams of the people who are dying and their cries for help. No one else seems to be noticing. And it's worse than a war, because during a war people are united in a shared experience. This war has not united us, it's divided us. It's separated those of us with AIDS and those of us who fight for people with AIDS from the rest of the population.

How can those of us who aren't directly affected by the current exploding shells not turn away, not be divided? I look to PWN and other groups that live in the intersections between and among our communities for the way forward.

Recently, PWN executive director Naina Khanna posted these thoughts on Facebook, which resonate for me as a counterpart to Russo's words from 30 years ago:

It can be hard to see outside of capitalism. But don't be confused. We don't actually need to compete for constituents, resources, attention. Scarcity and competition are not necessary conditions, but we have been taught that they are. We ourselves have the power to change the way resources are allocated and shared. It's possible to shift our relationship to the earth and to each other through conscious decisions to do that, and a commitment to practice into abundance, cooperation, alignment, and collaboration rather than competition. This applies to the non-profit industrial complex & organizing spaces just as much as it applies to use of natural resources.

May this World AIDS Day flow into a new year that finds you safe in a home that sees and values you. And may we work together to join in power to bring the shifts we need for all of us to survive.
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Linkedin Armida Salsiah Alisjahbana and Natalia Kanem (The Jakarta Post) Bangkok  Fri, November 30, 2018 09:17 1091 882ab4bc56dbda08a069b30877e8adc6 3 Opinion Asia-Pacific,Bangkok,Sustainable-Development-Goals Free

Ministers and senior policymakers across the Asia and the Pacific are gathered in Bangkok this week to focus on population dynamics at a crucial time for the region. Their goal: to keep people and rights at the heart of the regions push for sustainable development. They will be considering how successful we have been in balancing economic growth with social imperatives, underpinned by rights and choices for all as enshrined in the landmark Program of Action stemming from the 1994 International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD).



In the program, diverse views on population, gender equality, sexual and reproductive health, and sustainable development merged into a remarkable global consensus that placed individual dignity and human rights at the heart of development.



Truly revolutionary at the time, the ICPD remains all the more urgent and relevant a quarter-century later, in this era of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Without the ICPD we would not have the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG); indeed they go hand in hand. The ICPD is a dedicated vehicle through which we can  and will  address, achieve and fulfill the SDGs.



How well have we responded to trends such as population ageing and international migration? How successful have we been in ensuring optimal sexual and reproductive health and reproductive rights for all, including the right to choose when or whether to get married, when or whether to have children, and how many? How well have we done in strengthening gender equality and womens empowerment, and upholding the rights of the most vulnerable among us? Where should our efforts be refocused to leave no one behind?



Asia and the Pacific remains the engine of global growth and is at the forefront of the global fight against poverty. It is now home to half the worlds middle class. The share of the population living in poverty has dropped considerably although it is still unacceptably high. People are living, longer healthier lives. Rights-based family planning has contributed to considerable economic success and womens empowerment. And we are on track to achieve universal education by 2030.



Yet considerable injustices remain. On its current trajectory, the region will fall short of achieving the 2030 Agenda. In several areas we are heading in altogether the wrong direction. Inequalities within and between countries are widening. Some 1.2 billion people live in poverty of which 400 million live in extreme poverty. Lack of decent job opportunities and access to essential services are perpetuating injustice across generations.



At the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) and the UN Population Fund (UNFPA), we are keen to shine the spotlight on three key issues where regional commitment is vital.



First, we need to respond to the unprecedented population changes unfolding across the Asia-Pacific. Many countries are facing a rapidly ageing population. The proportion of people above the age of 60 is expected to more than double by 2050. Effectively meeting the needs of an ageing society and ensuring healthy and productive lives must be a priority. This requires a life cycle approach  from pregnancy and childbirth, through adolescence and adulthood, to old age  ensuring that all people are allowed to fulfil their socioeconomic potential, underpinned by individual rights and choices.



Equally, there is a strong case for strengthening Asia-Pacifics response to international migration. Migrants can, when allowed, contribute significantly to development. However, migrants are vulnerable to exploitation and abuse. So, our ambition this week is to build further momentum in support of safe, orderly and regular migration to fully harness its development benefits.



Second, there is clear evidence the region must spend more on social protection, as well as on health care and education. Today, social protection is the preserve of a few, rather than a right for all. As a result, 60 percent of our population risks being trapped in vulnerability or pushed into poverty by sickness, disability, unemployment or old age, often underpinned by gender inequality.



The report Social Outlook for Asia and the Pacific: Poorly Protected, which ESCAP will publish later this week, sets out why expanding social protection is the most effective means of reducing poverty, strengthening rights and making vulnerable groups less exposed. Many women, migrants, older persons and rural communities would also benefit. Our evidence suggests it could even end extreme poverty in several countries by 2030.



Third, we need to invest in generating disaggregated data to tell us who is being left behind to ensure our response to population dynamics is targeted and credible. Availability of data on social and demographic issues lag far behind anything related to the economy. Millions of births remain unregistered, leading to the denial of many basic rights, particularly to women and girls.



Of the 43 countries that conducted a census between 2005 and 2014, only 16 have reliable data on international migration. With the 2020 round of censuses upon us, we will be redoubling our efforts to close these data gaps by strengthening new partnerships for data capacity and working with governments and other partners to translate data into policy and action.



The Midterm Review of the Asian and Pacific Ministerial Declaration on Population and Development as well as the Committee on Social Development provide the region with an opportunity to speak with one voice on population and development issues.



This weeks discussions will hopefully galvanize countries behind the ambition and vision that link ICPD and the SDGs and accelerate work to leave no one behind in Asia and the Pacific.

***

Armida Salsiah Alisjahbana is United Nations under-secretary-general and executive secretary of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP). Natalia Kanem is United Nations under-secretary-general and executive director of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA)

Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not reflect the official stance of The Jakarta Post.
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Linkedin Rita Widiadana (The Jakarta Post) Kigali, Rwanda  Fri, November 30, 2018

In mid-November, 3,700 family planning advocates and representatives of governments, United Nations agencies, civil society organizations, academia, celebrities and promising youth leaders gathered in Kigali, Rwanda, to attend the fifth International Conference on Family Planning (ICFP).



The conference from Nov. 12 to 15 featured best practices and innovations in family planning programs, and also saw the strengthening of political and funding commitments as well as the monitoring of progress in family planning ahead of 2020. In two years, world representatives aim to ensure that all women, no matter where they live, have access to lifesaving contraceptives  a program called the Family Planning 2020 Initiative ( FP2020 ).



Indonesia has always been regarded as one of the worlds best role models for family planning programs; others are eager to learn our lessons.



Unfortunately, no official delegates from Indonesia attended the conference  in this case, representatives from the National Population and Family Planning Agency (BKKBN) and the Health Ministry. Ironically, Indonesia hosted the last ICFP in 2016 in Bali, where President Joko Jokowi Widodo pledged his commitment to revitalize family development programs by increasing budgets and strengthening their legal foundation.



President Jokowi indeed followed up on his commitment by allocating more funding for family planning, said Jose Oying Rimon II, chair of ICFPs steering committee.



Rimon added that Indonesia had successfully revitalized its stagnant family planning program in the post-reform era, after health services declined with the introduction of decentralization since 1999.



In Kigali, one of Indonesias accomplishments was revealed in its report entitled FP2020: Catalyzing Collaboration, 2017-2018. The report shows that Indonesia is among the top countries regarding government expenditure on family planning with US$196 million allocated in 2016. The budget was increased to Rp 5.5 trillion in 2018.



Indonesia was among the 69 countries that agreed to work together with partners such as the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the UN Population Fund, the aid organizations of the United Kingdom and the United States (UKAID, USAID) to commit to the FP2020 Initiative during the Family Planning Summit in London in 2012.



Indonesia committed to achieving an additional 2.6 million users of modern contraceptive tools and to improving family planning services. The government also committed to allocate $1.6 billion to finance family planning programs between 2015 and 2019, with additional funding of around $1.7 billion annually to be allocated by regency and municipality administrations.



After five years, Indonesia increased its budget allocation for family planning programs from $65.9 million in 2006 to $316.2 million in 2017.



The government also strengthened family planning at the regional and village levels. Since regional autonomy was introduced, such programs have depended heavily on the political commitment of regents and mayors. BKKBN no longer plays a central role as it had in the past. However, regional heads have largely treated most social and welfare programs, including family planning, as additional charity programs, rather than sustainable and well-structured activities with measurable results.



To prove the tangible results to the people who elected them, infrastructure projects have largely been prioritized.



To help Indonesia achieved its commitment to the FP2020 Initiative and to revitalize family planning, international and local partners have implemented the Advance Family Planning (AFP) initiative.



Supported by the Johns Hopkins Center for Communication Program and the Cipta Foundation, AFP has brought together national and local government institutions, civil society groups, the private sector, professionals, religious and community leaders to support and to implement family planning.



Family planning is crucial to create a healthy and prosperous family and community [] the program will create a qualified workforce to develop our regency, said Cellica Nurrachadiana, regent of Karawang in West Java. She has received numerous national awards for innovative programs including inviting private sector actors to implement the Corporate Family Planning and Family Planning in Industrial Sites (Kampung KB Industri) programs.



AFP was piloted in 164 regencies and municipalities in 11 provinces including across Java, North Sumatra, West and East Nusa Tenggara, Maluku and sKalimantan.



Another striking success is the Family Planning Village program, or Kampung KB, that was first launched by Jokowi in Mertasinga village in Gunung Jati, Cirebon, West Java, in January 2016.



At first, most people including officials viewed Kampung KB as a place to distribute contraceptive tools, recalled Stefanus Salikin, head of the health office in Bengkayang, a far-flung regency bordering West Kalimantan and Malaysias Sarawak. He was citing past practices where the family planning program prioritized controversial population control targets instead of personal choices.



Kampung KB is where all community activities take place, integrating a broad range of family planning and development activities  providing family planning services, opening up economic opportunities, healthcare, education and nutrition as well as sanitation and agricultural activities, Salikin explained.



The government plans to establish 13,000 Kampung KB by next year, particularly in the most disadvantaged and remote places across Indonesia.



The new initiatives have drastically reversed the mindsets of bureaucrats and the public on the multiple benefits of family planning, beyond improving reproductive health and population control.



This is the end of the coercive and top-down family planning program of the New Order style. The present program emphasizes peoples rights and full participation as well as community driven activities, said Ardi Wijaya, 78, chief of Kampung KB Kamuning Asri in Kuningan regency, West Java.



These accomplishments are the fruit of years of hard work and the extraordinary efforts of local bureaucrats, open-minded religious and community leaders, civil society groups, midwives, doctors, advocates, field workers and vibrant youth communities. The strong support of international partners also play a crucial role in scaling up family planning programs.



But skipping global gatherings such as the Kigali event not only shows our governments lack of appreciation for the continuing support of international partners; more importantly it shows Indonesias failure to honor all devoted people across the archipelago who have made the countrys family planning a success story.

***

The writer co-authored Building a better future with planning: Cipta Foundation and AFP Advocacy Initiative at subnational levels in Indonesia and Development from villages: Family planning is key to the future: Lesson learned from JHCCP [Johns Hopkins Center for Communication Program] in Indonesia, with support from JHCCP and the Cipta Foundation.

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Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not reflect the official stance of The Jakarta Post.
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Linkedin Editorial Board (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Fri, November 30, 2018 07:06 1091 882ab4bc56dbda08a069b30877e83ccc 4 Editorial #Editorial,#LionAirJT610,#LionAir,KNKT,aviation-security,flight,flight-safety,Lion-Air,JT610 Free

The much-awaited answer to the question of what caused Lion Air flight JT610 to fall into the Java Sea last month, killing 189 people on board, looks to have arrived, but it appears to have caused confusion. The National Transportation Safety Committee (KNKT) said on Wednesday that its investigation concluded that the Boeing 737 MAX was not airworthy because of problems in its key instruments. On Thursday, however, it retracted its statement, saying the aircraft was airworthy because the problems had been fixed.



On Wednesday, Lion Air challenged the investigation results filing and families of the plane crash victims considered lawsuits against the low-cost airline and the United States aircraft maker Boeing following the KNKTs initial report.



Thursdays about-face highlights disagreement over safety standards among stakeholders of the countrys aviation industry. Nevertheless, surely the KNKTs preliminary findings related to the Lion Air tragedy justify the question about safety, particularly concerning the supervision mechanisms that apparently did not work properly in the countrys latest plane accident.



An accident, especially one that involves aircraft, never happens because of one single factor, but because of a number of reasons. Therefore, instead of laying the blame on Lion Air alone, the KNKT discoveries should launch a comprehensive review of the national air transportation safety standards just to make sure no more preventable accidents will occur. Safety is too valuable to compromise, or else our airline industry would lose international credibility and suffer.



In its investigation, the KNKT found that the maintenance log of the Lion Air flight had identified six problems on the plane since Oct. 26, including errors with its airspeed and altitude information displays. The log showed the planes angle-of-attack sensor, which defines the angle between the wing chord line and the flight path, had been replaced the day before the accident, but the problem persisted.



On the night before the crash, the planes stick shaker, which warns the pilot of an imminent stall, was active during a flight from Bali to Jakarta, but the pilots managed to land the craft safely. The same problem occurred right before the Oct. 29 flight that ended in misery 13 minutes after takeoff from Soekarno-Hatta International Airport.



The fact that the plane was cleared to fly despite the recurring problems in the safety equipment signals poor oversight, which is the governments responsibility. The KNKT was correct in recommending that Lion Air improve its safety culture, including by encouraging pilots to cancel a flight for safety reasons, but it will not help much if supervision does not work properly.



Government controls matter as they can help minimize accidents through enforcement of safety regulations. Strict controls should have prevented carriers, whether low-cost or full service, from experiencing many and repeated accidents. For the record, Lion Air registered at least 16 incidents between 2000 and 2018, far more than its regional competitors. More than just blaming one particular carrier, this fatal accident should trigger a holistic improvement of the national airline industry, the importance of which is expected to significantly increase in the years to come.
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Linkedin Inforial (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta, Indonesia  Fri, November 30, 2018 18:32 1091 882ab4bc56dbda08a069b30877ea656b 4 Inforial Free

The World Zakat Forum (WZF) is seeking to strengthen cooperation among global zakat management organizations to maintain public welfare.

The issue was adopted as a theme of the WZF International Conference 2018, which is to be held in Melaka, Malaysia, on Dec. 5 and 6. In attendance will be Indonesias National Development Planning Minister Bambang PS Brodjonegoro, Malaysias Religion Minister Mujahid Yusof Rawa and 31 speakers from 16 countries, including Britain, India, Nigeria, Bosnia-Herzegovina and South Africa. The global zakat activists are to give presentations to 300 participants from various countries.

The WZF secretary-general Bambang Sudibyo said the global zakat movement can play an important role by distributing assistance for those who are financially or non-financially incapable persons.

"The Islamic world has been recently facing complex problems and challenges internally and externally, including negative stereotypes that cause Muslims to be the victims of discrimination and pressure. Internally, many Muslims lack care for other underprivileged Muslims, he said.

As a matter of fact, many poor people are found in Muslim countries, weakening the position of those countries. It is worsened by their backwardness in education, science and technology and the weaker capacity of their human resources.

To address the problems, the zakat forum should become strategic capital for Muslim countries to set themselves free from their long-term dependence on the West or the North, which is the extension of the new colonization, he said.

The rise of the Muslim world should start from the success in solving the problems of its own people independently, establishing self-sufficiency among Muslim countries by strengthening the role of zakat as a socio-economic weapon in dealing with the capitalism and liberalism.

The use of zakat should have a strategic meaning in strengthening the ukhuwah (solidarity), collaboration, and solidarity among Muslim countries to reach common goals. Besides, the global zakat movement should support the basic aspects of humanity, which are health and education.

Various themes are to be discussed at the conference, including the framework for zakat regulations and institutions, the aim of zakat and sustainable development goals (SDGs), evaluation and measurement of zakat system, the contemporary fiqh-zakat and zakat cooperation among Muslim countries.

The WZF was established as a response to the need for a global zakat movement. During the WZF conference in Selangor, Kuala Lumpur, in 2007, Indonesia was appointed to host the first WZF conference. On Sept. 30, 2010, when the first WZF conference was held in Yogyakarta, the forum was formally set up. Initially, the forum was only attended by nine representatives from international zakat organizations in Indonesia, Malaysia, Qatar, Kuwait, Turkey, Britain, Bahrain, Jordan, Sudan and Saudi Arabia. During the first conference, KH Didin Hafidhuddin was appointed as the first secretary-general of the WZF until 2013. He was then replaced by Ahmad Juwaini until 2017, when Bambang Sudibyo was elected to the position.

The WZF is expected to become a platform to formulate effective solutions for the multi-dimensional problems of the Muslim world regarding the main essence of zakat. First, it should not be aimed at eradicating poverty and incapability alone, but should also be aimed at empowering Muslim people. Second, it should reduce the socio-economic problems among Muslim people. Third, it should bring about public welfare. Fourth, it should raise the influence of the Muslim world. Fifth, it should revitalize the dignity of Islam in various global aspects. (*)
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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Fri, November 30, 2018 10:34 1091 882ab4bc56dbda08a069b30877e90c76 1 Art & Culture OneBeat,fellowship,music,program Free

Music exchange program OneBeat 2019 is currently accepting applications.

Founded in 2012, OneBeat is an annual international music residency and cultural exchange initiative. It is sponsored by the State Departments Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs in the United States and produced by NGO Found Sound Nation.

This year, OneBeat is looking for musicians aged between 19 and 35 from 45 countries, including Indonesia, to apply for its 2019 program. The one-month program will be held next year.

Read also: Fellowship offers musicians chance to join month-long program in US

Participants will be flown to the US for an open residency where they are encouraged to write, produce and perform original music. They then go on tour, collaborate with local musicians and lead workshops.

They will also set out their plans for the future and develop music-driven social enterprise projects in their respective countries.

The application period ends on Dec. 21 and applicants will be notified of the review panels decision by the end of March. (iru/kes)
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Linkedin Eva Xiao (Agence France-Presse) Beijing  Fri, November 30, 2018 17:09 1091 882ab4bc56dbda08a069b30877ea26da 2 Science & Tech gene-editing,baby,China Free

A Chinese scientist who stoked criticism over his claim that he had created the world's first genetically-edited babies faced mounting pressure Thursday as China ordered a halt to his scientific activities and warned he may have broken the law.

China's National Health Commission has ordered an investigation into He Jiankui's experiment, which was condemned by the scientific community in China and abroad.

Chinese science and technology vice minister Xu Nanping said the "gene-edited babies incident as reported by media blatantly violated our country's relevant laws and regulations".

The claims were "shocking and unacceptable" and breached "the bottom line of morality and ethics that the academic community adheres to", he told CCTV.

The science and technology ministry "firmly opposes" the experiment and "has already demanded that the relevant organisation suspend the scientific activities of relevant personnel," Xu added.

The experiment, which was led by He, claims to have successfully altered the DNA of twin girls born a few weeks ago to prevent them from contracting HIV.

The scientist had told a packed biomedical conference in Hong Kong on Wednesday he was "proud" to have successfully altered the DNA of the twins.

But details of the experiment, which has not been independently verified, triggered an immediate backlash and He said the trial had been "paused".

He was supposed to speak at the conference again on Thursday, but he disappeared from the schedule.

David Baltimore, a Nobel laureate and chairman of the organising committee, told reporters it was He's decision not to attend.

Read also: Chinese scientist reveals second gene-altered pregnancy underway

'A bit crazy'

The founder of an HIV support group reported to be based in Beijing said Thursday that he regretted introducing families to He for the trial, according to Hong Kong media.

Bai Hua, the group's head, said he had introduced 50 families to He's team.

"In the beginning we did not understand what it was they were really doing. Actually right now my personal feeling is that they are a bit crazy," he told RTHK.

Bai added that he had spoken to two of the families involved in the trial and questioned whether the risks and ethical issues had been fully explained to them.

"The team all along emphasised that the chance of success was high, and that there were risks, but they were low," he told RTHK.

In Hong Kong, Organisers of the Second International Summit on Human Genome Editing denounced He's "unexpected and deeply disturbing" claim that human embryos had been edited and implanted, and called for closer supervision of the field at the conclusion of the conference Thursday.

"Even if the modifications are verified, the procedure was irresponsible and failed to conform with international norms," they said in a statement.

"Its flaws include an inadequate medical indication, a poorly designed study protocol, a failure to meet ethical standards for protecting the welfare of research subjects, and a lack of transparency in the development, review and conduct of clinical procedures," it added.

Read also: Genetics summit holds breath for Chinese baby-editing details

Life-long impact

Eight volunteer couples -- HIV-positive fathers and HIV-negative mothers -- signed up to He's trial, with one dropping out before it was put on hold.

Professor He said there had been "another potential pregnancy" involving a second couple, but it is unclear whether that pregnancy is still ongoing.

Experts warned that editing human embryos can create unintended mutations in other areas -- so-called "off-target effects" -- which can have an impact through the lifetime.

Southern University of Science and Technology distanced itself from He, saying he had been on unpaid leave since February and had "seriously violated academic ethics".

The Stanford-educated researcher said the twins' DNA was modified using CRISPR, a technique which allows scientists to remove and replace a strand with pinpoint precision.

Co-creator of the technology Jennifer Doudna said she felt "horrified" at hearing He's talk, adding she was deeply concerned for the people affected and questioned whether they really understood the procedure.

Summit organisers said germline genome editing could become "acceptable" in future if rigorous criteria are met, but that there are too many scientific and technical uncertainties to permit clinical trials at this stage.
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Linkedin Amal Belalloufi (Agence France-Presse) Algiers, Algeria  Fri, November 30, 2018 20:02 1091 882ab4bc56dbda08a069b30877ea78bc 2 Art & Culture Africa,Algeria,cradle-of-humanity,archaeology,artifacts Free

Archaeologists in Algeria have discovered stone tools and cut animal bones that may be up to 2.4 million years old, bringing into question East Africa's title as the cradle of humanity, according to research published Thursday in the journal Science.

The artifacts -- more ancient than those discovered in the region until now -- were found in Setif, some 200 miles (300 kilometers) east of Algiers, by a team of international researchers, including Algerians.

The tools closely resemble those called Oldowan, found until now mainly in East Africa.

The tools were unearthed near dozens of fossilized animal bones which contained cut marks, as if relics of prehistoric butchers.

The bones came from animals including the ancestors of crocodiles, elephants and hippopotamuses.

"East Africa is widely considered to be the birthplace of stone tool use by our ancient hominid ancestors -- the earliest examples of which date as far back as about 2.6 million years ago," said the report in Science.

"The new findings make Ain Boucherit the oldest site in northern Africa with in situ evidence of hominin meat use with associated stone tools and they suggest that other similarly early sites could be found outside of the Eastern Africa Rift."

One hypothesis is that early ancestors of modern day humans quickly carried stone tools with them out of East Africa and into other regions of the continent.

Another is a "multiple origin scenario," in which early hominids made and used tools in both East and North Africa.

"The site of Ain Lahnech is the second oldest in the world after Gona in Ethiopia, which goes back to 2.6 million years ago and is widely considered the cradle of humanity," lead author Mohamed Sahouni told AFP.

The discoveries were made in two layers -- one dating to 2.4 million years ago and the second dating to 1.9 million years old.

Read also: French museum chief hits back at call to return African art

More in the Sahara?

The findings suggest that the ancestors of modern people were present in north Africa at least 600,000 years earlier than scientists thought.

Until now, the oldest known tools from northern Africa were 1.8 million years old, and were found at a nearby site.

No humans remains were found. Therefore, scientists don't know what species of hominids were at the site, or what ancient cousin of homo sapiens (who appeared much later), used these tools.

The dig was undertaken by experts from research institutions in Spain, Algeria, Australia and France.

"Now that Ain Boucherit has yielded Oldowan archeology estimated to 2.4 million years ago, Northern Africa and the Sahara may be a repository of further archaeological materials," the study said.

"Based on the potential of Ain Boucherit and the adjacent sedimentary basins, we suggest that hominin fossils and Oldowan artifacts as old as those documented in East Africa could be discovered in North Africa as well."
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Linkedin Susan Njanji (Agence France-Presse) Soweto, South Africa  Fri, November 30, 2018 16:06 1091 882ab4bc56dbda08a069b30877e9f5ac 2 People Oprah,nelson-mandela,charity,concert,Global-Citizen Free

US television celebrity Oprah Winfrey on Thursday paid emotional tribute to Nelson Mandela as she prepared to host a star-studded concert in Johannesburg to cap celebrations marking 100 years since his birth.

Winfrey will co-host the Global Citizen festival on Sunday, where artists including Beyonce, Jay-Z, Cassper Nyovest, Ed Sheeran, Femi Kuti, Pharrell Williams, Chris Martin and Tiwa Savage will perform.

The concert is the climax of a year of events celebrating the centennial of Mandela's birth in 1918, and is part of a campaign to tackle poverty, child malnutrition and boost gender equality.

Winfrey hailed Mandela's "goodness and integrity", describing him as her "favorite mentor" as she spoke at a public debate at the Soweto campus of the University of Johannesburg.

"He was a man who could have sought revenge, but he was a man who sought reconciliation," she said, adding he "knew that when one of us is wounded all of us are bleeding."

Mandela was jailed under South Africa's apartheid regime. After being released in 1990, he led the country's transformation into a multi-racial democracy. He died on December 5, 2013 aged 95.

She said Mandela "could have actually crushed his opponents with his power but instead he choose to defeat them without ever" ever disarming them.

Former US president Barack Obama spoke in Johannesburg in July, delivering the flagship address of the "Mandela 100" celebrations, remembering the "wave of hope that washed through hearts all around the world" when Mandela was released from jail.

Tickets for the weekend concert were allocated to people who have taken part in the Global Citizen campaign.

Read also: Oprah fronts British Vogue

The 64-year-old talk show queen spoke to hundreds of mainly women guests at an auditorium in Soweto, a township which was the hotbed of the struggle against apartheid.

The public debate was also attended by Mandelas widow Graca Machel and South Africa's former deputy president Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, who is currently the head of UN Women.

"We all need to roll up our sleeves wherever you are whatever you can do and begin to build a new future," she said in her speech.

"In doing that you align with Madiba vision - both compassionate and practical," she said, referring to Mandela by his clan name.

Winfrey in 2007 founded a school in South Africa for girls from poor backgrounds to groom them into elite leaders.

Listening to the speech was Lumka Jwara, a 28-year old banker from the neighboring township of Kagiso.

"She has done a lot for so many people, even indirectly, through her shows. Both she and Mandela are resilient, they have the ability to change other people's lives," said Jwara.
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Linkedin News Desk (Agence France-Presse) Washington  Fri, November 30, 2018 10:28 1091 882ab4bc56dbda08a069b30877e90a3d 2 Science & Tech NASA,space,Mars,Insight Free

After safely landing on Mars following its nearly seven month journey, NASA has released the first pictures taken by its InSight spacecraft, which has opened it solar arrays to charge batteries.

The $993 million lander, which landed on Monday and appears to be in good shape, will soon begin unfolding its robotic arm and deploying its quake-sensors on the Martian surface.

NASA engineers are planning to begin work with its robotic arm soon, but are proceeding with caution.

The arm has five mechanical fingers to help it lift out and place its two instruments on Martian soil in the coming few months.

"Slowly releasing all my pent-up tension, starting with loosening my grapple, as these before-and-after pics show," said the NASAInSight Twitter account.

"Until I'm ready to stretch my arm out, my camera angles will be the same."

Read also: Cheers as Mars InSight spacecraft lands on Red Planet

InSight is equipped with two full-color cameras and has already sent back six shots since touching down.

The waist-high spacecraft will stay in place for the two-year duration of its mission.

NASA has not said anything about the condition of the other instruments on board, which include a French-made seismometer to study Marsquakes and a German self-hammering mole to measure heat's escape from the planet.

NASA did say its solar arrays have deployed, which is good news since the lander runs on solar energy.

In Paris, the French space agency CERN said everything seems fine for the moment, and that it is up to NASA to communicate with the SEIS quake-sensing instrument.
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Linkedin Lisa Du and Ayaka Maki (Bloomberg)  Sat, December 1, 2018 03:08 1091 882ab4bc56dbda08a069b30877eabb9b 2 Lifestyle Japan,store,fashion,#fashion,GU-Style-Studio Free

A brand-new store will open in Tokyos Harajuku fashion district on Friday, walls lined with clothes, shoes and handbags  and with a twist: shoppers will walk away empty-handed.

The GU Style Studio store, opened by Asias largest clothier and Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing Co., is for customers to try apparel and place orders online for later delivery. They can also try out extra services, such as playing with clothing combinations on a virtual mannequin and creating a digital avatar.

Although the notion of showcase shopping has been around for a while, and remains somewhat popular in Europe, such stores have usually been reserved for electronics, household items and knick-knacks. Seldom has the idea been ported over to the clothing sector. But, as the rise of e-commerce threatens to upend the global retail industry, apparel makers are experimenting with new ways of selling clothes.

Among large specialty chain retailers, Fast Retailing has one of the most developed digital strategies, said Dairo Murata, an analyst at JP Morgan Securities. They are doing it all in-house, and it allows them to be more competitive.

The line separating online and offline storefronts is becoming blurrier as e-commerce moves into physical locations and brick-and-mortar retailers shift online. Thats resulted in new shopping experiences such as Amazons Prime Wardrobe, which sends boxes of clothing to customers to try on, letting them send back what they dont like. GU isnt the first to open a try-on store; Inditex SAs Zara also temporarily opened a look-and-buy outlet in Tokyos Roppongi district this year.

GU has steadily grown into a key pillar of Fast Retailings business, accounting for about 10 percent of revenue in the latest fiscal year. It has almost 400 stores across Asia, mainly in Japan, Taiwan and mainland China, and is known for being more affordable and more fashion forward than its bigger sibling, Uniqlo.

The GU brand has also historically been more experimental with technology, being the first in Fast Retailings portfolio to introduce RFID tags and self-checkout. In 2017, a futuristic digital store popped up in the city of Yokohama with screens on shopping carts recommending various clothing combinations as people walked through the store.

Read also: Amazon opens new concept '4-star' retail store in New York

JP Morgans Murata said GUs new Harajuku outlet could be a template for rolling out smaller shops in cities that dont have space to store inventory. He said it could be applied to Uniqlo as well. But Osamu Yunoki, GUs chief executive officer, said the company hasnt decided whether to adopt the concept for Fast Retailings other brands, or other conventional GU stores carrying inventory.

Shoppers at the new GU store can scan QR codes attached to clothes to bring up purchase links on their phones, and are also encouraged to test clothing combinations on a virtual mannequin on a separate app. Cameras placed in the store capture can also be used to create a virtual avatar of shoppers, although the resemblance was unconvincing.

The store is able to collect and use data on how customers are shopping, such as what items customers are scanning into their phone, which clothing they try on and whether they purchase it or not. That could serve an important function for Fast Retailings efforts to automate its entire supply chain.

That kind of data from customers can be connected immediately to product development and manufacturing plans, Yunoki said.

At the same time, he said, the company is trying to offer something new for shoppers.

Were fusing the in-store experience and e-commerce to offer a fun and convenient experience, Yunoki said. Harajuku isnt just for shopping, its also a place where fashion is created. Wed like to use our customers creations as a stimulus for developing new types of fashion.
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Linkedin Kharishar Kahfi (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Fri, November 30, 2018 08:14 1091 882ab4bc56dbda08a069b30877e862a4 1 Politics 2019-elections,2019-presidential-election,Prabowo-Subianto,Donald-Trump Free

Presidential hopeful Prabowo Subianto said that he respected United States President Donald Trump's commitment to defending American interests, but added that he was confused over Trumps frequent Twitter use.

The statement was uttered during a dialogue session at the World 2019 gala dinner organized by The Economist in Singapore on Tuesday.

During the session, The Economists executive and diplomacy editor Daniel Franklin asked Prabowo about his opinion on being compared to the US President.

Im not too versed in the dynamics of the US situation now, but what I understand is that [Trump] has alienated a lot of Americans, but he is aspiring to defend American interests, he said. The way he does it, his propensity to use Twitter, it confuses me also.

President Trump was well known for being active on Twitter, with communications firm Burson, Cohn and Wolfe (BCW) recording in a study released in July that the US president had nearly 264.5 million interactions with his followers. As of Thursday, his account, @realDonaldTrump, had some 56 million followers.

When Franklin asked the former military general whether he used the same social media, Prabowo answered: I do, but Im very low key, which was responded to with laughter from the audience.

Because in Indonesia, there are very strict laws. We can be arrested for tweeting something thats not politically correct, the presidential candidate added.

The 2016 Electronic Transactions and Information (ITE) Law has been criticized for its draconian provisions that have led to hundreds of convictions of defamation.

As of Thursday, Prabowos account, @prabowo, had some 3.38 million followers and recorded more than 8,700 tweets since it opened in May 2009. (kmt)
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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Fri, November 30, 2018 12:34 1091 882ab4bc56dbda08a069b30877e9726a 1 City 212-Alumni,212Rally,traffic,jakarta Free

Police say it will be business as usual on Sunday, when Islamic groups are expected to gather again at Monas square in Gambir, Central Jakarta, exactly two years after a large rally against the citys former governor.

"[The gathering] is small. The Gambir Police can handle it, National Police spokesman Brig. Gen. Dedi Prasetyo said, as quoted by tempo.co on Thursday, adding that the event would not need a significant number of personnel to be deployed.

A group calling itself the 212 Rally Alumni was established to gather people who were involved in the rally on Dec. 2, 2016, to call for the prosecution of then-Jakarta governor Basuki Ahok Tjahaja Purnama, a Christian of Chinese descent, for blasphemy.

The Jakarta Police said there would be no special traffic arrangements during the gathering.

There will be no specific things [in terms of traffic management] for the event on Sunday, said the head of the polices traffic directorate, Sr. Comr. Yusuf.

He also said the weekly Car Free Day (CFD) event on the nearby thoroughfares of Jl. Sudirman and Jl. MH Thamrin would run as usual.

Some traffic arrangement is routinely carried out because of the CFD, he added.

The head of the 212 alumni protest group, Slamet Maarif, previously said his group had registered the gathering both with the police and the city administration. (sau)
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Linkedin News Desk (Agence France-Presse) Paris, France  Fri, November 30, 2018 09:39 1091 882ab4bc56dbda08a069b30877e8e88a 2 World #France,#health,Swedish,Women,compensation,French,breast-implants Free

A French court on Thursday ordered the German safety certifier that approved tne use of defective breast implants to compensate around 400 Swedish women who received the devices behind a global health scare.

The court in the Paris suburb of Nanterre ordered TUV to pay 4,600 euros ($5,200) to each of the Swedish plaintiffs for the harm caused by approving implants made by French firm Poly Implant Prothese (PIP).

It also ordered the company to reimburse the cost of having the implants -- which were filled with a cheap industrial-grade silicone gel used in electronic equipment -- removed.

It comes a month after France's highest appeals court ordered that TUV be retried for negligence over its role in the affair, after having been cleared of liability by a lower court.

Pipa, an association representing 20,000 affected by the implants around the world, welcomed the ruling.

But a lawyer for TUV said the German agency would appeal.

A separate court ruling in January 2017 ordered the company to deposit 60 million euros ($69 million) for potential compensation for 20,000 women who received the defective implants.

The PIP implant scandal made global headlines in 2011, when doctors first noticed abnormally high rupture rates in the implants.

Some 400,000 women worldwide, most of them in Latin America, are believed to have received the enhancements.

Thousands had them removed, despite health authorities in several countries declaring them not to be toxic.

PIP's founder, Jean-Claude Mas, was convicted of fraud and sentenced to four years in jail. His company was shut down in 2010.
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Linkedin A. Muh. Ibnu Aqil (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Fri, November 30, 2018 16:41 1091 882ab4bc56dbda08a069b30877ea0050 1 City bajaj,drivers,demonstration,rally,gas-station Free

Dozens of bajaj (three-wheeled taxi) drivers staged a rally in front of City Hall on Friday morning, demanding the administration provide more compressed natural gas (CNG) filling stations (SPBGs).

The drivers of the CNG-powered vehicles complained there was a lack of SPBGs in the city.

In the worst case we have to wait [in line] for up to six hours [to refill the bajaj], driver Narsudi, 35, said during the protest.

He said he usually worked around ITC Mangga Dua in North Jakarta, but because of the lack of an SPBG, he frequently had to refuel his vehicle on Jl. Daan Mogot in West Jakarta, on Jl. Pramuka in East Jakarta or in Pulo Gadung, East Jakarta.

One of the coordinators of the demonstration, Nasikin, said that over the past week, several gas stations had malfunctioned and the drivers had to compete with gas-fueled Transjakarta buses despite bajaj being more consistent in using the environment friendly CNG.

According to the Jakarta Transportation Agency, 10,955 bajaj use CNG with only 86 not having yet switched to gas. Meanwhile, 22 angkot minivans and 2,360 taxis have switched to gas.

Of the total 2,150 Transjakarta buses operating in the city, only 370 use gas.

There are currently 18 SPBGs operating in the city, they are managed by PT Pertamina Retail, a subsidiary of state-owned gas company PT Pertamina; state-owned gas company PT Perusahaan Gas Negara (PGN); PT Jakarta Utilitas Propertindo (JUP), a subsidiary of city-owned PT Jakarta Propertindo; and a private gas company PT T Energy.
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Linkedin Gisela Swaragita (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Fri, November 30, 2018 17:51 1091 882ab4bc56dbda08a069b30877ea46bd 1 City Car-Free-Day,212-Alumni,212Rally,reunion Free

Authorities in Jakarta are preparing for the worst when Islamic group 212 Rally Alumni is expected to gather at the National Monument (Monas) square in Central Jakarta, despite previously claiming that the event would not need special arrangements.

The group was named after the Dec. 2, 2016, rally to call for the prosecution of then-Jakarta governor Basuki Ahok Tjahaja Purnama for blasphemy.

The group plan to meet for second-year reunion on Sunday.

Jakarta Transportation Agency acting head Sigit Wijatmoko said Sundays Car Free Day (CFD) event would be restricted as a result.

CFD, organized by the Jakarta administration, is held weekly on the citys main thoroughfares, Jl. Jendral Sudirman and Jl. MH Thamrin.

After coordinating with the police, [it was decided that] residents will still have a Car Free Day event, but only on Jl. Sudirman, Sigit said on Friday, adding that the agency would deploy 350 of its officers for traffic management.

Meanwhile, some 20,000 personnel from the Indonesian Military (TNI), Jakarta Police and the city administration will be stationed at several locations, Jakarta Police spokesperson Sr. Comr. Argo Yuwono said on Friday.

He said the police were currently preparing a traffic engineering scheme for Sunday.

It will be situational in the field. Officers themselves will decide whether there will be a traffic diversion, contraflow or open-closed policy, Argo said.

National Police spokesman Brig. Gen. Dedi Prasetyo previously said that the 212 reunion rally would be a small event, one that even the Gambir District Police could handle. (gis/ami)
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Linkedin Marchio Irfan Gorbiano (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Fri, November 30, 2018 09:13 1091 882ab4bc56dbda08a069b30877e8a787 1 Business tax-holiday,new-regulation,finance-minister Free

The government has issued a regulation on the expansion of the business sectors that are eligible to apply for the tax holiday scheme, which is one of the three policies outlined in its latest economic policy package.

The digital economy industry as well as manufacturing industry in agriculture, forestry or plantations are the two sectors eligible to apply for a tax holiday in Finance Ministerial Regulation No. 150/2018, which now include 18 business sectors, up from 17 sectors in the previous regulation.

With the expansion of the scheme, as many as 169 business units listed in the Indonesian Standard of Industrial Classification (KBLI) were eligible to apply for the tax holiday, up from 153 business units previously.

The government has also lowered the minimum investment required to get a tax holiday  popularly known as a mini tax holiday, allowing a minimum investment of Rp 100 billion (US$6.97 million). Under the mini tax holiday scheme, the investor gets a 50 percent corporate income tax cut for five years.

The arrangement complements the existing scheme, which grants a full corporate income tax exemption for between five and 30 years, depending on the investment value.

Secretary to the Coordinating Economic Minister Susiwijono Moegiarso said the new tax holiday scheme was already integrated into the governments Online Single Submission (OSS) system, a web-based licensing system launched in July.

As of today, we can make sure that the business units [included in the latest tax holiday] are already input into the OSS, said Susiwijono in Jakarta on Thursday, adding that the finance minister would also issue a regulation on tax holidays for investments in special economic zones (SEZs). (bbn)
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Linkedin Marchio Irfan Gorbiano (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Fri, November 30, 2018 09:30 1091 882ab4bc56dbda08a069b30877e8b55f 1 Business Jokowi-administration,foreign-investment,negative-investment-list,economy,business,Jokowi Free

President Joko Jokowi Widodo has decided to heed the call of businesspeople to maintain restriction on foreign investments in several sectors out of concern that liberalizing them may harm small and medium enterprises (SME), an official has said.



Five business sectors, which were set to be freed from partnerships with local SMEs, would be maintained in the upcoming revision on negative investment list (DNI), said Susiwijono, the secretary to Coordinating Economic Minister Darmin Nasution, in Jakarta, on Thursday.



They are postharvest cleaning system for root crops, internet cafes, fabric printing and knitted fabric as well as internet- or postal-based retail trading.



On the existing DNI list, which is regulated by Presidential Regulation 44/2016, the first four sectors is open to foreign investment but have to partner with local SMEs, while foreign investors are only required to partner with local firms if they want to invest in internet- or postal-based retailers.



As per the directive from the President, we included [the five sectors] in the [upcoming DNI regulation], Susiwijono told the press at the Office of the Coordinating Economic Minister.



With the inclusion of the five sectors in the upcoming DNI regulation, only 49 business sectors from the proposed 54 will either have a cap on foreign ownership or be freed from having to obtain recommendations from relevant ministries.



On Wednesday, Jokowi told members of the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin) during a national executive meeting in Surakarta, Central Java, that he would not liberalize the aforementioned sectors.



I have been contacted by the chairs of Kadin and HIPMI [Indonesian Young Entrepreneur Association] to listen to their complaints, said Jokowi as quoted by kontan.co.id, adding that he would maintain those sectors on the DNI list as the draft regulation had yet to reach his desk.



Contacted by The Jakarta Post on Thursday, Ikhsan Ingratubun, chairman of the Association of Indonesian Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (Akumindo), applauded Jokowis decision, saying that the move would not only protect the sectors, but also other businesses that were tightly tied to them.



For example, Ikhsan said the move would not only protect the SMEs in the postharvest cleaning system for root crops, but also safeguard other small businesses that manufactured machinery used in this sector.



He added that the SMEs were not allergic to foreign investments as long as the investors partnered with them, arguing that such an arrangement would secure the interests of the SMEs at a time when they face increasing competition resulting from the liberalization of certain business sectors.



[The SMEs partnership requirements] will secure the representation of SMEs [in the partnership], said Ikhsan.



The DNI revision is part of the newly launched 16th economic policy package, along with the expansion of the tax holiday scheme and tax incentives for export proceeds, which was announced on Nov. 16.



The Finance Ministry has issued Finance Ministerial Regulation (PMK) No. 150/2018 on the expanded tax holiday, which now allows 18 business sectors to apply for the incentive.



The new sectors are the manufacturing industry in agriculture, forestry and plantations as well as the digital economy.



The new tax holiday grants full exemption from corporate income tax (PPh) for a certain period of time according to the investment value.



In addition, the government also introduced a new incentive for investments of between Rp 100 billion (US$6.97 million) and Rp 500 billion in the eligible sectors, namely a 50 percent corporate income tax cut for a five-year period, also known as a mini-tax holiday.



Bank Central Asia (BCA) chief economist David Sumual said the governments move was another policy flip-flop as the authorities and other stakeholders were not on the same page.



He urged the government to create a grand strategy for the local economys development and to provide a clear long-term road map. [The government] should first identify what businesses want to do, and then move forward in devising short, medium and long-term strategies.

This article was originally published in The Jakarta Post's print edition on Nov. 30, 2018, with the title "Govt backpedals on relaxed DNI policy".
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Linkedin Agnes Anya (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Fri, November 30 2018

A migrant worker from Lombok, West Nusa Tenggara, Zainul Watoni, is facing the death penalty for allegedly killing a man in Malaysia.

Malaysian media reported that the 31-year-old is being charged under Section 302 of the Penal Code for allegedly killing Rizal Muhammad, in Ladang Kambau, Tanjung Sedili in Johor on Nov. 4.

He was taken into custody along with a woman who is also facing the death penalty.

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Linkedin News Desk (Agence France-Presse) Beirut, Lebanon  Fri, November 30, 2018 17:55 1091 882ab4bc56dbda08a069b30877ea4f2b 2 World #Israel,#Syria,Israel,strike,Damascus,Iran Free

Israeli bombs have hit several positions south of Damascus, its first such strikes since Syrian air defences were upgraded following the accidental downing of a Russian plane in September.

Damascus claimed its air defence systems shot down all "hostile targets" late Thursday. Israel did not confirm carrying out raids but denied any losses.

According to the Syria Observatory for Human Rights, the strikes hit two positions in the south of Damascus province, including an area believed to be an Iranian weapons depot near the capital.

"Israeli forces bombarded for an hour," Observatory chief Rami Abdel Rahman said.

Two missiles hit Kisweh, where he said there are "weapons depots belonging to the Lebanese Hezbollah (militant group) as well as Iranian forces".

Another missile hit the area of Harfa, where there is a Syrian military base, the Britain-based monitor said.

In Kisweh, "the depots that were targeted are used to temporarily store rockets until they are taken somewhere else," Abdel Rahman said.

"It appears the Israelis had intelligence that weapons had arrived there recently," he said.

The state news agency said the attack was foiled and did not admit to any losses.

"Our air defences fired on hostile targets over the Kisweh area and downed them," SANA said, citing a military source.

A military source quoted by the pro-government Al-Watan daily said "the aggression, despite its intensity, was not able to implement any of its goals and all enemy bodies were downed."

Initial reports by the Observatory suggested there were no casualties.

The Israeli military denied any of its assets were hit but stopped short of denying it had conducted strikes at all.

"Reports regarding an IDF (Israeli military) aircraft or an airborne IDF target having been hit are false," it said in an English-language statement.

It said a Syrian surface-to-air missile was fired in the direction of an open area of the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights but it was unclear if it had hit Israeli-held territory.

- Air defence upgrade -

Israel has carried out hundreds of air strikes in neighbouring Syria against what it says are Iranian targets, many of them in the area south of Damascus.

Iran and Russia are the government's key allies in the civil war that has raged Syria since 2011, and Moscow's intervention in 2015 dramatically turned the tables against the rebels.

The accidental downing of a Russian transport aircraft by Syrian ground batteries during an Israel air strike on September 17 killed 15 service personnel.

Moscow pinned responsibility for the downing on Israel, saying its fighter jet used the larger Russian one for cover, an allegation Israel disputed.

Russia subsequently upgraded Syrian air defences with the delivery of the advanced S-300 system, which Damascus had said last month would make Israel "think carefully" before carrying out further air raids.

The move raised fears in Israel that its ability to rein in its arch foe Iran's military presence in its northeastern neighbour would be sharply reduced.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had told Moscow his government would continue to hit hostile targets in Syria to prevent Iran from establishing a military presence across the border.

He added that Israel would "continue security coordination" with Russia.
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Linkedin News Desk (Bloomberg) Bangkok  Fri, November 30, 2018 10:35 1091 882ab4bc56dbda08a069b30877e916b5 2 World pig,virus,China,outbreak,Shanghai Free

A killer pig virus that began spreading in China four months ago has picked up pace, causing at least one fresh outbreak on average a day this month and encroaching on major cities including Beijing and Shanghai.

At least 20 provinces covering most of Chinas northeastern, eastern and central areas have reported pigs infected with African swine fever, which isnt known to harm humans but typically causes hogs to die within days. Authorities have stepped up surveillance around border areas after the disease was found close to North Korea, Myanmar, Vietnam and Laos.

About 600,000 pigs have been culled to stem the disease, which threatens to disrupt Chinas $128 billion pork industry. The presence of the virus in commercial, backyard and wild pigs, as well as evidence that infected animals have entered food supply chains, indicate a significant challenge ahead to achieve eradication, Matthew Stone, a deputy director general of the World Organization for Animal Health in Paris, said in an email.

Veterinary officials met in Beijing last week to assist neighboring countries prepare for possible further international spread, especially through the informal movement of pigs, pork products and contaminated food that may be used as livestock feed. Even with strict quarantine and provincial pig-transportation controls, the virus has managed to travel thousands of kilometers across China, which accounts for half of the worlds swine herd.

Same Risks

Theres still no theory as to why it has spread despite the ban on movement, said Wantanee Kalpravidh, the Bangkok-based regional manager of Emergency Centre for Transboundary Animal Diseases with the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization. Its a concern for countries in the region because we share the same risks even though theres no official import and export between some countries.

The proliferation of the disease has spurred China to buy U.S. pork again even though the meat is subject to retaliatory tariffs imposed as part of the trade war. China was the third-largest buyer of pork in weekly U.S. government data released Thursday. The purchase of 3,300 metric tons was the most since February, before China imposed the tariffs.

Almost half of the outbreaks in China are spread via vehicles and hog traders, while about a third come from contaminated swill, Huang Baoxu, deputy head with China Animal Health and Epidemiology Center, told reporters last week.

The virus can survive for a month in pepperoni and salami, for 140 days in Iberian cured pork products and for 399 days in Parma hams, scientists found. That means pigs can become infected if they eat contaminated food scraps.

In the end, there is not much anybody can do to stop it, said Dirk Pfeiffer, a professor of veterinary medicine and life sciences at City University of Hong Kong. They are trying the best they can, he said, adding the measures implemented may be costly.

Pig-killing virus (Bloomberg/File)

Prompt Response

Reports by Chinas veterinary authorities of disease outbreaks to the World Organization for Animal Health, or OIE, have been very frequent and prompt, and reflect a strong commitment to transparency and a huge mobilization of emergency response resources towards detection and control of African swine fever, the OIEs Stone said.

Infected pigs have been reported on farms in areas close to major cities, including Beijing, Shanghai, Chengdu, and Kunming this month, according to reports to the OIE. A wild boar infected with a different strain to the dominant variant circulating in China was detected in Jilin province, less than 30 kilometers (19 miles) from the border with North Korea, in mid November.

The continued spread of the disease is leading to increased pig-slaughter, transport bans and volatile prices, Rabobank said in a report this week.

Given the sheer size of production and the fragmented structure, it will be a great challenge for China to control the disease spreading in the coming year, said Angus Gidley-Baird, an analyst with the Dutch bank in Sydney. While culling of pigs as a consequence of infection is not significant in the context of total pig population, the ban on live hog transportation is the greater cause of market volatility.

Lower pork consumption in China will spur demand for other sources of animal protein, including eggs, poultry, beef, mutton and seafood, Gidley-Baird said. Poultry my benefit the most since its a major substitute for pork, particularly in meat processing and catering, and also because poultry is widely accepted by all consumer groups in China, he said.
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Linkedin News Desk (Agence France-Presse) Moscow, Russia  Fri, November 30, 2018 14:02 1091 882ab4bc56dbda08a069b30877e99856 2 World #Russia,#USA,Kremlin,regrets,DonaldTrump,Putin,talks,cancellation Free

US President Donald Trump's decision to cancel talks with Russia's Vladimir Putin at the G20 summit was regrettable, the Kremlin said.

"We regret the US administration's decision to cancel the meeting," Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov told Russian news agencies.

"This means that discussion of important issues on the international and bilateral agenda will be postponed indefinitely."

Putin, he said, "is ready to have contacts with his American counterpart."

Trump on Thursday scrapped the meeting over Moscow's seizure at the weekend of three Ukrainian ships and continued detention of a group of Ukrainian sailors.

The two had been set for bilateral talks on Saturday at the G20 in Buenos Aires.
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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Fri, November 30, 2018 11:36 1091 882ab4bc56dbda08a069b30877e93b06 4 Business low-cost-carrier,citilink,safety,comments Free

Low-cost carrier PT Citilink Indonesia has stressed there is no correlation between the ticket prices of airlines and flight safety.

Citilink new distribution channel senior manager Husnul Mulia said any airline wanted to assure there would be no accident during the operation.

The target is always zero accidents, Husnul said in Jakarta on Thursday, as quoted by kompas.com, stressing that the safety standards of all airlines were the same.

Husnuls statement comes after the National Transportation Safety Committee (KNKT) stated on Wednesday that the aircraft used for Lion Air flight JT610, which crashed into the Java Sea on Oct. 29, had been unfit to fly.

On Thursday, the committee corrected that statement in response to protest from Lion Air management, saying the aircraft had, in fact, been airworthy.

He said air transportation was still the safest mode of transportation in the world, even though more and more flights were operated by LCC. If we look at the rate, the safest transportation is airlines, including those operated in Indonesia, Husnul added.

Flight JT610 was carrying 181 passengers, including three minors, and eight flight crew members. (bbn)
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Linkedin News Desk (Agence France-Presse) Brussels, Belgium  Fri, November 30, 2018 18:46 1091 882ab4bc56dbda08a069b30877ea6949 2 World #Belgium,#extremism,radicalisation,jails,Intel,report Free

Belgium's domestic intelligence agency warned Friday that the country faces a persistent terror threat, in part because of the radicalisation of prisoners.

The State Security Service said Belgium faces a "considerable problem" of extremism in jails and that convicted terrorists continue to reoffend.

The country has already been hit by several attacks claimed by the Islamic State group, including the bombings in Brussels in March 2016 that left 32 dead.

Attacks across the border in France have also been traced to Brussels-based cells, including the November 2015 assault on Paris targets that killed 130 people.

Some of those behind these plots have also fought in Syria, where the Islamic State is one of several extremist groups involved in the ongoing civil war.

According to the report, Belgium now has "a never before seen population of detainees jailed for terrorism" that poses a greater than ever threat of "contagion".

"Taking into account the persistent recidivist tendency among former terrorism detainees, never mind radicalised common criminals, Belgium will continue to face a latent terror threat for some time to come," it said.

The Security Service said the Syrian war continues to serve as a "catalyst" for radicalisation and to push convicted extremists back into violence.

It warned that those who will leave prison in the next three to five years could trigger "a new wave of extremism, even jihadism in our country."

In relation to the size of its population, Belgium has been one of the biggest sources of foreign fighters in Syria, with more than 400 departing since 2012.

Around a third of these Belgian combattants have returned and many are dead, but around 150 are still thought to be active in the field, the report says.
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Linkedin News Desk (Agence France-Presse) Washington, United States  Fri, November 30, 2018 10:50 1091 882ab4bc56dbda08a069b30877e92274 2 World #USA,#Russia,Donald-Trump,cancellation,meeting,Putin,Ukraine,crisis Free

US President Donald Trump on Thursday scrapped a planned meeting at the G20 summit with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin over Moscow's detention of a group of Ukrainian sailors.

"Based on the fact that the ships and sailors have not been returned to Ukraine from Russia, I have decided it would be best for all parties concerned to cancel my previously scheduled meeting in Argentina with President Vladimir Putin," he wrote on Twitter.

"I look forward to a meaningful Summit again as soon as this situation is resolved!," Trump added, shortly after taking off for the weekend summit in Buenos Aires.

The announcement came shortly after Trump had told reporters as he left the White House that the summit would be a "very good time" for a meeting with Putin.

"I probably will be meeting with President Putin. We haven't terminated that meeting. I was thinking about it, but we haven't. I think it's a very good time to have the meeting," he had said.

White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders told reporters shortly after take-off Trump had conferred in person with Chief of Staff John Kelly and Secretary of State Pompeo aboard presidential plane Air Force One -- as well as by phone with National Security Advisor Bolton, who is in Brazil -- before announcing the U-turn.

"It's just happened in the last half hour," Sanders said.

Asked how Putin was informed about the cancelation, she said she was "not aware" of a phone call between the two leaders

"There was some back and forth" through other channels, she said without elaborating.
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Linkedin News Desk (Agence France-Presse) New York, United States  Fri, November 30, 2018 08:18 1091 882ab4bc56dbda08a069b30877e86c7f 2 World #USA,#RussiaTrump,Donald-Trump,former-lawyer,pleads,guilty,Russia,deal Free

President Donald Trump's former personal lawyer Michael Cohen pleaded guilty Thursday to lying to Congress over the ongoing Russia investigation in connection with a Moscow real-estate deal and Russian contacts pursued during the 2016 election.

As Democrats decried the plea as evidence that Trump's associates were willing to lie about his business dealings, Trump sought to deflect mounting political pressure in an incoming House of Representatives under Democrat control by accusing Cohen of lying to get a reduced sentence.

The 52-year-old Cohen, who once famously said he would take a bullet for the Republican billionaire, admitted one count of making false statements relating to an already known prospective real-estate deal in court.

He exited the federal court in Manhattan, ignoring questions from reporters and got wordlessly into the back of a vehicle before being driven away.

The Trump Tower deal -- which never got off the ground -- has been a focus of an investigation into whether the Trump campaign conspired with Russian operatives during the 2016 campaign, The New York Times reported.

Cohen admitted to making "false, fictitious and fraudulent" written testimony to Congress in August 2017 in connection with the project.

He lied to suggest that the project was shelved in January 2016 -- before the first caucus and primary voting began in the presidential election -- to downplay links between the deal and unnamed associates and in the hope of limiting the Russia investigation, according to court documents.

Contrary to his original testimony, the project was discussed multiple times within the company -- beyond January 2016 -- and with efforts to obtain Russian governmental approval being discussed as late as June of that year.

- 'He is lying' -

Cohen also mulled traveling to Russia in connection with the project and in May 2016 was offered a possible introduction to either the Russian president or prime minister on the sidelines of a Russian forum in June 2016.

Trump ultimately secured the Republican nomination for president just weeks later in July 2016. On Thursday, the president branded Cohen a "weak person" and emphasized that the property deal was ultimately dropped.

"He is lying about a project that everybody knew about," Trump told reporters at the White House before jetting off to the G20 summit in Argentina.

He scrapped a planned meeting in Buenos Aires with Russian President Vladimir Putin, citing Moscow's detention of a group of Ukrainian sailors.

Cohen's chief lawyer Lanny Davis leapt to his client's defense, saying he had "told the truth and nothing but the truth."

"Michael will continue to work with the SC (Special Counsel) and others until the full truth is told," he tweeted.

"Mr Cohen has cooperated, Mr Cohen will continue to cooperate. Sentencing is set for December 12," said Guy Petrillo, another of Cohen's lawyers.

Cohen began talking to investigators working for Special Counsel Robert Mueller, whose probe has been a thorn in Trump's side, after pleading guilty in August to bank fraud and campaign finance violations in New York.

- 'Congress must legislate' -

Mueller is investigating whether the Trump election campaign in 2016 colluded with Russian efforts to damage his opponent, Hillary Clinton, and whether Trump has sought to illegally obstruct the investigation.

In Washington, Democratic lawmakers pounced on Cohen's latest plea to call for the Mueller probe to be allowed run its course unimpeded.

"Mueller's investigation must continue -- free from political interference by the president -- until the truth is out," said Mark Warner, vice chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee.

"Congress should pass legislation immediately to make sure that happens."

Adam Schiff, the ranking member of the House Intelligence Committee, said there was a "counterintelligence imperative" for its members, in the new Congress, to continue to probe the Trump Organization's financial links to Russia.

Once known as Trump's "pit bull" and right-hand man, Cohen was privy to multi-million-dollar deals and payments to two alleged lovers -- whose claims could have potentially sabotaged his boss's 2016 election.

In August, Cohen pleaded guilty to charges involving his arrangement of payouts of hush money to those women -- widely thought to be porn star Stormy Daniels and Playboy model Karen McDougal -- before the 2016 election.

Hanging Trump out to dry, Cohen testified under oath in court that the president had directed him to break campaign finance law, while pleading guilty to bank and tax fraud.
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Linkedin Rachmadea Aisyah (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Sat, December 1 2018

The International Finance Corporation (IFC) of the World Bank Group has estimated that Indonesias most populous cities can raise tens of billions of dollars from investments related to combating climate change.

The IFC, through its latest report titled Climate Investment Opportunities in Cities, said Indonesias capital of Jakarta had the potential to lure almost US$30 billion worth of climate-friendly investment opportunities until 2030.

Sandra Pranoto, IFC Indonesia lead for green buildings, said the investments could be directed toward various facilities, especially the development of green buildings, which had been estimated to garner US$16 billion in investments.

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Heres a look at Community Board 3s meeting agendas for the month of December.

You heard this weeks news that the city is backing away from plans to build a massive jail at 80 Centre St., reverting to an earlier proposal to reconstruct/expand the existing city jail at 125 White St. There are still many concerns about the scheme, including the fact that the administration is so far refusing to give the community a role in planning the new facility. On Wednesday, Dec. 12, CB3s land use and public safety committees will take up the jail issue. A representative from the Mayors Office of Criminal Justice will apparently be on hand. On that same night, there will be an update on efforts to rezone the Two Bridges neighborhood. The city is preparing to push through three mega-projects, in spite of widespread opposition from community leaders and elected officials.

On Tuesday, Dec. 4 the Public Housing Committee will discuss the ongoing heat/hot water issues in NYCHA buildings.

On Wednesday, Dec. 5, the Economic Development Committee will continue talking about establishing a Special Zoning District to protect independent businesses in the East Village.

On Dec. 3 and Dec. 10 the State Liquor Authority Committee will meet to consider numerous liquor license applications, including a permit for The Gutter, a bowling alley/nightlife spot at Essex Crossing.

For full agendas, including meeting times and locations, visit CB3s website.
Anna and the Apocalypse is this December seasons must-watch film. The Christmas-zombie-horror-musical-comedy is certainly one of a kind, and has been garnering critical praise and public acclaim across the film festival circuit. Releasing today across North America and the United Kingdom, the indie Scottish film is set to become a cult classic; I spoke with stars Ella Hunt and Malcolm Cumming about their experiences filming, their thoughts on this unique genre mashup, and their excellent performances as the titular Anna and her best friend John.

Though shes only recently achieved international recognition, Ella Hunt has been acting for over a decade. Since I started acting, I really wanted to get to a point where I was playing roles that were stimulating and felt well-rounded, and I wasnt just playing the ditzy girlfriend part, Hunt explains.

And Ive been doing this since I was eleven, so it was a very conscious process of reading for some things and not reading for others, and waiting for the right things to come about. And when Anna got sent through my inbox, I started reading it and I was sort of bowled over by how three-dimensional she is and what a fantastic opportunity it would be to play a young woman, honestly.

What I didnt know when I started auditioning was what a fantastic team it was going to be, and how collaborative the process was going to be. I was so allowed on that shoot to be all the things that a young girl is, and that is so freeing and special. She is an amazing character! Shes smart, shes aspirational, but shes also vulnerable. She doesnt just start off as somebody that knows how to fight and handle herself, that grows throughout the story, she has to discover in herself this badass.

Though the character is written and directed by men, Hunt insists that her character grew from collaborative process between herself and the team. We had a lot of amazing women on the set. We had a female director of photography, female fight coordinator, female choreographer, female head of post-production. So I was surrounded a lot of amazing women, and I really believe that empowered women empower women. So those women empowered Anna, in a sense.

As to what drew Malcolm Cummings to this unusual and fascinating project, It was such a surprising and eye-catching thing to get in, to see that tagline and the treatment for what the story is, he explains of first receiving the script. And I was really lucky at the time when I was auditioning and got the script, I also received demos of all of the songs. So I got to read it and discover it, and listen to the music at the same time. And I remember reading the first couple of pages and the initial opening sequence and listening to What A Time To Be Alive, and still being like What on earth is this?.

At this point it was just the fascination of needing to understand why this was a thing! And then I got into some of the scenes and the meat and bones of the story, and saw that this was actually the focus of it. That was the drive; its a coming-of-age story about people on a journey of self-discovery but in an honest way, not trying to be anything more than what they are. Anna is there trying to find her place in the world, and thats the drive.

Yeah theres zombies, yeah theres music, theres all this stuff thats going on, but you turn the page and it was always coming back to the story. And there were some beautifully-written scenes that were there.

In total agreement, Hunt chimes in, Its funny when we were rehearsing, obviously we have massive dance and fight sequences, but the things we rehearsed the most were the emotional character scenes, where theres a scene where were making snow angels together, and a scene where were in a trolley, and those are the things that I have the biggest recollection rehearsing. Thats what really mattered to us as filmmakers, and mattered to John [McPhail, director] and Naysun [Alae-Carew, producer] when they were pitching the film, was that those scenes felt right. Because its only if the audience can relate to these characters and love them that you can suspend disbelief in the way that we do in the film.

And its the strength of the music, when its there, adds Cumming.

Yeah, its that thing of giving you a visceral feel, horror and music are supposed to elicit that, she continues. And Tommy [Reilly] and Roddy [Hart]s score is amazing for that, theyre incredible music writers. And getting the opportunity to share that internal dialogue with an audience is just what an amazing thing as actors that we got to do that!

When both of us signed on to the project, it was a little Scottish indie zombie musical set at Christmas. It wasnt what its become, which is cool because it was a very positive making experience and were all taking such positivity and learning from it. But these songs that Roddy and Tommy have written I think are going to be loved, and the film is going to be watched by a big audience and thats such an awesome privilege, Hunt explains, smiling.

Speaking on his character John, Annas life-long friend and confidant, Cumming praised the writing. I think it was the fact that it never felt like John was there to just service the story, its not like he was some cobbled-together device of how to get Anna to where she needed to be. Hes one of these people in her life, sometimes hes the obstacle and sometimes hes the thing that supports her. And so, to be able to be supporting that story and that journey whilst being able to have a completely rounded one yourself, thats a complete privilege as an actor. It takes a lot of skill for a creative team to make that work and to facilitate that journey.

In turn, Hunts favourite thing about her character, which I didnt realise at the beginning, was that so Im really clumsy, really dont take to fighting, and Im really a pacifist. Id done something before where Id had to hold a gun and shoot, and I really didnt want to. It was something I really struggled with. I hadnt thought about that when I came onto this that much, because I just went Of course I have great body confidence! Of course I like to move! Of course I feel good in my body!.

And then we got into our first fight session and it was very clear that every time I was throwing a punch, I was laughing at myself and I couldnt believe in myself as that. And then throughout the process and throughout the film, Anna discovers this inner strength and learns how to fend for herself.

And I think throughout the process of filming  I was 18  and I really felt like I discovered myself and I now feel so much more confident in my body, and in my strength and also in like, my inner sass. I didnt know that was there, and especially working with Malcolm But yeah, I loved how sassy I got to be as Anna, and also that learning your own strength bit, but that sounded too cheesy!

Hunt and Cummings characters have a wonderful relationship, remaining friends even when faced with unrequited love. Think of a female character that doesnt run off into the sunset with a boy, Hunt challenges. Even in The Hunger Games, youve got Katniss Everdeen torn between these two men and thats what drives the story, even though shes a fucking badass! But when I read the script for Anna and saw that she didnt run off with a boy, I thought Yeah, they know what theyre doing.

I think its these stories are fine to have, and they do exist, and sometimes it is that, Cumming says of these love subplots. But it has to be natural and it has to be organic to those characters, and looking at Anna in that turning point, thats not who she is in that moment and to do that would be the absolute worst cop-out.

Im so glad were glorifying that friendship, because its such a special friendship! Theres points where youre an obstacle or a support, Hunt says of her co-stars character, and I think thats a really honest portrayal of a relationship. And I think theres always a point when if youre a guy and a girl, therell be that Are we, arent we thinking going on, and its really beautiful to be like No. This can be this without having to be that.

Anna and the Apocalypse is out now, distributed by Vertigo Releasing.
paediatric

We've finally answered the burning question  how long does it take for an ingested lego head to pass? THIS is dedication to paediatrics  but it was worth it to advance science and paediatric emergency care.https://t.co/tZ4b9Yo8Kf pic.twitter.com/Nda7rqs7Zl  Tessa Davis (@TessaRDavis) November 23, 2018

faeces

And the results, published in the often more light-hearted December issue of the Journal of Paediatrics and Child Health, should be reassuring to parents worried about their children ingesting small toys, according to the researchers. The sixhealthcare professionals from the website Dont Forget The Bubbles , based in the UK and Australia, each swallowed the head of a Lego character and measured how long it took for the body to excrete it.Small toys are the second most commonly swallowed item among children after coins, according to the researchers, but relatively little research has been done on the subject. The team came up with two delightfully named measurements for the experiment: the Stool Hardness And Transit (Shat) score, which measured the firmness of stools, and the Found And Retrieved Time (Fart), to track how long it took for the Lego head to pass. The average Fart score turned out to be 1.7 days, though one of the six heads went missing and never turned up, despite the researcher in question searching his stools for two weeks.None of the team reported any side effects or pain from the experiment, and the Shat scores suggested that consistency of stools was not affected by the presence of the head.The study concluded: A toy object quickly passes through adult subjects with no complications. This will reassure parents, and the authors advocate that no parent should be expected to search through their childsto prove object retrieval. Ultimately the team acknowledges the study was not hard science but just a bit of fun in the run-up to Xmas. They point out that because of the small sample size, and the fact that the subjects in the study were adults rather than children, it is important that you dont extrapolate the data to the entire population of Lego swallowers. Researchers were keen to stress that people should not replicate the study at home  and that parents should contact a doctor if they are concerned about anything their child has swallowed.
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Before attending Trenton High School in the early 1960s, Karen Wilson Smithbauers junior high school guidance counselor told her parents she wasnt suited for college preparatory courses.

If my parents had not both been to college and known kind of how things work  known thats what they wanted for their son and daughter  they might have listened to that, she said. I would have never gone to college then, right? How different my life would have been.

Instead, Smithbauer attended Michigan State University and earned a degree in elementary education. After graduation, she spent a decade teaching preschool in Utica Community Schools before the draw of the family business diverted her path.

Now, Smithbauer runs the Karen Colina Wilson Foundation, which aims to make a positive difference in the lives of women and children.

For her contributions to the region, Smithbauer recently received the Southern Wayne County Regional Chambers Legacy Award and the Edmund T. Ahee Jewel Award for Outstanding Volunteer Fundraiser.

Smithbauer said shes always wanted to tell her former guidance counselor how things turned out.

One person saying one thing  how that can change a life, she said. I know Ive done a lot of planning in my life, but the big things that have happened never were planned. I never thought I would go into the (family) business and I have to say it was the biggest personal and professional growth of my life.

On the heels of Prohibition, Smithbauers grandfather founded an alcohol distribution company in 1933. The business eventually changed hands when her father took over, but he died young and her mother stepped in in 1962 amidst a growing womens rights movement in the United States.

By 1981, Smithbauer began working full-time at the family company, Central Distributors of Beer. About 10 years later, she became the first woman to be named to the Anheuser-Busch Wholesaler Panel, a countrywide advisory group for the Missouri-based brewing giant.

Born and raised in Trenton, Smithbauer now lives on Grosse Ile. Her foundation funds about 20 initiatives each year, with grants ranging from $500 to $10,000.

The Karen Colina Wilson Foundation is located at 1 Heritage Place, Suite 261 in Southgate.
Southern Pines, NC (28387)

Today

Partly cloudy skies early then becoming cloudy with periods of rain late. Low 44F. Winds SW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 80%..

Tonight

Partly cloudy skies early then becoming cloudy with periods of rain late. Low 44F. Winds SW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 80%.
By Mira Tellegen

tellegen@grinnell.edu

Goatee. Beard. Mustache. Mutton Chops. Sideburns. For the month of November, the Grinnell Police Department suspended their policy against facial hair so officers could participate in No Shave November.

Officers could donate a minimum of $25 to gain the privilege of sporting facial hair for the month. Female officers who wanted to participate were permitted to wear blue jeans. Normally, the station policy allows mustaches and blue jeans only on Fridays.

The police department started the fundraiser last November and donated over $500 to the American Breast Cancer Foundation in honor of their captain, Theresa Petersen, who is a two-time breast cancer survivor, said Chief of Police Dennis Reilly.

It was a no-brainer for us to do it in recognition of our captain, said Reilly. I thought that it was important for us to recognize what she had been through while at the same time doing some type of fundraising effort.

Reilly suggested the fundraiser to the department after seeing other departments participate in No Shave November over the last few years. This year, their fundraiser will benefit St. Judes Research Hospital, Reilly said.

We all thought it would be a good cause, to try and give something back to the people and the foundations that are striving for some breakthroughs in cancer research, Reilly said.

Ive been blessed with two healthy kids, and I cant imagine having a young loved one [who has] pediatric cancer, and so I think we just decided St. Judes would be an appropriate place to send our contributions.

Reilly said that though some police departments in the Midwest allow facial hair, it is widely prohibited on the East Coast, and he has continued that policy.

Im of the mindset that a clean look is more presentable, Reilly said. If we have to wear gas masks you cant wear facial hair, so Ive maintained the policy that you cant have facial hair other than a mustache.

For that reason, Reilly said many officers are still trimming their beards, rather than throwing away their razors completely.

Its important that we dont look like a bunch of ragamuffins, so in reality everyones trimming, Reilly said.

Although he started out with a beard, Reilly currently wears a goatee.

Will Ferrell had a character on Saturday Night Live years ago who was bald with a beard, so not wanting to look like Will Ferrell, I got rid of the beard, Reilly said.

Reilly said he anticipates the department will donate roughly the same amount of money this year as last year. Although the department has not received outside donations yet, any members of the public interested in donating can bring checks made out to St. Judes to the Police Department front office.

During the holidays I think its a good opportunity to be thankful for what we have, and find ways, whether it be financial, whether it be emotional support or otherwise, to support people, Reilly said.

Reilly also added that he hopes the fundraiser encourages thankfulness and perspective.

I think its a good reminder for all of us, that while we hit those peaks, and unfortunately, those valleys, that there are a lot of people that are having to suck it up a lot harder than we do, and those people present strength, present courage, present upbeat outlooks.
By Shuhan Yi

yishuhan@grinnell.edu

Professor Emeritus Merle Zirkle, art, first visited Grinnell in 1961 with her husband Glenn Zirkle to apply for teaching positions. She has stayed in Grinnell for 57 years.

Born in Mississippi, Zirkle got her B.A from the University of Mississippi. Afterward, she thought about applying for a teaching position in advanced studio art, which she later found out requires a masters degree in fine arts, so Zirkle went to Southern Illinois University (SIU) to get her masters.

During graduate work, Zirkle majored in ceramics with minors in metalsmithing and weaving. I took everything, but on the other hand I didnt concentrate on anything other than the 3D, said Zirkle.

It was at Southern Illinois University that Zirkle met her husband, Glenn Zirkle, and they married the day after graduation. Afterwards, Zirkle followed her husband to Louisville. While Glenn worked as an art theater, she became an art therapist in a local hospital.

That was really an experience, Zirkle said. I had not had any kind of training for that, but you just were taught to show them [the patients] how to make little things, and they were all calm and they would be all sedated, and it was sort of busy work for them.

Soon Glenn Zirkle resigned and they came back to Illinois to open a shop. One year later, in 1961, the Zirkles heard from a professor at SIU that there were teaching positions at Grinnell, and they applied.

We got an interview and we were hired by the president. Merle Zirkle recalled. We didnt go through all the procedures normally because [we had] been hired as artists in residence, and [college faculty] wanted to try out [a] new program and teach something in the art department that [was] new to the school.

Soon, Merle Zirkle introduced ceramics and metalsmithing classes to the College. In the beginning, these classes were only regarded as workshops, but later, after Merle Zirkle considered the huge workload and heard some complaints from the students, she negotiated with the College and gave these classes for credit.

In her time at the College, Zirkle grew to love the town of Grinnell.

This is my home. Zirkle said. I dont want to live in a big city. My husband got a chance to go to the University of Arizona. He went there and had the interview, but he went down and said, I dont want to live in too [much] sun, I like the change of climate here.

Zirkle believed that Grinnell College gave her freedom as an artist and motivated her to produce work. She loves the freedom given to the art department here, saying, The freedom to do figurative, [nude artwork]. In my school at that time, it was a little bit taboo. You couldnt have totally nude models. In SIU, in 1959, [you] could not have nude models. Wed have a little secret drawing session, faculty and graduate students together and that was not open to the undergraduates  they couldnt see this. It was kind of strange and sad. Obviously, things have changed: I had models in my intro class, and they were paid better than other school jobs. We had, at Grinnell, total freedom to have the models and whatever we wanted to do.

In her spare time, Zirkle would go to some local art workshops to make pottery, until she got her own studio on Summer Street years later.

In 1971, after seeing her husband, who had the same qualifications as herself, become the chair of the Art Department, Zirkle refused to stay in her lecturer position with less stable salaries from the College, and instead decided to apply for a better position. She was immediately promoted and placed in a tenure track position.

Tragically, Zirkles husband died in 1986 due to a heart attack. After her husband passed, Zirkle began to focus on sculpture, a domain that Glenn used to specialize in and teach. She gave up making jewelry, which she did exclusively earlier in her career.

Then, she took over Glenn Zirkles sculpture class and continued to use his syllabus. Zirkle said that Glenns passing away didnt influence her art as much as one might think.

I dont think it changed the theme really. I had [a] certain series of things going; it could probably happen if Id been a painter. I think that it would be easier, in a way, to be more affected.

Zirkle officially retired in 2004, and now she lives in downtown Grinnell, in a room which is decorated with all her husbands and her artistic works.
By Zoe Fruchter

fruchter@grinnell.edu

Today, Nov. 30, a group of approximately 50 students followed senior administration officials out of their weekly meeting with Student Government Association to protest the Colleges refusal to bargain with United Grinnell Student Dining Workers (UGSDW), after the student-workers emphatically elected to join the Union, expanding the unit to cover all student employees.

The Union emailed their members about the action at 12:04 pm, a half hour before the appointed meeting time, to gather outside of SGA offices where College President Raynard Kington, Dean of the College Mike Latham and Chief of Staff Angela Voos were scheduled to meet with cabinet members. President Kington did not end up attending the meeting, although he had RSVPd over Outlook Calendar. The assembled crowd of students sustained a suspenseful silence for over fifteen minutes as they awaited the meetings conclusion.

The values that lead me to choose Grinnell and that I thought Grinnell held are obviously not held by the administration. As a student I feel lied to and Im gonna stand in solidarity with the Union, said Abby Frerick 21 of her reasons for attending the protest.

At 12:54 pm, Dean Latham and Voos exited SGA offices on the second floor of the JRC and were greeted by a corridor of protesters lining the sides of the hallway, holding signs that read Stop Hiding Bargain Now and Dont Appeal. Latham and Voos did not engage with the protesters; Dean Latham informed Union President and SGA Treasurer Quinn Ercolani that he and Voos were on their way to a meeting and the two proceeded down the hallway.

Protesters, led by union leaders Sam Xu 20, Cory McCartan 19, Nate Williams and Paige Oamek, both 20, in neon orange vests, followed the two administrators and yelled chants that the Union provided in handouts. They chanted: No more nasty legal fights! Give us back our union rights! and Stop with this hypocrisy! Unions are democracy! Jacob Getzoff 19 kept rhythm for the chants on a bucket drum painted with the word, Union, in scarlet and black.

The chanting protesters followed Latham and Voos from the JRC to Nollen House, cutting through the central academic quad, and then into Nollen House, the location of senior administrative offices.

SGA cabinet members Kadiata Tombou 19, Selah Mystic 20, Cassidy Christiansen 20 and Ercolani joined the protesters in their capacities as student-worker and elected representatives of the student body.

Eighty-eight percent of the student body approved [Union expansion] from a Student Initiative, said Kadiata Tombou, SGA Vice President for Student Affairs, so as representatives of students on this campus its our duty to represent their voices and stand with them.

On the second floor of Nollen House, the location of President Kington, Dean Latham and Voos offices, Oamek gave a brief speech to the assembled protesters.

They obviously dont care about democracy and democratic voices and all of the things that weve gathered here today to celebrate, she said,   We want to negotiate, we want to bargain, we want to represent each other because we are all stronger together.

The protesters then exited the Nollen House. Although no administration members engaged with protesters, a figure, presumably an administrative employee, appeared to be filming the protest from behind a frosted glass door.

We brought the discussion to them [the administration] which is a really great thing and was the goal of the action, said Union President Ercolani of the event, although he expressed his disappointment that President Kington was not present.

It affirms our concern that he is hiding from us and that he is not engaging in any meaningful conversation, said Union Vice President Xu of Kingtons absence.

Within an hour of the protests conclusion, Associate Vice President for Student Affairs Sarah Moschenross sent out an email to the student body on Grinnell Protest and Demonstration Policy. The policy explicitly mentions the union in a section entitled, Can I be fined for crossing the picket line? The policy also states that If after notice of non-compliance with College policies, student demonstrators remain out of compliance, then they may be referred to the conduct process for a possible violation of the Colleges policies for further processing consistent with existing policies.

The Union leadership was aware of this policy when planning the action and no members of UGSDW leadership were charged with non-compliance as of the publication of this article, but Ercolani dismisses the Colleges right to arbitrate student participation in this dispute.

Frankly, students fighting for their rights trumps college policy, wrote Ercolani in a message to The S&B. Well always protest peacefully and safely, but this fight goes beyond the restrictive policy of the people trying to strip our rights away.

The S&B has reached out to the administration for comment on the protest and will continue to update the campus community as events unfold.

Students follow Dean Michael Latham and Angela Voos, Title IX Coordinator, as they trek back to Nollen House from their meeting in JRC. Photo by Paul Chan.
By Jackson Schulte

schultej@grinnell.edu

For College students and faculty, traveling home can be a costly venture. With classes scheduled until the day before Thanksgiving and a fall semester that ends just short of Christmas, this year is particularly expensive for those who leave Grinnell for breaks. As a result, many professors canceled their classes last Wednesday and some students have sought alternative routes home for winter break.

Before Thanksgiving break last week, a professor who wishes to remain anonymous said that they cancelled their classes on Wednesday because, Its radically cheaper to travel not directly around Thanksgiving. It was more affordable for me to see my family. They added, Its the most affordable way for students, too. Its an additional financial burden.

This professor also made the point that as a non-tenure track faculty member, they are paid much less than their tenured peers, which makes travel costs additionally daunting. They said, Canceling class was the only way for me to afford to see my family.

Domestic students going as far as the East or West Coast for winter break are sometimes resorting to alternative, slower modes of transportation like buses or Amtrak trains. As of Wednesday, Nov. 28, the cheapest one-way flight on Google Flights from Des Moines to Portland, Oregon on Dec. 22, for example, costs $438. On December 15, a week earlier, the same one-way trip costs $171. These flights are from Googles best flights mode, through which Google chooses options that give you the best trade-off between price and convenience.

The College does factor in travel expenses when creating financial aid packages. The S&B received an email from Brad Lindberg, assistant vice president for enrollment and director of financial aid, in which he wrote that The travel allowance is intended to represent the approximate cost of two round trips for domestic students, and one trip for those traveling overseas.

Lindberg also wrote that the College does not give its travel allowance with a specific break in mind, because some students choose to travel home over different break periods during the year. The allowance is intended to help cover the costs of two round trips, without regard to when they are used.

The fact that winter break is closer to Christmas this year is not something the Colleges current travel allowance system can account for. As I described, the manner in which the travel allowance is formulated, combined with the variability in individual student circumstances keep us from using specific travel dates when formulating the allowance, Lindberg wrote. Lindberg also noted that the general sum allotted to each student ranges from $200-$1,100, depending on how far from Grinnell a student lives.

Some students traveling home this winter break feel that the College has not done enough to make sure they can afford to get home. Rachel Hinkley 21, a second-year from rural New York, expressed frustration with the time it takes to get from rural Iowa to her home. Last year it was okay because we ended far enough before Christmas that it was possible to get home by train, which is the cheapest way to get home for me, said Hinkley.

Hinkley usually takes a train home, and it is about a 24-hour trip from Grinnell to New York. However, with winter break beginning so close to Christmas, a holiday her family celebrates, she is worried about making it back on time. We end so close to Christmas that there was a risk of me not making it home for Christmas Eve, maybe not even Christmas. So, we had to buy a plane ticket. Luckily I happened to find one that was cheap, but that ticket goes out on the 23rd, which is pretty close to Christmas.

Kira Duff 20, a student from Portland, Oregon, is concerned about being able to afford her plane ticket home. Duff said that under normal circumstances she can go home over winter break at a round trip cost of around $300. Now, one-way is $400-plus, said Duff, which is not within my budget. I know there are some ways around it, but that usually includes taking a bus to Chicago, which is another $60. That usually doesnt end up cheaper, for me, especially when you factor in travel time and ease.

Duff also said that the expensive trip home takes a toll on her family, too. It feels like a big inconvenience, both for me and my mom, whos not in a position to help out but feels obligated to when prices get so high. Its just like, Well, whose Christmas present just went out the window?

According to Registrar of the College, Jason Maher, the academic calendar follows institutional guidelines which require that the school year begins on the first Thursday that lands between August 24-30. This year, the first Thursday between those dates happened to be August 30. This later start date explains why the semester is ending on such a late date, too. Luckily, this does not happen often, wrote Maher in an email to The S&B. The last time it happened was Fall 2012. The next time will be Fall 2029.

Listed among the top ten states represented in the Grinnell student body on the Colleges website are California, New York, Massachusetts, Maryland and Colorado. In addition, the College boasts an international student population of 18 percent. Needless to say, countless Grinnellians will travel all over the world this winter, by whatever means they can.
By Zoe Fruchter

fruchter@grinnell.edu

Following the Great Recession of 2008, the proportion of humanities majors at elite liberal arts schools in the United States has fallen, prompting concern among the powers-that-be at institutions such as Grinnell College. Most authorities on the topic theorize that these trends are due to financial anxiety about employment.

Whats happening at Grinnell is squarely in line with whats happening at other national liberal arts schools, said Dean Michael Latham about the drop in humanities majors.

In the 2016-17 school year, 23.8 percent of majors at Grinnell College were in the humanities and almost twice that were in STEM, at 40.3 percent. The relationship between these two divisions has not always been this way. Until around 2011, all three divisions at the College split the number of majors relatively evenly, vacillating around 30 percent each, excluding independent or interdisciplinary majors. But starting in 2011, the proportion of STEM majors began to rise and the proportion of humanities majors fell. Humanities majors have failed to make up more than 30 percent of the student body, and STEM major percentage has risen above 40 percent. The percentage of social science majors has remained relatively constant within that same time period.

President Kington commented on this topic in an article for The Atlantic entitled As Humanities Majors Decline, Colleges Try to Hype Up Their Programs, outlining the Grinnell Colleges attempt to attract students interested in the humanities and convince them to major.

Although the statistics cited in that Atlantic piece may appear dire, the real postgraduate outlook for the Colleges artists and humanities majors is not as grim as one might be led to believe, according to the College.

Its not as if you see science majors all moving into exclusively quantitative fields or humanists all moving into their parents basements, Latham said. The reality is much more complicated: that people end up pursuing a variety of different fields.

Students at the College majoring in the humanities gain a multitude of pre-professional skills for careers in various fields, including critical thinking, strong writing skills, data contextualization and project management.

Rachel Swoap 19, computer science and studio art double major, sees similarities between the skills she has learned in both disciplines.

I think they fit together in a way that most people dont see right off the bat. Theyre both logical  theres a creative process in which you document and design and experiment and fail sometimes and keep trying.

The Center for Careers Life and Service (CLS) is active in providing professional opportunities for humanities, and specifically arts, students in terms of internships and post-graduate plans. This semester, the CLS teamed up with the Department of Alumni Relations to bring alumni working in the arts to the College to discuss initiating social change through the arts and connect with current students.

Yet the administration stress that what students major in at Grinnell is not necessarily a determinant of the career field in which students end up. Upon entering the CLS offices, one is greeted with a large infographic, called the Core Diagram, showing the majors and career destinations of Grinnell alumni. The majors are on the left of the graphic and the career fields are on the right; lines criss-cross the board showing arts majors who became bankers and psychology majors who work in the arts.

Thus, the relative percentage of humanities majors does not necessarily indicate the state of the humanities within the liberal arts. No matter their major, students still take humanities classes. Introduction to the Studio, the first class in the Studio Art major, is notoriously over-enrolled every semester, despite its multiple sections.

Professor Jenny Anger, chair of the art history department, noticedconsistent enrollment numbers in art history classes.

In our intro class, we [the art history department] get excited if we turn someone to art history and that person might become a major, said Anger.

Susan Ferrari, Director of Corporate, Foundation & Government Relations, identified another contributing factor to the drop in humanities majors that has not been talked about much on the national level: K-12 education. Ferrari referenced less long form reading, less music and less foreign language classes in students pre-Grinnell experience, which shapes students perceptions of what they are interested in pursuing once they get to the College. With advising from academic advisors and the CLS, however, that can change.

Many departments are aware of students potential humanities blind spot and have made changes accordingly, particularly in their introductory classes. The classics department changed their 100-level requirements to accommodate students who havent come in with Latin or Greek language experience. This semester, the music department debuted a new introductory class for those lacking prior musical exposure. The English department is running a new course called The Physician as Writer.

A multi-disciplinary education is the definition of a liberal arts education and remains one of the essential academic components of Colleges identity since its founding. The Collegefaces the challenge of maintaining that core identity while also responding to changing student demands within national and global circumstances. While the College has added and shifted faculty allocation to meet students growing focus on the sciences, doing so can create a self-perpetuating system in which the humanities do not have the resources to attract the students they need. Instead, the burden lies on the institution to firmly situate itself within the liberal arts as opposed to a pre-professional context.

Only about three percent of American college students attend a standalone liberal arts college. Were already really a pretty rare breed, were already pretty unusual, Latham said. And so, within that sector, trying to continue to pursue what we do for the reasons that we value becomes really important.
By Eva Hill

hilleva@grinnell.edu

In November of 2017, Grinnell hosted the first-ever Multicultural Alumni Reunion, featuring a speaker, student-alumni panels and the presentation of the brand-new Diversity Champion Award, granted to Professor Kesho Scott, sociology. The event, which garnered favorable reviews from alumni, staff and students alike, provided an opportunity for alumni from marginalized backgrounds to share their stories and their hopes for the future of multicultural student experiences at Grinnell. Due to the success of the program, which the Council for Advancement and Support for Education recognized via a Bronze award for Best Diversity Program, the event will be a recurring reunion, scheduled to happen once every two years.

Sarah Smith-Benanti, Associate Director of Alumni and Donor Relations for Diverse Communities, explained that the main goal of the program was to reengage the college community with alumni from diverse backgrounds.

Essentially, the College hasnt done a very good job of keeping in touch with and reaching out to our multicultural populations, said Smith-Benanti.

She added that after the College cut ties with the Posse program in mid-2016, many alumni reached out to the College, denouncing the decision. The College felt that they needed to reconnect with the multicultural alumni population and provide a space for former students to talk about their experiences on campus.

The concept for the program arose out of a discussion between Jayn Chaney, director of alumni and donor relations and members of the Student Organization of Latinxs. When alumni responded positively to the idea, the College hired Smith-Benanti to plan the reunion, a position which led to the job she holds now. She emphasized that the program as it currently exists is one of the few in the country, in terms of its specific focus and frequency.

Other institutions might have a singular event during their big reunion or homecoming weekend or something like that, or they might do something special every five years  I think were somewhat unique compared to our peers in that, Smith-Benanti said.

Reina Matsuura 19 participated in the event last year as a panelist with her mother. She explained that the College currently has very few legacy students from marginalized backgrounds; last year, there were only twelve. Matsuura got to participate on the panel with her mother, Katherine Matsuura 90, nee Rankin.

It was nice to just have a conversation about why it is that fewer students of color send their kids to Grinnell, said Matsuura. It was really cool, because the invitation [to participate] came out of nowhere for me, and I didnt know that there were people who cared about things like this on campus.

Matsuura and Smith-Benanti are working on the next reunion, set to happen in November 2019. Benanti mentioned that the planned theme of the event is food and food traditions and the planned keynote speaker is involved in the culinary arts. Matsuura is working to plan a student-alumni open mic night for the event. In addition, both mentioned a new project to create a digital archive of Grinnell history with a focus on enhancing institutional memory and accountability within the College.

The events during the reunion will be free and open to students, as they were during the last event. Matsuura and Smith-Benanti strongly encourage students to attend to connect with their community of alumni.
By Zoe Fruchter and Chloe Wray

fruchter@grinnell.edu

wraychlo@grinnell.edu

On Tuesday Nov. 27, the student workers of Grinnell College voted resoundingly to expand the Union of Grinnell Student Dining Workers (UGSDW) to cover all students employed by the College. UGSDW won the right to hold an election after arguing against the College in a historic two day hearing.

The National Labor Relations Board administered the election in Joe Rosenfield Center (JRC) 101. All students who logged employment hours with the College between Sept. 16 and Oct. 15 were eligible to vote. The exception to the proposed unit, thus making them ineligible to vote, were students who work in Dining Services, UGSDWs original unit, as well as students with Service Learning Work Study positions who are employed with community partners through the College.

UGSDW won the election with 84 percent of the vote going in favor of expansion. 274 student-workers voted in the affirmative while 54 student-workers voted against the measure; the validity of 38 ballots was contested. A total of 366 student-workers, or 46 percent of the 796 students eligible to vote, turned out to the polls.

Though the stark results of the election showed that student-workers are in favor of union expansion, the College does not plan to comply with this demonstrated preference.

A Special Campus Memo sent by administration via email on Nov. 28, stated that the College has concluded that [the College] cannot bargain with UGSDW in an expanded unit while our appeal [of the decision by the regional director of the National Labor Relations Board regarding this election] is pending before the NLRB. The College has refused a meeting with UGSDW representatives since the case to expand UGSDW coverage began.

While the union legally cannot stage a protest asking the College not to appeal the election, they can hold a picket or protest with signs admonishing the unfair labor practices which

UGSDW has filed against the College within the past month, said Cory McCartan 19, a student advisor to UGSDW who argued on its behalf at their NLRB hearing, at an emergency meeting held by the UGSDW on Nov. 28. UGSDW has filed charges against the College for Coercive Statements (Threats, Promises of Benefits, etc.), Refusal to Furnish Information, Coercive Actions (Surveillance), and Concerted Activities (Retaliation, Discharge, Discipline).

The president of UGSDW, Quinn Ercolani 20, said at the emergency meeting that future actions being planned by the union will show administration we really are serious about our rights and their threats.

Besides delaying the collective bargaining process, a successful appeal could have national consequences for labor rights.

A Nov. 27 press release from UGSDW reads, Grinnell College has made clear its intention to appeal the NLRB regional offices decision to the federal Board, which is filled with Trump administration appointees. Were the College to stick to this path, its reckless behavior would not only compromise the liberty of its own students, but the rights of hundreds of thousands of workers across the nation.

In a motion filed with the NLRB on Nov. 19 by their newly hired attorneys from the international law firm Proskaur-Rose, the College requested a stay on Tuesdays election or that the results be impounded at the conclusion of the election. In an email to The S&B, Patricia Finkelman, chair to the board of trustees, wrote The 11-member Executive Committee, acting on behalf of the Board of Trustees in accordance with our bylaws (ART. VI, Section 6.1A), voted unanimously to direct the College to appeal  

The NLRB declined to rule on Grinnell Colleges appeal to stay the election. However, the Nov. 19 filing also stated the Colleges intent to appeal the validity of the election, in effect calling for the Certificate of Representation which will be granted to UGSDW to be rescinded.

According to Sam Xu 20, UGSDW board member-at-large, the College has until Dec. 4 to file objections to the conduct of the election with the NLRB Regional Director. Barring any objections, the Regional Director will be present UGSDW with a Certificate of Representation for all student workers. The College has up to 14 days after the certification is presented to file a Request for Review with the NLRB. The Union can oppose this request and the NLRB may take several months to decide to grant to the review.

If the review is granted, then it may take another months, if not years, for the Board to decide on the merits of the case, wrote Xu in an email to The S&B.

We expect theyre going to run out the clock to give us as little time as possible to respond, said McCartan in an interview with The S&B.

If the College files and wins an appeal of the election results, there will be national consequences. Winning the appeal could overturn The Trustees of Columbia University in the City of New York and Graduate Workers of Columbia GWC, UAW, Case 02RC143012. This decision granted Columbia University graduate students the right to collective bargaining as employees of the university and set the precedent for the case at other graduate student unions and Grinnell College.

UGSDW board members theorize that the College is counting on the conservative bench of NLRB officials appointed by President Donald Trump to overturn established precedent in this area.

Weve been talking with a lot of international unions, including UAW [United Automobile Workers, one of the largest unions in the US, which also covers Canadian workers] about strategy and resources and how to proceed here  were prepared to fight this to the end. If the College thinks they can scare us away from this just because Trump is president, theyre wrong, McCartan said.
  CLIA        
Westerly, RI (02891)

Today

Partly cloudy skies this evening will give way to cloudy skies and rain overnight. Low near 40F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 80%..

Tonight

Partly cloudy skies this evening will give way to cloudy skies and rain overnight. Low near 40F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 80%.
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Whenever any natural calamity or man-made disaster took place in Pakistan, without wasting time, Dr. Asif Mahmood Jah along with his devoted teams of Customs Health Care Society reached the affected areas and helped the helpless people by providing them the basic necessities of life and medical assistance. He has also played a role in the rehabilitation of the homeless people and done relief works for the Internally Displace Persons (IDPs) of Bannu and Waziristan, including those of other regions.

He wrote 20 related-books and being a social worker, writer; author and philanthropist got Sitare Imitiaz.

However, his services were not confined to Pakistan only, as feeling the agony of the Syrian refugees, he decided to go to Turkey to help them.

In this regard, his book (Travelogue), Syria, Turkey, Refugees and Service point outs every aspect of the tragedy of the Syrian refugees, including role of the Turkey in providing all the facilities to these homeless Syrians and his own service.

In the beginning of the book, Dr Asif Jah described the unprecedented devastation and destruction which Syria faced due to the proxy war of the major powers. It was the worst humanitarian crisis which resulted into martyrdom of millions of Syrian persons. Such tragedy compelled millions of Syrians to escape across borders in wake of bombs and bullets which have devastated their homes.

Quoting sources, the author mentioned that estimated 15 million people have been affected by the Syrian civil war and almost similar numbers of persons were compelled to leave the country. A vast majority of the Syrian refugees live in various Islamic countries in refugee camps, including Western countries. Turkey hosts the largest number of registered Syrian refugeesapproximately 4 million.

It is mentionable before going to Turkey, filled with the grief and sorrow, Dr. Asif Jah had already collected donations and dispatched relief packages for the Syrian refugees settled in Turkey in the end of 2017. He wrote that his children Yumna, Hazaifa, Mahnoor and his wife Asma who also cooperated in writing this book, helped him in preparing relief packages and gifts like special dresses for the women. Despite it, he was not satisfied. Hence, full with enthusiasm and a sense of strong sympathy, while setting aside human limitations, and his official engagements as a government officer in a department, in April 2018, the author, himself, left for Turkey along with the devoted team.

A thorough study of the book shows that Dr Asif Jah not only provided the Syrian refugees relief goods and monetary help, but also described their plight, optimistic role of Turkey in this respect. For this purpose, the author visited various refugees camps in Turkey and supplied all the necessities of life, including gifts. His selfless aid reached almost all the war-affected Syrians, including women, children and the old persons. In some cases, packets of relief items and gifts were urgently packed with the cooperation of his wife. Special gifts were also given to the Syrian children. The author also visited orphanages (Yateem Khanas) and distributed there goods and money.

In the book, Dr. Asif Mahmood Jah especially admired the role of Turkeys NGO, namely, Yardim Foundation which is conducting welfare activities for the deserving Muslims all over the world. He also contacted the office of the Foundation whose top officials assured him that they are ready to work with the Customs Health Care Society.

During his interaction with the Syrian refugees, general masses, intellectuals and the dignitaries, Dr. Asif Jah came to know that as compared to other countries where these helpless people live, Turkey has provided them all facilities which Turkish citizens enjoy. According to him, it has reminded the migration (Hijrat) of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) and his followers from Mecca to Medina.

Besides, the author discussed every visited city and place of Turkey in historical perspectives. Dr. Waqar Badshah who speaks Turkish language guided him on each occasion. During his visit to various cities such as Istanbul (Old name Constantinople), Urfa, Konya and Bursa, Dr. Asif Jah covered all dimensions of ancient buildings, castles, monuments, mosques, churches, residences, museums, bazaars, graveyards and streets, constructed by the Byzantine emperors and Turkishs Ottoman emperors. He also mentioned the ancient places of the Roman Empire in a comprehensive manner, while depicting the architecture of buildings of various cities and towns from every possible angle. He also wrote the short history of these places.

Istanbul was his focus of attention, as he mentioned Blue Mosque, Underground Basilica Cistern, the Ancient Orient Museum, Topkapi Palace: Home of the Turkeys Sultans, Grand Bazaar, Galata Tower, the Hagia Sophia etc. in an amazing way.

He paid much attention to the tomb and mosque of Abu Ayyub Ansari who was a close companion and Sahaba of the last Prophet Muhammad (PBUH). After the conquest of the Constantinople by the Ottoman Turks, a tomb was constructed above Abu Ayyubs grave and a mosque was built in his honor.

Another key attention of the author was Sultan Muhamm Al-Fateh who conquered the Constantinople in 1453, as early wars failed in ending the Byzantine emperorship. Al Fateh changed the name of the city to Istanbul.

During his trip to Urfa city, besides indicating other places, Dr. Asif Jah particularly gave importance to the Harran Museum which has remained the center of teaching and learning since the ancient times. He has also pointed out Jihad of the Prophet Abraham (PBUH) against the evil empire of King Nemrut and indicated that Harran is the place where the Prophet Abraham (PBUH) spent several years. Included among the archaeological finds is the oldest Islamic university, as the author indicated.

He also met the Governor of Urfa and wrote that unlike Pakistan, there is no protocol even for the governor and he has small staff. Upon reaching Konya city, its historical places and spirituality can be felt when the author visited the tomb of Maulana Rumi-a renowned Sufi mystic, an Islamic scholar and a Persian poet.

As regards the hospitality, wherever, the author went, he was warmly welcomed by the Turkish concerned dignitaries and the people, which had proved that Turkey and its citizens have matchless love and extra-ordinary attachment for Pakistanis.

Dr. Asif Jah opined in the book that in the leadership of the President Tayyip Erdogan, Turkey has paid all foreign loans and rapidly made progress. It has become a model of imitation for other Muslim countries. He also requested various NGOs of the Muslim countries to cooperate with one another not only for welfare of the needy, but also for creation of unity among the Islamic countries.

Without any prejudice, the book also narrates various civilizations, including those of the Armenians.

Apart from old places, the book also illustrates the modern Turkey, its buildings, roads, hotels, restaurants etc. It also gives awareness about Turkeys industries and business activities which have played a key role in development of the country.

While describing Turkeys old and modern culture, the author elaborates that Turkish people wear both European and Turkish dresses. He also mentions their food, marriages etc. in a vivid style.

He writes that there is no VIP culture in Turkey and people have discipline in their ways of life, which can be seen on their roads where there is no traffic jam.

The author clarified, The basic aim of this book is to give awareness about the affected people of Syria and in such a critical situation, it is the duty of the Islamic Ummah to help Syrians

The author has drawn the picture of every visited city and its important places, and related-history in such a way that one can easily understand the local surroundings of the Trukeys cities, culture, old and new traditional values.

As regards the observation-power of the author, readers can note, that starting from Lahore to Istanbul, and returning from Istanbul to Lahore, he has also described the system of immigration and Custom-clearance of the passengers, including taxi-drivers. In these terms, the book will be guide for the tourists who want to visit Turkey.

Title: Syria, Turkey, Refugees and Service (In Urdu: Syria, Turkey, Hijrat and Service)

Author: Dr. Asif Mahmood Jah (Sitare Imitiaz)

Pages: 231

Publisher: UMT Press, Johar Town, Lahore

ISBN: 978-969-9368-43-1
MBABANE  The incoming minister of Commerce, Industry and Trade has set an ambitious target to reduce the countrys Ease of Doing Business to be among the top 10 in Africa.



Minister Manqoba Khumalo, in his vision statement, disclosed that he seeks to attain and sustain an Ease of Doing Business index that will position Eswatini in the top 10 in Africa, and top three in Southern Africa.



This is against the backdrop of the fact that Eswatini recently dropped five places in the Ease of Business.

The World Bank, through its 16th edition of the Ease of Doing Business Report 2019 released on Wednesday afternoon, disclosed that the kingdom was ranked at 117 out of 190 countries.



This effectively meant Eswatinis business environment continued to diminish on a yearly basis when taking into consideration the fact that in 2018, the World Bank ranked the country at 112, which was a regression from the 2017 ranking of 111 out of 190 economies.

The Ease of Doing Business Report is one of the yardsticks used by investors in measuring the conduciveness of a countrys business environment. It is regarded as the best measurement by most investors.



scramble



Therefore, the countrys poor ranking in this regard, put it at a competitive disadvantage in the southern African region more so because all countries in the region scramble for the same investors.



I see my role as simply being the minister responsible for jobs. Winning therefore, will be determined by our ability, as a dynamic team, to develop a business ecosystem that creates not just any type of job but sustainable, high quality jobs that enable anyone employed to live a comfortable life, Khumalo explained.

The minister said proof of effectiveness of the countrys strategies would be significant increase in exports  double the value of our exports in three to five years, significant increase in Foreign Direct Investment (FDI)  double the contribution of FDI to local Growth Domestic Product (GDP) and significant increase in employment to see a 3-5 per cent per annum growth for the next five years.



committed



Im committed to these aspirational goals. My driving ambition will be to deliver this vision and put Eswatini on the road to prosperity for generations to come. I would like to invite all of you to share in my passion as we re-imagine and renew the business landscape in Eswatini together, said Khumalo, during a brainstorming session with heads of department, convened at the ministrys headquarters.



Khumalo said each of the initiatives to improve the targets were collated into a working document that would be shared with departments as they work together to translate the vision into a strategy.
MANZINI  Finally, the police have come out to shed light on their stand regarding the topical rape case of a student from the University of Eswatini (UNESWA) which implicates a prince and his friend.



Following the continuous criticism by social media users and non-governmental organisations (NGOs), the Royal Eswatini Police Service (REPS) has released a statement responding to the critics.



The statement was issued by Deputy National Commissioner of Police Emmanuel Sula Dlamini on behalf of the Acting National Commissioner (NATCOM), William Dlamini.



He said following the much publicised matter of a reported rape case of a University of Eswatini (UNESWA) student, as a police service, they would like to bring clarity and clear the air on the matter. They said this was because there were misconceptions and innuendoes brewing in the public domain, that the case was being treated with soft gloves by the police. The correct position is that, the matter is being handled with the urgency and seriousness it deserves, reads part of the statement.



Furthermore, the service said the police, as per the norm, were dealing with the matter in collaboration with other stakeholders in the criminal justice value chain. To this end, we assure that whatever loose ends remaining, will soon be tied up and the case referred to the relevant structures, the statement said.



arrested



It is worth noting that recently, members of the public and civil society organisations were making noise about the matter. In fact, they demanded answers on why the prince and his friend, who is also a UNESWA student, were still not arrested following the rape allegations levelled against them.



They did this by visiting the Manzini Police Station commanders office and further created an online petition, which was addressed to the office of the acting national commissioner of police. The petition called for the immediate arrest of the prince and his friend. By 6pm yesterday, the online petition had been signed by 2 598 people.



Meanwhile, as the story of the alleged rape of the UNESWA student rages on, some recorded voice clips are being circulated related to the case. The clips, which have been circulating for the past three days, contain voices of men who claim to be warriors (emabutfo) and allege to have information regarding the case.

In one of the voice clips, a warrior details how the girl allegedly dated a man he has known for quite some time, whom he accused of not being truthful regarding the incident.



The voice clip further alleges that there was some foul play in the matter and that there were certain forces who were pushing it.

Making the two clips unfavourable is that the speakers further identify the alleged rape survivor as they state her name and surname, something which has been frowned upon on various social media circles.

Also frowning upon the act was both the Swaziland Action Group Against Abuse (SWAGAA) and the REPS.



condemned



SWAGAAs Communications and Advocacy Officer Slindele Nxumalo said the organisation condemned such an act, stating that it had the potential of jeopardising the ongoing investigations into the matter.










MBABANE  An intoxicated man who demanded food from his mother and killed his two minor nieces by hacking them with an axe, has been sentenced to 83 years imprisonment.



When he committed the offence, Nkosinathi Khumalo of Hhelehhele, under Chief Mgolombeni in northern Hhhohho, said he had smoked dagga and drunk traditional beer mixed with mankanjane.



Khumalo stabbed his mother, Thandi Zwane and hacked his three nieces and one nephew with an axe. The incident left his mother and two of the minors badly injured, while the two other children died from the injuries they sustained.

High Court Judge John Magagula found Khumalo guilty on November 21, 2018 and issued the sentence yesterday. The convict had been charged with two counts of murder and three of attempted murder.



The judge sentenced Khumalo to 35 years imprisonment on each of the two murder charges. The court further issued a sentence of five years on two of the attempted murder charges. He was sentenced to three years on the third count of attempted murder.



Judge Magagula ordered that the sentences should run concurrently, which means he will spend a period of 35 years behind bars. The judge further ordered that the sentences should be backdated to September 22, 2010 when he was arrested.



Judge Magagula said there was no doubt that Khumalo killed the two children by hacking them with an axe. According to the judge, Khumalo also assaulted his mother by stabbing her with a spear in the arm and right thigh. He further attacked two of the children with both the axe and spear.

In his defence, Khumalo did not challenge the killings and assault, but raised the defence that he had no intention of committing the offences. He said the reason he killed them was that he was drunk and should not be held responsible for his actions.
MBABANE  Dr Sibongile Mtshali says the estimated E40 million cost of running external examinations this year is not her mess.



The principal secretary (PS) in the Ministry of Education and Training, alleged that it was during the time when there was no government in place that a decision was taken to engage the 400 vehicles previously used by the Elections and Boundaries Commission (EBC) for the exams.



Also, security personnel were roped in to assist with the examinations.

This was during the time when Vincent Mhlanga was the acting Prime Minister.

The external examinations were first written by Form Vs from the beginning of October until November 9, 2018. This was followed by the examinations of Form III pupils who started writing in mid-October 2018 until November 9, 2018.



The last group of pupils who wrote their examinations were Grade VII pupils, who started on November 5 and completed on November 15, 2018.

Dr Mtshali was being interviewed following impeccable sources relaying that she had been asked about the expenditure, together with some officers from her ministry and those of the Ministry of Public Works and Transport.



To this, she said: That was just a regular meeting of principal secretaries and there was nothing perculiar about it.

Meanwhile, the spontaneous decision by the ministry to have the security personnel, preceded a sequence of uncertainties involving the ministry and teachers. Leading to the schools opening of the third and final term on September 11, 2018, teachers were threatening that they would not go back to work following an impasse they had with government.



The impasse emanated from the fact that while they wanted 6.55 per cent cost-of-living-adjustment (CoLA), government was offering none. In fact, government to date has been offering civil servants zero per cent.



threat



Following this threat, Dr Mtshali released a press statement wherein she advised all teachers that they were expected to be in class and conducting lessons without fail. The press statement was directed to all head teachers, teachers, regional education officers (REOs), and chairpersons of school committees, school grantees and managers.



The ministry stated that the press statement reiterated a letter issued by the Ministry of Education and Training, dated August 30, 2018. The August letter, according to the PS, was informing the nation about the reopening of schools on September 11, 2018, for the third term, as per the schools calendar that was issued at the beginning of the year, 2018.



Based on that letter, the Ministry of Education and Training in conjunction with the Teaching Service Commission, wishes to advise that all teachers should report for duty on Tuesday September 11, 2018, to carry out their obligations, and this should be done without fail, reads the press statement. The ministry further directed all head teachers to ensure that teaching and learning took place and was done effectively.



cooperation



Before signing it off, the PS stated that the cooperation in that regard, from all the people whom the letter had been addressed to, would be greatly appreciated. Subsequent to this, Dr Mtshali again released a press statement calling for the closure of schools.



At the time, the PS stated that schools were being closed because of an industrial action by public sector associations (PSAs). Press Statement No.7 of 2018, stated that schools were to be closed for three days. It stated that due to the uncertainty of the safety and protection of children during an industrial action by TUCOSWA, which was scheduled for September 18, 19, 20, 2018, classes were to be suspended during the aforementioned dates.



TUCOSWA is an acronym for the Trade Union Congress of Swaziland.

As a result, government requested parents to ensure that their children were kept at home. However, this was cancelled overnight and classes had to resume as then acting PM Vincent Mhlanga, said schools should continue operating as normal with immediate effect.



statement



Mhlangas statement, No. 15/2018, stated that the issues raised by TUCOSWA and the unions were attended to by the previous Cabinet, and any outstanding issues would be dealt with by the next Cabinet. The acting PM reiterated that all teachers and pupils were expected to be in class on the aforementioned dates. However, on September 23, 2018, the Industrial Court deferred an intention by PSAs to host an industrial action.

Instead, teachers hosted a number of activities which they termed as union meetings and were out of their workstations for three days a week. This was just before October 1, 2018 when the first paper was to be written by pupils.
LOBAMBA  It seems like the new Members of Parliament still need to be guided on the proper dress code when attending sittings.



This was evident yesterday when one of them showed up dressed in Arab gear, which got most of the legislators demanding answers.

Ngwempisi MP Mthandeni Dube rocked up dressed in a white ankle-length Arab garment with long sleeves similar to a robe. He also had sandals on, which perfected his Arab look.



When he made an entrance, the MP had a blazer on but it was the black and white checked headscarf wrapped with a black band that quickly caught the attention of his colleagues.



laughing



Just before he took his seat, most of them started mumbling while others burst out laughing as they all looked at his direction. Ugcokeni lona? some of them were heard asking, which means, What is this one wearing?



After taking his seat, Dube took off his blazer, which is when his whole attire was visible, something which saw some MPs standing up to ask questions.

First to stand up was Hosea MP Mduduzi Mabuza, who demanded to know if the Deputy Speaker, Phila Buthelezi was aware of the dress code by the MP.

In response, Buthelezi stated that it was unusual but that it looked religious and further asked for the House to guide him.



Next to stand up was Lobamba Lomdzala MP Marwick Khumalo, who said the problem was that the members of the House had no idea on which nation the attire was from.

In previous years we used to agree that if you wear an outfit or attire that represents another nation, it must be the complete look. That is why for our traditional attire, we have to look proper in emahiya and not put jackets or tops on it, Khumalo said.



Dube then rose to defend himself but his statement made the situation worse as the MPs began laughing again. Yimvunulo yase-Dubai iphelele, he said in vernacular, which means, This is traditional attire from Dubai, it is complete.



Kwaluseni MP Mabhanisi Dlamini submitted that it was important to ascertain if the attire was indeed from Dubai, instead of hearing it from the MP.

Also speaking on the issue was Ndzingeni MP Lutfo Dlamini, who requested that the House should, in the interest of time, request the MP to just go and dress up properly. There is no nation called Dubai. If he is talking about one of the Arab Emirates states, he must say so. I am worried that he himself does not know what he is wearing, Dlamini said.



emadloti



Maphalaleni MP Mabulala Maseko also made a submission saying, his grandmother had ancestral spirits (emadloti) which she presented by donning a special attire, and wondered if he could borrow it and wear it in Parliament.

Other MPs felt it would be improper for Dube to be judged as they had not yet been properly oriented on the correct dress code they were expected to adhere to. For years, it has always been the norm that MPs attended sittings dressed in formal wear or traditional attire.



In the end, the deputy Speaker told the MPs that he himself was not an expert when it came to dress codes and requested that the issue be addressed at a later stage.
Authorities, archaeologists and historians in Albania have sounded the alarm on the issue of the looting of underwater cultural artifacts

Dozens of ancient ships, many of them dating back two millennia, are lying on the sea bottom 450 km off the coast of Albania, most of them originally laden with priceless antiquities that have recently been looted, according to an Athens-Macedonian News Agency report.

Most of the wrecks are Ancient Greek, Roman and Illyric ships, often loaded with treasures. After the collapse of the Albanian Communist regime of Enver Hoxha, many of the precious shipwreck sites, with vessels carrying gold coins and priceless artifacts, have totally disappeared or been looted.

Illegal antiquities traffickers can make a fortune on the global market for ancient art and artifacts. Inside Albania an ancient amphora found in the sea can fetch 100 euros, but on the worldwide art and antiquities markets its price can skyrocket, reaching hundreds of thousands of euros.

Nevetheless, in June 2018, ancient shipwrecks in the Ionian and Aegean Seas received the designation of National Cultural Heritage Treasures, and according to new international regulations, researchers and divers must obtain a special permit to approach old shipwreck sites.

Authorities, archaeologists and historians in Albania have done their part to sound the alarm on the issue of the looting of underwater cultural artifacts. But tragically, despite the countrys economic growth and its good prospects for EU membership, Albania still lacks the funds needed to enforce the protection of the priceless archaeological treasures which still rest on the sea bottom off its coast.

Along with the ancient shipwrecks, modern ships that have sunk recently are salvaged from the bottom and sold on the black market for their rare metals while even newer vessels are sold for scrap metal.

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: pixabay.com
Goldman Sachs weighed in on the Bank of Greece's (BoG) recently announced plan to better tackle "bad debt" afflicting Greece's four systemic banks, while nevertheless avoiding a forecast on how successful the initiative will be, naftemporiki.gr

The international investment bank does calculate that the percentage of non-performing exposures held by Greek banks will fall to 33 percent, from 48 percent, in the second quarter of 2018. The figure, if reached, will still be among the highest in the Eurozone.

At the same time, Goldman Sachs assesses "bad debt" on Greek banks' balance sheets at 23 cents to the euro, much lower than the current market level of 51 cents to the euro. Conversely, the assessment is still higher than recent sell-offs of "bad debt" portfolios to distress funds, which hovered between 18 to 20 cents on the euro.

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: Michael W. Pendergrass License: CC-BY-SA
The municipalities of Lavreotiki at the southeastern tip of the Attica region and Hydra in the Saronic Gulf are vying for administrative control of an uninhabited islet, Kathimerini reports.

The reason is that when Aghios Georgios (San Giorgio) goes into official operation as a wind farm, the municipality in control will be entitled to 3 percent of revenues, which reached 940,000 euros last year.

Last Monday, Greeces Ministry of Environment and Energy modified the environmental terms of the installation, which is managed by Terna SA, in a way that reflects Hydras administrative control over Aghios Georgios. However, the dispute is not yet settled. Three lawsuits are still pending, while Lavreotiki officials are preparing to file one more.

In April, the Interior Ministry endorsed an assessment by the Legal Council of the State that adopts the arguments of Hydra authorities. According to that, Aghios Georgios, a private island, has been under Hydras jurisdiction since 1843.

The apple of discord is the levies from the operation of a wind farm on the island, which comprise 3 percent of revenues from the sale of electricity to the national grid.

The wind farm began operating on a pilot basis in 2016 and, according to figures provided by Terna, 2017 revenues stood at 940,000 euros. About 533,000 euros of that was destined to be paid state-owned electricity market operator LAGIE into the municipal coffers, about 313,000 euros to residents of the municipality in the form of a discount on their electricity bills, and some 94,000 to the Green Fund  a national environment fund set up in 2010 to support regeneration projects.

Part of that money has already been collected by the Municipality of Lavreotiki, under whose jurisdiction the islet fell until recently.

We shall certainly also challenge the decision at the Council of State, noted Lavreotiki Mayor Dimitris Loukas. Another lawsuit is still pending, against a similar decision by the Regulatory Authority for Energy (RAE), which will be adjudicated in 2019."

Meanwhile, two rulings are still pending over two lawsuits filed by the Municipality of Hydra  one against a building permit issued by the Markopoulo town-planning authority and another against LAGIEs decision to give us the first levy installment.

Lavreotiki officials insist that Aghios Georgios actually lies within the municipalitys administrative limits. The Interior Ministry never gave us a chance to defend our position. We have asked the plenary to review the decision, but we have not received a response.

Hydra officials hail the decision. There had been an injustice against us. The islet never belonged to Lavrio in the first place, the islands mayor, Giorgos Koukoudakis, said. We have filed a lawsuit seeking to reclaim the levies collected by the Municipality of Lavreotiki. Hydra has to put up with too many conservation laws. We are not allowed to install solar water heaters or modern window frames. These funds will be of some comfort, he commented.

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: NASA License: CC-BY-SA
Regarding overall tourist numbers for the summer of 2018, the Santorini mayor said that about 2.5 million people visited the island through September 30

More than one thousand weddings of couples from other countries took place on the spectacularly beautiful Greek island of Santorini this past summer. And the trend shows no sign of abating, as the number of couples who desire to marry on the Aegean island increases every year, Santorini Mayor Nikos Zorzos said, according to greekreporter.com.

Members of the Santorini community spoke during an event called Santorini in Athens which was held at the Acropolis Museum on Tuesday. Santorini officials presented data describing current tourism trends on the island, touting it especially as a wedding destination of choice for many.

The islands mayor noted that in the summer of 2018 over one thousand couples got married on the idyllic locale of Caldera as well as other popular spots. At the same time, he said, there were numerous fake wedding ceremonies where couples just wanted to be photographed as a bride and groom on Santorini.

Sixty percent of foreign couples who marry in Santorini are British, according to island data. The remaining couples are from Europe, the United States, Australia and New Zealand.

As for the many Chinese and Japanese couples who are photographed in wedding clothes, the island officials clarified that they are nothing more than renewals of vows. They might also be so-called virtual weddings because the laws of those countries do not allow official weddings abroad.

Santorini officials also described some unusual wedding ceremony requests that they have received and were unable to satisfy. They mentioned couples who asked to get married inside a submarine at the bottom of the sea, and others who wanted their ceremony to take place at the top of the volcano.

Regarding overall tourist numbers for the summer of 2018, the Santorini mayor announced that about 2.5 million people visited the island through September 30. More than one million visitors landed at the islands airport, 700,000 came on line ships and another 740,000 on cruise ships.

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: Hhss8228 License: CC-BY-SA
They have played a central role in both in the lives of the locals as well as the famous Greek mythology and the god

The natural beauty of the Greek lakes reflects the unique landscape of the country, protothema.gr notes in the following article:

It is no coincidence that they have played a central role in both in the lives of the locals and the famous Greek mythology and the gods.

Closely linked to the human element and the growth of the cities located nearby and the surrounding areas, the Greek lakes are an enchanting sight for their visitors. Lets take a quick tour of the 5 most beautiful ones:

Lake Trichonida Area: 96 km. Maximum Depth: 57 m

More than 140 species of birds  30 of which are endangered  find shelter in extensive reeds and the lakeshores, while impressive calcareous marshes located in the shallow coastal areas are biotopes of particular scientific interest.

Perennial plane trees, willows, oleanders, walnuts, eucalyptus and fertile seas from olive groves and citruses constitute landscapes of exceptional natural beauty.

Prespes Little Area: 47.35 sq km. Maximum depth: 8 m

Great Area: 272 km. Maximum Depth: 55 m

Of the most important wetlands in Europe, Prespes is the perfect refuge for migratory birds and other fauna.

Hundreds of species, many under extinction, nest and breed there, among which are the Dalmatian pelicans, the cormorants and the herons.

Visit the Observatory and take watch the birds with the expert aid of the members of the Greek Ornithological Society who will let you get up close with their telescope.

Plastira Lake Area: 25.2 sq km. Maximum depth: 60 m

Known as Little Switzerland, Lake Plastiras is located in an idyllic setting of incomparable natural beauty that will leave the visitor speechless.

It is one of the largest artificial lakes in Greece that was created at the site where, during antiquity, the water of river Tavropos flowed into Acheloos in the south.

Lake Pamvotis Area: 23 sq. Km. Maximum depth: 5 m

Two main features of the lake stand out:

The incredible peninsula with the historic castle and the tall minarets and the island  the only inhabited and anonymous lake island in Greece  resting in its green waters.

Lake of Kastoria Area: 28 sq km. Maximum depth: 9 m

The exceptional beauty of Lake Orestiada of Kastoria is a sight for the visitors to behold.

It is estimated that it was formed 10,000,000 years ago and its present form is the remnant of an older lake that covered 164 square kilometres.

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: Dim Philos License: CC-BY-SA
The bicommunal Technical Committee on Cultural Heritage completed the restoration of two more monuments, located in the old city of Turkish-occupied Famagusta, the Church of St. Anne and Tanners mosque. A ceremony will be held on December 7, to mark the completion of the two projects, cna.org reports.

Speaking to CNA, Takis Hadjidemetriou, the Greek Cypriot Head of the Technical Committee, referred particularly to St. Anne, which dates from the 14th century BC, and said that the Maronite Patriarch from Lebanon will also attend the ceremony.

He also said that a religious service was held in St. Anne in May 2016, for the first time after almost five centuries, adding that the church is now completely renovated.

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: Chris06 License: CC-BY-SA
Hellenic Space Agency received plans by 10 reputable academic institutions, research centres and independent researchers to be studied and sent to NASA for further evaluation

Representatives of the Hellenic Space Agency participated in the International Astronautical Congress held in Bremen, according to ANA.

The conference unanimously decided to cooperate with space agencies around the world to prepare and implement an international mission to the Moon.

NASA is the head of this international mission and Greece will take part in the mission "demonstrating that it is an equal partner in space events and that it can promote Greek scientists and Greek academic institutions to major missions."

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
Days of Culture of the Republic of Kazakhstan have kicked off in Ashgabat. A delegation consisting of cultural workers, artists and museum workers from Mangystau region of Kazakhstan arrived in the Turkmen capital to participate in the cultural action.

As part of Days of Kazakh culture, the delegation of the friendly country held talks at the Ministry of Culture of Turkmenistan, during which the sides discussed issues related to enhancing the Turkmen-Kazakh partnership in the humanitarian sphere.

There was also held a concert of Kazakhstans masters of art at Watan Cinema and Concert Center in Ashgabat and an exhibition of arts and crafts and other valuables from the collection of the Mangystau Regional Museum of Local History at the Museum of Fine Arts of Turkmenistan.

 TURKMENISTAN.RU, 2021
We need to change the way we farm, the way we eat and the way we think if we as a civilization are going to survive the catastrophic impacts that climate change is already bringing to our people and to our planet.

A world above 2 degrees is nearly unthinkable. According to the new IPCC report, it will mean prolonged droughts in some parts of the world and greater risks from floods in others, dozens of large coastal cities will be flooded, budget makers and politicians will struggle to align priorities to pay for the projected US$54 trillion price tag, massive global migrations could take place as people flee the tropics, uncontrollable wildfires will wipe out communities and rangeland, women will be especially challenged by the dynamic impacts of climate change that affect women and girls differently than men, and more people could very well go hungry as the real threats to the food we eat and the way we farm are put to the test.

We need a moonshot moment. And agriculture needs to be at the heart of it.

As world leaders gather in Poland for this years climate talks, they need to place agriculture and planning at the forefront of these global efforts. On the nexus of farming, eating and planning, we can reduce significant amounts of greenhouse gases and we can protect the hundreds of millions of people whose lives and livelihoods are being uprooted by climate change.

How we farm

The start will be transformation on the farm. In Africa, agriculture accounts for 15 percent of overall CO2 emissions each year, while on a global level, agriculture, forestry and other land use account for 24 percent of all greenhouse gas emissions.

Several steps can be taken to transform agriculture across the globe and fuel our climate moonshot. This will not only help us feed our growing population  according to the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations (FAO), we need to increase food production by 50 percent by 2050 to feed the estimated 9 billion people on our planet  but it will also significantly improve the lives of millions of people who are still hungry, still lack access to clean water, and still live on less than US$2 a day.

As part of the UN climate talks, world leaders will have the chance to contribute to the Koronivia Joint Work on Agriculture. Some key recommendations to improve efficiencies on the farm include:

If cattle were their own nation, they would be the worlds third largest emitter of greenhouse gases, after China and the US, according to the BBC. Photo: UNDP Kosovo / Arben Llapashtica

What we eat

One of the simplest solutions is to look more closely at consumption patterns and the sustainable production of food.

According to FAOs Future of Food and Agriculture: Agricultural production is expected to rise worldwide in response to population growth, dietary changes and increased incomes. Raising consumer awareness about environmentally sustainable and healthier diets, reducing food waste, pricing food to reflect the negative externalities of its production, and limiting the use of grains for biofuel production will all be critical to curb the demand for agricultural products. These actions will also be critical to reduce the triple burden of malnutrition that is, undernourishment, micronutrient deficiencies, and overweight and obesity, that often exist within a single country or even community.

There are ways for policy makers and consumers alike to affect change in the way we eat.

Connect farming with ecosystem-based adaptation, looking not just at life on the farm, but the connected tissues that interlink people with plow and forests with food

Change farmer and consumer incentives to improve the production and demand for high-protein, low-emission foods

How we plan

A cornerstone of the United Nations mission to support nations in reaching the bold goals outlined in the Paris Agreement and 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development is supporting improved planning processes.

This work is happening through joint programmes like the UNDP-FAO Integrating Agriculture in National Adaptation Plans Programme (NAP-Ag), the UNDP-UN Environment National Adaptation Plans Global Support Programme (NAP-GSP), and large country driven initiatives funded through vertical funds, multilateral and bilateral donors to mainstream and accelerate climate actions across the globe.

As we move toward the Poland climate talks and continue support for countries in transforming their agricultural sectors, some lessons learned ring true.

Promote gender-sensitive approaches. Women will be key drivers in climate actions and transformation on the farm and at the table

Improve monitoring and evaluation to take up lessons learned as we improve climate actions

Build capacity on the national and local levels to make better decisions on climate change adaptation action

Connect people with the ideas, innovative thinking and new ways of doing things

Links

FAO  The Koronivia joint work on agriculture and the convention bodies: an overview

Videos

The period from now until 2020 is critical to the success of the Paris Agreement. For UNDP, UN partners and the wider international community, the mission is clear: to push for countries, communities and the private sector to scale up ambition. By 2020, we want to see accelerated action on the climate targets  the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs)  of the Paris Agreement. Read more on: Climate 2020  All In
UW Receives National Campus Suicide Prevention Grant

The University of Wyoming is among 19 colleges and universities in the country that have been awarded the Garrett Lee Smith Campus Suicide Prevention grant.

UWs Lifesavers Initiative received nearly $102,000 per year for three years, totaling nearly $306,000, says Lena Newlin, Half Acre Recreation and Wellness Center assistant director. Lifesavers Initiative is UWs comprehensive suicide prevention program. The grant proposal was submitted to the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.

Mental health and suicide are issues that impact not only individuals, but families and communities. It is important to be comprehensive and strategic in order to effectively address them, says Newlin, who is the Lifesavers Initiative project director. UW has been committed to working in the area of suicide prevention for many years and, now with additional resources from this grant, we are optimistic that we can make more of an impact.

The UW Lifesavers Coalition is comprised of UW students, staff, faculty, administrators, community partners and service providers, and concerned citizens. Members meet monthly to collaborate, coordinate and discuss campus mental health issues, Newlin says.

The Garrett Lee Smith grant is in memoriam to Smith, an Oregon college student who lost his battle with mental illness in 2003.

Newlin says the grant will be to prevent suicide and suicide attempts among UW students with mental health and substance use disorders through comprehensive, collaborative and coordinated services, including education, training, outreach and support.

The target population includes UW students at high risk of suicide, including military veterans, athletes who have sustained concussions and victims of sexual violence; as well as UW faculty and staff members.

Newlin says continued suicide prevention education is needed because Wyoming, as a state per capita, ranks third nationally for individuals dying by suicide.

We expect to serve 3,500 UW students, staff and faculty annually, and 10,500 throughout the lifetime of the grant, she adds.

The structure of the proposed UW suicide prevention program includes:

-- Identifying students at risk, increasing help-seeking behavior, promoting social connectedness, developing life skills, restricting access to potentially lethal means, providing mental health services and following crisis management protocols.

-- Specific strategies include suicide and substance use screenings with high-risk populations, mindfulness and self-compassion trainings.

-- Relying on proven programs such as Sources of Strength suicide prevention and resiliency training; outreach programs; promotion of the National Suicide Prevention Hotline and other local resources through a social marketing campaign; updating and communicating UWs crisis response protocol; distribution of gun locks; and a coordinated care and referral system through the Lifesavers Coalition.

The grant will fund the salary and benefits of a 10-month professional project coordinator; trainings in the Sources of Strength, Mindfulness and Self-Compassion program; educational materials; a social marketing campaign and program evaluation.

For more information, call Newlin at (307) 766-3418 or email lnewlin@uwyo.edu.


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The congregation at Dominion Church in Richmond will have a new place to worship after signing a one-year agreement to lease the Roosevelt Civic Auditorium, also known as the AUD.

Representatives from the church presented a proposed agreement to the Richmond School Board in October, and in the weeks since that time have worked with the district to solidify a lease agreement.

At a recent board meeting, Superintendent Brian Walmsley told officials an agreement had been worked out and the church leaders were excited about the plan. He also said he was looking forward to working with them.

Officials unanimously approved the agreement before several board members addressed church leaders in the audience, including Pastor Todd Oswald.

I want to publicly express thanks to them for following through the process with us and going through each step with us, board President Margaret Teltow said. It was a big item for us to have to consider based on what had happened to us previously, so we appreciate your patience and working with us as well as you did.

Feels really good to know that building is going to be used and utilized in a great way, so thank you, Secretary Tracie Bartell added.

In a phone interview following the meeting, Walmsley said the church will rent the AUD for $530 per month and will be responsible for all utilities. As was the case in the past, the school district will pay the utility bills and then invoice the church for reimbursement.

Its a win-win because they will have a place to grow, and for us, they will be keeping that building up and maintaining it, Walmsley said.

The school district will provide the insurance for the building, as it does all of its facilities, and the church will also have a policy to cover the contents of the building.

Any alterations, additions or improvements to the AUD will have to be approved by Walmsley, but he said the building is operational to start. The superintendent said church leaders can contact him regarding any items they would like to fix so that everyone stays informed and on the same page.

Repairs that are made must be completed by licensed contractors. The school district will give the church a credit on its monthly rental statement for any work done.

In addition, the lease agreement allows the school district and the city to use the building for several specific annual events, including the tree lighting and Santa visit in December and a chili cook-off during the winter festival in February.

Its written so that if the school or the city need to use the building for a community event, they can get together on that and do so, Walmsley said.

The agreement does not include use of the old bus garage building that sits next to the AUD. The garage is not currently in use; the heat and water have been turned off to save the district unneeded costs, Walmsley said.

The church, which was founded last April by Oswald, of Casco Township, currently rents the auditorium at Richmond High School for Sunday morning services. The pastor previously said he would like to launch recreation programs and additional weekly church services once the church moves into the AUD.

The new agreement also states that if all goes well the first year, the church will be able to renew the lease for a second year.

The AUD was constructed under President Franklin Roosevelts Works Progress Administration in the 1930s to provide jobs during the Great Depression. The 13,000-square-foot, three-story building has served many purposes over the years, housing everything from the school administration offices to a practice venue for high school wrestlers and a youth theater.

Barb Pert Templeton is a freelance reporter. She can be contacted at barbperttempleton.reporter@yahoo.com.
Russia has made public three interrogations of Ukrainian marines taken prisoner during the Kertch incident on 25 November 2018 and a document (photo) seized on board one of the ships.

According to this document and these videos, the incident had been planned by Ukraine collaborating with foreign powers. Two officers from Ukraines military intelligence service were on board the ships to coordinate operations. They were the ones that forbade the marines from responding to messages from the Russians when the war ships entered Russian territorial waters, waters that Ukraine was claiming to belong to it.

Our collaborator Valentin Vasilescu thinks that prior to the incident, some US and Israeli electromagnetic reconnaissance planes flew over the area to detect Russian defences [1].

While Israel is still not a member of Nato, it does have a bureau of liaison within Nato headquarters in Brussels. During the coup detat in Kiev, in the context of Natos stay behind secret service, thirty Israeli officers and thirty one Israeli soldiers participated in the fighting that broke out in Maidan Square yet they were fighting on the side of the former Nazi party Svoboda.

The operation at Kertch seems to have been sponsored by Nato. Any why? To create a Russian threat which would serve to justify Ukraine becoming a member of the Alliance. This operation was supervised by Ambassador Kurt Volker. The CIA recruited him when he was still a student at Georgetown University. After working at the Agencys headquarters in Langley, he entered the diplomatic service and became adviser to Richard Hoolbroke during the wars in Yugoslavia. He became Victoria Nulands assistant when she was the ambassador to Nato and following her departure, stepped into this post. Today he is the ambassador to Kiev.
Cyprus, Greece, Greek, Italy and Israel have reached an agreement on the joint construction of a gas pipeline in the Mediterranean. The aim of this agreement is to open the longest and deepest pipeline in the sea. It will only have a modest capacity of 12 billion m3 per year. Its cost is estimated at 8 billion dollars and it should become operational in 5 years. However the start date of the work has not been announced.

While Egypt, Palestine, Lebanon, Syria and Turkey are involved with the gas field discovered in 2011, they are not parties to this agreement, at least, not officially.

Note: In actual fact, Turkey is not involved in any way with this gas field except to the extent that it occupies North Cyprus. In Feb 2018, the Turkish military marine prevented an Italian exploration ship from searching the depths of the territorial waters of North Cyprus. In June, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan threatened any entity that tried to undertake any investigations in this occupied area without its authorization.

In actual fact, it seems that Hamas and Egypt are parties to this agreement.

 The authorization given at the beginning of the month by Israel to Qatar to pay the officials in the Gaza strip would be the quid pro quo for Hamas recognizing the sea border of Palestine unilaterally traced by Israel. Palestinian gas would thus be exploited by Israel and rights reserved by Qatar to Hamas.

 Israel has also signed an agreement with Egypt for it to export gas to this country. This parallel agreement was concluded through the Egyptian East Gas Company of which the Egyptian Secret Services is the major shareholder. In this case as well, offshore Egyptian gas would be extracted by Israel, then brought back to Egypt to be liquefied and then exported.

The objective of the above aims at masking contradictions between the leaders official rhetoric and what they actually do.

All these agreements had the blessings of the European Union and Qatar.
NATOs Trident Junction 18 exercise took place in Norway in late October and early November and was the largest Western exercise since 1980. It was the first exercises, in the winter conditions in the Arctic zone, after the announcement of United States to withdraw from the INF Treaty. It is likely NATO would to open a second front against Russia in the Arctic, in addition to the Baltic region. The purpose of this Arctic ballistic corridor is to facilitate the naval and air offensive against Moscow. For example, once withdrawn from the INF Treaty, the United States could place intermediate-range and medium-range ballistic missiles on the territory of some NATO member states in the Arctic. Taking advantage of a lower number detection systems at the northern border of Russia.

From the north of Norway, a NATO member country, the distance to Moscow is 1500 km, and 1000 km to St. Petersburg. The distance between the Svalbard archipelago, administered by Norway, and Moscow is 2000 km. The distance to Russian border from Greenland, which belongs to Denmark, another NATO member country, is 1500 km from and 3000 km between Greenland and Moscow. The distance from Canadas North, a NATO member country, to the Russian Arctic coast is 2300 km, and 3900 km to Moscow, by North Pole route.

Due this reason, Russia was forced to adopt measures to protect the Arctic.

The Anti-Ballistic radars Voronezh DM/ M at Dunayevka (Kaliningrad enclave) and Lekhtusi (St. Petersburg) have been updated to compensate the deactivation of Skrunda (Latvia) radar. These Russian radars have a range of 6,000 km. The Volga anti-ballistic radar located at Hantsavitchy (Belarus) has a range of 2000 km and has been upgraded. Another Russian anti-ballistic radar Voronezh VP, operates in Olenegorsk, Kola peninsula ( at border of Finland). Another new-generation Daryal-type radar was placed at Pechora, in the Arctic Circle. Finally, in 2018 a new radar was made operational in the island of Novaya Zemlya.

All these early warning and control radars operate in an alert network (code 590), controlled by the 29b6 Container system, located in Nizhny Novgorod (250 km north-east of Moscow).Although the detection range of the 29b6 Container is only 3000 km, it has multiple dedicated storage memory facilities and servers, using the latest generation microprocessors and satellite communication equipment. All Russian antiballistic radars are OTHR type( Over the Horizon Radar). For very long distance detection, they use the ionospheric reflection of electromagnetic waves.

Russian Air Force has begun the restoration and modernization of seven airfields near the Arctic Circle, abandoned after 1990. Fighter squadrons equipped primarily with MiG-31 aircraft have been redeployed.

The 80th and 200th independent motorized brigades, belonging to the 14th Russian Arctic Army Corps are resposnable of the defense of the regions Murmansk, Arkhangelsk and Nenets.

In cooperation with the Russian Northern Fleet and the VI-th Air force& Air defence army, of course. They received T-80 MBT, BTR-82A APC, 2S19 Msta self-propelled howitzers, and Trekol 39294 an amphibious vehicle. Trekol was equipped with special large tubeless tires that allow to move on sand, ice, snow and swamps. Troop transport vehicles IFV was replaced with DT-30 Vityaz, arctic multi-purpose articulated tracked carrier with a speed of 60 km/h.

DT- 30 vehicles was adapted like platforms for mobile Arctic- antiaircraft systems such as Tor-M2DT, Pantsir-S1, and anti-tank systems such as 9K114 Shturm. The reconnaissance and Special Operations units of both brigades operate on type TTM 1901 and As-1 snowmobiles, equipped with air conditioners and GPS in the cockpit, Snowmobiles may be carried in the cargo bay of a Mi-8/17 helicopter.
Addressing the participants of the Mediterranean Dialogue 2018 in Rome, the Russian Minister for Foreign Affairs, Sergey Lavrov, declared that it impossible to achieve peace in Libya and Iraq while issues relating to Palestine remain unresolved.

In the past, all even Israel agreed that all conflicts currently being played out in the Near East are impacted by the oldest issue of them all, the conditions for establishing a State of Israel. However the Israeli leaders that defend the thesis of Vladimir Jabotinsky, notably Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, reject this analysis and object to isolating problems within the region; a rhetoric now espoused by the United States.

The US President Donald Trump hopes to succeed in re-establishing peace in the Middle East before his mandate comes to an end. He has entrusted his special counsel Jared Kushner with the task of elaborating a plan to settle the conflict. Jared had come up with the Deal of the Century. Jared has reached two conclusions:

 1. One: every Israeli and Palestine leader is far more attached to their personal position that to serving their people.

 2. Two: the Palestinians unjustly chased out of the land in 1948 have not always accepted losing several wars since and are refusing the consequences of them.

Jared has put together a plan in the interest of the people that contradicts the speech of the leaders and violates the myths of some against the others. However the announcement of this project has been indefinitely deferred.

Russia is proposing to decelerate the United States and to organize, under the auspices of the United Nations, and with the participation of the Arab League, fresh Israeli Palestine negotiations in Moscow.

In practice, all previous negotiations for 70 years have failed because one protagonist or the other was excluded. The situation today is that the US plan has been conceived against Russia and similarly the Russian plan has been conceived against the United States. The only conference that has obtained a result is the one held in Madrid (1991), because it was co-organized by Washington and Moscow. The process implemented was interrupted by the end of the mandate of George Bush father, in the United States and the election of Bill Clinton.
Exercise Livex Tests Emergency Services

Following an imagined terrorist incident, staff across Gibraltars emergency services have taken part in Exercise LIVEX in which they have practised their response plans and their ability to work with other relevant agencies.

In the scenario, a fictional attack on a bus in Little Bay had resulted in several deaths and multiple casualties. The responders task was made more difficult by the possible presence of an explosive device which the terrorists had placed under the bus. Meanwhile RGP officers hunted across the Rock for the perpetrators of the attack.

The Strategic Co-ordinating Group was convened in No6 Convent Place under the leadership of Minister Gilbert Licudi and the Commissioner of Police, Ian McGrail.

Minister Licudi said, It is important that we test our plans regularly and that we learn from exercises like LIVEX. Obviously, we hope that we are never faced with problems such as these but, nonetheless, we must always be on our guard and well prepared against the threat of terrorism.
HMGoG Approves Signature of MoUs

Her Majesty's Government of Gibraltar have confirmed that the Chief Minister, the Hon Fabian Picardo QC MP has today written to the Prime Minister, the Rt Hon Theresa May MP, to tell her that the Gibraltar Government has approved the application to Gibraltar of the Protocol in the UK/EU Withdrawal Agreement.

The Chief Minister has also informed Mrs May that the Gibraltar Government approves that the four Memoranda of Understanding referred to in the Protocol should be signed by the Minister for the Cabinet Office and Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, the Rt Hon David Lidington MP.

As a result, the relevant Memoranda have today been signed by Mr Lidington.

The Memoranda will be published tomorrow at 10am.

The Chief Minister said: "I have told the Prime Minister that in providing our approval to the Gibraltar Protocol and for the execution of these Memoranda, Her Majestys Government of Gibraltar attaches fundamental importance to the fact that I have led in all relevant negotiations for Gibraltar and to the agreement between our respective governments which underlines that the Protocol and accompanying arrangements will be implemented in full respect of the Gibraltar Constitution 2006 and the competence of Gibraltar Government Ministers and other relevant Gibraltar authorities provided for in the Constitution."
Fort Polk, LA (71446)

Today

A shower or two around the area early, then partly cloudy overnight. Low 38F. Winds N at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 30%..

Tonight

A shower or two around the area early, then partly cloudy overnight. Low 38F. Winds N at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 30%.
Calvert City Jingle All the Way 5k and Fun Run set for December 4
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By West Kentucky Star Staff

Nov. 30, 2018 | PADUCAH

By West Kentucky Star Staff Nov. 30, 2018 | 09:59 AM | PADUCAH

A former deputy jailer in McCracken County who had faced sexual assault charges has pleaded guilty to a lesser charge.



According to court records, Fred Ford was originally charged with 2nd degree sexual assault stemming from allegations that he had inappropriately touched a female inmate at the jail. He entered an Alford plea Thursday in McCracken County District Court to one count of official misconduct.



An Alford Plea means the defendant does not admit guilt, but acknowledges the prosecution has enough evidence to prove its case.



District Judge Todd Jones ordered Ford to pay a $250 fine and to serve a 30-day sentence, which was suspended for the next two years provided that Ford stays out of legal trouble during that period.



Ford's plea deal is the most recent development in a string of legal problems faced by McCracken County Jail employees. Jailer Tonya Ray will face a hearing next week on perjury charges and whistleblower statute violations. Those charges relate to other cases against former deputy jailers Chad Campbell and Ben Green, who both pleaded guilty to official misconduct charges earlier this year.
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By West Kentucky Star Staff Nov. 29, 2018 | 06:40 PM | PADUCAH





The investigation into the disappearance of David Boggs and money from where he worked is continuing.However, the Paducah Police Department told West Kentucky Star Thursday afternoon that they have no new leads in the case.Police asked for the public's help finding Boggs on November 5 after he was reported missing by a friend. That same day, the Barbecue on the River board issued a press release saying they believed Boggs had stolen from them. Police say Boggs allegedly took $20,000 from the organization's operating fund (not the money raised for charity by vendors).The last police update was November 8, when they said there were few leads, but mentioned someone may have seen him on November 4 in a gold or tan car near 25th and Jackson Streets.When contacted Thursday about the investigation's progress, Susie Coiner of Barbecue on the River would not comment, saying police are handling everything.David Troutman, who represents the organization's board, also wouldn't comment, but said Friday they spoke to a detective earlier in the week and were aware that there were no new leads.When the investigations began, police said their main concern was Boggs' safety, and have asked anyone with information - no matter how insignificant it may seem - to call them at 270-444-8550.
By WestKyStar Staff Nov. 29, 2018 | 08:01 AM | PADUCAH

MAC's Executive Director Landee W. Bryant says, "It isn't often you get to see someone you know on national television . . . not to mention, someone that inspires such creativity and passion. We are very excited to host a watch party on the big screen at Maiden Alley Cinema for the Top Chef Season 16 season premiere. Our friend, Chef Sara Bradley (Freight House), is a contestant and we want to celebrate our local celebrity."



You can purchase a $10 concession voucher that gets you a small popcorn, small drink and reserves your spot at the watch party. For an additional $20 (and these tickets are going fast) you can reserve a spot and head over to Freight House following the show for a champagne toast and light snacks. You also get to meet Chef Sara.





Proceeds benefit MAC Teen Scene and Project Pomona.





The MAC Teen Scene is a committee of high school juniors and seniors from the region coming together to curate events and film series for their peers. It exists to promote the education and understanding of independent film and the arts.



Project Pomona is a community based project designed to help reduce food insecurity in a sustainable way. The triple bottom line of sustainability method is used to address this problem by focusing its core values on people, economics and the environment.

Chef Sara Bradley, owner and manager of Freight House in downtown Paducah, will be competing on Season 16 of "Top Chef." Maiden Alley Cinema will host a Premiere Watch Party on Thursday, Dec. 6 at 8 pm.

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By Bill Hughes

Nov. 30, 2018 | BENTON

By Bill Hughes Nov. 30, 2018 | 03:58 PM | BENTON

Three motions were heard Friday afternoon in Marshall Circuit Court regarding the case of Gabe Parker, the suspect in the Marshall County High School Shooting.



Parker's defense team claimed in a motion that lawyers for the school system, and possibly some teachers or administrators, may have tampered with witnesses by advising them not to talk to anyone working on behalf of the defense.



Assistant Marshall County Attorney Jason Darnell told West Kentucky Star that Judge James Jamison scheduled another hearing on this matter for the morning of February 1, and it will be limited to hearing specific evidence to determine if anyone told a witness not to speak to the defense team.



Darnell said he's "confident that there won't be any doubt that there hasn't been any witness tampering."



A hearing is also set for February 1 regarding the defense motion pertaining to family counseling records they have not yet received. Darnell said that motion didn't really involve his team because they didn't have the records, but Judge Jamison suggested the defense subpoena the records from the doctor. Defense attorneys said they will follow that suggestion.



A third motion pertained to Parker's cell phone records, which defense attorneys had not yet received. Since many of the records would be irrelevant to the case, both legal teams agreed they would confer on what is needed by the defense and make sure they have them. Any records introduced as evidence by the prosecution is required by law to also be available to the defense.



Discussion of a trial date for Parker could be set after the February hearing.
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By West Kentucky Star Staff

Nov. 29, 2018 | BENTON

By West Kentucky Star Staff Nov. 29, 2018 | 07:41 PM | BENTON

A Calvert City man charged with leading police on a chase the wrong way down Interstate 24 in March has been sentenced in Marshall County.



Jeremy Ian Smith, the attorney for Dalton Lampley, confirmed to West Kentucky Star that Lampley was sentenced Thursday by Judge James Jamison.



Lampley plead guilty October 17 to first degree fleeing or evading police, possession of meth, wanton endangerment of a police officer, reckless driving, disregarding a stop sign, resisting arrest, criminal littering and criminal mischief. Charges of possession of drug paraphernalia and driving without a license were dropped.



Lampley's sentence for the charges was 13 years, but he had already been sentenced to 20 years in prison for 2nd degree assault charges in McCracken County. Jeremy Ian Smith said Judge Jamison ruled that the sentences would run concurrently, which means Lampley would be eligible for parole in four years (20 percent of his sentence).



Lampley was arrested on March 17, 2017, following a pursuit on I-24 that spanned parts of McCracken and Marshall Counties. Police said Lampley drove a garbage truck the wrong way along I-24 during the chase, striking two cars and causing several crashes and injuries.


By West Kentucky Star Staff Nov. 29, 2018 | 09:13 PM | MAYFIELD

A man charged with trying to kill his ex-wife last year was found guilty on all charges on Thursday.

A Graves County jury found 49-year-old Brady Ray of Arlington guilty of attempted murder, robbery, burglary, wanton endangerment, and violation of a Kentucky emergency protection order/domestic violence order.

Police say Ray broke into the Mayfield home of his estranged wife in January 2017 and attacked her with a hammer. The woman and a child were able to escape out a bedroom window and run to a neighbor's home to get help.

Ray reportedly chased after them but left. He was arrested the next day in Nashville, TN.



The jury recommended Ray spend 65 years in prison. Sentencing is set for Feb. 4.
Wits has a job for its elders

Founders' Tea 2018

Wits elders played an important role during the difficult period of student fee protests. Their advice and support was appreciated and has helped the University to complete two calm and successful years since that time.

This acknowledgement of the vital contribution of senior Wits alumni came from a grateful Professor Adam Habib, Wits Vice-Chancellor and Principal, in his address at Founders Tea on 29 November 2018.

Founders are alumni who graduated 40 or more years ago. More than 600 of these stalwarts arrived for the function on the Library Lawns, keen to meet old friends, revisit campus and hear the guest speaker, Public Enterprises Minister, Pravin Gordhan. (See video here.)

To loud applause, Professor Habib thanked Minister Gordhan for the way he had carried out his responsibility to the nation. The Minister was invited to speak at the function out of respect for his exemplary behaviour in difficult times, Prof Habib said.

Minister Gordhan received a standing ovation from the Founders. (I hope that wasnt just your morning exercise, he joked.)

He spoke about dangerous trends, disruption and uncertainty around the world, and how to create stability. He said South Africa still needs to bind people into a common nationhood, and asked the Founders to use their wisdom and resources to ensure that a negative narrative doesnt persist. Its people who make the Constitution a living document and give content to democratic values.

Minister Gordhan warned that people who had benefited from corruption and state capture would not give up without a fight. [It is a battle between] those who want to rebuild South Africa, and move it in the right direction, and those who want to hold on to the last seven or 10 years, and continue with the processes of extraction.

He urged South Africans to make the economy more inclusive; to share skills and experience so as to create opportunities; to build a more competitive economy; to encourage more partnerships between government, business and civil society; to close the gaps between haves and have-nots; and to drive an ethical business culture. There is a lot of work to do.

Listen to his speech here.

Professor Habib told the Founders about his six-month spell at Harvard in 2018, writing a book about the fee protests. While out of South Africa, he said, he had been struck by the similarities between social and political trends in different parts of the world. Our problems are global problems.

Wits had a good year in 2018, he said, enrolling 37000 students and graduating a record 8400. Research output has risen 80% in five years and transformation in the student body and staff has continued. Wits has shown that an institution can achieve excellence at the same time as transformation, Prof Habib said.

See photos of Founders' Tea 2018 here: https://www.flickr.com/photos/witsalumni/sets/72157701077759382




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Ty Pawb performing ahead of expectations as revised business plan & footfall figures revealed ahead of councillor scrutiny

This article is old - Published: Friday, Nov 30th, 2018

Councillors are set to examine the first seven months performance and financials of Ty Pawb next week, with details of a new in-house Council business plan being made public for the first time.

The report is being brought before the Employment, Business and Investment Scrutiny Committee on Wednesday after they requested an update on progress several months earlier than expected, with one councillor at the time saying: It would be useful as members that if there is a wobble taking place, the sooner we are able to know and help rectify if possible then the better.

This week we asked Cllr Hugh Jones, lead member for communities, partnerships, public protection and community safety, who has the project under his portfolio, if a wobble had in fact taken place and resources were used to correct things, or if things were in fact fine with the project from the outset and it was an incorrect perception from councillors.

Cllr Jones told us: If you look at the Fourth Street Business report predictions, our initial acceptance of those predictions, although we modified them, has resulted in the fact there was a wobble.

It was a wobble that was inevitable as a result of where we started from, but the wobble has not impacted where we are going. We have kept the vision alive and have stuck to the vision we have had for it, we have stuck operationally to what we said we would do and we are delivering on it.

Yes it has taken longer than it was envisaged in the Fourth Street business plan but the financial figures, the occupancy, the throughput of people, everything shows that the increase has been steady, it has been progressive.

Yes you might rightfully refer to it as a wobble but what the staff have done there is not change direction in any way, they have just stuck to our plan of what we wanted to deliver.

Rebecca Lowry, regeneration manager at Wrexham Council, challenged the word wobble noting that the request from the committee came after the centre was only open for around eight weeks, and the context at the time was leading to the peak of controversy and various reactions to issues, but she did note she thought it was a genuine attempt to be helpful.

Cllr Jones added: It is a fair challenge, for example there was an issue around the tenancies, but we have responded. It is like any business that starts up, there are always unforeseen issues that come to light. The question is how you respond to it.

Three documents are before the committee to help them discuss progress and the responses to any of the issues at Ty Pawb. The first being a normal overview report, another being a narrative report including visitor data. A third document contains a financial overview presented in a similar format to the original business plan, but contains the changes to a modified plan as the centre is now run by Wrexham Council rather than a trust.

It is publicly unclear when the business plan changed, as at the name unveiling in September 2017 the plan was noted as unchanged. The Fourth Street business plan is one that was expected to be adhered to fully, having been referenced in that manner several times since its accidental publication in 2015.

Speaking in September 2017 when it was announced that Ty Pawb would remain in house for at least three years, with Cllr Jones stating: The business plan remains exactly the same, it is just that the management structure and the delivery will be in-house rather than in the hands of a trust.

Commenting on the revised targets, Cllr Jones told us this week he felt Ty Pawb is performing ahead of expectations. Ms Lowry noted that figures had been changed by Wrexham Council in the new plan, however they were still challenging but achievable.

Cllr Jones added: Anyone who goes in there now sees the buzz there is, sees the number of people attending events and activities and sees the level of occupancy of the stalls.

For the Oriel in the last year it was operational in the Library there were 24,400 people went through, in six months just in the arts section in Ty Pawb there are 30,000. A huge, huge increase in the number of people who are accessing arts in Wrexham.

Cllr Jones referred to some challenging financial figures, however were unable to see the data before asking questions and the reports went public at the close of business yesterday.

The headline figures in the revised financial report show the centre is on track to be in a better financial picture than predicted under the old business plan, with a 188k loss being just 173k despite the wobble.

In one of many issues being acknowledged or attributed as being down to communication failures with the public, the budgeted 139k Arts Service budget (which was being spent at the old Oriel in the Library and similar service provision historically) from Wrexham Council is clearly stated on the document. When removed from the loss figure, it effectively means Ty Pawb is being delivered for a predicted 33k shortfall in year one.

It is hoped that will become a surplus in following years. It was also noted that the historic and projected costs of the Peoples Market in its latter years was not included in comparison figures.

The financial table shows the centres shop has had its expected revenue dropped substantially in the new plan, with the fundraising income dropping 95% to just 1,000. A possible 15k from a mobile mast has also been taken out of the plan as it appears agreement with a phone company could not be reached.

The car park is performing better than expected, with the 57k expectation growing to 88k. A Touring Exhibitions revenue stream not in the initial plan is now included, where exhibitions curated and created locally earn revenue for the centre as they are shown elsewhere.

The rent roll has dropped in the new plan by 60k, explained as the initial plan having 100% occupancy rates with no concessions. Wrexham Council has concessions for the first two years of trading, noted as 20% for year one and 10% for year two. As we reported earlier this year a further 30% was granted due to issues during the opening period of the centre.

With full transparency Wrexham Council have noted in the document the 21k market rent listed as an actual figure is in fact the invoiced amount, with 10.5k of that paid so far.

Overall total income has been adjusted from 481k in the original plan down 129k to 351k.

Expenditure has also decreased, with the initial plan stating a figure of 669k and the revised plan down 144k to 524k.

Perhaps reflecting the in-house savings by running things under Wrexham Council, the marketing and comms budget has dropped from 75k to 35k, general maintenance and security costs are down 110k.

The new overhead figures also includes 60k in the budget for business rates, a figure that is possibly in excess of what will be required, although no valuation office evaluation has yet been made. If the centre had been in a charitable trust that figure would likely have been zero.

Overall that means things are 15k better off in the new in-house and revised business plan figures rather than the Fourth Street plan. Councillors had agreed to allocate 53k from the Councils Transformation Fund to plug the gap, however due to the adjustments in the business plan, that has now reduced to 38k.

Occupancy rates for the market and food court area are also broken down, with over 85% occupancy in both Ty Pawb and the South Arcade by by mid October. A current snapshot is also given, stating 8/9 Island Stalls are occupied, 8/8 Perimeter Units, 3/5 Food Court units and 6/7 of the South Arcade Units are filled.

The food court is noted as verging on being 100% full with the remaining two units under offer to what appear to be Polish and Thai offerings, and are part way through the unit occupation process.

Bizarrely the report states Quality Tea and Coffee is now available within Ty Pawb, when quality coffee was certainly previously available at Bl_nk C_nv_s prior to them leaving a month ago (The centres website still lists them as being there, complete with link to their reasons for leaving).

Footfall data is provided, however with the bolded caveat indicating the measurements are less technical than other town centre footfall figures: Attendance figures are drawn from manual head counts taken at the main reception desk and do not allow for visitors who enter the building from other entrances and subsequently leave without passing the data collection point.

The report notes footfall up until the end of October 2018 (7 months trading) stands at 52,787 against the full Year 1 projection in the Fourth Street Business Plan of 50,000 for the year.

The footfall is currently manually counted by staff who operate the reception at the Market Street entrance to the building. Footfall is not currently recorded for visitors entering through the North or South Arcade or from the Market Street Car Park, therefore the counted figures are assumed to be significantly less than actual visitor figures.

Electronic footfall counters at all entrances are in the process of being installed to record a more accurate count.

Below we have graphed the data provided, with the information for April containing 10,000 people on opening day alone with an extra 4,384 people attributed to April for the rest of the month.

The Dydd Llun Pawb/Everybodys Monday project that cumulated in the opening day event had a budget of 43,000 with an additional 4,002 spent by the Council on top  of which 2,200 was on the VIP opening event.

At the time there was criticism a potential audience was missed with no event programs circulated to the public on opening day, no data capture taking place, the centres website was not working and the mail out to every house in the county borough did not have some form of data capture call to action either.

It appears event figures are counted in the footfall data, with Aprils specifically split to include the opening. The second largest event recorded is 6,000+ people attending Focus Wales that effectively took over the centre in May, the second largest month for visitor numbers.

The report notes: Footfall across all areas of Ty Pawb has levelled out to reflect the peaks and troughs experienced across Wrexham Town Centre in general. Footfall through observed surveys indicate since April 2018 over 52,000 people have visited, shopped, attended events or engaged in activities within Ty Pawb.

The report adds: Footfall at weekends is continuing to increase specifically for days where there are a number of events arranged. Saturday 24 November 2018, 1415 visitors were recorded.

Exhibition visitor data is also provided, with a similar head count methodology. In the Fourth Street business plan it projected between 50,000 and 100,000 arts-related visits can be expected per year with the 50k pa figure expected in the earlier years of the centre, with 100k a longer term possible goal.

The report tells Councillors: Ty Pawbs exhibition programme opened to critical acclaim with Is This Planet Earth, the exhibition curated by Angela Kingston attracted over 15,000 visitors across its 3- month residency. Is This Planet Earth is a touring exhibition that was initiated by the Ty Pawb team, and is now touring the country; this forms part of our revenue from exhibitions as touring partners pay a fee to host.

Running alongside this primary exhibition Gallery 2 hosted work from a local artist Tim Pugh, Tim also ran artist in residence sessions and workshops which attracted 150 plus participants. The artist in residence programme will continue next year with a focus on upcoming exhibitions.

The Ty Pawb team also ran a variety of childrens activities to support the exhibition, these activities were taken up by over 200 children and helped to begin the integration of the markets and Arts offer within Ty Pawb.

The narrative report document has a large list of events, and notes: Early July saw a significant boost in footfall and activity at Ty Pawb, largely due to a family-friendly events programme during the summer holidays despite earlier in the document showing July being the second lowest footfall month.

We would encourage readers to scroll through the huge list of events are listed past, present and into the future towards the bottom of this document  a relief for anyone googling Whats on in Ty Pawb as the official web page offered from that search only lists two events. (The report also answers the question of is Die Hard a Christmas film!).

Details of voluntary staff are also given, with 19 total active volunteers at the centre contributing 439 shifts. The report notes: The volunteer and informal learning programme came into its own over the school summer holidays, a programme of events, which saw predominantly free family activities available every day was an offer that could not be found anywhere else in Wrexham.

Four background papers are referenced on the report before councillors, one being this article in the Observer by their architecture critic, and a reference to the Councils own news site that notes the centre is selected as one of the 147 Regional Finalists of the Civic Trust Awards Scheme amongst a range of other buildings worldwide. The former is thought to have been part of a PR exercise by the architects themselves, and it is unclear if Wrexham Council or a third party paid the 250+vat fee to nominate it for the latter.

At the start of Ty Pawbs life it was meant to be placed inside a trust or similar organisation, with the reasoning given that it would open up additional finance opportunities that the local authority could not access, with assurances that would be a certainty.

A draft business plan for the Oriel Wrecsam and Peoples Market development accidentally leaked in 2015 (and later made available to the public here) also commented on the strength of the OW Peoples Market being run as a trust.

The consultants then stated: The research suggests that removing the restrictions and burdens that inherently come from working within a council set-up, such as bureaucracy and slower decision-making, is one of the greatest advantages of moving to a devolved model. This can directly lead to significant improvements in the speed of decision making.

Newly gained independence from the council set-up also allows the organisation to become more business-oriented. The assets can be managed in a more entrepreneurial fashion with greater emphasis and importance placed on marketing and the ability to combine both strategic and tactical planning.

Just over a year ago that position changed with complexities regarding State Aid and procurement legislation being blamed for a trust not being set up, the inference being a lack of guarantee over local control. As a result the centre is now being run by Wrexham Council, with an advisory board being set up to input to management, Scrutiny and the Executive Board of Wrexham Council.

Wrexham.com enquired to Cllr Jones if the agendas and minutes of the Advisory Board could be made public due to the nature of the body, and were told there was no reason why not. Within 24 hours an agenda for the latest meeting was sent over, and a request has been made to make the documents available on the centres website.

Previously it has been indicated to Wrexham.com that if the centre was effectively profitable to Wrexham Council there would be no rush to hand over the centre to a new trust style body, however on Tuesday we asked Cllr Hugh Jones if there was a desire to still move to a trust model. Cllr Jones told us the Advisory Board had been tasked to come forward with a future business model, and although the aim is to keep it in-house at Wrexham Council for the three years if they came forward with a proposal at an earlier stage we would look at it.

It is unclear if the centre was handed off, that would be the end of Wrexham Councils discretionary arts & culture spending as an effective service cut, or if that money would be allocated in the longer term to support the new entity, or if new art services would be funded.

The context of the ongoing Difficult Decisions consultations was recognised by one Officer who pondered the position if nothing had been done in terms of the Ty Pawb redevelopment, and noted the current 139k arts service budget could well have been placed on recent or even current Difficult Decisions cuts lists: We have confidence there is value being shown, the impact on people, learning skills, employment, health and well being.

We are showing this service is paying its way, in a climate where other councils are reducing their services in this area.

The reports are before the Employment, Business and Investment Scrutiny Committee who are meeting on Wednesday 5th December at 4.00 pm at the Guildhall. It is not expected to be webcast but is open to the public as normal.

Forgotten the journey the building has been on? Here is a selection of our videos, starting with a refresher of what the Peoples Market looked like on the day it closed, right through transformation to the new Ty Pawb opening day.


























TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WTXL) - A Tallahassee man who was facing life in prison for federal child pornography charges has received the minimum sentence of 15 years in prison.

According to the U.S. Department of Justice, Milton Sumrell, 43, was indicted in May for multiple charges related to production of child pornography, enticement of a minor to perform illegal sex acts, and possession of child pornography.

Had he been convicted on those charges, Sumrell faced a minimum of 15 years and maximum of 30 years in prison for the production charge, a minimum of 10 years and a maximum of life in prison for the enticement charge, and a maximum of 10 years in prison for the possession charge.

However, Sumrell only plead guilty to the production of child pornography charges in August and was sentenced to 15 years in prison on Thursday.

Documents say that in October and November of 2017, Sumrell tried to persuade a minor to have sex with him for the purpose of producing child pornography.

The child, who was a 16-year-old girl from Arkansas, had multiple sexually explicit online chats with Sumrell on her computer on Google Hangouts. During their conversations in late October 2017, they discussed the child leaving her home to live with Sumrell.

In late January 2018, the girl was reported missing from her home and law enforcement officers wen to Sumrell's home to find the child. They didn't find her at first but she was later found somewhere else.

Agents then seized Sumrells laptop computer and cellphone, which had images of child pornography. His Google account also contained videos of child pornography.

This predators criminal acts will have life-long effects on a child, and now he is being held accountable, said HSI Tampa Special Agent in Charge James C. Spero. This case also highlights the importance of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies working together to make our communities safer.

Tallahassee man indicted on more than 30 child pornography charges

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WTXL) - A Tallahassee man could spend the rest of his life in federal prison after being indicted on multiple charges of child pornography and enticing a minor to perform illegal sexual acts.

According to the U.S. Department of Justice, Milton Sumrell, 43, was indicted on the production of child pornography, enticement of a minor to perform illegal sex acts, and possession of child pornography.

The indictment alleges that, in October and Nov. of 2017, Sumrell, tried to persuade a minor to have sex with him for the purpose of producing child pornography as well as persuade someone under the age of 18 to engage in sexual activity.

The document further states that, between Jan. and March, Sumrell possessed child pornography.

His trial is scheduled for June 11.

If convicted, Sumrell faces a minimum of 15 years and maximum of 30 years in prison for the production charge, a minimum of 10 years and a maximum of life in prison for the enticement charge, and a maximum of 10 years in prison for the possession charge.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WTXL) - A man who bonded out of jail after admitting to investigators in March that he had a child porn addiction has again been jailed on 22 additional counts of possession of child pornography.

Martin Sumrell, 43, was originally arrested in March 2018 on ten counts of possession of photographs depicting sexual performance by a child. He bonded out on those charges on March 15.

The State filed to upgrade the ten charges to aggravated possession of child pornography on March 28.

On April 10, Sumrell was charged with 22 additional counts of possession of child pornography after further investigation revealed he had child porn files stored on his online Google account.

The Leon County Sheriff's Office shared a wanted poster of Sumrell on Facebook Wednesday morning:

Hours later, Sumrell was taken into to custody and transported to the Leon County Detention Facility.

As of Wednesday, he remains in jail on a $154,000 bond.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WTXL) - A 43-year-old man has been arrested for child pornography after an investigation revealed he was communicating with a runaway child in a sexual manner.

According to arrest documents, the Leon County Sheriff's Office was notified on Jan. 30 about a child who went missing from the county three days earlier.

An initial investigation revealed that Martin Sumrell had been communicating with the missing child. Investigators learned the child had been communicating with multiple adult males in a sexual manner, Sumrell being one of them.

When deputies went to Sumrell's home on Shuler Court to talk to him on Jan. 31, they learned that he and the child were communicating through chat apps and his Google mail account.

Deputies searched his cellphone to see if he knew where the child was, but instead found an image containing child pornography on the device. Documents say deputies then requested to seize Sumrell's computer and cellphone, which he allowed.

Upon a thorough search of Sumrell's email account, investigators found what appeared to be "hundreds of digital videos of children engaged in sexual activity with adults."

According to the arrest document, deputies got a warrant to search Sumrell's laptop and cellphone on Feb. 2 and found additional child pornographic files.

On Thursday, LCSO, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security Investigations and the FBI served a search warrant at Sumrell's residence.

When they spoke with him, Sumrell admitted that he had an addiction and often obtained child pornography via online applications like Kik messenger, iChatW and more.

He told investigators that he would look at the videos and delete them after he was done with them.

Based on the evidence, Sumrell was charged with 10 counts of possession of photographs depicting sexual performance by a child. Investigators say additional charges are forthcoming as they review the evidence.

Sumrell was taken to the Leon County Detention Facility and, as of Friday, remains there on a $25,000 bond.
A Palestinian protester carries a wounded man during clashes with Israeli troops on the Gaza-Israel border, east of Gaza City, on Nov. 23, 2018. Around 100 Palestinians were wounded Friday during clashes between Palestinian demonstrators and Israeli soldiers stationed on the border between eastern Gaza Strip and Israel, medics said. (Xinhua/Stringer)

UNITED NATIONS, Nov. 28 (Xinhua) -- Ma Zhaoxu, president of the United Nations Security Council for November, on Wednesday reiterated Council members' call for a resumption of Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations as soon as possible.

"The Council members condemn all violence and hostilities directed against civilians and all acts of terrorism," Ma, also China's permanent representative to the UN, said at the special commemorative meeting in observance of the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People.

"This year marks the 25th anniversary of the conclusion of Oslo Accords which remind us that a lasting solution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict can only be achieved by peaceful means through dialogue and negotiations," he said.

"Bearing in mind its relevant resolutions, the Council remains fully committed to a comprehensive, just and lasting peace in the Middle East," Ma noted.

Noting that over the past year, the Security Council "has remained seized of" the situation in the Middle East, including the Palestinian question, he said that the Security Council received monthly briefings on the situation from the secretary-general's special coordinator for the Middle East peace process and the Department of Political Affairs and held open debates on a quarterly basis.

"The Security Council also continued to receive the secretary-general's reports in briefings by the special coordinator every three months and received one in written form in June.

"The Council, in conformity with the Charter of the United Nations, remains committed to the achievement of just, lasting and peaceful solution in order to achieve peace and security that the Israeli and Palestinian people both need and deserve," Ma said.

The International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People is a UN-organized observance. The annual commemoration of the day is mandated by UN General Assembly Resolution 32/40 B of Dec. 2, 1977, to start in 1978.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-11-29 23:18:19|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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ISLAMABAD, Nov. 29 (Xinhua) -- Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi on Thursday reiterated Pakistan's desire to maintain cordial relations with all of its neighbors for a long-lasting regional peace and tranquility.

Addressing a ceremony here to mark the first 100-day performance of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government, the foreign minister said his ministry has established 73 bilateral and 16 multilateral engagements over the past 100 days to improve ties with the neighboring countries.

He said the first thing on the PTI government's foreign agenda is to have better relations with Afghanistan.

"It is for peace that I decided to make my first foreign trip to Afghanistan. We want peace with all our neighbors," said the minister.

Qureshi also emphasized on improving ties with India, saying ups and downs in relations with India is not hidden from anyone but Pakistan's approach is people-centric and peace is needed for people to prosper.

"Pakistan will take two steps forward for every one step India takes," he said.

He also underscored the need for further promoting bilateral relations with Iran.

Qureshi said Pakistan has a complicated relationship with the United States and his country desires a broad-based relationship with Washington based on mutual trust and respect.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-11-30 01:34:00|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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SANAA, Nov. 29 (Xinhua) -- A woman was killed in a Saudi-led coalition airstrike on Yemen's northern province of Saada on Thursday, a local medic and residents said.

"The woman, Fatima, died from injuries she sustained in the airstrike on her home in Shaban village of Razih district," the medic told Xinhua by phone.

She was rushed to the hospital by her relatives and neighbors. The woman was heavily bleeding as shrapnel had already ripped many parts of her malnourished body, a doctor said.

The airstrike also wounded four other villagers.

On Monday, a mother and her five children were killed in an airstrike on their home in neighboring Hajjah province, which borders Saudi Arabia.

Saudi Arabia is leading an Arab military coalition that intervened in Yemen in 2015 to support the government of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi after the Houthi rebels forced him into exile and seized much of the country's north, including the capital Sanaa.

The four-year-long war has killed more than 10,000 people, mostly civilians, displaced 3 million others and pushed the country to the brink of starvation.

The UN Special Envoy to Yemen Martin Griffiths visited Sanaa last week, when the rebels pledged to attend the upcoming peace talks in Sweden.
In this April 5, 2015 U.S. Navy handout image, the USS Jason Dunham (R) and the Romanian corvette ROS Sebastian operate together during a passing exercise in the Black Sea.

KIEV, Nov. 29 (Xinhua) -- Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has urged the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) to deploy ships in the Sea of Azov amid tensions with Russia off Crimea, the presidential press service said on Thursday.

"We hope that NATO countries stand ready to send ships to the Sea of Azov to help Ukraine," Poroshenko was quoted as saying.

The deployment of the NATO ships would help ensure security of navigation in the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov, Poroshenko said.

On Sunday, three Ukrainian naval ships attempting to sail through the Kerch Strait from the Black Sea to the Sea of Azov were seized by Russian forces for allegedly violating the Russian border.

The Ukrainian Navy said that it had informed Russia in advance of the passage, while Russia said it had received no such report and the ships ignored multiple warnings by the Russian border guards.

Relations between Russia and Ukraine have been deteriorating since Crimea was incorporated into Russia in March 2014 following a local referendum.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-11-30 06:45:28|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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SAN FRANCISCO, Nov. 29 (Xinhua) -- U.S. ride-hailing company Lyft Thursday announced it has become America's largest bikeshare service after it finished the final close of its acquisition of the New York City-based mobility startup Motivate.

The deal, which reportedly costs about 250 million U.S. dollars, makes Lyft a bikeshare powerhouse that hopes to have the largest dockless bike fleet in the world except China, which has the largest population of bikeshare riders across the globe.

As part of Lyft, a major ride-hailing operator in the U.S., Motivate owns a host of bike-rental services including Citi Bike in New York, Ford GoBike in San Francisco Bay Area, Divvy in Chicago, Capital Bikeshare in Washington, D.C., as well as other North American areas.

"Bikeshare is a natural extension of Lyft's vision to improve transportation access, sustainability and affordability," Lyft said.

With this acquisition, the company is planning to add thousands of bikes and stations in communities that haven't had access to transportation, and to deploy new electric bikes.

Earlier on Thursday, New York Mayor Bill de Blasio said Lyft will invest 100 million dollars in Citi Bike to double its service area and triple its size to nearly 40,000 bikes in the next five years.

Taking bikes and scooters as an alternative means of transportation, Lyft is working hard to reach its goal of taking 1 million cars off the road by the end of 2019.
File Photo: Ma Zhaoxu (L, front), China's permanent representative to the UN, addresses an open debate of the Security Council at the UN headquarters in New York, Nov. 9, 2018. (Xinhua)

UNITED NATIONS, Nov. 29 (Xinhua) -- China's Security Council presidency in November has helped to show support for multilateralism and a stronger role of the United Nations, China's Permanent Representative to the United Nations Ma Zhaoxu said on Thursday.

The open debate on strengthening multilateralism and the role of the United Nations was well-received by member states, Ma told reporters in a briefing at the end of China's council presidency.

The debate on Nov. 9 attracted leaders of major UN agencies, including the UN secretary-general, the acting president of the General Assembly, the president of the Economic and Social Council, and the president of the International Court of Justice, he said.

More than 70 countries and international organizations were represented at the event, he said.

"Both developing countries and developed ones regarded multilateralism as a must. They have reaffirmed their commitment to the purposes and principles of the UN Charter and called on the parties to uphold multilateralism, strengthen the UN, maintain the rules-based international order and jointly meet global challenges."

The world is getting more complicated and no one country alone can solve the many global challenges, said Ma. "Against this backdrop that multilateralism is becoming more important."

He expressed the hope that after the debate, countries will take more actions to strengthen multilateralism and the role of the United Nations.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-11-30 07:40:40|Editor: Yang Yi

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UNITED NATIONS, Nov. 29 (Xinhua) -- Ma Zhaoxu, China's permanent representative to the United Nations and president of the Security Council for the month of November, told reporters Thursday that the Council "had a very busy and productive month."

"We had a very busy and productive month and made contribution to maintaining international peace and security," Ma said at a press briefing about the Council's work in November.

"Altogether, 35 meetings have been held and six resolutions have been adopted and seven press statements (have been) issued," Ma added, making a brief summary of the major achievements of the month.

Ma said that one of most positive results produced over the month was "showing support for multilateralism and stronger role of the United Nations."

As for the open debate on strengthening multilateralism and the role of the UN, Ma noted that the event "was widely received by member states."

He told the media that he was very glad to see Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and the heads of major UN agencies show up at the debate, share their views and give their support to both the event and multilateralism.

More than 70 countries and international organizations were represented at the event, the Chinese UN ambassador said.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-11-30 08:00:44|Editor: Liangyu

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LONDON, Nov. 29 (Xinhua) -- China and Britain should strengthen exchanges of personnel in the field of science and innovation as part of the efforts to push forward the "Golden Era" bilateral relations, said a senior Chinese official on Thursday.

Zhang Jianguo, Vice Minster of Chinese Ministry of Science and Technology, said China-Britain exchanges of personnel in science and technology have entered a "Golden Era" with more than 40,000 British experts working in China each year, forming a major part of driving force for China-Britain innovation.

China will adopt more active and open policies to welcome foreign experts and professionals, Zhang said.

Zhang made the remarks at the launch ceremony of Britain as the only guest of honor for the upcoming Conference on International Exchange of Professionals (CIEP) to be held in China's Shenzhen in April, 2019.

Dubbed as "China's top conference for talents", CIEP gathers international experts and professionals with the largest scale and highest level in China.

The year 2018 marks the 40th anniversary of the inter-governmental agreement on scientific and technological cooperation between China and Britain, Zhang noted.

After 40 years, a new pattern of wide-ranging China-Britain cooperation in technological innovation in which multiple players are engaged among enterprises, universities, research institutes, Zhang said.

He called on China and Britain, both big countries in science and technology innovation, to seek more cooperation opportunities.

Zhu Qin, Minister of the Chinese Embassy in the UK said China-Britain cooperation in science and technology is the "golden fruits"in the "golden era"of China-Britain relations.

China-Britain cooperation in innovation faces unprecedented opportunities as the world is undergoing profound changes, he said.

There are 170,000 students in Britain and 10,000 British students in China and many experts and scholars are working in each other's countries, forming a solid foundation for high-level exchanges of talents between the two countries, Zhu noted.

David Willetts, member of the House of Lords and former Minister of State for Universities and Science, said China is one of the strategic partners in the development of science and technology that Britain wants to work closely with.

"We want to see continuing collaboration with China in science and the commercialization of technology," he said.

Thursday's event also marks the 30th anniversary commemoration of China Association for International Exchange of Personnel (CAIEP)'s UK office.

CAIEP, established in 1985, aims to foster cooperation between China and other countries in such fields as industry, agriculture, science and education through personnel exchanges.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-11-30 08:40:56|Editor: Liangyu

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LONDON, Nov. 29 (Xinhua) -- Chinese city Heyuan in the Guangdong province strived to enhance economic and trade cooperation with British companies in London on Thursday.

Speaking at the city's roadshow, Ding Hongdu, secretary of Heyuan Municipal Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC), said,"As a green development demonstration zone in the Guangdong province, Heyuan is aimed to promote the eco-vanguard integration into the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area."

John McLean, vice chairman of Institute of Directors for the City of London, said "The'Golden Era'between two countries has seen many tangible results."

He said, "Deeper reform and greater opening up in China, and the steady development of the Belt and Road Initiative create invaluable opportunities for China-UK cooperation. "

McLean hoped these opportunities will benefit British companies to collaborate with China's Guangdong province and in particular Heyuan.

According to an earlier report compiled by Guangdong Academy of Social Sciences, the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area is the fourth largest bay area that has strong attraction and radiation power for global capital after Tokyo, New York and the San Francisco Bay Area.

Currently, it has taken on the shape of world-class super-city cluster and international free trade port, and is expected to become a giant portal hub of the Belt and Road Initiative.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-11-30 09:06:00|Editor: Yang Yi

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ISLAMABAD, Nov. 30 (Xinhua) -- Pakistan and Russia have agreed to upgrade their relationship to a multidimensional strategic partnership, Pakistan's Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

The agreement was made on Thursday in a meeting between Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi and Russian Ambassador to Pakistan Alexey Y. Dedov in Islamabad.

During the meeting, issues of mutual interest and cooperation including trade and investment, peace and security, energy and defense cooperation were discussed.

Qureshi expressed satisfaction over the bilateral cooperation in the field of energy and called it a strong pillar of Pakistan's partnership with Russia.

The foreign minister also appreciated Russia's role in finding a political solution of Afghan issue and agreed that peace and stability in Afghanistan is in the best interest of the region.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-11-30 09:51:15|Editor: Yang Yi

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YANGON, Nov. 30 (Xinhua) -- Myanmar authorities have seized counterfeit Myanmar currency notes in the denomination of 10,000 kyats at the Shwedagon Pagoda in Yangon, a world-known tourist site in the country, the official Global New Light of Myanmar reported Friday.

The 45 fake Myanmar currency notes were confiscated from a Singaporean couple at the pagoda when they paid the entrance fee at the counter on the southern stairway of the pagoda on Wednesday, the police force was quoted as saying.

Interrogated by the police, the couple claimed that they received the kyats from two Indians at the Arcade Money Exchange Counter at the Collyer Quay of Singapore's Changi Airport on Tuesday.

The police has filed a case against the two for using counterfeit money.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-11-30 10:01:22|Editor: Yang Yi

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CANBERRA, Nov. 30 (Xinhua) -- Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison has promised to use the G20 summit in Argentina to advocate for the benefits of open trade.

Speaking ahead of departing for Argentina on Thursday night, Morrison said that the summit was "critically important" for the state of global trade.

"A strong multilateral trading system with the World Trade Organization (WTO) at its center has helped underwrite regional and global economic stability and prosperity," he told reporters in Canberra.

"My key message at the G20 will be that to enjoy the prosperity, security and connectedness we have today, we must protect the international system."

"That system is built on rules and openness. As Prime Minister I will prosecute this case again at the G20, as I did at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) and (East Asia) summits," he added.

"The G20 has a good history of dealing with serious economic issues."

Morrison will be joined at the conference by Finance Minister Mathias Cormann after Treasurer Josh Frydenberg decided to stay in Australia to deal with domestic issues.

Morrison on Thursday flagged a meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump at the summit, telling journalists to "watch this space."

In an earlier statement, Morrison said this G20 was "critically important to Australia as an open, trade-reliant economy."
Source: Xinhua| 2018-11-30 10:31:31|Editor: Yang Yi

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TRIPOLI, Nov. 30 (Xinhua) -- An unidentified warplane killed 10 militants near the southern Libyan city of Ghat, a local military source told Xinhua later on Thursday.

"An unidentified airstrike targeted a convoy of five armed vehicles in the town of Awenat in Ghat, near the Algerian border," the source said.

Local media published images of people inside armed vehicles which are completely burnt in a desert area near Ghat.

"Military forces moved towards the scene. We found five cars completely destroyed in an uninhabited desert area, and counted the remains of 10 burned bodies, likely to be of al-Qaida terrorists," the source added.

The Libyan air force was not responsible for the raid, the source said, stressing that the airstrike is foreign and was likely carried out by a U.S. drone.

The U.S. military has not claimed responsibility for the airstrike so far.
TORONTO, Nov. 29, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Kuuhubb Inc. (Kuuhubb or the Company) (TSX- V: KUU), a technology company focused on acquiring, developing and distributing lifestyle and mobile game applications for the female audience, has reported its unaudited financial results for the three month period ended September 30, 2018. The Companys unaudited interim consolidated financial statements as at and for the three months ended September 30, 2018 and related managements discussion and analysis can be found on the Company's SEDAR profile at www.sedar.com . References in this release to US$ are to United States dollars. The Companys financial year end is June 30.



Highlights for the Fiscal First Quarter Ended September 30, 2018 (unaudited):

The non-IFRS adjusted EBITDA during the three-month period ended September 30, 2018 was negative US$215,517, making this periods adjusted EBITDA a near break-even quarter. The non-IFRS adjusted EBITDA was calculated by adjusting the Companys net loss of US$2,291,147 for the three-month period ended September 30, 2018 by subtracting share-based compensation expense of US$469,630, depreciation and amortization of US$1,536,634 and interest expense of US$95,466 and by adding foreign exchange gain of US$26,100.



Revenue for the three-month period ended September 30, 2018 was US$4.1 million, a year-over-year increase of 46% compared to US$2.8 million for the three-month period ended September 30, 2017, and a quarter-over-quarter decrease of 16% compared to US$4.9 million for the three-month period ended June 30, 2018. This revenue was generated from sales of the Recolor app, the in-application sale of virtual goods from the My Hospital game and in-application ad revenue.



The Company had shareholders equity of US$8,076,225 as at September 30, 2018, compared to shareholders equity of US$9,708,134 as at June 30, 2018.

Jouni Keranen, CEO of the Company, stated: While we had hoped for a much better start to the new fiscal year, we believe that the operational enhancements and product improvements we made in the first quarter and continue to make in the second quarter will produce material results in 2019. The lower revenue numbers were primarily attributed to specific one-time disruptions on a distribution platform earlier in the year and will not be recurring. Despite the setback, we continue to see significant growth opportunities in the coloring segment and are focused on maximizing the full potential of the Recolor and Recolor By Numbers products. During 2019 we plan to also create a more diversified product portfolio with the launch of both third-party and internally developed new products. With the previously announced financing (see the Companys November 13, 2018 press release) expected to close soon and other non-dilutive financings under discussion, Kuuhubb is well positioned for strong growth in 2019.

About Kuuhubb

Kuuhubb is a company active in the digital space that focuses mainly on lifestyle and mobile game applications for the female audience. Its strategy is to create sustainable shareholder value through acquisitions of proven, yet underappreciated, assets with robust long-term growth potential. Headquartered in Helsinki, Finland, Kuuhubb has a global presence with a strong focus on developing U.S. brand collaborations and Asian partnerships.

EBITDA - Non-IFRS Measure

EBITDA is intended to provide additional information to investors and analysts. EBITDA does not have any standardized meaning prescribed by IFRS and should not be considered in isolation or as a substitute for measures of performance prepared in accordance with IFRS. Other companies may calculate EBITDA differently.

Cautionary Note Concerning Forward-Looking Information

This press release contains forward-looking information. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, that address activities, events or developments that the Company believes, expects or anticipates will or may occur in the future (including, without limitation, statements relating to future revenue and products, development and growth of the Companys business, and the closing of the proposed financing) are forward-looking information. This forward-looking information reflects the current expectations or beliefs of the Company based on information currently available to the Company. Forward-looking information is subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that may cause the actual results of the Company to differ materially from those discussed in the forward-looking information, and even if such actual results are realized or substantially realized, there can be no assurance that they will have the expected consequences to, or effects on the Company. Factors that could cause actual results or events to differ materially from current expectations include, among other things, risks related to the growth strategy of the Company, the possibility that results from the Companys growth and development plans will not be consistent with the Company's expectations, failure to complete the proposed financing, the possibility that the completion of the proposed financing may be delayed or that the terms of the proposed financing may change, the early stage of the Company's development, competition from companies in a number of industries, the ability of the Company to manage expansion and integrate acquisitions into its business, future business development of the Company and the other risks disclosed under the heading "Risk Factors" in the Company's annual information form dated November 8, 2018 filed on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. Forward-looking information speaks only as of the date on which it is provided and, except as may be required by applicable securities laws, the Company disclaims any intent or obligation to update any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or results or otherwise. Although the Company believes that the assumptions inherent in the forward-looking information are reasonable, forward-looking information is not a guarantee of future performance and accordingly undue reliance should not be put on such information due to the inherent uncertainty therein.

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.

For further information, please contact:

Kuuhubb Inc.

Jouni Keranen  CEO

jouni@kuuhubb.com

Office: +358 40 590 0919
Source: Xinhua| 2018-11-30 10:41:37|Editor: Yang Yi

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SYDNEY, Nov. 30 (Xinhua) -- New evidence strongly suggests that ancient humans occupied Northern Africa more than half a million years earlier than previously thought, adding a new chapter to the ever-changing story of our evolution.

An international team led by professor Mohamed Sahnouni and including scientists from Algeria, Spain, France and Australia, published their work on Friday.

The team said they had found "cutmarked" bones and stone tools, at two archeological levels of the Ain Boucherit site in Algeria, dating the lower level to be 2.4 million years old.

The find pushes the timeline of human occupation in the region back 600,000 years from the previous 1.8 million years which was determined by evidence from another site nearby.

Dr Mathieu Duval, an ARC Future Fellow member of Griffith's Australian Research Center for Human Evolution, contributed to date the archaeological occupations.

"We had to use a combination of different methods to date Ain Boucherit, namely stratigraphy, palaeomagnetism, electron spin resonance and biochronology," Duval said.

"The different methods provided consistent results and helped to chronologically constrain the lower and upper archaeological levels to about 2.4 and 1.9 millions years, respectively."

"Now the question is, did the method for creating the stone tools spread from earlier sites found in East Africa, or was there a simultaneous development of stone technology happening in both areas?"
Source: Xinhua| 2018-11-30 10:56:41|Editor: Yang Yi

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CANBERRA, Nov. 30 (Xinhua) -- The number of dolphins in Darwin Harbor in Australia's Northern Territory (NT) has been halved since 2011, according to a leading expert.

Carol Palmer, a senior scientist for the NT Environment Department, has observed a steady decline in the number of dolphins in Darwin harbor since 2011.

The harbor is home to three species of small tropical coast hugging-dolphins; the near-threatened Australian snubfin, Australian humpback and coastal bottlenose.

"For the Australian humpback dolphin, where we've got the best data, they've been the most seen within Darwin Harbor, and the populations have dropped from about the mid 40s, down to in the 20s," Palmer told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) on Friday.

In the wider Darwin region, the humpback population has fallen from 88 in 2011 to 50 in 2017.

The bottlenose dolphin population has fallen from 28 to 23 and snubfin dolphin population from 32 to 24.

Palmer identified climate change and increased underwater sound, which the dolphins have a high sensitivity to, as the likely causes.

"Potentially increasing underwater sound, prey availability, and a number of issues to do with climate change (are causing it)," she said.

"In 2016 we had the highest-recorded sea surface temperatures in Darwin Harbor, and across Northern Australia, and we know from work done overseas that can affect fish breeding and prey availability."

"And we don't really understand the influence of shipping and a whole range of things."
Source: Xinhua| 2018-11-30 11:06:47|Editor: Yang Yi

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HELSINKI, Nov. 30 (Xinhua) -- Finnish Prime Minister Juha Sipila voiced his concern over the trade situation between the European Union (EU) and the United States during his visit to the United States, Finnish media reported on Thursday.

Sipila met U.S. Vice President Mike Pence and Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross in the last two days.

Talking to Finnish correspondents in Washington late Wednesday, Sipila said his impression was that Washington is split in its approach to the trade issue.

"No one wants the present situation to continue, as it hampers the growth of world trade," Sipila was quoted by Finnish media as saying.

Sipila said he had explained the Finnish situation to Pence, citing the risks the Finnish automobile industry may face if the United States imposes more tariffs on auto exports from the EU.

"Many of the cars made in Finland get exported to the U.S. via Germany," he said.

The leading Finnish business think tank ETLA published a survey earlier this week, saying that if U.S. tariffs hit EU carmakers, the initial loss of jobs was estimated at 900 in Finland.

The ETLA said that though the impact is small, automobile production could ultimately be relocated to a country outside the EU.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-11-30 11:41:54|Editor: Liangyu

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Chinese President Xi Jinping and his wife Peng Liyuan are welcomed upon their arrival at the airport in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Nov. 29, 2018. Xi arrived here Thursday night to attend the 13th Group of 20 (G20) summit and pay a state visit to Argentina. (Xinhua/Xie Huanchi)

BUENOS AIRES, Nov. 29 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived here Thursday night to attend the 13th Group of 20 (G20) summit and pay a state visit to Argentina.

In a statement released upon his arrival, Xi extended greetings and best wishes to the Argentine people on behalf of the Chinese government and people.

"China and Argentina are sincere friends that trust each other and good partners that benefit each other," said Xi, adding that he is delighted to visit Argentina and meet his Argentine friends again.

The Chinese president made his first state visit to the South American country in 2014.

China and Argentina, Xi said, support each other's path of development, and stay committed to deepening friendly cooperation and strengthening coordination in international and regional affairs.

"I look forward to having extensive exchanges with President Mauricio Macri and people from all walks of life in Argentina, and jointly opening up a new era for the China-Argentina comprehensive strategic partnership," he said.

Noting that Argentina is the first South American country to host a G20 summit and this year marks the 10th anniversary of G20 summitry, Xi said the Buenos Aires summit is of great significance.

Wishing the summit a success, Xi said he stands ready to work together with Macri and all other leaders to uphold the all-in-the-same-boat spirit and steer the "boat" of the world economy from the La Plata River toward the wide oceans.

At the airport, Xi and his wife, Peng Liyuan, were warmly welcomed by Argentine Foreign Minister Jorge Faurie and other government officials.

Argentina is the second stop of Xi's Europe and Latin America trip from Nov. 27 to Dec. 5, which had taken him to Spain and also includes state visits to Panama and Portugal.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-11-30 12:32:02|Editor: Yang Yi

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SEOUL, Nov. 30 (Xinhua) -- South Korea's presidential Blue House left "all possibilities open" for the visit by Kim Jong Un, top leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), to Seoul next month.

Kim Eui-keum, spokesman for President Moon Jae-in, told reporters that the Blue House was making preparations for the DPRK leader's Seoul visit, with all possibilities open.

The spokesman said nothing has been decided yet, but he noted that preparations were being made under various scenarios.

His comment came in response to the report by Chosun Ilbo, a local daily newspaper, that South Korea was pushing for Kim's travel to Seoul on Dec. 12-14.

After the Pyongyang summit in September with Moon, the DPRK leader promised to visit Seoul at an early date to reciprocate the South Korean president's trip to Pyongyang.

Moon had expressed his hope that Kim's visit to Seoul would happen by the end of this year.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-11-30 12:42:08|Editor: Yang Yi

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by Duncan Murray

SYDNEY, Nov. 30 (Xinhua) -- A collaboration between Australian academics and Aboriginal rangers in the country's rural north has helped solve an ecological mystery and shown that local knowledge may still have a lot to offer.

When Yolngu elder and park ranger Yumutjin Jimmy Wunungmurra noticed that the paperbark forests which line the floodplains near his homeland were dying, his concern was for more than the environmental effects.

The paperbarks, or melaleuca, are of deep cultural significance to the local Aboriginals and are still used in cooking, medicines, for gathering water, as well as for building shelters and canoes and in ceremonial practices.

"That floodplain area used to be healthy and strong," Wunungmurra told Xinhua.

"We saw the plants dying and native animals disappearing and wanted to use science to understand how to help the land."

Wunungmurra's concerns reached scientists at Australia's Macquarie University (MU) and a partnership was established between university scientists and the environmental caretakers of the area, the Yirralka rangers, to understand why these valuable trees were dying and what the future might hold.

Lead MU researcher Daniel Sloane said his team began their investigation by asking Senior Knowledge Custodians (SKCs) across north-east Arnhem Land about how the land had changed during their lifetime and what factors they thought were behind the dieback of the trees.

According to Wunungmurra, they had noticed that mangrove trees were starting to grow further up onto the floodplains, which they knew meant that there was saltwater from the sea further up than it had been before.

Around 70 percent of the people that Sloane and his team spoke to blamed feral animals for the encroachment of the sea, explaining how pigs and buffalos, as hard hoofed animals, create channels which drives saltwater further inland and onto the freshwater floodplains.

When Sloane and his team tested this hypothesis with scientific methods, they confirmed what the locals had told them, that 70 percent of the dieback of the trees was related to salinity and feral animal damage.

"It was remarkable that Indigenous knowledge and western science achieved the same result," Sloane said, although he sees good reason why the local inhabitants displayed such a deep understanding of the land and its functions.

Indigenous people have been living on the Australian continent for an estimated 65,000 years, and their culture is considered one of the oldest on the planet.

The native people have a connection with the Australian environment, born by the necessities of surviving within it, as they did for millenia.

However things now are not as they once were.

"Today we feel like crying for the land," Wunungmurra said, "our spirit is on the land."

"Old people are usually passing knowledge from generation to generation (and) we were always thinking about what the old people were saying."

Increasingly Australians are beginning to pay attention to Aboriginal voices, including Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO) scientist Dr Cathy Robinson who said that local knowledge is instrumental to the work she does.

On the East Coast of Australia, Robinson has led a project which involved performing controlled burns within Arakwal National Park, aimed at the rejuvenation of a local species of flower, the Byron Bay Orchid.

The local people from that area who are the Arakwal, in collaboration with CSIRO scientists have implemented a burning operation whereby sections of bush are set on fire to allow them to rejuvenate - an ancient custom, and one which many species actually require to stimulate seed release and new growth.

And the environment is not the only benefactor from having the traditional caretakers of the land doing what they do best - communities in the top end and across Australia are feeling the benefits of finding gainful employment which allows them to spend time in the bush.

"You can see with ranger work - it's real work," Robinson said.

"It's work that's about being on country and helping country you see some of those benefits to the environment but you also see cultural and social benefits."

Being out on country "reignites" knowledge, Robinson said, which from a scientific point of view arouses all sorts of useful insights and perspectives for her and her team to work with.

And for Wunungmurra, the benefits of collaboration flow both ways.

"Yolngu knowledge and western science help one another, we are sharing knowledge and working together," Wunungmurra said.

"We would like to see Yolngu people learning our culture and Western education too. We are living in two worlds - the Yolngu world and the Western world and we need more training in both."
Source: Xinhua| 2018-11-30 12:52:11|Editor: Yamei

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BEIJING, Nov. 30 (Xinhua) -- Yao Jinqi, a duty crime suspect and former deputy head of Xinchang County in east China's Zhejiang Province, was extradited Friday to China from Bulgaria.

Yao, who fled abroad in December 2005, became the first former civil servant China extradited from an EU member state.

Coordinated by an office in charge of fugitive repatriation and asset recovery under China's central anti-corruption coordination group, it was also the first successful extradition case since China's National Supervisory Commission was established in March.

Born in 1956, Yao was suspected of taking advantage of his posts to accept huge amounts of money and property from others on multiple occasions and was listed in an Interpol Red Notice on Oct. 3, 2018, before being arrested by the Bulgarian police according to the notice two weeks later.

On Monday, a court in Sofia, Bulgaria made an arbitrament to agree to extradite Yao to China.

The extradition was a successful practice to convert the strengths of the country's supervisory system into efficiency in governance and showcased the achievements China has made in international cooperation in anti-corruption efforts over the years, according to the office.

"Justice will never be undone," the office said in a statement, telling all corrupt fugitives to turn themselves in as soon as possible for leniency.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-11-30 13:12:15|Editor: Yang Yi

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RIO DE JANEIRO, Nov. 29 (Xinhua) -- The governor of Rio de Janeiro state, Luiz Fernando Pezao, was arrested Thursday on charges of involvement in a major corruption scheme in the state.

Pezao was arrested in his house by the Federal Police, and is being accused of corruption and money laundering. According to the authorities, the governor received hefty bribes for years.

Pezao's arrest was based on the testimony of Carlos Miranda, a former adviser to Pezao's predecessor Sergio Cabral, who was Pezao's superior between 2007 and 2014.

According to Miranda, Pezao received 150,000 reals (about 38,840 U.S. dollars) per month as bribe with an extra 150,000 reals as end-of-year bonus, and two larger bonuses of 1 million reals (about 259,070 U.S. dollars) each. The money was paid by private companies which held contracts with the state government.

The Federal Police is still searching for the money but has not disclosed other advantages Pezao reportedly got from the scheme.

Pezao is the fourth Rio state governor to be arrested, and the first to be arrested in office. In fact, all governors elected from 1998 to 2014 in the state have been arrested for corruption crimes at some point.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-11-30 13:32:19|Editor: Liangyu

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BEIJING, Nov. 30 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived in Buenos Aires Thursday night to attend the 13th Group of 20 (G20) summit and pay a state visit to Argentina.

The following is a selection of Xi's remarks at previous G20 summits.

July 2017, Hamburg, Germany:

"As the world's major economies, we should and must lead the way, support the multilateral trading system, observe the jointly established rules and, through consultation, seek all-win solutions to common challenges we face."

"In the wake of the global financial crisis, the G20 has done a lot to improve macroeconomic policy coordination, reform international financial institutions, tighten international financial regulation and combat tax avoidance, thus ensuring financial market stability and recovery. We should build on these achievements. In particular, we should strengthen coordination of macroeconomic policies, forestall risks in financial markets and develop financial inclusion and green finance to make the financial sector truly drive the development of the real economy."

September 2016, Hangzhou, China:

G20 members should strengthen their coordination in macroeconomic policies, jointly promote growth and safeguard financial stability.

G20 members should innovate their growth patterns and explore new growth engines.

G20 members should improve global economic governance and mechanism guarantee as well.

G20 members should build an open world economy and continue to promote the liberalization and facilitation of trade and investment.

The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development should be realized to promote inclusive growth.

November 2015, Antalya, Turkey:

"We should reject protectionism and uphold and strengthen the multilateral trading regime in order to provide sufficient space for the development of different countries."

The G20 should work to maintain a stable economic growth in the short term, while seeking to inject new impetus into the world economy in the long term.

November 2014, Brisbane, Australia:

G20 economies should innovate their economic development patterns. More vitality should be brought into the economy through structural reforms in finance, investment, trade and other fields.

G20 members should build an open global economy and make concerted efforts in resisting trade and investment protectionism and safeguarding multilateral trade systems.

G20 members should improve global economic governance to strive for a fair, just, inclusive and orderly international financial system.

September 2013, St. Petersburg, Russia:

G20 members have a minimum duty of keeping their own house in order and also need to build a closer partnership to shore up the world economy.

G20 members should jointly maintain and promote the openness of the world economy and oppose all forms of trade protectionism.

G20 members should bolster a free, open and non-discriminatory multilateral trade system and try to improve global investment rules.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-11-30 13:47:23|Editor: Yang Yi

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SEOUL, Nov. 30 (Xinhua) -- A South Korean train on Friday departed for the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) to conduct an 18-day joint inspection on the DPRK's railways.

The six-car train left the Dorasan Station, just south of the inter-Korean border, at about 9:05 a.m. local time (0005 GMT) for the Panmun Station near the DPRK's border town of Kaesong, local TV footage showed.

A DPRK locomotive would take over the train, which carries 28 South Korean experts and government officials from the unification and transport ministries, from the Panmun Station.

The train would inspect a 1,200-km rail track along western and eastern DPRK. The western railway ranges from Kaesong to Sinuiju, while the eastern rail line spans from Mount Kumgang, the DPRK's scenic resort in the southeast coast, to the DPRK's northeastern tip of Tumen River.

The joint survey on the eastern DPRK railway would mark the first of its kind since the Korean Peninsula was divided with the armistice agreement that ended the 1950-53 Korean War.

The two Koreas jointly inspected the western rail line from Kaesong to Sinuiju in 2007, and had run car train services from the Dorasan Station to the Panmun Station for about a year, before the services were halted amid the frayed inter-Korean relations.

The joint railway inspection came as part of efforts to implement the Panmunjom Declaration, which South Korean President Moon Jae-in and top DPRK leader Kim Jong Un inked after their first summit in April at the border village of Panmunjom.

The two leaders agreed to modernize and eventually connect railways across the inter-Korean border.
VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Nov. 29, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Chemesis International Inc. (CSE: CSI ) (OTC: CADMF ) (FRA: CWAA ) (the Company or Chemesis), announces unaudited Q1 revenues for the period ending September 30, 2018 of $1,919,030 CDN.



In its first quarter of operations, the Company generated revenues through its state compliant manufacturing, packaging, and distribution facility Desert Zen . With current distribution access to over 650 dispensaries in Southern California, the Company is manufacturing and distributing for multiple third-party brands. By Q1  2019, the company plans on expanding this reach by adding more delivery vans to its current fleet and launching its own in-house product portfolio including the Kevin Smith, Jay & Silent Bob product line which was announced November 14th, 2018.

Additionally, the Companys industrial scale state compliant extraction facility which uses both ethanol and butane extraction, is expected to be operational in early December 2018. Chemesis is currently stockpiling trim to ensure no production delays and anticipates immediate demand for its award-winning California SAP Distillate.

Edgar Montero, CEO of Chemesis stated, We are pleased with our first quarter revenues and are looking forward to the expansion of our operations. Chemesis will continue to execute its business plan, and we are very excited to bring our fully compliant California extraction facility online in early December. The SAP extraction facility will bring major opportunities within the state, and will allow us to provide fully complaint production, manufacturing, packaging, distribution, and transportation.

On November 6th, 2018, the Company was approved by the state and successfully transferred the state Cannabis license in Puerto Rico on the Natural Ventures Puerto Rico transaction. Financials and revenues from the Puerto Rico operations are not included in the fiscal Q1 2019 Financials. The company looks forward to further building out its operations in Puerto Rico heading into 2019.

The unaudited condensed consolidated interim financial Statements and MD&A for the three months ended September 30, 2018 will be filed on SEDAR and available at www.sedar.com .

About Chemesis International Inc.

Chemesis International Inc. is a vertically integrated global leader in the cannabis industry, currently operating within California, Puerto Rico, and finalizing acquisition in Colombia.

Chemesis is developing a strong foothold in key markets, from cultivation, to manufacturing, distribution, and retail. Chemesis has facilities in both Puerto Rico and California, allowing for cost effective production and distribution of its products. In addition, Chemesis leverages exclusive brands and partnerships and uses the highest quality extraction methods, to provide consumers with quality cannabis products.

Chemesis will add shareholder value by exploring opportunities in emerging markets while consistently delivering quality product to its consumers from seed to sale.

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Edgar Montero

CEO and Director

INVESTOR RELATIONS:

ir@chemesis.com

www.chemesis.com

1 (604) 398-3378

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
Source: Xinhua| 2018-11-30 13:52:23|Editor: Li Xia

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Ma Zhaoxu, China's permanent representative to the United Nations (UN) and president of the UN Security Council for November, briefs journalists on the council's work in November, at the UN headquarters in New York, Nov. 29, 2018. (Xinhua/Li Muzi)

UNITED NATIONS, Nov. 30 (Xinhua) -- Ma Zhaoxu, China's permanent representative to the United Nations (UN) and president of the UN Security Council for November, told reporters Thursday that the Council "had a very busy and productive month."

"We had a very busy and productive month and made contribution to maintaining international peace and security," Ma said at a press briefing about the council's work in November.

"Altogether, 35 meetings have been held and six resolutions have been adopted and seven press statements (have been) issued," Ma added, making a brief summary of the major achievements of the month.

Ma said that one of the most positive results produced over the month was "showing support for multilateralism and a stronger role of the United Nations."

As for the open debate on strengthening multilateralism and the role of the UN, Ma noted that the event "was widely received by member states."

He told the media that he was very glad to see Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and the heads of major UN agencies show up at the debate, share their views and give their support to both the event and multilateralism.

More than 70 countries and international organizations were represented at the event, the Chinese UN ambassador said.

As for the resolutions adopted in the month, Ma noted that they played an important role in "pushing for the settlement of hotspot issues."

Referring to Resolution 2444 aimed at lifting sanctions on Eritrea, Ma said: "This decision will build on the momentum of improved relations between countries in the Horn of Africa and lay a foundation for a lasting peace in the region."

Consultations and open debates on the Middle East are regularly held at the Security Council. Ma highlighted the emergency consultation held in response to the escalating situation in Gaza, calling on parties concerned to exercise restraint and protect civilians, and find a lasting solution to the conflict.

Recalling the open debate on strengthening peacekeeping efforts in Africa -- another major event of the month, Ma said that the debate was also warmly welcomed by the member states.

"Delegates from 56 countries and international organizations made statements," he said.

Speakers expressed support for enhancing African capabilities for peace and security and gave suggestions in this regard, said Ma, adding that some of the recommendations put forward by member states were "very, very valuable."
Source: Xinhua| 2018-11-30 14:12:29|Editor: Chengcheng

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WASHINGTON, Nov. 29 (Xinhua) -- U.S. officials on Thursday displayed various Iran-related weapons, claiming they were new evidence of Iran's threat to regional security.

The weapons, exhibited at a military base in Washington, included various missiles, unmanned aerial system, and small arms, which were seized or recovered by Saudi Arabia and other regional countries, according to a statement issued by the State Department on Thursday.

Brian Hook, U.S. special representative for Iran, said Iran provided these weapons to Houthis, Taliban and other militant groups, claiming it was "a function of Iran's relentless commitment to put more weapons into the hands of even more of its proxies, regardless of the suffering."

"This display today helps educate people on this clear and present threat that we face," he said, adding: "We are one missile attack away from a regional conflict."

Hook claimed that the pressure campaign targeting Iran would yield two concrete benefits: starving Iran's revenue to destabilize the region and forcing Iran to come back to the negotiating table so that the United States can get a better deal.

Hook also urged "all nations, especially the European Union, to move missile sanctions through the European Union so that we can start managing the risk of a regional conflict through missile proliferation."

Washington has intensified its sanctions against Tehran after U.S. President Donald Trump's decision to exit the Iran nuclear deal in May, a move that has been criticized widely by the international community.

In early November, the United States put 700 Iranian individuals, entities, vessels, and aircraft on the sanctions list, including major Iranian banks, oil exporters, and shipping companies.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has blasted the U.S. sanctions as "economic terrorism."

If they are honest and concerned about regional security, this is not the path, Rouhani said, adding that the "cruel" U.S. sanctions will only harm the Iranian people.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-11-30 14:17:30|Editor: Chengcheng

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WASHINGTON, Nov. 29 (Xinhua) -- The new giant tax package released by House Republicans earlier this week is not going to see a "wholesale passage" in the Congress, former Senator John Breaux said Thursday.

In a keynote speech on tax policy at the Brookings Institution, Breaux said House Republican Kevin Brady's bill is not going to be approved in the Senate. "They have no appetite for making some of those tax cuts permanent," said Breaux.

Brady, who will step down as House Ways and Means Committee chairman in January, released the 297-page tax bill on Monday, which would extend some tax breaks that are set to expire, address some glitches in the 2017 tax cut law, offer incentives for retirement savings, and revamp Internal Revenue Service (IRS). It will also provide tax relief for victims of the California wildfires and other natural disasters.

The tax package would cost the federal government 55 billion U.S. dollars over the next 10 years, according to a report released Wednesday by the Congressional Budget Office.

Breaux, once a senior Democratic member of the Senate Finance Committee and a widely recognized bipartisan leader, also noted "there is a possibility" that progress can be made on the Retirement Enhancement and Savings Act, which he believes there is a "strong bipartisan support" for.

In a panel discussion prior to Breaux's speech, Sandra Salstrom, a legislative representative for the American Federation of Government Employees, said the Democrats have "no incentive" to address the issue of retirement this year, because they have an incoming chairman "who has a longtime interest" in these areas.

Salstrom was talking about Democratic Representative Richard Neal, who is expected to replace Brady as House Ways and Means Committee chairman in January.

"Why would you pass something like this when you get to put your stamp on it a month from now and really dig in and do the issues the way you think it should be done," Salstrom said, adding that Neal's office has "put out paper" urging Democrats to oppose the bill.

"I don't think any part of the bill is going to pass," Howard Gleckman, a senior fellow in the Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center at the Urban Institute, also the moderator of the discussion, told Xinhua after the event.

Gleckman believes not much will be done on tax policy during Congress' lame-duck session, the final weeks of the year before the Democrats take control of the House in January, and beyond. "Things always get partisan," he said.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-11-30 14:22:31|Editor: Liu

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KABUL, Nov. 30 (Xinhua) -- Twenty-three civilians, including at least 10 children and eight women, were killed and three children injured following an airstrike in Afghanistan's restive southern province of Helmand on Tuesday, the UN mission in the country said Friday.

"Preliminary findings from the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) indicate that as many as 23 civilians were killed and three injured Tuesday in an airstrike in Garmser district of Helmand province during operations conducted by pro-government forces against Taliban in the area," UNAMA said in a statement.

Earlier reports said that more than one dozen civilians lost their lives in the incident.

"The incident took place during an operation involving Afghan and international military forces, when international military forces conducted an airstrike following engagements between the forces on the ground and Taliban," the statement read.

UNAMA welcomed indications that "relevant authorities have initiated investigations into the civilian casualty reports, and it will continue its independent enquiries to establish additional facts, sharing the findings with parties as part of advocacy efforts for improved mitigation measures in their future operations to prevent civilian casualties."

The mission has recorded this year a sharp increase in civilian casualties from aerial attacks in the first nine months compared to the same period in 2017.

"The 649 civilian casualties recorded between Jan. 1 and Sept. 30 is more than the number of civilian casualties from aerial operations recorded over every entire year since UNAMA began systematic civilian casualty documentation in 2009," the statement noted.

UNAMA reminded all parties to the conflict to uphold their obligations to protect civilians from harm, and held that all parties to the conflict must strictly adhere to their obligations under international humanitarian law to take all feasible measures to protect civilians, the statement added.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-11-30 15:12:37|Editor: Lu Hui

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A doctor hands over drugs to an HIV-infected patient in a village clinic in Ruili, southwest China's Yunnan Province, Nov. 29, 2018. (Xinhua/Hu Chao)

KUNMING, Nov. 30 (Xinhua) -- When Ai Yue, using a fake name to remain anonymous, was confirmed to have contracted HIV/AIDS 13 years ago, he was devastated and kept wondering how many days he would have left.

"HIV/AIDS was a taboo at that time," said the 45-year-old farmer, "Knowing I had the disease, people would simply walk away when they saw me and some thought they could be infected by my saliva if we talked."

The disease led to many sleepless nights for Ai's family, who are living in Gengma County in southwest China's Yunnan Province. Luckily, his wife and children tested HIV/AIDS negative.

As Ai received antiretroviral therapy and free consultation services from local authorities, the family gradually came out of the shadow and tried to live a normal life.

By the end of October, Yunnan had 105,600 people living with HIV/AIDS, or about one-eighth of China's total. For years, Yunnan has been at the forefront of the country's tough battle against the epidemic.

Around every nine in 10,000 people are living with HIV/AIDS in China, a low rate compared to other countries, according to the National Health Commission.

According to a joint evaluation by the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, UNAIDS and the World Health Organization, there are around 1.25 million people living with HIV/AIDS in China by the end of this year, and 80,000 newly-infected people every year.

Since 2005, four rounds of campaigns to fight HIV/AIDS have been launched in China, with a stable HIV/AIDS prevention and testing network established in both urban and rural areas, which mainly focuses on treatment for families and communities.

DOOR-TO-DOOR CARE

Community doctors, social workers and government officials would visit HIV/AIDS patients, such as Ai, on a monthly basis, reminding them about the importance of continuing medication and adjusting their drugs based on the regular checkups.

"These grassroots forces have also explained to villagers that with the help of medication, HIV/AIDS can be controlled as a chronic disease, so that the HIV carriers, especially those suspected of infection, can ease their worries and actively engage in timely treatment," said Su Yuhong, head of the HIV/AIDS prevention office in Gengma.

In this county that borders Myanmar, about 2,500 people are living with HIV/AIDS.

For more than a decade, explaining HIV/AIDS knowledge to every villager, mobilizing them to do HIV/AIDS testing and coordinating the infected to receive antiretroviral therapy has been part of Su's daily routine.

"We have to ensure full coverage of HIV/AIDS knowledge and HIV/AIDS testing for every villager, making them at least understand that using condoms is responsible behavior and that HIV testing is an ordinary thing just like an annual health check," she said.

For those that tested HIV/AIDS positive, Su and her team would inform them immediately and provide a one-on-one explanation of therapeutic plans outside the village, which fully protects their privacy.

Efforts have also been made to strengthen HIV/AIDS education in communities, as it is "one of the best ways of prevention."

"Exhibition boards, posters, brochures, and training classes...We use everything to make the villagers familiar with HIV/AIDS knowledge," Su said.

Over the years, Su now talks to villagers by going door to door.

"At first, nobody accepted our free distribution of condoms and few would stop to read our posters. But now, when talking about HIV/AIDS, even the most illiterate can hit the nail on the head, and almost all families know how to block mother-to-child transmission," according to Su.

Family-based treatment is the basis to guarantee the long-term battle against HIV/AIDS, according to Lu Lin, deputy director of Yunnan's provincial health commission.

CONTINUED SUPPORT

Yunnan has set up an HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment network all over the province, with quick testing spots available in every town, according to Xu Yonggang, head of the provincial HIV/AIDS prevention bureau.

Since 2012, Yunnan has invested more than 48 million yuan (6.9 million U.S. dollars) to support 544 HIV/AIDS projects covering more than 170,000 people.

HIV self-test kits can be bought in some drugstores in Yunnan, allowing people to test for HIV infection via saliva samples in about 20 minutes. Also, convenient HIV urine test kits can be found in some universities in the province.

"The 'full coverage' mode has yielded results. The HIV detection rate has risen to more than 84 percent this year, compared with just 58 percent in 2010," Xu said.

The province recorded 9,413 new HIV/AIDS infections from January to October this year, down 2.6 percent year on year, a downward trend for five consecutive years. "The disease remains stable and under control," according to Xu.

Yunnan is confident it will reach the goal proposed by the United Nations' program on HIV/AIDS: to ensure that more than 90 percent of HIV-infected patients know about their infections, 90% of people who are diagnosed are on antiretroviral treatment and 90% of those who receive the antiretroviral will have their viruses suppressed by 2020, Xu added.

"Though with a large HIV/AIDS population in China, Yunnan has transformed itself from one of the hardest-hit provinces to a demonstration area of prevention and treatment through years of efforts, " said Wu Zunyou, chief epidemiologist of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention.

Villagers in Gengma County are now very proactive about anti-AIDS work, believing that this is not only beneficial for themselves, but for future generations as well.

"Gradually, people who once looked down upon me have accepted me back into their lives as a normal person," Ai said. "These days, they often ask me to help them farm and invite me over for dinner sometimes."

(Video reporter: He Chunhao; Video editor: Cao Ying)
Source: Xinhua| 2018-11-30 16:07:56|Editor: xuxin

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RIO DE JANEIRO, Nov. 29 (Xinhua) -- Brazil's President Michel Temer left Thursday evening for Argentina's capital Buenos Aires to attend the 13th Group of 20 (G20) summit.

It will be Temer's last participation in the summit, as he is leaving office on January 1. As Temer does not have a vice-president, Rodrigo Maia, the head of the house, would serve as interim president during his absence.

According to his office, Temer will have private meetings with Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison, Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and Mexico's President Enrique Pena Nieto.

The government said Brazil's priorities in the meeting will be foreign trade, climate change and labor regulations.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-11-30 16:12:58|Editor: mmm

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Wu Haitao, China's deputy permanent representative to the United Nations (UN), speaks on the situation in the Middle East at the 42nd plenary meeting of the 73rd session of the UN General Assembly at the UN headquarters in New York, Nov. 29, 2018. Wu said Thursday that the two-state solution is "the only comprehensive, just and lasting solution" to the Palestinian issue. (Xinhua/Li Muzi)

UNITED NATIONS, Nov. 29 (Xinhua) -- A Chinese envoy said Thursday that the two-state solution is "the only comprehensive, just and lasting solution" to the Palestinian issue.

"Finding a comprehensive and just solution is a common aspiration and in the interest of the Palestinian people, the region and the world," Wu Haitao, China's deputy permanent representative to the United Nations, told the 42nd plenary meeting of the 73rd session of the General Assembly on the situation in the Middle East.

Calling on all parties to exercise restraint and implement relevant UN resolutions, he said the international community must scale up its funding of the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA).

Wu urged all parties to implement Security Council resolution 2334 (2016) and take immediate measures to prevent violence against civilians.

"Parties who have major influence in the Middle East should play a constructive role and break the impasse in the peace process," he said, adding that "all parties should strive to reach a balanced solution based on relevant Security Council resolutions."

The conflict and confrontation continue and the developments on the ground are worrying, he said, noting that the international community should promote dialogue and ensure that parties "turn stability into lasting peace."

The envoy also expressed support for integrating the Palestinian state within the international community.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-11-30 16:28:00|Editor: Li Xia

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by Mahmoud Fouly, Abdel-Magiud Kamal

LUXOR, Egypt, Nov. 30 (Xinhua) -- On a sunny day on the east bank of the Nile River and north of the world famous Karnak Temple Complex in Egypt's southern monumental city of Luxor, four Chinese archeologists have been inspecting the ruins of Montu Temple with Egyptian counterparts.

Some 20 workers have been clearing up the precinct of unwanted grass and plants to start joint excavation work.

It is the first excavation day of the first Chinese archeological mission in Egypt, an outcome of a protocol of cooperation recently signed between the Egyptian Ministry of Antiquities and the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS).

"Archaeological studies in China and Egypt are quite different given the unique features of the two brilliant civilizations," said Jia Xiaobing, head of the Chinese archaeological team in Egypt.

"Such joint missions will bring different theories and methods together and hence boost development of archaeological studies in both countries," the Chinese archaeologist told Xinhua at the site.

To reach the remains of Montu Temple, which is closed for visitors and cordoned with a yellow ribbon to prevent public approach, a person needs to pass through an avenue of 40 sphinxes, 20 on each side, then cross the main giant pylon of the Karnak Temple Complex.

Then one has to go through the complex great forecourt, turn left to cross the world's largest hypostyle hall of 134 huge columns representing the papyrus flower, and finally cross a ruined pathway northwards.

There, only two gate-like structures remained standing from the relics of Montu Temple, which was dedicated to the worship of ancient falcon-headed war god Montu, with huge damaged blocks scattered around the precinct.

Jia, also vice-director of the Department of Prehistoric Archaeology of the CASS' Institute of Archaeology, added that his team will try to figure out Montu Temple's plain layout, expansion, repair situation through cooperation with Egyptian archaeologists in the joint mission.

Dressed in beige and brown uniform with "Egypt-China Archaeological Mission" written on the back, the Chinese team currently consists of four members, but they are expected to increase to six or seven members over the coming few days, according to the team leader.

Gao Wei, a Chinese team member, said that the site is much bigger than expected, making it difficult to prepare the area for excavation.

"Since it is the first time for a Chinese mission here, we are in constant communication with our Egyptian counterparts to figure out better ways to get the job done," Gao told Xinhua.

The construction of the Karnak Temple Complex, one of the oldest and most famous pharaonic relics in Egypt, is believed to have started more than 4,000 years ago and took some 2,000 until the time the Romans took control of Egypt, with each of about 30 pharaohs had contributed with additions or demolitions to its buildings.

Mostafa al-Saghir, director-general of Karnak temples in Luxor, expressed his expectation of fruitful results of cooperation with the Chinese team, noting that the ruins of Montu Temple have been untouched for decades and that it is one of 14 temples in Karnak, the biggest of which is that of chief god Amun-Ra.

"The mission's work will focus on clearing up the site of unwanted grass and plants, surveying the precinct to locate its borders, studying the blocks with inscriptions to rearrange them and fix them in their right places then conducting the necessary reparation," he told Xinhua.

The mission's term is scheduled for three months in this season, according to Saghir, who is also a leading Egyptian team member.

There are signs of an avenue of sphinxes north of the Montu Temple besides other underground artifacts.

"Cooperation between Egypt and China in the field of archaeology completes their cooperation in various other fields," said Hosni Abdel-Wahhab, director of Temple Montu.

The beginning of the Egyptian-Chinese mission has been launched Thursday in the presence of Egyptian and Chinese officials, including Mohamed Abdel-Aziz, director-general of Upper Egypt's antiquities, Mohamed Yahia, director-general of Luxor antiquities, and Shi Yuewen, cultural counselor of the Chinese embassy in Cairo.

"The Chinese and the Egyptian peoples respect their history and cherish their heritage and civilization," Shi told the attendees during the opening ceremony marking the beginning of the mission's work.

"I am certain that the researchers of both sides will work hard together to find a new discovery in Montu Temple," the Chinese official added.

Karnak Temple Complex comprises a vast mix of decayed large temples, smaller ones, chapels, shrines and other buildings containing statues, pylons, columns, obelisks with painted walls covered with reliefs and inscriptions in brilliant jewel-like colors.
Feature: Chinese archeologists in Egypt's Luxor dig for new area of cooperation Xinhua Weibo Facebook Twitter Reddit Diigo Delicious Digg Linkedin MySpace Sina Weibo Kaixin Renren Q-zone Tencent Weibo Sohu Weibo NetEase Weibo Source: Xinhua | 2018-11-30 16:33:06 | Editor: huaxia Archeologists of the joint Egyptian-Chinese archeological mission work at Montu Temple in Luxor, Egypt, on Nov. 29, 2018. (Xinhua/Meng Tao) by Mahmoud Fouly, Abdel-Magiud Kamal LUXOR, Egypt, Nov. 30 (Xinhua) -- On a sunny day on the east bank of the Nile River and north of the world famous Karnak Temple Complex in Egypt's southern monumental city of Luxor, four Chinese archeologists have been inspecting the ruins of Montu Temple with Egyptian counterparts. Some 20 workers have been clearing up the precinct of unwanted grass and plants to start joint excavation work. It is the first excavation day of the first Chinese archeological mission in Egypt, an outcome of a protocol of cooperation recently signed between the Egyptian Ministry of Antiquities and the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS). "Archaeological studies in China and Egypt are quite different given the unique features of the two brilliant civilizations," said Jia Xiaobing, head of the Chinese archaeological team in Egypt. "Such joint missions will bring different theories and methods together and hence boost development of archaeological studies in both countries," the Chinese archaeologist told Xinhua at the site. Photo taken on Nov. 29, 2018 shows Montu Temple where a joint Egyptian-Chinese archeological mission starts its excavation work in Luxor, Egypt. (Xinhua/Meng Tao) To reach the remains of Montu Temple, which is closed for visitors and cordoned with a yellow ribbon to prevent public approach, a person needs to pass through an avenue of 40 sphinxes, 20 on each side, then cross the main giant pylon of the Karnak Temple Complex. Then one has to go through the complex great forecourt, turn left to cross the world's largest hypostyle hall of 134 huge columns representing the papyrus flower, and finally cross a ruined pathway northwards. There, only two gate-like structures remained standing from the relics of Montu Temple, which was dedicated to the worship of ancient falcon-headed war god Montu, with huge damaged blocks scattered around the precinct. Archeologists of the joint Egyptian-Chinese archeological mission work at Montu Temple in Luxor, Egypt, on Nov. 29, 2018. (Xinhua/Meng Tao) Jia, also vice-director of the Department of Prehistoric Archaeology of the CASS' Institute of Archaeology, added that his team will try to figure out Montu Temple's plain layout, expansion, repair situation through cooperation with Egyptian archaeologists in the joint mission. Dressed in beige and brown uniform with "Egypt-China Archaeological Mission" written on the back, the Chinese team currently consists of four members, but they are expected to increase to six or seven members over the coming few days, according to the team leader. Gao Wei, a Chinese team member, said that the site is much bigger than expected, making it difficult to prepare the area for excavation. "Since it is the first time for a Chinese mission here, we are in constant communication with our Egyptian counterparts to figure out better ways to get the job done," Gao told Xinhua. Jia Xiaobing (L), head of the Chinese archeological mission in Egypt, and Mostafa al-Saghir, director-general of Karnak temples in Luxor, unearth the relics of Montu Temple in Luxor, Egypt, on Nov. 29, 2018. (Xinhua/Meng Tao) The construction of the Karnak Temple Complex, one of the oldest and most famous pharaonic relics in Egypt, is believed to have started more than 4,000 years ago and took some 2,000 until the time the Romans took control of Egypt, with each of about 30 pharaohs had contributed with additions or demolitions to its buildings. Mostafa al-Saghir, director-general of Karnak temples in Luxor, expressed his expectation of fruitful results of cooperation with the Chinese team, noting that the ruins of Montu Temple have been untouched for decades and that it is one of 14 temples in Karnak, the biggest of which is that of chief god Amun-Ra. "The mission's work will focus on clearing up the site of unwanted grass and plants, surveying the precinct to locate its borders, studying the blocks with inscriptions to rearrange them and fix them in their right places then conducting the necessary reparation," he told Xinhua. The mission's term is scheduled for three months in this season, according to Saghir, who is also a leading Egyptian team member. There are signs of an avenue of sphinxes north of the Montu Temple besides other underground artifacts. "Cooperation between Egypt and China in the field of archaeology completes their cooperation in various other fields," said Hosni Abdel-Wahhab, director of Temple Montu. The beginning of the Egyptian-Chinese mission has been launched Thursday in the presence of Egyptian and Chinese officials, including Mohamed Abdel-Aziz, director-general of Upper Egypt's antiquities, Mohamed Yahia, director-general of Luxor antiquities, and Shi Yuewen, cultural counselor of the Chinese embassy in Cairo. "The Chinese and the Egyptian peoples respect their history and cherish their heritage and civilization," Shi told the attendees during the opening ceremony marking the beginning of the mission's work. "I am certain that the researchers of both sides will work hard together to find a new discovery in Montu Temple," the Chinese official added. Karnak Temple Complex comprises a vast mix of decayed large temples, smaller ones, chapels, shrines and other buildings containing statues, pylons, columns, obelisks with painted walls covered with reliefs and inscriptions in brilliant jewel-like colors. Xinhua Weibo Facebook Twitter Reddit Diigo Delicious Digg Linkedin MySpace Sina Weibo Kaixin Renren Q-zone Tencent Weibo Sohu Weibo NetEase Weibo Back to Top Close
U.S. President Donald Trump (L) meets with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in Helsinki, Finland, on July 16, 2018. (Xinhua/Lehtikuva/Heikki Saukkomaa)

MOSCOW, Nov. 29 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Donald Trump would miss an opportunity to discuss controversial topics and demonstrate the independence of his foreign policy by cancelling a meeting with Russian leader Vladimir Putin, a Russian senior lawmaker said Thursday.

"It is wrong to assume that the Russian side needs this meeting more," Konstantin Kosachev, head of the Russian Federation Council's International Affairs Committee, said on Facebook.

To clarify controversial issues, including acute incidents at sea, it is necessary to hold personal talks between the two presidents, he wrote, adding that Trump's decision to call off the meeting with Putin is regretful.

"Based on the fact that the ships and sailors have not been returned to Ukraine from Russia, I have decided it would be best for all parties concerned to cancel my previously scheduled meeting in Argentina with President Vladimir Putin," Trump tweeted earlier in the day.

The Kremlin said hours ago that Putin and Trump would meet on Saturday on the sidelines of the G20 summit to discuss bilateral relations, strategic security, disarmament and regional conflicts.
TORONTO, Nov. 29, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Blockchain Power Trust (Blockchain Power or the Trust) (TSXV: BPWR.UN) today released its financial results for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2018. All amounts in this release are expressed in Canadian Dollars unless otherwise indicated.



Highlights

Produced 28,206 MWh of energy for the third quarter of 2018 generating revenue of $1.0 million from the sale of electricity and $2.5 million from green certificates (GCs), an energy production increase of 53% from the third quarter of 2017. Produced 108,338 MWh of energy for the nine months ending September 30, 2018 generating revenue of $5.0 million from the sale of electricity and $8.2 million from GCs, an energy production increase of 87% from the comparative period of 2017.

Revenue of $4.3 million for the third quarter of 2018, an increase of 30% from the third quarter of 2017. Revenue of $14.2 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2018, an increase of 50% from the comparative period of 2017.

Earned operating margin (revenue less cost of sales excluding depreciation) of $1.9 million for the third quarter, a decrease of 4% over the operating margin of $2.0 million for the third quarter of 2017 (see reconciliation of operating margin under Non-GAAP Measures). Earned operating margin of $7.7 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2018, an increase of 21% over the operating margin of $6.3 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2017.

Mined 85 Bitcoin during the third quarter of 2018 with revenue of $0.8 million from mining operations at an average realized price of $8,891 (US$6,807) per Bitcoin. Sold 106 Bitcoin during the third quarter realizing cash proceeds of $0.9 million at an average price of $8,801 (US$6,726).

Paused Bitcoin mining operations as of October 1, 2018 due to a determination that it is not currently profitable for the Trust to either supply or purchase energy for its Bitcoin mining operations given the decline in the price of Bitcoin, increased mining difficulty rates, and continued robust pricing environment for electricity in Romania and Europe generally.

J. Colter Eadie, Chief Executive Officer of Blockchain Power commented, We continue to focus on our renewable energy portfolio. While we are disappointed to have paused our cryptocurrency mining activities, one of the key drivers of this is the ongoing strength in local power markets which is unambiguously positive for our core business.

For further information please contact: Ravi Sood J. Colter Eadie Betty Soares Chairman Chief Executive Officer Chief Financial Officer +1 647-987-7663 +40 736 372 724 +1 416-803-6760 rsood@blockchainpower.com jceadie@blockchainpower.com bsoares@blockchainpower.com

About Blockchain Power Trust

The Trust, through its direct and indirect subsidiaries in Canada, the Netherlands and Romania, acquires interests in renewable energy, blockchain and cryptocurrency related assets in Romania, other countries in Europe and abroad that can provide stable cash flow to the Trust and a suitable risk-adjusted return on investment. The Trust seeks to provide investors with long-term, stable value creation, while preserving the capital value of its investment portfolio through investment in a range of operational green energy, blockchain and cryptocurrency related assets. The Trust intends to qualify as a mutual fund trust under the Income Tax Act (Canada) (the Tax Act). The Trust will not be a SIFT trust (as defined in the Tax Act), provided that the Trust complies at all times with its investment restriction which precludes the Trust from holding any non-portfolio property (as defined in the Tax Act). All material information about the Trust may be found under the Trusts issuer profile at www.sedar.com .

Forward-Looking Statements

Statements in this press release contain forward-looking information. Such forward-looking information may be identified by words such as anticipates, plans, proposes, estimates, intends, expects, believes, may and will. The forward-looking statements are founded on the basis of expectations and assumptions made by the Trust. Details of the risk factors relating to Blockchain Power and its business are discussed under the heading Business Risks and Uncertainties in Blockchain Powers annual managements discussion & analysis dated May 15, 2018, a copy of which is available on Blockchain Powers SEDAR profile at www.sedar.com . Most of these factors are outside the control of the Trust. Investors are cautioned not to put undue reliance on forward-looking information. These statements speak only as of the date of this press release. Except as otherwise required by applicable securities statutes or regulation, Blockchain Power expressly disclaims any intent or obligation to update publicly forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

Neither the TSXV nor its regulation services provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSXV) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

NON-GAAP MEASURES

The Trust has included certain non-GAAP measures to supplement its consolidated financial statements, which are presented in accordance with IFRS, including operating margin.

Operating margin is calculated as cost of sales from revenues as follows:

For the three months ended For the nine months ended (in Canadian Dollars unless otherwise noted) September 30,

2018 September 30,

2017 September 30,

2018 September 30,

2017 Total revenue $ 4,329,907 $ 3,328,684 $ 14,200,388 $ 9,476,673 Less: Cost of sales excluding depreciation 2,387,346 1,311,024 6,487,821 3,127,718 Operating margin $ 1,942,561 $ 2,017,660 $ 7,712,567 $ 6,348,955

The Trust believes that operating margin, together with measures determined in accordance with IFRS, provide investors with an improved ability to evaluate the underlying performance of the Trust. Non-GAAP financial measures do not have any standardized meaning prescribed under IFRS, and therefore they may not be comparable to similar measures employed by other entities. The data is intended to provide additional information and should not be considered in isolation or as a substitute for measures of performance prepared in accordance with IFRS. Management's determination of the components of non-GAAP and additional measures are evaluated on a periodic basis influenced by new items and transactions, a review of investor uses and new regulations as applicable. Any changes to the measures are duly noted and retrospectively applied as applicable.


Source: Xinhua| 2018-11-30 17:48:30|Editor: mmm

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BEIJING, Nov. 30 (Xinhua) -- Chinese internet giant Sina aims to propel the country's poverty alleviation drive by investing at least 2 billion yuan (288 million U.S. dollars) and leveraging its expansive social media influence in the next two years.

The company announced Thursday the establishment of an office dedicated to reducing poverty as well as a string of poverty alleviation initiatives.

Sina will gather the top 100 most popular influencers on its Twitter-like social media platform Sina Weibo, organizing trips to poverty-stricken regions and sharing their stories.

Leveraging its industrial resources, the company plans to nurture at least one popular local brand in agriculture and other fields for 60 impoverished counties in the next two years.

Sina will also help train local professionals skilled in social media-based e-commerce and marketing via a partnership with government agencies and other firms.

Kiwis from an impoverished county in south-central China's Hunan Province became a hit online in September thanks to a branding campaign on Sina Weibo, setting off strong sales of the local produce.

As one of China's leading social media platforms, Sina Weibo boasted about 446 million monthly active users by the end of September and is home to over 600,000 accounts dedicated to alleviating poverty. About 210 million pieces of poverty-reduction-related posts from nearly 40 million users were tweeted last year.

China still has about 30 million impoverished people who pocket less than 2,300 yuan each year and aims to lift all of them out of poverty by 2020.

Experts say the corporate sector is emerging as an effective and innovative player in the country's battle against poverty as companies leverage their resources by fostering entrepreneurship in poor regions.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-11-30 17:53:32|Editor: mmm

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HERAT, Afghanistan, Nov. 30 (Xinhua) -- A deadly Taliban infighting killed 28 militants and wounded 17 others from both sides in Afghanistan's western Herat province, a local source said Friday.

"Armed men loyal to the two Taliban fractions - Mullah Rasoul and Mullah Hebatullah clashed with each other late on Thursday, in Shindand district of Herat province, leaving 28 fighters from both sides dead and 17 others wounded," provincial governor's spokesman Jailani Farhad told Xinhua.

The source also confirmed the killing of a security officer, following a Taliban ambush in Juye Ghazi area of the restive district, where the slain officer, Abdul Matin was on his way to Shindand from provincial capital Herat city.

Shindand, with wide armed Taliban presence, is still a restive district of the province, where the militants often launch momentum against government forces.

None of the militants' rival sides have commented on the incident.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-11-30 18:03:35|Editor: Lu Hui

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BEIJING, Nov. 30 (Xinhua) -- A signed article by Chinese President Xi Jinping titled "Working Together for a Shared Future" was published Friday on Panamanian newspaper La Estrella de Panama ahead of his state visit to the Central American country.

The full text of the article is as follows:

Working Together for a Shared Future

Xi Jinping

President of the People's Republic of China

I will soon pay a state visit to the Republic of Panama at the kind invitation of President Juan Carlos Varela. It will be my first visit to the country, and the very first by a Chinese president. I look forward to this trip with great expectations.

Like many of my countrymen, I am no stranger to Panama even though I have never been to this country before: the grand Panama Canal, the highly regarded Geisha coffee, as well as Panamanian bananas and other tropical fruits are well-recognized throughout the world. In recent years, under the leadership of President Varela, Panama has enjoyed rapid growth, vibrant markets and improving living standards. It has become a most habitable place in the Americas to live in and a promising land of opportunities for investors. Seeing such progress, I am truly happy for Panama and wish Panama new and still greater accomplishments in its future development.

Friendly interactions between the people of our countries could date back more than 160 years, when the first group of Chinese arrived in Panama to help with canal- and railway-building. On this hospitable land, they eventually stayed, became part of the local communities and joined the Panamanian people in pursuit of a better life. To mark their dedication, a special day has been designated for ethnic Chinese in Panama. Back in the 1960s, in a gesture of solidarity with the Panamanian people in their just cause for sovereignty over the Canal, sixteen million Chinese staged rallies across China, which became a special memory of the Chinese people for a generation. All these attest to the fraternal bonds connecting the people of our two countries.

In June last year, President Varela and I came to a significant political decision: China and Panama would formally establish diplomatic relations. For both our countries, this landmark decision will benefit not only this generation, but many more generations to come. For the wider international community, it could not show more clearly the trend of our times and the will of the people. It is a strong declaration to the world of Panama's commitment to the one-China policy and an expression of unanimous support among our two peoples for China-Panama relations.

Over the past one and half years, China-Panama relations have gotten off to a good start: cooperation programs have mushroomed and thrived across the board, delivering tangible benefits to the people of the two countries. During his first state visit to China, President Varela and I drew a blueprint for the future of our bilateral ties. China has been Panama's second largest trading partner, the largest supplier to the Colon Free Trade Zone and the second biggest user of the Panama Canal. Under the framework of the Belt and Road cooperation, the two sides have signed quite a number of agreements in areas such as trade, finance, maritime affairs, civil aviation, tourism, culture and education. Chinese businesses and financial institutions have taken an active part in bilateral cooperation, helping to create thousands of local jobs. The China-assisted Colon Secure City project will provide effective protection to the residents of Colon. The Amador Convention Center, which will soon be completed, will serve as the new venue for EXPOCOMER. And Panama's specialty agro-products such as beef, pineapple and seafood are undergoing inspection and quarantine procedures for export to China and will soon find their way to the dinner tables of the Chinese people.

As proposed by Panama, China is looking into the "City of Hope" education center project to be developed in Western Panama. The project aims to provide educational services to over 2,000 local students and will contribute significantly to local education conditions and quality. China is also implementing the project of mobile clinics (Amor Sobre Ruedas), which provides free medical services for women in far-flung areas in Panama. The first Confucius Institute in Panama is up and running; the first direct flight connecting China and Central America has been launched; and Panama is designated as an approved destination for Chinese group tourists. By the end of this year, China will have trained about 6,000 Panamanian officials and professionals in various fields, and close to 1,000 Panamanian students are now studying in China. Scholars, think tanks and media organizations from both sides have engaged in frequent interactions, contributing their ideas and suggestions in support of bilateral relations. As the "China fever" in Panama and the "Panama fever" in China are heating up, people in both countries are eager to know each other better through more exchanges.

Panama, a nation strong on connectivity, is actively advancing its National Logistics Strategy 2030 in an effort to build itself into a world-class logistics center. This strategy dovetails with my initiative of the Belt and Road cooperation, making China and Panama natural partners for Belt and Road cooperation. During President Varela's visit to China last year, Panama became the first country in Latin America and the Caribbean to sign a Belt and Road cooperation MOU with China. Going forward, we will work tirelessly with Panama to enhance synergy between our development strategies and deliver greater benefits to the people of our countries.

First, let us be sincere partners that value equality and mutual trust. We should always approach our bilateral ties from a strategic and long-term perspective, appreciate and support each other's core interests and major concerns, and build a solid political foundation for the sustained, sound and steady growth of our bilateral relations.

Second, let us be development partners, come rain or shine. Both being developing countries, China and Panama have similar historical experiences and face common development tasks. We need to work together to promote a new type of international relations featuring mutual respect, fairness, justice and win-win cooperation and build a community with a shared future for mankind. We also need to strengthen coordination in multilateral organizations such as the UN and the WTO, jointly uphold the multilateral trading system and contribute to an open world economy.

Third, let us be cooperation partners in pursuit of mutual benefit. We need to respect each other's aspirations, accommodate each other's concerns and draw upon our respective strengths. We need to build on this basis to deepen our cooperation in such key areas as infrastructure, logistics, production capacity, e-commerce and finance under the broad framework of Belt and Road cooperation. We need to step up our efforts to quickly secure early harvests in practical cooperation as it will contribute to development in both countries. China welcomes Panama's continued participation in the China International Import Expo and hopes to see more exports of quality Panamanian goods and services to China.

Fourth, let us be close partners with strong people-to-people ties. To build heart-to-heart connections between our peoples, we need to engage in exchanges in a broad range of areas such as culture, education, health, tourism and media. This will greatly boost our friendship across the sectors. Now that we have opened a direct flight between China and Panama, we expect more and more Chinese and Panamanians to visit each other's countries to enhance mutual understanding and friendship. Today 280,000 Panamanians are of Chinese origin. We could well build on such blood ties to deepen friendship between the two countries.

The trend of the times keeps moving forward, bringing new and constant changes to the world. Although our two countries are geographically far apart and are quite different in many of our national conditions, both the Chinese and Panamanians are hard-working, enterprising and aspiring peoples. We won't be able to grow our relations without the commitment of our peoples. Let us seize the moment, give play to our late starter's advantage, speed up the growth of our bilateral ties, put our cooperation on a steady and sustained course, and jointly contribute to a brighter future and a more prosperous world.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-11-30 18:33:48|Editor: xuxin

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CAPE TOWN, Nov. 30 (Xinhua) -- South Africa's power shortage worsened on Friday as large parts of the country were gripped by loadshedding.

Stage 2 rotational loadshedding was implemented from 09:00 a.m. and was likely to continue until 22:00 p.m. as a result of loss of additional power generation units overnight, said electricity utility Eskom, which provides more than 95 percent of the electricity consumed in the country.

Stage 2 calls for 2,000 MW to be rotationally loadshed nationally at a given period. This was the most serious load shedding this year. Previously, Stage 1 load shedding, which allows for up to 1,000 MW of the national load to be shed once a day, had been implemented several times.

If the situation worsens, Stage 3, which allows up to 4,000 MW to be shed, will be implemented.

Load shedding is implemented rotationally as a last resort to protect the power system from a total collapse, Eskom said.

"We continue to appeal to residents and businesses to use electricity sparingly during this period. Please switch off geysers as well as all non-essential lighting and electricity appliances to assist in reducing demand," the state-run parastatal said.

The generation and distribution of electricity in the country has been constrained because Eskom is running short of coal, which the utility relies on to generate power stations, raising fears that similar loadshedding is on the way as in 2014 and 2015 when frequent loadshedding gripped the country.

Since 2008, South Africa has suffered from power insufficiency which has led to economic losses of an estimated 300 billion rand (about 23 billion U.S. dollars).
Source: Xinhua| 2018-11-30 18:38:49|Editor: Li Xia

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NEW YORK, Nov. 30 (Xinhua) -- The Chinese consul-general in New York on Thursday night called for regional cooperation in various fields between China and the United States to cement bilateral ties, and vowed to serve overseas Chinese in the region wholeheartedly.

Huang Ping made the remarks while hosting the first ever reception in his tenure at the Chinese consulate-general by the Hudson River. Several hundred guests, many of whom from the local Chinese community or diplomatic circle, were present at the event.

The veteran diplomat, who was the Chinese ambassador to Zimbabwe before this assignment, said that the 10 eastern U.S. states within his consular district serve as the economic, financial, educational and cultural hubs in the country.

The 10 states are also home to over 1.25 million overseas Chinese, thus they have a solid foundation and strong motivation for enhancing ties and cooperation with China, he added.

Huang expressed intention to help strengthen substantive cooperation, people-to-people exchanges and mutual understanding between China and the 10 U.S. states, as well as friendship between the two peoples.

"I've been here for only 15 days and have already felt the immense hospitality shown by people from all walks of life," said Huang. "Most of the people here wish for a healthy and stable China-U.S. relationship. I believe through joint efforts we could overcome any obstacles and keep our ties moving forward."

The 55-year-old diplomat also thanked the local Chinese community for their continuous support for the consulate-general, which he promised will do its best to serve the interests of the overseas Chinese.

The 10 states for which the Chinese consulate-general in New York provides consular services include Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, Ohio and Rhode Island.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-11-30 18:53:51|Editor: xuxin

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CAPE TOWN, Nov. 30 (Xinhua) -- The Western Cape High Court in South Africa on Friday dismissed lobby group AfriForum's application to set aside a parliamentary report on land expropriation without compensation.

Meting out the ruling, the court said a debate on the report can go ahead in the National Assembly before adoption.

Earlier this month, AgriForum approached the court, seeking an order to prevent the report from being passed onto the National Assembly for debate and adoption.

This came after Parliament's Joint Constitutional Review Committee (JCRC) adopted the report in favor of amending the Constitution to allow land expropriation without compensation. Specifically, the committee recommends that section 25 of the Constitution be amended to make it explicitly clear that expropriation of land without compensation by the state in the public interest should be one mechanism to address the injustices of the past, inflicted on the majority of South Africans.

The JCRC adopted its report following a series of extensive public hearings from June 26 to August 4, as well as a number of workshops and discussions in Parliament.

AgriForum filed an application to the court after its request to have the report set aside was rejected by Parliament, which reciprocated by filing a legal affidavit to counter AgriForum's court bid.

Parliament argues that AfriForum is deliberately trying to frustrate Parliament's legislative process.

The JCRC report, wich will be referring to the National Assembly (Lower House) and National Council of Provinces (Upper House) for consideration, is an interim step, similar to a bill, parliamentary spokesperson Moloto Mothapo said.

"It is not final in effect. It may be accepted or it may not," said Mothabo.

The ongoing land reform has sparked a heated debate in South Africa. Opponents argue that the process will drive away white farmers, kill jobs and threaten food security.

But the government has assured that it will pursue the land reform without destabilizing the agricultural sector, endangering food security in the country, or undermining economic growth and job creation.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-11-30 19:44:01|Editor: Li Xia

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BEIJING, Nov. 30 (Xinhua) -- China has asked local authorities to step up supervision over poverty relief funds as cases of misuse were found in several places.

The State Council Leading Group Office of Poverty Alleviation and Development has demanded rectification in three provincial regions and two counties.

Wangcang County, southwest China's Sichuan Province, left 409 million yuan (about 59 million U.S. dollars) of poverty relief loans unused by the end of October 2017 and failed to fix the problem this year. Haiyuan County, northwest China's Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, falsified its poverty funds application and gave animal farming subsidies to unqualified people.

Gansu and Hubei provinces and Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region were also criticized for high default rates of small poverty relief loans.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-11-30 19:49:02|Editor: mmm

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BUENOS AIRES, Nov. 29 (Xinhua) -- Argentine tango star Mora Godoy first traveled to China some 15 years ago. Since then, China, a land for which she has a "deep admiration," is the country she has most often returned to with her dance company.

Hailed as the "Queen of Tango," Godoy is set to give a gala performance for heads of state attending the 13th Group of 20 (G20) summit in Buenos Aires this weekend.

In an interview with Xinhua, the dancer, choreographer, director and producer, originally from the city of La Plata, in the south of Buenos Aires Province, said tango has served as a cultural bridge that brings the two distant nations closer.

In December, the Mora Godoy Tango Company, which she founded over a decade ago, will embark on its 16th tour to the Asian nation.

"China is the country I have most been to with my company. I have a special love for the Chinese people, for what they give me when I go -- the applause, the passion they have for the tango since I first presented it there in December 2003," Godoy said.

"Culture opens borders," she added.

China and Argentina have established cultural ties, including through an appreciation for the unique Argentine dance form.

"Culture unites many countries, and for many years now I have been taking our Argentine culture to China," said Godoy.

She has taken tango to at least 150 Chinese cities over the past 15 performance tours. Her next goal is to step up the cultural exchange by teaching tango to the Chinese.

"I particularly want to teach tango in China, not just take the dance company there," she said.

Among her fondest memories of China are the shimmering lights of Shanghai's cityscape and Beijing's Forbidden City, as well as Chinese acrobatics.

"Every time I go to Beijing, I return to the Great Wall," she said.

Her love of China has been passed on to the next generation, she added.

"My daughter has been to China five times and she loves it," said Godoy.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-11-30 19:59:04|Editor: mmm

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BEIJING, Nov. 30 (Xinhua) -- Chinese scientists have designed an implant and self-powered sensor that can help monitor heart failure.

Heart failure is a global public health problem in which the heart is incapable of pumping sufficient blood to meet the body's needs. Typical symptoms include dyspnea, weakness and fatigue, which lead to poor quality of life and high costs for diagnosis and treatment.

The endocardial pressure is a key parameter for assessing cardiac function and has important clinical implications for patients with heart failure. Endocardial pressure is commonly monitored by invasive and expensive cardiac catheterization, which is not feasible for long-term, continuous data collection.

There is an urgent need to develop a minimally invasive, high-sensitive and low-cost sensor to monitor endocardial pressure in real time, which would be of great significance for cardiovascular disease diagnosis and treatment.

Based on the triboelectric nanogenerator that can convert bio-mechanical energy into electricity, scientists from the Beijing Institute of Nanoenergy and Nanosystems affiliated with the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beihang University as well as the Second Military Medical University have developed a miniaturized self-powered sensor that can enter the heart with minimally invasive surgery.

The sensor is 1.5 centimeters long, 1 centimeter wide and 0.1 centimeters high. It has been experimented on pig models and integrated with a surgical catheter for minimally invasive implantation.

It can conduct ultra-sensitive, real-time monitoring, and has mechanical stability. It can also detect ventricular fibrillation and ventricular premature contraction.

According to Liu Zhuo, one of the researchers, the research may help encourage the development of more miniature implantable medical sensors for monitoring and diagnosis of cardiovascular diseases.

"The sensor is promising for clinical application. This work also provides new ideas for the research of miniaturized implantable self-powered medical devices," Liu said.

The research was published in the journal Advanced Functional Materials.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-11-30 19:59:05|Editor: Li Xia

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BEIJING, Nov. 30 (Xinhua) -- As leaders of the world's major economies gather in Buenos Aires for the 13th Group of 20 (G20) Summit under protectionist and unilateralist shadows, expectations are running high for them to give full play to the mechanism's role as the premier platform for international economic cooperation.

Since the inaugural G20 summit in 2008, China has played a constructive role, attaching great importance to G20 cooperation, contributing ideas and solutions for better global economic governance, and demonstrating its commitment as a responsible major country.

CONTRIBUTING WISDOM

G20 summitry started in the throes of the international financial crisis. During the past 10 years, the group has made remarkable achievements in dealing with the turmoil, stabilizing the world economy and promoting global economic governance.

China, along with other emerging countries, have made great contributions to the development of the mechanism.

Since the 2008 financial tornado, China has been actively involved in policy coordination with other members under the multilateral mechanism, playing a very important role in containing financial panic and crisis, said Song Lishui, a professor at the Faculty of Economics in Japan's Meiji Gakuin University.

After the crisis, the G20 summit shifted more attention to world economic growth and better global governance. For that matter, China has proposed a series of important views and ideas, sharing its wisdom with the world.

In St. Petersburg, Russia, in 2013, Chinese President Xi Jinping presented a host of new ideas at the eighth G20 Summit, including innovative development, interconnected growth and integrated interests. In Brisbane, Australia, in 2014, he called for a new path of growth and urged the world to build an open world economy.

At the 2015 Antalya summit in Turkey, the Chinese president proposed that major economies strengthen coordination on macroeconomic policy, facilitate innovation-driven development and implement the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

In 2016, China set a new milestone in the history of G20 cooperation, with the Hangzhou summit marking the group's transformation from a crisis response mechanism focused on short-term policies to one on long-term governance that shapes medium- to long-term policies.

What's more, consensus reached at the Hangzhou summit was carried on during the 2017 summit in Germany's Hamburg.

Evandro Carvalho, a professor of international law at Brazil's Getulio Vargas Foundation, highlighted the outstanding role of China and other emerging economies, saying their contributions have turned the mechanism into a platform that is well suited to dealing with global financial and economic issues.

As an important participant, promoter and navigator of the G20 mechanism, China-proposed concepts and ideas have charted a right course for better global economic governance and sustainable world economic development, said Chen Fengying, a research fellow at the China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations.

FULFILLING COMMITMENTS

From deepening reform and expanding opening-up to championing multilateralism and free trade, and from advancing Belt and Road cooperation to launching the world's first import-themed national-level expo, China has fulfilled its commitment to building an open world economy and promoting economic globalization for the benefit of more countries and people.

From 2013 to 2017, China has contributed over 30 percent of world growth. In the next 15 years, China is estimated to import 24 trillion U.S. dollars' worth of goods and attract 2 trillion dollars of inbound direct investment.

In face of rising protectionism, Chen said, China has made great efforts in expanding opening-up, upholding multilateralism and promoting South-South cooperation, and injected new impetus to the sustainable development of world economy.

Song noted that China has rolled out a series of policies to open its market wider to the outside world, and that China's practical actions play a great role in safeguarding the free trade system and guiding the direction of economic globalization.

B.R. Deepak, a professor at the Centre of Chinese and Southeast Asian Studies in India's Jawaharlal Nehru University, said that the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative is crucial to the development of economic globalization, and it is a good cure for the world to address tough issues such as anti-globalization sentiment and trade protectionism.

In the eyes of Carvalho, China's successful import expo is a fine example of China's efforts to build an open world economy, and has showed the world that China's support for free trade is not diplomatic language, but practical action.

FORGING CONSENSUS

With economic globalization challenged by rising protectionism and unilateralism, observers across the world expect China and other G20 members to use the summit to uphold globalization, multilateralism and free trade and send a positive message to the world.

"It is vital for the G20 to maintain its role as a premier forum on international economic cooperation, follow through on the consensus of previous summits, and chart the course for the world economy," Xi said in a signed article published on Argentine media.

Cambridge University professor Alan Barrell, speaking highly of the G20 Hangzhou summit two years ago, said he believes China will continue to play an important role at the summit in Argentina in pushing forward globalization.

"China can play a very big part" in the G20 mechanism, Barrell told Xinhua, while lauding China's consistency and determination in pursuing common development and advancing globalization.

Consensus reached at the Hangzhou summit has strongly boosted the building of an open world economy, said Marina Larionova, a Russian scholar. She added that she hopes the consensus can be reaffirmed at the Buenos Aires summit and carried out with continuous efforts.

Argentine Foreign Minister Jorge Faurie said China has "a very important role to play" in the G20 forum and his country "particularly valued China's experience" as host of the 2016 summit.

"China's positions, which we always understand as constructive positions, are designed to help forge the future of issues that concern us all, such as climate change and the progress of international trade," he added.

"China's constructive attitude ... is very important for the development of the G20," said Faurie.

(Xinhua reporters Zhao Yan, Chen Weihua, Luan Hai, Zhao Xu, Gu Zhenqiu, Sun Xiaoling, Wang Huihui, Wang Kejia, Yang Shilong, Li Feihu, Liu Chen, Zhu Dongyang, and Liu Pinran also contributed to the story.)
VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Nov. 29, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Lexington Biosciences, Inc. (CSE: LNB) (OTCQB: LXGTF) (the Company or Lexington) announces the release of the Companys Condensed Consolidated Interim Financial Statements and the Managements Discussion and Analysis for the three and nine month period ended September 30, 2018 and 2017 which are available for viewing at the Companys website ( www.lexingtonbiosciences.com ) or on SEDAR ( www.sedar.com ).



The Company also announces that it intends to sell, by way of a non-brokered private placement up to 7.5 million units of the Company (Units) at a price of $0.10 per Unit for gross proceeds of up to $750,000 (the Offering). Currently the Company has received an advance portion of these funds by the management team, Board of Directors and other insiders to be including in the financing.

Each Unit will consist of one common share of the Company and one common share purchase warrant (each, a Warrant). Each Warrant will be exercisable to buy one common share of the Company for a period of 36 months at a price of $0.15.

The Company intends to use the net proceeds of the Offering to advance the development of the Companys HeartSentry measurement device, and for general working capital purposes. The Company may pay finders fees in connection with the Offering and it is anticipated that certain insiders of the Company will participate in the Offering.

The Offering is subject to the receipt of all necessary regulatory approvals, including the approval of the Canadian Securities Exchange. All securities issued pursuant to the Offering will be subject to a four-month hold period in accordance with applicable Canadian securities laws.

This press release does not constitute an offer to sell or solicitation of an offer to sell any of the securities in the United States. The securities have not been and will not be registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the U.S. Securities Act), or any state securities laws and may not be offered or sold within the United States or to U.S. Persons unless registered under the U.S. Securities Act and applicable state securities laws or an exemption from such registration is available.

About Lexington Biosciences, Inc. (CSE: LNB / OTCQB: LXGTF)

Lexington Biosciences, Inc. is a medical device company developing the HeartSentry, a new non-invasive diagnostic device to measure and monitor cardiovascular health by assessing the function of a persons vascular endothelium - the vital innermost lining of the cardiovascular system. Currently, the standard of care is measurement using expensive external ultrasound by a highly trained technician. The HeartSentry core technology was developed at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory over a fifteen-year R&D period involving many research studies and product iterations resulting in a portfolio of multiple pending and issued patents licensed to the company. Our aim is to make HeartSentry accurate, quick, and cost effective so it can become the standard of care for cardiologists, general practitioners, and ultimately patients for first line evaluation of a persons cardiovascular health. Lexington is engaged with the US FDA and other regulatory agencies on the required product approvals for the HeartSentry. For more information about the company please visit: https://lexingtonbiosciences.com/ .

On Behalf of the Board,

Eric Willis

Eric Willis

CEO & Director

CAUTIONARY DISCLAIMER STATEMENT: The Canadian Securities Exchange has not reviewed and does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of the content of this news release.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This news release contains forward-looking statements relating to the Offering and other statements that are not historical facts. Forward-looking statements are often identified by terms such as "will", "may", "should", "anticipate", "expects" and similar expressions. All statements other than statements of historical fact, included in this release are forward-looking statements that involve 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 Company's expectations include those relating to the ability to complete the Offering on the terms described above and other risks detailed from time to time in the filings made by the Company with securities regulations.

The reader is cautioned that assumptions used in the preparation of any forward-looking information may prove to be incorrect. Events or circumstances may cause actual results to differ materially from those predicted, as a result of numerous known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors, many of which are beyond the control of the Company. The reader is cautioned not to place undue reliance on any forward-looking information. Such information, although considered reasonable by management at the time of preparation, may prove to be incorrect and actual results may differ materially from those anticipated. Forward-looking statements contained in this news release are expressly qualified by this cautionary statement. The forward-looking statements contained in this news release are made as of the date of this news release and the Company will update or revise publicly any of the included forward- looking statements as expressly required by applicable law.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-11-30 20:34:13|Editor: xuxin

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KIGALI, Nov. 30 (Xinhua) -- Rwanda on Friday launched a six-month awareness and prevention campaign aimed at stemming new HIV infections in the country at a ceremony to mark the World AIDS Day.

The campaign seeks to improve awareness on accessibility and availability of HIV testing services in Rwanda, said Patrick Ndimubanzi, state minister of public and primary healthcare, at the ceremony in Musanze district, northern Rwanda.

This campaign would help promote and facilitate HIV prevention, care, and treatment and reinforce people's willingness to participate in HIV interventions, said Ndimubanzi.

HIV self-test kits will be availed in pharmacies and online for purchase through smart phones or internet in order to boost people's willingness to participate in HIV interventions, he said.

At the ceremony, condoms and other HIV preventive materials were freely distributed to participants and hundreds of people voluntarily participated in HIV testing.

HIV prevalence rate in Rwanda is at 3 percent since 2005 due to the numerous strategies in place, Jeanine Condo, director general of Rwanda Biomedical Center, said at the ceremony.

HIV preventive and treatment services have been scaled up to more than 90 percent of health facilities across the country, figures of Rwanda Biomedical Center showed.

HIV and AIDS from mother to child transmission has been reduced to less than 2 percent while provision of anti-retroviral treatments reaches to all HIV positive people in need and for free, according to the ministry of health.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-11-30 20:47:35|Editor: Li Xia

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Liu Zesong, inheritor of the Yuping bamboo flute making craft, blows a flute he made in Yuping Dong Autonomous County, southwest China's Guizhou Province, Nov. 29, 2018. As a traditional Chinese bamboo instrument, Yuping bamboo flute is famous for its clear tone and delicate carving. Made from local bamboo, the flute goes through dozens of procedures before finished and merges folk cultures of other ethnic groups. It was listed as one of the National Intangible Cultural Heritages in 2006. (Xinhua/Ma Ning)
"I knew grandpa would be gone someday, so I decided to record each and every moment I spent with him," said Shi Mengyao, 29.

Shi Mengyao and her grandfather, Shi Lianqi. (Photo provided by Shi Mengyao)

For seven years, Shi took over 200 pictures of her and her grandfather, Shi Lianqi, until he died in early 2017.

Shi Mengyao and her grandfather, Shi Lianqi. (Photo provided by Shi Mengyao)

Shi Mengyao went to live with her grandparents in Fushun, in northeast China's Liaoning Province when she was four years old. Her grandmother died when she was eleven.

"The image of my grandma began to fade from my memory," she said.

She began to study in the provincial capital city of Shenyang at the age of 12 and now works as a police officer there.

"I suddenly noticed that grandpa had gotten a lot older and he was moving slower and slower," she said. "I had an impulse to take a photo with him."

Her photos record fragments of her grandfather's life, in health and in sickness.

Shi Mengyao and her grandfather, Shi Lianqi. (Photo provided by Shi Mengyao)

A black and white picture records a silent moment when Shi trimmed the old man's toenails. He told her that his feet hurt, and she soon realized that he had an ingrown nail.

"Whenever I went back, I helped him wash his feet and trim his nails, just as he did for me when I was small," Shi said.

Shi Mengyao trimming toenails for her grandfather. (Photo provided by Shi Mengyao)

Shi Lianqi was a headmaster of a secondary school. In Shi Mengyao's eyes, he was a stylish grandfather who usually wore white shirts, vests and a flat cap. He would laugh loudly if someone said he was handsome.

Shi Mengyao took the photos by herself with a tripod. (Photo provided by Shi Mengyao)

Shi will publish her photos in late December.

Shi Mengyao and her grandfather, Shi Lianqi. (Photo provided by Shi Mengyao)
Source: Xinhua| 2018-11-30 21:04:23|Editor: xuxin

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MOSCOW, Nov. 30 (Xinhua) -- Russia on Friday accused Ukraine of playing with fire by imposing martial law amid tensions off Crimea, which Moscow said threatened security in Europe.

The Ukrainian authorities aimed to use martial law to raise the electoral rating of President Petro Poroshenko and "earn some points on the crest of the next Russophobic wave," said Maria Zakharova, spokeswoman of the Russian Foreign Ministry.

Ukraine on Monday imposed martial law in regions mainly bordering Russia for 30 days starting from Wednesday, after Russia seized three Ukrainian warships.

Poroshenko said that "martial law does not mean the declaration of war," but a step towards strengthening Ukraine's defense.

On Sunday, three Ukrainian naval ships attempting to sail through the Kerch Strait from the Black Sea to the Sea of Azov were seized by Russian forces for allegedly violating the Russian border.

The Ukrainian Navy said that it had informed Russia in advance of the passage, while Russia said it had received no such report and the ships ignored multiple warnings by the Russian border guards.

"We regard what is happening in Ukraine as another alarming signal that the situation in the country is developing along a confrontational path," Zakharova said.

Russia claimed that the incident was a provocation devised by the Ukrainian authorities, while Kiev urged Moscow to release captured Ukrainian soldiers.

Relations between Russia and Ukraine have been deteriorating since Crimea was incorporated into Russia in March 2014 following a local referendum.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-11-30 21:04:23|Editor: Li Xia

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by Julia Pierrepont III

LOS ANGELES, Nov. 30 (Xinhua) -- "LA (Los Angeles) is the perfect city to screen this documentary," said California's Senate President pro Tempore Emeritus, Kevin De Leon, referring to the new U.S.-China documentary film, "Better Angels."

The film, directed by two-time Academy Award-winning documentarian Malcolm Clarke, was screened at Hotel Indigo Los Angeles on Tuesday.

"The City of Angels recognizes that diversity is our strength. We will work shoulder-to-shoulder with people of every color, every creed, every religion and every nationality to keep our economy strong," the Senator affirmed.

The film's title pays homage to the 16th U.S. President Abraham Lincoln and his inspiring inaugural address when Lincoln sought to cool the raging passions of his fellow countrymen who were hell-bent on hurtling toward a devastating civil war.

"We are not enemies, but friends. We must not be enemies. Though passion may have strained, it must not break our bonds of affection," Lincoln warned at his inauguration on March 4, 1861.

"The mystic chords of memory, stretching from every battlefield and patriot grave to every living heart and hearthstone all over this broad land, will yet swell the chorus of the Union, when again touched, as surely they will be, by the better angels of our nature," he advised.

Seeking to avert war, Lincoln used his speech to plead with all Americans - North and South - to let the "bonds of affection" of the "better angels of our nature" overcome their seemingly intractable differences in order to preserve the future and promise of the newly-minted American Union.

Considered the wisest of American presidents, it is no surprise that his speech would inspire a documentary that seeks to lead the East and the West back from their recent path of discord and conflict, to one of harmony and mutual prosperity.

"I was motivated to make the American and Chinese people, as distinct from our governments, true stakeholders," said one of the film's producers, Bill Mundell, former economics professor-turned-filmmaker, at the film's screening, sponsored by the China General Chamber of Commerce-USA/LA on Tuesday.

"Obviously our relationship has reached a critical inflexion point. In my view, it is more important than ever to have an informed citizenry of ordinary Americans and Chinese who can act as 'Accidental Diplomats' and bridge the divide between us before it's too late," he said.

The film seeks to show an enlightened alternative to isolationism, nationalism, and cold war posturing.

It takes classic talking-head interviews that range from high-ranking government heavyweights -- former U.S. secretaries of state, congressmen, and captains of industry -- to blue-collar workers, and combines them with touching personal day-to-day stories of folks-next-door from both countries opening their hearts and minds to find their way across the great cultural and political divide.

At root, "Better Angels" is not a film that explores the thornier challenges yet to be ironed out between the U.S. and Chinese governments, but instead focuses on those ordinary individuals from both countries who have, by accident or design, created personal bridges between the two nations and opened up pathways for many others to experience greater cross-cultural exchanges, understanding and respect.

Former U.S. Republican Congressman David Dreier who has been assisting the film since it began, pointed out that the two nations' fates, trade and economies are already so inextricably entwined that anything we do to punish the other will inevitably boomerang back on ourselves.

"Chinese do not think of America or Americans as the enemy. They think of us as allies, which historically we've always been," he told Xinhua.

The former congressman showed up to support the film even though he had just lost his family's ancestral home in Malibu in the devastating wildfire in Southern California this month.

"I intend to rebuild my home and rebuild our relationship with China," said Dreier, adding that it's helpful for preserving global stability and prosperity.

"China is transforming from the world's largest manufacturer to the world's largest market. With twice the number of consumers as our country has people, this is the exact wrong time to create conflict between our two great nations," Mundell told Xinhua.

"The Chinese are predisposed to buy American products, but that will change if this conflict escalates. Why jeopardize our own wellbeing and future prosperity?" he said.

"Here in LA and 7,000 miles (11,265 km) away in China, we recognize that our people share the same dream: to prosper, to provide a better future for our children and their children, to be able to put food on the table and roof over their heads after a hard day's work. To drive global developments in technology, medicine and infrastructure," De Leon summed it up.

Much like the film, he promised, "As long as we continue to talk to each other, to embrace each other, accept each other, and learn from each other, we will be successful."
Source: Xinhua| 2018-11-30 21:24:51|Editor: Li Xia

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Chinese naval hospital ship Peace Ark arrives at the port of Valparaiso, Chile, Nov, 29, 2018. The Chinese naval hospital ship Ark Peace, which is on Mission Harmony-2018, arrived on Thursday at Valparaiso. (Xinhua/Jiang Shan)
Source: Xinhua| 2018-11-30 21:19:29|Editor: xuxin

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HARARE, Nov. 30 (Xinhua) -- Some motorists in Harare are now spending a lot of productive time in fuel queues as the shortage of the commodity persists in Zimbabwe.

Many social media groups have also been formed where members inform each other where fuel deliveries would have been made.

From this week, filling stations have resorted to rationing the commodity to ensure that as many motorists as possible are served, while tempers are flaring as some motorists, especially commuter omnibus drivers, try to jump the queues arguing that they need to transport people to work.

The shortage also comes at a time that the government will impose a further excise duty of 6.5 U.S. cents per liter for petrol and 7 U.S. cents for diesel with effect from Saturday.

"I don't really know what is happening, but the government does not seem to be telling us the truth about the fuel situation in the country. We always hear that foreign currency has been allocated to buy fuel but we are not so sure about the deliveries," said a distraught motorist who refused to identify himself.

Posting on Facebook, a person named Samaita Gomwe said: "Few cars in Harare are an indication that the fuel crisis has reached another level."

Finance and Economic Development Minister Mthuli Ncube said earlier during the week that the shortage had been caused by delays in the making of payments and transport logistics but assured the nation that the government is on top of the situation.

He said that enough letters of credit and other payment forms had been arranged and that the situation would improve "in the next few days."

Lift clubs where people share transport to work instead of using individual vehicles have also been re-established.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-11-30 21:39:33|Editor: xuxin

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JUBA, Nov. 30 (Xinhua) -- South Sudan on Friday granted license to a local private company to commence mobile money and electronic cash transfer in a bid to widen financial inclusion targeting millions of impoverished people without access to financial services.

Ladu Wani Kenyi, director general of National Communication Authority (NCA), the telecom regulator, said they have granted operating license to Trinity Technologies and another unnamed company to start transacting mobile money and electronic cash transfers in the country and across the region.

"In the last one month NCA has engaged with Trinity Technologies for granting of a license for the platform that will provide electronic and mobile money services in South Sudan. This process has come to end and NCA has granted Trinity Technologies this license," Kenyi told reporters in Juba.

Most people in South Sudan's capital have been relying on small unlicensed mobile operators to transfer money enabled by the platform created by MTN Uganda and Kenya's M-Pesa platforms.

Kenyi said the unlicensed transactions have been ongoing because there was no alternative due to the fact that over 1 million South Sudanese live in neighboring countries with majority of them having fled conflicts, hence the need for mobile money transfer.

"From today this thing is going to happen when Trinity Technologies deploy its platform, and then also there is another company already licensed. These shops are going to be closed because now we are going to start with the mobile and electronic money services in the country that are really licensed," he said.

South Sudan has an estimated 4 million people with access to mobile phones out of 12 million population.

Kenyi disclosed that they hope this development will improve financial services in a country struggling to reinvigorate its battered economy after five years of conflict since December 2013.

"One of the conditions is that the platform has to inter-connect and inter-operate with any other licensed platform or licensed telecom mobile operator so that at least everybody can be able to put the money into their accounts and not carry cash," said Kenyi.

The major telecom companies still operating in South Sudan include MTN and Zain after Lebanese-owned telecom Vivacell was forced to shut down over license row with authorities.

Richard Raja, director of Trinity Technologies, said the mobile money transfer project is going to transform the economy by creating a cashless society and technology development.

"We have put out a plan of action to take mobile money to every nook and corner of the country. We are not going to restrict to Juba. We are opening offices across all the 33 States of the country," he said, adding that it will generate employment in the country.

Raja also disclosed that they are setting up a massive merchant network and also agent network across all regions and towns in the country.

"We have a challenge on infrastructure in our country. The only infrastructure we have is the telecom network across the country. So we expect electricity to come to Juba in the next four months we will have the grid running," said Raja.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-11-30 21:54:35|Editor: Li Xia

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BEIJING, Nov. 30 (Xinhua) -- China-U.S. relations concern not only the well-being of both peoples but also world peace and stability, experts and officials from across the world have said.

In the lead-up to a scheduled meeting between Chinese President Xi Jinping and his U.S. counterpart Donald Trump on the sidelines of this year's Group of 20 (G20) summit in Argentina, an international chorus has been growing louder for the two countries to forge a path toward win-win cooperation, something that would not only serve the interests of both countries but the entire world.

RIGHT CHOICE

China and the United States share vast potential for cooperation as the world's two largest economies.

The development of China-U.S. ties since the two countries forged diplomatic ties 39 years ago perfectly illustrates that their relationship has always been a win-win cooperation in nature.

The United States and China share common global interests such as counter-terrorism, non-proliferation, and prevention of epidemics, said Douglas Paal, vice president for studies at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

"Engagement and balancing should be the only option for U.S. China policy," Paal said.

Michael Swaine, senior associate in Asia Program at Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, said that the 21st century has witnessed the emergence of all these transnational issues that came to light, such as climate change, food issues and international crime.

"All these issues emerge now that demanded levels of cooperation between the great powers and particularly between the U.S. and China, such that you needed that cooperation in order to address these problems. You couldn't really address them otherwise," Swaine said.

Zhao Suisheng, a professor with the University of Denver, said China-U.S. relations have seen ups and downs and have gone through bouts of immense cooperation and competition since they established diplomatic ties.

However, as the world's largest economies, they are closely tied to one another, Zhao said, adding that strengthening cooperation and promoting a healthy development of bilateral ties serve the fundamental interests of both sides.

CANDID DIALOGUE

China and the United States have established four high-level dialogue mechanisms covering the areas of diplomacy and security, economic issues, social and people-to-people exchanges, as well as law enforcement and cyber security.

These candid and constructive dialogues will help diminish divergencies and strengthen cooperation, a benefit for the entire international community, experts stress.

Given the four decades of diplomatic interactions between the United States and China, the rise and fall of the bilateral ties are not unprecedented, Paal said. "I don't see the current relations are that difficult as some claimed."

Senior officials of the two countries just co-chaired the second China-U.S. diplomatic and security dialogue in Washington earlier this month, and there are plenty of channels and dialogue for Beijing and Washington to communicate and coordinate bilaterally, he said.

"The Cold War-designed containment and confrontational strategy do not serve long-term interests of the United States, and it would not get the support of any other countries," Paal added.

David Skorton, secretary and chief of the Smithsonian Institution based in Washington, said he holds a positive and optimistic point of view about the two nations' cultural and people-to-people communications in the future.

"We don't set policy, nor do our colleagues who are scientists or historians or artists, but we can work together about the issues that we can share ... to try to find a way to understand each other better and in that way the civil societies can come together," Skorton added.

Alicia Barcena, executive secretary of the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), said as the world's largest economies, China-U.S. relations have a huge multilateral impact.

"We must not leave China and the United States alone," Barcena said, adding that "the international community should accompany" the dialogue between the two countries to properly settle problems.

TOP-LEVEL MEETING

The upcoming meeting between Chinese and U.S. heads of state at the G20 summit has drawn wide attention. All relevant sides expect the head-of-state diplomacy will continue to strategically guide the development of China-U.S. relations.

"We know that the initiative to have the phone conversation was from Trump, and it further demonstrated Trump's consistent willingness of maintaining a good personal relationship with President Xi," Paal said.

Ronaldo Costa Filho, undersecretary general for economic and financial affairs of Brazil's Foreign Ministry who also coordinates G20 affairs, said China-U.S. relations are essential to the healthy development of the global economy.

Costa said he hoped that the two countries' leaders will have a constructive dialogue during the G20 summit. "We do hope the two countries' leaders will build bridges for further communication."

"The world is at a bit of crossroads in terms of continuing with globalization, putting right the mistakes or moving towards a more protectionist approach," said Stephen Perry, chairman of Britain's 48 Group Club, expressing hope that China and the United States will settle their problems and prevent future conflict.

(Xinhua reporters Liu Pinran, Liu Chen, Zhu Dongyang, Jin Yuelei and Liu Jie in Washington, Zhao Yan in Rio de Janeiro, Fan Xiaolin in Havana, Li Jiarui in Mexico City, Yang Shilong and Li Feihu in New York, Wang Huihui, Jinjing and Sun Xiaoling in London contributed to this story.)
Source: Xinhua| 2018-11-30 21:59:36|Editor: xuxin

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KIEV, Nov. 30 (Xinhua) -- Ukraine has imposed restrictions on the entry of Russian men aged between 16 and 60 years old, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said on Friday.

The step was taken to prevent Russians from "creating units of "private" armies, which in fact represent Russian Armed Forces," Poroshenko said on Facebook.

Furthermore, the Ukrainian president said he has ordered the State Border Guard Service to tighten requirements for Russians seeking residence registration in Ukraine, especially in the regions under martial law.

Commenting on the move by Ukraine, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova sounded the alarm against possible "tit-for-tat" measures by Moscow, warning it could "lead to insanity."

Martial law was introduced in 10 Ukrainian regions on Nov. 26 for 30 days over tensions with Russia around the Kerch Strait.

It was imposed in regions bordering Russia and Moldova's breakaway region of Transnistria, where Russian troops are stationed, as well as areas located on the shores of the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov.

Poroshenko emphasized that "martial law does not mean the declaration of war," but a step toward strengthening Ukraine's defense.
30 November 2018

Vast Resources plc

(Vast or the Company)

Quarterly Production Summary



Vast Resources plc, the AIM listed mining company with operations in Romania and Zimbabwe, presents its operational update and production summary for the three months ended 30 September 2018 (Q3 2018).

To view a presentation, which presents the Q3 2018 production results together with previous quarters, please visit the Companys website: www.vastresourcesplc.com .

Q3 Production Overview:

Solid quarter for the Pickstone-Peerless Gold Mine (Pickstone-Peerless) in Zimbabwe: 3% increase in tonnes of ore mined to 104,156 tonnes (Q2 2018: 100,855 tonnes*) 4% increase in tonnes of ore milled to 102,416 tonnes (Q2 2018: 98,899 tonnes) 8% decrease in gold production to 6,397 ounces (Q2 2018: 6,955 ounces**) 8% decrease in gold sold to 6,519 ounces (Q2 2018: 7,087 ounces**) 7% decrease in milled gold grade to 2.32g/t (Q2 2018: 2.48g/t)



Performance and production at Manaila Polymetallic Mine (Manaila) in Romania impacted due to a continued focus on pre-stripping: 8% decrease in tonnes of ore mined to 23,955 dry tonnes (Q2 2018: 26,022 dry tonnes) 15% decrease in tonnes of ore milled to 23,448 dry tonnes (Q2 2018: 27,497 dry tonnes) 42% increase in the stripping ratio of waste versus ore to 17 x (Q2 2018: 11.9 x) 32% decrease in copper concentrate produced to 615 dry tonnes (Q2 2018: 911 dry tonnes) 12% decrease in copper concentrate grade to 15.8% (Q2 2018: 17.9%) 68% decrease in zinc concentrate produced to 48 dry tonnes (Q2 2018: 151 dry tonnes) 0.3% increase in zinc concentrate grade to 35.1% (Q2 2018: 34.8%)



* Figure listed as 101,706 tonnes in announcement of 4 July 2018 but later confirmed as 100,855 (a discrepancy of 0.8% which was deemed immaterial)

** June 2018 gold production and sales estimated in announcement of 4 July 2018 and later confirmed as total production of 6,955 ounces and sales of 7,087 ounces not 6,696 ounces and 6,754 ounces respectively as previously stated

Andrew Prelea, Chief Executive Officer, of Vast, commented:

Our primary focus is on providing the means through which to ensure long term, consistent and reliable production at our operating assets both in isolation, and importantly, in the context of our growing development portfolio. This is a particularly notable when considering the development objectives that we have in place at Manaila and the Carlibaba extension and metallurgical complex, which we believe will radically transform throughput, grade and efficiency of our operations.

From Q4 2016, a clear pattern of decreasing ore quality emerged at Manaila, the consequence of continued mining without the prerequisite waste pre-stripping which the Company was unable to conduct due to funding restraints at that time. From Q1 2018, and in line with the Companys stated strategy to resolve this issue, the ratio of stripping to mining starts to reverse on an upward trend, however until the Company takes delivery of the new dumpers and excavators in early 2019, the targeted increase in productivity will be delayed. The Board is confident that once the equipment is on-site the new fleet can focus on rectifying the five quarters of negative waste stripping and expose sufficient quantities of the correct ore grades while minimising dilution.

The work underway at Pickstone-Peerless to expose the sulphide ore will also provide for a more consistent gold head grade which in turn will also augment the already very impressive gold production record achieved during 2018.

The recent fundraising initiatives undertaken by the Company, together with the anticipated US$5.5 million second tranche payment expected from Mercuria Energy Group, will support the execution of our development objectives at Manaila and our increasing portfolio of near-production assets including the Baita Plai Polymetallic Mine. With this increased focus on our development assets, Vast will begin presenting periodic Development Updates covering its various other assets and interests, including the Baita Plai Polymetallic Mine, the Blueberry Project and the Piciorul Zimbrului and Magura Neagra licences, all located in Romania, together with the Eureka Gold Mine and Heritage Concession of the Marange Diamond Fields in Zimbabwe. We look forward to issuing the first of these updates in due course and detailing the progress of activities across our pre-production portfolio.

Pickstone-Peerless Production Summary

(commissioned on 20 August 2015, Vast ownership 25.01%):

Pickstone-Peerless continues to make solid progress with tonnes mined and milled marginally higher than the previous quarters then-record tonnages. The plant is currently processing at a steady state in excess of 34,000 tonnes per month, a level which is expected to continue into future quarters.

Gold ounces produced and sold decreased by 8%, correlating with a 7% reduction in the milled gold grade however this is in line with Companys strategy to ensure that none of the oxide ore is left behind in the pit, as processing the oxide and sulphide ore together is less efficient and recoveries are sub-optimal. Once the oxides are depleted, the Company will commence processing the higher-grade sulphide ore.



Manaila Production Summary

(commissioned on 14 August 2015, Vast Ownership 100%.):

Copper and zinc production in Q3 2018 was adversely affected by high levels of pre-stripping with available equipment prioritised into waste stripping activity. This process has been dominant throughout most of 2018 and will likely continue at the current open pit operations for the remainder of the calendar year as the Company looks to ensure long-term sustainable production from the enlarged Manaila complex, which will include the new pits in the Carlibaba extension. The pre-stripping programme, which impacted production levels, was compounded by inclement weather and pump failures the latter of which has now been rectified.

The high level of necessary pre-stripping this quarter has placed further pressure on the current mining fleet, in terms of the ore mining capability, and the cumulative impact of this has placed Manaila behind schedule in meeting the concentrate volume requirements of the offtake agreement and funding offer concluded on 21 March 2018 with Mercuria.

The Board has been advised that the previously announced additional dumpers and excavators are expected to become operational during Q1 2019. Enhanced excavator capacity and transport assets will facilitate stripping at levels sustainably higher than hitherto achieved and will allow for improved utilisation of processing capacity at the Iacobeni metallurgical plant. The new equipment will also be required once we build the new plant at Manaila and the new open pits in the Carlibaba extension. Further announcements will be made regarding the delivery of the expanded mining fleet in due course.

Production Statistics

September 2018 Quarterly Production Summary

Operational data

Pickstone-Peerless Units Sept'18 Quarter June'18 Quarter Mar'18 Quarter Dec'17 Quarter Sep 18 Quarter Net attributable to Vast Ore mined Tonnes 104,156 100,855* 65,342 90,874 - Waste and low-grade ore mined Tonnes 1,789,092 1,583,680 1,596,078 1,311,329 - Stripping ratio Times 17.2 15.7 24.4 14.4 - Ore milled Tonnes 102,416 98,899 80,639 86,097 - Milled Grade Grams per tonne 2.32 2.48 2.78 2.46 - Gold produced Ounces 6,397 6,955 6,326 6,057 1,600 Gold sold Ounces 6,519 7,087 6,549 5,729 1,630 Gold in stock at period end Ounces 633 755 887 1,110 158



 Calculated based on Vasts 25.01% economic interest in Pickstone-Peerless Manaila Units Sept'18 Quarter June'18 Quarter Mar'18 Quarter Dec'17 Quarter Ore mined Tonnes 23,955 26,022 15,344 23,622 Waste mined Cubic Metre 161,586 129,342 119,090 98,933 Stripping ratio Tonnes 17 11.9 19.4 10.5 Ore milled Tonnes 23,448 27,497 13,616 25,654 Milled Grade - Cu Percentage 0.62 % 0.76 % 0.67 % 0.56 % Milled Grade - Zn Percentage 0.60 % 0.73 % 0.69 % 0.58 % Concentrate produced - Cu Dry tonnes 615 911 386 562 Percentage 15.8 % 17.9 % 17.3 % 16.3 % Concentrate produced - Zn Dry tonnes 48 151 84 96 Percentage 35.1 % 34.8 % 30.4 % 37.1 % Concentrate produced - Au Dry tonnes 0 0 0 6 Grammes per tonne 86.0 Concentrate sold - Cu Dry tonnes 832 1,041 0 590 Concentrate sold - Zn Dry tonnes 0 197 0 100 Concentrate in stock at period end Cu Dry tonnes 51 268 398 12 Concentrate in stock at period end Zn Dry tonnes 145 97 143 59 Concentrate in stock at period end Au Dry tonnes 6 6 6 6

Quarterly Conference Call

Andrew Prelea, Chief Executive of Vast, will host a conference call for shareholders at 10.00a.m. (UK time) on Monday 3 December 2018.

To participate in this conference call, please dial 0808 109 0701, or +44 (0) 20 3003 2701 if you are calling from outside of the UK and enter participant pin 3712342# when prompted to do so. Please note that all lines will be muted except for Vast's management, however the Company invites shareholders to submit questions to its public relations adviser, St Brides Partners Ltd, ahead of the call via email to shareholderenquiries@stbridespartners.co.uk or through the online chat function that will run alongside the call.

To access the online chat function, please use the link below and log in as a participant using the event number 951 608 056 followed by the password, 'Resources':

https://sbmf.webex.com/sbmf/onstage/g.php?MTID=ed9194548d3d5d5d48581c80583fbc8c3

On the right-hand side of the screen you will find an option to submit questions during the call. The Q&A function will only be made live once the call has commenced.

The management team will strive to answer as many questions as possible during the call. A recording of the call will also be made available on the Company's website.

If you have any problems accessing the call, please contact St Brides Partners Ltd on shareholderenquiries@stbridespartners.co.uk or call +44 (0) 20 7236 1177.

A copy of the presentation will also be uploaded to the Research, Media & Presentations page of the website at www.vastresourcesplc.com shortly before the call commences.

Competent Persons Review:

This announcement has been reviewed by Mr Craig Harvey, Chief Operating Officer at Vast, and a member of the Geological Society of South Africa and the Australian Institute of Geoscientists. Mr Harvey meets the definition of a "qualified person" as defined in the AIM Note for Mining, Oil and Gas Companies.

**ENDS**

For further information, visit www.vastresourcesplc.com or please contact:

Vast Resources plc

Andrew Prelea (Chief Executive Officer) www.vastresourcesplc.com

+44 (0) 20 7236 1177



Beaumont Cornish - Financial & Nominated Adviser

Roland Cornish

James Biddle



www.beaumontcornish.com

+44 (0) 020 7628 3396 Brandon Hill Capital Ltd  Joint Broker

Jonathan Evans



www.brandonhillcapital.com

+44 (0) 20 3463 5016 SVS Securities Plc  Joint Broker

Tom Curran

Ben Tadd www.svssecurities.com

+44 (0) 20 3700 0100







St Brides Partners Ltd

Susie Geliher

Juliet Earl



www.stbridespartners.co.uk

+44 (0) 20 7236 1177

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).

Notes

Vast Resources plc is an AIM listed mining and resource development company focussed on the rapid advancement of high-quality brownfield projects and recommencing production at previously producing mines in Romania and Zimbabwe.

Vast Resources currently owns and operates the Manaila Polymetallic Mine in Romania, which was commissioned in 2015, and is focussed on its expansion through the development of a second open pit operation and new metallurgical complex at the Carlibaba Extension Area. The Companys Romanian portfolio also includes interests in two brownfield development projects; the Baita Plai Polymetallic Mine (80% interest), which has a reported 1,800,000-tonne copper-silver-zinc-lead-gold-tungsten-molybdenum ore body at 6% copper equivalent (Russian Reserves and Resources Reporting System) within the mining licence area; and the Blueberry Project (29.41% interest), a 7.285km brownfield area of prospectivity in the Golden Quadrilateral of Romania located in the immediate vicinity of the now closed Baia de Aries mine.

The Company also has interests in a number of projects in Zimbabwe including a controlling 25 per cent. interest in the producing Pickstone-Peerless Gold Mine, a 23.75% economic interest in the Eureka Gold Mine, and an 86.67% interest in a SPV which has a due diligence access agreement and pre-agreed joint venture terms on a diamond concession within the Marange Diamond Fields, widely considered to be one of the richest sources of alluvial diamonds globally.
File Photo: A Palestinian demonstrator uses a slingshot to throw stones during clashes with Israeli security forces following a protest on the Israel-Gaza border east of the Jabalia refugee camp in the northern Gaza Strip on April 6, 2018. (Xinhua/AFP)

UNITED NATIONS, Nov. 29 (Xinhua) -- A Chinese envoy said Thursday that the two-state solution is "the only comprehensive, just and lasting solution" to the Palestinian issue.

"Finding a comprehensive and just solution is a common aspiration and in the interest of the Palestinian people, the region and the world," Wu Haitao, China's deputy permanent representative to the United Nations, told the 42nd plenary meeting of the 73rd session of the General Assembly on the situation in the Middle East.

Calling on all parties to exercise restraint and implement relevant UN resolutions, he said the international community must scale up its funding of the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA).

Wu urged all parties to implement Security Council resolution 2334 (2016) and take immediate measures to prevent violence against civilians.

"Parties who have major influence in the Middle East should play a constructive role and break the impasse in the peace process," he said, adding that "all parties should strive to reach a balanced solution based on relevant Security Council resolutions."

The conflict and confrontation continue and the developments on the ground are worrying, he said, noting that the international community should promote dialogue and ensure that parties "turn stability into lasting peace."

The envoy also expressed support for integrating the Palestinian state within the international community.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-11-30 22:24:43|Editor: xuxin

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DAMASCUS, Nov. 30 (Xinhua) -- At least 30 people were killed Friday by renewed U.S.-led airstrikes on a town in the eastern province of Deir al-Zour, the latest in a series of strikes targeting areas controlled by the Islamic State (IS), according to the Syrian state media.

The fresh strikes targeted the town of Shufeh in the eastern countryside of Deir al-Zour, said state news agency SANA. It added that most of the casualties are women and children.

The death toll could likely rise as many civilians are still trapped under the rubble in the town.

Last week, 45 people, mostly women and children, were killed by similar airstrikes in Shufeh and the town of Hajin, according to SANA.

U.S.-led airstrikes on the last IS-held pocket on the eastern bank of Euphrates River in eastern Deir al-Zour have recently intensified as the U.S.-backed Kurdish militias such as the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) were planning a second wave of attacks on the IS after a failed attempt on Sept. 10.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-11-30 22:34:44|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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by Tao Jun, Nguyen Thanh Xuan

HANOI, Nov. 30 (Xinhua) -- Vietnamese people's great desire for international standard education, coupled with their higher affordability, and the government's bigger openness are making the Southeast Asia country a promising destination for education investors.

Earlier this week, Singapore-headquartered private equity firm Northstar Group invested 50 million U.S. dollars in a Vietnam-based online education company, Topica Edtech Group, marking the biggest financing of its kind in Southeast Asia.

Previously, Topica raised money from other foreign investors, including Patamar Capital (the United States), CyberAgent Ventures (Japan) and EduLab Group (Japan). The online education company claims to have offered services to one million working adults, besides students, in forms of English tutoring, online bachelor's degree programs and short skill development courses.

According to the Vietnamese Ministry of Planning and Investment, the number of foreign-invested education projects has surged in recent years, to 374 by the end of 2017 from 111 in September 2012.

The most popular form of foreign investment in Vietnam's education is the setting up of language training centers and international schools, mainly in such expat-friendly cities as Hanoi, southern Ho Chi Minh City and central Da Nang city.

International schools include a wide network of kindergartens, primary, secondary, all-through schools, and universities, gathering some 28,000 Vietnamese students, according to the country's Ministry of Education and Training.

By the end of last year, 340 joint programs had been held by 85 local tertiary institutions in collaboration with 258 foreign partners from 33 countries and regions, enrolling some 86,000 students, of whom 48,000 had graduated.

The Vietnamese culture always values education, which is seen by many people as the ultimate path to success, and a way to fulfill one's filial duty and make the family proud. Teachers are highly respected in Vietnam and parents are willing to go to great lengths to ensure that their children receive good education.

According to a report released earlier this year by the EU-Vietnam Business Network, education takes 20 percent of the Vietnamese government's annual expenditure. Vietnam's spending on education constituted 6.3 percent of its GDP in 2017, the highest among ASEAN nations and higher than that of more economically developed countries.

The high esteem in which education is held, together with the rapidly growing demand for a high quality labor force, has put improvement of education at the forefront of Vietnam's economic strategy.

The Vietnamese government has been paving the way for foreign investment in education by simplifying procedures, offering more incentives and removing barriers.

Most recently, it lifted the cap that limits the proportion of Vietnamese children attending a foreign-owned school. Since August, international schools can accept up to 50 percent of Vietnamese students, compared to only 10-20 percent last year.

The business community believes that the relaxation will herald a significant growth in Vietnamese international schools over the next few years.

There is a huge desire for international education in Vietnam, making this a market with great investment potential.

"We are willing to invest a vast part of our income in our children's education," Nguyen Thuy Trang, who sends her 4-year-old boy to a foreign-owned kindergarten in Tay Ho District, Hanoi, told Xinhua on Friday.

Trang said the school provides her son with both internationally recognized curricula and Vietnamese teaching courses, so that he can get access to advanced studying without losing his Vietnamese cultural identity.

According to consultant firm Savills Vietnam, the local education market is falling short under demand, offering chances for foreign investors.

"Public universities and colleges in Vietnam can grant admission to only 600,000 over 1.8 million applicants each year, indicating the enormous demand for post-secondary education," said Troy Griffths, deputy managing director of Savills Vietnam.

He added that many graduates from local universities have been struggling to find a job due to their lack of practical skills. This leads to a wave of students looking for more career-focused teaching at international universities.

Nguyen Phuong, a high school student planning to apply for the Tokyo Human Health Sciences University Vietnam next year, told Xinhua that she chose the school as it offers great practice in the nursing major.

"It's an international standard education but at a far lower cost than actually going overseas to study. I believe that the degrees here will be more highly recognized by foreign companies in Vietnam and abroad," Phuong said.

However, not all foreign investors could grab a bite of the Vietnamese market. Many had to leave after failing to explore local customers' psychology.

For instance, in 2013, the U.S. investment fund Blackshore Asset Management decided to withdraw capital from the Institution of American Education, an American vocational training college, and transfer ownership to a group of domestic investors.

Local experts pointed out that vocational training school was an inappropriate form of investment at that time.

"As Vietnamese people value degrees, few students would attend vocational schools," analyzed Cao Ha Phuong, general director of the EF Education First Vietnam, a foreign-invested overseas study consulting provider.

Meanwhile, a wide range of joint programs offered at affordable prices by local universities, though quality not guaranteed, have caught students' attention.

To join the market, foreign investors should bear in mind Vietnamese people's preference for degrees, and the principle of "good products at reasonable price," Phuong concluded.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-11-30 22:39:45|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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by Tao Jun, Bui Long

HANOI, Nov. 30 (Xinhua) -- An elevated train was crossing quietly and rapidly over the first multi-layer intersection in Vietnam's Hanoi capital, while down below a plethora of vehicles were running at a snail's pace in a hot autumn day full of ear-popping sounds, a mixture of motorbike exhausts and horns, and ambulance sirens.

For many foreign visitors to Hanoi in particular and Vietnam in general, even for some local residents, crossing roads or enduring traffic congestions or jams during rush hour almost everyday is a real challenge.

"Buses here are often overcrowded; many young riders usually over-speed or cross the red light; and there are almost no lanes designated for cyclists or pedestrians," a Thai visitor named Natthamon told Xinhua in late November, smilingly joking, "You should buy travel insurance before going around Hanoi."

For most of Hanoians, traveling in the capital city is not so costly or dangerous, but rather inconvenient.

"I ride my motorbike all the year round and have yet to face any traffic accidents over the past 10 years, although according to official statistics, everyday Vietnam faces around 50 traffic accidents which kill over 20 people. What I hate most about traffic here is the frequent occurrence of congestions and jams," local journalist Nguyen Thu Huong said, noting that it takes her 45-60 minutes to cover 10 km between her house and her office.

By mid-2017, Hanoi, with a population of nearly 7.7 million, had some five million motorbikes and 500,000 cars, according to the municipal Transport Department. The city has decided to ban all motorbikes from running in its urban districts from 2030.

Vu Hong Truong, chairman of the Hanoi Railway One Member Limited Company, stated that developing urban railway system in Hanoi is an urgent issue because the city is encountering serious traffic congestion and environmental pollution.

Truong said Hanoi's first urban railway, Cat Linh-Ha Dong elevated rail line constructed by China Railway Sixth Group Co. Ltd. using Chinese ODA and Vietnamese reciprocal capital, is completing final steps such as auxiliary equipment like elevators and decoration before kicking off commercial operation.

There will be 13 trains, including 12 in operation and one in standby, running through 12 stations in a total distance of 13 kilometers in 3 districts, Sun Dezhi, deputy general manager of the overseas branch of China Railway 6th Group, told Xinhua.

Each train, which has four carriages with a total length of 79 meters, can carry up to 1,000 passengers. It will take passengers around 30 minutes to complete the whole journey, fairly rapid compared to other means of transport because they go on their own way.

"A train's maximum speed is 80 kilometers per hour, and its average speed is 35 kilometers per hour. In the short term, trains will depart for every 6 minutes. After that, the interval will be only 2 minutes and 30 seconds," Sun said.

The Chinese company uses on-stream welding technology to ensure high speed, noise and vibration reduction, and anti-derailment, and the signal system is CBTC (Communication-Based Train Control).

"CBTC is the most modern technology in the world. This system helps shorten intervals between trains' departure. The train has an automatic control system which controls its speed," Sun said.

The Cat Linh-Ha Dong elevated railway project officially started construction in October 2011. The trial run of the railway officially began in September 2018.

"There are about 200 Chinese employees on site in Vietnam, and around 1,500 Chinese employees provide back-office support in China," Sun said, adding that hundreds of Vietnamese technicians have been trained in either Vietnam or China to operate the railway system.

"This new means of transport in Vietnam will carry a large number of passengers quickly and conveniently," Nguyen Ngoc Dong, Vietnamese deputy minister of transport, told reporters in late September when he partook in checking and supervising the rail line's trial operation.

During a test run of Cat Linh-Ha Dong rail line, many Vietnamese people were invited to board trains, and all of them expressed their satisfaction with the new means of transport in Hanoi.

"Using this air-conditioned train, we do not have to suffer from traffic accidents, congestions, jams, smoke, dust, heat in summer or coldness in winter, while it runs quickly and quietly," Tran Nhat Duat, a 73-year-old former staff of the Hanoi Transport Department, told Xinhua.

Many other Vietnamese people, both old and young, males and females, shared similar views.

"You see, my sister and I are standing without clutching steel holders to pose for photos on this running train, but we do not lean forward or backward at all. That means the train is running very smoothly," Vu Hien, a young office clerk of South Korean-invested SB Tech Vina Company, told Xinhua.

Standing shoulder-to-shoulder to Hien was her younger sister, Vu Nga, who works as a consultant for overseas studying in Japan. "This Cat Linh-Ha Dong rail route is not along the way we go to work everyday. We hope that more routes like this will be built," she said.

Vietnamese transport officials are considering similar plans to facilitate travel of local working people and visitors. "We should develop at least three urban rail lines and more bus routes to link its urban transport systems in the coming time," Dong said.

"In my opinion, this elevated railway project helps not only ease transport pressure in Hanoi, but also promote the traditional friendship and win-win cooperation between China and Vietnam. It is a symbol of the interface between China's Belt and Road Initiative and Vietnam's 'Two Corridors and One Circle' plan," Sun stated.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-11-30 22:44:47|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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ADEN, Yemen, Nov. 30 (Xinhua) -- A total of 40 Houthi rebels were killed during armed confrontations with the Yemeni government forces in the central province of al-Bayda on Friday, state-run Saba news agency reported.

Around 30 Houthi members died as a result of armed confrontations with the government forces stationed in Malajem district of al-Bayda province, the country's official news agency said.

Other 10 Houthi rebels were killed by an airstrike launched by the Saudi-led warplanes near the fighting site in the same province, according to Saba.

The government forces managed to abort several Houthi infiltration attempts and repulsed their attacks successfully, Saba quoted local military officials as saying.

Armed confrontations between Yemen's government forces and the Houthi rebels continued in various places of the impoverished Arab country despite the temporary halt of fighting.

The impoverished Arab country has been locked into a civil war since the Iranian-backed Shiite Houthi rebels overran much of the country militarily and seized all northern provinces, including capital Sanaa, in 2014.

Saudi Arabia leads an Arab military coalition that intervened in Yemen in 2015 to support the government of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi after Iran-backed Houthi rebels forced him into exile.

The United Nations has listed Yemen as the world's number one humanitarian crisis, with seven million Yemenis on the brink of famine and cholera causing more than 2,000 deaths.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-11-30 22:49:49|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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LOS ANGELES, Nov. 29 (Xinhua) -- BMW welcomes China's rapid pace of opening up its market for foreign investment and introducing a series of incentives in the automobile industry, a senior manager of the German car giant told Xinhua Wednesday.

Klaus Frohlich, a member of the board of management of BMW AG, Development, made the remarks in an interview with Xinhua before the annual Los Angeles Auto Show scheduled from Nov. 30 to Dec. 9.

China is BMW's biggest market, Frohlich said, adding that the latest sales figures in October in China are very strong, jumping up 12 percent to 56,439.

Moreover, Frohlich said the further opening up will also help China boost the country's manufacturing capability.

"China's car industry has made so much progress. Perhaps the exporting of cars will be one of the next steps. This can only work when you are free to let foreign investment in, and then you can also export," he said.

"China is a very important market for us. I'm there every six weeks or so. It's so dynamic," he said. "The other topic I have with China is digitalization. China will be the lead market for digitalization, and we want to not only develop in China for China, but to develop from China to the world."

Frohlich said cooperation with BMW's partners in China is the key. "I think you have to understand China very well. It's very different from Europe, but for example on the new adjustment on our joint venture with Brilliance, we have a lot of support from the government. People from the local government are very supportive for our joint venture."

On Oct. 11, BMW announced it would invest more than 3 billion euros (3.4 billion U.S. dollars) in new and existing plant structures in China's northeastern city of Shenyang over the coming years. On the evening of the same day, China's Brilliance Auto announced it would sell a 25 percent stake to BMW. Upon completion of the transaction, BMW will hold a 75-percent stake in BMW Brilliance.

This year marks the 40th anniversary of China's reform and opening-up policy. Beijing has announced new measures to further open up the country's market for foreign investors, including easing restrictions on foreign ownership of auto joint ventures.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-11-30 22:54:53|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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by Gretinah Machingura

HARARE, Nov. 30 (Xinhua) -- Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa on Friday commissioned the construction of Zimbabwe's new parliament building in Mt. Hampden, 25 km west of the capital Harare, by Chinese firm Shanghai Construction Group.

The Chinese government will provide about 100 million U.S. dollars grant for the construction of the new parliament structure, the largest building to be funded by Chinese government in a southern African country.

The Zimbabwean government will chip in with about 10 million dollars for offsite infrastructure such as residential areas, shopping centers, access roads and electricity and water provision as it moves to establish a self-contained new city in the area to decongest the capital Harare.

The 650-seat building will replace the 100-seat building built during the colonial era which has become smaller for parliament business and can no longer accommodate the 350 parliamentarians and staff members.

The new structure will have extra facilities for conferencing, 12 committee rooms and adequate space for office staff and parking.

President Mnangagwa said the long-awaited new building will enable parliamentarians to fully execute their legislative roles and further entrench democratic tenets in the country.

It will also resolve the congestion challenge in the current bicameral parliament building, he said.

"We express our profound gratitude to the Chinese government for their continued support of our various developmental programs. We commend the Belt and Road Initiative under which infrastructure development projects such as this one, are being undertaken in emerging economies," he said.

He said the new spacious parliament building will, upon completion, undoubtedly improve the comfort of its users and change the ambience around which parliamentary business is conducted.

The president said the relocation of Parliament to Mt. Hampden will be a catalyst for subsequent developments throughout the area as government will also put structures for two other arms of the state - the executive and the judiciary.

Chinese charge d'affaires in Zimbabwe Zhao Baogang said the new parliament building, with a floor space of 33,000 square meters, six floors and two congress halls and other facilities, will greatly enhance the working conditions of the Zimbabwe parliament.

He said the parliament project will take 32 months to complete.

"The honorable MPs will work harder for the new legislations and make greater contribution to the institutional building of this country," he said.

He added that the new parliament building represents the arduous efforts of the new Zimbabwe government to propel economic development and turn Zimbabwe into a middle income status by 2030.

"This is not just a landmark building in this area, it marks the start of construction of a new city of Harare. Within a few years, a new Harare will take shape. It will attract more visitors into this country.

"With strong leadership and hard work, Zimbabwe will regain its past glory, becoming a middle income country, one of the major economies in Africa, an envy by many African countries," Zhao said.

As Zimbabwe has become one of the 140 countries that have signed BRI cooperation agreements with China, Zhao hoped that Zimbabwe will get more benefits under the cooperative framework.

Zimbabwe, he said, had done everything to ensure that Zimbabwe-China relations set an example for bilateral relations between China and other African countries.

"I believe Zimbabwe will continue to enjoy the special treatment from China," he said.

Zimbabwe's two vice presidents Constantino Chiwenga and Kembo Mohadi attended the ground breaking ceremony, among other dignitaries.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-11-30 23:19:59|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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VILNIUS, Nov. 30 (Xinhua) -- As teachers' strike in Lithuania enters into the third week, the government is planning to hold the Minister of Education and Science accountable.

"The confrontation between the government and education professional unions has been lasting too long, the situation has become uncontrollable," said Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaite on Friday, urging the government and unions to "guarantee that school children could return to their classrooms as soon as possible."

More than 70 out of nearly 2,000 schools were on strike as of Nov. 28, the Ministry of Education and Science announced.

Some 1,550 dissatisfied teachers out of the country's total of 45,000 have staged walkouts to protest against recently introduced changes to the teachers' remuneration system.

The walkouts, organized by Lithuanian Education Employees' Trade Union (LSDPS) have directly affected around 16,000 students.

The president is questioning the possibility of Jurgita Petrauskiene, Minister of Education and Science, to proceed at the office.

"Given current conditions, further work of the minister is raising doubts," Grybauskaite said.

She admitted that the government's education system reform has shortages and is being implemented in an "arrogant" way.

"The minister's irresponsible talking with teachers show the incumbent government's key problems: disrespect for teachers, insulting statements, and incapacity to implement their own reforms," she noted.

Meanwhile,Lithuanian Prime Minister Saulius Skvernelis pledged that reform of the education system will continue no matter what will be the minister.

On Thursday, representatives of trade unions failed to find an agreement with the Ministry of Education on the full list of their demands. Earlier this week, dozens of teachers who were on strike spent one night at the Ministry of Education and Science.

Last week, members of the Lithuanian parliament dissatisfied with the work of minister of education initiated an interpellation. Politicians accused Petrauskiene of failing to cope with the current situation and of inability to communicate with the academic community while the teachers' strike dragged on.

The minister is expected to provide answers to the interpellation questions on Dec. 3 before the Parliament considers the situation on Dec.4.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-11-30 23:20:00|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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OTTAWA, Nov. 30 (Xinhua) -- Canada, the United States and Mexico on Friday formally signed the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Buenos Aires, according to the Canadian television network CTV.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, U.S. President Donald Trump and Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto signed the updated version of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).

"The new agreement lifts the risk of serious economic uncertainty that lingers throughout the trade renegotiation process -- uncertainty that would have only gotten worse and more damaging had we not reached a new NAFTA," Trudeau said.

"There is much more work to do in lowering trade barriers and in fostering growth that benefits everyone, but reaching a new free trade agreement with the United States and Mexico is a major step for our economy," said the prime minister.

Trump said the new deal was a model agreement that would stop auto jobs from going overseas, protect intellectual property rights and provide robust protections for digital trade and financial services.

However, U.S. tariffs on steel and aluminum remain in place. CTV reported that a Canadian official said an advantage to signing onto the agreement now is an auto side letter exempting Canada of potential tariffs on exports of up to 2.6 million vehicles, above current levels.

Those tariffs began with U.S. action against imported steel and aluminum, using national security as a justification under an obscure U.S. law from 1962.

Canada and Mexico in turn retaliated with tariffs against the United States. All those tariffs remain in place despite the signing of the USMCA, much to the displeasure of both Canadian and Mexican governments.

The signing of the trade agreement is largely ceremonial as it will need to be ratified by all three countries before it can formally take effect.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-11-30 23:25:00|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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BRUSSELS, Nov. 30 (Xinhua) -- The Belgian police fired water-cannon and teargas in central Brussels on Friday to drive back protestors inspired by France's "yellow vest" anti-tax movement, Belgian local press reported.

Many of the protestors who have been walking the streets of Brussels in an unauthorized demonstration were masked and threw rocks, firecrackers and road signs at police who responded with high-pressure water jets and gas rounds.

The demonstration was largely promoted via social media and has severely affected mobility and traffic throughout the capital, reported Belgian newspaper L'Echo.

Around 60 protestors have already been arrested, said the spokesman of the Brussels-Ixelles police zone.

Protestors chanted slogans against the Belgian government, specifically demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Charles Michel because of a rise in fuel prices and a squeeze on living standards.

Police have subsequently deployed checkpoints around the neutral zone to help quell the situation and prevent the protestors from reaching central areas close to the Belgian Parliament and federal institutions.
English Norwegian

(2018-11-30) Kitron has entered into an agreement with API Technologies Corp. to acquire its EMS division in the United States. The acquisition marks a substantial strengthening of Kitron's position in the US market.

"The transaction will significantly strengthen our position in the US market, particularly within the defence industry. Important customers have wanted us to expand our presence in the US, and we think this is a great opportunity to do so," said Peter Nilsson, CEO of Kitron.

The operations of the EMS division are highly complementary to Kitron's existing operations and are expected to provide added value to current operations, in particular in the United States. The division's main focus is on defence, aerospace, medical/industrial, and communications/consumer, and it is well aligned with Kitron's overall strategy. The business is located in Windber, Pennsylvania, close to Kitron's current US facility in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, with approximately 100 employees operating a total of six production lines and a facility of approximately 10 000 square meters. Total revenues in 2017 amounted to approximately USD 30 million.

"We have studied this business carefully over time and see great potential for integrating the API EMS division with the Kitron group, having EMS as its core business. It has a very interesting customer base, a promising order book and a highly skilled staff. We expect the division to generate an operating profit on a stand-alone basis going forward, and see substantial potential for further profitability improvements by joining forces with Kitron and increasing utilization," Mr Nilsson said.

The purchase price is USD 15.9 million in cash, equal to net asset value, which is financed through existing bank arrangements. Closing is expected to take place in the first quarter of 2019, subject to necessary governmental approvals. Kitron expects the transaction to be earnings neutral in 2019 and earnings enhancing in 2020 and beyond.

Please refer to the attached detailed stock exchange announcement for more information regarding the transaction.

For further information, please contact:

Peter Nilsson, President and CEO, tel. +47 94 84 08 50

Cathrin Nylander, CFO, tel: +47 900 43 284

E-mail: investorrelations@kitron.com

Kitron is one of Scandinavia's leading electronics manufacturing services companies for the Energy/Telecoms, Industry, Defence, Medical devices and Offshore/Marine sectors. The company is located in Norway, Sweden, Lithuania, Germany, China and the United States. Kitron had revenues of approx. NOK 2.4 billion in 2017 and has about 1,450 employees. www.kitron.com

This information is subject to the disclosure requirements set out in section 5 -12 of the Norwegian Securities Trading Act, and section 3-4 of the Oslo Stock Exchange continuing obligations for listed companies.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-11-30 23:35:02|Editor: Yang Yi

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Wang Yang, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), meets with delegates for the 10th National Chinese Christian Congress in Beijing, capital of China, Nov. 30, 2018. The 10th National Chinese Christian Congress was held from Wednesday to Friday in Beijing. (Xinhua/Yin Bogu)

BEIJING, Nov. 30 (Xinhua) -- Top political advisor Wang Yang met with delegates for the 10th National Chinese Christian Congress in Beijing Friday.

On behalf of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, Wang, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and chairman of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) National Committee, extended congratulations to the Congress.

He called on religious figures and believers to pool wisdom and strength for national rejuvenation and to uphold the principles of independence and self-management.

At the Congress, which was held from Wednesday to Friday, Xu Xiaohong was elected chairman of the National Committee of the Three-Self Patriotic Movement of the Protestant Churches in China, and Wu Wei was elected president of the China Christian Council.

Wang urged the two groups to support the leadership of the Party, interpret the religious teachings in a way that meets the needs of progress and development in contemporary China and remain in line with fine traditional Chinese culture, guide their believers to resist illegal religious activities and improve internal management.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-11-30 23:35:02|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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Chinese Premier Li Keqiang (C), also a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, inspects the Chongchuan Branch of the Bank of Jiangsu in Nantong, east China's Jiangsu Province, Nov. 29, 2018. Li Keqiang has made an inspection tour to eastern China's Jiangsu Province from Thursday to Friday to examine economic and social development. (Xinhua/Pang Xinglei)

NANJING, Nov. 30 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Premier Li Keqiang has made an inspection tour to eastern China's Jiangsu Province from Thursday to Friday to examine economic and social development.

During his visit to the cities of Nantong and Nanjing, he stressed the need of advancing reform, opening-up and innovation to further increase market vitality and ensure the sustained and healthy development of the economy.

When inspecting the Chongchuan Branch of the Bank of Jiangsu in Nantong, he said that small and micro private enterprises have contributed a lot to employment and that credit extension should not only target large clients as rendering services to small and micro enterprises is a big deal.

"Wholeheartedly exploring the market of small and micro enterprises will boost financing convenience and reduce costs. Banks are actually investing in their own future by supporting small and micro enterprises now," he said.

At the Luolai Home Textile Company workshops, the Premier found that intelligent production and green technologies have been used. Although home textile was a traditional sector, so long as it could catch up with the trend of consumption upgrading, it would never fall behind and never lose its market, he said.

At Suning Holdings Group, Li said he hopes the company would use intelligent logistics and cloud technology to provide better services to satisfy consumers and unleash more consumption potential.

At the Nanjing Information Center, a web-based public service platform, Li commended the operation of the center and encouraged local government to use more new technologies to streamline public services, boost information sharing, stimulate the market's vitality and inspire social creativity.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-11-30 23:40:04|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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ZAGREB, Nov. 30 (Xinhua) -- Croatian government announced on Friday to raise a minimum monthly net wage in the country from 2,751 kuna (about 420 U.S. dollars) to 3,000 kuna (about 460 U.S. dollars).

The decision of the biggest increase of the minimum wage since 2008 will come into effect on Jan. 1, 2019.

Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic said at a government session that solidarity is very important for the government who wants dignified life for the people with low income.

He compared Croatia to other eastern European countries, saying that the minimum wage here is already higher than in Bulgaria, Romania, Lithuania, Latvia, and Hungary, and from 2019 it will be higher than in Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland and Estonia.

According to the government's estimates, around 37,000 people in the country receive the minimum wage. The prime minister also announced a package of measures for employers to create new jobs.

The new measure was declared just three days after the government and public sector unions reached an agreement on 2019 pay rises which avoided the threat of a general strike.

Kresimir Sever, president of the Independent Croatian Unions, told Xinhua on Friday that the rise of the minimum monthly net wage is a good step. He welcomed the higher-than-usual rate of the increase, but stressed that 3,000 kuna (460 U.S. dollars) is still not enough for dignified living in Croatia.

"I think they are wrong if they really think that people can live a dignified life with that sum, or that the increase would stop them from moving abroad," Sever told Xinhua and explained that they had proposed a minimum wage that would amount to 50 percent of the average salary in Croatia.

The average salary in Croatia in the first eight months this year was 6,237 kuna (about 956 U.S. dollars).
File Photo: Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau attends a press conference following the signing ceremony of the Paris Agreement on climate change at the United Nations headquarters in New York , April 22, 2016. (Xinhua/Li Muzi)

OTTAWA, Nov. 30 (Xinhua) -- Canada, the United States and Mexico on Friday formally signed the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Buenos Aires, according to the Canadian television network CTV.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, U.S. President Donald Trump and Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto signed the updated version of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).

"The new agreement lifts the risk of serious economic uncertainty that lingers throughout the trade renegotiation process -- uncertainty that would have only gotten worse and more damaging had we not reached a new NAFTA," Trudeau said.

"There is much more work to do in lowering trade barriers and in fostering growth that benefits everyone, but reaching a new free trade agreement with the United States and Mexico is a major step for our economy," said the prime minister.

File Photo: U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to reporters at the White House in Washington D.C., the United States, on Nov. 9, 2018. (Xinhua/Ting Shen)

Trump said the new deal was a model agreement that would stop auto jobs from going overseas, protect intellectual property rights and provide robust protections for digital trade and financial services.

However, U.S. tariffs on steel and aluminum remain in place. CTV reported that a Canadian official said an advantage to signing onto the agreement now is an auto side letter exempting Canada of potential tariffs on exports of up to 2.6 million vehicles, above current levels.

Those tariffs began with U.S. action against imported steel and aluminum, using national security as a justification under an obscure U.S. law from 1962.

Mexico's President Enrique Pena Nieto waves upon arrival at Ezeiza International airport in Buenos Aires province, on Nov. 29, 2018. (Xinhua/AFP)

Canada and Mexico in turn retaliated with tariffs against the United States. All those tariffs remain in place despite the signing of the USMCA, much to the displeasure of both Canadian and Mexican governments.

The signing of the trade agreement is largely ceremonial as it will need to be ratified by all three countries before it can formally take effect.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-11-30 23:50:11|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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DAR ES SALAAM, Nov. 30 (Xinhua) -- The summit of the heads of state of the six-member East African Community (EAC) scheduled to start on Friday in Tanzania's tourist city of Arusha was postponed in the last minute due to a lack of quorum.

President Yoweri Museveni of Uganda, the chairman of the summit, announced the postponement of the summit to Dec. 27 after the absence of the representatives from Burundi.

President Museveni announced the postponement of the summit after consultations with Tanzanian President John Magufuli and President Uhuru Kenyatta of Kenya, said a statement from Tanzania's Directorate of Presidential Communication in the commercial capital Dar es Salaam.

Burundi is reported to have requested for the postponement of the summit due to its domestic issues, including matters pertaining to preparation of the new constitution and preparation for the 2020 elections.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-11-30 23:50:12|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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ZAGREB, Nov. 30 (Xinhua) -- Croatian police are still trying to identify a dead body found on Friday in river Dobra in central Croatia, while local media reported that it was the migrant who went missing on Thursday.

Croatian police found on Thursday near the city Generalski Stol three illegal migrants who told them that one migrant had fallen in the river and disappeared.

Due to the bad conditions, police couldn't search the river Thursday afternoon. On Friday, the body was found just 150 meters from the place where the migrant disappeared.

Thousands of migrants are located in Bosnia and Herzegovina from where they try to illegally enter Croatia. In 2015 and 2016, Croatia was part of the so-called Balkan Route through which many of them passed on their way to the western and northern Europe.

Since other European countries have closed its borders for migrants, Croatia did the same and migrants are now looking for the new routes through the country. In the last few months, the Croatian police have caught many of them hidden in vans or walking near the border.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-12-01 00:10:17|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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JAKARTA, Nov. 30 (Xinhua) -- The 6th Fund Raising Run event would be held across two provinces in Java, expected to raise some 2.5 billion rupiahs (about 174,600 U.S. dollars) to help finance the education for disabled persons in Indonesia, the organizing committee said here on Friday.

The three-day Nusantarun mass run event, participated by over 200 runners, was slated from Dec. 7 to 9, contending two classes of full course and half course that oblige the runners to run 169 and 86 kilometers respectively.

The running would start from Central Java province's city of Wonosobo, to finish in Gunung Kidul in the neighboring province of Yogyakarta.

"Through the 'Education for All' campaign we want to say that disabled persons also have the same rights to access education and jobs," Founder of Nusantarun event Jurian Andika told a press conference here, conveying the theme of the running event this year. The annual charity run event has been held since 2013.

He added that disabled person in Indonesia now reached 30 million ones, accounting for 12.5 percent of the population. Only 54.26 percent of them have access to education.

According to him, over 45.74 percent of disabled person in the country could not get basic education in elementary schools. In term of obtaining jobs, he said that only 51.2 percent of disabled persons get access to jobs.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-12-01 00:15:19|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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MOSCOW, Nov. 30 (Xinhua) -- The Russian Armed Forces plan to hold more than 4,000 drills in 2019, the Russian Defense Ministry's official newspaper Krasnaya Zvezda reported Friday.

The Tsentr strategic command post exercise will be the most important drill during which the level of combat readiness of the military will be checked, the newspaper said.

The Tsentr exercise is scheduled to be held in the Central Military District in August-September 2019, according to a previous statement by the defense ministry.

In addition, more than 10 exercises are being planned as part of joint combat trainings with foreign armed forces for the next year, according to the report.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-12-01 00:30:21|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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NAIROBI, Nov. 30 (Xinhua) -- Chinese firms on Friday pledged to invest in Kenya in order to boost the east African country's exports.

Lyu Xinhua, chairman of Council for Promoting South-South Cooperation told journalists in Nairobi that Chinese firms are keen to form partnership with Kenyan firms to manufacture products that can compete in the global markets.

"Chinese firms are willing to help Kenya to reduce its international trade imbalance by boosting its export," Lyu said during the Kenya-China Trade and Investment Forum.

During the event, a group of over 30 Chinese firms had an opportunity to network with their Kenyan peers.

The Chinese trade delegation is on a ten-day mission to visit Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania in a bid to discover investment and cooperation opportunities in Africa.

Chris Kiptoo, principal secretary of the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Cooperatives, said that Kenya and China have emerged as solid trading partners in the past decades.

He revealed that in order to meet the resources requirements, the government is seeking additional capacity to generate resources by leveraging exports for foreign exchange generation as well as foreign direct investments to boost production.

The Kenyan official said that the government is therefore committed to create an enabling trade and investment relationship that will enable realization of key national objectives in order to raise the levels of economic growth.

According to Kiptoo, the ministry of industry recently launched the Integrated National Export Development and Promotion Strategy that seeks to expand Kenya's exports globally at a rate of 15 percent annually.

He said that the export strategy targets growth-oriented sectors such as livestock, manufacturing, fisheries, agriculture and handicrafts.

He noted that it is the intention of the government to develop these growth-oriented sectors and is therefore keen on attracting new investments in the related value chains and also create linkages to the global market.

Kiptoo said that Kenya welcomes Chinese firms to invest in the country and there are currently more than 400 Chinese firms in Kenya serving in various sectors of the economy such as real estate, finance and agriculture.

"These companies can further join into ventures with our local industries in order to maximize production within Kenya for export, a move that will both increase Kenya's exports to China and also increase foreign exchange," said Kiptoo.

Anne Muchoki, chairperson of Kenya Investment Authority (KenInvest) said that Kenya and China have enjoyed excellent diplomatic and economic relationship since Kenya's independence.

According to Muchoki, Kenya's trade with China is an opportunity to transform both economies. She said that after the inaugural China International Import Expo held earlier this month, China has opened her doors to Kenyan products.

Muchoki said that Kenya has an opportunity to increase its exports now that Kenya and China have signed a working group framework on trade development and a sanitary and phytosanitary agreement to allow Kenyan goods to access the Chinese market.

Li Xuhang, charge d'affaires of Chinese Embassy in Kenya said that as Nairobi is a good partner, Beijing will continue its efforts to further strengthen the Sino-Kenyan partnership, ensuring that the bilateral cooperation will usher in a new era of vigorous development and continue to be an example for China-Africa cooperation.

Li said that China will step up efforts of policy coordination with Kenya, speed up the alignment of the Belt and Road Initiative with the Kenya's national development blue print Vision 2030 and President Uhuru Kenyatta's development blueprint dubbed the Big Four Agenda, in order to benefit Kenyan business people.

The diplomat added that in order to further advance the economic and trade cooperation between China and Kenya, the Kenyan government and business community should introduce more incentives and policies and take concrete measures to create a safer, more convenient environment so as to attract more Chinese investment.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-12-01 00:35:22|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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KIEV, Nov. 30 (Xinhua) -- Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko on Friday welcomed the decision of the European Union (EU) to release an aid of 500 million euros (about 568 million U.S. dollars) for Kiev.

"Sincerely grateful to the European Commission for positive decision to disburse to Ukraine first tranche of the 4th EU Macro-financial assistance program," Poroshenko wrote on Facebook.

In mid-September, the European Commission has approved new aid for Ukraine worth 1 billion euros (about 1.14 billion dollars) to support economic stabilization in the country, including through structural and governance reforms.

With the fresh disbursement, the total macro-financial aid extended to Ukraine by the EU since 2014 will reach 3.3 billion euros (about 3.75 billion dollars), the largest amount of such assistance directed at any non-EU country.

According to local economists, Ukraine is in urgent need of external financing due to its huge foreign debt, of which some 15 billion dollars should be repaid next year.
The Extraordinary General Meeting in Saga Tankers ASA was held today at the premises of the Company in Oslo, Norway.

All items on the agend were approved.

Dividend of NOK 0.15 per share is expected to be distributed on 10 December 2018.

Please find the attached minutes from the meeting in Norwegian, accompanied by an English office translation.

Oslo, 30 November 2018

For further information please contact: CEO Espen Lundaas, +47 92 43 14 17
Source: Xinhua| 2018-12-01 00:35:22|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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RIYADH, Nov. 30 (Xinhua) -- Saudi Arabia and India discussed bilateral cooperation on Friday during the ongoing Group of 20 summit in the Argentine capital of Buenos Aires., Saudi Press Agency reported.

The discussion between Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the sideline of the G20 summit, covered fields including investment, agriculture and energy.

In the investment field, they discussed the opportunities for Saudi Arabia to invest in India's infrastructure through the Public Investment Fund, a sovereign wealth fund owned by the kingdom.

They also discussed the possibilities of Saudi Arabia importing more Indian agricultural products as alternatives to the kingdom's agricultural imports from other countries.

Saudi Arabia also expressed readiness to meet India's needs for oil products, and the investment of Saudi Aramco, officially known as the Saudi Arabian Oil Company, in refineries in the South Asian country.

The two leaders also reviewed the opportunities of Saudi non-oil exports to India as well as ways to develop bilateral trade through sustainable arrangements.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-12-01 00:45:23|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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BEIJING, Nov. 30 (Xinhua) -- Parts of Beijing municipal government departments and agencies have moved into Tongzhou District, which means that the city government's subsidiary administrative center has been put into use.

The departments that have moved their offices to the eastern suburb of Tongzhou, about a 40 minutes' drive from the national capital's downtown area, included the Beijing municipal poverty relief office and the Beijing municipal committee of the Communist Youth League of China.

More municipal government departments will start moving as well, sources of Beijing municipal government said.

A government employee told Xinhua that it takes him half an hour to get to work from his home on the East Third Ring Road to the new office in Tongzhou since it is easier for him to get to the suburb during peak hours.

A local resident of Tongzhou, who preferred to be identified by his surname as Pang, was happy about the change.

"This area used to be villages. Now, we can see the new Beijing here," said Pang, who is in his 70s.

Mass transit is improving. A subway line now links the subsidiary administrative zone to the city center of Beijing, and a number of bus line services plying the area have been put into operation.

Wang Kai, vice president of the Chinese Academy of Urban Planning and Design, said the launch of the administrative zone marks significant progress for the construction of the national capital's sub-center and is a very important step of the coordinated development of Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei.

"To cope with 'urban ills' such as traffic congestion, air pollution and overpopulation, many metropolises of the world have planned and built sub-centers to realize sustainable development," Wang said.

Beijing is shifting some of its administrative functions out of the city center into Tongzhou to help address those problems, said Wang.

Tongzhou is expected to receive 400,000 to 500,000 residents from the city center by 2035, according to a draft planning document of the sub-center released in June.

The number of permanent residents in the district will be capped at 1 million by 2020 and 1.3 million by 2035, said the document.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-12-01 00:50:23|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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PHNOM PENH, Nov. 30 (Xinhua) -- Cambodia on Friday night celebrated the inclusion of Lkhon Khol, a masked dance-theater, in the UNESCO's prestigious world heritage list.

At the instruction of Prime Minister Samdech Techo Hun Sen, drums were beaten simultaneously at 10:00 pm at ministries and institutions, public venues and pagodas across the kingdom to celebrate the listing.

In capital Phnom Penh, Governor Khuong Sreng attended the celebration at the municipal hall, and a troupe of Lkhon Khol artists was also invite to perform at the event.

"It's our Cambodian national pride that Lkhon Khol was registered in the UNESCO's world heritage list, and this reflects the richness in cultural legacies left from our ancestors," Sreng said.

"I'm very happy to learn about the listing of our Khmer heritage and very proud to be born as a Cambodian," 21-year-old female-reveler Soy Monica told Xinhua.

Cambodia requested the registration of Lkhon Khol Wat Svay Andet, better known as Lkhon Khol, on the UNESCO's world heritage list in March 2017, and the UNESCO committee decided to inscribe it on the list of intangible cultural heritage in need of urgent safeguarding on Wednesday during its annual session in Mauritius.

Lkhon Khol is practised in one community surrounding a Buddhist monastery, Wat Svay Andet, located about 10 km east of Phnom Penh on the Mekong River, and is performed by men wearing masks to the accompaniment of a traditional orchestra and melodious recitation, said a UNESCO press release.

The specific aim is to propitiate the Neak Ta (guardian spirits of a place and its people), thereby protecting and bringing prosperity to the community, its lands and harvest, the release said.

According to bas-reliefs on the walls of the famed Angkor Wat Temple, it is thought that the Lkhon Khol was first performed in the ninth century.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-12-01 00:55:25|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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ABUJA, Nov. 30 (Xinhua) -- The Nigeria police on Friday confirmed 104 armed bandits were killed during a raid which lasted several days in the northern state of Zamfara.

In a terse statement by national police spokesman Jimoh Moshood, the police said the raid was done to rout out the armed bandits from Mahanga forest which served as a large training camp for them in the state.

The statement said one policeman was shot dead during the security operation.

Eighty-five suspects were arrested following the raid. Over 50 hideouts, in three camps suspected to have been set up by the bandits, were destroyed during the raid, the statement said.

Over 500 cattle and 79 Sheep were recovered from the bandits, the statement added.

Mahanga forest is a settlement, surrounded by appealing green vegetation in Nigeria's northwest region. However, for decades, the forest had epitomized danger and commonly referred to as the headquarters of bandits, who often launch attacks on local herdsmen, farmers, and their communities.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-12-01 01:05:28|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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KATHMANDU, Nov. 30 (Xinhua) -- Nepalese Vice President Nanda Bahadur Pun met with his visiting Philippine counterpart Maria Leonor G. Robredo here on Friday, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.

The two vice presidents discussed all aspects of Nepal-Philippines relations while expressing happiness over the growing relations between Nepal and the Philippines in multiple sectors.

"The vice presidents noted that Nepal and the Philippines have immense potential for cooperation in the sector of tourism because of the similarities in culture and life style," the ministry stated in a press release.

During the meeting, Robredo stated that the two countries can share each other's experiences as labor sending countries. She pointed out that both Nepal and the Philippines have been facing similar kinds of problems with regard to laborers working in foreign destinations.

"Nepal and the Philippines can cooperate in several areas including tourism and education," she added.

The Nepalese vice president acknowledged Philippines' support to the Nepali students studying at different universities in Philippines, the ministry stated.

The vice president of the Philippines is on a visit to Nepal to attend the ongoing Asia Pacific Summit that began on Friday.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-12-01 01:05:29|Editor: Chengcheng

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Nepalese Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli (R) holds talks with Myanmar State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi in Kathmandu, Nepal, Nov. 30, 2018. (Xinhua/DOI)

KATHMANDU, Nov. 30 (Xinhua) -- State Counsellor of Myanmar Aung San Suu Kyi and Nepalese Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli held bilateral talks here on Friday.

During the talks, the two sides discussed a wide range of issues pertaining to Nepal-Myanmar relations, Nepal's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.

"The prime minister and the state counsellor noted with satisfaction the growing engagements between the two countries," the ministry stated in a press statement.

Prime Minister Oli's foreign relations advisor, Rajan Bhattarai, who participated in the meeting, told Xinhua, "The two sides stressed the need to further expand cooperation in the fields of culture, tourism, investment and political consultations."

Bhattarai said that the two sides also discussed about the possibilities of launching direct flights between Nepal's southern city of Bhairahawa and Yangon city of Myanmar, to boost cooperation in the field of tourism.

The two sides also stressed the need to continue exchange of high-level visits, according to the foreign relations advisor.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-12-01 01:05:30|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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CHICAGO, Nov. 30(Xinhua) -- The Chicago Purchasing Managers Index (Chicago PMI), also known as Chicago Business Barometer, rose to an 11-month high of 66.4 in November amid a significant surge in new orders.

However, many U.S. companies have voiced their concerns over higher tariffs due to unsolved trade disputes with China.

The Chicago PMI surged 8.0 points from October's 58.4, boosted by new orders which hit 54-month high, according to a statement released Friday by the Institute for Supply Management Chicago.

The barometer is considered to be a leading indicator of the U.S. economy. It is made up of production, new orders, order backlogs, employment and supplier deliveries indicators and is designed to predict future changes in U.S. gross domestic product.

"Although broad-based, with increases across all five of the Barometer's sub-components, resurgent orders, solid output and higher unfinished orders were the month's key drivers," said the statement.

"The MNI Chicago Business Barometer clipped a run of three consecutive declines in emphatic style in November, boosted primarily by resurgent orders, stronger than typically seen at this time of year and enough to push the barometer to its best level since December," said Jamie Satchi, economist at MNI Indicators, which compiles data for Chicago PMI on behalf of the Institute for Supply Management Chicago.

"However, many firms reported seeing the effects of higher China tariffs on their invoices for the first time, and voiced concern that business could be stifled going forward," he added.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-12-01 01:05:31|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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TEHRAN, Nov. 30 (Xinhua) -- The Iranian energy minister said the implementation of a free trade agreement between Iran and the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) will boost bilateral trade ties, Tasnim news agency reported Friday.

Reza Ardakanian made the remarks during his meeting with Tigran Sargsyan, head of the Eurasian Economic Commission, in Russia's capital Moscow on Thursday.

The agreement, which was signed in Kazakhstan's capital of Astana on May 17, is intended to last four years, during which the EAEU will grant Iran tariff concessions on 502 harmonized commodity codes.

The agreement to establish a free trade zone between Iran and the EAEU countries will be seriously followed by the Iranian officials, said Ardakanian.

He expressed the hope that the deal would provide the grounds for the increase of bilateral trade between the Islamic republic and the five EAEU member states.

For his part, Sargsyan welcomed the trade agreement and stressed the determination of the EAEU to commit to the deal.

The Eurasian Economic Union includes Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Russia. Iran and EAEU members started to develop the agreement on the free trade in 2015, though the signing was postponed several times.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-12-01 01:15:32|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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WASHINGTON, Nov. 30 (Xinhua) -- The White House said Friday that the cancellation of meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin was because of Russia's confrontation with Ukraine, rather than the ongoing Russia probe.

The reason for the canceled meeting is Ukraine but the investigation "probably does undermine" the U.S. relationship with Russia, White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said in a statement.

Sanders said she hopes that the Ukraine situation "will be resolved soon so that productive conversations can begin."

A Kremlin spokesperson told Russia news outlets earlier that there will be a brief and impromptu meeting between Trump and Putin, despite the U.S. president's tweet on Thursday that their scheduled meeting in Argentina, the host of the ongoing Group of 20 (G20) summit, won't happen.

"There is no scheduled pull-aside," an anonymous White House official told U.S. media later when asked to confirm the Russian media's report.

The Ukrainian Navy said Sunday that Russian forces opened fire and seized three Ukrainian ships near the Kerch Strait, adding that six Ukrainian military sailors were wounded, two of them in serious condition.

Russian authorities said the Ukrainian ships breached the Russian border and conducted dangerous maneuvers in spite of orders of accompanying Russian vessels.

The Ukrainian Navy said that it had informed Russia in advance about the passage of Ukrainian vessels from the Black Sea to the Sea of Azov through the Kerch Strait.

The Ukrainian parliament supported a bill earlier this week imposing a martial law in certain regions for 30 days starting from Wednesday due to the tensions with Russia in the Sea of Azov.

Sanders' statement came amid a week filled with new developments in the Russia inquiry led by special counsel Robert Mueller, who was looking into the alleged Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election and any potential collusion between the Trump presidential campaign and Moscow.

Trump's former personal lawyer Michael Cohen reached a guilty plea with Mueller on Thursday to a count of making false statements to Congress about an aborted Trump Tower development project in Moscow. Cohen has been in discussions with Mueller's team, beginning in August and continuing through last week.

In response, Trump told reporters that Cohen is "a weak person" who was lying to get a reduced sentence, as he defended the legality of his business activities when he was running for the president in 2016.

"Against all odds, I decide to run for President & continue to run my business - very legal & very cool, talked about it on the campaign trail. Lightly looked at doing a building somewhere in Russia. Put up zero money, zero guarantees and didn't do the project. Witch hunt!" Trump tweeted Friday morning.

Earlier this week, embattled former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort was accused of repeatedly lying to investigators after pleading guilty to federal charges related to his work as an unregistered lobbyist for Ukraine -- prior to his time with the Trump campaign.

Prosecutors alleged that Manafort had breached a plea agreement that he signed in September with Mueller, but his attorneys denied that he had lied to federal investigators. Mueller is reportedly considering new charges for Manafort.

Trump has recently escalated attacks against the Mueller probe that he has frequently slammed as a "hoax" or "witch hunt." He has denied any wrongdoing or trying to shut down the investigation but has urged Mueller to wrap it up.

Russia has repeatedly denied meddling in the U.S. elections.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-12-01 01:20:32|Editor: Chengcheng

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NICOSIA, Nov. 30 (Xinhua) -- Cyprus and Greece will expand their tripartite cooperation agreements with eastern Mediterranean countries by soon including Balkan country Serbia, Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades said on Friday.

"We are considering a tripartite cooperation between Cyprus, Greece and Serbia in line with similar cooperation pacts with other countries in the region", Anastasiades told a joint press conference with visiting Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic.

Cyprus and Greece have already struck cooperation agreements with Israel, Egypt and Jordan in several sectors, including defence, exchange of intelligence information, energy, agriculture and education.

The Serbian president travelled to Nicosia to co-chair with Anastasiades the Second Intergovernmental Conference between Cyprus and Serbia.

He said that Serbia was thankful to Cyprus for its support for his country's drive to join the European Union and for its opposition to a unilateral declaration of independence by Kosovo.

Cyprus is facing a similar problem with the unilateral declaration of a breakaway state by Turkish Cypriots in the part of the island Turkey occupied in 1974, in reaction to a coup by the military rulers of Greece.

"I repeated our clear position that the illegal declaration of independence by Kosovo is unacceptable in the absence of a mutually acceptable solution", Anastasiades said.

He added that he thanked Vucic for Serbia's support to Cyprus in exercising its sovereign rights over its offshore exclusive economic zone, in the face of challenges by Turkey and for its participation in the United Nations peace keeping force in Cyprus.

"I also stressed the importance Cyprus attaches to the accession of Serbia to the European Union", said Anastasiades.

Accession negotiations are under way since the European Council granted Serbia a candidate country status in 2012.
Highlights of the Quarter



(unless other noted, all financial amounts in this news release are expressed in U.S. dollars)

Higher Y/Y Sales: Sales revenue rose 9.3% to $4.7 million, as compared to sales in Q1 2018 of $4.3 million. Copper Alloy division sales climbed 21.5% to $3.5 million, from $2.8 million in the prior-year period. Engineered Materials division sales revenue declined 15% to $1.2 million, from $1.5 million in the prior-year period, primarily due to the shifting of customer product out of fiscal Q1 of 2019 into the remainder of 2019.

Higher Gross Profit : Gross profit rose 18% to $467,000, from $396,000 in the prior-year period.





: Gross profit rose 18% to $467,000, from $396,000 in the prior-year period. Improved Gross Margin : Gross margin improved to 10%, from 9% in the prior-year quarter.





: Gross margin improved to 10%, from 9% in the prior-year quarter. Capital Improvement Projects: More than a dozen capital improvement projects are being implemented that are aimed at supporting more efficient and effective operations and potentially exposing IBC to new market opportunities.





More than a dozen capital improvement projects are being implemented that are aimed at supporting more efficient and effective operations and potentially exposing IBC to new market opportunities. Fiscal Q1 Results: IBC incurred a comprehensive loss (net of tax) of $766,000 for the quarter, or 0.02 per share, as compared to a loss of $602,000, 0.02 per share, in the year-ago period. Operating loss1 for the quarter was $490,000, an improvement over an operating loss in the comparable quarter of fiscal 2018 of $535,000.

FRANKLIN, , Nov. 30, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- IBC Advanced Alloys Corp. (IBC or the Company) (TSX-V: IB; OTCQB: IAALF) announces its financial results for its fiscal first quarter of 2019. The Company will host a conference call and investor webcast on Friday, November 30, 2018, at 8:30 a.m. Eastern, the details of which are shown below.

In the quarter, IBC posted a comprehensive loss (net of tax) of $766,000 for the quarter, or 0.02 per share, as compared to a loss of $602,000, or 0.02 per share, in the year-ago period. Operating loss1 for the quarter was $490,000, an improvement over an operating loss in the comparable quarter of fiscal 2018 of $535,000.

The Company posted stronger year-over-year (Y/Y) sales revenue in the quarter, as well as higher gross profit and expanded gross margins. The Company failed to achieve profitability in the period primarily due to a shifting of Engineered Materials division product deliveries out of fiscal Q1 of 2019 for a specific customer. This was necessary while the Company and its customer worked through engineering matters related to acceptance criteria. Those issues have now been resolved and shipments of product to the customer have resumed at an increased rate during the remainder of FY2019 to complete the order.

The first fiscal quarter of 2019 showed improvement over the same quarter of last year, but it was not a profitable quarter and we missed our mark, said Major General Duncan Heinz (USMC, ret.), IBCs President and CEO. However, I see IBC continuing to progress toward a profitable year in fiscal 2019, which would mark the first year of profitability since the Company was formed in 2007.

Copper Alloy division revenues increased substantially year-over-year, with more than double the gross profit and gross margins of the comparable period of fiscal 2018, and Copper Alloys posted an operating profit1 of $60,000, compared to a year-ago loss of $269,000. The Engineered Materials divisions revenue miss in the quarter was due to acceptance criteria issues which required considerable coordination with the customer, and that slowed down our production process. That issue has been resolved and deliveries have resumed in Q2 at increased quantities. Those increased quantities will continue for the rest of the fiscal year in order to complete the order on time. The loss in this division should reverse during the remainder of the fiscal year with the increased shipments.

IBC CONFERENCE CALL AND INVESTOR WEBCAST

Major General Heinz will host an investor update webcast and conference call on Friday, November 30, 2018, at 8:30 a.m. Eastern to discuss the Company's fiscal Q1 2019 interim financial results. To register for the webinar and conference call, and receive instructions on how to call in or connect via the internet to the webinar, please go here: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/4573616922886120961

SELECTED FISCAL Q1 2019 FINANCIAL RESULTS

On a consolidated basis, the Company posted these results in the quarter ending on September 30, 2018, as compared to the year-ago period:

Sales rose by 9.2% despite lower revenue from the Engineered Materials division.





Of the Companys $766,000 in loss (before tax) in the quarter, $283,000 was due to an increase in interest expenses.





Operating loss improved to $490,000, from $535,000 in the year-ago period, principally driven by increased sales in the Copper Alloys division. The loss was significantly higher than expected due to delayed product shipments in the Engineered Materials division.





Corporate SG&A expenses increased to $255,000, from $198,000 in the prior-year period, as a result of increases in legal fees, consulting fees, and share-based compensation.

IBCs Copper Alloys division posted these results for the quarter, as compared to the year-ago period:

While copper prices were down 5% from the prior-year period, operating profit increased to $60,000, from an operating loss of $269,000 in the prior-year period.



Revenue in the quarter totaled $3.5 million, a 21.5% increase over revenue of $2.8 million in prior-year period. Sales growth in the quarter was primarily driven by increased sales to customers in the plastic mold tooling and defense sectors.



Gross profit more than doubled from the year-ago period, rising to $500,000 from $221,000.



With higher Y/Y sales, and relatively little change in Y/Y labor and SG&A costs in the division, gross margin rose to 14%, versus 8% in the prior-year period.

IBCs Engineered Materials division posted these results for the quarter, as compared to the year-ago period:

Sales revenues declined by 15% compared to the prior-year period, principally due to the shifting of customer product out of fiscal Q1 of 2019 into the remainder of 2019.



As a result of the shifting of product shipments from fiscal Q1, the division booked an operating loss of $295,000, compared to an operating loss of $68,000 in the prior-year period.



The semiconductor manufacturing sector has remained consistent at near previous year levels, with some seasonality in sales returning in this period and expected to continue to the end of the calendar year.

FISCAL Q1-2019 SEGMENT AND CONSOLIDATED OPERATIONS RESULTS

Three Months Ended Three Months Ended September 30, 2018 September 30, 2017 Copper Eng. Corp. Consol- Copper Eng. Corp. Consol- Alloys Mat. idated Alloys Mat. idated $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ Sales 3,460 1,233 - 4,693 2,849 1,449 - 4,298 Cost of sales Materials 1,988 73 - 2,061 1,362 261 - 1,623 Labor 534 367 - 901 543 301 - 844 Subcontract 74 78 - 152 43 39 - 82 Overhead 418 416 - 834 588 388 - 976 Depreciation 96 100 - 196 85 100 - 185 Change in finished goods (150 ) 232 - 82 7 185 - 192 2,960 1,266 - 4,226 2,628 1,274 - 3,902 Gross profit (loss) 500 (33 ) - 467 221 175 - 396 SG&A expenses 440 262 255 957 490 243 198 931 Operating income (loss) 60 (295 ) (255 ) (490 ) (269 ) (68 ) (198 ) (535 ) Gross margin 14 % (3% ) - 10 % 8 % 12 % - 9 %

The Companys interim financial statements have been filed on SEDAR at www.sedar.ca and are available on the Companys website at www.ibcadvancedalloys.com .



NON-IFRS MEASURES

To supplement its consolidated financial statements, which are prepared and presented in accordance with IFRS, IBC uses operating income (loss), which is a non-IFRS financial measure. IBC believes that operating income helps identify underlying trends in its business that could otherwise be distorted by the effect of certain income or expenses that IBC includes in loss for the period. IBC further believes that operating income (loss) provides useful information about core operating results, enhances the overall understanding of its past performance and future prospects and allows for greater visibility with respect to key metrics used by management in its financial and operational decision-making. Operating income (loss) should not be considered in isolation or construed as an alternative to loss for the period or any other measure of performance or as an indicator of IBCs operating performance. Operating income (loss) presented here may not be comparable to similarly titled measures presented by other companies. Other companies may calculate similarly titled measures differently, limiting their usefulness as comparative measures to our data.

Operating income (loss) represents loss for the period, excluding foreign exchange loss, interest expense, loss on disposal of assets, interest income, other income (expense), arbitration award liability and income taxes that IBC does not believe are reflective of the core operating performance during the periods presented.

Operating income (loss)

A reconciliation of first quarter loss to operating income follows:

Quarter ended September 30 2018 2017 $ $ Income (loss) for the period (766 ) (602 ) Foreign exchange loss (4 ) 10 Interest expense 283 57 Loss on disposal of assets - - Interest income (4 ) (1 ) Other income (expense) (2 ) (2 ) Arbitration award liability - - Income taxes 3 3 Operating loss (490 ) (535 )

On behalf of the Board of Directors:



"Duncan Heinz

Duncan Heinz, President, CEO and Director

CONTACTS:



Duncan Heinz, President, CEO and Director

Jim Sims, Investor and Public Relations

IBC Advanced Alloys Corp.

+1 (303) 503-6203

Email: jim.sims@ibcadvancedalloys.com



Website: www.ibcadvancedalloys.com

@IBCAdvanced $IB $IAALF

ABOUT IBC ADVANCED ALLOYS CORP.

IBC is a leading beryllium and copper advanced alloys company serving a variety of industries such as defense, aerospace, automotive, telecommunications, precision manufacturing, and others. IBC's Copper Division manufactures and distributes a variety of copper alloys as castings and forgings, including beryllium copper, chrome copper, and aluminum bronze. IBC's Engineered Materials Division makes the Beralcast family of alloys, which can be precision cast and are used in an increasing number of defense, aerospace, and other systems, including the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter. IBC's has production facilities in Indiana, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, and Missouri. The Company's common shares are traded on the TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol "IB" and the OTCQB under the symbol "IAALF".

CAUTIONARY STATEMENTS

Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. This disclosure contains forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements normally contain words like believe, expect, anticipate, plan, intend, continue, estimate, may, will, should, ongoing and similar expressions, and within this news release include any statements (express or implied) respecting anticipated seasonality in the next quarter or two that may impact sales trends, expectations as to further value and savings of waste stream inventory, expectations as to additional quantities to be sold under the Lockheed Martin contract, beliefs as to expanding production capacity as a result of the purchase of new capital equipment and inventory and the success and timing of the production of components under the commercial satellite systems contract. Although IBC believes that the expectations reflected in these forward-looking statement are reasonable, forward-looking statements, by their very nature, are subject to inherent risks and uncertainties and are based on assumptions, both general and specific, which give rise to the possibility that actual results or events could differ materially from our expectations expressed in or implied by such forward-looking statement. The forward looking statements made by the Company in this press release are based on its experience, perception of historical trends, current conditions, expected future developments and other factors it believes are appropriate in the circumstances. As a result, we cannot guarantee that any forward-looking statement will materialize and we caution you against relying on any of these forward-looking statements. IBC makes no commitment to revise or update any forward-looking statements in order to reflect events or circumstances after the date any such statement is made, except as required by applicable law. Additional information identifying risks and uncertainties is contained in IBCs filings for the quarter ended September 30, 2018, and in its Annual Information Form for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2018, available at www.sedar.com .

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Source: Xinhua| 2018-12-01 01:25:34|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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BUENOS AIRES, Nov. 30 (Xinhua) -- Canada, Mexico and the United States on Friday signed an updated version of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), saying it will help strengthen regional ties and benefit the working class.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, U.S. President Donald Trump and his Mexican counterpart Enrique Pena Nieto presided over the signing of the new deal, known as the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA).

The three leaders gathered in Buenos Aires of Argentina for the start of the 13th Group of 20 (G20) summit.

"The agreement we have forged will allow each country to make gains individually, but also North America to strengthen and prosper even more," said Pena Nieto.

"In today's world, each country's future is strongly tied to the fate of the other nations, and in North America we have understood that," added Pena Nieto, whose six-year term concluded on Nov. 30.

The text of the USMCA must still be reviewed and approved by each country's congress before it can be made into law.

A new deal was negotiated after Trump took office, who promised to secure better terms for the U.S. industry and workers. Among other things, the USMCA increased from 62.5 percent to 75 percent the level of North American parts that must go into vehicles produced in the region to qualify for tariff-free treatment.

Trump hailed the deal as the biggest and most balanced trade agreement in history, adding the three partners would all benefit.

Most importantly, he said, the USMCA will benefit working people, an aspect of interest to all three countries.

The USMCA replaces the NAFTA, and includes new chapters on e-commerce, intellectual property rights and other new developments in trade.

Trudeau echoed Trump's message, saying the new pact protects the middle class in Canada and generates new business opportunities.

Signing the agreement, he added, cleared away the "serious economic uncertainty" that persisted throughout the year-long negotiating process.

While barriers to free trade still exist in the region, the new deal represents a "great step" for the Canadian economy, said Trudeau.

Three-way talks to renew NAFTA began in August 2017 and stalled a few times, leading the United States to negotiate the final details separately with Mexico and later with Canada.

North America is the world's biggest free trade region, with exchange of 1.2 trillion U.S. dollars a year.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-12-01 02:10:43|Editor: zh

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President of Egypt's Cairo International Film Festival (CIFF) Mohamed Hefzy speaks during an interview with Xinhua in Cairo, Egypt, on Nov. 29, 2018. Mohamed Hefzy said on Thursday that the CIFF plans to screen more Chinese films next year for the Egyptian audience and local Chinese community. (Xinhua/Ahmed Gomaa)

by Ahmed Shafiq

CAIRO, Nov. 30 (Xinhua) -- President of Egypt's Cairo International Film Festival (CIFF) Mohammed Hefzy said on Thursday that the CIFF plans to screen more Chinese films next year for the Egyptian audience and local Chinese community.

"Maybe this year Chinese movies are under-represented, but next year we will definitely start early and try to find a way to program more Chinese films," Hefzy, who is also a renowned film producer, told Xinhua in an interview.

On Monday, several Chinese movies were screened during "The Chinese Films Night," which was organized by the CIFF.

The films deal with contemporary Chinese national themes, with "The Grand Song" screened as the first movie after the inauguration ceremony of the night.

Hefzy, appointed as the president of CIFF earlier this year, said he just held a meeting with a delegation from the Shanghai Film Festival.

"We do plan to collaborate more and more and to exchange ideas on programming and also to recommend films for Shanghai Film Festival," Hefzy revealed.

The 40th edition of the CIFF opened on Nov. 20 and closed on Thursday in Cairo, featuring more than 160 films from 60 countries, including 16 world premieres.

The festival's Main Competition jury committee is headed by prominent Danish film director Bille August who is among the very few directors who have received the Palme d'Or award twice at the Cannes Film Festival.

A Twelve-Year Night, Uruguay's candidate for the foreign-language Oscar, won the highest award in the festival, the Golden Pyramid.

Meanwhile, the CIFF president said Tiktok, a Chinese social media platform, is one of the sponsors of the festival.

"They have been very generous ... they are also giving the Best Arab Film prize. Hopefully this will be the start of a long collaboration," Hefzy noted.

The Best Arab Film award is a new addition to the CIFF with a prize of 15,000 U.S. dollars.

During the 38th edition of the CIFF two years ago, China was the guest of honor of the oldest film festival in the Middle East region.

Chinese participation came during the Chinese-Egyptian Culture Year which was launched in 2016 to mark the 60th anniversary of the establishment of the Egypt-China diplomatic relations.

That year, films made by Chinese directors including Jia Zhangke, who received the festival's Excellence Award, Zhang Yimou, and Diao Yinan were also screened during the festival.

Hefzy, meanwhile, said his team tried this edition to improve the program so it is not just about getting a good film, but also getting a good film that is new.

"A lot of films are actually shown in the Middle East for the first time, some of them are shown internationally for the first time," Hefzy said, adding that festivals these days are collecting films very early, "so sometimes we go and invite the film before the festival premiers."

There is also a chance to discuss the film and listen to debates, he pointed out.

Speaking about Cairo Industry Days, a new section of the CIFF, Hefzy said it is one of the most important things that has happened in this edition.

The section aims at providing its participants with important opportunities for discussions, meetings, training and workshops in various areas of the industry.

"For me, it is going to help the local community," Hefzy stressed.

The CIFF president said the festival's administration did not try to get celebrities that have nothing to do with the films screened, noting that he wanted to get celebrities who have films shown at the festival.

"When you invite a film like the White Crow by Ralph Fiennes, you hope Ralph Fiennes will represent the film, and this is what really happened. We also gave him a tribute," he said.

In the meantime, Hefzy said the festival is a good opportunity for promoting tourism and attracting investment to Egypt which has been badly hit by the political and security turmoil in the past few years.

"I hope that people would know that Egypt is a place worth coming to when they see the world celebrities in safety in Cairo," Hefzy said.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-12-01 03:21:02|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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JOHANNESBURG, Nov. 30 (Xinhua) -- South African police are investigating separate incidents of mob justice attacks that have left at least 11 people dead and properties burnt in Sondela informal settlement in Rustenburg, North West Province.

The bodies of the deceased were discovered at various locations within the community in the past week.

Police spokesperson Brigadier Sabata Mokgwabone told Xinhua on Friday those murdered were accused of being involved in criminal activities within the community.

"We are still investigating including determining the motive of the incidents, but we suspect that victims were attacked after being accused of committing crimes," he said.

Police have made six arrests in connection with the Sondela killings. While some made their court appearance on Friday, others accused will be in court next Monday.

Criminal justice experts blamed community's lack of confidence in the criminal justice system for escalating mob justice attacks.

Shadrack Gutto, a professor at University of South Africa, told Xinhua: "Part of the problem is that people call it mob justice and I call mob injustice because it is illegal. People must understand that you cannot carry out violence and call it mob justice."

Gutto said frustrated communities believe that taking the law into their own hands is their only solution to resolving crime. "People do it because the criminal justice system is weak. People are frustrated, they don't know what to do with crime. Instead of reporting a crime to police, they identify the person they think commit it."

Over 840 killings recorded by the police in 2017 were associated with mob justice in South Africa.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-12-01 03:26:03|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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TUNIS, Nov. 30 (Xinhua) -- The annual meeting of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) for the year 2019 will be held in Tunisia, a Tunisian minister said Friday.

Speaking at the Assembly of People's Representatives (parliament), Zied Ladhaari, Minister of Development, Investment and International Cooperation, said the EBRD's annual meeting is part of the business forum for the South African region and the east of the Mediterranean.

Since September of 2012, the EBRD investments in Tunisia have reached approximately 71 million euros (80.34 million U.S. dollars) for the implementation of 33 projects.

Support for regional development in Tunisia, which became a member of the financial institution in 2012, is a priority for the bank, according to Ladhaari.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-12-01 03:26:04|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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LONDON, Nov. 30 (Xinhua) -- A race started Friday to keep a famous painting by celebrated British artist J.M.W.Turner in Britain after it was sold to an overseas buyer for 4.46 million U.S. dollars.

Arts Minister Michael Ellis has slapped an export ban on the work, Walton Bridges, painted by J.M.W. Turner around 1806.

Art experts say they believe it to be the first Turner landscape to be completed in the open air.

The painting, which was sold at auction in July 2018 for almost 3.5 million pounds, shows the double-span bridge that ran across the River Thames between the locks at Sunbury and Shepperton in Surrey. It had been erected in 1788 to replace a wooden structure, depicted by Canaletto, which had fallen into decay.

The piece led to a major series of Thames river scenes during a prolific period where Turner worked in sketchbooks and painted in watercolor and oil, collecting material for exhibited pictures.

It is believed Turner exhibited the painting at his own gallery in London's Harley Street in 1806, which he used for personal and specifically English subjects rather than his larger, grand manner pictures which he showed at the Royal Academy.

Ellis said: "Turner is one of Britain's greatest ever artists, whose studies of British life still resonate with the public today. Walton Bridges'is a wonderful example of his distinctive style and his fascination with the landscapes of 19th century Britain.

"It has so much significance for artistic and historical reasons that it is right that we do all we can to save this masterpiece for the benefit of the nation."

Art expert Lowell Libso, who serves on a review committee, said: "This beautiful evocation of the unusual and picturesque double bridge crossing the Thames by the market town of Walton was made at a time when Turner was mostly living at nearby Isleworth rather than in London. At that time, around 1806, Turner was frequently sketching in oil, watercolor or pencil from a boat which he rowed along this stretch of the Thames.

(1 British pound = 1.27 U.S. dollars)
Source: Xinhua| 2018-12-01 03:36:08|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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LAGOS, Nov. 30 (Xinhua) -- A Lebanese national was arrested on Friday by operatives of Nigeria's anti-graft police for money laundering.

The Lebanese, identified as Abbas Lakis, was arrested with different foreign currencies valued at a combined 940 million naira ( about 2.5 million U.S dollars), the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) said.

The commission said in a statement that Lakis was arrested at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja.

The commission said he would be charged after investigations are concluded.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-12-01 03:56:12|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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GABORONE, Nov. 30 (Xinhua) -- The 7th African Union (AU) high level dialogue on democracy, human rights and governance in Africa concluded on Friday with a call for strengthening state-citizen partnership in the fight against corruption.

The high level dialogue, which began on Wednesday in Botswana's capital city of Gaborone, underscored the need to create an environment to enhance citizen participation, budgeting, planning and utilization of public resources.

Minata Samate Cessouma, the AU commissioner for political affairs, said in her closing remarks that the high level dialogue was successful with major decisions that would go a long way in helping the continent achieve its short, medium and long term goals and prosperity of Africa.

"In terms of natural resources, Africa is the richest continent across the world. Yet paradoxically, Africa is home to the poorest populations globally. And it has become a common knowledge that corruption is the catalyst to Africa's lack of progress," she said.

Cessouma underscored the substance of the high level dialogue's outcome with a potential to avail adequate resources and build the technical knowhow of the corruption busting institutions.

According to Cessouma, the high level dialogue mainly stressed Africa's need to "align development financing, investment, trade and debt to effectively respond to the gender development goals set out in the national and continental policies and normative frameworks."

She said African governments should ensure the development of access to information legislation in all member states.

Slumber Tsogwane, Botswana's vice president, also said that "Africa should not shy away from admitting its vulnerability and collectively demonstrating political will in taking stern action towards its eradication."

"Corruption has been pronounced by many, as the key catalyst in economic underperformance in Africa," he said.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-12-01 04:01:13|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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BUENOS AIRES, Nov. 30 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping said here on Friday that his country has always believed that multilateralism is the only path that best suits the interests of the people of all countries.

Xi made the remarks when meeting with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on the sidelines of the Group of 20 (G20) summit.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-12-01 04:21:20|Editor: Chengcheng

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Palestinian protesters run to take cover from tear gas canisters fired by Israeli troops on the Gaza-Israel border, east of Gaza City, on Nov. 30, 2018. At least 41 Palestinians were injured on Friday during clashes between thousands of Palestinian protesters and Israeli soldiers stationed on the border between the eastern Gaza Strip and Israel, medics said. (Xinhua/Stringer)

GAZA, Nov. 30 (Xinhua) -- At least 41 Palestinians were injured on Friday during clashes between thousands of Palestinian protesters and Israeli soldiers stationed on the border between the eastern Gaza Strip and Israel, medics said.

Among the 41 Palestinians injured, 13 were shot by live gunshots and eight by rubber-coated metal bullets, the Palestinian Red Crescent Society said in a press statement.

The clashes broke out in the afternoon when around 12,000 Palestinian demonstrators joined the 36th Friday Great March of Return rally in eastern Gaza, which has been organized since March 30.

Right after Friday prayers, thousands of Palestinian protesters marched toward the border fence between the eastern Gaza Strip and Israel.

The rally leaders warned that if Israel does not ease the blockade that it has been imposing on the Gaza Strip since 2007, the protests would re-use the previous anti-Israel means and tools.

Eyewitnesses said demonstrators set fire to tires of used cars, while Israeli border soldiers fired intensive tear gas, rubber bullets and live gunshots at the demonstrators.

Abdulatif al-Qanoua, spokesman of Hamas which controls the Gaza Strip, said the anti-Israel rally will go on until it achieves its goals of lifting the Israeli seige completely.

Israel imposed a tight blockade on the Gaza Strip after Hamas violently seized control of the coastal enclave and routed Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas security forces during the summer of 2007.

"We call on the world to express solidarity with our people on the day of international solidarity with the Palestinian people," Qanoua said.

"Ending the unfair siege, imposed on Gaza, is the responsibility of Arabs and Muslims," he added.
Seized Ukrainian military vessels are seen in a port of Kerch, Crimea, on November 26, 2018. (STR/AFP)

MOSCOW, Nov. 30 (Xinhua) -- Russia will not respond in equal measure to Ukraine's decision to restrict the entry of Russian citizens, the Russian Foreign Ministry said Friday.

"It's simply scary to talk about tit-for-tat responses. If anyone tries to mirror what is happening in Kiev, it may lead to insanity, and if we talk about the national scale, then to a complete collapse," the ministry's spokeswoman, Maria Zakharova, said at a briefing.

Earlier on Friday, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko announced a ban of the entry for Russian men aged between 16 and 60, following days of spat with Moscow over its seizure of three Ukrainian warships near the Russian Black Sea coast.

On Sunday, three Ukrainian naval ships attempting to sail through the Kerch Strait from the Black Sea to the Sea of Azov were seized by Russian forces for allegedly violating the Russian border.

The Ukrainian Navy said that it had informed Russia in advance of the passage, while Russia said it had received no such report and the ships ignored multiple warnings by the Russian border guards.

Russia claimed that the incident was a provocation devised by the Ukrainian authorities, while Kiev urged Moscow to release captured Ukrainian soldiers.
Dublin, Nov. 30, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The "Global Medical Marijuana Market Size, Market Share, Application Analysis, Regional Outlook, Growth Trends, Key Players, Competitive Strategies and Forecasts, 2018 To 2026" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.



The global medical marijuana market was valued at US$ 13,908.7 million in 2017, and is expected to reach US$ 57,582.5 million by 2026, expanding at a CAGR of 17.1% from 2018 to 2026.

In the last decade marijuana has been a keen research subject for researchers and academicians throughout the globe to understand its therapeutic benefits in treating anorexia and nausea. Positive steps have been taken by healthcare and law enforcing agencies to legalize the production and sale of marijuana for medicinal purpose.





Tremendous focus is laid in drafting guidelines for the judicious use of marijuana in healthcare centers. Nowadays marijuana is available as weed infused gums, tampons, cannabinoid infused tea, bath salts, cannabinoid infused coffee and topical balms to get relief from pain.



Cancer is currently dominating the applications segment on account of large patient pool suffering with chronic pain and nausea during chemotherapy. Marijuana have been found beneficial in treating patients with neurological disorders such as epilepsy, seizures etc., due to its sedative effects. Chronic pain will gain momentum due to increasing number of patients suffering with musculoskeletal disorders such as osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis and other autoimmune diseases such as psoriasis and multiple sclerosis.



In the present scenario hospital pharmacies are dominating the point of sale segment on account of key parameters such as availability of medical marijuana at low cost and strict monitoring of cancer patients availing marijuana for treating chronic pain. Dispensaries will register good growth during the forecast period due to increasing number of patients suffering with anorexia and nausea and government permit to dispense marijuana on regular basis to patients suffering with chronic pain.



North America is the global leader in medical marijuana market owing to the rising prevalence of cancer and proactive policies implemented by USFDA legalizing the production and sale of marijuana for treating chronic pain. Germany has drafted regulatory guidelines for the use of marijuana for medicinal purpose which also serves as a gold standard for other European Union countries. Rest of the World serves as a lucrative market as it is the largest producer of marijuana in the world and regulatory agencies are taking proactive steps to legalize the production and sale of marijuana for therapeutic use.



The key players actively engaged in the production and sale of marijuana are AbbVie, Inc., CannaGrow Holdings, Inc., Canopy Growth Corporation, Inc., GW Pharmaceuticals, Plc. Insys Therapeutics, Inc., Novartis AG, Lexaria Corporation, Pfizer, Inc., Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd., and United Cannabis Corporation.



Key Market Movements

Rising prevalence of cancer and patients suffering with chronic pain

Increased research funding for determining the therapeutic efficacy of marijuana for treating anorexia and nausea

Supportive regulatory environment for the production and sale of marijuana for medicinal purposes

Topics Covered:



Chapter 1. Preface

1.1. Report Scope and Description

1.2. Research Scope

1.3. Research Methodology

1.4. Market Segmentation



Chapter 2. Executive Summary

2.1. Global Medical Marijuana Market Portraiture

2.2. Global Medical Marijuana Market, by Application, 2017 (US$ Mn)

2.3. Global Medical Marijuana Market, by Point of Sale, 2017 (US$ Mn)

2.4. Global Medical Marijuana Market, by Geography, 2017 (US$ Mn)



Chapter 3. Medical Marijuana Market: Dynamics and Future Outlook

3.1. Market Overview

3.2. Drivers

3.3. Challenges

3.4. Opportunities

3.5. Attractive Investment Proposition, by Geography, 2017

3.6. Competitive Analysis: Global Medical Marijuana Market, by Key Players, 2017



Chapter 4. Global Medical Marijuana Market, by Application

4.1. Overview

4.2. Chronic Pain

4.3. Neurological Disorders

4.4. Cancer

4.5. Others (Anorexia, Nausea etc.)



Chapter 5. Global Medical Marijuana Market, by Point of Sale

5.1. Overview

5.2. Hospital Pharmacy

5.3. Dispensaries



Chapter 6. Global Medical Marijuana Market, by Geography

6.1. Overview

6.2. North America Medical Marijuana Market Analysis, 2016 - 2026

6.3. Europe Medical Marijuana Market Analysis, 2016 - 2026

6.4. Latin America Medical Marijuana Market Analysis, 2016 - 2026

6.5. Rest of World Medical Marijuana Market Analysis, 2016 - 2026



Chapter 7. Company Profiles

7.1. AbbVie Inc.

7.2. CannaGrow Holdings Inc.

7.3. Canopy Growth Corporation Inc.

7.4. GW Pharmaceuticals PLC

7.5. Insys Therapeutics Inc.

7.6. Novartis AG

7.7. Lexaria Corporation

7.8. Pfizer Inc.

7.9. Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd.

7.10. United Cannabis Corporation



For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/7mg82j/global_medical?w=12
Source: Xinhua| 2018-12-01 04:41:25|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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RABAT, Nov. 30 (Xinhua) -- Moroccan Prime Minister Saad Eddine El Othmani and his visiting Bulgarian counterpart Boyko Borissov pledged on Friday to further strengthen bilateral cooperation.

The pledge was made during a bilateral meeting in the capital Rabat that saw participation of ministers from both countries.

El Othmani stressed that the visit of the Bulgarian prime minister will foster cooperation between the two countries, adding that the next meeting of the joint committee between the two countries will provide an opportunity to institutionalize bilateral relations by setting up a permanent consultation mechanism with Bulgarian representations at the EU.

The meetings with the Moroccan officials have been successful and will give strong impetus to bilateral cooperation, especially in the fight against terrorism and illegal immigration, said Borissov at a press briefing following the meeting.

Borissov hailed the considerable growth in economic cooperation, noting that trade between the two countries increased 30 percent in 2017 to 250 million euros (282.7 million U.S. dollars).
Source: Xinhua| 2018-12-01 04:56:28|Editor: Chengcheng

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DAMASCUS, Nov. 30 (Xinhua) -- The Syrian Foreign Ministry confirmed on Friday that Israel was behind the strikes that targeted Syrian sites south of the capital Damascus a day earlier, state news agency SANA reported.

The attack against Syrian sites in the town of Kisweh south of Damascus was carried out by Israel, the ministry said.

On Thursday evening, Syria's national TV said the Syrian air defense missiles responded to a contentious missile strike, noting that all enemy targets were destroyed and that the foreign attack did not achieve its intended goal.

However, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a war monitor based in London, said a missile hit a weapon depot believed to contain weapons for the Iranian-backed Hezbollah in the second wave of attack, after the 45-minute first-round attack failed.

Another missile hit a military base, with no reported losses, the watchdog added.

It is the first Israeli hit since September when it attacked military sites in Syria, causing the Syrian air defenses to mistakenly hit a Russian surveillance aircraft.

After the September attack, during which Russian servicemen were killed by friendly fire, Moscow was quick to equip Damascus with the S-300 air defense missile system.

Syria's Deputy Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad told Xinhua in September that the arrival of Russia's S-300 to Syria would push Israel to reconsider before striking Syria again.

In its statement Friday, the Syrian Foreign Ministry said the Israeli attack on Thursday evening and the U.S.-led attack that killed 30 civilians in eastern Syria on Friday are part of the aggression circle against Syria.

The Israeli attack is another sign of the Israeli support to the terrorist groups in Syria, said the ministry, adding that Israel wants to prolong the Syrian crisis.
A Palestinian protester uses a slingshot to hurl stones at Israeli troops during clashes on the Gaza-Israel border, east of Gaza City, on Nov. 30, 2018. (Xinhua/Stringer)

GAZA, Nov. 30 (Xinhua) -- At least 41 Palestinians were injured on Friday during clashes between thousands of Palestinian protesters and Israeli soldiers stationed on the border between the eastern Gaza Strip and Israel, medics said.

Among the 41 Palestinians injured, 13 were shot by live gunshots and eight by rubber-coated metal bullets, the Palestinian Red Crescent Society said in a press statement.

The clashes broke out in the afternoon when around 12,000 Palestinian demonstrators joined the 36th Friday Great March of Return rally in eastern Gaza, which has been organized since March 30.

A Palestinian protester uses a slingshot to throw back a tear gas canister fired by Israeli troops during clashes on the Gaza-Israel border, east of Gaza City, on Nov. 30, 2018. (Xinhua/Stringer)

Right after Friday prayers, thousands of Palestinian protesters marched toward the border fence between the eastern Gaza Strip and Israel.

The rally leaders warned that if Israel does not ease the blockade that it has been imposing on the Gaza Strip since 2007, the protests would re-use the previous anti-Israel means and tools.

Eyewitnesses said demonstrators set fire to tires of used cars, while Israeli border soldiers fired intensive tear gas, rubber bullets and live gunshots at the demonstrators.

Abdulatif al-Qanoua, spokesman of Hamas which controls the Gaza Strip, said the anti-Israel rally will go on until it achieves its goals of lifting the Israeli seige completely.

Israel imposed a tight blockade on the Gaza Strip after Hamas violently seized control of the coastal enclave and routed Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas security forces during the summer of 2007.

"We call on the world to express solidarity with our people on the day of international solidarity with the Palestinian people," Qanoua said.

"Ending the unfair siege, imposed on Gaza, is the responsibility of Arabs and Muslims," he added.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-12-01 05:06:33|Editor: ZD

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Chinese President Xi Jinping (2nd R), South African President Cyril Ramaphosa (3rd R), Brazilian President Michel Temer (1st L), Russian President Vladimir Putin (2nd L) and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi attend the informal meeting of the emerging economies' bloc BRICS in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Nov. 30, 2018. (Xinhua/Yao Dawei)

BUENOS AIRES, Nov. 30 (Xinhua) -- Leaders of the emerging economies' bloc BRICS declared their common stand on the reform of the World Trade Organization (WTO) here on Friday.

A communique was issued after Brazilian President Michel Temer, Russian President Vladimir Putin, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Chinese President Xi Jinping and South African President Cyril Ramaphosa held an informal meeting on the sidelines of the Group of 20 (G20) summit.

BRICS countries agreed that full support should be given to the rules-based multilateral trading system represented by the WTO and to ensure transparent, non-discriminatory, open and inclusive international trade, according to the document.

The document called on all WTO members to oppose unilateral and protectionist measures that disaccord with WTO rules and withdraw such measures that are restrictive and discriminatory in their nature.

BRICS countries pledged to support the improvement of the WTO, increase its relevance and validity and safeguard the core values and basic principles of the WTO, and agreed that the WTO should embody the interests of all members, developing economies in particular.

They stressed the importance of the dispute settlement mechanism in the smooth operation of the WTO, calling for starting, as soon as possible, the selection process to fill the vacancies in the Appellate Body, so as to maintain the stable and valid operation of the dispute settlement system.

BRICS countries, according to the document, vowed to strengthen communication and cooperation and work with other members to ensure the WTO keep abreast of the times, advance inclusive growth and the participation of various countries in international trade, and play a significant part in global governance.

In the meantime, BRICS countries reiterated their commitment to world peace and stability and support for the central role played by the United Nations.

They pledged joint efforts to strengthen multilateralism, strive for an international order that is fair, just, equal, democratic and representative and implement the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Paris Agreement on climate change.

BRICS countries reiterated that they would strengthen their strategic partnership and implement the achievements in their cooperation such as the Partnership on New Industrial Revolution, the document read.

The common stand demonstrated the constructive and responsible role played by BRICS countries in international affairs.

It also showed the aspiration of emerging market economies and developing countries to strengthen unity and cooperation and safeguard common interests.

Related:
Source: Xinhua| 2018-12-01 05:21:37|Editor: ZD

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The 13th summit of the Group of 20 (G20) is held in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Nov. 30, 2018. Chinese President Xi Jinping delivered a speech titled "Look Beyond the Horizon and Steer the World Economy in the Right Direction" at the first session of the summit. (Xinhua/Li Tao)

BUENOS AIRES, Nov. 30 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping urged the Group of 20 (G20) to stick to openness, partnership, innovation and inclusiveness and steer world economy responsibly here on Friday.

Xi made the remarks while addressing the 13th G20 summit in the Argentine capital.

He warned the G20 leaders of accelerated accumulation of risks in global economy and pledged that China will firmly push forward a new round of reform and opening-up, with increased efforts in intellectual property rights protection and more imports.

Related:

Full text of Xi's remarks at Session I of G20 summit in Buenos Aires
Source: Xinhua| 2018-12-01 05:46:42|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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ADDIS ABABA, Nov. 30 (Xinhua) -- The African Union (AU) said on Friday that ongoing peace and security challenges are the most pressing setbacks affecting the betterment of Africa and its people.

Africa is host to 8 UN peacekeeping operations, and dominates over 60 percent of the agenda of the UN Security Council, AU Commissioner for Peace and Security Smail Chergui said.

"Many African countries and regions remain trapped in a vicious cycle of conflict with devastating consequences that undermine the continent's development and integration agenda," Chergui said.

Chergui also revealed that the traditional challenges to peace and security such as political competition, ethnic tensions or electoral violence are now exacerbated by emerging non-traditional security challenges such as terrorism and transnational crime, drug trafficking, and complex competition between super powers which has scaled up the militarization of some parts of the continent.

"Of the many challenges facing the African continent, "the quest for peace and security is undoubtedly the most pressing," the AU commissioner said.

"More pressing for us is to end the conflicts that are active in Libya, the Sahel region, the Horn of Africa, Lake Chad Basin and the Great Lakes region," he added.

African leaders, during the 11th AU extraordinary summit that was held earlier this month at the AU headquarters in Ethiopia's capital Addis Ababa, had launched the AU Peace Fund with a major aim of tackling conflicts in the continent.

The newly launched AU Peace Fund revolves on three major thematic areas, embracing mediation and preventive diplomacy, institutional capacity, and peace support operations.

Chergui on Friday disclosed that the AU has recorded 60.5 million U.S. dollars contributions from its member states to the Peace Fund.

The reported contribution is said to be the highest contribution since the establishment of the 55-member pan African bloc.

The pan African bloc has projected to reach 100 million dollars contribution by early 2019, based on the additional commitments expressed during the recent assembly of heads of state.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-12-01 06:11:50|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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SARAJEVO, Nov. 30 (Xinhua) -- Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) cleared the former Bosnian Muslim wartime commander Naser Oric of War Crimes against Prisoners here Friday.

Oric, once tasked with the defense of the town of Srebrenica, located some 130 kilometers northeast of the capital Sarajevo, together with his subordinate Sabahudin Muhic, was charged of killing three Serb prisoners in nearby villages.

The indictment alleged Oric, as the Commander of the Staff of the Territorial Defense of Srebrenica during the war and armed conflict between the Army of the Republic of BiH and the Army of Republika Srpska between May and December of 1992, committed the criminal offense of war crimes against three prisoners of war, and thereby caused their death.

The main trial started in January 2015, after which Oric and Muhic were acquitted of charges in October 2017, followed by a renewal of the procedure when the Appellate Panel of BiH Court abolished the first-instance verdict.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-12-01 06:11:51|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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WASHINGTON, Nov. 30 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday met with his South Korean counterpart Moon Jae-in to discuss the recent development regarding the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) and Trump's plans to hold a second summit with the country's top leader, Kim Jong Un.

According to a statement issued by the White House spokesperson Sarah Sanders, Trump and Moon met on the margins of the Group of 20 (G20) "to discuss the latest developments regarding the Democratic People's Republic of Korea."

For his part, Trump discussed his intention to have a second U.S.-DPRK summit, and restated with Moon their commitment to closely coordinate on next steps.

Trump and Moon also reaffirmed their commitment to achieve the final, fully verified denuclearization of the DPRK, and agreed on the importance of "maintaining vigorous enforcement of existing sanctions to ensure the DPRK understands that denuclearization is the only path to economic prosperity and lasting peace on the Korean Peninsula."

Trump also met with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Friday, when they reviewed the recent developments in the DPRK and discussed how best to work with the international community, including South Korea, to maintain pressure until the DPRK implements its commitment to denuclearize.

After Trump and Kim met in June in Singapore, negotiations between Washington and Pyongyang have been stuck due to bilateral differences on key problems over the scale of denuclearization, U.S. sanctions, and whether to issue a war-ending declaration, among others.

On Nov. 7, the State Department announced that Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's meeting with Kim Yong Chol, vice chairman of the ruling Workers' Party of Korea Central Committee, which had been scheduled for Nov. 8 in New York, would "take place at a later date."

Trump said earlier in October that his meeting with Kim would be held after the midterm Congressional elections, and the venue of his second meeting with Kim had been narrowed down to "three or four" locations.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-12-01 06:16:54|Editor: mmm

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Rick Anderson (L, front), Boeing vice president of Northeast Asia sales, and Che Shanglun (R, front), chairman of Xiamen Airlines, attend the signing ceremony during the delivering of the 2,000th Boeing airplane to China in Seattle, the United States on Nov. 30, 2018. Top U.S. aircraft manufacturer Boeing Company on Friday delivered its 2,000th airplane to China, which is a milestone for the U.S. aircraft maker in the world's largest commercial aviation market. (Xinhua/Wu Xiaoling)

SAN FRANCISCO, Nov. 30 (Xinhua) -- Top U.S. aircraft manufacturer Boeing Company on Friday delivered its 2,000th airplane to China, which is a milestone for the U.S. aircraft maker in the world's largest commercial aviation market.

The aircraft, a Boeing 737 MAX, is the eighth of the same model that Boeing has delivered to Xiamen Airlines, a fast growing carrier that operates the largest all-Boeing fleet in China with more than 200 jets.

"Our long-standing industrial relationship in this market has been mutually beneficial, fueling significant growth in Boeing's business, the U.S. economy, and the Chinese aviation industry," said Ihssane Mounir, senior vice president of Commercial Sales and Marketing at Boeing.

Che Shanglun, chairman of Xiamen Airlines, said his company has steadily grown in the past 34 years, doubling its fleet size over the past five years and achieving profits for 31 years in a row.

"Throughout that time, Boeing has been a valued partner in our growth and expansion by providing safe and reliable airplanes," he said.

Xiamen Airlines is one of Boeing's more than 30 commercial customers in China. Boeing-made jets comprise more than half of the over 3,000 jetliners flying in the Asian country.

Boeing delivered its first 1,000 airplanes to Chinese airlines over four decades, but the next 1,000 Boeing jets have been delivered over the past five years.

The next 20 years will witness China's commercial fleet more than doubled, and Boeing predicts China, the world's second largest economy, will need 7,690 new airplanes valued at 1.2 trillion U.S. dollars by 2038.

The commercial services market in China will be driven by a growing demand of 1.5 trillion dollars over the next two decades, accounting for 17 percent of the world total, Boeing said.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-12-01 06:21:57|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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CHICAGO, Nov. 30 (Xinhua) -- Multiple fatalities were reported after a small jet plane crashed Friday in the U.S. state of Indiana en route to Chicago.

The Cessna Citation C525 private jet was flying from Indiana's Clark Regional Airport to Chicago Midway International Airport when it disappeared from air traffic radar around 1130 a.m local time, authorities said.

Multiple people were feared dead in the crash, Clark County sheriff Jamey Noel told local press near the scene in Borden, some 150 kilometers south of state capital Indianapolis.

Unconfirmed reports said that three people were on the plane. Aerial pictures showed small debris spreading across a wooded area, with no sign of any survivors.

Clark County officials said they would turn the investigation over to Indiana police and federal aviation authorities.
FORESIGHT 4 VCT PLC

Summary

Diversified portfolio of 21 actively managed companies.

Net Asset Value per Share increased by 1.1p to 70.7p as at 30 September 2018. The portfolio has seen an uplift in valuation of 1.8 million over the period.

The Company completed five new investments, totalling 3.5 million and exited one investment, realising 1.3 million.

One follow-on investment of 0.5 million was made during the period.

A total of 29 million was raised under the offer for subscription that closed on 18 May 2018. 14.7 million has been raised during the period under the new offer which launched on 14 June 2018.

The Tender Offer, which launched on 16 July 2018, was fully subscribed and 7,788,768 Shares were bought back for 5 million.

A further 7.3 million raised through the issue of Shares post period end, bringing the total raised under the current offer to 22 million.

On 19 October 2018, an interim dividend of 4.0p per Share was paid based on an ex-dividend date of 4 October 2018 and a record date 5 October 2018.





Chairmans Statement

Dividends

In line with the Boards objective on dividend payments, an interim dividend of 4.0p per Share was declared on 16 August based on an ex-dividend date of 4 October 2018 and a record date of 5 October 2018. The dividend was subsequently paid on 19 October 2018.

Top-up Share Issues and Share Buy-backs

On 16 July 2018, a Tender Offer of up to 5 million was launched, providing investors with an opportunity to sell their Shares back to the Company at a discount to NAV of 7.5%. This took place on 17 September and 7,788,768 Shares were repurchased at 64.20p per Share.

Other Share buybacks took place on 7 August 2018 (500,000 Shares at 62.50p per Share), 26 September 2018 (180,000 Shares at 62.25p per Share) and 28 September 2018 (209,185 Shares at 62.25p per Share), all of which have enabled the Company to achieve its target discount to NAV.

Over the next twelve months the Board will look to reduce the discount to NAV from 10% to 7.5%.

Fundraising

The offer for subscription dated 19 May 2017, which raised 29 million, closed on 18 May 2018.

The Company is currently seeking to raise up to 50 million (with a 30m over-allotment facility) through the current offer for subscription dated 14 June 2018, which will close on 30 April 2019. This provides existing Shareholders and new investors

with the opportunity to invest in the Company and benefit from the tax reliefs available to qualifying investors. As at 29 November 2018, 22 million had been raised. Funds raised under both of these offers have allowed the Company to take advantage of attractive investment opportunities and to increase portfolio diversification in line with the ongoing strategy of the Company. The new offer will result in further opportunities for the Company. Full details of the new offer can be found in the Prospectus issued by the Company on 14 June 2018, which is also available on Foresight Groups website.

Performance and Portfolio Activity

During the period, the net asset value per Share increased by 1.6% to 70.7p from 69.6p.

At the end of the period the Company held 21 investments in UK based businesses across a wide range of sectors. The performance of the portfolio has been steady during the period, with an increase of 1.8 million in value. Positive progress made by companies including Datapath, Specac and FFX has been offset by lower valuations for CoGen and Biofortuna, as detailed in the Managers1 Review and the Top Ten Investment sections of this report.

Five new investments were completed during the period under review amounting to 3.5 million. Namely, Luminet Networks (a provider of fixed wireless access across central London), Mologic (a health diagnostics company based in Bedford), The Naked Deli (a Newcastle-based group of cleaneating restaurants), Codeplay (a software developer specialising in Artificial Intelligence) and Accrosoft (a software company providing Applicant Tracking Systems and communication software for schools). One follow-on investment of 0.5 million was made in molecular diagnostics business Biofortuna. Foresight Group continues to see a strong pipeline of potential investments sourced through its regional networks and well-developed relationships with advisors and the SME community. Following the successful fundraise launched in May 2017, the Company is in a position to fully exploit these attractive investment opportunities.

In the period to 30 September 2018, one realisation took place, generating total proceeds of 1.3 million.

Shareholder Communication

As part of its ongoing commitment to high quality investor relations, the Board encourages you to attend one of the popular Investor Forums hosted by Foresight Group. In addition to the annual event in London, Foresight Group has started to hold a series of regional Investor Forums around the country. Details of regional events will be sent to Shareholders resident in the locality as and when they are organised.

Outlook

The Board believes that the Company now has the platform from which Foresight Group can build improving performance driving Net Asset Value growth.

Facilitated by the liquidity provided by the issue of new shares, the Company will be able to capitalise on the strong pipeline of attractive investment opportunities that Foresight Group continues to see in smaller, growth businesses across the UK.

Raymond Abbott

Chairman

30 November 2018





Managers Review

Portfolio Summary

As at 30 September 2018 the Companys portfolio comprised 21 actively managed investments with a total cost of 48.5 million and a valuation of 68.6 million. The portfolio is diversified by sector, transaction type and maturity profile.

Portfolio review

New investments and follow-on funding

It has been a busy period for investment activity, with the Company committing a total of 4 million to five new investments and one follow-on funding round since the beginning of April. Further details of the new investments are provided below.

Luminet

The Company made a 600,000 development capital investment into Luminet, an award-winning provider of commercial wireless broadband solutions. Founded in 2005, Luminet has grown its client base to more than 550. The new Chairman introduced by Foresight Group has been helping to clarify Luminets strategy and has been introducing some potentially significant partners from his network, developed as a long standing senior manager at BT.

Mologic

The Company invested 1,059,000 in Bedford-based Mologic as part of a 4,000,000 growth capital investment round. Mologic provides contract research and manufacturing services and is developing a promising portfolio of proprietary products, including diagnostics for infectious diseases, respiratory disease exacerbations and sepsis. Since the investment in April, Mologic has been building its team and continuing to work with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to develop rapid diagnostic test technology.

The Naked Deli

In May 2018, the Company completed a 750,000 growth capital investment in The Naked Deli, a Newcastle-based group of clean eating restaurants offering eat-in casual dining and grab-and-go options. Established in 2014, The Naked Deli serves a tasty range of healthy gluten and dairy-free, vegan and paleo dishes. Since investment, the pipeline of new potential sites has been extended and in July 2018 the companys fourth outlet was opened, at Newcastle Airport.

Codeplay

In July the Company invested 300,000 in Edinburgh-based Codeplay, a software developer specialising in Artificial Intelligence. Building on its proven expertise in the fields of games and mobile phones, Codeplay has developed a new technology which supports the deployment of Artificial Intelligence applications into mass produced devices, with an initial focus on the automotive sector and, specifically, Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) and autonomous vehicles.

Accrosoft

In August, the Company invested 750,000 in Accrosoft, which provides Software as a Service (SaaS) products targeted at the recruitment and education sectors. Based in Loughborough, Accrosoft was founded in 2008 by experienced SaaS entrepreneurs Alex Khakbiz and Mitesh Chauhan. The business will use the investment to drive continued growth across both sectors. Foresight Group has introduced Tim Duffy, founder of Meeting Zone and ex-Chairman of Esendex, as Chairman to support this.

Pipeline

Foresight Group continues to see a strong pipeline of potential investments. Opportunities are originated by a growing investment team of 24 experienced professionals, operating from five offices in the UK. In the year to September, over 1,400 business plans were reviewed, allowing Foresight Group to select only the highest quality prospects for the Company. The teams origination strategy is focused on building relationships with advisors and professional service firms at a national and local level, attending and organising networking events, as well as approaching businesses directly.

Foresight Group is one of the most active private equity investors in its preferred market, focusing on SMEs in all sectors across the UK, seeking funding of 1-5 million. 2018 has been the teams busiest year to date, completing investments across a number of funds under management. The significant number of transactions completed each year supports Foresight Groups reputation in the market and helps the team deliver proprietary, off-market deals, through a proactive and structured approach.

At 30 September 2018, the Company had cash in hand of 20.7 million. This, together with proceeds from the current fundraising which closes in April 2019, will be used to fund new and follow-on investments, buybacks and running expenses. The Company remains well positioned to continue pursuing the potential investment opportunities in the pipeline.

Exits and realisations

Foresight Group continues to engage with a range of potential acquirers of several portfolio companies, with demand for these high growth businesses demonstrated by both private equity and trade buyers.

Thermotech

During the period, proceeds of 1,266,727 were generated from the successful sale of facilities management business Thermotech, which provides customised air conditioning and fire sprinkler systems. The company was acquired by Servest Group, a facilities management group headquartered in South Africa, generating a return of 2.1x Under the Companys ownership Thermotech was able to expand its high-quality customer base, which includes M&S, John Lewis and Selfridges, and develop further recurring maintenance revenue streams.

Disposals in the period ended 30 September 2018

Company Detail Original Cost/ Take-On Value 000 Proceeds on exit 000 Gain/(loss) 000 Valuation at 31 March 2018

000 Thermotech Limited Full disposal 1,000 * 2,067 ** 1,067 1,285 Total 1,000 2,067 1,067 1,285

*800,000 of loans were repaid in 2016.

**In addition 53,410 of deferred consideration was received in July 2018.

Deferred consideration of 81,224 was also received by the Company from the sale of ICA Limited in May 2018.

Key Portfolio Developments

The valuation of the portfolio has shown a total increase of 1.8 million over the period. Material changes in valuation, defined as increasing or decreasing by 0.5 million or more since 31 March 2018, are detailed below. Updates on these companies are included in the Top Ten Investments section on pages 10 to 14 of the Interim Report, with the exception of CoGen Limited, which has declined in valuation by 1.5m.

CoGen recently completed the sale of one of its development projects but the business still carries significant overheads and continues to operate at a loss. The company is now delivering operations contracts at two plants, which could help generate future improvements in cashflow. However, further support will be required from other shareholders to continue developing the pipeline of new opportunities.

Company Basis of Valuation Valuation Change () Datapath Group Limited Discounted earnings multiple 1,414,418



FFX Group Limited Discounted earnings multiple 774,409



Specac International Limited Discounted earnings multiple 581,618



Biofortuna Limited Discounted revenue multiple (1,247,144)



CoGen Limited Discounted cashflow (1,471,636)





Galinette Limited, increased in value by 797,480 over the period due to proceeds received on the restructuring and sale of Industrial Efficiency II Limited.

6. Outlook

Foresight Group remains positive about the prospects of the existing portfolio and continues to see encouraging levels of activity from smaller UK companies seeking capital to grow and develop their businesses. Inevitably though, the current lack of certainty around the outcome of ongoing Brexit negotiations remains a preoccupation throughout the UK economy.

At the time of writing, potential acquirers of portfolio companies also continue to be active. Your investment management team remains focused on targeting companies in markets with sound fundamentals, with attractive growth attributes and strong management teams. Foresight Group are working with the portfolio to plan for various Brexit scenarios and will continue to monitor and adapt to market and regulatory changes to ensure the Company and its portfolio is well-placed to deliver returns to its investors.

Foresight Group CI Limited

30 November 2018





Unaudited Half-Yearly Results and Responsibility Statements

Principal Risks and uncertainties

The principal risks faced by the Company are as follows:

Performance;

Regulatory;

Operational; and

Financial.

The Board reported on the principal risks and uncertainties faced by the Company in the Annual Report and Accounts for the year ended 31 March 2018. A detailed explanation can be found on page 23 of the Annual Report and Accounts which is available on Foresight Groups website www.foresightgroup.eu or by writing to Foresight Group at The Shard, 32 London Bridge Street, London, SE1 9SG.

In the view of the Board, there have been no changes to the fundamental nature of these risks since the previous report and these principal risks and uncertainties are equally applicable to the remaining six months of the financial year as they were to the six months under review.

Directors responsibility statement

The Disclosure and Transparency Rules (DTR) of the UK Listing Authority require the Directors to confirm their responsibilities in relation to the preparation and publication of the Half-Yearly Financial Report and financial statements.

The Directors confirm to the best of their knowledge that:

the summarised set of financial statements has been prepared in accordance with FRS 104; the interim management report includes a fair review of the information required by DTR 4.2.7R (indication of important events during the first six months and description of principal risks and uncertainties for the remaining six months of the year); the summarised set of financial statements gives a true and fair view of the assets, liabilities, financial position and profit or loss of the Company as required by DTR 4.2.4R; and the interim management report includes a fair review of the information required by DTR 4.2.8R (disclosure of related parties transactions and changes therein).

Going concern

The Companys business activities, together with the factors likely to affect its future development, performance and position, are set out in the Strategic Report of the Annual Report. The financial position of the Company, its cash flows, liquidity position and borrowing facilities are described in the Chairmans Statement, Strategic Report and Notes to the Accounts of the 31 March 2018 Annual Report. In addition, the Annual Report includes the Companys objectives, policies and processes for managing its capital; its financial risk management objectives; details of its financial instruments; and its exposures to credit risk and liquidity risk.

The Company has considerable financial resources together with investments and income generated therefrom across a variety of industries and sectors. As a consequence, the Directors believe that the Company is well placed to manage its business risks successfully.

The Directors have reasonable expectation that the Company has adequate resources to continue in operational existence for the foreseeable future. Thus they continue to adopt the going concern basis of accounting in preparing the annual financial statements.

The Half-Yearly Financial Report has not been audited nor reviewed by the auditors.

On behalf of the Board

Raymond Abbott

Chairman

30 November 2018





Financial Statements

Unaudited Income Statement

for the six months ended 30 September 2018

Six months ended Six months ended Year ended 30 September 2018 30 September 2017 31 March 2018 Revenue Capital Total Revenue Capital Total Revenue Capital Total '000 '000 '000 '000 '000 '000 '000 '000 '000 Investment holding gains - 887 887 - 190 190 - 596 596 Realised gains on investments - 1,201 1,201 - 738 738 - 1,059 1,059 Income 340 - 340 78 - 78 629 - 629 Investment management fees (223) (669) (892) (160) (481) (641) (344) (1,033) (1,377) Other expenses (348) - (348) (585) - (585) (792) - (792) (Loss)/return on ordinary activities before taxation (231) 1,419 1,188 (667) 447 (220) (507) 622 115 Taxation - - - - - - 96 (96) - (Loss)/return on ordinary activities after taxation (231) 1,419 1,188 (667) 447 (220) (411) 526 115 (Loss)/return per share (0.2)p 1.0p 0.8p (0.8)p 0.5p (0.3)p (0.4)p 0.5p 0.1p

The total column of this statement is the profit and loss account of the Company and the revenue and capital columns represent supplementary information.

All revenue and capital items in the above Income Statement are derived from continuing operations. No operations were acquired or discontinued in the period.

The Company has no recognised gains or losses other than those shown above, therefore no separate statement of total recognised gains and losses has been presented





Unaudited Balance Sheet

at 30 September 2018

Registered Number: 03506579 As at As at As at 30 September 2018 30 September 2017 31 March

2018 '000 '000 '000 Fixed assets Investments held at fair value through profit or loss 68,552 64,593 64,092 Current assets Debtors 13,205 450 3,790 Money market securities and other deposits 16,072 2,089 9,822 Cash 4,583 695 833 33,860 3,234 14,445 Creditors Amounts falling due within one year (770) (602) (600) Net current assets 33,090 2,632 13,845 Net assets 101,642 67,225 77,937 Capital and reserves Called-up share capital 1,438 968 1,121 Share premium 42,856 39,854 51,186 Capital redemption reserve 459 354 372 Profit and loss account 56,889 26,049 25.258 Equity shareholders' funds 101,642 67,225 77,937 Net asset value per share 70.7p 69.4p 69.6p





Unaudited Reconciliation of Movements in Shareholders Funds

for the six months ended 30 September 2018

Called-up share capital Share premium account Capital redemption reserve Profit and loss account Total '000 '000 '000 '000 '000 As at 1 April 2018 1,121 51,186 372 25,258 77,937 Share issues in the period 404 28,941 - - 29,345 Expenses in relation to share issues - (1,133) - - (1,133) Repurchase of shares (87) - 87 (5,557) (5,557) Expenses in relation to tender offer - (138) - - (138) Cancellation of share premium - (36,000) - (36,000) - Return for the period - - - 1,188 1,188 As at 30 September 2018 1,438 42,856 459 56,889 101,642







Unaudited Cash Flow Statement

for the six months ended 30 September 2018

Six months ended Six months ended Year ended 30 September 2018 30 September 2017 31 March 2018 '000 '000 '000 Cash flow from operating activities Investment income received 276 192 806 Dividends received from investments 7 8 46 Deposit and similar interest received 54 1 4 Investment management fees paid (1,016) (633) (1,315) Secretarial fees paid (83) (81) (163) Other cash payments (322) (640) (837) Net cash outflow from operating activities (1,084) (1,153) (1,459) Returns on investing activities Purchase of unquoted investments (3,947) (674) (674) Net proceeds on sale of investments 1,267 8,689 9,843 Net proceeds on deferred consideration 134 6 165 Net cash (outflow)/inflow from investing activities (2,546) 8,021 9,334 Financing Proceeds of fund raising 19,960 - 8,318 Expenses of fund raising (587) (17) (125) Repurchase of own shares (5,739) (5,310) (6,525) Expenses in relation to tender offer (38) - (131) Equity dividends paid 34* (4,229) (4,229) Movement in money market funds (6,250) (1,251) (8,984) Proceeds of Foresight 3 VCT plc pre merger allotments - 3,372 3,372 Cash acquired on merger with Foresight 3 VCT plc - 472 472 Net cash inflow/(outflow) from financing activities 7,380 (6,963) (7,832) Net increase/(decrease) in cash in the period 3,750 (95) 43

*Dividends unclaimed after twelve years, returned to the Company.

Reconciliation of net cash flow to movement in net cash Increase/(decrease) in cash for the period 3,750 (95) 43 Net cash at start of the period 833 790 790 Net cash at end of period 4,583 695 833







Notes to the Unaudited Half-Yearly Results

for the six months ended 30 September 2018

The Unaudited Half-Yearly results have been prepared on the basis of accounting policies set out in the statutory accounts of the Company for the year ended 31 March 2018. Unquoted investments have been valued in accordance with IPEV Valuation guidelines. Quoted investments are stated at bid prices in accordance with IPEV Valuation guidelines and UK Generally Accepted Accounting Practice. These are not statutory accounts in accordance with S436 of the Companies Act 2006 and the financial information for the six months ended 30 September 2018 and 30 September 2017 has been neither audited nor formally reviewed. Statutory accounts in respect of the year ended 31 March 2018 have been audited and reported on by the Companys auditors and delivered to the Registrar of Companies and included in the report of the auditors which was unqualified and did not contain a statement under S498(2) or S498(3) of the Companies Act 2006. No statutory accounts in respect of any period after 31 March 2018 have been reported on by the Companys auditors or delivered to the Registrar of Companies. Copies of the Unaudited Half-Yearly Financial Report have been sent to Shareholders and are available for inspection at the Registered Office of the Company at The Shard, 32 London Bridge Street, London, SE1 9SG.

Net asset value per Share

The Net Asset Value per share is based on net assets at the end of the period and on the number of Shares in issue at the date.

Net Assets



Shares '000 in issue 30 September 2018 101,642 143,783,031 30 September 2017 67,225 96,846,130 31 March 2018 77,937 112,052,405

Return per Share

Six months ended 30 September 2018 Six months ended 30 September 2017 Year ended March 2018 '000 '000 '000 Total return/(loss) after taxation 1,188 (220) 115 Total return/(loss) per share 0.8p (0.3)p 0.1p Revenue loss from ordinary activities after taxation (231) (667) (411) Revenue (loss)/return per Ordinary Share (note b) (0.2)p (0.8)p (0.4)p Capital return from ordinary activities after taxation 1,419 447 526 Capital return per Ordinary Share (note c) 1.0p 0.5p 0.5p Weighted average number of Ordinary Shares in issue in the

period 135,704,832 83,536,454 94,123,649

Earnings for the period should not be taken as a guide to the results for the full year.





Income

Six months ended Six months ended Year ended 30 September 2018 30 September 2017 31 March 2018 '000 '000 '000 Loan stock interest 278 39 544 Dividends 7 37 81 Bank interest received 4 - - Overseas based Open Ended Investment Companies (OEICs) 51 2 4 340 78 629

Investments held at fair value through profit or loss

Company

Unquoted Total '000 '000 Book cost at 1 April 2018 44,719 44,719 Investment holding gains 19,373 19,373 Valuation at 1 April 2018 64,092 64,092 Movements in the period: Purchases at cost 3,947 3,947 Disposal proceeds (1,267) (1,267) Realised gains * 1,067 1,067 Investment holding gains ** 713 713 Valuation at 30 September 2018 68,552 68,552 Book cost at 30 September 2018 48,466 48,466 Investment holding gains 20,086 20,086 Valuation at 30 September 2018 68,552 68,552

* Realised gains on investments in the income statement include deferred consideration of 134,000 received in the period.

** Investment holding gains in the income statement include the increase in deferred consideration debtor of 174,000.

Transactions with Foresight Group

Foresight Group Cl Limited, which acts as investment manager to the Company, earned fees of 892,000 during the period (30 September 2017: 641,000; 31 March 2018: 1,377,000).

Foresight Group LLP, which acts as company secretary to the Company, earned fees of 83,000 during the period (30 September 2017: 81,000; 31 March 2018: 166,000).

The company secretary changed to Foresight Group LLP from Foresight Fund Managers Limited in November 2017.

At the balance sheet date there was 470,000 due to Foresight Group Cl Limited (30 September 2017: 11,000 due to Foresight Group Cl Limited; 31 March 2018: 163,000 due to Foresight Group Cl Limited) and 41,000 due to Foresight Group LLP (30 September 2017: nil; 31 March 2018: nil). No amounts have been written off in the period in respect of debts due to or from related parties.

Post balance sheet events

Post the period end there was an allotment of 4,846,700 Shares on 4 October 2018 with a further 1,918,335 Shares being allotted on 26 October 2018.



END
File Photo: U.S. President Donald Trump (R) and South Korean President Moon Jae-in gesture after signing a trade agreement at a bilateral meeting in New York on September 24, 2018, a day before the start of the General Debate of the 73rd session of the General Assembly. (Xinhua/AFP)

WASHINGTON, Nov. 30 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday met with his South Korean counterpart Moon Jae-in to discuss the recent development regarding the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) and Trump's plans to hold a second summit with the country's top leader, Kim Jong Un.

According to a statement issued by the White House spokesperson Sarah Sanders, Trump and Moon met on the margins of the Group of 20 (G20) "to discuss the latest developments regarding the Democratic People's Republic of Korea."

For his part, Trump discussed his intention to have a second U.S.-DPRK summit, and restated with Moon their commitment to closely coordinate on next steps.

Trump and Moon also reaffirmed their commitment to achieve the final, fully verified denuclearization of the DPRK, and agreed on the importance of "maintaining vigorous enforcement of existing sanctions to ensure the DPRK understands that denuclearization is the only path to economic prosperity and lasting peace on the Korean Peninsula."

Trump also met with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Friday, when they reviewed the recent developments in the DPRK and discussed how best to work with the international community, including South Korea, to maintain pressure until the DPRK implements its commitment to denuclearize.

After Trump and Kim met in June in Singapore, negotiations between Washington and Pyongyang have been stuck due to bilateral differences on key problems over the scale of denuclearization, U.S. sanctions, and whether to issue a war-ending declaration, among others.

On Nov. 7, the State Department announced that Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's meeting with Kim Yong Chol, vice chairman of the ruling Workers' Party of Korea Central Committee, which had been scheduled for Nov. 8 in New York, would "take place at a later date."

Trump said earlier in October that his meeting with Kim would be held after the midterm Congressional elections, and the venue of his second meeting with Kim had been narrowed down to "three or four" locations.
Cei care vor ajunge in aceasta minivacanta pe partiile de la Azuga vor gasi zapada!

Pensiunile au in meniu, de 1 Decembrie, si traditionala fasole cu ciolan la ceaun si vinul fiert N. Dumitrescu Daca nu li se va parea ca DN1 catre munte este, cu adevarat, un calvar, din cauza faptului ca se circula [citeste mai departe]
The khaopoon "King Soup" with shrimp at Vientiane Bistro is one of the signature Lao dishes at this new BYOB in Kensington. The painting of Buddha is from the walls of the restaurant. Read more

Theres been a fragrant wave of new Lao restaurants in recent months, with not one but three new BYOBs opening across Philadelphia with variations of warm beef jerky, chili-laced coconut stews, and crunchy green papaya salads that radiate with the tang of funky spice. And it feels like a recent development for a city whose population of Lao chefs has largely been relegated to cooking the more familiar  and perhaps less potent  flavors of Americanized Thai food.

But the origin story of newly opened Vientiane Bistro is, in fact, an old one. It goes back more than two decades, to a home kitchen in West Philly where a mother and her daughters cooked together, at first illegally as an unlicensed catering speakeasy in an effort to gain a foothold in their new country. It eventually was shut down by the city. But Daovy Panthavong, who arrived in Philadelphia in 1980 as a refugee from the civil war in Laos, overcame her early licensing issues and eventually opened a proper restaurant, Vientiane Cafe, on Baltimore Avenue in 2002. And she inevitably told her young American-born daughter, Sunny, weary from the all-day task of frying crispy jasmine rice cones for the popular naam salads, that she had it easy.

She was always telling me how she had to swim across the Mekong River with my sister Manorack on her back, dodging bodies in the water in order to escape [to the Nong Khai refugee camp in Thailand], Sunny recalls. She was always reminding me how lucky I have it. And Id always say, OK, Mom, Im sorry! "

Call it a parents guilt trip. Call it survival. But those kitchen lessons  and pride in Lao culture  clearly sank in. Vientiane Bistro is the next-generation chapter in the Panthavong story. Sunny, now 34, has grown up to open a BYOB in Kensington with her partner, Kong Tieu, essentially crafting a North Philly sibling to Vientiane Cafe in West Philly, now run by her sister and mother.

The Bistro sits almost hidden in the shadows of the Market-Frankford El on a stretch of Kensington Avenue that is still a bit north of the fast-gentrifying zones of the River Wards. But along with neighboring Cafe Pho Ga Thanh Thanh, a bare-bones destination renowned for its chicken pho, and excellent Thang Long across the street, these three restaurants have made this scruffy stretch of storefronts a legitimate food-lovers hub. Tieus family owns the building, and a grant from the city helped make it possible, along with their life savings. And Vientiane, named for the capital of Laos, Daovys home town, is a charming little space done up in rustic wood-plank wainscoting, purple walls hung with embroidered red Lao tapestries, and dangling wicker baskets used to hold the warm bundles of sticky rice that are such an essential starch in Southeast Asian cuisine.

On a recent Friday evening, Vientiane Bistro was bustling and full with both Lao families and a diverse young crowd of beanie-capped millennials  full to the point that our reservation (my first on Kenzo Avenue!) was honored 20 minutes late. The service is outgoing and friendly here, if not necessarily organized. And the food arrived in fits and spurts that seemed to mimic the rumbling rhythm of the El above, with a long wait for anything, then a sudden rush of all the plates at once.

Once the food did arrive, however, we were delighted. And when one of those wicker cylinders of sticky rice comes to your table, take a steamy pinch of the rice and press it into a flat disk that can be wrapped around chunks of sai gak sausages, the glistening links made in house from pork belly, lemongrass, and kaffir leaves, that hit another level of flavor when dabbed with roasted green chili paste. A pad of sticky rice also is essential to accompany the warm and chewy strips of house-dried beef jerky encrusted in sweet soy and coriander, which comes with its own unique dark chili paste dip, thickened with peanut butter, sweet soy, and galangal that almost has the texture and fruity savor of spicy fig jam.

Lao cuisine, with aromatics of lemongrass, coconut milk, and fish sauce, shares obvious similarities with the cuisines of the countries that border it  Thailand, Vietnam, and Cambodia. And most all local Lao restaurants, the Vientianes included, offer wide varieties of Thai classics. Vientiane Bistros chicken satay, for example, is one of my new favorites, the tender thigh meat fully marinated with turmeric and mushroom powder before its charcoal-grilled and paired with spicy peanut sauce.

But Lao food has an extra punch, an edgier heat and funky notes amped up by padeak, a fermented fish paste similar to Cambodian prahok, but perhaps a shade milder because landlocked Laos uses only freshwater fish. The most obvious example is the thum mak hoong, the famous green papaya salad thats bruised with a mortar and pestle then soaked in a chili-fired lime juice marinade, padaek, and, for serious Lao eaters, salt-fermented crabs that give it an almost tidal glow.

These flavors have been in Philly for decades, usually tucked away on menus at Thai restaurants where Lao chefs were in the kitchen. Vientiane Cafe and Sa-Bai-Dee, an old favorite in Upper Darby, are two Lao-forward pioneer exceptions to the rule. But the sudden emergence of more restaurants showcasing Lao food as their prime mission is a reflection of that first generation of immigrant children now come of age. Thats the story at the new Laos Cafe on West Passyunk in South Philadelphia, where Kha Vorasarns minced duck laap salad and sausages have even bolder chili heat than Vientianes. Its also the case at new Maliwan, which recently replaced Khmer Kitchen at Sixth and Morris, and which has a slightly milder touch that still leans Thai (though the fantastic grilled Lao steak is alone worth the visit).

At Vientiane Bistro, which sits somewhere between those two on the pungency spectrum, there is a wide range of classic dishes to explore what Lao cooking is all about. Im always a fan of the laap salads, the minced protein of your choice (try the grilled beef here) tossed with tangy, spicy dressing and a dusting of roasted rice powder. But the crispy naam lettuce-wrap salad is the essential order, a blend of crunchy rice  fried into cones, then broken apart in a mortar  marinated with grated coconut and red curry tossed with fresh herbs in a citrusy dressing topped with crushed peanuts. Wrapped inside a crunchy rib of lettuce, so many textures and fresh flavors explode in one bite.

The garnish of a lettuce wrap, along with the sticky rice, is a common theme. I especially loved it with the deep-fried whole pompano (tod paa), whose silver-skinned flesh was scored into easily plucked diamonds of meat that, once wrapped up with ginger and lemongrass made for an addictive dunk in tangy tamarind dip.

Some of most distinctive dishes, though, are the soups and stews that are perfect for winter. The Khao poon King Soup is a coconut broth blushing with spicy red curry, mint, and galangal that gives its hearty brew, laced with rice vermicelli noodles, a gingery swagger. Snappy wood-ear mushrooms and sweet chunks of kabocha squash added a nice textural contrast to the vegetarian gang naw mai stew with fresh bamboo turned a deep forest green with the juice of yanang leaves.

The tom saap hot pot was yet another revelation. This soup, which arrived in a doughnut-shape pan that bubbled around a flaming hot pot chimney, is more a reflection of Laos' eastern border with Vietnam. The soup begins not unlike a pot of pho, with beef bones and brisket slow-steeping with aromatic spices like star anise, cinnamon, clove, and lemongrass. But then it takes a tart Lao turn with tamarind powder, lemon juice, and chilies, a sour and spicy twist that amplifies all the other flavors until they ring on my lips. This dish is one of the secret" off-menu items at the original Vientiane Cafe in West Philly. But Sunny, eager to bring her own light touch to her new place, has made it a regular fixture on Vientiane Bistros menu.

Its time for Lao people to come out of their shell, Sunny said. And its happening across the country now, not just Philly. My generation is ready to make it happen. And its about time.

VIENTIANE BISTRO

2537 Kensington Ave., 267-703-8199; vientianebistro.com

Theres been a flavorful boomlet of Lao restaurants in recent months, and this cheerful new Kensington sibling to Vientiane Cafe, Phillys Lao pioneer in West Philadelphia, is one of the best. It features a wide range of vividly seasoned Southeast Asian specialties, from crispy rice salad to garlicky housemade sausages and refreshing green papaya salads that bear the cuisines signature blend of sour, spice and fermented funk. The location sits just north of the River Wards more gentrified zones, but adds yet another bright destination (with Thai specialties, too) to a stretch of storefronts below the El on Kensington Avenue that already hosts two of the citys best pho shops.

MENU HIGHLIGHTS House Lao jerky; satay; steamed dumplings; sticky tamarind chicken wings; crispy naam lettuce wraps; green papaya salad (thum mak hoong); tom saap lemongrass hot pot; sai gawk sausages; khaopoon King Soup; laap (beef); tod paa whole pompano with lettuce wrap; pad see eew noodles; mango sticky rice.

BYOB Cold Riesling or crisp lager beer is the best match for the spicy sour flavors of Lao food.

WEEKEND NOISE The room is small and lively when full, often with families. But its reliably pleasant for easy conversation backed by an unexpected Top 40 soundtrack.

IF YOU GO Three-course lunch specials Monday through Saturday, 11 a.m.-2 p.m. Entire menu also available, 11 a.m.-8:30 p.m. Closed Sunday.

Dinner entrees, $14-$20.

All major cards.

Reservations suggested weekends.

Not wheelchair accessible. There are three steps at the entrance; bathrooms are not wheelchair accessible.

Street parking only.
At Bob & Barbaras Lounge on South Street, the birthplace of the dirt-cheap shot-and-beer combo now known as the Citywide Special, its hard to quantify exactly how many cans of Pabst Blue Ribbon are served daily alongside shot glasses of whiskey. But to start with, bartender Bob Dix said, the bar gets 100 30-packs delivered every week.

So, when news recently circulated of a court battle that threatened to end production of the light, low-alcohol beer that over the generations has cultivated a following ranging from retirees to construction workers to hipsters, Dix and the bars owner took notice. For an hour or so, at least.

We all know PBR isnt going anywhere, Dix said this week as he dispensed rounds of $3 Specials to patrons at the bar. If anything, anyone who hears about this just kind of laughs as theyre drinking one.

Citywide fans can indeed drink easy. On Wednesday, the dispute between Pabst and MillerCoors came to an end with an undisclosed settlement that will keep PBR on the shelves.

The case that went to trial in Milwaukee this month stemmed from a lawsuit over the production of Pabst, which has been brewed by MillerCoors since 1999. In 2016, after MillerCoors said it no longer had the capacity to brew Pabst and would not extend the contract past 2020, Pabst sued, accusing MillerCoors of trying to drive a smaller competitor out of business.

First brewed in 1844 in Milwaukee, Pabst was once the best-selling beer in the country. It fell on hard times in the 1990s, leading to the closure of the Pabst brewery and the decision to outsource brewing. In the early 2000s, bolstered by a following among bicycle messengers and young dive-bar patrons, PBR suddenly became trendy and sales unexpectedly skyrocketed. Pabst was fifth in overall beer sales nationwide in 2017, according to the Brewers Association.

Christopher Mullins Jr., co-owner of McGillins Old Ale House at 1310 Drury St., said sales of PBR and Citywides grew in recent years as PBR acquired a hipster cachet. The bars $4 Specials (they recently raised the price by a dollar) remain big sellers with younger patrons.

We sell more pitchers and pints of PBR with people in their 30s, he said. Overall, he said, the customers run the gamut, from construction workers who stop in for a pint to hipsters slamming Specials. The bar also gets a lot of out-of-towners from the nearby Convention Center, some of whom see PBR as a novelty.

Youll get someone who might say, Wow, I havent had Pabst since 1982, he said.

To him, explaining PBRs enduring popularity is easy when you think about the character of the city.

Thats Philly," he said. "Were working-class, and price is important, and I think we value something thats a little grittier. Its knowing that if I have eight quarters in my pocket, I can get a beer.

At the El Bar on Front Street under the Market-Frankford Line, bartender Ariel Godel said 16-ounce PBR cans sell steadily throughout the day, to anyone from construction workers on lunch breaks to older neighborhood residents to local restaurant workers who stop by on their way to work. Plenty of regulars get Citywides  some so frequently that Godel knows to put them on the bar as soon as they walk in.

Its just the cheapest way to get drunk, he said. Its an economic decision.

At Kensingtons Atlantis, the Lost Bar, PBR is the biggest seller along with pints of local Kenzinger from the Philadelphia Brewing Co., bartender Mary Burke said. The Citywide costs $3, but many regulars also take advantage of the bars to-go special: $8 for eight cans of PBR.

We really couldnt do that with any other beer, she said.

But when asked to imagine a future without PBR, or a Citywide Special missing half its components, bartenders said most customers wouldnt blink. After all, riffs on the Citywide already exist, like a can of Tecate with a shot of tequila, or the Kensington special at Atlantis, a Kenzinger and shot of local whiskey. Some upscale restaurants have gotten on board with classy versions.

Its a decent beer," said Dix, of Bob & Barbaras, but I think wed be able to find something else to sell.

Mullins, too, said drinkers would adapt. In a way, its a product whose popularity has been created, he said. "It is a little bit of a price decision, but theres other beers out there. People will always find a new go-to.

Burke said that when it comes to Citywides, its not the PBR that matters. Its the price, the potency, and also the fact that technically, people can count one as a drink.

I do have a lot of people who say, Ive only had three drinks, Burke said. I do feel I can correct them. I say, Actually, youve had six.
Genaro Fernandez, 33, from Honduras, rests Wednesday in the Migrant Hotel in Mexicali, Mexico. Read more

MEXICALI, Mexico - Their dreams, as they marched north, were of America, with plentiful jobs, good schools and protections from violence and threats back home.

But the future, for the time being, has become this sprawling border city, where hourly wages hover near $2.50, educational opportunities are lacking, and extreme poverty makes muggings and kidnappings a constant threat.

Roughly 1,000 caravan participants have remained in Mexicali, concerned that drug cartel violence and living conditions in Tijuana, which was the final destination, would be unbearable.

Those fears were confirmed when U.S. Border Patrol agents fired tear gas at a group of migrants who tried to storm the border last weekend, the result of building tensions around what has become a months-long wait to apply for U.S. asylum.

"I'm just looking for an opportunity to work," said Denis Paredes, 33, who arrived from Honduras this month. "Better to stay here for awhile, where it's at least a little more calm."

The possibility of a long-term influx has put pressure on the network of hostels that have long offered free refuge for migrants but now are charging modest rents to pay for food and other expenses.

At the same time, caravan participants have begun applying for a form of Mexican asylum that offers them permission to work - an outcome that incoming president Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador is likely to encourage as he seeks to increase economic development in the country.

This week, the Mexican Commission for Refugee Assistance set up temporary offices in Mexicali and Tijuana geared toward the caravan migrants, who are being steered there by the office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).

So far, nearly 100 people in Mexicali have signed up to seek asylum, while about 230 have applied in Tijuana, according to the UNHCR. The agency processed 14,600 applications nationwide last year, mostly from Central Americans, approving about 20 percent.

In Mexicali, the caravan migrants' decision to stick it out awhile longer in Mexico comes with a series of calculations. Some are biding their time, still hoping for a chance at U.S. asylum. Others calculate that U.S. border security measures will eventually loosen enough for them to cross illegally.

Still more are eager to earn some kind of salary after going several months without work while on the caravan trail, their expectations lifted by Lopez Obrador's promise to offer roughly 100,000 work permits to Central American migrants.

The economic pressure they face was obvious this week inside the Migrant Hotel, a hostel that is charging $1.50 a night to the Central Americans who have stayed far longer than expected.

Genaro Fernandez, 33, was near tears as he lay on a sleeping mat with other Honduran men Wednesday morning. They had intended to sign on with a day laborer crew at a barrel factory but didn't wake up in time for the boss's 4 a.m. pickup. Fernandez was counting on the $11 he would have earned for the day.

He joined the caravan after a failed hog farm venture in Santa Barbara, Honduras, left him holding a bank note of nearly $21,000. His wife, who stayed behind with their two young sons, recently reported that a bank officer had been leaving angry demands for payment.

"How am I going to pay when I'm broke?" Fernandez said. "We all want to work."

At La Michoacana hostel, where an undulating quarter of the ceiling appeared ready to collapse, director Gonzalo Pacheco Aguilar advised migrants to find work and permanent homes in Mexicali. His example was a group of Haitian migrants who have settled into abandoned houses in the city. Many won federal protections after arriving as refugees two years ago.

"They have gotten factory jobs, and they have called for their families to join them," Pacheco said Wednesday. He nodded in approval as Sofia Cardona, a UNHCR resettlement associate, explained to a small group of hostel guests the benefits of Mexico's program for refugee aid.

The process is similar to the U.S. asylum system, although still far less backlogged. Government case workers assess an applicant's level of risk at home before initiating background checks and issuing a final decision.

Those who pass an initial assessment are granted temporary residency with permission to work, although they must remain in the state where their case is pending.

Sergio Tamai Jr. - whose father, Sergio Tamai Sr., created the Migrant Hotel - rallied a group of about 20 migrants to walk a mile from the hostel to the commission's temporary office Wednesday.

"You've all walked more," Tamai told the group before they set out.

When they arrived, several migrants seemed unsure of why they had gone. Gloria Hernandez, who with her daughter Jennifer, 17, joined the migrant caravan in El Salvador, first thought the Mexican government might help her win U.S. asylum.

"The truth is, I'm a little confused," said Hernandez, 50, before heading in to discuss her general fear of violence in El Salvador during what amounted to an intake interview.

That night, David Mendoza, 31, stood in the room at the Migrant Hotel he was sharing with three other men. A 1980s rock song drifted up from the street below while some migrants video chatted with their loved ones. Others hugged their bed mats and slept in the lit, graffiti-adorned hallway.

From the balcony, the smell of a marijuana wafted in.

Mendoza had applied for the Mexican federal protections and was given a piece of paper with a government Web address where he could check on his status. He wasn't optimistic.

"I always knew we would not be able to cross into the U.S.," said Mendoza, who was born in El Salvador and joined the caravan in the Mexican state of Chiapas.

Im just going to stay right here, he said.
SEATTLE, Nov. 30, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- According to Coherent Market Insights, the global automotive premium audio system market was valued at US$ 98.5 million in 2017 and is projected to exhibit a CAGR of 2.7% over the forecast period (2018  2026).

To know the latest trends and insights prevalent in this market, click the link below:

https://www.coherentmarketinsights.com/market-insight/automotive-premium-audio-system-market-2318

Key trends and analysis of the global automotive premium audio system market:

Increasing production of vehicles is one of the major factors driving growth of the market. For instance, according to the Organization Internationale des Constructeurs Automobiles (OICA), the total number of vehicles produced in 2016 was 95 million units, which increased to 97 million units in 2017 worldwide. Increasing production of vehicles leads to high demand for premium audio system that offer high-quality sound. Moreover, premium audio systems can be voice-controlled and can be operated via smartphone. Therefore, these factors are expected to propel growth of the global automotive premium audio system market.

Request Sample Copy of this Report

Key Market Takeaways:
This Thursday, Nov. 29, 2018 photo released by the Fulton County Sheriff Department shows Erron Martez Dequan Brown in Atlanta. Brown, of Bessemer was charged with attempted murder in the Nov. 22. 2018, shooting at the Riverchase Galleria in Hoover, Ala., according to a statement from the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency. (Fulton County Sheriff Department via AP) Read more

HOOVER, Ala. (AP)  Authorities arrested a suspect in a Thanksgiving shooting that spread panic at Alabama's largest shopping mall Thursday, but protesters said they would continue demonstrations over the police killing of another black man who was initially believed to be the shooter.

Erron Martez Dequan Brown, 20, of Bessemer was captured in Georgia at a relative's home south of Atlanta, authorities said. He was jailed awaiting a hearing to be sent back to Alabama.

The Alabama Law Enforcement Agency said Brown was charged in the shooting of Brian Xavier Wilson, 18, of Birmingham, who was wounded at the Riverchase Galleria in Hoover on Thanksgiving night.

Authorities didn't announce charges in the shooting of another person who was wounded, 12-year-old girl, and a spokeswoman for the agency did not respond to an email seeking details.

Protesters said Brown's arrest didn't resolve what they referred to as the "murder" of Emantic "EJ" Bradford Jr., 21, by police, and they vowed continuing demonstrations over his shooting death.

"We're asking members of the public to not spend another dime in Hoover until they take black lives seriously," Carlos Chaverst Jr., who has helped organize protests, said at a news conference.

In a statement issued by their lawyer, Bradford's relatives said they were gratified by Brown's arrest and said it further underscored Bradford's "unjust" death.

Police have said a Hoover police officer who was working security at the mall during the start of Black Friday shopping heard shots and responded within seconds. The officer, who has yet to be publicly identified, saw Bradford with a gun and shot him, police said.

Authorities at first identified Bradford as the shooter who wounded two people. They later retracted that allegation and searched for the real gunman.

Bradford's relatives have said he had a permit to carry a gun legally, and their attorney Ben Crump has quoted witnesses as saying Bradford was trying to help when he was gunned down.

"He was a good guy with a gun," Crump said.

Court records show Brown previously was arrested in June 2017 in Huntsville on a charge of using a gun to rob a man, but the case was dismissed three months later after prosecutors filed notice that they didn't want to pursue the case.

As Brown was being arrested near Atlanta, city leaders in Hoover were publicly asking the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency, which is investigating the shootings, for permission to release more information about the shooting of Bradford.

With its lone black City Council member, Derrick Murphy, acting as a spokesman, the city said it would look at releasing information on its own if no response came by noon Monday.

Demonstrators and relatives of Bradford have pushed authorities to release video and other evidence about the shooting. Murphy, who joined other leaders in meeting with Bradford's relatives earlier this week, said the city wanted to help answer questions raised by the family.

"They have our love; they have our prayers," he said.

Hoover is a city of 85,000 people that gained much of its population as white residents left Birmingham after the end of legalized racial segregation in neighboring Birmingham. Chaverst, one of the protest leaders, said the city was "built on racism."

A statement from the state agency about Brown's arrest said it was "highly likely" that releasing evidence would hamper the continuing investigation, but it didn't directly address the city's request.

The statement also did not say whether there was any relationship between Bradford and Brown, and a spokeswoman declined comment. The Bradford family lawyer, Crump, did not return a message about whether the two men knew each other.

A minister who described himself as the Bradford family's pastor, Mike McClure Jr., said releasing video of the shooting would help calm growing tensions that have included days of protests and racist social media posts.

"When there is no information it only leads to imagination," said McClure, one of two pastors who closed the councilman's statement with prayer.

McClure said Bradford attended his church, and McClure will officiate at funeral services on Saturday which will include a eulogy by the Rev. Jesse Jackson.

____

Brumback contributed from Atlanta.
Marc Lamont Hill, has come under fire for comments he made during a speech at the United Nations. Read more

Especially after the Pittsburgh synagogue massacre of 11 Jewish worshippers, universities must refuse to employ professors who call for anti-Semitic violence and destruction of the Jewish State of Israel. It is outrageous that Marc Lamont Hill is still employed as the Steven Charles professor at Temple University, after Hill showed himself to be an Israel-hating anti-Semite by maliciously and ignorantly calling for Israels destruction and genocidal violence and destruction of the Jewish state during Hills November 28 rant at the United Nations.

CNN appropriately fired Hill.

However, shockingly, Temple University failed to express any concern regarding Hills violence-inciting speech, or about the harmful impact Hills statements will have on Temple Universitys and Steve Charles reputation and Temple students. Instead Temple defended Hills supposed constitutional right . . . as a private citizen to make these hateful statements. But Hills statements were not private; they were made in a major public forum. As the voice of the university, professors have a duty to speak responsibly when they speak publicly.

>> READ MORE: From Tel Aviv, Marc Lamont Hills Palestine comments dont sound so wrong to me | Opinion

Among other things, Hill declared that we must offer more than just words, and that instead Palestinian-Arabs must be allowed to engage in revolts, resistance (euphemism for Palestinian-Arab terrorism and murder) and tactics otherwise divergent from Dr. King and Mahatma Gandhi (obviously meaning violent tactics). Hill also called Israels reestablishment seventy years ago the Nakba - the great catastrophe and tragic; and advocated for Israels total elimination and replacement with a Palestinian-Arab (terror) state, by invoking the infamous genocidal chant screamed during Jew-hating anti-Israel demonstrations. Free Palestine from the river to the sea which means destroy all of Israel. Hills speech was filled with other propaganda falsehoods against Israel.

Temple Universitys current Board must show leadership by immediately condemning Hill and demanding his dismissal, or at a minimum removing him from holding the Steven Charles Chair.

Temples leaders must take this moral and honorable stance against hatred and anti-Semitism. Doing anything less will only add to the shame and harm that Marc Lamont Hill has already brought upon Temple University and to Steven Charles.

Bart Blatstein is president and Chief Executive Officer of Tower Investments, Inc.
Chris Alexander, policy coordinator for the Drug Policy Alliance, advocates for marijuana legislation at the state Capitol in Albany, New York. Supporters say the bill would promote social justice and equity. Read more

State lawmakers and advocates pushing to legalize marijuana this year aren't just touting legalization as a way to raise tax revenue and regulate an underground pot market. They're also talking about fixing a broken criminal justice system and reinvesting in poor and minority communities that have been battered by decades of the government's war on drugs.

The focus on justice and equity has sharpened over time, longtime pot advocates say, as it's become clear that such issues should be addressed and that doing so won't alienate voters  most of whom, polls consistently show, support legal marijuana. Civil rights groups also have raised their voices in legalization discussions.

Now social justice provisions can be found in legalization proposals in both blue and red states, including several of the states where voters will face ballot measures on the issue in November. Social justice also is a talking point for opponents, who argue that allowing weed sales would hurt  not help  low-income and minority people.

"We don't want either extreme. We don't want incarceration, and we don't want legalization and commercialization," said Kevin Sabet, the president and CEO of Smart Approaches to Marijuana, a coalition based in Alexandria, Virginia, that is opposing legalization efforts in multiple states.

Many state lawmakers say they back legalization because, first and foremost, it can be an opportunity to make changes to the criminal justice system and repair the harm done to groups disproportionately arrested for using the drug.

"For me, the social justice piece of it is much larger than, I think, the taxing and regulating  although that is important," said New York Assemblywoman Crystal Peoples-Stokes, a Democrat who represents part of the city of Buffalo and has put forward a bill to legalize weed.

The bill Peoples-Stokes has proposed and a companion bill in the New York state Senate would allow people to possess, use, buy or transport up to 2 pounds of marijuana; reduce penalties for some marijuana crimes; make it easier for people to get criminal records sealed for such crimes; and disburse some tax revenue to nonprofits in communities "disproportionately affected" by former drug policies.

Some 800,000 New Yorkers have been arrested on charges of marijuana possession over the past 20 years, according to the coalition of organizations supporting the bill, Sensible Marijuana Access through Regulated Trade or SMART. In New York City, the vast majority of people arrested are black and Latino, advocates said.

The proposed legislation also would make it easier for people to get in on the marijuana boom by creating inexpensive small-business licenses and making them available to people with drug convictions. It's not fair, Peoples-Stokes said, for people who got in trouble for handling pot in the past to now get shut out of the legal industry.

Sabet's group has been lobbying against legalization in New York. He said that while the organization agrees with the criminal justice and social justice aspects of the legislation, he doesn't think it's necessary to legalize pot to achieve those goals.

Sophisticated Initiatives

Today nine states and the District of Columbia allow adults to use small amounts of marijuana for fun, and 23 others allow certain patients to use the drug medicinally. Now that most Americans support legalization, for many pot proponents the question isn't whether weed will be legalized. It's how.

In the six years since the first states legalized adult use, pot advocates have learned to craft more sophisticated ballot initiatives, said Paul Armentano, deputy director of NORML, a Washington, D.C.-based organization that advocates for legal weed.

For instance, advocates are using ballot initiatives to address regulatory issues that policymakers struggled with in the past. An extreme example of the change is California's 2016 ballot initiative, which filled more than 60 pages and covered everything from rules for marijuana testing laboratories to expungement of marijuana crimes from criminal records.

The California initiative allowed people with drug convictions to obtain marijuana licenses. It set aside $10 million a year to pay for services such as job placement, legal help, and mental health and addiction treatment for residents of communities hit hard by former drug laws. Passed by 57 percent, the initiative's success showed that voters support justice and equity provisions  or at least aren't dissuaded by them, Armentano said.

"Not only did that measure pass, but I would argue more importantly, there was very little public opposition raised during the campaign," he said, referring to the provisions. "Once we saw that, it was clear that people were comfortable with those provisions."

This year that theory will be tested in more conservative states.

Missouri has four pot legalization initiatives on the ballot this fall; three focus on allowing medical use of the drug and the fourth on recreational use. The recreational use initiative by Total Legalization, a volunteer operation that isn't backed by national pro-weed groups, also would require prisoners incarcerated for nonviolent marijuana-related crimes to be released within 30 days and would expunge nonviolent marijuana-related criminal records.

Becca Loane, a member of the board of directors for the campaign committee backing the initiative, said her team wants to legalize marijuana completely without waiting for the Legislature to work out the details. "It's something that needs to be done."

Marijuana ballot initiatives in 2018

In North Dakota, a legalization ballot measure also would expunge the records of people with some marijuana-related convictions automatically. And in Michigan, a legalization ballot measure would require state lawmakers to encourage people in communities impacted by the war on drugs to participate in the marijuana industry.

Those communities would be determined by the state Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs, but in essence it means minority communities, said Josh Hovey, a spokesman for the Coalition to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol campaign based in Lansing, Michigan.

Backers of the Michigan initiative wanted to add expungement provisions but decided not to after being told by legal experts that the state constitution requires ballot initiatives to address only one issue, Hovey said.

Blue States Debate

The argument that marijuana legalization will help poor black and Latino people has been made vociferously in New York and New Jersey, where national groups that back legalization, such as the Drug Policy Alliance, have teamed up with clergy and civil rights groups.

New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy, a Democrat, called marijuana legalization a social justice issue during his campaign last year. New York gubernatorial candidate Cynthia Nixon, also a Democrat, has said she supports legalization because "we have to stop putting people of color in jail for something that white people do with impunity."

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, a Democrat, has not taken a position on recreational marijuana legalization. His Republican challenger, Marc Molinaro, has said he wants to see expanded access to medical marijuana.

Legal weed backers in New Jersey say they want legislation that  like Peoples-Stokes' bill in New York  would make it easier for people to expunge criminal records, set aside money for neighborhoods most impacted by marijuana-related arrests and incarceration, and remove barriers to participation in the industry.

"It's been a massive effort on our part to get it done, and get it done in the correct way," said Safeer Quraishi, administrative director of the New Jersey NAACP state conference.

Several marijuana legalization bills have been introduced in New Jersey, including most recently a bill from state Sens. Nicholas Scutari and Stephen Sweeney, both Democrats. Quraishi said the NAACP doesn't support the Scutari bill because it doesn't include automatic expungements or do enough to promote minority-owned businesses, among other concerns.

Meanwhile the chairman of the Legislative Black Caucus, Democratic state Sen. Ronald Rice, strongly opposes marijuana legalization. He said drug use and addiction have led to violence and financial ruin for many people in his Newark district, and that legalizing marijuana will encourage more people to use what he considers a gateway drug.

He's frustrated that legislation he introduced in February that would eliminate criminal penalties for possessing 10 grams of marijuana or less  but would still fine people for possession  hasn't gained more support. It's currently in the Senate Judiciary Committee.

"The conversation is about  social justice, some black people can make some money, expunging records and stuff," he said. "Well, we can do all that without legalizing."

The NAACP doesn't support a bill that would only decriminalize marijuana, because such bills don't do enough to repair the harm done to communities, Quraishi said. "Any bill that doesn't take it far enough, we don't support."

Nearly two-thirds of black, Hispanic and multiracial people supported marijuana legalization, according to a Stockton University poll of New Jersey adults this spring. That was a higher share than support among white adults, according to a breakdown by race and ethnicity shared with Stateline.

Peoples-Stokes, the New York assemblywoman, said that she doesn't think marijuana is a gateway drug or that it's addictive. Some doctors and public health experts disagree.

But she does see a divide in attitudes toward legalization, she said. "I think it's fair to say that there are significant numbers of black and brown people that have the old attitude about marijuana  that it's a negative."

People need to be taught to think about pot differently, she said. It's used as medicine, and it's related to hemp, a crop that's legal to grow in New York under a pilot program. "The reason why it was considered in a negative way is that it was a reason to lock people up."

Stateline, a project of the Pew Charitable Trusts, provides daily reporting and analysis on trends in state policy.
Two at-large City Council members, Bill Greenlee (left) and Helen Gym (right), were iffy when asked Thursday if they plan to run for new terms in 2019. Greenlee and Gym are both Democrats. The other 15 members of Council said they each intend to seek new terms. Read more

As you may have heard  because Clout has been all over it  the 2019 Democratic primary elections for City Council in Philadelphia could very well bust a 40-year record for the number of candidates on the ballot.

Some in that stampede may be bolstered by super PACs spending exorbitant amounts of money, unhindered by the city's campaign-finance limits.

So we wondered: Will Council's 17 incumbents all seek reelection?

Two Democrats holding at-large seats  Bill Greenlee and Helen Gym  were iffy when we asked Thursday.

"To be determined," said Greenlee, who has been rumored to be on the cusp of retiring from the seat he has held since 2006. "Sometimes you like to keep people guessing."

The response from Gym, in her first term, was more surprising.

"I don't know," she said. "I'm trying to get through this week and then we'll see."

The other members  12 Democrats and three Republicans  said they each want another term. Council's two longest-serving veterans are all in.

Councilman Brian O'Neill, an incumbent for four decades, declared "I only announce when I'm not" seeking reelection. O'Neill, a Republican who may face a Democratic challenge for the 10th District seat from Lt. Gov. Mike Stack, was first elected in 1979.

Councilwoman Jannie Blackwell, a Democrat who first took office in the Third District in 1991, said age was her motivating factor. "I'm so old now, I've got to keep it going," she said. (She is 73.)

Wearing a wire on W. Wilson Goode Sr.

One of the more surprising details to emerge in the federal probe of U.S. Rep. Bob Brady's 2012 primary campaign against Jimmie Moore is the role former Philadelphia Mayor W. Wilson Goode Sr. played in arranging Moore's exit from the race.

Moore, a former Municipal Court judge, pleaded guilty last year to accepting what federal prosecutors have described as an illegal $90,000 payoff from Brady to drop out.

Though authorities did not charge Brady with a crime, they did indict his top political strategist  Ken Smukler  who has been fighting the case all month.

Smukler's trial has made clear there's no love lost between Brady and Moore. One Brady aide told jurors this week he thought Moore was "a clown."

But the one thing both sides seem to agree on is their mutual admiration of Goode.

Smukler, testifying earlier this week, said no one in Philadelphia politics owed the former mayor more than he did. (Smukler's first job in politics was as a 25-year-old press secretary for Goode's 1987 reelection campaign.)

Brady also credits Goode's support for launching his congressional career in 1998. And had Goode not arranged the 2012 meeting between Brady and Moore  or guaranteed the $90,0000 deal they cemented  the campaign rivals never would have agreed to it on their own, Smukler said.

For his part, Moore, too, says he only agreed to sit down with Brady because Goode was involved. He described the former mayor as his political mentor and "a father figure."

Still, that didn't stop Moore from agreeing to wear a wire on his surrogate pop when the FBI came knocking on his door last year.

Testifying last week, Moore admitted to the jury that he tried to entrap Goode on tape as part of his cooperation deal with the government. The details of their conversation remain under wraps and agents in court never described what they hoped to find.

Goode, who has not been accused of wrongdoing, declined to comment Thursday about Moore  except to say: "I was very disappointed when I learned that."

So long, Saul Shorr?

Saul Shorr, the crackerjack political commercial creator, surprised a few people Tuesday when he announced that his firm, Shorr Johnson Magnus, is closing at the end of the year. The firm did national work from its Philly headquarters.

An iconic example  "Stage," a devastating look at 2012 Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney's business experience. The ad featured an Indiana paper-plant worker telling how he was ordered to help build the stage that executives from Romney's firm used to announce that everyone there was fired.

The firm also just helped Gov. Wolf and Sen. Bob Casey win reelection in Pennsylvania by double-digit margins.

Going out on top? Just as the 2020 presidential race gets underway?

Shorr, 64, said he will still collaborate with partners Andrea Johnson and Adam Magnus on projects. And he reminded Clout that he famously turned down Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign work four years ago.

"I turned down Hillary in December 2014 when she had a 95 percent chance of being the nominee and a 65 percent chance of being elected president," Shorr said. "I think I've proven I don't have a jones for this."

Still, Shorr said never say never. And he plans to keep working for the nine Democratic senators and the various political action committees who use his commercials.

In all, Shorr seems most proud of avoiding television punditry, running a firm with almost no internet footprint and rarely showing up at the office.

"At least I did it my way," he said. "I work mostly out of my house in sweatpants. I do calls in good weather from my hammock. And I have no website."

Clout bonus: A caption contest

We've again entered that season, when Mayor Kenney dons the green coat, pulls up the gold tights, and takes a turn on stage as "Buddy the elf." Yes, it is disturbing in that can't-look-away sort of way. But we deal with it. Maybe it made us more prepared for Gritty?

Still, this picture of City Councilman Kenyatta Johnson with the Grinch this week is something. It calls out for a caption. Send your finest effort to clout@philly.com.
Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, left, and Russia's President Vladimir Putin speak at the start of the G20 summit in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Friday, Nov. 30, 2018. The two leaders are controversial figures at the summit. In Putin's case, other world leaders have expressed concern over Russia's recent seizure of Ukrainian ships and their crews near Crimea. For the prince, it's about the killing of a dissident Saudi journalist in the country's Istanbul consulate. Saudi Arabia denies that bin Salman ordered the killing, but U.S. intelligence agencies have concluded the opposite. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko) Read more

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (known as MBS) is eager to restore his reformer image after the CIA, and most of the world, has concluded he ordered the killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

President Trump is eagerly trying to aid the prince, disputing the CIA's conclusion and refusing to let CIA Director Gina Haspel testify to the Senate on this revolting affair. But if you need any more warnings about the reckless temperament of the Saudi to whom Trump has hitched his entire Mideast policy, consider this:

As part of his campaign to squash any dissent, even from moderates who support the monarchy, MBS has presided over the jailing of 18 women's rights activists this year. They include the best-known campaigners for Saudi women's right to drive, such as the courageous Loujain al-Hathloul. Several of the women have allegedly been tortured, according to Human Rights Watch and the Wall Street Journal, with electric shocks and lashings. At least one has been sexually assaulted, says the Journal, and one has attempted suicide.

"Under MBS, the crackdown has been unprecedented in modern Saudi society," says Michael Page, deputy Middle East director at Human Rights Watch. "This treatment of women tells us this image we've been sold in the West of MBS as a reformer is a fraud."

Yet MBS is receiving unstinting White House support.

The crown prince waltzed around the Group of 20 industrial nations meeting in Buenos Aires, grinning and high-fived by Vladimir Putin, and schmoozed on the sidelines by President Trump and Ivanka, that supposed women's rights champion. No word from the First Daughter about the Saudi assault on jailed female activists, nor from her husband, Jared Kushner, a big MBS booster and buddy.

Of course, MBS has already become renowned in his short tenure for his determination to silence perceived critics, targeting businessmen, relatively moderate clerics, intellectuals, and even members of the royal family. The prince's pursuit of Khashoggi typified his paranoia: The journalist had long worked for and supported the royal family and went into exile only when he realized that MBS could not tolerate the slightest criticism.

But MBS's crackdown on these women activists is especially bizarre, given that, in June, he finally lifted the Saudi ban on women driving  the only such ban in the world.

To better understand the prince's mind-set, I turned to a column written by Khashoggi in May for the Washington Post. "It is appalling to see icons of reform branded as 'traitors' on the front pages of Saudi newspapers," he wrote, in reference to the crackdown on women (and men) who had long championed many of the same social freedoms  including women's right to drive  that the prince supposedly endorsed.

Khashoggi concluded: "These arrests are about controlling the narrative. No independent voice or counter opinion will be allowed." MBS could not tolerate the idea that these women might take credit for the lifting of the driving ban, or push for further freedoms for women. So it labeled the women traitors for speaking to foreign media about social change.

Who are some of these "traitors"? Iman al-Nafjan is a mother of three and former blogger for Amnesty International who was one of the leading campaigners for women's right to drive. Aziza al-Yousef is a 60-year-old professor at Riyadh's King Saud University.

And then there is Hathloul, 29, who became the face of the driving movement in 2014 when she drove from the United Arab Emirates toward Saudi Arabia, live-streaming her journey. She was arrested at the Saudi border and spent 73 days in jail.

>> READ MORE: Jamal Khashoggi isn't the only journalist murdered for his principles | Trudy Rubin

The indomitable Hathloul was kidnapped in March while driving in Abu Dhabi, where she had been studying, forcibly returned to Saudi Arabia, and banned from posting on social media. In May, she was arrested and branded a "traitor." Her husband was kidnapped from a hotel room in Jordan and returned to Saudi Arabia, according to the Washington Post.

According to the Wall Street Journal, the central official in the campaign vs. women's-rights activists is none other than MBS's right-hand man, Saud al-Qahtani, the same man accused by U.S. officials of playing a key role in the operation that killed Khashoggi. The U.S. Treasury has sanctioned Qahtani, and he has supposedly been fired, but he is still continuing as a key adviser to MBS.

The issue here is not the U.S.-Saudi alliance. but rather Trump's reliance on a reckless prince, which will continue to backfire. Every aspect of American foreign interests that MBS has touched has failed, from his kidnapping of the Lebanese prime minister, to his failure to godfather an Israeli-Palestinian peace, to the misbegotten Yemen war into which he dragged the United States.

The White House is clearly eager to whitewash the CIA's conclusions about the murder of Khashoggi . But the reports of torture of jailed Saudi women send warning signals so blinding they must not be ignored.
Craig Egan, an Uber driver from Tacoma, Wash., has driven cross country this year to disrupt a bus tour launched by a group that questions the safety of vaccines. Read more

Craig Egan drove across the country this summer to disrupt a bus tour launched by the makers of the film Vaxxed, a group that questions the safety of vaccines.

He marched with a sign. He spoke through a bullhorn. He documented his public-health crusade on YouTube, and was labeled a "troll" in response.

This week, the tech salesman-turned-Uber driver came to Children's Hospital of Philadelphia in search of a friendlier audience: vaccine inventor Paul Offit.

"He's a hero," Egan said after meeting the physician for lunch Wednesday.

Egan and Offit are waging the same battle through different means.

Offit developed a vaccine for rotavirus that has saved hundreds of thousands of lives since its approval in 2006. The disease causes severe diarrhea and vomiting, and is often fatal in developing countries with a shortage of clean water. Today, he is director of CHOP's vaccine education center, patiently fielding calls from parents with questions about the two dozen shots that are recommended for children by age 2.

Egan, 42, is more of a provocateur, shadowing the makers of the controversial film, who have embarked on the bus tour to shoot more footage and to promote their belief that vaccines can cause autism.

No studies have ever shown that vaccines, or the ingredients in them, cause autism. Yet the belief in such a link persists among a small but vocal group of vaccine skeptics.

Health officials warn that failure to vaccinate has led to outbreaks of dangerous disease, such as the numerous measles cases this year in a Somali immigrant community in Minnesota.

Egan estimates he has put 7,000 miles on his Toyota Prius during his pro-vaccine travels. On the current leg of the journey, he is joined by girlfriend Sharon Schroeder, who calls herself his sidekick.

Egan, who lives in Tacoma, Wash., has no medical training, but Offit said he has done a good job of educating himself about the importance of vaccines.

"I think what Craig and Sharon do matters," said Offit, who agreed to meet them after being introduced through a law professor he knows who supports Egan's efforts. "I think they're brave to do it."

Some of Egan's videos documenting his travels are comic, such as one in which he responds to vaccine critics who labeled him a troll. It shows him with his "Vaccines Save Lives" sign as he marches in front of the black Vaxxed bus, with narration in the style of a nature documentary.

"Here we see the vaccine troll in his natural habitat," the somber voice intones.

Other videos are serious, such as one in which he interviews an Idaho public health official about the importance of vaccines.

He regrets one stunt, in Kansas City, when he spoke through a bullhorn outside the Vaxxed bus and urged passing motorists to honk their horns, unaware that inside the filmmakers were interviewing a woman whose child had died.

"I felt like a jerk," he said.

Vaxxed producer Polly Tommey said she supports Egan's right to protest but accuses him of attacking parents.

"He's really attacking the wrong people," she said.

And don't get her started on Offit.

The infectious disease specialist has been a target of vaccine critics for years, accusing him of being in the thrall of pharmaceutical companies. (Yes, he and his co-inventors of the rotavirus vaccine made some money years ago when it was sold, but the bulk went to the hospital. Offit has gotten no money from pharma for years, he said.)

Tommey says her 21-year-old son suffered a seizure and developed autism as the result of the childhood vaccine for measles, mumps, and rubella, commonly known as the MMR vaccine, and points to the package insert from drug maker Merck that lists seizures among its many reported adverse events.

A dangerous and incorrect conclusion, Offit countered. Just because a rare condition arose after a vaccine was administered does not mean the injection is to blame. The warning labels are written by company lawyers to cover their bases in the event of any legal challenge, just like those much-lampooned TV drug ads that seem to warn of every condition known to medicine, Offit said.

The real facts can be found on vaccine information sheets from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), he said.

For the MMR vaccine, the CDC says serious allergic reactions occur in less than one in a million cases. As for seizures, the agency adds: "These are so rare that it is hard to tell whether they are caused by the vaccine."

Measles, on the other hand, is highly contagious and potentially fatal. Without widespread vaccination, the disease can quickly establish a foothold.

Vaccine critics object when Egan, Offit, and others call them "anti-vaccine." Many have vaccinated their children and say that parents should have the right to delay or spread out the recommended shots.

Also a bad idea, Offit said. That opens the door for parents to pick and choose as if the list of vaccines were a menu, which it is not.

Egan likens the "delay" approach to waiting to buy car insurance.

"You could wait to buy car insurance until it's too late," he said.

The last time Egan and Schroeder crossed paths with the Vaxxed bus was in Dayton, Ohio, at the end of August.

Now they are focusing more on supportive audiences. They plan to meet a New Mexico woman who survived the childhood scourge of polio, though she had to spend time in an iron lung. Through the use of vaccines, that disease has been eradicated in most parts of the world.

Wielding his hand-lettered sign, Egan would like to keep it that way.
Early childhood vaccination rates among commercially insured households in the Philadelphia region and the nation showed improvement from 2010 through 2016, according to a study released Thursday by Independence Blue Cross.

The study found that 85.4 percent of all Philadelphia-area children whose Blue Cross-Blue Shield claims were reviewed for the six-year study had received the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's recommended seven-vaccine series. Nationally, 73.5 percent of the insurer's young members were up to date in their immunizations.

The study suggests continued awareness, education, and compliance with the recommended well-child visits may have a role in improving vaccination rates, according to its authors.

"We would like to see 100 percent of kids vaccinated," said Anna Baldino, a medical director at IBC. "I think our results are great, but I really think there's room for improvement."

The IBC study includes only its customers, but it is the largest private insurer in the area. The study found that in the Philadelphia area, 82.9 percent of young BC-BS members born in 2010 had received the CDC's recommended vaccine series by age 2 years and 3 months. For children born in 2013, 86.7 percent were fully vaccinated by the same age.

The children in the IBC study from Philadelphia had a 94.7 percent immunization rate for measles, mumps and rubella vaccine. State data that include kids with all kinds of insurance do not compare directly, but school-age children also have been improving on immunizations. According to Pennsylvania Department of Health records, 93.9 percent of all Philadelphia kindergarten students in the 2016-17 school year had that vaccine.

Nationally, the news also was promising, with the youngest Blue Cross members' full vaccination rates growing from 69 percent for 2010 births to 77 percent by 2013. But there were significant regional differences. For example, North Dakota babies born in 2013 had the highest rates with 86 percent fully vaccinated, while Nevada had the lowest rate at 63 percent.

Among vaccine-preventable diseases such as measles, diphtheria, mumps, polio and pertussis, it doesn't take much for illness to spread. Baldino said that a few years ago, a child with measles visited one of the Disney parks. A month later, there were 125 known measles cases linked to that child, she said.

"You want to make sure as many people as possible are vaccinated," Baldino said.

For example, according to the study, a 94 percent measles vaccination rate is needed to ensure community immunity. The Philadelphia region's measles vaccination rate is 94.6 percent, but the national rate is only 91 percent.

One surprising finding from the IBC study: a national increase in the rate of parents refusing to get kids vaccinated. The refusal rate went from 2.5 percent in children born in 2010 to 4.2 percent for youngsters born in 2013. Philadelphia's rate of medical claims coded with a parental refusal was 3.8 percent over the six-year study, higher than the national rate of 3.3 percent. Reasons for refusal can range; some objections are made on religious grounds while other instances occur when a parent believes a baby is too young for multiple vaccines, despite evidence showing that the approved vaccine schedule is safe.

Reasons for the rising refusal rate were not established by the study.

The study did look at some of the reasons for children's not completing the vaccination series. For young children who were not fully vaccinated, 62 percent of those were due to missed well-child visits.
Recently, Bob Sears, MD, a long-time vaccine-skeptic pediatrician was given hefty punishments from the California medical board for allegedly knowingly embellishing a patient's medical conditions to justify the parents' wishes to forgo vaccines.

In California, a recent law did away with personal belief exemptions for vaccinations in public-school-attending kids and the only way a California child can be exempt is if that child has a documented medical condition which precludes vaccination. Sears allegedly signed off on an exemption which stated that the 2-year-old's kidneys and intestines "shut down" after a vaccine despite having no real medical evidence to back this up. Currently, Sears has four other cases against him being filed.

In our state, parents can seek to have their children exempted from vaccinations for religious, medical or philosophical reasons. Philosophical reasons must meet the requirement of being "strong moral or ethical conviction similar to a religious belief." It's hard to imagine an opinion that would meet such a requirement, but parents do submit such exemptions at times.

Sears has for a long time now, played the role of a purveyor of "middle ground" public health. In a confident writing voice, he has forged an image of a balancer between the recommendations of internationally accepted modern medicine and the siren-song reverence of maintaining children in their natural state. However, one would have to accept that Sears' take is more desirable than the enormous body of science that clearly shows modern vaccines are safe and offer unparalleled protection.

Sears' "The Vaccine Book" focuses on his alternative schedules for vaccination, which recommends slower, more spaced-out administration. Most pediatricians use the schedule endorsed by the American Academy of Pediatrics. A deeply held belief of the anti-vaccine movement is that multiple immunizations given together can hurt or overwhelm the immune system. This belief stems from the idea that infant immune systems are more delicate compared to an adult's.

The evidence does not support this at all. In fact, newborns possess a robust and extremely competent system. Compared to the thousands of viruses, fungi and bacteria the infant immune system contends with on a daily basis, the relative handful of molecules a vaccine delivers is a drop in the ocean.

So what's the harm in spacing vaccines out? First, it creates missed opportunities for protecting children against dangerous diseases such as whooping cough and meningitis. The longer you wait, the higher the chance of illness. These schedules are also exceedingly difficult to follow and demand many extra visits to the doctor, and extra needles. In other words, evidence shows alternate schedules offer less protection, more visits, and no benefit.

When I meet with parents who want to follow Sears' alternative vaccination schedule, I often show them his book to help make my argument against his advice. For example, a passage regarding the MMR vaccine says, "I'm not surprised when a familytells me they don't want the MMR [vaccine]Since the fatality or complications rates for these childhood diseases are fairly low, I don't have much ammunition with which [to change their minds]." He then unashamedly adds, "I also warn them not to share their fears with their neighbors, because if too many people avoid the MMR, we'll likely see the diseases increase significantly."

I ask parents how they would feel if I used his advice: "I'm going to recommend you skip this vaccine, but don't tell anybody else. Because if everyone starts doing it, kids might get sick or die". Would they trust me? Would they consider me a quack or fraud? Sometimes this changes their minds, but other times they still follow Sears' advice. Once the idea that vaccines are risky and not very effective is planted into a caring parent's mind, it is exceedingly difficult to uproot.

Pediatricians work hard to keep children safe. They rely on reams of evidence to support their interventions and spend their careers striving to deliver the best care possible. One voice should not drown out thousands of others simply because that voice invokes unnecessary fears.
Smoke from Western forest fires this past summer shroud Mount Rainier in Washington State. Trip insurance can help if natural disasters impact your vacation plans. Read more

One of the questions we receive most frequently from readers is about buying trip-cancellation insurance. This was brought home to us over the summer as we neared the end of a Canadian road trip. We planned to stay in Calgary as a base for touring the Canadian Rockies.

Unfortunately, the many forest fires out west obscured the mountains and made the area unvisitable. We never saw the beauty of such delights as Lake Louise and Banff and were forced to cancel some hotel stays.

More recently, fires struck tragically in California, burning 150,000 acres and resulting in dozens of deaths in the northern part of the state; dense smoke reached the popular travel destination of San Francisco. If you had planned a trip there, you certainly would want to cancel your plans. But what about items like airfare that you paid for and that were nonrefundable? Would trip insurance have helped? Well, it depends.

There are many types of trip insurance. Some provide reimbursement for lost or stolen items like luggage or expensive cameras; others will handle medical costs and possible evacuation while you're traveling.

In this tip, we're exploring cancellation insurance for when you can't make your journey. Some companies offer plans that may protect you if you must cancel or delay your trip because of an illness or death in the family. The One Trip Cancellation Plus Plan from Allianz Travel covers pretrip illnesses and other situations that could impact travel plans. But will it cover you if the destination suddenly is not a place you'd like to be? Maybe, maybe not.

Potentially covered episodes include a terrorist event at your destination within a month of your arrival, a job layoff, and a natural disaster at the destination, such as fire or flood. Such a policy might offer protection for someone planning a trip to an area with major forest fires like we witnessed this year. However, insurance companies won't provide such coverage, for example, after an announcement of a major storm threatening your destination.

World Nomads also offers a trip-cancellation policy but expressly excludes situations where you change your mind about traveling or have broken up with your partner. (In that case, find a lucky friend with a flexible schedule.) The key is to read the fine print and plan ahead.

Should you buy trip-cancellation insurance? A major factor to consider is how much nonrefundable money you have prepaid for the trip and the impact that potentially losing it would have on your financial situation. In our case this summer, the partial penalty for a canceled hotel stay didn't warrant the cost of insurance.

However, if this is a big trip involving a lot of upfront costs, trip-cancellation insurance, like many insurance policies, can provide peace of mind and save reimbursement hassles should your plans change.

Philadelphia natives Larissa and Michael Milne have been full-time global nomads since 2011. Follow their journey on their travel blog, "Changes in Longitude."
The chairman of Temple University's board came out firing Friday against professor Marc Lamont Hill for a speech he made at the United Nations this week criticizing Israel and its treatment of Palestinians.

Patrick O'Connor called Hill's remarks, which cost him his position as a commentator on CNN, "lamentable" and "disgusting."

"It should be made clear that no one at Temple is happy with his comments," said O'Connor, a prominent Philadelphia lawyer. "Free speech is one thing. Hate speech is entirely different."

In the speech Wednesday as part of the U.N.'s International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People, Hill, a Philadelphia native who holds an endowed chair in Temple's Klein College of Media and Communications, accused Israel of rampant discrimination against Palestinians.

The furor was triggered primarily by one sentence  the last in the lengthy address. In it, Hill endorsed "a free Palestine from the river to the sea," a catchphrase of the Palestinian cause that critics associate with its most militant wings.

Critics said Hill was in effect calling for an end to Israel. After CNN dismissed him on Thursday, Hill called the criticism "absurd" and noted that elsewhere in the speech, he supported Israel's borders, or at least those that existed before it occupied the West Bank and Gaza after the Six-Day War in 1967.

"No part of this is a call to destroy Israel," Hill wrote on Twitter on Thursday.

He added: "I do not support anti-Semitism, killing Jewish people, or any of the other things attributed to my speech. I have spent my life fighting these things."

In the speech, delivered to a panel called the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People, Hill explored numerous ways that he said Palestinians had been mistreated, ranging from their treatment in the courts to restrictions on their ability to travel. He also said violence by Palestinians could be justified as self-defense.

Hill, a 2000 graduate of Temple who holds a doctorate from the University of Pennsylvania, joined the Temple faculty last year, occupying a chair established with a $2 million grant from a donor, Steve Charles.

Hill declined to comment for this article. In an interview Friday with Inquirer and Daily News columnist Jenice Armstrong, he said he had not been "talking about getting rid of Israel" in the reference to "the river to the sea" line, but rather calling for equal rights for Palestinians throughout the Israeli state.

Nor, he said, was his use of the river-to-sea phrase a "dog whistle" to convey his endorsement of more radical groups in the Mideast.

For his part, O'Connor said that Hill's speech had hurt Temple. It "blackens our name unnecessarily," he said.

"I'm not happy. The board's not happy. The administration's not happy. People wanted to fire him right away," O'Connor said. "We're going to look at what remedies we have."

Temple president Richard M. Englert issued a statement Friday, the university's second since the firing  and one mildly more critical of Hill.

While not as harsh in his remarks as O'Connor, Englert noted that Hill's speech "sparked strong responses from those who were offended by his language" and that the speech's reference to a Palestine from the "river to the sea" was seen by many as a "perceived threat."

Hill has tenure, making it very difficult for him to be dismissed. Long-established tenure rules exist to protect academic freedom, the right of a professor to say unpopular things.

If Hill worked in private industry, O'Connor said, he and others would have moved to "fire him immediately." O'Connor said he had instructed Temple's legal staff to explore its options in response to Hill's remarks.

Also Friday, lawyer Leonard Barrack, a Temple trustee and major donor to the university, said he, too, was outraged by the speech.

"He called for the destruction of the State of Israel in code words," Barrack said. "I am very upset about it. I think it was anti-Semitic."

Also Friday, the Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia called for Temple to officially condemn Hill's remarks, calling them "anti-Israel and anti-Semitic." The group stopped short of urging his dismissal.

Morton A. Klein, president of the Zionist Organization of America, said his group wanted Temple to fire or suspend Hill from his endowed chair. Klein said Hill's words amounted to an endorsement of "violent genocide" of Jews in Israel.

Omar Baddar of the Arab American Institute in Washington said that perhaps Hall could have been clearer in his speech, but that his critics had badly distorted his meaning.

"Honestly, I think Marc Lamont Hill was the victim of a smear campaign," Baddar said. "His comments were completely misrepresented."

Witold Walczak, Pennsylvania legal director of the ACLU, said his group took no position on the substance of Hill's speech. But Walczak said Temple could not discipline Hill over his remarks.

"His speech seems to be unrelated to his job as a Temple professor," he said. "Since Temple is a public university, the Constitution applies. Under the First Amendment, Temple cannot punish an employee for making off-the-job statements that it might disagree with. It's not complicated."

Even if the words were offensive, he added, "hate speech is not a recognized exception to the First Amendment."

The controversy is reminiscent of two recent furors involving local university professors.

George Ciccariello-Maher, a Drexel University professor of politics and global studies, resigned from the university last year after nearly a year of threats and protests triggered by a Twitter post that read: "All I Want for Christmas is White Genocide."

He said the tweet was a joke, a "satirical jab at a certain paranoid racist fantasy and that white genocide does not exist."

Amy Wax, a professor at Penn Law School, became a similar target for calls for her dismissal after she disparaged the abilities of black students. Penn removed her as a teacher of a mandatory first-year law class, but she remains a tenured professor.
New York, Nov. 30, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- via NEWMEDIAWIRE -- Weyland Tech Inc. (OTCQX: WEYL) (Weyland or the Company) announced today that the distribution of its holdings in Weyland AtoZPay Indonesia (WAI) will be completed with a distribution of WAI shares on December 11th 2018.



The Companys shareholders of record as of the close of trading on October 12, 2018 will receive a pro-rata distribution of one (1) share of common stock of WAI for each five (5) shares of the Companys common stock held as of the record date. Fractional shares of WAI common stock will not be issued in the distribution, as fractional shares will be rounded up to the immediate next whole share. The spin-off is expected to be effective as of the end of the day on December 11th, 2018, the new distribution date for the spin-off.

The spin-off of (WAI) holds a 49% equity ownership interest in PT Weyland Indonesia Perkasa, a limited liability company organized under the laws of the Republic of Indonesia (WIP).

WIPs primary business operations include a digital financial transactions app serving the rapidly growing Indonesia e-commerce and e-payment markets (eWallet).

Post distribution Weyland will retain an option for 31% of AtoZPay which can be acquired by the Company at its discretion for a nominal exercise price.

As AtoZPay was at no time consolidated into Company financial statements the spin-off will have no effect on the Company's core business financials.

WAI will be free to enter the capital markets to unlock value for its shareholders.

While Weyland continues to support AtoZPay generating additional value for Weyland shareholders based on its 31% option to purchase AtoZPay.

Tax Treatment:

It is managements expectation that the distribution of Weyland AtoZ Pay to WTI's shareholders is a taxable transaction. The reason is that Weyland AtoZ Pay has neither conducted active trade or business for 5 years ending on the date of distribution (as it's a newly formed entity), neither does it control (within terms of  1504(a) - 80% of vote and value) any corporation which has conducted such trade or business for the period of 5 years.



Therefore the distribution of Weyland AtoZ Pay to WTI's shareholders is likely to be taxable at the shareholder's level under  301(c).

As WTI has no tax earnings and profits then, per aforementioned  301(c), such distribution (equal to fair market value of the Weyland AtoZPays stock on the date of distribution) will (1) reduce such shareholder's adjusted basis of WTI's stock (i.e., be treated as a return of capital), and (2) after the adjusted basis has been reduced to zero, the remaining part will be treated as capital gain (gain from sale or exchange of property) of such shareholder, and taxable at either long or short-term capital gain rates (in case of individual shareholder) or corporate tax rate (in case of corporate shareholder).

The basis of Weyland AtoZ Pay's stock to the shareholder will be its FMV on the date of distribution (as provided in  301(d)). With a loan of $122,500 to WAI provided by the Company to purchase the Companys WIP shares for $122,500 the book value of WAI is estimated as zero. Further as an illiquid private company, WAI is estimated FMV of $122,500  allocated across the shares of 36,816,109 shares or $0.0033 per share.

As the Company has no tax earnings or profits the distribution is likely to be tax-free for foreign shareholders, as (a) return of capital is always tax-free, and (b) per  871/881 and  1441/1442, non-resident aliens and foreign corporations in general are not subject to U.S. withholding tax on U.S.-source capital gains (in a preamble to one of the Treas. Reg. under  1441, the Department of Treasury has explicitly acknowledged that  301(c)(3) capital gain is not a dividend, and shall not be subject to  1441 withholding - see Treasury Decision 8881, 65 FR 32151-32212 May 22, 2000).

Business Overview and History of Weyland Tech and AtoZPay

Weyland Tech, Inc. is focused on mobile commerce enablement via our enhanced platform built in 2017 and offered on a Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) basis, as well as the companys AtoZPay eWallet initiative. Recent product launches with our strategic partners DPEX (Indonesia), BGT (Thailand), Augicom/Orange (France) are representative of the PaaS platform strategy and product offering.

As a result, the Companys core product has evolved over the course of 2017 and 2018 to capitalize on the immediate opportunity for developing a larger network of valuable users and merchants by developing services that will enable the adoption of mobile commerce across Greater South East Asia. The platform enhancements have taken the Companys technology from a standalone DIY app builder to an enhanced platform built to enable mobile commerce.

In 2018, Weyland is focusing on scaling this business model by continuing to develop and expand strategic partnerships that would increase the number of users and merchants available to users of the Companys products on a Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) basis. These efforts will expand on the success of recent product launches representative of the PaaS platform strategy and product offering with our strategic partners DPEX (Indonesia), BGT (Thailand), and Augicom/Orange (France). And after extensive discussions with our partners, management believes that supporting these initiatives through deeper engagement, interaction and co-marketing/sales will substantially benefit the Company in 2018 and beyond.

With the launch of AtozPay eWallet in May 2018, the Company created a consumer facing product offering that supports the PaaS strategy developed by the enhancements to the CreateApp platform and enables Weyland to drive higher monetization on those platforms by providing payments capabilities.

AtozPay exited the closed beta environment on May 23, 2018 and officially launched for business.

AtozPay is designed to be a robust, universal payment platform expanding its growth potential beyond the Companys PaaS customers alone.

In order to maximize the independent growth of AtoZPay and consequently shareholder value, management made the decision to spin-off the eWallet business via a special dividend.

This effort is intended to boost shareholder value by creating a stand-alone vehicle for the fast-growing global e-money/eWallet industry. Private and public transactions in the e-money/eWallet industry in South East Asia are growing more frequent with valuations that would represent substantial value creation for existing shareholders.

It is the Companys belief that either a trade sale or an IPO of the eWallet business can be completed by the end of 2019.

Safe Harbor Statement

This release contains certain "forward-looking statements" relating to the business of the Company. All statements, other than statements of historical fact included herein are "forward-looking statements" including statements regarding: the continued growth of the e-commerce segment and the ability of the Company to continue its expansion into that segment; the ability of the Company to attract customers and partners and generate revenues; the ability of the Company to successfully execute its business plan; the business strategy, plans, and objectives of the Company; and any other statements of non-historical information. These forward-looking statements are often identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "believes," "expects" or similar expressions and involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties. Although the Company believes that the expectations reflected in these forward-looking statements are reasonable, they do involve assumptions, risks, and uncertainties, and these expectations may prove to be incorrect. Investors should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this news release. The Company's actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements as a result of a variety of factors, including those discussed in the Company's periodic reports that are filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission and available on its website ( http://www.sec.gov) . All forward-looking statements attributable to the Company or persons acting on its behalf are expressly qualified in their entirety by these factors. Other than as required under the securities laws, the Company does not assume any duty to update these forward-looking statements.




A water utility company on Thursday told residents of Yardley, Lower Makefield, and Falls Township to boil all tap water before consuming it due to the potential presence of disease-causing organisms. Read more

Pennsbury School District was closed Friday as a boil-water advisory remained in effect for Yardley, Lower Makefield, and Falls Township.

On Thursday night, a water utility had told residents to boil tap water before consuming it due to the potential presence of disease-causing organisms.

Pennsylvania American Water said in a statement on its website that it was investigating "high turbidity levels" in the water being supplied to those parts of central and lower Bucks County. It advised residents to boil water before drinking it, making ice, brushing teeth, washing dishes, or using it to cook.

It did not say when it might be safe to consume tap water again, but said it would alert residents at that time. As of Friday morning, there were no additional updates from the water company.

As a result, Pennsbury School District, which serves about 10,000 students, said all of its 15 schools and its central offices would be closed Friday and that it would continue to monitor the situation through the weekend.

The utility said the spike in turbidity levels, which it deemed temporary, was caused by "changes in water flows to filters at our treatment plant."

It did not elaborate and said an investigation was ongoing to determine a solution. Turbidity  or cloudiness  may indicate the presence of bacteria, viruses, or parasites that can cause nausea, diarrhea, or headaches, the utility said.

Tankers with potable water would be stationed at the Yardley Makefield Fire Companies; Big Oak Shopping Center; Village Market in Lower Makefield; and Gas Light Village in Falls Township, according to the utility.

Yardely borough advised residents that Brita or other water filters were not adequate in this situation, that pets should be given the same boiled or bottled water as humans, and that showering was OK.
Thursday November 09, 2017 Political commentator Marc Lamont Hill in his soon to be opened Germantown coffee shop. ED HILLE / Staff Photographer Read more

CNN cut ties with Temple University professor Marc Lamont Hill on Thursday after he made controversial comments referencing Israel in a speech to the United Nations.

"Marc Lamont Hill is no longer under contract with CNN," a spokesperson confirmed in a short statement.

During the Wednesday speech, Hill encouraged countries to boycott Israel, calling for a "free Palestine from the river to the sea."

"We have an opportunity to not just offer solidarity in words but to commit to political action, grass-roots action, local action and international action that will give us what justice requires and that is a free Palestine from the river to the sea," Hill said.

The phrase  used by anti-Israel terror groups, including Hamas, according to The Hill  sparked outrage and drew swift criticism from a number of organizations, including the Anti-Defamation League and National Council of Young Israel, which called for Hill's firing in the wake of his "virulent anti-Semitism."

On Twitter, Hill, who has contributed to the Inquirer and Daily News, called the response to his comments "absurd on its face."

He pushed back against the criticism, saying he did not support anti-Semitism and the "river to the sea" reference was "a call for justice, both in Israel and in the West Bank/Gaza."

The Temple media professor does not represent the Philadelphia school and his views are his own, the university wrote in a statement to The Hill.

The Zionist Organization of America condemned Temple for its statement, and urged the university "to strongly condemn Marc Lamont Hill's dangerous public calls for violence against Israelis and the destruction of Israel, and to fire Hill immediately or at least suspend him and remove him from the prestigious Steve Charles Chair that he holds."
Gurbir Grewal, NJ Attorney General, speaks during the New Jersey State League of Municipalities Mayor's Box Luncheon in Atlantic City earlier this month. Read more

New Jersey Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal has issued a sweeping directive to state, county, and local law enforcement agencies to limit the type of assistance their officers can offer federal immigration authorities.

The new rules, his office said, are designed to strengthen trust between police agencies and the state's diverse immigrant communities.

The order is intended to "draw a clear line" between the responsibilities of New Jersey's 36,000 law enforcement officers to enforce state criminal laws and the jobs of immigration agents to enforce federal immigration law. It applies to police, prosecutors, county detectives, sheriff's officers, and corrections officers, and seeks to ensure that immigrants feel safe in reporting crimes to police, according to the attorney general.

The directive marks the latest front in the war between immigration advocates who demand strict separation between state and federal law enforcement, and Trump administration officials who insist that local police must help catch undocumented immigrants. The administration has dramatically clamped down on both legal and illegal immigration  and criticized the so-called sanctuary cities that won't help ICE do its job.

Then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions and the City of Philadelphia fought a major federal lawsuit over the administration's attempt to withhold grant money to force the city to cooperate.

In June, after a four-day trial and nearly a year of litigation, a federal judge ruled for Philadelphia, saying the city's refusal to help enforce immigration laws was based on policies that are reasonable, rational, and equitable. U.S. District Judge Michael Baylson ruled that the Trump administration's attempt to withhold about $1.5 million in federal law enforcement grant money "violates statutory and constitutional law."

Called the "Immigrant Trust Directive," Grewal's directive states that except in limited circumstances, New Jersey law enforcement officers cannot:

Stop, question, arrest, search, or detain anyone based on actual or suspected immigration status.

Ask people their immigration status, unless it's necessary to the ongoing investigation of a serious offense.

Participate in immigration-enforcement operations conducted by officers with federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement, known as ICE.

Provide ICE with access to state or local law enforcement databases, office space, or equipment, unless those resources are also available to the public.

Allow ICE to interview anyone arrested on a criminal charge unless that person is advised of the right to a lawyer.

"We know from experience that individuals are far less likely to report a crime to the local police if they fear that the responding officer will turn them over to federal immigration authorities," Grewal said. "That fear makes it more difficult for officers to solve crimes and bring suspects to justice."

It's important, he added, that "no law-abiding resident of this great state should live in fear that a routine traffic stop by local police will result in his or her deportation."

ICE Deputy Director Matthew Albence criticized the attorney general's action, saying it "undermines public safety and hinders ICE from performing its federally mandated mission."

"Ultimately," he said, "this directive shields certain criminal aliens, creating a state-sanctioned haven for those seeking to evade federal authorities, all at the expense of the safety and security of the very people the NJ Attorney General is charged with protecting."

On Friday, three GOP legislators spoke out against the attorney general's action, calling it poorly considered and even dangerous.

"This initiative places undocumented immigrants above the millions of residents who are living here legally," Assemblyman Greg McGuckin said. "It creates a costly haven for those who have broken the law and are looking to evade deportation."

Assemblyman Dave Wolfe said no one can "pick and choose which laws you want to follow," and while New Jersey should be a tolerant place for all people, "that doesn't mean we should violate the law or stop hardworking immigration officials from doing their jobs."

State Sen. Jim Holzapfel  who like his two colleagues represents Ocean County  called Grewal's order "ill-conceived" and "a dangerous political statement that jeopardizes the safety of millions of our residents."

"New Jersey is a diverse and welcoming state," he said, "but without the cooperation of state and local police, individuals who should be taken off our streets will still be able to disregard the law. For the sake of the hardworking residents who live here legally, I am urging Attorney General Grewal to rethink this drastic action."

Grewal said that nothing in the directive implies that New Jersey offers "sanctuary" to lawbreakers. And nothing hampers police from complying with federal law or valid court orders, including judicial arrest warrants.

"Police officers are charged with the care and safety of all members of the community, regardless of their immigration status," Camden County Police Chief J. Scott Thomson said in a statement. "When any one group fears its police to the point where crimes and criminals are not reported, public and officer safety are gravely threatened."

The New Jersey ACLU praised the directive, saying its development incorporated voices and opinions of both immigration advocates and law enforcement officers, and will ultimately build greater trust between communities and police.

"Every New Jerseyan should be able to raise their children, go to work, and contribute to their communities without the fear that an ordinary interaction with police could derail their lives," said Alexander Shalom, ACLU-NJ senior supervising attorney. "Because of this directive, everyone in our state can feel more secure in their rights and safer in their communities."

Importantly, the ACLU said, New Jersey jails will dramatically reduce instances where they honor immigration detainers  requests from ICE to hold someone while the agency checks immigration status  unless supported by a signed judicial warrant.

ACLU-NJ executive director Amol Sinha said that "with this directive, we can proudly answer who we are as New Jerseyans: we're a state of people who feel morally bound to stand up for the rights, dignity, and safety of everyone who lives here, no matter their country of origin or place of birth."
New Jersey lawmakers traveled to Denver a year ago to observe marijuana operations at the Medicine Man facility. Now they are weighing a legalization bill. Read more

The bill to legalize marijuana in New Jersey is a 166-page goodie bag that says yes to home deliveries made through a smartphone app and to BYOW (bring-your-own weed) smoking lounges. It would also allow hotels to set aside 20 percent of their guest rooms for cannabis tokers, offer legal forgiveness to people arrested for possessing and selling small amounts of weed, encourage the cannabis industry to set up union shops, and more, much more.

The proposal that is advancing to the floor of the Legislature, after a committee hearing last week, is now on full display after weeks of backroom discussions. Supporters predict it will become a model for other states with its all-inclusive approach to weed regulation, while critics say it is an overly ambitious plan that sends the wrong message to children.

Even the sponsors recognize that some of the 67,583-word treatise may have to be tweaked or eliminated during efforts to finalize the law. A final vote could come as soon as Dec. 17, when the state Senate and Assembly meet again, but some say that may be unrealistic.

"It's not impossible, but more likely it would be January," Sen. Nicholas Scutari (D., Union), a major architect of the bill, said Friday.

Patrick Murray, a political analyst and pollster at Monmouth University, predicted the vote will be close and will take more time. "With a large bill like this, with both cultural and economic impacts, you really have to bring together a very large coalition of disparate folks in order to pass something like this," he said.

If the measure passes, New Jersey could become the 11th state to legalize marijuana, uh, cannabis. The new bill is titled the Cannabis Regulatory and Expungement Aid Modernization Act and the word marijuana was struck numerous times from the older version of the bill, introduced in June, after voluminous amendments were recently added.

"I think it's a good piece  that's not to say it's perfection. We won't let perfection get in the way of getting a bill passed," Scutari said after the committee voted on the measure and it cleared a significant first hurdle. State Senate President Stephen Sweeney (D., Gloucester), a cosponsor, did not respond to requests for comment.

The amendments, first revealed to the public during the hearing Monday, are sweeping.

The sponsors included provisions that would appeal to residents who want to enjoy marijuana much as they do alcohol  setting up "consumption lounges" that sell food and allow patrons to smoke cannabis. Other parts of the bill address concerns raised by social-justice advocates who say African Americans have suffered from disparate marijuana enforcement and should have their criminal records wiped clean quickly.

The amendments also offer perks to home-rule enthusiasts who want to decide whether to allow marijuana in their towns, and to lawmakers who want control over a potentially multibillion-dollar industry by creating a commission that would regulate it.

Most unique is the part that would allow home deliveries for recreational, adult use of cannabis. No unmanned Tesla-like mobile would be allowed to make the drop, the bill says. And leaving the engine running would be verboten.

Cannabis products would be delivered only to a real, "physical address" in New Jersey (not to a cornfield or a desolate parking lot). Licensed dispensaries or micro-business retailers would oversee the whole operation, verifying the drivers are 18 or older and that consumers are 21 or older.

Delivery vehicles would not be allowed to have markings that reveal they are carrying cannabis  no pictures of a green leaf  and must be equipped with GPS tracking. And, cannabis products would have to be transported in the vehicle's storage bed.

Chris Goldstein, an advocate and organizer for the pro-marijuana group NORML in Philadelphia and South Jersey, said he suggested home deliveries months ago and was laughed at. But then cannabis-industry representatives picked up on the idea as a way to expand their customer base. Parts of California, Colorado, and Oregon have home deliveries, he said.

"The consumer would load up, say, $100, in a weed account, and order marijuana from a micro-business retailer who would be like an Uber driver for weed," he said. "It would all be done through a smartphone app."

Assemblyman Jamel Holley (D., Union), a cosponsor of the bill, said he added home deliveries to the bill after seeing how well it worked in California and how it brought in millions in revenue. This also would answer critics who say cannabis users will get high and drive. "Folks can get deliveries," he said.

"Why not?" asked Scutari. "There are alcohol delivery programs. This would allow automatic tracking. It was another request from people wanting jobs in the industry."

Another striking provision in the bill, tucked halfway into the text, calls for "consumption lounges." The proposal goes beyond what is offered by most other states where marijuana is legal. Patrons would be free to purchase cannabis products in a dispensary and then walk to a separate area to imbibe. And they would also be allowed to Bring Their Own. Weed, that is. Think breweries or bars with a twist.

Scutari said that he added lounges to the bill after learning that some residents might not have access to weed if they live in apartment buildings where smoking is banned.

Scutari also has visited Amsterdam, which is known for its regulated cannabis cafes. He said that he observed how they were a boon for tourists and caused few problems.

The bill also pays homage to the state's home-rule tradition, which gives the local governing bodies of the state's 565 municipalities considerable power over what is permitted within their borders. The cannabis bill would allow towns to pass ordinances to ban weed businesses and consumption lounges. It's unclear whether such bans would include deliveries.

Cannabis users would be prohibited from driving under the influence, the bill further states. Police would get special training to learn how to detect intoxication and to use blood tests to confirm it.

Also, anyone who purchases black-market marijuana could face fines that start at $25. Police would have discretion over issuing such fines, based on their observations and investigations.

The social-justice issues surrounding criminal enforcement of marijuana laws are a big focus of the bill. Disproportionate numbers of minorities are arrested for marijuana, and that creates a criminal record that prevents them from obtaining jobs, education, housing, and loans, the sponsors said.

To make amends, as many as 25 percent of cannabis licenses would be set aside for minorities who live in the state so that they can open micro-businesses in the industry. That provision was added after advocates complained the new marijuana industry would be controlled by mostly white investors and out-of-state corporations.

The licenses also would be awarded with an eye toward setting up more dispensaries and grow sites in towns where marijuana arrests have been high and where communities have been impacted the most.

Applicants seeking these competitive licenses would get a higher score in the process by agreeing to set up union shops, under yet another provision, added to the bill by Sweeney, a vice president with the International Association of Iron Workers.

Anyone arrested for marijuana possession in recent months would have their charges dropped almost automatically, and those convicted of minor marijuana charges would be eligible to have their criminal records expunged expeditiously. Those charged with low-level marijuana sales also would be excused if the person possessed less than one ounce of cannabis.

Despite the measure's seeming momentum, Gov. Murphy, who campaigned last year on a platform that he favors legalization, has some objections that could scuttle the bill or delay the vote. His spokesperson provided a video clip of comments he made at a news conference Monday when asked about the bill. "I've not read it yet," he said, adding, " I'm glad we're making progress." In another clip his office provided, Murphy said a few days later, "We haven't commented on specifics, but I'm very happy this is moving."

For now, the bill has taken center stage in Trenton. It's the buzz among lawmakers who navigated the crush of the crowd at the nearly five-hour hearing and now face hard questions from the public.

Could the vote be around the corner?

"I'm hoping by end of the year," said Holley. "I hope we can start the new year off discussing other progressive ideas and hammer out other issues that are out there."
Tina Smith walks into district court in Doylestown with her attorney, Robert Goldman. Smith is accused of possessing weapons of mass destruction for explosive devices recovered from the Quakertown home she shared with her longtime boyfriend, David Surman Jr. Read more

Arguments and accusations detonated in a Bucks County district court Friday, nearly as numerous as the homemade explosive devices being debated.

In a hotly contested preliminary hearing, attorney Robert Goldman said the devices his client, Tina Smith, possessed were simply "homemade fireworks," and not the weapons of mass destruction that prosecutors labeled them.

"In this time, public officials like attention, and they made this case into one of weapons of mass destruction  nuclear bombs and chemical weapons," Goldman said, calling for "sanity to return to the prosecutor's office."

Smith, 31, was charged last month with conspiracy to possess or manufacture a weapon of mass destruction, reckless endangerment, and related offenses. In June, state police investigators found five explosive devices at the Quakertown house she had shared with David Surman Jr. for six years, according to court filings. Three were tucked into a bedroom dresser and two others, including an 18-inch explosive, were hidden in a nearby shed.

Surman, the owner of a small mail-order chemical company, made headlines in the summer when investigators linked him to a series of mysterious late-night explosions in rural townships at the northern tip of the county. He faces similar charges to Smith and has a pending case in County Court in Doylestown after waiving his right to a preliminary hearing earlier in the fall.

For Smith, Goldman argued that the charges should be reduced to violations of Pennsylvania's fireworks statute.

District Judge Regina Armitage disagreed, holding Smith for trial on all charges in County Court, where she will be arraigned in January.

Investigators have said Smith admitted to helping Surman deploy the explosives, driving him in her SUV as he lit their fuses and threw them out of the passenger-side window on at least three occasions. But despite prosecutors' assertions that Smith and Surman sought to intimidate or harm their neighbors, Goldman characterized their behavior as harmless, juvenile fun.

"The devices we have here, there is no evidence they were instruments of a crime," Goldman added. "Tossing them into woods or fields to see them explode to get your jollies is not an intent to deploy them criminally."

But Deputy District Attorney Antonetta Stancu disputed that description Friday, saying a forensic analysis determined the devices were more sophisticated than fireworks.

"There is no question that these are not fireworks," she said. "These were high explosive devices containing explosive quantities of different chemicals."

A report from the FBI's laboratory in Quantico, Va., found that the devices seized from Surman's home contained "high explosive hexamethylene triperoxide diamine," as well as silver nitrate, black powder, flash powder, and mannitol hexanitrate, an explosive compound used in detonators, Stancu said Friday.

As for the couple's potential motive in producing and using the explosives, Stancu said evidence clearly indicated that as well.

State Trooper Stephen DeAngeles testified Friday that binders recovered from the Quakertown home included several handmade and digital drawings about the explosive devices. They included phrases such as "boom, boom, no sleep at 4 a.m." and "[expletive] over the police."

"A picture is worth 1,000 words. These are worth so much more," Stancu said, adding that other pages in the binder include cartoonish depictions of Smith and Surman fleeing a mushroom cloud in an SUV.

"There was an intent here to terrorize the community and intimidate society," Stancu said.

No one was injured in the more than two dozen explosions, reported between April and June in the northern part of Bucks County, according to investigators. In the weeks before the raid on Surman and Smith's home, a public works employee in Milford Township inadvertently ran over one of the unexploded devices while mowing the grass on municipal property. The device detonated, but the worker was not harmed.

Court filings show that Smith and Surman joked about that incident in text messages.

"The feds took the mower on Milford," Surman texted Smith, according to an affidavit of probable cause for Smith's arrest.

"That's so  funny," she replied.

Surman was also scheduled to appear in front of Armitage on Friday for a preliminary hearing on child pornography charges filed after investigators recovered pornographic images from his computer while serving a search warrant for evidence in the explosions case. He waived his right to that hearing, and the case was transferred to County Court.
U.S. Reps. Dwight Evans (left) and Brendan Boyle (right) are both vying for new influence as Democrats take control of the U.S. House. Both Philadelphia Democrats are seeking a seat on the powerful Ways and Means Committee. Read more

WASHINGTON  Philadelphia is about to see a changing of the guard in Congress. With Rep. Bob Brady's impending retirement, January will be the first time since 1995 that neither he nor Chaka Fattah represents the city.

Reps. Brendan Boyle and Dwight Evans are brimming with ambition, each hoping to give Philadelphia a bigger voice in the national debate as their party takes control of the U.S. House.

But Boyle and Evans may run into each other in a contest to become the city's go-to person inside the Capitol.

Both Democrats are seeking a seat on the House Ways and Means Committee, a powerful perch that often serves as a launching pad. Only one of them, at most, is likely to get it when the new term starts in January.

"I would hope to do on the Democratic side what Paul Ryan did on the Republican side," said Boyle, 41, referring to the Wisconsin Republican who used slots on the Budget and Ways and Means Committees to become a national force on fiscal policy, the GOP's vice presidential nominee in 2012, and, now, House speaker.

Evans  23 years older but newer to Congress  is touting his experience in the Pennsylvania House and has made clear he doesn't see himself as a junior member.

"I'm not new at this. I was chairman of the Appropriations Committee for 20 years," Evans said, referring to his long tenure in Harrisburg. "I've earned the consideration, and that's the case I'm trying to make to people."

In pushing to become players in big, national debates, they envision a shift from the predecessors who represented the city for two decades.

Brady, in office since 1997, had an intensely local focus, working mainly as an ambassador and fixer for Philadelphia. He pushed for funding to dredge the Delaware River and deals to protect refinery jobs and rushed home to settle labor disputes. On major policy debates, he mostly just echoed party leaders.

Fattah held a seat on the powerful Appropriations Committee, using it to steer money to Philadelphia, and in recent years was mostly known for carving out a niche on science funding and brain research. He served from 1995 until 2016, when he was forced out of office after a conviction on federal corruption charges, including misusing federal dollars.

Boyle and Evans envision more sweeping roles.

"These are two men who want to do something," said Larry Ceisler, a Democratic strategist from Philadelphia. "They want to be of consequence."

Evans pointed to Pennsylvania's increased weight within the Democratic caucus, given the party's gains in the past election.

"We will be more of a factor, and I keep reminding people  this is where America started," Evans said of Philadelphia.

He touted big ideas to repair schools and expand infrastructure projects, and offered a comparison to another Philadelphian, the late Bill Gray, who chaired the Budget Committee and later became the third-ranking Democrat in the House.

Boyle first ran for office when he was 27 and joined the state legislature just before turning 31.

After winning a competitive 2014 primary for Congress, Boyle talked about how big, liberal cities like Boston, New York. and San Francisco produced leading figures who could drive national debates  and argued that a Philadelphian should have similar stature in Democratic politics.

He founded a "Blue Collar Caucus" to try to appeal to working-class voters.

"I think I've built a reputation as someone who, yes, is very proud to be from Philadelphia and works hard to represent his district, but is also a voice in our national and international politics," Boyle said this week.

Given his relative youth, Boyle has the potential to serve in Congress for decades, often a requirement to rise up the ranks. (New Jersey's Rep. Frank Pallone, for example, is 67 and finally in line to chair the Energy and Commerce Committee, after 30 years in the House.) Evans is 64 and about to begin his second term.

At stake is a committee post that would give either Boyle or Evans a front-row seat on taxes and spending  leading to influence and a likely flood of campaign donations.

The Ways and Means Committee handled the GOP's two biggest legislative priorities this past session, its tax bill and health-care overhaul. When former Rep. Pat Meehan of Delaware County landed on the panel, he amassed a campaign war chest that had national Republicans eyeing him as a potential Senate candidate. (He passed, and resigned this year after revelations of a sexual-harassment claim.)

Former Rep. Allyson Schwartz of Montgomery County was the last Southeast Pennsylvania Democrat to hold a seat on Ways and Means. She ran for governor in 2014.

Several Democrats interviewed for this article envisioned Boyle taking a shot at a Senate run, perhaps as early as 2022.

"The guy went to Notre Dame and Harvard. He's a smart guy and ambitious, and he's always angling," said Neil Oxman, a Democratic media consultant from Philadelphia.

"The honest answer is I don't know," Boyle said. "My outlook has been to just work hard and do a good job in the job I'm in, and that may lead to other opportunities."

Evans, too, has spent much of his life in politics, and frequently looking to step up. He joined the state legislature in 1980 and has since run for governor, lieutenant governor, and for mayor, twice.

Shortly after winning a 2016 special election to replace Fattah, he wrote to Democratic House leader Nancy Pelosi to request a seat on one of Ways and Means, Transportation and Infrastructure  two heavily sought-after panels rarely given to freshmen  or the Agriculture Committee. He ended up on Agriculture but says now that his first-term work and his long history in Harrisburg should give him an avenue to Ways and Means.

"You put your name in and do the best you can and hope in return that people look at your skill set, and that's all you can do," Evans said.

Both congressmen said there is no acrimony in the contest.

Boyle would appear to have the inside track.

He has seniority, having joined Congress nearly two years before Evans. Given the turnover in the area, he will begin his third term next year as the longest-serving House member from Southeast Pennsylvania.

Boyle also noted that he traveled this year to campaign for fellow Democrats and gave $125,000 to the party's House campaign arm  often a key factor in deciding who gets the plum committee assignments. On election night he was on stage to celebrate with Pelosi in Washington, where she praised his efforts.

Boyle said he also has support from Brady and the dean of Pennsylvania's Democratic delegation, Rep. Michael Doyle, another major point in deciding who lands on big committees.

Brady said he pledged support for Boyle last year, before he knew of Evans' interest. Even so, he said the transportation committee  which Evans retains an interest in  might have more local impact, especially as Democrats push for a major infrastructure bill.

"Ways and Means is like a status kind of thing, but I don't know what it brings back to your district," Brady said. "Being on transportation you can really be helpful."

The process of choosing who gets the coveted assignments, however, is fuzzy and can often depend on the whims of party leaders.

Evans  who has prominently touted his support for Pelosi and hosted her at Philadelphia events during the campaign  is vying for the seat at a time when a new wave of Democrats are pushing the party to do away with the old traditions that rely on seniority and campaign donations. It's also a moment when minorities are seeking greater influence within a party that increasingly relies on their support.

Evans has appealed to the Congressional Black Caucus for support. The caucus' chairman, Evans said, "hasn't said no to me."

Party leaders aim for regional balance on the most powerful committees  which means that it's unlikely that more than one Philadelphian could land a seat on the panel, if either can.

Each also has to contend with the crop of Democratic newcomers. They, too, have bold ambitions.
U.S. Sen.Bob Casey, D-PA, in interviewed by reporters following his second debate with Republican challenger U.S. Rep. Lou Barletta, Friday Oct. 26, 2018, in the studio of KDKA-TV in Pittsburgh. Read more

With midterm elections over, and a crop of fresh new faces on Pennsylvania's political scene, this year's annual weekend of schmoozing and networking in New York City  ironically called the Pennsylvania Society  will be all about jostling for the spotlight.

The mad dash to Manhattan this week is ostensibly to attend some government-like forums, but it's mostly to fund-raise, party and  for the ambitious  draw attention. The itinerary features an exhaustive list of dinners, receptions, and cocktail parties (most invitation-only) hosted by law firms, lobbyists, and others with a financial stake in Keystone State government and politics.

The burning topic of conversation tends to be less about policy and more about who is showing up where  and why.

Democratic U.S. Sen. Bob Casey, who has fanned chatter that he may run for president in 2020, will be making a return appearance. So will Republican state House Speaker Mike Turzai, who many believe will try to position himself early on as the favored GOP candidate for a gubernatorial nomination; and Jeff Bartos, who, though unsuccessful in his Republican run for lieutenant governor last month, has already sparked speculation about his next political move.

Gov. Wolf, a Democrat who just won reelection, decided to sit it out this year. Wolf has never been a big fan of the annual trek north, which even those who enthusiastically attend acknowledge is largely for the political elite and people who want something from them.

State Sen.-elect Katie Muth, who last month pulled off an upset win to oust longtime State Sen. John Rafferty of Montgomery County, falls into that camp and won't be attending.

"I know it's, like, a big networking event," said Muth, a Democrat who noted that she had a stack of invitations to parties in New York this weekend  many from law firms that supported her opponent. "I am of the people, and I sort of view it as an elitist event."

For the Philly-centric crowd, though, all ears will be piqued for intelligence on who will challenge Mayor Kenney in next year's election, and who will run for City Council. Former City Controller Alan Butkovitz has already announced a mayoral bid, while Democratic State Sen. Anthony H. Williams has signaled he may run.

Beyond that, Democrats are expected to spend time doing a victory lap, celebrating key pickups in Congress, as well as in both chambers of the state legislature, while retaining the governorship.

Republicans are likely to downplay the significance of their losses  most dramatically in the Philadelphia suburbs  while privately regrouping to map out what many expect will be an unabashedly more conservative policy agenda leading up to the 2020 election.

That year  with Pennsylvania again expected to be a battleground in the race for president  has the potential to shape politics and governing in the state for the next decade. That is because all seats in the state House, as well as half those in the state Senate, will be up for grabs. Whoever snags majorities in those chambers controls the brass ring of legislating: the once-in-a-decade redistricting process, during which maps are drawn for congressional and state legislative districts.

As it stands, Republicans control both the state House and Senate. But Democrats last month took a sizable chunk out of those majorities, and are plotting to further erode GOP control in 2020.

Given those stakes, both parties will be looking for political stars to lead the way.

"Now, we wait to see who will emerge as the next series of leaders," said political pollster and analyst G. Terry Madonna of Franklin and Marshall College.

The Pennsylvania Society can be the place where such reputations are made. For decades, the event  capped by a Saturday night ballroom dinner  was held inside the gilded halls and reception rooms of the Waldorf Astoria hotel in midtown Manhattan and was the place to see and be seen.

Last year, because of renovations at the Waldorf, the event was transplanted to the far less glamorous Hilton Midtown. The storied hotel remains closed this year, so this weekend's event will again be at the Hilton.

Casey is holding a reception, as he does most years. But this time around, there is more buzz around him. After his victory in last month's election over GOP challenger Rep. Lou Barletta, Casey was asked by NBC News if he planned to run for president in 2020.

His response: "We'll see what happens."
State Rep. Vanessa Brown (D.,Phila.) was the only defendant in a sting investigation to fight her case in court. Read more

HARRISBURG  State Rep. Vanessa Lowery Brown, the last of six Philadelphia Democrats prosecuted in a politically fraught and now infamous bribery sting, was ordered Friday to serve 23 months' probation for taking $4,000 in bribes and violating state ethics laws.

Like most of her co-defendants, Brown avoided the prison term that prosecutors had sought. But her conviction likely will end her political career, which for nearly a decade has included representing a West Philadelphia state House district. She won reelection just weeks ago.

She has not yet resigned, but a special election to fill her seat could be held next year.

In a tearful speech, Brown, 52, told Dauphin County Court Judge Scott Evans that she was "deeply sorry and extremely remorseful that my actions have taken me from my community."

She went on to say that she felt responsible for her father's health issues and her mother's death from heart problems. Her mother, Brown said, told her shortly before she died that her heart broke when she read stories about the case.

"I just wish that I had made better decisions," Brown said.

The nearly hour-long sentencing marked the likely last step in a controversial case that roiled the Capitol and ensnared six Philadelphia Democrats. Brown was the only one to go to trial.

The case, in a roundabout way, also led to the downfall of former Attorney General Kathleen G. Kane, who this week began serving her own sentence at the Montgomery County Correctional Facility

The probe began nearly a decade ago, and then was secretly quashed by Kane after she was elected. She contended that it had been weakened by racial targeting and therefore was unlikely to lead to convictions  arguments that Brown's lawyers later unsuccessfully made. All of the defendants charged in the investigation were African American Democrats.

The judge on Friday noted the case's racial and political overtones and the corruption by others swept up in the probe. Evans said he considered those factors as well as what he described as conflicting testimony by some in the FBI and the use of a controversial undercover operative when considering which sentence to impose.

"There were so many aspects of this investigation that are troubling, to say the least," he said.

Brown's defense attorneys said they expect to file an appeal within a month, seeking to vacate her convictions. It is unclear how the appeal could impact her ability to hold office. One of her defense lawyers, John Dempsey, told the judge that Brown has a pending job offer from a community center in Philadelphia.

After the Inquirer revealed in 2014 that Kane had shut down the investigation, she slipped secret information to the media in an effort to smear a former state employee whom she blamed for the Inquirer report. She later lied to a grand jury investigating the leak and eventually was sentenced to 10 to 23 months in jail.

The original probe had been resurrected by then-Philadelphia District Attorney Seth Williams and led to guilty or no-contest pleas by five other officials  four former state representatives and a Traffic Court judge. All but one of the defendants  former Judge Thomasine Tynes, who went to prison in connection with this and an unrelated case  ultimately were sentenced to probation.

Brown's case eventually was transferred to Dauphin County.

Jurors in October heard how she had been recorded pocketing five bribe payments totaling $4,000. At one point, she was recorded looking at $2,000 in cash inside her Harrisburg office and saying, "Ooh, good looking!  Thank you twice."

The jury deliberated for four hours before convicting her of violating the state's conflict-of-interest law, accepting thousands of dollars in bribes, and failing to report the payments on her financial disclosure forms. Most of the charges are felonies.

Pennsylvania court rulings have established that elected state lawmakers convicted of certain felonies can't continue to hold office, making it common for them to resign on the day of their sentencing.

Spokespeople for House leaders said they had not received a resignation letter from Brown as of Friday afternoon.

As a result of her convictions, she also is expected to lose her pension and the lifetime benefits for which she otherwise would have qualified when she closed out her fifth two-year term in the state House on Friday.
The morning routine for Kensington High School students is different. Like most, they grab their books and make their way to school. But due to Kensington's cell phone policy, students have to make some very unique pit stops on the way in. Meanwhile, in the state's wealthiest county, some people are being priced out. Phoenixville's resurgence has made it one of the area's hottest towns, but some longtime residents have been left out in the cold. Governor Wolf signed an executive order aimed at solving another Pennsylvania issue in June: the gender wage gap. New research says the gap might be even larger than we thought nationwide.

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 Ray Boyd (@RayBoydDigital, morningnewsletter@philly.com)

 READ MORE: Kensington High phone ban leads to cell phones stored at corner stores

Cell phones for Kensington High School students often have two bills. One is for the phone itself. The other is from the corner deli where students stash their phones during the day.

As my colleague Ronnie Polaneczky writes, students are not allowed to bring phones into the school so they have to figure out somewhere else to "store" them. The ban was issued in 2015 after some students used phones to plan an after-school assault. But many parents and students say having a phone handy is a matter of safety.

The Philadelphia School District leaves cell phone policy up to schools, but a spokesman says he doesn't know of any other schools in the city that bans cell phones altogether.

 READ MORE: New report suggests gender wage gap is higher than you thought

In June, Governor Wolf held up a plastic bag with 79 cents in it to illustrate how much a woman makes on average for every dollar a man makes. A new study suggests that he could have removed a decent bit of change from that bag for a more accurate representation.

Most studies look at the wage gap by comparing men's and women's annual salaries or hourly wages. But this latest one examined wages over three 15-year periods. That means it accounts for factors that might get lost in analysis of a single year.

The authors of the study say that there has been significant progress over time. But they add that the narrowing of the wage gap has slowed in recent years and remains higher for women of color.

 READ MORE: Luxury apartments for some, lost homes for others in Chester County

Phoenixville has transformed from a downtrodden town into a bustling borough. Its rebirth can be seen in the bars, restaurants and high-end apartments that fill the downtown.

The resurgence has been great for some. For others, like Joseph Giron, it's been a nightmare. The longtime Phoenixville resident and veteran found himself homeless after he was laid off. Many can no longer afford to call it home.

"Nobody expected Phoenixville to go from a working-class town to such a hot commodity," said the executive director of a local nonprofit that helps struggling people. This dilemma is especially striking in Pennsylvania's wealthiest county.

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Through Your Eyes | #OurPhilly

Yet another piece of photographic evidence for why you should check out Cherry Street Pier. Thanks for sharing, @mr_arcangel.

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

"Somewhere along the line,  we adopted the illogical notion that experience as a CEO is great practice for the job of president of the United States. Keep in mind, however, that privately held larger companies, such as Trump Inc.

Global warming has weaponized our weather and will cost us billions if those who deny it  including President Trump  don't change their minds, the Inquirer Editorial Board writes.

There are steps Philadelphia should consider to end public injection of drugs that will help heal the community in Kensington, writes opinion writer Abraham Gutman.

What were reading

Your Daily Dose of | Latkes

Growing up, the most important part of Hanukkah celebrations for Matt Cahn were those delicious fried potato pancakes. That's why he's serving up latkes at his Philly luncheonette the best way he knows how.
Seymour Kurland and his wife, Shirley, standing on the the deck of their penthouse in Old City in 2015. Read more

Seymour Kurland, 88, of Philadelphia, a lawyer in the city for six decades and a former chancellor of the Philadelphia Bar Association, died Friday, Nov. 23, of respiratory failure at his home.

Mr. Kurland contributed to the legal community, the judicial system, and younger lawyers whom he mentored.

"Seymour Kurland was a distinguished leader in our legal community and a powerful advocate in the field of class actions and complex commercial litigation who won many notable cases," said Mary F. Platt, current chancellor of the Philadelphia Bar Association. "He was a cherished and respected mentor and friend to many attorneys who looked to him for practical advice and guidance."

He began his career at Wolf Block after graduating at the top of his class at the University of Pennsylvania Law School. Even as a young associate, he was persuasive. In one case, he wrote a petition for the losing party in a case, asking the U.S. Supreme Court to review the decision of a lower court. The petition was accepted, his family said.

Later in his career, Mr. Kurland helped revolutionize antitrust law as lead counsel in several important cases nationwide. He also was at the forefront of cutting-edge jurisprudence on class-action procedures. He helped write Rule 23 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, which governs class-action lawsuits.

Mr. Kurland was the first lawyer in a large law firm in Philadelphia to represent plaintiffs in antitrust class actions, his family said, and he built a department of litigators at Wolf Block that became nationally recognized.

He was a fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers and a founding member of the Historical Society of the United States Courts for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. In 1987, he was chancellor of the Philadelphia Bar Association.

"As chancellor, Sy believed strongly in the responsibility of lawyers to serve the common good of the citizens of Philadelphia," his family said. "He never dodged the tough call."

In 1986, when nine Common Pleas Court judges told FBI investigators that they had taken cash gifts of $300 or more from leaders of Roofers Union Local 30-30B the previous year, Mr. Kurland was critical.

"The appearance of a judge taking cash gifts is improper. They are people charged with ensuring the integrity of our justice system," he told the New York Times.

In 1988, Mr. Kurland was recruited by then-Mayor W. Wilson Goode to serve as Philadelphia's city solicitor. He held the job until 1990.

"He was not afraid to challenge government officials," his family said, "and his ethical standards were the lodestar for the rest of his [staff]." He even turned down free season tickets from the Phillies when others in that role had accepted them.

Following his term as city solicitor, Mr. Kurland joined the Center City law firm of Dechert LLP for several years before retiring in June 1999.

At a 2008 Philadelphia Bar Association ceremony marking his 50 years as a lawyer, Mr. Kurland spoke of a half-century of change.

"When I graduated, I was sent to Wolf Block, because that's where the Jewish boys were," he told the Bar Association magazine. "[Federal Judge] A. Leon Higginbotham Jr. [an African American] couldn't even get an interview with a big firm. And the women in my class, none of them could expect to become partners. I don't remember any Hispanic lawyers from that time. But all of that has now changed."

In retirement, Mr. Kurland was tapped as a special master by U.S. District Judge Norma L. Shapiro to conduct hearings in a case filed by tenants alleging poor conditions in buildings administered by the Chester Housing Authority in the late 1980s.

The buildings were seized by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development in 1991. Due to the litigation, conditions improved. There has been a waiting list for the units over the last decade, the Delaware County News Network wrote on April 25.

"Sy drew upon his humanity and sense of justice in administering these disputes and made a substantial difference in the lives of the residents," his family said.

Mr. Kurland loved travel and adventure. At age 48, he completed Outward Bound wilderness training. He climbed Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania and ran with the bulls in Pamplona.

He is survived by his wife of 65 years, Shirley Levin Kurland; children Amy Kurland, Laura Ferenci, and Daniel Kurland; a brother and sister; and nine grandchildren. A sister, and a son, Frederick Kurland, died earlier.

Services were Sunday, Nov. 25.

Memorial contributions may be made to the Ruth Cohen Fund, c/o Jewish Family and Children's Services of Greater Philadelphia, 2100 Arch St., Philadelphia, Pa. 19103.
ST. JOHNS, Newfoundland, Nov. 30, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Kraken Robotics Inc. (TSX-V: PNG, OTCQB: KRKNF) announced it has filed its financial results for the third quarter ended September 30, 2018. Additional information concerning the Company, including its unaudited condensed consolidated interim financial statements and related managements discussion and analysis (MD&A) for the quarter ended September 30, 2018, can be found at www.sedar.com . Unless otherwise stated, all dollar amounts are Canadian dollar denominated.



Q3 2018 Financial Highlights

Revenue was $1.6 million for the quarter as compared to $1.6 million in the year ago quarter. Year-to-date revenues were $5.2 million as compared to $2.0 million in the same period of 2017 driven by delivery of KATFISH and AquaPix sensors to military and commercial customers .

Net loss was $1.0 million as compared to net income of $0.1 million in the year ago quarter. Year-to-date, net loss was $1.8 million versus a net loss of $1.7 million in the year ago quarter.

Financial results, for the first time, include the consolidation of Kraken Power GmbH, a subsidiary that Kraken has a 19.9% equity interest in but expects to increase to 75% by year end 2018.

Kraken exited the quarter with a cash balance of $1.6 million, as compared to cash indebtedness of $0.3 million at December 31, 2017. The Companys $0.3 million line of credit is unused.

At quarter-end, Kraken had $0.9 million of contribution agreements to draw upon from the National Research Council of Canada Industrial Research Assistance Program and Innovate Newfoundland and Labrador.

Q3 2018 Notable Operational Highlights

Formed a strategic partnership with Ocean Infinity and subsequently received the first purchase order of $2.5 million with an expected follow on purchase order for $6.5 million. This order is for deep sea pressure tolerant batteries that will be supplied using Kraken Powers pressure tolerant gel encapsulation technology.

Announced formation of Krakens Acoustic Signal Processing Group with a Toronto-based team having 80+ years of combined experience that will focus on anti-submarine warfare signal processing software applications. Kraken won its first contract for this group, a 12-month software contract valued at approximately $1 million, with an international defense contractor.

Announced Cooperative Research and Development Agreements with both the Naval Undersea Warfare Center (NUWC)  Division Newport and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

Successfully demonstrated KATFISH at the U.S. Navys annual, invite-only Advanced Naval Technology Exercise (ANTX) event. Kraken and ThayerMahan successfully demonstrated the SeaScout Expeditionary Seabed Mapping and Intelligence System. The SeaScout system incorporates several industry-leading modules: KATFISH, actively stabilized towfish with Synthetic Aperture Sonar; TENTACLE, intelligent all-electric winch; real time sea-floor secure imagery transmission to cloud-based storage; cloud-based data analytics and machine learning for automated change detection. U.S. Navy Vice Admiral Michael Connor (retired), ThayerMahans President and CEO, said, Im very pleased that during ANTX ThayerMahan and Kraken demonstrated superior resolution and range relative to competing systems costing many times more; live streaming of target detection results to remote maritime operations centers at sea and ashore; excellent area coverage rates, real-time performance and ease of operation for the sailor. There is no doubt in my mind that SeaScout offers a compelling price and performance advantage to competitive systems.

Kraken received $1 million from exercise of previously issued common share purchase warrants.

Kraken delivered a KATFISH Towed Synthetic Aperture Sonar Platform to an Israeli customer. This KATFISH will be used in mine hunting applications with the customers Unmanned Surface Vessel (USV).

CEO Comments

With a growing backlog, high quality customers, industry leading technology at the right price, and the support of our investor and strategic partner, Ocean Infinity, we are very pleased with our progress, said Karl Kenny, Krakens President and CEO. We see significant opportunities with our sensors and underwater robotic platforms in military and commercial markets. As such, we expect strong momentum to continue. We also expect additional opportunities to emerge for Kraken from the $300+ million funding available to the Ocean Supercluster. We will be submitting a multi-year, $30 million proposal called OceanVision to provide ultra-high definition seabed maps and subsea asset data to a wide range of Ocean Supercluster stakeholders including oil and gas, fisheries, science, transport, defence and others.

Subsequent Highlights Since September 30 Quarter End

Acceleration of Ocean Infinity battery order and advance payments. In November, Kraken announced that Ocean Infinity has issued a $6.5 million purchase order to Kraken for deep sea batteries. Under a $9 million deep-sea battery contract announced on August 1, 2018, Ocean Infinity issued an initial $2.5 million purchase order with the next $6.5 million purchase order expected in Q1 2019. Ocean Infinity has since accelerated the delivery schedule, with all battery shipments now planned to start at the end of 2018 and finishing in Q3 2019.



In November, Kraken announced that Ocean Infinity has issued a $6.5 million purchase order to Kraken for deep sea batteries. Under a $9 million deep-sea battery contract announced on August 1, 2018, Ocean Infinity issued an initial $2.5 million purchase order with the next $6.5 million purchase order expected in Q1 2019. Ocean Infinity has since accelerated the delivery schedule, with all battery shipments now planned to start at the end of 2018 and finishing in Q3 2019. Kraken will deliver batteries for five new Kongsberg Hugin Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUVs) recently purchased by Ocean Infinity, for integration at the manufacturers facility in Norway. With the change in scheduling, these new vehicles will take some of the delivery slots initially intended for replacement of existing AUV fleet batteries. As such, Kraken expects a follow-on order from Ocean Infinity in the second half of 2019 for additional batteries and spares, beyond the initial $9 million contract.



Early Exercise of Warrants. Since the end of Q3, Kraken has received almost $0.6 million from the early exercise of approximately 2.1 million warrants set to expire in April 2019. To date, Kraken has received $835,666 in cash from the early exercise of 2,785,553 warrants which had an exercise price of $0.30 and were set to expire in April 2019. There remains approximately 3.1 million warrants with the same terms, which would generate another $0.9 million in cash for the Company if exercised.



Since the end of Q3, Kraken has received almost $0.6 million from the early exercise of approximately 2.1 million warrants set to expire in April 2019. To date, Kraken has received $835,666 in cash from the early exercise of 2,785,553 warrants which had an exercise price of $0.30 and were set to expire in April 2019. There remains approximately 3.1 million warrants with the same terms, which would generate another $0.9 million in cash for the Company if exercised. $0.5 million contract win with DRDC. In November, Public Works and Government Services Canada, issued a contract valued at $468,000 to Kraken. The end user is the Canadian Department of National Defence (DND). Under the contract, Kraken will provide testing, repairs, integration and upgrading of an AquaPix INSAS sensor originally sold to DND for integration on the Artic Explorer Autonomous Underwater Vehicle in 2014.



In November, Public Works and Government Services Canada, issued a contract valued at $468,000 to Kraken. The end user is the Canadian Department of National Defence (DND). Under the contract, Kraken will provide testing, repairs, integration and upgrading of an AquaPix INSAS sensor originally sold to DND for integration on the Artic Explorer Autonomous Underwater Vehicle in 2014. Partnership with Leeway Marine. In October Kraken announced a co-operation agreement with Leeway Marine where both companies will work together to integrate Krakens SeaScout Expeditionary Seabed Mapping and Intelligence Systems onboard Leeways Striker high speed patrol vessel to create worlds fastest Minehunting & Hydrographic Patrol Vessel.

Q 4 2018 Outlook and Beyond

We see significant opportunities with our sensors and underwater robotic platforms in military and commercial markets. We continue to believe that the significant investments we have made in new products and business development will open large new contracts to us over the coming year. In the meantime, we are working hard to execute efficiently on our existing backlog of approximately $13 million, most of which will be executed in 2019. This backlog excludes several contracts where we have been notified that we will be awarded and are working on the Statement of Work and/or Purchase Order terms. These total more than $4 million and are expected to get added to our backlog within the next 3 to 4 months. As such, we expect strong momentum to continue.

Commercial and Research  We expect successful conclusion in December of the $750,000 PRNL project that was announced in Q4 2017. This project was focused on demonstration of Krakens SeaVision 3D underwater laser imaging sensor and associated software. Kraken expects to deliver its first commercial version of SeaVision to a European customer in Q4. Kraken expects its first battery delivery to Ocean Infinity at the end of Q4. During the quarter and subsequent to quarter end, Kraken completed several demonstrations for offshore oil and gas companies for applications such as subsea asset integrity inspection. We have given numerous presentations and technology demonstrations to participants in the offshore wind and marine renewables market and expect both our KATFISH and SeaVision products to gain traction in these markets. Our German team at Kraken Robotik GmbH have started to ramp work on the ARIM and ROBOVAS contracts that Kraken was awarded mid-year. These are focused on autonomy software and our SeaVision product.



 We expect successful conclusion in December of the $750,000 PRNL project that was announced in Q4 2017. This project was focused on demonstration of Krakens SeaVision 3D underwater laser imaging sensor and associated software. Kraken expects to deliver its first commercial version of SeaVision to a European customer in Q4. Kraken expects its first battery delivery to Ocean Infinity at the end of Q4. During the quarter and subsequent to quarter end, Kraken completed several demonstrations for offshore oil and gas companies for applications such as subsea asset integrity inspection. We have given numerous presentations and technology demonstrations to participants in the offshore wind and marine renewables market and expect both our KATFISH and SeaVision products to gain traction in these markets. Our German team at Kraken Robotik GmbH have started to ramp work on the ARIM and ROBOVAS contracts that Kraken was awarded mid-year. These are focused on autonomy software and our SeaVision product. Military - On track for delivery of AquaPix sonar sensor to a leading military customer in Q4. This $0.5 million contract was announced in Q2 2018. In addition, Kraken is involved in several active pursuits across North American and European Navies. These include responses to RFPs as various navies upgrade their mine-hunting sonars. While Kraken is teamed with large defense contractors in these pursuits, in two cases so far, Kraken has been down-selected to a qualified finalist. Contracts are expected to be awarded to the bid winners in 2019.



On track for delivery of AquaPix sonar sensor to a leading military customer in Q4. This $0.5 million contract was announced in Q2 2018. In addition, Kraken is involved in several active pursuits across North American and European Navies. These include responses to RFPs as various navies upgrade their mine-hunting sonars. While Kraken is teamed with large defense contractors in these pursuits, in two cases so far, Kraken has been down-selected to a qualified finalist. Contracts are expected to be awarded to the bid winners in 2019. Ocean Supercluster Project  On November 16, 2018, the Ocean Supercluster announced that it had finalized its funding agreement with the Government of Canada for $153 million to be matched by industry for a total funding pool of over $300 million. Kraken has been developing a project called OceanVision and is preparing to submit a detailed proposal for Ocean Supercluster funding. OceanVision is a $30 million three-year initiative to provide ultra-high definition seabed and subsea asset data using our AquaPix Synthetic Aperture Sonar and SeaVision 3D laser imaging sensors deployed from Krakens various underwater robotic platforms. These datasets will be used to enhance machine learning and predictive analytics in the digital ocean economy. The project will provide benefits across a wide range of Ocean Supercluster constituents including oil and gas, fisheries, science, transport, defence and others. Kraken has been developing the OceanVision project over the past year and believes it has support from several key stakeholders. The OceanVision project will be used to further develop the system infrastructure, data sharing and business model development that will enable Kraken to offer its Robotics-as-a-Service to the global market. It is expected that first project awards will be announced in Q1 2019. While there is no guarantee Kraken will be awarded funding for this project, management believes the OceanVision project is well positioned to meet the goals and requirements for Supercluster funding proposals.

ABOUT KRAKEN ROBOTICS INC.

Kraken Robotics Inc. (TSX.V:PNG) (OTCQB: KRKNF) is a marine technology company that is dedicated to the production and sale of software-centric sensors and underwater robotic systems. The company is headquartered in St. Johns, Newfoundland with offices in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia; Toronto, Ontario; Bremen, Germany; and Boston, Massachusetts. Kraken is ranked as a Top 100 marine technology company by Marine Technology Reporter. For more information, please visit www.krakenrobotics.com, www.krakenrobotik.de, www.krakenpower.de. Find us on social media on Twitter (@krakenrobotics), Facebook (@krakenroboticsinc) and LinkedIn.

Certain information in this news release constitutes forward-looking statements. When used in this news release, the words "may", "would", "could", "will", "intend", "plan", "anticipate", "believe", "seek", "propose", "estimate", "expect", and similar expressions, as they relate to the Company, are intended to identify forward-looking statements. In particular, this news release contains forward-looking statements with respect to, among other things, business objectives, expected growth, results of operations, performance, business projects and opportunities and financial results. These statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results or events to differ materially from those anticipated in such forward-looking statements. Such statements reflect the Company's current views with respect to future events based on certain material factors and assumptions and are subject to certain risks and uncertainties, including without limitation, changes in market, competition, governmental or regulatory developments, general economic conditions and other factors set out in the Company's public disclosure documents. Many factors could cause the Company's actual results, performance or achievements to vary from those described in this news release, including without limitation those listed above. These factors should not be construed as exhaustive. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should assumptions underlying forward-looking statements prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those described in this news release and such forward-looking statements included in, or incorporated by reference in this news release, should not be unduly relied upon. Such statements speak only as of the date of this news release. The Company does not intend, and does not assume any obligation, to update these forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements contained in this news release are expressly qualified by this cautionary statement.

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange Inc. nor its Regulation Services Provide (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release, and the OTCQB has neither approved nor disapproved the contents of this press release.

For further information, please contact:



Greg Reid, Chief Financial Officer

(416) 818-9822

greid@krakenrobotics.com

Sean Peasgood, Investor Relations

(647) 955-1274

sean@sophiccapital.com

Glenda Leyte, Marketing Manager

(709) 757-5757 extension 288

gleyte@krakenrobotics.com
Dr.Marc Lamont Hill Speaks at a Meek Mill rally and sit in, in front of the Criminal Justice Center on 1301 Filbert St. Monday morning on April 16th, Philadelphia. James Blocker / Staff Photographer Read more

TEL AVIV, Israel  On Thursday, CNN decided to terminate its relationship with Temple University professor Marc Lamont Hill. The decision followed a speech Hill gave at the United Nations, in which he reiterated his commitment to the fight for freedom of the people of Palestine. Hill called for a boycott of Israel and said the goal is to "free Palestine from the river to the sea."

When Hill referred to the territory between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea, what pro-Israel groups heard is a call for the destruction of the State of Israel, which is in that territory.

CNN's decision to end its relationship with Hill was an extreme move.

As an Israeli Jew, I understand what is at stake. Tel Aviv is my hometown. As I write this, I am sitting in my parents' living room. I am literally between the river and the sea, introducing my family to my baby daughter and meeting my newest niece. The destruction of this city is not something I would cheer for. And that's why I stand with Hill's call for freedom and dignity for all people in this troubled land.

>> READ MORE: Temple should take action after Marc Lamont Hill's Israel comments | Opinion

The area between the river and the sea that Hill is talking about is the home of almost 14 million people  almost half of them Jews and half Palestinians. Of those Palestinians, 4.5 million live in the West Bank and Gaza, without citizenship and under military occupation for decades. In Israel, there are about two million residents who are Palestinian  21 percent of the population  living as second-class citizens. That is not hyperbole or an attempt at a poetic description. This year, Israel enacted a law that enshrines the country as the state of the Jewish people  not of Israelis.

Oppression and humiliation of Palestinians takes many forms, some more violent than others.

Take Gaza, for example  the 32-mile-long stretch of land that is home to almost two million people  which has been disconnected from the world for over a decade by an Israeli blockade decimating its economy, according to the World Bank. In 2014, Israel bombed Gaza from the air and invaded it with ground forces, resulting in the death of 2,251, the majority of whom were civilians, including 551 children. More than 18,000 buildings were destroyed, leaving 100,000 people displaced.

This year alone, more than 150 Palestinians were killed by the Israeli army while protesting the blockade of Gaza  including children, journalists, and people with disabilities. Israel reserves the death penalty only for people who assisted the Nazis in the Holocaust, but the Israeli army brings snipers to protests in Gaza, warning that damaging the border fence equals death.

Meanwhile, last week, in the Israeli city of Afula, Jewish residents rallied to prevent their Palestinian neighbors  citizens of the State of Israel  from using public parks. City officials vowed to preserve the "Jewish character" of the city.

A call for Gaza to be able to join the world economy, for freedom of assembly for Palestinians, and for every child regardless of race, ethnicity, or religion to be able to play in a park should not be radical and is in no way bigoted  that's a call for freedom for every Palestinian between the river and the sea.

To be fair, when I moved to the United States, I was very defensive when I heard chants like "from the river to the sea." I didn't understand where that chant left me, an Israeli with no other citizenship. I was surprised by my reaction  in Israel I was politically active to end the occupation of Palestine and after high school refused to join the military because I didn't want to participate in the occupation. Perhaps, the reaction to "from the river to the sea" says more about how we have been indoctrinated to think that harmonic living of Jews and Arabs in the Middle East is impossible  an indoctrination from which I was not immune. We have been indoctrinated to believe that the freedom of Palestinians and the freedom of Israeli Jews are mutually exclusive.

That isn't true, but by firing Hill CNN further perpetuated that untruth.

There is no doubt that there are bad actors in Palestine  such as those who shoot rockets at the civilian population in Israel  and among its supporters  such as Minister Louis Farrakhan, who recently called Jews "termites." But the story of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is about the power imbalance between an occupying state that has the support of a global superpower and a liberation movement  imperfect as it may be.

Maybe "from the river to the sea" is not the most savvy language to change hearts and minds  people have used that to call for the destruction of the State of Israel. The discussion about the rhetoric and the topic is worthy, but we won't hear this discussion on CNN, because they fired Hill.

You don't need to agree with Hill. In fact, I bet you hadn't heard of his speech until CNN fired him  I hadn't. But don't buy the false choice that CNN is posing in its action  you either support Israel or call for its destruction. A call for freedom and dignity for all is another option.
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) chief Amit Shah slammed Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Friday for raising the issue of bank loans and non-performing assets (NPA) in poll rallies. He said that those were the results of the misdeeds of the previous Congress-led government.

Addressing an election rally at Kuchaman city of Nagaur district, he said,"The loans given through corrupt practices during the Congress government have turned into NPA. These are not loans given by the Narendra Modi government. These are the results of the misdeeds of the Congress government."

Referring to a media report, Shah alleged that the Nehru-Gandhi family's son-in-law had received commissions after a loan of thousands of crores of rupees was sanctioned to a big company.

"A company got a loan of thousands of crores and its commission reached the Nehru family's son-in-law within a few months, with which he bought 150 hectares of land in Bikaner at a throwaway price. I want to ask Rahul Gandhi if he can answer now," he said.

The BJP chief also said fugitive jeweller Nirav Modi and liquor baron Vijay Mallya were given loans during the days of the previous Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government.

"They did not fly away abroad (during the Congress rule) as they had no fear of the Congress. They believed that they had a partnership. Those who are being guarded, why will they run away? After the Modi government came to power, they had a fear of being jailed," he said.

Shah added that the BJP government would work towards getting each penny held by the fugitives back to the country.

The 200-member Rajasthan Assembly will go to the polls on December 7 and the results will be announced on December 11.
Readers may recall I had written two blogs on Navjot Singh Sidhu and Imran's Tehrik-e-Insaf party. In the first blog on Imran's India approach, I had claimed that I do not want to chest thump as it is not my ilk. Hence, let me assure the readers that this still is not an attempt at chest thumping. But no doubt, my concerns expressed in these columns have come true, and unfortunately on a much higher scale. Let us see how.

Ground-breaking ceremony

The Kartarpur ground-breaking ceremony at the Pakistani side presided over by Imran Khan has been used as an event to snide at India. Not just is it being used as a PR exercise by the committed Pakistani media, which laps up and hypes any such story which is affronting India. This reflects their anti-India orientation.

Sidhu ignores the true face of Pakistan

Now, I will relate to what I had written a few months ago and what had really happened. I had clearly recalled the reaffirmation by Pakistan Army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa, of India being Pakistan's biggest enemy. Sidhu had 'jhappied' him during the swearing in of Imran Khan.

Sidhu was again present at the ground-breaking ceremony of the Kartarpur event. I do not believe he self-invited himself. Overtly, the Ministry of Religious Affairs of Pakistan was the organizer for the event. But Indian security experts are well aware of the tight leash the Army and ISI have over the Pakistan government. This is more so in matters relating to Pakistan's India policy. How could Sidhu miss this.

History replete with events

What is more relevant here is that the same Pakistani Army and ISI have umbilical relations which jihadi groups and their leaders, like Hafeez Saeed, Syed Salahuddin and Masood Azhar. It is these non-state actors who are mandated to foment trouble in India and engage with troublemakers in India or to Indian interests, like the Khalistani groups like Babbar Khalsa International, Khalistan Commando Force, Khalistan Liberation Front, etc.

As part of the Ministry of Home Affairs, I handled the official delegation of pilgrims to Sikh places of worship in Pakistan four times a year. In this year's Nankana Sahib pilgrimage, the Indian High Commissioner was not permitted to meet the Indian pilgrims at Nankana Sahib. We had reports that apart from the official delegation of pilgrims, the High Commission of Pakistan was also cultivating some persons who would be issued visas to visit and they would go on personal visit on these occasions, which is an expensive proposition. It is not known who financed their visits.

Imran Khan does not have a role in the peace process

Besides these undercurrents, what is more salient is to expect that Imran Khan would change all that is putting the cart before the horse and asking it to be driven. His political antecedents have been explained in detail in my earlier column. Hence, Sidhu's blabbering that Kartarpur opening is a step towards peace is not just an illusion but smacks of either guile or stupidity.

Invitation to Sidhu

In my earlier blog also I had stated the it was a ploy of Pakistani establishment to extend an invitation to Sidhu. Now, this further invitation to the Kartarpur ground-breaking event is salting the wound further.

Added to this is the seating offered to Sidhu and the photo ops. He is founding 'jhappying' with Gopal Singh Chawla, a known anti-India activist and close aide of Hafeez Saeed, the author of the 26/11 Mumbai attacks. Ironically, all this happened on the day 28/11. Ten years back on this day, we in the Home Ministry were counting the dead. I could not digest it, and felt affronted.

Encomiums for Sidhu but no response from him

This is taken further by Imran Khan's statement that Sidhu can win an election if he contests from Pakistan. Sidhu should have reacted to this immediately that he is an Indian national and the only way I can contest an election here is when India annexes Pakistan. If not in such strong words he could have retorted in an softer tone.

Sidhu was heaping more praises on Imran Khan than he has ever done on any Indian Prime Minister. So, what is Sidhu's scale of measurement? Leadership of a failed nation going around with a begging bowl is more effective than the leader of the world's fifth largest economy? Sidhu needs to answer this.

Some Questions for Sidhu

Prays for Imran, but not for our PM

Sidhu also spoke in his eloquent speech in Punjabi that when he does ardas (prayers) twice a day he prays for longevity of Imran Khan. He never said this in any manner when the conspiracy to assassinate our democratically elected Prime Minister was unearthed. Prima facie, the plot may have been attributable to left wing extremism, but security experts in the country are well aware about the convergence of source of left wing extremism, separatism in Kashmir, insurgent groups in the Northeast, ISI sleeper cells and other unholy designs against India.

Drugs in Punjab

The entire state of Punjab is afflicted by drug addiction problems amongst youth for years. Again, many security experts do know that and can relate that increased cultivation and higher harvest of opium on the AfPak border in Pakistani territory was one of the factors for this menace. Sidhu, it is your home state which was affected. You are a people's representative there.

Did you use your good offices and good relations with Imran to once ask the Pakistani establishment to strengthen the Memorandum of Understanding between the Narcotics Control Bureau of India and Anti-Narcotics Force of Pakistan? It is your constituents who were most adversely affected, so at least this is an issue you should have flagged with your friend Imran Khan.

Jadhav issue

Sidhu, you are very popular on comedy shows. Surely, they are shot in the city of Mumbai. You must be frequenting the city very often. Are you aware that an inhabitant of this city, from where you make tonnes of money, is languishing in a Pakistani jail on false charges of espionage? Let me remind you, Sidhu, that his name is Kulbhushan Jadhav. Did you speak a single word for him? Rather, go to Kot Lakhpat Jail in Rawalkot and find for yourself the number of Sarabjits rotting for inadvertently crossing the border into Pakistan and arrested on false espionage charges. Seek their release.

Dawood Ibrahim

Sidhu, in the same Mumbai, a person running a crime syndicate later was found to be perpetrator of 1993 blasts in Mumbai. Let me remind you that his name is Dawood Ibrahim. We have given documents in sheaves about his being a fugitive from Indian law, and the need to bring him to trial. We have repeatedly pointed out that he lives in Clifton Area of Defence Colony in Karachi. Why did you not use your 'jhappi' to get him back to India? Your co-traveller, Mr HS Puri, has a lot of information on this fugitive. Mr Puri has also served as India's Permanent Representative at the UN, which has declared Dawood Ibrahim a terrorist entity. I am sure you have not even sought to learn about this issue from Mr Puri.

Should have followed protocols for national prestige

With these questions in front of Sidhu, he also needs to chastised on what he should have spoken. First thing, you had a personal invitation and not an official one, and you don't consider Pakistan as an enemy, but Pakistani's treat your country as a biggest enemy. Please recall the statement of your 'jhappi' friend, Gen Bajwa, which I have recalled above.

Hence, it was in fitness of things that you should have conveyed the official delegation to overwhelm our participation. But for seeking personal glory or playing a stage-managed show, which is your special core competence going by your participation in a comedy show, you played to the gallery. The official Indian delegation was not just overshadowed but insulted. They are sent by the Government of India. One of the delegates was an ex-diplomat with rich experience and exposure and regarded as one of the finest diplomats of his time. At least if not ceded to him you could have heeded to him. He would saved you from causing blushes for the country.

Please apologise

Sidhu owes an apology to the nation. His claim as messenger of peace is specious, and if he is a true patriot he should apologize. Or else, I leave it to the readers guess as to what his true colours are and where his loyalties lie?

(Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL.)
New Delhi: Former CBFC chief Pahlaj Nihalani and classic actor Govinda teamed up for comedy film titled 'Rangeela Raja', which was scheduled for release on December 7. However, the film ran into a controversy after the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) raised objections over some of the sexist and vulgar content in the film, and recommended 20 cuts for the Govinda starrer.

Their biggest concern of CBFC for the film is that one of Govinda's characters is shown as a perverse character, who is unrepentant in his actions and therefore the movie would give a wrong message to the children.

In the latest, the release date of the film has been postponed indefinitely as the makers have not received the censor certificate and the producer is appealing against it with the FCAT (Film Certification Appellate Tribunal). The new release date will be announced only after the FCAT order.

The Govinda's comeback film also features Shakti Kapoor, Digangana Suryavanshi, Mishika Chourasia, and Anupama Agnihotri.

Ironically, Rangeela Raja producer is Pahlaj Nihalani who made headlines during his reign as the Censor Board chief for two years. As the CBFC chief, Nihalani had faced flak for raising an objection to the word 'intercourse' in the promo of Anushka Sharma and Shah Rukh Khan-starrer 'Jab Harry Met Sejal' and also for refusing to clear the women-centric movie 'Lipstick Under My Burkha'.
New Delhi: Yes Bank Managing Director and CEO Rana Kapoor is unlikely to be in the fray for the post of chairman which fell vacant following the resignation of Ashok Chawla earlier this month, sources said Thursday.

Besides, as Kapoor still remains the head of the bank until January next year, the possibility of him proposing for the chairman post looks bleak, added the sources.

Chawla, a former bureaucrat, had resigned from the post of non-executive chairman, which, according to sources, was triggered in the wake of controversy on his continuance on the board of the bank while his name appeared in a CBI chargesheet in the Aircel-Maxis case.

"Yes Bank announces that Ashok Chawla, non-executive independent part-time chairman, has tendered his resignation from the bank's 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 had said on his resignation.

The private sector lender will recommend the name of new chairman for approval by the RBI after the meetings of the Nomination and Remuneration Committee (N&RC) and the board of directors scheduled for December 13.

The bank has seen the exit of three independent board members, including Chawla, in November. Rentala Chandrashekhar, former telecom secretary, and Vasant Gujarathi were the two others members who quit the board.

Also, one new member -- Uttam Prakash Agarwal -- has joined the board, taking the current strength to seven.

Also, Yes Bank's Search and Selection Committee (SSC) and the N&RC are scheduled to meet on December 12 to discuss the final shortlist for new MD & CEO appointment as Kapoor cannot continue beyond January 31, 2019, as the RBI earlier in September declined to give him extension beyond this period.

It is also learnt that the bank will suggest the name of candidates for the MD & CEO post to the RBI by mid-December.

Continuing the slide further, the stock of Yes Bank witnessed an intra-day fall of 9.5 per cent but managed to close the session lower by 0.77 per cent at Rs 160.45 on the BSE following ratings downgrade by Moody's Investors Service, ICRA and CARE.
New Delhi: Railway Minister Piyush Goyal would soon be able to monitor the entire rail network, including movement of trains and earnings of the national transporter, live in his office through a software.

The system could also become available for the general public soon as the railways is mulling putting up such screens on its premises to promote transparency, officials said.

The software, 'eDrishti', was developed by the Centre for Railway Information System (CRIS) and it will let Goyal directly track any information on just a click of mouse, a senior official said.

The software would give the minister a bird's eye view of freight and passenger earnings, freight loading and unloading, punctuality, major projects, grievances, live trains, station details, and much more, the official said.

Even the base kitchens of IRCTC, the catering arm of railways were connected with the software.

"As soon as minister clicks the IRCTC kitchen option on the dashbaord, the live video of the Indian Rail Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) base kitchens will appear on the screen," the official said.

The move to link the kitchens was due to complaints being received by the railways regarding the quality of food, the official added.

The minister would also be able to see live the status of reserved and unreserved passengers travelling in the train.

Similarly, on opening the 'live trains' tab, the minister would be given information about the live train running status.

"On clicking on the tab Live Trains, a dashboard is displayed which will show various trains running currently along with other details i.E. The originating station, the destination station, the present station and its running status," the official said.
New Delhi: The BJP Friday alleged that Robert Vadra had put pressure on Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi for revocation of an Income Tax department order penalising a company that gave a loan to another entity to buy his land in Rajasthan.

Dubbing Vadra a "tained son-in-law", BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra claimed that in 2010, Vadra's Skylight Hospitality Pvt Ltd had bought 70 hectares of land for nearly Rs 70 lakh and sold it to another entity, Allegeny Finlease Pvt Ltd, in 2012 for Rs 5.15 crore, "seven times the original cost".

Bhushan Power and Steel Limited (BSPL) gave an unsecured loan of Rs 5.64 crore to Allegeny Finlease for buying the same land, he claimed.

During the same time, BSPL had got a tax notice that cited anomalies in its returns from 2004-2005 to 2011-12, and was asked to pay Rs 500 crore for the difference, Patra claimed.

"BSPL wrote to the Settlement Commission of the IT (Income Tax) department appealing against the order, which said the company has to pay Rs 500 crore. The commission also granted no immunity to BSPL against prosecution and penalty," the BJP spokesperson told reporters here.

The Settlement Commission reconstituted a bench that rescinded the earlier order and had asked the company to pay Rs 500 crore, he claimed.

"As Bhushan Steel had given money for buying a plot of land from Robert Vadra, he put pressure on Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi to ask the Income Tax department to waive the penalty and save BSPL from punishment. It is a clear case of corruption," Patra said.

"This is case of quid pro quo between Skylight Hospitality, Allegeny Finlease and Bhushan Steel," Patra said, alleging that unaccounted money has been by misusing the powers.

Patra also targeted former prime minister Manmohan Singh and dubbed him a "puppet PM" for overlooking the "corruption" during his time.

He also asked, "How much did the Gandhis benefit (from this deal)?"

Targeting Vadra, the BJP leader said his modus operandi is to buy land at a cheaper price, change the utility of the land and then sell it at a rate several times the original cost.

When asked what his party did as it was in power both in Rajasthan as well as the Centre, Patra said, the BJP governments investigated the case.

"We came to power in 2013-2014. We investigated it. The whole ball started moving since 2015. In early 2015, we had an FIR registered in Rajasthan against the Bikaner land allotment of Mr Robert Vadra.

"Thereafter, the whole thing is moving smoothly according to the law. The ED (Enforcement Directorate) had talked about the whole thing in 2016. In 2017, notices were issued and people were arrested in 2017. In 2018, the settlement commission issue had been taken up and yet again you see how the ED is moving ahead," Patra said.

The ED has summoned Vadra in connection with its money laundering probe in the land scam case in Rajasthan's Bikaner city, agency officials said Friday.
New Delhi: Congress leader Abhishek Manu Singhvi on Friday backed Punjab Minister Navjot Singh Sidhu's visit to Pakistan saying that it was his private visit. He added that both Sidhu and the grand old party has clarified so as the Punjab government.

Hitting out at the Centre, Singhvi said that the central government is desperate and trying to divert people's attention from the real issues.

"It was his private visit (to Pakistan), Congress party has clarified, Sidhu has clarified, Punjab Govt has clarified. This rudderless Govt (Centre) is desperate and trying to divert attention from real issues," Abhishek Manu Singhvi said.

Sidhu, earlier in the day, said that Congress president Rahul Gandhi had sent him to Pakistan for the groundbreaking ceremony of Kartarpur Sahib Corridor on November 28.

"My captain is Rahul Gandhi, he has sent me everywhere (Mere captain Rahul Gandhi hain, unhone toh bheja hai har jagah)," Sidhu said.

The cricketer-turn-politician gave a clarification on his recent visit to the neighbouring country. On Wednesday, he had visited Pakistan after he was invited by Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan.

PM Imran Khan inaugurated the opening ceremony of the facilities at the crossing on the Pakistan side on November 28. Kartarpur corridor promises to help Sikh pilgrims from India offer prayers at the Gurdwara Darbar Sahib Kartarpur on the banks of Ravi river in Pakistan.

The issue of Kartarpur Sahib came into focus after Sidhu visited Pakistan in August to attend the oath-taking ceremony of Imran Khan as the Prime Minister. During his visit, he was seen hugging Pakistan Army chief Bajwa, leading to a massive controversy. At the time, Sidhu had defended himself by saying that the Pakistan Army chief had told him about the opening of a corridor to Kartarpur Sahib, which led to the hug.
NEW DELHI: A special court Friday convicted five persons, including former Union Coal Secretary HC Gupta, and one company Vikas Metal Power Limited in alleged irregularities in the coal block allocation case.

All the five persons were found guilty of corruption and criminal conspiracy under various sections of Prevention of Corruption Act. They were immediately taken into custody.

The court will deliver the quantum of sentence on December 3.

The case relates to the irregularities in allocation of Moira and Madhujore (North and South) coal blocks in West Bengal, the contract of which was awarded to Vikas Metal Power Ltd.

Gupta, along with former Jharkhand Chief Minister Madhu Koda, were found guilty of allocating Rajhara North coal block in Jharkhand to Kolkata-based private company VISUL in January this year.

With agency inputs
Prime Minister Narendra Modi met with Saudi Arabia Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Buenos Aires on Friday and they discussed ways to further boost economic, cultural and energy ties.

The two sides also held discussions on enhancing investment in technology, renewable energy and food security.

"Had a fruitful interaction with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud. We discussed multiple aspects of India-Saudi Arabia relations and ways to further boost economic, cultural and energy ties," the prime minister wrote on Twitter.

"Deepening strategic ties. PM @narendramodi met with Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud on sidelines of #G20Argentina. Discussed enhancing Saudi investment in technology, infrastructure, petroleum, renewable energy, food security, fintech & defence sectors," External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Ravish Kumar tweeted.

"In recent years, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has been a valuable partner. The relationship has expanded beyond the Indian community to issues related to the economy, energy and security. All issues of bilateral and regional interest will be discussed," PMO sources said.

Later, the prime minister will meet UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres. According to the sources, the UN Secretary General has reached out to the PM for the second time in two months.

They said the meeting signifies the importance that both leaders attach to the issue of climate change. This outreach comes just a week before the COP24 meet in Katowice, Poland.

"It reflects the respect in which the prime minister and his initiatives are held globally to take the lead on issues of global importance," the sources said.

On the sidelines of the two-day 13th G-20 summit, Modi, Trump and Japanese Premier Shinzo Abe will hold a trilateral meeting amidst China flexing its muscles in the strategic Indo-Pacific region.

The trilateral, which would be an expansion of the bilateral meeting between Trump and Abe, is part of the series of meetings the US president would have on the sidelines of the G-20 summit on November 30 and December 1.

White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said on Thursday the trilateral meeting with Prime Minister Modi will be held towards the end of the Trump-Abe talks.

"Looking forward to a wide range of interactions at the G-20 Summit, aimed at furthering sustainable development," Prime Minister Modi tweeted soon after he landed here.

Modi will also meet Chinese President Xi Jinping and German Chancellor Angela Merkel on the sidelines of the event, the Ministry of External Affairs had said on the eve of his departure.

He will be in Buenos Aires from November 29 to December 1.
English Latvian

Salacgriva, Latvia, 2018-11-30 15:07 CET (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) --

MANAGEMENT REPORT

November 30, 2018

The types of activities performed by the JSC Brivais vilnis are processing and canning of fish and fish products, wholesale of food products and other commercial activities classified nowhere else. On May 14, 2002 the company was registered in the Common commercial register of the Republic of Latvia.

Year 2018 is the 27th year of operation since the Company was transformed into a Joint Stock Company. In 9 months of 2018 the Company produced a total of 8.1 million cans of various types (154) of fish products, including 3.3 million cans of sprat. In 9 months of 2018 there were sold 9.9 million cans for EUR 5.1 million. The financial result of 9 months of 2018 is a loss of EUR 435 662. These losses are from economic activities of the Company.

Net turnover for 9 months of 2018 is EUR 5 106 thousand.

Result for 9 months of 2018:

Gross profit (EUR) 251 thousand

Gross profit (%) 4.9

Operating results of the JSC Brivais vilnis compared to the previous year are more successful, the impact of the Russian embargo is still felt. Sales volumes have increased, losses have decreased. The Company has not stopped the operation, it is working according to orders received, mainly by using the fresh local raw materials. Due to the existing market situation, we believe that the most important is to keep existing customers and work on adoption of new markets. We are visiting and participating in food fairs in Western Europe and other world  the exhibitions Foodagro Kenya 2018 in Nairobi (Kenya), CONXEMAR 2018 IN Vigo (Spain), SIAL Paris 2018 in Paris (France), China International Import Expo (CIIE) 2018 in Shanghai (China).

The Company is working on development of new types of products and new lines of products, and development of new types of packaging, as well as on improvement of quality of the current assortment. The main thing that ensures our products to be special on the market of food products is that it does not contain genetically modified additives, chemical flavour enhancers and colouring agents. Canned fish products are handmade and therefore have a good quality. The world`s increasing demand is for natural food, produced without artificial additives.

We are continuing to work on optimizing the cost structure.

The Company has the IFS certificate  an international food safety standard and the Kosher certificate of the Orthodox Union.

Arnolds Babris

Chairman of the Board
Buenos Aires: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday met Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the G-20 summit here and discussed how to strenghten the bilateral ties between the two neighbours.

The two leaders have met twice after their informal summit in the Chinese city of Wuhan in April -- once at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit held in June in China's Qingdao and the second time at the BRICS summit in South Africa's Johannesburg in July.

Modi told Xi that he was looking forward to host him for an informal summit next year.

"Today's meeting will be important in providing a direction in terms of strengthening our relations," Modi said.

"Such initiatives are helpful in maintaining the momentum," the prime minister said, adding that there "have been two review meetings -- in Qingdao and in Johannesburg."

"I express my heartiest thanks to you (President Xi) for taking out time for this meeting," he said.

After the meeting, the PMO tweeted that the two leaders held productive discussions.
A day after former chief economic advisor Arvind Subramanian called demonetisation a draconian, monetary shock, Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Thursday renewed his attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led NDA government. Taking to microblogging site Twitter, the Congress chief said that like Rafale, demonetisation was a crime against India, adding that the guilty will be investigated and punished.

He also targeted the former chief economic advisor, suggesting that Subramanian should have resigned if he disagreed so much with the decision of note ban by Prime Minister Modi. The Gandhi scion equated demonetisation with Rafale fighter jets deal, which he has alleged to be a scam.

According to Rahul Gandhi, Subramanian distanced himself with demonetisation just like former defence minister Manohar Parrikar did in case of Rafale deal.

Demo like Rafale was a crime against India & a huge scam. Parrikar distanced himself from Rafale to save his skin. Mr Subramanian is doing the same with Demo. I wonder why he didnt resign when he disagreed so much? Dont worry India, the guilty will be investigated and punished, tweeted the Congress chief.

Demo like Rafale was a crime against India & a huge scam. Parrikar distanced himself from Rafale to save his skin. Mr Subramanian is doing the same with Demo. I wonder why he didnt resign when he disagreed so much? Dont worry India, the guilty will be investigated and punished. https://t.co/JcCPOH7jgr  Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) November 29, 2018

The Congress had earlier on Thursday referred to the former chief economic advisors latest remark on demonetisation as true feelings.

Former Chief Economic Advisor @arvindsubraman finally reveals his true feelings about the #DestructionByDemonetisation Obviously criticising a decision by the Supreme Leader while in govt. would've been completely outside the realm of possibility, the party had tweeted.

Breaking his silence on the November 8, 2016 decision of Prime Minister Modi, the former chief economic advisor triggered a row as he said that demonetisation was a massive, draconian, monetary shock that accelerated economic slide.

In a chapter of his upcoming book 'Of Counsel: The Challenges of the Modi-Jaitley Economy', Subranian has said, "Demonetisation was a massive, draconian, monetary shock: In one fell swoop, 86 percent of the currency in circulation was withdrawn. The real GDP growth was affected by the demonetisation. Growth had been slowing even before, but after demonetisation, the slide accelerated.

"In the six quarters before demonetisation, growth averaged 8 percent and in the seven quarters after, it averaged about 6.8 percent (with a four quarter window, the relevant numbers are 8.1 percent before and 6.2 percent after)."
Pakistan foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi has said that Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan bowled a googly at India by opening the Kartarpur Corridor. A report in Pakistan-based Geo News, countrys foreign minister made the remark at a ceremony in Islamabad to mark the first 100 days of Imran Khan-led Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf government.

Further talking about relationship with India, Qureshi said that the approach of Pakistan is people-centric, adding that Pakistan will take two steps forward if India takes one.

This comes two days after Imran Khan reached out to India during the ground-breaking ceremony of Kartarpur corridor. Khan said that both India and Pakistan had committed mistakes in the past, adding that the countries should not continue to live in the past.

The Pakistan Prime Minister had further said, There is just one issue between us  Kashmir. Cant we resolve it? Man has reached the Moon and we are not able to resolve one issue between us. All that is needed is political leadership with determination on both sides. There is no issue that cannot be resolved by dialogue.

Where Pakistan and India stand today, we have seen such a situation for 70 years now. We will stay stuck this way unless we break the shackles of the past and stop blaming each other. There have been mistakes on both sides. (But) We should not live in the past. It should be used to learn lessons, said the Pakistan Prime Minister.

India has maintained that there cannot be any talks with Pakistan unless the neighbour stops supporting terrorism. External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj asserted that Kartarpur corridor was in no way linked to the dialogue process between the countries. She reiterated that the moment terrorism stops, India will resume the dialogue process with Pakistan.

The ground-breaking ceremony of the Kartarpur corridor was held on Wednesday. Union ministers Harsimrat Kaur Badal and HS Puri were sent by government to attend the event.
Pune: The Indian Army is not yet ready to have women in combat roles, Army Chief General Bipin Rawat said Friday. The Army chief said there are several other fields where the Army was thinking of inducting women.

"We are not yet ready for that (women in combat roles) as facilities have to be created within... Women also need to be prepared for that kind of hardships," he said.

"It is not easy. Let us not compare ourselves with Western nations, which are more open," Gen Rawat told reporters on the sidelines of the Passing Out Parade of the 135th course at the National Defence Academy (NDA) in Pune. There were plans to have women as interpreters, the Army chief said.

"Yes, we may be more open in our big cities, but our Army personnel are not coming from big cities only. They are coming from rural areas too, where the intermingling, which is expected, is still not there," he said.

"Women officers are being inducted into all the three services. But what we have to decide is whether some of them can be given permanent commission," Gen Rawat said.

The Army has taken a call that there are some aspects and fields where "we need some kind of continuity and permanency," he said. "In a command-oriented army, male officers do not fit the bill everywhere. The Army needs language interpreters as military diplomacy is gaining ground. The basic requirement is understanding the language while talking to other nations, military to military. So we are looking for women as interpreters," he said.
A professor of Jammu University, Mohammad Tajuddin, has been accused of calling Bhagat Singh a terrorist. Some students of the university lodged a complaint with the varsity administration in this regard and also took up the matter with vice chancellor Professor Manoj K Dhar.

Speaking to news agency ANI, the Jammu University vice chancellor confirmed that the complaint had been filed, following which a six-member committee had been asked to look into the case. He further said that the accused professor had been disassociated from teaching till the inquiry would was completed.

Some students came to me last (Thursday) evening and told me about this incident. They submitted a CD as proof. I have immediately formed an inquiry committee. We have disassociated him from teaching till inquiry committee submits the report, said the vice chancellor.

Dhar added that further action would be taken only after the findings of the inquiry committee are submitted.

The accused professor, however, defended himself, claiming that a 25-second clip was cut out from his two-hour lecture and the remark was shown out of context. Professor Tajuddin further said that even he considered Bhagat Singh a revolutionary.

I was teaching Lenin (Russian revolutionary) and in that context, I said state calls any violence against it 'terrorism'. Someone took a 25-second video out of my 2-hours lecture. Terrorist word came in that. It was not what I meant. Still, if anyone is hurt, I am really sorry for it, said the professor.

I also consider Bhagat Singh a revolutionary. He is one of the people who sacrificed their lives for the country, he added.
Karachi: Twenty two Indian fishermen have been arrested by Pakistani authorities for allegedly straying into the country's territorial waters, a security official said Friday. They were arrested on Thursday by personnel of the Pakistan Maritime Security Agency (PMSA) during an operation.

The security official said that three boats of the fishermen were also confiscated. The fishermen who were handed over to the Docks police were presented in a magistrate's court on Friday and remanded to judicial custody. "They will now be sent to the Landhi jail," the official said.

Since October, this is the third time that a batch of Indian fishermen have been arrested and their boats seized by the PMSA.

Earlier this month, the PMSA arrested 12 Indian fishermen.

In October, another batch of 12 Indian fishermen were arrested and were handed over to the Docks police.

Pakistan and India regularly arrest each other's fishermen who inadvertently enter into their waters due to absence of any proper technology to confirm the coastline border between Pakistan and India near Sir Creek in the Arabian Sea. They languish in jails until they are set free on certain occasions.
New Delhi: Indian Army chief Bipin Rawat on Friday said that Pakistan needs to introspect before calling India for better and more peaceful ties. Stating that the country has turned itself into an Islamic state, he added that Pakistan needs to be secular for better ties with India.

Speaking two days after Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan called for peace between the two neighbouring countries, General Rawat termed comments from across the border as contradictory. "Pakistan has made its state an Islamic state. If they have to stay together with India, then they've to develop as a secular state. We are a secular state. If they're willing to become secular like us, then they seem to have an opportunity," he said. "There is a contradiction in what they are saying. One step from there should come in a positive manner, we will see if the step has an effect on the ground. Till then our nation has a clear policy- terror and talks can't go together."

General Rawat was referring to comments made by Imran Khan that Pakistan would take two steps forward for every one step taken by India. At an event after the laying of foundation stone for the Kartarpur Corridor, Imran Khan had said that Pakistan and India need to learn from mistakes made in the past and move forward.

India has always maintained that for peace talks to resume, Pakistan must stop cross-border terrorism and end giving support to terrorists. This is what was previously highlighted by external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj, General Rawat and many others.

Meanwhile, India has also refused to be part of the upcoming Saarc summit if it is held in Pakistan.
New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday dismissed a plea filed by 350 Indian Army soldiers which had challenged FIRs against security personnel in areas under Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act (AFSPA).

In the plea, the soldiers had said that FIRs against security personnel who are carrying out their duties in sensitive areas would only serve to demoralise military and para-military forces. The Centre supported the pleas before a bench of Justices Madan B Lokur and U U Lalit against the lodging of FIRs against members of the armed forces in AFSPA-enforced areas.

The bench however dismissed the plea. "Who has stopped you from coming out with a mechanism? These are issues for you to discuss and not for the court," it said to Solicitor General Tushar Mehta who had previously said that a mechanism is needed to ensure the hands of soldiers do not shake while fighting terrorism.
The Supreme Court on Friday issued a notice to Yoga Guru Ramdev on a publisher's plea which challenged the Delhi High Court's verdict restraining the sale and publication of a book purportedly on his life.

The high court had passed the restraining order after Ramdev claimed that the book, titled 'Godman To Tycoon had defamatory content, as reported by news agency PTI.

The apex court scheduled the matter for hearing in the first week of February 2019.

"We will issue notice to Respondent 1 (Ramdev)," PTI reported quoting a bench of justices Madan B Lokur and Deepak Gupta.

The publisher, Juggernaut Books, approached the apex court challenging the high court's September 29 judgement.

Earlier, Ramdev had filed the plea in the high court against the book saying the book, purportedly on his life, had defamatory content and harmed his economic interests and reputation.
HORAMARA ISLAND, SUNDERBANS: Residents of India`s Ghoramara Island want to leave their home as it shrinks each year due to rising seas, but many say they can`t afford it.

The 4.6 sq km (1.8 sq mile) island, part of the Sundarbans delta on the Bay of Bengal, has nearly halved in size over the past two decades, according to village elders.

The tiny island is home to 4,800 people, down from 7,000 a decade ago.

"If a tsunami or a big cyclone hits this island we will be finished," said Sanjib Sagar, village leader on the island 150 km (93 miles) south of the Indian city of Kolkata.

The Sundarbans, shared by India and Bangladesh, include the world`s largest mangrove forest as well as rare or endangered tigers, dolphins, birds and reptiles.

Ghoramara is among many islands in the delta affected by rising sea levels and soil erosion experts say is caused by climate change.

Residents say the flood waters are getting worse, threatening their homes and livelihoods.

"If government gives rehabilitation I will leave," said Sheikh Aftab Uddin, sitting outside his new mud house with his wife, after his previous home was destroyed by flood waters.

Half of the villagers are ready to move if the government provided free land in a safer area, Sagar said, but there has been no response to their request for compensation or to move people off the island.

Two people in the office of Javed Ahmed Khan, the minister in charge of disaster management in the state government of West Bengal, declined to comment on whether it had any plans to relocate inhabitants.

Floods have churned the island`s shoreline into mud fringed with broken coconut palms. Fishermen cast their nets to try to take advantage of the rising waters.

As well as damaging homes, floods destroy valuable betel leaf crops that many islanders have depended on for a living.

"Every year, high-tide salt water enters my farm and destroys my cultivation, so I have to face a big loss," said Mihir Kumar Mondal, a betel leaf farmer.

Climate change experts say the entire island population will have to be relocated one day.

"There has to be some planning for those people, in terms of relocating them to other areas. Frankly speaking, this has to be in the plan of the government," said Suruchi Bhadwal, a researcher on climate change at the New Delhi-based Energy and Resources Institute.
English Lithuanian

Notice of convening the Annual General Meeting of the shareholders of AB K2 LT

In accordance with the Law of Joint Stock Companies Articles 23 and 26, the Annual General Meeting (hereinafter the Meeting) of the shareholders of AB K2 LT (the Company) will be held on the 21 December 2018 at 10:00.

The Meeting is convened by the initiative and the decision of the Companys Board of Directors

The Meeting will take place in the Lithuanian Confederation of Industrialists at Vienuolio st. 8, LT-01104, Vilnius.



Registration of participants starts at 09:25 on 21 December 2018.

Registration of participants ends at 09:55 on 21 December 2018.

The list of shareholders entitled to participate at the Meeting will be established on 14 December 2018.

Entitled to attend and vote at the Meeting are those who, aso f the end of the accounting day of the Meeting (14 December 2018), are shareholders of the Company.

AB K2 LT, in accordance with the Law on Joint Stock Companies Article 21 section 4 and 5, and Article 26 section 2, does not allow for the opportunity to attend and vote at the Meeting using electronic means of communication.

The Meetings agenda which was approved by the Board of Directors on 27 November 2018 consist of the following items:

Approval of land plot (unique identification No. 4400-4522-3343 at Talino st. 4A Vilnius acquisition Approval of land plot (unique identification No. 4400-4176-3193 at Jonavos st. 41A Kaunas acquisition

Information related to the execution of shareholders rights, resolutions of the Meeting as well as other documentation related to AB K2 LT, is provided to the shareholders at the head office of AB K2 LT at Metalistu st.3, Kedainiai, during the office hours 9:00  17:00.

Mobile: 8 698 44313
Thiruvananthapuram: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Kerala General Secretary A N Radhakrishnan has decided to sit on an indefinite hunger strike from December 3 over the Sabarimala temple women entry issue. He will observe a 15-day long strike in front of the Secretariat.

The Supreme Court will hear in open court on January 22 a batch of review petitions on the matter.

The top court had on September 28 paved the way for the entry of women of all ages into the Sabarimala temple, saying that the ban on entry of menstrual age women amounted to gender discrimination.

Meanwhile, the Pathanamthitta district administration, under which Sabarimala falls, has extended the prohibitory orders till December 4.

The shrine has been under a heavy security blanket since November 17, the day when it was opened for the annual two-month-long pilgrimage season.

Police had said that the restriction was in the backdrop of the frenzied protests witnessed at the shrine over the state government's decision to implement the September 28 apex court order.

(With inputs from PTI)
Mumbai: A day after Federation of Western India Cine Employees (FWICE) claimed that the makers of 'Manikarnika: The Queen of Jhansi' are yet to clear dues of approximately Rs 1.5 crore to workers and junior artists, producer Kamal Jain Friday, refuted the allegations.

The producer said that all the legitimate and due payments have been made, except of one vendor, who is arm-twisting them.

According to FWICE, the makers of Kangana Ranaut-starrer film, have been shooting some portions of the movie at Filmcity in suburban Mumbai. The shoot was halted Wednesday afternoon mid-way because of non-payment of dues of workers, technicians and junior artists.

"It has been three months but they have not cleared dues of daily wage workers, which is about Rs 40 lakh. About Rs 90 lakh is to be paid to light vendor and Rs 25 lakh to junior artists. The producer (Kamal Jain) had promised to make the payment by October but he has not fulfilled his commitment," Ashok Dubey, General Secretary of Federation of Western India Cine Employees (FWICE) had told PTI on Thursday.

Jain, on his part, said, they have filed a complaint with the Film & TV Producers Guild of India against Film and Allied Union over one disputed vendor. According to Jain, the shoot got over on October 13, and 'all legitimate and due payments were made.'

"One disputed vendor, who has already been paid 70 percent of his dues, is illegitimately now using the union authority to arm twist us and disrupted our film shoot, which is completely illegal, untenable under the law and clearly is harassment to us and our team.

"This is one vendor whose payment is under dispute and is being tackled professionally and in a businesslike manner," Jain said in a statement here.

Jain said, the matter is being handled by Producers' Guild and they will abide by their process.

He added, "As a production house we are absolutely clear on not holding back any ones payment which is legitimate and due, as we immensely respect everyone's hard work that has gone into this film. We are thankful to each vendor/individual who has helped us on making this film."

Kulmeet Makkar, Chief Executive Officer Producers Guild of India, said, they are looking into the matter and will take the necessary action.

"We have been formally informed by our member Kairos Kontent that film and allied union and a specific vendor have been misusing their authority to stop film shooting. This is indeed unfortunate and extremely unhealthy trade practice.

"This is a commercial matter between producer and a vendor hence should be amicably resolved. We will be looking into the complaint made by our member to take the next course of action," Makkar said.

Reacting to Jain's statement, Dubey, told PTI, "The film takes a long time to get made. The makers have made some payment but there are dues that are pending to workers, junior artists."

The film is due to be released on January 25 next year.
KABUL: A United Nations investigation has found that at least 23 Afghan civilians, most of them women and children, were killed in a US airstrike in the southern province of Helmand this week, the latest in a growing toll of casualties from air operations.

The US military says it is investigating the incident on Tuesday in which a helicopter hit a compound during a joint operation with U.S. and Afghan forces in Garmsir district in Helmand.

Local residents said at least 30 people were killed in the strike ,which came amid a surge in air operations as the U.S. military takes a more aggressive approach to force the Taliban towards peace negotiations.

The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan noted a sharp increase in civilian casualties from air strikes and said it was particularly concerned that children have been hit. "Initial findings indicate that the vast majority of the victims were women and children," it said in a statement on the latest incident in Helmand.

"The Mission is actively working to verify information indicating up to 10 children were killed along with eight women, and three children were injured, including an eight-year-old boy."

According to UN figures, there were 649 civilian casualties from air strikes in the first nine months of the year, more than in any entire year since at least 2009, when UNAMA began systematic documentation of casualty figures.

In the first nine months of the year, U.S. aircraft released 5,213 weapons, more than in any other year since 2011 when there were more than 100,000 US troops in Afghanistan.
The G20 Leaders' Summit will be held in the capital Buenos Aires on November 30  December 1. The leaders of the twenty most economically developed countries of the world will gather to discuss the most topical issues of the global economy and international security. The summit participants are concerned about the problem of the US-Chinese trade war, as well as the withdrawal of the US president from the Paris Agreement on climate protection. The US, Europe, and China have so far failed to find a compromise on these issues. The most intriguing moment of the summit should be a meeting between US President Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin. Many controversies have appeared in relations between Russia and the United States since last years G20 summit.

Ukrainian diplomats are making efforts to ensure that in addition to these contradictions, the participants in the G-20 summit pay attention to the recent provocation of Russia in the Sea of Azov. November 25, the coast guard ships of the Russian Navy acted aggressively against the ships of the Ukrainian Navy, which have been carrying out a scheduled transition from Odesa port to Mariupol port in the Sea of Azov.

Kyiv demanded from Moscow to immediately provide the medical service to the wounded sailors and provide them urgent return to the Ukrainian territory. According to the Naval Forces of Ukraine, six sailors are wounded and two of them were in the critical condition.

Kyiv would like the G20 summit participants to pay attention to the problem of Russia's aggression in eastern Ukraine, its provocations in the Sea of Azov, which violate the freedom of international shipping. Kyiv also urge the United States and the European Union not to hesitate to tighten the pressure on the Russian Federation. According to the vice-speaker of the Verkhovna Rada Iryna Gerashchenko, the international reaction to the fact of Russia's aggression against Ukraine is excessively sluggish and new sanctions are necessary.

Arguments for new sanctions

On the eve of the G20 summit, Ukraine needs fresh arguments to convince the West more drastic measures to force Russia to peace are necessary. This is not Russias first provocation at sea. In the perios of May  September 2018, Russian FSB has detained about 100 vessels, which went to Berdyansk and Mariupol, in the Sea of Azov. Last year, the Russian military tried to seize a Ukrainian rescue boat in the Black Sea near Crimea, fired a transport plane of the Naval Forces of Ukraine over a gas field near Odesa and Pochaiv diving ship small using arms from the Tavrida oil rig. President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko has even declared martial law in 10 regions of Ukraine to add some sharpness to the Azov crisis (apart from the domestic political reasons).

Usually martial law is imposed in the case of the direct armed aggression on the territory of a sovereign state. The recent incident in the Sea of Azov was Russias local provocation, the purpose of which was to create an excuse not to let merchant ships into Ukrainian ports of Berdyansk and Mariupol, cause economic damage to the eastern regions of Ukraine, depriving them of the opportunity to profit from maritime trade. This Russian provocation might seem insignificant in comparison with the severe military actions of 2014, including battles of Debaltseve, Ilovaisk, Izvarino, and seizure of Novoazovsk and Shyrokine.

Nevertheless, our diplomats have achieved some success in New York, where on November 26, an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council, dedicated to Azov crisis, was held. Permanent members, including participants of the G20 (US, France, UK), have blocked the proposal of Russia to hold a meeting on the violation of its state borders, which suggests that they continue to consider Crimea as part of Ukraine and do not recognize Russian attempts to appropriate the peninsula. US Permanent Representative to the UN Nikki Haley said that creating obstacles for Ukraine during the passage through the Kerch Strait is a violation of international law and no one is going to put up with it. She stressed that the United States will preserve sanctions against Russia, which concern the Crimea, and further provocations will only aggravate the situation. France, UK, as well as non-permanent members of the UN Security Council (the Netherlands, Poland, and Sweden) called on Russia to release the captured Ukrainian ships. Ukraines Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin warned UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres in advance about Ukraines right to self-defense in case of aggression.

The officials from individual G20 countries have condemned Russia's actions in the Sea of Azov. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo accused Russia of escalating and violating international law, condemned its aggressive actions, called for the return of seized ships and crew members to Ukraine and for respecting our sovereignty and territorial integrity.

According to UK Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt, Russia has shown its contempt for the international legal norms and Ukraines sovereignty by provoking Azov crisis. German Chancellor Angela Merkel expressed her concern about the use of force by Russia and promised to help de-escalate. The French MFA stated that Russia had no reason to use military force in the Sea of Azov. President of the European Council Donald Tusk, who will also participate in the G20 summit, has also expressed support for Ukraine.

High hopes for Trump-Putin talks

Russia's seizure of the Ukrainian boats and tugs in the Sea of Azov might affect the Trump-Putin talks on the margins of the G20 summit; and the consequences would not be in favor of the Kremlin. If we talk about the opinion of the American president, as usual, he has refrained from criticizing Russia, stressing that there is nothing good in what happened. However, we already know about the US position, bearing in mind the rhetoric of Nikki Haley at the UN. Ukraine would benefit from the fact if the Azov crisis fuels the current US-Russian contradictions. No wonder Poroshenko called Pompeo after he decided to impose martial law.

After the July summit of the United States and the Russian Federation in Helsinki, at which Trump demonstrated friendliness towards the Kremlin host, the Republicans tightened their stance towards Russia. In August, the US has imposed sanctions against Russia in accordance with the Chemical and Biological Weapons Control and Warfare Elimination Act of 1991 in response to a chemical attack in the British Salisbury in March 2018. American companies were prohibited from obtaining export licenses for high-tech products in the Russian Federation, as they could be used in defense industry complex. Trump announced the withdrawal of the United States from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty of 1987 in October, it was a response on the use of the RS-24 Yars mobile missile systems, the land-based version of the Kalibr missile system, and Iskander missile systems, which violate the limits.

The Russian authorities have so far prevented observers from the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons on their territory in order to prove the lack of production of the Novichok nerve agent, used for poisoning Sergei and Yulia Skripale in Salisbury. Moscow does not withdraw from the Ukrainian issue. Shelling of Ukrainian positions in Donbas continues, Russian troops and equipment are still deployed in the occupied territories; no one is going to return annexed Crimea to Ukraine. The recent incident in the Sea of Azov confirms that the Kremlin does not care about the diplomatic efforts of America and Europe to resolve the armed conflict in eastern Ukraine. They consider the post-Soviet space to be their frontier and will act as they like to, ignoring the norms of international law.

Putins conciliatory rhetoric and persuasion on problematic issues are doomed to failure, as the practice of last years G20 summit in Hamburg and the Helsinki summit shows. The Democratic Party, which after the recent midterm elections have got the majority, expects Trump to have a more constructive and tough stance towards the Russian Federation, unlike his rhetoric at the Helsinki summit, when the American president claimed that Russias actions have not influenced the results of the 2016presidential election. Otherwise, Trump cannot avoid new criticism and accusations that he is allegedly subjected to Kremlins influence.

G20 Summit: acid test of new sanctions

Any problematic issue in relations between the United States, Russia, and Ukraine, starting from a chemical attack in Salisbury and ending with the recent incident in the Sea of Azov, creates a good excuse for new anti-Russian sanctions. Following the Trump-Putin negotiations, the US lawmakers would conclude Russias weak points, best for the 2019 anti-Russian sanctions. The US Congress has already elaborated certain plan. In August, Senators Lindsey Graham and Bob Menendez have drafted a bill on new sanctions against Russia, including a ban on the purchase of Russian oil, uranium, the transfer of American technology, and deals in the Russian sovereign debt market.

The US has no consensus on the expediency of introducing a new package of sanctions against the Russian Federation. Exxon Mobil, Chevron, Haliburton, which operate in Russias oil and gas sector, have their own oil extraction and service facilities there, so oppose the extension of sanctions to the oil sector.

At the same time, the new sanctions are beneficial to American uranium suppliers Ur-Energy and Energy Fuels, who have even asked to limit imports of these raw materials from Russia for the sake of maintaining the national industry. Russian uranium provides 40% of the fuel needs of US nuclear power plants. Sanctions against those who cooperate with Nord Stream 2 and TurkStream Russian gas pipelines are beneficial to American natural gas suppliers who are interested in increasing exports to Europe.

With all the ambiguous consequences of the sanctions for American business, so far Russia's behavior leaves the Trump administration no choice but to apply them in the near future. Russia refuses to admit its responsibility for Azov crisis, accuses Ukraine of violating the non-existent borders, claims that the transfer of boats and tugboats from Odesa to Mariupol is supposedly a provocation in order to demand tougher sanctions. After Poroshenko imposed martial law, Putin called Merkel and asked him to influence the Ukrainian authorities to refuse this decision. Apparently, Putin will stand for Russia as a victim of Ukraines provocations and continue to deny responsibility for violating the missile agreements, for using chemical weapons in Salisbury, and insist that the Kremlin has not interfered in the American elections. In this case, the Americans have no choice but to use the threat of toughening anti-Russian sanctions.

Read the original text at 112.ua.
One Ukrainian serviceman was wounded, another one went missing in action

On November 29, armed pro-Kremlin militants attacked outposts of Ukrainian troops in Donbas 14 times. The HQ of the Joint Forces Operation reported this on Friday morning.

In seven cases, the enemy used Minsk-banned weapons. 82 mm mines hit the Ukrainian positions near Krymske, Luhanske, Chermalyk, Hnutove and Vodyane. The mercenaries also opened fire from grenade launchers, small arms and large-caliber machine guns; they attacked Krymske, Hnutove, Vilny, Krasnohorivka, Taramchuk, Avdiivka and Verkhnyotoretske.

Since small hours of November 30, the enemy did not open fire in the combat area.

One Ukrainian serviceman was wounded, another one went missing in action over the said period.

Earlier, on November 26, the militants shelled the positions of the Joint Forces of Ukraine six times, which led to the injuries of two Ukrainian servicemen. The press office of the Joint Forces Operation (JFO) reported on Facebook.

The occupiers shelled our strongholds in the areas of Malynove, Pivdenne, and Krasnohorivka using grenade launchers and heavy machine guns. Besides, the enemy used 82mm mortars near Vilny, Opytne, and Hnutove. The Russian occupiers fired 120mm mortars in the area of Malynove, which is close to Stanytsia Luhanska, the headquarters reported.
Two uses of weapons prohibited by the Minsk Agreements were recorded

The illegal armed formations violated the silence regime four times in the Joint Forces Operation zone on November 30. The press office of the JFO HQ reported on Facebook.

Over the following day, the Russian occupation forces violated ceasefire regime four times. There are two cases of the use of weapons prohibited by the Minsk Agreements. No casualties were observed during the combat actions, according to the report.

In the afternoon, the illegal armed formations opened aimed fire from IFV weapons, grenade launchers, heavy machine guns and small arms at the positions of Joint Forces in the area of Vilne farmstead. The strongholds of the Ukrainian forces near Luhanske were shelled from 120mm mortars and the defensive fortifications near Hruntove from 82mm mortars.

The situation in the Joint Forces Operation zone remains controlled by the Ukrainian military.

Should be noted that all entry-exit checkpoints in the JFO zone are switching to winter schedule from December 1.
It's the third time over the past ten days with the Russian and Belgian planes involved in this area

Su-27 Flanker, Russian Air Force Almasdarnews.com

F-16s of the Belgian Air Forces scrambled to intercept the Russian Sukhoi Su-27s; the incident with Russian fighters entering the airspace over Baltic Sea occurred on Thursday. The respective message appeared on the Twitter page of Belgian Defence Ministry.

No information about the actual area of interception, or the number of aircraft on any of the sides was disclosed.

It's the third time this week with the Russian and Belgian planes involved in this area. On November 22, Russian Su-24 frontline bombers hovered over two Belgian Navy frigates, performing maneuvers on the dangerously close distance. The Belgian vessels were involved in NATO maritime drills at the time. Besides, a Russian submarine took up not far from one of the Belgian frigates; the Russian vessel did not take any aggressive actions, but the crew took photos of the Belgian ships.
Ahtem Chyigoz, deputy leader of the authority did not confirm that the servicemen were transported to Russia

Open source

The Ukrainian sailors captured in the Kerch Strait are so far on the territory of the annexed Crimea. Ahtem Chyigoz, the deputy head of the Mejlis of Crimean Tatar people said that as quoted by Krym.Realii.

Chyigoz added that the information was received from his own reliable sources.

'Ukrainian sailors are in the pre-trial detention center of Simferopol', Chyigoz said.

Russian lawyer Nikolai Polozov, who is about to defend Ukrainian sailor Denys Hrytsenko (the crew member of Berdyansk gunboat, one of the three captured vessels, - 112 International), said he could not confirm if Ukrainians were supposed to be transferred from Crimea to Russia.

On November 25, Ukrainian vessels were attacked in Kerch Strait; the Russian naval forces opened fire on two gunboats and a tugboat, injuring six Ukrainian sailors. The vessels and the crew members were captured, and the wounded ones were taken to a hospital. The Crimean 'prosecutors' charge them with the 'illegal crossing of Russian territorial waters'.
On November 30, Ukraine banned entry to the state for male Russians aged from 16 up to 60

Russia will not assume tit-for-tat measure against Ukraines decision to ban entry to the state for male Russian citizens aged from 16 up to 60. Maria Zakharova, the spokeswoman of Foreign Ministry of Russia made such statement as Interfax reported.

Concerning Ukraine, not country but the regime, which governs the country, then talks about tit-for-tat measures are scary because if someone tries to repeat the things happening in Kyiv then it can lead to the madness. And if we talk about the national scale then to the collapse, Zakharova said.

Russias representative thinks that the backflips happening in Kyiv and Ukraine are complete dysfunction of the political system of the state, which is the result of the wild movements of the countrys leadership.

Earlier it was reported that Ukraine has banned the entry to its territory for the male citizens of Russia in the age from 16 up to 60. President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko proposed to tighten the rules of the registration in Ukraine for the Russians.

Earlier it was reported that only citizens of Ukraine will be able to get to annexed Crimea through the administrative border in Kherson region.

As we reported earlier, the coast guard ships of the Russian Navy acted aggressively against the ships of the Ukrainian Navy, which have been carrying out a scheduled transition from Odesa port to Mariupol port in the Sea of Azov.

Given the tough situation in the area of Kerch Strait in the Sea of Azov, President Petro Poroshenko supported the offer of Ukraine's national security and defense council; it stipulates that the Ukrainian Parliament should consider the option to impose the martial law in Ukraine.

On November 28, the Uriadovy Kurier, the official outlet of the Ukrainian Cabinet, published the presidential decree No.392, which activates the decision of the National Security and Defense Council in Ukraine about the 30-days-long martial law in Ukraine.

Related video:
At the same time, he claimed that there is anti-Hungarian authority acting in Ukraine

Hungary supports Ukraine in the conflict with Russia, notwithstanding, the Ukrainian government taking an anti-Hungarian position. Prime Minister of Hungary Viktor Orban claimed this during his visit to Prague on November 30, according to Reuters.

Hungarys stance is clear-cut, we are a pro-Ukraine government, so we stand behind Ukraine, Orban said in response to a reporters question.

There is a pro-Ukraine government in Hungary, while there is an anti-Hungary government in Ukraine. Despite that, we have not changed our stance and we will stand behind Ukraine in this conflict, Orban added.

As we reported earlier, the coast guard ships of the Russian Navy acted aggressively against the ships of the Ukrainian Navy, which have been carrying out a scheduled transition from Odesa port to Mariupol port in the Sea of Azov.

Today, November 25, the ships of the Ukrainian Navy with two armored gunboats and a sea mule tugboat have been carrying out a scheduled transition from Odesa port to Mariupol port in the Sea of Azov. The intention to make the transition was informed in advance in accordance with international standards in order to ensure the safety of navigation. However, contrary to the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea and the Treaty between Ukraine and the Russian Federation on cooperation in the use of the Sea of Azov and the Kerch Strait, the Russian coast guard ships - Sobol class patrol boat, Don border guard cruiser, Mangust class patrol boat and Suzdalets anti-submarine warfare ship performed blatantly aggressive acts against the ships of the Ukrainian Navy, reads the message.

It is specified that Don border guard cruiser rammed the Ukrainian armored artillery boat, which led to the damage of the main engine.

The Ukrainian Navy states that "the dispatcher service of the occupiers refuses to ensure the right of freedom of navigation, guaranteed by international agreements." Thus, according to the Ukrainian side, Russia has once again demonstrated its aggressive nature and complete disregard for the norms of international law.
Dublin, Nov. 30, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The "U.S. Fertility Clinics & Infertility Services: An Industry Analysis" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.



This analysis by the publisher examines the controversial $5.8 billion infertility services/fertility clinics growth industry.

This loosely regulated baby business has weathered the last recession pretty well and has grown strongly since 2014, boosted both by demand domestically and via medical tourism patients from Europe and China. This largely untapped market is characterized by favorable demographics and a strong economy. Venture capital firms are eyeing the potential.



ART (assisted reproductive technology) now produces more than 50,000 babies per year in the U.S. via 263,000 IVF procedures, and demand is growing from the ranks of 7+ million infertile women, many of which delayed childbearing due to careers. Foreigners and gay couples are two other areas of growth.

There are about 480 U.S. fertility clinics, 100+ sperm banks, an unknown number of egg donors, and 1,700 reproductive endocrinologists competing for the business, which is lucrative. In addition, the global market for fertility drugs is just under $1 billion. Only one large chain, IntegraMed, exists, as most programs are run by small MD practices or are part of a hospital or University. The market is fragmented, served by mostly small regional clinics.



This 3rd edition study examines the nature/evolution of the business, national receipts/growth from 1988 to 2023 forecast, infertile customer demographics, key industry trends, industry regulation, pricing, industry consolidation, insurance coverage, ethical issues, and more. Contains results of the latest (2015-2016) CDC ART survey national data, with IVF success rates and long-term trends, as well as European ART cycles survey data. The report also examines the nature/size of the U.S. sperm banks, egg donors, and fertility drugs markets, and surrogacy programs.



Competitor Profiles

Cryos International

California Cryobank

Resolve

Allan Guttmacher Institute

Genetics and IVF Institute

IntegraMed America



Key Topics Covered



1. Introduction



2. Report Scope & Methodology, Sources used



3. Executive Overview of Major Findings



4. Nature & Structure of the Industry

Definition of market segments (IVF ART clinics, sperm banks, egg donors, fertility drugs, surrogacy programs, surgeries)

Industry evolution - when clinics first appeared

Market demand and potential: Number and percent of women of childbearing age infertile, increase in IVF procedures from 1987-2016, reasons for continued growth, past estimates of industry size

Insurance coverage: typical fees and client affordability, state mandated coverage, financing

Causes of infertility: discussion of main reasons for infertility in men and women, treatment methods (HSG procedures, lap and dye procedures - description, cost, estimated number of procedures). Tubal reversal surgeries (description of, success rates, costs, percent of women having procedure, estimated number of surgeries).

IVF procedures: discussion of procedure, cost. GIFT procedures: discussion of procedure, cost, number of procedures.

5. Customer Demographics

U.S. birth & fertility rates: data - report highlights regarding number of births, total births in the United States, crude birth rate, general fertility rate

Americans' use of fertility services: demographics and characteristics

Chinese couples demand for U.S. fertility services, discussion, IVF tourism trends by European couples

Summary and discussion of number and percent of infertile female population in the U.S. (U.S.

Census Bureau data, American Society for Reproductive Medicine)

Reasons why the market is largely untapped: how price deters most candidates

Delayer boom: more educated women have children later in life

Tables:

Number of U.S. births and general fertility rate

6. Industry Size and Growth

Summary and Analysis; historical estimates of industry size - 1988,1995, 2000 (gov't. & private sources)

The publisher's estimate of mkt. size in 1999, by diagnostic procedure, IVF, drugs, surgeries

Harvard Business School estimate for 2004

Discussion of no. of IVF clinics 1985-2016, avg. revenues, value of this market segment 2014-2016 market performance: estimated growth, pricing, IntegraMed

revenues.

2017 & 2018 estimates/projections -: discussion of key factors: Chinese medial tourists, domestic econom small clinics vs. IntegraMed performance, user demographics, publisher forecast of ART cycles volum$ value of the market. 2023 Forecast: Factors affecting current and future industry growth: IVF tourism, economic Recovery/recession probability, public policy, improved success rates, gay/lesbian use of IVF, etc.

Status of the European and Chinese Markets, report of ESHRE, IVF volume, percent distribution of IVF vs. ICSI (1997-2009), which nations infertile couples come from, reasons, reimbursement

ESHRE headquarters address.

Tables:

Historical $ Size of fertility services industry - 1995-2018: diagnostic & therapeutic procedures (no. performed, avg. cost, estd. $ value: office consultations, semen analysis, hormone evaluations, tubal reversals, IVF & GIFT procedures, fertility drugs, donor eggs, donor sperm, surrogacies)

Size of fertility treatment industry: 2004 (Debora Spar, Harvard Business School book)

No. of clinics, ART procedures performed, revenues: 1985-2016 (CDC data)

Top 21 U.S. fertility clinics, by no. of IVF cycles performed and revenues: 2016

Top 21 U.S. fertility clinics, by no. of IVF cycles performed and revenues: 2014

No. of ART cycles performed, % change: 1997-2023 forecast

Demand for assisted reproductive technology in China infographic

Size of fertility services industry - 2012 vs. 2008: diagnostic & therapeutic procedures (no. performed, avg. cost, estd. $ value) - breakdowns as above

Estimated historical size of mkt., by segment: 1988, 1995, 2000, 2004, 2006, 2008, 2012

No. of ART cycles performed in various European nations: 1997-2009.

7. Sperm Banks and Egg Donor Markets, Surrogacy

Sperm Banks

Summary and discussion: number of U.S. sperm banks, typical fees, main activities

How the process works: requirements and screening of sperm donors, who typical donors are, fees, contracts

Estimated value of the market: 2004 - 2023 F

Market trends - why market is flat, gray market sperm

Major competitor Profiles: Cryos International Sperm Bank (Denmark), California Cryobank - typical procedures and requirements of donors, findings of phone interview

8. Egg Donor Market

Discussion of egg donors, frozen embryo replacement, fees, who they are, differentiated pricing structure, estimated market value: why this is a strong growth market, foreign demand, market size: 2004-2023 Forecast.

Analysis of egg donation data from 2015 CDC ART report, the publisher's mkt. size estimates for 2016, 2018, 2023

Discussion of European mkt. report about social egg freezers, low rate of thawing.

9. Surrogacy Programs: Discussion of the need for it, mkt. size, fees, etc.

10. The Fertility Drugs Market

Summary of the U.S. & global fertility drugs market: estimated size, key competitors (Organon, Merck Serono, Ferring)

Outlook and sales results from Merck's annual reports for North America versus rest of world, outlook for Gonal-f and Pergoveris

Estimated market share for Merck Serono, $ sales

Discussion of increase in illicit drug market developing between buyers and sellers

The publisher estimates of fertility drug sales: 1995 - 2023 F, five year forecast

11. Findings of 2015-2016 CDC ART Surveys on Assisted Reproductive Technology - Success Rates

Findings of 2015 survey & preliminary. 2016 data: success rates, by age of woman, fresh & frozen embryos from nondonor eggs, donor eggs, percent of clinics offering services by type.

Discussion/analysis of: type ART procedure used, pregnancy success rates, ART cycles using frozen embryos, ART cycles using donor eggs, ART cycles using nondonor eggs and embryos, success rates by women's age

Tables and analyses of 2015 report: National Summary

Total no. of ART procedures performed, % by type.

No. of infants born through ART

Percent multiple birth deliveries

Percent of ART transfers resulting in a pregnancy.

Age distribution of patients undergoing fresh IVF cycles: 2014

Text, analyses & discussion covering these topics: (long-term trend data)

How old were women who used ART?

How did the types of ART cycles performed differ by a woman's age?

How many frozen egg cycles were conducted and what were the outcomes of these cycles?

Why were some ART cycles canceled?

What percentage of ART cycles resulted in a pregnancy?

What percentage of ART pregnancies resulted in a live birth?

What percentage of ART cycles resulted in a multiple-fetus pregnancy or multiple-infant birth?

How did the percentage of ART cycles that resulted in pregnancies, live births, and births of single live infants differ among women aged 40 or older?

How did a woman's age affect ART cycle progress and outcomes?

How did previous birth impact ART live-birth outcomes?

How did previous unsuccessful ART use impact ART live-birth outcomes among women with no previous births?

Did the use of ICSI differ by age group or by male factor infertility diagnosis?

How many embryos were typically transferred in an ART procedure?

Did the number of embryos transferred impact the percentage of single, term, and normal birth weight infants born?

How long after egg retrieval did embryo transfer occur?

What percentage of ART cycles resulted in a multiple-fetus pregnancy or multiple-infant birth?

Was the use of donor eggs or embryos higher among older women undergoing ART?

What are egg/embryo banking cycles and have they increased?

Has the number of cycles using donor eggs or embryos increased?

Is the use of ART increasing? Is the use of ICSI increasing?

Have there been changes in the type of ART cycles performed among women who used fresh or frozen nondonor eggs or embryos?

Has the no. of embryos transferred in fresh non-donor cycles changed?

Has the no. of embryos transferred in each ART cycle changed?

Have there been improvements in ART success rates by no. of embryos transferred?

Has the % of multiple-infant live births changed?

Has the % of singletons, twins and triplets or more changed for ART cycles using fresh non-donor eggs or embryos?

12. Major Competitor Profiles

Summary: discussion of consolidation, how larger clinics are capturing greater share of the market



Tables:

Ranking of top 21 IVF clinics, by no. of cycles performed: 2006, 2010, 2011, 2014, 2016

Ranking of top 21 IVF clinics, by. no. of cycles performed and estd. revenues per clinic in 2016

Descriptions of activities, specialties, mission, revenues if available, address, for:

Resolve

Allan Guttmacher Institute

Genetics and IVF Institute

IntegraMed America, Inc.

Industry Reference Directory

List of adoption and fertility services industry trade groups, associations, surveys, consultants, and other sources.

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/696zpg/2018_fertility?w=12

Research and Markets also offers Custom Research services providing focused, comprehensive and tailored research.
Stepan Poltorak, the Head of the Ministry, said that the institution coordinated its actions with the relatives of the sailors and group of lawyers

Open source

Ukraines Defence Ministry will be gradually providing support Ukrainian sailors captured by Russia, as Stepan Poltorak, the Head of the Ministry, said at the Presidents meeting on countrys defence capacity, 112 Ukraine reported.

We will be providing this assistance step by step. Besides, Ukraines Navy leadership met with the relatives and parents of our sailors and coordinated its actions, organized cooperation. We completely realize what actions we should take, we created a group on the provision of legal aid, a group of lawyers is working with the sailors, who provide them with legal services. We are in contact with the parents and we plan to extend our support for the servicemen. We will not leave them, the Minister said.

Earlier, the Defence Minister of Ukraine Stepan Poltorak stated that he signed a decree on providing material assistance in the amount of $1,700 for every Ukraines Navy servicemen who carried out a mission in Kerch Strait and were taken captive by Russians on November 25, 2018.

Poltorak also informed that on November 28, the representatives of Ukraines Naval Forces Command had a meeting with the families of the war prisoners on their rights and to decide on issues.

As it was reported, on November 27-28, Russia-controlled court in Crimea arrested all the Ukrainian sailors including the injured ones for 60 days. They are accused of illegal crossing of the Russian border.

Today, on November 30, it was reported that Russia intended to transfer some of the prisoners to Lefortovo prison. Earlier, Akhtem Chyigoz, the Deputy Head of Mejlis of the Crimean Tatars, said that the sailors were taken to a prison in occupied Simferopol.

Related video:
It is Russia's second refusal in a row to come to the negotiating table and answer the questions about aggression

Open source

Russia refused to discuss the escalation in the Sea of Azov and Kerch Strait via Skype in the format of the Trilateral Contact Group (TCG) as Iryna Gerashchenko, the First Vice Speaker of the parliament and representative of Ukraine at Minsk Talks, reported on Facebook.

The Ukrainian side, along with the OSCE, has initiated the meeting of the Trilateral Contact Group via Skype to discuss the blatant fact of the Russian aggression against territorial integrity of Ukraine in the Sea of Azov and Kerch waters and immediate release of the Ukrainian captured sailors and return of illegally seized vessels to Ukraine, unblocking of the navigation for the Ukrainian and foreign vessels in Azov, de-escalation of the tension created by the aggressive and provocative actions of the Russian Federation, Gerashchenko reported.

The Russian side refused from such a meeting.

It is Russia's second refusal in a row to come to the negotiating table and answer the questions about aggression, she specified.

Ukraine insists on the discussion of the provocation and aggression against Ukraine held by Russia at the OSCE Permanent Council with the presence of TCG representative, envoy Martin Sajdik and OSCE SMM Chairman Apakan, she noted.

As we reported earlier, the coast guard ships of the Russian Navy acted aggressively against the ships of the Ukrainian Navy, which have been carrying out a scheduled transition from Odesa port to Mariupol port in the Sea of Azov.

Given the tough situation in the area of Kerch Strait in the Sea of Azov, President Petro Poroshenko supported the offer of Ukraine's national security and defense council; it stipulates that the Ukrainian Parliament should consider the option to impose the martial law in Ukraine.

On November 28, the Uriadovy Kurier, the official outlet of the Ukrainian Cabinet, published the presidential decree No.392, which activates the decision of the National Security and Defense Council in Ukraine about the 30-days-long martial law in Ukraine.

On November 27-28, Kyiv District Court of Simferopol arrested all Ukrainian sailors until January 25, 2019, who were detained by Russian border officers.

Related video:
The searches are being conducted at the place of residence of Pavlo, as well as in the premises of Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra in the probe of stirring up religious hatred

Metropolitan Pavlo Open source

Ukraines Security Service conduct searches at the place of residence of Pavlo, the archpriest of Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra, according to Olena Hitlyanska, according to the Ukrainian Security Service (SBU) spokeswoman, the Ukrainian News reported.

According to Olena Hitlyanska, the searches are being conducted at the place of residence of Pavlo and in the premises of Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra within the probe of stirring up religious hatred, which is a subject to Criminal Code of Ukraine.

As it was reported earlier, the Ministry of Culture initiated checks of relics and shrines in Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra. Later the SBU clarified that investigative activities are being held under procedural regulation of Prosecutors Office of Kyiv region in fulfillment of the order by the Investigative Direction of National Police of Ukraine.

The Ecumenical Patriarchate decided to grant the autocephaly for Ukraine's Orthodox Church. The respective document appeared on the official website of the Patriarchate. This outraged the Russian Orthodox Church, which already promised 'a tough and decisive response.'

The head of the SBU administration, Ihor Huskov, has confirmed this information.

"The SBU is taking investigative measures at the vicar's place of residence as part of a criminal case opened under Article 161 of the Criminal Code," Huskov said at a press briefing at the SBU on Friday.

The Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Kyiv Patriarchate struggled for the autocephaly since the country gained independence in 1991. For his firm stance in this regard, Patriarch Filaret, the current leader of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Kyiv Patriarchate was stripped of his orders in 1992, as the Russian Orthodox Church imposed the anathema on him. Most recently, the Ecumenical Patriarchate lifted it from him. This decision, and the subsequent decision to grant Ukraine Tomos outraged the Russian Orthodox Church, which already promised 'a tough and decisive response.'

On Thursday, November 29, the Synodus of Ecumenical Patriarchate released a communique about the preliminary draft project of the statute of the future Ukrainian Church.
Open source

Ukraines Security Service intercepted the radio communications one of the Russian Security Service officers and the captain of Don, which rammed the Ukrainian tug Yany Kapu, as Igor Guskov, the Chief of Staff of Security Service, said at the briefing, broadcasted by 112 Ukraine.

On November 28, another radio communications of one of the Russian Security Service officers and the captain of Don Saliayev, thanks to the technical capacities of the Ukrainian special services. Saliayev commanded Don ship, which rammed the Ukrainian tug Yany Kapu. According to the intercepted radio communications, Russian Security Service officer controls the volume level of two sentences which are being retransmitted from Don. At the end of the conversation, the Russian officer puts time marks 2:30, 2:35 of another recording, which is a benchmark for him, he said.

The time marks 2:30, 2:35 appeared to be taken from the pieces of other radio communications, which Ukraines Armed Forces General Staff revealed on November 26, 2018.

It is about the conversation between the officials of Russians Navy Operations Service and the command of the Russian naval vessels, which chased Ukrainian vessels while they were cruising to the Kerch Strait. The piece confirms that Russian authority gave a direct order to the Russian sailors to ram Yanu Kapu tug. Besides, it was noted that after the ram of two Russian vessels Don and Izumrud collided, Guskov said.

Earlier, the Defence Minister of Ukraine Stepan Poltorak stated that he signed a decree on providing material assistance in the amount of $1,700 for every Ukraines Navy servicemen who carried out a mission in Kerch Strait and were taken captive by Russians on November 25, 2018.

Poltorak also informed that on November 28, the representatives of Ukraines Naval Forces Command had a meeting with the families of the war prisoners on their rights and to decide on issues.

As it was reported, on November 27-28, Russia-controlled court in Crimea arrested all the Ukrainian sailors including the injured ones for 60 days. They are accused of illegal crossing of the Russian border.

Today, on November 30, it was reported that Russia intended to transfer some of the prisoners to Lefortovo prison. Earlier, Akhtem Chyigoz, the Deputy Head of Mejlis of the Crimean Tatars, said that the sailors were taken to a prison in occupied Simferopol.

Related video:
The American lawmakers urge the aggressor to immediately return seized vessels of Ukraines Naval Forces and release captured sailors

The Senate of the U.S. unanimously voted for the resolution, which condemns the actions of Russia in Kerch Strait against the ships of the Ukrainian fleet as the website of the U.S. Senate reported.

The document contains the urge to Moscow to immediately return seized vessels of Ukraines Naval Forces Berdyansk, Nikopol and Yany Kapu, which passed from Odesa (the Black Sea) to Mariupol (the Sea of Azov) and release captured sailors.

Moreover, it supports official Kyiv and condemns any military actions of Russia assumed to unilaterally rewrite the international rules.

The illegal construction of Kerch bridge, and it is one more violation of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine, in parallel with the militarization of the Sea of Azov, led to the tightened control over the military navigation in the strait. The U.S. expects that Russia will stop the check of the vessels.

The document notes that Washington does not recognize the illegal annexation of the Crimean peninsula.

The resolution of the Congress has the declaratory nature; however, it is a signal for the U.S. President for action.

As we reported earlier, the coast guard ships of the Russian Navy acted aggressively against the ships of the Ukrainian Navy, which have been carrying out a scheduled transition from Odesa port to Mariupol port in the Sea of Azov.

Given the tough situation in the area of Kerch Strait in the Sea of Azov, President Petro Poroshenko supported the offer of Ukraine's national security and defense council; it stipulates that the Ukrainian Parliament should consider the option to impose the martial law in Ukraine.

On November 28, the Uriadovy Kurier, the official outlet of the Ukrainian Cabinet, published the presidential decree No.392, which activates the decision of the National Security and Defense Council in Ukraine about the 30-days-long martial law in Ukraine.

On November 27-28, Kyiv District Court of Simferopol arrested all Ukrainian sailors until January 25, 2019, who were detained by Russian border officers.

Related video:
Meet June Rosenthal, author of the unique memoir featuring illustrations by Santa Fe artist Kathy Hirshon. The event coincides with opening night of the 18th Annual Baca Street Arts Tour.

The Turquoise Lady Reception & Book Signing Kicks off 18th Annual Baca Street Arts Tour

Trailblazer. Entrepreneur. World traveler. Community leader. Southwestern fashionista. June Rosenthal is all these things  and by the way, shes also 94 and still going strong!

Meet June on Friday, Nov. 30, from 4  7 p.m. for an art opening and book signing celebrating her new book, The Turquoise Lady: My Loves, Fashions, and Fortunes, a delightful and unique memoir featuring illustrations by Santa Fe artist Kathy Hirshon. Kathy also will be on hand to sign books and chat about her decades-long friendship with June.

The pair met in Connecticut, where June ran an outrageously successful real estate business. In her book, June has written sweet vignettes that reflect a full and generous life; her stories are sure to inspire her readers own trips down memory lane.

The reception coincides with the opening night of the 18th Annual Baca Street Arts Tour, which features more than a dozen local artists at locations throughout the Baca neighborhood. In addition to art and festivities, The Smore Pit will be on hand Friday evening with a pit fire and a selection of tasty, gooey treats.

As part of the Friday festivities, Art.i.fact will host Coryelle Kramer, an intuitive, empath, animal communicator, medium and seer. Coryelle can help in discovering your spirit guides, past lives, and even akashic records for your lifes purpose. Uplifting and positive, Coryelle will uncover the answers to your questions utilizing tarot and oracle cards.

The tour dates for the Baca Street Arts Tour are Saturday, Dec. 1, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. (Art.i.fact will be open until 6 p.m., as always) and Sunday, Dec. 2, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.

The exhibition of Kathy Hirshon's selected illustrations from the book will be up through January 9, 2019

####
English French

MONTREAL, Nov. 30, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Falco Resources Ltd. (TSX.V: FPC) (Falco or the Corporation) announces that the six (6) nominees listed in the management information circular dated October 26, 2018, were elected as directors of Falco.



Detailed results of the vote for the election of directors held at the annual and special meeting of shareholders on November 29, 2018 are set out below:

ITEM No1

Nominee Votes Cast

FOR Percentage (%)

of Votes Cast

FOR Votes

WITHHELD

Percentage (%)

of Votes

WITHHELD

Mario Caron 57,994,474 78.10 16,261,875 21.90 Bryan A. Coates 57,745,774 77.77 16,510,575 22.23 Paola Farnesi 57,956,674 78.05 16,299,675 21.95 Luc Lessard 57,732,774 77.75 16,523,575 22.25 Sean Roosen 57,750,774 77.77 16,505,575 22.23 Chantal Sorel 57,943,674 78.03 16,312,675 21.97

Appointment and Remuneration of Auditor

Based on the proxies received and the votes on a show of hands, PricewaterhouseCoopers, LLP, Chartered Professional Accountants, was appointed as independent auditor of the Corporation for the ensuing year and the directors are authorized to fix their remuneration, with the following results:

ITEM No2 Votes cast

FOR Percentage (%)

of Votes Cast

FOR Votes

WITHHELD

Percentage (%)

of Votes

WITHHELD

Appointment and Remuneration of Auditor 83,306,000 99.95 44,475 0.05

Long Term Incentive Plan Resolution

Based on the proxies received and the votes on a show of hands, shareholders approved the ordinary resolution with respect to the approval of the Corporations existing long term incentive plan (LTIP). The results are as follows:

ITEM No3 Votes cast

FOR Percentage (%)

of Votes Cast

FOR Votes

AGAINST Percentage (%)

of Votes

AGAINST Ordinary resolution to approve the Corporations existing LTIP 54,203,308 72.99 20,053,041 27.01

Conversion of the Debenture

Based on the proxies received and the votes on a show of hands, the majority of the disinterested shareholders approved an ordinary resolution with respect to the conversion of the debenture. The results are as follows:

ITEM No4 Votes cast

FOR Percentage (%)

of Votes Cast

FOR Votes

AGAINST Percentage (%)

of Votes

AGAINST Ordinary resolution to approve the conversion of the debenture 44,557,448 98.29 775,175 1.71

Creation of a New Control Person

Based on the proxies received and the votes on a show of hands, the majority of the disinterested shareholders approved an ordinary resolution with respect to the creation of a new control person being Osisko Gold Royalties Ltd (Osisko). The results are as follows:

ITEM No5 Votes cast

FOR Percentage (%)

of Votes Cast

FOR Votes

AGAINST Percentage (%)

of Votes

AGAINST Ordinary resolution to approve the creation of a new control person being Osisko 44,567,348 98.31 765,275 1.69

Stream Agreement

Based on the proxies received and the votes on a show of hands, the majority of the disinterested shareholders approved an ordinary resolution with respect to the entering into a stream agreement with Osisko. The results are as follows:

ITEM No6 Votes cast

FOR Percentage (%)

of Votes Cast

FOR Votes

AGAINST Percentage (%)

of Votes

AGAINST Ordinary resolution to approve the entering into a stream agreement with Osisko 44,762,348 98.74 570,275 1.26

Alternative Stream Agreement

Based on the proxies received and the votes on a show of hands, shareholders approved an ordinary resolution with respect to the entering into a stream agreement with any other arms length third party. The results are as follows:

ITEM No7 Votes cast

FOR Percentage (%)

of Votes Cast

FOR Votes

AGAINST Percentage (%)

of Votes

AGAINST Ordinary resolution to approve the entering into a stream agreement with any other arms length third party 73,695,009 99.24 561,340 0.76

Termination of the Amended and Restated Shareholder Rights Plan Agreement

Based on the proxies received and the votes on a show of hands, the majority of the disinterested shareholders approved an ordinary resolution with respect to the termination of the amended and restated shareholder rights plan agreement dated November 22, 2016 and the termination of all rights issued pursuant to such plan. The results are as follows:

ITEM No8 Votes cast

FOR Percentage (%)

of Votes Cast

FOR Votes

AGAINST Percentage (%)

AGAINST Ordinary resolution to approve the termination of the amended and restated shareholder rights plan agreement dated November 22, 2016 and to terminate all rights issued pursuant to such plan 43,608,683 96.20 1,723,940 3.80

Conversion of the Debenture

Further to the approval by the disinterested shareholders of the conversion of the C$7 million debenture (the Debenture) issued on June 29, 2018 to Osisko, the Corporation is pleased to announced that the Debenture has been converted into 12,104,444 Units of Falco. Each Unit consisting of one common share of Falco (Common Shares) and one-half of one common share purchase warrant (each whole warrant, a Warrant). Each Warrant entitles the holder to purchase one Common Share, subject to customary anti-dilution clauses, at a price of $0.75 for a period of 36 months. The Common Shares and Warrants are subject to a hold period of four months in accordance with applicable Canadian securities laws.

The conversion of the Debenture is considered related party transactions under Regulation 61-101 respecting Protection of Minority Security Holders in Special Transactions (Regulation 61-101). The conversion of the Debenture is exempt from the requirements to obtain a formal valuation pursuant to the exemption in section 5.5(b) of Regulation 61-101, as the shares of the Corporation are not listed on a specified market.

About Falco

Falco Resources Ltd. is one of the largest mineral claim holders in the Province of Quebec, with extensive land holdings in the Abitibi Greenstone Belt. Falco owns about 67,000 hectares of land in the Rouyn-Noranda mining camp, which represents approximately 70% of the entire camp and includes 13 former gold and base metal mine sites. Falcos principal asset is the Horne 5 Project located in the former Horne mine that was operated by Noranda from 1927 to 1976 and produced 11.6 million ounces of gold and 2.5 billion pounds of copper. Osisko Gold Royalties Ltd is the largest shareholder of the Corporation and currently owns 12.6% of the issued and outstanding shares of the Corporation. The Corporation has 202,134,945 shares issued and outstanding.

For further information, please contact:

Luc Lessard

President and Chief Executive Officer

514-261-3336

info@falcores.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.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This news release contains forward-looking statements and forward-looking information (together, forward-looking statements) within the meaning of applicable securities laws. All statements, other than statements of historical facts, are forward-looking statements, and subject to risks and uncertainties. Generally, forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of terminology such as plans, seeks, expects, estimates, intends, anticipates, believes, could, might, likely or variations of such words, or statements that certain actions, events or results may, will, could, would, might, will be taken, occur, be achieved or other similar expressions. Forward-looking statements, including statements concerning the obtaining of all approvals to close the Stream transaction, involve risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual results, performance, prospects and opportunities to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are subject to business and economic factors and uncertainties, and other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from these forward-looking statements, including the obtaining of all required authorizations from third parties on terms acceptable to the Corporation and in a timely manner and those risks set out in Falco's public documents, including in each management discussion and analysis, filed on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. Furthermore, should one or more of the risks, uncertainties or other factors materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those described in forward-looking statements or information. These risks, uncertainties and other factors include, among others, political, economic, environmental and permitting risks, regulatory restrictions, mining operational and development risks, litigation risks, regulatory restrictions, environmental and permitting restrictions and liabilities, internal and external approval risks, changes in the use of proceeds relating to the Secured Loan , the Stream and Debenture financings, currency fluctuations, global economic climate, dilution, share price volatility, competition, loss of key employees, additional funding requirements, and defective title to mineral claims or property. Although Falco believes that the assumptions and factors used in preparing the forward-looking statements are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on these statements, which only apply as of the date of this news release, and no assurance can be given that such events will occur in the disclosed times frames or at all. Except where required by applicable law, Falco disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
Dublin, Nov. 30, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The "Adhesives and Adhesive Application Equipment: Technologies and European Markets" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.



The report has been prepared in a simple format that can be easily understood through tables and figures. Its scope includes a detailed study of European markets for various adhesives, with the reasons given for variations in the growth of the industry in certain countries. The report also studies the equipment used for applying adhesives and its European markets.

Adhesive products are used to create bonds between two materials. Adhesives are made from precise blends of petroleum-derived plastic resins, synthetic rubber elastomers and additives used to enhance certain characteristics. The final formulation ultimately depends on the end use. Industries that typically use adhesives include construction, consumer products, assembly, packaging, labeling and transportation. Products expected to see the most growth include electronic adhesives for printed wiring boards, hot-melt systems and automotive adhesives. The most common end uses for hot-melt adhesives are packaging, disposable and pressure-sensitive products.



The adhesives industry consists primarily of manufacturers of industrial and household adhesives and glues. Major factors influencing the growth of this industry include the stability of other industries using its products, the availability of raw materials and environmental concerns. The majorly used adhesive materials included natural-base glues and adhesives, mainly those made from natural gums, shellac, lacquers, varnishes, hot-melt adhesives and epoxy adhesives. Products with declining sales included several kinds of synthetic resin and rubber adhesives, rubber and synthetic resin combinations, and protein and dextrin vegetable natural adhesives.



Market growth is controlled by the availability of raw materials. Hot-melt adhesives require hydrocarbon resins and are widely used adhesives that are most likely to outpace the market with their growth. Even if supply remained adequate, prices were already rising, meaning that the largest companies would be best positioned to compete for available raw materials.



The adhesives market depends greatly upon secondary industries, so trends in other sectors of the economy can significantly impact this industry. One sector showing increasing interest in adhesives was the automotive industry. Several U.S. automakers joined with adhesive makers to develop industryspecific applications to cut costs, reduce weight and even increase recyclability of cars made with these products. The market for reactive adhesives grew as the automotive industry moved away from mechanical fasteners.



The development of epoxy/urethane hybrids attracted interest because of the broad range of demands placed on adhesives used in the automotive industry. Both manufacturers and users of these products were looking to combine high tensile strength and compatibility with flexible materials. Developments in reactive adhesives for the auto industry also brought benefits to other industrial sectors, including appliance manufacturing.



More players in the adhesives industry are trying to move away from the use of primers in adhesive systems because of their flammability and volatility. Such a change, however, presents difficulties in getting the right adhesion to certain materials. Physical and chemical changes can be made to the surface of these materials, but the focus of new development is to make adhesives that will also incorporate the function of a primer.



Report includes:

Analyses of global market trends, with data from 2017, 2018, and projections of compound annual growth rates (CAGRs) through 2023

Country specific data and analysis for France, Germany, U.K., Italy, Spain and other emerging economies within the EU region

Coverage of product lifestyle and technology lifestyle (TLC) of various types of adhesives and methods employed by various manufacturers and users in maintaining ecological balance

Discussion of the various technologies involved in the manufacturing of different types of adhesives, including the value of such products produced and utilized globally

Information on various manufacturers of different raw materials needed for the production of adhesives and the market shares of such manufacturers and suppliers

Market assessment of growth driving factors along with their opportunities and limitations that can influence the overall adhesives market

Profiles of key industry players operating within the EU region including 3M CO., Adhesives Research Inc., Chemence Ltd., Dow Corning Corp., Ems-Chemie Holding Ag, Huntsman Corp., Illinois Tool Works Inc., Nitto Denko Corp., Power Adhesives Ltd., and Total SA

Company Profiles



Adhesive Manufacturers

3M Co.

Adhesives Research Inc.

Advance Tapes International

Arkema SA

Ashland Inc.

Avery Dennison Corp.

Beardow & Adams (Adhesives) Ltd.

Bemis Associates Inc.

Bostik SA

Chemence Ltd.

Dow Corning Corp.

Dynea Oy

Elmer's Products Inc.

Ems-Chemie Holding AG

Forbo Intl. SA

H.B. Fuller Co.

Henkel & Co. Kgaa AG

Hexion Specialty Chemicals Inc.

Huntsman Corp.

Illinois Tool Works Inc.

Ingredion (National Starch & Chemical Co.)

Jowat Corp.

Kisling AG

Lohmann Gmbh & Co. KG

Mapei SpA

Mycronic AB

Nitto Denko Corp.

Nordson Corp.

Paramelt BV

Power Adhesives Ltd.

Quilosa Industrias Quimicas Lowenberg Sl

Sca Schucker GmbH & Co. KG

Scott Bader Co. Ltd.

Sika AG

Tesa AG

Total SA

Vagnone & Boeri Srl

Vibac Group SpA

Wacker-Chemie AG

Wuxi Wanli Adhesion Material Co. Ltd.

Adhesive Application Equipment Manufacturers

Illinois Tool Works Inc.

Mycronic AB

Nordson Corp.

Power Adhesives Ltd.

Sca Schucker GmbH & Co. KG

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/vd2grx/european?w=12





Research and Markets also offers Custom Research services providing focused, comprehensive and tailored research.
English French

GATINEAU, Quebec, Nov. 30, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- HEXO Corp (HEXO or the Company) (TSX:HEXO) was honoured for product innovation with two prestigious Canadian Cannabis Awards at the 2018 gala.



Hydropothecary by HEXO took home Cannabis Product of the Year and Innovation of the Year for Elixir. Canadas first and only peppermint medical cannabis oil sublingual spray, Elixir, is an easy-to-use, discreet and convenient smoke-free method to consume cannabis.

We are honoured to be here and to accept these awards on behalf of the entire HEXO team, said HEXOs co-founder and CBO Adam Miron. This is an exciting time for HEXO and we have set aggressive goals to continue leading the charge in branding and product innovation. Awards like this are recognition that we are on the right path and continuing to meet our customers' expectations. Stay curious!

The awards were held at a gala event at The Carlu in Toronto. HEXO Corp was amongst more than 600 guests, including licensed producers, industry representatives and members of the investor community.

About HEXO Corp.

HEXO Corp. creates and distributes innovative, easy-to-use and easy-to-understand products to serve the Canadian cannabis market. One of the countrys lowest-cost producers, HEXO is rapidly increasing its production capacity in the lead up to the adult-use cannabis market. The Company currently operates with over 310,000 sq. ft. of production capacity with construction on another 1,000,000 sq. ft. expansion set to be complete by year end. HEXO will serve the adult-use market under the HEXO brand, while continuing to serve its medical cannabis clients through the well-known Hydropothecary brand.

Investor Relations:

Kathy Chow

1-866-438-8429

invest@HEXO.com

www.ir.hexo.com

Media Relations:

Sarah Brown

media@hexo.com

Director

Adam Miron

819-639-5498
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VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Nov. 30, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Avrupa Minerals Ltd. (AVU:TSXV) is pleased to announce startup of drilling at the Sesmarias copper/zinc discovery located on its 100%-owned Alvalade Property in the Iberian Pyrite Belt (IPB) of south Portugal. The Company will drill approximately 2,500 meters in five to seven diamond drill holes to enlarge and upgrade at least two lenses of copper- and zinc-bearing massive sulfide mineralization discovered by Avrupa during previous exploration work in the target area.



Recent, ongoing geological review of Sesmarias area core, along with subsequent interpretation and three-dimensional (3D) modeling of the data, suggests a simplified deposition history of mineralization and surrounding rock units. Using the newly developed information, Company geologists see continued potential in the SES002 (2) Lens and in the SES010 (10) Lens. The new work indicates the possibility that a third lens may be located between widely-spaced drill holes SES008 and SES009 (the 8 Lens).

The 2 Lens is characterized by higher grade mineralization, including 10.85 meters @ 1.81% Cu; 75.27 ppm Ag; 2.57% Pb; 4.38% Zn; 0.13% Sn, although at this point, the extents of the mineralized envelope are undefined. The new 3D modeling suggests that the Lens is oriented in a non-parallel direction to the 10 Lens, which may explain why previous follow-up drilling did not significantly extend the discovery area. The Company is sending massive sulfide mineralization for analysis from previously-drilled hole SES003, which intersected the 2 Lens, but was never analyzed.

The 10 Lens, as defined by previous drilling, currently measures approximately 400 meters long, 30 meters wide, and tested to a depth of nearly 200 meters. It is open to the south, north, and to depth. The new drilling targets its extension to the north and potential for increasing copper and zinc grades.

The 8 Lens has been tentatively defined by the area between, and including, two drillholes: SES008 and SES009. Located 500 meters apart, SES008 and SES009 contained narrow zones of sulfide mineralization apparently truncated (from the previous interpretation) by faulting. The SES008 intercept included 5.0 meters @ 0.64% Cu; 36.8 ppm Ag; 0.94% Pb; 1.54% Zn. The SES009 drill hole contained 4.0 meters of pyrite mineralization. The new interpretation suggests that the 8 lens is dipping to the northwest, and that SES008 and SES009 intercepted the outer edge of the mineralized lens.

Drill plans for this program include enlargement/upgrade targets on all three lenses. The recent 3D modeling has given good support for placement of drill collars that will potentially upgrade the Sesmarias prospect. Taken together with the possibilities at the historic Lousal Mine, located six kilometers north of the Sesmarias prospect, and at the Monte da Bela Vista stockwork discovery, located two kilometers further north of the Lousal Mine, the Sesmarias area has the potential to become a significant copper and zinc district in the northern part of the Portuguese Pyrite Belt.

Funding for this drilling program is coming from the recently-announced $1.5 million private placement (October 22, 2018). The first tranche of the raise has been completed at $500,000 (November 9, 2018). The second and third tranches are underway. The Company will announce completion of the second tranche in short order.

The Company holds 100% of the Alvalade license. Previous partners have funded 7 million euros of exploration on the Project.

Avrupa Minerals Ltd. is a growth-oriented junior exploration and development company directed to discovery of mineral deposits, using a prospect generator model. The Company holds one 100%-owned, self-funded flagship project, the Alvalade VMS Project. Avrupa focuses its project generation work in politically stable and prospective regions of Europe, including Portugal, Kosovo, and Germany.

For additional information, contact Avrupa Minerals Ltd. at 1-604-687-3520 or visit our website at www.avrupaminerals.com .

On behalf of the Board,

Paul W. Kuhn



Paul W. Kuhn, President & Director

This news release was prepared by Company management, who take full responsibility for its content. Paul W. Kuhn, President and CEO of Avrupa Minerals, a Licensed Professional Geologist and a Registered Member of the Society of Mining Engineers, is a Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101 of the Canadian Securities Administrators. He has reviewed the technical disclosure in this release. Mr. Kuhn, the QP, has not only reviewed, but prepared and supervised the preparation or approval of the scientific and technical content in the news release.

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.
English Latvian





Board of JSC Olainfarm has decided to make some changes to Management Boards of Silvanols LLC, Latvijas Aptieka LLC and Tonus Elast LLC.

Larisa Podlesnaja has left the Management Board of Tonus Elast to continue in Group of Internal Audit of JSC Olainfarm. Mrs. Podlesnaja will be replaced by Mr. Salvis Lapins, a long-term Board member of JSC Olainfarm, who currently is advising to Olainfarms Management Board.

As a long-term IR and Business Development officer, Mr. Lapins is very highly valued by shareholders and investors. Professional experience of Mr. Lapins will be a valuable asset for Tonus Elast.

Management Board of Silvanols will now consist of four members as Mr. Ingus Balandins is elected to the Board of the company. Mr. Balandins is well known among the industry professionals and has proven his abilities as founder and CEO of Franceska Vet LLC.

Board of Latvijas Aptieka will now consist of six members. Sanita Trautmane will no longer be a member of the Board, and Sintija Zange and Alla Cudovska, two experienced pharmacists, will join the remaining Board members as well as Zanete Eihmane, who has a long term experience in managing medical products retail company.

Changes to the Boards as well as respective changes to Articles of the mentioned daughter companies have been submitted to Register of Enterprises of the Republic of Latvia.

JSC Olainfarm is one of the biggest pharmaceutical companies in Latvia with 45 years of experience in production of medication and chemical and pharmaceutical products. A basic principle of company's operations is to produce reliable and effective top -quality products for Latvia and the rest of the world. Products made by the Group are being exported to more than 50 countries of the world, including the Baltics, Russia, other CIS, Europe, Asia, North America and Australia.




NEW YORK, Nov. 30, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Attorney Advertising--(PR Newswire)--Bronstein, Gewirtz & Grossman, LLC notifies investors that a class action lawsuit has been filed against Edison International ("Edison" or the "Company") (NYSE: EIX ) and certain of its officers, on behalf of shareholders who purchased or otherwise acquired Edison securities between February 23, 2016 through November 12, 2018, inclusive (the "Class Period"). Such investors are encouraged to join this case by visiting the firms site: bgandg.com/eix.

This class action seeks to recover damages against Defendants for alleged violations of the federal securities laws under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.

The Complaint alleges that throughout the Class Period, Defendants made materially false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose that: (1) the Company failed to maintain electricity transmission and distribution networks in compliance with safety requirements and regulations promulgated under state law; (2) consequently, the Company was in violation of state law and regulations; (3) the Companys noncompliant electricity networks created a significantly heightened risk of wildfires in California; and (4) as a result, the Companys public statements were materially false and misleading at all relevant times.

On November 8, 2018, two wildfires started in Southern California, designated the Hill Fire and the Woolsey Fire. The Hill Fire, which broke out in Ventura County, subsequently grew to 4,531 acres, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire). Stretching from Los Angeles County to Ventura County, the Woolsey Fire burned 93,662 acres, including 83 percent of all National Parks Service land in the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area, according to Cal Fire.

On November 12, 2018, the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) launched an investigation into Edisons subsidiary SCE, in order to assess the compliance of electrical facilities with applicable rules and regulations in fire-impacted areas. According to CPUC, electrical infrastructure may have suffered malfunctions near ground zero of the blazes. Specifically, it was reported that on the day the fires began SCE issued an alert to the CPUC that a substation circuit near the Woolsey Fire origin "relayed," or sensed a disturbance on the circuit, just two minutes before Cal Fire said that the devastating fire began.

Following CPUCs announcement, Edison Internationals stock price fell $7.44 per share, or more than 12%, to close at $53.56 per share on November 12, 2018. Over the following days, as the Hill and Woolsey Fires continued to burn, Edison Internationals stock price continued to fall, closing at $47.19 on November 15, 2018, a total drop of 32% from its price prior to CPUCs announcement.

A class action lawsuit has already been filed. If you wish to review a copy of the Complaint you can visit the firms site: bgandg.com/eix or you may contact Peretz Bronstein, Esq. or his Investor Relations Analyst, Yael Hurwitz of Bronstein, Gewirtz & Grossman, LLC at 212-697-6484. If you suffered a loss in Edison you have until January 15, 2019 to request that the Court appoint you as lead plaintiff. Your ability to share in any recovery doesn't require that you serve as a lead plaintiff.

Bronstein, Gewirtz & Grossman, LLC is a corporate litigation boutique. Our primary expertise is the aggressive pursuit of litigation claims on behalf of our clients. In addition to representing institutions and other investor plaintiffs in class action security litigation, the firms expertise includes general corporate and commercial litigation, as well as securities arbitration. Attorney advertising. Prior results do not guarantee similar outcomes.

Contact:

Bronstein, Gewirtz & Grossman, LLC

Peretz Bronstein or Yael Hurwitz

212-697-6484 | info@bgandg.com
VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Nov. 30, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Canada Carbon Inc. (the Company) (TSX-V:CCB), (FF:U7N1) announces that on November 23rd, 2018, the Company presented its motion to the Superior Court of Quebec to obtain authorization to split the Judicial review into two components: 1) debate on the graphite mine project, based on the fact that Section 246 of the Planning Act protects mining projects that are carried out under the Quebec Mining Act and 2) debate on the marble quarry.



There were no representatives for Quebecs Agricultural Board (the Commission de protection du territoire agricole du Quebec or CPTAQ) at the motion. CPTAQ has informed counsel for both the Company and Grenville-sur-la-Rouge (GSLR) that the Companys Judicial review does not jeopardize its jurisdiction, that it does not need to make representations to the court and it will abide by the ruling of the Superior Court.

Arguments from counsel for both Canada Carbon and GSLR were heard by Judge Benoit Moore, and it is anticipated a judgement could be rendered before year end.

On November 9th, 2018, Judge Danielle Turcotte of the Superior Court of Quebec rendered a decision on the bench that Canada Carbons damage claim was not abusive nor a SLAPP Action. Accordingly, Judge Turcotte rejected GSLRs motion to strike down the damages claim and also denied GSLRs request for legal costs. Judge Turcotte accepted the Companys request to suspend the damage claim.

The Company has been notified that legal counsel for GSLR will present a motion for permission to appeal Judge Turcottes decision that Canada Carbons damage claim is not a SLAPP Action. The motion will be heard on December 13th, 2018. Canada Carbon will be vigorously contesting the motion.

The Company is also pleased to announce that it has renewed its surface access agreement (Agreement) under the same terms as the original agreement. The Agreement provides the Company with surface access for a period of five years. The Agreement grants the Company an exclusive and irrevocable option to acquire or lease all or part of the property necessary for the extraction of mineral substances. If the Company exercises the Option, either by acquiring or leasing all or part of the Property prior to the expiry of the term of the Agreement, the term will be extended through the period of commercial production.

Pursuant to the Agreement, and subject to the prior approval of the TSX Venture Exchange, the Company has agreed to issue 40,000 common shares in the capital of the Company to the Landholder for the first year of the term and for each subsequent year of the Term and until the Company begins operating the property as a mine, either 40,000 additional common shares or $5,000 payable in cash, at the option of the Landholder. Should Canada Carbon begin commercial production during the Term, the payments outlined above will cease and the Landholder will be entitled to a 2.5% net smelter royalty upon and subject to the terms of definitive royalty agreements.

CANADA CARBON INC.



 R. Bruce Duncan 

CEO and Director

Contact Information

E-mail inquiries: info@canadacarbon.com

P: (604) 685-6375

F: (604) 909-1163

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.
English Latvian





Unaudited consolidated Income Statement of JSC Olainfarm for nine months of 2018 shows that the sales of the Group have reached 89.5 million euros, which is a slight decrease by 1% compared to the same period of 2017. At the same time, the company managed to increase its profitability - in the nine months of this year, JSC Olainfarm has earned 7.5 million euros, which is an increase of 13% over the nine months of 2017.

In nine months of 2018, sales volumes continued to increase in all of its major outlets, with the exception of Russia and Kazakhstan, where sales fell by 7% and 14% accordingly. Projected Russian ruble fluctuations impacted planned decrease in sales volumes in Russia, while the increased presence in both Latvian and Belarusian markets had a positive effect on a significant increase in sales in these markets.

The biggest sales increase during the 9 months of 2018 was achieved in Tajikistan, where sales grew by 64%, and in Belarus, where sales increased by 42%. Considerable sales increase (by 17%) was also achieved in Latvia, which resulted in total sales in Latvia being comparable to those of Russia. In total in top 10 of the markets of the Group during this 9-month period The Netherlands and Turkmenistan were replaced by Poland and Tajikistan. Major sales markets of Olainfarm in 9 months of 2018 were Russia, Latvia, Belarus and Ukraine. In reporting period, the Company was selling its products to 50 markets worldwide.

Although the sales in nine months of 2018 slightly lagged behind last year achievement, the Company managed to increase its earnings by more than 850 thousand euros. Major positive factor was that write offs of long-term assets during these nine months were smaller by more than 1.6 million euros, while the major negative change was an increase of COGS by one million euros.

While analyzing the activities of the Olainfarm Group in the 3rd quarter, it should be noted that this 3rd quarter in terms of profit is the most successful third quarter for the Company since 2015. Even despite foreign exchange loss increasing by almost 200 thousand euros, the net profit of third quarter reached 1.7 million euros, which represents an increase of 86% compared to the third quarter of 2017. Major factors influencing the profit increase were write offs of long-term investments being by 700 thousand smaller and write offs of other assets being by 400 thousand smaller than one year ago.

During the 3rd quarter of 2018, compared to the 3rd quarter of 2017, sales of the Company shrunk by less than 0.02% and reached 27.661 million euros, making this third quarter still one of the most successful in terms of sales in corporate history. Despite reduced sales to WHO program, the company has actually managed to repeat the sales volume of last years third quarter.

Compared to 9 months period of 2017, this year some significant changes have occurred to the sales structure of bestselling products of Olainfarm. Remantadine and PASA are replaced by Meldonium and Memantine, Share of Noofen, soluble Furaginum and Etacizin have significantly increased, while share of Adaptol in sales of Olainfarm products has experienced some considerable reduction.

Annual meeting of shareholders of JSC Olainfarm, convened on June 5, 2018 approved operating plan of the Group for 2018. According to it, sales of the Group in 2018 are planned to be 130 million euros, but the net profit will reach 11.5 million euros. According to this unaudited report for nine months of 2018, during this period 69% of annual sales target and 65% of annual profit target is met. Management of the Company does not expect the actual revenues and earnings of the company to show any significant deviations from approved. guidance.





Condensed Consolidated Statement of Financial Position





Group 30.09.2018 31.12.2017 EUR '000 EUR '000 ASSETS NON-CURRENT ASSETS Intangible assets 36 734 37 034 Property, plant and equipment 42 844 41 892 Investment properties 3 501 3 526 Financial assets 1 066 2 609 TOTAL NON-CURRENT ASSETS 84 145 85 061 CURRENT ASSETS Inventories 26 358 24 161 Receivables 32 267 34 049 Cash 4 002 3 158 TOTAL CURRENT ASSETS 62 627 61 368 TOTAL ASSETS 146 772 146 429



EQUITY AND LIABILITIES EQUITY Share capital 19 719 19 719 Share premium 2 504 2 504 Other components of equity (157) (74) Retained earnings 79 802 75 675 TOTAL EQUITY 101 868 97 824 LIABILITIES Non-current liabilities Borrowings 9 523 15 878 Deferred income 2 827 2 347 Total Non-Current Liabilities 12 350 18 225 Current liabilities Borrowings 15 974 14 013 Trade payables and other liabilities 14 608 15 892 Dividends payable 1 549 - Deferred income 423 475 Total Current Liabilities 32 554 30 380 TOTAL LIABILITIES 44 904 48 605 TOTAL EQUITY AND LIABILITIES 146 772 146 429





Consolidated statement of comprehensive income





Group Group Q3 2018 Q3 2017 M9 2018 M9 2017 EUR '000 EUR '000 EUR '000 EUR '000 Net revenue 27 661 27 665 89 505 90 384 Cost of goods sold (10 909) (10 921) (35 804) (34 851) Gross Profit 16 752 16 744 53 701 55 533 Selling expense (8 534) (8 377) (26 715) (27 008) Administrative expense (5 684) (5 423) (17 115) (16 872) Other operating income 542 732 1 947 1 753 Other operating expense (656) (1 862) (2 460) (3 460) Share of profit of an associate 8 10 83 70 Financial income 18 50 57 206 Financial expense (703) (564) (1 794) (1 904) Profit Before Tax 1 743 1 310 7 704 8 318 Corporate income tax (73) (398) (250) (1 806) Deferred corporate income tax (2) (17) - 86 PROFIT FOR THE REPORTING PERIOD 1 668 895 7 454 6 598 Other comprehensive income for the reporting period (119) - (83) - Total comprehensive income for the reporting period 1 549 895 7 371 6 598 Total comprehensive income attributable to: The equity holders of the Parent Company 1 549 896 7 371 6 597 Non-controlling interests - (1) - 1 Basic and diluted earnings per share, EUR 0.12 0.06 0.53 0.47





JSC Olainfarm is one of the biggest pharmaceutical companies in Latvia with more than 45 years of experience in production of medication and chemical and pharmaceutical products. A basic principle of company's operations is to produce reliable and effective top - quality products for Latvia and the rest of the world. Products made by the Group are being exported to more than 60 countries of the world, including the Baltics, Russia, other CIS, Europe, Asia, North America and Australia.





Unaudited consolidated 9 months Income Statement attached.





Information prepared by:

Inga Krukle

Member of the Management Board

JSC Olainfarm

Phone +371 28698449

Email: Inga.krukle@olainfarm.com

Attachment




Growing retailer adds new store in Claycomo

Claycomo, MO, Nov. 30, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- via NEWMEDIAWIRE -- American Freight Furniture and Mattress is opening a new Kansas City-area store on November 30, 2018. The new Claycomo store is 28,000 square feet and is located at 437 E. US Hwy 69 Claycomo, MO 64119 in the Claycomo Shopping Plaza next to Dollar General. The store will create 8-10 new jobs in the area.

Were excited to bring American Freight Furniture and Mattress to Kansas City, said Karl Finley, Vice President. Our new Claycomo location offers a large selection of quality furniture and mattresses at affordable prices. With free layaway and same-day delivery, we stock a wide range of quality sofas, sectionals, bedroom furniture, mattresses, dining sets and so much more. We also offer a flexible payment option to take it home today for $50 with low, easy payments. Visit our Claycomo store today to see why American Freight is the best choice for quality furniture and mattresses in the Kansas City area.

American Freight has always made it our mission to save customers money on quality furniture and mattresses while providing excellent customer service. We are able to do this by purchasing products directly from manufacturers and selling in warehouse-style stores. By cutting out the middle man and keeping the overhead low, American Freight is able to offer the lowest prices with quality service. This successful formula has made American Freight Furniture and Mattress one of the fastest-growing furniture retailers in the United States.

Weekly store hours for the new Claycomo store are as follows:

 Monday-Thursday (12pm-8pm)

 Friday (10am-8pm)

 Saturday (10am-7pm)

 Sunday (12pm-5pm)

Our offerings include: living room  sofas, loveseats, sectionals, recliners, accent chairs, and coffee and end tables; bedroom  three, five, and seven-piece bedroom suites from Twin through King; dining room  five and seven-piece sets; mattresses  premiere foam, hybrid (innerspring and foam), innerspring and pocketed coil sets in all sizes; and accessories to complete your home selections. Customers can pay for items in full or take advantage of our payment plan options. We offer a 100% approved layaway program and no credit needed payment plans to help make your home comfortable and complete. Same-day delivery and pick up is available for all in-stock items.

About American Freight

Since 1993, American Freight Furniture and Mattress has been helping customers save money on quality furniture and mattresses. American Freight offers flexible payment options including free layaway and take it home today for $50 with low, easy payment plans (see www.americanfreight.com/50 for details). With over 150 stores and over 2 million satisfied customers, American Freight continues to grow while our mission remains the same: sell the best for less every day while delivering excellent customer service. See for yourself - shop at one of our 150+ stores or online and discover why American Freight is the place to go for all your home furnishing needs. To learn more about American Freight Furniture and Mattress, visit www.americanfreight.com/ , follow us on Twitter @AmericanFreight and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/AmericanFreightFurniture .




TORONTO, Nov. 30, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- (TSX: TOF.UN) Brompton Funds Limited (the Manager), the manager of Taylor North American Equity Opportunities Fund (the Fund) is pleased to announce that at a special meeting of unitholders held today (the Meeting), unitholders of the Fund approved an extraordinary resolution to merge (the Merger) the Fund with Brompton Global Dividend Growth ETF. The Merger is expected to take place on or about January 16, 2019, pending receipt of all necessary regulatory approvals.



The Manager believes that the Merger provides Unitholders with the following benefits:

Exposure to Global Dividend Growth Equities and Monthly Income: Brompton Global Dividend Growth ETF invests in an actively managed portfolio composed of large capitalization global equities that have a history of or, in the Managers view, potential for dividend growth. Global dividend growth equities have historically outperformed the broader global equity market with lower volatility. Brompton Global Dividend Growth ETF currently has a monthly distribution of approximately 6.0% per annum.



Brompton Global Dividend Growth ETF invests in an actively managed portfolio composed of large capitalization global equities that have a history of or, in the Managers view, potential for dividend growth. Global dividend growth equities have historically outperformed the broader global equity market with lower volatility. Brompton Global Dividend Growth ETF currently has a monthly distribution of approximately 6.0% per annum. Lower Management Fee for Unitholders: The management fee rate for Brompton Global Dividend Growth ETF is 0.75% of the net assets, as compared to the Funds current management fee rate of 1.0% of the net assets of the Fund. Brompton Global Dividend Growth ETF does not pay a trailer fee or a performance fee, both of which are currently paid by the Fund.



The management fee rate for Brompton Global Dividend Growth ETF is 0.75% of the net assets, as compared to the Funds current management fee rate of 1.0% of the net assets of the Fund. Brompton Global Dividend Growth ETF does not pay a trailer fee or a performance fee, both of which are currently paid by the Fund. Lower Management Expense Ratio: The management expense ratio for units of Brompton Global Dividend Growth ETF (ETF Units) is expected to be a maximum of approximately 0.95%, which is approximately 1.63% lower than the units of the Fund (the Units).



The management expense ratio for units of Brompton Global Dividend Growth ETF (ETF Units) is expected to be a maximum of approximately 0.95%, which is approximately 1.63% lower than the units of the Fund (the Units). Increased Trading Liquidity: The ETF Units are listed for trading on the TSX under the symbol BDIV. As an exchange-traded fund, approved dealers acting as market makers for Brompton Global Dividend Growth ETF are able to offer or bid for large volumes of ETF Units on a stock exchange, as approved dealers have the ability to create or redeem ETF Units daily in large blocks directly from Brompton Global Dividend Growth ETF. This is expected to result in significantly improved liquidity relative to the current trading liquidity of the Units, allowing an investor to buy or sell large amounts of ETF Units without materially affecting the market price of Brompton Global Dividend Growth ETF.



The ETF Units are listed for trading on the TSX under the symbol BDIV. As an exchange-traded fund, approved dealers acting as market makers for Brompton Global Dividend Growth ETF are able to offer or bid for large volumes of ETF Units on a stock exchange, as approved dealers have the ability to create or redeem ETF Units daily in large blocks directly from Brompton Global Dividend Growth ETF. This is expected to result in significantly improved liquidity relative to the current trading liquidity of the Units, allowing an investor to buy or sell large amounts of ETF Units without materially affecting the market price of Brompton Global Dividend Growth ETF. Better Trading Price Relative to NAV per Unit and Reduced Bid/Ask Spread: The Manager anticipates that an improvement in the trading price of the Units (relative to net asset value per Unit of the Fund) will provide a meaningful increase in value for Unitholders. As at October 12, 2018, prior to the announcement of the Meeting, the Fund had a 3.6% discount to net asset value. Market makers are able to price their bids and asks for ETF Units very tightly around their estimate of net asset value. It is expected that Brompton Global Dividend Growth ETFs bid/ask spreads will be significantly reduced from the Funds bid/ask spread. This is beneficial to investors because a smaller bid/ask spread is expected to result in a lower effective cost to buy or sell ETF Units.



The Manager anticipates that an improvement in the trading price of the Units (relative to net asset value per Unit of the Fund) will provide a meaningful increase in value for Unitholders. As at October 12, 2018, prior to the announcement of the Meeting, the Fund had a 3.6% discount to net asset value. Market makers are able to price their bids and asks for ETF Units very tightly around their estimate of net asset value. It is expected that Brompton Global Dividend Growth ETFs bid/ask spreads will be significantly reduced from the Funds bid/ask spread. This is beneficial to investors because a smaller bid/ask spread is expected to result in a lower effective cost to buy or sell ETF Units. The Merger is Expected to be Effected on a Tax-Deferred Basis: Subject to the assumptions and qualifications set out in the management information circular dated October 31, 2018, the Merger and issuance of ETF Units will not result in a taxable event to unitholders of the Fund.



Subject to the assumptions and qualifications set out in the management information circular dated October 31, 2018, the Merger and issuance of ETF Units will not result in a taxable event to unitholders of the Fund. Costs and Expenses of the Merger: All costs of the Merger, including with respect to the Meeting, will be borne by the Manager and not by the Fund, Brompton Global Dividend Growth ETF or either of their respective unitholders.

Details regarding the Merger are available in the Funds management information circular dated October 31, 2018.

Unitholders are advised that the Funds distribution reinvestment plan will be terminated effective December 3, 2018 and the Funds December distribution will be paid in cash only.

The Fund will also offer an accelerated annual redemption on December 28, 2018, payable on January 15, 2019. Unitholders who wish to tender to the annual redemption must do so by 5:00 p.m. on December 14, 2018.

About Brompton Funds

Brompton Funds, a division of Brompton Group which was founded in 2000, is an experienced investment fund manager with over $2 billion in assets under management. Bromptons investment solutions include TSX traded funds, mutual funds and flow-through limited partnerships. For further information, please contact your investment advisor, call Bromptons investor relations line at 416-642-6000 (toll-free at 1-866-642-6001), email info@bromptongroup.com or visit our website at www.bromptongroup.com .

You will usually pay brokerage fees to your dealer if you purchase or sell units of an investment fund on the Toronto Stock Exchange or other alternative Canadian trading system (an exchange). If the units are purchased or sold on an exchange, investors may pay more than the current NAV when buying units of an investment fund and may receive less than the current NAV when selling them.

There are ongoing fees and expenses associated with owning units of an investment fund. An investment fund must prepare disclosure documents that contain key information about the Fund. You can find more detailed information about the Fund in the public filings available at www.sedar.com. Investment funds are not guaranteed, their values change frequently and past performance may not be repeated.

Certain statements contained in this news release constitute forward-looking information within the meaning of Canadian securities laws. Forward-looking information may relate to matters disclosed in this press release and to other matters identified in public filings relating to the Fund and Global Dividend Growth ETF, to the future outlook of the Fund and Global Dividend Growth ETF and anticipated events or results and may include statements regarding the future financial performance of the Fund and Global Dividend Growth ETF. In some cases, forward-looking information can be identified by terms such as may, will, should, expect, plan, anticipate, believe, intend, estimate, predict, potential, continue or other similar expressions concerning matters that are not historical facts. Actual results may vary from such forward-looking information. Investors should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are made as of the date hereof and we assume no obligation to update or revise them to reflect new events or circumstances.
VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Nov. 30, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The BC governments Labour Code review Panel has made some promising recommendations to reform the BC Labour Code, the most notable being the implementation of successorship provisions in the Code, according to final submissions SEIU released Friday.



Adopting this [successorship] amendment is absolutely essential to fighting wage erosion and to making freedom of association a real possibility for BCs most precarious workers, the SEIU submission stated.

Being part of a union means our rights and interests as workers are protected, said Nadia Khlafa, a cleaner at the University of British Columbia  Okanagan campus. Khlafa has worked in the cleaning sector for over 20 years.

Its not fair that we would risk losing what we have fought hard to win and have to start from scratch each time there is a contract change at our workplace, Khlafa added.

Janitorial contracts in the building service sector are awarded through a competitive bidding process. Property managers often award contracts to the lowest bidders to increase profit margins and cut costs for the building owners.

Since the BC Labour Code does not provide any successorship provisions, when cleaning contracts are awarded to a new company, existing employees are required to reapply for the same job with the new contractor. The new company has no obligation to hire them.

This competitive bidding process combined with out-of-date labour laws creates a loophole companies can exploit through contract flipping to circumvent collective bargaining agreements and consequently, erode working conditions.

Last September, over 50 unionized workers cleaning the Canada Line lost their job and union as a result of a contract flip.

The Ministry of Labour released the full report of recommendations on August 31, 2018.

The Service Employees International Union, Local 2 represents 16,000 workers across Canada including over 10,000 workers in the janitorial sector. The goals of SEIUs Justice for Janitors campaign is to organize janitors across a city or market, so together, workers can raise standards in the cleaning sector and reverse the race to the bottom.



For more information, please visit www.justiceforjanitors.ca

Contact:

Nicole Veitch 604-364-8132
NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION TO U.S. NEWSWIRE SERVICES OR FOR DISSEMINATION IN THE UNITED STATES

VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Nov. 30, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Element Lifestyle Retirement Inc. (the Company or Element) (TSX.V: ELM) announces that its Element-managed project, OPAL by Element is 100% sold, and 100% reserved on its rental units. It has waitlists on all suite types, including care. OPAL is expected to welcome it first residents in late spring of 2019. The project is located in the Cambie Corridor, within 2 minutes' walk from the Skytrain station, and close to many retail amenities. Element is currently building its operations staff including an Executive Chef who will design and execute gastronomic excitement that inspires our residents to enjoy a culinary experience unique to the Seniors Housing Sector.



States Greg Condon, VP of Operations I am exceptionally pleased to see things shaping up nicely. It is unprecedented in our industry to see this much interest so many months in advance of occupancy. It will certainly expedite our lease up and stabilization in comparison to other past projects.

The company's fully managed project, AQUARA by element, is located by the harbour of Victoria West. Site drilling, blasting and excavation are approaching completion and coming in within budget. Project development is being partially funded by a Limited Partnership. The company recently received an award from the Private Capital Markets Association of Canada for its use of innovative financing in funding the project. The General Partner is a wholly owned subsidiary of Element Lifestyle Retirement. The offer allows our limited partners the opportunity to capitalize on investment opportunities and participate in a truly innovative aging-in-place and inter generational commercial real estate solution (AQUARA) centred in the retirement mecca of Canada, Victoria, BC.

An investment in the Partnership will allow unit holders to participate in the potential gain from the development of the project, holding the property through the construction period, sale of condominium units, optimization and stabilization of the rental units and eventual disposition of the property.

This innovative project provides a winning strategy to capitalize on the market opportunities within the Canadian retirement sector while also providing solutions for retirees, extended families, and our LP investors.

Comments Candy Ho, V.P. of Brand Development and Communications, We are very pleased to be at the forefront of the intergenerational aging-in-place movement  leading this vision within the retirement living industry, as well as attracting interest from the general real estate development industry. We are excited about the prospects for Elements growth. In the process of raising capital for the Aquara project, we see that investors are looking for opportunity for attractive financial return while also creating social impact. As a Director on the Board of BC Seniors Living Association, and speaker at a number of provincial and national conferences in the last years, I am privileged to have the opportunity to unite our industry as a collective voice as we proactively invite government to reexamine policies and regulations, so that we can be their partner in overcoming the 200,000-unit supply gap that our nation faces over the next 20 years.

The Company has extended its private placement originally announced July 13, 2018. Subject to TSXV final acceptance, the Company is pleased to announce that it has issued 2,000,000 common shares at $0.20 per share for gross proceeds of $400,000. Two insiders participated in the private placement which constitutes a "related party transaction" as defined under Multilateral Instrument 61-101, Protection of Minority Security Holders in Special Transactions. Such participation is exempt from the formal valuation and minority shareholder approval requirements of MI 61-101 as the Companys shares trade on TSX Venture Exchange and neither the fair market value of the shares subscribed for by the insiders, nor the consideration for the shares paid by such insiders, exceeds 25 per cent of the company's market capitalization.

About Element Lifestyle Retirement Inc.

Element was established in June 2013 in Vancouver, British Columbia and is in the business of providing specialized development expertise and flexible, innovative management services for intergenerational retirement communities. The core business of Element has been the development and management of third party assets in the retirement community space but has now moved into the acquisition arena. The organization aspires to be one of the most respected aging-in-place retirement living specialists in North America, emphasizing the intergenerational ContinuumofLifestyles model, which encompasses a smooth, seamless transition for seniors from independence to assisted living to complex care, in an environment that integrates accommodation and activities for all ages, all in the same residential community. The management team of Element has several decades of experience developing and operating retirement communities.

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS

ELEMENT LIFESTYLE RETIREMENT INC.

Michael Diao

Chief Executive Officer and Director

For further information, please visit www.elementliving.com or contact Investor Relations at (604) 676-1418.

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.

Forward Looking Statement Caution

This news release contains "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable securities laws relating to development of Element's business, including statements regarding completion of the acquisition of the Lands, development of a project on the Lands, financing of the project proposed for the Lands, future revenues, assessing opportunities and advancing the Company's plans. 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. Readers are cautioned to not place undue reliance on forward-looking information. Actual results and developments may differ materially from those contemplated by these statements depending on, among other things, the risks associated with Element's business as disclosed in the Company's most recently filed MD&A. The statements in this news release are made as of the date of this release. The Company undertakes no obligation 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.




Press Release

Luxembourg, 30 November 2018

ORCO PROPERTY GROUP reports financial information for the third quarter of 2018

ORCO PROPERTY GROUP (hereinafter OPG, the Company or together with its subsidiaries the Group), a real estate group with a portfolio in Central and Eastern Europe, is pleased to publish financial information for the third quarter of 2018.

As at 30 September 2018, CPI PROPERTY GROUP S.A. (hereinafter also the CPI PG, and together with its subsidiaries as the CPI PG Group) indirectly owns 97.31% of the Company shares (97.31% voting rights).

Financial highlights

Performance 30-Sep-18 30-Sep-17 Change Gross rental income  thousands 1,141 1,607 (29 %) Total revenues  thousands 14,697 1,532 859 % Operating result  thousands 7,199 71,368 (90 %) Net profit for the period  thousands 35,774 63,912 (44 %) Assets 30-Sep-18 31-Dec-17 Change Total assets  thousands 2,736,811 1,980,303 38 % EPRA NAV  thousands 635,756 598,736 6 % Property Portfolio  thousands 474,006 461,689 3 % Gross leasable area sqm 28,000 28,000 0 % Occupancy in % % 90 % 82 % 8 pp Land bank area sqm 17,655,500 17,675,000 (0.1 %) Total number of properties No. 6 6 0 % Financing structure 30-Sep-18 31-Dec-17 Change Total equity  thousands 769,271 628,371 22 % Equity ratio % 28 % 32 % (4.0 pp) Net debt  thousands (43,392 ) (10,901 ) 298 % Project LTV % (9.2 %) (2.4 %) 6.8 pp

Income statement

Income statement for the nine months period ended on 30 September 2018 is as follows:

 thousands 30-Sep-18 30-Sep-17 Gross rental income 1,141 1,607 Service revenues 13,821 37 Net service charge income (275 ) (326 ) Property operating expenses (884 ) (1,199 ) Net rental income 13,803 119 Development sales 10 214 Cost of goods sold (7 ) (161 ) Net development income 3 53 Total revenues 14,697 1,532 Total direct business operating expenses (891 ) (1,360 ) Net business income 13,806 172 Net valuation gain on investment property* 1,155 68,436 Net gain on disposals 3,006 1,016 Amortization, depreciation and impairments (2,434 ) 3,153 Other operating income 923 140 Administrative expenses (9,171 ) (1,348 ) Other operating expenses (86 ) (201 ) Operating result 7,199 71,368 Interest income 77,145 33,606 Interest expense (39,082 ) (18,567 ) Other net financial result* (1,002 ) (6,494 ) Net finance income 37,061 8,545 Share of profit of equity-accounted investees (net of tax) (562 ) (1,009 ) Profit before income tax 43,698 78,904 Income tax expense (7,924 ) (14,992 ) Net Profit for the period 35,774 63,912

* the Group changed the presentation of unrealized foreign exchange gains/losses on property portfolio arising from the changes in FX rates in cases, when the property portfolio is valued in other currency than the functional currency of the respective SPV. FX gain/loss on property portfolio, which was recognized as part of Other net financial result, was reclassified to Net valuation gain on investment property. The comparative amounts have been restated in these regards.

Total revenues

Total revenues increased to EUR 14.7 million for the nine months of 2018 compared to EUR 1.5 million over the same period in 2017 mainly due to the provision of advisory services to entities controlled by the ultimate shareholder of the Group.

Net valuation gain on investment property

The Group did not revaluate its property portfolio during the first 9 month of 2018. For the same period of 2017, the Group recognized valuation gain of 74.2 million, arising mainly from the revaluation of two land bank projects and one office project located in the Czech Republic.

Generally, the net valuation gain includes unrealized foreign exchange gains/losses related to the portion of the Groups property portfolio which is valued in CZK (gain of EUR 1.2 million for 9 months of 2018). The comparative figure for 2017 has also been adjusted in this regard (loss of EUR 5.8 million for 9 months of 2017) as we have reclassified FX revaluation gains from other net financial result to net valuation gain on investment property.

Operating result

Operating result as of September 2018 is represented by gain of EUR 7.2 million compared to EUR 71.4 million over the same period in 2017. The deterioration of result is mainly due to fact, that the Groups portfolio has not been revaluated as of 30 September 2018.

Net finance income

Net finance income improved from EUR 8.5 million to EUR 37.1 million for the nine months of 2018 due to increase in interest income from loans provided to related parties.





Balance sheet

 thousands 30-Sep-18 31-Dec-17 NON-CURRENT ASSETS Intangible assets 11 -- Investment property 463,079 450,373 Property, plant and equipment 521 35 Equity-accounted investees 4,009 4,571 Available-for-sale financial assets 111,929 104,613 Loans provided 1,689,055 1,196,932 Trade and other receivables 12 12 Deferred tax assets 123,565 123,565 Total non-current assets 2,392,181 1,880,101 CURRENT ASSETS Inventories 6,530 6,348 Current income tax receivables 361 279 Trade receivables 11,912 4,540 Loans provided 212,259 68,490 Cash and cash equivalents 43,688 11,230 Other current assets 69,492 8,918 Assets held for sale 388 397 Total current assets 344,630 100,202 TOTAL ASSETS 2,736,811 1,980,303 EQUITY Equity attributable to owners of the Company 602,708 565,688 Non-controlling interests 166,563 62,683 Total equity 769,271 628,371 NON-CURRENT LIABILITIES Financial debts 1,730,874 1,113,884 Deferred tax liabilities 39,012 33,048 Provisions 1,575 1,559 Other non-current liabilities 1,895 1,991 Total non-current liabilities 1,773,356 1,150,482 CURRENT LIABILITIES Financial debts 120,477 54,581 Trade payables 11,921 2,723 Advance payments 329 84,505 Other current liabilities 61,457 59,641 Total current liabilities 194,184 201,450 TOTAL EQUITY AND LIABILITIES 2,736,811 1,980,303







Total assets and total liabilities

Total assets increased by EUR 756.5 million (38 %) to EUR 2,737 million as at 30 September 2018. The largest driver of this growth is the increase in long-term loans provided to entities within CPI PG Group. Loans provided increased by EUR 635.9 million (50 %) from EUR 1,265.4 million to EUR 1,901.3 million as at 30 September 2018.

Other driver of the increase in total assets is the advance payment of EUR 54.2 million paid to related party in connection with the intended purchase of bonds issued by Czech Property Investments, a.s.

Non-current and current liabilities total EUR 1,968 million as at 30 September 2018 which represents an increase by EUR 615.6 million (46 %) compared to 31 December 2017. The main driver of this growth was the additional drawdown of loan provided to the Group by CPI PG.

Other factor of the growth is the increase in trade payables attributable to advisory services provided to the Group by CPI PG Group.

The increase in total liabilities was partially offset by the decrease in advance payments. As at 31 December 2017 the Group recognized advance payment received by the Group from GSG Europa Beteiligungs GmbH (EUR 84.0 million) in connection with the intended sale of 80% stake in Bubny Development. The sale was realized in Q2 2018 and the Group maintains a control over Bubny Development through the ownership of the 20% stake.

Equity

Total equity increased by EUR 140.9 million (22 %), from EUR 628.4 million as at 31 December 2017 to EUR 769.3 million as at 30 September 2018. The main elements impacting equity were:

an increase by EUR 35.8 million (profit for nine months of 2018);

increase in non-controlling interest primarily due to the sale of 80% stake in Bubny Development (EUR 106 million);

revaluation of CPI PG shares (increase of EUR 7.3 million);

impairment recognized in connection with the initial application of IFRS 9 led to a decrease in equity of EUR 4.7 million.

Litigation

In October 2018, Kingstown's legal advisers filed additional submission to increase the amount of alleged damages claimed to EUR 157 million. The Company continues to believe the claim is without merit and intends to vigorously contest it. Hearings on the admissibility of the claim are expected to take place in early 2019.

For more information please refer to our website at www.orcogroup.com or contact us at investors@orcogroup.com .





GLOSSARY

The Group presents alternative performance measures (APMs). The APMs used in this press release are commonly referred to and analysed amongst professionals participating in the Real Estate Sector to reflect the underlying business performance and to enhance comparability both between different companies in the sector and between different financial periods. APMs should not be considered as a substitute for measures of performance in accordance with the IFRS. The presentation of APMs in the Real Estate Sector is considered advantageous by various participants, including banks, analysts, bondholders and other users of financial information:

APMs provide additional helpful and useful information in a concise and practical manner.

APMs are commonly used by senior management and Board of Directors for their decisions and setting of mid and long-term strategy of the Group and assist in discussion with outside parties.

APMs in some cases might better reflect key trends in the Groups performance which are specific to that sector, i.e. APMs are a way for the management to highlight the key value drivers within the business that may not be obvious in the consolidated financial statements.

EPRA Net Asset Value per share

EPRA Net Asset Value per share is defined as EPRA NAV divided by the diluted number of shares at the end of period.

EPRA NAV

EPRA NAV is a measure of the fair value of net assets assuming a normal investment property company business model. Accordingly, there is an assumption of owning and operating investment property for the long term. For this reason, deferred taxes on property revaluations and the fair value of deferred tax liabilities are excluded as the investment property is not expected to be sold and the tax liability is not expected to materialize. In addition, the fair value of financial instruments which the company intends to hold to maturity is excluded as these will cancel out on settlement. All other assets including trading property, finance leases, and investments reported at cost are adjusted to fair value.

The performance indicator has been prepared in accordance with best practices as defined by EPRA (European Public Real Estate Association) in its Best Practices Recommendations guide, available on EPRAs website (www.epra.com).

Equity ratio

Equity Ratio provides a general assessment of financial risk undertaken. It is calculated as Total Equity divided by Total Assets.

Gross Leasable Area

Gross leasable area (GLA) is the amount of floor space available to be rented. Gross leasable area is the area for which tenants pay rent, and thus the area that produces income for the property owner.

Occupancy rate

The ratio of leased premises to total GLA.

Project Loan-to-Value

Project Loan-to-Value (Project LTV ratio) provides a general assessment of financing risk undertaken. It is calculated as Adjusted Net Debt divided by fair value of Property Portfolio. Net Debt is borrowings plus bank overdraft less sum of borrowings from within CPI Property Group and cash and cash equivalents.

Property Portfolio

Property Portfolio covers all properties held by the Group, independent of the balance sheet classification, from which the Group incurs rental or other operating income.

APM reconciliation

EPRA NAV per share reconciliation ( thousands) 30-Sep-18 31-Dec-17 Consolidated equity 602,708 565,688 Deferred taxes on revaluations 33,048 33,048 EPRA Net asset value 635,756 598,736 Existing shares (in thousands) 1,314,508 1,314,508 Net asset value in EUR per share 0.48 0.46





Project LTV ratio reconciliation ( thousands) 30-Sep-18 31-Dec-17 Financial debts 296 329 Cash and cash equivalents (43,688 ) (11,230 ) Net debt (43,392 ) (10,901 ) Total property portfolio 474,006 461,689 Project LTV (9.2 %) (2.4 %)





Equity ratio reconciliation ( thousands) 30-Sep-18 31-Dec-17 Total equity 769,271 628,371 Total assets 2,736,811 1,980,303 Equity ratio 28 % 32 %

Attachment
30 November 2018

Volta Finance Limited (VTA / VTAS)

RESULTS OF THE TWELFTH ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

Volta Finance Limited announces that at the Twelfth Annual General Meeting held earlier today all resolutions proposed were duly passed. Two of these resolutions were special resolutions.

The full text of the resolutions can be found in the Notice of Meeting contained with the Annual Report and Accounts 2018, copies of which are available for viewing at on the Companys website http://www.voltafinance.com

Further information on the votes cast on each resolution will be available on the Companys website shortly.

For further information, please contact:

Company Secretary and Administrator

BNP Paribas Securities Services S.C.A, Guernsey Branch

guernsey.bp2s.volta.cosec@bnpparibas.com

+44 (0) 1481 750 853

Corporate Broker

Cenkos Securities plc

Sapna Shah

Andrew Worne

+44 (0) 20 7397 8900

For the Investment Manager

AXA Investment Managers Paris

Serge Demay

serge.demay@axa-im.com

+33 (0) 1 44 45 84 47

*****

ABOUT VOLTA FINANCE LIMITED





Volta Finance Limited is incorporated in Guernsey under The Companies (Guernsey) Law, 2008 (as amended) and listed on Euronext Amsterdam and the London Stock Exchange's Main Market for listed securities. Voltas home member state for the purposes of the EU Transparency Directive is the Netherlands. As such, Volta is subject to regulation and supervision by the AFM, being the regulator for financial markets in the Netherlands.

Voltas investment objectives are to preserve capital across the credit cycle and to provide a stable stream of income to its shareholders through dividends. Volta seeks to attain its investment objectives predominantly through diversified investments in structured finance assets. The assets that the Company may invest in either directly or indirectly include, but are not limited to: corporate credits; sovereign and quasi-sovereign debt; residential mortgage loans; and, automobile loans. The Companys approach to investment is through vehicles and arrangements that essentially provide leveraged exposure to portfolios of such underlying assets. The Company has appointed AXA Investment Managers Paris an investment management company with a division specialised in structured credit, for the investment management of all its assets.

*****

ABOUT AXA INVESTMENT MANAGERS

AXA Investment Managers (AXA IM) is a multi-expert asset management company within the AXA Group, a global leader in financial protection and wealth management. AXA IM is one of the largest European-based asset managers with 759 billion in assets under management as of the end of June 2018. AXA IM employs approximately 2,420 people around the world.

*****

NOT FOR RELEASE, DISTRIBUTION OR PUBLICATION, IN WHOLE OR IN PART, IN OR INTO THE UNITED STATES

This press release is for information only and does not constitute an invitation or inducement to acquire shares in Volta Finance. Its circulation may be prohibited in certain jurisdictions and no recipient may circulate copies of this document in breach of such limitations or restrictions. This document is not an offer for sale of the securities referred to herein in the United States or to persons who are "U.S. persons" for purposes of Regulation S under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "Securities Act"), or otherwise in circumstances where such offer would be restricted by applicable law. Such securities may not be sold in the United States absent registration or an exemption from registration from the Securities Act. The company does not intend to register any portion of the offer of such securities in the United States or to conduct a public offering of such securities in the United States.

*****

This communication 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 companies, 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 securities referred to herein are only available to, and any invitation, offer or agreement to subscribe, purchase or otherwise acquire such securities 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. Past performance cannot be relied on as a guide to future performance.

Attachment
English Swedish

July  September

Revenue amounted to MSEK 457.0 (380.3) corresponding to a growth of 20.2 % year-on-year. Continued strong growth for the Groups B737 fleet, partly offset by reduction in the Norwegian postal network.

EBITDA amounted to MSEK 12.2 (27.8) corresponding to a margin of 2.7 % (7.3).

Earnings per share of SEK -0.55. (-0.95).

The Group has signed a new overdraft facility up to MSEK 75.0 with a Swedish bank.

The second B737-800BCF Next Generation Freighter, has been delivered to the Group.

Due to a growing market interest for ATP aircraft outside Europe the Group has defined a large number of parked ATP aircraft where the decision is to sell them.

January  September



Revenue amounted to MSEK 1,279.9 (1,148.8) corresponding to a growth of 11.4 % year-on-year. Continued strong growth for the Groups B737 fleet, partly offset by reduction in the Norwegian postal network.

EBITDA amounted to MSEK 87.6 (59.9 ) corresponding to a margin of 6.8 % (5.2).

Earnings per share of SEK -1.22 (-2.93).

Capital contribution of additional MSEK 6.7 made by certain shareholders, in addition to the contributed MSEK 25.0 made during 2017. New share issue decided and registered in April.

Long term contract in place with one customer for operations of the four committed B737-800 aircraft, of which two were delivered during the period.

The Group sold four ATP aircraft including two aircraft managed through the collaboration agreement, in March. The sales contributed a significant income.

Key performance indicators for the Group

All figures in MSEK unless stated otherwise Jul - Sep Jul - Sep Jan - Sep Jan - Sep Jan  Dec 2018 2017 2018 2017 2017 Financial metrics* Revenue 457.0 380.3 1,279.9 1,148.8 1,589.3 Revenue growth 20.2 % 17.5 % 11.4 % 18.8 % 20.4 % EBITDA 12.2 27.8 87.6 59.9 126.3 EBITDA margin (%) 2.7 % 7.3 % 6.8 % 5.2 % 7.9 % Net income -23.6 -25.8 -52.4 -79.0 -61.6 Cash and cash equivalents incl unused overdraft facility 152.9 111.7 152.9 111.7 173.4 Cash flow from operating activities 38.7 43.0 129.8 155.7 233.7 Earnings per share before dilution (SEK) -0.55 -0.95 -1.22 -2.93 -2.28 Net interest bearing debt / EBITDA** 4.9 6.2 4.9 6.2 5.0 Interest coverage ratio** 2.2 1.7 2.2 1.7 2.0 Equity / Asset ratio 1.7 % 2.0 % 1.7 % 2.0 % 5.3 % Total assets 1,267.7 1,252.7 1,267.7 1,252.7 1,270.8 Operating metrics* Fleet dispatch regularity 99.5 % 99.5 % 99.2 % 99.5 % 99.4 % Performed flights 5,732 6,020 16,438 17,534 23,862 Aircraft in service (incl. wet leases) 43 44 43 44 42 Average employees 460 457 460 461 459 *Definitions of key performance indicators and other measures can be found at the end of this report. **Defined by the corporate bond loan WEST002 terms and conditions. See note 10 for more information. The loan was issued December 2015.

The full report can be downloaded at http://westatlantic.eu/category/quarterlyinterimreports/

For further information, please contact:

CEO, Fredrik Groth, +46 (0) 10-452 97 09

CFO, Magnus Dahlberg, +46 (0) 10-452 95 49

This information is information that West Atlantic AB (publ) is obliged to make public pursuant to the EU Market Abuse Regulation. The information was submitted for publication, through the agency of the contact persons set out above, at 2018-11-30, 18:00 CET.

About West Atlantic

The West Atlantic Group is one of the market leading providers of dedicated airfreight services to European NMO's and airfreight capacity to Global Integrators and Freight Forwarders. The Group has a well-established geographic network and operates a customised aircraft fleet, whereof a majority is wholly owned. West Atlantic was founded in 1962 and is headquartered in Gothenburg, Sweden. Operations are performed all over Europe and 2017 West Atlantic had 459 employees. For 2017 West Atlantic reported revenues of MSEK 1,589 and EBITDA of MSEK 126.

West Atlantic AB (publ) Org. no: 556503-6083, Box 5433, SE-402 29 Gothenburg, Sweden





Attachment
WHITEHORSE, Yukon, Nov. 30, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Chartered Professional Accountants of Yukon (CPAYT) and the CPA Western School of Business (CPAWSB) congratulate Ryan Bursey and Kyle Densmore in Yukon for passing the multi-day national Common Final Examination (CFE) written in September 2018. The exam was administered by CPAWSB.



Congratulations to Ryan and Kyle for successfully passing the CFE, said Joanna Joniec, CPA, CMA, chair of CPA Yukon. On behalf of the CPA Yukon Board of Directors and CPA Yukon, I welcome them to the ranks of Canadas chartered professional accountants. We are proud of them, and wish each of them a successful career.

In order to become designated, students must complete rigorous course work, pass the CFE, and fulfill relevant practical experience requirements. The national CFE ensures all Canadian chartered professional accountants meet the same high standards, which are recognized nationally and internationally.

I am immensely proud of the two hard-working Yukon candidates who passed the 2018 CFE by developing and demonstrating technical and professional skills they will take with them into the next stage of their careers and beyond, said Steve Vieweg, FCPA, FCMA, CEO of the CPA Western School of Business. On behalf of everyone at the School, I wish these hard-working individuals the very best as they move forward in their careers.

CPAWSB delivers the nationally-developed CPA professional education program in Canadas western region. Throughout the program, CPA candidates develop the competencies expected of professional accountants, developing technical skills and enabling competencies as they grow in professionalism and leadership.

About CPA Yukon

The Chartered Professional Accountants of Yukon (CPAYT) is a member organization of the Chartered Professional Accountants of Canada (CPA Canada), which represents more than 200,000 CPAs across the country. The Chartered Professional Accountants of British Columbia (CPABC) is responsible for training, governing, and regulatory body for CPAYT members. CPABC carries out its primary mission to protect the public by enforcing the highest professional and ethical standards and contributing to the advancement of public policy. CPAs are recognized internationally for bringing superior financial expertise, strategic thinking, business insight, and leadership to organizations.


LOS ANGELES, Nov. 30, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Schall Law Firm , a national shareholder rights litigation firm, announces the filing of a class action lawsuit against PPDAI Group Inc. (PPDAI or the Company) (NYSE: PPDF ) for violations of 10(b) and 20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule 10b-5 promulgated thereunder by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.



Investors who purchased the Company's shares pursuant to and/or traceable to the Registration Statement and Prospectus issued in connection with the Companys initial public offering in November, 2017, are encouraged to contact the firm before January 25, 2019.

If you are a shareholder who suffered a loss, click here to participate .

We also encourage you to contact Brian Schall, or Sherin Mahdavian, of the Schall Law Firm, 1880 Century Park East, Suite 404, Los Angeles, CA 90067, at 424-303-1964, to discuss your rights free of charge. You can also reach us through the firm's website at www.schallfirm.com , or by email at brian@schallfirm.com .

The class, in this case, has not yet been certified, and until certification occurs, you are not represented by an attorney. If you choose to take no action, you can remain an absent class member.

According to the Complaint, the Company made false and misleading statements to the market. PPDAI engaged in predatory lending practices, saddling low-income borrowers with debt and interest payments they could not repay. Many of the Companys customers were using PPDAI loans to pay off other loans, raising the risk of default. PPDAI suffered from increasing delinquency rates, hurting the Companys reserves. PPDAI was also providing online loans to college students, ignoring a government ban on the practice. At the same time, the Company engaged in improper collection practices. Based on these facts, the Companys public statements at the time of its IPO were false and materially misleading. When the market learned the truth about PPDAI, investors suffered damages.

Join the case to recover your losses.

The Schall Law Firm represents investors around the world and specializes in securities class action lawsuits and shareholder rights litigation.

This press release may be considered Attorney Advertising in some jurisdictions under the applicable law and rules of ethics.

CONTACT:

The Schall Law Firm

Brian Schall, Esq.,

Sherin Mahdavian, Esq.,

www.schallfirm.com

310-301-3335

info@schallfirm.com

SOURCE:

The Schall Law Firm
PALO ALTO, Calif., Nov. 30, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- VMware, Inc. (NYSE: VMW) today announced that VMware has been positioned in the Leaders quadrant of Gartner, Inc.s November 2018 Magic Quadrant for Hyperconverged Infrastructure based on the completeness of vision and ability to execute axes.



Weve made tremendous progress with VMwares HCI solutions both in terms of innovation and industry traction in the last two years, said Yanbing Li, senior vice president and general manager, Storage and Availability Business Unit, VMware. We believe our placement in the Leaders quadrant in the latest Magic Quadrant for Hyperconverged Infrastructure not only validates our strategy, but reflects our continued focus to deliver a trusted, enterprise-grade solution to customers.

We feel the value of full-stack HCI has been acknowledged, continued Li. By leading with a hardware-agnostic approach, VMware is uniquely positioned to deliver full-stack HCI, based on its proven Cloud Foundation solution that extends from on-prem to the cloud, to support organizations digital transformations and cloud strategies.

VMware has the broadest flexibility of HCI deployment options for enterprises. Those options include 18 jointly certified OEM server vendors with more than 500 validated configurations, jointly engineered turn-key appliances with Dell EMC  VxRail and VxRack  and 500-plus public cloud provider partners that offer HCI-as-a-service.

Consistent Innovation Drives Customer Adoption

With more than 17,000 customers including more than half of the Global 2000, VMware vSAN powers industry-leading HCI solutions with vSphere-native, flash-optimized storage for private and public cloud deployments. Recently at VMworld 2018 US, VMware unveiled a private beta program for vSAN to gather feedback on potential ways to further simplify the data center through native data protection, file services, and cloud-native storage capabilities.

At the core of VMwares hybrid cloud strategy is VMware Cloud Foundation which delivers a comprehensive set of software-defined services for compute, storage, networking, security, and cloud management. Most recently at VMworld 2018 Europe, VMware announced VMware Cloud Foundation 3.5 that will deliver greater choice in deployment options across private and public clouds as well as new integration with VMware NSX-T and support for Kubernetes. The solutions increased capabilities and flexibility will offer customers expanded support for an ever-growing set of workloads and cloud initiatives.

To read a complimentary copy of the November 2018 Magic Quadrant for Hyperconverged Infrastructure, please visit here .

Additional Resources

Gartner, Magic Quadrant for Hyperconverged Infrastructure, John McArthur | Kiyomi Yamada | Philip Dawson | Julia Palmer, 27 November 2018.

VMware, vSAN, vSphere, VMworld, Cloud Foundation, NSX, and NSX-T are registered trademarks or trademarks of VMware, Inc. or its subsidiaries in the United States and other jurisdictions.

This article may contain hyperlinks to non-VMware websites that are created and maintained by third parties who are solely responsible for the content on such websites.

Gartner Disclaimer

Gartner does not endorse any vendor, product or service depicted in its research publications, and does not advise technology users to select only those vendors with the highest ratings or other designation. Gartner research publications consist of the opinions of Gartners research organization and should not be construed as statements of fact. Gartner disclaims all warranties, expressed or implied, with respect to this research, including any warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose.



About VMware

VMware software powers the worlds complex digital infrastructure. The companys compute, cloud, mobility, networking and security offerings provide a dynamic and efficient digital foundation to over 500,000 customers globally, aided by an ecosystem of 75,000 partners. Headquartered in Palo Alto, California, this year VMware celebrates twenty years of breakthrough innovation benefiting business and society. For more information please visit https://www.vmware.com/company.html .
COLUMBUS, Ohio, Nov. 30, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- ARCOS LLC  a provider of resource management software and services for critical infrastructure industries  will soon implement its solution for automating the way Fairbanks, Alaska-based Golden Valley Electric Association responds to, restores and reports on outages.



With the ARCOS Callout and Scheduling Suite , GVEAs supervisors, dispatchers and line workers, among others, can plan, launch and track the status of automated, after-hours calls for emergency crews from their desktops, tablets and smartphones. GVEA will begin rolling out the ARCOS suite to line crew sections, then plant workers and, eventually, non-union workers needed for storm roles.

Gary Betsill, vice president of Operations for GVEA, joined the utility from Georgia Power where his former colleagues still use ARCOS to mobilize crews for after-hours emergencies and storm response.

When I arrived in 2017, said Betsill, the in-house callout program we used was rudimentary. It could do a straight callout. But if you introduced a second- or third-man scenario, it didnt work.

With ARCOS, GVEA will ensure it calls out lineworkers according to the bargaining agreements in place with the locals of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers and International Union of Operating Engineers. The agreements with the unions confirm, in part, the equitable distribution of overtime. In fact, mirroring complex work agreements is a hallmark of the ARCOS solution.

I sold ARCOS to our management by telling them the products claim to fame is absolutely emulating the contractual obligations for callout procedures, every time, added Betsill.

But Alaska will surely offer some new and unique callout circumstances for ARCOS.

Weve had snow drifts so high a moose has walked into the power line and caused an outage, recalled Betsill. Weve had eight-foot drifts where caribou have walked over the fence, right into a substation.

Based on his past experience, Betsill also believes the ARCOS solution will reduce GVEAs System Average Interruption Duration Index, or SAIDI, which will be a bonus for the cooperatives members. The ARCOS platform will also serve a role in helping union workers participate for the first time in GVEAs Incentive Employee Program. Among the IEP goals for line workers is achieving a 50-percent callout acceptance rate, which the ARCOS solution will track.

According to its website, GVEA operates and maintains 3,216 miles of transmission and distribution lines, 35 substations and 8 generating facilities covering a 5,973-square-mile service territory.

About ARCOS LLC

ARCOS is a leader in delivering SaaS solutions for managing the resources of critical infrastructure sectors. The ARCOS solution goes beyond the callout of crews and automatically plans for all types of events, and reports on the up-to-the-minute location and status of equipment and crews via mobile technology for utilities, airlines, manufacturers and industrial facilities. The ARCOS resource management platform helps utilities, airlines, manufacturers and industrial facilities save time and money, while improving customer satisfaction and the efficiency and accuracy of operations. Learn more about ARCOS resource management software at http://www.arcos-inc.com.
NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION TO U.S. NEWSWIRE SERVICES OR FOR RELEASE, PUBLICATION, DISTRIBUTION OR DISSEMINATION DIRECTLY, OR INDIRECTLY, IN WHOLE OR IN PART, IN OR INTO THE UNITED STATES



CHICAGO, Nov. 30, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Cresco Labs Inc. (the Company or Cresco), formerly Randsburg International Gold Corp., is pleased to announce that its business combination with Cresco Labs, LLC (the Business Combination) has been completed and that its subordinate voting shares (the "Subordinate Voting Shares") have been approved for listing on the Canadian Securities Exchange (CSE) under the symbol CL. The Subordinate Voting Shares are expected to begin trading on the CSE on Monday, December 3, 2018.

In connection with the Business Combination, on November 26, 2018, Cresco Labs Finco Ltd. completed a subscription receipt offering whereby it issued an aggregate of 12,624,054 subscription receipts (the Subscription Receipts) for gross proceeds of C$107.3 million (the Offering). The Offering was completed by a syndicate led by Canaccord Genuity Corp. and GMP Securities L.P. as co-lead agents, and including Cormark Securities Inc. and Beacon Securities Limited. On closing of the Business Combination, the investors in the Offering received one (1) Subordinate Voting Share of the Company for each Subscription Receipt held.

Our public listing represents the culmination of nearly three years of unmatched success in winning state licenses in the most competitive, highly regulated cannabis markets and firmly establishing Cresco as an early leader in this emerging industry, said Charles Bachtell, CEO of Cresco Labs. Early on, by realizing that cannabis is a natural fit in the consumer-packaged goods industry, we developed a differentiated and upscale brand strategy that moves across the value chain covering all price points. At the same time, we developed a well-honed business blueprint that enables our rapid entry into new markets where we can capture leading market share right from the start. With our outstanding team of recognized leaders in diverse fields, with backgrounds in highly regulated and public markets, and an esteemed board of directors, our interests are closely aligned with shareholders as well as regulators, legislators and consumers."

Better access to the capital markets as a public company will help drive our expansion strategy, Bachtell added. At the same time, we intend to continue our support of consumer education, medical advisory, and public education and research that can be highly impactful on the direction of the cannabis industry.

The Business Combination was structured as a series of transactions, including Canadian three-cornered amalgamation transactions and a series of U.S. reorganization steps, which resulted in the Company indirectly acquiring all of the voting securities of Cresco Labs, LLC.

As part of the Business Combination, the Company, among other things: (i) amended the Company's notice of articles and articles to (a) amend the rights and restrictions of the then-existing class of common shares and redesignate such class as Subordinate Voting Shares, (b) create a class of super voting shares (the "Super Voting Shares"), and, (c) create a class of proportionate voting shares (the "Proportionate Voting Shares"); (ii) changed the Company's name to Cresco Labs Inc.; and (iii) appointed MNP LLP as the auditors of the Company.

In connection with the closing of the Business Combination, the following individuals were appointed to the board of directors of the Company: Charles Bachtell; Joe Caltabiano; Dominic Sergi; Brian McCormack; Robert M. Sampson; John R. Walter; Gerald Corcoran; Thomas Manning; and, Randy Podolsky.

The Company is also pleased to announce the appointment of the following officers: Charles Bachtell  Chief Executive Officer; Joe Caltabiano  President; Ken Amman  Chief Financial Officer; Zach Marburger  Chief Information Officer; David Ellis  Chief Operating Officer; Jason Erkes  Chief Communications Officer; and, John Schetz  General Counsel.

The Business Combination was completed in the manner described in the Companys listing statement (the Listing Statement) filed with the Canadian Securities Exchange (CSE) and available under the Companys profile on www.sedar.com.

About Cresco Labs, LLC:

Cresco Labs, based in Chicago, is leading the U.S. cannabis industry through experienced management, access to capital and a demonstrated growth strategy. As a differentiated grower, processor and retailer of premium cannabis with operations in six states (Illinois, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Nevada, California and Arizona) and approval pending for acquisitions in three more states (New York, Massachusetts, Maryland), the company focuses on entering markets with outsized demand potential, significant supply constraints and high barriers to entry. Its unparalleled speed-to-market  seven months from license to market  gives Cresco a distinct competitive advantage as it replicates its model to expand its national footprint. Crescos proven ability to execute is complemented by a well-defined brand strategy that is tailored to all major consumer segments: everyday cannabis, medicinally focused, connoisseur grade, and chef inspired edibles by James Beard Award-winning pastry chef Mindy Segal. Learn more about Cresco Labs at crescolabs.com.

Forward Looking Statements

This press release contains 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 the Company's beliefs regarding future events, plans or objectives, many of which, by their nature, are inherently uncertain and outside of the Company's control. Generally, such forward-looking information or forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as, may, will, should, could, would, expects, plans, anticipates, believes, estimates, projects, predicts, potential or continue or the negative of those forms or other comparable terms. The Companys forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the Companys actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements, including but not limited to: the illegality of the Companys business at the U.S. federal level and the risk of prosecution; the U.S. State level regulatory uncertainty; clearing of the securities; risks to Canadian investors being barred from entering the U.S.; restricted access to banking; the availability of additional financing; the lack of approval by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration; constraints on marketing products; limited trademark protection; unfavorable tax treatment; the tax classification of the Company in the U.S.; lack of access to U.S. bankruptcy protections; proceeds of crime statutes; liability and enforcement; risks inherent in the agricultural business; environmental risks and regulations; access to third-party service providers; product liability; personal information breaches; liability for fraudulent or illegal activity by employees, contractors and consultants; the Companys limited operating history; the difficulty quantifying the target market; planned expansion; the limited market for securities; security risks; public and consumer perceptions; contracts may not be legally enforceable; restricted transfer of securities; voting control; reliance on management; risks related to the Illinois Medical Cannabis Pilot Program; reliance on management; the risks discussed under "Risk Factors" in the companys CSE Listing Statement filed with SEDAR; and other factors, many of which are beyond the control of the Company. Readers are cautioned that the foregoing list of factors is not exhaustive. Because of these uncertainties, you should not place undue reliance on the Companys forward-looking statements. The Company does not intend to update any of these factors or to publicly announce the result of any revisions to any of the Companys forward-looking statements contained herein, whether as a result of new information, any future event or otherwise. Except as otherwise indicated, this press release speaks as of the date hereof. The distribution of this press release does not imply that there has been no change in the affairs of the Company after the date hereof or create any duty to update or supplement any information provided in this press release or otherwise.

Contacts:

Media

Cresco Labs:

Jason Erkes

Chief Communications Officer

je@crescolabs.com

Financial Profiles:

Debbie Douglas

949.375.3436

ddouglas@finprofiles.com



Investors

Cresco Labs:

Aaron Miles

Vice President, Investor Relations

310.622.8255

Financial Profiles:

Kim Esterkin, Kristen Papke, Ashley Grossman

CLinvestors@finprofiles.com
By using the site you agree to our Privacy, Cookies, and Terms of Service Policies.
12:10 | Paracas (Ica region), Nov. 30.









Earlier this week, the Judicial Branch approved the request filed by Prosecutor Jose Domingo Perez , who has also opened a preparatory investigation against Villanella.





The prosecutor made the decision to start a probe on him for the purchase of two lots south of Lima worth S/617,329 (around US$183,129) using alleged illegal funds.





Likewise, Villanella is under investigation for alleged irregular contributions and his participation in Fuerza 2011 (now Fuerza Popular) campaign.





The former Ad-Hoc State Attorney recalled that, at first, one of the options was to detain Keiko Fujimori's husband and send him to prison.





According to Ugaz, Concepcion Carhuancho's decision is justified since there are a series of questionings concerning his assets.





Furthermore, he indicated the Prosecutor's Office and the Court are fully entitled to inquire into this topic.





According to Villanella, he has provided detailed information to explain the situation regarding his properties.





However, the lawyer believes it was not very convincing and press reports have created doubts about the origin of the money and what it was used for.





Suspicion





"With this degree of suspicion toward a foreign citizen regardless of his family in Peru the judge suspects he could hold a foreign nationality, leave (the country), and never come back," Ugaz expressed.





Therefore, the former IT chairman considers this measure against Villanella is proportional as he is not being sent to prison but needs to be present for future investigations.





Remarks were made during the 56th edition of the Annual Conference of Executives (CADE-Executives 2018) currently underway in Paracas, Peru.









(END) RES/DTK/RMB

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Transparency International Board ex-Chairman Jose Ugaz described as proportional a judge's decision to forbid Mark Vito Villanella Fuerza Popular party leader Keiko Fujimori's husband from leaving the country for 36 months.Publicado: 30/11/2018
00:04 | Paracas (Ica region), Nov. 30.

"It has created leadership in President Martin Vizcarra. It is always important that the Head of State has the citizens' support. The political impact has been significant," Aguirre told Andina news agency.





As is known, the top official called a referendum taking place on December 9 and aimed at submitting four political-justice reforms for public consultation.









According to the CADE 2018 chairman, these are the main themes of Peru's political system, adding it is essential that the population expresses its opinion on these topics.













Moreover after the referendum  the Executive Branch and the Legislative one supported by the private sector should carry out the reforms the Inca nation needs in order to become a viable and developed country.









(END) RES/HMC/DTK/MVB




"We've been unofficially told that he has explored various alternatives at other embassies before choosing Uruguay and after that," he told the press.





According to the Head of State, Uruguay where Garcia sought political asylum  will disclose new information to the Peruvian Government if available.





"Uruguay will make its moves known, considering the request involves the two governments," he added.





Likewise, Vizcarra said he has contacted his Uruguayan counterpart Tabare Vasquez only once, on November 18, when the asylum request came to light.





At that time, he ruled out the existence of political persecution in Peru. Plus, he confirmed that a true rule of law and separation of powers exist in the Inca country.





His remarks were made after opening the intercultural fair "World of Illusions," an initiative that portraits Christmas customs and traditions in Peru, as well as in different countries of America, Europe, and Asia.





The ceremony took place at the Government Palace's courtyard in Lima and featured Prime Minister Cesar Villanueva, Foreign Affairs Minister Nestor Popolizio, as well as other ministers.





The event was also attended by Peruvian First Lady Maribel Diaz.





(END) VVS/CCR/RMB

Peruvian President Martin Vizcarra on Friday affirmed that there is no official information on a new asylum request by ex-President Alan to other countries.Published: 11/30/2018
Thus, Washington D.C. will continue working closely with the Peruvian Government on this subject.

Furthermore, he indicated the Inca country has made progress in improving competitiveness , which results in better opportunities for economic development and the signing of trade agreements , such as the United States-Peru Free Trade Agreement (PTPA).
Ottawa, Nov. 30, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Universities, colleges, and polytechnic institutions are at the forefront of preparing our workforce with the knowledge and skills necessary for the future economy. But how do we know whether these institutions are delivering on this important task? Do Canadas post-secondary institutions adequately prepare students for the real world?



As it stands, neither the Canadian government nor public have access to detailed information about post-secondary institutions victories and failures. But it doesnt have to be this way. A new MLI report, titled Performance Anxiety II: How to ensure post-secondary institutions deliver on the expectations of students, parents, employers, and governments, seeks solutions to this information gap. The report is the second in a series examining the strengths and weaknesses of post-secondary education in Canada.



According to report authors Douglas Auld and Ken Coates, the lack of any clear evaluation scheme for gauging the success of post-secondary institutions stands as a major impediment when it comes to not only understanding, but also improving the system.



Canadas post-secondary system has formidable strengths and significant challenges, write Auld and Coates. Everyone, from students and parents to employers or graduates to university administrators and government officials needs, a better way to evaluate the success or failure of post-secondary institutions to meet [its] challenges.



As Auld and Coates argue, while Canadian post-secondary institutions regularly advertise their good news, they fail to publicize high drop-out rates, low post-graduation employment and poor salary outcomes in certain fields, let alone the comparative effectiveness of institutions.



Employing Ontario as a case study, the authors discuss the timely issues of balancing the needs for increased investments in education set against the need for budget discipline. This is particularly timely given the Ford governments decision to reverse major planned investments in new campuses, and a French University, in the province.



With budget pressures mounting, it is necessary to focus on value for money and what priorities best position Canada in the modern economy, rather than simply expanding university spaces, write Auld and Coates.



Extrapolating from Ontarios experience, the report makes six key recommendations on a national level:



-Fix the fragmentation of information and analysis. The provincial, federal, and territorial governments should produce a single, standardized evaluation system for universities.

-Determine an appropriate evaluation metric to define the ability of individual institutions to add value to the students enrolled in the university, college, or institute, and account for the needs of disadvantaged students.

-Monitor student career outcomes nationally, regardless of the level of post- secondary education and the students ability to complete a specific program. This information should be publicly available and interactive.

-Develop metrics to determine the value of research and teaching on commercialization and economic development. The current system focuses primarily on inputs (like research grants) and proxies for outputs (such as patents or number of people trained). Society needs to know who is succeeding at converting research funding into businesses and jobs.

-Develop a similar measure for the social, cultural, and political impact of social science and humanities research.

-Create evaluation systems that recognize the sharp differentiation in purpose, mandate, and environment between the countrys various universities, polytechnics, and colleges.



And six recommendations for Ontario:



-Remove the link between key performance indicators and funding.

-Do a better job of measuring learning and career outcomes, the impact of research and outreach efforts, and institutional financial performance.

-Collect data every three years rather than annually.

-Make learning and research goals central to strategic mandate agreements between the province and institutions (SMAs).

-Make better use of professional organizations and college program advisory committees to evaluate programs.

-Have the Higher Education Quality Council of Ontario develop a system-wide test of the development of key skills for students. Leave the important task of program review to the Ontario University Council on Quality Assessment.



Canadian taxpayers, students, and their parents pay billions of dollars each year to support the countrys colleges, universities, and polytechnics, write Auld and Coates. They deserve to have accurate, timely information about whether that investment is paying off.



To learn more about how to ensure that post-secondary institutions are delivering on their promises to Canadians, check out the full report here.



***



Douglas Auld is an adjunct professor in the department of Economics and Finance at the University of Guelph. He chaired the University of Guelph Senate Committee on Academic Priorities and has served as president and chief executive officer of Loyalist College and Vice President of the college system Committee of Presidents.



Ken S. Coates is a Munk Senior Fellow at the Macdonald-Laurier Institute and Canada Research Chair in Regional Innovation in the Johnson-Shoyama Graduate School of Public Policy at the University of Saskatchewan. He is the author and co-author of numerous books including Campus Confidential: 100 startling things you didnt know about Canadian universities and What to Consider When Youre Considering University.



Attachment
The Second Battle of Geddes Ridge

The dream house doctors lost in local courts. But they're fighting on-from California.

by Michael Betzold & John Hilton

From the November, 2018 issue

"I trust my friends to pay me back," Paul Cronin testified.



It was June 2017, and the U-M radiologist was being deposed in one of many lawsuits swirling around the construction of a dream house for his colleagues, Brad Foerster and Myria Petrou ("The Battle of Geddes Ridge," January 2018). Cronin testified that he had loaned the couple $130,000 and paid at least $20,000 of their legal fees. He'd even joined them in court a few months earlier to provide what he called "moral support."



Cronin presumably didn't expect to be paid back with a lawsuit demanding $15 million. But that's what Foerster filed in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles this September.



For readers of the couple's blog "Goosileaks," taken down from the Internet after a court order, Foerster's September lawsuit had a familiar ring: it claimed that the couple were being targeted by a criminal conspiracy--which was somehow linked to Russian money laundering and interference in the 2016 U.S. elections.



In previous versions, the central conspirator was alleged to be Petrou's mother, Maria Petrou, a retired school principal from Cyprus now living in Ann Arbor. In the California filing, Cronin is described as the conspiracy's "main controller" in Ann Arbor--and the mastermind of a "comprehensive plan to target and discredit" Foerster.



Foerster's suit blamed Cronin for the couple's eviction from the Geddes Ridge home in May--it claimed he'd promised to loan them the money to redeem it, then reneged. The 182-paragraph complaint also accused their former friend of hacking the couple, stealing their identities, and bribing and extorting their attorneys to undermine their legal defense. It further alleged that Cronin was really an architect with "a cover identity as a physician"; was "part of the Irish Republican Army"; and had "stated specifically that he works for Russian intelligence and has a direct line of communication to Vladimir Putin."



It's not clear when Foerster turned against his benefactor, but there is a clue

...continued below...

in two letters he included as an exhibit in the lawsuit. Sent in January and May this year to special counsel Robert Mueller, both allege that Foerster and Petrou are the victims of a racketeering network that concocts "criminal allegations aimed to discredit us." Only in the second letter, however, is Cronin said to be part of the conspiracy.Yet as recently as August, the suit alleges, Foerster texted Cronin to say that the couple was writing a book about the Russian conspiracy--and wanted him to contribute. Cronin replied he wanted no part of it because it was "fiction (and not factual)."In his response to the lawsuit, filed in October, Cronin agreed that this was an accurate account of his text. But he denied every one of Foerster's substantive allegations--and that same day, Foerster dropped the case.---Foerster had filed his lawsuit "in pro per," without an attorney. Cronin also represented himself. In that, he got off more lightly than many of the others the two doctors have tangled with in court during the dispute over the house, including their builder, architect, Maria Petrou, and some of their own attorneys. The couple lost every case--but not before running up hundreds of thousands of dollars in legal bills on both sides.Washtenaw Circuit Court judges Carol Kuhnke and Archie Brown handled most of the many cases the doctors pursued. In separate judgments, they dismissed the couple's claims against the home's builder, Christopher Laycock, and architect, Teresa Angelini. Angelini alone was awarded nearly $300,000 in attorneys' fees and sanctions. In court documents, her attorney, Greg Thomas, noted that "the defense ... was extremely complicated as a direct result of plaintiffs' aggressiveness and scorched-earth pursuit of the unfounded claims."The couple lost another legal round on Sept. 14, when Kuhnke entered a default order restoring $236,000 that Petrou had taken from her parents' investment account. Maria Petrou's attorney, Jim Reach, says his client can get $128,000 of the judgment from the couple's bank account, because Kuhnke imposed a trust on it in May. The doctors have filed an appeal, but it was sent back by the court of appeals as defective. At press time, Reach said he was waiting to see if the appeal would be remedied.The house, meanwhile, is back on the market. In mid-October, it was listed at $1.775 million, with a sale pending. And its former owners seem to have parted ways with U-M and Ann Arbor. Petrou and Foerster now give an address in Monrovia, California.According to his September lawsuit, Foerster was terminated from his job at the Ann Arbor VA Medical Center last year. (He said an appeal was pending.) He also wrote that after he complained about fraud in research grant work at U-M and joined in a sexual harassment complaint filed by a colleague, he was forced to undergo a psychiatric evaluation by the university this summer--and that on Aug. 18 the U-M initiated termination proceedings against him.The U-M says it did not find any evidence of research fraud. It will not comment on other internal investigations or on the doctors' employment status. Petrou, however, says she recently resigned from her position there--in part, she says, because of the Observer articles.---In October, Petrou filed a libel lawsuit against the Observer. According to her complaint, "Dr. Petrou recently resigned from her faculty appointment at the University of Michigan effective 9/30/2018 in part based on the defamatory statements published by Defendant Ann Arbor Observer."She says that she was defamed by the January feature and follow-up articles about litigation over a neighbor's cat ( "Cat Fight," Inside Ann Arbor, April) and the couple's eviction from their home ( "Losing Geddes Ridge," Inside Ann Arbor, June). The suit seeks at least $15 million, plus punitive damages.Petrou claims that "The thesis of Defendant Ann Arbor Observers' defamatory articles are that Plaintiff Dr. Petrou files untrue and false statements to: 1) the courts, 2) law enforcement which includes the FBI and by association would therefore be a felonious act, 3) other governmental officials, and 4) others. Further, the Ann Arbor Observer advances the false narrative that Plaintiff Dr. Petrou steals neighbor's cats and refuses to return them, defrauds builders and attorneys, extorts her colleagues, terrorizes witnesses, forges signatures on court documents, and embezzles her mother's retirement funds."Defendant Ann Arbor Observer sets out to discredit Plaintiff Dr. Petrou who is a material witness to independent party witness testimony regarding a Russian money laundering operation in the state of Michigan as well as the subversion of the 2016 U.S. Presidential Election."But the Observer did not "[set] out to discredit Petrou," and said none of the things she alleges. In reporting on the conflicts surrounding the construction of the couple's home on Geddes Ridge, the Observer accurately quoted both sides in their disputes and reported the outcome of the litigation as it was resolved.Petrou's complaint replays many of the arguments the couple made in those earlier court cases. For instance, she says that the Observer's statement that Laycock was "suing to collect liens for $274,000 in unpaid work" was "false and misleading" because in an early ruling Judge Brown had "set a bond for the liens for only $79K." She doesn't mention that Brown eventually awarded Laycock the full amount of his liens. The builder also won attorney fees, and a countersuit against the couple for defamation--more than $700,000 in all.---Laycock wouldn't talk to the Observer while the court battles were raging. But after he'd won, he sat down this summer for an interview in his office in his modest ranch home in Saline.Laycock says that he was quite proud of the way he completed the home after a previous builder bailed. A custom carpenter who's often worked on high-end remodeling projects, he says he came in under budget and even was hoping he'd win an award for his work. Instead, he says, he was "blindsided" when the couple disputed his final bill.He spent a year and a half fighting to get paid--while simultaneously defending himself against the couple's counterattacks. On their blog and in court, they accused him of bank fraud, violating their civil rights, and criminal conspiracy, alleging that he had plotted with their bank, architect, two title companies, Myria's mother, and others to deprive them of their dream house.Going to court is not good for any builder, much less being accused of a vast criminal enterprise, however outlandish. Laycock says that he often spent more time litigating than on job sites, but is now rebuilding his business.Like the couple's other legal adversaries, however, he is wondering how the couple will pay all the judgments against them. "I'm starting to believe we will never collect," he says. [Originally published in November, 2018.]
YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 30, ARMENPRESS. German Chancellor Angela Merkel's plane was forced to turn around and make an unscheduled landing due a technical problem, a government spokesman told CNN. Merkel was heading to Argentina for the G-20.

The plane has landed safely in Cologne, the spokesman said. Merkel has had to reschedule some meetings due to the delay, CNN reported.

An RTL reporter on board says they were flying over the Netherlands when they were told there had been an "electronic systems failure" and turned around to land at the Cologne airport. Reporters have been told the airplane is getting a replacement part.

The two-day summit kicks off November 30 in Buenos Aires and Merkel will probably miss the 1st day.

This years G20 gathering is expected to be one of the most consequential summits since the groups leaders first met in 2008 to plan how to contain the economic crisis.

Financial and commodities markets are closely watching the outcome of the summit, especially the planned meeting between Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping on Saturday.

Trump will not be seeing in a one-to-one meeting his Russian President Vladimir Putin. Trump on Thursday abruptly canceled their planned bilateral talks, citing Russias seizure of Ukrainian vessels.

Based on the fact that the ships and sailors have not been returned to Ukraine from Russia, I have decided it would be best for all parties concerned to cancel my previously scheduled meeting in Argentina with President Vladimir Putin, he tweeted.

Roughly an hour earlier, he had told reporters he would probably meet with Putin at the summit and said it was a very good time to have the meeting.

The Group of Twenty (G20) is a leading forum of the world's major economies that seeks to develop global policies to address todays most pressing challenges. The G20 is made up of 19 countries and the European Union. The 19 countries are Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Germany, France, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, South Korea, Turkey, the United Kingdom and the United States.

Edited and translated by Stepan Kocharyan
YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 30, ARMENPRESS. Artsakh Republic President Bako Sahakyan on November 30 addressed a congratulatory message on the Police Officer Day, the Presidential Office told Armenpress.

The address runs as follows:

Dear Police officers and veterans,

On behalf of the Artsakh Republic authorities and myself personally I sincerely congratulate you on your professional day.

The protection of civil rights and freedoms, human, public and state interests, crime prevention and control, guaranteeing the supremacy of law are part and parcel of your service, which are among the cornerstones of our state-building process.

I am confident that you realize very well the imperative of proper fulfillment of your obligations. Your principal stance and professionalism, human and moral qualities, commitment and dedication contribute greatly to the trust of our citizens in police and the state, maintaining harmonious and healthy atmosphere in the society.

The issues existing in the system are in the spotlight of the authorities, and the reforms under way are aimed at solving them effectively. The activities with the view to improve your working and social conditions will be pursued further on.

Dear friends,

I once again congratulate all of you on the Police Officer Day and wish peace, good health and great success to you and your families.

Edited and translated by Aneta Harutyunyan






YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 30, ARMENPRESS. Snow is falling on the regional roads of Artik, Ashotsk, Tashir, Sisian, Goris and Meghri, the ministry of Transportation, Communication and Information Technologies reported.

The ministry cautioned drivers that due to foggy conditions the visibility at the roads of Noyemberyan, Kapan, Berd-Tchambarak, Talin-Akhuryan and Sisian is 50-70 meters.

Road supervision and maintenance agencies are carrying out snow removal and clearing works.

The ministry added that all roads of inter-state and republican significance are open for traffic.

Edited and translated by Stepan Kocharyan
YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 30, ARMENPRESS. Prime Minister of Georgia Mamuka Bakhtadze has addressed the nation, assuring the Georgian people that the government will not allow irresponsible leaders to make a revolution.

The Strength is in Unity opposition union has refused to acknowledge the results of the second round of presidential election and has called for a rally in central Tbilisi on December 2, demanding early election of parliament.

We will not allow for our citizens to be endangered because of irresponsible leaders. We will not allow revolutionary or revenge scenarios and attempts to bring discontent and disorders in public life. The state will protect the safety of each citizen and will protect the right of peaceful protest. The elections are over, and the country must return to its normal rhythm of life, Bakhtadze said according to Sputnik.

Edited and translated by Stepan Kocharyan
YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 30, ARMENPRESS. The debates over Artsakh in the sidelines of the pre-electoral campaign of Armenias early parliamentary elections can in no way have an impact on the unity of the Armenian people, and particularly on the warm relations of the authorities of Armenia and Artsakh based on exceptional mutual trust, ARMENPRESS reports advisor to the President of Artsakh, Special Presidential Envoy Arayik Harutyunyan wrote on his Facebook page.

To put an end to the wave of those unreasonable speculations I, as a leader of a political force and representative of Artsakh authorities, had to react.

The Government of the acting Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan displayed careful attitude towards all issues related to Artsakh during the past months, supporting the initiatives of Artsakhs authorities aimed at raising the defense capacities of the country and economic development, Harutyunyan wrote, adding that the Armenian authorities have spared no efforts to contribute to the implementation of a number of major economic projects that will ensure skyrocketing economic development. And I assure you that in the near future those major programs will give an opportunity to dramatically increase the socio-economic life of the Artsakh people. By the way, those program cover the entire territory of Artsakh defined by the Constitution of Artsakh. I think my message is clear and there is no need to open the brackets, he said.

Referring to the concerns of some political forces in Armenia, Harutyunyan said, We salute the approach of Mr. Pashinyan, which is about that the peoples position should be decisive in solving the conflict. Therefore, we urge everyone to stop the speculations over Artsakh during the pre-electoral campaign.

Speaking about the early parliamentary elections of Armenia scheduled on December 9, Arayik Harutyunyan expressed confidence that they will be unprecedented in the history of Armenia.

On behalf of the leading political force of Artsakh, I announce that Free Motherland Party unconditionally supports the democratic reforms carried out by acting Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan, the advisor to Artsakhs President wrote.

Edited and translated by Tigran Sirekanyan
And James Goldrick provided a useful history of the naval facility on Manus. While strategic circumstances today are different from those of earlier times, the basic geostrategic potential of Manus hasnt changed.

Anthony Bergin has stressed the value of Australia working with PNG to develop port facilities on Manus, and noted that the sites strategic location could enable us to monitor a large part of the Pacific and control access to Australia through the archipelagic arc to our north and northeast.

Initially it was to be a joint AustraliaPNG facility, but American vice president Mike Pence has announced that the US will partner with Australia and PNG on the redevelopment project.

CANBERRA - Much has been written recently about the decision to redevelop the naval base at Lombrum on Manus Island.

Manus is well positioned to be not only an advanced base for the defence of PNG and Australia, but also a springboard into the Pacific and Southeast Asia.

Peter Jennings has highlighted the higher level strategic potential of the base for countering Chinese influence in the Pacific. This he saw as a more valuable contribution than just supporting the fisheries surveillance and other policing tasks run out of Lombrum in the past.

Importantly, Jennings identified Momote Airport on Manus as a critical part of the strategic equation. Momote will be an essential element of the joint facility at Manus. Its ability to support long-range maritime surveillance and air patrols will likely be a major part of American interest in Manus.

These posts all made good points about Manus, but some key issues were overlooked.

First, theres the importance of involving the local Manus islanders.

Australias refugee centre was essentially dumped on them, and although they later benefited from it with jobs and development, there was still resistance to it, particularly when the refugees were released into the community.

The closure of the facility has now created an employment and economic vacuum that the redeveloped naval base will help to fill.

Its extremely important that the Manus community be consulted fully during the development process.

As Charlie Benjamin, governor of Manus Province, said, On behalf of the people and government of Manus, I say Manus will not be used again by the governments of PNG and Australia to further pursue the interest of Australia without first engaging meaningfully with the people and government of Manus.

Former MP for Manus, Ronnie Knight, expressed concerns that so far there has been no discussion with any locals, and there were risks that the base deal could replicate the same governance issues that arose during the development and operation of the Manus Island detention centre.

In the days when the Lombrum base was HMAS Tarangau, a commissioned RAN shore establishment, it enjoyed excellent relations with local people.

The naval hospital was the best medical facility in the Admiralty Islands and local villages were contracted to supply the base with fresh fruit and vegetables. An insight into life at Tarangau is available on recently released naval history podcasts covering the RAN in PNG prior to independence.

Second, the most fundamental requirement is a refuelling facility. The oil fuel installation at Tarangau was a major strategic asset for the Royal Australian Navy.

It was used regularly by RAN ships deploying from Sydney to Southeast Asia, which was particularly important during Confrontation (or Konfrontasi) with Indonesia, when vessels werent able to conveniently go through the Indonesian archipelago.

The situation is no different today. The most vital role of the joint base will be to provide fuel for ships transiting through the area or operating out of the base, but the former RAN facility no longer exists.

The PNG patrol boats based at Lombrum cant fuel there and have to go elsewhere, usually to either Madang or Rabaul, to refuel before heading out on patrol. Air operations out of Momote will also require a substantial refuelling facility to be built.

Third, we need an accurate appreciation of the strategic location of Manus. Some of the commentary has been wide of the mark, with overambitious assessments linking the islands strategic value to the situation in the South China Sea, or even to policing the Sulu and Celebes seas.

Lombrum is too far from these areas to have any worthwhile effect, and besides the Americans already have their extensive facilities on Guam closer to these hot spots.

Its real strategic value will lie in its forward position to monitor and control air and sea activities in the archipelagic approaches to Australia and the wide sweep of the Pacific from across Micronesia to Kiribati, Nauru and Solomon Islands.

Finally, and most importantly, theres the issue of cost.

The facilities at Lombrum have deteriorated over many years due to inadequate maintenance and funding. The base is remote, nearly 1,000 kilometres by air from Port Moresby and almost 1,800 kilometres by sea.

Construction of new facilities will be enormously expensive, as will be ongoing support and maintenance. The $5 million already allocated to upgrade the Lombrum wharf to receive the Guardian-class patrol boats will cover only a basic refurbishment. Ideally, the joint base will also require a wharf, as it had in the past, for warships of destroyer size.

An oil fuel installation is essential, and accommodation, medical and recreational facilities will also be required. The extensive housing and other amenities built at Lombrum for RAN personnel in the 1960s and 1970s have mostly fallen into disrepair and will require refurbishment or replacement.

American and Australian staffing of the base should not be on a fly in, fly out basis. Personnel will need to reside there, which will help ensure better engagement with the local community.

Chinese contractors are already upgrading Momote airfield at a cost of $30 million in a project funded by the Asian Development Bank. It will require further work to accommodate American and Australian surveillance and fighter aircraft, as well as a large fuel installation and other support facilities.

Cash-strapped PNG wont be able to contribute to the costs of the joint facilities on Manus. However, constructive involvement with the local community could provide in-kind contributions and cost savings.

A Lombrum base potentially has useful strategic purposes, but it will be important that all joint partners fully commit to its development. A half-baked base, lacking essential facilities, will be no base at all. It would only be seen as a strategic sham.

Sam Bateman is a professorial research fellow at the Australian National Centre for Ocean Resources and Security in the University of Wollongong
Nevertheless, Peters assumption that teachers would use a cane is eminently understandable.

My initial response was one of mild annoyance: Why would someone think that kiaps, those doyens of authority, would not use a cane to assert said authority while teachers would?

So pondered Peter Salmon in his commentary on Tobias Schoerers article,  Kiaps repressed warfare, they did not repress the people  published recently in PNG Attitude.

MELBOURNE   I still find it hard to think of kiaps caning people. Teachers yes but not kiaps .

Those of us who were schooled in the pre-enlightenment era remember, while grimacing, our own experience of a teacher-wielded cane or ruler striking our hands, calves or posteriors after one misdemeanour or another.

And its true that, in my own East Sepik chalkie days in the mid to late 1960s, a firm piece of kunda rested against my desk at the front of the classroom  a permanent reminder to my 45 plus charges of what might befall them in the event that they misbehaved.

I say might because, as is often the case, the mere threat of a caning was sufficient to maintain compliance and conformity in the classroom and beyond  to the extent that I never did have to wield Toby (the appellation afforded to the cane by my charges).

And I did manage to resist occasional overtures from Passam and Paliama villagers to apply Toby to the posteriors of miscreant youths  including, on one occasion, a young woman accused of enjoying a dalliance with one of my teacher colleagues.

All that aside, the cruel caning of Bot of Kambot is an event that bothers me still.

Bot, a strapping post-pubescent young man, probably 18 or 19 years old, and one or two years younger than me, was a student in my Standard 5 class at the Angoram Primary T School in 1966 when he was accused of having consensual sexual relations with the wife of the local police corporal.

This matter was relayed to me by the No 2 kiap who presented me with two options for Bot: summary punishment by way of a caning or reference to the court and the probability, according to the No 2 kiap, that Bot would spend some time in the kalabus.

My initial response was to challenge the No 2 kiaps assertion of Bots guilt and to insist that he receive due process via the court.

The No 2 kiap reminded me that taking the matter to court would jeopardise Bots education and his wish to join the police force  and that the summary justice of the cane would eradicate that risk.

Bots response, when I asked him if the allegation was true, was ambivalent.

He claimed that nothing untoward had occurred between him and the corporals wife. She had simply offered him a meal of rice and tinpis.

However, when confronted by the No 2 kiap, and out of fear, he had agreed that the meal had been followed by more unsavoury delights.

Given the circumstances and the risks to Bots education and future prospects, I abandoned matters of principle and agreed to the No 2s recommendation.

Accordingly, at the end of one school day shortly thereafter, with the rest of the students, including all of the girls, sent packing, the remaining Standard 5 and 6 boys formed a hollow square on the school parade ground.

With the No 2 kiap and I looking on, Bot was led out to the middle of the square  by the police corporal, who then pulled Bots shorts and underpants down to his ankles and had him bend over.

The police sergeant, Mando  a big, barrel-chested man from the Chambri Lakes then administered 12 hearty strokes of a cane to Bots bare buttocks.

Bot uttered not a sound, and I could not bear to watch.

The punishment completed, the other boys were dismissed, Bot retrieved his dignity and then shook hands with those of us who remained: Sergeant Mando, the corporal, the No 2 kiap and me.

Bot went on to complete Standard 6 and joined the police force.

In fairness to Peter, no kiap used the cane that day. But a kiap was certainly instrumental in what I regard as a cruel if circumstantially justifiable caning.

And, from time to time, I still wonder what would have happened if Id stood on my principled high horse and insisted that Bot undergo due process in the court.
Renters in Hobart are facing some serious challenges. Images: Getty

The majority of very low-income households across Australia are feeling the sting of rental stress, but no one has it as bad as those in Hobart.

Even households on average incomes in the Tasmanian capital city are facing rental stress, the latest Rental Affordability Index (RAI) reveals.

Whats the RAI?

The RAI is a joint indicator which measures rents relative to household incomes based on new rental agreements. Its released by National Shelter, Community Sector Banking, the Brotherhood of St Laurence and consulting group, SGS Economics & Planning.

An RAI score of 100 or below means households are spending at least 30 per cent of their income on rent. If its between 100 and 120, households are facing moderately unaffordable rents.

What does it say?

Tasmanias capital city is in a housing gridlock, Ellen Witte, partner at economic consulting group, SGS Economics and Planning said.

Rental affordability in Hobart dived even lower during winter. Working families are now facing rental stress with the average income household now paying 30 percent of income on rent.

This means these households are unable to save sufficiently for a deposit on a mortgage.

Greater Hobart hit an RAI of 101 in June this year, indicating that median rents in the city are now unaffordable  even to median income renters.

Renters on moderate incomes are now likely paying 30 per cent of their income to rent, and a single part-time working mother would be paying a staggering 42 per cent of her income on rent in addition to child care and education.

The city needs a comprehensive housing strategy with commitment and initiatives from both state and local government to address the issue, Witte said.

This isnt just a Hobart problem

While other Australian cities, like Sydney, have seen slight improvements in rental affordability, these benefits havent trickled down to low-income households, the CEO of Community Sector Banking, Andrew Cairns added.

Looking beneath the headline figures, rental stress is affecting the majority of very low-income households in Australia. Pensioners and single parents are hit particularly hard.

Story continues

Greater Sydney has an RAI of 113, meaning its also moderately unaffordable. Milsons Point, Kirribilli, St Ives Chase, Pyrmont, St Ives, Point Piper, Rozelle, Edgecliff and Darling Point are the least affordable suburbs.

The situation facing the nations renters remains poor with little or no improvement for low and moderate income renters.

Unsurprisingly, low-income households in Sydney are also the worst off, and could lead to a shortfall of more than 35,000 social and affordable dwellings in Western Sydney alone. By 2036 this is set to shoot to 64,000 households.

Its a similar story in Melbourne, where suburbs further from the CBD have become progressively less affordable over the course of the year.

The least affordable Melbourne suburbs are Albert Park, Middle Park, Cromer, Beaumaris, Port Melbourne and Brighton East, where renters on an average income can expect to pay between 30 and 38 per cent of their income on rent.

We need a National Housing Strategy

The solution could be a National Housing Strategy, according to the executive officer of National Shelter, Adrian Pisarski.

And its urgently needed.

The situation facing the nations renters remains poor with little or no improvement for low and moderate income renters in our capitals and poor affordability in our regions, Pisarski said.

Compared to improvement in purchase affordability, renters are doing it tough. While we have many housing markets in Australia, none of them are positive for renters. We need a multi-party commitment to improve rental affordability over the long term, he continued, calling for all political parties to commit to improving rental affordability.

Rental unaffordability entrenches inequality and poverty

As suburbs on the outer rings of cities become more unaffordable, low-income workers are pushed further from the city, public transport and job opportunities.

Housing cost pressures mean some renters on Centrelink are being pushed into homelessness. We need to raise Newstart and its very modest rental supplement as a priority, the executive director of the Brotherhood of St Laurence, Conny Lenneberg said.

Nearly half (45 per cent) of low-income households around the country are experiencing rental stress, and single-parent families are at a significant disadvantage.

Of the 110,000 single-parent, low-income households in rental stress, 82 per cent of these households are single mothers.

No matter how efficient a housing market operates, there is always a need for social and affordable housing.

Most earn less than $41,600 a year and if theyre living in Sydney, theyre likely paying 70 per cent of their income on rent.

However, the majority of low income, single-person households experiencing rental stress are single men (57 per cent). Half of these households are taking home less than $36,400 a year and paying an average 68 per cent of this on rent if they live in Greater Sydney.

No matter how efficient a housing market operates, there is always a need for social and affordable housing, like there is a need for investment in roads, public transport, education and health, SGS Economics Witte said.

Over the last few decades we have seen a consistently deteriorating level of government investment in social and affordable housing. While new national policy has a focus on providing affordable finance there remains a gap between the cost of providing housing and the returns of social rents.

How does our social housing compare internationally?

Australias percentage of social housing (4.4 per cent in 2016) sits at the the EU median average.

In Germany, 4.2 per cent of households are social housing and in Italy 5.3 per cent of households are social housing, the Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute (AHURI) noted last year.

However, 33 per cent of households in the Netherlands are social housing, while 20.1 per cent of those in Austria fall into that category, as do 20 per cent in Denmark and 19 per cent in Sweden.

Source: AHURI, Housing Europe

The picture changes when comparing across countries with a similar GDP per capita.

Australias level of social housing  was also low in comparison to the UK and countries within the European Union that had similar GDP per capita rankings, although the percentage of social housing was comparable to culturally similar Canada and New Zealand, and was very much higher than the level in the US, AHURI said.

Tax reform also needed: Is this the end of negative gearing?

Witte said houses should be treated as a place of residence before an investment opportunity.

But, she lamented, the current tax system does the opposite and is driving Australians out of home ownership.

While more households than ever rent, the rental market still relies on the inefficient and ineffective delivery of rental housing through mum and dad investors. We need large-scale institutional investment in the rental sector providing secure and quality housing for the long term.

The Labor party is heading to a 2019 election with a promise to rein-in negative gearing tax breaks. They argue negative gearing disadvantages renters and sees high-income earners reap the benefits of a tax break.

They want to change negative gearing law so that it only applies to investments in new dwellings. Current negative gearers wont be affected, and Labor believes this move will also lead to greater housing supply.

However, the Coalition argues reforming negative gearing will see all home owners see their property values fall and actually increase housing unaffordability fall as investors increase rents to cover the lost tax break.

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Now read: Australias best-performing regional market revealed, and it isnt in NSW

Now read: Property upgraders could make $250,000 in Sydney market

Now read: Sydneys a global superstar, but Melbournes just a regional hub
Barnesville Georgia was turned into the fictional town of Wind Gap Missouri for the HBO series Sharp Objects, which stars Amy Adams, and is based on the book by Gone Girl author Gillian Flynn.

The novel and show follow journalist Camille Preaker (Adams) as she returns to her hometown of Wind Gap to investigate the grisly murder and disappearance of young girls.

The city of Barnesville is located almost 100km south of Atlanta. Series director Jean-Marc Vallee (of Big Little Lies) said he liked the angles that Barnesvilles downtown area offered rather than the typical town square. He was actually on his way to view another town (Jackson, Georgia) when he and the team passed through Barnesville and changed their minds.

Barnesvilles community development director Niki Sappington told Yahoo Lifestyle that the community really embraced the production of the show and were excited to spot the actors, especially Amy Adams, around town.

People would come to the stores and eat in our restaurants just for a chance to see Amy Adams, she told us.

Were really thrilled that they chose Barnesville. We know they were driving through and they said, what about here? It was just pure luck.

Sharp Objects is out now on DVD and Blu ray.

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TORONTO, Nov. 30, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Canadians can escape the cold this winter and indulge in a five-star vacation for a price even Scrooge would approve of during the tour operators unbelievable Luxury Vacations for Less sale. Sun-seekers who book by December 7th can save up to $2,000 per couple on select winter vacation packages at a wide range of luxury resorts across Mexico, the Caribbean and Central America. In addition, limited space is still available for Canadians looking to spend the festive season on the beach but would-be holiday vacationers will need to move quickly.



On top of these huge savings, travellers can Vacation Better with an array of exclusive perks such as Kids Stay, Play and Eat FREE deals, unlimited specialty dining, discounted spa treatments, VIP check in and more, depending on their selected resort.

Included in this sale is the brand new Riu Palace Costa Mujeres . Situated on the stunning shores of Playa Mujeres, this five-star resort boasts spectacular coastal views. Guests can take in the scenery at the resorts panoramic ocean view lobby, unwind in five pristine pools, indulge around the clock with 24-hour room service and enjoy exclusive exchange privileges at the recently-opened Riu Dunamar next door, including entrance to Splash Water World water park. In addition, guests can take advantage of complimentary access to facilities at all other RIU properties in Cancun including Riu Palace Peninsula , Riu Caribe , Riu Palace Las Americas and Riu Cancun *.

Vacationers can also save while experiencing All-In Luxury at Royalton Bavaro Resort and Spa in Punta Cana. This all suite beachfront resort features an immaculate on-site spa and an array of decadent dining options at five a la carte restaurants including a delicious Brazilian steakhouse. Another option for an elegant escape is Royalton Negril in Jamaica. Set on a pristine stretch of white-sand beach, this resort boasts eight bars serving expertly crafted cocktails and a range of luxurious accommodation options such as contemporary swim out suites and regal presidential suites.

All Sunwing vacation packages include return flights on Sunwing Airlines where passengers can sit back and relax while on board, with award-winning inflight service, complimentary non-alcoholic beverage service and buy on board selection of light meals and snacks with choices inspired by Food Network Canada Celebrity Chef, Lynn Crawford, including the brand new Tex Mex Grilled Chicken Wrap and famous Mac & Cheese. Passengers also benefit from a generous complimentary 23kg checked luggage allowance.

For more information or to book, visit www.sunwing.ca or contact your travel agent.

*Transportation between different RIU Hotels and Resorts properties is not included.

About Sunwing

The largest integrated travel company in North America, Sunwing has more flights to the south than any other leisure carrier with convenient direct service from over 33 airports across Canada to over 45 popular sun destinations. This scale enables Sunwing to negotiate the best deals and exclusive offers at all of the top-rated resorts across the Caribbean, Mexico and Central America. Renowned for its award-winning service, Sunwing is consistently voted the top leisure airline by travel agents and is the perennial winner of the Consumer Choice Award. Customers can look forward to starting their vacation off in style with award-winning inflight service, which features a complimentary glass of sparkling wine*, tea and coffee and non-alcoholic beverage service; together with a buy on board menu of light meals and snacks (including kids choices) inspired by Food Network Canada Celebrity Chef, Lynn Crawford. Sunwing customers also benefit from the assistance of the companys own knowledgeable destination representatives, who greet them upon arrival and support them throughout their vacation journey.

*Service may be unavailable on select flights

For all media enquiries, please contact:

Rachel Goldrick

Senior Corporate Communications Manager

Sunwing Vacations

1-800-387-5602 | media@sunwing.ca

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A photo accompanying this announcement is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/549f489f-13e5-4e36-a329-8b2668bb2b01


A mum has died after undergoing plastic surgery.

Beautician Louise Harvey, 36, of Norwich in Englands east, died in July two weeks after having breast augmentation surgery, The Sun reports.

She died from a pulmonary embolism  a condition where arteries in the lungs become blocked by blood clots.

Mum of three, Louise Harvey, died after undergoing breast augmentation surgery. Source: Facebook/Louise Harvey

Coroner Yvonne Blake told an inquest this week Ms Harvey collapsed at her home with breathing complaints, 17 days after having surgery with breathing complaints. The BBC reports she was a patient of Transform Cosmetic Surgery.

The clinic told the BBC in a statement its deeply saddened by the mums death and has undertaken a full investigation with information shared to the coroner.

A JustGiving page has been started to support Ms Harveys three children: Kayleigh-anne, 18, Owen, 11, and Jaxon, 6.

Ms Harvey collapsed at her home 17 days after having surgery with breathing complaints. Source: Facebook/Louise Harvey

Friend of the family Mark Huston wrote Ms Harvey was a beautiful, young devoted mother of three.

Louises legacy is her children, we only wish to provide them with the love and support that they need now and for the future, Mr Hutson wrote.

British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons, Dr Nareen Cavale, told The Sun side effects from breast augmentation surgery are rare.

She added most side effects come from anaesthetic and surgery rather than the implants themselves.
China on Friday scolded the United States for sending naval vessels close to disputed islands in the South China Sea where Beijing has built military installations. The US and its allies periodically send planes and warships through the area to conduct "freedom of navigation" operations, intended as a signal to Beijing of their right under international law to pass through the waters claimed by China. According to the Pentagon, the USS Chancellorsville guided-missile destroyer sailed Monday near the Paracel islands, known as Xisha in Chinese, "to challenge excessive maritime claims and preserve access to the waterways as governed by international law." The Chinese military scrambled aircraft and warships, sending out warnings for the American vessel to leave the area. "We urge the US to strengthen the management of its vessels and aircraft that pass by Chinese territory to prevent unexpected events," People's Liberation Army Southern Theatre spokesman Li Huamin said in a statement. China has also lodged a diplomatic complaint with Washington, foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said during a regular press briefing, calling on the US to "immediately stop such provocative actions that violate China's sovereignty". The Paracels are claimed by China, Taiwan and Vietnam. China claims nearly all of the South China Sea though Taiwan, the Philippines, Brunei, Malaysia and Vietnam all claim parts. Further angering those countries, and the US, Beijing has moved aggressively to build up reefs into artificial islands capable of hosting military planes. It was the second US naval operation to irk China this week. On Wednesday, two US ships sailed through the Taiwan Strait -- which China considers its territory but the US and others see as international waters open to all -- prompting a furious Beijing to send warships and fighter jets. This was the third such operation this year, including one last month which prompted a diplomatic protest. "US Forces operate in the Indo-Pacific region on a daily basis, including the South China Sea," the Pentagon statement read. "All operations are designed in accordance with international law and demonstrate that the United States will fly, sail and operate wherever international law allows." The naval tensions come just ahead of scheduled talked between US President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping at the G20 summit in Argentina this weekend aimed at softening trade tensions. The USS Chancellorsville entered waters off the Paracel Islands, known as Xisha in Chinese
US network CNN said Thursday it severed ties with a contributor after he made controversial comments pertaining to Israel and Palestine at a UN event. "Marc Lamont Hill is no longer under contract with CNN," a spokesperson said in a brief statement published on the television channel's website. Hill, who is a professor at Philadelphia's Temple University, had one day prior called to "free Palestine from the river to the sea" -- a proposal some have linked to the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas. He made the remarks while speaking at a meeting at the United Nations held for the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People. Hill addressed the issue on Twitter, writing that "my reference to 'river to the sea' was not a call to destroy anything or anyone." "It was a call for justice, both in Israel and in the West Bank/Gaza," he tweeted. "The speech very clearly and specifically said those things." "I support Palestinian freedom. I support Palestinian self-determination. I am deeply critical of Israeli policy and practice," he continued. "I do not support anti-Semitism, killing Jewish people, or any of the other things attributed to my speech." "I have spent my life fighting these things." Marc Lamont Hill, who is a professor at Philadelphia's Temple University, called to "free Palestine from the river to the sea"
Poland's coal habit is becoming more expensive and polluting, but the host of the COP24 global climate summit is struggling to part ways with its "black gold" and main energy source. Polish cities and towns are among Europe's most polluted, blanketed in smog during the colder months of the year due to the widespread use of coal, mostly low grade, for heating. The European Environmental Agency blames air pollution for an estimated 50,000 premature deaths per year and countless cases of respiratory illness and other symptoms in the EU country of 38 million. It currently uses coal to meet around 80 percent of its energy needs and some 82,000 people work in the coal sector. Decisive and socially painful measures will likely be necessary for Poland to meet its commitments on emission reductions in the Paris Climate Agreements that are intended to curb global warming. To meet those targets, Poland needs to reduce coal use in power production to 39 percent by 2030, Jan Witajewski-Baltvilks, an expert with the Warsaw-based Institute for Structural Research (IBS), told AFP. The European Union on Wednesday unveiled an even more ambitious plan to cut emissions and make the bloc carbon neutral by 2050. But just days earlier, Warsaw revealed that while it plans to reduce carbon emissions by 30 percent by 2030 compared to 1990, it would still use coal to meet 60 percent of its electricity needs 12 years from now. Poland is planning to launch its first nuclear power station in 2033, with five to follow, along with offshore wind farms. Coal is slated to account for under 30 percent of electricity production by 2040. - 'Negative impact' - Delegations from nearly 200 countries are due in Poland next week for the latest COP24 climate summit, aimed at renewing and building on the Paris deal and limiting global warming. Poland's right-wing Law and Justice (PiS) government has a clear preference for continued coal use, which has raised questions about whether it is serious about curbing emissions. A position paper issued earlier this month by the Polish Energy Ministry said: "Poland opposes the EU's increased CO2 reduction targets for the year 2030 as this would have a negative impact on the electricity sector and the Polish economy as a whole." Due to EU pressure to decarbonise and thanks to the advent of renewable energy resources, coal-based electricity in Poland fell from 98 percent in 1990 to 80 percent in 2017, official statistics show. Its relative share is expected to fall to 50 percent over the next three decades. But that does not mean that coal production will decrease. According to Piotr Naimski, the secretary of state in charge of energy infrastructure, it will remain at near current levels. Poland mined some 65.5 million tonnes in 2017. Should domestic extraction decline, Poland will meet its needs through imports. Purchases of good quality and relatively cheap Russian coal increased significantly this year, reaching 12 million tons between January to September. - 'Political interest' - Environmentalists contend that subsequent Polish governments, no matter their political stripe, have failed to develop any real strategy to wean the country off coal. "Poland doesn't have a strategy, it's the short-term political interest that prevails, the difficult decisions are being postponed," says Marek Jozefiak, coal expert at the Greenpeace Foundation. He points to the recent launch of the Ostroleka coal-fired power plant by Energy Minister Krzysztof Tchorzewski, in a region north of Warsaw that is his political stronghold -- over 200 kilometres (125 miles) away from any coal mine. According to Piotr Siergiej, an environmentalist with the Polish Smog Alarm NGO, the ever higher price of natural gas is driving consumers back to coal despite its health risks. But Siergiej insists that at macroeconomic level, Poland is paying a heavy price for its reliance on "black gold". According to Poland's Supreme Audit Office, the mining industry received more than 15 billion euros ($17 billion) in subsidies between 2007 and 2015. This figure does not factor in the cost of the toll that coal pollution takes on the health of Poles. Siergiej argues that pumping coal subsidies into renewable energy would not only provide cheaper energy in the long run but would also bring substantial savings in healthcare. Environmentalists also warn that a new law banning the retail sale of cheap, low-grade coal for use in home furnaces is unlikely to curb smog significantly. They point to a government regulation allowing coal for retail sale to contain up to 30 percent of the most polluting low-grade varieties. Poland currently uses coal to meet around 80 percent of its energy needs and some 82,000 people work in the coal sector A massive collage of drawings and messages from children was unveiled on a Swiss glacier ahead of the global climate conference in Poland Polish cities and towns are among Europe's most polluted, blanketed in smog during the colder months of the year due to the widespread use of coal, mostly low grade, for heating
A Dutch church has resorted to the power of prayer to stop the deportation of an Armenian family sheltering there, holding round-the-clock religious services for more than a month to keep police at bay, officials said Friday. The Bethel Church in The Hague has taken advantage of a loophole in Dutch law which says that police cannot enter the premises while a religious service is underway. The five members of the Tamrazyan family, who have been living in the Netherlands for nine years, took refuge in the church on October 25 after Dutch authorities turned down their request for asylum. "The Tamrazyans knocked on our door one night in a panic and asked us to shelter them and protect them from the police. It was urgent," church pastor Derk Stegeman told AFP. Ever since then, parishioners have held a continuous service 24 hours a day to make sure that it is illegal for police officers to go inside the protestant church. "We have 500 pastors signed up to lead the services", with some coming from other parts of the Netherlands, said Stegeman, who had recently completed a gruelling six-hour non-stop service. "It's incredible what people's solidarity can achieve." - 'Confronted with a dilemma' - The church has since attracted a blaze of media attention and messages of support on social media, while using its website to appeal for volunteers donations and food. The Tamrazyans -- two adults, two daughters aged 21 and 19 and a son aged 14 -- left their home in The Hague after learning of the shock decision to reject their asylum claim. The family reportedly fled Armenia after the father received death threats for his political activities. In a statement on its website, the church said that it "respects court orders, but finds itself confronted with a dilemma: the choice between respecting the government and protecting the rights of a child". "The purpose of the Church Asylum is to create rest and safety for the family and to offer some respite to the family during which we invite politicians to discuss with us the family's fate." The Dutch immigration service said it did not comment on current cases. The country's justice ministry has the power to exceptionally grant asylum to minors who are subject to expulsion orders. The church saga echoes the case which gripped the Netherlands in September in which two Armenian children disappeared to avoid deportation. Howick, 13 and his sister Lili, 12, were due to be deported to join their mother in Armenia, after a last-ditch legal bid failed to stop their expulsion. But they were found shortly after the justice ministry said they would be allowed to stay. A loophole in Dutch law says that police cannot enter the premises while a religious service is underway


The body of a baby has been found on the side of a Queensland road after it fell from a vehicle while being transferred to a Brisbane morgue.

The corpse was found by road workers, a Department of Transport and Main Roads spokesperson confirmed to Yahoo News.

But the spokesperson refused to comment further given the sensitive nature of the incident.

The body was being transferred from Rockhampton to Brisbane when it fell from the roof of the car and it was not discovered missing until the vehicle arrived at the morgue, Yahoo News understands.

It was being taken to Brisbanes John Tonge Centre, according to the ABC.

Road workers have found the body of a dead baby which fell from a vehicle as it was being transferred to a Brisbane morgue. Source: AAP, file

The infants body was reportedly found at Verrierdale, on the Sunshine Coast Hinterland, in the early hours of Thursday morning.

A Queensland Health spokesperson confirmed to Yahoo7 News it was investigating the incident and said the vehicle used to transfer the body was provided by a private funeral contractor.

Were aware of the incident and weve spoken to the family involved who are obviously very distressed and requested privacy, the spokesperson added.

A Queensland Police spokeswoman told Yahoo7 News police were aware of the incident and do not believe the babys death is suspicious.

 with AAP
Buy a goat to donate to a poor family...from a vending machine? It's now possible in New York, London and Manila, thanks to an action spearheaded by the Mormon Church and charitable organizations like UNICEF. The idea is simple: instead of snacks, the vending machines sell brightly colored boxes with prices ranging from two to 200 dollars, illustrating the needs of poor families at home and abroad. Those looking to donate can choose everything from fishing bait (two dollars) to a cow that goes toward feeding a family ($150). Other items include a polio vaccine, a sewing machine or, for local use, a New York subway map. Donors choose a box, pay with a credit card and the "gift" falls to the bottom of the machine -- a purely symbolic operation, as the boxes are empty and just used to visualize the gift. But it's enough to make some passersby pull out their wallets. "The concept is excellent," said Julie Brannan, a real estate agent from Manhattan, who stopped on her way to an appointment. "I chose the empowerment pack for girls because there are places where girls have to miss school during their periods, I have heard about that before and I thought that was a great thing to give." - 'Ignite the gift of giving' - Brannan said she donates several thousand dollars to charity each year, especially during the holidays. She plans to stop back at the vending machine to buy something else. "Honestly you could do every single one in these machines and feel good about it, it was actually hard to decide," she said. Steven Sookhoo of Delaware used the vending machine with the same enthusiasm, after hearing about it on social media. "I thought it was a really cool concept," said the 40-year-old from Delaware, who works two days a week for a Wall Street finance company. "I thought about the chickens but I liked the goat -- my kids will be excited about that," Sookhoo said. "Hopefully it will help somebody in a struggling country and hopefully, a rising tide will raise all the ships." That's the power of these machines, said Ryan John Koch, a New York-based spokesman for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, better known as the Mormon Church. "It does ignite the gift of giving in you," Koch said. And with prices starting at two dollars, "anybody can give," he said. The pilot vending machine installed last year in downtown Salt Lake City, Utah, the home of the Mormons, raised $550,000 during the holiday season, Koch said, with an average donation of $25 per person. The project was expanded to five cities to include Gilbert, Arizona, New York, London and Manila. The vending machines will remain in place until December 30, after which all the money raised will be donated to partner organizations, Koch said. Donors choose a box, pay with a credit card and the "gift" falls to the bottom of the machine -- a purely symbolic operation, as the boxes are empty and just used to visualize the gift The idea is simple: instead of snacks, the vending machines sell brightly colored boxes with prices ranging from two to 200 dollars, illustrating the needs of poor families at home and abroad The pilot vending machine installed last year in downtown Salt Lake City, Utah, the home of the Mormons, raised $550,000 during the holiday season, with an average donation of $25 per person
Relatives of those on board Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 Friday handed over new-found debris believed to be from the ill-fated plane, hoping it could help shed light on the jet's mysterious disappearance four years ago. The Boeing 777 jet with 239 people on board vanished on March 8, 2014 during a routine flight from Kuala Lumpur in the world's greatest aviation mystery. An official report released in July following a lengthy investigation and years of fruitless searching gave no new clues about why the plane disappeared, sparking anger among relatives. V.R. Nathan, whose wife Anne Daisy was on the ill-fated jet, told AFP the debris consisted of five small plane parts found off Madagascar. They were turned over to Malaysian Transport Minister Anthony Loke on Friday at his office in the administrative capital Putrajaya outside Kuala Lumpur. "Five new pieces of debris have been recovered off the coast of Madagascar, including one piece that has part of a label still readable," Nathan told AFP, adding the items were discovered by fishermen. "We want the government to continue searching for these debris and piece them together like a jigsaw puzzle so that we can get some clue as to what happened to the plane." His daughter Grace told reporters the items were found between December 2016 and August 2018, adding that "this... offers a fresh ray of hope to all the relatives." Only three confirmed fragments of MH370 have been found so far, all of them on western Indian Ocean shores, including a two-metre (six-foot) wing part known as a flaperon. Malaysia's new government, which took power in May, has said the search could be resumed but only if new and compelling evidence comes to light. Loke, the transport minister, said the government will "immediately verify the items" ranging from almost 60 centimetres (two feet) in length to palm-sized. "We will need some credible leads before we reopen the search," he told reporters. T. Mohan, one of the experts who took part in the investigation, told AFP that one of the items "is a floor panel of a Boeing aircraft." The disappearance of MH370 triggered the largest hunt in aviation history. However searchers scouring a 120,000-square kilometre (46,000-square mile) area of Indian Ocean have failed to locate the missing plane. An Australian-led hunt was suspended in January last year. US exploration firm Ocean Infinity resumed the search in a different location at the start of this year on a "no find, no fee" basis, using high-tech drones to scour the seabed. But that search was also called off within months after failing to find anything. Grace Subathirai Nathan, whose mother Anne Daisy was on board Flight MH370, shows a piece of debris believed to be part of the ill-fated plane Grace Subathirai Nathan (L), whose mother was on the plane, and Jacquita Gonzales, the wife of MH370 flight steward Patrick Gomes, show pieces of debris found off Madagascar believed to be from the aircraft Malaysia Transport Minister Anthony Loke (C) says the government will 'immediately verify the items' thought to be from the vanished plane
France's parliament on Tuesday adopted a largely symbolic ban on parents smacking their children, a practice which though condemned by the UN still enjoys widespread support in the country. The measure was unanimously approved in a final vote in the Senate, making France the 55th state to prohibit corporal punishment of children. It will be written into the Civil Code and read out to couples when they exchange their marital vows, with newly-weds told that "parental authority is exercised without physical or psychological violence". The measure, which was adopted by MPs in November, had been expected to easily pass the Senate despite some lawmakers on the right railing against what they see as "interference" in family life. Violence towards children is already banned under France's penal code, but a 19th-century addendum to the Civil Code's definition of parental authority made allowances for parents when "disciplining" their children. According to France's Childhood Foundation, 85 percent of French parents admit to smacking their children. Attempts by previous governments to ban the practice have run afoul of conservatives, but resistance has softened in recent years. The new law does not contain a specific punishment for parents who break the rules. Its main goal is to encourage society to change its ways, Maud Petit, the MP who sponsored the measure, said. The legislation brings France in line with international treaties on the rights of children. In 2015, the Council of Europe, which makes recommendations on rights, singled out France for failing to follow the example of other European countries by banning smacking. A year later, the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child urged France to "explicitly prohibit" all forms of corporal punishment of children. In passing the ban on smacking, France becomes the 55th state to end the corporal punishment of children
Two centuries ago experts predicted that Icelandic would be a dead language by now. But the doomsayers can eat their words: Icelandic is alive and kicking despite an onslaught of English brought on by modern technology. Currently spoken by the 355,000 inhabitants of this North Atlantic island, Icelandic has repeatedly come under threat through the ages -- following migrations, invasions by Norway and Denmark from the 16th to the early 20th centuries, and the Industrial Revolution. But it has always survived, with the written language little changed since the 11th century. With just a little guesswork, an Icelander today can read the Icelandic Sagas, medieval literary masterpieces written in Old Norse in the 13th and 14th centuries. Yet English usage has in recent decades skyrocketed in Iceland -- as around the world -- thanks to the dominance of American pop culture as well as the adoption of modern technology such as the internet, YouTube and smartphones with lightning speed. Visitors to the capital Reykjavik need only ask locals for directions to quickly discover that Iceland is in fact bilingual. For youths here, speaking English is simply a matter of necessity. "I have to be able to read English because it's everywhere and it's universal," 11-year-old Sigthor Elias Smith says -- in Icelandic. Here, people watch videos and play games on their laptops, tablets and smartphones in English for the most part. Like in other Nordic countries, dubbing is almost non-existent. And Icelandic is glaringly absent in the online world. "I watch YouTube a lot, I learn a lot of English that way, and also on Netflix," says Sigthor's friend Eva Bjork Angarita, 12. - Icelandic in the digital age - Amid some concern that English is too prevalent, Iceland has adopted several measures to promote its own language. In 1996, the government designated November 16 as Icelandic Language Day, aimed at drawing attention to its contribution to national identity and culture. In 2011, a new law recognised Icelandic as the country's official language. And Education, Culture and Science Minister Lilja Alfredsdottir announced in September that authors or editors publishing books in Icelandic would have 25 percent of their expenses reimbursed, in a bid to increase the diversity of books available in Icelandic. To counteract the dominance of English in technology, Alfredsdottir has also earmarked 2.4 billion kronur (around 17.5 million euros, $19.3 million) to develop Icelandic versions of voice recognition services for virtual personal assistants such as Apple's Siri and Amazon's Alexa. Sigthor and Eva's Icelandic teacher, Solveig Reynisdottir, is among those concerned about the rise of the Bard's tongue. She worries that the tsunami of English that children are exposed to online is affecting their Icelandic vocabulary. "The children sometimes lack words because there are many they've never heard," she laments as she hands out a language comprehension assignment to her 23 students. "The technological changes are a real challenge," Alfredsdottir admits. Eirikur Rognvaldsson, an Icelandic professor and linguist at the University of Iceland, agrees. He acknowledges that the ubiquity of English is not unique to Iceland, but notes that in contrast to other countries, many young Icelanders choose to live abroad. "Young people in Iceland ... don't necessarily see Iceland as their home in the future. They want to go abroad, study and live abroad. It seems their connections to their country and language are not as strong as they used to be." A 2016 Forbes study showed that 11.4 percent of Icelanders lived abroad, in sixth place of OECD countries with populations living overseas. - No worries - Others say the fears are unwarranted. Icelanders are prolific writers. Some 1,600 books are published in print each year, according to Iceland's National and University Library. That's three times more per capita than in France. "We shouldn't be worried by a few red flags," says Ari Pall Kristinsson, a researcher at the Arni Magnusson Institute for Icelandic Studies. "Cultural life in Icelandic is very dynamic today." And it is worth noting that English may be gaining ground orally, but it is not making its way into Icelandic dictionaries. While English loanwords and slang regularly creep into other languages, Icelandic remains one of the world's purest languages. The government's Icelandic Language Committee sees to that. It guards the language closely, working meticulously to devise new words with Icelandic roots when necessary. For computer, it came up with "tolva": a mix of "tala" (number) and "volva" (prophetess), to create the poetic "prophetess of numbers". "I don't think Icelandic will disappear," says Gudrun Kvaran, head of the committee. "Two centuries ago, our famous Danish language experts predicted that Icelandic would be dead within 200 years. And yet we're still speaking Icelandic today." A sign that Icelanders still value their language: candidates for election make sure they use it. This poster says in Icelandic "Continue to lower taxes"
VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Nov. 30, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Search Minerals Inc. (TSXV: SMY) (Search Minerals or the Company): This press release is being disseminated as required by National Instrument 62-103 The Early Warning System and Related Take Over Bids and Insider Reporting Issues in connection with the acquisition of securities of the Company by InCoR Holdings PLC (InCoR or the Acquiror).



InCoR announces that, on November 30, 2018, Search Minerals issued to it a secured convertible debenture in the principal amount of $850,000 (the Debenture) to refinance and consolidate existing indebtedness owing by the Company to InCoR in the aggregate amount of $850,000.

The Debenture has a maturity date of one year from the date of issuance. The Debenture bears simple interest at a rate of 15% per annum, calculated and paid semi-annually, in cash or, at InCoRs option and subject to TSX-V approval, in common shares of the Company.

Prior to the maturity date or any extension thereof, the principal under the Debenture is convertible into units of the Company at a conversion price of $0.05 per unit in accordance with the terms set forth in the certificate representing the Debenture. Each unit will be comprised of one common share of the Company and one common share purchase warrant with each warrant entitling the holder thereof to acquire one additional common share at an exercise price of $0.06 per common share for five years.

The Debenture is secured by a general security agreement over all of the Companys assets and a pledge of securities of the Companys subsidiary, Alterra Resources Inc.

Prior to the transaction, InCoR held: (i) 42,498,667 common shares, and (ii) 13,186,321 warrants exercisable into 13,186,321 common shares representing approximately 28.9% of the Companys issued and outstanding common shares (assuming the exercise in full of all warrants).

As of the date hereof, the Acquiror has not converted the Debenture. If the Acquiror held the Debenture to maturity, converted the full amounts (i) of principal into units, and (ii) accrued interest into common shares at a hypothetical conversion rate of $0.05, the Acquiror would be issued an aggregate of 17,000,000 units and 2,550,000 common shares. Assuming the full exercise of Warrants issued in connection with the units and conversion of all accrued interest into common shares, the Acquiror would be issued an additional 19,550,000 common shares after which the Acquiror would own or have control or direction over 79,048,667 common shares representing approximately 36.6% of the Companys issued and outstanding common shares.

The conversion rate applicable to the accrued interest would be based on the then trading price of the common shares. As such, the precise number of common shares issuable on conversion of the accrued interest cannot be determined at this time.

The Debentures were acquired on a private placement basis by InCoR for investment purposes and InCoR may, depending on market and other conditions, convert some or all of the principal and interest under the Debentures, increase or change its beneficial ownership over the Debentures and any securities issued thereunder through market transactions, private agreements, treasury issuances, exercise of convertible securities or otherwise.

A copy of the Early Warning Report filed under applicable securities laws is available under the Companys profile on SEDAR (www.sedar.com). A copy of such report may also be obtained by contacting DS Lawyers Canada LLP, InCoRs Canadian legal counsel, at kwells@dsavocats.ca.

The name and address of the Acquiror filing the report is:

InCoR Holdings PLC

Attn: Jocelyn Bennett

12 Upper Berkeley Street

London W1H 7QD

United Kingdom

Kyler Wells

kwells@dsavocats.ca

1.647.477.7317
Israeli jets bombed several areas in southern Syria and near Damascus on Thursday drawing retaliatory fire from the ground, a monitoring group said. The Israeli military made no comment on the reported strikes, during which Syrian air defences opened fire for the first time since the deadly downing of a Russian transport plane in September, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. "Israeli forces bombarded for an hour positions in the southern and southwestern suburbs of Damascus as well as in the south of Syria at the border of Quneitra province," Observatory chief Rami Abdel Rahman said. Syrian state media said air defences downed a number of "hostile targets" close to the capital. "Our air defences fired on hostile targets over the Kisweh area and downed them," the official SANA news agency reported, citing a military source. The Israeli military denied that any of its aircraft were hit, while not commenting on the reported strikes. "Reports regarding an IDF (Israeli military) aircraft or an airborne IDF target having been hit are false," it said in an English-language statement. It said a Syrian surface-to-air missile was fired in the direction of an open area of the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights but it was unclear if it had hit Israeli-held territory. Israel has carried out hundreds of air strikes in neighbouring Syria against what it says are Iranian targets, many of them in the area south of Damascus. Abdel Rahman said there are "weapons depots belonging to the Lebanese Hezbollah (group) as well as Iranian forces" in Kisweh. Iran and Russia are the government's key allies in the civil war that has raved Syria since 2011, and Moscow's intervention in 2015 dramatically turned the tables against the rebels. The accidental downing of the Russian transport aircraft by Syrian ground batteries during an Israel air strike on September 17 killed 15 service personnel and prompted Moscow to significantly upgrade Syrian air defences. Moscow pinned responsibility for the downing on Israel, saying its fighter jet used the larger Russian one for cover, an allegation Israel disputed. The move raised fears in Israel that its ability to rein in its arch foe Iran's military presence in its northeastern neighbour would be sharply reduced. Abdel Rahman said Thursday was the first time Syria's air defences had been called into action since the September downing and the delivery of advanced new Russian missiles. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had told Moscow his government would continue to hit hostile targets in Syria to prevent Iran from establishing a military presence across the border. He added that Israel would "continue security coordination" with Russia. burs/scw/kir A Russian soldier stands guard in front of an S300 surface-to-air missile battery like those delivered to Syria after a September Israeli strike during which a Russian aircraft was accidentally downed
Damascus Friday accused Israel of striking Syria, in what a monitor said were the such first missiles to hit the country since an air defence upgrade after the downing of a Russian plane in September. The Syrian regime claimed its air defence systems shot down all "hostile targets" late Thursday. Israel did not confirm carrying out raids but denied any losses. The Syrian foreign ministry on Friday said it had complained to the United Nations about "the Israeli aggression yesterday on the area of Kisweh south of Damascus". According to the Syria Observatory for Human Rights, the strikes hit two positions in the south of Damascus province, one an area where there are Iranian weapons depots in Kisweh. "Israeli forces bombarded for an hour," Observatory chief Rami Abdel Rahman said. Two missiles hit "weapons depots belonging to the Lebanese Hezbollah (militant group) as well as Iranian forces" in Kisweh. Another missile hit the area of Harfa, where there is a Syrian military base, the Britain-based monitor said. In Kisweh, "the depots that were targeted are used to temporarily store rockets until they are taken somewhere else," Abdel Rahman said. "It appears the Israelis had intelligence that weapons had arrived there recently," he said. The state news agency said the attack was foiled and did not admit to any losses. "Our air defences fired on hostile targets over the Kisweh area and downed them," SANA said, citing a military source. The pro-government Al-Watan daily, quoting a military source, said "the aggression, despite its intensity, was not able to implement any of its goals and all enemy bodies were downed". Initial reports by the Observatory suggested there were no casualties. The Israeli military denied any of its assets were hit but stopped short of denying it had conducted strikes at all. - Air defence upgrade - "Reports regarding an IDF (Israel Defence Forces) aircraft or an airborne IDF target having been hit are false," it said in an English-language statement. It said a Syrian surface-to-air missile was fired in the direction of an open area of the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights but it was unclear if it had hit Israeli-held territory. Israel has carried out hundreds of air strikes in neighbouring Syria against what it says are Iranian targets, many of them in the area south of Damascus. Iran and Russia are the government's key allies in the civil war that has raged Syria since 2011, and Moscow's intervention in 2015 dramatically turned the tables against the rebels. The accidental downing of a Russian transport aircraft by Syrian ground batteries during an Israel air strike on September 17 killed 15 service personnel. Moscow pinned responsibility for the downing on Israel, saying its fighter jet used the larger Russian one for cover, an allegation Israel disputed. Russia subsequently upgraded Syrian air defences with the delivery of the advanced S-300 system, which Damascus had said last month would make Israel "think carefully" before carrying out further air raids. The move raised fears in Israel that its ability to rein in its arch foe Iran's military presence in its northeastern neighbour would be sharply reduced. There was no evidence however that the S-300 batteries were used to intercept Israeli missiles overnight. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had told Moscow his government would continue to hit hostile targets in Syria to prevent Iran from establishing a military presence across the border. He added that Israel would "continue security coordination" with Russia. burs/ah/hkb Greek troops on exercise fire an S-300 surface-to-air missile like those delivered to Syria after a September Israeli strike during which a Russian aircraft was accidentally downed Map locating areas bombed in Syria on Thursday night, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights(SOHR) Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (L), seen here with Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Kremlin in July, has pledged continued security coordination with Moscow over Syria
A Tokyo court on Friday extended the detention of former Nissan chief Carlos Ghosn, after his arrest on allegations of financial misconduct that have shaken the auto industry. "The period of the detention was extended for 10 days," a court official said in a statement. This means Ghosn could remain in a Tokyo cell until December 10 while prosecutors investigate allegations he under-reported his salary by millions of dollars over five years. The 64-year-old tycoon was arrested on November 19 and prosecutors have already extended his detention once, while two of the companies he led -- Nissan and Mitsubishi Motors -- have voted to remove him. The extension gives prosecutors until early December to decide whether to indict Ghosn on charges of under-reporting his salary. If he is indicted, he could then be released awaiting trial, or held in pre-trial detention. Prosecutors could also choose to file additional charges against him, and with each charge they can seek to hold Ghosn for another 22 days. Ghosn's detention even before charges have been officially filed against him has prompted some criticism abroad, particularly in France, where he holds citizenship. On Thursday, the deputy head of the Tokyo prosecutor's office rejected the criticism, saying: "We do not unnecessarily keep people in custody for a long time." "I do not criticise other countries' systems just because they are different," Shin Kukimoto added. Ghosn, who denies the allegations against him, faces an array of claims involving hiding money and benefits he received while chairman of Nissan and head of an alliance between the Japanese firm, Mitsubishi Motors and France's Renault. - 'Huge sums' - Nissan had been investigating Ghosn and close aide Greg Kelly for months after a whistleblower report, and accused the pair of a scheme to misrepresent the Brazil-born chief's earnings. Sources have since said Ghosn signed secret documents instructing aides to defer part of his salary, without disclosing this to shareholders. The scheme allegedly involved under-reporting Ghosn's income by around $44 million over five fiscal years to March 2015. It allegedly began after new regulations came into force in the fiscal year 2009/2010, including a law requiring any company executives earning 100 million yen ($885,000) or more to declare it. The same source said Nissan funds were secretly used to pay for residences for Ghosn in Rio de Janeiro and Lebanon, homes that local media said cost "huge sums" and had no legitimate business purpose. Those sorts of expenses should have been disclosed as compensation but were arranged without shareholder approval and generally in secret, the source added. Local media also reported that Ghosn used Nissan corporate money to make a donation to his daughter's university and fund a family trip, and paid his sister around $100,000 a year for a fictitious role as an advisor. Ghosn's arrest sent shockwaves throughout the auto industry and beyond, with Japanese and French officials at pains to stress the alliance between the three companies would not collapse. On Thursday, executives from the three firms reaffirmed their commitment to the alliance despite reports of tension in the partnership, particularly on the part of Nissan, which outsells its French counterpart Renault. While Mitsubishi Motors and Nissan have removed Ghosn, he remains chairman and CEO of Renault. French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire on Thursday said there was no question of changing the alliance's balance of power. The rules of the partnership state that Renault chooses the alliance's CEO, who wields a tie-breaking vote in board decisions, while Nissan names the deputy. Japanese media said Friday that Prime Minister Shinzo Abe would meet French President Emmanuel Macron on the sidelines of the G20 summit this weekend to discuss the case. Japan's government declined to confirm the meeting, but a spokesman said it was important to maintain stable relations despite the case against Ghosn. Carlos Ghosn could remain in a Tokyo cell for another 10 days while prosecutors investigate allegations he under-reported his salary by millions of dollars over five years Carlos Ghosn faces an array of claims involving hiding money and benefits he received while chairman of Nissan and head of an alliance between the Japanese firm, Mitsubishi Motors and France's Renault
Facebook's number two executive Sheryl Sandberg, long seen as the "adult" at the youthfully-managed firm, has found herself the center of controversy over her role in pushing back at a growing chorus of criticism of the social media giant. A prominent feminist and author with strong political connections, Sandberg has drawn fire in particular over an embarrassing effort to probe George Soros, the billionaire investor, after he assailed the online network as a "menace to society." Facebook acknowledged Thursday that Sandberg asked her staff to conduct research on the Hungarian-born billionaire following his remarks early this year, out of concern that he held a "short" position that would profit from a decline in shares. "Mr. Soros is a prominent investor and we looked into his investments and trading activity related to Facebook," a spokeswoman said, queried by AFP after a New York Times report on the matter. "That research was already underway when Sheryl sent an email asking if Mr. Soros had shorted Facebook's stock." Sandberg previously denied the use of nefarious tactics against Facebook critics with the company under fire for enabling the spread of misinformation, including Russian-led propaganda, during the 2016 US election campaign. - Stabilizing force, or not? - The 49-year-old Sandberg has long been seen as a stabilizing force at Facebook, led by 34-year-old chairman and chief executive Mark Zuckerberg, whose early mantra had been to "move fast and break things." Among the tech whiz kids, Sandberg as chief operating officer offered a steadier hand as a result of her background working for former US Treasury secretary Larry Summers and the philanthropic arm of Google. Author of the feminist bestseller "Lean In," Sandberg also drew attention in 2015 after the sudden death of her husband David Goldberg at age 47. Earlier this year she was dispatched to testify in Congress to defend Facebook's efforts in dealing with misinformation and manipulation, in the wake of a scandal over user data hijacked by the Cambridge Analytica consultancy linked to Donald Trump. But the latest controversy over opposition research raised questions about whether Sandberg is living up to her role. Roger Kay, an analyst and consultant at Endpoint Technologies Associates who follows the tech sector, said the moves by Facebook and Sandberg showed "extraordinarily poor judgment" from a corporate governance view. "She's not behaving as the adult she should have been," Kay said. "Maybe they need another adult in the room." New York City Comptroller Scott Stringer, whose office has shares in Facebook, said the latest developments highlight the need for an independent board chair to oversee Zuckerberg and Sandberg. "Where is Facebook's board? The silence from the board of directors in the midst of continuous scandals is deafening," Stringer tweeted following the Times report on research efforts on Soros. Others defended Sandberg, saying she was correct to look into powerful interests opposing Facebook and noting that Soros -- who notoriously made a fortune by betting against the British pound in 1992 -- is known as a highly sophisticated investor. "FB management would have been absolutely remiss to not look into whether Soros was (again) manipulating a security for personal profit, to the detriment of the FB shareholder," tweeted Antonio Garcia Martinez, a former Facebook product manager and author of a book on Silicon Valley. "He's a hedge fund pirate answerable to no one, as bad as anyone on Wall Street. Why wouldn't they check?" Some questioned whether Sandberg's story had shifted since she said earlier this month she was unaware that the Facebook had hired Definers Public Affairs to conduct research on company critics. "Despite public claims to the contrary, Sheryl Sandberg knew @facebook had hired Definers to run opposition research," tweeted the group Freedom From Facebook, one of the activist organizations which has led efforts to regulate or break up the social network. Facebook chief operating officer Sheryl Sandberg, long seen as a stabilizing force at the company, is facing scrutiny for her role in handling fallout over the social media giant's response to misinformation efforts Facebook's Sheryl Sandberg, seen at a January 2018 meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron, has been known for bringing politicam acumen to the social network which is facing increased scrutiny George Soros -- who notoriously made a fortune by betting against the British pound in 1992 -- is known as a highly sophisticated investor


A mum and her 10-month-old daughter have been found dead after it appears they were attacked by a grizzly bear.

Valerie Theoret and daughter Adele Roesholt were staying in a cabin in the Yukon in northwest Canada when Ms Theorets husband Gjermund Roesholt claims they were killed by a bear on Monday, CBC reports.

In a statement from the Yukon coroners officer, Mr Roesholt claims he was returning from setting traps when a grizzly bear charged at him about 100 metres from his cabin at about 3pm.

He shot the bear dead but when he got to the cabin he found the bodies of his wife and child just outside.

Its believed Valerie Theoret and daughter Adele Roesholt were killed by a grizzly bear. Source: CBC

The family had been living in the remote community, which is about 400km north of the Yukon Territorys capital, Whitehorse, for about three months while Ms Theoret, a primary school teacher, was on maternity leave.

The coroners office said it appeared Ms Theoret and her daughter had been out walking between 10am and 3pm when the incident occurred.

While grizzly bear attacks are rare, this is the fourth deadly attack in North America this year.

Ms Theorets friends have paid tribute to her following the news.

A grizzly bear. Source: Getty Images (File pic)

Madeleine Piuze told CBC, its so hard to believe it.

She will be remembered as a woman so strong and positive and loving and generous and respectful  and respectful of nature, as well, Ms Piuze said.

Like, she was just a nature lover. Just an amazing woman. The best friend ever.

Isabelle Salesse, executive director of non-profit organisation Association Franco-Yukonnaise, described Ms Theoret as full of energy, known across the community because she was involved in many things.

What struck me was that (Ms Theoret)] was always smiling. She had this huge smile. Her baby was following the same way, she said.

Bruce Dent, the vice-principal of Whitehorse Elementary where the mum worked, told Global News Canada the couple were very experienced outdoors people.

The coroners office, police and the Yukon Governments Department of the Environment are continuing investigations.
Germany's air force said Friday a serious technical problem on Chancellor Angela Merkel's plane had forced an emergency landing and delayed her arrival at the G20 summit by more than 12 hours. The pilot had to use a satellite phone after the malfunction knocked out radio communications, including a backup system, as he prepared the unscheduled landing in Cologne. The latest embarrassing glitch for the German military forced Merkel to instead take a commercial flight from Madrid to Buenos Aires with a vastly reduced delegation and miss scheduled talks with several world leaders. Merkel was due to arrive late for the traditional G20 "family photo" of heads of state and government, and it was unclear whether she could reschedule planned talks with US President Donald Trump and China's Xi Jinping. Shortly after takeoff from Berlin on Thursday evening, Merkel's Airbus A340-300 was forced to turn back over Dutch airspace and divert toward the German city of Cologne, the headquarters of the government fleet. The glitch also disabled the mechanism for dumping fuel, meaning the plane was heavy with a full tank and had to brake hard on landing, with fire engines standing by on the runway. "It was a serious malfunction," Merkel told reporters travelling with her aboard the "Konrad Adenauer", a former Lufthansa airlines jet built in 1999 and named after post-war Germany's first chancellor. Merkel's spokeswoman later stressed that there was never any "danger to life and limb" of those aboard. - Failure of 'single component' - The German air force on Friday ruled out sabotage through hacking or other means, with a spokesman saying that "there is absolutely no indication of a criminal act". The cause of the troubles was "the failure of a single component", an electronic distributor box, said Colonel Guido Henrich, commander of the government air fleet. Merkel had to spend the night in a hotel in nearby Bonn because no replacement plane with crew was immediately available. Early Friday, after just three hours of sleep, she was taken by a German air force plane to Madrid. From here, instead of flying her usual Airbus jet with bedroom suite, secure communications and an anti-missile system, she and her trimmed down entourage boarded an Iberia plane for the flight across the Atlantic. She was due to arrive in Buenos Aires at around 2100 GMT -- without her husband Joachim Sauer, who after the plane troubles opted to skip the event. A back-up government plane was meanwhile being sent to Argentina for Merkel's return flight. - Rats, faults and intruders - For the German Luftwaffe it was the latest in a string of mishaps to make headlines in recent years. In October, Finance Minister Olaf Scholz had to take a commercial flight home from a summit in Bali, Indonesia after rats had chewed through cables of the Konrad Adenauer, disabling the aircraft for days. In June, problems with the hydraulics system on the same plane forced President Frank-Walter Steinmeier to take an alternative aircraft to Minsk. And in 2015, technical problems with the Konrad Adenauer forced Merkel and five ministers to make a flight to India on a A310 military troop transporter. In a bizarre incident involving Merkel's official plane in 2013, a 24-year-old intruder high on drugs and wearing just underpants managed to get aboard the parked jet in Cologne and stage what media termed "a one-man party" before he was arrested. The German armed forces, which complains of being overstretched and underfunded, has long been dogged by a series of equipment failures that have also grounded fighter jets and kept submarines and tanks out of service. Its G36 assault rifle had trouble firing straight at high temperatures and is being phased out. Last year Defence Minister Ursula von der Leyen took an Airbus A400M to Lithuania to show off the new transport aircraft, but engine trouble grounded it and forced her to return home on a decades-old Transall C-160 transporter. Shortly after takeoff from Berlin on Thursday, Merkel's Airbus A340-300 was forced to turn back over Dutch airspace, and make an emergency landing in Cologne After her plane's mishap, German Chancellor Angela Merkel (R) had to spend the night in Bonn, the former West German capital, because no replacement plane was available For the German Luftwaffe it was the latest in a string of mishaps to make headlines in recent years G20 leaders meeting in Argentina from November 30 to December 1 and a world map of the member countries.
Stepping away from the sealed security zone and ceremonial pomp of the Group of 20 summit, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi brought a message dear to his heart to host Argentina -- the value of yoga. With the sound of rush-hour traffic audible outside, about 4,000 yoga practitioners in Buenos Aires took to their mats in a convention hall to hear Modi as well as a troupe of 70 Indian musicians. "I arrived in Buenos Aires a short time ago after a trip of more than 24 hours, but thanks to your enthusiasm and affection I feel like I'm still in India," Modi told the crowd. The right-wing leader, who has championed a greater Hindu identity in officially secular India, has made yoga a diplomatic priority since taking office in 2014. Modi has promoted an International Day of Yoga and dedicated a government office to yoga, the Indian-rooted spiritual exercises that have found a global following among seekers of mental and physical strength. Modi in his remarks voiced hope that the summit of the Group of 20 economic powers would make progress on international challenges such as sustainable development and climate change. He also voiced hope for greater relations with Argentina, seeing pharmaceuticals, energy and information, and aerospace technology as areas of cooperation. The Buenos Aires yoga followers folded their arms together toward the sun in a traditional "surya" greeting. Several voiced support for the theme of Modi's appearance, that yoga can be a route to peace. Silvana Alberto, a 59-year-old astrologer, wore a T-shirt with a phrase of India's nonviolent independence hero Mahatma Gandhi: "We must be the change that we want to see." "All of us being here is a way to anchor the energy of this place, which we need so much," she said. "It is the masses that give this energy its force," she said. A traditional Indian dancer performs, during the "Yoga for Peace" event attended by India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Buenos Aires India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi has made yoga a diplomatic priority since taking office in 2014 About 4,000 yoga practitioners in Buenos Aires took to their mats in a convention hall to hear Modi as well as a troupe of 70 Indian musicians
Mongolia?s prime minister and his cabinet survived a parliament vote to sack them Friday over a corruption scandal that has implicated high-level politicians in a state fund embezzlement scheme. "I am not a dictator," said prime minister Ukhnaa Khurelsukh during a heated parliamentary session that lasted more than four hours Friday afternoon. "Some of you are thinking and are afraid that I might turn into a dictator -- I assure you I won't", he said. In a council meeting earlier this month, Khurelsukh demanded that several high-ranking officials step down for various reasons, including incompetence, resulting in the vote to oust him from office. One member of the prime minister?s cabinet resigned over corruption allegations. The move to boot Khurelsukh comes just over a year after the prime minister was named to replace his predecessor, Jargaltulgiin Erdenebat. In September 2017, Erdenebat too faced parliament over allegations of corruption, such as providing illegal cash allowances to voters, and was sacked, along with his cabinet. Political instability has been a constant problem for the young Central Asian democracy, which passed its first constitution in 1992 after decades of Communist rule. The country has been through 15 different cabinets in the years since, each lasting an average of 1.5 years. Mongolian Prime Minister Khurelsukh Ukhnaa, pictured September 2018, told his parliament that he is "not a dictator" during a heated session that lasted more than four hours
North Korea's foreign minister kicked off an official visit to Vietnam Friday as the hermit nation seeks to learn lessons from the one-party state's post-war economic reform that has transformed the communist nation into one of Asia's fastest growing economies. Ri Yong Ho is expected to meet with leaders in Hanoi and visit a hi-tech zone and speak to agricultural experts, according to state media and diplomatic sources. North Korea, with an economy long crippled by wide-ranging sanctions and years of self-imposed isolation, is seeking to learn from Vietnam's "doi moi" economic reforms introduced in the 1980s, according to Seoul's official Yonhap News Agency. Vietnam's economy has flourished as it has embraced market reforms, opened its doors to foreign investment and embraced free trade deals, with GDP growth hitting five percent or higher for the past decade. It has done so while maintaining a single-party state with a tight grip on power and little tolerance for dissent, a model that experts say could appeal to Pyongyang. It may be using the current diplomatic thaw following a series of meetings with Seoul and Washington -- including a landmark summit between North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un and US President Donald Trump in June -- to disarm its nuclear programme, Vietnam expert Carl Thayer told AFP. "North Korea is using this period of not testing (its nuclear weapons) to recover its external relations to appear as a respectable member of the international community," said Thayer, emeritus politics professor at the University of New South Wales in Canberra. Ri has visited Iran, Russia, China, Turkmenistan and Azerbaijan this year. It is an approach encouraged by US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo who on a trip to Vietnam in July remarked on the "once-unimaginable prosperity and partnership" between former war foes Hanoi and Washington. "Your country can replicate this path. It's yours if you'll seize the moment. The miracle could be yours; it can be your miracle in North Korea as well," he said in comments aimed at Kim Jong-Un. A diplomatic source in Hanoi told AFP that Ri is scheduled to visit a technology park near the city and meet with experts from the Vietnam Academy of Agricultural Science. He will also meet with his Vietnamese counterpart Pham Binh Minh and Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc, according to his official schedule. The visit could be a sign that Pyongyang is looking to expand from its reliance on China -- its largest trading partner and one of its closest allies. "They want to expand their economic relations with other countries and not be completely depend on China," Kevin Gray, professor of international relations at University of Sussex told AFP. Vietnam and North Korea established diplomatic relations in 1950, though there has been little in the way of trade following UN sanctions passed last year aimed at cutting off Pyongyang's revenue streams. Hanoi's exports to Pyongyang reached $7.3 million, mainly of food products, according to official data. North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Yong-ho has visited countries including Vietnam, Iran and Russia in a series of diplomatic meetings
ORLEANS, Ontario, Nov. 30, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Tetra Bio-Pharma Inc (Tetra or TBP), (TSX VENTURE: TBP) (OTCQB: TBPMF), has closed a private placement of units (the Private Placement) with its strategic partner Aphria Inc. (Aphria) (TSX: APHA) (NYSE: APHA). Under the Private Placement, Tetra issued to Aphria (6,900,000) units (the Units), with each unit being comprised of one Class A common share of Tetra (a Common Share) and one Common Share purchase warrant (a Warrant), at a price of $1.03 per unit, which is the closing price of the Common Shares on the TSX Venture Exchange on November 28, 2018, for gross proceeds of $7,107,000. Each warrant will entitle Aphria to purchase one full common share at a price of $1.29 per Common Share for a period of 36 months expiring November 2021 subject to acceleration in certain circumstances. As part of the transaction, and in order for Aphria to attain 19.9%, Tetra Co-Founders, Andre Rancourt and Dr. Guy Chamberland, CEO and CSO of Tetra have agreed to sell 5 million shares each to Aphria. Following this sale Dr. Chamberland and Mr. Rancourt will continue to hold 5 million shares each as the company moves forward.



Dr. Guy Chamberland, CEO and CSO of Tetra Bio-Pharma stated, Aphria has been a major strategic partner since the inception of Tetra. Their decision to substantially increase their holding in our company illustrates their confidence in our business model which is focused on taking a pharmaceutical pathway to the commercialization of cannabis and cannabinoid-derived products. The Aphria investment will enable Tetra to increase drug development activities, including in the USA, over the coming months. As for the sale of my shares to Aphria, this divestiture was done to accommodate Aphria and for personal tax and estate planning purposes following the sale of PhytoPain Pharma Inc., earlier this year. I continue to be one of the companys major shareholders, and I am fully committed to executing Tetras business plan.

As a leader in the global cannabis industry, Aphria is committed to fostering the research, development and commercialization of medical cannabis treatments and applications with our valued strategic partners, said Vic Neufeld, CEO of Aphria. With this investment, we are pleased to deepen our long-standing relationship with Tetra Bio-Pharma as they pursue critical research and clinical trials with the potential to bring notable advances to cannabis and cannabinoid-derived pharmaceutical products.

About Aphria Inc.

Aphria is a leading global cannabis company driven by an unrelenting commitment to our people, product quality, and innovation. Headquartered in Leamington, Ontario  the green house capital of Canada  Aphria has been setting the standard for the low-cost production of safe, clean, and pure pharmaceutical-grade cannabis at scale, grown in the most natural conditions possible. Focusing on untapped opportunities and backed by the latest technologies, Aphria is committed to bringing breakthrough innovation to the global cannabis market. The Companys portfolio of brands is grounded in expertly-researched consumer insights designed to meet the needs of every consumer segment. Rooted in our founders multi-generational expertise in commercial agriculture, Aphria dries sustainable long-term shareholder value through a diversified approach to innovation, strategic partnerships, and global expansion, with a presence in more than 10 countries across 5 continents.

For more information, visit: www.aphria.ca

About Tetra Bio-Pharma

Tetra Bio-Pharma (TSX-V: TBP) (OTCQB: TBPMF) is a biopharmaceutical leader in cannabinoid-based drug discovery and development with a Health Canada approved, and FDA reviewed, clinical program aimed at bringing novel prescription drugs and treatments to patients and their healthcare providers. The Company has several subsidiaries engaged in the development of an advanced and growing pipeline of Bio Pharmaceuticals, Natural Health and Veterinary Products containing cannabis and other medicinal plant-based elements. With patients at the core of what we do, Tetra Bio-Pharma is focused on providing rigorous scientific validation and safety data required for inclusion into the existing bio pharma industry by regulators, physicians and insurance companies.

For more information visit: www.tetrabiopharma.com

Source: Tetra Bio-Pharma

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

Some statements in this release may contain forward-looking information. All statements, other than of historical fact, that address activities, events or developments that the Company believes, expects or anticipates will or may occur in the future (including, without limitation, statements regarding potential acquisitions and financings) are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are generally identifiable by use of the words "may", "will", "should", "continue", "expect", "anticipate", "estimate", "believe", "intend", "plan" or "project" or the negative of these words or other variations on these words or comparable terminology. Forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond the Company's ability to control or predict, that may cause the actual results of the Company to differ materially from those discussed in the forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results or events to differ materially from current expectations include, among other things, without limitation, the inability of the Company to obtain sufficient financing to execute the Company's business plan; competition; regulation and anticipated and unanticipated costs and delays, the success of the Company's research and development strategies, the success of this joint venture, the ability to obtain orphan drug status, the applicability of the discoveries made therein, the successful and timely completion and uncertainties related to the regulatory process, the timing of clinical trials, the timing and outcomes of regulatory or intellectual property decisions and other risks disclosed in the Company's public disclosure record on file with the relevant securities regulatory authorities. Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results or events to differ materially from those described in forward-looking statements, there may be other factors that cause results or events not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. Readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. While no definitive documentation has yet been signed by the parties and there is no certainty that such documentation will be signed. The forward-looking statements 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 statements to reflect new information, subsequent events or otherwise unless required by applicable securities legislation.

For further information, please contact Tetra Bio-Pharma Inc.

Robert Bechard

Executive Vice-President Corporate Development and Licensing

514-817-2514

Investors@tetrabiopharma.com
Nepal was hailed a leader in LGBT rights when it became the first country in conservative South Asia to recognise a third gender and assure equality for its sexual minorities. But more than a decade later, that trailblazing reputation has lost its lustre, with gay and transgender Nepalis still confronting obstacles to jobs and schools, and marriage equality a distant prospect. More than 900,000 of Nepal's roughly 26 million population identify as a sexual minority, according to LGBT rights group Blue Diamond Society. On paper, they enjoy some of the most progressive protections and rights guaranteed by law in the immediate region. Landmark reforms in 2007 prohibited discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and recognised gay Nepalis at a time when homosexuality was still illegal in neighbouring India. Transgender Nepalis identifying as neither male nor female were also granted the right to tick "other" when voting or applying for a passport or other official documents. But gay and transgender Nepalis and rights activists say action has not matched rhetoric, and more than a decade on, the community still faces discrimination. "The government recognised our identity but has not been able to put forward a concrete policy or plan to give us rights that all citizens enjoy," said Blue Diamond Society president Pinky Gurung. "It is heartbreaking that to enjoy one right (citizenship), we have to be deprived of other opportunities." Rukshana Kapali, a transgender woman, has been allowed to study at university but not formally register as a student because her high school transcript identifies her as male under a former name. The bureaucratic glitch means she may not be able to graduate. "I feel like I am in limbo," the 19-year-old told AFP. "I want to be a linguist, but right now I am worried I won't be able to study here at all." Tribhuvan University, Nepal's oldest, says it hopes to find a solution but until then, Kapali is off the books. "We are optimistic, but it is not possible to register her under the current regulations," said Pushpa Raj Joshi, the university's exam controller. - Hopes dashed - Every year, Nepal's LGBT community take to the dusty streets of the capital Kathmandu for a vibrant gay pride parade to demand an end to all forms of discrimination. Despite much-celebrated gains, there is still plenty to shout about. Nepal in August adopted a new civil code defining marriage as between a man and a woman, dashing hopes for same-sex unions to be legally recognised any time soon. Other laws in the new statute have also been criticised for narrowly defining core rights in terms of male and female -- leaving no room for people of the "other" gender. "We were hoping for change so we could marry and maybe even start a family. But we've been disappointed so far," said Armand Rana, 23, a gay man who lives with his partner of six years. Rana's family has accepted his partner but many in conservative and patriarchal Nepal still hide their sexuality and gender identity. "The amount of progress Nepal has experienced... is enormous, and yet implementation of the various pledges from government entities over the years continues to lag," said Kyle Knight of Human Rights Watch. The government says it is working to make laws more inclusive. "If any law discriminates, people can point it out so we can seek ways to improve," said Bharat Raj Sharma, who oversees LGBT issues at the Ministry of Women, Children and Senior Citizens. But for transgender citizens like Kapali, the wheels of Nepal's bureaucracy are turning too slowly. "Being recognised as a third gender is important and I am proud of my identity," she said. "But I don't want it to limit what I can do in my life." Rukshana Kapali shows her school leaving certificates, one of them recognising her as a boy More than 900,000 of Nepal's roughly 26 million population identify as a sexual minority, according to LGBT rights group Blue Diamond Society Landmark reforms in 2007 prohibited discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and recognised gay Nepalis at a time when homosexuality was still illegal in neighbouring India Every year, Nepal's LGBT community take to the dusty streets of the capital Kathmandu for a vibrant gay pride parade to demand an end to all forms of discrimination Rukshana Kapali, a transgender woman, has been allowed to study at university but not formally register as a student because her high school transcript identifies her as male under a former name
Nigerian police claimed on Friday that over 100 "bandits" had been killed in a crackdown targeting crime in the northwest state of Zamfara, following a surge in kidnappings for ransom and cattle rustling. Zamfara has been plagued by violent crime over the past year, with Amnesty International warning in July that people living in the impoverished state were "at the mercy" of armed bandits who take hostages and raid villages. A joint operation team on Thursday "repelled ambush attacks from armed bandits" at Mahanga Forest in Zamfara State and "in the process killed one hundred and four bandits," national police spokesman Jimoh Moshood said in a statement. Confirming the death toll Moshood told AFP: "Yes, 104 bandits (were killed). Not people, armed bandits that had been terrorising and killing innocent people." Over 1,000 policemen had been deployed to Zamfara at the beginning of the month, the statement said, adding that since then 85 people have been arrested in connection with kidnappings and cattle rustling. Amnesty International Nigeria spokesman Isa Sanusi said it was difficult to assess the success of security operations in the remote region. "In many cases, the pronouncements of security agencies are quite contrary to the situation on ground in Zamfara state," Sanusi said. "Bringing the killers to justice is more important in taming the tide of impunity that allowed the security situation in Zamfara state to continue deteriorating." The kidnappings are just one security concern putting pressure on Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari who is seeking a second, four-year term in closely contested February polls. Facing criticism for an increase in Boko Haram jihadist attacks, among other security threats, Buhari is working to show that his government is able to tackle rising violence in Nigeria, Africa's largest oil producer. The problem has sparked the concern of neighbouring Niger. In August, Niamey announced it was sending security reinforcements to the Maradi area on the south-central part of the border, which abuts Zamfara. Nigeria's interior minister said in October that at least 30 bandits were killed in their troubled frontier. In the last two years, kidnapping for ransom has reached unprecedented levels in the region, where entire villages have been deserted for fear of raids and kidnapping by criminal gangs. Those abducted are often released within days if the ransom is paid but residents say they can be killed if no money is forthcoming, and their bodies dumped in the bush. Nigeria's Zamfara state has been plagued by violent crime throughout 2018, with Amnesty International warning in July that people living in the impoverished state were "at the mercy" of armed bandits who take hostages and raid villages
Nine drug smugglers were sentenced to death in Vietnam on Friday for selling methamphetamine and heroin in a country with some of the toughest drug laws in the world. Heroin has long been the drug of choice among users in Vietnam, mostly older men, but synthetic drugs use is on the rise especially among a growing class of hard-partying youth. The sentences handed down Friday were among the toughest in years and came after a four-day long trial in northern Ha Nam province. The ring leaders were convicted for trading 18.5 kilograms (40 pounds) of heroin and and 563 grams of methamphetamine in northern Vietnam, according to the state-run Vietnam news agency. Three others were given life in prison, and 10 others were sentenced to between seven to 21 years in jail in connection with the drug ring. "The investigation showed that 22 defendants had illegally traded drugs many times," Ha Nam people's court said on its website. Separately, four men were also sentenced to death in northeastern Cao Bang province on Friday for dealing heroin, state media reported. Communist Vietnam has long vowed to tackle "social vices" including drug use, which is prevalent throughout the country. It has some of the harshest punishments in the world, and anyone caught with more than 600 grams (21 ounces) of heroin or more than 20 kilograms of opium can be sentenced to death. Authorities have struggled to contain a growing trend among youth for synthetic drugs such as Ecstasy, methamphetamines or Ketamine. Seven people died after using drugs at an electronic music festival in September in Hanoi, a buttoned-up capital with a reputation for being conservative. Many of the synthetic drugs on the market in Vietnam come from the notorious Golden Triangle region, a lawless borderland region covering parts of Thailand, Myanmar and Lao. Defendants charged with illegal drug dealing and possession stand during a trial in a court in Vietnam's Ha Nam province


A pilot has been jailed for 10 months after preparing to fly a passenger jet from an airport while 10 times over the alcohol limit.

First officer Katsutoshi Jitsukawa from Japan, was arrested at Heathrow after failing a breath test just 50 minutes before Japan Airlines (JAL) flight JL44 to Tokyo was due to take off on October 28.

Jitsukawa had previously pleaded guilty to exceeding the alcohol limit and on Thursday was handed a prison sentence at Isleworth Crown Court.

The court heard that security noticed he smelled strongly of alcohol, seemed drunk and had glazed eyes.

Japan Airlines pilot Katsutoshi Jitsukawa has been jailed for trying to fly a plane from Heathrow Airport despite being 10 times the alcohol limit. Source: Twitter/ Metropolitan Police

Judge Phillip Matthews said Katsutoshi was clearly very intoxicated prior to the evening take-off and had been drinking that day.

You are an experienced pilot but you had clearly been drinking for a long period up to a time shortly before you were due to go into that plane, he told the pilot in court.

Most important is the safety of all persons on board that very long-haul flight, potentially 12 hours or more, their safety was put at risk by your inebriation and drunkenness.

Mr Matthews added the prospect of Katsutoshi taking control of the aircraft is too appalling to contemplate.

The potential consequences for those on board was catastrophic, he said.

A prosecutor told the court the 42-year-old needed to grab his blazer from the plane and was found in the toilet rinsing and gargling his mouth with mouthwash.

A preliminary breath test found him to be more than 10 times the limit with 93mg of alcohol in 100ml of breath  the legal flying limit is 9mg. In England, Wales and Northern Ireland the legal driving limit is 35mg.

After he was caught, JAL issued an apology and pledged to implement immediate actions to prevent any future occurrence, adding that safety remains our utmost priority.
Oil and coal giants are exploiting a lack of conflict-of-interest protection at UN climate talks to push for continued fossil fuel use despite its contribution to harmful climate change, several sources have told AFP. As policymakers from around the world prepare to gather in Poland for the COP 24 summit to finalise the Paris climate promises, officials and campaigners said that groups representing big energy are free to lobby with little or no oversight at the negotiations. Under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), non-state actors may apply to join the process, some in the form of so-called business-interest NGOs. They may then participate in sessions as observers, walking the same corridors as the very policymakers who must decide on the future of our planet. Under the Paris Agreement, the world's nations agreed to limit global warming to "well below" two degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit). The UN's top science panel concluded last month that the rise in temperature should be capped at 1.5C to avoid severe impacts. Its report called for a radical drawdown in fossil fuel usage, starting as soon as 2020, and said it would need to be halved by 2030 to meet the 1.5C target. And yet, despite the scientific consensus that greenhouse gas emissions must be slashed in order to avoid climate disaster, the world's only international action plan still reserves a seat for major polluters. Parallel UN processes, such as the World Health Organization's Framework Convention on Tobacco, have conflict of interest protections woven into their text. The UNFCCC has none. "Everyday we learn more about what big polluters continue to do to undermine climate policy, yet their trade associations are still free to stalk the halls at the UNFCCC," said Jesse Bragg, from Corporate Accountability, a group that works to expose conflicts of interest. In January, the African Group of Negotiators (AGN) bloc submitted a formal request to add specific conflict of interest protections into the UN process. The text warned that conflict of interest "may arise when a non-party stakeholder with a concern or aim that directly or indirectly involves limiting or influencing specific climate-related scientific understanding, actions or policies, is actively participating in the UNFCCC". - 'Threatens legitimacy' - It said the problem of fossil fuel representation in climate talks was so serious that it "threatens the integrity and legitimacy" of the Paris accord. Sources close to talks told AFP that the submission was shot down by developed nations during an intersessional meeting in May, and that the very existence of discussions surrounding it was scrubbed from official records. The final text stated that nations agreed "the importance of enhancing the engagement of non-party stakeholders... and took note of the diverse views expressed". A senior negotiator told AFP only that there had been "some amendments" to the submission. Ovais Sarmad, deputy executive secretary of the UNFCCC, said that all non-state observers to the climate talks are vetted according to rules agreed by countries themselves. "No particular interest group influences the decision-making process," he told AFP. "There might be perceptions of (conflict of interest) but we take it extremely seriously and go through a due diligence process to make sure those issues don't come up." The European Parliament last month voted for a resolution supporting a conflict of interest policy in climate talks. Earlier this year a group of 16 environmental groups made a separate submission to the UNFCCC calling for better conflict of interest protection. They pointed out that the UN only requires two things from observers: that they be legally registered as not-for-profit, and that their work include issues related to climate change. "Unfortunately, some of the organisations that are most detrimental to climate change meet these exact criteria," the groups wrote, including "those that directly or indirectly represent the interest of fossil fuel corporations such as Exxon Mobil, Chevron, Shell and BP." - Lobbyists 'at heart' of talks - Of the more than one dozen business-interest NGOs AFP contacted over this story, only a handful provided comment. A spokeswoman from the World Coal Association said it "would like to see practical solutions to reduce global emissions". The WCA at climate talks "will continue to call for policy parity for all low emission technologies," she said, "including those relating to low emissions coal technologies." Myron Ebell, a high-profile climate sceptic who headed up US President Donald Trump's environmental transition team, said his business-interest non-profit -- the Competitive Enterprise Institute -- was not attending COP24. Ebell said he "didn't see much point" in going to the climate talks, which he described as an "organised cabal". "It's not clear to me what the role of the big oil companies is, and if I were a supporter of the framework convention I think I would be on the side of those groups that say the oil companies should not be allowed to be there," he told AFP. Just days before the COP was due to start on Sunday, host country Poland announced that three state-run coal giants would sponsor the event. They include JSW, which describes itself as "the European Union's largest coking coal producer" and PGE, which operates the world's second-largest fossil fuel power plant. "At a time when the world's leading scientists warn that global temperatures are on course to a 'climate catastrophe', the fossil fuel industry's lobbyists are preparing to be at the very heart of UN climate negotiations in Poland," Harjeet Singh, global lead on Climate Change at ActionAid International, told AFP. "There is a very obvious conflict between the fossil fuel industry's interests and reductions in carbon emissions." Just days before the COP, host country Poland announced three state-run coal giants would sponsor the event Companies directly or indirectly responsible for 63 percent of greenhouse gas emissions between 1988 - 2015, according to a study. The COP UN climate summit takes place in a former coal mining area in Katowice, Poland Campaigners say there is a conflict between the fossil fuel industry's interests and efforts to reduce emissions
The governor of Rio de Janeiro, Luiz Fernando Pezao, was arrested Thursday over allegations he took bribes as part of the sprawling "Car Wash" graft probe. Pezao, 63, is accused of receiving bribes when he was vice governor of the Brazilian city under Sergio Cabral, who is currently in prison after being sentenced to a cumulative 180 years for corruption. The Globo News television channel showed live footage of federal police at Pezao's residence, where he was having breakfast at the time. "The governor is part of the political nucleus of a criminal organization that, over the last few years, committed several crimes against the public administration, especially corruption and money laundering," a General Prosecutor's Office statement said. He was transferred to a police headquarters in Rio. The sweeping "Lava Jato" (Car Wash) probe kicked off in 2014, ensnaring politicians from nearly every party in corruption allegations mainly linked to Brazil's state-owned oil company Petrobras. In Rio de Janeiro, the police also raided the Guanabara Palace, headquarters of the local government, searching for documents. Brazil's attorney general, Raquel Dodge issued the prison order which was carried out by the Superior Court of Justice, which has jurisdiction over governors. The arrest warrant was based on the confession of Carlos Miranda, a former Cabral associate, who cooperated in exchange for a sentence reduction. According to Miranda's testimony, Pezao would have received a monthly payment of 150,000 reais ($40,000) as well as end-of-the-year bonuses of up to one million reais, local press reported. The money would have been paid by companies and intermediaries bound by contracts with the Rio de Janeiro government during a period from 2007 to 2014, press reports said. In previous inquiries, Pezao had denied participating in the scheme. - 'Operated his own scheme' - The attorney general emphasized that "despite having been a trusted man of Sergio Cabral and assuming a key role in that criminal organization, even succeeding him in leadership, Pezao operated his own scheme, with its own financial operators." The prosecutor's office warned that if Pezao remained free he could hinder the recovery of misappropriated assets and eliminate assets illegally acquired. "There are records of payments in kind of more than 25 million reais between 2007 and 2015, a value absolutely incompatible with the declared patrimony" to the treasury by the governor, the prosecutor's office said. In current values the total value of the bribes would equal 39 million reais (8.8 million euros, $10 million), investigators said. Pezao was elected governor in 2014 by the centrist Brazilian Democratic Movement, and his term was set to end at the end of 2018. Wilson Witzel was elected in October to govern the state and is set to take office January 1, with the state of Rio de Janeiro on the verge of bankruptcy and plagued by insecurity. Large Brazilian construction companies like Odebrecht, OAS and Camargo Correa have been implicated in the broad graft scandal. The investigation quickly spread throughout Latin America, sending many from the political and business elite to prison. Rio governor Luis Fernando Pezao, 63, is accused of taking bribes when he was vice governor under Sergio Cabral, who is currently in prison after being sentenced to a cumulative 180 years for corruption
Sri Lanka's parliament on Friday escalated a power struggle with President Maithripala Sirisena, voting to block spending by the disputed government he installed last month. The legislature decided to suspend money allocated for all ministries a day after cutting off funds to the office of Mahinda Rajapakse, who was controversially appointed to replace prime minister Ranil Wickremesinghe. Wickremesinghe's party said parliament was taking full financial control because the cabinet named by Rajapakse was unconstitutional and therefore running the government illegally. Sri Lanka has been in crisis since October 26 when Sirisena sacked Wickremesinghe and appointed Rajapakse -- who was voted out twice by parliament this month, but refuses to step down. Friday's resolution, approved with the support of 122 MPs in the 225-member assembly, stopped spending by all ministers and their staff. However, it allowed the treasury to pay salaries and pensions and spend on maintaining essential services. The move came a day after the country's main minority Tamil party, which holds the balance of power in parliament, sided with Wickremesinghe's coalition. The Tamil National Alliance, which has 14 crucial seats, said it wanted Sirisena to restore Wickremesinghe's administration that was summarily dismissed last month. Friday's move by parliament further weakens Sirisena and Rajapakse, who will not be able to finance their administration. It worsens matters for the purported government which has been unable to present a budget for 2019 and risks entering the new year without parliamentary approval for any new spending. Moody's recently downgraded Sri Lanka's credit rating amid warnings the island could default on its considerable foreign debt. Friday's move means the finance ministry cannot pay out any money to service any debts, although no payments are due until mid-January. Sri Lanka's ousted prime minister Ranil Wickremesinghe was controversially sacked in October
Paris city will strip Aung San Suu Kyi of her honorary freedom of the French capital over her failure to speak out against a crackdown on Myanmar's Rohingya minority, a mayor's spokeswoman said Friday. Mayor Anne Hidalgo decided to revoke the honour because of the "multiple violations of human rights recorded in Myanmar and the violence and persecution by Myanmar's security forces against the Rohingya minority," the spokeswoman told AFP. The move, which follows similar decisions by Glasgow, Edinburgh and Oxford, would make Myanmar's de facto leader the first person to lose the freedom of the French capital, a purely symbolic award. The move will be finalised by the city council at a meeting in mid-December, the spokeswoman said. Nobel peace laureate Suu Kyi, once feted as a democracy icon in the mould of Nelson Mandela for leading opposition to Myanmar's military junta, has fallen out of favour in the West over her inaction in the face of the crackdown on the mostly Muslim Rohingya. More than 700,000 Rohingya fled violence in the Buddhist-majority country last year, mostly to neighbouring Bangladesh. A UN rights team found evidence of widespread murder, rape, torture and arson and called for top generals to be prosecuted for genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity. Hidalgo's office said the mayor wrote to Suu Kyi late last year to "express her concern and call for respect for the rights of the Rohingya minority", but that the letter went unanswered. Suu Kyi's supporters argue that she has no powers to rein in the army. She has already been stripped of her honorary Canadian citizenship and her Amnesty International's "Ambassador of Conscience Award". Paris mayor Anne Hidalgo decided to revoke Aung San Suu Kyi (pictured November 14, 2018) of herh onorary freedom of the French capital because of the "multiple violations of human rights" in Myanmar regarding the Rohingya minority
NEW YORK, Nov. 30, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- HC2 Holdings, Inc. (HC2) (NYSE: HCHC), a diversified holding company, announced today that its operating subsidiary DBM Global Inc. (DBM Global) (OTC: DBMG), a family of companies providing fully integrated structural and steel construction services, has completed its previously announced acquisition of GrayWolf Industrial, a premier specialty maintenance, repair and installation services provider.

Through this acquisition, which is expected to be accretive to DBM Globals annual Adjusted EBITDA by just over $20 million and to provide what we believe will be stable free cash flow, we will diversify our revenue and service offering beyond fabrication and erecting into heavy maintenance and repair in the petrochemical, pulp & paper, oil refinery and power markets, said Rustin Roach, President and Chief Executive Officer of DBM Global. We look forward to welcoming the GrayWolf team to the DBM Global family and to offering a more extensive value proposition to our existing customers, while also cross-selling to GrayWolf's impressive list of blue-chip customers.

We believe GrayWolfs strong culture, outstanding reputation in the industry and complementary services will allow DBM to reach more end-markets, while at the same time helping to counter the cyclicality of the commercial construction market given the long-term and recurring nature of GrayWolfs maintenance and service contracts, said Philip Falcone, HC2s Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and President. Through this transaction, we are closer to our goal of making DBM a $1 billion revenue and $100 million Adjusted EBITDA industrial services company.

For nearly 40 years, GrayWolf has developed an outstanding reputation for on-time deliveries, commitment to safety and furnishing quality services and products. GrayWolf provides services including specialty welding, maintenance and rigging, among others, to clients across the United States and select international locations in a variety of heavy industrial and mechanical industries, ranging from power to petrochemical to pulp & paper to mining. The focus on maintenance and service is complementary to the existing DBM Global fabrication and erection capabilities.

The purchase price for the acquisition, inclusive of $80 million of assumed debt of GrayWolf, was $135 million (subject to working capital adjustments), which was financed with $15 million of cash from DBM Globals balance sheet and $40 million of cash from HC2s insurance subsidiary via an investment in DBM Globals direct parent, DBM Global Intermediate Holdco, and an $80 million term loan incurred by DBM Global used to refinance the assumed debt of GrayWolf.

The Company also announced that Michael Lampert, GrayWolfs Chief Operating Officer (COO), has been appointed Chief Executive Officer of the new GrayWolf subsidiary of DBM Global, reporting to Rustin Roach. Mr. Lampert is a 30+ year integrated sales, engineering, manufacturing and finance veteran and has been with GrayWolf for the last decade. In his most recent role as COO, he was responsible for all operations across GrayWolfs four business segments including sales and estimating, project execution, safety, quality and human resources. Previously, Mr. Lampert served as GrayWolfs Chief Financial Officer where he was responsible for all financial operations across the business. Prior to joining GrayWolf in 2008, Mr. Lampert spent nearly 20 years with Integrated Energy Technologies where he served most recently as President based in Evansville, Indiana. Mr. Lampert also served as a United States Air Force officer and obtained a Master of Science and Bachelor of Arts degree from Southern Illinois University.

Mr. Lampert commented, On behalf of all the GrayWolf team members, we look forward to being part of the DBM Global and HC2 family and leveraging each others complementary services, customer bases and culture to drive synergies across the business.

About HC2

HC2 Holdings, Inc. is a publicly traded (NYSE: HCHC) diversified holding company which seeks opportunities to acquire and grow businesses that can generate long-term sustainable free cash flow and attractive returns in order to maximize value for all stakeholders. HC2 has a diverse array of operating subsidiaries across eight reportable segments, including Construction, Marine Services, Energy, Telecommunications, Life Sciences, Broadcasting, Insurance and Other. HC2s largest operating subsidiaries include DBM Global Inc., a family of companies providing fully integrated structural and steel construction services, and Global Marine Systems Limited, a leading provider of engineering and underwater services on submarine cables. Founded in 1994, HC2 is headquartered in New York, New York. Learn more about HC2 and its portfolio companies at www.hc2.com.

About DBM Global Inc.

DBM Global Inc. is focused on delivering world class, sustainable value to its clients through a highly collaborative portfolio of companies which provide better designs, more efficient construction and superior asset management solutions. The Company offers integrated steel construction services from a single source and professional services which include design-assist, design-build, engineering, BIM participation, 3D steel modeling/detailing, fabrication, advanced field erection, project management, and state-of-the-art steel management systems. Major market segments include commercial, healthcare, convention centers, stadiums, gaming and hospitality, mixed use and retail, industrial, public works, bridges, transportation, and international projects. The Company, which is headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona, has operations in United States, Australia, Canada, India, New Zealand, Philippines, Thailand and the United Kingdom.

Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

Safe Harbor Statement Under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995: This release contains, and certain oral statements made by our representatives from time to time may contain, forward-looking statements. Generally, forward-looking statements include events, results, strategies and expectations and are generally identifiable by use of the words believes, expects, intends, anticipates, plans, seeks, estimates, projects, may, will, could, might, or continues or similar expressions. The forward-looking statements in this press release include, without limitation, statements regarding our expectation regarding building shareholder value. Such statements are based on the beliefs and assumptions of HC2s management and the management of HC2s subsidiaries and portfolio companies. HC2 believes these judgments are reasonable, but you should understand that these statements are not guarantees of performance or results, and HC2s actual results could differ materially from those expressed or implied in the forward-looking statements due to a variety of important factors, both positive and negative, that may be revised or supplemented in subsequent reports on Forms 10-K, 10-Q and 8-K. Such important factors include, without limitation, the ability of our subsidiaries (including, target businesses following their acquisition) to generate sufficient net income and cash flows to make upstream cash distributions, capital market conditions, our and our subsidiaries ability to refinance existing debt, identify any suitable future acquisition opportunities, efficiencies/cost avoidance, cost savings, income and margins, growth, economies of scale, combined operations, future economic performance, conditions to, and the timetable for, completing the integration of financial reporting of acquired or target businesses with HC2 or the applicable subsidiary of HC2, completing future acquisitions and dispositions, litigation, potential and contingent liabilities, managements plans, changes in regulations and taxes.

These risks and other important factors discussed under the caption Risk Factors in our most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), and our other reports filed with the SEC could cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated by the forward-looking statements made in this press release.

You should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. All forward-looking statements attributable to HC2 or persons acting on its behalf are expressly qualified in their entirety by the foregoing cautionary statements. All such statements speak only as of the date made, and HC2 undertakes no obligation to update or revise publicly any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

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The leaders of the United States, Mexico and Canada on Friday signed a huge regional trade deal to replace the old NAFTA, denounced by President Donald Trump as a killer of US jobs. "This is a model agreement that changes the trade landscape forever," Trump said at the signing ceremony in Buenos Aires, on the sidelines of a G20 leaders' summit. Trump said negotiating the deal known in Washington as the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement, or USMCA, had seen the leaders take "a lot of barbs and a little abuse." But he insisted that the "incredible milestone" would aid US workers, especially in the auto industry, while putting in place "intellectual property protection that will be the envy of nations all around the world." Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was less effusive about the renegotiated pact, but said the USMCA would resolve the threat of "serious economic uncertainty" that "would have gotten more damaging." While praising the "historic" nature of the deal, Trudeau also told Trump that the progress gave "all the more reason why we need to keep working to remove the tariffs on steel and aluminum between our countries." Mexican President Pena Nieto, on his last day in office, called the revamped version of NAFTA important in shoring up "the view of an integrated North America with the firm belief that together we are stronger and more competitive." For Trump -- whose G20 diplomacy is overshadowed by legal troubles back home and his abrupt cancellation of a bilateral meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin -- the signing was a victory. He said he did not foresee a problem in getting congressional approval. "It's been so well reviewed I don?t expect to have very much of a problem," Trump said. On Saturday, he will meet with Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping to address the trade war triggered by Trump's insistence on China ending what he says have been decades of unfair trade practices. - 'Polluting legacy' - While the leaders presented a united front, Trump's tearing up of the old NAFTA, which he has repeatedly ridiculed, was a shock to the system that prompted months of severe tensions between the long-peaceful neighbors. Trump himself acknowledged that it hadn't been easy, but said "battles sometimes make great friendships." Even at the signing ceremony, there were echoes of the uncomfortable background to the USMCA, which Trump has made exhibit number one in his case to voters that he is putting "America first." All three leaders stood at lecturns adorned with the US presidential seal, with Trump taking the middle position. But while Trump proudly refers to the USMCA -- a title that again puts the United States in the leading position -- Trudeau pointedly called the deal being signed the "new North American Free Trade Agreement" and the "modernizing NAFTA." Mexico has its own version in Spanish, accentuating its name first. For the Sierra Club, a US environmentalist group, the "hastily sealed" deal will promote Trump's "polluting legacy for years after he leaves office (via) special handouts to corporate polluters like Chevron and ExxonMobil." But in a statement, US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said the updated pact "marks a critical step in modernizing and rebalancing North American trade." "The new agreement secures strong outcomes for farmers, ranchers, businesses, and workers across North America, including in areas such as auto manufacturing and intellectual property." The USMCA - the new NAFTA trade agreement - was signed in Buenos Aires on November 30, 2018 by (L to R) Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto, US President Donald Trump and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau
Donald Trump's cancellation of weekend talks with his Russian counterpart is the latest in a series of collapsed efforts towards rapprochement. After having promised during his 2016 electoral campaign to mend ties with Russia, the US president faced several global disputes that made a thaw difficult. At the same time, the US special counsel's probe of possible collusion between Trump's campaign and Russia raised domestic suspicion over any efforts towards accommodation with his Kremlin counterpart. Trump's own conciliatory attitude also stirred the hostility of an American Congress which has stood up to Moscow. - Sensitive matters - This time, it's the confrontation between Russia and Ukraine that intervened when the two leaders were supposed to meet Saturday at the G20 summit in Argentina. After Russian forces last weekend seized three Ukrainian ships off the coast of Crimea, Trump on Thursday said "it would be best for all parties" to cancel his meeting with Putin. Trump added that he looks forward to a "meaningful summit again as soon as this situation is resolved." The Ukraine case reflects Washington's ambivalent attitude since the billionaire Republican property tycoon entered the White House early last year. "The United States would welcome a normal relationship with Russia. But outlaw actions like this one continue to make that impossible," US Ambassador Nikki Haley told a UN Security Council meeting on Ukraine Monday. Russia's annexation of the Crimean Peninsula from Ukraine in 2014 has led to numerous rounds of US sanctions. But when he met Putin for a summit in July this year in Helsinki, Trump was restrained on issues related to Ukraine. On other matters, the two presidents would like to cooperate, starting with war-ravaged Syria. The US and Russia have backed competing factions in Syria, but on the sidelines of an APEC summit one year ago in Vietnam -- where the two presidents chatted together -- they issued a joint presidential statement that there was "no military solution" to the war. This embryonic entente was quickly contradicted on the battlefield. In April Trump ordered the US military to launch joint missile strikes against Syrian targets, with France and Britain, after an alleged chemical weapons attack that left scores of Syrians dead. The use of a nerve agent against former Russian double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter in England early this year also poisoned the warming of ties which Trump and Putin wanted. In August the US said it was imposing new sanctions on Russia over the case. Washington also expelled 60 Russian diplomats for alleged spying, and Moscow retaliated in kind. - The Mueller probe - For Trump's detractors, the root concern is Russian interference in the 2016 election which brought him to power, and possible collusion between Moscow and Trump's campaign team -- an issue being investigated by Special Counsel Robert Mueller. From the start, all the overtures Trump made in the direction of Putin were interpreted by his critics in light of suspected collusion. Most of the more than 30 people charged by Mueller are Russians, but the investigator has also secured guilty pleas on various charges against former Trump aides. Trump routinely denounces Mueller's investigation as a witch hunt and the White House has said it has polluted American-Russian relations. As a result, questions are being raised as the Mueller probe seems to intensify -- and so do Trump's attacks on it. "Did Trump cancel his meeting with Putin because of Russian attack on Ukraine or Cohen revelations?" the former US ambassador to Moscow, Michael McFaul, asked on Twitter. Trump pulled out of the G20 Putin meeting after his former personal lawyer Michael Cohen pleaded guilty in court to lying to Congress about trying to negotiate a deal for a Trump Tower project in Moscow well into the middle of 2016. At that time Trump had already secured the Republican nomination for president. - Trump controversies - But it is often the attitude of Donald Trump himself that finally undermines efforts at rapprochement. Both in Vietnam in November 2017, then in Helsinki last July, the US president seemed to give more weight to Russian denials of alleged interference than to accusations by his own intelligence agencies. Trump then backpedalled. While numerous officials acknowledge that it would be good to stand firm against Russia, most say Trump isn't capable of it. His summit with Putin in Helsinki became controversial domestically after he and the Russian president held two hours of closed-door talks with no one else present but the interpreters. "I would have suggested a different way," Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats said at the time. The task is all the more complicated for the president because he has to work with a Congress that, even among his own Republican party, favors firmness towards Moscow. Thursday's summit cancellation, therefore drew more praise than criticism. "It's still a good decision for the U.S. Very unlikely Trump would have delivered a stiff message to Putin personally," former diplomat Nicholas Burns said on Twitter. US President Donald Trump (L) and Russian President Vladimir Putin held a summit in Helsinki in July, 2018 A Russian flag flies next to the US embassy building in Moscow Michael Cohen, President Donald Trump's former personal lawyer, pictured in June 2018, pleaded guilty to lying about negotiation attempts for a Trump Tower in Moscow
US President Donald Trump reaffirmed Friday in a meeting with his South Korean counterpart Moon Jae-in that he wants a second summit with North Korea's leader, the White House said. Trump and Moon, meeting on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Buenos Aires, "reaffirmed their commitment to achieve the final, fully verified denuclearization" of North Korea, Trump spokeswoman Sarah Sanders said. They agreed on the need for "maintaining vigorous enforcement of existing sanctions to ensure the DPRK understands that denuclearization is the only path," Sanders said, using the North's official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. However, Trump made clear that he also wants to follow up on his historic June summit in Singapore as he tries to persuade the reclusive regime to give up its nuclear weapons. "President Trump discussed his intention to have a second US-DPRK summit," Sanders said, and the two leaders "restated their commitment to closely coordinate on next steps." Moon's top press secretary, Yoon Young-chan, was quoted by Yonhap news agency saying that Trump "asked that South Korea and the US closely cooperate so the next summit will be another historical milestone in the process of denuclearizing the Korean Peninsula." Secretary of State Mike Pompeo was due to meet with a top North Korean official in early November, but the meeting was abruptly put off, with North Korea insisting that the United States ease sanctions. US President Donald Trump, right, says he wants to hold a second summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un
Ukraine on Friday barred Russian men aged 16-60 from entry as tensions mounted between the two countries over Moscow's seizure of three Ukrainian ships last week. The move came after Kiev imposed martial law in border regions this week in response to the Russian seizure of the ships and 24 sailors off Moscow-annexed Crimea. The incident was the most dangerous in years between the ex-Soviet neighbours -- who are locked in conflict over Russian-backed separatist regions -- and has raised fears of a wider escalation. "As of today, entry is restricted for foreigners -- in the first instance for male citizens of the Russian Federation age 16 to 60," the head of the border service Petro Tsyhykal said at a meeting with President Petro Poroshenko that was broadcast live. Poroshenko said the restriction will not apply to "humanitarian cases". Moscow slammed the move, but said it will not impose similar restrictions on Ukrainians. Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said the decision was part of the "ill-conceived, wild direction" of the Ukrainian leadership. She told a press briefing Friday that to try and mirror the travel ban "would lead to some kind of insanity". Belarus, which has become a transit point between the two countries since direct flights between Kiev and Moscow were suspended in 2015, said Friday that Ukraine had barred entry for 144 Russians this week. "Different airports in Ukraine banned entry to a total of 50 Russians arriving from Belarus in one day," a representative of the Belarusian border service told Russian agencies. "Thus, since the start of the week, 144 Russian citizens travelling via different airlines, including foreign ones, have returned to (Belarus') capital Minsk." - Ukrainian sailors 'taken' to Moscow - Moscow and Kiev have traded angry accusations since Russian navy vessels fired on, boarded and captured the three Ukrainian ships last Sunday. Courts in Crimea sentenced the 24 Ukrainian sailors to two months detention, despite international calls for their release. US President Donald Trump scrapped a planned meeting at the G20 summit with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin over Moscow's detention of the sailors. Russia insists they crossed into Russian waters illegally, with Putin saying the border guards "fulfilled their military duty" in seizing the ships. Crimea's human rights ombudsman Lyudmila Lubina on Friday told Russian media that the sailors have been transferred from Crimean jails to Moscow. Ukraine has called their detention "illegal". Kiev imposed martial law for 30 days in 10 regions that border Russia, the Black Sea and the Azov Sea on Wednesday. The decision came after Poroshenko warned of a build-up of Russian tanks near Ukraine's borders, escalating the most dangerous crisis in years between the ex-Soviet neighbours. Ukraine, which has said it fears it is now under threat of a "total war" from Moscow, this week launched military drills in the Sea of Azov, with soldiers role-playing repelling a Russian attempt to land on the coast. European leaders this week rebuffed calls from Ukraine for greater support against Russia, after Kiev urged NATO to send ships into waters disputed with Moscow. German Chancellor Angela Merkel asked Kiev to be "sensible" following the request from Poroshenko, just hours after the European Union failed to agree to threaten new sanctions against Moscow. But, while blaming Russia for tensions, Merkel showed no signs of being ready to back military support. Ukraine has also urged Western governments to impose more sanctions on Russia over the incident. EU President Donald Tusk said Friday he was "sure" the bloc will roll over its sanctions on Russia next month because of Moscow's "aggression in Ukraine". "The escalation in the Sea of Azov is a cause of great concern to us. Russia's use of force against Ukrainian ships is unacceptable," Tusk told reporters before the start of the G20 summit in Argentina. "Europe is united in its support to Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity. This is why I am sure that the EU will roll over sanctions against Russia in December," he added. NATO spokeswoman Oana Lungescu said the issue would be raised at next week's regular meeting of alliance foreign ministers in Brussels, where Ukrainian Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin is also expected. Moscow has held 24 Ukrainian sailors since the confrontation Ukraine, which has said it fears it is now under threat of a "total war" from Moscow, this week launched military drills in the Sea of Azov, with soldiers role-playing repelling a Russian attempt to land on the coast
The UN refugee agency appealed on Friday for an urgent solution to the plight of 12 migrants stranded in the Mediterranean, as activists said they had evacuated one of them to Malta. Spanish aid group Proactiva Open Arms, which helped a Spanish fishing vessel rescue the migrants more than a week ago, told AFP that one young man suffering from dehydration had to be evacuated to Malta in "a highly weakened state." The 11 others also needed to get to a safe port as soon as possible, the group said. The 13-strong crew of the "Nuestra Madre Loreto" fishing vessel rescued the migrants on November 22. The migrants from Egypt, Niger, Senegal, Somalia, Sudan, had originally set out from Libya and were found drifting in a rubber dinghy in Maltese waters. The Spanish authorities had already tried to get Tripoli to take them back and were in talks with Italy and Malta. But Pascual Dura, captain of the aid vessel sheltering them, told AFP that both countries had already refused to let them dock at their ports. The Madrid office of the UN refugee agency appealed on Friday for an urgent solution. It had been in touch with the Spanish authorities since Monday, it said "... to express deep concern at the possibility of a forced return of the people rescued to Libya". More than 106,000 migrants have arrived in Europe by sea since the start of the year, according to the International Organization for Migration, and at least 2,119 others have died in the process. Spanish aid group Proactiva Open Arms, which helped a Spanish fishing vessel rescue the migrants (like this one pictured July 2018), told AFP that one young man suffering from dehydration had to be evacuated to Malta
The United Nations said Friday it had helped hundreds of Central Americans who travelled with migrant caravans towards the United States to return to their home countries. The International Organization for Migration said as of Wednesday, it had helped 453 migrants, including unaccompanied children, who had expressed the desire to return to their countries of origin. In addition, "over 300 Central American migrants have expressed their interest in returning from Tijuana, and IOM is coordinating safe and dignified means of transport for them," the UN agency's spokesman Joel Millman told reporters in Geneva. He said that a full 84 percent of those already returned to their countries were men, and that most had been returned to Honduras (57 percent) and El Salvador (38 percent), while five percent had been sent back to Guatemala. "Twenty-five unaccompanied migrant children returned by plane," he said. More than 6,000 migrants who travelled to the northern Mexican city by caravan are camped out hoping to apply for asylum or sneak into the United States, fleeing poverty and violence in their home countries. US President Donald Trump, who has called the caravan an "invasion" full of "hardened criminals" and "thugs," is seeking to overhaul asylum policy to keep applicants out pending approval. Facing a hostile welcome and little hope, a growing number of migrants have decided to turn back. IOM's return assistance from Mexico is being funded by the US State Department's Bureau for Population, Refugees and Migration, to the tune of $1.2 million. Millman rejected that IOM faced any pressure from US authorities to press migrants to return home. He stressed that migrants who expressed a desire to go back were counselled and screened by IOM to evaluate their options prior to making the final decision. He said many of the migrants interviewed as part of the return process had said they first learned of the caravans through social media and had joined neighbours and friends "almost on impulse" on the trek north, without thinking too much about the challenges of the journey. "I can assume that... there will be more" who will want to return home, Millman said. "How many people have the means or the stomach to spend months in Tijuana?" More than 6,000 migrants who travelled to the northern Mexican city of Tijuana by caravan are camped out hoping to apply for asylum or sneak into the United States More than 300 Central American migrants have also expressed their interest in returning from Tijuana Most of the migrants are fleeing poverty and violence in their home countries Facing a hostile welcome and little hope, a growing number of migrants have decided to turn back
U.S. Rep.-elect Anthony Brindisi is a Democrat. U.S. Rep. John Katko is a Republican. But the two central New Yorkers could become key partners on many issues beginning next year.

Brindisi, D-Utica, and Katko, R-Camillus, met in Katko's Washington office Thursday. Katko's office posted a photo of the pair on the congressman's social media accounts after the meeting.

A Katko spokesperson said Brindisi and Katko discussed working together to advocate for issues affecting central and upstate New York. A specific issue raised during the meeting was the effort to establish Fort Ontario in Oswego as a national park.

Oswego County is divided into two congressional districts. The western portion of the county is in Katko's 24th Congressional District and the eastern half is in the 22nd Congressional District, which Brindisi will represent beginning in January.

Katko won a third term in Congress, while Brindisi had to wait a few weeks before his race was decided. The Associated Press on Tuesday called the NY-22 race for Brindisi. The Utica Democrat defeated Republican U.S. Rep. Claudia Tenney.

In an election night interview, Katko said he's eager to work with Brindisi. They had conversations before the election and the GOP congressman believes they can work together.

"His philosophy is the same as mine," Katko said.

The two may lean on each other when the 116th Congress begins in January. Brindisi could tap into Katko's experience. Katko, who has served two terms in Congress, has been a successful lawmaker. He's had more than 30 bills pass the House and several of those measures have been signed into law.

But with Democrats winning control of the House, it's Brindisi who will be in the majority. That will put him in a position to advance priority legislation  and he could partner with Katko on bills important to central New York.

Both men have campaigned as moderates. Katko repeatedly touted his bipartisan record during the most recent election. Brindisi ran as a moderate Democrat who wouldn't be afraid to break with his party. He pledged to oppose House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi for speaker  a pledge he kept when Democrats met for leadership votes this week.

There are issues of shared interest Brindisi and Katko will likely work on in Congress. The development of unmanned aerial systems, or drones, is a top economic priority for central New York and the Mohawk Valley. Broader subjects, such as agriculture and trade, are major issues in both districts.

The new Congress convenes Jan. 3.

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U.S. Rep. John Katko acknowledged it was a long shot. Despite his best efforts, he lost his bid to become ranking member of the House Homeland Security Committee.

The House Republican Steering Committee chose U.S. Rep. Mike Rogers, of Alabama, over Katko, R-Camillus, for the top GOP seat on the homeland security panel. Katko and Rogers made their case to the steering committee this week.

"I congratulate my colleague, Congressman Rogers, on his well-fought run for ranking member on the House Homeland Security Committee," Katko said in a statement Friday. "I look forward to working under his leadership in the new Congress."

Rogers had the advantage due to seniority. He was elected to Congress in 2002 and was appointed to the House Homeland Security Committee in 2005. In 2012, he ran to become the panel's chair. He lost out to U.S. Rep. Michael McCaul, a Texas Republican who chaired the committee for the last six years.

In a statement, Rogers said he has the experience to "lead conservative homeland security efforts in the House."

"Most importantly, I stand ready to fight for President (Donald) Trump's national security priorities including building the wall," Rogers continued. "I am proud to be the voice for Republicans' principles on critical security issues facing our nation, and I'll bring that to the committee on the first day of the 116th Congress."

With McCaul pursuing another leadership post and Democrats winning control of the House in January, the ranking member's seat was available. Katko, who was elected to Congress in 2014 and has been a member of the House Homeland Security Committee for four years, announced last week that he would run for the seat.

Katko cited his experience on the committee and his role as chair of the Subcommittee on Transportation and Protective Security, an assignment that gives him oversight authority over the Transportation Security Administration and U.S. Secret Service. In that position, he has become a leading TSA watchdog and proponent of aviation security measures.

He also touted his work as a federal prosecutor. Prior to running for Congress, he was an assistant U.S. attorney. His time with the Department of Justice included stints in El Paso, Texas and Puerto Rico. He was a prosecutor in the Northern District of New York, which covers the Syracuse area and several upstate counties, before leaving the job to launch his congressional campaign.

Katko viewed the opportunity as a way to continue working on homeland security issues in a bipartisan manner. He has a good relationship with the incoming chairman, Democratic U.S. Rep. Bennie Thompson. He's partnered with other Democrats on the committee to advance legislation.

While he lost the race for ranking member, Katko will continue to serve on the House Homeland Security Committee. He also plans to remain a member of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, which he has served on since being elected to Congress.

"As always, I remain committed to advancing bipartisan reforms to secure our border, combat violent extremism, enhance cybersecurity protections and keep this country safe," Katko said.

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NEW YORK, Nov. 30, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Pomerantz LLP is investigating claims on behalf of investors of Synchrony Financial (Synchrony or the Company) (NYSE: SYF). Such investors are advised to contact Robert S. Willoughby at rswilloughby@pomlaw.com or 888-476-6529, ext. 9980.



The investigation concerns whether Synchrony and certain of its officers and/or directors have engaged in securities fraud or other unlawful business practices.

[Click here to join a class action]

On April 28, 2017, Synchrony announced disappointing first quarter 2017 earnings driven by poor loan performance and disclosed that the Company would be setting aside over $1.3 billion in reserves to cover probable loan losses, a 21% increase in reserves over the prior quarter. Following this news, Synchronys stock price fell $5.25 per share, or 15.89%, to close at $27.80 per share on April 28, 2017.

On July 12, 2018, it was reported that Walmart Inc. (Walmart) was considering ending its relationship with Synchrony. On this news, Synchronys stock price fell $1.84 per share, or 5.29%, to close at $32.96 per share on July 12, 2018. Two weeks later, on July 26, 2018, multiple news outlets confirmed that Walmart had opted to replace Synchrony with one of the Companys competitors. Following this announcement, Synchronys stock price fell $3.44 per share, or 10.29%, to close at $30.00 per share on July 26, 2018.

Then, on November 1, 2018, Walmart sued Synchrony, alleging that Synchrony had deliberately underwritten the Walmart/Synchrony credit card program in a way that exposes the program to significant unique credit risk. Walmarts lawsuit seeks damages in an amount . . . estimated to be no less than $800 million. Following this news, Synchronys stock price fell $3.01 per share, or 10.22%, to close at $26.43 per share on November 2, 2018.

The Pomerantz Firm, with offices in New York, Chicago, Florida, and Los Angeles, is acknowledged as one of the premier firms in the areas of corporate, securities, and antitrust class litigation. Founded by the late Abraham L. Pomerantz, known as the dean of the class action bar, the Pomerantz Firm pioneered the field of securities class actions. Today, more than 80 years later, the Pomerantz Firm continues in the tradition he established, fighting for the rights of the victims of securities fraud, breaches of fiduciary duty, and corporate misconduct. The Firm has recovered numerous multimillion-dollar damages awards on behalf of class members. See www.pomerantzlaw.com.

CONTACT:

Robert S. Willoughby

Pomerantz LLP

rswilloughby@pomlaw.com

888-476-6529 ext. 9980
U.S. Rep. John Katko on Friday praised the Trump administration for its planned ban on bump stocks  a move that was reported this week by CNN and other national media outlets.

Bump stocks, which increases the firing speed of semi-automatic firearms, received attention after the Las Vegas mass shooting in October 2017. A gunman firing into a crowd attending a music festival killed 58 people and injured 851 others.

Investigators learned the gunman added bump stocks to the semi-automatic rifles he used in the attack.

Following the shooting, there were bipartisan calls for a ban on bump stocks. In an interview in February, Katko announced his support for some gun safety reforms, including a bump stock ban.

Katko, in a statement released by his office Friday, endorsed the Trump administration's action.

"I have and will always be a strong Second Amendment supporter  but bump stocks transform semiautomatic guns into machine guns," he said. "As a former federal prosecutor, I worked for nearly 20 years to keep illegal guns off our streets. These devices have no place in our society."

The planned bump stock ban follows Trump's call for a prohibition. Despite being a gun rights advocate during his term, Trump supports banning bump stocks.

In October, Trump said during a press conference that there would be a ban on bump stocks.

"We are knocking out bump stocks," he said at the time. "I have told the NRA bump stocks are gone."

CNN reported this week that the bump stock ban would require owners to destroy or surrender the devices within 90 days. The Department of Justice proposed a ban earlier this year after determining that bump stocks "fall within the prohibition on machine guns," according to CNN's story.

While Katko welcomed the bump stock ban, he is pushing for other proposals to boost gun safety.

In September, he unveiled legislation that would encourage states to adopt "red flag" laws. His bill would give states priority for federal law enforcement grants if they enact laws that create a mechanism for removing guns from those who are threats to themselves or others.

Katko opted to introduce the bill after the mass shooting at a high school in Parkland, Florida. The shooter was known to police and despite questionable behavior in his past, he was allowed to legally buy and possess firearms.

Katko's measure has bipartisan support. His bill has 11 cosponsors, including Democratic Reps. Henry Cuellar and Collin Peterson.

"We must continue to work in Congress to keep firearms out of the hands of those who want to do harm to others or to themselves," Katko said. "I remain committed to doing so in a bipartisan manner."

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AUBURN  Coordination and leadership were the biggest concerns during an Owasco Lake watershed update in Auburn.

The state Department of Environmental Conservation presented its approach to watershed and lake monitoring at Thursday's Auburn City Council meeting and gave a rundown on how it analyzes and monitors water quality in lakes.

Tributary sampling, trend assessment and quantifying the amount of invasive mussels were all touched upon. The DEC also covered the role of Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations, or CAFOs, when it comes to preventing harmful algal blooms.

CAFO farms are granted one of two permits  a Clean Water Act permit or an Environmental Conservation Law General permit. The primary difference between the two is that CWAs are given to any CAFO with a specified source of pollutant discharge.

To prevent water quality violations, the DEC added a number of conditions to CAFO permits, including a ban on manure spreading when soils are frozen or fluid. This was implemented in hopes of preventing runoff from reaching bodies of water like Owasco Lake.

Councilor James Giannettino asked DEC representatives if the large amount of rain that the region has seen in the past few months  a manure discharge instigator  is being monitored.

"It is certainly something our folks are aware of and monitoring and communicating on," said Matthew Marko, director of Region 7 in New York's DEC. "Obviously climate change is a reality that we are adapting to, and maybe something that influences future considerations."

Anthony Prestigiacomo, a research scientist for the DEC, said that the agency is working in collaboration with 16 other organizations including the Finger Lakes Institute, The Nature Conservancy and the Upstate Freshwater Institute.

Councilor Terry Cuddy questioned the amount of agencies involved.

"That's a lot of organizations to work with ... how can we coordinate when there's so many," Cuddy said.

Marko said that coordination is indeed a DEC priority.

"We need to make sure we are coordinated so that efforts are all jointly formed, as well as reacting to information as it's presented," Marko said.

Marko said that transparency and communication were the two biggest improvements his organization has worked on. He said that incident and inspection reports, notices of intent and annual compliance records are all available to the public.

Staff writer Dan Orzechowski can be reached at (315) 282-2239 or dan.orzechowski@lee.net. Follow him on Twitter @OrzechowskiDan

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AUBURN  Every seat in Auburn's Memorial City Hall was filled Friday morning as state Sen. Pam Helming honored 20 Cayuga and Tompkins county military veterans who were nominated for the state's Senate Veterans Hall of Fame.

"I just can't thank you enough for being here to honor our veterans," Helming, R-Canandaigua, said in her opening remarks.

Helming said the New York State Senate Veterans Hall of Fame was created to honor and recognize outstanding veterans with both distinguished military and civilian careers. With one veteran from each of the 63 senate districts selected to be inducted each year, Helming said she's chosen to open up nominations for the honor to the entire community. About two years ago, Helming said about a dozen veterans were nominated  which pales in comparison to the 120 nominees in the 54th District this year.

"I want to thank you for your selfless service, your sacrifice, your bravery and your courage," Helming told the veterans gathered in city hall. She added that "every single veteran is worthy of this distinction."

With veteran nominations ranging from people who served in World War II to the Vietnam War to modern-day conflicts  and spanning all five military branches  Helming voiced respect and admiration for all.

"One thing each and every nominee has in common, is that at some point you signed a contract committing yourself to your country. Saying you would lie down your life for the greater good and for that, we are eternally grateful," Helming said.

One by one, Helming invited each nominee to the podium. As each veteran came up, Helming shared their background and shook their hands individually, saying it was an "honor and privilege" to thank them for their "brave and courageous service."

Veterans, some honored posthumously, included people whose service ranged from the Korean War to Operation Desert Storm to peace-time assignments. Veterans who deciphered enemy air messages, received bronze stars, purple hearts and some whose stories are included in a Washington WWII exhibit were honored. The same veterans continued to invest in the community by joining the local workforce, becoming police officers, teachers, villages trustees or running nonprofits, to name a few occupations.

When Cayuga County Sheriff David Gould, a nominee, came to the podium, he also thanked Helming for her advocacy for veterans by saying "every veteran in your district appreciates your thought of us. ... You've made us feel wanted, comfortable and loved."

Patrice Shultes, of Clifton Springs, said the ceremony "was beautiful, very moving." Shultes said that she came to the event because she saw that Tech. Sgt. Dana Wilbur, who was the superintendent of the Williamson Central School District when she was a student, was being honored. Serendipitously, she ended up sitting right next to him during the ceremony.

Sgt. 1st Class Karen Macier, of Auburn, the only female nominee, said "it certainly is an honor" to be nominated. Previously unaware of the hall of fame until her sister nominated her, Macier said "everyone that serves, gives something up to do so," and she's thankful that the event provided the opportunity for veterans' stories to be shared.

At the ceremony's closing, Helming announced that each veteran was going to be sent home with a plaque prepared for them as well as a New York state flag, which was a gift from state Assemblyman Gary Finch. In addition to thanking all veterans for their "brave service to this great nation of ours," she also reminded people to remember active military in their thoughts and prayers.

The veteran who will represent the 54th district will be notified and named in April, ahead of the New York State Senate Veterans Hall of Fame ceremony which will be held at the state capitol in May.

Staff writer Megan Ehrhart can be reached at (315) 282-2244 or megan.ehrhart@lee.net. Follow her on Twitter @MeganEhrhart.

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AUBURN  It's an increasingly common sight weekend mornings at the intersection of Dill and 
Dave Marshall is a 29-year-old professional wrestler who performs for a local promotional company in Perth, the largest city on the west coast of Australia. He is also one of the few out gay wrestlers in the sport. And he also does pornhomemade porn which he posts on the site OnlyFans, which lets users share their homemade sex videos with anyone willing to pay a nominal fee.

While that combination is definitely a rare one in the pro wrestling industry, Marshall has used his OnlyFans videos for a cause close to his heart: preventing suicide among LGBTQ people, as Gay Star News reported this week.

The 63 Marshall, whose finishing move as a wrestler is listed as jackhammer, says that he became enamored with pro wrestling at an early age, as an insecure eight-year-old, who saw real life superheroes" on the TV screen when his brother first flipped the TV channel to a wrestling show. He dreamed of becoming a wrestler himself, but never acted on his ambition until the relatively late age of 26at the same time that he broke up with his then-girlfriend and came out as gay, a process that he says went painlessly for him.

Fortunately, not a single person has been negative towards my coming out, he told Gay Star News. My familyeven a very homophobic unclewere all very supportive.

His fellow pro wrestlers at the promotion Southern Hemisphere Wrestling Alliance have also been accepting of him, though Marshall has not integrated his gay identity into his wrestling shtick, a character he describes as a much more cocky, arrogant and aggressive version of myself, turned up to 11.

He started posting homemade porn videos on his OnlyFans account, at the suggestion of a now ex-boyfriend, but before he started, he says, he needed a reason, something other than simply as a hobby, or to make a few bucks.

Sadly, that reason appeared last year, when his own father committed suicide. At that point Marshall resolved to use the revenues from his porn sideline to raise funds for Beyond Blue, a suicide prevention organization targeting at-risk LGBTQ people.

"The reason the money I raise from my OnlyFans goes towards Beyond Blue is seeing every day how big depression and anxiety has become in society and almost overlooked, he wrote on his Instagram page. Stats on LGBT in this area are quite scary too so I hope I can in some way, give back to my community. Positivity is everything.

To date, Marshall says he has raised about $3,600 in U.S. currency for the charity by offering his own online porn.

Photo by Dave Marshall Instagram
ATLANTIC CITY, N.J.One might think that New Jersey, being just across the border from liberal New York City and environs, would be fairly liberal itself, but sometimes its arcane rules and regulations boggle the mind. For instance, it's perfectly legal for patrons of adult cabarets (aka strip clubs) to bring their own beer and wine (but nothing harder) to imbibe while they watch the pretty women take off their clothes to music, but for many years, those same clubs were not allowed to advertise that their clientele could BYOB.

At least one club chain, Stiletto's, which has locations in Atlantic City and Carlstadt, N.J., and Nanuet, N.Y., didn't like the advertising ban one bit, and on April 7, 2017, it sued in federal court, charging that the bottle advertising ban was hurting its business, and that it was illogical that it couldn't advertise something that it was entirely legal to do: namely, bring beer and wine into its clubs. In fact, clubs that tried to do so could be prosecuted under disorderly conduct laws.

The suit named Atlantic City and the Atlantic City Police Department in its complaint, arguing the New Jersey statute prohibiting Stiletto's advertising its BYOB policy "bans truthful, non-misleading advertising ... therefore acts as a prior restraint on constitutionally-protected commercial speech." The suit asked the court to allow it to advertise on its website, signs and menus the BYOB policy, to make patrons aware of their options.

But after more than a year and a half's litigation, U.S. District Court Judge Joseph H. Rodriguez ruled on November 26 that, "New Jersey's statutory ban on BYOB advertising places a content-based restriction on speech that fails strict scrutiny because it is not supported by a compelling government interest," and further found the language of New Jersey's statute banning advertising "outside or inside the premises" to be unconstitutional.

"While the state may, and does, regulate conduct regarding alcoholic beverages, it has not shown that regulating the speech concerning that conduct furthers a governmental interest sufficient to override the constitutional rights at stake in this case," the judge stated in his 13-page ruling, drawing a distinction between the state's proper power to regulate alcoholic beverages and the banning of speech about such beverages.

New Jersey Attorney General's Office spokesperson Leland Moore said his office would have no comment on the ruling, which leaves open the possibility that the state might appeal, but at least for the moment, BYOB advertising is legal in the state.
The worlds largest chain of coffee shops, the iconic Starbucks, has long been a spot for far more than quick soy mocha latte. The nearly 30,000 Starbucks outlets have long served as hangouts for struggling screenwriters, businesspeople holding out of office meetings or just plain folk with nothing better to do than while away the hours sipping coffee and cruising the internet with the chains free WiFi service.

Apparently, Starbucks has also been a place where people, some people anyway, go to watch pornpresumably without utilizing their own personal IP addresses, giving their porn surfing sessions an extra degree of anonymity online.

But all that is about to change.

According to a Business Insider report on Wednesday, Starbucks will add a porn filter to their free in-store WiFi networks, starting in 2019. The move comes two years after Starbucks initially announced that it would begin blocking porn from its WiFi networksand after years of pressure by anti-porn forces led by a group calling itself Enough Is Enougha group led by Donna Rice Hughes, who first became famous in 1987 as the Miami woman linked to Gary Hart, in a scandal that led to the Colorado senators downfall as a presidential candidate.

The Hart-Rice scandal is the subject of the new film The Front Runner in which Hugh Jackman portrays Hart and Sarah Paxton plays Rice.

Before Starbucks announced its new porn ban, Rice claimed that the chain was keeping the doors wide open for convicted sex offenders and others to fly under the radar from law enforcement and use free, public Wi-Fi services to access illegal child porn and hard-core pornography.

Enough Is Enough had also circulated a petition that collected 26,000 signatures, which claimed that Starbucks was attracting pedophiles and sex offenders, though the evidence of significant use of Starbucks free WiFi by pedophiles downloading illegal child pornography appears not to exist.

Starbucks had already banned the viewing of porn inside its coffee shops, but had not yet taken technological steps to actually block adult sites from accessing by customers.

While it rarely occurs, the use of Starbucks public Wi-Fi to view illegal or egregious content is not, nor has it ever been permitted, Starbucks said in a statement to the site The Verge. We have identified a solution to prevent this content from being viewed within our stores and we will begin introducing it to our U.S. locations in 2019.

Starbucks did not release details on the content filter that it planned to implement, but told The Verge that it had tested multiple solutions for blocking porn without blocking non-porn sites as well.

The backlash against the Starbucks announcement took less than a day, with YouPornthe free porn tube site owned by MindGeek, which also owns PornHub, RedTube and several other popular sitesannouncing that on January 1 it would ban all Starbucks products from its corporate offices, TMZ reported, switching its in-house coffee to Dunkin (formerly known as Dunkin Donuts) instead.

Photo By Wikimedia Commons
PENNSAUKEN, N.J.In support of the Tenga line, Williams Trading Co. has launched two new e-learning courses that feature all Tenga products and a course introducing the Spinner Spiral line.

Tenga has a great reputation and customers love their products. Their products are best sellers and developing a new WTU university e-learning program was the perfect way to help users learn about the unique features and benefits of this product line, said Rich Pyne, vice president of sales.

With some of the most innovative male masturbation sleeves in the industry, Tenga has been leading the way since 2005. In the introduction to Tenga course, users get introduced to what Tenga is known for, such as their unique egg masturbators and distinctive cup series. With the Tenga Cup Series, youll find easy-to-use pleasure items, with a variety of functions. The Standard CUP Series provides a variety of functions from the suction, malleability to multiple insertion options, while the UltraSize Series provides an optional size boost. The Tenga Egg Series offers different strokes from different Yolks! This product is perfect for users to learn about and the unique features make it a bestseller.

The second Tenga course is on the Tenga spinners and accessories line. The Tenga spinners series has an all-new internal coil makes the Spinner twist as you insert, sending unbelievable sensations with each stroke! It allows consumers to enjoy a unique sensation like none other. This innovative item is best-selling and can be paired with great Tenga accessories for an easy upsell. This course will educate users on how to elaborate on the unique features of this item and pair it with the perfect Tenga accessory.

You can view the Williams Trading University modules here on the Tenga product line. This new product line is being supported with a free e-learning from Williams Trading. Contact sale reps for pricing and new orders.

Williams Trading University (WTU) is a free resource provided to our dealers with the collaborative support of our vendors. Since its September 2015 launch, WTU certified more than 85,000 store associates, impacted retail sales growth and providing a better store experience for all customers. View the complete portfolio of e-learning courses here at WTULearn.com.

The full Tenga product line is now in stock for immediate shipment. Williams Trading Co. offers drop shipment services for all e-commerce channels. For product ordering and shipping information, contact a Williams Trading sales representative at (800) 423-8587 or visit WilliamsTradingCo.com.
Signature Flatbreads bosses Charles and William Eid have triumphed in an awards ceremony that celebrates outstanding individual achievement.

The firms joint chief executives won the Entrepreneur of the Year accolade at the Insider Central & East Dealmakers Awards, an event that also recognises the success of corporate finance firms, banks, and funders in the UK.

The brothers, who built up the family business before leaving in 2011 following its acquisition by bakery conglomerate Aryzta, were one of five shortlisted candidates in the category and recognised for their entrepreneurial flair. The business was also named Bakery Manufacturer of the Year in British Bakers 2017 Baking Industry Awards.

The men returned to Signature Flatbreads in a joint venture with Arytza in 2015, after setting up a flatbread operation on the Indian subcontinent to supply traditional Indian flatbreads to the local population.

They have since doubled the size of the Signature Flatbreads UK business, returned to full ownership after buying back the Aryzta share earlier this year  and, in 2018, exceeded 100m in annual turnover for the first time.

Since being brought back into the business, William and Charles have committed to making significant investments to boost productivity, grow 100 new roles, and pledge millions to help meet the rising demand for high-quality, British-made products, the judges said. This clearly demonstrates their entrepreneurial flair.

Charles Eid added: We are delighted to have been recognised in these awards, which we share with the outstanding team of people at Signature Flatbreads. We are hugely ambitious, and are excited to build on the strong foundation that the company has in place.

Signature Flatbreads exports to more than 30 countries from the UK and another 20 countries from its bakery in India. Its breads can be found as far afield as Shanghai, Tokyo, South Korea, Australia, Russia, Kenya, throughout Europe and the Middle East and more.
Tom Leopold (left) and Victor Dweck (right): Above.

Tom Leopold (left) and Victor Dweck (right) using satire to prove a point and rip laughs from viewers: Above.

Late-night comedy shows are now one-trick ponies: They bash President Trump every night - sometimes in the most profane way possible (like when Samantha Bee called Ivanka Trump a "feckless c**t.").The modern late-night host is a pathetic imitation of the best ever, Johnny Carson. To the longtime host of "The Tonight Show," all politics was hilarious, and he'd mock Democrats right alongside Republicans. In fact, no one was ever even sure just where "The King of Late Night" stood personally on political issues.Today's late night hosts, though, are now more activist than comedian, from Jimmy Kimmel to Jimmy Fallon to Seth Meyers to Stephen Colbert. They push for far-left policies, defend Democrats at every turn and rip Republicans nightly.But that's all about to change. Conservatives (and those just looking for some laughs) will finally have something to watch. A new late-night comedy show called DWECK is coming in early 2019, and The Daily Wire has an exclusive first look at the trailer that you can watch below. (Oh, and it's profane, but just because it features triggered late-night talk show hosts and Hollywood celebrities.)The series was created by Victor Dweck and Tom Leopold. Dweck is relatively new to professional comedy, having started only a few years ago. Leopold, on the other hand, is an uber-successful sitcom veteran who has written some of the most famous episodes of "Seinfeld," "Cheers," "Will & Grace," and more. The two met for lunch at a deli in New York about a year ago and hit it off right away.Dweck said.Said Leopold:We caught up with Dweck and asked him about the show's politics:The show's creators will formally announce details on the series including where it's airing in the coming weeks.
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A Florida districts decision to put armed school safety assistants in its elementary schools puts the safety and well-being of its students at risk and oversteps existing state law, a group of Florida families contend in a lawsuit filed this week.

The suitfiled by seven unnamed families and the League of Women Voters of Floridanames the Duval County district and its school board as defendents. If the plaintiffs prevail, they may create a domino effect that upends the armed security plans of school districts around the state.

The suit challenges the Duval districts security plan, which it put in place to comply with a new state lawpassed less than a month after 17 people were killed in the shootingat Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland. The Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Public Safety Act requires districts to staff every school with a safe-school officer, who can be either a law enforcement officer or a designated school employee who may be trained through a special school guardian program created under the broad new law.

But, while the new law requires recipients of that school-guardian training obtain firearms instruction, the text of the bill signed into law does not require them to carry weapons in schools and it does not override existing laws that prohibit anyone but trained law enforcement officers from carrying firearms in public schools, the lawsuit says.

The lawsuitfiled with support from the Southern Poverty Law Center and the Giffords Law Center, which supports restrictions on guns in schoolsnotes that even trained law enforcement officials have had accidents with guns in schools or have gotten involved in punitive school discipline.

Arming [school safety assistants] increases the risk of these incidents because SSAs are asked to carry out quasi-law enforcement duties without the training and experience that law enforcement officers have, the lawsuit says. According to the chief of [Duval County Public Schools] police department, SSAs will have a broad but undefined mandate to patrol campuses, assist with discipline, and break up fights. However, the program provides SSAs with little to no training in how to communicate with and manage children in a manner appropriate to their development, work in diverse school communities, engage with vulnerable students, or de-escalate conflicts.

The plaintiffs include parents of a child who is hard of hearing. They are concerned that he may be incorrectly viewed as defiant by a security officer if he doesnt respond to a command due to a malfunctioning hearing aid, the suit says. Another plaintiff, the parent of a black student with a disability, is concerned his son may be seen as older and more threatening by law enforcement and SSAs, compounding the increased risk caused by [his] disability.

A school district would fully comply with the Acts Safe School Officer Requirement by designating unarmed guardians whose job would include implementing key elements of the consensus approach to school safety recommended by experts in the field, such as: developing emergency-response plans with law enforcement, serving as the point of contact for local police, ensuring that entrances and exits are properly secured, training school staff and students in emergency preparedness, and fulfilling other security functions, the lawsuit says.

A spokesperson for the Duval County district said it cannot comment on ongoing litigation. That spokesperson did not respond to questions about the districts current security personnel.

The lawsuit fits into a broader, ongoing debate about arming teachers and school staff. Last week, Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri, who is the chairman of the state-appointed taskforce investigating the Parkland shooting, said after watching surveillance video of the massacre at Stoneman Douglas, he now believes that arming some teachers and other school staff is an important line of defense against school shootings.

You can learn more about Education Weeks coverage of that issue in this roundup: Should Teachers Carry Guns? The Debate, Explained

Photo: Silhouette targets used by Broward County Public Schools newly-hired armed guardians are shown after firearms training at the Broward Sheriffs Office gun range in Markham Park on July 30, 2018, in Sunrise, Fla. Districts around the state armed school employees under a new state law passed after a school shooting in Parkland, which is in Broward County. --Wilfredo Lee/AP

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Robert Mueller's investigation into Donald Trump's plans to build a Trump Tower Moscow has led the Special Counsel to question the role Ivanka and Don Jr played in trying to secure a Russian real estate deal, reports Hunter Walker at Yahoo News.

That same deal involved a $50 Million penthouse for Putin. Michael Cohen flipped, this is a big thing, and it may end up being the President's undoing.

From the Yahoo News exclusive:

Mueller's interest in the Trump family real estate company's Russia skyscraper plans was confirmed on Thursday when Michael Cohen, the president's former attorney and fixer, pleaded guilty to lying to Congress about the proposed deal. In charging documents, Mueller said Cohen falsely claimed the effort to build a Trump Tower Moscow "ended in January 2016" in an attempt to "minimize" links between Trump and the project and to "give the false impression" the effort ended prior to the Republican primaries in 2016. Yahoo News first reported in May that congressional investigators had obtained text messages and emails showing Cohen's work on Trump Tower Moscow went on for longer than he admitted under oath. But Cohen wasn't the only person at the Trump Organization who was pursuing deals to build a skyscraper in the Russian capital. Multiple sources have confirmed to Yahoo News that the president's oldest daughter, Ivanka, who is now a top White House adviser, and his oldest son, Don Jr. were also working to make Trump Tower Moscow a reality. The sources said those efforts were independent of Cohen's work on a project. One of the sources said Ivanka was also involved in Cohen's efforts. And a separate source familiar with the investigation told Yahoo News that Mueller has asked questions about Ivanka and Don Jr.'s work on Trump Tower Moscow. Mueller's charging documents against Cohen included a line that described the Trump family's involvement in the project. According to Mueller, one of the things Cohen lied about was that he "briefed family members" of Trump's who worked at the Trump Organization about the proposed Moscow skyscraper. Prior to joining the White House, Ivanka was an executive at the company. Don Jr. and his middle son, Eric, remain with the Trump Organization.

Neither the special counsel's office nor Cohen and his attorney would respond to Yahoo News's requests for comment, nor did lawyers representing the president.

Donald Trump talks to reporters as he departs on travel to Argentina from the White House in Washington, U.S., November 29, 2018. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst
Google's Project Dragonfly is a formerly secret project to build a surveilling, censored version of its search engine for deployment in China; it was kept secret from the company at large during the 18 months it was in development, until an insider leak led to its existence being revealed in The Intercept.

According to named and anonymous senior googlers who worked on the project and spoke to The Intercept's Ryan Gallagher, the secrecy was motivated by the fear that googlers would object to the project so passionately that it would be scuttled (another controversial project, Project Maven, would have provided AI services to the Pentagon's drone project, but the internal outcry was so intense that it was killed and the CEO of Google's cloud division resigned in disgrace).





They were right to be scared. The existence of the project triggered mass protests from inside Google, with waves of resignations (including at the highest levels).





Today's report in The Intercept reveals the great and unethical lengths Project Dragonfly's leadership went to to slip the project past the company's rank-and-file, and its founders.

Yonatan Zunger  a respected security researcher  was on the Dragonfly team, but subsequently quit to work for a startup. He says he would have quit anyway, because of irregularities in the planning and execution of Project Dragonfly.





The Intercept puts the blame for Dragonfly on Google China Operations Head Scott Beaumont, whom sources (including Zunger) say systematically excluded the privacy and security teams from Dragonfly meetings, misleading them about support from Google founders for the project, and keeping them from sharing their research and recommendations from Beaumont's bosses.

The culture of secrecy around Dragonfly was extreme: written notes were rarely kept to prevent them from leaking, engineers were threatened with dismissal if they discussed the project internally, and people on the project were sometimes not allowed to directly communicate  they had to funnel their communications through Beaumont and his cadre. The concern, according to the googlers sourced for the article, was not a widespread public leak, but an internal one  the leadership were worried that the company's own staff would rise up at the idea.

Sources in the article say that Project Dragonfly's secrecy was unheard-of in Google's history. Likewise aberrant was Beaumont's hostile dismissal of the privacy and security team's analysis and recommendations, and their flagging up of the possibility that the company could be complicit in human rights abuses by Chinese authorities if they used Google's search tool to identify and target dissidents.



Zunger and his colleagues produced a privacy report that highlighted problematic scenarios that could arise once the censored search engine launched in China. The report, which contained more than a dozen pages, concluded that Google would be expected to function in China as part of the ruling Communist Party's authoritarian system of policing and surveillance. It added that, unlike in Europe or North America, in China it would be difficult, if not impossible, for Google to legally push back against government requests, refuse to build systems specifically for surveillance, or even notify people of how their data may be used. Zunger had planned to share the privacy report and discuss its findings during a meeting with the company's senior leadership, including CEO Sundar Pichai. But the meeting was repeatedly postponed. When the meeting did finally take place, in late June 2017, Zunger and members of Google's security team were not notified, so they missed it and did not attend. Zunger felt that this was a deliberate attempt to exclude them.

Google Shut Out Privacy and Security Teams From Secret China Project [Ryan Gallagher/The Intercept]
Sheryl Sandberg asked Facebook staff to research George Soros because he gave a speech boldly critical of the social media giant as a "menace," reports the New York Times tonight.

After Davos, "in an email in January to senior communications and policy executives," Facebook Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg "asked Facebook's communications staff to research George Soros's financial interests in the wake of his high-profile attacks on tech companies."



If she was willing to do this over a mere billionaire, imagine what Facebook might have done in researching news organizations and reporters who are critical of Facebook?

Fb has defended the research into Soros as normal and prudent due diligence for a large public company under attack by a onetime activist investor. They note the later Definers research  which they say Sandberg did *not* personally order  was based on public records.

We'll add to this story as night goes. Sandberg email to Facebook executives came very soon after Soros's scathing speech at Davos attacking Facebook and Google. But company says other Fb employees had already begun the research when Sandberg wrote.

By Nicholas Confessore and Matthew Rosenberg at the New York Times:

Ms. Sandberg, who was at the forum  but was not present for Mr. Soros's speech, according to a person who attended it  told subordinates to examine why Mr. Soros had criticized the tech companies and whether he stood to gain financially from the attacks. At the time, Facebook was under growing scrutiny for the role its platform had played in disseminating Russian propaganda and fomenting campaigns of hatred in Myanmar and other countries.

Ms. Sandberg, Facebook's chief operating officer, asked for the information in an email in January to senior communications and policy executives. The email came within days of a blistering speech Mr. Soros delivered that month at the World Economic Forum, attacking Facebook and Google as a "menace" to society and calling for the companies to be regulated.

Sheryl Sandberg asked Facebook's communications staff to research George Soros's financial interests in the wake of his high-profile attacks on tech companies, according to three people with knowledge of her request, indicating that Facebook's second in command was directly involved in the social network's response to the liberal billionaire.

Here is the full text of the speech George Soros made that rattled Sheryl Sandberg so badly, she ordered a financial spying campaign against the philanthropist.

Remarks delivered at the World Economic Forum

Davos, Switzerland, January 25, 2018

The current moment in history

The current moment in history

Good evening. It has become something of an annual Davos tradition for me to give an overview of the current state of the world. I was planning half an hour for my remarks and half an hour for questions, but my speech has turned out to be closer to an hour. I attribute this to the severity of the problems confronting us. After I've finished, I'll open it up for your comments and questions. So prepare yourselves.

I find the current moment in history rather painful. Open societies are in crisis, and various forms of dictatorships and mafia states, exemplified by Putin's Russia, are on the rise. In the United States, President Trump would like to establish a mafia state but he can't, because the Constitution, other institutions, and a vibrant civil society won't allow it.

Whether we like it or not, my foundations, most of our grantees and myself personally are fighting an uphill battle, protecting the democratic achievements of the past. My foundations used to focus on the so-called developing world, but now that the open society is also endangered in the United States and Europe, we are spending more than half our budget closer to home because what is happening here is having a negative impact on the whole world.

But protecting the democratic achievements of the past is not enough; we must also safeguard the values of open society so that they will better withstand future onslaughts. Open society will always have its enemies, and each generation has to reaffirm its commitment to open society for it to survive.

The best defense is a principled counterattack. The enemies of open society feel victorious and this induces them to push their repressive efforts too far, this generates resentment and offers opportunities to push back. That is what is happening in places like Hungary today.

I used to define the goals of my foundations as "defending open societies from their enemies, making governments accountable and fostering a critical mode of thinking". But the situation has deteriorated. Not only the survival of open society, but the survival of our entire civilization is at stake. The rise of leaders such as Kim Jong-Un in North Korea and Donald Trump in the US have much to do with this. Both seem willing to risk a nuclear war in order to keep themselves in power. But the root cause goes even deeper.

Mankind's ability to harness the forces of nature, both for constructive and destructive purposes, continues to grow while our ability to govern ourselves properly fluctuates, and it is now at a low ebb.

The threat of nuclear war is so horrendous that we are inclined to ignore it. But it is real. Indeed, the United States is set on a course toward nuclear war by refusing to accept that North Korea has become a nuclear power. This creates a strong incentive for North Korea to develop its nuclear capacity with all possible speed, which in turn may induce the United States to use its nuclear superiority preemptively; in effect to start a nuclear war in order to prevent nuclear war  an obviously self-contradictory strategy.

The fact is, North Korea has become a nuclear power and there is no military action that can prevent what has already happened. The only sensible strategy is to accept reality, however unpleasant it is, and to come to terms with North Korea as a nuclear power. This requires the United States to cooperate with all the interested parties, China foremost among them. Beijing holds most of the levers of power against North Korea, but is reluctant to use them. If it came down on Pyongyang too hard, the regime could collapse and China would be flooded by North Korean refugees. What is more, Beijing is reluctant to do any favors for the United States, South Korea or Japan against each of which it harbors a variety of grudges. Achieving cooperation will require extensive negotiations, but once it is attained, the alliance would be able to confront North Korea with both carrots and sticks. The sticks could be used to force it to enter into good faith negotiations and the carrots to reward it for verifiably suspending further development of nuclear weapons. The sooner a so-called freeze-for-freeze agreement can be reached, the more successful the policy will be. Success can be measured by the amount of time it would take for North Korea to make its nuclear arsenal fully operational. I'd like to draw your attention to two seminal reports just published by Crisis Group on the prospects of nuclear war in North Korea.

The other major threat to the survival of our civilization is climate change, which is also a growing cause of forced migration. I have dealt with the problems of migration at great length elsewhere, but I must emphasize how severe and intractable those problems are. I don't want to go into details on climate change either because it is well known what needs to be done. We have the scientific knowledge; it is the political will that is missing, particularly in the Trump administration.

Clearly, I consider the Trump administration a danger to the world. But I regard it as a purely temporary phenomenon that will disappear in 2020, or even sooner. I give President Trump credit for motivating his core supporters brilliantly, but for every core supporter, he has created a greater number of core opponents who are equally strongly motivated. That is why I expect a Democratic landslide in 2018.

My personal goal in the United States is to help reestablish a functioning two-party system. This will require not only a landslide in 2018 but also a Democratic Party that will aim at non-partisan redistricting, the appointment of well-qualified judges, a properly conducted census and other measures that a functioning two-party system requires.

The IT monopolies

I want to spend the bulk of my remaining time on another global problem: the rise and monopolistic behavior of the giant IT platform companies. These companies have often played an innovative and liberating role. But as Facebook and Google have grown into ever more powerful monopolies, they have become obstacles to innovation, and they have caused a variety of problems of which we are only now beginning to become aware.

Companies earn their profits by exploiting their environment. Mining and oil companies exploit the physical environment; social media companies exploit the social environment. This is particularly nefarious because social media companies influence how people think and behave without them even being aware of it. This has far-reaching adverse consequences on the functioning of democracy, particularly on the integrity of elections.

The distinguishing feature of internet platform companies is that they are networks and they enjoy rising marginal returns; that accounts for their phenomenal growth. The network effect is truly unprecedented and transformative, but it is also unsustainable. It took Facebook eight and a half years to reach a billion users and half that time to reach the second billion. At this rate, Facebook will run out of people to convert in less than 3 years.

Facebook and Google effectively control over half of all internet advertising revenue. To maintain their dominance, they need to expand their networks and increase their share of users' attention. Currently they do this by providing users with a convenient platform. The more time users spend on the platform, the more valuable they become to the companies.

Content providers also contribute to the profitability of social media companies because they cannot avoid using the platforms and they have to accept whatever terms they are offered.

The exceptional profitability of these companies is largely a function of their avoiding responsibility for and avoiding paying for the content on their platforms.

They claim they are merely distributing information. But the fact that they are near- monopoly distributors makes them public utilities and should subject them to more stringent regulations, aimed at preserving competition, innovation, and fair and open universal access.

The business model of social media companies is based on advertising. Their true customers are the advertisers. But gradually a new business model is emerging, based not only on advertising but on selling products and services directly to users. They exploit the data they control, bundle the services they offer and use discriminatory pricing to keep for themselves more of the benefits that otherwise they would have to share with consumers. This enhances their profitability even further  but the bundling of services and discriminatory pricing undermine the efficiency of the market economy.

Social media companies deceive their users by manipulating their attention and directing it towards their own commercial purposes. They deliberately engineer addiction to the services they provide. This can be very harmful, particularly for adolescents. There is a similarity between internet platforms and gambling companies. Casinos have developed techniques to hook gamblers to the point where they gamble away all their money, even money they don't have.

Something very harmful and maybe irreversible is happening to human attention in our digital age. Not just distraction or addiction; social media companies are inducing people to give up their autonomy. The power to shape people's attention is increasingly concentrated in the hands of a few companies. It takes a real effort to assert and defend what John Stuart Mill called "the freedom of mind." There is a possibility that once lost, people who grow up in the digital age will have difficulty in regaining it. This may have far-reaching political consequences. People without the freedom of mind can be easily manipulated. This danger does not loom only in the future; it already played an important role in the 2016 US presidential elections.

But there is an even more alarming prospect on the horizon. There could be an alliance between authoritarian states and these large, data-rich IT monopolies that would bring together nascent systems of corporate surveillance with an already developed system of state-sponsored surveillance. This may well result in a web of totalitarian control the likes of which not even Aldous Huxley or George Orwell could have imagined.

The countries in which such unholy marriages are likely to occur first are Russia and China. The Chinese IT companies in particular are fully equal to the American ones. They also enjoy the full support and protection of the Xi Jingping regime. The government of China is strong enough to protect its national champions, at least within its borders.

US-based IT monopolies are already tempted to compromise themselves in order to gain entrance to these vast and fast growing markets. The dictatorial leaders in these countries may be only too happy to collaborate with them since they want to improve their methods of control over their own populations and expand their power and influence in the United States and the rest of the world.

The owners of the platform giants consider themselves the masters of the universe, but in fact they are slaves to preserving their dominant position. It is only a matter of time before the global dominance of the US IT monopolies is broken. Davos is a good place to announce that their days are numbered. Regulation and taxation will be their undoing and EU Competition Commissioner Vestager will be their nemesis.

There is also a growing recognition of a connection between the dominance of the platform monopolies and the rising level of inequality. The concentration of share ownership in the hands of a few private individuals plays some role but the peculiar position occupied by the IT giants is even more important. They have achieved monopoly power but at the same time they are also competing against each other. They are big enough to swallow start-ups that could develop into competitors, but only the giants have the resources to invade each other's territory. They are poised to dominate the new growth areas that artificial intelligence is opening up, like driverless cars.

The impact of innovations on unemployment depends on government policies. The European Union and particularly the Nordic countries are much more farsighted in their social policies than the United States. They protect the workers, not the jobs. They are willing to pay for re-training or retiring displaced workers. This gives workers in Nordic countries a greater sense of security and makes them more supportive of technological innovations than workers in the US.

The internet monopolies have neither the will nor the inclination to protect society against the consequences of their actions. That turns them into a menace and it falls to the regulatory authorities to protect society against them. In the US, the regulators are not strong enough to stand up against their political influence. The European Union is better situated because it doesn't have any platform giants of its own.

The European Union uses a different definition of monopoly power from the United States. US law enforcement focuses primarily on monopolies created by acquisitions, whereas EU law prohibits the abuse of monopoly power irrespective of how it is achieved. Europe has much stronger privacy and data protection laws than America. Moreover, US law has adopted a strange doctrine: it measures harm as an increase in the price paid by customers for services received  and that is almost impossible to prove when most services are provided for free. This leaves out of consideration the valuable data platform companies collect from their users.

Commissioner Vestager is the champion of the European approach. It took the EU seven years to build a case against Google, but as a result of her success the process has been greatly accelerated. Due to her proselytizing, the European approach has begun to affect attitudes in the United States as well.

The rise of nationalism and how to reverse it

I have mentioned some of the most pressing and important problems confronting us today. In conclusion, let me point out that we are living in a revolutionary period. All our established institutions are in a state of flux and in these circumstances both fallibility and reflexivity are operating at full force.

I lived through similar conditions in my life, most recently some thirty years ago. That is when I set up my network of foundations in the former Soviet empire. The main difference between the two periods is that thirty years ago the dominant creed was international governance and cooperation. The European Union was the rising power and the Soviet Union the declining one. Today, however, the motivating force is nationalism. Russia is resurgent and the European Union is in danger of abandoning its values.

As you will recall, the previous experience didn't turn out well for the Soviet Union. The Soviet empire collapsed and Russia has become a mafia state that has adopted a nationalist ideology. My foundations did quite well: the more advanced members of the Soviet empire joined the European Union.

Now our aim is to help save the European Union in order to radically reinvent it. The EU used to enjoy the enthusiastic support of the people of my generation, but that changed after the financial crisis of 2008. The EU lost its way because it was governed by outdated treaties and a mistaken belief in austerity policies. What had been a voluntary association of equal states was converted into a relationship between creditors and debtors where the debtors couldn't meet their obligations and the creditors set the conditions that the debtors had to meet. That association was neither voluntary nor equal.

As a consequence, a large proportion of the current generation has come to regard the European Union as its enemy. One important country, Britain, is in the process of leaving the EU and at least two countries, Poland and Hungary, are ruled by governments that are adamantly opposed to the values on which the European Union is based. They are in acute conflict with various European institutions and those institutions are trying to discipline them. In several other countries anti-European parties are on the rise. In Austria, they are in the governing coalition and the fate of Italy will be decided by the elections in March.

How can we prevent the European Union from abandoning its values? We need to reform it at every level: at the level of the Union itself, at the level of the member states and the level of the electorate. We are in a revolutionary period; everything is subject to change. The decisions taken now will determine the shape of the future.

At the Union level, the main question is what to do about the euro. Should every member state be required to eventually adopt the euro or should the current situation be allowed to continue indefinitely? The Maastricht Treaty prescribed the first alternative but the euro has developed some defects that the Maastricht Treaty didn't foresee and still await resolution.

Should the problems of the euro be allowed to endanger the future of the European Union? I would strongly argue against it. The fact is that the countries that don't qualify, are eager to join, but those that do qualify have decided against it, with the exception of Bulgaria. In addition, I would like to see Britain remain a member of the EU or eventually rejoin it and that couldn't happen if it meant adopting the euro.

The choice confronting the EU could be better formulated as one between a multi-speed and a multi-track approach. In a multi-speed approach, member states have to agree in advance on the ultimate outcome; in a multi-track approach, member states are free to form coalitions of the willing to pursue particular goals on which they agree. The multi-track approach is obviously more flexible but the European bureaucracy favored the multi-speed approach. That was an important contributor to the rigidity of the EU's structure.

At the level of the member states, their political parties are largely outdated. The old distinction between left and right is overshadowed by being either pro or anti-European. This manifests itself differently in different countries.

In Germany, the Siamese twin arrangement between the CDU and the CSU has been rendered unsustainable by the results of the recent elections. There is another party, the AfD further to the right than the CSU in Bavaria. This has forced the CSU to move further to the right in anticipation of next year's local elections in Bavaria so that the gap between the CSU and the CDU has become too great. This has rendered the German party system largely dysfunctional until the CDU and CSU break up.

In Britain, the Conservatives are clearly the party of the right and Labor the party of the left, but each party is internally divided in its attitude toward Brexit. This complicates the Brexit negotiations immensely, and makes it extremely difficult for Britain as a country to decide and modify its position towards Europe.

Other European countries can be expected to undergo similar realignments with the exception of France, which has already undergone its internal revolution.

At the level of the electorate the top-down initiative started by a small group of visionaries led by Jean Monnet carried the process of integration a long way but it has lost its momentum. Now we need a combination of the top-down approach of the European authorities with the bottom-up initiatives started by an engaged electorate. Fortunately, there are many such bottom-up initiatives; it remains to be seen how the authorities will respond to them. So far President Macron has shown himself most responsive. He campaigned for the French presidency on a pro-European platform and his current strategy focuses on the elections for the European Parliament in 2019  and that requires engaging the electorate.

While I have analyzed Europe in greater detail, from a historical perspective what happens in Asia is ultimately much more important. China is the rising power. There were many fervent believers in the open society in China who were sent to be re-educated in rural areas during Mao's Revolution. Those who survived returned to occupy positions of power in the government. So the future direction of China used to be open-ended; but no more.

The promoters of open society have reached retirement age and Xi Jinping, who has more in common with Putin than with the so-called West, has begun to establish a new system of party patronage. I'm afraid that the outlook for the next twenty years is rather bleak. Nevertheless, it is important to embed China in institutions of global governance. This may help to avoid a world war that would destroy our entire civilization.

That leaves the local battlegrounds in Africa, the Middle East and Central Asia. My foundations are actively engaged in all of them. We are particularly focused on Africa, where would-be dictators in Kenya, Zimbabwe and the Democratic Republic of Congo have perpetrated electoral fraud on an unprecedented scale and citizens are literally risking their lives to resist the slide into dictatorship. Our goal is to empower local people to deal with their own problems, assist the disadvantaged and reduce human suffering to the greatest extent possible. This will leave us plenty to do well beyond my lifetime.
There's been quite a bit of bad ink surrounding Tesla electric vehicles this year: delays in production, growing rumors about subpar customer service, former employees blowing the whistle on dangerous, indifferent working conditions in Tesla assembly plants and logistical woes to name a few. According to The Washington Post, Tesla owners in China can add in-car state surveillance to the list.

Apparently, the Chinese government has demanded that Tesla vehicles purchased in China send a steady stream of information concerning the vehicle's whereabouts and who knows what else to the Chinese government, in real-time. It's some greasy, invasive bullshit that comes at a time when China, under the leadership of Xi Jinping, has been cracking down on dissent, privacy and freedoms in the country.

At the very least, Tesla isn't alone: other makers of electric vehicles are being forced to make their customers' information available to the Chinese government as well.

From The Washington Post:

More than 200 manufacturers, including Tesla, Volkswagen, BMW, Daimler, Ford, General Motors, Nissan, Mitsubishi and U.S.-listed electric vehicle start-up NIO, transmit position information and dozens of other data points to government-backed monitoring centers, The Associated Press has found. Generally, it happens without car owners' knowledge. The automakers say they are merely complying with local laws, which apply only to alternative energy vehicles. Chinese officials say the data is used for analytics to improve public safety, facilitate industrial development and infrastructure planning, and to prevent fraud in subsidy programs. But other countries that are major markets for electronic vehicles  the United States, Japan, across Europe  do not collect this kind of real-time data.

In a country with citizens already under heavy surveillance at most moments in their liveseven the shit flowing through sewers there are routinely checked for traces of narcoticsbeing able to track the movements of electric vehicles is just a hammer in China's already massive anti-privacy toolbox. It says a lot about how the nation views its people. It says even more about the companies that do business there.

Apple kissed Xi's ring earlier this year by moving its Chinese iCloud user data to state-owned servers, compromising the privacy of millions. Car companies with their roots in democratic nations are lining up to sell out the location data of those willing to buy their vehicles. Their willingness to provide oppressive states with the access they require to invade every corner of their citizens' lives is startling.

Image via Pixabay
New York State Attorney General Barbara Underwood has concluded that seven New York hospitals illegally billed rape survivors for their rape kits, at least 200 times, for sums ranging from $46 to $3,000, and then sent collections agents after survivors who could not pay.



New York law requires hospitals to bill the state's Office of Victim Services for rape kits; in addition to ensuring that rape kits are available regardless of ability to pay, the rule clears an impediment to reporting rape: women who bill their insurance for rape kits may fear stigma from their employers or families.





The seven hospitals did not comply with the law, nor did they inform the survivors of their rights  another legal obligation.





The hospitals involved are Brookdale University Hospital Medical Center, Columbia University, Montefiore Nyack Hospital, NewYork-Presbyterian Brooklyn Methodist Hospital, New York-Presbyterian Columbia University Irving Medical Center, Richmond University Medical Center, and St. Barnabas Hospital. The hospitals have not admitted culpability, but have agreed to refund the rape survivors and establish policies to ensure future compliance.

In case you were wondering, there is another way to address this: universal, free health care, AKA Medicare for All. Because hospitals you don't have to pay to use don't have billing departments, don't contract with debt collectors, and don't have to deal with private insurers.



Underwood is the first woman to serve as New York attorney general. She took over the state's top law enforcement job on an interim basis earlier this year after Eric Schneiderman resigned amid a flurry of accusations of abusing women, which he publicly contested. In this year's midterm elections, New Yorkers elected Letitia James to become the first black woman in state history to fill the role. James will take office in January. It remains to be seen whether the New York settlement will encourage fresh investigations or changes in hospital and clinic rape-kit billing elsewhere, but the problem is not new, with past controversies reported from Arkansas to Alaska.



Hospitals Billed Sexual Assault Survivors for Rape Kits. Now They're Paying the Price. [Celeste Katz/Glamour]

(via Late Stage Capitalism)





(Image: NYP/Columbia University Medical Center)


Astronauts on board the International Space Station have switched on CIMON (Crew Interactive Mobile CompanioN), a new AI companion robot built by German space agency DLR, Airbus, and IBM. CIMON is an interface for IBM's WATSON AI system. From Space.com:



Marco Trovatello, a spokesman of the European Space Agency's Astronaut Centre in Cologne, Germany, told Space.com that CIMON could respond within a couple of seconds after a question was asked, no slower than in ground-based tests.





A data link connects CIMON with the Columbus control center in Germany; from there, the signal travels first to the Biotechnology Space Support Center at the Lucerne University in Switzerland, where CIMON's control team is based. Then, the connection is made over the internet to the IBM Cloud in Frankfurt, Germany, Bernd Rattenbacher, the team leader at the ground control centre at Lucerne University, said in the statement

"CIMON is a technology demonstration of what a future AI-based assistant on the International Space Station or on a future, longer-term exploration mission would look like," Trovatello said. "In the future, an astronaut could ask CIMON to show a procedure for a certain experiment, and CIMON would do that."
On Tuesday, Deputy Mayor Alicia Glen appeared on CNBCs Squawk Box to push back against the Amazon backlash. New York City is a notorious city of people with a lot of opinions, Glen said, stressing that while there would be more community engagement, the City and the State were moving forward with their plan to give one of the worlds most powerful corporations around $3 billion in tax breaks to bring as many as 40,000 jobs to Long Island City. "I can guarantee you five years from now all New Yorkers will be thanking us for having brought them," Glen said. This deal is not gonna get stopped.

But the projects opponents say that they are currently exploring every option they can to block, slow, or alter the governments deal with Amazon.

"Those that tell you this is a done deal, dont believe them, Democratic Queens State Senator Michael Gianaris, who represents Long Island City, told the crowd at a rally outside City Hall on Wednesday morning. This is not a done deal. No matter how much they wish it were so. No matter how much theyre trying to prevent oversight, no matter how much theyre trying to prevent approval from anybody other than themselves.

So who has the authority to decide if the project moves forward? What could stop the Amazon development, or slow it down?

How is Amazon getting around the City Council?

Normally, a company looking to build more than 4 million square feet of office space over several city blocks would have to submit to the Citys Uniform Land Use Review Procedure (ULURP), a lengthy process that requires oversight from community boards and borough presidents, and approvals from the City Council, the City Planning Commission, and the mayor. The huge development originally planned for the pieces of land around the Anabel Basin that Amazon later snatched up was going through ULURP.

Amazon is sidestepping the ULURP gauntlet by having the state overrule the citys authority: Cuomo plans to approve the tech campus through a General Project Plan under the state Urban Development Corporation Act, which exempts the project from City zoning and the ULURP process.

The UDC Act was passed in 1968 as a way to build affordable housing over the objections of recalcitrant communities, but it was later revamped to spur economic development. The Urban Development Corporation that it created now operates under the name Empire State Development (ESD), having built the Javits Center, Brooklyn Bridge Park, Battery Park City, and the Atlantic Yards project all free from city oversight.

A UDC project has to fall under one of six categories laid out in the text of the law. Jeffrey Baker, a land use attorney who kept the Atlantic Yards developers snarled in lawsuits for years, says the state could designate the Amazon campus as a land use improvement or an industrial project, but that in both instances, the text of the law requires that the site of the development is a slum, blighted, deteriorated or deteriorating area.

In the case of an industrial project, the bar is even higher: a project has to be in a blighted area, and also in a condition of substantial and persistent unemployment or underemployment.

They have to make this determination: but for bringing in this building, there is a huge amount of unemployed or underemployed people there and this place is blighted and it keeps it from being developed, Baker says. I dont know how you come up with that kind of determination.



Wait, so in order for the State to override the Citys authority, they have to determine that the Amazon site in Long Island City is blighted? The median rent in LIC is $2,450/month!

Yes, though over the years, blight has come to mean whatever the state wants it to mean.

John Kaehny, the executive director of Reinvent Albany, a good government group that has been extremely critical of the states mixed record on economic development subsidies, said that the states definition of blight is very elastic.

Theyre able to find interpretations of blight that defy common sense, Kaehny says. Its a point of potential resistance for people who oppose the Amazon deal and potential lawsuits that could delay it.

Samuel Stein, a PhD student at Graduate Center of the City University of New York who teaches urban studies at Hunter College, tells us that the blight designation is ridiculous, but its always been ridiculous.

I was just looking at photos used to determine blight in urban renewal projects on the West Side of Manhattan, and they look the exact same as the photos people use to show preservation of healthy neighborhoods, Stein says. The same buildings, same businesses, same people.

Could someone sue to stop the Amazon deal over a bogus blight designation?

They could sue, but the odds of success are long: the UDC experts we asked could not think of a single successful legal challenge to the law.

In the Atlantic Yards case, the courts eventually concluded that the area was blighted because it included eight acres of unused rail yards, but Baker, the land use attorney, says he has been contacted about potential legal challenges to the Amazon deal. He believes the Amazon site is different: I look at it objectively from what they had there, with the facts, and what they have here, and I think they have a much harder time.

Has the UDC been used in Long Island City before?

Yep. On Monday, Mayor Bill de Blasio pointed out that the UDC has been used in many other instances including on the Queens West development, right next door to this site, which has been a great success.

Queens West's UDC proposal is from 1990, and has "done much to transform this formerly contaminated waterfront area into a thriving community," according to the states website.

Obviously the most significant difference is time - Long Island City in 1990 was nothing like Long Island City is now in 2018, Baker says. In fact it could probably be argued that the Queens West project did what was expected by jumpstarting redevelopment in LIC and further intervention by ESD isnt warranted.

Why doesnt Amazon want to go through the normal city approvals process?

ULURP can take years, and in that process, development plans can change.

They dont want to go through ULURP, they dont want to, in their view, extort concessions from Amazon, Kaehny says of the state. The deal Amazon wants to do is with the governor, and the whole point to the subsidies and the construction grant are about creating a narrative in which the governor had an important role in landing the big fish.

He added, Developers go through ULURP all the time. Can one of the most valuable companies in the world lack the sophistication to go through ULURP which small and medium-sized business go through all the time? Its just dumb.

Amazon did not return our request for comment.

Adam Kilduff, a spokesperson for ESD, said that the state hasnt chosen Amazons project designation under UDC yet. At this very early stage of the process, we are just beginning to engage Amazon and other stakeholders, including the community, to develop a plan, Kilduff wrote in an email. The project, when developed, will comply with all applicable laws, including the UDC Act.

So what authority does the City Council have? I thought the Amazon deal included City-owned land?

While the City Council has an advisory role in completing an environmental review under the State Environmental Quality Review Act, the review process is ultimately controlled by the state.

Assuming the Amazon deal is applied to the UDC, Stein says, thats about all the power the City Council has.

I think back to the last big project like this, it was Atlantic Yards, and Tish James was the councilmember for the area. She was not in support of the plan as it was constructed, and she couldnt stop it.

City Council Speaker Corey Johnson told reporters on Wednesday that he has more concerns than I can voice on this.

Stay tuned, the Council is working on this. I think youll see what the Council is doing on Amazon soon, Johnson said.



Governor Andrew Cuomo and Mayor Bill de Blasio at the Amazon announcement earlier this month (Ed Reed/Mayoral Photography Office)

Fine, who does decide if the Amazon campus deal happens or not?

The State Public Authorities Control Board, which is comprised of representatives from the governor and the legislative majorities of both houses, will have to vote on the plan, and their vote to approve it must be unanimous.

While Kilduff, the ESD spokesperson, says that the land use plan will be part of the PACBs decision, he said the state will not need the PACBs go-ahead to give Amazon $505 million in grants, because the state will use funding programs that do not require the PACB approval. He declined to name any of the possible programs.

The PACB usually meets mid-month, though they havent released the date for Decembers meeting yet. According to Kaehny, the PACB likely wont discuss the Amazon deal until the new Democratic State Senate majority gets to put its representative on the board.

The December meeting would be weird with lame duck Republicans still on the board, he says.

When the PACB does meet, the vote wont be on piecemeal aspects of the plan, it will be on the whole shebang.

The whole thing together goes to the PACB, Stein says, pointing to a 2005 PACB vote that killed Mayor Michael Bloombergs vision of a new Jets stadium on the West Side (and the citys bid for the 2012 Olympics). That was essentially Sheldon Silver saying fuck you to Michael Bloomberg.

However, David Friedfel, the director of state studies at the Citizens Budget Commission says that too is up to the PACB. They can decide to take things up individually.

What about the other $2.5 billion that Amazon is supposed to get in tax credits? Who has oversight there?

The $1.8 billion Amazon is getting from the city is coming from two separate as of right tax credit programs, meaning any large corporation could have gotten them automatically. The remaining $1.2 billion is coming from the state via Excelsior Jobs Program tax credits, which are available to any company that applies, at the discretion of the ESD.

The Citizens Budget Commission noted in a blog post this week that Amazons projected tax credits would exceed the amount currently allowed under the law: Assuming Amazon meets its job targets, the State Legislature would need to approve an extension of Excelsior that increases the caps. The ESD has not disputed this.

Friedfel adds that the Excelsior tax credits would not be under the purview of the PACB.

Whats the timeline on the Amazon deal?

According to the Memorandum of Understanding between Amazon, the City, and the State, the parties have until March 11 of 2019 to conduct due diligence, with the estimated approval of the directors of the ESD in November of 2019.

What are politicians from Long Island City saying?

Long Island City is not a blighted slum, nor is it in danger of becoming one. I do not believe there is substantial unemployment or underemployment at the proposed Amazon site, said City Councilmember Jimmy Van Bramer, whose district includes Long Island City. The councilman acknowledged that while underemployment does exist at Queensbridge, the citys largest public housing complex which is near the proposed Amazon site, The State is wrong here. The use of UDC is inappropriate.

Senator Gianaris, whose newly-won Democratic majority will soon exert greater influence on the PACB, also opposes the states use of UDC for Amazon. Its taking people out of equation, Gianaris told Gothamist. Theres a land use process, which is a vehicle through which the public has input. Theres all sorts of shenanigans that should be subject to legal review about the way they did it.

As for what authority the PACB has over the $505 million grant, Gianaris says, Our lawyers are going over that right now.

I believe those who want this deal are trying to figure out how to bypass [the PACB], and we dont believe it can be bypassed and so were trying to figure out what exactly is required and what opportunities there are for us to be heard.

Additional reporting by Carl Boisrond.
- Beyonce penned a heartfelt letter of gratitude to the late father of the nation, Nelson Mandela

- In the letter the superstar wrote how much she learnt from him before he passed away in 2013

- Meanwhile, footage emerged on social media which showed the famous Carter family landing in South Africa

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Earlier, the Sowetan published a letter, which Beyonce allegedly wrote to the late Nelson mandela ahead of the Global Citizen Festival.

Briefly.co.za learned Queen B thanked Madiba for the lessons she learnt from him before he passed away five-years-ago. She added she could now pass on those lessons to her kids.

Here is the full letter:

Dear Madiba,

I first met you in 2004 for the 46664 AIDS Benefit Concert in Cape Town, and the impact you have had on my life resonates with me today and every day. Your kindness and gratitude for every experience, and your ability to forgive are lessons I have learned and will pass on to my three children. My entire family holds you in high regard.

It is an honor for me to travel to South Africa this week in celebration of you and your efforts to right so many wrongs. You were a strategic warrior, a bold activist, and charismatic and well-loved leader. Your vision for dignity, for human rights, for peace and a South Africa free of racism and apartheid, allows us all to turn dreams into reality.

I remember taking that walk with you back to the prison on Robben Island where you spent 18 of those imprisoned 27 years. I recall your measured but focused steps in as you recounted the stories of the struggles, the sacrifices and your resilience.

READ ALSO: One of Jacob Zuma's wives send him a touching message: 'I got your back'

You smiled as you talked to a crowd of artists and their guests, including my mother, who first told my sister and me about the great Nelson Mandela. In that moment I truly understood your heart and humility. You made it possible for so many people like me to reject impossibilities and understand our capabilities in making lasting change in the world.

The smallest efforts could change the trajectory for so many living in extreme poverty, facing injustices, the indecency of racism and fighting for their rights as humans. As we celebrate the Global Citizen Festival: Mandela 100, honoring your centennial year, I promise you that we have made your dreams our own.

Your work and your sacrifices were not in vain. I will cherish every moment shared in your presence and use the lessons learned from you as fuel to stir positive ideas and solutions.

Beyonce Knowles-Carter

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Meanwhile, videos were shared on social media which showed Queen B and her family finally touching down in South Africa.

Beyonce and her hubby, rap superstar Jay Z, are set to perform in the upcoming Global Citizen Festival, which is held in honour of Mandela's 100th birthday this year.

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Source: Briefly.co.za
- With home invasion on everyones mind, we take a look at the crime statistics for 2018 in this regard.

- Gauteng came in at the top of charts with regards to home invasions with Honeyview taking a spot as the worst city

- The Northern Cape, as well as the North West both, managed to stay out of the top 30

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After the shocking attack on ex-Springbok Naka Drotske, home invasions are on everyones mind. The recently released official crime statistics show that South Africa is still fighting an uphill battle with crime.

Briefly.co.za reported earlier that Drotske was attacked while enjoying a braai in Kameeldrif on Thursday. He remains in critical condition after being shot 3 times by heavily armed assailants.

The statistics pinpoint places where people are most likely to encounter certain types of crime. On an important note, robbery refers to theft which involves a direct confrontation between the victim and the assailant whilst burglary does not.

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Gauteng was the province with the most home invasions with a staggering 8333 incidents in this year. The Northern Cape had the least with just 159 incidents.

There was a total of 22 261 home robberies over the last year, which is a slight decrease from the previous year, but it remains an unnerving figure.

READ ALSO: Zuma appears in court today for corruption charges, supporters rally

Limpopo, however, has seen a sharp increase of 26% with 1490 cases being reported to authorities.

Source: SAPS

Source: Original

The ratio of citizens affected in each province is as follows:

- Gauteng: 1 in 1500

- Western Cape: 1 in 2300

- KwaZulu-Natal: 1 in 2650

- North West: 1 in 3100

- Eastern Cape: 1 in 3200

- Free State: 1 in 3500

- Mpumalanga: 1 in 3800

- Limpopo: 1 in 4000

- Northern Cape: 1 in 7800

When one takes a look at the top 30 hot spots for robbery at a home property one sees Gauteng taking up 6 of the top ten spots with Honeydew taking the lead. Ivory Park, Gauteng comes in a close second. Nyanga, which is infamous as the murder capital in the country, comes in third.

Sandton also is posed in the top 5, with homeowners in the wealthy suburb being targeted. The Northern Cape and North West avoided a spot in the top 30.

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Source: Briefly.co.za
- A South African war hero finally returned home to Cape Town after his wrongful arrest

- Gareth Rutherford earned the Honoris Crux for his incredible show of bravery in 1980

- A plethora of yellow ribbons were tied across Cape Town in honour of his return

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Gareth Rutherford literally went from hero to zero.

The former South African Defence Force (SADF) war hero was honoured in the greatest way possible when he received the Honoris Crux  South Africas highest recognition of bravery.

Rutherford, a Lance Corporal at the time, risked his own life to save his fellow soldiers in 1980.

However, he had the rug pulled out from under him in Kuwait on 18th September 2008.

SA People News reported that he agreed to take home a parcel on the day he was set to return to South Africa.

READ ALSO: Meet Kelly Chibale, UCT graduate who possibly found the solution to Malaria

As he was just following orders, Rutherford opted not to check the parcel.

He was arrested, tried according to Kuwaiti law and convicted of drug and liquor trafficking.

Over the last decade, his friends never gave up hope of his release.

They drew up petitions and kept pressurising the South African and British embassies to intervene.

However, Rutherfords prayers were eventually answered as he received unexpected amnesty a few weeks back.

Finally a free man, he returned home to Cape Town to a heros welcome.

In honour of Rutherford and the 1970s hit song, Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree, residents tied yellow ribbons all the way from the Cape Town International Airport through Kalk Bay and all the way to Noordhoek.

The South African hero was finally home and Cape Town made sure he knew he was welcome.

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Source: Briefly.co.za
News / National

by Mandla Ndlovu

Gweru magistrate Thomas Gurajena has ordered the release from police custody for an Airforce of Zimbabwe pilot Tashinga Musonza, who murdered his girlfriend Lucy Duve accusing her of cheating.Musonza told the court through his lawyer that he had been held for 53 hours before being taken to court.Gurajena ruled that it was an abuse of a suspect's rights to hold them in police custody for more than 48 hours.I t is the state's case that Musonza went to their joint lodgings at about 10pm on Monday night and found Duve sleeping.He allegedly woke the woman up and accused her of cheating on him with a colleague. They started to argue, with Duve denying the allegations.They then drove to his airbase to clarify the matter with Musonza's colleague who denied the allegations. Unconvinced, Musonza started to beat Duve with his hands and kicked her with his boots. Attempts by his colleague to stop the beating were unsuccessful so he went to fetch assistance.Upon their return, Duve was found unconscious lying in a pool of blood and subsequently succumbed to her injuries.The late Duve was a lawyer.
News / National

by Staff reporter

GOVERNMENT is working on a policy to screen all second-hand vehicles to make sure they meet minimum standards before they can be imported into the country, a Cabinet minister said yesterday.Officially opening the Motor Industry Association of Zimbabwe (MIAZ) annual congress here on Wednesday Industry and Commerce Minister Nqobizitha Mangaliso Ndlovu said the motor industry was key to the country's economic turnaround hence the need to create an export oriented sector.He said the proposed policy will be in place early next year as part of efforts to revive industry."In terms of standards we need pre-inspection of pre-owned vehicles. We're seriously considering introduction of inspection in the first quarter of 2019 to see if they meet minimum local standards," said Minister Ndlovu.He said Government will also scale up efforts to resuscitate critical industries such as Ziscosteel, National Railways of Zimbabwe, Hwange Colliery Company, Zesa and Dunlop in the first quarter of 2019 as these are key to the nation."Government also targets to help revive distressed industries including the private sector. Revival of Ziscosteel is central to industry and if we don't get it right we can't take industry especially in Bulawayo back on its feet," said Minister Ndlovu."Government is on the right course to reviving critical industry. The motor industry and Government, working together, can turnaround the economy of this country hence we hope to create an export oriented industry as we move away from being a land locked to a land linked country," he said.Minister Ndlovu called for linkages with other countries like South Africa in the motor industry to capacitate local industry. He, however, warned industry players against increasing prices saying Government will not just watch while consumers are being exploited.The minister said that foreign currency customs duty imposed by Minister of Finance and Economic Development, Professor Mthuli Ncube, on importation of motor vehicles was meant to control importation on non-productive goods particularly cars and saving the scarce foreign currency.He implored the motor industry to come up with a working technical committee that will work with Government to come up with an action plan for the industry. MIAZ president Mr Simplisio Shamba bemoaned the state of the industry, which he said was operating in silos."We agree with the minister about the need for a technical committee, which will articulate issues of the industry. At the moment the motor industry is more of each man for himself-as there is no proper regulation, which is why we developed the motor industry development policy to govern operators and guard against briefcase business and smugglers who distort prices," said Mr Shamba.He urged players in the industry to be dynamic adding that introduction of payment of duty in foreign currency will help screen second hand vehicles and promote local assemblers. "The onus is now on local manufacturers to be able to choose models that are needed by ministries."We don't want to waste foreign currency by bringing in models that will come and work for a few months and be parked. We need this foreign currency to revive critical industry," said Mr Shamba.The Minister of State for Matabeleland North Provincial Affairs, Richard Moyo, challenged the motor industry to explore other avenues for survival."As organisations in the motor industry I urge you to be dynamic to react to market conditions."The industry has to take advantage of available exports and champion our national interests hence I also invite you to explore business opportunities in my province," he said.
News / National

by Staff reporter

A FORMER police chaplain appeared at the Harare Magistrates' Courts yesterday facing allegations of rape and armed robbery.He is alleged to have teamed up with six accomplices to rob a Harare woman of her belongings before gang-raping her 16-year-old daughter.Given Rusinga (42) was not asked to plead when he appeared before magistrate Rumbidzai Mugwagwa, who remanded him in custody to December 11.The State alleges that on August 16, at around 7pm, Rusinga and his accomplices  one of whom is known as Simon Kativhu and is on the run  broke into the complainant's house in Harare.The gang held the complainant and her two daughters at gun point and demanded cash.They ransacked the house and took $300, an HP laptop, a G-Tel, Huawei, Samsung and I-tel mobile phones.It is alleged two of the suspects took turns to rape the complainant's 16-year-old daughter without protection.One of the accused persons also stabbed the complainant on her backside before leaving the premises.Shepard Makonde appeared for the State.
News / National

by Staf reporter

The president of a United Nations led multi-million dollar investment fund is meeting President Emmerson Mnangagwa next week to discuss investments to improve food and nutrition security, provide employment opportunities for rural youth and reduce poverty.More to follow....
News / National

by Staff reporter

A Harare magistrate yesterday dismissed an application of exception to charges made by former Local Government minister Saviour Kasukuwere.The ex-Zanu-PF political commissar is facing three charges of criminal abuse of office and violating the Procurement Act.The criminal abuse of office charges relate to the case of Shuvai Gumbochuma, sister to former first lady Grace Mugabe, who is before the courts on allegations of fraudulently acquiring vast tracts of land from Kasukuwere's Local Government ministry worth more than $2 million without paying for it.Kasukuwere is also accused of violating the Procurement Act by awarding a contract to Brainworks without going to tender.In dismissing the application, Harare regional magistrate Hosea Mujaya ruled that Thembinkosi Magwaliba, who represents Kasukuwere raised triable issues in the exception application.Mujaya also expressed shock that the defence claimed Cabinet ministers do not have a Code of Conduct which regulates how ministers should conduct their duties.He remanded the matter to December 12 for commencement of trial.Through his defence counsel, Kasukuwere filed the application for exception arguing that the allegations put against him did not disclose an offence and do not explain the essential elements.He argued that trial cannot be conducted if essential elements are not contained in the State's outline.Magwaliba also argued that there is no code of conduct or a Statutory Instrument which regulates how ministers should conduct their duties and that allegations put to his client do not allege any special relationship between Gumbochuma and Kasukuwere.According to Magwaliba, his client had the right to allocate land as Lands minister."Assuming that the accused person in his capacity as a minister of local planning authority, allocated and relocated land, it was perfectly within his powers to do so," Magwaliba said."There was no deviation from his powers to have done so. There was no deviation from his powers in terms of the Act. The engagement in a trial based on alleged facts which do not establish a criminal offence will be a complete waste of time."However, prosecutor Zivanai Macharaga dismissed the application and accused Kasukuwere of stalling trial by boggling the court with frivolous applications in an effort to avoid his "day of reckoning."
Opinion / Columnist

Etiwel Mutero

+264817871070

etiwelm02@gmail.com

I like the petition by MDC Alliance unveiled at a party demonstration in Harare yesterday and presented to the parliament, Mnangagwa, SADC and African Union. I support the MDC Alliance and its President Nelson Chamisa but I am against two things; the ill-treatment of a senior member of the party and VP Mudzuri yesterday and few days ago, and the demand for a National Transitional Authority.I think Mudzuri deserve respect as a senior member and Vice President of the party. Mudzuri broke no MDC law in attending a parliamentary meeting at the state house. Mudzuri was simply discharging his duties assigned by the MDC in parliament. I believe Hwende and party must be disciplined for disrespecting the party vice president in public which resulted in Mudzuri ridiculed party supporters yesterday. Leaders must lead by example not to behave like high school boys. Hwende and party must immediately apologize to Mudzuri. Harbouring ambitions to contest the presidency alongside Chamisa at the coming congress is not a crime but a right to every party member. If Hwende and friends are of the view that Chamisa is the right candidate for the MDC presidency come next congress and that the majority of party members like him, why treat other leaders as villains a few months before congress? Mudzuri and Mwonzora deserve respect from all MDC members; they worked for this party for a long period of time.The two deserve honours not what they are getting now.I also disagree and oppose a demand by my party MDC Alliance for the so called National Transition Authority (NTA) for the simple reason that it is not provided for in the Zimbabwean Constitution. The NTA is unconstitutional. Our constitution was voted for in 2013 and last year Mnangagwa as both VP and Minister of Justice made the first amendment and MDC was heard condemning ED'S decision to amend the constitution .Its surprising today the same MDC is now pushing for a second amendment to the constitution for nothing but simply to create a post for Chamisa in government and probably to give Biti a ministerial post through the backdoor. Sensible Zimbabwean must not be carried away with this but must oppose this foolish NTA.The NTA will not succeed but is doomed to fail from the onset. There is no difference between the proposed NTA and the failed GNU of 2009-2013.The GNU failed to bring electoral reforms, media reforms, security sector reforms etc but today we are being told the NTA will be there to bring electoral reforms blah blah ..the same issues which necessitated the formation of the GNU IN 2009 but failed dismally.The GNU only succeeded to give Tsvangirai a mansion while Chamisa and Biti got Ministerial posts but nothing for poor MDC supporters. Why must we be made to believe this time around the NTA succeed? The GNU failed because parties were scheming against each but ZANU PF proved smarter than the MDC which resulted in its defeat in the 2013 elections. I know that you will tell me that 2013 elections were rigged, but Biti the current MDC Vice Charman clearly said Tsvangirai was defeated by Mugabe.Someone will argue that yes the NTA is not provided for in the constitution but we will amend the constitution.Is it noble to amend the constitution after each General Election? Do you think amending the constitution is the right solution to every electoral dispute?Who doesn't know that the idea of NTA started with Biti and Ibbo Mandaza? Biti's party started this idea but Tsvangirai and the MDC refused to buy this silly idea. Today Biti is admitted into the MDC party, we now see Chamisa campaigning for the same NTA which was rejected by Tsvangirai during his days. Where are we going? Chamisa and MDC now captured by Biti? Who is really calling the shots at the MDC Alliance party?I say no to the NTA because it is one of the undemocratic governments. Leaders of NTAs are not elected officials but imposed leaders by political elites. It is not a government of the people. Legitimacy of democratic governments derives from free and fair elections but NTA governments are not a result of elections but of negotiations therefore lacks legitimacy. We want a legitimate government of the people by the people and nothing less. Someone would say elections had failed to solve the Zimbabwean crises, but I will ask you again, did the GNU succeeded in solving the Zimbabwean crises? If yes then why are we calling for NTA today?The NTA is simply a ploy by some MDC officials to try to get Ministerial posts in the government but poor Zimbabweans who chant slogans day and night will remain poor and jobless. Progressive Zimbabweans will not support an unconstitutional NTA, I will subscribe to the idea if both the MDC and ZANU PF will not be part of the proposed NTA. The MDC and ZANU PF must not also be found at the negotiating table for the proposed NTA!I want to re-emphasise that I support the MDC and Chamisa but I am totally against the silly and stupid NTA. Why is it easy for Chamisa to call for an NTA and not for fresh elections if indeed he was rigged during the previous elections?
By Eliana Raszewski and Cassandra Garrison BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) - Argentine President Mauricio Macri said on Thursday that accusations against Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman relating to war crimes and the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi may be discussed during the G20 summit, which starts on Friday. "Regarding the crown prince, who is attending this summit, Saudi Arabia is a permanent member of the G20. And, as such, he is attending. This issue, which has impacted the world, is on the table and it may come out in bilateral meetings or not, or in the G20 agenda," Macri said. Macri was speaking at a joint press conference with French President Emmanuel Macron, who said he will have the opportunity to discuss the accusations with the Saudi crown prince when they meet during the summit. Macron said the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi was "very serious". "I believe and I hope that the investigations, both in Turkey and in Saudi Arabia, will continue to clarify the situation, both for the relatives of Mr. Khashoggi and for the international community," Macron said. Human Rights Watch (HRW) asked Argentina on Monday to use a war crimes clause in its constitution to investigate any involvement by the crown prince in possible crimes against humanity in Yemen, where Saudi Arabia has launched a military campaign. The rights group also asked Argentina to investigate the Saudi crown prince in connection with Khashoggi's murder six weeks ago, which has sparked international furor. A representative from the federal prosecutor's office assigned to review the case told Reuters on Thursday there were no updates on whether Argentina would formally investigate the HRW complaints. An Argentine federal judge asked the foreign ministry on Wednesday to seek information from Turkey, Yemen and the International Criminal Court in connection with the accusations. The Saudi crown prince arrived in Buenos Aires on Wednesday for the two-day G20 summit, which begins Friday. (Reporting by Eliana Raszewski and Cassandra Garrison in Buenos Aires, John Irish and Michel Rose in Paris; writing by Cassandra Garrison; Editing by Daniel Flynn and Bernadette Baum)
A NJ man, who has already been arrested for setting his own house on fire, was charged with four counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of his brother, sister-in-law, 11-year-old nephew, and eight-year-old niece. Prosecutor Christopher Gramiccioni said that Paul Caneiro, who was also charged with arson and weapons offenses, set fire to his own home to "destroy evidence" from the crime scene.

On November 20th, Colts Neck firefighters responded to a fire around 12:30 p.m. at Keith and Jennifer Caneiro's mansion, where they found the couple's bodies, as well as the bodies of Jesse, 11, and Sophia, 8. Keith Caneiro, 50, was found shot outside the home, while the others were inside the burning house. "We allege that Jennifer was shot and stabbed, and the two Caneiro children were repeatedly stabbed by knife," Gramiccioni said in a press conference.

Earlier in the day, after 5 a.m., firefighters had responded to a fire at Paul Caneiro's Ocean Township home. Caneiro, 51, his wife and daughters survived the fire, and authorities arrested Caneiro for arson on November 21.

The brothers both worked at technology firm they owned, Square One, as well as a pest company from an office in Asbury Park, NJ. At Thursday's press conference, Gramiccioni said that the investigators discovered a dispute that was "financial in nature, stemming from [Paul Caniero's] and the victim's joint ventures that ... they owned and operated out of Asbury Park. As a result we have also ... launched a financial investigation into the business and financial dealings of the defendant."

Authorities believe that Paul Caneiro killed his brother and his brother's family and set fire to the Colts Neck house around 4 a.m. before setting fire to his own home. Gramiccioni said the Colts Neck house fire started in the basement, "It continued to smolder until there was entry made into the home, a great deal of oxygen coming into the home effectively fed that fire. (The fire) wasnt reported until 12:38, what we believed caused the fire to catch on from there is the feeding of oxygen once the house was entered into."

Gramiccioni said that Paul Caneiro set his house on fire as a "ruse" to suggest both brothers' families were targeted.

Lawyers for Paul Caneiro said, "There is absolutely no reason in the world for Paul Caneiro to have committed the crimes he is alleged to have committed. He would never hurt any member of his family."

The brothers grew up in Brooklyn and Staten Island, both married women from Staten Island, and settled in NJ. Family friends say Keith Caneiro was recently interviewing at other companies, even talking about taking an opportunity in California. According to the NY Times, "Several people said Paul Caneiro had recently been living apart from his family in another house in Ocean Township, though he had returned home. Meanwhile, tensions mounted between the brothers over business matters, the family friends said. Paul Caneiro had mainly been running the exterminating company, EcoStar Pest Management, while Keith Caneiro ran Square One."

A law enforcement source told NJ.com that Square One "had been struggling financially to stay afloat."

Caneiro is expected in court on Friday. A funeral for Keith, Jennifer, Jesse and Sophia Caneiro is planned for the weekend.
Stanley Nowak has become the first person convicted under the Food and Drug Act for marketing, packaging and selling the so-called Miracle Mineral Solution, a controversial tonic that's been marketed as a cure for a variety of illnesses, diseases and conditions, including AIDS, cancer and autism.

The 67-year-old B.C. man pleaded guilty to 17 charges under the act this week and was given a two-year conditional sentence and a two-year probation order. The remaining 12 charges against him were stayed.

The Public Prosecution Service of Canada told CBC News it is the first conviction involving MMS in Canada.

Health Canada has been warning about the dangers of the so-called Miracle Mineral Solution for years. MMS contains sodium chlorite, a chemical used mainly as a textile bleaching agent and disinfectant.

Health Canada has said ingesting it can cause serious health problems, including poisoning, kidney failure and harm to red blood cells.

The solution has been promoted by the Dominican Republic-based Genesis II Church, which lists MMS as one of its sacraments and claims that when sodium chlorite is diluted with water it can cure many of the world's diseases.

The Fifth Estate

Some of the charges date back to 2012 when Nowak and his daughter Sara were alleged by Health Canada to have marketed, packaged and sold MMS in B.C. and Alberta "in a manner that was false, misleading or deceptive."

The 20 Food and Drug Act charges that Sara Nowak of Okotoks, Alta., was facing were stayed in Vancouver provincial court this week.

"At the sentencing hearing [for Stanley Nowak] the Crown and defence proposed a joint submission of a conditional sentence order of two years less a day followed by two years of probation. The court agreed and Mr. Nowak was sentenced accordingly," said a spokesperson for the prosecution service in an email to CBC News.

Nowak will be under house arrest for the first six months of his sentence and must abide by an 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. curfew for the remaining 18 months. He will be subject to electronic monitoring during the entire two-year sentence.

Story continues

The court imposed a number of other conditions on him, including:

Prohibited from manufacturing, packaging or selling any drugs as drugs are defined under the Food and Drug Act.

Prohibited from possessing sodium chlorite, chlorine dioxide or powder citric acid.

Prohibited from counselling any person to sell or consume sodium chlorite.

Prohibited from making public or publishing any information respecting MMS, sodium chlorite, chlorine dioxide or citric acid on the internet.

Prohibited from communicating with Mark Grenon, Joseph Grenon or any other member of the Genesis II Church.

Nowak was also ordered to perform 240 hours of community service.

Health Canada issued a statement to CBC News:

"Health Canada is pleased with the outcome of this case. That outcome reflects the department's ongoing work to protect Canadians from unauthorized health products that pose serious health risks."

"The work that led to this successful prosecution illustrates Health Canada's commitment to taking action against individuals and activities that pose a risk to Canadians, by using all tools at its disposal."

Health Canada

The Genesis II Church held a seminar in Calgary in March sparking a review by Health Canada, which is still ongoing.

Jonathan Grenon, whose father is named as an archbishop with the church, told CBC News at the time they were not selling or promoting MMS during the weekend seminar.

"We don't sell anything, I don't want to answer any more questions right now," said Grenon, who identified himself as a bishop with the Genesis II Church.

The church's website says it has 3,000 members in 135 countries, including Canada.
By David Ljunggren OTTAWA (Reuters) - Canada's Alberta province is in talks to buy rail cars to transport 120,000 barrels per day of crude oil and expects a deal to be concluded within weeks, Premier Rachel Notley said on Wednesday, as the oil-rich province tries to move oil stuck in the region because of a lack of pipeline capacity. Notley, who said the cars were needed to help deal with a glut that has slashed the price of Alberta oil, told a business audience she was disappointed the federal government was not helping fund the purchase. Reuters reported last week that Alberta had proposed a joint purchase of two unit trains worth of capacity and estimated the one-time capital cost at about C$350 million ($263.7 million). Federal officials are cool to the idea, saying that by the time the first cars come on line late next year, the supply problems will have eased. Alberta estimates it is producing about 250,000 bpd more than can be shipped using existing pipeline and rail capacity. "Alberta will buy the rail cars ourselves to move this oil," Notley said in a speech. "We have already engaged a third party to negotiate and work is well under way. We anticipate conclusion of the deal within weeks." She later told reporters a deal could be announced before year end. Based on the initial talks, Alberta expects the first 15,000 bpd of capacity to come online in December 2019, ramping up to the full 120,000 bpd by August 2020, with the agreement running for three years. "It's a lot of trains and a lot of cars," Notley told Maclean's magazine in a webcast interview on Wednesday evening, noting it took multiple 60,000-barrel unit trains to move the equivalent of 120,000 bpd. The added transport capacity is expected to improve the Canadian crude discount by about $4 over the three-year term, the provincial government said. Under that time line, the first rail cars would roll out just as an expansion of Enbridge Inc's Line 3 oil export pipeline is set to start operation, although Notley argued the rail capacity would still be needed. "Line 3 only clears the market for three months before we find ourselves back in this situation again," she told Maclean's. Notley said the cost of buying the cars would be fully recouped through royalties and the selling of shipping capacity. Her spokeswoman, Cheryl Oates, said the province did not anticipate keeping the unit trains beyond 2021. FEDERAL HELP WANTED Notley said there was "no excuse" for Ottawa not helping and castigated the federal government for proposing tougher environmental standards that she said would make it harder than ever to build pipelines. The supply glut "is happening because Canada willfully holds Alberta's economy and Canada's economy hostage," she said, estimating the losses at C$80 million a day. Ottawa denies it is being unhelpful, noting that it bought Kinder Morgan Canada Ltd's Trans Mountain pipeline earlier this year. Vanessa Adams, a spokeswoman for federal Natural Resources Minister Amarjeet Sohi, said Ottawa was analyzing Alberta's proposal about splitting the cost of the unit trains. Several Canadian crude producers have curtailed production and asked Alberta to mandate cuts for other producers. Oates said a decision on that would be made within a week. Oates also said Alberta was not considering a "royalty holiday" to incentivize output cuts, adding a number of tools were being considered, including the way royalties were applied. Last week, federal Finance Minister Bill Morneau said businesses would be allowed to write off additional capital investments, something that he said oil industry executives had pressed for. (Reporting by David Ljunggren; Additional reporting by Julie Gordon in Vancouver; Editing by Lisa Shumaker and Peter Cooney)
SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Indonesian ride-hailing firm Go-Jek kicked off a trial launch in parts of Singapore on Thursday and plans to roll out an array of services through its app in early 2019, challenging dominant player Grab in the small city-state. Both Go-Jek and Grab are raising billions of dollars and investing aggressively in the race to corner a bigger share of Southeast Asia, as more of the region's 640 million consumers go online and use smartphones to shop, commute and make payments. Go-Jek, backed by the likes of Tencent Holdings, Alphabet Inc's Google and Singapore state investor Temasek Holdings, is initially launching ride-hailing service in parts of Singapore after forming a partnership with DBS Group Holdings, the region's biggest bank. "As this is a new product, we will obviously give promotions, but at the end of the day it shouldn't only be pricing that differentiates our services," Go-Jek's president, Andre Soelistyo, told reporters on Thursday. Grab, backed by Japan's SoftBank and Chinese ride-hailing firm Didi Chuxing, bought Uber Technologies' loss-making Southeast Asian business this year, marking the first big consolidation in the region. Following this, Singapore's anti-trust watchdog slapped Grab and Uber with fines and imposed measures to open up the local market to competitors after concluding that their merger had driven up prices. Go-Jek's executives declined to give any details on how many drivers it had signed up or a target for market share in Singapore, but said payment services would be launched later. Started in 2011 in Jakarta, Go-Jek has evolved from a ride-hailing service to a one-stop app through which its customers can make online payments and order everything from food, groceries to massages. (Reporting by Anshuman Daga; Editing by Himani Sarkar)
By David Brunnstrom WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A human rights law group contracted by the State Department to interview refugees as part of an investigation into atrocities against Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar has found that there is a reasonable basis to conclude that genocide was committed - even though the U.S. government stopped short of saying so. A report due to be released on Monday by the Washington-based Public International Law and Policy Group (PILPG) will also say there was a reasonable basis to conclude that the Myanmar military committed crimes against humanity and war crimes, as well as genocide. A U.S. State Department report released in September, which relied on PILPG research, found that Myanmar's military waged a "well-planned and coordinated" campaign of mass killings, gang rapes and other atrocities against the Rohingya. But it stopped short of describing the crackdown as genocide or crimes against humanity, an issue that U.S. officials said was the subject of fierce internal debate that delayed the report's rollout for nearly a month. A declaration of genocide by the U.S. government, which has only gone as far as labeling the crackdown "ethnic cleansing," could have legal implications of committing Washington to stronger punitive measures against Myanmar. This has made some in the Trump administration wary of issuing such an assessment. In an advisory on Thursday announcing the planned release of the legal analysis of its investigation, PILPG said it would reveal that "there is a reasonable basis to conclude that war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide were committed against the Rohingya population." PILPG based its report on more than 1,000 interviews with Rohingya refugees who fled to Bangladesh. The group said its mission was conducted in March and April "to provide an accurate accounting of the patterns of abuse and atrocity crimes." The September State Department report was released in low-key fashion nearly a month after U.N. investigators issued a report accusing Myanmars military of acting with "genocidal intent" and calling for the countrys commander-in-chief and five generals to be prosecuted under international law. State Department officials have said the objective of the U.S. government investigation was not to determine genocide but to "document the facts," and it would be up to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to make a "legal" designation in the future. Pompeo has urged Myanmar's government to investigate abuses against the Rohingya and hold accountable members of its security forces and others who were responsible. A top State Department official said in September those responsible could be held accountable for genocide and crimes against humanity. The military in Myanmar, previously known as Burma, where Buddhism is the main religion, has denied accusations of ethnic cleansing and says its actions were part of a fight against terrorism. (Reporting by David Brunnstrom; Editing by Leslie Adler)
SEOUL (Reuters) - South Korean prosecutors on Thursday said they have indicted nine people on suspicion of leaking Samsung Electronics Co Ltd flexible display technology to a Chinese company. The Suwon District Prosecutors' Office has charged the chief executive and eight employees of supplier Toptec Co Ltd for selling information earlier this year about Samsung's organic light-emitting diode (OLED) panels. The group are accused of forming a separate shell company that received information on the use of equipment and drawings of panels obtained from Samsung subsidiary Samsung Display, and which sold some of the documents in China for 15.5 billion won ($13.85 million), the prosecutors office said. Toptec, which produces automated equipment to make mobile phone display panels, denied any wrongdoing. "Our company has never provided Samsung Display's industrial technology or business secrets to a Chinese client. Our company will fully cooperate with legal proceedings to find the truth in court," Toptec said in a statement. Shares in Toptec tumbled 20 percent. A Samsung Display spokesman said the indictment was "regrettable" and that the firm would increase efforts to protect technology. Prosecutors said Samsung Display invested 150 billion won over six years to develop the leaked technology of 3D lamination, which they said was "a national core technology". Samsung dominates the market for small and mid-sized OLED displays and is a supplier of Apple Inc. (Reporting by Ju-min Park and Heekyong Yang; Editing by Christopher Cushing)
By Suleiman Al-Khalidi and Dan Williams AMMAN/JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Syrian air defenses shot down "hostile targets" on Thursday, state media said, in an area regional intelligence sources said contains Iran-backed assets, while Russian media said no Israeli jet had been downed as earlier reported. Russia's RIA news agency, citing a Syrian security source, had reported that air defenses had shot down an Israeli war plane and four missiles, but the same source later denied this and Israel's military said the report was "bogus". Syrian state media said air defenses shot down "hostile targets" flying over the town of Kiswah, south of the capital Damascus, and "were able to foil its goals" despite the "intensity of the aggression. State media quoted a military source but did not specify what the target was or where it came from. The area where the incident is said to have occurred is where Lebanon's Hezbollah, a group backed by Iran, has its communications and logistics hub for southern Syria near the Israeli border, according to two senior regional intelligence sources. Among the targets struck were two Syrian army brigades where Lebanon's Hezbollah group is embedded alongside a rocket depot close to its bases near the border with Lebanon, another Syrian army defector in touch with military personnel said. Unlike previous occasions, the Syrian authorities did not blame Israel. Israel is concerned that Iran's growing presence in Syria poses a threat to its own security and has struck dozens of Iranian and Iran-backed positions in Syria over the course of the country's seven-year conflict. The Israel Defence Forces said in a statement on Twitter: "In the course of Syrian ground-to-air missile fire, (Israel's) air defenses sighted a single trajectory toward an open area of the Golan Heights." "At this stage it remains unclear whether there was indeed an impact in our territory. Our forces are scouring the area. Furthermore, the report about a strike on an Israeli aircraft or an Israeli aerial target are bogus," said the statement. A Syrian opposition figure familiar with the area where the incident occurred said its proximity to the Syrian Golan Heights made it a hub for the recruitment of Iran-backed militias and their deployment across the strategic border area with Israel. "Israel has targeted this area because the Syrian army barracks there have become a recruiting ground for Hezbollah and their militias to deploy in Quneitra," Said Seif told Reuters. Iran is a key ally of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and supports a number of militias that have fought alongside the Syrian army and its allies. Tehran has in recent months expanded its military presence in southern Syria after insurgents were driven out, with Hezbollah, by far the biggest of the Iranian-backed militias expanding its foothold there, according to regional security sources. Opposition sources say Hezbollah now plays a commanding role in the Quneitra province that neighbors the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, where it is believed to be training allied militias and hundreds of former rebels. The sources said this was the first major attack since Israel scaled down its attacks in Syria after the accidental shooting down of a Russian surveillance plane over two months ago. The Sept. 17 downing by Syrian anti-aircraft fire, after Israeli jets attacked a suspected Iranian arms shipment to Syria, caused a diplomatic rift between Israel and Russia, and Moscow blamed Israel for the incident. (Reporting by Suleiman Al-Khalidi in Amman, Dan Williams in Jerusalem, Denis Pinchuk and Tom Balmforth in Moscow and Lisa Barrington in Beirut; Editing by Richard Chang and Raissa Kasolowsky)
By Orhan Coskun and Dominic Evans ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Eight weeks since the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, U.S. President Donald Trump's unwavering support for the kingdom's powerful crown prince has left Turkey in a bind. The longer it confronts Saudi Arabia over who exactly ordered the operation, the more it risks looking isolated as other countries put aside their misgivings and return to business with the world's biggest oil exporter. A prolonged standoff with Riyadh could also jeopardize Turkey's own fragile rapprochement with Washington, if it forces Trump to choose sides between the rival regional powers. Turkey's dilemma comes to a head this week at the G20 summit of the world's main economies, where President Tayyip Erdogan and Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman could meet, according to Turkish officials. Without naming him, Erdogan has repeatedly suggested the prince has questions to answer over the killing, while one of his advisers has said bluntly that Saudi Arabia's de facto ruler has Khashoggi's blood on his hands. But Erdogan has avoided talking about Khashoggi's death in recent speeches, raising questions about whether he may soften his stance towards the 33-year-old heir to the throne who could be running Saudi Arabia for several decades to come. "A meeting may take place. A final decision has not been made yet," senior political source said, shortly before Erdogan's departure for the summit in Argentina. "Saudi Arabia is an important country for Turkey ... Nobody wants relations to sour because of the Khashoggi murder." Erdogan has good relations with the Saudi monarch, King Salman, but ties have been strained by recent Saudi moves including the blockade of Qatar, championed by Salman's son. Analysts say Erdogan sees Saudi assertiveness under the prince as challenging Turkey's influence in the Middle East. It was the steady drip of evidence from Turkish officials - furious over what they said was a gruesome and carefully planned assassination in their country - which fuelled global outrage at Saudi Arabia and Prince Mohammed. Erdogan said the hit was ordered at the highest levels of Saudi leadership, and the CIA assessed the prince was directly behind it, despite vehement Saudi denials. But nearly two months since Khashoggi was killed and his body dismembered by a team of 15 Saudi agents, Western powers have taken little action against Saudi Arabia, a big buyer of Western arms and a strategic ally of Washington. The most concrete U.S. step so far was a decision in mid-November to impose economic sanctions on 17 Saudi officials, including the prince's senior aide, Saud al-Qahtani. Meanwhile Trump has stood by the crown prince, saying he does not want to jeopardize U.S. business and defying intense pressure from lawmakers to impose broader sanctions on Saudi Arabia. SECOND THOUGHTS? On Wednesday, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said there was no direct evidence connecting Prince Mohammed to Khashoggi's murder, and that any downgrading of U.S.-Saudi ties in response would hurt U.S. security. That clear message from the Trump administration may be forcing Turkey to think again. "Initially the objective was to pressure Trump to drop his relationship with MbS," said Sinan Ulgen, a former Turkish diplomat and analyst at the Carnegie Europe think tank, referring to the crown prince. "On the contrary, Trump seems to have decided to consolidate that relationship, and that's why there had to be a reassessment in Ankara about how to manage this," he said. Ulgen said Erdogan's priority was to safeguard the modest recovery in relations with Washington since a Turkish court last month freed a U.S. pastor who had been detained for two years on terrorism charges. "Turkey doesn't want to endanger the political capital that it earned in Washington by pushing too far (on Khashoggi). That's the main motivation," he said. Bolstered by Trump's support, Saudi officials have insisted that Prince Mohammed did not know in advance about the operation, and Foreign Minister Adel Jubeir said last week Turkish authorities had told Saudi officials that they were not accusing the crown prince of involvement. Saudi Arabia's official news agency said trade ministers from the two countries met in Istanbul on Wednesday and would encourage Saudi investment in Turkey, and Turkish companies to take part in projects in Saudi Arabia. Any change in Turkey's approach would likely be gradual. Erdogan made no mention of Saudi Arabia when he spoke to reporters as he left Istanbul airport on Wednesday night, but he may still choose not to meet the prince in Argentina. "Saudi Arabia has yet to make a satisfactory statement regarding the murder in Istanbul," said Ilter Turan, a professor of political science at Turkey's Bilgi University. "The Turkish government is still working on the investigation ... It's possible to say that it's a little too early for a meeting." Another Turkish official said the government was still assessing the Saudi request for a meeting. If the two men do hold talks in Buenos Aires, the conversation would be broadly the same as the phone call they held a month ago, he said. "Turkey will repeat its current position at the meeting, if there is one," the official said. "Turkey wants all those responsible for the murder to be brought to justice, and it's not asking for a punishment for Saudi Arabia." "It's not realistic to expect a major improvement from that meeting, but a contact will have been made" (Additional reporting by Tulay Karadeniz; Editing by Giles Elgood)
Originally published in Commentary on November 28, 2018

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.

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..Analysis from Israel..29 November '18..The International Criminal Courts blatant anti-Israel bias is no secret. Just two months ago, I wrote about its decision to launch an unprecedented fishing expedition against Israel. Nevertheless, its latest decision raises bias to an art formthe art in question being farce. It also completely destroys any pretensions the court has left of serving its original purpose: Ensuring that the worlds worst crimes dont go unpunished.On November 15, the pretrial chamber of judges ordered the courts prosecutorfor the second timeto reconsider her refusal to investigate Israels 2010 raid on a flotilla to Gaza. Demanding one reconsideration is rare. Demanding two is unheard of. No such option even exists in the ICCs rulebook.Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda appealed this ruling last week. But regardless of what the Appeals Chamber decides, its already too late to salvage the pretense that the court is an unbiased judicial institution and not a cesspool of anti-Israel prejudice.To understand why, a review of the case is in order. In May 2010, a flotilla tried to break Israels legal blockade of Gaza. Israel intercepted most of the ships peacefully. But on one, according to the same UN inquiry that upheld the blockades legality, passengers attacked the soldiers with fists, knives, chains, wooden clubs, iron rods, and slingshots, seriously wounding nine. To protect themselves, the soldiers opened fire, killing ten people.Comoros, whose flag that ship flew, filed a complaint against Israel over the incident in May 2013. In November 2014, Bensouda dismissed it. Despite concluding ( wrongly ) that the soldiers used excessive force, she said the fact that they opened fire only after being attacked and the low number of deaths made the incident insufficiently grave to warrant attention from a court created to prosecute major atrocities. But in July 2015, the pretrial chamber ordered her to reconsiderthe first time it had ever overturned a prosecutors decision.I dissected the judges egregious errors of both fact and law at the time, including their failure even to mention the passengers attack on the soldiers, which was central to Bensoudas decision, and their astounding argument that the gravity of the case should be determined not by what happened, but by how much international attention and concern it attracted. Bensouda evidently found their ruling equally unpersuasive, since she appealed it. But after losing that appeal, she duly reconsidered.In November 2017, she announced, unsurprisingly, that her opinion remained unchanged. That should have ended the story. After all, the same appellate judges who upheld the pretrial chambers demand for reconsideration also unequivocally authorized her to stick with her original conclusion if she still deemed it correct. Moreover, section 108(3) of the ICCs own rules explicitly defines the prosecutors decision after reconsideration as a final decision.But Comoros appealed again, and astoundingly, the pretrial judges once again ordered her to reconsider, saying her initial reconsideration hadnt satisfied their requirements. The clear implication was that they would keep demanding reconsiderations until Bensouda produced the decision they wanted.There are several glaring problems with this. First, of course, it ignores the plain meaning of section 108(3). Instead, the majority essentially argued that a final decision only becomes final once they approve the outcome.Second, as Judge Peter Kovacs noted in his dissent, it would mean that the Prosecutors decision would be subject to an indefinite number of reviews, which is an absurd conclusionone that could open the door for endless reconsideration requests, even in relation to different situations before the Court. In other words, no case would ever actually be closed, since any such decision could be reconsidered ad infinitum. And if cases cant be closed, justice cant be done.Third, the ruling destroys prosecutorial independence, which is why Bensouda had to appeal. If shes required to keep reconsidering until her decision meets the pretrial chambers approval, then she has no independent judgment; shes merely a stenographer typing up whatever decision the chamber dictates.Fourth, it disqualifies the pretrial chamber from doing its actual job: providing an unbiased initial review should Bensouda in fact file charges. Having arrogated to itself the role of prosecutor as well as judge, it would effectively be reviewing its own decision in violation of one of the most fundamental principles of justice.Finally, its a colossal waste of the courts time. The ICC has already spent more than five years on a case the prosecutor considers unworthy of its attention, and may yet spend much more, depending on the Appeals Chambers decision. But every moment the court devotes to this case is time it cant devote to truly serious crimes.Thus, in the interests of pursuing their anti-Israel vendetta, the pretrial judges have forced the court to squander years on a triviality, even as mass murderers around the globe go unpunished. They have thereby betrayed both the courts stated mission and a fundamental principle of justice: that the magnitude of the ostensible crime should matter more than how much the judges dislike the perpetrator.This is an evil the appellate judges cant undo. Overturning the pretrial chambers latest ruling would reassert the principle of prosecutorial independence and the finality of decisions. But it wouldnt erase the pretrial chambers blatant demonstration of bias, in defiance of the fundamental legal tenet that laws must apply equally to everyone. It wouldnt dispel the suspicion, should Bensouda ever file charges against Israel in this or any other case, that it may be less because they are warranted than to spare herself endless hassles with the pre-trial chamber. Nor would it make the pretrial judges capable of giving Israel a fair hearing should it ever be indicted.Above all, it wouldnt undo the courts fundamental betrayal of its own mission. Instead of prosecuting the worlds worst atrocities, it has wasted five years on a minor incident simply to satisfy its judges anti-Israel prejudice. In so doing, it has destroyed the primary justification for its existence. The only question left is why taxpayers worldwide should continue funding this travesty.
After a show one night, an acquaintance came up to the artist Blake Fusilier and asked him a rhetorical question. Youre black and gay, the person said. How does it feel to have two things wrong with you? The question may have been facetious, but it also cut to the core. Until recently, queer artists of color have been shunted into a small corner of the music industry where their personalities are reduced to sexual curiosities or club culture whisperers. Fusilier is trying to liberate himself from those expectations, and hes not alone.

Fusilier, who performs under his last name, is part of a generation of artists who are forcing audiences to listen to them as a whole. Along with artists like Kelela, Blood Orange, serpentwithfeet, Mykki Blanco, and Lizzo, Fusilier is making music that is simultaneously of him and about him, merging the lanes that traditionally defined artists that look and live like him. If youre black and queer, then youre about nightlife, Fusilier told me over lunch in Bed Stuy. And unless youre making music that sounds that way, people arent going to want to take a chance on it. Some people just want to focus on your sexuality instead of taking you in as a person. Fusilier and his peers are making music that needs to be reckoned with on its own merits, rather than funneled into the traditional corners of clubs and discos.

That doesnt mean that Fusiliers music is self-serious and stodgy. He revels in exploration, and injects an energy into heavy topics reminiscent of St. Vincent, Perfume Genius, and, at times, Death Grips. He has a knack for turning his sound darker through distortion and tension, and the result is something youd hear in a nightclub at the end of the world.

Fusilier is sharply aware of the politics of music, and how queer artists will always get asked different questions than straight ones. Nobody is concerned with how many women Thom Yorke has slept with, no one was asking Morrissey How were the groupies? he told me. When youre queer its just like, Oh, well its just about sex, right? You go in the bathroom and you do those things. Fusilier pauses to allow himself a small grin. And maybe I fucking do, but thats not what the song is about. He also knows the veil of being closeted can be a useful tool in being able to develop your own entrenched narrative as an artist. When Frank Ocean came out, he was already like a god, Fusiler said. Not being out does gives you the luxury of likes and being able to create a narrative outside of that.

Its a line that Fusilier and other queer artists of color have had to navigate and negotiate, but the progress has been significant thanks to forward shifts in audience attitudes and the desire of record labels to stay on top of emerging perspectives and talents. I can talk about sex, but that's not really what I'm here for, he said. At the same time, I'm not here to hide from it. If you wanna talk about it, we can talk about it. After you wanna play emotional chicken with my proclivities, we can talk about it.

Fusilier grew up in Atlanta, surrounded by the layered sounds of acts like Goodie Mob, Organized Noize, and Outkast that spread like sonic kudzu throughout the south. He started playing the violin at 10 and practiced incessantly, a habit that hes continued well into adulthood. I don't have a lot of typical middle school and high school memories because I practiced obsessively, he said. I have memories of feeling like having to mow the lawn and then going to play violin and how shaky my hands were.



(Left, photo by Harvey Jackson; Right, photo by Justin French)

He left Atlanta at 18 for Boston University, where he won an academic scholarship and majored in neurobiology, drawn in by a fascination for the complexities of pharmacology. He also wanted to give his mother the chance to say I have a son whos a doctor. But he lost interest in the subject by his senior year, and shifted his focus to taking guitar, piano, and vocal lessons in the schools fine arts college. He discovered an Atlanta-diaspora at the Berklee College of Music as well, and began to learn his way around the control booth and recording studio, as well as Bostons rock scene.

That an artist who grew up surrounded by an especially immersive regional sound like southern hip hop in the 1990's would grow up to play hard rock doesnt seem like a departure to Fusilier. He brings up Project Pats 2001 hit Chickenheadrecently revived by Cardi B as "Bickenhead"as a bridge between the maximalist hip hop he grew up with and the rock he would later play onstage. To listen to the harmony in that song, thats hard rock right there, he said. It's been a little bit more obvious now with the dominance of Atlanta and how they've been able to combine rock aesthetics and more organic instruments like guitar, but its the same sound.

When he started to make his own music, Fusilier focused on texture and made it a central component of his work. He has described his music as the sound of a scythe dragging across a hardwood floor, a gothic comparison, sure, but it exhibits his concentration on how sound feels. Theres a dirty edge to all these sounds, even if theyre not exactly punk, he said. That texture of things draggingthe pull is almost violence. Even if the music sounds sort of calm there is always some sort of jerking motion.

The punk rock references arent abstract for Fusilier. He fronted the heavy rock band Ribs for several years while he was living in Boston, and credits the citys DIY-scene with giving him the confidence to strike out on his own. Its a very supportive community, he said. Once you were in with people and the people who book venues, it was cool.

Ribs was a mainstay on the Boston circuit for years, and they parlayed that grind into a few big gigs, including a slot opening for the Joy Formidable and Queens of the Stone Age. It was while he was opening for the latter in West Virginia that Fusilier realized he wanted something more than a career playing New England rock clubs and the occasional tour. I went down there and theres a couple thousand people in the stands and Im opening up for my favorite band, Fusilier told me. And I was just likemeh. I just said to myself, This isnt enough for me. That was when I knew I needed to start writing my own script.

The green shoots of Fusiliers solo career appeared back in 2016, when he released twin singles The Moment and Make You. They showed off Fusiliers knack for fusing the uptempo with the gothic. On The Moment a tightly plucked guitar string and the thud of a kick drum provide the spine for the sort of track youd hear at a club at the end of the world. That desolate disco sound shares some DNA to artists like Arca and ANOHNI, the latter of whom may be the only person to write an infectiousand devastatingpop song about Americas drone warfare campaign.

Both songs can also be found on Duty, Fusiliers debut EP released this past August. The Moment serves as the EPs opening track, which rises with Fusiliers pristine, affecting voice before it's buried in layers of distortion. That oscillation is reflected in the songs video as well, an ode to gender fluidity and the ability to move through spaces without fear.

dueling, the EPs closing track, is a pleading internal monologue, a self-portrait of someone unsure of his relationships and unsure of his power. Fusiliers eagerness to stack sound textures to the ceiling is on display as well, and dueling has something of a Dirty Projectors vibe to it. Sometimes I hold you/Just to make you stay/or to shield you/from what I could say. Its a love song for the modern era, full of uneasiness, self-preservation, and care. Its also a song that might have been shunted aside in years gone by for being too much about love and not enough about sex for a queer black man to write. I think a lot of people's pain comes from this idea that who I am as a person or something I'm guarding down here is sort of unsanitary or unwelcome in society, Fusilier told me. And it comes from an unwillingness to be vulnerable, and I want to attack that.
Thanksgiving may be over, but Viaje is continuing the Turkey Day seasonal cigars into December. Today the company announced the Viaje Thanksgiving Leftovers will be coming to retailers this month. Like the Stuffed Turkey releases, there will be two varietals  White Meat (Natural wrapper) and Dark Meat (Maduro wrapper). Both are being released as a part of the Viaje White Label Project series scheduled to hit retailers in December.

Blend details, Country of Origin, and Factory have not been disclosed other than a San Andres Maduro wrapper for the Dark Meat version. Both the Thanksgiving Leftovers White Meat and Dark Meat are 4 3/4 x 52 Short Robustos. Each is packaged in 25-count bundles with a total of 200 bundles produced.

The Viaje White Label Project (WLP) is a mechanism that is used for experimental blends, mash-ups, and cigars made in error. These cigars are usually supplied in bundles with plain white and black colored bands.

This is not the first Viaje WLP Thanksgiving Leftovers release. In 2015, the company released a single store exclusive WLP Thanksgiving Leftovers for Winstons Humidor. That cigar was completely different as it consisted of a Habano Ecuador wrapper and was a 5 x 52 vitola.

Photo Credit: Viaje Cigars
FRIDAY, Nov. 30, 2018 (HealthDay News) -- Electrical stimulation of a certain part of the brain may offer a new option for "treatment-resistant" depression, a small new study suggests.

Researchers at the University of California, San Francisco, found that 25 patients with moderate-to-severe depression gained significant improvement in their mood after electrical stimulation of a brain region called the orbitofrontal cortex (OFC).

After just three minutes of electrical stimulation to the OFC, even on just one side of the brain, "patients said things like 'Wow, I feel better,' 'I feel less anxious,' 'I feel calm, cool and collected,'" UCSF postdoctoral researcher Kristin Sellers said in a university news release.

"You could see the improvements in patients' body language," she added. "They smiled, they sat up straighter, they started to speak more quickly and naturally."

The OFC is a small area of the lower surface of the brain, located just above the eyes. It's exact function remains unclear, but study senior author Dr. Eddie Chang explained that the OFC "is richly connected to various brain structures linked to mood, depression and decision making, making it very well positioned to coordinate activity between emotion and cognition."

Reporting Nov. 29 in Current Biology, the UCSF researchers suggested that the targeted therapy might help patients with treatment-resistant depression, which affects as many as 30 percent of depression patients.

One neurosurgeon who wasn't involved in the study said brain stimulation therapy for depression isn't new -- and the field has had some setbacks.

"Brain stimulation to treat other conditions (such as Parkinson's disease) has been known for decades to have an effect on the mind," noted Dr. Michael Schulder. He directs neurosurgery at North Shore University Hospital in Manhasset, N.Y.

"Several studies over the last 15 years, in which depressed patients had implanted brain stimulators, initially showed great promise," he said. In the final analysis, however, outcomes were not much better than would have been obtained with medication or psychotherapy.

But could those attempts have been targeting the wrong brain area? Chang's team wanted to find out.

Their new study involved 25 patients already enrolled in UCSF's epilepsy clinic. Chang specializes in neurosurgery for people with the seizure disorder. He explained that as a routine part of these surgeries, patients get electrodes temporarily implanted in their brains to help guide the surgery.

But in these 25 patients with depression, Chang's group used feedback from the electrodes to track brain activity over several days. They then linked that information to patients' changing moods, thereby pinpointing brain areas that might be amenable to stimulation therapy.

That led the investigators to the OFC, among other brain areas. The researchers would deliver a mild electrical current to brain regions and then ask the patients about their emotional state.

Stimulation to the OFC was the clear "winner" here, in terms of a mood boost. What's more, stimulating that area seemed to initiate a larger response within the brain, similar to what happens naturally when a person is feeling positive.

Also, the therapy seemed to only help patients with moderate-to-severe depression, not those with milder forms of the illness.

According to study team member Dr. Vikram Rao, this suggests that "stimulation was helping patients with serious depression experience something like a naturally positive mood state, rather than artificially boosting mood in everyone."

Rao, a UCSF Health neurologist, explained in the news release that prior research had suggested that OFC activity was "elevated" in people with depression, so the stimulation might alter the OFC in a healthy way.

Despite these promising results, the study authors said further research in larger groups of patients is needed to determine whether this therapy produces long-lasting benefits.

Dr. Vladan Novakovic directs outpatient psychiatry at Staten Island University Hospital in New York City. He agreed that most work in electrical brain stimulation has focused on a part of the brain's cortex, while leaving other areas, such as the OFC, unexplored.

Novakovic said the new study is "commendable for providing real-time, clinically relevant information about the state of OFC and improvement in mood."

For their part, the UCSF team believes that an improved understanding of the OFC's role in depression could lead the way to individualized treatment.

Heather Dawes, who helped to oversee the research, said, "The more we understand about depression at this level of brain circuitry, the more options we may have for offering patients effective treatments with a low risk of side effects. Perhaps by understanding how these emotion circuits go wrong in the first place, we can even one day help the brain 'unlearn' depression."

More information

The U.S. National Institute of Mental Health has more on depression.
Daniel Del Solar. Credit: KALW.org

Via The Globe and Mail, an important article by Doug Saunders: Ottawa to send officials to Cuba amid brain-injury scare. Excerpt and then a comment that may or may not be relevant to the issue:

Federal officials have announced that the number of Canadian diplomats and family members who have suffered mysterious brain injuries in Havana has grown to 13. But the injured officials said the government has still not assessed all the affected people in a consistent fashion, despite repeated requests from the diplomats.

The 13th Canadian diagnosis of Havana syndrome  which neurologists say is medically similar to a concussion, but without physical trauma, and which some U.S. researchers have speculated may have been the result of some sort of energy-weapon attack  emerged when a Canadian career diplomat, unknown to the other 12, began reporting symptoms including dizziness and nosebleeds this summer, government officials announced. The other 12 cases, including eight adults and four children, all showed symptoms starting in 2017, so this new case raises the possibility that the cause of the injury may still be present in Cuba.

Federal government officials said in a media briefing Thursday, in which they spoke without attribution, that they would be sending a team of senior officials to Havana next week and would consider all options, including withdrawing all staff or shutting down the Canadian embassy in Havana.

The embassys staffing level has already been reduced to 12 Canadians (down from 17 in 2017), and as of April, Canada has been posting only single staff to the mission, not allowing spouses or families.

Despite intensive study by scientific and medical researchers, national police, intelligence and defence agencies from Canada, the United States and Cuba, no explanation or plausible motive has yet been found for the attacks. Officials from the foreign-affairs department, Global Affairs Canada (GAC), said repeatedly Thursday that they continue to investigate the case and their priority is the health, recovery and diagnosis of the affected staffers and family members.

But a group of the diplomats diagnosed with brain injuries, who spoke to The Globe and Mail on Thursday, said the government has repeatedly broken promises to have them all tested and diagnosed in specialized research programs devoted to the syndrome.

In the 1950s, Daniel Del Solar was a friend and classmate at Santa Monica High School. A few years later, when he was at Harvard and I at Columbia, we drove back east from California in an old beater we kept going with endless cans of motor oil.

After I'd moved to Canada, we kept in touch now and then. In the mid-1970s he worked in Washington DC for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, and around that time I got some letters from him that made me wonder.

Daniel thought that something had been repeatedly aimed at him in his office, causing him to feel dizzy and disoriented, with severe headaches. In hindsight, his symptoms sound very much like what American and Canadian diplomats have reported from their stays in Cuba.

Privately, I thought my old friend was half a bubble off plumb, but I cautiously sympathized. Years passed, and Daniel went on to a remarkable career in public radio and documentary photography. He and I were in and out of touch, and I last saw him in 2008, when he was dealing with prostate cancer (but still able to dance all night at the Samohi class of '58 reunion).

We talked a lot during those two or three days, but neither of us mentioned his Washington experience, and other friends of his tell me he didn't discuss it with them either.

Daniel died in 2012. I have no idea if his papers contain any reference to his experiences in the 1970s, or if the files of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting contain memos of his describing what was happening to him. If not for the recent reports on the Havana syndrome, I'd have forgotten about that odd passage in a friend's life.

But if Daniel was indeed targeted as a kind of experimental animal, the implication is that a weapon that can induce concussion-like symptoms has been around for decades, and may not even be the monopoly of a single government. And if that is the case, many governments may be aware of it, whether they profess ignorance or not.

Perhaps I'm half a bubble off plumb myself, finding more significance in this 40-year-old scrap of memory than it deserves. Maybe Daniel was suffering a few transient mini-strokes, or some other neurological disorder; Occam's razor would favour such a belated diagnosis. But the Havana syndrome is a strange echo of what my friend Daniel Del Solar told me long ago.
Travelers will get their first look at the 63% less hellish LaGuardia Airport of the future on Saturday, when the new gates of a rebuilt Terminal B open to the public.

The brand new concourse features 250,000 square-feet of space, with ample natural light and soaring 55-foot ceilings (presumably attached to bigger, glossier milk harvesters?) Travelers can also enjoy a dozen new concessions, including Shake Shack and Irving Farm Coffee, as well as retail vendors like FAO Schwartz, MAC cosmetics and McNelly Jackson.

When did New York's backwater slum of an airport turn into SoHo, you ask? As Cuomo explained during a ceremonial opening on Thursday, the new gates are part of an $8 billion facelift aimed at transforming LaGuardia into a "modern, global gateway that is worthy of the State of New York."

"While leaders in Washington only talk about investing in infrastructure, in New York we are actually getting it done, and now travelers from across the world will start to see and experience a whole new LaGuardia," the governor added in a statement.

For leaky, odorous Terminal B, that means the eleven new gates opening on Saturday, plus seven more to come in 2020 once the 50-year-old concourse is fully demolished. There's also fancy new restrooms"above-sink shelves designed to keep belongings dry," a press release beckonsand dual pedestrian bridges coming in 2020 that stretch over active plane taxiing fields.

On the eastern side of the airport, Delta's overhaul of Terminal C will create a new 37-gate centralized hub, replacing the existing Terminals C and D beginning in 2021 [renderings here].

All told, the project will eventually cover 2.7 million square feet, with 72 new gates and six new concourses. Port Authority will pay for one-third of the $8 billion redevelopment, with Delta and LaGuardia Gateway Partners privately financing the remainder.

Whether any of this improves the primary problem plaguing the airportthe consistent, soul-crushing delaysremains to be seen.


India and China signed protocol on hygiene and inspection requirements for exports of fish meal, fish oil imports from India to China. It was signed as part of discussions between Indias Commerce Ministry and six-member Chinese delegation led by Vice Minister, General Administration of Customs of China, Hu Wei on easing market access for exports of various farm products held in New Delhi.

Highlights of meeting

Both Indian and Chinese sides appreciated each others concerns and agreed to resolve market access issues expeditiously to achieve the vision of the leaders of both the countries by promoting a more balanced trade. Chinese delegation also discussed issues regarding market access for Chinese products such as milk and milk products, agricultural goods like soy meal, fruits and vegetables, tobacco and pharmaceuticals.

Protocol on hygiene and inspection requirements

This protocol for export of fish meal and fish oil from India to Chin is significant as India has been seeking market access for these items from China. It will enable India to commence export of fish meal and fish oil to China. China imports fish oil to tune of USD 143.29 million per year and fish meal worth US $263.43 million. It had so far not allowed these exports from India. This is the second Indian product to get clearance from China in the last six months. Earlier, during meeting of two countries in Wuhan, China protocol for Indian rice export to China was signed paving way for export of Indian rice to China.
UN cultural agency UNESCO has added six new elements viz. Jamaican reggae, Georgian wrestling and Japanese ritual into its coveted list of intangible heritage. They were added at UNESCOs Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage meeting held in Mauritius

Six new elements added in list are

Chidaoba: It is Georgias traditional wrestling. It combines elements of wrestling, music, dance and special garments. It is part of Georgian folk dance and its practice encourages healthy lifestyle and plays an important role in intercultural dialogue.

Hurling: It is field game from Ireland. It dates back 2,000 years, features strongly in Irish mythology. It is played by two teams using wooden hurley stick and small sliotar ball. It is considered as intrinsic part of Irish culture and plays central role in promoting health and wellbeing, inclusiveness and team spirit.

Reggae: It is Jamaican music originating from marginalized groups, mainly in Western Kingston. It was started out as voice of marginalized. But now it is played and embraced by wide cross-section of society, including various genders, ethnic and religious groups.

Raiho-shin: They are Japanese rituals used to admonish laziness and teach children good behavior. In it local people dress in outlandish costumes and visit houses as deities as part folk beliefs that deities visit communities and usher in new year or season. By performing rituals, local people notably children have their identities moulded, developsense of affiliation to their community and strengthen ties among themselves.

As-Samer: It consists mainly of dancing and singing and practiced across many areas of Jordan. It is performed on various occasions, most commonly during weddings. Its poetry forms are integral part of the tradition, expressing feelings of joy, peace, intimacy and empathy among those in attendance.

Spring festive rites of Kazakhstans horse breeders: It marks end of the old and beginning of a new annual horse-breeding cycle. It is rooted in traditional knowledge of nature and an age-old relation between man and horse. The rites involve skills inherited from nomadic ancestors, adapted to meet present-day conditions to ensure its continued viability.

UNESCOs List of Intangible Cultural Heritage

This coveted list is made up of those intangible heritage elements that help demonstrate diversity of cultural heritage and raise awareness about its importance. The list was established in 2008 when Convention for Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage came into effect. It includes important intangible cultural heritages worldwide. It has two parts viz. Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity and List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of urgent Safeguarding. From India, 14 Intangible Cultural Heritages have been added into this list. They are Koodiyattam (Sanskrit Theatre of Kerala), Mudiyett (theatre ritual of Kerala), Tradition of Vedic Chanting, Kalbelia (folk songs and dances of Rajasthan), Ramlila (Traditional Performance of the Ramayana), Sankirtana (singing, drumming and dancing ritual of Manipur), Ramman (religious festival and ritual theatre of Garhwal Himalayas), Thatheras (Traditional brass and copper craft of utensil of Punjab), Chhau dance (classical Indian dance originated in the eastern Indian states), Buddhist chanting of Ladakh (recitation of sacred Buddhist texts in Ladakh region of Jammu and Kashmir), Yoga and KumbhMela.
A Missouri nurse was terminated from her job after she refused to get flu shot, sparking a backlash.Flu Shot PolicyProtesters gathered outside of Mercy Hospital South in St. Louis on Monday after one nurse at the facility was fired due to her refusal to be vaccinateddue to religious reasonsNelia Aubuchon, who organized the protest, said that the nurse was terminated after she violated the hospital's policy that requires employees to receive a flu shot.The nurse was granted a religious exemption from the yearly flu shot while working for the St. Anthony's Medical Center prior to it being acquired by Mercy.Mercy, whose flu shot policy took effect in 2016, implemented its policy that requires all employees to get flu vaccination when it acquired St. Anthony's Medical Center earlier this year.The policy has exceptions for those with medical or religious reasons but Aubuchon said that the nurse was terminated despite citing religion for her decision."It's about Mercy's denial of ALL religious and medical exemptions for their employees and their draconian measure of terminating those who will not give in to their policy. Mercy Hospital denied ALL doctor and religious leader signed exemption paperwork," Aubuchon saidCondition For EmploymentThe hospital did not confirm if a nurse was indeed fired for not complying with the policy but it acknowledged that 170 of its 44,000 employees requested for medical or religious exemptions to getting flu vaccine.While most of the requests were granted, there were employees whose exemptions were declined.Mercy Hospital South spokesperson Bethany Pope said that these employees will be notified and will not be permitted to remain employed should they choose not to get vaccinated"Requiring health care co-workers to be vaccinated for the flu is a best practice across the U.S. to ensure the safety of patients, co-workers and community members," Mercy said in a statement"Mercy revised our flu vaccination policy several years ago and requires compliance with the policy by all Mercy co-workers as a condition of employment"Mercy Hospital South is not the only hospital that requires staff to get vaccinated. More than two-thirds of hospitals in the United States require their employees to get flu shot
About Documentation Centre

The Documentation Centre of ICSF was initiated in 1999, in Chennai, India. The main aims behind the setting up of the Centre were to disseminate relevant information pertinent to small-scale fisheries and fishworkers in a format that would be easily available. The focus areas of information collection of the DC has been: artisanal fisheries, working conditions of fishworkers, fishworkers unions, fishworker movements, social security, women in fisheries, fisheries statistics, fishing technology, fishing communities, aquaculture, fisheries trade, fisheries management, coastal ecosystems and legal instruments, from different parts of the world.
Hundreds of people lined up at Barnes and Noble Union Square on Friday morning for the only scheduled New York City book signing of Michelle Obamas new autobiography, Becoming; at least one attendee waited on line for over 16 hours, with many more arriving throughout the early morning.

Hours prior to the event's start time of 11:30 a.m., the line stretched around the corner of the building onto Park Avenue. People clutched paper receipts that entitled them to copies of the book, and a chance to get them signed by the former First Lady.

Sigmund Seignious was first in line, with the 16-plus hour wait. He took the train in from Mastic-Shirley, Long Island, and had been waiting since 7 p.m. Thursday evening. "I respect her so much, how her and her husband ran the country," Seignious explained. "So Im here.

A little further down the line was Taylor Gabourel, a senior in high school who fondly remembers the 2008 election. It was just crazy for me. I think I was like eight years old at the time, she said. Even though shes not first lady, I still think of her as the first lady.



(Rhiannon Corby)

Taylor was there with her mother and 10-year-old sister Lexi Gabourel; their mother gave them permission to miss school for the day. Its not skipping school, Taylor asserted. Its still education.

Robert Samuel, a professional line sitter, came prepared around 4 a.m. with a heavy coat and a blue foam mat to sit on. Hell get two copies of the book: one for himself, and one for a customer in Florida (who he said paid him around $200). Samuel said that meeting Obama now, as opposed to when she was in the White House, is bittersweet.

Theres a sense of longing now, if you know what I mean, he said. Had she written a book in those eight years, we probably would have taken her for granted. We would have shown up, but it probably wouldnt have been in the numbers that it is right now in this very climate.

Met @MichelleObama this morning shook her hand and chatted with her. She beautiful. pic.twitter.com/ulf0YEvvQC  Taniese Brown (@BrownTaniese) November 30, 2018

Michelle Obama will appear Saturday night for a speaking event at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, as part of her Becoming book tour. A second Brooklyn tour date has been added on December 19th, due to overwhelming demand. Both are sold out.
Human Rights Watch (HRW) has urged Pakistan to remove people with mental disabilities from death row as it violates countrys international legal obligations.





In a statement released on Thursday, HRW said the United Nations Human Rights Committee and United Nations special experts have determined that the execution of a person with a psychosocial disability violates the right to be free from cruel, inhuman, or degrading punishment.





The statement comes after a medical board submitted a report to the Lahores district and sessions court in the case hearing of Saleem Ahmad, who is suffering from chronic schizophrenia.





Ahmad, 50, had been scheduled to be executed in November 2017, but a court suspended his execution and ordered a medical board to assess his mental health. Ahmad  who was convicted of murder  has been in prison for more than 17 years.





The statement further said, This is a scathing indictment of Pakistans criminal justice system and should be used as an opportunity for reform. While the death penalty is inherently cruel and should be abolished, executing an individual with psychosocial disabilities violates Pakistans international legal obligations.





Ahmad is one of many prisoners with psychosocial disabilities on death row. In April, the Supreme Court of Pakistan reviewed the death sentences of Kaniz Fatima and Imdad Ali, death row convicts with psychosocial disabilities. During the proceedings, the chief justice of the Supreme Court remarked: Neither reason nor sensibility allow me to believe that we can execute a mentally ill or disabled person. Kaniz Fatima and Imdad Ali remain on death row.





Kaniz Fatima is one of the few women on death row in Pakistan. According to her lawyers, she has not spoken for 12 years and is unable to eat, drink, or take care of herself without assistance. She has been in prison for 29 years.





It further said that Kaniz Fatima is among more than 8,000 prisoners on death row in Pakistan  one of the worlds largest populations of prisoners facing executions. Pakistani law mandates capital punishment for 28 offences, including murder, rape, treason, and blasphemy.





The arbitrariness, unfairness, and high risk of error in capital prosecutions in Pakistan has been documented extensively. The death penalty is inherently cruel  but even more so for those who may not recognise their crimes. It good to see Pakistani authorities beginning to realise executing people with psychosocial disabilities is an affront to human decency and serves no criminal justice purpose. Pakistan should strengthen its justice system and work towards a complete moratorium on death sentences, rather than sending people like Saleem Ahmad to the gallows, it concluded.

Medical board recommends treatment for death row prisoner suffering from schizophrenia

A medical board appointed upon the directives of District and Sessions court confirmed that a 63-year-old man currently on death row suffers from schizophrenia and suggested treatment, a local media outlet reported on Monday.





The man, Saleem Ahmed, shot his sister to death in 2001 and was sentenced to death in 2004.





His execution was stayed in 2017 after a petition was filed by the Justice Project Pakistan (JPP).





Services Institute of Medical Sciences Consultant Psychiatrist Dr Mohsin Saqib suggested that Ahmed should be shifted to the Punjab Institute of Mental Health for treatment.





 | 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



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"One is absolutely sickened, not by the crimes that the wicked have committed,

but by the punishments that the good have inflicted." -- Oscar Wilde
New Zealand had not presented any evidence of wrongdoing and Huawei rejected the notion that it threatened local businesses in any way.

Huawei Technologies Co Ltd said it was seeking clarification from New Zealand after the countrys intelligence agency rejected the telecommunication industrys first request to use the Chinese firms equipment in its planned 5G mobile network.

Huawei said it had not had formal contact with the Government Communication Security Bureau (GCSB), which has cited national security concerns in declining a proposal from telecoms operator Spark New Zealand to build its 5G network using Huawei equipment.

Huawei is seeking an urgent meeting with the relevant ministers and officials to understand the governments position and get clarification of the process from here, Huaweis New Zealand deputy managing director Andrew Bowater said in an emailed statement on Thursday.

He said New Zealand had not presented any evidence of wrongdoing and Huawei rejected the notion that it threatened local businesses in any way.

Huawei would welcome the opportunity to actively address any concerns and work together to find a way forward, Bowater said.

Western governments are increasingly wary of what they say is possible Chinese state involvement in fifth-generation mobile and other communications networks. Huawei has insisted Beijing has no influence over the company.

Intelligence services minister Andrew Little has said that Spark - whose request was part of the countrys first 5G application - could work with the agency to mitigate risk. He declined to specify the concerns, citing classified information.

Huawei has done business in New Zealand since 2005, providing equipment for the countrys 4G mobile system network and earlier this year testing 5G technology with Spark.

Huawei..has always worked in good faith with the government and other industry players, Bowater said.

Little and intelligence officials have said that 5G networks have different security concerns to previous generations of mobile networks because it was difficult to restrict vendors considered high risk to less sensitive parts of the network.

Click on Deccan Chronicle Technology and Science for the latest news and reviews. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter.

Click on Deccan Chronicle Technology and Science for the latest news and reviews. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter.
Government bodies need to create favorable conditions for startups to thrive, Vietnam's Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc said on November 29, 2018.

The Vietnamese government is willing to make changes in regulations to facilitate timely funding of startups, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc said.

Addressing at the Youth Startups Forum 2018 in Hanoi on Thursday, he acknowledged the challenges that Vietnamese startups have highlighted, saying that it is the task of authorities to find a breakthrough solution for creative entrepreneurs to start and run a business.

He asked the Ministry of Planning and Investment, the Ministry of Science and Technology, the Ministry of Finance and the State Bank of Vietnam to create more favorable conditions for startups by making changes in the legal framework.

"We need a breakthrough innovation in policies from government bodies to help startups succeed with their ideas," he told the forum, which attracted 300 entrepreneurs from across the country.

The government is willing to share a part of the risks with startups, the PM added.

He asked relevant ministries and other agencies to report in detail next month on the solutions they have identified for the problems that industry insiders have highlighted.

Vietnam has seen an increasing number of startups in recent years. The countrys speed of startup development ranks third among ASEAN members. But regulatory obstructions are hindering their ability to attract funds they need to establish themselves and thrive in the market, entrepreneurs said at the forum.

Thach Le Anh, founder of Vietnam Silicon Valley, a government-backed organization aiming to stimulate the growth of startups, said that angel investors are reluctant to invest due to a lack of incentives in tax and policies. Angel investors are people who inject money into a new business in the early stage.

The early financial support is crucial for a startup to succeed, Anh said.

Nguyen Manh Dung, a representative of the investment fund CyberAgent Veuntures in Vietnam, also said that many investors want to invest in Vietnams startups, as larger markets like the U.S., Japan and China require bigger capital and fewer opportunities.

Investors are also reluctant about later stage investments, when profits can be extracted, because of slow administration procedures, he said.

Disbursement procedures in Vietnam could take from six months to a year while the very nature of startups is that they need to act fast, he added.

Dung also said that divestment was one the main concerns that investors have.

"These challenges take opportunities away from startups," he said.

Dam Quang Thang, CEO of AgriTech Village, a company which assists local startups in agriculture, said that although startups often use new technological solutions, they have to go through a traditional testing method, which is more time consuming than it should be.

A representative of Vietinbank, Vietnams fourth-biggest listed bank by market capitalization, said tight bidding procedures and long financial checks were preventing the bank from investing in a tech startup.

"Startups struggle to sell their products to investors as they have to go through the traditional process. There must be a better way for them to sell their new solutions," the representative said.

Last year, Vietnamese startups received $300 million in investments in 92 different deals, according to startup accelerator program Topica Founder Institute (TFI).
The ongoing coal shortage could lead to power cuts in Vietnam early next year, Vietnam Electricity (EVN) has warned.

The national power utility said in a recent report to Deputy Prime Minister Trinh Dinh Dung that the country will need over 54 million tons of coal for electricity production next year, of which 43.4 million tons will come from domestic production and 10.68 million tons will be imported.

But the countrys only two suppliers, Vietnam National Coal-Mineral Industries Corporation (Vinacomin) and the North-Eastern Company (NECO) under the Ministry of Defense, will only be able to produce 37.21 million tons of coal next year, 6.19 million tons lower than estimated demand, EVN said.

"The lack of coal will lead to a shutdown of thermal power plants, seriously affecting the national power grid and EVN might have to cut electricity in the first months of 2019," it added.

EVN estimated that power generation will be reduced by 2,300 MW, which is the average electricity consumption of 13 central provinces.

EVN said that Vinacomin and NECO had promised to provide enough coal for plants this year, but the amount provided by Vinacomin until this month was 690,000 tons lower than contracted.

The power utility estimates that the country will need 2.55 million tons of coal of electricity in December, but the two coal producers plan to deliver only 2.05 million tons, which is 500,000 tons short.

Due to the coal shortage, the Quang Ninh Thermal Power Company has shut down two out of four turbines since November 17.

The Hai Phong Thermal Power Company shut down one turbine on November 22, and the Nghi Son Thermal Power Plant reduced its two turbines to minimum operation the same day. The Ninh Binh Thermal Power Company is running low on inventory.

Vietnam currently relies largely on hydropower and thermal power plants for its electricity needs. However, its hydropower potential is almost fully exploited and its oil and gas reserves are running low. Thermal energy is expected to account for over 48 percent of the countrys power production next year.

Vietnam, one of Asias fastest-growing economies, has been struggling to develop its energy industry.

World Bank country director for Vietnam Ousmane Dione said at a forum Monday that Vietnam will need to raise up $150 billion by 2030 to develop its energy sector.

Dione added that electricity demand in the country will grow by about 8 percent a year for the next decade, Reuters reported.
Tran Bac Ha, former chairman of Vietnam's second largest listed bank, has been arrested for allegedly violating banking regulations.

The Ministry of Public Security is investigating Ha, former chairman of Joint Stock Commercial Bank for Investment and Development of Vietnam (BIDV), with violating banking regulations, on Thursday.

Three other senior officials - Tran Luc Lang, former deputy general director at BIDV, Kieu Dinh Hoa, former director of BIDV branch in Ha Tinh Province in north central Vietnam and Le Thi Van Anh, former head of the customer service department at the branch, also face the same carges. Lang and Hoa are also in custody.

Ha was investigated for his responsibility in "very serious" violations committed at state-owned BIDV, Vietnam's second largest listed bank.

In its report in June, the Central Inspection Committee, the top watchdog of Vietnam's Communist Party, concluded that Ha had violated the democratic centralism principle and working regulations, was guilty of mismanagement, as well as violations of the duties and responsibilities of his position.

Ha also violated credit procedures and regulations in approving a number of loans, investments and debt management decisions. In particular, he enabled 12 companies owned by Pham Cong Danh, former chairman of VNCB, to borrow VND4.7 trillion ($206 million) from BIDV.

While BIDV eventually managed to retrieve this money, the loans had helped Danh steal over VND9 trillion from VNCB. At a trial in 2016, Danh was sentenced to 30 years in prison, the maximum jail term allowed by Vietnam's Penal Code.

In addition to holding Ha responsible, inspectors found that the standing committee of BIDV's Party unit for the 2010-2015 and 2015-2020 terms had also violated the democratic centralism principle, showed lack of responsibility, poor leadership and lack of inspection and supervision.

These violations in turn enabled multiple systematic violations to occur at BIDV, causing very serious consequences and resulting in many staff members being criminally prosecuted, negatively affecting the lives of all BIDV employees, the inspectors said.

Ha was expelled from the Party in June.

Ha, 61, worked at BIDV for 35 years before retiring in September 2016.

During the trial that opened in January regarding violations committed by Danh and Tram Be, a former deputy chairman of Sacombank who also let Danh borrow money from his bank, Ha was summoned as a witness and a person with related interests and obligations.

However Ha did not attend the trial, and his lawyer said he was being treated for cancer in Singapore.

The trial was eventually postponed due to a lack of evidence or a strong enough argument to press charges against Danh, Be and 44 other bankers standing trial.

When the trial resumed in July, Ha was summoned again, along with 234 other people. He did not show up again, as he was reportedly still in Singapore for treatment.

A source told VnExpress that after a surgery in Singapore early this year, Ha had returned to Vietnam and then moved to Laos. Details of Ha's arrest, including the location, are not yet available.

Danh was sentenced to 20 years in jail while Be received four years in the July trial.

Vietnam has over recent years arrested and tried several bankers over financial irregularities as it seeks to restructure a banking system still reeling from nonperforming loans, mismanagement and under-regulated lending.

The BIDV arrests come amid a corruption crackdown that has ensnared hundreds of public officials and businesspeople.
NYC First Lady Chirlane McCray announced today that in two years, a statue of former congresswoman and political trailblazer Shirley Chisholm will be standing tall at the Parkside entrance to Prospect Park.

Finally.

It was nine years ago when we first wrote about the incredible difference in the number of male and female statues in New York City. The numbers have not changed since then; there are still around 145 statues honoring male historical figures across the five boroughs, while only five historical females are represented: Joan of Arc, Golda Meir, Gertrude Stein, Eleanor Roosevelt, and Harriet Tubman.

If you think "well, they're only statues," think of what message this sends to anyone traversing the city. It says that men built this city, that men are more important than women, that men are more deserving of these honors. But McCray is changing the landscape and the message it sends with her She Built NYC initiative, and the first big step is this statue of Chisholm. Forever a fighter for women and minorities, she was the perfect choice, and the announcement comes on what would have been her 94th birthday, and the 50th anniversary of her election to the House of Representatives.

"Congresswoman Shirley Chisholm's legacy of leadership and activism has paved the way for thousands of women to seek public office," said McCray. "She is exactly the kind of New York woman whose contributions should be honored with representation in our public spaces, and that is now being realized with She Built NYC."

Former Mayor David Dinkins had this to say:

"Shirley Chisolm earned her reputation as a trailblazer the hard way - by getting out in front of an issue and following it through. She played out her life on a large stage where her every movement was scrutinized and every decision questioned. Her career was a series of 'firsts.' 'First Blacks' bear the burden for their own destiny, as well as that of every other African American who hopes to follow. Shirley Chisholm bore that burden better than most. Through her feisty spirit, dogged persistence, and unwillingness to compromise the truth, she made a powerful difference in more lives than she would ever know. She had a real connection with the people of Brooklyn, and dealt with difficult issues and circumstances with the courage, frankness and flair that was her trademark. This is an honor suited to Shirley Chisolm, the trailblazer."

Chisholm was the first black woman to seek the presidential nomination, in 1972, after already becoming the nation's first black female Representative.

The decision to erect a Chisholm statue was made by an advisory panel "with individuals representing a broad range of expertise and backgrounds." The artist who will create the statue will be announced in early 2019, and the monument will be installed by the end of 2020. That same year Central Park will get its first historical female statue, depicting Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony.

There will also be a new 407-acre park along Jamaica Bay named Shirley Chisholm State Park, opening in 2019. And in Crown Heights, you can visit Shirley Chisholm Circle.

Meanwhile, it was also just announced that Viola Davis would produce and star in Amazon Studios upcoming film, The Fighting Shirley Chisholm.
A man waits by his fishing net on the Mekong River in Vietnam's Can Tho City. Photo by Shutterstock/pcruciatti

Germany and the European Union have separately pledged new financial assistance for Mekong riparian countries to boost collaboration.

The Mekong River Commission (MRC), the German government and the European Union (EU) have signed agreements worth 8.92 million Euro ($10 million) to enhance Mekong cross-border water cooperation.

The agreement was signed Wednesday on the sidelines of the 25th Meeting of the MRC Council in Ha Long in northern Vietnam.

The German support, worth 4 million euro ($4.6 million), aims to increase dialogue and cooperation on transboundary water resource planning and management among the lower Mekong countries, including Cambodia, Laos, Thailand and Vietnam, who are members of the MRC.

Spanning over a three-year period from 2019 to 2021, much of the funding will go to support two joint transboundary projects between Cambodia and Laos, and Cambodia and Thailand.

The projects seek to better understand and manage the Mekong basin resources and address flood and drought issues.

A portion of the grant will also go to the MRCs financial mechanism known as the "basket fund" to implement overall activities under the strategic plan 2016-2020. The mechanism allows the MRC to use funds for any of its prioritized activities that benefit more than 65 million people in the basin.

With the EU, the new financial agreement, worth 4.92 million euro ($5.55 million), will run in 2019 and 2020 to support the implementation of the MRC strategic plan 2016-2020.

The primary aim of the support is to promote and coordinate sustainable development and management of the Mekong water and related resources in the four member countries.

"The new funding from both Germany and the EU will enable the MRC to ensure effective basin-wide water resources management and the inclusiveness of dialogue at the national and regional levels with a stronger representation of all relevant stakeholders," said MRC Secretariat CEO Pham Tuan Phan.

The commission focuses its work on four key result areas such as strengthening regional cooperation, improving monitoring and communication of conditions in the basin, enhancing national plans and projects; and turning the MRC into a leaner, more efficient river basin organization.

The EU has funded the MRC to the tune of more than 11 million euro or approximately $12.7 million since 2003 on many important areas of work, including flood mitigation, climate change, institutional reforms and integrated water resources management.

Germany has also financed the MRC since 2003, providing some 31 million euro or $36 million in funding.

Over 15 years, the German support has made it possible for the MRC to implement various strategic activities, including institutional reforms, sustainable hydropower development, integrated water resources management, flood mitigation, and climate change.

At the Wednesday meeting, ministerial delegates from MRC reaffirmed the organizations reform commitment and regional relevance.

It named An Pich Hatda of Cambodia as the next CEO. The incoming CEO, currently serving as MRC Secretariats Director of Planning Division, is expected to take up his office in late January 2019 for a three-year tenure.

This is the second time the MRC has appointed a CEO from one of the four member countries, following the first appointment of the current CEO, Pham Tuan Phan of Viet Nam.

The meeting also approved the annual work plan for 2019, with a budget of about $15.8 million. The plan prioritizes commencement of updating the basin development strategy and its implication for the new strategic plan for 2021-2025. It also focuses on finalizing and publishing the Mekong state of the basin report 2018, which provides information on the status and trends of water and related resources in the Mekong basin.

The two-day meeting ending Thursday also agreed to continue discussion and consensus-building in other key areas including update of the sustainable hydropower development strategy, the preliminary design guidance for mainstream dams, and transboundary environment impact assessment guidelines.
A Singaporean man has been put in jail for beating his Vietnamese wife. Illustration photo by Shutterstock/Tiko Aramyan

A Singapore court has jailed a man for beating his wife despite a personal protection order issued against him.

Seah Kian Beng, 47, was sentenced to two months and four weeks in prison after he admitted to punching, slapping and choking his wife Truong Bich Hue, a 48-year-old Vietnamese citizen living in Singapore on a Long-Term Dependant's Pass, Channel News Asia reported Tuesday.

According to prosecutors, Seah's abuse of his wife of about four years began in October 2016 when he returned home one night and started shouting at and scolding Hue for no apparent reason before proceeding to punch and choke her to prevent her from calling the police.

Seah then brandished a penknife and threatened to kill Hue after she was released from his stranglehold and locked him out of the room. Hue lodged a police report later that night.

The abuses also continued in April and May this year with Seah pushing, slapping and pulling Hue's hair during arguments or while he was drunk, prompting Hue to call the police again.

At the trial on Tuesday, Seah pleaded guilty to eight charges, including offences under the Women's Charter and charges of voluntarily causing hurt, with another eight charges taken into consideration.

He asked for leniency, claimed his abuse of Hue was due to him being under a lot of stress at work as he had to service a monthly loan with very high interest, which placed a heavy financial burden on him and putting his flat at risk of being repossessed.

The judge however agreed with prosecutors' proposed jail term, claiming that while "life stressors" might have affected Seah's family, adding alcohol and violence to the family's life was unacceptable and the court needed to protect Hue from his violent behavior.
Six passengers were hospitalized Thursday after the nose wheels of a Vietjet plane flew off while landing.

A compilation photo of the Vietjet aircraft (R) that had problem upon landing at Buon Ma Thuot Airport on Thursday night and the plane's steering rod without the nose wheels.

Passengers were forced to escape via emergency doors after a flight from Ho Chi Minh City made a rough landing at the Buon Ma Thuot Airport in the Central Highlands.

The plane wobbled and made a loud noise as it landed, the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam (CAAV) confirmed with local media Friday morning.

The cabin crew carried out emergency procedures, with 207 passengers on board forced to leave all baggage behind and escape the plane through emergency doors.

Six of the passengers who suffered injuries were rushed to a local hospital for treatment, the CAAV said. Four of them have since been discharged and others are in stable condition.

A Vietjet Air representative said the aircraft's nose wheels went missing upon landing, but it managed to come to a complete halt safely on the runway.

On Friday morning, one nose wheel has been found, 100 meters (330 feet) from the runway.

The budget air carrier is actively working with relevant agencies to deal with the issue, the representative said.

An unnamed passenger told VnExpress the plane had lost balance when it was about to touch down.

"I heard a loud noise and the plane suddenly stopped," the 48-year-old man said.

Five minutes later, the flight attendants urged all passengers on board to leave the plane through emergency exits.

"It was extremely chaotic with lots of screams. People were scared and they jostled each other to escape as soon as possible. I could not manage to put on my shoes," he said.

It took everyone three minutes to leave the aircraft, he said, adding that he saw a long scratch caused by the plane's steering rod on the runway.

An injured passenger (R) receives care from airport staff. Photo by VnExpress/Le Van

Media reports said Vietjet received the aircraft from Airbus two weeks ago.

Airport authorities have launched an urgent investigation into the accident.

Following the accident, the Buon Ma Thuot Airport was temporarily closed for eight hours and is scheduled to resume operations from noon on Friday.

Several flights to Buon Ma Thuot, around 200 kilometers (124 miles) north of resort town Da Lat, were canceled, airport officials said.

Vietnam's aviation industry has experienced rapid growth in recent years. The country served more than 53 million air passengers in the first half of this year, up 14 percent from a year ago.
Nine defendants stand trial in Binh Thuan Province on Thursday for disturbing public order. Photo by VnExpress/Tu Huynh

Nine more people have been sentenced to jail for inciting violence during a protest against the Special Economic Zones bill last June.

A court in Bac Binh District in the south central province of Binh Thuan Thursday sentenced Duong Van Ngoan to five years and eight others to between three and three and a half years for "disturbing public order."

On June 11 hundreds of protestors had gathered on a section of National Highway 1 in Phan Ri Thanh Commune in Bac Binh, blocking traffic.

Nearly 300 police officers were dispatched to the scene and local authorities used loudspeakers to call on the protesters to disperse. But some protesters turned violent and attacked the officers with sticks, bricks, rocks, and petrol bombs.

When they took shelter at the Phan Ri fire station, Ngoan and his accomplices urged the crowd to storm the building. In the ensuing chaos, the mob burned cars and damaged or destroyed other properties inside the building.

Twenty five officers were injured, 12 cars were burned, 18 motorbikes and other properties were severely damaged. The losses were estimated at VND12 billion ($517,000), the indictment said.

Traffic on National Highway 1 was paralyzed for six hours, it said.

At the trial Thursday the accused admitted to their crimes and asked for lesser sentences, and the court obliged since they had no criminal backgrounds.

A number of protesters are still being investigated for "resisting law enforcement officers performing official duties" and "deliberate destruction of property."

In September 15 protesters had been jailed for two to 4.5 years for the same charges. Earlier another 60 protesters were imprisoned in four separate cases.

The protests in Binh Thuan were among several that erupted across Vietnam on June 10 and 11. Thousands of people had also taken to the streets in Hanoi, Da Nang, Ho Chi Minh City, and several provinces with banners and signs calling for the SEZ bill to be scrapped.

They were objecting in particular to a provision that would allow foreign investors to lease land for 99 years, saying it would undermine Vietnams sovereignty.

With the passage of the Law on Demonstrations deferred several times, all acts to incite public protests are deemed illegal.

Following the demonstrations, police detained hundreds of protesters and said they had uncovered evidence that the protests were anti-state actions incited by organizations based in other countries using false, distorted information about the bill.

The bill has since been postponed for further discussions in the National Assembly.
Phan Van Vinh, former director of the General Police Department under the Ministry of Public Security, is in court in Phu Tho Province in northern Vietnam on Friday. Photo by VnExpress/Giang Huy

A former top cop involved in a multimillion-dollar online gambling case was sentenced Friday to nine years in prison.

A court in the northern province of Phu Tho, 80 kilometers (50 miles) northwest of Hanoi, pronounced sentences against Phan Van Vinh, former director of the General Police Department under the Ministry of Public Security, and Nguyen Thanh Hoa, former director of the ministrys Department for High-Tech Crime Prevention.

They were found guilty of "abusing power or position in the performance of official duties."

Vinh got nine years in jail while Hoa was sentenced to 10 years. They were also fined VND100 million ($4,300) each.

Vinh was arrested in April and Hoa a month earlier.

Investigations found Vinh had helped Nguyen Thanh Hoa and Nguyen Van Duong, chairman of high-tech security development company CNC, to set up the gambling ring, which was worth around $420 million when it was busted.

Duong had previously been working with Hoas division to provide technical support before setting up the gambling service in May 2015 with Phan Sao Nam, founder and former board chairman of major online communications firm VTC.

According to investigators, the gambling ring headed by Nam and Duong on web portals Rikvip/Tip.club had established a large network of 25 "tier 1 agencies" and nearly 5,900 "tier 2 agencies" with nearly 43 million user accounts since being launched in mid-2015.

The illegal ring was found to have generated a total income of over VND9.8 trillion ($426 million) and a profit of VND4.7 trillion. Out of this profit, Nam received nearly VND1.5 trillion, Duong got over VND1.6 trillion while a group of other suspects earned VND1.57 trillion.

The ring was first uncovered when Phu Tho police were investigating a fraud case involving mobile top-up cards in May last year. The scammer in the case claimed he had redeemed all the cards for virtual currencies used in an online gambling card game.

Investigating this claim, police discovered Nam and Duong's ring, which was run using the two online game portals that resembled professional casinos in which players could gamble virtual money and convert their winnings to real money.

Prosecutors said Vinh had not only turned a blind eye to the formation of the ring, but also actively signed documents to facilitate its formation.

Hoa was ordered by Vinh to sign documents allowing the ring to continue to function.

Vinhs crime has had "extremely severe consequences" and "tarnished the polices reputation," and Hoa tried to hinder investigations, the indictment said.

"I will have to say sorry for the rest of my life because the consequence of the case is so serious," Vinh told the court last week.

He was taken to hospital on Friday suffering from high blood pressure and wasn't present to hear the sentencing.

Organizing gambling or running gambling dens is punishable by up to 10 years in jail in Vietnam.

Prosecutors said Vinh and Hoa were accomplices who worked together to help Duong organize the gambling ring. However, as investigators had not found any evidence showing that the duo had earned individual benefits, they were charged with "abusing power."

For organizing gambling and money laundering, Duong got 10 years in jail while Nam got five years.

The trial that opened on November 12 also heard cases of 90 other defendants, who were charged with organizing gambling, money laundering, illegal trading of invoices, and using the internet to appropriate assets. Of those, 17 were fined VND40 million each, 22 got probation and the rest received up to three years in jail.

Vietnam has over recent years arrested and tried scores of public officials and businesspeople in large-scale corruption crackdown.

Friday verdicts came a day after police arrested Tran Bac Ha, former chairman of top bank BIDV for allegedly violating banking regulations.
Vietnamese beauty contestant to show off most beautiful old woman

Minh Tu, representing Vietnam at the Miss Supranational 2018 in Poland, will wear a costume featuring iconic photo Hidden Smile.

Minh Tus crew has reveald the second outfit she'll wear for the national costume segment at the beauty contest held in Poland starting December 7.

Miss Supranational is considered one of the world's five biggest beauty contests and managed by the Panama-based World Beauty Association S.A. (WBA).

Designed by Dinh Van Tho, the outfit is a Vietnamese traditional dress ao dai paired with an extravagant cape. The cape features Bui Thi Xong  the old woman made famous by a photo taken by photographer Rehahn Croquevielle.

In 2011, as Xong was ferrying tourists on the Hoai River in the ancient central town of Hoi An and was shy of the camera, the French photographer captured the old woman who covered her face with one hand.

The photo, called "Hidden smile," with her eyes doing all the smiling earned Xong great praise, with one American news outlet calling her "the most beautiful elder lady in the world. Croquevielle used the portrait as the cover for his book "Vietnam: Mosaic of Contrasts" because for him it represented the joy of life despite old age and poverty.

Featured in white, gray, and black, the image of Xong is surrounded by drawings of Hoi An, including the Cau Bridge and boats on the river.

The traditional ao dai is made of matte silk paired with the extravagant cape.

This outfit was displayed at a 2017 fashion show by designer Dinh Van Tho in Hoi An, in which model Truong Thi May was the vedette (leading star).

Previously, Minh Tu had revealed the first national costume she will wear at the upcoming contest. The costume is called "Con Rong, Chau Tien" (Children of Dragon, Grandchildren of Fairy), which is also an ao dai designed by Dinh Van Tho.

The cape for "Con Rong, Chau Tien" honors the noble origins of the Vietnamese people as well as the unity among various ethnic groups in Vietnam.
Paradise regained? Sharks return to Thai bay popularized by 'The Beach'

The 2000 movie 'The Beach' prompted hordes of tourists to visit, damaging the coral ecosystem and eroding the once pristine white sand beach. Photo by AFP/File

Thai conservationists have welcomed footage of reef sharks gliding through the azure waters of Maya Bay.

The return has been seen as a "positive sign" of recovery six months after the closure of a tourist hot-spot made famous by the movie "The Beach."

The bay, circled by dramatic limestone cliffs on Ko Phi Phi Ley island, was made famous by the 2000 film starring Leonardo DiCaprio.

But the movie prompted hordes of tourists to sweep in on a daily of flotilla of motor boats, damaging the coral ecosystem and eroding the once pristine white sand beach.

Authorities shut the park temporarily to the public in June but later extended the closure indefinitely to let the bay recover.

On Friday park officials shared video of dozens of blacktip reef sharks serenely swimming close to the beach -- images unimaginable just weeks ago as tourists jostled for selfies on the white sand.

"Come and count sharks!" the National Park, Wildlife and Plant Conservation Department said in a Facebook post.

"It's a good sign that Maya Bay has changed and that change is positive," the post added.

A Thai marine biologist prominent in the campaign to close Maya Bay hailed the shark video as "beyond imagination, unbelievable."

"How do I feel? Tearful," Thon Thamrongnawasawat said in a Facebook post.

"At the beginning I never thought (the rehabilitation) would be as good as this in only six months."

Authorities have not said if, or when, the bay will open.

"The reef will take a longer time to recover," an official from the National Park, Wildlife and Plant Conservation Department said requesting anonymity.

Thailand's idyllic beaches are under increasing strain from huge numbers of tourists and accompanying development in remote and fragile ecosystems.

The country drew around 35 million visitors last year.

Many flock to the town of Krabi where boat trips carried visitors to nearby islands replete with opportunities for snorkelling and selfies -- among them Maya Bay.
Only nine months have passed from the approval of the project by the government to the launch of the first train, the prime minister said.

Ukrainian Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman has announced a high-speed railway line between Kyiv central station and Ukraine's largest state-owned Boryspil International Airport located outside the capital will be launched today, November 30.

Read alsoPM Groysman: Kyiv-Boryspil railbus to be launched in Nov

"Today we are launching a high-speed railway line from the center of Kyiv to Boryspil Airport. The project has been implemented very quickly. Only nine months have passed from the approval [of the project] by the government to the launch of the first train. Now we can easily predict the time to get to the airport, i.e. 35 minutes from the railway station to Boryspil," he wrote on Facebook on November 30.

As UNIAN reported earlier, the Cabinet of Ministers in February 2018 supported a project developed by Ukrzaliznytsia for building a high-speed railway line between Kyiv and Boryspil. According to the construction project, the line will link the Kyiv Pasazhyrsky (Kyiv Passenger) railway station and Boryspil Airport's Terminal D. The railbus will run through the Vydubychi railway station. A trip will last up to 35 minutes.

It is expected that a railway line will not only significantly simplify the road communications between the airport and the city, but will also unload the key city highways.

An attempt to connect Boryspil Airport with Kyiv was made back in 2011. In 2011-2012, Ukraine reached agreements with China Exim Bank on the financing of a number of projects. According to one of them, the bank was to provide Ukraine with a $372 million loan to implement the Air Express project. In September 2014, Ukraine's Infrastructure Ministry said that $50 million in loan disappeared under the pretext of the project implementation, which was under the supervision of former head of the State Agency for Investment and National Projects, Vladyslav Kaskiv. After this, the ministry called the project "unpromising" and began talks on its re-formatting.
Lubina has not specified how many Ukrainians will be transferred to Moscow.

Captured Ukrainian sailors, illegally detained after Russia's aggression in the Kerch Strait, will be transferred to one of the Moscow detention centers.

Read alsoEU says it is dismayed at use of force by Russia against Ukrainian ships near Kerch Strait

"The command crew will be moved to Moscow. <> A large group of investigators, both from Moscow and our experts, has been created to work on their case," the so-called "Crimean human rights ombudswoman," Lyudmila Lubina, told Russian news agency TASS on Friday.

However, she has not specified how many Ukrainians will be transferred to Moscow. Lubina emphasized there were no complaints from the Ukrainian sailors.

As UNIAN reported, three Ukrainian vessels were captured on November 25 by Russian forces at sea near the Kerch Strait, which is the only outlet to the Sea of Azov and controls access to two major Ukrainian ports. The two Ukrainian artillery boats and a tugboat were heading from Odesa on the Black Sea to Mariupol on the Sea of Azov. Twenty-four sailors were detained and "courts" in Russian-occupied Crimea ruled that they be detained for two months, pending trial.
Martial law not to affect Ukrainian budget revenue  Finance Ministry

The country will exceed the target figure of the national budget's general fund by the end of November, the ministry said.

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The move is a very important signal of EU's unwavering support amid the recent challenges from the Russian aggressor, the president said.

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko says the European Commission has made a decision to allocate EUR 500 million in the first tranche of the fourth program of macro-financial assistance to Ukraine.

"Sincerely grateful to the European Commission for positive decision to disburse to Ukraine first tranche of the 4th EU Macro-financial assistance program in the amount of EUR 500 Mln," he wrote on Facebook on November 30.

Read alsoIMF confirms intention to provide another bailout tranche to Ukraine

Poroshenko says he highly appreciates the personal support of the decision by President of the European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker and Vice-President of the European Commission Valdis Dombrovskis.

According to the head of state, the relevant agreement was reached during the European People's Party 2018 Congress held in Helsinki.

"Very important signal of the unwavering assistance of the European Union against the recent challenges from the Russian aggressor," Poroshenko added.
Isidro Barquero found people squatting in his house in Vallecas while it was being refurbished SANTI BURGOS

Sineb, the real estate agent does everything she can to make her client happy. She meets her at the metro and together they walk towards a well-appointed building. She then proceeds to show her around a three-bedroom apartment, with a refurbished bathroom, lounge room and kitchen. There is an elevator and plenty of light. No need to pay costs for the maintenance of communal spaces.

Great, says the client. I like it. How much will it cost me?

You give me 1,400 in cash and I give you the keys. Easy.

Quickly and without much ado, they complete the deal  one of many in Madrids underground property market for the sale and rent of squatter apartments.

Be they gangs or individuals, there are now a significant number of people making their living by finding empty properties and offering them to house hunters as a cheap two-year measure  the time it usually takes for repossession cases to make their way through the courts.

An apartment in Parla where the keys were handed over for 1,400.

Most of the apartments belong to banks or distressed debt funds that have evicted the previous owners for defaulting on mortgage payments. The realtors find the flats on bank websites. They also comb neighborhoods for properties that appear deserted. Buying one of these properties for the purposes of squatting costs between 1,000 and 2,000. Renting, on the other hand, costs 300 a month. Sineb had placed an ad on the Spanish classified website Milanuncios for an apartment in Parla for 1,400. Youve got electricity and water but youll never have to pay a bill, she explained to the client in person.

Advert on Milanuncios: Squat for 1,400 up front. With lift.

The advertisement has a brief description of the propertys history: it was left empty after being repossessed and a guy  almost certainly an experts in locks  opened it up. It belongs to Sabadell bank, which sends people round to invite the squatters to leave from time to time.

Then there are three pieces of advice to squatters:

Have children. The judge will feel sorry for you, which will buy you more time. I tell the bank I am pregnant and that puts the brakes on things. The neighbors will also be more considerate.

Change the locks. The former owners might still have keys and so will the bank, so dont take chances.

Find an excuse. If the neighbors ask, tell them you cant leave the place because you rented it and the owner isnt going to give you back your deposit.

When Sineb finishes showing a client around, she uses the same line as all realtors: Theres a lot of people interested. This one will go fast.

In Madrid there are 4,717 squatter homes, 1,717 of which are officially protected. But even though squatters almost always move into public buildings or apartments that have been repossessed by the banks, the trend is generating a degree of anxiety among the elderly in districts such as Monte Igueldo and Vallecas, where private homes have occasionally been occupied.

Climate of fear

Websites such as Inmopiso are used to get information on flats repossessed by the banks.

Mari Carmen Ortega, 72, says she is too scared to go to the doctor for tests in case she is sent to hospital and squatters take over her home. I am not moving, she says. I dont want to lose my place. What she is perhaps unaware of is that, in such an eventuality, she would be within her rights to report it as forced entry and the squatters would be made to leave.

But few either know or trust that this would be the case. Instead, elderly neighbors are forming support groups, taking turns to go and buy bread, visit their children or shop at the market. They have each others backs. There is a lot of concern, says Olga Dominguez, from the Casco Viejo neighbors association. Its a shame.

I tell the bank I am pregnant and that puts the brakes on things Advice on advert for squatter flat

This feeling of vulnerability is driven by exceptions such as that of 31-year-old computer specialist Isidro Barqueros, who bought his apartment from Santander Bank. Obviously in this case the black market realtor had got its facts wrong and did not realize it had been sold.

Barqueros began refurbishing the property. Last week, he dropped by to see how the work was going and was pleased with the progress. Only the floor was left. When he returned two days later, he found the lock had been broken. It took him a moment to realize he had guests and then he went straight to the police precinct across the road. Several officers returned with him to his property and knocked on the door. A female voice from within shouted back. She had no intention of opening up, she said. She would stay inside with her two daughters, one of whom was a minor.

A neighbor informed Barqueros and the officers that the women had moved in 12 hours earlier. The officers threatened to break the door down, but fortunately it did not come to that. The woman and her daughters left and said sorry.

An advert in Milanuncios placed by someone looking for an empty apartment to squat in. It reads: I am looking for someone to open a house from a BANK and connect it to water and electricity in the neighborhood of Carabanchel or nearby. This is a serious ad. I would also be interested in looking at the Vallecas area. ONLY HOMES OWNED BY BANK.

She told Barqueros and the officers that she had paid 400 to a man who had helped her force the door open. She was going to pay him 500 but when she saw there was no cooker, she demanded a discount. Barqueros tweeted about what happened and the response was overwhelming.

Many of those hoping to find a place to squat have fallen on hard times. Thirty-two-year-old Antonio Ruiz, for example, lost his job five months ago and, though his wife has a cleaning job, with two children it is difficult to make ends meet. Ruiz is looking for a place to squat in the Carabanchel area so that his daughters do not have to change schools. Im currently in a rented apartment, he says. But the contract is up. I am looking for a place that belongs to a bank to avoid squatting in someones house.

There are dozens of ads like Ruizs, placed by people desperate for somewhere cheap to live. I need an apartment urgently, says one. I have no work and have to move out of the place I am in now. I cant afford to pay rent and I dont know where to go with my children. This particular ad, found in Milanuncios, offered 1,000 for an apartment owned by a bank.

A Squatters Manual The Platform for Mortgage Victims (PAH) also help families to squat, but the process is one stipulated in a document called The Civil Disobedience Manual for the Repossession of Empty Homes Belonging to Financial Institutions. This manual prohibits the occupation of private property and it rules out paying fees. "In PAH, we try to make it a last resort because families [squatting] will then be living in fear. Even so, it is an option we consider because for some families it is all that is left to them," says Belen from PAH. The manual explains how to go about squatting: first, you need to get all the information you can on the property in question. Next, you need a plan to move in without being noticed. It is advisable to get in through the door or through a window and with minimal damage. Once inside, block the lock to prevent the owners entering. This can be done with superglue or tooth picks. To prevent the police entering, squatters should initially use chains and padlocks to keep them out. They then need to get a new lock fitted. That shows that they have been there for more than 48 hours, which turns it into their property  at least temporarily. If the police manage to come with a warrant, the squatters can be accused of theft. To avoid that situation, they should put up notices that they are squatters, not thieves. The squatters can be accused of usurping the property if there is evidence of forced entry. But in this case, the judge needs to name the suspects. This is why the manual recommends carrying out the operation out of sight of witnesses or cameras that might subsequently identify them. The case is then heard by a local court and, if faced with a well-prepared defense, can take two years to be resolved.

English version by Heather Galloway.
Signs restricting traffic. ULY MARTIN

Madrid on Friday joined a global list of pioneering cities fighting air pollution through local initiatives. In a historic move, the Spanish capital has introduced Madrid Central, a raft of measures aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions in the city center. The project is part of a larger move to improve the quality and safety of a space that is shared by cars, motorcycles, pedestrians, bicycles and a growing number of personal mobility devices.

Viewed as a legacy-making project for Mayor Manuela Carmena, of the leftist Ahora Madrid party, Madrid Central has made 472 hectares of the city center off-limits to traffic, except for local residents and public transportation. Non-residents with appropriate energy labels may enter to leave their vehicle in a public parking lot, and exceptions are made for people with reduced mobility, ambulances, taxis, private-hire cars and delivery vans. Electric vehicles will also be allowed into Madrid Centro.

This is a very important moment for the city

Ines Sabanes, Madrid mobility councilor

City officials added that ongoing reforms in several downtown streets will increase space for pedestrians by nearly 22,000 square meters.

In the spirit of favoring sustainable mobility in this crowded space, there are also new rules in effect since October 23 affecting speed limits, approved parking areas for motorcycles, priority for pedestrians and proper use of mobility devices.

City Hall said in a release that during December there will be no action taken against violators, as officials conduct an awareness campaign about the benefits of Madrid Centro. In January there will be automatic controls and notices will be sent out to offenders, although no fines will be issued for the first two months.

Improving the air quality in cities is a EU mandate, and the European Commission has set 2020 as the deadline for Madrid to meet its targets. City officials say that Madrid Central will reduce emissions by 40% as a result of eliminating through traffic and banning the biggest polluters from the area.

Many European cities have taken steps to curb emissions, but only four have gone further than Madrid and introduced fees to access the city center: London, Milan, Stockholm and Gothenburg.

An old project

The initiative is not brand new  it had been proposed by former mayors Alberto Ruiz-Gallardon and Ana Botella, both of the Popular Party (PP).

In the 1950s and 60s, European cities transformed themselves to dedicate most of their public space to cars, building wide avenues and ample parking spaces. In the late 1980s, however, an opposite trend began to take back the cities for pedestrians by eliminating space for private vehicles. Madrid joined this movement, and one of the earliest controversies involved the decision, made by a Socialist administration, to close off Retiro Park to traffic.

Many European cities have taken steps to curb emissions, but only four have gone further than Madrid

The next steps were taken by a PP mayor, Ruiz-Gallardon, who pedestrianized many streets in the downtown area and created the first Resident Priority Zones (APZ) in 2004. These areas, located in the neighborhoods of Cortes, Letras and Embajadores, are restricted and non-residents may only enter to go to a parking lot  the same as Madrid Central.

In 2006, Ruiz-Gallardon attempted to extend these traffic restrictions to an area very similar to todays Madrid Centro, but he was unable to gain enough support. Ana Botella tried it in 2014, but strong opposition from local business owners made her shelve the plan. Today, the PP is opposed to Madrid Central, which it has appealed before several authorities.

Historic day

This is a very important moment for the city, said Ines Sabanes, the local head of environment and mobility issues, who called Friday a historic day.

The project has met with fierce opposition from local retailers, transportation professionals and citizens alike, mirroring similar reactions in places like London, where the congestion charge introduced 15 years ago initially drew broad condemnation, which later turned into support. London has reduced traffic in the center by a third, and become a role model for Milan, Stockholm, Gothenburg and Singapore. Officials in New York City are considering it.

English version by Susana Urra.
Gagik Tsarukyan does not say nice words - Tsarukyan about Tsarukyan

The leader of the Prosperous Armenia Party (PAP) speaks about himself by the 3rd face. "Gagik Tsarukyan can speak about all spheres." However, given the unfavorable weather conditions in Yeghegnadzor, he spoke briefly, presented their future plans. Moreover, he emphasized that he does not say nice words, but he says what he can actually accomplish. According to the PAP leader, it is important for the people to understand that there is a person who thinks about them and shares their concern. Gagik Tsarukyan touched upon the issues such as the lack of access to health care for a large part of the society, citizens who have loans, so they just simply survive and cannot meet their everyday needs. At the end of the speech, Gagik Tsarukyan presented the rating candidates of the Prosperous Armenia Party. Especially, Sergey Bagratyan was presented in detail. After the event, the locals did not leave the meeting for a long time, presenting their concerns to Gagik Tsarukyan and looking forward to the urgent solution of these problems.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov will hold substantive discussions on the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict during bilateral meetings within the OSCE Ministerial Council in Milan Dec. 6-7, Spokeswoman of the Russian Foreign Ministry Maria Zakharova said at a press conference on Nov. 30, answering Trends question on what is planned for discussion.

The ministers speech will cover everything related to the OSCE agenda, and especially those issues in which Russia is directly involved, said Zakharova. We will share our assessments. Of course, there will be bilateral meetings as well, and this issue will be discussed substantively during these meetings. Naturally, some specific steps or concrete proposals may be outlined there.

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.

More about: Russia Azerbaijan Armenia Karabakh
Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has said that the European Commission (EC) has made a favorable decision on the provision of a first tranche of the fourth macrofinancial assistance of the European Union (EU) to Ukraine in the amount of EUR 500 million and thanked the European Commission for its decision.

"Sincerely grateful to the European Commission for positive decision to disburse to Ukraine first tranche of the 4th EU macrofinancial assistance program in the amount of EUR 500 mln," Poroshenko said on its Facebook page on Friday.

The head of state said that he highly appreciates personal support of EC President Jan-Claude Juncker and EC Vice-President for the Euro and Social Dialogue Valdis Dombrovskis in the spirit of the agreements in Helsinki early November.

Poroshenko said that the decision of the EC is "very important signal of the unwavering assistance of the European Union against the recent challenges from the Russian aggressor."

According a report of the European Commission published on Friday, Ukraine has fulfilled the policy commitments agreed with the EU for the release of the first payment under the programme.

These included important measures to step up the fight against corruption, improve transparency of company registers, enhance the predictability of the tax environment and strengthen the governance of state-owned enterprises. Ukraine has also agreed with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on a new Stand-by Arrangement, which will replace its previous programme under the IMF's Extended Fund Facility, thus continuing the country's engagement with the IMF.

"The EU will continue working with the Ukrainian authorities on its reform agenda, including in those areas related to the next disbursement of the MFA programme. These include further measures in the fight against corruption, such as progress in making the High Anti-Corruption Court of Ukraine operational, public financial management, the continuation of reforms of the energy and banking sectors and reforms in the area of social policy," the commission said.

With this disbursement, the total Macro-Financial Assistance extended to Ukraine by the EU since 2014 will reach EUR 3.3 billion, the largest amount of such assistance directed at any non-EU country.
Klimkin announces "several packages of serious sanctions" for Russian aggression in Kerch Strait

Several packages of sanctions against Russia have been prepared because of Russia's aggression in the Kerch Strait, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin has said.

"Several packages of sanctions have been prepared, very serious sanctions. I cannot talk about all the details, but in fact, current sanctions are working against Russia already," he said on the "Right to Power" talk show on Thursday.

The minister also called the refusal of U.S. President Donald Trump to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin "a slap in the face" for the Russian leader.

"He [Putin] draws attention only to those whom he considers strong - the president of the United States," the minister explained.
U.S. insists on return of Ukrainian ships captured by Russia  U.S. Dept of State

The U.S. position on the incident in the Kerch Strait is unambiguous: Russia must return the arrested ships to Ukraine, Deputy State Department Spokesperson Robert Palladino has said.

"And for the United States, our position has been very clear, from the President to Ambassador Haley to Secretary Pompeo. We  they [Russia] must return to Ukraine its vessels and detained crewmembers," Palladino said a briefing.

He recalled that the European partners of the U.S. from NATO, the OSCE and the EU also made statements on the incident in the Kerch Strait.

"There is a coalescing of opposition and strong condemnation for the aggression that we have witnessed," he stressed.

"The aggression that we've witnessed this week is unacceptable and a strong message has been sent," he said.

To the journalist's clarifying question how strong the signal was sent, Palladino responded: "Isolation."
Head of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Viktor Muzhenko has said there exist two more radio messages confirming that crews of Ukrainian Naval Forces ships, captured by the Russian side in the Black Sea, informed in advance about their intention to pass along the Kerch-Yenikale Canal and negotiated with the Russian coast guard.

"Regarding the additional data on the passage of our ships through the Kerch Strait. There are two more radiograms that clearly state that our small armored boat Berdiansk made a request and communicated with the dispatcher of the technical supervision post of the Coast Guard of Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB)," Muzhenko said at a meeting with Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko on Friday morning.

Muzhenko said the radio message said that a member of the Ukrainian crew during the negotiations notes that according to the agreement on the Russian-Ukrainian border of January 28, 2003 and the agreement on cooperation in using the Sea of Azov and the Kerch Strait of December 24, 2003, the Naval Forces ships and their support vessel have the right to safely pass through the Kerch Strait. At the same time, the Ukrainian side declared its readiness to take on board the pilot and act "according to the plan."

"The warning about the passage through the Kerch Strait was filed four hours before the start of the transition, according to the relevant procedure," Muzhenko said.

As earlier reported, on November 25, Russian border guards attacked and detained the Yany Kapu tugboat and two small-sized Berdiansk and Nikopol armored artillery boats of the Ukrainian Armed Forces' Navy, sailing from Odesa to Mariupol via the Black and Azov Seas, near the Kerch Strait. The ships were convoyed to Kerch. Twenty-four Ukrainian military seamen were detained.

The European Union and the foreign ministries of many countries have condemned Russian aggressive actions in the Azov and Black Seas against the Ukrainian ships. Kurt Volker, Special Representative of the U.S. Department of State for Ukraine Negotiations, and Pavlo Klimkin, Foreign Minister of Ukraine, said that there was nothing in the actions of the Ukrainian side in the Kerch Strait that could be regarded as a provocation.
The Ukrainian State Border Service has tightened border control and restricted arrivals of foreign citizens, first and foremost male Russian citizens aged from 16 to 60, agency head Petro Tsyhykal said.

"Checkpoint control has been tightened. The arrivals of foreign citizens, above all citizens of Russia, have been restricted. There is no admittance of male Russian citizens aged from 16 to 60," Tsyhykal said at a meeting on heightening national defense levels, which was chaired by Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko on Friday morning.

No restrictions have been imposed on Ukrainian citizens on the border, he said.

"Am I right that these measures are preventing Russia from forming private army units, which are actually composed of servicemen of the Russian Armed Forces, and from holding the operations they attempted to conduct in 2014?" Poroshenko asked. Tsyhykal gave an affirmative answer.

The president underlined the importance of tightening requirements on registration of Russian citizens especially in the regions where martial law is in effect.
Two SBU officers captured on ships of the Ukrainian Armed Forces' Navy by Russians near the Kerch Strait on November 25 are about to be transported to Moscow, the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) has reported.

"Today, there is information that two officers of the SBU, held in Russian captivity, are being prepared to be transported to Moscow to conduct investigative actions with them in the criminal proceedings forged by the Russian side," head of the staff at the SBU Ukrainian Security Service's chief Ihor Huskov said at a briefing on Friday.
The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has obliged the Russian Federation to provide information about the seizure of Ukrainian seamen and the legal grounds for their detention, the place of their detention, the injuries inflicted and the medical assistance provided.

"The government of the Russian Federation should provide this information by the next Monday, December 3," the official website of the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine said on Friday.

This decision is consistent with Clause 54 of the ECHR's Regulations, the ministry said.

The ECHR clarified which questions it asked the Russian government:

"Are the officers and men of the Ukrainian naval vessels Berdiansk, Nikopol, and Yany Kapu deprived of their liberty? If so, on what ground and where are they being held? Can it be confirmed that there are wounded among the officers and men of the three Ukrainian naval vessels? If so, who are they, what are their injuries, and what medical treatment have they received?"
Ex-head of fiscal service Prodan declines to testify, SAPO files petition to arrest him with bail option

Detectives of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) have interrogated former acting head of the State Fiscal Service Myroslav Prodan. He declined to testify. The Special Anti-corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAPO) initiates his arrest with a bail option, the SAPO has reported.

"On November 30, 2018, the detectives of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau, under the procedural guidance of a prosecutor of the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office, interrogated the former acting head of the State Fiscal Service Prodan suspected of illicit enrichment," SAPO said on its page in the Facebook social network.

According to SAPO, the suspect, contrary to the public promise to give evidence regarding his suspicion immediately upon returning to Ukraine, "refused to testify on the basis of Article 63 of the Constitution of Ukraine. He did not provide any documents to substantiate his arguments."

SAPO said that neither Prodan nor his defense provided any supporting documents about the valid reasons for being absent from the territory of Ukraine, including about treatment and non-appearance to SAPO.

The office reminded that Prodan had been summoned for interrogation as a suspect in an illegal enrichment case four times.

"Today, SAPO appealed to the Solomiansky district court of Kyiv with a petition to select a preventive measure with the possibility of making bail in the amount of UAH 89 million, which corresponds to the amount of the potential illicit enrichment," SAPO said.
President of the European Council Donald Tusk has voiced the belief that the European Union will be able to impose sanctions on the Russian Federation in December.

"Europe is united in our support for Ukraines sovereignty and territorial integrity. This is why I am sure that the EU will roll over the sanctions against Russia in December," Tusk said on Twitter Friday.

Also, he said it is the EUs obligation to use the G20 Summit to press our partners to respect basic principles of human rights, freedom of the press and basic safety of journalists.
G7 foreign ministers express concern about Russian attack on Ukrainian ships, call on Moscow to release captured seamen

Foreign ministry heads of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Britain, the United States, and the EU High Representative have expressed extreme concern over Russia's actions against the Ukrainian Naval Forces ships in the Kerch Strait, according to a joint statement published on the website of the Government of Canada.

"There is no justification for Russias use of military force against Ukrainian ships and naval personnel," the statement says.

In addition, the foreign ministers of the G7 countries called on Russia to release the detained crew members and return the ships to Ukraine.

"We call on Russia to release the detained crew and vessels and refrain from impeding lawful passage through the Kerch Strait," the statement says.
On Monday, December 3, at 15.00, the press center of the Interfax-Ukraine news agency will host a press conference entitled "The System of Partner Sales Franchise as Tool for Profound Changes on the Ukrainian Real Estate Market." Participating will be Senior Partner of Est.ua! portal, founder of the franchise Ivan Zmeichuk; Junior Partner, Head of the Sales Department at Franchising Full Cycle consulting company Maskym Semchuk (8/5a Reitarska Street). Registration requires press accreditation. Details by phone: (063) 243 99 46 or by e-mail: ms@ffc.expert.
An outspoken Iranian former political prisoner has once again lambasted the Islamic Republic's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, insisting that his "concentrated power" and "leadership for life" are the main sources of widespread corruption across the country.

In an essay published on the dissident website Kalameh November 28, former regime supporter turned political activist Abolfazl Qadyani writes, "As the economic and political crisis in Iran is worsening along with people's opposition to the religious dictatorship, specifically against Khamenei, the intelligence arms of tyranny, which are in a permanent state of fear, increase the level of suppression, believing that it is the only solution to the problems confronting the ruling establishment.

"Their permanent fear originates in the fear of losing control and power," the 73-year-old argued. They are scared of losing the usurped power that is entangled with the despot's existence."

Qadyani, a co-founder of the political group Mojahedin of the Islamic Revolution of Iran Organization (MIRO), helped the clerics consolidate power after the downfall of the monarchy nearly forty years ago. The MIRO strongly supported the Islamic Republic until 2009, when the group fell out with Khamenei after the disputed re-election of populist President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

Many of the organizations leaders, including Qadyani, were given prison sentences for their public criticism of Khamenei, and one of their most outspoken members, former deputy interior minister Mostafa Tajzadeh, spent more than seven years in solitary confinement.

"The fear of losing power is a permanent nightmare that blurs the dictator's sight and forces him toward immoral and unlawful moves in the hope of retaining power and increasing his dominance over the nation, Qadyani wrote in his essay.

Describing lifetime appointments as the mother of all corruption, Qadyani notes, "The power in Iran, as everybody knows, is monopolized by velayat-i Faqih (the Guardianship of the Islamic Jurist), therefore, since the Supreme Leader is under nobody's supervision and not accountable to any institution, he is responsible for spreading the corrupt products of the concentrated power for life across the land.

The only way out, Qadyani suggested, is resistance and protest.

Qadyani described the president of the Islamic Republic as the butler of the Supreme Leader, since he cannot freely choose members of his own cabinet.

If people constantly protest the concentration of power in one single person and resist tyranny, Qadyani said, "ultimately, a point where the tyrant surrenders to the nation's will and holds a referendum for the establishment of a secular republic would not be out of reach.

To back up his argument, Qadyani listed fifteen cases of the recent protests across Iran that were ruthlessly suppressed as the signs of fear among the Supreme Leader's intelligence arms.

In an earlier essay published on the same website July 7, Qadyani called the Islamic Republic a religious dictatorship, and said the only solution was for Khamenei to step down.

Qadyani, himself a former pro-reform activist, also criticized Iranian reformists for their steadfast belief that the regime can reform itself.

They [reformists] want to reform a corrupt and flawed structure, he wrote, they are either not reformists or simply cherish an impossible dream.

He called on all political activists, including those in the reform camp, to demand Khamenei step down. Otherwise, he warned, Iranians may face the same sad fate as Libyans and Iraqis whose dictators were forced from power.
Labor activists in Iran say a detained worker and labor leader was tortured in custody and hospitalized in recent days, while officials deny the accusations.

Esmail Bakhshi was arrested on November 18 in Shush during labor protests at local sugarcane mill, together with more than a dozen labor activists and workers. The others were later released. Shush is located in the oil-rich Khuzestan province.

The news about his possible injury in custody was reported by the bus drivers union in the capital Tehran. On Thursday, the union published a statement saying Bakhshi was hospitalized in a security clinic in Ahvaz, the capital of Khuzestan, but he was later returned to the initial detention facility.

The statement adds that Bakhsi was subjected to psychological abuse and physical attacks in detention to force him to admit to false accusations.

The union of the sugar mill where Bakhsi works re-published the statement issued by the Tehran labor activists.

The governor of Khuzestan province and the prosecutor in Shush have denied that the prisoner was tortured or hospitalized.

Iranian law enforcement and judicial authorities often do not release accurate information about detainees, especially in civil rights and political cases. There are few mechanisms to hold these authorities accountable in Iran.
A conservative member of Irans parliament says family planning activists with a population control agenda have infiltrated state agencies and presented officials with manipulated and doctored statistics showing the countrys population growth must be curbed.

Speaking to the conservative Young Journalists Club (YJC) website, the MP from the city of Mashhad, mid-ranking cleric Nasrollah Pejmanfar, accused senior members of government of complicity in what he describes as a campaign to mislead officials on the issue of population control.

After the 1979 Islamic Revolution, population growth was encouraged and family planning services became scarce. At the same time Iran experienced a rapid growth in the birth rate.United Nations data show that Irans population doubled in just 20 years  from 27 million in 1968 to 55 million in 1988.

During the period following the Iran-Iraq war in the late 1980s and early 90s, Irans economy was in tatters, with high unemployment leading to severe over-crowding in the cities as people flocked to them in search of work. This led to a dramatic policy shift on family planning. Contraceptives became widely available, politicians and religious leaders alike encouraged women to wait a few years between pregnancies and have fewer children, and Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini even issued fatwas making birth control acceptable for conservative Muslims. Abortion remained illegal except to save the life of the mother or in the case of grave birth defects, but the push for family planning lead to a plateau in population growth.

Recently, however, the current Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has criticized these family planning policies. Labelling birth-control a disorder," Khamenei issued an edict in May 2014 calling for population growth to "strengthen national identity" and counter "undesirable aspects of Western lifestyles.

"The policy (birth-control) made sense twenty years ago, but its continuation in later years was wrong, Khamenei argued, adding, the country will face an aging and declining population if the birth-control policy continues.

Since then, many conservative allies of Khamenei have accused President Hassan Rouhani and his cabinet of failing to implement the Supreme Leader's edict.

Earlier, Fars, a news agency affiliated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) reported that one of the Islamic Republic's intelligence entities has arrested an unknown number of people active in the field of population control. The news agency also accused the detainees of being infiltrators employed by "foreign enemies.

President Hassan Rouhani's top advisor, Hossamuddin Ashna, derided the report on Twitter, saying After arresting a number of environmentalists and shrouding the field of ecology and environmentalism in security and intelligence affairs, now they have entered the domain of demography."

According to Pejmanfar, decreasing Iran's population is part of the enemys assault that is indeed an all-out war against the Islamic Republic. The enemy (code for the U.S., Israel, and Arab countries, specifically Saudi Arabia) has employed these elements to infiltrate the local research centers and decision-making departments, Pejmanfar says.
Beirut, Nov 30, 2018 (AFP) -

Israel struck several positions south of Damascus, a war monitor said Friday, in the first strikes since Syrian air defenses were upgraded following the accidental downing of a Russian plane in September.

Damascus claimed its air defense systems shot down all "hostile targets" late Thursday. Israel did not confirm carrying out raids but denied any losses.

According to the Syria Observatory for Human Rights, the strikes hit two positions in the south of Damascus province, including an area believed to be an Iranian weapons depot near the capital.

"Israeli forces bombarded for an hour," Observatory chief Rami Abdel Rahman said.

Two missiles hit "weapons depots belonging to the Lebanese Hezbollah (militant group) as well as Iranian forces" in Kisweh.

Another missile hit the area of Harfa, where there is a Syrian military base, the Britain-based monitor said.

In Kisweh, "the depots that were targeted are used to temporarily store rockets until they are taken somewhere else," Abdel Rahman said.

"It appears the Israelis had intelligence that weapons had arrived there recently," he said.

The state news agency said the attack was foiled and did not admit to any losses.

"Our air defenses fired on hostile targets over the Kisweh area and downed them," SANA said, citing a military source.

A military source quoted by the pro-government Al-Watan daily said "the aggression, despite its intensity, was not able to implement any of its goals and all enemy bodies were downed."

Initial reports by the Observatory suggested there were no casualties.

The Israeli military denied any of its assets were hit but stopped short of denying it had conducted strikes at all.

"Reports regarding an IDF (Israeli military) aircraft or an airborne IDF target having been hit are false," it said in an English-language statement.

It said a Syrian surface-to-air missile was fired in the direction of an open area of the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights but it was unclear if it had hit Israeli-held territory.

Air Defence Upgrade

Israel has carried out hundreds of air strikes in neighboring Syria against what it says are Iranian targets, many of them in the area south of Damascus.

Iran and Russia are the government's key allies in the civil war that has raged Syria since 2011, and Moscow's intervention in 2015 dramatically turned the tables against the rebels.

The accidental downing of a Russian transport aircraft by Syrian ground batteries during an Israel air strike on September 17 killed 15 service personnel.

Moscow pinned responsibility for the downing on Israel, saying its fighter jet used the larger Russian one for cover, an allegation Israel disputed.

Russia subsequently upgraded Syrian air defenses with the delivery of the advanced S-300 system, which Damascus had said last month would make Israel "think carefully" before carrying out further air raids.

The move raised fears in Israel that its ability to rein in its arch foe Iran's military presence in its northeastern neighbor would be sharply reduced.

There was no evidence however that the S-300 batteries were used to intercept Israeli missiles overnight.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had told Moscow his government would continue to hit hostile targets in Syria to prevent Iran from establishing a military presence across the border.

He added that Israel would "continue security coordination" with Russia.
A group of United Nations human rights experts has issued a statement urging Iran to guarantee the rights of activists who have been put in prison for supporting protests against the mandatory hijab.

We urge the Government to immediately release all those who have been imprisoned for promoting and protecting the rights of women, the experts said.

One rights defender, Farhad Meysami, a medical doctor who was arrested in July for protesting the hijab law, has been on a hunger strike since August and facing a serious danger to his health. He has been demanding vague charges against him to be dropped and to be freed from detention.

The U.N. experts expressed alarm at Meysamis situation and the lack of due process of law in handling his case.

Another rights defender and prominent lawyer, Nasrin Sotoudeh has also started a hunger strike this week to bring attention to Meysamis case. The U.N. experts also expressed concern at the in-absentia conviction and subsequent imprisonment of Sotoudeh.

The human rights experts called on Iran to address Mr. Meysamis demands and to guarantee the rights of Sotoudeh and others not to be arbitrarily deprived of their freedom.

Among the signatories of the statement is Javid Rehman, U.N. Special rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Iran and four other prominent experts.
Pentagon and the U.S. State Department went all out on Thursday to show that Iran is breaking United Nations resolutions by aggressively sending arms to rebel groups in the region.

Iran Action Group chief Brian Hook said on Thursday November 29 that Iranian arms displayed by the Pentagon were "New evidence of Iran's ongoing missile proliferation," and stressed "The Iranian threat is growing and we are accumulating risks of escalation in the region if we fail to act."

The collection of weapons on display included pieces of what the Pentagon said were Iranian weapons transferred to militants in Yemen and Afghanistan.

This was the second presentation of Iranian weapons by the Pentagon. Hook's statement coincided with growing concern in Congress over U.S. military support for the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen's civil war, which has led to a deep humanitarian crisis, Reuters news agency observed on Thursday.

Meanwhile, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo had said Wednesday evening that "reducing ties with Saudi Arabia will encourage Iran." He made the comment after a closed session of the United States Senate that debated a response to Saudi Arabia for the murder of columnist Jamal Khashoggi in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.

The senators passed a resolution to pull U.S. support from the war in Yemen, in what is seen as a rebuke to both Riyadh and President Donald Trump.

Later on Thursday, Trump told reporters that he will not meet Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Salman during his visit to Argentina where he is slated to take part in G-20 summit.

In his speech, Brian Hook maintained that "Iran's support of the Houthi militants has deepened. Its backing of terrorists across the world has increased, and its efforts to undermine regional stability have expanded."

He also pointed out "Iran's relentless commitment to put more weapons into the hands of even more of its proxies regardless of the sufferings."

Hook added: "Iran has been prohibited by several UN resolutions for exporting arms for a decade," adding that "This display reveals an outlaw regime exporting arms as it pleases."

He emphasized that what was on display included a "surface to air missile designed and manufactured in Iran with the writing in Farsi on its side saying that Iranians dont mind being caught violating UN resolutions. These are missiles intercepted by Saudi Arabia in Yemen earlier this year. The Iranians wanted to deliver these to the Houthis to target coalition aircrafts."

Hook stressed that "These missiles pose a clear and present danger to civil aviation in the region."

He added that the display also included "anti-tank guided missiles manufactured in Iran, seized in an arms cache aboard a vessel in the Arabian Sea."

Shipping arms to Yemen, Afghanistan and other countries by Iran would be in violation of United Nations resolutions.

Reuters was reportedly given advanced access to the military hangar at Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling just outside of Washington where the U.S. Defense Department put the fragments of weaponry on display and explained how it concluded that they came from Iran.

"We want there to be no doubt across the world that this is a priority for the United States and that it's in international interest to address it," Reuters quoted Katie Wheelbarger, the principal US deputy assistant secretary of defense for international security affairs.

According to Reuters, the Pentagon explained in detail why it believed the arms on display came from Iran, noting what it said were Iranian corporate logos on arms fragments and the unique nature of the designs of Iranian weaponry including Sayad-2 surface to air (SAM) missiles.

Meanwhile, in line with the United States' accusation about Iran's link to the Taliban in Afghanistan, the Pentagon displayed a number of Fajr rockets, that it said Iran had provided to the militant group. It said the rockets were Iranian because of the unique markings on the rockets and the paint scheme, along with the markings on them.

Except in the case of the Taliban, the Islamic Republic has not shied away from openly supporting various militant groups, including Palestinian factions bent on carrying on conflict with Israel or Houthi rebels in Yemen.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Nov. 30

By Leman Zeynalova  Trend:

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov will hold substantive discussions on the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict during bilateral meetings within the OSCE Ministerial Council in Milan Dec. 6-7, Spokeswoman of the Russian Foreign Ministry Maria Zakharova said at a press conference on Nov. 30, answering Trends question on what is planned for discussion.

The ministers speech will cover everything related to the OSCE agenda, and especially those issues in which Russia is directly involved, said Zakharova. We will share our assessments. Of course, there will be bilateral meetings as well, and this issue will be discussed substantively during these meetings. Naturally, some specific steps or concrete proposals may be outlined there.

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.

---

Follow the author on Twitter: @Lyaman_Zeyn
Baku, Azerbaijan, Nov. 30

By Elchin Mehdiyev - Trend:

There is difficult social situation in Armenia, a member of the Azerbaijani delegation, chairman of the Azerbaijan Press Council Aflatun Amashov, who participated in the 52nd session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation (PABSEC) held in Yerevan, told reporters in Baku Nov. 30.

He said that the situation could be judged by the type of buildings.

We were mainly in the center of the city, he noted. The country is on the threshold of election. It is fundamentally wrong to compare Baku and Yerevan, because there are striking differences.

Amashov also said that the delegation visited the Blue Mosque in Yerevan.

The Blue Mosque is one of the historical monuments of Azerbaijan, it was built in 1776 on the order of Nakhchivan resident Huseynali Khan, he noted. In the second half of the 19th century, about 300 mosques operated in Armenia. A number of mosques even operated until the 90s. The Blue Mosque is the only one in Armenia. According to an agreement between the governments of Iran and Armenia, it was repaired with the financial support of the Iranian side in 1995. This mosque is considered one of the cultural centers of Iran in 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. 30

Trend:

Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov has left for a working visit to the United Mexican States, the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry told Trend.

During the visit, Mammadyarov is expected to attend the inauguration ceremony of the newly elected president of Mexico and hold several bilateral meetings.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Nov. 30

Trend:

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has congratulated Salome Zurabishvili on her election as president of Georgia.

I extend my heartfelt congratulations to you on the occasion of your election as president of Georgia, President Aliyev said.

Azerbaijan and Georgia are bound together by traditional relations of friendship and good neighborliness, he added. I believe that we will keep making joint efforts to strengthen our strategic partnership based on mutual confidence and support and successfully continue and develop our bilateral cooperation in all areas in the years to come.

I wish you the best of health, happiness, and success in your future responsible activities for the well-being of the friendly people of Georgia, the president said.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Nov. 30

By Elchin Mehdiyev - Trend:

The budget of Azerbaijans State Social Protection Fund and the Unemployment Insurance Fund has been submitted for discussion at the plenary meeting of the Azerbaijani parliament.

The State Social Protection Funds revenues for 2019 are projected at 3.928 billion manats, which is 9.8 percent more than in 2018.

The revenues of the Unemployment Insurance Fund for 2019 are projected at 83.451 million manats, which is 5.588 million manats, or 6.3 percent less compared to the revenues approved for 2018.

After voting, the budget of both structures was adopted.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Nov. 30

By Elchin Mehdiyev - Trend:

The Azerbaijani parliament at a plenary session has submitted for discussion a draft permit for the deployment of Azerbaijani military personnel of four people in South Sudan as staff officers and military observers under the command of UNMISS (United Nations Mission in South Sudan) and participation in this mission.

The draft permit was put to vote and adopted.

Earlier, the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry told Trend that the Azerbaijani peacekeepers are expected to participate in an international mission in South Sudan under the UN mandate.

Azerbaijani servicemen are expected to leave for Juba, South Sudan, in January 2019.

Since 2013, South Sudan has been in a state of civil war. More than two million people have become IDPs in the country.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Nov. 30

By Elchin Mehdiyev - Trend:

Azerbaijan once again confirms its commitment to the goals and objectives defined in the UN Charter, Ziyafat Asgarov, first deputy chairman of the Azerbaijani parliament, said.

He made the remarks Nov. 30 at a parliament plenary meeting during the presentation of the draft law "Permit for the deployment of Azerbaijani military personnel of four people in South Sudan as staff officers and military observers under the command of UNMISS (United Nations Mission in South Sudan) and participation in this mission".

He noted that the state and president of Azerbaijan are also interested in this issue.

"At the same time, this means that Azerbaijan once again confirms its commitment to the goals and objectives of the UN Charter, he said. The Azerbaijani state demonstrates its peacefulness. We would like the UN Security Council to be more responsible and serious towards the fulfillment of the decisions made regarding Azerbaijan," Asgarov said.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Nov. 30

Trend:

Following the logic of the comment by the Russian Foreign Ministry, Bako Sahakyan came for rest to Lake Baikal, and not to Moscow, where he held meetings as a so-called head of an illegal regime created in the Azerbaijani territories, occupied as a result of the use of force and ethnic cleansing, Leyla Abdullayeva, acting spokeswoman of the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry, told Trend Nov. 30.

Abdullayeva said that the comment by the Russian Foreign Ministry says that this trip doesnt contradict Russian legislation, the existing international agreements and Russias mediation mission in the settlement of the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

Once again, I would like to remind that Article 5 of the Treaty on Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Security between Azerbaijan and Russia dated 1997 clearly reads: The parties undertake not to support separatist movements, and also prohibit and suppress activity of individuals aimed against the state sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of the other party, she said.

In this regard, it would be appropriate to point out paragraph 4 of Article 15 of Russias Constitution: Generally accepted principles and norms of international law and international treaties of the Russian Federation are an integral part of its legal system. If an international treaty of the Russian Federation establishes other rules than those provided by law, the rules of the international treaty apply, she noted.

As for Russias mediation mission, Abdullayeva added that the document defining the mandate of the OSCE Minsk Groups co-chairs clearly reads: The co-chairs will be guided by the principles and norms of the OSCE, the UN Charter, the decisions of the OSCE forums, including the decision of the Council of Ministers dated March 24, 1992, and in particular the decision of the Budapest Summit, as well as the relevant resolutions of the UN Security Council.

This also raises the question - if this is really a private trip of a person from the territory of the Republic of Azerbaijan to the Russian Federation (in accordance with the UN Security Council resolutions No. 822, 853, 874 and 884, the Russian Federation recognizes the Nagorno-Karabakh region as Azerbaijans territory), were the relevant requirements applied to this person when crossing the state border of Russia, primarily those which require a valid document issued in accordance with the laws of the country of origin - Azerbaijan? she asked.

The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, in 1992 Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts.

The 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations. Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding districts.
Details added (first version posted on 17:52)

Baku, Azerbaijan, Nov. 30

Trend:

Following the logic of the comment by the Russian Foreign Ministry, Bako Sahakyan came for rest to Lake Baikal, and not to Moscow, where he held meetings as a so-called head of an illegal regime created in the Azerbaijani territories, occupied as a result of the use of force and ethnic cleansing, Leyla Abdullayeva, acting spokeswoman of the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry, told Trend Nov. 30.

Abdullayeva said that the comment by the Russian Foreign Ministry says that this trip doesnt contradict Russian legislation, the existing international agreements and Russias mediation mission in the settlement of the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

Once again, I would like to remind that Article 5 of the Treaty on Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Security between Azerbaijan and Russia dated 1997 clearly reads: The parties undertake not to support separatist movements, and also prohibit and suppress activity of individuals aimed against the state sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of the other party, she said.

In this regard, it would be appropriate to point out paragraph 4 of Article 15 of Russias Constitution: Generally accepted principles and norms of international law and international treaties of the Russian Federation are an integral part of its legal system. If an international treaty of the Russian Federation establishes other rules than those provided by law, the rules of the international treaty apply, she noted.

As for Russias mediation mission, Abdullayeva added that the document defining the mandate of the OSCE Minsk Groups co-chairs clearly reads: The co-chairs will be guided by the principles and norms of the OSCE, the UN Charter, the decisions of the OSCE forums, including the decision of the Council of Ministers dated March 24, 1992, and in particular the decision of the Budapest Summit, as well as the relevant resolutions of the UN Security Council.

This also raises the question - if this is really a private trip of a person from the territory of the Republic of Azerbaijan to the Russian Federation (in accordance with the UN Security Council resolutions No. 822, 853, 874 and 884, the Russian Federation recognizes the Nagorno-Karabakh region as Azerbaijans territory), were the relevant requirements applied to this person when crossing the state border of Russia, primarily those which require a valid document issued in accordance with the laws of the country of origin - Azerbaijan? she asked.

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. 30

Trend:

Baku Higher Oil School (BHOS) marked its 7th anniversary with a declamation contest titled A choice of the heart. The celebration was attended by BHOS Rector Elmar Gasimov, Deputies of Milli Majlis of the Republic of Azerbaijan Zahid Oruj and Gudrat Hasanguliyev, prominent artists of the country, and the Higher School professors, teachers and students.

Before the celebration started, the National Anthem of the Republic of Azerbaijan was played.

Opening the gathering with welcome address, BHOS Rector Elmar Gasimov reminded that the Baku Higher Oil School was set up within SOCAR structure upon the decree of President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev dated November 29, 2011. He also said that President Ilham Aliyev attended opening ceremony of the BHOS new campus in May 2017. The Rector emphasized that according to annual reports of the Ministry of Education, BHOS is the leader and record holder among national universities in terms of the average and highest passing score a few years in a row.

Deputies of Milli Majlis of the Republic of Azerbaijan Zahid Oruj and Gudrat Hasanguliyev extended their warmest congratulations to all Higher School staff members. In the guests words, they feel proud that there is such a national higher educational institution with modern infrastructure providing high-quality education. Speaking at the gathering, professor of the BHOS Petroleum Engineering Department, Honored Teacher Fuad Veliyev who was also a member of the contest committee said that such artistic contests are important for cultural and intellectual development of the students of technical universities. Then Fuad Veliyev recited a self-penned poem, which he dedicated to his mother.

Other members of the contest committee were also introduced to the participants. They included Peoples Artist, associate professor of the Azerbaijan State University of Culture and Arts, actress Hamida Omarova; Peoples Artist, actor of the Azerbaijan State Academic Drama Theatre Ramiz Novruz; Honored Artist, head of the Acting department of the University of Culture and Arts, prof. Gulshad Bakhshiyeva; and associate professor of the University, master of declamation Nadir Huseynov.

In the course of the contest, the BHOS undergraduates presented the art of spoken word and read fragments from poems and artistic works in different languages. Assessment of their performance was made based on the following criteria: artistry, expression of the reading, body language and presentation skills.

Fourth-year student Sanan Hasanzadeh, second-year student Nulifer Askarzadeh and first-year student Khayal Farzaliyev who were recognized the best, took a first, second and third places respectively. Eight other undergraduates were acknowledged as successful participants. All winners of the A choice of the heart contest were presented certificates and memorable prizes and were greeted with loud applause.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Nov. 30

By Sara Israfilbayova  Trend:

The Azerbaijan Gymnastics Federation has become the most active in the world in all events as big competitions in various gymnastics disciplines are held in Baku, vice-president of the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) Nellie Kim told Trend.

Kim made the remarks on the sidelines of the FIG Executive Committee meeting in Baku on Nov. 30.

I am delighted with President of the Azerbaijan Gymnastics Federation Mehriban Aliyeva who, as the country's first vice-president, finds time for gymnastics, not only Azerbaijani, but also world gymnastics, Kim said. She is a unique woman."

Kim stressed that despite the Federation has a few employees, it carries out enormous work.

She also praised the work of President of the European Union of Gymnastics Farid Gaibov.

Farid works competently and very well, she said. I like the issues he raises and this makes the work of our Federation even more productive because it is necessary to discuss the problems and solve them. We work and I like how we discuss the existing problems which have been put on the agenda of the Congress in the Executive Committee."

Baku will host the Congress of the International Gymnastics Federation for the first time on Dec. 2-3.

One of the main tasks of this Congress is to change the charter of the International Gymnastics Federation, she said.

"This is the main document according to which we are working, she added. There are many very important proposals. In particular, the next election will be held in 2020 on the basis of changes made in the charter and the laws adopted at this Congress. This is a historic Congress, during which complex discussions will be held because so many people have different views on the proposals that have been put on the agenda."

Kim also said that one of the main topics of this Congress is the issue of including parkour in the list of disciplines, adding that this will be discussed behind closed doors.

The representatives of national federations in FIG and members of the FIG Council will gather to participate in the Congress, which is the supreme body of the federation.

A meeting of the FIG Council was also held in Baku in 2017.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Nov. 30

Trend:

One of the main goals is to bring the share of sector of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Azerbaijani populations employment sphere to 40 percent, Chairman of the Agency for the Development of SMEs of Azerbaijan Orkhan Mammadov said at the HR Summit 2018 in Baku.

Its no secret that the human resource factor holds an important place in the strategy for the successful development of each state, Mammadov said. As part of the adopted target state programs, systematic measures are taken to develop human capital, and these measures cover a wide spectrum, ranging from the creation of a legislative base to institutional measures aimed at capacity building in this area.

He stressed that the development of human capital is directly related to the challenges for the development of SMEs.

The Agency for the Development of SMEs aims to increase the share of the SME sector in Azerbaijans employment to 40 percent by 2025. Being a structure responsible for the development of SMEs, the agency is implementing a number of strategic projects aimed at achieving the goals set by Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev. At the same time, the most important condition for the successful implementation of these projects is the strengthening of human resources in business entities. If the development of the SME sector is determined by the presence of favorable business environment on one hand, on the other hand, it is caused by the ability of business entities to use this environment. In turn, this factor is determined by the level of the human resources potential.

Mammadov added that the agency launched special programs to increase the potential.

These programs provide for the education of entrepreneurs, the establishment of a continuous training system for personnel, certification programs, the creation of a bank of human resources and its coordination with the training system, he said. Considering the relatively recent creation of SMEs, we are interested in improving the human resources potential of the structure, therefore, we are aimed at improving the work in the field of human resource management. The agency is especially interested in activities in these areas on the basis of joint cooperation with HR centers.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Nov. 30

By Fikret Dolukhanov  Trend:

Central Asian countries and Japan discussed practical aspects of cooperation in the transport and logistics, agriculture and tourism, as well as in the trade and investment, the Foreign Ministry of Uzbekistan reported.

According to the information, the 13th meeting of the senior officials of the Central Asia + Japan Dialogue was held on Nov. 26-27, 2018 in Tokyo.

The meeting was attended by delegations from Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Japan.

Special attention was paid to cooperation in ensuring regional security.

The sides exchanged views on the issues on the agenda of the upcoming 7th Meeting of Foreign Ministers of the countries participating in the Central Asia + Japan Dialogue.

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Baku, Azerbaijan, Nov. 30

By Elnur Baghishov  Trend:

In Khorramabad county of Irans Lorestan province 3,000 hectares account for walnut trees, Murad Beiranvand, director of the agriculture organization of Khorramabad county of Lorestan province, said in an interview with IRNA.

So far, more than 4,000 tons of walnuts have been harvested from that area, he said.

Beiranvand added that trees in a 300-hectare-area are young and are not productive yet.

This Iranian year (started March 21, 2018), the walnuts have not been fully picked, he added.

Beiranvand said that last Iranian year, 6,622 tons of walnuts were picked in Khorramabad county.

Last Iranian year 14,433 tons of walnuts were picked, while this Iranian year 16,821 tons of walnuts were harvested, Beiranvand said.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Nov. 30

Trend:

The Astrakhan region of Russia, where Irans trading house and Azerbaijans business center are already actively operating, is ready to help promote export of products from Russias Tatarstan Republic to the markets of the Caspian states, TASS reported quoting acting governor of the region Sergey Morozov.

We offer Tatarstan access to foreign markets through the Astrakhan region, he said following signing of an agreement on cooperation between the Astrakhan region and Tatarstan.

Irans trading house and Azerbaijans business center operate in Astrakhan, and the Astrakhan business center is being built in Baku, Morozov said. Together with our Azerbaijani colleagues, we are planning to create a freight railway hub.

He drew attention to the fact that Tatarstan exports fabric, glass, automotive equipment, food products to the Astrakhan region. In turn, Astrakhan exports fish products, salt, gasoline and diesel fuel to Tatarstan, he said.

The region is also ready to expand the range of these products at the expense of vegetables and watermelons, he noted, adding that another promising area for cooperation is the tourism industry.

About 2.5 million Russian and foreign guests come to the region annually, added Morozov. The opening of air communication between Astrakhan and Kazan city will contribute to the growth of mutual tourist flow.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Nov. 30

By Rufiz Hafizoglu  Trend:

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has approved the prototype of the first domestic car, the Turkish media reported on Nov. 30.

Reportedly, it will be available in Turkey in early 2019. The first Turkish domestic car will be tested in 2021.

Earlier, Turkish Minister of Industry and Technology Mustafa Varank said that the first prototype of the Turkish domestic car will be ready in 2019.

The minister said the production of a domestic car is one of priorities for Turkey.

Varank also noted that currently the production of the domestic car is one of the priorities for Turkey.

Meanwhile, the Turkish "Zorlu Holding" company, together with four other companies which are members of the consortium for development of a domestic Turkish car, presented the first prototype of the vehicle.

The prototype was developed together with the "Vestel Elektronik" company and is entitled "VEO".

Earlier, Turkish Minister of Science, Industry and Technology Faruk Ozlu said that Turkey will invest $3 billion in creating a domestic car.

Ozlu said work is currently underway to develop prototypes of five different models of the domestic car.

The minister also noted that one of the cars will be equipped with an electric motor.

The cars developed in Turkey will be manufactured with different engines.

The purchase of a domestic car in Turkey will be exempt from special consumer tax.

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Baku, Azerbaijan, Nov.30

By Leman Zeynalova  Trend:

Hungary would welcome Azerbaijani investments in various sectors of its economy, Hungarian Ambassador to Azerbaijan Viktor Szederkenyi told Trend.

Naturally, we would welcome Azerbaijani investments in various sectors of the Hungarian economy. In general, Hungary is an ideal country for investment in the tourism, logistics and information sectors. Hungary has an attractive, multi-level system for encouraging foreign investment, including tax breaks, direct government incentives, said the diplomat.

As for the prospects for creating joint ventures between Azerbaijan and Hungary in the pharmaceutical sphere, Szederkenyi said this issue was discussed during the meeting of the co-chairmen of the intergovernmental commission on economic cooperation.

Apart from the increase in trade turnover, our primary goal is the promotion of mutual investments, to develop the long-term project-based cooperation and to create joint ventures. One obvious choice is the pharmaceutical industry where Hungary is present on the Azerbaijani market. Our companies are evaluating the further steps. But our ministers support the creation of joint ventures generally, he added.

Hungarian envoy noted that both countries encourage mutual investments.

We have a lot of work to do here. Our two relevant agencies AZPROMO and HIPA have an agreement about cooperation and exchange of project information. From our side, the most promising area for Hungarian investments are the agrarian, ICT and service sectors. I would like to say that the Hungarian government promotes these processes through making available a credit line for Azerbaijan to finance joint projects, said Szederkenyi.

Earlier, Azerbaijans Economy Minister Shahin Mustafayev said at a meeting in Baku with Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade of Hungary Peter Szijjarto that cooperation between the countries in such areas as transport, information technology, energy, and agriculture is continued successfully, and there are great opportunities for further expansion of cooperation.

Azerbaijan is interested in using the potential available in this area and further development of relations between the countries. In particular, there are opportunities for cooperation in the field of pharmaceuticals. Hungarian companies can benefit from the infrastructure created in the Pirallahi Industrial Park for joint production of medicinal preparations, as well as from the capacities of the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway, Baku International Sea Trade Port and Free Trade Zone projects," Mustafayev said.

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Baku, Azerbaijan, Nov. 30

By Matanat Nasibova - Trend:

Azerbaijani producer of milk, dairy products and fruit juices, Goycay Sud LLC, plans to expand its exports to Estonia next year, a company representative told Trend.

According to the representative, cooperation with the Estonian side has been going on for more than 10 years on the basis of a signed agreement on the supply of fruit juices from Azerbaijan.

Given the growing demand for the products of the Azerbaijani company in the Estonian market, next year we plan to increase exports to that country, the company representative said.

In general, the company plans to increase exports to the post-Soviet countries.

Recently, we have established the export of fruit juices to New Zealand, and in the future we plan to find new sales markets in other countries, the company representative added.

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Baku, Azerbaijan, Nov. 30

By Rashid Shirinov  Trend:

In January-September 2018, Kazakhstans ports of Aktau and Kuryk handled 3.9 million tons of marine export cargo, First Vice Minister of Investment and Development of Kazakhstan Roman Sklyar told Trend.

This is an increase of 39 percent compared to the same period last year (2.8 million tons).

"For the first 9 months of 2018, more than 60 million tons of export freight were transported by rail in Kazakhstan, which is 5.7 percent more year-on-year (56.8 million tons last year)," Sklyar added.

At the same time, more than 3 million tons of export cargo were transported by road, an increase of 43 percent year-on-year (2.1 million tons last year).

It is worth noting that the development of the transport industry and transit is one of the main directions of Kazakhstans Strategic Development Plan until 2020.

The Nurly Zhol state program for infrastructure development envisages achieving the following tasks until 2020: reconstruction and construction of 7,000 kilometers of roads; growth of transit container traffic up to 2 million containers per year, of transit air passenger traffic up to 1.6 million people per year, and of ports capacity up to 24 million tons per year.

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Baku, Azerbaijan, Nov. 30

By Leman Zeynalova  Trend:

Southern Gas Corridor project (SGC), which envisages transportation of Azerbaijani gas to Europe, is important for Hungary in terms of diversification, Hungarian Ambassador to Azerbaijan Viktor Szederkenyi told Trend.

"For Hungary energy security is a priority. So we actively seek opportunities for diversification of the energy flow, especially natural gas imports. Azerbaijani gas is a real alternative and as such it will be in our focus when looking at diversification options. The Southern Gas Corridor is important for us to diversify the sources and directions as well, so we examine this project as a good option," said the envoy.

Szederkenyi said Hungary appreciates the role of Azerbaijan which initiated this big project and will supply it with gas.

"One of the tasks now is linking Hungary to the Southern Gas Corridor through interconnectors between the countries in our region. Through the TAP and TANAP projects Azerbaijani gas will be commercially available on the European markets  this is great news," said the Hungarian diplomat.

He went on to add that SGC has a strategic relevance.

"Not only Hungary but also all countries of Europe, interested in diversification of their sources of supply, value this. The SGC will allow Europe to diversify natural gas sources and transport routes and it changes the energy balance in South-Eastern Europe. This strengthens the openness of the European energy market and the actual competitive position," noted Szederkenyi.

The diplomat said it is also important that the Southern Gas Corridor can be extended by new users and source countries in the future.

"In addition, the success of SGC can be used in cooperation in other areas, such as alternative energy, environmental issues and so on," he said.

Southern Gas Corridor envisages transportation of 10 billion cubic meters of Azerbaijani gas from the Caspian region through Georgia and Turkey to Europe.

On May 29, Baku hosted the launch ceremony of the first phase of the Southern Gas Corridor project.

The gas from the Azerbaijani Shah Deniz field has already gone through the first segment of the Southern Gas Corridor - from the Sangachal terminal to the expanded South Caucasus Pipeline.

The Southern Gas Corridor project aims to increase and diversify European energy supply by bringing gas resources from the Caspian Sea to markets in Europe. The Southern Gas Corridor comprises the following four projects: (i) operation of Shah Deniz natural gas-condensate field ("SD1" project) and its full-field development ("SD2'" project), (ii) the operation of the South Caucasus Pipeline ("SCP" project) and its expansion ("SCPX" project), (iii) the construction of the Trans-Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline ("TANAP" project) and (iv) the construction of the Trans Adriatic Pipeline ("TAP" project) (SD2, SCPX, TANAP and TAP collectively, the "Projects").

The Projects have an estimated investment cost of approximately $40 billion.

Upon completion, the SD2 project will add a further 16 bcm of natural gas per annum to 10.9 bcma (maximum production capacity) already produced under SD1 project.

Total length of the newly constructed SCPX, TANAP and TAP pipelines will be around 3,206 kilometers.

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Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, Nov. 30

By Huseyn Hasanov  Trend:

Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov received Chairman of the Board of Russian energy company Gazprom Alexey Miller, the Turkmen media reported Nov. 29.

Miller confirmed the interest of the Russian company in cooperation with Turkmenistan and the implementation of mutually beneficial joint projects.

The sides exchanged views on the priority areas of the partnership, considering the strategy in the fuel and energy sector, aimed at comprehensive modernization and diversification of the sectoral infrastructure, increasing the capacity of the mining and refining segment, developing gas and petrochemical industry and manufacturing competitive products in demand on the global market.

In this context, the issues of resuming Turkmen gas purchases by Gazprom were discussed.

In the discussions, the basic document was the current intergovernmental agreement between Turkmenistan and Russia on cooperation in the gas sector until 2028, on the basis of which the parties carry out the relevant work.

The sides also discussed the issues of gas production and gas processing, the possibility of supplying natural fuel through the Central Asia-Center (CAC) gas pipeline system.

For many years of cooperation between Turkmenistan and Gazprom, considerable experience of interaction has been accumulated, and it will undoubtedly be in demand in the very near future, the report said.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Nov. 30

By Leman Zeynalova - Trend:

The upcoming OPEC meeting is likely to result in Saudi Arabia agreeing to reduce its oil output, the UK-based Capital Economics said.

"But we think that any cut will be at the more modest end of the spectrum as the authorities balance the need to placate President Trump with a desire to put a floor under oil prices and prevent acrimony within OPEC," said a report from the company.

Capital Economics believes that the next weeks OPEC ministerial meeting is increasingly clouded in uncertainty.

"If the Saudi authorities decide to keep oil output and exports at their current high levels, it might hint that the Saudis are reverting to the strategy that prevailed in 2014-16 of protecting market share. Oil prices would probably fall further, perhaps to $40 per barrel. This would deal a further blow to the Kingdoms oil export revenues, causing the budget and current account positions to weaken. We doubt that major balance sheet strains would emerge," said the report.

Crucially, though, the company expects this approach would destroy Saudis credibility within OPEC. "The Kingdom has probably pushed hard to build support for an output cut and to back track now would make it more difficult to force through policy shifts in the future. "

"Accordingly, we think that there are two other options that Saudi policymakers will find more palatable. The first is to keep production high but restrict exports. Its worth noting that, in recent comments regarding the possibility of oil output cuts, Saudi Oil Minister Khalid al-Falih focused on supply to the market (i.e. exports) rather than actual production," said the company.

The UK-based company suspects that any support to oil prices would prove fleeting, however, if the markets start to see that Saudi is building large stockpiles of oil.

"The second option is to push ahead with an outright production cut. Having ramped up output to 11 million barrels per day in recent months, the Saudis could opt to take production back to the levels of 10 million barrels per day that prevailed in 2017 and early 2018," said the report.

That would boost oil prices significantly, according to Capital Economics.

"We think its more likely that Saudi Arabia undertakes a modest output cut of 0.5-0.8 million barrels per day. After all, a reduction in output on this scale would only partly reverse the rise in production since the middle of the year. Moreover, it would probably be enough to soothe the rest of OPEC."

OPEC leaders will gather in Vienna on Dec. 6 to discuss how to manage the oil output, supply glut and demand slowdown.

For the first time ever, in 2016, the Member Countries of OPEC coordinated with 11 non-OPEC oil producing countries in a concerted effort to accelerate the stabilization of the global oil market through voluntary production adjustments, which amounted to approximately 1.8 million barrels per day.

The Declaration was an outcome of the Joint OPEC-Non-OPEC Producing Countries Ministerial Meeting held on 10 December 2016 and was effective for an initial period of six months. The Second Joint OPEC-Non-OPEC Producing Countries Ministerial Meeting, held on 25 May 2017, decided to extend the voluntary production adjustments for another nine months commencing 1 July 2017. At the third joint OPEC-Non-OPEC Producing Countries Ministerial Meeting, held on 30 November 2017, it was agreed to amend the Declaration of Cooperation so that it will take effect for the entirety of 2018.

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Baku, Azerbaijan, Nov.30

By Leman Zeynalova  Trend:

Land reinstatement has been completed by more than 85 percent along the route of the Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) in Greece and Albania, said a message from TAP AG consortium, which is engaged in building the pipeline for supplying Azerbaijani gas to Europe.

Agriculture has been resumed after land reinstatement. This final stage of onshore activities has already been completed for over 85 percent of the route in Greece and Albania, which accounts for more than 650 kilometers out of 765 kilometers in total, said the consortium.

TAP worth 4.5 billion euros is a part of the Southern Gas Corridor, which is one of the priority energy projects for the European Union. The project envisages transportation of gas from Azerbaijan's Shah Deniz Stage 2 to the EU countries.

The pipeline will connect to the Trans Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline (TANAP) on the Turkish-Greek border, run through Greece, Albania and the Adriatic Sea, before coming ashore in Italys south.

TAP will be 878 kilometers in length (Greece 550 kilometers, Albania 215 kilometers, Adriatic Sea 105 kilometers, and Italy 8 kilometers).

TAPs shareholding is comprised of BP (20 percent), SOCAR (20 percent), Snam S.p.A. (20 percent), Fluxys (19 percent), Enagas (16 percent) and Axpo (5 percent).

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Baku, Azerbaijan, Nov.30

By Leman Zeynalova  Trend:

Gas is an efficient low-cost solution for quick decarbonization in all areas, said Eurogas commenting on European Commissions strategic long-term vision to achieve a climate neutral Europe by 2050 A Clean Planet for All.

The European Commissions strategic long-term vision to achieve a climate neutral Europe by 2050 A Clean Planet for All is a good opportunity to decide on solutions allowing swift progress on implementing the Paris Agreement. Gas is part of these solutions as it enables deep and immediate decarbonization, said a message from Eurogas.

Gas fuels are necessary in all seven strategic areas identified by the European Commission. As recognized in the Vision, higher ambition towards 2050 increases the opportunities for early emissions cuts. Gas provides such opportunities: it is an efficient low-cost solution for quick decarbonization in all areas - heating, power generation and transport, and it also reduces the long-term costs of decarbonisation said Eurogas Secretary General Beate Raabe.

Eurogas believes that the combined potentials of natural, renewable and decarbonized gas will help to achieve climate ambitions in time and will benefit quality of life and the environment also in terms of cleaner air, comfort and choice.

Moreover, gas enhances energy system efficiency and resilience. Gas  in all its forms  also helps to keep the cost of the energy transition low, thus making it socially acceptable for European citizens whilst modernizing the economy and strengthening the competitiveness of European industry. Natural gas has been a key factor in reducing EU emissions from energy use since 1990, and it still has a lot to offer. CO2-neutral renewable and decarbonized gases can play a crucial role in achieving the EUs climate objectives to 2050 and beyond, said the message.

Eurogas is an association representing the European gas wholesale, retail and distribution sectors towards the EU institutions. Founded in 1990, Eurogas currently comprises 46 companies and associations from 22 countries.

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Baku, Azerbaijan, Nov. 30

By Leman Zeynalova  Trend:

BP plans to drill two exploration wells in shallow waters around Absheron Peninsula in 2019, Bakhtiyar Aslanbayli, BP vice president for Communications, External Affairs and Strategy in Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey, told Trend Nov. 30.

He said that one of these wells is located in the Garabaddag area, where the sea depth is only 2-5 meters, which creates difficulties for drilling.

Therefore, an area of approximately 160X48 meters will be dried for drilling, he said.

The production sharing agreement (PSA) between Azerbaijans state oil company SOCAR and BP for geological exploration and development of promising structures in shallow waters around Azerbaijans Absheron Peninsula was signed December 22, 2014.

The work under the agreement is divided into three phases: primary exploration, main exploration and field development. The agreement envisages that the development phase will last 23 years, but this period may be extended. BP should begin commercial production within 36 months from the start of the development phase.

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Baku, Azerbaijan, Nov. 30

By Taleh Mursagulov - Trend:

The development of credit unions may greatly contribute to the development of the Azerbaijani agricultural sector, Chairman of the board of the Azerbaijan Credit Unions Association Jalil Suleymanov told Trend.

He said that credit unions in Azerbaijan are mainly aimed at financing the agricultural sector, because loans worth 2,000-3,000 manats are not a significant amount for other sectors of the countrys economy.

Landowners sometimes need such amounts for tillage and other work, he noted.

Suleymanov noted that in most cases banks arent interested in issuing loans to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the Azerbaijani districts, with the exception of a limited number of entrepreneurs, and this is not widespread.

"There are 78 credit unions in Azerbaijan, and more than 80 percent of these companies are concentrated in the districts," he said.

Talking about the problems of credit unions, Suleymanov noted that the unions have problems with financing, while there is high demand in the market.

"There is high demand in the agriculture sector, particularly in the cotton industry," he said. "From the side of the cotton growers, high demand emerged for loans for the year in the amount of 1,000-2,000 manats in accordance with the turnover. However, credit unions avoid working in this direction."

Suleymanov noted that all credit unions of Azerbaijan operate with local capital and the share of problem loans in the total portfolio of unions is much lower than that of major credit organizations.

He also added that the Enterprise Development Fund of Azerbaijan operates closely with credit unions, monitoring is conducted and the fund has certain plans for working with unions.

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Baku, Azerbaijan, Nov. 30

By Taleh Mursagulov - Trend:

Presently, entrepreneurs need to look for ways to attract funding from alternative sources, President of the National Confederation of Entrepreneurs of Azerbaijan Mammad Musayev said at the conference "New Opportunities for Financing and Business Development" in Baku.

Musayev noted that a number of Azerbaijani companies have already contributed to the development of the capital market in Azerbaijan through the issuance of bonds.

The issuance of bonds is one of the main mechanisms of state borrowing, he said, adding that last year, the Ministry of Finance attracted 700 million manats through the issuance of bonds and this process shows how big this market is in Azerbaijan.

As another example he noted the issuance of bonds by the Azerbaijani state oil company SOCAR and METAK.

"Entrepreneurs want to make rational decisions to enter the capital markets, but they do not know what initial steps should be taken and where to take them. In order to eliminate this, the Baku Stock Exchange has created a listing advisory program. Under this program, professional support provided for the companies willing to attract funds from financial markets," Musayev said.

Musayev also added that one of the main requirements for attracting financing from the capital market is timely disclosure of financial statements and transparency.

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Baku, Azerbaijan, Nov. 30

By Taleh Mursagulov - Trend:

Kazakhstan is inviting Azerbaijani investors to the platform of the Astana International Financial Centre (AIFC), Ambassador of Kazakhstan to Azerbaijan Beibit Isabaev said at a conference on "New Opportunities for Financing and Business Development" in Baku.

The ambassador noted that Azerbaijan is the biggest strategic partner of Kazakhstan in the Caucasus region.

"The Kazakh-Azerbaijani relations for many years have been demonstrating high potential for development in all areas of mutually beneficial cooperation," he said. "By developing traditionally friendly, good-neighborly and partnership relations, Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan are pursuing a policy of expanding political and economic cooperation, and are equally interested in strengthening regional security, international stability and the prosperity of their countries."

Isabaev added that the idea of creating the AIFC belongs to President of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev. For the first time in the post-Soviet space, a special jurisdiction based on the principles of the English law and the standards of leading global financial centers operates under the financial center.

He said that participants of the AIFC were granted unprecedented tax benefits in the form of exemption from corporate and individual income taxes until 2065. He added that simplified visa and employment regimes are provided.

Isabaev also added that the AIFC should become a financial hub for the countries of Central Asia, the Middle East, Europe, the republics of the Caucasus, the EEU (Eurasian Economic Union) and the territory of Western China.

"The biggest international development institutions, management companies, investment banks, financial associations, Islamic financial institutions are interested in participating in the AIFC," he said.

In conclusion, the ambassador expressed confidence that the AIFC will become a good platform for long and mutually beneficial cooperation between Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan.

The main activities of the AIFC include the development of the capital market, asset management, Islamic finance and new financial technologies.

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Tehran, Iran, Nov. 30

Trend:

A member of the Iranian Parliament has pointed to a secret meeting of parliamentarians with government officials and says he has heard good news about the decline in the price of the foreign currency.

The next years budget is based on a formula that we hope will bring good results, MP Ahmad Amirabadi Farahni said at a ceremony in Qom province, Tasnim News Agency reported.

The government officials gave good news about the decline in exchange rates and the increase in the value of the national currency, he said referring to a secret meeting of parliamentarians with government officials.

There are ongoing studies in the Parliaments Research Center on allocating 20 liters of gasoline to each Iranian per month at 10,000 rials.

Amirabadi Farahni says the average daily consumption of gasoline is 90 million liters, so the implementation of this plan will decrease the consumption to 56 million liters per day.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Nov. 30

By Huseyn Valiyev - Trend:

Azerbaijani e-commerce market is showing high growth rate, Deputy Minister of Transport, Communications and High Technologies of Azerbaijan Elmir Valizade told reporters in Baku Nov. 30.

The vast majority of purchases account for popular e-commerce platforms of the US and China, he noted. However, the number of users and local platforms is also growing in Azerbaijan. There are no restrictions in this area, and anyone can freely purchase goods outside the country and deliver the order to the country. As we know, our ministry has a project in e-commerce, which provides for the delivery of orders from Chinese trading platforms to the country and their redistribution to other countries.

He added that those who make purchases online, as well as sellers, are interested in trusting relationships.

From this point of view, the use of e-signature plays an important role, said Valizade.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Nov. 30

By Huseyn Valiyev - Trend:

Azerbaijan and Turkey are working to define procedures for mutual recognition of e-signature, Deputy Minister of Transport, Communications and High Technologies of Azerbaijan Elmir Valizade told reporters in Baku Nov. 30.

He said that the work in this direction is carried out in accordance with the previously signed memorandum.

We believe that the adoption of this step is important not only from the point of view of the development of e-commerce, but also for the certification of e-documents in the field of transport, customs, and in general in the workflow at the interdepartmental level, said Valizade.

The work on mutual recognition of e-signature is carried out not only with Turkey but also with other countries, and this is in the interests of Azerbaijan.

A new directive adopted in Europe is of particular importance in terms of the application of this practice in Azerbaijan, he noted.

That is, for the mutual recognition of e-signature with European countries, we need to apply the European approach in the country, he added. The current legislation of Azerbaijan was developed on the basis of European directives and we are trying to ensure that the existing legislation meet the new requirements.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Nov. 30

By Rufiz Hafizoglu - Trend:

In October 2018, 3.8 million tourists visited Turkey, which is 25.48 percent more compared to October 2017, the Turkish Ministry of Culture and Tourism told Trend on Nov. 30.

As of January-October 2018, 35,571,419 tourists visited Turkey, which is 22.43 percent more than in January-October 2017, the ministry noted.

The ministry said that in October 2018, 1,359,212 tourists visited Turkey's Antalya province, while Istanbul's visiters amounted to 1,230,070 tourists.

In January-October 2018, Antalya and Istanbul were visited by 12,008,939 and 11,340,081 tourists, respectively, the ministry added.

Some 589,626 German tourists visited Turkey in October 2018, according to the ministry.

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EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini will visit Bishkek in mid-2019, Special Representative of the European Union for Central Asia, Peter Burian told Friday at a meeting with journalists, kabar.kg reports.

He clarified that the exact date of the visit has not yet been set, and now the sides are conducting relevant negotiations. Mogherinis arrival in the capital of Kyrgyzstan will take place as part of her participation in the Fifteenth Meeting of the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the Central Asian countries.

Her previous visit to Kyrgyzstan took place in November 2017, a month after the decision of the Council of the European Union to start negotiations on a new agreement on strategic partnership between the EU and the Kyrgyz Republic.
Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan have agreed to intensify join fight against drug trafficking in the region. This issues has reportedly been discussed here at a meeting of Kyrgyz interior minister with senior representatives of Tajikistan counter-narcotics agency, news.tj reports.

Kyrgyz Interior Minister, Kashkar Junushaliyev, heading a delegation of the Kyrgyz interior ministry, yesterday visited the Drug Control Agency (DCA) under the President of Tajikistan in Dushanbe.

The two sides discussed the state and prospects of further expansion of bilateral cooperation between the two countries in combating drug trafficking, according to the DCA press center.

In the course of the talks, Kyrgyz minister expressed concern about appearance of so-called new psychoactive substances in the region, which are not on the narcotic drug list, the source said.

The meeting reportedly resulted in signing of an agreement on cooperation between Tajikistans DCA and Kyrgyzstans Interior Ministry in combating trafficking drugs, psychotropic substances and precursors.
Mr. Hajime Kitaoka, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Japan to Tajikistan, attended a handover ceremony to commemorate the successful completion of the project, Rehabilitation of the Branch of the Dushanbe Prosthetic Limbs Manufacturing and Physiotherapy Center in Kulob, news.tj reports.

According to Japans Embassy in Dushanbe, the project was realized under the framework of Japans Grant Assistance for Grassroots Human Security Projects (GGP). The Government of Japan provided the total grant amount of 81,752 U.S. dollars to the branch of Prosthetic Limbs Manufacturing and Physiotherapy Center in Kulob to increase the capacity of the center and improve the quality of the rehabilitation services for people with disabilities in Khatlon province.

Prior to the project implementation, the people with disabilities in Khatlon region reportedly had to spend more money and time in order to visit Prosthetic Limbs Manufacturing and Physiotherapy Center located in Dushanbe to get treatment and fix the prosthetic limbs. Now, the building of the branch of Prosthetic Limbs Manufacturing and Physiotherapy Center in Kulob is entirely renovated and benefits all the people with disabilities in Khatlon province who can make use of the Centers services such as physiotherapy, manufacturing and repairing of prosthetic limbs.

During the ceremony, Ambassador Kitaoka stated that Japans GGP projects have been able to make a true difference by providing development assistance in the improvement of different spheres, including infrastructure, education, agriculture, health and social sectors. He also added that the projects also play a vital role in strengthening bilateral partnership between Tajikistan and Japan.

Along with the staff of the Prosthetic Limbs Manufacturing and Physiotherapy Center of Kulob and representatives of local government of Kulob, the handover ceremony was also attended by Mr. Amonullo Qudratullo, Mayor of Kulob, Mr. Shodikhon Jamshed, Deputy Minister of Health and Social Protection of Tajikistan, Ms. Claudia Azzolini, Head of ICRC Mission in Tajikistan, Mr. Qudratullo Qurbonov, Head of the Health and Social Protection Department, Mr. Sherkhon Karimov, Head of the State Enterprise Orthopedic Plant (SEOP) in Dushanbe, and Mr. Bakhtiyor Rustamov, Head of the Branch of Prosthetic Limbs Manufacturing and Physiotherapy Center in Kulob. The attendees in turn extended their words of gratitude to the Government and people of Japan for their support.

Grant Assistance for Grassroots Human Security Project (GGP) is a scheme within Japans Official Development Assistance. GGP in particular implements grassroots-level projects in various sectors throughout the Republic of Tajikistan. Recipients of GGP grants include local governments, educational and medical institutions, and NGOs. As of today, GGP has supported 389 projects in Tajikistan, for which US$ $31.5 million has been allocated since 1996.
Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, Nov. 30

By Huseyn Hasanov  Trend:

A delegation of the Ministry of Labor and Social Protection of Belarus paid a working visit to Turkmenistan at the invitation of the Ministry of Labor and Social Protection of the Population of Turkmenistan, the Belarusian embassy in Ashgabat said.

The delegation consisted of the heads of the departments of the ministry responsible for the regulatory framework for labor relations, labor protection, as well as employment policy.

Several meetings will be held during the visit. The experience gained by Belarus in the field of labor relations and social protection of the population will be exchanged.

A meeting of the Belarusian delegation with Turkmen Minister of Labor and Social Protection of the Population Muhammetseyit Sylapov and a round table meeting are planned to be held.
Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, Nov. 30

By Huseyn Hasanov  Trend:

An OSCE-organized workshop for senior border officials from Turkmenistan and Afghanistan on inter-agency cooperation in border security and management took place in Ashgabat in November 2018, OSCE office in Ashgabat said in a message on Nov. 30.



An expert from the OSCE Conflict Prevention Centre and international experts on international and interagency co-operation in border security and management assisted in conducting the workshop.



Through this workshop the OSCE confirms the relevance and effectiveness of its activities in strengthening border security and developing various aspects of co-operation in the world and here in the region, said Natalya Drozd, Head of the OSCE Centre in Ashgabat.

The OSCE participating States and Partners for Co-operation attach special importance to border security issues, in particular, to countering common challenges and threats, primarily international terrorism and extremism, drug trafficking, transnational organized crime and illegal migration, she said.



The First Secretary of the Embassy of Afghanistan Mohammad Hassan Aman thanked the OSCE Centre for its ongoing work in the area of border security and management, and emphasized its contribution to promoting cooperation between Turkmenistan and Afghanistan.



Istvan Samu, an international expert from Hungary underscored that the partners involved need to have common goals and interests for the inter-agency co-operation to be effective and beneficial.



Shahriniso NajmetdinovaScott, an independent Consultant on Human Rights and Counter-Terrorism, elaborated on the different types of transnational threats, such as terrorism, and placed special attention to the phenomenon of harmful gender stereotypes.



Seppo Turkia, an international expert from Finland, acquainted the participants with the work of the European Border and Coast Guard Agency (FRONTEX) and Finnish best practices in inter-agency cooperation.



Taras Seredyuk and Henadzi Aleksiayuk from the State Border Guard Committee of the Republic of Belarus also shared their practices and experiences on interagency co-operation.



The workshop was organized with financial support from the governments of Germany, Italy and Japan, and is the third in a series of joint Turkmen-Afghan workshops held this year within the Centres extra-budgetary project.



This project component will conclude with a three-day joint Turkmen-Afghan Workshop on fighting cross-border crimes and countering drugs, psychoactive substances and precursors scheduled for December 4-6, 2018 in Ashgabat.
Tehran, Iran, Nov.30

Trend:

The managing director of the Ports and Maritime Organization of Iran called the announcement by the International Maritime Organization that Iran's shipping sanctions do not comply with the convention of the International Maritime Organization, an achievement for Iran.

"The International Maritime Organization (IMO) is the main authority of the International Maritime Legislation and the specialized agency of the United Nations. The legitimacy of the Islamic Republic of Iran has been proven in this non-political organization, the managing director of the Ports and Maritime Organization of Iran, Mohammad Rastad said today at the opening ceremony of the 13th International Conference on Coastal, Ports and Marine Structures.

The restrictions imposed on the Islamic Republic of Iran's shipping industry do not comply with the International Maritime Organization's convention, he said.

"The recommendation of the International Maritime Organization on Iran's Shipping sanctions by US is non-binding, but it emphasized that countries should not engage in acts that lead to discrimination against other countries, he said.

The Trump administration reinstated all sanctions removed under the 2015 nuclear deal, targeting both Iran and states that trade with it.

The final phase of Iran sanctions targets Irans port operators and shipping and ship-building sectors; petroleum-related transactions; financial transactions and specialized messaging services with the Central Bank of Iran; underwriting and insurance services; and Irans energy sector.

In addition, all activities under General License H will no longer be authorized.
Japanese Chairman of the Committee on Foreign Affairs in the House of Representatives Kenji Wakamyia expressed readiness to maintain all-out cooperation with Iran, IRNA reports.

Wakamyia made the remarks in a meeting with Iranian envoy to Japan Morteza Rahmani Movahed on Friday.

He described as effective parliamentary cooperation in developing relations between Tehran and Tokyo.

Thanks to the 90th anniversary of the diplomatic ties between two countries which is slated to be held next year, the Japanese House of Representatives is ready to support reinforcing ties.

Meanwhile, Rahmani Movahed referred to his meeting with Japanese officials and stressed the importance of the parliaments roles in developing relations between Iran and Japan.

He also called for promoting parliamentary ties between two countries.
With the help of the United States, Georgia will bring in new medicine which is likely to completely defeat Hepatitis C in Georgia by 2020, Agenda.ge reports.

Head of the Georgian National Centre of Disease Control Amiran Gamkrelidze stated today that the medicine will be brought to Georgia in December.

In partnership with the American company Gilead, Georgia launched a large-scale Hepatitis C Elimination Program in 2015.

Around 45,000 people have gone through medical treatment for Hepatitis C in Georgia since then, 98 percent of which were cured.

The new medicine will help us cure the remaining two percent, Gamkrelidze said.

Typically, the treatment costs 110,000 per person, which would be unaffordable for the majority of Georgians.

Gilead initially sent Sofosbuvir and Harvoni medicines for the treatment of Hepatitis C.

Gamkrelidze has not named the medicine which will be provided in December.

Georgia had one of the highest estimated virus prevalence rates in the world, affecting 6.7 percent of the population.
Georgias capital of Tbilisi is hosting the first Tbilisi International Night Time Economy Forum (TINTEF), which will be held today and tomorrow, Agenda.ge reports.

The heads of night-time economies of nine countries and experts of urban development and culture management are participating in the forum to adopt a broad dialogue on the role of urban planning and wise management in the development of sustainable night-time economies.

The forum aims to help Tbilisi City Hall and local authorities to find ways to activate certain spaces in Tbilisi and encourage growth of a local culture, engage visitors in the cultural life of the city and change perceptions of Tbilisi at night.

Tbilisi Mayor Kakha Kaladze, who opened the forum today, said that revival of a night life culture will encourage new startups and increase city tax revenues.

We want to bring in examples from the best countries and I am sure that we will carry out many interesting projects within the Night Economy Development Programme, Kaladze said.

TINTEF will provide a platform for the dialogue and discussion on various topics, such as: earning from leading night-time economies internationally, licenses and permits, placemaking and urban design, planning for a diverse nightlife and dealing with noise impact.

Developing the night-time economy in Tbilisi has become one of priorities of Tbilisi City Hall and this year Kaladze and his team presented the concept plan for developing a night-time economy in Tbilisi, which includes the creation of night cinemas, night museums, libraries, music venues and importantly, a night transport service.
The Council of Saudi Chambers (CSC) and the Federation of Egyptian Chambers of Commerce (FECC) have agreed a joint strategy to boost economic cooperation between the countries, Reuters reports.

The CSC said that a high-level delegation took part in a Saudi-Egyptian Business Forum in Egypt, coinciding with a visit to Cairo by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, during which the development of bilateral economic relations was discussed. Opportunities for cooperation in joint projects in Africa were also explored, along with ways for the two chambers to share their experiences in the areas of technical aid, finance, entrepreneurship and training.

The joint plan also includes the promotion of Saudi tourism in Egypt and a mechanism to help solve problems experienced by investors in both countries, and to enable the participation of Saudi businesses in the Egyptian Investment Conference next February.

The forum was organized under the patronage of Saudi Minister of Commerce and Investment Majid bin Abdullah Al-Qassabi and Egyptian Minister of Electricity and Renewable Energy Mohammad Shaker.

Al-Qassabi praised the Kingdoms efforts to create a better environment for investment between the two countries, while Shaker said the electricity sector in Egypt is growing at an accelerated rate, which offers many investment opportunities.

CSC Chairman Sami Al-Obaidy said that Egypt represents a major economic opportunity for the Kingdom, and that trade between the two countries grew to about $7.2 billion in 2017.

The Kingdom ranks first in terms of Arab investments in Egypt, with more than 2,900 projects worth more than $27 billion, of which the Saudi contribution exceeds $5.7 billion.
British Prime Minister Theresa May said on Thursday she was focussed on persuading lawmakers to back her Brexit deal at a vote in parliament on Dec. 11 rather than preparing a plan B, Reuters reported.

May secured an agreement with European Union leaders on Sunday that will see Britain leave the bloc in March next year with continued close trade ties, but the odds look stacked against her getting it through a deeply divided British parliament.

The deal has been criticised by both eurosceptics and europhiles among her own Conservative Party lawmakers. Opposition parties and the small Northern Irish party which props up Mays minority government have all said they plan to vote against it.

The focus of myself and the government is on the vote that is taking place on Dec. 11. We will be explaining to members of parliament why we believe that this is a good deal for the UK, May told reporters on the plane to the G20 summit in Argentina when asked if she had a plan B.

I ask every member of parliament to think about delivering on the Brexit vote and doing it in a way that is in the national interest and doing it in a way that is in the interests of their constituents because it protects jobs and livelihoods.

May has said that if lawmakers reject the agreement it could see the worlds fifth-largest economy leaving the bloc without a deal, or even not leaving at all.

Asked which of those two options was more likely if her deal does not pass, she said: We havent had the vote yet. Lets focus on the deal that we have negotiated with the European Union.

On Wednesday, the Bank of England warned Britain risked suffering an even bigger hit to its economy than during the global financial crisis 10 years ago if it leaves the EU in the worst-case, no-deal Brexit scenario.

May said that if her plan was voted down by parliament the government and businesses would have to make decisions about implementing preparations for no deal.

Parliament will begin five days of debate on Dec. 4, with the final vote due to be held on Dec. 11. Many lawmakers hope that if the deal is rejected, May will go back to Brussels to seek further concessions, but the EU has been clear there is very little appetite to reopen negotiations.
The European Union is preparing a new Visa Code, which should help eliminate some complex bureaucratic processes, the EU Special Representative for Central Asia, Ambassador Peter Burian, told reporters today, 24.kg reports.

According to him, the European Union hopes that this will serve to enhance human contacts. But at the same time, the European Union doesnt hide the fact that visa and non-visa issues are still sensitive for the EU in terms of illegal migration.

Visa-free regime is important. We are pleased that Kyrgyzstan is so flexible in its approach to the issue. We also feel responsible for the access of your young people to travels to Europe. We discuss it within our negotiations on a new agreement. Communication between people is important for mutual understanding, understanding of our values. We would like to see how to facilitate visa relations and travels for young people, scientists, businessmen who want to go to Europe with good intentions, Peter Burian summed up.
Pakistan Minister for Foreign Affairs, Shah Mehmood Qureshi has underscored the need for further promotion of bilateral relations with Iran, IRNA reports.

Qureshi, speaking at a ceremony in Islamabad to mark the first 100-day performance of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government said main impetus of Pakistan's foreign policy is to improve relations with all of our immediate neighbors.

He said the priorities of foreign policy were revised, keeping in view the national interest of Pakistan.

The minister said the Foreign Ministry has established 73 bilateral and 16 multilateral engagements over the past 100 days to improve ties with the neighboring countries.

The Foreign Minister said Iran is our important neighbor. A peaceful and stable border with the brotherly country is necessary. He said he met with his Iranian counterpart Mohammad Javad Zarif twice in efforts to improve the bilateral ties.

Shah Mehmood Qureshi said improvement in relations with India is very important for regional peace. He said the groundbreaking of Kartarpur Corridor is also a step in the direction of creating good relations with the neighbors.

He said China is a long-term strategic partner of Pakistan. The visit of Prime Minister to China has been highly successful. The focus of China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) has been changed to infrastructure to human resource, skills development, investment and efforts to increase exports of Pakistan.

He said the component of cultural diplomacy has also been added into foreign policy as part of promoting soft image of the country.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Nov. 30

Trend:

Pakistan and Russia have agreed to turn the existing friendship into a multidimensional strategic partnership, Pakistan's Dispatch News Desk (DND) news agency reported.

The corresponding agreement was achieved in a meeting between the Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi and Russian Ambassador to Pakistan Alexey Dedov held at the Foreign Ministry in Islamabad on Nov. 29.

During the meeting, issues of mutual interest and cooperation including trade and investment, peace and security, energy and defence cooperation were discussed.

The two sides appreciated the positive developments in bilateral relations between Pakistan and Russia.

The foreign minister expressed satisfaction at the bilateral cooperation in the field of energy and called it a strong pillar of Pakistans partnership with the Russian Federation.

Shah Mahmood Qureshi appreciated Russias role in finding a political solution for the Afghanistan issue and the two sides agreed that peace and stability in Afghanistan was in the best interest of all.

The Russian ambassador assured of Russias full support in enhancing bilateral relations in all areas of mutual interest.
The Kremlin regrets the decision of the US administration to cancel the planned meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his US counterpart Donald Trump in Argentina, the Russian presidential spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, said on Friday, according to Sputnik.

"We regret the decision of the US administration to cancel the planned meeting between the two presidents in Buenos Aires This means that the discussion of serious international and bilateral issues is being delayed for an uncertain period of time," Peskov said.

"As for Russian President Vladimir Putin, he is ready for holding contacts with his US counterpart," the Kremlin spokesman added.

Meanwhile, Russian Ambassador to the United States Anatoly Antonov said that the United States and Russia should continue dialogue to preserve the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) treaty that is fundamental for global security.

"We still stand for continuing consultations with a view to preserve the INF Treaty as one of the cornerstones of international security," Antonov said on Thursday during his speech at Princeton University.

Earlier, Donald Trump said that he decided to cancel a scheduled meeting with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin at the G20 summit in Argentina. US President's announcement comes less than an hour after he claimed it was a 'very good time' to meet with Putin, but that he would make a decision after receiving a full report on the Kerch Strait incident.

On Sunday, three Ukrainian Navy vessels violated the Russian maritime border, moving from the Black Sea towards the Kerch Strait. Two gunboats and a tug ignored Russia's demands to leave the area and proceeded to make dangerous manoeuvres', thus prompting the Russian side to open fire and eventually seize the ships. Russia has described the incident as a provocation in violation of Articles 19 and 21 of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and pledged to suppress any attempts to challenge its territorial integrity and sovereignty.

The G20 summit will be held in Buenos Aires on Friday and Saturday.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Nov. 30

By Rufiz Hafizoglu  Trend:

Turkey welcomes the results of the presidential election in Georgia, in which Salome Zurabishvili won, the Turkish Foreign Ministry told Trend on Nov. 30.

Turkey believes that the results of the presidential election will contribute to the development of strategic relations between Turkey and Georgia.

Following the second round of election, independent candidate Salome Zurabishvili has been elected president of Georgia, who is supported by the ruling party headed by Bidzina Ivanishvili. The experienced diplomat gained almost 60 percent of the votes.

The only competitor of Zurabishvili in the second round of election was opposition representative Grigol Vashadze. He is a member of former ruling United National Movement party, which was in power during former Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvilis term of office.

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Follow the author on Twitter: @rhafizoglu
Baku, Azerbaijan, Nov. 30

By Rufiz Hafizoglu  Trend:

As part of the operation being conducted by the Turkish Air Force against the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) terrorists in northern Iraq, 14 terrorists were killed, the Turkish General Staff said in a message on Nov. 30.

According to the message, the operations were carried out in Hakurk, Avashin and Metina regions.

Meanwhile, Turkish Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu stated that from early 2018, 87,838 operations have been carried out against the PKK terrorist organization in Turkey.

Soylu noted that 289 PKK terrorists were killed during the operations.

"In 2017, 380 PKK terrorists and in 2018, 343 terrorists surrendered to Turkish law enforcement agencies," Soylu said.

The conflict between Turkey and the PKK, which demands the creation of an independent Kurdish state, has lasted more than 25 years, claiming more than 40,000 lives. PKK is recognized as a terrorist organization by the UN and the EU.

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Follow the author on Twitter: @rhafizoglu
U.S. President Donald Trump said on Friday there were some good signs on talks with China ahead of his meeting with Xi Jinping on Saturday, Reuters reports.

Were working very hard. If we could make a deal that would be good. I think they want to. I think wed like to. Well see, he said, adding his staff was preparing for the Saturday night dinner.
To share with friends and brethren The Gospel of the Kingdom of Jesus Christ (the Everlasting Gospel), and to prepare a people to stand when He returns to redeem His remnant. Also, to share relevant information of current events, and to show how they relate to prophecy; By means of articles, editorials, opinions, scripture readings, and poetry.

Disclaimer

Endrtimes does not necessarily endorse or agree with every opinion expressed in every article/video posted on this site. The information provided here is done so for personal edification; It's up to the reader to separate truth from error, and to examine everything (like the Bereans) from a Biblical perspective. Let the Holy Scriptures be you guide! - - - FAIR USE NOTICE: These pages/videos may contain copyrighted () material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. Such material is made available to advance understanding of ecological, POLITICAL, HUMAN RIGHTS, economic, DEMOCRACY, scientific, MORAL, ETHICAL, and SOCIAL JUSTICE ISSUES, etc. It is believed that this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this material is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior general interest in receiving similar information for research and educational purposes.
By Tomoyuki Tachikawa, KYODO NEWS - Dec 1, 2018 - 08:10 | World, All

Some leaders from the Group of 20 major economies have expressed fears about the potential negative impact of a U.S.-China trade war on the world economy at a session of their two-day summit that started on Friday, a Japanese government official said.

But it remains to be seen whether the G-20 can agree on a joint communique, as the United States and China, the world's two largest economies, have been engaged in tit-for-tat rounds of punitive tariffs on hundreds of billions of dollars of each other's imports.

At the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit earlier this month, leaders of the 21 members failed to finalize a joint declaration for the first time since the forum began in 1993, against a backdrop of the deepening divide between Washington and Beijing.

If the G-20 summit also falls short of adopting a joint communique for the first time since its inception in 2008, skepticism would grow about the ability of the current international framework to find common ground, blurring the outlook for the global economy.

On the sidelines of the G-20 gathering, designed to concentrate on fiscal and monetary policy matters, U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping are slated to hold their first face-to-face talks since November 2017.

At the outset of his meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in Buenos Aires on Friday, Trump voiced optimism about the prospects of the planned U.S.-China summit, saying, "We're working very hard."

"If we can make a deal, that'd be good. I think they want to, I think we'd like to," Trump said, adding, "There's some good signs. We'll see what happens."

During a meeting with Xi in the capital of Argentina, Abe said he hopes that the U.S. and Chinese leaders will have a fruitful discussion, according to the Japanese official.

Citing U.S. and Chinese officials, the Wall Street Journal reported Thursday that the two sides are considering launching new talks looking at "big changes" in Chinese economic policy in return for Washington holding off on further tariffs through the spring.

Speculation, however, is rife that the two leaders will not easily make concessions over trade issues, as Trump has continued his threats to take additional measures against China despite Xi's eagerness to resolve the ongoing trade dispute through dialogue.

So far, the United States has imposed tariffs on $250 billion of Chinese imports -- or about half the goods it imports from China each year -- in response to Beijing's alleged theft of intellectual property and technology, as well as other trade complaints.

In retaliation, China has levied tariffs on more than 80 percent of all goods imported from the United States.

"We need to safeguard the multilateral trade system by adhering to the spirit of openness and cooperation," Xi was quoted by Xinhua News Agency as saying at a session of the G-20 summit on Friday.

Trade problems "should be widely debated" and each nation "should not become dogmatic," Xi told his G-20 counterparts, according to the state-run media.

Criticism, meanwhile, has been lingering among the international community about Beijing's alleged unfair business practices. China has also been lambasted by many G-20 countries for providing opaque benefits to state-owned firms.

Trump has apparently been attempting to not only curb massive U.S. trade deficits with China but also to sell U.S. products in Chinese markets without concern about intellectual property and technology theft, diplomatic sources said.

In addition to U.S.-China trade tensions, the G-20 leaders discussed at the summit Russia's annexation of Ukraine's Crimea region and the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, the Japanese official said, although he declined to disclose any details.

On the economic front, the G-20 nations are expected to have exchanged views on other risks to the world economy, including the slowdown of China's economy, and U.S. monetary policy normalization that could trigger an outflow of capital from emerging markets.

Currency policy may have cropped up, too, as Washington has been dissatisfied with the recent depreciation of the yuan giving an advantage to Chinese exports.

The G-20 groups Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Britain, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, South Korea, Turkey, the United States and the European Union.
At least 17 LLB students shouted slogans before the Aluva SP Office hours after a Congress protest there was met with police resistance.
Congress leader and Punjab Minister Navjot Singh Sidhu on on Wednesday visited Pakistan for the groundbreaking ceremony of the Kartarpur Sahib corridor. On Friday he gave a clarification on his recent visit to Pakistan even after Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh had objected to his visit.

In a statement to news agency ANI, Sidhu repeated that he had to go to Pakistan as he had already promised them and said he had informed the Punjab chief minister.

Sidhu said that "Atleast 20 Congress leaders asked me to go, Central leadership asked me to go. Punjab Chief Minister is like my father, I told him that I had already promised them (Pakistan) that I will go," said Sidhu.

Amarinder Singh had declined the invite sent to him for the event by Pakistan and maintained that Sidhu had gone to Pakistan in a personal capacity. According to some media reports, he had even advised Sidhu to re-think his plans of attending the event.

Shidhu received flak for attending the ceremony in his personal capacity. He had come under fire for being photographed with "pro-Khalistan" leader Gopal Singh Chawla in Pakistan. The Congress leader also Chawla was also seen shaking hands with Pakistan Army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa at the Kartarpur ceremony.
Male: Resting all media reports that claimed the newly-formed Maldives government will permit the deployment of Indian army on their land in exchange of financial help, the island nation on Thursday stated that the new government would not do any such thing that would negotiation their sovereignty.

Maldives Foreign Minister Abdulla Shahid on micro-blogging website Twitter on Thursday night clarified with his expression of displeasure over media reports that discredit the new Maldives government.

I categorically refute media reports alleging that the government is planning to allow the establishment of an Indian military base in the Maldives in exchange for financial assistance or other material benefits. It is baseless and aimed at discrediting the government as it starts to rebuild good relations with its neighbours and the rest of the international community, Shahid wrote in his tweet.

His another tweet read, The government assures the people that it will always act in the national interest of Maldives, and will not undertake any international engagement that will compromise the sovereignty and independence of the country.

Shahid was apparently referring to a few worldwide media reports that claimed India offered $1 billion in return for stronger security ties with the island country.

Shahid, on his current visit to national capital New Delhi, had stated that India was the closest and most trusted friend of the Maldives.

Our message is very clear: India is our closest and most trusted friend and neighbour. We are committed to re-igniting the India-Maldives friendship and relationship, reaching new horizons, exploring new avenues while strengthening existing links, Shahid had stated during his talks with India's External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj.
BOZEMAN -- A research collaboration between three Montana State University faculty members recently received a grant to help fund their study on the connection between a rare genetic neurological disease and metabolism, the human gut microbiome and degeneration of the nervous system. The work could further the understanding of what causes more common neurodegenerative diseases and eventually pave the way for therapeutics to treat them.

The National Institutes of Health awarded $2.9 million to MSU professors Frances Lefcort, Seth Walk and Valerie Copie for their research into Familial dysautonomia, a disease that attacks and devastates the nervous system. The five-year grant will fund their research and student education, including the several undergraduates and two graduate students who are currently contributing research to the project.

Lefcort's lab has researched Familial dysautonomia, a disease that runs in her family, for eight years. She explained that the disease begins in utero, where parts of the nervous system don't develop properly. It grows progressively worse over the years as nerve cells die.

While rare, the genetic mutation that causes Familial dysautonomia has been identified, which makes it a useful model for research into other neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's, said Lefcort, who is the Letters and Science Distinguished Professor in MSU's Department of Cell Biology and Neuroscience.

She said one common problem among people with Familial dysautonomia is that they are very thin and have trouble putting on weight, which would suggest a metabolic problem. Another is that the gastrointestinal tract doesn't function normally, which leads to diarrhea, constipation, esophageal reflux or other gastrointestinal issues.

Lefcort sought out experts in both of those research areas from among her MSU colleagues: Walk's expertise is in gut microbiomes, and Copie studies metabolism. She learned that the nervous system is closely involved with the human gut microbiome and is affected by metabolism.

"There are more than 100 million neurons just in your gut, and it's well known that there's extensive communication between the brain and the gut through the gut-brain axis," Lefcort said.

Realizing the likely connection between their research, the interdisciplinary trio collaborated to further study the roles of the gut microbiome, nervous system and metabolism (also called "metabolome") in Familial dysautonomia. Using Walk's specially bred, germ-free laboratory mice as models, the scientists hope to selectively manipulate "each leg of the triangle to determine how these systems affect each other and contribute to neurodegenerative disease," Lefcort said.

"Nothing like this has ever been done in this disease, and it's only starting to be done in major disease like Alzheimer's and Parkinson's," Lefcort said. "We feel that work from this grant will not only inform our understanding of Familial dysautonomia, but also provide a great model for understanding how the gut microbiome, metabolome and nervous system are interacting in these major neurogenerative diseases."

The trio has already gathered promising preliminary data through a collaboration with New York University's Dysautonomia Center, which sees all North American patients with Familial dysautonomia.

"They have sent us stool and blood samples from their patients and their patients' relatives, and we've already shown that the microbiome of those patients is significantly different from that of their relatives," Lefcort said. "We have good data suggesting we have something here, and now using our mouse models, we can really tease apart the causality -- is there a metabolic problem that's affecting the microbiome, and/or is it the microbiome that's altering metabolism and contributing to the neurodegeneration?"

Lefcort will analyze the nervous system in the gastrointestinal tracts of the laboratory mice, seeking answers to questions such as whether altering the metabolism or microbiome helps prevent neurodegeneration.

Walk will direct the microbiome-focused aspects of the project, which will include a detailed investigation of bacteria living in the intestines of patients who have neurodegenerative disease. He will also lead research focused on the microbiome and whether bacteria in the gut produce compounds that trigger neurons to grow or to die. He'll do this using cutting-edge DNA sequencing coupled with germ-free and gnotobiotic mice.

"Germ-free mice are completely sterile and do not have any microorganisms living inside them or on them. These animals help us understand what aspects of our 'health' are missing when microbes are not around," said Walk, an associate professor in MSU's Department of Microbiology and Immunology in the College of Agriculture and the College of Letters and Science. "Gnotobiotic mice have a defined microbiome, whereby we can discover the specific benefits of a particular microbial community."

Copie, a professor in MSU's Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry and director of the Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Center, will lead the effort to identify the metabolic processes that are impaired by Familial dysautonomia and how those impairments in energy production affect the gut-brain axis and contribute to neurodegeneration.

"Our lab will be responsible for undertaking the global profiling and characterization of small molecule metabolites present in stool and serum samples of Familial dysautonomia patients and animal models," Copie said. "These studies will integrate nuclear magnetic spectroscopy and mass spectrometry techniques to identify the metabolic changes that take place in Familial dysautonomia. Our goal is to explore whether we can redress the metabolic deficits observed in Familial dysautonomia via microbiome intervention and whether restoring healthy metabolomes can help or either slow down neurodegeneration or help restore neuronal health."

The high-resolution metabolic data generated by the NMR Center will contribute to the field of biomedical research and "will help us better understand how the metabolome, microbiome and neuronal circuitry interact together and can lead to irreversible neurodegeneration when impaired," Copie said.

"It's clear that the triggers are different for Parkinson's, Alzheimer's and ALS, but they all converge on common downstream pathways," Lefcort said. "We have shown that Familial dysautonomia converges on the same pathways. Now, we're trying to find out if we can intervene at these common points.

"Whatever we discover here is going to be applicable to the major neurodegenerative disorders," she said.

###
Surgical Science Vol.09 No.11(2018), Article ID:88862,7 pages

10.4236/ss.2018.911051 Evaluation of 15 Years Practice of Coelioscopic Treatment of Ectopic Pregnancy in the Surgery Department A at the University Hospital Point G S. Koumare1*, L. Soumare1, M. Sissoko1, S. Keita1, M. Camara1, O. Sacko1, A. Camara1, M. Sima2, M. Traore2, H. Dicko3, B. Bengali4, D. Traore4, S. Togo5, D. Kone1, S. Diallo4, M. Sangare6, A. Koita1, Z. Z. Sanogo1, D. Sangare1  Abstract  Full-Text PDF  Full-Text HTML  Full-Text ePUB  Linked References  How to Cite this Article 1Department of Surgery A, University Hospital of Point G, Bamako, Mali 2Department of Gynecology-Obstetrics, University Hospital of Point G, Bamako, Mali 3Department of Intensive Care, University Hospital of Point G, Bamako, Mali 4Department of Surgery B, University Hospital of Point G, Bamako, Mali 5Department of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, Hospital of Mali, Bamako, Mali 6Faculty of Medicine and Odontostomatology (FMOS), University of Sciences, Techniques and Technologies of Bamako (USTTB), Bamako, Mali Copyright  2018 by authors and Scientific Research Publishing Inc. This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial International License (CC BY-NC 4.0). http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ Received: October 19, 2018; Accepted: November 27, 2018; Published: November 30, 2018

ABSTRACT

Aim: To evaluate 15 years practice of coelioscopic Treatment of ectopicpregnancy in the Surgery Department A at the University Hospital Point G. Material and Methods: We conducted a descriptive retrospective study at the Surgery Department A at the University Hospital Point G from January 2001 to August 2015. Inclusion criteria were all pregnant women with ectopic pregnancy treated with coelioscopy. Sociodemographic, clinical, paracclinical and therapeutic aspects were recorded. Results: In 15 years, 42 cases of ectopic pregnancy out of 3840 gynecologic coelioscopies (1.04%) were collected. The average age was 28.5 years old with the extremes of 16 and 41 years old. Metrorragia was associated to pain in 83.3% (35/42); amenorrhea was found in 66.7% (28/41). Physical exam revealed pain with abdominal defense in 59.5% (25/42), adnexal mass in 31% (13/42), and pelvic contracture in 9.5% (4/42). In pre-operative, ectopic pregnancy was diagnosed complicated in 71.4% (30/42) and uncomplicated in 28.6% (12/42). Patients underwent salpingectomy in 85.7% (36/42), delivery from the fallopian tube in 9.8% (4/42), and hemostatic salpingectomy in 4.4% (2/42). The average duration of hospital stay was 1.88 day with the extremes of 1 and 7 days. The postoperative evolution was favorable in 97.6% (41/42), infection at the site of surgery was reported in 2.4% (1/42). Not a single death was registered. Conclusion: Treatment of ectopic pregnancy is of routine at the surgery department A in Point G. Fertility is preserved in the future.

Keywords:

Ectopic Pregnancy, Coelioscopic Surgery A, CHU Point G

1. Introduction

Ectopic pregnancy is defined as a pregnancy that develops outside the uterine cavity [1] . Since two decades, the progressive increase in the frequency of extra-uterine pregnancy in developed countries has been accompanied by a revolution in its diagnostic and treatment. Ectopic pregnancy is more and more treated by conservative coelioscopic and medical methods [2] .

Ectopic pregnancy is a surgical emergency, which can compromise the vital prognostic and fertility of the patient. The diagnostic is clinical and paraclinical without any delay. In 1992, ectopic pregnancy was the first cause of mortality in first trimester pregnancy in the U.S. [3] . Its prevalence was 1% - 2% of all pregnancies with nine out of ten occurring in the fallopian tube. In 1996, 25 cases of ectopic pregnancy were collected at the childbirth place in Orangers, France. The coelioscopic treatment necessitated 80% of salpingectomy.

In Mali, ectopic pregnancy has extensively been studied [4] reaching the conclusion that it is the first cause of maternal mortality in the first trimester of pregnancy. However, the lack of data on the coelioscopic approach motivated our study at the surgery department A at the University hospital Point G.

2. Patients and Methods

We conducted a descriptive and retrospective study at the Surgery Department A at the University Hospital Point G from January 2001 to August 2015. Inclusion criteria were all pregnant women with ectopic pregnancy treated with coelioscopy. Exclusion criteria were those operated by other approaches such as laparotomy and those with an incomplete medical chart. The preparatory protocol included an emergent pre-operatory analysis, abdominal ultrasound and -HCG test. Sociodemographic, clinical, paraclinical and therapeutic aspects as well as the post-operatory evolution were recorded parameters in our study.

3. Results

In 15 years, we realized 8610 surgical interventions including 42 cases of ectopic pregnancy among 3840 cases of gynecologic coelioscopy (1.04%). Patients were 28.5 years old on average with the extremes of 16 and 41 years old. Patients were housekeepers in 61.9% (26/42), school girls in 33.3% (14/42), and highly educated women in 4.8% (2/42). Patients were referred by primary physicians in 52.4% (22/42) and OBG doctors in 4.8% (2/42); they came by themselves in 2.9% (18/42). The main motive of complaint was painful metrorragia in 83.3% (35/42). Anamnesis revealed amenorrhea in 66.7% (28/42).

Ectopic pregnancy lasted less than three days in 38.1% (16/42), 3 - 7 days in 59.5% (25/42) and more than seven days in 2.4% (1/42). Patients had five or more births in 52.4% (22/42), a single birth in 30.95% (13/42) and anywhere in between in 16.67% (7/42). Patients had medico-surgical history of genital infection in 61.9% (26/42), abortion in 9.5% (4/42), laparatomy in 4.8% (2/42), breast nodule ablation in 2.4% (1/42). Sociodemographic and clinical characteristics of participants were illustrated in Table 1 and Table 2.

Hemoglobin was less than 12 g/L in 92.9% (39/42) and more than 12 g/L in 7.1% (3/42). Ultrasound showed a ruptured ectopic pregnancy in 40.5% (17/42) and uncomplicated in 35.7% (15/42). Per-operatory diagnostic was ruptured ectopic pregnancy in 71.4% (30/42). Ectopic pregnancy was in the ampulla in 66.7% (28/42), in the isthmus in 23.8% (10/42), and in the infundibulum in 9.5% (4/42). Surgical procedures were salpingectomy in 85.7% (36/42), delivery from the fallopian tube in 9.8% (4/42), and hemostatic salpingectomy in 4.4% (2/42). The average duration of hospital stay was 1.88 day with the extremes of 1 and 7 days. The postoperative evolution was favorable in 97.6% (41/42), infection at the site of surgery was reported in 2.4% (1/42) without a single death.

Figures 1-3 were the illustrations of per-operatory coelioscopic pictures of ectopic pregnancy at the surgery A department of the University hospital Point G in Bamako, Mali.

4. Discussion

Gynecologic surgery occupied 44.6% of our coelioscopic activities in the surgery department A including 1.04% ectopic pregnancy. This proportion seems low

Table 2. Physical exam results of participants.

Figure 1. Non ruptured right ampullar ectopic pregnancy.

Figure 2. Electrocoagulation on the anti-mesial border of the fallopian tube.

Figure 3. Salpingotomy and extraction of trophoblast.

as compared to many other studies, but we are a general surgery department whose patients are mainly referred by gynecologists and primary physicians (57.1%). Ectopic pregnancy was as frequent as 6% - 12% p < 0.05 in Cameroun and Gabon [5] [6] and its frequency was 2.4% in the department district in south Ndiamena (Tchad) in 2015 [7] . In 2003, its frequency had doubled over the last 15 years (2% of all pregnancies) or 14,000 per year in France according to the CNGOF (French National college of Obstetricians and Gynecologists) [8] . This recrudescence may be linked to risk factors such as chronic salpingitis, tubular surgery, tobacco smoking, clandestine abortion and anatomical anomalies.

The mean age in our cohort was 28.5 years old comparable with 32 years old in Senegal and 31 years old from the regional registry in Auberge, France [8] [9] . No relationship was found between age and the occurrence of ectopic pregnancy p > 0.05. Functional symptomatology was dominated by pelvic pain, adnexal mass and amenorrhea similar to what was found in the literature [4] [5] [8] [9] . Complementary exams for diagnostic were essentially based on abdominal ultrasound, which occupies a place of choice in the diagnostic of ectopic pregnancy. Its informs on the site, morphological aspect (either ruptured or non-ruptured), abundance of hemorrhage [1] [4] [7] . The type of surgery to be performed is determined after clinical and paraclinical evaluation including emergent anesthetic consultation. This evaluation was aimed to take the necessary pre-operatory steps to minimize the per-operatory accidents.

In per-operatory setting, the ectopic pregnancy was ruptured in 71.4% in our cohort similar to 80% from a study in Gabon [6] p > 0.05. This high frequency might have resulted from delayed diagnostic. Ectopic pregnancy was located in the right fallopian tube in 85.7% (Figure 1) and its distal and medial one thirds were affected in 66.7% and 9.5%, respectively similar to the data from the literature [10] . These parts of the fallopian tube host the ampulla, which is the most dilated and spacious part of the tubular formation.

The surgical procedure was dominated by salpingectomy in 85.7% (36/42) followed by delivery from the fallopian tube in 9.8% (4/42). Salpingectomy consists to electro coagulate the anti-mesial border of the fallopian tube (Figure 2), to open and evacuate the trophoblastic content (Figure 3), then to clean the peritoneal cavity. This technique allows not only to conserve the fallopian tube, but also to preserve the chance for future pregnancies. This procedure has been adopted by some authors [11] . Hemostatic salpingectomy was practiced in 4.4% (2/42). Other authors did the same technique when blood collected in the abdominal cavity was abundant [5] [6] [9] . Certain clinical vignettes impose salpingectomy especially in case of ruptured and damaged fallopian tube, ectopic pregnancy on either pathologic fallopian tube or one that has previously been affected by ectopic pregnancy as well as cataclysmic hemorrhages.

The average hospital stay was 1.33 days with the extremes of one and five days. This was in line with the classical benefits of coelioscopic surgery namely short hospitalization, minor surgical sequellae on the parietal part of the abdomen, quick return to physical and professional activities. Our findings were similar to the data in the literature [12] [13] [14] . The rate of hospitalization exceeding 72 hours was 11.9% due to the necessity to monitor closely patients who benefited from blood transfusion. No accident happened during the interventions. Open coelioscopy has allowed us to avoid accidents resulting from the introduction of the first needle [15] . Post-operatory morbidity was 2.4%, another advantage of coelioscopy [16] [17] .

5. Conclusion

The coelioscopic treatment of ectopic pregnancy is of routine in the surgery department A at the University hospital Point G. Morbidity and mortality are reduced with the conservation of the fallopian tube and preservation of future fertility.

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest regarding the publication of this paper.

Cite this paper

Koumare, S., Soumare, L., Sissoko, M., Keita, S., Camara, M., Sacko, O., Camara, A., Sima, M., Traore, M., Dicko, H., Bengali, B., Traore, D., Togo, S., Kone, D., Diallo, S., Sangare, M., Koita, A., Sanogo, Z.Z. and Sangare, D. (2018) Evaluation of 15 Years Practice of Coelioscopic Treatment of Ectopic Pregnancy in the Surgery Department A at the University Hospital Point G. Surgical Science, 9, 454-460. https://doi.org/10.4236/ss.2018.911051

References
BRASILIA, Nov 29 (Reuters) - Brazil's Supreme Court will only analyze the injunction that blocks privatization of state-owned companies without congressional approval next week, one source at the court told Reuters on Thursday.

Supreme Court justice Ricardo Lewandowski decided in July that all sales of state-controlled companies should be approved by Congress. Since then, state-controlled oil company Petroleo Brasileiro SA has suspended the sale of its refineries, of the gas pipeline company Transportadora Associada de Gas and also of the Araucaria fertilizer factory. (Reporting by Ricardo Britto; Writing by Tatiana Bautzer Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)
By Holly Chik and Farah Master

HONG KONG (Reuters) - A Chinese scientist at the centre of an ethical storm over what he claims are the world's first genetically edited babies said on Wednesday he is proud of his work and revealed there was a second "potential" pregnancy as part of the research.

He Jiankui, an associate professor at Southern University of Science and Technology in Shenzhen, China, addressed a packed hall of around 700 people attending the Human Genome Editing Summit at the University of Hong Kong.

"For this case, I feel proud. I feel proudest," He said, when challenged by several peers at the conference.

Asked whether there were any other edited gene pregnancies as part of his trials, He said there was another "potential" pregnancy and replied "yes" to a follow-up question as to whether it was a "chemical pregnancy", which refers to an early-stage miscarriage.

It was unclear whether the pregnancy had ended or not.

He, who said his work was self-funded, shrugged off concerns that the research was conducted in secrecy, explaining that he had engaged the scientific community over the past three years.

"This study has been submitted to a scientific journal for review," He said. He did not name the journal and said his university was unaware of his study.

In videos posted online this week, He said he used a gene-editing technology known as CRISPR-Cas9 to alter the embryonic genes of twin girls born this month.

He said gene editing would help protect the girls from infection with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS.

But scientists and the Chinese government have denounced the work that He said he carried out, and a hospital linked to his research suggested its ethical approval had been forged.

The conference moderator, Robin Lovell-Badge, said the summit organisers were unaware of the story until it broke this week.

CRISPR-Cas9 is a technology that allows scientists to essentially cut and paste DNA, raising hope of genetic fixes for disease. However, there are concerns about safety and ethics.

Story continues

The Chinese Society for Cell Biology in a statement on Tuesday strongly condemned any application of gene editing on human embryos for reproductive purposes and said that it was against the law and medical ethics of China.

More than 100 scientists, most in China, said in an open letter on Tuesday the use of CRISPR-Cas9 technology to edit the genes of human embryos was dangerous and unjustified. "Pandora's box has been opened," they said.

INFORMED CONSENT

He, who said he was against gene enhancement, said eight couples were initially enrolled for his study while one dropped out. The criteria required the father to be HIV positive and the mother to be HIV negative.

Scientists at the conference pressed He to prove that those taking part in the trial were aware of all the risks involved in the process.

He said that all the participants had a "good education background" and went through two rounds of discussions with him and his team.

A 23-page English translation of an informed consent form for the potential mother said that the costs of the procedure covered by the team would be up to 280,000 yuan ($40,200) per couple.

The consent form mentions multiple risks, but there is little detail on potential complications of the gene-editing process itself, including for the child. It does not mention that such an experiment has never been done before.

David Baltimore, President Emeritus and the Robert Andrews Millikan Professor of Biology at the California Institute of Technology, spoke after He's speech, saying it was irresponsible to have proceeded until safety issues were in order.

"I don't think it has been a transparent process. Only found out about it after it happened and the children were born," Baltimore said.

He Jiankui said his results could be used for millions of people with inherited diseases. He said he would monitor the two newborns for the next 18 years and hoped they would support continued monitoring thereafter.

Shenzhen Harmonicare Medical Holdings Limited, named as being involved in He's project in China's clinical trial registry, sought to distance itself by stating the hospital never participated in any operations relating to the gene-edited babies and no related delivery had taken place.

In a statement to the Hong Kong stock exchange on Tuesday, the group said preliminary investigations indicated the signatures on the application form circulated on the internet are "suspected to have been forged, and no relevant meeting of the Medical Ethics Committee of the hospital in fact took place".

The Guangdong province Health Commission announced on its website on Wednesday that it and Shenzhen city had set up a joint team to investigate the case.

(Additional reporting by Anne Marie Roantree in Hong Kong, Christian Shepherd in Beijing and Alexandra Harney in Shanghai; Editing by Nick Macfie)
(Corrects to reflect uncertainty of second pregnancy)

* He says another volunteer is pregnant

* Says his university was unaware of the study

* Plans to monitor newborn babies for the next 18 years

*

*

By Holly Chik and Farah Master

HONG KONG, Nov 28 (Reuters) - A Chinese scientist at the centre of an ethical storm over what he claims are the world's first genetically edited babies said on Wednesday he is proud of his work and revealed that another there was a second "potential" pregnancy as part of the research.

He Jiankui, an associate professor at Southern University of Science and Technology in Shenzhen, China, addressed a packed hall of around 700 people attending the Human Genome Editing Summit at the University of Hong Kong.

"For this case, I feel proud. I feel proudest," He said, when challenged by several peers at the conference.

"This study has been submitted to a scientific journal for review," He said. He did not name the journal and said his university was unaware of his study.

Asked whether there were any other edited gene pregnancies as part of his trials, He said there was another "potential" pregnancy and replied "yes" to a follow-up question as to whether it was a "chemical pregnancy", which refers to an early-stage miscarriage.

It was unclear whether the pregnancy had ended or not.

He, who said his work was self-funded, shrugged off concerns that the research was conducted in secrecy, explaining that he had engaged the scientific community over the past three years.

In videos posted online this week, He said he used a gene-editing technology known as CRISPR-Cas9 to alter the embryonic genes of twin girls born this month.

He said gene editing would help protect the girls from infection with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS.

But scientists and the Chinese government have denounced the work that He said he carried out, and a hospital linked to his research suggested its ethical approval had been forged.

The conference moderator, Robin Lovell-Badge, said the summit organisers were unaware of the story until it broke this week.

Story continues

CRISPR-Cas9 is a technology that allows scientists to essentially cut and paste DNA, raising hope of genetic fixes for disease. However, there are concerns about safety and ethics.

The Chinese Society for Cell Biology in a statement on Tuesday strongly condemned any application of gene editing on human embryos for reproductive purposes and said that it was against the law and medical ethics of China.

More than 100 scientists, most in China, said in an open letter on Tuesday the use of CRISPR-Cas9 technology to edit the genes of human embryos was dangerous and unjustified. "Pandora's box has been opened," they said.

He's research focuses on genome sequencing technology, bioinformatics and genome editing, according to his biography on the summit's website.

He received his PhD at Rice University in Houston, Texas, and worked as a postdoctoral research fellow in Stephen Quake lab at Stanford University according to the site.

CONTINUED STUDY

He, who said he was against gene enhancement, said eight couples were initially enrolled for his study while one dropped out. The criteria required the father to be HIV positive and the mother to be HIV negative.

David Baltimore, President Emeritus; Robert Andrews Millikan Professor of Biology, spoke after He's speech, saying it was irresponsible to have proceeded until safety issues were in order.

"I don't think it has been a transparent process. Only found out about it after it happened and the children were born," he said.

He Jiankui said his results could be used for millions with inherent diseases. He said he would monitor the two newborns for the next 18 years and hoped they would support continued monitoring thereafter.

Shenzhen Harmonicare Medical Holdings Limited, reported by media as being involved in He's project, sought to distance itself by stating the hospital never participated in any operations relating to the gene-edited babies and no related delivery had taken place.

In a statement published to the Hong Kong stock exchange on Tuesday, the group said preliminary investigations indicated the signatures on the application form circulated on the internet are "suspected to have been forged, and no relevant meeting of the Medical Ethics Committee of the hospital in fact took place".

(Additional reporting by Anne Marie Roantree; Editing by Nick Macfie)
President Trump's attorney Michael Cohen arrives at federal court in Manhattan on Thursday, April 26, 2018.(Photo by David Handschuh/NYLJ)



Michael Cohen, President Donald Trumps former personal attorney, pleaded guilty Thursday morning to lying to Congress about the timeline of a Russian real estate project pursued by Trump during the 2016 election.



The new charges were brought by the office of Special Counsel Robert Mueller, with which Cohen is now cooperating.



According to court filings, Cohen provided written and oral testimony to the congressional investigations conducted by both the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives into Russian interference in the presidential election won by Trump.



In his statements, Cohen said discussions inside Trumps company to possibly build in Moscow ended in January 2016. Further, Cohen stated he never agreed to travel to Russia in connection with the project and never considered asking Trumpidentified as Individual 1 in court documentsto do the same. Lastly, Cohen stated that he did not recall any communications with Russian officials about the project.



These statements were knowingly false, according to court filings.



Cohens statements were meant to minimize Trumps links to the Moscow project while giving the false impression that discussions about the project ended before the Iowa presidential caucus in 2016, the first in the nation, in the hopes of limiting the ongoing Russia investigation.



In fact, prosecutors stated in their filing, the Moscow project discussion did not end in January 2016 and was discussed multiple times within the Trump Organization thereafter. Cohen was discussing possibly obtaining Russian governmental approval for the project as late as June. Likewise, Cohen discussed the status and progress of the project with Trump on more than three occasions, according to prosecutors.



Cohen also made plans to travel to Russia and asked Trump about the possibility of traveling there as well during the presidential campaign, according to court filings. In May, Cohen received communications indicating a Russian official wanted to meet with him the following month in St. Petersburg, where he could potentially meet directly with Russian President Vladmir Putin or another top Russian official. Cohen took steps to possibly make the trip before backing out in mid-June, according to court filings.



Additionally, Cohens statement about not communicating with Russian officials was knowingly false, as he was in touch with the office of Putins press secretary, Dmitry Peskov. Court documents state the Cohen reached out in January 2016 about the project and spoke with Peskovs assistant about possibly getting help to move it forward.



Cohens appearance in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York Thursday marks the second time hes pleaded guilty to charges. In August, Cohen pleaded guilty to paying hush money to women who alleged they had sexual relations with the future president.



Cohens attorney, Guy Petrillo, did not respond to a request for comment.



A spokesman for the special counsels office, Peter Carr, said the office would not be commenting further on the case.



According to The Associated Press, Trump responded to the news Thursday morning, telling reporters on the west lawn of the White House that Cohen is a weak person who was lying" to get a reduced sentence.



Additional reporting was provided by Washington, D.C.-based reporter Ellis Kim.



Here is the new criminal information filed in the Southern District of New York:



falcon-embed src="embed_1"



And read Cohen's plea agreement here:



falcon-embed src="embed_2"



Read more:



Meet the Ex-Kirkland Partner Behind the Cohen Case



Special Counsel Accuses Manafort of Breaking Plea Deal



Jones Day Again Tops Trump Campaign's Legal Billing, New FEC Filings Show



Can Michael Cohen Say No to a Presidential Pardon?



Cohen Donations Flood in After Lanny Davis Launches GoFundMe Campaign
Coaxial TV Cable is seen in front of Vodafone and Liberty Global logos in this illustration taken May 9, 2018. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration

By Foo Yun Chee

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Vodafone's (VOD.L) $21.8 billion proposed acquisition of Liberty Global's (LBTYA.O) assets in Germany and eastern Europe is likely to face a full EU antitrust investigation, a person familiar with the matter said.

The European Commission's move could ratchet up pressure on the world's second-largest mobile operator to offer concessions, unless it can convince the EU competition enforcer that the deal poses no competition issues.

Investors and industry players, however, will be hoping for a flexible regulatory stance given that the Commission has just given unconditional clearance for Deutsche Telekom's (DTEGn.DE) acquisition of Tele2's (TEL2b.ST) Dutch business after initial concerns.

The deal between Vodafone and U.S. cable pioneer John Malone's Liberty would enable Vodafone to better compete with Deutsche Telekom in the German rival's home market.

The enlarged company would be Europe's biggest provider of broadband, cable and mobile services with 54 million customers and reach 110 million homes and businesses. The acquisition includes Liberty Global assets in the Czech Republic, Hungary and Romania.

Deutsche Telekom has criticized the deal while Telefonica Deutschland (O2Dn.DE) and the BREKO business group, which represents German broadband providers, have urged the EU to block the takeover because it would hurt competition.

The opening of a so-called in-depth investigation would in practical terms mean the European Commission's rejection of a request by the German cartel authority to take over the case - a request that had been welcomed by Deutsche Telekom. The Commission may see the deal in a broader EU-wide perspective, which could benefit Vodafone.

The Commission, which is scheduled to wrap up its preliminary review by Dec. 11, and Vodafone declined to comment. Liberty Global said: "We are in constructive discussions with the European Commission and are confident of a positive outcome in due course."

(Reporting by Foo Yun Chee; Editing by Susan Fenton)
Police walks in front of Deutsche Bank headquarters as roughly 170 criminal police officers, prosecutors and tax inspectors searched Deutsche Bank offices in and around Frankfurt, Germany, November 29, 2018, on money laundering allegations, the public prosecutor said in a statement. REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach

By Tom Sims and Hans Seidenstuecker

FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Police have searched the offices of all the members of Deutsche Bank's <DBKGn.DE> board as part of an investigation into money laundering allegations linked to the Panama Papers, a source told Reuters on Friday.

Shares in Germany's largest bank ended 2.9 percent lower, after hitting a record low earlier in the day, as a raid that began on Thursday at the bank's towering Frankfurt headquarters extended into a second day.

"We will of course continue to actively support the investigation and work constructively with the authorities," Karl von Rohr, Deutsche's co-deputy chief executive officer, said in a statement on Friday evening.

Deutsche Bank shares have lost around half of their value this year, after the bank endured three years of losses and a series of financial and regulatory scandals. The company is now worth only around 17 billion euros ($19.3 billion).

The raid comes as Deutsche Bank tries to repair its tattered reputation.

Christian Sewing, appointed chief executive in April to help the bank rebuild, has trimmed the group's U.S. operations and reshuffled its management board, but revenue has continued to slip.

Investigators are looking into the activities of two unnamed Deutsche Bank employees alleged to have helped clients set up offshore firms to launder money, the prosecutor's office has said. The inquiries focus on events from 2013 to this year.

Gerhard Schick, a member of parliament for the opposition Green party, said it was "particularly irritating" that the bank's current board members oversaw operations during the time in question. "This is not about legacy issues," he said in a statement to Reuters.

BOARD MEETING

This week's events raise the stakes of a regularly scheduled meeting of the bank's supervisory board planned for Dec. 4.

The prosecutor said on Thursday the investigation had been triggered after investigators reviewed information in the Panama Papers, consisting of millions of documents from Panamanian law firm Mossack Fonseca leaked to the media in April 2016.

Around 170 police officers, prosecutors and tax inspectors began the raid on Thursday, seizing written and electronic documents. Only one police car was visible outside the bank's headquarters early on Friday.

Story continues

The head of the Frankfurt prosecutor's office, Albrecht Schreiber, said on Friday evening that investigators had made "very rapid and very good progress". Deutsche was cooperating fully, he said, adding that authorities' queries were answered "without reservation".

Deutsche Bank's controls that aim to prevent money laundering have caught the attention of regulators on both sides of the Atlantic.

Schick, who is also chairman of Finanzwende, a grassroots financial watchdog initiative, pointed the finger at Germany's financial market regulator, BaFin.

BaFin said its critics had misunderstood the situation, and that supervisors and prosecutors played different roles.

In January, BaFin president Felix Hufeld said the agency had found no evidence of substantial breaches of money laundering rules by the banks named in the Panama Papers.

In September, BaFin ordered Deutsche Bank to do more to prevent money laundering and "terrorist financing," and appointed KPMG as third party to assess progress.

On Thursday, as the raids were going on, the vice chairman of supervision for the U.S. Federal Reserve, Randal Quarles, met Deutsche Bank management for an unrelated and previously scheduled appointment at the bank's headquarters, a spokesman for the Fed said. ($1 = 0.8805 euros)

(Additional reporting by Pete Schroeder in Washington; Editing by Keith Weir/Adrian Croft/Susan Fenton)
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LONDON (Reuters) - Furhat tilts his or her head, smiles, exudes empathy and warmth, and encourages us to open up. The robot, a three-dimensional bust with a projection of a human-like face, aims to build on our new-found ease talking to voice assistants like Siri and Alexa, by persuading us to interact with it as if it were a person, picking up on our cues to strike up a rapport. Yet precisely because it isn't human, and is therefore free from bias, the robot can spur people to engage more honestly, its creator says, making it useful in situations such as screening for health risks where people often lie. "We've seen research that shows that in certain situations people are more comfortable opening up and talking about difficult issues with a robot than with a human," said Samer Al Moubayed, chief executive of Furhat Robotics. That's because a robot's personality can mirror the personality of the person interacting with it and because people don't feel judged, he added. The robot has been used in Frankfurt airport as a multi-lingual concierge, helping travelers find their way, but also for customer services training - simulating irate shoppers for example. Science and technology firm Merck and Furhat Robotics on Wednesday unveiled a robot in Stockholm which will ask people about their health and lifestyle and screen them for risk of diabetes, alcoholism and hypothyroidism. If necessary, the robot will advise them to go for a blood test or to a doctor. "Every robot needs a different personality depending on the job it's going to do," said Moubayed. Furhat can be male or female, old or young, wisecracking or serious. "One of the barriers that robots have had ... is the issue with expressivity - being able to move like us, (with) very smooth, very expressive facial movements, eye movements, head movements," said Moubayed. (Reporting by Stuart McDill; Writing by Alexandra Hudson; Editing by Robin Pomeroy)
Prime minister Theresa May in Belfast earlier this year. Photo: Reuters

The head of one of Northern Irelands leading business organisations has called on opponents of prime minister Theresa Mays Brexit deal to present their own proposals, in a veiled jab at Arlene Fosters Democratic Unionist Party (DUP).

For those that are not in support of the draft agreement, it is now time to outline your alternative proposals, Northern Ireland Chamber president Ellvena Graham said on Thursday.

She was speaking to some 850 attendees at the chambers annual banquet in Belfast. Graham said Mays draft Brexit deal was undoubtedly a welcome step forward for the majority of businesses in Northern Ireland and said it was definitely much better than a no-deal scenario.

We therefore encourage our political representatives who support the draft agreement to do everything in their power to influence political representatives in Britain to join them.

The DUP, whose 10 MPs prop up Mays government in the House of Commons, has said the agreement is worse than no deal.

Its stance has led to a split with business groups in Northern Ireland, with DUP MP Sammy Wilson calling businesses backing the deal the puppets of the Northern Ireland Office.

The Northern Ireland branch of the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) said last week that it was broadly supportive of Mays deal, and it also has been endorsed by the Northern Ireland Food and Drink Association, which represents manufacturers, and the Ulster Farmers Union, which is traditionally close to the DUP.

READ MORE: Theresa May denies giving up before agreeing Brexit deal

Weve received a lot of stick in some quarters for saying this but let me say to our critics  were not your opposition. Were not the enemy. We want the outcome thats best for businesses, for consumers, for the economy and for the future stability of Northern Ireland, Graham said.

During a visit to Belfast on Tuesday, May noted that she had been given a clear message by the business community. The overwhelming message I get is this is a deal that does deliver for constituents, she said.

The DUP is opposed to any agreement that could see Northern Ireland more closely aligned with the EUs customs and trade rules, and Foster, the partys leader, implied earlier this week that May given up before signing her Brexit deal with the European Union.
Oil prices inched up Friday morning in Asia

Investing.com  Oil prices inched up Friday morning in Asia as major producer Russia reportedly agreed on the need to slash output ahead of an OPEC meeting next week in Vienna.

Crude Oil WTI Futures for January delivery rose 0.41% to $51.66 per barrel at 12:04PM ET (04:04 GMT) on the New York Mercantile Exchange, while Brent Oil Future for February delivery edged up 0.57% to $60.25 a barrel on Londons Intercontinental Exchange.

Russia might be changing its wait-and-see approach and be ready to join Saudi Arabia to cut crude output, Reuters reported. The two countries will meet with other OPEC members in Austria on Dec. 6-7 to reach a decision on output for the next six months. The kingdom has proposed cutting output by 1 million to 1.4 million barrels per day (bpd) to avoid excessive supply.

The idea at the meeting was that Russia needs to reduce. The key question is how quickly and by how much, said a source quoted by Reuters.

Russian President Vladimir Putin is set to meet with Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Argentina at the G20 summit. Reuters reported that Putin said on Wednesday that Russia was in touch with the OPEC but it would be satisfied with an oil price of $60 a barrel, while the kingdoms energy minister also said it will not slash oil output on its own.

Saudi Arabias proposal came after it raised output to compensate for an expected all in supply from Iran as a result of U.S. sanctions. However, Washington granted waivers to eight countries to continue importing oil from Iran. The kingdom is now pushing OPEC to cut output in fear of a global glut.

U.S. President Donald Trump is seeking to further reduce oil prices by urging producers to raise output. He is expected to discuss oil prices with both Saudi Arabia and Russia at the G20 summit.

Trump tweets as if he has a joystick and he has everything under his command like he is playing one of these video games, Tom Kloza, global head of energy analysis at the Oil Price Information Service, told the New York Times. He said if Trump succeeded in persuading them to maintain current output, oil prices could go down to the low 40s.

Story continues

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TipRanks

Electric vehicles. Renewable energy. Wind farms and solar arrays. These are the technologies that will lead the way of the next centurys industrial trends. They exist today, of course, but just where they will go, and what they will look like in a century, are simply unknowable. There are some things we do know. It is certain that todays electrical and energy storage tech is going to evolve, changing its shape to adapt to the industrial-technological landscape that is growing up around us ev
Nov 30 (Reuters) - The following are the top stories on the New York Times business pages. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.

- Facebook Inc's Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg asked the communications staff to research George Soros's financial interests in the wake of his high-profile attacks on tech companies, according to three people with knowledge of her request. https://nyti.ms/2BFEg6y

- General Motors Co on Thursday said that Dan Ammann will give up the job of GM president and become the chief executive officer of Cruise, the division working on autonomous vehicles. https://nyti.ms/2SkZlsp

- Unilever Plc on Thursday said its Chief Executive Officer Paul Polman will step down at the end of the year. Polman will be succeeded by Alan Jope, who has led Unilever's beauty and personal care division since 2011. https://nyti.ms/2E6rHno

- NASA announced on Thursday that it had selected nine companies that will compete for billions of dollars in contracts to take small payloads for the agency to the surface of the moon. https://nyti.ms/2Q30EzQ (Compiled by Bengaluru newsroom)
* Tensions between Moscow and Kiev high after ships' seizure

* Putin says he blames Ukraine for incident

* Russia president hopes to meet Trump despite crisis

* Poroshenko says Ukraine ready to repel further aggression

* Russia says it will further fortify Crimea (Adds Trump being briefed, Mattis quote)

By Andrew Osborn and Anton Zverev

MOSCOW/KERCH, Crimea Nov 28 (Reuters) - President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday shrugged off a threat from U.S. President Donald Trump to cancel a meeting with him due to Moscow's seizure of three Ukrainian navy ships, and accused Ukraine's president of orchestrating the crisis.

Russia seized the Ukrainian vessels and their crews on Sunday near Crimea, the Ukrainian region which Moscow annexed in 2014, over what it said was their illegal entry into Russian waters, which Ukraine denies.

The episode has raised fears in the West of a wider conflict between the two countries, and Trump said on Tuesday that he might cancel a planned meeting with Putin at the G20 summit in Argentina later this week as a response to "aggression".

Some of Ukraine's Western allies have also raised the possibility of imposing new sanctions on Russia over the episode, which could deliver a blow to the Russian economy.

But Putin, in his first public comments on the Black Sea incident, said that the Ukrainian vessels had clearly been in the wrong, dismissed the clash as a minor border issue, and accused Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko of having orchestrated the crisis in order to boost his dire ratings.

Putin said he also still hoped to meet Trump at the G20, while the Kremlin said the meeting was still being prepared and Washington had not informed Moscow it was off.

"It was without doubt a provocation," Putin told a financial forum in Moscow of the incident. "It was organised by the president ahead of the elections. The president is in fifth place ratings-wise and therefore had to do something. It was used as a pretext to introduce martial law."

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Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said he was saddened by what he asserted was Washington's willingness to encourage Ukraine's "provocation".

Putin said the West was willing to forgive Ukrainian politicians because it bought into their anti-Russian narrative.

Trump has been briefed on the situation as he considers whether to cancel the Putin meeting but no decision has been made, White House officials said on Wednesday.

Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said Russia's action shows it cannot be counted on to keep its word.

"It was obviously a flagrant violation of international law. It was, I think, a cavalier use of a force that injured Ukrainian sailors," he told reporters at the Pentagon.

Kiev has introduced martial law in parts of the country, saying it fears a possible Russian invasion.

Speaking in northern Ukraine, Poroshenko, who has accused Moscow of naked military aggression, talked up his country's readiness to respond to any future Russian military action.

"It's important to keep our powder dry and be ready at any moment to push back the aggressor," said Poroshenko, adding that he had received offers from hundreds of Ukrainian war veterans who said they were ready to return and defend the country.

MISSILES FOR CRIMEA

The United States and the EU have both imposed sanctions on Russia over its conduct towards Ukraine since 2014, when Moscow seized and annexed Ukraine's Crimea peninsula after a pro-Russian leader was toppled in Kiev.

Moscow later backed pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine in a conflict in which more than 10,000 people have been killed. Major fighting ended with a 2015 ceasefire but deadly exchanges of fire are still frequent.

A Kremlin aide said on Wednesday that Putin had rebuffed an initiative from Poroshenko for the two men to speak by phone.

Vadim Astafyev, a spokesman for Russia's southern military district, was cited by Russian news agencies as saying that a new battalion of advanced S-400 surface-to-air missiles would be delivered to Crimea soon and become operational by year's end.

The deployment is likely to have been long-planned, but the timing of the announcement appeared designed to send a message to Ukraine and the West that Russia is serious about defending what it regards as its own territory and waters.

Crimea already hosts three battalions of the anti-aircraft missile systems which have a range of up to 400 km (250 miles) allowing Russia to control large swaths of the skies above the Black Sea. The new missile deployment to Crimea would allow Russia to increase its air defence coverage area.

Separately, a Reuters correspondent in Crimea on Wednesday observed a Russian navy minesweeper ship, the Vice-Admiral Zakharin, heading in the direction of the Sea of Azov.

The sea is home to major ports of both Russia and Ukraine, and can be reached only through the Russian-controlled Kerch Strait near where Sunday's incident took place.

A court in Crimea's capital Simferopol on Wednesday ordered nine of the 24 captured Ukrainian sailors - including senior Ukrainian naval officers and at least one member of Ukraine's SBU intelligence agency - held for a period of two months. The same court ordered the other 15 sailors on Tuesday to be detained for two months pending a possible trial.

All of the sailors face jail terms of up to six years if found guilty of what Moscow says was a plot to illegally cross the Russian border by trying to pass through the strait without advance notice and ignoring calls to stop.

Ukraine said its ships did nothing wrong and have every right to use the strait without Russian permission.

(Reporting by Andrew Osborn and Anton Zverev Additional reporting by Polina Nikolskaya, Daria Korsunksaya, Tom Balmforth, Polina Ivanova, Vladimir Soldatkin, Katya Golubkova, Gleb Stolyarov and Oksana Kobzeva in Moscow, Pavel Polityuk in Kiev and Stephanie Nebehay, Tom Miles in Geneva, Steve Holland and Idrees Ali in Washington Writing by Andrew Osborn Editing by Christian Lowe, Peter Graff and Lisa Shumaker)
BRATISLAVA, Nov 30 (Reuters) - Slovakia's defence ministry signed a deal on Friday to buy 14 U.S.-made F-16 fighter jets to replace its ageing Russian-made MiG-29s, its defence ministry said.

Slovakia's government picked the new F-16s made by Lockheed Martin over cheaper Swedish Gripen jets produced by Saab in July.

But relations in the three-party governing coalition have since become more tense and Prime Minister Peter Pellegrini of centre-left Smer party said the deal, overseen by a junior coalition centre-right nationalist party, will only become valid after approval by the finance ministry.

The defence ministry gave no details of the deal. Pellegrini said in July the country will pay 1.589 billion euros ($1.80 billion) for 14 fighter jets, pilot training, ammunition and two-year logistical support.

NATO member Slovakia plans to spend about 6.5 billion euros ($7.6 billion) by 2030 to modernise its military and wants to reduce its reliance on Russian equipment but it has a maintenance contract with Russia for 12 MiG-29s until autumn 2019.

The contract will likely have to be prolonged as Slovakia will not receive all 14 new jets before 2023.

Among central European neighbours, Hungary and the Czech Republic operate Gripens. Poland flies a large fleet of 48 F-16s while also keeping around 30 MiG 29s.

Slovakia's defence spending is due to rise from 1.2 percent of gross domestic product this year to 1.6 percent in 2020 and 2.0 percent by 2024. ($1 = 0.8839 euros) (Reporting By Tatiana Jancarikova Editing by Matthew Mpoke Bigg)
(Adds comments from lawmakers, auto lobbying group)

By Roberta Rampton

BUENOS AIRES, Nov 30 (Reuters) - The United States, Canada and Mexico signed a North American trade pact on Friday, with President Donald Trump brushing aside concerns that he could face difficulties getting the deal through the U.S. Congress.

The leaders of the three countries agreed on a deal in principle to replace the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), which governs more than $1.2 trillion of mutual trade, after acrimonious negotiations concluded on Sept. 30.

Friday's signing potentially ends a big source of irritation for the U.S. administration as it pivots to a much bigger trade fight with China that threatens the global economy. All eyes are on a meeting between Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping on Saturday after a G20 summit in Buenos Aires.

Trump had vowed to revamp NAFTA during his 2016 presidential election campaign. He threatened to tear it up and withdraw the United States completely at times during the negotiation, which would have left trade between the three neighbors in disarray.

The three were still bickering over the finer points of the deal just hours before officials were due to sit down and sign it.

"It's been long and hard. We've taken a lot of barbs and a little abuse and we got there," Trump said after the signing.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau still had a few barbs of his own on Friday. He called the deal by its old name NAFTA, prodded Trump over U.S. steel and aluminum tariffs, and said General Motors Co's decision to cut production and slash its North American workforce, including in Canada, was a "heavy blow." "Donald, it's all the more reason why we need to keep working to remove the tariffs on steel and aluminum between our two countries," Trudeau said.

Mexico's outgoing President Enrique Pena Nieto was warmer. On his last day in office, he said the new deal was forged with the "firm belief that together we are stronger and more competitive."

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Legislators from the three countries must still approve the pact, officially known as the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), before it goes into effect and replaces NAFTA.

But the U.S. landscape will shift significantly in January when Democrats take control of the House of Representatives, after winning midterm elections in November.

Presumptive incoming Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi described the deal as a "work in progress" that lacks worker and environment protections.

"This is not something where we have a piece of paper we can say yes or no to," she said at a news conference on Friday, noting that Mexico had yet to pass a law on wages and working conditions.

Other Democrats, backed by unions that oppose the pact, have called for stronger enforcement provisions for new labor and environmental standards, arguing that USMCA's state-to-state dispute settlement mechanism is too weak.

"There is still a ways to go to gain support in the new Congress for this agreement," said Representative Bill Pascrell, the top Democrat on the House Ways and Means trade subcommittee.

Still, Trump and U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer expressed confidence that the NAFTA replacement would pass Congress.

"It's been so well reviewed I don't expect to have very much of a problem," Trump said.

Lighthizer said the pact was negotiated from the beginning to be a bipartisan agreement. "I think we'll get the support of a lot of Democrats," he told reporters.

Trump had forced Canada and Mexico to renegotiate the 24-year-old agreement because he said the existing pact encouraged U.S. companies to move jobs to low-wage Mexico.

U.S. objections to Canada's protected internal market for dairy products was a major challenge facing negotiators during the talks, and Trump repeatedly demanded concessions and accused Canada of hurting U.S. farmers.

Matt Blunt, the head of the main lobbying group for GM, Ford and Fiat-Chrysler, applauded the deal, saying it would keep north American automotive manufacturing competitive and included a first-ever provision to address currency manipulation.

"However, we remain concerned that the continued imposition of steel and aluminum tariffs on Canada and Mexico will undermine the benefits of the USMCA," added Blunt, who heads the American Automotive Policy Council.

Foreign brand automakers have expressed concerns that the new rules of origin, which require more high-value content be produced in the United States or Canada, will be too burdensome.

BDI, Germany's main industry association, said in a statement that the autos rules of origin were "a retrograde step compared with NAFTA."

(Reporting by Roberta Rampton, Matt Spetalnick and Caroline Stauffer in Buenos Aires and David Ljunggren in Ottawa; Additional reporting by David Lawder, Richard Cowan and Lisa Lambert in Washington; Editing by Susan Thomas and Rosalba O'Brien)
US 'could be entering Cold War with China' over trade, Yale economist warns

World leaders are gathering in Argentina this week, with financial markets paying special attention to a meeting between President Donald Trump and Chinese premier Xi Jinping.

Simmering trade tensions between the world's two largest economies are expected to dominate the agenda of the G-20 summit, with financial markets closely monitoring the prospect of a potential breakthrough.

The United States and China could be in the early stages of a Cold War, veteran economist Stephen Roach told CNBC Friday, warning the global trade dispute is likely last for a "long, long time."

His comments come ahead of a high-stakes meeting between President Donald Trump and Chinese premier Xi Jinping this week, as world leaders gather at the G-20 summit in Argentina.

Simmering trade tensions between the world's two largest economies are expected to dominate the summit's agenda, with financial markets closely monitoring the prospect of a potential breakthrough.

"I think the end game is that this is a clash between two systems. And the U.S. is objecting to a state-sponsored 'market-based socialist system' that uses the largess of the state to subsidize industrial policy," Roach, senior fellow at Yale University and former chairman of Morgan Stanley Asia, told CNBC's "Squawk Box Europe" Friday.

"Even though, America has had industrial policy for decades but implements it through the military industrial complex orchestrated by the Pentagon. Japan does it, Germany does it, we are making it sound like China is the only one that does it," he added.

Mixed signals

Trump initially triggered the trade conflict with Beijing earlier this year, accusing the Asian giant of "unfair" trade practices and intellectual property theft.

The U.S. has imposed a total of $250 billion worth of tariffs against Chinese goods since July, prompting China to retaliate with charges on $110 billion worth of U.S. products.

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In October, Vice President Mike Pence said in a speech that China was guilty of "predatory" economic practices. He provided no evidence for his claims.

Pence also warned the U.S. could more than double the number of tariffs imposed against China over the coming months, saying the American people "deserved to know" Beijing had been orchestrating a campaign to undermine the Trump administration.

"What Mike Pence said is that these are going to be longstanding issues and that raises the possibility  echoed by a speech that (Former U.S. Treasury Secretary) Hank Paulson gave a couple of weeks ago  that we could be entering a Cold War with China that would last for a long, long time," Roach said Friday.

Earlier this month, the U.S. president suggested his administration could soon strike a deal with China. This elevated hopes among many investors that global trade tensions could soon be defused.

However, Trump appeared to pour cold water on the prospects of a trade deal this weekend, saying Thursday that while an agreement was close he was not sure whether he wanted one.





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(Bloomberg) -- A number of researchers due to attend a prestigious conference on artificial intelligence in Canada next week have been unable to obtain visas in time, leading some executives to question the governments stated goal of becoming a world-leading destination for academics and companies developing the technology.

Its unclear how many people have been affected by visa issues, but at least a dozen researchers circulated their stories on social media about having visas denied or applications held up. Timnit Gebru, a Google AI researcher and a founder of the group Black in AI thats holding a workshop at the event, said on Twitter that almost half of the 60-some academics it had asked to attend the workshop had visa applications turned down.

Its Africans living everywhere that are getting denied, she said.

Several prominent AI researchers complained of the situation on Twitter in the hopes of getting the Canadian government to take action.

Jeff Dean, a computer scientist who leads AI research for Alphabet Inc.s Google, used Twitter to appeal directly to Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to help remove the roadblocks.

"I believe that its important that researchers from populations that are under-represented in the field of machine learning be given the opportunity to participate in the conference and to present their research to the community," Dean said in an emailed response to questions. "I hope that any outstanding visa issues can be resolved in a timely manner."

The organizers of the week-long conference, which starts in Montreal on Sunday, said they were aware of the problems, but werent able to do much to help attendees secure visas.

"While it is up to government agencies to decide on visa applications, we hope officials will appreciate the importance of facilitating the free flow of open science, something very important for AI and key to making sure the technologies that evolve from this research are beneficial for all," Terrence Sejnowski, president of the foundation that runs the annual conference on Neural Information Processing Systems, said in a statement.

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Mathieu Genest, a spokesman for Canadas immigration minister, said the government had been working with the conference organizers to provide guidance on visa applications and has processed them "in as timely a manner as possible."

While we understand the disappointment of those whose visa applications were refused," he said in an email, all visitors to Canada must meet the requirement for temporary residence in Canada and are assessed equally.

The NeurIPS organizers, as well as Black in AI, sent the Canadian government lists of participants to help speed up the visa processing, but in one case the original list contained insufficient information while in another case, the list was only received this week, according to a government official with knowledge of the situation.

The conference has already courted controversy. It was better known by the acronym NIPS, but changed this moniker to NeurIPS earlier this month following complaints that the original acronym could have sexual connotations and was symbolic of an environment that was unfriendly to women. The organizers have said theyre working to make the event more inclusive.

NeurIPS is one of the top annual gatherings for people working on the cutting edge of artificial intelligence and machine learning, drawing thousands of attendees. As large technology companies, from Amazon.com Inc. and Alphabet Inc.s Google to Chinas Baidu Inc. and Tencent Holdings Ltd., have played a bigger role in this research, it has become an important stage for showcasing their latest work as well as recruiting employees for their research labs.

Trudeau has been seeking to burnish his countrys reputation as an AI hotspot. While the U.S. has built many more large technology companies, lots of the ideas underpinning current machine learning technologies were developed by academics working in Canada and Trudeau has sought to capitalize on this background to create more tech economy jobs.

The country has also tried to lure entrepreneurs and technology workers to Canada from the U.S., where the immigration reforms introduced by President Donald Trump have made it harder for foreign nationals, especially those from the Middle Eastern and African nations, to remain. Trudeau has introduced a new, streamlined visa process under which technology companies can bring in foreign employees.

In addition, Canada currently holds the presidency of the Group of Seven industrialized nations and it has organized a G7 event on the future of AI, including its effect on jobs and issues surrounding regulation of AI, in Montreal to coincide with the NeurIPS conference.

Some AI researchers said that the visa issues undercut Trudeaus salesmanship. "This is not how you attract world-class AI talent to Canada," Caleb Del Begio, the co-founder of Advize, a tech startup in Vancouver, wrote on Twitter.

Yoshua Bengio, a world renowned machine learning researcher at the University of Montreal, said in a recent magazine interview that a different machine learning conference, the International Conference on Learning Representations (ICLR), would move to an African nation in 2020, after participants experienced problems getting visas to attend the event in the U.S. and Canada, where it has been held in the past. Bengio is a member of the board that runs that conference.

"We could make it easier for people from developing countries to come here," he said. "In Europe or the U.S. or Canada it is very difficult for an African researcher to get a visa." Bengio said this situation was unfair, especially given that African computer scientists were already struggling with less access to computing power and IT infrastructure.

To contact the reporters on this story: Jeremy Kahn in London at jkahn21@bloomberg.net;Sandrine Rastello in Montreal at srastello@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Giles Turner at gturner35@bloomberg.net, Molly Schuetz, Alistair Barr

For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com

2018 Bloomberg L.P.
Japan is to ban government use of telecoms products made by Chinese tech giants Huawei and ZTE on concerns about cybersecurity, reports said Friday.

New Zealand denied Thursday that telecommunications giant Huawei was banned from a 5G network rollout because it is Chinese, saying the problem it faced was a technological one.

Wellington also dismissed suggestions its intelligence services came under pressure from allies in the "Five Eyes" spy network to bar Huawei amid fears about cybersecurity and its potential links to Beijing.

"It's not about the country, it's not even particularly about the company, it's about the technology that is proposed," Andrew Little, minister for the Government Communications Security Bureau (GCSB) intelligence agency, told national radio.

"I can say with considerable confidence that there's been no representations made to the GCSB from Australia, from the United States, from anywhere, about how it should go about making its decision."

New Zealand's largest carrier Spark said Wednesday that the GCSB had rejected a plan to use Huawei technology in its next-generation 5G network, citing "significant national security risks".

China -- New Zealand's largest trading partner in a relationship worth NZ$26 billion (US$18 billion) annually -- expressed "deep concern" over the ban.

The two nations have a free-trade agreement and China's foreign ministry said it hoped "New Zealand will offer a level playing field for Chinese enterprises operating in New Zealand".

Huawei's founder, Ren Zhengfei, is a former engineer in China's People's Liberation Army and this has led to concerns of close links with the Chinese military and government, which Huawei has consistently denied.

Little refused to outline the security threat Spark's plan posed, saying only that "there is a risk with the use of that technology", but details were classified.

He said the GCSB considered a range of factors when making its decision.

"We know that telecommunications networks, like other infrastructure, are now points of vulnerability worldwide for incursion, cyber-attacks and what have you," he said.

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"So in this day and age, we've got to make sure everything is done to protect our country from those risks."

Little insisted Huawei did not face an outright ban, saying Spark had the option of approaching the GCSB to see if there were ways to reduce the security risks.

5G or fifth-generation wireless communication offers super-fast connections that promise the ability to download a full-length feature film in less than a second.

It is seen as the key to delivering new technologies such as driverless cars and remote surgical procedures.

US lawmakers have expressed concerns about Huawei's potential for espionage and The Wall Street Journal reported last week that Washington was urging its allies to exclude it from 5G rollouts.

Australia banned Huawei and another Chinese firm ZTE from participating in its 5G network in August. The other members of the "Five Eyes" intelligence-sharing group are Canada and the UK.
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LASHKAR GAH, Afghanistan -- Officials and residents in the restive southern Afghan province of Helmand say scores of civilians have been killed in air strikes.

Ahmadullah, who goes by one name only, says aircraft began to circle over their village, Zanzeri Drab, in Helmands rural Gramsir district late on November 27.

First the helicopters arrived, and they began circulating overhead. Then the jet aircraft targeted one of the houses in the village, he told Radio Free Afghanistan on November 28.

Some 30 members of one family were killed in the bombing, he said while accompanying a teenage victim of the bombing in a hospital in the provincial capital, Lashkar Gah. The bombing wiped out the entire family, and this child is the only survivor. He was visiting his maternal uncles that day.

Ahmadullah says the victims included children as young as three months old and many women. Three men were killed, but they were farmers and were not involved in militancy, he said.

Another resident, Feda Mohammad, was quoted by Reuters as saying some victims were still buried in the rubble of the compound. "The area is under the control of the Taliban, but all of the victims of last night's bombing are civilians," he said.

NATO-led forces in Afghanistan said Afghan government troops and their U.S. advisers called an air strike after coming under fire from Taliban fighters in a compound in Garmsir.

"At the time of the strike, the ground force was unaware of any civilians in or around the compound; they only knew that the Taliban was using the building as a fighting position," said a statement by the NATO forces. "We investigate every credible allegation of error and review every mission to learn, adapt, and improve."

Mohammad Yasin Khan, the governor of Helmand, says forces called in air strikes as they battled the insurgents.

The enemy wanted to attack our forces while one of their commanders was trying to escape in his car, he told journalists on November 28. An air strike targeted his vehicle; it also damaged some houses. We have learned that some civilians have been killed and injured alongside the enemy fighters, but we still dont know their exact numbers.

A purported Taliban spokesman, however, claimed that all the victims of the air strike were civilians and none of their fighters died in the bombing.

The casualties are the latest among a rising death toll by air strikes. In a report last month, the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) said air strikes by Afghan and U.S. forces caused 313 deaths and 336 injuries from January to the end of September this year. This number was already the highest in any year since 2009.

Overall, UNAMA found that 2,798 civilians were killed and 5,252 were wounded during the same period. It holds the insurgents responsible for most deaths.

Mounting civilian casualties highlight the increasing severity of the Afghan war as Washington and Kabul push for negotiations with the Taliban.

The number of bombs, missiles, and other weapons also indicates an intensifying air war in the country. U.S. aircraft had released 5,213 weapons by the end of September, according to the U.S. military. This number is up from 4,361 for all of 2017 and the highest number since 2011.

Radio Free Afghanistan correspondent Mohammad Ilyas Dayee contributed reporting from Lashkar Gah Afghanistan. With reporting by Reuters and AP.
BRUSSELS -- A senior U.S. diplomat has called on the Taliban to seize a "moment of opportunity" to open formal peace talks with the Western-backed Afghan government and negotiate an end to the 17-year conflict.

Alice Wells, the U.S. principal deputy assistant secretary of state in charge of South and Central Asian affairs, told RFE/RL that the "door had opened" for a possible peace settlement with the Taliban following President Ashraf Ghani's offer of unconditional talks in February and an unprecedented cease-fire in June.

"The Afghan government is ready," Wells told RFE/RL on November 29 in Brussels, a day after she attended a UN-sponsored two-day conference on Afghanistan in Geneva. "The Afghan people, and by that I mean the Taliban also, are ready. It's a question of whether the Taliban leadership is prepared to take up this offer."

Zalmay Khalilzad, an Afghan-born former U.S. ambassador to Kabul and Iraq, was appointed in September to the U.S. State Department team that is leading the reconciliation effort and peace talks with the Taliban.

Khalilzad, who has held several rounds of preliminary talks with Taliban officials in Qatar, told reporters in Kabul this month that he was optimistic a peace deal with the militants could be reached before the presidential election in Afghanistan in April 2019.

'Moment Of Opportunity'

Wells, who met with Taliban representatives in Qatar in July, said there was no deadline but "there is a sense of urgency because we think this is a moment of opportunity."

Ghani, speaking in Geneva on November 28, said his government had formed a 12-strong team to negotiate peace with the Taliban, but he warned that any deal must fulfill certain conditions, including respecting the constitutional rights of women.

In February, Ghani offered to allow the Taliban to establish itself as a political party and said he would work to remove sanctions on the militant group, among other incentives, if it joined the government in peace negotiations. In return, the militants would have to recognize the Kabul government and respect the rule of law.

The Taliban has refused to deal directly with Kabul, saying they would negotiate only with the United States. The militants have also said NATO forces must withdraw from Afghanistan before negotiations can begin.

Wells said the militants were "suffering enormous casualties" and "there's war fatigue among the Taliban."

In June, the government and Taliban declared a three-day cease-fire coinciding with the Eid al-Fitr holiday, the first ever cessation of hostilities between the warring sides.

Wells said the cease-fire demonstrated that the sides want to "find a way to live in peace."

"They've always said publicly that they seek peace and they don't seek to dominate Afghanistan as they did in leading up to 2001," said Wells, referring to the Taliban, who were in power from 1996 until the U.S.-led invasion in 2001. "Let's test that proposition about whether or not they're prepared to actually sit and negotiate a political solution."

Efforts to open peace talks with the Taliban come as Afghan security forces struggle to fend off attacks from the militants, who control more territory than at any time since 2001.

Afghan forces are suffering record casualties, with Ghani saying that nearly 29,000 Afghan police and soldiers have been killed in the country since the start of 2015 when Afghan troops took over primary responsibility for security.

During the same period, 58 American had been killed, he said.

With reporting by RFE/RL correspondent Rikard Jozwiak in Brussels
Kroger grocery distribution centers in Fountain and Aurora employing 747 people will shift to a new operator, which will offer jobs to all workers, the new owner said Thursday.

Advantage Logistics USA West, owned by wholesale grocery giant Supervalu, notified the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment that it will close the distribution centers by mid-February.

But Windigo Logistics is expected to begin operations at the same facility on or soon after Feb. 3, the notice said.

Windigo has offered jobs to many current Advantage Logistics (Supervalu subsidiary) employees who, assuming they accept, will continue working at the facility, according to the notice.

Windigo intends to hire all employees at both centers, said company owner Greg Heying. He said Kroger, which owns the centers, approached him this year about forming a company to take over operation of the centers.

He reached a deal with Kroger a week before Providence, R.I.-based United Natural Foods, a major distributor to Whole Foods, agreed to buy SuperValu for $2.9 billion.

That transaction was completed late last month.

Kroger decided to change partners for the management of these centers, and they approached me about setting up a new company to take over the centers, Heying said.

Heying is a former longtime Supervalu distribution executive who started Advantage in 2004 to manage the centers for Kroger.

He retired as senior vice president-distribution in 2010 after 34 years with Supervalu and since then has operated a consulting company in Minneapolis for distribution strategy and operations.

Windigo will take over operation of the two distribution centers from Advantage on Feb. 2, Heying said. The 363,000-square-foot Fountain center distributes candy, health and beauty products, natural foods, cigarettes and other tobacco products to 329 City Market, King Soopers and Kroger stores in Colorado and five other states.

Teamsters Local 455 in Denver is negotiating with Windigo so it will assume Supervalus union contract, which was reached in 2016 after a 10-day strike, said union secretary-treasurer Steven Vairma.
An Iraqi refugee appears headed for trial in an Aug. 2 shooting that gravely wounded a Colorado Springs police officer.

A court-appointed attorney for Karrar Al Khammasi pleaded not guilty on his behalf, and a judge set a May 13 trial.

The defendant, who is accused of shooting officer Cem Duzel in the head, refused to come to previous court hearings, and although he was present in court on Friday, he seemed to continue his defiance.

Flanked by a half-dozen deputies, with the lower part of his face covered in a spit guard, Al Khammasi twice interrupted proceedings through his Arabic interpreter, asking the court to appoint him a new attorney and a new interpreter through the Iraqi embassy.

Fourth Judicial District Senior Judge Gilbert Martinez denied his requests, ordering that he continue to be represented by two Colorado Springs public defenders. Al Khammasi is charged with attempted murder of a police officer, assault with a deadly weapon, felony menacing and illegal possession of a weapon.

Duzel remains in rehabilitation at Craig Hospital in Englewood, which specializes in treating brain trauma, prosecutors said.

The five-year police veteran was responding to a call of shots fired near the U.S. Olympic Training Center when he was wounded in a gunbattle with Al Khammasi, according to the El Paso County Sheriffs Office, which is investigating the case.

Duzels brush with death came six months after El Paso County sheriffs Deputy Micah Flick was fatally shot while investigating a car theft ring in Colorado Springs.

Al Khammasi is an Iraqi refugee who appears to have lived in the Pikes Peak region for five years and had at least nine contacts with police.

Immigration officials sought to deport him in 2016 after Al Khammasi pleaded guilty to felony trespassing, but his removal was canceled after a 10th Circuit Court of Appeals decision invalidated the grounds for his deportation.

The federal appeals court found that how the government defines an aggravated felony  a deportable offense  was unconstitutionally vague, The Gazette previously reported.

According to witnesses, the shooting happened shortly after an Uber driver kicked him out of her car for being touchy, according to a September hearing.

Al Khammasi was also wounded in the gunfire exchange. Authorities say he threatened to kill some of the law enforcement officers who guarded him at the hospital, where he allegedly said that shooting cops was what I do.

The defendant remains at the El Paso County jail on a $1 million bond. He is next due in court on March 8.

Liz Forster contributed to this report.
An El Paso County speech pathologist drained nearly $1.3 million from Medicaid under a six-year scheme in which she billed the state for phony patients and exaggerated the services she provided.

Tara L. Rose, 46, owner of Beyond Words, pleaded guilty Nov. 15 to two counts of theft, both felonies, court records show.

She was ordered by 4th Judicial District Judge Robert L. Lowrey to serve eight years in a community-based prison alternative and 10 years on probation. She must also pay $1.28 million in restitution.

Rose was arrested last May after authorities unraveled fraudulent billing practices beginning in 2011.

Fraud investigators with the Colorado Department of Health Care Policy and Financing determined that nearly 65 percent of the $1.9 million in funds that Rose received from the Medicaid program, purportedly for treating minors, was based on deceptive and fraudulent billing claims.

Medicaid fraud steals from Colorado taxpayers and diverts limited health care resources from the most vulnerable citizens of our state, Colorado Attorney General Cynthia Coffman said in a statement Thursday.

Coffman credited the help of state and federal grants that assist the Attorney Generals Office with prosecuting Medicaid fraud as well as abuse, neglect and exploitation of patients at facilities that receive Medicaid funding.

Reports of Medicaid fraud may be made online at the state Attorney Generals website, https://coag.gov/Report_Medicaid_Fraud.

Send emails to mfcu.investigations@coag.gov or call (720) 508-6696.
Thomas Farr is sworn in during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on his nomination to be a District Judge on the United States District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina, on Capitol Hill in Washington in September 2017.
President Donald Trump, center, shakes hands with Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau as Mexico's President Enrique Pena Nieto looks on after they signed a new United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement that is replacing the NAFTA trade deal, during a ceremony at a hotel before the start of the G20 summit in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Friday, Nov. 30, 2018. The USMCA, as Trump refers to it, must still be approved by lawmakers in all three countries. (AP Photo/Martin Mejia)
English Estonian

MANAGEMENT REPORT

SKANO GROUP AS UNAUDITED THIRD QUARTER 2018 RESULTS

Consolidated net sales for Q3 2018 were  3.71 million, being a 9% decrease compared to the same period in 2017. The decline in sales of fibreboards was mainly caused by reduced demand for single family dwellings in Fibreboards largest market, Finland. Sales to customers in our other markets showed a slight increase. Furniture wholesale sales were negatively impacted due to weak performance by three of the four key furniture customers. We are working to secure more customers. Furniture retail sales also showed contraction, mainly due to the temporary closure of our best performing shop for total refurbishment caused by the introduction of Skanos new retail concept.

Skano Group recorded EBITDA of positive  46 thousand for Q3 2018 (vs  292 thousand Q3 2017). Total furniture profitability was in line with Q3 2017 profitability, while Fibreboard profitability was substantially reduced due to the higher cost of its main raw material, woodchips. We are now in the process of passing on this cost increase to our customers. Net loss for Q3 2018 was  211 thousand (Q3 2017: profit of  14 thousand).

DIVISIONAL REVIEW OF THIRD QUARTER 2018

Fibreboard sales in Q3 2018 were  2.92 million, which is 8% less than same period in 2017. We sold our products to customers in 29 countries. The sales decline in Finland outweighed the growth from the other countries, thus resulting in sales decline for Q3. Market statistics from AC Nielsen shows us having a steady market share of about 72% in the Finnish fibreboard market, thus the sales decline is due to a change in the housing industry in Finland with consumers moving into cities to live in apartments, instead of following the traditional way of building their own houses. Gross margin in Fibreboard were negatively impacted by the higher woodchip prices. Overhead costs were reduced, thus softening the negative impact on EBITDA, which ended up being  141 thousand for Q3 2018 (Q3 2017 EBITDA was  374 thousand).

Furniture wholesale sales in Q3 2018 were  630 thousand, 12% down on same period last year. Total sales to our two main markets, Russia and Finland, were  402 thousand (down  91 thousand from Q3 2017). Sales to Skanos own retail chain increased by 12% up to  177 thousand compared to same period last year (Q3 2017:  158 thousand). EBITDA for furniture wholesale for Q3 2018 was negative  31 thousand (Q3 2017 EBITDA was negative  74 thousand), reflecting the increased profitability achieved by ending our own kiln operations last Spring and instead now sourcing dried and cut material.

Furniture retail sales in Q3 2018 were  333 thousand, down 11% ( 41 thousand) from same period last year. Shops in all three Baltic markets experienced sales slowdown, and especially our best-selling shop in Tallinn which was temporarily closed due to extensive refurbishing as a result of introducing Skanos new retail concept. EBITDA for furniture retail for Q3 2018 was negative  50 thousand (Q3 2017 EBITDA was negative  3 thousand), reflecting the weak sales in Q3.

Total Furniture operations of Skano (wholesale and retail) EBITDA for 2018 third quarter were negative  81 thousand (Q3 2017 EBITDA was negative  77 thousand).

BALANCE SHEET

As of 30.09.2018 the total assets of Skano Group AS were  11.0 million (30.09.2017:  11.9 million). The liabilities of the company as of 30.09.2018 were  7.7 million (30.09.2017:  7.9 million), of which Skano has borrowings of  4.9 million as at 30.09.2018 (30.09.2017:  5.3 million).

Receivables and prepayments amounted to  1.6 million as at 30.09.2018 (30.09.2017:  1.8 million). Inventories were  2.4 million as of 30.09.2018 (30.09.2017:  2.5 million). Property, plant and intangibles were  7.0 million as of 30.09.2018 ( 7.3 million as of 30.09.2017).

OUTLOOK

In Fibreboard, we are pushing for sales of our various applications which have more global reach than our traditional sales of windboards and insulation boards sold mainly in our traditional markets of Finland, Russia and Estonia. We are in process of implementing the annual price increases, thus aiming to alleviate the negative impact experienced from the higher cost of woodchips, our main raw material. Our marketing activities are focusing on the positive aspects of using our boards, made from fresh woodchips from spruce, compared to competing synthetic materials.

In Furniture, we expect improved retail performance with the introduction of the new shop concept. This has been rolled out in our best-selling shop in Tallinn as well as in our newly opened shop in the Decco centre in Riga and will next be rolled out in our Vilnius and Tartu shops. We are exiting our other Riga shop end of November, and also look to divest of our second shop in Tallinn due to its poor profitability. In wholesale we are in negotiations to take over certain European customers from our Finnish distributor, which should help expand our customer base and have potential to secure more sales of our furniture.

DIVISIONAL REVIEW

REVENUE BY BUSINESS SEGMENTS

 thousand  thousand Q3 2018 Q3 2017 9M 2018 9M 2017 Fibreboards production and sales 2,924 3,172 8,603 9,285 Furniture production and sales 630 715 2,207 2,591 Furniture retail 333 374 1,095 1,445 incl. furniture retail Ukraine 0 0 0 64 Group transactions (177) (176) (537) (748) TOTAL 3,709 4,085 11,369 12,572

PROFIT BY BUSINESS SEGMENTS



 thousand Q3 2018 Q3 2017 9M 2018 9M 2017 EBITDA by business units: Fibreboards production and sales 141 374 349 874 Furniture production and wholesale (31) (74) 15 (5) Furniture retail (50) (3) (80) 100 incl. furniture retail Ukraine 0 0 0 1 Group transactions (14) (5) (22) (17) TOTAL EBITDA 46 292 261 952 Depreciation 181 208 554 625 TOTAL OPERATING PROFIT/ LOSS (135) 84 (294) 328 Net financial costs 77 70 212 211 Income tax 0 0 0 0 NET PROFIT/ LOSS (211) 14 (505) 117



FIBREBOARD SALES



The total sales of fibreboards for Q3 2018 were  2.92 million, which are 8% down from Q3 2017 sales level ( 3.17 million). We recorded solid sales increase in markets such as Portugal, Asia and Middle-East while sales were dropping in Finland and South Africa.

FIBREBOARD SALES BY GEOGRAPHICAL SEGMENTS

 thousand  thousand Q3 2018 Q3 2017 9M 2018 9M 2017 European Union 2,093 2,202 6,455 6,911 Russia 448 554 1,169 1,173 Asia 128 50 318 223 Middle East 74 94 248 204 Africa 62 201 137 564 Other 118 70 276 209 TOTAL 2,923 3,172 8,603 9,284

FURNITURE WHOLESALE SALES

Sales dropped to  630 thousand in Q3 2018, down from  715 thousand in Q3 2017. Russian consumer confidence is still negatively influenced by the sanctions imposed on Russia while in Finland our exclusive distributor is continuing with their restructuring. Skanos retail shops in the Baltics recovered slightly from a very weak 1st half of year, with more sales compared to Q3 2017.



FURNITURE WHOLESALE SALES BY COUNTRIES

 thousand  thousand Q3 2018 Q3 2017 9M 2018 9M 2017 Russia 254 280 892 915 Finland 148 213 596 795 Skano Retail 177 158 530 665 Other countries 51 65 189 216 TOTAL 630 715 2,207 2,591

FURNITURE RETAIL SALES



Skano Group retail business recorded sales of  333 thousand in Q3 2018, which is 11% decline from Q3 2017. We started work in Q3 by introducing a more modern retail concept which provides furniture solutions for a familys total living space, thus widening our furniture appeal from the historical more narrow focus on mainly bookshelves. The new retail concept was rolled out in our main Tallinn shop end of August, which meant closure of the shop for most of August due to the required refurbishment of the shop. The implementation of the new retail concept took place in our new shop in Decco centre in Riga, opened late October, and will be rolled out in our Vilnius and Tartu shops early next year. We will close our shop in the Spice centre in Riga end of November, and we are also seeking to exit our second Tallinn shop.

RETAIL SALES BY COUNTRIES

 thousand  thousand Number of stores Q3 2018 Q3 2017 9M 2018 9M 2017 30.09.2018 30.09.2017 Estonia 234 250 603 815 4 4 Latvia 56 59 250 317 1 1 Lithuania 43 65 242 248 1 1 Ukraine* 0 0 0 64 0 0 TOTAL 333 374 1,095 1,445 6 6

*Ukraine retail operations divested in March 2017.



PEOPLE

On the 30th of September 2018, the Group employed 213 people (compared to 226 people as of 30.09.2017). The average number of personnel in Q3 2018 was 213 (Q3 2017: 231).

During first nine months of 2018, wages and salaries with taxes amounted to  2.7 million (first nine months 2017:  2.9 million). Payments made to management board members of all group companies including all subsidiaries with relevant taxes were  136 thousand in nine months 2018 and  152 thousand in nine months 2017.

FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS

 thousand Income statement Q3 2018 Q3 2017 9M 2018 9M 2017 Revenue 3,709 4,085 11,369 12,572 EBITDA 46 292 261 952 EBITDA margin 1% 7% 2% 8% Operating profit (135) 84 (294) 328 Operating margin (4%) 2% (3%) 3% Net profit (211) 14 (505) 117 Net margin (6%) 0% (4%) 1% Statement of financial position 30.09.2018 31.12.2017 30.09.2017 31.12.2016 Total assets 11,012 10,937 11,917 11,965 Return on assets (2%) 0% (4%) 1% Equity 3,277 3,753 3,978 3,901 Return on equity (6%) 0% (13%) 3% Debt-to-equity ratio 70% 66% 67% 67% Share 30.09.2018 31.12.2017 30.09.2017 31.12.2016 Last Price* 0.49 0.62 0.56 0.46 Earnings per share (0,05) 0,00 (0,11) 0,03 Price-earnings ratio (10.35) 195.86 (4.94) 17.54 Book value of a share 0.73 0.83 0.88 0.87 Market to book ratio 0.67 0.74 0.63 0.52 Market capitalization,  thousand 2,187 2,771 2,497 2,047 Number of shares, piece 4,499,061 4,499,061 4,499,061 4,499,061





EBITDA = Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization

EBITDA margin = EBITDA / Revenue

Operating margin = Operating profit / Revenue

Net margin = Net profit / Revenue

Return on assets = Net profit / Total assets

Return on equity = Net profit / Equity

Debt-to-equity ratio = Liabilities / Total assets

Earnings per share = Net profit / Total shares

Price-earnings ratio = Last price / Earnings per share

Book value of a share = Equity / Total shares

Market to book ratio = Last price / Book value of a share

Market capitalization = Last price * Total shares

* http://www.nasdaqbaltic.com/

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL POSITIONS

 thousand 30.09.2018 31.12.2017 30.09.2017 Cash and cash equivalents (Note 2) 42 74 312 Receivables and prepayments (Note 3) 1,611 1,215 1,773 Inventories (Note 4) 2,409 2,336 2,554 Total current assets 4,062 3,624 4,640 Investment property (Note 5) 170 170 170 Available-for-sale financial assets (Note 8) 351 182 0 Other shares and issues 0 6 0 Property, plant and equipment (Note 6) 6,391 6,908 7,055 Intangible assets (Note 7) 38 47 52 Total non-current assets 6,950 7,313 7,277 TOTAL ASSETS 11,012 10,937 11,917 Borrowings (Notes 9) 464 593 708 Payables and prepayments (Notes 10) 2,647 1,956 2,400 Short-term provisions (Note 11) 2 13 5 Total current liabilities 3,114 2,562 3,113 Long-term borrowings (Notes 9) 4,421 4,422 4,613 Long-term provisions (Note 11) 200 200 213 Total non-current liabilities 4,621 4,622 4,826 Total liabilities 7,735 7,184 7,939 Share capital (at nominal value) (Note 12) 2,699 2,699 2,699 Share premium 364 364 364 Statutory reserve capital 288 288 288 Other reserves (Notes 8; 12) 38 9 2 Unrealised currency differences 0 0 0 Retained earnings (loss) (112) 393 624 Total equity (Note 13) 3,277 3,753 3,978 TOTAL LIABILITIES AND EQUITY 11,012 10,937 11,917





CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF PROFIT OR LOSS AND OTHER COMPREHENSIVE INCOME

 thousand Q3 2018 Q3 2017 9M 2018 9M 2017 Revenue (Note 14) 3,709 4,085 11,369 12,572 Cost of goods sold (Note 15) 3,206 3,457 9,683 10,100 Gross profit 503 628 1,686 2,472 Distribution costs (Note 16) 479 501 1,460 1,574 Administrative expenses (Note 17) 150 110 444 531 Other operating income (Note 19) 2 187 13 238 Other operating expenses (Note 19) 10 121 89 278 Operating profit (loss) (Note 11) (135) 84 (294) 328 Finance income (Note 20) 0 (0) 1 4 Finance costs (Note 20) 77 70 212 215 LOSS BEFORE INCOME TAX (211) 14 (505) 117 Corporate income tax 0 0 0 0 NET LOSS FOR THE FINANCIAL YEAR (211) 14 (505) 117 Other comprehensive income (loss) 0 0 0 (40) Currency translation differences 0 0 0 (40) TOTAL COMPREHENSIVE LOSS FOR THE FINANCIAL YEAR (211) 14 (505) 77 Basic earnings per share (Note 13) (0,05) 0,00 (0,11) 0,03 Diluted earnings per share (Note 13) (0,05) 0,00 (0,11) 0,02





Torfinn Losvik

Member of the Management Board

+372 569 90 988

torfinn.losvik@skanogroup.com

Attachment
Strategic Expansion to Tap Increasing Demand and Drive Future Growth Provides Sustainable Energy and Clean Technology to Complement Usage of Natural Gas

Aspires to Become an Integrated Smart Energy Provider in China

HONG KONG, Nov. 29, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Changfeng Energy Inc. (TSXV: CFY) (Changfeng or the Company, together with its subsidiaries, the Group), an energy provider in the Peoples Republic of China (the PRC), announces today its results for the nine months ended September 30, 2018 (the Period).

For the Period, the Group recorded revenue of RMB290.6 million or CAD57.5 million (same period 2017: RMB266.3 million or CAD51.1 million), up 9% period-on-period (PoP). Gross profit recorded was RMB119.6 million or CAD23.7 million (same period 2017: RMB126.0 million or CAD24.2 million). Profit from continuing operations was RMB40.0 million or CAD7.9 million (same period 2017: RMB35.7 million or CAD6.9 million), increased by 12% PoP. Basic earnings per share from continuing operations was RMB0.62 or CAD0.12 (same period 2017: RMB0.54 or CAD0.10).

In Guangdong Province, Changfeng completed construction of a 2.0-kilometer pipeline connecting the provincial natural gas trunk lines to the Gaoyao Combined Heat, Power and Cold Natural Gas Power Plant (the Datang Gaoyao Plant) owned by Guangdong Datang International Zhaoqing Heat & Power Co., Ltd. (Guangdong Datang). On November 14, 2018, Guangdong Datang began a successful trial operation to transport natural gas through the Changfeng pipeline to the Datang Gaoyao Plant. Changfeng is currently in negotiations with Guangdong Datang and Guangdong Grid on a definitive agreement to provide gas transmission service to the Datang Gaoyao Plant and expects to execute the definitive agreement in the near term.

The recent trial run of a liquefied natural gas (LNG) shipment from Canada to the PRC using ISO-containers was successfully completed. The LNG shipment arrived in Shanghai on 8 November 2018, and was sent onward to Hebei. Unlike the market price of pipeline gas, which is regulated by the PRC government, LNG prices are relatively deregulated and market-oriented. Accordingly, as management has observed that in the winter months, due to higher demand for natural gas required for heating in the PRC, the available supply of natural gas may be lower and trucked LNG prices may increase, there is an opportunity for the Company to increase its supply of LNG to customers at higher prices in the winter months. The trial shipment signifies a move to strategically position the Company to seize such opportunities and to tap the potential synergy of Sino-Canadian energy trading and the natural gas supply business.

Mr. Huajun Lin, Chairman, President and CEO of Changfeng, who has over 20 years of experience in the natural gas industry, said: We are very pleased to see our pipeline in trial operation, the successful LNG shipment from Canada to the PRC and the signing of the agreement to jointly of the integrated district energy distribution project in the New Economic Development Zone of Meishan City, Sichuan Province, the PRC, a hub for manufacturers of drugs, health supplements, medical equipment, and other medical related supplies. With the PRC government pressing ahead with reforming the countrys energy structure, shifting away from a coal-based economy, we expect demand for natural gas as a clean energy source to remain strong. The Group is reaching another major milestone on the path of becoming an integrated smart energy provider in China with provision of sustainable energy and clean technology to complement the usage of natural gas.

Business Review

This is the second year of Changfengs three-year plan to strategically shift its corporate focus to sustainable energy in combination with natural gas to realize its aspiration of becoming an integrated energy provider in the PRC.

Projects in Operation

Currently, Changfeng has seven projects in operation: two pipeline natural gas distribution projects, three LNG supply distribution projects, and two compressed natural gas (CNG) vehicle refueling stations. Changfeng has a 30-year exclusive concession right to distribute natural gas in Sanya City and supply natural gas to factories in Hebei and Hainan Province.

Projects under Development

Major projects under development include an integrated smart energy project (the Haitang Bay Integrated Smart Energy Project) which combines usage of multiple clean energy sources, including solar, hydro, electricity, and natural gas (CCHP/Co-Gen), to supply cooling, heating, as well as hot water to hotels, shopping centers, and households in the Haitang Bay area of Sanya City, Hainan Province. The Group has a 30-year concession right to build, own and operate four energy-processing stations in the Haitang Bay area of Sanya City, Hainan Province.

Prospects and Strategic Focus

The Chinese economy is moving away from coal dependency. To capitalize on opportunities the Company sees in the Chinese energy sector, Changfeng looks to integrated smart energy and clean technology to complement the usage of natural gas. Changfeng will continue to provide natural gas to its customers, which is a cleaner alternative to coal. Building on the successful trial shipment of LNG to Hebei in November this year, Changfeng will seek to broaden its LNG supply base outside of the PRC to meet increasing demand for natural gas.

For the rest of 2018, Changfeng will continue to implement its long-term growth strategy which involves the proposed Guangdong Grid pipeline gas project in Western Guangdong Province, development of the Haitang Bay Integrated Smart Energy Project with EDF Group in Sanya City, with commercial operation expected by early 2019, and commencing development of the newly acquired Meishan Project. In addition, the Group will continue to work on preparing its Hong Kong IPO and targeting a listing on The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited in the first half of 2019.

Mr. Lin concluded: Since its inception over 20 years ago, Changfeng has strived to provide natural gas, a cleaner alternative to coal, to customers. We believe smart energy is on a strong growth trend in China and is loaded with development potential and opportunities. On top of helping address the strong demand for natural gas in the region, we see our strategic development efforts opening to us opportunities in the China market at large. Changfeng will continue to adhere to its development strategies and draw from its abundant experience in operating its advanced business model to provide cleaner energy, as well as generate the highest returns for shareholders.

About Changfeng Energy Inc. (Toronto listed symbol: TSXV:CFY)

Changfeng Energy Inc. is a Canadian public company currently traded on the Toronto Venture Exchange (TSX-V) under the stock symbol CFY. It is an integrated energy provider and natural gas distribution company (or natural gas utility) in the PRC. Changfeng strives to combine leading clean energy technology with natural gas usage to provide sustainable energy to its customer base in the PRC. In 2009, Changfeng was recognized as being one of Chinas the Top Ten Most Influential Brands in the Natural Gas Industry. For details of Changfeng, please visit: www.changfengenergy.com .

Forward-Looking Statements

Certain statements contained in this news release constitute forward-looking statements and forward-looking information (collectively, Forward-Looking Statements). All statements, other than statements of historical fact, included or incorporated by reference in this document are Forward-Looking Statements, including statements regarding activities, events or developments that the Company expects or anticipates may occur in the future, the execution of a definitive agreement with Guangdong Datang and Guangdong Grid in the near term, statements regarding the PRC governments energy reform policies, the decreased supply, higher demand and increased prices for natural gas in the winter months, opportunities in respect of LNG supply, including importing LNG from Canada, the strategic positioning of the Company to seize opportunities for LNG supply, the expectation that demand for natural gas will remain strong, the movement of the Chinese economy away from coal, opportunities in the Chinese energy sector, the Companys long-term growth strategy, the timing for the Hong Kong IPO and listing of the Companys shares on The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited and the strong growth trend for smart energy in China. These Forward-Looking statements can be identified by the use of forward-looking words such as will, expect, intend, plan, estimate, anticipate, believe or continue or similar words or the negative thereof. No assurance can be given that the plans, intentions or expectations or assumptions upon which these Forward-Looking Statements are based will prove to be correct and such Forward-Looking Statements included in this news release should not be unduly relied upon.

Although management believes that the expectations represented in such Forward-Looking Statements are reasonable, there can be no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct. Such Forward-Looking Statements are not a guarantee of performance and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties, assumptions and other factors that may cause the actual results, performance or achievements to differ materially from the anticipated results, performance or achievements or developments expressed or implied by such Forward-Looking Statements. These factors include, without limitation, no significant and continuing adverse changes in general economic conditions or conditions in the financial markets, no changes in PRC energy policies that currently support clean energy, the availability of LNG sources at reasonable prices to the Company, and no inability for the Company to meet the listing rules of The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited or to complete an initial public offering in Hong Kong. Readers are cautioned that all Forward-Looking Statements involve risks and uncertainties, including those risks and uncertainties detailed in the Companys filings with applicable Canadian securities regulatory authorities, copies of which are available at www.sedar.com. The Company urges readers to carefully consider those factors.

The Forward-Looking Statements included in this news release are made as of the date of this document and the Company disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any Forward-Looking Statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as expressly required by applicable securities legislation. This news release does not constitute an offer to sell or solicitation of an offer to buy any of the securities described herein and accordingly undue reliance should not be put on such.

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.

CONTACT INFORMATION

Corporate Investment Relations

Investor.relations@changfengenergy.cn

Ann Siyin Lin VP, Corporate Development

ann.lin@changfengenergy.cn

Tele-conference

Date: Wednesday, December 5, 2018

Time: 10:00am (ET); 11:00pm (Beijing)

Topic: Changfeng Energy Inc. 2018 Third Quarter Results

Dial-in: North America: (+1) 416 764 8609

North American Toll Free: (+1) 888 390 0605

China North: 108007141938

China South: 108001401973

International Hong Kong: 800962712
VANCOUVER, B.C. and KNOXVILLE, Tenn., Nov. 29, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Solar Alliance Energy Inc. (Solar Alliance or the Company) (TSX-V: SOLR) is pleased to announce it has received TSX Venture Exchange approval to close an agreement with NuYen Blockchain Inc. (NuYen), announced on November 12, 2018, for the development of the Companys cryptocurrency mining facility in Murphysboro, Illinois.



The agreement with NuYen is a joint venture with the Company pursuant to which the Company transferred the Murphysboro Facility to NuYen in exchange for NuYen reimbursing the Company US$40,000 representing the costs incurred by the Company to date. The Company retains a 2% net profits interest royalty in any blockchain mining operations conducted at the Murphysboro Facility payable to the Company quarterly. NuYen will upgrade the warehouse at its own cost for tenancy and undertake to contract the Company to fund the cost to construct and install a 1 MW solar project at the Murphysboro Facility at an agreed upon mark-up to cost. The Company will have the right of first offer to bid on an additional 4 MW solar expansion and battery storage when the Murphysboro Facility is expanded.

Jason Bak, Chairman and CEO

For more information:

Solar Alliance Investor Relations

Jason Bak, CEO

(604) 2889051

jbak@solaralliance.com







About Solar Alliance Energy Inc. ( www.solaralliance.com )

Solar Alliance is an international energy solutions provider focused on residential, commercial and industrial solar installations. The Company operates in California, Tennessee, North/South Carolina and Kentucky and has an expanding pipeline of solar projects. Since it was founded in 2003, the Company has developed wind and solar projects that provide enough electricity to power 150,000 homes. Our passion is improving life through ingenuity, simplicity and freedom of choice. Solar Alliance reduces or eliminates customers' vulnerability to rising energy costs, offers an environmentally-friendly source of electricity generation, and provides affordable, turnkey clean energy solutions.

Statements in this news release, other than purely historical information, including statements relating to the Company's future plans and objectives or expected results, constitute Forward-looking statements. The words would, will, expected and estimated or other similar words and phrases are intended to identify forward-looking information. Forward-looking information is subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the Companys actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements to be materially different than those expressed or implied by such forward-looking information. Such factors include but are not limited to: uncertainties related to the ability to raise sufficient capital, changes in economic conditions or financial markets, litigation, legislative or other judicial, regulatory and political competitive developments and technological or operational difficulties. Consequently, actual results may vary materially from those described in the forward-looking statements.

Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release."




TORONTO, Nov. 29, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Khiron Life Sciences Corp. (Khiron or the Company) (TSXV: KHRN) (OTCQB: KHRNF) (Frankfurt: A2JMZC), an integrated medical cannabis company with its core operations in Colombia, announced today its financial results for the third quarter ended September 30, 2018. These filings are available for review on the Companys SEDAR profile at www.sedar.com



Key operational highlights for the quarter include:

Appointed Mr. Vicente Fox to the Khiron Board of Directors. Mr. Fox is the former CEO of Coca Cola Mexico, former President of Mexico and a significant advocate for the legalization of cannabis in Mexico.

Commercialized seven wellness products in Colombia with authorization from Colombias National Food and Drug Surveillance Institute (INVIMA) for production and sale. Export authorization received for four cannabidiol based products for skin and body care in Peru.

Expanded agricultural land from 4.5 hectares to 17.5 hectares in Ibague, Colombia.

Announced and closed a prospectus offering, resulting in gross proceeds of $12,937,500 and the issuance of 14,375,000 common shares.

Started Agronomical Evaluation Tests by the Colombian Agriculture Institute (ICA) for the registration of five different varieties of cannabis, of which four were psychoactive in nature with the remaining being non-psychoactive. The company currently has approximately 56 strains involved in the registration process.

Entered Chilean market through a memorandum of understanding with Fundacion Daya, the only medical cannabis license holder in Chile. The license is held through DayaCann, a joint venture between Fundacion Daya and AusCann Group Holding Ltd.

Launched Kuida, the first CBD cosmeceutical brand in Colombia. Along with the formation of Khirons wellness business unit, the Kuida brand was Introduced to industry leaders, media, and beauty care influencers. Subsequent to the quarter, Khiron recognized first sales in October 2018.

Key operational highlights subsequent to the quarter include:



Recognized first sales in October 2018 with the commercialization of Kuida. Brand launched with store front, online and wholesale distribution channels.

Announced the signing of a definitive agreement to acquire the Latin American Institute of Neurology and the Nervous System ("ILANS"). ILANS has approximately 60 clinicians and physicians and represents approximately 100,000 patients. ILANS generates approximately $10,000,000 in revenues and $1,800,000 in earnings before interest tax depreciation and amortization, as set forth in audited financial statements for financial year ended December 31, 2017.

Completed a warrant acceleration for gross proceeds of $14,007,000, which resulted in the issuance of 11,672,250 common shares. Each warrant had an exercise price of $1.20.

Alvaro Torres, Director and CEO of Khiron, commented: Our team continues to execute our business plan with significant operational and financial milestone achievements during the quarter. This includes entering new markets in Latin America, forming new strategic relationships and securing acquisitions to drive distribution, attracting new highly qualified members to our team and board, expanding our cultivation and production footprint, and sourcing capital to fuel our expansion. Each of these developments advances our objective to meet the medical needs of a million patients in Latin America. With over 75 employees and certified physicians and clinical staff, and an ever-expanding list of achievements, I am confident we can reach this objective. I would like to personally thank each of our stakeholders for their support of Khiron and firmly believe the future looks very bright for our company.

Liquidity and capital resources: The Company as at the date of this release has working capital of $24,875,978 Please refer to the Companys profile on www.sedar.com

About Khiron Life Sciences Corp.

Khiron Life Sciences Corp. (TSXV: KRHN, OTCQB: KHRNF, Frankfurt: A2JMZC) (Khiron or the Company) is positioned to be the dominant integrated medical cannabis company in Latin America. Khiron has core operations in Colombia and is fully licensed in the country for the cultivation, production, domestic distribution, and international export of both tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and cannabidiol (CBD) medical cannabis. In May 2018, Khiron listed on the TSX Venture Exchange, becoming one of the first Colombian based medical cannabis companies to trade on any exchange globally.

With a focused regional strategy and patient oriented approach, the Company combines global scientific expertise, agricultural advantages, branded product market entrance experience and education to drive prescription and brand loyalty to address priority medical conditions such as chronic pain, epilepsy, depression and anxiety in the Latin American market of over 620 million people. Khiron is led by Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer, Alvaro Torres, together with an experienced executive team, and a knowledgeable Board of Directors that includes former President of Mexico, Vicente Fox.

Further information on Khiron Life Sciences can be found at www.investors.khiron.ca

Investor Contacts:

Chris Naprawa

President

T: +1 (416) 705-1144

E: cnaprawa@khiron.ca

Darren Collins

Chief Financial Officer

T: +1 (705) 527-3564

E: dcollins@khiron.ca

Media Contact:

Jon Packer

Vice President, Communications

T: +1 (416) 543-9179

E: jpacker@khiron.ca

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release may contain certain forward-looking information and statements (forward-looking information) within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation, that are not based on historical fact, including without limitation statements containing the words "believes", "anticipates", "plans", "intends", "will", "should", "expects", "continue", "estimate", "forecasts" and other similar expressions. Readers are cautioned to not place undue reliance on forward-looking information. Actual results and developments may differ materially from those contemplated by these statements. Khiron undertakes no obligation to comment analyses, expectations or statements made by third-parties in respect of Khiron, its securities, or financial or operating results (as applicable). Although Khiron believes that the expectations reflected in forward-looking information in this press release are reasonable, such forward-looking information has been based on expectations, factors and assumptions concerning future events which may prove to be inaccurate and are subject to numerous risks and uncertainties, certain of which are beyond Khirons control, including the risk factors discussed in Khirons Filing Statement which is available on Khirons SEDAR profile at www.sedar.com. The forward-looking information contained in this press release is expressly qualified by this cautionary statement and are made as of the date hereof. Khiron disclaims any intention and has no obligation or responsibility, except as required by law, to update or revise any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

Neither the TSXV nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSXV) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this press release.




English Latvian

Riga, Latvia, 30 November 2018. Mogo Finance and its group companies (the Group), specialized in used car financing, announce the listing of its existing 9.50% corporate bond 2018/2022 (XS1831877755) effective today on the regulated market (General Standard) of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange.

The listing on the EU-regulated segment is based on the securities prospectus approved by the CSSF (Luxembourg supervisory authority) on 27 November 2018. The prospectus is available on the Groups website at www.mogofinance.com.

Associated higher transparency and disclosure requirements of the listing on the regulated market are intended to increase the attractiveness of the Mogo Finance Bond to investors.

Bankhaus Scheich Wertpapierspezialist AG acted as co-applicant to the listing and Aalto Capital will act as the Groups Capital Markets Partner.

For more information, please contact:

Mogo Finance (CFO) Email: maris.kreics@mogofinance.com

Maris Kreics +371 66 900 900

Aalto Capital Email: sven.pauly@aaltocapital.com

Sven Pauly +49 89 898 67 77 0

Notes to Editors:

Mogo Finance is one of largest and fastest growing secured used car financing companies in Europe. Recognizing the niche in used car financing underserved by traditional lenders, Mogo Finance has expanded its operations to 12 countries issuing over EUR 320 million up to date and running a net loan portfolio over EUR 130 million. Mogo offers secured loans up to EUR 15,000 with maximum tenor of 84 months making used car financing process convenient, both for its customers and partners. Wide geographical presence makes Mogo unique over its rivals and diversifies revenue streams.

Mogo Finance operates through its own branch network, more than 1,500 partner locations and strong online presence. Physical footprint makes Mogo Finance top of mind brand in used car financing. Established in 2012, headquartered in Riga, Latvia and operates in: Latvia, Estonia, Lithuania, Georgia, Poland, Romania, Bulgaria, Moldova, Albania, Belarus, Armenia and Ukraine.

www.mogofinance.com

IMPORTANT INFORMATION

The information contained herein is not for release, publication or distribution, in whole or in part, directly or indirectly, in or into the United States, Australia, Canada, Hong Kong, Japan, New Zealand, South Africa or any other countries or otherwise in such circumstances in which the release, publication or distribution would be unlawful. The information contained herein does not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy, nor shall there be any sale of, the bonds in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration, exemption from registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such jurisdiction. Persons into whose possession this announcement may come are required to inform themselves of and observe all such restrictions.

This announcement does not constitute an offer of securities for sale in the United States. The bonds have not been and will not be registered under the Securities Act or under the applicable securities laws of any state of the United States and may not be offered or sold, directly or indirectly, within the United States or to, or for the account or benefit of, U.S. persons except pursuant to an applicable exemption from, or in a transaction not subject to, the registration requirements of the Securities Act.

This announcement does not constitute a prospectus for the purposes of Directive 2003/71/EC, as amended (the "Prospectus Directive") and does not constitute a public offer of securities in any member state of the European Economic Area (the "EEA").

This announcement does not constitute an offer of bonds to the public in the United Kingdom. No prospectus has been or will be approved in the United Kingdom in respect of the bonds. Accordingly, this announcement is not being distributed to, and must not be passed on to, the general public in the United Kingdom. The communication of this announcement as a financial promotion may only be 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 companies, and other persons to whom it may lawfully be communicated, falling within Article 49(2)(a) to (d) of the Order (all such persons in (i), (ii) and (iii) above together being referred to as "Relevant Persons"). Any invitation, offer or agreement to subscribe, purchase or otherwise acquire such securities will be engaged in only with, Relevant Persons. Any person who is not a Relevant Person should not act or rely on this announcement or any of its contents.

PROFESSIONAL INVESTORS ONLY - Manufacturer target market (MIFID II product governance) is eligible counterparties and professional clients only (all distribution channels). No PRIIPs key information document (KID) has been prepared as the bonds do not constitute packaged products and will be offered to eligible counterparties and professional clients only.
English French

Closing of the acquisition of SIX Payment Services

After approval by the

Combined General Meeting of Worldline

Bezons, November 30, 2018 - Worldline [Euronext: WLN], the European leader in the payments and transactional services, has closed today the acquisition of SIX Payment Services as approved by its shareholders during the Combined General Meeting held today.

All resolutions submitted by the Board of Directors were approved. The voting results of the Combined General Meeting will be available on the Company's website (section Investors - General Meeting).

Approval of the acquisition of SIX Payment services

The General Meeting has massively approved the contribution in kind (apport en nature) to Worldline SA by SIX Group AG of 100% of the shares issued by SIX Payment Services (Europe) SA, SIX Payment Services (Luxembourg) SA and SIX Payment Services AG and, in consideration, the share capital increase for the benefit of SIX Group AG, consisting of 49,066,878 newly issued Worldline shares (resulting in a c. 26.9% stake for SIX Group AG) and a cash consideration of c. CHF 338 million, subject to customary adjustments relating to the net debt/cash and working capital of SIX Payment Services.

Major strategic transformation materially strengthening Worldline's European leadership position

From a strategic point of view, Worldline and SIX Payment Services perfectly complement each other in terms of geography and product offering. As a result, the combined Group is now the leading and largest European provider in the payments industry, reaching c. 10% European market share in Merchant Acquiring and c. 20% in Financial Services.

In particular, the merger of SIX Payment Services within Worldline strongly enhances the business profile and positions of the combined group as follows:

c. +30 % increase in Group revenue;



c. 1300 new payment experts;





c. +65% increase in the Merchant Services business attaining over  1 billion annual revenue [1] and a n1 position in continental Europe as non-bank acquirer;



and a n1 position in continental Europe as non-bank acquirer; Major rebalancing of Worldline European geographic presence thanks to the acquisition of many new leading positions in the DACH region;



c. +12% increase in the Financial Services business, which will reach c.  900 million revenue 1 , further reinforcing its existing n1 position in Europe;



, further reinforcing its existing n1 position in Europe; A new 10 year commercial relationship, through and with SIX Group, to deliver financial processing services to the Swiss banking ecosystem, with long term oriented quality of services and best-in-class innovation.





In Merchant Services, the acquisition of SIX Payment Services is a major breakthrough allowing Worldline to establish itself as the n1 non-bank acquiring platform in Continental Europe, through :

New leading market positions in Switzerland, Austria, Luxembourg and major reinforcement in Germany, complementing the existing strong position of Worldline in Belgium, the Netherlands, France and Germany;



Many new leading specialized solutions and offers coming from SIX Payment Services (travel, hotels, restaurants, DCC [2] , .), complementing the strong innovative portfolio of Worldline (online gateways, mobile payments, payment terminals, .);



, .), complementing the strong innovative portfolio of Worldline (online gateways, mobile payments, payment terminals, .); Massive benefits for the merchant customers base of both companies, thanks to an unparalleled Merchant Services offering across physical and online payments, some key vertical segments, and pan-European geographic reach and capabilities;



Unique positioning as the most attractive bank partner for successful alliances in payment acceptance and commercial acquiring.



With revenues reaching an estimated c.  2.3 billion in 2019, Worldline reinforces its existing n1 position within the European payments landscape. Through this size increase, the enhanced company profile and all the expected market impacts, the merger widely benefits to the managers and employees of both companies, allowing them to get access to numerous and more diversified positions as well as new exciting professional challenges.







A reinforced corporate governance to lead Worldline in its next development phase

The General Meeting appointed Dr. Romeo Lacher[3] and Mrs. Giulia Fitzpatrick[4] as directors of Worldline SA. The General Meeting also appointed Mr. Daniel Schmucki as censor[5].

The General Meeting also amended the by-laws of the Company.

The subsequent meeting of the Board of Directors of the Company decided to organize the committees of the Board of Directors as follows:

Audit Committee Aldo Cardoso (Chairman) Gilles Arditti Giulia Fitzpatrick Luc Remont Susan Tolson



Nomination and Remuneration Committee Romeo Lacher (Chairman) Thierry Breton Aldo Cardoso Luc Remont Susan Tolson



Investment Committee Thierry Breton (Chairman) Romeo Lacher (Vice-Chairman) Aldo Cardoso Gilles Grapinet



Strategy and Innovation Committee Thierry Breton (co-Chairman) Romeo Lacher (co-Chairman) Giulia Fitzpatrick Gilles Grapinet Luc Remont







A very carefully prepared integration and the confirmation of targeted synergies of  110 million

During the Combined General Meeting, it has been indicated that the pre-integration has been implemented successfully through the set-up of 22 integration preparation workstreams between Worldline and SIX Payment Services, which will continue to work based on Worldline's well-established integration know-how and methods.

The integration plan will be tightly monitored to ensure the fast start of the detailed industrial program that will immediately be implemented, with the objective to reach c.  110 million additional OMDA in 2022, of which c. 25% will be achieved in 2019 and c. 50% in 2020.

Gilles Grapinet, Worldline CEO said:

"I am very happy that our shareholders approved today the acquisition of SIX Payment Services and welcomed a new major shareholder, SIX Group AG. This transaction leads indeed to a major transformation of our company and positions it by far as the undisputed leader of payment services in Europe. I am also particularly pleased by the quality and fast pace of the integration preparation program, thanks to the exemplary cooperation between the two companies. This is a very positive sign for the future execution of our synergy plan and the proof that Worldline is the ideal platform to continue building the European consolidation of our industry"

About Worldline

Worldline [Euronext: WLN] is the European leader in the payment and transactional services industry. With innovation at the core of its DNA, Worldline core offerings include pan-European and domestic Commercial Acquiring for physical or online businesses, secured payment transaction processing for banks and financial institutions, as well as transactional services in e-Ticketing and for local and central public agencies.

Thanks to a presence in 30+ countries, Worldline is the payment partner of choice for merchants, banks, public transport operators, government agencies and industrial companies, delivering cutting-edge digital services.

Worldline activities are organized around three axes: Merchant Services, Financial Services including equensWorldline and Mobility & e-Transactional Services. Worldline employs circa 11,000 people worldwide, with estimated pro forma revenue of circa 2.3 billion euros on a yearly basis. Worldline is an Atos company. worldline.com





Disclaimer

This press release contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties, including references, concerning Worldline's expected growth and profitability in the future which may significantly impact the expected performance indicated in the forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties are linked to factors out of the control of Worldline and not precisely estimated, such as market conditions, competitors' behaviors or actual completion of the synergies. Any forward looking statements made in this document are statements about Worldline' beliefs and expectations and should be evaluated as such. Forward-looking statements include statements that may relate to Worldline's plans, objectives, strategies, goals, future events, future revenues or synergies, or performance, and other information that is not historical information. Actual events or results may differ from those described in this press release due to a number of risks and uncertainties that are described in the 2017 Registration Document filed with the Autorite des marches financiers (AMF) on March 21, 2018 under number D.18-0163, in the update to the 2017 Registration Document including the half year financial report filed with the AMF on August 1, 2018 under number D. 18-0163-A01 and in the information document (Document E) relating to the contribution in kind of the Payment Services division of SIX Group AG filed with the AMF on October 31, 2018 under number E-18-070. Worldline does not undertake, and specifically disclaims, any obligation or responsibility to update or amend any of the information above except as otherwise required by law. There can be no assurance that the anticipated benefits will be realized. This press release includes supplemental financial measures that are not clearly defined under IFRS and that are or may be non-defined financial measures. These supplemental financial measures should not be viewed in isolation or as alternatives to measures of Worldline's net assets and financial position or results of operations as presented in accordance with IFRS in its consolidated financial statements. Other companies that report or describe similarly titled supplemental financial measures may calculate them differently. Revenue organic growth is presented at constant scope and exchange rates.





Contacts

Investor Relations

David Pierre-Kahn

Email: David.pierre-kahn@worldline.com

Communication

Sandrine van der Ghinst

Email: sandrine.vanderghinst@worldline.com

Press Contact

Anne-Sophie Gentil

Email: asgentil@teamfluence.eu

Follow us











[1] Based on estimated 2019e combined revenue.

[2] Dynamic Currency Conversion

[3] mandate expiring at the end of the annual General Meeting to be convened in 2021

[4] mandate expiring at the end of the annual General Meeting to be convened in 2020

[5] mandate expiring at the end of the annual General Meeting to be convened in 2020





Attachment
Cleveland, Ohio, Nov. 30, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- CLEVELAND (Nov. 30, 2018)  Attorneys and professionals from Hahn Loeser & Parks LLPs Construction Law Team will be presenting at both the Ohio Contractors Associations (OCA) 36th Annual Conference in Columbus, Ohio and at two programs sponsored by the National Business Institute in Northeast Ohio during the first week of December. Hahn Loesers Andrew J. Natale, who boasts one of the largest construction practices in the state of Ohio, will be joined by Aaron S. Evenchik and Christopher T. OShaughnessy of the Hahn Loeser Construction Law Team for a presentation at the OCAs annual conference on Monday, Dec. 3 on Managing Risk and Protecting Rewards in Design/Build Construction.



This session will focus on design-build projects, design-build team and entity structures, and design-build contract forms and risk shifting provisions. Participants will learn about the risks and benefits of design-build construction, be able to negotiate key contract provisions, including the standard of care and limitations on liability, and be able to select the best structure for their design-build team.



In addition, Evenchik, along with other members of Hahn Loesers Construction Law Team including Matthew K. Grashoff, Michael B. Pascoe, Christopher St. Marie, Gregory A. Thompson and Jeffrey S. Roush, will present a double-feature presentation on Construction Law: Advanced Issues and Answers on Dec. 4 in Akron, Ohio and on Dec. 7 in Cleveland. These seminars, presented by the National Business Institute (NBI), are full-day programs geared to attorneys, construction professionals, engineers and real estate developers.



These presentations will expand participants knowledge of complicated construction project issues. The Hahn Loeser team will teach attendees how to anticipate which construction contract provisions will cause difficulties down the road, how to disentangle complex change order payment matters that arise from oral change orders and how to confidently determine which construction project delays are compensable and which are non-compensable and more.



About Hahn Loeser

Hahn Loeser provides the full spectrum of legal services in one firm. With six offices and more than 100 attorneys, we represent Fortune 500 corporations, privately-held businesses, non-profit institutions, governmental entities and individuals across the country and around the world. Our attorneys have been recognized for their commitment to client service and their dedication to providing our clients with strategic solutions that help them attain their business objectives and achieve results.


VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Nov. 30, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Core Gold Inc. ("Core Gold" or the "Company") (TSX-V: CGLD, OTCQX: CGLDF) is pleased to announce that it held a meeting with the President of Ecuador and the Vice Minister of Mining.



On Tuesday November 27th, Mr. Keith Piggott, CEO and President of Core Gold Inc., had the unique privilege to meet with the Honorable Mr. Lenin Moreno, President of the Republic of Ecuador and Mr. Fernando Benalcazar, the Vice Minister of Mining. The meeting took place at the Presidential Palace of Carondelet in Quito, Ecuador.

During the meeting several subjects were discussed related to Core Golds achievements over the last 2 years. This included the social harmony and local economic development that has been created as a result of Core Golds approach and on-going investment in Ecuador.

In addition, President Moreno stated how his Government is moving forward with the streamlining of administration processes and permitting procedures in the mining sector.

Mr. Fernando Benalcazar followed up on this topic by saying responsible mining investors such as Core Gold that are committed to social and environmental best practices are extremely welcome in Ecuador.

Mr. Keith Piggott was quoted I am honored to meet with President Moreno and Vice Minister Benalcazar. We firmly believe that a sustainable mining industry can be advanced in Ecuador for the benefit of all stakeholders.

About Core Gold

The Company is a Canadian based mining company involved in the mining, exploration and development of mineral properties in Ecuador. The Company is currently focused on gold production at its wholly-owned Dynasty Goldfield project. Mineral is treated at the Companys wholly-owned Portovelo treatment plant. The Company also owns other significant gold exploration projects including the Linderos and Copper Duke area in southern Ecuador all of which are on the main Peruvian Andean gold-copper belt extending into Ecuador.

For further information please contact: Keith Piggott, CEO

Suite 1201  1166 Alberni Street

Vancouver, B.C. V6E 3Z3

Phone: +1 (604) 345-4822

Email: info@coregoldinc.com

Cautionary Notice:

This news release contains statements which are, or may be deemed to be, forward-looking information which are prospective in nature. Forward-looking information involves known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause Core Golds actual results, revenues, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking information. Important risks that could cause Core Golds actual results, revenues, performance or achievements to differ materially from Core Golds expectations include, among other things, risks relating to the actual results of additional exploration activities; fluctuating prices in metals and other commodities; possibility of accidents, equipment breakdowns, labor disputes or other unanticipated difficulties with or interruptions in operations; exploration cost overruns; the geology, grade and continuity of mineral deposits; currency fluctuations; availability of capital and financing to maintain the Company's operations and plans; general economic, market or business conditions; regulatory changes; timeliness of government or regulatory approvals; and other risks detailed herein and as disclosed in the Companys filings as available on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. Other than in accordance with regulatory obligations, Core Gold is not under any obligation and Core Gold 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.

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.

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/3d4861a2-1d5c-4d22-b16a-7466b09e6ccb
Re: Exactly when in the early modern era Native Americans began exchanging [ #permalink

23 Kudos 3 Bookmarks
The big thing about this problem isn't breaking it down into premises/conclusions. The thing to understand is context, similar to that of an SC question. To begin, the question splits into two categories: the "only if" vs "if". Most people catch that the question stem says "only if", pushing people to (A) or (B). This is what LSAT wants you to do; they want you to fall into this trap. As I explain below, watch the context. They want you to reverse a sufficient condition for a necessary condition, which is where most get tripped up in (A)

Diagram: Homelessness problem -- little being done -- ignoring doesn't work -- only if Gov. helps (and leads to taxes) will it go away (this is our conclusion)

Breaking down A and C further:

A: Measure should be adopted ---> Measure is required to solve a problem

C: Measure is required to solve a problem ---> then it should be adopted

The measure is taxation. Is taxation required to solve the problem? Nope. Government intervention is required, which will bring taxation. In other words: Only if taxation is required to solve a problem, it should be adopted. Reverses the correct answer.

This is not our conclusion. This says that if sufficient -- do it.

This is word for word what we want. If taxation is required to solve a problem, it should be adopted. Bingo

This says if it is sufficient then we should adopt. That is not what our conclusion is saying, so this is out

"any steps" is way off, as we only talk about one solution. Beyond this, same issue as D

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Politician: Nobody can deny that homelessness is a problem, yet there seems to be little agreement on how to solve it. One thing, however, is clear: ignoring the problem will not make it go away. Only if the government steps in and provides the homeless with housing will this problem disappear, and this necessitates increased taxation. For this reason, we should raise taxes.Which one of the following principles, if valid, most supports the politician's argument?(A) Only if a measure is required to solve a problem should it be adopted --(B) Only if a measure is sufficient to solve a problem should it be adopted --(C) If a measure is required to solve a problem, then it should be adopted --(D) If a measure is sufficient to solve a problem, then it should be adopted --(E) If a measure is sufficient to solve a problem, any steps necessitated by that measure should be adopted --_________________
Re: When A. Philip Randolph assumed the leadership of the Brotherhood of S [ #permalink

1 Kudos

Hmmm... That's a blow ...



I don't agree with all the OAs and here is my reasoning, eagerly waiting for experts' comments:



1. According to the passage, by 1935 the skepticism of Black workers toward unions was:

OA: D weakened by the opening up of many unions to Black workers.



In 1935 the Brotherhood became the first Black union recognized by a major corporation. Randolph's efforts in the battle helped transform the attitude of Black workers toward unions and toward themselves as an identifiable group;



He reasoned that as a member union, the Brotherhood would be in a better position to exert pressure on member unions that practiced race restrictions. Such restrictions were eventually found unconstitutional in 1944.



Last sentences clearly state that until 1944 unions practiced race restrictions. HOW can we say that skepticism of Black workers toward unions was weakened by the opening up of many unions to Black workers. Which unions opened the doors for black workers before 1935. This way only Randolph that made this change happen.



2: OK! Even I was thinking no to opt for such a strong opinion as Regret.

But still A to be the OA .....

understandability is about the skepticism of black workers towards unions and not about the brotherhood.



3. The passage suggests which of the following about the response of porters to the Pullman Company's own union?

OA: E The porters' response was unaffected by the general skepticism of Black workers concerning unions.



Who are porters': (1) black workers (2) workers with black workers as majority (3) workers with non-black workers as majority

Porters were scattered throughout the country, sleeping in dormitories in Black communities;

I can not justify (1) and (3) from the passage but at least (2) from the passage.

OA could be right if majority of the workers were non-black workers then we would say that non-black workers' response was unaffected by the general skepticism of Black workers concerning unions. But if porters' are dominated by black workers then how this can be OA.



>>The first was Black workers' understandable skepticism toward unions, which had historically barred Black workers from membership.



This clearly states that porter's were barred from union membership therefore Few porters ever joined this union. Few because some porter's could be non-black who joined unions.



4. The passage suggests that if the grievances of porters in one part of the United States had been different from those of porters in another part of the country, which of the following would have been the case?

OA: B It would have been more difficult for the Brotherhood to control its channels of communication.



Yes, this was a tempting answer and on first go, I opted for B but then I had a deep look and found it irrelevant to the question. Passage states that physical scattering through various cities helped porters' to control their communication and not because they had the same grievances from city to city. It is absurd to say that because porters' had the same grievances from city to city therefore they were able to protect their communication channel.



>>sharing the same grievances from city to city, also strengthened the Brotherhood and encouraged racial identity and solidarity as well.



We can see because porters' had the same grievances from city to city that strengthened the Brotherhood and encouraged racial identity and solidarity as well. So we can conclude that if porters' did not have the same grievances from city to city

It would have been more difficult for the Brotherhood to build its membership.



5. The passage suggests that in the 1920's a company in the United States was able to

OA: C develop a single labor policy for all its employees with little employee dissent.



First of all there is no mention if single labor policy was implemented by any company in 1920. Only thing mentioned is about 1928 that Pullman Company had a single labor policy. With this information we can not conclude if companies were doing so in 1920 too. Second problem with this answer is "with little employee dissent", there is no mention at all about this.



>> in the early 1930's that federal legislation prohibiting a company from maintaining its own unions with company money

Therefore we can conclude that before 1930 companies were able to maintain its own unions with their own money and Pullman Company was doing the same.



6. The passage supplies information concerning which of the following matters related to Randolph?

OA: E The success he and the Brotherhood had in influencing the policies of the other unions in the American Federation of Labor



May be I mis-interpreted motivation for intentions.



Randolph brought the Brotherhood into the American Federation of Labor, where it became the equal of the Federation's 105 other unions. He reasoned that as a member union, the Brotherhood would be in a better position to exert pressure on member unions that practiced race restrictions. Such restrictions were eventually found unconstitutional in 1944.



But to be honest, I'm still not happy with the OA. If Randolph was the successful to influence other unions' policy is far fetched conclusion. My feel is still with B.
Co-Winners of New York State Department of Health Aging Innovation Challenge Announced

Corning Community College and Syracuse University Teams Win Share of $25,000 Top Prize

PHOTOSof the event are available here

Aging Innovation Challenge Highlighted Breakthrough Solutions in Independent Living for Older Adults and Their Caregivers

ALBANY, N.Y. (November 30, 2018)  The New York State Department of Health today announced the co-winners of the Aging Innovation Challenge, a crowdsource competition developed in partnership with HeroX to generate innovative solutions to assist older adults and their caregivers in carrying out activities of daily living. The Challenge was open to all undergraduate and graduate students attending a college or university in New York State. The co-winners were selected from five finalists, which were narrowed down from a field of 24 semi-finalists, originally selected from 35 submissions.

"This year's event showcased some of the best young entrepreneurial minds New York's college and universities have to offer," said New York State Health Commissioner Dr. Howard A. Zucker. "It was an honor to name GripM8 and Pneu-Strength as the co-winners of the Aging Innovation Challenge for their creative and far-reaching solutions to improving the quality of life of aging New Yorkers and their caregivers."

A panel of expert judges, including Commissioner Zucker, evaluated the five finalists' innovations to determine which team would be named the winner of the first-ever Aging Innovation Challenge presented by the New York State Department of Health and HeroX. Judges scored the innovations based on a 15-minute presentation made by each team demonstrating their prototype and how it would improve the quality of life of aging adults and their caregivers. The judging panel also consisted of: Christian Cotichini, CEO, HeroX; Kristina M. Johnson, Ph.D., Chancellor of the State University of New York; and Laurie Orlov, Founder, Aging in Place Technology Watch.

Sharing equally in the $25,000 top prize was GripM8, an assistive eating device targeted to people who have motor control issues that inhibit their ability to feed themselves, designed by a team from Corning Community College and Pneu-Strength an inflatable seat cushion device that provides physical assistance to older adults in standing up from and sitting down on a chair or a couch, designed by a team from Syracuse University. The winning innovations each earned $12,500, plus $5,000 which was originally awarded to each of the five finalists.

New York State Office for the Aging Acting Director Greg Olsen said, "Thank you to everyone who competed in this year's Aging Innovation Challenge, and congratulations to the winning teams from Corning Community College and Syracuse University. This event further highlights how under Governor Cuomo's leadership New York State, as the first certified age-friendly state in the nation, is leading by example by creating innovative solutions that positively impact older adults and caregivers, enabling them to remain healthy, engaged, and independent."

The Finalists:

GripM8 is an assistive eating device targeted to individuals who have motor control issues that inhibit their ability to feed themselves. The device features numerous slots in which silverware can be inserted, thus augmenting the user's current forks and spoons. GripM8 restores independence and boosts confidence at meal time.

School: Corning Community College

Team members: Stephen Epp, Christopher Herrmann, Anna Leonard, Samantha Orr, Rosemary Anthony and Sri Kamesh Narasimhan

is an assistive eating device targeted to individuals who have motor control issues that inhibit their ability to feed themselves. The device features numerous slots in which silverware can be inserted, thus augmenting the user's current forks and spoons. GripM8 restores independence and boosts confidence at meal time. Corning Community College Stephen Epp, Christopher Herrmann, Anna Leonard, Samantha Orr, Rosemary Anthony and Sri Kamesh Narasimhan Pneu-Strength is an inflatable seat cushion device that provides physical assistance to older adults in standing up from and sitting down on a chair or a couch.

School: Syracuse University

Team Members: Ruby Batbaatar and Kalia Zizi Barrow

is an inflatable seat cushion device that provides physical assistance to older adults in standing up from and sitting down on a chair or a couch. Syracuse University Ruby Batbaatar and Kalia Zizi Barrow mRehab is an in-home upper limb rehabilitation tool for lifespan eating self-management utilizing 3D printing and mobile smartphone technology. It provides customized tools, helps users set personal programs and motivates users to participate in the daily rehabilitation more effectively. The aim of the project is to promote function-oriented tasks and let the user engage more in the rehabilitation management.

School: University at Buffalo, SUNY

Team members: Chen Song, Matthew Stafford, Zhuolin Yang, Dr. Wenyao Xu, Dr. Jeanne Langan, Dr. Lora Cavuoto, Mr. Heamchand Subryan and Dr. Sutanuka Bhattacharjya

is an in-home upper limb rehabilitation tool for lifespan eating self-management utilizing 3D printing and mobile smartphone technology. It provides customized tools, helps users set personal programs and motivates users to participate in the daily rehabilitation more effectively. The aim of the project is to promote function-oriented tasks and let the user engage more in the rehabilitation management. University at Buffalo, SUNY Chen Song, Matthew Stafford, Zhuolin Yang, Dr. Wenyao Xu, Dr. Jeanne Langan, Dr. Lora Cavuoto, Mr. Heamchand Subryan and Dr. Sutanuka Bhattacharjya PediCure is a toenail trimmer for the elderly that provides comfort, confidence and self-sufficiency in the grooming experience. It is a two-part product that consists of a platform for the foot and an extension arm with a battery-operated nail trimmer attached to the end of the arm.

School: Cornell University

Team members: Jialin Ke, Jonathan Pao, Joshua Zhu and Stacey Wong

is a toenail trimmer for the elderly that provides comfort, confidence and self-sufficiency in the grooming experience. It is a two-part product that consists of a platform for the foot and an extension arm with a battery-operated nail trimmer attached to the end of the arm. Cornell University Jialin Ke, Jonathan Pao, Joshua Zhu and Stacey Wong StairPro is an innovative system that provides older adults safe and easy access to stairs and other barriers without additional assistance from caregivers and helps reduce the risk of accidental falls. StairPro has two mechanical legs that can be added to any standard walker, transforming it into a stairclimbing walker to provide access to any type of stairs. StairPro also has a smart alert system that provides sound and light signals to alert older adults of stairs, objects and obstacles to prevent falls, as well as an automated flashlight for low-lit environments. StairPro gives older adults independence at every step, both indoors and outdoors.

School: Cornell University

Team Members: Paulina Villacreces

About HeroX

Founded in 2013, HeroX exists at the intersection of crowdsourcing, competition and collaboration. The HeroX crowdsourcing platform brings together global communities of problem solvers to deliver breakthrough solutions to social, economic and strategic challenges. www.herox.com.




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
Ayatollah Sadegh Larijani said: Workers should not allow their demands to become an excuse and an instrument for the enemy and creation of disorder in the country.

This shows just how scared the Regime is of the workers; why else would they try to intimidate the people?

The latest round of strikes at the Haft Tapeh sugar factory in Shush, Khuzestan province, entered its 22nd day on Monday. The workers are protesting against salary arrears, wages that do not meet the cost of living, the imprisonment of their fellow strikers, and alleged criminal activity by managers.

The workers bravely called out slogans like The worker dies; he does not accept humiliation; death to the oppressor, greetings to the worker; imprisoned worker must be freed; Steel, Haft Tappeh, unity, unity!, despite the heavy presence of security forces as Larijani spoke.

Larijani was forced to admit that many workers are struggling to make ends meet and called on the government and the judiciary branch to immediately address the workers demands, but said that demands will never be met by turmoil, crisis and actions contrary to public order.

It is worth noting that the Regime has promised to fix the problems of workers in the past, but the mullahs will often fail to do so or only do so when it has a clear benefit to them.

It was also reported on Monday that the workers have received their back salaries for the period August 23 to 22 September and that three-quarters of the workers arrested on November 18 have been released.

In Ahvaz, where workers of the Ahvaz Steel Mill have been on strike for three weeks, the repressive forces of the regime, including state security forces, anti-riot guards and plainclothes agents, tried to break up the strike with violence. The workers stayed in front of the regimes governorate in Ahvaz and marched through the surrounding streets, joined by a group of Ahvazi youth.

They chanted slogans like We stand, we die, we get our rights; the worker dies; he does not accept humiliation; our enemy is here, they claim falsely that it is the United States and government, Mafia, happy marriage!.

Iran has been inundated with protests over working conditions this year, especially in the key industries of education, mines, transport and steelwork, with most gatherings taking place outside of Tehran. These protests are only growing and will only continue to grow until the Regime has fallen.
On the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women (November 25), Maryam Rajavi, leader of the Iranian Resistance, gave a statement in support of the brave women in Iran who are protesting gender-based discrimination and violence, whilst explaining that the elimination of violence against Iranian women depends solely on the overthrow of the mullahs regime in Iran.

Maryam Rajavi said: I salute all my sisters in Iran and around the globe who have risen for equality and freedom to end oppression and violence against women. I salute all women who have suffered in this struggle or have been tortured or hanged. The glorious ideal of equality in a world devoid of all forms of gender exploitation, violence and discrimination will undoubtedly be realized through a relentless and unwavering struggle and by paying its heavy price.

While life under the Iranian Regime is tough for everyone, it is especially difficult for women who lack even more rights and face even more oppression. This does not stop Iranian women from rising up though, Maryam Rajavi noted.

Despite the fact that thousands of womens rights advocates have been tortured or even executed for their political activism, they have only inspired more women to come to the front of political movements about democracy and human rights. Even the Regime has been forced to acknowledges that 28% of the protesters during the December 2017 uprising were women.

The executions of female political prisoners in the 1980s, most notably in the 1988 massacre of 30,000 political prisoners, including those who were elderly, teenagers, or even pregnant at the time, show that the Regime holds a special enmity towards women who oppose the Regime, said Maryam Rajavi. This can be further seen in their use of rape as a method of torture and in the violence against peaceful female teachers who protested the Regime in May.

Maryam Rajavi said: This ubiquitous violence is enforced against women in all aspects of our countrys social, economic, and political existence. For this reason, it is structured, pervasive, and all-inclusive. The regime promotes, strengthens and preserves it. Therefore, this violence against women has never subsided despite public resentment.

Maryam Rajavi is no stranger to the Regimes misogyny, with the mullahs often publically undermining her because of her gender, whilst privately admitting that she is the leader most capable of overthrowing them.

Maryam Rajavi explained in her speech that the mullahs, despite vague promises of reform, will never be able to it abandon the violence and inequality institutionalized in the regimes Sharia laws, for if the Regime did not exert so much energy into oppressing women, the women of Iran would be able to overthrow the mullahs in a heartbeat.

In our next part, we will be looking at how the Iranian Regime suppresses women.
The MEK, as part of a wider coalition of democratic forces calling for regime change in Iran  the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), will take control in Iran for a six-month period following the fall of the mullahs to hold a free and fair election in order to form a national assembly and institute a new constitution.

Given that it now seems more likely that the MEK will be taking power in Iran before too long, we thought we should look at the 10-point political platform they have adopted as it will so form the basis for the Iranian constitution.

1. The ballot box: The MEK believes that the only path to political legitimacy is through free and fair elections with universal suffrage.

2. Pluralism: The MEK seeks a pluralist system, with complete individual freedoms, including political party membership, assembly, speech, the media, and access to information (i.e. the internet).

3. Judicial System: The MEK believe in the rule of law and justice, so they wish to establish a modern judicial system that is based on the principles of presumption of innocence, the right to defence, effective judicial protection and the right to be tried in a public court. They would also seek the total independence of judges.

Furthermore, the MEK wishes to abolish the mullahs Sharia law and remove the death penalty.

4. Religion: The MEK believe that religion and state should be kept separate from each other. They would also ban any type of discrimination in any facet of life against the followers of any religion and denomination.

5. Gender Equality: The MEK believes in total equality of the genders in political, social, and economic arenas. They would ban any form of discrimination against women and allow them to freely make decisions about their own lives in the realms of marriage, divorce, clothing, education, and employment. The MEK is also committed to the equal participation of women in political leadership.

6. Human Rights: The MEK is committed to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and all of its international covenant and conventions, including the Convention against Torture, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women.

7. Equality: The MEK believes that all nationalities are equal and would seek to preserve and protect the language and culture of all Iranians. They see that this forms part of Irans human resources and must be allowed propagate in Iran. The MEK also supports the plan for an autonomous Iranian Kurdistan, adopted by the NCRI.

8. The Market Economy: The MEK recognize private property, private investment and the market economy, so they believe that all Iranians must enjoy equal opportunity in employment and in business ventures. They also promise to protect and revitalize the environment.

9. Foreign Policy: They MEK believes is peaceful coexistence with other nations, international and regional peace and cooperation, as well as respect for the United Nations Charter.

10. Nuclear Policy: The MEK wants a non-nuclear Iran, free of weapons of mass destruction.
United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI) released a statement calling on all G20 member nations to work together to address Irans globally destabilizing actions, noting that in order to have development, the world must also have security, something that is consistently undermined by the Iranian Regime.

It is particularly notable that this years conference is taking place in Argentina, a country that has been continually rocked by Iranian-sponsored terrorism over the years, with the 1994 bombing of a Jewish community centre in Buenos Aires is the most notable example.

According to US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo at the UANIs Iran Summit in September, that was the deadliest terror attack in the history of Argentina.

In that case, as well as a 1992 suicide vehicle attack in the Argentine capital, Iran provided logistical support to the Hezbollah militia that carried out the bombings, which killed 114 people and wounded nearly 500.

But Irans support for terrorism in Argentina did not end in the 1990s and the Iranian threat remains as strong as ever in 2018. Earlier this month, Argentina arrested two of its citizens on suspicions of plotting an Iran-backed Hezbollah attack on Israeli targets in Buenos Aires.

The fact that Buenos Aires has a long history of being the target of Irans terror attacks and that this has not diminished in the slightest should help convince the G20 to tackle the many problems caused by the Iranian Regime. After all, the US is already doing its bit by placing incredible economic sanctions against Iran in order to reduce the amount of money that Iran can spend on its terrorist militias after the US pulled out of the 2015 nuclear deal in May.

However, the US push for greater accountability on the Iranian Regime will likely be met with opposition by countries that are still a part of the nuclear deal  China, Russia, France, the UK, and Germany  or countries that still benefit from trade with Iran  China, Turkey, Japan, South Korea, and India. These countries need to realise that global security is far more important than any financial benefit and they must agree to take strong action against the Iranian Regime.

US financial sanctions on Iran, imposed after the US pulled out of the nuclear deal in May, are already putting pressure on Iran to stop their malign behaviour. Sanctions from all the G20 countries would ensure that Iran ends its dangerous destabilisation of the region and the world.
It is expected that there will be oil output cuts at the beginning of next year  not just because of the U.S. sanctions on Iran but also because of the U.S.  China trade war that is going on.

Saudi Arabia is likely to be the most affected by the changes in the oil market but it will be able to react accordingly thanks to the establishment of a more flexible monitoring committee. The committee in Vienna with be run by Russia and it will provide recommendations so that Saudi Arabia can react appropriately to the market situation so that it does not have to wait until OPEC makes a unanimous ministerial decision.

Iran has been pushing for the two current monitoring committees to be scrapped, thus it will be in a worse position than before. Iran wants the monitoring committees to be scrapped because they are predominantly against the interests of Iran.

When the U.S. State Department announced that it expects all foreign countries to cut their imports of Iranian oil to zero, it was stated that absolutely no waivers would be granted. Then a short time later, it said that countries would be dealt with on an individual basis.

Then the Trump administration announced at the last-minute that a number of exemptions had been made  more than expected. This resulted in the expected loss of Iranian crude oil from the market being very wrong which only added to the oversupply.

The pressure on Iran, however, is having a major impact. The Iranian regime is trying to make out that the U.S. sanctions are not having any major consequences and several officials have spoken about how Iran will continue to trade oil despite the restrictions the U.S. is imposing.

However, this is not the reality. The Iranian regime is losing its grip on power. It was once a key player in the oil market as it is a major producer, but it is now being taken over by Venezuela and Nigeria.

Furthermore, it was once powerful in the sense that it was able to act as it pleases without any regard for international norms and without any fear of repercussions from the international community. This was especially true when former U.S. President Barack Obama was in office. Obama was so focused on getting Iran to sign a nuclear agreement that he basically let Iran get away with anything. He did not dare call Iran out on its belligerence for fear that it would not sign the nuclear deal.

However, times have changed and President Trump is trying to get Iran under control. It is the number one threat to peace and security in the region. And Trump is treating it as such.
Nearly one year after UN Ambassador Nikki Haley led a similar event displaying Iranian missile components recovered from Saudi Arabia, newly recovered weapons and weapon fragments were showcased at the same Washington military base, to demonstrate that Irans provision of weapons to regional militant groups has not diminished, but has actually accelerated.

Last years exhibition was focused on the presence of Iranian-made missiles in the arsenal of the Shiite Houthi rebel group, which initiated a war against the internationally recognized government of Yemen in 2014.

Thursdays event also featured examples of these weapons being fired into Saudi Arabian territory by the Houthi, but Brian Hook the US special representative for Iran also explained that some of the components had been recovered from Bahrain and Afghanistan, and that intact weapons had been seized in the Strait of Hormuz, possibly destined for Syria or any other areas of open conflict.

Iran has tirelessly supported the dictator Bashar al-Assad during the seven-year Syrian Civil War, reportedly spending billions of dollars on the endeavor at a time when the Iranian economy was suffering the effects of sanctions, and then struggling to take advantage of the relief that was granted under the 2015 Iran nuclear deal.

President Donald Trump withdrew the US from that agreement in May, and American sanctions came back into full force earlier in November. But the Trump administrations efforts to ramp up pressure on Tehran predate those development, with Haleys weapons exhibition being one example thereof.

Thursdays exhibition accordingly fulfilled a similar purpose, highlighting the same security threats and underscoring the potential benefit of close relations with Saudi Arabia at a time when Iran is exerting greater influence over much of the Middle East. Mr. Hook sought to underscore that recent weapons seizures represent signs of that influence seeping into new areas while also remaining strong in very familiar regions.

In Afghanistan, high-level talks between Iranian officials and the Taliban are a fairly recent development, although Tehran has a long track record of cooperating with Sunni militant groups in pursuit of anti-Western aims, in spite of the Islamic Republics hardline Shiite identity. Meanwhile, Iranian sponsorship of Shiite militant proxies is firmly entrenched in Syria and Iraq, and even more so in Lebanon, the home of the Hezbollah terrorist group that was responsible for numerous attacks that killed Western nationals in the 1980s and 90s.

According to the Associated Press, Hooks commentary on the Iranian weapons cache concluded that Tehran was further bolstering supplies to all of these entities. The US chose to disseminate this information in order to emphasize apparent Iranian violations United Nations bans on the export of conventional weapons and missiles, which remain in place on Iran until 2021 and 2024, respectively.

This in turn is being presented to the international community as grounds for more collective action to penalize the Iranian regime and to expand the emerging US policy of maximum pressure through sanctions and other means.

The Iranian threat is growing, and we are accumulating risk of escalation in the region if we fail to act, Hook said, according to Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty. Such statements appear tailored-made to highlight the potential consequences of US allies failure to exert pressure on the regime in the short term, to limit its capabilities for traditional and asymmetrical warfare.

Newsweek further quoted Hook as saying that the US will not hesitate to use military force when its interests are directly threatened, but also that its preference is to use all of the tools that are at our disposal diplomatically. Foremost among these tools are economic sanctions, which many of the Iranian regimes political opponents have credited with boosting the morale of anti-government protesters inside the Islamic Republic and contributing to the prospects for domestically-driven regime change.

The leading coalition of pro-democratic Iranian activist groups, the National Council of Resistance of Iran, still maintains that regime change is the likely final outcome of an ongoing protest movement that began with a nationwide uprising last December. While the NCRI tends to encourage European nations to embrace a policy of economic sanctions in order to promote the cause of domestic change, the US government urges the same policy on the basis of shared Western interests in the region.

Agence France Presse described Hooks lecture at Joint Base AnacostiaBolling as shaming European allies over their supposed disregard for the destructive influence wielded over the Middle East by Irans theocratic dictatorship. The report also noted that Hook boasted of the greater freedom and leverage the US has enjoyed in confronting this issues since withdrawal from the nuclear agreement.

The current international environment has created unacceptably low expectations for the regime in Tehran, he said. In recent months, the European Union has taken steps to provide Iran with means to evade US sanctions, and the only apparent criterion for these additional incentives is the regimes compliance with the basic requirements of the nuclear deal, or Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action.

Although the JCPOA itself imposed no additional limits on Irans weapons stockpiles or transfers, the UN Security Council resolution governing its implementation called upon the Islamic Republic to avoid all further development and testing of nuclear-capable ballistic missiles. However, Tehran quickly disregarded this resolution and conducted approximately a dozen such tests over the following three years.

This established part of the justification for withdrawal by the Trump administration, which also determined that Irans ongoing contributions to regional conflict and instability are in violation of the spirit of the agreement.

Thursdays exhibition was a prominent example of the administrations effort to shine a spotlight on Irans destructive influence, but it is only one of many. Whats more, those efforts may be intensifying in the wake of the re-imposition of sanctions, which has prompted clear defiance from the Iranian regime.

Hooks affirmation of a military option was arguably a response to that defiance, as it came just one day after Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei told his nations military officers that they should expand their capabilities and their presence in international waters to the greatest extent possible.

The Iranian state media outlet Fars News Agency went further on Thursday, declaring that Tehran was willing to share naval experiences with other countries of the region in order to show them how to become strong enough to protect their own security without any need to foreign powers.

This thinly veiled reference to Saudi Arabias supposed dependence on the United States was indicative of the Iranian regimes self-identity as a bulwark against Western regional influence and a prospective standard-bearer for an axis of resistance comprised of Muslim-major and Islamist-governed nations.

As part of this mission of regional hegemony, Iran is currently in the process of trying to construct a Shia crescent through the Arab heartlands of Iraq and Syria by linking up with traditional Shia communities, the Telegraph noted on Thursday, in the context of a report on the actions of Iranian hit squads in Iraq.

The report highlighted two prominent Iranian politicians who were reportedly assassinated by operatives affiliated with the Quds Force, the foreign special operations division of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps that is the driving force behind the proliferation of the various regional militias that are acquiring ever larger quantities of Iranian weapons.

One of these assassination victims, Adel Shaker El-Tamimi, was working on healing the Muslim sectarian schism that had been exacerbated by Iranian influence over Iraqi politics, as well as reaching out to Irans Arab adversaries and erstwhile partners of Iraq, a fellow Arab nation.

Resolution of either the sectarian or the geographic conflict would surely undermine Irans influence and long-term ambitions. This goes to show that Tehran is generally maintaining its position by prolonging conflicts on the periphery of its own sphere of influence, or, as the American ambassador to Yemen put it on Thursday, throwing gasoline on the fire in an area of the world thats so important to all of us.

Ambassador Matthew Tueller delivered these remarks in an interview with the Associated Press, which characterized them as further evidence that hardline US policies toward the Islamic Republic will continue. Tueller was appointed ambassador to Yemen by President Barack Obama, but his latest commentary on regional affairs are very much in line with that of the current administration, in that they hold the Iranian regime far more responsible than neighboring countries for problems in the region.

Tueller is on the verge of accepting a new posting to Baghdad, where recent revelations about hit squads are only one sign of the many local challenges that can be traced back to Iran. The US is working to focus international attention upon that specific situation alongside the more general issue of Irans overall influence.

On Thursday, the Iranian propaganda network Press TV issued a denial of the US Treasury Departments allegation that Bank Melli Iran had funneled billions of dollars to Shiite militias through its Iraqi branch. A press release from the Treasurys Office of Foreign Assets Control explained that the bank is under sanction for assisting in, sponsoring, or providing financial, material, or technological support for, or financial or other services to or in support of the IRGC Quds Force.

Cutting off funding in this way could help to undermine local militias, but they have been operating in Iraq under an Iranian banner for so long that their influence has spread into the countrys politics. Iran Focus explained this situation on Thursday, noting that figures like Hadi al-Ameri, the head of the Badr Brigade, have managed to blur the boundaries between government institutions and the coalition of Iran-backed militias known as the popular mobilization units.

In light of this outsized influence, Iran Focus argued that Iran needs to be expelled from both Iraq and Syria in order to bring peace to the Middle East. The article went on to lament the fact that major European powers have so far failed to take a clear and comprehensive position on this issue, but this is the very situation that the Trump administration is currently trying to address through its exhibition of Iranian weapons and other instances of outreach to an international audience.
Ali Akbar Salehi, the head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, credited the European Union with making concerted efforts to preserve the 2015 Iran nuclear deal and maintain transactions with Iran. But in the context of the same remarks, Salehi declared that Iran was growing impatient for economic rewards from the deal, before warning of ominous consequences if the EU does not meet Irans assumed timetable.

As Iran News Update previously noted, the tensions among Salehis various remarks were underscored by concurrent statements from other Iranian officials, including military officers who boasted of an expanded Iranian naval presence and improved technologies.

On Wednesday, EuroNews contributed to the perception of tension between seemingly friendly outreach and belligerent rhetoric during and after the Brussels talks. The report indicated that Salehi had told reporters Iran might be willing to hold talks on human rights issues with Western powers, but only if the EU first takes steps to rebalance the nuclear agreement so Tehran feels it is receiving at least as much benefit as it is giving up to its negotiating partners.

The deliberate reference to human rights issues was a departure for the clerical regime, and it is not clear that Salehi has the authority to make promises in this area. In 2015, as discussions were moving toward the signing of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei declared in no uncertain terms that his subordinates were barred from negotiating with the international community over anything other than prospective limits on the Iranian nuclear program.

Furthermore, the regime has always bristled at criticisms of its human rights record, and has made extensive use of its propaganda network in an attempt to turn those criticisms back on foreign enemies. In recent years, Khamenei has hijacked popular hashtags and topics of social justice advocacy in Western social media to accuse the US of violating the rights of minorities and women, to a greater degree than the Islamic Republic.

Iran famously maintains a policy of forced veiling for all women, as well as maintaining legal disparities between the genders, as by giving greater weight to men than women in courtroom testimony. Minorities such as the Bahai religious community are subject to clear, institutionalized discrimination which results in their being routinely barred from access to higher education and employment, among other legal and social penalties.

The Iranian government has its own institution for monitoring domestic human rights issues, but in practice that entity does not serve to investigate reported abuses or provide redress to victims, but instead issues statements disputing international criticism of the regimes human rights record while conveying the regimes talking points about the supposed cultural imposition underlying some such criticisms. In light of these longstanding activities, there is certainly grounds for skepticism regarding Salehis offer.

There is no indication that the Iranian nuclear chief provided any concrete assurances that Iran would take human rights talks seriously, as opposed to simply sitting down with European negotiators in order to systematically disregard credible accounts of prisoner abuse, institutionalized discrimination, and so on.

Any pre-existing skepticism about Tehrans friendly outreach is no doubt amplified by recent commentary coming from Supreme Leader Khamenei, who holds ultimate authority over virtually all matters of state in the Islamic Republic. On Wednesday, the Algemeiner reported that Khamenei had applauded this weeks unveiling of supposedly advanced military technology and had urged more of the same. In a statement on his official website, the supreme leader ordered military officials: Increase your capability and readiness as much as you can so Irans enemies will not even dare threaten these great people.

The term enemies is used in Iranian propaganda and public statements to refer, first and foremost, to the United States, and then also to various American allies.

The seemingly aggressive nature of Irans domestic military buildup has been supplemented by efforts to expand partnerships with other countries and non-state actors that have a similarly adversarial history of relations with the US and its allies.

In one example of this trend, Al-Monitor reported upon recent meetings between Iranian and Russian officials, at which both sides affirmed their commitment to bilateral security cooperation, which could further amplify Irans already expanded influence over the broader Middle East and especially conflict areas like Syria, Iraq, and Afghanistan.

Al-Monitor also reported that the latest Iranian-Russian security talks are focused on the issue of terrorism, even though threats from groups like the Islamic State, which is deeply at odds with Iran, have diminished greatly in the past year. While public references to anti-terror measures may represent another effort to assuage Western concerns and present a friendly image of the Islamic Republic, they are rendered ironic by the fact that threats from Iran-backed terror groups have seemingly been increasing as Tehran builds on those relationships as part of its overall strategy.

Al Arabiya pointed to this trend on Wednesday when it reported that a spokesperson for the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas issued a statement thanking Iran for its support of the great march of return, in which Palestinians have been approaching the Israeli border en masse  an exercise that has so far led to 230 deaths and 12,000 injuries. Iranian officials routinely call for the outright destruction of Israel, and Khamenei has issued statements calling upon Muslims throughout the world to donate money to the cause of arming terrorist groups in both the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.

The White House is notably sensitive to threats against Israel, but the Iranian terror threat has also extended much farther beyond Irans borders in recent months. In March, Iranian operatives were arrested in Albania for planning an attack on the residence of 3,000 members of the Iranian democratic opposition group the Peoples Mojahedin Organization of Iran. In June, European authorities foiled a plot to bomb an international gathering organized by the PMOIs parent coalition the National Council of Resistance of Iran. And in October, another arrest was carried out in Denmark, where an operative was suspected of planning the assassination of Iranian Arab opposition activists.

The simultaneous threats of traditional and asymmetrical warfare by the Iranian regime has presumably contributed to the Trump administrations unwillingness to undermine relationships with Irans other adversaries. Toward that end, the Washington Times reported on Wednesday that Secretary of State Mike Pompeo had warned against a congressional effort to limit US support for the Saudi-led military campaign in Yemen, against Houthi rebels that are backed by Iran. Pompeo argued that by further strengthening Irans position in the region, an American drawdown would do immense damage to U.S. national security interests.

Pompeo also joined President Trump in expressing support for Saudi Arabias claim that its participation in the conflict will come to an end as soon as the Iranian presence is gone. This goes to show that Iran can expect any friendly overtures to be promptly rejected by the White House unless they are backed up by a credible commitment to changes in regional behavior. But it is by no means clear that European decision making will follow the same logic.

In fact, on Wednesday the Iranian state news agency Fars issued a report indicating that Austrias commercial attache in Tehran was resolved to widening trade ties between the two countries. His commentary to this effect comes in spite of the fact that Austria was at the center of the Iranian bomb plot targeting the NCRI rally in June. The mastermind of that plot was a high-ranking Iranian diplomat in Austria named Assadollah Assadi. After the would-be bombers were detained at the French border, Assadi was arrested while visiting Germany. He is currently facing charges in Belgium.
Albania stepped up where many other countries didnt in offering shelter and refuge to the members of the Peoples Mojahedin of Iran (PMOI or MEK) when they were finally released from Iraq. They welcomed 3,000 members much to the horror of the Iranian regime that has been trying to destroy the main opposition group.

The regime is greatly concerned about the dissidents and their potential in a new country far away from the watchful eye of the mullahs. So, the regime is once again carrying out a demonization campaign against the dissidents.

tion is that the regime has gone back to its old tricks of carrying out terrorist acts against members of the opposition. Earlier this year, an Iranian diplomat based in Vienna was arrested along with two other individuals that had planned to set off a bomb at the annual Free Iran rally in Paris.

Another plot was foiled in Denmark when an agent with close ties to the Iranian ambassador in Norway was sent to assassinate a member of the opposition.

What is now concerning is that two known MOIS (Iranian ministry of intelligence and security) spies  Massoud Khodabandeh and Anne Singleton (husband and wife)  have been to Albania where the dissents are. They have been trained by Iranian intelligence agents and they have no doubt had involvement with the attacks in Iraq on Camp Liberty and Camp Ashraf where almost two thousand residents were injured and 168 lost their lives.

They were seen outside the camp gates in Iraq and now they have been spotted outside the new compound in Albania leaving a chilling sense of deja-vu.

The Iranian regime has been spreading lies about the dissidents living in Albania, saying that they are being held captive there and that they cannot leave.

It has portrayed the community as being like a prison and say that the people are tortured by the leaders. It has even claimed that members have been murdered. They give the case of Somayeh Mohammadi, a 38-year-old woman. The regime says that she is being held against her will and that her father tried to come and rescue her.

However, Struan Stevenson, coordinator of Campaign for Iran Change and former member of European Parliament, recently went to visit the compound. He spoke to Somayeh who explained that she is not being held captive and can leave if and when she wants. She explained that her reason for not wanting to see her father was because he is a member of the MOIS.

Unfortunately the Western press is not doing its due diligence when publishing stories about the MEK in Albania and they are falling for the Iranian regimes lies. The residents of Ashraf 3 are visited by their families, lawyers, politicians and trades people very frequently and they paint a picture of hard-working, resilient and peaceful people who are more than anything freedom-fighters and survivors.
- Pia Wurtzbach and Marlon Stockinger celebrated their 2nd anniversary on Thursday

- Both of them showed a glimpse of their romantic date on their Instagram stories

- The Kapamilya beauty queen and actress considers it as their 'best date ever'

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One of the most sought-after couples of today, Pia Wurtzbach and Marlon Stockinger have celebrated their 2nd anniversary on Thursday, November 29.

The two proudly shared it through Instagram stories and their fans recorded it.

The Miss Universe 2015 posted plenty of photos with Marlon in a retro-theme square print and she compiled it through a clip with a caption that says, "2 years today".

She also added some posts of their romantic night date set up and wrote "he got the idea from my Pinterest daw," referring to Marlon who seemed to be the mastermind of the sweet dinner date.

From: @piawurtzbach

Source: Instagram

She also added a very sweet statement on how she considers their date as the best.

"Best date ever. So simple. So true."

From: @piawurtzbach

Source: Instagram

From: @piawurtzbach

Source: Instagram

Moreover, Marlon didn't pass up the chance to show it to their fans too.

He posted a picture of the place where they held their celebration and also captured a photo of Pia and he composed it with "Year 2 with you. Happy anniversary love."

From: @marlonstockinger

Source: Instagram

From @marlonstockinger

Source: Instagram

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Ina previous report by KAMI, Pia Wurtzbach revealed that she became a factory worker and waitress before.

Pia is half German, half Filipina. She was crowned as Miss Universe 2015 on December 20, 2015.

Marlon Stockinger, a racer, is the first Filipino to win a formula race in Europe.

Enjoyed reading our story? Download KAMI's news app on Google Play now and stay up-to-date with major Filipino news!

Filipinos Street Quiz: Philippines tricky questions - can you answer these tricky questions? Today we are going to ask the Philippines strangers some very funny Tagalog tricky questions! These individuals from the Philippines have their answers  on KAMI HumanMeter YouTube channel!

Source: Kami.com.ph
- A Miss Q&A contestant revealed on air the ex-boyfriend of Vice Ganda from Tondo

- The person was also the ex-lover of the daily contender which made the actor react hilariously

- Vice then requested to just hide the identity of the boy

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Kapamilya comedian Vice Ganda was put in the hot seat once again after a Miss Q&A contestant revealed that he knows two of his former boyfriends.

KAMI learned that the revelation happened during the special segment for gays in the ABS-CBN noontime show, Its Showtime.

It all began when the contestant interrupted the conversation of Vice and co-host Jhong Hilario and expressed that someone wanted to greet the Phenomenal Star.

The daily contender then exposed that he was referring to the comedians former partner when he was still living in Tondo, Manila.

Before he was stopped by Vice, the gay beauty queen managed to give clues that the persons name starts with the letter B and followed by the letters E and N.

May gusto po kasing mangumusta sainyo. Si letter B. Kapitbahay ko po siya Yung ex niyo po, the contender number 2 quipped.

Yung una si Buknoy, ngayon totoo na. Kapitbahay ko siya talaga Nanonood po siya ngayon Kasi ex ko din siya! he added.

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The former Praybeyt Benjamin star then requested to not reveal the identity of the boy because he already has his own family.

He even mocked that all his secrets are already revealed in the show including his former boyfriend who is a tricycle driver.

Nananahimik na siya. May asawat anak na yon Tama na, nanahimik na. Protektahan naman natin yung pamilya niya, Vice stated.

Lahat na lang ng tungkol sa buhay ko, inihayag niyo dito sa telebisyon Wala na akong naitago, he added.

Here is the funny video:

In a previous article by , the Kapamilya actor lauded the government for the successful rehabilitation of Boracay island.

Vice is considered as one of the most successful celebrities in the Philippines now. Before he appeared on several blockbuster hits, he was a regular performer in comedy bars in Manila.

POPULAR: Read more news about Vice Ganda!

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Let's Play: Pera or Bayong? We are again catching Filipinos and suggesting them to choose: they can either take money or the unknown present (native bag). What would you choose without knowing what's inside the bag?  on HumanMeter!

Source: Kami.com.ph
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By Mary Plummer and Aaron Mendelson

The grim, graphic details are public, but sit silently in case files across Los Angeles County. Some lay out heartbreaking accounts of sexual misconduct by county employees, from verbal abuse to physical assault, including rape.

Few of the allegations have been written about before in news stories.

In response to a KPCC/LAist records request, county officials searched employment, general liability, medical malpractice and law enforcement legal filings to identify cases tied to sexual misconduct allegations. They identified 134 cases that ended with settlements or judgments.

In all, the county paid out more than $36.3 million -- including $13.7 million in attorneys' fees -- to resolve these misconduct claims between July 2004 and June 2017.

L.A. County employs 108,000 workers across the sprawl of America's most populous county. Its workforce is spread over 4,000 square miles and 34 departments.

To better manage and protect employees, the county adopted new workplace policies in 2011 and now describes them as a national gold standard. Among the program's goals: shield government employees from sexual harassment in the workplace.

Extensive public records from the county and local courts reviewed by KPCC/LAist show a giant government enterprise at times falling short of that mission.

The cases of abusive behavior include allegations of misconduct by county employees against colleagues, contractors and members of the public.

Among our findings:

Some employees who filed formal complaints said they never heard back from county authorities. In other cases, the county's response was delayed months and sometimes even years.

Staffers for then-Supervisor Michael Antonovich talked about the need to "protect" their boss as they allegedly violated county policies in handling a workplace harassment case involving colleagues.

An outsized share of the county's sexual misconduct cases originated within the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department.

In several cases, the amount the county spent on attorneys' fees rivaled or topped the payout to victims.

A PATTERN OF HARASSMENT

LAC + USC Medical Center is a public hospital that serves some of the poorest residents in the region. It was where county employee Gilbert Montejo worked, most recently supervising ultrasound technicians.

In the fall of 2010, one young woman was just weeks into her new job when her ordeal with Montejo began.

Montejo called her into his office, locked the door, switched off the lights and began making unwanted advances, she said in a legal claim that he responded to by denying wrongdoing. She was 23. He was 53.

The case resulted in a settlement. In her claim, the woman said Montejo touched her all over her body, in sexual abuse that eventually escalated into forced oral sex.

Three other female ultrasound technicians supervised by Montejo made similar allegations in their claims. Each described Montejo calling her into his office, repeatedly grabbing and kissing her against her wishes, and later asking her to keep his conduct a secret. (KPCC/LAist is not identifying people who alleged sexual assault by name in this article.)

The county ultimately spent nearly $870,000 in taxpayer funds to pay for attorneys and resolve sexual abuse claims against Montejo made by the four women.

The allegations made by the woman who began working for Montejo when she was 23 were graphic.

She alleged in documents filed in L.A. County Superior Court that while she was pregnant, "Montejo would call her into his office and, while putting his finger inside of plaintiff's vagina, he would pull down his pants or take out his penis and masturbate. When he finished, he would wipe his penis with a tissue." Montejo denied the allegation in a court filing. Attempts to interview Montejo were unsuccessful.

The woman's attorney said her client, who was employed through a staffing agency, didn't initially report the abuse because she feared losing her job at the county-run hospital.

Her case alone cost county taxpayers more than $500,000. She reported Montejo's conduct on June 7, 2013, more than two years after she said it began.

And her attorney wrote in her claim that Montejo "was sexually harassing employees that he supervised as early as 2007."

Five days after she filed her complaint, Montejo was suspended without pay for 30 days. A letter from the county's resources division addressed him: "It is alleged you demanded, on multiple occasions, [the woman] to perform sexual favors for preferential treatment."

Montejo initially contested the suspension. A letter written on his behalf states that he "specifically and categorically denies any and all allegations." But he quickly dropped his challenge and retired.

Around that same time, complaints filed on behalf of other victims also claimed that Montejo, who controlled the schedules of ultrasound technicians, warned the women not to report his actions.



via GIPHY

One of the women alleged in court documents that supervisors at the hospital knew of Montejo's actions "but did nothing to stop him."

Los Angeles County's Department of Health Services, which operates the hospital, responded to those claims, saying they "took immediate and appropriate actions in response by launching internal investigations and cooperating with local law enforcement."

"However, because the matter involves confidential personnel matters, DHS is unable to give you a more detailed response," department officials wrote in an emailed statement.

Separately, county attorneys said swift action once they were aware of allegations about Montejo helped limit attorneys' fees in the civil cases.

Montejo's woes weren't over. In 2014, nearly a year after he retired, Montejo pleaded no contest to three counts of battery in a criminal case related to the workplace allegations against him.

He was sentenced to 30 days in jail and dozens of Sex Compulsives Anonymous classes. He was also forbidden from accepting a job as supervisor or one where he controlled the work schedules of others.

The sentencing order requires Montejo to stay 100 yards away from six different women, including the four who settled with the county, and banned communication with them. He is barred from going near his old workplace, the LAC + USC hospital, under the terms of the order.

He kept his county pension. Montejo has collected upwards of $60,000 in pension and benefits from the county every full year since he retired in July 2013, according to the nonprofit Transparent California, which collects public records on government pay and pensions.

KPCC repeatedly attempted to interview the women who settled with the county, through their attorney. The agency that employed two of the women who settled, XPRT Staffing, also did not return interview requests.

'A VERY ROBUST COMPLAINT AND INVESTIGATIONS MECHANISM'

"Please Ring Doorbell And Identity Yourself" a sign says on the door to the CEOP's suite of offices in the Kenneth Hahn Hall of Administration. (Photo by Susanica Tam for LAist)

When County employees want to complain of workplace sexual harassment, racism and age discrimination, they go through an office in the basement of a downtown Los Angeles building.

The County Intake Specialist Unit takes in all complaints about conduct that violates state and federal protections for religion, race, sexual orientation and other categories. Most complaints are submitted online, but employees can report complaints in person by visiting the suite of offices and ringing a doorbell.

From mid-2011 to late 2017, the unit fielded about 4,800 complaints of sexual harassment, 17 percent of its complaints overall, according to public records.

The complaints include a wide-range of behavior, including issues that don't rise to the legal standard for sexual harassment, such as off-color jokes. County officials told KPCC/LAist that they have encouraged staff to report even minor incidents in order to potentially head off more egregious behavior.

Part 2: Sexual Misconduct At The L.A. Sheriff's Costs Millions -- Outpacing Other County Departments

Late last year, after sexual abuse allegations emerged against high-profile men across the nation, the county saw an uptick in complaints from its employees. At the time, the Board of Supervisors called for a review of countywide procedures and requested some improvements.

But in interviews with KPCC, officials said their process and strategy works.

"We are state of the art. We have been doing this for quite a while," Vickey Bane, the executive director of the County Equity Oversight Panel [CEOP]. "We have a very robust complaint and investigations mechanism in the county, and I'm just proud that we have this in existence."

"Every complaint gets an investigation, which is what the law requires," said County Counsel Mary Wickham.

"So many folks just want to be heard," Wickham added. "They just want to have a place where they can complain, and be listened to, and be assured that something is going to be done. That's really what most people want."

Senior Assistant County Counsel Rose Belda stood behind the County's policies, saying the program has helped to change the county's workplace culture for the better and prevent problems from escalating.

"If there's a better one, call us," she said. "We'll copy it."

Still, the county is making changes.

An updated website launched in March with a goal of making the complaint process more accessible, at the request of L.A. County Supervisors.

County staff drafted new language to advise vendors and contractors of county discrimination and harassment policies.

In June, a memo to the Supervisors cited a need for additional staffing to manage the rising number of complaints.

In September, an audit scrutinized 50 cases to track whether CEOP's recommendations for discipline were followed. Auditors discovered that nearly half the time it had been reduced or eliminated. The audit found the average time it took from the time of the initial complaint to when an employee faced discipline was 18 months. And in six cases, discipline remained unenforced for six months or longer.

Why? The audit noted that departments had discretion to reduce recommended discipline. Auditors said tracking how those decision are made should be a top priority.

Belda did not respond to requests for comment on the audit. CEOP has until early 2019 to implement recommendations that include speeding up responses to complaints.

SECRECY AND SETTLEMENTS

KPCC/LAist reached out to more than a dozen people who sued Los Angeles County with claims of sexual harassment. No one agreed to speak on the record.

Many can't under the terms of their payouts.

In some cases, those who alleged harassment against county employees and were paid settlements are unable to speak about their experiences, having signed confidentiality clauses as part of their agreements.

One woman prohibited from speaking: a mother who was sexually assaulted during a home inspection by a Department of Children and Family Services social worker. According to her account, the county employee threatened to take away her children and then sexually assaulted her during a home visit, all while her baby was asleep in a nearby room. She reported him to authorities.The employee, Yadullah "Eddie" Lorghaba, was arrested in 2010, charged and then convicted at trial of sexual battery. He pleaded not guilty. Lorghaba was sentenced to a year in prison.

In a civil case about the same incident, the woman settled with the county for $32,500.

But she can't discuss the case, even if she'd like to. The settlement she signed forbids her and her attorneys from talking about the case, without written approval from the county. It goes further than most, banning her from disclosing the settlement, which is a public record, to the media.



via GIPHY

KPCC/LAist reviewed the text of 90 of the settlement agreements provided by L.A. County. Forty-one of them include language regarding nondisclosure or nondisparagement, prohibiting the people who say they suffered sexual misconduct from speaking out.

County attorneys said agreements are highly case-specific, and safeguard employee reputations on all sides.

But some question the use of the practice. Plaintiff's attorney Timothy Kearns, who has represented people alleging sexual harassment against their employers, argued that confidentiality agreements protect employers, not plaintiffs.

"You know how many times I proposed a confidentiality agreement? Zero," Kearns said. "I hate confidentiality."

Nondisclosure agreements or NDAs have become intensely controversial in the wake of the #MeToo movement. Critics charge that powerful figures, including Harvey Weinstein and Roger Ailes, have used the agreements to silence their accusers and hide alleged harassment.

Concern that such agreements stifle victims led to action in Sacramento.

In August, following a string of sexual harassment allegations against members of the California Legislature, Gov. Jerry Brown signed a bill banning the use of nondisclosure agreements in sexual harassment and sexual assault cases. The bill's author, Sen. Connie Leyva, argued that "secret settlements serve one primary purpose: to keep sexual predators away from the public eye and continuing to torment and hurt innocent victims."

Still, attorneys say sometimes their clients just want to move on, and have little desire to relive details of their ordeal in public. Separately, some hope that large settlements can spur organizations to improve workplaces -- even if they're only worried about their bottom line.

"If we just simply make it financially infeasible to have harassers, then people will stop harassing," Kearns said. "That's the goal."

County attorneys stressed that the decision to settle a case doesn't mean an admission of wrongdoing.

"We settle cases for a lot of reasons. I'm not saying we believe everything in the complaint, or anything in the complaint," Rose Belda said. "That's just not how settlements work."

STILL ON THE JOB

Those who deal with workplace harassment cases say preventing sexual misbehavior comes down to two factors: training and accountability.

"Where employers provide internal remedies to employees that sufficiently address the complaint, they're far less likely to end up in expensive litigation," said defense attorney Traci Park, who has represented several municipalities in Southern California.

Yet it only takes one employee harassing another to spark problems.

In 2012, Paula Ferrell began work as an assistant at the Antelope Valley office of Los Angeles County Supervisor Michael Antonovich. Antonovich was a fixture in local politics, serving over three decades on the powerful Board of Supervisors before he termed-out in 2016.

Ferrell said in court filings that shortly after she started in the office, her boss Sherrie Borzaga began a campaign of harassment. Borzaga frequently and emphatically expressed a romantic interest in Ferrell's husband, who was a sheriff's deputy, according to the documents.

At one point, Borzaga allegedly told Ferrell: "If you die in a car accident, I'll be the woman standing next to your husband in a black dress at your funeral. I always wanted to be married to a Deputy Sheriff."

Ferrell said she informed Norman Hickling, at the time a senior field deputy in the supervisor's office, about the alleged harassment.

In her legal complaint, she said Hickling never reported it, which would be a violation of county policy. Instead, according to the filings, he set up a conference call in an attempt to mediate the conflict. The call included Borzaga, Hickling and Tony Bell, who at the time was Antonovich's assistant chief deputy. Bell now works for Supervisor Kathryn Barger in a similar role; neither he nor Hickling nor Borzaga agreed to interview requests.

During the call, according to the complaint, Hickling encouraged the employees to work things out, saying: "We are all here to protect Supervisor Antonovich. We need to do what's best for him."

In May 2013, court records state Ferrell made a telephone complaint directly to the County Equity Oversight Panel charged with looking into claims. She said she never heard back. County attorneys said they were unable to comment on the allegation, since it involved a personnel issue. Attorneys who worked on the defense for the county and Borzaga denied the allegations in court filings.

The case did not attract news coverage at the time.

Two days after Ferrell's complaint, she was dismissed from her job, the court documents assert. The county settled the case for $42,500.

In the settlement the county said it "denies, repudiates and disputes each and every claim, allegation, and cause of action." The agreement contains a confidentiality clause for Ferrell and bars Ferrell's attorney from publicizing or even disclosing the settlement "in any forum or form."

'AN EXPLOSION IN THE WORKPLACE'

Details on the county's handling of sexual misconduct reports by employees are limited. Of course, accusations are not always true. They're also not all equally serious. L.A. County data shows complaints about equity issues are frequently found to not rise to the level of a potential violation, for many reasons.

Still, when things do go wrong, misconduct complaints can surface serious issues.

"Once harassment happens, on the personal level for workers, it's like an explosion in the workplace," said SEIU Local 721 Communications Director Coral Itzcalli. The union represents about 60,000 public service workers in L.A. County spanning jobs in foster care, sanitation and healthcare.

Itzcalli said she knows of county workers who experienced severe stress after incurring abuse from supervisors at work that led to problems sleeping and tensions with family members. Some problems were so bad, workers felt compelled to take medical leave.

"I didn't feel like I had a voice. I felt frustrated, anxious. Stressed. A lot of anxiety."

"They just couldn't take it anymore to be at work," she said.

Since spring of 2016, Itzcalli said her union has worked to remove or transfer more than 25 supervisors whom it identified as problems from the county's Department of Health Services alone. Sexual harassment was among a range of issues workers there reported to the union. Some said they were spat on or physically assaulted by supervisors.

The 134 cases that ended in settlements or judgments over the period reviewed by KPCC/LAist are the exception, not the rule. Most workers who report harassment never sue.

Medical case worker Cindie Magdaleno took the more common approach. She filed a formal complaint after her female supervisor verbally harassed her.

Magdaleno told KPCC/LAist that she experienced verbal harassment from her supervisor from the late 2000s until the woman was transferred a few years ago.

Magdaleno, who was working at the county-funded Olive View/UCLA Medical Center in Sylmar, first complained to county officials about her treatment in 2011. (County Counsel said such complaints are confidential when asked about her case.) Magdaleno said she kept working for the supervisor for several years while the woman made repeated crude sexual comments to her about her looks and appearance.

"I didn't feel like I had a voice. I felt frustrated, anxious. Stressed. A lot of anxiety. Maybe I want to say poor attendance, no will to come to work," she said. "Having to document and make sure that you create this strong timeline. It was pretty frustrating, you know, sleepless countless nights."

Five additional people filed a group complaint against the same supervisor, according to the SEIU's Itzcalli. The union stepped in to help and negotiated a mediation. Of the six individuals who experienced problems with the supervisor, Itzcalli said the county found two people, including Magdaleno, were victims of sexual harassment. Others experienced verbal abuse and abuse of power, Itzcalli said.

After her supervisor was transferred, Magdaleno said she was able to resume her normal work life.

"I refused actually to be, to transfer myself out or to move. I felt that I needed to protect my co-workers," she said. "It was not any longer just about me. It was about other county workers. And I needed to, you know, be that voice."

HOW WE REPORTED THIS STORY

This story was reported using public records and documents. The county, which does not specifically track cases related to sexual misconduct, identified relevant cases in response to a KPCC/LAist records request. An initial response provided data on a few dozen Employment Practices cases. A subsequent, broader search turned up more than 130 cases by also searching General Liability, Law Enforcement, and Medical Malpractice case types. According to a county attorney who handled the request, "The cases in each of these categories which referenced the term 'sex' or any derivation thereof were examined and those cases involving sexual misconduct, sexual harassment, or any related behavior by County employees were identified."

This universe of 'sexual misconduct' cases is unlikely to match definitions of sexual harassment or sexual misconduct used by other jurisdictions, making direct comparisons difficult.

KPCC/LAist also requested attorneys' fees incurred by the county in its defense for each of the cases identified as sexual misconduct by the county. These costs are rarely reported in the media in stories about settlements and judgments, but help provide a fuller picture of the true costs of such cases.

The county did not include one of the four civil cases that named Gilbert Montejo as a defendant in its data on sexual misconduct. A county attorney said it had been "misplaced" in the process of providing updated data, and it is included in the figures presented in this story.

The details of the cases referenced in this story are typically drawn from the case files. An editorial decision was made by KPCC/LAist to anonymize the names of those who alleged sexual assault, particularly men and women whose names had not previously been in the media in connection with the case. Not every misconduct case involved an allegation of sexual assault. Other records utilized in this story include criminal court records, Los Angeles County Civil Service Commission records, Sheriff's Department inmate records, and publicly available data on the county workforce.

With additional reporting from David Rodriguez.

Investigative journalism matters. Here at LAist, we believe Angelenos deserve hard-hitting reporting that holds officials accountable and shines a needed light on our government and public institutions. Now that we're part of KPCC, those stories are made possible by generous people like you. Independent, local journalism isn't cheap, but with your support we can keep delivering it. Donate now.
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We love In-N-Out Burger. We discuss it on the radio. We cover its political donations. We'll fight you if you talk smack about it. On the 5 freeway, we'll drive past dozens of other fast food joints so we can eat at the outpost in Kettleman City, even when it means waiting in a 30-minute line on Thanksgiving weekend. But as much as we love the sinner, we hate the sin  and In-N-Out's original sin is their fries.

The fries at In-N-Out are pale, limp, undersalted potato tubes that begin congealing into a soggy, oily mass the moment they emerge from the fryer. God help you if you wait until you're done with your burger to eat your fries. By that time, they're hot garbage  except that they're cold.

Standard fries (in the foreground) vs. well done fries (in the background) from In-N-Out. (Elina Shatkin/LAist)

We're not alone in thinking this. We posted a Facebook query asking, "How do you feel about In & Out fries? Love em or hate em?" We learned that people are REALLY in their feelings about this issue  and most of those feelings are negative.



"They're dry!"

"HATE THEM HATE THEM HATE THEM"

"I think they're terrible!"

"YUK"

"They are wrong. In every way possible."

The responses fell into three categories. There were the critics...

Neil Strawder

"I don't care for them and never order them. Taste like salted cardboard to me. I think it's the oil they use. I'd rather have 2 double doubles instead of 1 with fries."





Stephen Hoffman

"I don't care for them, but it's part of the bargain for the best fast food burger."





Valentina Silva Charson

"The texture is like cold fries, even when they're hot."





Leo Duran

"Bad. 'Fresh cut' is a marketing term meant to make them sound good, but it's a process that yields a mediocre crunch and gloss on the outside. Double-fried fries all the way."





Gina Kelly

"They don't taste like anything but if you need to feel like you're eating fries, I guess they're ok in a pinch. I always end up ordering them and then I'm disappointed as if I think they're going to be better."





Animal style fries at In-N-Out. (Jessica Rossi/Flickr Creative Commons)

There were the situationalists...



Felicia Friesema

"Ambivalent. Their exceedingly short shelf life is their big weakness."





Janet Tscha

"They are good for first 5-10 mins in the bag while driving."





Valerie Mortimer Jones

"I only like them within the context of the In N Out experience. Like, if you served me a plate of them on their own I'd be like OH NOOOOOOPE. But they add magic to the burger & shake. I was raised in the valley so I'm basically 30% comprised of In N Out."





Drew Fansler

"In-N-Out's fries won't change your life. No, they're not blanched low and then crisped high like Bourdain's Les Halles french fry recipe calls for, because if the fryers had to be divided between low and high temperatures, In-N-Out wouldn't be able to make them fast enough to serve from a drive-thru window, or they would have to build out the kitchen so much that there would be no two-tops for anyone to overstay their welcome at the Culver City location that's been the closest In-N-Out to me six years running. But I love In-N-Out and the fries are included in that experience. I prefer them light well, and I think Animal Style fries are gross."





Christina Wong

"I like them when they are hot and fresh out of the fryer. I have to eat them first before the burger, otherwise when the fries get cold it's like eating soggy cardboard."





And there were the fans...



Lisa Hirsch Lozano

"I like them! My husband hates them."





...although they were few and far between.

Writer Melissa Chadburn is one of them. She grew up in Los Angeles and hung out at the In-N-Out on Venice Blvd. near Robertson, just north of Culver City.

"I grew up in poverty and most of my exposure to food, growing up, was around canned food," she says. "As a teenager, I started to sort of be more discerning and I was a vegetarian. I still wasn't very exposed to produce... and I didn't drive. So the food that was available to me in the area was Taco Bell, Fred's Deli and In-N-Out. I loved that [In-N-Out] had a secret menu. I liked the culture. I loved that they made their fries out of potato. I loved that you could see the potatoes. I liked that you could see where your food came from."

Dave Lieberman doesn't count himself a fan of the chain's fries but he echoes that thought (via Facebook). "At least they're visibly cut from potatoes," he says, "rather than being formed into fry-like shapes from God knows what, like most fast-food fries."

Chadburn still prefers In-N-Out's fries to the varietals from other chains but she knows she's in the minority. "I was actually shocked to think that people didn't like their fries," she says.

The In-N-Out Burger in Hollywood, California, in June 2015. (Mike Mozart/Flickr Creative Commons)

Why? Why? Why?

In-N-Out makes such a good fast food burger. Why are their fries so damn bad? Because they don't double-fry their potatoes  and all of the best French fries in the world are cooked at least twice.

Steve Samson, the chef and owner of Sotto, Rossoblu and Superfine Pizza, explains why.

He says In-N-Out starts out well, using the Kennebec, a starchy potato that doesn't have as much sugar as a Russet. This results in fries with a crisp exterior and a soft interior  when they're properly cooked.

To achieve that, the potatoes must be soaked in water before they're fried, ideally as much as overnight. In-N-Out doesn't do that. They fry their potatoes almost immediately after they cut them. You can see employees using a contraption that looks like an orange juice squeezer to slice fresh potatoes then tossing them in deep fryers, almost immediately after.

"The only way to make a really good french fry is to cook it at least twice, if not three times," Samson says.

For the perfect fries, Samson says you should blanch them in oil at 250 to 275 F for five to six minutes. Then you need to take them out of the oil and lay them flat. You can now refrigerate or freeze them, if you want. Shortly before you plan to serve the fries, drop them into 375 F oil for a quick, second fry.

The first fry cooks the potatoes all the way through. The second fry achieves a crisp, golden exterior.

Multi-Michelin-starred, molecular chef Heston Blumenthal has a custom triple-cooking method in which potatoes are cut, soaked, boiled, fried at a lower temperature and then finished at a higher temperature.

You don't have to go that route but perfect fries, whether they're made in-house from scratch or bought frozen in mass quantities (plenty of high-end restaurants do this, BTW) need to be cooked twice.

"I don't know what temperature [In-N-Out] cooks their fries at," Samson says, "but there's no way, with all the starch that's in it, for them to get crispy. Even if you cook it longer and well done, it's still not gonna be the same thing as double-frying it."

Which brings us to the workaround.

Standard fries (in the foreground) vs. well done fries (in the background) from In-N-Out. (Elina Shatkin/LAist)

How To Order The Fries

There are ways around the terribleness of In-N-Out's fries. Most obviously: don't order them. If a fast food burger doesn't feel complete without a side of fries, ask for them "well done" or "light well."

"I order them well done and they're perfect," says Len Grigorian. "Otherwise, they kind of suck after 10 minutes."

Like In-N-Out's not so secret "secret menu," this is one of those SoCal tricks. The fries won't be brilliant  they'll taste like Potato Stix  but they'll be golden and edible.

For some people, that still doesn't cut it.

"Fries better be good to be worth ordering, since they're never good for you," says food writer Josh Lurie. "In-N-Out falls flat in the French fry department. The idea that they need to be ordered well-done to make them tolerable is unacceptable. In-N-Out doesn't make many things, so everything should be on-point, not just burgers."

To take a page from the book of the fast food chain's CEO, Lynsi Snyder-Ellingson, a devout Christian, when it comes to In-N-Out's fries, we're going to love the sinner, hate the sin.
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Sidewalk vendors who sell hot dogs and churros around Los Angeles will be able to get permits after the City Council approved the idea today.

A plan to legalize and regulate sidewalk vending has been working its way through City Hall for years. The approval came on a 13-0 vote on Wednesday.

Here's what you need to know:

Q: What was voted on today?

The City Council voted on a plan that will let sidewalk vendors sell food and other items legally and obtain permits.

In a nutshell, it will establish rules and regulations for the thousands of street vendors who work all over the city, in compliance with a new state law.

Now, there are still some details to iron out.

On Tuesday, three council committees recommended moving ahead with a permit system. This is what advocates for the vendors have been supporting. Vendors will eventually be able to pay a fee and get a permit. These fees will be used to help police the program and educate the vendors about the permit system.

Vendors will get a steady spot to sell from and will need to follow certain rules.

LA City Councilman Curren Price as council gets ready to vote on legal street vending plan: With todays vote we are going to help thousands of micro-entrepreneurs come out of the shadows and become part of LAs formal economy.  Leslie Berestein Rojas (@Multi_American) November 28, 2018

Q: It seems we've been talking about street vending regulation for a long time. This permit plan has been in the works for a while, hasn't it?

Yes, this particular plan has been under review for five years.

Back in 2013, Council members Curren Price and Jose Huizar first introduced this proposal to legalize street vending, and it has been evolving ever since. There have been countless committee meetings, public meetings and rallies on this issue.

But the plan really got a push this fall. That's when Gov. Jerry Brown signed a bill, S.B. 946, which decriminalized street vending all over the state.

That's not to say street vending became legal, but it made it so that vendors are no longer subject to criminal penalties. The idea in part was to keep them off the radar of immigration officials, since many street vendors are immigrants, including those in the country illegally.

The city took a similar step last year, before the state acted, but a vendor can still get a citation for selling on the sidewalk, much like a parking ticket. And until the new ordinance kicks in, they can still be cited. However, the approved plan allows for lower citation fees.

What's really moved this forward, though, is that the new state bill also calls for cities to come up with a way to regulate street vendors in accordance with the state law, which kicks in this January. If they don't have specific regulations for vendors to follow, they can't cite vendors. So the city was trying to comply with that law by the end of the year.

The Los Angeles City Council voted on a plan to allow street vendors to operate legally with permits. (Photo by Ross McLain/flickr via Creative Commons)

Q: So how will this permitting work?

Here's how it will go:

Street vendors would pay for a permit to set up on sidewalks and get a regular spot, with certain restrictions. For example, vendors will have to maintain a set distance from one another, and they can't block the public right-of-way.

They would need to obtain health permits from the county -- which, by the way, some already do.

There would also be no-vending zones around the city. One example is Hollywood Boulevard. That's where lots of brick-and-mortar merchants have complained about vendors crowding the sidewalks and competing with small businesses.

Under the new ordinance, street vendors must stay 500 feet from the Hollywood Walk of Fame, Universal Studios, and the El Pueblo de Los Angeles historical monument near Olvera Street. They'll also have to avoid Dodger Stadium, the Hollywood Bowl, the Staples Center and the L.A. Coliseum during events.

Q: Wouldn't businesses have veto power over where street vendors can operate?

No, that was once in the proposal, but it proved very contentious.

Street taco vendor Dulce Vasquez says shes ready to pay for a permit to sell legally because we are not criminals. LA has just legalized street vending and approved a permit plan. pic.twitter.com/9Iz7kOOyYb  Leslie Berestein Rojas (@Multi_American) November 28, 2018

The city had also considered limiting vendors to two on each side of a city block. This is no longer planned.

But the city is moving ahead with the restrictions noted above, and also some limitations in parks. For example, street vendors won't be able to set up within a certain distance of a park building, such as a recreation center.

Q: If there is a permit system, how much would it cost? And will there be some that don't want to pay?

The cost of permits won't be determined for about another year. Vendors attending Wednesday's City Council meeting said they would be glad to pay for one; one said he'd appreciate a flexible pricing system.

However, back in the 1990s, there was a failed attempt to create a street vending zone in MacArthur Park. Some paid to operate there - and there were vendors that did not want to pay, and they undercut the ones who did pay, and the whole thing eventually went bust.

This is one reason why vendor advocates have pushed for a citywide system.

Q: So will I still be able to walk down the street in Silver Lake at night and get a bacon-wrapped hot dog?

You should be able to get a bacon-wrapped hot dog. Your favorite vendor may not be in the same spot, but you'll see be able to find someone selling hot dogs.

Q: When can we expect the plan to kick in?

According to the city attorney's office, enforcement of the new rules can begin after the mayor signs the ordinance and it's published by the city clerk. The mayor has 10 days to sign it. But it might take the city another year to flesh out the planned permit system.

UPDATES:

11:15 a.m.: This article was updated with information that the City Council approved the plan.

1:08 p.m.: This article was updated with more details about the approved street vending plan.

Nov. 29, 4:45 p.m.: This article was updated with additional details on the no-vending zones and when the sidewalk vending plan kicks in.

This article was originally published at 7 a.m.

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The family of Melyda Corado announced this morning they have filed a wrongful-death lawsuit against the City of Los Angeles and Los Angeles Police Department officers Sinlen Tse and Sarah Winans. The Silver Lake Trader Joe's assistant manager was killed on July 21 when the two officers fired towards a suspect who had run into the store.

The suit was filed by Corado's father and brother, Salvador Albert Corado and Albert Corado. It accuses the defendents of negligence, violation of civil rights, battery, wrongful death, and negligent hiring, training and supervision.

In a statement, lawyers for the Corado family note that they've requested the release of unedited bodycam, dashcam and Trader Joe's surveillance footage from LAPD for "months," and that their requests have been ignored. They add that LAPD has also put a hold on Melyda Corado's autopsy report.

The Corado family is demanding a trial by jury.

Corado was an innocent bystander during a standoff between officers and 28-year-old Gene Evins Atkins. Atkins had been engaged in a police chase following allegations that he shot his grandmother, then kidnapped a 17-year-old acquaintance. He then allegedly led police from South Los Angeles to Silver Lake, where he crashed his car into a pole near the Trader Joe's.

Atkins proceeded to take cover inside the market, firing at officers as he ran towards the doors.

It was at that time that officers, later identified as Sinlen Tse and Sarah Winans of Hollywood Patrol Division, fired their weapons in Atkins' direction, and fatally struck Corado in the process. Corado had reportedly walked to the front of the store after hearing the crash.

After the shots were fired, Atkins stayed inside the shop, holding more than 40 employees and customers hostage.

Tse is a six-year veteran of the force, and Winans had been a member of the LAPD for one year and eight months at the time of the incident.

Corado's family previously filed damages claims against the LAPD in early October. That complaint accused the LAPD of civil rights violations, excessive force, negligence, failure to properly train officers and conspiracy to cover-up misconduct.

UPDATES:

Nov. 28, 3:22 p.m.: This article was updated to include specifics about the lawsuit, and to add the names of the LAPD officers being sued.

This article was originally published at 12:17 p.m. on Nov. 28, 2018.

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After a big wildfire, it's fairly common to see posts on social media claiming authorites are urging anyone near the fire zone to put water and food out for wild animals fleeing the flames.

The meme has already been widely debunked, but that doesn't stop local residents and celebrities alike (are you reading this, Moby?) from racking up shares amid California's now-year-round fire season.

And it seems like the right and compassionate thing to do. Why not help animals who've lost their habitat and are searching for food? But it's not that simple, as state and federal wildlife officials have regularly explained -- most recently after the Woolsey Fire, which devastated Malibu and burned about 88 percent of National Park Service land in the Santa Monica Mountains.

Many Southern Californians have a deep love for local wildlife, but acting on their concern can impede federal law and put both humans and animals at risk, according to NPS spokeswoman Kate Kuykendall.

It's a violation of federal law to feed wild animals, but that's not stopping people from hiking into the burn zone and leaving hundreds of pounds of food, including hay, carrots, corn, apples -- even chocolate, Kuykendall said.

"Putting chocolate out is really not a good idea," she said, adding that NPS rangers have raked up and collected more than 200 pounds of food that's been left out on park land.

Park Service officials in the Santa Monica Mountains shared photos of some of the buckets of food and water they've found in the park.

"We are urging the public to stop this practice because, quite simply, it harms wildlife," NPS officials posted on Facebook.

The resulting comment thread was a case study in the impassioned division among nature lovers, with non-experts weighing in with their own beliefs about how to help animals after a devastating fire.

On one side: "Keep feeding and helping them! They are starving! This is an exemption!!" On the other: "Stop your human meddling and let nature do its thing."

NPS rangers have collected more than 200 pounds of food found left out in the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area. (Courtesy National Park Service)

Kuykendall and other NPS officials said that while people's intentions are "commendable," they could end up hurting the animals they want to help.

"What is the absolute best thing you can do for wildlife? Leave them alone and let them figure this out," one NPS ranger wrote on Facebook. "Feeding wild animals food sources that are not naturally found in the Santa Monica Mountains can make the animals sick. Water left out in buckets and other containers can lead to the easy spread of disease from one animal to another."

Park Service biologist Justin Brown, who has studied wildlife in the Santa Monica Mountains for eight years, said the biggest threat to the animals isn't starvation, but safety.

"It's more than just food," Brown told LAist Friday. "It doesn't fix the main problem: that there's just not much vegetation out there."

No vegetation means no cover, Brown said, meaning prey animals would be exposed to predators if they stuck around to eat the food left by humans. Some of the food might be getting eaten, but a lot was found rotting, according to Brown.

And human involvement brings a risk for "long-term detrimental effects" to the ecosystem, he explained.

For example, the hay rangers have found dropped in the area. Brown said weeds within that hay could take hold and spread, choking out the chance for native plant species to regrow. In time, that could turn shrub land into grassland.

But advice from biologists with decades of experience isn't good enough for everyone. Some of the feeding efforts were being coordinated in a Facebook group named Help Woolsey Fire Wildlife, started by locals "trying to help the surviving wildlife impacted by the (Woosley Fire)."

Group members have been posting photos of food and water they've left in the burn zone and asked for others to hike in and around the park to do the same. Some expressed outrage that NPS rangers were taking food out, while others advised hikers place food where officials can't find it and put up signs in neighborhoods asking homeowners to leave out food and water in their backyards.

Kuykendall said NPS officials joined the Facebook group in an effort to advise residents of the risks involved in what they were doing, but members didn't want to hear it.

"Once we started posting that what they were doing was against the law, they made it a closed group," she said. "People are mad at us and they think we don't care. It's very emotional."

National Park Service officials shared this photo of a deer in the burn zone of the Woolsey Fire. (Courtesy National Park Service)

Some in the group argued that the severity of the devastation to the ecosystem justified their actions.

"Certainly in a normal situation no one (would) advocate feeding the wildlife but this is certainly not a normal situation. This is catastrophic," one member told LAist Thursday. "We have seen rabbits, squirrels, deer and birds who are in burnt out areas with no vegetation (for) miles and miles."

According to the member, the group had been in touch with veterinarians "who are in support of putting out appropriate food and water." The group member did not clarify if they had spoken to wildlife veterinarians and what exactly they advised.

Brown said he understands the conviction felt by wildlife lovers, some of whom have blasted the Park Service, claiming they're concentrating on the overall species while locals are helping individual animals.

"They're very passionate about that particular thing, so it's hard to get through," he said. "We have the same worries. We know we've lost a lot of animals in this fire."

NPS officials suggest that people who want to help wild animals should support nonprofit rescue organizations that rehabilitate animals injured in fires, car collisions and other accidents.

Kuykendall said park officials have to be careful about the level of concern they convey to the public about some animals, especially the beloved mountain lions.

"Literally people start mobilizing on their own to search," she said.

That was especially true when several mountain lions and bobcats were missing in the wake of the Woolsey Fire. The missing pumas and bobcats were soon located via their GPS collars, except for one mountain lion -- P-74. NPS biologists believe the young male was killed in the fire.

National Park Service rangers assess an area of the Santa Monica Mountains burned in the Woolsey Fire. (Courtesy National Park Service)

Biologists with the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area have been studying how fires affect wildlife in the region for years, most recently in the aftermath of the 2013 Springs Fire.

Researchers found that deers and coyotes were able to adapt best to the scorched landscape. Brown explained that deer tend to prefer certain burned areas because of a window in which new vegetation sprouts after a fire. Smaller animals will have a harder time, but Brown said starvation likely won't be a big issue, given the severity of the fire.

"These areas are going to be devoid of some species for a while," he said.

NPS officials are concerned the region's wood rat population could take a decade or more to re-establish, but said rabbits will bounce back much faster as cover grows back.

The surviving animals will have a big challenge ahead of them as they try to adapt to the landscape and establish new home ranges. While the vast majority of NPS land was burned, about half of the acreage of the overall mountain range was untouched by the fire.

And with recent rain, and more on the way, biologists are hopeful the area will get a jump on recovery.

"Just because a fire comes though doesn't mean there aren't any seeds left," Brown said. "We'll hopefully be seeing some green growth here pretty soon."

UPDATES:

12:42 p.m.: This article was updated with information from NPS biologist Justin Brown.

This article was originally published at 8:30 a.m.

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Every brand wants to be hot with influencers talking them up on social media. That includes Payless. To promote its wares, the bargain brand lured fans of high fashion to a fake store, named Palessi, and sold them Payless shoes, which mostly retail for $20 to $35, for between $200 and $600.

The shoes were being sold for up to an 1,800 percent markup, if you're doing the math.

Watch the prank in action here:

The faux store was set up in a former Armani location in Santa Monica, according to AdWeek. They asked people how much they would pay for shoes, and got answers up to $640.

In the tradition of fictional serial killers who leave so many clues it's impossible not to know that they did it, the brand embedded its name into the pop-up. Add a little Italian flair to "Payless" and you get "Palessi," which had its own Instagram account, of course.

The stunt is part of a new, multi-million dollar ad campaign by branding company DCX Growth Accelerator. It's targeted to online platforms and will air on cable throughout the holidays.

"The 'gotcha' genre works particularly well for Payless because there is such a discrepancy between how the influencers see the shoes and how they see the Payless brand," DXC's CCO, Doug Cameron, said in a press release.

After they were duped, attendees left with refunds and free shoes.

DCX Growth Accelerator has experience with pranks, including some with a bigger message than just selling shoes.

They devote a portion of their profits to what they describe as "driving social change through situationist art stunts," such as their Bulletproof Schools gun violence campaign where they sent Brooklyn students to school wearing bulletproof vests. DCX has launched other political protests, including the anti-gentrification Trump Hut with a piece of protest art designed to look like President Trump's hair.

They brought some of that attitude to this campaign.

"We decided to push back against the current billionaire culture and get Payless to reassert its pragmatist approach," Cameron told AdWeek.

"Payless has gone to great lengths to create a portfolio of fashionable and high-quality shoes, but perceptions of the brand lag far behind this," Payless's Chief Marketing Officer Sara Crouch said in a press release. "The campaign plays off of the enormous discrepancy and aims to remind consumers we are still a relevant place to shop for affordable fashion."

Payless fans won't have to pay influencer prices to pick up these shoes for themselves -- unless they've developed a taste for the finer things after this prank.

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Going to LAX is always going to be a bit of a nightmare. It's massive, congested, and inconveniently located for many Angelenos.

But Southwest Airlines is hoping to assuage some of your airport-induced rage with a curb-to-gate makeover of Terminal 1, which they unveiled Friday at 11:00 a.m.

The airline invested $516 million in the transformation, and renovations spanned four years. According to a statement from a Southwest rep, the company's goal was to address the very real problems associated with LAX -- things like the bottleneck congestion that often clogs the airport's entrance on Century Boulevard, long ticketing and security lines, and less-than-electrifying options for killing time or getting food as you wait for your flight.

To that end, Terminal 1 now boasts a nine-lane security checkpoint (yup), new self-service check-in kiosks, and restaurants and shops integrated into areas where passengers wait for their flights. Individuals flying Southwest can grab a bite at restaurants like Urth Caffe, Trejo's Tacos and Cassell's Hamburgers.

KPCC's Caleigh Wells was on site for the unveiling, and reports that Mayor Garcetti -- who was on hand to make a speech -- promised this would be the first of many renovations at LAX:

Mayor Eric Garcetti unveils the first major renovation to LAXs first terminal since the last Olympic Games hosted here in 1984. It cost more than half a billion dollars and billions more will go into other terminals after this to make LAX the airport of tomorrow. @KPCC @LAist pic.twitter.com/mfDaGMaQ63  Caleigh Wells (@cgrey307) November 30, 2018

Wells also notes that some passengers are quite appreciative of the new amenities:

Trish Lambert is from LA and says the renovation is money well spent. She appreciates the new restrooms, the cup holders in the new seats, and the shorter security lines. @KPCC @LAist pic.twitter.com/cgoAvS9EvK  Caleigh Wells (@cgrey307) November 30, 2018

Looks like flying in and out of Los Angeles -- for folks living in cities served by Southwest, at least -- just got a little less terrible.

UPDATES:

Nov. 30, 3:38 p.m.: This article was updated with the correct number of security lanes -- the number is nine, not 12.

Dec. 4, 2:32pm: This article was updated to better reflect the investment amount.

This article was originally published at 12:05 p.m. on Nov. 30, 2018.

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.
Pelosi Announces Push for Staff Diversity for New U.S House

With the largest Congressional Black Caucus in history along with a historic number of women entering the U.S. House in 2019, House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) has announced plans for a new emphasis on staff diversity in the U.S. House.

The effort will call attention to the ongoing diversity problem on Capitol Hill. Very few senior staff positions on the Senate side are held by Blacks or Latinos. On the House side of Capitol Hill most staff top positions are employed by member of the CBC.

We know that the diversity in our ranks is a strength and a reflection of the American people, Pelosi wrote to colleagues last week. She is expected to run for Speaker and lead Democrats once again when the new Congress convenes in January.

A new House Diversity Initiative would create a permanent office in the House with sufficient staff to help recruit and retain diverse employees according to staff. Much of the pressure over the last few years regarding the diversity issue on Capitol Hill has come as a result of study and effort by the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies headed by Spencer Overton.

The Joint Center applauded Pelosis letter to her Democratic House colleagues emphasizing the importance of staff diversity. The letter featured several Joint Center recommendations.

Leader Pelosi deserves credit for laying down an early marker on the need to take action to increase top staff diversity in Congress, said Joint Center President Spencer Overton. This is a good start, and we look forward to continuing to work with Leader Pelosi to diversify congressional top staff.

Pelosis letter encouraged members of Congress to hire diverse staff. She also announced her hope that the Democratic Caucus would formally adopt the Rooney Rule, which requires interviewing at least one person of color for every top staff position. The top positions, or senior staff positions in each congressional office are: chief of staff, legislative director, communications director.

The incoming majority of the U.S. House of Representatives will be the most diverse in our nations history, said Don Bell, Director of the Black Talent Initiative at the Joint Center. Leader Pelosis letter is a good beginning toward the work ahead to ensure that the senior and mid-level staff of the U.S. House reflect the diversity of America.

The Joint Center published a report in September 2018 that found that although people of color account for 38 percent of the U.S. population, they account for only 13.7 percent of the top staffers of the U.S. House of Representatives (161 out of 1174 top staffers).

Nine new members of the Black Caucus will likely include Lucy McBath (GA-06), Ayanna Pressley (MA-07), Lauren Underwood (IL14), Steven Horsford (NV-04), Antonio Delgado (NY-19), Joe Neguse (CO-02), Colin Allred (TX-32), Illhan Omar (MN-08) and Jahanna Hayes (CT-02).

There will also likely be five new African American full committee Chairmen and Chairwomen when the new Congress convenes in January.

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Rep. Jimmy Gomez and Sen. Edward Markey Lead Bicameral Letter to Jeff Bezos Expressing Civil Rights Concerns about Amazons Facial Recognition Technology

Rep. Jimmy Gomez (CA-34)  joined by Senator Edward Markey (D-MA), Reps. Luis Gutierrez (IL-04), John Lewis (GA-05), Judy Chu (CA-27), Ro Khanna (CA-17), Pramila Jayapal (WA-07), and Jan Schakowsky (IL-09)  led a bicameral letter to Amazon Chairman, President, and CEO Jeff Bezos, requesting information about Amazons facial recognition technology, branded and sold as Amazon Rekognition.

In letters sent to Amazon on July 26, 2018 and July 27, 2018, Rep. Gomez, Sen. Markey, the ACLU, and a bipartisan group of legislators conveyed their alarm about the efficacy and constitutional impact of Amazon Rekognition on communities of color. To date, Amazon has failed to provide sufficient answers to their specific requests on this subject.

Facial recognition technology may one day serve as a useful tool for law enforcement officials working to protect the American public and keep us safe, write the lawmakers in their letter to Mr. Bezos. However, at this time, we have serious concerns that this type of product has significant accuracy issues, places disproportionate burdens on communities of color, and could stifle Americans willingness to exercise their First Amendment rights in public.

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A copy of the letter to Amazon can be found HERE.

In their letter, the lawmakers ask Amazon to provide:

Results of any internal accuracy or bias assessments that Amazon has performed on Rekognition.

Detailed information on how Amazon tests for facial recognition accuracy, how often Amazon tests, and whether these results have been independently verified.

Detailed information on how Amazon tests for bias in its facial recognition results, especially racial bias.

The lawmakers also asked Amazon to respond to questions that include:

Does Amazon build protections into the Rekognition system to protect the privacy rights of innocent Americans caught up in either the biometric databases used by law enforcement for comparisons, or in the data law enforcement uses to search those databases?

Does Amazon Rekognition contain a mechanism for automatically deleting unused biometric data?

Does Amazon conduct audits of Rekognition use by law enforcement to ensure that (1) the software is not being abused for secretive government surveillance, (2) the software is not facilitating systems that disproportionately impact people based on protected characteristics in potential violation of federal civil rights laws, and (3) the software is not being used in violation of Amazons terms of use?

Is Amazon Rekognition currently integrated with any police body-camera technology or existing public-facing camera networks?
Trial Set To Begin In Deadly White Nationalist Rally

A planned Unite the Right rally by White nationalists in Charlottesville exploded in chaos: violent brawling in the streets, racist chants, smoke bombs, and finally, a car speeding into a crowd of counterprotesters, killing one and injuring dozens more.

Afterward, President Donald Trump enflamed racial tensions when he said both sides were to blame, a comment some saw as a refusal to condemn racism.

Fifteen months later, as the man accused of driving the car heads to trial on murder charges, the wounds are still raw. Few in Charlottesville believe the trial will do much to heal the community or the countrys racial divide.

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Hopefully, this will signal a chance for healing, although I am not entirely optimistic about that because the entire culture in which we live is so steeped these days in white supremacy and white nationalism that violence is becoming less an exception to the practice of American democracy and more like a brutal showing of it, said Lisa Woolfork, a University of Virginia professor who was in a crowd of counterprotesters when the car seemed to come out of nowhere on Aug. 12, 2017.

Heather Heyer, 32, a paralegal and civil rights activist marching about 100 feet away from Woolfork, was killed. The death toll rose to three when a state police helicopter monitoring the event crashed, killing two troopers.

The rally was organized in part to protest the planned removal of a statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee. Hundreds of Ku Klux Klan members, neo-Nazis and other white nationalists _ emboldened by Trumps election _ streamed into the college town for one of the largest gatherings of White supremacists in a decade. The groups show of strength included dressing in battle gear, shouting racial slurs and attacking counterprotesters.

James Alex Fields Jr., a 21-year-old Ohio man, known in high school for being fascinated with Nazism and idolizing Adolf Hitler, heads to trial Monday in Charlottesville Circuit Court. His attorneys declined to comment and have provided no hint of what his defense will be.

Fields was photographed hours before the attack with a shield bearing the emblem of Vanguard America, one of the hate groups that participated in the rally, although the group denied any association with him.

Pretrial hearings have offered few insights into Fields or his motivation. A Charlottesville police detective testified that as he was being detained after the car crash, Fields said he was sorry and sobbed when he was told a woman had been killed. Fields later told a judge he is being treated for bipolar disorder, anxiety, depression and ADHD.

Prosecutors played surveillance video that showed Fields Dodge Challenger head slowly in the direction of the counterprotesters, then move in reverse before speeding forward toward the counterprotesters.

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Star Peterson, whose right leg was virtually crushed by Fields car, has had five surgeries and still uses a wheelchair and cane. She has been unable to return to work and has received help paying her rent and other bills from Heal Charlottesville, a fund set up to help the injured.

Peterson said shes been told by prosecutors that shell be called as a witness at Fields trial.

I feel like its something I can do for Heather, she said. Ill be testifying on her behalf.

White nationalist Richard Spencer, who coined the term alt-right, said he has never had any contact with Fields and does not plan to attend his trial. He said he hopes the trial does not paint all members of the movement as violent.

Its a deeply disturbing incident, and that this one incident could symbolize things that I believe in and things that millions of people believe in, that would be very unfortunate, but I dont think thats going to be the case, he said.

Im not making a judgment on the guilt or innocence of James Fields. Im only demanding that he be given a fair trial.

Instead of strengthening the alt-right movement, the rally proved to be a disaster. The movements leaders are fighting lawsuits and have been kicked off mainstream internet platforms. A one-year anniversary rally held near the White House drew only about 30 White nationalists.

Heyers mother, Susan Bro, created the Heather Heyer Foundation to honor her daughter and provide scholarships to students in law, paralegal studies, social work, social justice and education.

Bro said she is doubtful the trial will bring her any sense of closure. Fields also faces a separate trial on federal hate crime charges.

Im not obsessed with him, she says of Fields. I feel like Ive turned him over to the justice system. Hes their problem, not mine.
UPDATE: California Democratic Party Chairman Eric Bauman Resigns following Sexual Misconduct Allegations

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP)  The Latest on sexual misconduct allegations against the California Democratic Party chairman (all times local):

1:30 p.m.

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California Democratic Party Chairman Eric Bauman is resigning following sexual misconduct allegations.

Bauman announced his decision Thursday, hours after Governor-elect Gavin Newsom called for him to step aside.

Bauman released a statement that does not specifically address the allegations against him. He says hes come to the realization that resigning is in everyones best interest in order for those to whom I may have caused pain to heal, for his own health and the good of the Democratic Party.

Bauman said Wednesday he is seeking treatment for alcohol abuse and other health issues. He narrowly won the party chairmanship in May 2017.

___

10 a.m.

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Governor-elect Gavin Newsom is calling for embattled California Democratic Party Chairman Eric Bauman to resign amid sexual misconduct allegations.

The incoming Democratic governor said in a statement Thursday that he is so troubled by the serious allegations that Bauman should resign even as the investigation continues.

Bauman said Wednesday he is seeking treatment for alcohol abuse and other health issues while he takes leave from the party chairmanship he narrowly won in early 2017.

He did not immediately respond to Newsoms statement.

Party vice chairman Daraka Larimore-Hall accused Bauman, the partys first openly gay chairman, of sexual harassment and assault against unnamed victims last week.

Newsom cited a subsequent Los Angeles Times article describing allegations of crude comments and inappropriate physical touching by Bauman.
WATCH: Beyonce and Jay Z Arrive in South Africa with Family to Celebrate Mandela at Global Citizen Festival

The Global Citizen Festival: Mandela 100 is set to air on MSNBC Sunday, December 2, from 9:00 p.m. to 12:00 a.m EDT. The star studded event will be headlined by the dynamic duo The Carters. Jay Z and Beyonce arrived in South Africa and will honor the mission of Nelson Mandela who would have been 100 this year.

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Before the couple arrived, Beyonce penned a letter expressing her personal mission to be a global citizen because of Mandela. Read letter below:

Dear Madiba,

I first met you in 2004 for the 46664 AIDS Benefit Concert in Cape Town, and the impact you have had on my life resonates with me today and every day. Your kindness and gratitude for every experience, and your ability to forgive are lessons I have learned and will pass on to my three children. My entire family holds you in high regard.

It is an honor for me to travel to South Africa this week in celebration of you and your efforts to right so many wrongs. You were a strategic warrior, a bold activist, and charismatic and well-loved leader. Your vision for dignity, for human rights, for peace and a South Africa free of racism and apartheid, allows us all to turn dreams into reality.

I remember taking that walk with you back to the prison on Robben Island where you spent 18 of those imprisoned 27 years. I recall your measured but focused steps in as you recounted the stories of the struggles, the sacrifices and your resilience. You smiled as you talked to a crowd of artists and their guests, including my mother, who first told my sister and me about the great Nelson Mandela. In that moment I truly understood your heart and humility.

You made it possible for so many people like me to reject impossibilities and understand our capabilities in making lasting change in the world. The smallest efforts could change the trajectory for so many living in extreme poverty, facing injustices, the indecency of racism and fighting for their rights as humans.

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As we celebrate the Global Citizen Festival: Mandela 100, honoring your centennial year, I promise you that we have made your dreams our own.

Your work and your sacrifices were not in vain. I will cherish every moment shared in your presence and use the lessons learned from you as fuel to stir positive ideas and solutions.

Beyonce Knowles-Carter

Watch Trailer for other artist appearing in this years festival:
WATCH: Marc Lamont Hills Critical Remarks of Israel Cost Him Gig at CNN

Marc Lamont Hill is no longer under contract with CNN, the network announced Thursday due to remarks he recently made with his United Nations speech Wednesday defending Palestinian use of force against Israel and repeating a so called terrorist mantra calling for Israels elimination. The term  a free Palestine from the river to the sea, is allegedly a slogan associated with the Palestine Liberation Organization and the U.S.-designated terrorist group Hamas.

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Hill tweeted:

My reference to river to the sea was not a call to destroy anything or anyone. It was a call for justice, both in Israel and in the West Bank/Gaza. The speech very clearly and specifically said those things. No amount of debate will change what I actually said or what I meant.  Marc Lamont Hill (@marclamonthill) November 29, 2018

Hill is currently a professor at Temple University. The University released the following statement Marc Lamont Hill has been quoted extensively over the last 24 hours. Marc Lamont Hill does not represent Temple University and his views are his own. However, we acknowledge that he has a constitutionally protected right to express his opinion as a private citizen.

This isnt a case of throwing rocks and hiding hands. I genuinely believe in the arguments and principles that I shared in the speech. I also genuinely want peace, freedom, and security for everyone. These are not competing ideals and values.  Marc Lamont Hill (@marclamonthill) November 29, 2018
WATCH: Michelle Obama Advises Women to Not be Thirsty for Love, While Book Becoming Climbs to # 1 Book of 2018

Michelle Obama has become the voice of insight and Americas jewel for 2018. Her isms and American story have made her book Becoming the best-selling hardcover book of 2018. So far the book has sold more than 2 million copies in all formats in North America in its first 15 days, according to a statement released Friday by Penguin Random House. Becoming is also the No. 1 seller in Britain, Germany, France, Italy, Holland, Spain, Denmark, Norway, Finland and Greece. The book is being published in 31 languages.

Obama has been selling out arenas with individuals paying as high as $10,000 to hear what the former first lady has to say. Watch below where she recently shared with a crowd some funny but real advice about looking for love or not.

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Thursday, November 29, 2018

A conditional guilty plea in a bar discipline matter has been rejected by the Nevada Supreme Court

The State Bar filed a complaint alleging that Plunkett allowed a client who was incarcerated at the Clark County Detention Center (CCDC) to use her cell phone when she visited him even though she signed an acknowledgment each time she visited the client that cell phone use was limited to contacting CCDC staff or 9-1-1 and that any other use could result in criminal prosecution. The complaint further alleged that Plunkett lied about the client's use of her cell phone when she was contacted by a Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department detective who was investigating possible violations of NRS 212.165 by Plunkett and her client.

Reasons

During the hearing on the conditional guilty plea agreement, the parties addressed the fact that Plunkett had been indicted on felony offenses under NRS 212.165 based on the conduct at issue in the disciplinary proceeding, a district court judge had dismissed the indictment, and the State had appealed that decision. They nonetheless suggested that they could not wait for that appeal to be resolved and that if Plunkett eventually were convicted, the convictions would have to be dealt with in a separate disciplinary action. But in recommending that this court approve the conditional guilty plea agreement, the hearing panel stated that it would not have recommended more severe discipline even if Plunkett had been convicted of the criminal offenses.

Considering the relationship between the disciplinary proceeding and the criminal charges against Plunkett that had not been finally resolved, we conclude that the conditional guilty plea agreement is premature. Although a criminal conviction is not a prerequisite to imposing discipline in this matter, the push to negotiate a conditional plea while Plunkett faced the possibility of a conviction for felony offenses based on the same conduct is problematic. In particular, any subsequent conviction for a felony offense would implicate SCR 111, requiring a temporary suspension and referral for a hearing to determine the extent of the discipline to be imposed. So, regardless of the hearing panel's statement that it would not recommend greater discipline even if Plunkett had been convicted, Plunkett would at the very least be subject to an additional temporary suspension under SCR 111(7) following any felony conviction. Even if that appeared to be an unlikely scenario when the plea agreement was presented to the hearing panel because the indictment had been dismissed, this court has since reversed the order dismissing the indictment. State v. Plunkett, 134 Nev., Adv. Op. 88, P.3d (2018). Under the circumstances, we reject the conditional guilty plea agreement.

From the Las Vegas Review Journal

Late Wednesday night, she posted a selfie on her law firms Facebook page of Andrew Arevalo, 26, kissing her on the cheek In a comment accompanying the 11:07 p.m. post, 36-year-old Plunkett wrote: He that is without sin among you, let him cast a stone at her. The next day, Plunkett responded to a Las Vegas Review-Journal email inquiry about why she publicly shared the intimate moment. The press will not dictate my relationship with Andrew; that is why I posted a private picture of us  to show that we are PEOPLE and I am not ashamed of him. Never, she wrote. Ive openly been with him for years and have never hidden it from anyone. Plunkett told the newspaper she has known Arevalo since 2012. Investigators also reported that they have video of Plunkett and Arevalo kissing at least three times during afternoon and late-night visits at the Clark County Detention Center in downtown Las Vegas. Arevalo, a documented member of the Surenos gang who goes by the nickname Silent and has felony convictions dating back to 2009, was shot in the face during a 2014 shooting at High Desert State Prison that left another man dead. With Plunkett as his attorney, Arevalo sued the Nevada Department of Corrections and others, including the former director of prisons. Earlier this year, Arevalo was arrested after police found him with a .45-caliber Smith & Wesson, a .22-caliber Intratec, body armor and 23.7 grams of methamphetamine. He had been driving a 2004 Chevy Avalanche owned by Rogelio Estrada, whom Plunkett also represented. Investigators said Plunkett provided her cellphone to both men at the jail. I care deeply for Andrew and have for many years, Plunkett wrote Thursday in an email. My use of the cell phone with Andrew Arevalo or Roger Estrada or anyone else is completely separate from my relationship with one person and I believed I was authorized to make calls. Lisa Rasmussen, who represents Arevalo in the cellphone case, said her client maintains his innocence and looks forward to litigating these issues in court. Defense attorneys who carry electronics into the jail are required to sign paperwork that states the equipment is for specific and limited purposes. The form states that cellphone use is only authorized to contact CCDC staff, but another portion states that equipment can be used for casework or evaluations. On Thursday morning, hours after her late-night Facebook post, Plunketts lawyer, Robert Langford, filed court papers indicating he wants off her case. In his motion to withdraw, Langford wrote that communication between the attorney and the client has deteriorated to the point that there is no communication at all. Initially, he declined to elaborate on the request. But Plunkett responded. Langford took THOUSANDS of dollars from me and is withdrawing after a week of representation with no itemized statement and no refund whatsoever, she wrote in an email. She also claimed Langford did not like her honesty. I agree that we should part ways but he should not be taking my FULL multi-thousand dollar retainer with zero refund and zero proof of how the money was earned, she wrote. She did not say whether she planned to hire another attorney. After reading Plunketts comment, Langford also emailed the newspaper. Story doesnt deserve this much attention The first duty of an attorney is to never put your client in a worse position than they already are and that duty continues even after you no longer represent them, he wrote. What she claims with regard to the retainer is not accurate or true. What she claims about my personal feelings about her is not accurate or true. I am going to decline to speak further because this is a story that doesnt deserve this much attention and NO-ONE should continue to comment on it. Certainly, not her soon to be former attorney. Plunkett also disputed a police report about what happened between her and Arevalo inside a Nevada prison two years ago. Corrections investigators reported that they have video surveillance footage that shows Arevalo fondling Plunketts breasts during a visit at Ely State Prison, Nevadas maximum-security penitentiary. Lt. Ronald Bryant reported that he confronted Plunkett about what happened, and she initially denied it before being told that the incident was recorded. Plunkett said Bryant did not include her entire response. She said she told him: Im sorry you caused a scene because nothing happened. Langford has said he had advised Plunkett to remove Facebook posts related to the charges against her, and she removed some, including one in which she called the allegations a witch hunt. In the report about Plunketts jail visits with Arevalo, Metro Detective Aaron Stanton suggested that Plunkett first noticed a camera hidden in the ceiling on May 4. The detective described Plunkett entering a room at the jails south tower before Arevalo. She immediately begins looking around at the ceiling, Stanton wrote. Plunkett stands up and begins looking around the ceiling area for approximately 45 seconds.  Plunkett begins looking underneath the table.  Arevalo enters the room. They talk for a few seconds and Plunkett continues to looking (sic) at the ceiling. Plunkett told the Review-Journal: I always knew it was a camera, it was a fake smoke detector. Why do you think I was looking at it all the time. I was ONLY trying to figure out if it had voice recording capabilities because THAT would obviously violate privilege absent a warrant. I always expect to be on camera inside a jail or prison.

The case is Matter of Discipline of Alexis Plunkett. (Mike Frisch)

https://lawprofessors.typepad.com/legal_profession/2018/11/a-conditional-guilty-plea-in-a-bar-discipline-matter-has-been-rejected-by-the-nevada-supreme-court-the-state-bar-filed-a-com.html
A bar discipline decision issued today by the Ohio Supreme Court is summarized by Dan Trevas

The Ohio Supreme Court today suspended a Cleveland attorney for two years for committing several ethical violations, including billing a clients mother twice for round trips to Youngstown to visit his client in prison when the man was in the local county jail.

The Supreme Court voted 5-2 to suspend Harvey Bruner and ordered him to pay a total of $2,750 in restitution to two clients. The Court overruled Bruners objections, in which he called for the Court to adopt a two-year suspension with one year stayed as was jointly recommended by him and the Ohio State Bar Association (OSBA) or remand the matter to the Board of Professional Conduct for a new hearing.

In a per curiam opinion, the Court majority stated Bruner committed serious violations that the board believed justified not staying any part of the suspension, and noted he had been given the opportunity to further explain his position in a posthearing brief. The board characterized Bruner as having a rather cavalier attitude toward the truth.

Chief Justice Maureen OConnor and Justices Sharon L. Kennedy, Patrick F. Fischer, and Melody J. Stewart joined the majority opinion. Sixth District Court of Appeals Judge Christine E. Mayle, sitting for Justice Michael P. Donnelly who did not participate in the case, also joined the opinion.

In a dissenting opinion, Justice Jennifer Brunner stated the board three-member panel hearing the case changed its established procedural parameters without notice to Bruner, which led to him having to testify to charges that the bar association withdrew. She stated the hearing process was not fair, and the Court should have accepted the agreed-upon suspension with a stay or allow for a new panel hearing.

Justice R. Patrick DeWine joined Justice Brunners opinion.

Attorney Violated Rules for Several Years

The Court first sanctioned Bruner in 2012, imposing a two-year suspension, fully stayed with conditions for neglecting clients and charging excessive fees. In 2019, the OSBA filed a complaint with the board charging Bruner with professional misconduct in six client-matters and for failing to notify clients that he lacked malpractice insurance over a seven-year period.

A board panel was slated to hear up to six days of testimony in Bruners discipline case. But on the morning of the first day, the parties stipulated to misconduct that Bruner committed. In doing so, the OSBA requested to withdraw some of the charges it originally filed against Bruner and amend the complaint to add other charges.

The changes prompted the panel to request testimony from Bruner, which ultimately led to the panel concluding that Bruner committed two violations of the rule prohibiting a lawyer from engaging in conduct involving dishonesty, fraud, deceit, or misrepresentation. The Court concluded that the board only established that Bruner engaged in one of those two withdrawn violations.

Charges for Trips to State Penitentiary Do Not Match Records

Some of Bruners violations stem from his agreement in February 2016 to charge Mary Walton a $5,000 fee to represent her son, Devonte Walton. Mary Walton paid Bruner $3,000 of the fee for the attorney to find new evidence to seek a new trial for Devonte or perform other postconviction work.

Mary Walton filed a grievance against Bruner, alleging he did not complete any work on the matter. Bruner claimed he performed work on the case, but admitted he failed to inform Mary about the scope of the work he performed and that he did not adequately communicate with her about the basis for his fee. He also admitted he did not create or maintain any client trust account records related to the funds he received from Mary.

The board noted that Bruner claimed to have visited Devonte at the Ohio State Penitentiary in Youngstown in July and September of 2016. He charged Mary four hours for each visit, which included two hours of round-trip travel time from Cleveland to Youngstown. However, Devonte was incarcerated in the Cuyahoga County Jail on those dates, which the board noted was only five minutes from Bruners office.

Bruner claims he was not dishonest about his visits, but recalled he visited Devonte in Youngstown in April 2016 and another time, which he could not recall. The Courts opinion noted that Bruner was not being charged for misconduct for not visiting Devonte, but because on several occasions during the disciplinary process he stated he visited Devonte and billed for those visits on those specific July and September dates.

At his disciplinary hearing, Bruner conceded the prison records indicate Devonte was transferred from the penitentiary in early July 2016, weeks before he said he visited, until October 2016. Bruner denied falsifying his invoices to Mary and said he made a mistake by providing the wrong dates.

The hearing panel did not find Bruners testimony credible, and the Court agreed he did violate the rule against acting with dishonesty, along with two other rules requiring he adequately communicate to the scope of employment to his client and maintain sufficient records when accepting an advanced fee.



Court Considered Sanction

When considering the sanction in a disciplinary case, the Court considers aggravating circumstances that could increase the penalty and mitigating factors that could lead to a lesser sanction.

The board found Bruner committed prior disciplinary offenses, engaged in a pattern of misconduct, committed multiple offenses, and a failed to make restitution to Mary Walton, or another client, Carlos Ortega. The board also found one mitigating factor -- that Bruner submitted three letters from judges lauding his professionalism and competence.

In recommending a two-year suspension, the board cited several cases where attorneys who committed multiple offenses similar to Bruners received sanctions ranging from an indefinite suspension to partially stayed two-year suspensions.

The Courts opinion concluded the boards sanction was appropriate, noting that in one matter Bruner threatened a client for filing a grievance against him. The Court also found Bruner admittedly failed to disclose important information during the disciplinary investigation, failed to competently represent two clients, failed to explain the scope of his representation to multiple clients, engaged in dishonest conduct, and did not notify clients over a seven-year period that he did not have malpractice insurance.

The misconduct  combined with a profusion of aggravating factors, including previous discipline, compared to a single mitigating factor  warrants an actual two-year suspension, the opinion stated.

In addition to the suspension and the restitution order, the Court also charged Bruner for the costs of the disciplinary proceedings.

Process Unfair to Attorney, Dissent Maintained

In her dissent, Justice Brunner noted that it was clear the OSBA and Bruner intended to use a stipulated agreement to resolve the matter and to waive any further hearings. She wrote that the record indicated both sides were unprepared to present testimony to the panel and were confused about the panels request for testimony. The dissent pointed out that the panel chair indicated several times that the testimony requested by the panel was to be in support of their agreement.

Since the panel scheduled six days to consider the matter, the dissenting justices argued that, if the panel intended to reject the parties agreement, it should have explained that and allowed the parties to have a day to prepare for a full hearing.

The totality of the proceedings, and the majoritys approval of it, creates a disincentive for parties to cooperate to resolve a disciplinary case or even to narrow issues for a disciplinary panel, as these efforts may ultimately be used against them, Justice Brunner wrote.

Given these procedural problems, the dissenting justices would have remanded the matter for a full evidentiary hearing and allowed the parties additional time to file a proper consent-to-discipline agreement, or in the alternative, dismissed the violations that were outside of the parties stipulation agreement and imposed the sanction that the parties had jointly recommended.

Given these procedural problems, the dissenting justices would have remanded the matter for a full evidentiary hearing and allowed the parties additional time to file a proper consent-to-discipline agreement, or in the alternative, dismissed the violations that were outside of the parties stipulation agreement and imposed the sanction that the parties had jointly recommended.

2020-1533. Ohio State Bar Assn. v. Bruner, Slip Opinion No. 2021-Ohio-4048.

View oral argument video of this case.

Justice Brunner dissented on behalf of Respondent Bruner

I respectfully dissent from the majority opinion in this case. While this court is the ultimate arbiter of attorney-discipline matters, see Ohio State Bar Assn. v. Reid, 85 Ohio St.3d 327, 708 N.E.2d 193 (1999), paragraph one of the syllabus, I cannot support the boards recommendation in this case, because the disciplinary panel did not render procedural fairnesswith its surprise, late-hour rejection of the parties efforts to resolve the matter without the necessity of a hearing. See In re Ruffalo, 390 U.S. 544, 551-552, 88 S.Ct. 1222, 20 L.Ed.2d 117 (1968) (admonishing against turning the attorney-disciplinary proceeding into a trap). The actions of the panel in this case give the appearance of inducing respondent, Harvey Bruce Bruner, to testify in order for the panel to accept the parties stipulation agreement, but really, the panels actions served to elicit testimony from Bruner, over the objections of his counsel, about matters he was unprepared to testify about. The panel then used that testimony to find that Bruner

violated rules of professional conduct that relator, the Ohio State Bar Association, had requested to withdraw and then impose a sanction that was partially based on those additional violations. Our role is not only to promote public confidence in the states judiciary but also to secure the confidence of the members of the bar. We require them to respect the judiciary. Prof.Cond.R., Preamble [5] (A lawyer should demonstrate respect for the legal system and for those who serve it, including judges, other lawyers, and public officials.).

The procedures employed resulted in unfairness

Because the panel at first appeared to agree to the parties stipulation-agreement approach but then elicited testimony that went beyond the agreement, I cannot join the majority opinionI do not believe the hearing was a fair process. The majority finds support for the Prof.Cond.R. 8.4(c) violation in the Walton matter (a violation that relator had sought to withdraw before the panel) in testimony from Bruner elicited by panel member Caruso that was outside the scope of the stipulation agreement and over Bruners counsels objection, which was overruled by the panel chair. The ruling on the objection, absent other circumstances, could be found to be legally correct. But by changing the earlier established procedural parameters without notice, the panel denied Bruner a fair hearing.

The institutional concern

The totality of the proceeding, and the majoritys approval of it, creates a disincentive for parties to cooperate to resolve a disciplinary case or even to narrow issues for a disciplinary panel, as these efforts may ultimately be used against them. I therefore dissent from the majority opinion and would remand this matter to the board for a full evidentiary hearing or to allow the parties additional time to file a consent-to-discipline agreement in conformance with our rules, or I would simply dismiss the violations found by the panel that were outside of the parties stipulation agreement and impose a two-year suspension with one year stayed and order Bruner to pay restitution, as the parties had jointly recommended.

DEWINE, J., concurs in the foregoing opinion. (Mike Frisch)

November 17, 2021 in Bar Discipline & Process | Permalink | Comments (0)


Every winter, thousands of humpback whales migrate from Alaska to the warmer waters near the Hawaiian Islands. There, they have sex and give birth before making their return trip north.

From December to April, visitors from around the world travel to Hawaii. They go to watch the huge animals in the wild, as they break through the surface of the ocean and rise high into the air.

But since 2014, there has been a reduction in humpback whale sightings in Hawaii. Scientists say the decrease may suggest changes to the food supply.

American and international researchers, wildlife experts and federal officials are meeting in Honolulu this week to discuss the drop in humpback sightings.

Data presented at the meetings show a strong connection between warming oceans and the missing whales, said Christine Gabriele. She is a federal wildlife biologist who studies humpbacks at Glacier Bay National Park in Alaska.

Three conditions have warmed the ocean in Alaska since 2014, scientists say. There was a change in an ocean current, a warm El Nino period in 2016, and a huge blob of warm water in the area.

The current, called the Pacific Decadal Oscillation, changes from cool to warm over a period of many years. It changed to warm in 2014.

Gabriele said data shows that it was more favorable for the whales when we were in a cold period, and then less favorable when the (current) switches to warm.

Scientists have estimated about 11,000 North Pacific humpbacks migrate to Hawaii and back each year. That is about half of the total North Pacific humpback population. The trip is more than 9,500 kilometers.

The whales may be spreading out or moving north to cooler waters to find their prey -- the animals they eat for food. This could explain why there have been fewer sightings in Hawaii itself.

If the whales are forced to find new areas to feed, they could also be finding new areas to reproduce. Scientists say the whales could be going to waters in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands. No people live on those islands. The areas waters are not as closely observed as waters off the main Hawaiian islands.

Researchers say there have been decreases in sightings on some Hawaiian islands in the past. But those decreases were met with increased sightings in other parts of Hawaii.

But in the last four years, there has been a reduction of between 50 and 80 percent across all of the main Hawaiian islands. Gabriele calls this unprecedented, or never seen before.

Officials with NOAA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, hope this weeks meetings will help them form a plan and get money necessary to help the species. NOAA does research, creates federal rules and enforces laws meant to protect the whales.

Marc Lammers is with NOAAs Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary. He said, At least in Alaska, theres something happening with the prey. He added that scientists have not been able to determine whether the issue is only in Alaska or across a greater North Pacific area.

Lammers said, There is no question that the world is changing, the oceans are changing. He said the humpback whales are reflecting that change.

Im Caty Weaver.

The Associated Press reported this story. Ashley Thompson adapted it for VOA Learning English. Caty Weaver was the editor.

______________________________________________________________

Words in This Story

migrate - v. to move from one area to another at different times of the year

El Nino - n. a flow of unusually warm water along the western coast of South America that causes many changes in weather in other places (such as a lot of rain in areas that are usually dry)

blob - n. something that does not have a regular shape

determine - v. to learn or find out (something) by getting information

switch - v. make a change from one thing to another

reflect - v. to show (something): to make (something) known
Ukraine is asking the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, or NATO, for help after Russia seized three Ukrainian naval ships and their crews.

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko urged NATO countries to send naval ships to the Sea of Azov. His comments were reported in the German newspaper Bild.

Poroshenko said Ukraines NATO allies were needed to provide security after Russian forces seized the ships and their crews on Sunday. He told the newspaper the seizures showed that Russian President Vladimir Putin wants nothing less than to occupy the sea.

The Ukrainian government has said Russia is blocking shipping activity to and from Ukrainian ports near the Sea of Azov and the Kerch Strait. The Kerch Strait connects the Sea of Azov with the Black Sea.

Russia denies it is restricting shipping in the area. It has said the Ukrainians were violating Russian waters and that Ukraine did not inform Russian officials of its naval movements. Ukraine denies this.

Poroshenko said sending NATO ships would send a clear message to Putin. The only language he understands is the unity of the Western world, he said.

Earlier this week, NATO released a statement condemning Russias use of military force against Ukraine. The alliance called on Russia to provide unrestricted access to Ukrainian ports and permit freedom of navigation.

The United States and other countries have also criticized the Russian actions in the Kerch Strait. On Thursday, U.S. President Donald Trump announced that he was canceling planned talks with Putin over the issue. The two leaders were to meet at the G-20 summit in Argentina this weekend.

On Twitter, Trump said that his decision was "based on the fact that the ships and sailors have not been returned to Ukraine from Russia." He added that he looks forward to a future meeting with Putin "as soon as this situation is resolved.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel said she does plan to meet with Putin at the G-20 meetings. She said she will urge him to order the release of the Ukrainians and their ships.

Following the Russian seizures, Poroshenko declared martial law in parts of Ukraine. Putin has accused the Ukrainian president of provoking the naval incident and using it so that he could declare martial law. He said he thinks Poroshenko took the action to build up his popularity before planned presidential elections in March.

The shipping incident is the latest dispute between the two countries since Russian forces took the Crimean peninsula from Ukraine in 2014. At the time, the Russian government said Crimeas ethnic Russian majority was under threat. Pro-Russian forces have also been fighting Ukrainian forces in eastern Ukraine, although tensions have recently eased.

Im Bryan Lynn.

Bryan Lynn wrote this story for VOA Learning English, based on reports from the Associated Press, Reuters and Agence France-Presse. was the editor.

We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments section, and visit our Facebook page.

________________________________________________________________

Words in This Story

navigation  n. the movement of ships

access  n. permission or ability to enter

martial  adj. related to war or soldiers

provoke  v. to cause a strong and usually angry reaction
The Guangzhou Municipal Administration of Tourism has requested that mainland travel agencies reasonably arrange one-day tours to Hong-Kong and Macau through the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge (HKZMB).

Last week, the Guangzhou tourism authority issued an emergency notice requesting that the mainlands outbound travel agencies guide visitors into participating in Hong Kong-Macau group tours of two or more days.

The same notice also suggested that mainland travel agencies should try to avoid arranging HKZMB package tours on weekends in order to avoid rush hours.

The Guangzhou tourism authority pointed out that due to the big increase in the number of passengers recently visiting the HKZMB, irregularities appeared frequently.

In addition, the Guangzhou authority claimed that, in order to strictly implement the mainlands tourism law, it requires travel agencies which are not qualified for overseas tourism not to operate overseas tourism businesses.

The Guangdong provincial cultural and tourism authority, together with the Guangzhou tourism authority, have claimed that Guangdong will assist law enforcement in combating tourism irregularities.

On Wednesday, Macau and Guangdong reached an agreement to ease restrictions for Macaus private cars, as well as for Guangdong and Macaus official cars which also use the bridge.

Regarding this specific restriction removal, the agreement states that both kinds of cars will have a longer temporary permit of bridge utilization between Macau and Zhuhai, which means these vehicles will not need to apply for a new card each time they cross the bridge (either through Zhuhai or Macau).

In addition, the Transport Bureau (DSAT) announced yesterday that, until November 23, the HKZMB Macau port had recorded a total of 802,804 crossings, of which more than 100,000 were recorded across the Zhuhai-Macau border, 680,000 across the Macau-Hong Kong border, and 16,000 across vehicle channels.

Furthermore, on average, 2,616 private cars used the bridge daily going from the Macau port to Hong Kong. There were also 2,604 private cars going from Hong Kong to Macau. The Macau port parking lot was used 779 times daily.

Around 15,000 trips of shuttle buses between Hong Kong and Macau were recorded, involving a total of 600,000 passengers.

There were 3,000 cross-border bus services between Hong Kong and Macau provided, which transported more than 80,000 passengers between the two places.

Despite the fact that the bridge has been used by such a large number of passengers, ferry operator Shun Tak Group is not worried about the ferry business.

Shun Tak Group recently said that the company is still waiting to see the impact caused by the bridges opening, and that, so far, everything is in line with the companys expectations.

The CEO of Shun Tak Group, Pansy Ho, noted that there is no fierce competition between buses and the ferries.

The company is also said to have not reduced ferry operations due to the bridge. JZ
Argentine legal authorities took initial action Wednesday to consider a request from Human Rights Watch to prosecute Saudi Arabias Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman for alleged crimes against humanity.

The rights groups move is apparently aimed at embarrassing the crown prince as he attends the G-20 summit in Buenos Aires this week.

Federal Judge Ariel Lijo agreed to a request by prosecutor Ramiro Gonzalez to determine if other entities are investigating the prince for possible crimes against humanity before deciding whether to open an investigation in Argentina.

Argentinas legal system allows cases to be brought against crimes against humanity allegedly committed elsewhere. But it is unlikely anything will happen soon, given the time it will take the judge to make a decision after the request for information from Yemen, Turkey and the International Criminal Court is filed by the Argentine foreign ministry.

The judge has also asked rights groups to provide details supporting allegations against the prince.

Human Rights Watch accuses the prince of war crimes in Yemen and responsibility for the gruesome slaying of newspaper columnist Jamal Khashoggi inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul last month.

The Argentine judiciary, by taking steps toward a formal investigation, is sending a clear message that even powerful officials like Mohammed bin Salman are not above the law and will be scrutinized if implicated in grave international crimes, the group said in a statement.

A cloud of suspicion will loom over him as he tries to rebuild his shattered reputation at the G20, and world leaders would do well to think twice before posing for pictures next to someone who may come under investigation for war crimes and torture.

The prince, who stopped in several Arab countries along the way, arrived in Buenos Aires early Wednesday and was taken to the Saudi Embassy, which is being guarded by dozens of police officers.

Argentina has cooperation agreements with Saudi Arabia in tourism and other areas. Almudena Calatrava, AP
Hundreds of medical professionals and government officials are participating in an international symposium co-hosted in Macau and the Philippines, with the dual aims of furthering collaboration in medicine and the strengthening of diplomatic ties between countries of the Asia-Pacific.

The first leg of the 4th Sino-Asia Pacific International Medical Forum kicked off this week in Davao, marking a departure from the tradition of co-hosting the Forum in the countrys capital, Manila.

The addition of Davao to the roster carries political weight in Sino-Philippine relations. The third-most-populous city in the Philippines, Davao is the political power base of the countrys president and where his daughter, Sara Duterte, currently holds office as mayor.

Organizers brand the Forum as a form of medical diplomacy that helps to alleviate stress points in international relations as much as it serves as a platform for medical exchange. The cornerstone of the Sino-Asia Pacific International Medical Forum is the relationship between China and the Philippines  both countries have played host in the four editions of the Forum to date  underpinned by the two countries overlapping claims in the hotly contested South China Sea.

The Sino-Asia Pacific International Medical Forum finds itself at least on the periphery of these high-level relations. Its opening ceremony, which counted the attendance of Sara Duterte, came just as Chinese President Xi Jinping and Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte hashed out no fewer than 29 bilateral agreements, including one that sets out a non-legally binding framework on joint oil and gas exploration and exploitation in relevant maritime areas.

When we first started meeting four years ago, it was the lowest point of relations between the Philippines and China, Dr Billy Chan, vice president of the Forum, told the Times in an interview earlier this week. Ever since Duterte, these tensions have been reduced, he said, adding he hopes successive medical forums might make their own contribution to improving the relationship.

Starting yesterday, the Sino- Asia Pacific International Medical Forum entered into its second leg hosted at the Faculty of Health Sciences at the Macau University of Science and Technology and at the Dr. Stanley Ho Medical Foundation at the Landmark hotel. Running until Sunday, the remaining activities in the Forum include a Percutaneous Coronary Intervention workshop with simulation training, a lecture on how to administer medical schools and a talk about the implementation of e-health in the Philippines.

There are more than 7,000 islands in the Philippines and its hard to control that data [across disparate communities in the archipelago] when natural disasters like typhoons, earthquakes and landslides strike, said Chan. Physical data was destroyed in these natural disasters, but later recovered electronically via the cloud.

During their visit to the Philippines earlier this week, representatives from Macaus medical community presented Philippine health officials with state-of-the-art medical devices, including two ultrasound machines and a bipolar resectoscope system for bladder cancer and benign prostate procedures.

The devices were presented in the name of medical diplomacy and peace, according to organizers. In the words of Professor Manson Fok, President of the Forum, It is in [the] greater spirit of peace that we are here to bridge medical diplomacy. Diseases and medical treatment know no borders.

The Macau delegation at the Forum said they were impressed by the equipment and expertise on display at the medical institutions they visited in Davao.

Normally people will think of the Philippines as a developing country, but these medical facilities are on par with anything in Australia or North America, said Chan. Its extremely impressive.

We visited the biggest public hospital in the country, Southern Philippines Medical Center, where the chief [of the hospital] said that they received 5,000 casualties from the siege of Marawi who were treated for emergency and trauma care, said Chan, referring to the five-month armed insurgency in the southern Philippines last year.

Chan believes that Macau has a lot to learn from the development of medical facilities in the Philippines. He told the Times that if the MSAR wants to nurture medical tourism as part of its economic diversification plan  as Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture Alexis Tam and other senior officials have previously suggested  then it needs to tap further into its financial resources to develop a reputation of expertise in specialty fields.

In my opinion, we can do so much more, he said. If people go to Thailand or Singapore or India for medical treatment, certainly in Macau we can do way better [with the resources we have available]. Our assets and resources are way greater than some of these places.

In a few years, we can develop something a little bit unique in some specialty area  oncology or special care or medical education  and we can attract people from abroad to come here, he suggested, warning we are under-utilizing our current facilities.
An airport worker drops by Warsaws newest Ikea store during her lunch break to finish up plans for a home refurbishment. Around her, people drift in and out of the shop, placing small houseware items in big yellow bags as cafe tables fill up with people just stopping in for lunch.

The store is not one of Ikeas out-of-the-way, maze-like warehouses that require a car to visit, but a shop like any other in a city center shopping mall. The Swedish retailing giant plans to open 30 such smaller stores in major cities around the world as part of a transformation that is costing the company financially but is needed to adapt to changing consumer habits.

Compared with just a decade ago, shoppers are more likely to be living in urban areas and not have a car, and often want a nearby location to look at goods like furniture in person before ordering things online.

I like the idea because you can come any time, said 29-year-old Angelika Singh, the airport worker, as she finalized an order for a new kitchen. Mostly when you go to Ikea you need to have a whole day free, or at least half a day free, because its far.

Warsaws store is located on two floors covering nearly 5,000 square meters, about one-fourth of a traditional big-box store.

Shoppers can buy cushions, curtains and other home items. They can design the layout of bedrooms and kitchens at computer stations. But those hoping to buy a bookcase or bed will not find them stocked in a large warehouse, though they can order them at kiosks and have them delivered to their homes.

As such, it offers a very different shopping experience from the usual visit to one of the large warehouse stores.

Small stores have also opened in major cities like Madrid and London, which has a small new planning studio for kitchen and bedroom projects. Next year smaller stores are also due to open in Paris and Tokyo.

Ikeas been doing pretty much the same for 70 years. Its been a cash- and-carry company, and it still is for the majority of its sales, said Andreas Flygare, the project manager for the Warsaw store. Now, he explained, the company must adapt to a consumer environment that has changed dramatically in the last 10 years.

You have companies like Amazon and Uber that are raising the bar for what is expected. Because if you can have same-day delivery, or an Uber is two minutes away, it influences other companies, like Ikea, he said in a recent interview in the stores cafe. It can be a quite tough environment. Everything is changing so fast.

The company, whose founder Ingvar Kamprad died in January, has seen business growth slow in recent years. But updating its business model to reinvigorate sales is not coming cheap. On Wednesday, it reported that its operating profit for the full year through August had dropped 26 percent to 2.25 billion euros (USD2.55 billion) as it increased spending on the new stores as well as delivery services and its online offerings.

Thomas Slide, senior retail analyst at the market research firm Mintel, described Ikeas new approach as a rational response to a global trend towards urban living and a rebirth of the cities.

While Ikea used to be able to build its big blue warehouses on the edge of towns and cities and expect shoppers to come to them, now it has recognized it needs to be more flexible in its approach and take the Ikea experience to them, through digital channels and smaller stores closer to where people live and work, Slide said.

Ikea isnt the first to embrace such an approach. In the U.S., retailer Target has rolled out smaller stores to broaden its reach. French hardware store Leroy Merlin has done the same, as have Kingfisher-owned DIY store B&Q and sofa retailer DFS in Britain.

While Ikea may not be on the cutting edge of this trend, its an important strategy to prepare the business for the future, Slide said. The challenge will be adding extra services through additional channels while also maintaining profitability.

Chen Yu Ting, a 25-year-old from Taiwan who studies medicine in Warsaw, said it used to take him 40 minutes by bus to visit one of the large Ikea stores outside the city. But he is a short walk to the new store, and after an initial trip to buy pillows and bed sheets he now returns often for lunch, which is priced right for his budget.

Its more convenient, and now I just come here to eat, he said. His only complaint? The store doesnt stock frozen meatballs.Vanessa Gera, Warsaw, AP
Global automakers are feeding real-time location information and dozens of other data points from electric vehicles to Chinese government monitoring centers, potentially adding to Chinas rich kit of surveillance tools as President Xi Jinping steps up the use of technology to track Chinese citizens. Generally, it happens without car owners knowledge, The Associated Press found.

More than 200 automakers selling electric vehicles in China  including Tesla, Volkswagen, BMW, Daimler, Ford, General Motors, Nissan, Mitsubishi and U.S.-listed start-up NIO  send at least 61 data points to government-backed monitoring platforms, under rules published in 2016.

Automakers say they are merely complying with local laws, which apply only to alternative energy vehicles. Chinese officials say the data is used for analytics to improve public safety, facilitate industrial development and infrastructure planning, and to prevent fraud in subsidy programs.

But critics say the information collected exceeds those goals and could be used to undermine foreign carmakers competitive position, or for surveillance. Under Xis leadership, China has unleashed a war on dissent, marshalling big data and artificial intelligence to create a more perfect kind of policing that can quickly neutralize perceived threats to the stability of the ruling Communist Party.

There is also concern about the precedent these rules set for sharing data from next-generation connected cars, which may soon transmit even more personal information.

Youre learning a lot about peoples day-to-day activities and that becomes part of what I call ubiquitous surveillance, said Michael Chertoff, who was secretary of the Department of Homeland Security under President George W. Bush and wrote a book called Exploding Data. Companies have to ask themselves, Is this really something we want to do in terms of our corporate values, even if it means otherwise forgoing that market?

At the Shanghai Electric Vehicle Public Data Collecting, Monitoring and Research Center, a wall-sized screen glows with dots. Each represents one of more than 222,000 vehicles connected to the system, coursing along Shanghais roads to create a massive real-time map that could reveal where people live, shop, work, and worship.

Data also flows to a national monitoring center run by the Beijing Institute of Technology, which pulls information from more than 1.1 million new energy vehicles. Those numbers are about to get much bigger, as Beijing pushes electric vehicle development as part of its Made in China 2025 industrial development plan.

Ding Xiaohua, the deputy director of the Shanghai center, said monitoring is not designed to facilitate state surveillance, though data can be shared with police, prosecutors or courts, if a formal request is made. The center is registered as a non-profit but is tightly aligned with and funded by the government.

There is a privacy firewall built into the system. The data center has each cars unique vehicle identification number, but to link that with the owners personal details, it must go through the automaker  a step it has taken in the past. Chinese law enforcement can also link the vehicle identification number with the owners personal information.

To speak bluntly, the government doesnt need to surveil through a platform like ours, Ding said.

Many vehicles in the U.S., Europe and Japan transmit position information back to automakers, who feed it to car-tracking apps, maps that pinpoint nearby amenities and emergency services providers. But the data stops there. Government or law enforcement agencies would generally only be able to access vehicle data in the context of a specific criminal investigation and in the U.S. would typically need a court order, lawyers said.

Automakers initially resisted sharing information with the Shanghai monitoring center; then the government made transmitting data a prerequisite for getting incentives.

They gave you dozens of reasons why they cant give you the data, said a government consultant who helped evaluate the policy and spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive issues. Then we offer the incentives. Then they want to give us the data because its part of their profit.

There was concern the shared data might reveal proprietary information about, for example, how hybrids switch between gas and battery power, and eventually set automakers up for commercial competition with a Chinese government entity.

Ding said confidentiality agreements protect proprietary company information. Still, he is open about his desire to make money from the data. We have done some explorations, he said. But there is still a distance from truly monetizing it.

Chinas ability to grab data as it flows from cars gives it an edge. China tends to view technology development as a key competitive resource. Though global automakers have received billions in incentives and subsidies from U.S., European and Japanese governments, they are contributing data to China that ultimately serves Beijings strategic interests.

Automakers stressed they share data to comply with Chinese law and obtain consent from car owners. Nearly all have announced plans to aggressively expand electric vehicle offerings in China, the worlds biggest car market. Erika Kinetz, Shanghai, AP
Japanese prosecutors said yesterday they will detain former Nissan chairman Carlos Ghosn for as long as is needed to finish their investigation into suspicions of financial irregularities, as the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi alliance reaffirmed its partnership.

Shin Kukimoto, deputy chief prosecutor for the Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office, defended its handling of Ghosn, who was arrested on Nov. 19 along with another Nissan executive, Greg Kelly.

We are not detaining [Ghosn] for an unnecessarily long time, Kukimoto told reporters. We only take necessary steps as needed.

Kukimoto refused to confirm reports that both Ghosn and Kelly have denied the allegations against them. Ghosn is suspected of violating financial laws by underreporting millions of dollars in income and Kelly of collaborating in that. Nissan has also said an internal probe triggered by a whistleblower found Ghosn allegedly misused company assets.

Japanese automakers Nissan Motor Co. and Mitsubishi Motors Corp. have since dismissed Ghosn as their chairman. Renault SA of France has named an interim chairman but kept him on while seeking more information about his case.

Last week, prosecutors obtained a courts approval to keep Ghosn until today, in line with standard investigative procedures in Japan, Kukimoto said. After an initial investigation period, Japanese authorities can detain a suspect up to 20 days per charge, and gain more time by adding more charges.

Japan is a law-abiding country and this is the way our justice system works. I dont see any problem with that, Kukimoto said. Each country has its own history and culture [] It is not appropriate to criticize a system in another country just because its different from your own.

Prosecutors are expected to obtain a courts permission today to keep Ghosn and Kelly in custody for another 10 days, until Dec. 10. Kukimoto declined to comment on that.

The arrest and detention of such a prominent businessman is shedding light on Japans pre-indictment detention of suspects, even those suspected of financial crimes, which has long drawn criticism from human rights activists.

Lebanon, where Ghosn is from, said in a statement yesterday that Foreign Minister Gebran Bassil summoned Japanese Ambassador Matahiro Yamaguchi in Beirut and asked for a fair and transparent investigation that meets international standards and allows Ghosn to communicate with his family and lawyers. Kukimoto said Ghosn can meet with his lawyers and embassy envoys, but is not allowed to have his lawyer present during questioning.

At the time of his arrest, Ghosn was heading the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi alliance, which says it sold more than 10.6 million vehicles in nearly 200 countries in 2017.

Ghosns legal predicament has raised speculation about troubles within the alliance.

Yesterday, the automakers issued a statement saying member companies had individually and collectively emphatically reiterated their strong commitment to their partnership. Mari Yamaguchi, Tokyo, AP
The craftmanship of a film festival is intertwined with its city, its community, and its film industry, projecting the best international cinema in Macau and taking Macau to the world stage. That is in short the vision Mike Goodridge had for the International Film Festival and Awards (IFFAM) from day one.

IFFAMs artistic director has further developed the concept he implemented last year, when he took the job, and has lined up a starlight film billboard  Green Book, Roma, Mandy, The Favourite, just to name a few. Also, Goodridge and his team continue to discover and bring us little masterpieces made by promising debutant filmmakers for the competition section of the festival.

It is a way to relate to the similarly debutant Macau film industry that can benefit from having these young filmmakers here, Mike Goodridge told the Times in an exclusive interview.

The visiting guests last year had an amazing time in Macau. And theyre talking to all their friends about Macau. I think its really positive in the film community. And this is an amazing city to visit. Not everybody has been to Macau, by the way.

Except for those thirty odd millions per year, we teased.

In retrospective, films cast last year went on to having very successful careers, but Goodridge admits that there will always be criticism of a festival because everybody wants it to be a certain way. But my job as an outsider really is to make it as international and as accessible as it can be, while retaining integrity as a program because we want to show great new films, great first films and second films in our competition section which you probably havent heard of before and you havent heard of the actors or the directors, but theyre really good.

Most of the 40 films showing at IFFAM from December 8 to 14 will have their China or Asian premieres here. The great novelty this year is the new competitive section on New Chinese Cinema, where something exciting and risky is happening.

That is where the conversation with the Englishman in Macau started.

Macau Daily Times  You have a new section this year which is New Chinese Cinema. Is this new cinema the successors of the brilliant filmmakers of the Fifth Generation like Chen Kaige, who presides over the jury?

Mike Goodridge  I dont know. Thats a good question because there was a Sixth Generation as well. There is a really exciting movement in China at the moment; filmmaking that I find incredibly daring and risk taking. Often telling stories in ways that we in the west arent familiar with; using images much more to tell the story than dialogue or traditional narrative.

MDT  Do they represent this New Cinema?

MG  Yes, certainly, the six films weve chosen. There are three from the mainland and two from Taiwan and one from Malaysia. So, its Chinese language, but theyre incredibly varied. Ones a documentary, ones a sort of noir thriller. There are some human interest and family stories, very dramatic, but I think they do represent a new breed of filmmaker in China.

MDT  So there is a nouvelle vague in the Chinese cinema?

MG  Yes, I really think so, and I dont think thats getting enough play outside of China. So, this was our attempt to showcase six great [New Chinese Cinema] films for the foreign guests, for the Macau audiences, for all the neighbouring regions to see whats going on in China.

MDT  In order to choose those six, how many did you screen?

MG  We screened a lot. I mean, I have a brilliant programmer called Giovanna Fulvi who is an Italian woman who programs for Toronto and Rome festivals as well. She speaks Mandarin, shes an expert in the region. She was educated in Beijing actually and is fantastically knowledgeable about Chinese cinema, all Asian cinema actually, and it was a real challenge for her. At the beginning MGTO was a little worried there wouldnt be enough for six, but we found that there were, you know, huge amounts of films.

MDT  What was the shortlist, before the six?

MG  Well, we were about down to ten, but we watched many, many films. Well over fifty.

MDT  Do you expect this to be a significant part of the festival?

MG  Yes. Look, were a Chinese festival and it is really important to show the best of what is happening in this region. Remember, we have a lot of [people from the] foreign industry here, a lot of foreign guests and I think its a great way for them to see the output of the region. You know, Macau isnt terribly thick in terms of filmmaking yet and we are showing two Macau feature films.

MDT  Not in that section.

MG  No, because this is Macau so, were giving them a bigger section, but Im really excited about this Chinese section.

MDT  What about Macau/Portugals production by Ivo Ferreira?

MDT  Empire Hotel. Obviously its a Macau production. Its a Macau story. He makes it look incredible. Its a really beautiful depiction of old Macau.

MDT  Ivo was once nominated for the foreign films at the Oscars. Do you think this one stands a chance?

MG  I dont know what country it would represent. Its about time Macau put forward a film, but is it Macau or Portugal? It should be Macau, but were really happy to be showing that. Im a great admirer of Ivo as a filmmaker and its a really interesting, dark story set in a hotel and its about the changing fabric of society in Macau. So, I think for you and your readers, I think its really interesting and would really be personal. Theres a Chinese thriller, a mainland/Macau co-production called Nobody Knows, which is a Macau film as well, that were excited to be playing. It starts at the Eiffel Tower at The Parisian and its a thriller. There are [those] Macau feature films and the shorts that we play in Local View Power that are all images and visions of Macau that I hope local audiences will interact with.

MDT  Where would you place the influence of local young filmmakers? More like Chinese, Hong Kong, the West?

MDT  No, I think theyre unique. Its something unique because theyre a bit of all. And theyre in the shadow of gaming, which comes across in a lot of stories.

MDT  You cant escape that.

MG  Well, you cant, can you. Its also such a massive tourism city. There are different nationalities in all these films.

MDT  This is a very transient place.

MG  Yes, transient, but there is a local population that want to tell their own stories.

MDT  Do you feel any concerns in terms of freedom of expression while working on the movies selection?

MG  No. I havent encountered that. All the films have to go through censorship. I mean, therere things that we have to be aware of, obviously.

MDT  Seven Years in Tibet would be a no-go

MG  Seven Years in Tibet, films about Taiwanese independence. Do you know what I mean?

MDT  That kind of common sense is self-censorship of a kind.

MG  I suppose so. Its like saying that Cannes wouldnt play a film that was very anti-French, you know what I mean? It doesnt make sense because they probably wouldnt. They could, but they probably wouldnt, you know, because it defeats the purpose.

MDT  As you know, in China therere a lot of persecutions in films, literature

MG  Cinema is obviously something that the government takes very seriously. All the Chinese films that we play have to have the Dragon Seal from mainland China, but then we show here lots of films that wouldnt ever play in China.

MDT  Lets get to this years competition. Without screening the films yet, just looking at reviews and trailers, two key words  isolation / desolation  comes to mind, also because guilt and suffering is a very lonely place. Would you say this is a theme?

MG  All the films are about guilt and suffering, indeed. But I dont think so [that there is a theme]. I mean, maybe there was some sort of subconscious thematic programming mechanism to it, but theres a great range. Theres an Indian film called The Man Who Feels No Pain, which is a big action comedy and its quite daring of us to put it in the competition, but Ill have to brief the jury fully, to say youve got to look at these films for what they are because youll be looking at this action comedy from India or this horror film from France  Schools Out  in the same terms as these beautiful arthouse films. So, you have to judge them by their own standards. I havent actually thought about what brings what unites all the films. But yes, come to think of it, its pertinent: isolation is there [in the selection].

[However] I look at them stylistically, rather than thematically. So The Guilty is an incredible thriller set in one room with one man  Then we have female topics. Strangely theres a film called All Good, which is, I think, one of the most intelligent films on [sexual harassment]. About a woman who is raped, but she refuses to define herself as a victim. She refuses to see it as an act thats going to slow her down, but inevitably it does and its a really beautiful film.

MDT  Again, isolation and desolation

MG  True actually. Maybe youre right. Im trying to think and Suburban Birds is all about isolation. Yes, youre right.

MDT  Also, the geography is very diverse in terms of plots and origin of productions.

MG  That wasnt particularly deliberate. We go for what we think is best. These are all Asian premieres as well. The only exception is that some of the Asian films, we allow them to play in their home territory.

MDT  All those in the competition are Asian premieres?

MG  Yes, apart from the Asian films like Clean Up the Korean film, played in Busan, Jesus, a Japanese production, played in Japan, and Suburban Birds, the Chinese film. But everything else [8 out of 11] is an Asian premiere.

MDT  The opening film, Green Book, seems like a different choice from last years Paddington sequel, but again, it is a big studio production. Whats your take on this film?

MG  Well, you think you know what it is. It looks like a sweet, sentimental tale about the deep south and racial intolerance and its about a schlumpy Italian-

American from New York, driving a black musician around the deep south in 1962 and encountering all the intolerance and racism that there was, but its actually a friendship story and nothing is as it seems. So, its very well written, its expertly made  Its a road movie, but its just a story of this friendship, but its so lovely and so intelligent and the performances are spectacular. So, all of us loved it.

MDT  Will it also be a premiere here? For Macau it is.

MG  Yes, its a China premiere  It certainly hasnt played here so, we just wanted the best. Look, its being talked about for the Oscars: it won the Peoples Choice Award at Toronto, which is the most prestigious award before [the] Oscars that you can get. So, I think that its going to be nominated for Best Picture at the Oscars. Its phenomenal.

MDT  Theres no love like the first love, so they say, and you did well with your selection last year. Shape of Water won the Oscar for Best Picture and others also went on to having very successful careers. Do you expect that level of success this year?

MG  Were very fortunate that were playing Green Book. Were very fortunate were playing The Favourite, which is one of our two U.K. galas. The Favourite is just a spectacular piece of filmmaking. A British film directed by a Greek director, Yorgos Lanthimos. Starring Olivia Colman as Queen Anne and Rachel Weisz and Emma Stone as the two courtiers who are trying to gain her influence and its one of the most delicious, comic, tragic stories youll ever see. Its really spectacular. The writing, the performance. Its hilarious. I think thats going to get a Best Picture nomination too. Olivia Colman is astonishing.

Then we have Roma, which is Alfonso Cuarons new film, which was made for Netflix and its on Netflix on December 14th, which is the last day of our festival. However, this film played in Venice and won the Golden Lion. Its being considered the best film of the year by many people. Its a huge talking point in Hollywood at the moment because it should be seen on the big screen. Its one of the most exquisitely beautiful films youve ever seen. It has to be seen on the big screen. Its in black and white and its Alfonso Cuarons own story of growing up with both a mother and a housekeeper. Its a very Mexican scenario.

MDT  Do you think this recognition of the movies that have screened here has an impact on the image of the festival here and abroad?

MG  Yes, I think so. Look, we work very hard to get these films to play here and its not easy to get the rights holders to agree or the studios to agree, but you know, they obviously want exposure for these films. Theyre very sensitive about them. Roma and The Favourite were in Venice and had huge, huge successful response there, in Venice. Green Book was in Toronto and won the Peoples Choice Award. So, they know now that the films will be well received. I think they want to know how theyll be received here. Were actually going to film some of the audience coming out of some of them to feedback to the studio.

MDT  In relation to local audiences, do you think the festival is reaching out?

MG  These films that were talking about, these American films, will be shown here, but a festival always wants to give you a first look at something, a sneak peek. It was great that we had The Shape of Water here because that was the first time it had played in this region and so it was fantastic for people to say I saw it in Macau. I think we had much improved audiences last year than in the first year and I want them to be even better this year.

MDT  Lets end with a bang. So, Nick Cage threatens every day on TV that hell be here.

MG  See you there! [Smiles] Yes, hes going to be here.

MDT  Hes probably the most well-known Hollywood star in China. Was that the play?

MG  Western star, yes, hes hugely popular in China, and in Asia. Yes, because we wanted a big name to come, who would be meaningful here and who has a lot to say about the art of film. I mean, look at that career, its massive and weve got an amazing new film that hes in called Mandy, which is one of the most talked about films of the year. Its getting a huge following and its another of those intense, crazy Nicolas Cage performances. Although, its probably one of his best in years. Hes this guy whos reinvented himself over and over and over again and I just think theres something fascinating about him and meaningful to audiences.

MDT  Hes going to be at the opening?

MG  Hes going to be at the opening night. Hes doing a lot of press for us on the day of the opening. Theres a press conference on the Saturday morning [Dec 8], and on Sunday afternoon [Dec 9] Im doing a Q&A with him, a masterclass, where well talk more about his craft and his career.

MDT  Tell me something I dont know about the festival.

MG  Youve got to see Diamantino, which is the best, most fun Portuguese film for years. It is just a delicious, crazy, whacked out comedy with a message about a footballer whos absolutely the most stupid man alive, but hes a big star footballer called Diamantino and he is about to get involved with this crazy scheme to pull Portugal out of the EU. Its hilarious, its just hilarious. The director(s) should be here as well.

What critics say about directors picks for MDT

Diamantino

Gabriel Abrantes and Daniel Schmidt rustle up one of the years most singular debuts with this winningly bizarre, genre-melding political satire.

Variety

Empire Hotel

Ivo Ferreiras thriller is a nocturnal odyssey set in the slums of Macao about the disappearance of Portuguese identity and gentrification.

Cineuropa

Roma

[Cuarons] Roma [is] a hypnotic, neorealist masterpiece about a middle class family living in Mexico City in the 1970s thats inspired by the filmmakers own youth. But this is a different kind of autobiography.

Associated Press

Green Book

[Viggo] Mortensen and [Mahershala] Ali are a joy to watch, but Green Book is just a warm bath of cliches.

BBC Culture (Full review inside Extra)

The Favourite

With its spurts of violence, splashes of blood and cynical sexual encounters, The Favourite is, oddly enough, about love.

Associated Press (Full review inside Extra)

Mandy

Cage is on magnificent, mind-boggling form as a chainsaw-wielding lumberjack hunting the gang who invaded his home.

The Guardian

Shadow

Almost entirely held in monotones, [Zhangs] drama features one of the most lauded fight scenes in recent times, showcasing a battalion of armored umbrellas. It recently swept four awards at Taiwans Golden Horse Awards

The Hollywood Reporter (Closing film)

Note: MDT asked Mike Goodridge for picks among non-competition movies only.
A Philippine court found three police officers guilty yesterday of killing a student they alleged was a drug dealer, in the first known such conviction under the presidents deadly crackdown on drugs.

Regional Trial Court Presiding Judge Rodolfo Azucena Jr. ruled the officers murdered Kian Loyd delos Santos during a raid in Caloocan citys slums in the Manila metropolis last year. It rejected the policemens claim that the 17-year-old fired back while resisting arrest.

The court sentenced the officers, Arnel Oares, Jeremias Pereda and Jerwin Cruz, to be imprisoned for up to 40 years without parole, although they can appeal. Aside from the prison term, the policemen, who appeared in court in handcuffs and yellow detainee shirts, were ordered to pay damages to Santoss impoverished family.

President Rodrigo Dutertes crackdown, which has left thousands of suspects dead, reportedly in clashes with the police, has alarmed Western governments and U.N. rights experts and horrified human rights watchdogs. The volatile president has stressed he does not condone extrajudicial killings, although he has repeatedly threatened drug suspects with death and has assured police he would back them up in ways that human rights watchdogs say have encouraged law enforcers to act with impunity.

A shoot first, think later attitude can never be countenanced in a civilized society. Never has homicide or murder been a function of law enforcement, Azucena said in his ruling. The public peace is never predicated on the cost of human life.

Dutertes government called the ruling a triumph of justice which disproved critics assertion that the judiciary was a rubberstamp.

As we have always stressed, the conduct of the governments anti-illegal drug campaign is based on accountability. Therefore, we do not  and we will never  tolerate unjustified police violence, brutality or killing, presidential spokesman and chief legal counsel Salvador Panelo told a news conference.

Opposition Sen. Risa Hontiveros, who has railed against the drug killings, said the court decision proved that extrajudicial killings under Dutertes crackdown were being committed by rogue members of the national police force.

This is a light in the darkness, Hontiveros said in a statement. Despite the gruesome climate of killing and impunity in the country, this verdict sends the message that there is hope and justice. And we will fight for more light and truth until the darkness cannot overcome them.

Hontiveros said the numbers of drug killings, which started to rise when Duterte took office in mid-2016 and launched his war against drugs, could not have reached catastrophic levels if these killings did not have a sinister principle and policy behind them.

Duterte and police officials have repeatedly stated there was no state policy to kill drug suspects illegally. Duterte faces at least two mass murder complaints before the International Criminal Court, which he said would never acquire jurisdiction over him.

Delos Santoss killing on Aug. 16, 2017, sparked an outcry and a televised Senate inquiry, and prompted Duterte to temporarily order a small anti-drug agency with only about a thousand men to oversee the campaign against illegal drugs. Jim Gomez, Manila, AP
Wong Sio Chak was at the Legislative Assembly (AL) yesterday to present the top priorities for the area of security. Several lawmakers expressed concerns over what they called a constant extension of powers granted to police authorities in the investigation and resolution of several kinds of cases.

The first lawmaker to raise issues regarding this issue was Agnes Lam, who questioned the Secretary for Security on the many legal regimes currently being analyzed by the Assembly that aim to empower police authorities, namely in areas such as cyber security, data protection, video surveillance and phone tapping, among others.

Lam also noted that in previous years there were many cases of police officers, namely from the Public Security Police Force, involved in problems and disciplinary actions, noting that the Committee for Disciplinary Control of the Security Forces and Services of Macau (CFD)  a body that is in charge of analyzing such processes and cases  was lacking independence since, it depends directly on the PSP.

Another of the concerns aired by Lam was on the benefits and privileges of police staff, which according to the lawmaker are not even nor consistent and that harms the motivation of the staff.

The same topics were also addressed by lawmakers such as Sulu Sou and Wong Kit Cheng, with Sou highlighting the differences between the privileges enjoyed by different staff members, including holiday allowance and monetary compensation.

Also on the topic of police powers, Ho Ion Sang highlighted the measures related to video surveillance. According to Ho, the government should create a balance between the need of surveillance for security reasons and the privacy of the citizens and people in general.

However, Wong said that lawmakers and the public should not be worried with the extension of such powers because they actually represent a democratization of the system, adding the government is constantly developing the system. Develop does not mean give more power but, in fact, create added restrictions and an added control over all sectors [of society].

Its an attitude of responsibility from the government and a duty of the government [to do so], Wong concluded.

Regarding the possibility of the CFD being subject to inspection from a third party, as Lam had suggested, Wong said: If this can be done by the AL I can agree with this. I dont think there is any problem. If there is a social consensus of this also, we are always supportive.

Replying to other questions, the Secretary noted the added pressure over the existing number of officers, which have been stretched by the entry into operation of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai- Macau Bridge that has warranted the dispatch of a total of 210 officers.

Of course we are feeling pressure. We sent 210 officers for customs inspections, which is a very low number when compared with the almost 600 from the Hong Kong side and over 500 from Zhuhai. We are doing what we can, the Secretary said. The same happens in Gongbei where the staff from the mainland side is double that from Macau. This is one of the reasons that justifies our investment in technology. Our passage is in fact faster [than the Chinese side] due to the automatic passage system installed. We are going to continue to resort to technology to solve some of these [manpower shortage] problems.

Wong: Facial recognition in casinos not possible

In reply to a question from lawmaker Fong Ka Chio during the policy address for the area of Security, Secretary Wong Sio Chak stated that crimes related with gaming have been [becoming] more organized and more reliant on technology. The majority of them do not even happen in person anymore but via the internet and other methods, Wong said, adding that the government is trying to tackle the problem with regional cooperation.

Wong remarked that to install facial recognition software systems in casino surveillance cameras is not possible because it would breach the current laws that only allow such systems to be enforced in public areas.

Casinos are private spaces and cannot be considered public areas. The police cannot install this [facial recognition system] there, he said, adding, in the future, if needed, we would have to review the law first, in order to be able to enforce such a system and install those kinds of cameras.

Fong had noted that much of the crime in Macau occurs inside casino venues or is related to the gaming industry.

The facial recognition systems currently, if in good lighting conditions, are very accurate, he said, suggesting that such systems could be used as a way to avoid the entry of previously identified criminals and other people that have been blacklisted. They could also help to identify internationally wanted criminals, he said in reference to the recent revelation that detained drug lord El Chapo had been known to be a Macau gambler.

Separately, Wong appeared to welcome a suggestion by lawmaker Ho Ion Sang, who suggested that the government might organize a day per year dedicated to a general drill  which should include the entire population  as a way to train, prevent and alert the population for situations of emergency and disaster.
China said yesterday that it had expressed concerns to the U.S. over the passage of a pair of Navy warships through the Taiwan Strait, days ahead of a planned meeting between President Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang told reporters that Taiwan was the most important and sensitive issue in relations between the sides.

We have expressed our concerns to the U.S., Geng said at a daily news briefing.

The Taiwan issue has a bearing on Chinas sovereignty and territorial integrity. It is the most important and sensitive issue in China-U.S. ties, Geng said.

Chinas defense ministry also said it had closely followed the warships passage.

Mondays passage of the guided missile destroyer USS Curtis Wilbur and guided missile cruiser USS Antietam marked at least the third time this year that the Navy has sailed through the strait that separates Taiwan from mainland China.

The 160 kilometer-wide waterway is split down the middle between Taiwan and China, but there is no international law restricting civilian or military shipping from passing through it.

Tensions between the two militaries have been high over U.S. challenges to Chinas claim to sovereignty over virtually the entire South China Sea. In late September, a Chinese destroyer came close to colliding with the destroyer USS Decatur in the South China Sea in what the U.S. Navy called an unsafe and unprofessional maneuver.

Despite that, contacts between the sides have endured and China gave permission last week for the aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan to dock in Hong Kong.

Trump and Xi are due to meet in Argentina tomorrow amid tensions over Taiwan, the South China Sea and an increasingly bitter trade war between the sides.

China regards Taiwan as its own territory to be brought under its control by force if necessary. The sides split amid civil war in 1949 and most Taiwanese favor retaining their current de-facto status of political independence while maintaining close economic ties with China. AP
The 13th edition of the Thai Cultural Festival will be held from tomorrow until Sunday at Rua de Abreu Nunes, dubbed amongst Thais as small Bangkok.

The street will host a total of 17 food and activities stalls in a bid to promote its culture in the city.

Organized by the Thai Chamber of Commerce in conjunction with the Macao Government Tourism Office, the festival will give away 2,500 packs of rice for use in traditional blessings.

According to the president of the chamber, Christine Mok, stall applications for the festival have been increasing in number, but only 17 could be accommodated due to the street limit.

Last year, we had 15 stalls. That street is small and many stores want to join but we could not accommodate more. There are no plans of adding more because we really want to hold the festival there, as many Thais have been living there since they came to Macau That is why we call it small Bangkok. There will be performances such as dancing and singing, along with Muay Thai performances, said Mok.

This year, the organizer said it would also accommodate a Thai massage stall for residents to experience its wellness techniques.

According to the organizer, they are expecting some 20,000 participants to attend the two-day festival.

Thailand and Macau have different cultures, and so when Thai people move to Macau and live here, we want to continually promote their culture, so their children will also be reminded of such culture, Mok explained. LV
The beef-on-the-bone ban will be lifted next month, the government has announced.

T-bone steaks and ribs of beef should be on sale by 17 December, just over two years since they were banned at the peak of the BSE outbreak.

Beef-on-the-bone was outlawed because scientific evidence shows it carries the highest risk of being infected with BSE, which can cause brain disease in humans.

Farmers and butchers welcomed the announcement, but the Conservatives said the ban had cost farmers millions of pounds and should have been lifted sooner.

Agriculture Minister Nick Brown told the House of Commons the change in the law had been a long time coming.

The announcement will bring a welcome relief to the beef industry in what continues to be difficult times, he said.

The ban has been lifted now because scientists have said the risk to consumers is tiny.

No beef older than 30 months is allowed into the food chain and there have been no cases of BSE in cattle under that age since the law was passed in December 1997.

Northamptonshire farmer John Richardson said he was delighted wit the decision but told the BBC the UK had to persuade other countries that meat from its cattle was BSE-free.

British beef is the safest beef in the world now with all the controls that are in place and this is a signal that is true, he said.

Courtesy BBC News

In context

The European Union had placed a ban on the export of British beef in 1996 when BSE was linked with the human brain disease vCJD.

It declared the meat safe in December 1999 and all member states restarted imports apart from France and Germany, who said they still could not be sure it was BSE-free. Germany lifted the ban in 2000.

France did not lift its ban on imports of British beef until October 2002  shortly before the European Commission was due to impose a large fine.

In March 2004 the British Government imposed a ban on people who had previously received blood transfusions donating blood.

It followed the disclosure that a British man had died from vCJD possibly contracted from a blood transfusion during an operation.

In March 2006, the EU finally allowed the UK to export live animals born on or after 1 August 1996, and beef and products from cattle slaughtered after 15 June 2005.
Research into the decline of humpback whale sightings in Hawaii points to a food chain disruption likely caused by warmer ocean temperatures in the whales feeding grounds in Alaska, federal officials have said.

U.S. and international researchers, wildlife managers and federal officials were meeting in Honolulu this week to discuss the decline in sightings of humpbacks that traditionally migrate each autumn from Alaska, where they feed during the summer months, to Hawaii, where they mate and give birth during the winter.

Data presented at the meetings shows a strong correlation between warming oceans and the missing whales, said Christine Gabriele, a federal wildlife biologist who monitors humpbacks at Glacier Bay National Park in Alaska.

Three factors have warmed the ocean in Alaska since 2014, the same year scientists noticed a decline in sightings in Hawaii.

There was a change in an ocean current known as the Pacific Decadal Oscillation, a warm El Nino period in 2016, and a massive blob of warm water in the region.

The Pacific Decadal Oscillation, a current that switches between cool and warm periods over the course of many years, switched to warm in 2014.

Data shows that it was more favorable for the whales when we were in a cold period, and then less favorable when the (Pacific Decadal Oscillation) switches to warm, Gabriele said.

In Glacier Bay we have definitely seen a much lower calving rate and much lower calf survival as well as juvenile survival, Gabriele said. I think there are metabolic issues that are probably related to the production of a calf. Were not clear if its a lack of pregnancy or lack of ability to carry it to term.

The whales may also be spreading out or moving north to cooler waters to find their prey, which could explain why there are fewer sightings in Hawaii.

Based on the latest large-scale population study, it is estimated that half of all North Pacific humpbacks make the journey to Hawaii each year, putting the total number of whales making the 6,000-mile (9,700-kilometer) round trip migration at around 11,000 annually.

Most humpbacks were taken off the Endangered Species list in 2016 but are still federally protected. Researchers believe that a change in the whales food supply in Alaska is behind the decline in sightings in Hawaii.

If they are forced to find new areas to forage, they could be finding new areas to breed, possibly in the uninhabited Northwestern Hawaiian Islands which are not as closely monitored as the main Hawaiian Islands where the decline has been most notably observed.

And while scientists agree that a decline in sightings in both Alaska and Hawaii is because of a change in food, they still dont know if there is a larger issue that could be impacting the entire habitat.

Officials with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration hope this weeks meetings will help them to form a plan and get funding to help ensure the species continued success. NOAA conducts research, creates federal regulations and enforces laws meant to protect the whales.

At least in Alaska, theres something happening with the prey, said Marc Lammers, research coordinator for NOAAs Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary. What we didnt really resolve is whether that applies more broadly to a larger area like across the North Pacific.

The researchers said that while historically there have been dips in sightings on specific islands in Hawaii, those declines were usually accounted for by an increase in sighting somewhere else in the archipelago.

But over the past four years, there has been a downward trend of between 50 percent and 80 percent of sightings across the entire main Hawaiian Islands, something Gabriele called unprecedented.

There has also been a decline of nearly 60 percent of sightings in Alaskas Glacier Bay.

There is no question that the world is changing, the oceans are changing, Lammers said. The humpback whales are reflecting those changes and we now need to try to understand whether this is something that will eventually correct itself, and time will tell, or whether this is something that points to a more sustained change.

NOAAs Susan Pultz, chief of conservation planning and rulemaking in the Pacific island region, said the meetings are a starting point for possible future action.

I dont think theres necessarily panic, but I think just the fact that we came together today tells you that there is some sense of urgency about the whales, Pultz said.

She added: One of the reasons were all together, and obviously this has not yet gelled into a plan, is to identify where there are data gaps  if there are data gaps  what we need to look at next, and then that will inform our next actions that we take. Caleb Jones, AP, Honolulu
The Ukrainian president has urged NATO to deploy naval ships to the Sea of Azov, a proposal that has been sharply criticized by Russia as a provocation that could further inflame tensions between the two countries.

In an interview in the German daily Bild, published yesterday, President Petro Poroshenko laid out his hope that NATO would relocate naval ships to the Sea of Azov in order to assist Ukraine and provide security against the expansionist ambitions of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

His call follows the weekend incident in which the Russian coast guard fired on and seized three Ukrainian vessels and their crews. Russia charged that the Ukrainian vessels had failed to obtain permission to pass from the Black Sea into the Sea of Azov through the Kerch Strait between Russias mainland and the Crimean Peninsula it annexed from Ukraine in 2014. Ukraine insisted that its vessels were operating in line with international maritime rules.

Putin wants nothing less but to occupy the sea, Poroshenko said. The only language he understands is the unity of the Western world.

Putin, for his part, criticized the West for what he described as connivance with Ukraines provocation.

The authorities in Kiev are successfully selling anti-Russian sentiments as they have nothing else left to sell, he said. They can get away with whatever they do. If they want to eat babies for breakfast today, they will likely serve them too.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel said she plans to press Russian President Vladimir Putin at this weekends G-20 summit in Argentina to urge the release of the ships and crews.

We can only resolve this in talks with one another because there is no military solution to all of these conflicts, she said.

NATO said that it already has a strong presence in the Black Sea region. The alliances spokeswoman Oana Lungescu said NATO ships routinely patrol and exercise in the Black Sea, and that they have spent 120 days there this year compared to 80 in 2017.

She noted that several NATO allies conduct air policing and reconnaissance flights in the region, adding that members Bulgaria, Romania, and Turkey border the Black Sea and have their own military equipment deployed.

There is already a lot of NATO in the Black Sea, and we will continue to assess our presence in the region, Lungescu said.

While NATO condemned the Russian action, the alliance is not expected to send ships into the Sea of Azov, a deployment that could trigger a confrontation with Russia. A 2003 treaty between Russia and Ukraine stipulates that permission from both countries is required for warships from others to enter the internal sea.

In response to Sundays events, Poroshenko has imposed martial law in much of the country, a move that won parliamentary backing. Putin accused his Ukrainian counterpart of provoking the naval incident in a bid to impose martial law to shore up his sagging popularity and sideline competitors ahead of Marchs presidential election.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Poroshenkos request for NATO to send warships into the Sea of Azov is clearly aimed at provoking further tensions, adding that it was driven by the Ukrainian leaders electoral and domestic policy motives.

Ukraine has released what it said was the exact location where its ships were fired on by Russia, saying they were in international waters west of the Kerch Strait. Russia, meanwhile, insisted the Ukrainian vessels were in its territorial waters and refused to communicate with the Russian coast guard, or accept a Russian pilot to guide them through the narrow strait.

What were the border guards supposed to do? Putin said Wednesday. They fulfilled their duty to protect the territorial integrity of the Russian Federation. If they had done something differently, they should have been put on trial for that.

Ukraine and Russia have been in a tug-of-war since Moscows annexation of the Crimean peninsula from Ukraine in 2014. Russia has also supported separatists in Ukraines east with clandestine dispatches of troops and weapons. The fighting there has killed at least 10,000 people since 2014 but eased somewhat after a 2015 truce.

The naval incident marked the first overt collision between Russian and Ukrainian militaries since the 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union. It has fueled fears of a wider conflict and has drawn strong criticism of Russia from the U.S. and its allies.

Amid the tensions, the Russian military said it had deployed another batch of the long-range, S-400 air defense missile systems to Crimea.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said he discussed the possibility of a Turkish mediation to resolve tensions and held separate telephone conversations with Putin and Poroshenko yesterday.

Asked about the Turkish offer, Peskov responded that Moscow is grateful to all those willing to help de-escalate the tensions provoked by the Ukrainian side, but doesnt see any need for mediation efforts.

Those who have such opportunities could help by exerting influence on the Ukrainian authorities, Peskov said. Yuras Karmanau, Vladimir Isachenkov, AP
This weekends G-20 summit in Buenos Aires matters less for the main proceedings than for U.S. President Donald Trumps expected encounter with Chinese President Xi Jinping. Trump has lately seemed intent on escalating their quarrel over trade, and Xi has shown no sign of backing down. With neither side willing to compromise, the dispute runs the risk of causing a complete breakdown in U.S.-China relations, and poses the single biggest threat to global peace and stability.

Understand, this isnt just about Trump. In the background stands a new consensus on China. Opinions have shifted with bewildering speed. As little as a year ago, trade-policy experts and longtime China-watchers mocked the presidents obsession with the trade deficit and opposed his threatened tariffs. Now, without moderating their contempt for Trump, many liberal internationalists and advocates of open markets seem to agree with the administrations hard-liners. They see China as a grand strategic threat  one that needs to be confronted, much as the Soviet Union was confronted during the Cold War.

The new consensus is wrong.

To be sure, China has given the hawks plenty of material. In recent weeks, it has blocked consensus and bullied delegates at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit; harassed a U.S. Navy vessel on the open seas; arrested the Chinese president of Interpol and students agitating for workers rights; continued to shrink the space for open debate in Hong Kong; and, ignoring a global outcry, whitewashed the re-education camps in which a reported million Muslim Uighurs in western China may have been incarcerated.

This is not to mention the longer-term ways in which China appears to be threatening U.S. interests and the liberal international order. Its mercantilist economic policies, including the forced transfer and outright theft of technology from foreign companies, have strained the global trading regime to breaking point. Its Belt and Road infrastructure push has added to a dangerous pileup of developing-country debt. It has bullied Taiwan, and defied United Nations rulings against island-building in the South China Sea.

Even so, two things need to be kept in mind. First, and contrary to current thinking, the U.S. wasnt wrong to engage with communist China in the 1990s and welcome it into the global trading system. Not all of the architects of this policy (which commanded bipartisan support) took it for granted that engagement would produce a more liberal China. Rather, they thought it would serve U.S. interests better than an effort to exclude and isolate. And they were almost certainly correct.

Second, though China poses challenges and its government doesnt share the Wests liberal values, mischaracterizing the threat doesnt help to address it. Its true, for instance, that the Belt and Road program has fueled corruption, debt and white-elephant infrastructure projects  but this is due to lack of planning and coordination rather than a plot to entrap victims and seize their strategic assets. Its true that China is building a surveillance state and exporting some of the technology abroad  but its hyperbolic to say that its proposed social credit score is intrinsically totalitarian. Its true that Chinese military spending and capabilities are growing rapidly  but theyre still dwarfed by those of the U.S.

Heres the main thing: Acting on the theory that China is a hostile revisionist power intent on supplanting the U.S. would be counterproductive. The alternative isnt to be meek. Unassailable military power is essential.

Trump and his officials present a parody of self-confidence. What America and its friends need is less strutting and more conviction. The values that underpinned U.S. global leadership for decades arent out of date. Theres no cause for a strong and prosperous America to see China as a mortal threat  and every reason to avoid making it one. The meeting in Buenos Aires is a chance to mend this world-shaping relationship. Both leaders ought to seize it. The Editors, Bloomberg
Credit: Shutterstock

A new study has highlighted a critical gender gap in interventional cardiology, the medical field specialising in treating blocked arteries in heart disease.

There are only 19 female interventional cardiologists in all of Australia and New Zealand  just 4.8 percent of that workforce, a new study by medical researchers, including a UNSW Ph.D. student, has shown.

In light of the findings, the researchers have called for change to increase much-needed diversity in the field  and to improve clinical care and outcomes for women. With cardiovascular disease the main cause of death for both men and women, the study is relevant to a large number of Australians.

The findings, published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, are the result of research performed by Women in Interventional Cardiology of Australian and New Zealand (WiiCAN  pronounced 'we can').

On top of the severe gender disparity in interventional cardiology, the data also reveal that only 15 percent of all cardiologists across the two countries are women, that 73 percent of public hospitals have no female interventional cardiologists at all, and that three Australian states have none either.

One of the lead authors, interventional cardiologist Dr. Sonya Burgess, is working at Nepean Hospital in Sydney. She is also completing a doctorate at UNSW Sydney, studying patients with heart attacks and the importance of complete revascularisation (treatment) of the coronary arteries for these patients. She says there are many barriers for female trainees.

"I started my cardiology training in 2007 in New Zealand, the country that first gave women the vote, yet also a country that now has had more female prime ministers than female interventional cardiologists," she says.

"The reasons for this are complex, but can be overcome with positive changes," Dr. Burgess says.

Their paper discusses factors contributing to this gap, including the importance of role models, the expectations of training and society, the impact of geography, occupational radiation, cardiology's workplace culture, unconscious gender bias, and strategies for promoting change.

The authors call for more evidence-based solutions to tackle the problem, including systematic approaches to actively address disparity and achieve more visibility, so trainees see female role models in leadership positions, in faculty at conferences and in training hospitals.

"We need leaders who believe the data is important and who value diversity, to allow us to change from a culture of de-facto exclusion to one of active inclusion," Dr. Burgess says.

One of the benefits of a more diverse workforce is better outcomes  for everyone.

Gender distribution in the medical workforce (2015-2017). Credit: Burgess, S. et al. J Am Coll Cardiol. 2018; 72(21):2663 - 7

Dr. Burgess says there is growing evidence showing that increased gender diversity in the profession can improve care and outcomes of female patients with heart disease.

"It is now well documented that women with heart disease receive less treatment, fewer appropriate medications, and experience higher mortality compared to men," she says.

"At the same time, several studies have reported better clinical outcomes for patients treated by female cardiologists and physicians, notably including improved survival rates for female heart attack patients when treated by a female doctor."

New social network part of strategy to address gender gap

To help address some of these issues and create a community of women, Dr. Burgess co-founded WiiCAN.

Dr. Burgess helped found the social network in 2017, when she met the other two co-founders, Dr. Sarah Zaman from Monash Medical Centre and Dr. Elizabeth Shaw from Hornsby Ku-ring-gai Hospital, at a conference that brought together Australian and New Zealand interventional cardiologists. Their goal is to give a voice to female cardiology trainees, patients and colleagues, so they would not feel isolated in a male-dominated workforce.

"When we met, it was incredibly special for us because it was essentially unheard of to have three female interventional cardiologists together in this country, we certainly had never experienced it," Dr. Burgess says.

"As a group of female interventional cardiologists, we were virtually invisible. Visibility matters, especially at meetings like that, because they inspire us, and they are supposed to.

"We need to acknowledge that there are more than 19 women in Australia and New Zealand who have ever wanted to be interventional cardiologists, and there are certainly more than 19 women capable of it.

"We want to give all trainees a sense of belonging, and make sure they know that they could become successful leaders  in short, we need to actively facilitate change," Dr. Burgess says.

Women in Interventional Cardiology Practice in Australia

42 percent of doctors are female

36 percent of specialists are female

15 percent of cardiologists are female

4.8 percent of interventional cardiologists are female

73 percent of public hospitals have no female interventional cardiologists

In Australia 3/8 states have no female interventional cardiologist

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(HealthDay)The incidence of myocardial infarction (MI) is higher in men than women, but several risk factors are more strongly linked to MI in women, according to a study published online Nov. 7 in The BMJ.

Elizabeth R.C. Millett, Ph.D., from the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom, and colleagues conducted a prospective population-based study involving 471,998 participants with no history of cardiovascular disease to examine sex differences in risk factors for incident MI.

The researchers found that 5,081 participants (28.8 percent women) had MI during a mean follow-up of seven years, for an incidence of 7.76 and 24.35 per 10,000 person-years for women and men, respectively. Increased risk for MI in men and women was seen in association with high blood pressure indices, smoking intensity, body mass index, and presence of diabetes; the associations were attenuated with age. Compared with men, women had higher hazard ratios for MI in association with systolic blood pressure, current smoking, and diabetes, with hazard ratios of 1.09, 1.55, 2.91, and 1.47 for systolic blood pressure, current smoking, type 1 diabetes, and type 2 diabetes, respectively. None of these hazard ratios decreased with age. The incidence of MI was higher in men than women for all risk factors expect type 1 diabetes.

"Our findings suggest that clinicians should be vigilant when their female patients are elderly, smoke, have diabetes, or have high blood pressure," the authors write.

One author disclosed financial ties to Amgen.

Copyright  2018 HealthDay. All rights reserved.
Credit: CC0 Public Domain

Scientists at the University of Manchester have this week published research, funded by the British Heart Foundation (BHF) which shows, for the first time, possible genetic causes of a serious congenital heart condition, Tetralogy of Fallot (ToF).

People born with ToF have four specific structural abnormalities in the heart, which mean they often have to undergo open heart surgery early in life. Many patients will have several surgeries and procedures throughout their lifetime. ToF is a very complex congenital heart condition, and in the majority of cases the cause is unknown.

Although most children who have had Tetralogy of Fallot corrected will go onto lead normal lives, there can be complications later in life including the need for further operations, and the development of heart rhythm disorders.

In this study, led by BHF Professor Bernard Keavney, the team used a technique called "whole exome sequencing" to look at specific regions of the DNA of ToF patients. The BHF also funded young investigator Dr. Donna Page, who was first author on the paper.

The DNA of 829 ToF patients was analysed, making this the largest genetic study of patients with this condition ever conducted. To collect these volunteer families, the researchers worked with 7 UK children's heart centres, and colleagues in Belgium and Australia.

The research identified two genes called NOTCH1 and FLT4, which were associated with rare and damaging DNA changes in ToF patients. Using experiments on cells grown in the laboratory, the team showed that some of the changes identified caused abnormal function of the genes involved. The study showed that the DNA changes in these two genes are present in around 7 percent of ToF patients, making them the two most important genes that contribute to the condition.

Further research is now required to discover additional genes. It is hoped this may lead to the DNA testing of grown-up patients with ToF who are considering having a family, to give them better information on the how likely it is that they will have a child with this condition. It would also shed some light on why they themselves developed the condition whilst in the womb.

Eight year old Callum Peace, from Liverpool, was born with a range of conditions, including ToF. His mum Jo said:

"When I was pregnant, I knew nothing of Callum's conditions. The doctors had told me that he was going to be small  he was only 4lbs 11oz when he was born  but other than that I was expecting a healthy baby that I would be able to take home to the cot I had ready waiting for him.

"When Callum was born he was unable to breathe for himself. He required immediate resuscitation and was intubated and put on a ventilator. He was then transferred to the Intensive Care Unit at Alder Hey Children's Hospital in Liverpool. He was extremely unwell, having turned blue due to a lack of oxygen in his blood, and at this point he was given just a 20 percent chance of survival.

"It was a real ordeal, and not something I would wish on any parent. We know that Callum will need more surgery on his heart in the years to come so, to me, every day is precious. Any research that can give parents like me some understanding of why their child has this condition is a step in the right direction."

Andrew Stuart, a journalist from Manchester who was born with Tetralogy of Fallot says:

"At 11 months old I had open heart surgery, a 'full correction' of ToF. I was then monitored every two years, with them checking my pulmonary artery and pulmonary valve in particular.

"In 2012, they noticed some leaking in my pulmonary valve, although at that stage it was not severe enough to operate. Then, in 2016, I experienced more symptoms such as palpitations and breathlessness. When they did a scan this time, they could see that the leaking had become much worse and they would need to replace the valve. It was a worrying time as I had no real idea of what open heart surgery would entail and what it would be like afterwards.

"I had the surgery in May this year, and I have felt a lot better since. I am back in work and everything seems to be going OK. The recovery from open heart surgery is a long process and takes months. It's quite an upheaval in your life. I have an MRI scan booked in a couple of months so I will know more then.

"I am 30 now, and I've not got children, but I know that if I do have them in the future I would like to know whether there is a higher chance of them having this condition.

"It's great to know the BHF and the University of Manchester are researching into congenital heart conditions like ToF. The condition means lifelong check-ups and treatment, medication and procedures, and will mean more in the future as I have a tissue donor valve which will need replacing. It has had a big impact because every step along the way is yet another thing, and never the endpoint of treatment.

"I don't know what caused me to be born with this condition, but I would be very interested to find out!"

Professor Bernard Keavney, BHF Professor of Cardiovascular Medicine at the Institute of Cardiovascular Sciences, University of Manchester, commented:

"Tetralogy of Fallot is a serious congenital heart condition and one that, without surgery, would result in patients dying in virtually all cases. We have always suspected that genes played a part in causing the condition, and with this funding from the BHF we have been able to identify, for the first time, the two genes that have the biggest part to play.

"We hope that this knowledge will help us to support patients to understand more about their genes and how the condition can be passed on through families."

Explore further 8-year-old beats the odds against heart and brain birth defects
Nanyang Technological University, Singapore and Tan Tock Seng Hospital developed a smart medical device that can enable early intervention of congestive heart failure. Credit: NTU Singapore

A research team from Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NTU Singapore) and Tan Tock Seng Hospital (TTSH) has invented a smart handheld medical device that could enable early intervention for patients with congestive heart failure.

The portable innovation, which resembles a stethoscope, is made up of an acoustic sensor connected to a smartphone. It enables early intervention by allowing patients to check for excess fluid in the lungs at home. Fluid accumulation in the lungs, which causes breathlessness, is a common symptom of congestive heart failure.

One in five people worldwide run the risk of developing congestive heart failure, and this prevalence increases with age. As there is no cure for the ailment, patients can only monitor their health closely with lifestyle changes or medication to prevent their heart function from deteriorating irreversibly.

Currently, patients can only check for fluid accumulation in the lungs by going for a clinical examination, which can be considerably subjective, or through imaging modalities and serum biomarker tests, which are costly and take a longer time.

The non-invasive device built by a team led by NTU Associate Professor Ser Wee and TTSH Associate Professor David Foo circumvents these problems with its portability, ease of use and quick results. Currently a prototype, the device is able to detect any excess fluid in the lungs in 10 seconds once placed on the patient's chest or back.

Associate Professor David Foo, Head of Cardiology at TTSH, demonstrates how to use the device to his patient, Madam Tan Hui Keng, 71. Credit: NTU Singapore

In a pilot study using lung sounds recorded from TTSH's congestive heart failure patients, Assoc Prof Ser and his team found the device to have over 92 per cent accuracy in identifying patients with the conditioncomparable to existing 'gold standard' diagnosis methods such as X-rays and CT scans. The findings were first presented at the 2012 Annual International Conference of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society.

Associate Professor Foo, Head of Cardiology at TTSH, said, "Patients can monitor their condition at home and use the device whenever they feel slightly breathless at home. It is potentially a game-changer in the management of ambulatory heart failure patients. It can also provide a rapid and accurate acute diagnosis of heart failure in situations of undifferentiated shortness of breath symptoms."

Associate Professor Ser from NTU's School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering added, "Currently, such diagnosis can only be conducted through clinical examination, which cannot be made frequently. Our smart medical device can be used by anyone, anywhere and any number of times, which will enable the possibility of early intervention of congestive heart failure.

"The next wave of MedTech (medical technology) start-ups will see the massive proliferation of smart medical devices that rely on artificial intelligence (AI) and sensing technologies, such as the one we invented, and that will enable personalised self-assessment and screening of cardiopulmonary and other diseases, and revolutionise the way healthcare is managed in future."

How it works

(L-R) Associate Professor David Foo, Head of Cardiology at TTSH, and Associate Professor Ser Wee from NTU School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering jointly developed a smart medical device that can enable early intervention of congestive heart failure. Credit: NTU Singapore

In congestive heart failure, the diseased or overworked heart ventricle is unable to pump out enough of the blood it receives from the lungs. This causes pressure to build up first in the heart, then in the veins and capillaries in the lungs. The pressure then pushes fluid back through the capillary walls and into the air sacs of the lungs.

As a result, when air passes through these fluid-filled air sacs, crackles can be heard from the lungs. Depending on the intensity, a crackle may sound like salt added to a hot pan, or Velcro being torn apart. Based on this principle, Prof Ser and his team found a unique set of features that can be used to identify characteristics of sounds unique to patients with fluid accumulation in the lungs. They then developed a proprietary AI algorithm capable of identifying and processing these signals to determine if there is fluid accumulation in the lungs.

The smart medical device developed by NTU and TTSH first picks up breathing sounds through a sound sensor. Through a mobile app, the sound signals are then sent to a server located in the cloud. The NTU-developed algorithm stored in the cloud then processes these sound signals, and the results are shown on the mobile app. This whole process takes about 10 seconds to complete.

Following two rounds of tests with samples collected from 86 patients, the team is now running a third round of tests on the device to further validate its sensitivity and specificity.

A major pharmaceutical company, a healthcare MNC and a local healthcare company have approached the team to explore the possibility of collaborations.

The research team has filed a patent for the invention, and is now refining the product. A MedTech start-up from NTU to commercialise the device is in the pipeline. The team will seek clinical and regulatory validation for the product before mass producing it.

Explore further A paradigm shift in heart failure treatment?
Credit: CC0 Public Domain

What happens when older adults lie?

A new study suggests that in as little as 45 minutes they can come to believe it's the truth.

Associate professor of psychology Angela Gutchess and her colleagues published the research online in the journal Brain and Cognition.

Gutchess and her collaborators used electroencephalography (EEG) to monitor the brain activity of younger and older adults while they answered a questionnaire truthfully and deceptively.

In the study, the older cohort, ages 60-92, proved significantly more likely than the 18-24-year-olds to accept as the truth a lie they had told less than an hour earlier.

"Older adults have more difficulty distinguishing between what's real and not real," said Laura Paige, a former graduate student in the Gutchess lab and the paper's first author.

Paige said her findings suggest that telling a falsehood scrambles older people's memory so they have a harder time recalling what really happened, in effect giving greater credence to the lie.

"Once they've committed to a lie, it's going to alter whether they remember doing something," said Paige, who now works forn Applied Marketing Science, a market research and consulting firm in Waltham, Massachusetts.

In the study, 42 participants, about half seniors and half millennials, were given a form with 102 questions about what they did the previous day. The form asked them to respond to questions such as "Did you press snooze on your alarm clock?" and "Did you use a fork to eat lunch?"

On half the questions, chosen at random, the researchers told the subjects to lie.

Forty-five minutes later, the respondents answered the same questionnaire. This time they were told to answer all the questions truthfully.

The central research question was: Did the lie stick? When the participants lied on a question the first time, did they remember they had lied or did they now think the lie was the truth?

The results showed that compared to the younger group, older adults were more inclined to believe the lie.

In addition, the EEG data revealed that lying engaged the brain processes responsible for working memory. According to Paige, this finding suggests a lie can embed itself in memory and come to feel as real as the truth.

"Lying alters memory," she said. "It creates a new memory for something that didn't happen."

More information: Laura E. Paige et al. Influence of age on the effects of lying on memory, Brain and Cognition (2018). Journal information: Brain and Cognition Laura E. Paige et al. Influence of age on the effects of lying on memory,(2018). DOI: 10.1016/j.bandc.2018.10.002
Credit: CC0 Public Domain

Pain is an extremely common condition and increasing in prevalence in New Zealand, University of Otago researchers say.

In the latest issue of the New Zealand Medical Journal out today, a team of researchers from the University have written an editorial about pain. Dr. Nicola Swain, Associate Professor in the Department of Psychological Medicine, says pain is the number one reason why people visit their GP.

"Pain is stealing people's lives. As we live longer and are more healthy, pain is an increasing issue," she explains.

"The World Health Organisation details the health conditions causing most loss of life and in the top eight, six are pain issues  including lower back pain, arthritis, migraine and various musculoskeletal pain."

Dr. Swain says pain is a big problem in New Zealand with little research on the condition and difficulties for patients accessing treatment. She hopes the editorial will raise awareness of pain as a societal problem.

Associate Professor Swain and her colleagues from the University of Otago, Dr. Louise Parr-Brownlie, Dr. Bronwyn Lennox Thompson, Ben Darlow, Dr. Ramakrishnan Mani and Professor David Baxter outline six key factors about pain in the editorial:

Pain is always real. Despite this, patients continue to be characterised as "malingering" or "attention seeking" and judgments are made about drug seeking or illness behaviours. "To query whether a particular patient's pain is real is a nonsense," the editorial states.

Persistent pain and acute pain need to be treated differently. There have been calls for persistent pain to be considered a disease in itself.

Persistent pain is extremely common and increasing. Persistent pain, defined as pain that persists for at least six months, is extremely common and affects 20.2 per cent of the New Zealand population. The prevalence is rising both in New Zealand and globally, partly because of an aging population.

Biomedical treatment has limited effectiveness.

There are ethnicity and gender differences in perceptions and experience of pain. Pasifika and Asian populations are less likely to report pain than Europeans. There are also differences in the way men and women experience pain.

Pain education is lacking.

Dr. Swain says it is sometimes difficult for patients suffering from pain to be heard by health practitioners. The editorial calls for an urgent need to investigate how pain is being taught in the New Zealand health professional curriculum.

"You can't see pain  two injuries that look the same on scans can cause completely different levels of pain," Dr. Swain explains.

"More research is needed in all of these areas to increase evidence-based ways of managing pain in the New Zealand population."
Credit: CC0 Public Domain

A team of researchers from the University of Tubingen and the Max-Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics, both in Germany, has found evidence that suggests new-learning plasticity of the brain occurs faster than has been previously thoughtand in different ways. In their paper published in the journal Science, the group describes their study of the brain using a less well-known kind of MRI. Yaniv Assaf from Tel Aviv University has written a Perspective piece on the work done by the team in the same journal issue.

Prior research has suggested that learning is progressiveas people absorb new information, it is stored in physical locations in the brain that already exist. The brain changes to accommodate new knowledge as more learning occurs. Assaf notes that prior research has also shown that the hippocampus is the main brain region involved in memory retention. In this new effort, the researchers challenge both of these assumptions. But Assaf also points out that at this time, nobody really knows how memories are stored in the brain.

To learn more about what happens physically in the brain when a person is learning something new, the researchers studied volunteers with diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (DW-MRI). This less well-known MRI technique detects how water is diffused in the body. The researchers used it to watch how water was diffused in the brain as volunteers learned new material. They suggest the results offer a new view of plasticity in the brain.

The researchers report that they were able to see physical changes in the brain that occurred within hours of the volunteer's exposure to the new material. They also found that brain plasticity was occurring in the posterior parietal cortex, not the hippocampus. They further report that they found that memory engram (the physical changes the brain undergoes when learning something new) was also localized, which, Assaf suggests, strengthens theories that memory is not stored in brain "memory banks," but is instead stored in localized places throughout the brain.

Assaf suggests that studying water diffusion in the brain using DW-MRI offers a new and perhaps better way of studying brain microanatomy, allowing for a more comprehensive and detailed view of what happens inside our skulls as we interact with the world around us.

Explore further A window into the brain: Researchers use MRI to track memories

More information: S. Brodt et al. Fast track to the neocortex: A memory engram in the posterior parietal cortex, Science (2018). Journal information: Science S. Brodt et al. Fast track to the neocortex: A memory engram in the posterior parietal cortex,(2018). DOI: 10.1126/science.aau2528

 2018 Science X Network
Myelin sheath. Credit: Wikipedia.

An international research team has discovered a mechanism that regulates the regeneration of the insulating layer of neurites. This insulation coating, also referred to as the myelin sheath, is crucial for rapid signal transmission among cells. Damages to the myelin sheath, such as are caused by multiple sclerosis, can considerably inhibit the function of the nervous system. In the journal Glia, the team headed by Dr. Annika Ulc, Dr. Simon van Leeuwen and Professor Andreas Faissner from Ruhr-Universitat Bochum describes their findings together with colleagues from Edinburgh, Munster and Hanover. The article was published online on 18 November 2018.

"We hope we've identified a potential approach for accelerating myelin repair with pharmacological means," says Andreas Faissner, Head of the Department of Cell Morphology and Molecular Neurobiology in Bochum.

Complex manufacturing mechanism

The myelin sheath is formed by specific cells, namely oligodendrocytes. "In order for the insulation layer to be generated, the cell shape and its membrane extensions require complex changes," explains Faissner. In their current project, the research team analysed molecular switches that regulate the shape of the cell. To this end, the Bochum-based group collaborated with the Centre for Regenerative Medicine, University of Edinburgh, the Institute of Neuropathology at the university clinic in Munster, and the Department of Cellular Neurophysiology at Hanover Medical School.

Slower regeneration without exchange factor Vav3

In their study, the researchers demonstrated the significance of the Vav3 signalling molecule. It regulates the activity of other molecules, which act as molecular switches by activating and deactivating certain signalling processes. The researchers showed that the activity of molecular switches was altered in oligodendrocytes that lack the Vav3 exchange factor. Moreover, they analysed in what way a missing Vav3 affected the regeneration of the myelin sheath in cultivated cells whose insulation layer had been damaged. The result: without Vav3, the new myelin layer formed more slowly than in cell cultures with Vav3. These findings were confirmed in experiments on mice that lacked Vav3 and that likewise presented slower myelin regeneration.

The signalling mechanisms of molecular switches of the RhoA type, which were under scrutiny here, have been fairly comprehensively investigated. "Combined with our understanding of how important the Vav3 exchange factor is, it might be possible in future to control the molecular switches in such a way as to accelerate the regeneration of the myelin sheath," concludes Faissner.

Explore further MS researchers find new ways to regenerate the brain's insulation

More information: Annika Ulc et al. The guanine nucleotide exchange factor Vav3 modulates oligodendrocyte precursor differentiation and supports remyelination in white matter lesions, Glia (2018). Annika Ulc et al. The guanine nucleotide exchange factor Vav3 modulates oligodendrocyte precursor differentiation and supports remyelination in white matter lesions,(2018). DOI: 10.1002/glia.23548
HIVSmart! is available for smartphone, tablet or web-based (Android, iPhone, and iPad) confidential software app that was developed by Dr. Pant Pai and her team at the RI-MUHC. It informs, interprets and stores data confidentially but, most importantly, it links users to counselling or care quickly and encourages the user to stay in care. Credit: McGill University Health Centre

HIV self-testing strategies have been recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO) since 2016, as they empower people to find out HIV their status at their convenience. Home-based testing kits have yet to be approved for sale in Canada. However, a team from the Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre (RI-MUHC) and collaborators from Clinique Medicale l'Actuel, in Montreal, evaluated an unsupervised HIV self-testing program via a smartphone and tablet application called HIVSmart!, among an at-risk population (men who have sex with men). The findings of their studya Canada-firsthave been published online this week in the Journal of Medical Internet Research.

"To reach the first 95 of the so-called 95-95-95 targets set by UNAIDS* by 2030, it is imperative that we help detect HIV in those who are living unaware of their HIV status. A screening strategy that has the potential to reach the undiagnosed is HIV self-testing," says Dr. Nitika Pant Pai, lead author of this study and a researcher from the Infectious Diseases and Immunity in Global Health Program of the RI-MUHC, and an associate professor of Medicine at McGill University. "HIVSmart! plugs all the gaps in the self-testing process; it works with any approved HIV self-test, facilitates testing and proactively informs the user."

"By promoting screening, HIVSmart! could help to reduce the number of people living with HIV who do not know their status and allow them to start treatment earlier," adds Dr. Rejean Thomas, study co-author, who is also the founder and CEO of Clinique Medicale L'Actuel. ''An application such as HIVSmart! increases accessibility to testing, especially outside major cities, where it is sometimes harder to get tested because of confidentiality issues."

HIVSmart! is available for smartphone, tablet or web-based (Android, iPhone, and iPad) confidential software app that was developed by Dr. Pant Pai and her team at the RI-MUHC. It informs, interprets and stores data confidentially but, most importantly, it links users to counselling or care quickly and encourages the user to stay in care. Initially developed with funding from Grand Challenges Canada, HIVSmart! was evaluated in Montreal thanks to this study funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR).

HIVSmart! feasibility in Montreal

Between July 2016 and February 2017, researchers conducted a study on 451 men who have sex with men (sometimes referred to as MSM) aged 18 to 73 years who presented themselves at the Clinique Medicale L'Actuel to be tested for HIV. They were offered an in-home saliva-based HIV Test and a tablet equipped with the HIVSmart! App. The strategy mimicked testing in an unsupervised home environment. Using HIVSmart!, participants were guided through the self-testing process, learning how to perform and interpret the test, store results, and receive care swiftly.

"Our study shows that the HIVSmart! App strategy is feasible, accepted and preferred by an educated, urban MSM population in Montreal," says Dr. Pant Pai. "As a strategy, it suits individuals who prefer to test themselves at their convenience in the comfort of a private space such as their home, office or kiosks. That's empowering!"

Dr. Nitika Pant Pai, a scientist at the Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre with her HIVSmart! App. Credit: McGill University Health Centre

HIV self-testing for at-risk populations

In Canada, the HIV epidemic is disproportionally represented in key populations, such as MSM, injection drug users, Indigenous populations and immigrants from HIV-endemic countries. Approximately 18 to 25 percent of Canadian MSM populations are unaware of their HIV-positive status, and the number may be proportionally higher for IDUs, Indigenous populations and immigrants, which underscores the need for accessible HIV self-testing services.

"At present, we have all the means to eradicate HIV. The HIVSmart! App is a way to support patient autonomy," says Dr. Thomas. "Promoting screening reduces the number of people who do not know their HIV status, puts HIV-positive people on treatment quickly so their viral charge becomes undetectable, and, ultimately, eradicate HIV."

Researchers plan to adapt the HIVSmart! self-testing strategy for many at-risk populations in Canada and worldwide, thereby maximizing its public health impact. HIVSmart! strategy is also being tested in South Africa.

* UNAIDS Fast-Track Strategy to End AIDS by 2030:

By 2030, 95% of all people living with HIV will know their HIV status.

By 2030, 95% of all people with diagnosed HIV infection will receive sustained antiretroviral therapy.

By 2030, 95% of all people receiving antiretroviral therapy will have viral suppression.

KEY FINDINGS

Profile of Participants

84.7% were educated beyond high school;

79.5% were employed;

52.5% had been tested in the past 6 months.

Main Results

99.3% of the participants who self-tested negative and received counselling after their test;

0.7% of the participants who self-tested positive and were lab-confirmed positive were linked to a physician within the same day;

98.8% of the participants found the app to be useful;

94% of the participants were willing to recommend it to a friend or partner.

Explore further Self-testing: A potentially powerful tool for fighting HIV

More information: Nitika Pant Pai et al, An Unsupervised Smart AppOptimized HIV Self-Testing Program in Montreal, Canada: Cross-Sectional Study, Journal of Medical Internet Research (2018). Journal information: Journal of Medical Internet Research Nitika Pant Pai et al, An Unsupervised Smart AppOptimized HIV Self-Testing Program in Montreal, Canada: Cross-Sectional Study,(2018). DOI: 10.2196/10258
Spending the last days of life in hospital is becoming less frequent. But not for the oldest of the old. Credit: photocase: davidpereiras

In many countries, the proportion of people dying in hospital has been decreasing for years. Until now, this was thought to apply to all age groups. A new study now draws attention to disturbing exceptions.

Most people want to spend their last hours at home  and not in hospital, as is still often the case. But the trend reversal has been initiated, as a new study by the Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research (MPIDR) in Rostock shows. According to the study, the proportion of elderly people dying in a clinic has been declining for years. Excluded from this positive development, however, are the elderly aged 80 and over.

In their study, the scientists around Angela Carollo trace the development of hospital deaths in Denmark between 1980 and 2014. To this end, they analyzed data on all women and men aged 50 and over who died during this period. After evaluating a total of about 1.8 million data records, the following picture emerged: Whereas in 1980 56 percent of men died in the clinic, in 2014 the figure was only 44 percent; among women the proportion fell from 49 percent to 39 percent in the same period.

The trend reverses in old age

The researchers observed the greatest decline among the 50- to 59-year-olds: Whereas in 1980 two thirds (66.3 percent) of this age group died in a clinic, in 2014 it was just under half (48.9 percent). The downward trend continues in the period under study up to the age of 79 years and comes to a standstill among the 80 to 89-year-olds. In this group, around 40.2 percent die in hospital today  a proportion that has hardly changed since 1980. What surprises the researchers is the enormous 23 percent increase in the number of over-90s.

Angela Carollo says that Danish population registers are particularly suitable for such analyses because of their extensive data series dating back so far. The results, which are unique in their sharpness of detail, reflect developments in large parts of Europe and North America and are therefore of international significance. Even in countries such as the USA, Great Britain or Belgium, patients are increasingly able to die a dignified death at home, in a hospice or at another location of their choice, says Carollo: "This is very welcome, because death in hospital is not a good death for most people."

Stagnation in Germany

In the old Federal Republic of Germany, the proportion of hospital deaths reached a maximum value in 1980 with 55 percent of all deaths, only to decline to 46 percent for the whole of Germany in 2016. "The proportion of hospital deaths in Germany has remained at this level for years," says Angela Carollo.

The Rostock scientists see the development of the over-90s as an alarm signal. "They are not only the most frail, but also the fastest growing population group in many countries," says Angela Carollo. Far too often the last wish for a farewell in a private setting is not fulfilled.

The detailed results of the Rostock study are particularly revealing. According to it, more women than men die from cardiovascular disease in younger age groups in hospital. The difference loses itself at around seventy and then reverses: From the age of 80 onwards, the male proportion of cardiovascular deaths in hospitals predominates. "It is quite possible that more younger men than women die of cardiovascular diseases before they reach the hospital," suspects Angela Carollo. However, this needs to be investigated in more detail.

Marriage makes the difference

The study also finds that medium- and high-income earners have higher odds of dying as recipients than low-income individuals. Where older people die also depends strongly on whether they are married or not: On average, more married people die in hospital than unmarried people, but in the over-90s it is increasingly the unmarried who die. Angela Carollo says that several stays in hospital within one year also increase the risk, adding: "Conversely, the avoidance of long hospital stays, as has been common practice for years, together with the extension of in-home care and nursing homes, probably led to fewer deaths on the wards."

The number one cause of death in hospitals is respiratory diseases, especially in the oldest age group. Strokes and cancer follow in the ranks, with these showing the sharpest decline since 2005. The study does not provide information on other places of death. Carollo: "We can only assume that those who did not die in hospital either died at home or in a nursing home or hospice."

The researchers from Rostock associate their findings with an urgent appeal to politicians. Carollo: "It is now important to expand care, and to make sure that existing healthcare and social care regulations are sufficient. Our goal should be to enable old people to live at home or in a home care and to avoid unnecessary hospital stays shortly before death."

Explore further Hospital remains most common place of death for cancer patients in England

More information: Angela Carollo et al. Trends in Hospital Deaths in Denmark from 1980 to 2014, at Ages 50 and Older, Journal of the American Geriatrics Society (2018). Journal information: Journal of the American Geriatrics Society Angela Carollo et al. Trends in Hospital Deaths in Denmark from 1980 to 2014, at Ages 50 and Older,(2018). DOI: 10.1111/jgs.15672
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Experience sponsored by Willamette Valley Oregon Wine Country along with Eugene, Cascades & Coast

John and I believe in balance: We work hard to play hard. We also enjoy fine foods and beverages, as well as physical activity. It just so happens that we found this balance during our recent trip to Willamette Valley Oregon Wine Country.

Hiking in Philomath

Before stopping in at Cardwell Hill Cellars in Philomath, Oregon, we went for a hike in the Beazell Memorial Forest, which is a testament to true love. For real! Even though my Cascadian heart finds forests utterly and hopelessly romantic settings in general, this one was specially created for all to enjoy thanks to a dedication from a beloved husband.

The 586 acre demonstration forest was the site of the Plunkett farm and homestead in the 1930s, and was purchased by 1966 by Fred Beazell, an employee at a high-tech company in Californias Silicon Valley. Fred married his long-time sweetheart Dolores in 1968 and convinced her to move to Oregon in 1991. But Dolores Beazell died just two years later. Grieving, and without children, Fred decided to leave the property as a memorial to his beloved wife. Today Benton County manages the Beazell Memorial Forest for recreation and forest ecology. [Source]

The forest has two main loop trails: The South Ridge Trail (3.1km round trip, elevation gain of 633 ft) and the Plunkett Creek Trail (4.3km round trip, elevation gain of 665 ft) which can join up with the Plunkett Creek Trail. We ended up on the creek loop and it was such a lush forest environment. I know my Pacific Northwest Forests pretty well but this one was different.

Groves of oak trees and old growth maples, red alder, wood fern, a Douglas-fir plantation and the colours of autumn leaves contrasting with the pitch black basalt rocks that made up the path.

Im used to wood chips and mulch so it was cool to see the regions volcanic roots in the middle of the woods. Hike it with your sweetheart if you can, and tip your hat to Fred and Dolores.

Hiking in Eugene

Spencer Butte is to Eugene what Quarry Rock is to Deep Cove. Grab a coffee to go and hit this hike in the morning before Sunday brunch reservation. Its a busy trail, well traveled by families, dogs on leash, and sprinters who are in it for the exercise and not the selfies at the top.

The parking lot starts off in a dewy meadow, already at a bit of an elevation above Eugene. Theres the short way up which is pretty much vertical with some boulder scrambling, then theres the more leisurely 2.3km stroll through Douglas fir forest. Youll gain 698 feet in elevation through switchbacks until you reach above the cloud line finding satisfying views of the entire region.

At the top theres room to pause, have a snack, finish your coffee (or chug some water like I did) and enjoy a 360 degree view of Eugene. Spot the Three Sisters peaks to the east, which are part of the Cascade Volcanic Arc, along with ranches, rivers, lakes and the University of Oregon in the distance.

Chat up a friendly doggo that made the hike up, and head back down the scenic route to hit up that local craft brewery (like Falling Sky Brewing where we had our own brunch).

There are many more hikes to choose from in the Eugene area, which is also known for its waterfalls.

Follow #OregonWineTrav on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram for more info and to plan your visit to this Pacific Northwest region. Find Eugene, Cascade & Coast on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook too.
'Gun Control' Fails New Jersey

By Rob Morse. November 29th, 2018

Original Source

Two thugs chased a 19 year old woman across the street, into a store, and then executed her by shooting her 20 times. She died on a weekday afternoon in broad daylight. She was killed in front of witnesses in Trenton, the state capital of New Jersey. The murder was caught on security cameras. Jersey politicians and the news media told us time and again that this could never happen. We were supposed to be safe since the rigorous gun-control laws in New Jersey have disarmed the criminals. That obviously isnt true and Jersey politicians and the news media lied to us. In fact, honest law abiding people were disarmed while the criminals still have guns. 'Gun control' failed again and today, honest people pay with their lives. Have we had enough?

Gun Control Jersey Style

New Jersey has some of the strictest gun control laws in the United States. The Giffords law center funded by Michael Bloomberg gives New Jersey an A- rating for gun-control. I quote,

New Jersey has some of the strongest gun laws in the nation.. The state requires the licensing of all firearms dealers and their employees, and requires a permit to purchase any handgun.

Unfortunately, criminals dont obey gun laws and they dont buy their guns from federally licensed dealers.

New Jersey requires a permit to purchase any handgun, rifle, or shotgun. All purchases require a background check. You wont get your concealed carry permit in New Jersey unless you are a politician or a judge. Honest law abiding citizens can only buy one gun per month, but it takes months to get police permission to buy a handgun. Add a state mandated seven day waiting period on top of those delays. Ammunition magazines are limited to a maximum capacity of ten rounds. Jersey gun owners can be charged with a crime if they are late reporting a stolen gun, and honest gun owners can be held liable for the actions that criminals take if the stolen gun is used in a crime.

Jersey gun laws didnt stop the murderers who shot the 19 year old woman from getting a gun and carrying their guns in public.

Those laws didnt stop criminals. It can take an honest person at least half a year to get a firearm legally in New Jersey. A criminal buys a new one in an hour off the street.

Crime in Trenton

One horrific story is not the same as data. Unfortunately, this story is repeated day after day across the city. Trenton is the 32nd most a dangerous city in the US, though even that does not qualify as the most dangerous city in New Jersey. (That would be Camden at #4.) 94 percent of US cities are safer than Trenton. Your chance of being a crime victim in Trenton are 1 in 26 each year. Even with all the gun laws in New Jersey, the number of crimes in Trenton increased by 9 percent last year. When we look at only violent crimes, Trenton is 249% more dangerous than the US taken as a whole.

Gun Control fails New Jersey

If that is what gun-control looks like, then I dont want any of it. The reason gun control fails is obvious. In the criminal justice system, only the first crime is expensive: all the other crimes are free. You dont care if you use a stolen gun or a stolen car once you are going to commit murder. There is no deterrent, no incremental penalty that changes your behaviour, once youre the gang hitman. That is why gun control only disarms honest people..which is what the Dirty Jersey politicians wanted all along.

Gun control works for Jersey politicians, but fails for New Jersey. Honest people die because of it.

Have you had enough?

Sources=

https://www.nj.com/mercer/index.ssf/2018/11......

https://lawcenter.giffords.org/gun-laws/state-law ......

https://www.areavibes.com/trenton-nj/crime......

https://www.neighborhoodscout.com/blog/top100.....

http://www.handgunlaw.us/states/newjersey.pdf

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ARCHIVED - UK and Spain sign Gibraltar cigarette price agreement



Higher prices in Gibraltar should help to reduce the contraband tobacco trade in Spain

Following the last-minute agreement reached by Spain, the UK and the EU over Gibraltar last weekend, which enabled the EU to agree on the terms of Brexit, this Thursday new agreements were signed between the governments in Madrid and London on some of the issues which have been most contentious in recent years.

The documents signed by Josep Borrell, the Spanish Minister for Foreign Affairs, and the UK Minister for the Cabinet Office, David Lidington, include one which concerns the sale price of tobacco and cigarettes in the Rock. At present, cigarettes are around 48 per cent cheaper on the Gibraltar side of the border than in the neighbouring region of Andalucia, and this has brought about the large-scale smuggling of contraband tobacco into Spain: however, that differential is to be reduced to 32 per cent by the introduction of taxes on tobacco in Gibraltar before June 2020, diminishing the incentive for smugglers.

After years of failing to give ground on this matter, just four days after the Brexit agreement the Gibraltarian government now expresses its concern over the effect of smoking on peoples health and over contraband, and at the same time the news is likely to give the governing PSOE party a boost only three days before the regional election.

The tobacco agreement is representative of the general tone of the agreements signed, the common intention being to reduce the differences between Gibraltar and the Campo de Gibraltar, where unemployment and contraband trading are rife. Other matters addressed include the environment, cooperation between the police forces and customs offices of Gibraltar and Andalucia and the rights of those who cross the border every day to work.

It is worth pointing out that it is specified in all of the documents that they in no way affect the positions of the UK or Spain regarding sovereignty in the Rock: in other words, that matter is not on the negotiating table.

Image: Josep Borrell signs the Gibraltar documents

Follow Murcia Today on Facebook to keep up to date with all the latest news, events and information in the Region of Murcia and the rest of Spain: https://www.facebook.com/MurciaToday/

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Communications Minister Stella Ndabeni-Abrahams says it is in governments interest to make sure that nobody loses their jobs at the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC).

We pride ourselves in being a caring government. We have a responsibility to reduce unemployment. We have a responsibility to grow the economy and everything we do must translate to improving peoples lives, Ndabeni-Abrahams said.

The Minister, together with Communications Deputy Minister Pinky Kekana, on Thursday engaged staff members on their concerns at the SABC Studios in Auckland Park, Johannesburg.

Ndabeni-Abrahams encouraged staff members, who fear losing their jobs through the possibility of retrenchments at the SABC, to be involved in solving the challenges in the organisation.

She said it was unacceptable that the SABC incurred R4.9 billion in irregular expenditure and emphasised the importance of holding people accountable for corruption.

We want to make a commitment that those who are owing the SABC money [must] pay. You can help us by giving us a list so that we know who to talk to, said Ndabeni-Abrahams.

The Minister was referring to government departments who owe the public broadcaster money.

The Deputy Minister said retrenchments must be the last resort.

From here onwards, we want clean governance and it must start with you because if you keep quite, you are part of it. Lets use the past to learn and become better, Kekana said.

She said Parliament wants the SABC to present a scientific study of the state of affairs at the SABC which includes details on the cost cutting measures as well as a skills audits.

She said members of Parliament want to help the SABC and want the public broadcaster to inform it on role of the executives and whether the salaries are worth what they are doing.

Kekana said Parliament has questioned whether the SABC has money for severance packages as it looks at the possibility of retrenchments.

The big issue which is before Parliament is the recapitalisation The bailout of the SABC, the guarantee versus bailout (sic), she said.

Kekana said staff at the SABC were not helping and safeguarding money of the SABC.

Irregular expenditure at the SABC stood at R4.9 billion. This was according to the Auditor General (AG) report.

SANews

Now read: Back to blackouts in South Africa
Netflix is already paying VAT in South Africa, the company told MyBroadband.

Its statement was in response to questions about the new Netflix tax to be introduced in South Africa.

The National Treasury recently published an amended regulation for electronic services, which has an effective date of 1 April 2019.

It will impact international suppliers of services to South Africans, which must evaluate whether their supply of services qualifies as electronic services and whether this will create a liability to register for VAT.

According to Baker & McKenzie, the impact of the amended regulation is that all services that are supplied from abroad by an electronic agent, electronic communication, or the Internet are now electronic services for the purposes of VAT.

What is envisaged by the definition is that the services being supplied are essentially automated and involve minimal human intervention and are impossible to ensure in the absence of information technology, said Baker & McKenzie.

Only a limited number of services that may be provided by the above means are excluded from the definition of electronic services, namely educational services regulated in the export country of the foreign service provider, and telecommunication services.

This means broadcasting, and the likes of streaming services such as Netflix, will be affected.

Price increases

Speaking to BusinessTech, Seelan Moonsamy, a VAT expert at Baker & McKenzie, said that the regulations will likely lead to companies such as Netflix, Facebook, and Google having to register for VAT.

If these companies deliver its services by electronic means and the total value of its services exceed R1 million on a rolling 12 month period they will have to register.

He added that this extra tax will likely be passed on to South African consumers through increased prices.

Netflix South Africa, however, told MyBroadband it is already paying VAT in the country.

Asked whether this means the new regulation will have no impact on subscription pricing, Netflix said it could not comment at this stage.

Now read: Major security flaw in Sennheiser headphone software
9 Nepalis wounded in Taliban attack in Kabul

Nine Nepali workers were wounded in Taliban bomb and gun assault on their base in Afghan Capital of Kabul on Thursday, Nepali Embassy in New Delhi said.
Facebook Inc. said it will stop including some publishers advertising in its political ad archive following months of criticism from news organizations.

Next year the social media giant will no longer require publishers who want to buy ads boosting exposure to their articles on politics to go through its political ad transparency process, the company said in a blog post on Thursday.

Under Facebooks current rules, any ads promoting political content  even news articles on politics and elections  are placed in a public archive for up to seven years. The archive includes information on who is paying for a political ad and the demographics of the ads viewers. The measures were initiated to prevent foreign interference in elections.

Earlier this year Facebook divided its political ads archive into two sections  one for ads promoting news stories about politics and one for ads promoting political candidates and issues. Publishers were chosen to be part of the separate news section based, in part, on their membership in mainstream trade organizations.

Facebook is still finalizing the criteria for determining which media organizations will be exempt from its political ad rules next year, according to the company.

We appreciate Facebooks openness to our industrys concerns leading up to todays announcement and we look forward to working with them to better shape the criteria for defining a news organization, News Media Alliance President David Chavern said in a statement on Thursday. The social media giant previously brushed off an offer to work with the News Media Alliance on its political ad policies.

Journalism trade groups have argued that mainstream news organizations should be exempt from the requirements because they blur the lines between news coverage and political advocacy. But a solution that exempts certain publishers puts Facebook in the position of deciding outright which media organizations are credible.

Media trade group Digital Content Next praised Facebooks decision to exempt some publishers from the ad archive and Twitters earlier efforts to differentiate news organizations from political candidates.

We are pleased that Facebook understands and values the important role of news organizations, said Jason Kint, Chief Executive Officer of Digital Content Next, a New York-based association of online publishers. We have worked cooperatively with Twitter who understood this from the beginning. We look forward to working in a similar fashion with Facebook.

Bloomberg LLP is a member of Digital Content Next, whose membership includes the Associated Press and the New York Times, among other publishers.

In June, seven trade groups representing media publishers and broadcast organizations in more than 120 countries including the New York Times, BBC.com and 21st Century Fox sent a letter to Facebook criticizing the companys decision.

Now read: Facebook testing feature that allows users to block certain words
Bank of Marin has announced the names of 23 students from 11 regional high schools whose photography is featured in the banks 2019 community calendar. Students submitted over 200 images and judges at the bank made the final photo selections.

There are so many talented high school students across our footprint and we wanted to offer a platform to showcase their creativity, said Russell A. Colombo, president and CEO of Bank of Marin.

This years featured student photographers include Napa County student Sean Flaherty of Justin-Siena High School. His photo, "Three Yellow Balloons in a Row," is on the cover of the calendar.

Bank of Marin will donate $100 to each participating high schools photography program for the purchase of supplies and equipment. The 2019 community calendars will be available for free at all Bank of Marin branches.
This years 2019 Michelin Guide ratings for the Bay Area have been released.

Within the Napa Valley there are now a total of 35 Michelin-rated restaurants, including 21 Lassiette (adding Charlie Palmer Steak Napa, Compline and Redd, which closed in October), eight Bib Gourmands (up from six in 2018 by moving Ciccio up from Lassiette and adding Gran Electrica to last years remaining six), four one star (same list as last year), zero two-stars and the two remaining top contenders kept their three stars (The French Laundry and The Restaurant at Meadowood, which has had three stars since 2011).

Beyond the Napa Valley, this year saw two new restaurants in the Bay Areas three-star lineup: Healdsburgs Single Thread, owned and operated by chef Kyle Connaughton, and Dominique Crenns San Francisco Atelier Crenn, making her the first female head chef of a three-starred restaurant in the Bay Area.

Michelins Guide has played a significant role in helping illuminate some of the finest restaurants on the planet. Initially limited to France, the guide is now in 25 countries across four continents. Since 2007 the highly secretive Michelin inspectors have been rating Bay Area restaurants, including those in the Napa Valley.

Since that first review year, only three Napa Valley eateries have retained stars every year: Auberge du Soleil (one star) and two Thomas Keller restaurants  Bouchon (one star) and the French Laundry (three stars).

Today there are five levels of Michelin ratings: Lassiette (the plate symbol representing simply serves good food), Bib Gourmand (an image of the Michelin Man licking his lips and signifying friendly establishments that serve good food at moderate prices), one star (high-quality cooking worth a stop), two stars (excellent food worth a detour) and three stars (exceptional cuisine worth a special journey).

With the inclusion of Yountvilles Redd, which closed in October, coupled with the exclusion of Acacia House, All Seasons and The Charter Oak not receiving a star, while Kenzo wasnt lifted to two stars, the Michelin 2019 results suggest the inspectors may not be as dialed into the Napa Valley food scene as they might be.

There are those who believe such ratings are more trouble than they are worth, with more and more restaurants voluntarily shedding their Michelin stars. In France, Chef Sebastien Bras of Le Suquet asked to be stripped of the three Michelin Stars hed held since 1999 because he no longer wanted the pressure of having to retain them.

Chef Julio Biosca of Casa Julio (Fontanars dels Alforins, Spain) reportedly felt the award restricted his creativity. Andre Chiang returned the two stars he earned at Restaurant Andre (and shut the acclaimed venue down), saying that for the past 30 years of his career hed been searching for that unrealistic moment of perfection that he thought he could reach through professional accolades.

Some local chefs have felt such pressure, too.

When I received my first two stars from Michelin all I could think about was getting the third, said Chef Douglas Keane (formerly Cyrus and now chef/owner of Two Birds One Stone). It was a complete distraction from doing what I wanted to do, which was to cook food that inspired me and made others happy.

On the right track

Even with this years controversy, it remains an honor for those working in what is often a thankless profession to be acknowledged. And entrants on this years list express gratitude for being provided recognition and encouragement.

Tamer Hamawi, co-owner of Gran Electrica: We are thrilled and delighted to have received this recognition from the Michelin team  it feels amazing to know we are on the right path. We are especially pleased for chef Ignacio Beltran. He is so talented and he deserves to be recognized and rewarded for his hard work and his incredible skills in the kitchen.

Bryant Minuche, executive chef at Ciccio: I am very humbled. I want to thank Michelin for encouraging our community of restaurants to be the best they possibly can be and for recognizing all the great chefs and their teams on this list. We are going to keep doing what we are doing and striving to be better for our guests every day.

The fact that the Napa Valley saw gains speaks to the quality and vision of the culinarians who call this valley home. This is very good news for those of us who live and visit here, but what it means for the chefs who have achieved these lofty goals is that although they might take a few moments to celebrate, they must keep their high standards, while at the same time figure out how to hang on to the stars next year. The training for the next Olympic medal begins again, now.

Christopher Kostow, executive chef of The Restaurant at Meadowood and co-owner The Charter Oak: It is an honor to receive three stars from the Michelin Guide. (At both our locations) We strive to grow each day, pushing to evolve our style and approach. To have our team be rewarded for these daily efforts is very satisfying.

Total list of 2019 Michelin-rated restaurants in the Napa Valley:

Lassiette-rated restaurants:

Ad Hoc

Angele

Archetype

Bistro Jeanty

Bottega

Brix

CaMomi Osteria

Charlie Palmer Steak Napa*

Compline*

Evangeline

Goose & Gander

Harvest Table

Miminashi

Mustards Grill

Press

Redd* (but has closed)

Rutherford Grill

Sams Social Club

Solbar

The Charter Oak

Zuzu

Bib Gourmand-rated restaurants:

Ciccio**

Cook St. Helena

Farmstead

Graces Table

Gran Electrica*

Oenotri

Redd Wood

Two Birds/One Stone

One-star-rated restaurants:

Auberge du Soleil

Bouchon

Kenzo

La Toque

Three-star

The French Laundry

The Restaurant at Meadowood

*New to the list

** Changed status in 2019
The wildfires are out. But a new winter menace looms in the fire-scarred hills of California.

Both Northern and Southern California got hit this week with the first round of post-fire debris flows, essentially flash floods that can appear from nowhere.

Heavy rains this week caused small ash and fire-debris laden flows in the Butte County hills as well as in Malibu and in the hills of eastern Orange County -- all spots where massive wildfires denuded hundreds of thousands of acres of hillsides, some of them above housing tracts.

The debris-flow risk prompted some evacuations in Butte, Los Angeles and Orange counties on Thursday.

So, far officials report damage was minimal, with no reports of injuries or damage to homes. But the flooding has stoked fears that the state may be in for a winter of road closures and even worse, physical danger to homes and lives, in fire-burn areas.

Much of the fear stems from lesson learned in a shockingly devastating debris flow in January that killed 23 people in the upscale Santa Barbara town of Montecito, days after the Thomas wildfire scorched the coastal hillsides there.

That slide, triggered by a brief spate of intense rain, sent a boulder- and tree-carrying flood wall through town, destroying hundreds of homes, burying a quarter-mile of Highway 101 under 10 feet of sludge for a week, and depositing crumpled cars and trucks on the beach below town.

"The Montecito event was not a particularly strong storm, it just happened to be localized, one (burst of rain) in a bad spot," Daniel Swain, a UCLA climate scientist, warned. "Those situations are hard to predict. Giant storms are not going to catch us by surprise, but these individual heavy cells can catch us by surprise."

Weather officials and hydrologists say the Montecito flood was an extreme event, but they warn California could be in for more damaging debris flows because of the increase in hot summer and fall fires.

"What we are seeing is the risk (of damage and injury) is not limited to fire season," Swain said.

With more rain on the way this weekend, emergency services officials are warning residents of fire areas to keep their heads on a swivel.

Thursday in Butte County, where the Camp Fire ripped through hillside towns of Paradise, Magalia and Concow, 2 inches of rain on Wednesday forced evacuations of several rural areas and forced closure of a key mountain road as a slurries of ash, water, mud and fire debris washed down slopes and over roads.

Damage was minimal, although about 50 drivers were temporarily stranded on the mountain when water coursed over Honey Run Road.

Lower-lying areas of Butte County were hit with flooding as well Thursday, prompting Cal Fire water rescues of some residents and closure of Highway 99 for one hour. That flooding in the lower areas of the county, however, was not related to the Camp Fire and was not considered a debris flow.

In Southern California, the Trabuco Canyon in the Santa Ana Mountains of eastern Orange County is considered the inhabited area most at risk this winter for debris flows. The Holy Fire ripped through those mountains in August, burning 23,000 acres, including in canyons.

Thursday rains caused Trabuco Creek to swell dramatically, and prompted mandatory evacuations in that area. The state Office of Emergency Services, Cal Fire and others sent crews there to do prep work this fall to protect residents from flows

In Redding, where the Carr Fire and two other major fires hit this summer, Caltrans officials have their eye on Interstate 5 and several rural highways they believe are susceptible.

Spokeswoman Lupita Franco reported Thursday the agency has been dealing with some rock and mud falls onto roads, but no significant flooding with the first storm. Maintenance crews are on alert.

"No news is good news," she said. "We are monitoring it closely. We'll have to see what happens tonight."
As departing mayor, indulge me in a farewell letter  one much shorter than President Washingtons farewell address.

1. Police Department: The overriding issue here is liability. We cannot rule out an officer-involved shooting. The risk is avoided it we contract out police services to the Sheriffs Department. Yes, we would like to maintain our own police force, but, sadly, the financial risk to the city and its General Fund is too large. We need to acknowledge reality. There are other sound reasons to contract out to the Sheriffs Department (as Yountville and American Canyon have done, and to my understanding is under evaluation in Calistoga). Liability risk is the one that has me the most concerned.

2. A School Resource Officer: We have no police officer assigned to our schools, as we have had in the past. Earlier this year, I caused discrete inquiry to be made of the St. Helena Unified School District, and was advised that there was no interest. This is a huge mistake (Congressman Thompson agrees with me). A dedicated Resource Officer is a full-time job, with his/her own specialized training. The school district picks up the entire cost. Sadly, we live in a world where it is irresponsible not to have such an officer. The school district needs to rethink its position.

3. Fire Department: Our Fire Department model, so inexpensive to our town in the past, is under siege, as we move, perhaps rapidly, to more full-time firefighters. This places a significant new burden on the General Fund. The council needs to be realistic in projecting the likely future cost in the Long Term Financial Forecast.

4. Pension Liability: We are substantially underfunded (not unique here). This is a serious liability, with near term impact on our General Fund. The council needs to adopt a strategy that substantially reduces this persistent actuarial accrued liability. Failure to do so will in the not distant future jeopardize discretionary services (library, parks, recreation) that we so value.

5. General Plan and EIR: Unfortunately, the city has not accumulated the cost of this 10-year plus project in a project account. My best guess is that the accumulated cost is now well north of $1.3 million. This is an enormous waste of General Fund resources. The Planning Commission and Council, without further ado, should adopt the General Plan and EIR now in circulation. Sure, each of us can passionately argue for policy changes, but the cost and time are not worth it. Changes in the General Plan can always later be made by amendment.

6. The Water & Wastewater Enterprises: Mandated improvements to both Enterprises present large challenges. For the Water Enterprise, these include removal of York Creek Dam, a new Intake Tower at Bell Canyon, and a host of other significant capital improvements. As to the Wastewater Enterprise, we are under a state cease and desist order requiring large outlays to be accomplished within a fixed schedule. There are real risks from rising engineering design and construction costs that current rates, including scheduled increases, will prove to be insufficient. This is especially true concerning on the wastewater side. Raising rates, if they become necessary, are a true test of the mettle of the leadership of the council and mayor.

7. Point 6 leads to Point 7. If current rates are not sufficient, there will be great pressure to contribute General Fund funds to the Enterprise funds to avoid or mitigate rate increases. This must be resisted. The Enterprise Funds are fee based, not tax based. It is improper financial management to subsidize ratepayer users with taxpayer dollars, as doing so misallocates public resources. In accordance with this accepted principle of proper financial management, the council recently adopted a policy that strongly cautions against taxpayer subsidy of the fee-based Enterprises. (A council majority committed a total of $1.6 million in General Fund dollars to the Water Fund in the current and last fiscal year, against strong outside expert advice, with councilmember Peter White and myself in dissent. This public policy transgression reduced our capacity to deal with significant General Fund funding issues  like roads, sidewalks, unrestored library hours, accrued pension liability, and so on.)

8. Downtown Revitalization: We will not accomplish much in the way of filling empty storefronts if we continue to cling to the nostalgia of local serving downtown uses. The council must resist pressure to maintain barriers to downtown uses, which includes, for example, a new policy of allowing formula retail (not restaurants) as a permitted use, as opposed to a discretionary use, in the Central Business District.

9. Whatever the cost, the council must proceed with the downtown bathrooms behind Telegraph Alley. This is an essential component of downtown revitalization.

10. As the City Council proceeds with a new City Hall, renovation of the Library, and perhaps a new building for Parks and Recreation, it must candidly advise that existing revenues are not sufficient to support these projects. Further, it should acknowledge that taxes to generate needed revenues are most likely not a realistic option, as they will draw substantial organized opposition and hence will not pass. This means that the city-owned Adams Street property, even if the Ted Hall lodging project proceeds, must remain on the table for a hotel development (with its attendant TOT revenue) that helps to provide the cash flow to finance new or renovated city buildings, as well as more foot traffic to support downtown retail.

11. Finally, there is the difficult problem of housing that is affordable (meaning not just regulated affordable housing but marketplace housing affordable to the middle class). We cannot continue to delude ourselves into thinking that small infill projects (Brenkle Court, Turley Flats, the McGrath project) are our salvations. We need larger projects.

In his run for mayor, my successor stressed our opportunities and what he would accomplish in the near term, including adding meaningful (modular) affordable housing units. I respectfully suggest that he and the council be graded on the basis of the progress that is made with respect to the foregoing 11 items, mostly all of very long standing.

Alan Galbraith is currently the mayor of the St. Helena. He lost his bid for re-election and his term will end next month, after the election results are made final.
US ambassador to India, Kenneth Ian Juster on Thursday visited Sangai Festival during his maiden visit to Manipur.

Kenneth was accompanied by US Consulate General, Kolkata Patricia L Hoffman on his two-day visit to Manipur.

After his arrival at Imphal, he called on Governor Najma Heptulla and State Chief Minister N Biren Singh.

Kenneth Jester, said enhancing relationship with the north-eastern region particularly Manipuris, is critical to broaden connectivity within South Asia.

Replying queries of the media, he said the relationship between India and US has been already strong and US longs to enhance the relationship by focusing particularly on Manipur as the US is looking forward to boost it.

While extending a warm welcome to Kenneth I Juster and Consulate General, Patricia Hoffman who are here to attend Sangai Festival, Chief Minister, N Biren Singh said expressed his gratitude for the heartfelt concern shown by the US Ambassador for development of the State.

Biren also felicitated the US envoy by presenting a sculpture of Sangai deer along with small mementos of Kangla Gate and others.

Jester later witnessed the traditional cultural events of Sangai Festival held at Bheigyachandra Open Air Theatre.

The US ambassador to India is visiting the Kangla Fort on Friday.
Zatulin: Last year's war in Karabakh caused tremendous damage to not only Armenia, but also Russia

Alexander Rahr: In regard to Karabakh conflict, West will support territorial integrity

Russian political scientist: Moscow not concerned about Pashinyan-Aliyev meeting in Brussels

Armenia acting commander of battalion arrested under criminal case of regarding Nov. 16 attack

Turkish aggressor declares that Armenia 'needs to assess extended hand for peace as a chance'

Armenian analyst says Iran is not interested in transfer of any sector of Armenia

Armenian official: MFA hasn't raised issue to review CEPA with regard to Karabakh

Deputy mayor of Armenia's Goris: I have deeper concerns after meeting with PM

Matviyenko: Borders between Armenia and Azerbaijan are precise on Soviet maps

Armenian analyst: Part of Armenia's Goris-Kapan motorway does not pass through Azerbaijani territory

Zatulin: Opening or closure of this or that corridor is the sovereign right of Armenia, not Baku

Zakharova: Russia sees good prospects for agreement on unblocking of transport links in South Caucasus

Russian MFA: Conversation of experts of Moscow, Yerevan and Baku is important

Azerbaijani planes still flying through Armenia's airspace (PHOTOS)

NEWS.am daily digest: 25.11.21

Armenia 2nd President: I have decided not to attend 30th session of Hayastan All-Armenian Fund's Board of Trustees

Armenian-Russian joint military exercise held, air force used (PHOTOS)

Czech President Milos Zeman discharged from military hospital

Armenian opposition party leader calls on people to free state institutions of 'Turks'

Beijing protested over US sanctions against Chinese companies

European Commissioner says EU will soon change its border crossing rules due to COVID-19

Armenian army's General Staff ex-deputy chief: War is very likely, but it is rare that there will be corridor

Armenian political party leader: There is a need for a national unity committee in Armenia

Armenian MFA: Coronavirus has decelerated course of implementation of Armenia-EU CEPA

Armenia Parliament Speaker meets with IFRC Europe Regional Director in St. Petersburg

Armenia Constitutional Court ex-chief of staff proposes to hold parliamentary hearings under non-stop regime

Armenia high-tech industry minister: There is no need to wiretap opposition members

Aram Vardevanyan: Armenia health minister was obliged to attend session of Constitutional Court today

Zakharova says she has no comment on upcoming meeting of Russian, Armenian and Azerbaijani leaders

Zakharova: Russia is interested in normalization of Armenian-Turkish relations

Latest developments in Artsakh among issues to be discussed during Turkish National Security Council's session

Armenian FM holds phone talk with Israeli counterpart

Protests continue in Turkey with demand for Erdogan's resignation

Armenia allocates AMD 1.44 billion to Karabakh

COVID-19 in Armenia: 42 new deaths

Russian peacekeepers ensure control in Nagorno-Karabakh

Parliamentary hearings on demarcation and delimitation being held in Yerevan

Ambartsum Matevosyan appointed Armenian deputy PM

EU, WHO provide Yerevan's Surb Grigor Lusavorich Medical Center with state-of-the-art X-ray machine

Armenian soldier found dead on Armenia's border in Tavush Province had been drafted in February (PHOTO)

What Speaker of the Parliament of Armenia really said in response to Russian journalist's question

Analyst: Iran's accession to EEU will create serious counterbalance to Turkey and strengthen Armenia's positions

Armenia FM holds phone talks with Iranian counterpart

Firefighters put out fire in Range Rover Sport near night club in Yerevan

Putin discusses current situation in Karabakh during phone talks with European Council President

Armenia's Liberation Movement holding march after rally, calling on citizens to join

Greek City Times: Azeri military captured the historic Armenian city of Shushi

Georgia says it's not considering possibility of joining '3+3' regional format

Union of Armenia National Security Service's Reserve Officers in favor of fulfillment of Liberation Movement's demands

Armenia, Russia FMs hold phone talks

Karabakh emergency situations service: Remains of another serviceman found in Mataghis

Armenia's ex-Ambassador to Iran appointed Advisor to PM

Armenia's Pashinyan receives Russia Deputy PM, unblocking of communications discussed

Armenia FM presents situation created after Azerbaijani aggression during phone talks with Tajik counterpart

Armenia convict dies from COVID-19 at medical center

Armenia Syunik Province's community heads: Nikol Pashinyan said there won't be corridor

NEWS.am daily digest: 24.11.21

Newly appointed Ambassador of Germany to Armenia presents credentials to Armen Sarkissian

Armenia Armavir Province governor sacked

Armenia MOD: Conscript's body found at combat position, with lethal firearm injury in head area

US has invited 110 countries to Summit for Democracy in December, including Armenia

Requiem Service for Armenian statesman Vano Siradeghyan to be held on Dec. 3

Armenia Parliament Deputy Speaker meets with Argentina Ambassador

Armenia FM presents situation created as a result of Azerbaijan's aggression to Germany's new Ambassador

Armenia PM receives community heads of Syunik Province

Armenia ex-deputy economy minister appointed member of Eurasian Economic Commission's Advisory Board

Exchange rates in Armenia

Another plane heads to Baku through Armenian airspace

Ambassador: Armenia may play major role in development of Iran-Eurasian Economic Union cooperation

Details of Overchuk-Aliyev meeting reported

3 children hospitalized in Yerevan with symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning

UAE-Iran-Turkey corridor to officially start functioning after visit of Emirates officials to Tehran

Sweden elected a female PM for the 1st time in history

Konstantin Ishkhanov: EUFSC determined to continue presenting very best in classical music

Trade Representative of Russia in Armenia: Eurasian Union and Iran are interested in using North-South direction

Human Rights Watch calls on Poland to end violence against migrants

Apple confirms: Eavesdropping is carried out by Pegasus spy program in Armenia

WTI crude oil prices rise by close of trading in US

COVID-19 in Armenia: 28 new deaths

Policemen apprehend protesters who close Yerevan subway entrances

Apple suspends sales of devices in Turkey due to collapse of local currency

Court session kicks off as Serzh Sargsyan sues Khachatur Sukiasyan

Russian peacekeepers clear nearly 2 hectares of land in Nagorno-Karabakh

Armenian PM: Remains of Vano Siradeghyan will be transferred to Armenia soon

Armenian PM: 40-45 square kilometer territories of Armenia under Azerbaijani control after Azerbaijan's May 12 attack

Armenia premier says what the heaviest blow was during his term of office, adds that it's not the defeat in the war

Armenia PM: I had planned to deliver a message on circumstances of war and negotiations on Nov. 9

PM: Armenia decides road through which communication between Azerbaijan and Nakhchivan will be ensured

Armenia PM: Karabakh conflict settlement and unblocking of communications shouldn't be discussed in '3+3' format

Pashinyan fails to clearly state whether Armenia applied to Russia and CSTO in writing in regard to Nov. 16 attack

Armenia PM: Azerbaijan is trying to turn the region into a jungle

Pashinyan: Armenia and Azerbaijan recognized each other's territorial integrity when they acceded to CIS in 1991

Pashinyan: If government of Armenia was a giver, there wouldn't be shootings

Armenia PM: 32 servicemen were captured on Nov. 16, according to unverified information

PM: It's the first time that direct communication is established between Armenian and Azerbaijani defense ministers

Armenian premier: Armenia will not give in to that policy of blackmail

Armenia PM answers question about online meeting with Azerbaijani leader on Nov. 9

Armenia PM on upcoming meetings with Azerbaijan President in Brussels and Sochi

Azerbaijani plane flies from Nakhchivan to Baku through Armenia's airspace (PHOTOS)

Armenia PM is giving a press conference
Draw the line

State supporting events hosted by organisations accused of active religious conversion is unwarranted
Exploring mystical Mardi Himal in Annapurna region

There is a popular saying in Nepal that a man once said: Heaven is myth and Nepal is real. It may sound cheesy but this statement was true for me during my recent trek to Mardi Himal.
Government begins process to buy presidential carcade

Amid a public outcry over the preparations to purchase an expensive motorcade for the President, the government has started procuring four vehicles including an armoured jeep at a cost of more than Rs140 million.
Government rolls back decision to adopt odd-even vehicle rule

Following widespread criticism from various quarters, the government on Friday rolled back its decision to impose odd-even registration number plates for vehicles.
Story Highlights 25% of Australians approve of Chinese leadership, 23% of U.S. leadership

In New Zealand, 30% approve of Chinese leadership, 19% of U.S. leadership

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Many eyes will be on the G-20 summit meeting this weekend between a prospective rising power and one viewed by some as a power in retreat. Neither U.S. President Donald Trump's partial withdrawal from the world stage nor Chinese President Xi Jinping's attempts to expand China's influence around the globe have earned them any fans among two close partners in the Asia-Pacific region, Australia and New Zealand.

As elsewhere around the globe, approval of U.S. leadership in New Zealand and Australia fell precipitously during Trump's first year in office. The situation in his second year is not much improved: 23% of Australians and 19% of New Zealanders approve of U.S. leadership. In both countries, ratings of China's leadership are similar to, if not slightly higher than, that of the U.S.

Australians' approval ratings of U.S. and Chinese leadership followed a similar track in the last two years of George W. Bush's presidency. However, approval spiked during Barack Obama's presidency, when no less than 50% of Australians approved of U.S. leadership, while their approval ratings of China's leadership rose no higher than 33%. In 2017, Australians' approval of U.S. leadership dropped below their approval of China's. The two levels are similar in 2018.

New Zealanders' approval of Chinese and U.S. leadership has followed a similar pattern. Slight differences in approval during Bush's presidency grew to a substantial divide under Obama. Approval of U.S. leadership sank to roughly similar levels as those seen in Australia after Trump's election, while approval of China's leadership has remained stable and higher.

Views of Chinese Leadership in Australia and New Zealand

Every year since 2007, more Australians have disapproved than approved of China's leadership. Since 2014, the percentage disapproving has generally trended upward, with a spike to 52% this year, up from 44% in 2017. This increase in disapproval follows the 2017 publication of a classified Australian government investigation into Chinese influence in the country. Australia's former Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull used the findings of the report to justify wide-ranging legislation intended to counter foreign influence; the country adopted the new legislation in June.

In contrast, New Zealanders' opinions of China's leadership have improved since 2016, when roughly half disapproved. Disapproval of China's leadership had fallen to 40% when Gallup surveyed the New Zealand population June 23-Aug. 5 of this year.

However, this was before news broke concerning increased Chinese interference and influence in New Zealand. Allegations have also emerged that individuals associated with the Chinese government engaged in criminal activity targeting a prominent critic of China's leadership, who resides in New Zealand.

Implications

Approval of U.S. leadership in Australia and New Zealand remains at or below approval of China's leadership in both countries. Australia and New Zealand both have unique, long-term alliances with the U.S., and these views among their public could potentially call into question the future of their relations with the U.S.

Yet, bolstering the possibility of continued stable relations between the U.S. and Australia is the increasing disapproval of China's leadership. Given Australia's traditional alliance with the U.S., it is likely the country will continue to look to it as a balancer against a perceived threat from China. Previous Gallup surveys have found that a clear majority of Australians believe the U.S. would act to protect their country. However, China is Australia's largest trading partner, substantially outpacing the U.S. Over time, this economic relationship may alter the current calculus of Australia's relations with the U.S.

A majority of New Zealanders, though a lower proportion than among Australians, also believe the U.S. would defend their country. In the wake of high-profile reports about Chinese influence and interference in the country, it is logical that New Zealand would also look to its traditional ally, the U.S. As with Australia, there is substantial risk that New Zealand's economic dependence on China could erode the country's relationship with the U.S. over time, as New Zealand's trade with China has more than tripled over the past decade.

For complete methodology and specific survey dates, please review Gallup's Country Data Set details.

Learn more about how the Gallup World Poll works.
Linden Lab has created Sansar partnerships with a Hollywood movie, e-sports groups, and YouTube/Twitch personalities (including the just-announced comedian Steve Hofstetter), but little has been reported about any outreach with the many communities and brands in Linden Lab's Second Life. One possible exception is Pfaffenthal 1867, a sub-community built around roleplay in a detailed recreation of a Luxembourg City district from the 19th century. But last week, Pfaffenthal 1867's leader, Hauptmann Weydert, announced the roleplay sims would be closed, so the project could move to Sansar:

The moment has finally arrived, for the 1867 project to move on to SANSAR, were land is free, where we can have better graphics,VR headsets and real physical interactivity. Note that Sansar works very well on a normal PC [Editor: Some would argue otherwise] for desktop mode you do NOT need a gamer PC. IMPORTANT! All the 1867 sims in second life will be shut down next Monday, on the 26th of November. Please pack all your stuff by then.

The sudden move is surprising, so I asked Hauptmann Weydert donations were running short to cover tier.

"No," he told me via SL IM, "it was arranged that the museum paid until that date and after this we were to move to Sansar."

The passive voice of his answer was a bit ambiguous, so I asked him if (as many have speculated) that Linden Lab was helping the community make this move. No answer at press time, but I'll update this post if I get a reply. Until then, and until Pfaffenthal emerges in Sansar, here's a lovely tribute by Pepe Cometa to what the community created in Second Life:
Indian man gets 7-year jail for rhino poaching

The Chitwan District Court has slapped seven years jail sentence to an Indian national after he was convicted of poaching a rhino in Chitwan National Park (CNP).
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Members of the Working Group on discrimination against women and girls

Working Group letter on criteria for the appointment of members

Current members

Melissa Upreti (Nepal) is the Chair of the UN Working Group on discrimination against women and girls. A human rights lawyer and womens rights advocate, she has spent nearly two decades advocating for the recognition and fulfillment of womens rights through the use of national, regional, and international law and mechanisms. She has led fact-finding missions, undertaken strategic litigation, built the capacity of civil society organizations, and provided technical support for law reform to governments in Asia.

Ms. Upreti started her career working for a feminist legal advocacy organization and The Asia Foundation in Nepal. Upon receiving her LL.M. from Columbia Law School in the United States, she joined the Center for Reproductive Rights where she was the founding attorney of the Asia program and, building on the success of a series of capacity building initiatives on strategic litigation in India and Nepal, led the conceptualization and launch of the South Asia Reproductive Justice and Accountability Initiative which has resulted in the filing of precedent setting cases on contraceptive access and obstetric fistula in Asia. She actively facilitated and participated in the first CEDAW Special Inquiry in Asia in 2012 and was co-petitioner in the landmark case, Lakshmi v. NepaI, which recognized access to abortion as a constitutionally protected right. She has worked closely the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation to strengthen regional commitments to end child marriage and played a key role in bringing about the adoption of the Kathmandu Call for Action to End Child Marriage in South Asia in 2014. Ms. Upreti has written and lectured extensively about womens reproductive rights and the importance of legal accountability. Her articles and other publications on women's reproductive rights and discriminatory practices such as child marriage have been used by activists to develop legal strategies and in courses on human rights.

Ms. Upreti is a Fellow in the University of Toronto Law Faculty's International Reproductive and Sexual Health Law Program and currently Senior Director of Program and Global Advocacy at the Center for Womens Global Leadership at Rutgers University in the United States.

She assumed her function as a member of the Working Group on 1st November 2017. As Australias longest serving Sex Discrimination Commissioner (2007-2015), she advanced gender equality and women's human rights through research and advocacy including in relation to preventing violence against women, economic security for women, balancing paid work and unpaid caring responsibilities, womens leadership and gender equality laws and institutions. Elizabeth led a major review into the treatment of women in Australia's military and Federal Police. She established and convenes the globally recognized Male Champions of Change strategy, which brings together powerful leaders of government and business to be accountable for progressing gender inequality in Australia and beyond. She was a member of the World Bank Gender Advisory Board, and Global Co-Chair of the UN Global Compact's Women's Empowerment Principles Leadership Group. She was Special Adviser to the Executive Director of UN Women and Under-Secretary General on Private Sector Engagement. She holds a Bachelor of Arts (Computer Science) / Bachelor of Laws and Honorary Doctorates of Law from the University of Sydney, University of New South Wales and University of Technology, Sydney and Honorary Doctorates from Deakin, Edith Cowan and Griffith Universities.

Dorothy Estrada-Tanck is the Vice-Chair of the UN Working Group on discrimination against women and girls. She assumed her functions on 1 November 2020. Dorothy holds a PhD in Law from the European University Institute (Italy), an MSc in Political Theory from the London School of Economics and Political Science (United Kingdom) and a Law Degree from Escuela Libre de Derecho (Mexico). She is currently Assistant Professor of Public International Law and International Relations at the Faculty of Law of University of Murcia (Spain) and Director of its Legal Clinic. Her academic and professional activities have focused on international human rights law, human security, womens rights, gender equality and violence against women, human rights of migrants and refugees, persons with disabilities, indigenous peoples, and economic, social and cultural rights. She holds 15 years of professional experience: Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Mexico); UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights; Mexico City Human Rights Commission; UN Women/Mexican Supreme Court/Inmujeres; Case Matrix Network (Centre for International Law Research and Policy); and the NGO Fundacion CEPAIM (Spain). She has published extensively, including Human Security and Human Rights under International Law: The Protections Offered to Persons Confronting Structural Vulnerability (Hart Publishing, Oxford, 2016; Best Book Award 2017 of the Inter-American Bar Association, Washington, D.C.). She has taught and conducted research at institutions in Mexico, Italy, the U.S, Spain and Canada, including at Escuela Libre de Derecho, Universidad Iberoamericana (Mexico), Fordham School of Law (New York), IE Law School, ICADE (Madrid), the Centre for Human Rights and Legal Pluralism at the Faculty of Law of McGill University in Montreal (as OBrien Fellow in Residence), and as Visiting Fellow at the Human Rights Program of Harvard Law School.

Ivana Radacic (PhD in Law) is a member of the Working Group on discrimination against women and girls. She assumed her functions on 1 November 2017. She is a senior research assistant at Ivo Pilar Institute of Social Sciences in Zagreb and a part-time lecturer at the University of Zagreb. Her research and teaching areas are womens rights; gender equality; human rights; and gender, sexuality and the law. She has published extensively in these areas in leading international journals and books, and she has authored the book Sexual violence  Myths, Stereotypes and the Legal System (TIMpress, 2014). She has taught at various universities in Europe, Central America, Australia and New Zealand. She also teaches at the Women Studies Centre (Zagreb) and the regional Womens Human Rights Training Institute (Sofia).

Dr. Radacic has cooperated with international institutions and NGOs on human rights research, training and litigation and has been involved with drafting national human rights laws and policies. She also worked at the European Court of Human Rights and has litigated womens rights cases before it. She is the Council of Europe expert on womens rights, and has coauthored a training manual for judges on womens access to justice. She served as an expert member of the Parliamentary Committee on Gender Equality.

Dr. Radacic plays violoncello and djembe, and practices 5 rhythms dance.

Ms. Meskerem Geset Techane is a human rights lawyer, and a keen advocate of women's rights which has taken primacy in her work over the past 15 years. She previously held positions as a High Court Judge in Ethiopia, and Deputy Director of the Institute for Human Rights and Development in Africa (IHRDA) where she led prominent human rights ventures across the Continent. In her extensive work on womens rights at national and regional level, she spearheaded strategic litigation, trained justice sector professionals and civil society actors, undertook investigation missions, participated in legal reforms, and supported governments, NHRIs and NGOs. Her dedicated service to women and girls has earned her an award for outstanding pro bono legal aid, and the Ethiopian Women Lawyers Association prize for remarkable contribution.

Meskerem has worked closely with the African human rights mechanisms and was involved in drafting African Union human rights laws, policies and studies. She served as an expert member in different Working Groups of the African Commission on Human and Peoples Rights, and collaborated with the various Special Rapporteurs of the Commission. She was engaged with the UN human rights mechanisms as well, including the UNWGDAW, and was extensively commissioned as an expert by various UN institutions, including UNHCR, UNICEF, and UNOHCHR, among other notable international organizations.

Currently a Doctoral Fellow at the Human Right Center of University of Padova, Meskerem holds a Bachelor of Laws (LL.B) from the Addis Ababa University and a Master of Laws (LL.M) from the University of Pretoria. She participated in research projects and guest lectures in several universities in Europe, Africa and North America. She has published on issues of womens rights and human rights in Africa, and authored training manuals for lawyers, judges and law enforcement officers on womens rights and gender justice.

Former members

Ms. Emna Aouij (Tunisia) (2010-2017)

Ms. Kamala Chandrakirana (Indonesia) (2010-2017)

Ms. Alda Facio (Costa Rica) (2014-2020)

Ms. Frances Raday (Israel/United Kingdom) (2010-2017)

Ms. Eleonora Zielinska (Poland) (2010-2017)

Ms. Patricia OLAMENDI TORRES (Mexico) (2012-2013)

Ms. Mercedes Barquet (Mexico) (2011-2012)


Oil prices dropped early on Friday, on course to finish their worst month since 2008, as fears of oversupply and slowing demand growth dragged oil down into a bear market in November with prices off by some 30 percent from four-year highs in early October.

At 07:10 a.m. EDT on Friday, WTI Crude was down 1.81 percent at $50.52, and Brent Crude traded down 1.47 percent at $59.03.

On Thursday, oil prices jumped on reports that Russia had conceded that it needs to reduce oil production and join a new Saudi-led OPEC cut to balance the market.

The rise didnt last longprices headed down again on Friday, pressured by rising U.S. oil production and comments by Russias Energy Minister Alexander Novak, who said in an interview with the TASS news agency that To me, the current price range is comfortable for producers and consumers.

Earlier this week, Russian President Vladimir Putin also signaled that Moscow is okay with oil prices at their current levels.

Russia is comfortable with oil at around $60, Putin said, a week ahead of the OPEC+ meeting in Vienna and just two days before the G-20 summit in Buenos Aires.

In his interview with TASS published on Friday, Novak, as usual, was elusive about Russias position about a new production cut, and said that Moscow will have its stance ready by the December 6-7 meeting.

Before the OPEC/non-OPEC meeting, the oil market will be looking for clues about global economy and trade at this weekends G-20 summit. U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping are expected to meet on the sidelines of the event to discuss the trade war. Putin, for his part, is expected to meet with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and the two may discuss the OPEC-Russia oil cooperation, days ahead of the OPEC+ meeting.

The next few days could provide some major catalyst for oil prices.

By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:
The MGK has decided to deploy more warships to prevent Greek Cypriot drilling without Turkeys approval. Multiple sources in Ankara also stress that Turks are in back-channel talks with the Israelis to solve the

On the other hand, a four-star Turkish general who had roles at NATOand whom our sources believe is pegged to become the new Deputy Defense Minister of Turkey--said the second level of Ankaras strategy is military.

Turkey will conduct a two-pronged strategy to stop or at least slow down Greek Cypriot oil and gas exploration. According to a civilian member of Turkeys National Security Council (MGK), the body confirmed in its meeting on Nov. 27 that it would pursue legal means, including diplomacy, first. In this regard, Ankara will step up efforts to persuade Italy and France that their companies bids in one-sided drilling of energy resources off Cyprus will have more negative consequences for their national interests than positive ones. We are also looking into all options in international law, the source said.

Global Intelligence Report - 30th November 2018

Sources

- Turkeys National Security Council

- Turkish general, ex-NATO

- Top aide to Turkish deputy foreign minister

- Saudi figure close to Shura council member

- U.S. advisor in Saudi equities, who has relationships with senior people in KSA

Turkey: The Cyprus Calm Before the Storm

Turkey will conduct a two-pronged strategy to stop or at least slow down Greek Cypriot oil and gas exploration. According to a civilian member of Turkeys National Security Council (MGK), the body confirmed in its meeting on Nov. 27 that it would pursue legal means, including diplomacy, first. In this regard, Ankara will step up efforts to persuade Italy and France that their companies bids in one-sided drilling of energy resources off Cyprus will have more negative consequences for their national interests than positive ones. We are also looking into all options in international law, the source said.

On the other hand, a four-star Turkish general who had roles at NATOand whom our sources believe is pegged to become the new Deputy Defense Minister of Turkey--said the second level of Ankaras strategy is military.

The MGK has decided to deploy more warships to prevent Greek Cypriot drilling without Turkeys approval. Multiple sources in Ankara also stress that Turks are in back-channel talks with the Israelis to solve the issue.

A top aide of a Deputy Foreign Minister in charge of chancellery noted that a number of Turkish officials believe that the issue should not be blown out of proportion with extreme reactions but more moderate ways can be found. Our primary goal is to solve the Cyprus problem once for all. Then, these side-problems will also be solved, he said.

From this perspective, what appears to be the green light for a pipeline that would feed Israeli gas (and eventually, Cypriot gas) to Europe is another threat to Turkey, and a rival to a Turkish-Russian pipeline venture that plans to bring Russian gas to Europe.

Our sources on the ground in Turkey, though, are not overly concerned about the pipeline, with one official shrugging it off as a distant dream. There is some sense that Ankara is hedging its bets that Turkey and Israel will mend fences in the coming yearsenough so that they wont be shut out from the EU energy supply equation, particularly in the post-Syrian war era. So, for now, the Turks are downplaying the rival pipelines capacity and feasibility.

Turkey is shrugging off the EastMed Pipeline Project, which is planned to start about 100 miles off the southern coast of Cyprus and stretch for over 1300 miles to Italy, via Crete and the Greek mainland. Earlier this week, Greek, Italy and Cyprus reached a deal with Israel for the ~$7-$8B pipeline, which would bring Israeli gas (think: Tamara and Leviathan) to Europe, diversifying away from Russian gas. Israel expects the pipeline to be done by 2025.

The EastMed, with a capacity of 12 billion cubic meters annually--is designed to outdo the Russian TurkStream pipeline at half that. But TurkStream has a head start with part already completed.

The Russian-Ukraine Game

Over the weekend, Russian border guards from the FSB fired on two Ukrainian warships and seized the crew of 20, wounding several in the process. The warships were attempting to traverse the Kerch Strait between the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov on the coast of Russia-controlled Crimea. The vessels, according to Russia, violated national waters and failed to comply when told to stop.

Kiev says it informed the Russians in advance and, of course, was not violating national waters that technically belong to Ukraine. Moscow is spinning a different version of the story, claiming that Ukrainian President Poroshenko purposefully provoked the attack to gain political capital ahead of next years elections (the campaign starts on 31 December), and to give him the opportunity to declare martial law. Other motivating factors would include getting a response (finally) from Europe and NATO. From our perspective, Ukraine has much more to gain from this incident than Russia at this point. Moscow does not need to demonstrate its power in this region at the moment.

If it was a provocation, its not working for the most part.

Ever-pragmatic Germany is sticking to its plans for the NordStream2 pipeline to allow Russian gas to reach Europe by bypassing Ukraine. Ukraine was hoping the Russian attack would motivate Germany to reconsiderand NATO to act decisively, largely by starting a war. While NATO and the EU have paid lip service to Ukraine, siding with Kiev and admonishing Russia, there are no indications yet that any real action will be taken over this other than Trump cancelling his meeting with Putin in Argentina. In the EU, there have been calls for new sanctions, but given the divisions in the bloc, we do not expect any quick consensus on thisif any.

Russia will take full advantage of the opportunity, however, to punish Ukraine further. Its first move may be to deploy new surface-to-air missiles in Crimea to be operational by the end of the year. But Ukraine continues to fuel the fires here, moving on Friday to bar Russian men of military age from entering the country to prevent an infiltration.

Saudi Arabia: The Internal Chaos and Paranoia

There should be no question that MBS is fully in command in Riyadh, but our sources inside note that paranoia is reaching extreme levels, with the biggest fear being an assassination attempt. He has been spending weeks at a time on his yacht. While in Riyadh, MBS is largely confining himself (whenever possible) to his compound, which is heavily guarded by three rings of security: external ring, Saudi; middle ring, Israeli; internal ring, American (Eric Prince). Any guests must pass bomb sniffer dogs and have daily checks of their room.

While, as we mentioned last week, there are rumors about MBS longevity (rumors that we find no bases in), what is really happening is damage control that looks like this: After publicly seeking the death penalty for the Khashoggi murder suspects, there are now moves in the works to create what one might call a coalition of Al Sauds (royal family members). This gives cover to MBS in the eyes of the rest of the world because it could mean putting together what amounts to a council of advisors that would include family members that have not been in MBS good graces. Its a peace agreement of sorts and makes him look good. Among those would be Sheikh Ahmed, the uncle of MBS, who has been in self-imposed exile in London, and even Prince Mutaib bin Abdullah, whom he locked up in the Ritz during the purge of the elite. Any talk of Ahmed replacing MBS would be nullified by such a move; as such, we believe there is a good chance this coalition will emerge. There will be more necessity for this as international attention continues to be drawn to the incident, with Turkish authorities searching for the body and divisions over Saudi Arabia growing in Washington, including in the Republican-controlled Senate.

Global Oil & Gas Playbook

Deals, Mergers & Acquisitions

- Rosneft and Beijing Gas have set up a joint venture that will build and operate a network of 170 compressed natural gas stations in Russia as part of Rosnefts strategy to increase the sales of compressed natural gas. The joint venture will be 55% owned by the Russian company and 45% by the Chinese partner.

- Shell has inked a deal to sell its 26.56% interest in the Greater Sunrise offshore LNG in Australia. This makes it the second supermajor to quit the project, after ConocoPhillips sold its 30% stake in it last month for $350 million. The buyer was the government of Timor-Leste, which, together with the government of Australia, is the reason supermajors are quitting the LNG projects. The two states differ in their opinion on how the project should be developed.

- Norwegian DNO launched a hostile takeover bid for British Faroe Petroleum, which the latter rejected, saying it undervalued the company. The Norwegian company had offered almost $800 million for Faroe Petroleum. DNO is already a shareholder in the company with a 20% interest and is on a growth path ion the North Sea after years of focusing on Kurdistan.

Tenders, Auctions & Contracts

- Exxon is in talks with the Angolan government to secure licenses for the development of at least six deepwater offshore blocks. The state oil company Sonangol is also in talks with Eni, Equinor, and BP for the development of untapped resources. Exxon currently has rights to develop three deepwater blocks in Angola with recoverable resources estimated at up to 10 billion barrels of oil equivalent.

- Adnoc has awarded German Wintershall a 10% stake in the Ghasha sour gas project offshore the UAE. The project is expected to produce 1.5 billion cu ft of natural gas daily. This is the first time a German company has been approved to participate in an Adnoc oil and gas development. It will be joining Italys Eni, whom Adnoc awarded a 25% stake in the Ghasha project earlier this year.

- Dutch Boskalis signed a long-term contract with Aramco that will put the company on Aramcos short list of preferred bidders in contracts that make up the Kingdoms oil production maintenance and expansion program. Investments under the agreement with Boskalis could reach $3 billion annually over an initial period of six years, with the option for the agreement to be extended for another three plus three years.

- Brazils Petrobras has quit several oil fields, transferring the development rights to other companies. All the fields are in northwestern Brazil. Petrobras sold its participation in the Polo Nordeste group of fields to Perenco for $370 million and its rights for the development of 34 fields in the Bacia Potigar basin for $453 million to 3R Petroleum.

Discovery & Development

- Chevron has started pumping oil and natural gas from the Big Foot field in the Gulf of Mexico. Discovered in 2006, Big Foot contains recoverable reserves estimated at over 200 million barrels of oil equivalent. Its productive life is seen at 35 years, with a design production capacity of 75,000 bpd of crude and 25 million cu ft of gas. Chevron has partnered with Equinor and Marubeni on the development of the field.

- Buzzard, the largest North Sea oil field in the UK has been closed for repairs after operator Nexen discovered corrosion in the pipes. The shutdown briefly pushed Brent crude prices higher as the field produces 150,000 bpd of crude, which are fed into the Forties stream, one of the blends that is included in the Brent benchmark. Nexen has given no deadline for the fields return to operation.

- Mexicos incoming government says thatamong other big new policy proposalsone for a new oil refinery in the Gulf of Mexico had been approved in public consultations. This is a massive refinery that would reduce the need for US refiners. The project would cost an estimated $8 billion and the incoming government says construction should be completed in three years.

Company News

- BP and Trafigura will lend Indian, Russian-owned refiner Nayara Energy $1.5 billion, which is the biggest fuel-backed loan for the receiving company. Previously a unit of Essar Group, Nayara was bought by a consortium led by Rosneft last year. Trafigura is Rosnefts partner in the acquisition. The new loan, which besides BP and Trafigura also includes several banks, will take Nayaras debt load to $3 billion. Repayment will be in the form of gasoline and gasoil deliveries over a period of four years.

- Tullow Oil, the UK-based, Africa-focused oil explorer, said it will restart dividend payments from 2019 after it suspended them amid the crisis in 2015. Starting 2019, the company plans to distribute at least $100 million to its shareholders and this year it may distribute a special dividend on improving earnings. Tullow said its net debt will be reduced to $2.8 billion by the end of 2018 with free cash flow at $700 million.
- The export arbitrage has allowed US producers to export

- Refinery runs have reached their highest level since September, increasing 698kbpd week-on-week to reach 17.553 Mbpd.

- A large part of the stock buildup is due to the Strategic Petroleum Reserve drawing down 2 MMbbl.

- Contrary to all expectations, US commercial crude stocks continued to rise for the 10th week in a row, increasing 3.6 MMbbl week-on-week to reach 450.5 MMBbl.

WTI declined more than 20 percent this week, with Friday trading oscillating in the 50-51 USD per barrel interval, whilst the global benchmark Brent fell to 58.5-59 USD per barrel. The oil ball is in the court of Russia and Saudi Arabia, whose top-ranking officials will meet this weekend to iron out a mutually acceptable course for the next couple of months.

November 2018 will not go down in the history of oil trading as a successful month, in fact it was so bad that the last time we witnessed such a steep decline was in 2008. The upcoming G20 meeting in Buenos Aires and OPEC+ Summit in Vienna on December 06 are mired in a haze  Russia seems disinclined to cut production (especially in the frost-bitten winter period), whilst Saudi Arabia prefers to keep a low profile about its plans, unsure whether the threat of US Congress sanctions is as formidable as it seems.

November 2018 will not go down in the history of oil trading as a successful month, in fact it was so bad that the last time we witnessed such a steep decline was in 2008. The upcoming G20 meeting in Buenos Aires and OPEC+ Summit in Vienna on December 06 are mired in a haze  Russia seems disinclined to cut production (especially in the frost-bitten winter period), whilst Saudi Arabia prefers to keep a low profile about its plans, unsure whether the threat of US Congress sanctions is as formidable as it seems.

(Click to enlarge)

WTI declined more than 20 percent this week, with Friday trading oscillating in the 50-51 USD per barrel interval, whilst the global benchmark Brent fell to 58.5-59 USD per barrel. The oil ball is in the court of Russia and Saudi Arabia, whose top-ranking officials will meet this weekend to iron out a mutually acceptable course for the next couple of months.

1. US Commercial Stocks Unstoppable for 10th Consecutive Week

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- Contrary to all expectations, US commercial crude stocks continued to rise for the 10th week in a row, increasing 3.6 MMbbl week-on-week to reach 450.5 MMBbl.

- A large part of the stock buildup is due to the Strategic Petroleum Reserve drawing down 2 MMbbl.

- Refinery runs have reached their highest level since September, increasing 698kbpd week-on-week to reach 17.553 Mbpd.

- The export arbitrage has allowed US producers to export 2.44mbpd of crude, after the previous two weeks somewhat weak average of 2mbpd.

- The extent of the refinery throughput and export volumes increase was offset by a substantial hike in imports, rising 0.6mbpd w-o-w to 8.1mbpd.

- Gasoline stocks have decreased for the third week in a row, reaching 224.5MMbbl, with strong exports (averaging now 1.1mbpd) pointing to the likelihood of further draws.

2. Libyan NOC Hikes December OSP Prices

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- The Libyan NOC has raised most of its official selling prices for December-loading crudes by 5-25 cents.

- Es Sider prices experienced the sharpest hike, with discount to Brent Dated moving from -1.55 USD per barrel in November to -1.3 in December 2018.

- After no cargoes were loaded from mid-June to mid-July, Es Sider is back on track to its usual 2 Suezmax cargoes per week routine.

- The only grade to see its premium cut was Brega, a rare cargo on the seas anyway with a mere one Aframax loading in November (in H1 2018 there were usually 3 cargoes per month).

- Abu Attifel prices were raised to +0.9 USD per barrel against Dated Brent, attaining a two-year high.

- Both offshore Libyan grades, El Jurf and El Bouri, set vs the Urals Mediterranean, saw price increases of 10 cents and 20 cents, respectively, for December loadings.

3. Iraq 2019 crude oil term deals

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Source: Oilprice data.

- Iraqs short-to-medium bet is on Asia as it wants to increase the share of its exports there from the current 61.5 percent to 67 percent in 2019.

- Europe, representing 22 percent of Iraqi exports this year, is expected to account for 20 percent of Iraqi exports, according to SOMOs 2019 term contract commitments.

- 2019 volumes to the United States are expected to bounce back to 13 percent from the current 10.5 percent, whilst exports to Africa seem to be evaporating altogether.

- The 2019 term contract allocation comprises Basrah Light, Basrah Heavy and Kirkuk, too, which SOMO started marketing late November, albeit at a partial volume of 100kbpd available.

- This geographic allocation comes amid SOMO pressurizing its customers to curtail third-party sales and comply with destination clauses, which are generally expected to become stricter next year.

- SOMOs drive to disallow term lifters from reselling allocated cargoes is widely seen as an element in the state oil marketers strategy to reserve this right to itself and its joint ventures.

4. Wintershall Joins UAE Sour Gas Game

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- The German Wintershall became the 2nd foreign oil company to be awarded a share in the ultra-sour Ghasha Concession, after ENI received 25 percent two weeks ago.

- With recoverable reserves of around 1.7 TCf of gas and more than 200 MMbbls of oil, Ghasha is expected to ease UAEs gas shortage.

- Despite having significant gas reserves, the UAE imports natural gas from Qatar via the Dolphin pipeline, whilst 25-30 percent of domesticall produced gas is reinjected into producing oil fields.

- The plateau production, to be reached several years after the project is commissioned in 2024-2025, is expected to be around 1.5 BCf per day for gas and 120kbpd for condensate.

- Both ENI and Wintershall have signed up for 40 years into the concession, following in the footsteps of French Total that joined the Ruwais sour gas project.

- Being an offshore project located in a UNESCO-protected biosphere reserve, European partners are expected to provide financing support and know-how on how to construct the required infrastructure (artifical islands) in line with environmental standards.

5. Russia Poised to Ramp up Supplies to India

Source: OilPrice data.

- U.S. sanctions vis-a-vis Iran have so far failed to materialize in any substantial hike in Russian crude exports to India, a long-coveted target for Moscow.

- Following last years record-breaking level of 100kbpd of Russian exports to India, this years YTD average accounts for a mere 65bkbpd.

- Rosneft bought Essar Oils 20mtpa Vadinar refinery last year, inking a 10-year deal, under which it would supply 100 million tons of crude to it.

- Yet so far Russia is only 11th on the list of Vadinar suppliers, Iraq, Iran and Nigeria combined taking up half of the supplies.

- Rosneft itself prefers to supply Vadinar with the Venezuelan Merey it gets from PDVSA after the hefty advance payments of the previous years.

- Thus, in order for its Russian volumes to be supplied, Rosneft will have to cherish hopes the waivers will not be extended for India.

6. China Steps In to Replace Total in South Pars





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- The Chinese state-owned CNPC has replaced the French Total in Phase 11 of the South Pars gas project, the largest gas field in the world.

- This marks the abrupt end of the first deal ever concluded under the newly designed Iran Petroleum Contract.

- Thus, CNPC has brought its stake in the project to 80.1 percent, since it already owned 30 percent of the project.

- It remains to be seen what the Chinese intend to with the gas (production capacity of 2BCf per day of gas and 80kbpd of condensate for Phase 11 alone), initially Phase 11 volumes were expected to feed into the Iranian gas network.

- Irans gas production has suffered significantly smalle damage from US sanctions than crude, moreover, in case of a potential escalation South Pars volumes might be marketed by CNPC as equity volumes.

7. North Sea Crude Trading Moves to Blockchain Territory

- Vakt, the Blockchain-based trading platform created last year, went live this week, although no trades have been realized so far.

- Vakt is backed by all the main majors that have an interest in North sea trading  BP, Royal Dutch Shell, Equinor, Mercuria, Gunvor and Kock Supply and Trading.

- Access to the platform for other interested parties will be opened in January 2019.

- Vakt shareholders want to connect it with komgo, a similarly Blockchain-based platform that focuses predominantly on the financial documentation (e.g.: letters of credit).

- It is expected that in the first stages Vakt will be used for BFOET trades and then expand to US pipeline crude and product deals in Northwest Europe.
Lalitpur City Police forced to work under deplorable conditions

All of Lalitpur Metropolitan City 22 municipal police (MP) officials carry out their daily operations from a single dingy room that is not big enough to fit in even five people.
Oil prices dipped over the week, but the next few days will be volatile due to escalating geopolitical concerns and trade war tensions

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Friday, November 30, 2018

Oil prices dipped in early trading, but the next few days will be volatile. First, any news from the G20 summit on the Trump-Xi meeting regarding the trade war could have ramifications for the global economy and oil demand heading into 2019. But much of next week will be characterized by whatever jawboning or rumors come out of upcoming OPEC meeting. For now, oil is downbeat but awaiting direction.

U.S. Senate vote hamstrings Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia is aiming to cut oil production in order to boost prices, but the recent vote by the U.S. Senate to end the war in Yemen, even if it doesnt become law, heightens the pressure on Riyadh to assuage American concerns. That gives President Trump more leverage as he demands lower oil prices from Saudi officials. Riyadh faces a choice between accepting painfully low oil prices or defying Washington by cutting production. Reports suggest they are going to try to thread the needle, opting for modest cuts that at least put a floor beneath crude prices. President Trump has effectively put a ceiling on oil prices -- arguably this ceiling is about $70 a barrel Brent, maximum $75, Thibaut Remoundos, founder of Commodities Trading Corporation Ltd., told Bloomberg. It will be interesting to see if Saudi-Russia can keep the floor in place. Related: Oil Prices Set To Book Worst Month In A Decade

Saudi Arabia struggling to convince others to cut. Many members of the OPEC+ coalition want Saudi Arabia to do all of the heavy lifting when it comes to production cuts. After all, they argue, Saudi Arabia was the one that added 1 million barrels per day of fresh supply since May. The Saudis made this mess. They need to clean it up, a Middle Eastern oil official told the Wall Street Journal. On Wednesday, Saudi oil minister Khalid al-Falih indicated that Saudi Arabia would not cut alone.

Trump administration to advance seismic drilling in Atlantic. The Trump administration is taking an early but critical step that could pave the way to oil exploration in the Atlantic Ocean. According to Bloomberg, the National Marine Fisheries Service could allow seismic surveying by five companies in the Atlantic, a precursor to exploration. Seismic testing is essential to exploration, but is highly controversial because of its effect on marine animals such as whales and dolphins.

Russia shows signs of support for OPEC+ cuts. Russia indicated that it could support an OPEC+ production cut next week in Vienna. Russias deputy foreign minister said that Russia wants more predictability and smooth price dynamics. However, Russia, and its oil firms, are not scared of lower prices. Russian crude producers will feel comfortable in the $50 to $60 per barrel band, said Dmitry Marinchenko, oil and gas director at Fitch Ratings.

Canadian oil discounts leading to layoffs. Oil prices for Western Canada Select (WCS) are trading below $15 per barrel, inflicting pain on the entire sector. Oilfield services companies in Alberta are issuing layoffs as activity slows down. Investment broker Peters & Co. said in a note that drilling activity has fallen by 10 per cent in recent weeks and could weaken further over the course of December, a function of budget exhaustion and the curtailment of capital spending.

Permian natural gas prices fall below zero. Natural gas prices at the Waha hub in the Permian fell into negative territory this week amid a worsening glut. A lack of pipelines to ferry away natural gas has some producers essentially paying other companies to take the product.

Shale industry could cut spending. The U.S. shale industry could cut budgets for the first time since the last downturn years ago. Shale companies are formulating their 2019 budgets right now, and the latest crash in prices could force a more cautious approach. Something has to give, Andy McConn, an analyst at Wood Mackenzie, told Bloomberg. We expected some minor increases in budgets going into next year but now we see risk to the downside, with budgets flat or down year on year.

China buying oil while its cheap. Bloomberg reports that China may be stepping up its purchases of oil as prices hit one-year lows, although data is spotty.

Related: Natural Gas Drives Saudi Geopolitical Pivot

EPA to send ethanol blending requirements. The Trump administrations EPA is set to announce ethanol blending requirements for 2019, which will include an increase in advanced biofuels by 15 percent while conventional corn ethanol levels will be kept flat. The implication is that the EPA has decided not boost the corn ethanol requirement to compensate for the rush of waivers it granted to oil refiners over the past two years, which ethanol producers have blamed for sinking the market for ethanol credits.

Irans nuclear chief warns that time is running out on nuclear deal. Irans top nuclear official warned the European Union that it could exit the 2015 nuclear deal if it does not begin to see some of the benefits from European efforts to rescue the accord. If we cannot sell our oil and we dont enjoy financial transactions, then I dont think keeping the deal will benefit us anymore, Ali Akbar Salehi, head of the Atomic Energy Organisation of Iran, told Reuters. I think the period of patience for our people is getting more limited and limited. We are running out of the assumed timeline, which was in terms of months. Meanwhile, the U.S. State Department said that Irans oil exports would fall further very soon.

Refining margins sink to five-year lows. Flat U.S. gasoline demand and high refinery output have combined to push refining margins down to five-year lows, according to the EIA.

Pemex triples estimated reserves for oil field. Pemex more than tripled the estimate reserve figure for its Ixachi field, saying the field in Veracruz could now hold 1.3 billion barrels of oil equivalent in proven, probable and possible (3P) reserves. Without doubt this news will allow Pemex to contribute with more production in the future and stabilize the production platform, outgoing Pemex CEO Carlos Trevino said.

LNG from Africa set to surge. New LNG capacity from Mauritania and Senegal in West Africa, operated by Kosmos Energy (NYSE: KOS), is set to come online in December. Other projects will come online in Cameroon, as well as Mozambique in East Africa, in the coming years. Many projects are using floating LNG, cutting costs and lead times relative to conventional onshore fixed facilities. Africa is the hot spot for floating LNG, said Lucas Schmitt, a senior gas analyst at consultants Wood Mackenzie Ltd., according to Bloomberg. Confidence in floating facilities is firming up.

Volkswagen plans EV plant in U.S. Volkswagen is considering a plant in North America to manufacture electric vehicles. We are 100 percent deep in the process of We will need an electric car plant in North America, and were holding those conversations now, Scott Keogh, the newly appointed CEO of Volkswagen Group of America, told journalists at the Los Angeles auto show. Earlier this month, VW said it would spend $50 billion by 2023 to remake itself, with a focus on EVs.

By Tom Kool for Oilprice.com

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:
The U.S. Senate took a dramatic step on Thursday, moving to block U.S. involvement in the Saudi war in Yemen and sending a powerful message to Riyadh that the U.S.-Saudi relationship is on the rocks.

An estimated 85,000 children may have died from starvation since Saudi Arabia began its campaign in Yemen in 2015, with millions more desperately hungry. The U.S. government has turned a blind eye to these atrocities for years. Indeed, the U.S. military has provided key logistical support to Saudi Arabia, which has magnified the humanitarian crisis in Yemen. But, for politicians in Washington, the relationship with Saudi Arabia, based on arms and oil, was a higher priority than the death of so many people.

The murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi has upended that dynamic. It seems that nearly everybody in the world believes that crown prince Mohammed bin Salman was behind the assassination. Trump has tried to run interference for the crown prince in Washington, but this latest move by the Senate suggests it isnt working.

More than a few Republican Senators voted to approve a bill on Thursday that would end American support for the Saudi-led war in Yemen. A handful of them were not happy that the White House seemed to block a CIA briefing for the Senators on the agencys conclusions regarding MbS role in the Khashoggi murder.

Senator Lindsey Graham  normally a key ally of President Trumps  was upset that the Senate was not allowed to hear from the CIA, and vowed to block any legislation until that changed. Im talking about any key vote. Anything that you need me for to get out of town, I aint doing it until we hear from the C.I.A., Graham told reporters.

He also said that if it comes to light that MbS was involved, as everyone expects, there would be no business as usual with Saudi Arabia.

A day earlier, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo wrote an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal, saying that it would be a grave mistake to degrade the U.S.-Saudi relationship. Related: Goldman: Oil Prices Set For Rebound In 2019

The U.S.-Saudi relationship is now more damaged than at any moment in recent history. The fallout from the Senate vote adds even more pressure on Riyadh to assuage the White House. That could have ramifications for the oil market, especially with the OPEC+ meeting in Vienna just days away.

Saudi crown prince Mohammed bin Salman is in Buenos Aires this week for the G20 summit, and so is Donald Trump. The American president has tried to protect MbS in Washington, and the White House even threatened to veto the Senate bill, should it arrive at the presidents desk.

However, the bill, which passed with bipartisan support in the Senate, could also give Trump much more leverage in any discussions that he has with MbS in Argentina. Trump could point to the vote and warn MbS that he has very few friends left in Washington. He could essentially threaten to withdraw his support if the Saudis dont do what he wants. And he has been very clear on what he wants: low oil prices.

This illustrates how badly MbS has miscalculated. Saudi Arabia may have to now suffer through a period of low oil prices  or lower than they prefer  because they have damaged, perhaps irreparably, their relationship with the U.S. government. MbS has sacrificed full control of Saudi Arabias oil policy.

For now, Riyadh is keeping its cards close to its chest. Saudi oil minister Khalid al-Falih said on Wednesday that Saudi Arabia will not cut on its own to stabilize the market. We are going to ... do whatever is necessary, but only if we act together as a group of 25, al-Falih told reporters, referring to the OPEC+ coalition. As Saudi Arabia we cannot do it alone, we will not do it alone.

Related: The Biggest Winners Of The Oil Price Slump

A collective decision by OPEC+ to cut output would help provide some political cover to Saudi Arabia. If a cut sparked outrage from Trump, maybe the blame for higher prices could be spread collectively across the entire group. Maybe. Although that is probably unlikely. Everyone, even Trump, understands that Saudi Arabia is the real muscle in the OPEC+ coalition. If oil prices rise significantly, Riyadh probably wouldnt escape the ire of the White House.

Still, because Saudi Arabia desperately needs higher oil prices  an average $88 per barrel for its budget to breakeven  it also isnt inevitable that Riyadh will bend to the will of Trump. Keeping production at a record high 11 million barrels per day would exacerbate the supply glut and likely push prices down further. Some see a middle-of-the-road quiet cut as the best option. Brent sank below $60 per barrel this week, and WTI fell below $50.

In short, the Khashoggi murder and Thursdays vote in the U.S. Senate puts pressure on Saudi Arabia to dial back any action it had planned on taking in Vienna. That is bearish for oil prices.

By Nick Cunningham of Oilprice.com

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Crude oil exports from Iran to Asian countriesits biggest clientssank to an average daily of 762,000 bpd, official customs data and shipping data reported by Reuters revealed. This is the lowest monthly average for Iranian crude oil exports to Asia in five years and a 56.4-percent decline on an annual basis.

South Korea imported no Iranian crude last month, the second month of no imports in a row as one of the worlds top crude oil importers sought to secure a waiver from U.S. sanctions, which it successfully did.

Japan continued buying some Iranian crude but at a much lower rate than usual. The average daily shipments to Japan stood at 48,033 bpd, the lowest in six months, according to Japanese trade ministry data. The country also stopped importing Iranian crude last month and has yet to resume orders after it, too, was granted a waiver from the U.S. sanctions.

China imported an average of 247,160 bpd of Iranian crude last month, down 64 percent on the year, but will now most likely ramp up shipments after it scored a sanction waiver and found a way, together with Tehran, to process payments for oil even after the waivers expire next year.

India, interestingly, continued importing Iranian crude at a rate almost unchanged from September, Reuters notes. Shipments of the commodity to this destination averaged 466,400 bpd, down by just 0.2 percent from September. Yet this was lower than the average India imported from Iran over the first ten months of the year, which came in at 579,600 bpd.

China has been the biggest buyer of Iranian crude so far this year, importing it at a rate of 613,200 barrels daily over January to October. This, however, is lower than the rate of imports a year earlier, which stood at 634,749 bpd.

By Irina Slav for Oilprice.com

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Tesla and other electric vehicle (EV) companies in China send as many as 61 real-time data points, typically without the drivers knowledge, to monitoring centers backed by the Chinese government, The Associated Press reports, raising questions whether the huge amount of data that China requires from automakers to transmit may be used for surveillance.

Tesla and more than 200 other carmakersincluding Ford, General Motors, Volkswagen, BMW, Daimler, Nissan, and Mitsubishisend location information and details about battery and engine function in EVs to government-backed monitoring centers.

While many cars in the U.S., Europe, and Japan send location information back to the car manufacturers who feed the data to car-tracking and amenities apps, the data from passenger cars stops there in those markets. Government agencies and law enforcement can access more personal data in those markets only in case of a specific criminal investigation, lawyers told APs Erika Kinetz.

In China, the amount of real-time data sent to and collected at the monitoring centers is much larger, which sparks concerns about privacy, whether the data is used for mass surveillance, and whether proprietary car-manufacturing data about engine/hybrid/batteries could be used to the advantage of Chinese government-backed companies.

The carmakers say that they just follow local laws to send EVs sensors data to the monitoring centers, according to the AP. China claims that the data is used for data analytics to improve infrastructure planning and public safety. But critics of the vast amount of real-time data collected fear that the data goes way beyond the Chinese aims to improve safety and infrastructure.

Carmakers have initially resisted sending so many data points to Chinese monitoring centers, but then the government bound data sharing with incentivestransmitting data is a requirement for incentives, a government consultant who helped assess the policy told AP.

Fears of government surveillance may not be unfounded, considering the Communist countrys aim to keep everyone in line and the recent media attention on Chinas plan to roll out a Social Credit System to rank its citizens.

By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com

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The year is not yet over, but Libyas crude oil exports to China in value terms are already worth twice as much as what the North African country exported to China last year, the head of the National Oil Corporation said, as quoted by Reuters.

Since January, Libyan oil exports to China have hit a value of US$3.5 billion. This compares with US$1.7 billion for the whole of 2017 when Libyan fields suffered pretty much regular outages. This year has not been without outages and pipeline blockades either. Still, NOC and its partners have managed to weather the effects of these interruptionsin one case involving as much as 850,000 bpd in productionand expand Libyas production rate to 1.3 million bpd. Pans are to raise this further to 1.6 million bpd by the end of next year.

China will naturally be a top destination for this higher crude production, and NOCs Sanalla emphasized this during his recent meeting with the Chinese Charge dAffaires in Tripoli, saying he was rightly proud of our growing relations with China, and look forward to enhancing and broadening them further to serve the common interests of both the Libyan and Chinese oil sectors.



Related: Oil Prices Set To Book Worst Month In A Decade

China will definitely be interested in that cooperation: its domestic oil production is falling and state oil companies are increasingly looking abroad for more own production. Libya is one of the countries that certainly makes sense as an investment destination with its huge oil reservesestimated to be the largest in Africaand eagerness to make the best of them as it has virtually no other major export commodity or product.

The situation in the country seems to be improving, too. The latest sign yet that things in Libya may be on the mend was the October announcement by BP and Eni that they will start drilling at a field they share in early 2019. BP won two exploration licenses in Libya back in 2007, but the 2011 civil war interrupted its plans for the country. Eni agreed to buy a 42.5-percent interest in BPs exploration and production sharing agreement with NOC earlier this month, and they are now ready to start drilling in the offshore block.

By Irina Slav for Oilprice.com

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Due to lack of a payment mechanism, Taiwanese firm Formosa Petrochemical will not be buying Iranian oil despite a U.S. waiver to do so, and will replace part of its Iranian oil intake with crude from Iraq, company spokesman KY Lin told Reuters on Thursday.

Taiwan was one of eight Iranian oil buyers that received U.S. waivers to continue importing reduced volumes of oil from Iran at least until early May 2019.

However, the lack of mechanism to pay for Iranian oil is a challenge to Formosa Petrochemical, which has turned to Iraq to replace part of the barrels it would have otherwise purchased from Iran.

There is no payment mechanism, so we will suspend Iranian oil loadings for the time being, Formosas Lin told Reuters.

So the Iraqi contract is to replace some of the Iranian volume, the spokesman said, adding that the company had signed a term deal with Iraqs state oil marketing company SOMO to buy Basra Light crude next year.



Formosa Petrochemical has been a regular buyer of Basra Light on the spot market, purchasing around 2 million barrels of the crude grade every month.

However, SOMO has recently moved to edge out resellers of its destination-restricted Basra crude cargoes on the spot market, which has led to a significant drop in spot trades in Asia and in Europe. The reduced spot trading activity has started to push buyers to look for term contracts with Iraq.

Related: Goldman: Oil Prices Set For Rebound In 2019

Formosa Petrochemical has so far stayed away from term contracts with Iraq because of loading and shipping delays at Basra. Now the lower spot trade availability and upgrades at the Basra port that has cut waiting time has convinced the Taiwanese to sign a term contract with Iraq.

Iraq, for its part, will only be too happy to supply more of its oil to an Asian customer. OPECs second-largest producer after Saudi Arabia is looking to grab a higher market share in Asia, allocating 67 percent of its 2019 oil sales to the worlds fastest-growing oil demand region, and aiming to boost its oil supply to China by 60 percent next year.

By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com

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Beijing on heightened alert as US Navy vessels sail Taiwan Strait for the third time this year

Beijing said it is on heightened alert after the US Navy sailed two ships through the Taiwan Strait on Wednesday in the third such operation this year.

Chinese defence ministry spokesman Ren Guoqiang also said Beijing would resolutely protect Chinas sovereignty in relation to Taiwan, and that the Chinese military was clear and fully aware of the movement of the US ships.

The voyage by the guided missile destroyer USS Stockdale and the USNS Pecos, an oiler, came ahead of an expected meeting between Chinese President Xi Jinping and US President Donald Trump at the G20 summit this week in Argentina, with hopes of easing trade and military tensions between the two nations.

The US move also came after Taiwans ruling, pro-independence Democratic Progressive Party suffered heavy losses in mayoral and county elections to the Beijing-friendly Kuomintang.

The Peoples Liberation Army will continue to maintain heightened alert and resolutely protect Chinas sovereignty and territorial integrity, Ren said on Thursday.

Beijing sees the self-ruled Taiwan as a breakaway province that must eventually be reunified with the mainland, by force if necessary.

In talks this month in Washington with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and US Defence Secretary James Mattis, Chinese officials reiterated their opposition to US support for Taiwan.

Ren repeated Beijings call for Washington to abide by the one-China principle, so as to avoid undermining China-US relations and regional stability.

Separately, Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said on Thursday that China had expressed concerns to the US.

The issue over Taiwan is the most important and most sensitive in Sino-US relations. We hope the US side can abide by the one-China principle and the three communiques, and to exercise caution when it is handling the Taiwan issue, he said.

Story continues

The US Navy conducted similar missions through the Taiwan Strait in July and October after a year-long hiatus, drawing protests from Beijing which sees such operations as an affront to Chinese sovereignty.

The US Pacific Fleet said in a statement that the ships transit through the Taiwan Strait demonstrates the US commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific.

The US Navy will continue to fly, sail and operate anywhere international law allows, it said.

It was the US Navys third such show of support for the self-ruled island this year.

With Xi and Trump set to meet at the end of the week, Taiwan is a growing source of friction.

Last month, Xi told the military region responsible for monitoring Taiwan and the South China Sea to prepare for war.

On the same day, Chinese Defence Minister Wei Fenghe vowed that Beijing would not cede a single inch of its territory.

This article Beijing on heightened alert as US Navy vessels sail Taiwan Strait for the third time this year first appeared on South China Morning Post

For the latest news from the South China Morning Post download our mobile app. Copyright 2018.
A Tokyo court on Friday extended the detention of former Nissan chief Carlos Ghosn, after his arrest on allegations of financial misconduct that have shaken the auto industry. "The period of the detention was extended for 10 days," a court official said in a statement. This means Ghosn could remain in a Tokyo cell until December 10 while prosecutors investigate allegations he under-reported his salary by millions of dollars over five years. The 64-year-old tycoon was arrested on November 19 and prosecutors have already extended his detention once, while two of the companies he led -- Nissan and Mitsubishi Motors -- have voted to remove him. The extension gives prosecutors until early December to decide whether to indict Ghosn on charges of under-reporting his salary. If he is indicted, he could then be released awaiting trial, or held in pre-trial detention. Prosecutors could also choose to file additional charges against him, and with each charge they can seek to hold Ghosn for another 22 days. Ghosn's detention even before charges have been officially filed against him has prompted some criticism abroad, particularly in France, where he holds citizenship. On Thursday, the deputy head of the Tokyo prosecutor's office rejected the criticism, saying: "We do not unnecessarily keep people in custody for a long time." "I do not criticise other countries' systems just because they are different," Shin Kukimoto added. Ghosn, who denies the allegations against him, faces an array of claims involving hiding money and benefits he received while chairman of Nissan and head of an alliance between the Japanese firm, Mitsubishi Motors and France's Renault. - 'Huge sums' - Nissan had been investigating Ghosn and close aide Greg Kelly for months after a whistleblower report, and accused the pair of a scheme to misrepresent the Brazil-born chief's earnings. Sources have since said Ghosn signed secret documents instructing aides to defer part of his salary, without disclosing this to shareholders. The scheme allegedly involved under-reporting Ghosn's income by around $44 million over five fiscal years to March 2015. It allegedly began after new regulations came into force in the fiscal year 2009/2010, including a law requiring any company executives earning 100 million yen ($885,000) or more to declare it. The same source said Nissan funds were secretly used to pay for residences for Ghosn in Rio de Janeiro and Lebanon, homes that local media said cost "huge sums" and had no legitimate business purpose. Those sorts of expenses should have been disclosed as compensation but were arranged without shareholder approval and generally in secret, the source added. Local media also reported that Ghosn used Nissan corporate money to make a donation to his daughter's university and fund a family trip, and paid his sister around $100,000 a year for a fictitious role as an advisor. Ghosn's arrest sent shockwaves throughout the auto industry and beyond, with Japanese and French officials at pains to stress the alliance between the three companies would not collapse. On Thursday, executives from the three firms reaffirmed their commitment to the alliance despite reports of tension in the partnership, particularly on the part of Nissan, which outsells its French counterpart Renault. While Mitsubishi Motors and Nissan have removed Ghosn, he remains chairman and CEO of Renault. French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire on Thursday said there was no question of changing the alliance's balance of power. The rules of the partnership state that Renault chooses the alliance's CEO, who wields a tie-breaking vote in board decisions, while Nissan names the deputy. Japanese media said Friday that Prime Minister Shinzo Abe would meet French President Emmanuel Macron on the sidelines of the G20 summit this weekend to discuss the case. Japan's government declined to confirm the meeting, but a spokesman said it was important to maintain stable relations despite the case against Ghosn.
Jose Mourinho fears Manchester United will be unable to make major signings in January because their rivals no longer need to sell to them. United have spent almost 400 million ($510 million) on players since Mourinho arrived at the club in 2016, but the manager claims buying top-level players is becoming increasingly difficult. Mourinho claims the balance of power has shifted in the Premier League  using the example of Tottenham, who spent no money on players during the last transfer window, but also managed to keep their key names, in Harry Kane, Dele Alli, Christian Eriksen and Son Heung-Min. There was no attempt by United to sign any of those four players, but Mourinho is adamant Tottenham would have refused to sell even if there had been. He argued it did not used to be the case, with United prising England midfielder Michael Carrick from Tottenham in 2006, then luring Bulgaria striker Dimitar Berbatov from White Hart Lane in 2008. "Is Manchester United by its history, by its dimension, bigger than Tottenham? With all respect, Tottenham is an amazing club, but I think everybody would say yes," Mourinho said. "Can you buy Tottenham's best players? No, because they don't sell. Of course, they are so powerful that they can say no. "A few years ago, who was Tottenham's best player? Michael Carrick. And a few years later, who was the best player? Berbatov. "Can we go there now and bring Harry Kane? Dele Alli, Eriksen, Son? Can we go there and bring those players here? No. So who is more powerful now? Them or us?" - Financial muscle - In what appeared to be a covert criticism of Manchester City, Mourinho suggested financial restrictions sometimes did not apply in the Premier League. Mourinho said some clubs could buy multiple full-backs at the same time, a comment he has made before when referencing City's transfer policy. City manager Pep Guardiola bought three-full backs in 2017 while allowing another four to leave as he reshaped his squad. "It's more difficult to make the team better and stronger with buying - unless you do what some clubs do, and for some reason they can do this and others cannot, which is say: I need a right-back and a left-back, send away the ones you have and buy four at the same time," Mourinho said. After making this comment, Mourinho was asked why United did not have the financial muscle required to buy the best players. "I cannot say the answer because one of the answers you had a few weeks ago. I don't want to speak about that. But one of the answers you had a few weeks ago," he said. He refused to confirm whether this was a reference to allegations made at the start of November that Manchester City had circumvented UEFA's Financial Fair Play regulations. "We do what we can. Last season, it was fantastic to finish second and we are fighting hard," he added. "I know that we have to do better than what we are doing, absolutely, we have to do better, but one thing is to do better and another is to compare ourselves with what Manchester United was in the past because it is impossible. "That's not just because Manchester United was fantastic, but because there was a big difference to the others and now it is not like that." Asked if he would buy any players in January, the manager said: "Honestly, I don't think we are going to sign anyone. If we do, I would say one player. I don't see us going more than that."
Credit: Centro Nacional de Investigacion

A team of scientists led by Mohamed Sahnouni, archaeologist at the Centro Nacional de Investigacion sobre la Evolucion Humana (CENIEH), has just published a paper in the journal Science that breaks with the paradigm that the cradle of Humankind lies in East Africa, based on archaeological remains found at sites in the region of Ain Hanech (Algeria), the oldest currently known in the north of Africa.

For a long time, East Africa has been considered the place of origin of the earliest hominins and lithic technology, because up to now, very little was known about the first hominin occupation and activities in the north of the continent. Two decades of field and laboratory research directed by Dr. Sahnouni have shown that ancestral hominins actually made stone tools in North Africa that are nearly contemporary with the earliest known stone tools in East Africa dated to 2.6 million years.

These are stone artefacts and animal bones bearing marks of cutting by stone tools, with an estimated chronology of 2.4 and 1.9 million years, respectively, found at two levels at the sites of Ain Boucherit (within the Ain Hanech study area), which were dated using paleomagnetism, electron spin resonance (ESR), and the biochronology of large mammals excavated together with the archaeological materials.

Credit: Centro Nacional de Investigacion

Paleontologist Jan van der Made of the Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales in Madrid used fossils of animals such as pigs, horses and elephants from very ancient site to corroborate the ages yielded via paleomagnetism obtained by geochronologist Josep Pares, and ESR conducted by Mathieu Duval of Griffith University.

Oldowan technology

The artefacts of Ain Boucherit were manufactured of locally available limestone and flint and include faces worked into choppers, polyhedra and subspheroids, as well as sharp-edged cutting tools used to process animal carcasses. These artefacts are typical of the Oldowan stone technology known from 2.6-1.9 million-year-old sites in East Africa, although those from Ain Boucherit show subtle variations.

"The lithic industry of Ain Boucherit, which is technologically similar to that of Gona and Olduvai, shows that our ancestors ventured into all corners of Africa, not just East Africa. The evidence from Algeria changes the earlier view that East Africa was the cradle of Humankind. Actually, the whole of Africa was the cradle of humankind," says Sahnouni, leader of the Ain Hanech project.

Credit: Centro Nacional de Investigacion

Not mere scavengers

Ain Boucherit is one of the few archaeological sites in Africa that has preserved evidence of bones with associated marks of cutting and percussion in situ with stone tools, showing unmistakably that these ancestral hominins ate meat and marrow from animals of all sizes and skeletal parts, implying skinning, evisceration and defleshing of upper and intermediate extremities.

Isabel Caceres, taphonomist at the IPHES, says, "The effective use of sharp-edged tools at Ain Boucherit suggests that our ancestors were not mere scavengers. It is not clear at this moment whether they hunted, but the evidence clearly shows that they were successfully competing with carnivores and enjoyed first access to animal carcasses."

Credit: Centro Nacional de Investigacion

The tool-makers

At this moment, the most important question is who made the stone tools discovered in Algeria. Hominin remains have still not been found in North Africa which are contemporary with the earliest stone artefacts. As a matter of fact, nor have any hominins yet been documented in direct association with the first stone tools known from East Africa.

Nevertheless, a recent discovery in Ethiopia shows the presence of early Homo dated to 2.8 million years, most likely the best candidate also for the materials from East and North Africa.

Scientists thought for a long time that the hominins and their material culture originated in the Great Rift Valley in East Africa. Surprisingly, the earliest known hominin, dated to 7.0 million years, and the 3.3 million years Australopithecus bahrelghazali, have been discovered in Chad, in the Sahara, 3000 km from the rift valleys in the east of Africa.

As Sileshi Semaw, scientist at the CENIEH and a co-author of this paper, explains that the hominins contemporary with Lucy (3.2 million years), were probably roamed over the Sahara, and their descendants might have been responsible for leaving these archaeological puzzles now discovered in Algeria, that are near contemporaries of those of East Africa.

"Future research will focus on searching for human fossils in the nearby Miocene and Plio-Pleistocene deposits, looking for the tool-makers and even older stone tools," concludes Sahnouni.

Explore further Stone tools date early humans in North Africa to 2.4 million years ago

More information: Mohamed Sahnouni et al. 1.9-million- and 2.4-million-year-old artifacts and stone toolcutmarked bones from Ain Boucherit, Algeria, Science (2018). Journal information: Science Mohamed Sahnouni et al. 1.9-million- and 2.4-million-year-old artifacts and stone toolcutmarked bones from Ain Boucherit, Algeria,(2018). DOI: 10.1126/science.aau0008

Provided by Centro Nacional de Investigacion
Amish Raj Mulmi is a columnist for the Post, and the author of All Roads Lead North: Nepals Turn to China.
Credit: shutterstock

Most African countries have made strong progress in achieving major development goals in the last few years. Despite this much needed progress, the past decade has seen flooding damage or destroy much of this same infrastructure, affecting millions and killing hundreds every year. In 2018 alone  up to September 15  based on conservative estimates, flooding across Sub-Saharan Africa has destroyed more than 10,000 homes and affected more than 2m people.

A heavy price to pay

A recent study suggested that floods cost Tanzania US$2 billion annually. In 2012, Nigeria experienced one of its largest floods in a century, destroying assets worth nearly US$10 billion. In Mozambique, one of the poorest countries in the world, floods in 2013 were estimated to cost over US$500m  nearly 9% of GDP. These figures are significant, especially when considering that this money could have been invested in other developmental goals.

The importance of infrastructure

The simple fact remains that people depend on infrastructure to meet their needs. Without roads, people are not able to sell their goods on the market. School closures disrupt learning for millions of children. Damaged roads and bridges restricts access to health services. The destruction of critical infrastructure such as power and telecommunications leads to untold economic costs. Hectares of destroyed farmland and livestock can be killed. Health emergencies, including cholera outbreaks, can emerge due to poor sanitation and a lack of access to clean water.

Flooding costs Tanzania an estimated US$2 billion each year. Credit: Shutterstock

These examples highlight the implications of these recent floods for the 17 sustainable development goals (SDGs) set out by the UN.

In Africa, about 3,000 people die daily from diseases linked to poor sanitation, poor hygiene and contaminated water, particularly diarrhoea and malaria. This situation is worsened by flooding, which will make it harder to achieve SDG 6 ensuring access to water and sanitation for all.

Adaptation is key

In order to lessen the consequences of flooding, African societies must make two major changes.

First is to place greater focus on adaptation strategies, alongside mitigation. Before now, most of the efforts across Africa have been "hard" engineered routes to mitigate flood impacts. This means working against rather than with nature, for instance by building dams or embankments.

Concept diagram of the Makoko floating school, located in the Lagos Lagoon in Nigeria. Credit: Flickr, CC BY

However, there is now a general recognition that while floods cannot be entirely prevented, steps can be taken to minimise their impact and speed up recovery. Such a shift in thinking may inspire donor agencies, who provide aid or rehabilitation post-flooding, to consider using the same amounts of money to fund flood adaptation initiatives as well.

For instance, after a recent flood in Nakuru county, just north of Nairobi in Kenya, the EU alone provided 1.5m to help flood victims. Such funds can be channelled towards helping communities adapt to flooding and increase their resilience. This would mean, for instance, factoring in current and likely future flood conditions when constructing or managing new infrastructure.

A particularly good initiative that incorporated such adaptation strategies was the Makoko floating school. The school is a prototype floating structure, built for the historic water community of Makoko, located on the lagoon heart of Nigeria's largest city, Lagos. As a pilot project, it has taken an innovative approach to address the community's social and physical needs in view of the impact of climate change and a rapidly urbanising Africa. More efforts should be channelled towards strengthening and scaling up such initiatives.

The second major change is to scale up "soft" non-structural adaptation measures, such as ecosystem-based approaches to flooding. These involve measures which work with the natural flood cycle rather that struggling against it. These solutions include the widening of natural flood plains, planting more trees, protecting and expanding wetlands, and investing in urban green spaces to reduce water run off.

This could be beneficial considering that most African countries do not have sufficient finances to justify the costs of dams and other "hard" engineering. As competing with education and agriculture expenditure priorities is unlikely to end well in such a poor economy, "soft" non-structural adaptation measures may provide a more promising route.

Eko Atlantic City, land reclamation project in Lagos, Nigeria. Credit: Shutterstock

While the increased flooding can be linked to climate change, some of the causes have roots in the destruction of ecosystems. Take, for example, the unprecedented land reclamation projects along the coastal areas of Lagos. The result has been enormous environmental damage because much of what is being drained for housing are coastal wetlands, which are traditionally known for their ability to control flooding.

Policy makers often see flooding as a humanitarian issue only  they must be reminded that there is an economic dimension too. There is evidence that ecosystem-based adaptations are helping people, particularly women and children, adapt to climate variability and reduce their vulnerability to climate impacts.

By adopting an ecosystem-based adaptation, a recent study showed how Thua Thien-Hue Province in Vietnam was able to introduce cleaner urban areas with more opportunities for recreational activities, all the while reducing damage to infrastructure. Less damage to properties means smaller repair costs and an overall safer environment, whereas increases in tourism, or recreation suitability, can lead to better employment and business opportunities.

With the impacts of flooding increasingly being felt across Africa, there is an urgent imperative to adapt infrastructure to flood hazards while fostering sustainable economic development on local, national and regional levels. Without this, all the developmental achievements made so far will be completely undone.

Explore further Ghana must move from coping with floods to adapting for them

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
A picture of a chemputer robot. Credit: Cronin Group, School of Chemistry, Glasgow

A radical new method of producing drug molecules, which uses downloadable blueprints to easily and reliably synthesise organic chemicals via a programmable 'chemputer', could be set to democratise the pharmaceutical industry, scientists say.

In a new paper published online in the journal Science, researchers from the University of Glasgow present for the first time how synthesis of important drug molecules can be achieved in an affordable and modular chemical-robot system they call a chemputer.

While recent advances in chemical production have allowed some chemical compounds to be produced at laboratory scale via automated systems, the chemputer is underpinned by a new universal and interoperable standard for writing and sharing chemical recipes, developed by the University of Glasgow team. The key was to develop a general abstraction for chemistry that can be made universal, practical, and driven by a computer program.

Those chemical recipes, run on a computer program the team calls the 'chempiler', instruct the chemputer how to produce molecules on-demand, more affordably and safely than ever possible before

The researchers claim the ability to use a universal code will allow chemists all round the world to convert their recipe into digital code, allowing others to share and download recipes similar in a similar way to music is today on iTunes or Spotify.

Video demonstrating the process of the chemputer working. Credit: Cronin Group, School of Chemistry, Glasgow

The chemputing approach was designed and developed by Professor Lee Cronin, the University of Glasgow's Regius Chair of Chemistry. Professor Cronin said: "This approach is a key step in the digitisation of chemistry, and will allow the universal assembly of complex molecules on demand, democratising the ability to discover and make new molecules using a simple software app and a modular chemputer.

"Making recipes for drugs available online, and synthesisable via a compact chemputer system, could allow medical professionals in remote parts of the world to create life-saving drugs as and when they are required, for example, or researchers to easily share newly-developed drug molecules for innovative treatments. The potential applications are enormous, and we're very excited to be leading on this revolutionary new approach to organic chemistry."

In the paper, the team of researchers from the University's School of Chemistry demonstrate the potential of the system by producing three different pharmaceuticals in one robot system, simply by changing the software and input chemicals. They created the sleeping drug Nytol, seizure medication Rufinamide, and erectile dysfunction treatment Viagra in yields comparable to those achieved in traditional human-controlled synthesis.

The desktop-sized chemputer itself draws raw chemical materials in liquid form into and out of a series of modules capable of performing the operations necessary to complete a synthetic sequence.

The modules developed for the system consist of a reaction module, a jacketed filtration set-up capable of being heated or cooled, an automated liquid-liquid separation module and a solvent evaporation module.

Explore further Robot chemist discovers new molecules and reactions

More information: S. Steiner el al., "Organic synthesis in a modular robotic system driven by a chemical programming language," Science (2018). Journal information: Science S. Steiner el al., "Organic synthesis in a modular robotic system driven by a chemical programming language,"(2018). science.sciencemag.org/lookup/  1126/science.aav2211
In this photo taken Wednesday, Oct. 3, 2018, smoke rises from the chimneys of Serbia's main coal-fired power station near Kostolac, Serbia. The Kostolac power plant complex in eastern Serbia is currently being expanded with a $715 million loan from a Chinese state bank and constructed by one of China's largest companies. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)

A foul smell permeates the air in this gray mining town. People rarely open their windows as thick smoke billows from the huge chimneys of Serbia's main coal-fired power station.

Things are only getting worse for residents living close to the Kostolac power plant complex in eastern Serbia, which is being expanded with a $715 million loan from a Chinese state bank and constructed by one of China's largest companies.

When U.S. President Donald Trump abruptly withdrew from the Paris agreement on tackling global climate change in 2017, China was seen as the champion in the battle to cut carbon emissions and prevent a global environmental catastrophe.

Experts say China is tackling pollution at home by implementing renewable energy projects and reducing the use of coal, by far the most polluting fossil fuel. But abroad, China is pursuing a different strategy.

Chinese companies are the world's largest investors in overseas coal plants. They are involved in building about a fifth of new coal-fired energy capacity around the world, mostly in the countries along its ambitious "Belt and Road" investment program, which is seen in the West as an attempt by China to globally increase its political and economic influence.

In this photo taken Wednesday, Oct. 3, 2018, mining machines work in the open cast mine near Kostolac, Serbia. The Kostolac power plant complex in eastern Serbia is currently being expanded with a $715 million loan from a Chinese state bank and constructed by one of China's largest companies. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)

Beijing has issued guidelines on foreign investments, urging environmentally friendly practices. But a major worry is that the guidelines aren't binding and that the power stations are built mostly in developing states that have low pollution emission standards, or no set standards at all.

"The (Chinese) central government explicitly stipulated that all 'Belt and Road' initiative projects should be green and low-carbon projects," China's special representative for climate change affairs, Xie Zhenhua, said in Beijing. "Therefore, all projects underway introduced the most advanced technology to save resources and energy, and do its utmost to ensure emission reduction."

Huang Wei, a Greenpeace climate and energy activist, said China has "coal overcapacity" at home, so the market space there for coal power companies "is shrinking a lot," prompting Chinese construction companies to seek lucrative deals abroad.

"China is on the right track of fulfilling its domestic commitment on reducing carbon emissions. But its plan to invest in the 'Belt and Road' countries, especially infrastructure, could have a potentially big climate impact," she said.

"So far they (the Chinese government) define 'green' as complying with local environmental standards. We don't think that's enough, because a lot of the recipient countries have very low environmental standards. So I think it's up to China, both China and the recipient countries, to lift the standard," Huang said.

In this photo taken Wednesday, Oct. 3, 2018, smoke rises from the chimney of Serbia's main coal-fired power station near Kostolac, Serbia. Chinese companies are the world's largest investors in overseas coal plants. They are involved in the building of about a fifth of new coal-fired energy capacity around the world, mostly in the countries along its ambitious "Belt and Road" investment program which is seen in the West as an attempt by China to globally increase its political and economic influence. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)

Experts say the Paris climate goals can only be met by cutting emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases to net zero by 2050.

But the Paris deal let countries set their own emissions targets. Some are on track, others aren't. Overall, the world is heading the wrong way.

Last week, the World Meteorological Organization said globally averaged concentrations of carbon dioxide reached a record in 2017, while the level of other heat-trapping gases such as methane and nitrous oxide also rose.

This year is expected to see another 2 percent increase in human-made emissions, as construction of coal-fired power plants like the one in Serbia continue while carbon-absorbing forests are felled faster than they can regrow.

Chinese construction workers wearing hard hats are building a huge chimney for the new "Kostolac B" Serbian power plant, which will be fueled by the light brown variety of coal called ligniteconsidered to be among the most heavily polluting fossil fuels. It produces huge amount of ash, which has to be carefully deposited on vast fields with water sprinklers to prevent the dust from being blown into the atmosphere or the nearby Danube River.

In this photo taken Thursday, Nov. 29, 2018, a chimney of Serbia's main coal-fired power station can be seen from the village of Drmno, Serbia. Chinese companies are the world's largest investors in overseas coal plants. They are involved in the building of about a fifth of new coal-fired energy capacity around the world, mostly in the countries along its ambitious "Belt and Road" investment program which is seen in the West as an attempt by China to globally increase its political and economic influence. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)

Serbian state power company EPS says the new 350 megawatt unit, to be operational by 2020, will meet the highest environmental standards. More than 70 percent of Serbia's energy comes from coal while the rest is from hydropower.

"What is very important to emphasize is that we are doing this project absolutely in accordance with European standards and Serbian laws," said Zeljko Lazovic, the plant's EPS project manager.

Energy analyst Misha Brkic said Serbia's government "is making a crucial mistake" by insisting on the use of coal as fuel to produce electricity instead of focusing on renewable energy.

"The chosen (Chinese) partner does have money and offers technology, but we as a country that wants to build power plants or renew and modernize the existing ones, we don't have enough experience and knowledge and sometimes also not enough sense for European standards," he said.

China Machinery Engineering Corporation, which is expanding the plant, has refused to comment despite repeated requests.

In this photo taken Wednesday, Oct. 3, 2018, a warning sign of existing high voltage at the fence of Serbia's main coal-fired power station near Kostolac, Serbia. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)

Residents living near the Kostolac plant say most of the pollution comes from the lignite ash field and the open-pit mine that will expand even further when the new plant starts production.

"When we wash our laundry, we leave it to dry and then in three days you see how white laundry becomes black laundry," said resident Dejan Grujic. "When winds are strong, it is a catastrophe."

In this photo taken Wednesday, Oct. 3, 2018, workers prepare a new lignite excavator in the open cast mine near Kostolac, Serbia. The Kostolac power plant complex in eastern Serbia is currently being expanded with a $715 million loan from a Chinese state bank and constructed by one of China's largest companies. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)

In this photo taken Wednesday, Oct. 3, 2018, a new lignite excavator stands in the open cast mine near Kostolac, Serbia. The Kostolac power plant complex in eastern Serbia is currently being expanded with a $715 million loan from a Chinese state bank and constructed by one of China's largest companies. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)

In this photo taken Wednesday, Oct. 3, 2018, a plane flies over smoke emits from the chimneys of Serbia's main coal-fired power station near Kostolac, Serbia. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)

In this photo taken Wednesday, Oct. 3, 2018, a flock of pigeons flies over smoke emits from the chimneys of Serbia's main coal-fired power station near Kostolac, Serbia. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)

In this photo taken Wednesday, Oct. 3, 2018, a worker inspects works on huge chimney for the new, so-called "Kostolac Bloc 3" in Serbia's main coal-fired power station near Kostolac, Serbia. The Kostolac power plant complex in eastern Serbia is currently being expanded with a $715 million loan from a Chinese state bank and constructed by one of China's largest companies. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)

In this photo taken Wednesday, Oct. 3, 2018, workers prepare a new lignite excavator in the open cast mine near Kostolac, Serbia. The Kostolac power plant complex in eastern Serbia is currently being expanded with a $715 million loan from a Chinese state bank and constructed by one of China's largest companies. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)

In this photo taken Wednesday, Oct. 3, 2018, a bird flies past as smoke emits from the chimneys of Serbia's main coal-fired power station near Kostolac, Serbia. Chinese companies are currently involved in the construction of about a fifth of the new coal-fired energy capacity around the world, mostly in countries along its ambitious "Belt and Road" investment program that is seen in the West as China's attempt to globally increase its zone of political and economic influence. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)

In this photo taken Wednesday, Oct. 3, 2018, a sign of the new, so-called "Kostolac Bloc 3" at the fence of Serbia's main coal-fired power station near Kostolac, Serbia. The Kostolac power plant complex in eastern Serbia is currently being expanded with a $715 million loan from a Chinese state bank and constructed by one of China's largest companies. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)

In this photo taken Thursday, Nov. 29, 2018, a chimney of Serbia's main coal-fired power station are seen from the village of Drmno, Serbia. Chinese companies are currently involved in the construction of about a fifth of the new coal-fired energy capacity around the world, mostly in countries along its ambitious "Belt and Road" investment program that is seen in the West as China's attempt to globally increase its zone of political and economic influence. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)

In this photo taken Wednesday, Oct. 3, 2018, workers prepare a new lignite excavator in the open cast mine near Kostolac, Serbia. Chinese companies are currently involved in the construction of about a fifth of the new coal-fired energy capacity around the world, mostly in countries along its ambitious "Belt and Road" investment program that is seen in the West as China's attempt to globally increase its zone of political and economic influence. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)

In this photo taken Wednesday, Oct. 3, 2018, mining machines work in the open cast mine near Kostolac, Serbia. Chinese companies are currently involved in the construction of about a fifth of the new coal-fired energy capacity around the world, mostly in countries along its ambitious "Belt and Road" investment program that is seen in the West as China's attempt to globally increase its zone of political and economic influence. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)

Explore further Asia coal plants worrying for climate targets: IEA

 2018 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
Like Dr. Seuss imaginary truffula trees, baobabs are endangered. Credit: Dudarev Mikhail/Shutterstock.com

In the "The Lorax," an entrepreneur regrets wiping out all the make-believe truffala trees by chopping them down to maximize his short-term gains. As the Dr. Seuss tale ends, the Once-ler  the man responsible for this environmental tragedy  tells a young child that "Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It's not."

Likewise, many corporations that profit from nature's bounty, such as Unilever, Patagonia and Interface, appear to be reaching a similar conclusion. They are realizing that it's time for the business world to do more about conservation.

We, two economists who have extensively researched natural resources and development, are proposing a new way to solve the problem of species and ecosystem loss. Corporations that benefit from biodiversity could forge what some are calling a "new deal for nature" by paying part of the tab for biodiversity conservation.

Biodiversity

Biodiversity, the variety of all natural ecosystems and species, is being lost at an unprecedented rate. According to the recent World Wildlife Fund Living Planet Report, the populations of mammals, birds, fish, reptiles and amphibians have fallen by an average of 60 percent in just over 40 years. The scientists Gerardo Ceballos, Paul R. Ehrlich and Rodolfo Dirzo have dubbed this decline and an impending wave of extinctions a "biological annihilation."

We argue that many businesses are threatened by the loss of species and ecosystems, such as declining bee populations and dwindling stocks of fish, forests, wetlands and mangroves. Without an array of ecosystems and species, it's tough for farmers to grow crops or ranchers to raise animals.

The pharmaceutical industry needs them to make and create drugs. For example, one team of U.S.-based researchers estimates that the pharmaceutical value of marine biodiversity for anti-cancer drug discovery could range from US$563 billion to as much as $5.7 trillion.

Insurance companies depend on coastal wetlands to minimize the impact of big storms. For example, an international group of researchers estimated that preserving one hectare of mangroves in the Philippines yields more than $3,200 in flood-reduction benefits each year.

A global treaty, the Convention on Biological Diversity does set worldwide conservation targets. But we believe they may not be ambitious enough. Cristiana Pasca Palmer, who serves as the UN's biodiversity chief, is considering raising the treaty's targets to conserve at least half of terrestrial, inland water, coastal, and marine habitats to preserve biodiversity.

But the existing efforts to preserve biodiversity are not only inadequate. They're underfunded.

New way to pay

Global biodiversity protection requires $100 billion annually, according to a previous study one of us conducted, yet the international community spends up to $10 billion each year on biodiversity conservation.

Much of the world's biodiversity is in developing countries, which lack the financial wherewithal to adequately conserve it.

Credit: Chart: The Conversation, CC-BY-ND Source: Edward B. Barbier, Joanne C. Burgess and Thomas J. Dean

As we have explained with our colleague Thomas J. Dean in Science magazine, we believe that involving businesses in an international environmental agreement could help bridge a chronic funding gap.

A key part of this new deal for nature would be making the corporations that depend on the health of natural ecosystems and species help foot the bill to preserve biodiversity.

Benefiting the bottom line

Why would corporations want to get involved?

First off, it may benefit their bottom line. Big companies depend on robust natural ecosystems systems and individual species.

We calculate that the increase in revenue and profits from biodiversity conservation could generate between $25 billion and $50 billion annually to fund global conservation efforts.

The seafood industry stands to gain $53 billion annually from an increase in marine stocks. This could generate $5 billion to $10 billion each year to spend on preserving biodiversity.

The insurance industry could see an additional $52 billion from increasing the area of protected coastal wetlands with a similar investment.

Agriculture also has an incentive to protect habitats of wild pollinators, who along with managed populations enhance global crop production by an amount a global group of scientists estimates to be worth between $235 billion to $577 billion annually.

What's more, there is growing evidence that when corporations engage in environmental stewardship, they become more attractive investments and their borrowing costs decline.

Corporate social responsibility

There is a second reason why big companies are sometimes willing to take action and pay to conserve biodiversity: corporate social responsibility, an ethos that builds into business models a commitment to protect the environment and benefit society.

Danone is a leader in this regard. It established the first partnership agreement between a global environmental convention and a private company over 20 years ago.

Credit: Chart: The Conversation, CC-BY-ND Source: World Bank

Since then, the multinational corporation best known for its yogurt and bottled water has promoted and supported the sustainable use and management of wetlands.

Danone, for example, worked with local partners to replant mangroves in approximately 500 Senegalese villages. We believe this reforestation project shows that investments in nature can be sustainable and scalable business models.

Danone, which earned $3 billion in profits in 2017, has its own $80 million "Ecosystem Fund." It's just one of an increasing number of companies taking concrete steps toward biodiversity protection, even though they are not required by any law or national policy.

More than 21 national and regional initiatives have been established to encourage partnerships between business and biodiversity conservation. For example, 10 of the 13 biggest seafood companies that control up to 16 percent of global marine catch and 40 percent of the largest and most valuable fisheries have come together to support an ocean stewardship initiative.

Similarly, the International Council of Forest and Paper Associations, which represents the global forest products industry, now engages in sustainable forest management certification.

The total area of forests worldwide deemed to be subject to sustainable practices supplying the industry increased from 62 million hectares, 12 percent of the total global forest area, in 2000, to 310 million hectares in 2015, according to the industry group. That's more than half of the total global forest area. The annual revenue of the world's 100 largest global forest, paper and packaging companies is over $300 billion.

A new deal for nature

In addition to creating marine reserves, protecting forests, preserving the habitats of wild pollinators and conserving coastal wetlands, the private sector could also help finance conservation efforts in developing countries.

Based on our calculations, if the seafood sector were to set aside up to 20 percent of the increase in profits it gets from sustainably managing marine biomass stocks, it could conceivably spend up to $10 billion annually for marine biodiversity conservation.

And we estimate that by channeling up to 10 percent of the gains from sustainable forest management, the forest products industry could raise as much as $30 billion each year for investment in increasing protected forest area.

An agricultural sector contribution of around 10 percent of the benefits it derives from wild pollination services would amount to about $20 billion to $60 billion per year in additional financing for the conservation, creation and restoration of wild pollinator habitats.

All told, this business-world support could help close the $100 billion gap in global biodiversity conservation funding. This would go a long way toward slowing, and potentially reversing, biodiversity loss.

There are, of course, barriers to corporate conservation. The costs may be high. It may be hard for to businesses to assess the long-term value of biodiversity conservation benefits and integrate them into investment decisions. And it is possible that some of the corporations that take this step could be at a competitive disadvantage, especially in the short term.

But a number of companies are already showing that they believe investing in ecosystem preservation is worth it. In our view, corporate support for international biodiversity conservation is essential to prevent "biological annihilation."

Explore further It pays to invest in biodiversity

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
Catherine Nikiel works in the Parsons Laboratory for Environmental Science and Engineering. Credit: Taylor De Leon

Global climate change is a serious concern for the future of our entire planet. However, the regional impacts of climate change are often overlooked. Catherine Nikiel, a Ph.D. student in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, is studying the impact of climate change on different aspects of the hydrological cycle as part of her research in the lab of Breene M. Kerr Professor Elfatih Eltahir. Nikiel studies the impact of land-use change on regional climate in the midwestern United States. In particular, Nikiel examines agricultural changes over the past century, contributing to climate change, such as the expansion of agriculture, increases in productivity, and the expansion of irrigation.

Q: What are the real-world implications of your research?

A: My Ph.D. work focuses on what climate change will do to humid heat waves and droughts, looking specifically at the Great Plains and the Midwest region. It is important to understand what the impacts are going to be at smaller scales, because that is where the adaptation is going to take place.

Understanding how climate change will affect various areas at a regional scale makes it easier to communicate what the effects are going to be for communities. These areas are going to experience more heat waves, the potential of drought is going to increase, and we have to ask what the lasting impact is going to be for a community or even a group of multiple states; or what that means for an economic sector.

Droughts and heat waves are extremely damaging for crops; and the Midwest is the corn belt of the United States, which is important because a great deal of corn and soybean is exported both nationally and internationally. It is important to make climate change tangible, and link the potential damages to those impacts.

Q: What opportunities have you had to delve deeper into your research?

A: Since being at MIT, I have had the chance to explore ways that climate, water, and agriculture all come together in very specific ways. For example, this past spring, Professor Eltahir put together a workshop called "The Future of the Nile Water." There's conflict about the Nile River because it is the only water resource in a dry area, and it is shared between many different countries. There is a lot of interest in how factors such as water, population growth, climate change, and agricultural expansion will influence these countries.

The workshop invited journalists, academics, and industry professionals from Egypt, India, and Sudan to talk about the issues that could arise in the future, and some of the factors that are important to bring into the discussion now such as climate change, population growth, and agricultural productivity. The forum discussed these considerations and how to identify how they're interconnected.

The goal is to take climate change impacts and make them tangible for a specific issue and region. Prior to the forum, we were each assigned a topic and researched that area for six-weeks, familiarizing ourselves with the region, the history, and the science. The workshop lasted two days, and it was our chance to bring together the knowledge we had collected, and also learn from the attendees of the workshop who are from those regions; who are dealing with those issues, and are the ones who are really familiar with the situation. We learned that it is not just a resource issueit is a social, political, and economical issue. The forum showed us the importance of having the voices that truly experience these issues first-hand present.

I have also had the opportunity to work with climate models, which I have had never used prior to MIT. We hear about the impacts of what climate change is going to do, and it's interesting to see what comes before the IPCC (Intergovernmental panel on climate change) reports, and understand how the models are made, and how to apply them appropriately.

Q: What's the next step for you?

A: What I ultimately want to do, and what I studied as an undergraduate, is focusing on the impacts of hurricanes. Since moving to MIT, I have been interested in how communities can be more resilient towards natural disasters. Understanding how climate change is going to impact virtually every system is so important in helping communities build resilience. We can't only plan for what is happening now, we need to plan for what might happen in the future. When planning for the future, it is crucial to consider how communities and climate might evolve.

When I leave MIT, I want to continue to do something that helps cities, states and countries become more resilient. I am really interested in coastal communities, which I think stems from my initial interest in hurricanes. I spent a lot of time in Houston, a city that deals with water in all of its forms, and I have seen firsthand how natural disasters can affect a city. It is something that's going to have to be dealt with, and something of interest to me. As a response to climate change, mitigation is important, but adaptation is even more important and not something that can be avoided. I see myself doing something more policy focused. I am unsure if that will be in the public sector or industry, I am not tied down to the exact sector, but whatever is going to be most impactful interests me the most.

Explore further Increasing climate variability will hit world's poorest countries

This story is republished courtesy of MIT News (web.mit.edu/newsoffice/), a popular site that covers news about MIT research, innovation and teaching.
Elon Musk's Boring Company is dropping one of its Los Angeles underground tunnel plans after some residents' concerns.

The L.A.-based underground transit initiative said Tuesday it was withdrawing its plans for a tunnel below Interstate 405 after a settlement with some community groups that had sued the city when the project was exempted from an environmental review process, NBC News reported.

"The parties (The Boring Company, Brentwood Residents Coalition, Sunset Coalition, and Wendy-Sue Rosen) have amicably settled the matter of Brentwood Residents Coalition et al. v. City of Los Angeles (TBCThe Boring Company)," according to Boring Co. statement sent to NBC News. "The Boring Company is no longer seeking the development of the Sepulveda test tunnel and instead seeks to construct an operational tunnel at Dodger Stadium."

Musk had said a stretch of that "test tunnel" in the southern suburb of Hawthorne, between downtown LA and Torrance, was finished and would be shown to the public Dec. 10.

Now, the Boring Co., which Musk founded in late 2016 as a reaction to his frustration with traffic around his Los Angeles home, will focus on the Dugout Loop, an approximate 3.6-mile underground public transportation tunnel to Dodger Stadium.

The Dugout Loop would "help reduce traffic in Los Angeles by providing a clean and efficient public transportation option," the company says on its website.

The company's "Loop" system, which would whisk people through the system's tunnels on an electric-powered platform called a "skate" at up to 150 miles per hour, is different from Musk and the Boring Co.'s longer-range Hyperloop projects, which envision a tunnel connecting, for instance, Baltimore, Maryland, and Washington, D.C..

Hyperloop pods could exceed 600 miles an hour, making the 40-mile trip into a 15-minute ride.

Explore further Elon Musk proposes Los Angeles tunnel to Dodger Stadium

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Alphasat Launch. Credit: ESA/CNES/ARIANESPACE-Optique Photo Video du CSG, 2013

As ESA's umbrella programme for telecom, ARTES, celebrates its 25th year, we will be examining why it was set up, how it and the European satcom environment have evolved, the opportunities and challenges that both face today, and what the future holds.

The satellite communications market is in flux.

Netflix, Amazon Prime, Hulu; chances are you use at least one of these on-demand online services  most people do. Traditional television is being watched by fewer and fewer people, whilst broadband internet is overwhelmingly being supplied by terrestrial fibre networks, not satellites.

Revenue from satellite TV services  the satcom industry's traditional 'cash cow'  flattened for the first time in 2016 and has not recovered. Combined with the ever-dropping cost of bandwidth, this has forced satellite operators to tighten their belts.

Satellite manufacturers have taken a larger hit, recording an average 13 percent drop in revenues in 2016, as their customers order fewer satellites and components.

This is expected to have a knock-on effect to other areas of the space sector, with launcher companies no longer seeing the steady demand for the big geostationary telecom satellites that have historically made up the majority of their income.

As examined in the previous instalment of this series, however, ESA's ARTES programme of Advanced Research in Telecommunications Systems has been bucking this trend. Created in 1993 with the mandate to foster the competitiveness of Europe's satcom industry, it has been doing so ever since.

Over the past decade, the ARTES programme has produced an average return on investment (RoI) of 2.8. This means that every Euro ESA invests in a project generates 2.8 times that amount in revenue; a rate that is increasing annually.

The nature of that initial investment has also evolved over the years. Most ARTES projects used to be co-funded fifty-fifty between ESA and the company; but in the past few years the rising RoI has started to attract private investors to the downstream sector. These now contribute an average of 25 percent of the total seed investment.

Today, ESA's efforts are geared towards further improving RoI, by helping industry create new areas of business, so it can continue to innovate and thrive in an increasingly challenging and fast-moving market.

These efforts are focused on several key domains.

The first is R&D to improve the core competitiveness of satcom technology and products. As important now as it was in the 1990s, ESA has supported hundreds of companies, representing every facet of satcom technology, in designing ever-better, more efficient components. The net effect is to give European and Canadian industry a solid foundation of cutting-edge technology.

EDRS-C prepared for shipping. Credit: OHB System AG

The second is downstream commercial applications. Space-based services are increasingly part of everyday life. From healthcare, to tourism, to sustainability, there is a burgeoning demand for space-enabled services, and ESA's Business Applications programme helps fund their development.

Together, the satcom R&D and Business Applications programmes have worked with more than 500 European companies over the past decade.

The third domain addresses entirely new technologies and markets that can counteract the declining revenue from TV broadcasting.

A prime example is laser communication, an area in which Europe is already a technological frontrunner, and which ESA believes to be the basis for the next revolution in satcom.

Traditional satcom radio frequency (RF) bands are experiencing bottlenecks as we use more and more of this finite resource; and optical links overcome this by bringing unprecedented transmission rates, resilience and security to meet future commercial needs.

Sending information over lasers is also more secure. Optical links are extremely difficult to intercept, and space-based quantum cryptography can increase the reach of secure networks by sending encrypted photon data keys over much larger distances than can be done with optical fibre.

This is important because secure communications in general are themselves a massive and fast growing global market that is very important to governments and private users, for example in maritime surveillance, disaster response and infrastructure monitoring.

In fact, the market is projected to grow from US $4.6 Bn in 2020 to US $6.5 Bn dollars by 2025 and civil use of governmental satcom is expected to more than double, reaching 70 percent of future demand by 2040.

Arguably the biggest opportunity of all is satellite for 5G.

The next generation of data services, 5G, can offer more capacity, security and lower latency than any previous generation: and satellites can help spread 5G's always-on, ultra-fast connectivity across the globe, supplementing terrestrial networks.

This huge future market includes sectors like transport and logistics, safety and security, and media and broadcasting, all of which need the reach, reliability and security of space to fully realise the potential of 5G.

ARTES is working with the satcom community to develop the most competitive products and services in all of these areas, helping to turn the present challenges into an opportunity to diversify and build a future in which space services are a constant, unquestioned part of our daily lives.

Join us in three weeks' time to find out what a vision of this future might look like, and what that could mean for Europe's space sector.

Explore further Space technology to drive autonomous ships
Computer design model of the CCAT-prime telescope. Credit: Vertex Antennentechnik GmbH/Provided

Fabrication of the Cerro Chajnantor Atacama Telescope-prime (CCAT-p), a powerful telescope capable of mapping the sky at submillimeter and millimeter wavelengths, has now begun, marking a major milestone in the project.

The 6-meter aperture telescope will be installed near the top of Cerro Chajnantor, a peak in Chile's Atacama Desert. CCAT-p will provide insights into "cosmic dawn"  when the first stars were born after the Big Bang  as well as how stars and galaxies form and the dark-energy-driven expansion of the universe. The telescope's novel optical design, high-precision mirrors and high-altitude location (over 18,000 feet) will give scientists important new opportunities for astrophysics and cosmology research.

Vertex Antennentechnik GmbH of Duisburg, Germany, is fabricating the telescope's components. The design review process took nearly two years, and some of the parts will take nearly as long to fabricate, such as the telescope's two mirrors, said project director Terry Herter, professor and chair of Cornell's Department of Astronomy.

Once the fabrication is complete, the parts will be assembled at a location in Europe and functional tests will be performed on the complete structure. The telescope will then be broken down and transported to Chile in 2020, where it will be reassembled and installed on a concrete base on Cerro Chajnantor.

"This project has been in development for a long time, and it's exciting to see it so close to becoming a reality," said Martha Haynes, CCAT Observatory board chair and Cornell's Goldwin Smith Professor of Astronomy. "With the short time frame for construction, we should have the telescope on top of the mountain and collecting data in a little more than two years."

Illustrated section view of the telescope. Credit: Vertex Antennentechnik GmbH/Provided

That moment  what astronomers call "first light  is on schedule to take place in the middle of 2021.

CCAT-Prime is thanks in large part to the vision and generosity of Fred Young '64, noted Haynes. He has been a CCAT supporter from the beginning and has participated in design reviews, including the most recent in late October.

"It is exciting and satisfying that we have reached the initial construction phase," Young said. "Much remains to be done, and we're finalizing the last bit of support, but the start of science efforts with the telescope is within view. This is a tribute to the foresight and unrelenting effort of the many participants in this important project."

Cornell Provost Michael Kotlikoff said: "This is an exciting scientific endeavor for Cornell and an important investment in the future of our outstanding astronomy and astrophysics research programs. Fred's unflagging support has made Cornell's leadership of the project possible."

The CCAT corporation is a partnership of Cornell; the German CCAT Consortium, which includes the German Universities of Cologne and Bonn and the Max Planck Institute; and the Canadian Atacama Telescope Consortium (CATC), a consortium of Canadian academic institutions. Faculty and staff at several other institutes in the U.S., Canada, Chile and Germany are also involved in science planning and instrumentation development.

Explore further Launch of high-tech telescope construction to explore the mysteries of the universe
A Purdue-Nature Conservancy study examined barriers that lead those farming on rented land to adopt conservation practices at a lower rate than operators farming on land they own. The findings could lead to strategies to increase conservation practices, which could have a dramatic impact since roughly 39 percent of U.S. farmland is rented. Credit: Purdue Agricultural Communication

As stewards of vast swaths of land, farmers are important allies in U.S. conservation efforts, but there is evidence to suggest those farming on rented land adopt conservation practices at a lower rate.

About 39 percent of U.S. farmland is rented, and 80 percent of those acres are owned by non-operating landowners (NOLs), or owners who do not farm the land they own. To shed light on the barriers to conservation on these lands, a team led by Pranay Ranjan, a postdoctoral researcher in Purdue University's Department of Forestry and Natural Resources, conducted in-depth interviews with NOLs, farm operators and managers, and university Extension personnel in Indiana, Illinois and Iowa. At 40.4 million acres, those three states have the highest proportion of rented farmland and the highest levels of nitrogen loss in the Mississippi River Basin.

Findings from The Nature Conservancy and Purdue team's findings, published in the journal Land Use Policy, identified barriers to conservation that existed in the NOL-farm operator relationship in five broad categories: barriers pertaining to cash-rent lease terms; barriers pertaining to the rental market dynamics; information deficit/asymmetry barriers; cognitive/interpersonal barriers; and barriers pertaining to NOL financial motivations

"Up until our study, there was no synthesis as to what the big-picture barriers were that we need to look at more closely," Ranjan said. "And while there were several, it appears that communication is the starting point to take care of many of these information deficits to create that level ground between the operator and the landowner."

The Nature Conservancy funded the research, which is already having an impact. Paper co-authors Linda S. Prokopy, a Purdue professor of forestry and natural resources, and Sheila M.W. Reddy, The Nature Conservancy's associate director of strategic initiatives, together with Paul Ferraro, Johns Hopkins University professor of business and engineering, are working to design and test new solutions to the identified barriers.

In addition to Ranjan, Prokopy and Reddy, other authors of the Land Use Policy paper include Chloe B. Wardropper of the University of Idaho's Department of Natural Resources and Society, Francis R. Eanes of Bates College's Department of Environmental Studies, and Seth C. Harden and Yuta J. Masuda of The Nature Conservancy.

Prokopy said that while there is no firm evidence the number of NOLs is growing, there is anecdotal evidence that is the case, making it important to better understand the dynamics at work and how they impact conservation decisions.

"When we work with farmers, we don't often find an information deficit when we try to promote conservation practices," she said. "We found that NOLs are a heterogeneous group compared with farmers, and it's not as clear what their information network is. Behaviors cannot change without awareness. If someone isn't aware of something, then nothing else can change. So addressing the information deficit as a first barrier has to happen before we can achieve anything else."

When it comes to financial considerations, a key barrier can be lease agreements, as they represent the link between landowner and farm operator.

"Most leases are one-year duration, but conservation practices can take three to five years to show benefits," Reddy said. "There is a total mismatch between the lease and operators' incentives to invest in the long-term health of the land because their lease is only short term."

Prokopy said that farm managers and others advise such short-term leases so that "landowners can renegotiate rent every year as a way to not be stuck with low rents if commodity prices go up."

And for NOLs, those financial considerations have real consequences that have to be addressed in order to promote conservation.

"For many older landowners, this is a very important source of income," Reddy said. "We are talking about people on a fixed income  they have medical bills, prescription drugs they need to be paying for. These type of financial needs can make it more difficult for a landowner to share the upfront costs of conservation practices with their farm operator."

Ranjan said the paper's authors had several recommendations to address lease barriers, such as encouraging NOLs to be more flexible with lease terms, offering multiyear leases to ease the insecurity felt by operators and incorporating proration into leases to safeguard operators' conservation investments should their lease be terminated.

"From the perspective of developing strategies, most conservation depends on some kind of human behavior," Reddy said. "Conservation science has historically been less focused on human behavior, decisions and social processes, and we are realizing that these are critical parts of our strategies and making conservation work. We really need to leverage social sciences to help us develop better strategies, and that's why work like this is so important."

Explore further Research calls for enhancing long-term benefits of Farm Bill programs

More information: Pranay Ranjan et al. Understanding barriers and opportunities for adoption of conservation practices on rented farmland in the US, Land Use Policy (2018). Pranay Ranjan et al. Understanding barriers and opportunities for adoption of conservation practices on rented farmland in the US,(2018). DOI: 10.1016/j.landusepol.2018.09.039
Credit: CC0 Public Domain

The introduction of the gene editing tool CRISPR in 2007 was a revolution in medical science and cell biology. But even though the potential is great, the launch of CRISPR has been followed by debate about ethical issues and the technology's degree of accuracy and side effects.

However, in a new study published in Cell, researchers from the Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Protein Research have described how Cas12a, one of the CRISPR technologies, works at the molecular level. This makes it possible to fine-tune the gene-editing process to achieve specific desired effects.

"If we compare CRISPR to a car engine, what we have done is make a complete 3-D map of the engine and thus gained an understanding of how it works. This knowledge will enable us to fine-tune the CRISPR engine and make it work in various waysas a Formula 1 racer as well as an off-road truck," says Professor Guillermo Montoya from the Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Protein Research.

Molecular Film

The researchers have used a so-called cryo-electron microscope to map the technology. The recently inaugurated cryoEM facility at the University of Copenhagen has established the state-of-the-art technology enabling the researchers to take photographs of the shapes of the molecule as CRISPR-Cas12a cuts up a DNA strand. They combined it with a fluorescent microscopy technique called single-molecule FRET that directly observes the motions of the molecules and the sequence of events for each individual protein.

Among other things, this sequence of events revealed to the researchers that three pieces of the CRISPR tools must change form to cut the DNA properly.

"Our new study shows the precise series of events in the genome leading to gene editing. These three pieces that change work like airport security checks. You have to complete all checks and in the right order to proceed," says Associate Professor Nikos Hatzakis from the Department of Chemistry and the Nano-Science center.

According to the researchers, their new findings can explain why CRISPR technology often has side effects on the genome. Once the DNA strand has been cut, the three security checks remain open. This can cause the process to last longer than wanted, because the machinery behind gene editing continues to run and can cause genetic changes. However, the researchers expect their new knowledge to put an end to this. They believe it can be used to fine-tune the gene-editing technology right away.

Explore further Two unrelated studies result in discovery of CRISPR-Cas12a inhibitors

More information: Stefano Stella et al, Conformational Activation Promotes CRISPR-Cas12a Catalysis and Resetting of the Endonuclease Activity, Cell (2018). Journal information: Cell Stefano Stella et al, Conformational Activation Promotes CRISPR-Cas12a Catalysis and Resetting of the Endonuclease Activity,(2018). DOI: 10.1016/j.cell.2018.10.045
Sangam Prasain is Business Editor at The Kathmandu Post, covering tourism, agriculture, mountaineering, aviation, infrastructure and other economic affairs. He joined The Kathmandu Post in October 2009.
Fish stocking as a fisheries compensation method in hydropower operations no longer meets latest legal and scientific requirements, according to a new study from the University of Eastern Finland. Published in Water International, the study focuses on ecological flows from the viewpoints of law and biology.

Intensive history of fish stockings in Finland

After the World Wars, the vast majority of Finnish rivers were harnessed for hydropower operations. Initially, the Finnish legislation included an obligation to build fishways as a method to compensate for hydropower harm to fisheries. However, fish farming rapidly replaced fishways as the primary compensatory action. Initially, fish stockings were ahead of their time and among the first examples of ecological compensation measures set for the industries. In the early days of their use, they also produced good catches in both commercial and recreational fisheries.

However, research has since shown that fish stocking cannot permanently replace the natural reproductive cycles of migratory fish. Prior to the industrial revolution, Finland boasted 25 Atlantic salmon, 72 anadromous brown trout and dozens of inland rivers with landlocked salmonids. Yet currently, the number of Finnish rivers sustaining natural reproduction of salmon has been reduced to four, and only small and rare populations of wild migratory brown trout, migratory whitefish and migratory grayling have survived.

Towards ecosystem-level compensation

"New genetic studies have shown that fish farming alters the genetic traits of farmed fish. As fish adapt to the farm environment, their genetic traits change and they no longer survive in the wild as well as they used to," says Professor of Evolutionary Aquatic Biology Anssi Vainikka from the University of Eastern Finland.

Genetic differentiation has been observed even among salmonid populations living in different branches of the same river. This genetic diversity, which is essential for, e.g., adaptation to climate change, cannot be maintained in fish farming.

The study concludes that the harm caused by hydropower operations cannot be compensated sustainably without the natural reproduction of fish. Furthermore, in the future, the harm caused by hydropower operations should be compensated with the entire aquatic ecosystem in mind, not just fish.

"The problems of migratory fish in Finland are not limited to large coastal rivers. For instance, populations of salmonids and migratory whitefish living in our inland watersheds are in desperate need of new reproduction areas and migratory routes," Senior Researcher of Fish Biology Hannu Huuskonen from the University of Eastern Finland explains.

Legal adjustments?

According to Senior Researcher of Environmental Law and Jurisprudence Niko Soininen from the University of Eastern Finland, legislation should be better equipped to respond to the need to revive populations of migratory fish, as well as to the good water status objectives of water management in general.

"At present, the greatest legal pressures come from the EU Water Framework Directive, which requires that EU member states reach good ecological status in all inland waters. The vitality of migratory fish populations is used as one of the indicators of this status. The EU's guidance documentation emphasises the key role of sufficient ecological flows and migratory pathways in reaching good ecological status," Professor of Environmental Law Antti Belinskij from the University of Eastern Finland says.

The Finnish Water Act allows for the amendment of old fisheries compensation obligations. However, if the original hydropower permit does not include a compensation obligation, it is not possible to include one later.

Furthermore, the role of the water status objectives and their impact on the amendment of existing permits is unclear in the Finnish water legislation. In accordance with the current Water Act of Finland, existing permits are permanent and this is often interpreted as an obstacle to amending them.

Way forward

According to Professor Vainikka, the window for making such amendments is closing. Recent comparative studies on trout populations have shown that, against earlier knowledge, their migratory behaviour is under genetic influence. If migratory trout populations lose too many of their original wild qualities under hatchery breeding, they cannot be saved even by crossing them with the last remaining wild trout populations, as they are lacking the crucial migration genes.

Moreover, research suggests that the downwards trend in the success of fish stocking outcomes is not likely to turn to positive in the foreseeable future. The only sustainable way to compensate for the harm caused by hydropower operations is to safeguard the natural living conditions of wild fish populations. This is justified also from the legal perspective.

Explore further Heritable variation discovered in trout behaviour

More information: Niko Soininen et al. Bringing back ecological flows: migratory fish, hydropower and legal maladaptivity in the governance of Finnish rivers, Water International (2018). Niko Soininen et al. Bringing back ecological flows: migratory fish, hydropower and legal maladaptivity in the governance of Finnish rivers,(2018). DOI: 10.1080/02508060.2019.1542260
'Learning' situation: two 'observer' females watch a green male copulating with a 'demonstrator' female, as a pink male is rejected. Credit: David Duneau/Science

Researchers from the CNRS and Universite Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (UT3) report that fruit flies possess the cognitive capacity to culturally transmit their sexual preferences across generations. The study, published on November 30, 2018 in Science, provides the first experimental toolbox for studying the existence of animal cultures, thereby opening up an entire field of research.

While the cultural process is often thought of as unique to humans, the existence of persistent behavioral variation that cannot be ascribed to genetic or ecological variation in primates or birds strongly suggests the possible existence of cultural transmission within certain vertebrate species. For the first time, researchers from the Evolution et Diversite Biologique (CNRS/UT3/IRD) laboratory of the Centre de Recherches sur la Cognition Animale (CNRS/UT3), along with their international collaborators, have demonstrated that all of the mechanisms required for cultural transmission actually exist in the fruit fly.

Drosophila, commonly called fruit flies, are known for their capacity to learn and copy the sexual preferences of their conspecifics after observing them copulating. But can this transmission be considered as "cultural?" In order to find out, the researchers tested the five criteria that must be met in order for a behavioral pattern to be deemed culturally transmitted: (1) the behavior must be learned socially by observing conspecifics, (2) be copied from older individuals, (3) be memorized over the long term, (4) involve characteristics of individuals, such as their color, rather than the individuals themselves; and (5) be conformist, which is to say that the individuals learn the most common behavior in the population. Against all expectations, the team revealed that the learning of sexual preferences among fruit flies meets all five criteria.

Computer simulations also showed that these characteristics could actually lead to the emergence of long-lasting cultural traditions along transmission chains, in which the observers from one transmission step become the demonstrators for the ensuing transmission step. The authors finally compared these simulations with experimental transmission chains, and observed a perfect match between model predictions and experimental results. In addition, the researchers demonstrated the key role of conformism in fostering long-lasting local traditions.

Fruit flies thus have all of the social learning capacities that to lead to the emergence of long-lasting cultural traditions. These results considerably widen the taxonomical range of the cultural process, and suggest that contrary to widely held belief, cultural heredity could affect the evolution of a very large number of animal species well beyond a few vertebrates with high cognitive capacities, such as primates and birds.

Explore further Fruit fly species can learn each other's dialects

More information: E. Danchin el al., "Cultural flies: Conformist social learning in fruit flies predicts long-lasting mate-choice traditions," Science (2018). Journal information: Science E. Danchin el al., "Cultural flies: Conformist social learning in fruit flies predicts long-lasting mate-choice traditions,"(2018). science.sciencemag.org/cgi/doi  1126/science.aat1590
Jason Gleghorn, assistant professor of biomedical engineering. Credit: University of Delaware

When someone has a deadly disease or sustains a life-threatening injury, a transplant or graft of new tissue may be the bestor onlytreatment option. Transplanted organs, skin grafts and other parts need blood vessels to bring oxygen-rich blood their way, but for tissue engineers and regenerative medicine experts, making a functional blood vessel network within large tissues in the laboratory has long been a major challenge.

Now, a research group at the University of Delaware has pioneered methods to grow a self-assembling, functional network of blood vessels at a size relevant for human use. Jason Gleghorn and his colleagues are the first to make this system work at this scale, and their results were recently published in the journal Biomaterials.

Gleghorn, an assistant professor of biomedical engineering at the University of Delaware, studies how the embryo builds tissues and organs during development with the goal of using this knowledge to define new regenerative medicine strategies. While other groups have made blood vessel networks that span millimeters in size, the UD system works across centimeter scales, necessary for functional tissue replacement. With more development and refinement, Gleghorn's microfluidic system could someday be utilized to grow blood vessels for tissue and organ transplantation into humans.

How to build blood vessel networks

The team embedded human blood vessel cells into a gel made of collagen, a protein found in connective tissue such as skin and joints. The goal was to determine the physical conditions necessary to make the cells grow, multiply and connect with each other so that a network of blood vessels assembled itself.

Making blood vessel networks is tricky business because the system doesn't always behave how investigators expect. During his doctoral training, Gleghorn was part of the first team that developed techniques to create patterned blood vessel networks for tissue engineering using microfluidic techniques.

"As an engineer, we can say we think the cells need to be this far apart or the vessels need to be a certain size and spacing," Gleghorn said. "We can create a very precise environment and structure for the cells, but the problem is that biology doesn't work that way. The cells remodel everything. They change shape and size and push and pull on each other and the materials they are embedded in to rearrange our 'perfect' home that we think they need. The reality is we need to design systems that will encourage cells to remodel themselves and their environment to generate a functional tissue."

Instead, Gleghorn's group asked: "What is the fundamental initial starting point of the system that we need, and then can we kick it in the right direction to get it to evolve and build its own architecture similar to the way your body does it during development?" he said.

For one, using a powerful confocal microscope at the Delaware Biotechnology Institute, the group found that the density, or stiffness, of the collagen gel affected how the cells suspended within it behaved, ultimately affecting the size and connectivity of the vessels.

"It looks kind of like the holiday dessert with fruit suspended in Jell-O," said Gleghorn of the cells in the collagen gel. "You have a bunch of cells randomly distributed throughout the volume of the gel, and if they are sparsely distributed, it gets very hard for them to talk to each other and form connections to form vessels. The languages they use are chemical signals and physical forces." The key is to find the sweet spot of stiffness, stiff enough so that neighboring cells can interact with the material and each other, but not so stiff that the cells can't move.

The team also found that by perturbing their system in a specific way, they could affect the size and shape of the vessel networks under assembly.

"From larger vessels to much smaller microvessels, which are really hard to make, we can now tune the vessel network architecture with the initial starting parameters," said Gleghorn. This means that the new system could have applications from forming larger vessels deep within the body to tiny capillaries, the teeny vessels in your fingertips.

Gleghorn's team also found that their lab-grown blood vessels were perfusable, suggesting that blood could flow through them without leaking out of the vessels into surrounding gel. The vessel networks can also form throughout a variety of shaped gels, meaning that this system could be useful for building blood vessel networks in tissues with complicated shapes, such as the meniscus cartilage that pads your knees or a large skin graft for burn patients.

In addition to Gleghorn, authors on the new paper include Joshua Morgan, a former postdoctoral scholar at UD who is now an assistant professor at the University of California, Riverside; Jasmine Shirazi, a graduate student in biomedical engineering; Erica Comber, a former undergraduate research assistant who earned an honors degree in biomedical engineering from UD in 2017 and is now pursuing a doctoral degree at Carnegie Mellon University; and Christian Eschenburg, head of R&D at Orthopedic Technology Services GmbH active in Germany, who did research in Gleghorn's lab as part of the Fraunhofer-UD graduate student exchange program. This work was supported in part by grants from the National Institutes of Health, National Science Foundation, University of Delaware Research Foundation, the Oak Ridge Associated Universities Ralph E. Power Junior Faculty Enhancement Award and the March of Dimes Basil O'Connor Award.

Now, Gleghorn's group is learning even more about how blood vessel networks form so that they can refine their system. With Babatunde Ogunnaike, the William L. Friend Chair of Chemical Engineering, Gleghorn is mapping out mathematical formulas to describe how blood vessels form and remodel in developing chicken embryos in the egg. "Then we plan to take the math and systems engineering and couple it with the biologythe molecules and the signaling pathwaysthat we know, and apply it to these 3-D tissue-engineered models to make more complex hierarchical blood vessel networks" said Gleghorn. That project is supported by an award from the University of Delaware Research Foundation.

Explore further The vessel not taken: Understanding disproportionate blood flow

More information: Joshua T. Morgan et al. Fabrication of centimeter-scale and geometrically arbitrary vascular networks using in vitro self-assembly, Biomaterials (2018). Journal information: Biomaterials Joshua T. Morgan et al. Fabrication of centimeter-scale and geometrically arbitrary vascular networks using in vitro self-assembly,(2018). DOI: 10.1016/j.biomaterials.2018.10.021
Photos shows the long-term drought experiment in the Netherlands from where the soils were sampled. A rain curtain has excluded precipitation from entering the soil during the summer for 18 years, simulating the drought. (Photo: Evy de Nijs

Researchers at Lund University in Sweden, in collaboration with colleagues from the University of Amsterdam, examined how 18 years of drought affect the billions of vital bacteria that are hidden in the soil beneath our feet. The results show that this type of extreme weather determines how soils respond to future climate change.

According to the study, microorganisms that have been subjected to long-term drought find it easier than other microbes to recover when moisture in the soil increases again.

"Our results show that the historical climate will affect how microorganisms respond and contribute to climate change in the future. Bacteria adapted to drought could slow the rate of carbon loss from soils," explains Lettice Hicks, biologist at Lund University.

In the study, she and her colleagues examined soil that had been subjected to long-term drought  in this case 18 years of experimental summer drought. The aim was to study how the microorganisms cope and how they recover.

When the soil is moist, the bacteria are active, breaking down organic material. This process provides essential nutrients for plants, and, while a proportion of the carbon from organic matter is stored in the soil as bacterial tissue, some is released into the air as carbon dioxide.

Photos shows the long-term drought experiment in the Netherlands from where the soils were sampled. A rain curtain has excluded precipitation from entering the soil during the summer for 18 years, simulating the drought. (Photo: Evy de Nijs

During drought, however, the bacteria stop growing and no longer perform their important task in the ecosystem. When rain eventually falls and the soil regains moisture, the bacteria begin to work again. The result is an immediate increase in emissions of carbon dioxide into the air, but as the bacteria recover very quickly, the fraction of carbon released from the soil decreases.

"The carbon balance is affected, as the growth of bacteria keeps carbon in the soil. These findings suggest that microbial communities can adapt to changing climatic conditions, and this might slow the rate of carbon loss from soils," concludes Lettice Hicks.

Explore further Tibetan soil enrichment with nitrogen and phosphorus leads to carbon loss

More information: Evy A. de Nijs et al. Soil microbial moisture dependences and responses to drying-rewetting: the legacy of 18 years drought, Global Change Biology (2018). Journal information: Global Change Biology Evy A. de Nijs et al. Soil microbial moisture dependences and responses to drying-rewetting: the legacy of 18 years drought,(2018). DOI: 10.1111/gcb.14508
This figure shows the frequency of participation in online media channels by IAU astronomers. The percentages of respondents who use each channel at each indicated level of frequency are shown. Credit: Nature/M. Entradas (LSE, ISCTE-IUL)

Because of the ubiquitous nature of its questions and the stunning insights into the nature of the Universe, astronomy has often been thought of as appealing and the natural science with the most far-reaching popularisation efforts. A recently published study of the outreach activities of IAU members, Bustling public communication by astronomers around the world driven by personal and contextual factors, has shown that professional astronomers may be engaging with the public more than scientists in any other field.

The study, which was conducted by surveying a record-breaking 2587 professional astronomers of the IAU in early 2016, found that as many as 87% participated in scientific outreach activities, both by taking part in events and engaging with representatives of the media. Those astronomers who participated in outreach activities reported an average of 18 activities in the preceding year.

The leader of the study, Marta Entradas (London School of Economics and Political Science & ISCTE-IUL) explains: "What surprised me most about this study was the high activity found among astronomers working in less developed regions, which in some cases may exceed the activity of those working in Europe or in the US."

The vast majority of astronomers prefer to interact with the public in traditional ways, through lectures and school talks, and fewer than 20% use social media and digital platforms for outreach activities. Most engagements with news reporters are conducted by senior astronomers, while junior scientists prefer face-to-face interactions, and they are motivated??above all else??intrinsically. "We have a passion for our science and we feel it is our duty to share it widely," explains Teresa Lago, the IAU General Secretary. "We feel privileged to work in astronomy and want to share the excitement as our knowledge of the Universe unfolds."

Despite Europe and North America having larger communities and older traditions of astronomical research and public engagement, as well as the easier access to funding, the most active publicly communicating astronomers come from South America and Africa, the homes of many outstanding telescopes. Their efforts have been thoughtfully supported by the IAU Office for Astronomy Development, which awards funding to socially aware projects for the public communication of astronomy.

The outreach activities in which IAU astronomers participate tend to be self-organised. Despite 86% of astronomers being in contact with communication experts at their institutions, only 43% of those decide to use the available outreach structures, the rest preferring instead to organise their own activities.

Marta Entradas concludes: "Even though a large number of IAU astronomers do not receive (or look for) any outreach training or funding, their impact on the popularisation of astronomy is immense and does not depend on external factors such as their gender, potential rewards or fear of peer criticism??all that matters is intrinsic: their love of astronomy. I believe that other sciences can learn something from this community."

Explore further Scientists face barriers to engaging with public, but still participate in outreach

More information: Marta Entradas et al, Bustling public communication by astronomers around the world driven by personal and contextual factors, Nature Astronomy (2018). Journal information: Nature , Nature Astronomy Marta Entradas et al, Bustling public communication by astronomers around the world driven by personal and contextual factors,(2018). DOI: 10.1038/s41550-018-0633-7

Provided by International Astronomical Union
Edehzhie is located in the Dehcho region of the Northwest Territories. It is the first Indigenous protected area designated in Canada. Credit: Government of Northwest Territories

The Horn Plateau, with its myriad of lakes, rivers and wetlands, has been a spiritual home for local Dehcho Dene peoples for millennia. In October, the Dehcho First Nations Assembly designated these lands and waters, called Edehzhie (eh-day-shae), as an Indigenous protected area (IPA), designed and managed or co-managed by Indigenous communities.

Edehzhie is a plateau that rises out of the Mackenzie Valley to the west of Great Slave Lake, in the southwestern part of the Northwest Territories. It covers 14,218 square kilometres. It is more than twice the size of Banff National Park.

I have worked in this region for a number of years, collaborating with communities on Indigenous food security programs. Elders have often referred to the significance of the Horn Plateau as a critical food harvesting location that has sustained communities for many generations.

As local communities encounter an ever-growing number of barriers to food security, including climate change and mounting costs of food production and shipping, it is increasingly clear that these lands must be protected from development.

The significance of Edehzhie

Edehzhie is important to the Dehcho Dene culture, language and ways of life. By forming Edehzhie as an IPA, the management board, consisting of representatives from the Dehcho First Nations and Environment and Climate Change Canada, will make its decisions by consensus, and encourage Indigenous harvesting rights.

The Horn Plateau is a unique ecosystem that provides habitat for diverse wildlife, including a number of threatened species such as the boreal woodland caribou and wood bison.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau included a $1.3-billion nature fund in the 2018 federal budget. It called for partnerships with corporate, not-for-profit, provincial and territorial partners. Edehzhie is the first IPA announced, and it will make a contribution to Canada's international commitment to protecting 17 per cent of land and fresh water by 2020. It will also support Indigenous capacity to lead these processes to conserve land and the species that rely on it.

The Edehzhie Protected Area will encourage Dehcho Dene presence on the land. Credit: Government of Northwest Territories

Canada has 77 different designations for its parks and protected areas. This complexity can lead to serious complications over land-use management decisions and the stakeholders invested in them. Co-management structures, where Indigenous and Crown governments partner to jointly share in the decision-making, only represent three per cent of our protected areas.

IPAs have been presented as a way forward for communities and conservation, but what are the risks and possibilities?

Lessons from Banff and the Canadian Rockies

A Dene Elder once emphasized to me that before we look forward, we need to understand where we came from.

For many Indigenous communities across the country, the histories of parks and protected areas are filled with experiences of displacement and cultural loss.

Canada's first protected area, Banff National Park, plays a central role in the Canadian imaginary of what parks should represent: beauty, wilderness and conservation. This romantic view of Banff erases the traumatic legacies around the formation of the park.

Since 2004, I have been working with the Nakoda First Nation in Alberta to understand the impacts of the creation of Banff National Park on their communities. For much of that time, I recorded their struggles of being displaced from their traditional territories, beginning in 1885, and then being denied access throughout the first few decades of the 20th century.

This displacement and denied access was facilitated by park management and supported by the police, missionaries, government officials and tourism entrepreneurs. They were motivated by two objectives: to ensure that Nakoda subsistence practices of hunting, fishing and gathering did not interfere with growing tourism economies, and that Nakoda community members remained on reserves to be exposed to assimilatory institutions like the church and residential schools.

The Edehzhie region became a protected area under Dehcho law at the 2018 annual assembly. Henry Sabourin of Deh Gah Gotie First Nation in Fort Providence (centre) is an Elder and traditional knowledge holder, and has spent time in Edehzhie. Credit: Amos Scott

Similar to many Indigenous communities across the nation, Nakoda peoples are still healing from the separation from their sacred territories and the cultural repression they endured.

Despite these histories, change is possible, even in Banff.

The Nakoda have slowly, but insistently, increased their presence in the park. They began to return to sacred locations in 2001, gained plant and medicinal harvesting rights in 2004, became involved with elk culls in 2007, and the monitoring of grizzly bears in 2012. They led the Buffalo Treaty in 2015, which enabled new conservation partnerships around the reintroduction of bison to the park in 2017.

Indigenous models of conservation and stewardship

For the Dehcho First Nation, central to establishing Edehzhie was the expansion of Dehcho K'ehodiDehcho K'ehodi, a stewardship program where Dene guardians are responsible for many aspects of monitoring and management.

European-based conceptualizations of parks do not consider humans to be a fundamental part of a healthy ecosystem. It is time to rethink this approach.

Indigenous communities globally have millennia of experience with sustainable land use. IPAs are a step in the right direction precisely because Indigenous wildlife management and conservation practices are more holistic, inclusive of humans and their knowledge.

In British Columbia, after a landmark Supreme Court of Canada ruling found the Tsilhqot'in (Chil-co-tin) peoples have title to traditional territories, Dasiqox Tribal Park was established in 2017.

Wild bison return to Banff National Park. Credit: Parks Canada

This new designation of park covers 3,120 sq. km. It protects the cultural and ecological values of the Tsilhqot'in as it asserts land rights on the basis of Indigenous law. This provides an alternative model of governance and land management.

Further afield, the Maori, the Indigenous peoples of New Zealand (Aotearoa), also offer leading developments on environmental protection through IPAs.

There, the federal government returned Te Urewera, a former national park, to the Tuhoe peoples in 2014. This park then became its own legal entity, where Tuhoe are the only decision makers. In 2017, the Whanganui River became the second natural resource in New Zealand to attain a legal identity, with the rights, duties and liabilities of a person.

Achieving personhood status has added numerous layers of legislative protection. Tongariro and Egmont National Parks in New Zealand are following this legal precedent by pursuing personhood status for key ecological features.

What is the future of conservation and IPAs?

Providing personhood status to parks may seem like a stretch, but it's not. In the United States, corporations are granted personhood status to protect their bottom line. I would suggest that New Zealanders, led by Maori leaders, have their priorities straight. Maybe someday Canadians can learn by these examples and follow suit.

Learning from diverse Indigenous approaches to conservation is valuable, however, taking responsibility for repressive colonial policies is vital.

Histories of displacement in parks are directly linked to the contemporary issues faced by many Indigenous communities across the country, including gross health inequalities and disproportionate levels of food insecurity. There is a need to acknowledge how these colonial histories have impacted land-use management decisions and become a barrier to conservation.

IPAs can help Indigenous and non-Indigenous people in Canada foster alliances and navigate political corridors together for the betterment of both ecosystems and local peoples. In my mind, IPAs can be a fundamental part of the process to reconcile the past and welcome the next generation of conservation.

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
Indonesia is the world's second biggest contributor to marine debris after China

Residents on a string of coral-fringed islands off Jakarta's coast are battling a tidal wave of trash, with more than 40 tons of rubbish collected daily over the past week, an official said.

Indonesian authorities have deployed an army of staff and a fleet of boats to help clear rubbish-infested shorelines and surrounding waters, underscoring the Southeast Asian archipelago's mammoth marine waste problem.

It is the world's second biggest contributor to marine debris after China, producing about 1.29 million metric tons annually.

This week's clean-up operation is centred on an area known as the Thousand Islands, a popular day trip from the traffic-clogged capital.

Residents of one island have reported dead turtles in the area, although Yusen Hardiman, head of the region's environment department, said it was not yet clear if it was a result of ingesting rubbish.

A sperm whale was found dead last week in a marine park off Sulawesi island with 115 plastic cups and 25 plastic bags in its stomach.

Indonesia's marine waste problem has become so bad that officials last year declared a "garbage emergency" after a stretch of coast in Bali was swamped with rubbish.

Some 264 sanitation officers are involved in the ongoing clean-up of the Thousand Islands, while 13 boats regularly patrol trash-choked areas of the archipelago with another 10 set to be added to the fleet next year.

Most of the rubbish clogging the chain of islands is from elsewhere, flushed into the ocean by bulging rivers or swirling currents during the monsoon season, Hardiman said in a statement late Thursday.

Indonesia, an archipelago of more than 17,000 islands, has pledged to reduce marine plastic waste by 70 percent by 2025.

But poor waste-processing infrastructure and low awareness among its 260 million inhabitants prove major obstacles.

Explore further Diver films rubbish wasteland in Bali waters

 2018 AFP
Extracting gas from new sources is vital in order to supplement dwindling conventional supplies. Shale reservoirs host gas trapped in the pores of mudstone, which consists of a mixture of silt mineral particles ranging from 4 to 60 microns in size, and clay elements smaller than 4 microns. Surprisingly, the oil and gas industry still lacks a firm understanding of how the pore space and geological factors affect gas storage and its ability to flow in the shale.

In a study published in EPJ E, Natalia Kovalchuk and Constantinos Hadjistassou from the University of Nicosia, Cyprus, review the current state of knowledge regarding flow processes occurring at scales ranging from the nano- to the microscopic during shale gas extraction. This knowledge can help to improve gas recovery and lower shale gas production costs.

Extracting gas from shale has become a popular method in North America and has attracted growing interest in South America and Asia, despite some public opposition. Unlike conventional reservoirs, the pore structures of shale gas reservoirs range from the nanometric to microscopic scale; most natural gas reservoirs display microscopic or larger scale pores.

In this paper, the authors outline the latest insights into how the pore distribution and geometry of the shale matrix affect the mechanics of the gas transport process during extraction. In turn, they present a model based on a microscopic image obtained via scanning electron microscopy to determine how gas pressure and gas speed vary throughout the shale. The model is in agreement with experimental evidence.

The authors reveal that the orientation, density and magnitude of rock bottlenecks can affect the volume and flow in gas production, due to their impact on the distribution of pressure throughout the reservoir. The findings of their numerical simulation match available theoretical evidence.

Explore further How fluids flow through shale

More information: Natalia Kovalchuk et al, New insights from shale gas production at the microscopic scale, The European Physical Journal E (2018). Journal information: European Physical Journal E Natalia Kovalchuk et al, New insights from shale gas production at the microscopic scale,(2018). DOI: 10.1140/epje/i2018-11741-5
This illustration shows terrestrial water storage changes in global endorheic basins from GRACE satellite observations, April 2002 to March 2016. In the top image, terrestrial water storage trends -- in millimeters of equivalent water thickness per year -- for each endorheic unit are highlighted, followed by animated monthly terrestrial water storage anomalies, also in millimeters. The bottom image shows monthly net terrestrial water storage anomalies in gigatonnes, in global endorheic and exorheic systems -- excluding Greenland, Antarctica and the oceans -- and linkage to the El Nino-Southern Oscillation, right axis. Terrestrial water storage anomalies are relative to the time-mean baseline in each unit or system, with removal of seasonality. For comparison, 360 gigatonnes of terrestrial water storage equals 1 millimeter of sea level equivalent. Courtesy of Jida Wang. Credit: Kansas State University

Along with a warming climate and intensified human activities, recent water storage in global landlocked basins has undergone a widespread decline. A new study reveals this decline has aggravated local water stress and caused potential sea level rise.

The study, "Recent Global Decline in Endorheic Basin Water Storage," was carried out by a team of scientists from six countries and appears in the current issue of Nature Geoscience.

"Water resources are extremely limited in the continental hinterlands where streamflow does not reach the ocean. Scientifically, these regions are called endorheic basins," said Jida Wang, a Kansas State University geographer and the study's lead author.

"Over the past few decades, we have seen increasing evidence of perturbations to the endorheic water balance," said Wang, an assistant professor of geography. "This includes, for example, the desiccating Aral Sea, the depleting Arabian aquifer and the retreating Eurasian glaciers. This evidence motivated us to ask: Is the total water storage across the global endorheic system, about one-fifth of the continental surface, undergoing a net decline?"

Using gravity observations from NASA/German Aerospace Center's Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment, or GRACE, satellites, Wang and his colleagues quantified a net water loss in global endorheic basins of approximately 100 billion tons of water per year since the start of the current millennium. This means a water mass equivalent to five Great Salt Lakes or three Lake Meads is gone every year from the arid endorheic regions.

Surprisingly, this amount of endorheic water loss is double the rate of concurrent water changes across the remaining landmass except Greenland and Antarctica, Wang said. Opposite to endorheic basins, the remaining regions are exorheic, meaning streamflow originating from these basins drains to the ocean. Exorheic basins account for most of the continental surface and are home to many of the world's greatest rivers, such as the Nile, Amazon, Yangtze and Mississippi.

Wang noted that the signature of water storage changes in exorheic basins resembles some prominent oscillations of the climate system, such as El Nino and La Nina in multiyear cycles. However, the water loss in endorheic basins appears less responsive to such short-term natural variability. This contrast may suggest a profound impact of longer-term climate conditions and direct human water management, such as river diversion, damming and groundwater withdrawal, on the water balance in the dry hinterlands.

This endorheic water loss has dual ramifications, according to the researchers. Not only does it aggravate water stress in the arid endorheic regions, but it could also contribute to a significant factor of global environmental concern: sea level rise. Sea level rise is a result of two main causes: thermal expansion of sea water as a result of increased global temperature, and additional water mass to the ocean.

"The hydrosphere is mass conserved," said Chunqiao Song, researcher with the Nanjing Institute of Geography and Limnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, and a co-lead author of the study. "When water storage in endorheic basins is in deficit, the reduced water mass doesn't disappear. It was reallocated chiefly through vapor flux to the exorheic system. Once this water is no longer landlocked, it has the potential to affect the sea level budget."

This animation shows terrestrial water storage changes in global endorheic basins from GRACE satellite observations, April 2002 to March 2016. In the top image, terrestrial water storage trends  in millimeters of equivalent water thickness per year  for each endorheic unit are highlighted, followed by animated monthly terrestrial water storage anomalies, also in millimeters. The bottom image shows monthly net terrestrial water storage anomalies in gigatonnes, in global endorheic and exorheic systems  excluding Greenland, Antarctica and the oceans  and linkage to the El Nino-Southern Oscillation, right axis. Terrestrial water storage anomalies are relative to the time-mean baseline in each unit or system, with removal of seasonality. For comparison, 360 gigatonnes of terrestrial water storage equals 1 millimeter of sea level equivalent. Courtesy of Jida Wang.

Despite an observation period of 14 years, the endorheic water loss equals an additional sea level rise of 4 millimeters, the study found. The researchers said this impact is nontrivial. It accounts for approximately 10 percent of the observed sea level rise during the same period; compares to nearly half of the concurrent loss in mountain glaciers, excluding Greenland and Antarctica; and matches the entire contribution of global groundwater consumption.

"We are not saying the recent endorheic water loss has completely ended up in the ocean," said Yoshihide Wada, deputy director of the water program at the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis in Austria and a co-author of the study. "Instead, we are showing a perspective of how substantial the recent endorheic water loss has been. If it persists, such as beyond the decadal timescale, the water surplus added to the exorheic system may signify an important source of sea level rise."

By synergizing multi-mission satellite observations and hydrological modeling, Wang and his colleagues attributed this global endorheic water loss to comparable contributions from the surfacesuch as lakes, reservoirs and glaciersas well as soil moisture and aquifers.

"Such comparable losses are, however, an aggregation of distinct regional variations," Wang said. "In endorheic Central Eurasia, for instance, about half of the water loss came from the surface, particularly large terminal lakes such as the Aral Sea, the Caspian Sea and Lake Urmia, and retreating glaciers in High Mountain Asia."

While glacial retreat was a response to warming temperature, water losses in the terminal lakes were a combined result of meteorological droughts and long-term water diversions from the feeding rivers.

The net water loss in endorheic Sahara and Arabia, on the other hand, was dominated by unsustainable groundwater withdrawal, according to the researchers. In endorheic North America, including the Great Basin of the U.S., a drought-induced soil moisture loss was likely responsible for most of the regional water loss. Despite a lesser extent, the surface water loss in the Great Salt Lake and the Salton Sea was at a substantial rate of 300 million tons per year, which was partially induced by mineral mining and diversion-based irrigation.

"The water losses from the world's endorheic basins are yet another example of how climate change is further drying the already dry arid and semi-arid regions of the globe. Meanwhile, human activities such as groundwater depletion are significantly accelerating this drying," said Jay Famiglietti, director of the Global Institute of Water Security, Canada 150 research chair in hydrology and remote sensing at the University of Saskatchewan, Canada and co-author of the study.

Wang said the team wants to convey three takeaway messages from their research.

"First, water storage in the endorheic system, albeit limited in total mass, can dominate the water storage trend in the entire land surface during at least decadal timescales," Wang said. "Second, the recent endorheic water loss is less sensitive to natural variability of the climate system, suggesting a possible response to longer-term climate conditions and human water management.

"Third, such a water loss in the endorheic system has dual ramifications, both to regional water sustainability and to global sea level rise," he said. "These messages highlight the underrated importance of endorheic basins in the water cycle and the need for an improved understanding of water storage changes in the global hinterlands."

Explore further Discrepancies between satellite and global model estimates of land water storage

More information: Jida Wang et al. Recent global decline in endorheic basin water storages, Nature Geoscience (2018). Journal information: Nature Geoscience Jida Wang et al. Recent global decline in endorheic basin water storages,(2018). DOI: 10.1038/s41561-018-0265-7
Exponential decay of the ISF and the a-relaxation time ta for liquid Ge1Sb2Te4 above Tm. (A) The decay of the ISF S(q,t) of liquid Ge1Sb2Te4 at the structure factor first maximum q0 = 2.0 A1 measured at temperatures above Tm = 903 K. The data, typical of high-fluidity systems, are best fitted by simple exponential functions (solid lines), each yielding a single relaxation time ta (see the main text for details). Note that at a very short time (<0.65 ps), the data points correspond to phonons and fast processes that are not explicitly taken into account in the fitting. This is consistent with the analysis of the dynamic structure factor S(q,w) in the energy transfer (w) domain (see fig. S1), where S(q,w) is best described by a single Lorentzian form. (B) Arrhenius plot for the a-relaxation time ta above Tm. Credit: Science Advances (2018). http://advances.sciencemag.org/content/4/11/eaat8632

A team of scientists from Arizona State University's School of Molecular Sciences and Germany have published in Science Advances online today an explanation of how a particular phase-change memory (PCM) material can work one thousand times faster than current flash computer memory, while being significantly more durable with respect to the number of daily read-writes.

PCMs are a form of computer random-access memory (RAM) that store data by altering the state of the matter of the "bits", (millions of which make up the device) between liquid, glass and crystal states. PCM technology has the potential to provide inexpensive, high-speed, high-density, high-volume, nonvolatile storage on an unprecedented scale.

The basic idea and material were invented by Stanford Ovshinsky, long ago, in1975, but applications have lingered due to lack of clarity about how the material can execute the phase changes on such short time scales and technical problems related to controlling the changes with necessary precision. Now high tech companies like Samsung, IBM and Intel are racing to perfect it.

The semi-metallic material under current study is an alloy of germanium, antimony and tellurium in the ratio of 1:2:4. In this work the team probes the microscopic dynamics in the liquid state of this PCM using quasi-elastic neutron scattering (QENS) for clues as to what might make the phase changes so sharp and reproducible.

On command, the structure of each microscopic bit of this PCM material can be made to change from glass to crystal or from crystal back to glass (through the liquid intermediate) on the time scale of a thousandth of a millionth of a second just by a controlled heat or light pulse, the former now being preferred. In the amorphous or disordered phase, the material has high electrical resistance, the "off" state; in the crystalline or ordered phase, its resistance is reduced 1000 fold or more to give the "on" state.

These elements are arranged in two dimensional layers between activating electrodes, which can be stacked to give a three dimension array with particularly high active site density making it possible for the PCM device to function many times faster than conventional flash memory, while using less power.

"The amorphous phases of this kind of material can be regarded as "semi-metallic glasses"," explains Shuai Wei, who at the time was conducting postdoctoral research in SMS Regents' Professor Austen Angell's lab, as a Humboldt Foundation Fellowship recipient.

"Contrary to the strategy in the research field of "metallic glasses", where people have made efforts for decades to slow down the crystallization in order to obtain the bulk glass, here we want those semi-metallic glasses to crystallize as fast as possible in the liquid, but to stay as stable as possible when in the glass state. I think now we have a promising new understanding of how this is achieved in the PCMs under study."

A Deviation from the expected

Over a century ago, Einstein wrote in his Ph.D. thesis that the diffusion of particles undergoing Brownian motion could be understood if the frictional force retarding the motion of a particle was that derived by Stokes for a round ball falling through a jar of honey. The simple equation: D (diffusivity) = kBT/6??r where T is the temperature, ? is the viscosity and r is the particle radius, implies that the product D?/T should be constant as T changes, and the surprising thing is that this seems to be true not only for Brownian motion, but also for simple molecular liquids whose molecular motion is known to be anything but that of a ball falling through honey!

"We don't have any good explanation of why it works so well, even in the highly viscous supercooled state of molecular liquids until approaching the glass transition temperature, but we do know that there are a few interesting liquids in which it fails badly even above the melting point," observes Angell.

"One of them is liquid tellurium, a key element of the PCM materials. Another is water which is famous for its anomalies, and a third is germanium, a second of the three elements of the GST type of PCM. Now we are adding a fourth, the GST liquid itself..!!! thanks to the neutron scattering studies proposed and executed by Shuai Wei and his German colleagues, Zach Evenson (Technical University of Munich, Germany) and Moritz Stolpe (Saarland University, Germany) on samples prepared by Shuai with the help of Pierre Lucas (University of Arizona)."

Another feature in common for this small group of liquids is the existence of a maximum in liquid density which is famous for the case of water. A density maximum closely followed, during cooling, by a metal-to semiconductor transition is also seen in the stable liquid state of arsenic telluride, (As2Te3), which is first cousin to the antimony telluride (Sb2Te3 ) component of the PCMs all of which lie on the "Ovshinsky" line connecting antimony telluride (Sb2Te3 ) to germanium telluride (GeTe) in the three component phase diagram. Can it be that the underlying physics of these liquids has a common basis?

It is the suggestion of Wei and coauthors that when germanium, antimony and tellurium are mixed together in the ratio of 1:2:4, (or others along Ovshinsky's "magic" line) both the density maxima and the associated metal to non-metal transitions are pushed below the melting point and, concomitantly, the transition becomes much sharper than in other chalcogenide mixtures.

Then, as in the much-studied case of supercooled water, the fluctuations associated with the response function extrema should give rise to extremely rapid crystallization kinetics. In all cases, the high temperature state (now the metallic state), is the denser.

"This would explain a lot," enthuses Angell "Above the transition the liquid is very fluid and crystallization is extremely rapid, while below the transition the liquid stiffens up quickly and retains the amorphous, low-conductivity state down to room temperature. In nanoscopic "bits", it then remains indefinitely stable until instructed by a computer-programmed heat pulse to rise instantly to a temperature where, on a nano-second time scale, it flash crystallizes to the conducting state, the "on" state.

Lindsay Greer at Cambridge University has made the same argument couched in terms of a "fragile-to-strong" liquid transition".

A second slightly larger heat pulse can take the "bit" instantaneously above its melting point and then, with no further heat input and close contact with a cold substrate, it quenches at a rate sufficient to avoid crystallization and is trapped in the semi-conducting state, the "off" state.

"The high resolution of the neutron time of flight-spectrometer from the Technical University of Munich was necessary to see the details of the atomic movements. Neutron scattering at the Heinz Maier-Leibnitz Zentrum in Garching is the ideal method to make these movements visible," states Zach Evenson.

Explore further Understanding how electrons turn to glass

More information: "Breakdown of the Stokes-Einstein relation above the melting temperature in a liquid phase-change material" Science Advances (2018). Journal information: Science Advances "Breakdown of the Stokes-Einstein relation above the melting temperature in a liquid phase-change material"(2018). advances.sciencemag.org/content/4/11/eaat8632
Nepali, Indian leaders discuss principles and values of Gandhi

Senior leaders and intellectuals from India and Nepal held a meeting in Kathmandu on Friday to share thoughts of Mahatma Gandhi and his relevance to mark the 150th birth anniversary of Gandhi.
Supercomputer simulations show that at the atomic level, material stress doesn't behave symmetrically. Molecular model of a crystal containing a dissociated dislocation, atoms are encoded with the atomic shear strain. Below, snapshots of simulation results showing the relative positions of atoms in the rectangular prism elements; each element has dimensions 2.556 A by 2.087 A by 2.213 A and has one atom at the center. Credit: Liming Xiong

It's easy to take a lot for granted. Scientists do this when they study stress, the force per unit area on an object. Scientists handle stress mathematically by assuming it to have symmetry. That means the components of stress are identical if you transform the stressed object with something like a turn or a flip. Supercomputer simulations show that at the atomic level, material stress doesn't behave symmetrically. The findings could help scientists design new materials such as glass or metal that doesn't ice up.

That's according to a study published September of 2018 in the Proceedings of the Royal Society A. Study co-author Liming Xiong summarized the two main findings. "The commonly accepted symmetric property of a stress tensor in classical continuum mechanics is based on certain assumptions, and they will not be valid when a material is resolved at an atomistic resolution." Xiong continued that "the widely used atomic Virial stress or Hardy stress formulae significantly underestimate the stress near a stress concentrator such as a dislocation core, a crack tip, or an interface, in a material under deformation." Liming Xiong is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Aerospace Engineering at Iowa State University.

Xiong and colleagues treated stress in a different way than classical continuum mechanics, which assumes that a material is infinitely divisible such that the moment of momentum vanishes for the material point as its volume approaches zero. Instead, they used the definition by mathematician A.L. Cauchy of stress as the force per unit area acting on three rectangular planes. With that, they conducted molecular dynamics simulations to measure the atomic-scale stress tensor of materials with inhomogeneities caused by dislocations, phase boundaries and holes.

The computational challenges, said Xiong, swell up to the limits of what's currently computable when one deals with atomic forces interacting inside a tiny fraction of the space of a raindrop. "The degree of freedom that needs to be calculated will be huge, because even a micron-sized sample will contain billions of atoms. Billions of atomic pairs will require a huge amount of computation resource," said Xiong.

Credit: TACC

What's more, added Xiong, is the lack of a well-established computer code that can be used for the local stress calculation at the atomic scale. His team used the open source LAMMPS Molecular Dynamics Simulator, incorporating the Lennard-Jones interatomic potential and modified through the parameters they worked out in the paper. "Basically, we're trying to meet two challenges," Xiong said. "One is to redefine stress at an atomic level. The other one is, if we have a well-defined stress quantity, can we use supercomputer resources to calculate it?"

Xiong was awarded supercomputer allocations on XSEDE, the Extreme Science and Engineering Discovery Environment, funded by the National Science Foundation. That gave Xiong access to the Comet system at the San Diego Supercomputer Center; and Jetstream, a cloud environment supported by Indiana University, the University of Arizona, and the Texas Advanced Computing Center.

"Jetstream is a very suitable platform to develop a computer code, debug it, and test it," Xiong said. "Jetstream is designed for small-scale calculations, not for large-scale ones. Once the code was developed and benchmarked, we ported it to the petascale Comet system to perform large-scale simulations using hundreds to thousands of processors. This is how we used XSEDE resources to perform this research," Xiong explained.

The Jetstream system is a configurable large-scale computing resource that leverages both on-demand and persistent virtual machine technology to support a much wider array of software environments and services than current NSF resources can accommodate.

Jetstream at the Texas Advanced Computing Centerand the Comet system at the San Diego Supercomputer Center. Credit: TACC, SDSC

"The debugging of that code needed cloud monitoring and on-demand intelligence resource allocation," Xiong recalled. "We needed to test it first, because that code was not available. Jetstream has a unique feature of cloud monitoring and on-demand intelligence resource allocation. These are the most important features for us to choose Jetstream to develop the code."

"What impressed our research group most about Jetstream," Xiong continued, "was the cloud monitoring. During the debugging stage of the code, we really need to monitor how the code is performing during the calculation. If the code is not fully developed, if it's not benchmarked yet, we don't know which part is having a problem. The cloud monitoring can tell us how the code is performing while it runs. This is very unique," said Xiong.

The simulation work, said Xiong, helps scientists bridge the gap between the micro and the macro scales of reality, in a methodology called multiscale modeling. "Multiscale is trying to bridge the atomistic continuum. In order to develop a methodology for multiscale modeling, we need to have consistent definitions for each quantity at each level... This is very important for the establishment of a self-consistent concurrent atomistic-continuum computational tool. With that tool, we can predict the material performance, the qualities and the behaviors from the bottom up. By just considering the material as a collection of atoms, we can predict its behaviors. Stress is just a stepping stone. With that, we have the quantities to bridge the continuum," Xiong said.

Xiong and his research group are working on several projects to apply their understanding of stress to design new materials with novel properties. "One of them is de-icing from the surfaces of materials," Xiong explained. "A common phenomenon you can observe is ice that forms on a car window in cold weather. If you want to remove it, you need to apply a force on the ice. The force and energy required to remove that ice is related to the stress tensor definition and the interfaces between ice and the car window. Basically, the stress definition, if it's clear at a local scale, it will provide the main guidance to use in our daily life."

Xiong sees great value in the computational side of science. "Supercomputing is a really powerful way to compute. Nowadays, people want to speed up the development of new materials. We want to fabricate and understand the material behavior before putting it into mass production. That will require a predictive simulation tool. That predictive simulation tool really considers materials as a collection of atoms. The degree of freedom associated with atoms will be huge. Even a micron-sized sample will contain billions of atoms. Only a supercomputer can help. This is very unique for supercomputing," said Xiong.

Explore further RNA discovery could help boost plant heat, drought tolerance

More information: Ji Rigelesaiyin et al, Asymmetry of the atomic-level stress tensor in homogeneous and inhomogeneous materials, Proceedings of the Royal Society A: Mathematical, Physical and Engineering Science (2018). Journal information: Proceedings of the Royal Society A Ji Rigelesaiyin et al, Asymmetry of the atomic-level stress tensor in homogeneous and inhomogeneous materials,(2018). DOI: 10.1098/rspa.2018.0155
A new method based on a popular puzzle allows scientists to see flowing grains. Credit: Dr. James Baker, University of Sydney

When strolling along the beach, our footprints tell us that the sand under the surface must have moved but not precisely where or how. Similar movements occur in many other natural and man-made substances, such as snow, construction materials, pharmaceutical powders, and even cereals.

To examine these largely unknown granular movements, academics from the Sydney Centre in Geomechanics and Mining Materials (SciGEM) including Professor of Civil Engineering, Itai Einav and Postdoctoral Research Associate, Dr. James Baker have developed a new X-ray method which allows scientists to see inside granular flows. Named X-ray rheography, or "writing flow", their approach gathers information using 3-point high-speed radiography, and then assembles this information by solving a Sudoku-style puzzle.

"Imagine coffee in grinders, rice in silos, and minerals on conveyorsfor a long time we've known that the grains hidden within the bulk move, but until now we have not understood precisely how. Our X-ray rheography is the first physical method to resolve this," explained Professor Einav.

This breakthrough is the latest to arise from the team's "DynamiX" laboratory, a unique, custom-built facility that was established in 2015 to investigate flowing granular media. The laboratory consists of a large lead-lined X-ray room, with three movable source-detector pairs to allow interrogation of numerous different experiments, and an external control room.

The new X-ray rheography technique has the ability to form a three dimensional image of moving grains, which has helped the researchers better understand how particles flow and behave in various circumstances. In many examples they have found that granular media tends to flow in unique patterns and waves.

"Unlike fluids, we discovered that confined, three-dimensional steady granular flows arise through cycles of contraction and expansion, a la 'granular lungs'. Again, unlike fluids, we also found that grains tend to travel along parallel lines, even near curved boundaries.

Experimenting with various granular materials, the team also found that shape is an important factor in determining flow, for example elongated barley grains move faster than their spherical counterparts. In other situations, different types of grains may have a tendency to group together, or "segregate", much like when emptying a cereal box.

The researchers' findings can be applied to a number of industries, such as helping develop better silo solutions for edible grains, preventing wastage and spoilage in both farming and large scale food manufacturing, as well as more efficient transportation and storage of mining resources.

"Until now, understanding granular movements in opaque materials has long been a challenge for many industries such as engineering, science, mining and even agriculture," explained Dr. James Baker.

"The potential benefits span many areas, whether it be in understanding the mixing of pharmaceutical powders or the efficient transport of food grains or construction materials."

Professor Einav hopes that his team's creative approach in using a game of logic to answer a long misunderstood scientific issue may help rethink other research approaches, "We have successfully applied a novel approach to an ongoing issueso we must ask how other games can help us make further breakthroughs?"

The paper, X-ray rheography uncovers planar granular flows despite non-planar walls was co-written by Professor Itai Einav, Dr James Baker, Dr Francois Guillard and Dr Benjy Marks and was published in Nature Communications on November 30.

Explore further Feeling the force between sand grains

More information: James Baker et al, X-ray rheography uncovers planar granular flows despite non-planar walls, Nature Communications (2018). Journal information: Nature Communications James Baker et al, X-ray rheography uncovers planar granular flows despite non-planar walls,(2018). DOI: 10.1038/s41467-018-07628-6
The surface of the nanodiamond material (left) was measured at the atomic-scale using a transmission electron microscope. The local slope was found to be steeper than that of the Austrian Alps (right) measured at the scale of a human. Credit: Tevis Jacobs

People can usually tell if something is rough or smooth by running their fingers along its surface. But what about things that are too small or too big to run a finger over? The earth looks smooth from space, but someone standing at the foot of the Himalayas would disagree. Scientists measure surfaces at different scales to account for different sizes, but these scales don't always agree.

New research from the University of Pittsburgh's Swanson School of Engineering measured an ultrananocrystalline diamond coating, prized for its hard yet smooth properties, and showed that it is far rougher than previously believed. Their findings could help researchers better predict how surface topography affects surface properties for materials used in diverse environments from microsurgery and engines to satellite housings or spacecraft.

"One important measure of the 'roughness' of a surface is its average slope, that is, how steep it is," says Tevis Jacobs, assistant professor of mechanical engineering and materials science at Pitt. "We found that the surface of this nano-diamond film looks wildly different depending on the scale you're using."

Dr. Jacobs and his team's research appeared in the American Chemical Society (ACS) journal ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces. They took more than 100 measurements of the diamond film, combining conventional techniques with a novel approach based on transmission electron microscopy. The results spanned size scales from one centimeter down to the atomic scale.

Dr. Jacobs explains, "The nanodiamond surface is smooth enough that you can see your reflection in it. Yet by combining all our measurements, including down to the smallest scales, we showed that this "smooth" material has an average slope of 50 degrees. This is steeper than the Austrian Alps when measured on the scale of a human footstep (39 degrees)."

"By using electron microscopy, we were able to get the smallest end of the measurement range; we can't even define topography below the atomic scale," says Dr. Jacobs. "Then, by combining all the scales together, we were able to get rid of the problem of having roughness deviate between scales. We can calculate 'true' scale-invariant roughness parameters."

"We've known for one hundred years that surface roughness controls surface properties. The missing link is that we haven't been able to quantify its effect. For example, in biomedical applications, different investigations have arrived at opposite conclusions about whether roughness promotes or degrades cell adhesion. We believe this new understanding of roughness across scales will open the door to finally solving this age-old puzzle in surface analysis."

The ultimate goal is to have predictive models of how roughness determines surface attributes such as adhesion, friction or the conduction of heat or electricity. Dr. Jacobs' breakthrough is the first step in an uphill, and very steep, battle to create and validate these models.

"We are currently making properties measurements of this nanodiamond material and many other surfaces to apply mechanics models to link topography and properties," he says. "By finding the scales or the combination of scales that matter most for a given application, we can establish which surface finishing techniques will achieve the best results, reducing the need for a costly and time-consuming trial-and-error approach."

More information: Abhijeet Gujrati et al. Combining TEM, AFM, and Profilometry for Quantitative Topography Characterization Across All Scales, ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces (2018). Journal information: ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces Abhijeet Gujrati et al. Combining TEM, AFM, and Profilometry for Quantitative Topography Characterization Across All Scales,(2018). DOI: 10.1021/acsami.8b09899
The convection in the right column is much stronger than that in the left. The experiments (top) show that the convective pattern is coarsened at larger grain size (right), while the classical studies (middle) generally predict the opposite. After considering the effect of mechanical dispersion, the new simulations results (bottom) match well with the experimental observations. Credit: Liang et al.

When Yu "Alex" Liang started graduate school at The University of Texas at Austin, he was tasked with running a straight-forward experiment to collect data on a well-understood phenomenon in fluid mechanics: how density differences influence fluid flow in a porous medium.

It's a scenario that plays out across a wide range of scientific problems. In fact, Liang was planning on applying the experimental data toward a larger project on carbon sequestration. However, the experiment revealed that the physics governing the flow was not as settled as scientists thought.

The findings revealed that the primary driver of this type of fluid flowcalled solutal convection had been overlooked. What's more, once this driver is accounted for, it completely flips the expected flow outcomes.

"To some degree, it is a game changer," said Liang, who earned his Ph.D. in petroleum engineering in 2017 and is now working for Hilcorp, a Houston-based energy company. "Our experiments and simulations show that the convective pattern is controlled by a different process than the one previously thought. People will realize that there are much more in-depth theories to be explored on solutal convection in porous media."

The results of Liang's research were published in the journal Geophysical Researcher Letters in September. His co-authors include Marc Hesse, an associate professor at the UT Jackson School of Geosciences and the Institute for Computational Engineering and Sciences (ICES), David DiCarlo, an associate professor at the UT Hildebrand Department of Petroleum and Geosystems Engineering, and Baole Wen, a postdoctoral fellow at the Jackson School and ICES. DiCarlo and Hesse are Liang's Ph.D. advisors.

For decades it has been the scientific consensus that the balance between density-driven currents and diffusion was the primary factor controlling solutal convection in porous media. The thinking went: regions of dense fluid move downward until diffusion eliminates the density difference driving the flow, creating dense fingers that sink toward the bottom. In general, the fingers have to be far enough apart so that diffusion cannot smear them out as the fluid sinks. Therefore, the fingers were generally thought to be further apart in slow flows and closer together in fast flows driven by bigger density differences.

Despite the pattern being well-established in computer simulations, Hesse said that the research team was unable to find experimental results that demonstrate this basic behavior. So they developed a simple table-top riga transparent tank filled with glass beads and water for observing solutal convection in real time. To start the convection process, the water was topped with a layer of methanol and ethylene-glycola mixture that is overall less dense than water, but gradually becomes denser and sinks as it undergoes convection with the water at the fluid interface.

The team was expecting the classic narrow finger pattern to emerge in experiments that used larger diameter beads. Instead, the complete opposite pattern emerged. The finger spacing increased with bead size.

"Here's this very basic phenomena, which occurs in all sorts of applications, is a classic example of pattern formationand you do the experiments and you get literally the opposite of what everybody expects," Hesse said. "This shows that something is totally off in our basic understanding of this process."

A deeper analysis revealed that the dispersion created by the larger diameter beads had a greater impact on the convective environment than diffusion. While previous theories of solutal convection emphasize diffusion, the spreading of the material in the water in their experiments turned out to be controlled by mechanical dispersion, which leads to the additional mixing of the fluids at the pore scale.

"In other words, what you're flowing through is really important," he said. "Dispersion gets bigger with increasing grain size, and that's why the fingers get wider as you do this with bigger beads."

Based on their observations of the table-top experiment, the researchers were able to replicate their findings with a computational model.

"The key point is that we analyze the effect of dispersion on convection in subsurface based on our experimental data and then use high-resolution numerical simulations to verify our analysis," said Wen.

Of course, the natural world is much more complex than a tank filled with beads or a simplified model. The researchers said that scientists have many factors to keep in mind when researching complex phenomena that involve solutal convection, such as CO2 sequestration. But DiCarlo said that these findings show that scientists studying the fundamentals of the process have some new factors to consider.

"The work shows that if one wants to predict how CO2 dissolves in the subsurface, or similar dissolution process, the study needs to include dispersion in the correct manner," he said. "All previous studies have ignored dispersion."

Hesse added that the experimental results can help add a dose of reality to computational models that have been getting it wrong for decades.

"If your numerical simulation can't even simulate this simple experiment that I'm doing, what confidence do you have that it will do the right thing in an even more complicated setting," he said.

More information: Yu Liang et al, Effect of Dispersion on Solutal Convection in Porous Media, Geophysical Research Letters (2018). Journal information: Geophysical Research Letters Yu Liang et al, Effect of Dispersion on Solutal Convection in Porous Media,(2018). DOI: 10.1029/2018GL079849
Credit: CC0 Public Domain

The Trump administration is taking a major step toward allowing a first-in-a-generation seismic search for oil and gas under Atlantic waters, despite protests that the geological tests involve loud air gun blasts that will harm whales, dolphins and other animals.

The National Marine Fisheries Service is set to issue "incidental harassment authorizations" allowing seismic surveys proposed by five companies that permit them to disturb marine mammals that are otherwise protected by federal law, according to three people familiar with the activity who asked not to be named before a formal announcement.

The firmsincluding TGS-NOPEC Geophysical Co. ASA and Schlumberger Ltd. subsidiary WesternGeco Ltd. - still must win individual permits from the Interior Department's Bureau of Ocean Energy Management before they can conduct the work, but those are widely expected under President Donald Trump, who has made "energy dominance" a signature goal.

The seismic surveys to identify oil and gas reserves could be conducted in Atlantic Ocean waters along the U.S. East Coast, from Delaware to central Florida.

The research involves periodic blasts from compressed air guns, which send out sound waves that penetrate the sea floor. When the sound waves bounce back, they are captured by sensors towed behind seismic vessels. The resulting data is used to produce detailed, three-dimensional maps of underground geological features.

Conservationists say the blasts are so loud they jeopardize the hearing of dolphins, cause whales to beach themselves and disrupt animals' mating and feeding habits. Scientists have warned that the surveys could cause long-lasting damage to marine animals, including the critically endangered North Atlantic Right Whale.

If ultimately approved, the surveys will mark another Trump administration reversal of an Obama-era decision in the name of energy priorities. The Obama administration denied pending seismic applications in January 2017.

Trump sought to streamline government permitting of seismic surveys in an April 2017 executive order. Within days, Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke had issued an order resuming evaluation of seismic permit applications.

Explore further Obama admin blocks seismic surveys in Atlantic Ocean

2018 Bloomberg News

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
Brian Perone, a Stanford graduate student in education at the time of the research, assists a high school student with a virtual reality simulation of ocean acidification's effects. Credit: Rob Jordan / Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment

Utter the words "ocean acidification" in mixed company, and you'll probably get blank stares. Although climate change has grown steadily in the public consciousness, one of its most insidious impactsa widespread die-off of marine ecosystems driven by carbon dioxide emissionsremains relatively unknown.

Enter virtual reality. In a new study, published Nov. 30 in Frontiers in Psychology, researchers at Stanford and the University of Oregon discovered that VR can be a powerful tool for improving environmental learning gains and attitudes. The researchers found that experiencing a simulation of ocean acidification's effects spurred meaningful gains in people's understanding of the issue.

"I believe virtual reality is a powerful tool that can help the environment in so many ways," said study co-author Jeremy Bailenson, the Thomas More Storke Professor of Communication. "Changing the right minds can have a huge impact."

New gear, wider reach

With the advent of affordable consumer-grade gear from companies such as Oculus Rift, Samsung and Microsoft, potential audiences for VR are expanding far beyond Stanford's multimillion-dollar Virtual Human Interaction Lab.

Working with co-author Roy Pea, the David Jacks Professor of Education and director of Stanford's Human-Sciences and Technologies Advanced Research Institute, Bailenson and his team brought the Stanford Ocean Acidification Experience to more than 270 high school students, college students and adults.

In one such test, high school seniors in a marine biology class at Sacred Heart Preparatory in Atherton, California, took on new virtual identities in the simulation (which is free to download). Each became a pink coral on a rocky underwater reef throbbing with urchins, bream, snails and other creatures.

Elise Ogle, a researcher in the Virtual Human Interaction Lab, tries out the Stanford Ocean Acidification Experience, with a coral animation still in the background. Credit: Stanford Virtual Human Interaction Lab

By the end of the simulationwhich fast-forwards to what the reef will look like at the end of this centurythose brilliantly varied and colorful species have disappeared. They are replaced by slimy green algae and the silver Salema Porgya fish that will likely thrive in more acidic waters. The simulation is based on the work of Fiorenza Micheli, the David and Lucile Packard Professor of Marine Science at Stanford.

Eventually, the viewer's virtual coral skeleton disintegrates. "If ocean acidification continues, ecosystems like your rocky reef, a world that was once full of biological diversity, will become a world of weeds," the narration intones.

Connected to the environment

The simulation was effective at making users feel a connection with their bodies, according to researchers who tracked the students' movements. Some of the students swiveled their heads and twisted their bodies during the simulation.

"It's pretty cool, pretty responsive," said 18-year-old Cameron Chapman. "I definitely felt like I was underwater."

"It was way more realistic than I expected," said fellow high school senior Alexa Levison. "I'm a visual learner. Seeing ocean acidification happen is different than just hearing about it."

After the experience, the Sacred Heart students' scores on questions about ocean acidification causes and mechanisms increased by almost 150 percent and they retained that knowledge when tested several weeks later. In all of the study's in-school experiments, participants demonstrated increasing knowledge about ocean acidification as their time in the VR learning environment grew longer.

"Across age groups, learning settings and learning content, people understand the processes and effect of ocean acidification after a short immersive VR experience," said study lead author David Markowitz, a graduate student at the time of the research, now an assistant professor at the University of Oregon.

Increasing motivation

"We don't know whether a VR experience results in more learning compared to the same materials presented in other media," Bailenson said. "What we do know is that it increases motivationpeople are thrilled to do it, much more so than opening a textbookand because of the richness of the data recorded by the VR system, you can tweak the learning materials in real time based on how well someone is learning."

Bailenson is taking his VR experience beyond the classroom. He has been sending researchers with VR headsets to flea markets and libraries to show the ocean acidification experience. Also, it is part of a permanent virtual reality exhibition at the Tech Museum of Innovation in San Jose, California. He is also collaborating with companies to incorporate environment-themed VR into video games.

Although Bailenson is becoming more confident in the generalizability of the work, he acknowledges the need for replications to test how robust it is and to determine how long the effects endure. Questions remain about the effects of repeated VR exposure and how they persist over time. Research has yet to incorporate a broad demographic sample that spans variables such as age, income and education.

Despite these unknowns, co-author Brian Perone, a graduate student at the time of the research, said he is optimistic about the value of VR in education. "When done right, these experiences can feel real, and can give learners a lasting sense of connectedness," he said.

Explore further Business as usual for Antarctic krill despite ocean acidification
Nepals trade deficit balloons amid rising imports of fuel, agricultural goods

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ABINGDON, Va. (AP)  For 26 years, Ernest Ray worked at a company in southwest Virginia that made compressors, in a physically demanding job that involved night shifts on a factory floor. When the plant closed in 2018, Ray applied for and received about $9,000 in unemployment benefits. Three years later, Ray is fighting the Virginia Employment Commission in court as the agency tries to take the money back.

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Pomp and circus on full display as state splurges on NGO conference

The government has deployed several state entities and resourceson par with regional summits like SAARC and BIMSTECfor the Asia Pacific Summit, an event sponsored by a controversial South Korea-based non-government organisation.
Why Purchase ?

Great brand recognition and memorability from advertising, marketing, and your web site landing pages.

This domain is likely to hold and increase its value over time. Poor domain names lose traffic and new customer conversions to better domain named companies, Microsoft Research calls this effect "domain bias in web search." is a category killer domain that may be commonly used around the world. Such a name offers your company a clear competitive advantage online and off.
WTO trade privileges still underutilised: Industry and Commerce Ministry

The World Trade Organisation agreements that grant Nepal trade privileges have been fairly underutilised as the country has failed to improve the quantity and quality of its exportable goods, said the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Supplies.
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.

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SULLIVAN, N.Y. - Gina Cassenelli found herself moving to Central New York when her husband Daniel's company relocated him to their East Syracuse office. An online search led them to the home at 401 Deep Springs Drive.

"We knew nothing about the area," said Cassenelli, "When we found this house, we thought it was a little hidden gem."

The house had everything they wanted and the two garages with spots for eight cars total was a big selling point for Cassenelli's husband.

Cassenelli's favorite room of the home is the master bedroom. This room includes its own sitting area with fireplace and big bay window seats.

"I like to sit on the window seat with my dogs and a cup of tea and admire the gorgeous view of Oneida Lake," said Cassenelli.

One of the other three bedrooms also has the view of the lake and guests always request to stay in that room, Cassenelli said.

The house is one of the larger ones in the neighborhood and it sits atop a hill for unobstructed views of the area. One of the house's other unique features is the built-in hallway aquarium. Cassenelli said it's nice to sit and watch the live coral they have in there.

Outdoors there is an in-ground heated salt water pool with a waterfall and a landscaped patio which was redone about three years ago. There is also a smaller front patio which Cassenelli said is also a great place to sit and enjoy the view of Oneida Lake.

The neighborhood is peaceful and quiet and according to Cassenelli, filled with wonderful neighbors.

"You couldn't ask for better neighbors. One of the women in the neighborhood hosts a ladies night in before winter. My move-in date happened to be the same day as this event. The host told me to throw my hair in a ponytail and come as I was. I was very glad I did as I got to meet everyone in the neighborhood that way," said Cassenelli.

Neighbors brought meals to the house as they were unpacking and did again during times of need like when her husband had surgery.

Cassenelli also liked that while the house had a remote setting feeling, she could quickly be in Manlius or Fayetteville in minutes.

"It's the best of both," said Cassenelli.

Even though her home on Deep Springs Drive is a larger house, Cassenelli said her guests always described it as comfortable, warm, and welcoming. That and the gorgeous view are what Cassenelli will miss most about her Chittenango home.

Cassenelli and her husband have left Central New York for a home in Mooresville, N.C.

"I will miss the snow, but my husband didn't like the snow that much," said Cassenelli.

This home can be seen by appointment.

THE DETAILS

Address: 401 Deep Springs Drive, Chittenango, N.Y. 13037

Price: $775,000

Size: 4,581 square feet

Acreage: 5.09 acres

Monthly Mortgage: $5,918 (based on this week's national average rate of 4.94 percent, according to Freddie Mac, for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage with a 20 percent down payment. Fees and points not included.)

Total taxes: $20,657 (Based on assessed value of $593,500)

Built: 2001

School District: Chittenango

Kitchen: This kitchen comes with a breakfast bar, double ovens and granite countertops. There is also an informal dining area in this open flow room.

Bedrooms: There are four bedrooms in this home. The master suite is located on the first floor of the house. It has a large sitting area adjacent to the bedroom with its own fireplace, T.V. area and big bay windows with seats with views of Oneida Lake. The other three bedrooms are located on the second floor.

Bathrooms: This house has three and a half bathrooms. There is a half bathroom on the first floor and two full bathrooms on the second floor. The master suite also has a full bathroom with two pedestal sinks, whirlpool tub, and large vanity.

Living areas: This home includes a formal dining room, office, living room with fireplace, first-floor laundry, and screened in porch. There is also a finished basement with a theater room and family game room area. There is radiant heat in the floors throughout the house and a reverse osmosis system providing clean water to every room.

Outdoors: There is a two-car attached garage as well as a six car detached garage, both heated. The in-ground salt-water pool has a waterfall and is heated. There are both front and back landscaped patio areas. The front patio area offers beautiful views from the hilltop.

Agent: Janice Egan

Keller Williams Realty Syracuse

Address: 5701 Enterprise Pkwy, East Syracuse, N.Y. 13057

Phone: 315-391-5082

Email: janiceegan@kw.com

To nominate a listing for House of the Week, send an email to home@syracuse.com
Airbnb revealed that it is in discussions with local authorities and Malaysian ministries about plans to collect Tourism Tax for guests booking for accommodations to stay in Malaysia. The possible implementation of the tax would be similar to the current Tourism Tax on booking hotel rooms.

Mich Goh, the Head of Public Policy of Airbnb Southeast Asia, said that the company has had discussions with the Royal Malaysian Customs as well as the Finance and Tourism ministries on plans to implement its Voluntary Collection Agreement (VCA) tool. The VCA tool was designed by Airbnb to help collect taxes from Airbnb home owners and guests all over the world, and remit them on their behalf.

In Malaysia, tourists staying in hotels regardless of class are charged the Malaysian Tourism Tax, which is a flat rate of RM10 per night per room for the. The tax was enforced in September 2017, and is applicable to foreigners. However, since Airbnbs services means it is not classified as a hotel, tourists staying in Airbnb accommodation do not have to pay the Tourist Tax  much to the ire of the hotel industry in Malaysia, which called for the service to be regulated.

Authorities will continue to discuss with Airbnb to solidify plans on implementing the VCA for Airbnb hosts and guests in Malaysia, and as such there are no confirmed dates as of today.

(Source: The Malay Mail)

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One of the greatest asset bubbles of all time appears to have just burst.

Its not the stock market. Despite recent downside volatility amidst bubble-like valuations, so far stocks have merely entered a correction.

Cryptocurrencies, on the other hand, have entered into a full-blown meltdown. Bitcoin will go down in history for its extraordinary rise from zero to a high of $19,783 on December 17, 2017. Its subsequent fall may be one for the history books as well.

In the second half of November, Bitcoin prices fell through a months-long trading range, triggering heavy selling down to around $3,500. Anyone unfortunate enough to buy Bitcoin at over $19,000 now faces a loss of more than 80%. Losses are also staggering for Bitcoin Cash, Ethereum, Ripple, and many others.

The story of digital currencies wont just be a matter of their rise and fall, however. Some may bounce back. Bitcoin and its progeny may embark on another spectacular run to dizzying new heights.

Then again, they may not. Since the leading crypto coins arent backed by anything tangible, their value is entirely speculative.

Nevertheless, the utility of digital currency is very real. The blockchain enables individuals to engage in online transactions outside the banking system. And Money Metals Exchange is by far the most capable company in America when it comes to allowing precious metals customers to use cryptos as a payment medium.

Its not just radical libertarians and black-market merchants who value decentralized alternative payment systems. Such alternatives have the potential to offer practical advantages to users, such as avoiding fees on international cash transfers or credit card transactions.

Assault on Politically Disfavored Businesses Continues

For some, finding alternatives to conventional financial tools is a must. Banks and credit card processors are increasingly denying services to customers for their political views.

It happened recently to one of the most prominent alternative social networking sites, Gab, merely because it allows controversial views to be expressed by its members  in the same way that a viewpoint neutral email or telecommunications provider does. Related: How President Trump Is Undermining U.S. Oil Producers

Gab founder Andrew Torba recently posted this message to his followers:

Gab has been denied by multiple banks during the underwriting process for a new payment processor. Multiple processors supported us, their banks did not.

Gab is the supreme example of why bitcoin exists. We will be integrating BitPay asap because Coinbase already banned us.

Outside of this we will be setting up a PO box to mail cash/checks to.

This is what we need to resort to in order to have any revenue. This is the level no-platforming has reached.

As the threat of ideologically motivated financial de-platforming by banks and payment processors grows, so does the need for robust alternative payment systems. However, as noted by Torba, major Bitcoin exchanges such as Coinbase are behaving like politically correct bank intermediaries  blacklisting people they dont like from the crypto marketplace.

They are also collecting personally identifying information on their customers and handing it over to the IRS. The only way Bitcoin holders can absolutely guarantee their privacy is to never put their transactions on the blockchain ledger  i.e., never use their Bitcoin for anything.

The problems with Bitcoin are numerous  slow transaction confirmations, excessive energy consumption, and risk of loss due to loss of digital key, theft, fraud, and potential government crackdowns.

Related: How Much Does OPEC Need To Cut To Balance The Market?

The biggest fundamental problem with Bitcoin and other unbacked cryptos is the lack of any sound basis for valuation. That is a problem that can be addressed by putting real assets on the blockchain, but a degree of counterparty risk would remain.

Overstock CEO Patrick Byrne is investing in blockchain businesses that aim to tokenize publicly traded companies. He sees this as a way to decentralize Wall Street and end share price manipulation by large institutional traders.

Gold-Backed Cryptos Are Not Yet Safe

Gold bugs are eyeing digital currencies backed by physical precious metals. There are many technical and legal challenges still to be worked out, and there are likely to be a few scammers in the mix as well.

But optimists hold out hope that one day it will be possible safely and reliably to use gold or silver on the blockchain to buy shares of stock or perhaps even real estate all without having to convert to dollars or go through the banking or brokerage system.

Digital gold could emerge as a leading default store of value in lieu of dollars or Bitcoins  which would drive huge new demand for the metal.

Thats the bullish case for blockchain and its possible integration with sound money. There is also a bearish case.

What if governments and central banks co-opt the digital currency space as part of a war on cash?

International Monetary Fund chair Christine Lagarde suggested in a recent speech that if central banks issues their own cryptocurrencies, they could satisfy public policy goals, such as financial inclusion, and security and consumer protection; and to provide what the private sector cannot: privacy in payments.

Globalist central monetary planners may claim to have our inclusion, security, protection, and privacy as their primary concerns. Their real concerns are to drive out competition to fiat currencies and accelerate the move to an all-digital economy where paper bills and coins are abolished, and private transactions are impossible.

Federal Reserve officials have so far denied they plan on issuing a digital Fedcoin. But they have looked into it.

In the dynamic and rapidly evolving alternative currency space, it is impossible to predict exactly what new government interventions, technological innovations, or market iterations will drive the next major trend.

Precious metals may play a growing role in backing alt-coins. Either way, they will continue to play an important role in the portfolios of investors who want to protect themselves from the risks inherent in digital and paper wealth.

By Stefan Gleason, Money Metals Exchange

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 New data show major change in felony filings after Oklahoma initiative defelonized various offenses | Main | Outgoing California Gov Jerry Brown urged by notable group to commute 742 death sentences 

November 29, 2018

Latest chapter of FIRST STEP Act massaging and messaging

Just about day now seems to bring a new development in the saga surrounding a possible Senate vote on some possible version of the FIRST STEP Act. This new Politico article, headlined "Criminal justice reform bill still alive as McConnell deliberates," reports on the very latest of these developments, and here are excerpts:

Chuck Grassley and other advocates of criminal justice reform are desperately trying to sway Mitch McConnell to stay longer in December to finish their bill. And McConnell isn't ruling it out. The Senate Judiciary chairman said he's still waiting on an official word from the majority leader on whether he will provide floor time to take up a measure that has drawn heated opposition from some Senate Republicans despite earning President Donald Trump's endorsement.... McConnell said the Senate GOP is still deliberating on whether to move forward, though he left the door open in a brief Thursday interview. Were trying to figure out how to proceed on it. Were still trying to figure that out," the Kentucky Republican said.... Meanwhile, even as a bipartisan group of senators is still working on coming up with a new agreement to win more co-sponsors and the support of the National Sheriffs' Association, a Justice Department draft began circulating on Thursday that rewrites a number of key provisions. The draft, obtained by POLITICO, would still allow many federal inmates to earn time credits and obtain supervised release but would bar people convicted of violent crimes and major drug trafficking crimes. It would also increase penalties for attacking police officers and fentanyl dealers, a key concern of law enforcement groups and senators from states wracked by the opioid crisis. But the White House pushed back quickly against the draft, reiterating Trump's call for the criminal justice bill to get a vote this year. "The president has endorsed the Senate compromise on the First Step Act, and the White House is not circulating any other version, White House deputy press secretary Hogan Gidley said. All reporting to the contrary is false. The White House is committed to passing this legislation in the lame duck." One person working in favor of criminal justice reform also slammed the draft as reflecting the efforts of a "rogue DOJ official who always hated the bill." Democrats and Republicans have been working to overcome objections from Republican senators, but "this is not what is being considered," the person said.... Senate Minority Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) said supporters are considering excluding people from sentencing reforms that committed arson, certain drug crimes, and "taking care of the sheriffs' concerns" about sex crimes.

November 29, 2018 at 09:21 PM | Permalink

Comments

Doug, your views on Acosta and Epstein?

Posted by: federalist | Nov 30, 2018 8:04:24 AM

Ugly stories, federalist, which if true would confirm how the rich and powerful can often (but not always) get very special lenient treatment. It also reinforces my desire for much more transparency and review concerning the exercise of prosecutorial discretion, and reminds us all that mandatory federal sentences are never mandatory if and when a federal prosecutors wants to exercise discretion behind closed doors.

Posted by: Doug B | Nov 30, 2018 9:09:58 AM

What concerns do sheriffs have about sex crimes? Are they afraid people convicted of sex crimes will come home to our communities? They already DO.

Are they afraid people convicted of sex crimes will commit more sex crimes after they come home? All kinds of research shows that this is extremely unlikely; people convicted on sex crimes are among the least likely to commit new crimes after release from prison.

I suspect that the sheriffs want to use sex offenders to prove that they are tough on crime. So what else is new? Who DOESN'T do that?

Families of people convicted of sex crimes are growing tired of taking those punches.

Posted by: marie | Nov 30, 2018 9:36:14 AM

No kidding about sheriffs. They run local jails and poorly police unincorporated areas. And in Alabama, they apparently can divert the jail food budget to their own private purposes.

Why do they have any sway on federal penal policy? Totally absurd.

They are low-level local elected hacks wielding power whose most pressing concern at any given moment is reelection.

Sound familiar?

Posted by: Fat Bastard | Nov 30, 2018 2:51:34 PM

@Fat I like the way you think, see things clearly and simple.

Posted by: MidWestGuy | Dec 2, 2018 11:01:36 AM

It is not clear what the Sheriffs Association concerns are. The BOP stats give 16,400 sex offenders in federal prisons and I doubt that very many of them will be released. About 80% of the prison admissions are from 400 counties so the sheriff of a very large population county might have up to a dozen sex offenders to deal with.

The sex offender concern sounds like BS to me.

Posted by: John Neff | Dec 2, 2018 2:19:50 PM

John Neff said:

The BOP stats give 16,400 sex offenders in federal prisons and I doubt that very many of them will be released.

John, are you really saying that most federal SOs will never come home from prison? Almost ALL of them will certainly be released.

Posted by: marie | Dec 4, 2018 5:42:23 PM

My guess is that many of them will be released upon expiration of sentence and the federal sentences are very long. I don't think the first step act was intended to give early release for sex offenders.

One of the outcomes of the classification system is that sex offenders are included in the violent offender offense type and there is only one sex offender subtype. So people think that all sex offenders are violent and some are not. A lot of this bad stuff is the result of legislative hysteria.

Posted by: John Neff | Dec 4, 2018 9:24:52 PM

Post a comment
 Latest chapter of FIRST STEP Act massaging and messaging | Main | En banc Fifth Circuit overrules multiple precedents to clean up (and expand) its "crime of violence" jurisprudence 

As reported in this Reuters article, a "Catholic group close to Pope Francis and representatives of 25 countries on Wednesday appealed to outgoing California Governor Jerry Brown to commute all the states 742 death sentences before laving office." Here is more:

The Sant Egidio peace group made the appeal together with the justice ministers of South Africa, Benin, Zimbabwe and Malaysia, and 21 lower-ranking officials from other countries at a conference on the death penalty held in Italys parliament. Mario Marazziti, a Sant Egidio leader, asked Brown to declare a moratorium on all executions and begin the process of commuting the sentences into jail terms before leaving office.

Brown, who once trained to be a priest of the Jesuit order, will leave office after completing his current two terms on Jan. 7, when Governor-elect Gavin Newsom is sworn in.

There are currently 742 people condemned to die in California, where the last execution took place in 2006. Executions since then have been blocked by legal issues.

Sant Egidio, which has branches in many countries and hundreds of thousands of followers around the world, is in the forefront of efforts to abolish the death penalty and help migrants. It has found great favor with the pope. Last August, the Roman Catholic Church formally changed its teaching to declare the death penalty inadmissible, whatever the circumstance....

An editorial in the Los Angeles Times last week urged Brown to commute at least the death sentences of those who committed crimes when they were young. The newspaper also urged Newsom to place a new anti-death penalty initiative on a future ballot.

Propositions to end capital punishment were defeated in 2012 [and] 2016 in California.
RCBC Philippines Peso Blockchain

Huaren Capital had entered the Philippines business territory to expand its crypto mining business. But the Chinese firm has found another purpose on the sideways.

The crypto giant plans to launch a digitized version of Philippino Peso called Digital Peso in the first half of 2019, reported Inquirer. The coin, whose per unit value would likely be pegged to 1 Peso, would be a base currency of a proposed two-way remittance corridor between China and the Philippines.

Jeff Wang, the president of Huren Capital, confirmed the report during a press meet held on Wednesday, stating that they were speaking with potential partner-banks as well as Philippines central bank for their project. However, he refused to reveal the names of the banks, but recognize their plan for carrying the potential of reducing international transaction fees for the worlds third top remittance receiving country.

In China, they have electronic payments systems like Alipay and WeChat Pay, so the transfer of funds is effortless, Wang explained through a translator. We understand in the Philippines, many Filipino citizens dont have a bank account, and when they transfer funds from one country to another or from one place to another, theres always a high remittance fee incurred, so we are working towards reducing that kind of cost for the average Filipino citizen.

The blockchain tycoon also recognized Chinese people working in the Philippines as their potential customers, stating that the opportunities would also be open for them as much as they are open for the Filipinos.

Government Support

Huaren Capital has established its headquarters in Manila, the capital of the Philippines, following a successful visit of Chinese President Xi Jin Ping to the country. Wang established that the host government was open to their blockchain initiatives in the state and decided to put their company in their special economic zone.

Story continues

The Philippines regards blockchain innovation as a national strategy, providing a large number of preferential policies and services to related companies, and solving the regulatory problems faced by the blockchain industry, he explained.

According to Wang, they are now seeking a regulatory approval for their digital peso project from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP). Also, they expect to finalize their partnerships with the local banks at the start of 2019 while aiming a full-fledged launch before June.

We hope that this will bring the Philippines to the forefront of e-commerce around the world, he added.

The country maintains circa $33 billion of remittance inflows every year, according to a World Bank report.

Featured image from Shutterstock.



The post Chinese Crypto Miner to Launch Remittance-Friendly Digital Peso in Philippines in H1 2019 appeared first on CCN.


Police in southeast China have seized turtle products with a combined street value of more than 1 million yuan (US$144,000) and arrested 19 people for killing and selling the endangered animals.

Officers from Donghai county, Jiangsu province confiscated 20 turtle specimens, as well as dozens of accessories made out of turtle shell, including pens, glasses and bracelets, according to news portal Jschina.com.cn.

The animals are believed to bring good luck and turtle specimens have become a decorative item in many Chinese homes, in addition to the popularity of accessories made from turtle shell.

According to the report, a man surnamed Xu, from Qionghai, in the southern island province of Hainan, caught the sea turtles and supplied the specimens to a jewellery shop owner surnamed Yang, said to be the kingpin of the operation.

The 19 suspects are said to come from eight mainland provinces and municipalities.

Turtles are protected under Chinese law and there have been several recent cases of police action against the illegal trade.

In July last year, police in Fangchenggang, in the southern Guangxi region, seized 38 turtle specimens, although it is unclear how many arrests were made.

A big turtle specimen can fetch 20,000 yuan (US$2,800) while a small one is worth 10,000 yuan on Chinas black market.

This article Chinese police seize turtle products, arrest 19 in black market crackdown first appeared on South China Morning Post

For the latest news from the South China Morning Post download our mobile app. Copyright 2018.
An Indonesian city plans to slap its gay and transgendered residents with a one million rupiah ($70) fine for disturbing "public order", underscoring a marked rise in discrimination against the Muslim-majority nation's small LGBT community. The country of 260 million is in the grips of a moral panic, with critics saying the vulnerable LGBT minority is being used as a political punching bag in the run-up to 2019 elections. Homosexuality is not illegal in Indonesia -- except in Islamic law-abiding Aceh province -- but there has been a backlash against the community in recent years. The shift, led by increasingly powerful religious hardliners, has dented Indonesia's reputation for moderate Islam. This week, Pariaman city on Sumatra island passed a sweeping regulation banning "acts that are considered LGBT". The regulation, which has been reviewed by AFP, forbids "immoral acts" between same-sex couples and prohibits residents from "acting as a transvestite", but it offers few concrete examples of banned behaviour. "Same-sex LGBT and transgender people will be subject to sanctions and fines if they disturb the public order," said Fitri Nora, head of the local legislature. Pariaman's deputy mayor Mardison Mahyudin said the new rules were born out of "anxiety" about Indonesia's LGBT community. Anti-LGBT demonstrations have erupted in several cities recently, including the capital Jakarta, while authorities hosed down a group of transgender women in what they called a "mandatory bath". Several cities in West Sumatra province, including Pariaman, have taken steps to marginalise LGBT groups, and the provincial government called a special meeting Thursday to discuss the issue. Following the meeting, governor Irwan Prayitno said officials and concerned parties were searching for a province-wide solution to the "LGBT problem". "At a minimum, we're trying to prevent the population from increasing," Prayitno told AFP.
Damascus Friday accused Israel of striking Syria, in what a monitor said were the such first missiles to hit the country since an air defence upgrade after the downing of a Russian plane in September. The Syrian regime claimed its air defence systems shot down all "hostile targets" late Thursday. Israel did not confirm carrying out raids but denied any losses. The Syrian foreign ministry on Friday said it had complained to the United Nations about "the Israeli aggression yesterday on the area of Kisweh south of Damascus". According to the Syria Observatory for Human Rights, the strikes hit two positions in the south of Damascus province, one an area where there are Iranian weapons depots in Kisweh. "Israeli forces bombarded for an hour," Observatory chief Rami Abdel Rahman said. Two missiles hit "weapons depots belonging to the Lebanese Hezbollah (militant group) as well as Iranian forces" in Kisweh. Another missile hit the area of Harfa, where there is a Syrian military base, the Britain-based monitor said. In Kisweh, "the depots that were targeted are used to temporarily store rockets until they are taken somewhere else," Abdel Rahman said. "It appears the Israelis had intelligence that weapons had arrived there recently," he said. The state news agency said the attack was foiled and did not admit to any losses. "Our air defences fired on hostile targets over the Kisweh area and downed them," SANA said, citing a military source. The pro-government Al-Watan daily, quoting a military source, said "the aggression, despite its intensity, was not able to implement any of its goals and all enemy bodies were downed". Initial reports by the Observatory suggested there were no casualties. The Israeli military denied any of its assets were hit but stopped short of denying it had conducted strikes at all. - Air defence upgrade - "Reports regarding an IDF (Israel Defence Forces) aircraft or an airborne IDF target having been hit are false," it said in an English-language statement. It said a Syrian surface-to-air missile was fired in the direction of an open area of the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights but it was unclear if it had hit Israeli-held territory. Israel has carried out hundreds of air strikes in neighbouring Syria against what it says are Iranian targets, many of them in the area south of Damascus. Iran and Russia are the government's key allies in the civil war that has raged Syria since 2011, and Moscow's intervention in 2015 dramatically turned the tables against the rebels. The accidental downing of a Russian transport aircraft by Syrian ground batteries during an Israel air strike on September 17 killed 15 service personnel. Moscow pinned responsibility for the downing on Israel, saying its fighter jet used the larger Russian one for cover, an allegation Israel disputed. Russia subsequently upgraded Syrian air defences with the delivery of the advanced S-300 system, which Damascus had said last month would make Israel "think carefully" before carrying out further air raids. The move raised fears in Israel that its ability to rein in its arch foe Iran's military presence in its northeastern neighbour would be sharply reduced. There was no evidence however that the S-300 batteries were used to intercept Israeli missiles overnight. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had told Moscow his government would continue to hit hostile targets in Syria to prevent Iran from establishing a military presence across the border. He added that Israel would "continue security coordination" with Russia. burs/ah/hkb
Jobless Hong Kong man posed as American businessman and raped, robbed and extorted almost HK$300,000 from woman, court is told

An unemployed Hong Kong man raped and robbed a woman and blackmailed her into paying him close to HK$300,000 (US$38,346) after posing as a rich American businessman who had lost his wallet and identity papers, prosecutors told a court on Friday.

But Ko Wai-kin, 33, has denied all 13 charges of fraud, theft, robbery, blackmail, indecent assault and rape  all in relation to the same victim, who cannot be named for legal reasons.

Opening her case against Ko, prosecutor Liza Yip said that he had been unemployed since 2013, relying on deception and gambling to make a living.

She accused Ko of tricking the woman into making deposits and taking nude photos, which she said he then used to blackmail her into taking out loans, paying his rent and lending him more money.

The case involved close to HK$300,000.

The High Court heard that the pair first crossed paths at the bureau de change in Hong Kong International Airport where the woman worked in early September 2016, when she handled a money exchange request from Ko.

Testifying against Ko, the 26-year-old recalled that he returned with luggage in hand on September 9.

Do you recognise me? she quoted Ko as saying. I need your help, Ive lost my wallet.

The woman claimed that Ko told her he was an American citizen who needed money to stay at a hotel because he was stranded in the city after losing his identity documents.

She agreed to help and rented a room at the Grand Hyatt in Wan Chai.

There, she said, he made a second request for HK$20,000 (US$2,556) to cover his living expenses, which he promised to repay in two days by asking his colleague to wire money from the United States.

Having pocketed the money, he then told her that he wanted to buy a phone as a gift for his nephew for graduating with first-class honours and that he would pay her back in one go.

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I thought to myself, Never mind, Ill help him this one more time, the woman said as she recounted their trip to an electronics store for a Samsung Galaxy Note 7, worth HK$6,420 (US$820).

At the time, she was earning a monthly salary of about HK$13,000 to HK$20,000 and saving up to pay tuition fees.

What made you think he would pay you back? prosecutor Liza Yip asked.

He claimed to hold a high position in an American company, she replied. I thought he was capable. He didnt check the exchange rate board when he changed currencies.

Over the next few days, he asked her to set up a Jockey Club betting account for him to store the HK$20,000 because he did not have a wallet, and requested another HK$20,000 deposit to show his company accountant he had the money to reward him for arranging the wire transfer, she said.

When the money was deposited, she said, he snatched the account card from her with a fierce look on his face.

She said he then arranged for them to meet at his hotel room to discuss repayment after telling her that she would not lose a cent.

But she was told that she would have to pose as Kos girlfriend in nude photos to convince the company accountant that she had lent him money in the first place.

It was then Ko touched her breast, spread her legs and penetrated her while covering her head with a pillow, she said.

I shouted in pain, she continued, her voice at times muffled behind the screen. He withdrew and asked me not to talk about this  then he covered [his genitals] with a towel and asked me to look away while he dressed.

Her testimony continues in a jury trial before Madam Justice Maggie Poon Man-kay.

This article Jobless Hong Kong man posed as American businessman and raped, robbed and extorted almost HK$300,000 from woman, court is told first appeared on South China Morning Post

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Arriving from Brazil via Dubai, a Malaysian woman was stopped upon landing in Ho Chi Minh Citys Tan Son Nhat Airport carrying no less that 4 kg of cocaine in her luggage.

HCMC Customs officials report that the bust occurred at 9pm on Monday evening.

Having thoroughly inspected her bags, officials were not satisfied that all baggage passed muster, so they used an electric drill to dismember her bag, finding two carefully wrapped bags containing white powder inside the lining. Officials were able to test the substance, and confirmed that it was indeed cocaine.

Under questioning, the Malaysian woman admitted that she had been asked by her boyfriend to carry the drugs from Brazil to Vietnam, and would be paid RM5,000 (US$1,200) for her troubles.

This marks the second case in two months of a Malaysian woman being stopped trying to smuggle in cocaine into Vietnam, with another woman having been stopped last month attempting to bring in 4.1 kg of cocaine inside food cans.

Anyone caught with over 100 grams of cocaine or heroin risks being given a life sentence, or even execution, by Vietnamese courts.

This article, Malaysian woman stopped with 4 kg of cocaine in Vietnam airport, originally appeared on Coconuts, Asia's leading alternative media company. For more Coconuts stories, you can download our app, sign up for our newsletters, or follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
North Korea's foreign minister kicked off an official visit to Communist Vietnam Friday, a trip analysts say carries the potential for the hermit nation to learn from Hanoi's post-war "doi moi" economic transformation. Vietnam's economy has flourished since market reforms in the 1990s opened its doors to foreign investment and free trade deals, with GDP growth hitting five percent or higher for the past decade. It has done so while maintaining a single-party Communist state with a tight grip on power and little tolerance for dissent. It a model that experts say could appeal to Pyongyang -- with an economy long crippled by wide-ranging sanctions and years of self-imposed isolation. While the full plan for Foreign Minister Ri Yong Ho's three-day visit to Vietnam has not been made public, a diplomatic source in Hanoi told AFP he is due to visit a technology park near the city and meet with agriculture experts. He will also meet Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc, according to his official schedule. North Korea's regime wants "to expand their economic relations with other countries and not be completely dependent on China," Kevin Gray, professor of international relations at the University of Sussex told AFP. "There are also lessons there that North Korea could potentially learn" from Vietnam's opening up, he added. Ri's Hanoi trip also coincides with a current diplomatic thaw following a series of meetings with Seoul and Washington -- including a landmark summit between North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un and US President Donald Trump in June. "North Korea is using this period of not testing (its nuclear weapons) to recover its external relations to appear as a respectable member of the international community," said Carl Thayer, emeritus politics professor at the University of New South Wales in Canberra. Pyongyang "wants to learn from Vietnam's economic transformation", he said, with the caveat that Hanoi's embrace of free trade would be "a bridge too far". Economic prosperity is a carrot often dangled by Washington in front of the North in exchange for denuclearisation. On a July visit to Vietnam US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo remarked on the "once-unimaginable prosperity and partnership" between former war foes Hanoi and Washington. "Your country can replicate this path. It's yours if you'll seize the moment. The miracle could be yours; it can be your miracle in North Korea as well," he said in comments aimed at Kim Jong Un. Hanoi's exports to Pyongyang reached $7.3 million last year, mainly of food products, according to official data.
Ontario Environment Minister Rod Phillips, seen here in Nobleton, Ont., on Nov. 29, 2018, says the province must deal with competitive realities while trying to reduce carbon emissions. Photo from The Canadian Press.

The Ontario government has launched its latest assault against the federally-imposed carbon tax with a plan of its own.

The Ontario Progressive Conservatives unveiled their own climate change strategy Thursday as it continues its battle with the federal government over carbon pricing. Ontario Environment Minister Rod Phillips said the province will meet its share of the 2030 climate targets in the Paris Agreement.

There is evolving science behind how much has to be done. What we have benchmarked ourselves against is the international agreements, Phillips told reporters in Nobleton, Ont. He said the Paris Agreement called for emissions to be reduced 30 per cent from 2005 levels and Ontario has already reduced emissions by 22 per cent.

We will hit those targets with that plan and we will do it without a carbon tax. Phillips added. The plan that we have presented today is a sensible, achievable approach to do that.

The province will spend $400 million over four years on the taxpayer-funded Ontario Carbon Trust to partner with the private sector on green technologies.

Phillips stressed the need for the provincial government to work with industries to ensure Ontario-based companies can compete in global markets with a made-in-Ontario solution. The Ontario government is trying to balance accountability with competitive realities, the minister explained.

The minister added regulations will be set following consultations with industry leaders to establish standards for large polluters.

Phillips was asked how exactly the government would set these environmental standards in a bid to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.

We have a long history in Ontario of regulating these industries effectively, Phillips said. Typically its done on a per unit basis, so how much does a tonne of cement cost in terms of GHGs. And so the standards are established and then those standards gradually improve so that emissions are reduced.

The minister acknowledged the PCs and the federal Liberals have their own approaches.

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They have a different vision about the role of government, Phillips said. Ontario industry wants to work with the Ontario government because they have confidence that well have sensitivities.

LIVE: Minister Phillips announces new Made-in-Ontario environment plan. https://t.co/H318eAO8Zl  Rod Phillips (@RodPhillips01) November 29, 2018

Federal Environment Minister Catherine McKenna told CBC News Ontario wants to go back in time with its climate plan.

I think Canadians understand that it shouldnt be free to pollute, she told the news outlet.

Scheer links GM closure with carbon tax

The Ontarios announcement comes days after General Motors announced it was closing its manufacturing plant in Oshawa, Ont, which will affect nearly 3,000 workers and auto parts makers in the Greater Toronto Area.

Federal Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer blamed future job losses on the carbon tax during question period Wednesday.

The carbon tax is bad for all Canadian workers, Scheer said. Now that weve seen the impact of this policy chasing future jobs and investment away, will he do the right thing and cancel his carbon tax?

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau responded to multiple questions about the carbon tax in the House.

We know that making sure that pollution is not free is how were going to move forward on protecting jobs, on protecting our future and protecting the environment for future generations, Trudeau said.

Ontario, Saskatchewan, New Brunswick and Manitoba have all refused to put carbon pricing in place for 2019, as mandated by the federal government.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford has said the province will join Saskatchewan in their court battle against the carbon tax, and hes already eliminated the provincial cap-and-trade program. Ontario was able to generate nearly $3 billion from the cap-and-trade system established in 2015 under former premier Kathleen Wynnes Liberals.





Trudeau pushing merits of carbon tax

Trudeau has been trying to sell Canadians on the importance of a carbon tax since running on an election platform in 2015 that pledged to penalize carbon emitters.

There is an imperative to put a price on pollution, Trudeau told a crowd in Toronto on Oct. 23. The time is now to take real action.

Provinces and territories were given two choices to adopt by January 2019: a direct price on carbon pollution that starts at $20 per tonne, rising $10 each year to $50 in 2022; or, a cap-and-trade system that puts a direct price on emissions.

Starting next year, it will no longer be free to pollute anywhere in Canada, the prime minister said last month. And if there are costs associated for average families, we will more than compensate those families for those costs.





This tax will likely be passed on by corporations to consumers, which means Canadians can expect to pay more for gasoline, natural gas, diesel, air travel and more starting in January.

Trudeau says 90 per cent of what Ottawa makes from the tax will be given back to Canadians as an annual rebate with their taxes. The other 10 per cent will go to small businesses, schools and hospitals.

The prime minister has insisted this plan benefits both Canadians and the economy by putting a price on pollution, but his critics havent been convinced.

Liberal plan attracting several critics

Ontario Premier Doug Ford has called the plan another Trudeau Liberal tax grab that has been rammed down the throats of Ontarians.

This massive tax hike from the federal government will jack up the cost-of-living for each and every Ontario family and business, Ford tweeted in late October.

Never trust a politician who tells you he will save you money by hiking your taxes. Plain and simple, the Trudeau carbon tax will make life harder and more expensive for everyone in Ontario. pic.twitter.com/KQ2zWHx0XU  Doug Ford (@fordnation) October 23, 2018

Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe has referred to the carbon tax as a financial shell game.

We see it as a cynical vote-buying scheme using your money to buy your vote, Moe said in October.





In Ottawa, Scheer has insisted Canadians wont be tricked by the plan.

Conservatives, like Canadians, see through this cynical election gimmick and we will hold Justin Trudeau to account, Scheer said last month.





Peoples Party of Canada Leader Maxime Bernier tweeted on Oct. 24 that the Liberals could only sell the tax if they lied to Canadians.

Selling a carbon tax as a way to fight pollution is simply manipulation and propaganda.

We can debate the effects of too much CO2 in the atmosphere on climate. That doesnt make CO2 a form of pollution. CO2 is essential for life. Selling a carbon tax as a way to fight pollution is simply manipulation and propaganda. Typical Liberal lie. https://t.co/JZlniO7GHs  Maxime Bernier (@MaximeBernier) October 24, 2018

Former Saskatchewan premier Brad Wall, the first premier to publicly oppose the carbon tax, said last month that he was stepping out of retirement to voice his opposition against the plan, which he compared to a Nigerian prince scam.

The Trudeau carbon tax disproportionately impacts western Canadian industries which can be carbon intense and trade exposed, he wrote on Twitter.

Meanwhile, leaders on the other side of the political spectrum have also chimed in with their own critiques of the carbon tax mandate. Federal NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh has said his party believes there should be a price on carbon, but hes not sold on the Liberal plan.

Will this make a difference? Well no, for a couple of reasons  the targets of this current government, the Liberal government are using, those targets are not going to get us anywhere near where we need to go, Singh said.

Climate change is the single greatest threat we face  and with Trudeau spending billions on pipelines & Scheer promising to revive #EnergyEast  Canada is failing to do its part. We don't have to accept this. We can invest in clean, renewable energy & increase emission targets: pic.twitter.com/gxOjmc9aSW  Jagmeet Singh (@theJagmeetSingh) October 22, 2018

Elizabeth May, the leader of the federal Greens, has said the tax is a very fundamental first step, but its approximately half of what must be done.

Good first step.. but like JFK committing to put a man on the moon, Trudeau committed to Paris. This step-ladder puts us closer1/2 #gpc  Elizabeth May (@ElizabethMay) October 24, 2018

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau addresses a crowd at Humber College in Toronto regarding his governments new federally-imposed carbon tax on Oct. 23, 2018, which will come into effect in January 2019. Photo from The Canadian Press.

What do you think of Ottawas plan to impose a carbon tax on Canadians? Do you think its the right thing to do for the environment in the face of climate change? Or is this a plan that will hurt Canadians by increasing the cost of living? Share your thoughts in the comment section below!





With files from The Canadian Press
Reuters

Bharat Biotech's vaccine was only 50% effective at preventing symptomatic COVID-19 in a high-risk population during a devastating second wave of infections in India this year, data gleaned from hospital workers showed. The real world study for Covaxin, conducted April 15-May 15, compares with a 77.8% effectiveness rate in a late-stage trial of more than 25,000 participants that was conducted November 2020 to January 2021. The much lower effectiveness rate for the two-dose shot seen in the new study can possibly be attributed to the fact that the study was restricted to hospital employees who had a higher risk of being infected than the general population, that it was conducted during a surge in infections and also to the prevalence of the Delta variant at the time, the study concluded.
By Benjamin Jumbe.

The leader of opposition in parliament Betty Aol Ocan has challenged government to stop being reactive so as to protect lives of citizens.

Aol was addressing journalists at parliament following last weekends boat accident that claimed over 30 lives.

She says while Uganda has the required laws and policies, impunity and lack of commitment to implement these has exposed citizens to various problems

She says if the concerned authorities had done what was required of them lives would not have been lost

Addressing parliament this week the prime minister Dr Ruhakana Rugunda called on all stakeholders to avoid the blame game and join hands in bridging existing gaps.
US President Donald Trump went out of his way Friday to dodge President Vladimir Putin at the G20 summit in Buenos Aires, but still couldn't shake the growing Russia collusion scandal back home. Trump was meant to hold a one-on-one meeting with the Kremlin leader Friday, followed by an expanded session with their delegations. But during the flight to Argentina on Thursday for the two-day talks, Trump abruptly cancelled, saying this was due to Washington's anger at a Russian navy assault on Ukrainian ships last weekend. Once at the summit venue, it became impossible to avoid Putin altogether, because the group's 20 leaders were having lunch, as well as other joint activities. But when gathering for the traditional "family photo," Trump walked past the Russian president without stopping. Asked later if he would exchange pleasantries with Putin, Trump said: "Not particularly. I don't know." Many were not convinced, asking whether Trump's snub of Putin was more due to growing discomfort over the probe into his allegedly improper contacts with Moscow than outrage over Ukraine. This prompted Trump spokeswoman Sarah Sanders to reiterate on Friday that the president's only reasoning for the dramatic schedule change was Ukraine. However, Sanders also lashed out at the collusion probe, which she branded "the Russian Witch Hunt Hoax," and said the controversy "probably does undermine our relationship with Russia." - Moscow business deal probed - The huge investigation by Special Counsel Robert Mueller into whether the Trump 2016 election campaign -- or Trump himself -- colluded with Russian agents appears to be accelerating in Washington. Trump has always said there is no proof to back accusations about meetings between his campaign and shadowy Russians, hacked emails, or even an alleged Russian blackmail dossier. However, Mueller is probing ever deeper into Trump's inner circle during the campaign. And on Thursday -- just hours before cancellation of the Putin meeting -- the probe shot into sensitive new territory with a guilty plea from Michael Cohen, Trump's former personal lawyer. This brought prosecutors right into Trump's secretive business empire and specifically his exploration of a deal for a Trump Tower in Moscow close to the time that he was seeking the presidency. In his surprise guilty plea, Cohen admitted lying to Congress about Trump's proposed -- but ultimately shelved -- plan for the tower. Cohen, who once said he would take a bullet for the Republican billionaire, but who has now turned into a star witness for prosecutors, said he lied when he testified that Trump's project was dropped in January 2016, well before Trump was the official Republican candidate. In fact, Cohen now says, the project was discussed multiple times within the company beyond January 2016. Efforts to obtain Russian governmental approval were still being discussed as late as June of that year, he said. Cohen also mulled traveling to Russia in connection with the project and in May 2016 was offered a possible introduction to either the Russian president or prime minister on the sidelines of a Russian forum in June 2016, he said. Trump ultimately secured the Republican nomination for president just weeks later, in July 2016. On Friday, before launching into the G20 diplomatic schedule, Trump fired off two tweets angrily denying that he improperly mixed his business and political ambitions -- something that critics claim could have put the US leader under the Kremlin's influence. "Oh, I get it! I am a very good developer, happily living my life, when I see our Country going in the wrong direction (to put it mildly)," Trump tweeted Friday. "Against all odds, I decide to run for President & continue to run my business-very legal & very cool, talked about it on the campaign trail," he said. "Lightly looked at doing a building somewhere in Russia," the Republican leader continued. "Put up zero money, zero guarantees and didn't do the project. Witch Hunt!" Before leaving for the G20, Trump called Cohen "weak" and said "he is lying about a project that everybody knew about."
By Ranga Sirilal and Shihar Aneez

COLOMBO (Reuters) - Sri Lanka's parliament on Friday voted to halt payment of ministers' salaries and travel expenses, but it remained unclear how the move would impact the disputed government of Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa whose ministers boycotted the vote.

The South Asian island has been locked in political gridlock for over a month since President Maithripala Sirisena replaced former Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe with Rajapaksa, who was then twice sacked by parliament but has refused to resign.

Foreign countries have yet to recognise the new government.

Friday's motion, which passed 122 to none in the 225-member parliament, followed a similar vote on Thursday to cut the budget to the Prime Minister's office. Rajapaksa loyalists also skipped that vote, arguing the motion was illegal.

"The motion to cut down the expenditures of ministers, deputy ministers, and state ministers is passed," parliament's speaker Karu Jayasuriya said. He earlier said he would officially inform ministry secretaries of the decision.

The motion specifically was to prohibit top civil servants from paying out salaries and travel expenses.

However, one senior civil servant from a government ministry, speaking to Reuters on condition of anonymity, said it was unclear how such a vote would be applied in practice because there were questions over whether due process had been followed.

In a repeat of Thursday's actions, Rajapaksa loyalists denounced the vote and called into question the impartiality of the speaker.

"The motion presented today is illegal and we have mentioned it to the speaker too. We will not attend such illegal motions," Anura Priyadharshana Yapa, a minister in Rajapaksa's disputed government, told reporters before the proceedings started.

Later, Rajapaksa and Wickremesinghe met in the parliament, sources close to the two men told Reuters.

"They spoke about the way forward," one source said, adding that the impasse was unlikely to break before a court ruling on whether President Sirisena's Nov. 9 decision to dissolve parliament was constitutional.

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That verdict is expected on Dec. 7.

Separately on Friday, the Appeal Court began a hearing on a petition signed by 122 legislators that challenged Rajapaksa's authority to hold office after he lost two no confidence votes earlier this month.

Rajapaksa's party argues that its government should remain in power because the president never accepted the no confidence votes.

The motions presented on Thursday and Friday are based on the assumption Rajapaksa has been sacked, thus he deems them illegal.

Rajapaksa presided over a government victory over Tamil rebels in 2009, ending a bloody 26-year civil war.

(Reporting by Ranga Sirilal and Shihar Aneez; Writing by John Geddie; Editing by Nick Macfie and Darren Schuettler)
Trial of former Hong Kong minister Patrick Ho hears key witness Cheikh Gadio went too far with talk of deals between Chinese companies and Senegal government

Lawyers for a former Hong Kong minister facing bribery charges in a New York court on Thursday attacked a former top African diplomat  a key prosecution witness  for making unfounded claims that Chinese companies struck deals worth up to US$20 million with the head of his nation.

Cheikh Gadio, previously a defendant in the case against Patrick Ho Chi-ping, admitted he regretted making the claims, and that he went too far.



It was Gadios third day of testimony at New York Southern District Court, where Ho  Hong Kongs home affairs secretary from 2002 to 2007  faces eight counts of bribery and money laundering. Prosecutors allege Ho made the bribes to African leaders to bag oil rights for Shanghai-based energy firm CEFC China Energy, which he represented.

Gadio was Senegals foreign minister when it renewed diplomatic ties with Beijing in 2005, cutting them with Taiwan. At the time, the Taipei government accused Beijing of offering economic aid to lure African nations into switching ties. After retiring from public office, he became a consultant. He met Ho in New York in 2014.

He allegedly played a key role helping Ho to give secret and confidential financial assistance to Chads President Idriss Deby, in exchange for CEFC getting development rights to an oilfield in the country.

To convince Ho and CEFC to pay him as the middleman before any talks took place, Gadio wrote to Ho in October 2014, citing an earlier unhappy encounter dealing with Chinese companies. He said he was not paid for acting as mediator in the renewal of diplomatic ties in 2005.

China wraps up vote-buying scandal as ex-official stands trial

In part of the report to Ho, titled Re-establishing ties with China experience, Gadio said he did not receive a single dollar from the 2005 negotiation, but the president of Senegal pocketed from US$10 million to US$20 million from Chinese companies.

But Gadio said on Thursday he deeply regretted making the claim.

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I went too far, the last part about Senegal was not true, he said.

He denied inventing the story, but admitted he did not know for sure it was true: Thats what I heard and I didnt have a personal confirmation.

But when challenged by Hos lawyer Edward Kim, he said: It was a terrible statement. I deeply regret it because I didnt have facts to back it up.



He said he made the claim to make sure he would get compensated for his hard work on the deal between Chad and CEFC.

Noting that CEFC had made no written contract with him, Gadio said: I was under the impression we would end up in a similar situation [as in 2005] since no documents were signed.

This is a political tradition back home. Businessmen pay candidates money for different reasons

Cheikh Gadio, former Senegalese foreign minister

He said he started negotiating the deal in Chad in late 2014, and felt frustrated that he was not paid until March and July 2015, when he took a total amount of US$400,000.

Seeking to challenge Gadios credibility, Kim asked if he received secret donations including 10 million West African francs (US$20,000) while running for Senegal president in 2012.

This is a political tradition back home, Gadio replied. Businessmen pay candidates money for different reasons.

The court heard that Gadios efforts to secure his payout bore no fruit. CEFC never signed a deal with him, and talks between the company and the Chadian government later broke down. Deby asked for US$1 billion for the rights, while CEFC would only offer US$200 million and some arms and discounted army loans.

Jurors in Patrick Ho trial say they hold no bias against China

Gadio recalled that negotiations between Chad and CEFC went very poorly and ended very bitterly.

By January 2017 the rights were no longer for sale.

The evidence showed Gadio mentioned to Ho when they first met that Gadio needed to earn real financial resources to run for the president of Senegal, asking for business cooperation with Ho and in other African states.

During Gadios testimony, Ho attentively studied the prosecution evidence shown on a monitor, and listened to Gadios recollections.





This article Trial of former Hong Kong minister Patrick Ho hears key witness Cheikh Gadio went too far with talk of deals between Chinese companies and Senegal government first appeared on South China Morning Post

For the latest news from the South China Morning Post download our mobile app. Copyright 2018.
By Ritah Kemigisa.

The deputy speaker of parliament Jacob Oulanya has directed the Minister of Internal Affairs Gen. Jeje Odong to present before parliament a statement explaining a Police ban on rallies organized by opposition Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) in Ankole sub region.

The Rwizi Region Police spokesperson Samson Kasasira on Tuesday said the Inspector General of Police Martin Okoth-Ochola had ordered the police Force not to allow the party to hold rallies in the area until further notice.

While presenting a matter of national importance last evening on the floor of parliament, Buhweju MP Francis Mwijukye questioned the ban saying it is illegal given the multiparty system in Uganda

It is from this that the deputy speaker of parliament Jacob Oulanya directed Gen. Jeje Odongo to explain the ban in a statement to the house on Tuesday next week.
Republicans in Washington couldnt repeal and replace Obamacareso the Trump administration apparently wants to let Alabama and Idaho go ahead an do it on their own instead.

On Thursday, federal regulators issued a long document inviting state lawmakers to knock down or rewrite fundamental pieces of the health care law, while offering a number of radical ideas for how they might go about it. Some of them are similar to proposals the GOP batted around during its flailing effort to drive a stake through the Affordable Care Act in 2017.

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One on of the administrations suggestions is to restructure the laws insurance subsidies, which help low and middle-income Americans pay their monthly premiums, so that theyre tied to age instead of income. (This would effectively give more help to high-earners and less to low-earners). Another is to let people spend those subsidies on cheap health plans that dont meet all of Obamacares coverage requirements. (This would likely drive up costs for some people who needed more comprehensive coverage).

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Its not clear that these sorts of changes would hold up in court. But if they did, such moves would likely undercut Obamacares consumer protections, including for Americans with pre-existing conditions.

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The new guidance is just the latest step in the Trump administrations long quest to dismantle much of Obamacare through executive fiat. The Department of Health and Human Service has already resurrected the sort of junk health insurance the ACA was meant to ban, by issuing rules making it easier for insurers to sell so-called short-term, limited duration plans. These policies dont have to meet Obamacares basic coverage requirements, and companies that sell them are allowed to deny or underwrite customers based on their health, which makes them a dirt-cheap option for, say, young male crossfit fanatics. And thanks to the death of the individual mandatewhich required individuals to obtain comprehensive insurance like whats sold on the exchanges or pay a fineAmericans are basically free to rely on those plans as their primary insurance, creating a parallel market to the Obamacare exchanges.

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Trump also wants to give states more leeway to opt-out of or restructure parts of Obamacare under what are known as Section 1332 waivers. This part of the law was intended to let states experiment with ways to provide to provide health insurance to their residents that was equally as comprehensive and affordable as what they would receive under the ACA. But under Trump, federal regulators are trying to turn the waivers into a tool states can use to deregulate their markets, while making them easier to apply for. (Previously, states needed to pass a law in order to implement a waiver; now a governor can do it with an executive order, giving power to Republican executives in divided state governments.)

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The guidance released on Thursday gives state officials four different waiver conceptswhich are basically broadly sketched out conservative reforms they could try in their insurance markets. Changing the way subsidies are structured and which plans they could pay for are the most dramatic. Regulators specifically suggest letting insurance shoppers use their tax credits on short-term and catastrophic plans. That would more or less obliterate Obamacares essential benefit rules, which currently require subsidy-eligible plans to cover a baseline package of medical services. It would also drive up the cost of comprehensive coverage, since younger, healthier people would almost certainly opt for cheaper plans. Obamacare exchange customers who get subsidies wouldnt necessarily be hurt, since the tax credits cap premiums as a share of their income. But sick people who earn too much for subsidies could find themselves paying more for the coverage they need.

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All of this needs a giant caveat, however: Its not at all clear that the Trump administration has the authority to approve the sorts of changes in its guidance document. I spoke with Christen Linke Young, a former Department of Health and Human Services Official under the Obama administration who is now a fellow at the USC-Brookings Schaeffer Initiative for Health Policy. She explained to me that while the Trump administration has tried to lower the legal guard-rails Obamacare included to prevent states from abusing 1332 waivers, it hasnt eliminated them entirely, and its not clear anybody could design waivers along the lines it has proposed while staying within their rules. The guidance document, she noted, doesnt even provide a clear roadmap for how to legally design these reforms, and doesnt state that the administration would approve them. Its a bit like the Department is fishing for ideas from the states to see if anyone can come up with a workable plana request for proposals about how to screw over patients with pre-existing conditions, so to speak.

Theres so much less here than meets the eye, she told me. Sick insurance customers in Mississippi better hope shes right.
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As seasons change and central heating returns, nows the time everyone is scrambling for new ways to moisturize reptilian skin. Recently, weve been hearing some buzz around body serums, which are similar to serums for the face, only theyre meant to moisturize and even exfoliate the dry bits on your legs, arms, and back.

Just like serums for the face, serums for the body offer a great way to deliver more active ingredients to the skin, explains New York dermatologist Hadley King, a clinical instructor of dermatology at the Weill Medical College of Cornell University. The extra skin-care step is helpful, she says, because though some body lotions also contain active ingredients, body serums often have higher concentrations of these ingredients. But the two arent interchangeable, and for best results should be used one after the other, layered lightest to heaviest (the serum before the lotion). Here, we asked dermatologists to help us sort through which ones are worth buying.

Weve covered One Love Organics before for their cult-y cleansing oil, but their body serum is another good one to know if you dont want to spend too much money, or time applying it. This ones unique in that it comes in a spray bottle, so dermatologist Noelani Gonzalez, the director of Cosmetic Dermatology at Mount Sinai West, says its fast and easy to use, ideal for someone whos short on time. It also has pumpkin seed oil, a natural source of salicylic acid which helps exfoliate, and she adds that generally essential oils are a must for those looking to plump and hydrate their skin.

If you want a body serum that exfoliates, Gonzalez and King like this Ren body serum which contains alpha-hydroxy acids (like lactic acid) and essential oils. Gentle chemical exfoliation helps to slough off dry dead skin cells, leaving the skin softer and smoother, King says, and the lactic acid in this gently gets rid of dead skin cells without any scrubbing.

For someone looking for something a bit cheaper, we have options for you, too. You can find this Vaseline deep repair serum in your local drugstore, and Gonzalez says it works because for hydrating because it has elastomers which help smooth skin and the vaseline jelly creates a protective layer for your skin.

Speaking of hydration, it wouldnt hurt to double down with some hyaluronic acid, which both experts said was an important humectant for plumping skin and retaining moisture. One hyaluronic acid product King likes is this luxurious serumslashbody milk from French pharmacy brand Vichy that contains ten essential oils.

Depending on what your concerns are, you can look for ingredients like Vitamin C and E, which are anti-aging and act as antioxidants, says Gonzalez. They help protect your skin from UV radiation and pollutionthese environmental stressors can speed up the aging process. In that vein, wed suggest this Moroccanoil that contains vitamin C, plus antioxidant-rich argan oil. And if its anything like Moroccanoils hair products, its going to smell delightfully fragrant.

And though this one has a steep price point, Gonzalez says its very promising for people hoping to lighten up dark spots and melasma. It has tranexamic acid in it, an ingredient that has been shown to improve melasma and dark spots in a few clinical studies.

And this is the body serum weve been using from Lily de Mai. Its unscented and specifically catered to sensitive skin, so it might be a good one to try if youre prone to body breakouts and rashes. We like that it contains a blend of omega-3 oils and antioxidant-rich plant oils (which feels decadent after a hot shower) plus ceramides (which derms tend to love for restoring the skin barrier).

Slate has relationships with various online retailers. If you buy something through our links, Slate may earn an affiliate commission. We update links when possible, but note that deals can expire and all prices are subject to change. All prices were up to date at the time of publication.
Michael Cohens guilty plea to a single felony count of lying to Senate and House committees will not appreciably add to his criminal liability. As Ken White observed, the panoply of serious felonies to which Cohen previously pleaded guilty carry far harsher likely penalties than the worst Cohen could expect to face for this single new charge. In fact, Cohens new plea was actually very good news for Donald Trumps former lawyer, in that its likely his overall sentence will be reduced in return for his cooperation with the office of special counsel Robert Mueller.

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Yet Cohens new plea must have been quite chilling to others, including the presidentwhom the charging documents implicate in the secret pursuit of a Russian real estate scheme in the midst of the 2016 campaignas well as a number of other individuals who may have been less than honest during their interviews before the Senate and House intelligence committee inquiries into Russias role in the campaign.

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These potentially dishonest witnesses could be excused for having previously believed they could lie to Congress with a certain amount of impunity.

Making a material misstatement to congressional investigators, even in an unsworn interview, is a potential felony, as is stating such falsehoods to the FBI or other federal law enforcement agencies. Yet prosecutions for lying to Congress are rarely brought; a 2007 study found that there had been only six successful convictions for perjury or related charges with respect to Congress during the prior 60 years.

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This is probably not because witnesses called before congressional hearings are unusually honest. Rather, prosecutors rarely investigate such charges absent a referral from Congress. Furthermore, potential defendants often are not pursued with particular vigor by prosecutors. Perhaps this is because the alleged liars are often members of the executive branch whom the Department of Justice, part of the same branch of the government, may be less than enthusiastic about pursuing.

Some witnesses affiliated with Trump and his campaign may have been lulled into thinking they could lie with particular impunity.

The case of CIA Director Richard Helms actually proves the point. In 1977, Helms pleaded nolo contendere to misdemeanor charges of failing to testify fully, completely, and accurately before a Senate committee. Helms had lied about the agencys role in subverting Chilean President Salvador Allende, who was overthrown by a military coup. The circumstances giving rise to even these relatively light charges (for which Helms served no jail time) were quite unusual. Helms was charged in the wake of Sen. Frank Churchs unusually searching post-Watergate inquiry into abuses by the nations intelligence agencies. A more typical case is that of thenDirector of National Intelligence James Clapper, who faced no legal consequences for his admittedly inaccurate Senate testimony regarding the governments warrantless gathering of email and other data from U.S. citizens.

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Until very recently, lying before the House Intelligence Committee during its Russia investigation has seemed, even by generally lax congressional standards, likely to be nonconsequential. Far from considering the referral of even the most mendacious of witnesses for potential prosecution, the committees Republican majority has refused even to give Mueller transcripts of its interviews. The GOP majority thereby all but ensured that prosecutions for false statements simply could not be brought, at least in the absence of voluntary admissions like Cohens.

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Yet that will soon change. Incoming Democratic House Intelligence Committee Chair Adam Schiff has made it clear that one of the first items on the new majoritys agenda next year will be to forward those transcripts to the special counsel. Those transcripts will likely be accompanied by expressions of concern regarding the veracity of the testimony of several witnesses, in light of facts that have recently come to light, including as a result of Muellers recently filed charging documents in the Cohen case and other cases.

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The irony of this new situation is that, as Susan Hennessey has observed, outgoing House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes, Rep. Mike Conaway (who purportedly led the Russia inquiry after Nunes quasi-recusal), lead interrogator Trey Gowdy, and the other GOP members of the committee may, wholly unintentionally, prove to have been devastatingly effective questioners in the service of future false-statement prosecutions.

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This is because, as the House Intelligence Committee majoritys publicly released report indicates, the GOP appears to have all but openly encouraged its witnesses to deny any and all potential wrongdoing, regardless of the plausibility of their denials. Thus, the GOP members and their staffs appear to have been singularly uninterested in testing the veracity of witnesses testimony or even inquiring into elemental questions, such as whether Donald Trump Jr. called his father regarding his Trump Tower meeting with representatives of the Russian government, or whether Blackwater founder Erik Prince lied regarding yet another Trump Tower meeting, this one including Don Jr. and, among others, representatives of two Gulf states.*

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As a result, some witnesses affiliated with Trump and his campaign may have been lulled into thinking they could lie with particular impunity. It is therefore possible, if not likely, that a fairly substantial number of witnesses, including possibly the presidents eldest son, will soon find themselves facing the unusual prospect of being criminally charged for lying before a House panel that all but welcomed their dishonesty.

And as Muellers prior felony charges for lying against individuals including Michael Flynn, George Papadopoulos, and Alex van der Zwaan have demonstrated, the threat of such criminal liability can often be just what it takes to induce liars to tell important truths to investigators.
Nancy Pelosi cleared the first hurdle to regaining her former position as speaker of the House on Wednesday, earning 203 yes votes and 32 noes from her fellow Democrats. To get the gig, she has to turn 15 of those no votes into yeses by January, when the floor vote takes place.

Its been frustrating to watch members of both parties do battle over who Pelosi is, what shes done, and whether she deserves another term as speaker, because there seems to be little room for nuance. Republicans have long made her out to be a cartoonish villain, a morally bankrupt banshee with an insatiable thirst for power. Theyve spent millions, if not billions, attacking her with ad campaigns in congressional districts she has no connection to, even as she held relatively little power as House minority leader. Theyve used her name as shorthand for sharp-elbowed ambition and her image, usually a photo with teeth bared and eyes bulging, as a dog whistle for conservatives who gag at the sight of a woman asserting her dominance in the public sphere.

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To counter that narrative, some Democratic supporters have made Pelosi out to be a feminist savior, a groundbreaking role model who can translate the momentum of this years surge of female candidates and activism into a new era of progressive legislative accomplishments. In a recent New York Times piece by Kate Zernike that explores how Pelosi navigates her distorted public image, one Pelosi fan in Philadelphia notes that aging men in politics are perceived as experienced, while aging women are seen as expired. If I think about who we need as a leader, its a woman whos raised five children, she said. In the same piece, another woman addresses an audience at an organization that trains female Democratic candidates, calling Pelosi our style icon and political fairy godmother.

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This sexist rhetoric, and conversations about the rhetoric, can make it impossible to have a fair, honest discussion about her political leadership.

Its not just political allies who are hailing Pelosi as a feminist superhero. Journalists looking for vivid, accessible ways to illustrate her unflagging work ethic have latched onto gendered cliches. Both Zernike and HuffPosts Jonathan Cohn have riffed on the famous line about Ginger Rogers, suggesting that Pelosi must do everything her male counterparts do backwards and in high heels. Elsewhere in her piece, Zernike describes one of Pelosis facial expressions as a look that is most withering when it comes from a mother. I think this was supposed to be a compliment, a celebration of female reproductive capacity as a source of strength rather than vulnerability. But for the life of me, I cannot imagine any facial expression that mothers and childless women perform differently. Nor can I imagine any journalist remarking on a glare that is particularly intense because its coming from a father.

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As a writer on the women and gender beat, its my job to take notice when narratives like these emerge, as they do just about every time a woman vies for political power. Im starting to think, though, that viewing female leaders through a gendered lens can be at once tiresome and self-defeating. When I write about male politicians, I scrutinize their policy proposals, messaging, personal histories, and alliances. When I write about female ones, I do all that, plus untangle all the gendered biases that attach themselves to their public personas. But its not just that the sexist rhetoric thats billowed around Pelosi since her entree into national leadership is an extra line item to ponder and write about. Its that this sexist rhetoric, and conversations about the rhetoric, can make it impossible to have a fair, honest discussion about her political leadership.

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There are plenty of reasons to admire Pelosi and support her nomination for speaker that have nothing to do with gender. She was instrumental in passing the Affordable Care Act, she has an unparalleled knack for whipping votes and knowing her own caucus, shes a tireless and reliably bankable fundraiser, and she is one of the more progressive Democrats in Congress, more liberal than the vast majority of those whove publicly opposed her. There are also many good reasons to want someone different at the helm. Shes not a great public speakerI shudder at the memory of her rousing election-night invocation, Lets hear it  for pre-existing medical conditions! She seems uncomfortable with, if not downright peeved by, the ouster of long-serving Democrats by younger, more progressive politicians. She has refused to make the protection of abortion rights a foundational pillar in the partys congressional platform. And her maddening postelection focus on bipartisanship and common ground is a poor match for both the urgent threats an increasingly racist and undemocratic Republican Party poses to American society and the anti-Trump furor that produced the blue wave that will likely put her back in the speakers chair.

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These reasonable anti-Pelosi arguments bear no resemblance to the reasons put forward by Democrats in Congress who want her gone. Their opposition to the longtime leader stems mostly from the fact that shes unpopular with moderates between the coastsdue, in large part, to the GOPs relentless assault on her character. When legislators like Rep. Seth Moulton and Rep. Tim Ryan say they want a more moderate face for the party, theyre not only responding to Pelosis left-wing voting record, which is very much in line with the opinions of Democratic voters nationwide. Theyre also capitulating to the sexist caricature Republicans have marshaled against her.

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Theres a good argument to be made that any Democrat with Pelosis visibility and long history of leadership would get branded a villain. Democrats rag on Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and outgoing Speaker Rep. Paul Ryan plenty, and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumers mug (usually wearing a stern look, very withering and fatherly) has appeared on a few pro-GOP mailers. But theres something obsessive, almost feral, about the way Republicans sink their teeth into Democratic women, especially women of color, regardless of how much power they actually wield. You can see it in Republicans fixation on Rep.-elect Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who has never held political office; in the proliferation of Rep. Maxine Waters image in the sort of right-wing memes that populated mail bomber Cesar Sayocs Twitter feed; and in the continued smearing of Hillary Clinton.

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By backing away from the women the GOP has villainized, the Moultons and Ryans of the Democratic Party ensure that their fellow moderate Democrats will always harbor more reservations about female leaders than male ones. And because there are so few women at the top, any prominent womans failure or unpopularity is seen as a referendum on all women in leadership, making too many peopleincluding several progressive men who, after Clintons 2016 loss, told me the Democrats should go back to nominating white guyswary of ever putting a woman at the top again.

You cant let the opposite party choose the leader of your party, Pelosi said in a speech last month. Democrats shouldnt let them set the terms of the debate about her, either. Im not suggesting anyone stop discussing Pelosis gender or its effect on her public perception and treatmentfor one thing, her success in an environment that has been hostile to women is a testament to her skills as a politician and leader. But this round of discussions about Pelosi, and the backlash to her, and the backlash to the backlash to her, is a clear illustration of the second-order effects of gender bias. Sexism doesnt just harm women in politics. It also poisons political analysis.

Advocates for gender equity sometimes encourage people to imagine the advances humanity might make, or might have made earlier, if half the worlds intellect were valued and utilized as much as the others. I wonder what the Democratic Party might accomplish if people on the left didnt have to spend so much time rebutting gendered attacks on their female elected officials and could instead talk about whether theyre good at their jobs.
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While the rest of the country has experienced an orderly counting of votes from the midterm elections earlier this month, an electoral calamity has emerged in North Carolina. Republican Mark Harris holds a lead of 905 votes over Democrat Dan McCready in the states 9th Congressional District. But the state elections board has refused to certify Harris victory in light of serious, credible allegations of wrongdoing that look like they were designed to throw the election to Harris. The board must now hold a hearing into this alleged chicanery and decide whether to call a new election.

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Unfortunately for the board, a court recently ruled that its very existence is unconstitutional. It is currently set to dissolve at midnight on Monday.

The problems in North Carolina stem from what the North Carolina State Board of Elections vice chair euphemistically calls unfortunate activities in Bladen County. A series of affidavits submitted to the board raise the possibility of a scheme to suppress the countys absentee ballots, which skew Democratic. Two voters stated that a young woman came to their houses and claimed she was responsible for collecting absentee ballots. One voter allowed the woman to finish filling out her ballot for her; the other gave the mystery woman the ballot without signing it or placing it in a sealed envelope. Another individual, Dwight Sheppard, told the board that he heard people at a polling station say that local operative Leslie McCrae Dowless Jr. was set to receive a $40,000 bonus if Harris won.

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Reports of an unidentified woman illegally collecting partially completed ballots may help to explain why the number of unreturned absentee mail-in ballots in the 9th Congressional District was unusually high. Compared with other North Carolina counties, the counties in this district had a substantially higher rate of mail-in ballots that were requested but not returned. Moreover, Harris received a surprisingly high percentage of votes from absentee mail-in ballots, winning 61 percent to McCreadys 38 percent. Indeed, Bladen County was the only county in the state in which a Republican candidate won the absentee vote.

Taken together, these facts suggest that someone may have illegally collected and scrapped Democratic absentee mail-in ballots to help secure Harris victory. Thats why the elections board refused to certify the race. The members are divided along partisan lines, with four Democrats, four Republicans, and one unaffiliated. But they unanimously chose to delay the certification and decided on Friday to hold a hearing into potential fraud.

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If the commission were to conclude it has plausible evidence of misconduct, it could order a new election. If it cannot reach a conclusion either way, the U.S. House of Representatives could hold its own hearings and choose the winner.

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But there is another possibility bubbling beneath the surface: chaos. The current elections board was created by the GOP legislature in order to strip Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper of his authority over elections. In October, however, a state court ruled that the boards structure violated separation of powers principles under the North Carolina Constitution. Legislative Republicans had hoped to reverse this decision through a constitutional amendment sent to the voters in November. But voters rejected the amendment transferring power away from the governor, leaving the courts decision standing. As a result, the courts orderprohibiting the board from operating beyond midnight on Dec. 3remains in effect. There is a very real chance that, in the midst of resolving a disputed election, the board will cease to exist in its current form.

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Cooper could avoid this outcome by asking the court to stay its decision a bit longer in light of the extraordinary circumstances. But after dealing with hardball Republican tactics for two years, he does not seem ready to back down. The North Carolina Department of Justice has announced that once the courts stay dissolves, the board will revert to its original form: a five-member body with three members from the governors party and two from the opposition party. Thats what Cooper has wanted all along, and he clearly isnt eager to postpone it again. As of Thursday night, Cooper had not yet shown his hand. His spokesman, Ford Porter, told the Raleigh News & Observer: Its clear that when the stay dissolves, the law will revert to the former board structure and we are reviewing what the law allows.

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For its part, the board appears prepared to disappear, even as it plans for an imminent hearing. At the end of Fridays meeting, its chairman thanked his fellow board members in an apparent farewell. I have enjoyed serving with all of you, he told them, reported the News & Observers Lauren Horsch. Thank you for your cooperation and hard work during the time weve served together.

The outcome of this race doesnt matter much for the composition of the U.S. House of Representatives, where Democrats will already hold a substantial advantage in 2019. But the incident further illustrates what a mess North Carolina has become under the iron-fisted rule of a legislature dominated by Republicans, thanks in part to one of the countrys most ruthless gerrymanders. If the GOP hadnt spent two years trying to wrest control of elections from Cooper, the state might have well-functioning electoral infrastructure. Instead, it is teetering on the precipice of bedlam.
For years after 9/11, when victims families trudged to New York Police Department headquarters to collect whatever belongings of their lost loved ones had been found, police offered the courtesy of ushering them to private rooms for these highly charged moments. Eventually, it dawned on the police that the same dynamics apply to families of all murder victims. When they show up at any police property room to retrieve a package containing a victims clothing and other possessions, says Susan Herman, a deputy NYPD commissioner, Everybody wants to look at it before they walk out, but they shouldnt have to do it in front of lots of strangers in a noisy space. Thanks to that insight, NYPD now routinely reserves quiet, private places for grieving families to take a moment and be by themselves, as Herman puts it.

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For a gargantuan agency that in a years time comes in contact with millions of distraught people, its a tiny gesture. But when dozens of such innovations get strung end to end, as NYPD has laid out on Thursday in a wide-ranging report on its efforts to improve how it eases crime victims burden, the cumulative effect adds up to a much grander proposition: that the marriage of modern policing and crime-victim services is more than an accidental byproduct of victims calls for help, but in fact can help make a city safer.

Three years ago, I took a detailed look at this theory of policing and Hermans unusual role in it as it began. NYPDs commissioner at the time, Bill Bratton, had recruited Herman out of academia and a long career in victim advocacy to head a new Office of Collaborative Policing. Her mission: to make nice with citizens and advocacy groups and repair the breach of trust between police and residents. This was Bratton 2.0. The crime fighter credited with wrestling rampant violence to the ground, often by using racially fraught tactics, now sought to fix what broken windows policing had broken. If those most at risk of crime trust the police more, so the thinking goes, then more crimes get solved, or better yet prevented.

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In Herman, Bratton had chosen not just any victims advocate, but one who argued that for all the gains won by the victims rights movement, America has largely failed to make good on its promises to give victims true justice. Theres convincing evidence on her side, starting with the plain fact that huge numbers of even violent-crime victims nationwide dont trust the police enough to report their crimes. And the vast majority of victims who do go to the police receive none of the services set up to help themoften because they dont even know about them.

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And so, once installed at 1 Police Plaza in 2014, Herman set about the task of scrutinizing NYPDs everyday functions and asking, she says, If you interact with victims at all, how could you make their experience better? How do you change your practices to become more efficient, more accessible, more understandable, and less burdensome to victims?

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For its sheer scale, NYPD s effort stands out, but its not alone.

The results, nearly five years into her tenure, range from simple tweaks, like the changes in property-retrieval protocols, to far more elaborate initiatives. The department now uses smartphones and other digital technology to streamline the blizzard of paperwork and interviews that victims endure. Four-foot-by-eight-foot privacy screens and waterproof sheets now block the view of bodies and blood at crime scenes. Homicide detectives now must provide regular updates on investigations to designated family contacts. Officers on patrol now can conference in sign-language interpreters via video links to communicate with the deaf. Child trauma response teams now reach out within 24 hours to young witnesses of domestic violence. Many of the initiatives carry no cost, but the centerpiece programplacing two victim advocates in all 86 police precincts and public housing police units to give immediate care to victimscosts the city $15 million annually. The list of 101 initiatives is infused with trauma-informed practices, a raft of changes in police training, and an overriding goal to connect more victims with available counseling and reimbursement for funerals, medical costs, lost wages, and other disruptions in their lives.

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This is an amazing step forward, says Heather Warnken, a visiting fellow at the U.S. Department of Justice who analyzes crime-victim policy and research. Warnken crunched national policing data earlier this year to conclude that a large majority of police departments fail to connect victims into the multibillion-dollar network of support services established under the Victims of Crime Act. The new NYPD report shows a commitment that really sets them apart from the majority of agencies around the country, she says.

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For its sheer scale, NYPDs effort stands out, but its not alone, Warnken says. She points to a long-standing, federally funded program at the International Association of Chiefs of Police to improve law enforcementbased victim services. Progress in that programs rollout has been glacial, but Warnken says thats because it is strict about using evidence-based methods to measure results and set policy.

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On that score, NYPD has a long way to go. Because its collection of victim-services improvements is so varied in substance and timing, theres no practical way to measure the effectiveness of the program in isolation. The department does survey crime victims about their interactions with police, but that effort mainly gives feedback on individual officers. An ambitious system to track public sentiment about NYPD is still in development. The department will commission a formal assessment of its showcase program, the precinct-based victim advocates, but that too is a ways off. For now, theres no real way to connect the dots on whether all this effort improves the publics trust in NYPD and then whether that in itself causes crime reductions, especially at a time when so many other factors contribute to giving New York bragging rights as the nations safest big city.

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Even if Hermans innovations achieve their ultimate goals, NYPD faces other critical challenges. No. 80 on Hermans list describes how outside victim advocates act as a check on the quality of rape investigations, but the departments Special Victims Division remains in turmoil over findings that its understaffing neglects victims. Other points of friction exist in marijuana enforcement, gang monitoring, anti-violence strategies, and accountability for police brutality. Then theres the reality that Herman and NYPD arent about to address one of the biggest barriers to helping victims: the linking of most victim aid to the functions of police and prosecutors, effectively leaving most victimsthose that do not report their crimes or whose reports never result in prosecutionin the cold.

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This is not to say that repairing trust as a crime-reduction strategy is failing. A solid body of research says its critical to success in policing. For now, though, New Yorks efforts are a work in progress. But NYPDs victim-services initiatives can at least take credit for a simpler virtue: treating victims better for its own sake. In the coming days, NYPD, with help from the federal Bureau of Justice Assistance, will ship bound copies of its report throughout the criminal justice community, including to about 100 big-city police departments. The list of innovations represents a grab bag of ideas. If simple human compassion can be the goal of a police department with 55,000 sworn officers and civiliansdwarfing all other cities departments, and larger even than all but four states combined law enforcement forcesthen maybe others will decide they too can make the effort to give that a try.
Tim Scott of South Carolina, the only black Republican in the Senate, will not vote to confirm Thomas Farr, a nominee for the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina. I could not support Mr. Farrs nomination, he told the State, a South Carolina newspaper.

Scott cited work Farr did on behalf of the late Jesse Helms, the notoriously race-baiting North Carolina senator. When the Justice Department investigated Helms 1990 campaign for discouraging black voters while running against Charlottes black mayor Harvey Gantt, Farr headed the campaigns legal defense.

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Farrs nomination was in limbo as several Republican senators besides Scott were either on the fence or opposed to him, even as he advanced toward a final vote Wednesday. Farrs confirmation vote was scheduled for Thursday but was pushed back to next week.

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While many of Trumps judicial nominees have attracted criticism from Senate Democrats and liberal activist groups, the opposition to Farr has been particularly intense. His long history in North Carolina politics included defending in court a voter identification law that a panel of judges said was written with almost surgical precision to target black voters. He also defended a congressional map drawn up by a Republican-controlled North Carolina legislature that a federal court later struck down as a partisan gerrymander. The Helms campaign attracted the Justice Departments interest, according to Politico, when it sent postcards targeting African-American voters that suggested they were not eligible to vote.

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The DOJ investigated the campaign for having conducted a postcard mailing campaign designed to intimidate and threaten black voters throughout the state of North Carolina and filed a complaint in federal court. The campaign eventually settled with a consent decree. Farr, according to the Post, denied playing any role in drafting the postcards in 1990.

Scott told the State newspaper that a newly surfaced 1991 DOJ memo describing the Helms campaigns efforts to discourage black people from voting shed new light on Mr. Farrs activities.

The memo said that Farr had worked on a previous ballot security program for Helms in 1984, including a postcard mailing to voters in predominantly black precincts which was designed to serve as a basis to challenge voters on election day. But Farr, the DOJ said, did not play an active role in the 1990 Helms campaign.

Republicans would have needed all three votes from Scott, Susan Collins of Maine, and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska to confirm Farr because Jeff Flake has pledged to vote against all judicial nominees until a bill to protect special counsel Robert Mueller reches the Senate floor. Despite that ultimatum, Flake told the Post that he was uncomfortable with Farrs nomination: I wouldnt support that even without the Mueller issue.
How did Donald Trump, a candidate with a 60 percent unfavorable rating, become president? How has he gained near-total control of the Republican Party? Why have institutions and people who might have stood up to himchurches, business leaders, congressional Republicansfallen into line behind him? One answer is that hes aided by a phalanx of conservatives who dont particularly like him. These politicians and pundits serve Trump by attacking his critics. They arent Trumpers, but they train their fire on anyone from the political left or center who challenges the president and his supporters.

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Kevin Williamson, a correspondent at National Review, has long been a Trump skeptic. Three years ago, he literally wrote The Case Against Trump. But then Trump captured the Republican nomination and the presidency. That made Trump the rights standard-bearer, and it put conservatives like Williamson in an awkward position: What should they do when progressives or adversarial journalists criticize the president and his supporters? Should Williamson and his colleagues seriously entertain the merits of these challenges? Or should they revert to the conventions of politics by reflexively attacking criticism from the left?

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The usual rap on Williamson is that hes too harsh. But when Trump supporters are challenged by people outside the conservative fold, Williamson goes soft. This week he came to the defense of white evangelicals who share Trumps views on race and immigration. His argument illustrates how a Never Trumper can serve the president and his base by adopting their tactics and assailing their enemies.

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In this weeks post, Williamson brushes off an article in Slate that faulted Trumps evangelical supporters for expressing open hostility to immigrants, Muslims, and ethnic minorities. Williamson says the articles author has no substantive interest in Christianity and therefore has no business telling Christians what their faith requires. I know this is false, since I wrote the Slate article. When Ross Douthat published his book Bad Religion, I spent four days in a 10-part dialogue with him about Christianity, morals, and modern life. Williamson has clipped a sentence from that dialogue, omitted its context, and misrepresented its meaning to pretend that I was blowing off the religion that, in reality, I spent the rest of that week (and many weeks since then) discussing.

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Trumps aided by a phalanx of conservatives who dont particularly like him. These politicians and pundits serve Trump by attacking his critics.

When Williamson says I have no substantive interest in Christianity, and when he asks who appointed me to be the pope of Evangelical Protestantism, White People Synod, what hes really hinting at is that Im not Christian. Im Jewish. This spares Williamson and his readers the difficulty of dealing with an inconvenient fact: The person who was quoted in the Slate article using the term un-Christian to describe Trumpist bigotry among evangelicals is Ed Stetzer, the executive director of the Billy Graham Center at Wheaton College. Stetzer is an evangelical Christian. So is Mike Gerson, the other Trump critic quoted in the article. The values described in the articlevalues that Trump and many of his evangelical supporters openly spurnused to be considered Judeo-Christian: respect parents, love the stranger, dont steal, dont kill innocent people, do unto others as youd have them do unto you. When Williamson suggests that Christians cant be held to these standards by anyone who isnt Christian, he, like Trump, is appealing to tribalism, not faith or reason.

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Every allegation in the Slate article about Trumpist immorality among evangelicals was backed up by hard data. Williamson misrepresents that too. He accuses the article of religiously illiterate horsepucky in one paragraph, for conflating care for the poor with political support for the current social-welfare bureaucracy. He doesnt tell his readers about the rest of that paragraph, which refuted his spin:

The charitable explanation for [polls that show white evangelical opposition to welfare spending] is that white evangelicals are skeptical about federal spending, not about helping the poor. But even when survey questions focus on help, not on spending, theyre unmoved. The [Billy Graham Center] poll asked respondents to choose, from a list of 12 issues and traits, which was most important in determining how they voted in 2016. Among black and Hispanic evangelicals, a candidates ability to help those in need was the second or third most commonly named factor. Among white evangelicals, it ranked almost dead last.

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What Williamson defends, at bottom, is a Christian exemption from universal moral claims. Gerson, writing in the Atlantic in April, worried that Trump was reducing evangelicals to an interest group in need of protection and preferences. Williamson embraces that reduction. Christians have the same legitimate right as any other group in a liberal democratic society to pursue their own political interests as they understand them, he writes. If they decide their interests lie in continued support of Donald Trump, Williamson seems fine with that. After all, he reasons, theyre operating in a secular political system, the democratic realities of which necessitate various compromises and tradeoffs.

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Once Christians are liberated from moral scrutiny, they can abandon what Williamson derides as the progressive vision of Christianity: a cult of niceness. They can embrace, in his words, their healthy distrust of politics-powered do-goodism. In short, they can renounce virtue.

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Its hard to believe that this is the same Kevin Williamson who, just a year ago, excoriated many Republicans for

celebrating Donald Trumpnot in spite of his being a dishonest, crude serial adulterer but because of it. His dishonesty, the quondam cardinals of Virtue Inc. assure us, is simply the mark of a savvy businessman, his vulgarity the badge of his genuineness and lack of political correctness, and his pitiless abuse of his several wives and children the mark of a genuine alpha male.  Bill Bennett dismissed those who pointed out Trumps endless lies and habitual betrayals as suffering from moral superiority, from people on high horses, and said that Trump simply is a guy who says some things awkwardly, indecorously, infelicitously. Thus did the author of The Book of Virtues embrace the author of Grab Em By the P***y.

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How did Williamson go from the unflinching frankness of that 2017 article to the subjectivist excuse making of his post on white evangelicals? By switching targets. When you focus your scrutiny on one side of a dispute, its easy to become an apologist for the other.

Thats how a Never Trumper ends up as a wingman for Trumpers. He tells them that nobody has the right to judge them, that criticism from outsiders is fake, and that basic human kindness is left-wing sap. He thinks hes standing up to the left. In truth, hes coddling the right.
President Trump arrived in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on Thursday night for the annual G-20 summit, which is likely to be something between a waste of time and a disaster.

In part, this stems from the ramshackle nature of the organizationthe leaders of 20 nations (or, actually, 19 nations plus the European Union) assembled to discuss a mishmash agenda, with no binding resolutions attached.

But to the extent that things turn disastrous, the problem lies with Trump. Even something as unwieldy as the G-20 can be molded to good ends through shrewd strategy and adroit diplomacy, neither of which Trump possesses in the slightest measure. Quite the contrary: hence the anticipatory shudders no doubt reverberating through the bones of all the other attending leaders and several of Trumps own aides.

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Other, smaller summits of this sort once served a concrete purpose. For instance, the Group of Seven (G-7), which consists of the worlds seven largest economic powers, was created in 1973 to manage global finances after fixed exchange rates fell apart.

Now, though, we live in a G-Zero world, as political scientist Ian Bremmer puts ita world of collapsed power blocs, where no one state (or alliance of states) is able to shape events globally across a wide range of issues. International politics has become a more complex game. Even large nations are rarely able to assert their power; they have to wrangle for dominance or influence with smaller or less-powerful nations that may have special skills or intense interests in a specific region (such as the Middle East or Asia-Pacific) or a specific endeavor (such as trade).

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There are few more dangerous people than a powerful idiot who thinks hes a genius.

In this setting, precisely because of its looseness, the G-20 can be a forum where leaders do this wranglingprobe possibilities, form coalitions, offer deals, make threats. Sometimes this is done in the formal sessions; more often, its done at informal bilaterals, one-on-one meetings behind closed doors. Engaging in this wrangling requires a few things: some cards to play, a firm awareness of your own interests, and a deep knowledge of the other leaders interests.

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Trump has cards to play, but he knows nothing about interestsneither his own countrys nor the other countries, or how those might collide or converge. Worse still, he doesnt think he needs to know about them. When asked at press conference at Mar-a-Lago last week whether hes been preparing to meet the leaders, especially Chinese President Xi Jinping, with whom hes been waging a trade war, Trump replied that he didnt need to prepare. I have been preparing for it all my life, he said. I know every ingredient, every stat. I know it better than everybody knows it. My gut is always right.

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A few things are worth noting about these remarks. First, in his prior career as a real estate magnate, Trump had some crafty dealings with contractors, tenants, unions, and the New York City Buildings Department, but negotiating with the president of China is something very different. In short, he has not been preparing for this all his life.

Second, its not clear just what ingredients and statistics Trump thinks he knows, or needs to know, that give him a leg up at the G-20, but even if theres something to his claim, its irrelevant. Oscar Wilde once defined a cynic as a man who knows the price of everything and the value of nothing. Thats Trump, though cynic barely begins to hint at the depths of his shallowness.

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Third, anyone who thinks he knows something better than everybody knows it is either a genius or an idiot, and there are few more dangerous people than a powerful idiot who thinks hes a genius.

Finally, anyone who not only trusts his gut but believes its always right should be disqualified from making judgments that affect the lives of millions. Many talented people, from all walks of life, have well-honed instincts, and yes, some of them feel the rumblings of those instincts in their guts, but their instincts have been formed and sharpened by education and experience. Trumps gut is just a gut.

Trump makes judgments about one issue or one country at a time, with no assessment of how they affect his positions with other issues or other countries. As a result, in almost all of his dealings, he has alienated every leader who might have been a useful ally in some other context.

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For instance, Syria is a complicated conflict; it might be impervious to settlement by anyone. But if there were a diplomatic solution, it would have to involve a consortium of nationsincluding Russia, Iran, Turkey, and Syria itselfand Trump has either annoyed or sent puzzlingly mixed messages to all of them. Another example: Trump wants to isolate Iran; to do that effectively, he would need the cooperation of its trading partners (actual or potential) in Europe, Russia, and Chinaand he has angered all of them. He wants to play trade-war games with China; to do that well, he would need to form a common front with Canada and the Europeansyet he has also slapped tariffs on them. He wants to sign a nuclear-disarmament deal with North Korea; to do that, he needs the active help of China and South Koreayet hes  you get the idea.

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Even with leaders whom he has tried to befriend, he hasnt done so in ways that give him leverage. Russian President Vladimir Putin has corrupted U.S. elections, poisoned exiles in allied nations, and abetted mass killings in Syriaall to no objection from Trump. But now that Trump has an opportunity to exert some pressure over Russias recent naval aggression against Ukraine, hes backed away; he canceled a one-on-one meeting he and Putin were scheduled to hold at the G-20. He canceled the session ostensibly as a protest against Russias actions. But a protest would have been more potent if he had held the meeting and made the U.S. position clear, especially since our position on Russia isnt clear at all. Trumps Cabinet secretaries and U.N. ambassador denounce Putin for one thing or another, but Trump says little, often contradicting his experts, leaving Putin with the sense that he might get away with whatever he wants to do.

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One likely explanation is that Trump didnt want to have a meeting where he would have to criticize Putin.

And here, special counsel Robert Muellers investigation comes into play. Just before the summit, Trumps former lawyer Michael Cohen revealed that his client was angling to build a Trump Tower in Moscow, even offering Putin the $50 million penthouse apartment, at the same time that he was running for president, promising to restore good relations with Russia if elected and telling his crowds that he had no business deals in that country. This is the blackmail that Putin may have been holding over Trump all along. Quite aside from the scuzzy (and possibly impeachable) nature of this relationship, it precludes Trumpand prevents the United Statesfrom having a coherent policy toward Russia, from dealing with any threats (or opportunities) that Putin poses.

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The same may be true of Saudi Arabia, where Trump has also pursued investments. Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salmanwho is also at the G-20ordered the brutal murder of journalist and U.S. resident Jamal Khashoggi), but Trump has firmly stood by him, no strings attached, even waving away the CIAs assessment that MBS was involved.

The one thing Trump might accomplish this weekend is averting a trade war with China. This could be the summits banner headline, depending on the outcome of a one-on-one meeting, scheduled for Saturday, with Xi. If the meeting goes well and Trump assents to holding additional talks, rather than imposing steeper tariffs on Chinese goods, he will only be averting a crisis that he created. Of course, the outcome could go the other way: Trump may decide against further talks, thinking he could squeeze more out of Xi by piling on more tariffs or threatening to do soa risky tactic, as Xi might not scream but rather escalate the conflict.

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Either way, Trump is going into these talks awfully nonchalantly. China wants to make a deal, he said at the same Mar-a-Lago press conference where he touted the wisdom of his gut. After all, he and Xi have a great relationship, he boasted. I like him a lot. I think he likes me.

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Trump doesnt get it. First, the two of them dont have a great relationship. Second, friendship among leaders can boost the prospects of a deal if they share interests, but not if they dont, and its unclear which interests either Trump or Xi is willing to compromise in order to get a deal at the moment. The decisive factor may be whether Trump takes the advice of his chief economic adviser, Larry Kudlow, his trade negotiator, Robert Lighthizer, or his director of trade policy (and author of Death by China), Peter Navarro. The three disagree over tariffs, and, as Trump boarded Air Force One for the 11-hour flight to Buenos Aires, he hadnt yet taken sides.

Theres the nub of the matter: Trump is going into high-level talks that may determine U.S.-China relations, the jobs and fortunes of millions of Americans, and the shape of the world economy for the next few yearsand he doesnt have a grasp of what U.S. policy should be or even what U.S. interests are. He doesnt satisfy the most basic definition of a national leader, much less a world leader.
Semiconductors are essential to make the devices and technologies that power modern society and infrastructureincluding military assets, utilities, and everyday devices like smartphones and computers.

Maintainingor obtaininga leading edge in the research, development, and production of semiconductors has been highlighted as a national security priority for numerous nations, including China and the United States.
It all makes sense once you realize they want to kill us, by Mike Whitney - The Unz Review : 'It is now apparent that these products in ...
Violence against women is often trivialised and excused in Slovakia.

News: Receive favorite authors articles by email. Try the new feature and turn on the subscription.

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A few weeks ago, the case of a woman who was beaten by her ex-boyfriend in March went viral. She suffered black eyes, a broken nose, cut lip and post trauma. A man who caused her health issues was fined with 1,500.

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Edina Varadyova is one of the women who are not afraid to go public to point out violence against women. However, there are still many who are experiencing physical or mental violence and keeping it to themselves.

Violence against women is the most widespread violation of human rights. One third of women in the world are estimated to have experienced violence in their life, based on statistics cited by the European Commission.

Viewing harassment or violence against women as something normal and acceptable is wrong and has to change, the statement reads. Women are exposed to violence everywhere  at home, school, work, street, public transport or Internet. About half of the women in the EU experienced verbal, physical or online sexual assault, the statement continued.

Events to point out violence against women are taking place between November 25, International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, and December 10, Human Rights Day, also in Slovakia.

Stories published in the Slovak media in the last two years show that 13 women were murdered by their husbands or partners, the non-governmental organisation Fenestra stated. Most of those women died because they wanted to leave the relationship where they experienced violence. In several cases, their children witnessed the murders.

Murders are the most serious consequence of violence against women.
New head is not known yet.

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The investigation by the organisers of the For a Decent Slovakia gatherings, based on an anonymous complaint, is the reason for the early dismissal of Peter Hrasko, head of the National Criminal Agency (NAKA).

Police Corps President Milan Lucansky confirmed this today during a discussion with Radio Expres. The police later informed of the decision on their Facebook profile.

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He will let me know by the end of the year, where in the police corps he would like to work, Lucansky told Radio Expres. But it will be position other than with the National Criminal Agency.

Disciplinary proceeding not over yet

Hrasko will leave his post despite the fact that the disciplinary proceeding initiated by Lucansky concerning the hearings of the For a Decent Slovakia initiatives representatives is still underway, the Sme daily reported.

The reason for starting the disciplinary proceeding were the inconsistencies between the information Lucansky had received from NAKAs leadership and reality, as the police corps president explained.

The disciplinary procedure will continue, despite Hraskos dismissal.

Only temporary replacement

Hrasko is currently taking a holiday. After he leaves, the post will be temporarily taken over by his deputy, Patrik Jurik.

Since Lucansky is only a temporary police corps president, the new NAKA head can be appointed only by the newly elected police corps president, Sme reported.
The ruling Smer party used to utilise the good reputation of its foreign affairs minister in election campaigns.

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He has maintained the image of a transparent diplomat who does not meddle in politics represented by parties, and who devotes all his energy to the foreign policy agenda. About a year ago, he began to be mentioned as an acceptable presidential candidate.

In the past few months Smer has tried to persuade him to run, but with no success.The party with the best standing in the opinion polls has most likely lost not just a respected foreign minister, but also a presidential candidate who led the opinion polls.

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Lajcak announced that he is resigning due to the conflict over the Global Migration Pact that both Smer and its coalition partner the Slovak National Party (SNS) rejected.

An ambitious diplomat

The three-time foreign affairs minister, Smer nominee Miroslav Lajcak has, for the most part, managed to avoid scandal.
Many politicians were surprised by the announcement that Foreign Affairs Minister Miroslav Lajcak will step down. However, some ask why he did not leave earlier.

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Slovakia is losing an experienced diplomat is among the most frequent reactions to the November 29 decision of Foreign Affairs Minister Miroslav Lajcak to resign from his post after a resolution concerning the UNs Global Compact for Migration was adopted by parliament earlier that day.

While the announcement came as a surprise to those who regret losing an experienced and pro-European-oriented diplomat, some are asking why he did not step down following other scandals related to this cabinet.

Lajcak handed in his resignation on November 30. He did not want to comment on his decision until meeting with President Andrej Kiska and Prime Minister Peter Pellegrini (Smer), the Sme daily reported.

Neither Kiska nor Pellegrini commented on the resignation before Lajcak officially submitted it.

Smer hopes the PM will not accept the resignation

Unlike their party chair, several MPs for the Smer party, which nominated Lajcak to the post, have expressed their surprise.
Coffee Design is proudly sponsored by Savor Brands , your boost in coffeedence through maximizing designs in packaging, sustainability and tech.

Its not too often we come across a new coffee offering in a bold, pink box. Denvers MiddleState Coffee Roasters really went for it: special releases in a cant-miss-it color that shouts Im a special coffee and I like to have fun. Scott Hill designed the box using strong a typeface and adding playful touches all around. We asked Hill and co-owner Jay DeRose about this fun little number over email.

As told by Scott Hill and Jay DeRose.

Tell us a bit about your company.

MiddleState started in 2014. We are a wholesale roasting company based out of Denver, Colorado. Since the beginning, it has been pretty simple for us. Buy the best coffee we can that supports the entirety of the chain that is specialty coffee, and have as much fun doing it that we can. We take what we do very serious, but really try not to take ourselves to serious in the process. We like to buy small and very exciting lots of coffee from farmers and producers who we think are doing a great job supporting all hands in the process.  Jay DeRose

When did the coffee package design debut?

The package/coffee debut was right around October 1, 2018. -JD

Who designed the package?

Im a minority owner of MiddleState and have been designing and managing the brand since its inception. We were stoked to push the boundaries of what our customers expect from our packaging to make this one a little special. Were traditionally a brand that is anchored by a stark black and white core brand with pops of color at times. We decided to flip that convention on its head for this package to make it clear that this was an extremely unique moment for our product offering.  Scott Hill

What coffee information do you share on the package?

On the package, we have the roast date, farm information/farmer information, taste notes, varietal, altitude, and the process. Pretty standard in comparison to our other packaging.  JD

Why are aesthetics in coffee packaging so important?

I think that things that are seen as craft that have passionate followings are expected to deliver quality at every turn. This means that once a consumer has understood the attention to detail and quality that has gone into a few different coffees, the remaining tie-breaker could be how appealing the packaging is. People willing to spend more of quality coffee want that quality in every facet of the experience.  SH

Where is the bag manufactured?

We produced the custom boxes through Packlane.  SH

What type of package is it?

The coffee is in a clear poly seal bag with a one-way valve and a tin tie. That bag is concealed inside of the thin cardboard box. Its hard to completely seal a box and put a valve on it.  JD

Where is it currently available?

You can purchase the coffee in our online shop. We had such a small quantity of each coffee that we didnt want to offer too much of it for wholesale, rather though we wanted to offer it to our lovely consumers.  JD

To learn more, check out Haley Littletons 2016 feature on MiddleState Coffee. For even more, check out the 2018 feature about the new MiddleState location.

Company: MiddleState Coffee

Location: Denver, CO

Country: United States

Release Date: October 2018

Designer: Scott Hill

Zachary Carlsen is a co-founder and editor at Sprudge Media Network. Read more Zachary Carlsen on Sprudge.
Jackies Jim was a pocket rocket in taking the $17,000 featured trot on Thursday afternoon at Harrahs Philadelphia in 1:56.3.

Driver Scott Zeron quickly grabbed the early advantage with the sophomore Muscle Massive gelding, then yielded to Mr Houdini and sat behind that one during fractions of :28.2, :58.2 and 1:27.2. Favourite Tymal Reign couldnt sustain her first-over bid through the lane, and Zeron chose the route inside of Mr Houdini, winning by only a half-length but with Zeron sitting chilly in the bike on the 44-degree day.

Jackies Jim, who had won three straight before having too far to come in finishing fourth in his previous start, got a new winning skein going for trainer Gary Simpson and owner Eric Good. (Ironically, Mr Houdini, just behind todays winner, lost a three-race winning streak with the narrow defeat.)

There were a pair of $14,500 co-features on Trottin Thursday at Philly. The first went to the Cams Rocket sophomore gelding What That Is, who came strongly off cover and then withstood the horse on his back, favoured Marion Gondolier, by a length in 1:55.3 for driver Eric Carlson, trainer Kerry Welty and owner Brian Emerson. (An extra point if you saw Cams Rocket trotter and thought of breeder Richard Hans, of Googoo Gaagaa fame.)

In the second co-feature, Majestic Presence controlled the throttle en route to a 1:54.3 triumph for driver Andy Miller and trainer/wife Julie. The Majestic Son mare let Truemass Volo go to the lead before the :27.3 quarter, quickly reclaimed the top and posted mid-splits of :57 and 1:25.1, and then withstood a nice comeback effort from Truemass Volo by a length, winning her second straight for owner Kapildeo Singh.

The full sister to Pinkman, the Explosive Matter-Margie Seelster baby filly Im All Pink, made her career debut a winning one, rallying from the pocket to catch pacesetter Bag O Chips by a neck in 1:57.4. The $210,000 yearling, owned by Christina Takter, John Fielding, Joyce McClelland, and Herb Liverman, was handled by trainer Jimmy Takter, a man who looked awfully comfortable in the sulky that he is due to trade for a rocking chair upon his upcoming retirement.

Winning the days honours for most impressive pacing performance was the A Rocknroll Dance sophomore filly Reclamation, who is a mini-United Nations all in one  bred in Sweden, she is part-owned by Donal Murphy of Ireland, who put a 8-4-3-0 scorecard on her this year at home tracks, then sent her over Stateside to trainer Ron Burke, where she races for Murphy and owner W.J. Donovan, and had Canadian-American driver Yannick Gingras guiding her in his first U.S. start to a 1:53.4 win. The filly came home in :56  :27.4 without competition, but with giving the impression that there still is plenty more left in the tank.

George Napolitano Jr. continued a hot sulky streak, with four winners today combining with the three he reined home first yesterday.

(PHHA/Harrah's Philadelphia)
"In Brussels, President Tokayev will hold talks with the leadership of Belgium and the European Union. A number of meetings with the heads of major European companies are also expected," Uali wrote in a Facebook post.
Following the agreement between Russia and Turkey, many rebel fighters are choosing to lay down their arms and return to work in the hope of some stability writes Al-Hal.

Dozens of young men in areas under opposition control in the Hama countryside, who are members of rebel groups, are putting down their weapons and going to work in other professions. This is for a number of reasons, that vary according to the circumstances that followed the Sochi agreement, which was signed between Turkey and Russia, and which set up a demilitarized zone between regime-controlled and opposition-controlled areas.

This phenomenon indicates the spread of the idea that carrying weapons is not the only solution for achieving what Syrians wantespecially after the Syrian issue took a turn towards political negotiations and the signing of agreements between the countries which are playing active roles in Syria, such as Russia and Turkey.

Asaad al-Abdullah, a young man from the Hama countryside, told Al-Hal, About 20 days after the Sochi agreement, I put down my weapons and retired from the group that I was part of and from military actions. I knew that there would be no battles against the regime forces and the militias supporting themespecially given that I joined up believing that the rebel groups would take control of large areas under the control of the regime forces. However, after the agreement and the Turkish role in stopping military action, we became basically guards on bases, and so I left my weapons and now I work at a car wash.

Mohamed al-Khalid said that one of the most important reasons that he stopped fighting in the ranks of the rebel group was the low monthly salary. Over the last few months I was getting just 15,000 Syrian pounds (about 30 US dollars), which isnt enough given that Im married and I have two children. I decided to leave the group and borrow 1,500 dollars from my relatives and travel to Turkey in search of a livelihood in light of the difficult living conditions.

For his part, Abdullah al-Hassan, from a village in the northern Hama countryside, said that after the Sochi agreement, There were no longer any upcoming notable battles against the regime forces. I noticed total calm on the fronts. He left armed action to return to his studies in Turkey, which hed left in 2012 because hed joined one of the rebel groups, and he is now studying to apply for a secondary education certificate.

Views vary in opposition-controlled areas in the Hama countryside about young men laying down arms. Some considered it a good step and the beginning of spreading awareness about stopping fighting and returning to normal life in the area. Others are afraid that if this spreads, regime forces could seize them in a surprise attack.

Ahmed al-Khaleef, a resident of the opposition-controlled Hama countryside, said that, Dozens of young men laying down arms is evidence of their awareness that the Syrian matter has begun to serve international interests and that rebel groups are no longer the main actors in resolving the issue. He said that, Arms will disappear and the people will continue to hope for peace, far from the military actions which have accompanied most of the last seven years.

Mukhallas al-Hussein had another view, saying, Im afraid of the increasing number of men laying down arms, because the regime is not to be trusted, and it could attack and take control of opposition-controlled areaswhich would threaten the lives of thousands of civilians.

Tal al-Saeed, a teacher from the Hama countryside, said that the spread of weapons over the last seven years had a major negative impact on residents lives, as the number of killings and kidnappings increased, and the areas where there are weapons are basically ghost towns. The citizen is in danger as soon as he steps outside his front door.

Saeed said that men laying down arms was a positive step, through which security could return and stability could be achieved in opposition-controlled areas, especially given that there are a good number of those carrying weapons who are children not older than 17. If these people lay down their weapons then they will return to school, which they have been deprived of for years, and those who have families will return to securing their livelihood and going back to a normal life.

This article was translated and edited by The Syrian Observer. Responsibility for the information and views set out in this article lies entirely with the author.
At the 11th round of Astana talks,Dr. Bashar al-Jaafari said that Turkey was the prime suspect in the recent chemical attack in Aleppo reports SANA.

The head of the Syrian Arab Republics delegation to Astanas 11th meeting, Dr. Bashar al-Jaafari, said that the Turkish regimes lack of commitment to the Sochi Agreement on Idleb encouraged terrorist organizations to continue targeting civilians in Aleppo, Hama and Lattakia, stressing that if the agreement is not implemented through policy, it will be implemented by others methods.

During a press conference at the conclusion of Astanas 11th meeting on Syria Thursday, Jaafari said that The final statement issued at Astanas 11th meeting is balanced and reflects the complexities of the political scene.

Jaafari said that the Turkish regime had not committed to implementing the understandings regarding the de-escalation zone in Idleb, and as the Sochi agreement stipulates, not guaranteeing the withdrawal of terrorist groups from a belt extending 15 to 20 km deep to the west. That enabled terrorist organizations to target Aleppo city with shells containing chemical substances more than once, which indicated that a decision has been made to escalate terrorism, by those who support terrorist organizations positioned in Idleb, especially Jabhat al-Nusra and the Islamic State (ISIS) and their affiliated groups.

The senior diplomat said that the Turkish regime is the first suspect in the facilitation, transportation and use of chemical weapons by terrorists in Idleb, against the civilians in Aleppo, which constitutes a grave escalation that contradicts the Sochi Agreement.

Jaafari emphasized that the Syrian state will continue to combat terrorism in Idleb, in cooperation with the allies, and will no longer be patient, adding that there is limited time for the Turkish authorities to implement the Sochi agreement and make the terrorists retreat to a depth of 20 km to the west.

He stressed the necessity for all the foreign troops, whose presence in Syria is illegitimate to withdraw, including the US troops positioned in al-Tanf area and al-Rukban Camp and other areas in northeast of the country, as well as the Turkish forces positioned in many areas and the British and the French forces whose presence in the country is less.

What has been said should be part of the international political discourse of the UN and the other countries keen on implementing the UN Security Council resolutions in terms of ending up the crisis in Syria.

This article was edited by The Syrian Observer. Responsibility for the information and views set out in this article lies entirely with the author.
The Minister of Finance, Mamoun Hamdan, said that the government has not ruled out restarting all kinds of loans writes SANA.

The role of financial institutions, banking and private sector insurance in supporting and financing economic and investment projects to achieve development was the focus of talks at the Banking, Finance and Insurance Forum held by the Ministry of Finance in the auditorium of Conferences Palace in Damascus.

The event, organized by Nizam Company for Exhibitions and Conferences, aims at figuring out solutions to finance medium and large scale projects by improving investment environments and developing the means for money transfers.

A number of participating businessmen and investors called for the financing and refinancing of profitable development projects, which contribute to the enhancement of national product.

The Minister of Finance, Mamoun Hamdan, said that the government is considering the reactivation of all kinds of loans and facilitations, to keep pace with development requirements, highlighting the significance of private and public insurance corporations during the next stage.

For his part, the Governor of the Central Bank of Syria, Hazem Qarfoul, noted that the banks strategy is based on three main pillars: confidence, partnership and commitment, underlining the efforts exerted to overcome obstacles in the banking industry and further enhance partnerships with the private sector that serve the national economy.

Mohammed Ghassan al-Qalaa indicated that the Forum sheds light on investment and funding issues for the recovery stage with a focus laid on fast-paced projects that push the wheel of development forward.

This article was edited by The Syrian Observer. Responsibility for the information and views set out in this article lies entirely with the author.
The Lebanese Army claimed that those arrested did not have the correct documentation, which allows them to be in the country reports Zaman Al Wasl.

On Wednesday, the Lebanese Army arrested 300 Syrian refugees in the border town of Arsal for not having the Public Security Card that allows them to be present on Lebanese territory, activists said.

The campaign took place in 25 camps.

Lebanese media claimed that the campaign was to arrest displaced people wanted by the authorities.

Arsals border camps are one of the largest along the Syrian border, with about 80,000 Syrian refugees living in 117 camps.

The conflict has displaced more than 5 million Syrians outside the country, the United Nations says, with more than half displaced to Turkey and most of the rest split between Lebanon and Jordan

Thousands of Syrians are unable to return, because their homes were destroyed in the fighting or because they fear military conscription or retribution by regime forces.

About 55,000 Syrian refugees have returned since July, according to the Lebanese Caretaker Minister of State for Refugee Affairs Mouin Merehbi, a number that contrasts with that announced by General Security, which put the number of returnees at almost 90,000 during the same period.

Syrian activists have voiced concern about the fate of the Syrian refugees returning from Lebanon after Merehbi claimed that 20 Syrian refugees who had returned from Lebanon to Syria had been killed by regime forces.

A survey made by Zaman al-Wasl on a random sample of 210 refugees in the camps of Arsal, showed that 92% of the refugees had refused to return, while 8% had agreed to return to the towns in the western Qalamoun, which they described as safe.

This article was edited by The Syrian Observer. Responsibility for the information and views set out in this article lies entirely with the author.
One of the main objectives of the latest round of talks in Astana, was the formation of the constitutional committee reports Alsouria Net.

On Thursday, the United Nations Special Envoy to Syria, Staffan de Mistura, announced that the latest round of negotiations in Astana had failed, saying that they did not achieve any tangible progress in forming a constitutional committee.

This came in a statement issued by the UN envoys office, in which it said that Turkey and Iran failed to make progress in forming a constitutional committee, adding that, Special Envoy Mistura deeply regrets that there was no tangible progress in overcoming the ten-month stalemate on the composition of the constitutional committee.

In a statement, Mistura said that this was the last time a meeting would be held in Astana in 2018, and sadly for the Syrian people, it has been a missed opportunity to accelerate the establishment of a credible, balanced and inclusive, Syrian-owned, Syrian-led, UN-facilitated constitutional committee.

On Thursday, the meetings closed the 11th round of Astana talks, which lasted two days in the Kazakh capital, and aimed to discuss a ceasefire in Idleb, forming a constitutional committee, and the release of prisoners.

For his part the head of the Syrian opposition delegation to Astana, Ahmed Taameh, said that, It is not clear when the constitutional committee will be formed or when it will begin its work. He expressed his hope that it will be soon.

Ayman al-Asmi, the spokesman for the opposition delegation, said that Russia had supported the regime as it imposed its control over Homs, eastern Ghouta and Daraa, and that the regime would not release the prisoners that it had agreed to release. He said that the people living in the areas, which the regime had taken from the opposition, had lost their papers and documentation, which had deprived them of their rights as citizens.

The head of the High Negotiations Committee, Nasr al-Hariri, recently said that the regime had placed barriers, by proposing five conditions to form the council.

He said that the regime had made it a condition that they have a majority on the constitutional committee and the right to veto, and that it holds the presidency. The regime also made it a condition that some constitutional items be amended rather than writing a new constitution. The fifth condition, the most important according to Hariri, was that the regime does not want any UN role, nor for the process to be monitored in accordance with the Geneva decisions.

This article was translated and edited by The Syrian Observer. Responsibility for the information and views set out in this article lies entirely with the author.
The Education Ministry has claimed that students who receive private tutoring are not learning the right skills or achieving dependancy writes Damas Post.

On Thursday, the Education Ministry issued a statement in which it stressed reducing the phenomenon of private tutoring which pushes students to dependency and a tendency towards memorization, far from self-learning and acquiring the needed skills.

According to the Ministrys statement, they have taken several measures to reduce the phenomenon of private lessons, such as airing educational lessons on the Educational Satellite Channel, especially for middle and high schools students. It has also worked on developing the evaluation system, which concerns the productivity of the learner and not just the grades he acquires.

Al-Muthanna Khaddour, an official in the Ministry, said that the electronic educational platform had been established in the National Curriculum Development Center, which is a site for direct communication between students and elite teachers and instructors, with space given to exchange information, skills and answer all questions and to provide opportunities for creativity, and the expansion and enrichment of curricula.

Khaddour said that private tutoring had become a phenomenon that displeased everyone and benefited some teachers, and that students and guardians suffered from its effects. Therefore, the Ministry was working to establish educational courses at symbolic rates in schools, in cooperation with the Revolutionary Youth Union and the Teachers Syndicate as an alternative to private tutoring for students. He pointed to the need to follow up on the work of teachers inside the classrooms through specialist and educational guidance to ensure the teacher is carrying out his work in an ideal fashion and to help him to provide the educational process in the best possible form.

This article was translated and edited by The Syrian Observer. Responsibility for the information and views set out in this article lies entirely with the author.
Biddeford-Saco-OOB Courier

He was born and raised in Biddeford, and continues to work here.
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/
Enterprise Rent-A-Car, an international rental car company based in the U.S., officially opened its doors in Vietnam on Thursday.

The U.S. company has licensed its Vietnamese franchise business to MP Logistics, a large-scale logistic firm headquartered in Ho Chi Minh City, the companys first attempt at penetrating the Asian market.

The 300-vehicle-strong Enterprise fleet ranges from five-seater sedans to 47-seater buses, with rental fees starting at VND800,000 (US$34) per day.

Daily rents for a Suzuki Vitara or an Innova are VND800,000 and VND1 million ($43), respectively, while the rates for Ford and Isuzu cars range from VND1.7 million ($73) to VND4.2 million ($180).

Vietnams current domestic supply of automobiles is inadequate for its growing market in terms of price, quality, and customer service, according to Dang Cuong, director of Enterprises Vietnamese franchise.

He added that car rentals are a great option for Vietnamese customers for the upcoming New Year and Lunar New Year holidays.

Following its launch in Ho Chi Minh City, Enterprise Rent-a-Car will be available in Hanoi and the central city of Da Nang in the next quarter.

While the rental car industry is well established across the world, there are only a few car rental firms targeting customers in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City.

U.S. Consul General in Ho Chi Minh City Mary Tarnowka said the presence of Enterprise Rent-A-Car should help satisfy the growing demand of Vietnamese customers.

Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam!
Vietnams Ministry of Public Security has apprehended a former chairman of a state-owned bank for his suspected involvement in a series of illegal banking operations.

Officers confirmed on Thursday that they had arrested Tran Bac Ha, former board chairman of the Bank for Investment and Development of Vietnam (BIDV), and conducted a search of his home.

Tran Luc Lang, BIDVs former deputy general director, and Kieu Dinh Hoa, former deputy director of its branch in the north-central province of Ha Tinh, were also taken into police custody.

Le Thi Van Anh, former chief of the corporate client office at the BIDV Ha Tinh branch, was put under house arrest.

On November 22, the investigation agency under the Ministry of Public Security initiated criminal proceedings for each individuals violations of legal regulations on banking activities and other related dealings at BIDV, in accordance with Article 206 of the Criminal Code 2015.

Police are currently investigating the allegations and reclaiming assets in line with the law.

Ha was expelled from the Communist Party of Vietnam in June for his role in the wrongdoings and shortcomings of BIDVs Party Committee during the 2010-15 and 2015-20 tenures.

Founded in 1957, BIDV is one of Vietnams four state-run banks, which also include Agribank, Vietinbank, and Vietcombank.

Ha, 62, worked at the bank from February 1981 to September 2016.

He served as chairman for eight years and eight months.

Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam!
Vietnam has not formulated acceptable remedies for aircraft noise in the face of a predicted rise in air traffic over the next decade, experts said at a workshop in Hanoi on Thursday.

There have been no solutions to the issue of noise pollution caused by airplanes flying over residential areas, said the Airports Corporation of Vietnam (ACV), which operates 22 airports nationwide.

Noise from aircraft has exceeded the allowed levels at Vietnams three major international airports in Hanoi in the north, Da Nang in the middle and Ho Chi Minh City in the south.

It surpasses the levels by seven to 12dBA (A-weighted decibels) during daytime, and by 15-27dBA at night, according to the corporation.

In Vietnam the noise levels in special areas, such as where schools and hospitals are located, must not go beyond 55dBA from 6:00 am to 9:00 pm and 45dBA for the rest of the day. In other areas, the limits are 70dBA and 55dBA, respectively for the two periods.

A noise level of over 85dBA may pose risks of hearing damage.

By 2030, the Southeast Asian country plans to have had 28 plane terminals, 13 of which can serve international flights, said Vu Thi Thanh, deputy head of the technology and environment arm of the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam.

Thanh advised evaluating the current airplane noise issue and forecasting its future complications, as more planes are expected to fly in the country.

The need for measures and policies was stressed by one of the events attendees, Horiuchi, advisor to the head of Japans Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism.

Horiuchi said airplane noise was a serious problem of the East Asian nation 50 years ago.

Residents living around several airports filed multiple lawsuits at the time, putting pressure on the Japanese government to take action against the annoyance, he added.

Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam!
Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc pledged he would provide favorable conditions to young businesses and startups at a forum in the central city of Da Nang on Thursday.

PM Phuc delivered a speech at the Youth Startup Forum, a program organized by the Central Committee of the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union and the Vietnam Youth Federation.

The premier referred to the event as a helpful dialogue channel between the government and young intellectuals for seeking effective paths to boost startups and innovative projects.

The Youth Startup Forum in Da Nang City on November 29, 2018. Photo: Tuoi Tre

The government commits all possible support for young businesses and startups across the country to thrive in the near future, PM Phuc remarked.

He assigned relevant ministries and agencies to consider constructive policies and mechanisms to create a legal framework and a level playing field for up-and-coming startups.

The Ministry of Science and Technology was asked to acquire startup ideas to submit to the premier.

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc answers questions from participants. Photo: Tuoi Tre

During the gathering, participants discussed the strengths and shortcomings of young Vietnamese startups, the efficiency of support centers in Vietnam, and relevant policies and mechanisms.

They also suggested measures to create breakthroughs in the development of Vietnamese startups based on lessons and successful models in other countries.

Le Quoc Phong, First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union, highlighted some existing challenges to local startups, namely incentives, capital, and investment mechanisms.

Such a forum is necessary for the startup community to discuss and suggest solutions to these obstacles, Phong said.

Participants at the forum. Photo: Tuoi Tre

Participants at the forum. Photo: Tuoi Tre

Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam!
The beauty of the greenish blue waters cascading off Ban Gioc Waterfall, a tourist mecca in northern Vietnam on the border with China, is shown in all its glory in a set of pictures snapped by photographer Nong Thanh Toan.

Toan captured the silky waters pouring down the multi-tiered falls on the Quay Son River by using an extended exposure to help capture the natural elegance of the waterfall along the Vietnam-China border.

While some of the falls lie in the Vietnamese province of Cao Bang, 400 kilometers northeast of Hanoi, others pour water nearly 70 meters from one side of the border to the other.

An aerial view of the Quay Son River. Photo: Nong Thanh Toan

The best time to visit the waterfall is from September to December, when the water takes on its characteristic greenish blue hue caused by eroded limestone.

Rainbows are also common during this time period as droplets from the waters surface dangle in the air.

The Ban Gioc Waterfall is part of the Non Nuoc Cao Bang UNESCO Global Geopark, which boasts Phia Oac and Phia Den, freshwater lake Thang Hen and Nguom Ngao (Tiger Cave) Caves  all ecotourism attractions which bring countless visitors to northern Vietnam every year.

Visitors can also enjoy local delicacies cooked by native ethnic communities and visit the rice and corn paddies, as well as flower fields, flanking the serpentine road leading to the waterfall.

Here are Nong Thanh Toans photos of the Ban Gioc Waterfall:

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Jr.'s 2017 Testimony Conflicts With Cohen's Account Of Russian Talks spo snouou

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Post: #1 Jr.'s 2017 Testimony Conflicts With Cohen's Account Of Russian Talks

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Trump Jr. told the Senate Judiciary Committee in September 2017 that although there had been negotiations surrounding a prospective Trump Tower in Moscow, they concluded without result "at the end" of 2014.



"But not in 2015 or 2016?" Trump Jr. was asked.



"Certainly not '16," he said. "There was never a definitive end to it. It just died of deal fatigue."



The questions and Trump Jr.'s answers do allude to a number of other prospective projects; he also was asked by Senate investigators about news reports about a Trump Tower Moscow negotiation that took place in 2015 and 2016, which he acknowledged but did not detail.



The accounts by Trump Jr. contrast with a new version of events given by Cohen on Thursday in a guilty plea in federal court. In that new version, Cohen says the discussions with at least one Russian government official and others in Moscow continued through June 2016, well into Trump's presidential campaign.



In reference to the 2016 negotiations, Cohen initially told Congress he reached out to a spokesman for Russian President Vladimir Putin and didn't hear back. The talks, he said then, ended in January of that year.



On Thursday, Cohen's guilty plea acknowledged that he had heard back and that other negotiations with other Russians went forward.





more:

https://www.npr.org/2018/11/30/672188201...sian-talks Donald Trump Jr.'s testimony to Congress about his family's real estate negotiations with powerful Russians does not comport with the new version laid out by Donald Trump's ex-attorney Michael Cohen, official transcripts show.Trump Jr. told the Senate Judiciary Committee in September 2017 that although there had been negotiations surrounding a prospective Trump Tower in Moscow, they concluded without result "at the end" of 2014."But not in 2015 or 2016?" Trump Jr. was asked."Certainly not '16," he said. "There was never a definitive end to it. It just died of deal fatigue."The questions and Trump Jr.'s answers do allude to a number of other prospective projects; he also was asked by Senate investigators about news reports about a Trump Tower Moscow negotiation that took place in 2015 and 2016, which he acknowledged but did not detail.The accounts by Trump Jr. contrast with a new version of events given by Cohen on Thursday in a guilty plea in federal court. In that new version, Cohen says the discussions with at least one Russian government official and others in Moscow continued through June 2016, well into Trump's presidential campaign.In reference to the 2016 negotiations, Cohen initially told Congress he reached out to a spokesman for Russian President Vladimir Putin and didn't hear back. The talks, he said then, ended in January of that year.On Thursday, Cohen's guilty plea acknowledged that he had heard back and that other negotiations with other Russians went forward.more: LoP Guest

lop guest

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11-30-2018 09:07 PM











Post: #2 RE: Jr.'s 2017 Testimony Conflicts With Cohen's Account Of Russian Talks

SO!



He isn't the President! LoP Guest

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11-30-2018 09:35 PM











Post: #3 RE: Jr.'s 2017 Testimony Conflicts With Cohen's Account Of Russian Talks

Michael Cohen's plea deal with Special Counsel Robert Mueller related to discussions in 2016 of a "Moscow Trump Tower." The latest developments and the media blitz over the "bombshell" plea deal prompted Limbaugh to ask his audience to step back and remember something Trump's critics in the media want them to forget: What started off as an investigation into what we were led to believe was complex, wide-ranging, coordinated collusion between the Trump campaign and the Russians has devolved into the nothingburger Trump Tower meeting and questions about Trump trying to work out a legal business deal in Moscow.



"When you hear the term 'Russian collusion' or 'Trump collusion with Russia on the election,' when you hear any reference to the story  and I want to you to think back the entire two years. I want you to remember how your mind has been shaped on this, because this is the purpose of this exercise," said Limbaugh. "I want you to go back and remember shortly after the election when The New York Times and The Washington Post and CNN every day had at least one story and maybe more featuring unnamed sources from the intelligence community. And they were leaking, they were implying that there was deep collusion between the Trump campaign, maybe Trump himself personally and Russia, for the purposes of what? Stealing an election, for the purposes of sabotaging Mrs. Clintons campaign, for the purposes of winning the presidency."



"The purpose of the news reports the last two years has been to convince as many people as possible that Trump had an ongoing secret relationship with the Russians  could have been with Putin, could have been anybody  and the purpose of this ongoing relationship was to win the 2016 election using sabotage from the Russians to harm the campaign of Mrs. Clinton," he said. "Is this basically not what they tried to make us all think happened? Is that not what collusion was said to mean?"



To prove his point that the media's portrayal of this "collusion" was something far more extensive and sinister, Limbaugh cited a recent Economist-YouGov poll which found that 42% of the American people believe Russians actually tampered with votes. "That is what collusion with Russia has come to mean to the American people, precisely because that is how the story was reported," he said.



Flashforward to now and what Mueller is actually looking into is the already reported Trump Tower meeting, questions about when Trump was legally considering a project in Moscow, and conspiracy theorists associated with Trump potentially having some inside knowledge about what WikiLeaks may or may not release at some point about the Clinton campaign.



"Where is the tampering of votes? Where is the meetings? Where is the strategy? Where is the evidence that Trump got together with Russians to sabotage the Hillary campaign? Which is what everybody has been led to believe happened here," said Limbaugh. "And now were down to a disagreement over a meeting in Trump Tower on June the 9th of 2016."



The testimony that Mueller is using to build his case against Trump, Limbaugh pointed out, is based on guys with major credibility problems. "We havent found an honest perp anywhere in this whole sordid tale," he said. Meanwhille, there's been zero evidence of the collusion we were led to believe had taken place.



"We havent found anybody that has anything to do with Russian collusion," he said. "We havent found anything on anybody who had anything to do with rigging an election. We havent found anybody, there is nobody who had [any] involvement with tampering with votes in the 2016 election  zilch, zero, nada."



He continued: "Robert Mueller has nothing because there is nothing on what everybody in this country has been misled to believe for the past two years, that the election of 2016 was illegitimate, because Trump cheated with help from the Russians. Mueller doesnt have that evidence because it doesnt exist."



"Now they have to try to establish collusion in some other way, and this Trump Tower meeting and its timeline is the one example, the one and only example of collusion," he said at the conclusion of the segment. "Even if Trump met with somebody in Moscow to build a building, even if the meeting in Trump Tower, he knew about it or didnt know about it, the fact the meeting happened has nothing to do with collusion and affecting the outcome of an election. Collusion isnt a crime."



Harvard Law professor Alan Dershowitz made a similar argument on Fox News Thursday. Mueller's entire case appears to be founded on "false statement prosecutions," the lawyer pointed out, rather than evidence of legitimate collusion or meddling.



"I think the weakness of Muellers substantive findings are suggested by the fact that he has to resort to false statement prosecutions, which really shows that he didnt start with very much, and that the very fact that hes conducting an investigation has created these crimes," said Dershowitz. "These are not crimes that had been committed prior to his appointment, theyre crimes that were committed as the result of his appointment, and that raises some questions about the role of special prosecutors in creating crimes, or creating opportunities for crimes to be committed... In the end, I dont think Muellers going to come up with very much, in terms of criminal conduct, that existed before he was appointed, and thats pretty shocking."



Quote this message in a reply spo snouou

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Post: #4 RE: Jr.'s 2017 Testimony Conflicts With Cohen's Account Of Russian Talks



[^^^lifted from REALCLARPOLITICS^^^]











2013



June 18: Trump writes on Twitter: The Miss Universe Pageant will be broadcast live from MOSCOW, RUSSIA on November 9th. A big deal that will bring our countries together!



Trump, who owned the pageant at the time, adds later that day: Do you think Putin will be going to The Miss Universe Pageant in November in Moscow - if so, will he become my new best friend?



July: Russias Internet Research Agency LLC, which, according to the Justice Department is a Russian organization engaged in political and electoral interference operations, registers with the Russian government as a corporate entity.



Oct. 17: Trump says in an interview with David Letterman he has conducted a lot of business with the Russians.



Well Ive done a lot of business with the Russians, Trump says. Theyre smart and theyre tough. Trump goes on to say that Putin is a tough guy and that hes met him once.



Nov. 9: The Miss Universe pageant is held in Moscow. Trump attends.



2014



April: The Russian interference operation forms a department known as the translator project to focus on operations via social media, according to the Justice Department.



May: Moscow has developed a strategy with the goal of interfering in the 2016 election and spread[ing] distrust towards the candidates and the political system in general, according to the Justice Department.



June: The Internet Research Agency takes steps to obscure its conduct by operating through a number of Russian entities, according to the Justice Department.



2015



September: An FBI agent informs a tech-support contractor at the Democratic National Committee that it may have been hacked. The contractor is not sure if the caller is really an FBI agent.



Oct. 14: Trump appears to cast doubt on the intelligence communitys assessment that Russian-backed separatists were behind the downing of civilian airliner, Malaysia Airlines Flight 17.



"That's a horrible thing that happened, Trump says. "It's disgusting and disgraceful, but Putin and Russia say they didn't do it, the other side said they did, no one really knows who did it, probably Putin knows who did it. Possibly it was Russia but they are totally denying it.  But they're saying it wasn't them. The other side says it is them. And we're going to go through that arguing for probably for 50 years and nobody is ever going to know. Probably was Russia.



Nov. 10: Trump says at a GOP debate that he got to know Putin very well because we were both on '60 Minutes,' we were stablemates, and we did very well that night. He adds: If Putin wants to go and knock the hell out of ISIS, I am all for it, 100 percent, and I cant understand how anybody would be against it.



Dec. 10: Michael Flynn attends Russia Todays 10th anniversary dinner. He participates in a paid speaking engagement and sits just two seats from Putin.



Dec. 17: Russian President Vladimir Putin praises Trump, then the front-runner in the Republican primary, at his year-end news conference.



He is a very flamboyant man, very talented, no doubt about that. But its not our business to judge his merits, its up to the voters of the United States," Putin says. "He is an absolute leader of the presidential race, as we see it today. He says that he wants to move to another level relations, a deeper level of relations with Russia  How can we not welcome that? Of course, we welcome it.



Trump responds with praise of his own.



"It is always a great honor to be so nicely complimented by a man so highly respected within his own country and beyond," Trump says in a statement. "I have always felt that Russia and the United States should be able to work well with each other towards defeating terrorism and restoring world peace, not to mention trade and all of the other benefits derived from mutual respect." [^^^lifted from REALCLARPOLITICS^^^]June 18: Trump writes on Twitter: The Miss Universe Pageant will be broadcast live from MOSCOW, RUSSIA on November 9th. A big deal that will bring our countries together!Trump, who owned the pageant at the time, adds later that day: Do you think Putin will be going to The Miss Universe Pageant in November in Moscow - if so, will he become my new best friend?July: Russias Internet Research Agency LLC, which, according to the Justice Department is a Russian organization engaged in political and electoral interference operations, registers with the Russian government as a corporate entity.Oct. 17: Trump says in an interview with David Letterman he has conducted a lot of business with the Russians.Well Ive done a lot of business with the Russians, Trump says. Theyre smart and theyre tough. Trump goes on to say that Putin is a tough guy and that hes met him once.Nov. 9: The Miss Universe pageant is held in Moscow. Trump attends.April: The Russian interference operation forms a department known as the translator project to focus on operations via social media, according to the Justice Department.May: Moscow has developed a strategy with the goal of interfering in the 2016 election and spread[ing] distrust towards the candidates and the political system in general, according to the Justice Department.June: The Internet Research Agency takes steps to obscure its conduct by operating through a number of Russian entities, according to the Justice Department.September: An FBI agent informs a tech-support contractor at the Democratic National Committee that it may have been hacked. The contractor is not sure if the caller is really an FBI agent.Oct. 14: Trump appears to cast doubt on the intelligence communitys assessment that Russian-backed separatists were behind the downing of civilian airliner, Malaysia Airlines Flight 17."That's a horrible thing that happened, Trump says. "It's disgusting and disgraceful, but Putin and Russia say they didn't do it, the other side said they did, no one really knows who did it, probably Putin knows who did it. Possibly it was Russia but they are totally denying it.  But they're saying it wasn't them. The other side says it is them. And we're going to go through that arguing for probably for 50 years and nobody is ever going to know. Probably was Russia.Nov. 10: Trump says at a GOP debate that he got to know Putin very well because we were both on '60 Minutes,' we were stablemates, and we did very well that night. He adds: If Putin wants to go and knock the hell out of ISIS, I am all for it, 100 percent, and I cant understand how anybody would be against it.Dec. 10: Michael Flynn attends Russia Todays 10th anniversary dinner. He participates in a paid speaking engagement and sits just two seats from Putin.Dec. 17: Russian President Vladimir Putin praises Trump, then the front-runner in the Republican primary, at his year-end news conference.He is a very flamboyant man, very talented, no doubt about that. But its not our business to judge his merits, its up to the voters of the United States," Putin says. "He is an absolute leader of the presidential race, as we see it today. He says that he wants to move to another level relations, a deeper level of relations with Russia  How can we not welcome that? Of course, we welcome it.Trump responds with praise of his own."It is always a great honor to be so nicely complimented by a man so highly respected within his own country and beyond," Trump says in a statement. "I have always felt that Russia and the United States should be able to work well with each other towards defeating terrorism and restoring world peace, not to mention trade and all of the other benefits derived from mutual respect." (This post was last modified: 12-01-2018 02:30 AM by spo snouou .) spo snouou

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12-01-2018 02:34 AM



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Post: #5 RE: Jr.'s 2017 Testimony Conflicts With Cohen's Account Of Russian Talks





Feb. 10: The Russian organization internally circulated an outline of themes for future content to be posted to Organization-controlled social media accounts, according to the Justice Department. Instructions include to use any opportunity to criticize Hillary and the rest (except Sanders and Trump  we support them).



Feb. 17: Putin called me a genius, Trump says at a campaign event in South Carolina. According to PolitiFact, Trump would repeat the claim three times in April, in a May interview on CNN, at a June rally in California, twice in July, and at an August town hall in Ohio.



March 6: Around the time George Papadopoulos learns he will be a foreign policy adviser to the Trump campaign, he has a conversation with a supervisory campaign official. Papadopoulos leaves the conversation with the understanding that a principal foreign policy focus of the Campaign was an improved U.S. relationship with Russia, according to court documents.



March 14: Papadopoulos meets in Italy with a London-based professor who takes great interest in him after learning of his role in the Trump campaign, according to a plea agreement. Papadopoulos learns that the professor has substantial connections with Russian government officials, which Papadopoulos thought could increase his importance as a policy advisor to the Campaign, the court documents say.



March 19: John Podestas staff is told incorrectly by another Clinton campaign staffer that an email instructing him to change his password is legitimate. The action allows Russian hackers into Podestas account.



March 21: When asked who his foreign policy advisers are (in an interview with The Washington Post), Trump names, among others, Carter Page and Papadopoulos, who he calls an excellent guy. Page is an American banker who had lived in Moscow for three years.



March 22: Billy Rinehart, a former DNC employee working for the Clinton campaign, receives what he thinks is a legitimate email telling him to change his password. He enters his information, unwittingly giving Russian hackers access to his account.



March 24: Papadopoulos meets in London with the professor, who is accompanied by a female Russian national, who is introduced as someone with connections to senior Russian government officials, according to the Justice Department. Papadopoulos emails a campaign supervisor and several members of the foreign policy team and tells them he discussed arranging a meeting with Russian leadership to discuss U.S.-Russia ties under President Trump. The campaign supervisor responds, Great work, according to the court documents.



March 31: Trump attends a meeting in Washington with foreign policy advisers, including Papadopoulos. Papadopoulos stated, in sum and substance, that he had connections that could help arrange a meeting between then-candidate Trump and President Putin, according to the court documents.



The White House later says it was the only meeting of the group to take place. In early April, Papadopoulos sends multiple emails to campaign officials about his contacts with the Russians.



March 28: Trump hires Paul Manafort to help lead his delegate-gathering efforts. Manafort had worked recently as a senior adviser for pro-Russia Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych.



April 6: The Russian organization runs an online advertisement that states, in part: You know, a great number of black people support us saying that #HillaryClintonIsNotMyPresident.



April 18: The professor introduces Papadopoulos to an individual over email who Papadopoulos is told has connections to the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Papadopoulos and the individual go on to have multiple conversations over Skype and email about setting the groundwork for a potential meeting between the Campaign and Russian government officials, according to court documents.



April 19: The Russian organization runs an online advertisement that says, in part, JOIN our #HillaryClintonForPrison2016.



April 25: Papadopoulos emails a senior policy adviser to the Trump campaign and says: The Russian government has an open invitation by Putin for Mr. Trump to meet him when he is ready. The advantage of being in London is that these governments tend to speak a bit more openly in 'neutral' cities.



April 26: Papadopoulos meets the professor for breakfast at a London hotel. The professor says he has just returned from meeting with high-level Russian government officials in Moscow and that he (the Professor) learned that that the Russians had obtained dirt on then-candidate Clinton, according to court documents. Papadopoulos would later tell the FBI that the professor also said the Russians had emails of Clinton and they have thousands of emails.



April 27: Papadopoulos emails a high-ranking campaign official and writes that he would like to discuss Russia's interest in hosting Mr. Trump. Have been receiving a lot of calls over the last month about Putin wanting to host him and the team when the time is right. Papadopoulos also emails the senior policy adviser to say he has some interesting messages coming in from Moscow about a trip when the time is right.



On the same day, Trump delivers his first major foreign policy address in Washington.



He calls for better relations with Russia in the speech.



Russian ambassador Sergey Kislyak is seated in the front row.





more: 2016Feb. 10: The Russian organization internally circulated an outline of themes for future content to be posted to Organization-controlled social media accounts, according to the Justice Department. Instructions include to use any opportunity to criticize Hillary and the rest (except Sanders and Trump  we support them).Feb. 17: Putin called me a genius, Trump says at a campaign event in South Carolina. According to PolitiFact, Trump would repeat the claim three times in April, in a May interview on CNN, at a June rally in California, twice in July, and at an August town hall in Ohio.March 6: Around the time George Papadopoulos learns he will be a foreign policy adviser to the Trump campaign, he has a conversation with a supervisory campaign official. Papadopoulos leaves the conversation with the understanding that a principal foreign policy focus of the Campaign was an improved U.S. relationship with Russia, according to court documents.March 14: Papadopoulos meets in Italy with a London-based professor who takes great interest in him after learning of his role in the Trump campaign, according to a plea agreement. Papadopoulos learns that the professor has substantial connections with Russian government officials, which Papadopoulos thought could increase his importance as a policy advisor to the Campaign, the court documents say.March 19: John Podestas staff is told incorrectly by another Clinton campaign staffer that an email instructing him to change his password is legitimate. The action allows Russian hackers into Podestas account.March 21: When asked who his foreign policy advisers are (in an interview with The Washington Post), Trump names, among others, Carter Page and Papadopoulos, who he calls an excellent guy. Page is an American banker who had lived in Moscow for three years.March 22: Billy Rinehart, a former DNC employee working for the Clinton campaign, receives what he thinks is a legitimate email telling him to change his password. He enters his information, unwittingly giving Russian hackers access to his account.March 24: Papadopoulos meets in London with the professor, who is accompanied by a female Russian national, who is introduced as someone with connections to senior Russian government officials, according to the Justice Department. Papadopoulos emails a campaign supervisor and several members of the foreign policy team and tells them he discussed arranging a meeting with Russian leadership to discuss U.S.-Russia ties under President Trump. The campaign supervisor responds, Great work, according to the court documents.March 31: Trump attends a meeting in Washington with foreign policy advisers, including Papadopoulos. Papadopoulos stated, in sum and substance, that he had connections that could help arrange a meeting between then-candidate Trump and President Putin, according to the court documents.The White House later says it was the only meeting of the group to take place. In early April, Papadopoulos sends multiple emails to campaign officials about his contacts with the Russians.March 28: Trump hires Paul Manafort to help lead his delegate-gathering efforts. Manafort had worked recently as a senior adviser for pro-Russia Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych.April 6: The Russian organization runs an online advertisement that states, in part: You know, a great number of black people support us saying that #HillaryClintonIsNotMyPresident.April 18: The professor introduces Papadopoulos to an individual over email who Papadopoulos is told has connections to the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Papadopoulos and the individual go on to have multiple conversations over Skype and email about setting the groundwork for a potential meeting between the Campaign and Russian government officials, according to court documents.April 19: The Russian organization runs an online advertisement that says, in part, JOIN our #HillaryClintonForPrison2016.April 25: Papadopoulos emails a senior policy adviser to the Trump campaign and says: The Russian government has an open invitation by Putin for Mr. Trump to meet him when he is ready. The advantage of being in London is that these governments tend to speak a bit more openly in 'neutral' cities.April 26: Papadopoulos meets the professor for breakfast at a London hotel. The professor says he has just returned from meeting with high-level Russian government officials in Moscow and that he (the Professor) learned that that the Russians had obtained dirt on then-candidate Clinton, according to court documents. Papadopoulos would later tell the FBI that the professor also said the Russians had emails of Clinton and they have thousands of emails.April 27: Papadopoulos emails a high-ranking campaign official and writes that he would like to discuss Russia's interest in hosting Mr. Trump. Have been receiving a lot of calls over the last month about Putin wanting to host him and the team when the time is right. Papadopoulos also emails the senior policy adviser to say he has some interesting messages coming in from Moscow about a trip when the time is right.On the same day, Trump delivers his first major foreign policy address in Washington.He calls for better relations with Russia in the speech.Russian ambassador Sergey Kislyak is seated in the front row.more: https://www.politico.com/trump-russia-ti...-of-events LoP Guest

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12-02-2018 07:22 PM











Post: #6 RE: Jr.'s 2017 Testimony Conflicts With Cohen's Account Of Russian Talks

NPR Lied



DJT Jr. Testimony from the transcript:



Q. It's been reported that in late 2015 or

3 2016 when now President Trump was running for

4 office the Trump Organization was pursuing a plan

5 to develop a massive Trump Tower in Moscow. Is

6 that accurate?

7 A. Yes .

8 Q. Did the fact t hat now President Trump was

9 running a campaign at the time affect that

10 development i n any way?

11 A. I think not at that stage , no , it had not .

12 Q. Has it since?

13 A. Yes . We've agreed not to do any deals

14 internationally because of potential conflict

15 issues .

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While nearly all of Vietnams representatives to international beauty pageants have chosen to don the countrys traditional ao dai style dress for the national costume competition, the controversy surrounding the 'banh mi' sandwich-inspired dress expected to represent the Southeast Asian country at the upcoming Miss Universe 2018 competition seems to have no end in sight.

The dress, which will cast Miss Universe Vietnam 2018 HHen Nie as a banh mi vendor at this years Miss Universe competition in Thailand in December, was the winner of an online contest held to give the general public a say in this years costume.

Despite drawing global attention for its quirkiness, worldwide popularity, local Vietnamese seemed to be appalled at the idea of banh mi representing their countrys dress.

A Vietnamese beauty queen wearing anything besides ao dai at an international pageant is a serious break with the historical norms and many view the banh mi dress as a slight on Vietnamese culture.

Miss HHen Nie dons the 'banh mi' costume at a press meeting in Ho Chi Minh City on November 21, 2018.

Past ao dai worn at pageants have run the gamut from breathtaking to forgettable, but regardless of their impression on the judges, each dress managed to cast its own unique spotlight on the countrys rich history.

For instance, Vietnamese model Minh Tu flaunted two different designs during the national costume stage of Miss Supranational 2018.

One of the designs featured a portrait of Bui Thi Xong, a 79-year-old boat rower in famed Hoi An Ancient Town made famous for her iconic smile captured in a portrait by French photographer Rehahn.

Xongs image sits just above a likeness of Hoi Ans symbolic Japanese covered bridge, known locally as Chua Cau.

Vietnamese model Minh Tu dons Vietnams national costumes of ao dai for Miss Supranational 2018.

Also last year, Miss Earth 2018 Phuong Khanh represented the country in a modern-style ao dai which drew inspiration from both Western and Vietnamese cultures, winning the admiration of the judges and helping her to secure the first-place prize amongst contestants from the Asia-Pacific region.

Miss Earth 2018 Phuong Khanh dons Vietnams national costumes of ao dai for the international beauty pageant.

Meanwhile, Miss Vietnam 2018s Beauty with A Purpose Nguyen Thuc Thuy Tien went home empty-handed despite wearing an ao dai which features paintings of several tourist destinations from across the country at Miss International 2018.

Her costume was highlighted by a handcrafted 3D lotus flower hat.

Miss Vietnam 2018s Beauty with A Purpose Nguyen Thuc Thuy Tien dons Vietnams national costumes of ao dai for Miss International 2018.

The list of ao dai worn by Vietnamese candidates at international pageants continues with the innovative design worn by Miss Vietnam 2018 first runner-up Bui Phuong Nga at Miss Grand International 2018.

Ngas dress drew inspiration from the Phung bird, or phoenix, one of the Four Mythical Creatures of Oriental culture and a symbol of feminism.

This historical cultural design was the second-place national costume in the competition.

Miss Vietnam 2018 first runner-up Bui Phuong Nga dons Vietnams national costumes of ao dai for Miss Grand International 2018.

To be fair, the banh mi design seems to have had generally positive reactions from international audiences, with photos of it appearing on several reputable beauty forums across the Internet.

French website Missnews even voted it one of the six most beautiful national costumes to be worn at Miss Universe 2018.

Despite the mixed opinions, HHen Nie departed for Thailand to participate in the competition on Thursday morning. The finale of the beauty pageant will take place at 7:00 am on December 17.

Beside the concern about the banh mi design, many local fans are eagerly looking forward to the national costume of Miss Vietnam 2018 Tran Tieu Vy at Miss World 2018.

They wondered if the Vietnamese representative would introduce another innovation on the ao dai at one of the worlds biggest beauty contests.

Miss Vietnam 2018 Tran Tieu Vy is seen in her hometown Hoi An.

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The third edition of Da Lats annual Pho Ben Doi art exhibition will feature more than 125 artworks by nearly 50 young, well-known Vietnamese and international artists and experts in archeology, architecture, and music from December 8, 2018 to February 28, 2019.

Pho Ben Doi, or The City On Hill, is an inter- and multidisciplinary community art event established with a vision to transform the romantic resort city into one of Southeast Asias most unique and cultural destinations.

Part of reaching this goal means using the events contemporary art displays, community activities, and tourist-focused programs to raise public awareness of urban heritage preservation, environmental protection, and sustainable development.

This years Pho Ben Doi will be in its third iteration, and event organizers plan to celebrate their success over the past three years by expanding to a scale worthy of the citys 125th anniversary, which happens to coincide with the event.

Pho Ben Dois 2018 theme, Relive the Time," is also a means of honoring the citys past.

This years program is expected to attract around 45,000 visitors to Cau Dat Farm, a 100-year-old tea and coffee plantation situated about 24 kilometers to the southeast of the city.

A photo of the oil painting An tuong Sakura (Impression of Sakura) by Nguyen Anh Duc

We want to nurture heritage pride and cultivate awareness of preserving heritage through the use of contemporary art forms, Nguyen Trung Hien, founder of Pho Ben Doi, said at a press conference in Ho Chi Minh City on Tuesday.

The show will also host the Vietnam affiliate of Urban Sketchers - a global community of artists that focuses on the storytelling and educational value of on-location drawing in the cities, towns and villages they live in or travel to.

Speaking at the press conference, architect Vu Duc Chien, founder of the Vietnam Urban Sketchers, shared that his artist community will go [around Da Lat] and create sketches during the event that reflect the artists impressions of the city.

Heritage sites, buildings, alleys, public transportation, and street food are all familiar images that reflect Da Lats urban charm, Chien said.

However, the pace of our modern lives has unintentionally swept away these spiritual and material values, so we want to open up a playground to bring together and keep these core values, the architect added.

Pho Ben Doi will also host several various workshops, side events, and handicraft and souvenir stalls.

A photo of the water color painting Qua Da Lat (Da Lat Specialty) by artist Bui Thanh Thuan

A photo of the acrylic painting Thap chuong Yersin (Yersin Bell Tower) by Nguyen Thuyen

A photo of the acrylic painting Hoa dao (Peach Flowers) by artist Lieu Nguyen Huong Duong

A photo of the water color painting Suong Pho (Urban Fog) by artist Doan Quoc

A photo of the oil painting Ngoai o (Suburb) by artist Le Kinh Tai

A photo of the painting Di qua mua da quy" (Pass by the Wild Sunflowers) by artist Bao Huynh

A photo of the oil painting Vang son (Golden) by artist Nguyen The Thong

A photo of the water color painting Ga Da Lat (Da Lat Station) by artist Bao Huynh

A photo of the oil painting Pho hoa (Flower Street) by artist Nguyen Yen Phi

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Check out news you should not miss today, November 30:

Politics

-- Cambodias Prime Minister Hun Sen will lead a high-ranking delegation of the Cambodian government on an official visit to Vietnam from December 6 to 8 at the invitation of Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc, the Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced on Thursday.

Society

-- Vietnam is mobilizing all forces for anti-epidemic preventive drill to protect the countrys 37 million pigs, after 20 provinces in China were affected by African swine fever, with the nearest outbreak in Pu'er City being around 150km away from Vietnamese border.

-- The Buon Ma Thuot airport in the namesake city in Vietnams Central Highlands has been closed for eight hours from early Friday, after a Vietjet flight experienced a landing gear issue there, leading to six people hospitalized, on Thursday night.

-- More than 15 fire trucks and 200 fire fighters were mobilized to control a fire at a paint company at Ho Cam Industrial Zone in the central city of Da Nang on Thursday night. No casualty has been reported.

-- The rapid increase of air freight in Vietnam is forecast to generate serious airplane noise impacts in areas surrounding airports countrywide, experts said Thursday at a conference on comprehensive environmental policy on aircraft noise at airports in Vietnam.

-- the customs department of the south-central province of Binh Dinh is looking for owner of seven scrap plastic containers which have been imported to the provincial Quy Nhon port for more than 90 days but no one has showed up to complete customs clearance.

Business

-- Vietnams trade surplus for the January-November period was estimated at $6.8 billion, far exceeded the government's estimated full-year figure of at least $1 billion, Reuters reported on Thursday, citing government statistics.

-- Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc on Thursday hosted young people and investors to discuss breakthrough solutions for creative entrepreneurship in Vietnam at a forum in the central city of Da Nang.

Lifestyle

-- An over 200m-long Dao Duy Tu Street in Hanoi Old Quarter has recently become a new tourist attraction after the venue is decorated with thousands of conical hats hung in the air.

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A Viejet flight from Ho Chi Minh City to the Central Highlands city of Buon Ma Thuot was involved in a major incident upon landing on Thursday night.

Vietjet flight VJ356 arrived at Buon Me Thuot Airport from Ho Chi Minh City at 11:03 pm on Thursday.

The budget carrier confirmed the incident to Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper on Friday morning, adding it has been in close coordination with related authorities to assess the incident and promptly support all affected passengers.

Vietjet underlined that all 207 passengers were safe, with only some slightly affected and immediately taken to the hospital for health checks.

Upon landing at Buon Me Thuot Airport, we heard a loud noise and the cabin crew told all passengers to leave the plane through the emergency doors, H., one of the flight VJ356's passengers, recalled.

Photos captured by passengers show that the plane apparently landed with its wing, with all emergency slides inflated.

On the same morning, the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam (CAAV) released initial information about the issue.

According to the report, the aircraft lost its nose wheels during landing, but it managed to come to a complete halt safely at the airport.

The cabin crew was quick to conduct emergency procedures, with 207 passengers disembarking from the plane through the emergency exits.

Six of the passengers who were injured during the escape were rushed to a local hospital, according to the CAAV.

Vietjet told Tuoi Tre News at 9:30 am on Friday that all of the hospitalized passengers were then discharged in stable health conditions.

Flight VJ356 was operated by the Airbus A321 aircraft coded VN-653, which was delivered two weeks ago, according to the carrier.

The CAAV said it has formed an inspection team to look into the case.

Passengers leave the aircraft

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A Vietnamese woman in the southern province of Dong Nai has returned a lost bag to local police after she prevented a stranger on the street from picking up the item, which contained a huge amount of cash.

Police in Bien Hoa, the capital city of Dong Nai, said on Wednesday they received the bag from Thach Thi Tha, who tried to get the lost item back to its real owner from another woman who attempted to take it away.

The incident took place earlier the same day, when an elderly woman named La Luu Hi left a bank in Bien Hoa with VND100 million (US$4,300) worth of cash stored inside a plastic bag.

The woman then traveled to the house of her creditor to pay back her debt, with the bag hung on the side of her motorbike.

During her travel, Hi noticed the bag dropped off her motorbike and even saw a woman pick it up, but the elder woman failed to follow her to get it back.

What Hi did not know is that Tha witnessed everything and managed to stop the unidentified woman in the act, as she was trying to hide the bag under her shirt.

When Tha said the item was hers, it was given to her.

Tha took the bag to a local police station and a little while later Hi, the owner, also arrived to report her case.

Police made ownership verification before returning the money to Hi.

Officials said Tha left her hometown in Vietnams Mekong Delta for livelihood in Bien Hoa and has been living in the city for two decades.

She has taken care of an abandoned child with heart condition for nearly five years on a voluntary basis and usually offers help at a pagoda  an action which she believes yields future benefits in her life.

I live in a rented accommodation and try to do good deeds toward others, Tha said.

When I see someone lose something, I just think I am losing it. I feel anxious and sad.

The woman was no stranger to Hi.

I was astonished to see Tha at the station. I often visit the pagoda and meet her there, Hi said.

She is very kind-hearted.

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A Vietnamese court in the northern province of Phu Tho on Friday jailed two former senior police officials found guilty of providing support to an underground online gambling ring which raised millions of dollars.

Phan Van Vinh, former head of the Police General Department, and Nguyen Thanh Hoa, former head of the High-Tech Crime Police Department, were jailed for nine and ten years, respectively.

Both were convicted of abusing power in performance of official duties, according to their verdicts.

Hoa is asked to pay VND100 million (US$4,300) in fines in addition to his jail term.

The remaining 90 defendants in the same case were convicted and sentenced to up to ten years in prison for crimes including using the Internet to appropriate assets, organizing gambling, gambling, illegally trading invoices, and laundering money.

Vinh wasn't at the court to hear the sentencing, having asked permission to be absent on Friday afternoon for health reasons, judges said.

Both Vinh and Hoa appeared exhausted during the court on Friday morning, and were taken away for medical assistance when judges announced the verdict.

The former policemen and 90 others were charged for involvement in a major online gambling ring worth a whopping US$424 million that was busted in April.

Vinhs actions had caused discontent among the public and damaged the prestige of the police force and the peoples trust in officers, judges said on Friday.

Vinh and Hoa had worked together, with Vinh playing the leading role, in covering up the illegal gambling activities, the court asserted.

Last week, prosecutors in Phu Tho sought jail terms of seven to eight years for the two former police chiefs.

Three major Vietnamese mobile network operators, Viettel, Vinaphone, and Mobifone, were asked to submit a total of VND118 billion (US$5 million) in money they had benefited from gamblers activities.

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Foxtel Masterpiece movies will showcase some of the top AACTA nominated and winning films from tomorrow, including Sweet Country nominated for the Feature Film category next week.

Other feature films nominated for 2018 include Boy Erased (Nicole Kidman, Joel Edgerton, Russell Crowe), Breath (Simon Baker), Cargo, Ladies in Black (Rachael Taylor, Susie Porter, Ryan Corr, Noni Hazlehurst).

The Sapphires (2012)

Saturday 1 December, 8.30pm

Inspired by a true story, four talented Australian Aboriginal girls from a remote mission learn about love, friendship and war when their all girl group entertains the U.S. troops in Vietnam in 1968.

Red Dog (2011)

Saturday 1 December, 10.30pm

Winner of two AACTA Awards including Best Film, this is the legendary true story of the charismatic kelpie who united a local mining community while roaming the outback in search of his master.

Sweet Country (2017)

Sunday 2 December, 10.25pm

When an aged Aboriginal farmhand shoots a white man in self-defence, he and his wife are forced to go on the run. Inspired by real events, justice itself is put under the microscope.

Rabbit-Proof Fence (2002)

Monday 3 December, 8.30pm

This compelling true story about three Aboriginal girls who flee from a white settlement and walk for nine weeks along an outback fence to return to their homes.

Ten Canoes (2006)

Monday 3 December, 10.05pm

In Australias Northern Territory, a man tells us one of the stories of his people and his land. Minygululu tells Dayindi a story set in the time of their ancestors when a stranger came to the village and disrupted the lives of a family.

Alis Wedding (2017)

Tuesday 4 December, 8.30pm

After a reckless lie sets off a catastrophic chain of events, Ali, the son of a Muslim cleric, finds himself caught between his sense of duty to his family and following his heart.

Muriels Wedding (1994)

Tuesday 4 December, 10.20pm

After a reckless lie sets off a catastrophic chain of events, Ali, the son of a Muslim cleric, finds himself caught between his sense of duty to his family and following his heart.

Animal Kingdom (2010)

Wednesday 5 December, 8.30pm

Set in Australia, tension between a notorious crime family and renegade cops creates a chilling tale of betrayal in this superlative thriller.

The Devils Playground (1976)

Wednesday 5 December, 10.25pm

A group of pubescent boys in a Roman Catholic boarding school are faced with emotional tension when their sexual urges are stifled by the schools oppressive atmosphere.

The Great Gatsby (2013)

Thursday 6 December, 8.30pm

Adapted from F. Scott Fitzgerald classic novel, in 1920s New York City a war veteran is attracted to the lavish world of the super-rich. But soon he recognises its illusions and deceits.

Japanese Story (2003)

Thursday 6 December, 10.55pm A haunting Australian story about an ambitious geologist and a Japanese businessman stranded in the desert together during one unforgettable night.

Hacksaw Ridge (2016)

Friday 7 December 8.30pm

An extraordinary true story of Desmond Doss, an American soldier in WWII, who single-handedly saved 75 men without firing or carrying a gun.

Mad Max (1979)

Friday 7 December 10.50pm

When marauding bikies who roam a lawless wasteland kill his wife and daughter, Mad Max becomes the avenger of the highways.

TV Tonight is a media partner of the 2018 AACTA Awards.
Perth Nine News director Shaun Menegola has resigned after 5 years, effective immediately.

Menegola previously enjoyed roles at the Seven and TEN Networks and at The West Australian prior to his appointment under former STW9 managing director David Mott. During his term he introduced two live and local early morning news bulletins at 7.00am and 8.30am weekdays, which then increased to four.

Managing Director at Nine Perth, Clive Bingwa, said: We thank Shaun for his energy and effort in producing a quality news product and wish him all the best.

Deputy Director of News Vanessa Beasley also resigned this week indicating she wanted to spend more time with family.

But STW9 is also facing the departure of Programmer & Marketing Manager Graeme Hill who announced his resignation earlier this month. He departs in 2 weeks.

It has been a day of upheaval in the west with Brett McCarthy sudden resignation as Editor of The West Australian.

Nine Network Director of Regional News, Michael Dalton, will join as acting News Director immediately.
Danish actor Claes Bang (The Girl in the Spiders Web, The Affair, Borgen) has been cast as Dracula in the new miniseries by Sherlock creators Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss.

Three feature length episodes will re-introduce the world to Dracula, the vampire who made evil sexy. In Transylvania in 1897, the blood-drinking Count is drawing his plans against Victorian London. And be warned: the dead travel fast.

Claes Bang says: I am thrilled to be taking on the role of Dracula, especially when the script is in the hands of the incredible talents of Steven Moffat, Mark Gatiss and the team responsible for Sherlock. Im so excited that I get to dig in to this iconic and super-interesting character. Yes hes evil, but theres also so much more to him, hes charismatic, intelligent, witty and sexy. I realise that theres a lot to live up to with all the amazing people that have played him over the years, but I feel so privileged, to be taking on this incredible character.

Hartswood Films and the writers said: It was one of those moments  who else could it be than Claes! He has it all. Brilliant, gorgeous, charismatic, lethal. Tall, dark and gruesome all at once. Hell has a new boss.

A co-production between BBC and Netflix, it will screen in Australia on Netflix.

Larry Tanz, Vice President, Content Acquisition, Netflix, says: Claes will bring Dracula to life with chilling charm and evil elegance. With his talents and Steven and Marks brilliant storytelling, Netflix members around the world will love to fear this dark and complex anti-hero.

Filming begins next year.
US cult drama Preacher will film its 4th season in Victoria, as previously tipped by TV Tonight.

The project will inject $50 million into the Victorian economy and generate 740 jobs for local cast and crew, becoming the biggest budget TV production to come to Victoria since The Pacific in 2007. More than 800 local screen businesses will be engaged on the project as well as associated services such as catering, transport, construction and security.

Secured via Film Victoria, the 10-part series will begin pre-production at Docklands Studios Melbourne and film for seven months in Melbourne and regional Victoria.

Preacher stars UK actor Dominic Cooper and is produced by Sony Pictures Television and Playmaker Studios and follows a conflicted preacher who, during a crisis of faith, gains extraordinary power.

The shoot will also feature a Melbourne-based plotline, showcasing Victoria to a global audience via AMC network in the US.

The project has been supported through Film Victorias Incentives Program and the Australian Governments Location Incentive program, in collaboration with Ausfilm.

Minister for Creative Industries Martin Foley said: Preacher will create hundreds of jobs and development opportunities for our local screen industry talent while putting Victoria on screen for the world to see.

Productions like this arent just a boon for our screen industry, but for the state economy too  in this instance to the tune of $50 million.

Film Victoria CEO Caroline Pitcher said: Securing the production of Preacher for Victoria is a major coup; it is the biggest budget television production to film in our state in more than a decade.

We look forward to showcasing the work of our industry internationally, and to seeing Melbourne shine on screens around the world through this series.

Docklands Studios Melbourne CEO Rod Allan said: Large scale productions such as Preacher are a perfect fit for Docklands Studios Melbourne and demonstrate our reputation as a world-class facility. We look forward to welcoming the cast and crew to the studio.

The series streams locally on Stan.
Anticipated German drama Das Boot will screen on SBS from December 12.

In a mixture of English, French, and German with English subtitles, the series about a German U-Boat will begin with a double episode.

Episodes will be made available on SBS On Demand on the same day of broadcast.

It is Autumn 1942 in occupied France, and the U-612 is bracing for its maiden voyage. Led by the young commander Hoffmann, 40 men are heading towards their first ever mission in an increasingly brutal war, all cramped within the metal vessel. Personalities clash and loyalties shatter as they are tried by the unspeakable horrors of war. Will they live to make it back ashore? Meanwhile, hundreds of miles away, Simone Strassers world is quickly spinning out of control. Deep into an impossible love affair that has her torn between the two sides. Das Boot stars Lizzy Caplan, James DArcy, Tom Wlaschiha, and Vicky Krieps.

Episode One:

During the Autumn of 1942, in the unrelenting deep ocean waters, U-boat Captain Ulrich Wrangel and his men are caught in battle with a US Frigate. As U-113 takes a hit and begins to free-fall underwater, the reality of U-boat warfare becomes startlingly clear. Elsewhere at the base, Simone Strasser arrives to begin work as a translator for the German Navy.

Episode Two:

Aboard U-612, the men are adjusting to their new lives and settling into their own roles within the crew. Captain Hoffmann orders the young men to run intense drills to ensure they are prepared for all eventualities, much to the disdain of Tennstedt who disagrees with Hoffmanns tiring training tactics.

Wednesday, 12 December at 9.35pm on SBS.
(For a live blog on European stocks, type LIVE/ in an Eikon news window)

* FTSE 100 down 0.8 pct, FTE 250 down 0.6 pct

* Investors fret about China economy, Xi-Trump trade talks at weekend

* Thomas Cook (Frankfurt: A0MR3W - news) extends losses after latest profit alert

LONDON, Nov 30 (Reuters) - UK shares were lower on Friday, heading towards their second straight monthly loss, as weaker-than-expected China data drained confidence ahead of a G20 summit this weekend, hitting financial and mining stocks hardest.

The FTSE 100 was down 0.8 percent at 0943 GMT and underperforming its euro-zone peers due to its heavy weighting in mining stocks. The midcap FTSE 250 was down 0.6 percent.

Pharma and biotech were the only sectors in positive territory as investors flocked to high-dividend defensive stocks that are favoured during times of economic and geopolitical uncertainty.

In contrast, mining stocks were down 1.6 percent after China reported its weakest factory growth in more than two years and as investors fretted about the outcome of a key meeting between U.S. President Trump and China's Xi Jinping over trade on Saturday (Shenzhen: 002291.SZ - news) .

It's the first meeting between the two leaders in months while Trump has threatened to increase import tariffs on goods from the United States' top trading partner in the new year.

With (Other OTC: WWTH - news) just one month to go, the mining sector is set for its first annual drop since 2015 amid lingering worries that Washington's trade row with Beijing could choke industrial metals demand from China, the world's top commodities market, and hurt the global economy.

Among other companies exposed to the economic climate in the world's second largest economy, Burberry dropped 2.7 percent along with other European luxury goods makers.

China's burgeoning middle-class with greater spending clout are an increasingly important market for high-end retailers.

Elsewhere, Sage was the biggest decliner after Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS-PB - news) downgraded the British software group to neutral, noting the time it will take for the company to shift to subscription services.

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Among the midcaps, financial stocks were the biggest falls, with CYBG CYBGC.L> down 3.9 percent and Quilter down 3.7 percent.

Investors continued to punish Thomas Cook after its latest profit warning this week as the travel agent struggles with stiff competition from online rivals and low-cost airlines.

Late on Thursday, S&P Global (Frankfurt: 851710 - news) revised its credit outlook for the company to negative. Shares (Berlin: DI6.BE - news) fell another 4.3 percent to the bottom of the FTSE 250 stack and their lowest levels in six years. On Friday, Berenberg Bank downgraded the stock to sell, describing the stock as "uninvestable".

On the blue-chip index, rival TUI (LSE: 0NLA.L - news) was down 0.7 percent. (Reporting by Josephine Mason; Editing by Richard Balmforth)
FILE PHOTO: Danske Bank sign is seen at the bank's Estonian branch in Tallinn, Estonia August 3, 2018. REUTERS/Ints Kalnins - RC153A1D5030/File Photo

By Teis Jensen and Jacob Gronholt-Pedersen

COPENHAGEN (Reuters) - A money laundering scandal at Danske Bank <DANSKE.CO> involving billions of euros of suspicious flows is serious enough to potentially affect the country's financial stability, the central bank warned on Friday.

Denmark's state prosecutor filed preliminary charges on Wednesday against Danske Bank, Denmark's largest lender with a balance sheet 1-1/2 times the country's gross domestic product, for alleged violations of the country's anti-money laundering act in relation to its Estonian branch.

In a report published on Friday the central bank said money laundering issues at a single bank could spread to the entire financial sector.

"It's a question of trust, if there is a spillover effect to the rest of the sector. We haven't seen that yet, but that is the concern," Karsten Biltoft, assistant governor and head of financial stability, told Reuters.

Danske Bank, whose CEO Thomas Borgen resigned in September after an investigation revealed payments totalling 200 billion euros (178.27 billion pounds) through its Estonian branch, many of which the bank said were suspicious, is being investigated by authorities in Denmark, Estonia and the United States and could face sizeable fines.

However Biltoft said it is unlikely Danske Bank would be met by the same severe sanctions as those which led to the collapse of Latvian bank ABLV.

"We have of course looked at it and thought about it," Biltoft said. "It is very unlikely, but if it did happen it would be quite terrible. If you imagine that Denmark's largest bank would close, that would be really bad, to put it nicely."

VERY DIFFERENT

ABLV self-liquidated in June after being accused by the U.S. Treasury Department's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network of money laundering, violating sanctions on North Korea and using bribery to influence Latvian officials.

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Danske has itself previously said the involvement of U.S. authorities in inquiries into alleged money laundering by its own executives is very different to the case of ABLV.

The central bank's report on financial stability said there was a need for coordinated efforts between firms and authorities to combat money laundering, calling for better European cooperation.

"Money laundering is a cross-border problem, which demands cross-border solutions. And at a European level the Banking Union is such a solution," Biltoft said.

Prime Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen has said the Danske Bank case has increased the chances of Denmark joining the European Banking Union, set up to ensure banks are better supervised. A decision on the matter is due in 2019.

The Danish government in September decided to double the cash cushion banks must hold to protect against economic shocks to 1 percent of risk-weighted exposure from September next year.

Central bank governor Lars Rohde said last week that a level of 2.5 percent would be reasonable. Biltoft declined to set up a timeline for when the central bank think that such a target should be set.

Danske Bank did not immediately respond to Reuters' request for comment.

(Reporting by Teis Jensen and Jacob Gronholt-Pedersen Editing by Adrian Croft and David Holmes)
FILE PHOTO - AVIANCA airplanes are seen on the tarmac during a presentation ceremony of a new aircraft at Monsenor Oscar Arnulfo Romero International Airport in San Luis Talpa, El Salvador, May 7, 2018. REUTERS/Jose Cabezas

By Tracy Rucinski and Marcelo Rochabrun

CHICAGO, SAO PAULO (Reuters) - United Continental Holdings Inc <UAL.O> on Friday said it had finalized a three-way joint venture with carriers Avianca Holdings SA <AVT_p.CN> of Colombia and Copa Airlines of Panama, giving the U.S. airline a deeper foothold in Latin America where travel demand is rising.

Like its main U.S. rivals, No. 3 U.S. carrier United has been eyeing untapped potential for leisure and business travelers in Latin America, where many still travel long distances by car and bus.

United, Avianca and Copa are already codeshare partners and Star Alliance members, but a joint venture will allow them to plan routes and fares together and share revenues on those routes.

Shares in each of the three carriers ended higher on Friday.

Under the deal, United said it would provide a $456 million term loan to cash-strapped Avianca's top shareholder, Synergy Group Corp. Loss-making Avianca has a roughly $4 billion debt pile, of which 40 percent is due within the next two years, according to recent financial statements.

Latin American airlines in general have experienced a turbulent few years, hit by a double whammy of high oil prices and devaluing currencies in local markets, which make it more expensive to cover dollar-denominated costs like fuel and aircraft rent.

Travel has also suffered in the dominant regional economy Brazil, which has suffered from its deepest recession in decades but remains the largest aviation market in the region, and one of the biggest in the world.

United, which already owns an 8 percent stake in Brazilian carrier Azul SA, said it was exploring the possibility of adding the country to its joint partnership with Avianca and Copa.

The three carriers' agreement is subject to regulatory approval in the United States and several jurisdictions in Central and South America. Copa Airlines said in a press release that process would take between 12 and 18 months.

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However, a similar deal between American Airlines Group <AAL.O> and Chile's Latam Airlines Group <LTM.SN> signed in January 2016 only received Chilean antitrust approval last month.

United's deal with Avianca, long in the works, had undergone significant legal back-and-forth after the Colombian flagship carrier's No. 2 shareholder Kingsland Ltd tried to halt negotiations between United and Synergy. The parties eventually came to an agreement.

(This story has been refiled to fix misspelling in dateline)

(Reporting by Ankit Ajmera in Bengaluru and Tracy Rucinski in Chicago; additional reporting by Marcelo Alonso Rochabrun in Sao Paulo and Julia Symmes Cobb in Bogota; Editing by Shailesh Kuber and Tom Brown)
Archaeologists have confirmed a 2,000-year-old ring found 50 years ago in the West Bank could have belonged to Pontius Pilate.

The artefact, which is made from copper-alloy, bears the inscription "of Pilatus" which experts believe refers to the brutal governor Pontius Pilate, the man responsible for putting Jesus to death, according to the Bible.

The ring, believed to be a stamping ring used to sign official documents, was originally discovered in 1969 by Professor Gideon Forster from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem at a fortress Herod built named Herodion.

Thousands of artefacts were discovered at the site and the ring was one of many found in Herod's burial tomb.

The engraving was only revealed recently, when the ring was cleaned and examined, showing the words surrounded by a picture of a wine vessel.

A stamping ring represents status in the Roman cavalry, to which Pilate belonged.

Professor Danny Schwartz told Haaretz: "I don't know of any other Pilatus from the period and the ring shows he was a person of stature and wealth.

"You can see he had a natural link to the Herodion. Even for Herod it was more than just a tomb site with a palace. It was also a significant site of government. You can see the unusual significance this site had."
First Gen Corp. of the Lopez Group has short-listed two engineering, procurement and construction contractors for its planned liquefied natural gas terminal in Batangas. The company continues to work on various development activities to be able to advance the project and make a final investment decision. The LNG terminals Front End Engineering Design has been completed, and it is now going through a tender for the EPC Contract in which it has shortlisted two tenderers, the company said in a report to the Philippine Stock Exchange. First Gen said it would pursue and develop its planned import and re-gasification LNG terminal for completion in 2024. Its planned construction and operation is in preparation for the eventual exhaustion of the Malampaya gas field and also to support the development of the Philippine gas industry, the company said. In parallel, the company has also completed the initial phase of planned site development for the LNG terminal site. The project is on track to make a final investment decision by 2019, it said. First Gen president Francis Giles Puno earlier said the companys LNG project was the most feasible to date. The uniqueness of our project is we have our own power plants so the general approach is to create our own option for our LNG and if there are other options out there that is seem to be more competitive than our project, well and good. At this stage, we believe that our project is the more feasible available today. Unless proven otherwise, our project is the most feasible at this stage, Puno said.First Gen plans to put up an LNG terminal to ensure natural gas supply for its power plants in Batangas with a combined capacity of 2,011 megawatts. If the Malampaya contract ends by 2024, so it takes about 4 years construction so at the latest we should do something 2020 onwards, Puno said. Service Contract No. 38 for the Malampaya gas project in northwest Palawan is due to expire by 2024. Shell Philippines Exploration B.V., Chevron Philippines and state-run Philippine National Oil Co. own SC 38. Puno also said First Gen had been in discussions with potential partners for its LNG project in Batangas. Wed like to be in a position where at least hopefully announce a partnership in the next, hopefully by early next year... we have to make sure we choose the right partners so right now we havent just chosen, he said.
Sonja Ayeb-Karlsson , Author provided

Sahia got married when she was 15 years old  and saw her husband for the first time on their wedding day. Her sense of humour is apparent as soon as we meet: He is a good husband. I was lucky, but at the same time he must have exaggerated his status a bit to my parents, she says, laughing. His market value was put up slightly over his actual value.

She has agreed to talk to us about the ways climate change and environmental stress are influencing peoples lives. She says that after their wedding, she moved in with her husband and father-in-law. Her new home was Singpur  a riverside village in central Bangladesh, only a couple of hundred kilometres from the capital, Dhaka. She had been living here for about a year when she witnessed her first home collapsing into the river.

One day we found cracks in the floor as the land had started to get pulled into the water. We realised that this was a bad sign. The cracks kept growing deeper and deeper for each day that passed.

Riverbank erosion usually happens slowly, but occasionally a larger chunk of land suddenly falls into the water. This is what happened the day Sahia lost her first house. As soon as she noticed how deep the cracks were in the ground, she started carrying out their belongings to safety. A few hours later, the house was gone.

Sonja Ayeb-Karlsson , Author provided

Sahia and her family moved in with her husbands uncle for a while. But it was not long before his house was swallowed by the river, too. They moved into an abandoned house after this, but they are still living too close to the river, Sahia tells me in a worried voice.

Sahias husband was a fisherman so the family got by on what he managed to catch. They were managing, until one day everything changed.

My husband used to catch fish, but when the fish got some disease he had to stop fishing  Nowadays, there is hardly any fish left in the river  There used to be tons of fish, but when the fish started dying from that disease people stopped eating them  All the big and good fish disappeared.

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Once their main income stopped sustaining them, the family felt forced to change livelihood. They decided to migrate seasonally to work in a brick factory in Aliganj, further up the river.

Nowadays, they leave Singpur for six months every year during the rainy season, to avoid being there when the village is flooded.

The man who brought us there [to the brick factory] gave us some money, and with that money we managed to survive the six months in Singpur. What we earn we use to feed our family. They usually pay us on a weekly basis, around 2,000-4,000 taka [20-40]. After feeding my family, consisting of six family members, we manage to save about 1,000 taka [10] or so per week. That amount is our familys whole savings per week.

Sonja Ayeb-Karlsson , Author provided

When the family return to Singpur, they live on their savings from the brick factory. The work is hard and dangerous. The children miss out on school to work in the factory and it is only a matter of time before someone ends up getting hurt or sick from the hard work. Their savings would not sustain the whole family through a crisis.

Sonja Ayeb-Karlsson , Author provided

The shift of livelihood has not only been hard on Sahia physically. Before the factory work, she was a housewife like the rest of the women in Singpur village. Working outside of the house as a woman has brought social stigma on her.

In this village, if you work outside you end up losing your honour After observing us some people said: The women out there are working! What do they know about work? We see those people, we hear them, but we do not fear their words anymore. We work to survive.

I can see that she is watching me. My hair, which is tied up in a bun, and the clothes I am wearing. We are two women not that different from one another in a lot of ways, but we are living two completely different lives in very different parts of the world. She says:

I am actually not that old. It is the hard work that made me look like this. Did you not see my husband? Nobody thinks I am his wife after meeting him.

Her husband is young, in his late twenties or early thirties. When I first met Sahia I thought to myself that she must be about a decade older than me. It turns out that we are about the same age. She had to make the necessary sacrifices in her life to sustain her family.

Sonja Ayeb-Karlsson , Author provided

When I return to the village a year later, I immediately head off to find her. I have thought about her throughout the year. I ask the people I met on my way there, but nobody seems to know anything. I reach the area where her house used to stand, but it is gone. It has fallen into the river. I ask her neighbours if they know where she is, where the family went, but nobody seems to know what has happened to her.

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

The Conversation

This research was carried out as part of the Gibika project and key findings have contributed to the Lancet Countdown reports tracking progress on health and climate change.
Delegates from France's 'Yellow Vest' protesters turned down a planned meeting with Prime Minister Edouard Philippe on Friday, on the grounds that it would not be filmed.

"I have repeatedly asked that this interview be filmed and broadcast live on television. This was refused," said Jason Herbert, one of eight members of the delegation that emerged from the group in the beginning of the week.

Click on the video player above to watch FRANCE 24's report.
The crippled SR-71 intercepted by the Swedish Air Force Viggens in 1987 in a photo shot by one of the Swedish pilots, Lt. Bo Ignell.

Swedish Armed Forces

On June 29, 1987, an SR-71 Blackbird, launched from RAF Mildenhall, UK, was flying a northern course, at 75,000 feet and Mach 3.0, when its right engine exploded.

In order to manage the emergency, the aircrew immediately turned towards Sweden, rapidly descending.

Sweden's Air Defense radar that was tracking the aircraft asked two Saab JA 37 Viggen jets to intercept the intruder.

The Swedish jets ended up escorting the SR-71 until the they reached the Danish airspace, saving the pilots and the aircraft.

During the 1980s, the U.S. flew regular SR-71 Blackbird aircraft reconnaissance missions in international waters over the Barents Sea and the Baltic Sea, the latter known as Baltic Express missions. On June 29, 1987, during one of those missions, a Blackbird launched from RAF Mildenhall, UK, piloted by retired Lt. Cols. Duane Noll and Tom Veltri, experienced a pretty serious inflight emergency.

Flying a northern course, at 75,000 feet and Mach 3.0, its right engine exploded. In order to manage the emergency, the aircrew immediately turned towards Sweden, rapidly descending. At an altitude of 25,000 feet, approaching Gotland Island, the Blackbird violated the Swedish airspace triggering a reaction by the Swedish Air Force.

The Air Defense radar that was tracking the aircraft asked two Saab JA 37 Viggen jets, belonging to the F 13 Norrkoping, already in flight for another mission, to intercept the intruder and perform a so-called VID (Visual IDentification).

SR-71

US Air Force

We were performing an ordinary peace time operation exercise, recalled retired Maj. Roger Moller, Swedish air force Viggen pilot. Our fighter controller then asked me are you able to make an interception and identification of a certain interest. I thought immediately it must be an SR-71, otherwise he would have mentioned it. But at that time I didnt know it was the Blackbird.

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About 70 kilometers east of Olands southern oceans, the two Swedish Viggens intercepted the SR-71.

Moller and his wingman Maj. Krister Sjoberg shadowed the Blackbird for about five minutes at a distance of about 30 meters. From that position they could see that the Blackbird was flying on one engine and that it carried the registration 117964.

Meanwhile, a second pair of Viggens had been scrambled by F 10 in Angelholm (where F 6 was temporarily deployed) to relieve the first pair that would soon run out of fuel. Piloted by Col. Lars-Erik Blad and Lt. Bo Ignell, they got visual with the Blackbird and the other Viggens about 70 kilometers east of Bornholm, in international airspace. The arrival of the second pair of JA 37s allowed the first one to return home.

We saw that the plane was flying at low speed and was constantly decelerating. In order to remain unseen, I made a break on their right side and then a 360 degree turn so I got up behind and above the Blackbird to have a good overview of the situation. My wingma remained on their right side, said Lars-Eric Blad in a Swedish Air Force release.

SR-71

Wikimedia Commons

With a transponder code set to 7700 (the ICAO code for an Emegency), the SR -71 continued to lose height so much so, the Swedish pilots were unsure whether the plane would eventually crash or the pilots would have to eject. However they continued to escort the American spyplane that, at low speed and altitude, was extremely vulnerable.

We did not know who would find us first. Seeing the Swedish plane escorting us was a pure liberation. Im absolutely sure that the Swedish presence on meant that other interceptors were at distance and could not therefore come to intercept us, said Tom Veltri, one of the SR-71 pilots that day.

The Swedish escorted the SR-71 until the they reached the Danish airspace.

Then we were down to about 12,000 feet, but thankfully, we saw no other planes in the area, said Lars-Eric Blad.

In spite of the emergency the SR-71 was eventually able to land at Nordholz in the former West Germany.

The four Swedish air force pilots received U.S. Air Medals during a ceremony held in Stockholm on Nov. 28, 2018, recognizing their actions that took place over 31 years ago. Although the episode is described in several books, until last year the details of their mission remained classified.

According to the Air Medal citation, once the Swedish pilots intercepted the SR-71, they assessed the emergency situation and decided to render support to the aircraft by defending it from any potential third-party aircraft that might have tried to threaten it. The pilots then accompanied the aircraft beyond the territorial boundaries and ensured that it was safely recovered.

SR-71

Wikimedia Commons

I cant say enough about these gentlemen, said Veltri, who was at the ceremony. I am so amazingly grateful for what they did, but also for the opportunity to recognize them in the fashion we are doing. What these guys did is truly monumental.

Noll, who was not able to be at the ceremony, recorded a message which was played to those in attendance.

Your obvious skills and judgement were definitely demonstrated on that faithful day many years ago. I want to thank you for your actions on that day, said Noll. We will never know what would or could have happened, but because of you, there was no international incident. The U.S. Air Force did not lose an irreplaceable aircraft, and two crew members lives were saved. Lt. Col. Veltri and I cant thank you sufficiently for what you prevented. Thank you for being highly skilled and dedicated patriotic fellow aviators.



H/T Lars Westholm for helping with this story.

NOW WATCH: The true story behind the name 'Black Friday' is much darker than you may have thought

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German authorities have searched Deutsche Bank (IOB: 0H7D.IL - news) offices as part of an investigation into money laundering allegations triggered by Panama Papers and Offshore Leaks disclosures, prosecutors said.

The raids at six offices in the Frankfurt area prompted shares in the lender to fall 3%.

Investigators are looking into two staff members, aged 46 and 50, as well as possible suspects who have yet to be identified.

Deutsche employees are said to have helped clients set up offshore companies to launder hundreds of millions of euros.

Around 170 police officers, prosecutors and tax inspectors took part in the searches which saw written and electronic documents seized, the Frankfurt prosecutor's office said.

Deutsche Bank said it was fully cooperating with authorities.

The investigation was triggered after investigators reviewed so-called Offshore Leaks and Panama Papers disclosures - caches of documents obtained by investigative journalists.

The Panama Papers - millions of documents from Panamanian law firm Mossack Fonseca - were leaked to the media in 2016.

A number of banks including Swedish lenders Nordea and Handelsbanken have already been fined by financial regulators for violating money laundering rules as a result of the papers.

Prosecutors said they were looking at whether Deutsche Bank may have assisted clients to set up offshore companies in tax havens, so that funds transferred to accounts at Deutsche Bank could get around anti-money laundering safeguards.

In 2016 alone, more than 900 customers are alleged to have transferred 311m to one such company in the British Virgin Islands, a spokeswoman said.

It is also alleged that Deutsche Bank employees breached their duties by neglecting to report money launder suspicions about clients and offshore companies involved in tax evasion schemes.

The investigation is separate from another money laundering scandal surrounding Danish lender Danske Bank (LSE: 0NVC.L - news) , in which Deutsche Bank has a role.

It is the latest challenge facing Deutsche's new chief executive Christian Sewing who took the helm earlier this year and has set about cutting thousands of jobs in a re-shaping of the lender .
Eye on France: Spare the rod, spoil the child - or not?

To smack or not to smack, that is the question. Later today the French parliament will debate the abolition of corporal punishment. Could it lead to violence in the House?

Its a serious question. According to the Childhood Foundation, 85 percent of French parents admit administering to their kids what is technically, and rather wonderfully, called violences educatives ordinaires, the routine violence associated with child-rearing.

Were talking open-handed smacks and taps - nothing too heavy. Basically, what the French call la fessee, a slap on the arse.

Spoil the child?

There are those - the spare the rod and spoil the child contingent - who believe that the odd clatter is good for the growing youngster and is crucial to the maintenance of parental authority.

Those who support an end to even low-key parental violence against children say that there have been plenty of studies and theres no longer any doubt about the negative impact on the physical and mental health of the victims.

The time has come, they say, for France to take its place as the 55th nation to formally ban any physical, verbal or psychological violence against the child. No more beating or humiliation.

That, according to Maud Petit, the perfectly-named MP - her family name means little - who is shepherding this law through the National Assembly, will bring to a definitive end a judicial contradiction which dates from the 19th century, but which has absolutely no basis in French penal law.

France has already been hauled over the coals for its legal ambiguity on corporal punishment, by the European Council in 2015 and by the UNs childrens committee a year later. Sweden, for example, banned corrective violence against children back in 1979.

The document to be debated by the French parliament later today wont change much, since theres no proposal to introduce new sanctions against slap-happy parents. Such sanctions already exist, though how many five-year-olds are aware of that is an interesting question.

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No violence, please

If this evenings debate ends peacefully, a new obligation will be added into the civil marriage ceremony, calling for those who exercise parental authority to do it without recourse to any form of violence.

The text to be considered by deputies has been proposed by the centrist MoDem or Democratic Movement party, presided over by Francois Bayrou, with the support of the ruling Republic on the Move majority.

Conservative and far-right speakers were complaining at the committee stage that the new law interferes with the private rights of the family.

Jean-Christophe Lagarde of the centre-right Union of Democrats and Independents says the law is senseless and will lead to media mockery, without having any practical impact.

MP Julien Dive of the right-wing Republicans party says Bayrous support for the law is an irony of history.

Bayrou was a presidential candidate in 2002 and was famously caught by television cameras in Strasbourg, dishing out a spot of violence educative ordinaire to a kid who tried to pick his pocket.

According to Maud Petit, the child in question has since blossomed into a full-blown delinquent. So, in his case at least, the short, sharp shock treatment did not have the desired effect.

We'll see what the French parliament makes of it all tonight. Let's hope they don't start slapping one another!
The discovery of tools and cut bones in Algeria shows that human ancestors were in north Africa hundreds of thousands of years earlier than previously thought, putting into question east ...

The first Homo species, the direct ancestors to todays Homo sapiens, emerged about two million years ago, around the time that these artefacts are dated.

Mohamed Sahnouni, a professor at the National Centre for Research on Human Evolution in Burgos, Spain, and the lead author of the research paper says that the research upends commonly taught history that says that human origins are in the East African Rift, between Tanzania and Ethiopia.

Below is an interview with RFI, edited for clarity.

Q: What exactly did you and your colleagues find?

We discovered two archaeological deposits. One is very old, dated to 2.4 million years ago. We excavated stone tools, called Oldowan, in reference to the Olduvai gorge archaeological site in Tanzania.

Oldowan is a technological tradition of very basic stone tools, made from stone cores, off of which flakes were knocked off. We also found flakes with sharp edges, which were used in acquiring animal subsistence.

And we found that they used the stone tools in acquiring animal subsistence, because there were fossil bones of a Savannah kind of ecology, including elephant, rhino, bovids, et cetera.

Some of those specimens bear cut marks, or means butchery marks, which tells us a lot about how these early humans got their subsistence.

The other archaeological site is a bit younger, dated 1.9 million years ago, and we found exactly the same things.

Q: What do these findings mean for our understanding of this history?

This discovery means two possible hypotheses: One is that there was a rapid expansion of early humans from east Africa to the north.

Why rapid? Because of the chronology. The site in north Africa is 2.4 million years old, while the oldest finds in eastern Africa are 2.6 million years old. They are nearly contemporary.

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Q: 200,000 years seems like a long time!

For us today, yes, but for early humans to expand, thats not much time. We are talking demographically about restricted groups of humans, 10-15 maximum. And the expansion is in the course of looking for food resources, with all the threats. So it is not quick.

The other hypothesis is that there is more than one location for the origin of humankind.

Q: Do we know who they were? This timing is right on the edge of the emergence of the Homo genus.

Right now, whether in north Africa or in east Africa, none of the sites have yielded any associated early Homo remains. So what we can say for now is that the toolmakers were early Homo, but we cant say which species.

Q: What is next for you: looking for more finds to bolster this theory?

Thats what we are looking for. We have other deposits with potential, with a lot of well-preserved fauna. We will have to look.
ROME (Reuters) - Italy's foreign minister summoned Egypt's ambassador on Friday and urged Cairo to respect its commitment to move quickly and bring to justice those responsible for the murder of Giulio Regeni, a statement said.

Regeni, a 28-year-old PhD student, was killed in Cairo in January 2016. Despite months of cooperation between Egyptian and Italian prosecutors, nobody has been arrested or charged over the killing.

"Minister (Enzo) Moavero expressed Italy's need to see concrete investigative developments," said the foreign ministry statement. It added that there was "strong disquiet" in Rome over the way the case was being handled.

The statement said the Egyptian ambassador had assured Moavero that Cairo's determination to "shed light on the case cannot be questioned". The envoy added that investigators in Egypt were committed to pursuing their inquiry "despite the difficulties encountered", the ministry said.

Egyptian and Italian prosecutors met earlier this week to discuss the state of the investigation, but judicial sources in Rome said the Cairo team failed to deliver a promised breakthrough.

Frustrated by the lack of progress, Italy will next week place under official investigation at least two members of Egypt's security forces over their alleged involvement in the disappearance of Regeni, judicial sources said on Thursday.

In a largely symbolic move, the president of Italy's lower house of parliament has said he will suspend ties with Egypt's parliament until there is progress in Cairo towards resolving the case.

In response, Egypt's parliament said on Friday it regretted what it called the Italian chamber's hasty decision to anticipate the results of the investigation.

"The house of representatives affirms that the Egyptian state has a firm interest in disclosing the circumstances of the killing of Mr Regeni, since the incident happened on its territory," said a statement carried by state news agency MENA.

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Egyptian officials have repeatedly denied any involvement in Regeni's death. The general prosecutor's office in Cairo said it had no comment to make beyond a statement it issued on Wednesday following the meeting between the two teams of investigators.

That statement said the two sides had agreed "investigations are going well" and that they would "do everything in their power to find the perpetrators".

Being placed under official investigation in Italy does not imply guilt and does not automatically lead to a trial. The two security forces members will be investigated for allegedly kidnapping Regeni.

No one is being placed under investigation at this point for torturing or killing Regeni, the sources said.

(Reporting by Crispian Balmer and Omar Fahmy; Editing by Steve Scherer and David Stamp)
By Kaori Kaneko and Michel Rose

TOKYO/PARIS (Reuters) - France and Japan's leaders met for bilateral talks to avert a diplomatic row over the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi alliance on Friday following the surprise arrest of its Chairman Carlos Ghosn in Japan.

With the carmaking alliance facing its biggest test after the ousting of Ghosn as chairman of Nissan <7201.T> and affiliate Mitsubishi <7211.T> over financial misconduct allegations, President Emmanuel Macron sat down with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe at the G20 summit in Buenos Aires.

Ghosn's arrest to face accusations including the under-reporting of income has triggered new attempts by Nissan to weaken Renault's control of the Franco-Japanese alliance, adding to challenges facing Macron at home.

Macron, whose government has repeatedly pressed Japan to share evidence unearthed by Nissan's internal investigation into Ghosn, "restated his firm wish that the alliance should be preserved, along with the stability of the group", an Elysee official said after Friday's meeting with Abe.

Abe said it was important to "maintain a stable relationship", according to a spokesman for the Japanese leader.

"However, he said the future of the alliance is up to the private-sector shareholders. The government of Japan does not prejudge the future of the alliance," the spokesman said.

The French official quoted Abe as telling Macron that "the legal process must be allowed to take its course."

LEADERLESS

Tokyo authorities on Friday extended Ghosn's detention for a second time, by the maximum-allowed 10 days, local media reported. Prosecutors must file charges by Dec. 10 or arrest Ghosn for new crimes to hold him beyond that date.

Tokyo prosecutors declined to comment. Nissan did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Ghosn's detention has left the global auto alliance without its leader and main interlocutor with the French government, which owns 15 percent of Renault and wants to maintain the ownership structure enshrining its control of the partnership.

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But Nissan Chief Executive Hiroto Saikawa has made clear that Nissan wants to weaken the control of its smaller parent as it carries out a governance review.

Renault's 43.4 percent Nissan stake ensures an effective voting majority at shareholder meetings, while Nissan's reciprocal 15 percent Renault holding carries no voting rights.

The Macron-Abe talks came as a diplomatic spat was brewing over comments by French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire, who said that his Japanese counterpart Hiroshige Seko had agreed in earlier talks that the cross-shareholdings should be left unchanged.

Seko denied any such agreement through a rare official letter of protest sent to Le Maire, Japanese daily newspaper Mainichi Shimbun reported.

Officials at both of the ministries declined to comment on the letter or the incident.

Le Maire also came in for criticism from Renault staff representatives concerned for the alliance.

"The government should know their place and stay there," said a union official at the French carmaker. "This kind of overreaching may be counter-productive."

As economy minister, Macron masterminded the French government's surprise increase to its Renault stake in 2015, raising concern within Nissan that the Elysee sought to wield more influence over the Japanese company.

Renault, Nissan and Mitsubishi "emphatically reiterated" their commitment to the alliance on Thursday after executives met in Amsterdam for the first time since Ghosn's arrest.

A review of the capital structure was not discussed at the meeting, Mitsubishi CEO Osamu Masuko said.

(Reporting by Kaori Kaneko, Chris Gallagher and Linda Sieg and Elaine Lies in Tokyo, Michel Rose and Laurence Frost in Paris, and by Daniel Flynn and Maximilian Heath in Buenos Aires; Writing by Laurence Frost and Chang-Ran Kim; Editing by Keith Weir, David Goodman and Sonya Hepinstall)
The Sandiganbayan Seventh Division has allowed former First Gentleman Jose Miguel Arroyo to travel to Japan and Hong Kong by end of the month and towards new year. Over the objection of the prosecution, the instant motion is granted subject to the usual terms and conditions imposed by the Court, the anti-graft court said. In his travel motion filed earlier at the anti-graft courts division, Arroyo said he planned to leave the country from Dec. 26, 2018 to Jan. 6, 2019. The Honorable Court has, for many times before, permitted him to travel and he has always returned here as it is here where his family and business interests are, hence, he has no reason not to return. He is, thus, not a flight risk, Arroyo said in his motion. From the Philippines, Arroyo will fly to Japan from Dec. 6, 2018 to Jan. 1, 2019 where he will be billeted at the Oakwood Premier Hotel Tokyo.While in Hong Kong, Arroyo will stay at the Shangri-La in Kowloon for the rest of his trip from January 1, to 6. Arroyo said he will abide by the rules of the anti-graft court, such as he will present himself to the division clerk of court within five days after his return to the Philippines. Arroyo is facing graft charges at the Sandiganbayan Seventh Division owing to alleged irregularities in the Philippine National Police (PNP)s purchase of two helicopters in 2009. The Ombudsman accused Arroyo and 19 others, including former National Police chief Jesus Verzosa, of causing undue injury to the government amounting to P34.6 million when the second-hand helicopters were sold to the PNP as brand new.
Lawyers for Donald Trumps former campaign chairman Paul Manafort are heading to court at a time of frenetic activity in US special counsel Robert Muellers Russian collusion investigation.

Prosecutors this week obtained a guilty plea from Mr Trumps longtime fixer Michael Cohen and appear to be lining up charges against another Trump supporter.

Mr Manaforts plea deal fell apart after prosecutors said he lied to investigators.

They are expected to provide some detail about those false statements on Friday.

The hearing in a federal court in Washington comes as Mr Trump faces questions about whether he will pardon Mr Manafort, and if he is attempting to downplay Michael Cohens guilty plea.

Michael Cohen pleaded guilty to lying to US congress about work he did on an aborted project to build a Trump Tower in Russia (AP)

None of the recent moves by Mr Mueller have definitively answered the question of whether the US president or his associates co-ordinated with Russian interference in the 2016 presidential campaign.

They do not directly accuse the president of any criminal wrongdoing or indicate that Mr Trump faces legal jeopardy.

However, the US president has continually surfaced in Mr Muellers investigation, with references to him in Cohens plea on Thursday and in a draft plea offer  made public this week  extended to conservative writer and conspiracy theorist Jerome Corsi.

On Wednesday, Mr Trump expressed sympathy for Mr Manafort, Mr Corsi and his longtime confidant Roger Stone, telling the New York Post that they are very brave for resisting the Mueller investigation. He also said a pardon for Mr Manafort was not off the table.

Mr Trump told reporters on Thursday its very sad what happened to Paul (Manafort), but he stressed that he has not offered him a pardon and was only responding to a question in the Post interview about whether he would.

Mr Trump said a pardon for Mr Manafort was not off the table (AP)

Senator Mark Warner, the top Democrat on the US senate intelligence committee, said any pardon of Mr Manafort would be a complete abuse of power and could prompt congressional action against the president.

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Mr Trump has spent recent weeks casting Robert Muellers team as hell-bent on destroying the lives of those in his orbit.

Armed with information passed along by Mr Manaforts attorneys to the presidents legal team, Mr Trump has accused prosecutors of dirty tactics and pressuring witnesses to lie.

The arrangement with Mr Manaforts lawyers is unusual because it continued after he pleaded guilty to two felony charges and agreed to co-operate with the government.

Mr Trumps legal team also has received help from Mr Corsi. He said that while in contact with Mr Muellers team, he directed his lawyer to informally share information with the presidents attorneys, including Jay Sekulow.

Jerome Corsi (AP)

Mr Corsi, who rejected the plea deal, has said he expects to be charged by Mr Mueller with lying to investigators as part of the probes scrutiny of WikiLeaks and whether he or Mr Stone had advance knowledge of the groups release of thousands of hacked emails stolen from Hillary Clintons campaign chairman John Podesta.

Mr Mueller and US intelligence agencies have said Russia was the source of the material provided to WikiLeaks.

Both men have denied having any contact with WikiLeaks or having any foreknowledge of its plans. Mr Corsi also denies making false statements to investigators.

The special counsels team raised the prospect of filing additional charges against Mr Manafort for false statements he made after co-operating with the government. Mr Manafort has denied lying.

Mr Muellers team also said it will lay out the nature of the statements in a later court filing.
A Spanish fishing vessel remained at sea on November 30 after refusing to bring 12 migrants it rescued from the Mediterranean Sea to Libya because of safety concerns.

The Spanish NGO Proactiva Open Arms said it was continuing to provide support to 12 migrants, two of whom were minors. The migrants were reported to be from Niger, Somalia, Sudan, Senegal and Egypt.

They were rescued by the Nuestra Senora de Loreto fishing vessel after they left Libya for Europe on a rubber dinghy on November 22, Libyan reports said.

Spain refused to take the migrants, but was involved in talks with Italy and Malta in an effort to find a solution, reports said. Credit: Proactiva Open Arms via Storyful
Cape Town - During an inspirational keynote address on Thursday afternoon in Soweto, Oprah Winfrey received several standing ovations for her stirring speech.

The speech was broadcast live on TV, telling South Africa's youth to never give up, to be resilient and to find their strength in telling their stories.

Oprah spoke at a packed auditorium in Soweto as part of an event organised by the Nelson Mandela Foundation, titled"Is'thunzi Sabafazi" (Dignity of Women).

WATCH THE SPEECH HERE:

Speaking about the 10 days she got to spend with Nelson Mandela before she built her Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls school, she said: "We are Mandela's children, and we are his legacy. And his legacy speaks to us each time we choose unity over division. His legacy speaks to us each time we decide that we are going to fight for equality over domination and love over hate".

"The spirit of him abides with every man, every woman who listens with humility; everyone who says yes to breaking down a barrier, and not to putting up a wall. Who educates, rather than retaliates. He is with us every single time everybody casts a vote for democracy and casts a vote for freedom - he lives," said Winfrey.

About her school she built in 2007 she said "I built a school to give girls who look like me, who came from backgrounds like me, who didn't have the means but had the brainpower and the will to succeed, I wanted to give those girls a chance. And I will say that the experience of watching these daughters of South Africa find their voice and find their grace has made me think long and hard about the universe that our young leaders and graduating into today."

Some of the girls, many of whom were in the audience on Thursday, she said have gone on to graduate from universities in the United States. Two graduated from Oxford, some from the University of Johannesburg, as well as NMMU, UCT, Wits, Pretoria and Stellenbosch.

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"I have right now 191 girls in college," Oprah said, "20 of them in the United States."

"So here is my hope - not just for my girls, but for South Africans and human beings everywhere: I hope that we are able to continue to create a culture that recognises the responsibility that we have to one another."

"I know everybody can't build a school but you can take care of the person who is closest to you. You can help. You can ask the question: 'How can I be used for something greater than myself?' And in doing that, you align with Madiba's vision - both compassionate and practical. He knew that if one of us is wounded, all of us bleed. He knew that if one of us is lacking, all of us are somehow affected."

"We all need to roll up our sleeves wherever you are, whatever you can do, and begin to build a new future."

Never give up

"I want to say a word to the young dreamers of this nation. Madiba said a winner is a dreamer who never gives up," said Oprah.

"I realise that the statistics are abysmal, that you're still the most vulnerable in the labour market with more than one in every three of you out of work. Do ... not ... give ... up. Find a way," she stressed amidst loud applause.

"I want you to know that your day will come. It's coming, it's on its way, because of you. And I want you to know that I applaud your resilience."

Winfrey said it's one of the things she admires most about South African and the country's youth. "The remarkable thing about every single girl who come to my school is all the trials and traumas they've been through. Most girls have experienced 6 major traumas by the time they get to my school and in spite of that they still rise. And so I say to all the young people, you too can rise. You are capable, you are brimming with the wisdom of all who came before you."

Tell your story

Oprah said: "Tell your story. One of the things I've learnt from all of the girls at my school is when they came to my school they had such shame about their stories."

"Now we have a policy at my school that we are a trauma informed school, that knows and recognises that there's power in the story - that the story can liberate you. That everything that has ever happened to you, no matter how devastating, how matter how sorrowful, now matter how challenging - there is not one thing that happened to you, that did not also happened for you."

"Everything that has ever happened has happened to build your strength. And that strength equals power. So when you've been so so many trials and so many tribulations, what it does to you if you allow yourself to open up to the story that has come before you, what happens is it gives you power."
WASHINGTON (AP)  The U.S. Agency for International Development is pledging $18 million in new aid for Venezuelan migrants and the opposition in both Nicaragua and Cuba.

USAID chief Mark Green said Friday the agency is putting an additional $13.6 million for those fleeing Venezuela to neighboring countries, bringing the total to $108.6 since the beginning of fiscal year 2017.

Green also announced additional $4 million to support civil society organizations in Nicaragua, bringing the total to $5.5 million. He was speaking at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington.

The official added that USAID will provide additional $750,000 in humanitarian assistance for political prisoners in Cuba. The U.S. provides $20 million a year to support civil society in Cuba.
A labor group said that there is no need to deport Chinese workers as long as they abide by the countrys immigration rules and regulations. Partido Lakas ng Masa president Leody de Guzman said that the presence of Chinese workers in the country only give credence to the belief that not all is well in China which is reputed to be an emerging superpower as there are impoverished workers who are forced to work in other countries. There is no problem if Chinese workers want to work here as long as they have the required working documents. We should avoid discrimination in the workplaces, he said.De Guzman said that Filipinos should unite with other workers against abusive capitalists. In the spirit of international workers solidarity, the PLM said it welcomes the entry of the Chinese workers as long as they have legal work permits and do not get in anti-social activities such as illegal gambling operations, drug trafficking and child prostitution, among other heinous crimes.
This is the story of Hassan al Kontar (37) who works in the insurance sector. He arrived in Malaysia on March 7 and was unable to leave the Kuala Lumpur International Airport 2 because the authorities refused to grant him a visa. He was stuck in the airport and finally, thanks to a Good Samaritan, he has secured asylum and permanent residency in Canada and is now in Vancouver.

New Zealand Herald reports that the person who came forward to help him out was Laurie Cooper, a complete stranger from British Columbia. She and a group of friends contacted the immigration minister of Canada.

They wanted the authorities to admit the Syrian as a refugee. The team went to the extent of raising sufficient money through a crowdfunding campaign for private sponsorship of a refugee for resettlement.

It was a torturous time for Hassan al Kontar

He was from Damascus and had left Syria when the civil war broke out in 2011. He worked in the insurance sector in the United Arab Emirates where he spent the past decade and the authorities seized his passport when he refused to participate in Syria's civil war. That was the reason why the Syrian embassy in the UAE did not renew his passport in 2012.

Syrian man stranded at Malaysia airport for eight months granted asylum in Canada. https://t.co/TPkeAqdVml  NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt (@NBCNightlyNews) November 27, 2018

Hassan al Kontar had a difficult time when stranded at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport.

This airport was in the news sometime back with regard to the assassination of Kim Jong-un's half-brother. Anyway, the Syrian could not leave the premises and had to spend most of his time in terminal two, sleeping under staircases and showering in the public bathrooms. Whatever little money he had was insufficient. It was running out and he was grateful to an airline that provided some form of food.

Discuss this news on Eunomia

However, he made good use of his time. He took to Twitter and created a fan base to describe his plight at the airport. He shared videos and pictures related to his living conditions that helped him gain international attention. That is how Laurie Cooper entered the scene.

Hassan al Kontar is a relieved man

According to Indy100, the 37-year-old Syrian who was stranded in Kuala Lumpur International Airport 2 since March is now in Canada.

The authorities have granted him asylum and permanent residency. He has around 20,000 followers on Twitter and he has thanked them and all others who helped him during his trying times. His confinement in the airport premises will bring back memories of Tom Hanks character in The Terminal. Thanks to the involvement of Laurie Cooper who got hold of sponsors, Hassan al Kontar has recovered from a sort of nightmare and has entered a new phase in his life.
, his wife Carolina Malay immediately came to defend her husband who he said was illegally detained. READ: Ocampo nabbed for transporting 14 minors Malay described her husbands detention in Talaingod, Davao del Norte as illegal from start to finish. Of course, they cannot keep him indefinitely. Everything has been illegal from start to finish, Malay told GMA News Online. She said she is not aware when authorities would release her husband, who was originally expected to return home by Sunday.Malay also shrugged off the charges filed against her husband and 18 others who joined the mission, saying lawyers were coming to the rescue. But she said that she remains optimistic that it would not be difficult for her husband to spend time in detention after repeatedly being detained and even tortured in the past as a political prisoner during the Marcos regime. Hes used to it. We live a very simple life. Ang dami na naming dinaanan after Martial Law. He was a torture victim and he survived all of that, she said. READ: DFA chief slams Ocampo's arrest; CHR seeks probe
Online news provider Rappler and its two executives were charged with tax evasion before the Court of Tax Appeals for violation of the National Internal Revenue Code of the Philippines. The Department of Justice filed on Monday one count for violating Section 254 of Republic Act 8424, or the NIRC for attempting to evade or defeat tax, and on Wednesday three counts of willful failure to supply correct and accurate information in violation of Section 255 also of RA 8424. The DOJ recommended a bail of P60,000 for violating Section 254 and P24,000 for violating Section 255. The filing came after the Assistant State Prosecutor Zenamar Machacon-Caparros found probable cause to indict Rappler Holdings Corporation, its president Maria Ressa, and certified public accountant Noel Baladiang. The case arose from the complaint filed by the Bureau of Internal Revenue, which alleged that RHCs 2015 tax returns did not reflect the total gains of almost P162.5 million which it realized from the issuance of its Philippine Depositary Receipts (PDRs) to NBM Rappler L.P. and Omidyar Network Find LLC. In her resolution, Caparros ruled RI (Rappler Inc.) shares for the purposes of underwriting PDRs for resale to interested buyers, RHC acted as a middleman whose profits were taxable under the Tax Code. By not declaring such profits in its returns, the RHC has violated the Tax Code, the resolution stressed.The DOJ explained that a PDR is a security, which grants the holder the right to the delivery or sale of the underlying shares of stocks. In its complaint, the BIR alleged that on various dates from 2014 to 2015 RHC purchased a total of 119,434,438 common shares from RI at P1 per share. Thereafter, the BIR indicated that RHC issued PDRs against most of the RI shares that it held to NBM Rappler and Omidyar. With the subscription price for the PDRs at P181.6 million, the BIR said RHC gained close to P162.5 million from the transaction, which was not declared in its tax returns. This means that RHC owes the government around P108 million in taxes including P91,320,480.99 in income tax including surcharge and interests as well as P17,138,467.78 in value added tax excluding surcharge and interests. Nonetheless, Caparros absolved one of the respondents, RHC treasurer James Bitanga, upon Ressas certification that Bitanga was an inactive and nominal treasurer who did not participate in the management and operations of RHC.
Leyte First District Rep. Yedda Marie Romualdez

Leyte First District Rep. Yedda Marie Romualdez on Friday, Nov. 30, wished that Filipinos have a happy and meaningful Bonifacio Day as the entire nation commemorates the 155th birth anniversary of Andres Bonifacio. May we remember the example of the great patriot and revolutionary who displayed selfless love for our country and fought for our freedom, said Romualdez Jude Acidre, the second nominee of Tingog Sinirangan Party-list, said that despite the circumstances surrounding the death of Bonifacio and other national heroes who fell into the hands of fellow Filipino compatriots, Filipinos celebrate them all as heroes, whether they treated each other as friends and foes.It is never about black and white, never about winners-take-all. Because heroes are defined by their qualifications, not by their disqualifications, Acidre said. We are a nation that celebrates Bonifacio and honors Emilio Aguinaldo; a country born of a revolution thought to be ill-timed by Jose Rizal who paradoxically inspired it; where the fathers of the revolution, Bonifacio and Juan Luna died not by the hand of the enemies, but by that of their own soldiers, he added. According to Acidre, Filipino leaders like Benigno Aquino Jr, Manuel Roxas, and Jose Laurel were, at one period of history, marked as traitorous collaborators and at a later time, rising political heroes. We dismiss Gen. Artemio Ricarte for his longstanding opposition to American rule, and yet salute the martyrs of Bataan who died under the American flag. We complain about the traditional politics of today, but we forget the political maneuverings of Manuel Quezon, Sergio Osmena and Manuel Roxas, said Acidre. Meanwhile, in Manila, the members of Teachers Dignity Coalition, Partido Lakas ng Masa (PLM), Bukluran ng Manggagawang Pilipino (BMP), and Sanlakas commemorated the birth of the plebian hero and founder of the anti-colonial Katipunan movement with protest marches. The plebian Bonifacio would be turning in his grave with the flowers and accolades accorded to him by the modern-day illustrados who are now in power. They praise Gat Andres to high heavens but their rabid anti-worker and anti-worker policies make life a living hell for the majority of our people, said Benjo Basas, PLM first nominee and leader of the teachers movement. Basas, a public sector worker with a rank of Teacher, said high prices, regressive taxes, lack of budget for social services, and the monopoly rule of political dynasties as electoral issues that must be tackled by candidates in the upcoming elections.We honor Bonifacio and the generations of freedom fighters who fought the Marcos dictatorship imbued by the anti-colonial struggle of the Katipunan. The struggle for democracy is not over. We are ruled by political dynasties that serve the interests of foreign powers and transnational monopoly capital. We are awashed in billions of Chinese loans even as President Rodrigo Duterte toes the militarist line of America in the guise of the so-called War on Terror, added veteran activist and Marcos political detainee Sonny Melencio of PLM. According to lawyer Aaron Pedrosa, Sanlakas secretary general, the ballooning public debt poses a threat to budgeting for social services such as universal and quality education up to tertiary level, genuine universal healthcare, and safe affordable public housing. To increase the budget for the peoples needs, there is a need to abolish the Marcosian Automatic Appropriations Act (Presidential Decree 1177), which favors the domestic and foreign financial institutions rather than the Filipino people, Pedrosa said in a statement. Overseas Filipino workers group Migrante also paid respect to Bonifacios bravery, saying that he lived for just a little more than three decades, and yet this great revolutionary leader who rose to lead great throngs of brave warriors to demolish Spanish colonialism in the Philippines continue to inspire many generations of Filipinos in their struggle for national democracy. More than a century after the withdrawal of Spanish forces, the age-old troubles of poverty and oppression continue to grip millions of Filipinos. The heinous treachery of Emilio Aguinaldo has been recurrently embodied by puppet presidents from one US-controlled regime to another, said Arman Hernando, chairperson of Migrante Philippines. According to Hernando, Dutertes administration is a perfect epitome of this Aguinaldo type of treason detested by the Filipino masses. It abominably presides over the gang rape of our country by emergent and established imperialist powers like China and the US. Itching to offer his Build, Build, Build program to China, Duterte dragged the Philippines into dirty deals with big Chinese corporations. At the cost of our territorial integrity and energy security, a joint exploration deal was likewise laid down eyeing the exploitation of the rich gas reserves in the West Philippine Sea, the Migrante leader said. Duterte, who skipped the official ceremony in Manila, said that like Bonifacio, let us light the flames of change that will bring about real and meaningful transformation in our nation.
I have a few things to be grateful to Samin Nosrat about.



One, her new Netflix docuseries, in which she travels the globe, from Japan to Mexico, to explore the tenets of her NYT bestselling book Salt Fat Acid Heat, is like an ingredient-based Parts Unknown (RIP Anthony Bourdain).

Two, The aforementioned 450(-ish)-page tomepart cookbook, part memoir, part manifesto, I read it in bed like a novel to glean flavor factoids (did you know blue cheese and honey are sources of acid, despite their non-lip-puckering properties?) as much as personal stories (turns out, her immigrant family's Thanksgiving experiences were not unlike my own).

And, last but not least, three, I'm grateful to have had her as the first guest on 7x7's new podcast, "People Will Talk," of which I am the host. (Hi!) Gracious, ebullient, articulate as she is, she made things easy for this novice podcast host. I'd tee up a topicsay, the relationship between surfing and cookingand Nosrat, a Berkeley resident and former Chez Panisse chef, would hit it out of the park with her smart insights and good humor.

Samin Nosrat on Instagram: GUYS IM ON A BILLBOARD IN TIMES SQUARE #saltfatacidheat See on Instagram Nosrat, a first-generation American whose parents hail from Iran, has a perspective on food culture that's more inclusive than most, which is like a salve in the country's current divisive state of affairs. In her show, she paints a richly layered picture of the invaluable contributions of foreign lands to America's culinary culture. Women are worshipped not just for their food know-how, but also the heartfelt transmittal of that heritage intel to younger generations, and their natural ability to gather a table together for a meal. Nosrat's own mother makes a cameo for the Berkeley episode, proudly toting a cheap-ass soup pot from Marshall's, in which she expertly makes tahdig, or Iranian crispy rice, to accompany buttermilk-brined roast chicken and a citrus salad for a dinner party with Nosrat's friends. In the end, the chef gives the viewer multiple entrees (so to speak) to the melting pot of American cuisine. "Making good food accessible is really important to me," she says. "Maybe, eventually, they'll pass that kindness onto others." Listen to our full interview with Samin Nosrat on 7x7's podcast, "People Will Talk."

Bonus Recipe: Samin Nosrat's Buttermilk-Marinated Roast Chicken Ingredients (serves 2-4) 1 whole 4-pound chicken, cleaned (organs removed) and patted very dry Kosher salt 1 quart buttermilk, well shaken Any mixture of sliced green garlic, onions, parsnips, carrots, or other root vegetables (just to put at the bottom of the pan), cut into 1/4-inch pieces Olive oil 2 bay leaves Spicy French mustard such as Roland (optional)

1. Forty-eight hours before you want to eat this chicken, salt it aggressively. That means using at least a few tablespoons, if not more. The reason is that much of the salt will get washed off by the buttermilk, so here you're helping the inside of the chicken get seasoned. Put the chicken in a covered container and refrigerate overnight.

2. Twenty-four hours later, place the chicken in a re-sealable plastic bag and fill the bag with the buttermilk. 3. Seal it, squish the buttermilk all around the chicken, place on a rimmed plate, and refrigerate. If you're so inclined, over the next 24 hours you can turn the bag so each part of the chicken gets marinated, but that's not essential. 4. When you're ready to roast, preheat the oven to 475 degrees. 5. Add a layer of vegetables to a large cast-iron skillet and coat them with about 1/4 cup olive oil and sprinkle with salt. 6. Remove the chicken from the plastic bag and scrape off as much buttermilk as you can without being obsessive. 7. Place the bay leaves in the chicken's cavity. 8. Truss the chicken by placing a 12-inch length of butcher's twine with its center in the small of the chicken's back. Tie the twine around each wing tightly and then flip the chicken over and use the remaining twine to tie the legs together as tight as you can. 9. Place the chicken on top of the vegetables and drizzle it with a little more olive oil. 10. Place the pan in the oven with the legs pointing toward the back left corner and close the door. You should hear the chicken sizzling pretty quickly. 11. Roast for 15 to 20 minutes. When the chicken starts to brown, lower the heat to 425 degrees and continue roasting for 30 minutes and then move the pan so the legs are facing the back right corner of the oven. 12. Continue cooking for another 30 minutes or so, until the chicken is brown all over and the juices run clear when you cut between the leg and the thigh. 13. When the chicken's done, remove it to a platter and let it rest for 10 to 15 minutes before carving it. Serve with the roasted vegetables and, if you like it, spicy French mustard. Note: When you make fried chicken, sometimes you soak it in buttermilk the night before to tenderize it. The same concept applies here, except instead of frying the chicken, you're going to roast it whole. And the finished chickenwhich before it was soaked in buttermilk, was seasoned aggressively with saltwill be delectably tender and moist and packed with flavor. Take heed, though: because of all that buttermilk, the chicken will bronze in patches at first (places where the buttermilk soaked in more thoroughly) and then turn a deep brown color, almost like a Thanksgiving turkey. If that happens too fast or it gets too dark, simply cover the darkest spots with foil. It will still taste wonderful.

Excerpted from Secrets of the Best Chefs by Adam Roberts (Artisan Books). Copyright  2012.

Listen to 7x7's Fall 2018 interview with Samin Nosrat on our podcast, "People Will Talk."


















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Over the next 25 years, boomers will pass along nearly $48 trillion in assets to their heirs and charities, and Generation X will be the biggest beneficiary, a new report from Cerulli Associates reveals.

The Boston-based global research and consulting firm found that boomers will account for 70 percent of the $68 trillion in wealth that will be transferred by U.S. households during that period. Americans ages 50-plus to 70 will distribute some funds while theyre still alive, in the form of gifts and charitable donations, transferring the rest through bequests after their deaths.

Boomers will pass along $32 trillion to Gen Xers, who by the end of the 25-year period should replace boomers as the wealthiest generation, according to Asher Cheses, a research analyst in Cerullis high-net-worth practice and the reports lead author.



In an email, Cheses said the transfer will present a challenge for wealth managers and financial advisers, as the two generations have different needs. Boomers are shifting from accumulating assets to spending in retirement while focusing on passing along their wealth. Many in Generation X, by contrast, are entering their primary earning years and are planning for their childrens education.
The government is banning everybodytourists and locals includedfrom swimming along the beaches in Panglao, Bohol and indue to very high levels of coliform, Tourism Secretary Berna Romulo-Puyat has said.

READ: Boracay to reopen on Oct. 26, says DENR

READ: Boracay rehab a continuing effortCimatu

The announcement preceded the three-month fishing ban effective as from today in the entire Zamboanga Peninsula, as declared by the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources. Theregistered a coliform count of 16,000 most probable number (mpn), while the Buena Suerte Beach had 1,300 mpn, Puyat said in an interview on dzMM, beamed nationwide. The normal water quality for beaches is 100 mpn, while swimming pools usually have 400 mpn. Puyat said, speaking in Filipino: The mayor should have implemented the no swimming policy because its not good for the health of the tourists. If one person will claim on social media that he fell ill because of that, our entire tourism industry will be affected. Puyat did not say when the ban would be lifted, but said the Department of Environment and Natural Resources was conducting water quality checks every 15 days. In April, the government closed Boracay Island to tourists for six months to clean its waters that have become cesspools. Puyat stressed thatwould not be entirely closed for rehabilitation since the islands had several beaches.BFAR said the ban covered several sardines varieties like the local tamban, tunsoy, haul haul, tabagak, and balantiyog. The agency said the ban would provide the fish ample time to breed. The use of fishnets is also not allowed like the purse seine, ringnet, bagnet, and scoop net. Violators of small-scale commercial fishing risk a fine of P50,000 to P100,000 but those who will violate provisions of the large-scale commercial fishing will face a fine of P1 million to P5 million. But BFAR clarified that boat fishing or using small bancas was allowed which, according to local fisherfolks, would at least help them in their daily sustenance.
Eight games set for this weekend at Dacotah Bank Classic

This weekend, Wachs Arena will host the Dacotah Bank Thanksgiving Clash. Both the Northern State women's and men's basketball team will be in action.
The House of Representatives will spend the remaining session days this year discussing the, Speaker Gloria Macapagal Arroyo said, with an eye toward creating a presidential-bicameral federal system through a constituent assembly. Under the 1987 Constitution, Congress, sitting as a constituent assembly, is empowered to make amendments to the Charter, including the establishment of federal states. Arroyo said almost all priority measures that President Rodrigo Duterte mentioned in his last State of the Nation Address have been approved by the House, giving them time to work on a draft federal charter. She said the draft charter has been amended to return the vice president in the line of succession to the presidency but remains pending in the plenary as Congress is scheduled to begin its Christmas break on Dec. 15. Well, its undergoing interpellation. Its the last of President Dutertes SONA agenda. Everything else has already passed. So, I guess, well be concentrating on that next week, Arroyo told reporters on Thursday. Arroyo also maintained that the proposed shift to a federal form of government will materialize during her term as Speaker. Of course, we know that there will still be many steps. But the thing is, we will bring it as far as we can bring it in the hope that the next Congress can continue the work, Arroyo said. The draft charter lifts the term limits for members of Congress and the first election under the proposed Constitution will be held on the second Monday of May 2022 and the incumbent president is prohibited from running in the 2022 elections. Arroyo, meanwhile, said entering into joint projects and partnering with China is a major step in developing friendship and cooperation despite the ongoing territorial conflicts in the West Philippine Sea.Arroyo said she adopted the same formula when she was the President, recalling that Malaysia and Thailand also entered into joint projects with China despite their conflicting territorial claims. In general, Im in favor of joint projects because they foster friendship and cooperation, Arroyo said Thursday. She added that leaders of nations with conflicting claims in the disputed waters should consider themselves as one big family and China, as the economic superpower, as a senior uncle. Earlier, Mrs. Arroyo assured Chinese President Xi Jinping that the House of Representatives fully supports his and President Dutertes undertakings toward economic growth and modernization of the Philippines and China despite the territorial dispute in the WPS. During Xis state visit to the Philippines on Nov.19 and 20, he and President Duterte signed a memorandum of understanding on oil and gas development cooperation and 28 other deals.
The holiday season is in full swing at Isleta Resort & Casino.

Santa and Mrs. Claus have arrived and will be available for free photos with families through Christmas Eve. Guests also will receive a free photo frame and reindeer horns for their children. Photo times are from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 1, and Sunday, Dec. 2, Dec. 8 and 9, Dec. 15 and 16, and Dec. 22 through Dec. 24.

Visits with Santa and Mrs. Claus are free, but a donation of a new, unwrapped toy is encouraged. Isleta has teamed up with Toys for Tots this holiday season, and the new toys will be given to New Mexicos children in need.

Guests also will get to see Isleta fully decorated in the holiday spirit. One of the standout decorations is the beautiful 2018 Gingerbread House. The large, edible house stands about 10 feet tall, features hundreds of gingerbread shingles, sugar poured windows and other details.

Back on the gaming floor, Isleta has opened its new High Limit Room, where guests can try their luck for bigger bucks. The new venue features some of the old guest favorites, including four tables featuring Pai Gow Poker with a progressive bonus, two Baccarat tables, and Double Deck Blackjack. The new area also features 81 of the best of the best high denomination slot machines, including $25 Double Diamond, Wheel of Fortune, Game King, Blazing 777, Cleopatra, and more.

Patrons can still qualify for a chance to win a new house at Mesa del Sol during the Home for the Holidays promotion. As part of the promotion, Isleta is also giving away $1 million in cash and free play. Two winners will be selected each hour during drawings held from 2 p.m. to 10 p.m. every Friday and Saturday through Dec. 22. All hourly winners will be qualified in the new-home giveaway. Patrons will receive one free entry daily and can earn additional entries with every 25 points accrued playing slots, table games, poker and bingo. Guests can also swipe their Isleta Eagle Players Club card at the kiosk on Tuesdays for a chance to win up to 1,000 additional entries.

Santa recently dropped off a sack full of money at Isleta. Patrons have a chance to win their share as part of the Santa Bucks promotion, which starts Sunday, Dec. 2. Drawings will be held each hour from noon to 8 p.m. every Sunday through Dec. 30.

Head to Isletas nonsmoking sister location, Palace West, for its Stocking Stuffers promotion. Drawings happen each hour from noon to 8 p.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays. Winners will get their chance to pick a stocking full of cash and win up to $500. Guests earn entries by playing their favorite slot machines.

For information about Isleta Resort & Casino and Palace West, call 724-3800 or visit isleta.com.
It premiered more than 100 years ago, but The Importance of Being Earnest: A Trivial Comedy for Serious People is still staged regularly to this day.

Local director Barbara Hatch, who described the 1895 Oscar Wilde comedy as universal, said she thinks the play has remained relevant largely because Wilde found a way to capture humanity right on the nose through humor and frivolity.

We all recognize ourselves in these characters, said Hatch. Because weve all done these things on some level or another without maybe admitting to ourselves or to others, but this is kind of what we do. We wear this mask, we try to be something that were not, yet at some point we really discover who we are, and we have to live with it because, boom, this is what youve got.

The play, directed by Hatch, is being produced at the Santa Fe Playhouse.

The story follows two friends, John Jack Worthing and Algernon Moncrieff, both of whom find out the other has created an alter ego for himself as a way to escape everyday life. Jack leaves the countryside to visit his fictional brother Ernest in the city and takes on that name when in London. Algernon tells his friend that hes has concocted a similar scheme to escape the city from time to time. Algernon visits Jacks country home while pretending to be Jacks brother Ernest.

As the story evolves, both men propose to women  Gwendolen and Cecily  who erroneously think their fiances names are Ernest. Eventually, both men are exposed, but a twist ending reveals that Jack actually has the name he claimed all along  without even knowing it.

Theres a lot about truth and lies, a lot about humanity in terms of the masks we wear, says Vaughn Irving, artistic director of the Santa Fe Playhouse who plays Algernon in this production.

Is there really truth and untruth? Irving added. In this play, not really.

Irving said he feels Algernon is Wildes most autobiographical character. Algernon is constantly trying to figure out who he is throughout the play, similar to what Wilde did his entire life.

The Irish playwright grew up in the lower classes, but ended up among the social elite while at Oxford. Hatch said Wilde was constantly trying to reinvent or rediscover himself.

While some of the plays characters are hiding behind figurative masks, Hatch noted that, conversely, Wilde made them incredibly honest  more so than people are in real life  in terms of exposing their true selves.

They really say it like it is, said Hatch. They state who they are; they dont hide anything.

The theme of Santa Fe Playhouses current season is Finding Our Way and Irving said this classic play fits perfectly. Though the show is a comedy, both Hatch and Irving say it goes much deeper than many realize.

People watching it will walk away with a sense of really having seen a lot of people go through a lot of growth, discovery and self-discovery in a very comedic and amusing way, said Hatch.

The Importance of Being Earnest will be staged Thursdays-Sundays until Dec. 16. The show also stars Hania Stocker, Christina Comer, Triana Reid, Ann Roylance, Jennifer Graves, Ken Bordner, Kev Smith and Patrick McDonald.
In 2008, Santa Fes voters approved, by a nearly two-to-one margin, a charter amendment requiring the city council to provide for meaningful public financing of campaigns for all municipal elected officials. To carry out this mandate, the council adopted an ordinance modeled on the public financing systems then in effect in many other cities and states, including New Mexico, for judicial and PRC elections. The system provided a basic initial allowance for qualified candidates of $60,000 for mayor and $15,000 for council, plus a guarantee that the city would match, dollar for dollar up to a limit, any private spending in excess of these amounts by opposing candidates or PACs.

However, in 2011, before Santa Fes new system could be implemented, the provision for additional matching payments in all these laws, including Santa Fes, was held unconstitutional by the U.S. Supreme Court. The Court opined that payments to publicly financed candidates in direct response to private spending by their opponents would discourage the privately financed candidates and PACs from exercising their constitutional right to spend whatever they wished.

Public financing advocates around the country responded by proposing a substitute method of protecting publicly financed candidates from heavy private spending that would pass constitutional muster. This proposal would allow candidates to supplement their initial allowances with small private contributions, typically $100 or less, and have these matched in some ratio by additional public payments. Such a system was adopted in Maine, San Francisco and elsewhere, and was passed by the New Mexico legislature in 2013, only to be vetoed by the governor.

The City Different, however, initially declined to follow suit. Facing a budget crunch at the time, the city decided to try operating the public financing system without any provision for access to additional funds for candidates confronting well-funded opponents. Though recognizing the risk, the council hoped that Santa Fes progressive electorate would prove resistant to attempts to overwhelm the system with opulent spending.

These hopes were dashed in the 2014 mayoral election, where a group of well-heeled private PACs entered the fray in support of one of the three publicly financed candidates, outspending every candidate and swarming the city with paid precinct-walkers and negative mailers. Their candidate won and the other two candidates, helpless to respond to this onslaught, felt betrayed by the system.

This lamentable outcome revived the proposal to allow publicly financed candidates to raise $100 contributions and have them matched with additional funds from the city. In early 2015, a bill presenting this proposal was sent to the council by the citys Ethics and Campaign Review Board. What happened to the bill in the intervening years is a long story, but suffice it to say that it has now been reintroduced with new urgency by Councilor Romero-Wirth and will be considered again by the full council at a public hearing on Dec. 12. The consequences of further delay in its enactment are well illustrated by this years mayoral election, where only one of the five candidates used public financing and lavish private spending again dominated the campaigns.

Funding for this proposal is already in place. When the council initially refrained from replacing the matching system invalidated by the Supreme Court, it prudently decided to keep its options open by leaving intact the dedicated fund and the funding mechanism that had been designed to pay for that system. As proposed in the pending bill, these can now be applied to pay for the proposed new system. It is high time this funding was used to achieve what the voters envisioned when they overwhelmingly voted for meaningful public financing 10 years ago.

Harrington is state chair of Common Cause New Mexico. This view reflects the views of the organization.
The issue came up again at a city Finance Committee meeting last week.

Though not a member of the committee, City Councilor Peter Ives was there to ask about making repairs to the rather rugged section of N.M. 475.

Most Santa Fe residents dont know it by that name, but thats the state highway which takes in Paseo de Peralta east from St. Francis Drive and continues all the way up to the Santa Fe ski basin.

And there lies a bigger issue. Much of Santa Fe is crisscrossed by state highways that effectively have become city streets and thoroughfares.

If the state-owned roads need repairs, thats a state responsibility.

Ives wants money for the Paseo portion of N.M. 475  which also takes in parts of Bishops Lodge, Artist and Hyde Park roads  placed on the list of Santa Fes priorities for state funding when the state Legislature convenes in January with the prospect of more than $1 billion in new money, largely due to revenue from a boom in the oil and gas industry, available for spending.

Just the fact that the state has this revenue, it gives us the opportunity to ask for a little more, Ives said.

Ives also added that the city could use the help in that it already has something like $150 million worth of deferred road maintenance.

With a state-owned highway, the citys hands are somewhat tied when it comes to road repair and maintenance, snow removal and even addressing the citys annual battle to control weeds on road medians and sidewalks, or trying to make raggedy streetscapes more appealing with new or improved landscaping.

The New Mexico Department of Transportation said Wednesday that there are agreements between the city and state addressing such things and that the city is encouraged to help when it can.

City officials say they do assist with snow removal on occasion, and work to help keep medians and sidewalks free of weeds on Cerrillos Road, a.k.a N.M. 14, another state highway. But the responsibility for repair of state-owned roads running through the city largely falls on the state.

These roadways are critical to the city, and we want to see them taken care of and put in tip-top shape, Ives said.

Santa Fes state-owned roads include, besides N.M. 475 and N.M. 14, St. Michaels Drive and Old Pecos Roads (N.M. 466), and the N.M. 599 bypass that skirts the citys northern boundary. While St. Francis Drive (U.S. 84/285) is a federal highway, the same road ownership issues apply there, especially this time of year when snow removal becomes a public safety issue.

Certainly, all the councilors get calls about snow removal, said Ives, who represents City Council District 2, which includes St. Francis Drive from Cerrillos Road south all the way to Interstate 25. It comes down to how we prioritize these things, given limitations on equipment and capacity.

When it comes to snow removal, I-25 is the states first and most critical obligation, Ives acknowledged. But that sometimes leaves motorists to navigate an icy St. Francis Drive after a snowfall, while other roads in the city have been plowed, and treated with salt and cinder.

Javier Martinez, the citys streets and drainage division director, said the city often fields calls from residents about pot holes on state roads in need of repair.

We explain to them that it is a NMDOT (the New Mexico Department of Transportation) road and give them the number to the District 5 office, he said. They are responsible for all maintenance of the roadway, and that includes signage, sidewalks and drainage.

Citys interest

The city has expressed interest in acquiring some state roads running through the city  particularly Cerrillos Road north of Jaguar Drive to St. Francis, and St. Michaels Drive from Cerrillos to St. Francis  so it can take over not only the maintenance, but also overall control of the road.

For example, a few years ago when Santa Fe was looking to create the Midtown Local Innovation Corridor, or Midtown LINC overlay district  a redevelopment corridor aimed at stimulating mixed-use development in the area  there was talk of reconfiguring or reducing the number of traffic lanes along St. Michaels Drive from Cerrillos to St. Francis, and possibly creating a boulevard-like feel or to allow for on-street parking.

But that talk was muzzled because we cant, former city Asset Development Director Matt OReilly said at the time, citing the states ownership of the road.

Mayor Alan Webber said that when it comes to complaints about potholes on state roads, the city has worked with the state to get them repaired as quickly as possible. But theres more to it than patching potholes.

There are really several different issues, he said. One is the maintenance and upkeep and snow removal. But theres a larger issue that has to do with transportation being connected with adjacent land use. Those must be integrated so theres a blending of transportation strategy, and neighborhood and land use strategy. They have to go together.

The city has for several years been attempting to negotiate a road exchange with the state to acquire the St.Francis-to-Cerrillos section of St. Michaels Drive.

Part of the hold up, or a lack of agreement about how to move forward, is weve been looking at the problem from two different points of view, Webber said. While the state views it as just a road, he said, the city looks at how to make it best for land use.

The same goes for Cerrillos Road, he said.

Cerrillos Road is really important to Santa Fes future plan when it comes to land use, housing, economic development, he said. A lot of land-use patterns are established by the transportation that surrounds it. Its all part of the same question as far as the city is concerned.

The city last entered into a land exchange with the state in 1989 when the rapid growth saw it take over ownership of Airport Road, and parts of Agua Fria and Guadalupe streets.

Webber said negotiations to acquire St. Michaels Drive have also been held up by what each side considers to be a fair exchange, given the current condition of the road.

We can say, OK, the city will take on care and maintenance. But what condition is it in when they turn it over to us? Are we accepting a road and also assuming a massive financial obligation? he said.

The state Department of Transportation said in a statement that the department looks at how a road is used  whether its a road meant for urban use or as a highway  when considering road exchanges. It said that money would change hands when a deal is made, or reconstruction or road rehabilitation projects could be used as compensation.

DOT said road exchange agreements are rare and generally identify who is responsible for maintenance of the roadway or lighting of a roadway. Generally, NMDOT benefits from the exchange by saving on costs for repair and maintenance, and being able to allocate resources to other roads.

Webber said hes hopeful some agreement can be reached between the city and state involving a road exchange for St. Michaels Drive and Cerrillos Road in coming years.

Were about to have a new administration in the Roundhouse with a new governor, and a Democrat-controlled Senate and House. So I can imagine a lot more discussion about city-state collaborations, he said.
Police arrested a woman who they say used a cigarette lighter to start a fire near the river in the South Valley Wednesday afternoon.

Court documents show 53-year-old Felicia Aragon, also known as Felicia Cano, was booked into jail Wednesday night and is charged with setting fires on state lands.

Court documents show 53-year-old Felicia Aragon, also known as Felicia Cano, was booked into jail Wednesday night and is charged with setting fires on state lands.

According to a criminal complaint filed in Metropolitan Court, the fire sparked just south of Bridge SW in a wooded area on the west side of the Rio Grande and prompted a response from law enforcement and Albuquerque Fire Rescue.

AFR spokesman Tom Ruiz said wildland firefighters extinguished the small blaze, which covered about 2,500 square feet, but gave no other details.

It was a hovering Bernalillo County Sheriffs Office helicopter that spotted Aragon leaving the bosque just south of the fire and a deputy detained her for questioning, the complaint said.

After the fire was put out, police say an officer saw many identical footprints bordering the fires edges that were matched to a pair of slippers Aragon was wearing.

Examination of the scene revealed burned grass, brush and leaves with no signs (of) accidental or natural causes, a detective wrote.

Aragon told police a man named Nicolas made her start the fires but no other people were seen in the area.

Police found a cigarette lighter in Aragons pocket when she was searched before her arrest, the detective said.
The Albuquerque Museums newly opened Hispanic Visions exhibition threads directly into the background of new museum curator Josie Lopez.

A specialist in 19th and 20th century printmaking, she taught courses on the prints of Francisco Goya during a Southern Methodist University fellowship. Lopez also wrote her masters thesis on Goyas Caprichos, a set of prints expressing the artists condemnation of the follies and foolishness of Spanish society. Visions includes works from ancient Spain through El Greco, Velasquez, Goya and beyond.

Its incredible and its been one of my research areas, she said.

Now the curator at 516 ARTS, Lopez will start her new job Dec. 10.

Josie had such a spectacular combination of the global perspective and the local specific, museum director Andrew Connors said.

The Albuquerque Museum has presented everything from 20th century modernism to contemporary African design, he added.

The curator of art has to be incredibly flexible and be able to present this in an interesting manner and in an accessible way.

Armed with a bachelors degree in history and a masters in teaching from Brown University, Lopez boasts a doctoral degree in art history from the University of California at Berkeley.

She was born and raised in Albuquerque, beginning her internship at the Albuquerque Museum. In 2017, she organized The Carved Line: Block Printmaking in New Mexico at the Albuquerque Museum.

Lopez most recently co-curated the Currency: What Do You Value? exhibit at 516 ARTS and its previous exhibition Puerto Rico: Defying Darkness.

Ive worked on a lot of different time periods and approaches to art history, she said. The Albuquerque Museum is both local and national and historical.

Lopez has a particular interest in Latin American art and says she wants to broaden the discourse in New Mexico.

We have a very rich history based on our Latin traditions, she said. The museum allows for a whole range of interactions along these lines of interest.

How do we engage with the three cultures in a way that doesnt mythologize it? she asked.

The Albuquerque Museum is an amazing place, she added. Theres so much happening and so much potential.
The New Mexico State University Board of Regents on Thursday voted to remove the final hurdle for industrial hemp production within the state under rules that will take effect Dec. 11.

The program will be administered by the New Mexico Department of Agriculture.

Under the state constitution, the Agriculture Department is under the authority of the Board of Regents, and all rule changes must be approved by those individuals.

Prospective hemp producers will have to obtain a license from the Agriculture Department and follow other guidelines in order to be in compliance with the law, said NMSU spokesman Justin Bannister.

In a statement, State Sen. Mary Kay Papen called the hemp law another tool that allows New Mexico farmers to diversity their crop base and seek new market opportunities.

The vote was unanimous, with three regents voting to approve the proposal. Two regents had scheduling conflicts and did not attend the meeting,

NMSU President John Floros said the university is perfectly positioned to help in this industry with its researchers in biochemistry, chemistry and plant pathology, among other areas.

A bill legalizing hemp production in New Mexico was vetoed by Gov. Susana Martinez in 2017. That veto was later overturned by the state Supreme Court on the grounds that Martinez failed to follow the proper procedures to overturn the law.

In the aftermath of that battle, the Department of Agriculture sought public comment before carrying out the rules proposed in the legislation.

Industrial hemp comes from the same plant species as marijuana, but contains only small amounts of THC, the chemical that creates a high. Hemp can be used for rope, clothing, biofuels, and the substance known as cannabidiol or CBD which is often sold as a health product.

Under federal law, all cannabis plants and cannabis-derived products are illegal, but many states are creating their own laws that conflict with that principle. A farm bill currently making its way through Congress would legalize industrial hemp nationwide.

State Agriculture Department spokeswoman Kristie Garcia said the agency has seen a lot of interest from producers interested in growing hemp in New Mexico.
Copyright  2018 Albuquerque Journal

The president of the Navajo Nation, the local chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union and the mother of a Native American student are urging Albuquerque Public Schools to make changes after an incident in which a teacher is accused of calling the student a bloody Indian and snipped the end of another Native American students braid during class.

The English teacher at Cibola High School, who APS has said is highly regarded, remains on paid leave while the incident is investigated.

On Nov. 2, APS sent a letter to families of students at the West Side high school saying a teacher was being investigated after allegations were made that she made a culturally insensitive remark to one student and snipped the hair of another student. APS spokeswoman Monica Armenta said at the time that the incident occurred on Halloween when the teacher was conducting her lesson plan while wearing a New Orleans voodoo-like costume and impersonating a book character.

Shannon Johnson, who says her daughter was called a bloody Indian by the teacher, is urging the school district to require courses about Native American culture and history.

And Navajo Nation President Russell Begaye is demanding the governor and the state Public Education Department require Cibola High School to do cultural sensitivity training. He would like to see this statewide for other schools, too.

The ACLU has also weighed in, sending APS an eight-page letter with a list of demands, including a public apology to students.

Johnson, who is Navajo, recalled the incident, which APS said was a Halloween stunt.

(The principal) told me there was an incident in my daughters first-hour class and Ms. Eastin  she called my daughter a bloody Indian,  Johnson said.

Mary Eastin is listed as a language arts teacher at Cibola High School in the schools directory; she could not be reached for comment.

Armenta said in a statement that the actions of one teacher dont reflect the values exhibited daily by thousands of APS employees. She said APS is sensitive to the needs of Native American students, mentioning a district department that focuses on their advancement.

Cant believe this

The mother of 17-year-old student McKenzie Johnson said her first reaction was disbelief.

I cant believe this is happening in this day and age, she said, adding that she was very upset.

She told the Journal that her daughter was dressed like Little Red Riding Hood, including a bloody paw mark on her face.

On Wednesday, McKenzie Johnson spoke at an APS District Equity and Inclusion Committee meeting, recalling that day. She described feeling taken aback to be called a bloody Indian by a teacher.

Many others spoke in support for her at the meeting.

Shannon Johnson said the teacher cut off the bottom tip of another Native American students braid in the same class on Halloween.

She said the incidents are an indicator of a more important issue: the lack of cultural awareness and Native American education within the school district for both students and staffers. Johnson said she considers being called an Indian to be offensive and derogatory.

She also emphasized the cultural significance hair plays among Native Americans.

Across the board, I think we all view our hair as sacred because there is a lot tied into it, she said. In the Navajo culture, the hair plays a large role in the coming-of-age ceremony.

Although Johnson plans on keeping her daughter at Cibola, she wants to see APS mandate Native American history and Native American literature in the curriculum. She also wants APS to ban costumes that mimic Native American dress, which she says her daughter saw at Cibola on Halloween, as well.

APS Board of Education President David Peercy told the Journal a task force, put in place shortly after the accusations, is working on a resolution and will look across the district to identify systemic problems.

Calls for change in APS

Begaye, the Navajo Nation president, expressed solidarity with the Johnson family.

He said he was alerted by people in Albuquerque about the incident, adding that he traveled from Window Rock, Ariz., and met with the Johnson family during a New Mexico Indian Education Advisory Council meeting on Monday.

One of the students was Navajo, and this is of big interest to us, he told the Journal.

Our Native youths should not have to endure this kind of behavior, especially in the classroom. We will hold the teacher, the school and the district accountable for these actions, and we demand recourse, Begaye wrote in a statement.

He also said the Cibola teachers actions should start bigger, statewide conversations.

We have a whole history of Navajo children where their hair was cut off and really subjected to deculturalization and being denied to speak the language, he said, adding that teachers need to think about what they say and do in light of historical trauma and context.

PED spokesman Chris Eide said the state department stands with Begaye, adding that cultural learning should be integrated into school communities. His statement did not say whether PED would require further action from APS. But the state agency said its Indian Education Department and Language and Culture Bureaus will be providing training on culture and education in schools.

The ACLU of New Mexico sent an eight-page letter to APS the day after Begayes demands, calling for an apology and calling for the district to make a plan for students to safely express if they feel uncomfortable or unsafe due to the incident, a formal announcement backing Native American students at Cibola and regular communication about the investigation.

The letter also echoed Begayes and Johnsons demands for cultural competency training.

The ACLU emphasized that instances of overt racism are not isolated to Cibola and listed several examples from other APS schools.
An Albuquerque judge has denied Justin Hansens request for a reduced sentence, according to court documents.

Hansen argued in an October motion to reconsider that his children were suffering the effects of his incarceration. And he asked the court to subtract from his sentence the 371 days he spent on GPS monitoring after he was released from jail. State District Judge Cindy Leos offered no explanation in a denial issued Wednesday.

Hansen is serving an 18-year sentence in the 2008 beating of Brittani Marcell, then a Cibola High School student. The crime went unsolved for nearly a decade.

Prosecutors said in their response that the court acknowledged there would be consequences to Hansens children.

This is not a sufficient reason to reduce the well-deserved sentence imposed in this matter, prosecutor David Waymire wrote.

Their mother, Waymire wrote, has also indicated that the children are doing very well in her custody and any harm they have suffered or are now suffering is because of Hansen.

Hansen said in his motion that one of his children was doing poorly in kindergarten and had been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder.

He is being housed at the Southern New Mexico Correctional Facility near Las Cruces.
Kremlin regrets talk cancellation

posted November 30, 2018 at 07:10 pm by AFP November 30, 2018 at 07:10 pm

MOSCOWUS President Donald Trumps decision to cancel talks with Russias Vladimir Putin at the G20 summit was regrettable, the Kremlin said. We regret the US administrations decision to cancel the meeting, Putins spokesman Dmitry Peskov told Russian news agencies. This means that discussion of important issues on the international and bilateral agenda will be postponed indefinitely. Putin, he said, is ready to have contacts with his American counterpart.Trump on Thursday scrapped the meeting over Moscows seizure at the weekend of three Ukrainian ships and continued detention of a group of Ukrainian sailors. The two had been set for bilateral talks on Saturday at the G20 in Buenos Aires.

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Copyright  2018 Albuquerque Journal

A man is suing Albuquerque after he says he and his service animal were attacked by a dog during a ride on a city bus last year.

Vernon Lewis, who has one leg and uses a wheelchair, boarded a city bus on the morning of April 13, 2017, with his small dog, Rocco, on his lap.

Minutes later, another person boarded the bus along with an unmuzzled pit bull, according to a lawsuit filed by Lewis in state District Court in Bernalillo County earlier this month.

The larger dog then allegedly attacked Lewis and Rocco without provocation, injuring them both.

Allowing the pit bull on the bus without proper restraints constituted negligence in the operation of that vehicle, the lawsuit says.

Security camera footage of the incident shows the man and a large dog boarding the bus after Lewis.

The driver of the bus can be heard asking if the animal is a service dog, and the man responds, Yes, then, He wont bite anyone.

After briefly sniffing Rocco, who was still on Lewis lap, the larger animal appears to attack the smaller dog amid a cacophony of shrill yelps.

Lewis fell from his wheelchair in the ensuing chaos.

The driver then asked the man with the larger dog to get off the bus, which he did.

Lewis attorney, David Berlin, said Lewis hand was injured in the incident and he required medical attention at University of New Mexico Hospital.

Berlin said Lewis was unable to afford veterinary care for Rocco.

Rocco died weeks after the incident, but Berlin said it is not known what caused the dogs death.

The lawsuit names the city and the city Transit Department as defendants. Lewis is seeking compensation for his injuries and legal costs.

The driver let (Lewis) on, accepting responsibility for his well-being, Berlin said in an interview Wednesday at his Downtown Albuquerque office. Mr. Lewis didnt do anything to cause the incident.

Only service dogs are allowed on city buses, Transit Department spokesman Rick De Reyes said, and that does not include emotional support or comfort animals.

Berlin said Rocco was trained to alert Lewis when he was about to have a seizure. Lewis began having seizures after a motorcycle crash in which he also lost his leg several years ago, the attorney said. Rocco was taking classes to become an officially certified service dog, Berlin said.

City policy dictates that drivers should ask the owner of any animal boarding the bus if it is a service animal, De Reyes said.

Then, drivers are to ask what task the animal performs. Federal law stipulates they may not ask for documentation of an animals service certification.

Our driver did not properly follow procedure, De Reyes said after watching the footage, in which it does not appear the driver asks the owner of the pit bull what tasks it performs.
LAS CRUCES  I looked down at her and she looked up at me. They said shes shy. She wont be friendly, Henry Evarts said, recalling his first meeting with his rescue dog, Sugar Plum. She came up and kissed me. That was love at first sight.

The 90-year-old Alamogordo resident found 10-year-old Sugar Plum at a senior-to-senior adoption event organized by Animal Village NM. The no-kill shelter in Alamogordo takes in abandoned and abused dogs from across the state.

Two senior citizens get together and he changes her life and she changes his life, said Sunny Aris, co-founder and director of Animal Village NM.

Evarts and Sugar Plums story helped the shelter win a $10,000 Holiday Wishes grant from the Petco Foundation, which awards funds to help support lifesaving animal welfare organizations.

Sugar Plum was rescued from a man who had kept her chained to a tree, according to Aris.

She had been there for so long her legs had calcified. She could not walk, Aris said. Neighbors complained the man was starving her to death.

Sugar Plum recovered with rehabilitation and had been living at the shelter for seven years when she was adopted by Evarts. Henry and Sugar Plum, they understand one another. Theyre pretty much at the same pace, said Aris.

Shes made me want to do more, said Evarts, who lives alone. The gentle medium-sized mastiff mix is trained to sit, heel and stay. And she welcomes him home when the retired landscaper returns from his daily lunch at the Alamogordo Senior Center.

Shes so happy to see me, he said with a big smile.

Their story was among 3,000 entries from across the country. Animal Village NM is the only shelter in New Mexico to win one of the 51 holiday wishes grants.

They need it. I dont know how she survives. Shes not a rich woman, Evarts said of the shelter and Aris.

The funds will help Animal Village NM care for all its dogs and spay and neuter a group of 51 neglected dogs and puppies rescued from the Mescalero Apache Reservation in September. They were wandering onto U.S. 70, Aris said. One named Princess Q had a face full of porcupine quills and she was dying.

Her story just got me, said John Kind who adopted Princess.

He showed up with her at the Las Cruces Petco store Wednesday to celebrate the $10,000 grant awarded to Animal Village NM.

On Saturday, the shelter will participate in a nationwide adoption event and reduce the fee to $20, a small fraction of the normal cost. To qualify for the low-cost adoption, people must fill out the shelters application online or drop it off in person no later than today.

And Animal Village NM has an opportunity to win another $25,000 grant from the Petco Foundation this holiday season when people vote for their favorite story in the Peoples Choice Awards at www.petcofoundation.org/holidaywishes through Dec. 19. The winner will be announced before Christmas.
Copyright  2018 Albuquerque Journal

The state Court of Appeals has voided the most serious conviction against Stephen Casaus after finding that prosecutors were not able to prove his failure to seek medical help for 9-year-old Omaree Varela resulted in the boys death.

Last weeks opinion could mean that Casaus will see 18 years cut from the 30-year sentence he received in the case surrounding the death of Varela, his stepson, in December 2013.

At trial, Casaus defense team said he was in the bathroom using heroin when the boys mother beat him to death, but a jury found Casaus guilty of child abuse recklessly caused or permitted resulting in death, along with four lesser charges. His remaining convictions were affirmed by the court.

A spokesman for the New Mexico Attorney Generals Office said prosecutors plan to ask the state Supreme Court to overturn the decision to vacate the conviction, though they were pleased that his convictions on the lesser charges were upheld. If the Supreme Court refuses to consider the opinion, the District Attorneys Office will not have a second opportunity to try Casaus on the charge, according to a spokesman from that office.

The states theory was that our client let this kid die, said Tom Clark, who defended Casaus with Cindy Leos, now a state district judge. That he was reckless because they didnt call for medical assistance soon enough, that he knew or should have known that the child was terminally injured.

In his appeal, Casaus attorney argued that the state did not offer sufficient evidence that medical neglect was a significant cause of Omarees death.

The state Supreme Court found in a previous case that under a theory of medical neglect resulting in death, the state must prove by substantial evidence that medical neglect was at least a significant cause of the childs death, the Court of Appeals opinion says. To do that, the Supreme Court found, the state has to show that if a defendant had obtained medical care for the child earlier, the child would have lived or would have had a significantly better chance of living.

The Court of Appeals concluded that prosecutors in Casaus case did not do that.

The court found that the state did show that Omarees blood loss might have occurred over an extended period of time, and that generally people are more likely to survive a traumatic injury when they are treated within an hour.

It did not, however, provide any evidence that childs injuries were treatable, that childs life would have been saved or that he would have had a better chance of survival with timely medical intervention, or when that intervention would have been necessary to improve his chances of survival, according to the opinion.

Omarees autopsy found he died of blunt force trauma and showed that he had lost 25 percent of his blood volume to internal bleeding, and had injuries to his head, chest, abdomen, back, arms, knee and tongue.

The boy became the face of child abuse in New Mexico, and his death triggered a series of reforms at the states Children Youth and Families Department.

Synthia Varela-Casaus, his mother, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and lesser charges and was sentenced to 40 years in prison. She told reporters shortly after her arrest that she kicked the 9-year-old the wrong way.

Along with child abuse resulting in death, Casaus was found guilty of tampering with evidence, child abuse, and two counts of bribery of a witness.

Casaus has also been sentenced to nine years in a state court trafficking case, in addition to a 10-year sentence for a federal firearms conviction, according to court documents.
LAS CRUCES  The Catholic Church is facing another lawsuit, this time over a priest allegedly sexually abusing a boy in Las Cruces in the 1960s.

The lawsuit accuses a different, now-deceased priest  Father Arnold Finochietto, who served at Our Lady of Health Parish in central Las Cruces  of sexually abusing the victim, identified in court records as John Doe 89. Its the third lawsuit filed this month in connection to alleged abuse of children by priests historically in Las Cruces.

Finochietto served as manager of the parish, which then was organized under the Catholic Diocese of El Paso.

John Doe 89 alleges Fionchietto sexually abused him, from age 6 to 10, on a near daily basis while he served as an altar boy for Our Lady of Health, according to court records.

The civil complaint, filed Nov. 16 in 3rd Judicial District Court in Las Cruces, alleges Fionchietto asked for John Doe 89 to be removed from Catechism classes during the school day and taken to the priests home at the rectory. Other people at the parish took the boy to the rectory at Father Arnolds request.

Most of the sexual abuse occurred at the church on a couch behind the altar area or in the rectory about a block from the Church, and consisted of the altar boy plaintiff being trained to fondle, masturbate and provide oral sex to his priest, and to allow the priest to fondle, masturbate and provide oral sex to the boy,' court records state.

Recent realization

Decades later, John Doe 89 is in psychological therapy and has just begun realizing the connections between the childhood sexual abuse and the harms he suffered over his adult life, the complaint states.

Even if it occurred only several times per week, sexual abuse to Plaintiff (the victim) occurred around 500 times, write attorneys Brad D. Hall, Levi Monagle and Jose Coronado, who are representing the now-adult victim.

Attorneys for the victim alleged the church enabled the abuse by maintaining a policy of secrecy regarding priests abuses and by teaching vulnerable parishioners, especially altar boys, to put complete trust in priests and believe that priests had divine power and authority over them and their souls.

The new complaint is leveled against the Diocese of El Paso. Las Cruces formed its own diocese in 1982 and so isnt expressly named in the lawsuit.

Not on the list

Finochietto was not among the 28 former clergy in the Catholic Diocese of Las Cruces  or its predecessor organizations, the Diocese of El Paso and the Archdiocese of Santa Fe  who church officials identified on Nov. 8 as having been credibly accused of sexually abusing children from the 1950s to the year 2000.

The Diocese of El Paso hadnt yet received formal notice of the new lawsuit, said

Patricia Lopez Fierro, chancellor and director of human resources for the El Paso diocese. Fierro said the notice may have been filed with Las Cruces church officials.

Las Cruces diocesan officials say they dont have much information about Finochietto in their own files, besides churches to which he was assigned, the dates of his tenure and the year of his death. Theres no complaint of sexual abuse in the Las Cruces files, they said.

Because this priest served in the area prior to the advent of the Diocese of Las Cruces in 1982, we have very little information on him, said Deacon Jim Winder, vice chancellor of the Catholic Diocese of Las Cruces. What we do know is that he served in Silver City between 1959-1960, San Isidro Parish in Garfield from 1960-1964 and Our Lady of Health from 1964-1975. He retired in 1981 and died in 1999.

Winder has said that an accusation thats made publicly, even if in the form of a lawsuit, isnt alone enough to result in a clergy member being placed on the dioceses list of credibly accused. There were three criteria the church used to develop the list:

if a clergy member appeared on a list of credibly accused from another Catholic diocese and also served in Las Cruces;

if an allegation of sexual abuse resulted in a substantial lawsuit settlement or jury verdict in favor of the accuser; or

if there were direct, credible complaints of sexual abuse in a clergy persons personnel file

Diocesan officials have said the list could grow, as more claims of abuse come to light.

As for the most-recent lawsuit, if its true, then these people certainly deserve compensation, and we need to do anything we can to help them, Winder said.

The thing is, we dont know if its true, he said. It has to be vetted somewhat.

Recent lawsuits

The new lawsuit was filed in state court just days after two others that accuse a second priest, Father Joaquin Resma, of sexually abusing two girls while serving at Our Lady of Health in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Attorneys representing the victims have said they expect the churchs list of credibly accused priests to grow as a result of the litigation.

In early September, New Mexico Attorney General Balderas announced his office was seeking personnel files from Catholic dioceses throughout New Mexico, including Las Cruces, to search for evidence of sexual abuse by priests. The announcement came on the heels of an unveiling of the results of a similar investigation conducted by Pennsylvania law enforcement in that state.

Diana Alba Soular may be reached at 575-541-5443, dalba@lcsun-news.com or @AlbaSoular on Twitter.



2018 the Las Cruces Sun-News (Las Cruces, N.M.)

Visit the Las Cruces Sun-News (Las Cruces, N.M.) at www.lcsun-news.com

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LAS CRUCES  The office of District Attorney Mark DAntonio presented its case against a prohibited practices complaint at a hearing before the Public Employee Labor Relations Board on Monday.

The hearing took place at Third Judicial District Court before PELRB Executive Director Thomas Griego.

Communications Workers of America, the labor union representing attorneys at the local District Attorneys office, alleges that union members have faced targeted harassment, disciplinary action and termination since attorneys first communicated their desire to organize in 2017.

The bargaining unit was formed following a vote by the employees in February, making it the first DAs office in New Mexico to unionize. DAntonio had opposed the union campaign.

Over two days of testimony in October, the union sought the reinstatement, with back pay, of prosecutors Cassandra Brulotte and Rebecca Duffin, who were fired in June, and the reversal of the alleged administrative discharge of senior trial attorney Kelly Herson. Herson resigned in June after being placed on administrative leave.

The office is a hostile work environment for female attorneys and anyone who openly supports the union, Herson wrote in her June 28 resignation letter.

Chief Deputy District Attorney Gerald Byers rebutted numerous claims about his management style and personal interactions with attorneys and other staff. He also argued he had been involved in the approval of promotions and raises for the three attorneys.

With respect to Brulotte, Duffin and Herson, the employers case centered largely on how supervisors responded to No Mansplaining placards the three attorneys had displayed on their doors and subsequent disciplinary action.

Are No Mansplaining signs sexist?

Office manager Yvette Sierra testified that when she first noticed a sign on Brulottes door bearing the legend No Mansplaining with a circle and a slash through it similar to a No Smoking sign, she did not know what it meant but worried it was discriminatory against men.

Two supervisors at the office, deputy DAs Heather Chavez and Daniel Sewell, testified that they agreed with Sierra, although both admitted only passing familiarity with the slang term.

I did not find the sign personally offensive, Chavez stated. I just felt that its a gender-specific term typically used in a negative context.

Sewell said that after Sierra brought the sign to his attention he asked Brulotte what the sign meant. He recalled her defining mansplaining as the idea of men speaking down to women in a condescending way, and that she described it as a joke.

Because it was a joke only directed at men and not at women, that made it inappropriate, Sewell said.

In previous testimony, the three attorneys said the sentiments on their doors were intended to express solidarity for female crime victims as well as women working at the DAs office. Herson testified in October that DAntonio himself had endorsed the sentiments.

In contrast, Byers, who is African-American, went as far as to compare No Mansplaining signs to his memories of growing up under racial segregation in Alabama in the 1960s.

That was during a time when people had no problem putting signs out there saying people who looked like me or people who were Hispanic were not welcome, Byers said.

Byers argued the three attorneys were being insubordinate when they did not immediately comply with his request that they remove the signs. To support his point, he testified that Alex Rossario, an attorney at the office who had a similar sign posted on his door, removed it when asked to do so and was not disciplined.

In October, DAntonio, a Democrat serving his second term as the countys District Attorney, said Byers acted appropriately.

DAntonio and Byers denied targeting members of the bargaining unit or planning to fire the women in advance of the confrontation over the signs, despite testimony that the feminist messages had been posted on their doors prior to the union election, and that Herson was locked out of her office before she was asked to remove anything from her door.

An ethical conflict for judges?

At the first collective bargaining session on June 19, Duffin and Rossario appeared on behalf of employees along with CWA staff representative Robin Gould.

At the time, Duffin and Rossario were both election candidates for magistrate judge positions, running unopposed. Byers testified that for them to participate in bargaining, only to join the bench later, would create an appearance of impropriety and violate rules of conduct for judges.

Gould testified that Byers had been advised of Duffin and Rossarios participation in advance via email, and that no objection had been raised prior to the bargaining session.

Union attorney William Reinken asked, Isnt it true that If somebody violates the judicial code of conduct, thats something the candidate or the judicial officer has to deal with  not a previous employer?

Byers argued, it would be possible for a defense attorney to allege that there is some type of  preferential leaning between a judge who had previously participated in collective bargaining on behalf of prosecuting attorneys.

Raising that concern at the table did not, Byers argued, constitute a refusal to bargain, which would be a prohibited practice under the Public Employee Bargaining Act.

Byers stated that the union willingly returned to the table the following day with two other employees, a point Gould conceded in her own testimony, stating that the union did not wish to delay bargaining.

Rossario left the DAs office earlier this month. He and Duffin are to take the bench in Dona Ana Magistrate Court in January.

Caseloads and turnover

Other complaints presented by the union allege wage discrimination, preferential treatment for select staff members and untenable caseloads for union members.

In October, former deputy DA Davis Ruark testified he was ordered to unload most of his cases, at a time when deputies were asked to lighten their caseloads so they could focus on supervisory duties. Ruark said he demurred out of a concern attorneys were going to get dumped on.

The DAs office denied the allegations, but could not provide exculpatory records from its computer system.

Byers and other staff testified that the office relies on a digital case management system (CMS) maintained by the Administrative Office of the District Attorneys in Albuquerque.

The architecture of the system, Byers said, prevented the office from providing historical data about individual attorney caseloads because it continually updates information. Its not structured such that it can take a snapshot back in the past, he said.

The office has offered the same explanation to the Sun-News in response to several public information requests regarding caseloads at the DAs office.

Byers said he was unaware of other documents, such as emails or spreadsheets, memorializing how and when cases were distributed other than Byers own handwritten notes and logs.

After the hearing adjourned, PELRB director Griego said the data could help him decide the case.

I have conflicting testimony right now on what the turnovers are like, Griego told the Sun-News. One side of the case says they fired all the union people in close proximity  to when bargaining began. Then theres testimony that says there is high turnover all the time. What I want to see is whether there is data that can look back over a period of time  Is there a big uptick at the time that the union came in?

With testimony completed, Griego and the parties agreed to work with technicians at the AODA to see if historical data relevant to the proceeding could be retrieved from the CMS system by Friday. The parties agreed to submit their closing statements in writing.

Noting this case is more complex than is typical for PELRB cases, Griego said he hoped to deliver a ruling in January.

As of Monday, only two bargaining unit members remained employed at the District Attorneys office.

Algernon DAmmassa can be reached at 575-541-5451, adammassa@lcsun-news.com or @AlgernonActor on Twitter.



2018 the Las Cruces Sun-News (Las Cruces, N.M.)

Visit the Las Cruces Sun-News (Las Cruces, N.M.) at www.lcsun-news.com

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BLOOMFIELD  The tight-knit Bloomfield community is struggling to come to terms with the deaths of two children who died by suicide within the last few weeks.

Bloomfield School District Superintendent Kim Mizell said the two children did not attend the same school and the district does not believe the deaths were connected.

Desert View Family Counseling CEO Rick Quevedo said suicides at schools can impact other students.

For the average kid, this, of course, could be devastating, Quevedo said.

He said suicides in schools can have a greater emotional impact on other students who may have anxiety or depression.

Crisis management teams including counselors have been sent to the Bloomfield schools to help students cope following the loss of their classmates.

Desert View has been on standby to offer support to the schools and Quevedo said the counseling service is having discussions with Mesa Alta Junior High School about starting a peer support group.

He said the students have indicated a desire to have peer to peer conversations that are facilitated by an adult. Quevedo said he thinks it is a great idea.

Mizell said parents who are concerned about their children can reach out to the schools and have students connected with counselors or other mental health professionals.

Quevedo said parents should be open with their child and talk to their child about the recent suicides. He said there is a myth that talking about suicide will lead to a child considering suicide.

We cant talk about it if we dont say what it is, he said.

He said parents should ask their children how the recent suicides make them feel and ask their children if they have ever had suicidal thoughts.

Quevedo also encouraged parents to stay close to their child and not to be afraid to check the childs phone, notes and tablets. He said children may feel that is invasive, but it could alert parents to cues or signals that their child may be having suicidal thoughts.

He said parents should monitor social media interactions in light of the recent suicides and the upcoming anniversary of the Aztec High School shooting. Quevedo said comments on social media can be triggering to some children.

Quevedo said it is important to lose the stigma about mental health. He said if a person breaks their arm, people sign their casts and offer support. Quevedo said that same support should be available to people who are struggling with their mental health.

He said parents should be aware of local resources. For example, Desert View offers crisis sessions at no cost to families.

The school district is also launching a program that may help connect students with resources. Bloomfield launched the Say Something Anonymous Reporting System this week at Bloomfield High School, Mesa Alta Junior High School and Charlie Y. Brown High School. The reporting system will allow students and parents to submit anonymous tips, including tips about suicidal thoughts.

The program has already been deployed in other local districts.

The other districts are having positive results, Mizell said.

Tips can be made online at saysomething.net or by downloading the Say Something app or by calling 1-844-5-SAYNOW (1-844-572-9669).

Anyone who is contemplating suicide can receive support by calling the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255 or the New Mexico Crisis and Access Line at 1-866-622-7474.

Hannah Grover covers government for The Daily Times. She can be reached at 505-564-4652 or via email at hgrover@daily-times.com.



2018 The Daily Times (Farmington, N.M.)

Visit The Daily Times (Farmington, N.M.) at www.daily-times.com

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COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo.  An Iraqi refugee accused of critically wounding a Colorado police officer has pleaded not guilty to attempted murder.

Karrar Noaman Al Khamassi entered his plea Friday. A judge scheduled his trial to begin May 13.

The Gazette reports that Al Khammasi repeatedly asked through an interpreter for a new attorney and interpreter. A judge denied the request.

The injured Colorado Springs police officer, Cem Duzel, remains at a rehabilitation hospital.

Police have said Duzel and other officers responded to reported gunshots near the U.S. Olympic Training Center on Aug. 2 and found an armed suspect. Duzel was hurt in an exchange of gunfire.

Al Khammasi also was wounded.

According to the Department of Homeland Security, Al Khammasi was granted refugee status and arrived in the United States in May 2012.
KIEV, Ukraine  Ukrainian officials on Friday upped the ante in their nations growing confrontation with Russia, announcing a travel ban for most Russian men and searching the home of an influential cleric of the Russian Orthodox Church.

The long-simmering conflict bubbled over Sunday when Russian border guards rammed into and opened fire on three Ukrainian boats near the Crimean Peninsula, which Moscow annexed in 2014. The vessels were trying to pass through the Kerch Strait on their way to the Sea of Azov, where Ukraine has two major ports. The Russians then seized the ships and have detained their 24 crew members.

In response, the Ukrainian parliament on Monday passed the presidents motion to impose martial law in all border areas for 30 days.

Russia claims the boats were violating its border, while Ukraine says they were in international waters. The Kerch Strait is sensitive area for Russia, since it just built a long bridge from the mainland to occupied Crimea there.

Theres been growing hostility between Ukraine and Russia since Moscows annexation of Crimea from Ukraine in 2014, a move that greatly expanded Russias Black Sea coastline. Russia has also supported separatists in Ukraines east with clandestine dispatches of troops and weapons. Fighting there has killed at least 10,000 people since 2014 but eased somewhat after a 2015 truce.

Petro Tsygykal, chief of the Ukrainian Border Guard Service, announced Friday at a security meeting that all Russian males between 16 and 60 will be barred from traveling to the country while martial law is in place.

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko told the meeting the measures were taken to prevent the Russian Federation from forming private armies on Ukrainian soil.

The announcement follows Thursdays decision by U.S. President Donald Trump to scrap his much-anticipated meeting with Russian leader Vladimir Putin at the G-20 summit in Buenos Aires. Trump said it isnt appropriate for him to meet with Putin since Russia hasnt released the Ukrainian seamen.

A Crimea court this week ruled that the Ukrainian seamen will be kept behind bars for two months pending Russias investigation into the clash. They have been taken from Crimea to Moscow.

Kogershyn Sagiyeva, a member of the Moscow oversight council, told the television station Dozhd that 21 Ukrainian seamen are already at the Moscow Lefortovo jail while three others are in a hospital in another jail. She said she met with some of them and they appeared to be in good shape.

Meanwhile, another serious confrontation is heating up between Ukraine and Russia over the Orthodox Church.

Ukraines intelligence agency announced it was investigating a senior cleric of the Russian Orthodox Church and its agents on Friday searched the home of Father Pavlo, who leads the Pechersk Monastery in Kiev. The agency said he was suspected of inciting hatred, accusations that he vehemently denied.

The Ukrainian church has been part of the Russian Orthodox Church for centuries but is moving close to forming an independent church, a momentous step that would split the worlds largest Eastern Orthodox denomination.

Both the Russian Orthodox Church and Russian authorities are strongly against the move and have warned Ukraine not to do it, fearing sectarian violence.

There are currently three Orthodox communities in Ukraine, including two breakaway churches. The Pechersk Monastery, the spiritual center of Ukraine, is under the jurisdiction of the Russian Orthodox Church.

Ukrainian authorities have sought to portray the Russian Orthodox clerics in Ukraine as supporting Russian-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine.

Ukraines president announced Thursday night that the Constantinople patriarchy has approved a decree granting the Ukrainian Orthodox Church independence from the Russian Orthodox Church, a major boost to the presidents approval ratings.

Father Pavlo, leader of Kievs oldest and largest monastery, spoke to reporters Friday, saying the raid was carried out on personal orders by Poroshenko to put pressure on his church.

Pavlo said, however, he will not recognize a new Ukrainian church.

Im feeling the pressure from all sides. But I would like to assure you that I am part of the holy church and I do not recognize any other church, he said, speaking by the ornate gilded altar at one of the monasterys cathedrals.

__

Natasha Vasilyeva reported from Moscow.
PHOENIX  Latinos who were illegally detained when then-Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio defied a court order face a Monday deadline to apply for taxpayer-funded compensation for the harm they suffered from his acknowledged disobedience.

Fewer people than expected applied for compensation from a $500,000 court-ordered fund created after Arpaio defied a 2011 order barring his traffic patrols that targeted immigrants. The violation was made in a racial profiling case centering on Arpaios immigration patrols and eventually led to a criminal contempt of court conviction for Arpaio, who was later pardoned by President Donald Trump.

When the application period began nearly a year ago, immigrant rights advocates said at least 190 people were illegally detained. But so far only one claim totaling $1,095 has been paid among the 114 claims filed, according to the latest figures. The advocates say 13 other claims totaling $150,000 are considered payable but are awaiting a rebuttal from the sheriffs office.

Even though Monday is the deadline for applying for the money, the total amount of compensation paid could rise as applications are evaluated and processed.

Kathy Brody, one of the American Civil Liberties Union attorneys leading the profiling case against the sheriffs office, pointed out the victims are difficult to locate and that she believes a number of factors, including a fear of deportation, kept victims from applying for the money.

A judge rejected a request to extend the one-year application period by six months after a lawyer representing Maricopa County argued that Arpaio foes were trying to rewrite the terms of the compensation plan. Arpaios successor, Sheriff Paul Penzone, didnt take a position on extending the application period.

Where is everybody coming forward? Where are they? Arpaio asked.

Arpaio, whose defiance of the 2011 order is believed to have contributed to his crushing 2016 defeat in the sheriffs race, said he doesnt regret his actions that led to creation of the compensation fund. He conceded that the fear of deportation may have contributed to fewer applicants coming forward.

If thats the reason they didnt come forward, thats great, Arpaio said. They are saving the taxpayer money. They can go back from where they came.

Brody said she said hasnt been surprised by Arpaios statements about the compensation effort. He terrorized the community, Brody said. The fact that he seemed to be taking pleasure in this is just par for the course for Arpaio.

Lawyers involved in the profiling case and a firm running the claims process have worked with community organizations and foreign consulates in hopes of finding victims. A group in Mexico has reached out to news organizations to publicize the compensation efforts.

The attorneys did interviews with news organizations, watched traffic-stop videos and pored over arrest and other police records in search of victims. The lawyers who filed the profiling case also organized three clinics with volunteer attorneys to assist people with submitting claims.

While Trumps pardon led to the dismissal of Arpaios criminal case, taxpayers in metro Phoenix are still on the hook for compensating those who were illegally detained in the patrols between December 2011 and May 2013.

Under the compensation system, Maricopa County will pay $500 for the first hour of a persons illegal detention and $35 for each additional 20-minute increment. A $10,000 cap was imposed on such compensation, but the judge said the victims can also seek money for other injuries resulting from the illegal detentions, such as lost wages and emotional distress.

The judge presiding over the profiling case denied a request from Arpaios foes to require the lawman to personally pay $300,000 to help compensate the victims. The judge had ruled the lawyers opposing the sheriff hadnt cited a legal authority for making Arpaio pay for conduct carried out in his official capacity.

The compensation costs are a small piece of the overall taxpayer cost of the racial profiling case, which so far have totaled $90 million.

___

Follow Jacques Billeaud at www.twitter.com/jacquesbilleaud.
Police say a woman who had stayed with her son at a homeless camp along East Central ended up encouraging him to shoot two other people in the camp Thursday afternoon.

The victims were shot in their feet and taken to University of New Mexico Hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

Shawna Garcia was arrested and is charged with conspiracy to commit a third-degree felony and contributing to the delinquency of a minor.

At a court hearing Friday, a judge ordered her to be released from jail on her own recognizance, according to court documents.

Her son, 17-year-old Jamol Pete, was not found at the scene and a warrant has been issued for his arrest, said Gilbert Gallegos, an Albuquerque police spokesman.

Officers were sent to the 100 block of Truman NE, near Central and San Mateo, around 1:30 p.m. Thursday for reports of a shooting at a homeless camp behind a Walgreens, according to a criminal complaint filed in Metropolitan Court.

When they arrived, they found Joshua Tsosie and Kellen Aragon had each been shot in the foot and the two were taken to the hospital.

Witnesses told police Pete was possibly the shooter. He had already left the scene, but Garcia remained behind and gave his information to police, according to the complaint.

A witness told police a little after midnight Garcia and her son had stayed for a few hours at the homeless camp and were given food. Garcia returned later in the day to thank one of the women for the hospitality and spotted Aragon, who she had broken up with recently.

Aragon and Garcia argued and witnesses said Garcia appeared to threaten the group as she walked away, according to the complaint.

Witnesses said Garcia and her son returned once again and Pete took out a gun while Garcia said, I told yall I was gonna (expletive) you up. I told you I was gonna get you.

Pete fired once at Aragon, hitting him in the left foot, and then at Tsosie, also hitting him in the foot, according to the complaint.

Garcia, who police said smelled strongly of alcohol, declined to speak with police without an attorney.
"Ensure the integrity of course commandants, the relevance of the subjects to be taught, and the quality of teaching."

President Rodrigo Dutertes latest bright idea is the revival of the Reserve Officers Training Corps (ROTC), a military training program for civilians that has been implemented on and off through the years. The ROTC was once mandatory for male students in college; none of them would be allowed to graduate without having completed the course. In 2002, Republic Act No. 9163 or the compulsory National Service Training Program (NSTP) Act allowed college students, both men and women, to choose among ROTC, Literacy Training Service, and Civil Welfare Training Service. In order, he says, to instill patriotism, love of country among our youth, the President supports the passage of a law that would make ROTC mandatory for Grade 11 and 12 students (senior high school). There are two such bills pending in Congress: Senate Bill No. 189 filed in 2016 by Senator Manny Pacquiao, and House Bill No. 5113 authored by House Deputy Speaker Raneo Abu. Dutertes appeal to resurrect mandatory ROTC falls flat, however, the face of his own declaration that he got out of ROTC back in his day by faking illness. He bribed a tuberculosis patient to sell him his X-rays and showed those to school personnel at the Lyceum of the Philippines, where he was an undergraduate taking political science. If he tried out to get out of ROTC because he did not want to be yelled at ( he told diplomats in July 2017), he does not have the moral high ground to compel others to take it.But lets set that aside and look at the pros and cons. What is being discussed here is military training for civilians. There are 28 countries that require not just training but actual military service for a certain period of time, among them Israel, Singapore, South Korea, Switzerland, and Thailand. Other countries allow voluntary service, selective conscription and so on. In this light, training doesnt seem so bad. A couple of decades ago there was, in addition to ROTC, Citizens Army Training in high school, which has since been discontinued. There are also the Boy and Girl Scouts in elementary. Some who went through those say they learned important skills; others say they were just baked in the sun and it was all a waste of time. The training, if done properly and well, could be valuable and helpful. My eldest daughter chose ROTC for her NSTP and learned navigation, map reading, weapons handling, and first aid, skills she did not know before and likely would not have learned if not for her ROTC stint. She learned discipline, from waking up early to obeying commands of superior officers without question. Overall, she says she benefited from the program as run by the university she attended. In contrast, ROTC back in the day was marred by corruption. Students could pay off their commandants to pass the course and skip all the marching in hot uniforms. Nothing much was taught either other than field-stripping antique Garands and Springfields and drilling. If the Armed Forces of the Philippines back then needed people to do fancy marching, they had those in the thousands. Actual trained combatants, not much. If mandatory ROTC is revived, ensure the integrity of course commandants, the relevance of the subjects to be taught, and the quality of teaching. Otherwise it will be a waste of time and resources and students will once again come up with ingenious ways of getting out of it, as Duterte did.
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) - The latest on a 7.0 magnitude earthquake that has rocked buildings, damaged roads and shut down an airport in Alaska.

Please note that the Tsunami Warning Center CANCELED tsunami warnings for areas after the earthquake.

Read updates as they become available below the video.

1:25 p.m.

Gov. Bill Walker says he was in an office building elevator when an earthquake rocked Anchorage and southcentral Alaska and caused widespread damage.

Walker said Friday he's surprised the elevator did not stop. He says lights on the control board were blinking and things were falling from the ceiling.

Walker was a child during the magnitude 9.2 Good Friday earthquake that hit in 1964, devastating his hometown of Valdez. He said he wondered if Friday's quake "could be the one."

He says he spoke with President Trump and was assured by the White House that help was on the way.

He said water pipes at his own home broke and he stopped there briefly to shut off valves.

___

12:30 p.m.

Scientists say the damaging Alaska earthquake and aftershocks occurred on a type of fault in which one side moves down and away from the other side.

Seismologist Lucy Jones told reporters Friday at the California Institute of Technology that the fault is within the Pacific tectonic plate that is diving under Alaska, a mechanism that produces the largest earthquakes in the U.S.

Jones says the type of damage being reported is not surprising.

She says the area in which the quake occurred has loose sediments containing lots of water and when the ground moves it creates liquefaction, or "temporary quicksand."

Jones says liquefaction can cause damage to structures because the ground moves out from beneath them.

___

12:25 p.m.

Tim Craig, an owner of Anchorage True Value Hardware in south Anchorage, says the quake knocked hundreds of items onto the floor and caused two stockroom shelves to become unbolted from the wall and collapse.

No one was hurt. Six off-duty employees, and some customers, offered to help clean up after the earthquake hit Friday morning.

Craig and his wife were driving to the store when the quake hit and he says their car was bouncing.

An overhead traffic signal bobbing over their heads caused immediate concern and his wife pulled over because she was worried it would fall.

The quake knocked out numerous stoplights, snarling traffic in downtown Anchorage.

___

12:20 p.m.

April Pearce was at her desk at work in the assessor's office in the small city of Soldotna and started filming once she realized the rumbling of the Alaska earthquake was the start of something big.

In the video, the murmurs of her colleagues can be heard as filing cabinets jostle.

Pearce says: "Holy smokes."

She says in an email later that people were gasping and panicking and called the event "spooky."

Her home escaped major damage, but some Christmas decorations fell down.

___

12:05 p.m.

Fifteen-year-old Sadie Blake and other members of the Homer High School wrestling team were at an Anchorage school gymnasium waiting for a tournament to start when the earthquake hit.

She says the bleachers started rocking "like crazy" and then the lights went out. People ran the bleachers in the pitch dark, trying to get out.

Team chaperone Ginny Grimes says Tuesday's quake created "a gym full of screams."

By the time it was over, Sadie was still in the gym and says she started crying while hanging out in a nearby mall with her team.

___

12 p.m

Molly McCammon says was at home waiting for a work teleconference when the quake started.

She says she's lived in Alaska 45 years and called Friday's earthquake "worst earthquake I've ever been in."

McCammon had taken a tour Thursday of the Anchorage Emergency Operations Center in her role as a member of the Cook Inlet Regional Citizens Advisory Council. One of the topics was earthquake preparation.

She says: "Then it happens the next day."

McCammon says the quake reminded her how much more emergency preparation she needs to do. She plans to sign up for an emergency alert system and make sure she has an emergency kit on hand.

___

11:45 a.m.

Anchorage Police Chief Justin Doll says he's been told parts of a scenic highway that heads from Anchorage toward mountains and glaciers have sunken and "completely disappeared" following the earthquake.

He says officials are evaluating the damage to the Glenn Highway but some was so significant that it will probably "take a long time to repair."

Doll also said Friday that there has been damage reported to bridges.

___

11:40 a.m.

President Donald Trump has tweeted that the federal government "will spare no expense" helping Alaska following the 7.0-magnitude earthquake that shook Anchorage.

Trump on Friday tweeted "you have been hit hard by a 'big one'" and asked residents to follow officials' directions.

Former vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin tweeted that her family is OK but said her "house is not." She did not elaborate but said the thinks "that's the case for many, many others."

The police chief and the mayor of Anchorage said they were unaware of any reports of deaths of injuries after the quake shook buildings and opened up crevices and cracks in roads.

Anchorage Fire Department Jodie Hettrick says there were reports of buildings collapsing but she did not have further details.

-This version corrects that the earthquake happened Friday, not Tuesday.

___

11:20 a.m.

Anchorage Police Chief Justin Doll says he is unaware of reports of deaths or serious injuries following the earthquake that rocked the state's largest city.

Doll made the statement to reporters Friday after the quake shook buildings and damaged road infrastructure.

It was felt 350 miles (560 kilometers) away in Fairbanks.

- This version corrects that the earthquake happened Friday, not Tuesday.

___

11:05 a.m.

The Alaska Railroad has suspended all operations amid "severe" damage at their Anchorage Operations Center and unknown track conditions throughout the state.

External Affairs Manager Tim Sullivan says the operations center lost power and is experiencing flooding following the quake Friday that rocked Anchorage and surrounding areas.

He says: "It's tough to run trains when you have no dispatch."

Sullivan says no reports of track damage have yet been reported, but it will take a day or two for staff to fully assess conditions. Until the tracks are cleared for use, all railroad operations will are suspended, Sullivan said.

The quake was felt 350 miles (560 kilometers) away in Fairbanks.

__

10: 55 a.m.

The operators of the 800-mile (1,290-kilometer) long trans-Alaska pipeline said they shut the system down as a precaution following the earthquake in southcentral Alaska.

Michelle Egan is a spokeswoman with Alyeska (Al-ee-es-kuh) Pipeline Service Company.

She says there is no known damage to the pipeline.

She says data will be assessed at an operations center and a physical inspection of the line will be performed.

She says pipeline can be restarted before the physical assessment is complete.

___

10:45 a.m.

The Providence Alaska Medical Center in Anchorage says it has canceled elective surgeries and that the hospital experienced multiple water leaks.

The hospital says in a statement that there was not a large influx of patients after the quake rocked Anchorage Friday morning.

There were no reports of serious injuries or deaths and there were no reports of injuries at the hospital.

The Federal Aviation Administration says operations have stopped at Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport following the earthquake that rocked buildings and damaged roads.

FAA spokesman Allen Kenitzer in Washington state said Friday it's not known when inbound flights will resume and that travelers should check with their airlines.

Kenitzer and Alaska transportation spokeswoman Meadow Bailey say telephone service is out at the airport.

The FAA spokesman says the airport tower was evacuated and flights that could be diverted were being sent to Kodiak.

He says inbound international flights to Anchorage were being guided by controllers at a regional radar approach facility.

Alaska Gov. Bill Walker tweeted that he has issued a disaster declaration.

___

10:30 a.m.

The White House says President Donald Trump has been briefed about the earthquake that rocked Anchorage, causing damage to buildings and infrastructure.

Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders tweeted Tuesday that Trump is monitoring the reports of damage.

Trump is in Argentina at the Group of 20 summit.

Huckabee adds: "We are praying for the safety of all Alaskans."

There have been no immediate reports of serious injuries or deaths following the 7.0-magnitude earthquake.

___

10:20 a.m.

The earthquake that shook Anchorage and damaged roadways also knocked many traffic lights out of service and has snarled traffic.

Jeremy Zidek, a spokesman for the state's Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management, said the earthquake also disrupted some communications and electrical service.

The Anchorage School District cancelled classes for its more than 100 schools and asked parents to pick up their kids when they could.

The district wants to examine its buildings for potential damage and check for any potential gas leaks.

State government offices in Anchorage were also closed so officials could assess damage.

___

10:10 a.m.

Officials have canceled a tsunami warning for coastal areas of southern Alaska following the 7.0-magnitude earthquake that shook Anchorage.

National Tsunami Warning Center senior technician Michael Burgy said the tsunami warning was automatically generated,

Officials monitored gauges to see if any underwater landslides would generate tsunami waves.

Because there were none, the warning was canceled.

Police had told residents of the island community of Kodiak to head to higher ground.

The quake damaged buildings in Anchorage and buckled roads and sent people running into the streets.

There were no immediate reports of serious injuries or deaths.

___

9:55 a.m.

Police in Alaska's island community of Kodiak say residents are heeding advice to head to higher ground because of a tsunami warning issued after a 7.0-magnitude earthquake shook Anchorage.

Kodiak has about 6,000 residents and the city is about 250 miles (400 kilometers) south of Anchorage.

The tsunami warning issued by the National Tsunami Warning Center in Palmer, Alaska, was automatically generated following the Friday morning temblor.

Senior center technician Michael Burgy says gauges are being monitored to determine if any underwater landslides have generated tsunami waves.

If there are none, the warning will be canceled.

The warning could be expanded if concrete data is received about waves that have been generated.

___

9:40 a.m.

Brandon Slaton was alone and home and soaking in the bathtub when the Alaska earthquake struck.

Slaton just moved to Kenai, Alaska with his wife from Arizona and had never felt an earthquake before the 7.0 magnitude temblor hit on Friday morning.

Slaton says the quake created a powerful back-and-forth sloshing in the bathtub and before he knew it, he'd been thrown out of the tub by the force of the waves.

His 120-pound (54-kilogram mastiff panicked and tried to run down the stairs, but the house was swaying back and forth so much that she was thrown off her feet and into a wall and tumbled to the base of the stairs.

Slaton says: "It was anarchy. There's no pictures left on the walls, there's no power, there's no fish tank left. Everything that's not tied down is broke."

Slaton ran into his son's room after the shaking stopped and found his fish tank shattered and the fish on the closet floor, gasping for breath.

He grabbed the Betta fish and put it in another bowl.

He says the area was eerily quiet. His children, 11 and 16, were evacuated from school.

___

This version corrects that the earthquake happened Friday, not Tuesday.

___

9:35 a.m.

Police in Alaska's Kodiak island community have told residents to head to higher ground amid the tsunami threat from the earthquake that rocked buildings in Anchorage, caused damage to roads and sent office workers running out to the streets.

Kodiak is an island about 200 miles (321 kilometers) south of Anchorage.

The U.S. Geological Survey said it was a 7.0-magnitude quake and tsunami warnings were issued for southern Alaska coastal areas.

___

9:25 a.m.

Photographs posted to social media sites showed damage that included collapsed ceiling tiles at an Anchorage high school and buckled roadway pavement in places.

Cereal boxes and packages of batteries littered the floor of a grocery store after the earthquake Tuesday morning that rocked buildings in Alaska's largest city, and picture frames and mirrors were knocked from living room walls.

Alaska averages 40,000 earthquakes per year, with more large quakes than the other 49 states combined.

Southern Alaska has a high risk of earthquakes due to tectonic plates sliding past each other under the region. According to the U.S. Geological Survey, the Pacific plate is sliding northwestward and plunges beneath the North American plate in southern Alaska, the Alaska Peninsula and the Aleutian Islands.

On March 27, 1964, Alaska was hit by a magnitude 9.2 earthquake, the strongest recorded in U.S. history, centered about 75 miles (120 kilometers) east of Anchorage. The quake, which lasted about 4 minutes, and the tsunami it triggered claimed about 130 lives.

___

9:20 a.m.

Anchorage lawyer Justin Capp says he was getting ready for work when he felt the shaking start.

He grabbed on to the doorframe in the hallway and the door slammed into his hands, scraping his fingers and hand.

Capp says he's lived in Anchorage eight years and that Tuesday's quake was the worst he had experienced.

Another lawyer, Hank Graper, was driving when the quake struck. He first thought his vehicle had a flat tire, then thought it was exploding. He realized it was an earthquake after he saw traffic poles swaying.

Graper called it the most "violent" earthquake he's experience in his 20 years in Anchorage.

The U.S. Geological Survey initially said it was a 6.7 magnitude earthquake and later boosted the magnitude to 7.0

___

8:55 a.m.

The National Tsunami Warning Center has issued a tsunami warning for coastal zones of southern Alaska following an earthquake that rocked buildings in downtown Anchorage.

The center said Friday that the warning was in effect for parts of the state's Cook Inlet and the southern Kenai peninsula.

The warning means tsunami waves are expected.

The U.S. Geological Survey initially said it was a 6.7 magnitude earthquake and then reduced that to 6.6.

The quake was centered about 7 miles (12 kilometers) north of Alaska's largest city.

___

8:45 a.m.

A 6.6 magnitude earthquake has rocked buildings in Anchorage and caused lamp posts and trees to sway, prompting people to run out of offices and seek shelter under office desks.

The U.S. Geological Survey says the earthquake Friday morning was centered about 7 miles (12 kilometers) north of Alaska's largest city.

An Associated Press reporter working in downtown Anchorage saw cracks in a 2-story building after the quake. It was unclear whether there were injuries.

People went back inside buildings after the earthquake but a smaller aftershock a short time later sent them running back into the streets again.
CHICO, Calif. - People helping people. One group wants to put camp fire victims in touch with families who want to help them.

"Helping other people as they come up to the booth and being able to talk with them as one evacuee to another has just been a real healing process all in itself," Miles Berdache Lynx, Paradise evacuee said.

Heather and Eric Lofholm from Sacramento started this page.

They reached out to their friend Miles Berdache Lynx, an evacuee from Paradise who lost everything, about how they can help.

"They just thought why don't we try to do this for everybody so they started the facebook group, paradise fire adopt a family and through that movement we've got a table here at fema it's not just clothing and gas card and shelter we're actually able to get people what they need in the moment," Lynx said.

"I lost everything I have up there and like I tell everybody I didn't have much, but what I did have gave me hope," Tony Warino, Paradise evacuee said.

Warino has been denied some of the agencies at the disaster relief center but he never gave up hope, and on Thursday he received a life changing gift.

"The agency that helped me with this RV was Adopt a Family they are a more personal way of helping people," Warino said.

A woman drove more than 4 hours to bring the RV to Warino.

She didn't want to be shown on camera, but she used the Facebook page to find him.

"One caught my eye, a gentleman that wasn't being served or was too not proud but too humble to ask for help and so he was living in his car. I made the phone call and talked with tony found out if he had anything and he said no and i said well that's gonna change for you cause im gonna make some calls," she said.

She fixed up an old RV with the help of her family and drove up from the Fresno area to deliver it in person.

"They've gone above and beyond they've left extra blankets extra pillows even extra socks they're very generous people i'm very grateful for this this actually gives me a great deal of hope rather than being stuck outside, now I have the opportunity to possibly pull onto a job site and be able to live on the job and make a little bit of money doing that," Warino said.

If you're a camp fire victim who needs help or want to help victims ... look for this story on Action News Now.com under news links.
A court in Baghdad has pressed seven years in prison each against a former trade minister and two former officials of his department after they were indicted for embezzling up to $14.3 million.

The Special Court for Crimes against Integrity reached the sufficient threshold of proof, and sentenced each official to seven years in prison, according to investigators at the Integrity Commission.

The men are believed to have siphoned funds in connection to rice imports.

The verdict also demands bank authorities to freeze the convicts bank assets.

A source at the commission told AFP the defendants include former minister Malas Abdulkarim al-Kasnazani who served as trade minister in the previous cabinet of former Premier Haider al-Abadi, until December 2015 when he was sacked for failing to show up at work.

The court subsequently sued him on corruption charges and issued an arrest warrant against him after it was reported that he fled to Jordan, reports say.

In the 1990s, Kasnazani and two of his brothers were briefly arrested for forging the signature of ex-president Saddam Hussein, The New Arab reports.

Kasnazani is the second former government top official to be hauled in prison for graft in the past one year.

Abdel Falah al-Sudani, also a former trade minister who served in the same position in Iraqs post-2003 US invasion administration has been sentenced to 21 months in prison last year after he was extradited from Lebanon by Interpol.

The oil-rich Middle East country has been facing tough challenges for its reconstruction following the US invasion.

Corruption and state funds theft have been viewed widely as a major roadblock.

Shell companies and phantom public employees who receive salaries but do not work have also plagued the administration and cost the country, around $228 billion dollars since 2003, the parliament had deplored.
BUTTE COUNTY, Calif. - The Chico Police Department is responding to many reports of downed trees and power lines due to weather in Butte County on Thursday.

A flash flood warning has been issued for The Camp Fire burn area in Butte County, the Carr, Delta and

Hirz burn areas in Shasta County and the Mendocino Complex in Lake County in Northern California, according to the National Weather Service. It is in effect until 2:45 p.m. A flash flood watch will continue until 4 p.m.

Lots of flooded roadways and trees, power lines down due to the weather. Chico Police, Chico Fire Department and PG&E are working hard to keep everyone safe!

Remember if you see power lines down call 911 and don't drive over them!  Chico Police Dept. (@ChicoPolice) November 29, 2018

We have reporters heading to certain areas affected. Stay tuned for the latest updates as they become available.

The picture above was taken at 288 Henshaw Avenue, Chico.

The photo above was taken at Ceres Avenue, Chico.
SHASTA COUNTY, Calif. - Red Bluff Police say at 9:24 Thursday evening, 33-year-old Rich Pulido refused to stop and a brief chase ensued.

Due to Pulido's driving and weather conditions, police say it ended off of Highway 44 and Victor Avenue.

Police say he collided with another vehicle off Highway 44 and I-5. The other driver, a 54 year old man of Redding, suffered minor to moderate injuries and was transported to a local hospital.

Investigators say Pulido was driving under the influence of alcohol and marijuana.

He is currently booked in the Shasta County Jail.
UPDATE: 2:05 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 29, 2018 - Cal Trans has reopened Highway 99 in both directions after flooding caused traffic delays and road closures northbound and southbound.

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BUTTE COUNTY, Calif. - Flooding due to extreme weather has caused Highway 99 to close in both directions from Neal Road to Estates Drive.

The highway is closed in both northbound and southbound directions.

All traffic is being re-routed. There is no estimated time that the highway will be re-opened.

Stay with Action News Now for the latest updates as they become available.
City of Shasta Lake, Calif. --

The Shasta County Sheriff's Office says a man suspected of domestic violence also assaulted a Sheriff K-9 during his arrest.

Deputies with the Shasta Lake Patrol Station responded to a domestic disturbance call at Millers Mobile Home Park on Cascade Bouldevard at around 9 p.m. Thursday. That's where deputies contacted a victim with visible injuries who said she was assaulted by her husband, 28-year old Jonathan Romo.

Deputies found Romo in violation of felony corporal injury to a spouse and assault with a deadly weapon. Deputies say Romo began to yell from the home, and ran out of view. That is when deputies released K-9 "Hondo" inside the mobile home to apprehend Romo.

The Sheriff's Office says Romo assaulted K-9 "Hondo" by kicking him. The K-9 was not injured.

Romo was arrested for felony corporal injury to a spouse, assault with a deadly weapon, resisting arrest, and harming a police K-9.
It is believed that a mother can defy even death to safeguard her child. Nishir Dak is one such story that showcases immense courage and undying will of a mother who will go to any lengths to save her daughter from the evil spirit  Nishi.

Nishir Dak or Call of the Night spirit is a very common paranormal belief in Bengal. A spirit that lures its victim into the unknown by calling out to him in a familiar voice. Tethering between reality and the paranormal world, the show promises to send shivers down the spine with its near-to-life storytelling. Starting Monday, December 3 at 8:30pm, the show will keep viewers on the edge of their seats and jolt them through this journey.

Commenting on the new show, Rahul Chakravarti, Business Head  COLORS Bangla & Odia said, Supernatural shows have a well-established fanbase amongst viewers, but the poignant storyline and mystical elements in Nishir Dak, will go beyond the conventional fanbase, appealing to all viewers. At COLORS BANGLA, quality content has always been our focus, and we continue to push the boundaries by bringing in only the best to our viewers. Bringing Nishir Dak at the 8:30 pm slot, the channel presents viewers a refreshing storyline that will appeal to all thrill seekers.

Talking about the show, Sahana, Creative Director, SVF Television said, "Nishir Daak is a story of war between good and evil. It is the story of Tara, the blessed child and her fight against the Dark Force, Nishi. The spooky look of Nishi has been worked upon for months as has been the details of each character. The show will unravel elements of fear, suspense, supernatural incidents and ultimate win of good over evil and dark spirit that will keep viewers hooked.

Nishir Dak narrates the story of the five-year-old abandoned and scared Tara played by Guddi who finds protection in the caring arms of Sreemoyee. Played by Tumpa Ghosh, Sreemoyees maternal instincts cajole her to adopt Tara and protect her from all that may come to harm. Unknown to the world, Taras fate is eclipsed by the curse of evil spirits as a necromancer  Agharnath is determined to sacrifice Tara to attain immortality. Making a grand return to the small screen, Sauriti Banerjee portrays the role of Nishi, is Agarnaths evil myrmidon tasked to bring Tara to him. Completing the blockbuster ensemble cast of the show, Subhankar Saha plays the role of Rudra.

Dont miss the sinister and eerie premiere of the show  NISHIR DAK on Monday, December 3 at 8:30pm only on COLORS BANGLA
There is no such thing as a hopeless situation; especially if you have time on your side. Time has the potential to change everything in a blink of an eye. When grief fills a place that was once laced with love, it leaves you numb and tired. &PriveHD, the destination for nuanced cinema, brings you the story of a distraught parent who takes matter in her own hands to find her daughters murderer in Secret in Their Eyes on Saturday, December 01 at 1 PM and 9 PM. Written and Directed by Billy Ray, the movie is a remake of the 2009 Argentine film of the same name, both based on the novel La pregunta de sus ojos by author Eduardo Sacheri. The movie has an exceptional star cast featuring Golden Globe and Oscar Winner Nicole Kidman who plays the character of Claire and Academy Award Winner Julia Roberts (Jess), along with Dean Norris as Bumpy Willis & Chiwetel Ejiofor as Ray Kasten who is the films churning energy center.

Two policemen Ray and Jess are allotted "terrorist" duty, monitoring the activities around a local mosque in Los Angeles. Having been informed about the death of a teenage girl in an alley near the area, the pair quickly rushes to the crime scene to only find out that it is actually Jess daughter Caroline. The brutal murder of Jesss daughter leaves the investigators wondering and tears them apart eventually rendering them motivation-less to crack the case. 13 years after the prime suspects walk away, Ray insists on reinvestigating to get to the bottom of the gruesome murder and convinces Jess to reopen the case. An unspeakable secret will be revealed about the destructive effects of personal vengeance on the human soul.

Witness the other side of a grieving mother as Secret In Their Eyes premieres on Saturday, December 1 at 1 PM and 9 PM only on &PriveHD.
Rasna, the worlds first manufacturer of instant fruit-based concentrate, believes in giving its consumers what they want. Todays consumer has become very health conscious and wants to go back to their ethnic roots with natural ingredients like honey, essential oil, spice oil, badam powder etc. Keeping this in mind, with a promise of no chemicals and preservatives, Rasna has given birth to a new brand Rasna Native Haat.

Rasna Native Haat comes with a one-line promise to consumers to, go back to nature. This is best exemplified in the product offerings Rasna Native Haat Aampanna, Shikanji which are available in powder form as well as ready to drink form. Now as an addition to the product portfolio, Rasna is pleased to announce launch of Rasna Native Haat Honey Vita & Badam Vita Powder and Honey in following SKUs:

Honey Vita (Chocolate Flavour) - 18g, 100g (75g+25gFree), 600g (450g+150gFree), 500g

Badam Vita (Badam Flavour) - 12g, 200g

Honey (Natural) - 750g, 500g, 250g, 50g

Badam Vita powder is enriched with 21 Vitamins, minerals, almond extract while Honey Vita Powder has the goodness of honey and has 21 vitamins, minerals, malt extracts, cereal extracts, making it a complete energy drink.

To further promote the products, Rasna Native Haat is pleased to announce its new Brand Ambassador, Ms. Saina Nehwal, who has shot a TV Commercial for both, Honey and Honey Vita products.

Speaking at the event today Mr. Piruz Khambatta Chairman of Rasna Pvt. Ltd said, We are extremely happy to collaborate with Saina Nehwal for our new ad campaign. Saina embodies the attributes of Rasnas Native Haat range which focuses on health products that are chemical and preservatives free. We are committed to providing our consumers with new and innovative products.

Speaking about her association with Rasna, Saina Nehwal said, Rasna is one of the most trusted brands in India. It has been one of my favourite drinks growing up. I am thrilled to associate with the brand for Honey and Honey Vita under the Rasna Native Haat umbrella that focuses on natural and healthy products.
Network18, Indias most diversified media conglomerate, today announced the appointment of Umesh Kumawat as Managing Editor of News18 Lokmat.

News18-Lokmat is a joint venture of two leading media powerhouses in India, Network 18s TV18 Broadcast Ltd. and the Lokmat Media Pvt Ltd, running Maharashtras foremost newspaper. The 24-hours world class credible news channel in Marathi, established in the year 2008, has positioned itself on top of the ladder in the regional broadcast news industry. It is known for its unique regional content, unbiased attitude and exceptional coverage of state, national and international news, making it one of Maharashtras leading Marathi news and current affairs channels.

Speaking on the appointment, Umesh said, Im delighted to be leading the team at News18 Lokmat and being a part of Network18 Group, which is one of the most renowned media houses in India. It is an honor to be a part of such a well-respected media house that comprises of an incredibly talented team. I look forward to bringing authentic, speedy and reliable news and stories to our audience. It is my goal to make the channel an essential part of the viewers everyday life.

Umesh comes with close to nineteen years of experience in journalism. Prior to Network18, he was Senior Editor with ABP News for fourteen years. Previously he has been a part of many leading media brands like Aajtak, Zee News and TV 9. He has also been honored with many awards in the field of journalism.
US TV channel CNN has fired one of its longtime commentators, Marc Lamont Hill, for rebuking Israel and calling for a free Palestine, in a speech at the United Nations.

CNN spokeswoman, Barbara Levin, announced Thursday the sacking of media professor at Temple University in the wake of a speech viewed by Israels advocates as hate speech similar to that of Gaza ruler, Hamas, which called for Israels destruction.

Hill, in his speech, called for a free Palestine from the river to the sea and endorsement for the boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) movement against Israel.

The Anti-Defamation League and other pro-Israel organizations took aim at Hill for his remarks that they deemed a call for Israels destruction.

Fox News joined the chorus of condemnation, according to The Washington Post.

Sebastian Gorka, a former aid of President Donald Trump also backed the firing while calling for additional lay-offs of the networks staffers opposed to Israelis policy.

Hill hit back at the criticism saying he never called for Israels destruction and the killing of Jews.

I support Palestinian freedom. I support Palestinian self-determination. I am deeply critical of Israeli policy and practice, Hill wrote.

I do not support anti-Semitism, killing Jewish people, or any of the other things attributed to my speech. I have spent my life fighting these things.

The idea that this is a Hamas phrase is simply untrue.
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Panalpina has doubled its cold storage space at Nairobis Jomo Kenyatta International Airport as it looks to grow perishable volumes from Kenya.

The facility has been expanded by 1,500 sq m and offers Jomo Kenyatta International Airports only dedicated loading bays for skidded or palletised cargo and with separate cold rooms to manage specific temperature requirements.

Panalpina aims to grow its business in Kenya from the current 65,000 tons of flowers, fruits, and vegetables it moves, to more than 80,000 by 2020.

This facility will provide many business opportunities for our customers to pursue in [Kenya], the region and the world, and that is what we are looking to achieve  solutions that foster growth for our customers, Panalpina and the communities where we operate, said Stefan Karlen, president and chief executive of Panalpina.

The company has been expanding its presence in the perishables market over the last few years, with the sector seen as useful for providing regular and consistent back-haul traffic.

Panalpina first started operations in Nairobi in 2015 with a team of five people, which soon grew to 200 with the acquisition of Airflo, and later to 350 with that of Air Connection.

Thanks to Panalpinas investments in the perishables sector, Kenyan products are becoming more prominent in existing (mostly European) markets, but also in new ones, for example in Asia-Pacific.

Panalpinas growth in perishables has continued elsewhere in Africa, too. This year, Skyservices in South Africa joined the Panalpina family, and FX Logistics, a new agent in Zimbabwe, also became a member of the Panalpina Perishables Network.

Today, the Panalpina Perishables Network spans 26 key countries worldwide.

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Saudi Electricity Company (SEC), the largest electricity company in the Arab world, inked Thursday a deal for a $2.15-billion revolving credit facility with eight international financial institutions that have agreed to support the utility company expand its public work.

The credit will be granted by Abu Dhabi First Bank, Mizuho Bank, MUFG Bank, Standard Chartered Bank, Mitsui Sumitomo foundation, HSBC Bank  Middle East, Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited, JPMorgan Chase & Co., and Natixis Bank of France.

SEC will get the loan in two tranches: the first with a maximum of $1.578 billion, which will mature after three years, and the second with a maximum of $573 million that will mature after five years, state-owned news agency SPA reported.
Earlier this month, Muslims around the world celebrated Mawlid al-Nabawi, observance of the Prophet Muhammads birthday. In Egypt, the celebrations are influenced by a local tradition that dates back nearly 1,000 years, to the Fatimid period: to children's delight, they devour sugary treats made in the shape of a bride or a horse.

While production techniques for these confections have advanced, a few candymakers have remained intent on preserving the centuries-old practice of making and decorating the figures by hand.

This profession was passed down to my father from his grandfather, and we will teach it to our children, Abdul Khader Yahya, who makes sugar dolls, told Al-Monitor during a visit to his factory in Tanta, in the Nile Delta.

The Yahya Abdul factory, a family operation, is one of Egypts oldest sugar doll manufacturers. Al-Monitor met with the family that carries on this uniquely Egyptian tradition.
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip  Hamas has launched a goodwill tour of sorts in the Middle East and Africa, seeking to boost ties and eventually reopen closed doors where the movement is labeled a terrorist group, particularly in the EU.

A delegation of Hamas Change and Reform parliamentary bloc left the Gaza Strip on Nov. 21 to visit legislative blocs and political parties in seven countries. The group, led by Mahmoud al-Zahar, arrived Nov. 23 in Istanbul, a source close to the delegation told Al-Monitor. The party discussed organizational matters with movement members there, including Hamas' leader abroad, Maher Salah.

The source, who declined to be named, said the delegation will meet Dec. 1 with parliamentary blocs in South Africa.

The tour is particularly important for Hamas as its rival political party, Fatah, has been trying to dissolve the Hamas-controlled Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC). Hamas won control of the PLC in the 2006 elections, leading to a split in which Hamas military forces took over the Gaza Strip the next year. Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, of Fatah, controls the West Bank and the PLO's Palestinian Central Council. Though Hamas has continued to hold PLC sessions regularly in the Gaza Strip, Abbas effectively disabled the body by shutting down its West Bank headquarters in Ramallah.

Yahya Moussa, deputy head of the movement's parliamentary bloc, told Al-Monitor the delegation will travel to five other countries in addition to Turkey and South Africa: Iran, Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco and Lebanon. He added that the movement received official invitations from politicians in all seven countries. He expects the tour to wrap up in mid-January.

The trips aim to open new horizons in the movements bilateral relations and mobilize support for the Palestinian cause, he noted. The delegation will discuss the Palestinian peoples hardships in the West Bank, Jerusalem and the besieged Gaza Strip.

The Israeli blockade and near-constant closure of the Rafah border crossing into Egypt prevented any Hamas political delegation from leaving the Gaza Strip for years, which is why these visits are so important to revive ties, Moussa said.

Hamas also was restricted in previous years from using the Rafah crossing for years because of the tense Egypt-Hamas ties following the ouster of Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi in 2013. Also, the Cairo Court for Urgent Matters designated Hamas a terrorist organization for about four months in 2015, before an appeals court negated the ruling. This preceded the major revamp of bilateral ties in mid-2017, and Egypts consent for Hamas officials to use the Rafah crossing  on the rare occasions it is open.

Also shackling the movement's political relations: Hamas came out victorious in the 2006 elections, but because it is labeled a terrorist group by the European Union, the United States and others, the PLC hasn't been represented in parliamentary union meetings around the world. Invitations to these meetings are sent to the Palestinian National Council, which is the highest authority for Palestinians in the West Bank, Gaza Strip and the diaspora. The Palestinian National Council dispatches delegations to the events, but excludes Hamas members.

Walid Assaf, a PLC member for Fatah and a Palestinian Central Council member, indicated to Al-Monitor that the current delegation represents Hamas only in its partisan capacity, not as an official PLC representative. Assaf called on the visited legislatures and their parties to communicate with the Palestinian National Council on parliamentary matters, rather than Hamas. He pointed out that the International Parliamentary Union, the Arab Inter-Parliamentary Union and the African Parliamentary Union have been communicating with the PLO as the official representative of Palestine for 11 years.

Salah Abdul Ati, a legal expert and Gaza director of the Palestinian Center for Policy Research and Strategic Studies  Masarat, agrees that the Hamas delegations tour is important for improving Hamas' ties internationally. He told Al-Monitor he hopes such relations will promote the Palestinian national project and rally support to the Palestinian cause.

Ati said both sides of the PLC must invest in its foreign relations. He called on Abbas and Hamas parliamentary bloc to unite, to reactivate the PLC and refrain from issuing unilateral decrees and laws.

Political analyst Sharhabil al-Gharib told Al-Monitor that the visiting delegation could play a significant role in drawing the world's attention back to the Palestinian cause, especially as Israel pursues diplomacy with a number of Arab countries, such as Oman, Jordan and the United Arab Emirates.

This article was updated since its initial publication.
The construction of a new high school, a stones throw away from the separation fence along the Green Line, is a dream come true for Moujahed Abu al-Tin. The 16-year-old who can't hear or speak and hails from the village of Kafr Qaddum in the West Bank had long given up hope of continuing his education beyond elementary school.

There are no high schools for the hearing-impaired in the West Bank, so most students turn to vocational training instead.

Ever since the age of 11, I have tried learning carpentry because I knew that academic learning for the deaf in my country stops in ninth grade, Tin told Al-Monitor through a sign language interpreter. With the construction of this new high school, I hope to go to college and become a civil engineer.

The school, called the Big Heart School, is the initiative of the Al Amal Association for the Deaf, a nongovernmental organization (NGO) founded in 1994 in the town of Qalqilya by a group of deaf residents. The association currently runs a primary school  Al Amal School for the Deaf  that provides education for 65 students until ninth grade. The association also provides vocational courses for the hearing-impaired, such as carpentry, metalworking, sewing and computer repairs.

The construction of a high school has been on the agenda of the association since 2014, when it launched a donation campaign. Finally, the $2.5-million project obtained the support of the Qalqilya municipality, as well as two donors  the Emirati Big Heart Foundation, which runs a kindergarten for the deaf in Sharjah, and the Swiss foundation Taawon.

Students ages 6 to 18 can enroll in the school for elementary and high school education. In addition, the school will also provide classes for adults who want to take the high school graduation exam. The school capacity is 300 students.

The director general of Al Amal Association for the Deaf, Waleed Nazzal, told Al-Monitor, The construction of the school started last June, and the work is expected to be completed in April 2019. The aim is to improve the educational level for the deaf and open for them the doors of a university education.

According to data obtained in 2011 by the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, deaf people make up 1.3% of the total population in the Palestinian territories.

Nazzal said that more than 90% of deaf people are illiterate because there are no public schools for the hearing-impaired in the West Bank, even though there are 11 private primary schools that provide education for a total of 500 students under the age of 16. All of these schools are run by NGOs and do not offer education beyond ninth grade.

Consequently, deaf students who want to continue their education have no choice but to enter a regular high school, where they are often unsuccessful. Integrating deaf students in public schools only aims at keeping them  not teaching them. No special tools are available to help the hearing-impaired students and facilitate teachers explanations. This results in a weak performance by those students who ultimately fail tests and are not able to pass, Nazzal said. So most of them simply drop out of school after primary education.

He added, Then boys learn carpentry, blacksmithing or sewing, while deaf girls simply stay at home. But with the founding of the Big Heart School, deaf students can continue their high school education and go on to university. They can [have the profession of their dreams] or stay in academia."

Mayor of Qalqilya Hashim al-Masri told Al-Monitor, The school has two buildings. The first is a school with five floors and 18 classrooms that includes a computer lab, library, and a speech therapy and hearing test area. The second building is a dormitory that could house the students who live outside of Qalqilya. It includes a kitchen and food court.

Nazzal noted that the new school, located on a plot of 3,500 square meters (almost 1 acre), will have 40 employees, some of whom are specialized teachers, translators, sign language interpreters, social workers and administrators. But, he added, one high school is not enough to meet the needs of deaf students for secondary education in the Palestinian territories. More schools are needed.

Naila Fahmawi, the director of the Qalqilya District Directorate of Education, told Al-Monitor, The Big Heart School will [be a pioneer for the construction of] other high schools for the deaf in the West Bank. The ministry is keen on integrating all factions of society  especially individuals with special needs  into the educational sector by offering them the education they deserve.

She added that the priority in the coming years is to increase the number of specialized schools as well as providing services to facilitate students' attendance in all levels of education.

With the assistance of a sign language interpreter, Jamal Kheir el-Din, 14, from Nablus told Al-Monitor, This school [Big Heart School] is my only window to reach college. Now we can become doctors, engineers and teachers. This is something we were deprived of for decades.

Two years ago, the Islamic University of Gaza launched two programs for the hearing-impaired.

In the Gaza Strip, there is one high school for the deaf. El Rafii School for the Deaf is located in the western part of Gaza City and has separate branches for girls and boys. The total number of students at the school is 70, and they are enrolled in grades 10 through 12.

The schools principal, Jihad Hassan, told Al-Monitor, El Rafii School was founded in 2011 and has been offering since then specialized services to the deaf in the Gaza Strip with the support of the Ministry of Education and Higher Education.

She clarified that the curriculum that the deaf students receive is the same as the Palestinian national curriculum, which includes Arabic literature, English literature, math, sciences, Islamic religion, arts and sports.
Israel cut security ties with the Palestinian Authority (PA) in Jerusalem this week over the arrest of a Palestinian man accused of selling land to Israeli Jews. Both sides have threatened such action in the past, but this is the first time either one has carried out its threat.

Why it matters: Security is one of the few areas where cooperation between Israel and the PA had remained strong despite the breakdown in peace talks  and thats in both sides interest. Palestinian security services coordinate with Israel in the fight against their common enemy, Hamas, in the West Bank. Now Palestinian police are blocked from accessing the suburbs of East Jerusalem, where several PA officials have been arrested.

The US connection: The arrested Palestinian man, Issam Akel, also has an American passport, and the Donald Trump administration has joined Israel in pushing for his release.

The [PA] has been holding US citizen Issam Akel in prison for two months, US Ambassador to Israel David Friedman tweeted Wednesday. His suspected crime? Selling land to a Jew. Akels incarceration is antithetical to the values of the US and to all who advocate the cause of peaceful coexistence. We demand his immediate release, Friedman added.

In a twist, the Associated Press reported today that the Trump administration is scrambling to salvage security assistance to the Palestinians from mandatory congressional cuts. The AP reports that Army Lt. Gen. Eric Wendt, who serves as US security coordinator for Israel and the PA, is being dispatched to Capitol Hill in the coming days to urge lawmakers to fix the Anti-Terrorism Clarification Act, which was signed into law in October, to allow the aid to continue.

What's next: Akel is supposed to go on trial soon, but the PA has not said when. The Israeli police, meanwhile, have threatened to escalate retaliation against Palestinian officials.

Know more: Read Daoud Kuttabs piece on how radical groups are thriving amid the Palestinian leaderships failure to achieve a Palestinian state.

-Danny Zaken
Testifying in the House Foreign Affairs Committee today, US envoy for Syria engagement Jim Jeffrey said the Donald Trump administration's policy in Syria "is not regime change," but an "irreversible political process which will change the nature and behavior of the Syrian regime."

Why it matters: Jeffreys comments are an indication that the US may not move to force Syrian President Bashar al-Assads ouster, even though the United Nations-backed Geneva peace talks  which the former US ambassador to Turkey was hired in August to resuscitate  seek to reunify the country with national elections.

"We do not have an official position on any personality except that Assad is the worst person to rule any place, Jeffrey said when pressed by Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, R-Fla., on whether the US administration is committed to pushing Assad out in a future election. "We cannot imagine the bulk of the population voting for that individual.

Dont call it regime change: But not all experts are buying the idea that the US strategy doesnt center around regime change. The whole concept of Geneva was to provide a framework to get Assad out of power, Nick Heras, a Middle East fellow at the Center for a New American Security, told Al-Monitor earlier this month. The fundamental challenge is that the new administration strategy is regime change without using the phrase regime change because of the bad connotation it has in Iraq.

Iran must go: Assads increasing grip over the country challenges the effort to expel Iranian groups as proxies, such as the elite Quds Force, Iraqi Popular Mobilization Units and Afghan Hazara fighters trained by Tehran, a top US priority in Syria.

Today, Jeffrey clarified that the US will hope to push Iran out of the country at the bargaining table, not through military means. Some 2,200 American troops are in the country, including US service members situated near an Iranian supply line into Syria at al-Tanf near the Iraqi border.

"Boy is that ever a good question," Jeffrey told Rep. Gerry Connolly, D-Va., who asked how the US plans to remove Iranian forces. "Basically, this has to be done through diplomatic effort.

Bow to the critics: Jeffrey acknowledged the rolling of eyes over skepticism to the plan but said peace deals have removed foreign fighters in recent history, such as the 2008 pact to end the Russia-Georgia war. Russia, which desires military bases and a friendly government in Syria, would likely keep troops in Syria at the end of the conflict, Jeffrey said.

Putting it in perspective: Robert Jenkins, a deputy assistant US Agency for International Development administrator who testified at the hearing, said the 500,000 civilian deaths in the seven-year Syrian war are commensurate to "building the Rose Bowl five times" in his hometown of Pasadena, California, and killing everyone inside. The situation of 5.6 million displaced from Syria, Jenkins said, is akin to "all of the people of New York City and all of the people of Chicago, displaced forever.

Whats next: Jeffrey clarified that the Trump administration supports the Caesar bill, a House-led effort to cut off Assads funding and ballistic missile supplies. The bill has cleared the House but is stuck in the Senate.

Know more: Read more about NATO ally Turkeys frustrations with the US in Syria, which Jeffrey, the former US envoy to the country, also touched on in the hearing.

- Jack Detsch
As the United States enacts sanctions on Iran, Iran is increasing its influence in Iraq with plans for a railway that could work around US restrictions.

The state-owned Islamic Republic of Iran Railways (RAI) revealed details Nov. 12 about its project to build a railway connecting Iran's Shalamcheh border crossing to the port of Basra in southeast Iraq.

Maziar Yazdani, RAI's deputy head of infrastructure and technical affairs, said the Shalamcheh-Basra leg of the project will require only 20 miles of new track at a cost of about $52,000. With the new addition, the rail system will span Iraq to reach Syria's Mediterranean port city of Latakia.

The idea has been kicked around for years, and in August, Iran and Syria expressed their willingness to build a railway connecting the two countries, along with Iraq, in an attempt to counter the Western sanctions on Iran and boost economic cooperation.

According to Iranian sources, the railway is part of Syrias reconstruction deal, which grants Iran additional economic and trade privileges and the opportunity to contribute to the transportation sector, thus promoting religious tourism among Iran, Iraq and Syria. Syrian opposition parties, however, have rejected the railway, believing it will entrench Iranian influence and help provide the logistic services necessary for its presence in Iraq and Syria.

The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation has consented to the project, according to Iranian Deputy Minister of Roads and Urban Development Amir Amini.

The first high-speed rail line in Iraq, which connects Baghdad to Basra, began operating in 1967. Although war damaged the railway, Iraq resumed operations following the 2003 US invasion.

Amer al-Jabiri, media director of the Iraqi Ministry of Transport, told Al-Monitor, Iraq is enthusiastic about any project that promotes cross-border transportation, which would promote its economy and make it easier for citizens to move from one country to another. He noted, The railway line connecting Iran, Syria and Iraq will ensure an outlet for Iraq via the Mediterranean ports and Iranian ports as well.

Iran is motivated in part by the opportunity to establish ports on the Syrian coast. Israel, however, believes such ports will make it easier for Iran to transfer arms to Syria.

Back in April, Syrian Transport Minister Ali Hammoud stressed the importance of reactivating land transportation between Syria and Iraq. The ministry told Al-Monitor in an email, The railway is part of a program to rebuild the countrys infrastructure, which the war has ruined, including some 1,800 kilometers [1,118 miles] of Syrias railway, a large part of which stretches to neighboring countries.

The ministry added, The Syrian part of the project includes building 32 kilometers [20 miles] of railway, while Iraq will build the rest, which will stretch deep into Iraq to connect Baghdad to Karbala [in central Iraq] and Karbala to Syrian territory. This will facilitate the movement of individuals and goods between Iran, Iraq and Syria.

The ministry denied rumors that the railway will promote the Iranian influence toward the Mediterranean.

"The railway is a part of a project linked with the Central Asian networks, which in turn are connected to the Chinese and Russian railways," the email continued, referring to Syria's role in the new Silk Road (China's Belt and Road Initiative).

Abdul Sattar Mohsen, media director for the state-run Iraqi Republic Railways Co., emphasized, The railway connecting the three countries is part of the Transport Ministrys strategies. Iraqs political circumstances, however, were behind the delay. Following the damage the Islamic State caused, the ministry rehabilitated a railway [connecting Iraq] to Syria. This railway system, which connects Tikrit, Mosul, Fallujah in the northern and western parts of [Iraq], is 121 kilometers [75 miles] long. These lines are also connected to the southern parts of the country and to Syria.

According to Iraqi Republic Railways Co., the Shalamcheh-Basra line is part of a regional railway network that includes the Musayyib-Karbala line. Future railway plans call for connecting Iraq not only to Iran but also Syria, Jordan and the Arabian Gulf via Kuwait.

Speaking to Al-Monitor, Salam Smeasim, an economist and adviser to the Iraqi Private Banks League, noted the railway project's political dimension, stemming from the US withdrawal from the nuclear deal with Iran and devaluation of Iran's currency. The project is expected to provide an economic and trade outlet toward Syria and help promote religious tourism. "This is true particularly since there are many religious sites, especially the Shiite shrines, in the three countries," she said. She also noted that US sanctions will hurt the projects economic revenues.

The railway connecting the three countries  where wars and armed groups wreaked havoc and disrupted trade activities among them  will be impressive and productive as long as no political obstacles stand in its way. These potential challenges could arise from other countries, such as Israel, that consider Iran a peril approaching the Mediterranean coasts. Also, Syria and Iran on Aug. 29 made public a military deal to fortify the Syrian defense infrastructure, which the United States and its allies oppose.
After months of delay in forming a government, Iraq recently was able to begin the process by creating a coalition between two parties. More recently, however, accusations of corruption have threatened to tear their affiliation apart.

Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, head of the Sadrist Movement and the Sairoon Alliance in Iraq, had teamed up with Hadi al-Amiri, leader of the Fatah Alliance. Their union gave them the upper hand in parliament and allowed them to select a prime minister, who has since filled most  but not all  Cabinet positions.

But on Nov. 19, Sadr wrote a letter to Amiri, accusing some Sunni leaders of the Fatah-affiliated Al-Binaa Alliance of accepting foreign support and subsequently spending huge amounts of money to buy ministry appointments.

The Sunni deputies representing the National Axis Coalition (Al-Mehwar Al-Watani)  affiliated with Al-Binaa Alliance  withdrew from parliament Nov. 21 in objection to Sadrs accusations. The National Axis Coalition asked Sadr to provide evidence of his accusations.

The discord has put political cooperation between Sadr and Amiri on the line and could cause the government to weaken or fall.

In his response to Sadr's letter, Amiri reminded him, We do not keep silent against any corruption being committed against the homeland." In an attempt to leave the ball in Sadrs court, Amiri asked him to pass along the relevant information "so that the judiciary follows up. By doing so, he aims to move the authority regarding this issue from Sadr to the courts.

The discord began before the corruption allegations, however. The problem goes back to a series of rejections. First, Sadr's group rejected the Amiri coalition's Ministry of Interior candidate, Faleh al-Fayadh (head of the Popular Mobilization Units). Sadr's group also rejected the candidate for the Ministry of Culture put forth by the Asaib movement, another faction of Amiris Fatah Alliance.

Sadrs letter caught Amiri off guard and embarrassed him because it implied to his coalition that he lacks integrity.

Ayman al-Shammari, a Sairoon Alliance member, told Al-Monitor that if Sadrs accusations prove true, The leader of the Sadrist movement is going to be harsh, as it's known that he doesn't tolerate corruption. He described Sadrs letter to Amiri as a warning against accepting corrupt ministers.

But Shammari said he doesn't expect a strategic break in ties between the two parties.

"Sadrs letter adds clarity to the relationship. It emphasizes the need to cooperate in reaching a solution without allowing corrupt deals to pass," Shammari said, adding, "Both parties prioritize the formation of a government. Both sides will have to strategically cooperate.

This perception seems to contradict what is actually happening. The government's formation has been delayed. More delays are expected if the Sunni bloc linked to the National Axis Coalition follows through on a threat to withdraw from Al-Binaa Alliance as a result of Sadrs insult. Jamal al-Karboli, Sunni leader of the National Axis Coalition (aligned with Amiris group), responded to Sadr in an angry Nov. 22 tweet, which further aggravated the situation and could mean more delays.

Wathek al-Jabiri, a political analyst and adviser at the Iraqi News Development Agency, told Al-Monitor, The Sadrist Movement leader has resorted to a new strategy to reach his political goals  straightforward and clear discourse on selling positions. He showed the public the discord and accusations that usually happen in restricted political circles behind closed doors. He exposed everyone to the Iraqi public. This wins him popularity points among [many] Iraqis."

Jabiri added, The relationship between both sides has gotten worse, especially since the discord has become public. Most political actors like Fatah prefer keeping things confidential.

Now, Amiri feels pressure to respond to Sadrs accusations by revealing anyone involved in selling positions, Jabiri said, adding that he expects Amiri and his Sunni counterparts to provide evidence of corruption even if it involves members aligned with the Sadrist Movement, like the Sairoon [Alliance]." That action could help mend the rift.

"Amiri is meanwhile working to reduce the Sunni involvement in this case of corruption," Jabiri added.

Hunain al-Qaddo, a leader in the Fatah Alliance, discussed the roots of the conflict. The essence of the issue is a power struggle between Fatah and Sairoon. It led them to a political impasse that intensified with a disagreement on the key security positions, namely the position of the minister of interior," he told Al-Monitor.

Fatahs policy in gathering the Shiite blocs under one umbrella to move forward with the government will push it to ignore the negative repercussions of the [Sadr] letter  to maintain unity among Shiites. This is the priority that precedes other political positions and political gains, Qaddo added.

Sadr and Amiri aren't the only ones to influence whether the alliance remains intact. In fact, Iran gave the alliance its blessing in June. This makes it very difficult for the two sides to cut ties.

But even Iran won't be able to maintain the alliance if there's too much pressure. The alliance is a strategic one based on common interests and not on any ideology or political agenda.
A civilian Iranian airliner operated by a company with ties to the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps landed at Beiruts Rafik Hariri International Airport on Nov. 29 on a direct flight from Tehran. This jet had been the target of several Western espionage agencies for many long months. According to earlier reports on Fox News, the last time the plane landed in Beirut, its cargo included GPS systems that were supposed to be installed on Hezbollah missiles and rockets. What this means is that the planes cargo threatens to interrupt the relative, if tense, quiet along Israels northern front, where Israel, Iran and Hezbollah are still engaged in round-the-clock, low-level skirmishing.

Israel considers the joint Iran-Hezbollah precision project (precision-guided missiles) to be a strategic threat, which will make it (Israel) more vulnerable in the next conflict than it is today. Precision missiles will allow Hezbollah to interfere with Israeli air force activities, target major infrastructures and population centers, and cause Israel considerable damage.

The Security Cabinet has deemed the precision project a red line for Israel and grounds for war. Thwarting the project at almost any cost has been made a top priority. While Israel has launched numerous attacks on this project over the past two years, it limited these attacks to Syrian territory only. According to foreign reports, the Israeli air force attacked a Syrian research center, supply convoys and aerial transports landing at Damascus International Airport, where the cargo was loaded on trucks headed to Beirut.

Nevertheless, it took the Iranians quite a while to realize that Israel was serious. Right now, it seems like they are changing their tactics. They are no longer flying supplies into Damascus and transporting them over land to Beirut. From now on, their Boeings will land in Beirut on direct flights from Tehran. While this will expose the Lebanese government to international pressure and even sanctions, it will put a sudden stop to Israeli attacks on the transports. Iran does not believe that Israel would dare to down a Boeing jet. Doing so would open the gates of Hell.

The question is whether Israel knows this too. In his last speech to the United Nations General Assembly on Sept. 27, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu named two sites right in the heart of Beirut where Israeli intelligence claims Hezbollah kept its stores of precision rockets. He did this to apply pressure on the Lebanese government. He wanted to send it an explicit warning that We know everything. Youre playing with fire. But the Lebanese did not cooperate. They just emptied out the storehouses as quickly as they could and conducted a tour for journalists there in an attempt to prove that there were never any missiles there in the first place. Now, the Iranian airplane arriving in Lebanon sends Israel the opposite message: Iran and Hezbollah are serious about their precision project, and nothing Israel does can stop them.

Israel believes that this change to Irans modus operandi, with its transition to direct flights from Teheran, is not simply the result of many hundreds of attacks on convoys by the Israeli air force. It can also be attributed to Russian pressure. Having turned a cold shoulder to Netanyahu recently, Russian President Vladimir Putin made it clear to the Iranians as well that he will not tolerate any activity that threatens stability in Syria. He regards both Israel and Iran as two neighborhood punks who are trying to disturb the public order, and he sees himself as the neighborhood cop who will not allow that to happen. That is why Iran made the decision to skip Syria entirely and use direct flights to Lebanon instead. That is why the number of Israeli attacks on Syrian territory has declined significantly recently.

At the same time, however, mysterious fighter jets attacked targets in southern Syria again just one day after the Boeing jet landed in Beirut. This was a very noisy attack. It was also the first attack attributed to Israel in a very long time. If, in fact, it really happened, it apparently had no connection to the cargo flight to Beirut. It does, however, indicate a worrying escalation, and it means that the situation could deteriorate rapidly.

This presents Israel with a complicated dilemma. In the past, no Israeli government has ever gone to war over the threat of a hostile nation growing more powerful. There have only been two exceptions to this rule: the bombing of the Iraqi nuclear reactor back in 1981, and the bombing of the Syrian reactor in 2007. This principle is known as the Begin Doctrine, after Prime Minister Menachem Begin, who ordered the bombing of the Iraqi reactor. According to this Begin Doctrine, Israel will not allow any of its enemy countries to arm themselves with nuclear weapons and will do everything it can to prevent this from happening, no matter the cost.

This leaves the following question: Can this doctrine also be applied to Irans latest move, trying to transform Hezbollah into a genuine threat that could paralyze Israel with hundreds of precision rockets and missiles? Does the threat inherent in the precision project raise it to the level of some mini Begin Doctrine response? Is thwarting the precision project worthwhile? Important? Is it worth the risk of going to war over?

In a Nov. 22 radio interview, former Deputy Chief of Staff Maj. Gen. Yair Golan said that Israels success in containing the precision project to date has been very limited. The current switch from transporting the necessary equipment by land to transporting them by air threatens even that.

Israel has already been burned in the past by downing aircrafts, when such attacks were seen to be a fatal threat. Before hitting a private cargo airplane, Israel will require precise intelligence, cross-checked, locked and confirmed. There is zero room for error. It is hard to assume that there is anyone in Israel capable of giving such an order. Downing a Boeing jet would open up a dangerous new front and put civilian aviation right back in the circle of violence and terror. It is a precedent that would incur the wrath of the entire world against Israel, even if it can be proved that the jet contained weapons of one sort or another. It is, therefore, safe to assume that the most practical option open to Israel is to apply its rules for Syria to Lebanese territory as well and launch military attacks against the deliveries only after they arrive. That is what the intelligence community is there for in the first place.

So far, Israel has limited its attacks on supply and weapons convoys to Syria. It made a conscious decision to avoid attacking these convoys in Lebanon. It took advantage of Syrian President Bashar al-Assads tenuous grip on power, the disintegration of the Syrian army and the overall state of chaos in the country. But these circumstances are changing rapidly. Meanwhile, Hezbollah engages Israel with a different set of rules, which includes mutual deterrence. Israeli attacks against Hezbollah targets in Lebanon could ignite this old barrel of gunpowder and with it the entire Middle East.

It is possible that this is what Prime Minister Netanyahu meant in his speech on Nov. 18. In it, he hinted at difficult decisions, military conflicts that havent been resolved and the sacrifice that Israel will be expected to make. Given the theory of sacrifice, it will be left to Netanyahu to deliver on the final decision. It will be the toughest decision he has had to make since he came to office in 2009.
US carmaker Ford Motor Company and German automotive Volkswagen (VW) are discussing partnership plans that could lead to the production of some models of the German commercial vehicles in the American firms plant in Turkey.

Ford and VW have been negotiating joint vehicle development and production for a while. The two sides have not finalized a deal yet. They will make an announcement very soon once the negotiations are done, Ford Otosan General Manager Haydar Yenigun confirmed to the media.

Upon conclusion, Volkswagens commercial vehicles Crafter and Transporter might be produced at Fords Turkey plant in the Marmara district Golcuk, Bloomberg said in a report.

Ford is present in Turkey through its subsidiary Ford Otosan that runs manufacturing operations in the northern Marmara districts of Golcuk and Yenikoy as well as in the central Anatolian district of Inonu.

The US carmakers unit in Turkey is also its largest commercial vehicle production base with around 440,000 vehicles and 75,000 engines made in last year, Daily Sabah reports.
One of the worlds oldest masks, dating to the dawn of the agricultural revolution thousands of years ago, was recently discovered in the West Bank. The mask's vacant eyes, bared teeth and enigmatic purpose have led Israeli archaeologists to hail it as a unique and rare find.

The particulars surrounding the masks discovery and its examination by archaeologists from the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) were presented at a conference Nov. 29 at the Israel Museum, Jerusalem. The artifact, from the Neolithic period, is a relic of a bygone spiritual belief system prevalent in the region around 9,000 years ago.

This stone mask is part of the spiritual world of the Neolithic at that time, said IAA archaeologist Ronit Lupu, adding that it was likely used in ancestor worship.

Speaking to the Israel Prehistoric Society, Lupu told the audience that an Israeli man had found the artifact in early 2018 while hiking through a field south of the West Bank Jewish settlement of Pnei Hever, southwest of Hebron. After discussions with Israeli authorities, the man agreed to hand it over to the IAAs theft prevention department.

The IAA has declined to provide further details about the discovery of the mask, which is currently being studied by the authority and the Geological Survey of Israel.

Discovering a mask made of stone, at such a high level of finish, is very exciting, Lupu said. The stone has been completely smoothed over, and the features are perfect and symmetrical, even delineating cheek bones. It has an impressive nose and a mouth with distinct teeth.

The piece joins a small collection of 15 similar limestone masks discovered over the years in the Judean Desert, all dating to the Neolithic period. This particular mask, however, is also one of just two found in a clear archaeological context, archaeologists say. IAA researchers who studied the site of the find in the months afterward discovered dozens of more artifacts from the Neolithic age.

While caves in the Judean Desert may be more famous for the discovery of texts, foremost the Dead Sea Scrolls, the area's arid hills have also proven to be a rich source of prehistoric archaeological artifacts. This latest mask was discovered some 25 miles north of Nahal Hemar, where in 1983 a team of Israeli archaeologists discovered a massive trove of Stone Age artifacts, including a stone mask. The finds  ranging from plastered skulls to stone masks and intricate copper objects  offer a glimpse of local cultures in the millennia before the advent of writing.

In 2014, the Israel Museum exhibited 12 stone masks, two that belong to the museums collections and 10 others that made their way via the antiquities market to private collectors Judy and Michael Steinhardt. Each mask is uniquely carved, perhaps to represent individuals, but they all share a haunting gaze.

In recent years, the IAA has made an extensive effort throughout the Judean Desert to excavate caves near the Dead Sea to prevent their plundering by antiquities thieves and to discover artifacts before their archaeological contexts are destroyed.

The recently discovered mask already stands to elicit legal challenges should it eventually go on public display in Israel, which captured the West Bank in the 1967 war. Most of the international community considers the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, to be occupied territory, and international law prohibits occupying powers from the illicit import, export and transfer of ownership of cultural property from territories under their control.

The Second Protocol to the Hague Convention of 1954, to which Israel is not a party, prohibits archaeological excavations in occupied territories except to safeguard or preserve cultural property, and in cases where that becomes necessary, close cooperation with the competent national authorities of the occupied territory is required. Israeli digs on the West Bank rarely involve Palestinian archaeologists.

Following news of the Neolithic mask's discovery, Xavier Abu Eid, a negotiations adviser for the Palestinian Liberation Organization, tweeted, Seems that Israel, the occupying power, is not stopping the theft of archaeological artifacts from #Palestine.

Lupu told conference attendees that after a series of tests on the masks soil patina and on other Neolithic artifacts found at the site, archaeologists determined that the stone face was from the same world as those displayed at the Israel Museum in 2014 and was authentic.

It sits well in the context, in the location, in the world of the southern Hebron hills and the Judean Desert, Lupu said. It sits well with the other masks that are documented from the area.

Scholars believe the stone masks may have represented ancestors who were venerated as part of an early Neolithic religion. These worshippers were some of the first humans to begin abandoning nomadic life to instead settle permanently as full-time farmers. Along with that transition came a change in social structure and a sharp increase in ritual-religious activities, said Omry Barzilai, head of the IAAs Archaeological Research Department.

It remains unclear whether such masks were worn as part of a ceremony or mounted, but many, like the one found this year, have holes drilled on the sides.
TUNIS  Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman met a mixed reception during his first state visit to Tunisia on Nov. 27, finding warm welcomes from government officials but fueling crowds of angry protesters in downtown Tunis.

The crown princes trip, part of a regional tour that also brought him to Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Egypt, was aimed at rehabilitating his image after a global outcry over the murder of Saudi writer Jamal Khashoggi and reasserting the kingdoms position as a powerful actor on the world stage.

In Tunisia, the crown prince saw the opportunity to further shore up support in the Arab world and push back against the influence of regional foes Qatar and Turkey, which have closer ties with Tunisias moderate Islamist Ennahda party.

The stop was also deeply symbolic for Prince Mohammed, who sought to show that Tunisia, the last surviving Arab Spring country, whose democratic transition his country tried so hard to destabilize between 2011 and 2013, is welcoming him at a time he is seen a pariah by many states, Tunis-based political analyst Youssef Cherif told Al-Monitor.

However, not all went as planned for the 33-year-old prince, who was exposed during his visit to public expressions of discontent that are strictly forbidden in the Gulf monarchy.

For two straight days leading up to his arrival, hundreds protested on the capitals main Habib Bourguiba Avenue, condemning the young Saudi ruler for his alleged role in Khashoggis murder, the deadly four-year war in Yemen and his perceived abdication of the Palestinian cause.

Bin Salman, you butcher, protesters chanted on the evening of Nov. 26. Tunisia is not for sale.

Hanging above the headquarters of the Tunisian Journalists Syndicate several kilometers away from the protests was a banner depicting the crown prince wielding a chainsaw, a reference to one of the manners in which Khashoggi is reported to have been killed and dismembered. No to the desecration of Tunisia, land of the revolution, the poster read.

Many activists felt that hosting the beleaguered crown prince was a step backward for a country striving to promote human rights and move forward with its democratic transition.

The visit is an insult to Tunisia's reputation, read an open letter signed Nov. 26 by the syndicate and numerous civil society groups. It is an attempt by those holding the reins of power in Saudi Arabia to polish their image and contain the consequences of the murder of Jamal Khashoggi, the most heinous of a long series of Saudi Arabias horrific attacks on human rights and rampant repression.

However, at the presidential wing of the Tunis-Carthage airport Nov. 27, the scene was very different. There, the crown prince was greeted by smiling officials from all the major political parties, including President Beji Caid Essebsi, and honored with a gracious welcome ceremony and the countrys most prestigious award, the Order of the Republic.

Next he was ushered to the presidential palace for an official dinner and talks that focused on increasing economic cooperation, promoting investment and countering terror and extremism in the region.

We say, 'Welcome to your own country, Essebsi told local media after the visit.

For Tunisias 92-year-old president, whose secularist Nidaa Tunis party is in shambles ahead of crucial presidential and parliamentary elections next year, the meeting was as strategic as it was for the crown prince.

Battling a lackluster economy and a protracted political political crisis, Essebsi hoped to secure crucial Saudi investment and gain political leverage against competing factions, including Ennahda, analysts said.

Mohammed bin Salmans visit comes amid the most acute political crisis since 2013, said Cherif. The president and his inner circle are in conflict with Ennahda's leaders, their allies between 2015 and 2017. They are currently the ones inviting MBS and it's a message to Ennahda: They can take Tunisia closer to the Saudi-Emirati-Egyptian axis and the repressive apparatus which banned Ennahda for decades can be restored.

In a way, this is a foreign card in Essebsi's hand against his local foes, Cherif added.

The day after the crown princes visit, a Tunisian government official confirmed that Saudi Arabia had agreed to send a $500 million soft loan to the country, part of numerous agreements to be finalized that would enhance economic ties.

Though historically strong, Saudi-Tunisian relations took a hit following the 2011 Jasmine revolution, which sparked a wave of Arab protest movements that Riyadh opposed.

The Gulf monarch gave ousted Tunisian President Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali refuge in Riyadh and denied requests for his extradition. For years, Saudi Arabia sought to undermine Tunisias Ennahda-led post-revolution government.

Tensions abated after Essebsi, a former parliament speaker under Ben Ali, took office in 2015, but Ennahda, which maintains considerable political influence, has continued to be a thorn in the side of Saudi Arabia and the UAE.

Ennahda's Ajmi Lourimi was one of the rare political figures to speak out against the crown princes visit, telling the Tunisian press it was untimely given the controversy surrounding the Khashoggi case.

Certainly we have age-old relations with Saudi Arabia and it is the president of the republic who defines the foreign policy of the country, but the circumstances of the visit of MBS are not the best, Lourimi said, hinting at sharp divisions within Tunisias government over the countrys diplomatic approach.

Apart from the internal politics at play, the crown princes visit  and Tunisian civil societys bold reaction to it  underscored how far the countrys democratic transition has come seven years after the revolution, observers and activists said.

The fact that people are able to demonstrate and mock the Saudi crown prince without being arrested/assaulted/harassed shows that Tunisia is a free country, the exact opposite of Saudi Arabia and most Arab countries, said Cherif.

Protester Emna Mizouni added in comments to Al Jazeera, "Perhaps as a people, in the past, we could not speak our minds. But today we can.  It is shameful for Tunisia, which received the Nobel Peace Prize, to receive someone like this.

From Tunis, the crown prince continued on to Buenos Aires, Argentina, where he is set to attend the G-20 summit with world leaders. There, more than 10,000 kilometers away, he will also be dogged by allegations of involvement in Khashoggis murder, a sign that despite the Saudi states best efforts, the case is not being laid to rest.
A new wave of tensions between Russia and Ukraine has made headlines this week. On Nov. 25, Russia seized two small Ukrainian armored artillery vessels, a tugboat and some 23 crew members. The incident took place near the Kerch Strait, a narrow artery that connects the Black Sea to the Sea of Azov and runs between the Crimean Peninsula and Russia. Three Ukrainian servicemen were wounded.

Moscow described the incident as a provocation. The fact that it was done under the goodwill and direct order of the [Ukrainian] leadership is undoubtable, said Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. When the Ukrainian side was planning this provocation, they must have calculated the additional benefits they wanted to derive from this situation expecting the US and Europe to blindly support the instigators, as usual, Lavrov added. Russian President Vladimir Putin preferred to maintain silence for some time  his first comments were made Nov. 28, three days after the incident. The Russian leader accused Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko of the provocation. According to Putin, Poroshenko took the step because it could bring him benefits ahead of an election in March.

The Ukrainian side took an opposite view of the situation. Kiev called Russias action an aggression. The day after the incident the Ukrainian parliament voted to impose martial law for 30 days in the provinces that are most vulnerable to an attack from Moscow. Poroshenko has warned that his country is under threat of a full-scale war with Russia. We have clear data that this [the attack on Ukrainian navy boats] is only the beginning, Poroshenko said at a meeting with journalists, according to the Ukrainian news agency UNIAN.

The prospect of a full-scale war between these two former Soviet states scares its neighbors in the Black Sea region. The day after the incident, Turkey, a key power in the region, made a statement calling for a peaceful solution to the conflict.

We [are following] the developments and the escalating tensions in the Sea of Azov and Kerch Strait. In this context, we are concerned about reports that shots were fired at Ukrainian vessels which caused injury of some personnel. As a littoral state of the Black Sea, we emphasize that freedom of passage at the Kerch Strait should not be hindered. We urge all parties to refrain from steps endangering regional peace and stability, to respect international law and to act in common sense and restraint to avoid increasing the tensions, Turkeys Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan called on both Russia and Ukraine to resolve their dispute through dialogue, saying Turkey wants the Black Sea  which it also borders  to become a sea of peace. Addressing his party members, he said Turkey is interested in maintaining cooperation with both countries.

At a time when the world is in the claws of serious threats, we would be pleased to see Russia and Ukraine standing together, not against each other, said Erdogan.

In Turkey, some experts even predict a bigger war in the region than a two-state confrontation. Ibrahim Karagul, a political commentator from Turkeys pro-government daily Yeni Safak, wrote in his column that the crisis between Russia and Ukraine is not a crisis between the two countries alone. It is a situation that can lead all the way to the occupation of Ukraine if the world leaves it alone, and this can be sparked suddenly through such small clashes. This is one of the most important fronts of the power struggle between the East and the West. Ukraine is the West's east and the East's west border; it is one of the most important fault lines on earth. Hence, it will be  and already is  one of the acutest fronts of the East-West power showdown, wrote the Turkish journalist.

However, the crisis between Russia and Ukraine could also bring some benefits for Turkey. Turkish historian Ilyas Kemaloglu believes that the situation opens huge opportunities for Ankara. Turkey is the only country in the region that has good relations with both Russia and Ukraine, and is also strong and active in the international arena. Ankara has a chance to prove itself in the diplomatic sphere.

Turkey is one of the few countries that has managed to keep good relations with both Russia and Ukraine after the Crimean crisis and conflict in eastern Ukraine. Ankara did its best not to take sides: Although Turkey doesnt recognize the annexation of Crimea, at the same time it didnt join anti-Russian sanctions.

Moscow and Ankara cooperate closely in Syria. Economic relations between Russia and Turkey are rapidly developing. In April, they launched the construction of the Akkuyu nuclear power plant in Turkeys Mersin province  the first nuclear power plant in Turkey. Last week Putin visited Istanbul to mark the completion of the TurkStream gas pipelines offshore section.

Turkey and Ukraine cooperate closely in defense industry, software transfers, armored car projects, space, and aircraft design. Since 2012 a visa-free regime between the two states has been in force. During a recent official visit of Ukrainian leadership to Turkey, which took place Nov. 3-4, Poroshenko opened the Ukrainian Consulate in Turkeys resort city of Antalya. He mentioned that more than 1.3 million Ukrainians visit Turkey every year and this number is growing. Turkey supports Crimean Tatars, an ethnic Turkic group speaking a similar language to Turkish. At the meeting with Poroshenko, Erdogan promised to continue to protect the rights of Crimean Tatars.

Turkeys neutrality and Erdogans good relations with both Russian and Ukrainian leaders were used by the Turkish president when the recent escalation of conflict took place. On Nov. 28, he had three phone calls with the Russian, Ukrainian and American leadership to discuss the tensions in the Black Sea. According to the Kremlins press service, the sides exchanged opinions on matters of stability and security in the Black Sea Region. Putin and Erdogan have also discussed the situation in Syria, particularly in Idlib. According to Ukrainian media, Erdogan and Poroshenko agreed that the Turkish president would raise the Ukrainian issue at the G-20 summit in Buenos Aires, which will take place from Nov. 30 to Dec. 1. In his call with Trump, Erdogan shared details of his earlier phone calls with the Russian and Ukrainian presidents.
Long before Mazda Toyota broke ground this month in Huntsville, an economic development group was hard at work marketing the counties of North Alabama for the mammoth auto projects anticipated supply chain.

The North Alabama Industrial Development Association, which represents the 13 counties stretching along the states northernmost part, has been using a microsite to spur interest and provide answers to companies looking to come to Alabama.

We wanted it to be as simple as it could be, and be extremely user friendly, said Brooks Kracke, president and CEO of NAIDA. We were trying to be as proactive as we could be in creating awareness and generating interest. Its paying off.

The Mazda Toyota project, announced in January, is projected to begin making about 300,000 vehicles a year beginning in 2021. But more than that, Kracke said, its the first automaker to locate in North Alabama. That has potential to transform the entire region, not only in Huntsville, but throughout the surrounding counties. In addition to the 4,000 jobs created at the plant, and the expansion potential for already existing suppliers, there is room for new suppliers to come.

NAIDA was involved in some of the early discussions when Project New World was simply an unidentified company looking for land somewhere in the U.S., Kracke said. On the day Mazda and Toyota gathered in Montgomery to make it official, NAIDA was already sending out newsletters and getting a plan together.

Thats where the microsite comes in. It gives a rundown of available buildings and land in the NAIDA footprint, as well as listing existing suppliers and their specialties, and a map of automakers throughout the Southeast.

We tried to make it user friendly, Kracke said. That means interactive maps, spec sheets, photographs and easy to use information. When searching for locations, the site provides the exact distance to Mazda Toyota, access specifics, utility information and other quick facts.

Kracke said the site has gotten looks from a host of companies around the world, from U.S. outfits to manufacturers in Japan, India, China, Israel, Germany, Poland, Russia, the Czech Republic and others. Going forward, they hope to provide even more info on resources in the area for those who come.

Now that Mazda and Toyota have shared their plans with potential suppliers, were starting to see more folks set foot here and get a lay of the land, he said.
North Americas largest transit bus manufacturer now has a bigger presence in Alabama.

New Flyer of America Inc. today cut the ribbon on a $25 million renovation and expansion of its Anniston factory. It was the culmination of $50 million in improvements to the facility over the past two years at the plant, which now employs 750. New Flyer manufactures battery-electric transit buses and last year opened its Vehicle Innovation Center (VIC), which focuses on research and development of electric, autonomous and clean technology in mass transit.

Today opens an additional 76,000 square feet of space at the facility, bringing New Flyers total campus to nearly 400,000-square feet on 36 acres. This latest expansion brings transit bus part fabrication in house and centralizes the plants welding process. It also gives employees expanded administrative work space and a cafeteria.

Anniston is truly the center of mass transit with bus technology in North America today, Wayne Joseph, President of New Flyer of America, said.

New Flyer turns out about 15 buses a week in Anniston, or about three a day, on one shift. Each bus is individually engineered according to the specifications of each order. Just today, the factory is building buses for the University of Utah, for New York and Omaha, Neb. The plant also constructs buses that run on compressed natural gas, hydrogen and zero-emissions technology.

Were constantly on the cutting edge of making improvements in the area of transportation and the environment, Joseph said.

Sen. Doug Jones, who attended the opening, said the company is contributing to Alabamas reputation as the indisputable national leader in manufacturing."

Your mission aligns perfectly with our commitment to innovation, workforce development and economic growth, he said.

Joseph said in the year since the VIC opened on campus, it has received more than 1,000 industry visitors, including transit properties, regulators, suppliers, utility companies and investors.
Police in Alabamas largest metropolitan areas and elsewhere have faced repeated criticism this year for refusing to release footage from police-worn body cameras.

Alabama has no law providing statutory guidelines on when nor how the footage taken from a police officers body camera can be released to the public. And there have been increasing calls for state lawmakers in Montgomery to address the issue next year.

There should be some guidelines in place that obviously increase transparency which helps build confidence between law enforcement and the public, said state Rep. Chris England, D-Tuscaloosa, who also serves as an attorney with the city. I dont see why any contact the police have with the public, whether routine or tragic, has to be secret or hidden from the public.

Said State Senator Cam Ward, R-Alabaster, and chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee: Its worth looking at.

The latest controversy over body camera footage comes from the Thanksgiving night police shooting of 21-year-old Emantic E.J. Bradford Jr., on the second floor of Riverchase Galleria in the Birmingham suburb of Hoover.

Protesters and Bradfords family are demanding body camera and mall surveillance footage to be released, but the State Bureau of Investigation (SBI) has said they will not release information while an investigation is ongoing.

The incident in Hoover, which has generated international news attention, highlights other unrelated requests for body camera footage in Alabama. Three recent incidents stand out:

* In Huntsville, city leaders have refused to release body camera footage from an April 3 police shooting that resulted in the death of 49-year-old Jeffrey Louis Parker. The officer involved in the shooting, William Darby, 25, was indicted on a murder charge in August and his trial is pending for April 2019. Darby was initially cleared of wrongdoing by the police departments review board and the city council has agreed to use public money to help pay for his criminal defense.

* In Mobile, a judge ruled in August for the release of body camera footage from a 2016 incident in which McGill-Toolen High School students were pepper-sprayed by a Mobile police officer while paining a cannon at the Loop in midtown Mobile. Authorities had apologized for what happened during the cannon incident, but refused to release body camera footage.

* The NAACP requested the release of body camera footage from a December 23, 2017, incident in Troy, in which a 17-year-old teen was subdued by police after officers alleged he was reaching for his waistband. The teen was seriously injured during the encounter, but the body camera footage was not released while the SBI investigated.

Balancing act

his is an example of a body camera system worn by police officers. Releasing the footage from the cameras is part of an ongoing dispute in Alabama, and could result in legislative action in 2019.

The release of body camera footage sits at the center of a debate between law enforcement and those advocating for greater government transparency.

Body cameras have risen in popularity within the past decade and are viewed as a deterrent for use of force incidents and citizen complaints against officers. Hoover spent $77,000 in 2015 to purchase 90 body cameras and supporting equipment.

But like most new technology, state laws havent kept up. And in states like Alabama, where the release of body camera footage remains unregulated, questions are swirling over their effectiveness.

The effectiveness of body cameras as a tool to increase government transparency and accountability is undermined when law enforcement gets to decide when body camera footage is made public, said Frank Knaack, director of the Alabama Appleseed Center for Law and Justice in Montgomery.

He added, In instances involving the use of force by law enforcement, the video footage must be preserved as evidence and made available to the public. Law enforcement must not be allowed to hide behind investigatory record exemptions.

Yuri Linetsky, associate professor of clinical legal instruction at the University of Alabama School of Law who is also a commissioned police officer in Ohio, said its not so easy for police departments to hand over body camera footage that can be otherwise considered as evidence in an ongoing investigation.

Most state public records laws exempt from release information about an ongoing investigation be that either body cam footage or a detectives or investigators notes, said Linetsky. Releasing that information too early can have an adverse effect on the investigation especially if there is a suspect out there who can gain the information from the video or from the investigating officers reports that would have an adverse effect on the potential prosecution or a continued investigation.

James Barber, executive director of public safety in Mobile and the citys former police chief who declined releasing body cam footage from the 2016 pepper spray incident, said the release of body cam footage produces a delicate balancing act.

Its a balancing test between the publics right to know and the legitimate government interest in keeping it secured as well as the privacy interest of whose images are captured on those body cams, Barber said. Some are innocent, some are victims of crime and some have nothing to do with it, but you also have the perpetrators themselves.

Legislative action

Barber, like others, is advocating for direction from Montgomery. The 2016 pepper spray incident in Mobile, which was ruled on by Mobile County Circuit Judge Rick Stout, does not provide guidance for other courts in Alabama. Its the only known ruling in the state in which a judge authorized the public release of body cam footage.

It was case-specific, said Barber, referring to the 2016 case. We are still looking for legislation to give us guidance on when that information is available (for public disclosure).

Alabama could address body camera footage through a rewriting of the states open records laws, which is something that could be a focus among some lawmakers in 2019.

The Alabama Press Association is advocating for a wide-ranging update to address digital technology, something that does not exist in the current state statutes.

The open records act we are operating under was passed in a different era and its very simple but it leaves undefined a lot of areas such as how long does a government have to respond to a records request, how much do you pay for a page for a copy of a document and what are the penalties if you fail to turn over the records, said Dennis Bailey, attorney with the Alabama Press Association.

Bailey said until specifics are laid out through the legislative process, the release of body camera video will be determined on a case-by-case basis within the legal system.

This problem will keep coming up until there is legislation, said Bailey.

Its unclear if the body camera footage would be wrapped up in an open records law rewrite, or if it would be handled separately as a criminal justice matter.

Ward, who advocates for possible changes in the open records law, said he believes the issues should be addressed separately.

Twenty-three states and the District of Columbia have legislated how body-worn camera data is addressed under open record laws, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL).

Five states, including Florida, South Carolina and Georgia, exclude body-worn camera footage from open record requests, though there are exceptions. In Georgia, for instance, the law grants access to people who may be relevant to a pending criminal or civil case. In South Carolina, the states attorney generals office can release the video at their discretion.

Nancy LaVigne, vice president for justice policy at the Urban Institute in Washington, D.C., and an expert in police-worn body-camera policy, said that in almost every state  excluding New Hampshire  police are given wiggle room to avoid having body camera footage released publicly. In most of these events, she said, its to preserve an ongoing investigation.

She said legislating the camera footage is nuanced and that releasing footage is not as easy as advocates pushing for more transparency like to believe.

Sometimes, its not easy to release the footage when you dont know who was captured in that video, LaVigne said. There could be children, innocent bystanders and you need time to redact identities and that needs to be done by hand.

Ward also describes legislation body camera footage as a tricky issue. He said there is danger to the immediate release of body camera video footage.

There is value to having it out there, said Ward. What I dont want do to, though, is that all of a sudden were prosecuting this in the court of public opinion and not the court of law.

Timely releases

Social advocacy groups, like the Southern Poverty Law Center based in Montgomery and the ACLU, are pushing for faster release times.

Ebony Howard, senior supervising attorney with the SPLC, said the videos need to be released in a timely manner in order to maintain or improve community-police trust.

Asked about what she means by timely, Howard said, Weve looked at the best practices across the country that even if there are ongoing investigations, and that would involve releasing the footage within a weeks time, the footage should be released in its entirety and not just selected segments so that the entire context is given.

The ACLU views New Hampshires 2017 law as model legislation, which prohibits authorities from tampering with video footage involving deadly force for up to three years.

That law requires police agencies to retain body camera footage for six months, and to make it available to a list of people: Any person subjected to the video footage, a parent or guardian of a minor in the footage, a spouse or defense attorney, among others.

Knaack, with Alabama Appleseed, said its shameful that there is even a need to legislate the release of video footage. He said the exemptions related to pending or ongoing investigations gives law enforcement cover to hide behind when body camera footage doesnt provide positive views of their actions.

Transparency and accountability are the hallmarks of good government and it is a shame that we need legislation to ensure this, Knaack said.

But England, the Democratic lawmaker from Tuscaloosa, said its important for state lawmakers to provide guidance.

The goal should always be that any contact between the police officer and the public is that the basic understanding of it is that all of it is public, England said.
As Energen prepares to vacate its downtown headquarters, the energy company has donated its large collection of original artwork by Alabama artists to the University of Alabama at Birmingham.

The companys Wonders of Alabama collection of more than 265 oils, watercolors, and mixed media artworks was donated to UABs Arts in Medicine (AIM) program, Energen announced.

Energens merger with Texas-based Diamondback Energy is expected to close today. The deal will mean the closure of its downtown Birmingham headquarters at Energen Plaza sometime in 2019.

Many of Alabamas finest artists are represented in this collection, Energen Chairman and Chief Executive Officer James McManus said. We are very pleased that these excellent works of art will continue to be displayed and bring enjoyment to patients, staff, and visitors to UAB Medicine as well as visitors to the Abroms-Engel Institute.

The art collection was acquired by Energen through an art competition that was held annually at the company for 16 years from 1999 to 2015. The juried art competition was designed to showcase Alabama artists and support the visual arts in Alabama.

The collection, which includes all recipients of juried and employee choice awards, has been displayed in public areas and offices throughout Energen Plaza, according to the company.

UABs AIM program is a collaborative initiative between UABs Alys Stephens Center and UAB Medicine that focuses on the needs of the whole person  mind, body and spirit. AIM includes interactive and passive arts experiences, which can include bedside and workshop activities or performances and visual art installations in public spaces. UAB Hospital is one of the first hospitals in Alabama to have a formal Arts in Medicine program.

Several works from the Energen collection also will become part of the permanent collection at UABs Abroms-Engel Institute for the Visual Arts, which houses works by nationally and internationally acclaimed artists.

UAB looks forward to sharing these works with the community, says Lili Anderson, Interim Executive Director of UABs Alys Stephens Performing Arts Center. We are grateful to Energen for this gift of original works by Alabama artists, and we appreciate their efforts to keep this collection in our state, Anderson said.
The multi-billion dollar deal to complete a mothballed nuclear plant in north Alabama has fallen apart.

TVA said in a statement Friday afternoon that it would not complete the sale of Bellefonte Nuclear Plant to Nuclear Development, a company started by Chattanooga developer Franklin Haney for the sole purpose of purchasing the plant.

On Nov. 30, 2018, the parties were unable to complete the sale of the Bellefonte property after Nuclear Developments lack of progress in meeting its legal obligations related to future ownership of the site, TVAs statement said. Nuclear Development did not complete the necessary NRC license transfer prior to the closing date as required by the Atomic Energy Act.

Nuclear Development won the rights to the Jackson County plant near Scottsboro in a TVA auction two years ago but the deal was scuttled in a last-minute disagreement between the two sides.

TVA sent a letter to Nuclear Development on Thursday expressing the licensing concerns and advising that it would not go through with the close of the sale by Fridays deadline.

Nuclear Development officials said they believed they had met every obligation to complete the deal and were baffled by TVAs position.

TVA said in its statement that it would not extend the closing deadline for a second time due to Nuclear Developments lack of diligence in completing these required activities.

Nuclear Development won the purchase rights to the plant at auction in 2016 for $111 million.

The company had already paid $22 million to TVA in earnest money and had covered overhead costs for the plant over the past two years, according to Bud Cramer, the former north Alabama congressman who was shepherding the deal for Nuclear Development.

Franklin Haney and Nuclear Development informed TVA they were ready, willing and able to close, Cramer told AL.com Friday afternoon before TVA released its statement. They have the money, theyre ready to wire the money, that they have met all the terms of the contract. Nuclear Development has carried the overhead costs of Bellefonte since they bought it at public auction. Theyve invested a lot of money and partnered with industry on this. They hope TVA sees the light.

Nuclear Development has sought more than $8 billion in federal aid to complete the plant and Haney has said he would be asking for $1 billion in incentives from the state of Alabama as well. That request for loans from the U.S. Department of Energy went all the way to President Trump.

The plant, under the Nuclear Development plan, would have brought more than 1,000 permanent jobs with average salaries exceeding $100,000. Several thousand temporary construction jobs at the plant were also anticipated as well.

This was the size of three Toyota Mazdas, said state Sen. Steve Livingston, R-Scottsboro, comparing the Bellefonte project to the $1.6 billion Mazda Toyota Manufacturing USA plant that will bring 4,000 jobs to Huntsville.

Larry Blust, attorney for Nuclear Development, said in a letter to TVA dated Friday in response to the TVA letter that the federal utility is in breach of the contract.

Blusts letter, a copy of which was obtained by AL.com, said that TVA first made Nuclear Development aware of its licensing concerns six days before the original Nov. 14 closing date.

ND has complied with all of its requirements under the Agreement, the Blust letter said. It is TVA that has not.

AL.com has requested a copy of the letter from TVA that the utility sent to Nuclear Development.

Cramer said that a lawsuit may be filed against TVA, given Nuclear Developments investment to TVA to bring the purchase to fruition.

There are huge differences of opinion as to why TVA thinks they can just say now, No, were not going to close, Cramer said.

The attempted sale of the plant came about when TVA determined it no longer needed Bellefonte to meet its power demands and the utility put the plant located in Hollywood up for auction. At that point, Nuclear Development had two years to complete its purchase and a Nov. 14 deadline was pushed to Friday at the request of Haneys group.

But TVA said Friday there would not be a second extension, which essentially ends the deal.

We remain committed to returning the Bellefonte property to productive use to benefit the residents of northeastern Alabama as soon as possible, TVA said in its statement.

That was a role Nuclear Development thought it was taking.

Despite NDs disagreement as to your analysis, ND has, since you first raised this issue six days before the original closing date, consistently offered to extend the closing date until NRC approval is received to eliminate this disagreement, Blust said in his letter Friday to TVA. This would have been the mature approach to a dispute like this but TVA has refused this simple solution.

Nuclear Development has suggested the deal was on the brink in recent weeks in its efforts to secure Memphis Light, Gas & Water as a customer that would purchase the power generated at Bellefonte. In presentations to the Memphis city council, Nuclear Development touted lower energy costs than the city currently pays to TVA but Memphis Light expressed a long list of concerns about going into business with an unfinished nuclear plant.

In its effort to close the deal with Memphis, Nuclear Development CEO Bill McCollum wrote in a guest column in the Memphis Commercial Appeal that the company may walk away from the Bellefonte deal if a customer couldnt be secured.

No deal was finalized with Memphis but Nuclear Development moved forward with plans to purchase Bellefonte anyway.

Updated today, Nov. 30, 2018, at 5:34 p.m. with new information throughout.
A dementia patient has been found safe after leaving his Madison home early this morning, Limestone County authorities said.

Bobby Bob Hudson was found in Red Bay, a small town in Franklin County, said Stephen Young, a spokesman for the Limestone County sheriff.

Earlier today, the sheriffs office was seeking the publics help to find Hudson, who left home around 2 a.m. in a silver 2007 Hyundai Elantra. Hudson had been last seen wearing khaki pants, a plaid shirt and white dress shoes, Young said.

Further details werent immediately available.

Updated at 1:15 p.m. to show Hudson has been found.
The father of a Huntsville elementary school student, who accidentally shot himself in the hand with a stolen gun, has pleaded guilty to a federal weapons charge.

Letroy Cole Jr. pleaded guilty on Monday to being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm, federal court records show. Cole, 41, entered a blind plea," according to North Alabama U.S. Attorney Jay Towns office.

Unlike a plea bargain, in a blind plea, the defendant hasnt reached a prearranged deal with prosecutors about sentencing or pleading guilty to a lesser charge.

Coles sentencing is scheduled April 29, 2019 at the federal courthouse in Huntsville. He faces up to 10 years in federal prison.

Cole was charged following a Sept. 17 shooting at Blossomwood Elementary School in Huntsville. Coles son, a second-grader, accidentally shot himself in the hand while showing the pistol to another student. It happened in a bathroom during P.E. class. The boys injury wasnt life-threatening.

Coles son told police he saw where the gun was hidden in their home and brought it to school to show it off.

Because Cole has prior felony convictions in Illinois, a federal grand jury indicted him for illegally possessing the .32-caliber semi-automatic pistol, court records state.

In 1995, Cole was convicted of narcotics possession in Cook County, Ill., records show. In 2002, he was convicted of illegally having pistol, federal prosecutors said.

In state court, Cole is charged with being a felon in possession of a firearm and receiving stolen property. Huntsville police said the pistol had been reported stolen in a case of breaking and entering a vehicle on March 22, 2017.

Madison County Assistant District Attorney Randy Dill said he was unaware of the guilty plea until receiving a call from AL.com. Its unclear whether the plea will affect the state prosecution.
King Mohammed VI of Morocco and Chairman of Al Quds Committee of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, has renewed his firm commitment to continue defending Al Quds and the Palestinian cause, which are at the core of the Middle East conflict, pointing out that these issues have always been a major concern for him personally and for the whole Moroccan people.

This came in a message the Sovereign addressed Thursday to Chairman of the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People, on the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People, marked on November 29.

The issue of Al-Quds has special significance, not only for the Arab and Muslim Ummah  given that the Holy city is home to the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque  but also for all peace-loving people, given that the city stands for tolerance and inter-faith coexistence, the king pointed out.

Any unilateral actions affecting Al-Quds are both unacceptable and illegal; they represent a serious violation of international law, including United Nations resolutions, Security Council Resolutions 476 and 478 of 1980, and the 2017 Uniting for Peace Resolution, adopted by the tenth Emergency Special Session of the United Nations General Assembly, he said.

The King who insisted that the case of Palestine is a central issue in the Middle East and is at the heart of the conflict in the region, underlined that achieving a just, comprehensive and lasting peace on the basis of the two-state solution and in accordance with Security Council resolutions and the Arab Peace Initiative is a strategic choice  not a political maneuver.

Resolving the Palestinian issue on the basis of the resolutions of international legitimacy would deprive extremist and terrorist groups of their arguments, especially as they have been exploiting the lack of prospects for the settlement of the Palestinian issue and of that of Al-Quds, using this as a pretext to justify their criminal agenda in the region.

The Sovereign warned that the illegal measures taken in Al-Quds might fuel religious sentiment, given the spiritual character of the Holy City, with the potential risk of turning a political conflict into a religious one.

This would be extremely dangerous for global peace and security and for the desired harmony and coexistence between different cultures and civilizations, he insisted.

King Mohammed VI argued that the Palestinian struggle for freedom and independence and for the establishment of an independent Palestinian state, with East Jerusalem as its capital, has lasted all these years due to the lack of justice, to widespread frustration and to the suffering caused by occupation and injustice.

For him, the greatest challenge facing the international community is the implementation of the internationally-backed resolutions supporting the Palestinian cause.

The King deplored the suffering of the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip, which has been submitted to an unjust blockade for years, underlining that Morocco has spared no effort to assist the Palestinians and alleviate their difficult circumstances.

He recalled in this connection that he had ordered the airlift of medical and food aid to Gaza in 2009 and 2014 and during the holy month of Ramadan this year, he personally supervised the launching of a humanitarian initiative for the benefit of the Gaza Strip, which was later expanded to include Al-Quds Al-Sharif and Ramallah.

He also recalled that the Moroccan Royal Armed Forces have set up a field hospital in the Gaza Strip, offering a range of medical specialties, such as pediatrics, orthopedics, gastroenterology, ophthalmology and otorhinolaryngology to the local inhabitants.

The King touched on the initiatives he conducts as Chairman of Al Quds Committee, saying these actions build on political and diplomatic endeavors at the bilateral level, in international forums and through fieldwork carried out by Bayt Mal Al-Quds al-Shareef Agency.

This operational mechanism affiliated with the Al-Quds Committee acts under my personal supervision and carries out concrete projects and plans in the areas of housing, healthcare, education and social services for the benefit of the inhabitants of Al-Quds. These projects are aimed at safeguarding the cultural identity of the Holy City, improving the social and living conditions of the inhabitants of Al-Quds, supporting their struggle and encouraging them to remain in the Holy City, the king stated.

In his message, the King also talked about the divisions marring inter-Palestinian relations, calling on the Palestinians to end this state of division and to engage resolutely and in good faith in forming a national unity government.

Such a unity government would have to shoulder its responsibilities towards the Palestinian people and serve as the sole interlocutor, enjoying high credibility with the international community, in order to put an end to the suffering of the Palestinian people and to the injustice weighing on them.

Today, the Kingdom of Morocco is renewing its call for the reactivation of the reconciliation agreement and for the national unity government to be able to extend its mandate over all Palestinian territories in order to serve the Palestinian national project.
Gov. Kay Ivey announced today that former Congressman Jo Bonner would serve in her administration as senior adviser.

Bonner represented the 1st Congressional District in southwest Alabama from 2003 to 2013. He resigned from office in 2013 to become vice chancellor for economic development for the University of Alabama System.

Most recently, Bonner has been interim executive director for the Tuscaloosa County Industrial Development Authority for the last year.

Ivey also announced today that Kelly Butler would be state finance director. Butler has been Acting Finance Director since August, when Clinton Carter left to become chief financial officer for the University of North Carolina System.

Butler has more than three decades experience as a fiscal analyst with the state. His previous jobs include assistant finance director for fiscal operations and state budget officer.

Ivey, who has been governor since April 2017, said Bonner and Butler would bring valuable experience to her administration as she begins a full term in January.

Jo will bring a wealth of knowledge on a variety of topics to the office, and I look forward to getting his input as we move into a full term, Ivey said in a press release. Kellys experience with our states budgets and as a fiscal analyst makes him an unmatched candidate for Finance Director, his dedication and skill will be invaluable as we build Alabamas budgets over the next four years.

Both appointments are effective Dec. 1.

Bonner, 59, and Ivey, 74, both grew up in Wilcox County.

I look forward to working with my long-time friend to better Alabama for generations to come, Bonner said in the press release.

Former state legislator, author and political commentator Steve Flowers said Bonner was a strong addition to the Ivey administration, partly because of their shared interest in economic development.

I think that Kays hallmark legacy and her interest is in economic development, Flowers said. And thats what Bonners interest is. Indeed, thats what hes been doing for the last five or six years.

In Congress, House Speaker John Boehner picked Bonner to serve as chairman of the House Ethics Committee during the 112th Congress.

Hell be someone she can trust and rely on as an adviser and he brings a lot to the table as far as class and he exudes integrity, Flowers said.
Two schools were briefly placed in lockdown Friday morning after a student placed a hoax call to 911 claiming her mother had been shot outside of Spanish Fort High School.

The school and nearby Rockwell Elementary were placed into lockdown, according to local officials.

By 8.40 a.m. both schools were taken out of lockdown after the call was found to be a hoax, according to Baldwin County Schools Board of Education.

Spanish Fort Police Chief David Edgar said that no shots were fired and no student had been in any danger.

Safety of these students is our top priority and the top priority of the Baldwin County Board of Education, said Edgar.

The student that made the call has been identified but their name has not yet been released.
A man is charged with four counts of murder stemming from a deadly Nov. 16 crash on Interstate 20 in Pell City. Among the dead were three children.

Justin Wells, 34, of Calhoun County was arrested by Alabama state troopers in Cleburne County on Friday, according to the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency. Wells is being transported to St. Clair County Jail where he will be held without bond.

According to troopers, Wells is suspected of driving under the influence and causing the crash that killed four people.

Three children were pronounced dead at the scene of the fiery crash that occurred on Interstate 20 East at around 7 p.m. near the 158-mile marker. A fourth person died following the crash. Others were injured.

All the deceased were traveling in the same vehicle, according to troopers. The vehicle had one survivor.

The dead were identified as Aiasiah Porter, 2, Queen Phillips, 11 months, and Nevaeh Seagin, 1. Chester Robinson, a 43-year-old laborer for the city of Bessemer, who was the driver of the vehicle, later died from his injured.
A Kentucky man was charged with making threats against an Alabama city and school system Thursday, according to the Cullman County Sheriffs Office.

John Allen York is accused of making threats to West Point Schools and Yutaka Technologies in Cullman County, Alabama.

Thursday morning, West Point Middle School received a call from a man, who police later identified as York, who said all West Point schools would be blown up at some point during the day, according to the sheriffs office.

Schools were placed on a soft lockdown, and the sheriffs office searched the school for suspicious devices, officials said.

York is also accused of making a bomb threat at Yutaka Technologies in Cullman around the same time, officials said.

Sheriffs officials say York was in Kentucky when he made the calls. The Webster County Kentucky Sheriffs Office arrested York.

"First off I am glad that the suspect is in custody in Kentucky and we will be seeking to extradite him back here to Cullman County at the earliest possible time to face the consequences for his actions. We take calling in a bomb threat to a local school and business very seriously," said Cullman County Sheriff Matt Gentry. "Also, I can't stress enough how much I want to think the Investigators from my office and also the Cullman Police Department for the work the did today. Investigators do work behind the scenes that is often times not seen by the public but is very, very important to solving cases.

York is being held in Kentucky and will be extradited to Alabama.
Red tides can be a triple threat to the Gulf Coast, doing harm to public health, the tourism economy and the seafood industry. A forum held Thursday in Mobile suggested that in the absence of a sweeping cure, there is still room to improve responses.

Alison Robertson, an assistant professor at the University of South Alabama and a senior marine scientist at the Dauphin Island Sea Lab, said a lot is known about Karenia brevis, the algae whose toxic blooms have plagued part of Floridas west coast this fall and which recently shut down Alabama oyster harvesting.

However, she said, scientists still have a lot to learn about how other environmental factors contribute to K. brevis' red tide blooms. Temperature, salinity and other factors all come into play, she said, and in a complex environment such as the coastal waters around Mobile, those interactions arent always well understood.

She described it as a complex problem "that we still don't have a handle on."

Robertson was part of a panel that included one of the area's top tourism officials, Herb Malone of Gulf Shores & Orange Beach Tourism, as well as a scientist turned oyster farmer, Charles A. Wilson III of Navy Cove Oysters on the Fort Morgan peninsula. The panel, moderated by LaDon Swann, director of the Mississippi-Alabama Sea Grant Consortium, was itself part of a much larger event: The 2018 Bays & Bayous Symposium, a biennial gathering of marine scientists held Wednesday and Thursday in Mobile.

Robertson, Wilson and Malone had distinctly different perspectives, yet agreed on some key points: Communication helps organize a measured response to red tide. Better testing would be a key step toward accurately assess the threat level. And for the state to be able to offer a reliable red tide forecast would help everyone plan.

Malone said that the fall season, when red tide blooms tend to be most severe, features a lot of weekend events along the coast. A bloom can create health hazards for anyone in the water, and if severe enough, can make it unpleasant even to be near the water. Local officials dont want to downplay a health issue, but also dont want to needlessly turn away visitors. Anything that threatens that economy has ripple effects throughout, he said.

Officials such as himself depend on scientists to translate their observations into real-world advice. And they do what they can to facilitate communication among governments and public safety agencies. When theres a red tide threat, he said, they discuss it much as they would a risk such as rip tides. The goal is to reach an informed consensus and help others, such as lodging operators and event producers, make informed decisions.

That's all good, he said, but it's mostly reactive.

"We need predictability," he said. People tend to get a solid warning when a hurricane is on the way, he said, but with red tides, "right now it seems to be very unpredictable."

Wilson likewise said that better prediction of algae blooms would help oyster farmers such as himself in several ways. If they knew the risk was rising, for example, they could ramp up their harvest to stockpile oysters before the state imposed a shutdown.

Testing currently imposes a sort of bottleneck on the process, the panelists agreed. The method used is somewhat archaic and is done out of state, with samples sent to Florida. That limits the amount of testing Alabama can afford to do, so it takes a very conservative approach: If it finds a dangerous level of red tide toxin in any test results, that triggers a blanket shutdown on all oyster harvesting in the states coastal waters.

Wilson said he thinks it's important for the public to understand that these are "precautionary closures." High concentrations of K. brevis can contaminate oysters, but shutdowns are imposed before that actually happens. They're then maintained until the threat has receded.

The state closed shellfish growing waters in Mobile and Baldwin Counties on Nov. 16, citing a finding of K. brevis cells exceeding standards. A few days later, it issued a more specific advisory to the general public:

The Alabama Department of Public Health cautions the public that water samples collected from Alabama Point to Little Lagoon Pass in Baldwin County indicate the presence of red tide cells in the low to medium range, it said. Persons with respiratory problems or those experiencing symptoms of nose, throat or eye irritation should avoid any mist generated by these waters. In addition, fish kills are possible in this area because of red tide."

ADPH will continue to monitor gulf and bay waters for the presence of red tide cells," concluded the Nov. 21 advisory. Unfortunately, the presence of red tide cannot be predicted to be at a certain location at a certain time. The effects depend on many variables such as temperature, salinity, direction of the wind, and how concentrated the organisms are at a given location.

Robertson offered some hope on the testing front, saying Florida was investing in the development of a newer, faster method. She speculated that if Alabama could one day conduct a better regimen of testing, it might have to rely less on blanket closures. Better mapping of currents and salinity exchanges would also help develop a system of closure zones, she said.

At last some of the tools are already out there, she said.

Theres a lot of great technology thats available, we just dont have funding for, Robertson said.
A man charged with attempted murder in the shooting of an 18-year-old at Riverchase Galleria Mall in Hoover on Thanksgiving waived extradition to Alabama during a court appearance in Fulton County, Ga. this morning.

Erron Martez Dequan Brown, 20, was arrested by U.S. Marshals in South Fulton on Thursday. He is charged with shooting Brian Wilson inside the mall Thursday night. Browns bond was set at $125,000.

Wilson is the friend of Emantic EJ Bradford Jr., 21, who was shot and killed by police inside the mall following Wilsons shooting.

Brown was quickly identified as a suspect in the Nov. 22 shooting. Authorities withheld his identity while law enforcement officers searched for him.

The U.S. Marshals Southeast Regional Fugitive Task Force in Georgia was assisted by Alabamas Gulf Coast Regional Fugitive Task Force and the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency. Authorities said they captured Erron Martez Brown, 20, about 9:30 a.m. Thursday on Highwind Way in South Fulton.

Hoover police have said the shooting at Riverchase Galleria occurred after two men got into a physical altercation and one of the men - identified as Brown - pulled out a handgun and shot Wilson.

Wilson was shot at least once in the stomach and taken to a nearby hospital where he remains in serious condition.

A 12-year-old bystander, Molly Davis, was also shot and taken to Childrens Hospital by a Hoover Fire Department rescue squad. She has since been released. Authorities have not said who fired the shots that injured Molly.

Two officers who were providing security at the mall heard the gunfire and approached the area. They spotted a suspect waving a pistol and shot him. The man, Bradford, died at the scene.

Hoover police initially portrayed Bradford as the mall gunman and said officers acted heroically to take out the threat within seconds of shots being fired in the crowded mall. They later retracted the statement, and said while Bradford was seen with a handgun, evidence indicates he was not the person who shot the 18-year-old and 12-year-old bystander.

Alabama lawmen have 15 days to pick up Brown from Fulton County Jail. Brown will be held in the Jefferson County Jail under a $150,000 bond.

The Riverchase Galleria shootings are being investigated by the State Bureau of Investigation.

Additional charges are expected as the investigation progresses. Once agents have completed the investigation, the file in its entirety will be turned over to the Tenth Judicial Circuit District Attorneys Office.

The City of Hoover and the Hoover Police Department expressed their appreciation to U.S. Marshal Marty Keely and the task force for their role in Browns arrest. This is an important milestone in the continued work to find answers about what happened in last Thursdays tragic incident,'' according to a statement released Thursday afternoon.

The Bradford family attorney, Ben Crump, issued this statement following the arrest of Brown: We are gratified at the arrest of a suspect in the Thanksgiving Riverchase Galleria mall shooting, further underscoring the unjust death of EJ Bradford Jr. at the hands of an off-duty Hoover police officer who was serving as mall security. Right now, EJs family is focused on planning their sons funeral, to be held at 10 a.m. on Saturday at Boutwell Memorial Auditorium. They look forward to reviewing unaltered video evidence of the shooting next week, after properly remembering and honoring EJ and enduring the painful process of burying their son.

Court records show Brown previously was arrested in Madison County on May 18, 2017 on a first-degree robbery charge, but that charge was dismissed.
Two men from Texas accused of trafficking $2 million worth of meth through lower Alabama were granted bonds of $750,000 each during a hearing in Mobile Thursday.

German Eduardo Barahoma and Jaime Enrique Cortez are accused of transporting approximately 80 pounds of methamphetamine through Alabama at the time of their arrest. An officer present during the arrest said that they were pulled over for a traffic violation when a drug dog picked up a scent.

Before Judge Joe Basenberg decided on the value of the bond, a Mobile County prosecutor said that the two men would likely be a flight risk given they had no connections in the area and both had jobs in Texas.

Before handing down the bonds, Judge Basenburg said that different bond schedules existed for those transporting drugs through the state. Trafficking drugs are considered by our legislature a particularity heinous crime, he said.

Of the $750,000 bond each man was assigned, $7,500 was to be in cash.

Both men will appear for arraignment Dec. 4.
A man is dead after a fire late Thursday night on the citys west side.

Firefighters responded to a call of a house fire on Jefferson Avenue southwest at 11:32 p.m., said Birmingham Fire and Rescue Services Battalion Chief Sebastian Carrillo. When firefighters arrived to the scene, according to Carrillo, a man and woman were in the yard outside the burning house and said their adult son was still inside.

Firefighters went inside and rescued the man in three minutes. He was suffering from smoke inhalation and was overcome with smoke, Carrillo said.

The man was taken to UAB Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 11:57 p.m. He has been identified as 23-year-old Carlos Ray Thornton.

While officials are still working to determine the cause of the flames, Carrillo said the fire started in the kitchen. He said homeowners should be mindful when cooking, and also take precautions during the cooler months by keeping space heaters at least three feet away from anything flammable and unplugging them when not in use.

Carrillo also said anyone using electric holiday decorations should use as few extension cords as possible and not run the cords across rooms.
Authorities are searching for a 34-year-old woman who is now charged in the shooting death of her live-in boyfriend.

The Lee County Sheriffs Office on Thursday announced upgraded charges against Shakela Shanae Minnifield. The shooting happened about 7:33 p.m. Nov. 16 in the 5400 block of U.S. 29 North in Opelika.

Sheriffs Capt. Van Jackson said a caller told authorities that Minnifield had shot her boyfriend, 64-year-old Johnnie Lee Forte, multiple times while he was sitting in a chair in their living room. Deputies arrived and the scene and found Forte critically wounded on the floor.

Forte was airlifted to Piedmont Columbus Regional Medical Center in Columbus. He remained hospitalized until he was pronounced dead at 4:35 a.m. Thursday.

Authorities initially charged Minnifield with first-degree domestic violence. That charge was upgrade on Thursday to murder.

Anyone with information on her whereabouts is asked to call the Lee County Sheriffs Office at 334-749-5651 or Lee County Crime Stoppers at 1-888-522-7847.
Alabama Sen. Doug Jones said today the public needs to wait and see where Special Counsel Robert Muellers investigation ends up before Congress takes up any action.

Appearing at the New Flyer plant expansion opening in Anniston, Jones was asked during a brief news conference for any thoughts on the Mueller probe, and whether a Republican-controlled Senate might take up an impeachment in light of any revelations.

On Thursday, Michael Cohen, President Donald Trumps former personal lawyer, pleaded guilty in federal court to lying to Congress about plans to build a Trump Tower in Russia. Its the latest action in an investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election.

Jones, however, refused to consider the question.

I dont think anybody needs to be thinking about that, Jones said. "I think Robert Mueller needs to finish his work. There was a report I saw in one of the newspapers comparing this investigation with previous special counsels  how far hes gone, how quickly hes gone  we just need to let this play out.

I dont think anybody should draw any conclusions, one way or another. I think its going to continue. Muellers team is very professional. Theyre incredibly efficient. We just need to let this play out and then well see where this report ends up and what it shows. Anything before that is premature.

Jones, a former federal prosecutor, said his experience tells him not to jump to conclusions during the course of an investigation.

I know a lot about what goes on in a grand jury and its very obvious that the special counsels office has a lot of information that they cant and should not share with the public, he said. I dont draw those conclusions and I dont think anyone else should. Investigations like this can take many twists and turns. I think hes rapidly bringing this to a close. Well see how this goes. But then well take a look and see any action that Congress needs to take.

Earlier today, President Trump, alongside the leaders of Mexico and Canada, signed a new trade agreement, which seeks to update the relationship between the three countries under NAFTA. The new United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement still needs the approval of Congress.

Jones said he likes the treatys provisions for the auto industry, but pointed to concerns about its enforcement. Democrats in Congress have already signaled they want tougher labor and environmental provisions.

How this ends up, I dont know, he said, adding he thinks it will be one of the first items of legislative business next year.

Jones said he is also engaged in a bipartisan effort with Sen. Pat Toomey (R-Penn.) on getting better provisions for how U.S. businesses can apply for exemptions to the Trump Administrations 25 percent steel and 10 percent aluminum tariffs.

Jones said the Commerce Department is currently experiencing a backlog of those requests.

Theyre not giving good guidance on how to get relief, Jones said. Its created a real problem.
An investigation into the covert CIA programme of torture outlawed by former President Obama and favoured by the Trump administration.

Smithfield, North Carolina is a quiet backwater in the south of the United States. A short drive out of town took us to a local airport  the focus of a remarkable campaign by citizens to find out more about what they say is their states role in a CIA post 9/11 programme of kidnap and torture.

Wed asked the airports management for an interview. Wed also asked for information from a company called Aero Contractors, which supplied planes for the covert CIA operation. Both refused, and it very soon emerged that we were not welcome. An airport official began taking photographs; when we visited a representative of Aero Contractors, they called the police.

Christina Cowger (second from left in blue) and faith leaders in North Carolina protest torture [Al Jazeera]

In nearby Raleigh, Christina Cowger described how they first started to hear about mysterious flights leaving from Johnston County Airport, flights they came to call torture taxis. Back in Smithfield, her friend Allyson Caison told us she was shocked to learn that some of those involved were people she knew, prominent members of the community.

As the years passed, there were protests and repeated calls on the authorities to investigate the role of North Carolinas airports in the so-called CIA rendition programme  calls, they say, that fell on deaf ears.

What is now clear, however, from those who researched the CIA programme, is that this state played a significant role in CIA kidnap and torture.

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According to UK based academic, Sam Raphael: The torture programme took place. It violated domestic and international law at many, many points and North Carolina and Aero Contractors was central to that programme.

A toxic legacy

The 9/11 attacks on US soil and the mass murder of nearly 3,000 people was a defining moment in American history.

Following the atrocities, individuals were abducted and flown to foreign prisons and secret black sites where captives were subjected to so-called enhanced interrogation, techniques including sleep deprivation, wall slamming and waterboarding.

Senior personnel who served in the George W Bush era told us this covert operation has given rise to a toxic legacy.

Colonel Lawrence Wilkerson, former chief of staff to then-Secretary of State General Colin Powell, is an outspoken critic of the CIA programme that he believes is still doing irreparable damage to the United Statess moral position in the world.

In 2014, the US Senate Intelligence Committee released a redacted executive summary outlining findings of a study into the CIA programme. The full report  over 6,000 pages  has not been de-classified and made public.

If the executive summary gives any indication, that report does two astounding things categorically: It says torture doesn't work and it says we tortured, and we tortured extensively. Colonel Lawrence Wilkerson, ex-Chief of Staff to former Secretary of State General Colin Powell

We ought to want to see those 6,000 pages of the whole report, says Colonel Wilkerson. Because if the executive summary gives any indication, that report does two astounding things categorically: It says torture doesnt work and it says we tortured, and we tortured extensively.

Wilkerson claims that North Carolina Senator Richard Burr, chairman of the US Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, was instrumental in preventing the de-classification of the 2014 report.

Republican Senator Burr declined to comment.

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But according to critics, theres a further need for information about the CIA kidnap and torture programme to now be made public: The appointment of a new director of the CIA this year, and the views of President Donald Trump, who on the campaign trail said torture works.

Mark Fallon, a former counterintelligence agent with the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, is blunt: Hes wrong. Torture as a tactic is not only ineffective, it is counterproductive and dangerous.

A former CIA operative, Glenn Carle, described his reaction after he was instructed to be creative when interrogating a prisoner. My thought was: This is clearly one of the critical moments in the history of the United States. Were talking about torturing and that is illegal. And I wouldnt do it.

A new CIA director

The appointment of a new director for the CIA in May 2018 re-ignited debate about the post-9/11 programme. CIA Director Gina Haspel headed a secret black site in 2002 where a prisoner was subjected to waterboarding. Shes since said the intelligence agency would not re-introduce a programme of enhanced interrogation.

Colonel Steven Kleinman, a career military intelligence officer, told us he does not believe Haspels assurances on torture.

I have no doubt Donald Trump would get her out of the way post-haste if she objected, Colonel Wilkerson commented.

After inquiries, the CIA referred us to the US Department of Defense which in turn referred Al Jazeera to public statements at Haspels public confirmation hearings. The White House declined to explain President Trumps view on torture.

Torture and accountability

As part of their campaign, and in the absence of apologies from their government, North Carolina activists have offered personal apologies to victims.

One is German citizen Khaled El-Masri, taken on an Aero Contractors plane to a secret location in Afghanistan. El-Masri was held for over four months before the CIA realized he was innocent. They then flew him to Albania and dumped him in a remote location. He continues to suffer acute psychological distress as a result of his ordeal.

Khaled El-Masri at the BND (Germanys secret service) as an inquiry committee investigates allegations of illegal detention and transport of prisoners by the CIA in 2006 [Getty Images]

We met him in Austria where he told us of his abuse in captivity and going on a hunger strike for 37 days. The worst thing is the humiliation, they want to tear you mentally apart.

He says that, to date, the US has failed to apologize for what happened and hes now mounting the latest in a series of legal cases against the US administration.

A deafening silence

Two months ago, North Carolina campaigners launched a major report into their states role in the CIA programme, the culmination of 18 months of detailed investigation, public hearings and the contribution of dozens of expert witnesses.

But when they distributed the report to local officials in Smithfield, they were met with a wall of silence. As were we, when we asked for a response to a simple question.

Is torture morally acceptable?

Editors note: The filmmakers would like to thank Eric Juth and researcher Manon Joly for their contributions to this documentary.
Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, who will assume the presidency of Mexico on December 1, has promised to deliver a radical revolution, comparable in its transformational impact to the countrys independence from Spanish colonial rule or its revolution of 1910. He has vowed to confront corruption and the power mafia, to improve social services and put the poor first. But the nature of this revolution, and even the political orientation of Lopez Obradors party, remains unclear.

Lopez Obrador, who is known by the acronym AMLO, was once a confrontational left-wing candidate. Ever since his latest presidential campaign began, however, he has become a friend to all. Harmony and unity, peace and love were the buzzwords of his campaign. While he claimed his administration would represent the people in power and end three decades of neoliberalism, at every step he reassured Mexicos elite sectors that they had nothing to fear. There would be no expropriations or nationalisations, he said. Taxes would not be raised and tax-free zones would be created to encourage investment.

Nowhere in his policy prescriptions were there any measures that might disturb the oligarchic groups accustomed to having the country run in their interests. Representatives of the major business sectors have been understandably enthusiastic. The Mexican Business Congress, which once opposed AMLO, held a meeting with his new incarnation and told the press they were looking forward to working with him. They found him pragmatic, they said. AMLO has met Carlos Slim  Mexicos richest man, the primary beneficiary of the privatisations of the neoliberal period and the supreme example of the concentration of economic power that has stunted the countrys economic growth. He praised the billionaire as a great businessman who has known how to triumph in Mexico. When he spoke to business groups in Monterrey, AMLO was interrupted on three occasions by loud applause; among the most fervent was the representative from FEMSA, Mexicos fifth-largest company and the largest independent bottler of Coca-cola in the world.

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A candidate for all

That balancing act  simultaneously a revolutionary man of the people and friend to big business  could only be sustained through a calculated strategy of political ambiguity. A key element in AMLOs electoral success, the current affairs magazine Nexos observed, was a fierce discourse of opposition to the status quo, but without a limiting ideological contour. MORENA (The Movement of National Reformation), the political vehicle founded by AMLO in 2014 after two stints with mainstream parties, has mobilised those who feel excluded from political life, who are tired of violence and inequality and the venality of the political class. The party describes itself as left-wing, but its declaration of principles acknowledges it is open to people of diverse currents of thought. And it is: ex-members of the right-wing PRI and PAN parties, leaping from sinking ships, have been accepted into the fold.

Such ideological flexibility meant alliances could be formed during the presidential campaign with both Maoists and devout evangelicals without violating any strict set of principles. John Lee Anderson of the New Yorker magazine followed AMLO on the campaign trail. His campaign strategy, he wrote, seemed simple: make lots of promises and broker whatever alliances were necessary to get elected. Policy prescriptions for sensitive topics were necessarily vague and inoffensive. AMLO would not take a firm stance on drug legalisation, nor explain how he would confront the violence of the cartels.

He does, however, seem committed to the militarised approach to policing in Latin America: In November he announced a National Plan for Peace and Security, which contradicts his campaign discourse and affirms a central role for the military in fighting organised crime. The new plan, writes Alejandro Madrazo Lajous, a law professor at the National Autonomous University of Mexico, could be the culmination of the dream of the right wing on the continent: to bring Mexico closer to a military regime.

The primary economic objective in particular was unimpeachable: to double Mexicos sluggish GDP growth to around four percent a year.

It is, therefore, understandable that, even after the electoral victory, articles could still appear in the press with headlines such as, AMLO: Of the Left or the Right? When the journalist Jesus Silva-Herzog Marquez commented on the apparently opportunistic nature of AMLOs transformation and accused him of being a conservative, Lopez Obrador responded by dismissing Herzog himself as a conservative masquerading as a progressive.

For Commander Galeano, a representative of the Zapatista movement, the answer was unambiguous. He is the most right-wing of the four candidates, he told the press. The case for the right-wing interpretation was only strengthened when AMLO made his first significant political decision: the selection of his cabinet. It is now clear that the revolution will involve the participation of many members of the old guard of Mexican politics. Among them is the new chief of staff, Alfonso Romo, a prominent businessman with interests in finance and the agro-industry, and a former supporter of the right-wing president Vicente Fox. After his appointment, Romo described to the press what he considered to be his challenge: to convert Mexico into a paradise for investment.

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Three months after the presidential election, and with a certain sense of inevitability, the press reported that AMLO has backtracked on many of his signature issues and hedged on his commitments, trying to whittle down his supporters outsized expectations. As a candidate, he had said that the economy was healthy, that there was money to spend if corruption was confronted, bureaucratic costs were reduced and suitable reforms were passed. Now, he said the state was bankrupt and spending projections would need to be readjusted. The commitments he made to business groups, however, appear to be sacrosanct.

A broken country

Mexico had needed a change. Three decades of neoliberal economic reforms have strained this country of 130 million people to breaking point. Even the supporters of the system have had to recognise the failure: economic growth has been lethargic for years and the economy actually contracted in the first quarter of 2018. In a recent poll, only 3.8 percent of respondents said they thought the economy was heading in the right direction. A unique opportunity for something different had presented itself. Every major political party was tainted by corruption and the legacy of the neoliberal reforms.

A campaign for change by a politician with an unblemished record and supported by a new political movement could be successful. In this sense, the Pink Tide governments that emerged from the wreckage of neoliberalism at the turn of the century were useful precedents. The saccharine tone of AMLOs campaign was similar to that of Lula, Brazils Peace and Love candidate back in 2002. His politics of low-lying fruit are reminiscent of Uruguays Pepe Mujica, whose personal asceticism enchanted the media. AMLO drives a Volkswagen Jetta and has put the presidential plane up for sale, and he is implementing a policy of austerity on the Mexican bureaucracy, including salary cuts for members of congress. These are not radical policies, but they are popular.

The Pink Tide governments also provide a cautionary lesson. Their record is debatable, but it is undeniable that they have deepened the reliance of the region on extractivism, which now accounts for a larger share of regional GDP than it did at the turn of the century. The label attached to these development models by the academic studies has some justification: Neo-liberalism with a human face. AMLO himself has predicated future spending on an increase in oil production; originally a 30 percent increase in two years, although that deadline was extended to six years once he was elected.

Yet, if Mexican society is to recover, deep, structural changes are needed. Today, a fifth of the national income is captured by the richest one percent of the population. The number of people estimated to be living in poverty is around 50 million, nine million of them in extreme poverty. For the average Mexican, life is a day-to-day struggle, and most employment is outside of the formal sector. Meanwhile, the thousands of young people who see no future for themselves in the licit economy find an outlet for their anger and hopelessness in the drugs gangs. The country is drenched in blood: last year more than 23,000 homicides were recorded, the highest number in its history.

The scale of the problems is daunting. Lopez Obrador will soon have to make the kinds of decisions that will finally reveal the authenticity of his revolution. The friend-to-all is going to have to disappoint someone.

The views expressed in this article are the authors own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeeras editorial stance.
Hana Al-Khamri is a writer and analyst based in Sweden. She used to work as a journalist in Saudi Arabia.

On November 20, Amnesty International published a report detailing how Saudi womens rights activists, arbitrarily arrested in a government crackdown earlier this year, have faced sexual harassment and torture during their interrogation. Citing three separate testimonies, the rights group said the detainees were held in solitary confinement and faced repeated electrocution and flogging, leaving some of them unable to stand or walk. One of the activists reportedly tried to take her own life repeatedly inside the prison.

Saudi Arabia has a long history of forcefully silencing women who dare to stand up to the kingdoms unjust laws and patriarchal gender norms. Almost four decades ago in 1990, 47 brave Saudi women were harshly punished by the authorities for participating in a major driving-ban protest  they were arrested and their passports were taken away. Some of them were even sacked from their jobs or expelled from their schools.

But until recently, despite being abused, harassed and at times jailed, most Saudi womens rights activists were managing to avoid the full force of the regimes violence due to their high socioeconomic status. Their skin colour and religious and tribal identity were also playing a role in determining the level of abuse and harassment they were subjected once they were arrested. While undocumented female migrants and poor, underprivileged Saudi citizens were treated abominably in the kingdoms prisons, Saudi activists from privileged backgrounds were being dealt with with relative restraint.

Amnesty Internationals latest report, however, reveals that even a privileged background can no longer protect womens rights activists from the brutality of the countrys current leadership.

This move towards indiscriminate oppression is a natural expansion of the kingdoms de facto ruler Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salmans (MBS) one-dimensional approach to all forms of dissent and opposition.

Stifling all forms of dissent

For years, the Saudi regime has been making a clear distinction between individuals campaigning for social rights without directly challenging or blaming the political system, and individuals who are demanding, or supporting the calls for, holistic political reform and constitutional monarchy. While the regime usually allowed some limited and informal breathing space for the former, the members of the latter group always faced systemic and relentless repression.

This is not the case any longer.

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Under MBS oppressive and unilateral rule, regardless of their nature and aims, all ground-up efforts to bring about change and social reform are being swiftly stifled. In the eyes of the current leadership, every single organic, bottom-up rights movement is a threat to the authoritarian system  a threat to the survival of the pseudo-reformist, despotic rule of the young crown prince.

The new leadership does not care whether a critic is a woman or a man, from a privileged background or not. Whether someone is trying to improve the Saudi society within the limitations of the current system, or calling for constitutional monarchy. MBS has a you are either with me, or against me mentality  no critic, opponent or dissident gets an easy pass under his rule.

This is why Saudi womens rights movements, which for the most part demand reform within the existing political system, are facing the worst crackdown since their formation in the early 1990s.

Cosmetic reforms

The Amnesty report on the torture and sexual abuse of prominent female Saudi activists, which came on the back of the controversy surrounding the brutal murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, was another blow to the reformist image MBS has been working hard to maintain since taking power three and a half years ago.

The testimonies cited in the report not only demonstrated the regimes indiscriminate brutality, but also showed the world yet again that MBS reform efforts, especially on the womens rights front, are purely cosmetic.

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In June this year, the international community welcomed and praised the Saudi leaderships decision to allow women to drive. While many across the world saw this development as a confirmation of MBS reformist credentials, anyone who had been watching the kingdom closely knew immediately that this had nothing to do with giving women more rights and autonomy and everything to do with improving the new leaderships image in the West and encouraging foreign investment.

After all, using womens issues for political leverage has long been part of the Saudi playbook. For example, in 2001, just three months after 9/11, Saudi authorities granted women with national ID cards for the first time in the kingdoms history, in an apparent attempt to gain some favour in the West and protect the royal family. A decade later, in 2011, women were allowed to participate in municipal elections and two years later they were appointed to the consultative Shura council for the first time. Both reforms were implemented not to elevate the status of women in society, but to stop the ideas of Arab Spring from taking root in the kingdom.

Today, MBS is following in the footsteps of his predecessors by making cosmetic and inconsequential womens rights reforms for political leverage, while forcefully silencing the cries for genuine reform. But he is also going one step further than his ancestors and succumbing to McCarthyism in his efforts to consolidate power. He is accusing all the critics and opponents of his leadership  regardless of social status, political inclination, gender and attitudes towards the monarchy  of treason and he is questioning their loyalty to their country.

MBS, with the help of his father King Salman, has already assigned loyal figures to all important sovereign positions, especially in the judiciary. Since his rise to power in 2015 and amid an escalation of politically motivated arrests in the Kingdom, hundreds of new judges and prosecutors loyal to him have been appointed to important positions. Last year, the Presidency of State Security, a security body overseen by the king, was created to combine the counterterrorism and domestic intelligence services under one roof. This presidency, which is naturally loyal to the current leadership, also has total authority over the fates of all political prisoners.

As a result of these efforts, the reformist crown prince has transformed Saudi Arabia into a prison. Under his rule, hundreds of writers, human rights activists (some of them minors), academics, economists, clerics and opponents within the royal family have been arrested simply because they dared to disagree with him. Womens rights activists were put in jail on trumped up charges of treason. Moreover, they were sexually assaulted and tortured during their incarceration.

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All this clearly demonstrates that MBS blueprint for reform excludes the reshaping and rewriting of the social contract between the citizen and the state on democratic grounds, in a way that would ensure active political participation, promote freedom and respect civil, political and womens rights.

MBS views reform only as a useful tool to help him gain favour with the West and consolidate more political and economic power. Therefore, it should not surprise anyone that the reality on the ground in Saudi Arabia is nothing like the reformist dream MBS has been trying to sell abroad. The reformist-minded Saudi leadership is waging a covert war against Saudi Arabias already suffocating civil society.

Not the time to call for more reform

Today, every critical voice in Saudi Arabia is undoubtedly under threat, but the Saudi womens rights activists are feeling the pressure the most. Unlike male activists in the kingdom, they are fighting against both an authoritarian political system and a patriarchal social structure that keeps women in political, social and legal shackles.

While pretending to implement a reform agenda that aims to elevate the status of women in Saudi Arabia, the current leadership is oppressing women further by classifying any real demand for rights and freedoms  even when they do not threaten the political system  as an attack on national cohesion.

As the Amnesty report clearly demonstrates, every Saudi woman who wants to have a say on her place in society is now facing the threat of not only harassment, incarceration and intimidation, but also torture and sexual abuse.

For this reason, this is not the time to speak of reform in Saudi Arabia. Instead, it is time to speak up about the crisis of legitimacy, oppression, brutality and the shrinking civil society in the country.

Saudi Arabia is undoubtedly going through one of the darkest periods in its recent history, however, all is not lost.

Despite all the torture, harassment and intimidation by the regime, and the pressures of a highly patriarchal society, Saudi feminists are still inventing creative methods to demand their rights and change their lives. They are displaying great resilience in the face of absolute repression and this remains a source of true inspiration and hope.

The views expressed in this article are the authors own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeeras editorial stance.
A Honduran court has found seven people guilty of the murder of prize-winning indigenous and environmental rights activist Berta Caceres in 2016, while acquitting an eighth suspect in the case that has drawn international attention.

In a unanimous ruling released on Thursday, three judges found that Elvin Rapalo, Henry Hernandez, Edilson Duarte and Oscar Galeas carried out the killing of Caceres, who was shot inside her home in La Esperanza in western Honduras, one year after winning the Goldman Environmental Prize for her leadership against a dam project.

They face up to 30 years in prison for the murder conviction. Their sentencing is scheduled for January 10.

The judges issued guilty verdicts on lesser charges for army officer Mariano Diaz, former soldier Douglas Bustillo and Sergio Rodriguez, a manager of the Agua Zarca hydroelectric project, which Caceres had opposed. Emerson Duarte, Edilsons brother, was acquitted. He had been accused of covering up the crime.

The ruling did not satisfy Caceres family, which wants those behind the killing to be prosecuted as well.

Lowest link





Roberto David Castillo Mejia, who was the executive president of DESA  the company leading the construction work  when Caceres was killed, has been accused by prosecutors of organising the logistics of the killing. He is in prison awaiting trial.

The company has said Castillo and its other employees were totally unconnected to the murder.

Friends, family, activists and members of Caceres Civic Council of Popular and Indigenous Organizations of Honduras demonstrated outside the court.

Were going for them  Capture the intellectual authors of this crime, the protesters shouted.

Her organisation released a statement saying the latest ruling only affects the lowest link in the criminal structure.

We regret that the actions so far have not been directed against those who ordered the death of Berta or those who paid for her murder, said Omar Menjivar, a lawyer for Caceres family.

Activists held up a banner reading The Atala are missing, a reference to the Atala Zablah family, shareholders of DESA, which protesters accuse of being behind the actions against Caceres.

Caceres had reported receiving death threats and her family said there was a collusion between the company and the state security forces.

The Honduran government has been under an immense global pressure for justice in the case in a country where impunity runs high.
China condemns the work of He Jiankui as institutions distance themselves from the academic who gene-edited twin girls.

Shenzhen, China  China has suspended He Jiankui  the scientist who claims to have produced the worlds first gene-edited babies. He now looks set to face punishment after publicly revealing research many in the scientific community condemned as irresponsible.

His work was extremely abominable in nature, Xi Nanping, vice minister of the Ministry of Science and Technology, told state news agency Xinhua late on Thursday.

Xi said genetically engineering the DNA of twin girls so they would not develop HIV, breached scientific ethics, adding that gene-editing of human embryos for reproduction purposes was explicitly banned in China.

He admitted at a gene-editing conference in Hong Kong on Wednesday that he had already initiated another pregnancy, although it was too soon to tell if it would go to full term.

An embryo receives a small dose of Cas9 protein and PCSK9 sgRNA in a sperm injection microscope in a laboratory in Shenzhen [Mark Schiefelbein/AP]

A source confirmed to Al Jazeera that He had returned to Shenzhen, although repeated calls to his mobile went unanswered and several messages sent to the phone were read with no response.

David Cyranoski of the journal Nature posted on social media that He was in the southern city and ready to cooperate fully with all inquiries about his work.

Resolutely dealt with

The scientist is likely to face a barrage of questions from institutions in Shenzhen, as well as from the Ministry of Science and Technology. Chinas National Health Commission said Hes activities would be investigated and any wrongdoing resolutely dealt with, according to Xinhua.

It is uncertain what punishment He may face since the law in China is vague on enforcement, according to Qiu Renzong, professor emeritus of the Institute of Philosophy and director of the Centre for Applied Ethics at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

His research has sent shockwaves through the international scientific community, with many raising concerns over the lack of verified data and the risks of exposing healthy embryos to gene-editing. Scientists have long worried about the implications for humanity of such genetic engineering.

R Alta Charo, a professor of law and bioethics at the University of Wisconsin, said if He had done the trial in the United States it would have been in violation of public law and involve penalties [that] are both civil and criminal. Approvals are needed through the Food and Drug Administration for human cells and therapy studies where cells are brought to gestation.

Police involvement?

Qiu noted in Hunan province in 2012, three researchers were arrested and then sacked along with three officials who approved trials of vitamin A-enriched genetically modified rice on schoolchildren without their consent.

Three scientists were disciplined, they were dismissed from their positions, and they could not apply for grants over a certain period of time, so [Hes case] may be similar to this, Qiu told Al Jazeera. I dont think the police will be involved, but the ministries will discipline him.

He said in a video released on Sunday  the same day the world learned of the births  that he used the CRISPR-cas9 tool for editing the embryos in order to remove the possibility that the babies would get HIV from their father, who is infected with the virus.

Anthropologist Eben Kirksey remarked that CRISPR has become a magic word related to HIV because of the promise that you only need to take the treatment once. But, he added, there were many other promising therapies for treating HIV, and he didnt think many in the HIV research community were putting a lot of hope in genetic editing.

Researcher Zhou Xiaoqin, left, loads Cas9 protein and PCSK9 sgRNA molecules into a fine glass pipette at He Jiankuis laboratory in Shenzhen [Mark Schiefelbein/AP]

He gave a partial apology in front of a packed auditorium at the Second International Summit on Human Genome Editing in Hong Kong. The contrition, however, seemed to be more for the information about the births coming out before his research had been vetted by the scientific community, rather than for having carried it out.

The scientist told delegates he was proud of his work, adding that if the same situation occurred and it was his child he would try it first.

Most other researchers believed it was far too early to progress to that point given the vast ethical questions that arise from having edited  like Lulu and Nana, the names He gave the twin baby girls  and non-edited humans living side by side.

Wouldnt it be useful to try to define a global ethical code of conduct, at least a minimum of consent and what is research is and what is the standard? asked Barbel Friedrich, director of the Alfried Krupp Institute for Advanced Studies in Greifswald. What we heard this morning was a violation of law, which he admitted to, but what we need is a global rule.

Institutions deny knowledge

Across the border in Shenzhen, institutions are distancing themselves from He.

Shenzhens Health and Family Planning Commission has directed the citys medical expert committee to investigate Hes activities.

Southern University of Science and Technology, where He is an associate professor and is said to have conducted the research without the full knowledge of the university, has sealed off his lab and suspended him pending an investigation. The website on genome research related to Hes work now appears to be inaccessible.

A researcher adjusts a microplate containing embryos that have been injected with Cas9 protein and PCSK9 sgRNA in a laboratory in Shenzhen [Mark Schiefelbein/AP]

When Al Jazeera visited the researchers lab, situated on a sprawling campus in a hub of universities in the northern part of Shenzhen, security officers refused entry, complaining about media trying to visit the site. Communications department officials at the school did not respond to requests to discuss the investigation into Hes research activities.

At the main gate, a police van was parked across the road, its blue and red lights flashing.

Shenzhen Harmonicare Women and Childrens Hospital, where the fertilisation allegedly took place, now denies involvement in Hes work and has said it believes a signature on papers approving the experiment were falsified. Attempts to reach officials at the hospital for further explanation were not successful.

We dont know yet whether that was fabricated, Qiu said of the papers. Some scientists, out of other motivations, these young scientists, they want to make a lot of money.
Even safely resettled in Australia, the spectre of Taliban violence still haunts the targeted minority group.

Melbourne, Australia  Australian members of the ethnic Hazara diaspora are desperately calling upon their government to do more to protect civilians in Afghanistan in the wake of heightened violence in the districts of Malistan and Jaghori.

As Australian parliament resumed in Canberra on Monday for its final sitting of 2018, dozens of Hazara Australians sat outside demanding action to prevent the Talibanisation of Afghanistan, including their rural highland homelands known as Hazarajat.

The effects of the recent violence on the Hazara families in Australia have been profound, Niamatullah Ibrahimi, an associate research fellow at Deakin University, told Al Jazeera.

Most Hazaras in Australia have recently come from Afghanistan and have close immediate family members who live in the districts of Jaghori and Malistan, some have their family members or friends killed in these attacks.

Sajjad Askary, a 22-year-old refugee activist based in Melbourne, said its difficult knowing what family members are going through back home.

There is that psychological pressure that comes here, on my family, on my brother, because when [Hazaras] are being targeted we can feel because we have been through those targets, said Askary.





My father was killed by a militant. My mum is in pain because of her family, so we are also in pain. We are also in sorrow.

In early November, Taliban forces began attacking primarily Hazara villages in Ghazni province, killing at least 63 civilians and displacing thousands.

Hazaras, who are distinct in their Asiatic appearance from other ethnic groups in Afghanistan, speak Persian and mainly practice Shia Islam, have long been targeted by Sunni armed groups such as the Taliban and more recently affiliates of Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL also known as ISIS).

Consequently, Hazaras have become one of Australias most prominent refugee communities, estimated to account for some 50,000 people.

For Shukufa Tahiri, a Hazara former refugee and policy officer with the Refugee Council of Australia, the latest violence is deeply personal. She saw her grandmother on a televised news report among thousands of displaced persons who had fled to Bamiyan, the neighbouring province.

Most of the displaced people are housed in the mosques or have been hosted by local residents, she told Al Jazeera. Without possibility in sight to return, people remain stranded without food, water and shelter.

Hazara protesters hold placards during a demonstration in Canberra on Monday [Courtesy: Keyhan Farahmand]

Deteriorating security

According to a situation update released by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, some 1,100 families have been displaced within Jaghuri and Malistan because of recent fighting.

Many residents of Malistan and Jaghuri have been traumatised by the violence and insecurity, and fear the return of [the Taliban] to their areas, it said. The harsh winter conditions make it challenging for the IDPs [internally displaced persons] to cope and meet their immediate needs.

A quarterly report from the Pentagon released in mid-November highlighted that United States forces have made little or no progress in combatting the Taliban and ISIL in Afghanistan. The Taliban has taken control of almost half of Afghanistan in recent years. The UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) reports that a record high number of Afghan civilians were killed in the first half of 2018.

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Hazara communities  who have been targeted in attacks in Kabul by groups affiliated to the Islamic State  feel the government has failed to protect them and thus feel particularly vulnerable, said Patricia Gossman, a senior researcher on Afghanistan at Human Rights Watch (HRW).

More than 25,000 Australian troops fought the Taliban and al-Qaeda in Afghanistan between the time when Australia joined the US-led coalition in November 2001 and when it withdrew in 2013. This is the largest number outside of NATO.

The Australian government has been a direct stakeholder in Afghanistan in the past 17 years, particularly in the province of Oruzgan where the brutal massacre of Hazaras occurred one month ago, Tahiri of the Refugee Council said.

According to Besmellah Rezaee, an Adelaide-based lawyer and community spokesperson, unless the world pays attention and acts urgently, we fear a repeat of the fate of the Yazidis at the hands of ISIS.

Australia in Afghanistan

The Hazaras have overwhelmingly supported the international intervention in Afghanistan by refusing to support the insurgency and embracing the globalising social changes that have followed the intervention, said Ibrahimi of Deakin University. As a whole, the community stand out for their liberal attitudes towards female school enrolment and participation in public life. The Taliban oppose many of these social transformations, seeing them as foreign cultural invasion.

In an open letter to Australias Prime Minister Scott Morrison, Hazara community leaders this month wrote that: We believe that the Australian government, as a major contributor to the international efforts for stabilisation and reconstruction of Afghanistan since 2001, can play a vital role in urging the National Unity Government of President Ashraf Ghani and NATOs Resolute Support Mission to act to ensure the safety and security of the Hazara people.





A spokesperson for Australias Department of Defence told Al Jazeera it is a national security priority for Australia to remain engaged in Afghanistan and contain the threat of terrorism.

Australia contributes around 300 defence personnel to train, advise, and assist the Afghan security forces as part of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization Resolute Support Mission.

Australia strongly supports Afghanistans efforts to seek an inclusive and durable political settlement that will end violence and reduce the suffering of the Afghan people, including the Hazara population, the spokesperson said.

The US has maintained an ongoing military presence in Afghanistan and is attempting to facilitate peace talks. Last month, a senior US official met directly with representatives of the Taliban in Doha, Qatar, reportedly to begin preliminary talks about the withdrawal of American troops from Afghanistan.

But Gossman of HRW warned against giving Taliban and militia leaders outsized power through the peace process.

I think there is a great danger of repeating the mistakes of the past  of getting a quick and dirty peace deal that leaves in place militia commanders, warlords, Taliban commanders in the places they control  a jigsaw of rival militias who operate as a law unto themselves, she told Al Jazeera.

Its a blueprint for renewed fighting, not peace. A comprehensive peace process should include human rights protections.

Peace talks have emboldened the Taliban, said Tahiri. Although the Taliban have been historically hostile and repugnant to Hazaras, these attacks were to advance into sovereign territories in light of simultaneous peace talks in Moscow, she said.

Deportations, death

Back in Australia, some 30,000 people seeking asylum face uncertainty and limited rights on bridging and temporary visas, many of whom are Hazara.

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Askarys own brother has been on a temporary visa for five years.

There is not a clear pathway of how he applies for a permanent visa. He might get deported, he might get his permanent visa. But if he gets deported, he gets deported back to Afghanistan, he said.

Despite the volatile situation in Afghanistan, Western countries including Australia have continued to repatriate Hazaras whose claims for asylum have been rejected. Some asylum seekers forcibly returned to the country have been targeted for kidnappings, torture and killings by the Taliban.

In 2014, a 56-year-old Afghan-Australian father of four was executed by the Taliban for seeking refuge in an infidel country, while he travelled by bus from Ghazni province to the capital Kabul.

The Asia Pacific Refugee Rights Network has released an urgent statement calling upon governments who host Hazara communities such as Pakistan, Iran and the European Union to immediately halt the deportation or forced return of any Hazara to Afghanistan, regardless of whether or not they have refugee status from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.

Its time for Western governments to open their eyes to the realities on the ground inside Afghanistan, said the groups programme coordinator Evan Jones. Far from being a safe country, threats such as kidnapping, suicide bombings and terrorist insurgencies remain far too common.

Irresponsible policy

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Srinjoy Bose, a researcher on Afghanistan at the University of New South Wales in Sydney, told Al Jazeera the reality is the country is still plagued by war.

Lets not mince words here: Hazaras face extreme security risks in Afghanistan. Afghanistan is a conflict country, not a post-conflict country as some want to describe it as. The Taliban control and/or contest more territory than ever before since 2001, and security incidents against the Hazara community are everyday and commonplace, he said.

Within this context, forcibly returning Hazaras from Australia  especially young people  is irresponsible government policy, he said.

Even without the threat of death or deportation, Taliban violence still takes a heavy toll on Hazara Australians.

My brother who has got depression, every time the Taliban attacks Hazaras in Afghanistan, or every time Hazaras are being targeted in Quetta, Pakistan, it extremely affects him. He cant sleep, said Askary.

When the Taliban attacks it comes on social media, all the pictures. Killing, bloodshed on Facebook, Twitter and I cant focus on my studies. When the whole community is in this depression and thinking, Im affected.
A vast majority of the victims in the Helmand attack were women and children, according to a UN investigation.

At least 23 civilians, including women and children, were killed by an air raid carried out by the United States in southern Afghanistan earlier this week, according to a UN investigation.

Initial findings indicate that the vast majority of the victims were women and children, the UN mission in Afghanistan said in a report received by AFP late on Thursday, adding that at least three people were also injured in the attack.

The attack occurred during a firefight between Afghan special forces working with US advisers and Taliban fighters late on Tuesday in restive Helmand province.

NATO said air support was requested by security forces on the ground as the fighters deployed heavy weapons and retreated into a nearby compound.

Provincial authorities had earlier said several members of a single family appeared to have been killed in the attack, with one official saying at least 18 civilians were killed, which could not be confirmed.

NATO has said it was investigating the incident.

Haji Mohammad, who lived near where the incident occurred, said the attack came after the Taliban entered a home during a battle with security forces, saying it killed several civilians inside along with nine fighters.

Civilians continue to face extreme levels of harm, a recent UN report said, with 8,050 people killed or wounded in the January to September period this year.

Violence has escalated in the past year as US and Afghan forces press ground and air offensives against the Taliban and the armed group the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, also known as ISIS).

The Taliban has also upped assaults on Afghan forces even as the US increased efforts to engage the fighters in peace talks.

Mounting casualties

Washington is trying to find a way out of the conflict more than 17 years since the US intervention that toppled the Taliban from power.

US envoy Zalmay Khalilzad is spearheading efforts to strike a peace deal with the Taliban before Afghanistans presidential election, scheduled for April next year, though officials have said it could be postponed until July.

A Taliban delegation met Khalilzad in Doha, the Qatari capital, in October and November to discuss ending the Afghan conflict.

Khalilzad has said he is cautiously optimistic for an end to the conflict.

Meanwhile, President Ashraf Ghani announced in the Swiss city of Geneva on Wednesday that his government has appointed a 12-member team to hold talks with the Taliban.

Also on Friday, at least 29 people were killed in clashes between a pro-government militia commander and the Taliban in Herat province, according to provincial governor spokesman Jelani Farhad.
Tens of thousands of farmers protest in New Delhi demanding debt waivers and higher crop prices.

Tens of thousands of farmers and agricultural workers marched towards the Indian parliament on Friday demanding debt waivers and higher crop prices, putting pressure on Prime Minister Narendra Modi ahead of 2019 general elections.

We are demanding legal rights for farmers  especially for tenant farmers and women farmers with no rights, said Kavitha Kuruganti, who represents the advocacy group, Alliance for Sustainable and Holistic Agriculture.

Our farmers need secure rights over land and better prices for their crop to be free from debt, she told the Reuters news agency.

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Organisers said some 80,000 farmers and farm labourers were participating in the two-day agitation, termed as Dilli Chalo (March to Delhi), that will culminate with a petition to the Indian president.

We have three main demands. Debt waiver, maximum price for the produce and a special parliament session to discuss the crisis, Ajit Nawale from Maharashtra Kisan Sabha, one of the 200 farmer groups organising the Delhi March, told the AFP news agency.

A number of opposition leaders, including Congress party president Rahul Gandhi and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, addressed the agitating farmers.

Farmers not seeking any gift from the government on farm loan waiver. They are asking for whats due to them, Gandhi was quoted by Indian media as saying.

Farmers are demanding a spl.session of parliament to interrogate the model of #agriculture we are headed twds. Declining gov. investment in agriculture, research & expenditure has led to a high dependence on pvt sources for inputs, markets & credit. #kisanmuktimarch  People's Archive of Rural India (@PARInetwork) November 29, 2018

More than 300,000 farmers have killed themselves in the last 20 years, mainly because of poor irrigation, failed crops and being unable to pay back loans.

Each year, millions of small farmers suffer due to scant irrigation facilities that reduces the yield and leads farmers into a deadly cycle of debt and suicides.

More than 300,000 Indian farmers have killed themselves in the last 20 years, mainly due to failed crops and debt [Anushree Fadnavis/Reuters]

Long Live Farmer Unity

Farmers from across the country, who travelled by trains and buses, flooded New Delhi since Thursday as they gathered at the capital citys Ramlila Grounds before marching to parliament.

Modi promised to double our income but we can't even feed ourselves Labo Banigo, a farmer from eastern Odisha state

Participants marched through central Delhi, chanting slogans and holding placards that said Down With Modi Government and Long Live Farmer Unity as thousands of riot and armed policemen stood guard.

The farmer crisis has got twice as bad in the last five years, Sadhu Singh, a farmer from northern Punjab state, known as the wheat bowl of India, told AFP.

We are losing money on every grain of rice we produce, he said.

Fridays demonstration was the latest of several such protests this year.

On Wednesday, some 50,000 people marched in the eastern city of Kolkata in solidarity with farmers.

In March, thousands of women farmers marched into Mumbai alongside their male peers in March, demanding recognition of their rights over forest and farmland.

Campaigners said implementation of the landmark 2006 Forest Rights Act (FRA), which was meant to benefit a fifth of Indias population, has been hobbled by conflicting legislation and a lack of political will.

At the same time, states have diluted several protective clauses of the Land Acquisition Act of 2013 to speed up purchases for industry and infrastructure.

India lacks a robust irrigation infrastructure and most of the countrys farmland relies on annual monsoon rains [Adnan Abidi/Reuters]

Since the laws are not effectively applied, farmers need stronger rights to their land, said Namita Wahi, a senior fellow at the Centre for Policy Research, a think-tank in New Delhi.

(Farmers need) not only a title, but also use, possession, occupancy and livelihood rights, she told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.

The rights of farmers and indigenous people

The rights of farmers and indigenous people have grabbed an unlikely spotlight in assembly elections in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh states.

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Analysts say their discontent could hurt Prime Minister Modis Hindu nationalist party in the ongoing state elections.

The government points to initiatives such as improved irrigation, crop insurance and electronic trading platforms as evidence it has helped rural Indians, who make up about 70 percent of the 1.3 billion population.

The right-wing prime minister has promised to double their income by 2022 but farmers say nothing has changed for them.

Labo Banigo from eastern Odisha state said he is under huge debts after his crops failed due to back-to-back bad monsoons.

We have three main demands - debt waiver, maximum price for the produce and a special parliament session to discuss the crisis Ajit Nawale from Maharashtra Kisan Sabha

My farm is a wasteland. There is hardly 10 percent produce, Banigo told AFP. Modi promised to double our income but we cant even feed ourselves.

Nearly 55 percent of Indians are directly or indirectly dependent on agriculture. The sector accounts for nearly 15 percent of Indias economic output.

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Economist Niranjan Rajadhyaksha called for the right to property to be reinstated in the constitution.

Indias constitution of 1950 recognised the right to property as a fundamental right. But subsequent laws undermined that right and it was scrapped in 1978.

No major political party has since made reinstatement of the right to property a campaign issue, lest they be seen as pandering to the rich, Rajadhyaksha wrote in the Mint newspaper.

Property rights are a tool of inclusion rather than exclusion, he wrote.

The poor have neither the legal resources nor the political heft to fight laws or administrative orders that allow the takeover of their land, (and) not enough opportunities to make a living in case they are forcibly separated from their property.
Thousands march against capitalism, abuse of activists as world leaders gather for annual G20 summit in Buenos Aires.

Buenos Aires, Argentina  Hundreds of thousands of anti-capitalist and other protesters marched against the G20 summit through the Argentine capital Buenos Aires on Friday.

Protesters seemed undeterred by a number of security measures put in place by the government, including the closure of public transportation in much of the city.

A 12-square-kilometre area around the convention centre where the leaders of the worlds top economies were meeting was cordoned off, keeping demonstrations about five kilometres away from the event.

We will march up to the security fence so the functionaries who are inside a fence that surrounds them  can see theres resistance from the people, said Sebastian Dominguez, of the Argentine Regional Workers Federation, an anarcho-syndicalist organisation.

Dominguez, along with thousands of others who attended the march, protested against the G20s failure to adequately address a broad range of issues, including climate change, poverty and hunger.

This G20 wont talk about migration, austerity and the adjustment measures were facing here in Argentina and that are being applied in Europe, said Daniel Catalano, secretary-general of ATE Capital, an Argentine trade union.

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They wont talk about poverty. They wont talk about climate change, they wont talk about how to improve the quality of life. Theyre going to talk about how to divide the wealth of the majority and the wealth of nature, he told Al Jazeera before the protest.

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Paulo Neves, who travelled from Brazil to protest against the G20, told Al Jazeera, We are marching in support of our comrades against the G20 and against neoliberalism in Latin America.

Some protesters shouted Get out G20, Get out Trump as the march arrived in the square outside Congress.

This circus that has kicked off in Buenos Aires today isnt tackling improving the lives of the vulnerable or the oppressed in this country, said Carlos Ortega, general secretary of social security union SECASFPI.

Also high on the protesters agenda is the economic crisis in Argentina and how it is affecting ordinary people.

Pablo Ruiz, who has worked in the streets selling things since he was five years old, told Al Jazeera he was marching because he was angry.

The pueblo (people) includes your grandmother, the pueblo includes your family, Ruiz shouted.

Activist deaths

Several social groups also voiced concerns about extrajudicial killings and other persecutions of activists in advance of the summit.

Two activists from the Popular Confederation for Economy Workers (CTEP) were killed the week before the summit. Rodolfo Orellana was shot during a land occupation on the outskirts of Buenos Aires and Marcos Soria was shot in a separate incident in the city of Cordoba.

Organisations including Confluence G20 IMF Out and police brutality monitoring organisation Correpi have said the police were responsible for both killings.

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A spokesperson for the Buenos Aires Provincial Ministry of Security told Al Jazeera that an investigation is ongoing.

The issue of who fired the shot and what weapon they used is under investigation because initial impressions suggest that it was a low-calibre weapon and the police force dont use those, the spokesperson said.

The death of activist Santiago Maldonado sparked protests across Argentina [File: Marcos Brindicci/Reuters]

Cordoba Provincial police had not responded to Al Jazeeras request for comment at the time of publication.

Argentine protesters are also demanding justice for Santiago Maldonado, who disappeared while police were dispersing a protest in Chubut province in August 2017. Three months later, his body was found in a river. His death prompted protests across the country.

On Thursday, Judge Gustavo Lleral declared Maldonados case closed, concluding that he had drowned.

Meanwhile, the Argentine Committee in Solidarity with the Palestinian People also told Al Jazeera that it rejected the visit of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman because of his role in the bombing of Yemen.

The group also highlighted the involvement of the United States and the United Arab Emirates in the Yemen war.

Tens of thousands of Yemenis have been killed and half the population has been left on the brink of famine, the organisation said in a statement emailed to Al Jazeera.

Others who protested against the attendance of Prince Mohammed called for justice for Saudi columnist Jamal Khashoggi, who was killed on October 2 in kingdoms consulate in Istanbul. Saudi officials have dismissed allegations that Prince Mohammed had knowledge of the operation to kill Khashoggi, but Turkey has consistently hinted at high-level Saudi involvement, stopping short of accusing any senior Saudi royal. US intelligence has also reportedly linked the crown prince to the murder.

Countries who covered up the murder [of Khashoggi] are also responsible for Yemen, and now theyre here with diplomatic immunity, said Severino Ramon of the Leninist Trotskyist international faction.
MTN Group Ltd.s Rwanda unit has signed a$56.20 million (50 billion francs) loan with eight local banks.

MTN Rwanda, which had close to 4.5 million subscribers in September, said the loan is earmarked for a capital expenditure program for the next two years targeting expansion and modernization of the network and related IT systems.

Diatile Lily Zondo, the firms Chief Financial Officer, said the funds will also go into covering operating costs which have been going up over the years as the firm increases services portfolio.

The loan was provided by a syndicate of eight banks comprising Ecobank Rwanda, Cogebanque, BPR Atlas Mara, I&M Bank, Bank of Kigali, KCB Bank, Equity Bank and GT Trust Bank.

According to Ecobank Rwanda Managing Director, Alice Kilonzo, the loan was oversubscribed by 127 per cent.

Last year, Rwandas telecom industry regulator has fined MTN Rwanda, for running its IT services outside the country in breach of its license.

MTN Rwanda says it is the countrys leading mobile operator, with over 4 million subscribers. It is 80 percent owned by MTN Group while the remaining 20 percent is listed on the Rwanda Securities Exchange.
Burkina Faso: Fuel workers go on strike over price rise

Government says it needs money normally used for fuel subsidies to fund operations against armed groups.
Hill was accused of anti-Semitism after he called for free Palestine from the river to the sea at UN meeting.

American Cable News Network (CNN) has severed ties with Marc Lamont Hill, a recurring political contributor, after he delivered a speech at the United Nations accusing Israel of state violence and ethnic cleansing and championed a one-state solution.

A CNN spokesperson said in a brief statement on Thursday that Hill, a professor of media studies at Temple University, was no longer under contract.

The network did not give a reason, but the move came amid objections to Hills speech by the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) and other groups.

Hill, a recurring political commentator on CNN, had called for a single secular democratic state for everyone in a meeting at the UN marking the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People on Wednesday, with a free Palestine from the river to the sea.

The ADL said the river to the sea phrase was code for the destruction of Israel, adding that the annual UN event promoted divisiveness and hate.

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According to the Jewish Voice for Peace, while the ADL markets itself as a civil rights organisation, its history betrays an extensive record of anti-Arab, anti-Muslim and anti-Palestinian advocacy.

In 1993, the United States police raided the offices of the ADL in San Francisco and found illegally obtained files on nearly 10,000 individuals and at least 950 organisations, including labour unions, LGBT groups, progressive media, Arab-American organisations, anti-Zionist Jewish organisations and other civil rights groups.

Hill defended his speech in social media posts, saying he did not support anti-Semitism and that his reference to river to the sea was not a call to destroy anything or anyone.

It was a call for justice, both in Israel and in the West Bank/Gaza, he tweeted. The speech very clearly and specifically said those things.

I support Palestinian freedom. I support Palestinian self-determination. I am deeply critical of Israeli policy and practice, he continued. I do not support anti-Semitism, killing Jewish people, or any of the other things attributed to my speech.

There has been a strong revival in recent years among Palestinians for a one-state solution which they claim will guarantee equal rights to Palestinians and Israeli Jews throughout historic Palestine.

Israels right-wing government, led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, however, has rejected a one-state solution and has stopped short of explicitly endorsing Palestinian statehood.

CNN's decision contributes to the chilling effect on freedom of expression ... where speaking honestly about Israel's abuse of Palestinians could result in shunning, and even firing Omar Baddar, deputy director of the Washington-based Arab American Institute

Calling out oppression isnt anti-Semitic

Politicians, journalists and pro-Palestinian activists called Hills firing shameful, and accused CNN of kowtowing to right-wing Israeli groups.

Calling out the oppressive policies in Israel, advocating for Palestinians to be respected, and for Israelis and Palestinians alike to have peace and freedom is not anti-Semitic, said Rashida Tlaib, a Palestinian American congresswoman.

Media personality Mehdi Hasan questioned how CNN could fire Hill while keeping onboard Rick Santorum, who has denied Palestinians exist in the West Bank. Hasan hosts UpFront, a popular news affairs show on Al Jazeera English.

Ayman Mohyeldin, a senior presenter at MSNBC, wrote: Denying the legitimacy and existence of Palestinians/Palestine/historic Palestine, whether its on-air commentary, or in official state policy or in simply punditry is widely acceptable among American mainstream media, politicians, and religious figures.

Dont hold your breath denying the legitimacy and existence of Palestinians/Palestine/historic Palestine, whether its on-air commentary, or in official state policy or in simply punditry is widely acceptable among American mainstream media, politicians, & religious figures https://t.co/6mRPzBSBg2  Ayman Mohyeldin (@AymanM) November 29, 2018

Al Jazeera reached out to CNN for comment but it did not receive a response at the time of publication.

Omar Baddar, the deputy director of the Washington-based Arab American Institute, said it was disappointing to see CNN cave to transparently dishonest pressure.

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Israels rejection of the historic Palestinian compromise of a two-state solution, and its insistence on building illegal settlements throughout the Palestinian territories is the reason why a one-state reality has been imposed on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, he told Al Jazeera.

Israeli leaders insist on this one-state reality to be an apartheid state where Palestinians are squashed and dominated. Hill, on the other hand, dared to support a different vision, one of equal rights for all.

This vision of equality is so appealing to people of conscience that pro-Israel propagandists cannot confront it honestly, which is precisely why they resort to the kind of smears that resulted in Hills firing.

The damage, of course, goes well beyond Hills career. CNNs decision contributes to the chilling effect on freedom of expression on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and to the suffocating environment where speaking honestly about Israels abuse of Palestinians could result in shunning, and even firing.

Additional reporting by Faisal Edroos. Follow him on Twitter: @FaisalEdroos
The UN health body confirms 426 cases, with 198 deaths reported since August, as DRC struggles to contain the disease.

The Democratic Republic of Congos deadly Ebola outbreak is now the second largest in history, behind the devastating West Africa outbreak that killed thousands a few years ago, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

Dr Peter Salama, WHOs emergencies chief, called it a sad toll as DR Congos health ministry announced the number of cases has reached 426.

That includes 379 confirmed cases and 47 probable ones.

So far this outbreak, declared on August 1, has caused 198 confirmed deaths, DR Congos health ministry said.

The latest outbreak is the tenth in DR Congo since Ebola was first detected there in 1976.

The crisis is centred around the restive eastern city of Beni in North Kivu, a region which has been blighted by armed conflict, which has hampered efforts to curb the outbreak.

Attacks by rebel groups and open hostility by some wary locals have posed serious challenges to health workers that Ebola experts say they have never seen before.

Many venture out on critical virus containment missions only accompanied by UN peacekeepers in areas where gunfire echoes daily.

Peter Jay Hotez, from Baylor College of Medicine, told Al Jazeera the violence has contributed to the collapse of the healthcare infrastructure, so efforts by health workers are seriously hampered.

The good is we have a vaccine now. But the problem is, working in such an unstable area, you have to assure to safety of the vaccinators, and you have to be able to trace potential contacts, and get them vaccinated.

Salama of WHO predicted that the outbreak in the northeastern part of the country will last at least another six months before it can be contained.

West Africas Ebola outbreak killed more than 11,000 people from 2014 to 2016.

Red zones

More than 37,000 people have received Ebola vaccinations, and DR Congo has begun the first-ever trial to test the effectiveness and safety of four experimental Ebola drugs.

A WHO official talks to local women in DR Congo as part of the effort to fight Ebola [Reuters]

Yet, the risk of Ebola spreading in so-called red zones  areas that are virtually inaccessible because of the threat of rebel groups  is a major concern in containing this outbreak.

This tragic milestone clearly demonstrates the complexity and severity of the outbreak. While the numbers are far from those from West Africa in 2014, were witnessing how the dynamics of conflict pose a different kind of threat, said Michelle Gayer, senior director of emergency health at the International Rescue Committee.

In a major concern for health workers, many new cases have been unconnected to known infections as the insecurity complicates efforts to track contacts of those with the disease.

The alarmingly high number of infected newborns in this outbreak is another concern, and so far a mystery.

In a separate statement on Thursday, WHO said so far 36 Ebola cases have been reported among newborn babies and children under 2.

As the need for help in containing the outbreak grows, two of the worlds most prominent medical journals this week published statements by global health experts urging the Trump administration to do more.

In the Journal of the American Medical Association, one group noted that the US government weeks ago ordered all Centers for Disease Control and Prevention personnel  some of the worlds most experienced outbreak experts  from DR Congos outbreak zone because of security concerns.

A separate statement published in the New England Journal of Medicine said: Given the worsening of the outbreak, we believe its essential that these security concerns be addressed and that CDC staff return to the field.

Ebola is a serious infectious disease that can spread rapidly through small amounts of bodily fluid, causing internal bleeding and potentially death.

DR Congo is in the throes of a major campaign ahead of a December 23 election to choose a successor to President Joseph Kabila, who has ruled the vast central African country since 2001.

Since winning independence from Belgium in 1960, this poverty-stricken nation has never known a peaceful transition of power.
Reported denial follows an online petition, which called on the Immigration Minister to ban Gavin McInnes from entering.

The Australian Home Affairs Department has blocked the visa application of Gavin McInnes, the founder of the US far-right group the Proud Boys, after he failed the character test required to enter Australia, according to Australian broadcaster ABC.

A spokeswoman for the Department of Home Affairs said in a statement carried by ABC on Friday that the character test was mandatory for non-citizens who have decisive opinions.

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, the statement said.

The report followed an online petition, which called on the Immigration Minister David Coleman to ban Gavin McInnes from visiting the country in February 2019 for a speaking tour.

The petition, which was signed by more than 81,000 people, was founded by Nyadol Nyuon, a lawyer. Along with other activists and Labour MPs, Nyuon delivered the petition to Parliament House in the capital of Canberra.

More than 80,000 Australians  refuse to turn a blind eye to this clear record of violence incitement, and the violence of the Proud Boys, ABC reported Nyuon as saying on Friday.

The Proud Boys were founded by Mr McInnes in 2016, and describe themselves as a pro-Western fraternal organisation for men who refuse to apologise for creating the modern world; aka Western Chauvinists.

Earlier this month, McInnes, who has been banned from Twitter, announced he was reluctantly cutting all ties to the Proud Boys.

US law enforcement agency, the FBI, has designated the group an extremist group with ties to white nationalism.
Russias use of military force against Ukrainian ships and sailors has no justification, the group says.

Kiev, Ukraine  Foreign ministers from the worlds seven biggest economies, known as the Group of Seven or G7, have condemned Russias actions in Kerch Strait as they reaffirmed their unwavering support for Ukraines sovereignty and territorial integrity.

A statement by G7 members  the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the High Representative of the European Union  on Friday said there was no justification for Russias use of military force against Ukrainian ships and naval personnel.

We urge restraint, due respect for international law, and the prevention of any further escalation. We call on Russia to release the detained crew and vessels and refrain from impeding lawful passage through the Kerch Strait, the statement read.

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We, the G7, once again reiterate that we do not, and will never, recognise Russias illegal annexation of the Crimean peninsula, and we reaffirm our unwavering support for Ukraines sovereignty and territorial integrity.

Olexiy Makeyev, political director at Ukraines foreign ministry, told Al Jazeera that Ukraine was defending itself from the Russian aggression.

We count on the support of our American partners and we enjoy a full support also by the European Union, he said.

Ukraine seeks global support

The G7 statement came a day after US President Donald Trump cancelled his meeting with Russias Vladimir Putin, saying the much-anticipated talks at the G20 could not take place while Ukrainian sailors were still in captivity.

Russia on Sunday blocked three Ukrainian military vessels from passing through the Kerch Strait on their way from the Black Sea to the Sea of Azov  the shared internal waters of both countries.

The confrontation escalated after Russia seized the three vessels and captured 24 Ukrainian crew members, who were later put under a 60-day pre-trial detention and sent to Moscow. Ukraine said the detainees were Russias prisoners of war.

Russia insists the Ukrainian sailors crossed into Russian waters illegally, with Putin saying the border guards fulfilled their military duty in seizing the ships.

As the threat of a total war grew, Kiev introduced martial law in 10 of its 27 regions for 30 days to avoid an all-out Russian invasion.

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On Friday, Ukraines President Petro Poroshenko told Britains Sky News broadcaster that Trumps decision to cancel the scheduled talks with Putin was an evidence of the Russian leaders isolation.

After a chemical attack in Britain, after a terror attack on MH17, after the Russian aggression in the east of my country, after Syria, after all these catastrophic actions, Putin is in isolation, he said.

Ban on Russian men entry

Also on Friday, Ukraine barred Russian men between the age of 16 and 60 from entering the country.

Andriy Demchenko, Ukraines border service spokesperson, said it was not a blanket ban.

Russian citizens will go through an additional interview at the border and their previous visits to Ukraine will be scrutinised, he told Al Jazeera, adding that the decision to block them will be taken on a case by case basis, with necessary exceptions.

Exceptions might be applied to individuals with diplomatic status, transport personnel, people with temporary or permanent residency in Ukraine, and those coming for humanitarian purposes, he said.

Poroshenko said the move would prevent the Russian Federation from forming detachments of private armies in Ukraine similar to the operations they tried to carry out in 2014.

Ukraine believes that Russian citizens and soldiers are fighting alongside Moscow-backed rebels, who in 2014 seized parts of Ukraines Donetsk and Luhansk regions, declaring them independent from Kiev.

Ukraine has also launched military drills in the Sea of Azov, with its soldiers role-playing the repelling of an attempted Russian landing on the coast.

Maria Zakharova, Russias foreign ministry spokesperson, said on Friday that Moscow would not implement a similar travel ban on Ukrainians as it would be irrational.

She accused Poroshenko of using martial law as a way of raising his falling electoral ratings in an attempt to earn points during the latest Russophobic wave.

The conflict in eastern Ukraine has killed more than 10,000 people, including civilians.

Follow Tamila Varshalomidze on Twitter @tamila87v.
Following Spain drama, top Gibraltar official tells Al Jazeera peninsula will be covered by withdrawal arrangements.

London  The British government has unequivocally confirmed that Gibraltar would be included in all future deals agreed by to the United Kingdom following Brexit, including trade agreements with the European Union, according to a senior Gibraltar official.

Gibraltar Deputy Chief Minister Joseph Garcias comments in an interview with Al Jazeera came after the issue of Gibraltar was propelled to the top level of Brexit negotiations. This comes following Spains threat to oppose a deal on the UKs withdrawal from the EU unless it was assured over the disputed peninsula.

Garcia also rejected the claim that Spain will be able to exclude Gibraltar from any post-Brexit trade deal.

The agreement between British Prime Minister Theresa May and the EU almost fell through at the last minute after opposition from Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez.

On November 20, he argued that the deal was ambiguous on Gibraltars future and instead, The Rocks future should be agreed separately through bilateral talks between the UK and Spain.

Following a letter later published by the British ambassador to the EU, Tim Barrow, which stated the UK would accept this demand, it seemed Sanchez had achieved his goal.

Barrows statement came after European Council and European Commission support guaranteeing that the political, legal and geographical relationship of Gibraltar and the EU would pass through Spain after Brexit.

While talks between the UK and Spain will continue to reach a compromise on Gibraltars future, on issues such as citizens rights and tobacco smuggling, it is not in either the UKs or the EUs interests for the UK, or indeed Gibraltar, to leave the bloc without a deal, Garcia said.

The chief minister is therefore entirely satisfied with the fact that Gibraltar will rightly be covered by the withdrawal arrangements including those related to the transition period.

This will provide certainty and security to businesses, investors and citizens alike.

Separately, the UK government, and the prime minister herself, have unequivocally confirmed that the UK will negotiate any future trade deals on behalf of all territories for whose external relations the UK is responsible for. That includes Gibraltar.

Sanchez said Spain will vote against the deal unless changes are made [Fernando Calvo/AP Photo]

Gibraltar was ceded to the UK by Spain under the Treaty of Utrecht in 1713 and has remained under British control ever since.

The British ownership of El Penon, as it is known in Spain, has long angered Spain.

The surrounding Spanish province of Andalucia is the countrys poorest, with every province except Malaga exceeding a 40 percent chronic poverty rate.

Gibraltar enjoys the third highest gross domestic product (GDP) per capita in the world and has been used as a catalyst by Spanish politicians to drum up support.

Sanchezs criticism of the deal came ahead of the December 2 Andalucian Regional Election, which his PSOE party won in 2015.

We can expect that Pedro Sanchez  or his successor  will keep raising the issue of The Rock periodically, said Henry Newman, head of the Open Europe think-tank.

At the moment Sanchezs minority government faces key elections in Andalucia in early December so a confected row last weekend was perfect political fodder  It changed nothing of substance, however.

Garcia took a swipe at the Spanish prime minister, saying: It is true that we have had a lot of heat but not much light from Mr Sanchez in recent days.

The chief minister was disappointed with the Spanish prime ministers rhetoric, which he felt was orchestrated for internal political consumption as opposed to representing the genuine line of Spanish centre-left politics which has traditionally focused on cross-border cooperation and the protection of workers rights as opposed to taking obsolete, nationalistic positions on sovereignty.

People in Gibraltar are extremely pro-EU, with over 99 percent having voted to remain in the bloc in the June 2016 referendum, the highest of any constituency in the UK. Its residents have also long demonstrated a desire to remain under British rule.

In 1967 and 2002, they chose overwhelmingly to reject joint-Spanish sovereignty, 99 percent and 98 percent of its population, respectively, voting to maintain the status quo.

Therefore, an unwelcome Brexit and increasingly aggressive Spanish rhetoric have left many concerned for their future.

Gibraltar has been British now for almost 315 years, said Garcia.

In large measures that is due to the courage, resilience and fortitude of its people and their stalwart defence of the principle of self-determination.

For the chief minister, it is a privilege to protect that legacy and he will not let Gibraltar down in doing so.
Internet censorship tightens in Senegal before elections

Those whove fallen foul of existing laws say free speech is under attack.
Finance minister becomes likely successor to Lee Hsien Loong as city-state positions for more challenging future.

Singapore  Lee Kuan Yew, known as the founding father of Singapore, oversaw its growth from a small country with no natural resources to a thriving metropolis  in a style almost invariably described as authoritarian.

Lee dominated public life on the Southeast Asian island from 1959, when the former British colony won self-governance, to well beyond his retirement as prime minister in 1990, serving in advisory ministerial roles for more than a decade.

His eldest son, Lee Hsien Loong, the third and current prime minister since 2004 (his predecessor Goh Chok Tong was seen by some as merely a seat warmer) has led the country through less combative, more prosperous times.

Approaching 67, he wants to step down by the time he turns 70.

The founding family appears to be at the end of its run, with no younger Lees apparently willing to continue the familys political tradition. In a country accustomed to stability and predictability, the dawn of a post-Lee era has fuelled uncertainty.

The Peoples Action Party, which has never lost a national election and was founded by the elder Lee, last week unveiled its new slate of leaders  the 4G or fourth generation in Singapore-speak  who the party would like to take control of the government in the coming years.

Life and death

Singaporeans are greeting the new line-up with the kind of coming-of-age anxiety that comes with leaving the familiar.

The general mood after the announcement of the PAPs succession is one of relief, said Victor Mills, chief executive of the Singapore International Chamber of Commerce (SICC). It took a while. Singaporeans, just like the markets, do not like uncertainty.

Singapores Finance Minister Heng Swee Keat pictured earlier this year [File: Wong Maye-E/AP]

The countrys next general election must be held by April 2021.

But Lee has hinted it may be called as early as next year, which would mean it coincides with the celebrations to mark 200 years since Stamford Raffles arrived on the island.

In 2015, the PAP benefitted from Singapores 50th anniversary celebrations  and the emotional farewells following Lee Kuan Yews death  to win a decisive victory over fractured opposition parties.

The man in line to become the younger Lees successor is Finance Minister Heng Swee Keat, 57, who is now the ruling partys first assistant secretary general.

A former central bank chief and education minister, Heng once served as principal secretary to the elder Lee, but two years ago during a cabinet meeting, he collapsed from a stroke, triggering questions about his ability to run the country.

Heng told government-regulated media the life and death experience only underlined his commitment to public service. Another story reminded readers that Hengs first question when he came round in his hospital bed  written on paper because he was still unable to speak  was whether there was a cabinet meeting.

The partys new second-in-command is Trade Minister Chan Chun Sing, 49, seen as Hengs chief competitor for the top job.

Out of view

Singaporeans pay their respects to the countrys first prime minister Lee Kuan Yew who died in 2015 at the age of 91 [Wong Maye-E/AP]





The jockeying among PAP leaders took place behind the scenes, out of public view, and following the announcement the newspapers filled with lavish pledges of unity from former rivals.

The largely male leadership was photographed smiling and shaking hands in the partys regulation uniform of white trousers and white shirts  the shirts sporting a lightning symbol in red circled by a blue ring to symbolise action and racial unity (Singapores population is largely ethnic Chinese, but has large groups of Malay and Indian people).

The dawn of a post-Lee era comes at a pivotal time for Singapore. The small country  with a population of 5.9 million  plays an outsized role in foreign affairs as a regional ally both to the United States and China, while a trade war between the two economic superpowers threatens to spill over into broader conflicts.





But the city-state is also facing more domestic challenges, including income inequality, an ageing workforce, immigration, and the rising cost of living. Adding to the mix, a future administration will have to deal with the expiration of the first generation of leaseholds on Singapores signature policy of owner-occupied public housing.

Mays general election in neighbouring Malaysia, which saw voters reject the six-decade-long rule of the Barisan Nasional coalition  was a stark reminder that regime change can, and does, happen.

Inequality

In relatively wealthy Singapore, inequality has become a key issue in a country that has long been averse to welfare.

PN Balji, a political commentator and former newspaper editor, wonders whether Heng can challenge the status quo: How will he tackle this divisive issue. Will he be bold enough to strike out with [ideas] that go against the grain of anti-welfarism measures?

Singapores government leaders are the worlds highest-paid with the prime minister taking home S$2.2m ($1.6m) a year including bonuses. Ministers earn as much as S$1.1m ($800,000).

Kenneth Paul Tan, associate professor at the National University of Singapores Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, said the countrys traditional focus on personal thrift and meritocracy is not enough to ensure continued prosperity in the face of rising inequality.

Singapore can afford to share its wealth more generously so that all its people can live in dignity and flourish as citizens, he said. With creativity and ingenuity, policies can be designed to manage incentives, prevent abuse of the system and keep Singapore competitive. None of this will be easy, of course, but Singapore has a history of solving intractable problems. Why not this one?

A public housing block in Singapore  most citizens live in owner-occupied flats built by the governments Housing Development Board [Thomas White/Reuters]





Younger Singaporeans in particular worry about the growing gap between the kind of fantastic wealth portrayed in the movie Crazy Rich Asians and low-income Singaporeans who struggle to pay medical bills and other basic living costs.

They want the countrys next generation of leaders to do more to bridge that gap.

Economic inequality is an important issue to be addressed, said Jiang Zhi Feng, in his first year at Yale-NUS College and at 21 will be eligible to vote in his first national election.

At the end of the day, a nation is as strong as its most vulnerable.

Ageing workforce

Inequality is not the only problem the country faces.



With one of the lowest birthrates in the world, demographics are not in its favour.

The SICCs Mills points to the problem of a rapidly ageing workforce and a declining number of young people entering the workforce.

These factors have significant implications for businesses  large and small. The same factors also have implications for tax revenue to meet increased social spending in the decades ahead. When you add in the impact of technological developments you add another layer of risk and opportunity, said Mills.

The transition to the next generation of leaders raises questions for some about whether Singapore can still do politics as usual.

Certainly, the PAPs dominance of the political landscape has allowed for long-term planning and policy sustainability, giving the party a legacy of credibility and results-based legitimacy.

But it has also meant little change in the way the government operates.

Some Singaporeans chafe at the paternalism, while others want to see some diversity in leadership and more transparency and consultation around decision-making.

Education researcher Shai Marchant points to the governments recent attempt to revamp the high stakes examination at the end of primary school.

While she gives the government credit for wanting to reduce the pressure associated with the test, she would have preferred more dialogue as these shifts were not thoroughly explored with the public; the policy was very abrupt with a long-term impact.

Paternalism

Perhaps unlike in the past, other Singaporeans want to be convinced of the next leaders merit, rather than being presented with a presumptive nominee.

Dharmendra Yadav, a lawyer and social commentator, preferred a different candidate: Tharman Shanmugaratnam, a former deputy prime minister who enjoys a popular following but at 61 (only four years older than Heng) was considered too old for the premiership.

Singaporeans have got the next line of leaders that the ruling party thinks we best deserve, he said. The key challenge for these leaders will indeed be to win over Singaporeans like me who desire a different prime minister.

Regardless, Heng, the PAPs candidate, has a likely path to victory.

Steven Oliver, a political scientist at Yale-NUS College, notes in spite of somewhat more competitive elections in 2011 and 2015, opposition parties in Singapore face significant challenges.

[They] still face substantial disadvantages regardless of when the next election is held [especially because] they have no experience or record in office, he said.

It is challenging for many Singaporean voters to cast their ballots for opposition candidates given the inherent uncertainty about whether these candidates can effectively serve their interests.

Follow Tom Benner on Twitter: @tgbenner
French president is reported to have given very firm message to Saudi crown prince over Khashoggi killing and Yemen.

French President Emmanuel Macron has met Saudi Arabias Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Argentinas capital, Buenos Aires.

Who has Mohammed bin Salman has met so far? President Emmanuel Macron (France)

President Moon Jae-In (South Korea)

President Xi Jinping (China)

President Enrique Pena Nieto (Mexico)

Vice President Jusuf Kalla (Indonesia)

Prime Minister Narendra Modi (India)

According to officials at the Elysee Palace, Macron conveyed on Friday a very firm message to the Saudi prince over the killing of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi in October, as well as the ongoing war in Yemen.

Macron said that Europe would insist on international experts being part of the investigation into the murder of Khashoggi, Reuters news agency reported.

A cryptic exchange between the pair on Friday was caught on video and shared by the English-language Saudi Gazette.

In the video, Prince Mohammed, also known as MBS, can be heard telling the French leader not to worry, to which he replies: I am worried.

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Macron then tells MBS: You never listen to me, to which the prince responds I will listen, of course.

The context of the exchange is not clear, but Western leaders, including Macron and British Prime Minister Theresa May, have vowed to confront the Saudi prince over the killing of Khashoggi, who disappeared at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on October 2.

Several states, including the US and Canada, have already issued sanctions against the Saudi agents involved in the killing but strong suspicions remain over the Saudi crown princes role in the death.

France also imposed sanctions, including travel bans, on 18 Saudi citizens linked to the murder. French officials also said more sanctions could follow depending on the results of an investigation.





Saudi Arabia dismisses any suggestion that MBS had knowledge of the operation to kill Khashoggi, but Turkey has consistently hinted at high-level Saudi involvement, stopping short of accusing any senior Saudi royal.

The killing of Khashoggi drew outrage across Western states and governments traditionally allied to Saudi Arabia have found themselves having to balance calls to punish the kingdom with the risk of souring ties and potentially jeopardising commercial and military contracts.

No leader has been as clear in spelling out those risks, as US President Donald Trump, who warned the US risked losing billions if it took punitive measures against Riyadh.

The G20 is Prince Mohammeds first visit to meet Western leaders since Khashoggis killing.
Amnesty International says new government should move to end abuses and take action on indigenous land rights.

Kuala Lumpur  Malaysias new government has a window of opportunity to address indigenous land rights and stop the intimidation, harassment and arrest of those attempting to defend their land, Amnesty International said at the launch of its latest report into indigenous rights.

Across the country, indigenous people, who make up about 14 percent of the population, are locked in a battle for their land and way of life with companies that want to exploit the forest for its timber and plant agricultural crops like durian, rubber and palm oil.

Mustafa Along, a Temiar from the interior of the northeastern state of Kelantan, said his people had been forced to become more assertive as their land was taken from them and officials failed to address their plight.

Mustafas community has been trying to defend its land from development for nearly a decade and members have suffered both harassment and arrest. He said they could no longer survive on their monthly income of about 300 ringgits ($71) because the jungle was being destroyed.

In February, the members of Temiar tribe started their latest blockade against destruction and deforestation of their land.

They are part of the Orang Asli, the original inhabitants of the Malay Peninsulas jungles and forests who now number about 200,000 people.

We are not against the establishment, Mustafa said through a translator at the Amnesty launch. We are not against development. We are not against modernisation. But if we have to give up our identity as a people thats not a price were prepared to pay.

The forest is life to the Temiar people of the Malaysian Peninsula. The Sewang ceremony is held to seek guidance from the spirits and nature [Jarni Blakkarly/Al Jazeera]

Threats and intimidation

Amnesty documented numerous cases of abuse during its 18-month investigation into ancestral land rights that included field visits and interviews with 86 community leaders, activists, lawyers and journalists throughout the country.

The new administration, which, in May, replaced the coalition that had ruled Malaysia for six decades, promised to recognise, uphold and protect the dignity and rights of indigenous people as part of its manifesto.

The promises made by this government have raised hopes among the indigenous community that progress might be possible, said Amnestys Malaysia researcher Rachel Chhoa-Howard.

[There is] a window of opportunity to improve the respect and protection of indigenous people and those who speak out for them in Malaysia. This opportunity should not be missed.

In its report, The Forest is our Heartbeat: the Struggle to Defend Indigenous Land in Malaysia, the human rights group said governments at both the state and federal level were in denial about the abuses against the countrys indigenous people.

It noted that officials did not obtain indigenous peoples free, prior and informed consent for development projects, and that indigenous communities were often confronted by armed gangsters who were able to use physical violence against them with impunity.

Keep our home

In Gua Musang, the home of Mustafas Temiar people, some told Amnesty that they were arrested and interrogated by the police following peaceful protests in defence of their land, while journalists who were reporting on what was happening were also detained.

We are not asking for anything more than what is ours, Mustafa said. We are just asking to keep our home.

While few people Amnesty spoke to were formally charged, at least 20 spent time in police custody, some on multiple occasions, or had accompanied police to the station for questioning to discuss their role in protests. The group said the actions seemed designed to silence and intimidate both the communities and those helping them.

Amnesty also documented abuses in the Borneo state of Sarawak, where Bill Kayong, a vocal advocate in support of indigenous rights, was shot dead as he drove to work in June 2016. While his attacker has been found guilty of the murder, no charges have been brought against those who ordered the killing.

Malaysias indigenous people held a rare protest over land rights in Putrajaya in 2010. Amnestys report suggests theres been no improvement in the situation since [Bazuki Muhammad/Reuters]

The report suggests Malaysia has made little progress on indigenous rights since an inquiry on native land was published in 2013.

The government should respect indigenous peoples rights to land, ensure those defending those rights are free from harassment and the threat of criminalisation and thoroughly investigate all threats and attacks, Amnesty said.

It urged the government to establish an independent National Commission on Indigenous Land Rights to address the changes needed to ensure the protection of indigenous land.

We dont want this to be all talk and no action, Chhoa- Howard said. There needs to be a real effort to address these issues.
Vneshtorgbank, Russian Foreign Trade Bank, mistakenly assigned a $12 billion loan to the Central African Republic.

The loan was mentioned in a quarterly VTB financial report published by the Russian central bank. In that report, there was a chart listing VTBs outstanding loans to a dozen countries.

In the chart, next to the Central African Republic, there was the figure RUB 801,933,814,000 (about $12 billion). But the bank later said it was a clerical error and there was no such loan.

VTB bank has no exposure of this size to CAR. Most likely, this is a case of an operational mistake in the system when the countries were being coded, the bank said in a statement.

Landlocked CAR is a nation of 5 million people with a gross domestic product of $1.95 billion, according to the World Bank.

Moscow has been sending military trainers and equipment to the CAR government.

An influential backer of communism across Africa for decades, Moscow ceded influence to Western rivals after the collapse of the Soviet Union. More recently, it has made huge inroads.

So far this year, Moscow has struck military cooperation deals with the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Guinea and Mozambique. Others, including Nigeria and Angola, have agreed to buy arms from Moscow. Meanwhile, Algeria remains one of the largest importers of Russian military equipment in the continent.
Donald Trump calls new trade pact as model agreement that changes the trade landscape forever.

US President Donald Trump, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and outgoing Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto have signed an updated free trade agreement, aimed at replacing NAFTA, on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Argentina.

Trump said on Friday that the trade pact was a model agreement that changes the trade landscape forever.

The United States has spent more than a year pushing the leaders of Canada and Mexico into agreeing to a rewrite of North American trade rules.





Trump had vowed to revamp NAFTA during his 2016 presidential election campaign. He threatened to tear it up and withdraw the US completely at times during the negotiation, which would have left trade between the three neighbours in disarray.

The publicly aired frustrations had been a source of tension between the states, but Canada welcomed the signing of the new agreement.

The modernised agreement preserves Canadas preferential access to the US and Mexican markets, ensuring that the vast majority of trilateral trade remains duty-free  something that is vital to the continuing prosperity of Canadians, a statement issued by the country said.

Legislators from the three countries still have to approve the pact, officially known as the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), before it goes into effect and replaces the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).

If ratified, most of the new agreements provisions are expected to go into effect in 2020.
Palestinians cheer as tourists throng Bethlehem

This is good news for Palestinians who have been struggling to make ends meet in the occupied West Bank.
Palestinian government says international community should be held responsible for allowing Israels ongoing occupation.

Palestinian officials have urged the international community to mark the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People by implementing the United Nations resolutions that demand an end to the Israeli occupation, as well as to voice their support for the Palestinian struggle for nationhood.

The day, which the General Assembly has marked since 1978, falls on November 29, the same day that the UN adopted Resolution 181, the Partition Plan for Palestine, in 1947.

The international community cannot continue to decry the violation of Palestinian rights and destruction of the two-state solution without acting to end this unlawful situation, Riyad Mansour, the Palestinian UN ambassador, said on Thursday.

The huge gap between our lofty convictions and abhorrent realities on the ground must be quickly remedied before it is too late for Palestinians, for Israelis and for the region as a whole, he added.

Since being established in 1945, the General Assembly and the Security Council have adopted scores of resolutions pertaining to Israel/Palestine  the vast majority of which have not been implemented by successive Israeli governments.

Israels ambassador to the UN, Danny Danon, called the resolutions a mockery.

These resolutions make a mockery of the Palestinians, the very people the UN claims to defend, he said.

They do not lead the Palestinians forward to the future but keep them locked in the past.

The Palestinian government, as well as the UN, support a two-state solution based on the 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as the Palestinian capital.

Palestinians accuse Israel of damaging the prospects for establishing a sovereign Palestinian state through its ongoing, illegal construction of Jewish-only settlements in the occupied territories.

In a statement, Hanan Ashrawi, a member of the Palestinian National Council, said the suffering, dispossession, displacement and victimisation of the Palestinian people began when the state of Israel was established on the land of historical Palestine.

Solidarity is not just an abstract expression of empathy, she said. Rather, it is an active, positive and concrete engagement.

Yousef al-Mahmoud, the Palestinian government spokesperson, said the international community should be held responsible for allowing Israels decades-long occupation to continue.

International silence on the occupation and its crimes only encourages Israel to continue violating international resolutions and laws, Mahmoud said.
Philippines: Human rights lawyer shot dead

Ben Ramos, another victim of crimes against lawyers, represented many in land disputes against powerful politicians.
Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said the measure would prevent Russia forming private armies in Ukraine.

Ukraine has banned Russian men aged between 16 and 60 from entering the country for the duration of martial law after Russia seized three Ukrainian ships and 24 sailors.

The measure was announced on Friday at a security meeting where Ukraines President Petro Poroshenko assured that the move would prevent the Russian Federation from forming detachments of private armies in Ukraine similar to the operations they tried to carry out in 2014.

Ukraine believes that Russian citizens, including Russias regular soldiers, are fighting alongside Moscow-backed rebels who in 2014 seized parts of Ukraines Donetsk and Luhansk regions, declaring them independent from Kiev.

Peter Tsigikal, the head of the state border service of Ukraine, told the president that his department was on the highest level of combat readiness, security measures were boosted on the border with Russia and the Russian-annexed Crimean peninsula.

The male citizens of the Russian Federation aged 16 to 60 are not allowed in. As for the citizens of Ukraine, there are no restrictions, Tsigikal said.

The travel restriction on Russian men would not apply in cases where they visit for a funeral or some other humanitarian purpose, he said.

Andriy Demchenko, Ukraines border service spokesman, reiterated that it was not a blanket ban.

Russian citizens will go through an additional interview at the border, their previous visits to Ukraine will be scrutinised, he told Al Jazeera.

The decision on each case will be made at the point of entry following the strengthened border control. The exceptions might be applied to individuals with diplomatic status in Ukraine, transport service personnel, people who have temporary or permanent residency in Ukraine, also those who are coming for humanitarian purpose, including death or illness of close relatives.

Maria Zakharova, Russias foreign ministry spokeswoman, said at a news conference in Moscow that her country would not respond in kind as it would be irrational.

She also accused Poroshenko of using martial law as a way of raising his falling electoral rating in an attempt to earn points during the latest Russophobic wave.

The development came two days after martial law came into force in 10 out of 27 Ukrainian regions for a period of 30 days.

Poroshenko has said the imposition of martial law aimed to prevent an all-out Russian invasion, after Moscow on Sunday blocked the route of three Ukrainian military vessels in shared waters.

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The ships were travelling from the Black Sea to the Sea of Azov through the Kerch Strait when they were intercepted.

The confrontation resulted in the seizure of all three ships by Russia and the capture of 24 Ukrainian crew members who were later put under 60-day pre-trial detention and sent to Moscow.

Poroshenko addressed the issue at the security meeting on Friday, saying: During each of my telephone conversations [with international partners], we raised the issue of consolidating the common position of the world regarding the demand for Russia to immediately release the military.

Also on Friday, Ihor Huskov, a senior official at Ukraines state security service (SBU), was quoted by Reuters news agency as saying that Kiev was considering mirror actions.

Decisions are being considered with regard to the conduct of appropriate mirror actions as a response to the actions of the aggressor, he said, without elaborating what those actions could be.

The scenario was not discussed at the meeting between Poroshenko and his security team.

With additional reporting from Kiev by Al Jazeeras Tamila Varshalomidze
Police recapture 23 inmates but at least 90 are on the run after they escaped from a prison in Banda Aceh.

A jailbreak in western Indonesia has left 90 inmates on the run after they escaped during prayer time, according to police.

The mass escape took place on Thursday in Banda Aceh, although some inmates were promptly recaptured, the justice ministry said on Friday.

There were 726 inmates at the time, 113 of them ran away. We have recaptured 23 of them but are still searching for the other escapees, said justice ministry spokesman Ade Kusmanto, as cited by AFP news agency.

The break at Lambaro prison occurred when all the inmates were let out of their cells to take part in evening prayers, according to police.

Trisno Riyanto, police chief in Banda Aceh, said the inmates were mostly convicted of drug offences and apparently planned their escape in advance.

They overpowered a guard, cut through the wire and iron bars using barbells and crowbars in the reception room and made a dash through the rice fields in front of the prison, he told AP news agency. The guards injuries were not serious.

The police have heightened security at the prison and set up roadblocks across Aceh province to search for the inmates still on the run.

Aceh provincial police chief Rio Septianda Djambak called on the escaped prisoners to surrender within three days and urged their relatives to support authorities in bringing them back.

Jailbreaks are common in Indonesia, where prisoners are often held in poor conditions [Chaideer Mahyuddin/AFP]

We will not hesitate to take firm action to force them to obey the law, Djambak said.

More than 400 inmates broke out after mass prayers at an overcrowded prison in Riau province in May this year.

In July 2013, about 240 prisoners escaped during a deadly riot at a prison in Medan, the capital of North Sumatra province.
Trump cancels meeting with Putin at G20 summit in Argentina

The US president plans to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping to cool trade tensions, but cancels a meeting with Russias Putin and doesnt plan to meet with Saudi Arabias crown prince.
Presidents Trump and Xi to meet on Saturday in what could be the last chance to avert a broad-based economic clash.

When US President Donald Trump hosts his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping for dinner in Buenos Aires on Saturday, the stakes could not be much higher.

It will be the first bilateral meeting between the two leaders since the start of the US-China trade war, which is set to escalate further in January if the two leaders fail to reach a deal this weekend.

The dinner is widely perceived as the last chance to avert a broad-based economic clash that would likely last for at least two years, with ramifications for the global economy.

Before the sideline meeting, Al Jazeera examines how the worlds two largest economies got here and what happens next.

A competitive rivalry

Trumps hostility to Chinese economic policy dates back to his presidential campaign in 2016 and has been consistent over the past two years.

He adopted a markedly different tone to those struck by previous American leaders, framing the US-China economic relationship as competitive and adversarial, rather than one that benefits both parties.

In 2018, the Trump administration instigated a trade war on Beijing, imposing tariffs on a total of $250bn of Chinese imports. For its part, China has slapped tariffs on $110bn of US imports.

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On January 1, a 10 percent US tariff on $200bn of Chinese imports is due to increase to 25 percent, which would pose a much bigger problem for the affected industries.

A 10 percent tariff, businesses can kind of work around, said Edward Alden, Senior Fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations. The Chinese currency has fallen a little bit against the US dollar. Companies can maybe take a slight hit on their profit margin. Ten percent is manageable. Twenty-five percent is less manageable. Its going to have a bigger real-world impact.

Trump also threatened this week to impose tariffs on a further $267bn worth of Chinese imports if the two sides fail to reach some kind of truce on Saturday, which could have a far wider effect on consumer goods.

If Trump goes forward with the next step, which is tariffs on the remainder of Chinese imports, then that hits directly a lot of consumer products, like smartphones and things that have so far been spared, Alden said.

Trumps tough line on China has so far been popular among his political base and has commanded rare bipartisan support from the Republican and Democratic parties in the US Congress.

Since he entered office, the US has been far more proactive and confrontational about addressing a long-standing list of grievances with Chinas model for economic development, particularly in relation to technology.

As a relative latecomer to industrialisation compared with the United States, China has borrowed, or from the US perspective stolen, much of the technology that it uses to advance its own industrial capabilities.

The US charges that China has stolen trade secrets, violated patents, forced companies that are investing in China to share their technology with Chinese partners and hacked industrial targets.

These are all techniques the Chinese are using to move up the innovation ladder, said Alden. They want to be a leader in the next generation of technologies, from next-generation semiconductors, to electric vehicles, to artificial intelligence.

Beijings aspirations were outlined in its Made in China 2025 initiative, first announced in 2015, which charts a path for Chinas economic development from the worlds factory to a global technology leader.

Alden said the US sees such advancement as a potentially long-term security threat.

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If China acquires the sort of technological leadership that it is seeking, it will pose a much greater military threat to the United States than it does now. So, economics and security are very much tied up here, he said.

China has defended its ambitions for more self-sufficiency, arguing that it needs to boost its own hi-tech capabilities in the face of restrictions on some imports from Western countries.

The Trump administration has also blasted the US trade deficit with China, rallied against Chinese state subsidisation of industry and criticised its failure to open its domestic economy more for foreign investment.

I think the trade deficit is a symbol and its not the key thing. Economists cant really agree on whether its important or not, said Kerry Brown, associated fellow for the Asia-Pacific programme at Chatham House. I think the issue is really about competition in technology and in other areas where China needs to be dealt with  thats the attitude in America  that its got to now open up and reform itself much more, Brown told Al Jazeera.

This idea of being a Marxist-Leninist state-led kind of market does not appeal to America and they want to see fundamental change there. Thats the difference. Thats the big broad issue. And Im not sure that that can be resolved, certainly not in one meeting. That huge issue of competitive rivalry between China and America will not go away.

Heading towards a new Cold War?

Alongside the tariffs, the US has also stepped up wider economic and geopolitical pressure on China this year, raising the prospect that this may be the start of a broad, multi-front confrontation similar to the Cold War between the US and Russia.

In August, the US increased its export controls, restricting the sale of advanced technologies to China and also passed a new law that heavily curtails Chinese investment in the US technology sector.

In September, the US placed sanctions on a branch of Chinas military over its purchase of Russian military jets and surface-to-air missiles.

Meanwhile, Vice President Mike Pence has intensified the confrontation with China in the geopolitical sphere, accusing Beijing of a number of alleged offences.

In a stinging speech in October, he accused China of attempting to meddle in the US midterm elections, which China rejected, and criticised its military build-up in the South China Sea.

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At the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in November, he mocked Chinas Belt and Road infrastructure initiative as a constricting belt and a one-way road that amounted to a form of debt diplomacy and warned smaller countries not to take part.

Speaking at the same event, Chinas President Xi reiterated that Belt and Road was not a trap, nor did Beijing have a hidden agenda, while he also criticised America First trade protectionism.

What we are looking at here is not just a narrow trade war, but a broader economic war that is reminiscent of the sort of tactics that the United States used against the Soviet Union during the Cold War, said Alden.

In advance of Saturdays dinner, both sides have expressed openness to the prospect of a deal.

But the US has also threatened to expand its tariffs to cover all Chinese imports if Beijing does not agree to its demands.

Serious doubts remain as to whether Beijing will make the kinds of concessions that Washington is demanding.

The chance of any deal between the US and China being done at the G20 is very low, said Duncan Innes-Ker, regional director for Asia and Australasia at the Economist Intelligence Unit. US officials have been downplaying hopes for a resolution and the back-channel discussions that would usually precede a breakthrough have mostly foundered.

Innes-Ker added, however, that the situation involving Donald Trump is inherently unpredictable, so a surprise agreement is possible. If that does happen, there is a high risk that the deal will subsequently fall apart.

Brown said the best-case-scenario may be some kind of framework for a limited, pragmatic deal.

And then they can play this, separately, as a victory for each other. The best outcome is that they both come away thinking that theyve won.
UN agency warns 43,000 children under the age of five face an extremely high risk of death as crisis worsens.

Around two-thirds of all children in the Central African Republic (CAR) need emergency aid, UNICEF has said, as it sounded alarm bells over the neglected crisis ravaging the country.

In a report published on Friday, UNICEF said around 1.5 million children were in need of humanitarian assistance, with at least 43,000 children under the age of five projected to face an extremely high risk of death due to severe acute malnutrition next year.

CAR has the worlds second-highest newborn death rate and maternal mortality ratio, fewer than three out of five children make it through primary school, and almost half the population has no access to clean water, the report said.

UNICEFs top representative in the country, Christine Muhigana, said the plight of children desperately needed the worlds attention.

Children in CAR are constantly facing violence, fear, theyre recruited into armed groups, theyre living under unimaginable poverty and facing malnutrition, she told Al Jazeera.

Conditions are becoming desperate

One of the worlds poorest nations despite a rich supply of diamonds and uranium, the CAR has struggled to recover from a 2013 civil war that erupted when Muslim Seleka rebels toppled President Francois Bozizes government.





In response, Christians, who account for about 80 percent of the population, organised vigilante units dubbed Anti-balaka.

Thousands have been killed while a quarter of the population has fled their homes.

Earlier this month, the UNs World Food Programme warned that if nothing was done to reverse the humanitarian situation, a famine would hit.

It said if people continued to flee their homes and abandon their fields, the country of 4.5 million people would face spiralling food insecurity.

The conditions are becoming desperate, Muhigana told Al Jazeera.

Recently in Alindao [a town 200km east of the capital Bangui] what started as an attack between two armed groups ended up as a barbaric attack on the civilian population who were at a displaced camp.

About 20 children died, 80 children were made orphans, many fled to the bush and this constant volatile situation is putting a great toll on children in the country.
More than a million local government workers have been deployed to ethnic minorities homes to monitor their behaviour.

The two women in the photograph were smiling, but Halmurat Idris knew something was terribly wrong.

One was his 39-year-old sister; standing at her side was an elderly woman Idris did not know. Their grins were tight-lipped, mirthless. Her sister had posted the picture on a social media account along with a caption punctuated by a smiley-face.

Look, I have a Han Chinese mother now! his sister wrote.

Idris knew instantly: The old woman was a spy, sent by the Chinese government to infiltrate his family.

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There are many like her. According to the ruling Communist Partys official newspaper, as of the end of September, 1.1 million local government workers have been deployed to ethnic minorities living rooms, dining areas and Muslim prayer spaces, not to mention at weddings, funerals and other occasions once considered intimate and private.

All this is taking place in Chinas far west region of Xinjiang, home to the predominantly Muslim, Turkic-speaking Uighurs, who have long reported discrimination at the hands of the countrys majority Han Chinese.

While government notices about the Pair Up and Become Family programme portray it as an affectionate cultural exchange, Uighurs living in exile in Turkey said their loved ones saw the campaign as a chilling intrusion into the only place that they once felt safe.

They believe the programme is aimed at coercing Uighurs into living secular lives like the Han majority. Anything diverging from the partys prescribed lifestyle can be viewed by authorities as a sign of potential extremism  from suddenly giving up smoking or alcohol, to having an abnormal beard or an overly religious name.

Under Chinese President Xi Jinping, the Uighur homeland has been blanketed with stifling surveillance, from armed checkpoints on street corners to facial-recognition-equipped CCTV cameras steadily surveying passers-by. Now, Uighurs say, they must live under the watchful eye of the ruling Communist Party even inside their own homes.

The government is trying to destroy that last protected space in which Uighurs have been able to maintain their identity, said Joanne Smith Finley, an ethnographer at Englands Newcastle University.

The Associated Press spoke to five Uighurs living in Istanbul who shared the experiences of their family members in Xinjiang who have had to host Han Chinese civil servants. These accounts are based on prior communications with their family members, the majority of whom have since cut off contact because Uighurs can be punished for speaking to people abroad.

The Uighurs abroad said their loved ones were constantly on edge in their own homes, knowing that any misstep  a misplaced Quran, a carelessly spoken word  could lead to detention or worse. In the presence of these faux relatives, their family members could not pray or wear religious garbs, and the cadres were privy to their every move.

The thought of it  and the sight of his sister, the old woman and their false smiles  made Idris queasy.

I wanted to throw up, said the 49-year-old petroleum engineer, shaking his head in disgust.

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The moment I saw the old woman, I thought, Ugh, this person is our enemy. If your enemy became your mother, think about it  how would you feel?

Indoctrination camps

Tensions between Muslim minorities and Han Chinese have bubbled over in recent years, resulting in violent attacks pegged to Uighur separatists and a fierce government crackdown on broadly defined extremism that has placed as many as one million Muslims in internment camps, according to estimates by experts and a human rights group.

Uighurs say the omnipresent threat of being sent to one of these centres, which are described as political indoctrination camps by former detainees, looms large in their relatives minds when they are forced to welcome party members into their homes.

Last December, Xinjiang authorities organised a Becoming Family Week which placed more than one million cadres in minority households. Government reports on the programme gushed about the warm family reunions, as public servants and Uighurs shared meals and even beds.

Another notice showed photos of visitors helping Uighur children with their homework and cooking meals for their families. The caption beneath a photo of three women lying in bed, clad in pyjamas, said the cadre was sleeping with her relatives in their cozy room.

A different photo showed two women studying the 19th Party Congress and walking together into the new era  a nod to when Xis name was enshrined in the party constitution alongside the likes of Deng Xiaoping and Mao Zedong.

Becoming Family Week turned out to be a test run for a standardised homestay programme. The Xinjiang United Front Work Department said in February that government workers should live with their assigned families every two months, for five days at a time.

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The United Front, a Communist Party agency, indicates in the notice that the programme is mandatory for cadres. Likewise, Idris and other interviewees said their families understood that they would be deemed extremists if they refused to take part.

Cadres, who are generally civilians working in the public sector, are directed to attend important family events such as the naming of newborns, circumcisions, weddings and funerals of close relatives. They must have a firm grasp of each family members ideological state, social activities, religion, income, their challenges and needs, as well as basic details on immediate relatives, the notice said.

Families were to be paid a daily rate of 20 to 50 yuan ($2.80 to $7.80) to cover the cost of meals shared with their newfound relatives. Some families might be paired with two or three cadres at a time, according to the notice, and the regularly mandated house calls could be supplanted with trips to the local party office.

A February piece on the Communist Partys official news site said: The vast majority of party cadres are not only living inside villagers homes, but also living inside the hearts of the masses.

Overseas, Uighurs said the visits to their relatives homes often lasted longer than five days, and they were closely monitored the whole time. The cadres would ask their family members where they were going and who they were meeting whenever they wanted to leave the house.

They couldnt pray, said Abduzahir Yunus, a 23-year-old Uighur originally from Urumqi, Xinjiangs capital. Praying or even having a Quran at home could endanger the whole family.

Yunus, who now lives in Istanbul, said his father used to lament to him about being visited three to four times a week by the administrator of his neighbourhood committee, a middle-aged Han Chinese man. The surprise house calls began in 2016, and it was impossible to say no, Yunus said. They often coincided with times traditionally designated for prayer.

Their aim is to assimilate us, Yunus said. They want us to eat like them, sleep like them and dress like them.





After Yunuss parents and older brother were arrested, only Yunuss sister-in-law and 5-year-old brother remained in the house. Around the beginning of 2018, the Han Chinese man started staying with them full-time.

Uighurs said they were particularly repulsed by the thought of male visitors living under the same roof as their female relatives and children  a practice contrary to their faith. Women and kids are sometimes the only ones left at home after male family members are sent to internment camps.

In recent years, the government has even encouraged Uighurs and Han Chinese to tie the knot.

Starting in 2014, Han-Uighur spouses in one county were eligible to receive 10,000 yuan ($1,442) annually for up to five years following the registration of their marriage license.

Such marriages are highly publicised. The party committee in Luopu county celebrated the marriage of a Uighur woman and a young lad from Henan in an official social media account in October 2017. The man, Wang Linkai, had been recruited through a programme that brought university graduates to work in the southern Xinjiang city of Hotan.

They will let ethnic unity forever bloom in their hearts, the party committees post said. Let ethnic unity become ones own flesh and blood.

Becoming family

Not all Become Family pairings involve Han Chinese visitors. A Uighur cadre named Gu Li said she regularly pays visits to a Uighur household, staying three to five days at a time.

Weve already started calling each other family, she said in a telephone interview from Xinjiang. Chinas 56 ethnic groups are all one family.

Gu said civil servants of many ethnicities  Uighur, Han and Kazakh  participate in the programme.

All government employees in the region are required to conduct such visits in order to better understand villagers needs, according to Gu: Because were always sitting in our offices, we dont know what they really need. Only through penetrating the masses can we truly serve them.

As with many of the governments other initiatives in Xinjiang, the Pair Up and Become Family programme is presented as a way to rescue Muslim minorities from poverty. Public servants show up at homes bearing bags of rice and gallons of cooking oil, and their duties include helping with chores and farm work.

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Xu Jing, an employee at Turpan citys environmental bureau, recounted her shock after entering her assigned relatives home. Xu said the only light in the residence came from a small window, and she realized that Xasiyet Hoshur wasnt lying when she said she lived on 3,000 yuan ($433) a year.

But its OK, everything is getting better, Xu wrote in her reflection, published on Turpans government site. Hoshurs daughter was attending university on a 5,000 yuan ($722) national scholarship.

On the one hand, China maintains that employment and living standards are key to warding off the temptations of religious extremism. On the other hand, official descriptions of the visitation and homestay programme are laden with suggestions that the ethnic minority families are uncivilised and that their way of life needs to be corrected.

One notice, first highlighted by University of Washington ethnographer Darren Byler, focused on a Uighur familys use of a raised, cloth-covered platform for eating and working. In traditional Uighur culture, this setup is preferable to a table, but the testimonial published by the Xinjiang Communist Youth League said frequent use of the platform was inconvenient and unhealthy.

The post quoted a cadre saying: Even though we already purchased a TV and rice oil for our relatives, after living with our relatives for a few days, we still insisted on using our own money to buy our relatives a table and lamp.

In the Peoples Daily, a Uighur baker in Kashgar named Ablimit Ablipiz, was quoted praising the party for improving his habits. Ever since these cadres started living in my home, weve picked up a lot of know-how about food safety and hygiene, Ablipiz said.

Uighurs must also conform culturally. Over the Lunar New Year, an important Chinese holiday not traditionally celebrated by Uighurs, cadres encouraged households to hang lanterns and sing red songs, ballads honouring the partys revolutionary history. Byler said families could not ask whether the meat was halal and acceptable to Muslims when they had to make or eat dumplings for the festival.

Stuck in China

Thousands of miles away, in Turkey, Uighur relatives in exile watch what is happening with dread.

Earlier this year, Ablikim Abliz studied a photo of his uncles family gathered around a table. Clad in thick winter jackets, his uncle and the smiling Han Chinese man beside him both held chubby-faced children in their laps.

His uncle had posted the photo to his WeChat page along with the caption Han Chinese brother.

The 58-year-old Abliz said his entire extended family in China has been sent to internment camps. When he saw his uncles photo, his first reaction was relief. If his uncle had been assigned a Han family member, Abliz thought, that meant he was safe.





But the consolation was short-lived. A friend who tried to visit his uncle in Turpan this summer told Abliz that his uncles front door was boarded up and sealed with police tape. Abliz has not been able to reach any of his family members since.

As for Idris, he fears that his sister is living under immense pressure with her Han Chinese mother. Shortly after her sisters first post about her new relatives, a friend responded on WeChat: I also have one! You guys better be careful!

The same friend later posted photos of herself and a Han Chinese woman doing a Chinese fan dance, playing the drums and wearing traditional Han clothing.

His sister would never have volunteered for such a programme, Idris said. She and his younger sister had been trying to get passports to bring their children to Turkey and reunite with Idris, but their applications were not accepted.

Last summer, both of his sisters deleted him on WeChat. A few months later, his aunt deleted him, too. For more than a year, Idris has not been able to communicate with his relatives. He wonders, with growing unease, how theyre getting along with their new family.
Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Belarus A.Dapkiunas meets the official delegation of the Guangdong province of the Peoples Republic of China

30-11-2018

On November 29, 2019 the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Belarus, Andrei Dapkiunas, met with the official delegation of the Guangdong province (Peoples Republic of China) led by the Deputy Director of the Foreign Affairs Office of the Peoples Government of Guangdong province, Luo Jun. The Chinese delegation is on a working visit to Belarus at the invitation of the Minsk Region Executive Committee. The meeting became a continuation of the dialogue between the Deputy Minister and the provincial authorities launched during his visit to Guangzhou on 8 November, 2018.

Background Information: Guangdong province has a population of nearly 120 million people. It occupies leading positions in the Chinese economy. Guangdong province accounts for 10 per cent of Chinas total GDP and one fourth of its national exports. The province is a home to three of the five Chinese special economic zones (Shenzhen, Shantou, Zhuhai), as well as headquarters or central offices of the Chinese biggest companies involved in active cooperation with Belarus. Among them are Huawei, ZTE, China Merchants Group, Midea. Guangdong companies are the most important Chinese investors in Belarus representing one third of the residents of the Great Stone China-Belarus Industrial Park.

A special role and place of the Guangdong province in the context of the comprehensive Belarusian-Chinese cooperation was highlighted during the meeting. The interlocutors welcomed the recent opening of the Consulate General of Belarus in the provincial capital of Guangzhou as an important step in the advancement of bilateral cooperation.

Mindful of the serious economic potential of the Guangdong province and directives of the Chinese leadership to ensure more active overseas performance of Chinese companies, there was a discussion on opportunities for enhanced investment cooperation with Belarus of major Guangdong-based Chinese companies, including of a world-class, primarily in view of the importance of dynamic development of the Great Stone China-Belarus Industrial Park.

Andrei Dapkiunas and Luo Jun discussed possible favorable measures by governmental authorities of Belarus and China, including the Peoples Government of the Guangdong province, to devise breakthrough projects of interregional cooperation based on cross-sectoral coordination, conducive to pooling efforts and stimulating direct contacts and joint initiatives of Belarusian and Chinese industrial and agricultural producers, tour operators, air companies etc.

The interlocutors also underscored a significant potential of cooperation between Belarus and Guangdong province in the area of tourism. Andrei Dapkiunas informed his Chinese guest about the events scheduled for December 2018 to mark the end of the Year of Belarusian Tourism in China expressing hope that Guangdong representatives would join. Luo Jun pointed to the interest of Chinese students to get higher education in Belarus.

   

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Mexico City  Mexicos new government is yet to take office, but it has already reignited a fierce debate on womens reproductive rights that could end in a polarising referendum.

Shortly after a landslide victory by left-wing politician Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador in the July 1 presidential elections, his interior minister-to-be drew both praise and criticism when she declared herself in favour of abortion rights.

Olga Sanchez Cordero, who is expected to become the first woman to hold the position when she takes office on Saturday, said she supports the decriminalisation of abortion.

She also said she would favour a judicial mechanism to release women currently in prison for either having an abortion or assisting in one, hinting at a possible amnesty.

Her comments infuriated the countrys conservatives, especially because abortion rights was not one of Lopez Obradors campaign promises.





AMLO, as he is known in Mexico, ran on a three-party coalition which included the ultra right-wing party Partido Encuentro Social. During his campaign, he said he planned to put abortion rights up for referendum but has not provided any details.

What were seeing is a legislative agenda that is not the one 30 million people who voted for Lopez Obrador asked for, says Leonardo Garcia Camarena, vice president of a large conservative activist group Frente Nacional por la Familia.

It is being imposed against the will of the Mexican people; its being forced on us, he told Al Jazeera.

Demonstrators participate in the 7th March for Life, an anti-abortion rights protest demanding authorities to suspend pro-abortion rights policy, in Mexico City [Sashenka Gutierrez/EPA-EFE]

The Frente, which brings together smaller, local groups across the country, rallied supporters on October 20 and marched to AMLOs offices demanding he rescind Sanchez Corderos appointment.

But Sanchez Cordero has found support among female politicians. In the last two months, three different proposals to decriminalise abortion have been submitted to Congress, as well as one to the Senate.

While the proposals details vary, they all look to reform the countrys criminal code and health law to effectively override local legislation and force individual states to provide free and safe abortions. The proposals are awaiting discussion.

Second-class citizens

Mexico City is the only state out of 32 in the country where a woman can terminate her pregnancy legally and free of charge before the 12-week mark.

In the rest of the country, a woman can legally get an abortion within the same timeframe if a doctor determines her life is at risk or if she can prove that she was raped, which women find very difficult to do.

People have stopped paying attention to Mexico because the capital city is considered one of freedoms, but the rest of the country is excluded, said Regina Tames, director of think-tank Grupo de Informacion en Reproduccion Elegida, or GIRE, which also provides free legal defence to women who face prison time for abortion.





The city doesnt represent the majority, she told Al Jazeera.

Data on the impact of illegal abortions is hard to find. Most recent figures from the countrys statistics agency, Inegi, show that from 2002 to 2016, 624 women died getting an illegal abortion.

But the figure underrepresents the reality, as deaths stemming from complications (such as haemorrhages or infections) are not recorded in the death by abortion category.

In a 2017 report that spans 10 years of data, the Mexico City government said that the majority of the women who had abortions in the capital were residents, though women from every other state in the country travelled to get an abortion there, highlighting a demand for the practice across a country of 61 million women.

This effectively makes us second-class citizens, says Francisca Duarte, sociologist and member of the feminist organisation Observatorio Feminista Clara Zetkin in the northern state of Sonora, located some 2,000km away from the capital city.

There are women in the central region of the country that enjoy rights that the rest of us dont.

In Sonora, 19 people have been sentenced for having an abortion or assisting in one since 2008, according to data from the state prosecutor compiled by a local outlet. At least 75 others have been investigated.

After Sanchez Corderos remarks, Duartes organisation presented a letter to the local Congress, asking politicians to revert a decade-old ruling that defines life at conception.

Politicians in at least 10 other states in Mexico have proposed new legislation either for or against decriminalisation since AMLOs presidential win.

Pushing for a reform

Tamess organisation, GIRE, is offering guidance to local politicians interested in passing legislation to decriminalise abortion, even providing model laws that comply with the recommended international standards approved by the United Nations, as well as other organisations.

She argues that amnesty for those currently incarcerated for crimes related to abortions would not guarantee women who have an abortion in the future will not end up in jail and would, therefore, be a temporary solution to a long-term problem.





And, because Mexico is a federation and the individual states have their own constitutions and laws, pushing for decriminalisation at the federal level would not automatically force them to provide safe abortions as a health service.

Abortion rights groups are therefore pushing for a reform of the countrys health law and criminal code that would effectively force the states to either comply or fight back in the courts.

The process can be long, explains Tames, and considering that AMLOs Morena party won a majority in 19 of the 26 local congresses that held elections last summer, there is a possibility these states will back a federal reform.

It would be disheartening to see, six years from now, that the law didnt change, Tames says, referring to AMLOs term as president and his partys current influence in local governments as a real opportunity for change.

If the law stays the same it would give us reason to pause and think about how Mexico truly sees its women.





Many activists on both sides of the abortion debate believe a referendum is a bad idea. For Tames, peoples rights should be guaranteed by the state, regardless of peoples opinions.

Incoming interior minister Sanchez Cordero said at an event on Sunday that peoples rights are not up for referendum, they are merely recognised.

On the other side is Garcia Camarena, who argues that referendums are not a reliable mechanism and any results will lack credibility. He would not trust them.

Polarisation, while unnecessary, seems inevitable, says Juan Dabdoub, head of the conservative non-governmental organisation Consejo Mexicano de la Familia, which lobbies against decriminalisation.

This is happening all over the world and its reached us now, he added. If what we wanted was for the country to come together and be peaceful then were starting off on the wrong foot.
Appeals chamber in Bosnia finds defender of Srebrenica not guilty of the killing of three Serb prisoners of war.

Former Bosnian military commander Naser Oric, hailed by his supporters as the heroic defender of Srebrenica, has been acquitted by an appeals chamber of Bosnias war crimes court.

Oric was acquitted on Friday of human rights violations and the killings of three Serb prisoners of war in and around Srebrenica during the war in Bosnia between 1992-1995.

Oric, regarded as a hero by Bosnian Muslims (Bosniaks), led the defence of Srebrenica, a besieged town that eventually fell to Bosnian Serb forces in 1995, who then systematically killed more than 8,000 Bosniak men and boys in Europes worst atrocity since World War II.

The revised verdict was delivered after the court in June revoked its previous ruling, clearing Oric and fellow soldier Sabahudin Muhic of guilt, and ordered a new trial after the prosecutor complained of criminal procedures violations.

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The appeals chamber found discrepancies in the statements of a key protected witness and could not find them credible and establish beyond a reasonable doubt the responsibility of Oric and Muhic for the alleged crimes, said judge Tihomir Lukes.

The verdict, which is final and cannot be appealed, sparked mixed reactions in a country deeply divided along ethnic lines.

While the ethnic Serbs slammed the verdict as an amnesty for war crimes, the Muslims welcomed the final victory of justice.

Awaiting the verdict, hundreds of people gathered in front of the Sarajevo court, carrying banners that read: Heroes, not criminals!

Orics supporters outside the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina in Sarajevo [Samir Yordamovic/Anadolu]

Branislav Dukic, head of an association of Bosnian Serb prisoners of war, said the ruling was shameful.

All Serbs should leave the state judiciary in response, he said.

The International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) in The Hague acquitted Oric of war crimes against Serbs in 2008, but he was arrested again in June 2015 in Switzerland on a warrant from Serbia accusing him of killing three Bosnian Serb prisoners of war early in the conflict.





Many ethnic Serbs perceive Oric as a butcher responsible for crimes during attacks on their villages in the Srebrenica area to drive them out of their homes.

Some see the condemnation of Oric as essential for reconciliation in Bosnia.

But for Bosniak Kada Hotic, who belongs to Mothers of Srebrenica group, such a verdict would be a shame and insult for [Muslim] victims.

Her son, husband and two brothers were killed in the Srebrenica genocide in 1995.

The Serbs want Naser Oric to be condemned, believing that his condemnation could alleviate [their guilt for] the genocide that they committed in Srebrenica, she said.

During the war, the United Nations declared Srebrenica a safe area, but Dutch troops failed to prevent its capture by Bosnian Serb forces.

Bosnian Muslims make up half of the countrys population of 3.5 million, while ethnic Serbs and Croats account for about 30 and 15 percent respectively.
Hana Al-Khamri

Hana Al-Khamri is a writer and analyst based in Sweden. She used to work as a journalist in Saudi Arabia. She is also the author of the upcoming book ... more Female Journalists in Gender-Apartheid Saudi Arabia.
Dozens were killed in a fire at a prison last month, but experts say it was an accident waiting to happen.
Persian Jews have lived in Iran for millennia. In fact, the Jewish community in Iran is among the oldest in the world. I personally dislike calling them Persian Jews; I prefer to call them just Persian. They are just as Persian as any other Persians. Iran belongs to them just as much as it belongs to every Iranian.

Historically, Judaism has been the second-oldest religion still practiced in Iran after Zoroastrianism, the original Iranian religion before the invasion of the Arabs. The origin of the Jewish diaspora in Persia is connected to the deportation of the Israelites in 727 B.C. from Samaria to Medea and Persia. The famous "Cyrus the Great declaration" allowed the Jews who were living in exile by the river of Babylon to return to their homeland, Judea, and Jerusalem to rebuild their Second Temple. But some who had established themselves economically and socially preferred to remain in Persia and Babylon under the protection of Cyrus the Great.

Israel, we, the children of Cyrus the Great, understand your suffering through the passage of time. Many of us Iranians suffer and share with you this tragic state of affairs that harms you. We pray for an eternal peace between you and your neighbors. We also earnestly hope ways can be found for a peaceful resolution of this destructive impasse.

As it has been said, if you don't know who the enemy is, you can't repel him. One die-hard enemy, Islam, has been hard at work for some 1,400 years to finish off the Jews, completing the work Muhammad passed on to his followers.

Allah's apostle said, "The Hour will not be established until you fight with the Jews, and the stone behind which a Jew will be hiding will say, 'O Muslim! There is a Jew hiding behind me, so kill him'" (Sahih Bukhari 4:52:177; see also Sahih Bukhari 4:52:176, Sahih Bukhari 4:56:791).

Many of us, the children of Cyrus the Great, also would like to offer our heartfelt best wishes to the Jews at this critical moment in time. We know that their towns have been hit for years by (made in Iran) Hamas rockets and missiles. Although it is hard to see innocent civilians die, we believe that Israel is only defending itself. That should not be too hard to understand.

I urge the Jews to make a distinction between the regime and the Iranian people. True Iranians have remained friends of the Jews by belief and deed. During the shameful Hitlerian campaign to exterminate the Jews, for instance, Iranian missions in Europe, notably the one in France, issued Iranian passports to facilitate the flight of French and other European Jews from the claws of Nazis and their gas chambers  the very gas chambers that the true Muslim, the disgraceful Iranian, former president of the Islamic Republic, Ahmadinejad, denies ever existed. This historical act of humanity is known as the "Iranian Schindler."

Regrettably, after Cyrus the Great's declaration, the people of Israel were unable to settle down for long in their own homeland, to worship their God as they wished, and to live in peace. They were assaulted once again by the forces of destruction that sent them scurrying for the relative safety of other lands.

Their resilience to follow your destiny is the culmination in thousands of years' gestation during which the Jewish people, dispersed through much of the world, endured immense degrees and varieties of suffering. The Nazi murderers and their collaborators capped the crimes committed against the Jewish people by slaughtering six million innocent men, women, and children.

We are grateful that Israel has welcomed Iranian Jews who could no longer tolerate the rule of the oppressive, venomous mullahs. These mullahs are indeed traitors to the lofty longstanding tradition and values championed by Cyrus the Great and revered by Persians throughout the ages.

We applaud the Jews for affording millions of Israeli Arabs opportunities denied to them in many other lands.

Many Iranians never forget Israel's fair treatment of the Baha'is in Israel. This is yet another testimony to the Jews' ability and willingness to live in harmony with any and all people.

Today, the Iranian people carry on the work that the dissidents in the Soviet Union had to do at one time  and are suffering the same kind of oppression, imprisonment, and intimidation. Many prisoners in Iran are staging a hunger strike and are close to their deaths. We thank all human rights activists around the globe who frequently mention the Iranian people's plight.

Oftentimes Americans do not have a deep understanding of the internal dynamics of exile and expatriate politics, and some groups get a bad reputation, often unfairly. I think that if the Iranian expatriate community is going to lobby for American support for this kind of a move, they must provide emissaries to the American administration who can educate its members on the nature of the exile groups and their goals. Historically, American politicians have supported dictators and radical Marxists (the MEK).

Fourteen hundred years of suffering under Islam is far too long for any people, although the Jews hold the record for that misfortune. The Jews have at long last returned to their homeland, even though they are still encircled by the vicious Arab Islamists who would like nothing better than to drown every one of them in the sea, the way Islamists forced Zoroastrian people out of the country and the remaining few to the edges of an inhospitable desert.

Regardless of how loudly and frequently agents of the Islamic Republic bray to eliminate Israel and wish to chase the U.S. to its corner of the world, Iran's problems will remain, and the Iranian people will continue to suffer. The Iranian people must stand resolute and not allow these end-of-the-worlder, homicidal, suicidal men of Allah and their gang of frauds to take them on a ride to certain death.
"Suddenly America is like the biggest oil producer, the biggest gas producer, said Barack Obama in an impromptu remark at Rice University on Tuesday. That was me, people." After a minute of additional economic boasts, Obama instructed the audience, Say thank you.

Here was the essential Obama on display: smug, verbally maladroit, and shockingly dishonest. If America increased its energy production while Obama was in the White House, it was despite of his policies, not because of them. In a June 2010 speech after the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, Obama reminded America that part of the reason oil companies are drilling a mile beneath the surface of the ocean -- because were running out of places to drill on land and in shallow water.

In scolding America for its dependence on cheap oil, Obama rolled out all the self-hating green cliches: we consume ten times more than we produce; we need to end our century-long addiction to fossil fuels; oil is a finite resource. Implicit in the speech was the idea that consuming oil was in itself an evil like, say, shooting heroin or watching Fox News. After listing some alternative approaches to energy production, Obama claimed to be open to new ideas as long they seriously tackle our addiction to fossil fuels.

One of those new ideas had taken root in the Bay Area. Obama was still pumped from his visit to California a month earlier. Less than a year ago, we were standing on what was an empty lot, Obama boasted in May 2010. But through the Recovery Act, this company received a loan to expand its operations. This new factory is the result of those loans.

The loan from U.S. Energy Department came to a cool $536 million. Captivated by his own vision for America, Obama made the prophetic comment that would haunt him until other, graver scandals buried this one, The true engine of economic growth will always be companies like Solyndra.

Fast-forward two-plus years to the second presidential debate, this one moderated, if that is the correct word, by CNNs Candy Crowley.

So here's what I've done since I've been president, said the anti-oil crusader, We have increased oil production to the highest levels in 16 years. In his turn, Romney observed that Obama had done everything he could to block the production of oil, and none of the growth had taken place on federal lands.

Obama shot back, Very little of what Governor Romney just said is true. We've opened up public lands. We're actually drilling more on public lands than in the previous administration. Added Obama, You need, an all-of-the-above strategy, and that's what we're going to do in the next four years. This led to a fiery and telling exchange:

ROMNEY: But that's not what you've done in the last four years. That's the problem. In the last four years, you cut permits and licenses on federal land and federal waters in half.

OBAMA: Not true, Governor Romney.

ROMNEY: So how much did you cut?

OBAMA: Not true.

ROMNEY: How much did you cut them by, then?

OBAMA: Governor, we have actually produced more oil --

ROMNEY: No, no. How much did you cut licenses and permits on federal land and federal waters?

Romney had Obama on the ropes. This time, Crowley did not jump into the ring to tag-team Romney the way she had on the Benghazi question. The president lapsed into some tedious detail hoping the bell or something like it would ring. It did not, and Romney kept up the attack.

ROMNEY: No, no, I had a question and the question was how much did you cut them by?

OBAMA: You want me to answer a question --

ROMNEY: How much did you cut them by?

OBAMA: I'm happy to answer the question.

ROMNEY: All right. And it is --

OBAMA: Production is up.

ROMNEY: -- is down.

OBAMA: No, it isn't.

ROMNEY: Production on government land of oil is down 14 percent.

OBAMA: Governor --

ROMNEY: And production on gas --

OBAMA: It's just not true.

ROMNEY: It's absolutely true.

In judging the truthfulness of the participants, FactCheck.org gave the decision to Romney. Obama wrongly denied Romneys claim that the Obama administration cut in half the number of new permits and new leases for offshore drilling. The decrease, said FactCheck, was actually more than half.

Obama was also wrong when he said its just not true that domestic oil production on federal lands was down 14 percent. Said FactCheck, production did indeed fall by those percentages as Romney said. What FactCheck missed was the larger deception: Obama was boasting about an energy source that he thought both evil and exhausted just two years prior.

Although not well versed in crude oil, Obama proved a successful enough salesman of snake oil to secure the White House for another four years. As his Winter Solstice present to his progressive friends a month before he left office, Obama used an obscure 1953 law to block the sale of new leases in the Chuckchi and Beaufort seas north of Alaska as well as 31 underwater canyons in the Atlantic.

The Chuckchi Sea might be the largest untapped source of crude oil in the entire world. No matter. What with the marine mammals in the neighborhood and worries about the wildlife habitat, Obama shut it down, reassuring his friends on the left that he was still one of them.

Thank you, Barack Obama.
A new study on Central American migrants by the University of Southern California, hardly a conservative source, finds that caravan migrants and others like them are overwhelmingly job-seekers and people looking to join their families. What they're not is people fleeing violence and persecution. So the asylum "narrative" promoted in the press and by the left-wing lawyers now stands exposed as phony.

According to the Washington Times:

And while they are often referred to as asylum-seekers, few of the migrants from Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador  the chief sending countries  are likely to end up winning asylum in the U.S., according to the study by academics at the National Center for Risk and Economic Analysis of Terrorism Events (CREATE) at the University of Southern California, and the Institute for Defense Analyses. Adults are most likely to come for better jobs, the researchers said. They can improve their incomes by 1,200 percent in moving from Central America to the U.S. Children, meanwhile, are coming for economic opportunities but also to reunite with family already in the U.S., they concluded. "The standard wisdom [that] it's all about violence could not be supported by our data," said Detlof von Winterfeldt, a researcher at CREATE.

That's significant because the press has been playing up the asylum claims, and politicians such as California's governor-elect have been making political hay off it. Turning on the treacle, Gavin Newsom tried to frame Sunday's border charge as violence on people fleeing violence:

"These children are barefoot. In diapers. Choking on tear gas," Newsom wrote on Twitter after photos surfaced of a woman at the border with two young children trying to avoid tear gas cannisters [sic]. "Women and children who left their lives behind  seeking peace and asylum  were met with violence and fear. That's not my America. We're a land of refuge. Of hope. Of freedom. And we will not stand for this."

And who could forget the storied "wisdom" of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, comparing Central America's migrants to the Jews fleeing the Holocaust?

Congresswoman-elect Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez immediately slammed the move on Twitter. Ocasio-Cortez wrote, "Asking to be considered a refugee & applying for status isn't a crime. It wasn't for Jewish families fleeing Germany. It wasn't for targeted families fleeing Rwanda. It wasn't for communities fleeing war-torn Syria. And it isn't for those fleeing violence in Central America."

There we have it: "fleeing violence." The term is repeated again and again in the left's bid to create a "narrative."

Except that it's not violence that's being fled; it's the wages of being uneducated, low-skilled, and wanting more. Plus the big banquet of U.S. bennies  it's always all about the bennies. Such people, as I noted yesterday, are very costly to the U.S. when they are admitted as refugees and asylees, forcing us to shell out $8.8 billion, or an $80,000 free ride per asylee.

Most of these guys aren't going to get asylum, as the latest data show, but 9% will, and even that suggests some corner-cutting, given that Central America is composed of countries recognized as democracies.

The Washington Times notes that the surge in asylum claims is based on word getting out that the system can be gamed.

Immigrant-rights activists say the Central Americans are asylum-seekers fleeing horrific gang violence and government indifference back home. They point to murder-rate statistics as key evidence for the "push factor." The Trump administration, though, argues that the "pull factors" of family already in the U.S., the chance for better jobs, and the low risks of being turned back are more important. The new report, which was submitted to the Homeland Security Department, which supported the research, said there's mixed evidence on violence being a factor, but said the evidence on the pulls is more clear. And the researchers put data behind what analysts have long guessed: migrants from Central America appear to have figured out how to navigate U.S. humanitarian laws to their own benefit.

What's more, applying for asylum is the only cost-free way of applying to get into the U.S. As 91% of these migrants get their claims thrown out, failing to show up (and, amazingly, 40% failing to even file), most are free to move about the country and hold jobs, which was the whole idea in the first place.

Call it what you want, but the violence narrative is dead. The reality is, these guys don't want freedom. They're just coming for the stuff.

Image credit: The Ingraham Angle / Fox News, via YouTube, screen grab.
Marc Lamont Hill lost his gig as a commentator at CNN after he used a familiar slogan calling for the destruction of Israel at an anti-Israel conference at the United Nations on Wednesday. As The Wrap noted, this is:

... a line which has been used repeatedly by Hamas leader Khaled Mash'al. The phrase was also used by the Palestinian Liberation Organization beginning with its founding in 1964, when it was still classified as a terror group. Hill also voiced support for violent Palestinian "resistance," suggesting that Palestinians could be inspired by "slave revolts and self-defense and tactics otherwise divergent from Dr. King or Mahatma Gandhi."

Fox News describes the presentation he made:

Hill had come under criticism for his remarks during a Wednesday meeting of the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People in observance of the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People. He accused the Israeli government of "normalizing settler colonialism" and called for a "free Palestine from the river to the sea," a remark that got applause from participating diplomats.



U.N. video screen grab.

The audience clearly understood the meaning of the remark. The beloved expression of the left, "dog whistle," applies here. The audience clearly heard it.

There is no mistaking the meaning: if a state called Palestine were to occupy the land from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean, there is no room for a state called Israel, hence Israel has been destroyed in such a scenario.

Hill used other code as well:

At one point, Hill poured himself some water and told participants that he just got off a flight from "Palestine" and that "I was boycotting the Israeli water so I was unable to quench my thirst." "If we are standing in solidarity with the Palestinian people, we must recognize the right of an occupied people to defend itself," Hill said during a portion of his speech comparing the Palestinian movement with the American civil-rights movement. "We must prioritize peace, but we must not romanticize or fetishize it."

CNN, which "has been heavily promoting a special weeklong series on the rise of anti-Semitism across Europe," said as little as possible about the firing, with the statement, "Marc Lamont Hill is no longer under contract with CNN." Moreover, "[the] imbroglio was conspicuously absent from the network's 'Reliable Sources' newsletter Wednesday  written by Brian Stelter."

A Rick Moran pointed out here yesterday, "[t]his is not the first time Hill has displayed a raw, nauseating anti-Semitism."

But Hill is denying the obvious:

My reference to river to the sea was not a call to destroy anything or anyone. It was a call for justice, both in Israel and in the West Bank/Gaza. The speech very clearly and specifically said those things. No amount of debate will change what I actually said or what I meant.  Marc Lamont Hill (@marclamonthill) November 29, 2018

In my speech, I talked about the need to return to the pre-1967 borders, to give full rights to Palestinian citizens of Israel, and to allow right of return. No part of this is a call to destroy Israel. Its absurd on its face.  Marc Lamont Hill (@marclamonthill) November 29, 2018

Ahem: "From the river to the sea" is not the pre-1967 borders.

More doubletalk (a Hill specialty):

I believe in full rights for all citizens. I believe in safety for all citizens. I believe in self-determination for all citizens. This is not an anti-Semitic position.  Marc Lamont Hill (@marclamonthill) November 29, 2018

Unfortunately, we are in a moment where any critique of the Israeli government is called anti-Semitic. Any call for Palestinian freedom is seen as an attempt to diminish Israel freedom. This does not have to be, nor should it be, the case.  Marc Lamont Hill (@marclamonthill) November 29, 2018

Huffpost, where Hill also works, is portraying his comments as "saying Palestinians deserve equal rights."

Al Jazeera intimates for the Arab world that Hill is a victim of a sinister conspiracy, of course.

[T]he move came amid objections to Hill's speech by the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) and other groups. ... According to the Jewish Voice for Peace, "while the ADL markets itself as a civil rights organisation, its history betrays an extensive record of anti-Arab, anti-Muslim, and anti-Palestinian advocacy." In 1993, US police raided the offices of the ADL in San Francisco and found illegally obtained files on nearly 10,000 individuals and at least 950 organisations, including labour unions, LGBT groups, progressive media, Arab-American organisations, anti-Zionist Jewish organisations and other civil rights groups.

I expect further escalation of attacks on Jews and Israel, as Hill will be lionized as a victim and Jews will be demonized with the familiar tropes of puppet masters pulling strings.

The rising tide of Jew-hatred is obvious to anyone not wearing blinders.
Is outgoing Sen. Bob Corker trying to outdo Sen. Jeff Flake in blowing up the joint for President Trump on the way out?

Sure looks like it. How else to explain the NeverTrump GOP senator's obnoxious last act of sneaking in a rider to embed the Obama administration political holdovers in the U.S. broadcasting apparatus (which includes Voice of America) into a critical budget bill?

Here's the Washington Free Beacon describing what Corker did:

[T]he vocal Trump critic quietly held a Senate Foreign Relations Committee vote approving a bill that would greatly curtail the power of Michael Pack, the incoming new head of the U.S. Agency for Global Media, or USAGM. Corker, who is retiring at the end of the year, and Sen. Bob Menendez, (D., N.J.), who sponsored the bill, are rushing the bill through committee this week in an effort to attach it to the government funding bill that must pass before Congress adjourns at the end of the month, according to several government officials.

And in so doing:

Critics say the Menendez measure would prevent Pack from firing any top officials at the VOA and related agencies, including Amanda Bennett, the controversial current VOA director who is at the center of a fierce partisan battle over her leadership. Corker and Menendez have held up Pack's confirmation for months. The bill makes the current board members, many of whom were appointed by President Obama and are operating on expired terms, the members of the advisory board. It gives the advisory board a veto in the hiring and firing of the VOA head and all other top officials of related agencies, including Radio Free Asia, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, the Middle East Broadcasting Network, and the Office of Cuba Broadcasting.

That's a lot of power.

Why?

Number one: two years into the Trump administration, these Obama holdovers were supposed to have resigned. These were political appointees, and they were put there because their agenda was the Obama agenda. What's more, they took their jobs knowing they'd eventually have to leave when there was a change of administration. Even if Hillary Clinton had won the presidency, they could have legally been asked to leave. It's what is meant by a change of administration. White House smarmy jackass and deputy national security adviser Ben Rhodes knew that, and he packed up, give him credit for that much. The ambassadors who ended their tenures at President Trump's order, amid considerable complaining, also packed up.

But these Obama holdovers at VOA and other government broadcasting operations think they're something special. For reasons unclear, they never packed up.

I know some people at one of these agencies, and rest assured, they are appalled at the blatant rule-breaking of these holdovers, embedding themselves like lice in the woodwork, and refusing to get out. Most of them are veteran leftist journalists who got caught in the layoffs of the entire news industry and now are happily ensconced in six-figure jobs, courtesy of Uncle Sam. A huge number of them are doing nothing, and the ones who aren't are busy undercutting President Trump and his agenda.

They are useless deadwood and should be busted for not leaving as promised.

Now Corker wants to institutionalize these people? Entrenching them with vast power? Rewarding them with vast permanent powers? When they should have been out? So that President Trump will never have any influence over the operation? And so that these people can continue to snipe at him from the government payroll? Who says crime doesn't pay in Washington? This whole thing stinks.
Once again, Robert Mueller's team is nailing a witness it wants to use to incriminate President Trump in some nefarious scheme with a guilty plea for lying, and thereby discrediting any future testimony against the intended target. Well, at least it gives them a scalp to nail to the wall to justify the tens of millions of dollars already expended over the last two years in an effort to unseat a sitting president.



Cohen exits N.Y. federal courthouse after guilty plea (CNN screen grab).

Trump's enemies are certain that the end is near.

To help Trump, Cohen lied to Congress about Trumps business interests in Russia. The Presidents own denials during the campaign were also false or misleading, and underscore the importance of investigating any financial entanglement between Trump and Russia.  Adam Schiff (@RepAdamSchiff) November 29, 2018

As Brooke Singman of Fox News points out:

Significantly, Mueller's questions to Trump included a specific inquiry about any interaction or communication Trump may have had with Cohen and others, including foreign nationals, regarding real estate developments in Russia during the campaign.

But Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani told Fox News' Catherine Herridge there is no "contradiction" with Trump's answers and they "remain comfortable" with the president's responses.

Trump, in response to Thursday's plea deal, called Cohen a "weak person" and accused him of lying to get out of trouble.

There was nothing at all illegal about the Trump Organization negotiating a real estate development deal with Russia or anyone else during the campaign, or even in office, for that matter. Perhaps Cohen misremembered the date the talks ceased, or perhaps he was trying to avoid embarrassment. That embarrassment was not because of any illegality or impropriety, but rather, it has to do with keeping up appearances of confidence in victory. It seems obvious that President Trump was hedging his bets, not 100% certain that his campaign would bring victory (as 99%-plus of the media and "experts" predicted), and not torpedoing the process of exploring new business projects, a steady of stream of which is necessary to maintain his activity as a developer.

Trump tweeted this just a few hours ago, from Argentina.

Oh, I get it! I am a very good developer, happily living my life, when I see our Country going in the wrong direction (to put it mildly). Against all odds, I decide to run for President & continue to run my business-very legal & very cool, talked about it on the campaign trail...  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 30, 2018

....Lightly looked at doing a building somewhere in Russia. Put up zero money, zero guarantees and didnt do the project. Witch Hunt!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 30, 2018

No less than lifelong Democrat and Hillary Clinton voter Alan Dershowitz is pointing out that rather than uncovering past crimes, Mueller's modus operandi is to generate new crimes in the course of investigation:

The recent guilty plea of Michael Cohen of lying represents the dominant trend in Mueller's approach to prosecution. The vast majority of indictments and guilty pleas obtained against Americans by Mueller have not been for substantive crimes relating to his mandate: namely, to uncover crimes involving illegal contacts with Russia. They have involved indictments and guilty pleas either for lying, or for financial crimes by individuals unrelated to the Russia probe. If this remains true after the filing of the Mueller report, it would represent a significant failure on Mueller's part. Mueller was appointed Special Counsel not to provoke individuals into committing new crimes, but rather to uncover past crimes specifically involving alleged illegal coordination between the Trump campaign and Russian agents. No one doubted that Russia attempted to influence the 2020 election in favor of Donald Trump and against Hillary Clinton. But Mueller's mandate was not to prosecute Russians or to point the finger at Vladimir Putin. His mandate was to uncover crimes committed by the Trump campaign with regard to Russia's attempts to influence the election.

Meanwhile, actual evidence that the Hillary Clinton campaign colluded with Russian intelligence agents (via cutouts Perkins Coie and Fusion GPS) to influence the election is apparently of no interest whatsoever to Mueller. It's almost as if this entire effort is a cover-up...
The North Carolina elections board has refused to certify the results of the 9th District congressional race between Republican Mark Harris and Democrat Dan McCready, which Harris won by 905 votes. The board cites "irregularities" in the absentee ballot process as the major reason.

The board voted 9-0 not to certify the results, with both Republicans and Democrats agreeing that the results needed to be investigated.

Charlotte Observer:

The man at the center of speculation about the alleged activities, McCrae Dowless, was paid by the Harris campaign as a contractor for the candidate's top consultant. In a letter to the chairman of the state elections board, Democratic Party attorney John Wallace urged the board to delay certification beyond Friday's scheduled meeting. "After pulling the fire alarm on Tuesday, the State Board cannot in good conscience certify the election three days later, when so much smoke continues to hang over this election," he wrote. Wallace went on to say a review of public records "confirms that serious irregularities and improprieties may have occurred." Bladen County had the highest percentage of absentee ballot requests in the state. There, 7.5 percent of registered voters requested absentee ballots. In most counties it was less than 3 percent. An analysis by Catawba College political scientist Michael Bitzer suggested more aberrations.

That certainly sounds fishy. And Bladen County wasn't the only place where suspicious activity was discovered.

In seven of the eight counties in the 9th District, for example, McCready won a lopsided majority of the mailed-in absentee ballots. But not in Bladen County. There, Republican Mark Harris won 61 percent even though registered Republicans accounted for only 19 percent of the county's accepted absentee ballots. Unaffiliated voters accounted for 39 percent. Bitzer said Harris' margin "could potentially come from all those unaffiliated voters." "But to have each and every one of those unaffiliated voters vote Republican, that's pretty astonishing," he added. "If that's the case, there's a very concerted effort to use that method to one candidate's advantage. ... But at that level there's something else beyond a concerted effort that could be at work."

I really wish elections boards would become just as suspicious when strange happenings occur in Democratic counties. When some Democratic enclaves have more votes cast than registered voters, a red flag should be raised somewhere. It usually isn't.

This appears to be a clumsy attempt to game the absentee ballot system in favor of the Republican. If so, many of those ballots should be tossed and the rest recounted.

In the end, the irregularities might show up for both parties. But this gives the lie to those who claim there is no voter fraud in America. There is, and in this case, it might have tipped a race to the cheating side.
For 50 years, Alderman Ed Burke has walked the corridors of City Hall, a gigantic presence in Chicago politics. He got his start in the heyday of machine politics in the city, when Mayor Richard J. Daley wielded national power. Over the decades, he gained enormous influence, largely by wheeling and dealing through his considerable network of city power brokers in politics, business, and "The Organization"  the term used to described organized crime in the city.

Burke has been an expert in avoiding indictment and jail, largely because most of his business is conducted face to face. He has been smart, savvy, and one step ahead of authorities, who, several times, have sought to bring him down.

His aides have been indicted and convicted, his friends have gone to jail, but Burke has managed to outsmart prosecutors. Now his number may be up.

FBI agents raided his City Hall and ward offices yesterday and walked away with boxes and boxes of documents, as well as computers. Does the government finally have Ed Burke dead to rights?

Don't bet on it.

Chicago Tribune:

The scenario was a somewhat familiar one for Burke, Chicago's longest-serving politician known for his bold pinstripe suits, great political wealth and as half of one of the city's elite power couples. In his 50 years in politics, the Southwest Side alderman has been under federal scrutiny several times before, but never convicted or indicted. "As you are aware, there have previously been several other investigations such as this. In every instance we cooperated fully. And in every instance nothing has been found," Burke said in a statement. "So once again, we will be cooperating fully, and I am completely confident that at the end of the day nothing will be found amiss in this instance either." When the 74-year-old alderman arrived at his Southwest Side home late Thursday, he repeated variations of the same statement as reporters inquired about the investigation. The FBI's Chicago office also had little to say about the matter, other than to confirm the searches. That set off parlor games among City Hall insiders about just which slice of Burke's political domain had once again fallen under the microscope.

Burke does business with a wink, a nod, and a handshake. Nothing illegal ever goes down on paper. He once said he always assumes his phone calls are being recorded.

Note that Burke never says he's innocent, only that "nothing has been found." That's part of his charm. He's a rogue, and he knows it, and he has been playing the part for decades.

One interesting note brought up about Burke is that he handled some tax matters for Donald Trump.

Nationally, media outlets and websites were quick to note that Burke once served as the attorney who appealed property taxes on behalf of President Donald Trump's Chicago tower before cutting those ties earlier this year. And the raids on Burke's office came on the same day the president's former attorney Michael Cohen pleaded guilty to lying to Congress about a Trump project in Moscow as part of special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 election. The timing of that development and the raid on Burke's offices led to rampant speculation that the searches were related to work Burke's law firm did for Trump. The Burke investigation, however, was being conducted in conjunction with the U.S. Attorney's Office in Chicago, not Mueller's office, said Joseph Fitzpatrick, a spokesman for U.S. Attorney John Lausch. Authorities did not search Burke's law office Thursday, a law enforcement source told the Chicago Tribune. The investigation involves recent allegations and no arrests were made or are imminent, according to the source.

No, this has nothing to do with Trump. More likely, some disgruntled business associate tattled to the state's attorney, who has now launched an investigation. Every time it happens, political pundits and City Hall-watchers confidently predict that "this time," they've got him. But each time, Burke slips away, free to dispense favors, punish enemies, and make a lot of money for his friends.

Burke has become a Chicago institution and an example of how power corrupts. In a city where "clout" is not a dirty word, Burke has reigned supreme as the King of Clout.
Migration: Do you think many or most of the Mexican caravan members are entitled under U.S. laws to asylum, or do you see them as coming here in search of jobs and to reunite with family members already here? Does the following trouble you?

Migrants who came with the caravan are suffering from respiratory infections, tuberculosis, chickenpox and other serious health issues. There are three confirmed cases of tuberculosis, four cases of HIV/AIDS and four separate cases of chickenpox, the (Tijuana Health Dept) spokesman said.

Or this?

"U.S. Border Patrol agents have arrested a member of the infamous Salvadoran MS-13 gang who admitted to authorities that he traveled with a caravan of Central American migrants who were hoping to qualify for asylum in America," National Review's Mairead McArdle reports.

Israel:

CNN commentator Mark Lamont Hill told the U.N. this week that justice deserves a Palestine that is free "from the river to the sea." Do you condemn CNN for sponsoring analysts with views such as this?

Kavanaugh

Do you think then-judge Brett Kavanaugh was treated with a presumption of innocence by the Senate Judiciary Committee during hearings on his nomination for appointment to the Supreme Court? Did you believe the women who accused him then, and do you still believe them?

Mueller

Are you aware that the initial files that triggered FBI surveillance of the Trump family and the Trump campaign were paid for by the DNC and the Hillary Clinton campaign? Do you believe that any votes in the 2016 presidential campaign were influenced by Russian operatives, and if so, how many?

Uranium One

Does it trouble you that the Clinton family, personally or through its foundation, received more than $140 million from Russian interests in the leading up to and shortly after Russians taking over about a fifth of America's uranium reserves?

Family size and fertility

The Economist Magazine this week reported that fertility among American women is not sufficient to maintain the nation's population without immigration, warning, "A smaller working-age population makes Social Security (public pensions) less affordable and means the national debt is carried on fewer shoulders." The Baby Bust, it suggests, is particularly pronounced in urban areas, where home ownership and rental costs have risen.

Average American house sizes have more than doubled since the 1950s, from about 1,000 square feet to about 2,500 square feet.

Do you think that young people today should spend less on housing and more on bringing youngsters into their lives?
Think ghost town and youll probably imagine ruins roofless houses, dirty broken windows, rotting floors, but at Kitsault, on the North Coast of British Columbia, Canada, youll find rows upon rows of immaculately kept houses, shopping centers, restaurants, banks, pubs and theaters, all abandoned and sitting empty but untouched and spotless. The towns lights are always on, the streets are lined with neatly trimmed trees and there are freshly mowed lawns, yet no one has called Kitsault home since 1982.

The town of Kitsault, near the Alaskan border, situated about 115 kilometers down the gravel road from Terrace, had a very brief existence. It began in 1979 as a community of workers of the molybdenum mines. Molybdenum forms hard, stable carbides in alloys, and is often used to provide hardness and corrosion resistance properties to steel. But just as life was getting started in this pristine mountain utopia, the market for molybdenum crashed and the entire town of some 1,200 residents abandoned it.

Photo credit: Bob Steventon/Flickr

This area of British Columbia, at the end of the Observatory Inlet, had been mined for precious and semi-precious metals such as silver, lead, zinc, and copper for nearly a century, leading to the establishment of many boom towns such as Alice Arm and Anyox. Molybdenum was first mined here from the late sixties until the early seventies, but was stopped when profits started to dip. But by the end of the decade prices were back up again as many of the known molybdenum deposits in Alaska, British Columbia and the western United States began to deplete. The American mining company Phelps Dodge jumped in at the opportunity.

A large swath of land several hundred acres in size was prepared for the town of Kitsault, and a massive construction project, on a scale that had never been seen in Northern British Columbia, began. Ships arrived with building supplies into Kitsaults deep water fiord. A gravel road from Terrace was hastily built through the mountains. Engineers and construction workers poured in from all over North America, drawn by high-paying construction jobs.

More than a hundred single-family homes and duplexes were built, and seven apartment buildings with over two hundred suites. There was a modern hospital and a shopping center, restaurants, banks, a post office, a pub, a pool, a library, and two recreation centers with Jacuzzis, saunas and a theater. Cable television and phone lines were laid underground. There was a state-of-the-art sewage treatment plant and the cleanest running water in the province.

Barely 18 months after the first families had settled in, the molybdenum market crashed caused by a badly timed recession and the arrival of molybdenum by-products. The mines closed and people started moving out and Kitsault was forgotten.

In 2005, India-born American entrepreneur, Krishnan Suthanthiran, bought the town for $7 million and began charting its revival. Since then, the millionaire has poured an estimated $25 million on upgrades and upkeep. More than a dozen caretakers make rounds of the houses and other structures, checking on their conditions and making repairs. They mow the lawns, trim the trees and sweep the streets.

Suthanthiran plans to recoup his investments by turning Kitsault into a hub of British Columbias Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) industry. The future of the town depends on the success of this LNG project.

Photo credit: Bob Steventon/Flickr

Photo credit: Bob Steventon/Flickr

Photo credit: Bob Steventon/Flickr

Photo credit: Bob Steventon/Flickr

Photo credit: Bob Steventon/Flickr

Photo credit: Bob Steventon/Flickr

Photo credit: Bob Steventon/Flickr

Photo credit: Bob Steventon/Flickr

Photo credit: Bob Steventon/Flickr

Photo credit: Bob Steventon/Flickr

Photo credit: Bob Steventon/Flickr

Photo credit: Bob Steventon/Flickr

Photo credit: Bob Steventon/Flickr

Photo credit: Chad Graham/Flickr

Photo credit: Chad Graham/Flickr

Photo credit: Chad Graham/Flickr

Photo credit: Bob Steventon/Flickr

Source: www.kitsault.com / The Globe And Mail / National Post
A group of American lawmakers continued pressuring Amazon over its controversial facial recognition technology called Rekognition, having sent a third public letter to the company in a span of four months. Addressed to Amazon founder and Chief Executive Officer Jeff Bezos, the letter criticizes the firm for not delivering what the legislators deemed sufficient answers in July when they were provided with two separate demands for details on the face-detection tool. Like the Capitol Hills last two attempts at obtaining information on Amazon Rekognition, the new letter is co-signed exclusively be Democratic lawmakers  Representatives Jimmy Gomez, Luis V. Gutierrez, Jan Schakowsky, Pramila Jayapal, Ro Khanna, Judy Chu, and John Lewis, as well as Senator Edward J. Markey who publicized the contents of the request several hours back.

The Congress members once again demanded Amazons assessment on the accuracy of Rekognition and bias assessments of the tool. In addition to raw data, they requested the information in question be broken down by age, gender, ethnicity, and race. Another question contained in the letter targets Amazons methodology of obtaining such data, directly asking how the company assesses Rekognitions bias, particularly in regards to racial bias. The Democratic lawmakers also inquired over the existence of any built-in protections meant to ensure innocent Americans dont have their privacy violated by ending up in law enforcement databases with no legal basis. On that front, the politicians also asked whether Amazon developed a system that automatically deletes unused facial recognition data.

Furthermore, Amazon was asked whether it conducts regular audits in order to ensure government agencies arent abusing its technology for the purposes of illegal secretive surveillance, in addition to ensuring its not violating federal civil rights law by disproportionally affecting individuals based on protected characteristics such as race, gender, and religion. The letter raises the question of whether any use cases of Rekognition are in violation of Amazons terms of service and how is the technology giant working to combat them in case it detects such misuse. Finally, the lawmakers directly asked Amazon to name government agencies that currently utilize Rekognition for real-time surveillance of the American public. The Democrats want to see the questions answered by Thursday, December 13. Amazon has yet to reflect on the development in any capacity.

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Background: The new communication comes on the heels of two letters dated July 26 and 27 which contained identical questions. While Amazon provided the legislators with some answers that they deemed unsatisfactory, the lawmakers didnt clarify on why its responses were insufficient, save for wording the new request in a manner that indicates an overall lack of details was the main problem.

According to a late May report from the America Civil Liberties Union, Amazon has been selling and licensing Rekognition to government bodies since last year. As of mid-2018, the software was in use by at least two law enforcement agencies  County Sheriffs Offices in Washington, Florida, and Orlando. Oregon. The Washington County is said to have combined the technology with a database of close to 300,000 mugshots and created a mobile app for its officers that allowed them to perform scans of suspects and compare them against that knowledge base, whether by importing an existing photograph or taking one themselves. Information ACLU obtained from public record requests suggests Orlando started using the system even more aggressively and is feeding it footage from cameras connected to the countys infrastructure grid.

Less than a month later, nearly 20 shareholder groups urged Amazon to stop providing law enforcement agencies with Rekognition licenses, citing major privacy concerns. Its presently unclear whether the technology juggernaut ever responded to that request in an official capacity, though the firm obviously dismissed it. Possibly the most controversial development stemming from Rekognition use to date is a late July episode that saw the technology falsely identify 28 Congress members as subjects of a mugshot database built from 25,000 publicly available photographs. The experiment conducted by ACLU highlighted the concerns outlined by todays letter  the service appears to have issues with producing an increased volume of false positives when it comes to identifying individuals who arent white.

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At the time, ACLU technology attorney Jacob Snow argued false positives are a massive issue for any kind of face-detection service used by law enforcement as they could make officers biased and indirectly lead to unnecessary injuries or deaths, exemplifying that claim by hypothesizing about a scenario wherein a government agency mistakens an individual for someone with a concealed-weapon warrant. Congressional Black Caucus reacted to ACLUs July report with two letters to Mr. Bezos, whereas the non-profit itself has been campaigning for Rekognition to be dropped from the governments arsenal of tools ever since. Neither effort yielded significant results to date, leading to todays letter.

Impact: While Amazon reportedly did little to explain itself to Democratic representatives so far, the company might end up being compelled to do so in a matter of weeks. Following the results of the latest mid-terms from early November, a new House majority will be sworn in this January, which will provide it with constitutional powers to subpoena and question both individuals and companies through committees. Should the Seattle-based company continue resisting requests for detailed answers regarding Rekognition, the new House roster could force it to do so on live television or in private, provided they still deem the issue worthy of their attention after January 3, which appears to be a highly probable scenario.

Amazon itself is unlikely to change its official stance on Rekognition regardless of any concerns from the Capitol Hill; the company believes its solution to be a useful tool for tracking missing persons and is also employing it for the purposes of theft prevention. As to whether the firm abides with the December 13 deadline the lawmakers attached to their latest letter, its likely to respond to the letter by that date in some shape or form. However, as the last two information request attempts from Congress exemplified, a timely response may not necessarily be one that the concerned caucus will automatically find satisfactory and Amazon has yet to show any intention of becoming more transparent on the subject of Rekognition use.
Chrome OS devices previously expected to arrive running Intels Cannon Lake CPUs may now be completely reworked with new processors, based on recently spotted changes in the Chromium Gerrit. The changes primarily seem to stem from code pertaining to a device codenamed Meowth and its reference board Zoombini. In fact, the team behind development on that device appears to be removing repositories linking that Cannon Lake-based reference board from Meowth wholesale following the removal of a reference to Cannon Lake earlier this year.

Background: Meowth had been speculated to be a tie-in to a more powerful variant of Google Pixel Slate or another Google-branded Chrome OS device. The former of those is a Chrome tablet that was announced near the beginning of October and will begin shipping to customers in December. At the time of that announcement, Intel had still not finalized work on its 10nm Cannon Lake chips in spite of the initial expectation that it would launch way back in 2016. Whether the speculation about Meowth was accurate or not, no version of the Google Pixel Slate has ever been revealed with that chipset onboard. Instead, the Pixel Slate utilizes 8th-Gen Intel Core processors based on the Kaby Lake architecture. Intel has made several press announcements about Cannon Lake since 2018 began but that hasnt stopped rumors from spreading that the project had been canceled.

The chipmaker has denied those rumors outright but work has also been underway on new chips that were intended to follow Cannon Lake in the meantime. One example of that is a 10nm range of chips under the Intel codename Ice Lake. The removal of the Zoombini-based Meowths code from the Chromium Gerrit was accompanied by the addition of another reference board dubbed Dragonegg has now appeared based on that CPU. Thats led to some speculation that Meowth and other devices have and will be abandoned in favor of Intels next-generation chips under new codenames. That doesnt seem to be entirely likely at this point since other devices that were thought to be based on the chips still appear in the Gerrit and havent been removed. One such device, codenamed Arcada and built on a new Sarien reference board, appears to still be based on the platform for example. That Chrome OS gadget is expected to launch with the additional benefit of NVMe storage.

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Impact: Intels Ice Lake CPUs arent presently expected to launch until some time in 2020, leaving plenty of time for any Chrome OS manufacturers who want to make use of the processors to build out their devices. Given the number of delays Cannon Lake has been subject to, it may make some sense for some Chrome OS devices to be reworked for a later chip. Thats especially true if the launch of a chip is expected to be close to that of its predecessor and where high-end devices are concerned since waiting provides a more attractive value for consumers. The move would also make far less sense for manufacturers who release new models of Chrome OS hardware on a more frequent basis. In effect, devices based on the long-awaited CPUs could act as a stop gap between launches  if Intel hasnt abandoned Cannon Lake altogether.
Google is reportedly going to be shutting down Hangouts for consumers sometime in 2020. This is according to a source familiar with the matter that spoke with the publication, 9to5 Google. This means that 2019 will be the last full year that you will be able to use Hangouts, though Google has not made the announcement that Hangouts is shutting down just yet. So there is still plenty of time to use the messaging app. Google essentially stopped working on Hangouts nearly a year ago, when it decided that it wanted to push everyone to Allo and use Hangouts for its Enterprise users in G Suite. Once Hangouts does sunset in 2020, it will still be available for enterprise customers.

Earlier this year, Google announced Hangouts Chat and Hangouts Meet, which were two apps that allows users to chat or do video calls  which the names indicate which is which. Those apps will continue to be available, as Google is pushing Hangouts over to its Enterprise users  aka G Suite users. So the writing has been on the wall for a bit already, in regards to Hangouts for consumers. Its unclear where Google is looking to send users when it does end Hangouts in 2020, but knowing Google, it will likely announce yet another messaging app at Google I/O next year in Mountain View. Even though we already have Allo, its really not a replacement for Hangouts, since it is missing a lot of its key features. It appears that like Google+, Hangouts will also be shutting down for consumers, but sticking around for enterprise users. A bit odd that Google is shutting these down for consumers, but keeping them for its Enterprise users.

Background: Google debuted Hangouts back in 2013, as a replacement for Google Talk. It was supposed to be the single messaging app that would bring all of Googles services together. It launched on virtually every platform, with desktop clients in tow as well. But it has always had some issues. Whether that was notifications not working on some devices, SMS/MMS not being available, or something else. But for the most part, it has been a decent messaging client from Google. Though in recent years, it has been stripping out features, including SMS/MMS functionality that did finally get added in. Meaning that you could not use it as a text message app replacement on your smartphone. Of course, that is what Allo was supposed to do, but that didnt happen. When Hangouts debuted, Google had a ton of different messaging apps already available, basically a different messaging system for each product. Hangouts was supposed to unify that, but in 2018, Google still has a ton of different messaging apps. Including Hangouts, Allo and Android Messages to name a few  with the latter two being pre-installed on your smartphone.

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For years, Google has struggled to get its messaging game together. It has repeatedly tried to get a unified messaging app/service together for Android and desktop, but has continued to fail, miserably. Its pretty shocking that a company as large as Google just cannot get the messaging thing together. Its one of the core parts of the smartphone user experience. Whatever Google decides to replace Hangouts with, hopefully will be a better experience and unify all of its services, but dont hold your breathe, as we have heard this all before. Earlier this year, however, there was an exclusive report from The Verge, stating that Googles next big fix is going to be messaging on Android. Now that is a good thing, as we already have a ton of messaging apps we have to use on Android. However, Android is the key word there. Messaging on Android. Not messaging in general. Which means that this is likely something that is coming to Android and wont include support for messaging on the desktop unfortunately. Of course, we know very little about this plan at this point, so its hard to say, really. Messaging has always been an issue for Google, and it is something that it needs to rectify pretty soon, hopefully that will be a big part of Android Q next year, but likely whatever Google does, will include RCS. Which is the new protocol that Google has been pushing for messaging on all carriers.

Impact: This is going to impact virtually everyone that uses Android (or at least Google services on Android), as just about everyone uses Hangouts. There are some that dont use Hangouts and use something like WhatsApp and then Android Messages or Allo for text messages, but that is a pretty small fraction of the Android population. Theres going to be a lot of upset people, because Hangouts was a great option for a lot of people. It did not require a phone number, so it could be used on a tablet that didnt have a phone number. And thus allow kids to message their parents, aunts, uncles, grandparents and even their friends. Without giving them a phone. But many messaging apps are going the route of using a phone number to sign in, including WhatsApp. Which is going to make this even harder for them.

Its important to remember that Google has not officially announced that it is shutting down Hangouts, but given the evidence that is available, its not a surprise to see this report coming out today. Google likely wont announce that it is shutting it down until sometime next year. Usually these things get announced about a year (at most), before it actually shuts down. Like Google+, it was announced a few months ago, and it is being shut down in the Spring of next year. But we should still take this all with a grain of salt until Google actually announces that Hangouts is being shut down. Now is a good time to start looking at some other messaging apps out there. WhatsApp is a good option since it is available on virtually every platform, however the fact that it is owned by Facebook is going to steer some people away from it.
Google needs to get a grip as its getting increasingly tiring using its products while under constant fear the company will get bored and just switch them off. While Google has never seemed able to maintain focus on any single idea for long enough (even Android itself is apparently under threat in spite of the vast majority of worldwide market share it holds), this year the company has gone a little too far by canning what is arguably some of its best and most popular services.

Inbox becomes Binbox

This all started back in September when Google announced it was closing its Inbox by Gmail service in favor of focusing on Gmail. Thats in spite of Inbox being a far superior product. Yes, some will argue thats not the case, that they dont like Inbox and Gmail is better. But they would be wrong. They simply dont get Inbox. Because once you do, it just makes buttery smooth sense and you can ask anyone who uses Inbox religiously and they will tell you the same thing. Once you pass the learning curve and go all-in with Inbox, you dont just get it, you become dependent on it. So now all of us Inbox-dependent emailers have to somehow try and bring ourselves back to Gmail  back to the past. And thats not going to be an easy task for many of the heavy Inbox users as a number of us have already tried since the original Inbox closing announcement was made. Tried and failed, that is. Once again ending up back using Inbox in spite of knowing the writing is on the wall.

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Google minus the +

Then in October came the news Google+ was shutting down. Granted, this is a bit more of a complicated issue due to the whole data breach thing which Google seems to have managed to gloss over without as much attention as it should have received  by immediately announcing the closure of the service. Rule number 1 in press relations: make the news what you want to say, not what others are saying. This is exactly what Google did by superseding the data breach news with the news the service was ending. Yes, outlets still covered the data breach but the angle nearly all coverage went with was along the lines of Google Hangouts closing down because The closure was the news. A very smart move by Google that allowed the company to move on largely without having to deal with the issue or explain what it was doing to make sure it never happened again. But, the closure only benefited Google.

Yes, Google+ was not the hive of activity Google had hoped for, and yes many who dont use it dismissed it immediately  Inbox Syndrome  but those who did use it, used it a lot. Whats more, they were very much tech-focused users with many viewing G+ as the tech social media channel. Which, in reality, is ideal for a company like Google due to it effectively creating a captive audience who will actively and directly tune in to the very products and services Google wants to promote, helping Google to promote them more. Pixel, Nexus, Android TV, all of these have had very active communities on G+ and now those communities are scrambling to find somewhere they can go to replicate the experience Google+ offered. And thats an important point to note as these users are obviously aware of Twitter, Facebook, and the rest. Its just they dont see the same value in those other social media channels as they did in G+. Thats a USP any service/company would kill for and Google simply threw it away like it was nothing. It wasnt in Googles favor anymore and these days thats apparently enough.

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Nowhere left to hangout

Fast-forward to now and it would seem that Hangouts is next on the chopping block following a new report which cites sources claiming 2019 will be the last full year you have with the messaging service. Again, some will argue that like G+, and to some degree Inbox, the writing has been on the wall for Hangouts for some time. And maybe they are right. But that does not mean the writing had to be on the wall. Google actively made efforts to reposition Hangouts as more of a business tool. Google actively decided to lessen support for the app and service in general. Google is reportedly choosing to end consumer support in 2020. These are all decisions Google has made intentionally, and in spite of Hangouts not quite suffering the same user number issue as Google+ or Inbox.

Yes, Hangouts is probably not a hugely popular service when compared to some others, but by all accounts, its used a decent amount. Which is why the company isnt shutting it down completely like it is Inbox and G+. It still sees value in the platform, and it still maintained value at the consumer level which makes it all the more disappointing if this latest news turns out to be true. As unlike the other closures announced in 2018, where Google could at least hide behind the low user numbers, this one represents a complete disregard for a service that is in use. And like G+, one that Google doesnt really have a replacement to offer users. No, Allo.

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Whats next?

At this point it doesnt even matter whats next. With Inbox, Google+ and Hangouts all expected to close within the next 12-18 months Google has taken away some of its best social-based services and in a fairly small amount of time. Yes, none of them were perfect, but they were what they were, and people used them. More importantly, it is highly likely that routine users of any of these services, also used the others as well. Thats sort of the way these things work and why Google has so often looked to integrate features from one into another as these services have a high cross-over threshold. So for those users who are more heavily invested in the full Google experience, they are now being exponentially punished by Google  and for doing nothing other than supporting its services. Good job!
Google suppressed employee voices raised in reaction to Project Dragonfly, a controversial initiative aimed at the creation of a censored version of Search for China, The Intercept reports, citing several past and current engineers involved in the effort. Those sources include Yonatan Zunger, one of Googles top engineers who spend 15 years with the company and departed last year, not long after being asked to work on Project Dragonfly. The green light for the initiative was given some two years back and discussions with engineers approached to work on the secretive effort began in early 2017. It was in February of that year that Google China chief Scott Beaumont briefed some of the potential candidates for the project on its existence during a meeting in the technology juggernauts headquarters in Mountain View, California, and it was that gathering that led to some of the first known warnings about the concept being raised by employees.

Mr. Zunger said he voiced a number of concerns regarding Dragonfly, including the fact that launching an Internet search engine which relies on infrastructure in China would allow the communist government to easily access information on what its citizens are inquiring about on the World Wide Web, then leverage that data to further its oppressive agenda, as it often did in the past when it moved against human rights activists, journalists, and dissidents. The leadership who pushed for Dragonfly  including Mr. Beaumont  is said to have acknowledged those concerns superficially but deemed them not important enough to warrant canceling the project or even significantly altering its course.

The management that was pushing for Dragonfly might not have been concerned the contents of employee opposition but feared its very existence will slow down progress, which is why it decided to share information about the effort on a need-to-know basis, sources claim. Some employees were even threatened that discussing Dragonfly with their colleagues who were unaware of the effort could result in termination. The early prototype of the censored service which is still being worked on was created in the form of a mobile app for Android and iOS devices. The tool blacklists thousands of banned terms in China such as human rights and Nobel prize, as well as names of countless dissidents of the Communist Party. The app links those searches to phone numbers and also tracks user location, with all of that info being easily accessible by the Chinese government so long as its data is stored domestically, which is what Google planned to do.

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Whereas all of Googles product concepts are traditionally reviewed by the companys legal, security, and privacy units, the management circumvented those norms when it came to Dragonfly; Mr. Beaumont is said to have had openly adversarial relations with the teams that should have been in charge of voicing concerns about the project and directly opposed their attempts to probe the app for privacy and security concerns. I dont know if I want you asking those questions, he retorted during one meeting wherein the security and privacy teams said they wanted to ensure the service would be safe against hackers  state-sponsored and otherwise  and provide Chinese users with control of their own data. Insiders claim that the companys leadership even actively worked on minimizing Dragonflys paper trail, all in an effort to suppress leaks, which was unconventional even for the most highly classified projects at Google. Mr. Zunger ended up joining Humu, a startup co-founded by former Google veterans, in mid-2017 but says he likely would have resigned in protest of Dragonfly had he not received that job offer at the time.

Background: The Alphabet-owned firm managed to keep the existence of Dragonfly a secret for 18 months before an early August report made it public knowledge. Up until that point, only several hundred employees from Googles 88,000-strong workforce were aware of the initiative. Several high-profile engineers left the company after learning of Dragonfly, citing strong ethical concerns. Earlier this week, a group of over 130 employees went public with their calls for the project to be shuttered, criticizing it for dangerous and unethical motivations that signal the tech giants management is now prioritizing profits over ethics while claiming that wasnt always the case.

That notion appears to have a strong basis in reality seeing how Googles management decided to exit Chinas Internet search market in 2010, citing unwillingness to work with an oppressive regime that wanted to leverage all local industry actors for the purpose of turning them into spying tools that would allow it to continue tightening its grip on public discourse and dissidents. Eight years later, Beijings policies havent changed and only became more effective as the technology evolved but Googles leadership doesnt appear to be as concerned with championing Western values in its business dealings as it once was.

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The reasons for that are multifold but largely come down to the fact that Googles core business appears to be close to its peak and has limited room for growth  limited outside of China, that is. In the Far Eastern country, the company still has a pool of some 800 million Internet users, most of whom are its potential future customers. Faced with a slow-down of its core business growth in the West and the fact that some of its largest diversification efforts such as its move to consumer electronics are yet to pan out, Google now appears to be more than willing to forget about its past differences with Beijing and play by its rules in exchange to being given an opportunity to compete in the most populous country on the planet.

Impact: While Google has been facing significant criticism from all sides of the political aisle in its home country due to Dragonfly, work on the project continues. Recent reports suggest the service will debut within the first four months of 2019, despite CEO Sundar Pichais insistence that no launch timeframe has been attached to the project he continues to describe as an experiment. While the House Judiciary Committee is scheduled to grill Mr. Pichai on the matter and other issues such as liberal bias allegations on Wednesday, December 4, the current state of affairs appears to suggest Google wont be changing course in its pursuit of growth.
Bruce Lee, Huawei Vice President of Handset Business, said the company is working on a new mobile operating system meant to be an alternative to Android. The comment made on Chinese social media network Weibo on Thursday confirmed months worth of rumors suggesting the same, though the industry veteran was reluctant to share many details on the endeavor.

Background: Mr. Lees comments stand in direct opposition to what one of his colleagues  Huawei software engineering chief Dr. Wang Chenglu  said in September, categorically dismissing the notion that the company is working on an alternative to Googles omnipresent OS. Mr. Wang reiterated Huaweis commitment to Googles ecosystem, pointing to the swift deployment of Android 9 Pie-based EMUI 9 as evidence that the Chinese technology juggernaut remains fully on board with todays most popular OS. Original reports on the matter date back to April when insiders claimed Huawei hasnt decided on whether to eventually work toward phasing out Android from its product portfolio but simply wanted an alternative in case China-U.S. relations take a major turn for the worse.

As evidenced by the example of ZTE, Washington has both the ability and willingness to sanction Chinese firms it believes arent playing by its rules, even if the thereof are already heavily limited in regards to how they can operate stateside. ZTE was on the verge of bankruptcy following a spring denial order from the Commerce Department that prevented it from procuring American technologies, including Googles official version of Android with Play Store and other integral apps. It wasnt until President Trump personally instructed the government to find a solution to the issue without bankrupting ZTE that the Shenzhen-based firm managed to reach a settlement that allowed it to stay operational, albeit at a massive cost.

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Skepticism about its potential to work with American suppliers in the long term is understood to have been part of the reason why Huawei invested major resources into its subsidiary HiSilicon which now produces Kirin smartphone chips that rival those of Qualcomm. For much the same reasons, the company was rumored to have greenlit a secretive project meant to lead to the creation of a new OS, even if it wasnt certain it will ever (need to) use it on a significant scale, according to previous reports. Mr. Lees Thursday comments did not outright confirm those claims but did add some credence to them.

Huawei remains the worlds largest telecom equipment manufacturer and has been diversifying its operations in a highly aggressive manner over the course of the last several years, particularly on the consumer electronics front where its now offering some of the most premium (Android) smartphones, tablets, smartwatches, fitness trackers, and even laptops. The company recorded a significant 15-percent revenue jump in the first half of the year and is likely to break the $100-billion turnover mark in 2018. Besides improving the commercial performance of its consumer-grade products and expanding its global footprint in the telecom segment, the conglomerate attributed its recent success to its efforts to improve its operating efficiency and run a tighter production ship overall. All of those achievements allowed Huawei to grow to unprecedented heights, with the firm evolving into a conglomerate with resources so vast that it can even afford to invest in moonshot projects such as a new smartphone OS which is a long shot in most respects seeing how oversaturated the mobile market currently is.

Impact: Between its Kirin chips and the newly confirmed existence of a mobile OS project, it appears Huawei continues to pursue efforts meant to make its operations more independent in the long run. While the firm remains a supporter of Android and was recently found to have helped test Googles experimental Fuchsia OS, its keeping its options open, especially in light of the ongoing trade war between the United States and China that made global movement of technologies significantly more expensive, even as its yet to directly target mobile chips and software. Whether Huawei ends up commercializing its first-party OS remains to be seen, though the company apparently isnt putting all of its faith in Android moving forward.

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Whats certain is that even if Huawei commits significant resources to the newly confirmed project and ends up with something usable, it will likely take years for the company to do so. As seen on the examples of Apples iOS and Googles Android, developing a contemporary OS for smartphones from scratch takes over half a decade and massive funding. Assuming Huawei does go through with the idea, its also unlikely to utilize the said OS outside of its own product ecosystem, i.e. Huawei- and Honor-branded mobile devices, as suggested by the established product practices of its subsidiary HiSilicon which still has no intentions of selling its chips to third-party manufacturers despite the fact that doing so would almost certainly amount to much more significant profits than those associated with licensing a mobile OS.

While Mr. Lee provided no details on the ongoing effort, its a given that Huaweis smartphone OS will be leveraging artificial intelligence to a large degree seeing how thats precisely what the company is currently trying to achieve with its other products as its implementing machine-learning solutions and related technologies into everything from camera apps to battery management services, phone-to-PC platforms, and laptop software. Seeing how not even todays most popular mobile OSs have AI built-in given how that field wasnt developed enough at the time they were originally being created, that effort is likely to add years of work to Huaweis project.

The final issue with Huaweis project is that despite the difficulty of developing a new smartphone OS from scratch, the most challenging part in getting it to stick is pitching it as a full-fledged ecosystem with countless third-party apps and services outside of the creators own workshop. As seen on the example of Samsungs Tizen, doing so is easier said than done and by most accounts, Huawei is either set for failure from the get-go or will take a long time to recoup its investment seeing how saturated the global handset market currently is.
Samsungs foldable smartphone could be named Galaxy Fold, trademark reveals. The trademark for the Galaxy Fold name has popped up on tmdn.org website on November 28, and it is now making the rounds. Interestingly enough, this patent was filed in Turkey, though a patent with a similar name has also surfaced in the UK. The timing of this trademark is kind of perfect for the companys foldable smartphone, as the device is rumored to launch in early 2019, as the company has already shown off the demo unit of the device during its developers conference. Not only is the timing of this patent perfect, but the name as well, the Galaxy Fold is a name for a consumer device which is powered by Android, as it has the Galaxy name in it, and the Fold part can really symbol only one thing, some sort of a foldable device. This patent does not really share any additional info regarding the device, though, but it does signal that the launch of the device could be near.

Background: The company has demoed its foldable smartphone during its developers conference recently, though the phone was obstructed by a heavy case, so we didnt really get to see its looks, and it seemed like it has huge bezels because of it. The companys foldable smartphone is expected to sport considerably thinner bezels, and Samsung will hopefully resolve some issues that popped up during the developers conference, the main one being the fact that it takes a long time for the phone to switch from the main display, to the smaller one once you fold it. The device that Samsung showed off actually has two displays, one huge one on the front, and a small one on one side of its back, which activates once the device is folded.

The Galaxy Fold will ship with Samsungs One UI skin, on top of Android, while it is rumored to cost around $2,000. That is a hefty price tag, and it remains to be seen how accurate are those rumors. The device is expected to weigh around 200 grams, and it is expected to ship with 512GB of internal storage, and high-end specs in general. Samsung is planning to release a foldable smartphone, a smartphone with a flexible display which can be folded, but it wont be the first such device. The Royole FlexPai got announced quite recently, and it is actually the very first such device, though it probably wont be even close to Samsungs offering in a number of ways.

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Impact: Samsung is not the only company who is planning to release a foldable phone in 2019, OPPO will do the same, and so will LG and Huawei. LG is actually rumored to do that during the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas in January, while Huawei will probably do it in the first quarter as well, same goes for OPPO. All in all, well see quite a few foldable devices next year, and it remains to be seen which one of them will capture the essence of a foldable smartphone the best, as such a device not only needs to offer the right design, and work properly, but it also needs to be the right dimensions, in other words, it is not allowed to be too thick.
New images have now cropped up reportedly showing Samsungs preeminent flagships in their Polaris Blue and Alpine White color configurations in the flesh. Posted to Twitter by Evan Blass, the Samsung Galaxy S9 is pictured in a shiny Polaris Blue thats metallic-looking but somewhat darker than the currently available coral blue. That color tone shifts along a gradient from top to bottom, with the lower half appearing almost white. The Samsung Galaxy Note 9 is seen in a more classic Alpine White coloration, closely resembling the white used in previous iterations of the device. Although the images show the handsets as being fairly smudgy with fingerprints, both appear identical to the flagships that are already on the market and therefore genuine.

Background: Neither coloration shown in the newly leaked images is much of a surprise since they have been circulating in the news for quite some time. The Polaris Blue Samsung Galaxy S9 has, in fact, already been revealed by the manufacturer via its Germany branch. The color will arrive in that region at some point in December for both the Samsung Galaxy S9 and Samsung Galaxy S9 Plus, sold alongside the current Midnight Black, Lilac Purple, Coral Blue, Titanium Gray, and Sunrise Gold variations. Real-world images have also previously shown up showing a starker contrast to the gradient than the newest photos do as recently as last week. First spotted in Samsungs home country of South Korea, the color shift between blue and white for Polaris Blue looks similar to the Ice Blue available to consumers in China  although the new color shown in live images does appear to be quite a bit darker on the blue side. Similarly, the new Alpine White configuration has already shown up in Taiwan and appears to be available for pre-order via the official Samsung site for the UAE region.

Theres no word yet as to whether or when the handsets will show up elsewhere in the world or if they might come to the US. Its also not altogether surprising that Samsung is launching new colors as that has been a trend for its latest flagships. More recently, the company revealed that Midnight Black and a new color called Cloud Silver would be making their way stateside. The former color is one of the original schemes the phablet was shown in at its announcement. The latter is new and has a silver tone with subtle variations under different lighting in addition to light blue edging. The S-Pen for that design uses the same blue color as well.

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Impact: Samsung seems to be either staggering the release of its color configurations for each respective world region or limiting the releases based on region. Sales for the two devices have been good for each but not phenomenal and a variation in colors could be enough to help win at least a few consumers over who may have held out for aesthetic reasons. Internally, these devices will be identical to their current Samsung Galaxy S9 and Galaxy Note 9 counterparts  announced in March and August, respectively.
Posted on: November 30, 2018 4:58 PM

The 30th annual World Aids Day will be marked tomorrow (Saturday) and Anglicans are joining with Christians from other Churches to promote HIV testing. Amongst them is Margaret Sentamu, the wife of the Archbishop of York John Sentamu, who underwent a 20-minute finger prick test this week, to demonstrate how simple the test is. Significant progress is being made in the fight against HIV, but in 2017 some two million people were newly infected. Estimates suggest that a quarter of people living with HIV  around 9.4 million people  do not know their status and are not receiving treatment.

This year, the Anglican Communion Office is working alongside the World Council of Churches Ecumenical Advocacy Alliance to mark the 30th anniversary of World AIDS Day by encouraging everyone to get tested and know their HIV status. Mrs Sentamu underwent her text in a community facility organised by National Health Service (NHS) staff from Yorks sexual health services and the charity Yorkshire MESMAC. The simple finger prick test can provide results in about 20 minutes.

Its important to raise awareness not just for one day, but all year round of the importance of getting tested, Mrs Sentamu said There have been fantastic advances in medication which means people can now live a completely normal life, particularly when they get an early diagnosis.

Like her husband, Mrs Sentamu hails from Uganda. Both she and Archbishop John have lost family and friends to Aids. It has taken a while for the message to get through to people that HIV is spread by having unprotected sex, she said. Because of this, African women were, and are, particularly vulnerable to being infected with the virus.

Understandably people may be nervous about taking a test but you have nothing to lose and everything to gain. Late diagnosis can be devastating, so be brave and go forward - do not fear the test.

The Anglican Communions Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Jack Palmer-White said: Whilst there has been significant progress made to increase the number of people who know their HIV status, more needs to be done to ensure that this is a reality for everyone.

Churches can play a vital role in helping people understand why knowing their status is so important, and church leaders can be a positive example to their congregations by being tested themselves.

He said that the huge numbers of people who do not know their status are being denied the opportunity to live their lives to the full because of untested or untreated HIV infections.

Now is the time to end HIV/Aids, he said. Together, we can achieve this goal. But it requires us to work together to bring hope to the millions who do not know they are living with HIV and to support the millions more who need access to treatment.

To help raise the profile of this campaign, prayers have been commissioned from activists within the church who are working within their communities to prevent, treat and support people living with HIV.

These prayers will be used as part of the World Council of Churchs World Aids Day Prayer Service

The full set of prayers can be found on the WCC website. We publish one of them here:

World Aids Day Prayer

written by Ann Mwanik

from the Anglican Church of Kenya, an Anglican youth delegate at the Commonwealth Youth Forum in London, England, earlier this year.

Dear Heavenly Father,

We are here yet again this year remembering our sisters, brothers, relatives, friends and everyone else who lives with HIV/Aids.

We are praying for your divine mercy upon them for the resources required for survival.

May your grace be upon us all so that we can be mindful of the affected and the infected,

particularly the children and adolescents who live with it or were orphaned along the way.

Help us to continue reaching out to more people with the right information and then let us have the zeal to know our status.

May you help our governments, pharmacies and health centres to be able to take the pandemic of HIV more seriously.

May you bring peace to all those affected or infected and may you give them a long healthy life.

May you help us all to create awareness and accept those infected and may you give us solutions to be able to curb this condition.

May you guide us to be safe, do the right thing and always walk in righteousness.

We are still hopeful that your mighty hand will locate the sick and bring them comfort for you are able.

We pray this trusting and believing in your mighty name.

Amen!
YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 30, ARMENPRESS. Armenia and Russia have allied relations, and no one questions these relations, Konstantin Zatulin - First Deputy Chairman of the State Duma Committee for CIS Affairs, Eurasian Integration and Relations with Compatriots, head of the Institute of CIS countries, told reporters before the first session of the Lazarev Club in Yerevan, reports Armenpress.

The relations between Armenia and Russia are allied relations, no one questions this. You know that the leaders of our countries regularly meet and exchange views. Its understandable that a revolution took place in Armenia and it affects not only the domestic, but also the foreign policy agenda, he said.

The Russian official noted that Armenia and Russia cooperate in different areas. Zatulin also highlighted the defense and security sectors.

Edited and translated by Aneta Harutyunyan
YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 30, ARMENPRESS. James Truchard, co-founder and CEO of National Instruments, who received Armenian presidential award for Global contribution in IT sphere, visited the Armenian National Polytechnic University where he met with the teaching staff and students, reports Armenpress.

By the decision of the universitys scientific board, James Truchard was awarded with a title of the ANPU Honorary Doctor.

Its a great pleasure for me to visit this university where I feel recognized and appreciated since appreciation and recognition are one of the key factors encouraging the person. I think Armenia has all necessary preconditions and features to become a leading country in the IT field, and I wish you good luck on this process, he said.

ANPU rector Vostanik Marukhyan told Armenpress that Mr. Truchard is a close friend of the university as the Armenian branch of the National Instruments is closely cooperating with the university.

The best engineering laboratories operate in the university, and the Armenian branch of the National Instruments played a major role for their creation. Of course, all tools and opportunities have been created within the frames of the cooperation with this structure which exist in the university at the moment and not only serve the university students, but also the students of the remaining universities. The center is open for all students of the Armenian universities with a creative thinking, Marukhyan said.

He informed that next week three teams of the university will depart for St. Petersburg to participate in the final of an international competition. The preliminary results show that our team is in a quite high ranking, so we must return from that competition with great achievements, the ANPU rector said.

Edited and translated by Aneta Harutyunyan
SUV

Speaking to Autocar India at the 2018 Los Angeles Auto Show, Detlev von Platen reiterated the Neunelfer is the Porsche that sets the trend for the rest of the lineup as far as design is concerned. Were having second thoughts in this regard, more so if you remember the full-width LED taillights are inspired from the Cayenne and Panamera.But then again, that type of taillight design can trace its roots back to the 993, 964, and even the 930. Which model inspired which, it would be nonsensical to be splitting hairs. Taking the 911 and making an SUV out of it? Taking it higher? That could be a good idea, added Platen.Described as very niche, the 911would take Porsche to another level as far as sales are concerned. Even Ferrari is doing it with the Purosangue , giving Porsche the perfect excuse to follow in their footsteps. On the other hand, dont forget the 959 Paris Dakar rally car and the 911 Safari would serve as indirect predecessors to the all-new model.Porsche isnt afraid of diluting the brand with such models considering the existence of the Cayenne, Panamera, and Mission E Cross Turismo that previews the Taycan shooting brake. The 911 is also available with all-wheel drive and rear-wheel steering, two features that are indispensable to the super-SUV genre Lamborghini created by the Urus Speaking of Lamborghini, hearsay suggests the Raging Bull of SantAgata Bolognese is also thinking about rolling out the Huracan Safari along with the mid-cycle refresh of the V10-powered supercar. As ludicrous as this sounds, dont forget the Italian automaker has experience in this domain, starting with the LM002 from the 1980s.There are exceptional differences between the Rambo Lambo and Huracan Safari , starting with the location of the engine. But knowing Lamborghini, the maddest supercar manufacturer of them all could surprise us once again.
Presented at the 2018 Los Angeles Auto Show, the Camry TRD and Avalon TRD represent a holistic approach to vehicle enhancement, much closer to the motorsport pedigree of Toyota . Both feature 301 horsepower from a 3.5-liter V6 connected to an eight-speed automatic transmission.Toyota describes these models as track-tuned thanks to additions such as the aerodynamic trickery, bigger brake calipers, rotors, and pads, as well as increased torsional rigidity. The design of both the interior and exterior is unmistakable thanks to TRD, but on the other hand, two sedans with go-faster capabilities arent enough for the U.S. lineup.Speaking to Auto Guide , the group vice-president and general manager of Toyota in North America said: if we can bring it to every car and SUV and every truck, I think we should. Jack Hollis refers to TRD-ifying everything from the Corolla upwards, which is a fine proposal considering the Corolla TRD would make for an interesting competitor to the Honda Civic Si.In regard to the Corolla TRD presented at the SEMA Show, Hollis claims the production model isnt in the pipeline for the time being. On the upside, theres intention and development from his team, which is more or less a confirmation that the inevitable will happen.All-wheel drive is another area of great interest to Toyota, and some new things are coming up according to Hollis. The Camry could be the first to get this option considering Nissan added AWD to the Altima for the 2019 model year. Even the Prius is now available with an electric motor integrated into the rear axle, translating to eAWD at speeds up to 70 km/h (43 mph).Were taking each model, and were giving more choices for the consumer, added Hollis, concluding that the C-HR subcompact crossover wont receive this option for whatever reason. Looking at the bigger picture, thats a shame considering the C-HR is available with all-wheel drive and as a hybrid in Europe.
Image: Air Race 1

AVwebs weekly news roundup uncovered reports of the winner of the first Air Race 1 event in China, a free webinar for helicopter pilots and sales team member at WildBlue Aircraft. Californian racer Steve Senegal became the first person to win the Air Race 1 China Cup, which was held at Hannan City Airport in Wuhan, China. Senegal, who is a captain with United Airlines, held off World Champion air racer Tim Cone for the top honors.

Helicopter Online Ground School will be hosting a free webinar titled Tipping the FATAL Helicopter IIMC Accident Rate Back Towards Survival on Saturday, Dec. 8, 2018. at 14:00 EST. The webinar will focus on safety hazards associated with VFR flights into IMC.

Finally, Kansas City-based WildBlue Aircraft has announced that Mac Swindell will be joining the companys aircraft sales team. Swindell is a graduate of Oklahoma State University and has previously worked for aviation companies including Boeing and Gulfstream.
A group of leading China specialists and students of one-party systems under the auspices of the Hoover Institution and the Center on U.S.-China Relations of the Asia Society have issued a long report titled Chinese Influence & American Interests: Promoting Constructive Vigilance.

Between the lines: The report is interesting, balanced, timely and has some good ideas about how to deal with the threats  but it is a mistake to talk about Chinese influence when the issue is Chinese Communist Party (CCP) influence and interference operations. Just saying "Chinese" is a dangerous conflation that can spark anti-Chinese sentiment. To paraphrase Confucius, names matter.

The big picture: The report comes at a time when many Western governments, led by Australia, are waking up to the activities of the CCP inside their countries.

John Garnaut, a participant in today's report and one of the leading forces behind Australia's awakening, told me:

The great significance of this report is that it shows how the China-watching community has turned.

The experts across the United States and further afield who came together to write this report are by no means China hawks. This group has been leading the engagement effort over many decades. These are people who share a great commitment to China and its people, without exception.

But gradually, and reluctantly, they have accepted  we have had to accept  that China under General Secretary Xi Jinping is materially different to the China we knew under Jiang Zemin and Hu Jintao.

The liberalizing forces of civil society and market economics are not prevailing. The possibilities for reform have narrowed, and they have been pushed further over the horizon, and the risks to our own open societies have grown.

So the policy of engagement has to be coupled with a commitment to managing risk.

Why it matters: The threats from CCP influence and interference are real, but it is important the U.S. take a measured, targeted approach against "covert, coercive or corrupting" methods while avoiding channeling Base Commander Jack Ripper's classic quote in Dr. Strangelove:

"I can no longer sit back and allow Communist infiltration, Communist indoctrination, Communist subversion, and the international Communist conspiracy to sap and impurify all of our precious bodily fluids."

Go deeper:
House Democratic leaders will announce a political reform bill symbolically named "H.R. 1" on Friday as their first order of business upon assuming power early next year, targeting election financing, voting rights reforms and more, per the Washington Post.

The big picture: The bill sets the tone for Democrats' priorities once they retake the House in the age of President Trump under presumptive Speaker Nancy Pelosi. It'll seek to expand voting access for Americans and grant more federal money to strengthen state election security, per the AP. And, in a broadside to some of Trump's most controversial actions, the bill would create a Supreme Court code of ethics and require presidents to release their tax returns.

Go deeper ... Democratic hit list: At least 85 Trump investigation targets
Until this week, public revelations about special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation focused on characters who had been around President Trump.

Driving the news: For the first time, the special counsel's narrative has suddenly come alive with pre-presidential actions and entanglements by Trump himself. "Investigators have now publicly cast Trump as a central figure of their probe into whether Trumps campaign conspired with the Russian government during the 2016 campaign," the WashPost reports.

Why it matters: This week's disclosures show that "Trump was in close contact with his lieutenants as they made outreach to both Russia and WikiLeaks  and that they tried to conceal the extent of their activities."

The WashPost's Devlin Barrett tweeted: "In both of his guilty plea hearings, [former Trump lawyer] Michael Cohen has gone beyond the court filings to make clear his criminal actions were specifically on Trump's behalf."

And ABC News reported that Cohen, with years of visibility into Trump's financial and political dealings, "has spent more than 70 hours in interviews with Mueller's team."

The president of the United States was labeled "Individual 1" in yesterday's court filing by Mueller.

The filing, which spelled out the facts that led to Cohen to plead guilty to lying to Congress, began to tie together the New York and Washington branches of the investigation.

Cohen made it plain that Trump "was more involved in discussions over a potential Russian business deal during the presidential campaign than previously known," as the N.Y. Times put it.

"Trumps participation in discussions about building a grand skyscraper in Moscow," The Times reports, "showed how the interests of his business empire were enmeshed with his political ambitions as he was closing in on the Republican nomination for president."

in discussions about building a grand skyscraper in Moscow," The Times reports, "showed how the interests of his business empire were enmeshed with his political ambitions as he was closing in on the Republican nomination for president." The backdrop: "Trump for decades dreamed of building a Trump Tower in the heart of Moscow, a plan that flared and fizzled several times over the years." (AP)

Be smart: That suggests a profit motive for Trump's persistent and unexplained affinity for Russia.

Trump said as he left the White House yesterday for Argentina: "I was running my business while I was campaigning. There was a good chance that I wouldnt have won, in which case I would have gotten back into the business. And why should I lose lots of opportunities?"

Trump tweets from Argentina this morning:

"Oh, I get it! I am a very good developer, happily living my life, when I see our Country going in the wrong direction (to put it mildly). Against all odds, I decide to run for President & continue to run my business-very legal & very cool, talked about it on the campaign trail..."

I am a very good developer, happily living my life, when I see our Country going in the wrong direction (to put it mildly). Against all odds, I decide to run for President & continue to run my business-very legal & very cool, talked about it on the campaign trail..." "....Lightly looked at doing a building somewhere in Russia. Put up zero money, zero guarantees and didnt do the project. Witch Hunt!"

P.S. Statement by Rudy Giuliani, a lawyer for Trump:

"BREAKING NEWS ALERT: Michael Cohen is a liar. It's no surprise that Cohen lied to Congress. He's a proven liar who is doing everything he can to get out of a long-term prison sentence for serious crimes of bank and tax fraud that had nothing to do with the Trump Organization."

Michael Cohen is a liar. It's no surprise that Cohen lied to Congress. He's a proven liar who is doing everything he can to get out of a long-term prison sentence for serious crimes of bank and tax fraud that had nothing to do with the Trump Organization." "It is important to understand that documents that the Special Counsel's Office is using to show that Cohen lied to Congress were voluntarily disclosed by the Trump Organization because there was nothing to hide."

that documents that the Special Counsel's Office is using to show that Cohen lied to Congress were voluntarily disclosed by the Trump Organization because there was nothing to hide." "It is hardly coincidental that the Special Counsel once again files a charge just as the President is leaving for a meeting with world leaders at the G20 Summit in Argentina. The Special Counsel did the very same thing as the President was leaving for a world summit in Helsinki."

that the Special Counsel once again files a charge just as the President is leaving for a meeting with world leaders at the G20 Summit in Argentina. The Special Counsel did the very same thing as the President was leaving for a world summit in Helsinki." "With regard to the hotel proposal in Moscow, the President has been completely open and transparent."

Go deeper:
Both the Wall Street Journal and Bloomberg have stories suggesting that the U.S. and China may reach a deal during the dinner between President Trump, General Secretary Xi and their respective teams.

Driving the news: Outlines of this supposed deal have been discussed for weeks, mainly because it is perhaps the only possible arrangement the two sides can agree to right now.

According to the WSJ:

"The U.S. and China ... are exploring a trade deal in which Washington would hold off on further tariffs through the spring in exchange for new talks looking at big changes in Chinese economic policy..."

in which Washington would hold off on further tariffs through the spring in exchange for new talks looking at big changes in Chinese economic policy..." "New talks would focus on what both sides are calling trade 'architecture,' a broad term that could encompass many issues the U.S. has wanted Beijing to address, including intellectual property protection, coerced technology transfer, subsidies to state-owned enterprises, and even non-trade issues such as cyberespionage."

Bloomberg reported that:

"Those discussions... have centered on the possibility of a truce in which the U.S. would delay ramping up tariffs on China in exchange for Chinese concessions."

in which the U.S. would delay ramping up tariffs on China in exchange for Chinese concessions." "The two leaders would also agree on a 'framework' for further talks , U.S. officials such as Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross have said publicly.

, U.S. officials such as Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross have said publicly. "The two sides have also been eyeing a possible mid-December trip to Washington by Liu He, Xis top economic adviser, according to two people familiar with the discussions. But whether that visit actually takes place would depend on a positive outcome in Buenos Aires."

The big picture: A tariff ceasefire in exchange for some big PRC purchases of U.S. goods and a framework for months of talks would probably make the financial markets and Beijing quite happy.

The bottom line: But all of the reports in the run-up to the dinner are really just speculation at this point. It will come down how Trump and Xi are feeling during the meeting.

Go deeper:
As the war in Yemen grinds toward its fourth year, the prospects may be improving for a deal to reduce the bloodshed and suffering.

Why it matters: Yemen is facing a terrible humanitarian crisis  potentially the worlds worst in the past century  with as many as half of its 28 million people at risk of starvation, according to UN estimates. The conflict has allowed al-Qaedas most dangerous branch to deepen its influence within Yemen and has also spilled over the countrys borders, with regular Houthi drone and missile strikes in Saudi Arabia.

Details: The U.S. Senates vote this week to consider cutting support to the Saudi military campaign is the latest sign of momentum toward ending the conflict. On Thursday, the Houthis agreed to attend peace talks in Sweden next week if their safe passage is guaranteed.

Houthi leaders undoubtedly recognize that they will eventually lose the fight for Hodeidah to the Saudi-led coalition, and may calculate that it would be wise to cut a deal before they lose access to the ports critical resources.

The Saudis, meanwhile, are under intense international pressure in the wake of Jamal Khashoggis murder. The potential loss of U.S. military support is likely to generate a newfound willingness on their part to negotiate in earnest.

The Emiratis, who following the bloody fight for Hodeidah likely want to avoid participating in a ground assault on Houthi strongholds in the north, and the Iranians, who provide military support to the Houthis but face their own domestic and international pressures, may be similarly receptive to talks.

Whats next: If UN envoy Martin Griffiths is able to bring together the Saudi-backed Yemen government and the Houthis in Sweden next week, those negotiations will present the best opportunity to achieve progress toward ending, or at least easing, the conflict.

Immediate measures to discuss include a freeze for freeze on missile and airstrikes, the creation of cease-fire zones to facilitate the flow of humanitarian aid, and cash injections to prop up Yemens devastated banking system.

The bottom line: A rare window of opportunity has opened for a settlement, even if it may not meet each partys maximalist objectives. For the long-suffering people of Yemen, such a deal is overdue and certainly worth making.

Michael P. Dempsey is the national intelligence fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, a government-sponsored fellowship. He is the former acting director of national intelligence and the opinions expressed are his alone.
U.S. Special Representative for Iran Brian Hook shed light on Tehrans latest provision of arms to militants across the Middle East on Thursday, speaking at an Iranian weapons exhibit at Joint Base AnacostiaBolling. The most recent additions include the Sayyad-2C surface-to-air missile, which was interdicted en route to Yemens Houthi rebels, 107 -millimeter rockets that Iran allegedly provided to the Taliban, and drones that were used in Afghanistan.

Why it matters: Iran is involved in multiple Middle Eastern conflict zones, many of which have been raging for years and have no end in sight. Tehrans sustained practice of exporting diverse weapons prevents peace and encourages its partners to continue fighting.

The background: Irans support of terrorism is both strategic and ideological. Most Middle Eastern battlefields today feature Iranian weapons and proxy forces. Tehran is able to affect the outcome of various conflicts by controlling the spigot of men, money, and, most importantly, munitions.

Much of the weapons Iran distributes across the region are not technologically novel. However, they are sufficient to empower local actors so that the Islamic Republic can threaten and coerce its adversaries without risking direct retaliation.

Whats next: While Iran is not expected to abandon its sponsorship of terrorism and regional destabilization in the near future, compounding U.S. financial pressure and restored penalties previously waived by the Iran nuclear deal are designed to get Tehran to, as Hook said, change its destructive policies.

The bottom line: For Washington, publicizing Iranian involvement in the Middle East through displays of captured weaponry is part of a larger strategy. The more Irans hand is exposed in the region, the theory goes, the harder it will be for foreign governments to remain indifferent to Irans ongoing malign activity.

Behnam Ben Taleblu is a research fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies
President Trump's former attorney Michael Cohen has pleaded guilty to lying to the Senate Intelligence Committee in 2017 about the length and scope of his work on plans to build a Trump Tower in Moscow.

The big picture: This is the first time that Cohen, who pleaded guilty in the Southern District of New York in August to campaign finance violations, has been charged in the Mueller investigation. In court, Cohen reportedly said he lied out of loyalty to Trump and to be consistent with the president's political messaging, per NBC News' Tom Winter. He has reportedly spent more than 70 hours in interviews with the special counsel, per ABC News.

According to court documents, Mueller charges that Cohen "knowingly and deliberately made the following false representations" in his testimony to the Senate Intelligence Committee:

False statement #1: The Moscow Project ended in January 2016 and was not discussed extensively with others in the Trump Organization.

Mueller claims Cohen discussed getting Russian government approval for the project as late as June 2016 and brought up "the status and progress" of the project to Trump and members of Trump's family on more than three occasions.

False statement #2: Cohen never agreed to travel to Russia in connection with the Moscow Project and "never considered" asking President Trump to travel for the project.

Mueller claims Cohen discussed traveling to Russia for the project and asked both Trump and a senior campaign associate about potentially sending Trump to Russia.

False statement #3: Cohen did not recall any Russian government response or contact about the Moscow Project.

Mueller claims Cohen contacted a Russian official asking for assistance with the project and that he received an email and a follow-up phone call from the official's personal assistant.

Go deeper: Read Michael Cohen's guilty plea
Michelle Obama's memoir, which was released on Nov. 13, is already the best-selling book of 2018, based on NPD BookScan data, her publisher Penguin Random House announced this morning.

Details: The hardcover edition of "Becoming" has sold more copies than any other book in the U.S. this year, according to Penguin Random House, and is still at #1 on two New York Times best-seller lists after two weeks. It's also topping the USA Today and Publishers Weekly best-seller lists and is the #1 adult nonfiction book around the world, including in Germany, Spain, Greece, Finland, and more.

By the numbers:

Across all formats, the book has sold more than 2 million copies in the U.S. and Canada.

It currently has 3.4 million hardcover copies in print.

The context, via the AP: "Hillary Rodham Clinton's memoir 'Living History' needed a month to sell 1 million copies. Former President George W. Bush's 'Decision Points' took several weeks to reach 2 million. Former President Bill Clinton's 'My Life' quickly sold 1 million copies but took far longer to hit 2 million."

What's next: Obama is on tour, with upcoming stops scheduled in in Brooklyn, Detroit, Denver, San Jose, and Dallas, according to her publisher. She will be in London on Monday, Paris on Wednesday, and Berlin on Thursday.

Go deeper: The most compelling excerpts from Michelle Obama's new memoir
A November surprise: Michael Cohen pleads guilty for lying to Congress about the plans to build a Trump Tower in Moscow, shining a freshly uncomfortable spotlight on President Trump.

Why it matters: "The new guilty plea firmly  and dramatically  shifts the narrative and timeline of the Russia investigation," journalist Garrett Graff writes for WIRED. "While pursuing the White House, Donald Trump was also pursuing personal business deals with a foreign adversary that, according to Muellers earlier indictments, engaged in a multifaceted, complex, expensive, and long-running criminal conspiracy to help deliver Trump to the presidency."

Between the lines: The former Trump lawyer reportedly said in court that his three lies were out of loyalty to the president, per NBC News' Tom Winter.The lies, listed:

Lie #1: The Moscow Project ended in January 2016 and was not discussed extensively with others in the Trump Organization.

The Moscow Project ended in January 2016 and was not discussed extensively with others in the Trump Organization. Lie #2: Cohen never agreed to travel to Russia in connection with the Moscow Project and "never considered" asking President Trump to travel for the project.

Cohen never agreed to travel to Russia in connection with the Moscow Project and "never considered" asking President Trump to travel for the project. Lie #3: Cohen did not recall any Russian government response or contact about the Moscow Project.

What they're saying: Trump told reporters today that Cohen is "a weak person" for pleading guilty, adding he thinks Cohen is "lying to get a reduced sentence."

In his written responses to Mueller, Trump acknowledged that he discussed plans to build a Trump Tower in Moscow with Cohen before the deal fell through, his lawyer Rudy Giuliani told the New York Times.

The bottom line: "The potential innocent explanations for Trump's behavior over the last two years are being steadily stripped away," Graff tweeted.

"Mueller has identified two separate criminal conspiracies that aided Trump in 2016: Russian cyber ops & Cohen's campaign finance violations. Today, we learned that the central figure in one (Cohen) was trying to contact and get help from the central figure in the other (Putin)."

Go deeper:
The consequences of President Trumps meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping at the G20 summit in Argentina this weekend will extend far beyond trade. Whatever the president says for a domestic political audience or to calm markets will be watched closely, from Europe to Asia.

Why it matters: Any successful U.S. strategy to establish guardrails for Chinas rise will rely heavily on U.S. allies, who are making their own calculations about American staying power and resolve. Many regional partners were disturbed by the optics of Trump's first meeting with Xi at Mar-a-Lago in April 2017  after which Trump claimed to have "a terrific relationship with Xi"  and his visit to China that November, when he tweeted about his "unforgettable" time.

The Trump administration has called Beijing a "strategic competitor" and "a revisionist power," a marked change from the engagement of its predecessors. Vice President Pence has also taken on a prominent role confronting Chinas political and economic influence and human-rights abuses.

Yes, but: Trump himself has used his bully pulpit primarily to attack Chinas unfair economic practices. He spoke of the need to "decouple" the U.S. and Chinese economies during the 2016 primary, and in office has imposed tariffs of hundreds of billions of dollars on Chinese imports, citing intellectual property theft and his desire for "a fair deal."

Trump may ease his rhetoric in an effort to preserve economic gains from a strong stock market and job creation during his tenure. That would be shortsighted, though, as China seems unwilling to make concessions to address its intellectual property theft and other unfair economic practices, while doing little to assist with North Korea's stalled denuclearization process.

The greater danger, however, is that Trump's rhetoric around the Xi meeting could undermine his administration's tough-sounding strategies and policies, just as his engagements with Vladimir Putin have conflicted with his administration's Russia policy. Key partners such as Japan and India have softened their tone toward Beijing, while European states have struggled to reconcile their mounting frustrations with China with their uncertainty about Trumps strategy.

The bottom line: Trump will face a choice in Buenos Aires: Side with the rest of his administration and endorse the growing competition with China; or, as with Russia, remain a discordant note in the international chorus in the interest of short-term political goals.

Jamie Fly is senior fellow and director of the Asia Program at the German Marshall Fund of the United States.
As debate rages in Washington and around the world about how to slow or end the war in Yemen, the country continues to teeter on the edge of a debilitating famine.

Expand chart Data: FEWS NET; Map: Naema Ahmed/Axios

The big picture: The UN has said for months that Yemen is on the brink of famine, and the heads of major humanitarian organizations say the U.S. will share responsibility "for the deaths of many more Yemeni civilians" if significant action isn't taken, per CNN.

Where things stand ...

Yesterday, the Senate voted to advance a resolution that would pull U.S. support from the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen. That was a rebuke to President Trump, who has stood by the Saudis, but the resolution is a long way from passage.

It's unlikely anything will move forward in the House until the Democrats take over the majority early next year (House Republicans shot down a similar effort earlier this month) and the White House has already threatened a veto.

Secretaries Mattis and Pompeo have called for a ceasefire in Yemen by Dec. 1, but that deadline is unlikely to be met. However, the sides are expected to begin talks next week in Sweden.

Dan Schneiderman of the International Crisis Group, and a former Yemen director at the White House National Security Council , told Axios: "It's important to remember that the Sweden talks are consultations  pre-talk talks rather than a full-blown peace process. So our expectations shouldn't be that they will end with a deal."

told Axios: "It's important to remember that the Sweden talks are consultations  pre-talk talks rather than a full-blown peace process. So our expectations shouldn't be that they will end with a deal." The Saudis plan to attend, per Reuters, as do the Houthis if "their safe exit and return is guaranteed." Previous talks broke down in September before they could really begin.

Meanwhile, things in Yemen are continuing to get worse.
The Armenian government announced on Thursday increases in the minimum amount of modest pensions and other benefits paid to tens of thousands of people.

The measure, effective from January 1, will benefit some 85,000 elderly or disabled persons as well as individuals who lost their sole breadwinners. They all will be paid 25,500 drams ($53) per month.

The government said the sum will match the new extreme poverty line that will be set by it for next year.

The total number of retired people in Armenia aged 65 and older exceeds 497,000. Nearly seven percent of them are not eligible for normal pensions because of their insufficient work experience. They currently receive 16,000 drams each in monthly retirement benefits, compared to 21,500 drams paid to Armenians with various disabilities.

The average pension in the country stands at around 41,000 drams.

Arsen Manukian, a deputy minister of labor and social affairs, told RFE/RLs Armenian service (Azatutyun.am) the pay rises will cost the state budget around 6.7 billion drams in 2019. Manukian said the government is committed to eventually raising regular pensions as well.

The governments 2019 budget approved by the parliament last week projects no such rises. It calls for 444 billion drams in total social spending.
Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian on Thursday lambasted senior Nagorno-Karabakh officials who he said are meddling in Armenias ongoing parliamentary race with their public statements.

One of his close associates, Sasun Mikaelian, said on Monday that the success of this springs protest movement that brought Pashinian to power was more important than the Armenian victory in the 1991-1994 war with Azerbaijan.

The remark was condemned by leaders of the former ruling Republican Party of Armenia (HHK) as well as some Karabakh Armenian government and military officials.

Pashinian was quick to respond to the outcry. He accused the HHK of deliberately misinterpreting Mikaelians statement which he portrayed as a slip of the tongue.

The premier also hit out at the Karabakh leadership on Thursday during a campaign trip to the Gegharkunik province.

Frankly, I dont quite understand recent days activity of representatives of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic, he said at a rally held there. Why have they become active? Why are they making various comments? And why are they trying to meddle in and show their presence in Armenias parliamentary election campaign?

I am calling on [Karabakh President] Bako Sahakian to rein in representatives of his government and make sure they do their job, Pashinian went on.The press secretary of the Karabakh president comments on my statements every other day. What is this?

Sober up and mind your business, he said in an unprecedented warning to the authorities in Stepanakert. I will certainly discuss this with you, but only after the elections.

Sahakian did not immediately react to the criticism. Incidentally, the Karabakh leader met on Thursday with the visiting chief of the Armenian police, Valeri Osipian. No details of the meeting were made public.

Karabakh officials also reacted when Pashinian declared on the campaign trail that he is the first leader of Armenia whose son performs compulsory military service in Karabakh. He also said that some sons of unspecified Karabakh leaders did not serve in the military at all.

It was not clear whether he referred to only Armenias Karabakh-born former President Robert Kocharian or Karabakhs leaders as well.

Sahakians press secretary, Davit Babayan, stated afterwards that the sons of both the current Karabakh president and his predecessor Arkadi Ghukasian had served in the local military.

Pashinian mentioned only Kocharians two sons when he campaigned in Gegharkunik. He said that although they both were formally drafted to Armenias armed forces during Kocharians rule none of them spent a single night at any military base.
Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian and the leaders of ten other political forces running in the December 9 parliamentary have agreed to take part in a live debate that will be hosted by the Armenian Public Television next week.

The state-owned broadcaster said on Friday that it is now working out the format and other practical modalities of the debate that will be aired on December 5. The pre-election discussion will likely last for at least two and a half hours, it said.

The Public Television and private Armenian TV channels have already hosted similar debates involving a smaller number of other senior members of the parties and blocs running for the parliament.

Boris Navasardian, the chairman of the Yerevan Press Club, said statements made by them were short on specifics. He said the upcoming debate between Pashinian and the other top party leaders should be more interesting because they do a better job of presenting their campaign platforms to voters than their aides.

Earlier this week, former Defense Minister Vigen Sargsian, who heads the electoral list of the former ruling Republican Party of Armenia (HHK), challenged Pashinian to a separate one-on-one TV debate. Pashinian, whose My Step alliance is the election favorite, dismissed the offer, insisting on a debate involving all 11 contenders.

Sargsian said he too supports such a broad-based debate but believes that he and Pashinian must also face each other separately because the HHK is the main target of the premiers harsh verbal attacks launched on the campaign trail. Pashinian denied resorting to anti-HHK hate speech.
Armenias Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian has congratulated the government-backed winner of a hotly contested presidential election held in neighboring Georgia.

Your election as Georgias first female President is a truly historic event, and I sincerely hope that your presidency will be marked by continued progress and prosperity in Georgia, Pashinian said in a message to Salome Zurabishvili sent on Thursday.

I am confident that proceeding from our peoples centuries-old friendship and shared values, we will continue to strengthen relations between the two countries through joint efforts in an atmosphere of mutual trust and understanding, he said.

According to Georgias Central Election Commission (CEC), the French-born Zurabishvili, who has the backing of billionaire former Prime Minister Bidzina Ivanishvili's ruling Georgian Dream party, won 59.52 percent of the vote. Her main challenger, Grigol Vashadze, received 40.48 percent in the November 28 runoff, the commission said.

Vashadze, who is supported by opposition groups led by ex-President Mikheil Saakashvilis United National Movement, rejected the official results as fraudulent. He called for "a mass peaceful demonstration" in Tbilisi on December 2.

International observers said that the ballot was competitive but that Zurabishvili enjoyed an undue advantage.

The CEC figures show that Zurabishvili did well in the Javakheti region mostly populated by ethnic Armenians. The former French diplomat reportedly got around 64 percent of the vote in the local towns of Akhalkalaki and Ninotsminda.

Zurabishvili courted Javakheti Armenians during the election campaign. One president [Saakashvili] gave citizenship to numerous Turks but didnt give it to you, she said in Ninotsminda, sparking accusations of xenophobia.

Like Armenia, Georgia is a parliamentary republic whose president has few executive powers.
By Leman Mammadova

Nigeria's prestigious La Pounte supermarket sells Azerbaijani products under the Made in Azerbaijan brand, Head of the Friends of Azerbaijan Organization in Nigeria, Billura Bayramova-Bernard told AZERTAC.

Azerbaijani products are sold on the foreign markets under the Made in Azerbaijan brand. The national products were put on sale in Africa for the first time in 2017 in Djiboutis famous "Casino", "Al Gamil" and "Cash Center" supermarkets.

They offered consumers juices, tea, canned vegetables, dried fruits and natural cosmetics by Azerbaijani producers.

The state pays attention to diversification of non-oil exports and uses the Made in Azerbaijan brand for entering foreign markets. Organization of shelves of Made in Azerbaijan in Duty Free and in stores is a supportive event for the promotion of local non-oil products worldwide within a single brand.

Launched in 2016, the Made in Azerbaijan brand envisages a large-scale promotion of local non-oil products in foreign markets. Aimed at promotion of Made in Azerbaijan brand, export missions were sent to identify opportunities for accessing new markets, strengthen local product positions in existing markets and provide these markets with new products.

So far, the agreements have been reached with many foreign countries to export domestic products as a result of the implementation of numerous export missions.

During 2018, export missions to Russia, Switzerland, China, Kazakhstan, Mongolia, Turkey and Bulgaria have already been sent. Export missions to UAE and Saudi Arabia will be organized by the end of this year. As many as 25 export missions are expected to be organized in 2019.

Promotion of export-oriented local products under the Made in Azerbaijan brand in a wider geographic area also helps to attract foreign investment and further strengthen the non-oil sector's share in the structure of the GDP.

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Why President Trump should demand an apology from CNNs Acosta, who blatantly lied about the migrant caravan

CNN White House correspondent Jim Acosta has made himself POTUS Donald Trumps favorite journalist to despise because he has become the poster boy for what the mainstream media has morphed into: A political operation on behalf of the Democrat Party, which is moving so far to the Left, Venezuelas socialist leader Nicolas Maduro looks conservative by comparison.

You may recall earlier this month that Acosta managed to get himself tossed out of a White House briefing after haranguing and lecturing the president, then putting his hands on an intern who was attempting to take the microphone away from him at POTUS direction.

CNN and Acosta sued to get his hard pass reinstated and, remarkably, the federal judge in the case found a new right in the Constitution: The Fifth Amendments life, liberty, or property due process clause also applies to journalists who have lost their White House press passes.

In any event, the real story here  one that Acosta and CNN have done their best to ignore  was the subject of the lecture to POTUS: The thousands of caravan migrants who are now camped out in Tijuana and are banging on Americas back door trying to get in.

As soon as he was given the mic by another reporter, Acosta said he wanted to challenge the president on his previous characterization of the various caravans as an invasion.

I consider it to be an invasion, POTUS interjected.

The caravan is not an invasion, its a group of migrants moving up from Central America towards the border with the U.S., Acosta corrected. Why did you characterize it as such?

POTUS repeated that he considered it an invasion. And it turns out that he was right.

In contentious exchange on migrant caravan, Russian investigation, Pres. Trump tells CNN's Jim Acosta, "I think you should let me run the country, you run CNNPut down the mic." Acosta's colleague defended him: "He's a diligent reporter." https://t.co/QF15MHrJt2 pic.twitter.com/6B1H7CDfVz  ABC News (@ABC) November 7, 2018

Attacking U.S. border agents is an invasion

As The National Sentinel reported, not only did a group of about 1,000 migrants attempt to storm a border region on Sunday, they used women and children as shields while they pelted U.S. border agents with rocks and bottles:

Border Patrol officials said their agents were being attacked with rocks thrown at them by migrant males using women and children as shields.

San Diego Chief Border Patrol Agent Rodney Scott said that personnel did not use tear gas, pepper balls, and other dispersion techniques until after his agents were attacked.

Whats more, as NewsTarget added, plans were being made by some migrant organizers to wait until their ranks had swollen to 20,000 before rushing the border en masse. Others claimed they were not interested in applying for asylum in the U.S. because its a waste of time, in the words of one. (Related: Leftists denounce the U.S. protecting its own border with non-lethal tear gas as INVASION wave attempts to breach the border and occupy America.)

Fox News Laura Ingraham said during her program, The Ingraham Angle, earlier this week, now that its been proven that the at least some members of the migrant horde are intent on invading America  will CNN report it and will Acosta apologize to the president for his intentional mischaracterization of the situation, according to TownHall.

She also touched upon some of the worst hot takes from the liberal media. From those saying the tear gas was cruel to CNN saying the illegals trying to storm the border showsthat we dont need a wall, or something. Whatever the case, the media was embarrassed again. They tried to prove Trump wrongand failed, wrote Matt Vespa. The illegal alien caravan is mostly male, full of criminals, and theyre not seeking asylum. No wonder why the numbers for trust in the mainstream media remains in the toilet.

Even far-Left MSNBCs migrant camp reporter destroyed the not invaders narrative:

The fact is, there shouldnt be any apologists for these hordes of people attempting to break into our country. Thats because the United States is a sovereign nation and has every legal, moral, and ethical right to enforce its borders and make its own immigration rules.

And as president, POTUS Trump took an oath to uphold and defend our laws and borders. Acosta and CNN own him a huge apology.

Read more about the Left-wing medias propaganda campaigns regarding the border at Propaganda.news.

Sources include:

DailyCaller.com

TheNationalSentinel.com

NewsTarget.com

TownHall.com
By Trend

The budget of Azerbaijans State Social Protection Fund and the Unemployment Insurance Fund has been submitted for discussion at the plenary meeting of the Azerbaijani parliament.

The State Social Protection Funds revenues for 2019 are projected at 3.928 billion manats, which is 9.8 percent more than in 2018.

The revenues of the Unemployment Insurance Fund for 2019 are projected at 83.451 million manats, which is 5.588 million manats, or 6.3 percent less compared to the revenues approved for 2018.

After voting, the budget of both structures was adopted.

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By Narmina Mammadova

The delegation from the Astrakhan region, headed by the acting governor, Sergei Morozov, arrived in Kazan with a working visit on November 29.

The Astrakhan region of Russia, where the Iranian trading house and Azerbaijani business center are already actively working, is ready to help promote products from Tatarstan to the markets of the Caspian states, reports TASS with reference to Sergei Morozov.

"We offer Tatarstan access to foreign markets through the Astrakhan region. Irans trading house and the Azerbaijan business center are working in Astrakhan, and the Astrakhan business center is being built in Baku. Together with our Azerbaijani colleagues, we are planning to create a freight railway hub," Morozov said after signing an agreement on cooperation between the Astrakhan region and Tatarstan.

The acting governor drew attention to the fact that fabric, glass, automotive equipment, food come from the republic to the Astrakhan region. In turn, Astrakhan fish products, salt, gasoline, and diesel fuel are supplied to Tatarstan. The region is also ready to expand the range of these products at the expense of vegetables and watermelons. Another promising area for cooperation is the tourism industry.

About 2.5 million Russian and foreign guests come to the region annually. The opening of air links between Astrakhan and Kazan will contribute to the growth of mutual tourist traffic, added Morozov.

As part of the trip, an agreement on trade and economic, scientific and technical, social and cultural cooperation between the regions was also signed.

The interregional relations of Tatarstan and the Astrakhan region were based on the previously signed cooperation agreement in 2006. Regions have not only common economic interests, but also cultural ties. Astrakhan hosted federal Sabantuis twice - in 2008 and 2017, monuments to the Tatar poets Musa Jalil and Gabdulla Tukay were installed here, a newspaper in the Tatar language was published. The trade turnover between the regions is about half a billion rubles.

Azerbaijan is one of the main economic partners of Russia among the CIS countries. The trade turnover between two countries amounted to $2.14 billion in 2017. Azerbaijan invested more than $1 billion in the Russian economy, and Russia invested about $4 billion in the economy of Azerbaijan. This kind of cooperation plays an important role in the development of Russian-Azerbaijani trade and economic relations and in the increase of the trade turnover.

At present, enterprises of more than 70 regions of Russia cooperate directly with Azerbaijan. Fifteen regions of Russia have relevant agreements with Azerbaijan on trade and economic, scientific, technical and cultural cooperation.

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By Leman Mammadova

The German-Azerbaijani Business Dialogue was organized by the Member of the German Bundestag Mark Hauptman and the Azerbaijani Embassy in Germany on November 28 in Berlin. Azerbaijan Export and Investment Promotion Foundation (AZPROMO) has acted as the partner of the event.

The purpose of the business dialogue was to discuss the existing cooperation between the business circles of the countries, to establish B2B relations with potential partners and to discuss prospective business opportunities, AZERTAC informs.

More than a hundred Azerbaijani and German companies attended the event.

Member of the German Bundestag Mark Hauptman and Azerbaijani ambassador to Germany Ramin Hasanov made the opening speech. Then Deputy Minister of Economy of Azerbaijan Rufat Mammadov and State Secretary at the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy Thomas Barei spoke about the bilateral economic relations between Azerbaijan and Germany and opportunities for further expansion of these ties in the future.

Mammadov noted that Azerbaijan's share in Germany's trade with the South Caucasus was more than 70 percent, trade turnover rose 80 percent in the first nine months of this year and 206 German-owned companies were registered in various sectors of the country. He also added that Germany invested $ 560 million in Azerbaijan, 96 percent of which fell to the share of the non-oil sector, saying that the two countries have opportunities for cooperation in energy, agriculture, transport, education, pharmaceutical, chemical and mechanical engineering fields.

Later, panel discussions were held on "Welcome to Azerbaijan: potential in business, agriculture and tourism" and "Azerbaijan as a new energy and logistics hub".

B2B discussions were also held between Azerbaijani and German companies within the framework of the event.

In 2017, the total trade turnover between the two countries amounted to $ 1.35 million. Azerbaijani imports amounted to $ 352,238, while exports to Germany exceeded about $ 1 million.

Germany occupies the 4th place in the trade turnover of Azerbaijan. Overall, Azerbaijan's trade relations with EU countries increased by 42 percent in the first nine months of this year.

According to the German Federal Economy and Immigration Control Office, Azerbaijan ranked eighth in 2017 among the countries providing oil to Germany. In 2017, about 2.5 million tons of crude oil was exported from Azerbaijan to Germany.

Azerbaijan imports mainly medicines, construction materials, chemicals, high tech equipment, as well as agricultural products from Germany.

The German KfW Bank, the International Cooperation Society (GIZ), the High-Level Trade and Investment Working Group, and the German-Azerbaijani Chamber of Commerce are of high importance for the development of economic relations between the two countries. The German-Azerbaijani Chamber of Commerce (AHK Azerbaijan), established in 2012 in Baku, provides information and support to the companies as the official representative of the German economy on market and business research, also contributes to the organization of business meetings for the development of economic relations between countries.

As of October 2018, Baku hosted the German-Azerbaijani Business Forum on Energy and ICT, organized by the German-Azerbaijani Chamber of Commerce (AHK Azerbaijan).

Recalling that German AHK Azerbaijan organizes a business trip to the Z & Intec exhibition, the leading industrial exhibition in Saxony, which is to be held in Leipzig, Germany in February 2019, for the representatives of Mechanical Engineering, Machinery and Instrumentation organizations and enterprises of Azerbaijan.

Business forums held in Germany to promote Made in Azerbaijan brand also contribute to the development of bilateral trade-economic ties.

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By Narmina Mammadova

A performance of Noone's Land of the Merlin puppet theater (Germany, Greece) was held on the stage of the Azerbaijan State Puppet Theater named after Abdullah Shaig in Baku, Trend Life reported.

The performance was presented as part of the second MAP International Theater Festival, organized by the YARAT Contemporary Art Space.

The story is told through the eyes of a scarecrow, a lonely creature forever tied to one place, with no visible chance to change its destiny in any way. But even in this situation, the main character is left with a choice, and then it decides to make this world a better place. "Noone's Land" is an ode to freedom, told without a single word solely by visual means and optical techniques. This is about the power of imagination against the boring reality.

The director of the production is Dimitris Stamu.

MAP Festival is an abbreviation of music (music), art (art) and performance (performance) - combining various forms of theatrical art to help viewers understand the intricacies of a wide range of forms of modern theater, is a platform for communication, learning, sharing knowledge and experience . The festival featured 16 performances staged by theater companies from Denmark, Estonia, Germany, Iran, Italy, Japan, Switzerland, Russia and the UK. The festival is organized with the support of Bakcell, the first mobile operator and the leading provider of mobile Internet in Azerbaijan.

YARAT is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to nurturing an understanding of contemporary art in Azerbaijan and to creating a platform for Azerbaijani art, both nationally and internationally. Based in Baku, YARAT (meaning CREATE in Azerbaijani) was founded by Aida Mahmudova in 2011.

It realizes its mission through an on-going program of exhibitions, education events and festivals. YARAT facilitates exchange between local and international artistic networks including foundations, galleries and museums.

The organization operated in partnership with the main theater venues of Baku, including the Azerbaijan State Academic National Drama Theater, the State Academic Opera and Ballet Theater.

YARAT is partnering with all major theatre venues in Baku, including the Azerbaijan State Academic National Drama Theatre, the Azerbaijan State Academic Opera and Ballet Theatre, the Azerbaijan State Russian Drama Theatre, the Azerbaijan State Musical Theatre, the Azerbaijan State Theatre of Young Spectators, the Azerbaijan State Puppet Theatre, UNS Creative Stage and Baku Convention Center.

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By Leman Mammadova

Carpet art takes a special place in the history of culture of Azerbaijan and has become a symbol of the nation. Today Azerbaijani carpets are represented in museums and at exhibitions in different cities of the world.

An exhibition entitled "Carpets, Pearls of Azerbaijan" co-organized by Embassy of Azerbaijan in the Republic of Korea and the Korean Foundation, with the support of Azerkhalcha Open Joint Stock Company, has opened in Seoul.

The exhibition, which will continue until December 19, is held at the Gallery of Korean Foundation, which has hosted a number of prestigious exhibitions, Azerkhalcha told Trend.

As many as 18 Azerbaijani carpets of nine carpet groups (Baku, Karabakh, Gazakh, Guba, Ganja, Irevan, Nakhchivan, Shirvan, Tabriz) are demonstrated at the exhibition.

The opening ceremony of the exhibition was held on November 28.

At the opening ceremony, President of the Korea Foundation Sihyunq Lee noted that this exhibition dedicated to the 100th anniversary of the People's Republic of Azerbaijan is the first Azerbaijani carpet exhibition in Korea.

Azerbaijan's ambassador to Korea Ramzi Teymurov appreciated Azerbaijani carpet exhibition for the first time in Korea as a historic event.

The ambassador thanked the Korean Foundation, Azerkhalcha Open Joint Stock Company and Silk Way West Airlines for their support for the exhibition.

Along with Azerbaijani carpets, national clothes, national musical instruments, souvenirs reflecting Azerbaijan, cultural samples, including magazines, books and brochures on Azerbaijani carpets were presented at the exhibition.

A short video clip on the development history of Azerbaijani carpets was demonstrated at the exhibition hall.

The Polaris TV channel, which broadcasts tourism opportunities of foreign countries in Korea, has prepared a special report from the exhibition.

The Azerbaijan carpet weaving art was included in UNESCO's list of intangible heritage of humanity, at the 5th session of the UNESCO Intergovernmental Committee on Intangible Cultural Heritage, held in 2010 in Nairobi, Kenya.

The world's first specialized carpet museum was created in Azerbaijan. The State Museum of Azerbaijani Carpet and Applied Art operates in Baku today.

Azerbaijani carpets were exhibited in world famous museums such as Hermitage in St. Petersburg, Victoria and Albert in London, Textile in Washington, Louvre in Paris, Topkapi in Istanbul, Berlin Museum of Art, Metropolitan Museum of New York and the Museum of Art in Budapest.

Azerbaijani carpets are divided into seven major carpet weaving schools distinguished by patterns, composition, color palette and techniques: Guba, Baku, Shirvan, Ganja, Gazakh, Karabakh, Tabriz.

Another branch of carpet art is being developed by professional artists. Carpets based on their new ornaments and embellishments are of great importance in enriching classical compositions.

Studying Azerbaijani carpet weaving and contemporary development of professional art of carpet weaving is linked to the name of Azerbaijani People's Artist, Latif Karimov. He has studied Azerbaijani carpets for many years, enriched the Azerbaijani decorative art with new ornaments, created new decorative motives based on traditional decorative elements.

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By Trend

On Nov. 29, 2018, at the Art Tower Gallery in Baku, the Embassy of Bulgaria in Baku held an opening ceremony of a documentary photo exhibition called The Power of Civil Society: The Fate of the Jews in Bulgaria 1940-1944.

The event was dedicated to the 75th anniversary of the rescue of the Bulgarian Jews during the World War II.

In his opening speech, Ambassador of Bulgaria to Azerbaijan Nikolay Yankov stressed that the rescue of 48,000 Bulgarian Jews in 1943 is an outstanding historical example that shows how personal and political courage, civic conscience and determination can resist the most devastating policy.

The exhibition chronicles the resistance of the Bulgarian citizens, the brave refusal of society to obey the authorities plans to send Bulgarian Jews to Nazi concentration camps.

The event was supported by the Embassy of Israel in Baku and Ambassador of Israel to Azerbaijan Dan Stav also made opening remarks at the presentation of the exhibition.

It is a great honor to say a few words on the opening of the exhibition The Power of Civil Society: The Fate of the Jews in Bulgaria 1940-1944, Dan Stav said.

I am grateful to Ambassador Yankov for granting me the opportunity to share my thoughts you. The story of the salvation of the 50,000 strong Bulgarian Jews is unique and should be remembered for its merits as a great humanist approach of so many brave individuals. It should also serve as a constant reminder of the ability of leading individuals blessed with courage and conscience to form an active civil society that stands up firmly against gross injustice, despite facing hostile government that joined hands with Nazi Germany and very powerful fascist elements in Bulgaria, Dan Stav noted.

Historically, the Bulgarian Jewry did not face the same ferocious anti-Semitism that existed in many parts of Europe, he noted. Racist approaches towards Jews were not common, though manifestations of Anti-Semitism were evident in Bulgaria including pogroms conducted by a number of Fascist organizations. The overall acceptance of Jews, however, prompted Karl Franz Reich, the German representative in Bulgaria to admit in April 1943 that transport of Jews from Bulgaria will face difficulties. He attributed it to the different approaches prevailing in Bulgaria to the so-called Jewish issue in comparison to those that prevailed in Germany.

The resistance to the expulsion of Jews from Bulgaria was impressive, he added. In October 1940, 21 of the most important Bulgarian writers signed a petition urging the government not to enact the law on The Protection of the Nation that limited the Jews rights and in fact paved the way for the mass deportation of Jews. The Physician association and the lawyers bureau joined hand in expressing strong objection to that l.aw. The Metropolitans Stephan from Sofia, Cyril from Plovdiv, Naupit from Vidin and Sofronii from Vratsa were also very active in this protest. Due to these activities, the government was hesitant to push for the endorsement of that law, yet it was finally endorsed in 1941. This courageous resistance reflected a wide spread sympathy among the Bulgarian people towards the Jews.

When the government finally ordered the first deportation of Jews from Kyustandil in March 1943 a delegation representing organizations from right and left warned the government against it and succeeded in preventing the deportation, he said. When the government was trying to deport the Jews of Sofia the move met with almost cross the board objection from the intelligentsia, the religious leaders and many other rank and file Bulgarians. The bottom line is that 50,000 Jews were internally displaced but not deported to a certain death in the death camps such as Treblinka. Out of 26,000 Sofia Jews, about 19,000 were internally displaced. They faced enormous hardship, harassments and suffering. One should not forget the forced labor camps in which thousands of Jewish men were interned. Yet they survived.

Sadly, the same cant be said about the fate of the Jews living in Macedonia, Trace and the eastern parts of Serbia, territories that were annexed to Bulgaria during the Second World War, he noted. About 12,000 Jews from these territories were handed over to the Wehrmacht and sent to Treblinka concentration camp.

As many as 50,000 Bulgarian Jews were saved by the hard work of many members of the Bulgarian civil society, he noted.

By enlarge, the Bulgarian people displayed compassion for the Jews, he said. They did it at the risk to their own well-being if not even their lives. It is a matter for historians to debate about the role played by the Communist resistance movement, the partisans, ordinary people, the civil society in the rescue of the Bulgarian Jewry and to what extent the changing external circumstances contributed to this salvation. Yet the moral importance of the role played by the civil society in Bulgaria at that time of extreme trial cannot and should not be underestimated.

The exhibition has been shown more than 40 times on three continents since its premiere in 2008. It was realized in collaboration with the Centre for Jewish Studies at Sofia University St. Kliment Ohridski and State Institute for Culture at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Bulgaria.

The exhibition will stay open for visitors from Nov. 30 to Dec. 1, 2018.

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By Laman Ismayilova

House-Museum of Tahir Salahov hosted the meeting with the world-famous national artist.

The event was timed to the 90th anniversary of the Peoples Artist of the USSR, Vice President of the Russian Academy of Arts, winner of many international awards Tahir Salahov, Trend Life reported.

Addressing the event, the director of the House-Museum Saadat Mirzoyeva told about the contribution that the artist made to the development of the visual arts.

By tradition, the birthdays of the great artists are widely celebrated in the House-Museum, these events are always attended by his friends, colleagues, and admirers of creativity.

Tahir Salahov's house-museum has been operating since 2012. The museum is home to more than 700 exhibits.

"Tahir Salahov often visits our museum, he created the whole exposition himself," Mirzoyeva said.

The pro-rector of the Azerbaijan State Academy of Arts, national artist Fuad Salayev told that he and Tahir Salahov are good friends.

"I can talk about Tahir Salahov for a very long time. Today, the master turns 90 years old - this is a significant event not only in the cultural life of Azerbaijan, but also in Russia, because most of his life he lived and worked in Moscow. Tahir Salahov is undoubtedly a talented person; he is a person of high artistic taste, a person who notices small details that are out of harmony," he said.

Honored Art Worker, famous film director Zia Shihlinsky, who made a film about Tahir Salahov spoke about the work on a documentary film.

"Its very honorable to talk about Tahir Salahov, it was very pleasant to talk with this person both in the work on the film and in a relaxed atmosphere," Shihlinsky said.

The guests viewed the exhibits of the House-Museum, a concert program was also presented.

Tahir Salahov, one of the most prominent representatives of the Azerbaijani art, is the vice-president and honorary president of the International Association of Plastic Arts of UNESCO, the vice-president of the Russian Academy of Arts, People's Artist of the USSR, Azerbaijan and Russia, and is the winner of a number of high awards, including the State Prize of the USSR and Azerbaijan.

The world-renowned artist, who sensitively catches the rhythms of life and able to listen and hear the time, Salahov is the master of portraits, landscape pictures, still-life paintings and large many-figured paintings.

His paintings such as "Oilmen", "Portrait of Gara Garayev", "Woman of Absheron" and "Aydan" have become the most beloved works.

The artist currently lives in Moscow, where he is a professor at the Moscow Art Institute.

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Laman Ismayilova is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Lam_Ismayilova

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By Leman Mammadova

Natural growth rate decreased more than twice over past 27 years in Azerbaijan although population continues to increase.

Azerbaijan's highest natural growth rate over the past 27 years was recorded in 1990.

In 1990, the natural population growth in Azerbaijan was 140,177, and in 2017 it declined to 86,932.

For the last 27 years the natural growth rate per 1,000 people in the country has fallen to 8.9 (2017) from 19.8 in 1990.

The share of men in the growth is higher. The natural growth rate for men was 9.5 and 8.3 for women in 2017, while it made up 20.7 and 19, respectively, in 1990.

Various factors affect the natural growth of the population, mainly social, economic, national and military-political. The fact that people live in towns or villages, also has an impact. In recent years, the concentration of the population in urban areas has also affected the decrease in birth rate.

Compared to urban areas in Azerbaijan, the population's natural growth rate is higher in rural areas. In 2017, population;s natural growth in rural areas was 10.6 and 7.4 in urban areas. In 1990, in urban areas this figure was 16.9 percent, in rural areas - 23.3 percent.

In addition, an increase in the number of abortions has also played a role in the decrease of this indicator.

According to the UN, the overall population growth in Azerbaijan will continue in the next years and will reach 10.7 million by 2030. Based on the age structure of the population, natural growth in the population will decline in the future and this will result in the decline in the share of those who are under the age of 15 by 2025.

Currently, the population of Azerbaijan is about ten million. The number of citizens of the country reached 9,959,245 as of October 1, 2018. The population per square meter was 115. As many as 52.9 percent of the population lives in Baku, and 47.1 percent -- in villages. Of the total number, 49.9 percent account for men, 50.1 percent -- women.

Last year, Azerbaijani population increased by 1.05 percent and amounted to 9,827,589 in 2017, compared to 9,725,376 in 2016.

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By Trend

Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov has left for a working visit to the United Mexican States, the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry told Trend.

During the visit, Mammadyarov is expected to attend the inauguration ceremony of the newly elected president of Mexico and hold several bilateral meetings.

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By Abdul Kerimkhanov

Relations with Turkey in all spheres are of great importance for Azerbaijan, Deputy Chairman of the Azerbaijani Parliament Bahar Muradova said at a meeting with representatives of the Platform for Women of the Turkic World (TURKAP) on November 29.

Muradova said that relations between the parliaments of Turkey and Azerbaijan are at a high level, and relations between the two fraternal countries are an example for the whole world.

The Vice Speaker noted that the organization faces such tasks as conducting general political and cultural events, expanding the boundaries of women's activities, expanding the dialogue and historical ties of kinship between women in the Turkic world.

The head of the TURKAP delegation, the MP of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey, Mihrimah Belma Satyr noted that they feel at home in Azerbaijan.

Satyr told about the future activities of the organization, established in Istanbul in September, about the steps taken towards the goal. The deputy also said that an international forum of the organization will be held in Istanbul in December.

Chairman of the Milli Majlis Committee on Family, Women and Children Agiya Nakhchivanly, MPs Sahiba Gafarova, Sevinj Fataliyeva, Kamilya Aliyeva, Zhalya Aliyeva, member of the Turkish parliament Rasmiya Chanaltai, auditor of the Accounts Chamber of Azerbaijan Mehriban Alyshanova, founder of the project Zait Nakhmatov, philologist Sharaf Jafarli and others noted that the organizations activities are very important for the Turkic world, and added that the upcoming projects will contribute to the development of women and progressive society.

Relations between Turkey and Azerbaijan are developing in a rising way. This development shows itself in the economic relations established with the fraternal country.

Strengthening and expanding relations with Turkey, which is a reliable strategic partner of Azerbaijan in modern geopolitical conditions, is an important part of the country's foreign policy. Mutual visits of heads of state and government officials of both countries, as well as heads of relevant political, economic, trade, science, education, culture and other spheres have played an important role in the development of bilateral cooperation.

Turkey and Azerbaijan are active participants in the process of regional cooperation. Both countries effectively use their economic and energy capabilities, as well as the geopolitical position to expand bilateral and regional cooperation.

Also, the two fraternal countries have gained good experience in the implementation of large-scale projects of international importance, which are well known in the region and the world. These are Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline, the Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum gas pipeline, TANAP, the Southern Gas Corridor and the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway.

All projects initiated by Azerbaijan and Turkey are implemented successfully and serve further development and well-being of two nations.

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Abdul Kerimkhanov is AzerNews staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @AbdulKerim94

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Austal today delivered the first Guardian Class Patrol Boat (GCPB) to the Australian Department of Defence and then in a handover ceremony, presented the vessel to the Papua New Guinea (PNG) Government. The Ted Diro is the first of 21 GCPBs to be gifted to 12 Pacific Island Nations and Timor-Leste under the Commonwealths Pacific Maritime Security Program.

Austal today delivered the first Guardian Class Patrol Boat (GCPB) to the Australian Department of Defence and then in a handover ceremony, presented the vessel to the Papua New Guinea (PNG) Government. The Ted Diro is the first of 21 GCPBs to be gifted to 12 Pacific Island Nations and Timor-Leste under the Commonwealths Pacific Maritime Security Program.

The Guardian Class Patrol Boat was designed and constructed by Austal Australia for the Commonwealth of Australia's Pacific Patrol Boat Replacement Project, comprising 21 vessels to be delivered to 12 Pacific Island nations and Timor Leste. Image: Austal.

Austal are proud to deliver this program for the Commonwealth of Australia. The Guardian Class has brought together the industry-leading skills of over 200 Austal employees, and estimated to have employed an additional 200 people indirectly through the design, construction and sustainment process.

The Guardian Class is the latest evolution of Austals proven patrol boat platform that was first introduced some 20 years ago, commencing with the Bay Class Patrol Boat developed for the Australian Customs Service. Since 1998, Austal has delivered 32 patrol boats to the Commonwealth  representing Australias entire border patrol capability. Indeed Austal has delivered or has orders for a total of 97 patrol boats for Australia and around the world.

Over the past six weeks, we have had the Ted Diro crew from the PNG Navy at Austal training on how to use and maintain the new vessels. Their positive feedback on the greater capability, amenity and operability of the Guardian Class has been fantastic. We look forward to show casing the new vessels to the other Pacific Island nations over the life of the 21vessel program through to 2023. Austal CEO, David Singleton said.

This is Austals first major ship building program in steel. It is a reflection of the skills, experience and management of the Austal team that, since May 2016 they have developed a brand new production facility at Naval Base in Western Australia, designed a production line process, completed the detailed vessel design and are now delivering the first vessel 30 months later.

The program is now in a full rate of production, with the second vessel, which is destined for Tuvalu, successfully launched on Monday with an additional three vessels in various stages of construction. Austal are already looking at export opportunities for the GCPB Mr Singleton said.

The Pacific Patrol Boat contract was awarded to Austal in May 2016 with a contract option in April 2018 taking the program to 21 vessels valued at AU$335 million. The program supports more than 200 direct jobs at Austal and more than a further 200 indirect jobs through the Australian industry involved in the program. Austal has around 1000 employees in Australia directly contributing to delivering a strong domestic and export shipbuilding industry.
By Laman Ismayilova

"Ateshgah" intellectual games club in Estonia will host an international intellectual festival dedicated to the State Flag Day of Azerbaijan on December 1-2.

The event is supported by Azerbaijan Youth Foundation, under the auspices of the Federation of Intellectual Games of Azerbaijan and the Association of European Intellectual Clubs, Trend Life reported.

The tournaments on national intellectual game "What? Where? When?", "Brain Ring" and entertaining game "QuAZ" will be held as part of the festival.

The event aims to familiarize foreign experts with the cultural and historical heritage of the Azerbaijani people through intellectual games.

The festival was previously held in Riga, St. Petersburg, Minsk, Vilnius, Kaliningrad, Kiev and Prague.

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Laman Ismayilova is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Lam_Ismayilova

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By Trend

The Azerbaijani parliament at a plenary session has submitted for discussion a draft permit for the deployment of Azerbaijani military personnel of four people in South Sudan as staff officers and military observers under the command of UNMISS (United Nations Mission in South Sudan) and participation in this mission.

The draft permit was put to vote and adopted.

Earlier, the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry told Trend that the Azerbaijani peacekeepers are expected to participate in an international mission in South Sudan under the UN mandate.

Azerbaijani servicemen are expected to leave for Juba, South Sudan, in January 2019.

Since 2013, South Sudan has been in a state of civil war. More than two million people have become IDPs in the country.

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By Trend

Southern Gas Corridor project (SGC), which envisages transportation of Azerbaijani gas to Europe, is important for Hungary in terms of diversification, Hungarian Ambassador to Azerbaijan Viktor Szederkenyi told Trend.

"For Hungary energy security is a priority. So we actively seek opportunities for diversification of the energy flow, especially natural gas imports. Azerbaijani gas is a real alternative and as such it will be in our focus when looking at diversification options. The Southern Gas Corridor is important for us to diversify the sources and directions as well, so we examine this project as a good option," said the envoy.

Szederkenyi said Hungary appreciates the role of Azerbaijan which initiated this big project and will supply it with gas.

"One of the tasks now is linking Hungary to the Southern Gas Corridor through interconnectors between the countries in our region. Through the TAP and TANAP projects Azerbaijani gas will be commercially available on the European markets  this is great news," said the Hungarian diplomat.

He went on to add that SGC has a strategic relevance.

"Not only Hungary but also all countries of Europe, interested in diversification of their sources of supply, value this. The SGC will allow Europe to diversify natural gas sources and transport routes and it changes the energy balance in South-Eastern Europe. This strengthens the openness of the European energy market and the actual competitive position," noted Szederkenyi.

The diplomat said it is also important that the Southern Gas Corridor can be extended by new users and source countries in the future.

"In addition, the success of SGC can be used in cooperation in other areas, such as alternative energy, environmental issues and so on," he said.

Southern Gas Corridor envisages transportation of 10 billion cubic meters of Azerbaijani gas from the Caspian region through Georgia and Turkey to Europe.

On May 29, Baku hosted the launch ceremony of the first phase of the Southern Gas Corridor project.

The gas from the Azerbaijani Shah Deniz field has already gone through the first segment of the Southern Gas Corridor - from the Sangachal terminal to the expanded South Caucasus Pipeline.

The Southern Gas Corridor project aims to increase and diversify European energy supply by bringing gas resources from the Caspian Sea to markets in Europe. The Southern Gas Corridor comprises the following four projects: (i) operation of Shah Deniz natural gas-condensate field ("SD1" project) and its full-field development ("SD2'" project), (ii) the operation of the South Caucasus Pipeline ("SCP" project) and its expansion ("SCPX" project), (iii) the construction of the Trans-Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline ("TANAP" project) and (iv) the construction of the Trans Adriatic Pipeline ("TAP" project) (SD2, SCPX, TANAP and TAP collectively, the "Projects").

The Projects have an estimated investment cost of approximately $40 billion.

Upon completion, the SD2 project will add a further 16 bcm of natural gas per annum to 10.9 bcma (maximum production capacity) already produced under SD1 project.

Total length of the newly constructed SCPX, TANAP and TAP pipelines will be around 3,206 kilometers.

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By Abdul Kerimkhanov

A meeting with a delegation of Halliburton led by the Vice President for Business Development of the company in the Eurasia region, Vugar Mammadov, was held at Uzbekneftegaz JSC.

The parties noted that today the companies have formed a joint expert working group on the implementation of the Memorandum of Understanding, which was signed in St. Petersburg on May 26, 2018, and the coordinators of interaction have been identified.

Based on the tasks set, Uzbekneftegaz JSC suggested that Halliburton cooperates in the field of intensifying the production of hydrocarbons from already discovered and long-developed fields under the terms of a risk-service contract.

Representatives of Halliburton noted that the company will consider the possibility of creating a joint venture to provide services in the oil and gas sector.

At the same time, representatives of the company stressed that they would provide full support in creating the National Oil and Gas Database and expressed their readiness to participate in the pilot project Digital Field.

Founded in 1919, Halliburton is one of the world's largest providers of products and services to the energy industry. With over 55,000 employees, representing 140 nationalities in more than 80 countries, the company helps its customers maximize value throughout the lifecycle of the reservoir  from locating hydrocarbons and managing geological data, to drilling and formation evaluation, well construction and completion, and optimizing production throughout the life of the asset.

Halliburton's major business segment is the Energy Services Group (ESG). It offers a broad array of products and services to upstream oil and gas customers worldwide through fourteen product service lines: Artificial Lift, Cementing, Completion Tools, Multi-Chem, Pipeline & Process Services, Production Enhancement, Production Solutions, Baroid, Drill Bits & Services, Landmark Software & Services, Sperry Drilling, Testing & Subsea, Wireline & Perforating, and Consulting & Project Management.

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Abdul Kerimkhanov is AzerNews staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @AbdulKerim94

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By Trend

The upcoming OPEC meeting is likely to result in Saudi Arabia agreeing to reduce its oil output, the UK-based Capital Economics said.

"But we think that any cut will be at the more modest end of the spectrum as the authorities balance the need to placate President Trump with a desire to put a floor under oil prices and prevent acrimony within OPEC," said a report from the company.

Capital Economics believes that the next weeks OPEC ministerial meeting is increasingly clouded in uncertainty.

"If the Saudi authorities decide to keep oil output and exports at their current high levels, it might hint that the Saudis are reverting to the strategy that prevailed in 2014-16 of protecting market share. Oil prices would probably fall further, perhaps to $40 per barrel. This would deal a further blow to the Kingdoms oil export revenues, causing the budget and current account positions to weaken. We doubt that major balance sheet strains would emerge," said the report.

Crucially, though, the company expects this approach would destroy Saudis credibility within OPEC. "The Kingdom has probably pushed hard to build support for an output cut and to back track now would make it more difficult to force through policy shifts in the future. "

"Accordingly, we think that there are two other options that Saudi policymakers will find more palatable. The first is to keep production high but restrict exports. Its worth noting that, in recent comments regarding the possibility of oil output cuts, Saudi Oil Minister Khalid al-Falih focused on supply to the market (i.e. exports) rather than actual production," said the company.

The UK-based company suspects that any support to oil prices would prove fleeting, however, if the markets start to see that Saudi is building large stockpiles of oil.

"The second option is to push ahead with an outright production cut. Having ramped up output to 11 million barrels per day in recent months, the Saudis could opt to take production back to the levels of 10 million barrels per day that prevailed in 2017 and early 2018," said the report.

That would boost oil prices significantly, according to Capital Economics.

"We think its more likely that Saudi Arabia undertakes a modest output cut of 0.5-0.8 million barrels per day. After all, a reduction in output on this scale would only partly reverse the rise in production since the middle of the year. Moreover, it would probably be enough to soothe the rest of OPEC."

OPEC leaders will gather in Vienna on Dec. 6 to discuss how to manage the oil output, supply glut and demand slowdown.

For the first time ever, in 2016, the Member Countries of OPEC coordinated with 11 non-OPEC oil producing countries in a concerted effort to accelerate the stabilization of the global oil market through voluntary production adjustments, which amounted to approximately 1.8 million barrels per day.

The Declaration was an outcome of the Joint OPEC-Non-OPEC Producing Countries Ministerial Meeting held on 10 December 2016 and was effective for an initial period of six months. The Second Joint OPEC-Non-OPEC Producing Countries Ministerial Meeting, held on 25 May 2017, decided to extend the voluntary production adjustments for another nine months commencing 1 July 2017. At the third joint OPEC-Non-OPEC Producing Countries Ministerial Meeting, held on 30 November 2017, it was agreed to amend the Declaration of Cooperation so that it will take effect for the entirety of 2018.

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By Trend

The chairman of the joint chamber of commerce of Iran and China announced that the Islamic Republic's bank-related issue has been resolved by the Chinese side.

"A Chinese bank will begin its banking transactions with the Iran from December 2," Asadollah Asgar Oladi, the chairman of the joint chamber of commerce of Iran and China told Tasnim News Agency.

"The sale of Iran's oil to China will begin next week and its money will return within a month," he noted.

"The Chinese side is going to introduce its second bank for dealing with the Iranian side within a month," Asgar Oladi said.

In late October, all Chinese banks suspended their dealings with Tehran in response to the new round of US sanctions against the country.

Chinas Bank of Kunlun, which was processing payments to Iran, had earlier called on exporters to settle any unfinished business with Iran. It announced that the bank would no longer guarantee such payments could be made after November.

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The total duration of the duty time of military personnel (except for military personnel of urgent active military service) cannot exceed 40 hours per week, a new draft law "On the Status of Servicemen" says, Trend reports on Thursday.
By Abdul Kerimkhanov

The issues of the resumption by Gazprom of purchases of Turkmen gas were discussed at the meeting of the President of Turkmenistan Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov with the Chairman of the Board of PJSC Gazprom Alexey Miller.

During the conversation, Miller confirmed the interest of the Russian holding company in cooperation with the country and the implementation of mutually beneficial joint projects.

The Turkmen president noted the traditionally friendly nature of the Turkmen-Russian interaction, one of the current areas of which is the fuel and energy sector.

The parties exchanged views on the priority areas of the partnership, taking into account the strategy in the fuel and energy sector, aimed at comprehensive modernization and diversification of the sectoral infrastructure, increasing the capacity of the mining and refining segment, developing the gas and petrochemical industry and manufacturing competitive products in demand on the world market.

In this context, issues of the resumption of gas purchases by Gazprom were discussed. Here, the basic document is the current Intergovernmental Agreement between Turkmenistan and Russia on cooperation in the gas sector until 2028, on the basis of which the parties are working accordingly.

The discussion also touched upon issues of gas production and gas processing, the possibility of supplying "blue fuel" through the Central Asia-Center gas pipeline.

For many years of cooperation between Turkmenistan and Gazprom, considerable experience of interaction has been accumulated, and it will undoubtedly be in demand in the very near future.

At the end of the meeting, Berdimuhamedov and Miller confirmed the readiness of Turkmenistan and Gazprom to further develop the partnership.

Gazprom is a global energy company focused on geological exploration, production, transportation, storage, processing and sales of gas, gas condensate and oil, sales of gas as a vehicle fuel, as well as generation and marketing of heat and electric power.

Gazprom holds the worlds largest natural gas reserves. The Company owns the worlds largest gas transmission system with a total length of 172,100 kilometers. Gazprom sells more than half of its gas to Russian consumers and exports gas to more than 30 countries.

About 190 companies with Russian capital operate in Turkmenistan. The ARETI International Croup holding (formerly ITERA) has been operating since 2009 in the Turkmen sector of the Caspian Sea on the basis of the production sharing agreement.

At the same time, Russia's Gazprom, a traditional trade partner, completely stopped purchasing Turkmen gas in 2016.

The strategic partnership agreement between Turkmenistan and Russia was signed in Ashgabat on October 2, 2017.

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Abdul Kerimkhanov is AzerNews staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @AbdulKerim94

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By Abdul Kerimkhanov

Astana hosted the 11th round of talks between Iran, Russia and Turkey on Syria on November 28-29.

Following the negotiations, the countries-guarantors of the Astana format made a joint statement in which reviewed in detail the situation in the Idlib de-escalation zone and confirmed readiness to fully implement the Memorandum on Stabilization in Idlib dated September 17, 2018.

Parties strongly condemned the use of chemical weapons in Syria and demanded in this regard that the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), as the main international competent authority establishing the use of chemical weapons, should conduct a timely and professional investigation in full compliance with the Prohibition Convention development, production, stockpiling and use of chemical weapons and their destruction.

Moreover, parties noted the need to continue all efforts to assist all Syrians in restoring normal, peaceful life and alleviating their suffering and emphasized the importance of creating conditions for the safe and voluntary return of refugees and internally displaced persons (IDPs) to their places of residence in Syria.

At the end of the meeting, it was decided to hold the next International Meeting on Syria in Astana in early February 2019.

To date, Kazakhstans capital Astana hosted nine rounds of negotiations on resolving the conflict in Syria. The main result of the meetings in the capital of Kazakhstan was the creation of de-escalation zones, which significantly reduced the level of violence in the country. The last meeting in the Astana format at a high level was held in Sochi on July 30-31, 2018.

Syria has been locked in civil war since March 2011. All previous efforts to achieve a diplomatic solution were ruined, with the opposition demanding Assad leave power, the government insisting he stay on, and neither side able to force the issue by achieving a military victory.

According to the UN, the number of victims of military operations in the country can range from 300,000 to half a million people. The settlement of the conflict is discussed in Astana and Geneva, and the Congress of the Syrian National Dialogue, which took place on January 30 this year in Sochi, was the first attempt to gather a wide range of participants on one negotiating platform.

Many believe the Astana meetings to offer new opportunities, that should be used at any cost.

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Abdul Kerimkhanov is AzerNews staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @AbdulKerim94

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By Abdul Kerimkhanov

The speakers of the parliaments of Iran and Turkey stressed the need to achieve a trade turnover between the two countries of up to $ 30 billion, Iranian media reported.

Irans Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani and his Turkish counterpart Binali Yldrm made it at a meeting on the sidelines of the Eleventh General Assembly of Asian Parliaments, on November 29.

Larijani called Turkey an important trading partner of Iran in the region.

He noted that the U.S. approach to using dollar as a cold weapon against regional countries made them think about using their national currencies in their transactions.

The speaker of the Turkish parliament, for his part, said that the U.S.s behavior towards the countries of the region is unacceptable because it creates problems for the countries of the region in their trade and financial operations.

The 11th session of the Asian Parliamentary Assembly begins on November 29 in Istanbul and will be held over three days with the participation of 23 Asian countries.

The most important goal of the Asian Parliamentary Assembly is the formation of the Asian Parliament, which has so far held 10 meetings of the General Assembly with the aim of creating an area of interaction and cooperation among Asian countries.

By the end of 2017, the trade turnover between the two countries amounted to $10.8 billion. Turkish exports to Iran last year amounted to $ 3.3 billion, imports - $ 7.5 billion.

Turkey mainly exports boilers, equipment, including energy, cars, tractors, bicycles, motorcycles, synthetic and artificial staple fibers to Iran. Turkey from Iran mainly imports fuel, mineral oils, bituminous materials, mineral wax, plastic products, tin and products from it.

Turkey and Iran reached an agreement on switching to settlements in national currencies in 2018.

The use of Turkish lira and Iranian rials in bilateral trade between Iran and Turkey was approved, this will be done through the banks of the two countries.

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Abdul Kerimkhanov is AzerNews staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @AbdulKerim94

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By Trend

Pakistan and Russia have agreed to turn the existing friendship into a multidimensional strategic partnership, Pakistan's Dispatch News Desk (DND) news agency reported.

The corresponding agreement was achieved in a meeting between the Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi and Russian Ambassador to Pakistan Alexey Dedov held at the Foreign Ministry in Islamabad on Nov. 29.

During the meeting, issues of mutual interest and cooperation including trade and investment, peace and security, energy and defence cooperation were discussed.

The two sides appreciated the positive developments in bilateral relations between Pakistan and Russia.

The foreign minister expressed satisfaction at the bilateral cooperation in the field of energy and called it a strong pillar of Pakistans partnership with the Russian Federation.

Shah Mahmood Qureshi appreciated Russias role in finding a political solution for the Afghanistan issue and the two sides agreed that peace and stability in Afghanistan was in the best interest of all.

The Russian ambassador assured of Russias full support in enhancing bilateral relations in all areas of mutual interest.

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Sam Morgen can be contacted at 661-395-7415 or smorgen@bakersfield.com. You may also follow him on Twitter @smorgenTBC.
Contributing columnist Jose Gaspar is a news anchor/reporter for Telemundo Bakersfield and KGET. Email him at elcompa29@gmail.com. His work appears here every third Monday; the views expressed are his own.
A 55-year-old Beaumont man was killed in a head-on collision Thursday evening just south of Kountze, according to information from the Department of Public Safety.

At approximately 5 p.m. officials responded to a call in reference to a crash on Texas 326 about two miles south of Kountze.
A Jefferson County jury Thursday night convicted a Lumberton woman who claimed "battered-spouse syndrome" in her murder trial of causing bodily injury to her boyfriend that led to his death.

After more than five hours of deliberation, the jury acquitted 71-year-old Elizabeth Taylor on one count of the first-degree felony murder charge and found her guilty of the other. She was not convicted on a count of "intentionally and knowingly" killing Larry Atwood on Oct. 11, 2017.

Family members on both sides lined the front row in state District Court to hear the verdict. Taylor's family stepped up to embrace her as she cried before being taken into custody.

The sentencing phase will commence at 10 a.m. Friday. Taylor faces five to 99 years in prison. But the jury could determine that she acted out of passion, which could reduce her sentencing to two to 20 years.

Video: Lumberton man names alleged shooter before death (graphic)

The jury of nine women and three men deliberated even as the courthouse began to shut down, requesting to review video of Taylor's hour-long interview with Beaumont police detectives and the gun she was accused of shooting Atwood with as the pair were traveling north on the Eastex Freeway near Beaumont's Home Depot.

Atwood, 58, took a .38-caliber bullet that never left his body. He was pronounced dead at Christus St. Elizabeth Hospital.

Taylor's attorneys argued that she acted out of self-defense. Atwood had Taylor by the hair on the back of her neck, slamming her head into the dashboard, court testimony showed. He tried to suffocate her or break her nose, all while they were traveling 40 to 45 miles per hour as they approached the highway, Taylor said in her interview with authorities.

"She just wanted to stop the violence, so she shot him," defense attorney Dustin Galmor said in his closing argument.

He pointed out that at the beginning of her interview with detectives, Taylor thought she was talking to victim's assistance officials.

If Taylor wanted to kill him, she would've done so the night before, Galmor argued. He asked why Taylor would wait until Atwood was beating her to kill him.

DAY 2 TESTIMONY: Murder suspect suffered from 'battered-spouse syndrome,' witness testifies

The gunshot's powder stippling on Atwood's right arm proves that his arm was up, extended toward Taylor, Galmor contended, corroborating Taylor's account that he was assaulting her with his right arm as he drove with his left.

Texas has a "proactive self-defense law" so that victims don't have to wait until they're injured or killed to act, Galmor said.

But prosecutor Mike Laird said Taylor's injuries didn't compare to Atwood's because they weren't life-threatening.

"She did not have to kill him," Laird said, questioning whether it was "immediately necessary" for her to shoot.

DAY 2 TESTIMONY: Domestic abuse claims at center of Beaumont murder trial

Laird called Taylor "a nice old lady" who didn't deserve the treatment she got from Atwood. Still, he encouraged the jury in his closing argument "to follow the law and the evidence, not your heart."

While pulling on a blue rubber band with both hands, Laird called the defense's efforts to paint Taylor as a battered spouse "stretching the truth."

No one testified in court that they personally saw Atwood hit Taylor, Laird said. The only abuse witnessed by anyone was seen by Atwood's sister and niece, who testified that they saw Taylor yelling at and at times hitting Atwood.

"Where's the battered-wife syndrome?" Laird asked.

He piled photos of Atwood's dead body over the images of Taylor's injuries, which included a black eye, swollen cheeks and a skinned nose, for the jury to see.

"But compare her to him," Laird said, slapping a photo of the deceased Atwood's face onto the projector.

But Galmor argued that there was "overwhelming evidence" for a not-guilty verdict. "Where is the evidence she was assaulting him?" he asked.

Court testimony showed that some of Taylor's past relationships, including four husbands, were abusive. When she was 12, her step-father abused her mother, she told psychiatrist Dr. Edward Gripon, who testified on Wednesday.

Laird acknowledged that it's "not pleasant" to find a 71-year-old woman guilty of murder, but he cautioned jurors to focus on the facts, not their emotions. They could consider Taylor's past, he said, but the only evidence that mattered was "the evidence at that particular moment when she had the gun cocked and pointed at Atwood."
Update: Elizabeth Taylor has been sentenced to four years in prison, and will be eligible for parole after two years.

Through her attorneys, Taylor signed a waiver of jury trial for the punishment phase. Parties agreed that the act was committed under immediate influence of sudden passion, which would lower her charge to a second-degree felony murder charge, Judge Stevens said.

"I want you to know that I'm very sorry that this happened," Taylor said. "I loved Larry very much and his sister can equate to that. I was true to him and helped him while he was in prison... I was waiting for him to come home and thought he'd be better... Tell his sisters I'm sorry."

Atwood's sister, Shirley Harris, gave an impact statement.

"I don't understand why you took Larry," she said. She appeared to want to say more but was too emotional.

"You took our brother away from us," Atwood's other sister said in her statement. "It's only you I blame because we haven't got our brother to love and share. I hope you think about it every day for the rest of your life."

Previous Report: A Jefferson County jury Thursday night convicted a Lumberton woman who claimed "battered-spouse syndrome" in her murder trial of causing bodily injury to her boyfriend that led to his death.

After more than five hours of deliberation, the jury acquitted 71-year-old Elizabeth Taylor on one count of the first-degree felony murder charge and found her guilty of the other. She was not convicted on a count of "intentionally and knowingly" killing Larry Atwood on Oct. 11, 2017.

Family members on both sides lined the front row in state District Court to hear the verdict. Taylor's family stepped up to embrace her as she cried before being taken into custody.

The sentencing phase will commence at 10 a.m. Friday. Taylor faces five to 99 years in prison. But the jury could determine that she acted out of passion, which could reduce her sentencing to two to 20 years.

Video: Lumberton man names alleged shooter before death (graphic)

The jury of nine women and three men deliberated even as the courthouse began to shut down, requesting to review video of Taylor's hour-long interview with Beaumont police detectives and the gun she was accused of shooting Atwood with as the pair were traveling north on the Eastex Freeway near Beaumont's Home Depot.

Atwood, 58, took a .38-caliber bullet that never left his body. He was pronounced dead at Christus St. Elizabeth Hospital.

Taylor's attorneys argued that she acted out of self-defense. Atwood had Taylor by the hair on the back of her neck, slamming her head into the dashboard, court testimony showed. He tried to suffocate her or break her nose, all while they were traveling 40 to 45 miles per hour as they approached the highway, Taylor said in her interview with authorities.

"She just wanted to stop the violence, so she shot him," defense attorney Dustin Galmor said in his closing argument.

He pointed out that at the beginning of her interview with detectives, Taylor thought she was talking to victim's assistance officials.

If Taylor wanted to kill him, she would've done so the night before, Galmor argued. He asked why Taylor would wait until Atwood was beating her to kill him.

DAY 2 TESTIMONY: Murder suspect suffered from 'battered-spouse syndrome,' witness testifies

The gunshot's powder stippling on Atwood's right arm proves that his arm was up, extended toward Taylor, Galmor contended, corroborating Taylor's account that he was assaulting her with his right arm as he drove with his left.

Texas has a "proactive self-defense law" so that victims don't have to wait until they're injured or killed to act, Galmor said.

But prosecutor Mike Laird said Taylor's injuries didn't compare to Atwood's because they weren't life-threatening.

"She did not have to kill him," Laird said, questioning whether it was "immediately necessary" for her to shoot.

DAY 2 TESTIMONY: Domestic abuse claims at center of Beaumont murder trial

Laird called Taylor "a nice old lady" who didn't deserve the treatment she got from Atwood. Still, he encouraged the jury in his closing argument "to follow the law and the evidence, not your heart."

While pulling on a blue rubber band with both hands, Laird called the defense's efforts to paint Taylor as a battered spouse "stretching the truth."

No one testified in court that they personally saw Atwood hit Taylor, Laird said. The only abuse witnessed by anyone was seen by Atwood's sister and niece, who testified that they saw Taylor yelling at and at times hitting Atwood.

"Where's the battered-wife syndrome?" Laird asked.

He piled photos of Atwood's dead body over the images of Taylor's injuries, which included a black eye, swollen cheeks and a skinned nose, for the jury to see.

"But compare her to him," Laird said, slapping a photo of the deceased Atwood's face onto the projector.

But Galmor argued that there was "overwhelming evidence" for a not-guilty verdict. "Where is the evidence she was assaulting him?" he asked.

Court testimony showed that some of Taylor's past relationships, including four husbands, were abusive. When she was 12, her step-father abused her mother, she told psychiatrist Dr. Edward Gripon, who testified on Wednesday.

Laird acknowledged that it's "not pleasant" to find a 71-year-old woman guilty of murder, but he cautioned jurors to focus on the facts, not their emotions. They could consider Taylor's past, he said, but the only evidence that mattered was "the evidence at that particular moment when she had the gun cocked and pointed at Atwood."
Ninfa Griselda Mancillas-Zuniga was supposed to pick her daughter up from school on Monday.

When the mom didnt show, another adult went instead. They got back to the familys home that day, and the girl found her 40-year-old mother dead on the floor of her southeast Houston residence, according to court records.

My dad killed my mom and the gun is on the table, the girl yelled as she ran through the house.

Police are looking for the girls father, who is wanted in the slaying of his estranged wife. Jose Angel Martinez Espinosa, 45, has been charged with Mancillas-Zunigas murder and is still at large.

Police found Mancillas-Zuniga shot to death in the front room of her house, in the 8100 block of Ogden Street, around 4:40 p.m., according to Harris County District Clerk records. She had multiple gunshot wounds to the back and front of her body, and police found 9 mm shell casings on the scene as well as a black Sig Sauer handgun on the dining room table.

Mancillas-Zunigas landlord told investigators that the woman and her estranged husband, Martinez Espinosa, had been having relationship issues. The couple lived at the home for the past four years, but the landlord evicted Martinez Espinosa on Nov. 5, days after she signed a new lease agreement with Mancillas-Zuniga because of the marital issues, police said.

Surveillance cameras showed that the day of the murder, Mancillas-Zuniga left her home to drop her daughter off at school and run errands. She parked in her driveway at 10:12 a.m., and just two minutes later, a man on a bicycle stopped near the residence and hopped a fence, court records show.

A neighbor told police she heard a bang around 10:15 a.m., and the same man was seen on video hurriedly leaving the residence at 10:18 a.m., police said.

The crime was reported in the afternoon, when the daughter arrived home, police said. Another parent at the school gave her a lift, and they saw the bloody scene after opening the unlocked front door.

Neighbors and family members pointed to Martinez Espinosa as the likely suspect.

Both the landlord and the suspects other daughter said they recognized the man on the bike as Martinez Espinosa, police said. The landlord also said she physically saw Martinez Espinosa hop the fence, and the husband of the neighbor who heard a bang said he saw Martinez Espinosa in the Mancillas-Zunigas backyard at 6 a.m. earlier that day.

The other daughter told investigators that her father told her mother (the decedent) that he would kill her if he ever found her with another man), according to records.

Martinez Espinosa is described as 5 feet 5 inches tall with a skinny build, police said. Hes believed be driving a black 2006 Nissan Altima with paper license plates. His hair is thought to be shorter than it appears in the photo provided by police.

Its possible the suspect will flee or has already fled to Mexico, police said.

Anyone with information on his whereabouts is asked to call the HPD Homicide Division at 713-308-3600 or Crime Stoppers at 713-222-TIPS.
The official hurricane season ends today, so feel free to celebrate another year without one of those nasty visitors from the Gulf of Mexico. But dont be complacent. Were out of danger for a few months  maybe  but the long-term implications of climate change are not going anywhere. Theyre here for the foreseeable future, and well be fortunate if the situation gets better during our childrens lives.

The proof is all around is us, in ways that are impossible to deny any more. Climate extremes of drought and floods plague different parts of our nation and the world, but virtually all scientists say the root cause is higher global temperatures brought about by decades of carbon dioxide emissions from cars, factories, power plants, etc.

In Texas and South Carolina, hurricanes like Harvey and Florence turn into slow-moving water monsters that dump tons of rain and inundate places that hadnt flooded in decades. In Alaska, winters are noticeably warmer and shorter. In the Mideast, the Dead Sea is rapidly drying up, diminishing by 3 feet a year and causing some to speculate that it could be gone by 2050. Paradoxically, sea levels are rising across the rest of the globe, covering up shorelines from the Bolivar Peninsula to the East Coast, where historic lighthouses have to either be moved or torn down.

Its a grim outlook, and humans obviously cant control the daily weather. But there are plenty of things we can be doing to reduce long-term carbon emissions, from encouraging better gas mileage for cars and trucks to burning less coal to create electricity. For a while, the federal government was on board. But the election of Donald Trump as president in 2016 reversed much of the momentum. Trump famously withdrew from the Paris climate treaty, making the United States just one of three countries on the planet to ignore that historic accomplishment. (Hello, Syria and Nicaragua.)

Yet the political changes of 2016 now face the results of the 2018 elections. Democrats have taken control of the U.S. House of Representatives, and they will surely be sending more climate-friendly legislation to the Senate. That body remains in Republican control, with an even bigger margin of 53-47. But the Senate has often been the more thoughtful chamber, and some of its Republican members could well take a fresh look at those House bills. Wed like to think that Texas Sens. John Cornyn and Ted Cruz could be in that group, though the chances are frankly not high.

Doing nothing should not be an option, from the local level to Congress and the United Nations. Climate change affects all of us, from homeowners in low-elevation areas to farmers and ranchers worrying about next summers temperatures. We can keep adjusting the way we live, or we can try to stop making a bad problem worse. That choice should be obvious.
Advocate Aurora Health, which has dual headquarters in Downers Grove, Ill., and Milwaukee, plans to increase minimum wage for employees across the health system to $15 an hour, The Journal Times reports.

Here's what you should know:

1. Wages will increase to $13 per hour in mid-2019, $14 per hour in early 2020 and $15 per hour by early 2021, according to a letter sent to employees from Advocate Aurora Chief Human Resources Officer Kevin Brady.

2. The health system employs more than 70,000 people, and its current hourly minimum wage ranges from $11 to $13.

3. The wage hikes will impact about 10,000 to 15,000 of those employees, including medical assistants, phlebotomists and certain technicians. The increase will likely have the most direct effect on food service and custodial workers.

4. Aurora's facilities include a new $83 million outpatient surgery center in Burlington, Wis.
Here are eight gastroenterologists recently featured in the news:

Samiollah Gholam, MD, joined Vancouver, Wash.-based PeaceHealth Medical Group's internal medicine team.

El Paso, Texas-based The Hospitals of Providence added Aleksandr Reznichenko, MD, and Ruben Ramirez-Vega, MD, to its staff to lead the city's first liver transplant program.

A Manhattan jury found New York City-based NYU Langone Hospital colorectal surgeon Christian Hirsch, MD, guilty of negligence after a patient died from infection.

UC Los Angeles G. Oppenheimer Center for Neurobiology of Stress and Resilience Executive Director Emeran Mayer, MD, will join uBiome's medical advisory board.

Middletown, N.Y.-based Crystal Run Healthcare will now offer pediatric gastroenterology services after adding Sherin Daniel, MD.

Winston-Salem, N.C.-based Novant Health recently added Scott Itzkowitz, DO, to its Novant Health Gastroenterology practice in Supply, N.C.

David A. Greenwald, MD, director of clinical gastroenterology and endoscopy at the New York City-based Mount Sinai Hospital and co-chair of the National Colorectal Cancer Roundtable's Public Awareness and Social Media Task Group detailed the successes seen in the roundtable's national colorectal cancer screening campaign.
Nine privacy incidents at healthcare organizations captured public attention last month.

While media outlets reported on the following breaches in November, healthcare organizations experienced the breaches as early as November 2016.

Here are the nine incidents, as reported by Becker's Hospital Review. The incidents are presented in order of number of patients affected.

1. A grand jury in New Jersey indicted two Iranian hackers in connection with a ransomware campaign that crippled more than 200 organizations, including Allscripts and several hospitals, universities and cities.

2. Charlotte, N.C.-based Atrium Health notified 2.65 million individuals after its third-party billing vendor AccuDoc Solutions was hacked in late September.

3. New York Oncology Hematology in Albany mailed letters to all of its 128,400 patients and employees notifying them that some of their protected health information may have been accessed as the result of an email phishing attack.

4. Health First, a nonprofit community health system comprising four hospitals in Brevard County, Fla., notified 42,000 patients of a potential compromise of their personal information.

5. Mason City-based Mercy Medical Center-North Iowa mailed notification letters to about 1,900 patients after discovering a former employee may have inappropriately accessed their protected health information.

6. Upstate University Hospital in Syracuse, N.Y., notified 1,216 patients of a breach after it learned that an employee had accessed their medical records without authorization.

7. A surgeon at Lexington-based University of Kentucky HealthCare recently sent two emails containing detailed patient information to roughly 60 individuals, including a news producer at an ABC News affiliate.

8. Two hospitals owned by Ohio Valley Health Services & Education Corp. confirmed patients' health records remained secure despite an attempted ransomware attack Nov. 23.

9. Altus Baytown (Texas) Hospital posted a notice to its website alerting patients of a potential compromise of their protected health information stemming from a September ransomware attack.
CMS published a notice Nov. 21 threatening to terminate Nashville, Tenn.-based Vanderbilt University Medical Center's Medicare provider agreement Dec. 9, stating the hospital was not in compliance with conditions of participation in the program. On Nov. 29, CMS said it accepted VUMC's plan of correction, and the hospital is not at risk of losing its Medicare contract.

CMS sent VUMC the termination notice after the agency learned a patient died at the hospital in December 2017 due to a medication error. The fatal medication error occurred because the hospital failed "to ensure nurses followed medication administration policies and procedures," according to an inspection report. The hospital also failed to report the incident to the Tennessee Department of Health and to implement measures to ensure similar medication errors would not happen again, according to the inspection report.

On Nov. 29, a CMS spokesperson said the agency accepted VUMC's revised plan of correction, which isn't being released at this time. The hospital is now under an ongoing review as it works to implement the steps outlined in the correction plan. "We continue to work with State Survey Agency and VUMC to take corrective steps to protect the health and welfare of patients served by the facility," the CMS spokesperson wrote in an email to Becker's Hospital Review.

More articles on healthcare finance:

Vanderbilt University Medical Center's finances bounce back after EMR launch

CMS launches cost estimator for hospital outpatient surgeries

Some hospitals underpaid due to faulty Medicare wage index
Here are the five most-read health IT stories from Becker's Hospital Review in November, beginning with the most popular:

1. Physician viewpoint: How to remove 'stupid stuff' from EHRs

It's time to cut unnecessary work from the EHR, according to a perspective in The New England Journal of Medicine by Melinda Ashton, MD, a physician with Hawaii Pacific Health in Honolulu.

2. Amazon to sell EHR-mining software

In a move that expands its presence in the healthcare space, Amazon is selling software that mines patient health records for information that helps physicians improve treatments and hospitals cut costs.

3. How an MRI installation disabled iPhones at an Illinois facility

In early October, some staff at an Illinois medical facility unexpectedly lost functionality of their Apple devices, including iPhones and Apple Watches. The culprit? A recent MRI installation.

4. Atul Gawande: Why physicians hate EHR software

Atul Gawande, MD, discussed the issues he faced during his own hospital's transition to Epic in an article for The New Yorker.

5. Veritas Capital, Elliott Management affiliate to buy athenahealth for $5.7B

Private equity firm Veritas Capital and Evergreen Coast Capital, an affiliate of hedge fund Elliott Management, have agreed to buy athenahealth for an estimated $5.7 billion in cash.
Here are six recent health IT vendor contracts and go-lives:

1. Boston Children's Hospital and 2nd.MD entered into strategic partnership to provide virtual access to specialist care.

2. The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services integrated data from the state's controlled substances reporting system into EHRs using a service from Appriss Health.

3. Worcester, Mass.-based UMass Memorial Medical Center tapped clinical analytics provider Clew to bring predictive analytics into its remote intensive care unit.

4. UC San Francisco joined forces with CloudMedx to automate its clinical documentation process for spine, hip and knee replacement procedures.

5. The National Institutes of Health partnered with technology company Nvidia to create artificial intelligence tools that support clinical trials.

6. University of Utah Health in Salt Lake City implemented an artificial intelligence tool from Philips to help radiologists review imaging data.
Four thousand clinicians at Oakland, Calif.-based Kaiser Permanente facilities said they plan to strike for five days to protest the quality of mental healthcare.

The strike is scheduled to begin Dec. 10 and will affect more than 100 Kaiser clinics and medical facilities in California, according to the National Union of Healthcare Workers, which represents psychologists, therapists, social workers, addiction medicine specialists and other mental health clinicians.

Union officials accuse Kaiser of failing to live up to its promises to remedy understaffing issues that force patients to wait a month or more for mental health therapy appointments.

"Walking a picket line for five days is a small sacrifice compared to our patients' burden of waiting weeks for care that they paid for, at times desperately need, and have every right to receive," said union president Sal Rosselli.

John Nelson, vice president of communications at Kaiser Permanente, expressed disappointment about the strike plans.

"We are disappointed the leadership of the National Union of Healthcare Workers would ask our highly valued mental health staff to go out on strike, when we've been in active negotiations since the summer, having met in 16 bargaining sessions over five months, and with two more bargaining sessions scheduled for next week," he told Becker's.

"There are no takeaways in our contract proposal," Mr. Nelson said. "We are offering guaranteed wage increases which would keep our expert therapists among the best compensated in their profession and continue to ensure that we attract and retain the most highly skilled professionals."
From two former Georgia hospital CEOs fighting criminal charges to 12 home healthcare workers charged in an $87 million Medicaid fraud scheme in Pennsylvania, here are the latest healthcare industry lawsuits and settlements making headlines.

1. Ex-CEO of medical debt collection firm convicted in $1.5B fraud scheme

The former president and CEO of an investment company and a medical debt collections business was convicted Nov. 27 for his role in a $1.5 billion Ponzi scheme.

2. Lawyers for opioid-addicted newborns want separate lawsuit

Lawyers representing babies born dependent on opioids are seeking to separate their lawsuit from nationwide litigation against opioid manufacturers.

3. Man used fake name to harass Indiana hospital CEO, criticize CHS on Facebook

Craig Sorg, the former director of imaging at Dukes Memorial Hospital in Peru, Ind., apologized for using a fake identity to torment employees of Fort Wayne, Ind.-based Lutheran Health Network on Facebook. The public apology was part of a settlement Lutheran and its parent company, Franklin, Tenn.-based Community Health Systems, reached with Mr. Sorg.

4. Hackers indicted in SamSam ransomware attacks on Allscripts, hospitals

A grand jury in New Jersey indicted two Iranian hackers in connection with the ransomware campaign that crippled more than 200 organizations, including Allscripts and several hospitals, universities and cities.

5. Former Kaiser Permanente pharmacist faces abuse, privacy invasion charges after camera found in employee bathroom

A fired pharmacist who worked for Oakland, Calif.-based Kaiser Permanente faces charges that he set up a camera in a pharmacy lab bathroom and secretly recorded people, including a child.

6. 12 charged in $87M Pennsylvania Medicaid fraud scheme

Twelve people working in home healthcare were charged in an $87 million Medicaid fraud scheme in Pennsylvania.

7. Pennsylvania Supreme Court rules UPMC must protect workers' data

Overturning two lower courts' rulings, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court reinstated a lawsuit several employees brought against two University of Pennsylvania medical centers, claiming negligence in connection with a 2014 data breach.

8. 2 former Georgia hospital CEOs fight criminal charges in kickback case

The former CEOs of North Fulton Medical Center in Roswell, Ga., and Atlanta Medical Center face possible prison time in a long-running kickback case.

9. Allergy practice to pay $125K settlement after patient info disclosed to reporter

Allergy Associates of Hartford (Conn.) agreed to pay $125,000 to the HHS Office for Civil Rights and adopt a corrective action plan to settle allegations that a physician improperly disclosed patient information to a reporter in 2015.

10. New Jersey physician arrested in $20M telemedicine fraud scheme

Burlington, N.J., officials charged Bernard Ogon, MD, for his role in a $20 million telemedicine fraud scheme in which he allegedly prescribed expensive medications to patients who did not need them.

11. Bogus 'government entity' claim by Atrium Health cheats employees on benefits, lawsuit says

Former Atrium Health employees have filed a federal class-action lawsuit against the Charlotte, N.C.-based nonprofit system, alleging that it incorrectly identifies as a government entity to exempt itself from legal protections for participation in the company's pension, 401(k) and healthcare plans.

12. Class-action lawsuits filed over quality of South Carolina drinking water

Two lawsuits were filed on behalf of residents of Denmark, S.C., where a CNN investigation revealed a chemical was being added to the water supply for a decade without approval from the Environmental Protection Agency.

13. Oscar files preliminary injunction to halt Florida Blue's 'exclusive' broker policy

Health insurance startup Oscar Health filed a motion for preliminary injunction to stop Florida Blue from enforcing a policy that Oscar said bars Orlando insurance brokers from selling any other insurance if they sell Florida Blue policies.

More articles on legal and regulatory issues:

CHS settles lawsuit against ex-CEO of Indiana hospital

Atrium settles antitrust lawsuit over health plan contracts: 6 things to know

Former employee alleges New Hampshire hospital fired her for accepting Medicaid patient
The former president and CEO of an investment company and a medical debt collections business was convicted Nov. 27 for his role in a $1.5 billion Ponzi scheme, according to the Department of Justice.

After a five-week jury trial, Edwin Fujinaga was found guilty of eight counts of mail fraud, nine counts of wire fraud and three counts of money laundering.

Between 2000 and 2013, Mr. Fujinaga fraudulently solicited more than $1 billion in investments from more than 10,000 Japanese residents, who wired their money to his bank accounts in Las Vegas, according to evidence presented at trial. Mr. Fujinaga distributed marketing materials that promised investors their funds would be used to purchase medical claims. However, most of the funds were used to pay off old investors.

When the Japanese government revoked Mr. Fujinaga's company's license to market securities in April 2013, the company owed investors more than $1.5 billion, according to the Justice Department.

Mr. Fujinaga is scheduled to be sentenced March 8.

More articles on legal and regulatory issues:

Man used fake name to harass Indiana hospital CEO, criticize CHS on Facebook

2 former Georgia hospital CEOs fight criminal charges in kickback case

13 latest healthcare industry lawsuits, settlements
Adventist Health Feather River Hospital in Paradise, Calif., shut down in early November after sustaining extensive damage from a wildfire, but the hospital is taking steps to reopen.

"We're doing everything we can to restore needed services," said Jill Kinney, administrative director of marketing and communications for the Northern California region of Adventist Health. "We remain committed to providing healthcare services for Butte County."

She said the system is still determining the full extent of the damage to the hospital. During this process, Adventist is helping Feather River Hospital employees secure jobs at its other campuses. All employees with jobs interrupted by the wildfire will receive full pay and benefits through Feb. 5, according to the Chico Enterprise-Record.

More articles on patient flow:

Cape Valley system to close North Carolina urgent care center

Pennsylvania hospital closes maternity unit

Florida hospital to reopen after hurricane damage
Although CVS Health's deal to buy Aetna for $69 billion closed Nov. 28, U.S. District Judge Richard Leon raised the prospect of not approving the deal during a routine legal process post-transaction, according to Reuters.

The Justice Department first greenlighted the deal in October with the condition that Aetna sell its Medicare Part D drug plan business. Although the transaction closed, the court must approve the final agreement between the government and merging companies.

CVS told Reuters, "Its commonplace for acquisitions to close before this final step in the process is complete, and our focus remains on delivering on the combined company's potential."

During the routine hearing to discuss the final deal, the judge raised the prospect of not deciding on the deal until summer or perhaps rejecting it, saying he objected to the government's and company's treatment of him as a "rubber stamp" for the deal.

"I was reviewing your motion, which, of course is not opposed. And I kind of got this uneasy feeling that I was being kept in the dark, kind of like a mushroom," the judge told lawyers for the Justice Department, according to Reuters. "I'm very concerned, very concerned that you all are proceeding on a rubber-stamp approach to this."
Owners of the Wanaque Nursing and Rehabilitation Center will attend a state Senate hearing Dec. 3 to discuss the adenovirus outbreak at the center that killed 11 pediatric patients and sickened more than 30, according to NJ.com.

Mr. Vitale said he will also invite the CEO of Newark, N.J.-based University Hospital to discuss the deaths of three pediatric patients that were attributed to a bacterial infection. He also invited the CEO of Voorhees Township, N.J.-based Voorhees Pediatric Center to discuss 13 patients who contracted a weaker strain of the adenovirus.

"This is an investigative hearing to learn about how in some cases, the system failed to protect these children," Joseph Vitale, D-Middlesex, Senate Health Committee chairman, told NJ.com. "Was it human or systems errors, or both? How did the facilities respond to the outbreak early on and later? And what can be done to improve quality and infection control measures? These are just some of the questions we will have."

The infection outbreaks at Wanaque Nursing and Rehabilitation Center and University Hospital in Newark are not connected.

Mr. Vitale scheduled the hearing after receiving reports that Wanaque delayed sending pediatric patients to the hospital after they developed severe fevers. Wanaque employees also questioned why patients with adenovirus were not transported.

Shereef Elnahal, MD, New Jersey health commissioner, is invited to discuss how his team has responded to the outbreak at both facilities.

Thirty-five pediatric patients were exposed to the adenovirus outbreak between Sept. 26 and Nov. 12. Eleven pediatric patients have died at the Wanaque facility and three pediatric patients have died at University Hospital due to a bacterial infection. No one has died at the Voorhees facility.

More articles on clincail leadership and infection control:

U of Wisconsin hospital Legionnaires' patient dies; 5th case identified

Top 10 infection control, patient safety stories in November

6 most common elements of infection control interventions for 3 drug-resistant bacteria
One patient with Legionnaires' disease has died at University of Wisconsin Health's University Hospital in Madison, according to WISC-TV. Additionally, the hospital has identified a new patient infected with the disease.

On Nov. 28, UW Health announced four cases of Legionnaires' disease at University Hospital identified over the previous 10 days. While two of the patients had been discharged at the time of the announcement, the other two were still hospitalized.

One of the patients has died. "The patient was in the hospital for multiple and severe health problems and the death was not unexpected," a UW Health spokesperson told WISC-TV.

There is also a fifth person who has tested positive for the disease. The patient has begun antibiotic treatment.

UW Health's hot water system may be to blame for the spread of the disease. Legionnaires' is a type of pneumonia caused by bacteria present in tap water at low concentrations. It can be contracted when people inhale droplets of water in the air that contain the bacteria. The hospital is using a hyperchlorination process to eliminate any Legionella bacteria in water lines.

SSM Health St. Mary's Hospital in Madison also identified a case of Legionnaires' disease, according to Madison.com. The patient did not have any contact with UW's University Hospital and is believed to have contracted the disease in a community setting, not in a healthcare facility.

Editors note: This story ran in the Beckers Hospital Review e-newsletter Nov. 30 with an inaccurate headline in the subject line of the newsletter. Legionnaires disease was not confirmed as the cause of death of the patient, although the patient did have Legionnaires disease at the time of death. Beckers regrets the error.
Panama City, Fla.-based Gulf Coast Regional Medical Center, which has reopened since it sustained damage from Hurricane Michael, is looking to fill positions, according to WJHG/WECP.

The hospital recently held a job fair focused on support services roles, including registrars, environmental service positions, food service attendants and others.

"We recognize that there is a lot of untapped potential in the community. Individuals that are skilled and also looking for work, we wanted to reach out and tap into those resources that we have," Tracy McGlon, vice president of human resources at the medical center told WJHG/WECP.

Gulf Coast Regional also plans to hold a nursing career fair in January.

More information about career opportunities is available here.
A former Insys Therapeutics executive pleaded guilty for his role in a conspiracy to defraud insurers by bribing physicians to unnecessarily prescribe a fentanyl-based drug, according to NBC News.

Here are six things to know:

1. Alec Burlakoff was the former vice president of sales for Insys Therapeutics. Court documents revealed Mr. Burlakoff agreed to cooperate with prosecutors in their case against Insys.

2. Prosecutors claim Mr. Burlakoff is the highest-level executive to admit wrongdoing in their investigation of the Insys' founder John Kapoor and five other co-defendants, all of whom have pleaded not guilty.

3. An updated indictment filed in September accuses Mr. Kapoor and the five other defendants of conspiring to bribe physicians for prescribing Subsys. Investigators allege the scheme was designed to boost sales and defraud insurers between 2012 and 2015.

Mr. Burlakoff and the others used pharmacy data to identify physicians who prescribed a high volume of opioids, according to the superseding indictment. They bribed the physicians with speaking engagements.

4. Subsys is an under-the-tongue spray for cancer pain management. A 30-day supply of Subsys can cost up to $30,000. The company generated $240 million in Subsys sales in 2016. The drug contains fentanyl, an opioid that the DEA claims is between 25 to 50 times more powerful than heroin.

5. In August, Insys agreed to pay $150 million to settle related claims.

6. Mr. Burlakoff pleaded guilty to a single count of racketeering conspiracy. He will be sentenced in May 2019.
Stryker made significant inroads into the spine market by acquiring K2M for $1.4 billion in late August. Since then, the company has focused on the integration and its growth strategy for the coming years, even as the spine market seems to flatten out.

Medtronic CEO Omar Ishrak said in the company's second quarter fiscal year 2019 financial report conference call that the spine market has stabilized. Stryker has also reported stagnant spine sales growth, and in some cases decline, for its spine business over recent quarters.

"Spine is challenged in the core spine area. We're seeing some stabilization there although pricing pressure remains pretty high," said Stryker Vice President of Strategy and Investor Relations Katherine Owen during an interview at the ISI HealthCONx Conference in Boston, held Nov. 28. Her quotes were transcribed by Seeking Alpha. "Our spine business, that's been seeing very good growth, but it's more on the core spine business that has been challenged. Obviously we've made the pending acquisition of K2M. So, I think we'll be in a much better position from a competitive standpoint."

While K2M's core spine business has been down, Medtronic reported core spine growth. The interviewer asked Ms. Owen how much of that difference in core spine performance was a market dynamic for Stryker as opposed to other companies. There are more than 600 spine companies in the market, which drives pricing pressure, especially on the commoditized products.

"I think the market overall feels stable, but it'd be way too premature to say we're going in. I think too there's some kind of acceleration in spine, but it is the largest segment of orthopedics. There is a tremendous unmet need for patients and real opportunity for innovation," she said.

The K2M acquisition will refresh Stryker's core spine offerings with a longer product cycle, and Stryker reported double-digit growth with its 3D printed technologies. "But [with the acquisition] we'll get that immediate refresh and we also get a much stronger presence in deformity, which really drives a lot of the surgeon key opinion leaders and decision making," said Ms. Owen. "It's a very nice complement to our portfolio, and it gives us great leadership. We're bringing in Eric Major as CEO and he's going to run our spine business for us. So I think we'll be well-positioned there, but we're not making any assumptions that we're in the beginning of an accelerating spine market."

Ms. Owen said while the company has received some pushback against the K2M acquisition, it was less than the company experienced when acquiring Mako Surgical. She expects next year Stryker will focus on integration, and then the company expects to see acceleration in the spine space to drive the business above its overall organic growth.

"The next five years is going to look very similar to the M&A of the past five years," said Ms. Owen. "Each of our divisions has dedicated ED people, looking at targets. If you look at the deals we've done over the last 10 to 12 years, the vast majority are relatively small midsized tuck-in deals." More recently, the company has had big deals exceeding $1 billion to $2 billion of Sage, Physio and K2M. Will there be more in the future?

"I would assume over the next five years, there will be some of those, whether or not we ever do anything transformative, it would have to be incredibly financially compelling and incredibly strategically compelling," said Ms. Owen.

The company has been committed to acquiring knowledge on 3D printing, with a dedicated printing facility in Iowa that it adds printers to on a near monthly basis. But, it won't necessarily drive growth in Stryker's knee and spine implants business. "I don't know when we'll get to a lot of R&D being used and focused on 3D printed products," she said. "It will never be the entire portfolio; it's always going to be those products that you can't manufacture any other way."
A judge sided with Zimmer Biomet's decision to not pay a former employee severance, according to Law 360.

Here are five insights:

1. Former Senior Vice President of Global Operations and Logistics Robin Barney filed a lawsuit against Zimmer Biomet asking for severance pay and to qualify for vesting of company stock options.

2. U.S. District Court Judge Jon DiGuilio denied Ms. Barney's request, saying she did not qualify for severance pay because she did not disclose to Zimmer Biomet within 30 days of leaving the company that she would not relocate.

The judge is allowing Ms. Barney to refile the claims.

3. Ms. Barney also did not qualify for vesting of stock options because she had not worked for the company for 10 years.

4. In August 2016, the company ordered Ms. Barney to relocate to Switzerland by the end of 2017, which she refused to do. This was one of the various reasons Ms. Barney stated for her resignation.

5. The former Zimmer Biomet employee resigned in 2016, claiming a hostile work environment, sex discrimination, breach of contract and constructive or involuntary discharge.
Former Rockford, Ill.-based OSF Saint Anthony Medical Center CEO David Schertz testified that the hospital drafted a plan to handle the media's questions about a neurosurgeon who was hired after allowing her license to go inactive, according to rrstar.com.

OSF Saint Anthony hired Denice Crute, MD, in June 2006. The neurosurgeon is accused of operating on the wrong side of patient. Attorneys for the patient are arguing OSF was negligent in hiring Dr. Crute and are pointing to the public relations plan as evidence.

The hospital created the media plan a month after Dr. Crute was hired. OSF was prepared to answer questions about Dr. Crute's unprofessional conduct allegations. The Colorado Board of Medical Examiners leveled 17 counts of unprofessional conduct against the neurosurgeon in 2005.

In a deal with the board, Dr. Crute admitted to certain allegations and let her medical license expire in September 2005. OSF hired Dr. Crute less than a year later. She had her license re-activated in Illinois.

The media plan lists responses for hospital staff communicating with reporters as well as topics to avoid and why. Here are a few of the responses, as reported by rrstar.com:

 "The 'shortage' or scarcity' argument opens us to begin criticized (fairly or unfairly) for 'settling' for a low quality physician. This also feeds into an existing perception among some that the quality of specialty physician practicing in Rockford is less then neighboring metropolitan areas."

 "We may want to avoid the 'complex specialty' argument because wrong-site surgery is considered a basic mistake by the public."

 "We cannot use a 'no harm' argument because one of the four patients (in Colorado) died."

The former CEO said he was unaware of the number of media plans the hospital has created over the past 40 years.
Belfast City Council has revealed that it has opened an enforcement investigation in relation to the 15m George Best Hotel building.

It came after the Department for Communities' Historic Environment Division (HED) raised concerns over "unauthorised works" at the high-profile development - leading Ulster Architectural Heritage (UAH) to call for an immediate stop notice to be issued over work at the listed building.

It follows a site visit to the landmark Scottish Mutual Building by architects from the HED, who found that the works which are currently taking place "fail to be informed by a conservation-led approach".

The concerns were raised in a consultation letter from the HED which was published on the online planning portal over the redevelopment of the B1 listed building at Donegall Square.

The hotel, a joint venture between Signature Living Hotel Group and the family of George Best, originally aimed to open this month.

However, this has now been pushed back until 2019.

It said it was working "proactively" to progress the work and would be holding meetings with all concerned parties. The company said an enforcement investigation was underway after a complaint from a neighbouring business and as such an investigation had to take its course.

The statuses of the two applications currently lodged for the 63-bedroom proposal are listed as "consultations issued" and "under consideration" online.

In the letter, the HED says it has "re-considered the effects of the proposal on the listed building" after additional drawings were uploaded to the planning portal.

It described the proposal for a change of use to a hotel as "acceptable," but added that the detailed design "adversely impacts on the essential character and special interest of the listed building".

In a section entitled "unauthorised works," the letter reveals that HED architects visited the site on September 28, observing that "works progressing onsite are not in accordance with existing approvals".

The approvals relate to internal works to the historic fabric, which were agreed with the HED prior to works commencing.

It adds that HED "has concerns that the works which are currently progressing onsite, particularly in relation to M&E (monitoring and evaluation) interventions and dry lining of external walls, fail to be informed by a conservation-led approach".

The letter says that, while the current proposal provides detail regarding new interventions, it "fails to demonstrate how the proposals will conserve and retain the features of special interest in the building," which "raises significant concerns" that the project is "not being taken forward as a conservation led scheme of conversion."

The HED also requests a meeting with the agent and Belfast City Council.

UAH said it was "extremely concerned to hear of unauthorised works".

The building conservation group added: "UAH has repeatedly expressed concerns to responsible authorities about the works to this building by current and previous owners.

"UAH has for some time been concerned about the content of promotional material for this project which illustrates generic, new-build hotel interiors, and not those we understand to be original, appropriate or sympathetic to this important and prominent listed building.

"We call for an immediate Stop Notice to be issued until this urgent matter is resolved."

Belfast City Council said that its planning and building control officers had met with the HED yesterday.

They said that the Planning Authority has discretionary enforcement powers relating to unauthorised development, and can consider serving a 28-day temporary stop notice where a building or lands are specially protected and at risk of irreparable damage.

Alternatively, they revealed that a stop notice and enforcement notice would stop works on the site until all remedial steps set out in the enforcement notice have been complied with.

However, they said that "these powers are used rarely and only following careful consideration of all material factors in the case" and the authority will "always endeavour to work with a landowner/ operator to resolve matters without the requirement to proceed to formal action".

The council stated: "BCC can confirm that a live enforcement investigation is currently open in respect of this building.

"Due to the live nature of this investigation, BCC are not in a position to make any further comment."

A Department For Communities spokesperson said the HED is "engaging with Belfast City Council" over the building, and has not written to the developer about the site.

In a statement Signature Living added: "We are working proactively with the HED and Belfast City Council in relation to the progress of the redevelopment of the The George Best Hotel, including a meeting this afternoon with all parties concerned.

"Information in relation to the queries raised is now with all necessary parties to address. We are continuing to work with them to obtain the necessary consents."

The company has said objections to it obtaining an licence have caused delays in its opening.

"With regards to the live enforcement investigation, I can confirm this relates to a complaint made by a neighbouring business. Once a complaint is lodged, this has to be followed up by an investigation. This is due process, and which we referred to in a previous statement earlier this month.

"Lawrence reiterated once again, he and his Belfast team look forward to welcoming their first guests in early 2019."
The head of Bombardier's Belfast aerospace division has given his backing to Prime Minister's Theresa May's draft Brexit withdrawal deal.

Michael Ryan, the chief operating officer of the Canadian manufacturer's aerostructures and engineering services, told business news service Bloomberg that the backstop to avert a hard border on the island of Ireland was something he could accept.

Speaking at an industry event in London this week, Mr Ryan said that the proposed deal "would not be difficult at a Northern Ireland business level".

"That's not to understate the sovereignty concerns" he added. "But speaking as a businessman and someone who wants to continue to run a business here, it's the least burdensome option."

On the prospects of checks on goods coming into Northern Ireland which would not apply to any other part of the UK, the aerospace boss stressed: "Given that there are already agricultural checks, which happen invisibly and which hardly anyone knew about, moving aircraft parts around should be relatively straightforward.

"It would mean more admin and documentation, but it would be much less disruptive to our business than the alternative."

His company added: "Bombardier will welcome a withdrawal agreement and transition arrangement that provides assurances for frictionless trade as the UK exits the EU. The draft withdrawal agreement proposed by the Government forms a basis for this and is an important step forward.

"We will continue to work closely with the Government and industry associations in both our rail and aerospace businesses through this process."

Bombardier employs 4,000 people here but last week announced 490 cuts, with Northern Ireland bearing a bigger-than-anticipated share of 5,000 global job losses.
The view from River House in Belfast, fitted out by Newry-based mac Group

Four Northern Ireland firms including a maker of licence plates and branded piggy banks will feature in a Sunday Times chart of fast growing companies at the weekend.

And two of the province's entrants on the Sunday Times Virgin Atlantic Fast Track 100 are new arrivals on the league table.

Sales at all four firms have grown by an average of 58% a year over three years to a total of 190m, and together they employ 680 people.

Northern Ireland's top-ranked company is new entrant, Londonderry housebuilder Braidwater, which is at 45 in the UK list.

The firm, which was set up by father-and-son team Patrick and Joe McGinnis, has secured two rounds of investment from growth-capital firm BGF to help it build more homes across Northern Ireland.

Over the past three years, sales have grown an average of 72% a year, reaching 24.1m in the year to March. It now has 46 staff.

The other new entrant is specialist printer Eakin, which has grown its sales by 48% a year to 50.9m last year. The firm is based in Craigavon, Co Armagh, and has been in business for over 30 years. It now employs 319 people.

It's best-known for producing car number plates for dealers including Donnelly Group, Charles Hurst and Joe Duffy Group in the Republic.

The family-run company, which is led by Noel Eakin and his son Simon, also makes branded merchandise for companies on both sides of the Irish border - ranging from piggy banks to umbrellas.

It also acquired US licence plate manufacturer John R Wald last year as part of its overseas expansion plans.

The other two companies are both based in Newry - fit-out firm mac Group and the sandwich and food-to-go company, Around Noon. They employ 83 and 235 people respectively.

Sir Richard Branson, founder of Virgin Atlantic and Virgin Group, which supports Fast Track 100, said: "Entrepreneurs are the lifeblood of UK business and have always been the beating heart of positive change.

"In a climate of uncertainty, it's more important than ever to recognise those entrepreneurs, like those of this year's Fast Track 100, who are making the world a better place for everybody."
Tourist attractions like Giants Causeway could take a hit in visitor numbers if no Brexit deal is agreed, it has been claimed

Tourist attractions like Titanic Belfast could take a hit in visitor numbers if no Brexit deal is agreed, it has been claimed

A no deal Brexit will leave Northern Ireland's tourism industry more vulnerable than the equivalent in other parts of the UK, the head of Tourism Ireland has said.

Speaking during the launch of a major new tourism drive for next year, Niall Gibbons said while 2018 is set to be a record breaking year for the industry here, its future depends on a stable economic environment.

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By the end of December, it's expected that 2.23 million overseas visitors will have arrived in Northern Ireland over the year, spending 589m.

Tourism Ireland has set a target of increasing that performance by 8% in 2019, which would involve attracting 2.33 million overseas visitors next year, spending 639m.

However, Mr Gibbons said the projections are based on a Brexit deal being struck with the EU before March 29.

The Tourism Ireland chief described how the group had set up a Brexit task force in the days after the 2016 referendum. While it has not analysed the economic impact of a no deal scenario in Northern Ireland, research by Failte Ireland has suggested that the Republic's tourism industry could lose around 350m.

"If a deal happens, there is real opportunity here to grow our business by 8%. If one doesn't happen, the consequences can be very difficult. More than anything, our business depends on a stable economic environment. We learned in the last recession, if people in any way feel vulnerable, they're likely to pull back on discretionary spending and tourism was one of the first things then to get hit."

He said Northern Ireland's dependence on the British market will make it more vulnerable if the economy slips.

"Northern Ireland is more vulnerable than other regions because if the British decide to stay at home, it's places like Devon, Cornwall, the Lake District and Scotland that are more likely to benefit."

Tourism Ireland's new global campaign - 'Fill your Heart with Ireland' - will begin appearing across the USA, Britain, France and Germany from January 2019. With The Open arriving in Portrush in the summer and new Game of Throne attractions expected to start appearing next Autumn, there is plenty of optimism within the tourist industry here.

"I think we have to keep things in perspective. There are still a lot of compelling reasons as to why people are going to come here - so many more than a decade ago," said Mr Gibbons.

"We have a very strong campaign in place that will be going out to all our markets. That will certainly help to mitigate any risks that are there."
British director James Dearden is the brains behind the screenplay of acclaimed 1987 thriller Fatal Attraction. While his latest project doesn't fall into the same category, it does focus on an annual event that can be a nightmare for some - Christmas.

The 69-year-old reveals the film, Surviving Christmas With The Relatives, has a few personal experiences woven into it.

He explains: "The story was an amalgam of my experiences of Christmas over the years. I used to have to go up and down to London and have two Christmas lunches. I've also experienced Polish builders and living in a building site, with everything going wrong, so I put it all together in one crazy Christmas."

Described as a "heart-warming, riotous take on the traditional festive family get-together", it sees two sisters and their families reunited at Christmas time at their recently deceased parents' dilapidated country home.

Sisters Miranda (played by Gemma Whelan) and Lyla (played by Joely Richardson) are forced to confront old sibling rivalries that threaten to derail the festive season. The film also stars Sally Phillips and Scottish actress Ronni Ancona (who plays a character called Vicky).

Signing up to the film was a no-brainer for Whelan.

The 37-year-old, best known for her turn as Yara Greyjoy in Sky Atlantic and HBO's gritty series Game Of Thrones, also gained critical acclaim for her 2017 role as Karen Matthews in BBC drama The Moorside.

She explains: "Well, what excited me about the part was that it was... James Dearden of Fatal Attraction fame, writing a comedy and directing it. I thought, 'That sounds juicy'. And then the other people who were on board with the project, and the script, I really thought it was great fun, a slightly different take on the sort of, disastrous Christmas movie".

Whelan says the film, which was shot in locations including Hertfordshire and Greenwich, has a "sort of sizzling drama at the heart of it".

"The house (left by their parents) is barely liveable because it's really, sort of, descended into wrack and ruin. There's no oven, no plumbing, everything's cold. So they are all just trying to do their best in this chaotic environment and have a nice Christmas," she says, adding: "Basically, (it is) any family Christmas, but with the volume on all the difficulties turned up".

Currently filming alongside Doctor Foster's Suranne Jones in upcoming BBC One drama series Gentleman Jack, she will also be seen on screen next year in ITV's six-part drama, the White House Farm Murders, based on the grisly murders that gripped the nation in the mid-1980s.

"I'm very, very fortunate to play a nice light-hearted comedy role, and lovely, serious gritty dramatic roles and everything in between," she says.

During filming, Whelan had her six-month old baby with her on set and credits the people around her for their support.

"I had my six-month-old in tow. I still breastfed - so I had her with me the whole time," she says.

"It was fine," she states. "It sounds much scarier than it actually is, popping off to feed your baby now and again, as long as everyone's willing to allow that, which invariably they have been."

"I think Claire Foy did a lot for it (working mums on set), Sally Phillips, who was on this film, she took her babies to work with her, a lot of mums do," Whelan muses, "so the more we do it, the more normal it can become."

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Something she doesn't take home from set is her characters.

Explaining she is not a method actor, she says: "Now I find it very easy to come home and shake the day off.

"One of the jobs I did tend to come home (with) a little bit was when I did The Moorside. That was quite a heavy, heavy role, but nothing too difficult to shake off, have a bath, have a cup of tea."

The Leeds-born star is happy to fly under the radar as far as being recognised in public goes too.

"Some people can't place me, and I just say I've got one of those faces," she says, adding: "So it doesn't really happen, I'm very pleased to say - not that there's anything wrong with being recognised."

Having done her fair share of comedy work, including stand-up and roles in BBC sitcom Upstart Crow, her humorous streak creeps in mid-chat.

"I think it might be a different thing if you are hounded, you can't go out," she says laughing, "I mean I'm out, pushing my buggy around at the moment, and I truly, I look like a bag lady."

Expanding on this she says it's "because we leave in such a hurry in the morning".

"I can't describe what I put on in the morning, but I get to walk around my home area dressed as a bag lady and it's fine."

Asked about there being more roles of substance for woman of late, she begins: "In writers' minds as they write now that stuff is more likely to be made if they've got a strong... I mean, I hate using the word 'strong, female character' because by default women are strong."

So, are women are feeling more empowered at the moment?

"Yes, the movement is happening, isn't it? We are doing very well."
Is it possible to break the Internet? Perhaps not, but John C Reilly's latest film escapades see the character he voices get incredibly close to bringing down the world wide web.

The actor returns as video game character Ralph in the follow-up to 2012's Wreck-It Ralph, aptly titled Ralph Breaks The Internet.

This time he and his trusty sidekick and fellow game character, Vanellope von Schweetz (voiced again by Sarah Silverman), discover the 'new world' of the internet.

The heart of the film's message is about friendship, and for 53-year-old Reilly, it was an important one to convey.

"I was an advocate behind the scenes for not only the movie to have an emotional core, but an honesty about that, an honesty about friendships about how sometimes you know, it can be difficult working things out with your friend," he explains.

"And (to) show a constructive way to go through those moments for kids. And also, the other things we're honest about in the film like dealing with the internet, and the hurtful things people can say, or the things we're compelled to crave like the approval of strangers.

"Those are all really real things, so our movie is really fun and entertaining and goofy, but also, at the very heart of it, the emotions are really real and we're honest about that stuff."

The internet world created by the film's directors, Phil Johnston and Rich Moore, features references to all of today's notable tech giants - Instagram, Snapchat and even a 'trend-making site' called BuzzzTube.

In a desperate attempt to raise money to purchase a broken part for the gaming arcade machine Sugar Rush (in which Vanellope is a character), Ralph becomes a 'BuzzzTube star' with the help of a character called Yesss, who is voiced by Empire star Taraji P Henson.

Johnston says the response from the tech companies featured has been "pretty great", adding: "We've been thrilled with the response. We did not get permission from any of the corporations in the movie and we don't have to because of copyright law."

Worrying that Vanellope is too enthralled by the 'internet' after she befriends the main character Shank (voiced by Gal Gadot) in a gritty racing game called Slaughter Race, Ralph takes drastic action following his BuzzzTube fame.

Asked if there is any concern of a backlash from parents who may think the film is advocating becoming a social influencer, Moore says not.

He explains: "I have no fear that anyone's ever going to think I want to go down the line of Wreck-It Ralph - I'm going to do what he did because that worked out so well for him.

"I think it's more using something from real life and putting our character in that situation where he's able to fix his problem doing that but I would say, 'Kids, don't follow Ralph's example, please don't.'"

One stand-out encounter for Vanellope during her internet adventures involves a host of Disney's leading ladies, in the form of notable characters like Snow White, Frozen's Elsa, The Little Mermaid's Ariel and others. To avoid spoilers, let's just say the traditional princesses are turned on their heads.

Reilly describes it as "really cool" and hails Disney for embracing it on screen.

"I think the key to it is that kind of female empowerment stuff that's going on with Vanellope's character. She's trying to spread her wings a little bit and see what's out there in the world, and really try to find her true self," he says.

He continues: "And sometimes when that happens with a friend of yours, you might be spending less time with them, or they might find interests that are different than your interests and that's one of the really cool things that we look at in the film.

"And for a company like Disney that has been a part of the whole princess thing, they created a lot of these stereotypes through their films, to have them embrace this new look at princesses, and this new look at women's comfort and their agency in the world and their voice, that's all really positive stuff and I'm excited for girls to discover that in the film."

Another talking point for fans has been a cameo character of Marvel Comics co-creator Stan Lee, who died aged 95 on November 12.

The creator of Spider-Man, Iron Man, the X-Men, the Fantastic Four and Thor delighted die-hard fans by making cameo appearances in the film versions of the comics.

"He did not see it before he died," Moore says. "It's so poignant now, it's so touching... it didn't hit me until after he passed how influential he's been in our lives.

"I love the characters he created, they are a lot like Ralph, in that they're flawed, they're human, they make mistakes but they have these great powers that they have to manage and I think he changed storytelling in my lifetime, he improved it and how we tell stories and the characters that we love.

"What a stamp he left on this world."

For Reilly, asked if the value of friendship is one people need reminding of in today's political climate, he reflects on another of his recent films, biopic Stan & Ollie.

Due for release next year, the film documents comedy duo Laurel and Hardy's farewell tour of the UK and the hardships that they faced.

Reilly says: "I think it is a difficult time in the world right now. But it's not the first difficult time in the world. You know I just did a film about Laurel and Hardy. In the 1930s, the world was in tough shape, the Great Depression, the rise of fascism etc, but they kept telling stories of empathy and connection.

"I think that's our way out of the mess we're in right now. Even though the world and the media in particular are trying to divide us or tell us how we are different, stories like this one (Ralph), that show a way through conflict and a way to feel for other people, are a good thing. That's what we need right now.

"A lot of these political conversations would be tempered in a good way by a little humanism you know, remembering it's a human being you're talking to, not a political party, or a race for that matter, it's a just a person."
Sinn Fein chairperson Declarn Kearney has claimed that the "toxic alliance" between the DUP and Conservative party could be jeopardising Northern Ireland's peace process.

Mr Kearney made the comments ahead of a panel discussion at Yale University marking 20 years since the signing of the Good Friday Agreement.

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The South Antrim MLA also called on the UK and Irish governments to begin preparations for an Irish unity referendum.

Mr Kearney said that the Good Friday Agreement established a democratic option for creating a united Ireland and the time had come for it to be fully implemented.

He also criticised both the UK and Irish governments for their handling of the political situation in Northern Ireland in recent years.

Northern Ireland has been without an Executive since January 2017 when former deputy First Minister, the late Martin McGuinness resigned over the RHI scandal and equality issues.

Theresa May's government currently rely on the DUP's ten MPs to support their legislation through a confidence and supply agreement.

Mr Kearney said that Brexit had brought the issue of Irish unity into focus.

"Both the British and Irish governments have failed since 1998 in their obligations as co-guarantors of this internationally binding treaty to ensure the delivery of its vision," the Sinn Fein chair said.

"Now twenty years on from the signing of the Good Friday Agreement the contradictions of partition have been brought sharply into focus again as a result of the political crisis in the north, the continued denial of citizens rights by political unionism, and opposition to rights based political institutions.

"The catastrophe of Brexit has deepened these contradictions."

The South Antrim MLA said that the DUP-Tory deal risked Northern Ireland going backwards.

"The majority will of citizens in the north to remain in the European Union has been made subordinate to a wreckers charter being driven by right wing Tories and their allies in the DUP and political unionism," Mr Kearney said.

"Brexit represents the most extreme form of vandalism against the islands economy and citizens' rights.

"There is a real risk that 25 years of progress could be squandered due to the toxic alliance between the British Tories and DUP."

Mr Kearney said it was time that both governments prepare for a unity poll as the debate and timing "have now moved centre stage".

"It is time for historic, decisive and brave leadership to be shown by the British state," he said.

"Its mismanagement of the Irish peace process in recent years must be replaced with a recognition that the transition towards Irish unity should begin.

"In parallel, the Irish government needs to begin to prepare for the constitutional, political and economic transition towards Irish unity."

The DUP has been contacted by the Belfast Telegraph in relation to Mr Kearney's comments.
Almost 20,000 patients in Northern Ireland have been waiting more than a year for hospital treatment, figures show.

The number has risen by almost 50% from last year.

A further 94,222 have been waiting over a year for a consultant-led outpatient appointment.

The figures are contained in the latest waiting times statistics published yesterday. It provides a snapshot of the health service as of September 30.

The bulletin shows there are now 19,715 patients waiting more than a year for inpatient treatment.

Data for the quarter from July to the end of September shows that 22.9% of patients waited more than a year to be admitted for inpatient and day case treatment. An additional 6,539 patients are waiting over a year for treatment, including surgery, compared with the same period in 2017, a rise of almost 50%.

Government targets require that no patients should be waiting longer than 52 weeks for treatment.

While waiting times targets have changed over the years, using the targets in force at each quarter in recent years, the 52 weeks target has not been completely achieved in over 11 years.

Mark Taylor, director for Northern Ireland at the Royal College of Surgeons, said: "These waiting list figures are deeply distressing and depressing. They graphically underline the need for long-term investment, with certainty and clarity on budgets.

"We can't go on like this, with health here operating on single-year budgets and barely enough money to keep its head above water, let alone tackle the backlog of patients."

The figures show 122,387 patients were waiting for a diagnostic service - 51.1% (62,481) waited longer than nine weeks for a diagnostic test.

The target is that 75% of patients should wait no longer than nine weeks, with no patients waiting longer than 26 weeks.

The Health and Social Care Board said: "Patients have every right to expect and demand timely care. Unfortunately, for reasons that have been well documented, our system is not currently configured to provide that.

"The only sustainable solution to this is transformation.

"In addition, further investment is required, in addition to the 30m funding announced earlier this year, to clear the backlog of patients waiting for treatment."
A new 500m development planned for Belfast city centre has been widely mocked after its new name was copied from an existing well-known neighbourhood in New York.

Tribeca Belfast has been unveiled as the official title by Castlebrooke Investments for its 12-acre retail and office regeneration project beside St Anne's Cathedral.

The scheme, which has already been given the green light for its first phase, will see the creation of 1,500,00 sq ft of residential space, office units as well as retail and hospitality elements.

The project formerly known as Royal Exchange is Belfast's single largest regeneration scheme. It borders Royal Avenue, Donegall Street, Lower Garfield Street and Rosemary Street.

TriBeCa is a trendy neighbourhood in Lower Manhattan, which is an abbreviation of 'triangle below the canal'. It is one of the most expensive places to live in Manhattan.

Within hours of the announcement being made, #TribecaBelfast was trending on Twitter.

Outlining how they came up with the name Tribeca Belfast, Castlebrooke revealed it relates to the location being at the heart of the city site - the 'triangle beside the cathedral'.

Elaborating further they said Tribeca Belfast "reflects the geography of the site, and links our brand of 'International Heart, Belfast Soul'."

Belfast Lord Mayor Deirdre Hargey was one of a number of high-profile people to criticise the New York link.

"I'm sorry but this is Belfast not New York. We are proud of our city, its people, its places names and its heritage, that's what gives Belfast it's soul!" she tweeted.

Belfast Telegraph restaurant critic Joris Minne agreed with her, adding: "We have far more heritage to determine our own place names!"

Patrick Corrigan, head of Amnesty International NI, branded it "meaningless" and an attempt to transplant a "faux identity" from the Big Apple.

"Belfast is not New York. And doesn't need to pretend it is. Belfast is unique, idiosyncratic, frustrating, amazing," he said.

Another tweeter playfully made an alternative suggestion: "Tribeca? 'TrayBakeA' would be my localised suggestion."

Others were equally dismissive, claiming that it was too derivative of its NY namesake.

"Clone a concept; clone a look; clone a name," said one person, while another Twitter user decried that it "lacks imagination".

This latest development has also attracted fresh ire from the Save CQ (Cathedral Quarter) campaign, who believe the scheme ignores Belfast's built heritage.

Save CQ's Rebekah McCabe said that Tribeca Belfast was "nothing more than a superficial branding exercise" and an attempt to "re-dress" a scheme that "lacks coherence and empathy" with its existing surroundings.

Ms McCabe also stressed that Save CQ's objections to the scheme "still stand", including plans to demolish a "series of non-listed heritage buildings" as well as its concerns over the "displacement of a thriving community of local artists and traders".

Retailer John Lewis had previously been tipped to be the project's flagship store.

But Estelle Hunt, director of Castlebrooke Investments said the scheme has now moved away from being "retail-led" due to "changes in the market".

"We have refocused... and increased the office and residential offering, placing the emphasis on Belfast as one of the most desirable places in the world to live and work," she said. "In due course we will be engaging with the people of Belfast to discuss our detailed proposals for the site."

The director also defended the name choice, saying a project of this scale in Belfast in an important location will "always attract a lot of debate".

"We believe (Tribeca Belfast) reflects the aspirations of the city and feel this will place Belfast in the strongest position for a sustainable and successful future," she said.
The Ulster Farmers' Union leadership team has said it would consider another option to the Prime Minister's Withdrawal Agreement from the EU - if there was one on the table.

UFU president Ivor Ferguson and chief executive Wesley Aston met the Prime Minister in London last week, while deputy presidents, Victor Chestnutt and David Brown, met with her when she visited Belfast on Tuesday.

The UFU said discussions at both meetings covered a number of agriculture issues, including the UK's future trading relationship with the EU, maintaining standards, and how agriculture in Northern Ireland would be impacted by a no-deal Brexit.

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Mr Ferguson said: "We appreciate the opportunity to have met with the Prime Minister on two occasions in a relatively short space of time. The UFU gave her draft Withdrawal Agreement a cautious welcome.

"While not perfect, the agreement would ensure free and frictionless trade with the EU as well as ensuring goods from Northern Ireland would have unfettered access to GB. It also ensures minimal disruption to the long-standing relations between NI and the Republic of Ireland."

Mr Ferguson said the UFU has always said a no deal Brexit would be "a disaster for farming" here.

"We are focused on what is best for the future of our family-run farm businesses. Right now, the two options are this deal or no deal. If there was another option on the table, we would consider it," added Mr Ferguson.

A no-deal scenario would introduce steep EU tariffs on agricultural goods from the UK, effectively pricing the agri-food industry out of the market, the UFU said. Additionally, in the effort to deliver on the UK Government's commitment to keep food prices stable for consumers, the Government could opt to offer lower import tariffs. Under WTO rules, they would have to be available to trading partners across the globe.

"In that case, we end up with a market flooded with cheaper, lower standard food imports. Farm gate prices would be undercut and local farmers would become uncompetitive," said the UFU president.
A senior judge sitting on a murder trial watched the last recorded movements of Geordie Gilmore less half an hour before he was shot last year.

On the second day of the trial, a prosecution lawyer outlined at Belfast Crown Court details of the movements of three men accused of his murder and also that of Geordie Gilmore and his friends.

Three men have been charged with murdering Mr Gilmore and attempting to murder his two passengers.

On trial are David 'Dee Dee' McMaw, 30, from Starbog Road in Larne, Co Antrim; his brother Darren McMaw, 33, from Kilgreel Road in Carrickfergus; and 36-year-old Brian McClean, from Valetta Park in Newtownards, Co Down.

All three deny the charges against them at their non-jury trial.

Mr Justice McAlinden heard earlier this week it was the prosecution's case that David McMaw and Brian McLean were present at the murder scene, the gunman was David McMaw, Brian McLean acted as a lookout and Darren McMaw used his work van in a "scouting exercise" to follow Mr Gilmore before the attack.

Darren McMaw's work van was fitted with a tracking device and on Friday a prosecution lawyer outlined the vehicle's movements from 7.47 am when it left his then home at Starbog Road, Kilwaughter, Larne, Co Antrim, on March 12, 2017 up until 2.20 pm that day - less than ten minutes after Mr Gilmore was shot and seriously injured during a gun attack.

The 44-year-old died the following day in hospital from a "catastrophic brain injury as a result of a bullet wound''.

Mr Gilmore left Belfast's Laganside Courts complex at about 12:30 pm on the day of the shooting - he had been there to support a man who was charged with attempted murder - and drove back to Carrickfergus, followed by his son in another car.

The court heard that, about 50 minutes later, the tracker on Darren McMaw's work van indicated that the vehicle was parked in an area in which he had a clear view of Mr Gilmore's home.

The tracking device showed the van then driving around Carrickfergus and at 13.34 pm the vehicle pulled up in the town at the then Cherry Walk home of David McMaw, said the lawyer.

Mr Justice McAlinden watched as a police CCTV camera captured two vehicles in convoy driving past PSNI Seapark base at 13.41 pm - the lead vehicle was Mr Gilmore's white Vauxhall Insignia saloon car while his son was travelling behind with friends in a red BMW car.

Five minutes later, CCTV footage showed what the lawyer described as the 'Gilmore party' walking to Delacey's Cafe in North Street, Carrickfergus, where they remained for around 20 minutes.

The court heard that while in the cafe, a series of mobile phone calls were made between David McMaw and a number of other men "relaying information" about Mr Gilmore, including a 50-second call that was received by Darren McMaw which prompted him to go to the centre of the town.

At 2.01 pm, CCTV footage played to the court showed the 'Gilmore party' leaving Delacey's cafe on foot.

The prosecution lawyer said that at this time, Darren McMaw's van "does a U-turn'' on a road and then made its way back into Carricfergus.

CCTV footage showed the white Insignia and the red BMW travelling along the Marine Highway in Carrick at 2.04 pm followed a few minutes later by Darren McMaw's red and white coloured van. This footage of his van on the Marine Highway was captured on a school bus.

Further footage showed the 'Gilmore party' dropping off a person at a petrol station in the town at 14.09 pm.

The white Insignia and the red BMW continued their journey and then drove into Pinewood Avenue where the shooting took place.

A 999 call was made at 14.12 pm just seconds after the shooting and the court heard there were a number of mobile calls made by David McMaw to another person in the minutes after the gun attack.

The prosecution added that the tracking device on Darren McMaw's work van showed it finally came to a halt at 2.20 pm at David McMaw's then home in Cherry walk.

Mr Justice McAlinden heard on Thursday that in the aftermath of the murder, David McMaw and Brian McClean "disappeared" until March 16, last year.

Darren McMaw, who the prosecution said "involved himself in the prelude and the aftermath of the murder", said he was aware of a feud but denied involvement in it.

He alleged that he had been targeted by the Gilmores but denied he was involved in murder.

The trial continues.
DUP MP Gregory Campbell has claimed a drop in the number of call outs for the Army's bomb squad in Northern Ireland demonstrates how claims Brexit would damage the peace process were "totally inaccurate and inflammatory".

The East Londonderry representative asked the Ministry of Defence for the number of call outs the Army attended between 2012 and 2018.

From July 2012 to June 2014 there were 273 call outs. From July 2014 to June 2016 there were 144 and from July 2016 to June 2018 there were 94 - with over half found to be a hoax. In the last two years the call outs in NI was lower than in GB for the first time since 2012.

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Gregory Campbell said the fact the Army were out on Northern Ireland streets on fewer occasions since the June 2016 European referendum vote showed how wrong it was for former Prime Ministers to say a leave vote would put the peace process "at risk".

"This was a deliberate scare story designed to frighten people into voting Remain," he said.

There were quite a number of predictions made about what would happen after the vote for the United Kingdom to leave the European Union. Amongst those was that claim that it could lead to a rise in violence in Northern Ireland.

"Like so many other predictions the opposite has been the case.

"Whilst it is obviously difficult to get overall figures for all aspects of violence, there has been a reduction in both the total number of incidents and in hoax calls.

"So the Army were on the streets dealing with terror incidents less in the two years since the vote to Leave than in the two years before the referendum in 2016."

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At an EU summit last month Taoiseach Leo Varadkar produced a newspaper article to his EU counterparts about an IRA attack on a customs check he said to demonstrate how high the stakes were in the Brexit talks.

Mr Campbell added: "The focus needs to be on ensuring the security forces are successful in tackling the paramilitary threat from wherever it comes instead of scaremongering.

"Thankfully the facts dont bear out any of the doom-laden predictions that have been made, but there must be no complacency as well as a united message sent out that attacks, whether many or few, can never be justified under any circumstances.

"We must ensure a sensible and managed exit from the European Union and continue with the task of building a better Northern Ireland.
Police have seized 2million worth of cannabis in Belfast as part of an investigation into a Chinese organised crime group selling drugs in Northern Ireland.

Detectives from the PSNI's Organised Crime Group, assisted by the Home Office, carried out searches at seven locations across Belfast on Thursday.

Around 100kg of cannabis, with a street value of 2m, was seized by officers. It's thought the gang is linked to the Chinese Triads.

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They include four men, aged 28, 39, 46 and 59 and a 34-year-old woman, who were taken to Musgrave Serious Crime suite for questioning and were remanded in custody.

Detective Superintendent Bobby Singleton, from the Paramilitary Crime Task Force, said they were Chinese nationals.

He said detectives are looking in to the possibility the drugs were being sold to paramilitary groups operating in Northern Ireland

"This is a significant haul which demonstrates our continuing commitment to removing dangerous drugs from our communities," he said.

"There will be people who do not view cannabis as a dangerous drug, in fact, there will be some who would argue that it should be legalised.

"That is a debate for other people, and as it stands right now, it is an illegal drug."

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He continued: "We have a great concern around cannabis. We see at as being the backbone of the drugs economy here in Northern Ireland. Its impact is far from harmless.

"We then also see associated violence, threats and intimidation linked to the activities of the groups who peddle it here and their attempts to maintain control of the markets."

Mr Singleton described the seizures as "significant" and praised detectives for their work.

He said: "This is an investigation into the activities of a trans-national organised crime group, who have a footprint here in Northern Ireland and whose reach extends well beyond that."

The senior officer added that lives have been potentially saved as a result of the find.

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Detectives, he added, did not believe the cannabis was grown in Northern Ireland but had been imported from elsewhere.

He said the gang behind the drugs may be linked to Chinese trans-national organised crime syndicates based in China called the Triads.

The latest PSNI figures show there were 6,771 drug seizures in Northern Ireland in the 12 months to October.

Between January 2017 and 2018, cannabis was the most confiscated drug with 5,056 cases.

Cocaine was the next most seized drug with just 949 cases.
A man charged with attempting to murder his dying father in a care home allegedly told staff he could no longer watch him suffer, the High Court has heard.

James Weir tried to suffocate the 90-year-old man last week after drinking beer and whisky at the residential facilities in Co Down, prosecutors claimed.

On Friday Weir, 66, of Manor Street in Belfast, was granted bail on condition that other family members must supervise any future contact with his father.

Police were called to Blair House Care Home in Newtownards on November 24 amid claims a nurse saw him holding a cushion over the alleged victim's face.

She believed it had been an attempt to suffocate the elderly man and removed the cushion, the court heard.

A crime scene was established and Mr Weir Snr moved to another bedroom before being taken to hospital.

According to Crown lawyer David McClean, the nurse claimed the accused told her he was sorry she had to witness an incident he thought had been the right thing to do for his father.

"He said he couldn't watch his father suffering any longer," the barrister added.

It was also alleged that he told his sister: "I tried to smother daddy... the nurse pulled the pillow off me."

Weir was arrested and claimed he couldn't remember the incident due to alcohol.

He informed police he had been on holiday in Turkey, drinking every day, and was made aware that his father was dying.

Mr McClean said Weir allegedly spent the night before the suspected murder bid drinking a carry-out of Guinness and whisky he brought into the nursing home.

Concerns were expressed that the defendant may act again while his father is receiving palliative care.

Defence counsel Conan Rea confirmed the alleged victim has dementia and was not believed to be conscious during the incident.

Weir's brother and sister had both left the room at the time he is accused of attempting to smother their father, the barrister said.

Mr Rea also stressed the defendant's family are all supporting him and want him out of custody.

Granting bail, Mr Justice McAlinden said: "This is obviously a tragic case."

He added: "My role here is to try and protect a very vulnerable individual who is at the end of his life, and at the same time allow his family the space to be able to deal with their situation."

Based on the exceptional circumstances identified, the judge decided Weir can also have contact with his father provided at least two other relatives supervise at all times.

He ordered: "Under no circumstances must Mr Weir bring any drink into the establishment where this elderly gentleman is presently being care for."
Former DUP leader Peter Robinson has denied his recent remarks about the party were an attack on Arlene Foster.

The former first minister, during a recent address at the Methodist Centre in Belfast, warned "you need to be careful not to allow the most vociferous voices in your party lead you".

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Addressing the comments on the BBC's The View on Thursday evening, he said: "It seems that no matter what I say, or where I say it, there is a group within the media and the press who want to say 'who is he criticising this time?'.

"Which, of course, has never been my approach.

"It's not an attack on the leadership. It is an obsession with some people in the press who want to get at Arlene. If I followed that I would be silent simply for the sake of being silent."

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Mr Robinson said his criticism is aimed at those who "talk the loudest" and that he was speaking about people in "every party."

Mr Robinson also addressed recent comments by DUP MP Sammy Wilson, who described Northern Ireland business leaders who support Theresa May's Brexit deal as "government puppets".

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He said his reaction to the comments was: "There goes Sammy" but described the East Antrim MP as "probably one of the best commodities any political party can have".

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Mr Robinson was speaking in New Haven in Connecticut in the United States before attending a conference to mark the 20th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement.

He added that Northern Ireland business and farming groups who support the Brexit deal are not "puppets" but were reflecting the opinion of their members, but said the disagreement had not damaged the DUP brand.

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Mr Robinson described the DUP's confidence and supply agreement with the Conservatives as going through a "very bumpy batch" and admitted the deal "does have a shelf life".

Mr Robinson also urged both the DUP and Sinn Fein to "get back to Stormont".
An investigation has found that a Ulster University campus was not responsible for high levels of cancer among staff.

The BBC has reported that a Northern Ireland Cancer Registry (NICR) investigation found insufficient evidence that the Jordanstown campus was responsible for causing higher than average levels of cancer among the staff.

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The area affected was the lower part of block seven in the main Jordanstown Campus building, which housed around 35 staff working in the university's IT department.

No students had access to the area and the university has said that no staff will be permanently based in the area going forward.

A university spokesperson has said that the campus is safe for both staff and students.

The investigation took place after a former staff member had concerns about the high level of cancer diagnoses among staff working in that area in recent years.

They then approached the NICR whole carried out an investigation at the campus. Ulster University also carried out its own investigation in the area.

The NICR report found that cancer rates were higher than the Northern Ireland average but found insufficient evidence that the cancer was a result of an environmental factor at the campus.

"The small number of cases and the lack of an obvious relationship between the types of cancer diagnosed suggests that any differences are more likely a result of random chance, lifestyle or genetic factors," the report said.

Ulster University's Director of People and Culture Damian McAlister told the BBC that staff who had worked in the area had been contacted to make them aware of the matter.

"We particularly think of those staff who are ill at this time and their families," he said.

"All of those tests have returned safe results that indicate to us there are no environmental factors at this stage that we know of that would cause the cancer that has been reported in our staff."
A man allegedly punched his grandmother and threatened to set her on fire, the High Court heard.

Wayne Singleton is accused of attacking the 70-year-old woman last week after she picked up a lit cigarette he dropped in her north Belfast home.

Prosecutors described her as a vulnerable lady who suffers from arthritis and agoraphobia.

Singleton, 26, of Dewey Street in the city, was granted bail on a charge of carrying out the common assault on November 24.

Police were told he arrived at his grandmother's home drunk, lit a cigarette and then dropped it on the kitchen table.

When she picked it up he became verbally abusive towards her, it was claimed.

Crown lawyer David McClean told the court: "She said he punched her with a closed fist to the back of the head, causing soreness.

"He then allegedly began to flick a cigarette lighter at his grandmother, stating that he would set her on fire."

At that point the pensioner grabbed her coat and left the house amid fear of a further assault, according to the prosecution.

The court heard police found him hiding in the living room.

In comments captured on body-worn recording equipment he allegedly told officers: "I hit her a slap on the f****** head."

Mr McClean further claimed: "He stated that he didn't care what age she was and he would smack her again if they didn't take him away."

During interviews Singleton denied punching his grandmother, trying to set her on fire or making any such comments.

Describing himself as an alcoholic who had drunk two bottles of gin and a few beers that day, he instead claimed to have pushed her as she shouted at him.

Opposing bail, Mr McClean said the alleged victim has a number of physical complaints, adding: "She doesn't leave her house very often."

David Heraghty, defending, countered that Singleton and his grandmother normally have a "good and supportive" relationship.

"There's no doubt he was extremely intoxicated; what he says is as a result of his grandmother remonstrating with him he pushed her," counsel said.

"He disputes the assertion that he punched her to the head."

Based on assurances from Singleton's mother that she will provide support for him, Mr Justice McAlinden decided she should be given that opportunity.

"Something has to be done here to try and allow this individual to demonstrate that he is finally prepared to face his demons and overcome his alcohol and drug problems," the judge said.

Imposing strict bail conditions, including seeking medical and rehabilitation treatment, the judge banned Singleton from going near the alleged victim's home.

He said: "The grandmother has suffered enough at this man's hands."
Families of the 10 people shot dead over the internment weekend in August 1971 attending their inquests at Belfast Coroners Court yesterday

A West Belfast man who witnessed a person being shot dead from his pregnant mother's bedroom in 1971 said he has a moral duty to tell the Ballymurphy inquest what he saw as a nine year-old boy.

Martin McLaughlin, who flew from England to give evidence yesterday, responded to an appeal for witnesses made in the summer of 2016.

"I remember clearly what had happened. I felt duty bound from a moral point of view," he told the inquest.

Mr McLaughlin, who lived at number 51 Whiterock Road close to where a barricade had been erected the day before Edward Doherty (31) died, described how a large tree had been cut down from the nearby cemetery to keep the Army out.

Now aged in his late 50s, the coroner heard that Mr Doherty's childhood memories are "steeped" in the "terrible sights" he witnessed on a sunny August day almost five decades ago.

"I saw Mr Whelan standing by the gate, he was a friend of my father," he said.

"He stood looking down the Whiterock Road towards the barricade. Another man seemed to be in conversation as he approached him - he stood facing the other way."

Mr McLaughlin, who also described seeing a group of youths throwing stones and petrol bombs around 30 metres from the barricade erected to keep soldiers out, said his mother later told him the other man was Edward Doherty.

The witness recalled seeing him "jerk" before he "fell to the ground" as he glanced over his left shoulder. He said "a loud piercing crack" rang out almost simultaneously.

"I wanted him to get up. I didn't want to see it but I couldn't unsee it," he added.

The witness told the inquest it was followed by up to four similar sounds he recognised as gunfire, which had been heard "regularly" in the preceding days.

Mr McLaughlin said it was distinguishable from the "dull thud" of rubber bullets which had also been discharged.

"From underneath him a large pool of blood appeared... and my mother said, 'Oh my God'," he recalled.

He then described seeing four men "scoop him up" before carrying him away as chaos unfolded in the street below.

"People were diving into hedges and jumping over the cemetery wall," he said.

Mr McLaughlin said he and his sister sat silently in a back bedroom before they prayed for the victim while his mother washed up the puddle of blood outside with brushes and mops.

"It was very difficult. I watched her start to cry as she cleaned," he said

"She cried for many days after that."

Mr McLaughlin, whose 84-year-old mother now suffers from dementia and whose older sister has since passed away, said the incident has caused him to feel an increasing sense of guilt as he gets older.

"I can say without a doubt that Mr Doherty was not involved in any violence or trouble," he said in his initial statement. "I will go to my grave with the belief that Eddie Doherty was an innocent man who was shot for no reason."

However, Ministry of Defence barrister Kevin Rooney QC sought to cast doubt on the memories of a child, which he said may have become "vague" and "confused" after 47 years.

Mr Rooney also referred to other witness statements which directly contradicted Mr McLaughlin's version of what happened that day - including evidence given in August 2009 by the now deceased Billy Whelan.

In it, Mr Whelan stated that he met Edward Doherty and two other people shortly before his death.

"Four of us stood on the pavement 30 yards from the barricade watching what was going on," he previously claimed.

The inquest was told that Mr Whelan recalled "a few hundred people" accounting for "80% of residents" who had gathered in the "very hostile" street where the men chatted for around an hour.

Mr Rooney also referred to another witness who placed Mr Doherty much closer to the barricade and claimed to have been the only person to pick the body off the ground following the shooting.

He then told the Mr McLaughlin "you can't reconcile his version with what you are saying".

But Mr McLaughlin stood firmly by his own account.

"It's not something you forget easily - there some things that you will never forget," he said.

Mr Rooney then questioned how Mr McLaughlin could know that the man outside is house was Mr Doherty without "personal knowledge".

But the witness, who accepted he relied on information from his mother, recalled people "leaving flowers and lighting candles" outside his house and said the reason was "obvious".

"That's the spot where he was killed," he said.
A Belfast business woman who offered Theresa May some words of comfort as the Prime Minister navigates the UK's departure from the EU has been trolled mercilessly online.

Niamh Taylor (42) is managing director of Belfast and Omagh-based digital marketing agency Digital 24.

When she met the Prime Minister during an event at Queen's University on Tuesday, she told her that she recognised her strength in doing a tough job.

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"I said, from the heart that, woman to woman, she has shown great strength and resilience throughout this time and that I had so much respect for that," she said.

"I told her, 'Well done'. She looked at me with a glint in her eye and she said, 'Thank you, that is a very sweet thing to say'. I posted my experience up on LinkedIn and the responses went crazy. The trolls are brutal. I have been called a Tory cow.

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"I have not once talked about my political beliefs. I'm not into politics at all. I was called a minion and many other things. It was bad. My comment wasn't about politics, it was about a woman doing her job.

"I just wanted her to leave with something memorable.

"I am such a big advocate of women. I have mentored hundreds of female entrepreneurs over the years and I see the struggles they face every day.

"They are getting up, they are facing come what may and they are getting on with it. I know what it's like, obviously not to run the country, but to be a woman in business. I just wanted to say well done on continuing to do what she is doing and to have the strength to carry on."

Niamh, who is a mentor for Women in Business, said she has no regrets over her words and would say it again if she met Mrs May in the future. Niamh's LinkeIn post has so far been viewed almost 250,000 times.
Firefighters Barrie Davies and Patsy Begley who feature in the new single

Firefighters from Northern Ireland are aiming for a Christmas number one after teaming up with colleagues from across the UK to release a charity single.

The group, known as The Fire Tones, release their version of Band Aid's Do They Know It's Christmas today to raise money for the Firefighters Charity and the Band Aid Charity Trust.

Among those taking part from the Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service (NIFRS) are Patsy Begley, who is assistant group commander in the Cookstown district, and Barrie Davies who is station commander at Lisburn headquarters.

Patsy is no stranger to music - he is the nephew of country music queen Philomena Begley and the cousin of The Voice winner Andrea Begley.

He was approached by Welshpool firefighter and organiser Chris Birdsell-Jones, who came up with the idea last December.

Patsy said: "The organisers got in touch with me about the project back in April and I was really keen to get involved for such a great cause.

"But I thought it would be a low-key affair, I certainly didn't realise the scale of the production and the talent that would be involved.

"The recording session was just incredible. We wanted to honour the spirit of the original recording and get it all done in one day, just as they did with the original Band Aid single.

"So we all drove or flew into Birmingham for a 12-hour recording session, where we worked with producer Steve Osborne and expert vocal arranger Louise Warren."

Barrie, who worked in Wales before recently transferring to NIFRS, said he was one of the first to be recruited to the band.

"I've been singing professionally for 18 years, so the organisers knew this was something I'd be interested in.

"I've also used the services of the Firefighters Charity in Devon when I was injured a few years ago," he said.

"The charity provides physical rehabilitation for firefighters recovering from injury or illness, as well as mental health support for those who've experienced psychological trauma.

"So I was glad to be able to give something back."

Both firefighters are amazed at the popularity of the project.

Barrie said that no matter how high the single charts, it will have all been worth it.

He said: "It was fantastic to have worked with such a talented group of people and I'm proud to have been involved.

"Please help us support others this Christmas and buy the single."

The single is released on iTunes, Spotify and Amazon music and can also be purchased from Tesco.
The head of the Northern Ireland Civil Service has warned that urgent reforms in health, education and social housing are behind held up in the absence of the Stormont Executive.

The power-sharing Executive collapsed nearly two years ago following the resignation of then deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness in January 2017.

The Belfast Telegraph recently revealed the 164 key decisions have been left in limbo since the collapse of Stormont.

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David Sterling, Northern Ireland's most senior civil servant, in a speech this week said there is a real risk that the Housing Executive will have to start "mothballing" some properties and that the social housing situation will continue to deteriorate without ministers in place.

He said a large backlog of planning housing maintenance has built up over the past 10 years and warned it cannot be addressed "solely or even mainly by additional public expenditure" but need "fundamental restructuring".

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Mr Sterling said plans had been drawn up to address the issues in social housing but that they could not move forward with the proposals without the sign off of a minister.

Mr Sterling made a similar point about education, where officials have drawn up plans to tackle the funding crisis in Northern Ireland schools.

"And that in turn needs an education minister, an executive and an assembly providing strong direction and leadership," he added.

"Without this, the necessary transformation will not happen and it will be our children who will be the losers."

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Mr Sterling also said a health transformation plan approved by the Stormont parties in 2016 was being implemented by civil servants but that there was limits to what could be achieved without ministers in place.

He said: "With no assembly or executive in place to support this agreement, there remains a significant gap between what is needed and the resources available."
Police have captured an unlawfully at large prisoner who breached his conditions during home leave.

Stephen Allison (31) was imprisoned for a number of charges including assault, attempted robbery and driving offences.

He went missing around 4pm on Tuesday November 27 in Belfast city centre.

Police recaptured Allison on Bangor on Friday evening

A PSNI spokesperson thanked the public for their assistance in locating Allison.
Police are hunting an unlawfully at large prisoner who breached his conditions during home leave.

Stephen Allison (31) was imprisoned for a number of charges including assault, attempted robbery and driving offences.

He is described as being around 510 in height, of medium build with short black hair and blue eyes.

Allison was last seen at around 4pm on Tuesday November 27 the area of Wellington Place in Belfast City Centre walking in the direction of the City Hall.

He was wearing blue trainers, light grey jogging bottoms and a dark grey top and was carrying a Poundworld bag.

I would ask Mr Allison to hand himself in to authorities without any further delay and also would ask anyone who knows of his current whereabouts or who has any information to contact police on 999 quoting reference number 1359 27/11/18, a PSNI spokesperson said.
Thousands of households in Northern Ireland face misery and hardship if measures introduced to help people cope with welfare reforms are allowed to "fall off a cliff" in 2020, according to the authors of a report published today.

The report, called Welfare Reform: Mitigations on a Cliff Edge looks at how specific measures to help Northern Ireland people cope have been implemented since 2015.

It calls on Government decision-makers to take action now to ensure that people who need it continue to receive the help they need.

The report has been compiled by Advice NI, the Law Centre NI, and Housing Rights.

Kevin Higgins, head of policy at Advice NI, and one of the report's three authors, said: "We are hoping this report will initiate conversations across the sector and with political and government representatives about the approaching mitigations 'cliff edge'.

"It is critical that urgent attention is brought to bear on these issues.

"There are huge implications if these mitigation measures simply stop in March 2020."

The problems they were designed to help people cope with are still there, according to Mr Higgins.

"In our view the rationale for having the mitigation still exists today," he said.

"And in some senses, the need for them is more acute with the rollout of Universal Credit.

"We're dreading next year, when everyone will be shifted from legacy benefits onto Universal Credit.

"You'll have a double whammy of Universal Credit hitting 300,000 households in Northern Ireland just as the rug is pulled out from under people by the ending of the mitigation measures that currently exist."

Co-author Kate McCauley at Housing Rights said that there was actually an underspend in the previous mitigation arrangements.

"We are calling for this money to be redirected to address the future impact of Universal Credit and measures such as the two-child tax credit policy," she added.

"Additionally, government support is required for people on low incomes who are renting privately and who have been impacted by welfare reform."

A third author - Ciara Fitzpatrick at the Law Centre NI - said that the implementation of Universal Credit in Northern Ireland would be a significant challenge to many local households.

"As advice organisations our work shows us the continuing need for protection from the harshest elements of welfare reform," she said.

The report is being launched this morning at the Skainos Centre in east Belfast with a panel of politicians representing the Northern Ireland political parties.
A 19-year-old man has been charged with the murder of Eddie Meenan, police have confirmed.

The teenager is set to appear before Omagh Magistrates Court on Saturday morning.

Sean Ciaran Joseph Rodgers, 31, from Little Diamond in the Bogside area of Londonderry and Derek Cresswell, 26, of no fixed abode appeared at Londonderry Magistrates Court on Friday morning charged with Mr Meenan's murder.

The body of Eddie Meenan, 52, was discovered off Creggan Street in the early hours of Sunday.

Detectives said Mr Meenan had sustained "significant" head and body injuries.

Police investigating the case have appealed for three people who may have witnessed the incident to come forward.

Detective Chief Inspector John Caldwell said: I would like to speak to three people  two men and one woman  who I know were standing on the steps of a shop on Creggan Street at around 2.20am on Sunday November 25.

"They were then given a lift from someone driving a dark coloured, medium sized car at around 2.30am.

I would appeal to them to make contact with me as they may be able to provide some vital information.

Please contact me or any of my detectives on 101 quoting reference 244 of 25/11/18."

A 17-year-old boy remains in police custody.
There were emotional scenes in a Londonderry court when two men appeared jointly charged with murdering 52-year-old Eddie Meenan.

Mr Meenan's body was found in Creggan Street in early hours of Sunday morning.

Extra police officers were on duty both inside and outside the courtroom and dozens of relatives and friends of the victim packed into the public gallery for the brief remand hearing.

The defendants are Sean Ciaran Joseph Rodgers, 31, from Little Diamond in the Bogside area of the city and Derek Cresswell, 26, of no fixed abode.

They're jointly charged with the murder of Edward Jude John Meenan at Creggan Street on November 25.

In reply to the charge the defendant Rodgers denied the offence and the defendant Cresswell made no reply.

Before the defendants, both of whom were dressed in police custody issue grey tracksuits, were brought from the cells into the dock for the remand hearing, District Judge Barney McElholm said if there were any outbursts, he would have no hesitation in ordering the packed public galleries to be cleared.

"Before we start, obviously this is a very very serious matter. I do not know who is represented in the public galleries but it is my practice not to tolerate any bad behaviour, shouting out or any interruption to the proceedings", Mr McElholm said.

"These proceedings have to be conducted with dignity and decorum. A man has lost his life and another man, I have been told, has been seriously injured.

"Two people are facing the most serious charge any human being can face and I will have no hesitation to have this courtroom cleared if there are any disruptions", he added.

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Two women wept in the public gallery when the defendants were brought from the cells below the courtroom into the dock.

The murder charge was read out to both defendants by a court clerk and both spoke only to confirm their name, age, address and that they understood the charge.

A detective inspector from the PSNI's Crimes Operations Unit told the District Judge that she could connect both defendants to the murder charge.

Solicitor Seamus Quigley for the defendant Rodgers and solicitor Michael McGee for the defendant Cresswell both told the District Judge that they were not making bail applications.

No details of the circumstances which led to and which caused Mr Meenan's death were given during the brief remand hearing.

When Mr McElholm remanded both defendants in custody to appear for a video link hearing in the same court on December 20, there was uproar in the courtroom.

Some people in the public gallery shouted abuse at the two defendants and several people surged towards the dock which was surrounded by police officers.

Meanwhile, detectives investigating the case appealed for three people who may have witnessed the incident to come forward.

Detective Chief Inspector John Caldwell said: I would like to speak to three people  two men and one woman  who I know were standing on the steps of a shop on Creggan Street at around 2.20am on Sunday November 25.

"They were then given a lift from someone driving a dark coloured, medium sized car at around 2.30am.

I would appeal to them to make contact with me as they may be able to provide some vital information.

Please contact me or any of my detectives on 101 quoting reference 244 of 25/11/18."

detectives have been granted an additional 36 hours to question a 17-year-old man arrested on suspicion of murder while a 19-year-old remains in police custody.
The scene at Clementine Drive in south Belfast where a house was attacked on November 30th 2018 (Photo by Kevin Scott for Belfast Telegraph)

The scene at Clementine Drive in south Belfast where a house was attacked on November 30th 2018 (Photo by Kevin Scott for Belfast Telegraph )

Police are investigating a paint bomb attack in south Belfast.

The incident happened in Clementine Drive sometime between 11am and 11.50pm on Thursday.

Two windows were smashed and a paint bomb was thrown inside the property.

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A further paint bomb was thrown at the back of the house.

Constable Brian Carroll said: "Enquiries are continuing and we would appeal to anyone who saw anything suspicious in the area to contact police on 101 quoting reference number 1354 of 29/11/18."

Information can also be provided anonymously to Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
Police have appealed for witnesses to come forward.

A 44-year-old woman has been charged with criminal damage after a war memorial in Newry was vandalised.

At around 11.30pm on Thursday police witnessed a number of wreaths and wooden crosses that had been placed at the war memorial in the Sugar Island area of the city had been thrown into a river.

A woman has been charged and will appear at Newry Magistrates' Court on December 19.

Sinn Fein MLA Conor Murphy condemned the attack.

"Monuments and memorials are important places in communities and should be respected," he said.

"There is no place for attacks like this in our society."

Police are treating the incident as a hate crime.

Sergeant Lawson added: Hate crime, in all its forms, is totally unacceptable. It is the responsibility of each and every one of us to ensure that we live in a society where diversity is respected."

I want to appeal to anyone who was in the area last night, around 11.20pm and saw what happened, or anyone who has information they believe may assist our investigation to call us on the non emergency number 101, quoting reference number 1328 of 29/11/18.

"Alternatively, information can also be provided to the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 which is 100% anonymous and gives people the power to speak up and stop crime.
The scene of the fatal crash in Castleblayney

A man from Northern Ireland charged with dangerous driving causing the death of a man in Castleblayney told gardai "I am sorry for my actions", a court in the Republic has heard.

James Tomany (34) appeared before a special sitting of Carrickmacross district court last night.

He is also charged with endangerment of a Garda in Castleblayney, Co Monaghan on Tuesday night.

Tomany, of Clay Road, Keady, Co Armagh was remanded in custody to Cloverhill district court next Wednesday, December 5.

He faces two charges related to the incident on Main Street, Castleblayney on Tuesday night.

Evidence of arresting, charging and cautioning the accused was given by Garda Sgt Tom Miller.

The first charge is dangerous driving causing the death of Stephen Marron.

The court heard that, in reply to that charge, he said: "I am sorry for my actions."

The second alleges reckless endangerment of a Garda.

Tomany is accused of driving on Yorke Street onto Main Street while a member of An Garda Siochana was holding onto the car in an attempt to prevent himself from falling from the fast-moving vehicle and that this created a substantial risk of death or serious harm.

Tomany also faces two other charges alleging assault causing harm to another person on March 31, 2018.

In reply to one of them, he said: "The full light will be shone on this at some stage. That was the reason for going into the Garda station in the first place."

Judge Gerry Jones was told there was consent to him being remanded in custody.

His solicitor Siobhan Murphy asked for Tomany to receive medical attention and she applied for legal aid. She said he is currently in receipt of unemployment benefit.

Garda Inspector Kevin Gavigan said he believes he is a farmer.

Judge Jones said he would reserve a decision on the application.

The accused sat silently in court throughout proceedings. He was wearing black Adidas pants, a wine top and a blue jacket.

Tomany was charged after Mr Marron was killed in an incident in Castleblayney on Tuesday, while Garda Michael Devlin was injured.

Separately, funeral arrangements were confirmed for Mr Marron with Requiem Mass at 11am tomorrow in St Mary's Church, Castleblayney.
Rahim Mohammadi has been jailed for life for the murder of Lea Adri-Soejoko (Met Police/PA)

An evil allotment holder who strangled an elderly widow with a lawnmower flex has been jailed for at least 19 years.

Rahim Mohammadi killed 80-year-old Lea Adri-Soejoko because he feared he would be thrown off his plot at Colindale Allotments in north London.

Mrs Adri-Soejoko, the allotment secretary, was found dead in a locked mower shed wearing Wellington boots and an apron.

Police had followed the sound of her ringing phone after her family had raised the alarm last February.

Volatile Mohammadi, 42, from Hackney, north London, was found guilty of her murder following a retrial at the Old Bailey.

Sentencing him on Friday to life with a minimum term of 19 years, Judge Richard Marks QC said: How bitterly ironic that the place she loved so much  the allotment  was the place she met her death.

Mohammadi, a regular opium user, killed Mrs Adri-Soejoko in a violent loss of temper.

The judge said: It goes without saying although Lea was fit for her age, she was an elderly lady and as such confronted and attacked by you as she was, was vulnerable in the extreme.

Earlier, Mrs Adri-Soejokos children Mark and Tess spoke of the torturous road to justice and truth.

The pair told how their happy and vital mother was having fun and living a full life before Mohammadi stole her from us.

Her murder has nothing to do with the immigration debate, Mr Adri-Soejoko said, adding: Some people make a play about the fact he is an immigrant or refugee, but its not to do with that.

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Where they come from has nothing to do with it. We are the children of immigrants. This is about the actions of one wicked individual.

Ms Adri-Soejoko added: Hatred is something you kind of rise to in a situation like this. Im just glad that the truth has been revealed about him and who he truly is.

Im just glad he is not free and will not be able to do this to anybody else.

The court had heard how the Kurdish Iranian had been involved with the allotment since 2008 through Freedom from Torture, an organisation helping torture victims suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder.

In September 2016, he clashed with Mrs Adri-Soejoko at an allotment association meeting and he called her a bloody old witch.

Then in February 2017, Mohammadi beat up Mrs Adri-Soejoko on the allotment, causing bruises and fractures to the ribs.

Although I never had the privilege of meeting Lea, we have learnt what a lovely, caring lady she was.Detective Chief Inspector Noel McHugh

He then throttled her with the mower flex to stop her from reporting the attack, which would have led to his eviction.

Prosecutor John Price QC said: Mrs Adri-Soejoko was beaten up. That in turn does point to a motive for her murder  to avoid detection for a shocking and very serious assault on a vulnerable old lady.

The victims body was locked up in the mower shed, which only four key-holders had access to  including Mohammadi and Mrs Adri-Soejoko, whose set were in her pocket.

The prosecution said Mohammadi had planned to move her to avoid suspicion being cast on him, but police following the sound of her ringing phone found the body before he could act.

His DNA was found on the cord used to strangle her and he was caught on CCTV coming and going from the allotment, jurors were told.

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The court heard Mohammadi sought political asylum in Britain in 2005 and was given indefinite leave to remain in 2010.

Detective Chief Inspector Noel McHugh, from Scotland Yard, said: Although I never had the privilege of meeting Lea, we have learnt what a lovely, caring lady she was, like everyones mum or gran.

She was a real pillar of the community, a sprightly 80-year-old grandmother who was very active in her local neighbourhood and secretary of Colindale Allotment Association.

The senior officer said Mohammadi was a manipulative, evil, controlling individual.

Mrs Adri-Soejokos family could be seen wiping away tears as her killer was sent down.
Liam Fox believes the Brexit deal provides a firm and stable base on which to leave the EU (PA)

Liam Fox will take a swipe at Tory opponents of Theresa Mays Brexit deal on Friday, accusing them of not facing up to the fact she has had to make tough choices.

The International Trade Secretary will visit the South West as he becomes the latest Cabinet minister to come out to bat for the Prime Minister ahead of the meaningful vote on December 11.

His intervention will come as Theresa May urged MPs to back her Brexit plan to avoid division and uncertainty, warning: A divided country is not a country that prospers.

The Prime Minister was speaking from almost 7,000 miles away in Buenos Aires at the G20 with Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin.

Meanwhile, the number of Tory MPs who will not back her Withdrawal Agreement has reportedly reached 100, putting its success in serious jeopardy.

It also comes as the Conservatives and Labour, divided over Brexit, also find themselves unable to come to an agreement over the hotly anticipated televised debate on Brexit.

Downing Street are said to prefer a proposal put forward by the BBC for a December 9 tete-a-tete between the PM and Jeremy Corbyn, with Labour favouring a rival one-on-one offer from ITV.

The deal we've reached will give us a firm and stable base on which to leave the EULiam Fox

Meanwhile a multitude of other groups and parties are continuing to sound off they should also be allowed to take part, with campaigners for a second referendum even saying they were complaining to Ofcom.

Dr Fox, an ardent Brexiteer, will tell an audience at Portbury Royal Docks near Bristol that while the deal hammered out with Brussels will not please everyone it provides a firm and stable base on which to leave the European Union.

He is also due to outline Britains future global trading role, saying it is time to raise our sights, and acknowledge that there is a world beyond Europe, and a time beyond Brexit.

Dr Fox is expected to say: The withdrawal agreement and the political declaration will not please everyone, and we have had some tough choices to make.

Choices which many in Parliament, on both sides of the House, are yet to face up to.

But the deal weve reached will give us a firm and stable base on which to leave the EU and build this countrys global future, a future that still encompasses Europe, of course, but also the wide fast-growing markets beyond, with all the opportunity that entails.

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Dr Fox was reported to be among a group of five Cabinet ministers seeking to tweak Mrs Mays Withdrawal Agreement before MPs vote on December 11.

In his speech he is also due to make an appeal for unity and a healing of political divisions over the referendum result, adding: In politics we cannot always have the luxury of doing what we want for ourselves, but we have an abiding duty to do what is right for our country.

Meanwhile, speaking to reporters on her flight to the G20 summit, Mrs May said a defeat in the Commons in a fortnight would mean there will be decisions to be taken by Government and by business in relation to the practical preparations they would be looking to make for no-deal.

The focus of myself and the Government is on the vote taking place on December 11. We will be telling MPs why we believe this is a good deal for the UK because it is a deal that delivers on the Brexit vote.

However, fellow Brexiteer Jacob Rees-Mogg has written in the Daily Telegraph of an effort to frighten and to gull (people) into acquiescing to a non-Brexit Brexit.

The Conservative MP for North East Somerset added: (The) Withdrawal Agreement contradicts its previous and clear policies, while its spokesmen insist that the reverse is true.

In the 2017 manifesto, the Conservatives said that the country would leave the single market and the customs union.

The backstop and the proposed treaty keep the whole of the UK in the customs union, which allows the EU to set tax rates, with Northern Ireland in the single market too.

There was no footnote listing these exceptions. The promises were clear and have been broken.
Scottish council umbrella body Cosla has given its support to calls for second referendum on the Brexit deal and the possibility of remaining in the EU.

The decision to back a Peoples Vote was taken at a meeting of council leaders in Edinburgh.

Cosla president councillor Alison Evison urged politicians to do the right thing at the Commons vote on the Withdrawal Agreement next week, which Prime Minister Theresa May is battling to get approved.

Well said @AlisonEvison A Peoples Vote is a practical way to get out of the constitutional crisis we are in.



Delighted to have joined Council Leaders today from across Scotland in defending our EU citizenship.  https://t.co/YMBvFXBmdg  Cllr Adam McVey (@adamrmcvey) November 30, 2018

Ms Evison said Cosla campaigned for Remain during the EU referendum and is deeply worried about the current situation.

A big hit on our economy will mean an increase in local poverty, fewer resources locally to plan and deliver our services, no structured programme to support our local economies and real threats to all aspects of our import and export trade, she said.

The bottom line is that we must not end up with a no-deal by default.

A no-deal would cause real pain in communities right across Scotland so all politicians have to come forward and do the right thing  and that includes the UK Parliament on December 11.

A Peoples Vote is a practical way to get out of the constitutional crisis we are in.

@theSNP group amendment passed to commit @COSLA as the collective voice for Scottish local government to support a #PeoplesVote, suspension of Article 50 & a way out of the disaster that Brexit will inflict on our communities. Interestingly, Labour voted with the Tories against.  Susan Aitken (@SusaninLangside) November 30, 2018

Former Scottish Labour leader Kezia Dugdale said the decision sends a very powerful message from Scotlands local authorities.

She added: Councils across Scotland are facing huge cuts and the last thing we need is Brexit harming our economy and leading to further austerity, putting more valued services at risk.

There is an alternative to Theresa Mays bad deal and no deal  its a Peoples Vote with the option of keeping the best deal we currently have as a member of the EU.

Scotland for a Peoples Vote campaign leader John Edward also welcomed the announcement.

The momentum for a Peoples Vote is building and the support of council leaders the length and breadth of Scotland is welcome and extremely encouraging, he said.

Over the coming days, all MPs must ask themselves: Is the Withdrawal Agreement better than the deal weve already got inside the EU?

If they cannot look their constituents in the eye and say it is, they must vote this deal down and then hand the decision back to the people.
DUP leader Arlene Foster has suggested her party could be open to a 'Norway plus' style Brexit arrangement.

Representing a softer Brexit, its proponents argue that it would avoid a hard Irish border, with the UK staying in a customs union with the EU.

But TUV leader Jim Allister last night said that such an option, which is gaining support among MPs, would "make a mockery of Brexit" and not deliver what people voted for.

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UUP leader Robin Swann said his party was prepared to look at all the alternatives to Theresa May's "unacceptable" current deal but he stressed that any solution must be "UK-wide".

Sinn Fein said the DUP couldn't negotiate their own agreement and there already was a Brexit deal on the table.

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Speaking to BBC Radio 4's Today programme yesterday, Mrs Foster said she would not support calls for a second Brexit referendum, as the UK had already voted to leave and "we respect that". Repeating the DUP's opposition to Mrs May's deal, she urged the Prime Minister to "not waste time" on it and instead look for a better solution to the border question.

She hinted that if the current Withdrawal Agreement failed to get through the House of Commons, her party could be open to a 'Norway plus' style arrangement, where the whole of the UK stayed in the customs union until an agreement with the EU is reached on future trading relations.

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Ms Foster said the DUP's "one red line" was to make sure Northern Ireland was not differentiated from the rest of the UK in terms of customs and was "not prescriptive" about other potential options on the future relationship with the EU.

But a Norway plus-style arrangement has been rejected by the TUV leader.

Mr Allister told the Belfast Telegraph: "It would retain us fully within the EU single market, subject to all Brussels-made rules - adjudicated by the European Court of Justice - and maintain free movement of labour and require ongoing payments to the EU. That is not Brexit.

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"But for us it would be worse, because the Norway plus that is being talked about would additionally keep Northern Ireland in the customs territory of the EU - completing the repudiation of the Brexit that was voted for. Thus, the backstop would essentially still apply."

Mr Allister continued: "The core of the backstop is that Northern Ireland alone remains part of the customs territory of the EU.

"With the EU likely to only agree a Norway-style deal which had this add-on, it would leave us incarcerated in the EU in perpetuity."

The UUP did not appear to rule out a Norway plus style arrangement. Mr Swann said: "The Ulster Unionist Party cannot give our support to the Withdrawal Agreement and its disastrous backstop. However, we will look at every option and assess its merits - but the bottom line for the Ulster Unionist Party is that any solution must be UK-wide in its entirety."

Sinn Fein MLA Mairtin O Muilleoir said: "There already is a deal on the table - it's not perfect but it avoids physical infrastructure on the border.

"The DUP cannot negotiate their own deal. Nor can they back a deal that isn't there.

"The EU has recognised that a unique solution is needed for the north because of our historical and geographical concerns. The backstop recognises that - that must be maintained."

Mrs Foster told Radio 4 that Mrs May's deal would see Northern Ireland "diverge off from the United Kingdom" and she urged the Prime Minister to "look for a better deal" that "takes back control of our money, of our borders and of our laws".

The DUP leader said: "All the things that made us vote for Brexit are the things that are going to be imposed on Northern Ireland."

Reiterating that the DUP's 10 MPs would not back the Withdrawal Agreement on December 11, Mrs Foster said it would create a "huge democratic deficit" in Northern Ireland.

Mrs May yesterday rejected a suggestion that the failure to get a deal with the EU would see the UK stuck with the Northern Ireland backstop plan permanently.

She was responding to Andrew Murrison, the Tory MP and chair of the Northern Ireland Affairs Committee, who compared it to a "post-war pre-fab".

He said: "It's sold as temporary, it's built to last, and it's likely to outlive us all."

However, the PM dismissed his comments and told the House of Commons' Liaison Committee it would only ever be a temporary solution.

She added: "Neither side thinks the backstop is a good place to be."

Mrs May admitted that it would not be possible for the UK to unilaterally withdraw from it, though. But she said this was a guarantee to the people of Northern Ireland there would never be a hard border in place.

Mrs May also rejected the claim that passing her Brexit deal in Parliament without the DUP's support would lead to the end of her partnership with Mrs Foster's party.

"Actually, the DUP have themselves said that the confidence-and-supply agreement remains in place," she stated.

Mrs May refused to be drawn on what would happen if MPs down the Withdrawal Agreement. But she insisted a second referendum was not an option as it could not be held before March 29, 2019 when Britain leaves the EU.
Lea Adri-Soejoko was murdered by Rahim Mohammadi in February last year (Met Police/PA)

The family of an 80-year-old widow who was strangled at her allotment have described her death as the actions of one wicked individual.

Colindale allotment secretary Lea Adri-Soejoko was attacked by fellow plot-holder Rahim Mohammadi, 42, in February last year.

He throttled her with a lawnmower flex and left her inside a locked shed at the north London site.

Following a re-trial at the Old Bailey, Iranian asylum seeker Mohammadi, from Hackney, was found guilty of her murder.

On the day of his sentencing on Friday, Mrs Adri-Soejokos grown-up children Tess and Mark described the torture of having to sit through two trials.

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Whatsapp Mrs Adri-Soejokos daughter Tess and son Mark outside the Old Bailey as their mothers killer was sentenced (Dominic Lipinski/PA)

The siblings stressed that although their mothers killer is an immigrant, they do not believe that is relevant.

Mr Adri-Soejoko said: Some people make a play about the fact he is an immigrant or refugee, but its not to do with that.

Where they come from has nothing to do with it. We are the children of immigrants. This is about the actions of one wicked individual.

Ms Adri-Soejoko added: Hatred is something you kind of rise to in a situation like this. Im just glad that the truth has been revealed about him and who he truly is.

Mum deserved better. She deserved more respect and she deserved longer with her family.Tess Adri-Soejoko

Im just glad he is not free and will not be able to do this to anybody else.

The pair told how their happy and vital mother was having fun and living a full life before Mohammadi stole her from us.

Ms Adri-Soejoko said: Mum deserved better. She deserved more respect and she deserved longer with her family and was an absolute rock to our family.

She described the long road to justice as absolutely torturous, adding: Truth and justice, thats what we wanted and thats what we got.

What happened to her can never be undone but at least we have a way to move forward.

Mr Adri-Soejoko said listening to the evidence was incredibly difficult.

He added: Nobody should ever hear those kinds of things about a loved one.

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Right now its a huge sense of relief, a huge weight off our shoulders.

Thanking the police and prosecution, his sister said: Everybody has kept pushing for us and never given up.

A tearful Mr Adri-Soejoko added: She was our heart  and she still is.

Detective Chief Inspector Noel McHugh, from Scotland Yard, said Lea Adri-Soejoko was a sprightly 80-year-old who was loved by all.

By contrast, Mohammadi is a manipulative, evil, controlling individual, he said.
Britains rail fares will be increased on January 2.

Here the Press Association looks at some of the key questions around the complicated and controversial annual rise:

 When does it come into force?

Rail travel will be more expensive from January 2.

 Why do fares go up?

Successive governments have chosen to reduce the funding of the railways by taxpayers and increase the relative contribution of passengers.

 Are all fares treated the same?

The increase in around 40% of fares is regulated by the UK, Scottish and Welsh Governments.

Other fares are set by train operators.

 Which fares are regulated?

Regulated fares include season tickets on most commuter routes, some off-peak return tickets on long-distance journeys and flexible tickets for use in major cities.

 How much will regulated fares increase by?

Price rises for these tickets are capped at Julys RPI figure, which was 3.2%.

There is an exception in Scotland, as its Government caps regulated off-peak fare increases at RPI minus one percentage point.

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Whatsapp Campaigners protest against rail fare increases outside Kings Cross station in London (Stefan Rousseau/PA)

 What do passenger groups say?

They claim people are being priced off the railways because wages are not increasing at the same rate as fares.

 What impact have fare rises had on demand?

Passenger numbers have more than doubled since the network was privatised in the mid-1990s.

 Where does the money go?

Industry body the Rail Delivery Group says profit margins for rail firms are around 2%, with the rest going on running the railway.

 What improvements are being made?

The Department for Transport says it is investing in the biggest modernisation of the network since Victorian times, with major projects to provide faster and better trains with more seats.

 Is there any way of avoiding the fare rise?

Many savvy commuters will renew their season tickets in the days before the annual rise is implemented.

Passengers can also save money by getting a railcard, travelling off-peak and booking in advance, although these options are not available for many journeys.
Shadow chancellor John McDonnell has called for a show of opposition against the poison politics of far-right activist Tommy Robinson.

With Mr Robinson expected to feature prominently in a Brexit march in London two days before the Commons votes on the UKs EU withdrawal deal, Mr McDonnell urged Labour supporters to join a counter-demonstration.

Mr McDonnell called for a mass protest against Mr Robinson at the December 9 march.

It doesnt matter whether you voted leave or remain, Tommy Robinson doesnt represent youJohn McDonnell

The shadow chancellor said: This march isnt about Brexit, its about far-right extremists dressing up in suits and pretending to be respectable.

It doesnt matter whether you voted leave or remain, Tommy Robinson doesnt represent you.

I call on all Labour members and anyone who cares about the future of our country to join the demonstration on 9 December and stand firm against the poison Robinson is trying to inject into our politics.

A newly-energised, well-funded network of hate is emerging, from Steve Bannon in the US to the former EDL leader Tommy Robinson at home, and it threatens the very fabric of our nation.

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The Labour movement must be front and centre in opposing them, and Im glad that Momentum are leading the way.

Mr McDonnell added: The working class of Britain have a proud history of beating the far-right.

In Lewisham in the 1970s the National Front were outnumbered by nearly 10 to one.

At Cable Street, the local Jewish community and socialists from across Britain stood firm against Oswald Mosleys Blackshirts.

His comments come after the appointment of Mr Robinson, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, as an adviser on rape gangs and prison reform to Ukip leader Gerard Batten caused controversy.

Former Ukip leader Nigel Farage, who has denounced Mr Robinson as a thug, has called for Mr Batten to be ousted over the move.
Abdelkarim Rekeya, who who has been jailed for four years and six months (Met Police/PA)

A man who pretended to be a victim of the Grenfell Tower disaster, committing a fraud of nearly 90,000, has been jailed.

Abdelkarim Rekaya enjoyed 209 nights in a four-star hotel, before being provided with a flat in Chelsea in the year after the fire.

The short-haired and bearded 28-year-old kept his head bowed as he was sentenced at Isleworth Crown Court to four years and six months in prison.

Rekaya, from Tunisia, pleaded guilty at the same court in September to fraud by false representation and obtaining leave to remain by deception.

You chose to exploit a national tragedy to improve your positionJudge Giles Curtis-Raleigh

Rekaya, who came to the UK in 2008, listened to his sentence through an Arabic interpreter during Fridays hearing.

Judge Giles Curtis-Raleigh said: You decided to use the situation to your personal advantage, to enrich yourself dishonestly, by plundering the public funds put aside to assist the genuine victims of that disaster in their hour of need.

As well as fraudulently claiming accommodation, Rekaya was also granted 12 months leave to remain in the UK in November last year, through the Grenfell Tower survivors policy.

Of this the judge told him: You chose to exploit a national tragedy to improve your position.

Prosecutor Catherine Farrelly told the court that Rekaya had claimed to be sleeping rough in the tower on the night of the blaze and had said he managed to escape through the front door.

Ms Farrelly said: This was a complete and utter lie, but, as a result of attending the Westway (sports centre), he was provided with emergency accommodation in the Park Plaza County Hall Hotel.

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Hotel costs came to more than 60,000, while the cost to cover the studio flat in Lots Road, Chelsea, between January this year and his arrest in June amounted to almost 3,000, she said.

Police said the total cost for the flat amounted to 15,895.77 including furniture, electrical goods and bills.

After taking into account utilities and other allowances including travel costs, the total cost to the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea amounted to 88,183.70.

Ms Farrelly said Rekaya had at one stage requested a transaction history of all his prepaid cards to check if his Netflix subscription was being paid for.

He had refused to answer specific questions about the night of the fire, claiming he did not want to relive such a traumatic event.

Despite concerns raised by a housing officer of the borough after a meeting with Rekaya in October last year, it was decided that his accommodation and allowances should continue until the fraud investigation had concluded.

A forefeiture order was made for 2,000  the sum of cash Rekaya had when he was arrested at the Chelsea flat in June this year.

Rekaya was jailed for four years for fraud and a further six months for the second charge relating to his right to remain in the UK.

Mitigating, Anthony Metzer QC said his client had had a difficult life and fled Tunisia after being kidnapped and beaten up there.

He said Rekaya had had issues with alcohol and drugs and had previously slept rough in the tower block but not in the night of the fire.

This is not an easy case in which to offer mitigation, he said.

There is anger and there is resentment about persons like this defendant.

David Davies, from the Crown Prosecution Service, said: Abdelkarim Rekaya falsely claimed he had been sleeping rough in Grenfell Tower so he could personally benefit from this tragedy.

He made up an account of waking up and fleeing the building, but the CPS was able to disprove his lies, leading to this conviction.

Rekaya is the latest in a string of fraudsters to be sentenced in relation to the disaster.

So far, 13 people have been convicted in separate cases, with a total of more than 630,000 in bogus claims for money that was meant for those whose lives had been devastated.

Bellal Elguenuni, who the court heard had lived in Grenfell Tower for around 10 years and whose family suffered physical and mental injuries as a result of the fire, said such crimes had stalled the fight for justice.

In a victim impact statement read by the prosecutor to the court on Friday he said: The impact of a crime like this goes beyond financial gain for a fraudster and threatens the search for justice and the reputation of the residents as well as the 72 people who are no longer with us.

Edward Daffarn, a Grenfell resident of 17 years whose victim impact statement was also read, said those who have committed such crimes hinder and obstruct the bereaved and ex-Tower residents search for truth and justice.
A research charity has launched a campaign to raise money to lay the foundations for human trials of a therapy for motor neurone disease (MND).

The Funding Neuro campaign to raise the 150,000 needed for the pre-clinical stage of development has already been boosted by a 50,000 donation from the My Name5 Doddie Foundation.

It was set up last year by Scotland rugby legend Doddie Weir, who suffers from MND.

There is currently no cure for the fatal condition, which affects the brain and nerves, and causes weakness over time.

The research hopes to develop a therapy that will deliver viral and gene therapy directly into the brain to restore the function of motor neurones.

Laboratory work led by Bristol-based neurosurgeon Professor Steven Gill has shown specific viruses that are modified to carry therapeutic genes can be transported into the spinal cord using a technique called convection enhanced delivery (CED).

We are now in a unique position to rapidly translate these promising lab results to clinical trials to protect and repair motor neuronesProfessor Steven Gill

Prof Gill said: The standard treatments that are currently available for motor neurone disease may enhance a patients quality of life but there is yet to be a therapy to combat the disease.

Backed by Funding Neuro, our project has the potential to offer a fast-track approach to a neuroprotective and regenerative treatment for the disease.

By bringing together experts in neurosurgery, gene therapy, medical engineering and biotech pharma we have developed the technology and know-how to successfully deliver gene therapies to the central nervous system.

We are now in a unique position to rapidly translate these promising lab results to clinical trials to protect and repair motor neurones.

Prof Gill, known for his pioneering work with delivering drugs directly into the brain with CED to treat Parkinsons Disease and brain tumours, has seen positive results pre-clinically with gene therapy targeting MND.

The charity said early testing has shown the technique to provide safe and effective gene delivery to motor neurones and the next pre-clinical stage is to evaluate the most effective dose of the virus that can be safely delivered.

Before clinical trials in humans can be started, researchers need to determine the most effective doses that can be delivered safely.

Expand Close Doddie Weir during a My Name5 Doddie Foundation fundraising event in Edinburgh (Jane Barlow/PA) PA Wire/PA Images / Facebook

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Weir said: We are pleased to be supporting such an innovative programme.

Success has been shown in the lab using gene therapy to combat the disease, however, to date this has not been translated successfully into a patient.

We hope that by combining gene therapy with a delivery system that is able to get the therapy to where it can be effective will provide real hope for people with the condition.

Anyone wishing to donate can go to www.bit.ly/mndneuro or Text FMND10 10 to 70070.

Dr Brian Dickie, director of research development at the Motor Neurone Disease Association, said: One of the major challenges in treating neurodegenerative diseases such as MND is the successful delivery of drugs into the brain and spinal cord.

Professor Gill and colleagues are adopting an innovative approach that could increase the chances of success when testing experimental therapies.
[November 29, 2018] Xylem Inc. to present at the BMO Capital Markets 2018 Boston Growth Conference Xylem Inc. (NYSE:XYL), a leading global water technology company dedicated to solving the world's most challenging water issues, announced today that its Senior Vice President of Continuous Improvement and Business Transformation, Tony Milando, and Senior Director, Investor Relations, Matthew Latino, will participate in group discussions at the BMO Capital Markets 2018 Boston Growth Conference at the InterContinental Boston in Boston, Massachusetts on Tuesday, December 4, 2018. About Xylem Xylem (XYL) is a leading global water technology company committed to developing innovative technology solutions to the world's water challenges. The Company's products and services move, treat analyze, monitor and return water to the environment in public utility, industrial, residential and commercial building services settings. Xylem also provides a leading portfolio of smart metering, network technologies and advanced infrastructure analytics solutions for water, electric and gas utilities. The Company's more than 16,500 employees bring broad applications expertise with a strong focus on identifying comprehensive, sustainable solutions. Headquartered in Rye Brook, New York with 2017 revenue of $4.7 billion, Xylem does business in more than 150 countries through a number of market-leading product brands. The name Xylem is derived from classical Greek and is the tissue that transports water in plants, highlighting the engineering efficiency of our water-centric business by linking it with the best water transportation of all - that which occurs in nature. For more information, please visit us at www.xylem.com. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20181129005791/en/

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First Minister Nicola Sturgeon during First Ministers Questions at the Scottish Parliament in Edinburgh (Jane Barlow/PA)

Nicola Sturgeon has hit back at claims SNP MPs are only voting against the Prime Ministers Brexit agreement in the hope the chaos of no deal will help bring about a second independence referendum.

Conservative interim leader Jackson Carlaw urged the First Minister to get behind the draft Withdrawal Agreement drawn up by Theresa May, insisting this is the only deal on the table.

Supporting the deal delivers an orderly exit, protects jobs and also gives fishermen in Scotland more control of our waters than weve had for half a century, he said.

He claimed the SNP will vote against this at Westminster on December 11 in the hope it will deliver more chaos, more upheaval and all in the hope that it will deliver her obsession with a second independence referendum.

That threadbare line is just a device for the Tories because the opposite is true, they are exploiting independence to avoid hard questions on BrexitNicola Sturgeon

Ms Sturgeon said it was the Tories who were exploiting the issue of a possible second independence referendum to avoid hard questions on Brexit.

Responding to Mr Carlaw at First Ministers Questions, she said: He talks about the SNP using Brexit to advance the case for independence  let me say to him Brexit does that all by itself, it doesnt need any help from the SNP.

And that threadbare line is just a device for the Tories because the opposite is true, they are exploiting independence to avoid hard questions on Brexit, it will not wash.

People see right through it.

The SNP leader said the proposed Brexit deal will take Scotland out of the European Union against our will, it will take us out of the Single Market against our economic interest, it will put us at a potential competitive disadvantage with Northern Ireland, and into the bargain it will sell out Scottish fishermen.

She said: On December 11 in that vote on that deal that sells out Scottish fishermen, SNP MPs will vote against it.

Expand Close Jackson Carlaw questioned the First Ministers stance on fishing policy (Jane Barlow/PA) PA Wire/PA Images / Facebook

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Whatsapp Jackson Carlaw questioned the First Ministers stance on fishing policy (Jane Barlow/PA)

Mr Carlaw said the Scottish Fishermens Federation backed Mrs Mays deal.

What the First Minister is actually saying is she does know better than the Scottish Fishermens Federation, he said.

The SNP policy of an independent Scotland being a member of the EU would mean fishermen  many of whom voted for Brexit  would have to be part of Europes Common Fisheries Policy (CFP), he added.

Mr Carlaw said: The plain fact is for all their posturing and pompous outrage, the SNP policy is to rejoin the EU and therefore because there is no way round this to rejoin the Common Fisheries Policy.

It is not a question of liking it, it is a question of lumping it.

Ms Sturgeon said the EUs statement after the Brexit deal was agreed made plain its desire to build on the CFP in its future relationship with the UK

The First Minister said: The commitment was never just about being an independent coastal state, that is the bare minimum.

What the Tories promised was annual negotiations, now we know there is going to be an overall agreement.

They promised no link between access to waters and access to markets, the political declaration makes clear that there will be that link, and of course the statement issued by the European Union makes it clear they are going to demand an arrangement that builds upon the Common Fisheries Policy.

So I say to Jackson Carlaw again no amount of bluff and bluster from him today will take away from this fact  the Scottish Tories yet again have sold out Scottish fishermen.
Liam Fox believes the Brexit deal provides a firm and stable base on which to leave the EU (PA)

A no-deal Brexit would not be a disaster, International Trade Secretary Liam Fox has insisted.

Dr Fox said that reactions to Whitehall analysis showing that withdrawing from the EU without an agreement would have severe economic consequences had been overblown.

The comments came as Prime Minister Theresa May tried to rally support for her deal by telling MPs to think of the needs of their constituents.

With Mrs May facing a tough challenge to get Parliament to approve her agreement in a crunch vote on December 11, a cross-party group of MPs has tabled an amendment to stop the UK leaving the EU without a deal.

I think that the reactions to some of the Treasury analysis has been completely overblownInternational Trade secretary Liam Fox

Asked about a no-deal scenario, Dr Fox told BBC Radio 4s Today programme: Well, I think, as Roberto Azevedo, director-general of the World Trade Organisation, said, it wouldnt be a disaster, but it wouldnt be a walk in the park either.

He added: I think that the reactions to some of the Treasury analysis have been completely overblown.

Dr Fox, who insisted that Mrs May was changing the public mood, appeared to suggest that some of his Cabinet colleagues may still vote against the PMs Brexit deal.

Asked if he thought the whole Cabinet would back the deal in the Commons, Dr Fox said: I think members of the Cabinet will vote for the deal.

Expand Close Prime Minister Theresa May is in Buenos Aires at the G20 summit (Dominic Lipinski/PA) PA Wire/PA Images / Facebook

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But hinting at potential further resignations from Mrs Mays top team over Brexit, he added: Members of the Cabinet who dont vote for the deal wont be members of the Cabinet.

With reports that up to 100 Tory MPs are ready to vote against the Brexit deal, Mrs May called for support in order to avoid division and uncertainty.

Speaking as she travelled to the G20 economic summit in Argentina, the PM said: A divided country is not a country that prospers.

Mrs May also accused Labour of pushing the UK towards a damaging no-deal Brexit by seeking to block her deal without offering a workable alternative.

In a bid to prevent a no-deal exit, Labours Hilary Benn has tabled an amendment to the Government Brexit motion with cross-party support including prominent Tory Sarah Wollaston.

The amendment also calls for the Commons to be able to express its views about what should happen if Mrs Mays deal is voted down.

Expand Close Jacob Rees-Mogg said promises made in the 2017 Tory election manifesto were being broken (John Stilwell/PA) PA Wire/PA Images / Facebook

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Whatsapp Jacob Rees-Mogg said promises made in the 2017 Tory election manifesto were being broken (John Stilwell/PA)

The PM said a defeat in the Commons in would mean there will be decisions to be taken by Government and by business in relation to the practical preparations they would be looking to make for no-deal.

She added: The focus of myself and the Government is on the vote taking place on December 11. We will be telling MPs why we believe this is a good deal for the UK because it is a deal that delivers on the Brexit vote.

However, arch-Brexiteer Jacob Rees-Mogg has written in the Daily Telegraph of an effort to frighten and to gull (people) into acquiescing to a non-Brexit Brexit.

He added: (The) Withdrawal Agreement contradicts its previous and clear policies, while its spokesmen insist that the reverse is true.

In the 2017 manifesto, the Conservatives said that the country would leave the single market and the customs union.

The backstop and the proposed treaty keep the whole of the UK in the customs union, which allows the EU to set tax rates, with Northern Ireland in the single market too.

There was no footnote listing these exceptions. The promises were clear and have been broken.

Dr Fox, who has given his backing to Mrs Mays deal, is using a speech on Friday to appeal for unity and support for the PMs stance.
Police are appealing for information about the crash (Joe Giddens/PA)

A woman is in hospital with life-threatening injuries after she was hit by a car near a primary school.

The incident, which involved a red Ford Focus, happened in Great Northern Road near Kittybrewster Primary School in Aberdeen at around 6.25am on Friday.

The 23-year-old pedestrian was taken to Aberdeen Royal Infirmary with serious and life-threatening injuries, police said.

I am appealing to anyone who witnessed the collision and who hasnt already spoken to police to come forwardInspector Steve Manson

Officers are appealing for information about the incident and are keen to speak to the occupants of two vehicles that stopped at the scene.

Road Policing Inspector Steve Manson said: I am appealing to anyone who witnessed the collision and who hasnt already spoken to police to come forward.

I am particularly keen for the occupants of a Silver Audi TT and a White Vauxhall Corsa, who appeared to stop after collision, to come forward.

They may have information that could help us with our enquiries.

I would also like to thank drivers in the area this morning, especially parents and children attending Kittybrewster Primary School, for their patience whilst we have been attending to this incident.

Police said the road will remain closed while they carry out investigations and they urged all HGV drivers to avoid the area.

Anyone with information is asked to contact Police Scotland on 101 quoting reference 0516 of 30 November.
Police used pepper spray to disperse teenagers after officers were surrounded by up to 100 youngsters and were attacked by a hardcore of yobs, it has emerged.

Residents of Stanley, County Durham, spoke out in support of police after they released body-worn camera footage of the shocking town centre trouble, which occurred on Saturday November 3 after a fireworks display.

Officers were called to help a drunk teenage girl near the bus station, but the situation escalated when they were surrounded and asked youths to move back and give them space to treat the girl.

It developed into a violent confrontation with drunk yobs showing off in front of their friends, Sergeant Dave Clarke said.

Others in hoodies lit fireworks and directed them at police, some threw bricks and a Police Community Support Officer was punched in the face.

Mr Clarke said his officers were right to use pepper spray to disperse the crowd.

He said a smaller group of teenagers had objected to being told what to do.

It escalated from there and you had a group of six to 10 boys wanting to show off in front of their friends, and that developed into kicks, karate kicks, punching and people jumping around sparring.

After at least 10 warnings, the officers used the pepper spray.

Expand Close Police were attacked by a gang of yobs during the disturbance (Durham Police/PA) Press Association Images / Facebook

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Mr Clarke invited the teenagers parents to view the footage, and said one mother exclaimed after seeing it: Ee! I dont know how you put up with that, Im surprised you didnt do more.

The footage was released to the media to provoke a reaction locally and to show parents the potential consequences of letting their children congregate in large numbers, Mr Clarke said.

The police have now set up a text service to alert parents to collect their children should there be trouble in Stanley town centre.

Mr Clarke defended his town, saying it is not like 1980s Beirut.

But he acknowledged large numbers of young people do congregate at the bus station, which he described as a large glass youth club, open 24 hours a day  but with no youth workers.

Kids do what they like and if you confront them, you cause more bother for yourself.Stanley resident

Efforts will continue to put youngsters off meeting there in large numbers, he said, such as removing seats and improving CCTV.

Mr Clarke insisted there are enough officers to cope with youth disturbances, but policing such flashpoints removes staff from their regular work such as checking on known burglars or sex offenders.

But taxi driver Maurice Sheini said: We need more police present. Theres not enough police personnel to go around.

Kids do what they like and if you confront them, you cause more bother for yourself.

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At the bus station, Mary Richardson, 58, from South Moor, Stanley, said children no longer fear the police and such incidents are not rare at weekends.

Her sister-in-law Tracy Thurlaway, 52, also from South Moor, added: The kids treat the police like crap, they have no respect for them.

Ms Richardson agreed, saying: If I got a polis to my door to see my dad, I would have died. My dad would have killed me.

She agreed with the decision to release the footage but said the teenagers faces should not have been pixellated.

A retired senior officer who used to work in Stanley said reduced staffing levels were affecting the forces ability to deal with youth disorder.

Harry Stephenson, 62, an ex-detective superintendent who led murder investigations, said yobs know resources are stretched, adding that some teenagers, many of whom work out at the gym and are difficult to subdue, have been given too many second chances.

He said: I think we have missed a generation.

When I was a younger cop, youngsters took notice of you. If they did something wrong, the first time they would get a warning, the second time they would be put into the system.

Now they are given chance after chance after chance.
Theresa May said the UKs position on sovreigntiy of the Falklands has not changed (Stephen Kelly/PA)

Theresa May has vowed to maintain Britains defence of the sovereignty of the Falkland Islands, as she became the first Conservative Prime Minister to visit Argentina since the 1982 war.

Mrs May will hold one-on-one talks on Friday with Argentine President Mauricio Macri, who is hosting leaders from around the world at the G20 summit of major economies.

The Falklands are expected to feature in their discussions, but are not expected to dominate talks which will focus on trade.

The Prime Minister faces potentially more awkward encounters in Buenos Aires with Saudi Arabias Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in the wake the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi and Russias Vladimir Putin following the poisoning of Sergei Skripal in Salisbury and the seizure of Ukrainian ships.

Expand Close Police outside the home of former Russian spy Sergei Skripal, who was poisoned with Novichok. (Ben Mitchell/PA) PA Wire/PA Images / Facebook

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Downing Street confirmed the PM will hold face-to-face bilateral talks with the Crown Prince on Friday afternoon, at which she will raise the Khashoggi case as well as the Saudi-backed war on Houthi rebels in Yemen.

Mrs May said: The message I give will be very clear. It is the message we have consistently given on this issue of Jamal Khashoggi and the issue of Yemen.

In relation to Mr Khashoggi, we want to see a full and transparent investigation of what happened and those responsible being held to account.

With the issue of Yemen, we continue to be deeply concerned about the humanitarian situation. The long-term solution for Yemen is a political solution, and we will be encouraging the parties to work for that political solution.

President Macri has toned down official rhetoric over the islands which Argentinians know as Las Malvinas since taking over from Cristina Kirchner in 2015.

This weeks announcement of a new air link between the Falklands and the South American mainland via Argentina has been greeted in London as an indication that relations are headed in a positive direction.

Asked during her flight to Buenos Aires whether the UK remained ready to defend the Islands with military force if necessary, Mrs May said: I am clear that our position on the sovereignty of the Falklands has not changed.

What has changed in recent months is we have seen better relations with Argentina. I think the announcement we saw earlier this week of the extra flight from the Falklands through to South America is important.

It is important for the Falklands and it is important in showing a different relationship developing.

I am talking to President Macri about issues about trade and opportunities for trade, but our position on the sovereignty of the Falklands hasnt changed and will not change.

On #RemembranceSunday we remember with gratitude those who made the ultimate sacrifice to liberate the #Falklands in 1982 and the 22 Islanders who died in #WW1, & 24 killed in #WW2, to maintain our freedom. #WeWillRememberThem @PoppyLegion @SAMA82office #LestWeForget pic.twitter.com/i1rzgLlERU  Falkland Islands Gov (@FalklandsGov) November 11, 2018

Mrs May is not expected to have bilateral talks with Mr Putin in Buenos Aires, as relations between the UK and Russia remain in the deep-freeze following the Salisbury poisoning and the annexation of Crimea.

Britain has been a keen supporter of sanctions against Moscow for its interference in Ukraine and Mrs May made clear she does not rule out their extension following the seizure of three naval ships and their crews in the Black Sea.

Our message to Russia is very clear, she said. They should release the ships and sailors and de-escalate the situation.

If you look at what we have seen over the last year of so, this is part of a pattern of Russian behaviour.

We have always been at the forefront in Europe of asking for sanctions on Russia in relation to its behaviour. We will continue to push for what we consider to be appropriate sanctions on Russia.

Mrs May added: Russia could take a different approach. Russia could support the rules-based international system. If it did that, its position would be a different one. It is choosing to continue with this pattern of behaviour.

The PM will use the G20 gathering to push her global Britain message, telling fellow leaders that her Brexit deal will be good for the world economy.

After resuming its independent seat on the World Trade Organisation in April next year, the UK will become an active and leading voice in seeking reform of the body to increase transparency and modernise its approach to e-commerce, she will say.

Expand Close Former Prime Minister Tony Blair meets then Argentinian President Fernando De la Rua on Argentinian soil in Iguazu. (Chris Ison/PA) PA Archive/PA Images / Facebook

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Whatsapp Former Prime Minister Tony Blair meets then Argentinian President Fernando De la Rua on Argentinian soil in Iguazu. (Chris Ison/PA)

Mrs May is the first serving Prime Minister to visit Buenos Aires and the second to come to Argentina, after Tony Blair crossed the border from Brazil in 2001.

Her visit marks an effort by the UK to increase trade links with Latin America after Brexit.
Police are investigating a fake paramedic who is believed to have had contact with more than 100 patients.

The Metropolitan Police said it was contacted in July regarding concerns about the actions of a London Ambulance Service (LAS) member of staff which, the Evening Standard newspaper reported, included responding to 999 calls and discharging patients at the scene.

Following inquiries, a man was arrested at an address in Hornchurch, Essex, on September 27, in relation to a period between May and July this year.

In a statement, police said: The 21-year-old was arrested on suspicion of fraud, burglary, theft by employee, assault by beating, dangerous driving, driving otherwise in accordance of licence, and driving without insurance.

Following our investigation, we have improved, and will continue to improve, our security, systems and processes.London Ambulance Service

According to the Evening Standard, it is believed the man treated more than 100 patients while working at the LAS.

The LAS confirmed on Friday that it immediately ended the mans employment.

We take our responsibilities to patients extremely seriously. As soon as we became aware of the activities of this individual, we initiated a full internal investigation, informed the police and contacted patients affected, it said in a statement.

Following our investigation, we have improved, and will continue to improve, our security, systems and processes.

The LAS said it would continue to work closely with commissioners, NHS Improvement and the Care Quality Commission (CQC).

It added: Changes designed to eliminate the possibility of anyone with internal knowledge of our computerised systems being able to misuse them in this way, have already been implemented.

The police said the 21-year-old was taken into custody at a south London police station and later released under investigation. Inquiries are said to be ongoing.

A spokesman for the CQC said: I can confirm that CQC is aware of this matter. As a result CQC carried out a two day unannounced focused inspection at the London Ambulance Service NHS Trust on 20 and 21 November 2018.

CQC will publish the findings of this inspection in due course.
Final preparations are made to a 20ft Nordmann Fir Christmas tree in St Georges Hall at Windsor Castle, Berkshire (Steve Parsons/PA)

The festive season has officially arrived at Windsor Castle with beautiful Christmas trees and decorations created by royal staff for visitors.

From Saturday, royal fans visiting the Queens Berkshire home can see a 23ft fir tree covered in gold decorations and around 7,000 lights in the castles majestic St Georges Hall.

Staff from the Royal Household have spent the past few days erecting the tree, a smaller fir in the nearby crimson drawing room, and other decorations throughout the state apartments to celebrate Christmas.

Richard Williams, the Royal Collection Trusts learning curator, said: The huge tree in St Georges Hall is from the Windsor Great Park, so its actually grown in the grounds surrounding the castle.

Expand Close A Royal Collection Trust member of staff makes the final preparations to the 20ft tree (Steve Parsons/PA) PA Wire/PA Images / Facebook

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Whatsapp A Royal Collection Trust member of staff makes the final preparations to the 20ft tree (Steve Parsons/PA)

Its a Nordmann Fir and it has something like 7,000 separate lights on it, so its a major, major scale, it took a day and a half to decorate so teams were up very, very tall ladders.

Its very much for visitors, there are large numbers of people who go to the Royal Collection Trust website to see when the decorations are up because for many people it marks the start of Christmas.

Queen Charlotte, the German-born wife of George III, is credited with introducing the Christmas tree to Britain.

But it was Prince Albert who popularised it, presenting large numbers to schools and Army barracks, and when a print was published in 1848 showing the royal family around the festive emblem, its use escalated throughout society.

Expand Close Prince Albert is widely credited with popularising the Christmas tree tradition in the UK (Yui Mok/PA) PA Wire/PA Images / Facebook

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Whatsapp Prince Albert is widely credited with popularising the Christmas tree tradition in the UK (Yui Mok/PA)

While most people open their presents on Christmas Day, the current royal family still keep to the German practice of unwrapping their gifts on Christmas Eve.

The Queen, Duke of Edinburgh and other royals usually congregate in the White Drawing Room at Sandringham House around a 20ft tree, cut from the estate, for the exchange of presents displayed nearby on a white linen-covered trestle table.

The state apartments at the Palace of Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh have also been decorated to mark Christmas.

Visitors to Windsor Castle can see the Christmas decorations and enjoy the family-friendly performances of the Princess And The Pantomime, as well as the exhibition showcasing the Duchess of Sussexs wedding gown.
If you spot an especially bright star in the sky before sunrise at this time of year, it might not be a star at all, but the planet Venus.

Venus can be seen in the eastern sky at dawn from November 5 to December 31, with the planets brightest point on December 1 and 2 this year.

During this time, Venus rises between three and four hours before the Sun, when it can be seen in the constellation of Virgo, moving into Libra during December.

Venus hiding in the oak tree. pic.twitter.com/N3gAt7cE0X  Ruth  (@ruthybeth12) November 30, 2018

Social media users rushed to take photos of the planet, which could be seen shining brightly in the skies above the UK as November came to a close.

Twitter user Elliott Bunker said: Totally amazing to see the planet Venus shining bright above us this morning!

Totally amazing to see the planet Venus shining bright above us this morning! Brightest star - just said to @jamesbunker if I was a King  Id follow it! #Venus pic.twitter.com/Iv1f2b0mI8  Elliott  is Working From Home (@elliott_bunker) November 30, 2018

Venus is our neighbouring planet, and at this time of year is the third largest object in the sky after the Sun and the Moon.

In early December, the planet will be about 25% illuminated, and appears so bright because it reflects a high percentage of the sunlight that strikes it  about 70%. This is due to the sulphuric clouds that surround the planet and act like a mirror for light.

Venus goes through phases just like the Moon  in November and December this year, the planet will resemble a crescent moon, and will become more like a half moon by the end of the year.

At this time of the year, the planet should be easy to spot in clear conditions, but binoculars can enhance the view.

Venus is similar in structure and size to Earth; however, the planet spins slowly in the opposite direction and has a thick atmosphere that traps heat in a greenhouse effect.

This makes it the hottest planet in our solar system, with surface temperatures high enough to melt lead.
Demonstrators, called the yellow jackets, hold up an EU flag during a protest against rising fuel prices in Brussels (Francisco Seco/AP)

Police and hundreds of so-called yellow jackets protesting against high taxes and living costs have clashed in Brussels as the movement that started in France two weeks ago gained traction in Belgium.

Police trucks fired tear gas and water cannons on protesters who tried to approach government buildings and offices in central Brussels and began throwing rocks and paving stones at the barricades.

Expand Close A demonstrator gets hit by a water cannon during a protest of the yellow jackets in Brussels (Francisco Seco/AP) AP / Facebook

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Our officers started to use water cannons after they began throwing objects. They were throwing pool balls, Brussels city police spokeswoman Ilse Van De Keere said.

A police cordon charged protesters after they attacked two police vehicles, overturning one and setting both alight.

Ms Van De Keere estimated that more than 300 people were involved.

Around 60 people were arrested for disturbing public order.

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Whatsapp A demonstrator throws a rubbish bag during a protest in Brussels (Virginia Mayo/AP)

Many were carrying objects that police considered to be dangerous, including razor blades, tyre levers and pepper spray, she said.

Some were detained for having gas, ski and diving masks, which police saw as a sign that the protesters were expecting tear gas to be used.

In a tweet, interior minister Jan Jambon lamented what he described as incomprehensible violence towards the police, which does its best to protect citizens and society. Scandalous.

Earlier, dozens of protesters wearing the high-visibility vests that have become a uniform for the movement blocked city streets with pieces of scaffolding or by gathering on roads, causing traffic chaos along major city routes.

Expand Close Demonstrators protest against rising fuel prices in Brussels (Francisco Seco/AP) AP/PA Images / Facebook

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Some handed out vests to bystanders and people stuck in cars.

Prime Minister Charles Michel has said he is willing to talk with some of their leaders.

Protest roadblocks were also in place near the city of Charleroi, some 60 kilometres (38 miles) south of Brussels.
The city of Zhangjiakou is about 200 kilometers Northwest of Beijing.

An explosion during a delivery of acetylene set off a chain reaction among trucks parked along a road, leaving 50 vehicles damaged, the official Xinhua news agency reported, citing the city's fire fighting department.

As a result of a fire that originated in the explosion, burned 38 trucks and 12 cars.

The incident occurred near the Hebei Shenghua Chemical in Zhangjiakou City, in the northern Hebei province, Channel News Asia reported.

Another 22 people have been injured, they've been taken to nearby hospitals.

Further investigation is underway.

State media outlets shared video purporting to show the blast scene on Wednesday morning, showing towers of black smoke and sharp orange flames in the morning darkness.

The statement did not say whether the factory was affected by the blast or whether it took place on a road. Snowboard and ski events will be held some 45 minutes away in Chongli.

Firefighters work next to burnt vehicles following a blast near a chemical plant in Zhangjiakou, Hebei province, China November 28, 2018.

Industrial safety remains a major concern in China, where requirements for the storage and transport of chemicals and other risky products are often not strongly enforced.

In 2015, giant chemical blasts in a container storage facility killed at least 165 people in the northern port city of Tianjin.

An explosion in Sichuan killed 19 people in June this year, after the company le ant on illegal buildings that failed to pass regulated safety standards.
A mudslide trapped several vehicles along in San Bernardino County, California (Stan Lim/The Orange County Register via AP)

Flash flooding has hit a wildfire-scarred area of Northern California, forcing officials to deploy swift water rescue teams to save people stuck in vehicles and rescue them from homes.

Authorities said they used boats to rescue people from three homes and told people in about 100 vehicles to stay in place until the rain receded.

Dale Word, a firmware engineer, was evacuated briefly on Thursday from his semi-rural Chico neighbourhood for the second time this month.

Word waded out in thigh-high water to higher ground until the rain receded, leaving a mess of sticky mud and debris. He said he was stunned by the disasters that have hit Butte County. The fire came within several hundred feet of his home.

Everywhere you go youre talking to people who have lost everything and its just tragic, Mr Word said, jokingly adding, It feels like the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse are going to come riding over the hill any day now.

Expand Close Mud and rock slides closed roads north-east of Los Angeles (Stan Lim/The Orange County Register via AP) AP/PA Images / Facebook

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Whatsapp Mud and rock slides closed roads north-east of Los Angeles (Stan Lim/The Orange County Register via AP)

Thursdays storm brought one-and-a-half inches of rain in an hour, toppling trees and trapping motorists in flooded roads downstream, said National Weather Service meteorologist Craig Shoemaker.

This is heavy rain in a short period of time and thats the worst thing that can happen in the burn scar, he said.

The Butte County Sheriffs Department ordered evacuations but could not say how many people were affected.

The water rescues were in an area of Chico, which is downhill from Paradise, and a city where many of the wildfire evacuees have been staying since the town of 27,000 was destroyed just three weeks ago by a deadly wildfire.

People from three homes in Words Chico neighbourhood were rescued by boat, said Rick Carhart, a spokesman with the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.

Butte County Sheriff Kory Honea said that at one point, people in about 100 vehicles were told to stay in place.

Chico PD has sent out a CODE RED alert for a FLASH FLOOD WARNING for the areas of Bruce Road from Chico Canyon Road to Skyway  Chico Police Dept. (@ChicoPolice) November 29, 2018

Emergency response crews earlier cleared a tree that toppled in the town of Magalia, but no other reports of damage had been received after an inch of rain fell overnight in the burn zone about 140 miles north-east of San Francisco.

Paradise has been under mandatory evacuation orders for nearly three weeks since a wildfire killed at least 88 people and destroyed nearly 14,000 homes.

Residents could begin returning early next week, but only if the storm does not hinder efforts to clear roads and restore power, said Mr Honea.

In Southern California, authorities ordered evacuations in a small Malibu community within a wildfire burn zone where a mudslide blocked roads amid heavy rains.

Los Angeles County Sheriffs Deputy Joana Warren says residents of several homes were told to leave as streets filled with mud, ash and debris during a downpour. She said no injuries were reported.

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In the zone that burned this month, the city of Malibu warned of rocks falling on canyon roads and Pepperdine University closed its campus.

The storm knocked out power and flooded roadways across greater Los Angeles.

Numerous traffic accidents occurred and most vehicles travelling in the mountains were ordered to put chains on their tires. Mud and rock slides also closed two mountain highways.

Residents were urged to voluntarily evacuate a string of neighbourhoods about 45 miles south-east of Los Angeles along a flank of the Santa Ana Mountains where a fire burned thousands of acres last summer.

Mandatory evacuations were ordered for a small section of the city of Lake Elsinore beneath a burn zone.

West of Los Angeles, rain fell heavily at times in vast areas burned by fires this month and last December  an area where there are strong memories of a January downpour that unleashed devastating debris flows through the community of Montecito that killed 21 people and left two missing.
Demonstrators, called the yellow jackets, demonstrate at a crossing in Port de Bouc, southern France (AP)

French prime minister Edouard Philippe is due to meet protest leaders in an effort to calm tensions over rising taxes.

The governments move comes amid calls for fresh action on Saturday across France, including on the Champs-Elysees in Paris, where a protest last weekend degenerated into violence.

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Motorists protesting against a fuel tax hike have been joined since by farmers, white-collar workers, retirees and others as part of the yellow jackets movement, which now involves a broad range of demands related to the countrys high cost of living.

Their list of demands include tax cuts, the creation of a citizens assembly, state-funded subsidies to help companies increase hiring, higher pensions and a higher national minimum salary.
The Mexican government has presented US President Donald Trumps son-in-law and White House adviser Jared Kushner with the Order of the Aztec Eagle, the highest honour the country gives to foreigners.

Mr Kushner earned the honour for his work on renegotiating a new trade agreement signed by Mexico, the US and Canada on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Argentina, Mexicos Foreign Relations Department said.

It replaces the North American Free Trade Agreement.

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Mr Kushner, who has been working on US-Mexico issues, said relations have improved because the countries decided not to work across the table, but on the same side to craft win-win solutions to migration, drug trafficking and abuse, and other issues plaguing relations.

He said there is a strong level of trust between the US and Mexico, despite news reports citing clashes between the neighbours.

The award has caused uproar in Mexico, where many are angry over Mr Trumps insulting comments about Mexicans.

Prominent Mexican historian Enrique Krauze called the decision to give Mr Kushner the award an act of supreme humiliation and cowardice.
Protesters march against the G20 summit being held in Buenos Aires (Martin Mejia/AP)

Thousands of demonstrators have flooded an avenue in Buenos Aires to protest against the Group of 20 summit taking place in the Argentine capital.

The campaigners were waving flags and holding up banners with slogans like Go Away G-20 and Go Away Trump.

Activists from France, Germany, Italy and several Latin American nations were taking part alongside Argentinian in a demonstration organised by left-leaning groups and labour unions.

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It was occurring more than six miles from the summit meeting.

About 22,000 police officers and other security forces were guarding the leaders during the two-day summit that began on Friday.

Argentina is the first South American country to host the G20.

Argentinian authorities have said they will not tolerate violence or allow the gathering to be disrupted.
US President Donald Trump has joined the leaders of Canada and Mexico at a global meeting in Argentina to sign a revised North American trade pact that he called groundbreaking and a benefit for working people.

The US-Mexico-Canada Agreement is meant to replace the 24-year-old North American Free Trade Agreement, which Mr Trump has long denigrated as a disaster.

He appeared with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and outgoing Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto at the G20 summit in Buenos Aires for the formal signing ceremony.

President Trump Participates in the USMCA Signing Ceremony https://t.co/ITeDQ39ZrN  The White House 45 Archived (@WhiteHouse45) November 30, 2018

Its been long and hard. Weve taken a lot of barbs and a little abuse, but we got there, Mr Trump said of the pact.

Each countrys legislature must also approve the agreement but this could prove a difficult task in the US, especially now that Democrats  instead of Mr Trumps Republicans  will control the House of Representatives come January.

Democrats and their allies in the labour movement are already demanding changes to the agreement.

While Mr Trump hailed the revised trade pact, Mr Trudeau was more measured, saying there was still work to be done and calling on Mr Trump  using his first name  to remove steel and aluminium tariffs the US imposed on Canada and Mexico.

Mr Trudeau also referenced recent downsizing by General Motors in North America as a heavy blow but Mr Trump did not mention the job losses.

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The signing came at the front end of two days of tough diplomacy for Mr Trump.

On the top of his agenda is a Saturday dinner meeting with Chinese President Xi Jingping, which will determine if the two can ease escalating trade tensions.

Before Mr Trump arrived in Argentina he injected additional drama into the proceedings by cancelling another high-stakes meeting, with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

On Friday, Mr Trump opened the day with a cordial meeting at the Casa Rosada with Argentine President Mauricio Macri, a longtime business acquaintance.

Posing for photos in the gilded Salon Blanco, Mr Trump spoke about their longtime personal relationship and said they would discuss trade, military purchases and other issues.

Weve known each other a long while, Mr Trump said, noting he worked with Mr Macris father on real estate developments.

The businessman-turned-politician joked that when he and Mr Macri first met they would never have imagined their future roles on the world stage.

Mr Macri is hosting the summit as he struggles with problems at home.

He is trying to halt economic turmoil that has caused the steep depreciation of the Argentine peso.

Mr Trump, who arrived in Buenos Aires late on Thursday, barrelled into the two-day meeting by announcing via Twitter that he was cancelling a planned meeting with Mr Putin over Russias seizure of Ukrainian vessels.

His agenda for the weekend includes meetings with world leaders, as well as a number of heavily choreographed group activities for the gathering of leaders of rich and developing nations.
The US has been blocking progress at the Group of 20 summit on fixing world trade rules, fighting climate change and tackling migration, according to European officials involved in the discussions.

The divisions among the worlds leading economies were evident from the moment the Argentinian president opened the summit on Friday with a call for international cooperation to solve the planets problems.

President Donald Trump sought to use the summit to make his own trade deals.

Meanwhile, two men under heavy criticism from the West lately, Russias President Vladimir Putin and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, appeared to seek refuge in each other, bonding with a tough-guy hand grab as the leaders sat down around a huge round table for talks.

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Security concerns also weighed on the two-day talks in Buenos Aires.

Argentinas security minister said eight petrol bombs were discovered in an area of the capital several miles from the summit venue where a protest in the afternoon drew thousands of demonstrators who held up banners with slogans like Go Away G-20 and Go Away Trump.

Diplomats from the Group of 20 countries were haggling hard over a final summit statement, with deep divisions over what language to use on the Paris climate accord and the World Trade Organisation.

Two European officials involved in the discussions said the US was blocking progress on both.

So an unorthodox solution emerged: Because of resistance from the Trump administration, an official in the French presidents office said the statement may have language that sets the US apart.

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For example, a draft says 19 of the participants agree on the importance of upholding the Paris climate accord, but the US does not.

The officials said the US was also blocking any mention of migration in the final statement.

Argentinas foreign minister Jorge Faurie said trade talks were moving forward and nations were continuing to work on climate change wording.

All issues being discussed at the summit have the same relevance, he told reporters.

We are debating (trade and climate change) more closely because we want to reach the consensus of all the countries involved.

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Mr Faurie said that the final communique does not require the signature of presidents.

Despite Mr Trumps dismissal of concerns about global warming, China, France and the United Nations came together Friday to pledge their support for the Paris climate accord.

Their declaration was meant to encourage other G20 members to do the same, and to provide a boost for an upcoming UN climate summit.

Argentinas President Mauricio Macri kicked off the summit by acknowledging divisions within the G20 while urging world leaders to have a sense of urgency and take actions based on shared interests.

The summit is meant to focus on issues such as labour, infrastructure, development, financial stability, climate sustainability and international commerce.

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But as the gathering got under way, those themes seemed like afterthoughts, overshadowed by contentious matters from the US-China trade dispute to the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

European Council President Donald Tusk urged G20 leaders to discuss trade wars, the tragic situation in Syria and Yemen, and Russian aggression in Ukraine.

He said the European Union is expected to extend sanctions on Moscow over its totally unacceptable seizure of Ukrainian ships and their crews near the Crimean Peninsula.

Europe is united in its support for Ukraines sovereignty and territorial integrity, Mr Tusk said, calling the standoff a cause of great concern.

Russia and Ukraine have traded blame over the weekend ship incident which Mr Trump cited in cancelling a much-awaited meeting with Mr Putin at the G20.

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Russias foreign minister regretted the move, but said love cant be forced.

Also looming large amid dozens of bilateral meetings in Buenos Aires: the gruesome slaying of dissident Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi in Saudi Arabias Istanbul consulate and how the Saudi crown prince, who is alleged to have ordered the killing, is received by world leaders.

As soon as he arrived, the crown prince was confronted by Frances President Emmanuel Macron, who pressed him on the Khashoggi investigation and the Saudi-backed war in Yemen.

The prince told Mr Macron not to worry, but Mr Macron countered: I am worried.

Saudi Arabia has denied that the crown prince played a role, but some leaders may be cool toward him to avoid seeming to legitimise a man who US intelligence agencies concluded ordered the killing.

Mr Trumps administration has made clear it does not want to torpedo the longstanding US relationship with Riyadh, however.

It is the princes first significant appearance overseas since the killing.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who has been sharply critical of Saudi Arabia over the incident, is also in attendance.

Leaders of the United States, Canada and Mexico, meanwhile, met in the morning to sign a trade deal replacing the North American Free Trade Agreement that was struck following months of tough negotiations that analysts say left a bitter taste among the partners.

Mr Trump called the pact a model agreement that changes the trade landscape forever.

It must still be ratified by politicians in all three countries, and passage in the US could face a tough road in the House of Representatives after Democrats won a majority in November midterm elections.

While Mr Trump cancelled his meeting with Mr Putin, the US president was still scheduled to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping, but analysts were not optimistic about prospects for a major breakthrough on the two countries trade disputes a month before US tariffs on Chinese goods are set to ramp up.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel was supposed to get in to Buenos Aires early Friday, but her arrival was delayed when her plane suffered a technical problem.
Ian Paisley has returned to the House of Commons after a 30-day suspension

It has often been said that Ian Paisley has a brass neck. After his return to Westminster last week, following a 30-day suspension for failing to declare 100,000 in hospitality from the Sri Lankan government, I contend that he more closely resembles a rubber ball - unsquashable, impervious to pressure, lacking in self-awareness and irrepressibly bouncy.

As everyone knows, Mr Paisley's error was a grave one. The House of Commons Standards Committee found he had brought the House into disrepute and had committed serious misconduct.

The extent of the suspension indicated the full gravity of his disgrace: it was the longest issued to an MP in almost 70 years, and the strongest sanction available to Kathryn Stone, the Commissioner for Standards at the House of Commons.

The recall petition which was subsequently triggered by Mr Paisley's ban from Westminster was the very first in UK parliamentary history.

Let's remember that Mr Paisley did not simply fail to declare those luxurious family holidays paid for by the Sri Lankan government.

He also lobbied the Prime Minister against a UN investigation into appalling alleged human rights violations, including mass murder, during the Sri Lankan civil war - and all without mentioning he and his family had been lavishly pampered by the Sri Lankans, to the tune of tens of thousands of pounds.

Amnesty International described Mr Paisley's intervention as "a moral disgrace, serving the interests of an abusive regime, not its victims".

Now he's back. You might think that an attitude of quiet humility and reflective repentance would be the most suitable way to return to the parliament on which he had brought dishonour, and to which, in July, he offered an unreserved apology for his actions.

It would be natural, wouldn't it, to feel ashamed and embarrassed in such unparalleled circumstances. To keep your head low, for a while, and humble.

Not a bit of it. Instead, the North Antrim MP bullishly claimed that his comeback "couldn't have been timed better", given the ongoing Brexit brouhaha and crucial upcoming vote.

He also declared: "I have taken what I still consider to be a severe punishment on the chin, and I also think many a smaller man would have crumbled."

Bounce, bounce, bounce, goes the self-styled 'big fella', all the way back to the Commons chamber.

The sense of overweening self-regard, in defiance of the sobering facts, is almost beyond parody.

"Hallelujah" was Mr Paisley's response when the petition of recall to unseat him failed by 444 votes. He declared it a "miracle", and claimed that he was "greatly humbled".

Note the overblown Biblical language - was he implying that the Almighty himself was behind the favourable result?

Mr Paisley went on to illustrate his great humility by bragging on his Twitter biography. He added "90.6% support from recall petition", to his list of electoral achievements, as well as his Freedom of the City of London.

Even after being excluded from Westminster, the bullishness did not appear to diminish by a single iota. If anything, it got stronger.

Mr Paisley said he had "no intention of going quietly into the night", and vowed that if a by-election occurred, he would "seek re-election as I have never run away from an election in my life and don't intend to do so now".

Remarkably, he sounded more like a wronged martyr, bravely standing up against his enemies, than a disgraced MP who had been severely censured by the parliamentary standards commission.

Which leaves me wondering: does Mr Paisley think we all came up the Lagan in a bubble?

Perhaps we should not be surprised. The DUP's notion of political spin is positively stone age, with glaringly obvious facts blatantly ignored or glossed over.

For example, DUP MP Sammy Wilson accused businesses which backed the EU withdrawal deal of being "the puppets of the Northern Ireland Office", then up popped party leader Arlene Foster to say it's actually the media's fault for trying to "drive a wedge" between the DUP and business over Brexit.

Brazen, ain't in it? Brass necks and bouncy balls are the way the DUP rolls.

But instead of crowing about his triumphant return to Westminster, and congratulating himself on not crumbling, as "many a smaller man" would have done, Ian Paisley should take note of this thought.

It's not in the Bible, but it's true nonetheless.

It takes a far greater man to admit openly when he is wrong, to make amends and to act with genuine humility.
DUP Brexit spokesman Sammy Wilson stirred something of a hornets nest with his ill-considered branding of the business community here as the "puppets of the Northern Ireland Office" because they supported the Prime Minister's exit plan.

President of the NI Chamber of Commerce and Industry Ellvena Graham, while making it clear that the business community was not the enemy of those opposed to the deal - she did not mention the DUP by name - did throw down a direct challenge.

It was now time for them to show their hand and reveal their alternatives.

In a hard-hitting speech, she said it was also time for the critics to end their Brexit bickering which, in part, was responsible for holding back the local economy.

For the past two years, she pointed out, business had to endure uncertainty and non-stop political debate.

The deal on offer is infinitely better than a no deal, she added. It should be remembered that the business community, which showed incredible resilience during nearly 30 years of terrorism is not easily cowed and also knows a good deal from a bad one.

Indeed it could be argued that the it is this sector of the community which is best placed to pass a fair judgement on the deal on offer and what it means for the everyday life of people here.

But Ms Graham saved her most severe criticism for our stay-away politicians at Stormont. She questioned if they really cared about their duties.

Seldom has there been such plain speaking from someone in the business community.

She referred to our exclusive story last week which showed that there at least 160 decisions on in-trays at Stormont departments awaiting ministerial approval or denial.

These cover virtually every facet of life in Northern Ireland.

Very often the business community - the engine room of the economy - has remained silent on political issues but it is now obvious that they have been dragged into an arena which they don't feel entirely comfortable in.

They know they will have to work with politicians in the future and, unlike the political parties, they don't want to create a toxic debate.

However it is also evident they feel Brexit is an issue which cannot be ignored and on which they feel particularly qualified to pass comment.

But their approach is constructive and that is a lesson our politicians should learn.
THE announcement, on Wednesday, from Northern Ireland's chief education inspector, Noelle Buick, in the Educational Training Inspectorate's (ETI) biennial report, revealed only 39% of Northern Ireland schools "fully co-operated" with school inspectors. This revelation is not entirely surprising.

This month's news has been plagued with reports of teaching staff holding numerous strikes. Last week, the management of UK teaching union NASUWT defended the recent strike action of Northern Ireland teachers, laying the blame firmly on the "scandalous austerity" of the Conservative Government.

However, these strikes do not just entail congregating on a footpath with placards, but also involve teachers refusing to lend their co-operation and assistance to school inspectors.

Inspections form a core aspect in the efficient running of schools and allow an external, independent agency to assess the performance of staff and students alike. This concerning report from the ETI demonstrated the real, obstructive difficulties with which school inspectors are faced.

Some 30% of schools, the report stated, bluntly refused to co-operate with statutory inspections. Who, then, suffers the most from this? It is the students and their education.

Perhaps it is little wonder that the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) described how up to 13% of 16-to-19-year-olds in Northern Ireland possess low-level literacy skills.

As Noelle Buick states, the onus is on the schools to display a "transparent attitude" with regard to school inspections. That also means an urgent rethink of teachers' strike action.

PETER DONNELLY

By email
- The U.S. Marshals Service confirms the suspect wanted in connection with a deadly shooting at a mall in Hoover, Alabama has been arrested in South Fulton.

The shooting happened late Thanksgiving night at the Riverchase Galleria in Hoover.

Hoover police had initially announced they shot and killed Emantic Bradford Jr., whom they mistakenly characterized as the gunman. The warrant was served for the attempted murder of the two victims who were injured. Police said it began when two men got into a physical altercation and one of the men pulled out a handgun and shot the other man twice.

Brown was charged with shooting and wounding 18-year-old Brian Wilson.

On Tuesday, Hoover mayor Frank Brocato, Police Chief Nick Derzis, and City Councilman Derrick M. Murphy finally offered apologies to Bradford's grieving family at the Westin in downtown Birmingham.

The cooperation of the Hoover Police Department and Jefferson County Sheriff's Office has aided in the investigation and the expediency of identifying Brown and arresting him, ALEA said.

However, they later admitted wrongly killing Emantic Bradford Jr, 21.

Brown will not be charged for the death of Bradford.



Kamp Fender

The unnamed officer who killed Mr Bradford during the shooting has been placed on administrative leave.

Brown is now being held on one count of attempted murder, but authorities say he is likely to receive additional charges in the coming days.

Bradford had a permit to carry a weapon, his father said.

Demonstrators and relatives of Bradford have pushed authorities to release video and other evidence since the shooting. "We want them released nearly immediately".

Police respond to a fight inside the Riverchase Galleria mall after gunfire erupted Thanksgiving night in Hoover, Ala., Nov. 22, 2018. He is expected to be extradited from Georgia to Jefferson County Jail in Birmingham, Alabama, on $150,000 bond.

Robinson also reported that Brown was arrested at approximately 9:30 a.m. on Thursday in South Fulton, Georgia.

State investigators asked for patience in a statement Thursday, saying, "It is highly likely that prematurely releasing information, including video evidence, would have hampered the investigation's progress thus far, even to the point of deterring key witnesses".

"The City appreciates the Bradford family agreeing to sit down with city representatives during this hard time".
Every December 25th Northern Ireland families come together to feast on a plate of festive classics but have you ever wondered how the yuletide meal we love so well made its way onto the table?

Here, in association with Lidl, we trace the roots of the Christmas dinner...

A mix of revved up staples in substantial portions, the Christmas dinner in Northern Ireland is a marriage of international specialities.

Traditionally reparations take place on Christmas eve, with boiled ham to veg prep setting the scene for early morning kitchen activity that culminates with a feast that is typically consumed between 1pm and 4pm.

Turkey, ham, Brussels sprouts, roast potatoes, stuffing and a range of other vegetables are the pillars of the plate.

And in recent years some English traditions have worked their way across the Irish sea and onto the dinner plate to add even more variety. From pigs in blankets to cranberry sauce (although it originates in America) and Yorkshire pudding, the evolution of the Christmas dinner concludes with a banquet of enormous proportions.

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Some say the Christmas feast in all its glory can be traced back to Medieval times. Others say it was Queen Victoria who made the meal a proper occasion but delve further into the history of the components that make Christmas dinner the gastronomic affair that it is today and the dish appears to be something of an international amalgamation.

Turkey

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The turkeys origin can be traced back to Mexico. It was first brought to Britain in the early 1500s thanks to a Mr William Strickland. This Yorkshire man bought six of the birds from Native Americans and sold them in England. It was in the late 19th century when Edward VII made it fashionable at Christmas for the middle classes. Before turkey, goose was the former star of the Christmas dinner table with Goose Clubs allowing those on a lower budget to save for the big day. Today the same can be said for Christmas turkey clubs in butchers around the province. Some sources say that even in the 1930s it took a weeks wage to buy a turkey and so it became a luxury until the 1950s.

Brussel Sprouts

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Members of the brassica family, the mini cabbage is thought to have first grown in Rome. During the 16th century their popularity grew in the likes of Holland and Belgium, the latter being an indication as to how sprouts acquired their modern name. Easy to grow and boasting more vitamin C than an orange, their miniature form is thought to have appealed to the Victorians in the 19th century when they became more popular. It was then when they made their way onto the Christmas dinner plate.

Stuffing

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Most families have their own recipe for the traditional meat filling that comprises a mix of meat, cereal, herbs and spices. While its origins are somewhat muddled, it has been noted that the earliest known stuffing recipe featured in a Roman cookbook. Usually stuffed within the turkey or protein of choice, quite often today stuffing is a standalone dish, prepared and cooked separately.

Yorkshire Pudding

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The first written recipe of the Yorkshire pudding was penned by Hannah Glasse in 1747, who seasoned the batter with grated nutmeg and ginger and cooked it under a joint of "beef, mutton or a loin of veal" as it spit-roasted before the fire. It was Ms Glasse who gave the pudding its prefix and today the perfect culinary addition has made itself a popular element of almost every Sunday roast.

Roast Potato

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There are around 5,000 varieties of the humble spud and 3,000 of those are found in the Andes alone. So many believe the origin of the roasted potato can be traced back to South American cuisine. It was the Spanish Inca Conquest that saw the potato make its way to Europe, only really establishing itself here in the 17th century. Queen Victoria, when celebrating the Christmas meal is thought to have opted for mash.

Cranberry Sauce

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One of only a handful of native American fruits, cranberries were toyed with until they became the essential sauce for a festive feast in the 1700s stateside. Its thought then they were mixed with water and sugar and first featured in a recipe book American Cookery by Amelia Simmons in 1796. Food brand Ocean Spray packaged its own version in the 1930s. The condiment first became popular during Thanksgiving.

Christmas Pudding

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An English tradition which was also known as prune pudding even thought it is thought to have never included prunes in its makeup, this festive after dinner favourite can, again, trace its roots back to medieval England. The first recipes, however, date a bit later than that - to the 17th century. The bonus, for many, is the puddings high alcohol content which allows it to be created up to one month, or even earlier before the big day.

Add a little luxury to your Christmas with Lidl's Deluxe range. From tasty light bites to after dinner treats and everything in between!

Visit https://www.lidl-ni.co.uk/en/christmas.htm for more inspiration for your holiday season.
Anti-India protesters clash with Indian personnel after security forces killed a top leader of Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), a Pakistan backed terror group, in Budgam district in the state of Jammu and Kashmir, Nov. 28, 2108. [Sheikh Mashooq/BenarNews]

November marked the bloodiest month to date in 2018 in Indian Kashmir with at least 47 people killed, including 37 militants, as security forces stepped up an offensive in the disputed Himalayan region, police said Friday.

Among the suspected rebels killed was Naveed Jat, 22, a top member of Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), a Pakistan-backed militant group.

His killing is a major blow to the Pakistani terror group, which has been struggling to revive its base here after its top operatives were neutralized in gunfights in the recent past, Ravideep Sahi, inspector-general of the Central Reserve of Police Force (CRFP), told BenarNews, referring to Jat.

It is a major success for the security forces this year, he said, emphasizing that November was the deadliest month so far this year.

Security forces gunned down Jat, a Pakistani national, along with an aide in Budgam district in Central Kashmir on Wednesday

Authorities alleged that Jat was involved in a series of attacks on security forces, and in the killing of a noted Kashmiri journalist Shujjat Bukhari in June.

Pakistan is pushing in more militants into Kashmir to intensify terror activities in the region, Sahi said.

Since the partition of the Indian Sub-Continent in 1947, India and Pakistan have been locked in a territorial dispute over predominantly Muslim Kashmir. A de facto border called the Line of Control divides Kashmir, which is claimed in its entirety by both sides.

An outbreak of insurgency on the Indian side has claimed more than 70,000 lives since the late 1980s. A majority of the fatalities have been civilians.

India, which has deployed about 500,000 soldiers in the territory it controls, accuses Pakistan of arming and training Kashmiri rebel groups, but Pakistan denies the charges.

The spike in gunbattles between security forces and militants this month forced businesses to remain shut for more than a week, causing frustration among store owners.

I want peace. The shutdowns, which are periodically ordered by the separatists, is ruining my livelihood, Mushtaq Ahmad, a shopkeeper, told Benar News.

His comments came after separatists forced shops and businesses to shutdown in Shopian district after four militants and a soldier were killed in an attack last week.

No talks until terror stops, minister says

External Affairs Minister, Sushma Swaraj warned that India would not attend the coming summit of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) and said New Delhi would not hold a dialogue with Islamabad until and unless Pakistan stopped sponsoring terror.

Her remarks came a day after Pakistan said it would invite Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the SAARC summit.

Bilateral talks always say that terror and talks cannot go together. The moment Pakistan stops all terrorist activities in India, the dialogue can start, the PTI news agency quoted her as saying Wednesday.

Army Chief applauds the locals

Meanwhile, Indian Army chief Gen. Bipin Rawat credited Kashmir residents for successful operations against militants in the valley, saying they were providing hard intelligence.

Things will be brought into control and are being brought under control, but sustained pressure needs to be maintained, he said in New Delhi.

The firefights and subsequent closing down of schools have also affected school children.

Our exams are approaching but we have still more than 40 per cent syllabus to be taught, said Suhail Ahmad, a senior student from Anantanag district, where six militants were killed on Friday.

Nobody knows when the shopkeepers are asked by the terrorists to put down the shutters or the schools are asked to shut down, he told BenarNews, complaining that schools were closed for at least seven days this month.

Most of the recent gunfights took place in south Kashmir, considered a hotbed of militancy, police said. Gunbattles killed 40 people, including 19 militants, in April this year.

In June this year, the United Nations issued its first-ever report on human-rights violations in the region, slamming India and Pakistan for alleged abuses in areas they rule and called for a major investigation into such violations.

In the 49-page report, then-U.N. rights chief Zeid Raad al-Hussein described a situation of chronic impunity for violations committed by security forces from both sides.
Bangladesh Rapid Action Battalion officers rescued these six Rohingya women in Coxs Bazar from an alleged trafficker, Nov. 30, 2018.

Bangladeshi police rescued 10 Rohingya refugees, including six women, and arrested a suspected human trafficker who was about to take them by boat to Malaysia, officials said Friday.

Maj. Mehedi Hasan, chief of the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) in Coxs Bazar district, told BenarNews the rescue operation occurred Thursday night in the southernmost border of Bangladesh within Teknaf sub-district.

The police operations took place days after authorities in southern Myanmars Tanintharyi region returned 93 Rohingya Muslims to their displacement camps in Rakhine state after allegedly paying traffickers 500,000 Myanmar kyats (U.S. $312) each to take them by boat to Malaysia in hopes of a better life.

We conducted an operation in the late hours of Thursday and rescued 10 Rohingya, Hasan told BenarNews, adding that a man has been arrested on suspicion of human trafficking.

Myanmar considers the Rohingya illegal immigrants from Bangladesh and systematically discriminates against them, denying them citizenship although many of their families have been in the country for generations. They also do not get access to basic services, such as education and health care.

At least 64 Malaysia-bound Rohingya Muslims, mostly women, were rescued during the past two months and five suspected traffickers have been detained, officials said.

Six women who were rescued Thursday night were lured by the suspect who allegedly promised them they could marry prosperous Malaysians, officials said.

The Bay of Bengal is generally calm during winter and traffickers take that opportunity to smuggle Rohingya to Southeast Asian countries where the refugees could find employment.

Mass graves

But trafficking became less frequent after Thai authorities in May 2015 discovered mass graves containing the bodies of 32 Rohingya and Bangladeshi victims of human trafficking in the jungle along Thailands southern border with Malaysia.

After the discovery, Thai authorities launched a crackdown on illegal migration, arresting a three-star army general, police and government officials who were implicated as part of a transnational smuggling ring.

In July 2017, former Army Lt. Gen. Manas Kongpaen was sentenced to 27 years in prison, when he and 61 other defendants were convicted in Thailands largest human trafficking case.

The widespread media coverage generated by the sentencings spurred Bangladesh to launch a crackdown on human smugglers in 2015.

Two weeks ago on Nov. 16, naval authorities rescued a group of 106 Rohingya who paid traffickers to take them to Malaysia when their boats engine failed, leaving them stranded in the Andaman Sea off Yangon region.

In recent years, tens of thousands of Rohingya have fled or attempted to flee persecution in Buddhist-majority Myanmar on boats organized by human traffickers and bound for other Southeast Asian nations.

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.

RFA, a sister entity of BenarNews, contributed to this report.
Police stand guard at a prison near Banda Aceh, Indonesia, after more than 100 inmates escaped, Nov. 30, 2018.

Hundreds of officers were deployed Friday to capture more than 100 inmates who used barbells to smash windows and metal bars to escape from a prison near the capital of Indonesias Aceh province, police said.

The prisoners escaped Thursday night from the prisons main hall and warehouse, and fled through rice fields in front of the complex in Lambaro, Aceh Besar regency, about 2,500 km (1,553 miles) from the Indonesian capital Jakarta, local police and justice officials said.

The inmates were out of their cells to take part in an evening Muslim prayer session in the prisons mosque when they escaped, Banda Aceh police chief Trisno Rianto told reporters.

As of Friday afternoon, 26 of 113 inmates who escaped had been recaptured, including 25 drug convicts, Trisno said.

Aceh police spokesman Ery Apriyono said one of the fugitives, identified as Anwar, was captured at a bus terminal in Lhokseumawe, in North Aceh regency, about 300 km (186 miles) from the prison.

The head of the Justice Department in Aceh, Agus Thoyib, said officials were investigating the escape.

Maybe they had planned it in advance because they had barbells to smash metal bars and windows, he said, adding that 10 guards were working that night at the prison, which holds about 700 inmates. Officials did not release details about normal staffing numbers.

Rep. Nasir Djamil, (center) and the head of the justice department in Aceh Agus Toyib (right), discuss the prison breakout, Nov. 30, 2018. (Nurdin Hasan/BenarNews)

Meanwhile, Aceh provincial police chief Rio S. Djambak urged the fugitives to surrender within three days and urged their relatives to turn them in.

Ery warned that police would take stern action if the escapees did not turn surrender.

Sri Puguh Budi Utami, director of corrections at Indonesias Justice Ministry, said the escape might have something to do with stricter rules following the appointment of a new prison governor.

We are investigating whether the stricter operational procedure contributed to the jailbreak. Even so, inmates are still allowed to pray in a congregation, as per the request of the Aceh government, she told an Indonesian media website.

The devoutly Muslim Aceh is the only province that imposes sharia, or Islamic law.

A woman whose husband was serving nine years for a drug conviction said inmates had been treated inhumanely, including being subjected to isolation in the past few months.

Even visiting hours have been reduced, while in the past we could stay longer, the 38-year-old woman who declined to be identified told BenarNews.

Agus refuted the womans accusation.

The prison governor and his staff have acted very humanely and paid attention to the rights of the inmates, he said.

Elsewhere, House of Representatives member Nasir Djamil called for a review of security, noting that the prison was hit by a riot in January.

We have asked for an evaluation of supervisory and correctional work in the penitentiary, he told reporters after a meeting with Aceh justice department officials.

In May, five police and an inmate were killed after a riot broke out over a food complaint at the Mobile Brigade (Brimob) detention facility in Depok where convicted terrorists were held. The riot began on May 8 and the last officer held hostage was released May 10.

Last year, more than 400 inmates escaped from a prison in Riau province after a Friday prayer session.
A boy displays his weapon in front of Moro National Liberation Front guerrillas at a remote rebel camp in Jolo, Philippines, May 29, 2016.

Deep inside a Moro Islamic Liberation Front jungle encampment in the southern Philippines, veteran fighter Abdul Campong leads a patrol against possible attacks by saboteurs opposed to a peace deal that his group signed with Manila four years ago.

Campong joined the MILF rebels when he was 14 years old, one of many child fighters who left their homes at the time to enlist in the battle for a Muslim homeland in the majority Catholic countrys southern third.

Recalling his early years as a guerrilla, Campong said he was hand-picked to lead a group of young fighters in protecting the camp that housed Hashim Salamat, the ailing MILF leader who died of natural causes in 2003.

I am thankful I survived despite several encounters I experienced against government soldiers, Campong recently told BenarNews. I was mostly a medic tending to injured fighters during the battles.

The phenomenon of child soldiers remains rampant in the south, where many armed groups use them, said Col. Gerry Besana, a spokesman for the Philippine militarys Western Mindanao Command.

It has become easy for groups to recruit children from remote areas where poverty persists and they have access to loose firearms, he said.

Except for the MILF, there are still many child soldiers under Abu Sayyaf and BIFF [the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters] in Mindanao. However, with the implementation of Bangsamoro Organic Law, we are confident it will be lessened, Besana said.

There are programs that will address the cases of child soldiers among these groups, he said.

Now in his late 30s and working on the security detail of another commander, Campong is frequently deployed in Camp Darapanan, MILFs main headquarters in Maguindanao province that has been converted into a peace zone.

He no longer plans assaults against government soldiers, but joins them in hunting down radical fighters who broke away from MILF in protest of a 2014 peace accord with the Philippine government. Some of those militants allied with the extremist group known as Islamic State (IS).

Many of us joined the organization when were still young. My vision before was to take revenge over the deaths of family members. But now I am looking forward to the law that will change the lives of my three children and their generation, he said.

Under the Bangsamoro Organic Law, 4 million Muslim Filipinos would be allowed to form an elected parliament and administration in Islamic-majority areas of southern Mindanao Island and nearby isles, where five decades of insurgencies have left more than 100,000 people dead.

Two boys flank MNLF leader Nur Misuari (center), as they and other guerrillas raise their weapons at a remote camp in Jolo, southern Philippines, May 29, 2016. [Mark Navales/BenarNews]

Campongs tale is not unique. Many children are drawn into joining militant groups in the region, Ramon Beleno III, a political scientist at Ateneo de Davao University, told BenarNews.

Theology, he said, was among the factors that drove children to join the armed movements  they were taught that fighting in a holy war (jihad) was the way to religious salvation.

At the same time, it also has something to do with social injustice, Beleno said. In other cases, it involves historical issues, like if they lost their loved ones in the war. They want revenge

MILF agreed to end the practice of recruiting children to its ranks when it signed the peace deal, he noted.

Last year, the United Nations Childrens Fund (UNICEF) removed MILF from its list of armed groups recruiting and using children, after it facilitated a U.N.-MILF Action Plan involving training programs and integration into communities.

The plan resulted in the removal of 1,869 children from the MILF ranks, allowing them access to appropriate health, education and protection support and services from government and development partners.

A boy stands at attention at the remote Moro National Liberation Camp in Jolo, May 29, 2016. [Mark Navales/BenarNews]

Recruiting goes on

Last year, Isnilon Hapilon, an Abu Sayyaf leader and the acknowledged head of IS in the Philippines, led fighters including teenagers in taking over the southern city of Marawi. The five-month siege ended in October 2017 with the deaths of Hapilon and key militants from Asia and the Middle East.

The Abu Sayyaf, or Bearers of the Sword, has been engaged in banditry, kidnapping and bombings.

While the military has estimated its ranks to number in the low hundreds, it is known to recruit young Muslims by offering them an escape from grinding poverty. It is a tradition in Muslim areas in the south that when a boy reaches the age of 13, he is considered an adult, officials and analysts have said.

A 2005 study by the Philippine Human Rights Center said that more than three-quarters of children drawn into conflict were actual combatants, while the rest were enrolled in support roles.

The study has not been updated, but Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana acknowledged last year that many militant factions had prolonged the practice of recruiting children to carry out their war.

Abu Sayyaf as well as the IS-linked Maute group, which fought in Marawi, had child soldiers in their ranks, Lorenzana said.

In fact, those who are beheading their victims are just teenagers, Lorenzana has said.

In July, his department facilitated the surrender of more than 100 Muslim rebels, many of them younger than 18.

Earlier this month, Malaysias police chief reported that officers had arrested eight suspects, including a man who allegedly recruited children in the Philippines to join Abu Sayyaf.

Police Inspector-General Mohamad Fuzi Harun said the 35-year-old Filipino suspect, whom he did not name, helped find children and train them to use weapons before turning them into human shields in Abu Sayyaf battles with the Philippine Army.

Philippine officials could not be reached to confirm Fuzis allegations.
"Their goal is to help European companies continue some business activity with Iran despite sweeping new United States sanctions on the country and any company that does business with it".

Some refiners may load Iranian oil as early as around end-December, he said.

According to Asgaroladi, Iran's oil sales to China will start next week and Tehran will begin receiving the oil income within the next month.

The Chinese bank had been reported to suspend euro-denominated payments from Iran in late August.

There is an ambiguity surrounding what may happen after the exemption period is up, but Tsukioka believes that Japanese wholesalers will bring in as much Iranian oil as they can during this time.

The United States granted exemptions to Japan and seven other countries on November 5, allowing them to continue buying Iranian oil. That's a lot less than Chinese refiners imported before, but state companies also have rights to production from fields in Iran where Chinese companies have stakes, so they will probably be getting more than that. "The amount of the imports will likely grow from January to March". But, as a condition of waiver, Indian oil firms will reduce their imports significantly, the source added.

Last month, Iran also sent around 22 million barrels of crude to one of China's biggest ports, Dalian, according to a Reuters report citing tanker-tracking data. Dalian is a major oil hub in China and Iran has used storage facilities at the port to keep crude during the previous worldwide round of sanctions against Tehran.

Meanwhile, the volume of India's imports of Saudi crude oil declined by 13 per cent to reach 3.05 million tonnes.
- It will be hosted only by Peru this year

- The 5,000km rally course will be divided in to ten different stages

- Among the 534 participants, 135 are competing for the first time in the event

Details of the 2019 season of what is known to be the worlds most grueling rally, Dakar, have surfaced online. Unlike previous years when it was hosted by multiple regions such as Chile, Argentina and Bolivia, this year will see only Peru hosting the rally event.

The upcoming rally will be the 41st edition of Dakar and the course will span across the borders of Peru which includes a challenging terrain, full of sand dunes and desert. The total area of the course will stretch up to 5,000km and will be divided into ten different stages.

The 2019 season of Dakar will witness 334 vehicles battling it out in different categories which include bikes, cars, ATVs, buggies and trucks. The total number of participants are 534, among which 135 will be making their debut in the rally event. Moreover, the upcoming season also has 17 women participants which is the highest figure yet.

Set to start from 6 January, the Dakar 2019, as is the case every year, will be an ultimate test of the riders endurance, riding and navigation skills. The rally concludes on 17 January.
On this exclusive, members-only event, Bill breaks down what you need to know about The Real Joe Biden. Who is he and how will he directly affect you and your family?

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For Immediate Release, November 30, 2018 Contact: Kristen Monsell, (914)-806-3467, kmonsell@biologicaldiversity.org Trump Administration Approves Harmful Airgun Blasting in Atlantic Blasts Will Hurt Endangered Right Whales, Open Path to Offshore Drilling WASHINGTON The Trump administration today approved five permits that allow harm to whales, dolphins and other animals so companies can search for oil off the Atlantic Coast using loud seismic airgun blasts. Allowing these exploration activities from Delaware to Florida is the first step toward opening the Atlantic to new oil drilling, as the administration proposed in January. The Trump administration is giving the oil industry permission to launch a brutal sonic assault on North Atlantic right whales and other wildlife, said Kristen Monsell, ocean program legal director at the Center for Biological Diversity. These airgun blasts will injure and kill marine animals, and are the gateway to opening the East Coast to offshore drilling and toxic oil spills. Well fight to protect endangered right whales from these deafening blasts and the drilling and spilling that could come next. The announcement comes following the death of at least 20 endangered North Atlantic right whales since April 2017, and years of population decline. Scientists estimate that the population now contains only 411 animals.

The permits allow the firing of seismic airguns from ships every 10 seconds, 24 hours a day, for weeks at a time, at a noise level that would rupture a human eardrum. More than 220 municipalities along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts have formally opposed oil and gas drilling and seismic airgun blasting. Shortly before leaving office, the Obama administration denied these seismic applications, partly because of their harmful impact on right whales and other marine mammals. But in May 2017, the Trump administration revoked that denial and announced it was reconsidering the permits. Its just so sad to see whales and dolphins acoustically attacked in the search for oil we shouldnt be drilling anyway, Monsell said. We need to protect the Atlantic, not let industry destroy it. In 2015, 75 scientists found that opening the Atlantic Ocean to seismic airgun exploration poses an unacceptable risk of serious harm to marine life. The scientists also warned of significant, long-lasting, and widespread harm to fish and marine mammal populations should the blasting proceed. The seismic blasts, which can reach more than 250 decibels, can cause hearing loss in marine mammals, disturb essential behaviors such as feeding and breeding over vast distances, mask communications between individual whales and dolphins, and reduce catch rates of commercial fish. Today's approvals were issued by the National Marine Fisheries Service under the Marine Mammal Protection Act to Spectrum Geo Inc., TGS-NOPEC Geophysical Company, ION GeoVentures, WesternGeco, LLC and CGG. The companies also need permits from the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management.
The disease is preventable through two doses of a safe and effective vaccine. For several years, however, global coverage with the first dose of measles vaccine has stalled at 85 percent

According to the new report by WHO, reported measles cases spiked in 2017, as multiple countries experienced severe and protracted outbreaks of the disease.

Because of gaps in vaccination coverage, measles outbreaks occurred in all regions, while there were an estimated 110 000 deaths related to the disease.

Using updated disease modelling data, the report provides the estimates of measles trends over the last 17 years. It shows that since 2000, over 21 million lives have been saved through measles immunizations. However, reported cases increased by more than 30 percent worldwide from 2016.

Measles is a serious and highly contagious disease. It can cause debilitating or fatal complications, including encephalitis (an infection that leads to swelling of the brain), severe diarrhoea and dehydration, pneumonia, ear infections and permanent vision loss. Babies and young children with malnutrition and weak immune systems are particularly vulnerable to complications and death.

The Americas, the Eastern Mediterranean Region, and Europe experienced the greatest upsurges in cases in 2017, with the Western Pacific the only World Health Organization (WHO) region where measles incidence fell.

Dr Soumya Swaminathan, Deputy Director General for Programmes at WHO said, The resurgence of measles is of serious concern, with extended outbreaks occurring across regions, and particularly in countries that had achieved, or were close to achieving measles elimination. Without urgent efforts to increase vaccination coverage and identify populations with unacceptable levels of under-, or unimmunized children, we risk losing decades of progress in protecting children and communities against this devastating, but entirely preventable disease.

The disease is preventable through two doses of a safe and effective vaccine. For several years, however, global coverage with the first dose of measles vaccine has stalled at 85 percent. This is far short of the 95 percent needed to prevent outbreaks, and leaves many people, in many communities, susceptible to the disease. Second dose coverage stands at 67 percent.

Dr Seth Berkley, CEO of Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance said, The increase in measles cases is deeply concerning, but not surprising. Complacency about the disease and the spread of falsehoods about the vaccine in Europe, a collapsing health system in Venezuela and pockets of fragility and low immunization coverage in Africa are combining to bring about a global resurgence of measles after years of progress. Existing strategies need to change: more effort needs to go into increasing routine immunization coverage and strengthening health systems. Otherwise we will continue chasing one outbreak after another.

Dr Robert Linkins, Branch Chief of Accelerated Disease Control and Vaccine Preventable Disease Surveillance at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and Measles & Rubella Initiative Management Team Chair said, Sustained investments are needed to strengthen immunization service delivery and to use every opportunity for delivering vaccines to those who need them.

Responding to the recent outbreaks, health agencies are calling for sustained investment in immunization systems, alongside efforts to strengthen routine vaccination services.
The Native Antigen Company Zika Virus NS1 ELISA assay is a highly sensitive and specific assay suitable for the quantitative detection of Zika Virus NS1 in a range of biological samples, with no cross-reactivity with other flaviviruses.

The Native Antigen Company has launched a series of ground-breaking immunoassays for Zika virus, offering researchers in academia, public health and drug discovery the capability to work with unprecedented levels of specificity and sensitivity. Unlike previous methods, the new assays have little or no cross-reactivity with other flaviviruses, including Dengue, West Nile, Yellow Fever, Japanese Encephalitis, Tick-Borne Encephalitis and Usutu virus.



The Native Antigen Company Zika Virus NS1 ELISA assay is a highly sensitive and specific assay suitable for the quantitative detection of Zika Virus NS1 in a range of biological samples, with no cross-reactivity with other flaviviruses. Present in human serum during the early stages of infection, the NS1 protein provides an early marker of viral replication following infection. This ELISA assay can detect NS1 antigen at levels as low as 5 pg/ml and enables researchers to measure the level of Zika NS1 protein in infected patients, offering value in epidemiology studies.

The Native Antigen Company Zika Virus IgG/IgM/IgA ELISA assay is designed for the detection of Zika-specific antibodies in human serum. It is minimally cross-reactive with antibodies to Dengue virus and so can be used to distinguish human anti-Zika antibodies from other flavivirus and infectious disease antibodies. Previous assays have been time-consuming, cumbersome and have been unable to reliably distinguish between Zika and Dengue.

However, the Zika Virus ELISA has an assay time of only 2 hours, with specificity and sensitivity both in excess of 90%, even in regions endemic with Dengue. Due to the novel assay format, the test may also be used in any species, making it of particular value for studying animal models of Zika infection.



In an independent assessment of the Zika Virus IgG/IgM/IgA ELISA kit, external researchers reported a sensitivity of 90.3% and specificity of 92.1%. This compared favourably with direct testing against a market-leading IgG assay that exhibited only 69.4% specificity.



In addition to the kits, The Native Antigen Company also offers an extensive range of Zika virus antigens, both expressed as recombinant proteins in a mammalian expression system and as native viral preparations. Further products include NS1 proteins (from both the prototypic Uganda strain and from the Suriname strain responsible for the major outbreak in 2016) and Zika Virus-like particles (VLPs).
The Scrip Awards are the leading global awards for the pharmaceutical sector and recognize excellence and responsibility

Mundipharma CEO, Raman Singh, has won Executive of the Year for small cap & private pharma companies at the annual scrip Awards, which were held in London on 28 November.

The pre-eminent global healthcare awards recognise and celebrate responsible people and companies in the pharmaceutical industry that help improve healthcare for people around the world.

With Mr Singh at the helm, Mundipharma has become a global leader in developing medical solutions that have improved the quality of life for millions of people around the world, and achieved extraordinary growth, which has enabled the organisation to touch the lives of an ever-increasing number of patients and their families.

In relentlessly pursuing this objective, Mr. Singh has, this year alone, been recognised for his work numerous times. As well as the Scrip award, he has won: CEO of the Year 2018 -- Influential Brands; Executive of the Year, Pharmaceuticals, 2018 -- SBR; Top 100 Global CEOs 2018 -- CEO Magazine; and been named the 3rd Most Powerful Person in Healthcare 2018 -- Medicine Maker.

Acknowledging the latest accolade, Mr. Singh said, "I am humbled and delighted on behalf of Mundipharma to win this award, it's a reflection of the quality of our people and their exceptional hard work."

"Success in business requires building high-performing, ambitious teams and I'm privileged to lead a fantastic group of people. It's nice to be recognized in so many ways, but what drives everybody at Mundipharma is the number-one value underpinning our culture -- putting people and patients at the heart of everything we do. For me winning this award is a testament to the culture we've created and the people who embody it," he said.

"We're also well aware of, and motivated by, the many serious healthcare challenges the world faces and will continue our hard work to develop new and innovative solutions and strategies to combat them," added Mr Singh.
For the study, 64 Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya schools, where Samsung already operates a Samsung Smart Class, have been chosen.

Samsung India has announced the MyDream project, a research study in collaboration with UNESCO MGIEP (Mahatma Gandhi Institute of Education for Peace and Sustainable Development) and Navodaya Vidyalaya Samiti.

Under the project, ways of enhancing learning outcomes for middle school students in India and how their stress levels can be reduced.

The 14 Samsung Smart Class will deliver 200 hours of course curriculum that is being developed for the Andhra Pradesh Government under the UNESCO MGIEP initiative Teaching Teachers for Technology. The course is been developed by UNESCO MGIEP so that future teachers can be effectively trained to teach students with the help of the latest technology using digital pedagogies.

Under the MyDream project, Samsung and UNESCO MGIEP will conduct a two-year research study at Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya (JNV) schools across India. This study is designed to understand how project-based and socio-emotional learning (SEL) can be used to drive learning outcomes of students as defined by their Mathematics and Science scores measured by Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya and also to reduce their stress levels.

Through the MyDream project, UNESCO MGIEP wants to build intellectually and emotionally resilient young people. We seek to make learning fun and stress free, and training young people to be mindful, empathetic and compassionate, said Dr Anantha K Duraiappah, Director, UNESCO MGIEP.

This research project will help us understand how learning outcomes for students can be improved and how their stress levels can be mitigated. This partnership between UNESCO MGIEP, Navodaya Vidyalaya Samiti and Samsung will pave way for not just an impact in India, but a global one, he added.

For the study, 64 Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya schools, where Samsung already operates a Samsung Smart Class, have been chosen.

MyDream Project in association with MGIEP and Samsung is likely to add impetus in furthering the digital pedagogy and increase digital competitiveness for India. Navodaya Vidyalaya being a residential system, introduction of project-based learning and social & emotional learning through Samsung Smart Class digital platform will give a strategic direction in reducing perceived academic stress amongst children, said B K Singh, Commissioner, Navodaya Vidyalaya Samiti.

At the end of the study, a comprehensive report and recommendations will be submitted to the Ministry of Human Resource Development, Government of India.
Mr Trump denied the claims as he spoke to reporters outside the White House shortly before boarding a plane to attend the G20 summit in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

But barely an hour later, while aboard Air Force One en route to Argentina, Trump changed his mind again, tweeting that he'd called off the Putin sit-down "based on the fact that the ships and sailors have not been returned to Ukraine from Russian Federation".

Trump said he looked forward to a "meaningful summit" when the "situation is resolved".

The US president said on Tuesday he might cancel the meeting a a result of the incident, but the Kremlin said on Wednesday it thought the talks would proceed as planned.

Regardless, Mr. Trump's shifting schedule provided an inauspicious start on his trip overseas.

The announcement took the Kremlin by surprise.

The Kremlin's spokesman said Moscow had no official information on Mr Trump's decision, and that if true, Mr Putin would have some extra time for a useful meeting at the G20 summit. "I didn't like the incident and we're getting a report on what's going on", Trump told The Post during a 36-minute Oval Office interview.

Like Mr. Trump, Mr. Putin was on his way to Argentina.

The Cohen admission reopened a host of questions about Trump's ties with Russian Federation that the president has, in recent days, been trying to squelch. He demanded Russian Federation release the Ukrainian sailors and vessels.

Over the last year, the two countries have levied a series of tariffs on hundreds of billions of dollars of imports from one another, with the latest round of USA duties set to go into force in the new year.

Lavrov, speaking in Geneva, said Russian border agents and interrogators had found documents on the vessels that "clearly show that these ships had been ordered to not inform the authorities of Kerch Strait and to try and break into the Sea of Azov secretly".

Both Ukraine and Russian Federation have offered conflicting accounts of what happened but Kiev has previously accused Moscow of blockading the Sea of Azov, which is shared by the two countries.

Russia's Izvestia newspaper, citing sources in Ukraine's ruling circles, reported that Kiev had been trying to persuade Washington - so far unsuccessfully - to open a military base in Ukraine. Throughout his presidency, Trump has sought to improve relations despite tensions over election meddling, arms control and the war in Syria.

The bad blood between the USA and Russia only worsened with Kremlin meddling in the 2016 presidential election and its implication in the nerve-agent poisoning of a former Russian spy this year in the United Kingdom. We haven't terminated that meeting.
AYUSH Ministry can make significant contribution to the economy of the country by expanding existing market of Ayurveda and AYUSH products and therapies

Union Minister of State for AYUSH Shripad Naik said that Clinical trials of Ayurvedic medicine against dengue are in progress and it will be launched at the earliest possible time.

Rajesh Kotecha, secretary of AYUSH ministry, said the medicine is expected to be ready after multilevel trials in the next couple of years. Trials on the Ayurvedic medicine for dengue are currently on and we will come out with it at the earliest possible, Naik said on the sidelines of a national conference on Entrepreneurship and Business Development in Ayurveda held in New Delhi.

The AYUSH minister emphasised on entrepreneurial significance of ancient books Charak Samhita and Sushrut Samhita as treasure trove of medicinal knowledge, saying it could be the basis for around 20 lakh medicines for different diseases.

The ministry has aimed to expand the current size of Ayurveda and AYUSH business of around $3 billion to $10 billion by 2022, he said.

He also pointed out the need for linking Ayurveda with the Modi governments initiatives like Digital India, Skill India and Startup India, for widening scope of Ayurveda.

Minister of State for Culture Mahesh Sharma, who was also present at the conference, said Ayurveda can serve as a vehicle to take the Ayushman Bharat scheme to lakhs of villages in the country.

Through Ayurveda, it is possible to take Prime Minister Narendra Modis Ayushman Bharat scheme to over six lakh villages of the country, he said.

Sharma also hoped that the AYUSH Ministry can make a significant contribution to the economy of the country by expanding the existing market of Ayurveda and AYUSH products and therapies.

CEO of Niti Ayog Amitabh Kant said that the world has come to realise Ayurveda as the best and purest source of rejuvenation and there exists a great opportunity to create knowledge and business based on it.
The Russian military reportedly deployed a battalion of S-400 missile systems to the disputed peninsula.

Russia, meanwhile, insisted the Ukrainian vessels were in its territorial waters and refused to communicate with the Russian coast guard, or accept a Russian pilot to guide them through the narrow strait.

The Kerch Strait standoff began when Ukrainian navy vessels attempted to sail between two Ukrainian ports via the waterway, which runs between Crimea and mainland Russian Federation.

"We can not accept this aggressive policy of Russian Federation". Russia's actions represent a risky escalation of aggressive behavior that includes the purported annexation of Crimea, abuses against Ukrainian citizens there, and stoking a conflict that has taken the lives of more than ten thousand people in eastern Ukraine.

Sunday, two Ukrainian artillery ships and a tug, which had sailed out of Odessa in western Ukraine, passed through what Russian Federation now regards as its territorial waters off Crimea and the Kerch Peninsula. There, Russian-backed separatists are fighting the Ukrainian military, which is advised, trained, supported and supplied by North Atlantic Treaty Organisation members. Kiev claims it notified Russian Federation in advance that its ships would be passing through the area, but Moscow denies being given a warning.

Poroshenko, who declared martial law in parts of his country earlier this week, also said he is anxious that Moscow is planning a new ground offensive to annex more Ukrainian territory.

In his first extensive remarks since the confrontation at sea on Sunday, Putin said it had been orchestrated by Kiev as a "provocation".

Poroshenko said martial law will help "strengthen Ukraine's defense capabilities amid increasing aggression and according to worldwide law, a cold act of aggression by the Russian Federation".

Trump said he was cancelling the meeting scheduled for this weekend at the G20 summit in Argentina over Russia's recent seizure of the Ukrainian vessels.

In Moscow, a Russian lawmaker was quoted by RIA news agency as saying Russia had no plans for a reciprocal move to bar Ukrainian men.

She also accused Poroshenko of using martial law as a way of "raising his falling electoral rating in an attempt to earn points during the latest Russophobic wave".

Mr Putin added that the Ukrainian president's decision to impose martial law after a mere "border incident" was extreme, because martial law was not even imposed at the height of the conflict with pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine in 2014.

Ukrainian officials published a map on Wednesday, placing all three Ukrainian boats just outside Crimea's territorial waters at the time they were seized. In yet another expression of hostility, the Russian government paraded the captured Ukrainian sailors on television.

The European Union on Wednesday strongly condemned Russia's actions but, after three days of debate, failed to agree to threaten new sanctions.

Citing sources in Ukraine's ruling circles, Russia's Izvestia newspaper reported that Kiev had been trying to persuade Washington - so far unsuccessfully - to open a military base in Ukraine. Poland had wanted new sanctions on Moscow while Germany and France stressed the need to ease tensions.
PR Newswire

PETALUMA, Calif., Nov. 29, 2018

PETALUMA, Calif., Nov. 29, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- What does it mean to be good? An entrepreneur's answer to that question may shape the way their company functions. Defining what traits are "good" within the context of a company defines the company's values. These values determine which behaviors will be rewarded and punished and form the core of a company's culture. Unfortunately, many companies do not seem to use their values as a means of creating their culture and use their values as a marketing tool, instead. Brandon Frere, founder of Ameritech Financial, Frere Enterprises and other successful ventures, thinks that company values can be used to judge an employee's performance and define what a company will eventually become.

"A company's culture dictates the sort of people who will be joining the company and how you want them to solve problems," said Frere. "Once a founder decides on their values, they shouldn't just give them lip service."

One problem with companies that use their values as a marketing device is the lack of consistency and understanding within the organization. As an example, the company Enron had integrity, respect, communication and excellence as its primary values. Based on the way that Enron treated a whistleblower, Enron probably did not enforce their company culture according to these values. For the entirety of the company's existence, some employees probably believed in the values of the company and believed that they were doing a great thing with a morally upstanding company. Unfortunately for them, Enron went bankrupt due to fraud and its leaders went to jail, which may mean they didn't follow through with their values.

Effective values can provide context and imply action. Words like "integrity," "courage" and "curiosity" aren't enough. In addition to defining what is considered "good," it's important that a company defines what those words mean to their company. After that, a company can spread its culture through actions that consistently reinforce the values the company was built on.

Clearly defining the values at a company, perhaps by using actions and specific descriptions on what each value implies, may create more consistent results and set expectations. The clearer an entrepreneur can be and the more that employees understand what is expected of them, the more the company will change to reflect those expectations.

"To make a good company, someone needs to define what good looks like to that company," said Frere. "The creation of a company's culture gives the opportunity to define what sort of good a company will appear to be, who will be attracted to the company and how problems will be solved. I can think of few things that do more over time than having a strong company culture."

About Brandon Frere

Brandon Frere is an entrepreneur and businessman who lives in Sonoma County, California. He has designed and created multiple companies to meet the ever-demanding needs of businesses and consumers alike. His website, www.BrandonFrere.com, is used as a means of communicating many of the lessons, fundamentals and information that he has learned throughout his extensive business and personal endeavors, most recently in advocating on behalf of student loan borrowers nationwide.

As experienced during his own student loan repayment, Mr. Frere found out how difficult it can be to work with federally contracted student loan servicers and the repayment programs designed to help borrowers. Through those efforts, he gained an insider's look into the repayment process and the motivations behind the inflating student loan debt bubble. His knowledge of the often confusing landscape of student loan repayment became a vital theme in his future endeavors, and he now uses those experiences to help guide others through the daunting process of applying for available federal repayment and loan forgiveness programs.

BrandonFrere.com

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King Mohammed VIs call for Algeria to open a frank and direct dialogue to overcome divergences between the two neighboring countries continues to garner support at the international level.

The support for the royal initiative was renewed on Thursday by the United Nations.

We have always been very supportive of increased dialogue between Algeria and Morocco, whose relationship is very important to the region, said Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for the UN Secretary-General, during his daily press briefing in New York.

This is the second time this month that the UN spokesman comments on the proposal made by King Mohammed on November 6 in a speech marking the 43rd anniversary of the Green March.

This renewed support to the Kings call translates the importance given by the United Nations Secretary General, Antonio Guterres to rapprochement between Morocco and Algeria.

On November 7, Stephane Dujarric declared that the Secretary-General had always been in favor of a reinforced dialogue between Morocco and Algeria.

In his November 6 speech, the Moroccan Sovereign deplored the state of Moroccan-Algerian relations as unreasonable and utterly inconsistent with the brotherly bonds uniting the two peoples, who share the same religion, language, history and destiny.

To remedy the situation, the Sovereign called for a direct and frank dialogue in order to settle the transient and objective differences impeding the development of relations between the two countries and suggested the establishment of a mechanism for dialogue and consultation to break the stalemate in bilateral relations.

The Royal initiative was welcomed by several Western, Arab and African countries as an opportunity to open new perspectives for peace, stability and development in the Maghreb.
King Mohammed VI, Chairman of Al Quds Committee of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, has renewed his firm commitment to continue defending Al Quds and the Palestinian cause until the Palestinian people obtain their independence and set up their independent state along the lines of 4 June 1967, with East Jerusalem as its capital.

In a message to Chairman of the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People, on the occasion of the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People, the Moroccan Monarch said the greatest challenge facing the international community is the implementation of the resolutions supporting the Palestinian cause, which are adopted by the highest international authority entrusted with ensuring the maintenance of international peace and security.

He warned against the impact of the continuing blockade of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip and the worsening socioeconomic indicators, saying this situation may lead to further violence and strife, dash hopes for peace and wipe out prospects for the establishment of an independent, fully sovereign Palestinian State.

In the face of challenges and obstacles impeding the achievement of the just and legitimate rights of the Palestinian people, the international community must keep hope alive and continue to work tirelessly until the Palestinian people () are able to exercise their right to return to their homes, in accordance with UN Resolution 194 and the Arab Peace Initiative, the Sovereign underlined.

Morocco, he said, attaches special importance to the unity of Palestinian ranks, and has stressed, on many occasions, the need to end this state of division and to engage resolutely and in good faith in forming a national unity government that would have to shoulder its responsibilities towards the Palestinian people and serve as the sole interlocutor, enjoying high credibility with the international community.

Aware of the difficult circumstances Palestinians are facing in Gaza, Morocco has spared no effort to assist them. This is fully in line with my countrys commitment to solidarity, which is a longstanding feature of our foreign policy. I therefore ordered the airlift of medical and food aid on two occasions, in 2009 and 2014, underlined the King.

He recalled in this regard the setting up by the Moroccan Royal Armed Forces of a field hospital in the Gaza Strip, offering a range of medical specialties, such as pediatrics, orthopedics, gastroenterology, ophthalmology and otorhinolaryngology.

These initiatives for the benefit of our Palestinian brothers and sisters complement my action as Chairman of the Organization of Islamic Cooperations Al Quds Committee. This action builds on political and diplomatic endeavors at the bilateral level, in international forums and through field work carried out by Bayt Mal Al-Quds al-Sharif Agency, added the Sovereign.

This operational mechanism affiliated with the Al-Quds Committee acts under my personal supervision and carries out concrete projects and plans in the areas of housing, healthcare, education and social services for the benefit of the inhabitants of Al-Quds, said the Monarch.

He affirmed that the question of Al-Quds and that of Palestine have always been a major concern because it is a question of commitment and responsibility towards a just and legitimate cause.

The case of Palestine is a central issue in the Middle East and is at the heart of the conflict in the region. Achieving a just, comprehensive and lasting peace on the basis of the two-state solution and in accordance with Security Council resolutions and the Arab Peace Initiative is a strategic choice, King Mohammed VI said.
Hill speaking at the United Nations headquarters this week. Photo: UN

For over half a century, Palestinians in the West Bank have been living under an illegal military occupation  one that provides their Jewish neighbors with the franchise and basic civil rights, while providing them with neither. In recent years, this de facto apartheid rule has been shading into the de jure variety. In 2017, the Israeli Knesset (i.e. parliament) enacted a law that instructs its army to confiscate privately owned Palestinian land, and transfer it to Israeli settlers. As Michael Sfard observed in the New York Review of Books, This law is not only a naked sanction of land theft; it is also an unprecedented imposition of Knesset legislation on Palestinians who have no parliamentary representation.

For over a decade, Palestinians in the Gaza Strip have been living under an Israeli blockade that restricts their access to basic goods, their ability to fish for sardines (their fishing industrys most important catch), and their capacity to export agricultural products. Israel justifies this blockade in the name of security, as Gaza is currently ruled by the terrorist group Hamas. In reality, many of the blockades most damaging provisions merely serve Israels parochial economic interests. As Peter Beinart has explained:

In 2009, Haaretz exposed the way Israeli agricultural interests lobby to loosen restrictions on imports into Gaza when Israeli farmers want to sell surplus goods. In 2011, Israel found itself with a shortage of lulavs, the palm fronds that observant Jews shake on the holiday of Sukkot. So Israel lifted its ban on Gazas export of palm fronds. Had the security risk suddenly changed? Of course not. What had changed were the needs of Israeli consumers.

This arrangement might work well for Israeli consumers and farming interests  but it has rendered Gaza all but uninhabitable for its Palestinian residents. That is no rhetorical flourish: A recent U.N. report found that Gaza could become unfit for humans life by 2020, if the blockade continues apace. Already, only 10 percent of Palestinians in Gaza have access to adequate drinking water, the blockade has depressed the productivity of Gazas agricultural sector by 40 percent, and most Gazans enjoy the benefits of electricity for only a couple hours each day.

Meanwhile, Palestinian residents of Israel proper have been living under a state that treats them as second-class citizens, in word and in law, for its entire history.

The Israeli government has signaled utter disinterest in ending its occupation and affording Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza the right to self-determination in their own state. Rather, many of the ruling coalitions members have endorsed annexing the occupied territories, and upholding apartheid rule there in perpetuity.

Marc Lamont Hill believes that this is unacceptable. More specifically, the academic and television personality believes that Palestinians have a right to resist their occupation through international boycotts of Israel, and even by defending themselves from the Israeli military with the use of force.

He also believes that Israels desire to exist, in perpetuity, as a majority Jewish state, does not supercede the right of those Palestinians who were displaced in 1948 to return to their homes inside Israel.

Here is how Hill expressed these sentiments, during an appearance at the United Nations headquarters in New York this week:

Solidarity from the international community demands that we embrace Boycotts, Divestment, and Sanctions as a critical means by which to hold Israel accountable for its treatment of Palestinian people. This movement  which emerges out of the overwhelming majority of Palestinian civil society  offers a nonviolent means by which to demand a return to pre-[19]67 borders, full rights for Palestinian citizens, and the right to return by international law.

 Contrary to western mythology, black resistance to American apartheid did not come purely through Gandi and nonviolence. If we are to operate in true solidarity with the Palestinian people, we must allow the Palestinian people the same range of opportunity and political possibility. If we are standing in solidarity with the Palestinian people, we must recognize the right of an occupied people to defend itself.

We must prioritize peace, but we must not romanticize or fetishize it.

We must advocate and promote nonviolence at every opportunity, but we cannot endorse a narrow politics of respectability that shames Palestinians for resisting, for refusing to do nothing in the face of state violence and ethnic cleansing.

 We have an opportunity to not just offer solidarity in words, but to commit to political action, grassroots action, local action, and international action that will give us what justice requires  and that is a free Palestine from the river to the sea.



This argument challenged many conservatives ideological presumptions. And its wording struck them as insensitive, if not outright triggering; after all, a free Palestine from the river to the sea is a sentiment that has been endorsed by terrorists (and to the right-wing PC police, guilt by association is guilt beyond a reasonable doubt). And so, rather than countering Hills viewpoint with reasoned debate  and trusting that the marketplace of ideas would allow the truth of their counterarguments to prevail  these right-wing snowflakes organized a Twitter mob, to demand the de-platforming of Marc Lamont Hill.

And CNN complied, firing its on-air political analyst less than 24 hours after his appearance at the U.N.

One can make reasonable arguments against Hills views on IsraelPalestine, and fair criticisms of the commentators decision to use the phrase from the river to the sea, or his failure to acknowledge the historical experiences that have caused many Jews to believe in the necessity of maintaining a majority Jewish state. Separately, one probably should take exception with Hills past ties to  and shameful defenses of  the virulent anti-Semite Louis Farrakhan.

But the right-wing Twitter mob declined to take that path.

Instead, Seth Mandel, the executive editor of the Washington Examiner  and prominent critic of the internet outrage machine and outrage mobs  decided to declare that Hills remarks were a literal endorsement of a second Holocaust, and thus, that Hills point of view merited suppression, not critique.

Looks like he confirms he called for the destruction of Israel. Looking forward to the hangwringing at the NYT, a Voxsplainer, and all the pieces about how CNN incubates rabid anti-Semitism. pic.twitter.com/D2NqDcyrdo  Seth Mandel (@SethAMandel) November 28, 2018

Haaretz's defense of Marc Lamont Hill's explicit call for Jewish genocide is going to be bonkerooskies  Seth Mandel (@SethAMandel) November 28, 2018

Pay veeeeery close attention to which writers and which publications call out Marc Lamont Hill's plea for another Jewish genocide. Something to keep track of.  Seth Mandel (@SethAMandel) November 28, 2018

Hill clarified his position on Twitter Thursday, writing, My reference to river to the sea was not a call to destroy anything or anyone. It was a call for justice, both in Israel and in the West Bank/Gaza. But this clarification was hardly necessary  Mandel made no attempt to disguise the fact that he had wildly misrepresented Hills position. Mandel posits that there is literally no distinction between saying that there should be a single, binational state in IsraelPalestine  in which all residents are afforded the right to vote  and an explicit call for Jewish genocide.

Ironically, this equation is itself deeply bigoted. Mandels ostensible premise is that, if Palestinians secured basic political rights, they would inevitably use those rights to orchestrate genocidal violence  and, further, that this reality is so obvious, one can fairly assume that anyone who calls for Palestinian enfranchisement desires the liquidation of the Jewish people.

Notably, if one presumes that the two-state solution is dead (far from a crazy presumption), then a majority of the American public actually supports Hills position: In a recent poll conducted by the University of Maryland, 63 percent of Americans said that if a two-state solution is not possible, they would prefer a single democratic state in which both Jews and Arabs are full and equal citizens, covering all of what is now Israel and the Palestinian Territories, over Israel annexing the occupied territories without giving Palestinians citizenship, or maintaining its occupation indefinitely.

The fact that Hills argument  that providing all residents of Israel with full, democratic rights should take precedence over the maintenance of a majority Jewish state  strikes most Americans as reasonable is (almost certainly) why Mandel wishes to brand it as genocidal. He and other right-wing defenders of Israel do not want to permit free and open debate on this subject because they lack confidence in their own position (which doesnt merely hold that a one-state solution is unacceptable, but that any effort to pressure Israel into so much as ceasing settlement expansion in the West Bank is illegitimate). Explaining why Palestinians shouldnt be given the right to vote for the government that rules them is difficult; persuading for-profit media outlets not to tolerate debate over that question is, apparently, easy.
A woman beaten by her common-law partner numerous times told the court on Thursday shes not the same person she was before their relationship, and that her own home is a daily reminder of the abuse she endured.

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A woman beaten by her common-law partner numerous times told the court on Thursday shes not the same person she was before their relationship, and that her own home is a daily reminder of the abuse she endured.

Ive been blocking these feelings out for quite some time. I feel numb. I have not wanted to talk about the incident or the feelings that come with it at all, the woman said in a written victim impact statement. Theres a lot of anger, a lot of feeling sad, a lot of heart-wrenching pain. I cant help feeling betrayed and disappointed. I trusted you to protect me but instead (you) were the only one who wanted to hurt me.

Clayton Goebel, 33, pleaded guilty in Brandon provincial court to assault and breaching probation, joining a lengthy criminal record featuring similar convictions.

Police received a call from the womans friend on Sept. 25, Crown attorney Kaley Tschetter said, advising police she had just received a text message from the victim stating she was being beaten up by her boyfriend, Goebel.

Officers arrived at the home and found two children outside pointing to the door, saying their mother needed help, Tschetter said.

They found the woman crying near the back door. She pointed up the stairs where the officers found Goebel, who had two outstanding warrants for his arrest.

The woman said they were just arguing, Tschetter said, but officers questioned her honesty as they could see she had dried blood on her lower lip.

She told them her lips were just chapped, so police left her with a card in case anything changed.

The woman called police back later that day and said she wanted to provide a statement, Tschetter said, so officers returned.

The couple had got in an argument that day after she found something on Goebels phone, Tschetter said, and she had told him to leave.

Goebel refused and pushed her into the fridge, grabbed her neck and told her he wasnt guilty of anything, Tschetter said.

Goebel followed the woman into the living room where he pushed her onto the couch, pressed her face into the cushions and ripped her pants off.

He then placed her into a chokehold and was grabbing at her neck, Tschetter said, but the woman got free, pulled her pants up and went into the dining room.

Goebel followed and pushed her into the table, busting her lip open.

The woman responded by slapping Goebel across the face with an open hand, Tschetter said, so he went into the garage and started throwing things around.

He came back, and the two got in another altercation in the kitchen the woman described as a blur, and the police arrived shortly after.

In her statement to the court, the woman said she struggles to get through the day without breaking down, and that she is constantly on edge.

A part of me is dead, the woman wrote. I had my guard down because I trusted you. Now I have a solid barrier around me, and Im not sure I will ever trust another human being again.

Tschetter asked the court to consider a sentence of 105 days  a little more than what Goebel has already served in custody.

Its quite clear from the words she was able to put down that this has affected her greatly, Tschetter said. He needs to get the message that this is completely inappropriate.

Defence lawyer Jonathan Richert said the incidents werent as one-sided as the facts read to the court made it sound; however Goebel was taking responsibility for his actions.

He recognizes that it was wrong for him to do those things; regardless, there isnt any justification, Richert said.

Richert submitted time served would be a sufficient sentence, which totalled 99 days after a credit for pre-sentence custody.

Judge John Combs agreed and sentenced Goebel to time served, followed by one year of supervised probation.

 edebooy@brandonsun.com

 Twitter: @erindebooy
CALGARY - A judge had harsh words Friday for a world-renowned Alberta ski resort as she fined it $2.1 million for recklessly cutting down endangered trees five years ago.

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This article was published 30/11/2018 (1091 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A skier passes trees on a ski run at Lake Louise ski resort in Lake Louise, Alta., Saturday, Nov. 24, 2018. A judge is to sentence a world-renowned Alberta ski resort today for cutting down endangered trees five years ago. The Lake Louise resort in Banff National Park pleaded guilty last December to taking down a stand of trees, including some whitebark pine, along a ski run in 2013.THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh

CALGARY - A judge had harsh words Friday for a world-renowned Alberta ski resort as she fined it $2.1 million for recklessly cutting down endangered trees five years ago.

Lake Louise Ski Resort pleaded guilty last December to taking down a stand of trees, including 38 endangered whitebark pine, along a ski run in 2013.

"There is a cumulative impact on the whitebark pine with potential risk of undermining the survival of the species in the decades to come," said Judge Heather Lamoureux.

Lamoureux noted the trees were cut in a national park, the resort failed to ensure its employees knew the whitebark pine was endangered and the trees that were destroyed were all healthy.

"The Crown has proved beyond a reasonable doubt that the actions of (Lake Louise Ski Area) and its employees were reckless given their knowledge of the constraints of operating a commercial ski hill in a national park," she said.

"The risk of harm was easily foreseeable."

Lamoureux gave the resort a year to pay what amounts to about $55,000 a tree.

A spokesman for Lake Louise said the resort will probably appeal the fine, which is almost double what it had expected.

Dan Markham said the judge appears to have ignored evidence at the sentencing hearing that suggested cutting down the 38 trees would not have any impact on the overall whitebark pine population in Canada.

"It was clearly presented in court and admitted by the prosecutor that there was zero impact at any level of whitebark pine that were cut," said Markham, director of brand and communications at Lake Louise.

"That kind of information not being included and considered in the judgment is something we have to consider, so at this point in time we're going to be appealing the decision."

He said steps have been taken to ensure no other whitebark pines are cut down. They include better staff education and marking the 7,000 whitebark pines within the resort area.

An agreed statement of facts said that in 2013 a trail crew, consisting of six employees including a supervisor, began cleaning up, doing fencework and trimming and removing some trees on Ptarmigan Ridge at the ski resort.

The document said that in late September of that year, the workers cut down a number of trees, including endangered whitebark pine, without a permit.

DNA analysis confirmed the trees were whitebark pine. The matter was turned over to Parks Canada for an investigation and charges were laid.

Prosecutor Erin Eacott said the Crown had asked for the substantial $2.1 million fine to send a message.

"In a national park, it's even more aggravating, so you need a significant deterrent to make sure that people who are working in parks and people who are visiting parks are protecting our species," said Eacott.

"These trees take 40 years to reach cone-bearing age. They take another 60 to 80 years to actually have any significant number of cones, so it's a tough life for this species."

The five-needle whitebark pine is considered crucial because it provides food and habitat for animals, as well as helps stabilize steep subalpine slopes.

The tree exists at high elevations in western North America at or close to the treeline. They have been growing on the continent for 100,000 years and can grow to be between 500 and 1,000 years old.

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BUENOS AIRES, Argentina - Canada has spearheaded a G7 foreign-ministers' statement that condemns Russian aggression in Ukraine and urges the release of detained sailors, Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland says.

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This article was published 30/11/2018 (1091 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Minister of Foreign Affairs Chrystia Freeland speaks to media on the roof of the Panamericano Hotel in Buenos Aires, Argentina on Thursday, Nov. 29, 2018., to attend the G20 Summit. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina - Canada has spearheaded a G7 foreign-ministers' statement that condemns Russian aggression in Ukraine and urges the release of detained sailors, Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland says.

The joint communique says the foreign ministers of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States, and the high representative of the European Union, are concerned about Russia's actions against Ukraine in the Kerch Strait and surrounding waters. On Sunday the Russian coast guard opened fire and seized three Ukrainian vessels, including their crews.

The foreign ministers urge restraint, respect for international law and no further escalation.

They call on Russia to release the detained crew and ships and refrain from impeding lawful passage through the Kerch Strait. The strait separates Crimea  Ukrainian territory Russia seized in 2014  from the Russian mainland and allows ships to reach Ukrainian ports.

"Canada has indeed this week been very active on the tensions between Ukraine and Russia," Freeland told reporters in Buenos Aires Friday, where she's part of the Canadian delegation at a G20 summit.

She said Canada, which is president of the smaller and more exclusive G7 until the end of 2018, worked hard to ensure the statement was released Friday so that the position of the G7 on this issue would be clear as leaders meet.

"The G7 is united in condemning this Russian aggression, is united in calling for the release of those 24 sailors who are prisoners of war, is united in calling for the vessels to be released and is united in standing for Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity," said Freeland.

The statement also says the G7 countries will never recognize Russia's illegal annexation of the Crimean peninsula.

The joint message comes two days after Russia announced it would deploy another battery of anti-aircraft missiles to Crimea, bolstering its hold on the region.

There had been mounting pressure on Canada from top Ukrainian officials to forge a diplomatic front against Russia's actions.

Andriy Shevchenko, the Ukrainian ambassador to Canada, had said that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau should use Canada's position as G7 president to deal with the current crisis.

Shevchenko said Friday that he was "very satisfied" with the statement.

"We see clear wording, we see empathy and we feel support toward Ukraine based on international law. I would also like to acknowledge very impressive Canadian leadership on this issue within the G7 community," he said in an interview.

Shevchenko said the statement is a result of trustworthy and meaningful communication between the Ukrainian government and the Canadian government.

Freeland said she spoke with Ukraine's foreign minister, Pavlo Klimkin, and Trudeau spoke with Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko on Thursday.

"President Poroshenko specifically said he was very glad to have the chance to speak to our prime minister on the eve of the G7 meeting and I'm not in the room right now but Canada certainly anticipates that this will be an important issue in those conversations," Freeland said.

"Canada will speak, as we have in leading this G7 foreign ministers' statement, with a strong voice and a voice on this issue where we are rightly, I believe, considered to have a real expertise," said Freeland.

Shevchenko said the words should be followed by action and hopes Canada continues to work with partners in the G7 and other organizations on this issue.

He said that action should include more NATO military presence in the Black Sea region and more sanctions against Russia. Shevchenko also said he thinks Russian commercial activities in the Black Sea region should be monitored and limited, including illegal activities of Russian commercial vessels in Ukrainian waters.

"We have a clear diagnosis of the situation and now prompt and efficient remedy is needed to follow."
Migrants march with American flags, shortly before some evaded a police blockade and rushed toward the El Chaparral port of entry in Tijuana, Mexico. Photo: Mario Tama/Getty Images

In the United States today, the rich lay claim to a higher share of our nations wealth than they have at any point since the Gilded Age  and foreign-born residents account for a higher share of our nations population than at just about any time since that same era.

In his 2016 book, The Great Exception: The New Deal & The Limits of American Politics, the historian Jefferson Cowie suggests that these two developments are related. His case is simple: It is hard to implement egalitarian economic policies in the absence of working-class solidarity  and it is hard to achieve the latter in a context of mass, multi-ethnic immigration.

According to this analysis, it wasnt purely coincidence that American workers secured themselves a New Deal shortly after Congress passed (profoundly racist) restrictions on immigration, nor that the New Deal consensus unraveled shortly after those restrictions were lifted in 1965. Throughout the Gilded Age, Americas industrial working class was riven by bitter tensions between protestants and Catholics; and/or between longtime Anglo-American citizens, and newly arrived Irish, German, and Jewish immigrants. These ethnic and religious tensions divided workers (and the trade union movement) between the two major parties, preventing them from consolidating power within either.

In 1924, native-born protestants fear and loathing of their newly arrived, non-English speaking  and, in the near-unanimous opinion of contemporary scientists, racially inferior  compatriots reached its fullest expression in the Johnson-Reed Act, which all but barred Southern and Eastern Europeans from Americas shores. Nativists hoped that this Eugenicist legislation would safeguard the invidious distinctions between Anglo-Saxons and the lesser European-American races. It did the very opposite.

As Americas foreign-born population fell, nativist reaction receded, and European-Americans of all ethnicities assimilated into whiteness. Cowie summarizes the implications that this development had for class politics in the U.S.:

[W]hen the 1929 crash hit, nativism was largely at bay and workers living in this country were presumed to be here to stay. This in itself was enough to engender more of a sense of unity among working people than before. By effectively neutralizing one of the most common reasons why a sense of unity or shared economic destiny had fallen apart in the past, the mitigation of the nativist impulse helped shape an era of greater equality.

When the 2008 crash hit, by contrast, Americas foreign-born population was nearing historic highs, nativism was rampant, and a xenophobic right-wing movement ended up harvesting much of the oppositional energy unleashed by the financial elites epic feats of economic mismanagement. Cowie suggests that none of this should have surprised us:

When immigration resurfaced slowly in the generation after the 1965 immigration reforms, so did neo-Know Nothings and the militant nativism of an earlier age, returning the working class to historical patterns of internecine hostilities and political divisions reminiscent of the pre-New Deal Era. As throughout much of the twentieth century, few issues generate more visceral and divisive political reactions among native-born citizens than immigration  be it the immigrant cauldron of Five Points in New York on the 1830s or tensions along the militarized Arizona border today. To put it plainly, for most of American history, battle lines have been drawn around the social reality and policy issues of immigration  except during the period of the New Deal order.

Thus, in Cowies telling, the 1924 Immigration Act was one of several aberrant developments that allowed for the great exception that was the New Deal era: the sole period in American history when the central government used its considerable resources in a systematic, if hardly consistent, fashion on behalf of the economic interest of non-elite Americans, and, thereby, built the most prosperous middle class the world had ever known.

It was also one of the aberrant developments that allowed the Nazis to murder my grandmothers entire family.

In all of this, some on the left see a progressive case for reducing immigration.

The Great Exception is no nativist tract. The argument of Cowies book isnt that the American left must embrace immigration restrictionism, but rather that it shouldnt model its vision for achieving 21st-century social democracy on an extraordinarily unique period in American history. After all, it wasnt merely low levels of immigration that made the New Deal era exceptional, but also, Jim Crow rule in the South (which temporarily persuaded some Southern Democrats that they could have their activist federal government and their racial caste system, too), a prolonged depression, a global war against fascism, and the rise of a rival great power with a competing, egalitarian economic model.

Given the impossibility of recreating these conditions, Cowie argues that the American left should abandon its nostalgic dreams of reassembling the New Deal coalition, and instead look to the pre-Depression, pre-trauma outlines of progressive-style politics, albeit updated for the global age  a politics defined by shifting alliances, diffuse leadership, cross-class identification, and general social ferment. While Cowie details the challenges that mass immigration poses for progressive politics, he also suggests that Americas foreign-born working-class can offer the left a vital source of radical energy; at one point, the historian approvingly quotes an organizer of the 2006 Great American Boycott, who argues that immigration activists are rescuing from anonymity the struggle for the 8-hour day, begun in Chicago over a century ago by the immigrants of yesteryear. They are recovering the traditions of all working people.

But in 2018, some on the left would beg to differ. In their view, the resurgence of a nativist far-right across Europe  and the election of a certain far-right nativist in the United States  have demonstrated the impossibility of reconciling progressive politics with mass immigration. These intellectuals embrace much of Cowies analysis, but reject his conclusion; they maintain that progressives will never find the road to Americas social democratic future until they circle back to its restrictionist past.

In his new book, The Nationalist Revival: Trade, Immigration, and the Revolt Against Globalization, the liberal political analyst John Judis argues that without control of borders and immigration, it is very hard to imagine the United States becoming a more egalitarian society  and thus, that the American left should support reducing legal immigration, and establishing stiff penalties against companies that employ undocumented immigrants (Judis does stipulate that such a policy must not be implemented until undocumented immigrants already in the country are provided with legal status). Meanwhile, in an essay titled The Left Case Against Open Borders, the nonfiction writer (and dirtbag left fellow-traveler) Angela Nagle writes that a mindless moral absolutism about immigrants rights has led progressives to blind themselves to what libertarian champions of mass immigration see all too clearly: that the so-called free movement of labor actually benefits the elites within the most powerful countries in the world, further disempowers organized labor, robs the developing world of desperately needed professionals, and turns workers against workers.

More prominently (if less programmatically), Hillary Clinton recently implored the European center-left to send a very clear message: We are not going to be able to continue to provide refuge and support; because if we dont deal with the migration issue it will continue to roil the body politic. Specifically, the former Democratic nominee suggested that if responsible politicians (in both the U.S. and Europe) refuse to limit immigration, then voters will hire the authoritarian right to do that job.

White nationalists march on Pennsylvania Avenue near the White House during an anti-immigration rally in Washington, DC on December 3, 2017. Photo: Mandel Ngan/AFP/Getty Images

Some arguments for progressive restrictionism rest on substantive critiques of mass immigration as a policy. Judis suggests that working-class hostility to immigration is (at least potentially) rooted in rational material concerns: The perpetual arrival of disempowered, unorganized workers inevitably reduces the bargaining power, and thus, the wages, of native-born laborers. Nagle seconds that claim, while also arguing that open immigration hurts developing countries, by funneling their brightest minds to wealthy, Western nations.

And yet, mass immigrations allegedly adverse economic effects are only inevitable if one presumes that its allegedly adverse political effects are, too. Which is to say: Theres no technical conflict between social democracy (or democratic socialism) and mass immigration. In fact, in countries with declining birth rates like the United States, regular infusions of working-age laborers from abroad render social welfare programs more sustainable, in fiscal terms. Further, there is no economic reason why mass immigration must weaken the bargaining power of native-born workers. Of course, immigrants inevitably increase the net supply of labor in an economy, but their arrival also creates new demand. It is perfectly possible, in theory, for a social democratic government  one committed to full employment, and universal collective bargaining rights  to reconcile high levels of immigration with rising living standards for native-born workers. And that government could also, theoretically, rewrite the rules of international trade and investment in a manner that supports state-led development, and provides highly-educated workers in the developing world with more opportunities in their home countries (both Judis and Nagle offer some worthwhile critiques of the free movement of capital).

The progressive case for restrictionism is, then, primarily an argument about politics, not economics. Its strongest contention is that mass immigration erodes the class (and/or national) solidarity necessary for expanding labor movements and welfare states  and inevitably delivers a significant portion of the native-born working-class into the hands of reactionaries. Given these realities, a morally serious (as opposed to moralistic) left must accept lower levels of immigration as a precondition for securing national power, and thus, for having any hope of redressing global inequalities.

This argument isnt as implausible as I would like it to be. But it also isnt nearly persuasive enough to justify the American lefts acquiescence to its implications  which are likely to be far grimmer than progressive restrictionists seem to understand.

The United States has been growing simultaneously more diverse and more progressive for decades now.

Liberal restrictionists may see mass immigration as a political boon for the American right  but the American right sure doesnt. In 2016, future White House adviser Michael Anton wrote that the conservative movement was at a crossroads, with only two viable paths forward: It could either embrace draconian restrictions on legal immigration, or resign itself to certain death.

The ceaseless importation of Third World foreigners with no tradition of, taste for, or experience in liberty, Anton wrote, means that the electorate grows more left, more Democratic, less Republican, less republican, and less traditionally American with every cycle.

Antons analysis was, of course, an expression of virulent xenophobia. But his core premise  that mass, non-white immigration is making the American electorate more hostile to the conservative movements peculiar conception of liberty  has much evidence to support it.

Demographics arent destiny. The growing diversity of the American electorate will not guarantee the Democratic Party a sustainable majority (as Judis once suggested it would). But it has, ostensibly, loosened the GOPs grip on the Sunbelt, all but evicted the party from California, and left Republicans increasingly reliant on counter-majoritarian institutions (like the Electoral College, gerrymandering, and the Senate) to exercise power on the national level.

Meanwhile, as the foreign-born share of the U.S. population has surged over the past three decades  and the Democratic coalition has grown markedly less white  Team Blue has grown markedly more progressive. The 1996 Democratic standard-bearer was tough on crime; the 2016 one was toughness on systemic racism. Being a centrist Democrat once meant supporting sharp cuts to Medicare spending; now, it means supporting an expansion of public health insurance (but not necessarily the abolition of the private insurance industry). A party that once took pains to distance itself from labor militancy now eagerly stamps its brand on teachers strikes.

Correlation is not causation, of course. The GOPs declining popular support  and the Democrats burgeoning progressivism  are shaped by countless factors besides Americas shifting demographics. But it seems telling that both developments are especially pronounced in states and cities with large immigrant populations. Regardless, correlation is enough to establish that mass immigration does not inevitably pull a countrys politics rightward. In fact, in the U.S., it has not even pulled the politics of immigration rightward, at least as measured by public opinion.

None of this means that mass immigrations supposed political downsides are mere figments of Nagles imagination. On the contrary, there is evidence that rapid increases in Americas foreign-born population have turned some native-born voters more conservative. Demographic analyses of the 2016 Republican primary suggest that Donald Trumps strongest support came in Midwestern counties with surging Latino populations; sociological research has found that when white voters contemplate the prospect of the U.S. becoming a majority minority country  or even when they hear Spanish being spoken on a commuter train  their support for redistributive policies declines. More concretely, the shifting makeup of the major-party coalitions does suggest that mass immigration is taking some toll on working-class solidarity: In recent years, the American electorate has become less polarized according to class position, and more polarized according to attitudes towards immigration.

These findings, the historical trends documented by Cowie, and the ascendance of the far right in Europe all lend credence to the progressive restrictionists concerns. Which raises the question: If the restrictionists claims about the politics of mass immigration are theoretically sound, why have they proven empirically false in the United States? Or, put more concretely: If mass immigration undermines the left by eroding social solidarity, then how did supporters of single payer health-care just oust the GOP from Orange County?

The rapid diversification of the U.S. has undermined white supremacy more than it has dulled class consciousness.

Where the progressive restrictionists err, in my estimation, is in their failure to account for Americas native-born obstacle to social solidarity: namely, the whole, Our economy was built atop chattel slavery, a barbaric institution that we rationalized with a mythology of racial difference that only fell out of fashion a couple decades ago thing.

It is true that the New Deal coalition began unraveling in the late 1960s, shortly after Congress expanded legal immigration. But Congress also passed a little law called the Civil Rights Act during that period. And, in its first decades of ascendancy, the conservative movement drew far more of its strength from white outrage over integration than it did from nativist backlash. As Nagle notes, Ronald Reagan actually sung the praises of open immigration; but the Gipper also sung paeans to states rights, in Philadelphia, Mississippi.

For a fleeting period, the Democratic Partys Confederate heritage  combined with a historic economic depression  put the white South into a progressive, partisan coalition with the non-white working class. But in the absence of Jim Crow rule (and the other exceptional circumstances of the New Deal era) a significant segment of Americas white workers has always aligned itself with conservative economic elites, in defense of white supremacy.

This reactionary tendency is both deeply rooted in Americas past and profoundly relevant to its present. As the political scientists Avidit Acharya, Matthew Blackwell, and Maya Sen demonstrate in Deep Roots: How Slavery Still Shapes Southern Politics, the prevalence of chattel slavery in a southern county circa 1860 reliably correlates with the prevalence of conservative political attitudes there in the present day. This is because human beings typically derive their political values from the social environment that theyre born into; from the attitudes of their parents, and the cultural presumptions of their hometowns. And in places that were ruled by a slavocracy until just two human lifetimes ago, those attitudes and presumptions remain largely hostile to federal intervention and cross-racial collectivism.

Many pundits have attributed the rightward drift of non-college-educated whites in recent years to concerns over mass immigration. And that certainly appears to be part of the story. But according to the research of University of California Irvine political scientist Michael Tesler, a more important causal factor was the election of a black president  which led many low-information white voters in the U.S. to realize, for the first time, that the Democratic Party was more closely aligned with African-Americans than the GOP was. Before Barack Obamas election, when pollsters asked white non-college-educated voters which party was more supportive of government assistance to black people, less than half said the Democrats; by 2012, two-thirds did. Meanwhile, just as Obama rose to the summit of American politics, white voters racial attitudes suddenly became more reliable predictors of their partisan preferences than at any time in recent memory.

Thus, Americas native-born white supremacy remains the fundamental challenge to progressivism in the U.S. And this reality helps explain why mass immigration has had ambiguous  if not positive  political implications for the American left: The ceaseless importation of workers whose worldviews werent shaped by the legacy of chattel slavery, and who have little (or no) investment in the maintenance of white supremacy, has diluted the electoral clout of white revanchism in the United States.

Contra Michael Anton, it is not immigrants inexperience with liberty that renders them relatively unsympathetic to the Republican Party. Rather, it is the fact the GOP has virtually nothing to offer working people who do not identify (consciously or otherwise) with the white race and/or the Evangelical church. No center-right party in the developed world opposes universal health-care, the minimum wage, and raising taxes on the wealthy in all circumstances. The conservative project simply isnt electorally viable unless white racial animus is electorally salient. And when non-Hispanic whites only account for 62 percent of the U.S. population (as they did in 2014) instead of 90 percent (as they did in the 1950s), openly appealing to white racial animus becomes a much dicier proposition for the GOP.

All this suggests that embracing immigration restriction could have some political costs for the American left. And it also indicates that such triangulation would pay few dividends: If racially conservative whites turned on the Democrats (primarily) in response to the increasing visibility of the partys alliance with non-white constituencies  rather than out of opposition to the finer details of Team Blues immigration agenda  then embracing restrictionism will do little to satisfy such defectors. Even if Congress enacted every immigration policy on Donald Trumps wish-list, the rapid diversification of the American population would continue; nothing short of de jure ethnic cleansing could prevent such a development. The Democrats are going to be a visibly multiracial party in a browning America. There is no way for Democrats to avoid the liabilities of that position  they can only strive to capitalize on its benefits.

There is no leftist case for tightening borders in an age of climate crisis.

Of course, saying that mass immigration has been, on net, politically beneficial for the American left tells us nothing about the policys political implications for the European Union. Nor, for that matter, does it disprove the claim that the United States lacks the class solidarity necessary for achieving social democratic change  and will continue to, so long as both mass immigration and the political legacy of slavery persist.

The political argument against restricting immigration so as to enable progressive gains on the national level isnt bulletproof. But the moral argument against such a strategy, in an age of climate crisis, is.

That case is much simpler than the political one outlined above, and can be summarized in a single sentence: The advanced, industrial world must not close its borders to refugees displaced by the consequences of its own carbon emissions.

The climate refugee crisis is not a dystopian hypothetical, but a metastasizing reality. Every year, desertification chases 700,000 people from Mexicos drylands, while cyclones and hurricanes force thousands to emigrate from low-lying islands. Already, about 26.4 million people are displaced by extreme weather events each a year, a figure that is certain to rise in tandem with global seal-levels and air temperatures.

Estimates of how many climate refugees will need to be resettled in the coming decades vary widely (in part, because definitions of the term climate refugee vary widely). But we know that rising temperatures are likely to render large swaths of the Middle East, Africa, and south Asia uninhabitable, and that rising sea-levels are likely to displace millions of people in coastal communities, and submerge low-lying countries like Bangladesh. World War II uprooted roughly 60 million Europeans; conservative estimates suggest that climate change will displace upwards of 140 million people by mid-century. Much of this displacement will be internal to nation states. But plenty of migrants will be displaced into statelessness. And the U.S. is both better-equipped to absorb such people, in material terms, and more responsible for the climate disruptions that will uproot them, than just about any country on Earth.

If building the New Deal state required draconian restrictions on immigration, it required abandoning the Jews of Europe to their fate; if building 21st-century social democracy requires meeting Trump and Le Pen halfway, then it will require abandoning thousands of climate refugees at the bottom of the Mediterranean.

Given the choice between accepting Gilded Age-caliber inequality at the national level and complicity in mass death at the global one, its not clear to me how the latter could qualify as the left option.

Fortunately, it is far from clear that the left faces such a choice. Building multi-ethnic social democracies will not be easy (let alone multi-ethnic socialist states). But neither was toppling the ancien regime, abolishing slavery, or securing social welfare programs and collective bargaining rights. The vocation of the left, across time and geography, has been to demand the unprecedented and purportedly impossible  because honoring the fundamental dignity of all human beings has never demanded anything less.
OTTAWA - Former prime minister Stephen Harper could be dragged into the criminal case against Vice-Admiral Mark Norman, as the suspended military officer's lawyers seek access to thousands of secret government documents.

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This article was published 30/11/2018 (1091 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Former prime minister Stephen Harper could be dragged into the criminal case against Vice-Admiral Mark Norman, as the suspended military officer's lawyers seek access to thousands of secret government documents. Suspended Vice-Admiral Mark Norman leaves court following a hearing on access to documents in Ottawa, Friday, Nov. 23, 2018. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld

OTTAWA - Former prime minister Stephen Harper could be dragged into the criminal case against Vice-Admiral Mark Norman, as the suspended military officer's lawyers seek access to thousands of secret government documents.

Last month, Norman's lawyers gave the court a list of records they say are needed to ensure their client receives a fair trial, even as they accused the government of having "cherry-picked" the disclosure of information.

The Opposition Conservatives subsequently picked up on the demand for more information by repeatedly calling on Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to provide the documents, which government lawyers have said includes about 135,000 files.

But many of the records that Norman's lawyers requested  including many deemed cabinet secrets or "confidences"  were created while Harper was prime minister, and federal officials say he is the only one who can authorize their release.

In a document filed with the court, Paul Shuttle an adviser to the clerk of the Privy Council, the government's top bureaucrat, stated: "For documents from the Harper ministry, PM Harper would have to approve of their disclosure." The Privy Council Office reiterated that position in an email to The Canadian Press this week.

While the disclosure of evidence is a key tenet of Canada's legal system, and courts can normally compel the release of such information, the Canada Evidence Act lets the government refuse requests for cabinet confidences. Usually prepared for ministers to aid government deliberations and decision-making, documents marked as cabinet confidences hold closely guarded political secrets and are legally protected from unauthorized release.

Because of their extremely sensitive nature and the potential for using them as political weapons, cabinet confidences are not passed from one government to another. Rather, those produced by previous governments are held under lock and key by the clerk of the Privy Council.

"A government, by convention, can only authorize disclosure of its own cabinet confidences," said University of Ottawa professor Yan Campagnolo, who has studied the rules around cabinet secrecy.

"The current government does not have access to the cabinet confidences created under the previous government."

Officials would not say whether Harper had been asked to authorize the release of documents requested by Norman's lawyers. Repeated emails to one of the former prime minister's representatives were not answered.

Trudeau has sidestepped questions about whether he will approve the release of any cabinet confidences if the court determines they are relevant to Norman's case.

The issue will come up again next week when the Crown files a formal response to the request for documents from Norman's lawyers. Five days have been set aside starting Dec. 12 for the court to hear arguments about why the records are relevant.

Norman was charged in March with one count of breach of trust for allegedly leaking government secrets to Davie Shipyards after the Liberals decided to delay awarding the Quebec shipyard a $700-million contract.

The contract, which involved converting a civilian container ship into a temporary support vessel for the navy, was first negotiated by the Harper government but not finalized before the Liberals took office in October 2015.

The former navy commander and vice-chief of defence staff, who remains suspended with pay, has denied any wrongdoing and his trial is currently set to begin in August 2019 and run through much of next year's federal election.

The documents requested by Norman's lawyers include numerous records related to the Trudeau government's decision in November 2015 to delay the Davie contract, which the Liberals later decided to approve.

Norman's lawyers have also requested records of meetings, briefing notes and presentations prepared for cabinet while Harper's government was considering the project.

Campagnolo's research uncovered two instances where a government voluntarily released cabinet confidences for a criminal trial, both involving ministers accused of illegal activity. There have also been several inquiries where such records were released.

While such instances are rare, Campagnolo maintained the prime minister  Harper or Trudeau  should authorize the release of cabinet secrets if a judge determines they are relevant to Norman's case. Otherwise, he said, the charges should be dropped.

"If cabinet documents are relevant in the context of a criminal prosecution, they should be made available to the court and to the accused because there's a fundamental issue of liberty at stake," he said.

"It's about the innocence of an individual whose reputation may very well be destroyed or he may lose his liberty as a result of the process. In that context, the public interest requires that the documents be disclosed for the purpose of the prosecution to enable the court to find the truth."

 Follow @leeberthiaume on Twitter.
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This article was published 30/11/2018 (1091 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau delivers short remarks during the Women's Economic Empowerment Conference in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on Thursday, Nov. 29, 2018. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick

Five stories in the news for Friday, Nov. 30



CANADA TO SIGN ON TO USMCA IN ARGENTINA

Canada will sign the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement today in Buenos Aires, on the sidelines of the high-profile G20 summit. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will join U.S. President Donald Trump and outgoing Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto to formally sign the trade agreement early this morning. The signing of the trade agreement is largely ceremonial, because it will still need to be ratified by all three countries before it can formally take effect.



TWO INVESTIGATIONS INTO NIAGARA POLICE 'ALTERCATION'

Two separate investigations are underway into an altercation between two Niagara regional police officers that sent one to hospital in critical condition. Provincial police and Ontario's police watchdog are investigating the incident Thursday at a rural intersection in Pelham, Ont., about 20 kilometres west of Niagara Falls. The Special Investigations Unit says the two officers were investigating a prior collision when they became involved in an "altercation" around noon on Thursday. Spokeswoman Monica Hudon told reporters Thursday evening that a firearm was discharged and one officer was hit.



HARPER'S OK NEEDED TO RELEASE NORMAN DOCS

Former prime minister Stephen Harper could be dragged into the criminal case against Vice-Admiral Mark Norman, as the suspended military officer's lawyers seek access to thousands of secret government documents. Last month, Norman's lawyers gave the court a list of records they say are needed to ensure their client receives a fair trial. Many of the records that Norman's lawyers requested  including many deemed cabinet secrets or "confidences"  were created while Harper was prime minister, and federal officials say he is the only one who can authorize their release.



SKI RESORT TO BE SENTENCED FOR CUTTING DOWN TREES

A Calgary judge is to sentence a world-renowned Alberta ski resort today for cutting down endangered trees five years ago. The Lake Louise resort in Banff National Park pleaded guilty last December to removing a stand of trees, including some whitebark pine, along a ski run in 2013. The resort will be sentenced on two charges  one under the Species At Risk Act and the other under the Canada National Parks Act. A total of 132 trees were removed, but the actual number of whitebark pine is being disputed.



SHOVELLING APP INSPIRED BY WINNIPEG'S WINTER WEATHER

The developers of a new app inspired by Winnipeg's wintry weather are calling it the Uber of snow removal. OnTheStep connects homeowners with people who will shovel their driveways. It was founded by Buhle Mwanza, a computer science student, and a group of his classmates. Mwanza says he decided to embrace the "Winter-peg" identity and develop the app to make snow fun. The app was launched earlier this month but was really put to test during the giant snow dump in Winnipeg this week.



ALSO IN THE NEWS:

 Gov. Gen. Julie Payette starts a two-day visit today to Mexico to attend the inauguration of the country's new president, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador.

 Sukhmander Singh, owner of the trucking company involved in the Humboldt Broncos bus crash, will appear in court today to face non-compliance charges under federal and provincial safety regulations.

 Statistics Canada will release its gross domestic product figures by industry for September.

 The retrial of Dennis Oland, who is accused of killing his multimillionaire father, continues today.

 Officials from the Department of National Defence will make an announcement regarding military spousal employment opportunities.
OTTAWA - Some of what was said after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, U.S. President Donald Trump, and Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto signed a replacement for the North American Free Trade Agreement in Buenos Aires on Friday morning:

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Prime Minister Justin Trudeau officially arrives to the G20 Summit in Buenos Aires, Argentina on Friday, Nov. 30, 2018. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick

OTTAWA - Some of what was said after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, U.S. President Donald Trump, and Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto signed a replacement for the North American Free Trade Agreement in Buenos Aires on Friday morning:

"The Americans are counting their victories in what they got from Canada and Trudeau is counting his victories in what he didn't have to give away... This deal includes a cap, a limit to what Canadian agricultural producers can sell to other countries. Not the U.S., not to Mexico, but to other countries. That is devastating to our agricultural communities. It's unprecedented for a government, for a prime minister to agree, in order to please the Americans, not to sell to other countries so that they can sell, so that American farmers can fill that market. ... This deal is not better than what we had going into these talks. There's no gains for Canada. It's all concessions, no victories."  Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer



"Trudeau has just sacrificed tens of thousands of good jobs in Canada. He has given in to Donald Trump and given up the last lever Canada had to protect farmers and tens of thousands of workers in Canada's aluminum and steel industries. The Trudeau government promised repeatedly that it would defend Canada's supply management system and fight against Trump's illegal tariffs, but instead he has dealt a devastating blow to supply management and signed away any leverage we had to stop the tariffs." NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh



"Trudeau lied to dairy producers. He promised them he would never sign an agreement that gave the Americans the right to decide how we organize our production. He signed that agreement this morning. He promised that he'd never let Donald Trump stop our producers from selling their surpluses on the global market. He did that. The Liberals' word means nothing." Bloc Quebecois international trade critic Gabriel Ste-Marie



"While the agreement falls short of what North American business sought, it generally maintains tariff-free access for Canadian products, retains the labour mobility provisions, strengthens intellectual property protections, and ensures Canada has access to the most crucial aspects of dispute settlement. However, much work remains to be done. We are now entering a difficult ratification process in the United States. It is crucial that our government and Canadian and U.S. businesses continue making the case to U.S. legislators that speedy ratification is important for all three countries to enjoy the benefits of trade certainty." Canadian Chamber of Commerce
OTTAWA - Former defence minister Jason Kenney is rejecting suggestions he pushed the Harper government to negotiate a $700-million deal with a Quebec shipyard because of electoral considerations.

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This article was published 30/11/2018 (1091 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

OTTAWA - Former defence minister Jason Kenney is rejecting suggestions he pushed the Harper government to negotiate a $700-million deal with a Quebec shipyard because of electoral considerations.

The contract was to refit a commercial vessel into a navy supply ship. The current Alberta opposition leader says his only thought as the Conservatives were weighing the sole-sourced deal with Davie Shipbuilding in 2015 was the navy's urgent need  a point that he says he emphasized to his fellow Tory ministers.

"I was always clear with my colleagues in government that the only consideration should be meeting the navy's urgent operational requirements as quickly as possible," Kenney said in a statement Friday, "and that regional political considerations should not be a factor in the decision."

The comments are in response to a Canadian Press article this week that cited an RCMP interview with a federal civil servant who attended secret cabinet meetings about the controversial project under both the Harper and Trudeau governments.

A partial transcript of the Mounties' interview with Privy Council Office analyst Melissa Burke was filed in court by suspended Vice-Admiral Mark Norman's lawyers and made public last week. Her comments have not been entered as formal exhibits or tested in court.

Suspended as the military's second-in-command in January 2017, Norman was charged this past March with one count of breach of trust for allegedly leaking cabinet secrets to Davie. He has denied any wrongdoing and vowed to fight the charge.

Burke told the Mounties in January 2016 that both the Conservatives and Liberals were highly conscious of Davie's location in Quebec  just across the St. Lawrence River from Quebec City  and worried about the impact not signing the deal would have on their respective political fortunes because of the money and jobs it involved.

Burke said in her police interview that Kenney underscored the importance of the deal to both the navy  which did not have any support ships at the time  as well as the Tories' electoral prospects during a cabinet meeting in April 2015.

Kenney, however, said while he would not reveal cabinet secrets, "I can confirm that I did not say the words cited in Ms. Burke's deposition."

The Conservatives decided in June 2015 to launch negotiations with Davie and changed federal procurement rules to allow a contract without a competition, but the deal was not finalized before the October 2015 election.

After the Liberals won, a new cabinet committee decided to ask the company to extend the deadline for signing the contract by 60 days. Eleven days later, the Liberals approved the deal, which Burke said came after Davie threatened to close its Quebec shipyard.

Davie's converted supply ship, the MV Asterix, was delivered earlier this year and is operating with the navy in the Pacific.
EDMONTON - Lawyers for a man convicted of killing two missing Alberta seniors have asked the Alberta Court of Appeal to throw out his manslaughter conviction or order a new trial.

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Travis Vader arrives at court in Edmonton on March 8, 2016. Lawyers for a man convicted of killing two missing Alberta seniors have asked for a new trial on his manslaughter convictions. Travis Vader was sentenced in January 2017 to life in prison for manslaughter in the deaths of Lyle and Marie McCann. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Amber Bracken

EDMONTON - Lawyers for a man convicted of killing two missing Alberta seniors have asked the Alberta Court of Appeal to throw out his manslaughter conviction or order a new trial.

Travis Vader was sentenced in January 2017 to life in prison for the deaths of Lyle and Marie McCann, who were in their 70s when they vanished after leaving their Edmonton-area home in July 2010.

Defence lawyers asked the Appeal Court on Friday to order a stay of proceedings or a new trial on the grounds that there were a number of errors in the original one.

"The case took way too long. It should have been stayed," Brian Beresh said outside court. "That, of course, if successful, would mean no trial.

"Alternatively, a trial simply on manslaughter."

The defence argued in court that the RCMP was negligent in the handling of disclosure in the trial, which added two years of delay to the prosecution.

They also noted the judge mistakenly used an outdated section of the Criminal Code and later substituted manslaughter for the original verdict of second-degree murder.

"The extraordinary errors committed by the police and the trial judge in this case deprived the public and the appellant of any hope of a prosecution conducted in accordance with the fundamental rights protected by the charter," said a written brief filed by the defence.

"This is one of the rare cases where a stay of proceedings is required."

Crown prosecutor Jason Russell argued there were exceptional circumstances that justified the time it took to complete the trial.

"In assessing the reasonableness of the delay, the court must consider the exceptionally complicated nature of this case," he said in a written brief.

Vader was charged with first-degree murder in April 2012, almost two years after the McCanns's burned-out motorhome and a vehicle they had been towing were discovered in the days after they disappeared. Their bodies have never been found.

The charges against Vader were stayed in March 2014 before being reinstated in December 2014.

During the trial in 2016, Vader was described as a desperate drug addict who came across the McCanns and killed them during a robbery.

The Crown had asked for a life sentence. Prosecutors argued Vader showed no remorse after the killings, used the McCanns's cellphone the same day to call an ex-girlfriend and took their money to buy beer and a phone card.

The defence suggested Vader should receive four to six years, but get at least six years of credit for pre-trial custody.

Vader, who's in custody, has maintained his innocence.

Should a new trial be ordered, it should only be on Vader's manslaughter convictions, the defence suggested Friday.

"The law is pretty clear," explained Beresh. "If you are acquitted of murder, you can't be retried on that. Your exposure is limited to the conviction, which we say in this case was manslaughter only."

The Court of Appeal  made up of Justice Peter Martin, Justice Marina Paperny and Justice Jack Watson  challenged the defence on a number of its legal arguments.

Beresh said he expected tough questions from the bench.

"This is a serious issue," he said. "As everyone knows, this is not the last station on the railway track. This case could go to the Supreme Court of Canada."

The Court of Appeal reserved its decision.
PELHAM, Ont. - Ontario's police watchdog says a Niagara regional police officer injured during an altercation with a fellow officer on Thursday was shot multiple times.

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 30/11/2018 (1091 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Niagara Regional Police, OPP and the SIU attend a scene near Effingham Street and Roland Road in Pelham, Ont., where a Niagara Regional Police officer was shot by a fellow officer, Thursday, Nov. 29, 2018. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Aaron Lynett

PELHAM, Ont. - Ontario's police watchdog says a Niagara regional police officer injured during an altercation with a fellow officer on Thursday was shot multiple times.

The Special Investigations Unit is probing the shooting incident that took place around noon in Pelham, Ont.

In a news release today, the agency says the two officers were investigating a collision that had happened days earlier when they got involved in an argument.

The agency says one of the officers shot his firearm multiple times, badly injuring the other officer.

It says 12 other officers witnessed the incident, which is now also being investigated by the provincial police.

The injured officer  a 52-year-old man with 28 years on the force  was taken to hospital in critical condition, and has since stabilized.

Note to readers: This is a corrected story. A previous version carried an incorrect age for the injured officer.
BUENOS AIRES, Argentina - Prime Minister Justin Trudeau spoke with Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko on Thursday as pressure mounts on Canada to forge a united diplomatic front against Russian aggression in Ukraine.

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 29/11/2018 (1091 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina - Prime Minister Justin Trudeau spoke with Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko on Thursday as pressure mounts on Canada to forge a united diplomatic front against Russian aggression in Ukraine.

Trudeau and Poroshenko spoke following the prime minister's arrival at the G20 summit in Buenos Aires on Thursday and the leaders discussed Russia's actions that resulted in the seizure of three Ukrainian naval vessels near Crimea, according to the Prime Minister's Office.

The call came after Russia announced Wednesday it would deploy another battery of anti-aircraft missiles to the Crimean Peninsula, bolstering its hold on the region it seized from Ukraine in 2014.

Top Ukrainian officials are now urging Trudeau to be a voice against Russia.

The issue has also become even more complicated in the past 24 hours due to developments in the United States, prompting Donald Trump to cancel a planned meeting with Vladimir Putin.

Trump announced Thursday on Twitter he would not be meeting Putin because "the ships and sailors have not been returned to Ukraine from Russia."

Andriy Shevchenko, the Ukrainian ambassador to Canada, said Trudeau should use his position as G7 president to deal with the current crisis.

Canada could also use this week's G20 meeting in Argentina to advance that line of response, Shevchenko said.

"We would like to see a joint consolidated response from the free world," he said.

In a primer published on the G20 summit, former Canadian diplomat Colin Robertson and vice president with the Canadian Global Affairs Institute said Trudeau must see if he and Freeland can find consensus among G7 fellow leaders on Russia's recent actions in Ukraine and on human rights abuses by Saudi Arabia.

"Neither is likely to happen," he wrote.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Thursday she plans to press Putin at G20 summit to urge the release of the Ukrainian ships and crews and to de-escalate the situation.

"We can only resolve this in talks with one another because there is no military solution to all of these conflicts," she said.

with files from Mike Blanchfield and The Associated Press

Follow @kkirkup on Twitter
WINNIPEG - When the first big snow dump covered Winnipeg this week, the developers of a new phone app put their technology to the test.

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 30/11/2018 (1091 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

OnTheStep team members Alex Shao, left to right, Buhle Mwanza, Tristen Wong and Tyrel Praymayer are pictured in Winnipeg on Thursday, Nov. 29, 2018. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Kelly Malone

WINNIPEG - When the first big snow dump covered Winnipeg this week, the developers of a new phone app put their technology to the test.

"You can think of it as Uber for snow removal," said OnTheStep founder Buhle Mwanza, referring to the ride-hailing app.

Mwanza spent months developing the on-demand snow clearing app, which connects homeowners with shovellers  called steppers  to get their driveways and walkways cleared.

Looking around at snow-covered driveways on Thursday, the University of Manitoba computer science student said he was inspired by Winnipeg's nickname of Winterpeg.

"I was just thinking why not make a problem all of us have to go through as innovative and fun as possible and really embrace that Winterpeg identity?"

Homeowners can download the app for free and set up a profile, including location, size of driveway and how many cars park there. When the snow starts to fall, as it always does in large quantities in Winnipeg, they can request shovelling services from their phone.

Once a price is set, a shovelling notification goes out to all the steppers in the area and one  or a team, depending on the size of the job  will get to work.

Homeowners get notifications of each aspect of the job: when the stepper arrives, when the work is done, and when the money goes through.

The app launched earlier this month, but the city had yet to see much snow. As Environment Canada put out a special weather statement for the incoming winter storm on Wednesday, Mwanza became excited to see if people would want the service and how it would all work.

He went to the first shovel request himself and the homeowner was so excited, they took photos together. But soon after, more and more requests started to come in.

OnTheStep recently partnered with Hire-A-Refugee, a local organization that connects refugees with jobs, but the demand for services was outpacing the supply of shovellers.

So Mwanza, along with the other OnTheStep team members  Tyrel Praymayer, Alex Shao and Tristen Wong  pulled out their shovels and got to work. From the first request Wednesday afternoon until around 3 a.m. Thursday, the group trudged up and down driveways with shovels.

"I feel like snow and Winnipeg is sort of like a bonding experience. We all have to deal with it," said Praymayer, OnTheStep's marketing manager and student at the Asper School of Business at the University of Manitoba.

"Winnipeg is great inspiration for this app. It's a beautiful way of incorporating Winnipeg into innovation."

Despite a night and morning of shovelling, team members said they are excited by the demand of the first big snowfall.

"Snow definitely has a different identity in our mindsets now," Mwanza said.
Cindy Hyde-Smith, Republican senator from Mississippi, at her swearing-in ceremony in April 2018. Photo: Tom Williams

Cindy Hyde-Smith took time during Tuesday nights senatorial debate in Jackson, Mississippi, to read an apology from her notes. For anyone that was offended by my comments, I certainly apologize, she said. There was no ill will, no intent whatsoever in my statements. She was referring to video from November 2 showing her respond to praise from a Tupelo cattle rancher, Colin Hutchinson, by remarking, If he invited me to a public hanging, Id be on the front row. Hyde-Smith rebuked the suggestion this was a reference to Mississippis history of lynchings and accused her critics of taking it out of context. This comment was twisted, and it was turned into a weapon to be used against me  a political weapon, used for nothing but personal and political gain by my opponent.

Hyde-Smith, a white Republican and the states junior United States senator, is facing a runoff election against Mike Espy, a black Democrat, on November 27. Neither secured the 50 percent of the vote needed to declare victory on November 6, resulting in this cycles last undecided U.S. senate race. The weeks since have been bumpy for Hyde-Smith. Shortly after the hanging video surfaced on November 11, another video went public of her purportedly making a joke about suppressing unfavorable votes. And then they remind me that theres a lot of liberal folks in those other schools who maybe we dont want to vote, she said during a campaign stop in Columbus on November 3. Maybe we want to make it just a little more difficult. And I think thats a great idea.

Either comment might be interpreted plausibly as a slip of the tongue, in isolation. Hyde-Smith is new to campaigns with national implications, having been previously appointed to the Senate, not elected. What might fly locally  as far as jokes and off-color remarks  invites more scrutiny with the country watching. But on Monday, Politico uncovered Facebook photos that Hyde-Smith posted in 2014, depicting the then-state commissioner of agriculture and commerce at the Jefferson Davis Home and Presidential Library, the former Biloxi residence of the Confederate leader and slavery proponent. She was wearing a Confederate soldiers hat. This is a must see, she wrote. Currently on display are artifacts connected to the daily life of the Confederate Soldier including weapons. Mississippi history at its best!

At this point, this is no accident. Mississippi history holds many lessons, good and bad. That its white governors and their foot soldiers among the citizenry fought a war to preserve the routine bondage, forced labor, and torture of black men, women, and children, is among the most damning, even without the century of segregation and terrorism that followed. The best of that history has come when mostly black Mississippians have fought back  people like Fannie Lou Hamer, James Meredith, and the civil-rights workers who flooded the state in the 1950s and 1960s to register black voters and subvert Jim Crow through protest. Both threads are well-known and ripe for dissection, including praise and critique. But neither is ambiguous in its morality.

So what does it mean to understand this history and expressly reverse its highs and lows? The answer is ascertainable through even the most cursory overview. Public hangings are not neutral events anywhere, but in Mississippi, they and similar forms of extrajudicial torture and execution long served as tools of racist terrorism. The state led the nation in such violence over the course of nearly 75 years, with 654 incidents between 1877 and 1950, according to a database developed by the Equal Justice Initiative.

Few who witnessed or narrowly escaped these attacks ever forgot them. I will never forget, said Mamie Kirkland, 109, during events in Montgomery, Alabama, commemorating the opening of the National Memorial for Peace and Justice in April. In 1915, when she was 7, Kirkland was forced to pack her bags and flee her home in Ellisville along with her family after they learned local whites planned to lynch her father and an acquaintance named John Hartfield. Hartfield made the error of returning, and was lynched in June 1919.

In her book On the Courthouse Lawn, Sherrilyn Ifill describes the multigenerational impact of such violence in black communities. Kay Mills describes an incident in the late 1950s when northern civil rights workers tried to persuade black sharecroppers in Sunflower County, Mississippi, to register to vote, she writes, citing the Hamer biography This Little Light of Mine. The sharecroppers were reluctant to do so, citing a lynching that had occurred nearby 50 years earlier, in 1904. One of its victims, Luther Holbert, had been accused of murdering a white man. While one thousand white spectators watched, [Holbert and his wifes] fingers and toes were cut off and large corkscrews were bored into their flesh, Ifill wrote. After a prolonged torture, the Holberts were burned alive. Three other black field workers who reportedly looked like Holbert were also killed that day by members of the posse organized to search for Holbert.

Mississippis history of suppressing votes is equally brutal. Making voting a little more difficult for opposing constituencies often meant white citizens terrorizing black people into avoiding the ballot box altogether. Several involved in registration efforts during the mid-20th century attest to this. We had some 63 people killed around the question of the vote before [1964], Mississippi civil-rights activist Lawrence Guyot said in the oral history, My Soul Is Rested. None of them were white. Lord knows how many people were run out of homes, run out of the state. Guyot later described being black and registering as talkin death in places like Yazoo County. Why dont I just shoot myself? Itd be quicker, he said.

Activist Charles Cobb described in further detail the violence that often faced such efforts. Right after the first attempt to register people to vote [in Indianola in 1962], nightriders came through the black community and shot up three houses, wounding the daughter of a neighbor of the person we were staying with. Such stories are not rare. When journalist Nikole Hannah-Jones visited Greenwood in 2014, she met Silas McGhee, a local black man who had tried to register other black locals under Jim Crow. At the height of the Mississippi civil rights struggle, a white man pulled up in a car and shot McGhee in his face when McGhee was sitting outside of a Greenwood restaurant, she wrote. The bullet barreled through his mouth, taking his front teeth with it. And although suppressive efforts are more subtle today, they often achieve similar ends. Roll purges, frivolous voter fraud prosecutions, and local citizens empowered to challenge and treat as suspect black voters and voting-rights workers alike, have all marred recent elections and discouraged black turnout in neighboring states like Georgia.

As for Hyde-Smiths celebration of Confederate history, Mississippis own declaration of secession outlines the reasons for its rude departure in stark terms. Our position is thoroughly identified with the institution of slavery  the greatest material interest of the world, it reads. Its labor supplies the product which constitutes by far the largest and most important portions of commerce of the earth  These products have become necessities of the world, and a blow at slavery is a blow at commerce and civilization.

The record is clear. That a candidate for U.S. senate has made such a persistent habit of winking at these gory strands of Mississippi history erases plausible deniability that she meant them innocently. Such gleeful treatment, further, leaves little doubt she finds them unimportant enough to be flippant about them at best, and worth celebrating at worst. There are likely those who appreciate this approach. Many likely sympathize. But nobody is required to give her the benefit of the doubt. Nor are her non-apology or attempts to shift blame onto Mike Espy, her opponent, distractions that voters must entertain. I dont know whats in your heart, Espy said during Tuesdays debate, but we all know what came out of your mouth. What is in Hyde-Smiths heart may interest those seeking to get to know her personally, but is less crucial for those determining whether she should represent their interests in Congress. Polls currently have Hyde-Smith ahead by five points. Next Tuesday, Mississippi will have its answer.
Cork Airport's Charity of the Year programme has won the Social Good - Corporate award at the National Project Awards 2018.

The award, organised by the Ireland Chapter of Project Management Institute, recognises excellence in project management in the corporate social responsibility category.

Cork Airport won for their Charity of the Year fundraising initiatives, including the annual 5km Runway run.

Kevin Cullinane, head of communications at Cork Airport, said they are delighted to be recognised with the award.

"Our annual Charity of the Year initiative has supported many notable charities such as Shine Centre for Autism, Kevin Bell Repatriation Trust, and Cork City Hospitals Childrens Fund.

Different fundraiser events take place throughout the year, both at a large and small scale.

"The 5km Runway Run, along with previous fashion shows in the terminal building concourse, require extensive planning to adhere to security and safety compliance measures.

"Through the use of project management tools, we have found no need to limit the creativity of our staff when it comes to fundraising.

The full list of National Project Award winners is below.

[table][row][column]Project Professional of the Year 2018 (sponsored by PwC)[/column][column]Declan Rundle, AIB[/column][/row][row][column]PMO of the Year 2018 (sponsored by Datalex)[/column][column]ESB IT Services[/column][/row][row][column]Public Sector Project of the Year 2018 (sponsored by IPA)[/column][column]Revenue Commissioners, Customer Engagement Strategy[/column][/row][row][column]Private Sector Project of the Year 2018 (sponsored by Aspira)[/column][column]AIB, GDPR Programme[/column][/row][row][column]Social Good  Community 2018 (sponsored by the Ireland Chapter of PMI)[/column][column]Tour de Munster, Charity Cycle[/column][/row][row][column]Social Good  Corporate 2018 (sponsored by AIB)[/column][column]Cork Airport, Charity of the Year programme[/column][/row][row][column]Distinguished Contribution to Project Management 2018 (sponsored by CORA Systems)[/column][column]Ed Naughton, Institute of Project Management[/column][/row][/table]
An application by a finance director with pharmaceutical company Merck for an injunction preventing her employer from dismissing her has been dismissed by the High Court.

Ms Justice Teresa Pilkington said Barbara Whooley, had not made a strong case that would allow the court to grant an injunction, that would remain in place until the dispute has been determined.

Ms Whooley, who the judge said had "a stellar career" in her 25 years of employment, had sought various orders against her employer Merck Millipore Ltd of Tullagreen, Carrigtwohill, Co Cork whose German parent is Merck KGaA, based in Darmstadt, Germany.

These included an injunction preventing the defendants from dismissing her or interfering with her salary or benefits, and if necessary and an injunction compelling her employer to pay her a severance package.

She also sought an order restraining the German parent company from unlawfully interfering with the contractual relationship between her and Merck Millipore.

The application was to put the injunctions in place until her case against the two companies concluded.

The defendants opposed the application.

They claimed the employment of Mrs Whooley of Lindville, Blackrock Road was lawfully terminated after it gave her three months notice in mid-October and has offered to pay her 100,000.

She had worked for the company in Cork for many years, including spending the last four years on secondment to the German parent.

She had recently returned to work in Ireland, as she did not wish to continue the secondment.

She had hoped to return to a similar position she had previously held in Cork.

Following her return to Cork, she claimed her employers told her on October 1st last she had been deemed to have resigned.

She rejected claims she resigned and fears the defendant's actions will damage her reputation

She claimed that as no suitable job in Cork was available she was entitled to an appropriate redundancy package.

She now seeks damages and various orders against the defendants including a declaration that she did not resign from her employment with the Irish based company, and that she remains an employee of Merck Millipore.

The defendants accepted that Mrs Whooley had not resigned and argued her employment was lawfully terminated last October.

The defendants said she had been offered a job within the group, but following months of discussions had turned that position down.

There was no post available for her in Cork, and they argued she was now seeking a redundancy package she not contractually entitled to.

In her ruling, Ms Justice Pilkington said she was not granting an injunction and the issues raised by the plaintiff, including her claim that her reputation had been damaged, could be raised at the full hearing of the dispute.

In the court's view it was "extraordinarily unlikely" that Mrs Whooley's employment with the company will continue.

The employer was clear in its wish to terminate Mrs Whooley's employment, the Judge said.

The Judge said that the employer had accepted that Mrs Whooley had not resigned, which the judge said had altered the position significantly.

The judge said the court cannot resolve at this stage of the proceedings if Mrs Whooley is entitled to a package of redundancy.

The case will be mentioned before the Court in three weeks time when it deals with the outstanding issues.
Marriott has announced 500 million guests data may have been exposed during breaches that began in 2014 from a reservation database for its hotels which include luxury London landmarks.

The company said reservations at its Starwood properties  which include the Park Lane Sheraton Grand, Westbury Mayfair and Le Meridien Piccadilly  had been affected by the data security incident.

Work is continuing but the firm said the breached database contains the information of up to half a billion guests.

We fell short of what our guests deserve and what we expect of ourselves. We are doing everything we can to support our guests, and using lessons learned to be better moving forward

The database stored information including passport numbers, dates of births, names, addresses and phone numbers for 327 million guests.

Payment card numbers and expiration dates were also stored for some.

The breach was spotted in the Starwood guest reservation database in the US on September 8 and the company discovered that an unauthorised party had copied and encrypted information, and took steps towards removing it, a statement said.

Security experts determined there had been unauthorised access to the Starwood network since 2014, it added.

Researchers decrypted the information and determined its contents were from the Starwood reservation database on November 19, the company said.

Marriott president and chief executive Arne Sorenson said: We deeply regret this incident happened.

We fell short of what our guests deserve and what we expect of ourselves. We are doing everything we can to support our guests, and using lessons learned to be better moving forward.

The Maryland-based firm said law enforcement agencies are investigating.

Payment card numbers are encrypted using a method that requires two components to break it, a statement said.

Marriott has not been able to rule out the possibility that both were taken, it added.

Starwood was bought by Marriott in 2016.- Press Association
The Norths business leaders have stepped up their pressure on the DUP for the party to drop its plan to vote down the Brexit transition deal UK Prime Minister Theresa May struck with the EU.

In a forthright message, Ellvena Graham, president of the Northern Ireland Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said it was up to the politicians who opposed Ms Mays deal to come up with better ideas.
Research from the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) showed that stress in the workplace has increased significantly over the past five years, which is probably a reflection of the strong recovery in the economy over that period and the consequent pressure on workers to keep up with a much busier work environment.

In addition, it is probably the case that many businesses are now finding it more difficult to recruit and retain workers in an environment where the economy is steadily moving towards full employment with all of the consequent implications for both workers and employers.

The CSOs labour force survey last week highlighted the challenge.

In the year to September, the number of people at work in the economy increased by 66,700 or 3%, taking total employment in the economy up to a new high of 2.27m.

In the six-year period to the end of September, which effectively tracks employment growth from close to the bottom of the labour market in the third quarter of 2012 to date, the sectoral improvement in employment was very broadly based.

Total employment in the six-year period increased by 386,200, which is an impressive growth rate of just over 20%.

Not too surprisingly, the construction sector leads the way with the creation of 63,700 jobs, accounting for over 16% of the overall increase.

The accommodation and food services sector came in second place, with an increase of 53,800 in employment, accounting for almost 14% of the total.

The reduced Vat rate was very supportive of job creation in that sector. Industry jobs came in third, at 51,800.

The growth rate in public sector employment was considerably lower.

Interestingly, two sectors actually recorded a decline in employment over that period.

Total employment in the agriculture, forestry and fishing sector declined by 5,200 and employment in the financial, insurance and real estate sector declined by 2,300.

In the case of agriculture, it may be the case that employment in the sector was statistically overstated back in 2012 due to survey anomalies.

But, it is probably also the case that it is proving much more difficult to attract employees into what is a tough working environment, and farmers are being forced to achieve increased labour saving efficiencies.

In the financial services sector, the big theme over the past number of years has been consolidation and reducing the exposure of customers to staff.

It is now quite a challenge to go into a bank and meet a person, unless it is one directing you to a machine.

For the Irish economy in general and the business sector in particular, it is clear that labour shortages will become a constraint on growth and a significant challenge over the next couple of years.

Last week, the ESRI suggested that we would have to import workers to deliver the level of housing supply that is required over the coming years.

The problem with this notion is that these workers will have to be given accommodation.

It is also the case that employers are experiencing considerable difficulties and delays in getting work permits for staff coming in from outside the EU.

It is surely not beyond the ingenuity of our policymakers to provide solutions to the accommodation needs of incoming workers, and more particularly the work permit delays.

It is essential for future economic prosperity.

One of the other interesting aspects of the labour force survey was the regional disparity in labour market performance.

In the third quarter, the average unemployment rate across the State stood at 6%.

However, this varies from a low of 4.9% in the south-west to a high of 8.6% in the south-east.

These variations in unemployment rates are another indication of the regional economic development challenges facing policymakers.

It is not correct to suggest that the current rising economic tide is not lifting all boats.

It is clear from anecdotal and real evidence that the whole country is steadily improving on a range of indicators.

But, there are still considerable disparities.

Given the obvious congestion now being experienced in the Greater Dublin Area, a more serious effort has to be made to sell the wares of towns and cities such as Limerick, Cork, Athlone, Kilkenny and Waterford as locations for job creation.

Analysis
It's officially the festive season and with that comes Christmas ads galore, some bringing tears to our eyes and others giving us a chuckle but one thing they all do is make us smile.

The Shouldve gone to Specsavers Christmas TV advertisement is no different with the magic of the special time for children being captured.

The advert features primary school children describing what they think Santa looks like.

The 30-second When I saw Santa ad debuts this evening at 10.30pm on RTE One during the highly-anticipated The Late Late Toy Show.

In the latest iteration of its famous tagline, Specsavers has asked primary school children in Dublin what the man of the moment looks like.

Specsavers Creative Director Graham Daldry said that while some brands celebrate Christmas by telling stories, Specsavers has done it by being real.

"Children tend to appreciate the true magic of Christmas more than adults, so we were there to listen and learn," he said.

They think of Santa as more than someone that just appears once a year to deliver presents. Children see him as having a life, living with his family at the North Pole. In fact, its only children that can really see Santa, so maybe it is us adults who need an eye test. Its a very simple, heartfelt concept that many families will be able to relate to.

The adverts were created in-house by Specsavers film-makers Lenny Lenfesty and Kristin Rathje, with filming taking place at two primary schools in the UK and one in Dublin.

The children, aged three to six, appear in groups of two and three and the backdrops are their own schools and nurseries.

Graham said:

"Specsavers is a very family-orientated brand and it seemed only natural for us to do something at Christmas  its such a great fit for our brand values.

"We are confident it will capture the nations hearts and minds thanks to the ahh factor delivered by the wonderful children who took part."

Filmmaker, Kristin Rathje added:

We have tried to make it as real and as true to the childrens stories as possible. Its not about Specsavers, its about Santa and Christmas.

- Digital Desk
Is this the best uncle ever? A Co Meath uncle, who discovered his niece was a 'petrol-head' went out of his way to get top TV car enthusiasts to help him with a special birthday surprise.

Donal Norton from Navan enlisted the aid of Wheeler Dealers presenters Mike Brewer and Ant Anstead to make a short video for his niece's ninth birthday.

Car enthusiast Mike and internationally renowned car designer Ant work together to give new life to run-down classic automobiles in order to resell at a profit.

Young Ellen Markey-McGoona got the shock of her life when watching with Donal, what she thought was a new episode of the show, when up pops her uncle on the screen beside Mike.

In the video, Donal who didn't realise he passed all his passion for cars onto his niece said he had to do something when he found out just how much she loved the show.

In the video he says: "Up until a few days ago, I didn't realise that my niece was a huge petrol head - I know, it's my fault.

"I also didn't know that on her iPad, she watched Wheeler Dealers all the time. She knew all about the programme, she knew all about the presenters.

I won't say which is her favourite presenter but I decided that I'd arrange a little surprise.

While watching the video on the kitchen table, Ellen's eyes open with surprise when Mike and Ant come into focus and wish her a huge Happy Birthday, telling her to come along to a car show the next time.

Mike even gives uncle Donal a big kiss to pass on to her.

"She was so shocked. I'm so glad I did it as I don't think I could have got her a better present," he said

While she was in my house, I would have the show on and she would watch it but I never thought she loved it that much.

Donal who is no stranger to restoring old cars himself thanked the presenters for their generous help in giving Ellen her the biggest birthday surprise to date.
Judicial nominee Thomas Farr has long been associated with GOP enemies of voting rights. Photo: AP/REX/Shutterstock

In the aftermath of southern midterm elections in which Republican voter suppression played a role in some close key races, a North Carolina judicial nominee long associated with such efforts has aroused intense opposition from civil-rights groups and Senate Democrats.

And now, his confirmation appears to have been killed by two Republican senators, with the crucial blow being struck by African-American Tim Scott.

Conservative attorney Thomas Farr, who has been repeatedly nominated but not confirmed for a district court judgeship in his home state, looked to be on the brink of confirmation for a position that has been vacant for 12 years, dating back to his first nomination by George W. Bush. President Obama could not secure a Senate vote for either of two African-American women he nominated for the same place on the federal bench. The saga has become something of a symbol of the racial overtones of the intense partisan warfare that has characterized politics in North Carolina  and during the Trump era, nationally  in recent years.

Farr was for years closely associated with the godfather of southern Republican racist politics, the late North Carolina senator Jesse Helms. And that association finally did him in with Scott, as reported by the Raleigh News & Observer:

In a brief statement explaining his decision, Scott cited a 1991 Department of Justice memo that was leaked just this week, days before the Senate was set to vote on Farrs confirmation. It detailed Farrs involvement in ballot security activities by the 1984 and 1990 campaigns of then-Sen. Jesse Helms, R-North Carolina.

I am ready and willing to support strong candidates for our judicial vacancies that do not have lingering concerns about issues that could affect their decision-making process as a federal judge, Scott said in his statement. This week, a Department of Justice memo written under President George H.W. Bush was released that shed new light on Mr. Farrs activities. This, in turn, created more concerns. Weighing these important factors, this afternoon I concluded that I could not support Mr. Farrs nomination.

Farr also represented North Carolina Republican legislators whose voter-ID law was eventually struck down by federal judges on grounds that it targeted African-American voters with almost surgical precision. Whether or not Farr is personally an enemy of voting rights, he has certainly been an enabler for those who frown on those people voting, and as a federal judge in a state with more than its share of voting-rights litigation, his confirmation might have mattered. But once again, he failed.

All 49 Senate Democrats came out in opposition to Farrs confirmation, and they obtained a key ally when lame-duck GOP senator Jeff Flake announced he would not support any judicial nominations until the Senate acted on legislation to protect special prosecutor Robert Mueller from being fired by the president. Flakes stand matters most in the Senate Judiciary Committee, where he is in a position to stop action on committee referral of nominees. But on the Senate floor, he was able to reduce the GOPs margin of error to a single lawmaker. In this case, that lawmaker was Scott, who voted to let the confirmation go forward on a procedural vote earlier this week, but did not commit to support for Farr on confirmation itself  apparently with good reason.

Despite this defeat for Trump and Senate GOP leader Mitch McConnell, this weeks developments served as a reminder that in January the GOPs 51/49 margin in the Senate will grow to 53/47. Frequent gadflies Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski (who were uncommitted on Farrs confirmation when Scott killed it) will no longer have much leverage over their colleagues. And Jeff Flake will be gone. It wouldnt be entirely surprising if Trump duly nominates Farr once again next year, showing his stubborn solidarity with the Souths Republican fire wall against the threat of full voting rights.
Legislation to allow for the commencement of abortion services will face more debate after it failed to clear the Dail despite three days of discussion.

The requirement for an ultrasound prior to an abortion and the administration of pain relief to the foetus were among the amendments discussed during more than five hours of allocated Dail time.

Two doctors will now be allowed to provide abortion services to a woman after an amendment to the Health (Termination of Pregnancy) Bill was accepted.

Concern had been raised that the certifying doctor may not always be available to see the woman again after the three-day waiting period and the amendment now addresses this.

During the lengthy debate Fine Gael TD Bernard Durkin asked that TDs follow through on the result of the referendum.

I would plead with the members who are regurgitating what went on before the referendum and in the course the referendum, this is a serious issue, we were given responsibility and we must now carry out the responsibility, recognise that we have a job to do and do it, he said.

There was a long discussion with many contributions on the administration of pain relief to the foetus prior to an abortion.

However, Health Minister Simon Harris said the purpose of the legislation was not to regulate how doctors go about their work and there is a very thin line which politicians cannot cross in drafting laws.

Meanwhile a group of pharmacists are the latest group of health professionals to call on Mr Harris to amend the abortion bill to allow them opt out of playing any part in an abortion service.

A group calling themselves Pharmacists for Human Rights issued a statement saying they have a human right to freedom of conscience, religion and belief and that their right to freedom of conscience must be included and protected in the bill.

The group said the minister has failed to consider the most basic practical issue of how the medications used in abortions will be manufactured, provided and dispensed.

Earlier this week a group of nurses and midwives joined anti-abortion GPs in declaring they do not want to participate in providing abortion services.

The group, Nurses & Midwives4Life Ireland, argue that if a woman opts for a surgical termination, they will be asked to provide the pre-operative care, to which they object.

Last month, hundreds of anti-abortion GPs also voiced their concerns about the new laws.
An Amsterdam-style coffee shop in Waterford City has been given approval to reopen.

Blooms Cafe sells cannabis products and hemp teas below the 0.2% tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) limit and high levels of cannabidiol (CBD) for relaxation and stress relief.
Gardai in a helicopter used thermal imaging to catch a pair of robbers hiding in bushes after a mugging, a court has heard.

Folarin Odunlami (22) of New Haven Bay, Balbriggan, Co Dublin and Arnaud Farel (20) of the same address, both pleaded guilty to robbing a phone, a wallet and its contents from a young man on Station Road, Lusk, Co Dublin on March 9, 2016.

Dublin Circuit Criminal Court heard the robbers were pursued by gardai and dropped 15 ft from a footbridge into a carpark.

They were later detected lying side by side under brambles, by members of the Garda Air Support Unit using thermal imaging.

Farel was sentenced last March to three years in prison with 18 months suspended, to run consecutive to a separate six-year sentence he is serving for a previous assault causing serious harm.

Farel had been on bail at the time of the robbery in Lusk, the court heard.

At a hearing today, Judge Melanie Greally adjourned sentencing of Odunlami pending an assessment to determine his suitability for community service.

Sergeant Ciara Geraghty told Lisa Dempsey BL, prosecuting, that the victim had been walking home after visiting his girlfriend on the night in question. As he walked up Station Road in Lusk, he noticed two men on the opposite side of the road, one of whom crossed over towards him.

'If you don't comply, I will cut you'

This man pushed the victim back towards a laneway and pulled a long steak knife from his jacket.

He told the victim to empty his pockets and said he wanted his phone, wallet and money, warning him, if you don't comply, I will cut you.

The victim was terrified, fearing he would be stabbed, and as he was taking things out of his pockets, the second man got involved. The men took his phone and wallet containing 110 in cash and told him to run down the lane or they would cut and stab him.

The victim ran into a nursing home and called gardai. He then went in the patrol car and identified the two culprits at a nearby train station.

Gardai pursued the pair, who dropped 15ft from a footbridge into a carpark and hid, only to be discovered in foliage a short time later.

Gardai found the victim's phone and cash on the ground underneath where the men had been lying, while his driving licence was later discovered in one of the men's pockets. All items were returned.

A victim impact report was presented to court but was not read out.

Odunlami has two previous minor convictions for possession of knives and theft.

Patrick Jackson BL, defending Odunlami, said the co-accused was a known robber while his client had not come to garda attention before or since this offence

He presented letters to the court from Dundalk IT where Odunlami is studying computer systems, and from his pastor.

The court heard Odunlami is from a strict Christian background and moved to Ireland from his native Nigeria when he was aged five.

His counsel said he was bullied in school and had trouble with learning. He has worked in a barber shop and as a warehouse operative. He will be sentenced on February 20 next.
A 17-year-old boy fell asleep on a couch while he was in the middle of carrying out a house burglary in Dublin, a court has heard.

The teenager, who cannot be named because he is a minor, pleaded guilty at the Dublin Childrens Court to a spate of break-ins, in Harolds Cross in January.
A pensioner in Ennis refused to fill out his 2016 Census form because of his strong feelings over the Central Statistics Office (CSO) using a firm which had alleged links to prisoner interrogations at Iraq's Abu Ghraib prison for the census.

At Ennis District Court, John Higgins (70) of Clancy Park, Ennis explained that he didnt fill out his Census form over the CSO contracting CACI UK to help with the Census.

Ennis District Court

In his letter to the Census read out in court, Mr Higgins stated that he chose not to supply any household details based on the fact that such information when processed will ensure that CACI would profit from it.

In his letter, Mr Higgins said that he didnt fill out the Census as he was a conscientious objector to war, war-mongering and any mercenary actions involved in war.

In the letter read out, Mr Higgins said that CACI "is the subject of violation of human rights abuse charges in relation to actions at Abu Ghraib to prisoners in Iraq".

In his letter to the CSO, read out in court, Mr Higgins stated: I am greatly disappointed that the Government of my country, supposedly neutral chose to engage with this company".

Mr Higgins said that he has completed Census forms in previous censuses but that CCAIs involvement in the 2016 Census was the only reason he didnt complete the form.

However, Judge Patrick Durcan convicted Mr Higgins of not filling out his Census form under the Statistics Acts and fined him 750.

Mr Higginss solicitor, Tara Godfrey read the contents of Mr Higginss refusal letter to the CSO in court and Judge Patrick Durcan intervened before Ms Godfrey could conclude the letter.

Judge Durcan told Mr Godfrey: This court is being used as a political forum and I will not allow that.

He said: The allegation was that Mr Higgins didnt return his Census form and your client is now engaged in using and abusing this court in terms of spelling out the political position he has - and I wont have it. I want no more about Iraq and what is happening out there.

Judge Durcan said that citizenship confers rights but it also imposes responsibilities and that breaching the obligations to complete a census form is a serious matter.

He said: One of the responsibilities of a citizen is to assist a lawfully elected government in planning for the future. Part of that process recognised here since the 19th century has been the necessity of the Government to carry out and plan for a whole range of issues, education, housing through a Census and it is extremely important that citizens comply.

The prosecution at Ennis District Court is one of seven cases the CSO is taking against people resident here who have refused to fill out their Census forms. Six cases have been completed in the courts with a seventh case yet to be heard.
An increase in criminal activity on both sides of the border is being "taken into account" in Brexit contingency planning, the Taoiseach has said.

Smuggling and other cross-border crime could increase in the case of a no-deal Brexit, but Leo Varadkar has insisted that there are no plans for a hard border on the island.

Speaking at passing out ceremony for 199 new gardai at the Garda College, Templemore Leo Varadkar said: "We are not making any contingency plans for a hard border between Northern Ireland and Ireland but we do have to have regard for the fact that you could see an increase in things like smuggling for example and other illegal cross-border activities so yes we have to take that into account in our planning for the next year."

The PSNI has already stated that 400 more police officers will be required in Northern Ireland in the event of a no-deal Brexit.

When asked about the possible recruitment of more gardai to border areas, Mr Varadkar said that there are now around 600 more gardai in the force than there were this time last year.

"We are going to continue to expand the force over the next couple of years," he said.

"How gardai are deployed of course is a matter for the Commissioner, we will have to take into account any changes that arise because of Brexit and also we need to make sure that we have very close cooperation with the PSNI," the Taoiseach told reporters.

Justice Minister Charlie Flanagan, who was also at the ceremony in Co Tipperary, said the gardai are talking to the PSNI on a "daily basis".

"Obviously in any border area there are challenges in the context of organised crime and smuggling but we are not making contingency plans for a hard border."

The Taoiseach also stressed the importance of getting sign-off on the draft withdrawal treaty in the House of Commons.

"Obviously our overriding plan and overriding objective is to avoid a no-deal scenario and that's why we have put so much work into a withdrawal agreement which will go before Westminster in the next couple of weeks.

"The best thing we can do to avoid a no-deal Brexit is to have a deal and we have a deal on the table now," he said.

Turning his focus to policing, Mr Varadkar said there is now a "really good" reform programme under way in the gardai.

He added that there has been an increase in investment in vehicles and equipment.

In a speech at the passing out ceremony, Mr Varadkar said those who put on the uniform are called to perform the highest service in the land.

He described Drew Harris, who took up the position of Garda Commissioner in September, as a "leader with the experience and the determination to drive reform and modernisation".

"His primary focus is to protect the public and his members. From my meetings with him, I know he is determined to make swift progress on the issues that have been raised by Gardai - including rosters, uniforms and appropriate resources, such as ICT - to help you do your job," Mr Varadkar told the new officers.
Developer Garrett Kelleher has sued a NAMA company over the alleged leaking and dissemination of his confidential financial information and that of his businesses to third parties.

The High Court heard today the businessman became suspicious that such information he gave to National Asset Loan Management Ltd (NALM) appeared in national newspapers and in 2011 when a bid was made for a loan he acquired to build the proposed Chicago Spire by the businessman and now US President Donald Trump.

The proposed 1.5bn development by Mr Kelleher's companies, which would have been one of the world's tallest buildings never proceeded.

Mr Kelleher alleges that confidential material, including a business plan for the Chicago project, was leaked by NALM to persons in the United States contained a valuation in respect loan from Anglo Irish Bank to develop the Chicago Spire project.

That loan was valued in August 2010 as being worth US$19.5m.

Mr Kelleher in a sworn statement to the court said his suspicion that his confidential financial information had been "widely leaked" was heightened by the fact that in September 2011 a bid of $20m for the Chicago Spire Project was made by the Trump organisation.

That claim is made as part of Mr Kelleher's damages action against NALM for an alleged breach of confidence and the deliberate, malicious disclosure of confidential information concerning himself and his companies known as the Shelbourne Group.

The claims are denied, and while NALM in its defence accepts there was an unlawful disclosure of information by former NAMA employee Enda Farrell, it is not liable for his actions.

A pre-trial motion in the case came before the High Court today when Jim O'Callaghan SC, with John Kerr Bl, for Mr Kelleher sought the discovery of certain documentation and records from NALM which the businessman says he needs to advance his claim.

Mr O'Callaghan said the defendant has refused to provide all the materials sought including communication records evidencing the release of confidential information.

Counsel said information evidencing the dissemination of any of his client's confidential information by Enda Farrell, who in 2016 received a two years suspended prison sentence for leaking sensitive data to two investment companies, is also being sought.

Farrell, of La Reine, Avenue Louise Brussels, Belgium and formerly of Dunboyne, Co Meath, pleaded guilty to eight counts of unlawfully disclosing information, in breach of the 2009 Nama Act, between May and July 2012.

While none of the charges against Farrell related to Mr Kelleher's affairs, the businessman wrote to the defendant in 2016 raising concerns that Mr Farrell may have leaked confidential information concerning his affairs.

He was initially told NALM had no knowledge of any leaks concerning his confidential information. Mr Kelleher after his bank loans were taken in to NAMA, co-operated with the NAMA company, and made a full disclosure of his assets, liabilities, business projects and plans to service the loans.

Counsel said that in November 2016 NALM informed his client that Mr Farrell had on dates in 2010, and 2012 disseminated information concerning Mr Kelleher to three entities QED Equity, Fidelity Worldwide Investment and Area Property Partners.

'Evasive and disingenuous'

This admission, counsel said, resulted in NALM amending its defence from a total denial of the claims to a position where it says it is not responsible for Farrell's actions.

Counsel said that Mr Kelleher believes NALM has been "evasive and disingenuous" in its dealings with him over the leaking of his confidential information.

Counsel said Mr Farrell had prepared a witness statement and had admitted in an interview with the Gardai that he had unlawfully given information to persons about Mr Kelleher's loans and the Chicago Spire.

However, Mr Farrell was not prosecuted in regards to his disclosures of Mr Kelleher's confidential information.

In reply Brian O'Moore SC, with Joe Jeffers Bl for NALM said the material sought by Mr Kelleher was unnecessary and too broad.

Counsel said it is disputed that some of the information concerning Mr Kelleher is confidential, and was in the public domain. In addition, counsel said that not all of the information was exclusively held by NALM.

Counsel also told the court that it had "pursued" Mr Farrell in the civil courts over his disclosure of information, fully co-operated with the Gardai in the criminal investigation, and it had informed Mr Kelleher about the breaches by Mr Farrell.

Counsel added that NALM has brought proceedings in Ireland seeking judgement of 46m from Mr Kelleher over guarantees on loans of some 350m provided by Anglo Irish Bank for projects in Ireland and the US.

Following the conclusion of submissions from both sides Ms Justice Teresa Pilkington said she was reserving judgment in the discovery application.
Crimestoppers has launched an appeal for information about the disappearance of Giedre Raguckaite, which they are treating as a murder investigation.

Ms Raguckaite was last seen on Wednesday, May 29, 2018, in the company of two men in Laytown, County Meath. She has not been in contact with anyone since that date which is said to be "out of character". She was not reported missing until August 22, 2018.

The Gardai have now upgraded the case to a murder investigation.

Giedre is a Lithuanian woman aged 29. She is 1.67 meters in height with green eyes and blonde shoulder-length hair and thin build. She was last seen wearing a pink t-shirt and dark blue jeans.

Crimestoppers and the Gardai are appealing for any members of the public, in particular members of the Lithuanian community, to come forward with any information relating to Giedres disappearance.

Speaking today, Detective Inspector Martin Beggy, Dundalk Garda Station said: We are very concerned about Giedre, she has been missing since 29th May of this year and she has not made contact with anyone.

"She was last seen with two males in Laytown, Co. Meath. This is now considered a murder investigation. I would appeal to anyone who knows what happened to Giedre to come forward, do you know where she stayed since her last accommodation on 23rd May, 2018.

Giedres family are living in Lithuania and are very anxious to know what happened to their daughter and their sister.

Det. Insp. Beggy said: Even the smallest piece of information, which may seem insignificant, might help with the investigation.

If a member of the public prefers to give the information without identifying themselves, they can call Crimestoppers on 1800 25 00 25.

Crimestoppers Chairperson John Murphy said, If you have information that can assist the gardai with their investigation, please give Crimestoppers a call on 1800 25 00 25. You do not need to leave your name or any details about yourself. Your information could be potentially the key to finding out what happened to Giedre."

Calls to Crimestoppers are completely anonymous and callers do not need to leave their name or address. Callers can claim a reward for information which significantly helps the investigation. Anybody with information can call Crimestoppers on 1800 25 00 25.

- Digital Desk
Gardai are appealing to the public for help in tracing a missing teenage girl in Dublin.

17-year-old Bridget Connors was last seen on Wednesday near Eden Quay in the city centre.
Gardai have launched a fresh Crimestoppers appeal for information about the disappearance of Giedre Raguckaite.

Ms Raguckaite was last seen on May 29 in the company of two males in Laytown in Meath.

She has not been in contact with anyone since that date which Gardai have said is out of character.

The 29-year-old, who is from Lithuania, was not reported missing until August 22 and Gardai have now upgraded this case to a murder investigation.

Ms Raguckaite is 1.67 meters in height with green eyes and blonde shoulder-length hair and a thin build. When last seen, she was wearing a pink T-shirt and dark blue jeans.

Crimestoppers and the Gardai are appealing for any members of the public, in particular members of the Lithuanian community, to come forward with any information relating to her disappearance.

Detective Inspector Martin Beggy of Dundalk Garda Station said they have now upgraded Ms Raguckaite's disappearance to murder.

We are very concerned about Giedre, she has been missing since May 29 of this year and she has not made contact with anyone. She was last seen with two males in Laytown, Co Meath. This is now considered a murder investigation.

"I would appeal to anyone who knows what happened to Giedre to come forward, do you know where she stayed since her last accommodation on May 23, 2018," he said.

Crimestoppers Chairperson John Murphy urged anyone with information to come forward.

"You do not need to leave your name or any details about yourself. Your information could be potentially the key to finding out what happened to Giedre," he said.

Anybody with information can call Crimestoppers on 1800 25 00 25.
A 2017 protest against the acquittal of a St. Louis police officer for killing an African-American generated some more police misconduct. Photo: Scott Olson/Getty Images

During the latter stages of the struggle to end Jim Crow and beyond, federal civil rights laws often proved essential in seeking justice for African-Americans when local law enforcement officials (or in some cases, juries) refused to take action against violent racists.

Its another matter altogether, though, when the alleged violent racists are themselves local law enforcement agents. Thats why this news from St. Louis (as reported by HuffPosts Ryan J. Reilly) is significant:

Four St. Louis police officers were indicted on federal civil rights charges Thursday in connection with their actions during an unconstitutional crackdown on a protest last year.

A federal grand jury indicted St. Louis Metropolitan Police officers Dustin Boone, 35, Bailey Colletta, 25, Randy Hays, 31, and Christopher Myers, 27, on felony charges that included deprivation of constitutional rights, conspiracy to obstruct justice, destruction of evidence, and obstruction of justice.

The charges stemmed from an incident during September 2017 protests against the acquittal of former St. Louis policeman Jason Stockley on murder charges in connection with his 2011 killing of an African-American, Anthony Lamar Smith, after a high-speed chase subsequent to an alleged drug deal. At the time of the protests, police officers were observed behaving in an angry, confrontational manner, serious enough that a federal judge later admonished them for seeking to violate protesters First Amendment rights. More recently evidence emerged that three of the officers present during the protests went way over the line and later (along with a fourth officer) lied about it. Thats what led to the current indictment:

The indictment alleges that at least three of the defendants expressed disdain for the Stockley protesters and excitement about using unjustified force against them and going undetected while doing so. It features text messages between three of the defendants in which they joked about using force against protesters demonstrating against the Stockley verdict.

lets whoop some ass, [Christopher] Myers wrote.

its gonna be a lot of fun beating the hell out of these shitheads once the sun goes down and nobody can tell us apart wrote [Dustin] Boone. We really need these fuckers to start acting up so we can have some fun.

Boone later wrote that it was a blast beating people that deserve it and bragged about chanting OUR STREETS with other cops after they locked fools up on prison busses.

The our streets chant was a mocking reference to one of the slogans of the #BlackLivesMatter movement. Thats rather questionable conduct from members of what was called the SLPDs Civil Disobedience Team, deployed to keep things calm.

Their big mistake, the indictment suggests, was beating up an unarmed undercover cop who was in a pretty good position to testify against them, as the St. Louis Post-Dispatch notes:

After learning that the person they attacked was an undercover officer, the three male officers lied about the arrest, claiming he resisted arrest and was not compliant, the indictment says. They also tried to contact the undercover officer to dissuade him from pursuing disciplinary or legal action, the indictment says.

A fourth officer, a woman, allegedly helped cover it all up.

So all in all, the four officers were indicted by a federal grand jury on felony charges that included deprivation of constitutional rights, conspiracy to obstruct justice, destruction of evidence, and obstruction of justice.

Questions remain as to whether these actions, if proven, represented rogue police misconduct or a more pervasive pattern. In St. Louis, the latter is a real possibility.
The long-running Dail debate on proposed abortion legislation will resume next week after TDs failed to pass the legislation last night.

So far, TDs have only dealt with around two-thirds of the more than 60 amendments to the bill.
By Ray Managh

A judge has told two brothers he found it absolutely extraordinary that they should have "sustained instantaneous serious injury" such as warranted them remaining motionless in a car while waiting for an ambulance to arrive.

Throwing out both of Keith and Terence Piercys 60,000 damages claims, Circuit Court President Mr Justice Raymond Groarke told them they had been involved in a minor contact collision which had not resulted in any injury to anybody.

Judge Groarke awarded legal costs against Keith (aged 29) of Cushlawn Park, Killinarden, Tallaght, Dublin 24, and Terence (30) of Cherry Orchard Crescent, Ballyfermot, Dublin 10.

Barrister Shane English, counsel for the defendant Joseph Lawrence, (aged 23) of Liffey Hall, Lucan, Co Dublin, said the Piercy brothers claimed they had suffered severe personal injury and had to remain seated in their father Raphael Piercys car until an ambulance arrived.

Raphael Piercy (aged 52) of Croftwood Crescent, Ballyfermot, told the Circuit Civil Court that on October 8, 2016, he had stopped his Nissan Micra at traffic lights on Station Road, Clondalkin, when he felt a bang and a push forward about six feet. His legs were like jelly and his two sons were in agony in the back of the car.

Garda Derek McGuinness said he had been passing the scene of the incident and had been waved down. He examined both cars and was of the opinion there had not been any impact to cause damage to the cars.

Mr Lawrence told Mr English, who appeared with Crowley Millar Solicitors, that he had not hit the Nissan Micra and was annoyed at what he was being accused of.

Judge Groarke said there had been a straight conflict between the parties as to what had happened and the two plaintiffs said there was a severe impact while Mr Lawrence had told the court there was no such impact.

Was there a severe impact or no impact? Judge Groarke asked.

I am satisfied there was an impact between the two vehicles that caused little if any damage to either vehicle.

He said the two Piercy brothers never got out of the car to see what damage if any had been caused. They had no interest and made no inquiries whatsoever. Their father had been involved in a heated discussion with the other driver yet they did not leave their car, the reason being, they said, that they had been so badly injured.

When the gardai had arrived they had demanded an ambulance to take them to hospital.

I find it absolutely extraordinary that these two men could have sustained instantaneous serious injury such as warranted that they remain motionless in the car awaiting an ambulance, Judge Groarke said.

Dismissing both their claims he said there had been minor contact between the vehicles which did not result in any injury to anybody. He awarded costs against both of them.
The Hermitage Medical Clinic and a consultant have apologised in the High Court to a woman who went into the private hospital for a keyhole procedure, but suffered a perforation to her colon.

Lisa Albery's senior counsel Jeremy Maher SC told the High Court the 49-year old mother of two went in to for the routine surgery but it led to her "near death" and she also suffered permanent and significant injuries.

The apology was read to the court as Tipperary woman Lisa Albery settled her action against the Hermitage Medical Clinic and consultant obstetrician and gynaecologist Dr Yahya Kamal over the care she received during and after the routine keyhole operation four years ago. The details of the settlement are confidential.

In an apology read to the court both Dr Kamal and the Hermitage Medical Clinic sincerely apologised to Ms Albery and said they "deeply regret and acknowledge the serious complications and difficulties she endured following her surgery in March 2014."

The settlement came after the case had opened to the court and talks began between the parties. Mr Justice Michael Hanna had been told that liability had been admitted in the case that morning and the case was before the court for assessment of damages only.

Lisa Albery from Shanbally, Moycarkey, Thurles, Co Tipperary had sued consultant obstetrician and gynaecologist Dr Yahya Kamal who practises at the Hermitage Medical Clinic along with the Hermitage Medical Clinic Ltd of Old Lucan Road, Dublin over the circumstances of the care she received four years ago.

Ms Albery was admitted to the Hermitage Clinic on March 14, 2014, under the care of Dr Kamal for the operation. The surgery was carried out by and under the care of Dr Kamal.

It was claimed that Ms Albery suffered a perforation of her sigmoid colon and as a result, she suffered grave pain and distress.

There was it was claimed a failure to investigate in a timely manner Ms Albery's post-operative symptoms and a failure to diagnose in a timely manner that she had suffered a perforation of her sigmoid colon.

Afterwards, it was claimed the woman's wound became infected and she suffered acute peritonitis, sepsis and a pleural effusion. On March 25, 2014, she was transferred to a Dublin hospital where she had another emergency surgical procedure. She was transferred back to the Hermitage Medical Clinic where she remained in intensive care until April 6, 2014.

She was discharged from the Hermitage Medical Clinic on April 27, 2014, but she had further hospital admissions afterwards suffering with pain in her abdomen area and on one occasion for an infection of her wound.

Had there been no perforation of the colon Ms Albery it is claimed, would have been discharged on the same day of the operation or the following morning without complications.
Broadcaster, Pat Kenny has suffered a set-back in his battle to prevent a high-density development proceeding on a site adjacent to his Dalkey home.

This follows the release of the Council planners report which recommended that Dun Laoghaire Rathdown Co Council refuse planning for three apartment blocks and seven houses beside the Kenny home.

The application by Richard Barretts Bartra Capital Property was refused on a number of grounds and the refusal was mainly concerned with the impact of the height, bulk and scale of two of the apartment blocks on neighbouring properties.

However, the planners report has given fresh hope to Mr Barrett for a high-density development for this unique site adjacent to the Kenny home, The Anchorage.

In the 30 page report, the Council planner states that the Council considers that there is an opportunity to provide a high-quality residential development on the subject site.

The planner states that in order to achieve this, the bulk and mass of the proposed development and its relationship with the directly adjoining sites should be revised to provide a high density, attractive infill development for this unique site.

Earlier in the report, the planner states that the principle of the redevelopment of the site with an appropriately high-density residential scheme would be considered acceptable on this site.

It stated that the proposed density of 43 units per hectare is a reasonable density.

The planners report also reveals that Bartra had reached a deal with the Council to reserve a portion of the development for social and affordable housing to comply with requirements under Part V of the Planning & Development Act 2000-2015.

The report discloses that Bartra proposes to comply with the Part V requirement by the transfer to the Council of two one-bedroom units at a combined indicative cost of 673,078.

The report stated that should planning be granted, the council may review the proposal and seek an alternative mix of unit types to reflect the current housing demand at that time.

In August, Bartra Capital Property paid 3.1m for the Maple Tree House site adjacent to the Kennys' home and also paid for an additional 0.51 acre site to allow the planning application be lodged last month.

The firm will be determined to get a return on its investment and the planners reports observations may persuade the firm to lodge revised plans with the Council rather than appeal the Councils decision to An Bord Pleanala.

The application consists of 19 apartments in three blocks ranging up to four storeys along with five three bedroomed homes and two semi-detached homes on the 1.4 acre site.

The comprehensive Kenny objection ran to 16 pages and was signed by Pat and Kathy Kenny.

The objection stated that if permitted the development "would detrimentally impact on The Anchorage" and other residential properties in the area.

The objection added: It would also set a precedent that could ultimately seriously damage the character of the area.

They stated that planning permission should be refused as this development is ill-thought and appears based on the quest for density alone with scant other consideration.

The Kennys stated: We have no desire to object to every development proposal, but we seek only to have appropriate development in terms of scale and function."

They added that the development will result in gross overlooking along with loss of light and loss of privacy of The Anchorage.

They stated that the Duplex apartments at the end of the site overlook The Anchorage and any roof terrace or window would be less than 15 metres from our daughters bedroom window and 19 metres from our bedroom window.

They point out that the ground level of The Anchorage is 3.5 metres below the ground level of the Duplex Apartment block G&H.

They state: On our outdoor dining patio, we would be facing a construction with a roof line some 11 metres above us, denying us light and privacy.

The Kennys stated that the loss of light on their property that would result from the proposal would be disastrous.
An appeal in which a jury verdict found a driver guilty of manslaughter after doctors agreed that he met the criteria to be found legally insane, is being watched by the Polish Embassy in Dublin, the Court of Appeal has been told.

Polish national Dariusz Alchimionek (44), with an address at Barrow Way, Spa Street, Portarlington, Co Laois, had denied the manslaughter of John Gorman (19) and assault causing harm to his brother, Adam, on December 29, 2015.

The brothers had been returning home from Tullamore when a vehicle driven by Alchimionek suddenly crossed the road into the path of their oncoming car at Ballycrystal, Geashill, Co Offaly.

Tullamore Circuit Criminal Court heard how Alchimionek had become convinced the Islamic State group, or Isis, were about to invade Europe and a third World War was about to begin.

Consultant psychiatrists for both the prosecution and the defence agreed that Alchimionek met the criteria to be found not guilty by reason of insanity. The jury had the option of returning three verdicts: guilty, not guilty or not guilty by reason of insanity.

After two hours and 50 minutes of deliberations, the jury returned majority guilty verdicts of 11-1 on both counts, which were met with applause in the courtroom.

The accused was then sentenced nine years imprisonment with the final three suspended by Judge Keenan Johnson in October 2017.

Alchimionek has lodged an appeal against his conviction on the sole ground that the jurys verdict was perverse and against the evidence.

His barrister, Kenneth Fogarty SC, asked the Court of Appeal today for the earliest possible date for hearing.

Mr Fogarty said it was a case of finding the proper place for his treatment and care. He said he was currently serving a sentence in prison but undoubtedly he should be detained in the Central Mental Hospital (CMH), counsel said.

Counsel for the Director of Public Prosecutions, Michael Delaney SC, said on the last occasion that it was a case "on which the Director has been reflecting for some time" and it has caused "some difficulty".

Mr Delaney said the prosecutions consultant psychiatrist effectively agreed with the consultant psychiatrist hired by the defence that Alchimionek met the criteria for a verdict of not guilty by reason of insanity.

The prosecutions consultant psychiatrist had not been called to give evidence. However, the jury were told that the prosecutions doctor effectively agreed with the doctor for the defence.

Mr Delaney told the court today that certain lines of inquiry pursued by the DPP had not been completed.

He said the State were seeking to obtain medical records related to Alchimionek. He said there had been a previous hospitalisation and the state hoped to receive cooperation from the defence in receiving those records.

Mr Fogarty said the State were entitled at any time to obtain the information they were now retrospectively seeking. He said the State were trying to "justify a situation that is unjustifiable.

Mr Fogarty informed the court that representatives from the Polish Embassy in Dublin had become interested in the case as observers.

President of the Court of Appeal Mr Justice George Birmingham listed the matter for January 24 next.

On the last occasion, Mr Fogarty said the atmosphere in the Circuit Court had been "highly charged". There was an "outpouring of emotion" that was "humanly understandable" but not desirable in terms of how the law was to be applied".

Mr Fogarty said the prosecution had made a decision at one point to "change what the accused man was facing". What started out as a dangerous driving causing death charge later became a manslaughter charge.

He said it was explained to Alchimionek that the foregone conclusion of a not guilty verdict by reason of insanity, was a referral to the Central Mental Hospital (CMH).
A 14-year-old boy has been accused of taking part in a string of violent robberies in Dublin city centre.

The boy, who cannot be named because he is a minor, was charged with carrying out four robberies on November 15 last in the south-side of the city. One man allegedly suffered serious injuries.

The teenager had been refused bail last week but was subsequently released after a challenge was brought to the High Court.

He appeared before the Dublin Childrens Court and was remanded on bail by Judge John OConnor to appear again in December for directions from the Director of Public Prosecutions to be obtained.

He is facing four counts of robbery under Section 14 of the Theft and Fraud Act.

It is alleged he robbed one man of a wallet containing 30 at Temple Bar Square.

He is accused of taking a 200 phone as well as a wallet containing a German bank card and 30 from man during another alleged mugging at St Stephens Green.

He faces a charge for robbing another man of a 600 phone as well as a wallet containing 100 along with credit and debit cards.

The teen was also accused of a robbery on Grafton Street in which 370 was allegedly taken.

The south Dublin boy, who was accompanied to his hearing by his mother and his solicitor, not yet indicated how he intends to plead.

His bail terms state he must reside at his current address, not drink alcohol or take drugs and have no contact with another male. He also has to abide by a 9pm  6am curfew.
A young woman who crashed her car with her child on board was four times over the legal drink-driving limit.

Caroline Morrow appeared at Letterkenny District Court in Co Donegal charged with drink-driving.

Solicitor Rory O'Brien said his client had claimed she had only had two drinks but was also taking medication.

Ms Morrow, aged 35, was driving in Stranorlar on August 26th last when she crashed her Vauxhall car into a parked vehicle.

Her one-year-old child was in the back of the car during the collision but was unhurt.

The court heard that Ms Morrow, from Oak Park in Convoy, had previously been disqualified from driving in 2015 for two years.

Mr O'Brien said the incident had had a profound impact on his client's life.

"This has had a tremendous impact on her life and she has written a letter of apology to the court.

"She works as a home help and is trying to get her life back on track but the loss of her car will have an impact on her also," he said.

Judge Paul Kelly pointed out to Mr O'Brien that his client was actually four times over the legal drink driving limit even though she claims she only had two drinks.

"This is a very serious matter. She put her child in danger," he said.

He banned Ms Morrow from driving for three years and also fined her 250.
Heading to Other Voices this weekend? Fancy a free lift from the festival to get you safely home?

Heineken Live Your Music is offering a free shuttle bus to safely transport music fans attending Other Voices back to their accommodation.

Before we start, we wanted to extend our thanks to Dingle & everyone on the peninsula for hosting us this weekend. We're so excited to be back for a 17th year in this magical part of the world.  #OtherVoices pic.twitter.com/8rm9VtoiWw  Other Voices (@OtherVoicesLive) November 30, 2018

The bus will make a total of eight journeys over the course of the weekend where it will be stopping in local towns popular for B&Bs amongst festival goers.

The bus route was put in place by Heineken Live Your Music to offer a solution to the annual struggle festival goers face with trying to get home once the music ends each night to the far-flung corners of the Dingle peninsula.

Dervla Arthurs, Brand Manager, Communications & Sponsorships, HEINEKEN Ireland said:

Other Voices is one of the most magical music experiences Ireland has to offer and we are delighted to be involved this year.

We wanted to ensure that our role truly added value to those attending and discovered from speaking to past attendees that the only pain point of the festival is finding your way home as taxis are limited in the area.

"We are looking forward to closing off the year on a high.

Heineken Live Your Music Free Shuttle Bus Details

COLLECTION AND DROP OFF POINTS:

1 THE COURTHOUSE PUB, THE MALL

2 BROIGIN B&B

3 AN PLAYFIELD (BALLYDAVID)

4 OLD PIER GUEST HOUSE (BALLYDAVID)

5 THE COASTGUARD HOUSE (BALLYDAVID)

6 DINGLE PENINSULA HOTEL

7 TIG BHRIC (BALLYFERRITER)

8 CEANN SIBEAL (BALLYFERRITER)

9 AN PORTAN (DUNQUIN)

10 FIONN TRA COTTAGES (VENTRY)

11 VENTRY

DATE AND TIMES:

30 NOV: 12PM, 1.30AM, 3.15AM

1 DEC: 12PM, 1.30AM, 3.15AM

2 DEC: 12PM, 1.30AM

- Digital Desk
Cork native Samantha Barry, who recently became editor-in-chief of Glamour magazine, will be will be honoured at UCCs Alumni Achievement Awards today.

Previously the executive producer for social and emerging media at CNN Worldwide where she spearheaded CNNs 2016 Election coverage across social platforms, Ms Barry was hired by Conde Nast as Glamour's editor-in-chief in January of this year.

Anna Wintour, artistic director of Conde Nast, said: Sam is Glamours first digital-native editor, which is to say she arrives from the future rather than the past.

Ms Barry said that the skills and passion discovered and developed during her time as an undergraduate student at UCC have impacted every job shes had since graduation "from leading the social media expansion of CNN to steering Glamour Magazines American edition into a new digital age.

She will be honoured at the Universitys Alumni Achievement Awards this evening alongside Ireland's Professor of Poetry, one of the countrys best-known technology executives, a Cork District Court Judge and the oldest UCC science graduate.

Ms Barry said:

The technology may have evolved as I jumped from Ireland to London to Papua New Guinea to New York, but at the heart of my job are the fundamentals I learned at UCC and the newsroom of the University Examiner: talk to people, share their stories, and offer opinions.

Barry, who is originally from Ballincollig and has worked in more than 25 countries, also served as a social media producer and journalist at BBC World News in London, and as a reporter and producer for RTE and Newstalk.

Glamours Editor-in-Chief @samanthabarry: "The skills and passion I discovered and developed during my time as an undergrad at UCC have impacted every job Ive had since graduation.https://t.co/xqejyxfgkR



Photo: Getty Images, Jamie McCarthy pic.twitter.com/F1ebFkETAr  UCC Ireland (@UCC) November 28, 2018

Ms Barry graduated from UCC with an Arts degree (English and Psychology) in 2002.

Also receiving an Alumni Achievement award this evening is 104-year-old graduate of Science at UCC, Mairin Hughes, who graduated from the campus in the 1930s.

Mairin qualified with a BSc in an era when Science and STEM subjects were not widely studied by women.

Mairin Hughes is to receive a UCC Alumni Achievement Award tonight at the Aula Maxima UCC.

The importance of having female role models in the same field was evident even then with Mairin being inspired by a student called Nancy Hayes who worked in the UCC Physics department.

"She had been ahead of me in St Aloysius School and went on to study Science at UCC. She inspired me to follow the same path.

"Our school did not offer science subjects but I always had a keen interest in the natural world growing up."

Mairin also received the backing of her family.

"My father was an outdoors man, I would go walking with him and learn about the local plants, trees and rocks  I knew the difference between sandstone and limestone from an early age."

Mairin has fond memories of her time at UCC. She threw herself into college life; attending the Philosoph debates, joining An Chuallacht and participating in Professor Alfred ORahillys Theology Group. She urges college students to "make the most of it" and encourages women to sign up for STEM subjects.

I loved every minute of my BSc at UCC, especially the lab work. There are far more openings for science graduates now than there were in previous years and women have more access to jobs in science than ever before.

After graduation, Mairin worked in the Pathology Lab in UCCs Department of Medicine for 14 years. At that time, hospitals did not have on-site pathologists so Mairin and her colleagues would run the blood tests for them.

Excitement is building for tonights Alumni Achievement Awards!

Whats your personal achievement since graduation?#UCCAlum #Goals #Fridayfeeling  UCC Alumni and Development (@UCCAlumDevel) November 30, 2018

After meeting her late husband, Frank, Mairin moved to Dublin and the couple settled in Palmerstown. She took a job teaching chemistry, physics and maths at Ballyfermot Vocational School and spent many happy years there passing on her love of science to her students.

After a full and enjoyable life, pursuing a career in science and education, Mairin is now enjoying her retirement years.

- Digital Desk
Trump continues to ignore climate change, even after witnessing its effects in places like Paradise, California. Photo: SAUL LOEB/AFP/Getty Images

A cartoon popped up in my Twitter feed last week that seemed the perfect coda for the latest, congressionally mandated report on climate change. It shows a dinosaur looking up into the heavens at night, at all the twinkling stars. His smiling face utters the words: The dot that gets bigger and bigger each night is my favorite.

Im relieved, I suppose, that Trump officials didnt actually suppress, censor, or doctor volume two of the Fourth National Climate Assessment. All they did was release it on the Friday after Thanksgiving, suggesting that somewhere deep in what passes for someones conscience in this putrid presidency, some residual shame might linger. One of the more innovative arguments of the report was even pitched to the bottom line: high projections expect to knock ten percent off U.S. GDP this century  more than two Great Recessions put together. And so the last teetering argument of the carbon polluters and their enablers  that preventing climate catastrophe will cost jobs and reduce growth  was proven void once again. Au contraire, it turns out. There have been more jobs in solar energy in the U.S. since 2015 than in oil or natural gas extraction. Maybe a decade ago, the expense of wind and solar was a major obstacle and expense for a non-carbon future. Not any more.

The denialists, in other words, have nothing left. The most striking thing about Bret Stephenss inaugural column in the New York Times was not its banal defense of the principle of scientific skepticism, but its general lameness. Rereading it this week, it is striking how modest its claims were. They essentially came to this: Claiming total certainty about the science traduces the spirit of science and creates openings for doubt whenever a climate claim proves wrong. Demanding abrupt and expensive changes in public policy raises fair questions about ideological intentions. Censoriously asserting ones moral superiority and treating skeptics as imbeciles and deplorables wins few converts.

And thats it. But no serious scientist claims total certainty about the future of climate, just a range of increasingly alarming probabilities; no one is demanding abrupt and expensive changes in public policy, just an intensification of efforts long underway with increasingly reliable and affordable new technologies; and, yes, treating your opponents as evil morons is rarely a good political strategy and Al Gore was terribly supercilious  but, seriously, thats the only substantive argument Stephens had or has? Theres not enough hay there for a straw ant.

The same blather can be found in this weeks column by Jonah Goldberg, lamenting Max Boots sudden volte-face on the issue. Jonah has a point about Boots somewhat too instant makeover into a resistance icon (Ive made it myself), but on the substance of climate change, what defense of the American right does Goldberg have? Zippo. He argues that there are a lot of different views on climate change on the right. I find that about as convincing as the argument that there are a lot of different views on race among Harvards faculty. Sure, maybe, in private, a few dont subscribe to the idea that America is as ridden with white supremacy as it was in the 1920s. But you wont get very far in the academy if you say that in public, will you?

More to the point, the hypothesis of carbon-created climate change doesnt just have some legitimate science on its side, as Goldberg puts it, but a completely overwhelming majority of the science. You should, of course, retain some skepticism always. Its possible, for example, that natural selection may be replaced as the core scientific consensus about how life on Earth evolved. Possible. But do we have to express skepticism every time new science based on that hypothesis emerges? Please. And I honestly cant see how the science of this can be right or left. Its either our best working hypothesis or not. And absolutely, we can have a debate about how to best counter it: massive investment in new green technology; a carbon tax; cap and trade; private-sector innovation of the kind that has helped restrain emissions in the U.S. already. And this debate could be had on right-left lines. But we cannot even have the debate because American conservatism has ruled it out of bounds.

Inaction because of uncertainty only makes sense if the threat is distant and not too calamitous. But when theres a chance of it being truly catastrophic, and the evidence in its favor keeps strengthening, a sane person adjusts. A conservative person  someone attuned to risk  will take out insurance, in case the worst happens. Only an ideologue or a fool does nothing at all.

The last line of Republican argument is the presidents. This is a man who has recently visited what remains of a small town on Floridas panhandle coast: a landscape that bears a resemblance to the aftermath of a nuclear bomb. He has also walked around the dystopian vista of unprecedented forest fires in northern California, covering the state in smoke and air pollution, getting worse as every longer and longer fire season succeeds another. He lived in New York City when Hurricane Sandy crippled the metropolis. We used to argue that climate change was a tough political question because its effects were so distant in the future. But that case no longer holds. We are clearly living through those effects right now. So how does the president respond?

One of the problems that a lot of people like myself  we have very high levels of intelligence, but were not necessarily such believers. You look at our air and our water, and its right now at a record clean. But when you look at China and you look at parts of Asia and when you look at South America, and when you look at many other places in this world, including Russia, including  just many other places  the air is incredibly dirty  if you go back and if you look at articles, they talked about global freezing, they talked about at some point the planets could have freeze to death, then its going to die of heat exhaustion. There is movement in the atmosphere. Theres no question. As to whether or not its man-made and whether or not the effects that youre talking about are there, I dont see it 

Whats going on here, if you can penetrate the word chowder, is not just abject willful denial of reality (that is routine for Trump). Its also a sense that energy innovation is for suckers and pansies and pussies. (This is one of the very few areas in which I will concede such a thing as literally toxic masculinity.) But if its for suckers and pansies and pussies, why is a country like China doubling down on innovating this technology? Why is every other government on Earth committed to tackling this (rhetorically at least) and every other center-right party on Earth taking this very seriously? (Check out this page about environmental policy in the British Conservative party  aimed getting to zero carbon emissions by 2050  and see if you even recognize the debate on the right in the U.S.)

Then there is the final, classic Republican nonargument: I dont see it. When nothing else works, just subjectively deny all objective reality. In this area, moreover, Trump is not a digression from GOP policy. He is not an exception. As with his insane, bankrupting, debt-metastasizing fiscal policy, his climate policies are the apotheosis of Republican mindlessness since Nixon  something that almost no one with an actual mind in the conservative intelligentsia has vigorously taken on. Even a sane, independent-minded, and erudite conservative intellectual, George F. Will, has a blind spot on this.

The kicker, of course, is that the current GOP is not just skeptical of climate science and dragging its feet on doing anything about climate change. It is actively pursuing policies aimed at intensifying environmental devastation. Trumps EPA is attempting to gut the regulation of carbon; it has tried to sabotage the only most prominent global agreement on the matter; it celebrates carbon-based energy and rhapsodizes about coal; it has slapped a 30 percent tariff on solar panels; its tax reform hurt solar and wind investment. For allegedly intelligent conservatives like Stephens and Goldberg to devote energy toward climate skepticism while turning a blind eye to vigorous Republican climate vandalism is, quite simply contemptible. I am not reading their minds here. Im reading their columns. On this question  as on fiscal policy  theyre not skeptics or conservatives; they are dogmatists, sophists, and enablers of environmental vandalism. They reveal Republicanisms calculated assault on the next generations  piling them with unimaginable debt and environmental chaos. This isnt the cultural conservatism of Burke; its the selfish nihilism of Rand.

Let me finish with a quote. It was the first time a major global leader spoke to the U.N. on the question: It is life itself  human life, the innumerable species of our planet  that we wantonly destroy. It is life itself that we must battle to preserve  The danger of global warming is as yet unseen but real enough for us to make changes and sacrifices so we may not live at the expense of future generations. That prospect is a new factor in human affairs. It is comparable in its implications to the discovery of how to split the atom, indeed its results could be even more far-reaching  We should always remember that free markets are a means to an end. They would defeat their object if by their output they did more damage to the quality of life through pollution than the well-being they achieve by the production of goods and services. That leader also made a core moral argument: No generation has a freehold on this Earth; all we have is a life tenancy with a full repairing lease.

Those words were Margaret Thatchers in 1989. She devoted her entire U.N. speech to conservation and climate change. If the subject was real enough in 1989 to make sacrifices and changes, how much more so almost 30 years later? The difference between Thatcher and todays Republicans is quite a simple one. She believed in science (indeed was trained as a scientist). She grasped the moral dimensions of the stewardship of the Earth from one generation to another. She did not engage in the cowardice of sophists. And unlike these tools and fools on todays American right, she was a conservative.

_

Is sex binary? I find the question fascinating because the science really does open up lots of questions, and the notion of a nonbinary sex is now ubiquitous on college campuses. The salient definition of binary here is the following: involving a choice or condition of two alternatives (such as on-off or yes-no). And so the question emerges: Are humans either male or female? Are are these really the only two options?

We have long assumed they were. But we now know, as anyone acquainted with the actual science will attest, that this is not entirely the case. There are all sorts of permutations in human sex that defy simple XX and XY duality, and reflect the varying impacts of testosterone and estrogen on sexual development. There are, critically, intersex people of varying degrees  with XX chromosomes, for example, not always resulting in female characteristics. The closer you look, the more complicated it gets. And thats leaving aside the transgender question entirely.

The real question, it seems to me, is therefore an almost philosophical one: Do these exceptions prove or disprove a general rule? Id argue that, by and large, they prove it. The number of people with a mismatch between chromosomes and hormones, or with ambiguous genitalia, is surpassingly small. Well under one percent is a useful estimate. Similarly with a transgender identity: It absolutely exists but is also very rare  some estimates put it at around 0.7 percent of the population. Gay men and lesbians who have unambiguous male and female sex organs and identity but an attraction to their own sex are also pretty rare (whatever wed like to think). Maybe 2 to 5 percent, with some outliers. Does this mean that general assumptions about most people being either male or female and heterosexual and cisgendered are misplaced or even offensive? Hardly. Im gay but usually assume that everyone I meet is straight until I know otherwise. And I dont mind the hetero assumption applying to me either. Its a reasonable statistical inference, not bigotry. And I can always set them, er, straight.

My preferred adjective for sex and gender is bimodal, rather than binary. What bimodal means is that there are two distinct and primary modes with some variations between them. The vast majority of humans are either male or female, with corresponding chromosomes and hormones, and heterosexual. But with nature as messy as it is, and genetic variation being the spice of evolution, there will always be exceptions on a spectrum. Think of it as two big mountains representing, in sex matters, well over 95 percent of humans, with a long, low valley between them, representing the remaining percent. Everyone is equally human. But clearly the human experience of sex is one thing for almost everyone and a different thing for a few.

Do we infer from this that we need to junk the categories of male and female altogether, as many critical gender theorists argue? That seems insane to me. These two modes actually define the entire landscape of sex (the exceptions are incomprehensible without them), and the bimodal distribution is quite obviously a function of reproductive strategy (if we were all gay, or intersex, wed cease to exist as a species before too long). Ditto the transgender experience: Does the fact that less than one percent of humans feel psychologically at odds with their biological sex mean that biological sex really doesnt exist and needs to be defined away entirely? Or does it underline just how deep the connection between sex and gender almost always is?

Beneath it all, insecurity runs. On the right, theres too much insecurity that society cannot cope with these truths. I disagree. Look at the much deeper understanding of homosexuality we have achieved these past couple of decades. We are not a threat to straights; were a complement. Transgender people do not threaten the categories of male and female; they pay, in some ways, homage to them.

On the left, theres too much defensiveness about being in a minority. Yes, I know: We all like to be in a majority. It makes life easier; it makes self-doubt and self-hatred rarer; it can help you avoid bouts of low self-esteem; it helps you feel you belong. But being in a minority  even a tiny one  need not be demoralizing, if we have self-confidence. Id argue it can lead, through struggle and challenge, to a more deeply examined self  and to a resilience that can only be earned and is no one elses to give. And the fact that this society is run overwhelmingly on heterosexual lines makes sense to me, given their overwhelming majority. As long as the government does not actively persecute or enable the persecution of a minority, who cares? An intersex person is as deeply human as anyone else. So is a gay or transgender person. Its stupid to pretend they are entirely normal, because it gives the concept of normality too much power over us. Their abnormality is a neutral thing, like left-handedness: a fact, not a judgment. And why on earth should we feel defensive about that?

I was invited to the Heritage Foundation this week for a panel on political correctness (You can watch it here. I speak at 1:04). The invite was quite a surprise. Ive been a nonperson in Washington conservative circles ever since I objected to the spending explosion, torture, and shambolic Iraq War in the Bush administration, around 15 years ago. Of course I wasnt invited to criticize conservatism  just to excoriate the social-justice movement for inverting the principles of liberalism. Nonetheless, I included in my remarks an attack on the Trump movement for providing so much ammunition for the hard left with its race-baiting, and even got one dude to walk out. But what surprised me was the positive response to a single, minor point I made about intersectionality.

In some ways, I argued, the intersectional move on the hard left is a good thing  because it complicates things. Its no longer enough just to consider race, for example, as a signifier of oppression without also considering gender or orientation or gender identity, national origin, immigrant status, etc. When society is made up entirely of various intersecting oppressions, as the social-justice left believes, its vital not to leave any potential grievance out.

By the same token, of course, an oppressor can also be identified in multiple, intersectional ways. I spend my days oppressing marginalized people and women, because, according to social-justice ideology, I am not just male, but also white and cisgendered. My sin  like the virtue of the oppressed  is multifaceted. So multifaceted, in fact, that being gay must surely be included. Also: HIV-positive. Come to think of it: immigrant. And an English Catholic  which makes me a victim in my childhood and adolescence. Suddenly, Im a little more complicated, arent I? But wait! As a Catholic, I am also an oppressive enabler of a misogynist institution, and at the same time, as a gay Catholic, Im a marginalized member of an oppressed LGBTQ community, as well as sustaining an institution that oppresses other gays.

It can get very complicated very fast. I remain confident that I remain an oppressor because my sex, gender, and race  let alone my belief in liberal constitutionalism and limited government  probably trump all my victim points. But that is a pretty arbitrary line, is it not? Think of the recent leftist discourse around white women. One minute, they are the vanguard of the fight against patriarchy; the next minute, they are quislings devoted to white supremacy and saturated with false consciousness.

And thats why I favor more intersectionality, not less. Lets push this to its logical conclusion. Lets pile on identity after identity for any individual person; place her in multiple, overlapping oppression dynamics, victim and victimizer, oppressor and oppressed; map her class, race, region, religion, marital status, politics, nationality, language, disability, attractiveness, body weight, and any other form of identity you can. After a while, with any individuals multifaceted past, present, and future, you will end up in this multicultural world with countless unique combinations of endless identities in a near-infinite loop of victim and victimizer. You will, in fact, end up with  an individual human being!

In the end, all totalizing ideologies disappear up their own assholes. With intersectionality, we have now entered the lower colon.

See you next Friday.
Photo: Don Emmert/AFP/Getty Images

Matt Whitaker was hired as acting attorney general in order to obstruct justice for Donald Trump in the Russia investigation. Alas, it seems Whitaker has also been obstructing justice for himself.

Before he came to the Department of Justice, Whitaker worked as the legal muscle for World Patent Marketing, a firm that scammed customers who think they have promising inventions, by taking their money, promising elaborate marketing services, and giving them nothing. Whitaker has said through a spokesperson he was not aware of any fraudulent activity, but new documents from the Federal Trade Commission reveal Whitaker began fielding angry complaints from customers that they were being defrauded, including from a client who showed up at his Iowa office to appeal to him personally for help. Throughout this period, Whitaker remained enthusiastic about the firm and expressed a willingness to endorse it publicly.

The documents reveal Whitaker did little to assist the investigation, reports the Washington Post, When the FTC subpoenaed for his records, he missed the deadline to reply. In a voice mail responding to follow-up calls from investigators, Whitaker said he was happy to cooperate and stressed an important role he had just assumed in Washington. Stonewalling requests for information, throwing around your title to intimidate investigators  sounds perfect for the job.

Whitakers willingness to flout professional ethics and work for crooks is part of what made him so attractive to Trump. And Trump has lavished praise upon his acting AG, making clear he is in no rush to fill the job with a permanent replacement who would need to be confirmed by the Senate. In the meantime, the public has no way of knowing whether Whitaker is undermining Robert Muellers investigation or how he might be doing it, if so.

The most darkly comic note from the newly disclosed FTC documents is a message from one of the investigators, incredulous at the news that the lawyer for the scam firm they are investigating has somehow gotten a job at the Department of Justice. Youre not going to believe this, James Evans, who works for the agencys Bureau of Consumer Protection, wrote on October 24, 2017. Matt Whitaker is now chief of staff to the Attorney General. Of the United States.

A year ago it was mind-boggling that a crooked low-rent lawyer could get a job  any job! at the Department of Justice. And now he is the highest-ranking law-enforcement official in the United States.
Mr Low said the royal commission had shown the extent of the sales cultures at financial institutions and how that came at the detriment of consumers who were not in a position to afford [the loans] but were led to believe they were. Grant Stewart said he was surprised to learn of the extent of incentivisation that goes on to encourage sales. Credit:AAP Grant Stewart provided one of the more dramatic appearances of the commission when he described how his son with Down syndrome was sold life insurance over the phone. "I am glad that I was able to be part of it, more particularly for other people in similar circumstances," he said. I dont think that a lot of people were aware of the extent of the incentivisation [to meet sales targets] that goes on and it certainly surprised me to see how widespread it is.

And he doesnt think much of the regulators, particularly the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC). The teeth of the regulators have not been used to any great extent," he said. "There's a question of whether ASIC, for example, has been too close to the top end of town instead of doing more to prevent these things from happening." Rowena Orr, senior counsel assisting the commission, singled out these witnesses for praise in her closing statements on Friday, saying they deserved particular thanks.

"Many of them travelled long distances and gave evidence about their private financial affairs in a very public forum," she said. "I know that they did not always find that easy, but their willingness to give evidence about their experiences has greatly assisted the work of the commission, and I am grateful to them. Senator John Williams. Credit:Elesa Kurtz In the commissions interim report released in September, Commissioner Kenneth Hayne said the regulators had sufficient powers to police their beats, but were not making sufficient use of them. Nationals senator John "Wacha" Williams, an early voice in calling for a royal commission, said the regulators, had been smashed in the inquiry.

Senator Williams said the extent of the revelations that had come out during the commission had surprised him. The whole culture of profit before people is what has driven this whole thing, he said. And the incentives in the banks  meet the targets and you will get bonus. Now, I dont want to see incentives removed, but we have to have incentives that do not encourage wrongdoing." The whole culture of profit before people is what has driven this whole thing Senator John Williams For those, like financial services insider turned whistleblower Jeff Morris, who first called for a royal commission in 2013, the process has been worthwhile but has only scratched the surface. Having been inside the banks, it is a very sycophantic world where nobody contradicts the corporate speak and everyone drinks from the same water fountain, he said.
She thinks the ACT way of testing is better than the one over the border in NSW because it relies less on memory and more on analysis. Loading "I really like the ACT system because it's a forgiving system," she said. A poor performance in one semester, say because of illness, isn't disastrous. There is more weight put on assessment through years 11 and 12. And in English, for example, you are allowed to take the novel or subject text into the exam so the test is not about memory of quotes but understanding of meaning. Her advice?

Don't start working for exams too late. "I worked extremely hard," she said. "You have to be on the ball from the start of year 11." Erin Helyard, who followed his passion and turned his high results into a career in music. Credit:Edwina Pickles One of the few who did score high but then followed his heart was Erin Helyard, who got his 99.95 in 1995 on the NSW Central Coast. He pursued his passion for music, becoming a lecturer at the Australian National University and now in Melbourne. His link to the ANU continues. At the time he enjoyed the challenge of getting the best possible marks, but now wonders if that pressure was too great. "I remember that everybody assumed I was going to be a lawyer but I rejected that and I just ended up doing what I wanted," he said.

Mr Helyard does not regret the work he put in, particularly the devouring of books, and he thinks today's students are too addicted to the internet to enjoy that kind of reading. It demands an attention span beyond that of the digital age's nano-moment. Maryam Eghtedari in Year 12 at Canberra Girls Grammar. Credit:Unknown. It is clear that getting a top ATAR opens doors and smooths the way to a good career. It makes money more available - but not necessarily happiness (though money may help there, too). Maryam Eghtedari got the highest possible score of 99.95 when she finished at Canberra Girls Grammar School in 2012.

Since then, she's studied to be a doctor at Sydney University, with another year to go. Her high ranking meant she's had the chance to do research even though she hasn't graduated yet. Ms Eghtedari's advice to students today would be to work hard but also to keep other activities going, like sport or learning a language. It's important not to become a narrow personality. She says the key to academic success is working hard and being with ambitious people who do the same. Does an ultra-high score - the maximum - guarantee happiness or fulfilment? It does not.

Loading Former Sydney Church of England Girls Grammar School student Saadiah Freeman got 100 in 1995, a maximum not even allowed these days - 99.95 is the current top mark. And it did open the way to jobs on Wall Street. She is now a management consultant based in Jackson Hole in Wyoming - the town is a magnet for the uber-rich who buy prairie ranches to get a (comfortable) taste of the iconic American West. But for her, the ultimate high score brought access to this affluent life but not to an idyllic existence. She feels the 100 she got in Australia led her into prestigious jobs rather than ones that might have made her happier. You are always going to be more successful doing the things which interest you. Saadiah Freeman

"It's been a double-edged sword," she said. Ms Freeman was identified in high school as gifted and that put a weight of expectation on her to go down a prestigious path rather than a happy one. "I felt that there was a certain expectation to go into fields and companies that have the name brand," she said. Saadiah Freeman in Mongolia this past year. Credit:Unknown At the age of 40, Ms Freeman's finally shaken off that slavery to ambition. She is no longer dominated by her job. She exudes wisdom. She is based in the prairie town but lives much of the time out of a travel-trailer in the wilderness, combining that with work. She travels and lives out her passion for the outdoors, whether sailing or riding or simply feeling nature. She's been to Mongolia three times in the past year.
Up to 5000 Sydney students have defied the Prime Minister's instruction to stay in the classroom by going on strike to protest against the federal government's climate change policies.

Organisers said 15,000 students took part in major nation-wide strike events held in every capital city and in 20 regional towns on Friday.

Thousands of students protested in Sydney's Martin Place against the government's inaction on climate change. Credit:Nick Moir

Students packed the Martin Place amphitheatre in Sydney's CBD, waving placards and chanting loudly.

"What do we want? Climate action. When do we want it? Now," they sang.
A road-rage incident between two drivers on the M7 in Sydney's west has ended with one man being stabbed in the stomach, police say.

Police are now appealing for anyone with dashcam footage to come forward to help identify the driver, who allegedly stabbed another driver in the stomach before speeding away.

The 42-year-old injured man initially drove himself away from the scene before he pulled over and his passenger called an ambulance about 4.30pm on Friday.

Paramedics found the injured man at Bungarribee Road, Doonside with a stab wound to his stomach. He was taken to Westmead Hospital, where he underwent emergency surgery. Police said he was in a stable condition on Saturday morning.
Six years after Daniel James Holdom brutally murdered a mother and her toddler daughter, leaving one in a forest and one in a suitcase on the side of the road, he was jailed over the sexual assault of a nine-year-old girl.

It was 2014, and Holdom, 44, had not yet been charged with killing Karlie Pearce-Stevenson, 20, and her daughter Khandalyce, 2, days apart in December 2008.

The remains of Ms Pearce-Stevenson had been found in the Belanglo State Forest in August 2010, but there was no clue about her identity and she was known only as "the Angel of Belanglo" because of the motif on a shirt found near her bones.
Two alleged arsonists have been arrested and could face up to 14 years in jail as dangerous bushfires continue to burn across the state.

Heatwave conditions are expected to linger into next week as Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk warns there is up to a 50 per cent chance a tropical cyclone could form off the Queensland coast at the weekend.

Fire crews confronted by massive flames at Deepwater in central Queensland. The weather bureau is also watching a potential tropical cyclone near the Solomon Islands. Credit:Rob Griffith/Costi Farms/AP & BoM

The Bureau of Meteorology has warned of the potential for a tropical low near the Solomon Islands to move into the northern Coral Sea and intensify into a cyclone during the next five days.

Meanwhile, Deputy Commissioner Bob Gee said officers caught two men after brief foot chases, following a tip-off from members of the public about the alleged arson attacks.
A family of five who were forced to evacuate out of Mount Larcom in the Gladstone region have lost everything they own after a shed with all their belongings was engulfed in flames.

A family forced to evacuate returned home to find all their belongings destroyed in a shed fire in Queensland. Credit:Facebook

Shandell Amos, her partner and three children were living with friends at Mount Larcom after moving from South Australia to start a new life in Queensland.

Ms Amos said she was shocked when police knocked on their door to tell them to evacuate immediately.

"It was just shock, I was a bit scared," she said.
Firefighters continue to battle 70 blazes in the region, as authorities warn "we are not out of the woods" yet. Earlier, people fleeing fires at Dalrymple Heights, west of Mackay, were told to go home and seek shelter as it was "not safe to continue travelling". Emergency services ordered residents to leave at 2.40pm on Friday, but within an hour, they deemed road conditions to be too dangerous. "Conditions are now very dangerous and firefighters are unable to prevent the fire advancing," the warning said. "The fire poses a threat to all lives directly in its path."

Residents at Broken River, Finch Hatton, Eungella and Dalrymple Heights will be affected by thick smoke and embers. Authorities warned heatwave conditions were expected to linger into next week, while a tropical low near the Solomon Islands could move into the northern Coral Sea and intensify into a cyclone during the next five days. Firefighters working to control a bushfire in Deepwater, central Queensland. Credit:QFES Media. Bureau of Meteorology Queensland state manager Bruce Gunn said there were unprecedented heat and fire weather conditions this week.

"It is a tribute to the hard work and dedication of firefighters, emergency services personnel, volunteers and the actions undertaken by members of the community that we have not seen any loss of life during the past week, but we are by no means through this yet," he said. Mr Gunn said conditions had eased following the catastrophic fire danger warning on Wednesday but severe to extreme heatwave conditions were expected to continue into next week, extending into the north-west and south-east of the state. Loading Daytime temperatures were expected to peak about eight to 10 degrees above average in south-east Queensland on Sunday, where severe heatwave conditions could develop. Queensland paramedics treated 120 cases of heat stroke in the past seven days, which QAS clinical director Tony Hucker said was "pretty good" considering the extreme bushfires.

"The biggest risk obviously is around the fire grounds where people are working really hard, but we need to think about the south-east corner because it is going to be hot down here as well." Mr Hucker urged people to minimise smoke exposure, drink plenty of water and wear loose-fitting clothing. Queensland Fire and Emergency Services commissioner Katarina Carroll said assessments of damage caused so far were continuing. "We are not out of the woods, we've got a heatwave still with us for the next four days, we've got thunderstorms - that interferes with how the fire spreads," she said. "This is completely difficult and challenging circumstances to work in.

"We have never seen this in our state before." Ms Carroll said on Thursday there were 350 trucks and 30 aircraft fighting more than 200 fires, while there were more than 114 fires burning on Friday, with 70 fires in central Queensland alone. Emergency services were on Friday tackling several bushfires, including at Finch Hatton, Eungalla and Tinnanbar. Earlier, it was revealed two alleged arsonists had been arrested and could face up to 14 years in jail. Visiting the Miriam Vale evacuation centre, Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said the bushfire situation was ever-evolving amid unprecedented heatwave conditions.

The Deepwater fire has been burning for days. Credit:QFES Media "I've been briefed that just yesterday, the winds turned so dramatically, 160 degrees, within a couple of hours," she said. "The firefighters on the ground and the volunteers had to deal with this changing, evolving situation, that is not only putting their lives at risk, but also others," she said. Ms Palaszczuk said she had spoken to families impacted, which confirmed with her how distressing the situation was. "People don't know what's happened to their homes, their animals, it is deeply distressing," she said.
A Queenslander suffering from serious head injuries after falling off a motor scooter in Indonesia will be flown home by an RACQ LifeFlight jet.

Emergency medical retrieval experts had landed in Bali to help the injured man after the Air Ambulance Challenger 604 jet was called to Indonesia on Thursday night.

RACQ LifeFlight's Air Ambulance Challenger 604 Jet was called to Indonesia overnight. Credit:RACQ LifeFlight

The man remains was in a serious condition after he fell from a motor scooter in the early hours of Sunday morning.

He and his parents were set to be taken to Queensland and were expected to land in Brisbane on Friday night.
Too little, too late. Photo: Chris McGrath/Getty Images

It is heresy for international-relations geeks to say that a diplomatic summit meeting doesnt matter. But here goes: It doesnt matter that much what Trump says about his currently cancelled meeting this weekend with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Sure, it makes for gasp-inducing headlines when the U.S. president calls off talks with another world leader with only two days notice (and on Twitter, no less):

....in Argentina with President Vladimir Putin. I look forward to a meaningful Summit again as soon as this situation is resolved!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 29, 2018

Its possible that Trump will still spend some time with Putin on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Buenos Aires. But whatever the outcome, three big facts dont change: First, Moscow significantly escalated its aggression in Ukraine last weekend, and the West had no unified response. Second, Moscow and Washington have a set of things they want from each other. Neither is getting any satisfaction, summit or no. And finally, Trumps personal attitude toward the Russian government remains  odd.

Lets take those one at a time. Since Russias takeover of the formerly Ukrainian Crimean Peninsula, Moscow has steadily taken steps to make the region easier for Russians to access, and harder for Ukrainian ships, civil or military, to navigate around. (Imagine New Jersey seizing Staten Island and youll get the idea.)

On Sunday, Russia took things a step further by chasing, shooting at, and capturing several Ukrainian ships in waters that the Ukrainians  and international law  say they had every right to be in.

A European country shooting at another European country is a big deal. You do not see it every day, thankfully. It is a big deal for Ukraine, and for many of Russias other neighbors, which worry that Russia could one day do the same to them. (Of course, in some neighboring countries, such as Georgia and Moldova, Russia already has.)

Since some vulnerable countries on Russias border are treaty allies of the United States through NATO, in principle it ought to be a big deal here as well. However, the Trump administration was slow to respond, and Russia didnt seem to take seriously Trumps comment in a Tuesday interview with the Washington Post that he would maybe cancel his planned meeting with Putin.

On Wednesday morning, Russian officials told reporters they had heard nothing from Washington about a cancellation, and by Wednesday afternoon Russian news agency TASS was assuring its readers that the White House has let it be understood that President Trump does not intend to comment further on the situation in the Kerch Strait. Then came Thursdays tweet, abruptly calling off the meeting.

It has to be said that Washington, for once, was not alone in finding itself divided and at a loss for a response. European Union foreign ministers were able to agree that Russias actions in Crimea were unacceptable, but did not adopt sanctions or issue any other response. Looking at this division, a German official told Politico Europe: At times like this, Im happy we dont have a European army.

To be clear, European history is littered with armies that thought they could push as far into Russia as the Kerch Strait, and failed. The reality is that there isnt any good military response  but the situation still warranted something more than the confused, tepid response it got.

Putin has made clear throughout his time in power that he watches carefully to see whether the West will extract consequences for his actions, and then proceeds accordingly. And as he heads to the G20 summit, with its string of encounters with Western leaders, Putin does have goals he wants, and even needs, to achieve. This includes avoiding new sanctions that might make Russian citizens lives harder, and complicate things for his oligarchs, their families, their businesses, and their squirreled-away money. Putin also wants to ensure theres no additional military pressure in Syria; ideally Washington will instead acknowledge a central role for Russia in the regions security architecture. Putin is happy that Trump plans to leave the INF treaty, thus saving Russia the embarrassment of being called out for violating it. But hes likely concerned about where the Pentagon might station the shorter-range nuclear-tipped missiles that were banned under the treaty. Ultimately, Putin wants Washington and Europe to accept his annexation of Crimea and acquiesce to his efforts to make Ukraine a compliant client state.

To be clear, Putin wasnt going to get anything off that wishlist from Trump at this meeting, and Moscow knew it. Shortly before Trumps cancellation tweet, a Russian deputy foreign minister told Bloomberg: Our relationship is simply a mess  The political will of the president himself is not sufficient to change course. More broadly, the Russian government is disappointed and frustrated with Trump, says scholar Dmitri Trenin: They see the U.S. president as a self-centered person, essentially guided by instincts, who prides himself on his ability to make deals.

And although U.S. pundits busily made up lists of things Trump should do, or demand, from Putin, none of that was going to happen either  despite the hawkish tone of his Russia team.

That brings us to the last point that no meeting can change: Trumps attitude toward Moscow is just odd. His cancellation of the meeting as new details emerged about his former lawyer Michael Cohens meetings with Russian officials during the 2016 presidential campaign may have been intended to take an awkward subject off the table at home. But it certainly wont change thinking among the presidents critics  or Robert Muellers investigators. And it will lead Putin to conclude  not for the first time  that Trump is weak. Perhaps more important, it tells Putin that the United States  our people and system of government  are not up to his challenge. And that is likely to encourage him to adventure more, not less.
A stop order issued to protect the derelict Broadway Hotel from demolition after a fire in September has been extended until March next year, with the state government placing responsibility for the hotel's future firmly in the hands of Brisbane City Council.

However, the council in response has called on the state government to "quit passing the buck" and take responsibility for further enforcement action on the Broadway Hotel.

Fire ripped through the Broadway Hotel in September, triggering an ongoing debate over who is responsible for enforcing repairs. Credit:Queensland Police Service

Environment Minister Leeanne Enoch originally issued the stop order in September days after a fire gutted the remaining infrastructure at the heritage-listed hotel in Woolloongabba. A stop order exists for a maximum of 60 business days.

The building has sat empty for years after multiple fires since 2010 destroyed further infrastructure, leaving the hotel vulnerable to vandalism.
As they arrived at the Old Treasury they were given a rockstars welcome. A band played, the young folk danced and sung. Cheers rang out as more and more school groups poured in. But when student leaders took to the lectern, they spoke of fire and brimstone. "If we continue to live the way we do, then by 2050 climate scientists predict that half a billion of the 9 billion who will be living on this planet will survive," 14-year-old Harriet said. "The chances that I will survive that are very low and the chances that everyone and everything I love will survive that are practically impossible. And I cannot bear the thought of losing the people I love when it could have been stopped." Students on the move. Credit:Luis Enrique Ascui Despite the apocalyptic talk, the students' creativity was on full display with hundreds of banners bobbing up and down above the crowd.

Some spoke of hope for change, others responded to barbs from politicians, including the prime minister. The sardonic humour of high school was out in full force. "Science doesn't care about your opinion," read one. "There will be more learning in school when there is more learning in government," read another. With chants ranging from elaborate anti-Adani slogans to the more concise do something, do something and ScoMos got to go! the throng left Old Treasury, marched down Collin St, turned on Russell and up Bourke towards Parliament. Although the Liberal federal government was in the cross-hairs of many protesters, several speakers and the Australian Youth Climate Coalition, which helped organise the national-strike, also pledged to hold any future Labor government to the same standards.

AYCC spokeswoman Alex Fuller said Labor's energy police "did not go far enough" and promised further action until the student's demands were fully met. Students protesting against government inaction on climate change, in Melbourne on Friday. Credit:Luis Enrique Ascui Monash University lecturer Dr Zareh Ghazarian said the social media inspired protest was part of a global movement of young people "circumventing established politics". The Doctor of Politics said the day was highly symbolic of the angst around climate change and success governments inability to settle on stable climate policy. But while he said it was particularly acute amongst the young, the feeling was not confined to them. "It's an extension of the frustration the broader community feels too," he said.

Hoppers Crossing Secondary College Year 12 student Jagveer Singh was one of several young Melburnians address the crowd. School kids march on Parliament House. Credit:Matt Golding He said students had three main demands: stop the Adani coal mine and all new coal and gas projects and to transition to 100 per cent renewable energy. Hopefully the federal government wakes up, he told The Age. The 17-year-old said he was encouraged the students voices  and hashtags  were already being heard in Canberra. But Jagveer said the strike would just be the beginning.

Realistically speaking turning up to a strike for one day probably won't change much ... like the government's not going to do anything," he said. But at the moment we're hoping that they do, and if they don't I suppose more of the same will come their way  and election isn't far off, so ...". According to RMIT Adjunct Professor Stephen Alomes, whether students like Jagveer are true to their word will determine if the events of Friday reverberate or remain a "oncer". The expert in populism and social movements said the crucial question was not the number of protesters on Friday, but how many turnout a year from now. Dr Alomes said grassroots movements which gained traction needed to centre around an issue which had "continuing impact on peoples' everyday lives". Which lead him to suspect the students' protest "may become bigger".
The Bourke Street "Trolley Man" is behind bars after he was charged with stealing goods from an East Melbourne apartment two days ago.

Michael Rogers, 46, was arrested on Friday in relation to an alleged burglary on Wednesday.

Michael Rogers leaving the Melbourne Magistrates Court on Tuesday. Credit:AAP

He was charged with burglary, theft and committing an indictable offence while on bail, and was remanded in custody.

The homeless man earned the nickname "Trolley Man" after stepping in harm's way with a shopping cart to fend off Islamic State-inspired attacker Hassan Khalif Shire Ali during his deadly Bourke Street rampage on November 9.
Condom usage rates among sex workers in Western Australia have plummeted in the past decade, according to a recent report.

But a local advocacy organisation says sex workers remain more likely than any other group of people to look after their sexual health.

Sex workers may be using condoms less frequently, but they use them more than many others in the community. Credit:Janie Barrett

Unexpectedly low rates of consistent condom use during sex with clients was published in Frontiers in Public Health this week, with researchers insisting the statistics point to a need to decriminalise the sex industry.

The study involved 354 WA-based sex workers, with just a third reporting consistent condom use with clients during oral sex.
Buenos Aires: Prime Minister Scott Morrison had to explain the Liberal Partys leadership spill to Donald Trump in their first meeting, after the US President asked how the Australian government removed its last leader.

Mr Trump asked about the fall of Malcolm Turnbull during talks with Mr Morrison at the G20 summit in Buenos Aires, while also discussing trade, Irans nuclear ambitions and the rise of Chinese influence in the Pacific.

Mr Morrison later said he ran through the events in August that led to his rise to the prime ministership.

They have their inquiries, he said of the fellow leaders at the G20 summit, who are dealing with their third Australian leader in five years.
Queenslanders have been urged to "dig deep" to help people affected by the state's bushfires.

Visiting the Miriam Vale evacuation centre near Gladstone on Friday, Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk launched the Queensland Bushfire Appeal.

Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk announced the Queensland Bushfire Appeal on Friday while visiting Miriam Vale. Credit:Jack Tran/ Office of the Premier

Ms Palaszczuk said the state government would start the appeal with a donation of $125,000.

"I need Queenslanders to dig deep," she said.
Washington: NASA's next lunar science experiments will arrive at the moon via a spacecraft built by one of nine private companies - a first for one of the agency's science missions.

The space agency has named the organisations that are now eligible to bid on delivering science and technology payloads to the lunar surface. They include some longtime players in the aerospace industry, like Lockheed Martin, but are mostly newer names with startup cultures, like Pittsburgh-based Astrobotic and Masten Space Systems in Mojave, California.

John Young salutes the US flag at the Descartes landing site on the moon during the first Apollo 16 landing in 1972. Credit:NASA

The Commercial Lunar Payload Services program is a priority of NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine, who said in May that leveraging commercial capabilities would allow for more frequent and affordable access to the lunar surface. "More missions, more science," a news release about the CLPS program promised.

It also continues a trend at NASA toward public-private partnerships for exploration. Under president George W. Bush, companies were awarded contracts to fly cargo to the International Space Station. The Commercial Crew Program, developed under Barack Obama, will pay companies to transport human crews.
Washington: US President Donald Trump on Friday defended his decision to seek a business deal in Russia in 2016 even as he pursued the Republican presidential nomination, calling it "very legal" and "very cool" to keep running his business while campaigning.

In a series of tweets from Buenos Aires, where he is attending the G20 summit, Trump also said he had only "lightly looked" at a real estate project "somewhere in Russia" but that nothing had come of the effort.

A second guilty plea on Thursday by Michael Cohen, Trump's former personal lawyer, has raised new questions about Trump's dealings with Russia while he was also establishing Republican foreign policy during his run for the presidency.
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A list of 231 financial firms has been published as the new external dispute resolution scheme seeks proof-of-life from companies not yet signed up.

The Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA) began taking complaints on November 1, but entities were expected to be signed up to transfer their membership by 21 September.

AFCA has been liaising with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) about financial firms that have not taken out AFCA membership. ASIC will be taking appropriate action against these firms, as they are likely to be in breach of their legal obligations.

AFCA is asking organisations who were previously members of the Credit and Investments Ombudsman (CIO) and have not taken out AFCA membership to check if they are on the published list.

They then need to immediately take out or finalise their AFCA membership application if they are required to be a member, or contact ASIC to cancel their licence if they are no longer operating.

AFCA CEO and chief ombudsman, David Locke said, We have been working with ASIC to contact and communicate with these firms about their requirement to take out AFCA membership since August. Despite several communications, these firms have not yet joined AFCA.

ASIC can take action to suspend or cancel the licence of an Australian Financial Service Licence (AFSL) or Australian Credit Licence (ACL) if they have not obtained AFCA membership.

Locke added, Please be aware that if you are not now a member of AFCA, and you are in fact obliged to be a member, you are likely to be in breach of your legal obligations.

AFCA is the new one-stop-shop for external dispute resolution of financial complaints, and membership of AFCA is central to ensuring there is public trust in the financial services industry.

To protect this trust, it is critical that you ensure your organisation is an AFCA member if it needs to be, and that consumers and small businesses are able to make a complaint about your organisation.

AFCA is not able to deal with complaints from consumers and small businesses about a financial firm if the firm is not a current AFCA member.

Previous members of the Financial Ombudsman Scheme (FOS), Credit and Investments Ombudsman (CIO) and Superannuation Complaints Tribunal (SCT) were required to transfer their membership to AFCA by 21 September 2018. More than 36,000 organisations have completed the transfer to become members of AFCA.

All financial firm members of AFCA were also required to update their AFCA membership details with ASIC by 30 November 2018.

Find the full list here
Photo: Courtesy of the retailers

If you follow our biweekly feature Your Shopping Cart, you know that we have some eerily good intel on what you all are buying. Which led us to think that, as Strategist editors, we could turn the tables and highlight all the things weve been buying ourselves. As youll notice, its both a blessing and a curse to be a Strategist editor; were picky, but sometimes we just have to get on with it (its online shopping expertise meets IRL needs). Below, what we all bought in November.

Lori Keong, writer

Black Swans: Stories, by Eve Babitz $17 $17 The most decadent part of the long Thanksgiving weekend wasnt the amount of food I consumed, but the hours I got to spend curled up reading books. Im halfway through Pachinko, but also pocketed Eve Babitzs Black Swans over the weekend (the typography really jumps out on a shelf). Its my first Eve Babitz encounter and Im in love: Ive been reading a story or two before bed every night and the closest thing I can compare it to is dessert. $17 at Amazon Buy $17 at Amazon Buy

In lieu of getting a digital perm this month, I called in reinforcements from Sachajuan to see if I could actually zhuzh my flat, straight hair into something resembling a hairstyle. Id heard great things, but was floored by how bouncy and soft my hair looked post-volumizing shampoo and cream. It was such a convincing change that colleagues actually cornered me to compliment me on my new haircut afterwards. (Its the same old hair, just Sachujuan playing tricks on you.)

Karen Iorio Adelson, writer

New Balance NB Heat Pullover $89 This running top was an early Black Friday purchase that I bought on impulse because I loved the color, but Ive already worn it twice. Its sort of a combination base layer/mid-layer as its fine to wear on its own (like I did yesterday when running in 40-degree weather), or you can throw it over a T-shirt for a little added warmth (like I did on Thanksgiving when it was barely 30 degrees). I imagine that in even colder temps Ill be able to layer a jacket on top. The funnel neck definitely keeps you warm, and I especially like that along with thumb holes there are hand covers that work like built-in mittens. Its also still 20 percent off. $89 at New Balance Buy

OXO Good Grips Silicone Lemon Squeeze and Store $5 This little gizmo holds half of a lemon or lime and lets you squeeze its juice onto a salad, into your water, or wherever else you want a splash of citrus. I have a bigger citrus juicer but Im usually too lazy to take it out and wash all the parts when I just want a little spritz of lemon, so this is ideal. The tiny holes filter out the seeds and its even machine washable. My friend and I were browsing Lancelotti Housewares in the East Village and we each had to buy one. $5 at Bed Bath & Beyond Buy

Margaret Rhodes, senior editor

Coffeevac $16 For someone who makes a big deal out of having coffee immediately upon waking up, Im not very precious about it. We buy coffee from Porto Rico Importing Co. (I get the organic French Peruvian and its dark and full and perfect) and they put it in paper bags which then go in my fridge. But then, a few months ago, I edited this post on coffee canisters and realized exactly how much Id been doing wrong. If you want coffee to keep its flavor, you need an airtight, light-free container. So I got this green plastic Coffeevac, which sucks oxygen out and feels very Fort Lauderdale in the late 1970s. Soon Ill finally buy my own coffee grinder. $16 at Amazon Buy $16 at Amazon Buy

Uniqlo Drape Wide Pants $15 $15 These pants are truly amazing. I bought a pair in gray, on a lark, months back, after realizing that I owned no respectable loungewear. They feel soft as silk and I dont know how, but the fabric practically bounces stains off of itself. (On a recent flight, I spilled wine on my lap, and a few minutes later the stain had just sort of evaporated.) Anyway, for $15 (theyre on sale for $10 right now), you really cant get a better pair of relaxing-at-home pants. I bought another pair in black. $15 at Uniqlo Buy

Glossier Lash Slick $16 $16 Glossier Black Friday sale! I re-upped on this mascara, which is as good as everyone says. Every mascara Ive ever worn has melted onto my under-eyes; this one stays put all day. $16 at Glossier Buy

Eye on Design Magazine $19 A couple of my brilliant friends edit this magazine. Its a print spin-off of the Eye on Design website, and covers graphic and experience design and the way they mingle with culture, but always through a young and unexpected lens. This issue is gossip-themed and includes stories on how People gets made, and something on the history of gossipy housewives and Tupperware, all of which I cant wait to read. $19 at Eye on Design Buy

Katy Schneider, associate editor

Paloma Wool Suzuki Coat $215 $215 My big purchase for the month was this puffer from the Barcelona-based brand Paloma Wool. It is not as warm as Id hoped, but it has the best-shaped neck, and is the prettiest vibrant green, and I dont mind layering up so I can wear it even when its 30 degrees outside. $215 at Paloma Wool Buy

This is not terribly exciting, but I also re-stocked on my Biologique Cleansing Milk and my Biologique P50 (the scary-tingly 1970 version that is so potent that one of its main ingredients, phenol, is actually banned in Europe). I went to Rescue Spa for a facial over the Thanksgiving break  they exclusively use Biologique products  and left with the kind of glowing skin that makes you spend upwards of $150 on products, on the spot.

Maxine Builder, writer

Nordic Ware Classic Metal 9x13 Covered Cake Pan $24 now 38% off $15 This month, I went to two potlucks, which is by no means a complaint. I love a potluck. (Invite me to your potluck!) But in preparing for these dinners, I realized I did not have enough large containers in which to both make and transport my food. So I bought this 9-by-13-inch aluminum baking pan with a matching lid, and it is both a very high-quality piece of cookware and an easy-to-transport container. Bonus: Its even easier to reheat, since all you have to do is put the tray, lid and all, into the oven. You dont even need additional foil. So yes, I would highly recommend this piece of kitchenware to anyone trying to transport a batch of polenta sourdough stuffing on the subway from their apartment in Williamsburg to the Upper East Side. $15 at Amazon Buy $15 at Amazon Buy

The Book Club Womens Bothering Sights Round Blue Screen Filter Glasses $30 I wrote this deep-dive into the benefits of blue-light-blocking glasses back in April, but I held off on getting a pair of my own, in large part because some of the more stylish options I found were a little too expensive for my taste. But some of the reporting and research I did for Sleep Week finally convinced me that it was time to take the plunge. Around the same time, a coworker tipped me off to Book Clubs surprisingly stylish blue-light-blocking glasses, and for just $30, these book-pun-themed glasses were a no-brainer. Ive been mostly wearing these at home, when Im sending emails or watching YouTube videos in that time after dinner but before I need to get serious about getting ready for bed, but I like they way they look so much that I would even wear them out in the world. $30 at Bloomingdale's Buy

Jason Chen, deputy editor

Maximum Henry Black & Silver Slim Standard Belt $115 I feel weird going beltless and have been wearing the same black 0.75-inch Maximum Henry belt for three years; I like very, very simple things, and the MH was one of the few thin black belts that wasnt like some $600 Prada thing. Its also made in Brooklyn, if youre into that. My version with the gold buckle is great, and since the silver one was on sale, I snapped up one of those, too. $115 at SSENSE Buy

Want Les Essentiels Montoro High Leather Lug-Sole Derby Boot $575 $575 I have been eyeing these Want boots for the longest time  the zipper on the back is clutch! For some reason the navy ones went on sale last week and the black ones didnt, but for the life of me, I cant tell what makes them navy (is it the laces? The laces are definitely navy but its gotta be something else, too, because why else would this pair be hundreds of dollars cheaper?). Anyway, they came, and I love how they look from the back even if the laces are a little dressy for my taste. To be honest, Im still about my all-black Docs on most days. $575 at WANT Les Essentiels Buy

Liza Corsillo, writer/editor

PetSafe Come with Me Kitty Harness and Bungee Leash, Harness for Cats $17 I dont have a cat, but I do have a very small dog who weighs just under five pounds. Because of her size, I have tried to make the switch from a regular collar and leash to a harness. But Uli is a stubborn toy poodle and has refused to walk in every harness Ive bought, until a few weekends ago. After trying all the little dog harnesses at my local pet store (Trixies on Flatbush!), I swallowed my pride and asked if we could try the gentle leader for cats. I like how the bungee leash softens any necessary restraint and how the harness takes the pressure off her little neck. $17 at Amazon Buy $17 at Amazon Buy

Cuisinart Chefs Classic Stainless Steel 10 Qt. Covered Stockpot $100 A few weeks ago I hosted a few friends at my apartment for dinner  veggie chili with lots of add-your-own toppings. But halfway through making it, I realized that my soup pot, a four-quart copper-bottomed Revere Ware model I inherited from my parents, was nowhere near big enough. After a tense redistribution among two too-small pots, everything worked out fine. But suffice it to say that that was the last time I will be caught in a similar situation. I dont normally shop online at Macys but the Cyber Monday deal lured me in. $100 at Macy's Buy

Sorel Womens Ainsley Conquest Boot $170 For the last few winters I have relied entirely on my Blundstone boots, paired with very thick wool socks. They have stood up incredibly well to rain, snow, salt, slush and even make pretty good low-elevation hiking boots. But theyre beat up now and these Sorel vintage hiking-boot (i.e., Danner)-inspired boots caught my eye last month. After reading some glowing customer reviews, they worked their way into the shoe-obsession part of my brain. So, on the morning of Black Friday, before getting out of bed, I ordered them from my phone. $170 at Zappos Buy

Lauren Ro, writer

Smythson Panama Leather Card Case $195 For our first Christmas as a married couple, my husband and I each got each other wallets. I dont remember whether it was planned or not, but we each kinda new what we were getting from the other person. Over the years, my husbands wallet has gotten fat, like George Costanzas. He carries multiple credit cards with him, as well as all of his movie stubs. It takes him ages to fish it out of his front pocket, or else he asks me to hold it in my bag when were out together. I spied this slim leather card case in one of our recent Friday sales roundups and promptly added it to my cart. When I presented my husband with the impromptu gift, he was skeptical. But a week later, he told me, I love my new wallet. Luckily, its still on sale. $195 at Nordstrom Buy

FlatOut Bear $45 When I saw this flat teddy bear at Greenpoint kids store Wild Was Mama, I stood at the display for a good minute just caressing the thing. Then I continued looking around. Another customer stopped at the dolls and took his time going through the different sizes. He picked one up and headed toward the cash register. I decided that I wanted one, too. I chose the miniature version in the latte color. Made of 100-percent Australian sheepskin, its incredibly plush and designed for optimal cuddling. It comes in a range of natural hues and sizes and can even be washed. But the best part is that its just about the cutest toy Ive ever seen. $45 at Garmentory Buy $44 at Wild Was Mama Buy

David Notis, writer

Speick Shave Cream $14 for 2 I first tried this shaving cream from German company Speick about a month ago, when I was visiting my parents (my dad likes trying out new shaving creams and this one was in the medicine cabinet). First of all, it comes in a metal tube, so thats an automatic point from me right off the bat. I dont speak German, but I still have a lot of fun reading the label: Rasiercreme has a nice ring to it. Beyond the packaging, its simply a great shaving cream, which makes for, as the label states, a perfekte rasur  a perfect shave. It lathers up well and it has a soothing, natural lavender smell. And to add to the charm, you can buy a two-pack for a surprisingly reasonable $14.88. $14 for 2 at Amazon Buy $14 for 2 at Amazon Buy

Dominique Pariso, intern

Pampshade Baguette Lamp $143 $143 Man, I love bread. I love bread as much as birds love to fly. No, scratch that. I love bread as much as Oprah loves bread. So you can imagine my joy when I stumbled upon this lamp during a tour of a certain French creative directors apartment. Before I knew it, I was typing in the shipping info to bring my beloved baguette across the sea from Tokyo straight into my arms. The baker-turned-artist, Yukiko Morita, bakes actual loaves of bread, coats them in resin, and outfits them with a circuit board. Brilliant. Playful. Carb-centric. $143 at Pampshade Buy

Maison Margiela Replica By the Fireplace $126 It is my humble belief that this is the most perfect winter scent ever made. Full stop. One whiff of it and youre instantly transported to times spent roasting marshmallows by the fireplace, or being in your kitchen at Christmas, or getting a long hug from your grandfather. This stuff is basically a memory in a bottle. Its a little pricey, but the bottle is huge so you get a lot of perfume for your buck. Plus, its a scent that is wholly unique and distinctive. Stand out in a sea of Santal 33. $126 at Nordstrom Buy

Uniqlo x Alexander Wang Heattech Ribbed Bodysuit in Yellow $30 Getting dressed to go out in the winter has always confounded me, but these bodysuits are a simple solution to that problem. Theyre dance-party-ready and are made using Uniqlos patented Heattech technology so you wont freeze to death on the subway platform. This one in lime green reminds me of an 80s aerobics instructor in the best possible way. Miraculously, this collab has yet to sell out, so get em while theyre hot. $30 at Uniqlo Buy

Glossier Gen G in Jam $18 I accidentally stepped into the newly renovated Glossier showroom during their Black Friday sale and promptly lost my damn mind. Many things were purchased but the standout was this lipstick. Ive used Gen G in the shade Jam for years. The lipstick itself is stellar: It makes your lips look like you just finished eating a bucket of freshly picked berries. But the packaging was truly awful. The lipstick broke and the tube cracked within the first week. Luckily, it has now been re-released with brand new packaging that is just as good as the lipstick is. $18 at Glossier Buy

Jacob Bromwell 28-Ounce Stainless Steel Camping Mug Coffee I first came across these mugs at a diner in Philly when my entire family pointed out how great they were. Then, while I was agonizing between ordering an omelet or french toast, I noticed a note on the menu begging customers to stop stealing them. These mugs are so great, they turn mild-mannered brunchers into thieves. After an exhaustive search, I managed to track them down and promptly ordered four for my new apartment. Buy at Amazon Buy Buy at Amazon Buy

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Latest News CBA hikes fixed rates for third time in six weeks Third rate rise in just six weeks for major lender as market comes to terms with RBA uncertainty

Brokers 'stronger than ever' as trend towards leaving the industry reverses Optimism high in channel going in 2022 as challenges of past year have forced brokers to revisit their careers

A broker recently named Broker of the Year at the FBAA awards has spoken to Australian Broker about his success.

Nathan Vecchio was presented with two awards at a ceremony on the Gold Coast in November. He received both Finance Broker of the Year QLD/NT as well as National Finance Broker of the Year.

Vecchio, who also came in at number 11 in Mortgage Professional Australias (MPA) Top 100 brokers list, said he was humbled by the awards.

Working with his twin brother and older brother at Hunter Galloway, they work with the Top Broker platform, which helps brokers leverage skills through sharing best practice.

After being in the finance industry for ten years and at Hunter Galloway for the last three, Vecchio said it has taken consistency to get to where he is today.

He said, As the saying goes, it takes ten years to make an overnight success and its true for me. I think my greatest skill is self-discipline and being consistent.

For me consistency beats intensity, and it starts with the small things. When I started I made 11 calls before 11am daily to new customers and prospects, and as the business has grown I still use this same approach with keeping in touch with referral partners and customers every day.

Discussing the areas of his experience he is most proud of, he said, I am proud of being able to help build our team and improve processes as thats been an ongoing project within the business, and I think they are the biggest contributors to our growth.

We spend time each week reviewing our processes with the team and looking at ways to reduce waste and double handling. We have been able to drastically increase our approval conversion rates by making lots of small changes.

The knock on for this has also been freeing up my own time away from administration and towards relationship building and networking. In doing this I have found one extra day per week that I can now dedicate to networking and relationship building with referrers.

As with the rest of the industry, Vecchio has been faced with changes and the threat of more. He said he is just continuing to focus on being a better broker today than I was yesterday.

He said, The only thing certain in our industry is change. If you look at the past three to five years, we have had APRA come in and put brakes on certain parts of the market, the banks have changed policy and now the Royal Commission.

While I know we might not be able to influence the end result, we have just been focusing on being better brokers every day and growing the business regardless of the result.

A major focus of our business is training and improving ourselves each and every day for our customers.

Using our 90 day plan we make sure we stay completely on track, and our focus on helping customers keeps the business growing.

It's like going to the gym - if you go once and never again you're not going to see the results. But go for half an hour each day, every day for a year, and you'll see the results.

Find out more about Nathan and Hunter Galloway here
Latest News CBA hikes fixed rates for third time in six weeks Third rate rise in just six weeks for major lender as market comes to terms with RBA uncertainty

Brokers 'stronger than ever' as trend towards leaving the industry reverses Optimism high in channel going in 2022 as challenges of past year have forced brokers to revisit their careers

The Mortgage and Finance Association of Australia (MFAA) has announced recommendations to encourage more women in the broking industry.

The industry group has spent months researching the reasons why women are under-represented in the industry, carrying out member surveys and workshops, as part of its 'first stage'.

At an event yesterday (29 November) detailing the information from the research, the project lead Jane Counsel explained the data and what the recommendations were moving forward.

The data



The report shows that the proportion of women recruited to the broking industry peaked at 34% during the April to September 2015 period.

Since then, the proportion of women recruited has dropped to as low as 28% for the October 2016 to March 2017 half, and currently sits at 31% as of October 2017 to March 2018.

The information showed there were three key factors for becoming a broker. These were flexible working conditions, the ability to run your own business and the nature of the job.

Other data from the MFAAs research showed that there were many differences in perceptions of the industry between men and women. For instance, 59% men do not see women as being under-represented, whereas almost the same percentage of women, at 57%, see real under-representation.

Another distinct difference in male and female responses was to the question, Do you believe there are sufficient sponsors and mentors for women and other diverse groups in our industry?

While 57% of men said there were and 4% of men said there were not, 32% of women said yes and 27% said no. Thirty-nine percent of men and forty-one percent of women said they were unsure.

Also, 54% of men said there was enough promotion of diverse role models in the industry, compared to 33% of women.

Proposed actions



There were six proposed actions to overcome the issues discussed by the industry association.

1 - The first was to promote the existing diversity in the industry with case studies and stories from women who have succeeded in a broking career. The MFAA said it could commit to monthly feature stories on women who have developed and supported women in the industry.

2  The second was to seek support from industry brands to use data and recommendations from workshops, reports and presentations. It would recommend the industry fund an e-book of ideas that includes quotes from key industry leaders to be used as an employee engagement tool.

3  The third proposal was to provide education and training for leaders and influencers, with the MFAA recommending best-practice educational courses.

4  The fourth proposal was to create more opportunities for peer-to-peer support, where identified women could support others on their journey. This could also include an e-book to give brokers the confidence to handle potential issues such as mental health or abuse in the industry.

5  Fifth was to improve the marketing and promotion of the value proposition of the industry, which included defining a mission statement.

6  Finally, the sixth proposal was to create opportunities to develop pathways into the industry and support retention of the industry by working with educators and industry groups.
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Saturday

Dec. 1

Work it!

Sashay, shantay! Do your thing on the runway at the Brooklyn Public Librarys Peoples Ball, where your most glamorous outfit can finally get the recognition it deserves. The night will feature music from Rimarkable, a dance performance, a cash bar, and a catwalk show every hour for anyone who wants to volunteer.

7 pmmidnight at Central Branch of the Brooklyn Public Library [10 Grand Army Plaza at Eastern Parkway in Prospect Heights, (718) 230-2100, www.bklyn libra ry.org ]. Free (RSVP requested).

Sunday

Dec. 2

At first light

Chabad Park Slope throws a party for the first night of Hanukkah! Head to Grand Army Plaza at 4:30 pm, when the Jewish rock band Pey Dald will kick things off with some hot tunes. Then grab a free latke and wait for the lighting of Brooklyns 33-foot 11-inch high menorah at 5:30 pm. Slightly more restrained lighting ceremonies will happen for the next eight nights.

4:30 pm at Grand Army Plaza [Flatbush Avenue and Eastern Parkway in Prospect Heights, (646) 2989909, www.large stmen orah.com ]. Free.

MOnday

Dec. 3

Santas slay

Indulge in the darkest side of the Christmas season at this months Video Vortex at Alamo Drafthouse: Satan Claus Is Coming to Town. The 75-minute thrill ride stitches together dozens of little-known holiday horror films into an extravaganza of evil children, axe-wielding elves, and shots of a shotgun-wielding Mrs. Claus.

Fashion party: Keith Gerad Joseph Craig poses in preparation for the first ever Peoples Ball, a fashion show for everyone, presented by The Brooklyn Public Library on Dec. 1. Gregg Richards, Brooklyn Public Library Staff Photographer

9:30 pm at Alamo Drafthouse Cinema [445 Albee Square West between Fulton and Willoughby streets Downtown, (718) 5132547, www.draft house.com/ nyc ]. $5.

Wednesday

Dec. 5

Lush life

Everyone knows Duke Ellington, but do you know his longtime collaborator Billy Strayhorne? The openly gay composer and civil rights campaigner takes center stage in the joyous dance-theater piece Halfway to Dawn, which draws on his writing and music to tell the story of his life in two acts, one set in a nightclub, the other in a dreamscape. The show continues through Saturday.

7:30 pm at BAM Harvey Theater [651 Fulton St. at Rockwell Place in Fort Greene, (718) 6364100, www.bam.org]. $20$45.

Thursday

Dec. 6

Close it down

The three-night Janelle James Comedy Festival concludes tonight at the Bell House with an amazing lineup of Comedians Who Said Sure, Ill Come By,  including Eugene Mirman, Catherine Cohen, Nore Davis, and  of course  your host Janelle James. Expect some wacky surprises and special guest stars as James makes the festival her own.

7:30 pm at the Bell House [149 Seventh St. at Third Avenue in Gowanus, (718) 6436510, www.thebe llhou seny.com ]. $25 ($20 in advance).
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AT&T Inc said on Thursday it has committed to cutting its heavy debt load next year through a variety of measures, including a review of all of its non-core assets such as its stake in streaming video company Hulu for possible sale. The second-largest US wireless carrier by subscribers said at an analyst meeting in New York that it will pay down $18 billion to $20 billion of its debt by the end of 2019, and will generate up to $8 billion in cash in part through the sale of some assets. Shares of AT&T, which rose 1 percent in after hours trade during the presentation, are down 21 ...
In a first of its kind in the world, Dalmia Bharat Cement is coming up with a chemically modified variant of cement which drastically reduces the curing time from 3-4 weeks to 3 days. It is poised to benefit infrastructural as well as large-scale housing construction in the country as completion time for these projects can be reduced by a month.

Curing refers to the process and time taken to maintain the correct moisture level in concrete to achieve the desired strength and durability. The company has already piloted this specialty cement in the taxiway at Chennai airport and is ...
Telecom and airline companies, which have for long sought relief from the government to revive their operations, have got feelers that only a price hike could save them. Worried over the financial state of the two promising sectors, the governments advice to them is to end the price war and go for a rational hike in rates, it is learnt.

Tariffs and fares are determined by the industry in the two sectors. But a top source in the government said telcos and airlines, on a path of self-destruction because of the price war, needed to make a reasonable increase. That will ...
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As we battle the economic impact of the pandemic, we need your support even more, so that we can continue to offer you more quality content. Our subscription model has seen an encouraging response from many of you, who have subscribed to our online content. More subscription to our online content can only help us achieve the goals of offering you even better and more relevant content. We believe in free, fair and credible journalism. Your support through more subscriptions can help us practise the journalism to which we are committed.



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Digital Editor
Prime Minister on Friday met Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the G-20 summit in Argentina's Buenos Aires and the two leaders concurred there had been a perceptible improvement in bilateral relations, even as they looked to build on a thaw in ties after a standoff on the border last year.

At the meeting, Modi and Xi discussed joint efforts to further enhance mutual trust and friendship between the two giant neighbours.

The two leaders have met twice after their informal summit in the Chinese city of Wuhan in late April -- once at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit held in June in China's Qingdao and the second time at the BRICS summit in South Africa's Johannesburg in July.

Asserting that the Wuhan meet was a milestone in the India- ties, Modi told Xi that he was looking forward to host him for an informal summit next year.

"Such initiatives are helpful in maintaining the momentum," the prime minister said, adding that there "have been two review meetings -- in Qingdao and in Johannesburg".

He said the ties between the two countries have made huge strides over the last one year.

The relations between the two neighbours were strained last year following a 73-day standoff in Doklam in the Sikkim sector of the border.

The chill between the two sides later improved resulting in an informal summit between Modi and Xi at Wuhan where the two leaders decided to issue "strategic guidance" to their militaries to strengthen communications to build trust and understanding, a move aimed at avoiding a Doklam-like situation in the future.

Modi said Friday's meeting will strengthen further the partnership between the two nations.

"Today's meeting will be important in providing a direction in terms of strengthening our relations," he said.

"I express my heartiest thanks to you (President Xi) for taking out time for this meeting," the prime minister said.

Modi later tweeted, "Had a wonderful meeting with President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the G-20 Summit in Argentina. The talks revolved around a wide range of bilateral and global subjects. Our regular interactions have added significant strength to India- ties."

ALSO READ: G20 summit opens on Friday after a stormy buildup dominated by Trump

According to Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale, the two leaders said that there had been a perceptible improvement in bilateral relations.

"Both of them had a very detailed review of what they agreed to in Wuhan and how it was progressed. Both of them said that progress has been made on the economic side," he said.

Xi referred to enhanced imports of rice and sugar from India and spoke about the possibility of greater import of soymeal and rapeseed. He also expressed the hope that India would import more agricultural products from

Xi also indicated greater trade between the two nations in the pharmaceutical sector, Gokhale said.

"On the political side, they welcomed the visit of the Chinese defense minister, of the holding of the counter-terrorism military exercise next week in India and the recently concluded special representative talks.

"Both leaders (said) that there had been a positive improvement in border management along the border areas following the Wuhan summit," the foreign secretary said.

ALSO READ: Modi meets Trump, Putin, Theresa May in Buenos Aires ahead of G20 summit

Modi and Xi also said that they were looking forward to the first meeting of the high-level mechanism on people-to-people exchanges in New Delhi in December.

"Both sides also specifically mentioned that the first bilateral cooperation that had begun in Afghanistan which is the training of Afghan diplomats, had been successful and that they were looking for further such opportunities," Gokhale said.

After the meeting, the PMO tweeted that the two leaders held productive discussions.

External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Ravish Kumar tweeted, "Working together to strengthen the Wuhan spirit."

"PM @narendramodi had a warm & productive meeting with President Xi of #China, their 4th this year, on sidelines of #G20Summit. Discussed joint efforts to further enhance mutual trust and friendship across all aspects of our ties," he added.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Supporting the farmers' march in New Delhi, former prime minister Friday said, along with "ease of doing business", India should also better itself in "ease of doing agriculture".

Referring to the Karnataka government's farm loan waiver initiative, the JD(S) supremo urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi issue proper direction to banks who are issuing notices to farmers and creating uncertainties.

"Modi Government and BJP are boasting about betterment of India's position in the 'Ease of Doing Business' index. But, with 'Ease of Doing Business', India should also better itself in 'Ease of Doing Agriculture'. This is very important @narendramodi avare (sic)," Deve Gowda tweeted.

Noting that agriculture is still the backbone of Indian economy, the former prime minister, in another tweet, said, "Eradication of poverty, employment generation, rural development are all possible if India betters itself in 'Ease of Doing Agriculture' too."



Thousands of farmers from across the country, who have been camping at the Ramlila ground in Delhi since Thursday, began their march to Parliament Street on Friday amid heavy policy deployment, to press for their demands, including debt relief and remunerative prices for their produce.

Gowda cited the farm loan waiver scheme announced by the Congress-JD(S) coalition government in Karnataka headed by his son Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy as an example for "ease of doing agriculture."



"With farmers' loan waiver scheme, Karnataka is bettering itself in 'Ease of Doing Agriculture'. Meanwhile, @narendramodi should direct nationalised and commercial banks who are issuing notices to farmers and are creating uncertainties," he tweeted.

Farmers had recently staged a protest against a private bank in many parts of Karnataka after arrest warrants were served on some of them for non-repayment of loans, prompting Chief Minister Kumaraswamy to direct the officials concerned to resolve the issue at the earliest.

The Kumaraswamy-led Congress-JD(S) coalition government announced about Rs 45,000 crore farm loan waiver in the state soon after coming to power, fulfilling an electoral promise made by Gowda's party.
As Justice Kurian Joseph retires on Thursday, he will be remembered for his last judgment, which will further limit the grounds for imposing the death penalty.

In Chhannu Lal Verma vs the State of Chattisgarh, Justice Joseph, while commuting the death sentence of the appellant to life imprisonment, observed that the time had come to review the need for the death penalty as a punishment, especially its purpose and practice. The other two judges on the bench, Justices Deepak Gupta and Hemant Gupta, while agreeing that the death penalty imposed on the appellant in this case must be ...
A designed to bring a small sample from Bennu to Earth is on course to arrive at its destination on December 3, the US space agency has said.

Launched in September 2016, the Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, Security-Regolith Explorer (OSIRIS-REx) has been slowly approaching Bennu, said on Thursday.

The will spend almost a year surveying the with five scientific instruments with the goal of selecting a location that is safe and scientifically interesting to collect the sample.

The spacecraft will briefly touch Bennu's surface around July 2020 to collect at least 60 grams (equal to about 30 sugar packets) of dirt and rocks.

It might collect as much as 2,000 grams, which would be the largest sample by far gathered from a space object since the Apollo Moon landings.

The spacecraft will then pack the sample into a capsule and travel back to Earth, dropping the capsule into Utah's west desert in September 2023, where scientists will be waiting to collect it, said.

The mission will help scientists investigate how planets formed and how life began, as well as improve our understanding of asteroids that could impact Earth.

To highlight the arrival of the agency's first sample return mission, NASA will air a live event on December 3 from 11.45 am to 12.15 pm EST.

The programme will originate from OSIRIS-REx's mission control at the Lockheed Martin Space facility in Littleton, Colorado, and will air on NASA Television, Live, Ustream, and the agency's website.
Prime Minister Narendra on Friday met Chinese President on the sidelines of the G-20 summit here and discussed how to strenghten the bilateral ties between the two neighbours.

The two leaders have met twice after their informal summit in the Chinese city of Wuhan in April -- once at the (SCO) summit held in June in China's Qingdao and the second time at the BRICS summit in South Africa's Johannesburg in July.



ALSO READ: G20 summit opens on Friday after a stormy buildup dominated by Trump

told Xi that he was looking forward to host him for an informal summit next year.

"Today's meeting will be important in proving a direction in terms of strengthening our relations," said.

"Such initiatives are helpful in maintaining the momentum," the prime minister said, adding that there "have been two review meetings -- in Qingdao and in Johannesburg."



ALSO READ: Trump arrives in G20 summit after nixing meet with Putin over Ukraine



"I express my heartiest thanks to you (President Xi) for taking out time for this meeting," he said.

After the meeting, the PMO tweeted that the two leaders held productive discussions.
Prime Minister is expected to voice India's firm commitment to make the Indo-Pacific a region for shared economic growth during the first trialateral meeting between him, US President and Japanese Prime Minister here on Friday.

The first of its kind meeting between Modi, Trump and Abe will take place on the sidelines of the G-20 summit in the capital of Argentina, amidst China flexing its muscles in the strategic Indo-Pacific region.

White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said the trilateral meeting with Prime Minister Modi will be held towards the end of the Trump-Abe bilateral talks.

Sources said Modi, Trump and Abe - as the leaders of major democracies, are expected to emphasise the importance of cooperation among the three countries on all major issues of global and multilateral interests such as connectivity, sustainable development, counter-terrorism, maritime and cybersecurity.

During the meeting, the three leaders are expected to share their views on progressing a free, open, conclusive and rule-based order in the Indo-Pacific region, based on respect for international law and peaceful resolution of all differences.

The trilateral will take place at a time when China is engaged in hotly contested territorial disputes in the South China Sea, and with Japan in the East China Sea. Both the areas are said to be rich in minerals, oil and other natural resources.

China claims almost all of the Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan have overlapping claims in the waterway, which includes vital sea lanes through which about USD 3 trillion in global trade passes each year.

The US has been conducting regular patrols in the to assert freedom of navigation in the area where Beijing has built up and militarised many of the islands and reefs it controls in the region.

Prime Minister Modi, in his keynote address at the Shangri La Dialogue in Singapore in June expounded India's stand on the strategic Indo-Pacific region.

"India does not see the Indo-Pacific Region as a strategy or as a club of limited members. Nor as a grouping that seeks to dominate. And by no means do we consider it as directed against any country. A geographical definition, as such, cannot be," he had said.

"India stands for open and stable international trade regime. We will also support rule-based, open, balanced and stable trade environment in the Indo-Pacific region, which lifts up all nations on the tide of trade and investment," he said while explaining New Delhi's stand.

During the trilateral meeting in Buenos Aires, Prime Minister Modi is expected to underscore India's firm commitment to making the Indo-Pacific a region for shared economic growth and common prosperity, the sources said.

He is expected to articulate five action points that would serve the common interest of promoting peace and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region, they said.

Prime Minister is expected to highlight the importance of working jointly in areas such as connectivity, sustainable development, disaster relief, maritime security and unfettered mobility.

He is also set to underline the importance of building consensus on an architecture in the Indo-Pacific region based on the principles of mutual benefit and respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity, the sources said.

The three leaders are likely to agree to cooperate in various ways and together with other countries. They are set to agree on the importance of meeting in "Trilateral Format" at multilateral conferences, the sources said.
Venturing into uncharted waters, Army chief on Friday said Pakistan should turn into a secular state from an Islamic nation.

Pakistan's turning into a secular state is essential if the neighbouring country has to stay together with India, the Army chief said.

"If they (Pakistan) have to stay together with India, then they have to develop as a secular state," Gen Rawat told reporters on the sidelines of the Passing Out Parade of the 135th course at the Defence Academy here.

"See this staying together, staying separate, ispe Pakistan ko apni andruni halat dekhni hogi. Pakistan ne apne state ko Islamic state bana diya hai. Hum log secular state hai (Pakistan has to look at its internal situation. They are an Islamic state, we (India) are a secular state)," he said.



ALSO READ: Not in Pakistan's interest to allow use of territory for terror: Imran Khan

Gen Rawat said, "How can we stay together if you say I am an Islamic state and there is no role for anybody else," he said. "If they are willing to become secular like us, then they seem to have an opportunity. Pehle dekhe karte hai ki nahi karte (Let us see if they do so or not)."





The Army chief also asked Pakistan to curtail terror activities.

Asked about Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan's statement that Islamabad would move two steps forward if New Delhi took one step, Gen Rawat said the neighbouring nation should first take steps to curtail terror activities on its soil.



"I would like to tell Pakistan to initiate that first step (curtailing terror). In the past, India has taken several steps. When we say terror is being harboured in your country, show some action by curtailing terror activities which are used against India," Rawat said.

On Khan's statement as to why India and Pakistan could not be friends when Germany and France could be good neighbours, he said the neighbouring nation first needs to see its internal condition.
A consortium of led by the State Bank of India (SBI) has secured a UK High Court order as part of efforts to help them pursue some of the funds owed to them in unpaid debts by embattled Indian liquor tycoon

In a ruling by Justice Phillips in the court's Business and Property division on Wednesday, the 13 were given permission to use certain information disclosed in court as part of a worldwide freezing order (WFO) against the 62-year-old businessman in an unrelated case involving the sale of a luxury superyacht believed to be previously owned by Mallya before he abandoned it last year.

The 95-metre vessel named 'Indian Empress' was "arrested" in Malta in March as maritime professionals' union Nautilus made attempts to recover over $330,000 in unpaid wages and other costs on behalf of its members.

It was successfully auctioned to Sea Beauty Yachting Limited for 35 million euros in September and renamed 'NEOM'.

The UK High Court order dated November 28 will assist the to pursue any surplus money from that sale in Malta courts after all the creditors have been paid off.

Nautilus strategic organiser Danny McGowan said the maritime union has been collating members' claims and other details to ensure that the sums due are paid to them.

"The court has been completing the procedures to pay all the creditors including suppliers, service providers and financiers who were owed money by the former owner, multi-millionaire Vijay Mallya," Nautilus said.

In a ruling earlier this year, a UK High Court judge had refused to overturn a worldwide order freezing Mallya's assets and upheld an Indian court's ruling that the consortium of 13 Indian banks were entitled to recover funds amounting to nearly 1.145 billion pounds.

TLT LLP, the law firm which had won the landmark case for the banks in May, has been representing them in their efforts to recover their dues as part of the WFO.

The WFO contains an undertaking preventing the banks from using the information provided in response to the disclosure provisions in the case for any other civil or criminal proceedings without the court's prior permission.

However, under this week's latest ruling, the banks have been given permission to use certain information provided pursuant to the WFO in respect of arrest proceedings instigated in Malta by the maritime creditors of the 'Indian Empress' yacht.

Following the sale and the creditors being paid off, there is likely to be a surplus of money that would be due back to the yacht's owners.

The 13 banks comprise SBI, Bank of Baroda, Corporation bank, Federal Bank Ltd, IDBI Bank, Indian Overseas Bank, Jammu & Kashmir Bank, Punjab & Sind Bank, Punjab Bank, State Bank of Mysore, UCO Bank, United Bank of India and JM Financial Asset Reconstruction Co Pvt Ltd.

The banks are seeking to secure that surplus in the Maltese courts rather than it being paid to the legal owner.

Meanwhile, Mallya remains on bail on an extradition warrant executed by the Scotland Yard last year on fraud and money laundering charges brought by the Indian government, amounting to nearly Rs 90 billion.

A ruling at the end of his extradition trial is expected at Westminster Magistrates' Court in London next month.

In separate legal proceedings, he is also fighting to save his posh London home from foreclosure by Swiss bank UBS.

Earlier this month, he suffered a setback in that case after the UK High Court rejected many of the arguments relied on by his legal team. The case is scheduled for trial in May 2019.
Anna Burns sounded almost giddy one recent Monday as we sat in a restaurant here in Brighton, on Englands southern coast. The week before she had won the Man Booker Prize for Milkman, her third novel, about an unnamed 18-year-old coerced into a relationship at the height of Northern Irelands Troubles. The win wasnt the only reason for her excitement. I can feel Im on the cusp of something, she said. Burns suffers from lower back and nerve pain, she said, the result of a botched operation. Nerves pain, she ...
Prime Minister met United Nations Secretary General Antonia Guterres on the sidelines of summit here on Thursday (local time) and discussed India's role in addressing globally.

Official Spokesperson, Ministry of External Affairs Raveesh Kumar tweeted, " @antonioguterres met PM @narendramodi in #BuenosAires on the sidelines of the #G20Summit. Discussed India's uniting role in addressing globally, with specific reference to the forthcoming COP24 meeting in Katowice, Poland."

The Prime Minister, at present, is on a three-day visit to Argentina to attend the summit.

The had reached out to the Prime Minister for the second time in two months.

This outreach comes just a week before COP24 (United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change) in Katowice, Poland.

It reflects the respect in which the Prime Minister and his initiatives are held globally to take the lead on issues of global importance.
An NRI octogenarian from Germany handed over her ancestral land in Gujarat for the Mumbai-Ahmedabad project, making it the first stretch of land to be acquired by the national transporter in the state for the project, an NHSRCL official said Friday.

Savita Ben, who runs an Indian restaurant in Germany, is originally from Chansad village and she shifted abroad 33 years ago after getting married, the official told PTI.

She had around 71 acres of land in the Chansad area and gave 11.94 hectare to the National High Speed Rail Corporation Limited (NHSRCL) at a cost of Rs 30,234.3.

"She flew down specially to hand over the land for the project and we are extremely grateful to her for having agreed to it. She returned to Germany where she lives with her son and runs a restaurant."

"This stretch of land is the first piece of land which we have acquired for the project in the state," NHSRCL spokesperson Dhananjay Kumar said.

The 508-kilometre corridor would require around 1,400 hectares of land in Gujarat and Maharashtra, of which 1,120 hectares is privately owned. Around 6,000 land-owners will have to be compensated.

Currently, the NHSRCL has managed to acquire only 0.09 per cent of land in Mumbai for the project and has been dealing with protests across the two states over land acquisition issues.

The railways is now conducting consent camps in districts where it needs land to convince farmers to give up their land.
In the midst of a government- (RBI) tussle over utilisation of capital reserves of the central bank, former Chief Economic Advisor strongly supports the government's view, saying the RBI is holding excess capital between Rs 4.5 trillion and Rs 7 trillion which should be used to recapitalise the banks.

However, he adds that deploying capital is a decision for the RBI to take which it must do "voluntarily and proactively without even the whiff of interference from outside".

Subramanian says he realises that in making this suggestion he is up against all the eminent current and former RBI officials, who argue that the RBI actually needs all the capital it has, but they are wrong.

"These officials command the respect of the public, and for good reasons. I think they are wrong. As Margaret Thatcher used to say, 'One man and the Truth is a majority'," the noted economist says in his upcoming book "Of Counsel: The Challenges of the Modi-Jaitley Economy", published by Penguin.

"It is almost certainly the case that more money will be needed to make banks healthy... It is possible that the government will need to provide anywhere between Rs 3-5 trillion -- in addition to the amounts already spent -- to restore the fundamentally viable public sector banks to health," Subramanian says.

He adds that there is only one public-sector entity -- RBI -- that has a strong enough balance sheet to deploy this magnitude of resources.

"Conservative estimates (as well as cross-country comparisons) based on our internal analysis suggest that if the RBI were to adopt the practices of most major central banks around the world in deciding how much capital is necessary, it would find that it has about Rs 3-4 trillion of excess government capital, some of which it could deploy for the clean-up," he says.

Subramanian adds that RBI is an outlier among major central banks, holding about 28 per cent in capital, which is the fifth-largest amongst all major central banks, with two of the four above India in this ranking being oil exporters, which are special cases being highly vulnerable to the swings in the price of petroleum.

He says the RBI calculates risk based on a sample that almost no other does and has set for itself a risk tolerance that is "ultra, ultra conservative, almost bordering on paranoia".

"Whereas other central banks want to cushion against events with one per cent probability of occurring, the RBI wants to cushion against events that can occur with .001 per cent probability."

"...Prima facie, then, it seems that the RBI is holding too much capital... Our estimate is that the RBI is holding excess capital between Rs 4.5-7 lakh crore... This excess capital should be redeployed, shifted from where it is not needed and put instead where it is needed urgently, namely, in public-sector banks," he says.

However, he warns that any redeployment of RBI capital must be seen not as a government demand but as a voluntary commitment of the RBI for the greater good, and should be done only after extensive consultation.

"If there is one strong balance sheet and one weak, there is no good reason the former should not come to the rescue of the latter. We build up strength in balance sheets not for strength's sake but to use that strength. Savings are meant for rainy days and when rainy days come, savings should be run down.

"During and after the global financial crisis, major central banks across the world have lent the heft of their balance sheets to pull economies out of dire economic circumstances," the former CEA says.

He adds the legitimacy of central banks is enhanced when they take actions to address serious problems. "When reputations and strong balance sheets are put on the frontline in service of the economy, these assets, far from getting depleted, are actually replenished.
The on Thursday issued an order stating that students aged 25 years or above can appear for the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) in 2019.

The apex court also directed the to extend the November 30 deadline for submitting forms by one week for prospective candidates.

However, the top court bench, headed by Justice Arjan Kumar Sikri, stated that admission to the courses will be based on the final verdict of the top court, which is presently hearing petitions challenging the upper age limit for taking the test fixed at 25 years for general category students.

This decision from the top court came after a petition was dismissed by the challenging the decision to fix the upper age limit 25 years and 30 years for general and reserved categories, respectively, for undergraduate medical courses such as MBBS and BDS.

Moreover, Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare also issued a notification stating that the Veterinary Council of will use (UG) 2019 qualified merit list for admission of students to B.V. Sc, and A.H. degree courses during the academic year 2019-20 for filling up for seats in recognised Veterinary Colleges (except Jammu and Kashmir) under 15 per cent all quota.

"All those students desirous to take admission to BV Sc and AH Degree course under 15 per cent seats on All Basis are hereby advised to appear in (UG) 2019 to be conducted by (NTA) on 5th May, 2019," the notice read.

In January, the bench had accepted the petition and agreed to examine the validity of an amendment to the (MCI) Regulations on Graduate Medical of 1997 fixing the age limit.
chief targeted president on Friday for raising the issue of bank loans and non-performing assets (NPA) in poll rallies, saying those were the results of the misdeeds of the previous Congress-led government.

"The loans given through corrupt practices during the government have turned into NPA. These are not loans given by the Narendra Modi government. These are the results of the misdeeds of the government," he said, addressing an election rally at Kuchaman city of Nagaur district.



Referring to a report carried by the Indian Express newspaper on its front page, Shah alleged that the Nehru-Gandhi family's son-in-law had received commissions after a loan of billions of rupees was sanctioned to a big company.

"A company got a loan of billions and its commission reached the Nehru family's son-in-law within a few months, with which he bought 150 hectares of land in Bikaner at a throwaway price. I want to ask if he can answer now," he said.



ALSO READ: Cong manifesto says its govt would revive stalled Barmer refinery project

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) chief also said fugitive jeweller Nirav Modi and liquor baron Vijay Mallya were given loans during the days of the previous Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government.

"They did not fly away abroad (during the Congress rule) as they had no fear of the Congress. They believed that they had a partnership. Those who are being guarded, why will they run away? After the Modi government came to power, they had a fear of being jailed," he said.



Shah added that the government would work towards getting each penny held by the fugitives back to the country.

The 200-member Rajasthan Assembly will go to the polls on December 7 and the results will be announced on December 11.
Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, in an exclusive interview with India Today, has confirmed the government invoked Section 7 of the RBI Act. The section empowers the government to give directions to the central bank on matters of public interest. "The government is using every section at its command to nudge the central bank to decide on liquidity and credit issues," Jaitley said, admitting there are liquidity and credit crisis in some sectors.

On the question of impinging on the RBI's autonomy, the Finance Minister said the "government is crossing no red line... it can't be oblivious." He, however, said there's a need for a better interaction between all the stakeholders and the RBI.

The public spat between the government and RBI has laid bare the perceived independence of the RBI. The Deputy Governor of the RBI, Viral Acharya, had also openly warned the government that "the risks of undermining the central bank's independence are potentially catastrophic."

Jaitley said it's not only the current BJP government that has issues with the RBI. He said from India's first PM Jawaharlal Nehru, and Indira Gandhi and Morarji Desai to Yashwant Sinha, Pranab Mukherjee and Chidambaram -- everyone had "issues with RBI governors".

"RBI governors were removed and made to resign by past governments," said Jaitley, junking the claim of hurting the RBI's autonomy.

In an indirect reference to Acharya's comments on the RBI's autonomy, Jaitley said: "At times when invitations to slanging matches are given, a responsible government is entitled to politely decline it."

On reports of the finance ministry's proposal to transfer a surplus of Rs 3.6 lakh crore from the RBI's reserves to the government, Jaitley said there's a need for the RBI to fix reserves it should keep.

Also read: What is Section 7 and how does it curb RBI's independence?

He said: "The RBI reserves are not party funds. I am not looking at the RBI reserves for fiscal deficit. The RBI can keep reserves for adequate security." He added the RBI needs to follow the capital framework, and that there's no need to keep cash reserves double than the global norms.

The issue of capital reserves had recently become a major bone of contention between the Centre and the apex bank. Jaitley said the debate over the transfer of surplus funds was initiated by the UPA government. "In 2013, Raghuram Rajan as the chief economic adviser wrote to the RBI on the issue of reserves. He went back on the need for capital framework when he became governor."

"You are keeping reserves for a rainy day while generations of people are waiting for rain," said the FM, adding that the RBI surplus funds can be used for "poverty alleviation".

Also read: RBI has more than 'adequate' cash reserves; can transfer Rs 1-lakh crore to govt: report
Its still unclear whether the UKs withdrawal agreement with the EU will actually ever come into force. While its been agreed by EU leaders, serious doubts remain over whether it will be approved by MPs in Westminster.

The prime minister, Theresa May, has assured UK citizens that the deal is the best that the UK can achieve, warning that without it, the country may crash out of the EU without a deal. The agreement outlines a transitional period that will last from March 30, 2019 until 31 December 2020. This period could be extended for up to one or two years if ...
India and four other nations on Friday called for rules-based multilateral trading system, as embodied in the WTO, to ensure transparent, non-discriminatory, open and inclusive trade, amidst growing protectionism.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Russian Vladimir Putin, Chinese Xi Jinping, South African and President met here on the sidelines of the Summit and exchanged views on political, security and global economic-financial issues, as well as challenges facing sustainable development.

In a joint press statement after the meeting, the five leaders said reiterate our commitment to working together to strengthen multi-lateralism and promote a fair, just, equitable, democratic and representative order.

"We exchanged views on international political, security and global economic-financial issues, as well as challenges facing sustainable development," the statement said.

They also deplore continued terrorist attacks, including against some countries and condemned terrorism in all forms and manifestations.

"We urge concerted efforts to counter terrorism under the UN auspices on a firm international legal basis. We call upon all nations to adopt a comprehensive approach in combating terrorism, including all the elements identified in the Johannesburg Declaration," they said.

They expressed their commitment to the full implementation of the Paris Agreement adopted under the principles of the UNFCCC including the principles of common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities, it said.

"We call upon all countries to reach a balanced outcome under the Paris Agreement Work Programme during COP-24 that enables operationalisation and implementation of the Paris Agreement. We stress the importance and urgency of conducting a successful and ambitious first replenishment process of the Green Climate Fund," the statement said.

ALSO READ: G20: Modi discusses India's role in addressing climate change with Guterres

They urged the developed countries to provide financial, technological and capacity-building support to developing countries to enhance their capability in mitigation and adaptation, it added.

Amid the ongoing war between the US and China, the leaders also underlined the need for a dispute settlement mechanism of the for its proper and effective functioning and to give members the required confidence to engage in future negotiating in the

"We reaffirm our full support for the rules-based multilateral trading system, as embodied in the WTO, to ensure transparent, non-discriminatory, open and inclusive international We express our common readiness to engage in frank and result-oriented discussions with other members with a view to improving the functioning of the WTO," they said.

"The spirit and rules of the WTO run counter to unilateral and protectionist measures. We call on all members to oppose such WTO inconsistent measures, stand by their commitments undertaken in the WTO and rollback such measures of a discriminatory and restrictive nature," they said in the statement.

The leaders urged that the appellate body selection process be initiated immediately, as an essential prerequisite for the stable and effective functioning of the WTO dispute settlement system.

ALSO READ: Modi meets Trump, Putin, Theresa May in Buenos Aires ahead of G20 summit

Welcoming the Argentine Presidency's theme of building consensus for fair and sustainable development and its focus on the future of work, infrastructure for development and for sustainable future, the leaders said that infrastructure for development and commitment to contribute to bridging the global infrastructure gap was important.

"We advocate for a strong global financial safety met with an adequately resourced, quota-based (IMF) at its centre. To this effect, we reaffirm our commitment to the conclusion of the IMF's 15th General Review of Quotas, including a new quota formula so as to ensure the increased voice of the dynamic emerging and developing economies to reflect their relative contributions to the world while protecting the voices of the least developed counties, by the 2019 Spring Meetings and no later than the 2019 Annual Meetings," the statement said.
Carlos Ghosn, the ousted chairman of Japan's Nissan Motor Co, is being held in Tokyo's main detention centre after allegations against him of financial misconduct. If prosecutors seek a maximum 10-day extension of Ghosn's detention, and the court approves, Japanese authorities will have to file charges by Dec. 10 or let him go. The compensation packages for Ghosn, one of the most celebrated and well-paid leaders in the global auto industry, have been a sore point among investors of the Renault-Nissan alliance which he helped launch in 1999. The scandal comes just ...
S.-China trade war would be the most likely outcome of a highly anticipated meeting between Donald Trump and Xi Jinping at the Group of 20 summit in Argentina. The first and in our view most likely is continuing on the current path of escalation -- tariff rates rise to 25 percent on all imports currently under tariff, and tariffs are extended to remaining Chinese imports, Goldman said in a note outlining three basic scenarios it sees for the meetings outcome. A close ...

Dear Reader,

Business Standard has always strived hard to provide up-to-date information and commentary on developments that are of interest to you and have wider political and economic implications for the country and the world. Your encouragement and constant feedback on how to improve our offering have only made our resolve and commitment to these ideals stronger. Even during these difficult times arising out of Covid-19, we continue to remain committed to keeping you informed and updated with credible news, authoritative views and incisive commentary on topical issues of relevance.

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President kicks off two days of diplomacy at the Group of 20 summit in on Friday after his abrupt decision to cancel a meeting with Russian President overshadowed the proceedings before they even started.

barreled into the two-day meeting by announcing via Twitter that he was canceling on Putin over Russia's seizure of Ukrainian vessels.

His agenda Friday is expected to include meetings with world leaders, the signing of a revamped trade deal with Canada and Mexico, as well as a number of group activities for the gathering of rich and developing nations.

Coming into this G-20, faces a series of diplomatic challenges most notably whether he can strike an agreement with (shee jihn-peeng) to ease trade tensions.
Vodafones $21.8 billion proposed acquisition of Liberty Global's assets in Germany and eastern Europe is likely to face a full EU antitrust investigation, a person familiar with the matter said. The European Commission's move could ratchet up pressure on the world's second-largest mobile operator to offer concessions, unless it can convince the EU competition enforcer that the deal poses no competition issues. Investors and industry players, however, will be hoping for a flexible regulatory stance given that the Commission has just given unconditional ...
President Trump frequently promotes the idea that when the United States places a tariff on an import from another country, that other country directly pays the bill. Hes wrong, but he keeps saying it. Billions of dollars will soon be pouring into our Treasury from taxes that China is paying for us, Mr. Trump said during a news conference earlier this month. On Thursday, he wrote something similar on Twitter. That tweet raises a question. Are the tariffs being charged to China, or to companies? Its a good starting point for a sort of F.A.Q. on ...
Chinese handset maker OPPO has said its India Managing Director Yi Wang will step down effective November 30.

"During a meeting between the Board of Directors of OPPO Mobiles India Pvt Ltd on November 28, 2018, it has been mutually decided that Yi Wang, Managing Director of the company will step down from his position, effective November 30," an Oppo spokesperson said.

The company, however, did not give any reason for the decision. It is yet to name Wang's successor.

"Wang has been an important part of OPPO's journey in India and has played a crucial role in the company's success in the country since it entered the Indian market. We thank him for his valued contribution and wish him the very best for his future endeavours," the spokesperson said.

India is a key market for smartphone players as it continues to grow at a strong pace. According to research firm IDC, smartphone shipments in India touched an all-time high of 42.6 million units in July-September 2018, registering a year-on-year growth of 9.1 per cent.

Xiaomi led the smartphone tally with 27.3 per cent market share, followed by Samsung (22.6 per cent), Vivo (10.5 per cent), Micromax (6.9 per cent) and OPPO (6.7 per cent).

In a separate statement, OPPO announced an increase in R&D spending to RMB 10 billion (about USD 1.43 billion or Rs 9,986 crore) next year -- a 150 per cent year-on-year increase.

The company said it would continue to increase investment on a yearly basis.

With the increased R&D capital, OPPO will integrate its supply chain and build on its technical expertise to enhance the company's technological capabilities, it added.

"Furthermore, OPPO will leverage AI to develop a range of smart devices, including smart watches and smart home technologies, to explore and meet the increasingly rigid demands of consumers in the age of the Internet of Things (IoT)," the statement noted.
Since November 20, in past six seven trading days, the stock of pharmaceutical company has moved up 10% after an appellate court in the US cleared the way for the company to resume sales of a Suboxone generic. The drug is used to treat opioid addiction and is expected to generate as much as $100 million (a little over Rs 7 billion) in revenue annually. The S&P ...

Dear Reader,

Business Standard has always strived hard to provide up-to-date information and commentary on developments that are of interest to you and have wider political and economic implications for the country and the world. Your encouragement and constant feedback on how to improve our offering have only made our resolve and commitment to these ideals stronger. Even during these difficult times arising out of Covid-19, we continue to remain committed to keeping you informed and updated with credible news, authoritative views and incisive commentary on topical issues of relevance.

We, however, have a request.



As we battle the economic impact of the pandemic, we need your support even more, so that we can continue to offer you more quality content. Our subscription model has seen an encouraging response from many of you, who have subscribed to our online content. More subscription to our online content can only help us achieve the goals of offering you even better and more relevant content. We believe in free, fair and credible journalism. Your support through more subscriptions can help us practise the journalism to which we are committed.



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Amitabh Mathur

Mcleodganj (Himachal Pradesh) [India], Nov 30 (ANI): The 13th Tibetan Religious Leaders Conference scheduled for November 29- 30 in McLeod Ganj by the Department of Religion, Central Tibetan Administration has been indefinitely postponed ostensibly over the sudden death, in a tragic accident, of Kathok Getse Rinpoche, head of the Nyingma Council. Over 150 invitations had been sent to all lineage holders and heads of monasteries in India and Nepal. Subjects to be discussed included challenges before Tibetan Buddhism including the growing incidence of scandals and misconduct by Tibetan monks. The issue of reincarnation of the 14th Dalai Lama was also part of the agenda.

The conference would have been held in the background of misgivings amongst Tibetans about the Indian Government's commitment to their cause. This follows the avoidable fiasco of cancellation and then curtailment of the 'Thank You India' programme that the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA) had planned. This seeming distancing from Dharamshala soon after His Holiness Dalai Lama's (HHDL) Government approved tour of Arunachal Pradesh took the CTA by surprise. Reports have been in circulation that HHDL hasn't had the kind of engagement with the Indian leadership he's enjoyed since Nehru's days. Obviously, there is a communication gap at the top level.

The question 'what after the 14th Dalai Lama?', is increasingly on the minds of Tibetans as all their future hopes rest on him. The sinking feeling that he is not immortal is dawning on them even though he seems in good health. The subject of his reincarnation has been raised publicly with him evoking various responses, prefaced by his comment "depending on the wishes of the Tibetan people." To preempt complications by China, the conference would have resolved that the business of Dalai Lama's reincarnation is his alone and that all those attending commit to abide by his wishes. With CTA representing the Tibetan diaspora and the religious heads their devotees within Tibet, the resolutions would have reflected the will of the people and strengthened HHDL's hand in whatever he decides, reincarnation or emanation in his lifetime.

The Tibetan community is showing increasing divisions. The Khampas vs Rest debate, which marred elections in 2015 to the post of Sikyong or Prime Minister in exile, has polarized laymen and monks alike. This has undermined the position of the Sikyong Dr Sangay now designated as President of the Central Tibetan Administration. Confusion over Prof Samdhong Rinpoche's visit in December 2017 to China, denied by him but confirmed by Dr Sangay is illustrative of the gap between HHDL's private office the Gaden Phodrang and the elected Central Tibetan Administration to which the Dalai Lama has handed over this temporal powers.

The success of any conference to strengthen HHDL's hands would depend upon the extent of participation. There are 4 major schools of Tibetan Buddhism. Of these, current head of the Sakyapas the 42nd Sakya Trizin HH Ratna Vajra Rinpoche had consented to attend. Kathok Getse Rinpoche, representing the Nyingma school, was to attend but unfortunately died. There was no certainty about top-level participation from the important Nyingma monasteries and whether they would send only their representatives. A fear with some monastic heads is the retribution from Beijing to their participation, the threat of being denied visits to their monasteries in Tibet and holding back of funds for their upkeep.

Comments appearing in Tibetan media as well as social media have alluded to uncertainty over Ogyen Trinley Dorje (OTD), the 17th Karmapa and head of the Karma Kagyu School to attend as a reason for the postponement of the conference. The institution of the Karmapa holds a very special position in the Tibetan Buddhist hierarchy. Recognised by both HHDL and China, OTD had gone abroad on a scheduled tour of UK, Canada & the US in May 2017 and has not returned. Subjected to irksome restrictions in India by security agencies, he has sought assurances on the circumstances he would return to. These have not been forthcoming. He has given up his Identity Certificate (a document issued to Tibetans by Government of India to enable international travel) and acquired a passport from the Commonwealth of Dominica for ease of travel and so needs an Indian visa to return. Last heard he is believed to be struggling to surrender his Identity Certificate and obtain a visa of adequate duration.

From the patronage of the Dalai Lama, his own charismatic personality and sympathy for the way he has been treated since his escape from Tibet to India in Jan 2000, Ogyen Trinley Dorje has acquired stature and gained acceptability cutting across sectarian lines. Revered within Tibet and with an international profile, he has come to be recognized as the future face of Tibetan Buddhism. Any conference of Tibetan religious leaders would have been incomplete without the 17th Karmapa's presence.

India can ill afford to fall out of the perception that the conference, intended to showcase unity on the issue of Dalai Lama's reincarnation, had to be postponed as the government failed to facilitate the Karmapa's return in time to attend it. It will be equally challenging for the Government of India, busy with repairing relations with Beijing, not to be seen assuaging Chinese at the cost of Tibetans.

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi met with Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the ongoing G20 summit and stated that the year 2018 is of utmost importance for the bilateral relations of the two countries.

Terming the Wuhan informal summit as the "milestone" for the two nations, the Prime Minister said that these meetings have given a new momentum to the growing relations between China and India.

Recalling the meetings between the two leaders in Qingdao and Johannesburg, Prime Minister Modi said that the review meetings have helped maintain momentum and have simultaneously opened up new avenues for better relationship and cooperation.

"Today's meeting is the review of the development till date and a planning for closer development partnership in the future," asserted the Prime Minister.

He further said that India is looking forward to welcoming Chinese President to India for another informal summit next year. "I believe that next year will be more fruitful for both the nations," Prime Minister Modi said.

The Prime Minister is in Argentina on a three-day official visit to attend the ongoing G20 summit.

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The All India Majlis-e-Ittehad-ul Muslimeen (AIMIM) on Friday approached the Bombay High Court for Muslim reservation in Maharashtra, a day after the state legislature passed the Maratha Reservation Bill in Socially and Economically Backward category (SEBC).

AIMIM's Imtiyaz Jalil told ANI: "We won't challenge it but will go to the court with new facts for Muslim reservation."

On Thursday, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis had said that reservation for the Maratha community in government jobs and admission in public sector academic institutions would not have any adverse impact on the state's existing quota policy.

Lashing out at the opposition over the reservation issue, Fadnavis asked why the previous government did not give scholarships to Muslim students. "The opposition is dividing the people and they are doing politics on the reservation. They are talking about Muslim reservation for the sake of vote bank politics," he claimed.

The Maharashtra government had recently approved the Maratha Reservation Bill, for which the community has been protesting since 2017. According to the Bill, the government will give separate reservation to Maratha community people under the category called socially and economically backward class or SEBC as per the recommendation of the Maharashtra State Backward Class Commission.

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With high-voltage electioneering in poll-bound states, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) chief Amit Shah fired a fresh salvo at the Congress by brigning in businessman and Sonia Gandhi's son-in-law Robert Vadra into the picture.

Addressing a public gathering at Karwasra at Nagaur district in Rajasthan on Friday, Shah stated that "a renowned company received a loan of thousands of crores and its commission reached Nehru family's son-in-law."

Criticizing Vadra for his involvement in land scam cases, Shah said, "Today the front page of Indian Express says that a renowned company got a loan of thousands of crores and its commission reached Nehru family's son-in-law (Robert Vadra) with which he bought 150 hectares of land for less price and sold it at a higher rate. I want to ask Rahul Gandhi if he can answer now?"

Notably, the Enforcement Directorate on Friday summoned Robert Vadra in the Bikaner land deal case.

Shah continued his attack against Congress, saying, "Rahul baba NPA cases are mounting due to the corruption raised during your party's rule in the country."

Promising to bring back the money taken away by loan defaulters like Vijay Mallaya, Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi, Shah said, "They all took loans under the nose of your (Rahul Gandhi) government, you had a firm partnership with them. When Modi government came into power, they knew it's time to flee from the country as they were afraid of being put behind bars."

"Rahul baba it was your government which kept renewing their loans. And it was us who took stringent actions against them, seizing Rs 20,000 crore property of loan defaulters," the BJP president added.

Shah asked the Congress president to stop day-dreaming an affiremd confidence in his party's victory in Rajasthan. "As this is a land of Bhairon Singh Shekhawat and Sunder Singh Bhandari, BJP government is an immovable foot of Angad, (a mythological character) nobody can oust BJP from the state," Shah asserted.

Amit Shah further criticised Congress leader Sachin Pilot for asking what Prime Minister Modi did for Rajasthan in the last five years. Shah said, "During 13th Finance Commission around 1 lakh 9 thousand crores were given to Rajasthan but when our party came to the power in 2014, we provided Rs 2 Lakh 63 thousand for Rajasthan under 14th Finance Commission. Apart from these, Rs 36,000 crore were given through various schemes."

The BJP chief also stressed on 129 schemes implemented under the rule of Modi government and also heaped praises on the state's Chief Minister. "Rajasthan chief minister Vasundhara Raje provided free treatment to 24 lakh people under Bhamashah Yojana, 50 lakh people were given loan under Mudra Bank scheme, gas connections were given to 50 lakh people and 13 lakh people were provided with houses and 50 lakh women were given mobiles," the parlimentarian stated.

He also raked up the issue of surgical strikes, carried out by India carried against terror camps in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir in 2016. "Earlier, anyone would enter from Pakistan to spread violence in India. When terrorists attacked the Uri Army camp, it was the Modi government, which carried out surgical strikes."

Amit Shah stated that BJP is more worried about infiltrators residing in our country. "We started the NRC drive to identify infiltrators and around 40 lakh illegal foreigners were deported back to their respective countries."

Later, Amit Shah also reached Sujangarh in Churu district of the Shekhawati region of Rajasthan to address another public rally. Boasting of the BJP's victory in various states, Shah stated, "After 2014 when Narendra Modi became the Prime Minister, the Congress lost Jharkhand, Maharashtra, Haryana, Jammu and Kashmir, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Tripura, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat."

"When elections come they use BR Ambedkar as a tool to woo voters. It was BJP who gave recognition to Ambedkar. Even his photograph was bought in the parliament by Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ji," he added.

The 200-member Rajasthan Assembly is scheduled to go to polls on December 7 and counting of votes will take place on December 11.

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Describing Bangladesh as the "most liberal and business-friendly economy" in the region, Bangladesh High Commissioner to India Syed Muazzem Ali has urged the Indian businessmen to make a greater investment in his country for mutual gains of the two closest neighbours.

"Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and her Government have given maximum importance to transform Bangladesh into one of the most favoured investment destinations in South Asia," the envoy stated in a seminar at Aurangabad, Maharashtra on Friday.

The seminar on investment potentials in Bangladesh was jointly organised by the Marathwada Chamber of Industries and Agriculture and Bangladesh Deputy High Commission in Mumbai.

The Bangladeshi envoy said pro-investment policies are being implemented, along with massive reforms in the relevant government organisations.

With annual economic growth registered at 7.86 per cent Bangladesh, the envoy said, the country is hungry for more investment in its economy. Bangladesh needs substantial foreign and domestic investment to keep patch with the high trajectory of economic development.

"As one of the world's fast-growing economy, India can seize the business opportunities offered by Bangladesh. Indian business giants like Ambani, Adani and others are coming forward. But the Indian investors' response is not enough. They need to be more vigorous," the high commissioner said.

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Leaders of the BRICS countries met on the sidelines of the ongoing G20 summit on Friday and condemned terrorism in all forms and manifestations.

In a joint statement released by the international organisation, the countries urged concerted efforts to counter terrorism under the United Nations auspices on a firm international legal basis.

"We call upon all nations to adopt a comprehensive approach in combating terrorism, including all the elements identified in the Johannesburg Declaration," the press statement read.

The countries also re-committed themselves to peace and stability across the globe, the central role of the United Nations, the purposes and principles enshrined in the UN Charter, and respect for international law, the promotion of democracy and the rule of law.

Reiterating their commitment to working together to strengthen multilateralism, the countries vouched to promote a fair, just, equitable, democratic and representative international order.

The country leaders also reaffirmed full support for the rules-based multilateral trading system, as embodied in the Trade Organisation (WTO), to ensure transparent, non-discriminatory, open and inclusive international trade.

"We express our common readiness to engage in frank and result-oriented discussions with other WTO members with a view to improving the functioning of the WTO. The spirit and rules of the WTO run counter to unilateral and protectionist measures. We call on all members to oppose such WTO inconsistent measures, stand by their commitments undertaken in the WTO and rollback such measures of a discriminatory and restrictive nature," the press release stated.

The country leaders also noted that the core value and fundamental principles of the WTO should be preserved and interests of all WTO members should be reflected, in particular, those of the developing members.

"Its effective functioning will give members the required confidence to engage in future negotiating in the WTO. We, therefore, urge that the Appellate Body selection process be initiated immediately, as an essential prerequisite for the stable and effective functioning of the WTO dispute settlement system," read the press statement.

Welcoming the G20 Argentine Presidency's theme of Building Consensus for Fair and Sustainable Development and its focus on the Future of Work, Infrastructure for Development and Food Security for Sustainable Future, the leaders also recognised the importance of infrastructure for development and commit to contribute to bridging the global infrastructure gap, also by mobilizing resources for sustainable and disaster resilient infrastructure through national and collective initiatives, including the New Development Bank.

"We advocate for a strong Global Financial Safety Net with an adequately resourced, quota-based International Monetary Fund (IMF) at its centre. To this effect, we reaffirm our commitment to the conclusion of the IMF's 15th General Review of Quotas, including a new quota formula so as to ensure the increased voice of the dynamic emerging and developing economies to reflect their relative contributions to the economy while protecting the voices of the least developed counties, by the 2019 Spring Meetings and no later than the 2019 Annual Meetings," the press statement added.

Reaffirming their commitment to the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Sustainable Development Goals, the leaders of the BRICS nations urged developed countries to honour their ODA commitments fully, in time and to provide additional development resources to developing countries in accordance with the Addis Ababa Action Agenda.

Noting the imbalance in the global economic expansion continues, the leaders expressed concerns about the negative spill-overs by policy normalisation from major advanced economies which has been an important source of the volatility of some emerging market economies.

They also called on all economies to strengthen their policy dialogue and coordination in the spirit of partnership at the G20 and other fora to prevent potential risks from spreading.

While talking about climate change, the leaders of the BRICS countries recommitted to the full implementation of the Paris Agreement adopted under the principles of the UNFCCC including the principles of common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities, and urged developed countries to provide financial, technological and capacity-building support to developing countries to enhance their capability in mitigation and adaptation.

They also called upon all countries to reach a balanced outcome under the Paris Agreement Work Programme during COP-24 that enables operationalisation and implementation of the Paris Agreement. "We stress the importance and urgency of conducting a successful and ambitious first replenishment process of the Green Climate Fund," the leaders emphasised.

Appreciating the success of the 10th BRICS Summit, Johannesburg, the leaders further recommitted to enhancing further our strategic partnership for the benefit of our peoples.

"We express satisfaction with the achievements of BRICS cooperation in the areas of economy, peace and security and people-to-people exchanges under South Africa's Chairship, including the establishment of the BRICS Partnership on New Industrial Revolution (PartNIR), the BRICS Vaccine Research and Development Centre, the BRICS Energy Research Cooperation Platform and the Americas Regional Office of the New Development Bank in Sao Paulo," the leaders stated.

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Naxals in Chhattisgarh's Sukma district are continuously fine-tuning their strategies and tactics in order to maintain their relevance in the region. On Friday, a group of Naxals installed scores of effigies in the forest area in order to mislead and confuse security personnel about to their presence.

Moreover, the forces recovered Improvised Explosive Device (IED) weighing 7 kilograms from near one of the effigies. The IED was buried under the mud and connected with a power source at a distance of about 2 metres. It was later diffused by the Central Reserve Police Force (CPRF) personnel.

"When our forces went for area domination, they found three effigies installed in the region. These effigies also had dummy weapons like AKM and SLR made of wood which looked real. Our forces first thought that Naxals are present in the area and immediately cordoned off the area. It is a new strategy adopted by Naxals to confuse the forces and to create panic among them," CRPF's 150th Battalion Commandant Dharmendra Singh told ANI.

"Naxals feel that security forces will start firing the effigies in confusion and they can attack our forces from behind. This strategy can also be used to scare our jawans during night operations," he added.

Sukma is known to be a Naxal hotbed, with encounters and attacks taking place nearly on a weekly basis.

Earlier in the week, nearly 10 Naxals were gunned down by security forces in an encounter, while one District Reserve Guard personnel sustained injuries in the cross-firing.

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi will participate in two important trilateral meetings with world leaders here in Argentina's capital, during which they would discuss major global challenges and developments.

Prime Minister Modi, who arrived here to attend the G-20 summit, will participate in the first-ever trilateral meeting between Japan, America and India and the 2nd Russia, India China (RIC) trilateral, which is taking place after 12 years, on Friday.

US President Donald Trump will meet with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, and then the two leaders will meet jointly with Prime Minister Modi.

The trilateral meeting between Trump, Abe and Modi is taking place in the backdrop of China engaged in hotly contested territorial disputes in the South China Sea, and with Japan in the East China Sea. Both the areas are said to be rich in minerals, oil and other natural resources.

China claims almost all of the South China Sea. Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan have overlapping claims in the waterway, which includes vital sea lanes through which about USD 3 trillion in global trade passes each year.

The US has been conducting regular patrols in the South China Sea to assert freedom of navigation in the area where Beijing has built up and militarised many of the islands and reefs it controls in the region.

During the RIC meeting, Prime Minister Modi, Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin will meet.

In his departure statement, Modi said that through the ten years of its existence, the G-20 has strived to promote stable and sustainable global growth.

"This objective is of particular significance for developing countries and emerging economies such as India, which is today the fastest growing large economy in the world," he said.

Modi said India's contribution to global economic growth and prosperity underlined its commitment to 'Building Consensus for Fair and Sustainable Development', which is the theme of the summit.

"I look forward to meeting leaders from other G-20 countries to review the work of G-20 in the last ten years of its existence and chart the ways and means to meet the new and upcoming challenges of the coming decade," he said.

The prime minister said the participants would deliberate on the situation of the global economy and trade, international financial and tax systems, the future of work, women empowerment, infrastructure and sustainable development.

The timing of the meetings is directly related to the period of major global developments, PMO sources said.

They said it is indicative of India's growing diplomatic and economic profile in the world.

They noted that India is now a global engine of economic growth and will be in the top five economies of the world and a factor of stability in the region.

Further, it was in recognition of India assuming the leadership role on global issues of people's concerns such as climate change, renewable energy, corruption and disaster resilient infrastructure, they said.

Also, it was a reflection of India's willingness to contribute positively and constructively in strengthening multilateral institutions like the World Trade Organisation (WTO) and trying to build a consensus on new ideas like the Indo-Pacific region.

It also reflected the fruition of India's efforts and leadership role in building awareness and consensus on key global challenges, the PMO sources said.
The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) on Friday arrested five people, including two South Korean nationals in Chennai and seized seven kgs of gold worth Rs. 2.20 core smuggled into India from Hong Kong.

The DRI Chennai Zonal unit also seized over Rs 11 crore in cash and a car, which was used to transport the smuggled gold.

On the basis of the intelligence report, the DRI sleuths intercepted a Chennai-based businessman and recovered six kilograms of foreign marked gold in 1-kilobars. The DRI sleuths also carried out the search operation at multiple premises in Chennai, including a textile shop and the residences of two assistances of the businessman, from where they recovered a smuggled 1 kg gold bar and Rs. 11.16 crore in cash.

On questioning, the two Korean nationals admitted their role in having carried the smuggled gold from Hong Kong for a monetary consideration, which they had handed over to the businessman at the hotel, just before the officers apprehended him. Further, the businessman admitted that he would regularly receive such smuggled gold in a similar manner through other passengers who would visit Chennai from time to time and stay at various prominent hotels. He and his associates stated that they would regularly distribute the smuggled gold and cash in the black market, and that the Rs. 11.16 crore in cash which was recovered by the officers entirely consisted of sale proceeds of the smuggled gold which they had planned to remit abroad through hawala channels.

"The businessman, two of his associates and the two Korean nationals have been arrested," the DRI said in a statement.

Further investigation is in progress.

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NASA is clear about its approach to SpaceX CEO Elon Musk and marijuana. The two organizations are collaborating to fly astronauts to the International Space Station.

NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine said that Musk is committed to safety as anybody and he understands that smoking pot publicly was not appropriate. He further that Musk won't be seen doing that again, Cnet reported.

Musk irked NASA when he appeared on a podcast last month smoking pot. The space agency then initiated a review of the workplace cultures of both SpaceX and Boeing.

NASA's contracts with the companies require them to maintain a program for achieving a drug and alcohol free workforce.

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Asserting that an environment of fear is prevailing in the country, senior Congress leader Kapil Sibal on Friday said whenever someone speaks against Prime Minister Narendra or his government he or she is labelled as anti-

Speaking at an interactive session organised by All India Professional Congress (AIPC), a unit of Indian Congress (INC) here Sibal said, "Which mind is without fear today? Some businessmen came to me saying that things are not good. Why it's happening because there is fear that anything can happen anytime. That's the kind of environment we are living in. If you say anything against RSS, the Prime Minister (Narendra Modi) and Government, you are anti- "

Sibal also alleged that Governors are helping Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in order to install their government in different states while expressing hope that Congress would get a chance to "set things right in 2019." "Heart of the problem is that BJP and RSS have taken over the government. When we were in power there was a difference in the party but now the government is the party. If you appoint governor they must be RSS people and same applies for the Vice Chancellors. Governors are helping the party to install BJP government in the states. I hope in 2019 we have a chance to set things right."

Earlier in the day, the leader of the Congress party in the Lok Sabha, Mallikarjun Kharge, had also launched a scathing attack on Prime Minister Modi by calling him a "polarising master" who is capable of spinning any issue into a religious one.

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Delhi Public Work Department (PWD) and Urban Development Minister Satyendar Jain on Friday said that he is being hounded for trying to regularise the unauthorised colonies in the capital. However, he asserted that no amount of cases can deter him from doing the same.

"I accept the Modi Government's charge that I am working round the clock for the regularisation and better living conditions in the unauthorised colonies of Delhi. Even if they file 100 cases against me, I won't be cowed down and I will keep working in the same manner," Jain said in a statement.

Taking a jibe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Jain said the former wants to raze down unauthorised colonies in Delhi and render poor people homeless.

"Being the Urban Development Minister of Delhi I am under oath to get the unauthorised colonies authorised. It's my duty to provide the residents with basic facilities like roads and drains. It is the democratic right of the people staying in these colonies," Jain added.

The PWD minister refuted charges made by the Prime Minister Modi-led central government that he will become richer by trying to regularise unauthorised colonies.

Terming Centre's charges as "laughable and beyond comprehension", Jain said that regularisation of the unauthorised colonies will not benefit him, but will benefit a huge number of people residing in these colonies.

"I don't reject the charges of the Modi led central government. I accept them. Yes, I am trying to regularise the unauthorised colonies in Delhi. However, I am amazed at the charges made by the Centre; they are saying Satyendar Jain will become richer by regularising these colonies. This is laughable and beyond comprehension. How will I become richer by regularising the unauthorised colonies? Regularisation of the unauthorised colonies will not benefit Satyendar Jain, but will benefit the huge number of people residing in these colonies. This is their democratic right, their life condition will improve and they will be happier," Jain said.

"Let them file as many cases against me as they want, if they think I will get afraid, they are highly mistaken. Such vindictive action of the Modi government gives me more strength to work towards the upliftment of the living conditions in the unauthorised colonies. The people of Delhi have elected me and sent here to work for them. I will continue working for them with full integrity till my last breath, and no amount of witch hunt will deter my resolve," he added.

Jain's statement comes a day after the Centre granted sanction to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to prosecute him in a case related to alleged possession of assets disproportionate to his known sources of income.

Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had earlier alleged that the central government got a case registered against Jain for working for regularising Delhi's unauthorised colonies. Kejriwal also called the BJP an "enemy of the people of Delhi."

Furthermore, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) spokesperson Saurabh Bharadwaj had asserted Jain had not invested even a rupee in any company or land after 2013.

Earlier on Thursday, official sources revealed that the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has granted sanction to prosecute Jain in a case registered by the CBI on August 24, 2017, for allegedly acquiring assets disproportionate to his known sources of income.

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Flex, the Sketch-to-Scale solutions provider that designs and builds Intelligent Products for a Connected World, today announced that its Global Services (GBS) team in India has received the Shared Services & Outsourcing Network's (SSON) Shared Services Team - Gold Award.

The Award was presented to Flex during the 21st Asian Shared Services & Outsourcing Week held at the Sands Expo and Convention Centre in Singapore on November 14, 2018.

Each year, SSON recognizes the achievements of Shared Services Centers and service delivery teams that demonstrate exceptional performance and exceed industry standards.

"We are delighted to have received this recognition from SSON, the largest and most established community of shared services and outsourcing professionals in the world. This award is a reflection of our team's passion and commitment to providing true value to our more than 100 Flex sites across 30 countries globally," said Ashutosh Arora, Vice President & Managing Director, Global Services, Flex India. He added, "Flex GBS Guadalajara, Mexico also won SSON's Excellence in Process Improvement award earlier this year and GBS Shenzhen, China garnered multiple SSON awards in 2014, 2015 and 2017."

Flex GBS India has centers in Pune and Chennai staffed by more than 5,600 employees that provide centralized services in support of Flex's global operation in the areas of Finance, Information Technology, Engineering and Quality, Human Resources, Program Management and Global Procurement and Supply Chain.

The Shared Services and Outsourcing Network (SSON) is an online source for global services executives and business leaders who leverage technology and best practices to improve operational efficiency.

SSON delivers the latest industry news, thought leadership, and analysis through written articles, online events, webinars, white papers and in-depth market reports. With over 120,000 members, SSON is the largest and most established community of shared services and outsourcing professionals in the world.

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Indians are traveling all over the world and are coming back with palates tickled and tempted by the vibrant flavors and delicious foods found throughout the international marketplace.

In addition to changing food preferences based on what other countries are serving, evolving food habits, dual-income households, increasing health awareness, more dining-out options, and rising aspirations are all converging to bring a tectonic shift to the Indian plate, especially in urban households.

This exploration of food outside of the traditional repertoire is not only leading to an increased demand for some imported food items, but is also prompting forward-looking farmers to begin producing some of these same products locally.

Case, in fact, the imported quinoa served on the designer plates of Michelin-starred chefs was, within no time, being grown by innovative Indian farmers in progressive states like Andhra Pradesh and Gujarat. The health story of millets and amaranth from India has been absorbed and recreated all across the global F&B arena. The imported food industry in India, growing at 22-23 percent, is being closely followed by domesticated international foods having a growth of 14-16 percent, while traditional products like bhakarwadi, farsan, bhujiya, and others are growing between 9-12 percent. Forum of Indian Food Importers' (FIFI's) director stated recently at a knowledge session, "imported food products like breakfast cereals, savory processed snacks, seasonings, dressings & sauces, ready-to-eat meals, and confectionary products are expected to see a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 19.2, 33.6, 7.9, 12.4, and 16.6 percent, respectively, during the period of 2016-20. None of the referenced categories were 'traditionally' consumed in India as recently as ten years ago, but now they are transforming the kitchens of aspirational Indians who will eventually start looking for those same products to be produced locally."

In fact, many international products have created a passage for India's domestic food industry to benchmark high-value propositions that meet international standards through the "Make in India" campaign. For example, Iconic Indian brands like Amul are parlaying their understanding of the versatile Indian palate and it's savoring of international flavors by using Indian cow milk to create Dutch cheese like Gouda. Ranked fifth in terms of production, consumption, exports, and expected growth, India's food processing industry is one of the largest industries in India. The food processing sector in India has received around US$ 7.54 billion worth of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) during the period April 2000-March 2017, and is estimated to attract as much as US$ 33 billion of investment over the next 10 years, This investment by international companies like IKEA, Ferrero, Kraft Oreos, Mondolez, Doritos, Kinder Joy, and others bring in infrastructural advancements, vertical integration, supply chain management, cold chain, and manufacturing.

Domestic food processors are also capitalizing on the un-tapped segment of aspiring Indians who frequent Quick Service Restaurants (QSRs). While value conscious, these consumers don't want to miss out on alluring foods full of international flavors but, are happy with the products manufactured in India by Indian or international brands and offer value for money. Earlier products like mayonnaise, tartar sauce, sour cream, and others were limited to chains like Mc Donald, KFC and now with domestic production have influenced the purchase patterns of Indian households increasing consumption points.

In a recent interview, Managing Director for Veeba Food Mr. Viraj Bahl noted "We as a society are changing a lot. Indians are now travelling all over the globe and experiencing different cuisines. At Veeba, we like to keep ourselves abreast with these changing trends and give consumers something their palate would love. I like to read up a lot on the changing food trends; I also thoroughly enjoy going out and experimenting with different foods and ingredients. It is this passion for food that drives our innovation. E.g. Our chipotle southwest dressing is made from imported chipotle pepper to deliver to customers the authentic Mexican flavour; our American mustard sauce is made from imported American mustard seeds, thus giving our audience a genuine American experience."

Veeba Food, and other trendsetters in India's food processing industry will continue to excel as they identify and incorporate international ingredients into "Make in India" products that please the palates of the country's cosmopolitan consumers. However, innovative advancements do not provide a monopolistic advantage for long, so whether a food is import-focused or dedicated to domestic production, India's food industry is capitalizing on these discoveries as quickly, as possible, and before others can match them. Happily, in this kind of international competition, everyone wins: local producers and processors, merchants, and, most of all consumers.

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi started off his second day here by taking part in the BRICS Leaders Informal Meeting at the Alvear Palace Hotel.

Leaders of the other BRICS nations - President of Brazil Mechel Temer, President of China Xi Jinping, Russian President Vladimir Putin, the President of South Africa, Cyril Maraphosa reached Argentina before the session.

Following the meeting, Prime Minister Modi is scheduled to arrive at the Centro Costa Salguero, the G-20 Summit venue for a Leaders Retreat and the Plenary session.

The Prime Minister is one of the leading speakers at the conference's first session titled 'Putting People First', where he will be touching on women's empowerment.

Prime Minister has a meeting slated with Chinese President Xi for the fourth time after the plenary session, following which he shall be meeting with new President of Chile Sebastian Pinera.

There will be a Russia, India, China (RIC) Informal Summit in the evening, which will be followed by a cultural performance and a leader's dinner.

Apart from these, Prime Minister Modi will also participate in the first-ever trilateral meeting between Japan, America, and India.

Prime Minister Modi previously held separate bilateral meetings with the Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and the United Nations (UN) Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres on November 29 (local time) and addressed a 'Yoga for Peace' event.

The Crown Prince, or MBS, and Prime Minister Modi discussed enhancing Saudi investment in technology, infrastructure, petroleum, renewable energy, food security, fintech and defence sectors during their bilateral.

Prime Minister Modi discussed India's uniting role in addressing climate change globally with the UN Secretary-General yesterday.

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The Prime Minister took to Twitter saying, "Had a fruitful interaction with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud. We discussed multiple aspects of India-Saudi Arabia relations and ways to further boost economic, cultural and energy ties."

Taking to Twitter, Ministry of External Affairs Spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said, "Deepening strategic ties. PM @narendramodi met with Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud on sidelines of #G20Argentina. Discussed enhancing Saudi investment in technology, infrastructure, petroleum, renewable energy, food security, fintech & defence sectors." (ANI)

Prime Minister Modi is currently on a three-day visit to Buenos Aires, the capital city of Argentina to attend the G-20 Summit.

In recent years, Saudi Arabia has been a valuable partner of India. The relationship has expanded beyond the Indian community to issues related to the economy, energy, and security.

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed the issue of global climate change in his meeting with United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale informed.

Gokhale said that the UN Secretary-General specifically acknowledged the fact that India played a very major role in climate change negotiations. He also acknowledged that the Indian Prime Minister had taken a number of concrete steps towards addressing climate change in his own country.

Apart from mentioning the International Solar Alliance (ISA) as one of the major initiatives of India towards climate change, Guterres also recalled the environmental impacts of the Swachh Bharat Mission and other campaigns that he witnessed during his recent visit to India last month.

The UN Secretary-General also sincerely hoped and expected that in the forthcoming meeting on COP24 (United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change), scheduled next week in Poland, India will be playing the role of a good Samaritan and urge various countries to come up with certain solutions which would eventually feed into the climate change summit that Guterres is planning in 2019.

Prime Minister Modi also assured the UN Secretary-General that India would play a positive role in the climate change negotiations as it is a part of the Indian culture and civilisation to preserve the

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi in a bilateral meeting with Saudi Prince Mohammed bin Salman stressed upon stabilising energy prices, with specific emphasis on how Saudi Arabia can contribute to the same in India, Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale said on Friday.

Gokhale said that Prime Minister Modi had a very warm and cordial meeting with Salman, who called India an important partner of Saudi Arabia.

The two leaders specifically focused on how Saudi Arabia can enhance its investments across a number of sectors in the next two to three years. They agreed upon setting up a mechanism at the leadership level which will go into the possibilities of concrete action in terms of investments, technology, manufacturing, energy, food security and defence. The mechanism will show significant scaling up of Saudi investments in India within a span of the next two to three years.

The Saudi Crown Prince also informed the Prime Minister that Saudi Arabia will be finalising an initial investment to the National Infrastructure Fund.

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Federal cabinet to separate tax policy from revenue administration

ISLAMABAD: The federal cabinet on Thursday decided to separate tax policy from revenue administration in line with the manifesto of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), and constituted a committee to work out legal and technical modalities to execute the decision.



The cabinet reiterated maintaining strict fiscal discipline in the country for the purpose of curtailing fiscal deficit and ensuring that the expenditures and revenue remain within the budgeted estimates.



The meeting while considering financial difficulties of Pakistan Broadcasting Corporation, especially the issues being faced by the employees in getting their salaries and pensions, decided to grant Rs400 million as technical supplementary grant in order to provide relief to the organization. The cabinet, however, stressed upon the need for chalking out a comprehensive plan to ensure strict financial discipline and enhancement of revenues for the purpose of financial sustainability of the organization. Prime Minister Imran Khan directed that no employee working in the government would be sacked from service.



The meeting discussed in detail the issue of availability of surplus sugar stock in the country and pending payments of the growers. It was decided to refer the matter to the Economic Coordination Committee of the cabinet for detailed deliberations and proposing a workable solution to address the issue on priority.The prime minister reiterated during the meeting that the interests of the sugarcane farmers would be protected while resolving the issue of sugar mills.



The cabinet approved reconstitution of search committee for the appointment of vice chancellor of Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto Medical University Islamabad. The committee would be headed by Minister for Human Rights Shireen Mazari.



The cabinet approved appointment of Ayla Majid, Ghias-ud-Din Ahmed and Hamid Ali Khan as independent directors of the Central Power Purchasing Agency (Guarantee) Limited.



Appointment of Faisal Ahmed, Pharmacist Drug Testing Laboratory Quetta as Technical Member-I of the Drug Court Balochistan Quetta was approved by the cabinet.



The meeting approved release of Rs20 billion in financial year 2018-19 for the fencing and lighting project of Pak-Afghan border. The federal cabinet ratified the decisions of the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the cabinet taken during its meeting on November 22.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi met United Nations Secretary General Antonia Guterres on the sidelines of G20 summit here on Thursday (local time) and discussed India's role in addressing climate change globally.

Official Spokesperson, Ministry of External Affairs Raveesh Kumar tweeted, "UN Secretary General @antonioguterres met PM @narendramodi in #BuenosAires on the sidelines of the #G20Summit. Discussed India's uniting role in addressing climate change globally, with specific reference to the forthcoming COP24 meeting in Katowice, Poland."

The Prime Minister, at present, is on a three-day visit to Argentina to attend the G20 summit.

The UN Secretary General had reached out to the Prime Minister for the second time in two months.

This outreach comes just a week before COP24 (United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change) in Katowice, Poland.

It reflects the respect in which the Prime Minister and his initiatives are held globally to take the lead on issues of global importance.

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The Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) organised a two-day international workshop on "Developing a Ganga Museum Concept

In its mission to clean and rejuvenate the holy river, NMCG's main focus is to enhance public participation. To increase awareness among the masses about the importance of the holy river, NMCG has been reaching out to the public in numerous ways.

As part of the public outreach activities, the establishment of the Ganga Museum and Interpretation Center has been visualised by NMCG as a key platform for dissemination of information related to Ganga river's history, mythology as well as its rejuvenation.

"We've organised two-day international workshop for the development of a concept of the Ganga Museum," said UP Singh, the Secretary of Ministry of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation.

Stressing at the importance of river Ganga, he said, "Ganga is not a river but a civilisation in flow and there are so many aspects of river Ganga and to highlight all these aspects the Indian government is planning to set up a museum."

Director General of NMCG, Rajiv Ranjan Mishra said that museum is going to be the part of the many public outreach programs that are being carried out under the Namami Gange Mission. "We have different kinds of strategies for public outreach and we thought that having some good exhibition on river Ganga and slowly developing a Ganga Museum should be the next step," he said.

Experts from around the world were invited to pitch in ideas and share their expertise for the museum. "We don't have so much of experience in constructing river museums," said Mishra, adding, "so we thought of discussing our plans with experts in the field."

"This workshop was primarily organised to have the experience of international experts, primarily the European ones," he concluded.

International experts, who shared their knowledge and expertise with the NMCG team and Indian delegates, believe that the museum will play a crucial role in enhancing public participation and make them aware of the ways to keep the pious river clean.

German Museum Expert Hans-Jorg Czech said, "It was an interesting process to discuss about the vision and the mission, the different ways to realise Ganga Museum project. The idea itself to plan a museum is a fantastic thing and it has so many chances to express the fantastic aspects of the river Ganga to people.

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Union Minister of Science & Technology and Earth Sciences, Dr. Harsh Vardhan, today called upon the scientific community in India and ASEAN member states to intensify collaborative research in science, technology and innovation to address the economic and societal challenges being faced by the two regions.

Addressing the first India-ASEAN InnoTech Summit here, organised by FICCI in association with the Department of Science & Technology (DST) and the Ministry of External Affairs, Dr. Vardhan said, "The time now is for simple solutions for complex problems through innovation."

Under the ASEAN-India Innovation Platform, 400 technologies are ready to be commercialised in ASEAN member states, he said and called upon the scientific community to pool and share technologies through the platform.

India, he said, has a lot to offer to the ASEAN countries. New age technologies were being nurtured at the 38 laboratories of the Council of Scientific & Industrial Research, he said and added that in the global list of 1207 research institutions supported by government funding, India stood at the 9th position. "Our mission is to position India into the big league and be recognised among the top three global leaders in Science & Technology," he said. Applauding the initiative, he said that the summit should be an annual event with take aways and learnings, and the government will continue to extend its support for the same in future as well.

DST Secretary, Prof. Ashutosh Sharma, said, "That Science and Technology was a new dimension to the strong India-ASEAN cultural bonds and complementary economic and political systems. The need of the hour was to scale up collaborations in nanotechnology, advanced materials and biotechnology," he said.

Prof. Sharma added that the ASEAN-India Innovation Platform (AIIP) is a major element of the enhanced the ASEAN-India S&T Development Fund (AISTDF), which is a part of ASEAN-India Science & Technology Collaboration. He applauded that the India ASEAN innovation platform which was launched 4 months back by DST and FICCI has already received more than 1.5 million hits.

The AIIP comprises social innovations, product and processes innovation generated by industry and research innovations from the academia and R&D labs. He called upon innovators in ASEAN countries to explore the numerous opportunities available in India and build partnerships for the common good of the people in the two regions.

"That the time was ripe to share the best ideas and build powerful networks between the scientific community of ASEAN and India. He called for creating sustainable national and international innotech projects to build a continuous and dynamic science revolution," said Moe Kyaw Aung, Ambassador of Myanmar to India.

Mr. R.V. Kanoria, Past President, FICCI and Chairman and Managing Director, Kanoria Chemicals and Industries Ltd. said, "That the two-day summit is being attended by S&T advisors, experts, institution heads, companies and entrepreneurs from ASEAN member states. More than 60 ASEAN delegates from industry, academia, government, bilateral and multilateral agencies and associated establishments that constitute the ecosystem for innovation-led technical and economic development are attending the first of its kind innovation and technology summit in India."

Nirankar Saxena, Deputy Secretary General FICCI in his address mentioned that in this 21st century technology and innovation should create welfare for common man. India and ASEAN member states should aspire to replicate successful models in each other's region.

Yogesh Andlay, Co-chair FICCI startup committee and Co-founder, Nucleus Software Pvt. Ltd. expressed that such platforms give a boost to the culture of innovation across sectors. This is an opportune platform where technology innovation and academia are meeting.

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The Indian authorities have contacted the Ethiopian authorities and have placed the case of the seven Indians Infrastructure Leasing and Financial Services (IL&FS) Ltd. employees being held hostage in Ethiopia on priority, sources said on Friday.

"We have taken this matter up on priority with both the Ethiopian authorities and IL&FS management with a view to resolving this expeditiously. We are doing our best to ensure a settlement of this matter," the sources stated.

Seven employees of the IL&FS have reportedly been held hostage by the local staff of the company since November 24 because of non-payment of salaries.

The matter is under investigation and more details are awaited.

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A senior professor of the Jammu University has stirred controversy by labelling freedom fighter Bhagat Singh as a "terrorist" during a lecture.

However, Mohammad Tajuddin, who is a senior professor in the political science department, claimed that the video being circulated on social media resulted in the misinterpretation of his comments.

"I also consider Bhagat Singh a revolutionary. He is one of the people who sacrificed their lives for the country. I was teaching Lenin (Russian revolutionary) thought. In that, there was his brother who assassinated a Tsar and was charged with terrorism and he was hanged. To explain the concept better, there is a chapter on freedom struggle, where revolutionaries used to call the Britishers terrorists and they were also hanged. In that context, I said any state calls any violence against it as 'terrorism'. Someone took a 25-second video out of my two hours lecture. The terrorist word came in that, it wasn't what I meant," Professor Tajuddin told ANI while clarifying the comments he made.

The professor, however, apologised for hurting people's sentiments. "A committee has been formed and it will be clear what had exactly happened," Tajuddin added.

Meanwhile, students of the varsity are furious at the senior professor's comments and have demanded his resignation.

Deepak Gupta, a political science student, condemned the professor's remarks and said strict action should be taken against him.

"There was a lecture going on in the Department of Political Science and Professor Tajuddin was teaching. While comparing with Lenin's brother, he said that Bhagat Singh was a hero, but was also a terrorist. It's a wrong statement. He was a freedom fighter and sacrificed his life for the country at just 23 years. We demand the officials to take strict action against the professor. The Vice-Chancellor has formed a committee. We are hopeful of a proper action being taken," he noted.

Suresh Gupta, one of the complainants, also echoed similar sentiments. "Yesterday, at 1 o'clock, we were having lunch when a video became viral where Professor Tajuddin portrayed Bhagat Singh as a terrorist. How could he term him as a terrorist so easily?" he asked.

Gupta further alleged that this was not the first time that the senior professor had made such controversial comments.

"If you look at his past profile, this is not the first time. He referred Lord Ram as a cartoon character. We come here to study and gain knowledge. If such a professor makes such comments, this will affect the students. We strongly condemn this remark made by the professor," the student said.

Suresh further said that a written complaint has been filed against the professor and a CD has been submitted to the Vice-Chancellor of the university, adding that Professor Tajuddin should be expelled as he was spoiling the varsity's atmosphere.

Professor Manoj K Dhar, Vice-Chancellor, Jammu University, said that an inquiry committee has been formed and the varsity has disassociated Professor Tajuddin from teaching till the committee submits the report.

"Some students came to me last evening and told me about this incident. They submitted a CD as proof. I've immediately formed an inquiry committee. A six-member committee will look into the entire incident. Let's wait for the outcome of the inquiry committee and based on that, we'll take further action," Dhar added.

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Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale on Friday said that during their first-ever trilateral meeting, Japan, India and the United States of America, emphasising on the need for peace and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific, agreed that a free, open, inclusive and rules-based order is essential for the same.

Speaking to ANI after the trilateral meet, Gokhale said, "They all agreed that a free, open, inclusive and rules-based order is essential for the (Indo-Pacific) region's peace and prosperity. Prime Minister Modi offered some ideas on how we should take forward the concept of Indo-Pacific and how the three countries can work together to promote this concept."

Gokhale further stated informed "the leaders agreed on the central role of ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations)" for the peace and prosperity of the regions, adding that the leaders "also agreed to work on maritime and connectivity issues and to synergise efforts in this regard."

While saying that meeting was "very good", the Foreign Secretary said that both US President Donald Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe praised Prime Minister Modi for the reforms and the development work he has implemented in India.

Prime Minister Modi is on a three-day official visit to Argentina to attend the ongoing G20 summit.

Following the trilateral meeting with Japan and the US, the Prime Minister met President Sebastian Pinera of Chile and is scheduled to attend an informal Russia-China-India summit later today.

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said that together with "strategic partners" -- Japan and the United States of America -- India "will play a big role in maintaining peace, prosperity and stability".

Addressing the media ahead of the first-ever trilateral meet between the three countries on the sidelines of the G20 summit, Prime Minister Modi expressed delight over the prospects of working with India's "strategic partners", saying that both US President Donald Trump and his Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe are his "good friends".

"I think this is a very good occasion for our three countries, which have shared democratic values. Japan, America, India together will be playing a big role together for peace, prosperity and stability. I am also happy that both the countries are our strategic partners, both of them are very good friends, and it is a matter of good fortune that we will work together," the Prime Minister said.

The Prime Minister also coined a new term for the partnership with the three nations - "JAI" (Japan - America - India), which in the Hindi language translates to success or victory. Prime Minister Modi said that the acronym itself sends a message of good fortune at the beginning of their joint-efforts to maintain peace, prosperity and stability across the

Meanwhile, President Trump said it was a matter of "great honour" to be with the leaders of India and Japan, adding, "The relationships between our three countries are extremely good, extremely strong. With India, maybe stronger than ever, with Japan I think stronger than ever. We are doing a lot if trade together, we are doing a lot of defence together, a lot of military purchases".

The Japanese Prime Minister also expressed his delight to hold the first-ever trilateral meeting between the three nations, saying, "Japan, the US and India share fundamental values and strategic interests and I surely hope to further reinforce our trilateral partnership."

He further stressed the importance of the three countries stepping up their "close cooperation towards realising a free and open Indo-Pacific. By having the three of us working together will bring more prosperity and more stability in the region as well as globally."

Towards the end of their address, Trump evaded questions on his meeting with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman, commonly referred to as MBS. Trump's meeting with MBS at the G20 summit was held amid global furore over journalist Jamal Khashoggi's killing at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul. Trump faced criticism for defending the Saudi Prince while the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) claimed that MBS ordered the killing.

Prime Minister Modi is on a three-day official visit to Argentina to attend the ongoing G20 summit.

Following the trilateral meeting with Japan and the US, the Prime Minister will meet President Sebastian Pinera of Chile and is scheduled to attend an informal Russia-China-India summit later today.

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The United States on Thursday welcomed efforts by India and Pakistan to increase people-to-people contact, days after the two countries laid foundation stones for the Kartarpur Sahib corridor.

In a briefing here, US State Department deputy spokesperson Robert Palladino told reporters, "I'm aware of the reports of this Kartarpur corridor, as you referenced there. I understand that it's kind of a visa-free way for Indians to visit this important Sikh site. And of course, the US -- we would welcome efforts to increase people-to-people ties between India and Pakistan."

The route along the India-Pakistan border is three kilometres away from Gurdaspur in Punjab. Once opened, it would allow Sikh pilgrims a direct access to the historic Gurudwara Darbar Sahib in Kartarpur, Pakistan, where Guru Nanak Dev died in 1539.

Replying to a question on US President Donald Trump's tweets on stopping aid to Pakistan at a time when the US is seeking its cooperation on bringing the Taliban to the negotiating table, Palladino underlined the need for Islamabad to "build confidence and trust in bilateral relations" with Washington.

"The Secretary (of State Michael Pompeo) has emphasised the need for Pakistan to deliver the outcome and build confidence and trust between our two countries, and our policy towards Pakistan is clear," the State Department spokesperson said.

Ties between the US and Pakistan have been strained since this year after the Trump administration hit out at the Pakistan government for its lacklustre approach in combating terrorism on its soil by halting military aid to Islamabad.

Commenting on the now-cancelled meeting between Trump and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, Palladino asserted, "It was aboard Air Force One, I believe, that (the announcement of cancelling the meeting) took place and the Secretary of State was with the President at the time. But what's clear is the President's tweets on the subject were quite clear at what we looked for, and that is the return of the Ukrainian sailors and the vessels. The aggression that we've witnessed this week is unacceptable and a strong message has been sent."

On November 25, Russian guards fired upon and captured three Ukrainian naval ships after they illegally entered into the Russian territory of the Black Sea. The incident drew international condemnation especially by the US, further leading to Ukraine preparing to impose martial law in its border areas with Russia.

Reacting to the same, Palladino said that the captured Ukranian vessels and detained crew members should be released by the Russian government and Washington is going to be "firm" in this position.

Replying to another question on the prospects of having high-level talks with North Korea, the State Department spokesperson said that deliberations would happen soon, while their policy on North Korea's denuclearisation remains unchanged at the same time.

"We are looking forward to having high-level talks. Our policy hasn't changed on North Korea. Progress (of denuclearisation) has been made, and we are hopeful that more will be made on North Korea as well. The Secretary and the President have been clear that we're not going to be forced into artificial time constraints. We've made great progress at the summit in Singapore for the final, fully verified denuclearisation. We are going to continue to push forward on that. And of course, future dialogue will take place and it'll definitely be something that Special Representative (Stephen) Biegun will be leading," Palladino elaborated.

Replying to a query on the comments of the head of the Iraqi militant group Asa'ib Ahl al-Haq, who recently said that the Hashd al-Shaabi should have a role in security along Iraq's border with Syria, Palladino said that the security of Iraq and its border is the Iraqi government's responsibility.

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On the occasion of the annual Indo-German Bilateral Negotiations and commemorating 60 years of successful Indo-German Development Cooperation, a "Touring Exhibition" was launched on 28th November 2018 at Hyatt Regency.

The exhibition showcased historical landmarks of Indo-German Development Cooperation since past six decades. This exhibition will further travel to Bengaluru, Kochi and Chennai through 2019.

The touring exhibition was launched by Dr C.S. Mohapatra, Additional Secretary (EA), Ministry of Finance, Government of India and Dr Wolfram Klein, Head of South Asia Division, Federal Minister of Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ).

In her opening remarks Mrs. Christiane Hieronymus, Head of Economic Cooperation & Development, Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany said, "I take great pleasure in welcoming you all to tonight's launch event of our touring exhibition that recites tale of two close and trusted partners in development cooperation."

"It's a brilliant idea to launch a touring exhibition travelling different cities and highlighting Indo-German Development Cooperation. I would like to congratulate everyone for contributing, not just for this fantastic launch but also on the successful bilateral negotiations," said Dr C.S. Mohapatra, Additional Secretary (EA), Ministry of Finance, Government of India.

Dr. Wolfram Klein, Head of India & South Asia division, Federal Minister of Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) said, "I am very happy to be a part of this celebration between the two nations. It was a great learning experience for me working on various locations for the development. Today's touring exhibition shows the long-standing relationship between both the countries. We will continue to work towards further strengthening the bilateral relations between these two nations."

India and Germany look back on decades of successful bilateral relations. This touring exhibition maps the interesting snippets from the history of the achievements of this journey and, creates a space for nostalgia and discussions about the road ahead.

Indo-German Development Cooperation laid the roots of its long-standing relationship in 1958. The goal was to achieve sustainable global development and to foster a spirit of progressive partnership and trust. During the course, several milestones have been achieved such as the launch of IIT Madras in 1959, the launch and success of the Polio Immunisation Programme in 1996 and the Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojna in 2008 and setting up a 125-MW solar power plant in Sakri, Maharashtra, to name a few.

India is Germany's biggest development partner with a proven track record of success. Now, the areas of focus are renewable energy and energy efficiency, sustainable urban development, environment protection and resource management.

In course of these fruitful long-standing years of association, the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development and other implementing agencies have constantly developed their approach to work towards sustainable global development with India and to nurture a spirit of partnership and trust.

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The Maldives Government has strongly denied media reports which stated that India had offered USD 1 billion to Maldives in exchange for the deployment of Indian troops in the island nation.

The Minister for Foreign Affairs Abdulla Shahid said that the Maldivian territory would not be used for the establishment of any foreign military bases.

Taking to Twitter, Shahid said, "Categorically refute media reports alleging that government is planning to allow the establishment of an Indian military base in Maldives in exchange for financial assistance or other material benefits. It is baseless and aimed at discrediting the government as it starts to rebuild good relations with its neighbours and the rest of the international community."

"Government assures the people, that it will always act in the national interest of Maldives and will not undertake any international engagement that will compromise the sovereignty and independence of the country," he added.

Shahid was reacting to a news article published in a Japanese Daily, NIKKIE Asian Review, which stated that India offered Maldives USD 1 billion in exchange for stronger security ties.

Abdullah Shahid was recently on an official visit to New Delhi, where he met top leaders including his counterpart Sushma Swaraj and Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.

He described India as time-tested and a trusted partner. He showed commitment to strengthen bilateral trade ties between the two countries.

The Foreign Minister, however, mentioned that his country will closely work with all of its neighbours and the international community. He also called China as a friend and one of the largest economies of the whose assistance had benefited Maldives.

New Maldives President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih is scheduled to visit India on December 17 in keeping with his 'India-First' policy.

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Repatriation process of Afghan refugees is not encouraging: FOAC

Pakistani officials have told an international conference on Afghanistan that the repatriation process of Afghan refugees is not encouraging as it is decreasing with each passing year.



Foreign Office Additional Secretary Muhammad Aejaz informed the Geneva Ministerial Conference that in 2018 only around 27,000 Afghans residing in Pakistan returned to their country.



In 2016, at least 606,905 registered and undocumented refugees repatriated back to Afghanistan from Pakistan, according to figures from the UN High Commissioner for Refugees. In 2017 around 60,000 registered and 100,000 undocumented refugees returned from Pakistan.



Aejaz pointed out that enhancement of repatriation grant from $200 to $400 was instrumental in motivating large number of voluntary repatriations in 2016. This option should be reconsidered by UNHCR and international community must strengthen UNHCRs financial capacity to raise the repatriation grant to $400 or more, he said. I would also like to highlight a catch 22-situation for Pakistan: despite voluntary repatriation, population of refugees and other Afghans in Pakistan has risen due to high birth-rate among them, he added.



Despite the voluntary return of 4.4 million Afghan refugees since 2002, Pakistan continues to host millions of Afghans. On average, at any given point in time, Pakistan has hosted 3 million Afghans throughout the last four decades  the largest protracted presence of refugees anywhere on record, Aejaz said. Giving an update, he said over 2.8 million Afghans are still residing in Pakistan. They include 1.4 million registered, 879,000 recently documented illegally residing Afghans, and another approximately half a million undocumented Afghans, he added.



While this protracted refugee situation has presented Pakistan and its people with a range of inter-related challenges, including security and socio-economic pressures on the over-strained public service delivery systems, yet our humanitarian commitment to help our Afghan brethren has not wavered, he said, and insisted that returning refugees are vital to foster nation building and reconstruction of their country. However, suitable conditions must be created to allow their voluntary return in safety and dignity and facilitate successful reintegration in the Afghan society.



In this regard, we are encouraged to know that Afghan government is allocating dedicated budgets to various ministries to facilitate resettlement and reintegration of returning refugees. We would also urge international community to contribute more resources towards this end, Aejaz maintained.



Pakistan and Afghanistan have established a bilateral working group on refugee returns and reintegration within the framework of the Afghanistan-Pakistan Action Plan on Peace and Solidarity (APAPPS). Both countries are now working on a dignified, time-bound and complete return of all Afghans to their homeland.



In September the federal cabinet extended stay of the registered Afghan refugees until June 2019.



The Pakistani foreign ministry official told the delegates of the Geneva conference that efficient and effective management of Pakistans border with Afghanistan is critical in avoiding this process to become a revolving gate. Measures for proper documentation at entry/exit points and blocking unregulated movements are equally important. We look forward to support of the international community and cooperation in our efforts for placing better controls at the Pakistan-Afghanistan border, Aejaz said.
The Crime Branch of Delhi Police has arrested a man who was wanted in a 2007 rape case. Akhtar, accused of kidnapping and raping a minor was on a run for more than 11 years.

The rape case was registered at Kapashera police station in the year 2007 and Akhtar was declared Proclaim Offender (PO) in the year 2008. Later, in the year 2014, cash reward of Rs. 25,000 was also announced by the police on his arrest.

In June 2007, the complainant lodged an FIR in Kapashera Police Station alleging that his 14-year-old daughter was kidnapped by Akhtar.

During the investigation, the kidnapped minor girl was rescued from Bihar and was handed over to her parents.

After further investigation, on the basis of the version of the prosecutor, the accused was also booked for rape.

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Hollywood actor Megan Fox finally confirmed her past romantic relationship with actor Shia LaBeouf on the sets of 'Transformers', after years of speculation.

Fox recently appeared on Bravo's 'Watch What Happens Live With Andy Cohen', where she was asked about her rumoured fling, reported E! Online.

"Um, I mean, I would confirm it was romantic. I love him. I've never been really private about that. I love him," she said while playing Plead the Fifth on the show. However, the 32-year-old actor didn't say anything more about their fling beyond that.

Andy Cohen, the host of the show, asked, "So, it was like an on-set romance that didn't go anywhere afterwards?" Fellow guest Tyra Banks described it as a "show-mance," to which Fox smiled and responded saying, "Sure."

In the episode, a viewer called to ask if Fox would ever return to the 'Transformers' franchise now that she's fixed her relationship with director/producer Michael Bay.

"Yeah, we made up. I would for a cameo or something like that. I think that franchise has probably moved so far into a different universe with different actors and stuff that wouldn't make sense, but I'm not against it. I wanted to do Ninja Turtles; I was a huge fan of it. And at that point, Michael and I were really good. I get invited to his Christmas parties. We're BFFs," she said.

The 'This is 40' star also told Cohen that she was the one who reached out to the bay to mend their friendship.

"I felt like, you know, I was young when a lot of that was happening. I was really self-righteous, and in my anger, I thought I was right to speak the way that I spoke. As I got older, I understood regardless of whatever my issues were, they should always have remained private. You should never blast someone like that in public. And so, I reached out and I just said, 'I hope this movie does amazing. It will,'" the actor recalled.

Almost seven years ago, LaBeouf hinted that his relationship with Fox was way more than just onscreen romance.

"Look, you're on the set for six months, with someone who's rooting to be attracted to you, and you're rooting to be attracted to them. I never understood the separation of work and life in that situation. But the time I spent with Megan was our own thing, and I think you can see the chemistry onscreen," he had told Details.

Fox has been happily married to Brian Austin Green. The two tied the knot in 2010 and are proud parents to three sons--Noah (6), Bodhi (4) and Journey (2).

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Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has felicitated specially-abled Manoranjan Kahar and offered him the appointment letter to join a government college in the state.

Kahar, a specially-abled person from the Tikanbali village in Odisha's Kandhamal district received an appointment letter from the Chief Minister to join the college as an Odia language lecturer in a special program in Bhubaneswar.

"I always listen to our Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik's achievements on television, but today I feel proud to get an appointment letter from him," an elated Kahar said.

Kahar, who is visually impaired, was selected for this post from the Odisha Public Service Commission (OPSC) exam.

"Nothing is impossible for humans. We only need continuity and dedication. I am very happy with this achievement," he added.

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The highly prestigious 'Outstanding Case Writer' award was presented to the ICFAI School (IBS) faculty members at the inaugural Case Collection Managers Meet held at Park Hyatt, Hyderabad on 16th November 2018.

Mr. Richard McCracken, the Director of the UK-based The Case Centre, an independent home of the case method, gave away the award. Dr. J Mahender Reddy, the Vice Chancellor of ICFAI Foundation for Higher Education attended the event.

The award was for the case "Breaking the Code of Silence", written by Ms. Syeda Maseeha Qumer, Dr. Debapratim Purkayastha, and Dr. Vijaya N. Zinnoury (University of Denver, USA). To win the 'Outstanding Case Writer' award, one has to beat off competition from the best case writers in the world, as the case can be about any management topic cutting across disciplines.

IBS's winning case deals with the highly topical issue of sexual harassment in the workplace and allows instructors to bring critical issues to the classroom and also help find solutions. Richard McCracken said that the case predates the 'Me Too' movement, which is a hot topic now globally, and as such, is a highly deserving winner.

The Case Collection Manager's Meet was held in India (Hyderabad) for the first time and was attended by representatives from IIM Ahmedabad, Indian School of Business, BIMTECH, and so on. Dr. Purkayastha was the key note speaker for the event and shared his insights on how to write award-winning cases.

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The Indian Army Chief General Bipin Rawat feels that Pakistan's claim of taking strong steps towards good bilateral relations is contradictory unless there is a direct impact visible on the ground about its claims. The Army Chief added that a positive step from Pakistan is what is needed presently because India has a clear policy that terror and talks cannot go together.

Responding to Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan's statement that if India will take one step forward towards friendly bilateral relations, Pakistan will take two steps forward, General Rawat said on Friday: "They (Pakistan) are saying you take one step, we will take two. There is a contradiction in what they are saying. One step from there should come in a positive manner, we will see if the step has an effect on the ground. Till then our nation has a clear policy- terror and talks can't go together."

Delivering a lecture during the Defence Academy (NDA) Passing out Parade ceremony in Pune, the Army Chief said that over the years, Pakistan has turned itself into an "Islamic State", adding that if they want good relations with India, they will have to turn themselves into a secular nation.

"Pakistan has made its state an Islamic State. If they have to stay together with India, then they have to develop as a secular state. We are a secular state. If they are willing to become secular like us, then they seem to have an opportunity," General Rawat said.

Talking about the induction of women in the Indian Army in a front-line combat role, General Rawat said: "You will see an increase in the role of women in armed forces. We have not yet taken them in the front-line combat role. We feel we are not yet ready. Western nations are more open. Boys and girls are operating together in big cities here but people in the Army do not only come from big cities."

He opined that keeping women officers in fields like language interpreter and military diplomacy would be more beneficial. "We are seeing if women can be given Permanent Commission. In some fields where we need permanency and male officers in a command-oriented Army don't fit everywhere. Keeping women officers in fields like language interpreter, military diplomacy will be beneficial," he said.

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A prisoner of Sitamarhi jail was allegedly raped by two persons on the night of November 14 in the washroom at Sri Krishna Medical College and Hospital (SKMCH) in Muzaffarpur.

The victim was admitted to the hospital for treatment on November 11.

The matter came to light when the victim went back to the jail and narrated the ordeal to her inmates and Jail Superintendent.

The Jail Superintendent has written a letter to the state police to register a case, after which an investigation has been initiated into the matter.

Muzzafarpur has been in the news recently after the alleged rape of nearly 40 girls residing at a shelter home came to the fore. While the main accused in the case have been arrested, probe in the matter is underway.

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A South Korean train arrived here at the Panmun station this morning for an 18-day joint railway inspection which aims at modernising railway lines and eventually connecting both the nations through railways.

Made up of six cars, the train left Dorasan Station in South Korea around 9:05 am (local time), according to Yonhap News Agency,

Several South Korean officials and experts traveled on the train to carry out inspections of around 1,200 kilometres of railway tracks in North Korea till December 17, for which the very same train will be used.

Due to the sanctions imposed on North Korea, the train carried its own fuel that would be needed for the duration of the inspections. South Korea will have to carry back all the leftover fuel back to its nation so as to not breach sanctions, according to CNN.

"The inter-Korean railway connection project is intended to overcome division and open a new future of the Korean Peninsula," South Korea's Unification Minister Cho Myoung-gyon said during the departure ceremony at Dorasan.

He further mentioned that the connected railways would be a marker of peace in the Korean peninsula. "Through the one connected railway, the South and the North will prosper together and the ground for peace on the Korean Peninsula will be consolidated. The trains running on the track will also carry peace and prosperity with them to Northeast Asia and the world," he said.

The train will first undertake a 400 kilometre, 6-day long inspection journey on the Gyeongui Line to reach Sinuiju, which is near North Korea's border with China.

Then, the train, which will be guided by a North Korean locomotive, will travel on the 800 kilometre long Donghae Line for 10-days for inspections, from Mount Kumgang to Tumen River.

The project has been given sanction exemptions by the United Nations Security Council and enjoys support from the United States.

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The Saudi Arabia-led Arab coalition gave back the management and coastal security of Hadhramaut ports to the Yemen Coast Guard.

Along with this, they also strengthened the Guard by supplying boats armed with weapons, communication devices and advanced radars, while the UAE provided patrol vehicles to the coast guards.

An official ceremony was held in Mukalla and was attended by several high-profile officials including Salem Ahmed Al Khanbashi, the Deputy Prime Minister of Yemen, Lt. Colonel Abdullah Al Zuwaidi, the Joint Task Force Commander of the Arab Coalition, Matthew Toller, the Ambassador of the United States to Yemen and Mohammed Saeed Al Jaber, the Ambassador of Saudi Arabia to Yemen amongst others, according to the Khaleej Times.

"Today, we are celebrating the readiness of the coast guard forces in Hadhramaut," Al Zuwaidi mentioned at the event while mentioning that the coast guard boats damaged by the Al Qaeda have also been restored.

He further outlined that the Coalition has trained 26 Yemeni Coast Guard personnel and 398 recruits, along with equipping the Yemeni guard with 32 boats.

The 350-kilometre long Hadhramaut coast has seven major ports and several small harbours.

The Arab Coalition has been regularly clashing with the Houthi militia in the war-torn region which is currently facing a raging food crisis.

Several human rights organisations have called for the cessation of hostilities in the region and have asked the United States to take action to save Yemeni lives.

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The Supreme Court on Friday adjourned the Rohingya case till January 2019 for final disposal.

Due to rising violence against Rohingya in Myanmar, thousands of them entered India and Bangladesh to seek refuge. Around 40,000 Rohingya refugees reside in India after having fled persecution in Myanmar, out of which 16,000 are registered with the United Nation refugee agency.

The central government in 2017 had told the court to identify and deport Rohingyas back to their homeland, stating that they are a threat to security as they have a connection with terror groups and may be used by the Islamic State for terror attacks.

Earlier, a batch of pleas was filed in the apex court opposing the Centre's decision to deport over 40,000 refugees who had fled from Myanmar after widespread violence and discrimination against the community.

The plea was filed by two Rohingya immigrants - Mohammad Salimullah and Mohammad Shaqir- who claimed they took refuge in India after escaping Myanmar due to widespread discrimination, violence, and bloodshed against their community in Myanmar.

More than 650,000 Rohingya Muslims fled Rakhine in August 2017 after Myanmar's army launched a massive crackdown in its northern state, retaliating the attacks by insurgents, Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army on the country's police posts and a military base.

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The Supreme Court on Friday posted a case related to media reporting in sexual assault and abuse cases for final hearing to February next year.

This issue had cropped up while the Apex Court was hearing an appeal against Patna High Court's blanket ban order with regards to media reporting in the Muzaffarpur shelter home rape case.

The Supreme Court had earlier asked both print and electronic media not to "sensationalise" incidents of sexual assaults and abuse. The court had also ordered the media to report such cases responsibly so as not to reveal the identity of the victim.

The top court had also issued notices to the Press Council of India, Editors Guild of India, News Broadcasting Standards Authority and News Broadcasters Association and sought their assistance on reporting of such cases by media.

More than 40 minor girls were allegedly sexually assaulted over a period of time in the shelter home which was run by Brijesh Thakur's state-funded non-governmental organisation (NGO). Thakur is the purported mastermind of the incidents.

Subsequently, the NGO was blacklisted and the girls were shifted to other shelter homes in Patna and Madhubani.

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The Tokyo Olympic and Paralympics Games Organising Committee recently invited media persons to observe lifting of a large roof of Olympic Gymnastic Centre, which will be the venue for gymnastics.

Shimizu Corporation is involved in the architecture of the building and many overseas media organisations attended the event to observe the innovative Japanese technical architecture.

The lift-up method of construction is adopted by the Olympic Gymnastic Centre for the purpose of shortening construction time and safety management. A huge wooden arch, 70 metres in width and 200 tons in weight was slowly lifted up to 30 metres height in over five hours.

Masamichi Nagata, Shimizu Corporation, said, "The current Olympic facilities under construction mostly use wooden and steel frame structures, but this structure is all constructed by wood. I think this is one of the major characteristics. Since it is a pure wooden arch space, fire is one of the biggest hazards. We've already done a lot of fire tests and all of the seats in the auditorium are also made of wood. But we have proven with tests that even if something burned on chairs, the fire will not spread. We can confidently say that we have a solid fire safety measure."

One of the best features of the stadium is that it will include the largest amount of wood used in Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games' facilities. In addition, all the wood used in the construction is made in Japan.

The centre's distinctive roof will be the world's largest wooden roof. The stadium itself is designed similar to Japanese old wood building.

To support the stadium's large roof, an arched beam structure has been adopted incorporating the principle of bow with wooden arch and iron auxiliary wire cable.

Yoshihiro Hosokawa, Tokyo Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games, said, "The construction of this site achieved halfway progressed in just one year. I am very thankful because it would have never been done without high technology of Shimizu Corporation. We are also preparing an organising committee to deliver safety and security for people of all countries in the For the competition venue here, a lot of domestic wood is being used in the construction process. We would like to promote Japanese wooden building culture to many people from overseas."

Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games are about two years away and thanks to the high technology of Japanese building, many facilities are starting to take shape.

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Foreign Minister of Slovakia Miroslav Lajcak resigned from his post here on Thursday in response to the rejection of the United Nations Global Pact on migration by his country's Parliament.

According to Sputnik, the move came few days after Slovakia's parliament voted against the non-binding agreement outlining an international response to migration. Other countries such as Austria, the Czech Republic, Bulgaria, Hungary, and Poland also refused to sign the pact.

90 members of Parliament in the 150-seat National Council of Slovakia voted against the UN migration pact, as they were concerned about the limits it could result in for maintaining an independent migration policy, Sputnik reported.

The Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration is an "intergovernmental negotiated agreement, prepared under the auspices of the United Nations, [that covers] all dimensions of international migration in a holistic and comprehensive manner".

The pact does not allow any country with sovereign rights to decide whom to accept within its territory. It does not even distinguish between legal and illegal migration.

In a response to the 2015 European migration crisis, all members of the United Nations except for the United States this year in July approved the migration pact, aiming to secure the growing tide of international migration.

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi who is on a three-day official visit to Argentina to attend G20 summit, stated that terrorism and radicalism are a threat to the

Speaking at the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) Leaders' Informal Meeting at the sidelines of G20, Prime Minister Modi asserted that people involved in financial crimes are also a big threat and called on the leaders to work together to curb out black money.

The Prime Minister also noted that BRICS is "an engine of global growth" and the nations have to work together for the greater good.

"We have to talk in one voice for the interest of developing nations in the United Nations and other multilateral organisations. This is the reason we have come together for BRICS," Prime Minister Modi emphasised.

Ministry of External Affairs Official Spokesperson Raveesh Kumar tweeted, "In his first of the many engagements today, PM @narendramodi participated at BRICS Leaders' Informal Meeting on the margins of #G20Summit. Reaffirmed India's commitment to globalisation and reformed multilateralism."

Prime Minister Narendra Modi started off his second day here by taking part in the BRICS Leaders Informal Meeting at the Alvear Palace Hotel.

Leaders of the other BRICS nations - President of Brazil Mechel Temer, President of China Xi Jinping, Russian President Vladimir Putin, the President of South Africa, Cyril Maraphosa also reached Argentina before the session.

Following the meeting, Prime Minister Modi is scheduled to arrive at the Centro Costa Salguero, the G-20 Summit venue for a Leaders Retreat and the Plenary session.

The Prime Minister is one of the leading speakers at the conference's first session titled 'Putting People First', where he will be touching on the issue of women's empowerment.

Prime Minister has a meeting slated with Chinese President Xi for the fourth time after the plenary session, following which he shall be meeting with new President of Chile Sebastian Pinera.

There will be a Russia, India, China (RIC) Informal Summit in the evening, which will be followed by a cultural performance and a leader's dinner. Apart from these, Prime Minister Modi will also participate in the first-ever trilateral meeting between Japan, America, and India.

Prime Minister Modi previously held separate bilateral meetings with the Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and the United Nations (UN) Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres on November 29 (local time) and addressed a 'Yoga for Peace' event.

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Farmers from different corners of the country have started gathering at the Ramlila Maidan on the second day of the two-day protest, demanding debt relief and better Minimum Support Price (MSP) for crops.

Over 1,000 farmers from Tamil Nadu have reached Delhi in the early hours of Friday carrying skulls of their colleagues who had committed suicide. The group threatened to march naked if they are not allowed to go to parliament today.

"We are only demanding MSP for us. Today, we expect that the government will announce the Right of Loans and profitable price to the farmers. If they fail to do so, then we (farmers from Tamil Nadu) will march naked to the Parliament," President of South Indian River Interlinking Agriculturalists Association from Tamil Nadu, Ayyakannu, told ANI.

The rally has been organised by the All India Kisan Sangharsh Coordination Committee (AIKSCC) for two days (29-30 November) against the ongoing rural distress. The committee claims to be an umbrella body of 207 organisations of farmers and agricultural workers.

The farmers have come from Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, and Uttar Pradesh.

During the past couple of months, the country has witnessed a number of protests by farmers. On October 2, the birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, farmers from the neighbouring states of Haryana and Punjab were not allowed to launch a protest in Delhi, which later led to a violent confrontation with the state police at the Delhi border.

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A United Arab Emirates (UAE) company is envisioning laying an underwater rail line between Fujairah and the coastal city of Mumbai in India in the near future.

"This is a concept. We plan to connect Indian city of Mumbai with Fujairah through ultra-speed floating trains. The project aims to boost bilateral trade. There will be an export of oil to India from Fujairah port and import of excess water from Narmada River, north of Mumbai. In addition, other GCC partners can also improve export and import," Abdulla Alshehhi, the founder-owner of the National Advisor Bureau Limited consultancy firm said at the UAE-India Conclave which was recently held in Abu Dhabi.

While the idea is still in its nascent stage, The Khaleej Times quoted Alshehhi as mentioning that the complete railway network would measure less than 2,000 kilometers.

The concept of an underwater rail project connecting the UAE and India comes from the same man who had proposed the UAE Iceberg project, which aims at bringing icebergs from Antarctica to solve the middle-eastern nation's water crisis - A project that is well underway with a pilot phase lined in the third quarter of 2019.

"We will do a feasibility study of the project. This is a concept but a cool project to look at," he lastly said at the conclave.

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United Nations Secretary-General Antonia Guterres thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his commitment to tackling climate change.

"Thank you @narendramodi for your commitment to tackle climate change and for your support for the Paris Agreement. It was a pleasure to see you again. #G20," Guterres tweeted.

The two leaders met on the sidelines of the ongoing G20 summit to discourse on multiple issues including climate change.

Foreign Secretary Gokhale said that the UN Secretary-General specifically acknowledged the fact that India played a very major role in climate change negotiations. He also acknowledged that the Indian Prime Minister had taken a number of concrete steps towards addressing climate change in his own country.

Apart from mentioning the International Solar Alliance (ISA) as one of the major initiatives of India towards climate change, Guterres also recalled the environmental impacts of the Swachh Bharat Mission and other campaigns that he witnessed during his recent visit to India last month.

The UN Secretary-General also sincerely hoped and expected that in the forthcoming meeting on COP24 (United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change), scheduled next week in Poland, India will be playing the role of a good Samaritan and urge various countries to come up with certain solutions which would eventually feed into the climate change summit that Guterres is planning in 2019.

Prime Minister Modi also assured the UN Secretary-General that India would play a positive role in the climate change negotiations as it is a part of the Indian culture and civilisation to preserve the

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Teasing his fans and piquing their curiosity, Bollywood actor Vicky Kaushal revealed the date for the trailer of his much-awaited action-thriller 'Uri'.

Taking to his official Twitter handle, the 'Raazi' actor shared a sneak peek of the movie and announced the 'Uri' trailer date.

"Watch the story behind the surgical strike unfold. #URItrailer out on 5th December. @yamigautam @SirPareshRawal @AdityaDharFilms @RonnieScrewvala @RSVPMovies," he tweeted.

In the video, Vicky can be seen in an Army uniform making his way to the surgical attack venue.

Vicky has been promoting his film and building the anticipation in the audience. He had also posted a video on his social media earlier where he was seen dubbing for the movie.

The teaser of the Aditya Dhar directorial has already been released. With powerful sound effects and spectacular visual effects, the film promises a good cinematic experience.

The 'Lust Stories' star, who plays an army officer in the film, underwent extensive training as the movie requires him to pull off some daredevil stunts.

'Uri' is based on the Indian army's effective Surgical Strikes in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) following the attacks in Jammu and Kashmir's Uri town on September 29, 2016.

The movie, which is being produced by Ronnie Screwvala, also features 'Kaabil' fame Yami Gautam, Paresh Rawal, Kirti Kulhari, and Mohit Raina in pivotal roles. It is slated to hit theatres on January 11 next year.

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Topline Consulting, the insight-driven strategic communications consulting firm, in its 1st Annual Forum ?Empower Women Creations' deliberated on the contribution of women force in the rise of Asian economies in the coming decade.

The panellists reconfirmed the fact as stated by a McKinsey report citing that advancing women's equal participation in the Asia Pacific could add $4.5 trillion to the collective annual GDP by 2025, an increase by 12%. As avenues for entrepreneurship, leadership and learning open up, a higher percentage of women will participate in the mainstream economy.

The power packed panel comprised of the renowned artist and scenographer Padma Bhushan, Shri Rajeev Sethi as the Keynote Speaker. Among the panellists were Dr. Mallika Sarabhai - Padma Bhushan, Classical Dancer and Actress, Ms. Preeti Shroff - Dean MICA, Mr. Jianguo LIANG, internationally rewarded Interior Designer, Ms. Tao JIANG, Internationally Awarded Designer, Ms. Sha WANG, Executive Director, ADCC Life Art Academy, Mr. Nitesh Mohanty, Designer and Ms. Neena Parikh, Director - Uniglobe Perfect Connections. Leading the session was Ms. Yan HAN, chairperson, International Business, Topline Group. Notably, the session had the presence of Dr. Prof. Qingsheng ZHU, President of International Association of Art History (CIHA). He is regarded as an art historian, critic and artist and is also Head of the ?Chinese Modern Art Archive?.

Topline Consulting brought together this event with the Chinese Artist delegation travelling to India for an International Colloquium organised by Comite International d'Histoire de l'Art (CIHA). The session deliberated on advancing women's equality, parity in resources in the countries of Asia and its impact on the economy citing their personal insights.

Yan Han, Chairperson Topline Group said, "Topline Consulting provides a platform to voice and discuss flourishing concepts created by Asian women. It shall give an opportunity to acknowledge and be inspired by their work and further empower their contributions. We understand the criticality of women being the influencers of the current times from a socio-economic-cultural perspective."

Padma Bhushan, Shri Rajeev Sethi, said, "The civilizations and ancient values of our Asian continent has kept women at the centre of creative action. They have always given unrecognised but high value to any enterprise and development. By nature women remain silently empowered, influencing balanced and constructive action. Today we are discussing the pivotal role of women in socio-economic-cultural industries in creative economies."

Representing the Chinese delegation Mr. Jianguo LIANG, global Interior Designer, mentioned, "A lot of inspiration in our work is derived from women. Their overpowering presence has led society to flourish through history and we can visualise their role in the coming decade. There?s going to be a huge contribution to the growth and prosperity with more avenues towards education, skill development, entrepreneurship and wealth creation."

Padma Bhushan, Dr. Mallika Sarabhai commented on the contradictions and dichotomy in the treatment of women in India and in their acceptance in leadership roles. "While a female Prime Minister is accepted without problem, the lower down the ladder one goes, the greater the issues of men accepting women leaders or bosses."

This is the first, in a series of the Annual events under the theme 'Empower' that Topline Consulting - India, will come up with.

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The Delhi High Court on Friday directed former union minister and Telugu Desam Party (TDP) leader YS Chowdary to appear before the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Monday in connection with allegations of money laundering and financial irregularities.

The High Court further said no coercive steps can be taken against him in the case. The direction came after Chowdary approached the Delhi High Court on Friday seeking quashing of summons issued against him by the ED.

The ED had issued summons to Chowdary on November 24 and 27, after the investigative agency raided residential premises of Chowdary. During the raids, the ED seized six high-end cars (Ferrari, Range Rover, Benz), which are allegedly registered in the name of dummy companies. These vehicles were seized under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 (PMLA), the ED had said in a statement.

Chowdary, however, alleged that he was being harassed due to political vendetta by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led Democratic Alliance (NDA) government. Refuting all charges against him, Chowdary had stated that all the companies established by him were "law-abiding and fully complied with all regulations.

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Jharkhand Chief Minister Raghubar Das stated that in the development of the nation the contribution of the villages' poor farmers and workers is a must for the development of state and nation. Speaking at the Global Agriculture and Food Summit-2018, Das said agriculture was the soul of the nation and base of the culture and traditions. Das said that in Jharkhand 60-70% population was agriculture. He said that the state government has sanctioned sufficient funds for the development of agriculture and allied activities and framed a separate food processing policy which is focused on bottling and packaging as food processing was an important link between the farmers and urban customers.

Das said that the picture of the villages did not change in the last 67 years and it was only when Prime Minister Narendra Modi that steps were taken to improve the condition of the farmers and a target was set to double their incomes. He said that Jharkhand was getting the benefit of double engine. He suggested that farmers should try to earn one third of income should come from agriculture another one third from animal husbandry and another one third from horticulture floriculture and solar farming. He said that farmers should do solar farming on barren land and the same would be procured by the state government through grid at Re 3 per unit.

He said that it is priority for the state government to ensure that the farmers are not looted by the middlemen. He said that 28 lakh farmers in the state would be given mobile phones from 2019-21 while in 2019 the premium of crop insurance would be paid by state government like what was done in the year 2018. To the farmers he said that those who would be paying their loans within one year from them zero percent interest would be taken.

The Chief Minister said power would reach in all homes by 2018 and by May 2019 separate feeders would be set for agriculture so that farmers can get power for six hours for agriculture works while separate feeders would be provided for house hold and industrial usages. He said that since the people were living in the era of globalisation therefore the farmers should use modern technology and asked the farmers to focus on dairy production to bring White revolution by 2022 in the state and said that every year 100 farmers would be sent abroad. He also asked the farmers to focus on organic farming as all these steps would lead to doubling the income of the farmers by 2022.

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The Chairman of the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the Liberian Senate Ambassador H. Dan Morais has said "there are much opportunities in Ghana and Liberia that each of the two countries are yet to tap for the benefits of citizens of both countries."



Ambassador Dan Morais made the comment today when he called on the Chairman of the Committee on Foreign Affairs of Ghana's Parliament Hon Frank Annoh-Dompreh at his Office at Parliament House.



Ambassador Morais emphasised the need for ECOWAS member countries to work hard to implement various protocols and initiatives put in place by ECOWAS to promote the speedy development of the member countries.



He said "the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the Liberian Senate and the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Parliament of Ghana will collaborate to strengthen trade between the two countries".



He commended Ghana for its enviable multiparty democracy since 1993.



Hon Frank Annoh-Dompreh described the visit by Ambassador Dan Morais as highly impressive.



He said "trade liberalisation among African countries had been one of the major campaign issues emphasised by past political leaders of the continent. However the volume of trade among African countries still remains minimal which must improve to better the lives of the people," Hon Frank Annoh-Dompreh said.



"The One District/One Factory policy introduced by the government of President Nana Akufo-Addo will require markets outside the country such as Liberia," he added.









Source: Emmanuel Akorl/Parliamentary Correspondent, Peace FM









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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Union Minister of Science & Technology and Earth Sciences, Dr. Harsh Vardhan, called upon the scientific community in India and ASEAN member states to intensify collaborative research in science, technology and innovation to address the economic and societal challenges being faced by the two regions.

Addressing the first India-ASEAN InnoTech Summit, organised by FICCI in association with the Department of Science & Technology (DST) and the Ministry of External Affairs, Dr. Vardhan said, "The time now is for simple solutions for complex problems through innovation. "Under the ASEAN-India Innovation Platform, 400 technologies were ready to be commercialised in ASEAN countries, he said and called upon the scientific community to pool and share technologies through the platform.

India, he said, has a lot to offer to the ASEAN countries. New age technologies were being nurtured at the 38 laboratories of the Council of Scientific & Industrial Research, he said and added that in the global list of 1207 research institutions supported by government funding, India stood at the 9th position. "Our mission is to position India into the big league and be recognised among the top three global leaders in Science & Technology," he said.

DST Secretary, Prof.

Ashutosh Sharma, said that Science and Technology was a new dimension to the strong India-ASEAN cultural bonds and complementary economic and political systems. The need of the hour was to scale up collaborations in nanotechnology, advanced materials and biotechnology, he said.

Prof. Sharma added that the ASEAN-India Innovation Platform (AIIP) was a major element of the enhanced the ASEAN-India S&T Development Fund (AISTDF), which is a part of ASEAN-India Science & Technology Collaboration. The AIIP comprises social innovations, product and processes innovation generated by industry and research innovations from the academia and R&D labs. He called upon innovators in ASEAN countries to explore the numerous opportunities available in India and build partnerships for the common good of the people in the two regions.

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Vodafone Idea lost 3.84% to Rs 36.30 at 12:09 IST on BSE after a rating agency downgraded its rating on the company's non-convertible debentures.

The announcement was made after market hours yesterday, 29 November 2018.

Meanwhile, the S&P BSE Sensex was up 43.03 points, or 0.12% to 36,213.44

On the BSE, 32.54 lakh shares were traded in the counter so far compared with average daily volumes of 40.57 lakh shares in the past two weeks. The stock had hit a high of Rs 37.75 and a low of Rs 36 so far during the day. The stock hit a 52-week high of Rs 118 on 5 January 2018. The stock hit a 52-week low of Rs 32.55 on 8 October 2018.

Vodafone Idea informed that CRISIL has downgraded its rating on Non-Convertible Debentures of Rs 6000 crore and has re-affirmed its rating on CP Programme of Rs 2000 crore of erstwhile Vodafone Mobile Services (VMSL), which has since been migrated to Vodafone Idea (the company) pursuant to amalgamation of VMSL with the company.

The rating of Non-Convertible Debentures has been downgraded to CRISIL A+ (Negative Outlook) from existing CRISIL AA- (Negative Outlook). However, the rating for commercial paper programme has been kept unchanged at CRISIL A1+.

On a consolidated basis, Vodafone Idea reported net loss of Rs 4973.80 crore in Q2 September 2018 as against net loss of Rs 1106.60 crore in Q2 September 2017. Net sales rose 2.48% to Rs 7646.70 crore in Q2 September 2018 over Q2 September 2017.

Vodafone Idea (formerly Idea Cellular) is India's leading telecom service provider. The company provides voice and data services on 2G, 3G and 4G technologies across 22 service areas.

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Two Indian nationals have been arrested in Nepal for possessing a large cache of banned drugs, the police said.

Sabir Ali, 19, and Karan Sahani, 55, of Bihar were arrested along with the controlled pharmaceutical drugs on Thursday night from Thankot village in Nepal during a security check of their car with Indian registration, the Himalayan Times reported on Friday.

A large quantity of diazepam, phenergan and nurofen among other drugs were recovered from a bag found in their car, according to the police.

An investigation has been initiated into the case.

--IANS

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At least five persons including a minor girl were injured in a clash between two groups of locals over seeking passage allegedly through a Waqf Board land in the national capital on Friday, police said.

The incident occurred around 6 p.m when the two groups in Begumpur area of south Delhi indulged in a clash following blocking of a passage used by over 200 families staying in Valmiki Camp. The passage that connects the camp area with the main Malviya Nagar road has a madrasa on its side and a mosque close to it, the police said.

According to Maulana Mohammad Ali Johar, a group of 15-20 local youths staying in Valmiki Camp barged into the mosque and attacked one Mumtaz and his family members with stones.

"Two locals Mahipal and Kakku also pelted stones at Mumtaz's wife, Shabana. When their neighbours Liyaqat Ali and his wife Saroj Khan came to the rescue of Shabana, the attackers also thrashed them. In the melee, Saroj Khan's minor daughter received injuries as well," Johar said.

Deputy Commissioner of Police Vijay Kumar said the injured persons have been admitted to a nearby hospital.

"Apparently, the clash seems to have erupted over the opening of the passage near madrasa for the use of the Valmiki Camp residents," Kumar said.

The victims' family members alleged that Valmiki Camp was set up on the land belonging to Waqf Board. "Locals had encroached upon it and now they also want to encroach the land of both madarsa and mosque," Johar said.

"As per an earlier meeting with DCP Vijay Kumar, we had agreed to give the Valmiki Camp residents an alternative way from the back side of madarsa land. But they don't want to allow us to stay here peacefully. Locals sometimes throw liquor bottles on the roof of mosque and madarsa. When we started constructing a wall on the way, they attacked us," Johar alleged.

In a similar incident, some locals youth had earlier on October 25 this year beaten to death a Muslim youth over the dominance of ground in front of madarsa.

--IANS

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UIDAI CEO Ajay Bhushan Pandey took over as the Revenue Secretary in the Finance Ministry after Hasmukh Adhia retired on Friday.

Pandey said his priority as the Revenue Secretary would be to increase tax compliance, stabilise the implementation of GST, bring transparency and simplification of laws and procedures for better tax administration and ease of business.

"My priority at this point of time would be to help improve the tax-to-GDP ratio in the country by integration of technology into the entire taxation system, and also making the procedures, rules and regulations simpler so that people have a natural incentive to comply to the entire taxation regime," he told reporters here.

He said while a lot of things had been done to simplify the GST regime, more would be on the cards in near future.

"For example, from the three return system, we will be moving towards a single return system within a few months. Similarly, when it comes to returns and other procedures, they will also be completely streamlined. Our aim would be to make the system as simple and as convenient as possible, through use of technology," Pandey said.

Pandey, a 1984-batch IAS officer of Maharashtra cadre with over 34 years of experience in state and Central governments, was welcomed to his new office by the outgoing Finance and Revenue Secretary Hasmukh Adhia.

Pandey would continue to head the Unique Identification authority of India (UIDAI) as its CEO, where he had a remarkable stint of over eight years playing a key role in establishing and steering Aadhaar across the country and drafting the historic Aadhaar legislation.

He would also hold his position as the Chairman of Goods and Services Tax Network (GSTN), the IT arm of the new indirect tax system.

Prior to joining UIDAI in 2010, he played an important role in reforming power distribution system as Managing Director of Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company where he brought down transmission and distribution losses remarkably and helped the state in tiding over massive power shortage, the government said in a statement.

An Electrical Engineering graduate from IIT-Kanpur, he joined the University of Minnesota in 1998 to obtain his MS and PhD in Computer Science and was later awarded Distinguished Leadership Award for Internationals by the university.

--IANS

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Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) president Gobind Singh Longowal returned from Pakistan on Friday amid a controversy over his photograph with pro-Khalistan Gopal Singh Chawla in Pakistan.

Longowal told media after his return that they (SGPC functionaries) were invited by the Pakistan government and offered seats assigned to them.

"I did not know Chawla and don't recognize him," he said, down-playing the controversy over his photograph with Chawla at the ground-breaking ceremony of the Kartarpur Corridor in Pakistan on Nov 28.

Longowal said he will be visiting Pakistan again in January next year to hold discussions with the Pakistan government and Pakistan Sikh Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (PSGPC) in connection with the 550th birth anniversary celebrations of Guru Nanak Dev to be held in November next year.

The birth place of Guru Nanak Dev, Nanakana Sahib, is near Lahore in Pakistan.

Punjab cabinet minister Navjot Singh Sidhu, who returned from Pakistan on Thursday, had also down-played the issue of his photographs with Chawla.

"Everyday, there were at least 10,000 people taking photos with me. I don't know who is Chawla and Cheema," Sidhu had claimed.

Chawla, who lives in Pakistan, is known for his pro-Khalistan rant and activities. He has been photographed earlier with terrorist Hafiz Saeed.

Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan did the ground breaking ceremony of the Kartarpur Corridor, which will allow people from India to have visa-free access to Kartarpur Sahib gurdwara, on Wednesday.

It was at the Kartarpur gurdwara, which is located around 2km from the India-Pakistan border and is situated right opposite the border belt in Dera Baba Nanak in Indian's Punjab's Gurdaspur district, that Sikhism founder, Guru Nanak Dev (1469-1539), spent 18 years of his life till he died in 1539.

The gurdwara, which fell in Pakistan territory following the Partition of India in August 1947, has big significance in Sikh religion and history.

Even since Partition, Sikhs have been offering prayers near the international border while watching the gurdwara from a distance.

--IANS

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A Colonel posted in Uttarakhand was seriously injured after an attack from a bear in the Joshimath region, officials said on Friday.

After being initially treated at the local medical facility, he was airlifted to the military hospital in Delhi, the official said.

Colonel D.K. Acharya was attacked in the residential quarters late on Thursday night when he was passing by. When he raised alarm, Armymen on sentry duty rushed to his rescue after which the bear ran away in the wilderness.

He has sustained serious injuries, sources said. A forest official of the neighbouring Nanda Devi national park, T.S. Sai, said a team is combing the thickets nearby and that patrolling has been increased in the area.

--IANS

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English Premier League club Arsenal routed Vorskla Poltava 3-0 to remain undefeated in its 2018-2019 Europa League campaign and clinch the first place in Group E.

The London team, which had already secured a berth in the knockout stage of Europe's second-tier club competition and fielded several members of its UEFA reserve squad, opened the scoring at NSC Olimpiyskiy Stadium on Thursday with a goal by Emile Smith-Rowe in the 10th minute, reports Efe news.

That score was set up by a give-and-go involving Welsh midfielder Aaron Ramsey and a tenacious Eddie Nketiah. A Vorskla defender's attempt to clear the ball out of the area sent it straight to Smith-Rowe, who finished from close range.

Ramsey then doubled the Gunners' lead at the 27-minute mark when he converted a penalty attempt, while Joe Willock made it 3-0 four minutes before first-half stoppage time with a strike from just outside the penalty box past net minder Bohdan Shust.

Arsenal (13 points) is three points clear of second-placed Sporting Lisbon in Group E with one round-robin match remaining on Dec. 13, although the London club has already clinched the first place based on points in its two head-to-head matches against the Portuguese-league side.

With their latest win, the Gunners now are on an 18-game unbeaten streak across all competitions dating back to late August.

--IANS

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Thousands of Australian school students skipped school on Friday to stage mass protests across the country to urged for greater action on climate change.

"School Strike 4 Climate Action" protests are being held in every state capital and 20 regional towns, the BBC reported.

The protests come after Prime Minister Scott Morrison on Monday rebuked the students' plans for "activism" during school hours and insisted his government was tackling climate change.

Many students said his remarks had bolstered their resolve to protest.

"We will be the ones suffering the consequences of the decisions they [politicians] make today," protester Jagveer Singh, 17, told the BBC.

Organisers said the students were inspired by Greta Thunberg, a 15-year-old girl in Sweden who has undertaken similar protests.

Australia has committed to reducing its emissions by 26-28 per cent on 2005 levels by 2030, under the Paris climate agreement.

Earlier this week, the UN said that Australia and many other nations were falling short of their emission commitments.

--IANS

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The Bihar Assembly was adjourned till 2 p.m. on Friday soon after the proceedings started following disruptions caused by opposition members demanding that the Speaker accept their adjournment motion.

Members from the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), Congress and Hindustani Awam Morcha (HAM) staged a protest after Speaker Vijay Choudhary rejected their adjournment motion.

Friday is the last day of the five-day Winter Session where the second supplementary budget of 2018-19 was presented. The session began on Monday.

RJD legislator Bhai Virendar said that the absence of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar from the House was a serious issue and it exposed his double standards.

Former Chief Minister Rabri Devi, who is a member of the Legislative Council, said that the RJD would not allow the Assembly proceedings unless "the issue of misuse of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to falsely frame Lalu Prasad was discussed in the House".

Bihar Parliamentary Affairs Minister Shravan Kumar said that the opposition members were running away from discussions by disrupting the Assembly proceedings for the last four days.

--IANS

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The ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) has described as 'untrue' comment that they charged GHC500,000 as filing fees for flagbearer aspirants some years ago.



The General Secretary of the opposition, National Democratic Congress (NDC) in a way to defend his party's decision to charge each presidential aspirant GHC400,000 as filing fees, said no one can describe the amount as outrageous especially when the NPP also collected GHC500,000 some time ago.



However, a statement signed by Richard Asante Yeboah, Deputy National Communications Director of the NPP said: "never in the history of the NPP has anything close to that amount been charged for primaries or any of our internal elections".



"The statement by the NDCs General Secretary, Aseidu Nketia, that the NPP charged 500,000 from flagbearer aspirants some four years ago is untrue and typical of the deliberate lies and propaganda approach of the NDC whenever they want to cover up an unacceptable deed.



According to him, "GHC420,000 for filing fees is unacceptable and can only mean a blatant attempt to skew the primary in favour of a particular person".



Per the statement, "it should be noted that on June 6th, 2014, towards the preparations for the last presidential primaries, the Nomination Fee, approved by the National Council, was Ten Thousand Ghana Cedis (GHS10,000.00) and the Filing Fee was Seventy-Five Thousand Ghana Cedis (GHS75,000.00). A statement to that effect, signed by the then General Secretary, is available anywhere as a public document".



"We challenge the NDCs General Secretary to prove this allegation or retract and apologise to the NPP and Ghanaians for attempting to justify and rationalize what is obviously an obnoxious way of monetizing internal contest and eliminating other contestants. Asiedu Nketia should also concentrate on how to rebuild his party to become the respectable opposition our democracy craves for".



The statement further indicated that "this hefty GHC420,000 demonstrates the need to be vigilant about the previous administrations financial activities and its impact on the national treasury".

Source: Peacefmonline.com









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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Accusing the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of "weaponising fear", the Congress on Friday said liberty under the Narendra Modi regime has got significantly eroded with people of all classes living in fear.

Participating in an interactive programme "Is India Being Redefined" here, former Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram claimed people in the country were apprehensive of talking over phones fearing they might be tapped.

"People are afraid of talking over phone, everyone fears that their phone has been or could be tapped. Liberty has been eroded significantly in the country," he said.

Lamenting that anti-government stories were not carried by the media, Chidambaram said that "dozens of media persons cited fear of job loss and danger to their family" for not carrying stories against the BJP or the Modi regime.

"Which are the four-year period when editors are sacked, news anchors are pulled out, interviews are blacked out at the last minute? When editorials in online edition disappear from print edition?

"Fear is being instilled in everyone... Dalits living in fear, minorities, women, academics, all are living in fear. When private citizens are living in fear, then we are way down and it will take huge efforts to rescue the country. Which mind is without fear today?" he said.

Speaking on the occasion, senior Congress leader Manish Tewari said anyone raising their voice against the establishment was a target.

"If you question the BJP, you are anti-national, if you question the government, you are seditious, and if you question the establishment, you are downright treacherous.

"They have weaponised fear, and when you do that it becomes easy to intimidate and change the narrative and impose your idea on the people," said the former Union Minister.

Party leader Kapil Sibal said even businessmen were living under apprehension and leaving the country out of fear.

--IANS

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Robert Bosch Engineering and Business Solutions Ltd on Friday unveiled an intelligent platform called 'Phantom' to enable Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) migrate to Industry 4.0 version.

"The Phantom platform makes SMEs use advanced data analytics, machine learning and automation for switching over to Industry 4.0 version," said the subsidiary of German industrial behemoth Bosch GmbH at a tech event here.

The platform supports SMEs to draw digital roadmaps for manufacturing plants, machine intelligence and energy analytics.

"Phantom improves the efficiency of the SMEs with a retrofit solution installed in a machine, gathers production patterns and provides insights on its usage, benchmarks, trends, losses and best practices," said company Vice President K. Swaminathan at its preview at the Bengaluru Tech Summit.

The platform also provides inputs on safety, machine maintenance and early warnings on malfunctions.

"Each entrepreneur will have a dedicated portal to catalogue his journey, knowledge and his position in the industry through the platform benchmarks," said Swaminathan.

The digital solution provides consulting and advisory support for SMEs to be on par with industry practices, access frameworks, methodologies, processes and tools.

"Phantom will help SMEs jump start their digital transformation. Our vision is to provide smart solutions to the SMEs," company Managing Director Vijay Ratnaparkhe said.

As an ecosystem on the cloud and on-premise for manufacturing efficiency, real-time alerts and notifications for actionable insights, the platform's portal and dashboard offers visibility of factory operations, worker productivity and machine effectiveness.

"Phantom automates data capture and provides timely, bias-free, accurate data that form the basis for managers to set targets, track performance, analyse and improve on a continuous basis," said Ratnaparkhe.

Terming the platform that lasts for a product lifecycle, company's digital labs head Uday Prabhu said the benefits of the Industry 4.0 version would be realised after a seamless integration of the value stream, including partners such as suppliers and logistics providers.

"SMEs can get on the platform and pace their shift to Industry 4.0 and strive for global competitiveness in cost and quality," said company Vice President Dattatri Salagame.

The platform has been designed for multiple industries to go digital through customised advisory sessions, consulting workshops and a content rich portal.

As a global supplier of technology and services, Bosch offers engineering, IT and business solutions to diverse industrial verticals.

With 19,500 techies, the Indian arm is the largest software development centre of Bosch outside Germany, with a global footprint and presence in the US, Europe and the Asia-Pacific region.

--IANS

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The BRICS leaders on Friday vowed to strengthen multilateralism and promote a fair and equitable international order and called for "concerted efforts" to counter terrorism.

Meeting on the sidelines of the G-20 summit here, the leaders of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa called for opposing unilateral and protectionist trade measures which run contrary to the "spirit and rules of the WTO (World Trade Organisation)".

In a joint statement after the meet, the BRICS leaders said: "We reiterate our commitment to working together to strengthen multi-lateralism and promote a fair, just, equitable, democratic and representative international order."

Deploring the continued terrorist attacks, including against some BRICS countries, they said that they condemn terrorism in "all forms and manifestations, wherever committed and by whomsoever".

"We urge concerted efforts to counter terrorism under the UN auspices on a firm international legal basis. We call upon all nations to adopt a comprehensive approach in combating terrorism, including all the elements identified in the Johannesburg Declaration," the joint statement said.

The leaders reaffirmed their "full support" for the "rules-based multilateral trading system as embodied in the WTO" to ensure transparent, non-discriminatory, open and inclusive international trade.

"The spirit and rules of the WTO run counter to unilateral and protectionist measures. We call on all members to oppose such WTO inconsistent measures, stand by their commitments undertaken in the WTO and roll back such measures of a discriminatory and restrictive nature," the statement read.

To enhance the relevance and effectiveness of the WTO, the BRICS leaders underlined that a new and improved WTO, while preserving its core value and fundamental principles, should reflect interests of all members, in particular those of the developing nations.

They also demanded the Appellate Body selection process be initiated immediately as an "essential prerequisite" for the stable and effective functioning of the WTO's dispute settlement system.

"We advocate a strong global financial safety net with an adequately resourced, quota-based International Monetary Fund (IMF) at its centre.

For combating the climate change, the leaders once again committed to fully implementing the Paris Agreement adopted under the principles of the UNFCCC and urged the developed countries to provide financial, technological and capacity-building support to developing countries to enhance their capability in mitigation and adaptation.

--IANS

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Chinese Foreign Ministry on Friday denounced a US warship sailing in the South China Sea earlier this week and said it undermined the country's sovereignty.

"The incursion violated Chinese laws as well as international laws, infringed China's sovereignty and undermined the peace, stability and order of the relevant water space," the Ministry's spokesperson Geng Shuang said at a press conference in Beijing.

"We oppose such actions and urge the US to stop such actions that undermine China's sovereignty and security interests," he was cited as saying by Efe news.

On Thursday, the US Pacific Fleet confirmed that guided-missile cruiser USS Chancellorsville had sailed near the Paracel Islands during a freedom of navigation operation on Monday.

China has disputes with other Asian countries over the sovereignty of several islands in the South China Sea, including parts of the Spratly archipelago (Nansha in Chinese) and the Paracel Islands (which China calls Xisha).

--IANS

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Terming the opposition's efforts to forge a grand alliance ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha polls as a failure, Union Minister Arun Jaitley on Friday slammed the Congress, saying it can only be the "tail" of any alliance, but never the "nucleus".

"India is not going to experiment with a failed idea for the fifth time. The mahagathbandhan (grand alliance) is a momentary idea that collapses.

"A coalition of political rivals will take India backward. Voters will think why commit suicide with an alliance of this kind," he told India Today in an interview.

He said the proposed grand alliance is bound to be a failure as it lacks a central figure.

"There is no nucleus for the mahagathbandhan," he said.

Asked about whether Rahul Gandhi can emerge as the face of such an alliance, Jaitley said: "The tail of an alliance cannot be its nucleus."

He said that leaders of the alliance want the Congress to support them and not the other way round.

"In mahagathbandhan, who will use whom and who will trip over whom is not clear," the senior BJP leader said.

Describing the opposition's efforts as a "failed idea", he said the people of the country would not support a coalition.

"The alliance is essentially a collection of ambitious leaders who have no support base," he said.

A meeting of the opposition parties to strategise against the BJP in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections in 2019, is likely to take place once the five states' Assembly elections are over and before the winter session of Parliament commences.

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu, whose Telugu Desam Party was earlier an ally of the Bharatiya Janata Party, has met a spectrum of leaders, including Congress President Rahul Gandhi, Nationalist Congress Party's Sharad Pawar, DMK's M.K. Stalin, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, National Conference' Farooq Abdullah, former Prime Minister and Janata Dal-Secular supremo H.D. Deve Gowda and Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati to forge a front against the BJP.

--IANS

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Dejected by a break-up in their engagement, a boy and his fiancee allegedly consumed celphos pesticide, police said on Friday, adding the girl has died while the boy's condition is critical.

The girl was identified as Pooja (20), a Delhi resident and the boy, Subodh Kant, from Ghaziabad.

The police said it received a call from Hotel Subham at Railway Road that a couple who had checked in on Thursday had been found unconscious. An empty bottle of poisonous pesticide was found near them.

When the police rushed the couple to the government-run MMG Hospital, doctors declared the girl dead. The doctors confirmed that she had consumed celphos, police added.

The condition of the boy was stated to be very critical and his parents have taken him to a hospital in Delhi, said Superintendent of Police City, Shlok Kumar.

The girl's father Yudhbir Singh said Pooja and Subodh were engaged last month. Their wedding was being finalized, but in the meantime, the family of the boy decided to break the engagement, Singh said.

Subodh was apparently disappointed with his family's decision. On Wednesday he took Pooja out, but didn't return, police said.

Pooja's father has alleged that Subodh's family was demanding dowry due to which the couple was disappointed.

"A case has been registered in the Kotwali police station. We are waiting for the boy to recover so that his statement can be recorded," said the SP.

--IANS

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With farmers "regularly committing suicide" and jobless youth taking their lives, an unprecedented agrarian crisis and unemployment are the two biggest issues that will power the Congress to dethrone the Vasundhara Raje led-Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in Rajasthan, asserts Congress leader Rameshwar Lal Dudi.

Confident of the Congress coming to power in the state with an absolute majority, the Leader of Opposition in the Rajasthan Assembly squarely blames the Raje government for the acute agrarian crisis in the state that has led to over 350 farmers taking their lives since 2013.

"Once known for its agricultural prosperity, Rajasthan is now infamous for farmers committing suicide on a daily basis. For the first time, Rajasthan is witnessing farm suicides. Thousands of farmers are reeling under debt because this government's sole focus has been corruption," Dudi told IANS in an interview.

"From Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Chief Minister Raje, the BJP keeps singing its tune of giving MSP (minimum support price) for various crops and crop insurance. But the reality is they are pushing the farmers to the brink and covering up their suicides," he said, claiming "over 350 farmers and agricultural labourers have taken their lives since the Raje government came to power in 2013.

Vying to retain Nokha constituency in Bikaner district, farmer distress and unemployment are the focal points of his campaign. Known for his image of a leader fighting for farmers' rights, Dudi, a former MP, is pitted against BJP's Biharilal Bishnoi, who had unsuccessfully contested from Nokha in 2013 as an independent.

"One can imagine the state of the economy when youth are killing themselves because they can't find a job," he said referring to four unemployed young men flinging themselves before a train in Alwar earlier in the month.

Led by party president Rahul Gandhi and supplemented by former Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot and former Union minister Sachin Pilot, both chief ministerial aspirants, the Congress' campaign has revolved around bashing the BJP over the agricultural crisis and corruption.

Besides promising farm loan waiver within 10 days of coming to power, the Congress has also assured pension for farmers, bringing agricultural equipment out of the GST purview and creating sufficient employment opportunities for the youth.

While it is confident of riding on the "huge anti-incumbency factor", the Congress is engaged in fighting its own demons, particularly the internal feud over ticket distribution that has led to disgruntled leaders contesting as independents.

Dudi had himself led a fight over tickets after Kanhaiyalal Jhanwar was replaced in Bikaner East constituency. Jhanwar was renominated from the seat following threats by Dudi of not contesting the polls.

Incidentally Dudi in 2013 had won the Nokha seat defeating Jhanwar, who had contested as an independent.

Earlier, the Rajasthan Congress suspended party leader Spardha Chaudhary after she accused the state party chief Sachin Pilot of "taking money" for ticket distribution.

Denied a ticket to contest from Phulera, Chaudhary and her supporters had also demonstrated outside Gandhi's residence in the national capital, prompting the party to suspend her for six years.

The war over tickets witnessed the party expelling over two dozens leaders including former Union minister Mahadev Singh Khandela and ex-state minister Babulal Nagar, both of whom are now contesting as independents.

Even as he asserted that "all was well" within party and there was no infighting, Dudi conceded the rebels contesting as independents was a matter of concern.

"It is a fact that their contesting will result in division of votes, the party leadership has taken the matter seriously," he said.

The Congress infighting has also given the ruling BJP much-needed ammunition. Campaigning in the state, BJP president Amit Shah had ridiculed the Congress, saying the "party which couldn't keep its house in order is dreaming of ruling Rajasthan".

Another contentious issue for the Congress is multiple contenders for the chief ministerial post. While Gehlot and Pilot are being seen as the top two claimants, Gehlot added further fuel to speculations saying there were multiple faces for the hot seat, including Dudi and former Union ministers Lal Chand Kataria and C.P. Joshi.

Preferring to remain evasive about his chief ministerial aspirations, Dudi asserted there was no contest over the post and whoever the Congress high-command decides as the chief minister will be acceptable to one and all.

The 200-member Rajasthan Assembly goes to the polls on December 7. The results, along with that of Chhattisgarh, Mizoram, Madhya Pradesh and Telangana, will be declared on December 11.

(Anurag Dey can be contacted at anurag.d@ians.in <mailto:anurag.d@ians.in>)

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Thousands of farmers from across the country on Friday marched from Ramlila Maidan to Parliament Street in the heart of the capital seeking loan waiver and higher crop prices and warning political parties not to ignore farmers' plight.

Men and women marched under various banners and with flags and placards in the massive show of strength organised by the All India Kisan Sangharsh Coordination Committee (AIKSCC), which was allowed by police to go up to Parliament Street after an initial 'no'.

Most of the marchers shouted slogans against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his BJP-led government, alleging that it had failed them.

A plethora of opposition leaders and farm activists addressed the gathering on Parliament Street, a traditional venue for protest meetings.

Swabhimani Shetkari Sanghtana leader and MP Raju Shetti demanded a special session of Parliament to pass two private member Bills he introduced in the Lok Sabha in 2017, seeking a loan waiver and a guaranteed remunerative prices for agricultural commodities based on the recommendations of the M.S. Swaminathan Commission.

"If Modi continues with his anti-farmer policies, he will not come to power in 2019," Shetti warned.

Rajendra Prasad, a farmer from Lakhimpur Kheri in Uttar Pradesh, said he and fellow farmers would vote only for political parties which cancel farm loans and give increased minimum support price (MSP).

"I find the input cost is more than the remuneration received for what I produce. And the loan waiver scheme by (the) Yogi (Adityanath) government is a farce," he said. "Modi is not my enemy. But he has not fulfilled the promises he made to farmers."

A farmer from Unnao in Uttar Pradesh, Ashutosh Choudhary said the government should be concerned more about farmers' welfare than building a Ram temple in Ayodhya.

"What will we do with the Mandir if we do not have resources to survive? If good income is ensured to farmers, they themselves will build the temple. But for now, farmers' issues should be given priority," he said.

Social activist Medha Patkar led the protest march. The AIKSCC said it had invited Modi to join the protest too.

Addressing the farmers, Yogendra Yadav of Swaraj India said the congregation was not here to just protest but had emerged as an alternative to existing policies.

The Friday rally is the fourth major farmers' protest held by the AIKSCC, which represents over 200 farm outfits.

On Thursday, several groups of farmers held 'Chalo Dilli' marches from various places in the capital under the banner of AIKSCC.

Many young women whose farmer fathers committed suicide carried the pictures of the dead around the neck as they marched.

--IANS

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Owing to a significant societal gender discrimination, women CEOs are much more likely than male CEOs to be fired, even if they perform well, according to the researchers including one of an Indian origin.

The study showed that female CEOs are about 45 per cent more vulnerable than male CEOs to be dismissed from their respective firms.

In addition, while performance improvements protect male CEOs from dismissal, they do not protect female CEOs.

"Dismissing the CEO is usually viewed as evidence of good corporate governance as it suggests that the board is taking its monitoring role seriously," said Sandra Mortal, Associate Professor from the University of Alabama in the US.

However, findings, published in the Journal of Management, showed that there are invisible but serious gender biases in how the board evaluates CEOs and its decision to retain or fire particular CEOs.

"The results of this study point to the extra pressure and scrutiny directed at women in senior leadership positions relative to their male counterparts," added Vishal K Gupta, Associate Professor from the varsity.

This is problematic because women face difficult barriers and obstacles in breaking through the proverbial glass ceiling, but they also seem to continue to face additional challenges even after reaching the top of the corporate hierarchy, Gupta said.

Importantly, the research started because consulting companies, along with the popular and business press, have raised concerns about the higher incidence of dismissals among women CEOs compared to men.

The team wanted to determine through rigorous statistical research and cutting-edge econometrics tools if dismissals are more common among women CEOs, Gupta noted.

--IANS

pb/rt/nir

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Karnataka Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy has requested his Goa counterpart Manohar Parrikar to lift the blanket ban on fish import, claiming that the crackdown has caused "huge losses" to the fishermen from the southern state.

In a letter, Kumaraswamy said: "I request you to kindly permit transportation and trading activities of fish between the two states and the ban order issued by the state of Goa may be kept on hold till we comply with FDA regulation.

"It is requested that this blanket ban may be withdrawn... Karnataka will ensure that the fish traders comply with the FDA regulations and obtain a certificate after meeting the required standards."

The letter, which was received by Parrikar's office on Thursday, also said fisherfolk from three coastal districts in Karnataka -- Uttara Kannada, Dakshina Kannada, Udupi -- who harvest a catch of nearly 4.10 lakh tonne every year, were now facing huge losses on account of the ban.

"The fishermen have been taken by surprise by the sudden ban on fish trade to the state of Goa. This has resulted in huge losses by the coastal fishermen and lot of unrest among the fishermen community."

The controversy involving use of formalin in fish erupted in July after a Food and Drugs Administration team found traces of the carcinogenic cadaver preservative in fish sold in Goa.

The BJP-led coalition government has been on the back-foot ever since, after several of its ministers were accused of allegedly protecting fish traders who were reportedly importing formalin-laced fish consignments into Goa from Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka.

Under public pressure to crackdown on the "fish mafia", Goa on November 12 banned the import of fish from traders who were unregistered with the state's FDA.

The ban has also hiked prices of fish in Goa.

--IANS

maya/ksk/sed

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
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LOS REVOLUCIONARIOS NO TOMAN CACA-COLA No se trata solamente de un capricho, sino de una sana actitud en todos los sentidos. Desde la solidaridad con el pueblo colombiano donde la empresa Caca-Cola ha cometido los mas grandes abusos contra sus trabajadores incluyendo el presunto secuestro y asesinato de los dirigentes del sindicato, hasta la proteccion de la salud de nuestros hijos, enviciados por ese jarabe de cola y azucar, que les produce obesidad prematura. Pensemos tambien los revolucionarios, que ese dinero que gastamos en los refrescos es utilizado por esas empresas para financiar el terrorismo en nuestro pais. Es cierto, no se trata solo de la Caca-Cola, sino tambien de la cerveza, de los cigarrillos y todos esos articulos innecesarios y mas que eso, daninos para nuestra salud. Podriamos incluso pensar en un dia de parada para cada uno de ellos. Es cuestion de irnos organizando. Pero para empezar, que tal si dejamos de comprar Caca-Cola y sus similares?



























Cuando lo extraordinario se vuelve cotidiano...



Discurso del Acto de Grado en Barinas en 12 de Febrero del 2005 Queridos Graduandos:



Mas que un discurso, quiero dirigirles algunas palabras que escribi anoche, despues de visitar en las clinicas, a los estudiantes heridos, a consecuencia de los enfrentamientos con la policia de hace apenas dos dias.



Me ha tocado por razones del destino, ser la persona que les otorgue el titulo que bien merecieron con sus estudios. Y me siento sumamente orgulloso de serlo. Me consta que la Universidad de Los Llanos Occidentales Ezequiel Zamora, a pesar de lo dicho por los enemigos de esta universidad, es una universidad de primera.



No tendremos la mejor planta fisica, en los salones hace calor. En el comedor hace calor. Pero no es en lo material que las cosas deben valorarse. El mayor capital es el ser humano. Y en eso, nuestra UNELLEZ, lo digo con conocimiento de causa, esta sobrada. Los llaneros venezolanos son nobles, valientes, de coraje.



En la UNELLEZ hacen vida, en este momento, aproximadamente 67000 personas. El 97% de ellas son estudiantes. Jovenes que, como Ustedes hasta el dia de hoy, buscan ese titulo, que constata los anos de dedicacion y de estudio.



Los jovenes son el rio de la vida, ustedes graduados deben ser los capitanes de esos barcos que naveguen por el rio de la vida.



Nuestra Patria atraviesa momentos muy dificiles porque decidio dejar de ser esa matrona de edad vetusta y complaciente, para ser joven, rebelde y altanera. Nuestra imagen ya no es la de una acaudalada ricachona mayamera. En nuestro rostro brilla ahora la sonrisa del Che Guevara, con su diente delantero torcido, su pelo largo y su boina con la estrella.



Entender esto, a mi me ha tomado practicamente toda la vida. Tengo 53 anos, y ya perdi mi oportunidad de derramar sangre joven a causa de un ideal.



Ustedes son jovenes, estan en la flor de la vida. No cometan por favor el error de renunciar a su instinto de rebelion. El Che Guevara fue Ministro de a Economia en Cuba. Los billetes y las monedas se adornaban con su rostro. Nada de eso le importo. Primero fue a Angola donde paso un penoso ano de combate. Despues se fue a Bolivia, donde encontro la muerte. El Che era el ultimo que comia, el que cargaba la mochila mas pesada. Siempre se sacrificaba por los demas en un estoicismo que mas parecia fervor religioso que ideologia marxista.



Si quieren un modelo de vida. Ahi lo tienen.



Dije hace unos momentos que el 97% de la poblacion de la UNELLEZ es estudiante. Se imaginan Ustedes la Universidad que podriamos tener si todos los estudiantes tuvieran la abnegacion, la combatividad del Che?



Los momentos que se avecinan van a requerir de una gran unidad del pueblo venezolano. La alternativa de continuar siendo libres o regresar a la pobreza se nos planteara en los proximos dias de forma enmascarada, o quizas peor, desenmascarada, vestida con uniforme de soldado del Imperio.



Por nuestra parte podemos esperar lo mejor. La macroeconomia no podria ir mejor, la justicia social ha mejorado notablemente. Las misiones ocupan un papel muy importante en el pago de dicha justicia social. Aqui en Barinas ya hemos cumplido con dos de las misiones, la mision Robinson y la mision Sucre. No hay analfabetismo y no hay exclusion en la educacion superior, en estas tierras de Zamora.



Pero ay malhaya! Son precisamente estos exitos los que nos hacen mas antipaticos al Imperio. Para ellos, somos inclusive un mal ejemplo que se esta contagiando al resto del continente y cuidado sino al resto del mundo.



Nunca venceremos al Imperio. Estara siempre ahi, acechando. Por lo menos hasta que el mismo no se autodestruya. Porque, sepanlo senores, el neoliberalismo es canibal. Cuando le ataque el hambre, se devorara a si mismo.



Ustedes, queridos graduandos, a partir de hoy pasan a conformar la elite profesional que debe sostener este pais en los proximos cuarenta o cincuenta anos. Anos decisivos para el logro de nuestra libertad y del rescate de nuestra Soberania.



No se dejen comprar. No se dejen corromper. No se dejen gritar. No se dejen pisar. Que nadie les diga que comer, o que vestirse, o que leer. Sean siempre autenticos, rebeldes, contestatarios. Pero eso si, profundamente patriotas, dignos de ser hijos de Bolivar.



Muchas gracias y que Dios los bendiga.





Alguna duda?



Medio siglo de Holocausto Palestino



Oscar Zanartu Nacio en Caracas en 1960. Ha realizado exposiciones individuales en las galerias Minotauro, Clave y San Francisco, y en salas de Coro, estado Falcon, y Puerto Ordaz, estado Bolivar. En Paris su obra ha sido exhibida en el Centro Cultural Tanagra, en la Exposicion Cite Internationale des Arts, en las galerias De Mars y Arver Space, al igual que en la Galeria Municipal Levallois, en Levallois Perret (Francia). En muestras colectivas, su obra se ha expuesto en Belgica, Francia, Estados Unidos y Venezuela; en Caracas intervino en la exposicion "Del genesis a la memoria", 1995, organizada por la Fundacion La Previsora. En 1982 obtuvo el Premio Nacional Critven y en 1990 la Mencion de Honor Jose Antonio Paez, en la Embajada de Venezuela en Paris. En 1991 se le concedio el primer premio de Pintura Itinerante, en Levallois Perret, Francia.



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Autoretrato



Sabes lo que bebes en una Coca-Cola?

La formula de la Pepsi tiene una diferencia basica con la de la Coca-Cola y es intencional, para evitar el proceso judicial. La diferencia es a proposito, pero suficientemente parecida como para atraer a los consumidores de Coca-Cola que prefieren un gusto diferente con menos sal y azucar.

Mi profesion?

Tuve que aprender quimica, entender todo sobre componentes de gaseosas, conservantes, sales, acidos, cafeina, enlatado, produccion, permisos, aprobaciones y muchas otras cosas. Monte mi propio mini-laboratorio de analisis de productos.

Sal en la Coca Cola?

A patadas. El Cloruro de Sodio no solo refresca sino da mas sed, como para pedir otra gaseosa. Y no resulta desagradable porque la sal mata literalmente la sensibilidad al dulce... del que por cierto tambien tiene mucho: 39 gramos de azucar.

De los 350 gramos de producto liquido, mas del 10% es azucar, o sea que en una lata de Coca-Cola mas de un centimetro y medio es puro azucar en polvo. Aproximadamente tres cucharadas soperas llenas de azucar por lata!!La formula de la Coca Cola es muy sencilla:

Concentrado de azucar quemado caramelo- para dar color oscuro y gusto

Acido fosforito (para darle el sabor acido)

azucar (HFCS-jarabe de maiz de alta fructosa)

Extracto de hojas de la planta de Coca (Africa e India) y otros pocos aromatizantes naturales de otras plantas

Mucha Cafeina

Conservante que puede ser Benzoato de Sodio o Potasio

Dioxido de Carbono en cantidad para sentir freir la lengua cuando se bebe

Sal para dar la sensacion de refrigeracion

El uso del acido fosforito y no del acido citrico como en todas las demas gaseosas, es para dar la sensacion de dientes y boca limpia al beber. El acido fosforito literalmente frie todo y dana el esmalte de los dientes, cosa que el acido citrico lo hace en menor grado.Trate de comprar acido fosforito para ver las mil recomendaciones de seguridad que te dan para su manipulacion (quema el cristalino del ojo, quema la piel, etc...). Esta prohibido usar el acido fosforito en cualquier otra gaseosa; solo la Coca Cola tiene permiso. Porque claro, sin el acido fosforico, la Coca Cola sabria a jabon.El extracto de coca y otras hojas casi no cambia en nada el sabor. Es mas bien un efecto cosmetico. El extracto forma parte de la Coca-Cola porque legalmente tiene que ser asi. Pero sin el, no se nota ninguna diferencia en el gusto, que esta dado basicamente por las cantidades diferentes de azucar, azucar quemada, sales, acidos y conservantes.Sabor a que...? ja, ja, ja.

Aqui en Bartow, sur de Orlando, hay una empresa quimica que produce aromatizantes y esencias para zumos. Envian diariamente camionadas de sales concentradas y esencias para las fabricas de helados, gaseosas, jugos, enlatados y comida colorida y aromatizada.Cuando visite por primera vez la fabrica, pedi ver el deposito de concentrados de frutas, que deberia ser inmenso, especialmente los de naranja, pina, fresa y tantos otros. El encargado me miro, se rio y me llevo a visitar los depositos inmensos... pero de colorantes y componentes quimicos.

Las gaseosa de naranja no contiene naranja.

En los zumos dizque de fresa, hasta los puntitos que quedan en suspension estan hechos de goma (una liga quimica que envuelve un semi-polimero).

Pina, es un popurri de acidos y goma.

La esencia para helado de aguacate usa peroxido de hidrogeno (agua oxigenada) para dar la sensacion espumosa tipica del aguacate.

Bebidas Light?

Quieres saber la cantidad de basura que tiene un refresco 'light'? Yo ni siquiera los uso para destapar mi lavaplatos pues temo que danen los tubos de PVC. Los productos endulzantes 'ligth' tienen una vida media muy corta. Por ejemplo el

Despues de toda mi experiencia con la produccion de bebidas embasadas, puedo afirmar sin dudar un segundo: la mejor bebida es el agua, como tambien los jugos exprimidos de naranja o limon. Nada mas, cero azucar y cero sal.



Publicado por loretahur



En realidad, la formula secreta de la Coca-Cola se puede detallar en 18 segundos en cualquier espectrometro optico, y basicamente la conocen hasta los perros. Lo que ocurre es que no se puede fabricar igual, a no ser que uno disponga de unos cuantos millones de dolares para ganarle la demanda que te metera la Coca-Cola ante la justicia (ellos no perderian).La formula de la Pepsi tiene una diferencia basica con la de la Coca-Cola y es intencional, para evitar el proceso judicial. La diferencia es a proposito, pero suficientemente parecida como para atraer a los consumidores de Coca-Cola que prefieren un gusto diferente con menos sal y azucar.Tuve que aprender quimica, entender todo sobre componentes de gaseosas, conservantes, sales, acidos, cafeina, enlatado, produccion, permisos, aprobaciones y muchas otras cosas. Monte mi propio mini-laboratorio de analisis de productos.A patadas. El Cloruro de Sodio no solo refresca sino da mas sed, como para pedir otra gaseosa. Y no resulta desagradable porque la sal mata literalmente la sensibilidad al dulce... del que por cierto tambien tiene mucho: 39 gramos de azucar.De los 350 gramos de producto liquido, mas del 10% es azucar, o sea que en una lata de Coca-Cola mas de un centimetro y medio es puro azucar en polvo. Aproximadamente tres cucharadas soperas llenas de azucar por lata!!La formula de la Coca Cola es muy sencilla:Concentrado de azucar quemado caramelo- para dar color oscuro y gustoAcido fosforito (para darle el sabor acido)azucar (HFCS-jarabe de maiz de alta fructosa)Extracto de hojas de la planta de Coca (Africa e India) y otros pocos aromatizantes naturales de otras plantasMucha CafeinaConservante que puede ser Benzoato de Sodio o PotasioDioxido de Carbono en cantidad para sentir freir la lengua cuando se bebeSal para dar la sensacion de refrigeracionEl uso del acido fosforito y no del acido citrico como en todas las demas gaseosas, es para dar la sensacion de dientes y boca limpia al beber. El acido fosforito literalmente frie todo y dana el esmalte de los dientes, cosa que el acido citrico lo hace en menor grado.Trate de comprar acido fosforito para ver las mil recomendaciones de seguridad que te dan para su manipulacion (quema el cristalino del ojo, quema la piel, etc...). Esta prohibido usar el acido fosforito en cualquier otra gaseosa; solo la Coca Cola tiene permiso. Porque claro, sin el acido fosforico, la Coca Cola sabria a jabon.El extracto de coca y otras hojas casi no cambia en nada el sabor. Es mas bien un efecto cosmetico. El extracto forma parte de la Coca-Cola porque legalmente tiene que ser asi. Pero sin el, no se nota ninguna diferencia en el gusto, que esta dado basicamente por las cantidades diferentes de azucar, azucar quemada, sales, acidos y conservantes.Sabor a que...? ja, ja, ja.Aqui en Bartow, sur de Orlando, hay una empresa quimica que produce aromatizantes y esencias para zumos. Envian diariamente camionadas de sales concentradas y esencias para las fabricas de helados, gaseosas, jugos, enlatados y comida colorida y aromatizada.Cuando visite por primera vez la fabrica, pedi ver el deposito de concentrados de frutas, que deberia ser inmenso, especialmente los de naranja, pina, fresa y tantos otros. El encargado me miro, se rio y me llevo a visitar los depositos inmensos... pero de colorantes y componentes quimicos.Las gaseosa de naranja no contiene naranja.En los zumos dizque de fresa, hasta los puntitos que quedan en suspension estan hechos de goma (una liga quimica que envuelve un semi-polimero).Pina, es un popurri de acidos y goma.La esencia para helado de aguacate usa peroxido de hidrogeno (agua oxigenada) para dar la sensacion espumosa tipica del aguacate.Quieres saber la cantidad de basura que tiene un refresco 'light'? Yo ni siquiera los uso para destapar mi lavaplatos pues temo que danen los tubos de PVC. Los productos endulzantes 'ligth' tienen una vida media muy corta. Por ejemplo el aspartamo , despues de tres semanas mojado, pasa a tener gusto de trapo viejo sucio.Para evitar eso, se agregan una infinidad de otros productos quimicos, uno para alargar la vida del aspartamo, otro para neutralizar el color, otro para mantener el tercer quimico en suspension porque sino el fondo de la gaseosa quedaria oscuro, otro para evitar la cristalizacion del aspartamo, otro para realzar el sabor, dar mas intensidad al acido citrico o fosforito que perderia su sabor por el efecto de los cuatro productos quimicos iniciales... y asi sucesivamente.Un consejo final !!Despues de toda mi experiencia con la produccion de bebidas embasadas, puedo afirmar sin dudar un segundo: la mejor bebida es el agua, como tambien los jugos exprimidos de naranja o limon. Nada mas, cero azucar y cero sal.Publicado por loretahur

MARGARINA o MANTEQUILLA La margarina fue producida originalmente para engordar a los pavos; cuandolo que hizo en realidad fue matarlos.Las personas que habian puesto el dinero para la investigacion quisieronrecobrarlo asi que empezaron a pensar en una forma de hacerlo.Tenian una sustancia blanca, que no tenia ningun atractivo como comestible,asi que le anadieron el color amarillo, para venderselo a lagente en lugar de la mantequilla.Que tal esa?... Ahora han sacado algunos nuevos sabores para vender mas alos incautos como usted y yo.CONOCE USTED la diferencia entre la margarina y la mantequilla?Siga leyendo hasta el final... porque se pone bastante interesante!Comparacion entre mantequilla y margarina:

1.- Ambas tienen la misma cantidad de calorias.

2.- La mantequilla es ligeramente mas alta en grasas saturadas: 8 gramos,comparada con los 5 gramos que tiene la margarina.

3.- Comer margarina en vez de mantequilla puede aumentar en 53% el riesgo deenfermedades coronarias en las mujeres, de acuerdo con un estudiomedico reciente de la Universidad de Harvard.

4.- Comer mantequilla aumenta la absorcion de gran cantidad de nutrientesque se encuentran en otros alimentos.

5.- La mantequilla provee beneficios nutricionales propios mientras lamargarina tiene solo los que le hayan sido anadidos al fabricarla.

6.- La mantequilla sabe mucho mejor que la margarina y mejora el sabor deotros alimentos.7.- La mantequilla ha existido durante siglos mientras que la margarinatiene menos de 100 anos.

Ahora... sobre la margarina:

1.- Es muy alta en acidos grasos trans. (Si, esos que recien ahora loscientificos descubrieron que son malisimos y los gobiernoscomenzaron a prohibirlos) .

2.- Triple riesgo de enfermedades coronarias.

3.- Aumenta el colesterol total y el LDL (el colesterol malo) y disminuye elHDL (el colesterol bueno).

4.- Aumenta en cinco veces el riesgo de cancer.

5.- Disminuye la calidad de la leche materna.

6.- Disminuye la reaccion inmunologica del organismo.

7.- Disminuye la reaccion a la insulina.

Y he aqui el factor mas inquietante (AQUI ESTA LA PARTE MAS INTERESANTE! ):A la margarina le falta UNA MOLECULA para ser PLASTICO...!!Solo este hecho es suficiente para evitar el uso de la margarina de porvida, y de cualquier otra cosa que sea hidrogenada (esto significaque se le anade hidrogeno, lo cual cambia la estructura molecular de lassubstancias).Usted puede ensayar lo siguiente:Compre un poco de margarina y dejela en el garaje o en un sitio sombreado.Dentro de unos dias notara dos cosas:

* No habra moscas; ni siquiera esos molestos bichos se le acercaran (esto yale debe decir a usted algo).

* No se pudre ni huele mal o diferente porque no tiene valor nutritivo; nadacrece en ella. Ni siquiera los diminutos microorganismos puedencrecer en ella.Por que? Porque es casi plastico!!



No a la guerra, Si a la Paz



Misterios de la ciencia...



Los costos de la guerra



medicos y capitalismo...



Capitalismo...



medicos (2)



Quien educa a nuestros hijos?



Los Medios...



Sin Palabras...



Chistes feministas

- Cual es el problema, Eva?

- Se que me has creado, que me has dado este hermoso jardin, todos estos maravillosos animales y esa serpiente con la que me muero de risa... pero no soy del todo feliz...

- Como es eso, Eva? - replico Dios desde las alturas.

- Me encuentro sola, y ademas estoy harta de comer manzanas...

- Bueno Eva, en tal caso, tengo una solucion... creare un hombre para ti.

- Que es un hombre?

- Un hombre sera una criatura imperfecta, con muchas artimanas. Mentira, hara trampas, sera engreido... vamos, que te va a dar problemas... Pero, va a ser mas fuerte y rapido que tu y le gustara cazar y matar cosas... Tendra un aspecto simple, pero como te estas quejando, le creare de tal forma que satisfaga tus... eh... necesidades fisicas... Y tampoco sera muy listo, y destacara en cosas infantiles como pegarse o dar patadas a un balon... Necesitara tu consejo siempre para actuar cuerdamente.

- Suena bien - dijo Eva, mientras levantaba la ceja ironicamente.

- Cual es el truco?.

- Pues... que lo tendras con una condicion.

- Cual?

- Como te decia, sera chulo, arrogante y muy narcisista... asi que le tendras que hacer creer que le hice a el primero... recuerda... es nuestro secreto... de mujer a mujer.





Por que a los hombres no les puede dar la enfermedad de las vacas locas?  Porque todos son unos cerdos

Un dia, en el Paraiso, Eva llamo a Dios: Tengo un problema.- Cual es el problema, Eva?- Se que me has creado, que me has dado este hermoso jardin, todos estos maravillosos animales y esa serpiente con la que me muero de risa... pero no soy del todo feliz... - Como es eso, Eva? - replico Dios desde las alturas.- Me encuentro sola, y ademas estoy harta de comer manzanas...- Bueno Eva, en tal caso, tengo una solucion... creare un hombre para ti.- Que es un hombre?- Un hombre sera una criatura imperfecta, con muchas artimanas. Mentira, hara trampas, sera engreido... vamos, que te va a dar problemas... Pero, va a ser mas fuerte y rapido que tu y le gustara cazar y matar cosas... Tendra un aspecto simple, pero como te estas quejando, le creare de tal forma que satisfaga tus... eh... necesidades fisicas... Y tampoco sera muy listo, y destacara en cosas infantiles como pegarse o dar patadas a un balon... Necesitara tu consejo siempre para actuar cuerdamente.- Suena bien - dijo Eva, mientras levantaba la ceja ironicamente.- Cual es el truco?.- Pues... que lo tendras con una condicion.- Cual?- Como te decia, sera chulo, arrogante y muy narcisista... asi que le tendras que hacer creer que le hice a el primero... recuerda... es nuestro secreto... de mujer a mujer.Por que a los hombres no les puede dar la enfermedad de las vacas locas?  Porque todos son unos cerdos

Ellas...



Ellas (2)...



Tres venganzas femeninas VENGANZA NUMERO 1

Hoy mi hija cumple 21 anos y estoy muy contento porque es el ultimo pago de pension alimenticia que le doy, asi que llame a mi hijita para que viniera a mi casa y cuando llego le dije:

-Hijita, quiero que lleves este cheque a casa de tu mama y que le digas que: Este es el ultimo maldito cheque que va recibir de mi en todo lo que le queda de su puta vida!!! Quiero que me digas la expresion que pone en su rostro.

Asi que mi hija fue a entregar el cheque. Yo estaba ansioso por saber lo que la bruja tenia que decir y que cara pondria.

Cuando mi hijita entro, le pregunte inmediatamente: -Que fue lo que te dijo tu madre?

-Me dijo que justamente estaba esperando este dia para decirte que no eres mi papa!



VENGANZA NUMERO 2

Un hombre que siempre molestaba a su mujer, paso un dia por la casa de unos amigos para que lo acompanaran al aeropuerto a dejar a su esposa que viajaba a Paris.

A la salida de inmigracion, frente a todo el mundo, el le desea buen viaje y en tono burlon le grita:

- Amor, no te olvides de traerme una hermosa francesita Ja ja ja!!

Ella bajo la cabeza y se embarco muy molesta.

La mujer paso quince dias en Francia.

El marido otra vez pidio a sus amigos que lo acompanasen al aeropuerto a recibirla.

Al verla llegar, lo primero que le grita a toda voz es:

- Y amor me trajiste mi francesita??

- Hice todo lo posible, - contesta ella - ahora solo tenemos que rezar para que nazca nina.



VENGANZA NUMERO 3

El marido, en su lecho de muerte, llama a su mujer. Con voz ronca y ya debil, le dice: - Muy bien, llego mi hora, pero antes quiero hacerte una confesion.

- No, no, tranquilo, tu no debes hacer ningun esfuerzo.

- Pero, mujer, es preciso - insiste el marido - Es preciso morir en paz.

Te quiero confesar algo.

- Esta bien, esta bien. Habla!

- He tenido relaciones con tu hermana, tu mama y tu mejor amiga.

- Lo se, lo se Por eso te envenene, hijo de puta!!!



machismo y cibernetica



Chiste machista La NASA ha enviado al espacio una mision experimental tripulada por dos monos y una mujer.Apenas abandona la atmosfera, se establece comunicacion con Houston.

-Atencion, simio 1, verifique sistemas hidraulicos, controle adecuada presion de los propulsores de arranque. A 60.000 pies disminuya un 25% la velocidad.

El simio hace la sena de OK.

-Atencion, simio 2, nivele al cruzar la estratosfera y active sistemas anticongelantes. No olvide monitorear sistemas de comunicacion e indicadores de presion. Comprendido?.

El simio hace la sena de OK.

-Atencion, Houston llamando a mujer: no se olvide.

-Mujer: Si, si, ya se! -interrumpe enojada- que no me olvide darles de comer a estos monos de mierda y que no se me vaya a ocurrir tocar nada!.



.Spaghetti, Spaghetti, Spaghetti, Spaghetti, Spaghetti.

Un abogado mantiene un romance con su secretaria.Al poco tiempo, esta queda embarazada y el abogado, que no quiere que su esposa se entere, le da a la secretaria una buena suma de dinero y le pide que se vaya a parir a Italia.Esta pregunta: Y como voy a hacerte saber cuando nazca el bebe ? El abogado responde: Para que mi mujer no se entere, tan solo enviame una postal y escribe por detras: Spaghetti. Y no te preocupes mas, que yo me encargare de todos los gastos.

Pasan los meses y una manana la esposa del abogado lo llama al bufete, algo exaltada: Querido, acabo de recibir el correo y hay una postal muy extrana viene desde Italia. La verdad, no entiendo que significa.El abogado, tratando de ocultar sus nervios, contesta:Espera a que llegue a casa, a ver si yo entiendoCuando el hombre llega a casa y lee la postal, cae al suelo fulminado por un infarto.Llega una ambulancia y se lo lleva. Ya en el hospital, el jefe de cardiologia se queda consolando a la esposa y le pregunta cual ha sido el evento que precipito tan masivo ataque cardiaco.

Entonces la esposa saca la postal y se la muestra diciendole: No me explico, doctor; el solamente leyo esta postal. Vea usted mismo lo que trae escrito.Spaghetti, Spaghetti, Spaghetti, Spaghetti, Spaghetti."Tres con salchicha y albondigas y dos con almejas



Gol !!!!



Chistes de Borrachos Entra un borracho a su casa todo manchado con lapiz labial por todos lados hecho un desastre, y la mujer le pregunta:-Hombre que te paso?Y el borracho le responde:-No me vas a creer, me pelee con un payaso!



Este es un borracho que entra en un bar y le dice al camarero:-Me da cinco copas de whisky?Al rato:-Me da cuatro?Al rato:-Me da tres copas?Despues:-Me da dos copas?Luego le dice:-Me da una copa?Y le dice al camarero:-Ves? Cuanto menos bebo, mas borracho estoy!


Ramesh Chauhan (58), a farmer from Uttar Pradesh, may not share his language with Ram Vishnu Sadashiv (70) from Solapur in Maharashtra, but they share a common hurt: of "getting secondary treatment over the Ram temple from the Central government", which brought them together in the national capital on Friday.

Sipping tea, sitting next to each other, after various leaders were done with their speeches, Sadashiv mixes Hindi and Marathi. "Leaders will only speak and our plight will not end until they decide to do something apart from talking".

"For the past four years, we have seen leaders only talking, and the only change that has come about is tat our situation has turned from bad to worse. This government is more concerned and worried about a Ram temple but not Ram's children. They are prioritizing temple over farmers," Sadashiv told IANS.

"I wonder if Ram would really be happy with a temple while his children commit suicide. We are here to tell this government that 2019 is not far, and that we are not happy," says Sadashiv, as Chauhan nods.

Similar sentiments were shared by 65-year-old Sella Perumal from Tiruchirappalli in Tamil Nadu.

"The government has to see the welfare of the people first. What's the use of a temple if there are no farmers? We are children of God, and by protecting us, the government can serve God. A government should think about the people first, if they are fine, God will be happy too," said Perumal.

The gathering of over 50,000 farmers, seeking loan waiver and higher crop prices, from across the country saw people from different age groups ranging from aged farmers, who have seen no improvement in their situation for years, to young children, who lost their father due to farm debt.

"Farm debt led my father to commit suicide in 2016. He was the only earning member of the family. Now, my mother is working as a labourer. One of my relatives is sponsoring my education. After my father's death, my mother did not want me or my brother to join farming. I am here so that debt should be waived and no farmer dies the way he did," said 19-year-old Harsh from Kolhapur in Maharashtra.

Men and women from various groups were in the capital in a protest organised by the All India Kisan Sangharsh Coordination Committee (AIKSCC).

Swabhimani Shetkari Sanghatana leader and Member of Parliament from Hatkanangle in Kolhapur (Maharashtra) Raju Shetti has introduced two private member's Bills in the Lok Sabha in 2017, seeking a loan waiver and guaranteed remunerative prices for agricultural commodities based on the recommendations of the Swaminathan Commission.

The AIKSCC has demanded a special session of Parliament so that these Bills are discussed and passed.

The famers, came to the national capital by spending their own money and slept on roads.

"We are so unhappy that we don't mind sleeping on roads. But we want the government to listen to our demands. Although there were some nice people who offered us a place to sleep at nominal rates," said Sunil Patra (49) from South 24 Parganas, West Bengal.

(Nivedita Singh can be contacted at nivedita.singh@ians.in)

--IANS

nks/prs

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Great Eastern Energy Corporation (GEECL) on Friday said it would invest $2 billion over the next 10 years for shale gas exploration and development from its Raniganj block in West Bengal.

In a statement, GEECL said it expects to start the initial shale gas exploration work of drilling core wells in the first half of next year.

"Depending on the results obtained and analysed from the core wells, we thereafter intend to drill an optimum number of pilot production wells.

Based on further results obtained and analysed from the pilot production wells, the total investment envisaged for the full development of shale resources in our block could be in the region of $2 billion," it said.

The company said its environment friendly shale gas and coal bed methane (CBM) reserves in the Raniganj South block are estimated at 9.25 trillion cubic feet (TCF) of original gas-in-place (OGIP).

"We are engaged with (state-run) GAIL for either a gas offtake agreement or a gas transmission agreement through their upcoming pipeline, which will give us access to a much larger market in and around the city of Kolkata," GEECL Chief Executive Prashant Modi said in a statement.

"These are exciting times for the Company as we are at the cusp of taking the next big leap in our operations. The tremendous growth in the revenues and profit gives us even more confidence for the future," he added.

According to GEECL, its second licence is the Mannargudi block in Tamil Nadu, which covers 667 sq. km with 0.98 TCF of original gas-in-place.

--IANS

bc/prs

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur on Friday said the state would provide all assistance for development of the Roerich Art Gallery, set up by Russian painter and philosopher Nicholas Roerich in 1927, near Kullu town as a major centre of art and culture.

For this, the state would send seeks grants also from the Union Ministry of Culture, he said.

Thakur was presiding over the 18th meeting of the International Roerich Memorial Trust where Russia's Ambassador to India Nikolay Kudashev was also present.

The Chief Minister said the memorial trust, which manages Roerich's estate that owns 8,126 artefacts, is playing a pivotal role in fortifying the relations between India and Russia. The state was determined to protect and preserve Roerich's heritage.

He said the Roerich Memorial estate in Naggar was the anchor point for the Roerich trust which had been attracting the hearts and minds of the Russians and Indians as the spiritual quintessence of relationship betwen the two countries.

He remembered that it was during the tenure of Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee that a grant of Rs 2 crore was provided to the trust to strengthen its activities.

He said India and Russia had been contributing significantly for the maintenance and development of this trust.

Russia's Ambassador Kudashev said the Russian embassy was willing to cooperate closely with the state to handle maintenance, preservation and restoration aspects of the museum.

It was decided at the board meeting that the International Roerich Memorial Trust complex would be developed for maintenance of Roerich's heritage as well as construction of guest houses for artists, scholars and experts.

It was also decided that Roerich Memorial Museum complex would be created by incorporating the restoration of Roerich house.

Some 300 paintings have been donated by various artists to the trust. Prints of these selected painting would be auctioned.

The Roerich estate is located in Naggar, 25 km from Kullu town, where Roerich came in 1927 from St. Petersburg. He made the village his home for more than two decades.

Roerich's wife Helena, a famous writer, and sons Yuri, a prominent Oriental scholar, and Svyatoslav, a well-known painter, and Svyatoslav's wife Devika Rani all stayed with him in Naggar.

Roerichs' estate comprises the premises of the Indian-Russian Memorial Complex, the Gallery of N.K. Roerich, Helena Roerich Arts College and exhibition halls in the buildings of the Urusvati Himalayan Research Institute.

--IANS

vg/prs

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Curcumin -- the active compound in turmeric -- may repair exercise intolerance faced by patients with heart failure, suggests a new research.

People with heart failure have a reduced function of the left ventricle -- the chamber of the heart that pumps blood out to the rest of the body -- called reduced ejection fraction. This is linked to decreased ability to exercise.

The findings showed that curcumin treatment improved muscle function, exercise capacity in mice with heart failure and healthy controls.

Curcumin, a chemical that comes from the turmeric plant, has been used as a traditional Asian medicine for centuries, primarily to treat gastrointestinal ailments and skin wounds.

Researchers from the University of Nebraska in the US, theorised that a reduction in the normal signalling of a protein Nrf2 may play a role in the impaired expression of antioxidant enzymes.

The antioxidant enzymes both prevent and repair damage from oxidative stress as well as improve exercise performance.

For the study, published in the Journal of Applied Physiology, the team gave one group of mice with heart failure daily doses of curcumin -- which is known to promote activation of Nrf2 -- for 12 weeks, while another group did not receive treatment.

The results showed that the expression of Nrf2 increased and levels of antioxidant enzymes improved in the animals with heart failure that were given curcumin.

In addition, both groups that received curcumin -- even the animals without heart failure -- had improved exercise capacity when compared with the untreated groups, suggesting the effects of curcumin on skeletal muscle is not exclusive to heart failure.

"These data suggest that activation of Nrf2 in skeletal muscle may represent a novel therapeutic strategy to improve ... quality of life" in people with heart failure with reduced ejection fraction, the researchers noted.

--IANS

rt/ksk/sed

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Elephant deaths on railway tracks may be averted when a sensor built by a professor at the Indian Institute of Technology-Delhi (IIT-D) is put to test. If all goes well, it may be installed along the tracks frequented by elephants and prevent their cruel deaths.

"The sensors are yet to be installed. This was to be tested in the monsoon season. Since this monsoon has passed, we are waiting for the 2019 season. Our system is functional. We have tested in a similar setting but not at the site. We have earmarked the Rajaji National Park as the test deployment site. It is the ideal place, kind of a controlled environment and good for experiments. It's where trains are known to travel at the correct speed," Subrat Kar, a professor at the department of electrical engineering at IIT-Delhi, told IANS.

According to the Wildlife Protection Society of India, in last five years alone India has lost near 100 elephants in train-related accidents. Moving at a slow pace, complete with their calves, they fail to respond fast enough to avoid a train hurtling towards them. In 2018, 26 elephants have so far succumbed to such collisions, the most recent being in Odisha's Keonjhar where an elephant was killed after being hit by a goods train.

Kar has been working on building a sensor device for close to a decade now in collaboration with the Wildlife Institute of India in Dehradun and funded by the Railways and Department of Science and Technology. Though there has been a buzz around the apparatus for years, it is only now slated to be tested in real conditions.

So far Kar has tested the sensor only inside the IIT-Delhi campus and the results have been "satisfactory".

The sensor detects from a distance the movement of elephants through a number of in-built devices. Once it detects the movement of the elephants, it sends a radio signal to the nearest station, which conveys the message to the driver to either stop or slow down the train.

"We will install sensors at sensitive spots, and not everywhere. There are known paths along which the elephants move, so we install sensors on these paths, which detect them through bodyrays, cameras and vibration. Then we convey the information to the nearest station and from there we convey the information to the train driver.

"In the engine there's a box that signals the engine to stop. If this warning is given to the driver at least three kilometres before the train reaches the spot where elephants are expected to come in their way, he applies the breaks and slowly comes to a halt," Kar explained.

"The success of this preventive measure depends on detecting the elephants much before the train is there. Three kilometres before roughly translates to 3-4 minutes before," he added.

The various sensors in the device corroborate whether the moving animals are indeed elephants and not any other, like a tiger, which can cross the track without needing the train to be slowed down.

"A vibration detector, capturing heat rays coming from the animals, a camera to recognise the animals, and lasers -- the sensor has these all. So we have several sensors to detect the presence of animals. We use one sensor to check the outcome of the other sensor to corroborate the result... We have our own radio network with the sensors," Kar said.

Although Kar has been working on the device since 2008, things picked up pace only in 2014 when the Railways came up with Rs 30 lakh in funding.

On its part, the Railways have employed a variety of methods to keep the elephant deaths in check.

"Various measures have been adopted, jointly by the Railways and the forest department, to prevent elephant deaths on the tracks. These include signage on the tracks to pre-warn train drivers, speed restrictions in elephant corridors and deputing forest officials in the control room," a senior Railways official told IANS.

"All these measures are adopted at locations jointly identified by the forest department and railways in Assam, West Bengal, Uttarakhand, Kerala and Odisha," the official added.

(Vishal Narayan can be contacted at vishal.n@ians.in <mailto:vishal.n@ians.in>)

--IANS

vn/vm/tb/sac

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Noted writer Anand Neelakantan has described India as a land of inequality and has said that even though the concept of equality has always been there in the country, it has never been put to practise.

Neelkantan, who is the writer of the famous "Baahubali" series, explores some unknown stories hidden in epics and scriptures. His new book "Vanara: The Legend of Baali, Sugreeva and Tara" tells the honour, love, jealousy and betrayal we seldom read of.

"India is a land of inequality. The concept of equality was always there in Indian thought but never in practise. In my novel, 'Vanara', Kishkinda is established as a place of equal opportunities. One of the subplots of the story is how this city so established with such lofty ideals slowly descended to become a highly unequal society, mirroring present day India.

"The entire caste system evolved as a tool of grading people and treating people unequally. Whatever arguments one may say about caste or Jaati differing from Varna etc, in practice, for at least 2,000 years, the discrimination on the basis of caste and creed has existed in India and the same continues to hold India back from evolving into a modern society," the 45-year-old author told IANS.

He maintained that in India discrimination based on religion, caste, language, economic condition and the colour of the skin is a practise.

"One cannot shut our eyes to this reality and talk only about glorious things of our nation. Real patriotism is accepting our faults and working to rectify the same rather than blind glorification of anything related to religion, country or culture," he said.

Neelakantan said that the interest in Puranas for an average Indian had never waned and emphasised that the Puranas have always played an important role in Indian psyche.

"Why it looks so amplified is because of the power of social media, 24 X 7 news channels. Even Gandhiji used the concept of Ramarajya in the freedom struggle. Puranas were once used to teach people how to live. Storytelling is a powerful tool of conveying ideas and the rich stories of Puranas were used to make the knowledge of Vedas and Upanishads in an accessible format for the common man. Once, it was a tool to unite people like how Gandhiji did. It is unfortunate that some people are using such age-old tales to divide people for selfish gains," said the author.

--IANS

ss/

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Enthused by the response at the Global Agriculture and Food Summit, Jharkhand Chief Minister Raghubar Das on Friday said the state would be first in India where farmers' income would increase four times by 2022.

"Jharkhand will be first state in the country where the income of the farmers will increase four times by the year 2022. This is indicated from the fact that the agriculture growth in the state is 19 per cent in the last four years," Das told the media after the concluding ceremony of the summit.

He said that Jharkhand will also ink an MoU with China to sell lady's finger grown in the state.

"Soon Jharkhand will in an agreement with China, so the lady's finger from the state can be sold in that country. Talks in this regard have been held with the agriculture officials with Chinese officials... Moreover, China will also send a team to study the possibility to set up a food processing plant in the state," said the Chief Minister.

The two-day summit ended on Friday with the address of Governor Draupdi Murmu. Four countries including Israel were partners of the state in the summit.

The Chief Minister said: "The (Global Agriculture and Food) Summit provided the right platform where farmers came to know about the modern practices and latest technologies in the agricultural field and gained experience as to how with less investment they can further maximize their yield."

"The farmers should only think about increasing their farm output as the task of marketing and processing will be taken care of by the state government. In the two-day function, foundation was also laid for 50 food processing units."

The government has also decided to ink a technology exchange agreement with Morocco, so that the farmers of Jharkhand can gain expertise from their Green Morocco Plan.

Apart from that, a centre for excellence would be set up in collaboration with Israel for the training of farmers and very soo, a letter in this regard would be written to the Central government, Das said.

He said that Patanjali of Baba Ramdev has already assured that whatever organic products will be produced in the state, including food grains, fruits, vegetables and honey, would be purchased by them.

Jharkhand will also sign an MoU with Patanjali to set up a honey processing plant in the state.

--IANS

ns/nir

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Congress leader Jairam Ramesh on Friday said that Hyderabad was like a "cooked biryani" which Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrashekhar Rao got following the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh.

The former union minister said the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) chief had no contribution in the making of this "biryani".

Talking to reporters at Sangareddy in Telangana during campaigning for next month's Assembly election, the Congress leader termed the tech hub a ready to eat "biryani", the famous dish of the historic city.

He recalled that at the time of bifurcation in 2014, there was a dispute over Hyderabad. The question was should it go to Telangana or should it be a joint capital of the two states or a union territory.

Jairam Ramesh, who played a key role in the bifurcation process, said United Progressive Alliance (UPA) chairperson Sonia Gandhi and then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh decided that Hyderabad will "100 percent" go to Telangana.

"Hyderabad with revenues of Rs 16,000 crore was like a cooked biryani," he said and pointed out that same has now crossed Rs 25,000 crore.

"KCR got cooked biryani. He had no role in its making," said the Congress leader while pointing out that former Chief Ministers like Brahmanand Reddy, N.T. Rama Rao, N. Chandrababu Naidu, Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy and Kiran Kumar Reddy contributed in developing Hyderabad.

He said when it was decided that Hyderabad will go to Telangana, people from Andhra wanted to know what they will get for this loss of Rs 16,000 crore. Manmohan Singh then promised that Andhra Pradesh will get special category status for five years.

Jairam Ramesh criticized KCR for demanding special category status to Telangana now. He said the TRS chief had made no such demand in 2014. He alleged that making such a demand now was nothing but betrayal.

--IANS

ms/mr

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
US President Donald Trump's decision to cancel a meeting with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin is regrettable, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said on Friday.

"We regret the US administration's decision to cancel the planned meeting. This means that a discussion on important issues on the bilateral and international agenda is being postponed indefinitely," Peskov was quoted as saying by TASS news agency.

On Thursday, the US President abruptly cancelled the meeting with Putin on the sidelines of the G20 summit in the Argentine capital, Buenos Aires, in protest over Russia's seizure of Ukrainian naval boats in waters off Crimea.

Moscow captured three Ukrainian naval vessels and 24 personnel near the Kerch Strait that separates the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov earlier this week after accusing them of trespassing.

Trump said he would not meet the Russian leader "based on the fact that the ships and sailors have not been returned".

His announcement was contrary to his own statement made earlier when he told reporters that the talks were not terminated and "it's a very good time to have a meeting".

Earlier, Trump said his final decision would depend on a report from his advisers on national security and foreign policy regarding the incident in the Kerch Strait.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel blamed the naval crisis "entirely" on Russia and said she would raise the issue with Putin.

--IANS

soni/sed

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Thousands of farmers from across the country on Friday reached Parliament street in the heart of the city following due permission from the Delhi Police for a mega protest march demanding higher crop prices and farm loan waiver.

The All India Kisan Sangharsh Coordination Committee (AIKSCC), which has organised the Kisan Mukti march, got the required permission around midnight.

Social activist Medha Patkar confirmed to reporters here that the permission was received at 12 a.m.

The march from central Delhi's Ramlila Maidan started at 10 a.m. and reached the Parliament street at 11.30 a.m.

Patkar led the protest march as farmers raised slogans against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and and the Bharatiya Janata Party government at the Centre.

Many political leaders, including Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar, have confirmed their participation in the rally, she said.

National Conference's Farooq Abdullah, Trinamool Congress' Dinesh Trivedi, Loktantrik Janata Dal's Sharad Yadav were among the others who were expected to address the farmers.

Many women farmers and students, particularly from the Delhi University, were seen in the rallies raising slogans for the cause of farmers.

On Thursday, several groups of farmers held 'Chalo Dilli' marches from Delhi's Nizamuddin, Sabzi Mandi Station, Anand Vihar Terminal and Majnu Ka Tila under the banner of the AIKSCC.

Yogendra Yadav of Swaraj India led a 26-km protest rally from Bijwasan to Ramlila Maidan, which was joined by farmers from Odisha, Haryana and Rajasthan.

Many daughters, whose farmer fathers committed suicide, hung pictiures of their dead around the neck as they marched along with the rally.

The Friday's rally is the fourth major farmers rally being held by the AIKSCC, which represents over 200 farm outfits.

It has been protesting against "anti-farmer" policies of the BJP government following the Mandsaur firing episode in Madhya Pradesh in 2017, which led to death of six farmers.

Swabhimani Shetkari Sanghatana leader and Member of Parliament from Hatkanangle in Kolhapur (Maharashtra) Raju Shetti has introduced two private member's Bills in the Lok Sabha in 2017, seeking a loan waiver and a guaranteed remunerative prices for agricultural commodities based on the recommendations of the Swaminathan Commission.

The AIKSCC has demanded a special session of Parliament so that these Bills are discussed and passed.

It said 21 political parties have extended their support to the Bills. It has also written to Modi, inviting him to join the protest march.

On Monday, a book authored by Yogendra Yadav detailing how the Modi government's policies have led to a drop in farmers' income and caused rural distress across the country was launched in the capital.

--IANS

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German Chancellor Angela Merkel's plane was forced to turn around and make an unscheduled landing due a technical problem, according to a government spokesman.

Merkel on Thursday night was heading to Argentina for the two-day G-20 Summit slated to begin from Saturday.

The plane has landed safely in Cologne, the spokesman told CNN on Friday.

Merkel has had to reschedule some meetings due to the delay.

An RTL reporter on board said that they were flying over the Netherlands when they were told there had been an "electronic systems failure" and turned around to land at the Cologne airport.

Video from on board shows several fire engines surrounding the Airbus after it landed.

German media said that the Chancellor and her Finance Minister, Olaf Scholz, were expected to travel on to Argentina on Friday, possibly on a scheduled flight.

The Airbus A340 government aircraft is named Konrad Adenauer after West Germany's post-war Chancellor.

It is not the first time the plane has suffered problems, the BBC reported.

In October, it was grounded in Indonesia after rodents gnawed through electrical cables during an annual meeting of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), German news agency dpa reported.

--IANS

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday met Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the G20 summit here and said this year had been very good for bilateral ties and that the coming year will be better.

He said the informal meeting at Wuhan in April this year had proved to be a milestone and had opened new avenues of cooperation.

"This year has been very good and important for our bilateral relations. I am confident that the coming year would be even better. The informal summit between the two leaders in Wuhan proved to be a milestone for the two countries. This gave a new momentum to our engagement," Modi said during his meeting with Jinping.

He said India was very eager to host the Chinese President for an informal summit next year.

Modi said top-level meetings between the leaders of the two countries have have helped in keeping up the momentum of bilateral ties.

He said such review meetings have been held in the past at Qingdao and Johansburg and Friday's meeting will give a filip to "closer development partnership" in the future.

This was the fourth meeting between the two world leaders in a year.

External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said the two leaders had a warm and productive meeting and discussed joint efforts to enhance mutual trust.

"Working together to strengthen the Wuhan spirit. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had a warm and productive meeting with President Xi of China, their 4th this year, on sidelines of G20 summit. Discussed joint efforts to further enhance mutual trust and friendship across all aspects of our ties," he said in a tweet.--IANS

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Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi met Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia Prince Mohammed bin Salman here and stressed the importance of having stable and predictable energy prices.

They agreed to set up a mechanism to look into the possibilities of concrete action in terms of investment, technology, manufacturing and defence, with the Crown Prince stating that Saudi Arabia will be finalising an initial investment into India's National Infrastructure Fund.

The discussion on Thursday also touched on how Saudi Arabia can enhance its investment across a number of sectors in the next two to three years.

Modi, who arrived here on Thursday to take part in the G20 meeting, also met UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres.

Talking to reporters, Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale said Modi's first bilateral meeting was with the Saudi Arabia Crown Prince and it was "very cordial and warm".

"The Prime Minister, in particular, stressed upon the importance of having stable and predictable energy prices. Some discussions took place between the two leaders on how Saudi Arabia can contribute and help in stabilising energy prices, particularly for India."

He said the Crown Prince spoke of India "as an important partner" and there was specific discussion on how it can enhance its investment across various sectors.

"The Crown Prince (said) Saudi Arabia will be finalising an initial investment into the National Infrastructure Fund. He also referred to future prospects for investment in the technology sector, energy sector and agricultural sector," Gokhale said.

He said the Crown Prince was especially mindful of the contributions that Indians have made in building Saudi Arabia over the years.

Gokhale said that during Modi's meeting with Guterres, the main subject of discussion was the forthcoming climate change meeting in Poland (COP24).

He said Guterres acknowledged India's role in climate change negotiations and its concrete steps towards addressing challenges of climate change.

The UN Secretary General hoped that India will egg the developed and developing countries to come up with certain solutions which would eventually feed into the climate change summit that the UN Secretary General is planning in 2019.

--IANS

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US-based space agency NASA on Thursday announced nine commercial American companies in a partnership to develop lunar robotic landers in the coming decade.

NASA would buy space on commercial robotic landers to deliver payloads to the lunar surface, missions that could start as early as next year, Xinhua news agency reported.

Those companies are eligible for competing for NASA's contracts valued at $2.6 billion, according to the US-based space agency.

"The relatively small and inexpensive payloads delivered via the CLPS program would be followed by more traditional medium- and large-class missions," said NASA administrator Jim Bridenstine.

CLPS stands for Commercial Lunar Payload Services. It is an experimental part of the agency's plan for Americans to orbit the Moon starting in 2023, and land astronauts on the surface no later than the late 2020s.

"These early commercial delivery missions will also help inform new space systems we build to send humans to the Moon in the next decade," said NASA.

Those companies are Astrobotic, Deep Space Systems, Firefly Aerospace, Intuitive Machines, Lockheed Martin, Mastern Space Systems, Moon Express, Draper and Orbit Beyond.

Orbit Beyond, a spacecraft company, is expected to fly its spacecraft to the Moon by 2020.

Masten Space Systems has a fleet of lunar landers that it plans to send to the Moon in 2021 while Moon Express also also has a host of landers that vary in size and capability.

Astrobotic Technology has built a lander called Peregrine, and have obtained backing from NASA to create a standalone system to land on the moon.

Lockheed Martin is planning for a massive lander that could ferry four astronauts from the Lunar Gateway to the moon, while Deep Space Systems is an aerospace engineering company developing the Mars Phoenix lander.

Firefly Aerospace designs, manufactures and operates launch vehicles for the small satellite and Draper works to provide payload operations guidance systems for the lunar lander.

Intuitive Machines, based in the state of Texas, specializes in autonomous systems.

Bridenstine said it was not a "guarantee" that all those missions would be successful, but even failed ones would be equally important.

--IANS

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The North East Students Organisation (NESO) on Friday staged a protest across the state's capital of seven northeastern states demanding immediate withdrawal of the proposed Citizenship (Amendment) Bill 2016 across state's capital of seven northeastern states.

"We strongly oppose this draconian Bill, and we strongly demand that the government should not go ahead with it, because it seeks to grant citizenship to religious minority communities - Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and Christians- from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan - in India," NESO chairman Samuel B. Jyrwa said.

Addressing a protest rally in Meghalaya's state capital Shillong, Jyrwa said that the indigenous people of the region will no longer tolerate political injustice meted out by the Indian government in the region.

"Post-independence, our people in the northeastern states have been suppressed by draconian laws, be it the Armed Forces Special Powers Act, bombing of Mizoram's capital Aizawl among others," the NESO Chairman said.

The Conrad Sangma-led Meghalaya Democratic Alliance government unanimously decided to oppose the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill 2016.

Though the Assam government has not taken any official stand, the Asom Gana Parishad, an ally of the BJP in the Sarbananda Sonowal-led government, warned that it will pull out of the government if the Bill is passed.

--IANS

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As a digital gateway to the world and the most wired country, the Netherlands on Friday offered India its expertise in healthcare, IT and cyber security.

"We consider India an important partner in the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) sector and a key enabler for bilateral relations between the two countries," Dutch Ambassador to India Marten Van Den Berg told reporters on the margins of a tech event here.

Though a small country in size (land mass), the Netherlands is an important hub for Indian businesses in Europe as global Indian software majors Infosys, Wipro, HCL and Tech Mahindra stay invested in the Benelux region.

Other Indian firms like Mind-tree, Mphasis, ZoHo and Host Circle have found traction in the Netherlands and tap into its IT ecosystem.

"India has an IT knowledge base. Its IT firms and talent have a key role in the global ICT industry, with ubiquitous connectivity, big data and increasing computing power shaping its innovation and disruption," said Berg on the second day of the 3-day Bengaluru Tech Summit 2018, being held in the sprawling Palace grounds in the city centre since Thursday.

The Indian Ministry of Electronics and IT and the Netherlands Organisation for Scietific Research (NWO) are collaborating in research and development (R&D).

The two agencies have jointly made proposals in Big Data and Internet of Things (IoT) to support public-private-partnerships in 5 projects.

In cyber security, the two countries are working on reducing its risks like cyber attacks and assessing their impact on economies.

"As companies focus on containing cyber risks, they are facing digital talent gap in terms of cyber security skills. India has shown interest to adapt the Triple Helix model at state levels too,a said Dutch Consul-General in Bengaluru Gert Heijkoop on the occasion.

Dutch firms Fox-IT and Group 2000 have been active in India and Indian companies like E2Labs, Skillcube, Cloud4c and Kryp Technologies are present in the Hague region.

"We are partnering with Karnataka in cyber security to develop an ecosystem for international partnerships to meet our joint needs in R&D and capacity building and skilled workforce," said Heijkoop.

State IT-BT Principal Secretary Gaurav Gupta said Karnataka planned to build a platform for cyber security technology capability through its centre of excellence for cyber security.

"We look forward to collaborate with the Netherlands and strengthen our partnership for a safe and secure cyber presence," said Gupta./Eom/400 words.

--IANS

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A day after demitting office as a judge of the Supreme Court, Justice Kurian Joseph defended the January 12 press conference by four judges, saying he has no regrets and that he did it consciously to put in place an "institutional collective" decision-making process.

Describing as "strange" the question whether he regretted the January 12 press conference that shook the country, Justice Kurian Joseph said, "Whatever I did was very consciously, for a cause" which was not targeted at any individual, but for putting in place a collective mechanism to assist the Chief Justice in running the affairs of the top court.

It was not just a question of roster, but that of the larger issue of unhealthy practice of an individual taking decisions without consulting others, said Justice Joseph.

Unsure if it has been fully changed, Justice Joesph said, "It was an institutional crisis. Systems and practices are there for a long time. It takes time to change."

Was the press conference only course left for them, why did they not seek the full court meeting to discuss the issues? Justice Joseph said: "Many requests were made to then Chief Justice Dipak Misra for a full court reference. But he did not convene. It is the CJI alone who can convene meeting of the full court."

Answering a question whether what was being suggested by him would not dilute the position of CJI as first among equals, Justice Joseph said, "The CJI is first among equals. But equals are also with first."

In the course of his interaction with media at his residence, Justice Joseph touched on many areas including whether there was government interference in the affairs of the judiciary, composition of benches dealing with the question relating to public interest, constitutional, public and social morality, PILs, judicial appointments and judges taking up post retirement assignments.

He said he has not felt any interference by the government in the discharge of his judicial work nor has he heard any such thing from other judges.

However, he said there is an indirect interference in the matters of appointments when a decision on the collegium recommendations are delayed, names are selectively cleared and held back for a long time.

Underling that Articlec 25 was the 'Lakshman Rekha', Justice Joseph

said that so long the religious faith and practices do not violate Article 25 of the constitution, no court should interfere.

He said when the court is deciding issues relating to diversity of the country, faith, social morality and regional issues, the composition of bench adjudicating the issue should reflect that diversity.

On post-retirement assignments, Justice Joseph said, "So long as the government thinks it is charity to a judge, no judge should accept it."

On the memorandum of procedure for the appointment of judges, Justice Joseph said, "Supreme Court feels that it is finalised, but the government has said in Parliament that it is not. We are working on the basis of a draft memorandum of procedure (MoP). I have tried to find out from successive CJIs on the areas of differences, but never got any answer."

On the outcry by a section of people against the Sabarimala and SC/ST verdicts, Justice Joseph refused to dwell on them, saying these issues are pending before the court.

He said those who are aggrieved by a judgement can take recourse to judicial remedies to address their grievance but once a judgment becomes final, its non-observation or violation is contempt.

Sounding a note of concern, Justice Joseph said, "A substantial amount of Supreme Court's time is lost on PIL on non-issues" affecting the oter issues concerning the common man.

--IANS

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A day after the Maharashtra government passed a bill providing for education and government job reservations to the Marathas, hundreds of members of the "Dhangar" (shepherd) community took to streets demanding similar quotas, here on Friday.

The agitating Dhangars, mostly youth, staged a noisy procession outside the Maharashtra Assembly where the winter session is currently underway, shouting slogans for reservations.

Several of them attempted to engage in fisticuffs with security personnel, and the police had to detain over three dozen agitators from the high-security zone.

On Thursday, the state government passed a bill providing for 16 per cent education and government job reservations to the politically influential Marathas.

However, the Dhangar community -- which was expecting quotas by including them under the Scheduled Tribes -- was disappointed as there was no mention of any benefits to them.

Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis announced that the report on quotas for the Dhangars is not yet complete and a sub-committee has been appointed for the purpose.

The Action Taken Report (ATR) and other formalities for extending quotas to Dhangars would be tabled in the legislature soon, he had assured.

Currently, the Dhangars, who are in sizeable numbers in at least 25 Lok Sabha seats out of 48 in the state, are included in the Vimukta Jati & Nomadic Tribes (VJNT).

In certain states like Madhya Pradesh, where the community is known as "Dhangad", is enjoying ST benefits, and the Maharashtra Dhangars have also demanded the same.

Bharatiya Janata Party MP Vikas Mahatme, who is the Dhangar Sangharsh Samiti President, has claimed that the Dhangars and Dhangads are the same, but with a spelling difference and hence Dhangars must be given ST status on par with Dhangads.

The community, which had taken out street protests all over Maharashtra in August, now plans state-wide processions on the lines of the 58 Maratha silent processions taken out in past two years, culminating in the quota victory for them.

--IANS

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A massive farmers rally in the national capital on Friday turned into a show of opposition unity with leaders including Congress President Rahul Gandhi and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal accusing the Modi government of plunging the country into an acute agrarian crisis and backed demands for a complete loan waiver and higher crop prices.

Led by the All India Kisan Sangharsh Coordination Committee (AIKSCC), which represents over 200 farm outfits, thousands of farmers marched from the historic Ramlila Maidan to Parliament Street demanding a special session of Parliament pass bills to cancel farm loans and to ensure guaranteed remunerative prices for farm commodities based on the recommendations of the M.S. Swaminathan Commission.

Two private member bills in this regard were introduced in the Lok Sabha in 2017 by Swabhimani Shetkari Sanghtana leader and MP Raju Shetti, who warned on Friday that the Modi government would face defeat in the 2019 elections unless it accepted farmers' demands.

A host of opposition leaders including Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar, National Conference's Farooq Abdullah, CPI-M General Secretary Sitaram Yechury, Aam Aadmi Party's (AAP) Kejriwal, Trinamool Congress' Dinesh Trivedi, Loktantrik Janata Dal's Sharad Yadav and TDP leader K. Raveendra Kumar tore into the Modi government over its "anti-farmer policies".

Also present were former JNU student leader Kanhaiya Kumar and Gujarat MLA Jignesh Mevani.

Pledging the opposition's solidarity with the farmers, Gandhi declared that "farm loans will have to be waived even if it required changing the Prime Minister."

"We all are with you. Be it changing laws or changing the Prime Minister, we will do everything that is required to ensure your loans are waived. If any government insults the farmers, then it has to be uprooted and that is going to happen," said Gandhi.

Accusing Modi of speaking only for his "industrialist cronies", Gandhi said farmers were not demanding any free gift but seeking what was their right.

"When 3.5 lakh crore of loans of the biggest industrialists can be written off by the Modi government, then the loans of millions of farmers will also have to be waived," he thundered.

Speaking in a similar vein, Kejriwal charged the Modi government with "back-stabbing" farmers by telling the Supreme Court that it cannot implement recommendations of the M.S. Swaminathan Commission which the BJP promised to do so in 2014.

"They (farmers) are not begging but fighting for their rights," said Kejriwal and blasted the government's crop insurance scheme.

"This is not an insurance scheme but it is BJP's 'kisan daka yojna' (plunder farmers scheme). The Modi government is worried more about Ambanis and Adanis," he alleged.

Kejriwal expressed happiness over major opposition parties coming out in support of the farmers.

NCP chief Pawar, endorsing the passage of the twin bills, called for a holistic approach to improve the pitiable condition of the farming community.

"The (Modi) government has remained insensitive to the farmers' plight... We will no more remain silent. We will try our best to pass these bills," asserted Pawar.

Amid chants of anti-Modi slogans, opposition leaders attacked the Prime Minister over "crony" capitalism and neglect of farmers' plight.

Sharad Yadav held the Modi government responsible for "over three lakh farmer suicides" in the country in the last four and a half years. He called upon the people to dethrone the "anti-farmer government" led by Modi.

Flaying the BJP government for the acute agrarian crisis in the country, Yechury likened Modi to a "pocketmaar" (pickpocket) and accused him of "looting the poor".

"Our party supports the two bills and we will pressurise the government for their passage. But everybody knows what are the intentions of the government," he said.

Men and women marched under various banners with flags and placards in the massive show of strength by the AIKSCC, its fourth mega rally in the national capital following the "Mandsaur firing" in Madhya Pradesh in which five farmers were killed in June 2017.

Swaraj India leader Yogendra Yadav said the congregation was not here to just protest but had emerged as an alternative to existing policies.

Many farmers vowed to vote against the BJP in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.

"Modi is not my enemy. But he has not fulfilled the promises he made to farmers," said Rajendra Prasad, a farmer from Lakhimpur Kheri in Uttar Pradesh.

--IANS

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Amidst the bonhomie over the Kartarpur corridor, Army chief Bipin Rawat on Friday made some political comments saying Pakistan has turned into an "Islamic State" and should become a secular state if India and Pakistan have to "stay together".

Reacting to Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan's comment on Wednesday that if India takes one step his country will take two steps, Gen Rawat said Pakistan should take some action to curb terrorism and till then talks and terror cannot go together.

"Pakistan will have to look at its current position. They have turned their state into an Islamic state. Now, if they have to stay together with India, then they have to develop as a secular state.

"How can we stay together if you say you are an Islamic State. And there is no role for anyone else. We are a secular state. So to stay together we have to become secular. If they are willing to become secular like us, then I think there is some opportunity," he said said on the sidelines of the passing out parade of cadets at the National Defence Academy (NDA) here.

He said that Pakistan had to look at its internal situation in the context of whether "we stay together or separate".

The Army chief's remarks came two days after Imran Khan said at the ground-breaking ceremony at Kartarpur said "if India takes one step, Pakistan will take two steps".

"They are saying you take one step, we will take two. There is a contradiction in what they are saying. So to generate trust, you cannot keep making these statements.

"One step from them should come in a positive manner. Only then we will take some action and see if there has been some effect on the ground level or not. Till then, our country has a very clear policy - terror and talks cannot go together," Gen Rawat said.

Urging Khan to take action against terrorism in his own country, he said: "India has taken several steps forward. We said that terrorism is breeding in your (Pakistan) country. So first you take some action in your country which shows that you are actually doing something to curb terrorism in your country."

--IANS

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Amid demands of his resignation, ailing Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar is expected to meet the ruling BJP legislators at his private residence on Saturday, party sources said on Friday.

"The Chief Minister will be meeting our party MLAs at his residence. He is expected to review works related to MLAs in the presence of key officials of the state administration," a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) source said.

The former Defence Minister is being treated at his residence for advanced pancreatic cancer.

Parrikar has been in and out of hospitals in Goa, Mumbai, New York and New Delhi for nearly nine months.

He returned from Delhi's All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) on October 14 and has not moved out of his private residence, for any official event since.

The Opposition, as well ruling coalition allies have been demanding the resignation of the Chief Minister, claiming that the administration has come to a standstill due to Parrikar's absence.

On Thursday, Revenue Minister Rohan Khaunte said that he had stopped visiting his office at the state Secretariat, claiming files were not being cleared by officials in the Chief Minister's absence.

In the first week of December, the Congress is scheduled to start a state-wide agitation demanding the replacement of Parrikar as Chief Minister, because of his inability to attend office due to his prolonged illness.

--IANS

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Independent legislator from Kunda Raguraj Pratap Singh aka Raja Bhaiyya on Friday launched his political party 'Jansatta' and vowed to fight for the rights of farmers, youths and the poor.

Addressing a large gathering of supporters at the Rama Bai Ambedkar ground here, Raja Bhaiyya said he has formed the party based on a survey done among his supporters who decided that the time had come to form a political outfit.

Celebrating his 25th year as legislator, Raja Bhaiyya, who has been a Minister in successive Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Samajwadi Party (SP) governments in the state, hit out at the SC/ST Atrocities Act.

He said it was being sued as a weapon against the upper castes. Clearly throwing his weight behind the upper castes, he said that his party would fight for equal rights for all, irrespective of caste and creed.

He clarified that he and his party were not against Dalits and the oppressed. "We are not anti anybody. All we want is that there should be same rules and regulations for all," he said to cheering by his supporters.

He demanded that families of Army or paramilitary personnel who die in action should get a compensation of not less than Rs 1 crore.

The Kunda MLA is feared in his constituency for very many reasons but his writ runs large in Pratapgarh and nearby areas.

Being a Thakur leader, he is much sought after by all parties barring the Congress and the Bahujan Samaj Party.

--IANS

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Actor Rana Daggubati, who has dubbed for Thanos in the Telugu version of "Avengers: Infinity War", attended the opening ceremony of Comic Con Tokyo on Friday. He paid a tribute to the late Marvel Comics icon Stan Lee.

In the pictures circulated on social media, the "Baahubali" actor can be seen signing the memorial board kept at the event in rememberance of Stan Lee, curator of some of Hollywood's most popular superheroes like Spider-Man to Black Panther.

"Dear Stan Lee: Thanks for giving us hope and dreams," read the memorial board, where Rana signed.

Rana also met stars like Tom Hiddleston, Ezra Miller, James Phelps and Oliver Phelps here.

He posed with Marvel's biggest villain Thanos' statue and signed a couple of posters of his film "Baahubali" at the Comic Con.

"And I'm here Comic Con Tokyo...," Rana wrote on Twitter.

In an earlier interview to IANS, Rana had spoken up about his fascination for Marvel Comics.

He had said: "I felt the sheer power of Thanos while dubbing and tried my best to bring it through the voice. It was fascinating because the entire story is told from the point of view of Thanos.

"I have grown up reading Marvel Comics and Marvel movies with their intricately woven storylines. It is fascinating to see how Marvel has created characters and stories that resonate so well with audiences across the globe, making movies at a scale that one had never before imagined."

On the film front, Rana will next be seen in NTR biopic "Mahanayakudu" and Akshay Kumar starrer "Housefull 4".

--IANS

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Relatives of Malaysian Airlines flight MH370 victims on Friday handed over five suspected pieces of the debris discovered in Madagascar to authorities on Friday.

Flight MH370, a Boeing 777-200ER, disappeared from radar on March 8, 2014, some 40 minutes after taking off from Kuala Lumpur en route to Beijing with 239 people on board, 154 of them Chinese.

Grace Nathan, the daughter of one of the passengers on the plane, was one of the three who handed over what they said were parts of the Boeing -- one including a serial number -- to Malaysian Transport Minister Anthony Loke on behalf of the relatives at the Ministry in Putrajaya.

Nathan said that the fragments were found on the shores of Madagascar by locals between December 2016 and August 20, 2018, according to Efe news.

"The fact that debris is washing up now means that the investigation is still live. It shouldn't be closed," she said, adding that she wanted all the small pieces found to be combined like a "jigsaw puzzle".

"Maybe alone they don't tell us anything but if... (like) a jigsaw puzzle the pieces are put together they could tell us a story. They could potentially tell us about what happened to the plane."

An official report on the plane's disappearance released in July after a lengthy probe and years of searching gave no new clues about why the plane disappeared, sparking anger among relatives.

Now, the investigators need to find out whether these five fragments belong to the missing plane. Nathan also urged the Malaysian authorities to accept offers from companies such as the US' Ocean Infinity.

Ocean Infinity offered to locate the aircraft on a no-find, no-fee basis within a period of three months.

The company covered 112,000 square km with advanced equipment in just over three months and on May 29, it gave up the search.

Malaysia, China and Australia had already carried out searches that covered an area of 120,000 square km which ended with the same results.

On January 17 of 2017, the authorities from Malaysia, China and Australia announced they were suspending the search for the plane until new fragments were found that could suggest its resumption.

--IANS

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American coffee chain Starbucks has announced that it will block access to pornography on its free Wi-Fi in all its US outlets from 2019.

While watching explicit content in store was always banned, the coffee giant will now actively block such content, the BBC reported.

The company has been under pressure from a Virginia-based non-profit, Enough is Enough, to filter pornography in its stores.

Fast food chain McDonald's changed its Wi-Fi policies in 2016 after pressure from the group.

"While it rarely occurs, the use of Starbucks public Wi-Fi to view illegal or egregious content is not, nor has it ever been permitted," Starbucks said in a statement on Thursday.

The coffee company said it had "identified a solution" to stop access to pornography in all in US locations by 2019, but did not specify what this solution was.

Enough is Enough issued a statement earlier this week condemning the company for breaking a promise to block such content in 2016.

"Starbucks continues to serve up free, unrestricted Wi-Fi to its customers, opening the door for patrons to view graphic or obscene pornography, view or distribute child pornography (an illegal crime) or engage in sexual predation activity," the statement read.

The group encouraged people to sign a petition demanding Starbucks introduce such a filter.

Almost 27,000 people had signed it by Thursday.

--IANS

ksk

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State and regional governments were responding to the threat of climate change faster than their national counterparts, a report jointly by The Climate Group, CDP and PwC UK said on Friday.

Leading states and regions have committed to decarbonise at a rate of 6.2 per cent a year.

This is just 0.2 per cent away from the decarbonisation rate needed to align with a 2 degrees Celsius pathway -- far more ambitious than national governments.

Sub-national action is on the increase, with the number of states and regions disclosing their climate data growing from 44 governments in 2015 to 120 states and regions across 32 countries.

The findings come ahead of the Conference of the Parties (COP24) in Katowice in Poland next week, where states, regions, cities and businesses are calling for national governments to step up their ambition following the example set by the commitments made at the Global Climate Action Summit (GCAS) in September.

Of the 120 state and regional governments, 40 per cent were already reporting actions across both mitigation and adaptation to climate change -- the combination of which is vital, according to the latest IPCC science, to achieve the accelerated transition to a 1.5 degrees world.

Since the signing of the Paris Climate Change Agreement in 2015, the number of adaptation actions reported by states and regions has increased by 74 per cent, said the report.

A total of 265 targets for emissions reductions, renewable energy and energy efficiency have been disclosed. Eighty per cent of these targets were from governments in the Under2 Coalition, the largest global coalition of states and regions committed to acting now on climate change.

Tim Ash-Vie, Director of the Under2 Coalition Secretariat at The Climate Group, said: "This report shows that leading states and regions are already taking tangible steps to get to a world under two degrees Celsius warming.

"In light of the recent IPCC Special Report, we need to listen to the warnings from the scientific community and even these climate leaders will need to take stock of the progress that they have already made, consider where they might increase their ambition further still, and adjust their sights to the 1.5 degrees challenge."

This year, 37 governments from Argentina, Brazil, Columbia, Ecuador, Peru, Uruguay and Mexico disclosed, and Latin America became the second largest group of disclosing governments after Europe.

This demonstrates the increasing level of climate leadership from developing and emerging economy regions across the globe, said the report.

--IANS

vg/ksk

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Syrian air defences responded on Thursday evening to a suspected Israeli missile attack on military targets in southern Syria, media reported.

State TV reported that Syrian air force fired anti-air missiles in response to the strike, adding that all enemy targets were destroyed and that the foreign attack failed to achieve its intended goals, reports Xinhua news agency.

It said the attack took place over the town of Kisweh in the southern countryside of the Syrian capital Damascus.

While the official Syrian media outlets hinted that Israel is behind the attack, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a war monitoring group based in Britain, explicitly stated that Israel carried out the attack in the southern and southwestern countryside of Damascus near the administrative border with the southern province of Quneitra.

The watchdog said the Syrian air defences were firing a number of missiles to intercept the Israeli missiles.

Meanwhile, the pro-government Sham FM radio said two explosions were heard in the vicinity of the town of Al-Dimass in the western countryside of Damascus in tandem with the missile attack in southern Damascus.

Israel has repeatedly targeted military positions in Syria, including Kisweh.

If Israel is proved to be behind the attack, it would be the its first attack on Syrian targets since September, when it attacked military sites in Syria and led to the downing of a Russian surveillance aircraft by missiles mistakenly fired by Syrian air force in response to the Israeli attack.

After the September attack, during which 15 Russian servicemen were killed, Russia and the Syrian government blamed Israel for the crash, and Moscow was quick to equip Damascus with the advanced S-300 air defence system.

Syria's Deputy Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad told Xinhua in September that the arrival of Russia's S-300 to Syria would push Israel to reconsider before striking Syria again.

Israeli usually claims that its strikes target Iranian positions or weapons in Syria that could end up in the hands of the Hezbollah group in Lebanon.

--IANS

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US President Donald Trump on Friday met in Buenos Aires of Argentina with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on the situation of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) and bilateral trade.

According to a statement issued by White House spokesperson Sarah Sanders, Trump and Abe met on the margins of the Group of 20 (20) summit, when they "reviewed recent developments in North Korea" and discussed how best to work with the international community, including South Korea, to maintain pressure until the DPRK implements its commitment to denuclearise.

The two leaders also discussed progress in the two countries' cooperation on advancing a free and open region, as well as next steps to implement their shared resolve to expand collaboration in areas such as energy and infrastructure, Xinhua news agency reported.

They exchanged ideas on trade and the shared effort to deepen their economic relationship, including through pending negotiations aimed at concluding a bilateral trade agreement, the statement read.

Before their bilateral meeting began, Trump told the media that the US-Japanese deficit is "coming down."

However, when asked about Trump's comment that he is planning a trip to Japan, an anonymous White House official told the media that "the president intends to make a trip to Japan next year. We have nothing else to announce."

Japan was set to hold the G-20 summit next year.

Later on the same day, Trump, Abe and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a trilateral meeting summit, the first ever of its kind, according to the White House.

--IANS

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The cancellation of a meeting between the Presidents of the US and Russia had nothing to do with an escalation of tension between Kiev and Moscow but was due to internal American politics, said a spokesperson of the Russian Foreign Affairs Ministry.

Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin were due to meet at the G20 summit in the Argentinian capital Buenos Aires on December 1, but with tension intensifying between Russia and Ukraine after a naval confrontation in the Black Sea, the US leader cancelled the meeting on Thursday.

Moscow captured three Ukrainian naval vessels and 24 personnel near the Kerch Strait that separates the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov earlier this week after accusing them of tresspassing.

"Based on the fact that the ships and sailors have not been returned to Ukraine from Russia, I have decided it would be best for all parties concerned to cancel my previously scheduled meeting with President Vladimir Putin," Trump had said on Twitter.

"I look forward to a meaningful summit again as soon as this situation is resolved!" he said.

However, Russia on Friday expressed regret over Trump's decision and also questioned whether the crisis in the Black Sea was the reason behind the cancellation of the meeting.

"Was Ukraine's provocation in the Kerch Strait the true reason for the cancellation? We have heard the official explanation and taken note of it," said Maria Zakharova, Director of the Russian ministry of foreign affairs, at a press conference.

"But is it true? The true reason is rooted in the domestic political situation in the US," Zakharova added.

Earlier on Friday, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Moscow "regretted the US administration's decision to cancel the planned meeting".

"This means that a discussion on important issues on the bilateral and international agenda is being postponed indefinitely," Peskov was quoted as saying by TASS news agency.

Trump's announcement was contrary to his own statement made earlier when he said that the talks were not terminated and "it's a very good time to have a meeting".

German Chancellor Angela Merkel has blamed the Kiev-Moscow crisis "entirely" on Russia and said she would raise the issue with Putin.

--IANS

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Despite Moscow's olive branch for a summit, US President Donald Trump has said that considering the unsolved Russia-Ukraine confrontation, it would be "best" to cancel his scheduled meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Trump tweeted during his flight to Argentina that "based on the fact that the ships and sailors have not been returned to Ukraine from Russia, I have decided it would be best for all parties concerned to cancel my previously scheduled meeting ... in Argentina with President Vladimir Putin."

"I look forward to a meaningful Summit again as soon as this situation is resolved!" he added, Xinhua news agency reported.

The statement marked a dramatic U-turn of his attitude hours ago, before leaving for Argentina to attend the Group of 20 (G20) summit, when Trump said he "probably" would meet with Putin.

"I think it's a very good time to have the meeting," he said.

He added that he would get a final report on the Ukraine-Russia tension during the upcoming flight.

"I'm getting a full report on the plane as to what happened with respect to that and that will determine what I'm going to be doing," Trump said.

The ongoing probe of Trump's alleged links with Russia inside the US, together with Russia's strained relations with Ukraine, has made the high-profile scheduled meeting a subject of uncertainty and sensitivity on the US side, ever since Moscow and Washington announced it before Trump's trip to France earlier this year.

Trump on Tuesday threatened to cancel the meeting due to his displeasure with Russia's alleged "aggression" of Ukraine near the Kerch Strait that separates the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed on Thursday that Putin and Trump would have a brief one-on-one meeting on the sidelines of the G20 summit, and that Russian-US negotiations with a larger number of participants would take place and might last about an hour.

"We don't have to agree on all these issues since it is probably impossible, but we will have to talk as this is in the interests of not only our two countries but of the whole world," the spokesman said.

The Ukrainian Navy on Sunday said that Russian forces opened fire and seized three Ukrainian ships near the Kerch Strait, wounding six Ukrainian military sailors, two of them in serious condition.

Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) said the three Ukrainian ships breached the Russian border and conducted dangerous maneuvers in spite of orders of accompanying vessels from the FSB and Russia's Black Sea Fleet.

The Ukrainian Navy said that it had informed Russia in advance about the passage of Ukrainian vessels from the Black Sea to the Sea of Azov through the Kerch Strait.

The Ukrainian parliament on Monday supported a bill imposing a martial law in certain regions for 30 days starting from Wednesday due to the tensions with Russia in the Sea of Azov.

--IANS

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Michael Cohen, US President Donald Trump's former personal attorney, has pleaded guilty to lying to Congress about a Russia real estate project that Trump and his company pursued at the same time he was securing the Republican nomination in 2016.

In a nine-page filing, prosecutors at a courtroom in Lower Manhattan on Thursday laid out a litany of lies that Cohen admitted he told lawmakers in Congress about the Moscow project, reports The Washington Post.

Cohen appeared on Thursday morning before US District Judge Andrew L. Carter Jr., who asked him to enter his plea.

"Guilty, your honour," Cohen replied.

As part of the plea, Cohen said he had lied for the person listed in court documents as "Individual 1" - whom Cohen identified in court as Trump.

"I was aware of Individual 1's repeated disavowals of commercial and political ties between himself and Russia, his repeated statements that investigations of such ties were politically motivated and without evidence, and that any contact with Russian nationals by Individual 1's campaign or the Trump Organization had all terminated before the Iowa Caucus, which was on February 1 of 2016," Cohen told the Judge.

Cohen said he knowingly gave false answers in 2017 to the Senate and House intelligence committees.

"I made these misstatements to be consistent with Individual 1's political messaging and out of loyalty to Individual 1," he told the packed courtroom in Lower Manhattan.

As part of the plea, Cohen admitted to falsely claiming that efforts to build a Trump-branded tower in Moscow ended in January 2016, when in fact discussions continued through June of that year, the filing said.

Among those Cohen briefed on the project's status was Trump, on more than three occasions.

Cohen's guilty plea, his second in four months, is the latest development in a wide-ranging investigation by Special Counsel Robert Mueller into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election.

Responding to the development, Trump told reporters at the White House later on Thursday that Cohen was "a weak person" and insisted that he himself had done nothing wrong, the Washington Post reported.

"Michael Cohen is lying and he's trying to get a reduced sentence for things that have nothing to do with me," the President said.

"This was a project that we didn't do, I didn't do. .?.?. There would be nothing wrong if I did do it."

Trump's lawyer Rudolph W. Giuliani suggested that Mueller's timing was politically motivated.

Sentencing in this case has been scheduled for December 12.

--IANS

ksk

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US President Donald Trump would miss an opportunity to discuss controversial topics and demonstrate the independence of his foreign policy by cancelling a meeting with Russian leader Vladimir Putin, a Russian senior lawmaker said on Thursday.

"It is wrong to assume that the Russian side needs this meeting more," Konstantin Kosachev, head of the Russian Federation Council's International Affairs Committee, said on Facebook.

To clarify controversial issues, including acute incidents at sea, it is necessary to hold personal talks between the two presidents, he wrote, adding that Trump's decision to call off the meeting with Putin is regretful, reports Xinhua news agency.

"Based on the fact that the ships and sailors have not been returned to Ukraine from Russia, I have decided it would be best for all parties concerned to cancel my previously scheduled meeting in Argentina with President Vladimir Putin," Trump tweeted earlier in the day.

The Kremlin said hours ago that Putin and Trump would meet on Saturday on the sidelines of the G20 summit to discuss bilateral relations, strategic security, disarmament and regional conflicts.

--IANS

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Two victims of police torture on Friday attempted immolation at an election rally of Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrashekhar Rao's son and cabinet minister K.T. Rama Rao.

The incident occurred in Rajanna Sircilla district when Rama Rao, popular as KTR, was addressing the rally in Sircialla Assembly constituency, from where he is seeking re-election.

Kola Harish and Penta Banaiah poured kerosene on self and tried to immolate but alert policemen foiled their attempt and shifted them to a police station.

The two villagers were protesting against the police torture and the failure of the minister to do justice to them.

They were among eight people from Nerella village who were arrested in March last year on charges of setting ablaze sand lorries. They were later subjected to third-degree torture in police custody.

The opposition had accused Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) government and Rama Rao in particular for abusing their power.

Six of the victims had later joined the ruling party. Harish and Banaiah had alleged that TRS leaders offered them cash and other rewards to get them to join the party. They also claimed that the ruling party was also pressuring them to remain silent.

--IANS

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Tripoli, Nov 30 (IANS/AKI) The United Nations mission to Libya is continuing to receive reports of armed groups carrying out targeted killings in Tripoli, a "completely unacceptable" phenomenon that has escalated in recent weeks, UNSMIL said in a statement late on Thursday.

"UNSMIL continues to receive reports of armed groups carrying out extrajudicial killings in Tripoli, a phenomenon that has been on the rise over the past few weeks," said the statement.

"The Mission affirms that allegations of offences and personal disputes should be judged in a court of law, not by gunmen on the streets," the statement said.

UNSMIL urged Tripoli's authorities to immediately take the necessary measures to protect Libyans from targeted killings and to "send a strong message that these acts are completely unacceptable," according to the statement.

Authorities in the Libyan capital must "back these messages with objective investigations to identify and hold perpetrators of such crimes accountable," the statement added.

"Extrajudicial executions are not only acts of extreme cruelty, violating the laws of this country; they also violate international human rights and humanitarian laws. Those responsible for committing or ordering extrajudicial killings are criminally liable under international law," the statement concluded.

Libya has been in turmoil since the Nato-backed ouster of late dictator Muammar Gaddafi in 2011 with rival governments in the east and west of the country supported by a myriad of armed groups.

--IANS

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The Congress has urged the Election Commission to take action against Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath for calling Hindu god Hanuman a Dalit.

In a complaint lodged with the Election Commission, the Congress accused Adityanath of posing a threat to communal harmony in Rajasthan.

According to Congress state General Secretary Sushil Sharma, Adityanath had hurt the sentiments of Hindus with his statement on Hanuman in Alwar on Tuesday.

"Yogi's inciting speeches during his campaign in Rajasthan can divide the people of different communities. So the Congress has approached the EC to take suitable action against him for violating the model code of conduct," he added.

Sharma has also urged the poll panel to stop further campaigning of the Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister.

After Adityanath, Union Minister of State Satyapal Chaudhary claimed that Hanuman was an Arya.

The categorization of Lord Hanuman in such classes is condemnable and cannot be tolerated, said Suresh Mishra, President of Sarv Brahmin Samaj.

"So we are starting a new campaign - 'Hanumanji ka apman, nahi sahega Rajashtan'," he said.

The organisation on Wednesday sent a legal notice to Adityanath for terming Hanuman a Dalit and demanded an apology from him, failing which an FIR will be lodged against him, Mishra told IANS.

--IANS

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Leaders of the US, Canada and Mexico on Friday signed a new trade deal to replace the North American Free Trade Agreement (Nafta) that Donald Trump touted as a huge win for the American economy.

After 14 months of acrimonious negotiations, the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) was signed at an event in the Argentinian capital on the sidelines of a Group of 20 summit of advanced and developing economies.

Trump called the new deal the "most significant and largest" in US history, CNN reported.

Standing between outgoing Mexican President Pena Nieto and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau at a press conference, the US President said: "We worked hard on this agreement, it's been long and hard. We've taken a lot of barbs and a little abuse, but we got there."

He said the deal would give American farmers greater access to markets for their agricultural products, "something we've been wanting to for many years".

Trump also said the deal would transform the American auto industry, promoting fair competition and high wages.

The signing of the new USMCA trade deal does not mean it goes into effect as it still requires Congressional approval in Washington, where key members of both political parties have expressed significant concerns.

Cautiously welcoming the ceremonial signing, Trudeau said: "The new North American free trade agreement maintains stability for Canada's entire economy, stability that's essential for the millions of jobs and middle class families across the country that rely on strong relationships with our neighbours. That's why I'm here today."

But he cast doubt on the US leader's optimism, pointing to plant closures by General Motors in North America as "a heavy blow" and taking the opportunity for a jibe at the US leader's protectionist policies, CNN said.

"And Donald, it's all the more reason why we need to keep working to remove the tariffs on steel and aluminium between our countries."

In the deal, Canada won concessions including a dispute resolution system for companies that feel unfairly targeted with taxes.

It will also receive exemptions from any future American tariffs on 2.6 million imported passenger vehicles. In return, Canada agreed to, among other things, Trump's repeated demands that it crack open its dairy market, the New York Times reported.

However, Trump's tariffs on Canadian metals remain in place, testing the relationship between Canada and its biggest and most important trading partner.

A massive security operation was under way for the G20 summit. The leaders with whom Trump will speak in bilateral meetings include Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, South Korean President Moon Jae-in and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

The US leader cancelled a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in protest over Moscow's seizure of Ukrainian naval boats.

He will remain in Buenos Aires until Saturday night, leaving after a working dinner with Chinese President Xi Jinping, in which both could reach an agreement to stop an ongoing trade war between the two nations.

World leaders will be holding discussions later on Friday amid Kiev-Moscow tension and Washington's trade row with Beijing. Climate change was expected to be another major sticking point in the talks.

The summit was also a diplomatic test for Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman amid continuing questions about possible involvement in the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in Turkey.

--IANS

soni/bg

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A 78-year-old inmate sentenced to life behind bars for the murders of three women in the US, recently confessed to 90 homicides between 1970 and 2005, the FBI has said.

If confirmed, this number of murders would make Samuel Little one of the most prolific serial killers in US history, Efe reported on Thursday.

Little was arrested in September 2012 at a homeless shelter in Kentucky and extradited to California, where he was wanted for drug crimes.

Once in Los Angeles, authorities linked his DNA to that found in the murders of three women between 1987 and 1989. In all three cases, the victims were beaten, strangled and then their bodies dumped in an alley, a dumpster and a garage.

Little was sentenced to three terms of life imprisonment for those three crimes, but police wanted to share his DNA and details of his modus operandi with the FBI so that a deeper investigation could be undertaken.

What the FBI found was an "alarming pattern and compelling links to many more murders," mostly "marginalized and vulnerable women who were often involved in prostitution and addicted to drugs."

"Their bodies sometimes went unidentified and their deaths uninvestigated," the FBI statement added.

A lead on a case then took the FBI to Texas: "We found a case out of Odessa, Texas, that sounded very much like him, and we could place him passing through the area around the same time," said ViCAP Crime Analyst Christina Palazzolo in the statement.

Accompanied by the Texas Rangers, the FBI decided to question Little last spring in a California prison, where he agreed to cooperate in exchange for a prison transfer.

"He went through city and state and gave Ranger Holland the number of people he killed in each place. Jackson, Mississippi - one; Cincinnati, Ohio - one; Phoenix, Arizona - three; Las Vegas, Nevada - one," Palazzolo explained.

Little remembered his victims and the murders with great detail and he was even able to draw the faces of some of his victims.

In total, Little confessed to 90 murders over a 35-year period, with the killings being committed all over the country. Of those 90, 34 have already been confirmed.

--IANS

vc

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A US airstrike in Afghanistan against Taliban militants earlier this week killed 23 civilians and the majority of victims were women and children, the UN said in its preliminary findings on Friday.

The strike on a compound in Helmand province was called in during a joint operation between Afghan and US forces on Tuesday, TOLO News reported.

The UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) in a statement said up to 10 children and eight women might have been killed in the strike. Three children were reportedly injured. US forces said they were investigating the incident.

The US-led NATO mission in Afghanistan said that Tuesday's helicopter strike took place amid a firefight between US-advised Afghan special forces and Taliban fighters in Garmser district.

NATO said the Taliban had been using the building that was hit "as a fighting position" and accused the militants of continuously using civilians as human shields.

A local resident who did not want to be named for fear of retaliation told the BBC that Taliban fighters were indeed near the building that was hit by the US strike.

The UNAMA recorded 649 civilian casualties (dead and injured) as a result of aerial attacks in the first nine months of this year, the highest number in any year since systematic recording began in 2009.

In April, an attack by the Afghan Air Force -- trained and equipped by the US -- killed 30 children in Kunduz province at a graduation ceremony.

The US Air Force released nearly 6,000 weapons in the first 10 months of 2018, compared to 4,361 in all of 2017 and 1,337 in all of 2016.

Most civilian casualties in Afghanistan were, however, still caused by anti-government groups like the Taliban and the Islamic State group, the report said.

The UN statement reminded "all parties to the conflict to uphold their obligations to protect civilians from harm". It said that all parties to the conflict must strictly adhere to their obligations under international humanitarian law to take all feasible measures to protect civilians.

--IANS

soni/bg

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US Vice President Mike Pence has said that President Donald Trump will soon sign a legislation to extend an HIV/AIDS aid programme that started 15 years ago.

Pence made the announcement on Thursday at a White House event marking the upcoming World AIDS Day, which falls on Saturday, reports Xinhua news agency.

The Senate approved a bill on Wednesday to extend the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) for five years and sent it to the White House for Trump's signature.

The House passed an identical bill earlier this month.

Pence said Trump believes that the reauthorisation was "a critical component" of the administration's commitment to combat AIDS.

Former President George W. Bush signed PEPFAR into law in 2003.

HIV/AIDS advocates said they welcome the news while urging the Trump administration to drop efforts to slash federal funding for the program.

Observed on December 1 every year since 1988, World AIDS Day is an international day dedicated to raising awareness of the AIDS pandemic and mourning those who have died of the disease.

--IANS

ksk

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Our company, located in Latvia, is looking for high-quality wood pellets supplier, able to deliver the product to Latvia on FCA terms. Waiting for your offers with price offer for the product, including the delivery and location information.
Congress President Rahul Gandhis brother-in-law Robert Vadra on Friday accused the government of foul play in the run up to the December 7 Rajasthan polls, calling their attempts "desperate, blatantly political and vindictive tactics".

"A flurry of media queries are suddenly being sent to me based on entirely false allegations probably being leaked by the government as polling day in Rajasthan comes close!! Interestingly, most of the issues arising thereof happen to be sub-judice," Vadra said in a Facebook post.

"Is it a mere coincidence that this also coincides with certain government agencies accelerating their activities and raking up issues that either have no connection to me at all or I have already responded to years ago and cooperated with them fully over the last four years?" he said.

Vadra said the sad part was that everyone except the Bharatiya Janata Party could see "how desperate, blatantly political and vindictive these tactics" were.

"I hope independent and professional persons in the media stay focused on issues that really matter to the public in Rajasthan like massive unemployment and misgovernance and don't allow themselves to get dragged into what is clearly the government's plan B every time they find themselves on the back foot be it Rafale or the prospect of losing assembly elections," he said.

Vadra was apparently reacting to queries about a media report that a firm that gave loan to buy Vadra's land at a premium got big relief from tax panel.

The report by The Indian Express said that the Enforcement Directorate, which has been investigating a web of controversial land transactions in Bikaner in Rajasthan, involving Vadra's companies, has asked the Income Tax Settlement Commission for details on its proceedings in the case related to Bhushan Power and Steel Limited, which gave a loan to a company that bought land owned by Vadra's firm at seven times the acquisition cost.

--IANS

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Actress Sanya Malhotra says working with Nawazuddin Siddiqui in her forthcoming release "Photograph" has been a huge thing for her as it gave her the opportunity to work with her favorite actor.

"I started shooting for 'Photograph' right after 'Dangal' so, it's really special for me," said Sanya interacting with the media at fashion designer Ritu Kumar's store launch on Thursday here.

"It was my second film, though 'Patakha' (by Vishal Bhardwaj) got released after 'Dangal'. I had really good experience working with Ritesh Batra and Nawaz sir. It was a huge thing for me to work with Nawaz sir because he is my favorite actor," she added.

"Initially, I was a bit nervous working with him. But then I watched all his interviews to know how he prepares for his roles so that I could chill out working alongside.

"When he used to come on the set, he would leave his starry vibes back at home. He was this completely transformed -- like totally into his character. I got to learn a lot from him," said the actress, who was last seen in "Badhaai Ho".

"Photograph" revolves around a struggling street photographer (Nawazuddin), pressured to marry by his grandmother. He convinces a shy stranger to pose as his fiancee. The pair develops a connection that transforms them.

The film will be premiering at Sundance Film Festival 2019. "I is very exciting news," she said.

Sanya along with Fatima Sana Shaikh made their Hindi film debut in "Dangal" alongside Aamir Khan. Fatima's second wasv "Thugs of Hindostan".

While "Thugs..." failed to impress, Sanya's "Badhaai Ho" has crossed Rs 100 crore at the box-office and has entered its 6th week at the theatres.

She said she was happy with the outcome but stayed clear of the comparison.

"The kind love and appreciation we have been receiving for the film is really amazing. It's the 6th week and still drawing audiences to the theatres," she said.

"Photograph" is written and directed by Ritesh Batrra, who is alos a co-producer along with Voila Fugen, Neil Kopp, Anish Savjani and Michael Weber.

The 2019 edition of Sundance Film Festival will be held at Park City, Utah in the US from January 24 to February 3, 2019.

--IANS

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A South African court on Friday postponed the corruption case against former President Jacob Zuma till May 2019 after defence lawyers petitioned the court to drop all charges.

The Pietermaritzburg court decided to postpone the case against Zuma in order to give the South African Attorney General's office time to review the arguments of the defence.

The defence consisted of Zuma's legal team and the lawyers that represented Thales, a French arms company involved in the case, Efe news reported.

According to local analysts, the defence's petition was not strong enough to get the court to drop the charges against Zuma.

Zuma who led the African country between 2009 and 2018 and was pressured into resigning, appeared in court on Friday and stated during the proceedings that he was not feeling well and asked for a beverage.

The former President was facing charges of illicit association, corruption, money laundering and fraud for nearly 800 operations related to an arms accord signed with Thales in the late 1990s when Zuma was deputy President of the African country.

--IANS

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The unseemly wrangle last month between the government and the Reserve Bank of India has reopened several questions, chief amongst which is an age-old one applicable to all sovereigns everywhere at all times: Should I loot, tax or borrow? Looting is the easiest because if you have the monopoly of force  physical or legislated  you can rob anyone. Governments loot all the time.

But this annoys the population. Taxing is a bit harder, not because it is difficult but it costs a lot to collect and often the net benefit is quite small. The government used to spend 85 paise ...
Two Indian drug peddlers have been arrested near here, police said.

The duo identified as Karan Sahni, 55, and Sabir Ali, 29, are residents of Champaran in Bihar, they said.

The two, who were transporting the drugs in their car, were arrested on Thursday from Thankot in Chandragiri area, 10 km west of Kathmandu, during a security check by a special team of Nepal Police.

The drugs were hidden in a bag inside the car, police said, adding that 695 ampoules of diazepam, 696 ampoules of morphine and 495 ampoules of Phenergan were seized from the duo's possession.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Four men were arrested Friday on charges of rioting and assaulting police personnel after a scuffle at a Chinese smartphone manufacturing facility, police said.

On Thursday, over a thousand workers of the Hipad Technology India, which assembles and tests Xiaomi phones, restored to violence after around 200 of them were allegedly sacked without notice.

Apparently peeved over the situation, the workers went on a rampage at around 10 am, pelting stones at the building and barging into the facility in Sector 63.

"Four workers have been arrested for the violence, throwing stones and damaging the office. They have also been booked for indecent behaviour and scuffling with police officials and obstructing them in the duty," Station House Officer (SHO), Phase 3, Akhilesh Tripathi said.

He said there was no complaint from either side but the police had taken suo motu cognisance because the incident had caused a law and order situation in the vicinity.

Those arrested were identified as Yogesh Kumar, Akhilesh Kumar, Deepak Pandey and Yogesh Pal - all under 30 years of age, he said.

They were booked under Indian Penal Code sections 147 (rioting), 332 (voluntarily causing hurt to deter public servant from his duty), 353 (assault or criminal force to deter public servant from discharge of his duty) and related offences, the SHO said.

Meanwhile, the company's officials in China have written to the Indian government, the Chinese Embassy in India, the police and administration in Noida thanking them for "the quick response and effective handling" of the incident and services to the enterprise.

The Hipad Technology, in a statement, said it had informed the vendor's company (which was providing them workers) that post-Diwali the material management in the company was delayed by about 10 days due to international transportation, affecting the production.

"To prevent loss of employees in the key positions, Hipad India had arranged for human resources department and the vendor's company to carry out a joint training. We had clearly informed the vendors our plan that we will ask these employees to return to the factory and continue to work in December," it said.

Officials at the Labour Department, who visited the facility Thursday, had said that it was a case of "miscommunication" on the company's part.

"Due to shortage of raw material after Diwali, the company had asked the vendors to tell the workers that they would be rested for a few days, but not sacked," Assistant Labour Commissioner Harish Chandra Singh said Friday.

He said his department along with other administration and police officials had a meeting with the company and its three vendors Friday.

"One of the units of the factory would begin Saturday and the remaining ones would go operational from Monday," he said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Of the 40 odd cases in coal blocks allocation scam that took place during the previous UPA regime, in which former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is also an accused, 18 people and six companies have been convicted in six cases till now by a special court.

While in the case of Singh criminal proceedings have been stayed by the Supreme Court, the trial court has been pressing ahead with other matters and has convicted former Jharkhand Chief Minister Madhu Koda, former coal secretary H C Gupta and two other bureaucrats among others.

The first conviction in the coal scam came on March 28, 2016 in a case pertaining to irregularities in the allotment of a coal block in Jharkhand to Ispat Pvt Ltd (JIPL). Its two directors, R S Rungta and R C Rungta, were awarded four-year jail term.

The second conviction followed four months later on July 26 that year in which Rathi Steel and Power Ltd (RSPL) and three of its officials -- Managing Director Pradeep Rathi, Chief Executive Officer Udit Rathi and AGM Kushal Aggarwal -- were held guilty by the court for "deceiving" the government by making false representation before Singh.

The third conviction took place on May 19, 2017 in the case involving Kamal Sponge Steel and Power Ltd (KSSPL), in which the firm and its managing director Pawan Kumar Ahluwalia were held guilty along with Gupta.

On December 13, 2017, Koda along with Gupta and three others was convicted in a case pertaining to irregularities in allocating allocating Rajhara North coal block in Jharkhand to the Kolkata-based Vini Iron and Steel Udyog Ltd (VISUL), which was also held guilty.

The conviction in the fifth case came on April 27 this year when Gondwana Ispat Ltd and its director were found guilty of cheating and criminal conspiracy to get the Majra coal block in Maharashtra allocated to it.

Friday's decision was the sixth conviction in the coal scam cases in which Gupta, retired and serving public servants -- K S Kropha and K C Samria -- , respectively, Vikash Metals and Power Limited (VMPL) and its two officials in the sixth case of allotment of coal blocks in West Bengal.

Among the other important pending cases arising out of the coal scam relate to the allocation of Talabira II coal block in Odisha to Aditya Birla Group's Hindalco in 2005 in which the name of Singh was dragged as one of the accused. The then prime minister held the charge of the coal ministry.

The proceedings in the case against Singh were stayed by the Supreme Court on April 1, 2015 after he moved it opposing the order of the special court which had on March 11, 2015 summoned him and others, including the then Coal Secretary P C Parakh and Birla as accused.

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Five people, including two Korean nationals, were arrested and 7 kg of gold, which was smuggled into India from Hong Kong, along with cash worth Rs 11.12 crore was seized, according to an official statement issued Friday.

Acting on a tip-off, sleuths at the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) intercepted a businessman coming from a hotel in the city on Thursday.

The sleuths seized 6 kg of gold from his leather bag, the statement said.

The businessman admitted that the yellow metal was smuggled into India by two Korean nationals who were staying at the same hotel, it said.

Subsequently, the DRI sleuths nabbed the two Korean nationals who confessed that the gold was smuggled into India from Hong Kong for monetary consideration.

Meanwhile, a team from the DRI conducted raids at houses and textile shops owned by the businessman and seized 1 kg of gold along with cash worth Rs 11.16 crore, the statement said.

Two assistants of the businessman, who were also allegedly involved in the smuggling of gold, were arrested, it said.

The car used in the commission of crime was also seized.

During interrogation, the businessman revealed that the cash recovered during the raid was the sale proceeds against the delivery of the smuggled gold, the statement said.

He said he had planned to remit the money abroad through 'hawala' route, it said.

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India's Olympic and world champion shooter Abhinav Bindra has been conferred the sport's highest honour for his outstanding services as the chairman of the International Shooting Sport Federation's Athletes Committee.

The 36-year-old Bindra, who remains India's lone individual Olympic gold medallist, has been bestowed with the Blue Cross, the ISSF's highest award.

"Extremely humbled to receive the @ISSF_Shooting's highest honour the Blue Cross at the General Assembly in Munich today," Bindra wrote on his twitter handle.

Bindra was succeeded in the post by the legendary American shooter Kimberly Rhode.

"Handing over the @ISSF_Shooting Athletes Committee to the legendary @KimRhode at her first Executive Committee meeting in Munich today !"



The shooter, who created history by winning the 10m air rifle gold at the Beijing Olympics in 2008, was a member of the ISSF Athletes Committee from 2010 to 2014 and chairman from 2014 to 2018.

During this tenure he has also been awarded with the President's Button and the Diploma of Honour in January 2016 in appreciation for his outstanding career as an athlete and role model for shooters globally.

With him at the helm, the committee has brought out a comprehensive Athletes Handbook, for the benefit of shooters around the world.

National Rifle Association of India president President Raninder Singh was awarded the ISSF diploma of honour gold medal at the general assembly.

He was presented with the diploma and medal by the outgoing longest serving president of the ISSF, Olegario Vazquez Rana, who was at the helm for 38 years.

Expressing gratitude to the global shooting fraternity, Singh said, "The sport has grown by leaps and bounds under the able leadership of Mr. Rana and it will be a tough task for whoever replaces him, to match up to the lofted benchmarks set."



Singh added, "I accept this award on behalf of the entire NRAI team, who have been tireless in their pursuit of growing the sport in India, the Government of India who have stood by us at all times and above all the shooting fraternity in the country, who are simply the very best.

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After Punjab minister Navjot Singh Sidhu, now SGPC president Gobind Singh Longowal on Friday played down his appearance in a photograph with a "pro-Khalistan" leader in Pakistan.

Asked to comment on sharing a frame with "separatist" Gopal Singh Chawla at the groundbreaking ceremony of the Kartarpur corridor in Pakistan, Longowal said he was only following the seating arrangements at the function.

"I sat at the designated place only as per the protocol fixed by Pakistan authorities. How would I have known who was sitting next to me? I had never met Chawla in my life and did not recognise him. The issue is unnecessarily being raked up," he said.

Chawla is the general secretary of Pakistan Sikh Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee (PSGPC) and is known to speak for "Khalistan".

On Thursday, Sidhu upon his return home from the event in Pakistan, had played down his appearance in a photograph with Chawla in Pakistan.

He had come under a sharp attack from Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) president Sukhbir Singh Badal after a picture from the ceremony showed him with Chawla.

Chawla had shared the purported picture on his Facebook page.

The minister had said he had posed with several people and it was difficult to distinguish them.

Meanwhile, Longowal informed that the Pakistan government was making arrangements to observe the 550th birth anniversary of Sikhism founder Guru Nanak Dev next year.

He said the PSGPC has extended invitation to him for some religious events connected with 550th birth anniversary celebrations and he has accepted its invitation.

Longowal expressed concern over the plight of some gurdwaras in Pakistan which he said were found in dilapidated condition.

He informed that encroachments were also spotted in many Sikh shrines in Pakistan.

He said he would raise the matter with PSGPC officials.

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Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh Friday attacked Congress party for ignoring farmers during its rule and asserted that his government has taken number of steps to boost their income.

The minister also said the Congress government did not take any step to implement the recommendations made in the 2006 Swaminathan report.

"Today, Congress party has realised that our country is agriculture-based economy. The Congress party should give an answer why its government was apathetic towards farmers for many years," Singh said in a statement amid farmers' protest in the national capital where thousands of farmers from across the country have gathered to press for their demands.

The minister said that the Modi government, in the last four and half years, has taken number of steps for the growth of farmers and the overall agriculture sector.

He highlighted that the government has announced e-NAM programme to electronically link all 545 wholesale mandies across the country, besides launching new crop insurance scheme, sharp rise in MSPs, soil-health card, 100 per cent neem coating of urea and completion of 99 stuck irrigation projects, among others.

Meanwhile, Congress president Rahul Gandhi said the farmers are not seeking gift from the government on farm loan waiver, they are asking for what is due to them.

Singh said the government has also made changes in rules to provide higher compensation to farmers in case of natural calamities.

The minister said the Congress ruled government did not pay attention to allied sectors like animal husbandry, while the current government has made positive efforts for the development of dairy, poultry, fisheries and other sectors to achieve the target of doubling farmers income by 2022.

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Goa Chief Minister will meet state MLAs, ministers and government officials at his private residence on Saturday, his office informed.

Parrikar, 62, is currently recuperating at his private residence in Dona Paula, near here, since his discharge from the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, on October 14.

"The CM will first meet officials and take stock of governance in the morning, followed by a meeting with MLAs and ministers," a senior Chief Ministers Office functionary told PTI Friday.

He added that Parrikar was feeling better now.

Parrikar had earlier held a Cabinet meeting on October 31 and met party officials the next day.
A group of from Amnesty International gathered outside the Indian High Commission here on Friday to protest against what they termed as a "crackdown" on the human rights group in India.

The protesters carried placards reading "India: Stop the Crackdown" and "Prime Minister Narendra Modi: Don't Crush India's Charities" during the peaceful demonstration outside India House to mark the start of the G20 summit in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

"As more people in India call for equality, accountability and justice, Prime Minister Modi's government is trying to silence human rights defenders and organisations," said Kate Allen, Amnesty International UK's Director.

"Amnesty India speaks out for women's rights, has exposed the use of excessive force against defenceless people, and stood up for indigenous communities whose rights are being violated by large corporations. We stand in solidarity with our colleagues in India," she said.

The protest follows the Enforcement Directorate raid on Amnesty India offices in Bangalore last month, which led to the freezing its bank accounts.

While the rights group has denied any wrongdoing and claims the raid followed a similar attempt to "intimidate" Greenpeace India, the Indian authorities have said the raids were aimed at uncovering foreign funding violations by Amnesty in India.

"The G20 summit has to be more than a photo opportunity for member countries and they must pull their weight to address the increasing crackdown on civil society organisations and human rights defenders by the government of India," said Aakar Patel, Executive Director of Amnesty International India.

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Angel investor Asha Jadeja Motwani has launched Motwani Institute of Thought Leadership in Innovation (MITLI) in San Francisco (US) for research in IT and bio-technology.

"This institute will create new frontiers of research in Indian academia by means of exchange between scholars of Stanford University and India," Motwani told PTI in an interaction on the sidelines of TIE Global Entrepreneurship Summit.

She said the institute will facilitate exchanges in key academic fields such as computer science, education, health-tech, policy design and political science to support aspirations of emerging entrepreneurs.

"My vision is to catalyze innovation and entrepreneurship in India at the grassroots level. Student exchanges between Stanford and South Asia will fuel key new vectors in our own research and teaching agenda," she said.

She is the wife of late Standford Professor and computer scientist Rajeev Motwani.

"A total of USD 30 million have been invested as endowment to set the institute in place," she said.

Motwani said her expansion plans include setting up an ecosystem for startups in the backward parts of India, which are full of new ideas.

The venture capitalist dubbed the Indian startups as rocketships, which have immense potential but noted that the problem with these startups is that we do not invest in right places.

"The government needs to structure the startup plan differently, seek advise from right people like angel investors who are aware of the way startups work and channelise resources in the right direction," she said.

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The Andhra Pradesh Anti-Corruption Bureau Friday nabbed a Central Excise Department official in a bribery case in Machilipatnam, officials said.

This comes days after the state government issued an order withdrawing the "general consent" accorded to the CBI under the Delhi Special Police Establishment Act.

This effectivelybanned the Central Bureau of Investigation from exercising its authority in the state.

ACB Director General R P Thakur said in a release the Central Tax and Central Excise Superintendent M K Ramaneswar was caught red-handed while accepting a bribe of Rs 30,000 for doing an official favour to a businessman in a GST (Goods and Services Tax) matter.

Thakur said the superintendent demanded the bribe from the businessman to not harass him on production of records related to input tax credit and also further auditing of business records.

A chemical test conducted on the fingers of the accused yielded positive result, the release said.

Ever since he snapped ties with the BJP-led NDA government in March this year, Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu has been alleging that the Centre was misusing agencies like the CBI to target political opponents.

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The CBI Friday accused the Andhra Pradesh government of leaking secret information to trap some corrupt officials, saying this resulted in nabbing of just one person, while the others escaped.

Enraged by its planned operation to trap the corrupt central government officers getting ruined by state anti-corruption bureau (ACB) half-baked action, the CBI said it had asked the Andhra home department to treat the information with utmost secrecy.

The turf war between the central agency and the state government became public when the ACB claimed the arrest of a central excise officer when he was allegedly taking a bribe in Machilipatnam district on Friday.

"The CBI had sought the consent of the state government to conduct a trap operation against some central government employees and others suspected of indulging in corrupt practices," CBI Spokesperson Abhishek Dayal said.

He said the state home department was asked to treat this information with utmost secrecy. Instead, the department shared this information with its ACB, Dayal said.

"The operation by the Andhra Pradesh anti-corruption bureau resulted in the arrest of only one suspect whereas several others under the scanner managed to escape possible arrest," a CBI official said.

This comes days after the state government issued an order withdrawing the "general consent" accorded to the CBI under the Delhi Special Police Establishment (DSPE) Act.

This effectively banned the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) from exercising its authority in the state.

Central Excise official M K Ramaneswar was caught red-handed while allegedly accepting a bribe of Rs 30,000 for doing an official favour to a businessman in a Goods and Services Tax related matter, the state ACB said in a press release Friday.

Dayal said the CBI had received the information that Ramaneswar was



seeking a bribe from a businessman.

"Immediately, on receipt of the written complaint, (Superintendent of Police) SP, CBI, Visakhapatnam, wrote a 'top secret' letter addressed to the principal secretary (Home), government of Andhra Pradesh on November 28, and sent the letter by hand to the principal secretary through a Deputy SP rank officer of the CBI," Dayal said.

He said the letter was delivered to the principal secretary in the afternoon. In the letter, it was requested to issue specific consent to the CBI to lay a trap in this particular complaint, the official said.

"It was also requested to keep the information strictly confidential and not to share the information with any other party," he said.

Dayal said SP, CBI, Visakhapatnam, had also personally called on the principal secretary, home department, at her office in Velagapudy on November 29 morning.

The SP had requested for early action in issuing the specific consent under Section 6 of the DSPE Act to enable the CBI to register the case and lay the trap as the state government has withdrawn the general consent, he said.

This was also followed up by another letter to the principal secretary with a copy to the chief secretary from the CBI's head of zone on Saturday, requesting for immediate issue of specific consent, Dayal said.

"However the Andhra Pradesh government did not issue the specific consent as requested by the CBI, instead the details were shared by the home department with the state ACB and the state ACB laid a trap on November 30 in the evening against the central government public servant by using the contents of the above request letter," he said.

CBI deeply regrets such noncooperation by the state home department in this matter, he said.

"This will only make the fight against corruption more difficult for the anti corruption agencies and the mutual trust between the agencies will be vitiated. Corruption can be eradicated only through mutual cooperation, and trust," Dayal said.

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The Indian Army is not yet ready to have women in combat roles, Army Chief Gen said Friday.

The Army chief said there are several other fields where the Army was thinking of inducting women.

"We are not yet ready for that (women in combat roles) as facilities have to be created within... Women also need to be prepared for that kind of hardships," he said.

"It is not easy. Let us not compare ourselves with Western nations, which are more open," Gen Rawat told reporters on the sidelines of the Passing Out Parade of the 135th course at the Defence Academy (NDA) here.

There were plans to have women as interpreters, the Army chief said.

"Yes, we may be more open in our big cities, but our Army personnel are not coming from big cities only. They are coming from rural areas too, where the intermingling, which is expected, is still not there," he said.

"Women officers are being inducted into all the three services. But what we have to decide is whether some of them can be given permanent commission," Gen Rawat said.

The Army has taken a call that there are some aspects and fields where "we need some kind of continuity and permanency," he said.

"In a command-oriented army, male officers do not fit the bill everywhere. The Army needs language interpreters as military diplomacy is gaining ground. The basic requirement is understanding the language while talking to other nations, military to military. So we are looking for women as interpreters," he said.
Vigilance Investigation Bureau sleuths on Friday caught an Assistant Sub-Inspector (ASI) of police red-handed while accepting Rs 5,000 as bribe in Bihar's Nalanda district.

Vigilance team arrested one Sunil Kumar Mandal, an ASI, for allegedly accepting bribe of Rs 5,000 from Giriyak police station premises of the district, a Vigilance release said.

One Sunil Kumar- a resident of Adampur under Giriyak police station- had lodged a complaint with the vigilance department alleging that the said ASI Sunil Kumar Mandal had demanded bribe for sending a report to the court, it said.

Acting on the complaint, a vigilance team headed by Deputy Superintendent of Police Mohammad Zamiruddin, laid a trap and caught one Sunil Kumar Mandal, an ASI posted at Giriyak police station, red-handed while allegedly accepting the money from same police station premises,the release said.

The team also recovered an additional amount of Rs Rs 18,190 from Mandal's possession, the release added.

The accused would be produced before a special vigilance court (I) on Saturday at Patna after interrogation, it said.

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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
The Assam government will collaborate with the StartUp India team to undertake an outreach campaign in educational institutions, aimed at motivating youths to take up entrepreneurship.

As a part of the 'StartUp Yatra', state government officials will visit these institutions and deliberate on issues related to entrepreneurship and startup, an Assam Industries and Commerce Department release said on Friday.

The experts will listen to the students and youths, and give space to their ideas in the broader plan of startup ventures, the release said.

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A spirited discussion on gender bias faced by authors and depiction of female characters in books gave litterateurs in the city a chance to share their experiences with the audience, while stressing on the need to change the trend.

Author Sreemoyee Piu Kundu, who was a part of the four-member panel, said the editors at publishing houses are mostly women, but the marketing honchos are the ones who call the shots in the industry.

"One of my scripts received great appreciation from the editors, but the publishing house wanted to me to reduce the age of the protagonist," Kundu, whose erotica novel 'Sita's Curse: The Language of Desire' received rave reviews, said at the meet here recently.

Talking about gender discrimination, popular Bengali writer Anita Agnihotri said an eminent male writer had once told her that women have it easy as there were not too many authors to compete with.

"A woman journalist is usually always sent to interview a woman author. It is a strange trend that I see. I am looking forward to a day when four women panelists will sit for a discussion, solely devoted on issues of men," she said.

She asked all budding women authors to take inspiration from Mahasweta Devi and Nabanita Dev Sen, who have carved a niche of their own.

Kundu said there was a lot of "gender politics at play" and one has to be accepted by important publishing houses to make their mark in the industry.

Among others who participated in the discussion was eminent designer and artist Swarup Dutta, who also pitched for change in representation of women in works of literature.

Anjum Katyal, the director of Apeejay Kolkata Literary Festival, moderated the hour-long session.

The discussion was followed by announcement of shortlisted names for Prabha Khaitan Woman's Voice Award.

The winners would be felicitated at Apeejay Kolkata Literary Festival in January.

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A group of farmers from Tamil Nadu Friday staged a 'nude protest' at the Kisan rally on Parliament Street here by lying in front of the stage after placing bones and human skulls on their bodies.

About 1,300 members of the National South Indian River Interlinking Farmers Association reached the national capital in the early hours of Thursday and were carrying seven skulls and bones, said their leader P Ayyakannu.

He said the skulls and bones were of the farmers who committed suicide.

Nine farmers, without clothes, lay down in front of the stage by keeping bones on their bodies, and demanded profitable price for agricultural produce, waiver of loans, interlinking of rivers and pension for farmers over 60 years.

Ayyakannu claimed that they also ran in front of the stage to press for their demands.

They are among the thousands of farmers, who marched to Ramlila Ground on Thursday and to Parliament Street on Friday, to press for their demands of debt relief and remunerative prices for their produce.

"Our main agricultural activities include paddy cultivation, cotton farming, horticultural activities like coconut cultivation and banana cultivation. More than 700 farmers have committed suicide in Tamil Nadu due to loans they could not repay. We have no water and have been suffering from drought like situations for the last five years. This year, too, we suffered due to storms," the protesting farmers said.

The farmers-led by Ayayakannu had raised eyebrows when they protested at Jantar Mantar last year with the protestors wearing 'garlands of skulls', stripping naked and drinking urine.

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The BJP Friday condemned the propaganda launched by some Kashmir-based political and other socio-economic organisations against the State Administrative Council's (SAC) decision to convert the J&K Bank into a PSU.

It said there is an urgent need for transparency in the operation of the bank which has been under cloud for rising NPAs and back door appointments.

Last week, the Jammu and Kashmir Bank was brought under the purview of the Right to Information(RTI) Act, Chief Vigilance Commissioner (CVC) guidelines and the state legislature.

The State Administrative Council (SAC), which met here Thursday under the chairmanship of Jammu and Kashmir Governor Satya Pal Malik, approved the proposal for treating the J&K Bank as a public sector undertaking, the official said.

The SAC approved that the provisions of the Jammu and Kashmir Right to Information Act, 2009 shall be applicable to the bank like other PSUs. Besides, the bank shall follow CVC guidelines, he added.

"The motivated propaganda against SAC decision to convert J&K Bank into PSU is highly condemnable. There is a deliberate attempt by the vested interests in Kashmir to oppose the decision of the SAC to convert the J&K Bank into a PSU," J&K BJP spokesperson Brigadier Anil Gupta told reporters here.

He said protests and statements to arouse public sentiments have failed since the decision has been welcomed by majority of the population across the state.

"The J&K Bank has been under cloud for rising non-performing assets (NPAs), back door appointments, misuse of corporate social responsibility (CSR), undue favours and lack of transparency," he said.

"The bank had earned the notorious reputation of making rich richer and the poor poorer," he said.

The BJP spokesperson also ridiculed comments of the Jammu and Kashmir Socio Economic Coordination Committee (JKSECC), a Srinagar-based group, that "making J&K Bank a PSU is a ploy to make us financially dependent on New Delhi".

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Former Union Minister and Odisha MLA Dilip Roy, and senior BJP leader Bijoy Mohapatra resigned from the party on Friday.

Besides sending a joint resignation letter to BJP president Amit Shah, Roy, who represents Rourkela constituency in the Odisha Assembly, also resigned as legislator.

Roy said he called on Assembly Speaker Pradip Amat Friday morning and tendered his resignation from the membership of the House.

"It is with deep anguish that I have decided to quit as the member of State Legislative Assembly as well as from the membership of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)," Roy said in a twitter post.

Both the leaders had for a long been alleging delay in construction of a second bridge over the Brahmani river, establishment of a super-speciality hospital in Rourkela and lack of job opportunities for local youths in Paradip oil refinery.

Mohapatra told reporters that the interest of the state is important and their future course would be announced after about a fortnight.

He also alleged that their suggestions and views were ignored by the party.

In the resignation letter to the BJP national president, Roy and Mahapatra said, "We regret to state that despite repeated efforts in appraising you on the sorry state of affairs of the party here, neither you nor any senior central party leader bothered to consult, review or take corrective measures."



"Be it the Mahanadi water issue or the unfulfilled promised of a second bridge over the Brahmani river, the super-speciality hospital at Rourkela or the dreams of lakhs of jobs for Odia youth which we sold at Paradip during the inauguration of the Oil Refinery - nothing, absolutely nothing materialised," it said.

The letter claimed that the people of Odisha were "disillusioned."



"Several leaders in the party here shared our concerns, but remain silent fearing denial of tickets. You would agree that such silence is a bad sign for any democratic party," it said.

"Well-meaning suggestions by us were construed as a threat by certain ego-centric self-serving politicians who resorted to dirty tricks and a campaign was launched in our respective constituencies to try and deride us," the letter said.

Noting that they cannot be treated as "furniture" in the party, Roy and Mahapatra said, "For us, the interest of the state is supreme. We have never ever compromised our self-respect or the interest of the state for any post, power or ticket."



The two leaders stressed that they guard the interest of the people of the state and their constituency, to whom they are answerable.

Describing defeat of the party with a margin of 40,000 votes at Bijepur bypoll a "shocker", they said this reflected the "disenchantment" of the people with the BJP because of the manner in which the party was functioning.

Roy said due to the charismatic presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the progressive change of BJP, he had envisioned development works for Rourkela and had promised to fulfil the long-ignored dream and aspirations of the people who had reposed their faith in him.

"Now, I acknowledge my failure in living up to their expectations and therefore, taking the moral responsibility, I have decided to quit as the member of the state Legislative Assembly as well as from the membership of BJP," Roy said.

He also said that he has decided not to contest 2019 Odisha Assembly election from Rourkela.

Reacting to the development, BJP state unit president Basant Panda said the party would not be affected by their resignation. Senior BJP leader Golak Mohapatra alleged that the two leaders had been working as "outsiders and they never considered themselves as partymen.

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Former Union minister and Odisha MLA Dilip Roy and senior BJP leader Bijoy Mohapatra resigned from the party Friday, dealing a blow to the saffron party ahead of the 2019 elections.

Besides sending a joint resignation letter to BJP president Amit Shah, Roy, who represents Rourkela constituency in the Odisha Assembly, also resigned as legislator.

Roy, once considered by many as the foster son of former chief minister Biju Patnaik, said he called on Assembly Speaker Pradip Amat Friday morning and tendered his resignation from the membership of the House.

The Speaker said he has accepted the resignation.

The development has sparked speculation that the two may stage a come back to the ruling Biju Janata Dal (BJD), of which both were founding members. While Mohapatra was expelled from the BJD in 2000, Roy was thrown out two years later.

Roy is yet to spell his future political move. He, however, said that he has decided not to contest the 2019 Odisha Assembly election from Rourkela.

Assembly poll in Odisha is due around the time of the general election in the country next year.

The parting of the two leaders is bad for the BJP which is making a bid to capture power in Odisha.

But, Mohapatra said the political situation in the state is fluid at present and he would take a decision about the future course of action after a discussion with Roy.

A senior BJD leader said it was too early to draw conclusions. Any decision on inducting people into the party would be taken by Chief Minister and BJD president Naveen Patnaik, he added.

"It is with deep anguish that I have decided to quit as the member of State Legislative Assembly as well as from the membership of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)," Roy said in a twitter post.

The hotelier-turned-politician, who considered Biju Patnaik as his political mentor, had served as industries minister in Odisha when the legendary leader was the chief minister between 1990 and 1995.

His affinity to the late leader can be gauged from the fact that Biju Patnaik spent the last years of his life with him. Mohapatra also happened to be an influential minister during the period.

As a parliamentarian, Roy held several ministry portfolios. After the death of Biju Patnaik, Roy, along with other leaders like Mohapatra, had played a major role in the formation of the Biju Janata Dal (BJD).

The two had of late turned critics of the BJP-led government at the Centre, alleging delay in construction of a second bridge over the Brahmani river, establishment of a super-speciality hospital in Rourkela and lack of job opportunities for local youths in the Paradip oil refinery.

Mohapatra told reporters that the interest of the state was important and their future course would be announced after about a fortnight.

Stating that joining the BJP was a wrong decision, he said he undertook several party activities during the initial years in the saffron party. However, involvement in party activities declined gradually, he said, adding that their suggestions and views were ignored by the party and they were sidelined.

In their resignation letter to the BJP national president, Roy and Mahapatra said, "We regret to state that despite repeated efforts in appraising you on the sorry state of affairs of the party here, neither you nor any senior central party leader bothered to consult, review or take corrective measures."



"Be it the Mahanadi water issue or the unfulfilled promised of a second bridge over the Brahmani river, the super-speciality hospital at Rourkela or the dreams of lakhs of jobs for Odia youth which we sold at Paradip during the inauguration of the Oil Refinery nothing, absolutely nothing materialised," it said.

The letter claimed that the people of Odisha were "disillusioned."



"Several leaders in the party here shared our concerns, but remain silent fearing denial of tickets.You would agree that such silence is a bad sign for any democratic party," it said.

Noting that they cannot be treated as "furniture" in the party, Roy and Mahapatra said,"As self respecting politicians with decades of service to Odisha, we refuse to continue in the party as showpieces ... For us, the interest of the state is supreme. We have never ever compromised our self-respect or the interest of the state for any post, power or ticket."



Describing defeat of the party with a margin of 40,000 votes at Bijepur bypoll as a "shocker", they said this reflected the "disenchantment" of the people with the BJP because of the manner in which the party was functioning.

Roy said due to the charismatic presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the progressive change of the BJP, he had envisioned development works for Rourkela and had promised to fulfil the long-ignored dreams and aspirations of the people who had reposed their faith in him.

"Now, I acknowledge my failure in living up to their expectations and therefore, taking the moral responsibility, I have decided to quit as the member of the state Legislative Assembly as well as from the membership of BJP," Roy said.

Reacting to the development, BJP state unit president Basant Panda said the party would not be affected by their resignation. Senior BJP leader Golak Mohapatra and BJP state vice president Samir Mohanty echoed similar views.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The IPFT, a ruling ally of the BJP, said Friday that it would organise a rally in Delhi to press for Tripraland, a separate state for tribals, and the scrapping of the proposed Citizenship Amendment Bill 2016.

Indigenous Peoples Front of Tripura (IPFT) General Sectary Mangal Debbarma said the decision to hold the mass rally in the second week of December was taken in the executive body meeting of the party recently.

Over a thousand of IPFT activists and supporters would hold a sit-in-demonstration and organise a mass rally, Debbarma said.

On the sidelines of the demonstrations, a delegation of the party will try to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Rajnath Sigh, he added.

The senior IPFT leader also said that they would observe a dawn-to-dusk strike on December 5 in Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council (TTAADC) to push for their demands.

The TTAADC constitutes two third of the state territory and is home to tribals, which form one third of the state population.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the IPFT jointly secured 44 of the 60 seats in the February 18 Tripura assembly polls, ending 25 years of CPI(M)-led Left Front rule in the northeastern state.

Separate state of Tripraland has been an old demand of the IPFT, a tribal based regional party.

Despite crossing the majority mark with 36 seats, the BJP formed the government with its pre-poll partner, the IPFT albeit without clarifying its stand on the demand for the separate state.

The IPFT, which emerged victorious in 8 seats, was allotted two berths in the state cabinet. But of late, cracks appeared in the alliance over different issues including Trpraland and Citizen Amendment Bill.

In fact, the BJP and IPFT workers had clashed at several places in the run up to the panchayat by-polls in Tripura in September.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis Friday said the alliance of his party BJP and the Shiv Sena will emerge victorious in the 2019 elections.

Speaking in the Legislative Assembly, he said the election symbols of the two parties will together form a formidable winning combination at the hustings.

"Shiv Sena's bow and arrow and BJP's lotus will win the 2019 elections," Fadnavissaid, replying to an opposition sponsored motion moved last week in the Lower House.

Besides the Lok Sabha polls, the Maharashtra assembly elections will also be held in 2019.

Referring to thedemand for a ban on the Sanatan Sanastha, Fadnavis said the proposal in this regard sent to the Centre by the previous (Congress-NCP) state government was "live".

"Banning any organisation comes under jurisdiction of the Centre," said Fadnavis, who also handles the Home portfolio.

The right-wing outfit has been accused of involvement in terror activities, a charge strongly refuted by the Goa- based organisation.

Leader of Opposition Radhakrishna Vikhe-Patil of the Congress sought to counter Fadnavis' assertion of unity among the saffron allies and referred to editorials in "Saamana", the Shiv Sena mouthpiece which often criticises the BJP-led governments at the Centre and in Maharashtra.

However, Industries Minister Subhash Desai and PWD Minister Eknath Shinde, both belonging to the Sena, praised the Fadnavis government's policies.

Shinde said the Samruddhi Corridor, an expressway linking Mumbai and Nagpur, was a game-changer which will put the state on the path of development.

Till recently, the Uddhav Thackeray-led party was strongly opposed to the project.

Speaking about the Navi Mumbai International Airport, he said the December 2019 deadline for its operationalisation is likely to be missed.

One terminal building andone runwayare likely to be completedlatestby March-April 2020, he said.

The CM highlighted implementation of Mumbai's city- wide CCTV surveillance network and metro rail project as among his government's achievements.

The winter session, which ended Friday, was the last of the present BJP-led government, whose terms ends in October 2019.

The budget session of the state legislature will begin on February 18.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Members of Bhartiya Kisan Union (BKU) staged a protest at the railway station here demanding to keep tractors out of the list of banned vehicles by the National Green Tribunal (NGT).

The green tribunal had on November 26, 2016, banned 10-year-old diesel vehicles, including tractors in Delhi-NCR roads to reduce pollution, which was challenged in the Supreme Court, but it was dismissed.

The protesters also forcefully boarded a railway engine in protest against the district administration for seizing tractors of farmers.

Security at the railway station has beefed up in light of protest, officials said.

The Thursday protest was led by the national spokesperson of BKU, Rakesh Tikait, who said, the agitation will continue till their demands are not met.

The union also demanded the ban on government vehicles including train engines which are older than 10 years and gheraoed a fisheries department jeep and a fire brigade vehicle too.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal moved the Delhi High Court Friday, seeking a stay of two Election Commission (EC) orders by which the poll panel had censured him and later ordered lodging of an FIR against him for his bribery remarks during campaigning for the Goa Assembly election.

The plea was listed before Justice Yogesh Khanna, but could not be taken up as the judge was not available, and was put up for hearing on December 18.

In his application, filed through advocates Rishikesh Kumar and Mohammad Irshad, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) convenor has claimed that the two EC orders of January 21, 2017 and January 29, 2017 were "arbitrary and whimsical" and curtailed his "fundamental right of freedom of speech".

The application for an interim stay was filed in the main petition, in which Kejriwal has sought setting aside of the two orders of the poll panel.

In the main matter, the court had on July 30 closed the EC's right to reply to the petition, saying it had failed to file its response, despite repeated opportunities.

The poll panel had earlier orally told the high court that only a complaint case against Kejriwal was pending in a Goa court for his alleged bribery remarks at election rallies in the state on January 7-8 last year and no FIR was lodged as directed by the EC.

During his series of rallies in Goa on January 7-8, Kejriwal had asked voters to "accept money from the Congress and BJP candidates but vote for the AAP".

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) had filed two complaints against the AAP supremo, seeking his prosecution under various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) for asking voters to accept money. The Congress too had condemned the Delhi chief minister's statement.

The poll panel had, thereafter, directed that a complaint be lodged against Kejriwal under the provisions of the Representation of the People Act dealing with bribing voters and the relevant sections of the IPC.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The has booked a company and its directors for allegedly over 150,000 investors in to the tune of over Rs 15 billion by offering lucrative returns on their investments, officials said Friday.

The agency registered an FIR against Madurai-based Parivar Dairies And Allied Limited and its promoters Basant Lal Sharma, Rakesh Singh Narwaria, Ahibaran Singh, Chandra Bhan Yadav, Neeraj Singh, Banu Pratap Singh, all residents of Gwalior.

Besides them, Alwar resident Pradeep Kumar Sharma and Madurai based Dheivam were also booked under IPC sections related to criminal conspiracy, criminal breach of trust and cheating, an official said.

The action of the came on the directions of Madurai bench of the Madras High Court which asked the agency to take over the investigation, considering interstate ramifications of the case.

It was alleged in the petition before the high court that the company had lured over 150,000 investors collecting over Rs 15 billion.

The accused kept coming to Madurai to lure depositors through various investment meetings, it alleged.

It is alleged that the company which collected several crore from people did not redeem their deposits from 2014 and close down in October 2015 leaving the investors in the lurch.

A similar case against the company was also brought before Madhya Pradesh High Court which had handed over the investigation of the case to the CBI, the court noted.

"It is seen from the records that this case has interstate ramifications and also fraud has been committed across different states. The accused persons, who are said to be living in Delhi, have not been arrested by the respondent police ( police) for the last two years," the court said.

It noted that the accused belonged to North India and they had not only cheated investors in but also in other states.

"...It will be more appropriate if an agency which could have a reach across the country will be able to effectively investigate the case," it said.

The court said the case involved the interest of lakhs of innocent depositors who have lost their hard earned money.

"The accused persons having cheated such a large number of people are moving around freely without any effective action being taken against them," it said.

The bench said it reposed its confidence in the to immediately take up the investigation and bring the accused to book besides recovering the amount to be distributed to innocent depositors.
In an embarrassment to the CBI, a Delhi court on Friday said the agency was not maintaining secrecy in the investigation of the coal scam, despite the Supreme Court's direction, and the information was being shared by the agency officials with outsiders.

The court said "sufficient food for thought for appropriate remedial measures has been provided to the Central Bureau of Investigation, lest a mockery is made of the criminal justice administration system."



Special Judge Bharat Parashar made the observations in an order convicting ex-coal secretary H C Gupta in a corruption case relating to allotment of coal blocks in West Bengal during the previous UPA government.

The judge said, "It is clear that is even not paying any heed to the specific directions passed by Supreme Court in all such matters much less keeping intact the very sanctity of the investigation being carried out by it in various coal block allocation matters."





The court noted the apex court's direction to the agency to ensure the secrecy of investigations into allocation of coal blocks and "no access of any nature whatsoever in this regard is provided to any person or authority, including any minister of the central cabinet, law officers, advocate, director of prosecution and central government officials."



The court said the "opinion expressed by various CBI officers or the result being drawn by agency during the investigation of other coal block allocation matters, in which no final report has yet been filed before this court, is being shared by them with persons outside the agency".

The judge made the observations while taking note of the submissions by public servants that the CBI concealed several vital information from the court.

"In fact the aforesaid averments in the written submissions filed by counsel Rahul Tyagi for accused public servants tend to throw light as to the conduct of probe agency in investigation of various coal block allocation matters and especially to the circumstances in which closure reports are being filed in a number of coal block allocation matters including the present matter," it observed.



Tyagi had pointed out that a few prosecution witness in the present case were under CBI scanner in different cases, however, the CBI did not share that information with the court, "which would certainly have a bearing on their credibility and the undue influence CBI has over them as suspects and accused in other cases."



Five others, including one retired and another serving public servant -- K S Kropha and K C Samria -- were also held guilty in the case for various offences under the Prevention of Corruption Act and Indian Penal Code.

All the convicted persons were taken into the custody on the order of the court and were sent to judicial custody till December 3 when the court will hear the arguments on sentence which entails maximum punishment of seven years in jail.

The case pertains to alleged irregularities in allocation of Moira and Madhujore (North and South) coal blocks in West Bengal to Vikash Metals and Power Limited (VMPL). An FIR was lodged by the CBI in September 2012.
A day after the Centre granted sanction to the CBI to prosecute him in a case, Delhi Health Minister said Friday the charges against him were "laughable and beyond comprehension".

Jain, who holds the portfolios of health, urban development, the PWD, among others, alleged that the BJP-led central government wants to "raze down" the unauthorised colonies in the city.

There are around 1,700 unauthorised colonies across the capital.

The Union Ministry of Home Affairs has granted sanction to the CBI to prosecute Jain in a case related to alleged possession of assets disproportionate to his known sources of income, official had said Thursday.

The case was registered against Jain, his wife Poonam, his alleged associates - Ajeet Prasad Jain, Vaibhav Jain, Sunil Kumar Jain and Ankush Jain.

"Modiji wants to raze down the unauthorised colonies in Delhi and render the poor people homeless. Being the Urban Development minister of Delhi, I am under oath to get the unauthorised colonies authorised.

"It's my duty to provide the residents with basic facilities like roads and drains," Jain said in an official statement.

He also said, "Even if they file 100 cases against me, I will not be cowed down and I will keep working in the same manner".

Jain said that regularisation of the unauthorised colonies will not benefit him, but the people residing in these colonies.

"I am amazed at the charges made by the Centre; they are saying Jain will become richer by regularising these colonies. This is laughable and beyond comprehension," he said.

The ruling also hit out at the BJP-led central government, alleging that the MHA's approval to prosecute Jain shows that the Centre is "trying hard" to stop regularisation of unauthorised colonies.

"It is a conspiracy against Jain. The PM, who says Delhi to be made like Singapore, does not want regularisation of unauthorised colonies," senior leader Atishi said at a press conference here.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A Chinese researcher, who claimed to have created the world's first gene-edited babies that are resistant to HIV, has been suspended from any scientific activity amid mounting criticism at home and abroad about the controversial experiment, according to media reports.

In a fertilised human-egg cell, the scientist, He Jiankui, intends to make a person resistant to HIV by disabling a gene that forms a protein doorway allowing the virus to enter the body.

"The case, as media have reported, is a blatant violation of China's laws and regulations, and it breaks the bottom line of academic morality and ethics," Xu Nanping, vice-minister of science and technology, told state-run China Central Television.

"It's shocking and unacceptable," Xu was quoted by the China Daily as saying in the interview.

Xu said the ministry had ordered authorities to suspend all scientific activity of people involved with the case and mete out punishments after an ongoing investigation.

He, an associate professor at the Shenzhen-based Southern University of Science and Technology, announced on Monday that twin girls, Lulu and Nana, were born healthy earlier this month after in vitro fertilisation (IVF).

Gene-editing technology had been used to immunise them from HIV, he claimed.

The shocked the world and aroused widespread criticism, both for its ethics, technical flaws and the necessity of such a procedure to prevent AIDS.

The Shenzhen government joined Guangdong provincial authorities in an investigative group on Tuesday.

Zeng Yixin, vice-minister of the National Health Commission, said Thursday the commission had paid close attention to the reports and sent a working group to assist in the probe.

With the rapid development of science and technology, the research and application of science must be more responsible and follow technical and ethical norms, Zeng said.

He, while attending a summit on human-genome editing in Hong Kong on Wednesday, said he was "proud" of his work and believed he was helping people with HIV -- the twins' father is HIV positive.

He, however, declined to reveal the babies' identities, citing China's policy regarding privacy in cases involving HIV/AIDS.

On Thursday, the organising committee of the summit released a statement, saying that the experiment was "irresponsible and failed to conform with international norms".

Many scholars spoke against the research, saying it violated ethical norms and was unnecessary because couples where the male is HIV-positive can have virus-free children through the application of existing medical technology.

In an open letter, more than 300 Chinese scientists raised 10 questions for He and his team related to safety, effectiveness and purpose of the research, and whether he has concealed other related experiments from the public, China Daily reported.

The Chinese Academy of Engineering, a top academic body of the country, has urged strict protection of the twins' privacy, calling for the development of a detailed care plan for the babies as they grow "to guard against possible health damage resulting from the gene editing".

"We care deeply about the two babies and appeal for the research and formulation of detailed medical and ethical care plans," it said.

The academy said it hopes the babies would grow up happy and healthy, both physically and psychologically, with "the most care possible that can be provided by society".

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A foul smell permeates the air in this gray mining town. People rarely open their windows as thick smoke billows from the huge chimneys of Serbia's main coal-fired power station.

Things are only getting worse for residents living close to the Kostolac power plant complex in eastern Serbia, which is being expanded with a USD 715 million loan from a Chinese state bank and constructed by one of China's largest companies.

When US President Donald Trump abruptly withdrew from the Paris agreement on tackling global climate change in 2017, China was seen as the champion in the battle to cut carbon emissions and prevent a global environmental catastrophe.

Experts say China is tackling pollution at home by implementing renewable energy projects and reducing the use of coal, by far the most polluting fossil fuel. But abroad, China is pursuing a different strategy.

Chinese companies are the world's largest investors in overseas coal plants. They are involved in building about a fifth of new coal-fired energy capacity around the world, mostly in the countries along its ambitious "Belt and Road" investment program, which is seen in the West as an attempt by China to globally increase its political and economic influence.

Beijing has issued guidelines on foreign investments, urging environmentally friendly practices. But a major worry is that the guidelines aren't binding and that the power stations are built mostly in developing states that have low pollution emission standards, or no set standards at all.

"The (Chinese) central government explicitly stipulated that all 'Belt and Road' initiative projects should be green and low-carbon projects," China's special representative for climate change affairs, Xie Zhenhua, said in Beijing.

"Therefore, all projects underway introduced the most advanced technology to save resources and energy, and do its utmost to ensure emission reduction."



Huang Wei, a Greenpeace climate and energy activist, said China has "coal overcapacity" at home, so the market space there for coal power companies "is shrinking a lot," prompting Chinese construction companies to seek lucrative deals abroad.

"China is on the right track of fulfilling its domestic commitment on reducing carbon emissions. But its plan to invest in the 'Belt and Road' countries, especially infrastructure, could have a potentially big climate impact," she said.

"So far they (the Chinese government) define 'green' as complying with local environmental standards. We don't think that's enough, because a lot of the recipient countries have very low environmental standards. So I think it's up to China, both China and the recipient countries, to lift the standard," Huang said.

Experts say the Paris climate goals can only be met by cutting emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases to net zero by 2050.

But the Paris deal let countries set their own emissions targets. Some are on track, others aren't. Overall, the world is heading the wrong way.

Last week, the World Meteorological Organization said globally averaged concentrations of carbon dioxide reached a record in 2017, while the level of other heat-trapping gases such as methane and nitrous oxide also rose.

This year is expected to see another 2 percent increase in human-made emissions, as construction of coal-fired power plants like the one in Serbia continue while carbon-absorbing forests are felled faster than they can regrow.

Chinese construction workers wearing hard hats are building a huge chimney for the new "Kostolac B" Serbian power plant, which will be fueled by the light brown variety of coal called lignite considered to be among the most heavily polluting fossil fuels. It produces huge amount of ash, which has to be carefully deposited on vast fields with water sprinklers to prevent the dust from being blown into the atmosphere or the nearby Danube River.

Serbian state power company EPS says the new 350 megawatt unit, to be operational by 2020, will meet the highest environmental standards. More than 70 percent of Serbia's energy comes from coal while the rest is from hydropower.

"What is very important to emphasize is that we are doing this project absolutely in accordance with European standards and Serbian laws," said Zeljko Lazovic, the plant's EPS project manager.

Energy analyst Misha Brkic said Serbia's government "is making a crucial mistake" by insisting on the use of coal as fuel to produce electricity instead of focusing on renewable energy.

"The chosen (Chinese) partner does have money and offers technology, but we as a country that wants to build power plants or renew and modernize the existing ones, we don't have enough experience and knowledge and sometimes also not enough sense for European standards," he said.

China Machinery Engineering Corporation, which is expanding the plant, has refused to comment despite repeated requests.

Residents living near the Kostolac plant say most of the pollution comes from the lignite ash field and the open-pit mine that will expand even further when the new plant starts production.

"When we wash our laundry, we leave it to dry and then in three days you see how white laundry becomes black laundry," said resident Dejan Grujic. "When winds are strong, it is a catastrophe.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Former Coal Secretary H C Gupta and two other officials working with the coal ministry concealed information from the then Prime Minister and misrepresented facts while recommending a private company for allotment of a coal block, a Delhi court said Friday.

Special Judge Bharat Parashar made this observation while convicting Gupta and one retired and another serving public servant -- K S Kropha and K C Samria -- in a corruption case relating to the allotment of coal blocks in West Bengal during the previous UPA regime at the Centre.

The court said Singh, who held the portfolio of Ministry of Coal (MoC), was to act only upon the recommendations made by the 36th Screening Committee.

"It is clear that the guidelines issued by MoC were though the guiding factors as per which the allocation of captive coal blocks was to be made by MoC, but its officers certainly deviated from the said guidelines as and when deemed necessary by them," the court said.



It said a "conscious effort" was made by accused officers of the MoC not to mention the reasons or process adopted for recommending the firm for allocation of the coal block.

Even in the meeting at PMO, with PM's Principal Secretary, it was reiterated by Gupta that proposals were based strictly on the merits of the applicants including the recommendations of the state governments where the blocks are located, it said.

The court noted that there was no apparent reason for the PM to disbelieve the minutes or recommendations made by 36th SC, which were forwarded to PMO by Gupta and that he had no reasons to doubt that the said minutes do not contain true and correct facts.

"It is clear that Gupta mala fide withheld true and correct facts from the Prime Minister as Minister In-charge by first not recording them in the minutes of Screening Committee meeting and later on by representing in the meeting held in PMO that all the proposals are based strictly on the merits of applicants including the recommendations of the State Governments where the blocks are located," the court said.

There was no reason for the PM, as MoC to presume that the guidelines issued have not been complied with, it said.

"It is thus not only apparent from the record but it is also certainly permissible to draw a presumption in the overall facts and circumstances of the case that PM as MoC proceeded to consider the recommendations of the Screening Committee on the assumption that the applications must have been checked in Ministry for their eligibility and completeness or that the guidelines must have been duly followed even by the SC," it said.
A Delhi Court Friday convicted ex-coal secretary H C Gupta in a corruption case relating to allotment of coal blocks in West Bengal during the previous UPA regime at the Centre.

Five others, including one retired and another serving public servant -- K S Kropha and K C Samria -- were held guilty for various offences under the Prevention of Corruption Act and Indian Penal Code.

Gupta, who was the Coal Secretary from December 31, 2005 to November 2008, has already been convicted before this in two other cases of coal block allocation in which he has been sentenced to jail for two and three years respectively. He is out on bail in both the cases.

Kropha, who was then the Joint Secretary, Ministry of coal, retired in December 2017 as the Chief Secretary of Meghalaya. He has also been convicted and sentenced to two years in another coal block allocation scam and has been on bail.

Samria then held the rank of Director in the Ministry of coal and is now working as a Joint Secretary in Ministry of Minority Affairs. He has already been convicted and sentenced to two years jail term in another case and has been out on bail.

All the convicted persons were taken into the custody on the order of the court and were sent to judicial custody till December 3 when Special CBI Judge Bharat Parashar will hear the arguments on sentence which entails maximum punishment of seven years in jail.

The case pertains to alleged irregularities in allocation of Moira and Madhujore (North and South) coal blocks in West Bengal to Vikash Metals and Power Limited (VMPL). An FIR was lodged by the CBI in September 2012.

VMPL, its managing director Vikash Patni and authorised signatory Anand Mallick were also convicted.

All have been held guilty for the offences under Prevention of Corruption Act and IPC, including sections 420 (cheating) and 120-B (criminal conspiracy).

Prosecutors said Gupta has been accused in 12 cases of alleged irregularities in coal block allocation scam.

The CBI has filed charge sheets in connection with alleged irregularities in 40 cases of coal block allocations during the UPA-1 and UPA-2 regime.

On July 25, 2014, the Supreme Court had approved appointment of Additional Sessions Judge Parashar as special judge to exclusively deal with all coal scam cases.

Till now the special court has decided six such cases.

Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is accused in one case relating to the allocation of the Talabira II/III coal blocks in Odisha, in 2005 to Aditya Birla Group company -- M/s Hindalco.

On March 11, 2015, the special court had summoned Singh and five others as accused.

Besides Singh, former Coal Secretary PC Parakh, Aditya Birla Group Chairman Kumar Mangalam Birla and two others were also summoned.

The trial court order, however, was stayed by the Supreme Court on April 1, 2015, after Singh approached the top court for the relief.

His plea is still pending before the apex court.

In the present case, the court had on August 19, 2016 framed charges, including cheating and criminal conspiracy against Gupta, the two public servants, the firm and its two officials. They all had pleaded not guilty and claimed trial. All the accused are out on bail.

It had said, "Charge for the offences under sections 120-B (criminal conspiracy), 409 (criminal breach of trust by public servants), 420 (cheating) of IPC and also under sections 13(1)(c) and 13(1) (d) (criminal misconduct by public servants) of the PC Act has been framed against all the accused..."



The court had put on trial all the accused in the case in which the CBI's closure report was earlier rejected by the court, asking the probe agency to further investigate the matter.

The other two coal scam cases in which Gupta was earlier convicted related to Kamal Sponge Steel and Power Ltd (KSSPL) and Vini Iron and Steel Udyog Ltd(VISUL). Kropha and Samria were also convicted in KSSPL case.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
In an embarrassment to the CBI, a Delhi court on Friday said the agency was not maintaining secrecy in the investigation of the coal scam, despite Supreme Court's direction, and the information was being shared by the agency officials with outsiders.

The court said "sufficient food for thought for appropriate remedial measures has been provided to the Central Bureau of Investigation, lest a mockery is made of the criminal justice administration system."



Special Judge O P Saini made the observations in an order convicting ex-coal secretary H C Gupta in a corruption case relating to allotment of coal blocks in West Bengal during the previous UPA government.

The judge said, "It is clear that CBI is even not paying any heed to the specific directions passed by Supreme Court in all such matters much less keeping intact the very sanctity of the investigation being carried out by it in various coal block allocation matters."



The court noted the apex court's direction to the agency to ensure the secrecy of investigations into allocation of coal blocks and "no access of any nature whatsoever in this regard is provided to any person or authority, including any minister of the central cabinet, law officers, CBI advocate, director of prosecution and central government officials."The court said the "opinion expressed by various CBI officers or the result being drawn by agency during the investigation of other coal block allocation matters, in which no final report has yet been filed before this court, is being shared by them with persons outside the agency".

The judge made the observations while taking note of the submissions by public servants that the CBI concealed several vital information from the court.

"In fact the aforesaid averments in the written submissions filed by counsel Rahul Tyagi for accused public servants tend to throw light as to the conduct of probe agency in investigation of various coal block allocation matters and especially to the circumstances in which closure reports are being filed in a number of coal block allocation matters including the present matter," it observed.

Tyagi had pointed out that a few prosecution witness in the present case were under CBI's scanner in different coal scam cases, however, the CBI did not share that information with the court, "which would certainly have a bearing on their credibility and the undue influence CBI has over them as suspects and accused in other cases.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Congress on Friday accused Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje of promoting crony capitalism by helping three private electricity companies to profiteer at the cost of state exchequer.

Addressing a press conference, Congress national spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala claimed that people of Rajasthan have suffered a "loss of Rs 6,670 crore due to purchase of electricity at 100 per cent above the contracted rates".

"The BJP government's motto appears to be let private electricity companies profiteer, let people and exchequer suffer, Surjewala alleged while citing RTI replies.

He alleged that a "culture of crony capitalism" was being perpetuated, propagated and promoted by Vasundhara Raje government.

The Rajasthan government purchased power from a company "at a higher than power purchase agreement (PPA) rate between 2013-14 and 2017-18, thus, paying Rs 5406.50 crore more" and "an excess amount of Rs 1376.50 crore" to another company, he alleged.

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A court here on Friday extended by three days the CBI remand of two close aides of Brajesh Thakur, prime accused in the Muzaffarpur shelter home sexual abuse case.

Special POCSO Judge R P Tiwari extended the CBI remand of Madhu Kumari, who managed many of Thakur's NGOs, newspapers and other businesses, and Ashwani Kumar - a quack who was attached to the shelter home in capacity of a "doctor".

The duo was arrested more than a week ago and both have been in the custody of the probe agency since November 21.

Media reports have alleged that Ashwani Kumar used to administer injections laced with sedatives to inmates of the shelter home, with the help of Madhu, after which the girls used to be subjected to sexual abuse.

Meanwhile, it was alleged before the court by Madhu's lawyer that the CBI was "putting pressure" on her to reveal names of bureaucrats and political leaders involved in the racket though the same was refuted by the CBI counsel.

Sexual abuse of inmates at the Balika Grih in Sahu Road locality came to light following a social audit by Mumbai-based Tata Institute of Social Sciences.

As the issue rocked the state legislature and Parliament, a CBI inquiry was recommended by the Nitish Kumar government in July.

A fortnight later, social welfare minister Manju Verma stepped down following reports of close links between her husband Chandrashekhar Verma and Thakur.

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Army chief General Bipin Rawat Friday said Pakistan must curtail terror activities on its soil and develop itself as a secular state if it wanted cordial relations with India.

He also said the Indian Army was not yet ready to have women in combat roles.

Rawat was speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the Passing Out Parade of the 135th course at the National Defence Academy (NDA) here.

Asked about a recent statement of Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan about his country willing to take two steps for every step forward by India, he said the neighbouring nation should first take steps to curtail terror activities on its soil.

"I would like to tell Pakistan to initiate that first step (curtailing terror). In the past, India has taken several steps. When we say terror is being harboured in your country, show some action by curtailing terror activities which are used against India," Rawat advised Pakistan.

On Khan's statement as to why India and Pakistan could not be friends when Germany and France could be good neighbours, he said the neighbouring country first needed to see its internal condition.

"They have turned Pakistan into an Islamic country. If they want cordial relations with India, they will have to develop themselves as a secular state," Rawat said.

"How can you say that we can stay together when you are an Islamic state? India is a secular state and for us to stay together, both of us will have to be secular. If they are willing to become secular like us, I think they have an opportunity," he added.

Speaking about assigning combat roles to women in the armed forces, Rawat said, "We are not yet ready for that as facilities have to be created within the armed forces and women also need to be prepared for that kind of hardships. It is not easy. Let us not compare ourselves with western nations. The western nations are more open," he said.

"Yes, we may be more open in our big cities, but our Army personnel are not coming from big cities only. They are coming from rural areas too, where the intermingling, which is expected, is still not there," the Army chief added.

"Women officers are being inducted in all the three services. But what we have to decide is whether some of them can be given permanent commission. The Army too has taken a call that there are some aspects, some fields, where we need some kind of continuity and permanency.

"In a command-oriented Army, male officers do not fit the bill everywhere. The Army needs language interpreters as military diplomacy is gaining ground. The basic requirement is understanding the language while talking to other nations, military to military. So we are looking for women as interpreters," he said.

Rawat added that there were several other fields where the Army was thinking of inducting women.

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Meraj Sheykh put in a fine show to guide Dabang Delhi to a convincing 48-35 win over Jaipur Pink Panthers in a Pro Kabaddi League match here Friday.

It was a solid performance from Delhi as Meraj Sheykh (15 points), Naveen Kumar, (9 points) and Chandran Ranjit (9 points) combined to score 33 points.

Jaipur Pink Panthers never recovered from a slow start and just couldn't handle the intensity of Delhi's performance.

Deepak Hooda produced a terrific raiding performance and scored 20 points but his effort went in vain as he just didn't get enough support.

Sheykh got Dabang Delhi to a flying start with super raid in the first minute. Deepak got a couple of raid points as Pink Panthers trailed 3-4 after three minutes.

Naveen then made a two-point raid in the 4th minute to give Dabang Delhi a 6-4 lead.

The hosts then switched gears with Sheykh producing another super raid in the 11th minute to help Delhi led 15-7 after inflicting an all out.

Three minutes later, Dabang Delhi inflicted another all out to grab a 25-8 advantage.

Pink Panthers' defence had no answer to the raiding prowess of Sheykh and Chandran. They could score just one tackle point in the entire first half.

Sheykh got a super 10 in the first half as Dabang Delhi enjoyed a 19-point gap and led 29-10 at the break.

Delhi began the second half with a bang, inflicting another all out in the 23rd minute to lead 33-11.

Ravinder Pahal and Joginder Narwal marshalled the Delhi defence brilliantly and didn't let any Jaipur raider settle throughout the match.

Pink Panthers' captain Anup Kumar too had a quiet match by his standards.

The visitors salvaged some pride in the second half, scoring 10 points in the first 10 minutes but still trailed 18-36.

Ajinkya Pawar scored with a two-point raid as Pink Panthers inflicted an all out in the 32nd minute to trail 23-36.

Chandran got a two-point raid in the 36th minute to thwart any hope Jaipur had of a comeback even as Deepak kept picking raid points, including a super raid in the 40th minute.

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The Great Blue Hole -- a giant marine sinkhole off the coast of Belize -- may be holding secrets dating back thousands of years, from life forms unknown to mankind to undocumented stories of Mayan sea-farers, according to a renowned deep sea explorer and conservationist.

One of the most famous diving zones in central America, the Great Blue Hole is thought to have been shaped by geological forces over 10,000 years ago.

Located 74 kilometres off the coast of Belize, the sinkhole is known for its crystal-clear water and its abundance of sharks and sea life.

The nearly perfect sphere of deep blue water, measuring 300 metres across and 125 metres deep, has only been explored once -- back in 1970 by Jacques Cousteau, a pioneering marine conservationist who studied the sea and all forms of life in water.

His grandson Fabien Cousteau now prepares to journey to the same spot in a fully-manned submersible, unveiling the deepest secrets of the watery underworld live for viewers across the globe.

In a two-hour television special called Discovery LIVE: Into The Blue Hole which will be broadcast around the globe in real time, 51-year-old Cousteau will explore the sinkhole and attempt to shed light on its many mysteries.

"Despite the amazing exploits of my grandfather in 1970, which was offered in a show in 1971, the Blue Hole has held on to many secrets, including the evidence of climactic change over the last hundreds or thousands of years -- if not more, which gives us a lot of insights in general as to what we as human beings are facing," Cousteau told PTI over a telephonic interview.

"Because of the Mayan and pre-Mayan civilisations in the area, there is a probability -- actually almost a certainty -- that the Blue Hole waters were visited by the Mayans, perhaps multiple times in history. We will be looking for evidence of that possibility as well," he said.

The Blue Hole has never been mapped or even plotted -- and while many speculate what is at the bottom -- the exact answer remains unknown.

The team of explorers, which includes UK businessman Sir Richard Branson and Erika Bergman from the US, will conduct a detailed 3D scan of the entire Blue Hole for the Belisian government.

According to Cousteau, the sinkhole hosts an ecosystem that we know little about, and thus there is a possibility of discovering creatures not known to mankind.

"We have no idea what the Blue Holes could give us. Between the legends, the sightings, and anecdotal stories, we are very much looking forward to deciphering some of the mysteries that the Blue Hole is holding," he said.

"Although Cousteau is no stranger to the marine world, having made his first dive at the tender age of four, he admits to being a little nervous about going into a place that his grandfather "deemed as one of the top ten destinations in the world."



He considers his family legacy as a privilege as well as a great responsibility.

The journey will inevitably conjure up in the public mind a nostalgia, he said.

However, Cousteau has the advantage of cutting-edge satellite technology that makes live-streaming of his exploration possible.

With such adventures, he hopes to captivate the world's imagination, inspire young minds to explore careers that they never knew of before, and bring attention to the immediate need of environmental conservation.

"The environment and conservation is the only investment in our natural resource bank account' in the future well-being of our children. Without a healthy planet, there are no such things as healthy people, Cousteau said.

"So it behoves us to highlight the fact that we must take care of our planet, the way we do for ourselves and our family. If we are going to imagine a brighter future for ourselves," he said.

The show will premier Monday, December 3 at 2:30 AM IST on Discovery TV channel. A repeat of the show will be broadcast on the same day at 8:00 pm on Discovery and Discovery HD World.

The show will explore a variety of sea-related topics such as how the Blue Hole was created, how technology has evolved since the first mission, and will delve into the many legends surrounding this unique spot.

The broadcast, hosted by marine biologist Luke Tipple and presenter Chris Jacobs, will document the team's descent into the Blue Hole.

Vessels will continue exploring the Blue Hole for two weeks after the dive and track the site.

The data collected will help construct real-life models of the Blue Hole's geographical features to help researchers from around the world understand how changing sea levels affected its formation and to provide key information about climate change patterns.

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Bollywood actor Rajpal Yadav was Friday sent to three-month jail by the Delhi High Court for failing to repay loan he had taken in 2010 for making film 'Ata Pata Laapata'.

His lawyer said since the actor was unable to pay the entire amount of the loan which had gone up to Rs 10 crore, the high court noted that under such circumstances the decree would be deemed to be executed if he serves three months jail.

The opposite side had questioned the conduct of the actor who had tried to come out with a proposal not accepted to them.

"I am satisfied from the past conduct of the judgment debtor (Yadav) that he in spite of being in a position to pay the decretal amount are managing their affairs so as to avoid execution of the decree...

"The decree is ordered to be executed by the detention of Yadav in civil prison for a period of three months. Yadav is ordered to be taken into custody forthwith to be detained in civil prison," Justice Rajiv Sahai Endlaw said.

On April 23, Yadav was awarded six-month imprisonment by a Delhi court in seven cheque bounce cases for not repaying loan worth over Rs 8 crore to a businessman.

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Diplomats from the Group of 20 countries were haggling hard over a final summit statement Friday, with deep divisions over what language to use on the Paris climate accord and the World Trade Organisation, according to two European officials involved in the discussions.

Facing the prospect of a no-statement summit, European delegations were trying to create a common front and may come out with their own separate declaration if they can't get the US or others on board.

European leaders were meeting in the morning at the summit venue in the Argentine capital to stake out common positions on trade, climate and the killing of dissident Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

France is seeking to build coalitions on certain issues or "ad hoc partnerships" to try to salvage the spirit of the G-20 even if all countries can't agree, according to a French official.

The officials weren't authorised to be named speaking about the closed-door discussions and spoke on condition of anonymity.

The G-20 was supposed to focus on issues like development, infrastructure and investment, but as the gathering officially kicked off, those themes seem like afterthoughts, overshadowed by contentious matters from the US-China trade dispute to the conflict over Ukraine.

European Council President Donald Tusk urged G-20 leaders to discuss "trade wars, the tragic situation in Syria and Yemen and Russian aggression in Ukraine."



He said the European Union is expected to extend sanctions on Moscow over its "totally unacceptable" seizure of Ukrainian ships and their crews near Crimea.

"Europe is united in its support for Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity," Tusk said, calling the standoff "a cause of great concern."



Russian President Vladimir Putin, who arrived in Buenos Aires on Friday morning, is among the leaders involved.

Russia and Ukraine have traded blame over the ship incident.

Also expected to loom large amid dozens of bilateral meetings in Buenos Aires: the gruesome slaying of Khashoggi in Saudi Arabia's Istanbul consulate and how the Saudi crown prince, who is alleged to have ordered the killing, is received by world leaders.

He didn't mention the killing itself, but stressed the importance of the "basic safety of journalists" and said "it's our obligation to press our partners to respect these basic principles."



Saudi Arabia has denied that Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman played a role, but some leaders may be cool toward him to avoid seeming to legitimize a man who US intelligence agencies concluded ordered the killing.

US President Donald Trump's administration has made clear it does not want to torpedo the longstanding US relationship with Riyadh, however.

It is the prince's first significant appearance overseas since the killing.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who has been sharply critical of Saudi Arabia over the incident, is also in attendance.

Leaders of the United States, Canada and Mexico met in the morning to sign a trade deal replacing the North American Free Trade Agreement that was struck following months of tough negotiations that analysts say left a bitter taste among the partners.

Trump called the pact known the USMCA a "model agreement that changes the trade landscape forever."



It must still be ratified by lawmakers in all three countries, and passage in the US could face a tough road in the House of Representatives after Democrats won a majority in November midterm elections.

Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto, whose six-year term ends Saturday, said the deal modernises the trade framework, highlights a need for economic integration in North America and protects labour rights and the environment.

Trade agreements should "move along with the economy," Pena Nieto said.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called on Trump to remove tariffs on steel and aluminum, saying they remain a major economic obstacle.

Trump met in the morning with summit host and Argentine President Mauricio Macri at the presidential palace known as the Casa Rosada, or Pink House.

Posing for photos in a gilded salon, Trump spoke about their longtime personal relationship and said they would discuss trade, military purchases and other issues.

An expected high-profile bilateral meeting between Trump and Russia's Vladimir Putin planned for Saturday was abruptly cancelled by Trump the previous day in a tweet citing Russia's seizure of Ukrainian vessels over the weekend.

Russian agencies quoted Putin spokesman Dmitry Peskov as saying the cancellation means Putin will have more time for "useful meetings."



Trump was still scheduled to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping, but analysts were not optimistic about prospects for a major breakthrough on the two countries' trade disputes a month before US tariffs on Chinese goods are set to ramp up.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel was supposed to get in to Buenos Aires early Friday, but her arrival was delayed when her plane suffered a technical problem and returned to Germany on Thursday night.

Merkel's office said Friday that she and a small delegation, including the finance minister, took a different government plane to Madrid and then boarded a commercial flight to Buenos Aires.

The British Embassy in Argentina said Prime Minister Theresa May's visit would be the first by a UK prime minister to Argentina's capital.

The only other prime minister to visit the country was Tony Blair, who went to Puerto Iguazu in 2001.

The two countries have long been at odds over the South Atlantic islands known as the Falklands in Britain and the Malvinas in Argentina.

Argentine Foreign Minister Jorge Faurie said the recent establishment of more flights to the disputed islands was a positive development.

Regarding May's visit, he said: "Macri has reiterated at various moments that dialogue must be maintained. ... The issue of sovereignty is always on the table." "We are not withdrawing our historic claim," he added.

"The focus of this opportunity is in the reestablishment of trust.

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A 19-year-old British man has been arrested in Egypt on suspicion of spying, his family told the BBC on Friday.

Muhammad Abul-Kasem, 19, was detained in the northern port city of Alexandria on his arrival from Libya on November 21, the report said.

The British Foreign Office said it was "seeking more information from the Egyptian authorities following the arrest of a British person in Alexandria, as well as permission for consular access".

The statement made no reference to the spying allegations.

Abul-Kasem's family said he was detained after the authorities found a photograph of a military aircraft on his mobile phone.

The family explained that Abul-Kasem took the picture from his plane's window as it came in to land in Alexandria.

The report comes on the heels of a row between Britain and the United Arab Emirates over the life sentence the Gulf state handed British academic Matthew Hedges last week.

Hedges was pardoned and allowed to return to his family on Tuesday following strong diplomatic pressure from London.

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EMMVEE Photovoltaic Power Private Limited Friday said it has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Swedish firm Spowdi for manufacture and supply of solar water pumps.

Bengaluru-based EMMVEE specialises in developing photovoltaic modules and systems for on-grid and off-grid applications.

"Today we signed an MoU with Spowdi which is a Swedish company manufacturing solar water pumps," EMMVEE Managing Director Manjunatha D V said.

The pact was signed between Manjunatha and Henrik Johansson, CEO, Spowdi, at 'Sustainability by Sweden - Showroom India' event here.

As per the pact, Manjunatha said his company will assemble the solar pumps at its facility in Bengaluru, besides manufacturing some components.

It will be a 70 watt solar pump which can draw 25,000 litres of water per day, he added.

He further said that looking at the rising cost of power, a pump run on solar energy can help farmers reduce their dependence on electricity.

Those living in urban regions can also replace their electric pumps with solar ones to reduce their electricity bill, he said.

When asked about shipping the first consignment, Manjunatha said that "the aim is to begin the production at the earliest. We are trying to start before the end of this financial year.

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Former judges should not take up post-retirement jobs if these are given as "charity" by the government, Justice Kurian Joseph said Friday, a day after he retired from the Supreme Court.

Joseph, was part of the January 12 press conference in which now Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi, Justice Lokur and former judge J Chelameswar had raised serious questions over various issues including allocation of cases in the top court.

He said former judges should take post-retirement assignments only when they are "honourably requested" by the government to man tribunals.

"So long as the government holds the view that it is a charity done to the retired judges, no judge should take it. If a judge is honourably called, requested and appointed and that process is honourably made, there is no harm in it because many of the tribunals are to be manned by judges," Joseph said.

Talking to reporters on his birthday, he said one trouble which the Supreme Court is facing is shortage of good judges, a concern which has also been echoed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi.

Joseph, who had penned a minority verdict against the death penalty on the eve of demitting of his office, favoured abolishment of capital punishment and also cleared his view on it saying, "it is not a personal stand".

When a judge is discharging his duties from the office of judge he is discharging it to the knowledge of his best interest, ability and belief, he said.

"So, as far as death penalty is concerned what I wrote is not my personal philosophies. My personal philosophies should have nothing to do with my judgment. People have taken the spirit of the Bachaan Singh judgment of 1980 forward and said that it should be applied in the rarest of rare cases," the former apex court judge said.

Joseph said there are various advancements made in the views and theories, and questioned as to how it will be assessed that there was no possibility of reformation of the death row convict.

"Is there any system available to us to assess that? This is what I suggested that there should be psychological assessment," he added.

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Facebook on Thursday said that chief operating officer Sheryl Sandberg asked staff to look into whether billionaire critic George Soros had a financial interest in tarnishing the social network.

The company was responding to a New York Times report citing sources that maintained the second most powerful executive at Facebook was directly involved in the social network's tactical response to the philanthropist's criticism of the social network.

"Mr. Soros is a prominent investor and we looked into his investments and trading activity related to Facebook," a spokeswoman said, queried by AFP.

"That research was already underway when Sheryl sent an email asking if Mr. Soros had shorted Facebook's stock." Investors who sell shares short stand to profit if the price of the stock drops.

The outgoing head of Facebook's communications team last week took responsibility for the controversial hiring of a conservative consulting firm accused of using "black ops" style techniques, acknowledging that critics including investor Soros were targeted.

The announcement by Elliot Schrage, who said in June he was stepping down, came after Sandberg has pledged a review of its use of Definers to deflect criticism from the social networking giant.

She and Facebook chief executive Mark Zuckerberg maintained they were surprised by an NYT story earlier this month that said the social network was using Definers to link social network critics to liberal financier Soros.

The Hungarian-born US billionaire is a favorite target of nationalists and anti-Semitic conspiracy theorists.

Schrage taking the hit for the controversy was seen by some as convenient, since he had said he was leaving the social network after working there for more than a decade.

Definers was hired in 2017 as part of an effort to diversify its advisors in Washington, in the face of growing pressure by competitors and media companies for Facebook to be regulated by the government, Schrage said in a message to co-workers posted online.

But its role grew to include looking into Facebook competitors and doing research on Soros-funded campaigns.

"Responsibility for these decisions rests with leadership of the Communications team," Schrage said.

"That's me." Sandberg, who had previously stated that she had no recollection of working with Definers, revealed at the time that a check of what had crossed her desk showed that Definers was mentioned in some material and in a "small number" of emails she received.

"As Elliot said last week, we researched potential motivations behind George Soros's criticism of Facebook in January 2018," the spokesperson told AFP.

Definers began looking into Soros after the philanthropist labeled Facebook a "menace to society" in a speech at Davos early this year, according to Schrage.

"We had not heard such criticism from him before and wanted to determine if he had any financial motivation," Schrage said.

When a "Freedom from Facebook" campaign later began portrayed as a grassroots coalition, Definers determined that Soros was funding some coalition members and shared what they learned with the press, according to Schrage.

"Sheryl never directed research on Freedom from Facebook," the spokeswoman said.

"But, as she said before, she takes full responsibility for any activity that happened on her watch." Schrage joined Zuckerberg and Sandberg in stressing that Definers was not hired to create or spread false stories to help Facebook.

Zuckerberg said Facebook stopped using Definers the day the NYT story was published.

Zuckerberg has defended Sandberg, saying she "is a really important part of this company and is leading a lot of the efforts for a lot of the biggest issues we have."



Facebook has stumbled from one mess to another this year as it grapples with continuing fallout from Russia's use of the platform to interfere in the 2016 US presidential election, the Cambridge Analytica scandal in which user data was harnessed in a bid to help candidate Donald Trump, and a huge security breach involving millions of accounts.

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Thousands of farmers from across the country, who have been camping at the Ramlila ground here since Thursday, began their march to Parliament Street on Friday amid heavy policy deployment, to press for their demands, including debt relief and remunerative prices for their produce.

Over 3,500 police personnel have deployed on the route of the march. According to a senior police officer, special arrangements have been made in Central and New Delhi police districts.

As many as 850 police personnel, up to the rank of sub-inspectors, have been deployed in the Central district. They have been augmented by the presence of 12 police companies, including two of women, each comprising 75-80 personnel, a police official said.

In New Delhi district, 346 police personnel, up to the rank of sub-inspectors, have been deployed and 600 personnel from other districts will also help them, the official said.

Nine police companies, along with 71 officers, from the rank of inspectors up to additional DCPs, are also present.

Farmers from different parts of the country, including Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal and Uttar Pradesh converged at the Ramlila ground on Thursday.

Traffic was disrupted in many parts of the city on Thursday as the farmers marched to the Ramlila ground in the heart of the city on four different routes, starting from Anand Vihar, Nizamuddin and Bijwasan railway stations and Sabzi Mandi.

Banded under the All India Kisan Sangharsh Coordination Committee (AIKSCC), which claims to be an umbrella body of 207 organisations of farmers and agricultural workers, many farmers arrived in the city on Thursday, on trains, buses and other modes of transport.

Kamla, a functionary of the All India Kisan Sabha's Delhi unit, said farmers from nearby areas converged at Majnu Ka Tila on the outskirts of Delhi from where they marched in groups to Ramlila Maidan on Thursday.

About 1,200 members of the National South Indian River Interlinking Agriculturalists Association reached the national capital in the early hours of Thursday carrying skulls of two of their colleagues who had committed suicide, their leader P Ayyakannu claimed.

The group from Tamil Nadu had threatened to march naked if they are not allowed to go to Parliament on Friday.They had last year staged protests at Jantar Mantar with the skulls of eight farmers who killed themselves owing to losses.

The AIKSCC has claimed that the two-day rally will be one of the largest congregations of farmers in Delhi.

Five Gurdwaras in the Delhi region have extended their help to the farmers. Also students from various universities turned out in large numbers to lend support to the farmers. The protest also saw participation of a number of women farmers who travelled from various parts of the country.

Volunteers, including doctors, lawyers, professors and artists, all came out in large numbers to help the farmers. Around 600-700 volunteers of a solidarity group 'Nation For Farmers' marched with the protesters from the four assembly points.

The AIKSCC was formed under the aegis of All India Kisan Sabha and other Left-affiliated farmers' bodies in June, 2017, following protests by farmers in states such as Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh for debt relief and remunerative prices.

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Thousands of farmers marched through the streets of the capital, chanting slogans and flashing flags, to press their demands like debt relief and remunerative prices for their produce and were joined by social activists and leaders of non-BJP parties in a show of strength near Parliament here.

The farmers, who had gathered from various states and camped at the Ramlila ground overnight, started their march around 10.30 am amid heavy policy deployment, only to be stopped at the Parliament Street police station.

The government came in for severe criticism for "not implementing a single major initiative for farmers in the past four and a half years".

National secretary of All India Kisan Sangharsh Coordination Committee (AIKSCC) Asish Mittal said farmers from 24 states joined the protest. Banded under the AIKSCC, which claims to be an umbrella body of 207 organisations of farmers and agricultural workers, many protesters arrived in the city on Thursday, on trains, buses and other modes of transport.

A group of farmers from Tamil Nadu staged a 'nude protest' by lying in front of the stage after placing bones and human skulls on their bodies.

About 1,300 members of the National South Indian River Interlinking Farmers Association reached the national capital in the early hours of Thursday and were carrying seven skulls and bones, said their leader P Ayyakannu.

He said the skulls and bones were of the farmers who committed suicide.

Congress president Rahul Gandhi, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, Samajwadi Party leader Dharmendra Yadav, CPI(M) leader Sitaram Yechury, CPI leader S Sudhakar Reddy, AAP MP Sanjay Singh and former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Farooq Abdullah were among the leaders who joined the farmers at Jantar Mantar.

While Gandhi said leaders of all opposition parties stand united with farmers in ensuring their good future and called for a farm loan waiver, Kejriwal alleged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has "stabbed farmers in the back" by not fulfilling the promises made to them.

Gandhi said that no one can silence the voice of farmers and youth while asserting that if the government insults them, then they will ensure its removal. He added that the farmers were not seeking a "free gift" from the government by asking for a farm loan waiver but were only asking for what is due to them.

"If this government can waive Rs 3.5 lakh crore loans of 15 big industrialists, why can't the loans of crores of farmers in the country be waived," he asked.

Kejriwal claimed that the Centre had filed an affidavit in the Supreme Court saying it would not implement the M S Swaminathan Commission report. "The government had also made lot of promises to farmers in last elections (2014), but it has not fulfilled those promises. And, by not implementing the Swaminathan Commission report, Modi ji has stabbed the farmers in their back (kisano ke peeth mey chhura bhonka hai)."



The AAP leader said the Union government should implement the report in five months, otherwise, the farmers will show their might in the 2019 elections. "The affidavit filed in the court should be withdrawn and the report should be implemented, otherwise, farmers would wreak havoc in 2019 elections ('kisan agle election mey qayamat dhah denge')," he said.

Various leaders also addressed the gathering. Sitaram Yechury said this was the "same police station (Parliament Street police station) where Bhagat Singh was taken into custody for throwing a bomb (in the Legislative Assembly)". Swaraj India leader Yogendra Yadav said the protest is a historic development as not only farmers across the nation have been assembled under one platform but also it has enjoyed supports from all section of society.

NCP chief Sharad Pawar said the condition of farmers in the country needs to be changed but the government is "not sympathetic" towards their plight. Narmada Bachao Andolan activist Medha Patkar alleged that the government from the "very beginning has been adopting pro-corporate policies and not a single major initiative for farmers has been launched by it".

Farooq Abdullah said Kashmiris are standing with the farmers in their fight for their rights.

"We all know your plight. We know how you spend everything on your farms and when you do not get the right produce you have to starve. The farmers' movement to Delhi is a wake up call for the government," he said and urged people to join hands to overthrow the BJP government in the upcoming elections.

The AIKSCC claimed the two-day rally is one of the largest congregations of farmers in Delhi. Five gurdwaras in the Delhi region have extended their help to the farmers. Also students from various universities turned out in large numbers to lend support to the farmers. The protest also saw participation of a number of women farmers who travelled from various parts of the country.

Volunteers, including doctors, lawyers, professors and artists, came out to help the farmers. Around 600-700 volunteers of a solidarity group 'Nation For Farmers' marched with the protesters from the four assembly points.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Leaders of about a dozen non-BJP parties closed ranks on Friday at a mega rally here by protesting farmers in a show of unity, as thousands of farmers marched through the streets chanting slogans to press for their demands like debt relief and remunerative prices for their produce.

As Congress chief Rahul Gandhi, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, CPI-M chief Sitaram Yechury and NCP supremo Sharad Pawar and other leaders shared the stage and backed the demands, the farmers started their march towards Parliament from Ramlila grounds around 10.30 am amid heavy policy deployment, only to be stopped at the Parliament Street police station.

"The farmers are not seeking a free gift from the government," Gandhi thundered at the rally in Jantar Mantar. The farmers had gathered from various states and camped at the Ramlila grounds overnight.

Traffic in many parts of the capital was affected due to the march.

National secretary of All India Kisan Sangharsh Coordination Committee (AIKSCC) Asish Mittal said farmers from 24 states joined the protest. Banded under the AIKSCC, which claims to be an umbrella body of 207 organisations of farmers and agricultural workers, many protesters arrived in the city on Thursday, on trains, buses and other modes of transport.

A group of farmers from Tamil Nadu staged a 'nude protest' by lying in front of the stage after placing bones and human skulls on their bodies.

About 1,300 members of the National South Indian River Interlinking Farmers Association reached the national capital in the early hours of Thursday and were carrying seven skulls and bones, said their leader P Ayyakannu.

He said the skulls and bones were of the farmers who committed suicide.

Samajwadi Party leader Dharmendra Yadav, CPI leader S Sudhakar Reddy, AAP MP Sanjay Singh and former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Farooq Abdullah were among other leaders who joined the farmers at Jantar Mantar, which is less than a kilometre from Parliament.

While Gandhi said leaders of all opposition parties stand united with farmers in ensuring their good future and called for a farm loan waiver, Kejriwal alleged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has "stabbed farmers in the back" by not fulfilling the promises made to them.

Gandhi said no one can silence the voice of farmers and youth while asserting that if the government insults them, then they will ensure its removal.

"The farmers are not seeking a free gift from the government by asking for a farm loan waiver but are only asking for what is due to them," he said, and asked, "If this government can waive Rs 3.5 lakh crore loans of 15 big industrialists, why can't the loans of crores of farmers in the country be waived."



Kejriwal said the government made lot of promises to farmers in the 2014 elections, but it has not fulfilled them. "And, by not implementing the Swaminathan Commission report, Modi ji has stabbed the farmers in their back (kisano ke peeth mey chhura bhonka hai)."



"...the report should be implemented, otherwise, farmers would wreak havoc in 2019 elections ('kisan agle election mey qayamat dhah denge')," he said.

The report is aimed at working out a system for food and nutrition security, sustainability in farming system, enhancing quality and cost competitiveness of farm commodities.

Yechury reminded the gathering that this was the "same police station (Parliament Street police station) where Bhagat Singh was taken into custody for throwing a bomb (in the Legislative Assembly)".

Swaraj India leader Yogendra Yadav said the protest is a historic development as not only farmers across the nation have assembled under one platform but also it has enjoyed support from all sections of society.

Pawar said the condition of farmers in the country needs to be changed but the government is "not sympathetic" towards their plight. Narmada Bachao Andolan activist Medha Patkar alleged that the government from the "very beginning has been adopting pro-corporate policies and not a single major initiative for farmers has been launched by it".

Abdullah said the farmers' protests Delhi is a "wake up call" for the government, as he urged people to join hands to overthrow the BJP government in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.

The AIKSCC claimed the two-day rally is one of the largest congregation of farmers in Delhi. Five gurdwaras in the Delhi regionextended their help to the farmers. Also, students from various universities turned out in large numbers to lend support to the farmers. The protest also saw participation of a number of women farmers who travelled from various parts of the country.

Atul Anjaan, national secretary of All India Kisan Sabha, alleged that the "apathetic attitude" of the Modi government towards farmers has led to the distress in the agriculture sector and the situation is worsening.

Volunteers, including doctors, lawyers, professors and artists, came out to help the farmers. Around 600-700 volunteers of a solidarity group 'Nation For Farmers' marched with the protesters from the four assembly points.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Thousands of farmers from across the country, who have been camping at the Ramlila ground here since Thursday, will march to Parliament Street on Friday to press for their demands, including debt relief and remunerative prices for their produce.

Over 3,500 police personnel have deployed as the farmers are likely to begin their march from the Ramlila Maidan to Parliament at 10.30 am.

According to a senior police officer, special arrangements have been made in Central and New Delhi police districts.

As many as 850 police personnel, up to the rank of sub-inspectors, have been deployed in the Central district. They will be augmented by the presence of 12 police companies, including two of women, comprising 75-80 personnel each, a police official said.

Farmers from different parts of the country, including Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal and Uttar Pradesh converged at the Ramlila ground on Thursday.

"We will start marching toward Parliament around 10.30 am. We had discussion with police Thursday night so that the event goes on smoothly," the Secretary of All India Kisan Sabha (AIKS), Atul Anjaan, said.

Traffic was disrupted in many parts of the city on Thursday as the farmers marched to the Ramlila ground in the heart of the city on four different routes -- Anand Vihar, Nizamuddin and Bijwasan railway stations and at Sabzi Mandi.

Banded under the All India Kisan Sangharsh Coordination Committee (AIKSCC), which claims to be an umbrella body of 207 organisations of farmers and agricultural workers, many farmers kept pouring into the city.

They came in trains, buses and other modes of transport.

Kamla, a functionary of the All India Kisan Sabha's Delhi unit, said farmers from nearby areas converged at Majnu Ka Tila on the outskirts of Delhi from where they marched in groups to Ramlila Maidan on Thursday.

About 1,200 members of the South Indian River Interlinking Agriculturalists Association reached the capital in the early hours of Thursday carrying skulls of two of their colleagues who had committed suicide, their leader P Ayyakannu claimed.

The group from Tamil Nadu had threatened to march naked if they are not allowed to go to Parliament on Friday. The group had last year staged protests at Jantar Mantar with the skulls of eight farmers who killed themselves owing to losses.

The AIKSCC has claimed that the two-day rally will be one of the largest congregations of farmers in Delhi.

Five Gurdwaras in the Delhi region have extended their help to the farmers. Also students from various universities turned out in large numbers to lend support to the farmers. The protest also saw participation of a number of women farmers who travelled from various parts of the country.

Volunteers, including doctors, lawyers, professors and artists, all came out in large numbers to help the farmers. Around 600-700 volunteers of a solidarity group Nation For Farmers marched with the protesters from the four assembly points.

The AIKSCC was formed under the aegis of All India Kisan Sabha and other Left-affiliated farmers' bodies in June 2017, following protests by farmers in states such as Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh for debt relief and remunerative prices.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Farooq Abdullah extended his support to farmers, who have gathered here to press for their demands, and urged people to join hands to overthrow the BJP government in the upcoming elections.

The national conference leader joined several leaders from the opposition parties at Jantar Mantar in the national capital where thousands of farmers from across the country have gathered to press for their demands, including debt relief and remunerative prices for their produce.

Abdullah, in his address at the venue, said Kashmir was a part of India and would always remain a part of it, and added, "Kashmiris are standing with farmers and support them in their rights".

"We all know your plight. We know how you spend everything on your farms and when you do not get the right produce you have to starve. The farmers' movement to Delhi is a wake up call for the government," he said.

He also said the Muslims were not against the Ram temple.

"Muslims are not against the temple. The hatred that is being spread by the government that Muslims are against the Ram Mandir is not true. Whenever elections come, these people remember Ram," he said.

"They (BJP) want to divide India on communal lines. We are 70 per cent Muslims (in Kashmir) and we will live and die for India. Your worries are our worries and we are standing with you. Elections are coming, let us stand together and not let them divide us and let us overthrow them," he said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A special CBI court here will start hearing final arguments in the Sohrabuddin Shaikh and Tulsiram Prajapati alleged fake encounter cases from December 3.

Special CBI judge S J Sharma wrapped up recording of statements of the accused under Section 313 of the Code of Criminal Procedure on Friday.

Under Section 313, accused get a final chance to put forth their stand after witnesses' statements are recorded.

The judge fixed December 3 for commencement of final arguments after defence lawyers said they would not be examining any witnesses of their own.

The prosecution examined 210 witnesses, of which 92 turned hostile.

CBI counsel B P Raju will present his arguments first.

Shaikh, an alleged gangster with terrorist links, and his wife Kausar Bi were allegedly abducted by Gujarat Anti-Terrorism Squad from Hyderabad when they were on their way to Sangli in Maharashtra.

Shaikh was killed in an alleged fake encounter near Gandhinagar in November 2005. His wife was allegedly killed later.

Prajapati, an aide of Shaikh who was believed to have witnessed the encounter, was allegedly killed by Gujarat and Rajasthan police officials at Chapri in Gujarat's Banaskantha district in December 2006.

The case was transferred to Mumbai in September 2012 on the request of the CBI to ensure a fair trial.

Of the 38 people charged by the CBI for the alleged fake encounters, 16, including BJP chief Amit Shah (who was minister of state for home in Gujarat then) and all senior police officials, were discharged. Twenty-two accused are facing trial.

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The Congress Friday expressed concern over the detention of fishermen by Pakistani authorities off the coast of Gujarat and said the BJP government in the state had not operationalised the coastal security scheme of the Centre due to which fishermen were facing problems.

Congress spokesperson Shaktisingh Gohil said the scheme was prepared by the UPA government in 2005 and funds were allocated to the Gujarat government for putting in place a monitoring system.

This, he alleged, could not happen as then chief minister Narendra Modi did not pay heed to it and ignored the scheme. He claimed the Mumbai terror attack had also happened due to laxity in marine security and the task of terrorists became easier.

Twenty two Indian fishermen were arrested Thursday by personnel of the Pakistan Maritime Security Agency (PMSA) for allegedly straying into the country's territorial waters.

Gohil said his party did not want to indulge in petty on the sensitive issues like national security and terrorism.

"The UPA government had sanctioned funds to Gujarat government to improve coastal security. Despite this, no action was taken. The CAG has reported that there is no proper shore-based infrastructure and security like marine police stations," he told reporters.

The Congress leader said that according to the CAG report, Government of India had given money for putting vessel tracking system on every boat in Gujarat, but it did not happen.

Gohil said had the then Gujarat government started this scheme, the terrorists involved in the Mumbai attack could have been stopped from reaching the city by boat.

He also claimed the Congress had never lied in its promises to farmers and would always support them.

Gohil said India was an agricultural country and Prime Minister Narendra Modi had promised many things to farmers like MSPs, bonus and remunerative prices, "but, around 200 farmers' organisations across India have marched to Delhi together to demand for their rights".

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Technological strength will be key in future wars, Army chief Gen Bipin Rawat said Friday, adding there is a need to make military officers tech-savvy.

Rawat attended the Passing Out Parade of 135th course of National Defence Academy here as the reviewing officer. He addressed the cadets and later spoke to reporters.

"If we have to prepare a modern army, if we have to prepare for military operations, we need to concentrate on the technology," he said.

"In coming days, the wars wouldn't be won just depending on the might but we will have to imbibe technology and we need to make our officers tech-savvy," said Rawat.

At the NDA, a B-Tech course has been started for the same purpose, he said. "If their basics (about science and technology) are clear, they will not have problem imbibing the technology," Gen Rawat added.

The Army chief also said information and cyber warfare will need more attention in coming days.

"Artificial Intelligence is emerging as a force multiplier, and in terms of defence forces, it is emerging as force multiplier as a weapon," he said.

A total of 261 cadets graduated from the academy as they passed through the portals of the prestigious Khetrapal Parade Ground.

They include 186 Army cadets, 21 Navy cadets and 54 Air Force cadets.

Sixteen cadets from Afghanistan, Bhutan, Kyrgyzstan, Lesotho, Tanzania, Tajikistan, Mauritius, Vietnam and Sri Lanka were among those who passed out.

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A former gram pradhan of Pelkha village in Shamli district was found dead in his field, police said Friday.

The body of Yogender (55) with his throat slit was found on Thursday evening, Superintendent of Police (SP) Ajay Kumar said.

The victim had gone to the field for some work Thursday, he said.

A search operation was launched after he did not return home till late, Kumar said, adding that the body was found in the field at night.

A case was registered at the Ghari pukhta police station in this connection, police said.

The body was sent for postmortem and a probe launched, they said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Food regulator FSSAI on Friday launched a mass media campaign to educate people about the bad effects of industrially produced trans fat.

The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) said trans fat intake leads to more than 500,000 deaths from cardiovascular disease every year globally.

Trans fats are made by adding hydrogen to liquid vegetable oils to make them more solid and increase the shelf life of foods. Trans fats are largely present in vanaspati, margarine and bakery shortenings, and can be found in baked and fried foods.

Entitled 'Heart Attack Rewind', the 30-second public service announcement (PSA) will support FSSAI's campaign against trans fat.

"FSSAI is committed to reducing the industrially produced trans fatty acids to less than 2 per cent by the year 2022 in a phased manner. This is in line with our objective to get Freedom from 'Trans Fat: India@75," FSSAI's CEO Pawan Agarwal said in a statement.

He hoped that this media campaign will educate consumers about the harmful effects and its link to cardiovascular diseases.

The campaign warns citizens about the health hazards of consuming trans fat and offers strategies to avoid them through healthier alternatives. The campaign was developed by experts at Vital Strategies.

"Trans fats have no known health benefits, and put Indians at risk for cardiovascular disease and other health issues," Nandita Murukutla from Vital Strategies said.

In May 2018, WHO launched a comprehensive plan to eliminate industrially-produced trans fat from the global food supply by 2023.

REPLACE provides a roadmap about how countries can remove and replace all trans fat from their food supplies with the intention to eradicate it from the globe.

FSSAI's plan to lower the levels of trans fat in India's food supply was supported by a pledge that the vanaspati manufacturers, food companies, bakery associations and others signed earlier this year.

The campaign would be broadcast in 17 languages for a period of four weeks on major digital platforms such as YouTube, Facebook, Hotstar and Voot. Additionally, the campaign will also be placed on radio channels and outdoor hoardings in Delhi/NCR, the statement said.

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi met with Saudi Arabia Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on the sidelines of the G20 summit here on Friday and they discussed ways to further boost economic, cultural and energy ties.

The two sides also held discussions on enhancing investment in technology, renewable energy and food security.

"Had a fruitful interaction with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud. We discussed multiple aspects of India-Saudi Arabia relations and ways to further boost economic, cultural and energy ties," the prime minister wrote on Twitter.

"Deepening strategic ties. PM @narendramodi met with Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud on sidelines of #G20Argentina. Discussed enhancing Saudi investment in technology, infrastructure, petroleum, renewable energy, food security, fintech & defence sectors," External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Ravish Kumar tweeted.

"In recent years, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has been a valuable partner. The relationship has expanded beyond the Indian community to issues related to the economy, energy and security. All issues of bilateral and regional interest will be discussed," PMO sources said.

Later, the prime minister will meet UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres. According to the sources, the UN Secretary General has reached out to the PM for the second time in two months.

They said the meeting signifies the importance that both leaders attach to the issue of climate change. This outreach comes just a week before the COP24 meet in Katowice, Poland.

"It reflects the respect in which the prime minister and his initiatives are held globally to take the lead on issues of global importance," the sources said.

On the sidelines of the two-day 13th G-20 summit, Modi, Trump and Japanese Premier Shinzo Abe will hold a trilateral meeting amidst China flexing its muscles in the strategic Indo-Pacific region.

The trilateral, which would be an expansion of the bilateral meeting between Trump and Abe, is part of the series of meetings the US president would have on the sidelines of the G-20 summit on November 30 and December 1.

White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said on Thursday the trilateral meeting with Prime Minister Modi will be held towards the end of the Trump-Abe talks.

"Looking forward to a wide range of interactions at the G-20 Summit, aimed at furthering sustainable development," Prime Minister Modi tweeted soon after he landed here.

Modi will also meet Chinese President Xi Jinping and German Chancellor Angela Merkel on the sidelines of the event, the Ministry of External Affairs had said on the eve of his departure.

He will be in Buenos Aires from November 29 to December 1.

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi met with UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres on the sidelines of the G20 summit here on Thursday and the two discussed India's role in addressing climate change globally.

PMO sources said the meeting signifies the importance that both leaders attach to the issue of climate change. This outreach comes just a week before the COP24 meet in Katowice, Poland.

"UN Secretary General @antonioguterres met PM @narendramodi in #BuenosAires on the sidelines of the #G20Summit. Discussed India's uniting role in addressing climate change globally, with specific reference to the forthcoming COP24 meeting in Katowice, Poland," External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Raveesh Kumar tweeted.

The UN Secretary General has reached out to the PM for a second time in two months, the PMO sources said.

"It reflects the respect in which the prime minister and his initiatives are held globally to take the lead on issues of global importance," the sources said.

Earlier, the prime minister met with Saudi Arabia Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on the sidelines of the G20 summit. They discussed ways to further boost economic, cultural and energy ties.

The two sides also held discussions on enhancing investment in technology, renewable energy and food security.

"Had a fruitful interaction with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud. We discussed multiple aspects of India-Saudi Arabia relations and ways to further boost economic, cultural and energy ties," the prime minister wrote on Twitter.

"Deepening strategic ties. PM @narendramodi met with Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud on sidelines of #G20Argentina. Discussed enhancing Saudi investment in technology, infrastructure, petroleum, renewable energy, food security, fintech & defence sectors," the MEA spokesperson tweeted.

On the sidelines of the two-day 13th G-20 summit, Modi, Trump and Japanese Premier Shinzo Abe will hold a trilateral meeting amidst China flexing its muscles in the strategic Indo-Pacific region.

The trilateral, which would be an expansion of the bilateral meeting between Trump and Abe, is part of the series of meetings the US president would have on the sidelines of the G-20 summit on November 30 and December 1.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Tulsi Gabbard, the first Hindu lawmaker in the US Congress, is seeking views from eminent Indian-Americans from across the country on the possibility of a Hindu running for American presidency amid reports that she is considering to run for the White House in 2020.

Those familiar with the 37-year-old Democratic lawmaker from Hawaii said that a formal announcement could be weeks away or even before the end of the year.

If she announces her candidature, she would be the first ever Hindu to be seeking presidential ticket from either of the two major political parties of the US Democratic and the Republican.

On Thursday, over half-a-dozen eminent Hindu-Americans wrote an email to some of the top members of the community from across the country to share their "thoughts" with Gabbard on "the possibility of a Hindu running for the US Presidency" for the first time in history and the "impact" that could have on the Hindu-American community at large.

According to a copy of the email accessed by PTI, Gabbard, who was this month re-elected for her fourth consecutive term in the House of Representatives with a record margin, is expected to be in a listening mode.

During a conference call, scheduled for Sunday, community members are expected to share their thoughts with Gabbard on the possibility and chances of a Hindu woman running for American presidency.

In addition, they are also expected to talk about the fund-raising potential of the community and what kind of logistics or voluntary support the community can provide to her in case she decides to run.

An Iraq war veteran, Gabbard, herself have maintained silence on this issue, but her team have been touching bases with potential supporters across the country. The just concluded November mid-term polls that elected a record number of women to the Congress seems to be a motivating factor as this indicates the desire of the Americans to have more women in elected offices.

Ohio Senator Sherrod Brown is the only Democratic leader to have come closer to announce the presidential bid. Along with Gabbard there are more than a dozen other Democrats who are seen as a potential 2020 candidate for the party.

After a grilling primary that begins in early 2020 and lasts for about six months, the Democratic presidential nominee would be challenging incumbent Donald Trump in the November 2020 presidential elections.

Among other potential Democratic candidates are Indian-origin Senator Kamala Harris, who as of now is seen to have a much wider base and support in the party than Gabbard. Other Democratic presidential aspirants said to the 2016 nominee Hillary Clinton, and Senators Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren, in addition to the former Vice President Joe Biden.

It would be a big dilemma for Indian-Americans if both Senator Harris and Congresswoman announces their candidacy.

Another Indian-American Nikki Haley, the outgoing US Ambassador to the UN, has already said that she is not running for 2020 presidency and that she would support Trump in his re-election bid.

However, political pundits say her eyes are on 2024 presidential election. She is highly popular across the nation and considered to be a rising star of the Republican party.

Bobby Jindal, the two-term former governor of Louisiana was the first Indian American to have ever entered the presidential race. Jindal, who converted to Christianity in childhood, was unable to make an impact despite the best of his effort and withdrew from the race as Trump's campaign gained momentum. Both Harris and Haley are now Christians.

Gabbard, who converted to Hinduism early in her life, is highly popular among Indian Americans and has nurtured this constituency quite well ever she announced her candidacy to run for House of Representatives from Hawaii in 2012.

Gabbard is not an Indian. She was born in American Samoa to a Catholic father (Hawaii State Senator Mike Gabbard) and her mother, Carol Porter Gabbard, is of Caucasian descent who professes Hinduism. Gabbard moved to Hawaii when she was two and embraced Hinduism as a teenager and is well-versed in the scriptures.

Currently she is the Co-Chair of the powerful House Caucus for India and Indian Americans. Her first visit to India was only after she was elected to the US House of Representatives.

In the 2016 presidential elections, she had supported Bernie Sanders and had even quit the Democratic National Committee to endorse the Senator from Vermont.

Her book, "Is Today the Day? Not Another Political Memoir" is scheduled to come out early next year. Sunday's conference with a select group of Indian-Americans would be her first serious engagement with the community on her presidential run.

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Senior Congress leader Ashok Gehlot accused Friday Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje of stalling various public welfare schemes announced by the previous Congress government.

Addressing election rallies in Bharatpur and Deeg cities in the state, Gehlot said the Raje government might have stalled Congress's schemes but they should understand that people suffer due to this.

He said the Congress will not stall any BJP announced schemes after coming to power.

"You (Raje) were given huge majority by the people of the state. Now, people were asking what was their fault and why injustice was done. You should have completed works in time. I did not stall any scheme of Bhairon Singh Shekhawat and Vasundhara Raje," Gehlot said.

He also hit out at the BJP-led government at the Centre, saying that promises of ache din and employment to youths of Rajasthan were unfulfilled.

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Actor Amyra Dastur says it is incredibly tough, especially for outsiders, to get good scripts in the Hindi film industry.

The actor, who has worked in films like "Issaq", "Mr X" and "Kung Fu Yoga", said she came on board Leena Yadav's "Rajma Chawal" because it is a content-driven story.

"Good scripts are difficult to come by in the industry, especially if you are an outsider. For me, it has always been about acting and I will do films which are content- driven," Amyra told PTI.

The actor, however, believes audience has started driving the demand for good content as they are rejecting even a big ticket film like Aamir Khan's "Thugs of Hindostan" if the story is not appealing.

"That's when you realise, especially in this industry, that a good script with good content is so scarce. Even our audience now, they don't want a 'Thugs..', we saw that. They want an 'Andhadhun' or a 'Bhadhaai Ho'. Our audience is craving content."



Amyra, whose film "Rajma Chawal" will release on streaming giant Netflix Friday, and Amyra, 25, digital platform is also changing the way stories are presented.

"With platforms like Netflix, things are evolving as they are making content-driven films and series."



In "Rajma Chawal" she will be seen sharing screen space with veteran actor Rishi Kapoor. Amyra says since she was the last actor to be cast for the comedy-drama, she was aware she had to act alongside Kapoor.

"I was acting in front of him after doing a few movies so it was a little easy for me. I wasn't that nervous. In the film, the equation we share... we are constantly just fighting with each other and have this wicked, sarcastic sense of humour. It is what I share with my father as well. So it wasn't difficult at all," she said.

"Rajma Chawal" chronicles the story of a father who attempts to reconnect with his estranged son through social media, a new world for him.

Post her debut with "Isaaq" in 2013, the actor went in to work in Tamil and Telugu films and credits her experience there for making her a confident actor today.

"There is always a new experience on every set, a new mistake you make. It is a learning experience. I don't think without my South films or my time spent over there, I would've been able to bag a role in 'Rajma Chawal' or do the films I am currently doing. That was my foundation in two years. Now I feel I can do anything," she said.

Her upcoming film is "Mental Hai Kya" with Rajkummar Rao and Kangana Ranaut.

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Friday lauded "good signs" ahead of talks with his Chinese counterpart on resolving their trade war.

"There's some good signs, we'll see what happens," Trump said in Buenos Aires, where he was attending the summit and was to have dinner with Xi on Saturday.

"If we could make a deal, that would be good. I think they want to, and I think we'd like to."

Trump has slapped punishing tariffs on more than $250 billion in Chinese imports so far this year, demanding that end allegedly unfair trade practices and reverse industrial policies criticized by other major economies.

responded with its own tariffs on $110 billion in US goods. But Trump has threatened to target the remaining $267 billion worth of Chinese imports as well, hitting Apple iPhones and laptops produced in

Ahead of the G20, economic advisor detailed what Trump wants out of

"China should change its practices and come into the community of responsible trading nations," Kudlow said, stressing that he considers the US economy in far better shape than China's to weather a prolonged trade war.

"We are in a position to deal with it and handle it very well," he told reporters.

China will have to give way on "fairness and reciprocity," he said, warning that US concerns over intellectual property theft and China's forced technology transfers "must be solved".
The Maharashtra Government said Friday that it was "positively" considering a proposal to refund the fees of students hailing from drought-hit areas.

Revenue Minister Chandrakant Patil made the announcement in reply to a debate on drought situation in the Legislative Council here.

"We are positively considering refunding the fees of students of all streams from drought-hit areas in the current academic year. Even if a student hailing from a drought-hit area is studying in a city, we will consider him (for refund). We will start this process immediately," he said.

This may put an additional burden of Rs 300-400 crore on the state treasury, he said.

The opposition parties had earlier demanded that students from drought-affected areas should get a fee refund.

Patil also said that sub-divisional officers have been given district collector's powers to take immediate decisions on providing water tankers.

"Directions have been issued that water tankers should be provided within 24 hours of receiving a request," the minister said.

Drought-like situation has been declared in 151 tehsils and 268 circles, he said.

"There are 1.08 crore livestock animals in this area and we are making appropriate arrangements for fodder supply till June. Fodder camps will be set up wherever required based on reports of district collectors," he added.

The government will pay five per cent of arrears of drinking water schemes of village panchayats so that water supply in drought-hit villages continues, he said.

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The Bombay High Court Friday allowed digging and tunnelling work near two Parsi temples in south Mumbai for the third phase of the Mumbai Metro project to proceed.

The Parsi community had objected to the work on the ground that it would cause damage to the temples, which were heritage structures, and the sacred fire pits and wells therein.

A bench of Chief Justice Naresh Patil and Justice M S Karnik allowed the tunnelling work to proceed after the Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation (MMRC) assured it that no damage would be caused.

The bench imposed certain restrictions to ensure that the temples were protected.

Pronouncing its verdict, the bench vacated the stay imposed in May on the tunnelling and digging work for the Metro 3 project.

The MMRC had told the court that it was incurring a loss of Rs 4 crore for every day the work was stayed.

The petitioners, representatives of the Parsi community, requested for a stay Friday, saying they were going to approach the Supreme Court against the ruling.

But the bench refused to stay its order, thus making it possible for the MMRC to resume the tunnelling work.

The high court also considered a report of experts from the government-run Veermata Jijabai Technical Institute (VJTI).

The experts, after a site inspection, stated that the work was not likely to cause any damage to the Parsi temples.

The bench directed the VJTI to continue monitoring the work at the site to ensure that the MMRC was implementing all possible safeguards to protect the temples.

It also directed the MMRC to install protective machinery during the blasting and tunnelling work.

According to the MMRC plan, the tunnels will pass directly under two fire temples, one at the Princess Street junction and another at Kalbadevi in south Mumbai.

The MMRC had told the court that following objections from the Parsi community, it had altered the alignment of the tunnels by around four metres.

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The Bombay High Court Friday dismissed a petition filed by Mumbai Congress chief Sanjay Nirupam challenging the election of BJP's Gopal Shetty in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections.

Nirupam had sought for Shetty's election from Mumbai North Parliamentary constituency in the 16th Lok Sabha elections held on November 24, 2014 to be declared null and void.

Nirupam had claimed that Shetty had not disclosed information regarding a property owned by the latter and his wife in suburban Borivli in the nomination form and the affidavits.

Shetty had opposed the petition, and said provisions of the Representation of the People Act, 1950 state only about disclosure of criminal cases, and that there is no provision in respect to disclosure of properties or consequences of the failure to disclose the same.

Shetty further claimed that the property in question was no more under his ownership as all the flats in the said building had been sold in 2010 itself.

Justice Mridula Bhatkar on Friday delivered a judgment in the petition and accepted Shetty's argument.

"I am of the view that in this petition, considering the facts and nature of the property, non-mentioning the said property in the nomination form and in the affidavit as an asset is not a substantive defect," the court said.

"In the present case, there is no false declaration but there is elimination of details of one property, that is non-disclosure of one property," Justice Bhatkar said.

The court noted that section 33A of the Act makes it obligatory for candidates to disclose his or her criminal record, pending cases and if he or she has been convicted and the sentence therein.

"There is no such specific provision like section 33A in respect of disclosure of assets. It is mandatory on the part of the candidate to disclose the property and assets as per Form 96 prescribed under the Act," the order said.

However, there are no specific directions or special provisions like section 33A of the Act, the HC stated while dismissing the petition.

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The Madras High Court Friday quashed a Tamil Nadu government order transferring the investigation of idol theft cases to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).

A special bench of Justice R Mahadevan and Justice P D Audikesavulu, constituted to hear petitions related to idol thefts, held that the GO was "colourable, unreasonable and arbitrary".

It also ordered appointment of Inspector General Pon Manickavel, who superannuated Friday, as a special officer to investigate the present and future cases of the Idol Wing for a period of one year.

The state government had issued a government order Thursday appointing Additional Director General of Police Abhay Kumar Singh to succeed Pon Manickavel.

The court had on August 8 stayed the August 1 government order on petitions filed by advocate Elephant Rajendran and social activist Traffic Ramaswamy, seeking to quash the order transferring the case.

Taking a serious view of the theft of antique idols, the court had in July last year directed the transfer of all pending cases in the state to a court in Kumbakonam of Thanjavur district, from where a number of idols had been stolen, for their effective and speedy disposal on a day-to-day basis.

It had also quashed the transfer order of Manickavel from the Idol Wing and directed him to constitute a team and continue investigation of the cases.

During the earlier hearing, the state government had contended there were enough and sufficient grounds for transferring the investigation to the CBI as in some cases, there were international and inter-state ramifications.

Also, the government had said the investigation needed the cooperation of central government agencies such as customs, embassies and foreign governments, and in some cases, the accused might need to be extradited from foreign nations.

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The Madras High Court has made it clear that it cannot stall the probe by the Special Investigation Team appointed by the Tamil Nadu Governor into the alleged sex scandal at Madurai Kamaraj University in the state.

A division bench of Justice M Sathyanarayanan and Justice P Rajamanickam said Thursday, "We cannot stay the probe by SIT, all we can do is only ask the university whether it has implemented the provisions of the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act."



The bench also directed the university to file a report on the proper implementation of the Act in its institutions.

The direction came on a plea by Revolutionary Students Youth Front seeking to stall the probe conducted by the SIT and constitute a new team headed by a woman official to investigate the scandal in which assistant professor Nirmala Devi allegedly tried to lure college girls to offer sexual favours to higher officials.

When the plea came up for hearing, the Advocate General filed a status report, which said the professor "voluntarily" confessed during custodial interrogation that she tried to lure girl students of her college only to offer sexual favours to other two accused in the case Murugan and Karuppasamy.

It was further submitted that with the assistance of cybercrime cell the call data records (CDR) of Nirmala Devi, Karuppasamy and Murugan were obtained from Mobile Service Providers (MSPs).

The report said the records were analysed and relevant evidences of conspiracy was established.

"The calls made and received by the accused were analysed, and the concerned were summoned, examined and statements recorded. The calls among the three were corroborated based on the voluntary confession and the facts were verified," it was submitted.

"The seizure of all digital evidences was done after following due legal procedure, the report added.

Nirmala Devi, assistant professor at Devanga Arts College in Aruppukottai, was arrested on April 16, a day after an audio clip went viral on the social media, in which she purportedly sought to persuade girls to consider extending sexual favours to senior officials of MKU, to which the college is affiliated.

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The Delhi High Court asked the Enforcement Directorate (ED) Friday not to take any coercive steps against TDP MP Y S Chowdary pursuant to the summons issued to him to appear before it in connection with a money laundering case.

Granting the interim protection to the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) leader, Justice Najmi Waziri asked him to appear before the ED on December 3 and listed his plea challenging the November 27 summons to December 18 for further hearing.

The court also sought the response of the Ministry of Finance and the ED on Chowdary's plea seeking quashing of the summons issued to him on the ground that it was "bad in law" as he was not named in the Enforcement Case Information Report (ECIR), the FIR or the chargesheet.

Centre's standing counsel Anil Soni opposed Chowdary's plea



The TDP leader has also claimed in his petition that he was not connected with the offences mentioned in the ECIR in question, which was registered on the basis of a cheating and forgery case lodged in February 2016 against a Chennai-based company -- Best and Crompton Engineering Projects Ltd -- and its directors.

The FIR against the company and its directors was lodged on the basis of a complaint received from the Central Bank of India.

According to the petition, even though the TDP MP was not named as an accused in the chargesheet, FIR or ECIR, the ED had searched the premises of the Sujana Group, headed by him, on October 8 without a warrant.

Thereafter, on November 24, the central probe agency had raided his official residence and offices in New Delhi and Telangana and his statement was also recorded and on November 27, the summons was issued to him, the plea said.

It also said Chowdary had replied to the summons and sought an adjournment of two weeks, after which, on the same day (November 27), the ED had issued fresh summons, asking him to appear before it on December 4.

Chowdary has claimed in his plea that the ED, "with ill will and malice conducted illegal raids and searches on the premises of his employees" after the TDP "withdrew its support and alliance from the ruling party" at the Centre.

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The has restrained various entities from infringing on e-commerce shopping website Snapdeal's trademark.

Justice J R Midha passed the interim order after the counsel for alleged that several persons and entities were misusing the name of the e-commerce marketplace to run fraudulent schemes and dupe customers.

The high court said it was satisfied that ex-parte ad-interim injunction was warranted in this matter and also restrained the defendants from passing off their activities and business as that of the e-commerce giant or affiliated to it till the next date of hearing, on January 8.

It also issued notices to the entities and sought their responses by January 8.

The suit filed by M/s Jasper Infotech Private Limited, which operates Snapdeal, sought that action be taken against those, who were misusing the brand's name to run fraudulent schemes.

The court also directed Go Daddy.com LLC, Endurance Domain Technology LLP, Wild West Domain LLC etc, to suspend infringing domain names during the pendency of the present proceeding.

It also said that the entities' bank accounts, which were used to receive funds, be freezed and directed authorities to send the compliance report before the next date.

According to the plea, scamsters were found to be using the website's name to invoke trust amidst unsuspecting members of the public and inducing them to pay money on the basis of false promises of expensive gifts/ prizes such as Tata Safari and others.

The fraudulent offers were extended through SMS, phone calls, websites and scratch cards, it claimed.

As part of their modus operandi, scamsters were found to be using multiple mobile numbers and bank accounts in a manner intended to make it very difficult for them to be identified without a very coordinated investigation and enforcement by various law enforcement agencies, the plea alleged.

It claimed that offenders have been siphoning off money from unsuspecting general public by illegally using the website's trademark and that it has no involvement or association with any such schemes.
The Border Security Force, that guards the Indian frontier with Pakistan, said Friday it has indigenuously developed bullet-proof bunkers to protect its troops against fatal sniper fire and has "surgically" targeted enemy posts in the recent past causing heavy losses on the other side.

A senior BSF official said the force is also undertaking a ground analysis and survey of the demographic and economic profile of villages on the western front as part of a "routine exercise" to map the area and keep the government informed about the changes in forward areas along Pakistan.

BSF Director General Rajni Kant Mishra told reporters here that after several infiltration attempts, sniping and unprovoked cross-border firing incidents this year became a "regular affair" along the Indo-Pak international border in Jammu, the force carried out a "comprehensive retaliation plan" to rein in this "misadventure" of the opponent.

"BSF responded in a targeted and deliberate manner as a result of which the Rangers (Pakistan's border guarding troops) were pinned down and confined to their posts.

"Unable to contain the BSF assault, the Rangers were forced to open the entire front and a heavy exchange of fire started on the entire IB. BSF surgically targeted Pakistan posts in retaliatory firing which resulted in heavy losses to the adversary," the DG said on the eve of the forces' 54th raising day.

The DG said taking into consideration "a very serious" and recent incident when a jawan was hacked to death by a Pakistani border action team (BAT) along the IB in Jammu, the force is now undertaking a "scientific" analysis of all such incidents that took place in the past five years along this border.

"We will come out with suggestions by which these actions or incidents can be prevented and if it requires to undertake some civil, mechanical or operational work, we will do that," he said.

As part of protecting their men from enemy sharpshooters who fatally snipe BSF jawans, the DG said, the force has developed in-house bullet-proof sentry bunkers which are expected to better protect troopers guarding the border posts.

"We have demonstrated this new gadget before the Union home minister (Rajnath Singh) when he recently went to Jaisalmer and we will soon replicate it on other border fronts including in Jammu. This has been developed in-house by the BSF," he said.

A senior official later told PTI that the new bunker is armour plated, has a periscope mounted on the top for wide vision and and can accommodate four on-duty jawans at a time at the border post.

A number of BSF men have been killed in sniping attacks in the past after they were hit right on their face or temple, giving them no chance to duck or retaliate.

The DG said the force undertakes "routine" ground analysis of the demographic and economic profile of the area and their intelligence and other operational teams "keep observing" activities along the Indo-Pak border.

Asked if the force recently conducted a study in Rajasthan's border town of Jaisalmer and reported that the population of Muslims was increasing, the DG said he was "not aware" of any such study or report.

"No concern has been raised in any quarter. We conduct routine analysis on the ground, that includes figures of the demography, and submit it to the government. That is our mandate," Mishra said.

Talking to the media on a number of issues, the DG said while they dish out "heavy damage" to the other side when provoked, it will be "very difficult to quantify" the estimate of damage on the Pakistani side.

Mishra, a 1984-batch Indian Police Service officer, said the two pilot projects of deploying tech-based 'smart fences' in Jammu is working to their "satisfaction" and that the progress of getting good results from them to check infiltration has been "substantial."



"The data collected from the pilot projects in Jammu is being audited by technical experts so that we can fine tune the gadgets to get effective results," the DG said.

A similar sensor-based 'smart fence' is expected to come up along the eastern frontier with Bangladesh within the next 1-2 months, he said.

This 'smart fence' will be on a 60-km stretch in Assam's Dhubri and it will help the BSF in checking infiltration, illegal cross-over of Bangladeshi migrants, terrorist elements and also smuggling of cattle.

The BSF was raised on December 1, 1965 and it is primarily tasked to guard the the country's 6,386-km-long borders with Pakistan and Bangladesh.

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The Haryana government will organise a yatra that will cover all the places in the state visited by Guru Nanak Dev, to commemorate the 550th birth anniversary of the Sikhism's founder.

The government has already identified such places, Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar said at a state-level committee meeting.

Haryana and Punjab will organise a series of events throughout 2019 when the 550th birth anniversary of the first Sikh Guru falls.

Earlier, Khattar had sought suggestions from the members of the committee for the year-long celebrations which will continue till November next year.

The state government has constituted a 100-member organising committee under the chairmanship of the chief minister.

According to an official statement, Khattar said the yatra would pass through different parts of the state. He said that an application would be developed soon having information about the places visited by Guru Nanak Dev, year of his visit and other relevant information.

The state government would also consider the matter of taking the devotes to Gurdwara Darbar Sahib Kartarpur in Pakistan on the occasion of 550th 'Parkash Purb' (birth anniversary) of Guru Nanak Dev next year and the same would be taken up with the central government, he added.

To apprise the young generation about his life and teachings, seminars and competitions would be organised in schools, colleges and universities as a part of the year long celebrations.

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Amidst peace overtures from Islamabad, Army chief General Bipin Rawat said Friday Pakistan cannot stay together with India as long as it is an Islamic state and if they are willing to become secular, then there is an opportunity.

While Rawat has expressed concerns over cross-border terror emanating from Pakistan, this is probably for the first time, he has talked about religious character of the neighbouring country apparently responsible for strained Indo-Pak ties.

"If they (Pakistan) have to stay together with India, then they have to develop as a secular state," Gen Rawat told reporters on the sidelines of the Passing Out Parade of the 135th course at the National Defence Academy here.

"See this staying together, staying separate, ispe Pakistan ko apni andruni halat dekhni hogi. Pakistan ne apne state ko Islamic state bana diya hai. Hum log secular state hai (Pakistan has to look at its internal situation. They are an Islamic state, we (India) are a secular state)," he said.

Gen Rawat said, "How can we stay together if you say I am an Islamic state and there is no role for anybody else," he said. "If they are willing to become secular like us, then they seem to have an opportunity. Pehle dekhe, karte hai ki nahi karte (Let us see if they do so or not)."



Rawat's comments come amidst Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan's efforts to resume dialogue with India.

During a press conference in Islamabad yesterday, Khan said he was "ready" to hold talks with his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi and for the first time admitted that it was not in the interest of his country to allow its territories to be used for terror activities in other countries. India has always maintained that Pakistan-sponsor terrorism was its "core concern" and unless Islamabad takes action to stop it, the dialogue process cannot be resumed.

Asked about Khan's statement that Islamabad would move two steps forward if New Delhi took one step, Rawat said the neighbouring nation should first take steps to stop terror activities.

"I would like to tell Pakistan to initiate that first step (of ending terror emanating from its soil). In the past, India has taken several steps. When we say terror is being harboured in your country, show some action by curtailing terror activities which are used against India," Rawat said.

On Khan's contention that why India and Pakistan could not be friends when Germany and France could be good neighbours, he said the neighbouring nation first needs to see its internal condition.

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Markets regulator Sebi Friday levied a total fine of Rs 1 crore on Arise Bhoomi Developers and its three directors for mobilising funds from small investors through unregistered collective investment scheme.

The directors fined in this connection are Papu Kumar Singh, Ratnesh Kumar Yadav and Ravi Shankar Singh.

In four separate but similarly worded orders, Sebi said it conducted an investigation after it received a complaint from an NGO, alleging that the company was involved in collection of funds from small investors without obtaining approval of Sebi and it mobilised Rs 8.38 crore during 2013-2014.

The probe found the firm was "operating a collective investment scheme (CIS) without obtaining a registration from Sebi", the regulator noted.

Illegal mobilisation of funds through unregistered collective investment scheme by any entity is in violation of PFUTP (Prohibition of Fraudulent and Unfair Trade Practices) norms.

The entities "had violated PFUTP Regulations and is liable for imposition of monetary penalty", the regulator said.

Accordingly, Sebi has imposed fine of Rs 25 lakh each on Arise Bhoomi Developers and its directors through separate orders.

Separately, Sebi has slapped a fine of Rs 5 lakh on Parshwa Traders for the execution of non-genuine trades leading to creation of artificial trading volume in illiquid stock options segment of BSE.

"It is established that the Noticee (Parshwa Traders) by indulging in reversal trades on the stock exchange platform which are manipulative in nature, had created artificial volumes in the contracts," Sebi said in its order.

Such practices are violative of PFUTP norms and subsequently the regulator fined the company Rs 5 lakh.

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A day after announcing that its India Managing Director will step down, Chinese handset maker Oppo Friday asserted it is currently in the "investment-heavy phase" of its "long-term strategy" in the country and will pump funds into the operations, including R&D.

Oppo, which competes against brands like Xiaomi and Samsung among many others, said that its India MD Yi Wang's exit from his role was a "mutual decision" and that the company will announce his successor at "an appropriate time".

"Oppo India is focused towards expansion in the Indian market and sees itself as a long term player in one of the fastest growing mobile handset markets in the world. We are here for the long-run and are currently in the investment-heavy phase of our long-term strategy," Oppo India President Charles Wong told PTI.

He added that the company's commitment in India will continue and that it sees the country as one of its largest markets for its products. Wong, however, declined to disclose investment-related details.

According to regulatory documents, the Chinese company saw its net loss widening to Rs 358 crore in 2017-18 from Rs 42 crore a year ago. Industry watchers attributed this to the company's huge marketing spends.

"For us at Oppo, India is a high priority market and is pivotal to our global growth strategy...Oppo will continue to drive investments in India. In fact, in line with the evolving market, we will further strengthen our R&D (Reserach and Development) capabilities in India," he said.

Although extremely competitive, India is a key market for smartphone players as it continues to grow at a strong pace. It ranks behind only China in terms of total smartphone shipment, having outpaced the US during the third quarter this year, as per industry estimates.

According to research firm IDC, smartphone shipments in India touched an all-time high of 42.6 million units in July-September 2018 quarter, registering an year-on-year growth of 9.1 per cent.

In October, Oppo had announced the appointment of former Samsung India executive Tasleem Arif to head its R&D centre in Hyderabad.

"We will be announcing our first R&D center in Hyderabad soon," Wong said.

While the company did not disclose the investment being made for the R&D unit, it had said the Hyderabad centre would be Oppo's seventh such facility globally after China (Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen, Dongguan), Yokohama (Japan) and Silicon Valley (the US).

Talking about the exit of the India MD, Wong said Wang had played a pivotal role in Oppo's India journey and that the executive continues to be a part of the Oppo family and "will help drive its story in a different market".

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India is a country of master artisans and their skills must be preserved and developed, Union minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said Friday.

Naqvi, while speaking at 'The Luxury Symposium 2018, also said every region and every hand in India has skill and expertise in various sectors.

We should ensure that this legacy does not vanish, the minority affairs minister was quoted as saying by a statement from his office.

Renowned designers and artisans of national and international level were present at the programme organised by fashion designer Ritu Beri here.

Naqvi said there is a need to develop and improve this legacy of master artisans and to provide market and opportunity.

For the first time, the Modi government created a separate ministry to strengthen the campaign of skill development, he said.

Naqvi said that the Ministry of Minority Affairs is also working with commitment to protect and improve the heritage of master artisans and craftsmen through various job-oriented skill development programmes.

More than 7 lakh people have been provided employment and employment opportunities through job-oriented skill development schemes such as 'Hunar Haat', 'Seekho aur Kamao', and 'Usttad, Garib Nawaz Kaushal Vikas Yojana' in about four years, he said.

Naqvi said the ministry's Hunar Haat initiative has become a credible brand for empowerment of artisans and craftsmen across the country.

Hunar Haat has proved to be empowerment and employment exchange for master artisans and craftsmen.

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India is expecting that the outcome of the forthcoming UN climate summit in Poland will be "balanced, inclusive and consistent with the principles" of the Paris agreement, a senior Ministry official said Friday.

The official asserted India will not create obstacles but will facilitate a "positive" outcome.

Noting that India wants its "basic concerns" to be met, the official said the critical points, for India, include making the issue of differentiation a part of the dialogue at the summit, giving pre-2020 climate action discussions importance and seeing some conclusion on the issue of finance both in terms of actual availability and its commitment.

Asked whether India can be pressured to revise its climate action commitments in the wake of the recent UN's Intergovernmental Panel for Climate Change report, the official said India's Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC) goals are very ambitious "but as a country we would like to do better than what we have promised".

To that extent, if the developed countries put resource, technology and equity in the centre of all discussions, they can always take place, he said.

The 24th meeting of Conference of Parties (COP-24) of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in Poland next month is expected to finalise guidelines and a rule book for implementation of the 2015 Paris Agreement.

It is also expected to finalise the final political phase of 2018 Facilitative 'Talanoa' Dialogue, which has been started largely for sharing of best practices of different countries.

Union Secretary C K Mishra said, "What are we looking at in terms of India we have always maintained that the stand we want is the results or outcome of this CoP-24 should be balanced, inclusive and consistent with the principles of the Paris agreement.

"There is a reason I say consistent with the Paris agreement, the reason is there are some countries which are making attempts to reopen Paris agreement which we are opposed to," Mishra said.

The objective of Paris Agreement is to strengthen global response to the threat of climate change by keeping the global temperature rise this century well below 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels and to pursue efforts to limit the temperature increase to 1.5 degrees Celsius.

India strongly supports this objective and considers it important to eradicate poverty.

"This (CoP-24) is formulation of procedures and rule book based on Paris. The second is this will also discuss stock taking exercise that is going to take place in the pre-2020. Third, this might see the final phase of the Talanoa dialogue," Mishra said.

Elaborating the issues critical for India, Mishra said, "As far as India is concerned, first and foremost we have told the CoP presidency that India is not going to create any obstacle. We want to facilitate an outcome. Positive outcome is what we are looking at.

"Only thing that we want is that our basic concerns are met. Differentiation should be a part of all the dialogue we hold (in Poland). Our other concern is that pre-2020 should have as much importance as is due to them despite the fact that we will soon be crossing 2020 in terms of dialogues and processes," Mishra said, adding that thirdly "we need to put an end to 'Talanoa' Dialogue".

"We, as a country and as a block, would like to see some conclusion on the issue of finance both in terms of actual availability of finance its commitment," he said.

"India would work with all Parties in an open, transparent, inclusive and Party-driven manner to achieve a balanced and comprehensive outcome in the form of final PAWP at COP 24," he said.

India's expectation from COP-24 is that the decisions should be in consonance with the principles of UNFCCC, Kyoto Protocol and Paris Agreement including equity, common-but-differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities (CBDR-RC), and climate justice.

Mishra said India has taken many actions to strengthen its position, which include the recent meeting with BASIC (Brazil, South Africa, India and China) countries.

"We are also working with G77 and China to ensure that our voice is heard as a block," he said, and asserted, "Paris is gong to be alive and it wont be renegotiated.

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India will play its "due and responsible" role at the crucial climate change negotiations in Poland next week, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has assured UN chief Antonio Guterres during a meeting on the sidelines of the G20 Summit here.

The main topic of Prime Minister Modi's discussion with the UN chief was the forthcoming COP24 climate change meeting in Katowice, Poland from December 3, Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale said.

Modi tweeted that he had an excellent meeting with the Secretary General and that there were wide-ranging deliberations on various global issues.

"We talked about mitigating climate change and India's efforts in this regard through initiatives like the International Solar Alliance," the prime minister tweeted.

Gokhale said Secretary General Guterres said India plays a major role in climate change negotiations and acknowledged that Prime Minister Modi has taken a number of concrete steps towards addressing climate change.

"He mentioned the International Solar Alliance. The Secretary General also said that when he was in Delhi last month he had seen for himself the manner in which other campaigns the prime minister had led including the Swachh Bharat campaign having an impact on the environment," he said.

It was the Secretary General's sincere hope and expectation that in the forthcoming meeting in next week in Poland, India will pay a uniting role, will play the role of a good Samaritan.

He hoped that India would bring together the various groups of developed countries and developing countries -- those which have money those which need money -- to come up with certain solution which would eventually feed into the climate change summit that the UN chief is planning in 2019, he said.

"It was a good meeting. The prime minister assured the Secretary General that India plays an important role in climate change negotiations and that it is part of the Indian culture and civilisation to preserve the and that he could be rest assured that India would play its due and responsible role at COP24," he said.

According to PMO sources, the UN Secretary General has reached out to prime minister Modi twice in the last two months.

They said the meeting on Thursday signifies the importance that both leaders attach to the issue of climate change.

It reflects the respect in which the prime minister and his initiatives are held globally to take the lead on issues of global importance, the sources said.

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/ -- Indigo Partners LLC ("Indigo"), and WOW air ("WOW"), the Icelandic airline based in Reykjavik, have agreed in principle for Indigo to invest in WOW. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Following successful completion of due diligence, the parties would work to close as soon as practicable. WOW's CEO and primary shareholder, Skuli Mogensen, would remain a principal investor in WOW upon completion of the transaction.

WOW air is an ultra-low-cost carrier currently serving 25 destinations across Europe and North America.

"The demand for low-cost air service continues to expand rapidly worldwide, and with Indigo as a partner, we hope to take full advantage of this highly attractive market segment," said Mr. Mogensen. "I am excited to work with Indigo and I am convinced it is the best long-term move for our people and passengers."



"Skuli and WOW's management and employees have done a remarkable job in creating a well-regarded, successful ULCC brand," said Bill Franke, Managing Partner of Indigo Partners. "We have a strategic vision for the airline, and look forward to working with its employees and agents to deliver that vision."



WOW is advised in this transaction by Plane View Partners LLC, the U.S. air transportation advisory firm.

About Indigo Partners



Indigo Partners is a private equity firm established by W. A. Franke in 2003 to pursue acquisitions and strategic investments in the air transportation and related industries. The firm was a lead investor in Tiger Airways based in Singapore and Spirit Airlines based in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, and maintains lead investments in Wizz Air Holdings, Plc, a ULCC with multiple bases in Central and Eastern Europe; Frontier Airlines, a ULCC based in Denver; Volaris Airlines, a ULCC based in Mexico City; and JetSMART, a ULCC based in Chile. Indigo is headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona.

About WOW air



WOW air is a happy low-fare, long-haul airline based in Iceland with a young, low emission fleet. The airline was founded in November 2011 and currently serves 25 destinations across Europe and North America. WOW air is committed to providing the cheapest flights to and from Iceland and across the Atlantic while providing a memorable service all the way. For more information, please visit https://wowair.us/about-us.

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Residents on a string of coral-fringed islands off Jakarta's coast are battling a tidal wave of trash, with more than 40 tons of rubbish collected daily over the past week, an official said.

Indonesian authorities have deployed an army of staff and a fleet of boats to help clear rubbish-infested shorelines and surrounding waters, underscoring the Southeast Asian archipelago's mammoth marine waste problem.

It is the world's second biggest contributor to marine debris after China, producing about 1.29 million metric tons annually.

This week's clean-up operation is centred on an area known as the Thousand Islands, a popular day trip from the traffic-clogged capital.

Residents of one island have reported dead turtles in the area, although Yusen Hardiman, head of the region's department, said it was not yet clear if it was a result of ingesting rubbish.

A sperm whale was found dead last week in a marine park off Sulawesi island with 115 plastic cups and 25 plastic bags in its stomach.

Indonesia's marine waste problem has become so bad that officials last year declared a "garbage emergency" after a stretch of coast in Bali was swamped with rubbish.

Some 264 sanitation officers are involved in the ongoing clean-up of the Thousand Islands, while 13 boats regularly patrol trash-choked areas of the archipelago with another 10 set to be added to the fleet next year.

Most of the rubbish clogging the chain of islands is from elsewhere, flushed into the ocean by bulging rivers or swirling currents during the monsoon season, Hardiman said in a statement late Thursday.

Indonesia, an archipelago of more than 17,000 islands, has pledged to reduce marine plastic waste by 70 per cent by 2025.

But poor waste-processing infrastructure and low awareness among its 260 million inhabitants prove major obstacles.

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The Jammu and Kashmir administration has decided to reinforce the legal framework to curb instances of women being victimised by people in authority or in fiduciary relationships, a spokesman said Friday.

"The existing legislative provisions have been found deficient to curb this menace and therefore, a need was felt to introduce such provisions in the relevant laws which would prevent occurrence of such instances and deter the persons in authority to abuse their authority, influence or position to obtain sexual favours from the weaker sex," he said.

The Law Department has, accordingly, prepared a draft Criminal Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2018 to amend provisions of the Ranbir Penal Code, Samvat, 1989 and other necessary amendments in Criminal Procedure Code, Samvat, 1989 and Evidence Act, Samvat, 1977, he said.

"Besides, draft prevention of corruption (amendment) bill, 2018 has also been formulated to include acts of demanding and requesting sexual favours by public servants within the ambit of term 'Misconduct' under Section 5 of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 2006," the spokesman of the state's Law Department said in a statement issued here.

As a part of the Pre-Legislative Consultation Policy, drafts of the Jammu and Kashmir Criminal Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2018 and the Jammu and Kashmir Prevention of Corruption (Amendment) Bill, 2018 have been made available on the website of the Law Department, he said.

A copy of the proposed amendments can also be obtained from the Department of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs, Civil Secretariat in Jammu.

The spokesman said comments and suggestions are invited from the government departments, institutions and bar associations, stakeholders, general public and other entities on these draft bills.

"The last date for receipt of the comments and suggestions is December 5," he said, adding that the comments and suggestions can be sent by email.

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Kashmir and Jammu regions of the state is set to get 'bus ports', modern bus stands equipped with a host of facilities, with the Transport department calling for submission of proposals for the projects.

Principal Secretary, Transport department, Dr Asgar Hassan Samoon convened a meeting at the Civil Secretariat here to discuss the development of bus ports in Kashmir and Jammu divisions and called for submission of proposals and identification of land, officials said Friday.

Dr Samoon said as per the guidelines of the government of India, 15 acres of land is required for the purpose.

The state government has to provide clearly demarcated and encumbrance-free land and submit a proposal to executing agency NHIDCL, he said.

The officer added that the government of India would provide 40 per cent of the funding required and the rest would be raised by the state on public-private partnership (PPP) basis.

Dr Samoon said the bus ports would have basic infrastructure for bus-bays, ticket-counters, food courts, restrooms and parking facilities.

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A professor of Jammu Universitytriggered a controversy by allegedly referring to freedom fighter Bhagat Singh as a "terrorist", prompting authorities to set up a panel to probe the matter.

While delivering a lecture at the department of political science on Thursday, Prof Mohammad Tajuddin allegedly made the reference.

Soon after students took up the matter with the vice chancellor.

Some students of the political science department met the Vice Chancellor on Thursday evening and told him about the incident. They submitted a CD as a proof",Spokesperson of Jammu University, Dr Vinay Thusoo told PTI.

Taking immediate action, Vice Chancellor Prof Manoj K Dhar ordered a probe and ordereddisassociation of Prof Tajuddin from teaching.

"Following a complaint by some students against ProfTajuddin on Thursday, the University on the same dayconstituted an Inquiry Committee, which is headed by DeanAcademic Affairs of the University, Prof Keshiv Sharma", DrThusoo said.

He said the committee has been asked to submitits report within 7 days.

"Prof Tajuddin has beendisassociated from teaching in the University withimmediate effect till further orders", Dr Thusoo said.

The matter triggered protests from students who demanded that the Professor be suspended from the university.

Prof Tajuddin said his remarks were taken out of context and a 25-second clip was made from his two-hour lecture.

Talking to reporters, Prof Tajuddin said he was talking about Lenin (Russian revolutionary) in the lecture and in that context, mentioned that the state calls any violence against it as "terrorism".

"Someone took a 25-second video out of my 2-hour lecture. Terrorist word came in that. It was not what I meant. Still, if anyone is hurt, I am really sorry for it, he said.

I also consider Bhagat Singh as a revolutionary. He is one of the people who sacrificed his life for the country, he said, adding that he did not intend to hurt anyone's feelings and apologised.

I had no intention to demean the personality of Bhagat Singh or for that matter hurt anyone's feelings. If it has happened, I am sorry, he said.

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Private carrier Jet Airways Friday said it will start a direct flight to Singapore from Pune starting Saturday, which is expected to further boost growth in traffic between the Maharashtra city and the neighbouring areas to the island country.

With the launch of the daily service on the new route, Jet Airways will become the largest domestic carrier with nine daily services to and from the island city-state, airline chief executive officer (CEO) Vinay Dube said here.

"Jet Airways is the first and the only carrier to provide direct connectivity between Pune and Singapore. With our existing six daily services over our hubs in Mumbai, Delhi and Bengaluru, we will soon launch additional frequencies over the next week," Dube said in a statement.

It will help increase Jet Airways reach into Singapore with nine daily direct services - making Jet Airways the largest Indian operator of flights to and from Singapore, he said.

Jet Airways also announced special 'introductory' return economy and business class fares, starting at Rs 21,500 and Rs 65,500, respectively, from Pune for the services on the new route.

Customers can also avail special fares for travelling to onward destinations such as Brisbane, Jakarta, Denpasar- Bali, Phuket, Kuala Lumpur, Melbourne, Nadi, Perth, Surabaya, Sydney and Darwin via Singapore, the airline said.

According to Jet Airways, Singapore witnessed over 36,000 visitor arrivals from Pune in 2017 - the highest for an Indian city without a direct service to the Southeast Asian nation.

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Jharkhand Chief Minister Raghubar Das on Friday said the government would sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Baba Ramdev's Patanjali Ayurved to market organic farm products of the state.

Jharkhand government has also planned to set up a Centre for Excellence in collaboration with Israel for training of farmers from the state, he said.

The state government will build organic production clusters in all the 24 districts to promote organic farming, Das said.

The products would be sold under the brand name 'Jharkhand Jaivik' launched on Thursday, he said on the concluding day of the two-day "Global Agriculture & Food Summit" organised here.

"An MoU would be signed with Patanjali for marketing of all organic products of the state. Farmers need not worry about market now," Das said.

Baba Ramdev, who was present at the programme, said Patanjali will buy honey, wheat, rice, pulse, vegetables and other products grown through organic farming.

He said the state has the capability to become leading states in agriculture, and Patanjali will work with the state government in making the farmers prosperous.

Das said an MoU will also be signed with Patanjali for setting up of a honey processing plant in the state with its endeavour to bring "sweet revolution".

The chief minister said the government would make agricultural tools available on cheaper rates to poor and tribal farmers.

Das thanked the farmers for helping the state register a growth rate from minus 4.5 per cent in 2013-14 to 19 per cent now in agriculture.

"A Centre for Excellence will be set up in collaboration with Israel to train farmers and the central government would be informed about this in a few days," he told a press conference after the Summit concluded.

An agreement would be inked soon between China and Jharkhand to felicitate export of okra from Jharkhand to Chinese market, the chief minister said adding that China will also send a team to study the possibility to set up a food processing plant in the state.

He said the state government would sign technology exchange agreement with Morocco.

Governor Droupadi Murmu said at the Summit that food processing is a growing sector and is being seen as a major area able to contribute to the state's economy.

There are favourable conditions in the state for development of food processing industry, she said.

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Tata Motors-owned Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) Friday said it is undertaking adjustment of vehicle production at its plant at Wolverhampton, central England, as a result of which 250 temporary jobs will be affected.

The company further said it will undertake a two-week production pause at the plant in December and has asked 500 workers to stay at home although they would continue to draw salaries during the period.

Terming the external environment as challenging, the company said it is taking decisive actions to achieve the necessary operational efficiencies to safeguard long-term success.

"To deliver a growing range of electrified cars for our customers we are making tough decisions, but the transformation of the business relies on this," JLR said in a statement.

It further added, "Today, we have confirmed that Solihull will make some changes to its production schedule to reflect fluctuating demand globally and forthcoming infrastructure works resulting from the cessation of Discovery which will move, as already confirmed, to Slovakia early in the new year".

The British luxury carmaker, facing headwinds in home market, Europe and China, announced commissioning of a 1,50,000-units, 1.4-billion euro manufacturing facility in Nitra, Slovakia last month. It became the first British automotive company to open plant in the southeastern European nation and the third in the continent.

Customer orders will not be impacted by any of these changes, the statement said.

The company said that in response to adjustments in vehicle production schedules, the EMC (engine manufacturing centre) will take a temporary pause in production in its machine and assembly halls.

Maintenance and salaried staff will continue as normal and those impacted continue to receive full pay for this period, it added.

Tata Motors shares were trading 2.88 per cent down at Rs 172.20 on the BSE.

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Karnataka Minister Ramesh Jarkiholi Friday denied reports that some disgruntled Congress MLAs loyal to him had planned to shift to Mumbai ahead of the December 10 assembly session.

He alleged that attempts were being made by some "self proclaimed influential party leaders" to damage his image.

"I have been here at my home since the last two days, there is a propaganda going on about Mumbai, you (media) think about it," Jarkiholi told reporters here.

"I won't say much. I feel that this is the work of self proclaimed influential Congress leaders to damage my name," he added.

Conceding that he had some differences with the party, Jarkiholi clarified that the issues were resolved after mediation by former chief minister Siddaramaiah and senior Congress leader Mallikarjuna Kharge.

"I don't know why leaving everything, the media friends are doing this in the name of Ramesh Jarkiholi... Kindly close this (matter)... Everything is resolved. You can see whether I'm in Mumbai or Bengaluru," he added.

The reports about shifting the lawmakers to Mumbai have come amidst a growing clamour among Congress MLAs to expand the coalition cabinet at the earliest and their alleged discomfort regarding the functioning of the government.

Though Jarkiholi did not name the "self proclaimed influential Congress leaders," speculations were rife that it was directed towards Water Resources Minister D K Shivakumar.

Reacting to the reports, Shivakumar asked the media to refrain from spoiling Jarkiholi's image, calling him a "friend".

"Why are you spoiling his (Jarkiholi) image? He is a loyal Congressman. He has grown in the party from the youth Congress. He won't do such a thing. You (media) are creating it," he said.

In September, the Congress was rocked by an internal dissent that was triggered by a faction of MLAs led by Jarkiholi, locked in a turf war with Shivakumar.

The siblings were apparently upset over Shivakumar allegedly trying to challenge their authority in Belagavi district through MLA Laxmi Hebbalkar.

It was also alleged that the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was in touch with the Jarkiholi brothers' (Ramesh and MLA Satish) in a bid to dislodge the Congress-Janata Dal(Secular) coalition government.

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The Karnataka government Friday said it has tied up with The Netherlands to launch three pilot projects in the health care sector.

The projects were in the areas of geriatric, mental health and diabetes-hypertension and would be co-funded by the state and the Dutch goverments, Karnataka IT-BT adivsor Rajkumar Srivastava said here at the Bengaluru Tech Summit.

Rs 60 lakh would be made available for each of the pilot projects with a matching funding by The Netherlands, he said adding they would be taken up in the first quarter of 2019.

This was part of the letter of intent signed by the government in May this year with The Netherlands Enterprise Agency and the Task Force for applied research to set up a Living Lab here.

The lab was aimed at improving access to affordable health care through means of eHealth and medical devices, Senior Advisor International R&D Cooperation, Life Sciences & Health, Netherlands Enterprise Agency Niels van Leeuwen said.

It would provide a platform for knowledge exchange between students, researchers and regional partners from India and the Netherlands.

The Centre for Human Genetics (CHG), the anchor institute for the Living Lab here, will assist the process, together with Nuffic Netherlands Education Support Office in Bengaluru and the Task Force for Applied Research in the Netherlands.

In the coming months, the state government and The Netherlands will explore opportunities for student exchange under the three-joint projects to begin research work, Srivastava said.

Gert Heijkoop, Consul-General of kingdom of The Netherlands in Bengaluru, said "we believe (the Living Lab) will result in creating affordable solutions for sustainable healthcare" in both India as well as the Netherlands.

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Karnataka Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy, in a letter to his Goa counterpart Manohar Parrikar, has asked that the ban on import of fish into Goa be lifted.

The Goa government on November 10 announced a ban on import of fish into the state for six months against the backdrop of a scare that formalin, a potential cancer-causing chemical, was being used to preserved fish.

Goa Health Minister Vishwajit Rane Friday confirmed that the state government had received Karnataka Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy's letter dated November 27.

"It is requested that this blanket ban may be withdrawn and fish trading between Karnataka and Goa and other states passing through Goa may be allowed," the Karnataka CM has written in the letter.

Kumaraswamy's letter stated that Karnataka will ensure fish traders comply with the Food and Drug Administration regulations.

"The process is already initiated in the three coastal districts. Fish transporters and merchants of Karnataka have been instructed to obtain the required certificate from the concerned department," Kumaraswamy has said in the letter.

"The fish traders are requesting some time to comply with the requirements put forward by Goa," the letter said.

When contacted, Goa Health Minister Vishwajit Rane said fish will not be imported into the state till systems are in place.

"We have received the letter sent by the Karnataka CM. We are working to ensure that all the systems are in place. This is not a ban, we are only asking for compliances," Rane said.

"We are working on how we can help smaller traders and fishermen from Maharashtra and Karnataka," he added.

He said the ban cannot be suspended and a solution needs to be found for the issue.

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A controversy has



erupted over the Kerala government issuing guidelines on media's interaction with the chief minister, cabinet ministers and celebrities within the Secretariat and other public places.

According to a circular issued by Additional Chief Secretary Subrata Biswas, the chief minister and ministers would inform the Public Relations Department (PRD) in advance, if they are planning to interact with media at public venues.

"The media can interact with them only after obtaining prior permission from the PRD," says the circular, a copy of which was made available to the media Friday.

It also said media creates "unnecessary crowd" at airports, railway stations, guest houses and other public places to get response from prominent persons on various issues.

Attacking the Left government, Opposition leader Ramesh Chennithala said the guidelines would amount to restrictions on the fourth estate.

BJP state unit chief P S Sreedharan Pillai said imposing restrictions on the media was a dangerous trend.

The state home ministry's circular also noted that designated media interaction corners must be arranged by the PRD, while barring various departments from directly interacting with the media.

Meanwhile, Industries Minister E P Jayarajan told reporters here no restrictions had been imposed on the media.

"The guidelines issued are due to the safety concerns and dissemination of public information in a proper manner," he said.

The circular also stated that only accredited journalists or those with media pass would be allowed to enter the Secretariat for visiting various sections of PRD, while others can enter during visiting hours.

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Congress leader P Chidambaram Friday said the "lesson" from the Kamraj plan, under which senior ministers were asked to serve the party, was forgotten and this has hurt the organisation.

In 1963, Congress leader K Kamaraj had proposed to the then prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru that all senior party leaders holding ministerial office resign and take up party work.

Responding to a question on why the Congress was not able to generate ideas to counter the challenges faced by the country, Chidambaram said, "You feel that the Congress party has not risen to the carriage. I must accept our failure...that not because we are not trying."



Chidambaram, who was a minister for home and finance during the UPA governments, was participating in a panel discussion 'Is India being redefined' organised by the All India Professionals Congress.

Several senior Congress leaders, including Kapil Sibal, Manish tewari, Abhishek Singhvi, Salman Khursheed, attended the discussion.

In the last four year, Chidamabaram said, the Congress has consistently spoken against the government and it is the only party to pay a huge price for the government's "onslaught".

"We are doing our best, but as a citizen you feel we are not doing it as we should, I admit that.

"The real problem was...we should not have remained ministers. I think in the last couple of years there should have been a Kamraj plan under which senior ministers should have been asked to go back to the party. It is valuable lesson taught to the party by Kamraj and Jawaharlal Nehru, a lesson we have forgot," he said.

This affected the organisation, the Congress leader said, noting that the party organisation is being strengthened in several states and this will also reflect in coming polls.

In the 1963 event, six Union ministers, including Lal Bahadur Shastri, Jagjivan Ram and Morarji Desai, and six chief ministers, including Kamaraj, Biju Patnaik and S K Patil resigned from their posts.

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In view of a ban imposed by the National Green Tribunal (NGT) on dredging of sand from rivers and rising demand from the construction industry, the Maharashtra government is considering allowing import of sand.

Revenue Minister Chandrakant Patil gave this information in the Legislative Council here Friday while replying to a debate on a calling-attention notice moved by Vinayak Mete (BJP).

Sudhir Tambe (Congress) urged the government to promote the use of fly ash generated by thermal power plants as artificial sand.

The minister said the government has cleared a proposal to allow use of fly ash in construction of houses, roads, dams and in other construction activities.

Leader of Opposition Dhananjay Munde (NCP) said the use of fly ash in construction activities has not been tested properly.

To another question, minister Patil said the government has hiked per brass quantity of sand for construction of houses for personal use from two brass to five brass.

On illegal sand mining, Patil said a fine of Rs 1.5 lakh is imposed on a tempo carrying illegally dredged sand. In the case of a truck, the fine is Rs 2 lakh.

The Divisional Commissioner, Aurangabad has been asked to probe illegal dredging of sand at Indalgaon in Ambad tehsil in Jalna district, he said to a question.

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A fast track court here has sentenced a man to ten years in jail for abducting and raping a minor in 2007.

The court also imposed a fine of Rs 3000 on the accused.

In the judgement on Thursday, judge Ashok Kumar found Abdullah guilty of offences under sections 363 (kidnapping) and 376 (rape) of the Indian Penal Code.

The accused had abducted and raped a 15-year-old girl of Gogvan village under Babri police station in neighbouring Shamli district in 2007, the prosecution said.

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A day after Federation of Western India Cine Employees (FWICE) claimed that the makers of "Manikarnika: The Queen of Jhansi" are yet to clear dues of approximately Rs 1.5 crore to workers and junior artists, producer Kamal Jain Friday, refuted the allegations.

The producer said that all the legitimate and due payments have been made, except of one vendor, who is arm-twisting them.

According to FWICE, the makers of Kangana Ranaut-starrer film, have been shooting some portions of the movie at Filmcity in suburban Mumbai. The shoot was halted Wednesday afternoon mid-way because of non-payment of dues of workers, technicians and junior artists.

"It has been three months but they have not cleared dues of daily wage workers, which is about Rs 40 lakh. About Rs 90 lakh is to be paid to light vendor and Rs 25 lakh to junior artists. The producer (Kamal Jain) had promised to make the payment by October but he has not fulfilled his commitment," Ashok Dubey, General Secretary of Federation of Western India Cine Employees (FWICE) had told PTI on Thursday.

Jain, on his part, said, they have filed a complaint with the Film & TV Producers Guild of India against Film and Allied Union over one disputed vendor.

According to Jain, the shoot got over on October 13, and "all legitimate and due payments were made."



"One disputed vendor, who has already been paid 70 percent of his dues, is illegitimately now using the union authority to arm twist us and disrupted our film shoot, which is completely illegal, untenable under the law and clearly is harassment to us and our team.

"This is one vendor whose payment is under dispute and is being tackled professionally and in a businesslike manner," Jain said in a statement here.

Jain said, the matter is being handled by Producers' Guild and they will abide by their process.

He added, "As a production house we are absolutely clear on not holding back any ones payment which is legitimate and due, as we immensely respect everyone's hard work that has gone into this film. We are thankful to each vendor/individual who has helped us on making this film."



Kulmeet Makkar, Chief Executive Officer Producers Guild of India, said, they are looking into the matter and will take the necessary action.

"We have been formally informed by our member Kairos Kontent that film and allied union and a specific vendor have been misusing their authority to stop film shooting. This is indeed unfortunate and extremely unhealthy trade practice.

"This is a commercial matter between producer and a vendor hence should be amicably resolved. We will be looking into the complaint made by our member to take the next course of action," Makkar said.

Reacting to Jain's statement, Dubey,told PTI, "The film takes a long time to get made. The makers have made some payment but there are dues that are pending to workers, junior artists."



The film is due to be released on January 25 next year.

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Manipur government needs to take steps like harnessing solar and wind power, strengthen human resource and keep transparency of accounting system to put the state in a better economic trajectory, Chairman of 15th Finance Commission N K Singh Friday said.

The north eastern state is getting close to reasonably high rate of economic growth, he told a press conference here.

Singh said solar and wind power can be gainfully utilized by Manipur.

Human resource may be strengthened by better education quality, establishing more medical, nurses training and paramedic institutions for which there is demand across the world. If this was done the youth of Manipur need not travel long distances for getting educational opportunities, he said.

He called for making the accounting system more transparent and aligning the fiscal deficit management trajectory within a time frame.

Singh said if the steps were taken Manipur would see double digit growth and become the best among the special category states of the country by improving its per capita income and decreasing the poverty index in the coming years.

This was important in view of Manipur's critical location for promoting the Act East Policy and the overall profile of the state, he said.

The Finance Commission team, which arrived here Thursday, was led by Singh met and interacted with Chief Minister N Biren Singh, Deputy Chief Minister and Finance Minister Y Joykumar Singh among others, officials said.

The Manipur government submitted 25 projects for specific funding, they added.

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A ministerial committee of Odisha government will hold consultation with different farmers organisations including Naba Nirman Krushak Sangathan (NNKS) and agriculture experts on the problems faced by the peasants in the state.

The ministerial committee will hold consultation with farmers organisation on December 7, Finance minister S B Behera, who heads the committee said Thursday after the first ever meeting of the panel here.

The farmers led by NNKS across the state have been staging agitations demanding hike in minimum support price and pension for farmers.

Behera said the committee decided to have a meeting with the NNKS leaders and others. "The committee will take a decision after receiving suggestions from the farmer leaders," he added.

The state government on November 6 had formed the ministerial committee to look into the demands of the farmers. The other members of the committee are ministers of Agriculture, Panchayati Raj and Cooperation.

NNKS had earlier rejected the setting up of the ministerial committee and its national convenor Akshya Kumar said: "We have been demanding an ordinance seeking farmer pension fund ...

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The coordination committee of the ruling Congress-JDS coalition will meet here on December 5 and decide on the much-awaited cabinet expansion, its chief Siddaramaiah said Friday.

Also, Siddaramaiah, a former chief minister, along with state Congress president Dinesh Gundu Rao rejected reports about disgruntled Congress MLAs planning to skip the coming legislature session.

Siddaramaiah, who is the Leader of the Congress legislature party, said Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy will be invited to a CLP meeting likely to be held on December 8 so that the MLAs can take up issues concerning their constituencies.

"We will expand the cabinet at the earliest. On December 5 we have called a coordination committee meeting, where we will discuss all issues - when to expand the cabinet... We will discuss in the meeting and take a decision," he told reporters here.

His comments come a day after Rao said the JDS-Congress ministry would be expanded before the winter session of the state legislature commencing on December 10.

Replying to a question on why Kumaraswamy, a JDS leader, was being invited to the CLP meeting, Siddaramaiah said: ...this is a coalition government, whom should MLAs tell about the issues concerning their constituencies- it is te Chief Minister. So we will invite him to the meeting."



According to sources, the decision to invite Kumaraswamy has been made as there is growing discontentment among the Congress legislators about the functioning of the government and alleged discrimination towards them in development works.

Siddarmaiah termed as "baseless" and "not true" reports that some disgruntled Congress legislators were planning to camp in Mumbai ahead of assembly session from December 10 under state Minister Ramesh Jarkiholi's leadership.

Gundu Rao also termed the reports as "rumour".

"No one will go, cabinet is getting expanded, we will appoint heads to boards and corporations...this is a rumour, no one is going, government is stable and we will conduct the session effectively," he said.

Earlier in the day, Jarkiholi himself denied the reports and claimed attempts were being made by some "self proclaimed influential party leaders" to damage his image.

The reports came amidst growing clamour among Congress legislators for expansion of the cabinet at the earliest and their alleged discomfort regarding the functioning of the government.

According to the pact reached between the two partners at the time of formation of the coalition government in May, there are now six vacant ministerial positions left for the Congress and two for the JD(S).

This will be the second expansion of Kumaraswamy's ministry, who currently heads the 26-member cabinet.

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday interacted with US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin and British Prime Minister Theresa May ahead of the G-20 summit here.

The brief exchange of views came ahead of the first trilateral meeting between Modi, Trump and the Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe later Friday.

According to a picture tweeted by External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Raveesh Kumar, Modi was seen clasping the hand of Trump and talking to the US president.

Prime Minister Modi also interacted with President Putin.

"Catching up with other #G20 leaders from Russia, Italy and UK at the Leaders' Lounge," Kumar tweeted, referring to prime minister's interactions with President Putin, Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte and British Prime Minister May.

Earlier, Prime Minister Modi held separate bilateral meetings with Chinese President Xi Jinping, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres.

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One of the leaders of Montenegro's pro-Russian opposition was arrested Friday for refusing to testify in a corruption case, officials said.

An arrest warrant was issued for another opposition leader who also refused to testify in a separate case.

The parties of the two men, Nebojsa Medojevic and Milan Knezevic, are part of the pro-Russian Democratic Front coalition which opposes the country's membership of NATO.

Medojevic, 52, was arrested for "refusing to testify" officially about allegations he made against Montenegro's special prosecutor Milivoje Katnic, a police statement said. Earlier this year Medojevic has accused Katnic in a Facebook message of receiving a 100,000-euro (USD113,800) bribe.

He claimed the prosecutor was bribed to enable a member of the ruling DPS party to avoid going to prison.

Medojevic can be detained for up to two months.

A warrant was also issued on Friday for Knezevic, who has alleged that a judge asked him for 10,000 euros in bribes in another case.

But Knezevic refused to identify the judge and testify on his allegations to the High Court in Podgorica, a tribunal statement said.

Knezevic and another opposition leader, Andrija Mandic, are currently on trial for allegedly taking part in a plot to overthrow the Balkan country's government in 2016.

They say the accusations against them are politically motivated.

A verdict in their case is expected in early 2019.

After Medojevic's arrest, Democratic Front deputies stayed in the parliament part of the night protesting the move.

"This is something that never happened in Montenegro, that an MP is put in prison for words (he) said," Mandic said.

He said Medojevic was "kidnapped and taken to prison." The European Commission said in a report in April that corruption in Montenegro's judiciary was "widespread and remains an issue of concern." It urged Podgorica to "strengthen the independence .... of the judicial system."



Montenegro joined NATO in 2017 and is a candidate for membership of the European Union. It aspires to join the bloc in 2025.

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Former Supreme Court judge Kurian Joseph on Friday said the Memorandum of Procedure (MoP), which guides appointments and transfers in higher judiciary, was final as far as the top court is concerned and the collegium has been working in accordance with the draft.

His remarks came despite the government maintaining that the MoP is a work in progress and is being finalised in consultation with the apex court.

"As far as the Supreme Court is concerned, it (MoP) is final, as far as the government is concerned it is not final," Joseph, who retired on Thursday, told reporters in reply to queries on the finalisation of the document, which has been a bone of contention between the government and the apex court.

He was part of the controversial January 12 press conference in which now Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi, Justice Lokur and former judge Justice J Chelameswar had raised serious questions over various issues including allocation of cases in the top court.

Asked whether the collegium was working in accordance with MoP as mandated by National Judicial Appointment Commission (NJAC) verdict of 2015, Joseph replied, "See, it is very interesting. As far as MoP is concerned the Supreme Court's view is that it is final because it has been approved.

"The government keeps on saying that it is not final because they are awaiting something from the Supreme Court."



He said that the collegium is now acting on the basis of latest draft MoP in the matter of procedure and in the matter of time for clearing the names for appointment of judges.

"However, I don't think the time that was expected for the processing of names is actually happening, otherwise the collegium is functioning on the basis of draft of the MoP," he said.

In response to a query on differences between the Centre and the Supreme Court besides the aspect of national security over finalisation of MoP, he said, "To me, I had tried to understand why the area of differences is not finalised yet because the government kept on saying on the floor of Parliament that the MoP is not final."



He said, "I kept on asking the successive Chief Justices, is it not final yet. The Chief Justices kept on saying that it is final as far as the Supreme Court is concerned. So the version is as far as the Supreme Court is concerned it is final, as far as the government is concerned it is not final".

Justice Joseph said that there is a draft MoP but whether it is final or not is the only issue.

"There has been a lot of transparency and things have been done with more caution. There were attempts to get things done to bring about proper systems and practices. One suggestion in fact, the fallout of the press conference was that to have a proper committee for assisting the chief justice in exercise of his duties, but unfortunately that did not happen," he said.

About the issue of delay in appointments and withholding of names of judges recommended by the collegium, Joseph referred to former Chief Justice of India R M Lodha's statement that "it is an attack on the heart of an independence of judiciary".

He said, "Look at some of the cases, which have been selected by the collegium and were sent for consideration by the government. A person, who is likely to go up in the normal course in accordance with the seniority which has been decided by the high court, which recommended it and even the Supreme Court having done the same thing and if that is sought to be interfered with. That is in a way interference to the administration of justice".

Justice Joseph was asked whether he was referring to the elevation of Justice K M Joseph whose name was cleared after Justice Indu Malhotra's on the same day.

"No, the delay did not have any direct impact on his prospects being affected. I am not referring to the case of Justice K M Joseph alone. I am referring to other cases which are happening in the high court. That's what I meant," he said.

Justice Joseph said the court is too small for the volume of work that is being handled by it.

"When the Supreme Court was conceived, nobody ever thought that this would be the number of cases that the apex court would be required to handle. So this much area was sanctioned. If this type of volume the Supreme Court is required to handle probably it requires a little more infrastructural development in terms of courtrooms space," he said.

Justice Joseph suggested that some courts in apex court could function in the afternoon session or the number of cases could be limited at the admission stage itself.

On Sabarimala and other recent verdicts of apex court "not being followed", Justice Joseph said, "As far as the judiciary is concerned, once a judgement is pronounced it is the law of the land in terms of Article 141 of the Constitution and it is binding on all courts and tribunals in the country".

He said that "once the judgement is pronounced, it becomes the law of the land. Whether it can be followed or not is the issue.

"If it cannot be followed in terms of technical or legal problem then the party which faces a problem in implementing it will have to come back to the court and seek a proper clarification. That is the proper method to be followed.

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: Union Minister and senior BJP leader Rajnath Singh Friday flayed the TRS government in Telangana over the alleged suicides of more than 4,000 farmers in the state during the last four-and-half-years.

"The TRS government did a cruel joke with ryots. You may know that more than 4,500 farmers committed suicides in its four-and-half years of governance," he said.

"I would like to ask you... You claim to have extended many schemes for ryots and implemented many welfare schemes. What is the reason that the ryots here had to commit suicides?" he said at an election rally here.

The minister also addressed BJP campaign rallies at different places in the state Friday.

Observing that a "crisis of credibility" has cropped up against politicians and politics, he said that the BJP has taken up the phenomenon as a challenge.

The BJP would do what it says and has gained a reputation for good governance in comparison with other parties in the country, he claimed.

For that reason, Singh said, the BJP is in governance in Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Chattisgarh for many years, Singhs said.

The minister expressed confidence that the BJP would come to power again in Madhya Pradesh and Chattisgarh.

Massive road development works were undertaken across the country during the NDA government led by Atal Bihari Vajpayee, he said.

He criticised the TRS government in Telangana over the allegedly poor condition of roads.

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British High Commissioner to India Dominic Asquith has expressed keen interest in having more cooperation between the UK and India in the Tourism sector.

This was stated by the High Commissioner when he called on Kerala governor P Sathasivam at the Raj Bhavan here Thursday.

He was accompanied by Jeremy Pilmore-Bedford, British Deputy High Commissioner, Chennai and Rudy Fernandez, political adviser, a Raj Bhavan press release said Friday.

Expressing happiness over the World Bank's willingness to help in rebuilding Kerala, the High Commissioner said the UK was a major donor to the Bank's projects.

He also expressed keen interest in having more cooperation between the UK and Kerala in tourism.

The Kerala governor suggested increasing facilities for students and others who intended to go to the UK for higher studies.

As Chancellor of the Universities, Sathasivam also promised all help to British students who wish to pursue in Kerala and to learn more about the State.

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A Mumbai resident was Friday arrested near North Goa's Calangute beach for allegedly possessing drugs, a senior police official said.

Reagan Raymond Couto (21), a resident of Andheri in Mumbai, was held during a raid after police got information that he would be near Calangute beach to deliver a consignment of drugs, Inspector Jivba Dalvi said.

"A team led by sub-inspector Mahesh Naik apprehended Couto and seized charas and MDMA (methylenedioxy methamphetamine) worth Rs 30,000. He has been arrested and charged under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985," Dalvi said.

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The Nagaland government on Friday inked an MoU with Estonian academy to enlighten the state people on the e-governance models prevailing in the world.

The main objective of the five-year agreement with the e-Governance Academy of Estonia is to work together to develop and expand scientific collaboration on setting up e-Governance Academy in Nagaland, officials said.

The agreement was signed during the current edition of the e-Naga Summit, held with a vision to embark on a process to instill the spirit of innovation and use of technology for impacting positive change in the society, they said.

Inaugurating the summit, Governor P B Acharya said the world today is depending on Information Technology for easier access to information and services.

The e-Naga Summit can be the right platform in bringing together experts in the IT field from different countries, industries, central and state governments officials, he said.

"We must invest in skill development of youths in order to realize their full potential," he said.

"India's IT industry is playing a major role not only in India but all over the world's economic growth, he said.

He cited the success of software business in Bangalore, Hyderabad and Chennai which, he said, are indication of how the economy can grow fast by employing the latest IT technology.

the time has come for Nagaland to harness the benefits of IT, the governor said.

The day long e-Naga Summit was held on the theme, "Building IT infrastructure to make the state of Nagaland the next IT hub of South-East Asia".

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Andhra Pradesh Chief MinisterN Chandrababu Naidu made Nandamuri Suhasini who is contesting from Kukatpally constituency on a TDP ticket a 'scapegoat' by fielding her from a 'losing' segment, Telangana caretaker IT and Industries minister K T Rama Rao has alleged.

Speaking at a roadshow at Kukatpally on Thursday, the TRS leader lashed out at Telugu Desam Party and its chief Naidu, questioning as to why Naidu's son and AP Minister N Lokesh was not asked to contest the seat.

Suhasini is the daughter of former Rajya Sabha MP N Hari Krishna and grand-daughter of TDP founder and former Chief Minister of undivided Andhra Pradesh NT Rama Rao.

"If Chandrababu Naidu really loves the Nandamuri family, why didn't he appoint Suhasini as a Minister in Andhra Pradesh, like he appointed Lokesh? If Chandrababu Naidu really wants to strengthen TDP in Telangana, he could have made Lokesh contest from Kukatpally. But he did not, because he knows Kukatpally is a losing seat," the TRS leader alleged.

In a dramatic turn of events, Naidu decided to field Suhasini from Kukatpally ignoring senior party leader E Peddireddy, who evinced interest in contesting from the constituency.

Rubbishing K T Rama Rao's remarks, Peddireddy said it was the party's decision to field Suhasini from Kukatpally and people in the constituency are accepting her.

He also said Lokesh is now a minister in the Andhra government and he chose Andhra Pradesh for his political career.

"Lokesh chose AP for his political career. He is a minister there. How will he contest from here. Suhasini belongs to the NTR family. People are accepting her in Kukatpally. KTR was talking in desperation," Peddireddy told PTI.

Naidu wants to make Suhasini a scapegoat and later prevent her brothers (Nandamuri Taraka Rama Rao and Nandamuri Kalyan Ram) from entering politics, the TRS leader alleged.

Talking about alliance between the Congress and TDP, Rama Rao said, NTR's soul would be 'troubled' seeing the alliance and sought to know on what basis did they form an alliance.

Justifying the TRS alliance with TDP in the 2009 elections, Rama Rao said they tied up with the TDP only after the latter assured to support separate Telangana statehood.

"Naidu today is asking why he is being criticised. Was he not the one who tried to poach TRS MLAs? Was he not the one who wrote letters to the Centre, creating hurdles in irrigation project works," the TRS leader asked.

The TRS leader the support of the people asking them to vote for the paryt and said, "development in Kukatpally will come to a halt if TRS doesn't come to power."



Elections to the 119-member Telangana assembly are scheduled to be held on December 7.

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The NDA government has adopted an attitude of "bullying and threatening" towards opposition-ruled states, senior Congress leader M Mallikarjun Kharge alleged Friday.

He claimed that the government's attitude towards them has not been "correct."



"They threaten and bully everyone. Whether it is West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, whoever, where their party is not there, they threaten them. If you don't come with me, I will do this," the leader of Congress party in the Lok Sabha said at a press conference here.

The NDA government was interfering in the functioning of autonomous institutions like the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC), Kharge alleged, adding that democracy and the Constitution in the country need to be safeguarded.

"I know this because I, myself, am in CVC committee," Kharge said, pointing out that he was a member of different committees to select heads of organisations like CBI in his capacity as the leader of Congress in the Lok Sabha.,



Prime Minister Narendra Modi was not regular in coming to Parliament, he claimed.

The union ministers were not aware of what decisions were taken in their departments, Kharge alleged.

Asked about BJP's election promises in Telangana, including distribution of cows and subsidy to senior citizens to go to Kailash Mansarovar, Kharge alleged that the BJP promised to bring back black money and construct so many houses which turned out to be false.

"They (BJP) are duping the people," he said.

Even the advisers of the NDA government are now finding faults with the demonetisation move, he said.

Kharge expressed confidence that the Congress-led alliance, comprising the TDP, CPI and the Telangana Jana Samiti, would win the December 7 assembly polls in the state.

Attacking the ruling TRS in the state for allegedly not implementing its various election promises, Kharge said it was the "B party of the BJP.

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Nepal and Myanmar on Friday inked agreements that will pave way for more bilateral investments between the two countries in the areas of trade, tourism and cultural exchanges.

The MoUs were signed in the presence of Nepal's Prime Minister K P Sharma Oli and Myanmar's State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi.

The Myanmar leader arrived here on Thursday to attend the Asia Pacific Summit, which will bring together heads of states and governments, lawmakers, eminent leaders, businessmen and leaders of civil society of the Asia Pacific region.

The summit is scheduled from November 30 to December 3.

This is the first time such agreement has been reached between the two countries. The Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry of the two countries already have an agreement on trade and exchange since the past, my Republica reported.

Currently, Nepal imports lentil and food grain from Myanmar, and the agreement is expected to further promote trade between the two countries.

The bilateral trade volume between Nepal and Myanmar stands at just USD 3.86 million.

The two countries also held discussions to establish air connectivity.

Nepal also plans to begin direct air service with Myanmar once the second international airport being constructed in Lumbini is completed, an official at the Foreign Ministry said.

Myanmar has constructed a temple in Lumbini, the birthplace of Gautam Buddha.

Oli and Suu Kyi also discussed matters pertaining to further activating the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral, Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC), sources close to the PM said.

Suu Kyi also paid a courtesy call to President Bidhya Devi Bhandari at the Rastrapati Bhawan on Friday.

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The National Green Tribunal has appointed former Uttarakhand High Court judge, Justice U C Dhyani, as head of the three-member committee to oversee rejuvenation work of the Ganga river.

A bench headed by chairperson A K Goel had earlier named Justice Arun Tandon as head of the panel which was set up on August 6 this year.

However, he was replaced after the tribunal was informed that he would be busy with the upcoming Kumbh event at Allahabad.

"Other Members of the committee for the stretches will be nominee of Central Pollution Control Board and nominee of IIT Roorkee. Same representative of CPCB will continue, as before.

"However, the committee headed by Justice Arun Tandon may conduct its meeting already scheduled on December 1 to 3, 2018 which may also be attended by Justice U C Dhyani and the representative of IIT-Roorkee," the bench said in an order dated November 29.

Passing a slew of directions, the NGT said decentralised processing facilities should be provided closest to the source of generation of solid waste near hotels, dharamshalas and ashram or other such places for segregation and treatment of biodegradable waste and its appropriate disposal.

The hotels, dharmashalas and ashrams should not operate without the requisite consent from the state pollution board, the tribunal said.

It also directed that digital display boards be set up at major Ghats (Bathing enclosures), where quality of the water may be displayed.

"We also request the Committee to involve Legal Services Authority wherever viable to undertake the work of creating awareness and also to publish the requisite information in local language or on permanent places," said the bench, also comprising Justice S P Wangdi.

The tribunal also directed the law enforcing agencies to implement the Supreme Court order directing that every cinema hall, and video parlours should have at least two slides of messages on environment in each show and information films of short duration should be shown in Cinema halls.

"Further, 5-7 minutes programme should be broadcast once a week by Doordarshan and AIR on the subject of environment. The subject may be made compulsory in schools, colleges and universities for general growth of awareness of environment," the NGT said.

The green panel said that there was a communication gap with regard to orders issued by this tribunal on various issues involving states.

"Even though orders of the tribunal are placed on the website, it may be appropriate that CPCB undertakes compilation of gist of important directions periodically and conveys the same to the concerned Pollution Control Boards/Committees for onward communication to the concerned authorities for compliance," the tribunal said.

The matter is listed for next hearing on March 6 next year.

Meticulous monitoring and systematic approach was required for cleaning Ganga from Haridwar to Unnao, the tribunal had earlier said.

The green panel has divided the work of cleaning the river in different segments Gomukh to Haridwar (Phase-I), Haridwar to Unnao (termed as segment B of Phase-I), Unnao to border of Uttar Pradesh, border of Uttar Pradesh to border of Jharkhand and border of Jharkhand to Bay of Bengal.

The tribunal had earlier said the water of the Ganga, between Haridwar and Unnao in Uttar Pradesh, was unfit for drinking and bathing, and expressed anguish over the situation.

The green panel had said that innocent people drank and bathed in the river with reverence, without knowing that it may adversely affect their health.

It had directed NMCG to install display boards at a gap of 100 kilometres, indicating whether the water was fit for bathing or drinking.

"People are drinking and bathing in the Ganga out of reverence and respect. They do not know that it may be dangerous to their health. If cigarette packets can contain a warning saying it is 'injurious to health', why not the people be informed of the adverse effects (of the river water)," the NGT had said.

Voicing dissatisfaction over the steps taken by the Uttarakhand government to clean the Ganga, the NGT had on July 19 said the situation was extraordinarily bad and hardly anything effective has been done to clean the river.

The green panel, in a detailed judgment, had passed a slew of directions to rejuvenate the Ganga, declaring as 'No Development Zone' an area of 100 metres from the edge of the river, between Haridwar and Unnao.

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The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has issued notice to the Uttar Pradesh government over the reported mob lynching of a man after pulling him out of a police van in Shamli district.

The notice was issued to the state chief secretary and director general of police (DGP), calling for a detailed report in the matter within four weeks, a press release from the NHRC said Friday.

The commission took suo motu cognisance of media reports that Rajendra alias Manu (28) was pulled out of a police van and beaten to death by a mob in the presence of constables in Hathchoya Village of Shamli district on November 26.

It observed that the contents of the media reports, if true, amounted to violation of the human rights of the victim.

"There cannot be any denial that it was the solemn duty of the police personnel to keep the arrested man in safe custody so that he could not be denied his infallible right to get justice in accordance with law," the commission said.

In the instant reported incident, it appeared that not protecting the victim from the clutches of hooligans or an inciting mob resulted in his death, it added.

A video clip of the purported incident circulated on the social media showed the victim sitting in a police vehicle. A man in a blue shirt opened the door of the van and slapped the victim repeatedly. A policeman seated next to the victim held him by the arm. The man was then seen pulling Rajendra out of the vehicle, the NHRC said.

The victim's family has reportedly alleged that six villagers, with whom he had quarrelled the previous day, beat him to death with lathis.

The Shamli superintendent of police (SP) was reported as saying that the victim did not die in police custody as he had escaped from the police van and was beaten up by the crowd later. The SP had also reportedly said that after about two hours, the victim suffered a fall from the roof of his house and died due to head injuries, the release noted.

However, on the basis of a complaint filed by the victim's brother, an FIR under various Indian Penal Code (IPC) sections, including 302 (murder) and 148 (rioting with armed weapons) was lodged at the Jhinjhana police station against six people and one of them, identified as the "main accused", was arrested, the NHRC said.

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Nigerian police claimed on Friday that over 100 "bandits" had been killed in a crackdown targeting crime in the northwest state of Zamfara, following a surge in kidnappings for ransom and cattle rustling.

Zamfara has been plagued by violent crime over the past year, with Amnesty International warning in July that people living in the impoverished state were "at the mercy" of armed bandits who take hostages and raid villages.

A joint operation team on Thursday "repelled ambush attacks from armed bandits" at Mahanga Forest in Zamfara State and "in the process killed one hundred and four bandits," national police spokesman Jimoh Moshood said in a statement.

Confirming the death toll, Moshood told AFP: "Yes, 104 bandits (were killed). Not people, armed bandits that had been terrorising and killing innocent people."



Over 1,000 policemen had been deployed to Zamfara at the beginning of the month, the statement said, adding that since then 85 people have been arrested in connection with kidnappings and cattle rustling.

Amnesty International Nigeria spokesman Isa Sanusi said it was difficult to assess the success of security operations in the remote region.

"In many cases, the pronouncements of security agencies are quite contrary to the situation on ground in Zamfara state," Sanusi said.

"Bringing the killers to justice is more important in taming the tide of impunity that allowed the security situation in Zamfara state to continue deteriorating."



The kidnappings are just one security concern putting pressure on Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari who is seeking a second, four-year term in closely contested February polls.

Facing criticism for an increase in Boko Haram jihadist attacks, among other security threats, Buhari is working to show that his government is able to tackle rising violence in Nigeria, Africa's largest oil producer.

The problem has sparked the concern of neighbouring Niger.

In August, Niamey announced it was sending security reinforcements to the Maradi area on the south-central part of the border, which abuts Zamfara.

Nigeria's interior minister said in October that at least 30 bandits were killed in their troubled frontier.

In the last two years, kidnapping for ransom has reached unprecedented levels in the region, where entire villages have been deserted for fear of raids and kidnapping by criminal gangs.

Those abducted are often released within days if the ransom is paid but residents say they can be killed if no money is forthcoming, and their bodies dumped in the bush.

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A day after he retired, former Supreme Court Judge Kurian Joseph on Friday said that he has no regrets over the controversial January 12 press conference in which he along with three other judges flagged various issues with regard to functioning of the top court, and noted that things are changing.

Joseph, who was part of the press conference in which the now Chief Justice of India, Ranjan Gogoi, Justice M B Lokur and former judge J Chelameswar had raised serious questions including over allocation of cases in the top court, said the systems and practices in the apex court would take time to change as they have been there for quite long.

He also asserted that there is no political pressure in exercise of judicial powers by a judge, but added that the manner in which appointments are "selectively delayed" or "withheld" is "in a way interference" in administration of justice.

Asked whether he regrets being part of the January 12 press conference, he replied, "What a strange question you are asking? I never regretted whatever I did, I did it very consciously for a cause and for a cause for which there was no other way left. That was the stage, when we did it".

When asked whether the crisis to which they had referred was now over in the apex court, Joseph said, "You can't say it fully that the crisis is over because it was an institutional crisis, so it takes a long time for the systems and the practices to change. Hopefully it would change".

Referring to CJI Gogoi, Justice Joseph said, "It's because one who was part of the clamour for change is also now the captain over there so things should change".

He said that the systems and practices have been there in the apex court for quite a long, so it would take time for them to change, "though it is changing".

"The process of change will continue. Even the earlier chief justice made changes after the press conference," he said.

When Joseph was asked whether the problem of roster is now over in the apex court, he replied, "Probably that is the one mistake. It is not a question of roster.

"It was question of some unhealthy practice and systems which were followed in the Supreme Court but in the matter of business actually. So it was against that although roster was one of the issues but there were other issues along with that," he added.

Elaborating on issues raised in the press conference, Justice Joseph said, "As I told that roster was one of the issue but not the only issue. There were certain systems and practices which we have been asking like instead of individual taking a decision without consulting anybody, let's have some systems and practices to be followed which would be healthy for the institutions".

He said "it does not look nice particularly for an institutions like a court to have an individual exclusively or solely taking a decision".

"That's what we have been asking that let's have a consultative process. Some sort of consultative process," he said and added that such kind of process is at least happening now.

He also spoke on why the four judges of the top court chose to address a press conference, raising the problems on a public platform, and why they did not seek a full court meeting to sort out the problem in-house.

"No judge can convene a full court meeting on its own. Only the chief justice can convene a full court meeting. It was for the CJI to convene a full court meeting. There were many such requests made in this regard," he said.

On allegations of government "interference" in judiciary especially in the context of high profile cases like Ramjanmabhoomi-Babri masjid dispute, Justice Joseph said he would not like to answer the questions with regard to issues which are currently pending before the court.

Asked whether at any point of time he felt any government or political pressure, Joseph said, "There is no political pressure in the judicial exercise of a judge. I am very clear about it."



"No political party or a political system or a political authority have ever requested me to decide a particular case in a particular manner. To me, at least it has never happened. I don't know whether it has happened to anyone else but to me it has not happened. I do believe that there is no such interference in as far as judicial powers," he said.

However, he said there is "something connected with the administration of justice. It is not delivery of justice, what is said as Judge hearing the case and deciding the case. No, one has ever tried to influence a judge".

"But in the matter of appointment the manner in which appointment are being delayed and the appointments have been selectively delayed, the appointments have been withheld. All this are in a way interference," he said.

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Senior leader on Friday termed as the BJP's "money laundering scam", adding the move would be probed after the "government changes at the Centre".

"After this announcement, there were many incidents of seizure of cash by police and all those arrested were associated with the Not only this, but within 10 days to demonetisation, the new currency reached terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir," he told reporters here.

On November 8, 2016, the government had scrapped old Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes. It later issued the new Rs 500 and Rs 2,000 banknotes.

Referring to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's claim that would deal a blow to black money, Sharma alleged 99.3 per cent cash returned to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) after the move which meant that almost the entire cash from the market reached the central bank and there was no black money.

"Modi just lied to the people...," the former Union commerce minister said.

On the Goods and Services Tax (GST), Sharma said the was in favour of the indirect tax regime, but was kept in dark by the while introducing the same.

"They goofed up on the issue and purposefully kept petroleum, electricity, alcohol and real estate out of the ambit of GST. These all together constitute 45 per cent of the total revenue of the country," he said.

The leader also claimed the "haphazard" and "indiscreet" decision devastated the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) sector and about 40 million jobs were lost.

He said only Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) benefitted from these decisions and amassed 86.4 per cent of the total donations given to political parties, adding the saffron party spent a whopping Rs 42.97 billion on advertisements.

"This all was the black money and the used its position to use the agencies to threaten and extort money," Sharma alleged.

On claims of the Vasundhara Raje-led Rajasthan government that the state received Rs 2.5 trillion investment, the former Union minister challenged her to show at least Rs 200 billion worth investment under her five-year rule.

The desert state will go to polls on December 7.
Naga Students' Federation, the apex students' body in the northeastern state, Friday held a protest rally here demanding the withdrawal of the controversial Citizenship (Amendment) Bill 2016.

"The north-east is not a dumping ground for illegal Bangladeshis," NSF president Kesosul Christopher Ltu said at the rally.

The NSF is part of the North East Students Organisation (NESO), an umbrella organisation of different student unions of the region opposed to the citizenship bill.

Effigies of illegal immigrants and the bill were burnt by the students. The bill, introduced in Parliament in 2016, seeks to make Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and Christians from Afghanistan, Bangladesh or Pakistan eligible for Indian citizenship after a stay of six years.

Ltu said all states of the region were faced with the problem of illegal immigration from Bangladesh which had become a threat to the social fabric of the north-east and demography of its states.

"We have noticed disturbing machinations of the Union government to encourage further illegal immigration from Bangladesh," he claimed.

"We will strongly resist creation of another Tripura in the north-east region," Ltu said and urged the Centre to recognise the efforts of the student community to strengthen the nation's secular fabric.

The bill was a threat to the language, culture, identity of the indigenous people of the north-east, he said, adding the NESO, of which NSF was a constituent, and the people of the region would not accept it.

The NSF had submitted a letter to the Nagaland government in August to strengthen the state's mechanism for curbing influx of illegal immigrants.

The state government had then assured to come out with an interim report on illegal immigrants within two months but had not done so till date, he said and demanded that it do so.

NSF general secretary Imtiyapang said the organisation had held a similar rally here in April and also in Dimapur after a call of the NESO demanding inclusion of Dimapur district under the purview of the Inner Line Permit.

The Inner Line Permit was an official travel document issued by Government of India to allow inward travel of an Indian citizen into a protected or restricted area for a limited period. It was obligatory for Indian citizens from outside those states to obtain permit for entering into the protected state.

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A Sikh girl in Jammu and Kashmir wants to donate one of her kidneys to save the life of her Muslim friend suffering from organ failure, but objections by her family and a hospital here are delaying the procedure, prompting them to approach court.

Manjot Singh Kohli (23), a Sikh social activist from Udhampur area of the Jammu region, has decided to donate one of her kidneys to her 22-year-old friend Samreen Akhtar, a Muslim and a resident of Rajouri district.

"We have been friends for the past four years and I am emotionally attached to her. Also, it is my strong belief in humanity that is motivating me to donate my kidney," Kohli said.

She said Akhtar has been involved in social activism with her for the past many years in Jammu.

"But, Akhtar never told me about her illness and I came to know through a mutual friend. She has been my friend and supporter in my tough times and I decided to donate a kidney to her when she needs it," Kohli said.

Akhtar said she was grateful to her friend for the selfless act.

"She (Kohli) is an incredible person. I simply want to thank her for her selfless act of love and kindness. She was prompt to contact me and express her willingness to donate her kidney. At first, I did not believe my ears, but when she came to meet me and accompanied me before the authorisation committee, I was overwhelmed. It was really life changing for me," Akhtar said.

They, however, said doctors at the Sher-e-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences (SKIMS), Soura here were "delaying" the procedure by creating "unnecessary hurdles".

"The SKIMS is creating hurdles and delaying the procedure even as the authorisation committee for organ donation has cleared both of us for the transplant procedure. I do not know why we are being pushed to the wall by doctors and administration at SKIMS, Soura," Kohli said.

Director, SKIMS, Dr Omar Shah said the committee is looking into the issue and they would decide on it immediately.

"We will do whatever best we can. The authorisation committee has informed me that there are legalities involved and they need some more papers before they take a decision on the matter," Shah said.

Kohli said while she thinks the SKIMS might be apprehensive about the procedure because of the donor belonging to a different religion, her family also has sent a notice to the hospital, saying there was no family consent.

"My family has sent a notice to the SKIMS and may never give the consent. But, I am a major and can take decisions for myself. I am legally eligible to donate and I do not need the family's consent," she said.

She said they would approach court on Saturday to seek a direction to SKIMS to perform the procedure without any further delay.

"I have consulted a lawyer friend and we will go to court tomorrow (Saturday). There are court directions from previous cases and we hope to get a favourable judgement," Kohli said.

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America's top fighter jet manufacturer Lockheed has said it is open to helping India in the production of the indigenously-designed light combat aircraft Tejas.

Currently, the state-run Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd is producing around eight Tejas annually and the defence ministry wants it to increase the number to 18 planes per year.

Tejas is a single engine multi-role aircraft. It is the smallest and lightest Multi-Role Supersonic Fighter Aircraft of its class.

Vivek Lall, the vice president of Strategy and Business Development for Lockheed Martin Aeronautics told PTI that the company is open to helping India on Tejas.

"Lockheed Martin has a strong record of successful international industrial partnerships, many of which happen to be directly related to the F-16," the Indian-American official said.

"The F-16 is a proven force multiplier that would certainly complement the Tejas," Lall said.

He said the production of F-16 in India, as being proposed by Lockheed, will not only put the country at the epicentre of a USD 165 billion fighter aircraft sustainment market but also the world's largest fighter aircraft ecosystem.

Lockheed, which has proposed to shift its entire F-16 manufacturing base to India, subject to it getting a major order from the Indian armed forces, argued that currently there are production opportunities for more than 400 such fighter jets globally.

"Exclusive F-16 production will put India at the epicentre of a USD 165 billion fighter aircraft sustainment market and the world's largest fighter aircraft ecosystem. The F-16 will also enables Indian industry to establish new relationships with Lockheed Martin and other global industry leaders, he said.

"Those relationships and the technology sharing they facilitate can spawn new ideas and innovation in India for decades to come. This is about far more than an F-16 production line. It's about building trust, strategic partnerships and new ideas to unleash the potential of India's own innovators," he said in response to a question.

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Twenty two Indian fishermen have been arrested by Pakistani authorities for allegedly straying into the country's territorial waters, a security official said Friday.

They were arrested on Thursday by personnel of the Pakistan Maritime Security Agency (PMSA) during an operation.

The security official said that three boats of the fishermen were also confiscated.

The fishermen who were handed over to the Docks police were presented in a magistrate's court on Friday and remanded to judicial custody.

"They will now be sent to the Landhi jail," the official said.

Since October, this is the third time that a batch of Indian fishermen have been arrested and their boats seized by the PMSA.

Earlier this month, the PMSA arrested 12 Indian fishermen.

In October, another batch of 12 Indian fishermen were arrested and were handed over to the Docks police.

Pakistan and India regularly arrest each other's fishermen who inadvertently enter into their waters due to absence of any proper technology to confirm the coastline border between Pakistan and India near Sir Creek in the Arabian Sea. They languish in jails until they are set free on certain occasions.

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The Judicial Commission of Inquiry headed by retired judge of Orissa High Court Justice Raghubir Dash, who was probing into the missing keys of Ratna Bhandar of Lord Jagannath temple of Puri, has submitted his final report to the state government.

Commission secretary K N Panigrahi has handed over the 324-page report of the panel in a sealed cover to a Home Department official on Thursday.

"I have submitted the report of the commission to Under Secretary P K Dey," Panigrahi said on Friday.

Following a state-wide hue and cry over the missing keys of Lord Jagannath's treasury housed inside the 12th century shrine at Puri, Odisha government had in June ordered a judicial inquiry into it.

The commission had been asked to examine the sequence of events and circumstances leading to the reported non-availability of the keys and the role, conduct and accountability of individuals or groups or the authorities for the incident.

The panel's report is based on the depositions and submissions of five affidavits in this connection. Two former administrators of the Shree Jagannath Temple Administration, who had submitted their affidavits, were also examined as witnesses by the commission.

Reports about the missing treasury keys surfaced after a team entered the 'Ratna Bhandar' on April 4, 2018 and examined its physical conditions amid tight security, following an order of the Orissa High Court.

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Urging the government to address all employee related and social security matters before privatising profit-making Pawan Hans, the company's employees' forum Friday sought an urgent meeting with civil aviation minister Suresh Prabhu.

Despite the forum alleging irregularities in the whole process, the Narendra Modi government at the Centre is taking forward its disinvestment plans in Pawan Hans Helicopters (PHL) ahead of the general elections next year.

"This joint forum on behalf of the employees request your office to give an urgent appointment for the settlement of major employee concerns before finalisation of the RFP/SPA document," Pawan Hans Joint Employees Forum (PHJEF) said in a letter to Prabhu Thursday.

The forum comprises Pawan Hans Officers Welfare Association and its employees union, All India Civil Aviation Employees Union.

Demanding the government to extend the voluntary retirement scheme to its employees before transfer of management control as per the Department of Public Enterprises (DPE) guidelines, the forum said a trust for leave be formed immediately for the protection of leave balance available to each employee.

In Pawan Hans, the government holds 51 per cent stake through the civil aviation ministry, while the rest 49 per cent stake is with oil and gas behemoth ONGC.

"The management must transfer/deposit the funds equivalent to each employee's balance leave of up to 300 days to the trust immediately which could be encashed by them whenever required or at any type of separation from the company," the forum added.

Besides, it has also sought protection of gratuity of employees as per the services rendered in the organisation and inclusion of this clause in the RFP/SPA document.

The forum, in the letter, has also demanded the implementation of pension from the last month of the protection year to each employee, as per the corpus available of each employee with the Life Insurance Corporation of India.

On April 13, the government issued the information memorandum for the sale of 51 per cent stake in the profit-making Pawan Hans and had sought expression of interest (EoI) from interested bidders by June 18.

The eligibility criteria including financial net worth of the prospective bidders were fixed accordingly.

Later, fresh bids were invited after ONGC board in July decided to combine its 49 per cent stake in the offer for sale by the government. The last date for submission of initial bids was also extended to September 19.

In a separate letter to Prabhu last month, the forum had alleged irregularities in the firm's ongoing disinvestment process and urged the civil aviation ministry to "re-fix" the bidding norms/ eligibility criteria.

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The BJP Friday accused the Congress and other opposition parties of misleading farmers on the issue of agrarian distress, asserting that people no longer support those who have had their "eyes shut for 70 years" on the problem and have now decided to side with Narendra Modi.

The BJP's reaction came after thousands of farmers, backed by Left parties and organisations, marched through the streets of Delhi for debt relief and remunerative prices for their produce.

Congress president Rahul Gandhi, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, CPI(M) leader Sitaram Yechury, CPI leader S Sudhakar Reddy and former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Farooq Abdullah were among the political leaders who joined the farmers at Jantar Mantar.

Hitting out at opposition parties, BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra asked why their leaders did not take measures to reduce the problem of farmers in the past 70 years when they governed India.

On Kejriwal and Gandhi sharing a stage during the rally at Jantar Mantar, Patra said it was like "drama and confusion together on the dais".

"Remember, if drama and confusion are together, there is only destruction and devastation for democracy. The country rejects drama, corruption and confusion and has done so in 2014. Their coming together through photo-ops will not help, as the country has left their hands and has held the hands of Narendra Modi and BJP," he said.

He said the opposition parties have been exposed before the people for indulging in corruption and " of deception".

"They are today talking about farmers. They need to answer why the Congress was sitting with eyes shut for 70 years. Why the Congress did not worry about farmers all this time," he told reporters.

He said it was "unfortunate" that leaders of the Congress and other opposition parties were lowering the level of political discourse in the country. His comments came after following reports that CPI(M) leader Sitaram Yechury used inappropriate words to describe Prime Minister Modi.

"This shows the frustration of Congress and others. It shows their frustration," Patra said.

Training his guns on Gandhi, Patra alleged that the Congress chief has one tape-recorder and only has one script. "He does not even prepare his speeches," Patra said.

"He does of falsehood and deception... All these parties were in power for so many years, but they did not implement the Swaminathan Committee report, because they were deep in corruption" he alleged.

The final volume of the Swaminathan Committee report on agrarian distress and recommendations was tabled in Parliament in 2016 and is yet to be discussed in the House.

Patra claimed farm loan has been waived twice so far in Rajasthan's history and on both occasions it has been done under BJP rule.

The Congress ruled Rajasthan for nearly 50 years but did not waived farm loans and now they are doing here, Patra alleged.

"You have seen how Mr Rahul Gandhi have misled farmers and people of this country. You have seen how Mr Robert Vadra's (Gandhi's brother-in-law) company took loans which were unaccounted, not secured and not paid in the name of farmers and how they were misused for commercial purposes.

"You have seen how this was totally a commercial venture in the name of farming. This is Rahul Gandhi's way and Prime Minister Modi has rightly said that he does not know anything about farming," Patra alleged.

The BJP leader was referring to a newspaper report published Friday. The report said a firm got a big tax relief after it gave loan to a company that bought land owned by Skylight Hospitality, which is allegedly linked to Vadra.

"He (Gandhi) added to country's NPAs by giving loans through banks to such people, from whom they have benefitted themselves. Rahul Gandhi and Congress party indulged in commercial ventures and corruption ventures from which the country lost," he alleged.

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Days after three children were killed in a blast while toying with a live bomb at Arunachal Pradesh's Anjaw district, army authorities have requested people in the region to return all live mortar shells they might have collected from a nearby firing range.

Army personnel, along with district administration officials, have been going from door to door to request locals, who have, so far, responded positively to the initiative and given up the ammunition they had been holding, defence spokesperson Col Chiranjit Konwer said Friday.

"Over the last two days, 554 shells submitted by the villagers were destroyed by the Army at Nara Tiding firing range," Konwer said.

Two girls, aged between eight and 10, and a two-year-old boy were killed Saturday when a shell they had picked up exploded at Chirang village in Anjaw district.

The Nara Tiding firing range, bordering China, is used by the Army, the Indo Tibetan Border Police, and other security agencies for field exercises, the defence spokesperson said.

"The range has a number of villages in its vicinity. Despite warnings, villagers gather ammunition and shells from the range," he said.

The initiative by the Army and the district administration, which has received appreciation from various quarters, will prevent accidents, such as the one that occurred on Saturday, Konwer added.

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Renewable source of energy can provide more power in much less cost than new coal-powered power plants in India, and it costs more to run 62 per cent of the country's coal capacity than to build new renewable power generation facilities, according to a new study.

The study titled 'Navigating the economic and financial risks in the last years of coal power' by financial think tank Carbon Tracker, states that phasing out would benefit consumers and taxpayers because India is a regulated market where state support keeps uneconomic plants profitable.

However, it is the state which ultimately underwrites investment risk in regulated markets, where coal is sheltered from competition, it said.

In countries such as China, India, Japan and parts of the US typically approve the cost of generation and pass it on to consumers.

Backing coal in the long-term will threaten economic competitiveness and public finances, because politicians will be forced to choose between subsidising or increasing power prices for consumers, the study said, adding consumers and taxpayers are keeping coal profitable in (many) regulated markets by picking up the bill to support uneconomic coal plants.

A phase-out could save them billions, but would hit coal owners' profits, it said.

If plants are closed in line with the Paris Agreement the industry could lose USD 92 billion in South Korea, USD 76 billion in India and USD 51 billion in South Africa, compared with business as usual supported by the state, the study by Carbon Tracker said.

It said governments should phase out coal in an orderly manner and develop plans to close the least economic plants first.

"When it is cheaper to build new renewables and gas than to build new coal power, they should ban investments in new This point has already been reached in Europe, the US, India and parts of Latin America," the think tank said.

The think tank has carried out the first global analysis of the profitability of 6,685 coal plants worldwide, representing 95 per cent of all operating capacity and 90 per cent (220GW) of capacity under construction, and has published the results in a new coal power economics portal.

In India, the study found that it costs more to run 62 per cent of the country's coal capacity than to build new generation facilities and by 2030 that will rise to 100 per cent.

"India has rapidly become the world's third largest power producer, adding 157 GW of coal capacity since 2006 to bring its 2018 fleet size to 219 GW. Coal was responsible for three-quarters of the 1,323 TWh of electricity produced in 2017," the study said.

It also found that new renewables can supply more cheap power than new coal plants in India. Also, phasing out coal power would benefit consumers and taxpayers because India is a regulated market where state support keeps uneconomic plants profitable.
Philippines on Friday evinced interest in collaborating with Jharkhand in the trade of jackfruit, which the state produces in abundance.

Philippines is famous for producing coconut, pineapple, banana, rice and sugar cane and also developing cocoa and coffee, Deputy Chief of the country's embassy, Arvin R D Leon, said.

"Jharkhand produces jackfruit in huge quantity. Jackfruit is very popular in Philippines also. The supply falls short of demand. This could be one area of collaboration and cooperation," Leon said.

Leon is speaking on the concluding day of the two-day Global Agriculture & Food Summit.

Philippines is one of the five partner countries of the summit.

Mongolian Aambassador Gonchig Gambold stressed on cooperation with India in the sectors of information and communication technology.

"Mongolia is a small country but it is surrounded by big markets and it has short route to both Europe and Asia, so it also has a huge market for agriculture and food industry," Gambold said.

The ambassador said Prime Minster Narendra Modi had visited Mongolia in 2015 and gave one billion dollar line of credit to the country which was decided to be used in refinery and food processing.

Li Baijun, the Economic & Commercial Consular of Chinese Embassy, said "Sino-Indian trade cooperation continues to march ahead and during January to October this year, bilateral business stood at 80 billion US dollars. China continues to be a leading partner of India."



"Jharkhand is not only rich in minerals but also agriculture and forestry. Agriculture growth is significant. We are in the initial stages of cooperation in agriculture but there is ample room and scope of taking part in this Summit, he said.

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday met Chilean President Sebastian Pinera on the sidelines of the G-20 summit here and discussed ways to enhance cooperation in several areas of mutual interests like trade, energy, agriculture and health.

According to the Indian embassy in Chilean capital Santiago, Indian investment in the country amounts to about USD 216.25 million, while Chile's investment in India amounts to USD 150.54 million.

"Delighted to meet President @sebastianpinera. Chile is a valued partner in Latin America. There is a strong potential to deepen partnership in areas such as trade, agriculture, energy, healthcare as well as science and technology. This augurs well for the people of our nations," Modi tweeted after the meeting.

Several Indian companies, including Jindal Steel Works, TCS, Godrej, Dr Reddy's, Seven Pharma, Wipro Technologies, Tata Motors, Bajaj Auto and Mahindra & Mahindra, are operating in the Chilean market.

"PM @narendramodi had a good meeting with President of Chile Sebastian Pinera on the sidelines of the #G20Summit. Leaders discussed enhancing cooperation in trade & investment, health, space and people-to-people relationship," External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Ravish Kumar also tweeted.

Chile has an estimated Indian population of around 3,000, of which approximately 50 per cent have obtained Chilean nationality. The majority of the Indian-origin people in the Latin American country are from the Sindhi community, according to the Indian embassy in Santiago.

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi, US President Donald Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Friday met for their first trilateral meeting on the sidelines of the G-20 summit to discuss major issues of global and multilateral interests.

The meeting assumed importance in the wake of China flexing its muscles in the strategic Indo-Pacific region.

Asserting that India will "continue to work together on shared values," Modi said, "The 'JAI' (Japan, America, India) meeting is dedicated to democratic values...'JAI' stands for victory (in Hindi)."



The prime minister also said the meeting was a convergence of vision between the three nations.

The Japanese premier said he was happy to participate in "the first ever 'JAI' trilateral".

Trump appreciated India's growth story during the meet.

The leaders emphasised the importance of cooperation among the three countries on all major issue of global and multilateral interests such as connectivity, sustainable development, counterterrorism and maritime and cyber security.

They shared their views on progressing a free, open, conclusive and rule-based order in the Indo-Pacific region, based on respect for international law and peaceful resolution of all differences.

The trilateral meeting took place at a time when China is engaged in hotly contested territorial disputes in the South China Sea, and with Japan in the East China Sea. Both the areas are said to be rich in minerals, oil and other natural resources.

China claims almost all of the South China Sea. Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan have overlapping claims in the waterway, which includes vital sea lanes through which about USD 3 trillion in global trade passes each year.

The US has been conducting regular patrols in the South China Sea to assert freedom of navigation in the area where Beijing has built up and militarised many of the islands and reefs it controls in the region.

Prime Minister Modi, in his keynote address at the Shangri La Dialogue in Singapore in June expounded India's stand on the strategic Indo-Pacific region.

"India does not see the Indo-Pacific Region as a strategy or as a club of limited members. Nor as a grouping that seeks to dominate. And by no means do we consider it as directed against any country. A geographical definition, as such, cannot be," he had said.

Modi, Trump and Abe also agreed to cooperate in various ways and together with other countries.

They also agreed on the importance of meeting in "Trilateral Format" at multilateral conferences.

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Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur said Friday Prime Minister Narendra Modi would attend the December 27 celebrations to mark one-year of the state government.

The mark the occasion a mega event would be organised in Dharamshala in Kangra district, he said after a meeting in Shimla to review the arrangements for the programme.

He said beneficiaries of various state schemes would also be invited to attend the function.

Beneficiaries of central schemes would also attend the event, the chief minister said.

Officials said achievements of the state government would also be highlighted during the function.

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An encounter took place between security personnel and Maoist rebels inside a jungle in Chatra district of Jharkhand in the wee hours of Friday, police said.

Around 200 rounds of fire were exchanged between the two sides in Meramgada jungle under Pathalgada police station area of the Maoist affected district.

Police said the CPI(Maoist) activists retreated under pressure from the security forces led by district SP Akhilesh B Beriar.

The security personnel consisting of the CRPF, the Jaguar force, the Cobra force and police surrounded the jungle and launched a massive search operation to track down the red rebels.

The Maoists were planning an attack to hinder the ongoing development projects in the naxal-affected areas of the district, police said.

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Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar said Friday a policy concerning logistics, warehouse, retail outlet and pharmaceutical will be formulated to encourage entrepreneurs of these fields and create job opportunities for the youth.

While addressing a gathering at an event organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) here, he said that several steps have been taken by his government to ensure all round development of the state.

"In this regard, five new cities similar to Gurgaon would be developed as the Economic Corridor around the Kundli-Manesar-Palwal (KMP) Expressway for which a panchgram or a KMP authority will be formed," he said.

The chief minister said the state government had organised a "Happening Haryana Global Summit" in Gurgaon in which 350 MoUs entailing an investment of Rs 5.5 lakh crore were signed.

"Works and clearances are being given on the investment of Rs 80,000 crore, which would create more than one lakh job opportunities," he said.

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The West Bengal CID has arrested the prime accused in the Shantipur hooch tragedy that claimed 12 lives and left over 35 people sick, a senior official said Friday.

Ganesh Halder, the prime accused, was picked up and arrested late Thursday night by the state CID from Shantipur's Chowdhurypara area in Nadia district and was the fifth person to be apprehended in the case, he said.

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had Friday asked the police to take strict action against those running spurious liquor shops in the state.

"The police must see whether spurious liquor is brought to West Bengal from other states or not," she had told a public rally at Kalna in Burdwan.

Nadia District Magistrate Sumit Gupta said those who fell ill after drinking the spurious liquor were kept under observation.

Twenty-four persons were still undergoing treatment at the Shantipur State General Hospital and doctors were keeping a close watch on them, he told PTI.

Ten persons, who were in a serious condition after consuming the spurious liquor, were shifted to a state-run hospital in Kolkata, Gupta said.

The secretary general of the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) and state minister Partha Chatterjee paid a visit to the families who had lost their kin in the tragedy as well as those who had fallen sick due to the consumption of the spurious liquor.

A delegation of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders, including Kailash Vijayvargiya and Mukul Roy, had also visited Shantipur in connection with the tragedy.

The state government has announced a compensation of Rs 2 lakh each to the kin of the deceased.

Eleven excise officials have been suspended in connection with the incident that took place Wednesday at Nrishinghapur village in Nadia district.

Most of the victims were brick kiln labourers, the locals had said and alleged that the spurious liquor was brought from Kalna in Burdwan district, across the Hooghly river.

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A quarrel broke out between two groups over the opening of a lane near a madrasa in south Delhi's Malviya Nagar area on Friday, police said



Police said they received a call in the evening regarding a quarrel at the madrasa in Begumpur and that a few people have blocked a road.

During investigation, it was learnt two parties five people, including a minor girl, suffered minor injuries, they said.

Mumtaz and his wife Shabana, and Liyaquat Ali, his wife Saroj Khan and their minor daughter were injured. They were taken taken to a nearby hospital for first aid, a senior police officer said.

Police said the cause of quarrel was reportedly over opening of a lane for residents of the Valmiki camp in the area.

Legal action has been initiated in the matter, they said, adding further investigation is underway.

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Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh is set to inaugurate on Saturday the 19th edition of Hornbill Festival in Nagalands Kisama village, around 12 km from the state capital, a top tourism department official said.

Nagaland Governor P B Acharya will be the chief host on the occasion, while US Ambassador to India, Kenneth I Juster, has been invited as the guest of honour, Akhale Vizol, the additional director of the state tourism department, said.

The Nagaland government has earmarked Rs 5 crore for the festival, which will culminate on December 10. The celebrations and programmes have been scheduled in five districts of the state Kohima, Dimapur, Mokokchung, Phek and Wokha, she said.

The annual festival unites one and all, while promoting the tourism prospects of the state, Vizol told reporters here.

The fest aims to display the rich traditions and the vibrant culture of Nagaland through colourful performances, crafts, sports, food fairs, games and ceremonies, the additional director of the tourism department said.

Elaborating on the preparations, Tourism, Art & Culture Adviser Khehovi Yepthomi said the heritage village of Kisama has been made a plastic-free zone.

He sought the support of every individual in the state to ensure the success of the 10-day fest.

Vizol said the visitor turnout to Kisama stood at 2.43 lakh last year, expressing hope that the number might swell this year.

The tourism department along with Nagaland Police has tightened security in Kisama and other parts of the state in view of the Hornbill festival. More than 600 artists will be performing over the course of 10 days, she added.

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Uttarakhand government Friday demanded a special one-time assistance of Rs 4570 crore from the Centreto organise the 2021 Mahakumbh fair.

The demand was made by Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat who called on Finance Minister Arun Jaitley in New Delhi Friday.

Pointing out that around 15 crore people were likely to gather for the great religious congregation at Haridwar, the chief minister asked for a one-time special assistance of Rs 4570 crore for the event, an official release here said.

All preparations for the fair including construction of roads and the ghats have to be completed by October 2020, Rawat said.

The forthcoming Mahakumbh fair will be held on the banks of the Ganga from January to April 2021.

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Five armed men allegedly looted Rs 13 lakh at gunpoint from a bank here Friday, police said.

The accused who came in a white car at around 1 pm, have not been identified yet, they said.

The five men entered the Punjab National Bank's Bassi Daulat Khan branch and pointed guns at manager Tarinder Kaur, cashier Ritu Kumari and others present there.

The accused robbed a trunk containing about Rs 13 lakh cash and a digital video recorder of the bank, they said.

There were 16 people present at the bank when the incident took place.

A case has been registered and the police is probing the matter, they said.

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The country's largest steel maker Steel Authority of India Ltd (Sail) needs to be more profitable and retain its leadership in the market, Union minister Chaudhary Birender Singh said Friday.

The Union Steel Minister, who visited SAIL's Alloy Steel Plant (ASP) at Durgapur in West Bengal said that the unit is geared up to become profitable from next year, the steel ministry said in a statement.

The minister said that the plant was now showing improved performance both in physical and financial terms.

The minister who also visited the Durgapur steel plant (DSP) said that the plant's commensurate growth plan has been duly considered in tune with the National Steel Policy of making 300 million tonnes (MT) of steel by 2030-31 and SAIL's plan to enhance steel production to 50 MT.

DSP is currently implementing its modernisation and expansion plan (phase-I) with the main objectives of conversion of available semis into value added rolled products.

The minister also visited the SAIL's Salem steel plant and reviewed its performance.

He also discussed with officials the ways and means of making the plant profitable as it has been a loss making plant for the last 10 years with around Rs 200 crore loss per year.

"Losses have been reduced this year and may come down by more than 20 per cent," the statement said.

State-run steel maker Steel Authority of India Ltd had earlier informed the government it was not in a position to pay dividend for the year 2017-18 as it suffered a loss of Rs 281 crore in the fiscal.

The company had reported a consolidated loss of Rs 2,756 crore in 2016-17.

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The Supreme Court Friday dismissed pleas of over 350 Army men who had challenged the registration of FIRs against members of the armed forces for carrying out operations in Manipur and Jammu and Kashmir where the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act (AFSPA) is in force.

The Centre supported the pleas before a bench of Justices Madan B Lokur and U U Lalit against the lodging of FIRs against members of the armed forces in AFSPA-enforced areas.

"There has to be a mechanism where hands of our soldiers are not shaken while fighting terrorism," said Solicitor General Tushar Mehta.

To this the bench asked him as to who was stopping the Centre from coming out with a mechanism.

"Who has stopped you from coming out with a mechanism. These are issues for you to discuss and not for the court, " the bench said.

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"There is no corruption in the Supreme Court. It has never ever occurred to me. I have never heard about it," former Supreme Court Judge Justice Kurian Joseph said Friday.

He favoured setting up of an administrative committee to assist the office of Chief Justice of India in effectively handling the affairs of the top court.

Justice Joseph, was part of the January 12 press conference in which now Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi, Justice Lokur and former judge Justice J Chelameswar had raised serious questions over various issues including allocation of cases in the top court.

Talking to media persons on his birthday, just a day after his retirement from apex court, Justice Joseph was asked whether there existed corruption in judiciary, to which he said: "I do not agree with the general observation that there is corruption in the society but I do concede that there is some perception among the people regarding corruption" at some lower levels.

He said that as far as corruption in the Supreme Court is concerned, "I wholly refuse to say there is corruption. It has never ever occurred to me. I have never heard about it".

Justice Joseph said that he along with three top court judges, who were part of January 12 press conference wanted to have an administrative committee, which would have guided the Chief Justice of India in carrying out his duties.

He said majority of the judges who come to Supreme Court have been judges in high courts.

"As far as administration of justice in the high court is concerned, there is something called administrative committee which looks after the administration of justice in the high court. You don't find such committee in the Supreme Court which could help the Chief Justice of India in administration of justice, advising him and guiding him," he said.

On whether such a committee is needed in the apex court, Justice Joseph said, "It is needed. It should not depend on person to person. This is what I am more worried on an institution."



He further said, "If there is an institution there should be institutional systems and practices. Maybe, we have a good person today, maybe we will have a better person tomorrow. Even for such persons also the discussions should be institutional. It should not be personal or individual".

Justice Joseph said that an institution of national importance, should be guided by a collective efforts of people available in the institution and this should be a permanent mechanism.

"There should be appropriate committees, so that there is continuity as what has to happen. When there is no committee then institutional decision are only decisions taken by individual chief justices, who keep on changing them according to their personal perspective," he said.

When told that there already existed a collegium system which could guide the Chief Justice, Justice Joseph said, "Collegium is not meant for that".

"It is meant for the purpose of selection and appointment of judges in the Supreme Court and Chief Justices of the high court and appointment of judges in the high court. What I am hinting at is the systems and practices to be followed permanently in the Supreme Court. To me, ideally, it would be appropriate if there are appropriate committees assisting the Chief Justice of India, which includes the judge who are in line to become next Chief Justices", he said.

Justice Joseph said that the status of CJI as first among equal will never change.

When asked about his view that he along with senior top court judges were not part of many recent constitution benches, he said: "When issues of larger public interest concerning the entire country are being discussed, it will be a matter of a stronger public faith and in the credibility of a better institution, if the diversity is better reflected in constituting the benches."



Justice Joseph, said he wanted to be a priest, but later abdicated the idea as "it was not in my route".

He said that in Supreme Court considerable time is wasted on non-issues and the real burning issues which matter to the poor people of the country go to back burner.

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The Supreme Court Friday issued notice to Yoga guru on a plea by a publisher challenging the Delhi High Court's verdict restraining sale and publication of a book purportedly on his life.

The high court had passed the restraining order after claimed that the book had defamatory content.

The apex court listed the matter for further hearing in first week of February next year.

"We will issue notice to Respondent 1 (Ramdev)," a bench of justices Madan B Lokur and Deepak Gupta said.

The publisher, Juggernaut Books Private Limited, approached the apex court challenging the high court's September 29 judgement.

Earlier, had filed the plea in the high court against the book titled "Godman To Tycoon" The Untold Story of Baba Ramdev, saying the book, purportedly on his life, had defamatory content and harmed his economic interests and reputation.

Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for the publisher, told the apex court bench that there were "some significant" and "very interesting issues" in the matter.

The bench also asked why the publisher has made e-commerce websites Amazon India and Flipkart Internet Private Limited, which were earlier selling the book online, parties in the plea.

"Why do you want Amazon and Flipkart (as parties) unnecessarily in this," the bench asked and issued notice to Ramdev only.

The high court in its September verdict, restraining the sale, publication and distribution of the book, had said the right to reputation of a living individual cannot be "crucified" at the "altar of the right to freedom of speech and expression" of another.

It had said the publisher was restrained from selling and publishing the book till the time the alleged objectionable portion was deleted.

Ramdev had approached the high court to set aside a trial court order removing the ban on the publication and sale of the book.

In August last year, an additional civil judge had restrained the publisher from publishing and selling the book till further orders. It had also restrained Amazon India and Flipkart Internet Pvt Ltd from selling it online and stop its pending deliveries to buyers.

On April 28 this year, however, an additional senior civil judge (ASCJ) had removed the ban.

The book is penned by journalist Priyanka Pathak Narain.

The high court had restrained the publishing of the book, saying the person about whom the book is written is a "living human being" who was entitled to be treated with dignity.

It also said that the portions of the book "which make readers think that he is an ambitious villain", until so proved in the court of law, are necessarily to be restrained from being published and distributed for sale till disposal of the case pending before the lower court.

The book was released on July 29, 2017, and Ramdev had approached the trial court on August 4 that year.

The high court had stayed an order of the ASCJ lifting the ban on publication and sale of the book. It had also granted interim relief to Ramdev while hearing his plea challenging the ASCJ's order.

Ramdev's counsel had claimed that the allegations in the book relating to the Yoga guru's life were incorrect.

The author, however, had told the high court that at the end of the book, there were extracts of the facts, including details of persons whom she had interviewed before writing the book.

The publisher had said the extracts of the material in the book were already in public domain since 2007 and Ramdev had never raised any objection. The counsel said the entire record of the trial court has not been placed before the high court.
The Supreme Court on Friday rejected the plea of over 300 Army personnel challenging the lodging of FIRs against soldiers involved in operations in Manipur and Jammu and Kashmir, where AFSPA is in force, though the Centre contended that it will have a "demoralising effect" on soldiers who are fighting terrorism.

The apex court brushed aside the fervent request of the Centre which supported the plea and said the issue should be "debated and discussed" so that a mechanism is evolved "where hands of our soldiers do not shake while fighting terrorism".

The Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act (AFSPA) gives special rights and immunity to security forces in carrying out various operations in "disturbed" areas.

The government said that armed forces were operating in an "altogether different situation" in disturbed areas and a balance has to be struck, but the apex court said that it was for the government, and not the courts, to come out with an internal mechanism so "that if somebody loses his life like this, it should be looked into".

"But who has stopped you from coming out with a mechanism? Why you require our intervention? These are issues which you have to discuss, not the courts," a bench of justices Madan B Lokur and U U Lalit told Solicitor General (SG) Tushar Mehta, who was representing the Centre.

"When there is a loss of life, even in a encounter, should not the human life demands that it should be looked into and investigation should be done," the bench observed.

As soon as the apex court said it was dismissing the plea, the SG stood up and said he should be heard as the Centre wants that the issue be debated.

"There has to be a mechanism where hands of our soldiers do not shake while fighting terrorism," Mehta said, adding, "human life has a value which can never be disputed".

"The fact that over 300 soldiers of our country have to pray for this is itself unfortunate," he said, adding, "It has a demoralising effect. The country cannot afford that our soldiers are demoralised. Please do not stop the debate".

The bench reminded him that it has not yet issued notice to the Centre on the plea filed by these Army men.

When the SG said the matter was required to be debated upon before the highest court of the land, the bench said, "It does not concern the court. You can have your debate. You have to find it (mechanism and solution) out, not us".

"As a laymen, even the life, which the Army men put on stake, also have value," he said.

To this, the bench referred to the ongoing CBI probe into some Manipur encounter cases and said if a central agency finds that someone has exceeded his powers then inquiry should be done.

"Why Government of India cannot come out with an internal mechanism that if somebody loses his life like this, it should be looked into. We cannot, as a court, devise such a mechanism," the court said.

Advocate Aishwarya Bhati, appearing for these Army men, told the bench that the plea should be heard with the main matter which relates to alleged extra-judicial killings by the Army, Assam Rifles and police in insurgency-hit Manipur.

The bench told Bhati that the plea by Army men was "completely different" from the main matter and it cannot be tagged with the pending case.

When the lawyer referred to provisions of AFSPA and the Army Act, the bench observed, "There are sufficient safeguards available".

Bhati claimed that one of the directions in the court's earlier verdict in Manipur encounter case "runs counter" to a judgement rendered by a five-judge constitution bench in 1998.

However, the court said when it had heard the arguments before delivering the verdict in Manipur case, it had repeatedly asked the then Attorney General as to whether the government would take any action against the members of armed forces against whom allegations were levelled.

"If no action is taken at all by the authorities under the Army Act, you cannot say that no investigation can go on," the bench said.

Bhati then said the petitioners had never stated they want "complete immunity" but the Army personnel were facing a "proxy war situation" in AFSPA areas.

The bench also made it clear that it had ordered probe in only those Manipur encounter cases where there were orders from the high court, reports from the National Human Rights Commission, judicial enquiries and a commission headed by former Supreme Court judge Justice Santosh Hegde.

"Today, we are not giving any clean chit to either side," the bench said, adding that if the CBI has filed charge sheets in some of these cases, it would be considered by the court of law.

It said in one of the cases, Manipur government had paid compensation to family of a man who was killed in an alleged encounter in accordance with the direction passed by the high court there but still nothing was done to find out the "real culprits" behind the offence.

At the fag end of hearing, Bhati said it was "serious" that Army officers were being probed by cops in these cases.

One of the advocates also told the bench that around 400 retired defence personnel have approached the top court in support of the plea filed by these over 300 persons.

The court had earlier ordered setting up of a special investigation team (SIT) of CBI to probe the alleged fake encounters in Manipur.

The bench had observed that the use of "excessive force" by the armed forces or police was not permissible in 'disturbed areas' under AFSPA.

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The Supreme Court Friday sought responses from former Inspector General of Police (IGP) Zahur Haider Zaidi and seven Himachal Pradesh policemen, accused in a case relating to the custodial death of a man, as to why the trial against them not be transferred to a Delhi court from Shimla.

Zaidi and other cops are to be tried in a local court there for allegedly killing in police custody a man who was among those arrested on charge of gang-raping a minor school girl in Kotkhai in Shimla district last year.

A bench of Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi and Justice S K Kaul, during the brief hearing, hinted that the court on its own may transfer the trial in the case against the former IGP and others to a Delhi court from Himachal Pradesh.

"If you (Zaidi) are not pressing for transfer of the case then we will suo motu transfer it to Delhi and we will ask the Delhi court to conclude the trial within six months," the bench said.

The top court also said, "It is not a case of simple 302 (murder). You are accused in a custodial death case."



Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for CBI, said that though the charge sheet has been filed, the trial in the case "has not seen the light of the day" and hence, the case be transferred to a Delhi court for expeditious disposal.

The law officer said that Zaidi, being the former IGP, may influence the witnesses in the case and, moreover, other accused are also policemen.

The bench later suggested that let the trial continue in a Shimla court and in the meantime, it would grant bail to the former IGP and restrain him from going to Himachal Pradesh except for attending the court proceedings there.

Mehta objected to the suggestion and pressed for transfer of the case from Shimla to Delhi.

The court then issued notices to Zaidi, DSP (Theog) Manoj Joshi and six other policemen and sought their responses within two weeks as to why the custodial death case not be transferred to Delhi.

The bench told senior advocate Salman Khursid, appearing for Zaidi, that it would also take up his bail plea after two weeks.

Earlier, it had granted interim bail for a week to Zaidi who had moved the apex court against the Himachal Pradesh High Court order refusing to grant him bail in the case.

Zaidi had sought interim bail on the grounds that he had to attend the post-death rituals of Chhehalum of his mother from November 6 to 8, 2018 in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh.

The High Court had dismissed Zaidi's bail plea, saying it would not be appropriate to release him on bail at this stage as the alleged crime was of serious nature and a detailed investigation was required in the case.

Zaidi and seven others were arrested in the custodial death case of Suraj, who was found dead in the Kotkhai police station on July 18.

The CBI has already filed the charge sheet against the accused.

A 16-year-old girl had gone missing in the Kotkhai on July 4 last year and her body was found from the Halaila forests on July 6, last year.

The post-mortem report had confirmed rape and murder and a case was registered.

Amid huge public outcry in the state, an SIT headed by Zaidi was constituted by the then Virbhadra Singh-led Congress government.

The SIT arrested six persons, one of whom died in police station, following which the High Court handed over the investigations of both cases to the CBI on July 19.

The CBI had arrested the then IGP Zahur Haidar Zaidi and DSP (Theog) Manoj Joshi alongwith six other policemen with regard to the custodial death.

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The Supreme Court Friday deferred to January next year the hearing on pleas seeking to restrain the Centre from deporting over 40,000 Rohingya immigrants back to Myanmar.

The Rohingya people, who fled to India after violence in the state of Rakhine in Myanmar, are settled in Jammu, Hyderabad, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi-NCR and Rajasthan.

"Let the matter be listed for final disposal in the month of January, 2019," a bench comprising Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi and Justice S K Kaul said.

The bench was hearing three PILs filed by two Rohingya immigrants -- Mohammad Salimullah and Mohammad Shaqir -- and Zaffar Ullah and Harsh Mander on the issue.

They have challenged the government's decision to deport the Rohingya immigrants back to Myanmar and condemned the pitiable conditions at the camps for them here.

Earlier, the apex court had cleared the hurdles, leading to the first ever deportation of seven illegally-migrated Rohingya people staying in Assam to Myanmar by dismissing the plea that had sought to thwart the government's move.

The top court had said those Rohingya people were convicted by the competent court under the Foreigners Act and held to be illegal immigrants.

Prior to this, it had appointed the area sub-divisional magistrates (SDMs) concerned as nodal officers, who could be approached by the Rohingya immigrants living at Kalindi Kunj in Delhi and Mewat in Haryana with grievances related to healthcare, water, sanitation and education.

Lawyer Prashant Bhushan, appearing for Salimullah and Shaqir, had said various basic facilities related to education, healthcare and foodgrains were being denied to the Rohingya people as they did not possess IDs like Aadhaar.

The court has now posted for final hearing in January next year the petitions challenging the Centre's decision to deport over 40,000 Rohingya refugees, who came to India after fleeing Myanmar due to widespread discrimination and violence against the community.

The Rohingya people have also sought the permission to enter India, besides education and healthcare facilities and grant of refugee ID cards by the Foreigner Regional Registration Office.

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The Supreme Court Friday agreed to hear the pleas of Bihar and Punjab seeking modification of an earlier order directing states to mandatorily take the assistance of UPSC in short listing the names for appointing Director General of Police (DGP).

The top court, on July 3 this year, passed a slew of directions on police reforms in the country and chronicled the steps for appointment of regular DGPs.

It stated that the states will have to send a list of senior police officers to Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) at least three months prior to the retirement of the incumbent. The commission will then prepare a panel and intimate to the states, which in turn will immediately appoint one of the persons from that list.

A bench comprising Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi and Justice S K Kaul was on Friday told by the governments of Bihar and Punjab that the July 3 order needed to be modified as they have already come out with the state laws to deal with the issue of appointment of DGP.

Lawyer Shoeb Alam, appearing for Bihar, said the state has already framed a comprehensive law, dealing with various aspects including the procedures to appoint the DGP, in pursuance of the 2006 apex court verdict on police reforms.

He said the apex court's direction on appointment of the DGP needed to be modified.

Senior lawyer P Chidambaram appeared for the Punjab government. The apex court has now fixed the pleas of both states for hearing on December 7.

The West Bengal government has also filed a similar plea. Earlier, the apex court had passed a slew of directions on police reforms in the country and had restrained all states and union territories from appointing any police officer as acting DGPs.

The top court's direction had come on an application filed by the Centre in which it claimed that certain states have been appointing acting DGPs and then making them permanent just before the date of their superannuation to enable them get the benefit of an additional two-year tenure till the age of 62 years.

The bench had ordered keeping in abeyance any rule or legislation framed by any of the states or the Centre running counter to the earlier direction of the court.

The court, however, had said that if any state has a grievance with regard to the directions, then they may approach it for modification of the order.

The apex court, on September 8 last year, had agreed to hear a clutch of pleas observing that its historic 2006 verdict on police reforms, recommending steps like fixed tenures for DGPs and SPs, has not yet been implemented by states and union territories.

The apex court, while deciding the PIL filed by two former DGPs Prakash Singh and N K Singh in 2006, had issued several directions, including setting up of a state security commission, to ensure that the government does not exercise unwarranted influence on the police.

It had said the appointment of DGPs and police officers should be merit-based and transparent and officers like DGPs and Superintendents of Police (SPs) should have a minimum fixed tenure of two years.

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A brewery based in the Scottish border town of Galashiels on Friday confirmed it will remove all references to Ganesha from one of its beer brands following protests by Hindu groups.

Tempest Brewing Co. from the village of Tweedbank had been selling its India Pils beer with a colourful image of the Hindu God alongside a message calling on customers to "channel your inner Ganesha and overcome all obstacles with our hoppy pilsner".

However, the company has now modified its messaging following objections by the US-based Universal Society of Hinduism.

"Tempest Brewing Co. as a whole embraces equality and diversity therefore, we are saddened to hear that our 'India Pils' has caused upset within the Hindu community and we would like to offer our apologies," said Gavin Meiklejohn, Founding Director of Tempest Brewing Co.

"India Pils is one of our most popular beers and is already programmed into our schedule for next year. However, we are happy to immediately remove all written references to Ganesha from our marketing of this beer and will alter the artwork before its next release," he said.

Meiklejohn has reached out to Rajan Zed, president of the Universal Society of Hinduism, for further dialogue over the issue.

The company stressed that the colourful artwork used for its beer brand was chosen for its stand-out colours and not intended to cause offence.

"We are not the first company to have been drawn towards Ganesha, as Mercedes, Reliance Mutual, Renault, IDFC bank have also utilised Ganesha for advertising and marketing, which is why, at the time, we did not think that there would be an issue," said Meiklejohn, who said the intention was not to stray into any religious territory and the route was taken in "all innocence".

"Our artwork has always been bold and bright, and our inspiration has always been driven from many different avenues. Our passion is to create a product that people will enjoy together, not to cause upset along the way," he said.

The company's website has already removed all references to Ganesha and refers to India Pils simply as a "delicious hoppy pilsner" with a crisp, fruity hop flavour and great drinkability.

The Universal Society of Hinduism had said in a statement that "symbols of any faith, larger or smaller, should not be mishandled".

Last month, Wishbone Brewery in West Yorkshire region of England had been forced to withdraw similar branding of its beer brand 'Ganesh'.

The brewery had claimed that the name was chosen to reflect the beer's "Indian flavour profile" but was only brewed as a limited run for a beer festival and was never intended to be sold widely.

"As soon as we were made aware that the name could be seen as cultural appropriation, we looked into it and immediately took the decision that it would not be used in future," said Adrian Chapman, head brewer at Wishbone Brewery.

The beer branding controversies follow another UK brewery being forced to withdraw its branding of a variety of Indian Pale Ale (IPA) as Kalika IPA, alongside an image of Goddess Kali a few months ago.

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Markets regulator Sebi is likely to reopen an insider trading case against Sun Pharmaceutical Industries as well as probe alleged lapses by some of its promoters and other entities in raising funds overseas, sources said.

The development comes after a whistleblower reportedly approached Sebi with a document alleging various irregularities by the company, its promoter Dilip Shanghvi and others, they added.

In August 2017, Sun Pharmaceutical, its managing director Dilip Shanghvi and nine other entities settled an insider trading probe on payment of Rs 1.8 million towards settlement charges.

Sources said Sebi is likely to reopen the case.

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) has powers to reopen cases of settlement related to insider trading on various grounds.

According to the sources, alleged irregularities by the company's promoters and others in raising funds through Foreign Currency Convertible Bonds (FCCBs) are also likely to be investigated by the watchdog.

Queries sent to in this regard remained unanswered.

About the whistleblower complaint, a company spokesperson said, "We have not been contacted by Sebi in this regard."



On Thursday, stock exchanges had sought clarification from following a brokerage report that allegedly raised concerns about certain practices at the company.

In response, the company said the points raised pertain to historic events, some of which are dated as far back as 10-15 years.

"Certain points raised in the said note are incomplete and have been presented in a negative manner."

"The supporting information to the points raised in the note has been sourced from public domain and hence this information/ data is already available in public," had said in a filing on Thursday.

In August 2017, the regulator had not disclosed details of the case.

However, it had appeared to be related to the acquisition of Ranbaxy by Sun Pharma from Japanese drugmaker Daiichi, as the settlement with the regulator has also been done by former Ranbaxy CEO Arun Sawhney, Daiichi's director Kazunori Hirokawa, its ex-Chairman Takashi Shoda and its former senior executive officer Tsutomu Une.

Shoda is said to have led Daiichi's acquisition of Ranbaxy in 2008, though the Japanese giant had to eventually sell its stake in the company to Sun Pharma in 2014.

Besides, the settlement was done by Ranbaxy's former secretary S K Patawari; Sun Pharma's directors Sudhir V Valia and Sailesh Desai; and its company secretary Sunil Ajmera.

Sebi had agreed to settle proposed adjudication proceedings in the case, pertaining to violation of the "internal code of conduct for prevention of insider trading" framed by the company, after it was approached by these 11 entities with a plea under the settlement regulations "without admitting or denying the findings of fact and conclusion of law".
BJP president Amit Shah alleged Friday that Congress president Rahul Gandhi's brother-in-law Robert Vadra made a huge amount of money through a land scam in Bikaner district, a charge refuted as baseless by the opposition party.

Shah raised the issue at an election rally in Nagaur's district's Kuchaman town, referring to a newspaper report.

The report said a firm got a big tax relief after it gave a loan to a company that bought land owned by Skylight Hospitality, which is allegedly linked to Vadra.

Shah also addressed a meeting in Sujangarh in Churu district and took out a roadshow in Sriganganagar district, campaigning for the BJP ahead of the December 7 assembly polls in Rajasthan.

At the rallies, he repeated that the BJP government will identify all illegal Bangladesh migrants and expel them one by one.

Shah alleged the Nehru-Gandhi family's son-in-law had received a commission after a loan of thousands of crores was sanctioned to a big company.

He wanted an answer from Rahul Gandhi.

At a press conference here, BJP general secretary P Muralidhar Rao also accused Vadra of committing the land scam when Ashok Gehlot headed a Congress government in the state.

Congress spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala refuted the allegations, saying the BJP was using the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and the Income Tax Department as its "dirty tricks departments".

"Neither the country nor the people of Rajasthan will get swayed by this baseless, conspiring and misleading news," Surjewala told reporters here.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has summoned Robert Vadra next week to record his statement under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), officials said Friday.

The central agency, it is understood, wants to question Vadra about the operations of Skylight Hospitality Private Limited.

Amit Shah also targeted the Congress over non-performing assets.

"The loans given through corrupt practices during the Congress government have turned into NPAs. These are not loans given by the Narendra Modi government. These are the results of the misdeeds of the Congress government," he said.

The Bharatiya Janata Party chief said fugitive jeweller Nirav Modi and liquor baron Vijay Mallya were given bank loans when the Congress was in power.

"They did not fly away abroad as they had no fear of the Congress. They believed they had a partnership. Why will those who are being protected run away? he said.

After the Modi government came to power, they feared being jailed," he claimed.

Asking people to vote for the party in the coming assembly election and the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, he said the BJP government will work to expel intruders from Kanyakumari to Kashmir and Assam to Gujarat.

Shah said people had a choice between the BJP that had patriots like Narendra Modi and Vasundhara Raje and the Congress which he claimed had no leadership, policies or principles.

Claiming that BJP was set to form the government again in Rajasthan, he invoked a Ramayana character. The party in the state is like Angad's foot which nobody could dislodge, he said.

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Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia Friday alleged the Centre has "denied" him permission to visit Austria, where, the AAP leader said, he wanted to share the "Happiness Curriculum" with the world.

The curriculum launched by the Delhi government in July includes meditation, value education, and mental exercises for students of nursery up to class 8.

On his deputy's allegation that the Centre had denied him permission to visit Austria, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Twitter said this is "dirty politics".

The event is being organised by an organisation, and the deputy chief minister was supposed to go to Austria on Saturday for three days, according to a statement.

"(Prime Minister Narendra)Modi ji does not want to let me present the message of happiness curriculum of the Delhi government's schools before the world.

"The Modi government has not given me permission to deliver my thoughts about happiness classes in Austria due to which I had to cancel my visit," Sisodia tweeted in Hindi.

Sisodia was going to share the happiness curriculum of Delhi at the event with educationists form all over the world, an official said.

"The programme is organised on the use of happiness in He was to deliver his thoughts. He was to be part of several panel discussion and several interviews were supposed to happen.

"It would have only showcased India's success in implementing happiness curriculum," the statement stated.

Sisodia's case comes days after another Delhi Minister, Satyendar Kumar Jain, alleged that the BJP-led central government had denied him permission to him to travel to Australia on the invitation of a university in Sydney.

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: Continuing her tour of cyclone Gaja affected areas in Tamil Nadu for the second day, Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharraman visited Thanjavur district Friday and assured affected coconut farmers that the union government would extend all help to them.

Speaking to reporters after visiting Peruvurani in the district and interacting with farmers, she said that the Centre had despatched five trucks of kerosene to five relief centres and it would be distributed to the people Saturday.

This would be apart from the relief provided by the state government in allocation of rations, she said.

The defence minister said she went around affected areas in Pattukottai and Peravurani Friday.

She said would explain the situation to the union Finance Minister and he would take steps to rehabilitate the farmers.

The minister earlier held discussions with coconut farmers, coconut related industry owners and workers and locals.s



On Thursday, she had visited Nagapattinam, Tiruvarur and Thanjavur districts.

The November 16 cyclone, which affected 12 districts, had claimed 63 lives and left a huge trail of destruction, damaging houses, crops, disrupting electricity supply and uprooting lakhs of trees.

Chief Minister K Palaniswami had last week met Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi and submitted a memorandum seeking a central assistance of around Rs 15,000 crore with an immediate relief of Rs 1,500 crore toward the relief and rehabiliataion works.

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Sri Lanka's Parliament on Friday barred ministers and their private staff from using state funds amid a political standoff in the country after President Maithripala Sirisena in a controversial move sacked Prime Minister Ranil Wickeremesinghe.

The move comes a day after Sri Lankan Parliament overwhelmingly passed a motion to suspend the expenditure of the Prime Minister's Office.

Lanka is witnessing a political crisis since October 26 when President Sirisena sacked Wickeremesinghe and replaced him with former strongman Mahinda Rajapaksa.

Sirisena later dissolved Parliament, almost 20 months before its term was to end, and ordered snap election. The Supreme Court overturned Sirisena's decision to dissolve Parliament and halted the preparations for snap polls.

Friday's motion, submitted by Wickeremesinghe's United National Front (UNF) to curtail funds to the Cabinet ministers, deputy ministers and state ministers, was passed in Parliament with 122 MPs voting in favour of it.

No vote was cast against the motion as lawmakers of the controversially-appointed government boycotted the Parliament session.

Both Wickremesinghe and Rajapaksa claim to be the prime ministers.

Wickremesinghe says his dismissal is invalid because he still holds a majority in the 225-member Parliament.

Speaker Karu Jayasuriya has officially conveyed that the House does not recognise Rajapaksa as the legal prime minister until he proved his majority in the House.

The United National Front led by Wickeremesinghe has moved three motions of no trust against Rajapaksa. However, he refused to step down.

The parliamentarians comprising members of the UNF, JVP and TNA filed a petition in the Supreme Court against the former president, challenging him to prove on what authority he is holding office as the prime minister after the Parliament voted twice to defeat him on November 14 and November 16.

The November 16 session witnessed unprecedented violence as lawmakers threw furniture and chilli powder at each other.

Jayasuriya had called the police into the House as lawmakers were seen breaking furniture to attack the police, while there were video images of some MPs carrying sharp objects and an MP was seen throwing chilli powder mixed with water at the policemen. The violence had left some lawmakers injured.

The Speaker Thursday announced he has appointed a committee to probe the violence in the Parliament.

The final verdict on Sirisena's sacking of parliament is expected to be delivered next week.

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Students of two colleges in the city held demonstrations on Friday after they were denied permission to appear for an upcoming examinations due to shortage of attendance, officials said.

While affected students of the South City college put up road blockade in Golpark area, those of the Gurudas College agitated inside the college campus in Maniktala in north Kolkata.

Around 300 students of the South City college blockaded Gariahat Road (South) for over an hour.

They were demanding relaxation of the the minimum 60 per cent attendance criteria to appear for university examinations.

One of the agitating students Asutosh Sharma said the blockade was withdrawn after senior police officers informed them that the state government will talk to the students over the issue by Saturday.

In the second incident at Maniktala, a section of students of the Gurudas College agitated in the campus in protest against omission of their names from the list of examinees because of poor attendance.

"We had been assured by the union members that we will be allowed to appear for the exams even if our attendance falls short of 60 per cent," Senjuti Saha, one of the affected students said.

A spokesman of the Trinamool Congress Chhatra Parishad-controlled college union, however, denied that any such promise had been made to students.

The authorities of both the colleges said separately there could not be any relaxation in 60 per cent attendance criteria as it had been made mandatory by the Calcutta University as per the Choice Based Credit System at all affiliated colleges.

minister Partha Chatterjee earlier said the students of different colleges should co-operate in maintaining academic atmosphere in their institutes.

Chatterjee did not comment on the agitation by some students of the two colleges.

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External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj Friday met with Regis Immongault, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Gabon during which the two discussed ways to strengthen the bilateral ties, an official statement said.

During the meeting, both the sides discussed issues of bilateral and regional interest including combating terrorism and development partnership, the statement by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said.

The importance of enhancement of bilateral trade and investment was also emphasised in the meeting. The two sides agreed to identify priority projects in the areas of mutual cooperation to be undertaken with the support of Government of India's concessional lines of credit, it said.

The total value of bilateral trade in 2017-18 stood at USD 440.47 million.

Oil India Limited, a public sector undertaking, is the operator of an onshore exploration block in Gabon.

Immongault, who arrived in India on Wednesday, also met Commerce and Industry and Civil Aviation Minister Suresh Prabhu, Minister of Steel Chaudhary Birender Singh and Minister of State for Chemicals and Fertilizers Rao Inderjit Singh.

The president of Gabon had visited India in October 2015 to attend the India-Africa Forum Summit (IAFS) and later in March 2018 to participate in the Founding Conference of International Solar Alliance (ISA).

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In a jolt to the ruling Telugu Desam Party in Andhra Pradesh, its MLA Ravela Kishore Babu resigned from the party and assembly membership Friday.

He is likely to join the Jana Sena Party of actor Pawan Kalyan, according to sources close to the legislator.

A first time MLA, Ravela served as social welfare minister in the Chandrababu Naidu Cabinet from June 8, 2014 to April 1, 2017.

He was sacked for non-performance and his controversial behaviour.

He was elected from the Prathipadu Assembly constituency in Guntur district but reportedly never maintained cordial relations with the local party leaders.

He has been staying away from party affairs for some time now.

Babu sent his resignation letter to the Assembly Speakers office Friday evening, party sources said.

He also sent a note, addressed to Chandrababu Naidu, to the TDP state office at Guntur, saying he was resigning from the primary membership of the TDP with effect from November 30.

He, however, did not give any reason.

Reacting to the development, state Civil Supplies minister P Pulla Rao, who represents Guntur district, said it was a hasty decision by Babu.

"I tried speaking to him since yesterday but he was not available," Rao added.

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Teaching fraternity should refrain from student politics as it affects the educational environment in the campus, Himachal Pradesh Governor Acharya Devvrat said Friday.

Presiding over the annual court meeting of Himachal Pradesh University (HPU) here, Devvrat said, "Political activities at university level are uncalled for".

The universities are centres of higher learning and human development, but unfortunately political activities in such institutions pollute the educational environment, he said.

The governor called for collective efforts to make this university of an international standard.

Sunder Nagar MLA Rakesh Jamwal unanimously was elected as a member of the Executive Council from the University Court on this occasion.

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The tender process related to the Balasaheb Thackeray Accidental Insurance Scheme in Maharashtra is in its final stage and its implementation will happen soon, the Legislative Council was informed Friday.

Health Minister Deepak Sawant said once this scheme, which seeks to ensure no accident victim is denied immediate treatment in hospital, comes into force, the state will have three government-sponsored health plans for citizens.

Sawant was replying to a calling attention motion over the accident insurance scheme moved by Prasad Lad (BJP).

He said this scheme was approved on June 7, 2016 by the state cabinet.

"However, the central government came up with the Ayushman Bharat health scheme. We have now got clarity about this (Balasaheb Thackeray) scheme which is in the final stage of implementation," Sawant said.

He informed the Upper House that once this scheme is implemented, the state will have three health plans - the other two being Ayushman Bharat and the Mahatma Jyotiba Phule Jan Arogya Yojana.

Under the Balasaheb Thackeray Accidental Insurance Scheme, an accident victim will get a maximum benefit of Rs 30,000 or free treatment for 72 hours in hospital, he said.

The scheme's objective is to ensure no accident victim is denied treatment by any hospital in the state, Sawant said.

The government had announced this scheme in 2015.

Lad said despite getting the Cabinet's approval, the accidental insurance scheme had not been implemented till date.

"The result of this is that many accident victims have not been given treatment, leading to threat to their lives," the BJP legislator said.

He said as accidents are increasing day by day, the government should implement this scheme without any delay.

According to the health department, the aim of this scheme is to provide treatment in the 'golden hour' to accident victims on any road in the state.

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Three members of a Delhi-based family were killed after a truck hit their motorcycle near Rohana village here on Friday, police said.

The accident occurred on the Saharanpur-Delhi highway, about 25 km from here, Friday evening, according to Station House Officer Anil Kapervan.

Saleem (52), his wife Bano Begum (45) and their son Bhura (22) died in the accident, he said.

They were returning to Muzaffarnagar from Saharanpur. The family had come here to visit their relatives.

The couple and their child were residents of Shastri Park, Delhi, the SHO said.

The victims were rushed to a hospital where they were declared brought dead.

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A touring exhibition was launched here Friday to mark 60 years of Indo German development cooperation, a release said.

The exhibition showcases historical landmarks of bilateral cooperation such as how IIT Madras and Polio immunisation programme were set up with financial contribution from Germany,.

Besides, Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojna in 2008 and a 125-MW solar power plant in Sakri, Maharashtra, were also among the successful achievements of the past six decades, the release said.

The exhibition will move to Bengaluru, Kochi and Chennai in 2019.

"Touring exhibition shows the long-standing relationship between both the countries. We will continue to work towards further strengthening the bilateral relations between the two nations," Federal Minister of Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) Wolfram Klein said.

"Germany has technological capacity to cater to the needs of the huge Indian market. We have been working in the field of renewable energy and energy efficiency among others," media spokesperson for German Embassy, Hans Christian Winkler, said.

"Apart from the economic cooperation, I expect India and Germany to stand together and raise voice on larger issues like terrorism and during the G20 Summit 2018.

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A 25-year-old traffic policeman was reportedly bludgeoned to death in Rohini's Shahabad Dairy, officials said Friday.

The deceased has been identified as Dinesh Kumar. He was a resident of Sector 17 in Rohini, they said.

Police said a body with head injuries was found on Thursday and the deceased's identity was ascertained Friday.

A senior police officer said Kumar was serving the Delhi Police since 2014.

He was currently posted with Delhi Police traffic circle at Parliament Street, the officer said.

Police said prima facie, it appeared the victim was bludgeoned to death at some other place and the body was disposed off at an isolated area.

A case has been registered and the matter is being probed, Rajneesh Gupta, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Rohini) said.

CCTV cameras installed near the area are being checked to gain clues about the perpetrators, he said.

Meanwhile, the body was handed over to Kumar's family after postmortem.

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This is one friendship that seems to have really blossomed in poll-bound Telangana where campaigning is in full swing.

Caretaker Chief Minister and Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) supremo K Chandrasekhar Rao described the AIMIM, led by Lok Sabha MP from Hyderabad Asaduddin Owaisi, a "friendly party" on September 6, the day the 119-member Assembly was dissolved.

It is not as if Rao was saying anything new; just a reiteration of what was in full display during his tenure.

The All India Majlis-e-Ittehad-ul Muslimeen (AIMIM), which counts Old city area as its stronghold and won seven seats in the 2014 Telangana Assembly elections, has fielded eight candidates for the December 7 polls, and has made no secret that it is backing the TRS in other constituencies.

Incidentally, Owaisi had addressed a campaign meeting supporting the TRS at Nirmal town.

"I feel that the TRS has a very good chance of coming back (to power) and I see KCR (as K Chandrasekhar Rao is popularly known) becoming chief minister again," Owaisi told PTI in an interview recently.

"In the last four years, there have been no incidents of communal riots in Telangana. There is no fear atmosphere in Telangana. That in itself would help KCR," he said.

KCR, in turn, has also been wholesome in his praise of Owaisi.

In campaign meetings, the caretaker chief minister has alleged that Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi conspired to topple his government and it was Owaisi who promised to come to his support.

The TRS and the AIMIM have come under severe attacks from both the BJP and the Congress during the ongoing campaigning.

Appealing to the electorate to back BJP candidates, the party president Amit Shah said only his party can "rid" Telangana of the AIMIM.

Congress president Rahul Gandhi, at public meetings, has charged the TRS and the AIMIM with having an objective to prevent his party from coming to power at the Centre, and to see that the Modi government was re-elected.

Assembly elections in Telangana will be held on December 7 and the counting of votes will take place on December 11.

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US President Donald Trump on Friday reiterated his innocence in connection with a Moscow real estate deal that has reportedly been a focus of a probe into whether his 2016 presidential campaign conspired with Russian operatives.

Trump's tweets came one day after his ex-lawyer pleaded guilty to lying to Congress over the ultimately shelved Trump Tower deal in a bid to limit the Russia investigation.

"Oh, I get it! I am a very good developer, happily living my life, when I see our Country going in the wrong direction (to put it mildly)," Trump tweeted from the G20 summit in Argentina.

"Against all odds, I decide to run for President & continue to run my business-very legal & very cool, talked about it on the campaign trail," he said.

"Lightly looked at doing a building somewhere in Russia," the Republican leader continued.

"Put up zero money, zero guarantees and didn't do the project. Witch Hunt!" Michael Cohen, who once famously said he would take a bullet for the Republican billionaire, said that he lied in written testimony to Congress in which he suggested the project was shelved in January 2016 -- before the first caucus and primary voting began.

Contrary to his original testimony, the project was discussed multiple times within the company -- beyond January 2016 -- and with efforts to obtain Russian governmental approval being discussed as late as June of that year.

Cohen also mulled travelling to Russia in connection with the project and in May 2016 was offered a possible introduction to either the Russian president or prime minister on the sidelines of a Russian forum in June 2016.

Trump ultimately secured the Republican nomination for president just weeks later in July 2016. On Thursday, the president branded Cohen a "weak person" and emphasized that the property deal was ultimately dropped.

"He is lying about a project that everybody knew about," Trump told reporters at the White House before heading to Argentina for what is sure to be a tense two-day summit of world leaders.

He then scrapped an on again-off again meeting in Buenos Aires with Russian President Vladimir Putin, citing Moscow's detention of a group of Ukrainian sailors.

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The US is very close to a trade deal with China, President has said, but remained noncommittal to its final outcome ahead of his meeting with Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping in Argentina on the sidelines of the G-20 Summit.

Trump's remarks came as he prepared to depart for the summit.

Trade and tariffs have been topics of increasing tension between the US and China.

The Trump administration has imposed tariffs on more than $250 billion worth of Chinese imports. More than $50 billion of that total is subject to a 25 per cent duty. Another $200 billion has been hit with a 10 per cent tariff with plans to increase that to 25 per cent on January 1. Trump has also repeatedly threatened to impose tariffs on all remaining imports from China.

China has retaliated with tariffs of its own on US imports.

"I think we're very close to doing something with China, but I don't know that I want to do it because what we have right now is billions and billions of dollars coming into the United States in the form of tariffs or taxes. So I really don't know," Trump told reporters at the White House.

The annual summit of leaders of the top 20 economies of the world is being attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. However, all eyes are on the Trump-Xi dinner meeting on Saturday, wherein the current trade tension is expected to dominate the proceedings.

The Wall Street Journal said the two countries are exploring a trade deal in which the US would hold off on further tariffs through the spring in exchange for new talks looking at big changes in Chinese economic policy. As of now there is no certainty on the deal, the daily said citing unnamed governmental sources.

Trump argues that the massive balance of trade in China's favour is not sustainable for the American Trump has accused China of unfair trade practices, and stealing of intellectual properties. China has denied these allegations.
Two employees of a cement plant were killed after falling from a height in Satna district of Madhya Pradesh, leading to a violent protest, police said.

The incident took place at Birla Perfect Cement plant at Maihar, 55 km from here, late Thursday evening.

The deceased were identified as Piyush Tiwari (35), a mechanical engineer, and Prabhu Dayal Patel (40), a labourer.

District Superintendent of Police Santosh Gaur said that Tiwari and Patel reportedly fell from an overhead platform.

Some material stacked on the platform also rolled off as they fell, burying them and some other labourers who were standing below, Gaur said.

While Tiwari and Patel died on the spot, others were rescued unhurt, he said.

Angered by the incident, some employees and local people from Tigra, a nearby village, torched the plant's administrative building and two vehicles, the SP said.

Police rushed to the spot and the situation was under control, he added.

"We have started investigation," he said.

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Two policemen were shot dead while manning a road block in eastern Sri Lanka after which a leader of the main Tamil party alleged that banned LTTE's former leader Karuna could be involved in the incident.

The incident happened on Thursday night when four policemen manning a roadblock at Vavunathivu in Batticaloa district were shot at, killing two of them, the police said.

Ranjith Madduma Bandara, the minister in charge of the police in the ousted government, said that one of the policemen killed was a Tamil from the north and the other was a Sinhalese from the south of the island.

The police chief has ordered an investigation into the policemen's murder.

MA Sumanthiran, spokesperson of Tamil National Alliance (TNA) has raised doubts about the hand of the former LTTE deputy leader Karuna, who was a deputy minister during the previous regime of Mahinda Rajapaksa between 2010-2015.

"Since the events of October 26, Karuna Amman has come out of the cold and started speaking. According to our information, we have serious suspicions about those who have been rejuvenated since October 26," he said in Parliament.

Sri Lanka is witnessing a political crisis since October 26 when President Maithripala Sirisena sacked Prime Minister Ranil Wickeremesinghe and replaced him with Mahinda Rajapaksa.

Sirisena later dissolved Parliament, almost 20 months before its term was to end, and ordered snap election. The Supreme Court overturned Sirisena's decision to dissolve Parliament and halted the preparations for snap polls.

Both Wickremesinghe and Rajapaksa claim to be the prime ministers. Wickremesinghe says his dismissal is invalid because he still holds a majority in the 225-member Parliament.

Sumanthiran went on to charge that Douglas Devananda a minister in the purported government of Rajapaksa had been behind some incidents of threats in the north since he was appointed prime minister.

Since 26 October, Karuna was seen to be active in social media. He was thought to be influencing Tamil legislators to back Rajapaksa in his unsuccessful bid to prove his majority in the floor of the House of parliament.

Both Devananda's Eelam Democratic Peoples Party (EPDP) and Karuna's armed groups were thought to be behind incidents of human rights abuses during the Rajapaksa tenure which ended in 2015.

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The UK government has confirmed an amendment to a new weapons bill going through the Parliament to ensure that it would not impact the right of the British community to possess and supply kirpans, or religious swords.

The Offensive Weapons Bill 2018 completed its various readings in the House of Commons this week and has now moved to the House of Lords for approval.

It involves a new offence of possessing certain offensive weapons in public and places new restrictions on the of bladed articles and corrosive products in attempt to crackdown on rising knife and acid-related attacks in the country.

"We have engaged closely with the community on the issue of kirpans. As a result, we have amended the Bill to ensure that the possession and supply of large kirpans for religious reasons can continue," a UK Home Office spokesperson said on Thursday.

The All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for British led a delegation to the UK Home Office in recent weeks to ensure that the kirpan remains exempt when the new bill becomes law.

"I am pleased to see the government amendment and look forward to seeing an accompanying set of documentation, which reflects the importance of not criminalising the community for the sale or possession of large kirpans," said Labour MP Preet Kaur Gill, Chair of the APPG for British

Gill, the first female Sikh MP in the House of Commons, was accompanied by APPG vice-chairs Pat McFadden and Dominic Grieve at a meeting with UK Home Secretary Sajid Javid and Home Office minister Victoria Atkins to discuss changes to the Offensive Weapons Bill, which would maintain status quo in continuing to legally safeguard the sale, possession and use of large kirpans.

Her fellow Sikh MP, Tan Dhesi, also made an intervention during the Offensive Weapons Bill debate in the Commons to seek "assurances about the kirpan, given the Sikh community's serious concerns".

Large kirpans, with blades over 50-cm, are used by the community during religious ceremonies in gurdwaras as well as for ceremonies involving the traditional Sikh Gatka martial art. They would have fallen foul of the new bill on the possession of large blades without the amendment, which has now been agreed.

The Offensive Weapons Bill 2018 is aimed at strengthening existing legislative measures on offensive weapons, focusing on corrosive substances, knives and certain types of firearm. The Bill will give new laws to ban the sale of corrosive substances to anyone under the age of 18, to target people carrying acid, to make it more difficult for anyone under the age of 18 to buy knives online and to ban certain types of firearms.
Jamaican reggae, Georgian wrestling and Japanese rituals are among the six new elements added by UN cultural agency UNESCO to its list of "intangible heritage" for the world to treasure, improving the visibility of often little-known and understood arts traditions.

The Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage is meeting until December 1 in Mauritius, inscribing new elements to its much coveted-list.

From the border between Asia and Europe, in Georgia, it added Chidaoba, which combines elements of wrestling, music, dance and special garments. The practice encourages a healthy lifestyle and plays an important role in intercultural dialogue, according to UNESCO, which called its code of conduct "chivalric", and noted that "occasionally the wrestlers leave the arena with a Georgian folk dance".

Hurling, from Ireland, also made the grade. This field game, which dates back 2,000 years, features strongly in Irish mythology. Played by two teams using a wooden "hurley" stick and a small "sliotar" ball, UNESCO said, hurling is considered as an intrinsic part of Irish culture and plays a central role in promoting health and wellbeing, inclusiveness and team spirit.

A lot of music lovers were happy to learn that Jamaican reggae was also inscribed. Originating from marginalized groups, mainly in Western Kingston, the genre's "contribution to international discourse on issues of injustice, resistance, love and humanity underscores the dynamics of the element as being at once cerebral, socio-political, sensual and spiritual," according to UNESCO.

Japan's Raiho-shin rituals, used to admonish laziness and teach children good behavior, was another winner. Stemming from folk beliefs that deities visit communities and usher in the new year or season, local people dress in outlandish costumes and visit houses as deities. The UN cultural agency said: By performing the rituals, local people notably children have their identities moulded, develop a sense of affiliation to their community, and strengthen ties among themselves.

Practiced across many areas of Jordan, As-Samer, another new inscription, consists mainly of dancing and singing. Performed on various occasions, most commonly during weddings, UNESCO explained that poetry forms an integral part of the tradition, expressing feelings of joy, peace, intimacy and empathy among those in attendance.

Marking the end of the old and beginning of a new annual horse-breeding cycle, the spring festive rites of Kazakh horse breeders were also inscribed. Rooted in traditional knowledge of nature and an age-old relation between man and horse, the rites involve skills inherited from nomadic ancestors, adapted to meet present-day conditions to ensure its continued viability.

An historic joint bid was made by both Koreas, to include traditional Korean wrestling known as ssirum/ssireum. Fundamentally linked to land and agriculture, UNESCO's chief was instrumental in persuading North and South to combine cultural forces, embracing both a national sport and a very popular cultural practice.

Audrey Azoulay, said the "unprecedented result" was a highly symbolic step towards inter-Korean reconciliation, that reminds us of the peace-building power of cultural heritage.

UNESCO said all the listed elements are important in maintaining cultural diversity in the face of growing globalisation, without recognizing standards of excellence or exclusivity.

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Asserting that a university cannot be used as a platform for anti-India baiting, Union minister Jitendra Singh Friday said free flow of thoughts was welcome in educational institutes but it had to be guided by the bottom-line of patriotic and nationalistic commitment.

Addressing an interactive programme of students at Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) here, he said there were certain individuals who, in a haste to prove their false intellectual pretensions, try to sound unorthodox or unconventional and in the process forget to draw the line of their commitment to the nation.

Even in the most advanced democracies of the world, including the UK and the US, Singh said not only the natives but even those from other countries who acquire citizenship were careful not to utter a word, directly or indirectly, which would hurt the pride of the country in which they have settled.

"It is, therefore, a perverted mind which thinks it will be possible to make and attract attention by abusing 'Mother India' and the people who indulge in such perversion are precisely the ones who otherwise lack the confidence and credentials to make a mark through genuine merit," said Singh, the minister of state in the prime minister's office.

Singh said he was of the view that a university or any other institution of should provide a fair opportunity for free exchange of ideas, ideologies and thoughts, but the motive behind it was not to pollute young minds, rather to expose them, from left to right, so that they are able to evolve with spontaneity and conviction.

He said for a wider understanding of the worldview, it might be helpful to read all streams, but the ultimate objective had to be to reinforce and reaffirm the commitment to integrity and supremacy of the motherland, according to a statement issued by his office.

"A university cannot be used as a platform for anti-India baiting and that free flow of thoughts is welcome, but it has to be guided by the bottom-line of patriotic and nationalistic commitment," the minister said.

Singh congratulated Vice Chancellor M Jagadesh Chander for having started the initiative of interdisciplinary interaction, which would enable harmonious growth of young minds and enable them to decide their priorities and their role in the making of new India.

He said educational degrees are not meant to be imposed or thrust but are meant to be sought by aptitude and diligence.

Singh's address was followed by a question-answer session with the students, during which students engaged in a lively exchange of views.

JNU has been in since February 2016 when three of its students were arrested on sedition charges in connection with an event on the campus during which anti-national slogans were allegedly raised.

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Eminent agricultural scientist Friday said that the government in 2007 did not take action on the Policy for Farmers, that seeks to improve the economic viability of farming.

Backing the farmers' protest in Delhi, he said that the Central and State governments must pay attention to pricing, procurement and public distribution to address farmers' woes.

"The demand for loan waiver comes from the present non-remunerative nature of farming and is indicative of the fact that economic viability is as important to farmers as to industrialists," the first World Agriculture Prize awardee said.

The farmers stir evidenced "agrarian unrest" and they have concluded that only agitation and not reasoning, would lead to action to solve their problems, he said.



"I only feel sorry that in the electoral politics, solutions like loan waiver are given importance," he said.

Swaminathan said that the basic difficulties of farmers could be overcome only if integrated attention was given to pricing, procurement and public distribution.

"Unfortunately, the then government did not take action on the Policy for Farmers when the report was presented in 2007," Swaminathan said.

The NPF's policy goals include improving the economic viability of farming by substantially increasing the net income of farmers.

The NPF was approved in 2007 by the then Congress-led government and the policy framework was prepared by Swaminathan, who was the chairman of the Commission on Farmers (NCF).



ALSO READ: Farm growth in UPA era better than 4 years of NDA even under new series

The top scientist said that the NCF reports gives a clear sense of direction to shaping the future of agriculture based on farmers' welfare.

Based on the recommendation of NCF, the Centre (under NDA regime) has already changed the name of the agriculture ministry to Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers' Welfare, he noted.

"This change in name should get reflected in action designed to promote farmers well-being,as the main purpose of agriculture ministries at the centre and states."



Backing the farmers demand for a special session of Parliament to discuss their problems, Swaminathan regretted that farmers, who are 'life givers', are forced to take their own lives due to economic reasons.

"I sincerely hope that today's Kisan Mukti March will be a turning point in the history of public policy formulation in the field of agriculture," he said.

Around 35,000 farmers from across the country have converged near Parliament street police station in the national capital Friday to press for their demands, including debt relief and remunerative prices for their produce.

The All India Kisan Sangharsh Coordination Committee (AIKSCC), which claims to be an umbrella body of 207 organisations of farmers and agricultural workers,claimed that farmers from 24 states also joined the protest.
Fighting the most keenly observed contest in polls, candidate said Friday it was an "uphill task" to beat Chief Minister in her political fortress of Jhalrapatan, but he was here to "fight and win" the election.

With a battle cry of "Jhalawar azaad hoga (Jhalawar will be free)", Singh said he is determined to live up to the challenge of taking on his formidable opponent.

"I am here to fight and win the election and not to contest for the sake of contesting," the son of former BJP leader Jaswant Singh said.

Manvendra Singh, who crossed over from the BJP to the just weeks before joining the electoral fray, said when he was asked to fight against the chief minister, it took him just a second to accept the challenge.

Asked if he was viewing it as a "David and Goliath" battle, Singh answered in the negative.

"It is an uphill task no doubt. I am not belittling the challenge. It is an uphill task and I don't see myself as David at all. Besides the three Vidhan Sabha victories, she (Raje) has been MP from here for five times," Singh told PTI in an interview.

"She has an advantage of 30 years and I have to cover that handicap of 30 years in 15 days. So it is a challenge... but it is a challenge I am living up to," said Singh, who had contested and won from Sheo assembly seat in 2013.

Rejecting his rivals' claims of being seen as an outsider here, Singh said he has been accepted "very wholeheartedly, very warmly" by the people of Jhalrapatan.

It doesn't take people more than a day or two to know whether one belongs to them or not, Singh said.

On the kind of feedback he was getting after campaigning extensively in the Jhalrapatan constituency, Singh said: "I am being realistic. I am not pinning my hopes on a miracle, but it is not impossible. I am getting very positive feedback from the people and from the workers who have been toiling on this seat for many years."



Despite the "very positive" feedback, Singh said, he keeps putting himself through a reality check and every time he gets a positive report, he keeps questioning that report to figure out where all it could go wrong.

Asked if the treatment meted out to his father by the BJP will have a bearing on the election, he said: "I don't think the BJP as such is answerable for this as Prime Minister (Narendra) Modi told me, it is some individual in and a couple of people in Delhi that are responsible for it."



He asserted that it will have a bearing on this election as it was a topic of discussion, not by him but by other speakers in some of the meetings.

On whether he would be in the running for the chief minister's post if he succeeds in the giant-killing act of defeating Raje, Singh said, "No, not at all."



What has made the Singh-Raje battle the most talked about is the tension between the two leaders that is well known.

Singh, 54, quit the BJP in September and joined the Congress in October after being sidelined within the ruling party, reportedly because of Raje's feud with his father Jaswant Singh, who was denied a BJP ticket in the last Lok Sabha polls.

Asked if it was also a "prestige battle" for him, Singh said, "I don't personally (take it as a prestige battle) and I don't link it to any kind of revenge that people talk about. I am just looking at it as an electoral contest and it should remain that way."



The contest should remain clean and fair, he added.

On Raje's statement that the Congress could not find a constituency for him and therefore fielded him against her from here, Singh said he didn't ask for a constituency.

"I was very clear from the time I joined the Congress party that I wasn't interested in a Vidhan Sabha election and I didn't ask for a seat for myself. So I think she is off the mark when she says that," he asserted.

He said the main issue in this constituency, on which he was taking on Raje, was farmers' distress.

"I was surprised by the distress among the farmers. Within the MLA constituency, there have been two farmer suicides in the last year or so," he said.

There is a seething anger about the garlic crop and how badly it has been handled in terms of the minimum support price issue, Singh said.

To resolve the MSP issue, the government came up with some kind of token system and those who have got a token would have their crop picked up, while others had their produce rotting in their house, he alleged.

Singh said the decision to switch to the Congress from the BJP evolved over a period of time and it was cemented by two factors -- his friendship and fondness for and a senior member of the BJP family telling him that wherever former prime minister would be, he would be blessing him.
UrbanClap, a managed marketplace for home services, Friday said it has raised USD 50 million in funding led by Steadview Capital and existing investor Vy Capital.

Besides, the company is facilitating a secondary sale of employee stock ownership plans (ESOPs) and stocks worth about USD 4 million for its employees and early angels.

With the latest round, the company -- which operates in India and Dubai -- has raised USD 100 million, UrbanClap co-founder Abhiraj Bhal told PTI.

He added that the funds will be used to further strengthen the technology platform, train more professionals and expand presence in India, including in tier II cities. He, however, declined to comment on the valuation of the company post the investment.

Founded in 2014, UrbanClap helps customers order beauty services, appliances repair, plumbing, carpentry, etc. It works closely with service professionals (SPs) providing them orders, training, and bulk procurement of consumables, among others.

"We have about 15,000 professionals on our platform and the aim is to take this to over a million in the next 4-5 years. We just launched in Chandigarh, we should be in Jaipur in December-January...we will go to more tier II cities," Bhal said.

In the next one year, the company aims to take the number of professionals on its platform to over 60,000.

Talking about the ESOPs sale, he said this is the second time that UrbanClap's employees are getting an opportunity to liquidate their ESOPs. UrbanClap had extended the option to its employees while announcing its series C round in June 2017.

Bhal said, this time, about 100 employees were eligible for the process and more than half have agreed to exercise the option.

He said the company will use this round of funding to accelerate customer and service partner on-boarding, invest in team building, especially on the product and technology front, build training capabilities, enhance supply chain of consumables.

The company's other investors include Accel Partners, SAIF Partners, Bessemer Venture Partners and Ratan Tata.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The said on Friday that it welcomes efforts by and to increase people-to-people contact, days after the two neighbouring countries laid foundation stones for a corridor linking two revered gurdwaras on both sides of the border.

I'm aware of reports on this I understand that it's kind of a visa-free way for Indians to visit this important Sikh site. And of course, the would welcome efforts to increase people-to-people ties between and Pakistan, State Department deputy spokesman Robert Palladino told reporters.

Palladino was responding to questions on the construction of the much-awaited corridor that will connect Darbar Sahib in Pakistan's Kartarpur the final resting place of Sikh faith's founder Guru Nanak Dev with Dera Baba Nanak shrine in Gurdaspur district and facilitate visa-free movement of pilgrims.

The Kartarpur corridor, which had proposed to around 20 years ago, is expected to be completed within six months.

Thousands of Sikh devotees from India visit every year to celebrate the birth anniversary of Guru Nanak.

Replying to another question on Donald Trump's tweets on stopping aid to Pakistan at a time when the US is seeking its cooperation on Afghanistan, the State Department Spokesperson stressed the need for Islamabad to build confidence in bilateral relations.

The Secretary (of State) has emphasized the need for Pakistan to deliver outcome and build confidence and trust between our two countries, and our policy towards Pakistan is clear, Palladino said.
With just a month to go before the Bangladesh Parliamentary elections, security has been tightened along the 856-km-long international border in Tripura to prevent anti-national elements from sneaking into the Indian territory, a top BSF official said Friday.

The election in the neighbouring country is scheduled to be held on December 30.

At a press meet here on the eve of the Raising Day, BSF Inspector General (IG) Hemant Kumar Lohia said the guarding forces on both sides of the border have been put on alert in view of the polls.

"We have augmented our forces to prevent criminals from entering or leaving the country. Our borders are usually very peaceful and the vigil is tight at all times. But we have deployed more men and resources on the field in the wake of elections," IG Lohia said.

The Border Security Force (BSF) official also said equipment for electronic surveillance, which have been kept on reserve, are being used on the occasion.

"The present strength of BSF personnel in Tripura is estimated to be 20,000. In addition to the existing forces, more men have been posted along the border to ensure zero infiltration," he said.

On the issue of the Rohingya refugee influx, Lohia said he did not feel that people of the Rakhine state in Myanmar were a threat to the "security and sanctity" of India.

"We have so far apprehended nearly a hundred Rohingyas with help from state police forces. We have also maintained alert along the border and the Bangladesh guarding forces have cooperated in our efforts. Few Rohingyas, who had entered India, were apprehended when they were trying to flee to Bangladesh," he maintained.

In 2015, Rohingya Muslims fled Myanmar's Rakhine state in large numbers to escape the military crackdown.

The BSF official praised the Border Guards Bangladesh (BGB) for their "excellent efforts" in containing the Rohingya refugee crisis.

In October 2017, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) instructed the Tripura government to identify and monitor the Rohingya refugees.

The letter also said that the influx would be a "burden on the resources" of the country and aggravate security challenges.

Of the 856-km-long international border with Bangladesh, around 70 km still remains unfenced in 34 different patches due to physical barriers and ownership issues, among other problems, the BSF inspector general said.

For the "unfenced and riverine locations", the BSF is contemplating the use of Comprehensive Integrated Border Management System, which is a network of multiple sensors, radars and personnel connected by an electronic system to the command headquarters, Lohia said.

"The system is being used on a pilot basis in Jammu and in Dhubri of Assam. If the results turn out to be positive, we shall consider implementing the new system here in riverine areas or deep gorges along the international boundary where conventional fencing is impossible," he added.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Promises made by political leaders at a farmers' protest here Friday were met with scepticism from several participants, who said they will believe them once they see a change on the ground.

Dubbed as the largest farmers' congregation in Delhi, around 35,000 farmers, from across India, converged at the Parliament Street police station Thursday after their march was stopped by the administration.

Congress president Rahul Gandhi, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, Samajwadi Party leader Dharmendra Yadav, CPI(M) leader Sitaram Yechury, CPI leader S Sudhakar Reddy, AAP MP Sanjay Singh and former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Farooq Abdullah were among the leaders who joined the farmers at Jantar Mantar.

Kumud, a farmer from West Bengal's Sunderbans, demanded middlemen be removed and loans waived, and said all her life she has heard promises of opposition parties, but she will believe them only if they stay true to their word.

She was among the farmers, who marched to the Ramlila Ground on Thursday, took out a rally to Parliament Street Friday morning to press for their demands, including debt relief and remunerative prices for their produce.

The carrot and tomato farmer undertook a 48-hour journey from the Sunderbans -- a mangrove area in the delta formed by the confluence of the Ganges, Brahmaputra and Meghna Rivers -- to reach Delhi.

"I want them to remove the middlemen, they eat most of our profits and leave us nowhere. Their commission at times is 200 per cent," the 50-year-old farmer said.

She alleged that even this year, the middlemen bought tomatoes from her at Rs 5 and sold it for Rs 30 per kilogram to consumers.

"I know a number of leaders here who promised us many things, but I will believe their promise only when they fulfil it," she said.

Ram Kumar from Bihar's Sigori village said they are here to demand their rights and not ask for alms.

"I have seen all leaders who are not in power make tall promises but as soon as they come to power they have memory loss," he said.

"The protest was held to make people realise of our plight which has brought us on the brink of starvation. Even if a fraction of the promises made to us are fulfilled then we would not return back to Delhi to protest," the framer said.

Srinivas, who came from Telangana with his 15 family members to participate in the rally, said it is their warning to not only the BJP but to all political parties that they should not be considered weak.

"We can topple the government if needed. We must be taken seriously," he said.

Another farmer from Punjab said he is hopeful by the promises but time and again they have been cheated so till their loans are waived and they get remunerative prices for their produce they would not be sitting at peace.

The farmers' march in the morning through the streets of the national capital with their respective outfit flags and chanted slogans, only to be stopped at the police station.

The farmers, social activists and political leaders slammed the Union government alleging that it has not implemented a "single major initiative" for farmers int he past four and half years.

Congress chief Rahul Gandhi said leaders of all opposition parties stand united with farmers in ensuring their good future and called for a farm loan waiver.

He also asserted that no one will be able to silence the voice of farmers and youth and said if the Indian government insults them, then they will will ensure its removal.

Farmers are not seeking a "free gift" from the government by asking for a farm loan waiver. They are only asking for what's due to them, Gandhi said.

Delhi chief minister Kejriwal claimed that the Centre had filed an affidavit in the Supreme Court, saying it would not implement the M S Swaminathan Commission report.

"The government had also made lot of promises to farmers in last elections (2014), but it has not fulfilled those promises.

"By not implementing the Swaminathan Commission report, Modi ji has stabbed the farmers in their back ('kisano ke peeth mey chhura bhonka hai')," he alleged.

Kejriwal alleged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has "stabbed farmers in the back" by not fulfilling the promises made to them and warned him that they would "wreak havoc" in 2019 general elections if those promises are not kept.

The farmers began their march to Parliament Street around 10.30 am amid heavy policy deployment. Over 3,500 police personnel have been deployed on the route of the march.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
"Blue Beetle" film is in the works at DC and Warner Bros.

The film is based on the Mexican-American comic book character Jaime Reyes.

According to Variety, the studio has roped in Gareth Dunnet-Alcocer to pen the "Blue Beetle" screenplay.

Zev Foreman is executive producing the film for Warner Bros.

The original "Blue Beetle" character, which debuted in 1939, had superpowers derived from a sacred scarab. He first manifested himself as Dan Garrett, a police officer who fought crime with superpowers.

The second version of Blue Beetle was Ted Kord, Garrett's student who continued costumed crime-fighting, but had no superpowers.

Reyes was created by Keith Giffen, John Rogers, and Cully Hamner, and made his first appearance in a 2006 comic.

The "Blue Beetle" series of comic books was launched in 2011 and cancelled after 17 issues in 2013.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Leaders of opposition parties stand united with farmers in ensuring their good future, Congress president Rahul Gandhi Friday said and called for a farm loan waiver, asserting that peasants are asking for what is due to them and not a "free gift".

The Congress supremo joined several leaders from the opposition parties, including AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal, NCP chief Sharad Pawar, veteran politicians Sharad Yadav and Sitaram Yechury at Jantar Mantar here where thousands of farmers from across the country have gathered to press for their demands, including debt relief and remunerative prices for their produce.

"The farmers of India are not asking for a free gift, they are only asking for their rights and what is due to them. The prime minister said he will provide remunerative prices to farmers, bonus and increased MSP, but the situation today is you pay for insurance and it goes into the pocket of Anil Ambani. Farmers cannot even decide which company's insurance to buy," he said.

"The country has been divided between Ambani and Adani. But your farm loan waiver does not happen, you don't get the right prices and hollow speeches are made," he went on to add.

He trained his guns at Prime Minister Narendra Modi alleging that if Rs 30,000 crore can be given to Anil Ambani, an apparent reference to the Rafale fighter jet deal, why can't loans of farmers be waived.

"Farmers are not asking Anil Ambani's aircraft from Modi ji, but India's farmers are saying that if Anil Ambani can be given Air Force's money of Rs 30,000 crore, if you can give 3.5 lakh crore to your 15 friends, then for our hard work, sweat and blood, why cannot our farm loans be waived," he said.

Trying to project the event as a show of strength of the opposition parties, he said, "We may have different ideologies, but for the future of the farmers and the youth, we are all standing together on one stage. We want to tell Modi ji and the BJP that if we need to change the laws, change the chief ministers or even the prime minister, we do that for the sake of future of farmers. We will not budge even an inch, you may do whatever you want."



He said the "voice being raised here will go across to every state - Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Telanagana, Rajasthan and in every state this voice will be raised. This is the voice of India's farmers, youth and this cannot be silenced".

Gandhi said there are two big issues before the country now, one of farmers' future and the other employment of youth.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Bill Gates during one of his several visits to India as part of the AIDS prevention programme of the Gates Foundation couldn't hold back his tears on hearing the story of a sex worker whose daughter committed suicide after being harassed and ostracised by her schoolmates, says a new book.

Ashok Alexander, who headed the Gates Foundation's HIV/AIDS prevention programme Avahan for over 10 years, has come out with a book A Stranger Truth: Lessons in Love, leadership and Courage from India's Sex Workers in which he talks about the country's sex workers, their lives, how India is a success story in the epidemic and what leadership skills and life lessons can be learnt from them.

The author mentions true stories of the lives of sex workers in India that are about finding hope and redemption amid heartbreak and despair.

During their visits, Bill and wife Melinda had the ability to completely shut out everything extraneous and focus on the community of sex workers, the author says.

They sat cross-legged on the floor, facing the community members who were sitting in a small circle. Melinda asked some of them if they would relate their stories. All the tales were sad ones - of rejection, utter poverty, and then somewhere a spark of hope. They were brutally honest and raw.

One of the stories is about an incident that took place during Gates' visit to India in the early 2000s. A woman related to Gates how she had hidden the fact that she was a sex worker from her daughter, who was then in high school.

When her classmates found out the truth, they relentlessly teased, harassed and ostracised the girl, who soon went into deep depression.

One day her mother came home to find her child hanging from the ceiling fan, and a note left behind saying she could not take it any more. I noticed that Bill, next to me, had his head down and was crying quietly, Alexander recalls in the book, published by Juggernaut.

When Alexander left a high-profile corporate job to head Avahan in 2003, he was plunged into an India far removed from the comfort zones he had lived and worked in all his life.

It was a grinding place where women sold themselves for Rs 50 and 14-year-olds injected drugs. It was the shadow world of transgenders and of young gay men in a country that criminalised same-sex love then.

It was the strange world of truckers, lonely journeymen along forgotten highways. Above all, it was a place where valiant battles for a barely decent life were being fought every day.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Two days after quitting the BJP and joining the Congress, former Gujarat minister Sundersinh Chauhan has done a U-turn.

Chauhan, four-time MLA from Mahemdabad in Kheda district, joined the Congress on November 27, claiming that he was being ignored by the present BJP leadership.

On November 29, he changed his mind and returned to the BJP fold at the ruling party's Nadiad office in Kheda in the presence of Lok Sabha MP Devusinh Chauhan.

The former state minister claimed that he was tricked into joining the Congress.

"I went to Congress office to meet someone on November 27. Some Congress workers surrounded me and tricked me into joining the party," said Chauhan.

He had served as the minister of state (MoS) for social justice and also as MoS labour and employment in the BJP government earlier.

He lost to Congress' Gautam Chauhan in 2012 Assembly polls and was not given a ticket in 2017.

After joining the Congress on November 27, he had claimed that he had quit the BJP because of its "anti-farmer" policies.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A 27-year-old woman has lodged a police complaint alleging that her doctor husband administered her an HIV-infected saline a year ago.

According to Wakad police in the city, the woman claimed that her husband, a homoeopathic doctor, and his parents were harassing her for dowry since the couple got married in 2015.

When she fell sick in October 2017, her husband administered her saline at home, she told police.

"In February this year, when she again fell sick, she got some tests done and found out that she was HIV positive," said a police officer.

The woman alleged that her husband, who is now seeking divorce, had infected her with HIV through the saline.

"We made both husband and wife undergo HIV tests at a private laboratory and found that both were HIV positive. However, tests at a government-run research institute showed that only the woman was HIV positive," said the officer.

"We have registered a case under sections 328 (causing hurt by means of poison) and 498 (dowry offences) of IPC and are seeking medical opinion," the officer said.

No arrest has been made yet, he said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The government has run several programmes, hundreds of NGOs have created awareness about HIV/AIDS, yet there remains a significant gap when it comes to people living with HIV (PLHIV) getting the right treatment, largely because of the persisting stigma and a lack of knowledge.

On the eve of World AIDS Day, experts said apart from the government it was also up to the PLHIV themselves to tell their stories to encourage more number of affected people to come out and receive treatment.

This would also help uproot the stigma, they added.

Mona Balani, a PLHIV activist working with 'India HIV/AIDS Alliance', said that while awareness about the condition has "definitely increased" over the past few years, several PLHIV continue to be deprived of proper medical help and care.

"Around 12 lakh people across country are receiving treatment, but there are approximately 25 lakh affected people, so we need to reach out to the remaining 13 lakh and tell them how important it is to get proper treatment.

"So our first effort should be enabling people to come forward. There is a reason why I am able to speak about the issue today. I had to put in a lot of efforts, but I was trained and offered a platform to tell my story. There have been thousands before me who did not have the courage," Balani told PTI.

Firoz Khan, a PLHIV working with Delhi-based NGO National Coalition of People Living with HIV in India (NCPI+), said that it was appreciable what the government was doing with the help of civil societies but unless a person living with HIV speaks up, these would all be "half efforts".

He added that the image of an PLHIV in people's mind is still that of a sickly person, in a hospital bed with tubes attached to him, but they need to know HIV positive people are nowhere different from others.

Diagnosed at the age of 17, Khan has been active with the NGO in spreading awareness about HIV/AIDS since. He is also pursuing a law degree at Delhi University simultaneously.

When his college batch-mates learnt about his condition from a newspaper article in 2015, he registered a change in their behaviour. While they were still sitting and talking with him, the "us and they" reaction was evident.

"At the same time I felt if it had happened some years ago they would have outcast me, now it is not that harsh a reaction. Earlier my colleagues wouldn't eat with me, now it is not like that. But the stigma is still there," Khan said.

He added that people's responses are gradually changing, they are more accepting now, and there is a conversation happening.

According to National AIDS Control Organisation's recently released HIV Estimation report for 2017, adult HIV prevalence in the country is at 0.22 per cent, with 0.25 per cent in males and 0.19 per cent in females.

"The adult HIV prevalence at national level has continued its steady decline from an estimated peak of 0.38 per cent in 2001-03 through 0.34 per cent in 2007, 0.28 per cent in 2012 and 0.26 per cent in 2015 to 0.22 per cent in 2017," the central organisation noted in its report.

Sharing an example from her life, Balani said that after opening up about her status on social media, she started receiving frantic calls from friends, who wanted to know how long she had left to live.

"Their reaction was completely different from what I am living with. They want to know how long will I live, but nobody wants to know how I am living with it right now.

"Such pressure from the society also discourages PLHIVs from revealing their status," she said.

People, she added, were aware that it didn't spread by contact, yet they were scared for themselves, and such hostility has kept many PLHIVs from making their status known.

While NGOs and the government running programmes in tandem to spread awareness and increase prevention of HIV/AIDS cases, eminent human rights activist and founder of Naz Foundation Anjali Gopalan expressed displeasure saying "prevention activity is not happening at the scale it should be happening".

"Care has just collapsed into treatment, people need more than just treatment and medication when we are talking about care. This approach is very problematic," she said.

Gopalan added that prevention programmes should also include voices about discrimination faced by PLHIV.

"Our prevention programmes don't really talk about the discrimination, if you don't have a strong prevention programme that's exactly what's going to happen. Also, we need to have strong laws which protect people from such discrimination.

"Discrimination also exists because of lack of knowledge, because it is predominantly a sexually transmitted disease and people tend to be extremely judgemental of them. Unless we deal with this attitude, we cannot deal with the discrimination," she said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Imports of Iranian crude oil by major buyers in Asia hit a five-year low in October, as China, Japan and South Korea sharply cut purchases ahead of U.S. sanctions on Tehran that took effect in early November, government and ship-tracking data showed. China, India, Japan and South Korea last month imported about 762,000 barrels per day (bpd) from Iran, according to the data, down 56.4 per cent from a year earlier. This marks the lowest volume of shipments since October 2013, when an earlier round of tough U.S. and E.U. sanctions had slashed exports from the OPEC member starting ...
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FRASCATI, Italy (Reuters) - The European Central Bank launched on Friday a new system aimed at letting banks settle payments instantly across Europe, helping them to compete with PayPal and other global tech giants.Developed in just over a year, the ECB's TARGET Instant Payment Settlement (TIPS) system will let people and companies in Europe transfer euros to each other within seconds and regardless of the opening hours of their local bank.U.S. firms PayPal, Google, Facebook and Amazon, and China's Alibaba and Tencent currently dominate such services in Europe.This has worried European ...
By Cindy Silviana and Fanny PotkinJAKARTA (Reuters) - At a makeshift kiosk outside her home in a South Jakarta backstreet, 39-year-old Julaiha stands at the front lines of a multi-billion-dollar battle over one of the richest opportunities in the global digital economy.Along with goods such as instant noodles and cigarettes, she sells insurance and offers a service to pay utility bills. Though Julaiha has never had a bank account, she can help customers apply for small loans or order products from the internet.Julaiha, who uses only one name, last year eagerly became an agent for ...
At a makeshift kiosk outside her home in a South Jakarta backstreet, 39-year-old Julaiha stands at the front lines of a multi-billion-dollar battle over one of the richest opportunities in the global digital economy. Along with goods such as instant noodles and cigarettes, she sells insurance and offers a service to pay utility bills. Though Julaiha has never had a bank account, she can help customers apply for small loans or order products from the internet. Julaiha, who uses only one name, last year eagerly became an agent for Singapore-based Grab, a company known as the Uber ...
(Reuters) - Honeywell International Inc said on Friday it is relocating its global corporate headquarters to Charlotte, North Carolina, which is closer to several of the U.S. industrial conglomerate's businesses in the Southeast of the United States.The company, which makes everything from aircraft engines to catalysts used in petroleum refining, is currently based in Morris Plains, New Jersey.Honeywell will also relocate the headquarters of its safety and productivity solutions (SPS) business unit to Charlotte from Fort Mill, South Carolina.The SPS unit makes supply chain and warehouse ...
By Rajendra Jadhav and Eileen Soreng(Reuters) - Physical gold demand in the world's second biggest bullion consumer India got a fillip this week from a slide in local rates due to gains in the rupee, while buying was steady in other top Asian hubs."The appreciating (Indian) rupee has brought down prices. At this price level, jewellers and retail buyers are quite comfortable in making purchases," said Ashok Jain, proprietor of Mumbai-based wholesaler Chenaji Narsinghji.Local gold prices were trading near their lowest in about three months as an appreciation in the rupee made overseas buying ...
By Hugh Bronstein and Karl PlumeBUENOS AIRES/CHICAGO (Reuters) - A ship named the Torrent is nearing the end of a 5,000-mile trip carrying soybeans from the U.S. Great Lakes to Argentina - a journey that only makes economic sense because of the U.S.-China trade war.The ship is scheduled to dock in the Rosario grains hub on Dec. 4, days after the leaders of the world's two largest economies, U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping, hold high-stakes trade talks in Buenos Aires.They will meet on the sidelines of a Group of 20 nations summit and are expected to discuss how ...
TOKYO (Reuters) - Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and French President Emmanuel Macron were arranging to meet on the sidelines of the G20 summit meeting, media said, amid signs of a brewing diplomatic feud over the power balance at the troubled Renault-Nissan alliance.The 19-year partnership between Renault SA and Nissan Motor Co is facing its biggest test to date after the arrest this month of its larger-than-life leader, Carlos Ghosn, for suspected financial misconduct. Ghosn, 64, has been detained in Tokyo since his Nov. 19 arrest, and prosecutors are widely expected to seek a maximum ...
TOKYO (Reuters) - Tokyo authorities extended the detention on Friday of ousted Nissan Motor Co chairman Carlos Ghosn for 10 days, media said, amid signs of a brewing diplomatic feud over the balance of power at the troubled Renault-Nissan alliance.The 19-year partnership between Renault SA and Nissan is facing its biggest test to date after the arrest this month of Ghosn, its larger-than-life leader, for suspected financial misconduct.France said President Emmanuel Macron will meet Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on the sidelines of the G20 summit meeting that starts in Buenos Aires on ...
JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South African internet giant Naspers reported a sharp narrowing of losses at its e-commerce unit on Friday, boosting chief executive Bob van Dijk's efforts to cut the company's dependence on its Chinese money spinner Tencent . Founded more than 100 years ago in Stellenbosch, South Africa, Naspers has transformed itself from a newspaper publisher into a $87 billion empire, thanks to its one-third stake in tech giant Tencent.But the stake is also a headache as it dwarfs Naspers' own market capitalisation by 40 percent, mirroring a dilemma faced by Yahoo a few years ago ...
By Kaori Kaneko and Michel RoseTOKYO/PARIS (Reuters) - French President Emmanuel Macron will discuss the Renault-Nissan alliance's future with Japan's prime minister at the G20 summit in Argentina on Friday, seeking to defuse a brewing diplomatic row over the balance of power inside the partnership.The auto alliance is facing the biggest test of its 19-year existence after the ousting of Nissan Motor Co Chairman Carlos Ghosn, who was arrested last week for suspected financial misconduct.Tokyo authorities on Friday approved the maximum 10-day extension of Ghosn's detention, Japanese media ...
By Jim Finkle and Arjun Panchadar(Reuters) - Marriott International Inc said on Friday that hackers accessed about 500 million records in its Starwood Hotels reservation system in an attack that began four years ago, exposing personal data of customers including some payment card numbers.Shares fell 5 percent after disclosure of the hack, one of the largest in history, which prompted regulators in Britain and at least three U.S. states to announce plans to look into the attack.The hack began in 2014, before Marriott offered to buy Starwood for $12.2 billion in November 2015, acquiring brands ...
Marriott International Inc said on Friday that hackers accessed up to 500 million customer records in its Starwood Hotels reservation system in an attack that began four years ago, exposing data including passport numbers and payment cards. Shares were down 5.7 percent in late afternoon trade on news of the hack, one of the largest in history, which prompted regulators in Britain and at least five U.S. states to launch investigations. The Federal Bureau of Investigation said it was looking into the attack on Starwood, whose brands include Sheraton, St. Regis, W and Westin ...
By Teis Jensen and Jacob Gronholt-PedersenCOPENHAGEN (Reuters) - A money laundering scandal at Danske Bank involving billions of euros of suspicious flows is serious enough to potentially affect the country's financial stability, the central bank warned on Friday.Denmark's state prosecutor filed preliminary charges on Wednesday against Danske Bank, Denmark's largest lender with a balance sheet 1-1/2 times Danish gross domestic product, for alleged violations of the country's anti-money laundering act in relation to its Estonian branch.In a report published on Friday the central bank said ...
To his supporters, new Reserve Bank of India (RBI) board member Swaminathan Gurumurthy is a philosopher who will set India on a path of self-reliance. His detractors paint him as an ideologue who has pushed the government into a series of policy blunders. What neither side disputes is that Gurumurthy, who joined the central bank's board in August, is now one of the country's most influential economic voices. A chartered accountant and commentator who has long had the ear of leaders of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Gurumurthy is a leading figure in the Rashtriya ...
By Devika Krishna Kumar and Jessica Resnick-AultNEW YORK (Reuters) - Oil prices edged lower on Friday due to concerns of oversupply and a strong dollar but losses were limited by expectations that the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and Russia would agree some form of production cut next week.The two benchmarks, North Sea Brent and U.S. crude , still have had their weakest month in more than 10 years in November, losing more than 20 percent as global supply has outstripped demand.Front-month Brent futures fell 80 cents, or 1.3 percent, to settle at $58.71 a barrel, ...
By Jessica Resnick-AultNEW YORK (Reuters) - Oil prices fell further on Friday as swelling inventories depressed sentiment despite widespread expectations that the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and Russia would agree some form of production cut next week.The two global oil benchmarks, North Sea Brent and U.S. crude, have had their weakest month for more than 10 years in November, losing more than 20 percent as global supply has outstripped demand.Brent futures fell 98 cents, or 1.7 percent, to $58.53 a barrel by 11:26 a.m. EDT [1626 GMT]. U.S. crude dropped $1.16, or ...
Oil prices firmed on Friday on expectations that OPEC and Russia will agree some form of production cuts next week, although swelling U.S. supplies kept markets in check. International Brent crude oil futures were at $59.81 per barrel at 0347 GMT, up 30 cents, or 0.5 per cent, from their last close. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were up 20 cents, or 0.4 per cent, at $51.65 per barrel. Despite the firmer prices, crude oil has lost almost a third in value since early October because of an emerging supply glut following a global surge in production, including ...
By Christopher JohnsonLONDON (Reuters) - Oil prices steadied on Friday as expectations that OPEC and Russia would agree some form of production cut next week balanced pressure from swelling inventories.Both international oil benchmarks, North Sea Brent and U.S. light crude, have had their weakest month for more than 10 years in November, losing 28 percent and 30 percent respectively as global supply has outstripped demand.Brent was up 25 cents at $59.76 a barrel by 0910 GMT. U.S. crude was unchanged at $51.45. Both contracts are up about 1 percent this week, the first weekly gains in almost ...
CAIRO (Reuters) - Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman met with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and discussed cooperation between the two countries in security, energy and investments, the Saudi press agency (Spa) said on Friday.The two leaders, who are currently in Argentina for the G20 summit, met in the prince's residence in Buenos Aires and discussed Saudi Arabia's readiness to supply India with oil and petroleum products.The prince known in the west as (MBS) also discussed with Modi Saudi oil giant Aramco's investment in refineries in India, including the company's project to build ...
By Sanjeev Miglani and Hesham HajaliNEW DELHI/CAIRO (Reuters) - Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman met Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and told him about plans to scale up investments in India's tech, farm and energy sectors, an Indian official and the Saudi news agency (SPA) said on Friday.The two leaders, who are in Argentina for the G20 summit, met in the prince's residence in Buenos Aires and discussed Saudi Arabia's readiness to supply India with oil and petroleum products.The G20 summit in Buenos Aires is the first major international event the Saudi prince has attended since ...
By Roberta RamptonBUENOS AIRES (Reuters) - The leaders of Mexico, Canada and the United States signed a North American trade pact on Friday after brinkmanship over the final details of the deal continued through the eve of the signing.They agreed on a deal in principle to govern the more than trillion dollars of mutual trade after a year and a half of acrimonious negotiations concluded with a late-night bargain just an hour before a deadline on Sept. 30.Since then, the three sides have bickered over the wording and the finer points of the deal and still had not agreed just hours before ...
By Roberta RamptonBUENOS AIRES (Reuters) - The United States, Canada and Mexico signed a North American trade pact on Friday, with President Donald Trump brushing aside concerns that he could face difficulties getting the deal through the U.S. Congress.The leaders of the three countries agreed on a deal in principle to replace the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), which governs more than $1.2 trillion of mutual trade, after acrimonious negotiations concluded on Sept. 30.Friday's signing potentially ends a big source of irritation for the U.S. administration as it pivots to a much ...
By David ShepardsonWASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Trump administration, which has had sometimes strained relations with high-technology companies, will meet with top tech executives next week to discuss innovation and future jobs, several companies attending and a White House official said on Thursday.Chief executives expected to participate include Microsoft Corp's Satya Nadella, Alphabet Inc's Sundar Pichai, Qualcomm Inc's Steven Mollenkopf and Oracle Corp's Safra Catz, a White House official confirmed. Others have been invited but not yet confirmed they will attend the roundtable ...
While 2018 has been a landmark year for the Indian start-up industry in terms of exits with Flipkart's $16 billion acquisition by Walmart, it is a much more subdued story when it comes to investments, especially at the early stage. A new report by InnoVen Capital, a venture debt firm, has an interesting tale to tell.

Pre-series-A investors committed Rs 297 crore in the 10 months up to October 18, a 26 per cent drop on a pro-rata basis from 2017, the Early Stage Investment Insights Report 2018 found. In full year 2017, early stage funding totalled Rs 482 crore. In fact, the 2018 number is lower even when compared to 2016 when pre-series A investments totalled Rs 410 crore. In the last five years to 2018, the best year was 2015 when Rs 616 crore was invested.

The number of deals appears to have declined in 2018 as well - the report shows 67 deals have been cracked till October this year versus 82 in 2017 and 109 in 2016. The average deal size shrunk 25 per cent.

What has caused this slump in funding?

The report said that investors are more cautious now than in previous years. They are more apprehensive of funding start-ups in pre-revenue concept stage, which is reflected in the share of pre-revenue funded start-ups declining to 12 per cent this year from 27 per cent in 2016.

"Investors also showed preference for backing more experienced founders, with proportion of founders in funded start-ups with at least five years of experience going up from 55 per cent in 2017 to 78 per cent this year. Investors also mentioned that they look for companies with a clearly identified large addressable market, some product-market fit and scalability. About 70 per cent of the companies that failed to obtain funding from institutional investors either had no product-market fit or were addressing a niche market opportunity," the report stated.

Consumer, enterprise technology and artificial intelligence, healthcare and content were the sectors early investors were keen on.

The report hinted that Mumbai is emerging as the third start-up city in India, after Bangalore and the National Capital Region (NCR). While Bangalore and NCR continue to be prominent, accounting for 28 per cent and 25 per cent of the investments respectively, Mumbai made up 23 per cent. Mumbai's share rocketed from 6 per cent last year. Bangalore's share, meanwhile, dropped from 46 per cent in 2017.

The report has a few pieces of advice for entrepreneurs. Here are two: "While raising a pre-series A round, start-ups should budget for 15-18 months of runway before they need to raise a new funding round". Second, credible referral is the best way to draw investor attention. "Events seem to be the least unlikely place to engage with investors."
The food and grocery (F&G) segment, which is expected to see its revenue quadrupling to around Rs 17,000 crore by 2021, according to CRISIL Research, is seeing plenty of investor interest of late. Investments in F&G increased by almost 14 times in fiscal 2018 to around Rs 44 billion, from a mere Rs 3 billion in the previous year, and online F&G - which accounts for a paltry 0.1% of the total F&G retail - boasts even more growth potential. No wonder Anil Arya, the co-founder of mosquito repellent brand All Out, is betting on this red-hot space to stage his comeback into the startup world.

According to a report published in The Economic Times, Arya along with a few other investors, is setting up a company in Singapore to wholly-acquire dairy tech startup Mr. Milkman. "We will be investing in Mr. Milkman through our family office in Singapore," Arya told the daily.

All Out, which was launched in the country by Karamchand Appliances Pvt Ltd (KAPL) - promoted by the Arya brothers, Naveen, Anil and Bimal - not only enjoyed first mover advantage in the Liquid Vaporizers segment, but reportedly went on to garner a 69% market share within a decade of launch. The brand was sold to US-based consumer goods giant SC Johnson, KAPL's 50% stakeholder, in 2005. The Aryas have largely maintained a low profile ever since, although around 2016-17, Naveen Arya had invested $2 million in Indian Gifts Portal (IGP) along with another investor.

Also read: Now, your smartphone can tell if your milk is pure or not!

The Gurgaon-based Mr Milkman clearly has mojo to woo another of the brothers back into the limelight. While the startup's founder, Samartha Setia, confirmed to the daily that Arya will be investing in the company, he declined to "disclose the details of the investment" at the moment.

Founded last year, Mr. Milkman is an enabler for dairy players, managing their entire business, including customer subscriptions and deliveries, through its platform. Its clients include Milk Mantra, WHYTE Farms, Just Doodh, Go4Life, and Milk Valley Farm's.

Meanwhile, competition is building up in the space courtesy M&A deals - like BigBasket recently acquiring micro-delivery startup RainCan - and investor interest. The buzz is that Doodhwala, one of the first subscription-based e-grocers for fresh milk and other perishable groceries, is in talks to raise up to $12 million Series A funding, nine months after bagging $2.2 million from Omnivore.
With Amazon's India unit finally pulling ahead of homegrown rival Flipkart, at least in terms of gross sales in the last fiscal, the ecommerce giant is now focussing on its human capital. The company is looking to hire over 2,000 people in tech and non-tech roles across its various divisions in the country, including Amazon.com, Amazon Web Services, Amazon.in and its Devices division, The Hindu Business Line reported.

"We have over 2,000 open job positions of which, 50 per cent are for tech and 50 per cent are for non-tech roles and this number is growing as we speak," Deepti Varma, HR Director, Amazon India told the daily.

Some of the open job positions are for Software Development Engineer, Program Manager-Business Quality, Vendor Operations Associate, Manager-Risk Investigations, Quality Assurance Technician-Amazon Appstore, Business Analyst, Associate Site Merchandiser and Senior Program Manager-Amazon Pay, among many others.

Bengaluru accounts for the majority of the open job positions with 587 vacancies, followed by Hyderabad with 374 open positions, as listed on the Amazon Jobs website yesterday evening.

While Amazon continues to ramp up its India headcount, pink slips are becoming increasingly common at its Seattle headquarters and other global locations. In fact, the buzz is that the etailer is hiring 20,000 fewer temporary workers in the US to meet the holiday season rush against last year. Ahead of the festive season in India, it had hired 50,000 temporary workers.

India is already Amazon's second largest workforce centre after its home country, although it currently accounts for less than 9% - or 50,000 employees - of its 600,000-strong global workforce base.

According to the daily, Amazon's focus is also on employee diversity in keeping with its global practice of being an equal opportunity-affirmative action employer. "At first we were focused on gender equality but now, we focus on the disabled, people from different regions, diverse backgrounds and ethnicity from around India because we need diversity in order to solve problems for a diverse customer base," Varma told the daily, adding that Amazon's global workforce demographics has 40 per cent female employees and 60 per cent male employees.

Amazon is also focusing on minorities and the LGBTQ communities as part of its 'Diversity & Inclusion agenda'. The company has stepped up this agenda with a slew of initiatives like 'I want to Code', 'Amazon Campus Mentoring Series', 'Pinnacle' and Amazon Women in Technology Conference, to be held in Bengaluru next week.

Earlier this month, Amazon was reportedly among the 50-odd US companies - collectively accounting for $2.3 trillion revenues - that signed a statement standing up for transgender, gender non-binary and intersex people following news reports that the Trump administration was considering defining gender only as male and female, based on biological traits at birth.

Edited by Sushmita Agarwal
Thousands of farmers hailing from states including Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Karnataka, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal, started converging in the capital yesterday for a two-day protest rally.

At about 11 am, the protestors began to pour out of the historic Ramlila Maidan - where a majority of them spent the night in tents - to proceed towards Parliament to air their grievances and voice their demands, including debt relief and better remunerative prices for their produce in the face of rising costs of agricultural inputs such as fertilisers and fuel.

However, with the police barring the last leg of the journey, around 35,000 protestors have now converged near Parliament Street Police station, where a stage has been set up for leaders and activist supporters.

Here are the top developments from the two-day rally that has been organised by the All India Kisan Sangharsh Coordination Committee (AIKSCC). The umbrella body of 207 organisations of farmers and agricultural workers on Wednesday claimed that it will be "one of the largest congregations of farmers" Delhi has seen in recent times.
The Health Ministry has given the green signal to the formula recommended by an expert panel for compensating patients who had received faulty hip replacements from medical device major Johnson & Johnson. Now the affected patients will be paid between Rs 30 lakh and Rs 1.2 crore as compensation directly to their bank accounts.

All the affected patients will get a base compensation of Rs 20 lakh along with Rs 10 lakh for non-pecuniary damages, which are damages that cannot be quantified. The compensation will rise depending on the age and level of disability of the patient, and can even go up to Rs 1.23 crore.

The compensation will be paid keeping in mind the living costs in the future and disturbance in routine. According to the approved formula, a senior citizen above 60 years of age and level of disability at 20-30 per cent will be entitled to only the base compensation of Rs 30 lakh. On the other hand, a young person with a high level of disability will be eligible for the higher compensation.

In a statement, the Health Ministry said the Johnson & Johnson will hand over the compensation to patients directly through their bank accounts in a time-bound manner. The state and union territory governments have been asked to tell the patients affected by faulty Johnson & Johnson hip implants to approach the government for receiving their ex-gratia.

The chain of events began in 2010 when DePuy International, a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson, recalled its articular surface replacement (ASR) hip implants after a British study showed that they have higher failure rate. This means that a patient with these hip implants is more prone to undergoing a revision surgery to replace them.

An expert committee formed by the Indian health ministry in 2017 found that the hip implants not only had higher wear and tear, but could even increase the chromium and cobalt levels in the patient's body. This rendered the hip implants potentially toxic and dangerous to human organs.

Following these developments, the Indian government formed a second expert committee in August last year to calculate the formula for compensating the patients affected by the defective hip implants of Johnson & Johnson.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has not given any order to print Rs 2,000 denomination notes to the Currency Note Press in Nashik, an RTI reply to India Today has revealed. Speculations are rife the government may withdraw Rs 2,000 currency notes, though it has said there's no such proposal. The RBI data released on November 28 also shows the currency in circulation reduced by Rs 11,600 crore between November 9 and 23. Experts say the trend suggests the government and the RBI may be planning withdrawal of the high-value currency notes of Rs 2,000.

But the government has not revealed its plan as yet. On August 10, the Centre said there's no proposal to withdraw Rs 2,000 denomination notes. "There is no such proposal," Pon Radhakrishnan, Minister of State for Finance, had said in the Lok Sabha.

In response to the RTI filed with the RBI, which was forwarded to Currency Note Press in Nashik, the Press replied: "As per available records, RBI has not given any indent to currency Note Press, Nashik for Printing of Rs 2000 denomination new bank notes, hence not printed." Replying to the query on Rs 500 notes, the Press said: It "has dispatched 3565.500 million pieces of Rs 500 denomination new bank notes to the Reserve Bank of India up to 14/09/2018. It further said the printing cost of new Rs 500 note is Rs. 2.81 per piece."

For the first time in recent quarters, the notes issued also dropped from Rs 19,966,43 crore to Rs 19,897,00 crore between November 9 and 16, the latest RBI data shows.

Also read: RBI could be holding back or has stopped printing Rs 2000 notes: SBI report

Experts attribute the slow printing of notes to the RBI's plan of gradually reducing the use of Rs 2,000 notes. "The only reason (behind fall in number of notes issued by the RBI) could be certain Rs 2,000 notes being withdrawn gradually, and non-commensurate lower currency notes being printed. Currency in circulation can't be coming down otherwise," Madan Sabnavis, Chief Economist, Care Ratings, told the New Indian Express.

Many say a major reason the central bank may be squeezing the supply of Rs 2,000 notes is to prevent black money hoarders from hoarding the higher-value currency. Large value currency notes are easier to hoard, and can be used for the proliferation of black money.

The government had introduced new Rs 500 and Rs 2000 notes after demonetisation in November 2016, which soaked up 85 per cent of the old currency notes from the economy. The circulation of Rs 500 note, however, increased to 43 per cent from 23 per cent a year before. In volume term, the currency increased to 15.1 per cent from 5.9 per cent a year before.

Reports also suggest the central bank may soon come up with varnished notes to increase their lifespan, which would not only reduce replacement requirement but would also save the RBI from the security printing expenditure. The Currency Note Press (CNP) in Nashik and the Bank Note Press (BNP) in Dewas operate under Security Printing & Minting Corporation of India Ltd, a government-owned company.
Two key economic indices released by the Central Statistics Office and the Ministry of Commerce, respectively, has shown that the Indian economy continues to grow, though at a slower pace, in the midst of global uncertainties surrounding the oil, currency depreciation and trade protection, and the liquidity crunch and demand woes in the country.

While the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), the measure of economy, registered a growth of 7.1 per cent in the July-September quarter, the index of eight core industries that comprise 40.27 per cent of the weight of items included in the Index of Industrial Production (IIP) grew 4.8 per cent during the month of October 2018.

The GDP growth is slower than the first quarter growth of 8.2 per cent, though is better than the 6.3 per cent growth registered during the same quarter the previous year. GDP at Constant (2011-12) Prices in Q2 of 2018-19 is estimated at Rs 33.98 lakh crore, as against Rs 31.72 lakh crore in Q2 of 2017-18, showing a growth rate of 7.1 per cent. The gross value added or GVA (Basic Price) for the second quarter of 2018-19 is estimated at Rs 31.40 lakh crore, as against Rs 29.38 lakh crore in Q2 of 2017-18, showing a growth rate of 6.9 per cent over the corresponding quarter of previous year.

In the case of core sector index, the growth was slightly higher than 4.3 per cent growth in September 2018.

Also read: Indian economy loses momentum; GDP growth slows down to 7.1 percent in September quarter

"On the whole second quarter GDP numbers do not ring in any alarm or indicate any serious deviation from the expected growth numbers. No doubt the sudden spurt in crude oil prices and depreciation in rupee had somewhat destabilising impact on the economy lately but over the past month, they have corrected equally fast," Devendra Kumar Pant, Chief Economist, India Ratings and Research says.

On the core sector data, Aditi Nayar, Principal Economist, ICRA Limited, said that "the mild rise in the core sector growth in October 2018 relative to the previous month was led by a healthy uptick in cement, coal and electricity, whereas fertilisers, crude oil and natural gas, disappointed with a year on year contraction".

Also read: Why the new GDP numbers are confounding

"The modest uptick in the core sector growth, in conjunction with the broad-based improvement in the YoY growth performance of a majority of other early indicators such as auto production, fuel consumption and exports in October 2018, portends a pickup in IIP growth to 6.5-7.5 per cent in that month," Nayar adds.

GDP Growth

What contributed most towards the growth in the GDP were sectors like manufacturing, electricity, gas, water supply and other utility services, construction, public administration and defence, which grew over 7 per cent during the period. Sectors like agriculture, forestry and fishing, mining and quarrying, trade, hotels, transport, communication, financial, real estate and professional Services, etc, showed lower growth.

"With the GDP expansion in Q2 FY2019 largely in line with our forecast, and given the risks posed by the Y-o-Y rise in commodity prices and the depreciation of the rupee, as well as the availability and cost of financing for some sectors, we continue to expect a shallow recovery in GDP growth to 7.2 per cent in FY2019 from 6.7 per cent in FY2018", ICRA's Nayar said.
The Reliance Communications stock closed higher today after the Supreme Court asked Department of Telecom (DoT) to clear the telco's spectrum sale to Reliance Jio Infocomm on a corporate guarantee of Rs 1,400 crore ($201.06 mln). The stock closed 11.92% higher at 14.27 level compared to its previous close of 12.75 on the BSE.

The small cap stock rose 15.45% intra day at Rs 14.72 level. It has gained after two days of consecutive fall.

The stock has gained 13.25% during the last one year but lost 60.60% since the beginning of this year.

RCOM in a communication to the bourses said, "Department of Telecommunications (Union of India) to grant a No-Objection to Reliance Communications Limited for spectrum trading within 7 days. RCOM's 100 per cent subsidiary, Reliance Realty Ltd, will submit a Corporate Guarantee of Rs 1,400 crore within 2 days."

The telecom department had challenged the telecom tribunal TDSAT's order allowing Reliance Communications to sell spectrum to Reliance Jio without providing bank guarantee.

The Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT) in its order dated October 11, 2018, rejected plea of the Department of Telecom (DoT) seeking bank guarantee of around Rs 2,900 crore before it permits sale of RCom spectrum to Reliance Jio.

"The Hon'ble Supreme Court upheld the earlier order of the Hon'ble Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT), and no Bank Guarantee is now required.

The spectrum trading transaction will now be completed and RCOM will pay-off Ericsson and minority investors of Reliance Infratel Limited (RITL).

RCOM's asset monetization program thus proceeds as per plans," RCom said.

RCom signed an agreement with Mukesh Ambani-owned Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd to sell spectrum and other telecom assets for an estimated Rs 25,000 crore and clear its debt of about Rs 46,000 crore partially.

However, the spectrum sale deal was stuck for clearance from the DoT for want of bank guarantee. RCom in August completed the sale of its fibre assets and related infrastructure assets, worth Rs 3,000 crore, to Reliance Jio.
30 Nov 2018, 8:21 PM

PM Narendra Modi to participate in two trilateral meetings at G-20 summit

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will participate in two important trilateral meetings with world leaders here in Argentina's capital, during which they would discuss major global challenges and developments. Prime Minister Modi, who arrived here to attend the G-20 summit, will participate in the first-ever trilateral meeting between Japan, America and India and the 2nd Russia, India China (RIC) trilateral, which is taking place after 12 years, on Friday.

Unilever's CEO Paul Polman to step down after 10 years, Alan Jope to take his place

Unilever's Chief Executive Paul Polman will step down next month after ten years in the job, leaving insider Alan Jope to step into his shoes after the Anglo-Dutch group's failed attempt to shift its headquarters.A UK investor revolt forced Polman and the Unilever board to scrap a plan in October to move the headquarters of the dual-listed company, which makes Dove soap and Ben & Jerry's ice cream, to the Netherlands. At the helm since January 2009, Polman, 62, generated big returns for shareholders totalling 290 per cent over the period, and expanded its presence in emerging markets.

Maharashtra to allocate land for India-UAE-Saudi Arabia oil refinery

The land for a proposed India-UAE-Saudi Arabia oil refinery in Maharashtra will be allocated in the coming weeks, a UAE envoy said Thursday as he sought to assuage New Delhi's concern over fuel deficit in view of US sanctions against Tehran. The remarks by Emirates' envoy Ahmed Albanna on the allocation of land in Maharashtra's Ratnagiri district came at a time when the project was facing opposition from the locals as well as political parties, including the Shiv Sena.

OPPO India MD Yi Wang steps down

Chinese handset maker OPPO has said its India Managing Director Yi Wang will step down effective November 30. The company, however, did not give any reason for the decision. It is yet to name Wang's successor.India is a key market for smartphone players as it continues to grow at a strong pace. According to research firm IDC, smartphone shipments in India touched an all-time high of 42.6 million units in July-September 2018

Chinese firm unveils plans to provide free worldwide WiFi with 272 satellites

A Chinese internet technology firm is planning to launch a constellation of 272 satellites by 2026 with an aim to provide free WiFi service worldwide and rival global tech giants like Google and SpaceX, according to a media report Thursday. LinkSure Network, founded in Shanghai in 2013, markets itself as a global innovative mobile internet company specialising in free internet access, content and location-based services on its official website. It unveiled its first satellite in the constellation plan on Tuesday. Wang Jingying, CEO of LinkSure Network, said the company will invest $431.4 million into the plan.

Indian professionals dominate Brexit-hit UK's visa hike

Skilled professionals from India dominated the landscape of work visas issued by the UK government over the past few months, according to official statistics released on Thursday. The UK's Office of National Statistics (ONS) found in its analysis of UK Home Office data for the previous year that while the pressures of Brexit meant a decline in migrants coming to the UK from within the European Union (EU), non-EU migrants from countries like India registered an increase across different segments.

Korean firms keen to invest in north India: Envoy

South Korean companies have expressed willingness to invest, especially in IT companies, in states such as Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and in UT Chandigarh, an official said Thursday. Korean companies are keen on developing information technology, internet of things, artificial intelligence, smart factories, and infrastructure projects, including smart cities, transportation, and power generation & transmission.

Jaitley defends revision in GDP data; Chidambaram calls it 'hatchet job'

As a political row broke out over the back series GDP data, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley Thursday jumped in to defend the downward revision in growth rates during the previous UPA regime, saying the new numbers were reflective of real state of the economy. With his predecessor P Chidambaram calling revised GDP growth rates "a bad joke" and "a hatchet job", Jaitley took the attack to the opposition camp saying the Congress leader had previously welcomed the GDP numbers based on a new series when the data was revised upwards for the last two years of the UPA regime but is now criticising when the same formula has been used to re-state the numbers of previous years. The new numbers show India's economic growth rate averaged 6.7 per cent during the Congress-led UPA regime as compared to 7.3 per cent under the present government.
Maruti Suzuki has sold 5 lakh units of its premium hatchback Baleno all over the world in only 38 months. The Baleno is one of the most popular models sold by the company in India via its premium Nexa dealerships.

Launched in October 2015, the Maruti Suzuki Baleno posted a 20.4 per cent growth in sales in the April-October period this fiscal, the company said. Besides the domestic market, the model has also been receiving overwhelming response in global markets such as Australia, Europe, Latin America and East Asia, the company said.

"Our engineers have ensured that Baleno offers superior ride and handling, class leading performance and safety... Baleno has been among the top selling cars in India since 2016," Maruti Suzuki India Senior Executive Director, Marketing and Sales, RS Kalsi said.

The model, manufactured exclusively in India, is the first car from the company to be exported from India to Japan. It will also be reportedly the first Suzuki car to be re-branded by Toyota with some exterior and interior changes as part of a global partnership between the two Japanese auto manufacturers. Media reports suggest that Toyota will manufacture Baleno at its Bengaluru manufacturing facility.

Reports had emerged a few days back that the Maruti Suzuki Baleno will be getting its first mid-life facelift sometime around June 2019. The refreshed version of Baleno will receive some cosmetic changes while the powertrain is expected to remain the same as the current model. We might see a revised fascia with DRL headlamps, alloy wheels, some more security features and even a tweaked rear end.

The Maruti Suzuki Baleno runs on either a 1.2-litre four-cylinder petrol engine or a 1.3-litre four-cylinder diesel engine. The former can deliver max power up to 83bhp, whereas the latter is good for 74bhp of max power. The petrol engine gets a choice of 5-speed manual transmission or CVT. The diesel motor is coupled with a 5-speed manual gearbox. In India, the Maruti Suzuki Baleno is priced between Rs 5.38 lakh and Rs 8.5 lakh (prices ex-showroom Delhi).
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Tata Motors-owned Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) has said it plans to harness India's skills and expertise and work towards making advanced vehicles in and for the country.

Speaking at the soft launch of the new National Automotive Innovation Centre in Warwick recently, JLR CEO Ralf Speth said the UK-based car manufacturer had grown to become a global player in the luxury, premium and performance marketplace under the Tata Group's ownership.

"The opportunity for today and tomorrow is to harness India's rich expertise and skill in a new mobility ecosystem. Not just to Make in India, but to Make with India and to Make for India," said Speth.

"Prime Minister Narendra Modi said 'Make in India' is a lion's step. From the home of the British Jaguar, we encourage and support you in taking this Indian 'lion's step'," he said.

The National Automotive Innovation Centre, a 150-million-pound facility, is dubbed as the largest single automotive facility in Europe, now renamed as Lord Bhattacharyya Building in honour of the Indian-origin founder and chairman of the Warwick Manufacturing Group (WMG).

Bhattacharyya said that Tata Motors' JLR specialists have already started working together with academics and experts from WMG to develop the cars of the future and that the new centre will become an "innovation hub".

JLR experts noted that autonomous, connected, electrified and shared vehicles would define future mobility, something that has been categorised by the company as Destination Zero zero emissions, zero accidents and zero congestion.

"Collaborations are vital for no company alone can deliver Destination Zero. This is why JLR, Tata and WMG have together now invested 150 million pounds in the largest single automotive technology facility in Europe, now officially named as Lord Bhattacharya building," said Speth.

"Ten years ago, (Tata Group Chairman Emeritus) Ratan Tata had the vision to bring Jaguar Land Rover into the Tata family. Since then, JLR has grown to become a global player in the luxury, premium and performance marketplace, an exemplar of British invention and engineering excellence," he added.

The soft launch of the new centre, which took place last week, coincided with a conference jointly hosted by WMG, Coventry and Warwickshire Local Enterprise Partnership (CWLEP) and the Consulate of India as part of the Coventry and Warwickshire Business Festival.
The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) has asked both Google and WhatsApp, in two separate letters, to clarify their plans of storing local payments data related to the Indian customers exclusively in India.

Earlier, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) had asked National Payment Corporation of India (NPCI) to check whether WhatsApp and Google's payment service conformed to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) rules.

On April 5, 2018, RBI had said that all payment system operators will have to ensure that data related to payments is stored only in India and firms would have six months to comply with it.

WhatsApp and Google were also asked to not store any mirror copies of the data outside of India. Both the companies are yet to give clarity on the 'exclusivity' clause - a key stipulation of RBI.

Google is yet to publicly reply about the compliance but has maintained its support for free flow of data between the countries. It however said, as per the ET report, that it will slowly increase its local data storage capacity in India and work to support partners regulated by RBI.

Meanwhile, MeiTy is concerned about WhatsApp sharing data with Facebook in the wake of recent data breach issue of the social media major with the UK-based political consulting firm Cambridge Analytica, PTI report had said. WhatsApp, on the other hand, said that its parent firm does not use payment information for commercial use.
The land for a proposed India-UAE-Saudi Arabia oil refinery in Maharashtra will be allocated in the coming weeks; a UAE envoy said Thursday as he sought to assuage New Delhi's concern over fuel deficit in view of US sanctions against Tehran.

The remarks by Emirates' envoy Ahmed Albanna on the allocation of land in Maharashtra's Ratnagiri district came at a time when the project was facing opposition from the locals as well political parties, including the Shiv Sena.

In a media briefing this week, Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale had said Prime Minister Narendra Modi would raise the issue of volatility in global oil prices at the G20 Summit in Argentina.

Responding to a question on whether there will be a demand-supply mismatch, especially once the six-months' relief given by the US to cut down oil imports from Iran ends, the envoy said fuel prices were determined by demand by different markets globally.

"Will there be a shortage? I don't think so. Yes, India was given relief from US boycott with seven other countries. Even if that had not taken place, if you go back to history, in previous times, the UAE and Saudi always stood very strongly and supplied and covered any shortages of oil or fuel to India. So I don't think there is a major concern over that," Albanna told reporters ahead of the 47th National Day of his country.

India's top three oil suppliers are Iraq, Saudi Arabia and Iran. The UAE is also one of the major oil suppliers to India.

Earlier this month, India was given a six-month relief by the US to bring Iranian oil imports to zero under the Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA), aimed at hitting the Russian, Iranian and North Korean entities hard.

In June this year, the world's biggest oil producers, Saudi Arabian oil company Saudi Aramco, Abu Dhabi National Oil Co (Adnoc), the state-run oil firm of the UAE, and India came together to develop the refinery and petrochemicals complexes in Ratnagiri jointly.

Fearing that the land in the area would lose fertility and be a threat to Alphonso mangoes and fishing hamlets, the locals were opposing the project. The Shiv Sena, a BJP ally at the Centre and in the state, also opposed it.

"The state of Maharashtra is in a stage of allocating land. The land will be allocated in coming two weeks or months," the UAE envoy said.

Responding to a question on the extradition of Christian Michel, a British national and alleged middleman wanted by Indian investigative agencies in the Rs 3,600-crore AgustaWestland VVIP choppers deal case, Albanna said the matter should be left to the judicial system in the UAE.

This month, a Dubai court ordered Michel's extradition to India.

He said the two countries have a Joint Commission meeting in Abu Dhabi on December 4 led by External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and her counterpart.

He added that both sides were keen to review the air services agreement to bring down prices and increase flight operations without interfering with individual carriers to benefit passengers.

Fifty-five per cent of Indians travelling overseas transit through the UAE, he said.

The envoy said an agreement would soon be signed between the UAE and India for setting up a fast-track single window system for investments.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday arrived in Argentina's capital of Buenos Aires to attend the G-20 summit where he will discuss ways to meet the new and upcoming challenges of the coming decade with other world leaders, including US President Donald Trump.

On the sidelines of the two-day 13th G-20 summit, Modi, Trump and Japanese Premier Shinzo Abe will hold a trilateral meeting amidst China flexing its muscles in the strategic Indo-Pacific region.

The trilateral, which would be an expansion of the bilateral meeting between Trump and Abe, is part of the series of meetings the US president would have on the sidelines of the G-20 summit on November 30 and December 1.

White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said the trilateral meeting with Prime Minister Modi would be held towards the end of the Trump-Abe talks.

"Looking forward to a wide range of interactions at the G-20 Summit, aimed at furthering sustainable development," Prime Minister Modi tweeted soon after he landed here.

"Thousands of kilometres apart, yet bound together by the spirit of oneness! Extremely grateful to the Indian community for the memorable welcome in Argentina," he said in another tweet as enthusiastic members of the Indian diaspora welcomed the prime minister at his hotel here.

Later on Thursday, Modi will have two important bilateral meetings with the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia Mohammad bin Salman and UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.

"In recent years, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has been a valuable partner. The relationship has expanded beyond the Indian community to issues related to the economy, energy and security. All issues of bilateral and regional interest will be discussed," PMO sources said.

"The UN Secretary General has reached out to the PM for the second time in two months," the sources said.

They said the meeting signifies the importance that both leaders attach to the issue of climate change. This outreach comes just a week before the COP24 meeting in Katowice, Poland.

"It reflects the respect in which the prime minister and his initiatives are held globally to take the lead on issues of global importance," the sources said.

Modi will also meet Chinese President Xi Jinping and German Chancellor Angela Merkel on the sidelines of the event, the Ministry of External Affairs had said on the eve of his departure.

He will be in Buenos Aires from November 29 to December 1.

Modi will also meet Argentinian President Mauricio Macri, Chilean President Sebastian Pinera, along with the prime ministers of Spain, Jamaica, the Netherlands and the president of the European Union and the European Council.

A bilateral meeting between Modi and French President Emmanuel Macron is also being worked out.

"As in the past, I look forward to the opportunity to meet leaders on the sidelines of the summit to exchange views on bilateral matters of mutual interest," Modi had said in his departure statement.

The prime minister will also speak on his flagship programmes like the Jan Dhan Yojana, the Mudra scheme, Ayushman Bharat, and soil health card at the G-20 Summit.

Modi will make a pitch to countries who are not within the Tropic of Cancer and Capricorn to join the International Solar Alliance.

He will also highlight the risks posed by oil price volatility and raise the issue of combating terror financing and money laundering.

Among the issues to be discussed will be the strengthening of the WTO. The meeting is being held amid the ongoing trade war between the US and China.

Modi said that through the ten years of its existence, the G-20 has strived to promote stable and sustainable global growth.

"This objective is of particular significance for developing countries and emerging economies such as India, which is today the fastest growing large economy in the world," he said.

Modi said India's contribution to global economic growth and prosperity underlined its commitment to 'Building Consensus for Fair and Sustainable Development', which is the theme of the summit.

"I look forward to meeting leaders from other G-20 countries to review the work of G-20 in the last ten years of its existence and chart the ways and means to meet the new and upcoming challenges of the coming decade," he said.

The prime minister said the participants would deliberate on the situation of the global economy and trade, international financial and tax systems, the future of work, women empowerment, infrastructure and sustainable development.

Emerging economies, which played a major role in revitalising the growth in the global economy pursuant to the financial crisis are today facing unprecedented economic and technological challenges, Modi said.

"I will highlight the need for reformed multilateralism which reflects the contemporary realities and can effectively strengthen collective action for global good," he said.

The prime minister stressed on the need to strengthen international cooperation and enhance coordinated action against fugitive economic offenders and financing of terrorism.
In June, in the face of the brouhaha that had erupted after the Directorate General of Goods and Services Tax Intelligence asked the already struggling banks to pay taxes on their free services from 2012 onwards, the government had been compelled to backpedal.

But it is now making a U-turn. According to The Economic Times, over the past two months, the tax department had issued preliminary notices to domestic and multinational banks seeking to levy GST on services such as issuing cheque books and additional credit cards, ATM usage, refund of fuel surcharge, and the like. These are all services that have so far been extended to customers who maintain a minimum balance in their account for free - only customers with no-frills or zero-balance accounts were charged for such services.

With the profitability of Indian banks already under considerable pressure, top lenders including State Bank of India, ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank are reportedly considering passing on this cost to customers.

"Most banks are now considering passing on the GST cost to the customer. This would be a pure pass-through and the amount would go directly to the government," VG Kannan, CEO of the Indian Banks' Association, told the daily. "How much the customer would be charged would differ from one bank to another as that would depend on how the free services are valued."

According to the tax department, the free services that customers maintaining a minimum balance in their accounts have hitherto been enjoying have a "deemed value" and are taxable. The applicable GST will be calculated taking into account the charges paid for such services by the other banking customers.

Citing sources in the know the report added that most of the major banks have agreed to start charging customers 18% GST on the free services, perhaps as early as December - and foreign banks and the smaller players will wait to take their cues and methodology from the larger banks.

The bottomline is that irrespective of what kind of account you hold, banking is likely to get costlier in the near future. In fact, the buzz is that banks may not only ask customers to pay up for the free services received in the past five years but also increase charges across the board to pay a retrospective tax.

The principal amount that the taxman has sought from all the banks put together is around Rs 15,000 crore, BloombergQuint reported, adding that it is expected to increase to about Rs 35,000 crore after factoring in interest and penalties.

The highest tax liability notice of about Rs 6,500 crore was served on HDFC Bank Ltd., while ICICI Bank Ltd., Axis Bank Ltd and State Bank of India Ltd. were asked to pay Rs 3,500 crore, Rs 2,500 crore, around Rs 1,000 crore, respectively, the portal previously claimed. Even foreign banks like DBS Bank and Citibank have reportedly been slapped with the GST notices. Significantly, these new notices are separate from those served in April to recover about Rs 40,000 crore in service tax and penalties from all the banks.

According to experts, the tax department's logic in determining the value of free services provided under the contract between a bank and its customers may not only lead to other complications but also prompt similar notices in other sectors such as telecom, real estate and advertising. After all, extending the same principle, all other sectors that extend volume or other types of discounts could also be served tax demands.

"Levy of GST on discretionary charges levied by banks for nonadherence of certain parameters would increase the cost to certain categories of customers, in addition to opening avenues for many more similar cases where charges are levied without any underlying services. Many other businesses will be watching the developments in this space as technically there could be a need to pay GST on such charges in terms of Schedule 2 of the CGST Act," MS Mani, a partner at Deloitte India told the daily.

(Edited by Sushmita Choudhury Agarwal)
Unilever's Chief Executive Paul Polman will step down next month after ten years in the job, leaving insider Alan Jope to step into his shoes after the Anglo-Dutch group's failed attempt to shift its headquarters.

A UK investor revolt forced Polman and the Unilever board to scrap a plan in October to move the headquarters of the dual-listed company, which makes Dove soap and Ben & Jerry's ice cream, to the Netherlands.

Company veteran Jope, 54, is the boss of the beauty and personal care division which is Unilever's largest, accounting for almost half of group annual profits. The Scotsman also previously led the company's business in China and had long been seen as a possible successor to Polman.

"Our global footprint includes strong positions in many important markets for the future, and our focus will remain on serving our consumers, and our other multiple stakeholders, to deliver long-term growth and value creation," Jope said.

At the helm since January 2009, Polman, 62, generated big returns for shareholders totalling 290 per cent over the period, expanded its presence in emerging markets, and in 2017 fended off a $143 billion takeover approach by Kraft-Heinz.

That failed bid, however, helped prompt Dutchman Polman to seek to simplify Unilever's structure by shifting its headquarters to Rotterdam. That angered UK-based shareholders as Unilever would have left the UK FTSE 100 share index, forcing some to sell.

Unilever's board, led by Chairman Marijn Dekkers, ditched the HQ move plan on Oct. 5 after it became clear that it could fall short of the investor approval needed.

Dekkers denied the row had accelerated Polman's retirement.

"The appointment of Alan Jope as the successor of Paul has nothing to do with the simplification process," he told reporters on Thursday.

Polman's decision to retire was not unexpected, and the board had started a process a year ago to consider appropriate replacements, Dekkers added.

"That's why we were able to appoint Alan immediately," he said.

Polman's reputation as a champion of issues like sustainability and the company's social impact wasn't always appreciated. Bernstein analyst Andrew Wood said some investors were irked by what they considered a "preachy" style but added that Polman had a strong record over the past decade.

"Just like one of Unilever's highest-profile products, Marmite, Polman engenders strongly differing opinions from investors," Wood said.

"We consider that Polman has been an exceptionally good CEO of Unilever," Wood added.

Dekkers said that Jope's appointment "stands for continuity", reassuring investors that the company was on track to meet guidelines set by Polman, that includes a target for an underlying operating margin of 20 per cent by 2020.

Unilever investor Skagen Global Fund said it hoped that Jope would build on Polman's legacy.

"Jope is an impressive executive, and we congratulate the board on an excellent choice of successor," Skagen Global fund portfolio manager Knut Gezelius said.

"Choosing Jope over presumably a long list of strong external candidates is another testament to the strength of the internal bench and management quality at Unilever."

The appointment of Jope rebalances the Anglo-Dutch leadership of the company in favour of the British-side. While Dekkers is Dutch, Unilever's Chief Financial Officer Graeme Pitkethly is also British.

Dekkers said that nationality played no role in how Unilever made appointment decisions.

Pitkethly, who was involved in the media campaign defending the plan to move the HQ, had also been rumoured as a possible replacement for Polman.

Jope joined Unilever as a graduate trainee in 1985. He will be paid a fixed salary of 1.45 million euros ($1.65 million) plus an annual target bonus of 150 per cent of fixed pay in his new role as CEO.

Investors will not have to wait long for a chance to quiz the company on its future - Unilever is due to hold an investor day in Mumbai, India on Dec. 4 and 5.

On the new CEO's agenda will be Unilever's bid for GlaxoSmithKline's Indian Horlicks nutrition business, where it is competing against consumer giant Nestle, as well as handling any fallout from a possible no-deal Brexit as Britain is due to leave the EU in March 2019.

Polman, who was paid a fixed annual salary of 1.4 million pounds but with bonuses took home a total package of about 10 million pounds, will stay on for six months to support Jope's transition into the role, Unilever added in its statement.

Shares in Unilever traded 0.2 per cent higher in midafternoon. The stock has risen 170 per cent since Polman took the top job, outperforming Britain's bluechip index which is up about 75 per cent.
Irish financial services firm Permanent TSB (PTSB) said on Thursday it had agreed to sell a 1.3 billion euro portfolio of problem mortgage loans in a securitisation deal, reducing its bad debt level to below 10%.

Bailed out like other major Irish banks in the financial crisis, PTSB has been trying to reduce its exposure to non-performing loans (NPLs) and focus on providing services for consumers and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

CEO Jeremy Masding said the securitisation deal "reduces the NPL ratio to less than 10% thereby enabling PTSB to continue to compete in the Irish retail and SME banking market."

The bad loan ratio was about 26% on Jan. 1 this year.

Irish banks are under pressure from the European Central Bank to reduce bad loans which ballooned after Ireland's property crash. PTSB is 75 percent state-owned.

Most of the 6,272 mortgages in the sale were restructured but are classified as non-performing loans (NPLs), the bank said. They include 4,046 "split" mortgages, where repayments on a portion of the loans are frozen until a future date.

The bank would continue as the contact point for customers affected by the transaction for six months, at which point loan outsourcing company Pepper Finance Corporation will take over legal title to the loans.

"We tried to get the balance right between what we might call the optimal customer outcomes, and doing the right thing for the long-term future of the bank," Masding told a conference call, although he said he expected "political blowback."

Irish banks have been criticised for selling off loans which they made during the housing boom before the 2008 financial crisis to international distressed asset funds, which consumer groups say take a more aggressive approach to borrowers.

The PTSB transaction involves the transfer of the problem mortgages to a securitisation vehicle, called Glenbeigh Securities 2018  1 DAC, which will issue the bonds.

PTSB's Common Equity Tier 1 (CET 1) ratio will increase by around 30 basis points as a result of the deal.

The gross balance sheet value of the loans is around 0.91 billion euros. (Reuters)

Source: www.businessworld.ie
Over 200 hotel owners, managers, agents and suppliers gathered in Dublin yesterday for a Bank of Ireland Hotel Sector Business Briefing. Attendees heard that the improved economy is responsible for a large volume of new hotel development planning permissions and a wave of capital investment projects in hotels across the country.

Bank of Ireland say the hospitality environment has changed dramatically in recent years led by sustained & evolving growth in demand that has seen visitors from North America and Continental Europe increase by 34% and 14% respectively over the last two years (YTD October) while dependency in the Great Britain market has diluted as their numbers are down 6% for the same period.

Attendees at yesterdays event heard how domestic demand continues to thrive as unemployment figures maintain a downward trend which at the end of October stands at 5.3% (1.3% down on the previous year). Dublins widely reported and much debated under-capacity is now spreading with rooms in short supply in various locations during periods of heightened demand.

Furthermore, corporate activity in the hotel sector is also strong and based on data 2019 is expected to be another strong year for corporate demand. The sector is a vital contributor the Irish economy responsible for about 8% of total employment.

Addressing the event, Head of Hospitality, Bank of Ireland Business Banking, Gerardo Larios Rizo said, "Irelands reputation as a world class destination is still rising with initiatives like the Wild Atlantic Way, Irelands Hidden Heartlands and the Ancient East going strong and likely to deliver further increases in overseas visitors in the coming years. Increased air and sea access, planned food tourism initiatives and the strengthening of our vast cycle ways should also support a diverse and hopefully more sustainable growth strategy."

Source: www.businessworld.ie
IDA Ireland, in partnership with IT Sligo and Sligo County Council, have today officially opened a new fast landing property solution.

The establishment of IDA Irelands first fast landing service at Embankment House, Sligo, to be known as The Landing Space, will provide an open plan, turnkey collaborative working environment for companies who wish to quickly and easily establish operations in the North West region.

It is the latest strategic initiative by IDA Ireland to increase investments in regional locations by enhancing and highlighting the specific property attributes of individual regional urban centres.

Siro and Vodafone are supporting The Landing Space with the provision of Gigabit connectivity, the most powerful broadband available in Ireland, as it becomes the latest participant in Vodafone and SIROs national Gigabit Hub Initiative, which offers a 1 Gigabit (1,000 Mbps or Megabits per second) broadband connection to qualifying business hubs in regional towns.

Companies based in The Landing Space will benefit from the same level of broadband connectivity as available in leading international hubs such in locations like Tokyo and Hong Kong.

Speaking at todays launch, Minister of State for Natural Resources, Community Affairs and Digital Development Sean Canney said, "Sligo has benefitted greatly in recent months from the arrival of global companies like Phibro, LiveTiles and E3 Retail. Its proof that everything that global companies require to establish and scale up their operations can be found here  such as talent, services and infrastructure."

IDA Irelands Executive Director, Mary Buckley added, "This top quality, turn-key property adds significantly to the value proposition we can offer clients and will greatly assist our efforts to attract inward investment to Sligo. The collaborative work of all local stakeholders represented here today, including IT Sligo and Sligo County Council, is really important and demonstrates that creating an attractive location for investment benefits greatly from a team approach."

Source: www.businessworld.ie
By Teng Jing Xuan / Nov 30, 2018 06:36 PM / World

Former Taiwan leader Lee Teng-hui has been found to be suffering from light brain bleeding and is being hospitalized after a fall at home on Thursday, China News Service reported Friday.

Lee, aged 95, was Taiwans top elected official and chairman of the Kuomintang from 1988 to 2000.

Lees doctor said it was still very hard to say when Lee could be discharged, China News Service reported.
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A member of the Canberra Liberals and former ACT Legislative Assembly staffer is under investigation for allegedly making a Nazi signal. The young man is alleged to have raised his right hand in a salute and said "Heil Hitler" at a party function in September. A formal complaint was made to the party and the man was issued with a show cause notice. The man later posted the letter online. Canberra Liberals president John Cziesla confirmed the alleged incident took place at an ANU Liberal Club branch function. He said the branch had not been affiliated with the Canberra Liberals for a decade however a complaint was made to the party on November 21. He said the young man used to work for Canberra Liberals Assembly member James Milligan one day a week for three months on a temporary contract. Liberals Andrew Wall and Candice Burch were thanked for attending the event on the ANU Liberal Club's website although Mr Cziesla could not confirm their presence and Mr Wall redirected questions to Mr Cziesla. Mr Cziesla said the committee was finalising its preliminary investigation against the former staffer. The committee will then make a recommendation whether to proceed to disciplinary action, which could range from a reprimand to expulsion. He said the offence was viewed so seriously there could be grounds for expulsion. "We view this behaviour as totally and utterly unacceptable. We have zero tolerance for people doing this," Mr Cziesla said.

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Hayley and Charlotte Fitzpatrick had always dreamt of a big white, fairytale wedding. "We were planning our wedding from pretty much day dot," Charlotte said. The Canberra couple was one of 1773 female couples to get married in the six months after same sex marriage became legal in Australia on December 9, 2017. There were 3149 same-sex weddings held in Australia in that period, with 59 of those marriages in the ACT - 66 per cent of them females, according to new Australian Bureau of Statistics data. James Eynstone-Hinkins, director of the bureau's Health and Vital Statistics Section, said the data provided new insights into the demographics and location of same-sex marriages across Australia. There are distinct differences between male and female same-sex marriages that emerge from this data, Mr Eynstone-Hinkins said. There were more female same-sex couples marrying, representing 56.3 per cent of the total registrations by 30 June 2018, compared to 43.7 per cent for male same-sex couples. In addition, the median age at which male same-sex couples got married was almost 10 years older than females  48.5 years compared to 39 years." Charlotte and Hayley were not surprised that more females couples decided to take the plunge, putting it down to the old stereotype of women being more ready and willing to settle down. They were high school sweethearts, so to speak, meeting when they were in year 11, with Charlotte knowing Hayley was the one for her very early on. Their friendship developed into something more after about two and a half years. They moved in together within two weeks of being in a relationship, and were engaged within 18 months. Their March wedding fell in the most popular month for same sex couples to get married, with 23 per cent of all marriages happening in that month. The couple was not going to wait until the laws passed to get married, with their nuptials originally planned as a commitment ceremony before the laws were changed. While they wanted to get married because of the practicalities, especially once they decide to have children, they had also wanted a big white wedding. "The piece of paper itself, I didn't really realise how important it was until I could do it," Hayley said. That piece of paper now takes pride of place in their dining room. They preferred to stay away from the debate in the lead up to the plebiscite, finding it difficult to know people were debating their private life around water coolers across the country. "Everyone knew we were getting married, and they were debating whether we should be allowed to or not. It was really difficult to have an input, so I stayed quiet through most of it," Hayley said. While they don't face overt opposition to their relationship, they believe there is still a way to go to normalising same sex relationships. A wedding photo sits on Charlotte's desk. Hayley is mistaken for anyone and everyone - sister, twin, bridesmaid - except her wife. Hayley and Charlotte's celebrant Michelle Bailey said most of the other same-sex marriages she had officiated since the laws changed had been female couples, having so far married six female couples and one male couple. She said the initial thought that there was going to be a flurry of same-sex marriages never quite eventuated. She said the ages of the couples she had married varied from those in their mid-20s, like Hayley and Charlotte, to people in their 70s - whose relationships were once vilified but could now marry the person they love. "It was more that you could now say, 'no thank you, I don't want to be married' [rather] than being told 'no you can't'," Michelle said. "From a celebrant's point of view weddings have not changed. I am embracing the fact that I can take the marriage journey with all couples now. "What has changed for celebrants is the legal documentation, which now refers to each person within the couple as a party, not bride and groom. "It will be refreshing when my pile of certificates that say 'signature of bride and groom' are exhausted and everyone will receive those stating 'signature of parties to be married'."

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Household drone delivery company Wing has lodged plans to establish a permanent base in Mitchell, as it prepares to launch into Canberra's northern suburbs. The tech company is planning to spend about $1.1 million to transform an existing warehouse on Vicars Street into a base for its drones, which are set to offer deliveries into nearby Gungahlin, Harrison, Franklin, Palmerston and Crace from early next year. It comes as residents opposed to Wing's trial in Bonython this week presented a 1000-signature petition to the ACT Assembly, which urged parliamentarians to block the company's push into Canberra's north. Wing is spruiking its Mitchell operation as a potential economic boon for the ACT, with predictions the drones will slash overheads for businesses and cut delivery times for customers. The US-based company expects to hire about 24 workers to run the Mitchell facility, which will include food preparation for business whose products are being delivered, as well as office space. It plans to offer about 30-50 deliveries a day when the service launches, with a view to increasing the frequency of flights as customer number increase. Plans for the headquarters are subject to ACT government approval, while Wing will need to get permission from the Civil Aviation Safety Authority before it starts deliveries around Gungahlin. On Friday, Wing released research it commissioned from consultants AlphaBeta, which found drone deliveries could save customers a combined 3 million hours on pick-up journeys by 2030. It follows predictions from the same firm that drone deliveries could inject up to $40 million a year into the ACT economy, with the aircraft offering a quick and cheap delivery method capable of connecting businesses to a vastly expanded range of customers. Wing chief executive James Ryan Burgess said the company was undertaking extensive consultation with the local community before it launched into Canberra's north. Consultation will be held in the next fortnight, starting with feedback session at the Crace Christmas Carnival on Saturday. We feel privileged to be a small part of Canberras story as an innovative city of the future, by showcasing what the future of faster, safer and more environmentally responsible transport looks like," Mr Burgess said. As Wing establishes its longer-term site, our priority is to listen to the residents of Canberra - particularly those in Franklin, Harrison, Crace, Gungahlin and Palmerston where we hope to be operating - to understand their preferences, questions and concerns before we begin operating. Wing's drones have completed more than 2000 deliveries since they arrived in Australia in 2014, with the majority of those coming during its ongoing trial in Bonython. The service has sparked a strong community backlash, with residents and parliamentarians raising concerns about the noise, invasion of privacy and a perceived lack of oversight from authorities. Residents opposing the trial this week presented a 1024-signature petition to the ACT Assembly, which called on the government to block future drone delivery services in the capital, including Wing's proposed operation in Canberra's north. The assembly this voted month voted to establish an inquiry into household drone delivery, which will examine the Bonython trial, potential gaps in regulation and the economic benefit and environmental impact of the delivery method. Liberal Mark Parton this week praised the Bonython activists, saying their efforts to rally opposition to Wing's trial represented "serious community activism at work". "Whatever you think about the issue of drone delivery, you cannot question the hard work and passion of this group," Mr Parton told the assembly.

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Himachal woman entrepreneurs showcase their products at exhibition-cum-sale mela

Diaspora

Bibi Jagir Kaur honored by World Peace Diplomacy Organization USA for her outstanding performance in the SGPC

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Sahaita partners with Atam Pargas to support 70 families of farmers who have passed away in Delhi protest
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There is a misconception in the job market that getting an opportunity is a difficult task. Many of the employees also feel that leaving a job is not encouraged without having an offer letter. The LinkedIn Opportunity Index has kept these misconceptions at bay with some statistical figures.

The inaugural LinkedIn Opportunity Index was published recently. It is a composite measure that aims to understand how people perceive opportunity and more important barriers that may prevent them from getting those opportunities. The LinkedIn Opportunity Index surveyed more than 11,000 respondents in nine markets in the Asia Pacific Region which are Australia, the Chinese Mainland, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Singapore.

Engineering Graduates Are More Employable Than MBA: India Skill Report 2019

According to the inaugural LinkedIn Opportunity Index, two out of three Indians are optimistic about the economic situation in the country. The survey also revealed that starting one's own business is also one among the top three opportunities for Indians.

The survey stated that many respondents felt they needed to overcome many barriers in order to access and realise the opportunities. These include one's financial status, the lack of a strong network, professional skills, direction and guidance and a difficult job market. It has revealed that despite the diversity of the region, there are many similarities in people's aspirations and the roadblocks they may face.

The lack of financial security and networks are roadblocks. Here are the percentages:

Financial Status: 31%

Lack of Networks and Connection: 20%

Difficult Job Market: 19%

Lack of Required Professional Skills: 18%

Lack of Direction And Guidance: 18%

Olivier Legrand, Managing Director, Asia Pacific, LinkedIn, said in a statement, ''In APAC, people in Indonesia and India are most confident about opportunities to get ahead. Two rapidly developing markets in the region, Indonesia and India took the top two spots on the Index - driven by people's confidence in the economic growth potential of these markets as well as their confidence in gaining access to and pursuing opportunities they identified as important.''

He also added that, ''On the other hand, more developed markets such as Japan, Hong Kong and Australia trailed in the Index, possibly because people in these markets have concerns about the economic outlook of the markets, and generally felt more cautious about their chances of accessing and achieving success with opportunities that are relevant to them.''

The survey also displayed that over 90 per cent of respondents from India feel that digital and social media provide the required resources to obtain a job they seek. However, 89 per cent feel that digital and social media helped them to learn news skills besides honing them.

Global University Employability Ranking 2018: IISc Bangalore Tops From India
Andhra Pradesh Public Service Commission (APPSC) has released an employment notification calling out aspirants to apply for the post of Assistant Executive Engineer. Those interested can check out the eligibility, salary scale, how to apply and the complete details of the government job here.

Candidates will be shortlisted through a screening test. The selection will be done through a written test in prelliminary and main stages. A mock test to gain familiarity over the test pattern is also available on the official website. The admit cards will also be released online. Reservation in seats will be provided according to government norms. Selected candidates can earn up to INR 91,450 per month. The last date to apply for this government job is 24 December 2018.

HARTRON Recruitment 2018 For Civil Engineers

APPSC Recruitment 2018 Vacancy Details

CRITERIA DETAILS Name Of The Posts Assistant Executive Engineer Organisation Andhra Pradesh Public Service Commission Educational Qualification Bachelor's degree in civil, electrical or mechanical engineering Experience Freshers can apply Skills Required Engineering skills Job Location Andhra Pradesh Salary Scale INR 37,100 to INR 91,450 per month Industry Civil services Application Start Date December 3, 2018 Application End Date December 23, 2018

Age Limit: 18 to 42 years

Also Read: HAL Recruitment 2018 For Air Traffic Controller Trainee

How To Apply For APPSC Recruitment 2018

In order to apply for APPSC Recruitment 2018, follow these steps:

Step 1: Log on to the APPSC official website.

Step 2: Click on the application link that will be active from 3 December 2018.

Step 3: The application form will open. Enter your details in the fields provided.

Step 4: Submit your details and complete the application process.

Follow the link - https://psc.ap.gov.in/(S(22zidi1mlwv3otnqpnd0cmnb))/Documents/AEEAttachments/AEE approved Notifn.NO.09- 2018.pdf to read the detailed official notification.
Bank of Baroda Financial Solutions Limited (BOBFSL) has released an employment notification calling out aspirants to apply for the posts of Area Sales Manager, Team Leader and Sales Officer. 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 industry standards. The last date to apply for this government job is 17 December 2018.

Syndicate Bank Recruitment 2018 For Housing Loan Counsellor

BOB Recruitment 2018 Vacancy Details

CRITERIA DETAILS Name Of The Posts Area Sales Manager, Team Leader and Sales Officer Organisation Bank of Baroda Financial Solutions Limited Educational Qualification Graduate degree from a recognised university. MBA will be given preference Experience 1 to 8 years Job Responsibilities Differs according to the posts Skills Required Banking skills Job Location Mumbai Salary Scale Not mentioned Industry Banking Application Start Date November 16, 2018 Application End Date December 17, 2018

Age Limit: 21 to 40 years

Also Read: Bank Job: BOB Recruitment 2018 For Industry Specialists

How To Apply For BOB Recruitment 2018

In order to apply for BOB Recruitment 2018, follow these steps:

Step 1: Log on to the BOBFSL official website.

Step 2: Scroll down to the bottom of the screen and click on the link that reads, Work With Us.

Step 3: On the next page, click on Current Openings.

Step 4: The list of vacancies will be displayed on the screen. Click on the link that reads, DST - Recruitment of Sales Staff for DST.

Step 5: The detailed advertisement will open. Read the details carefully.

Step 6: Scroll down to the bottom and click on the application link.

Step 7: The application form will open. Enter your details in the fields provided.

Step 8: Click Apply and complete the application process.

Follow the link - https://www.bobfinancial.com/documents/DST - Recruitment of Sales Staff for DST.pdf to read the detailed official notification.
Centre for Management Development (CMD), Kerala has released an employment notification calling out aspirants to apply for various posts such as Consultant, Accountant, Project Associate, District Coordinator and District Project Assistant. 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 60,000 per month. The last date to apply for this government job is 12 December 2018.

KPSC Recruitment 2018 For Various Posts: Apply Before Dec 19

CMD, Kerala Recruitment 2018 Vacancy Details

CRITERIA DETAILS Name Of The Posts Consultant, Accountant, Project Associate, District Coordinator and District Project Assistant Organisation Centre for Management Development (CMD), Kerala Educational Qualification Degree or diploma in relevant field or CA Experience 1 to 5 years depending on the post Skills Required Communication skills Job Location Kerala Salary Scale INR 18,000 to INR 60,000 per month Industry Nutrition Application Start Date November 28, 2018 Application End Date December 12, 2018

Maximum Age Limit: 40 years

Also Read: HAL Recruitment 2018 For Flight Safety Officer: Earn Up To INR 2,40,000

How To Apply For CMD, Kerala Recruitment 2018

In order to apply for CMD, Kerala Recruitment 2018, follow these steps:

Step 1: Log on to the CMD, Kerala official website.

Step 2: On the home page, under News, click on the link that reads, Click here to apply online application for selection to various posts in Kerala State Nutrition Mission.

Step 3: The application instructions will open. Read them carefully.

Step 4: Click the button that reads, Continue to Application.

Step 5: The application form will open. Enter your details in the fields provided.

Step 6: Click on the declaration checkbox.

Step 7: Upload the necessary documents.

Step 8: Click Submit and complete the application process.

Follow the link - https://www.cmdkerala.net/Notification v1-Nov.pdf to read the detailed official notification.
Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) has released an employment notification calling out aspirants to apply for the post of Production Test Pilot cum Flight Safety Officer (Grade VI/VII). Those interested can check out the eligibility, salary scale, how to apply and the complete details of the government job here. The application fee costs INR 550 and can be paid through a demand draft. Selected candidates can earn up to INR 2,40,000 per month. The last date to apply for this government job is 24 December 2018.

HARTRON Recruitment 2018 For Civil Engineers

HAL Recruitment 2018 Vacancy Details

CRITERIA DETAILS Name Of The Posts Production Test Pilot cum Flight Safety Officer (Grade VI/VII) Organisation Hindustan Aeronautics Limited Educational Qualification Full-time engineering degree along with a flight safety certificate Experience Working experience as Senior Aerospace Safety and Inspection Officer (SASIO) of a Station/ Command HQs / Working experience in Flight Safety Directorate at Air HQ or equivalent institute or work experience as Chief Operations officer at any base Job Responsibilities Advising and assisting the General Manager, Aircraft Overhaul Division, HAL, Nasik and concerned executives in maintaining a high standard of flight safety Skills Required Driving skills Job Location Nasik Salary Scale INR 80,000 to INR 2,40,000 per month Industry Aeronautics Application Start Date November 27, 2018 Application End Date December 24, 2018

Maximum Age Limit: 48 years

Also Read: HAL Recruitment 2018 For Air Traffic Controller Trainee

How To Apply For HAL Recruitment 2018

In order to apply for HAL Recruitment 2018, follow these steps:

Step 1: Log on to the HAL official website.

Step 2: Click the CAREERS tab on the home page.

Step 3: The list of vacancies will be displayed on the screen. Click on the link that reads, Requirement of Production Test Pilot -cum- Flight Safety Officer (Grade-VI/VII), HAL, Nasik (Advt No. HAL/HR/36(98)/2018/3).

Step 4: The detailed advertisement will open. Read the details carefully.

Step 5: Click on the link to open the application form.

Step 6: Save it to your computer and take a printout of it.

Step 7: Send the applications to HAL.

HAL Recruitment 2018 Application Format And Mailing Address

Superscribe on the envelope, "Application for the post of Production Test Pilot cum Flight Safety Officer" and send it to:

General Manager (HR) Hindustan Aeronautics Limited Corporate Office 15/1 Cubbon Road Bangalore - 560 001.

Follow the link - https://hal-india.co.in/Common/Uploads/Resumes/958_CareerPDF1_Detailed Advt Nasik TO and FSO.pdf to read the detailed official notification.
UKRAINE, Nov 30: Ukrainian officials on Friday barred Russian males between the ages of 16 and 60 from traveling to the country in the latest escalation of tensions between the neighbors.





The long-simmering conflict bubbled over Sunday when Russian border guards rammed into and opened fired on three Ukrainian vessels near the Crimean Peninsula, which Moscow annexed in 2014. The vessels were trying to pass through the Kerch Strait on their way to the Sea of Azov. The Russians then captured the ships and their 24-member crew.





The Ukrainian parliament on Monday adopted the president's motion to impose martial law in the country for 30 days in the wake of the standoff.





Petro Tsygykal, chief of the Ukrainian Border Guard Service, announced at a security meeting on Friday that all Russian males between 16 and 60 will be barred from traveling to the country while martial law is in place.





President Petro Poroshenko told the meeting that the measures are taken "in order to prevent the Russian Federation from forming private armies" on Ukrainian soil.





The announcement follows Thursday's decision by U.S. President Donald Trump to scrap the much-anticipated meeting with Russian leader Vladimir Putin. Trump said it isn't appropriate for him to meet with Putin since Russia hasn't released the Ukrainian seamen.





Russian government-appointed ombudswoman for Crimea told Russian news agencies that all the seamen have been transported from a detention center in Crimea. The three commanders have been taken to Moscow, she said. It wasn't immediately clear where the other 21 have been taken.





A Crimea court earlier this week ruled to keep the Ukrainian seamen behind bars for two months pending the investigation.




FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Soyia Ellison, soyia.ellison@cartercenter.org

ATLANTA  The Carter Center today released its Youth and Womens Consultations on Political Participation in Kenya report, which outlines key challenges women and youth face when trying to participate in politics and offers detailed recommendations for strengthening their political engagement in future elections.

The Center encourages stakeholders to begin implementing recommendations swiftly to foster an environment that allows youth and womens fair and safe participation in the 2022 electoral cycle.

The Carter Center observed Kenyas 2017 general election and found that while youth and women made minimal gains when contesting in the election, they faced serious challenges. The Center extended its activities to gain a better understanding of barriers to  and opportunities for  participation that exist for youth and women.

Multiple mechanisms are in place to support and strengthen youth and womens political participation, but these have not been fully enacted or implemented to reflect the principles articulated in the 2010 Constitution. Youth and women face serious financial, societal, and cultural challenges to their participation, including intimidation, harassment, and violence. Despite these challenges, they remain eager to participate as candidates, voters, and informed citizens.

The Center urges executive, parliamentary, and county government actors to take steps to protect and promote youth and womens participation. The Kenyan authorities should provide sufficient resources to constitutional commissions and other regulatory bodies, enabling them to fully enforce compliance with legal provisions and codes of conduct that advance youth and womens political participation. The Carter Center encourages political parties to reform and strengthen their internal party structures to increase the number of youth and women as both party members and decision-makers.

The Carter Center in Kenya:

The Carter Centers international election observation mission monitored key parts of the electoral process from April through November 2017. A core team of experts was joined by a large group of short-term observers to monitor voting, counting, and tallying for the Aug. 8 election. Because the Oct. 26 rerun election was marked by increased insecurity, an uncertain political environment, and an opposition boycott, the Center deployed a smaller, limited observation mission, which did not cover all areas of the country. The Center followed up its mission with the deployment of experts from February to August 2018 to conduct further activities focused on information and communications technology, legal reform, and womens and youth participation.

Related Resource

Youth and Womens Consultations on Political Participation (PDF) >

###

"Waging Peace. Fighting Disease. Building Hope."

A not-for-profit, nongovernmental organization, The Carter Center has helped to improve life for people in over 80 countries by resolving conflicts; advancing democracy, human rights, and economic opportunity; preventing diseases; and improving mental health care. The Carter Center was founded in 1982 by former U.S. President Jimmy Carter and former First Lady Rosalynn Carter, in partnership with Emory University, to advance peace and health worldwide.
Photo: The Canadian Press

Asylum-seekers who entered Canada irregularly last year will cost federal organizations $340 million  an amount projected to balloon to almost $400 million for migrants who arrive in 2019, the federal budget watchdog says.

A report Thursday from the parliamentary budget officer calculates the average cost of each irregular migrant who arrived in Canada between April 2017 and March 2018 at $14,321.

The actual amounts vary depending on how long asylum seekers wait for their refugee claims to be finalized, budget officer Yves Giroux wrote in his report. Claimants accepted at their first hearings cost the federal government less; those who exhaust all legal avenues and are eventually removed from Canada cost more.

The PBO projects that costs per migrant will rise to $16,666 in the fiscal year ending March 2020 because of longer wait times for migrants waiting to complete the entire asylum-claim process, which will mean the federal government will be responsible for their health care for longer.

Giroux warned that $340 million or more could become an annual cost if Canada doesn't see any decrease in the number of irregular asylum-seekers.

Canada has experienced an influx of irregular migrants through the border with the United States since early 2017, shortly after the Trump administration took steps to end temporary protected status for tens of thousands of migrants living in the U.S.

Since then, almost 35,000 asylum seekers have filed refugee claims at the Immigration and Refugee Board, Canada's arm's-length agency that deals with refugee claims and appeals.

A quirk in Canada's laws means that if someone makes an asylum claim on Canadian soil, Canada has to evaluate it. The same claim made at an official crossing from the United States would be rejected on the spot. Many claimants have avoided official border checkpoints where they would have been turned back to the U.S. under an agreement that defines the United States as a country where refugees can safely stay.

The PBO says this influx of irregular migrants has placed "significant pressure" on federal resources, leading to major delays in processing times for refugee claims.

Last year, the Immigration and Refugee Board had the capacity to handle 24,000 claims but got more than 52,000  half of which were from irregular migrants.

The federal government promised $173 million over two years to address rising costs, but Giroux said the growing backlog of claims shows that's not enough money.

"It's a bit like shooting yourself in the foot to underfund the IRB and other government agencies, because these kinds of savings end up increasing federal costs. So the savings, in terms of claims processing, end up costing more," he told reporters in French.

Border Services Minister Bill Blair said the government has increased spending to deal with border crossers, but has also been streamlining the claims system to keep costs low.

"Our first obligation is to ensure that all of our processes are as efficient as we can make them," he said. "We've been managing it within existing resources, and where additional resources are required, we'll come forward with that information. But I think our first obligation is to make sure that we're doing it efficiently, that we're doing it at the lowest cost possible while upholding our legal obligations."
Photo: The Canadian Press President Donald Trump, left, holds up his audio translator headphones as he speaks to Argentina's President Mauricio Macri, right, during their meeting at Casa Rosada, Friday, Nov. 30, 2018 in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

President Trump opened two days of diplomacy at the Group of 20 summit in Argentina on Friday after his abrupt decision to cancel a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin overshadowed the proceedings before they even started.

Trump was greeted warmly at the Casa Rosada by Argentine President Mauricio Macri, a longtime business acquaintance. Posing for photos in the gilded Salon Blanco, Trump spoke about their longtime personal relationship and said they would discuss trade, military purchases and other issues.

"We've known each other a long while," Trump said, noting he worked with Macri's father on real estate developments. The businessman-turned-politician joked that when he and Macri first met they'd never have imagined their future roles on the world stage.

Macri is hosting the summit as he struggles with problems at home. He is trying to halt economic turmoil that has caused the steep depreciation of the Argentine peso.

Trump, who arrived in Buenos Aires late Thursday, barrelled into the two-day meeting by announcing via Twitter that he was cancelling on Putin over Russia's seizure of Ukrainian vessels. His agenda Friday also includes meetings with the leaders of Japan and India, the signing of a revamped trade deal with Canada and Mexico, as well as a number of heavily choreographed group activities for the gathering of leaders of rich and developing nations.

Trump tweeted after his arrival: "Arrived in Argentina with a very busy two days planned. Important meetings scheduled throughout. Our great Country is extremely well represented. Will be very productive!"

The signing of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada agreement, or USMCA as Trump refers to it, comes a day before Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto's successor is set to be sworn in to office.

After the three countries' leaders sign the pact, it must be ratified by their respective legislatures. That could prove to be a difficult task in the United States, especially now that Democrats  instead of Trump's Republicans  will control the House of Representatives come January. Already Democrats and their allies in the labour movement are demanding changes to the agreement.

With his "America First" approach, general distaste for multinational deals and habit of insulting allies, Trump typically gets a mixed reception at global gatherings. Coming into this G-20, he faces a series of diplomatic challenges  most notably whether he can strike an agreement with Chinese President Xi Jinping to ease trade tensions that have rattled financial markets.

Trump's working dinner with Xi is set for Saturday evening. The American president was originally supposed to see Putin that day as well.

The president cancelled on Putin not long after his former lawyer, Michael Cohen, revealed he had lied to Congress to cover up that he was negotiating a real estate deal in Moscow on Trump's behalf during the Republican presidential primary in 2016. The news ensured any meeting with Putin would have put a spotlight on the special counsel's investigation into whether the Trump campaign colluded with Moscow during the campaign. Trump has denied any wrongdoing.

Trump showed that the Russia investigation was testing his ability to stay focused on summit business after he blasted the investigation in a fresh tweet on Friday, again calling it a "Witch Hunt!"

Trump's Friday schedule also includes an informal meeting with Australia's new prime minister.
Photo: The Canadian Press Travis Vader arrives at court in Edmonton in 2016.

Lawyers for a former Summerland man convicted of killing two Alberta seniors have asked for a new trial.

Travis Vader was sentenced in January 2017 to life in prison for manslaughter in the deaths of Lyle and Marie McCann.

Defence lawyers have asked the Alberta Court of Appeal for a new trial on the grounds there were a number of errors in the original one.

They argue the trial took too long so the convictions should be stayed.

They also note that the judge mistakenly used an outdated section of the Criminal Code and later substituted manslaughter for the original verdict of second-degree murder.

The McCanns, who were in their late 70s, vanished in 2010 after leaving their Edmonton-area home to go camping in British Columbia.

The Court of Appeal has reserved its decision.
Kathmandu, Nepal: President Bidya Bhandari is leaving for Katowice city of Poland on Saturday to participate in the 24th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP 24).





The Nepalese delegates led by the President Bhandari will attend in the opening ceremony of COP 24, which is scheduled for December 2-14.





According to a source at Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) President Bhandari would address Nepali community members at a function to be organized by the Embassy of Nepal at Berlin. The Nepalese embassy at Barlin is also accredited to the Republic of Poland.




Fauji Cement of Pakistan to build new cement plant

30 November 2018

At the 10th Extraordinary General Meeting of Fauji Cement Co (FCCL)'s Board of Directors, held on 29 November, the company secretary was authorised and empowered for the execution of a new cement plant in Pakistan. FCCL also elected executive, non-executive and independent directors for a term of three years commencing from 13 December 2018 to 12 December 2021.



First-quarter FY18-19 results

During first quarter of FY18-19, FCCL earned a net profit of PKR801m (US$5.97m) as compared to PKR444m in same period of the last year. Sales revenue stood at PKR5342m, compared to PKR4794m in corresponding period of last year showing growth of 11 per cent.



Cost of sales decreased by 11 per cent and company has earned a gross profit of 27 per cent as compared to 17 per cent of corresponding period of last year.



The improvement in profitability is mainly attributable to Line 2 being under rehabilitation last year and the company were also purchasing clinker from outside at that time, which affected margins. In the current accounting period Line 2 was has been running at optimum capacity.



FCCL's plant is located at Fateh Jang in Punjab. The clinker capacity stands 3.27Mta and 3.433Mta of cement, respectively.

Published under
Colombian cement demand up 5% in October

ICR Newsroom By 30 November 2018

The Colombian cement market expanded by 5.2 per cent to 1.083Mt in October 2018 when compared with 0.949Mt in October 2017, according to the countrys statistics office, DANE.



The markets of Meta and Bolivar registered the largest increases at 26 and 19.4 per cent, respectively, but significant gains were also made in the key markets of Cundinamarca (+7.6 per cent), Antioquia (+5.6 per cent) and Bogota (+5.4 per cent).



Domestic cement production in October rose by 2.4 per cent YoY to 1.107Mt.



January-October 2018

In the January-October 2018 period, cement demand in the Latin American country slipped 0.4 per cent YoY to 9.972Mt from 10.014Mt in the 10M17.



The dip in sales can be largely explained by a 6.1 per cent decrease in off-take in Bogota, which the 5.3 per cent rise in Valle del Cauca was unable to offset.



Production remained roughly stable at 10.25Mt in the first 10 months of 2018 when compared with 10.269Mt in the year-ago period.

Published under
KATHMANDU, Nov 30 : Visiting State Counselor of Myanmar Aung San Suu Kyi has met with Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli today morning.

During the meeting, the two leaders talked on a wide range of issues including the bilateral relations between Nepal and Myanmar as well as mutual cooperation between the two countries.





Present at the meeting were the Minister for Foreign Affairs Pradeep Gyawali, PM Oli's Chief Political Advisor Bishnu Rimal, PM Oli's Advisor of Foreign Affairs, Dr Rajan Bhattarai among others.

It is learnt that an agreement of mutual cooperation between the two countries would be signed today itself.




Republic Cement CEO elected head of ECCP

30 November 2018

The President of Republic Cement, Nabil Francis, has been elected as the new head of the European Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines (ECCP).

"At Republic Cement, we recognise the hard work and the many good things that the Chamber has done over the past years and I look forward to continuing this during my term," said Mr Francis.

Mr Francis will be replacing Guenter Taus, who will be leaving the chamber after three years since he is no longer part of any ECCP member company.



"We are very much looking forward to working closely with Mr Francis on the important advocacies that the ECCP champions. Republic Cement has been a staunch supporter of the Chamber for many years now as part of the ECCP Board. With Mr Francis elected as president, we are looking forward to even closer cooperation for the benefit of the European business community in the Philippines," said ECCP Executive Director, Florian Gottein.

Published under
The volunteers of the RSVP Program (Retired Seniors Volunteer Program) of Partnership for Families, Children, and Adults are putting their elf hats on and taking 103 students at Hillcrest Elementary a pair of pajamas that they can wear to school for their special Polar Express winter celebration. Many of these students are typically lacking warm clothes and pajamas, so this effort will give them a little extra during a difficult holiday season.

The Retired and Senior Volunteer Programs mission is to assist volunteers age 55 and over find meaningful volunteer opportunities in which they can share their experience, abilities and skills for the betterment of their community and themselves, said Joyce Lloyd, program manager.

Last year, RSVP adopted 40 children from Calvin Donaldson Elementary school and are continuing this holiday tradition for 2018.

Our volunteers love giving back to our community through this Polar Express PJs for Kids Program, said Ms.

Lloyd.

If you, or someone you know is interested in becoming an RSVP volunteer, contact Joyce Lloyd, RSVP program manager at JLloyd@partnershipfca.com or 423 755-2726.
by Melani Manel Perera

According to a Chinese Embassy spokesman in the United Kingdom, China holds "only" 10 per cent of the island nation's debt. Bilateral cooperation has created 100,000 jobs. In 2017, the port of Colombo was first in South Asia.

Colombo (AsiaNews)  A top Chinese government official has rejected the view that Sri Lankas economy is trapped by the debt incurred with China, or worse still, that Beijing is behind the countrys recent political instability.

An editorial in the Financial Times, titled Sri Lanka turmoil points to Chinas increasing role sparked a Chinese reaction.

Zeng Rong, a spokesman for the Chinese embassy in the United Kingdom, disputed the claim, saying that relations between the two countries have been marked by long years of good neighbourliness, common interests and a win-win policy with mutual benefits.

His response is part of an ongoing debate among analysts and politicians in South Asia, who believe that Beijing has inflated the cost of its projects to undermine recipient countries.

The article in UK newspaper published on 16 November states that China is becoming a supplier of political instability and sets a debt-trap for Sri Lanka and other countries. For Rong, by contrast, co-operation has delivered tangible benefit to the people of Sri Lanka.

By the end of 2017, Chinese companies had completed more than US$ 15 billion worth of infrastructure projects in Sri Lanka in transportation, water, electricity, ports and other fields, giving a strong boost to its economic development, Rong said.

He cited the Port of Colombo ranked 13th in the world and number one in South Asia in 2017. The Colombo Port City under construction and the Hambantota Port and Industrial Zone are expected to become the new powerful engines for Sri Lankas economic take-off, he added.

What is more, China-Sri Lanka pragmatic co-operation has created more than 100,000 jobs for Sri Lanka and trained tens of thousands of technical and management personnel.

Finally, the Embassy spokesman noted that by last year, Chinas loans to Sri Lanka represented only some 10 per cent of the countrys foreign debt. By comparison, Japans stood at 12 per cent, and that of Asian Development Bank at 14 per cent. For this reason, the claim that Chinas loans are causing problems for Sri Lanka is not tenable.
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The CO.STARTERS Holiday Gift Guide offers about 80 products made by small businesses around the U.S., including these 16 Chattanooga companies:

Best Sesh Board Co.Handmade reclaimed wood skateboards

Cheiman TeaHomemade instant Chai Latte mix

Color Cloud HammocksTravel hammocks in colorful combinations

CPR WrapDisposable template that guides nonmedical responders through CPR

Forman PotteryFunctional stoneware pottery

Fox and LambStationery and gifts by small-scale artists and makers

Good Fortune Soap and SpaNatural skin care products

Goodman Coffee RoastersLocally roasted coffee

Lucent GiftGift boxes for women facing cancer

Mad Priest Coffee RoastersLocally roasted coffee

Paint Tray SaverAn easier way to clean up after painting

PositiffiteaOrganic, fair-trade herbal tea blends

RangemarkBlock-printed home decor products

The Rustic HouseLuxury, soy-based candles

The STEAM TrainLow-cost robot kit

SWAYY HammocksInsulated hammocks

What these local starters have in common is that they were supported by The Company Lab (CO.LAB) and Launch Chattanooga, which are members of CO.STARTERS national network of member organizations. CO.STARTERS was founded in Chattanooga, growing out of community building work done through the downtown revitalization initiative CreateHere. It has grown into an independent company that works with grassroots leaders around the country to provide resources needed for new small businesses to get started and thrive.

Entrepreneurs and small businesses are the soul of a community, as well as the foundation of its economy, said Enoch Elwell, CO.STARTERS CEO. Our Holiday Gift Guide provides an easy way to support these small businesses in Chattanooga and around the country. Have fun exploring these interesting, unusual products, as this Gift Guide provides a delightful window into this creative community of starters.

The Gift Guide includes a wide variety of products, many of them socially-minded. Most are made by companies led by female founders. All proceeds go directly to these small local businesses.

The Gift Guide is available to shop at costarters.co/holidaygiftguide.




The Tennessee Fish and Wildlife Commission will have its final meeting of 2018 on Dec. 6-7 at the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agencys Region II Ray Bell Building in the Ellington Agricultural Center.

Committee meeting will start at 1 p.m. on Dec. 6. The regular TFWC meeting will begin Dec. 7 at 9 a.m.

This December meeting agenda will include a summary by James Kelly, Deer Program Coordinator James Kelly, on the draft of the strategic plan for deer management in Tennessee. Following the meeting, the draft plan will be available online on the TWRA website for a 30-day public comment period.

Representatives from the National Wild Turkey Federation (NWTF) and the NWTF Tennessee Chapter will be present at the meeting. The TWRA and NWTF have had strong partnership through the years in efforts to restore the wild turkey population. The NWTF is involved annually on various projects with the TWRA.

The TWRA is previewing proposed changes to Rule 1660-1-26 Rules and Regulations for Fish Farming, Catch-out Operations, and Bait Dealers. In an effort to prevent invasive species from being transferred into or propagated in Tennessee, the TWRA will propose a list of species that will be authorized for use in these operations.
We know all about racism. It seems over half of America has such a card in the wallet and we pull it out faster than a drivers license at a traffic stop. Earlier this month we had some tight political races between some good candidates but in the runoffs, featured a black Democrat versus a white Republican, if the black lost the vote it was racism, pure and simple.

Now we have a new word that will quickly join Americas new lexicon of ugly things we can accuse each other: That is bigotry. The Merriam-Webster definition is a person who is obstinately or intolerantly devoted to his or her own opinions and prejudices; especially: one who regards or treats the members of a group (such as a racial or ethnic group) with hatred and intolerance.

We have just learned Rider University, a private institution somewhere in New Jersey, is teaching bigotry with a furor. This spring the student body of plus-or-minus 5,000 was polled on what fast food chain that they would like see on campus. The majority wanted Chik-fil-A. It is the most popular and most acclaimed fast food chain in America for one main reason  the 2,200 locations in America serve good food.

But when the votes were tabulated, Rider officials quickly canned the results. Chick-fil-A was the overwhelming choice but the Rider liberal elites used the ballot for the basis of its continuing bigotry and its efforts to stifle independent thought.

In an open letter to the university and the citizens of New Jersey, Rider President Gregory G. DellOmo, Ph.D. and Vice President of Student Affairs, Leanna Fenneberg, Ph.D., tried to explain their reasons in a liberal sort of way.

* * *

RIDER COLLEGE OFFICIALS EXPLAIN THEIR OBJECTIONS TO CHIK-FIL-A

A few weeks ago, we sent a survey to students to elicit feedback on options for bringing a new restaurant franchise to Rider. Although it was included in previous surveys, Chick-fil-A was removed as one of the options based on the company's record widely perceived to be in opposition to the LGBTQ+ community.

That decision required a difficult assessment of competing interests. We sought to be thoughtful and fair in balancing the desire to provide satisfying options for a new on-campus restaurant while also being faithful to our values of inclusion.

The choices in this situation, like in so many others, were imperfect. They challenged us to reflect on our values and consider what kind of community we want to provide for those who live and learn at Rider University. Ultimately, we decided to lean in the direction of creating a welcoming environment where differences can be appreciated and where each individual can expect to experience dignity and respect.

We understand that some may view the decision as being just another form of exclusion. We want to be clear that this was not the spirit in which the decision was made. We fully acknowledge an organizations right to hold these beliefs, just as we acknowledge the right for individuals in our community and elsewhere to also personally hold the same beliefs.

In many ways, this issue is one that goes beyond our decision and touches on a complex conversation taking place throughout the country. We believe this is a conversation worth having, and we encourage dialogue to take place where many individuals with different perspectives can engage one another respectfully. As an institution of higher learning, we believe strongly in the open exchange of ideas and positions  especially around a complex issue such as this one.

Because of that, we've asked Rider's Center for Diversity and Inclusion to organize a campus forum so that the voices of students, faculty, staff and others can continue to be heard, and we can all grow from this experience. We will share more details when they become available.

Sincerely,

President Gregory G. DellOmo and Vice President of Student Affairs Fenneberg

* * *

Chik-fil-A promptly turned the other cheek and an official reply read: Chick-fil-A is a restaurant company focused on food, service and hospitality, and our restaurants and licensed locations on college campuses welcome everyone. We have no policy of discrimination against any group, and we do not have a political or social agenda," the restaurant's spokesperson told CBS News.

The school said in a statement that the Chick-fil-A option was removed based on the company's record widely perceived to be in opposition to the LGBTQ community and admitted its decision could be seen as a form of exclusion, but the institution wanted to remain faithful to our values of inclusion.

Chick-fil-A is a fast-food chain well known for its Christian values, whose corporate purpose is To glorify God by being a faithful steward of all that is entrusted to us.

* * *

The morning rain makes smoke signals hard to read and the war drums are muffled as November comes to a close but, just you watch, this goofy decision will not turn out well for Rider University, not at all. The puzzling question is why Rider ever took on a giant with 120,000 employees and an impeccable reputation? Rule No. 3 is never pick a fight you cant win, and add the fact it is Chick-fil-A makes it all the more worse. Just you watch, Rider is in for some long days ahead.

royexum@aol.com
A beauty shop and the adjacent Lions Club burned in Lookout Valley early Friday morning.

At 3:45 a.m., Chattanooga firefighters responded to a commercial fire at 9 Aster Ave. A passerby reportedly saw the flames on the back side of the building and called 911.

Firefighters from Station 20 were the first on the scene and they confirmed that flames were visible at the rear of the building. Battalion Chief Chris Warren, the incident commander, said the firefighters searched the building and found no one inside.

As additional fire companies arrived on the scene, Chief Warren said the firefighters transitioned from an exterior to an interior attack, and managed to get the fire under control in 10 minutes. No injuries were reported.

Chief Warren said the structure is known as the Otis O'Dell building. The cause of the fire is under investigation.

Chattanooga Police and Hamilton County EMS also provided assistance on the scene.

The loss was estimated at $50,000.


The Chattanooga Stake of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, at 3067 Ooltewah Ringgold Road, will host its annual Christmas Music Devotional at 7 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 8. Everyone of every age is welcome to attend. The event is free of charge.

The concert will celebrate the birth and life of Jesus Christ through music. The prelude will include a special rendition of Ave Maria, Coventry Carol, and O Holy Night, with guitar and harp accompaniments. The choir and congregation will open the service by singing Joy to the World.

Other musical presentations include Carol of the Bells; O Come, O Come Emmanuel; For Unto Us a Child is Born; O Come All Ye Faithful; The Night that Christ was Born; God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen; Away in a Manger; Gesu Bambino; What Child is This?; To Save is Why He Came; This is the Christ; My Gift, My Offering; Hallelujah Chorus; He Sent His Son; and The First Noel. Many songs will be sung with instrumental accompaniment to include bells, flutes, trumpets, guitars, harps, piano, and the organ. The choir and congregation will conclude with Silent Night.

To Save is Why He Came is an original composition written and composed by Cristy Schuch. An all-womens chorus from the Schuch, Collier and Wolfe families will perform the song for the first time.

Stake choir director Kathy Wolfe said, Our intent is to lift the spirits of all those in the greater Chattanooga area by putting Christ at the center of Christmas. We invite everyone to join us in praising His holy name, especially during this Christmas season when we celebrate that He lived, and died, and Arose from the grave that we might live again. This is the joy of Jesus. So, come, let us adore Him of whom the prophets and apostles have testified will come again to usher in the blessings of peace on earth and goodwill toward men (Luke 2:14).
Lee University hosted its annual student Thanksgiving lunch for students who couldnt travel home for Thanksgiving. The lunch was held in the Deacon Jones Dining Hall and included over 80 Lee students, faculty, staff, and local alumni.

This is the ninth year that Lee has hosted the lunch for students on campus, but it is the first year that alumni have also participated in the event.

It was really cool to have some of our local alums join us for this occasion, said Amber Morris, administrative assistant to the vice president for university relations. We had some that were in their 70s and 80s that came and participated with the students. It was a true family-style meal.

Sodexo, Lees dining service, catered the lunch, providing traditional Thanksgiving fare such as turkey, roast beef, mashed potatoes and gravy, mac n cheese, and corn. They also served a Nigerian chicken and rice dish to celebrate Lees international students in attendance.

Dean of Students Alan McClung offered a prayer before the meal commenced. Students were able to submit their names for a door prize, and this year everyone was given a candy bag with a Chick-Fil-A gift card.

We had so much fun, the food was in plenty, and it was such a special time to come together, interact, and share our gratitude, said sophomore biochemistry major Mercy Chepchumba, an international student from Kenya who attended the meal. I just love Lee and am very thankful that it provides such opportunities.




Hasan Minhajs humble beginnings

Hasan Minhaj made a name for himself by tackling political issues in The Daily Show and roasting the elite at the White House Correspondents Dinner. But how did his career start? When Minhaj saw his first stand-up special, Never Scared by Chris Rock, he knew he wanted to get into comedy. Between the fated experience and his major in political science, its no surprise that Minhaj is renown for his politically charged satire.

Minhajs humble beginnings included him winning Wild 94.9s Best Comic Standing in 2008, becoming a finalist in NBCs Stand Up for Diversity in 2009 and several appearances on TV in shows like State of Georgia, Disaster Date, Arrested Development and Getting On. Now the rising comedian is carving his path in Hollywood and slowly making his way up the ranks to join the top ten highest paid comedians list.

Hasan Minhajs big break

On November 19, 2014, Minhaj officially joined The Daily Show as a correspondent. He was selected by Jon Stewart to come in for an in-person audition after his taped audition made a splash in the viewing room. Minhaj initially panicked as he hadnt prepared any additional material, but lucky for, him inspiration is never that far off for a comedian.

The Friday before his audition Ben Affleck and Bill Maher got into a heated debate on Real Time with Bill Maher that provided Minhaj with all the inspiration he needed for the sketch that got him hired. The sketch was appropriately called Bill Maher vs. Batman.

Minhaj went on to receive the honor of headlining the roast of the White House at the infamous White House Correspondents Dinner on April 29, 2017. Minhaj was joined by Michelle Wolf whose controversial performance caused ripples amongst her fans and peers.

Hasan Minhaj leaves The Daily Show

On August 16, 2018, Minhaj bid farewell to The Daily Show, four years after his explosive start. He was welcomed to the stage by Trevor Noah who gave him the floor to put on his final performance. Minhaj didnt disappoint with a piece on combining Obamacare and Moviepass. We need to combine MoviePass and Obamacare! he said, going on to tease fun at the potential titles, MovieCare and ObamaPass.

Minhaj is now on the growing list of correspondents to go from The Daily Show to hosting their own shows. The others are Noah, who took over The Daily Show from Jon Stewart, Stephen Colbert (The Late Show with Stephen Colbert), Samantha Bee (Full Frontal with Samantha Bee), and Michelle Wolf (The Break with Michelle Wolf).

Hasan Minhajs new Netflix show

In March 2018, Netflix announced Minhaj would be hosting his own show exclusively on the streaming platform. The show, Patriot Act, debuted on October 28th and is greenlit for 32 episodes. It continues to utilize Minhajs major in Political Science by featuring content that explores the current political and cultural landscape. So far the show is a major success impressing fans and critics alike with a 100% rating on Rotten Tomatoes and 7.9/10 on IMDb.

The Patriot Act isnt Minhajs first time working with Netflix, his one-hour comedy special Hasan Minhaj: Homecoming King was featured last year and not only won over critics but landed Minhaj a Peabody Award.

Hasan Minhajs net worth

With his four years on The Daily Show, the Patriot Act, his little-known voice work on Far Cry 4 as Rabi Ray Rana (which landed him a nomination for a Behind the Voice Actors Award for Best Vocal Ensemble in a Video Game), as well as recent appearances in Goatface and The Spy Who Dumped Me, where does the rising comedy stars net worth stand?

Although Minhajs is relatively new when it comes to the comedy game his politically inspired satire and laughter-inducing work provide him not only with notoriety but with a current net worth of $3 Million. Thats a drop in the bucket compared to other famous comedians like Amy Schumer and Steve Carell, but Minhaj is just getting started and his career is looking more than promising.
A massive 7.0 magnitude earthquake struck Alaska Friday morning prompting a tsunami warning for the state, which was later canceled.

According to CNN News, the earthquake struck around 8:30 am local time, approximately eight miles north of the states largest city, Anchorage.

The United States Geological Survey reports that the quake was the result of normal faulting at a depth of about 40 km.

The USGS also noted that earthquakes are common in this area of Alaska. According to the USGS website, Earthquakes are common in this region. Over the past century, 14 other M 6+ earthquakes have occurred within 150 km of the November 30, 2018 event.

Following the quake, videos began to surface showing students hiding under desks and inventory falling off of shelves in grocery stores, NBC reports.

The outlet also reported that Alaskas governor Bill Walker has issued a major declaration of disaster after the quake and is communicating with the White House for relief.

The Anchorage Police Department released a statement following the quake noting that "There is major infrastructure damage across Anchorage.

The statement continues, "Many homes and buildings are damaged. Many roads and bridges are closed. Stay off the roads if you dont need to drive. Seek a safe shelter. Check on your surroundings and loved ones."

At the Anchorage International Airport, all incoming planes have been diverted and flights have been canceled due to water main breaks and out of commission elevators and escalators. NBC reports that the airport does, however, have power and their backup generators are on standby.

White House press secretary Sarah Sanders released a statement on Friday to assure Americans that President Donald Trump, who is currently in Argentina for the G-20 Summit, has been filled in on the earthquake and is closely watching damage reports as they come in.

Sanders said, "We are praying for the safety of all Alaskans."

Alaskan native and former governor of the state Sarah Palin tweeted, "Our family is intact - house is not ... I imagine that's the case for many, many others. So thankful to be safe; praying for our state following the earthquake."

 for Alaska. Our family is intact - house is not... I imagine thats the case for many, many others. So thankful to be safe; praying for our state following the earthquake.  Sarah Palin (@SarahPalinUSA) November 30, 2018

As of 2:30 EST, nearly 16,000 people are reported to be without power.

Photo courtesy: Paxson Woelber/Unsplash
A humanitarian crisis unlike any weve seen in decades is unfolding in Yemen. And its being caused by an ally of the U.S.

The assassination of journalist Jamal Khashoggi has shone a spotlight on the brutality of the Saudi regime. In particular, it has caused people to revisit their high opinion of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, also known as MbS.

But as bad as the assassination of Khashoggi was, theres a much greater reason for the world, and especially the United States, to rethink its relationship with the House of Saud: Im talking specifically about eight million Yemenis who are waiting to perish from starvation or some less-humane fate.

In 2015, Saudi Arabia intervened in what, until then, had been your standard-issue civil war.

What drove the Saudis was the role of the Houthis, a group MbS and others viewed as an Iranian proxy. As my friend Roberto Rivera pointed out a year ago, reality isnt that tidy. While most Houthis are Shia Muslims like the Iranians, not all Houthis are.

But even if their ties with Iran were as close as the Saudis believe, it wouldnt come close to justifying what is being done to the people of Yemen. Since 2015, the Saudis and their allies have bombarded Yemens cities, blockaded Yemens ports, and prevented humanitarian aid from reaching millions in need.

Their targets have included schools, hospitals, homes, markets, factories, roads, farms, and even historical sites. As a result, tens of thousands of civilians, including thousands of children, have been killed or maimed by Saudi airstrikes.

Thats the red horse. The pale horse is cholera, which has infected an estimated 1.2 million and killed more than 2,500.

Then theres the black horse, famine. As I said at the top, eight million Yemenis are at risk for starvation. As the Financial Times put it a year ago, without a change of heart [on the Saudis part], Yemenis will starve on a scale the 21st century has yet to see.

As Nobel Laureate Amartya Sen and philosopher John Gray have argued, famine in the modern world is inextricably tied to politics. Its not a lack of food. According to a 2017 Johns Hopkins study, the amount of food Americans waste every year alone could easily feed 250 million people.

What turns a bad harvest into a humanitarian catastrophe is the actions of governmentswhen hunger is deployed as a weapon of war, as in the Soviet Union in the 1930s and in Ethiopia in the 1980s.

And in Yemen today.

Making matters worse is American complicity in the suffering of the Yemeni people. The United States has supported the Saudi-led coalition with intelligence sharing, logistical support, and facilitating billions of dollars in arms sales, including a laser-guided bomb that killed forty children on a school bus in August.

While the administration announced it would no longer provide in-flight air refueling, this will likely have little impact on Saudi capabilities, according to the Military Times.

So what can the average American Christian do? A lot, actually. First, we pray for those who are suffering. Then we can demand that our government lean on the Saudis, who need the U.S. more than we need them, to allow relief supplies to enter the country without impediment. And we can support efforts in Congress to pull the plug on fueling the Saudis war against Yemeni civilians.

Before I go today, I want to tell you what an enormous privilege it has been for me to be one of the voices of BreakPoint since the passing of Chuck Colson in 2012. This ministry is growing and expanding, just as I hoped it would. I love the Colson Center and BreakPoint. Their work is so important. If BreakPoint has brought the clarity you need to make sense of the culture, and if you appreciate the distinctly Christian worldview take that we bring to the stories of our culture, please pray for this ministry. And please, give generously to The Colson Center and its BreakPoint ministry at BreakPoint.org.

For BreakPoint, and until we meet again, Im Eric Metaxas.

BreakPoint is a Christian worldview ministry that seeks to build and resource a movement of Christians committed to living and defending Christian worldview in all areas of life. Begun by Chuck Colson in 1991 as a daily radio broadcast, BreakPoint provides a Christian perspective on todays news and trends via radio, interactive media, and print. Today BreakPoint commentaries, co-hosted by Eric Metaxas and John Stonestreet, air daily on more than 1,200 outlets with an estimated weekly listening audience of eight million people. Feel free to contact us at BreakPoint.org where you can read and search answers to common questions.

Eric Metaxas is a co-host of BreakPoint Radio and a best-selling author whose biographies, children's books, and popular apologetics have been translated into more than a dozen languages.

Publication date: November 30, 2018

Photo courtesy: Pinky Binks/Unsplash
In 2020, we were the church on our heels. A global pandemic shut down much of our world. But the church has been on the move since it was birthed; it will continue to be on the move until God makes all things new.
Staffing costs typically account for 45 to 55 percent of a churchs budget. But with recent changes in costs, demographics, and giving in US churches, many are questioning that model.

Dan Navarra, a pastor in Turlock, California, lives in a high-cost-of-living area, and his church, like many, is feeling the pinch of rising costs. Four years ago, the church began reducing their dependent medical contributions, meaning Navarra and his spouse have had to look elsewhere for medical coverage for their children. Out of financial necessity, Navarras spouse also worksand shes not alone. All of the wives of pastors on staff have jobs, said Navarra. All of them.

Becky Nance has worked as a pastors spouse for years. Her husband has pastored for over a decade, and theyre currently serving at the Grinnell, Iowa, campus of Prairie Lakes Church. She is now pursuing her own ministry vocation by attending seminary online, but she is anxious ...

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Melania Trump urges Liberty U. students to help opioid addicts, end stigma Sponsored by

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First Lady Melania Trump spoke at Liberty University as part of a town hall on the opioid epidemic in the United States, telling students that they should help those affected and end the stigma of addiction.

I believe in the power of all of you," Trump said at the university's convocation on Wednesday morning. Together with all of you, I know we can make a real difference and save lives. You have a responsibility to yourself and also to those around you who may be struggling.

While you may never personally become addicted, the chances of you knowing someone who struggles with it are very high.

The first lady also explained that there needed to be an end to the stigma facing those who suffered from opioid addiction.

We must commit to removing the stigma of shame that comes with addiction and helping change public opinion so people find evidence-based treatment before its too late, she said.

Trump has spoken with her 12-year-old son, Barron, about the dangers of drugs.

I teach him what is right, what is wrong. I will always tell him that drugs ... could be very dangerous and they could mess up your mind and body, and to love yourself more than you love drugs, she said.

The town hall event also featured conservative author Eric Bolling, Secretary of Homeland Security Kirstjen Nielsen, Secretary of Health and Human Services Alex Azar II, author and actress Dianna Hart, and Liberty University President Jerry Falwell, Jr.

During his remarks, Bolling explained that he became involved in combating the opioid epidemic after his son died of an accidental overdose.

He was a sophomore. Hes not unlike many of you sitting right here. Good student, talked to him every day. Hes gone, said Bolling.

Since this happened, Ive made it my passion to talk to people, to talk to young people, to talk to families, to talk to parents, to talk to coworkers about the dangers of opioids.

During a question and answer session, Azar also echoed the need to help end the stigma associated with drug addiction, stating that this addiction is not a moral failing.

It is a medical issue and there are medical ways that we can help bring you out of it, Azar noted. It might even be a lifetime of recovery, but there are ways we can help you.

Over the past few years, there has been a sharp increase in deaths related to prescription and non-prescription opioid drugs among Americans. According to the Department of Health and Human Services, over 42,000 Americans overdosed on opioids in 2016, which is five times higher than in 1999.

Last year, HHS declared opioid addiction and overdosing a public health emergency and in March, President Donald Trump rolled out a plan to combat the epidemic, which included a controversial proposal to give the death penalty for certain drug traffickers considered to be "big pushers."

In May, the American Association of Christian Counselors held an all-day event, titled "The Opioid Crisis: Creating Church and Community Collaboration," at Grace Fellowship Church in York, Pennsylvania.

AACC President Tim Clinton told The Christian Post in an earlier interview that his organization chose to focus on the opioid epidemic because it is "a problem that is impacting communities, churches and families throughout the nation."

"No one entity can stem the tide ... we must work together to help people recover from opioid addiction," explained Clinton.

"We are determined to help eradicate this horrible scourge from devastating our society. This event showcases a model of community, civic, and church collaboration that should be reproduced nationwide to help those ensnared by opiates and other substance use disorders."
NewSpring Church volunteer caught on camera molesting 3-year-old boy

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A NewSpring Church volunteer was arrested after he was caught on camera performing oral sex on a 3-year-old child.

Jacop Robert Lee Hazlett, 28, charged with first-degree criminal sexual conduct with a minor, was denied bond on Wednesday, WCSC reported.

The incident occurred on Sunday at the South Carolina megachurch, when Hazlett escorted a 3-year-old boy into a bathroom. The suspect performed oral sex on the boy after the boy used the restroom, before pulling his pants back up.

An investigator revealed that the crime was caught on camera that was stationed outside the bathroom.

NewSpring released a statement, explaining that it was made aware about Hazlett's alleged actions on Monday.

Once we were made aware, we reviewed video footage from the past 90 days in which Hazlett served as a Kidspring volunteer. In the videos, it appears there was inappropriate conduct by Hazlett, the statement explained.

We immediately took steps to prevent Hazlett from volunteering in any capacity at our church in the future and, at the same time, we reported this information to law enforcement. NewSpring is fully cooperating with law enforcements ongoing investigation.

The church insisted that it is steadfastly committed to safety and security, and because of this commitment, we have an extensive screening process for all adults before they are allowed to volunteer with children, birth through 12th grade.

The church said that it carried out a background check on Hazlett when he started volunteering in March, but it came back clean.

As a part of NewSprings child safety and security program, we perform criminal background checks, interview each potential volunteer candidate one-on-one, and provide detailed training for volunteers serving with children of all ages, the church said.

Our background check includes verification of Social Security number, address history, National Criminal Database Search, National Sex Offender Search, and re-verification of no records of criminal convictions or use of aliases. Hazlett successfully completed our volunteer screening process before he was allowed to volunteer. Also, as part of NewSpring's commitment to safety and security, every KidSpring room contains video cameras.

North Charleston Police spokesman Spencer Pryor said that investigators are working with church officials and examining whether there could be more victims.

Hazlett's next court date has been set for Jan. 14, 2019, WCIV reported.

NewSpring, which has an average attendance of 23,055 people, has undergone a number of changes in recent years. It fired its senior pastor, Perry Noble, due to alcohol abuse and other "unfortunate choices and decisions" back in 2016, and according to its website has since replaced him with Jesus Christ.

"We are a true team approach to ministry now. I was senior pastor for one year but now our church has one senior pastor and we've literally in our new bylaws named Jesus Christ as our senior pastor. So we are structured differently now. It's a true team approach and let me tell you, I love it," Teaching Pastor Clayton King said in September.
Did Eddie Longs son apply for New Birth senior pastor job that went to Jamal Bryant?

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Officials at New Birth Missionary Baptist Church in Georgia would not confirm Thursday whether Elder Edward Long, a New Birth minister and the eldest child of their late senior pastor, Bishop Eddie Long, was a candidate for the job left vacant by his father that was recently awarded to controversial Baltimore megachurch Pastor Jamal Bryant.

A screenshot of an Instagram conversation shared by Larry Reid Live late Wednesday suggests that Longs son applied for his late fathers job but was not chosen by New Birth leaders.

I applied for the pastoral position at New Birth but was not selected. I have been at New Birth since I was 4 yrs old and have worked in nearly every auxiliary there. I dont currently pastor a church. God knows a message that appears to have been posted from Edward Longs Instagram account said in response to queries from a woman who wanted to know about his status at New Birth.

The Christian Post reached out to New Birth officials Thursday and a staff member confirmed that Long still works at the church but that he was not immediately available to respond to any questions about the post.

When asked if anyone could confirm whether Long was an applicant for the senior pastor position at New Birth, a church staffer said the information in Longs post could not be confirmed by anyone.

No. There is no one that can attest to that. I cant. Nobody can, the staff person said.

New Birth officials announced just over a week ago that Bryant, who leads the 10,000-member Empowerment Temple, was chosen from a pool of 138 candidates to take the reins of their church that once boasted 25,000 members in its heyday.

Membership at New Birth has since dropped to about 10,000 after the late Bishop Long was hit in 2010 by a series of sex scandals involving allegations from multiple young men that haunted him until his death in January 2017.

Thomas W. Dortch Jr., an Atlanta businessman and chairman of New Births board, suggested in an earlier report that part of the reason Bryant was chosen for the job was because he had a plan to get the church out of debt.

New Births board had asked applicants to come up with solutions to reduce the churchs $31 million debt.

He didnt come in talking off the cuff, Dortch said. This is one guy whos an architect for religion.

While Bryant has paid some homage to the late Bishop Long for being his benefactor, he asked apologists of the bishops ministry shortly after his death to not pretend that he did not leave behind a trail of victims.

"I do not know how in this hour, there are those who are crying out and we do not recognize the tears or the cry for help, that the Body of Christ has said nothing about ministering to victims. I know people are gonna be upset with me. I know you don't want to talk about this. But here's the reality, we didn't talk about it in bishop's life ... and at this point, many would argue, it is inappropriate to deal with it on the day after his death, and maybe, I don't know," said Bryant. "I do know the church has to deal with it."

Bishop Long died in January 2017 after "a gallant private fight with an aggressive form of cancer," his church said.

In contrast to Bryants response to Long's death, Elder Long, who is the late bishops son from his first marriage to Dabara S. Houston, has continued to focus on the positive side of his fathers legacy.

"At some point, what Paul said has to be true. You can prophesy, you can preach great sermons all around the world, speak in tongues and all that, but if you don't disseminate love toward one another then it's no good. You wasted your time and God's time. It's a mockery of the Kingdom. All Bishop Long did was demonstrate love," he said at his fathers funeral.
Is There a Secret Plan to Legalize Sex Trafficking of Minors? Feminist Activist Tells All

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If you had told radical feminist and political activist Natasha Chart five years ago that she would be fired from her advocacy job for objecting to the prostitution of minors, she wouldn't have believed that anyone could be fired for that reason.

Yet Chart, 43, who hails from New York and is the board chair of the radical feminist group Women's Liberation Front, was terminated in August 2015 from her political advocacy job for doing exactly that.

She opted to speak with The Christian Post, she said, "because I have been hoping that someone could be bothered to care that there is a significant and influential portion of the left-aligned and mainstream human rights activist community that both believes that 'youth sex work' should be made legal, and that they have the clout to get people fired from political and media jobs for making concerns about that public."

"The progressive press won't touch it, the regular press doesn't seem to follow these issues, and self-publishing a story like this would likely have been pointless," Chart said. "And I know most of the audience of a publication like The Christian Post might not sympathize with my political views, but I would rather hope that everyone reading would look beyond me, and to the institutional rot of a political edifice that was so easily taken over by a sex industry advocacy that's alien to its founding principles."

Chart is a former Jehovah's Witness who doesn't presently identify with any religious tradition and whose politics are decidedly left of center. She is supportive of abortion rights, for example.

But no one is served when trusted civil society institutions utilize their clout, on what is most likely an unsuspecting membership, to quietly further a "pimping agenda," she went on to say, an agenda its promoters know better than to broadcast publicly.

"My friends and colleagues over several years know this happened. Hundreds of feminist journalists and academics in the United States know this happened. They didn't all agree, but none of them said one public word in my defense. None of the women associated with mainstream feminist media or scholarship spoke up."

"If they could be intimidated into overlooking this, what's next? How long will it be the case that an anti-trafficking bill can be supported in the Senate on a 972 vote, where the dissent came in from the tech industry, on technicalities?" she asked, referencing the recently signed Fight Online Sex Trafficking Act.

If this goes unaddressed it is only a matter of time before the sex industry is considered "respectable" enough to emerge from the shadows and begin openly sponsoring a political caucus, as is the case in the Netherlands and Australia, she maintained, describing the gravity of the situation in hopes that such things never happen.

Allowing 'Youth Sex Workers' for 'Public Health' Reasons

As a staffer at what was once known as RH Reality Check, which is now called Rewire.News  a left-leaning news outlet that describes its mission as "providing news and investigative research on reproductive and sexual health, rights and justice"  Chart said she started noticing cult-like behavior among her fellow colleagues in 2013.

Such antics were all too familiar to her given her Jehovah's Witness background and their excommunication practice known as "disfellowshipping" people who left the church. People are not allowed to communicate and interact with excommunicants unless it's absolutely necessary, according to Jehovah's Witness teaching.

She began watching the various feminist Twitter networks closely and frequently observed individuals being singled out, chastised, and demonized for things as simple as a misplaced word, for holding an unpopular opinion, or dissenting from the prevailing views on the left. She had not seen this in her previous political work in the labor movement.

"There was this really intense policing about who you are allowed to talk to, who you are allowed to know," she said, "whose arguments you are allowed to respond to, who is allowed to quote whom. It was a disturbing sort of social environment."

Soon, the embrace of legalizing prostitution and general acceptance of the sex trade, something with which Chart strongly disagreed, became more apparent. She began reading radical feminist analyses of prostitution such as Swedish journalist Kajsa Ekis Ekman's book, Being and Being Bought: Prostitution, Surrogacy, and the Split Self, and Canadian writer Meghan Murphy, who is editor of the website Feminist Current. Despite being on the left, feminists like Murphy and Ekman were supposedly so reviled among Chart's circles that even retweeting them or saying their names was verboten.

But Chart found Ekman's, Murphy's and other similar radical feminists' writings in fierce opposition to the sex trade persuasive. It especially resonated with her given how a "wannabe boyfriend pimp" once attempted to steer her into prostitution when she was a teenager. She had a bad feeling about it and ultimately resisted his manipulations.

As the days went by it would become ever clearer that the promotion of the sex trade was a cause being backed by prominent people, and she could stay quiet no longer.

"I sort of assumed people did not know that was going on, but I wasn't sure what to say or do about it," Chart told CP.

"I wasn't sure what I was seeing. I kind of couldn't believe people were making these arguments."

When she dared to criticize a few things on political staffer mailing lists, particularly Amnesty International's embrace of legalizing the sex trade in 2015 and its outlining of a "sex workers bill of rights"  which employed human rights and labor rights language to frame "sex work" as a profession like any other job  she ran into opposition. The esteemed human rights organization has long been influenced by Douglas Fox, the owner of England's largest escort agency and an activist with the International Union of Sex Workers.

The U.K. branch of Amnesty International has in recent years denied Fox was involved with crafting its policy. Fox, however, has publicly taken credit for his long advocacy with the organization. During one of Amnesty International's internal debates in the months leading up to the change in stance toward embracing the sex trade under the banner of human rights, a policy document outlining the shift was leaked to journalist Julie Bindel, author of the book, The Pimping of Prostitution: Abolishing the Sex Work Myth, who exposed the draft proposal-in-process. Amnesty International then distanced itself from Fox amid public outcry.

Chart's boss told her on Aug. 11, 2015  in emails The Christian Post obtained  that her criticisms on mailing lists of Amnesty International's policy had "crossed a line" and she was forbidden from doing that, even though Chart never presented it as her employer's official position.

Her opinions on the issue were further bolstered upon reading even more articles in support of legalizing prostitution and more human rights advocates lending their voices in support of it, including articles speaking of "youth" in the trade.

When the executive director of Human Rights Watch, Kenneth Roth, tweeted an Aug. 6, 2015, article in The Nation by Melissa Gira Grant  author of Playing the Whore: The Work of Sex Work  in praise of Amnesty's policy decriminalizing prostitution, Chart voiced her disgust on Twitter, and replied with a link to Grant's essay on "Youth in sex work and the sex trade." Roth tweeted comments of his own along with Grant's article, asking: "All want to end poverty, but in meantime why deny poor women the option of voluntary sex work?"

Chart assumed that for the head of a human rights advocacy group to associate with people backing the prostitution of young people would horrify most people. She told CP she must have deleted that tweet but nevertheless took her complaints to a private mailing list and confronted Grant about the previous article directly, and "that's when the real pushback started."

"Nobody could really support this, right?" a flabbergasted Chart recalled thinking at the time. She then brought up the issue with her boss during a regular weekly phone call just days after seeing it.

"I told her about some of my experiences as a teenager that were sketchy, that I'd been one of those kids with a chip on her shoulder; a kid that every adult could come along and see and exploit," she explained, expressing that she couldn't understand why anyone thought minors being exploited in the sex trade was a good idea.

Her boss then reportedly drew in her breath and said: "Well, it's more of a public health approach."

Upon hearing her say that, Chart's jaw hit the floor and she felt like she had been kicked in the stomach, relieved that they were speaking by phone and not a video chat so her boss couldn't see her shock and revulsion. She started taking notes to remember what she was hearing.

"I could not believe that the words 'public health' were being used in this context," Chart recalled, aghast.

Her boss did say that she also used to be concerned about this when she first learned of it but had seen so much research that allayed her doubts. She told her that in India, when sex worker unions are empowered and organize together, they keep minors out of the sex trade on their own.

"But it's pretty easy to verify from public reporting that minors in the sex trade is a problem in India," Chart explained to CP. She soon realized her employer's claim could not possibly be true since "children grow up in brothels to mothers who have been prostituted, and they grow up in the trade being sold themselves with never a chance to escape that life."

Barely able to think and not knowing what to say next, she changed the subject and the two then discussed a lengthy essay she had written and intended to publish. Chart told her she wanted to take it elsewhere if the editorial team did not want it. She obtained permission from her editor to publish it on another radical feminist blog the following day.

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Jimmy Fallon surprises couple; Operation Blessing to rebuild their home

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Jimmy Fallon, host of The Tonight Show, surprised a North Carolina couple, whose home was damaged by Hurricane Florence, on Tuesday night's episode.

Divya and Terry McArthur of Lumberton and their 12-year-old son were told they had won tickets to The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon and little did they know that they were the recipients of Fallon's "random act of kindness."

Your house is a very special house. Why is it special to you? Fallon asked the couple after sharing a bit of their story. Divya explained that the home was very important to her because it was left to her by her grandmother.

The McArthurs were hit by multiple storms, Hurricane Matthew in 2016 and then again by Hurricane Florence in September. Divya described the ordeal as a nightmare in an interview with CBN.

But Romans 8:28 says, All things work together for the good of those that love the Lord, she told CBN. So thats where Im finding peace.

Divya told Fallon that their home was destroyed and because they did not have flood insurance they were unable to repair the damages. Fallon then announced that Home Depot and Operation Blessing were going to provide the assistance the McArthur family needed to help fix the house.

"They're going to come in. They're going to fix your home. They're going to fix your roof. They're going to repaint and insulate your house. They're going to provide a new furnace, appliances, redo your yard, and send in a Home Depot designer to re-furnish your home," Fallon said live on his NBC hit show.

The family was overwhelmed with emotion.

All things work together for the good of those that love the Lord, Divya told CBN in response.

Operation Blessing was founded in 1978 by popular televangelist Pat Robertson. It was originally created to help struggling people and families with clothes, appliances and vehicles donated by viewers of CBNs The 700 Club, Robertson's daily television program. Operation Blessing is now recognized as a respected relief organization that implements programs which provide disaster relief, medical aid, clean water, hunger relief, community development and orphan care.
Lutherans are the biggest consumers of alcohol among Protestant Christians, poll finds

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Among Protestant Christians in the United States, Lutherans are most likely to say that they consume alcohol while Pentecostals are least likely, a recently released LifeWay Research poll has found.

The poll, which was conducted in August 2017 but released Tuesday, found that over 75 percent of Lutherans surveyed answered yes when asked if they drink alcohol. Meanwhile, 62 percent of Methodist respondents responded with the same answer.

By comparison, just 43 percent of nondenominational Christians, 33 percent of Baptists and 23 percent of Assemblies of God/Pentecostal Christians said that they consume alcohol.

The survey is based on a sample of 1,010 American churchgoers and has a margin of error of 3.1 percent.

In total, 59 percent of Protestant Americans say they do not drink alcohol, while 41 percent said they do. There is not much statistical change from a 2007 LifeWay survey of Protestant laity that found that 39 percent of Protestant churchgoers said they drink alcohol.

Churchgoers perspectives on alcohol are not changing very fast, LifeWay Research Executive Director Scott McConnell said in a statement. The majority believe that biblically they can drink, but they choose not to.

The 2017 poll also found that 23 percent of respondents somewhat or strongly agreed that Scripture indicates that people should never drink alcohol. Seventy-two percent of Protestant churchgoers somewhat or strongly disagreed with that statement. In 2007, 29 percent of respondents agreed with that statement.

Fifty-five percent of respondents in 2017 said that Scripture indicates all beverages, including alcohol, can be consumed without sin. In 2007, 60 percent said the same.

Fifty-four percent of respondents agreed that drinking reasonable amounts is an act of biblical liberty, while 30 percent disagreed and 16 percent were unsure. Sixty-eight percent of Lutherans, 66 percent of nondenominational, 49 percent of Baptists and 44 percent of Assemblies of God/Pentecostals agreed with that statement.

Sixty percent of respondents in the 2017 survey agreed that when a Christian partakes of alcohol in a social setting, they could cause other believers to stumble or be confused. Among those with evangelical beliefs, 74 percent agreed. Less than half (44 percent) of those with nonevangelical beliefs said the same.

While alcohol consumption continues to be seen as mainstream in the United States, churchgoers attitudes about drinking havent changed much in the past decade, McConnell added.

Although most Protestant Christians feel that consuming alcohol is not a sin, 87 percent of respondents said they agree with the statement: Scripture indicates that people should never get drunk. Only eight percent disagreed with that statement.

Hispanics (96 percent) were most likely to agree that Scripture indicates that people should never get drunk. Those attending church services at least once per week are more likely (88 percent to 78 percent) than those attending once or twice per month to agree that Scripture warns against getting drunk, according to the 2017 survey. Additionally, those with evangelical beliefs were more likely (94 percent to 78 percent) to agree that Scripture warns against getting drunk.

While 89 percent of Baptists, 95 percent of nondenominational Protestants and 93 percent of Assemblies of God/Pentecostals agreed that Scripture warns against drunkenness, Lutherans and Methodists were least likely to agree  76 percent of Lutherans and 69 percent of Methodists agreed with that statement.
New $100 million White House AIDS relief investment to include faith-based orgs

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The White House has announced a new investment by the President's Emergency Plan For AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) of $100 million, which will include faith-based organizations.

Vice President Mike Pence announced on Thursday that the $100 million investment will deal with certain gaps in fighting HIV, including using various faith-based groups and communities.

Honored to speak today at the @WhiteHouse to commemorate the upcoming 30th annual World AIDS Day, tweeted Vice President Pence on Thursday.

We have made great progress in recent years, but our work is far from over. And that work will continue until we end the scourge of HIV/AIDS once and for all.

The investment will go to outreach efforts, as well as preventing sexual violence against children and expanding services with both current and new PEPFAR partners.

Ambassador Deborah L. Birx, M.D., U.S. global AIDS coordinator, said in a statement released Thursday that religious organizations have been a key part of the effort to combat HIV/AIDS.

Every step of the way, faith leaders and communities of faith have been cornerstones of PEPFARs efforts, stated Ambassador Birx.

They have unique health care delivery capacities and deep relationships of trust with individuals and families in need, both of which are vital to helping us achieve our goals.

Earlier this week, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced that PEPFAR was responsible for saving more than 17 million lives since it was created in 2003.

As of September 30, 2018, PEPFAR is supporting over 14.6 million people on lifesaving antiretroviral treatment, including over 700,000 children. This is compared with the 50,000 people who were on HIV treatment in Africa when PEPFAR began in 2003, explained the State Department in a press release.

PEPFAR has also enabled over 2.4 million babies to be born HIV-free to mothers living with HIV and supported over 6.8 million orphans, vulnerable children, and their caregivers.

For years, PEPFAR has made an effort to better utilize faith-based organizations and communities as part of their effort to combat HIV.

In a report released in 2005, PEPFAR noted that local and faith-based groups were an underutilized resource for expanding the reach of quality services despite being among the first responders to community needs.

Faith-based groups are priority local partners, continued the 2005 report. In many focus countries, more than 80 percent of citizens participate in religious institutions. In certain nations, upwards of 50 percent of health services are provided through faith-based institutions, making them crucial delivery points for HIV/AIDS information and services.
Relentless Church Pastor John Gray knocks pulpit pimps, lets members in need take from offering baskets

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In an emotional service Sunday, Pastor John Gray of Relentless Church in Greenville, South Carolina, allowed members in need to take cash from the churchs offering baskets while knocking "pulpit pimps" who only ask churchgoers to give, give, give.

For too long people have stood in a pulpit and told you to give, give, give. Very rarely have I seen churches stop and said leave the baskets out, let the people get what they need. Weve got too many pulpit pimps who want to get fat off people but dont want to meet the needs of the poor people. And Jesus said thats who you supposed to be taking care of. We got widows, we got orphans, weve got single moms in here. We might not be able to do everything but we can do something. I wish we could do more but its the best we can do right now, Gray said near the end of his sermon titled Leftovers.

Gray, who had asked his congregants to withhold their offering until they felt a connection to what was being preached that day, prefaced the invitation to his members in need to take from the churchs offering baskets by reminding them of the churchs role.

The role of the church, elder, is not only to receive from the people of God but to meet the needs of the people of God. I asked you to hold your offering until something in your spirit connected with the Word. Did you all hear me when I said that? But the role of the church is also to meet the needs of the people in the house, he said.

Are there any single mothers in here? You had an orange light in your gas tank when you pulled up, where are you? Come to the altar. Hurry. Single mothers. Are there any single fathers and you had less than a quarter tank of gas, where are you? Come to the altar, come to the altar, he said.

Scores of people streamed to the altar and he told them to stand before the offering baskets.

Heres what I want you to do. Theres some money in these baskets. You get what you need for you and the kids to eat and get some gas, he said to cheers from the congregation as a churchgoer approached him and stuck what appeared to be more cash offering in his hand.

Several of the members receiving the help were visibly weeping.

Are there any single fathers? Youre raising your kids by yourself where are you, sir? You have primary custody of your kids, he continued.

Gray then called for widows and veterans. He then explained that even though his young church wasnt yet financially secure, he was simply following what God asked him to do.

These people dont know what it took for me to do this. We are a six-month-old church with no savings account. We believe God every week but the Lord told me to do this because if I trust Him, whatever is left over would have to be enough, he said.

He then explained that as God blessed the church they will make it their mission to continue blessing those in need.

Just know as the Lord keeps blessing us, were going to do it more and more. Were going to start buying cars for women who are catching the bus. Were going to buy houses for people whove been renting. Were going to have more than what we need and Gods going to raise up entrepreneurs and theyre going to have so much that theyre going to sow into the vision. And we wont have to worry about offering. Offering will be extra, he said.
Saddleback campuses join initiative to reduce stigma of HIV on World AIDS Day

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Saddleback Church, the Southern California-based megachurch headed by pastor and best-selling author Rick Warren, will take part in the global observance of World AIDS Day on Saturday.

This year, all our So Cal campuses will be showing their support by passing out and wearing red HIV/AIDS awareness pins, the church said about their efforts to "raise awareness and reduce the stigma of HIV/AIDS.

Saddleback's campuses will be also working in partnership with Emmanus Church of Santa Ana.

For years, Saddleback has taken an active role in helping to combat HIV/AIDS and to minister those affected by the virus. In 2012, Saddleback hosted a Compassion Weekend to coincide with World AIDS Day, with the two-day event focusing on Rwandan orphans whose parents died from HIV-AIDS.

The 2012 observance included the church offering many services in the effort to end HIV/AIDS, including free on-site HIV testing and resources on getting more involved in the cause.

2018 marks the 30th anniversary of the World AIDS Day observance, with the theme for this year being know your status.

Other churches and denominations are also taking part.

Presbyterian Church USAs Presbyterian AIDS Network is providing various resources for congregations seeking to spread awareness and offer compassion to those affected.

Jesus mandated us to care for the sick and love one another, said Ann Jones, Presbyterian AIDS Network co-moderator, in a recent statement.

In the U.S., less than half of those infected now receive proper treatment. We must advocate for adequate funding and support AIDS [prevention] work both locally and globally.

Earlier this week, the White House announced that there will be a new investment by the President's Emergency Plan For AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) of $100 million, which will include faith-based organizations.

Ambassador Deborah L. Birx, M.D., U.S. global AIDS coordinator, said in a statement released Thursday that religious organizations have been a key part of the effort to combat HIV/AIDS.

Every step of the way, faith leaders and communities of faith have been cornerstones of PEPFARs efforts, said Birx.

They have unique health care delivery capacities and deep relationships of trust with individuals and families in need, both of which are vital to helping us achieve our goals.
Scotland's 'dear transphobes Twitter banner is targeting faithful, Christian groups say

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The Scottish government has launched a dear transphobes banner message on it Twitter page as part of a campaign against "transphobia" that some say is targeted at Christians.

Dear transphobes, we have a phobia of your hatred, reads the banner on the Scottish governments Twitter page.

It was put up as politicians debate reforms to the 2004 Gender Recognition Act. The proposed reforms would allow trans-identified persons  those who suffer from gender dysphoria  to identify as the opposite sex simply by declaring the change and to be legally recognized without any barriers, The Herald reported.

The message is part of the One Scotland campaign that has released several poster-style declarations addressed to "bigots, disablists, homophobes, racists, and transphobes."

One that begins with "Dear bigots" was fashioned as a sermon, and reads:

"Division seems to be what you believe in. We don't want your religious hate on our buses, on our streets and in our communities. We don't want you spreading your intolerance. Or making people's lives a misery because of their religious dress. You may not have faith in respect and love, but we do. That's why if we see or hear your hate, we're reporting you. End of sermon."

A number of Christian churches and groups have hit back against the wording of the campaign, which is also being promoted by the Scottish police, suggesting it targets Christians who adhere to biblical doctrine on sexuality, and other religious groups.

"We have asked Scottish police to withdraw the posters, but if not we hope they will act on our complaint and honestly investigate their joint campaign with the Scottish government," Hendrik Storm, chief executive of aid agency Barnabas Fund, said in October.

He warned that the posters "single out religious believers and call them out as bigots without any real qualification."

The Catholic Church in the U.K. has also argued that the campaign is "misleading and confused."

"The campaign has suggested that religious hate crimes are perpetrated by religious believers, but there is no evidence to suggest this is the case," a spokesman for the church said.

"The blanket strategy taken toward religious intolerance is in stark contrast to the very specific approaches adopted for homophobia and transphobia, undermining the government's commitment to tackling religious hate crime and indicating a very poor understanding of the subject, the statement added.

John Mason, the MSP for Glasgow Shettleston, meanwhile challenged his own Scottish National Party's efforts to allow people to self-determine their gender.

Are we trying to override science by saying it is possible for males to become females and females to become males? Mason asked.

The Scottish politician also hit back against portrayals of anyone who questions homosexual or transgender ideology as transphobes and bigots."

Does it help the discussion to call our opponents bigots or transphobes? I do hope we can all try to engage in a balanced and sensitive way," Mason said.
Slaughtered like animals, burned to death: pastors tell Nigerian President Buhari of massacres

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Nigerian church leaders met with President Muhammadu Buhari earlier this month, but condemned the evil massacre of Christians and the falsehoods surrounding it.

Rev. Dacholom Datiri, president of the Church of Christ in Nigeria, said that he delivered a report to Buhari on November 6, describing the killing of 646 Christians in Plateau state alone between March and October of this year.

The devastation in terms of massacre of lives and destruction of property is unimaginable. Pastors and members in their thousands have been killed in cold blood, either shot dead or slaughtered like animals or burned to death. Houses and businesses have been burned or looted and farmlands have been destroyed, he said, speaking of the years of suffering the church has suffered.

Thousands of other Christians have been massacred in the country since the start of 2018, prompting ongoing outcry from watchdog groups, demanding that the Nigerian government do more to protect citizens.

The narrative has been that these people are killed by unknown gunmen, or suspected herdsmen, or that there have been farmer-herders clashes, Datiri said in his report, as shared by Morning Star News.

All these are deceptive narratives deliberately framed to conceal the truth and continue to perpetrate the evil.

After the attacks, it is the Fulani herders that settle and graze their cattle on the farms of the victims, he continued.

The proficiency and mode of operation in all of these attacks, as testified by the surviving victims, leaves us in no doubt of the complicity of the military being used as hired mercenaries by the Fulani militias. On this, we are disappointed, and sadly so, that the government has not delivered on her constitutional responsibility of protecting lives and property.

As evidence he pointed to the heavily armed militants with sophisticated guns, including AK-47's, machine guns, and rocket-propelled grenades, that have been killing Christians.

A very similar point was made in August by Emeka Umeagbalasi, Board Chairman of the International Society for Civil Liberties & the Rule of Law, who told The Christian Post that the government and many news organizations are spreading such a false narrative.

Umeagbalasi told CP at the time that all the evidence, including the great disproportion in the number of Christians killed, and reports of churches being converted for Islamic purposes, show that the thousands of deaths are not simply the result of farmer-Fulani hersdsmen clashes.

"How many Muslim farmers are being killed by Fulani herdsmen? How many Muslim homes have been destroyed or burned? The answer is in the negative. It has nothing to do with herdsmen-farmer clashes. It is false," he added.

"We don't like to use the [term] 'Fulani herdsmen', we like to use 'Fulani jihadists,' who are under the guise of herdsmen."

In his statement to Buhari, Datiri further pointed out that as many as 38,000 Christians were forced to flee to camps for displaced people, with 30 church buildings and 4,436 Christian homes destroyed in the state, all in the space of half a year.

The Church of Christ in Nigeria president accused Nigerian military forces of not only failing to contain the radicals, but of being complicit in some of the attacks.

Are we to believe that the armed forces sent to keep peace go with the instructions to protect them? he asked. The implication is that they protect the aggressors and leave the victims mercilessly helpless.

On his part, Buhari did not dispute the statistics of violence in Plateau state, but said that the different communities must live together in harmony.

It is not all Muslims that are against Christians, and neither are all Christians against Muslims, the president said. In our security arrangement, the police are in the frontline in making sure that communities irrespective of ethnic or religious bias live together in peace.
Stephen Colbert talks about his favorite Old Testament figures

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Liberal comedian Stephen Colbert recently explained who his favorite people in the Old Testament are, on a recent episode of CBS' "The Late Show."

Colbert was interviewed by Jon Stewart, who served as the main anchor of the long-running Comedy Central series "The Daily Show" while Colbert worked as a recurring on-screen personality.

When asked by Stewart about who his favorite character from the Old Testament was, Colbert initially said that it was Aaron, the brother of Moses.

Aaron did so much and gets no credit. Moses gets all the ink, but Aaron actually led everybody because Moses had the stutter, said Colbert.

Stewart responded that he expected Colbert to say Isaac, jokingly pointing out that Isaac was almost sacrificed by Abraham, calling it the foundation of Judaism: being rejected by your father.

Colbert then decided to change his answer to the question from Aaron to Job, noting that he respected how the Old Testament figure never cursed God.

He does not curse God, Colbert explained. He endures all even though his neighbors are saying curse God and die! What are you doing?

Colbert referenced the play J.B. by Archibald MacLeish, which was a modern theatrical retelling of the Book of Job, which included the line I heard upon his dry dung heap, That man cry out, who cannot sleep.

And that is the gratitude you have to have in life no matter what dung heap you lie on, stated Colbert, getting an applause from the studio audience.

A Roman Catholic, Colbert talked earlier this month with the Rev. James Martin, a Jesuit priest and editor at America magazine, about how during his youth he identified as an atheist.

Colbert explained to Martin that while he had lost his faith due to personal tragedy, it was reignited when at age 22 he read the Sermon on the Mount.

I stood on the street corner in the cold and read the sermon. And my life has never been the same, Colbert told Martin, noting that he was absolutely, immediately lightened by Christs words.

During his hosting of the Late Show, Colbert has been critical of both atheist celebrities like Ricky Gervais and conservative Christian leaders like megachurch pastor Robert Jeffress.

After Jeffress suggested last year that God gave President Donald Trump the authority to "take out" North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un, Colbert featured a skit where God suggested that he agreed with Jeffress.

"Oh yeah, I'm always on America's side when it comes to blowing stuff up," said the spoof version of God. When Colbert pointed out, "But that goes against your whole message of peace and forgiveness," the character replied that such ideas come from his "hippy" son Jesus.
Teen who saved 12-year-old girl's life in mall shooting says God placed him there

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National Guardsman Rashad Billingsley is being hailed as a hero after he saved a young girl's life when a gunman opened fire at a mall in Alabama.

Just minutes after Billingsley walked into the Riverchase Galleria in Hoover to buy a pair of sneakers on Thanksgiving night he heard gunshots.

"Not a minute after we got in the store the gunshots were fired, Billingsley told local news station FOX 6.

The National Guardsman said his military training immediately kicked in and he ran toward the commotion as everyone ran away from it. His bravery and quick thinking enabled him to save the life of 12-year-old Molly Bennett. To Bennetts mom, he's a "hero." But Billingsley says he's giving God all the credit for putting him at the right place at the right time.

Let me just say first all thanks to God for me being in that store, 18-year-old Billingsley wrote on Facebook. Im a strong believer and believe everything happens for a reason  and my reason for being there was to help little Molly."

Bennett was shot in the back by the gunman and Billingsley ran over to her and immediately started administering first aid as he was trained to do as a military medic.

Molly was complaining that her back hurt, he said. I saw she had blood on her shirt and when I lifted it up, I saw she had a bullet wound. Billingsley grabbed a shirt off a store rack and used it to apply pressure on the gunshot wound until paramedics arrived. Bennett had no idea she had been hit until she overheard others' saying it.

Shes a strong, brave little girl, he said. Im glad she made it through.

Bennett has now been discharged from the hospital and is back home with her family.

Two others who were shot that evening include Emantic EJ Bradford, who was shot and killed by a Hoover Police Officer who mistook him for the shooter. The police department later said that Bradford was likely not the man who shot Bennett. The other individual has not been named but did survive.

"It could have been me, Billingsley said of Bradfords shooting. He was in the Army like I am. I send prayers to his family.
United Methodist Churchs Capitol Hill building posts 'I was a stranger, and you tear gassed me' sign

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A Washington, D.C. building belonging to the United Methodist Church that is located on Capitol Hill has posted a message on their sign reading in part 'I was a stranger, and you tear gassed me.

A parody of the words of Jesus Christ found in Matthew 25:35, the message came in response to the recent news of border patrol agents using tear gas to stop the migrant caravan from crossing into the United States.

The incident added to the heated debate over the treatment of the migrant caravan, with many criticizing President Donald Trump and Border Patrol for their reaction to the immigrants as they attempted to enter the United States illegally.

The United Methodist Building serves as headquarters for the United Methodist General Board of Church and Society, an agency of the mainline denomination that engages in advocacy.

Warren Gill, spokesperson for the GBCS, provided The Christian Post with a statement on Thursday explaining that the sign sought to highlight the disconnect between the words of Jesus and the actions of the U.S. government.

We have seen the photograph of a mother running away from a tear gas canister with her two children. One of those children is barefoot. I think Jesus was clear. We are called to love our neighbors and protect children. We must welcome the stranger, stated Gill.

There were barefooted babies at the U.S.-Mexico border this weekend, and the U.S. government threw tear gas at them. Its shocking, and its immoral.

Gill explained to CP that GBCS frequently uses their sign to convey messages about current issues and to celebrate seasons. Within the next few days, an Advent message will go up.

When situations get out of hand, we expect the people with the most power to remain calm and level-headed. Thats not what happened. The use of chemical weapons like tear gas is banned in war, continued Gill.

Using tear gas against civilians, especially children, should similarly be prohibited, whether in Ferguson, Missouri, or along the U.S.-Mexico border. It is never a proportional response.

President Donald Trump defended the Border Patrol's decision to use the tear gas, stating at a recent event in Mississippi that it was used in a "very safe" and "very minor form" against those trying to cross the border.

"Here's the bottom line: Nobody's coming into our country unless they come in legally," stated Trump, as reported by the BBC.

Border Patrol Agent Joshua Wilson, spokesman for the union that represents Border Patrol agents, also defended the usage of the tear gas, explaining that at the time "our agents were being subjected to assault by bottles and rocks by a very large group of people" and that it was never directly aimed at women and children.

John Lomperis of the Institute on Religion & Democracy, a voting member of UMC General Conference, told CP that he believed the sign reflected selective outrage on the part of the GBCS.

I am not aware of the GBCS ever specifically criticizing the use of tear gas at the Southern border under the Obama administration, said Lomperis.

The usual pattern of the GBCS has been to reflexively parrot the talking points of the left wing of the Democratic Party, with little to no genuine theological grounding, aside from sometimes lifting biblical commandments directed to the church and sloppily applying them to the U.S. federal government.

Lomperis also told CP that he believed that the GBCS was an echo chamber of its own monolithically liberal programmatic staff.

The only group authorized to speak officially for The United Methodist Church is the General Conference, explained Lomperis.

Relevant positions adopted by General Conference include the statement All nations have the right to secure their borders.
Weekly Briefing: Religious persecution, Twitter ban, gene editing

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Religious persecution gets worse

Persecution against religious minorities has worsened around the world, according to a newly released report by Aid to the Church in Need. Over the last two years, the situation has declined in more countries (18) that have significant religious freedom violations.

ACN also documented ultra-nationalism, or aggressive nationalism, in several countries, including China, Russia, India and Myanmar (Burma).

The group lamented that the plight of faith minorities is being ignored by a religiously illiterate West and that religious freedom is slipping down the human rights priority rankings, being eclipsed by issues of gender, sexuality and race.

Twitter bans misgendering

Social media giant Twitter has updated its hateful conduct policy to prohibit users from misgendering or deadnaming transgender individuals.

Feminist journalist Meghan Murphy was banned for such comments as men arent women.

Even online I think transactivists are trying to make it look like the vast majority of people are on board and they are doing this in part by shutting down other voices but also by taking over social media because social media now really is our public square. This is where we are having public debates. And so they're taking over the conversation in those arenas so it appears that nobody disagrees with them except for evil bigots, said Murphy.

First genetically edited babies

A researcher in China announced the birth of the worlds first genetically edited babies  in this case, twin girls whose DNA was altered during fertility treatments. The goal was to increase resistance to possible future infection with HIV.

He Jiankuis claim of successful gene editing has not been independently confirmed by other experts but many have condemned the experimentation on humans as ethically wrong and irresponsible.

China has suspended the scientists work. Xu Nanping, Chinas vice minister of science and technology, said, We are resolutely opposed to it.

Debate on John Chaus missions approach

Following the death of John Chau, a 26-year-old U.S. missionary who was killed by an isolated tribe he tried to approach earlier this month, many in the Christian community have debated whether his mission was noble or ill-conceived.

Leaders of the missions group he was a part of, All Nations, have revealed that Chau was well-prepared and that he had long wanted to reach the people of North Sentinel Island with the Gospel.

One thing is clear: Christians have a conviction and a mandate to share their faith. For Chau, it made sense to take risks when peoples eternity is at stake. But to the rest of the world, its becoming more incomprehensible, said Thomas S. Kidd of Baylor University.

Misconceptions about Christians work

Many Christians have the misconception that Jesus is happy if they drown themselves in their Gospel-inspired work and never enjoy their lives, according to Gary Haugen of International Justice Mission.

But God actually wants us to enjoy our lives, even if we're involved very intimately in the work of justice and in the intersection of human hurt, he said.

Pray for

A Nigerian Christian, a former imam, who is seeking asylum in the U.S. after his family was attacked and pursued by Muslims numerous times

A pastor in India who was beaten but has vowed to continue to preach

New releases

Albums:

Emmanuel EP by Embassy (Nov. 30)

Resurrection Letters Anthology by Andrew Peterson (Nov. 30)

Books:

Can We Trust the Gospels? By Peter J. Williams (Nov. 30)

The Crucible's Fire: A Story of God's Faithfulness by Matt Parker
Congress passes bill to provide relief to ISIS genocide victims after nearly 2 years

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A bill, two years in the making, that aims to provide humanitarian relief to victims of the Islamic States genocide in Iraq and Syria is finally heading to President Donald Trumps desk.

On Tuesday night, the U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R. 390, also known as the Iraq and Syria Genocide Relief and Accountability Act of 2018. The Houses passage of the bill follows the unanimous passing of the legislation by the U.S. Senate in October.

The bill is designed to provide emergency relief to victims of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes in Iraq and Syria and provide accountability for perpetrators of these crimes.

Among other key parts of the bill, H.R. 390 would authorize and direct the U.S. government to fund entities, including faith-based organizations, that are directly involved in giving humanitarian and recovery aid to Christian and other religious and ethnic minority communities that were targetted by IS (also known as ISIS, ISIL or Daesh).

The bill would also direct the U.S. government to address humanitarian vulnerabilities and needs that could force the persecuted religious minority communities to flee their homelands even though areas like Mosul, Iraq and Raqqa, Syria have been liberated.

The resolution also urges the State Department to provide assistance to entities and nongovernmental organizations addressing the crimes against humanity committed since January 2014 by IS through criminal investigations and the preserving of evidence that links perpetrators to their atrocities.

The bills passing comes over 4.5 years after IS took over large swaths of territory in Iraq and Syria. IS militants systematically killed and sexually enslaved thousands while forcing hundreds of thousands of others to flee their homes.

The bill was first introduced by Republican Rep. Chris Smith, an outspoken advocate for international religious freedom, in September of 2016 and was reintroduced again in the new Congress in January of 2017.

When genocide or other atrocity crimes are perpetrated, the United States should direct humanitarian, stabilization, and recovery aid to enable these people to surviveespecially when they are minorities whose existence as a people is at-risk, Smith said on the House floor prior to Tuesdays vote. HR 390 would ensure our actions match our words.

Today, less than 200,000 Christians remain in Iraq when there were over 1.4 million Christians in Iraq in 2002 and 500,000 Christians in Iraq in 2013. While some displaced Christians have returned to their homes in the months following the liberation, many Christians are stilling living in displacement camps in the Kurdish region.

The genocide also impacted Iraqs Yazidi minority. According to a press release from Smiths office, 60,000 Yazidis fled to Europe while there are still about 550,000 Yazidis still in Iraq with 280,000 of them remaining displaced.

The bipartisan legislation has over 47 cosponsors in the House from both parties including leading Democrat co-sponsor Rep. Anna Eschoo, Calif.

Tens of thousands of religious and ethnic minorities in Iraq and Syria were targeted for genocide by ISIS between 2014 and 2017, Eshoo said in a statement. As survivors return to their homes and begin rebuilding their communities, the United States government must make it a priority to help families in need of assistance now, while ensuring the perpetrators of these crimes against humanity are held accountable.

Eshoo, who is of Armenian and Assyrian descent, said that H.R. 390 will send a powerful message to the persecuted Muslim communities that the U.S. hasnt forgotten them.

The bills passage has also been praised by religious freedom advocates, including those associated with the Washington, D.C.-based lobbying group Religious Freedom Institute, which has strongly supported the bill since its inception in 2016.

The situation in the Nineveh Plain and Sinjar Province has grown extremely urgent. Unless concrete steps are taken now to help these victims return safely to rebuilt homes, schools and churches, the prospects for stabilizing pluralism in Iraq will be lost, RFI Executive Director Kent Hill said in a statement.

RFI President Tom Farr, a former director of the State Department Office of International Religious Freedom, stressed that the present and future stability of the region is tied directly to preserving these historic and diverse communities of faith.

Providing emergency relief to these victims is the right thing to do; it is also a strategic component of sound U.S. foreign policy, Farr said.

Passage of the bill was also applauded by the Knights of Columbus, a Catholic fraternal organization that has raised up to $20 million to help rebuilding Iraqi Christian communities in the aftermath of IS.

The fact that this bill passed both the House and the Senate unanimously shows that the American response to genocide transcends partisanship and that there is enormous political will to protect and preserve religious minorities in the Middle East, including Christians and Yazidis, who were targeted for extinction, Supreme Knight Carl Anderson said in a statement.

Smith is the chairman of the House global human rights subcommittee and has held 10 hearings on the persecution of ethnic minorities in Iraq and Syria.

As the bill now advances to Trumps desk, Vice President Mike Pence has vowed to protect vulnerable Christians in the Middle East in the wake of IS atrocities. However, the Trump administration has faced some criticism as the humanitarian aid that was promised by the Trump administration last year had taken longer than advocates liked to be distributed.

In October, the United States Agency for International Development announced a partnership with Knights of Columbus to help the administration facilitate humanitarian relief funds and create better relationships with aid partners in the region to help communities in the Middle East recover from genocide and persecution.
'We in American Christianity are in danger of losing our own mission,' Russell Moore argues

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WASHINGTON  Leading Southern Baptist ethicist Russell Moore argued Monday that Christians in America are in danger of losing our mission during a discussion with Republican Nebraska Sen. Ben Sasse.

The head of the Southern Baptist Convention's Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission joined the junior Nebraska senator for a conversation on topics ranging from Americas loneliness epidemic and political tribalism to reconciliation and technologys impact on the future of the United States at the National Press Club.

The conversation  titled The Lonely American: Rootedness and Reconciliation in a Riven Land  was hosted by The Trinity Forum, an evangelical nonprofit that regularly convenes leading thinkers and thought leaders to consider and discuss lifes great questions in the context of faith.

Being the keynote speaker, Sasse gave about a 25-minute speech in which he said that the political tribalism seen in the U.S. today is merely a symptom of the digital revolution in which people have more material abundance than ever before but are feeling more spiritually impoverished and more lonely than at any point in his lifetime.

Along with the digital revolution, the 46-year-old senator said a media environment has been fostered to where Americans have lost their sense of we.

That is strange. It isnt the case that there used to be a big, coherent, America national we that didnt have scars and blemishes and problems, Sasse explained. It was that you had local communities, and distant communities served a distant and lesser purpose. Because they were in a box of what happened far away, you could have your local community and your distant community, and your distant community wouldnt be the thing that you tried to impose all sorts of grand meaning.

Because of the digital revolution and the hollowing out of the local community and the evaporation of place in a lot of ways, we are projecting things onto a distant national identity of 300 million people but we arent really sure what the we is that we share and have in common, Sasse added.

Tasked with responding to Sasses remarks, the 47-year-old Moore highlighted what he thinks the American Church has to offer when it comes to this sort of rootless, lonely American life.

What I would suggest is the things the Church has to offer are actually the things that are the most offensive at the surface level to the outside culture, Moore explained. The first thing is the exclusivity of truth.

Moore noted, however, that there are several common objections that people who are not Christians have toward the Church, such as their objections with biblical truths that might run counter the cultural agenda.

What I would suggest is that we are living in a time, which as Marilynne Robinson puts it: a society that is moving toward the dangerous ground when loyalty to the truth is seen as disloyalty to the tribe, Moore said.

While Moore explained that people who are not Christians dont have to agree with the Bible or the Christian worldview, he said that the primary objection that the outside world has with the Church is not that it is too dogmatic in its beliefs but rather that Christians do not actually believe what we say we believe.

Look at the devastation that is coming with the [sexual abuse] revelations out of Pittsburgh and the Catholic Church, he explained. Look at the devastation that comes with some of the cartoonish and buffoonish behavior that will often take place in evangelical life. Does the Church have the ability to speak to the moral imagination that says, You dont have to agree with us but you can be confident that when we are speaking it is not in service to some other agenda  political, social, market-based  but actually because we are, as Jesus puts it, bearing witness to the truth.'

Even though Jesus calls on Christians to love their neighbors, refugees and the most marginalized members of society, a recently released poll found that white evangelicals are the only religious demographic to have a majority that view immigrants as a threat to the country and the nations increasing racial diversity as harmful.

While some notable conservative evangelicals have issued inflammatory remarks in the past that some say demonize Muslims and immigrants, Moore said that a recent Cato Institute study had shown that evangelical Christians who go to church more often actually have more positive views toward their Muslim neighbors, toward refugees and immigrants, toward people of other ethnicities and races.

Such does not surprise me at all, Moore said. It is that churches that are the most actively evangelistic are also the ones who most are connected with their neighbors, most love their neighbors.

If you find a congregation that is working with Muslim refugees, sharing the Gospel, those are going to be the Christians who will say, You will not scream at our neighbors, Moore continued. We believe they are created in the image of God and we believe they are loved by God and we are going to stand with them. Also, that understanding of faith sees Christian in a very different way than the alt-right does, for instance, which sees Christian as simply another word for western civilization, white identity, European roots, fill in the blank.

Moore also asserted that people who actually believe the devil exists are less likely to make devils out of other people or their neighbors.

Having an understanding of demons ought to lead the Church not to demonize other people, he explained. The Church ought to be the one to say that Mephistopheles is not the presence in front of you who disagrees with you. The devil is usually subtle within your very midst, offering you pleasure and power. We ought to be the ones that understand that and are able to see that.

Along with the idea of welcoming the neighbor, Moore contended that churches need to justify their own existence through the bustle of business within their congregations in an era where exhaustion and inactivity have become a new normal for many tired Americans.

It seems to me that we are living in a time when there is exhaustion of being active around us, a time when quietness and a kind of liturgy and a kind of disconnection from the whirl and velocity of the outside world is necessary, Moore said. It is also true that as we in American Christianity are looking at the outside world, we recognize that we are in danger of losing our own mission.

Moore explained that many people today choose their churches on the basis of the activity and missions that go on at those congregations.

I have said for years, one can usually tell the difference between a church that is booming and a Church that is old and maybe past its prime on the basis of whether or not there is a church graveyard, Moore said. They dont build church graveyards at megachurches. Seeker-friendly congregations usually do not think about church graveyards. They think about coffee kiosks.  The idea is that we dont want to be associated with death and inactivity. We want to be associated with philosophy and activity. There used to be signs that said A Church Alive is Worth the Drive.

In following up on Sasses theme of the sense of we, Moore said that American Christians need to be sure that they hold on to a more pre-eminent sense of we.

[W]e also need to understand that behind that we, there has to be a more pre-eminent we that is [more than] a nation  E Pluribus Unum. It's a nation under God, a group of people who have loyalties to something that is more than a nation itself, Moore said. With that happening, I think we can then bridge the gap between who we are from who they are. That requires remembering who we are in the first place. Only then, I think, can we say to rootless, exhausted, tired, lonely Americans, in the words of Jesus, Come to me all you who are weary and heavy laden and I will give you rest. Only then can we learn to sing to ourselves, Jesus loves them this I know for the Bible tells me so.
Google blocks gender-based pronouns from new AI tools to avoid offending users

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Months after introducing new AI technology in Gmail that makes automatic suggestions to complete sentences for users as they type, Alphabet Incs Google has tweaked it to avoid suggesting gender-based pronouns to avoid offending users.

Google officials told Reuters that due to the highly sensitive debate currently raging on the issue of gender and gender identity, the risk of offending users with their Smart Compose technology by incorrectly predicting someones sex or gender identity was just too high.

Paul Lambert, a Gmail product manager, told the news agency that a company research scientist discovered the problem in January when he typed I am meeting an investor next week, and Smart Compose suggested a possible follow-up question: Do you want to meet him? instead of her.

Smart Compose was introduced by Google in May as an extension of its Smart Reply feature which was introduced last year. Because the technology operates in the background, users can write an email normally and Smart Compose will offer suggestions as they type. If they see a suggestion they like, they can simply click the tab button to use it.

Lambert said Smart Compose currently assists on 11 percent of messages worldwide sent from Gmail.com.

He noted that even though consumers have gotten used to embarrassing suggestions from technology like autocorrect on smartphones, Google wants to do things better.

Not all screw ups are equal, Lambert told Reuters. Gender is a big, big thing to get wrong.

Investing in more culturally sensitive technology, he said, is part of the companys plan to build support for their brand and draw customers to their AI-powered cloud computing tools, advertising services and hardware. Gmail currently has 1.5 billion users.

Not everyone, like Sean Davis, co-founder of the conservative online magazine The Federalist, thinks Googles move on blocking gender-based pronouns is a step in the right direction.

Banning entirely value-neutral words that describe objective reality definitely isn't biased at all, he wrote on Twitter.

The company is being overly cautious on the issue of gender, explained Reuters, due to a number of high-profile embarrassments the resulted from their predictive technologies in the past.

In 2015, for example, Googles image recognition feature from its photo service labeled a black couple as gorillas. In 2016, the company was forced to change its search engines autocomplete function after it suggested the anti-Semitic query are Jews evil when users sought information about Jews. Expletives and racial slurs are currently banned for Googles predictive technologies as well.

Googles announcement comes on the heels of social media giant Twitter's updates to the companys hateful conduct policy, banning users from tweeting the birth names of trans-identified persons or referring to them by using biologically appropriate pronouns.

We prohibit targeting individuals with repeated slurs, tropes or other content that intends to dehumanize, degrade or reinforce negative or harmful stereotypes about a protected category, the policy notes. This includes targeted misgendering or deadnaming of transgender individuals.

Deadnaming refers to calling a person by their legal name given at birth when that person has selected a new name consistent with the gender identity they have chosen. Misgendering refers to the use of a persons biological pronoun rather than their preferred trans-affirming pronoun.
Young missionary who spent year sharing Gospel worldwide killed by suspected drunk driver in Denver

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A 27-year-old woman who spent nearly a year of her life bringing the Gospel to various corners of the world was killed in a car crash caused by a suspected drunk driver in Colorado last weekend.

Kelly Anne Broderick passed away last Saturday morning after the car she was riding in was struck by a wrong-way driver on Denvers Santa Fe Drive, police revealed.

According to 9News.com, the crash occurred at around 2:30 a.m. after a vehicle driving southbound on the northbound lane of the roadway sideswiped the car that Broderick was in. Police say that Broderick died at the scene.

Broderick, who participated in the 11-month Christian mission trip The World Race in 2016, was being given a ride from a friend to the airport when the crash occurred. She was to depart to Iceland.

Brodericks friend was injured in the crash and has since been released from the hospital, according to the family.

Denver police arrested 27-year-old Amanda Morris for suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol and vehicular homicide. The police claimed that Morris had slurred speech, bloodshot eyes and smelled of alcohol at the scene of the accident.

Broderick was originally from Jacksonville, Florida, but moved to Denver in the summer of 2017.

A memorial service has been planned for Dec. 8 in Jacksonville, Florida.

Brodericks participation in The World Race allowed her to serve the least of these in countries like Albania, Cambodia, Greece, Lesotho, Malaysia, Philippines, South Africa, Thailand, Vietnam, Zimbabwe and the United States.

Our ministry was mainly relational anywhere we went and had us spending most of our time with teenagers and loving them through playing card games or ping pong, having girls/boys nights to pull them away from their phones, and hearing their stories, Broderick wrote on her blog.

According to her blog, she had to raise $16,627 to participate in The World Race mission trip.

Jesus did not come and die for us so we would walk with our heads low comparing ourselves to others and constantly tearing ourselves down, Broderick wrote before she left for her trip. He came so I could claim my place in His eternal kingdom and title as His daughter. Not so I would have to earn it, but so I would be freely given it. He came so I would be given a white wall every day for Him to create in me what He has.

While on her trip, Brodericks uncle died and she was not able to attend the funeral.

Those who had interactions with Broderick voiced their sorrows on Brodericks memorial website. Those who knew her said she was a strong athlete, had an infectious smile and just wanted to help people.

When I think of Kelly Anne I think of walking into church on Sunday mornings, churchgoer Elizabeth Baur wrote on the website. Im not sure if she volunteered as a greeter every Sunday or was just always standing there each week ready to say hi to everyone with her joyful smile; I always loved walking in and seeing her. Like many have said, she brought joy with her wherever she went and her smile was so contagious.

Over 4,500 people have participated in The World Race and over 80 countries have been reached by World Racers.
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Theres a new movie out based on the Gary Hart scandal of 1987. Its called Front Runner and stars Hugh Jackman.

You may recall that Gary Hart, a handsome Democrat politician from Colorado, was easily the front runner in the road to the 1988 presidential election, at least the primaries. But he derailed himself in 1987 through a sexual scandal on board a South Florida yacht, appropriately called Monkey Business.

This was back at a time when sexual scandals had meaning. In his classic movie, Citizen Kane (1940), Orson Welles did a marvelous job showing how, back in the day, a sexual scandal could sink a successful politician.

Gary Hart denied that he was seeing any mistresses (and even challenged reporters to follow him), but a widely publicized photo of Hart with Donna Rice on his lap on board the boat said otherwise.

ABCs Good Morning America recently highlighted this and had Donna Rice Hughes as a guest. However, they seemed to leave out God.

What follows is the Christian testimony of Donna Rice Hughes, who got caught up in a world-famous scandal, and how God has used the lowest point of her life to bring about good.

Ive interviewed Donna a few times for Christian TV and radio. She told me, I was brought up in a Christian home and a Christian family, and came to know Christ as my personal Savior when I was a very young person. And I spent high school and college time really pretty much in school and involved in my church and my youth group. I only dated Christian boys.

A negative turning point in her life came after college, and it all began with very small concessions.

She said, I began to make some subtle compromises in my life. And before long, I was dating non-Christian guys from time to time; and, in fact, it was during one of those dates that I lost my virginity when I was twenty-two against my will. And we call that now a date-rape. And that was really a catalyst that kind of moved me into a prodigal time in my twenties where I just put God [and] my Bible on a shelf; and I was just doing sort of the baby-boomer success track that many young women were pursuing at the time.

One compromise led to another, as her morality spiraled out of control: And it took going through this international scandal in 1987 for God to get my attention again. And He did.

Donna continued, What it really did was it drove me to my knees. And I realized how far I had gotten from the Lord, and that I was in so much pain. It was such a devastating time for me and for my family. And so I rededicated my life to Him at that point, and went through really seven years of being underground.

In the wake of the scandal and the international headlines it garnered, tabloid outlets and pornographic magazines were seeking her out. She could easily have turned her story into a lot of cash. She observed, I turned away all of the millions of dollars that I was offered to exploit my situation.

Instead, she sought a complete spiritual restoration.

As Donna Rice went off the radar, she began to read and study the Bible seriously and other Christian books.

She also found help through Christian fellowship. She told me, God just brought wonderful Christians into my life, and I was really nurtured and cared for, and carried, and grew. It was a time of growth, of walking through the fire and growing through the fire. I eventually came back to Washington, D. C. to get married, and began working with Enough is Enough.

Enough is Enough is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to making the Internet safe for children, for example, by protecting them from both porn and sexual predators, to quote Hughes. Our overall focushas been preventing all Internet-enabled exploitation of children online. How ironic that a woman initially known for a sex scandal is now a leading champion against porn.

Hughes added, And little did I know, that the very entities I wanted nothing to do with as far as a career, which was politics and the media, was exactly what I was going to be doing. And not only that, I was going to be working with a sexually controversial issue.my whole story illustrates, in a way, Gods sense of humor, but also how He really can bring incredible redemption and restoration in situations that seem hopeless as mine did.

As Paul Harvey used to say, And now you know, the rest of the story.

Jerry Newcombe, D.Min., is an on-air host/senior producer for D. James Kennedy Ministries. He has written/co-written 28 books, e.g., The Unstoppable Jesus Christ, Doubting Thomas (w/ Mark Beliles, on Jefferson), and What If Jesus Had Never Been Born? (w/ D. James Kennedy) & the bestseller, George Washington's Sacred Fire (w/ Peter Lillback) djkm.org @newcombejerry www.jerrynewcombe.com
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Imagine living in a community of 100 families where the father of one of the families is given oversight and decision-making authority over all of the families. Who in their right mind would ever subject themselves to such a repressive arrangement, right? Thankfully, God created man and woman with free will so that parents can make the decisions for their family, rather than being ruled by someone outside their home.

And since God instituted both the family and the church, consider the implications of having centralized control not only in a hypothetical autocratic community, but also in a hierarchical religious organization. If you are under the impression that a religious hierarchy is untouchable, I wonder who or what ever gave you that idea. While God's Word of course never changes, church structure can and should be adapted to assure that local congregations are free to follow the leading of the Holy Spirit.

When your church structure becomes more of a burden than a blessing, it is time to start thinking outside the box. When control and cover-ups begin to poison a church's polity and threaten the safety of children, it should be a wake-up call to Christians to embrace the simplicity of the New Testament church. In the early church, solid substance led to healthy structure. "They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer." (Acts 2:42) It was not about power and control over congregations, but about the love of Christ and unity in the Gospel.

Today there are plenty of Christian congregations that choose to operate under the authority of religious officials outside their congregation. The largest hierarchical religious organization in this regard is the Catholic church. It has been structured so as to rule and legislate from the top down. The following hierarchy is firmly entrenched within this religious organization:

Pope

Cardinals

Archbishops

Bishops

Priests

Deacons

The Laity

Catholics have been conditioned to accept this institutional hierarchy as if it's the only way to carry out ministry. But what if a significant number of the estimated 1.2 billion Catholics in the world decided to rethink this paralyzing paradigm? What if they chose to reduce the amount of power currently given to a relatively small number of church officials around the world, and instead structured themselves in a way that equipped and empowered local leaders within each congregation? In other words, "Could the Catholic church change its structure?"

The answer, of course, is "Yes." Every parish could be encouraged to prayerfully form a governing body made up of 6 or 7 gifted leaders selected from within the congregation. This governing body could consist of Christians who are known to be wise and mature believers, including of course the parish pastor.

Compare this idea to the way things are currently set up according to canon law, which is a code of ecclesiastical laws governing the Catholic church. In Minnesota for example, "Church law in the Diocese of Duluth requires that each parish have a five-member corporate board of directors. The bishop is the president of the board, the parish pastor is the vice president and the vicar general is a member of the board. The remaining two members, lay trustees, are parishioners who represent the broad interests of the entire parish community."

And here is how the Roman Catholic Diocese of Syracuse, New York, explains their role in overseeing congregational decisions: "No act or proceeding of the Trustees of any such incorporated church shall be valid without the sanction of the archbishop or bishop of the diocese to which the church belongs..." This approach assures that everything is ultimately controlled by the hierarchy of church officials. And since every diocesan bishop essentially functions as the president of every parish under his rule, the Catholic organization operates very much like a community of 100 families where one father in town gets to be the ultimate shot caller for every family. And in the Roman Catholic system, there are additional shot callers over every parish as you move up the chain of command.

Imagine how you would feel as a parent living in a town where one father had authority over 100 families. Every family in town would be left with three options: (1) Submit to the authority and decisions of one father in your community; (2) Work with the other 99 families in your town to change the authority structure; or (3) Move to a town where every family is free to make their own decisions.

Men don't develop into responsible fathers if you take away their God-given responsibility to feed and lead their own children. And Christians with leadership gifts end up sitting on the sideline whenever institutional officials insist on retaining the spiritual authority that rightfully belongs to congregational leaders on the local level. As it stands right now under canon law, "A parish is a definite community of Christian faithful established on a stable basis within a particular church; the pastoral care of the parish is entrusted to a pastor as its own shepherd under the authority of the diocesan bishop." That is to say, under the authority of one father who makes many decisions for the church families (congregations) under his spiritual rule.

Since this approach is fraught with serious control issues, imagine what would happen if every parish began to oversee their congregational ministry. Envision Catholic congregations as well as church officials choosing to exercise their free will. The officials could choose to begin trusting local leaders to make wise decisions as they use the gifts of leadership and discernment the Holy Spirit has given them. And the congregational leaders could be encouraged to make whatever decisions are deemed best for their own church family.

Think of all the potential benefits if the bishops, cardinals and pope were to humbly set aside their current titles and roles in order to become an advisory council for Catholic congregations. The local leaders would suddenly hold the decision-making authority for their respective parish. And the personal growth of leaders within every Catholic congregation would skyrocket. Church officials would no longer be a bottleneck or a source of ongoing controversy, and the spiritual authority would shift to those who serve on the front line at the local level.

After all, are the out-of-town officials any wiser than the spiritually mature believers within each parish? And are they more qualified to handle human resource issues than those Christian leaders who serve in Catholic congregations all over the world? Why should the leadership gifts God has given to Christians in every parish be placed on the back burner so that a select few can maintain their current level of institutional control, organizational power, and decision-making authority?

Imagine transforming the Vatican from the corporate headquarters of the Catholic church into an educational and historical museum for Catholicism. And the institutional officials could be transitioned into an advisory role where these men no longer rule over 1.2 billion Catholics. If truth be told, it is not wrong or unbiblical to have congregations governed by local spiritual leaders rather than out-of-town officials. If you are willing to think outside the box, you will see that it just makes sense on so many levels.

Millions of Catholics work hard every day to serve the poor and assist the needy, while proclaiming the love of Christ in a broken world. And so why not trust them to prayerfully call the shots as they rely upon the collective wisdom of their congregational leaders? That's not to say the people should stop seeking counsel from various Catholic advisors, but it is to say that it might be time for Catholics to rethink how their church is structured. We might all be shocked to learn how many Catholics would love to repeal and replace the secrecy, politics and control that bleeds from their hierarchical structure.

Consider the essence of Christianity and the essence of the church. At the end of the day, Christians can base their fellowship with other congregations on their common commitment to being ruled by a hierarchy of officials in their religious organization; or they can base their fellowship on the Gospel and on Scripture as local leaders make godly decisions that are in the best interest of those they serve. Jesus said, "Whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant." (Matt. 20:26) The most reliable and humble leaders are servant leaders. And there are servant leaders in every Catholic parish who would do a fantastic job of overseeing the ministry within their own congregation, if only given the opportunity.

Man, by nature, longs to have control over others. And when Christian congregations become "turf" for officials whose first concern is the international organization, it can lead to calculated political maneuvering and regular cover-ups. And who tends to suffer the most? Young children and pre-teens. Whenever abusive behavior takes place within a powerful international organization, there is bound to be an organized effort to hide the facts. It is simply the nature of the beast. After all, the reputation of the international organization is at stake.

When did our Lord ever say the church should structure itself with an institutional hierarchy? The New Testament simply espouses a plurality of spiritual leaders within each congregation. Children have parents and church families have leaders. Would you say your congregation feels more like a family or more like a corporation? Sadly, some religious officials engage in the kind of secret dealings we have come to expect from the government and the corporate world. This is not at all what our Lord intended when telling the apostles, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations." (Matt. 28:18,19) Jesus has all authority because "Christ is the head of the body, the church." (Col. 1:18)

With all of these pertinent factors in mind, could the Catholic church change its structure? Sure. Will they? You would have to ask Catholics that question. And if you do, be sure to mention that the question of church structure ultimately resides with those who are already serving on the front line of congregational ministry.

The church our Lord instituted was never intended to be an institutional hierarchy, but rather, a warm and loving family. Christ's body of believers around the world serve within congregations, and like parents, spiritual leaders within a congregation must reside within that family. You cannot provide proper care, instruction, and decision-making from an out-of-town office. You must be on site full-time if you are going to fulfill your God-given calling as a parent in the home, or a Christian leader in the congregation. For example, fathers who travel a lot know how difficult it is for a dad to raise his children if he is always away from home. (See "5 Tips for Raising Children Who Love Jesus.")

Change is rarely easy. In fact, devout Catholics who are interested in changing their church structure will likely experience some fearful religious sentiments, such as: "It feels like we would be going against our church if our congregational leaders exercised this much spiritual authority in our parish." And, "It feels like we would not be submitting to our bishop and to the pope if we transitioned them into an advisory role." Just realize that you feel this way because you have been conditioned to feel this way. The critical question for Christians in the Catholic church is simply, "Would we be going against Christ and against Scripture to structure our congregation this way?"

It has wisely been said: "In essentials, unity; In non-essentials, liberty. In all things, charity." When congregations apply this principle to their structure, the spiritual gift of leadership (Rom. 12:8) that the Holy Spirit gives to certain believers in every congregation is utilized in a much greater way. And the benefits are immense.

Sadly, those who cannot or will not break through their ingrained assumptions and religious feelings end up stuck at the point of maintaining the status quo. They refuse to allow themselves to even consider the question of change. Their minds are closed on the issue, and their closed minds result in blind allegiance to the organization, even after widespread child abuse has been systematically covered up. (See the recent New York Times article, "Catholic Priests Abused 1,000 Children in Pennsylvania, Report Says.")

On the other end of the spectrum, loving care and wise decisions from qualified leaders on the local level is a beautiful thing to behold. And it beats corporate secrecy and institutional cover-ups every day of the week and twice on Sunday. If the current structure of your religious organization is not utilizing the leadership gifts of God's people or providing adequate protection for children, just remember that it is not a sin to change the structure.

And I would offer an additional suggestion to anyone wanting to promote unity in your church. The congregation I have served as pastor since it was planted nearly 12 years ago has a 6-member Executive Board that includes the pastor. In addition, we have held a Monday night congregational meeting every month since the church began. It allows people to offer ideas and become involved in the broader planning and decision-making process, and it helps to prevent politics from developing. It presents a regular forum for open, honest and gracious dialogue where anyone in the congregation can ask questions, offer input, and participate in the decision-making process. There is no question that a flat structure can help foster unity in a church family.

Just as parents are privileged to lead their family, Christians deserve the privilege to lead their congregational ministry. Imagine that hypothetical community of 100 families coming out from under the thumb of one father in their town. Just think how such a move would empower loving parents to make wise decisions for their own family. And just imagine how structural revision in the Catholic church could pave the way for a spiritual revival among Catholics.

Such a revival would certainly require the power of the Holy Spirit and the truth of the Gospel. The good news of salvation through Christ alone is the only message that can deliver a person from sin and death, and the only message that can breathe new life into a Christian congregation. Here are a couple articles I have written that express the life-giving power of the Gospel:

"Galatians for Catholics, Protestants and Every Christian."

"Can Catholics Have the Assurance of Salvation?"

The answer is "Yes, Catholics can certainly come to have this blessed assurance." As the apostle Peter declared on the day of Pentecost: "Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved." (Acts 2:21) And the Christian church was instituted by our Lord to be a loving family where God's children grow in their faith and in service to others. If your church structure has become a hindrance rather than a help, feel free to do something about it.

The Lord will reward your efforts and your courage for the cause of Christ as you work to protect the most vulnerable who are under your spiritual care and protection, and as you "wake up the sleeping giant" consisting of 1.2 billion Catholics. The gift of leadership already resides within many Catholics. Now it's just a matter of structuring your church so that these spiritual gifts do not remain buried in the ground.
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Today, please join me, Ed Stetzer, and thousands of Christians in petitioning President Trump to grant asylum to Asia Bibi and her family.

On Wednesday, the day before Thanksgiving, reports surfaced that Islamic radicals in Pakistan were hunting house to house for Pakistani Christian Asia Bibi.

Her story should be painfully familiar by now.

Bibi has been in hiding since Pakistans supreme court acquitted her of blasphemy chargesthis after a 9 year imprisonment and legal battle that left at least two of her supporters dead. She now faces a vigilante campaign for her execution, the execution of her family, and the three high court judges that rendered the verdict. Her attorney has already fled the country.

A few countries, including Canada and Australia, seem to be working with Pakistan to grant her asylum, but so far the United States has remained silent.

This should . . . not . . . be.

On Friday of last week, my BreakPoint This Week co-host Ed Stetzer and I, using the social media hashtag #AsylumforBibi, called on President Donald Trump to fulfill recent promises made by his administration to persecuted Christians and to grant asylum to Asia Bibi and her family; and to pro-actively work with Pakistani officials to ensure safe transport to the United States. Please join us in petitioning the President to act now.

So far, the response to #AsylumforBibi has been strong, but Asia Bibi and her family need you to not only help raise social media awareness, but to also send a letter to your congressman, senators, and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. Our colleague Roberto Rivera has provided a sample letter that you can find at BreakPoint.org.

Now, as I have said often on BreakPoint, the Trump Administration has, for the most part, been a stout defender of religious freedom at home and abroad. The appointment of Sen. Sam Brownback as Americas Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom, and hosting the first-ever State Department Ministerial to Advance Religious Freedom are both great things. And, the rhetoric has been strong. Both President Trump and Vice-President Mike Pence are on record that America needs to do more to aid Christian refugees.

So why the silence now, when Asia Bibis life is so clearly in danger? Asia Bibi and her family fit perfectly with the U. S. Citizenship and Immigration Services definition of refugees eligible for asylum.

Let me quote from their website: Refugee status or asylum may be granted to people who have been persecuted or fear they will be persecuted on account of race, religion, nationality, and/or membership in a particular social group or political opinion.

So far, so good. Reading on, the USCIS says, Refugee status is a form of protection that may be granted to people who meet the definition of refugee and who are of special humanitarian concern to the United States. Refugees are generally people outside of their country who are unable or unwilling to return home because they fear serious harm.

There should be absolutely no legal reason not to offer refugee status and offer asylum to Asia Bibi. And, there is every humanitarian and moral reason to do so.

Of course, the attention of the administrationand certainly the mediais focused on the crisis at our southern border. Even under calm conditions, hundreds or thousands of people applying en masse for asylum would overwhelm the system. Weve reached the point where the Administration felt, rightly or wrongly, that it had to close the busiest border crossing between the U.S. and Mexico.

Even so, closing our borders and our hearts to Asia Bibi and her family forfeits our moral leadership and is unacceptable.

President Trump, please, offer asylum for Asia Bibi.

Christian friends, pray for her and her family. Check out the sample letter at BreakPoint.org. And join our social media campaign, #AsylumforBibi.

Resources

Asia Bibi VindicatedBut Still in Danger: Pray for All Believers in Pakistan, John Stonestreet | BreakPoint.org | November 1, 2018

Save Asia Bibi, sample letter, Roberto Rivera | BreakPoint.org | November 13, 2018

Originally posted at Breakpoint.
Catholic leaders in China urge Pope Francis to not make compromises, use them as scapegoats

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Eight Catholic church leaders from the diocese of Datong in China have issued an open letter pleading with the Vatican to help in the persecution that they face and to not make compromises with the Chinese government.

AsiaNews, which provided a translation of the letter earlier this week, revealed that the church leaders address the government that they say is denying them religious freedom, but also the faithful around the world.

The Datong priests, who have been without a bishop since 2005, declare in their letter that they "cannot sit down silent without any concern, even more we cannot stand by with folded arms."

What is worth of our concern is the freedom of religious faith since it is a fundamental human right, that cannot be violated, forbidden or taken away. Obviously, many statements and proposals of the Government, we must not necessarily agree upon and accept, some of them we even oppose, they wrote.

But, it is not possible to take away our freedom and right because we have a different faith. As a community of believers, we are even more concerned with the freedom of speech, since it cannot be separated from freedom of religion: without one there cannot be the other!

The church leaders continue: We now receive your control. The cross of our church and even the whole church has been demolished. The freedom of the faithful to attend our meetings is opposed. The church is forced to accept the guide of the Chinese Government. All these things make us worried and dissatisfied.

They add: As believers, we know that the future decides the present. With this joint declaration of ours we hope that you can respect the right of the Church, respect every person: this is a bottom line that cannot be overtaken.

Further detailing the persecution they have faced, the Christians state that the Communist government has blocked them from buying Bibles from the internet, and has restricted large congregation meetings.

They also express concern about the reported deal between the Vatican and China to elect bishops as chosen by the government, fearing that the Holy See might make compromises, turning them into scapegoats in order to establish diplomatic relations.

Both underground and officially registered churches in China have faced crackdowns, with pastors arrested and congregations prevented from meeting. Churches have been demolished, and there have been reports that Communist officials have even burned Bibles.

Tenzin Dorjee, chair of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, told The Christian Post in an email in September that President Xi Jinping's "clenching fist" is targeting religious minorities like never before.

"At a time when faith is flourishing in China, Beijing is cracking down on religious believers, approving only those individuals and groups who agree to a rigid, socialist version of religion tightly controlled by the atheist government," Dorjee said.

"Anyone who runs afoul of Beijing by choosing to follow their own conscience is at risk of discrimination, harassment, detention or enforced disappearances, imprisonment, and even torture. No one is safe from Beijing's wrath," he added.

USCIRF commissioner Johnnie Moore, who serves on the evangelical advisory board for U.S. President Donald Trump's administration, further told CP that the worsening persecution goes against reason.

"I think that China, under Xi's leadership, is having a relapse to a time in Chinese history that did not bring economic prosperity, but did bring isolation from the world and countless examples of unnecessary suffering," Moore argued.

"For some strange reason, at such a moment of opportunity, the Chinese leadership is choosing to embrace the methodology of the past," he added.
Pastor in India severely beaten for preaching Gospel vows not to stop despite persecution

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An Indian pastor who was severely beaten alongside members of his congregation earlier this month in Bihar state has vowed to continue preaching the Gospel just like the heroic figures of the Bible did.

Since I am working for the Lord, I have always prepared myself for any kind of eventuality, persecution, or danger. I am prepared to pay the price for serving my God," said Pastor Bangali Das in an interview with International Christian Concern while wrapped in bandages and breathing heavily due to injuries he sustained during the attack.

Great men of God in the Bible like Shedrach, Meshach, and Abednego, and their friend Daniel were persecuted. So I feel that its an occasion for me to glorify God, like them. I will continue to work for the Lord in spite of all such obstacles and pain, he added.

Das, who has been a pastor for the last 12 years, was accused by others in the village of Tetua of carrying out forceful conversions, which is a charge often used against Christians in villages across the Hindu-majority country.

With his congregation having increased to over 200 worshipers, for months he also faced issues with local police. In February, they evicted him from the premises that he rented for church services, due to noise complaints.

But Das refused to give up on ministering to people in Tetua and explained that he had to carry out services at an open place.

He said that a number of men and women from the local Manjhi caste accepted Jesus and they offered me an open place to conduct worship.

As many as 150 non-Christian Manjhi attacked a worship service on Nov. 4, however, accusing the pastor of forcefully converting people, and demanding that he stop preaching.

When our believers requested them to give some time to buy a place and build a worship hall, they surrounded us and started beating us, Das explained.

Two men caught me and began to rain blows on me with their hands. I got hurt in my chest very badly and my arm was injured. They threw me on the ground and beat me until I became unconscious.

Christians have been under a wave of persecution in several Indian states this year, which has resulted in pastors being beaten and churches being destroyed.

Pastor Singh, who leads a congregation in India's Madhya Pradesh State, shared of how Christians are being threatened to stop following their faith back in September.

Hindu radicals threatened to beat and kill Christians, leading to 15 families becoming too reluctant to go to church.

"The reason for this drop in the attendance is the threats from Hindu radicals," Singh told ICC at the time. "The radicals say they will beat and kill my church members if they continue to attend the services."

"Prior to May this year, around 200 people used to worship regularly in my church," he added. "But now only 50 to 60 people attend my church on Sunday. They are under tremendous pressure from Hindu radicals."
Bishop of Worcester defends Church of England against push for disestablishment

The Bishop of Worcester has defended the continued establishment of the Church of England against calls for Britain to become a secular state.

Speaking in the House of Lords on Wednesday, Lord Berkeley said future monarchs should swear an oath to Parliament instead of making a vow to protect the Church of England, as the Queen did at her coronation in 1953.

The Labour peer argued that it was time for change as the number of people attending the Church of England continues to fall while those with no religion rises.

He suggested that a secular oath would better reflect the 'different backgrounds' in modern day Britain.

'Is it not time for the new monarch, when he comes, to embrace this secular state and perhaps swear an oath to Parliament,' he said.

The call for a secular oath was made in a recent report by the UCL Constitution Unit. The report suggested that references to protecting the Church of England be removed from Prince Charles' coronation service and that he instead make an 'oath to the people'.

Voicing his support for the UCL report's findings, Lord Berkeley said: 'Is that not the way we should be heading?'

He asked what assessment the Government had made of the case for the disestablishment of the Church of England.

In reply, Lord Young of Cookham said the Government had not made any assessment towards disestablishing the Church of England and that the Government continued to 'value that relationship'.

'We think it adds value to both sides and is welcomed by the country. We have no plans to destabilise that relationship,' he said.

Lord Young said it was 'important' that the bishops continue to be represented in the House of Lords because 'they add a spiritual dimension to our discussions' and 'speak with a moral authority that escapes most of us'.

'The bishops seek to heal religious conflict and promote religious tolerance and inclusiveness,' the Tory peer continued.

He added: 'It would be sad if that link between Church and state was weakened, and it is not something the other faiths have asked for.'

In his contribution to the debate, the Bishop of Worcester, the Rt Rev Dr John Inge, said that the Church of England was a 'significant force for good' and played an important role in bringing people of all faiths and none together.

'When the country came together to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Armistice earlier this month, the Church of England led events of solemn remembrance and thanksgiving in pretty much every community up and down the land of England,' he said.

'The convening power of the Church in bringing together people of different faiths and none is a central feature of its established status that is greatly valued by those of other faiths, who appreciate such a hospitable establishment.'

Labour peer Lord Winston also spoke in favour of establishment, saying that the Church of England was 'hugely important to the nature of this country and in this House as well'.

'Indeed, it is one of the reasons why I am proud to be British,' he said.
Church of Scotland signs up for Thy Kingdom Come

The Church of Scotland has joined the global prayer initiative Thy Kingdom Come, set up by the Archbishops of Canterbury and York in 2016.

Thy Kingdom Come aims to encourage Christians to pray between Ascension Day and Pentecost for conversions. It has grown into an international and ecumenical movement crossing denominational and political boundaries.

The Church of Scotland has formally announced its participation in 2019, as Justin Welby, Archbishop of Canterbury and Rt Rev Susan Brown, Moderator of the General Assembly, said saying in a joint declaration : 'We rejoice in this opportunity to build on the commitment of our churches to pray together.

'We join our prayers with those of the Church throughout the world as we pray "Thy Kingdom Come".'

The two churches made a commitment in 2016 to work more closely together in the Columba Declaration.

Thy Kingdom Come includes 'Beacon Events' at venues like cathedrals, which draw hundreds of Christians together in prayer and worship. It also offers the opportunity to 'Pledge2Pray', in which people can sign up to pray during the Ascension period, and resources for church, individual and family prayer.

After last year's event, Welby said: 'I'm more excited by Thy Kingdom Come than anything I can remember for many, many years.'
The book street will be designed to describe a combination of book and coffee, the Dak Lak specialty. Book stalls will be constructed in the shape of the traditional long house of the Ede ethnic people.



Buon Ma Thuot coffee book street which locates in Phan Chu Trinh Street is expected to be put into operation in March, 2019 to mark the 7th annual Buon Ma Thuot coffee festival that held between March 9 and 16. The event will offer local coffee brands a good opportunity to promote exports and develop a national brand as well as Dak Lak's coffee brand. It also aims to honor Vietnamese coffee farmers and companies.





By TUONG VY  Translated by Kim Khanh
Government-funded project teaches school children about different faiths

Lord Bourne was in Luton on Thursday to take part in a project that is bringing together school children of different faiths.

The government-funded Schools Linking Programme aims to help school kids learn more about the different faiths and backgrounds in their local communities.

Around 18,000 children are involved in the programme, which gives them sustained opportunities to meet each other and work together with a view to developing their spiritual, moral, and cultural understanding.

Children from different schools and backgrounds are given the chance to work together on a range of projects, from sporting events, to collaborative artwork, team-building exercises and community volunteering.

Two schools that have benefited from the programme are Armitage Church of England Primary School in Manchester and North Cheshire Jewish Primary School in Stockport.

In one simple exercise, Year 3 classes at the two schools exchanged the names of everyone in their class before meeting in person. This sparked conversation about the different names, while two boys who happened to have the same name became friends through their shared connection.

Lord Bourne, the Government's Faith Minister joined pupils in a visit to the Stockwood Discovery Centre in Luton on Thursday to see the project first-hand.

He said: 'Schools Linking is a great example of how children and young people from different backgrounds can come together to meet, learn and share interests that help them prepare for life in modern Britain and make them great citizens of the future.

'The government is determined to support programmes such as these to ensure young people from all backgrounds have the opportunity to take part in challenging and rewarding experiences.'
Group close to pope urges California's Governor Jerry Brown to commute all death sentences

A Catholic group close to Pope Francis and representatives of 25 countries on Wednesday appealed to outgoing California Governor Jerry Brown to commute all the state's 742 death sentences before laving office.

The Sant' Egidio peace group made the appeal together with the justice ministers of South Africa, Benin, Zimbabwe and Malaysia, and 21 lower-ranking officials from other countries at a conference on the death penalty held in Italy's parliament.

Mario Marazziti, a Sant' Egidio leader, asked Brown to 'declare a moratorium on all executions and begin the process of commuting the sentences into jail terms before leaving office'.

Brown, who once trained to be a priest of the Jesuit order, will leave office after completing his current two terms on January 7, when Governor-elect Gavin Newsom is sworn in.

A spokesperson for Brown had no comment.

There are currently 742 people condemned to die in California, where the last execution took place in 2006. Executions since then have been blocked by legal issues.

Sant' Egidio, which has branches in many countries and hundreds of thousands of followers around the world, is in the forefront of efforts to abolish the death penalty and help migrants. It has found great favour with the pope.

Last August, the Roman Catholic Church formally changed its teaching to declare the death penalty inadmissible, whatever the circumstance.

The 1.2 billion-member Catholic Church had for centuries allowed the death penalty in extreme cases, but the position began to change under Pope John Paul II, who died in 2005.

The Vatican has said the change to its universal catechism, a summary of Church teaching, reflected Pope Francis' total opposition to capital punishment.

The move was criticised by conservative groups in the United States, who said the Bible allowed the death penalty as a legitimate means of retributive justice.

An editorial in the Los Angeles Times last week urged Brown to commute at least the death sentences of those who committed crimes when they were young. The newspaper also urged Newsom to place a new anti-death penalty initiative on a future ballot.

Propositions to end capital punishment were defeated in 2012 2016 in California.

Capital punishment is banned in most of Europe, with Belarus the only European country that carried out executions last year, according to Amnesty International. By the end of last year, 106 countries worldwide had banned the death penalty.

In 2017, 53 countries issued death sentences and 23 of them executed at least 993 people with most executions in China, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Pakistan.
Rohingya refugees should only return when the conditions are right, says Christian Aid

Christian Aid has said that any return of Rohingya refugees from Bangladesh should take place on a voluntary basis and only when it is safe to do so.

Over 700,000 people are living in refugee camps in Bangladesh after fleeing from the Rakhine area of Myanmar following a brutal military crackdown that started in August last year.

Christian Aid runs two of the camps, currently sheltering 85,000 people.

Bangladesh reached a deal with Myanmar several weeks ago to start repatriating the refugees but the decision has been heavily criticised by aid agencies who fear that the conditions are still unsafe.

Christian Aid's country manager for Bangladesh, Shakeb Nabi, told the Church Times that the Myanmar government must first provide the Rohingya people with 'the right conditions to return' before any repatriation begins.

'So far, the repatriatiation has not been successful, and the Rohingya people need to go and see where they will be living to make sure it is correct,' he said.

'Bangladesh has deep solidarity with the people of Myanmar, but the Rohingya need to be given a safe, dignified, and voluntary repatriation.'

Catholic development agency CAFOD has also criticised forced repatriation of the Rohingya refugees.

It also said that any return must be on a voluntary basis and 'when there are firm guarantees for the safety, rights, and livelihoods of those who return'.

'Currently, there are still people fleeing Myanmar, albeit in smaller numbers, and arriving in Bangladesh, and no refugee who is still in fear of their life should be required to return,' said CAFOD.
School funding 'crisis' is leaving head teachers stressed, bishop warns

Tight budgets are leaving school head teachers feeling stressed and like 'they have nowhere to turn', the Bishop of Worcester has warned.

Dr John Inge told the House of Lords on Thursday that he had heard from head teachers in his diocese who have been so stressed out by funding shortages that they have been unable to sleep properly at night. Others have taken extended leave, putting even more pressure on budgets to pay for cover teachers.

The bishop said one school head he had spoken to had described being asked to double the number of students while being given no additional funding to accommodate them.

A common concern among head teachers, he said, was being able to provide adequate education for special needs children. In one school, he said speech and language support had been reduced to just one afternoon a week.

Some head teachers felt like they were 'letting down' children with significant needs because they were unable to provide adequate support services, the bishop continued.

He said it was a 'matter of extreme concern' that schools were choosing to cut back on special needs support in order to meet the constraints of their budgets.

Rural schools that have to offer higher pay in order to attract young, newly qualified teachers are having an even harder time, he added.

The bishop said that although cuts may be necessary, they should be done so in a way that does not compromise on the standard of education and support being offered to children.

'Anyone who has spoken to educators will know that there is a real struggle to make ends meet at present, which could well be described as a crisis,' he said.

'It is of course necessary and right that deficiencies should be pursued, but there is a real danger of perceived efficiency leading to deficiency.

'We should be looking to those setting the best examples when it comes to making cuts, to learn from best practice. At the same time, it is surely crucial to ensure that funding matches the needs of schools once sensible efficiencies have been made.

'Efficiency should not compromise the education of any child. I fear that that is now happening.'
The slave trade is real and we need modern-day abolitionists

For many of us, the word 'abolition' conjures up images of William Wilberforce, Amazing Grace, and the Transatlantic Slave Trade. In schools, abolition and slavery is usually part of a history lesson.

The reality is that the problem of slavery is far from historic and the need for abolitionists is greater than ever.

Slavery may be illegal almost everywhere, but there are more slaves in the world today than ever before. In fact, more people are in slavery right now than if you added up the hundreds of years of the Transatlantic Slave Trade put together.

Sunday December 2 is the UN Day for the Abolition of Slavery  and its purpose is not simply to remember the past, but to raise up a new wave of abolitionists.

Modern slavery is one of the top three most lucrative criminal businesses, and as you are reading this 40 million people are trapped by it. People who've been sold for labour, organs, forced marriage and sex.

People like Prema.

Prema was born into a poor village family in rural India. Her mother worked as a domestic servant, and Prema was responsible for the chores in their own home, cooking and getting water every day. When she was 14 years old, like many young girls, she developed a crush on a boy.

'One afternoon while my mother was at work, I followed him to his home,' she said. 'He offered me something to eat. Because I trusted him too easily, I accepted his offer and immediately began to feel faint.'

She says that the next thing she remembers is waking up in a brothel. Weak and disoriented from the drugs, she remembers: 'I was alone and scared and didn't know where I was, or why the boy I trusted betrayed me.'

For the next year, Prema was violently abused every day. Pimps in the area of town where she was held were notorious for torturing the girls who had been trafficked to the brothels. She was physically beaten by the brothel keepers, sexually assaulted by the men who paid to rape her  and all of it through constant threats, insults and other harassments.

When she knew customers had come to the brothel, she would try to hide under beds and tables, but she could not escape the abuse. She remembers, 'The other girls with me felt that we wouldn't see the light again, and we would be confined in the darkness forever.'

But Prema's cries would not go unanswered. International Justice Mission (IJM)the largest anti-slavery organisation in the worldhad started an undercover investigation at the brothel where Prema was held captive. IJM presented clear evidence of the sexual exploitation of the girls at the brothel, then assisted police in planning a rescue operation.

'I saw the light of hope for the first time in a year,' Prema said, smiling through tears as she remembered the day she was rescued.

The girls were immediately brought to safe aftercare facilities, and the suspected perpetrators were placed in police custody. IJM lawyers relentlessly supported the trial against the suspects, and the notorious brothel owner was convicted and is currently in prison.

After her rescue, Prema moved into an aftercare home with several other trafficking survivors, where she could get the medical care and counselling she needed to start to recover from the trauma.

Eventually, Prema reconnected with her family, studied to be a nurse, and got married. She is a joyful mother and a vibrant young woman, full of hope.

When asked what she would say to her rescuers, she said: 'I want others to be rescued... We can't forget about the other girls still trapped in dark rooms  girls who asked me to pray that they would get taken out and given a chance. I want them to see that they too can have a new life.'

There are millions of people desperate for the rescue that will grant them this new life. They are in brothels and brick kilns, factories and fishing boats, rose farms and rice mills, all over the world. The need for abolitionists willing to fight the scourge of slavery has never been more urgent.

Modern slavery may seem  as the slave trade once did  like an unassailable Goliath. But every one of us has a part to play in ending it.

For ways that you can become a modern day abolitionist, go to www.ijmuk.org

Isabel Crawley is a communications assistant for IJM.
Ukraine president welcomes moves to Church independence

President Petro Poroshenko said on Thursday Ukraine was on the cusp of securing its own independent church, snapping centuries-old ties to a Russian clergy that Kiev accuses of meddling in its affairs.

Poroshenko's comments came after the Ecumenical Patriarchate in Istanbul, home to the global spiritual leader of Orthodox Christians, announced it had drafted a constitutional charter for an 'autocephalous', or self-governing, Ukrainian church.

Ukraine's push to create an independent church has incensed Moscow at a time of escalating crisis between the two neighbours following Russia's capture of three Ukrainian vessels that Kiev fears may be a precursor to a full-scale invasion.

Relations collapsed following Russia's seizure of Crimea from Ukraine in 2014 and the outbreak of a Kremlin-backed insurgency in eastern Ukraine that has killed more than 10,000 people.

'Today, at the Holy Synod of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, historical decisions have been taken on the creation of an autocephalous Ukrainian Orthodox Church,' Poroshenko said in a televised address.

Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew will soon announce when the Ukrainian clergy is to meet to pick the head of the new church, Poroshenko added.

Earlier, the Ecumenical Patriarchate said in a statement that 'the Holy and Sacred Synod drafted the Ukrainian Church's Constitutional Charter'.

Church rivalry

Ukraine had sought the Ecumenical Patriarchate's consent to establish an independent church and won its backing in October, prompting the Russian Orthodox Church to break off diplomatic ties with the Istanbul-based Patriarchate.

Ukraine's leadership accuses the Moscow-backed faction of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, widely known as the Moscow Patriarchate, of being a tool of the Kremlin to spread Russian propaganda and foster Russian expansionism.

The Moscow Patriarchate strongly denies this and says it is working to promote peace in Ukraine.

Russia accuses Poroshenko of manufacturing crises, both on the church issue and in the naval standoff that erupted on Sunday, in order to whip up Ukrainian national pride and boost his sagging popularity ahead of elections next March.

Poroshenko said Russia had tried to thwart Ukraine's bid for church independence but added: 'The Lord was with us because we are leading a righteous struggle for our independence.'

Ukraine and Russia trace their Orthodox Christian roots to Volodymyr the Great, the prince whose baptism in 988 in Kiev led to the christianisation of the region known as 'Kievan Rus'.

Two large Orthodox Churches compete for influence in Ukraine.

The Moscow Patriarchate, which is aligned with the Russian Orthodox Church, earlier dominated in Ukraine but has been challenged by a rival, known as the Kiev Patriarchate, formed after the 1991 break-up of the Russian-dominated Soviet Union.

Support for the Kiev Patriarchate swelled after the annexation of Crimea. It supports church independence and Ukraine's closer integration with the West.
The saying 'it's not the years of your life that matter, it's the life in your years' was never truer of anyone more than Robert Murray M'Cheyne who died at only 29.
Airbnb started as a place for homeowners to make money while they're away. Since then, the model has greatly expanded  in part because third-party companies are making renting on the platform easier than ever. Hosts of companies have sprung up to help homeowners manage their listings on Airbnb. Now, a company is moving to help a different customer  property managers of apartment buildings.

Vacasa, a vacation rental management company based out of Portland, Ore., announced it has begun partnering with real estate developers and property managers to provide short-term housing in seven cities including Houston, Dallas and San Antonio.

The program, called Vacasa Multifamily, will enter long-term leases for vacant units, then turn those units into short-term rentals, bringing in interior designers to furnish the units and advertising them on sites such as Airbnb, Booking.com and Homeaway, in addition to Vacasas own website, where guests can book directly.

"The industry has seen an increase in guest demand for urban short-term rentals," said Joshua Viner, senior manager of Vacasa Multifamily. Weve had property management companies reach out to us interested in improving the vacancy rate in their portfolios.

Apartment complexes have long rented out units as corporate housing, where workers travelling for extended periods can can live in a more residential setting than a hotel. But Viner said that modern business people are no longer travelling for 30 or 40 nights in a row as frequently as in the past. According to the Corporate Housing Providers Association, the average nights stayed in corporate housing fell 19 percent from 2014 to 2017, from 96 to 78 days.

As corporate travellers who rent apartments look for shorter stays and people traveling for pleasure look for short-term rentals, Vacasa saw an opportunity.

What our industry can do is replace the traditional corporate model with a model that better suits the modern traveller, Viner said.

One of the reasons Vacasa Multifamily is testing the idea in Houston is because of the citys friendly regulations. While in New York and San Francisco, short-term rentals are not allowed unless the owner lives in the apartment, in Houston, such rentals are allowed to flourish as long as they receive the proper permits and pay the hotel occupancy tax. Vacasa has a team focusing on compliance with evolving and fragmented regulations related to short-term rentals.

In addition to Houston, Dallas and San Antonio, Vacasa Multifamily also launched in Chicago, Seattle, Portland, Ore., and Boise, Idaho. Viner noted that Austin is not yet on that list because it has tougher regulations for short-term rentals.

So far, Vacasa Multifamily is renting six units in the Houston House apartments downtown. The complex is managed by Greystar, a Houston-based company that manages 9,000 residences across the country. By the end of 2019, Vacasa hopes to grow its Houston offerings to 20 to 35 units.

rebecca.schuetz@chron.com

twitter.com/raschuetz
Norwegian oil giant Equinor will soon be returning to the Eagle Ford Shale of South Texas for a new round of drilling.

The exploration and production company has filed for its first new drilling permits in more than six months, seeking permission from the Railroad Commission of Texas to develop three horizontal wells on its South Texas Syndicate lease in La Salle County.

Located about 25 miles east of Cotulla, the three gas wells target the Hawkville field of the Eagle Ford and Austin Chalk geological layers down to a total depth of 12,000 feet. Total depth refers to both the vertical and horizontal segments of the projects.

The three wells are the first new projects for Equinor under its new name. The state-owned energy company switched from Statoil in May to reflect a shift to reducing its carbon footprint in the oil field and increasing its investments in renewables.

NEW HEIGHTS: U.S. oil and gas reserves surpass 1970 record

Permian Basin

Exxon Mobil subsidiary XTO Energy is this weeks top driller in the Permian Basin of West Texas. XTO filed 20 drilling permit applications, more than any other company across Texas. XTO is planning 20 horizontal drilling projects spilt between seven leases in Martin, Midland and Pecos counties. The four projects in Pecos County target the Rojo Caballos field of the Delaware Basin up to total depths of 8,500 feet. The 16 projects in Midland and Martin counties target the Spraberry Trend area at varying total depths up to 9,900 feet.

As one of the most active exploration and production companies in Texas, XTO has filed for 356 drilling permits so far this year. Nearly 70 percent of those filings were for projects in the Permian Basin, the rest were split between the Eagle Ford Shale in South Texas and Haynesville Shale, which straddles the Texas-Louisiana border. The company produced more than 32.9 million barrels of crude oil and more than 608.1 billion cubic feet of natural gas in 2017.

Eagle Ford Shale

Top 10 Drillers Nov. 21 through Nov. 27 (By Drilling Permit Applications) XTO Energy 20 Apache Corp. 12 Sable Permian Resources 8 Callon Petroleum Company 8 Encana Corp. 7 EP Energy 6 Occidental Petroleum Corporation 5 Parsley Energy 5 ConocoPhillips 5 WPX Energy 5 Source: Railroad Commission of Texas See More Collapse

EP Energy, a Houston exploration and production company, filed six drilling permit applications, more than any other company in the South Texas shale play. EP plans to drill six wells split between its Maltsberger and Rocky Comfort-Hixon leases in La Salle County. Five of the projects target the Eagleville field of the Eagle Ford geological layer while one targets the Pearsall field of the Austin Chalk at total depths varying from 9,700 to 10,200 feet.

GAS: U.S. natural gas exports to Mexico hit new record

Haynesville Shale

Although drilling activity is up in the Haynesville, exploration and production companies largely took a break over Thanksgiving. No permits were filed for horizontal drilling project, but Sonerra Resources of Nacogdoches is seeking to recomplete a vertical well on its Standing Pine lease in Nacogdoches County. Located 10 miles southeast of Nacogdoches, the project targets the Nacogdoches E field of the Pettit geological formation down to a depth of 9,575 feet.

Barnett Shale

With only one active drilling rig in the Barnett Shale, there were no new filings for horizontal drilling projects in the North Texas shale play over Thanksgiving. Three permits were filed for vertical wells in the North Texas shale play. BKJ Oil of Archer City is preparing to drill its first new oil well in more than eight years. The company plans to target the Archer County Regular field down to a depth of 1,500 feet on its W.J. Logan lease about 10 miles southwest of Archer City.

Conventionals

Blanco oil company Porter, James W. Special is drilling its first new oil wells in more than two years. Porter received drilling permits for four vertical wells on its Wilson D. Wing lease just northeast of Houston in Hardin County. The wells target the Batson Oil field down to a depth 1,110 feet.

sergio.chapa@chron.com
Oil recouped some of its losses as an OPEC board recommended production cuts ahead of a key gathering of the cartel next week.

Futures were down 0.2 percent in New York on Friday after earlier sliding as much as 3.5 percent. OPEC's Economic Commission Board on Friday suggested a 1.3 million-barrel cut to daily output to stabilize prices. Earlier in the day, Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak said he was comfortable with prices where they are.

Oil is on track for the deepest monthly loss since the worldwide financial crisis a decade ago. Investors are focused on this weekend's G-20 summit in Argentina, where leaders from the U.S., Russia and Saudi Arabia -- the world's three biggest oil producers -- will gather in a prelude to OPEC's meeting next week in Vienna.

SUPPLY: U.S. oil and gas reserves surpass 1970 record

"You have a market that is extremely concerned around the possibility of further downside and is looking toward producers to provide assurances that they are going to act," said Harry Tchilinguirian, head of commodity markets strategy at BNP Paribas in London.

West Texas Intermediate for January delivery was down 18 cents to $51.27 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange at 12:18 p.m., taking WTI's decline this month to 21 percent. That would be the U.S. benchmark's worst showing since October 2008.

Brent for February settlement dropped 21 cents to $59.70 on London's ICE Futures Europe exchange. The global benchmark crude traded at an $8.43 premium to WTI. The January contract expires Friday.

PREVIOUSLY: Oil advances as Russia shows willingness to join Saudis on cuts

Russian and Saudi officials are scheduled to meet in Moscow over the weekend, signaling that an agreement on production cuts is possible if talks between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman go well in Argentina, according to people briefed on the discussions. Russia wants predictability and "smooth price dynamics" in crude markets, Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said in Buenos Aires on Thursday.

"As things stand, the Russians and Saudis are still far from being on the same page over the finer details of looming output restrictions," Stephen Brennock, an analyst at PVM Oil Associates in London, wrote in a report. "Against this backdrop, the most likely outcome of next week's OPEC meeting is a fudge."

--With assistance from Heesu Lee.

2018 Bloomberg L.P.
The expressway aims to connect between Highway Huu Nghi-Chi Lang and Tan Thanh and Coc Nam border gates.

The project has 115km long and been designed four lanes. Total investment capital is up to VND 20.9trillion, of these, the investors capital and credit loans account for 64 percent, the rest of 36 percent is from the state budget.



As plan, the first phase will be started on 2019-2020 spanning Tan Thanh (Lang Son) and Cao Bang city with 80km long. The second phase will be connected between Lang Son to Cao Bang and Cao Bang City to Tra Linh border gate.



In April 2017, Cao Bang province sent suggestion to the Prime Minister for assigning the Ministry of Transport to adjust implementation schedule of the Dong Dang-Tra Linh expressway to 2017 to 2020; asking the ministries of investment & planning; finance to negotiate about loans worth US$ 300 from China.



Transport deputy minister Nguyen Van Cong said the Dong Dang-Tra Linh project has a huge number of investment capital however the number of vehicles for traveling here is not much more than the Bac Giang-Lang Son expressway therefore it needs support from the central budget and a special mechanism.



Mr. Cong suggested the banks to pay more attention to the BOT projects. Ministry of Transport has being tried all efforts to solve difficulties and create favorable conditions for investors.



PM Nguyen Xuan Phuc affirmed this expressway is considered as a breakthrough helping Cao Bang achieve its strategy adding that Cao Bang province Peoples Committee needs to study carefully about suitable capital source. The PM agreed to support VND 2trillion from the central budget; VND 2trillion from local budget and VND 6trillion from investor.



Minister, Head of Government Office Mai Tien Dung said also the province should soon be completed the route ChiLang-HuuNghi-Tan Thanh and then continue to invest in Dong Dang Tra Linh route.



DTTC-Translated by Thanh Van
WASHINGTON - The Trump administration has approved seismic testing in the Atlantic Ocean, in what would be the first step in expanding offshore oil and gas drilling to the East Coast.

In a notice published Friday, the National Marine Fisheries Service said it had awarded permits to five marine contractors to survey waters between northern Delaware and Central Florida in search of oil and gas.

Earlier this year, Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke announced the administration was considering expanding offshore drilling beyond the Gulf of Mexico and Alaska to all U.S. coastlines as a means toward what President Donald Trump calls American "energy dominance."

GULF MAMMALS: Efforts to protect whales could affect oil exploration in the Gulf

But along the Atlantic seaboard, Trump has faced stiff opposition from Democratic and Republican governors alike, who worry offshore drilling could drive away tourists that flock to the region's beaches. The announcement immediately drew condemnation from environmental groups, which said they were considering legal action to block the surveying.

"This is just a great example of the Trump administration turning its back on communities like South Carolina that have expressed such strong opposition," said Catherine Wannamaker, senior attorney with the Southern Environmental Law Center. "Obviously the administration has not gotten the message, or they don't care."

The announcement comes as a step forward for an offshore oil and gas industry that failed to persuade the Obama administration to allow drilling in the Atlantic and Arctic Oceans.

Randall Luthi, president of the National Offshore Industries Association, urged federal regulators not to fall prey to "unsupported hyperbolic fearmongering currently being slung by groups opposed to the development of any fossil fuels anywhere."

"The surveys will be completed under strict mitigation measures to reduce impacts on marine mammals, and coastal communities will not see any impact to fishing, recreational opportunities or commercial operations as a result of the surveys," he said in a statement.

Seismic testing is carried out through the use of high-pressure air guns, which shoot sonic waves into the ocean floor. When those waves bounce back to the surface, they are recorded and analyzed to form seismic maps of what lies beneath the ocean floor.

Scientists have long raised concern that seismic testing and other loud noises from ships disrupt the lives of marine life, including baleen whales and the North Atlantic right whale.

"Ships are crisscrossing the same area again and again," said Michael Jasny, a director with the Natural Resources Defense Council. "Seismic blasting is an assault."
Wilson Pulling and Yang Hu had an idea that seemed revolutionary: Create software that would easily give any robotic device autonomous capabilities, without necessarily changing the software or hardware that was already on it.

But there was just one problem. This initial version of the company the pair called Aatonomy couldnt attract investors. It was too broad, Pulling said. He and Hu had to narrow their focus, so they settled on something with an immediate cool factor: Drones.

That was the first market people wanted to give us money for, Pulling said. We are doing things on $100 drones that you used to only be able to find on $1,000 drones. But we dont consider ourselves a drone company at all.

Pulling is Aatonomys CEO; Hu is CTO. The company was born at Cornell University, where the pair met, and spun off with a $40,000 equity investment from the university. The two moved to San Francisco, which seemed like a logical choice for a technology startup.

OIL DRONES: Drones broaden energy industrys horizon

But in June, Aatonomy left the Bay Area and moved to Houston, another decision driven largely by economics, Pulling said. For what Aatonomy would have paid for three temporary desks at a San Francisco co-working facility, it now has an 800-square-foot office in Midtown Houston.

We needed room to be able to test our drones inside, Pulling said. We wouldnt have been able to get that in San Francisco.

Aatonomys technology brings new features to lower-priced drones that are typically found on more expensive ones. For example, high-end drones can follow the individual controlling the device; orbit around a specific point of interest or individual; or lock on to a person to take selfie stills or video.

These advanced features require a Global Positioning System, or GPS, module to be onboard, something usually missing from low-cost consumer drones. But Pulling said the key is to put their code into the smartphone app that controls the drone. The GPS built into the smartphone supplies the missing component.

VIRTUAL SPACE: NASA uses the same VR hardware as gamers

Currently, Aatonomys software is available on a $120 drone being sold in Canada by a company called LiteHawk. Pulling said he is in talks with a U.S. drone manufacturer and expects to see an Aatonomy-powered product in this country next year.

Pulling said he and his partner dont want to try to write the best algorithm, or design the best hardware, because thats an advantage that only lasts a while.

Those guys in China, they can copy your hardware in just a few months, he said. You can have a breakthrough algorithm, but its overtaken by something else in 18 months.

Aatonomys approach is to provide a business-to-business product that allows the companies who use it to manage these shifts in technology more easily. Working in the consumer drone market serves as a kind of proof-of-concept.

Colin Snow, founder of Skylogic Research and a drone industry analyst, said he is not aware of any other company taking Aatonomys approach. But hes not sure how well the company would fare in the commercial drone space, where more expensive drones already have this capabilities and software development kits make it relatively easy for developers to add new features.

Its a very competitive landscape in the commercial space, with DJI having a 75 percent market share, and all those features are already in their drones, Snow said.

NOT BEING THERE: Augmented reality making changes in energy industry

But Pulling and Hu have their eyes on more distant horizon than just the drone business. Pulling said the company wants to return to its original vision.

We want to be the company in the marketplace that makes it easy to add any kind of functionality to any kind of robot, Pulling said. They eventually hope to target cleaning robots like Roombas, security cameras and industrial applications.

Although the decision to leave San Francisco has taken Aatonomy out of the critical mass of tech talent in the Silicon Valley area, Pulling says headquartering in Houston provides distinct advantages beyond just lower costs.

There are cheaper cities than Houston, thats not in itself a reason to move to Houston, Pulling said. Its low cost despite being the fourth biggest city in the country.

That size, he said, means theres a talent pool here even though its dispersed in different industries, such as energy, medicine and aerospace.

Salaries there are out of control, and everyone is trying to be part of the next big thing, so they hop from place to place, Pulling said. You want people to take ownership of a project, but there they are on a roller coaster.

This is a place of industry, resolve and action. BS doesnt fly in Houston. And theres a lot of BS in Silicon Valley.

dwight.silverman@chron.com

twitter.com/dsilverman

houstonchronicle.com/techburger
A construction worker is accused of the hammer attack that killed his former lover, who police found the night before Thanksgiving in a rolled-up carpet next to a Houston highway.

Luis Moron Romero, 36, was charged with murder and tampering with evidence in the death of Maria Marquez. He told investigators he struck her six times in the head with a hammer when she tried to break up with him, according to allegations that emerged during a probable cause hearing Thursday morning.

Even though Marquez was married, she and Romero met online and began a dating relationship, a prosecutor said. The length of the affair was not known but Marquez went to his apartment hours before her Nov. 21 death to end it.

What happened next was detailed in an alleged confession Romero gave to a Houston police investigator. Romero said he tried removing her clothes, but she refused and tried to leave. Enraged, he grabbed a hammer he uses at a construction job and struck her repeatedly, a prosecutor said, citing his confession.

He realized what he had done and decided to remove her body and clean up apartment with a mop and Pinesol cleaner, the prosecutor said.

After cleaning up the apartment, he dumped his clothes in a dumpster and put his hammer back in a toolbox. He was then shown loading a rolled-up carpet bound with metal wire into Marquezs vehicle around 6 p.m., according to surveillance footage. The carpet is believed to have contained her body.

Investigators said they believe he drove a half mile from his apartment and ditched her vehicle in a field next to a service road along the 8500 block of La Porte Freeway. Security video from a nearby business showed Romero walking by about a minute after her vehicle passed the camera.

A passerby discovered the vehicle and the womans body stashed in the front passenger seat about three hours later.

Romero was arrested on Tuesday after police pinged her cell phone to the apartment complex in the 2200 block of Galveston Road where he lives.

Romeros first arrest in Harris County was for a DWI offense in June 2017. He was ordered held on a $75,000 bond for the murder charge, and an additional $20,000 for the charge of tampering with evidence.

After his arrest in the murder case, Immigration and Customs Enforcement placed a deportation detainer on him. He is from Mexico.
A reduction in offshore drilling in the Gulf of Mexico triggered a small dip in the nation's rig count.

The number of rigs drilling for oil and gas fell by three in the last week, including the loss of two offshore rigs in the Gulf, according to weekly data collected by Baker Hughes, a GE company.

West Texas' booming Permian Basin stayed flat with no net gains or losses, but Texas dipped by one rig overall.

The U.S. is down to 1,076 active rigs, with nearly half of them -- 531 rigs -- operating in Texas, according to Baker Hughes.

Of the total, 887 of the rigs are drilling for oil, with the remained seeking natural gas. The Permian in West Texas and New Mexico counts 493 rigs, which is 56 percent of the nation's oil rigs.

RELATED: Oil slides as Russia minister says current crude prices are fine

Crude oil prices have fallen from more than $75 a barrel in early October down to about $51 per barrel, triggering a small decline in drilling activity thus far.

Because of pipeline shortages in West Texas, many companies are continuing to drill Permian wells while leaving more of them uncompleted until new pipelines come online.

The total count is up from an all-time low of 404 rigs in May 2016.

With this week's dip, the oil rig count is down 45 percent from its peak of 1,609 in October 2014, before oil prices began plummeting. However, rigs today are able to drill more wells than before and to deeper depths to produce more oil and gas. That's largely why the U.S. is producing record volumes of crude oil and natural gas.
U.S. natural gas exports to Mexico hit a new record amid sagging production south of the border.

Mexico imported about 6 billion cubic feet of natural per day from the United States in August, the U.S. Energy Information Administration reported late Thursday afternoon.

Some 5.1 billion cubic feet of natural gas per day was delivered via cross-border pipelines while another 860 million was delivered using liquefied natural gas import terminals, EIA data shows.

The record figures come at a time when natural gas production in Mexico continues to fall and demand from new power plants and factories is growing.

SOUTH OF THE BORDER: TransCanada halts work on two pipeline projects in Central Mexico

Mexico's dry natural gas production was 2.4 billion cubic feet per day in October, according to Mexico's state-owned oil company Petroleos Mexicanos, or Pemex. The figure marks a 7 percent decline from Oct. 2017 and a 21 percent drop from Oct. 2016.

EIA attributed Mexico's sagging natural gas production to declining reserves, a low commodity prices and limited exploration and production of new wells.

Mexico has invested $10 billion to add more than 2,883 miles of natural pipeline since 2013 but many projects have faced long delays.

Earlier this month, Calgary-based TransCanada announced that it was halting two natural gas pipeline projects in the State of Hidalgo where if faced opposition from indigenous groups and alleged acts of extortion from public officials raising permit fees.

PRESIDENT-ELECT: Anxiety north of the border as AMLO set to assume Mexico's presidency

As part of sweeping reforms that went into effect in 2014, Mexico opened its long-closed energy markets to foreign investment and competition.

Many in the energy industry are waiting to see how Mexico's president-elect Andres Manuel Lopez-Obrador will handle energy reforms after he takes office on Dec. 1.
Daniela Freeman,

Petroleum Industry Data Exchange, has joined the organization as standards and compliance manager.

Karen Diaz,

Petroleum Industry Data Exchange, has joined the organization as marketing and events manager.

James Bement,

Hydraulic Systems, has been appointed as the drilling rig equipment providers chief executive officer.

J. Stephen Barrick,

a Hicks Thomas appellate specialist and business trial lawyer, has been promoted to partner.

Gilberto Ordonez,

of Wood, has been named senior vice president of brownfield solutions in the firms Asset Solutions Americas business.

Omar Boulos,

Accenture, has been named North America growth and strategy lead, resources operating group.

Gilbert A. Herrera,

LaPorte CPAs & Business Advisors, has joined the firm as a director in the consulting services group.

John Nolan,

NAI Partners, has joined the commercial real estate firms investment fund as vice president of asset management.

Susan Jistel Spillios,

Axia Partners, has joined the consulting firm as a partner focused on business development.

Jenny Meyer,

Pilko & Associates, has been promoted to senior vice president, business development, at the advisory firm.

Chelsea Scott,

KDW, has been named as marketing director for the Houston-based design/build construction firm.

John Lyle,

Pearland Economic Development Corp., has been appointed to the organizations board of directors.

Adam R. Fracht,

Stibbs & Co., has been promoted to partner at the Houston-area business law firm.

Dr. Daniel J. Penny,

Texas Childrens Hospital chief of pediatric cardiology, has been named the American Heart Associations 2018 Helen B. Taussig Memorial Lecturer.

Gail Branch,

MIAT College of Technology, has joined the Houston campus as the director of career and student services.

Ludovic Poirier,

Hotel Alessandra, has been promoted to director of food and beverage for the property.

Gonzague Sallo,

Hotel Alessandra, has been named assistant director of outlets overseeing Lucienne restaurant and Bardot Lounge.

Anthony H. Kim,

Marker Therapeutics, has been appointed chief financial officer of the clinical-stage immuno-oncology company.

katherine.feser@chron.com

twitter.com/kfeser
Deputies with the Harris County Precinct 4 Constables Office are searching for up to five suspects who broke into an AT&T store in Cypress on Thursday morning.

Surveillance video released by the constables office from the 28900 block of the Northwest Freeway near the Houston Premium Outlets showed one suspect breaking the glass door and entering the store, followed by three others at approximately 4 a.m.

When the alarm went off, deputies converged and we feel like they saw deputies vehicles heading that way and they ditched the car, said Constable Mark Herman.

The suspects fled in an orange Dodge Charger, which was later found less than a mile away in the 15500 block of Pine Valley Trail.

After deputies found the abandoned car, they used canines to search for the suspects but were unable to find them.

About $3,000 worth of phones and merchandise were recovered from the car and returned to the store.

Although deputies did not find the suspects, they recovered DNA samples that will be tested against a database and are reviewing other surveillance camera footage, Herman said.

KNOCK KNOCK: Doorbell incidents caught on camera that made headlines

Herman said the car had been reported lost in Dallas on Tuesday and that his office was coordinating with the Dallas Police Department to return the car.

According to a Facebook post, deputies are searching for four men who are in their late teens or early 20s.

While four suspects were spotted on the surveillance video, a fifth suspect might have also been involved in the break-in and robbery, Herman said.

Cell phone stores tend to be robbery targets throughout the year, he said.

Attempts to reach the AT&T Store were unsuccessful.

You see these break-ins all the time. It appeared they knew exactly what they were going in for. They were in and out of there in just a few seconds, Herman said.

mayra.cruz@chron.com
Officials with Harris County Constable Precinct 3 seized nearly 24 kilos or 53 pounds of methamphetamine Thursday after routine traffic stop in Northeast Houston. Authorities said they believe the drugs are connected to a larger operation.

One suspect was arrested Thursday after officials with Harris County Constable Precinct 3 Constable Sherman Eagleton's K-9 Division discovered seven kilos of meth, or about 15 pounds, during a routine traffic stop.
Thieves struck an ATM at a Chase Bank in Kingwood on Friday morning, making it the second attempted burglary at the location this month, according to Metro Video.

An unknown number of thieves arrived at the bank on West Lake Houston Parkway near Kingwood Drive around 4 a.m.
Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Geng Shuang's Regular Press Conference on November 30, 2018

2018/11/30

Q: A recent report titled "Chinese Influence and American Interests: Promoting Constructive Vigilance"released by Stanford University's Hoover Institution said that China is trying to infiltrate into and influence US think tanks, universities, media and governments at various levels and undermine democratic values. It also expressed concerns about things like the Chinese government's influence and Chinese language media in the US. Has the Chinese government seen a copy of this report? Which part of it do you disagree with?

A: As a regular to the press conference, you may have known that as a principle, we do not directly and specifically respond to the viewpoints, remarks, articles and reports of media, think tanks, experts and scholars. So, I would just give you some general response.

Forty years ago, in pursuit of reform and opening-up, China opened its door to the enterprises, media, think tanks and students from all other countries, including the United States. During the past four decades, they have borne witness to and also taken part in the process of China's reform and opening-up, contributing to the achievements China has scored in its development so far.

Today, forty years later, we hope that the United States, as the No.1 superpower in the world, can also remain open to the enterprises, media, think tanks and students from all other countries, including China, and make positive contributions to enhancing the mutual understanding and promoting the mutually beneficial cooperation with other countries. We hope and believe that the US side can have such confidence in themselves.

We Chinese people always say that we have confidence in four aspects, namely our path, theories, system and culture of socialism with Chinese characteristics. We hope that the US can also have confidence in these four aspects of their own.

We now live in an era of globalization and all countries are citizens of one and same global village. People of all countries have now built a community with a shared future with our exchanges getting closer and our interests highly integrated. Any attempt to obstruct and disturb the normal exchanges and cooperation between the people around the world with a zero-sum game mindset just runs against the trend of history as well as the will of the people and is doomed to fail.

Q: After the state visit of President Xi Jinping to Spain this week, what is your comment on the current relations between China and Spain, both politically and diplomatically?

A: President Xi Jinping has just wrapped up his successful state visit to Spain. During this visit, President Xi Jinping met with King Felipe VI and held talks with Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez Perez-Castejon. He also met with the entrepreneurs from the two sides and participated in a series of productive events.

This visit has elevated the China-Spain comprehensive strategic partnership to a higher level. After the visit, the two sides issued a joint statement. According to the statement, the two sides will continue to cement and deepen practical cooperation across the board in jointly advancing the Belt and Road Initiative, promote China-Europe cooperation and enhance coordination and collaboration in international and regional affairs. I believe that this has sent out a very positive and strong signal to the outside world.

We are willing to work with Spain to follow through on the joint statement and scale our bilateral ties to a new height in the new era.

Q: According to a French media report, Russian, US, Chinese, and French cyber-security officials had a close-door meeting in Paris to discuss rules of conduct in cyberspace. Can you comment on this and give some details?

A: I'm not aware of this meeting you mentioned, and I can check on that for you later.

As a principle, cyberspace is a common space shared by mankind. The future of cyberspace should be in the hands of all nations. Countries should step up communication, broaden consensus and deepen cooperation to jointly build a community with a shared future in cyberspace.

China has always been building, upholding and contributing to cyberspace. We stand ready to join hands with the international community to deepen dialogue and cooperation and make contributions to building a peaceful, secure, open, cooperative and orderly cyberspace.

Q: The Trump administration is considering new background checks and other restrictions on Chinese students in the US over growing espionage concerns. How do you comment on that and will China do retaliatory steps in this sphere?

A: In fact, I think my reply to a previous question is also applicable here.

We are now living in an era of globalization. Any attempt to artificially sever people-to-people exchanges and create obstacles for the normal exchanges and cooperation between people of different countries will be unpopular and is doomed to fail.

When it comes to China and the US in particular, I shall say that the people-to-people exchanges and cooperation between China and the US are in the common interests of the two sides and in line with the shared aspirations of the two peoples. People-to-people exchanges also serve as the foundation to promote exchanges and cooperation in various fields between China and the US. We hope that the US will put this in perspective and vigorously promote the people-to-people exchanges and cooperation with China, so as to create better conditions for such exchanges and cooperation between the two sides rather than doing the opposite.

Q: US President Trump has suggested that he may be close to do some kind of deal on trade with China when he meets with President Xi. How does China view this prospect?

A: I have been taking similar questions at my press conferences these past few days. The Chinese side has been stressing that the economic and trade cooperation between China and the US is mutually beneficial and win-win in nature. Now the economic teams of the two sides are maintaining close contact to follow through on the consensus reached by the two heads of state at their telephone conversation on November 1. We hope the US side will show sincerity and meet China halfway so as to reach a mutually acceptable solution. Meanwhile, we also hope that with the concerted efforts of both sides, the upcoming meeting between the two heads of state in Argentina will achieve positive outcomes and chart a course for the development of China-US relations going forward.

Q: The Spokesperson of the US Pacific Fleet said that a US Navy ship conducted another freedom of navigation operation in the South China Sea on November 26. What's your comment?

A: On November 26, a US Navy ship trespassed into China's territorial waters off the Xisha Islands without approval. China immediately sent military vessels and aircraft to identify and verify the US warship in accordance with the law, and warned it off. The Chinese side has lodged solemn representations with the US side.

I shall point out that the relevant move of the US warship has violated the Chinese laws and relevant international laws, severely undermined China's sovereignty and put in jeopardy the peace, security and sound order in relevant waters. China firmly opposes the relevant action of the US side and urges it to immediately stop such provocation that infringes upon China's sovereignty and threatens China's security. China will continue to take necessary measures to safeguard its sovereignty and security.
Authorities with the Galveston County Sheriff's Office busted an elaborate, indoor, high grade marijuana grow house in San Leon Wednesday, according to a press release from the department.

Christian Combs, 43, and Edwin Dodds, 34, were arrested in connection with the grow house, located at 707 Avenue K, San Leon. Officials seized 124 budding marijuana plants, over 25 pounds of marijuana, $15,000 in marijuana grow equipment and more than $3,000 in cash at the home.
Tim Cromie, the new chief of the Nassau Bay Police Department, has no immediate plans for any major changes to the 14-officer squad or the way the department works.

On on the job since Nov. 12, he said residents feedback reinforces that his instincts not to upset the status quo seem to be on target.

In my first week here, Id already received phone messages and emails from people about positive encounters theyd had with officers, said Cromie, 55, a 33-year veteran of law enforcement work. The community notices it, and they wanted me to know about it.

The new chief said feedback like that is welcome from the city, which has 4,200 residents.

It speaks well of the officers here, he said. The community is very ingrained with the police department, and theyve made me feel really welcome.

The police department previously was led by Kenneth Campbell for two years.

Cromie comes to Nassau Bay after serving 19 years in the Dickinson Police Department. There he worked as the Criminal Investigation Division sergeant. He has worked in patrol and as an officer instructor, school resource officer and a public information officer. Hes also served with the Sante Fe and Hitchcock police departments and with the Galveston County Sheriffs Department.

Cromie holds a master peace officer license and certifications for basic police juvenile officers and crime prevention. He also completed training from the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center and is an instructor with the Texas City Law Enforcement Training Academy as well as the Texas Municipal Police Associations Advanced Child Abuse Investigation Training Program.

Nassau Bay City Manager Jason Reynolds said Cromie, who will earn an annual salary of $86,000, was the right choice for the post.

His background and experience make him a great fit for our city, Reynolds said. Tim brings a fantastic servant-leader attitude to the team and is a great addition to an already outstanding police department.

With 14 sworn officers to lead, Cromie said he is getting to know the staff members.

The department works really well, he said. The officers are a good bunch of people and theyre very dedicated to the city.

As for the size of the department, Cromie said its smaller than what hes used to but that that can have advantages.

Ive found that as an officer in smaller departments you get to do more of the police work than you would in a larger department, he said. There are no specialized units; so you have the ability to follow up on your cases and do more of the required police work. You end up with a more well-rounded police force.

Cromie has a fiance and two adult children.

As for whether or not he will be in Nassau Bay for the long haul, Cromie was optimistic.

I certainly hope to end my career here, he said. I look forward to being here for a while.
Google maps

A man was shot dead Thursday at a house in the Cypress area, officials said.

Authorities are looking for the gunman who opened fire at the home in the 10800 block of Gates Randal Court. The man killed was shot during a possible burglary or robbery, Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez said. A time of the incident was not available.
The Houston Area Oil Painters of America, a newly formed group of local artists from Conroe and The Woodlands, has announced that their first show will be held on Feb. 8, 9, 10, 2019 with an opening reception on Friday, Feb. 8, from 5-8 p.m. The exhibition will be held at the Conroe Art League located at 127 Simonton Street in Conroe.

The group is made up of five award winning artists including Lois Blackburne, Juan Cantavella, Beau Crump, Tom LaRock, and Debra Riley. The group of artists has a combined portfolio of local and national awards. Additionally all of the artists have been juried into the national organization, Oil Painters of America. All members are representational artists with a passion for realism.

Each artist will be exhibiting their works of Landscapes, Portraits, and Still Life paintings. The artists will be present at the opening reception on Feb. 8.

Dates and times

Feb. 8 - 10:30 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Feb. 8 - Meet the Artist Reception (wine and lite bites) - 5 to 8 p.m.

Feb. 9 - 10:30 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Feb. 10 - noon to 3 p.m.

Lois Blackburne

Lois is self-taught, and has attended numerous workshops and seminars. She trained under Karen Vernon, Bernice Walters, and nationally known portraitist Juan Cantavella. Lois has been teaching oils, pastels, watercolor, and china painting at the Conroe Hobby Lobby for the last twenty years. She has been a member of the Conroe Art League since 1978 and is also a member of Oil Painters of America. Lois describes her artistic style as detailed and impressionistic. She is known for her Landscapes, Animal Portraits, Still Life, Florals, and Portraits. She has lived in Conroe since 1978.

Juan Cantavella

Juan is self-taught and also is a degreed architect. He is nationally known for highly detailed Portraits, Still Life, and Cityscapes. He is a member of Oil Painters of America. He has lived in the Woodlands since 2014.

Beau Crump

Beau is self-taught and has been attending numerous workshops and seminars for the last 43 years. He has trained under Joy Bradford, John Porter, Martha Barr, Carrie Albritton, and nationally known portraitist Juan Cantavella. Beau is known for his Landscapes and Portraits. His style is detailed and impressionistic. Many of his works depict scenes from Texas, Oklahoma, Utah, Louisiana, England, France and Germany. He is a member of Oil Painters of America. He has a B.S. degree in Zoology from Northwestern State, in Louisiana and studied Engineering Technology at Kilgore College in Texas. He has been a resident of Conroe for over 10 years.

Tom LaRock

Tom relocated to New York City in 2013 to train at the studio of his son, Art Renewal Center (ARC) Living Master, Joshua LaRock and at the Grand Central Academy in New York. Returning to Texas three years ago to paint professionally Tom is best known for Landscapes and Still Life, however he also enjoys painting Portraits and Narratives. In addition to training with his son, Tom has received additional instruction with Douglas Flynt (Florida) and Michael Klein (New York). His style is classically realistic with a hint of contemporary impressionism. He is a member of the Oil Painters of America. Tom is a graduate of the University of Texas, El Paso with a degree in Physical Education and UT Austin with a degree in Mechanical Engineering. He has been a resident of The Woodlands since 2004.

Debra Riley

Debra has trained under nationally known artists Gary Hernandez and Lois Blackburne. She has also taken workshops from Scott Christensen, Lori McNee, and Suzie Baker. Her artistic styles are both highly detailed and impressionistic. Debra has been an Art Colony Giverny Artist for the past two years. She is known for Landscapes, Still Life, and Portraits and is a member of the Oil Painters of America. Debra has a BS degree in Business and Human Relations from Amber University. She has lived in Montgomery, Texas since 1999, and currently serves on the Executive Board of the Conroe Art League.
A full day of holiday activities is planned for Christmas in Historic Montgomery scheduled for 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Dec. 8, which will help the Montgomery Historical Society.

This is the oldest Christmas event in the county, Montgomery Historical Society and Historic Montgomery Business Association member Bea Rouse said.

The community-supported activities will take place throughout Montgomerys Historic District. The day will kick off with Breakfast with Santa from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. The Holiday Marketplace will offer an all-day arts and crafts sale from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. The Christmas parade will start at 11 a.m. The 27th Annual Cookie Walk will run from noon to 5 p.m. 41st Annual Candlelight Home Tour be open from 4-8 p.m. The cost is $5 for children and students, $15 for adults.

Parking will be available throughout the downtown area, including on Clepper Street. Event coordinators advised event-goers to not to park in front of driveways. Shuttles will not be available.

Proceeds from the event, produced by the Montgomery Historical Society, will go toward maintaining seven historic buildings the society owns and providing a scholarship each year for a Montgomery High School Senior. The cost to maintain the buildings, such as to replace a roof or air conditioning in some of the homes, is about $20,000 on average each year. The Cookie Walk and Candlelight Home Tour raises about $9,000 annually for the society, which was founded in the 1950s.

This year, the societys second largest fundraiser, the annual Texian Heritage Festival, was canceled in October. There is a hope to revive the festival in the future.

That means this event is the only fundraiser that the society has, Rouse said

There is still time to sign up for a vendor booth and to sponsor. Those interested in donating cookies or candies can package or box them in disposable containers and deliver them to the community building on Dec. 7. Check donations can be made out to the Montgomery Historical Society and mailed to P.O. Box 513, Montgomery, Texas 77356

More Information Holiday Marketplace -Arts & Crafts Sale 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. at the Old Community Center Building Downtown Christmas Parade Theme: Christmas Carols Begins at 11 a.m. Note: Buffalo Springs is a private neighborhood and not open for public parking. Do not block or park on any private property. View the parade in the Historic District. Breakfast with Santa 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. at the Living Savior Lutheran Church on Pond St. Adults are $8 Children ages 3 and older are admitted for $5 Children ages 2 and younger are admitted for free Photos with Santa are $5 Small crafts will be available during breakfast 41st Annual Candlelight Home Tour 4 p.m. - 8 p.m. $15 for adults and $5 for students and children. Tickets can be bought starting at 2 p.m. at the Nat Hart Davis Museum 27th Annual Cookie Walk Buy beautiful holiday cookies by the pound Noon - 5 p.m. in the Old Community Center Building in Historic Downtown See More Collapse

Breakfast with Santa

Breakfast with Santa will be served at the Living Savior Lutheran Church, 309 Pond St. Residents can spend the most important meal of the day with St. Nicolas and stick around for a photo op. Tickets for Breakfast with Santa are $8 for adults and $5 for children. Children age 2 and under are free. Photos with Santa are $5.

The Holiday Market Place

The Holiday Marketplace--Arts & Crafts will take place on the grounds of the Community Center on Liberty Street at College St. It will offer unusual and one-of-a-kind handcrafted gifts and holiday decorations at great prices and features at least 70 vendors each year. Strolling Madrigals, carolers from Montgomery High School will add to the holiday cheer strolling in the historic district. Besides the restaurants extended hours, there will be some food vendors offering food, snacks, beverages.

The Christmas Parade

This years parade theme is Christmas Carols." It will once again feature Ronald McDonald, a showmanship and decorating competition, and Santas arrival on the last float in the parade. Rouse encourages event-goers to look for the classic Cadillac with longhorns and an Aggie flag driven by Bob Peel, whose family helped found Montgomery in the 1830s. This year he will be driving an honored Vietnam veteran, Lloyd Ashbaker, who has operated the Old Montgomery Steakhouse at 204 McCown St. with his wife Nancy for 22 consecutive years.

Cookie Walk

Thousands of decorative cookies, candies, and gingerbread which totaled more than 6,000 dozen last year will once again fill the community building this year. More than 600 people purchased boxes last year, although even more people attended from all over the Montgomery County area and beyond, with an average of about 4 pounds totaling $32. Any leftover cookies will be delivered to nursing homes and the fire department.

It has grown so much and it is so popular that it is a regular event for many people, Rouse said. People will line up an hour or so early to be the first ones in.

The Cookie Walk, which was once featured in the 1999 issue of Southern Living magazine, was founded by the the late Reba Laughter. The Montgomery Chapter of the National Charity League, which allows mothers and daughters to work together while serving the community, has spearheaded the Cookie Walk for more than a decade.

Candlelight Home Tour

The day will close out with strolling carolers and residents in Victorian dress at the annual Candlelight Home Tour where the public has a rare chance to gain access to some of the city's oldest private homes and historic buildings, which date back to the 1800s, including: H. Davis Pioneer Complex & Museum, Arnold-Simonton House and the log cabins at Fernland Historical Park, Old Post Office & Drug Store (now open as Modern Ranch House), The Oaks of Montgomery (Antique Consignments), Addison-Gandy Home, Old Methodist Church, Old Baptist Church, all within a few blocks of each other.

The residents of the private homes on the tour spend many days decorating their historic homes from top to bottom. The luminaries lead to many of the homes along the narrow residential streets. For safer walking after dark, bring a flashlight. Tickets may be purchased starting at 2:00 p.m. at the N. H. Davis Museum at 14264 Liberty Street.

Think Small

While in town for this yearly event and throughout the holiday season, visitors are encouraged to "Think Small" and shop locally for great gifts at small-town prices. On this Christmas celebration day, most of the antique, gift shops and boutiques will be open late to accommodate shoppers who want to take advantage of sales and take care of some people on their gift list. Many restaurants in town will be open all day and evening

For more information contact Beau Rouse at 936-524-0534 or email brouse0122@aol.com.
The 59-year-old Houston widow convicted in 2017 of killing her husband in a staged home invasion will be featured Friday on national television news magazine 20/20.

Sandra Melgar, was convicted of fatally stabbing her husband of 32 years, Jaime Melgar, in 2012.

During her trial last year, prosecutors insisted that Melgar, who has epilepsy and lupus, tied herself up and locked herself in a closet to avoid suspicion. She was found the next day by family arriving at the northwest Harris County house to celebrate the couple's anniversary.

EXHAUSTIVE TRIAL COVERAGE: Woman gets 27 years in stabbing death of husband

Melgar maintained her innocence throughout the trial. The couple's adult daughter, Lizz Rose, remains convinced that her mother did not kill her father and is expected to be interviewed on the telecast.

Invited family members arrived early at the couple's home for the anniversary party and discovered Sandra tied up in her closet and Jaime brutally murdered and tied up in his own closet.

At trial, prosecutor Colleen Barnett argued the crime scene didn't match Sandra's story of a home invasion, and that she was motivated by a $500,000 life insurance policy.

Barnett also argued that Melgar, who is a Jehovah's Witness, did not want to get a divorce because of her religious beliefs.

READ MORE: Houston woman accused of killing husband, staging home invasion begins trial

Defense attorney Mac Secrest argued that Melgar was attacked in a home invasion, tied up and knocked out by a blow to the head.

Houston Chronicle reporters covered the trial gavel-to-gavel and were interviewed for the episode. It airs on Friday, November 30 (9:00 p.m.) on ABC.

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.
A Pasadena business owner has been charged with murder in the shotgun slaying of a man outside his home in October.

Pasadena police said they are looking for Oscar Aristides Garcia, 31, who has been charged in the death of Nicolas Bautista.
Local municipal officials and residents are pushing back on a potential bid to locate a drug-and-alcohol rehabilitation center in Pasadena near Taylor Lake Village.

They say the proposed site at 621 Kirby Blvd. is in a family oriented neighborhood and less than a mile from G. W. Robinson Elementary School.

Our schools are under tremendous pressure from all the risk sources that are out there, and to add a risk source near a school is totally inadvisable, said Taylor Lake Village Mayor Jon Keeney, whose city has 1,400 homes and a population of 4,000. The fence on the back of this property goes directly into Clear Lake Forest residents homes. Thats the primary risk.

But Shane Leonard, CEO of the company considering using the site, Into Action Recovery Centers, said the complaints are premature since the sale has not been finalized for the 6,000-foot building to a Taylor Lake Village investor who he declined to identify. If the sale goes through, Leonard said, the companys intentions for the site include three options: an all-female residential treatment facility that could house up to 20 clients; an out-patient, all-female treatment center; or an additional corporate office for the company,

We are strictly in the feasibility period for that location, he said.

PEARLAND: Public hearing for proposed animal slaughterhouse delayed

Leonard said if a treatment center were at the site, clients would not pose a danger to the community and would constantly be supervised because of strict state and industry laws regulating drug rehabilitation centers.

Were on the upper echelon of treatment facilities, Leonard said of the companys Texas Department of State Health Services-licensed centers. We want our clients have a good experience and to be in a safe neighborhood. These are not ex-convicts; these are housewives and young women, professional women and doctors.

They wouldnt be out and about, he said. They wouldnt be walking to the store or hanging out in the front yard.

Leonard said no one with a conviction of violent crimes or sexual offenses would be allowed if a treatment facility were based from the site.

Keeney, Leonard and Pasadena City Councilman Thomas Schoenbein, in whose District H the facility would be located, met Nov. 16 to discuss the residents concerns.

As soon as Mayor Keeney called me, I went to go meet with him. I offered to address the community in a town hall meeting, depending on the use. We will stay in communication, Leonard said.

Were taking into consideration all those factors, Leonard said of community opposition. We certainly understand the community concern. We believe we do provide a safe environment, not only for our clients but for the community.

BIG BUST: Nearly 53 pounds of meth seized after routine traffic stop

Said Keeney, I have full empathy for a need of this type of facility. Im just opposed to the risk it poses in a virtually 99 percent residential area.

He and some Taylor Lake Village residents asked Pasadena City Council at a Nov. 20 meeting to deny any applications that might be presented related to the facility.

I ask you, as a city, to rally around this opposition to make sure our kids stay safe, said Keeney during the public comment period.

Chris Wojtowicz, president of the Clear Lake Forest Home Owners Association, a community of about 800 homes situated between Kirby Boulevard and Armand Bayou Nature Center, told the council that he and his neighbors were concerned about home values as well as safety.

He said he has read reports that home values can fall between 8 percent and 17 percent when a drug treatment center is located nearby.

During the meeting, Pasadena Councilman Don Harrison said he would likely support the Taylor Lake Village residents based on experience in his District C with a drug rehab facility.

Im not against all that (drug rehabilitation centers), but I dont think it should disrupt the residents of that community, because it did mine, Harrison said. Crime rates went up, they were walking through the subdivision. I had more complaints for several years of that one establishment, and I feel like they need to not put it there by the residents.

Good luck to you and Ill probably support you on it, he told the residents.

Schoenbein said Nov. 30 that he will back Keeney and residents in their push to keep the rehab center out.

I do not support this facility as far as the location, he said. Theyre going to have to go through our ordinance and variance process, and I will not support any variances for that project.

An online petition circulating since Nov. 18 under the name Concerned Citizens of Taylor Lake Village & Pasadena had 659 signatures by midday Nov. 30.

Bringing recovering addicts to such a small neighborhood setting, far from medical facilities, poses many problems, reads the petition, citing concern about crime, childrens safety and home values.

POLICE CAPTURE: Man wanted in multiple robberies arrested in Pasadena

Into Action Recovery Centers has a residential treatment center at 17250 El Camino Real and an out-patient treatment center at 17337 El Camino Real. The outpatient facility opened in 2010 and the other one opened later. There is also a medically supervised detox center at that complex, Leonard said.

We follow strict guidelines as a part of our licensure requirements, Leonard said. Were bound by (the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) to protect our clients safety and provide privacy.

Into Action is accredited through the nonprofit Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities.

A spokeswoman for Clear Creek ISD said Nov. 29 that a letter from Superintendent Greg Smith was being developed in opposition to the possible rehab center.

Leonard, who said he was a resident of nearby Lakepointe Forest for many years, was not willing to speculate on the likelihood that the company would open a facility in Taylor Lake Village.

If we chose to move forward, we would make the appropriate notices, he said. Were still taking all these things into consideration. It certainly weighs heavily in our decision to move forward. I couldnt tell you if were 10 percent or 100 percent going to go for it.

jaimy.jones@chron.com
Visitors will get a chance to buy presents and party to polka music during the upcoming German Christmas Market in downtown Tomball on Friday, Dec. 7.

The three-day festival, which was first hosted in 2007, highlights Tomballs roots when its was first settled in the early 1800s.

Tomball has a lot of German heritage. It was settled primarily by German farmers, said Grady Martin, president of the Tomball Sister City Organization.

In 2000, Tomball established a sister city relationship with Telgte, a town in northwest Germany.

The same year, Martin said that he first established the German Festival as a way to celebrate the citys historical roots and, as it became more popular, the organization added the Christmas market.

It started out really small. After about five years, it started to grow. Now it draws huge crowds, he said.

Approximately 60,000 visitors arrived in Tomball last year for the Christmas market from cities such as Dallas, San Antonio, Austin and others from outside the state.

This year, about 200 vendors will be selling food, arts, crafts and other gifts for the holiday season.

Want to go? The Tomball German Christmas Festival will feature vendors, music, dancing and more. When: Friday, Dec. 7 from 6 to 10 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 8 from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 9 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Where: 201 S. Elm Street Admission: Free See More Collapse

The event will also feature four stages with troupes peforming traditional folk dances and German music from Auf Gehts Musik, Eurofest Trio, TubaMeisters, among others.

The market will open on Friday, Dec. 7 at 6 p.m. and continue on Saturday until Sunday, Dec. 9 starting at 10 a.m.

The admission will be free and visitors can park near the Tomball Regional Medical Center and take a shuttle downtown.

For more information, visit www.tomballgermanfest.org.

mayra.cruz@chron.com
Chinese Embassy in Sierra Leone Hosted "China Forum 2018" Symposium

2018/11/30

On November 27, 2018, the Chinese Embassy in Sierra Leone hosted the "China Forum 2018" symposium. The event was comprised of two sessions to discuss topics on Chinese business communities investment in Sierra Leone and China-Sierra Leone cooperation separately. Chinese Ambassador WU Peng, Sierra Leone Chief Immigration Officer Andrew Jaiah Kaikai, representatives from Ministry of Labour and Social Security and National Revenue Authority (NRA), experts from Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, representatives from Chinese Chamber of Commerce in Sierra Leone, Sierra Leone Chinese Chamber of Commerce, Chinese enterprises, Civil Society Organizations and the media attended the said event.

In his speech, Ambassador WU Peng said that the Forum eyes on providing a platform to enhance China-Sierra Leone mutual understanding and cooperation and strengthen official and civil exchanges between the two countries. He believes that the business environment of Sierra Leone will be greatly improved with the new government's commitment to cracking down on corruption and diversifying its domestic economy. He expressed that China will continue to strengthen cooperation with Sierra Leone in line with the priority areas of the New Direction Agenda. He stressed that Chinese investors have injected vitality into the social and economic development of Sierra Leone and the Embassy will continue to protect the legitimate interests of Chinese companies while urging them to abide by local laws to achieve mutual benefits.

On his part, the Chief Immigration Officer, Andrew Jaiah Kaikai, said that Chinese investors are welcome to invest in Sierra Leone. Sierra Leonean MDAs including the Immigration Department will spare no effort to create a good investment environment. He hopes that investors will abide by the laws and comply with relevant requirements by going through the procedures of work and residence permit. Mr. Kaikai expressed gratitude to the Chinese Embassy for its efforts in promoting cooperation between the two countries and guiding Chinese investors operating in Sierra Leone. Afterwards, representatives from the Ministry of Labour and Social Security and NRA introduced relevant policies and requirements on doing business in Sierra Leone.

At the forum, Professor ZHU Weidong from the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences lectured on The Development of Investment Laws and Environment of Africa and Legal Approaches to Protect Interests of Chinese Companies in Africa, addressing in detail the status and problems on legal protection of investment in Africa, investment disputes and solutions between China and Africa as well as other issues that the investors are concerned with.

Representatives from Chinese business communities in Sierra Leone stated that they will abide by the laws and regulations of Sierra Leone and will support the work of Sierra Leonean MDAs. At the same time, they hope that the Sierra Leonean side will take effective actions to resolve concerns of Chinese investors. Representatives of Civil Society Organizations and the media thanked Chinese investors for creating a large number of job opportunities for the local society and said they are willing to promote exchanges between the peoples of the two countries and help investors adapt to the local market.
The Woodlands Township Board of Directors returned to their normal duties on Wednesday, Nov. 28, after more than a month of no meetings due to the Nov. 6 mid-term elections as well as the Thanksgiving holiday. During the two meetings on Wednesday, township directors took action on several items and received another series of reports on the ongoing incorporation studies.

Re-elected board members sworn in

The Nov. 6 township Board of Directors election featured only two contested races and a more mellow campaign season than in 2016, when tens of thousands of township voters turned out to cast ballots in a series of contested races that changed the face of the board.

On Wednesday, the four winners of the races were sworn in by Montgomery County Precinct 3 Justice of the Peace Edie Connelly, which is expected to be one of her final official duties after a three-decade tenure on the bench. Connelly is retiring this year.

The four board members sworn in were: Position 1, Gordy Bunch; Position 2, Brian Boniface; Position 3, John Anthony Brown; and Position 4, Bruce Rieser. All four incumbents won their election handily  with Bunch and Brown being uncontested, and Boniface defeating challenger Treva Taglieri and Rieser defeating challenger Francis Frank Dargavage.

Township directors serve two year terms and are not compensated in any manner for their work. Bunch enters his fourth term in office, while Brown, Rieser and Boniface enter their second terms in office.

New board officers chosen for 2019

The Board of Directors also took action on the 2019 roster of board officers during Wednesdays meeting.

Bunch was tabbed to retain his seat as chairman of the board, while Brown was retained as board treasurer and Ann Snyder was once again selected as the board secretary.

The seat of vice chair of the board was the only postion to be contested, as current Vice Chairman John McMullan  who was not present at the meeting  was challenged for the vice chair seat by board member Carol Stromatt. The five members of the board who were present, Boniface was absent during that part of the meeting, voted anonymously and selected McMullan to once again serve as vice chairman.

Phases 3, 4 of fire communications project OKd

The board voted 5-0 to approve moving into Phases 3 and 4 of the communications tower project for The Woodlands Fire Department.

The project, which will see new eight poles that host microwave communication devices installed, was requested by fire department officials after more than 70 different outages to their normal communications system occurred in the past year, said Woodlands Fire Chief Alan Benson at the meeting.

The new type of communication is more reliable than in-ground communication lines, which have been disabled or cut accidentally by either construction workers or beause of traffic accidents. The issue has been on the agenda of board meetings in the past several months, however no action had been taken due to questions about the cost and acquisition of materials, as well as a questionairre sent to residents that live near the stations.

The department has identified an issue that affects service to our residents, Benson said. I believe a responsible solution has been presented. There have been 74 outages in one year that have affected our response times. As your fire chief, I recommend approval of this project.

Incorporation studies continue with updated reports

The ongoing incorporation study was the subject of nearly two hours of the boards second meeting on Wednesday, as officials from the two consulting firms doing the wide-ranging, more than yearlong study gave presentations on the financial model being examined if the township does eventually incorporate.

Officials from Matrix Consulting Group as well as Novak Consulting gave presentations to the directors that were similar to prior presentations on financial models, revenue sources and possible new expenditures if the township eventually becomes a city. The board voted 6-0 to accept the reports and directed the consultants to do some follow-up work and information gathering prior to revisiting the issue again in January.

McMullan absent again, Boniface late for meeting

Township Board Member John McMullan was absent from Wednesdays meeting, one of several township meetings he has missed in recent months.

McMullan has either been absent or arrived late at various other township board meetings in August, September and October, as well as having missed the past three meetings of the townships Economic Development Committee, which he is a member of with two other board members.

When asked about his absences in October, McMullan said he had been transferred to a job site in downtown Houston and no longer worked in The Woodlands. Because he often rides a transit bus to downtown, he said at times it is difficult for him to make it back to The Woodlands for meetings.

Boniface, who has also missed numerous meetings and been late to others, arrived more than an hour after Wednesdays meeting started, missing numerous votes on items on the meeting agenda. When asked about his absences in October, Boniface said a combination of family responsibility, his new job and his commitment to the U.S. Army National Guard have been the reasons why he has missed meetings or been late.

Prior to the Nov. 6 election, when he was re-elected by voters, Boniface had announced he was stepping down from his position on the townships Development Standards Committee, which he joined in 2017.

jeff.forward@chron.com
Conroe ISD seeking input

Officials with the Conroe Independent School District have produced two versions of the 2019-20 school calendar and are seeking public input on the options. There are minor differences between the calendars.

Draft one includes Aug. 5-12 for staff development, while draft two allots Aug. 6-12, Nov. 11 and Jan. 7 for staff development days. Draft one has winter break beginning with a half-day of classes on Dec. 18 and continuing through Jan. 6, while draft two shows winter break beginning with a half-day of classes on Dec. 19 and continuing through Jan. 7.

Both calendars have the first day of school for the 2019-20 school year as Aug. 14 and the last day of school as May 28.

Community members may give input on the drafts on the districts website until noon on Jan. 7. The planning and decision-making committee is expected to make a recommendation to the board at their regular meeting Tuesday, Jan. 15.

The district has also made instructional materials that are up for adoption available to the public to view. The materials include English and Spanish language arts and reading, handwriting, spelling and personal financial literacy curriculum.

They can be viewed at the Instructional Materials Distribution Warehouse along Gladstell Street in Conroe from Dec. 3-19 and Jan. 7-18.

Ambassador Awards given to CISD students, staff

This month, Conroe ISD Board Member John Husbands and Superintendent Curtis Null visited six campuses to give out Ambassador Awards.

According to a press release, the award recognizes individuals for their positive contributions to campus life and climate. Husbands and Null surprised the following recipients with the awards.

At Grand Oaks High School: student Grand Nickel, paraprofessional Lenora Engebreston and educator Tiffani Serrano were honored.

At York Junior High School: student Katherine Hart, paraprofessional Athena Garcia and educators Garrett Higgins received awards.

At Clark Intermediate School: student Cambrie Cavanaugh, paraprofessional Terra Mason and educator Allison Alford were chosen.

At Cox Intermediate School: student Rumeth Pathirana, paraprofessional Brett Benson and educator Robbi Pratt received the honor.

At Broadway Elementary School: student Fiona Monreal, paraprofessional Carol Taylor and educator Jonah Lambright got awards.

At Snyder Elementary School: student Pierceson Lackey, paraprofessional Bonnie Sabbara and educator Kellie Byers received certificates.

Lone Star College gives Small Business of the Year awards

At the 32nd annual Small Business of the Year award luncheon held mid-November, Lone Star Colleges Small Business Development Center gave out eight awards.

According to a press release, more than 200 nominees were submitted and narrowed down to 23 finalists. A voting committee, made up of some Small Business Development Center advisory council members, chose the winners on the basis of leadership, entrepreneurial spirit, business growth and contribution to the community.

Flying M Feed & Company, owned by the Menchaca family, won the family owned award. Jennifer Millington won the franchise owner award for the Primrose School of Conroe.

Patrick and Caleb McCollim won the home-based award for Home Exterior Systems, LLC. The minority-owned award went to Arnold Gacita for Petra Oil Company, Inc.

The small business award was given to David Norris and Linda Hampton Norris for Norris Training Systems, Inc. James Hanigan and Daniel Johnson secured the veteran-owned award for Hanigan and Johnson Orthodontics.

Jennifer Hennessey-Bremseth won the woman-owned award for Animal ER of Northwest Houston. Nikole Davis won the young entrepreneur for Pretty Little Things Boutique.

jane.stueckemann@chron.com
For the fifth time in less than 2 years, inspectors flagged the Harris County jail for failing to meet state standards after a week-long visit revealed lukewarm food and bug-infested cells.

While the last few compliance failures centered on shortcomings in inmate observation and supervision, Friday's finding stemmed from a surprise annual inspection at the 9,000-person local lock-up - which was still out of compliance from the last bad review.

"We take the care, custody and control of our inmate population seriously, and our team is committed to bringing the jail back into full compliance in the very near future," Sheriff Ed Gonzalez said in statement. "We respect the jail commission's findings and will work diligently to correct each issue identified by the inspectors."

The latest Texas Commission on Jail Standards inspection included 23 areas of review - everything from intake to education to visitation procedures. In 21 of those areas, the jail met the state's minimum standards. But when it came to sanitation and food service, inspectors found that the jail fell short.

During facility walk-throughs, inspectors spotted debris-strewn cells with "excessive trash," according to a state report. At one of the buildings - the Inmate Processing Center - the state team found ant and roaches in some of the cells.

Then, during a visit to the 1200 Baker Street building, officials fielded numerous inmate complaints about lukewarm food. After sampling temperatures in a few trays, inspectors discovered the hot meals weren't hot enough - a finding that echoed the results of an inspection in January. Now, the county jail's compliance team will be required to conduct daily tray inspections.

READ MORE: State finds Harris County jail out of compliance after 2nd suicide in a month

Though it didn't rise to the level of non-compliance, officials also noted problems with the fire alarm panels in the 701 San Jacinto building. The issue was corrected on-site before inspectors finished out their week.

To address the unfavorable findings, Gonzalez ordered an internal review, according to a sheriff's office release.

The string of non-compliances started back in February 2017 with the suicide of 32-year-old Vincent Dwayne Young. Jailers hadn't checked on Young for over an hour when they found him in his cell hanging from a bed sheet.

Afterward, the sheriff's office sought funding to install more surveillance cameras in health services cells and put in place a new policy requiring random weekly audits to make sure jailers were really doing rounds as often as required.

But the facility was still in non-compliance when the state chastised them again in April 2017, this time for leaving inmates in a transport van overnight.

Then in December, the jail racked up another non-compliance when Maytham Alsaedy killed himself in his cell just a week before he was scheduled to plead guilty to capital murder.

The mentally ill stabbing suspect was already housed in a unit for inmates with serious and persistent mental illnesses, but the facility failed to meet minimum standards because a jailer doing rounds didn't bother to make the 26-year-old remove newspaper covering a cell window - so staff didn't actually lay eyes on the man or see what he was doing.

Then in August, Debora Lyons hanged herself with a bed sheet in a common area of the jail, marking the second suicide in a matter of weeks. She'd been locked up on a theft charge and couldn't make the $1,500 bail set by Judge Jim Wallace. According to a source familiar with the case, she had threatened suicide at least once in the days before her death.

Afterward, the county submitted a corrective action plan, but state officials hadn't yet marked the jail compliant with that plan when they showed up Monday for an annual inspection. By the end of the week, officials decided the lock-up had come into compliance regarding the earlier bad finding - but instead reviewers found the sanitation and food service issues that sparked the latest non-compliance.

Now, the jail has 30 days to file a corrective action plan with the state.

Though there are roughly two dozen jails currently out of compliance with state standards, Jail Commission Executive Director Brandon Wood said that five such findings in two years is "higher than normal."
The verdict is in and "The National Beer of Texas" is here to stay.

On Wednesday, after nearly two days of deliberation, a Milwaukee, WI jury decided that MillerCoors will continue brewing Pabst Brewing Company's 21 beer labels, including Lone Star, according to NPR News.

MillerCoors did not want to renew its contract to brew for Pabst when it expires in 2020, saying it no longer makes financial sense, while Pabst argued the contract includes options for an extension and MillerCoors was essentially trying to put it out of business.

High stakes trial: Pabst says MillerCoors is trying to put it out of business

The fate of all of Pabst's 21 labels, including Lone Star, fellow Texas brewing company Pearl, and the other Pabst-owned beer brands from Old Milwaukee to Colt 45 Malt Liquor, was hanging in the outcome of the legal case, originally filed in March 2016.

Battle of the brews: It may be last call for Lone Star

Details of the deal were not released. However, in separate statements, both parties described it as "amicable."

With a new deal reached, Pabst "will continue to offer Pabst Blue Ribbon and the rest of our authentic, great tasting, and affordable brews to all Americans for many, many years to come," a company spokesperson told NPR.

Marcy de Luna is a digital reporter specializing in social media, the famous, and food. You can follow her on Twitter @MarcydeLuna and Facebook @MarcydeLuna. Read her stories on our breaking news site, Chron.com, and on our subscriber site, HoustonChronicle.com. | Marcy.deLuna@chron.com | Text CHRON to 77453 to receive breaking news alerts by text message
A homeowner was killed at his back-door Thursday after a would-be burglar opened fire on him.

The man, who was not immediately identified, was with his wife in their home in the 10800 block of Gates Randall Court Wednesday afternoon when the couple heard a noise in the back of the house.
A state district judge Friday evening granted a temporary restraining order blocking the implementation of a voter-approved charter amendment requiring the city of Houston to grant its firefighters pay parity with police officers of similar rank and experience.

State District Judge Kristen Brauchle Hawkins granted the TRO Friday night at the request of the Houston Police Officers Union, which filed a lawsuit earlier in the day against the city and the Houston Professional Fire Fighters Association. The judge set a hearing for Dec. 14.

The fire union opposed the TRO request, but lawyers for the city did not.

The HPOU lawsuit seeks to block Proposition B, arguing it amounts to an unconstitutional amendment to Houstons charter and was void from the start.

Despite dire warnings that the amendment would cost the city between $85 and $100 million, requiring drastic cuts to city services, including fire fighters and police, the measure passed, HPOU attorney Kelly Sandill told the judge. The police unions lawyer also said firefighters do not have the same skill set as police, and they should not be lumped into the same pool, adding theres nothing fair and equitable about the pay-parity amendment.

The 25-page lawsuit argues the charter amendment is unconstitutional because it directly conflicts with state law requiring firefighters be paid comparable to private sector employees. It also contends that the measure conflicts with state law because it ties firefighter compensation to those of other public sector employees, and notes that policing and firefighting do not require the same or similar skills, ability, and training.

The measure undermines and interferes with HPOUs right to collectively bargain, because both HPOU and the City are forced to consider the economic effect of a third-partys interjecting interests, the lawsuit states. It also argues the requirements of Prop B put the HPOU in the position of representing firefighters who had not chosen the union to represent them and who do not have the same responsibilities as police.

The suit also claims Prop B runs contrary to Local Government Code mandates that say police and fire departments are separate collective bargaining units unless they voluntarily join together for collective bargaining with a public employer.

We would have preferred to address these issues in court prior to Proposition B being voted on, but under state law, this is the earliest opportunity we have had to assert these claims, HPOU President Joe Gamaldi said in an emailed statement. Regardless, we believe that it is critical to stop the implementation of Proposition B. Its sudden and drastic financial impact puts all essential city services at risk, including fire and police protection.

In response to the lawsuit and TRO, the firefighters union issued a statement blasting Mayor Sylvester Turner and the HPOU.

This throw-down lawsuit by the Houston Police Officers Union proves again that it is a willing political pawn of a vindictive mayor, said HPFFA President Marty Lancton. Sylvester Turner simply refuses to respect the will of the voters and now the HPOU is forcing its members into costly litigation that follows their expensive, failed anti-Prop B campaign.

The fire unions statement notes that earlier this week, city council approved $500,000 for outside lawyers to advise the city on legal issues surrounding Prop B after saying the city attorneys office did not have the resources.

In court today, the city had at least six staff attorneys on hand, along with outside counsel, to defend the HPOU litigation, it said. This cynical, Sylvester Turner-orchestrated legal play proves that the mayor, the eight city council members that voted to spend taxpayer funds on this wasteful litigation, and HPOU President Joe Gamaldi apparently will do almost anything to defy the will of the voters.

After voters approved the parity measure Nov. 6, the fire union and Lancton publicly have urged Turner and the city to return to the negotiating table to work out a contract that could phase in the firefighter raises. Turner has rejected the idea, saying the city needed a judge to decide whether a collective bargaining agreement could supersede a voter-approved charter amendment.

The fire union and some legal experts say it can.

Cris Feldman, the firefighter unions attorney, called the lawsuit a ruse.

Its not a real lawsuit, he said. Its an attempt to circumvent the true adversarial process that the courts are in place for and for the city to flop once the police sue over this charter amendment. This was an utter waste of taxpayer money.

Fridays court proceedings were delayed for several hours after 234th District Judge Wesley Ward interrupted HPOUs attorney mid-argument to make a phone call and then indicated he would have to withdraw from the case. Ward, a Republican who lost his reelection bid Nov. 6, reportedly told attorneys in his chambers that he had a conflict of interest because he planned to join the law firm where a lawyer representing the city in the case works.

Hawkins replaced Ward, and ruled in HPOUs favor following about an hour of arguments.

The Turner administration says the pay parity referendum, which passed decisively after a bitter campaign that pitted Turner and the HPOU against the fire union, will cost the city an additional $100 million a year to bring firefighter salaries in line with those paid to police of corresponding rank and seniority.

The police union was among the most vocal opponents of Prop B, pouring thousands of dollars into political ads urging voters to reject the measure.

RELATED: Mayor Turner seeks law firm to advise on possible Prop B litigation

For months, Turner has warned that the city would need to lay off hundreds of employees, including firefighters, if voters approved the measure. It passed with 59 percent of the vote.

In the wake of the amendments passage, Turner announced HFD would hire no new firefighters and ordered Fire Chief Sam Pena to draft a plan to move the department from four shifts to three, perhaps eliminating hundreds of positions.

In a statement issued by the mayors office Friday, Turner reiterated the possibility of layoffs.

Let me remind everyone there is at least a $100 (million) cost every year to the passage of Prop B, which the city cannot afford, Turner said. It would lead to significant layoffs and a reduction of services. Some of those layoffs could involved police officers and firefighters.

The city cannot afford to lose one first responder for public safety purposes, he continued. I believe people understand that. Placing the matter in court will clear up the issue of whether state law makes the proposition invalid.

gabrielle.banks@chron.com

st.john.smith@chron.com

brian.rogers@chron.com
Leaders of a southwest Houston synagogue spent Thursday amid charred rubble trying to make sense of the fire that destroyed their place of worship and developing plans to rebuild.

Dozens of people were inside the Torah Vachesed synagogue for a study group when the fire started around 9 p.m. Wednesday, but no one was harmed and the sacred Torah scrolls were recovered and relocated to the nearby Jewish community center.

Rabbi Avraham Yaghobian is a very resilient man, his congregation is resilient, and the Jewish people are resilient, and these challenges hopefully make us stronger, said Rabbi Aryeh Wolbe, the leader of the Torch Centre, a community center just steps away that was holding its own class when the fire broke out Wednesday night.

Congregants put up a semi-permanent tent in the synagogue parking lot Thursday to serve as the hub for repairs, paperwork and donations.

We need to think, said Rabbi Avraham Yaghobian, who was coordinating efforts from the parking lot. We need a mobile office  a command center. We need a generator for the electric.

From its front entrance, the Torah Vachesed appeared unharmed, but sunlight streamed inside through a hole in the roof, revealing dozens of broken ceiling tiles littering the floor and air-conditioning ducts spilling out from the ceiling. Dust and ash coated the floor, and water damage was apparent on the arks, or ornamental closets, that held Torah scrolls.

The fire seems to have started behind the building before spreading to the attic and roof, including the sanctuary that makes up the majority of the small building, Houston Fire Department Chief Herman Gonzales said.

While participating in a group study Wednesday night, congregants at the Orthodox Sephardic Jewish synagogue were surprised when constables ordered everyone to evacuate, Yaghobian said. The police happened to be driving by on Braeswood Boulevard when they saw smoke and rushed over.

The fire department arrived almost immediately, Yaghobian said. Once all lives were accounted for, congregants tried to return to retrieve the holy Torah scrolls, but firefighters wouldnt let them.

We were willing to jump in there, even if some of us were arrested, just to walk in and take those things, Yaghobian said. We would take whatever damage to our bodies. We didnt want our holy articles being hurt.

Wolbe commended the police and fire departments.

They were so caring and sensitive to the religious needs, and when they heard there were Torah scrolls, they said, Not a problem. Well go get them so soon as its safe, he said.

When that occurred, onlookers from the Torch Centre and Torah Vachesed were overjoyed, he said.

The celebration that went on when the Torah scrolls were being brought out by the fire department was just unbelievable, Wolbe said. It was an emotional joy for everyone, and it was just very special.

Although it lacks any formal ties to the synagogue, the Torch Centre has opened up to Torah Vachesed members, who will be worshiping there while working to repair their synagogue. Torch Centre members have also been keeping watch over the rescued scrolls, which are shrouded with cloth in one of the centers small offices. Two of the scrolls received minor water damage but are otherwise OK.

The Houston Fire Department is investigating the source of the fire and whether arson is to blame, but congregants helping Yaghobian on Thursday morning said they doubt foul play is involved.

Wolbe agreed and said he never suspected that someone had targeted the synagogue.

I hope its not just because Im naive, but I really did not think for a second that there was any kind of foul play, he said. In my opinion, this is the most active synagogue on Earth. There are people here all hours of the day learning, praying, cooking, getting ready for an event. This is such a vibrant synagogue.

That sense of community was apparent in the aftermath of Hurricane Harveys flooding. The Meyerland-area synagogue flooded during the storm, and the damage took three months to repair, Yaghobian said.

The synagogue was a place of assistance to others even during the repair process, Yaghobian said. This damage is far worse.

Torah Vachesed is collecting donations via its website to help repair the sanctuary.
Few things bring a community together like potholes.

We saw it last month in Dickinson, where residents ordered their own asphalt after discovering they could legally fill the city's potholes themselves.

RELATED: Dickinson neighbors armed with 'Harvey confidence' hope to fix every pothole in the city

It also happened earlier this month in Fort Worth, where a residents planted a small shrub inside a deep pothole that had apparently been there for more than 10 years.

But not all pothole laws are created equal.

In Corpus Christi, officials warn against taking matters into your own hands. Assistant City Attorney Buck Brice told the Corpus Christi Caller-Times that it's against a city ordinance. It could also further damage the road and increase the danger for drivers, city spokeswoman Michelle Leschper added.

"If you don't have a professional doing it, obviously the risk is they could be doing something wrong," she told Chron.com.

Most recently, Leschper said someone placed plastic bags of pavement repair material inside a pothole at Santa Fe and Elizabeth Street. Plastic is a particularly harmful material for city streets, she said.

"What really damages a street in general is when rain and water gets underneath, so if you have a plastic material, it's going to hold more water," she said.

RELATED: North Texas pothole gets filled with potted plant, fills community with Christmas spirit

Brice also told the Caller-Times private citizens can only fill potholes themselves under the supervision of the director of engineering and physical development. Citizens can also fill potholes with the city council's permission.

Leschper urged residents to call the city call center to report any potholes in the future at 361-826-2489. View the slideshow to see where the most potholes were reported in Houston over the last year.

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
Looking for a romantic getaway in downtown Houston? Or a fancy spot to host a wedding?

Several Houston hotels are a perfect choice, landing in U.S. News' latest ranking of the best luxury hotels in North America.

In their ranking of the top 15 hotels in Texas, four hailed from Bayou City: Hotel ZaZa, Four Seasons, St. Regis and Hotel Granduca.

Most recently, the St. Regis made headlines as Trump's lodging during his stay in Houston in May.

To get a more intimate look at each hotel, Chron.com is sharing photos and details of some of their most elaborate and lavish suites.

Check them out above.

To make the list, hotels had to be rated highly by guests and by critics, as well as had a number of awards and recommendations by expert agencies.

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 judge in Fort Worth recently sided with a Wichita Falls physician fighting to keep a 70 million-year-old dinosaur skull from being returned to Mongolia, where authorities say it was smuggled from.

The Monday ruling allowed the amateur paleontologist to keep the Tyrannosaurus bataar skull because federal prosecutors waited too long to file a forfeiture lawsuit, violating the five-year statute of limitations on the ancient fossil, according to court reporting from the Dallas Morning News.

Dr. James Godwin, 76, originally purchased the dinosaur skull from a string of buyers in 2012.

When Homeland Security officials questioned him a year later, Godwin told agents he didn't know it was illegal to possess the fossil.

Robert Painter, a Houston lawyer who worked on behalf of U.S. authorities and Mongolian officials to help return valuable dinosaur fossils in other similar cases in years past, framed this week's ruling as a bittersweet loss.

"If you had to lose a case, this is the absolute best way to lose," Painter told Chron.com. "The federal judge made it clear in prior rulings that Mongolian law is enforceable, and that U.S. application of civil forfeiture law is appropriate."

ICYMI: Government report acknowledges Hurricane Harvey made worse by climate change

"At the end of the day, the case was lost on a procedural error," Painter said, referring to the statute of limitation for taking action on the allegedly smuggled fossil.

In 2012, Painter was awarded Mongolia's highest honor, the Order of the Polar Star, for helping return a smuggled Tyrannosaurus bataar skeleton to the country in a similar case that required civil forfeiture.

Forty-eight hours before the illegal sale of the skeleton in a 2012 New York auction, Painter was asked by Mongolia's president to help return the fossils.

"The reason so many fossils are poached from Mongolia," Painter said, "is that there's a lot of fossils in the Gobi Desert and the country is about half the size of the U.S. with only three million people, so it's very easy to go out and poach undetected."

In this latest case out of Fort Worth, Painter said he was saddened by the fact that a part of Mongolian culture won't be returned to the country, but said he was hopeful news of the federal crackdown on smuggled fossils would prevent further attempts of illegal buying and selling.

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.
The Texas Attorney General has sued the City of San Antonio and Police Chief William McManus for allegedly violating Senate Bill 4, the so-called sanctuary city law, by releasing a group of suspected undocumented immigrants last December.

The lawsuit asks the district court to force McManus and the city to comply with SB4, prohibit the department from "thwarting" federal immigration enforcement and to assess civil penalties against the chief, the police department and the city.

RELATED: City officials sound off on SAPD's controversial handling of human smuggling case

"Senate Bill 4 guarantees cooperation among federal, state and local law enforcement to protect Texans," Attorney General Paxton said. "Unfortunately, some municipalities, such as San Antonio, put the safety of police officers and the public at risk by defying state law. The court should grant our request for injunctions and civil penalties against San Antonio to send a message that all Texas cities must obey the law."

San Antonio City Attorney Andy Segovia said in a written statement that neither the city nor McManus violated SB4.

"The Attorney General's characterizations of what happened that day are clearly aimed at furthering a political agenda," he said. "The City has a long history of cooperating with federal authorities and we will continue to do so."

The lawsuit stems from an incident Dec. 23, 2017, when police discovered 12 suspected undocumented immigrants in the back of an 18-wheeler. Detectives interviewed the immigrants and then released them, rather than turn the case over to Homeland Security, according to a police report.

Immigration cases are typically handled by federal authorities. Senate Bill 4 made it a Class A misdemeanor for local officials to refuse to work with federal authorities on immigration cases.

FROM EXPRESSNEWS.COM: Officer's Association president calls for SAPD chief to be placed on leave over human smuggling case

According to Paxton's lawsuit, McManus responded to the scene after officers found the suspected undocumented immigrants in trailer.

"After the initial stop, in a departure from customary practice, Chief McManus asserted jurisdiction over the investigation under the state smuggling statute, advised officers at the scene that SAPD would be handling the case locally, and stated that HSI agents were not to be involved in the case," the lawsuit reads.

The "state smuggling statute" cited in the suit appears to refer to Texas' state smuggling of persons law, which was created in 2011. Julian Calderas, the former deputy field office director in San Antonio for ICE's Enforcement and Removal Operations, previously told the Express-News that local police rarely use the charge, instead turning over the investigation to Homeland Security Investigations, the criminal investigative branch of ICE.

The lawsuit also alleges McManus personally called an immigration attorney to the crime scene, took the suspected undocumented immigrants to Public Safety Headquarters and then released them "without so much as a routine background check."

McManus has previously justified his decision by saying the police department had no jurisdiction to detain the migrants and said his officers didn't block federal agents at the scene from having access to them. Michelle Ramos, a police spokeswoman, has previously said the department received a $500,000 grant to train officers to identify and investigate human smuggling and trafficking.

"This call was situational, based on a fairly fluid situation on the scene," McManus previously said. "So this is not necessarily the way every case is going to be handled going forward."

San Antonio police officials declined to comment on the lawsuit Friday and referred mySA.com to city officials.

But those opposing McManus' decision, including San Antonio Police Officers Association President Michael Helle, have said the move was out of the norm for local jurisdictions and violated both the law and SAPD's own policies, and insisted local officers should have held the immigrants for federal authorities.

The driver operating the 18-wheeler when the suspected immigrants were discovered, Herbert Alan Nichols, was arrested in connection to the alleged smuggling but later released in April after prosecutors failed to file charges. The case has not been dropped, but under state law, anyone arrested and charged with a felony must be indicted by a grand jury within 90 days, or they will be released from custody.

Text "NEWS" to 77453 for breaking news alerts from mySA.com

Caleb Downs covers crime in San Antonio and Bexar County. Read him on our breaking news site, mySA.com, and on our subscriber site, ExpressNews.com |

cdowns@mysa.com | @calebjdowns
Moviegoers seem to love movies about characters that appear to be one thing, but turn out to be another. Best Picture Oscar-winner The Shape of Water is a good example.

So is Green Book (Universal), starring Academy Award-winning actor Mahershala Ali and Academy Award-nominated actor Viggo Mortensen.

Yet another of 2018s movies inspired by a true story, Green Book tells the early 1960s story of the unlikely friendship between two people on opposite ends of the cultural spectrum.

Bronx born and bred Tony (Mortensen) is a crude and barely literate family man. The husband of Dolores (Linda Cardellini) and father of two sons, Tony works as a bouncer as the Copacabana nightclub. When the club closes for a couple months of renovations, he needs to find a way to bring home the bacon, and winning the occasional hot dog eating contest wont cut the mustard.

Tony doesnt have to wait long. He gets a job offer to be a driver for a doctor. When he arrives at Carnegie Hall for the interview, hes surprised that its not a doctors office. It is, as it turns out, the apartment of Dr. Don Shirley (Ali), an acclaimed pianist who is embarking on an eight-week concert tour, including several dates in the deep south. After some initial back and forth, Tony accepts the job.

This is where the Green Book of the title comes in to play. Essentially a handbook for traveling while black in the Jim Crow south, The Negro Motorist Green Book was a directory of dining and overnight accommodations where African-American travelers were welcome to stay. As Shirleys driver, there were occasions on which Tony and the doctor were not staying in the same place.

A new twist on a road movie, the pair becomes better acquainted as they travel from New York to Pittsburgh to Ohio, Iowa, Kentucky and then deeper into the south, including North Carolina, Georgia, Tennessee and Alabama. Along the way they learn a great deal about the other. Each, in his own way, attempts to get the other to expand his limited horizons. Shirley, for example, expresses his concern over Tonys diction, correcting him on several occasions, as well as his lack of finesse. When he discovers that Tony has been writing letters home to his wife and kids, Shirley offers his superior writing skills. Tony, on the other hand, who is unabashedly racist, is shocked to discover that Shirley has never eaten fried chicken. The opportunity to enjoy Kentucky Fried Chicken in Kentucky provides one of the more comical scenes in the movie.

But the movie is definitely more serious than humorous. Shirleys run-in with rednecks in Louisville is eye-opening for Tony who comes to his rescue. Shirley, who is gay at a time when it was even more dangerous to be a homosexual than it was to be black, gets into trouble with another man at a YMCA in Macon, Georgia. Tony, who is unfazed after years of working in nightclubs, bails him out of jail. One night in Mississippi, on the way to a gig in Alabama, the two are pulled over by cops in a sundown town (where blacks are expected to leave by sunset) and jailed, leading to the possibility of Shirley missing his gig in Birmingham. Released from jail after Shirley uses his lawyer phone call to ring U.S. Attorney General Bobby Kennedy, they face even greater discrimination upon their arrival in Birmingham. But, Green Book is a true-blue Christmas movie and the touching finale, which includes Tony being home in time to celebrate the holiday with the family as Dr. Shirley promised, is sure to warm your heart.

Alis performance is so good that he may find himself with another Oscar nomination. Mortensen, however, is a little disappointing, especially after his Oscar-nominated turn in 2016s Captain Fantastic. Green Book also marks a big step forward for director Peter Farrelly, best known for fare such as Theres Something About Mary and Dumb and Dumber.

Rating: B+
One of the biggest opponents of private school vouchers in the Texas Senate says the Nov. 6 election results show voters agree with him.

State Sen. Kel Seliger, R-Amarillo, said a key lesson from the midterms for Republicans should be to listen better to the people in their districts. He reminded the audience at a legislative preview forum in Austin that he was one of only two Republicans to vote against private school voucher legislation in the Texas Senate in 2017, and yet was easily re-elected.

I got 88 percent voter feedback, Seliger said, referring to his margin of victory  the highest of any Republican elected to the State Senate this year.

Seliger in 2017 voted against a school voucher plan that would have allowed public school funding to be used to pay for children to attend private schools, a top priority of Senate Republican leaders in 2017.

That vote has not been without consequence for Seliger. Two Republicans opposed him in the primaries, but he defeated both handily in March. In November he easily defeated Libertarian Jack Westbrook. He had no Democratic opposition.

Seliger said when he meets new members of the Legislature, he warns them to stay focused on their districts no matter the pressure they may feel around the Texas Capitol.

What I tell them is first and foremost represent your district, he said. No matter what you are told by other people here or third-party groups, listen to the people in your districts.

Two Republican incumbents in the Senate lost their re-elections in November, dropping the number of Republicans in the Senate from 21 to 19. They still outnumber Democrats 19 to 12.

Seliger said he hopes the election results and the narrowing margin in the Senate will maybe, just maybe require more bipartisanship and cooperation overall.

Seligers comments came during a legislative preview forum hosted by The Texas Tribune on the University of Texas-Austin campus. The Legislature begins its next session on Jan. 8.

State Sen. Kirk Watson, an Austin Democrat who shared the stage with Seliger at the forum, also said he hopes the 2018 election results put us in a less partisan mood and more of a problem-solving mood on the big issues.

Seliger, first elected in 2004, will enter the 2019 special session as the second-longest serving Republican in the Senate.

jeremy.wallace@chron.com
The key revelation of Michael Cohens new guilty plea is this: Justice Department Special Counsel Robert Mueller is one step closer to showing links between Donald Trumps business interests in Russia and his conduct as a candidate for president.

The criminal information filed by Muellers prosecutors in the Southern District of New York states that in a period that lasted until the middle of June, 2016, Cohen was negotiating with the press secretary to Russian President Vladimir Putin for a meeting with Putin in Russia as part of a deal that would have led to a Trump Tower being built in Moscow.

And according to the document, Cohen spoke to Trump about the deal more than three times during that period, and asked both Trump and other senior campaign officials about a Trump trip to Russia in connection with the deal.

Cohen is pleading guilty to lying to Congress by saying these negotiations had ended by January 2016 and by denying that he spoke to Trump about them.

The details that emerge in the document are fascinating and rich.

But the main takeaway is that Cohen and others in the Trump organization were actively doing a Russia deal that linked Trumps emerging presidential candidacy with his business interest in a Moscow Trump Tower. And Trump knew about it, to a degree yet to be revealed.

Until now, many have speculated that there must be some link between Trumps business interests in Russia and his campaign conduct. The Cohen plea provides more concrete evidence of such a link.

Now for the specifics.

The story told by the criminal information runs like this:

Starting in September 2015, the Trump Organization was pursuing a deal to build a Trump Tower in Moscow. Cohen was working on making the deal happen.

In mid-January of 2016, someone described as a U.S. citizen third-party intermediary and identified only as Individual 2 suggested to Cohen that he contact Putins press secretary for approvals from the Russian government.

Cohen emailed Putins press secretary twice, on Jan. 14 and Jan. 16, 2016.

On Jan. 20, Cohen got a call from the press secretarys assistant. They spoke for 20 minutes, and Cohen described the deal.

The next day, Jan. 21, Individual 2 wrote to Cohen that he should call them about Putin, because they called today.

That began a period of negotiations lasting six months. Apparently, the Russians goal was to get Trump to visit Russia and meet Putin. Cohen asked Trump and other campaign officials about Trump traveling to Russia for the meeting. Cohen would go to Russia ahead of time to negotiate the details.

More for you A look at the lies that Mueller has documented

In May, things heated up. Individual 2 emailed Cohen explaining the state of play. I had a chat with Moscow, he wrote. ASSUMING the trip does happen the question is before or after the convention. Obviously the pre-meeting trip (you only) can happen anytime you want but the 2 big guys where [sic] the question. I said I would confirm and revert.

This email makes clear that there was a close connection between Trumps status as a candidate and the visit.

Cohen wrote back about My trip before Cleveland - where the Republican national convention would be held starting on July 18. Trump would travel to Russia once he becomes the nominee after the convention.

Individual 2 then told Cohen that Putins press secretary would like to invite you as his guest to the St. Petersburg Forum which is Russias Davos its June 16-19. He wants to meet there with you and possibly introduce you to Putin or the Russian prime minister, Dmitry Medvedev.

Over the next month, Individual 2 sent Cohen the paperwork for a visa, which Cohen seems to have filled out.

The trip looked like it was a go to Cohen, but it was called off around June 14, 2016, when Cohen met Individual 2 at Trump Tower to tell him it wasnt happening. According to Cohen, the real estate deal was also off at that point.

The document doesnt say how or why Cohens trip was canceled. The most logical possibility is surely that Trumps campaign advisers told him that he couldnt go to Moscow after becoming the Republican nominee.

So what does it all mean?

Trump and his supporters will no doubt insist that Cohen and Individual 2 were freelancing, not really representing Trump or the campaign. But the fact that Cohen kept Trump in the loop by asking him about possible travel to Russia strongly suggests that Trump knew that the negotiations over the Moscow Trump Tower were continuing during this period.

Trump supporters might add that it isnt surprising to discover that Trump didnt stop his business negotiations with Russia just because he was running for president. Yet it remains significant that those negotiations were happening with Putins office directly, not just with real estate developers in Moscow.

Trump supporters can also point out that the deal was canceled. Nevertheless, it seems likely that the deal was killed not because Trump realized it was wrong but because outside advisers told him it would look bad.

Cohens latest revelations on their own dont constitute evidence of a crime or impeachable offense by Trump. However, they do show that Trump was part of a negotiation that linked his status as a candidate to his business interests in Russia. They bring Muellers team an important step closer to explaining Trumps Russia ties during the campaign.

Noah Feldman is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist. He is a professor of law at Harvard University and was a clerk to U.S. Supreme Court Justice David Souter. His books include The Three Lives of James Madison: Genius, Partisan, President.
The U.S. has more rocket companies than ever before, with longtime players and billionaire newcomers both working to make accessing space more affordable.

Among those with a longer history is United Launch Alliance, most recently heralded for launching the NASA InSight lander into space. This joint venture between Boeing and Lockheed Martin was created in 2006, but the predecessors to its rockets date back to the 1950s.

Now, the company must evolve. President and CEO Tory Bruno was tapped to lead this transition in 2014, a topic he discussed at the Space Commerce Conference and Exposition held this week in Houston.

SpaceCom Day 1: Thinking small is a big idea for the final frontier

"My job was to carry our company from the company our nation needed 10 years ago, a decade ago, to the company that it needs today and into the future," he told the audience.

That meant reorganizing the company, restructuring its supply chain and reducing costs. United Launch Alliance used to have 41 different rockets, when considering the different families of rockets and their various configurations. That has been simplified to 18.

The Vulcan Centaur rocket it's currently developing will simplify that to just four configurations.

SpaceCom Day 2: Moon landings, space mining and Space Force capture imaginations at SpaceCom

"That means it is much more efficient to build these vehicles," he said. "It is faster to launch them, and it is much more affordable to accomplish that mission."

Instead of having one rocket for massive satellites and another for the increasingly popular small satellites, the Vulcan will be able to handle payloads big and small. It will also be able to reach a variety of orbits.

The new rocket is slated to launch in 2021.
Starting from hydrogen cyanide, the one-pot synthesis of cyanamide and precursors to simple sugars in water -- using gamma rays in the presence of ammonium and chloride salts -- offers a way forward for engineering complex mixtures that can evolve important, potentially prebiological compounds.

One of the most fundamental unexplained questions in modern science is how life began. Scientists generally believe that simple molecules present in early planetary environments were converted to more complex ones that could have helped jumpstart life by the input of energy from the environment.

Scientists consider the early Earth was suffused with many kinds of energy, from the high temperatures produced by volcanoes to the ultraviolet radiation beamed down by the sun. One of the most classic studies of how organic compounds could have been made on the early Earth is the Miller-Urey experiment, which showed you electrical discharges simulating lightning can help make a variety of organic compounds, including amino acids, which are basic building blocks of all life. Another important source of energy in planetary environments is high-energy radiation, which has various sources including radioactive decay of naturally occurring chemical elements such as uranium and potassium. Research led by Yi Ruiqin and Albert Fahrenbach from the Earth-Life Science Institute (ELSI) at Tokyo Institute of Technology, Japan, has recently shown that a variety of compounds useful for the synthesis of RNA, are produced when simple compound, combined with sodium chloride, are exposed to gamma rays.

This work importantly brings us one step closer to understanding how RNA, which is widely thought to be a candidate molecule for helping start life, could have arisen abiotically on early Earth. Due to its complexity, making RNA "from scratch" under primitive solar system conditions is no easy task. Biology is great at it, because it has evolved over billions of years to do the job with amazing efficiency. Before life emerged, there would have been little in the environment that would have assisted in making RNA. These researchers found that sodium chloride - or common table salt - can assist in making the necessary building blocks for RNA. Sodium chloride is the chemical compound that makes the sea salty, thus it is highly likely this process could occur on primitive planets, including Earth.

The most challenging aspect of this work was figuring out that salt, specifically the chloride component, played a crucial role in these reactions. Typically, chemists ignore chloride in their reactions. When chemists conduct reactions in water, it is highly likely at least some chloride is in there anyway, though most of the time it just sits idly by as a "spectator." It often doesn't play a significant role in the reactions chemists are interested in, it's just part of the background a lot of the time. These researchers found out though, that this was not the case in their experiments, and it took them some time to figure that out. What they eventually deduced was that the ionizing radiation they were using as the energy source to drive their reactions causes chloride to lose an electron and become what is known as a "radical". As the name suggests, the chloride is then no longer so mild-mannered and becomes much more chemically reactive. Once the chloride is activated by gamma radiation, it is free to help construct other high energy compounds which finally can help build up complex RNA molecules.

While these researchers haven't yet coaxed their reactions all the way to RNA, this work shows that there is now nothing in principle which should stop this from occurring. The question now is not so much how to make all the necessary building blocks to make RNA, but how to combine them in a "warm little pond" to make the first RNA polymers. One of the major challenges to this is understanding how other molecules, that is, other than those important for making RNA, might affect this process. The authors think this could be pretty "messy" chemistry in the sense that a lot of other molecules, which could interfere with this process, would be made at the same time. Whether these other molecules will interfere with RNA synthesis, or even have a beneficial effect, is the future focus of these scholars' research. Understanding very complex mixtures of chemicals is not only a challenge in origins of life research, but a major challenge for organic chemistry in general.

###

Reference

Ruiqin Yi1, Yayoi Hongo1, Isao Yoda2, Zachary R. Adam3,4, and Albert C. Fahrenbach1*, Radiolytic Synthesis of Cyanogen Chloride, Cyanamide and Simple Sugar Precursors, Chemistry Select, DOI: 10.1002/slct.201802242

1. Earth-Life Science Institute, Tokyo Institute of Technology

2. Co-60 Radiation Facility, Tokyo Institute of Technology

3. Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Harvard University

4. Blue Marble Space Institute of Science

Tokyo Institute of Technology (Tokyo Tech)

Tokyo Tech stands at the forefront of research and higher education as the leading university for science and technology in Japan. Tokyo Tech researchers excel in fields ranging from materials science to biology, computer science, and physics. Founded in 1881, Tokyo Tech hosts over 10,000 undergraduate and graduate students per year, who develop into scientific leaders and some of the most sought-after engineers in industry. Embodying the Japanese philosophy of "monotsukuri," meaning "technical ingenuity and innovation," the Tokyo Tech community strives to contribute to society through high-impact research. http://www.titech.ac.jp/english/

The Earth-Life Science Institute (ELSI)

Launched in 2012, ELSI is one of Japan's ambitious World Premiere International research centers, whose aim is to achieve progress in broadly inter-disciplinary scientific areas by inspiring the world's greatest minds to come to Japan and collaborate on the most challenging scientific problems. ELSI's primary aim is to address the origin and co-evolution of the Earth and life.

WPI

The World Premier International Research Center Initiative (WPI) was launched in 2007 by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) to help build globally visible research centers in Japan. These institutes promote high research standards and outstanding research environments that attract frontline researchers from around the world. These centers are highly autonomous, allowing them to revolutionize conventional modes of research operation and administration in Japan.

Please follow Astrobiology on Twitter.
In a new story, Science Magazine highlights how Miami and Fort Lauderdale lead the country with the highest rates of new HIV diagnoses per capita.

Editors note: This article previously appeared in a summer edition of the Sun Sentinel, but SFGN republishes it today as a World AIDS Day reminder that our community is still dealing with HIV at an alarming and unacceptable rate. The author, Johnny Diaz, a Sun Sentinel reporter, is a member of SFGNs OUT50.

The magazine used 2016 numbers from a report by the Centers for Disease Control which found that the infection rate per capita in Miami was 47 per 100,000 while Fort Lauderdale was 41 per 100,000. Those figures were double those of other big cities including New York City and Los Angeles.

South Florida has long been known for its high infection rate, with Miami-Dade and Broward counties leading the nation in new HIV infections.

Among the efforts to reduce the spread of HIV are public awareness campaigns including provocative billboards and bus ads and social events by the AIDS Healthcare Foundation's Southern Bureau in Fort Lauderdale.

The Science.com story explored some of the newer efforts that are being done to prevent HIV and AIDS. One example was how the University of Miami will have a mobile clinic traveling in Miami in the next few months to offer testing and PrEP, a preventive HIV pill that is also known as pre-exposure prophylaxis.

Approved by the Food and Drug Administration in 2012, the blue pill is recommended for people at high risk of infection, such as those having sex with an HIV-positive partner, men having sex with men, or intravenous drug users.

South Florida groups such as Care Resource and Latinos Salud, a Wilton Manors-based nonprofit aimed at providing support and resources for Latino gay men, also provide education and testing at its clinics in Miami-Dade and at nightclubs and gyms.

The CDC recommends that everyone between the age of 13 and 64 get tested for HIV at least once as part of their routine health care, said Trudy Love, a Broward Health outreach coordinator. People with high-risk factors, such as multiple sex partners, low condom usage and illicit drug use, should be tested more often.
Steve Phillpott joined Hitachi Global Storage Technologies (HGST) in early 2013, a few months after its acquisition by hard disk rival Western Digital (WD), expecting to be working on integrating the two companies IT systems. Instead, he found himself cast into limbo for a couple of years while Chinas Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) decided whether it would allow the merger.

The restrictions from MOFCOM didn't allow any communications between the HGST side and the WD side, so there couldn't be any integration planning until we got the final approval, Phillpott says.

While he waited, Phillpott set to work modernizing HGSTs systems, moving email, file sharing, HR and sales to software-as-a-service offerings, including Office365, Box, Workday and Salesforce.

Everything we put in with the understanding it had to be allowed to scale until we started the integration, he says.
As one hundred thousand people mobilized across France last Saturday, Jean-Luc Thomas, a veteran reporter for French TV news channel CNEWS, broadcast live from the heart of the Southern city of Toulouse. The rally was part of a new national movement whose members call themselves the Gilets Jaunesor Yellow Vestsand who object to rising taxes and some of President Emmanuel Macrons policies. That day, as he worked, Thomas experienced something that never happened to him before over his two-decade long career in journalism.

Around 3:30pm, protesters steps away from the Capitol Square, the sprawling City Hall of the so-called pink city, encircled Thomas and several other journalists. At first, they demanded that the reporters get the fuck out of here. Then the taunts grew more serious.

Dozens of Yellow Vests started yelling, We want your skin, and Youre less than shit, then calling the journalists collaborators, a reference to the support the Vichy government gave to the Nazis during World War II. The protesters began to spit and kick, and inched closer. Some tried to trip Thomas and his colleagues, and others threw bottles at them. Security guards, tasked with protecting the journalists, ultimately evacuated them. Thomas ran down a side street. Many of the protesters chased after him.

ICYMI: Another news outlet lays off staff, shuts down

Despite 24 years as a journalist, Thomas says, I never felt what I felt that daythe feeling of deep fear. In 2012, the sturdy, spirited shoe-leather reporter had been taken hostage by supporters of Frances far right party, the National Front. Even that incident, he says, did not scare him the way last week did.

This disturbing episode mirrors dozens of incidents of violence and harassment against journalists covering the Yellow Vests across metropolitan France, and on the overseas island territory, Reunion. From interfering with live broadcasts, spitting on reporters, and calling them offensive names to at least one case of serious violence, these incidents have brought to light what Reporters Without Borders called, in a statement, a worrisome increase in mistrust of the media. The Yellow Vests have announced that they are planning another round of national protests for this coming Saturday.

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Today, Thomas is in shock. Hes currently taking a break from work, away from Toulouse. The memory of the event haunts him. I felt totally dehumanized and humiliated, he says, and even feared for his life. Jean-Wilfrid Forques, a reporter for BFMTV, Frances most-watched news channel, who was with Thomas in Toulouse that day, told Le Monde that the bodyguards who evacuated him saved my life. When reached by CJR for comment, Forques declined to speak, saying that he fears for his safety and is currently under police protection.

The Yellow Vests, named after the neon yellow safety vests that all French drivers must keep in their cars, began to protest in mid-November when French President Emmanuel Macron announced a tax increase on diesel, the price of which had already increased by 23 percent since October 2017. To many French people, especially those living in rural areas where a car is essential, it was a move that brought immense anger. Since the demonstrations began, France has been faced with thousands of targeted blockades on streets, highways, and ports, causing massive traffic jams, hundreds of injuries and two deaths, and disrupting daily life around the country.

According to Isabelle Veyrat-Masson, a research director and media historian at the French National Center for Scientific Research, the Yellow Vests tense relationship with the media can be explained, in part, by the fact that this movement found its roots on social media. The debate around the referendum of the European Constitution in 2005 already showed a real split between a pro-Europe media world on one side and a stigmatized population that used the internet to debate and organize their protests, she says.

The primary target of this mistrust, according to Veyrat-Masson, is the TV channel BFM. The stations name has become synonymous with inaccurate and government-affiliated reporting for many of the Yellow Vests, who often use the hashtag #BFMacron on social media.

On November 17, during the first round of protests, a video from a regional news show of the public network France 3 went viral. It showed an anchor cutting a reporters broadcast just as she was about to mention instances of police violence towards the Yellow Vests in the Aquitaine region. The channel explained in several tweets that they had to cut the reporter because their programming was late and the national edition was about to start, but many protesters condemned the episode as proof of media censorship.

Many other journalists have been harassed in the course of the protests. In Pau, Gilets Jaunes protesters heckled journalist Franck Paillanave and interfered while he was broadcasting live for C LInfo. They were insulting us, starting with calling us collaborators, journalopes [a portmanteau of the French words for journalist and bitch], and BFMacron (a reference to BFM), he tells CJR. And then they got personal, telling me, Fuck your whore mom. Paillanave, whose mother died 3 years ago, immediately cut his live stream. That night, he says, I even thought about changing jobs in bed before going to sleep. I am passionate about this work though, and I dont really want to stop. But that was tough.

In the tiny island territory of Reunion, two men with scarves covering their faces tried to snatch Cynthia Verons microphone while she broadcast live. After her producer cut the live footage, one of the men said, Journalists do not tell the truth. They only spread misinformation. We will create our own alternative media. We do not need you. Brieuc Ghorchi, also on the island of Reunion, says demonstrators threw stones at him, even after he lowered the camera hed been using to film them.

Our journalists have been insulted and harassed. One reporter was spat on, Valerie Nataf, the Managing Editor of French news channel LCI, says. It was also very complicated for another reporter at Place de la Concorde in Pariswhere someone called out an anti-Semitic slurbut there was no physical violence apart from the spitting.

Perhaps the most disturbing episode happened in the city of Besancon, near the Swiss border. A freelance photographer, whose safety is still threatened, was badly beaten by a protester while covering the demonstration. While taking photographs of Yellow Vests, a man approached the photographer, used a racial slur, and told him to go home. Then he punched the photographer, fracturing his cheek bone in three places. [The aggressor] laughed as he walked away, Emma Audrey, a reporter for Media 25 who was working with the photographer who was attacked, says. He was quite proud of what he did. That was it! It was so quick. I didnt even have time to understand. (The photographer who was hit in Besancon had an operation on his jaw on Wednesday and is now recovering.)

ICYMI: Claims and counterclaims fly around Guardianscoop

A day after the November 17 protest, a group of journalists in Montpellier founded the Facebook group Payetoiunjournaliste (beat up a journalist) to respond to these incidents. Celine Durchon, a freelance journalist and a co-founder of the group, said We created this platform to track the number of incidents and aggressions done toward journalists but also to welcome critiques from people and re-establish a dialogue between reporters and citizens.

The group quickly grew in size, and was the target of trolling. Today it has around 3,500 membersof which, Durchon estimates, a little more than half are journalists.

Remy Buisine, who works for Brut, an online video outlet that publishes solely on social media, has not been demonized by the Yellow Vests. He and his outlet chose to cover the Paris protest on November 24 with an 11-hour livestream of what was happening before him, conversing with protesters and adding contextual information. Buisine said the smartphone he uses to broadcast,is far less intimidating than a TV camera. Its the tool the average person uses for him, another reason that he hasnt been singled out in the media-bashing.

Politics and politicians are the main contributors to the environment in which this violence is happening. For many years, the far left and far right movements have criticized journalism in France to rally supporters. But what is new is that now establishment parties are taking up this tactic, says Nicolas Hube, an associate professor of Political Science and political communication specialist at University Paris 1 Pantheon-Sorbonne. Strikingly, the four presidential candidates who, together, won 85 percent of the French electoral vote, have all, at some point, denounced the media.

As a response to the Yellow Vests, Sophia Chikirou, who directed communications for left-wing presidential candidate Jean-Luc Melenchon, said on Facebook, I cant feel any sincere compassion for these journalists. Their level of mental corruption, their lies, and the disinformation they impose on us are all things that justify anger. She then added, Avoid giving journalists a pretext to victimize themselvesdont harm them, dont talk to them, dont read or watch their work.

President Macron has condemned the violence against journalists in a tweet. However, shortly after his election in 2017, Macron said that journalists have a problem. Theyre interested way too much in themselves and not enough in the country.. On a train headed to Paris, Benjamin Griveaux, Macrons Government Spokesman, reportedly told a Vanity Fair France reporter, You, the press, are One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest in the 7th district of Paris.

Active members of the Gilets Jaunes have announced that a third round of protests will happen this Saturday. Stanislas de Saint Hippolyte, the editor in chief for French channel CNEWS, says that for future Gilets Jaunes protests, every team of his reporters will have at least one security agent as well as helmets, glasses, masks, and microphones without the CNEWS logo at their disposal. Security, he says, comes before everything else. Jean-Luc Thomas and the BFM crew, lead by Forques, have filed an official complaint with the police.



Thomas will likely not cover this round of protests in Toulouse. But hes firm about coming back in the future. Theres no question that I would stop covering this, he says. That would mean a victory for their violence.

ICYMI: ProPublica reporter calls out Washington Post for health story

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Martin Goillandeau and Makana Eyre are the authors. Martin Goillandeau is a French reporter from Lille who just graduated from the Columbia Journalism School. Before coming to the US, he covered the 2017 French election as a student in Paris. Martin has also worked for several TV and radio outlets in his home country. Makana Eyre is an American reporter based in Paris, France. He is a graduate of the Columbia Journalism School, where he was a fellow at the Stabile Center for Investigative Journalism. Makana works as a freelance correspondent for the Haitian Times, covering the Haitian diaspora in Europe.
A Massachusetts Appeals Court has ruled that Dielectrics, a Massachusetts-based medical device manufacturer, illegally fired Ileana Bermudez after she collected workers compensation benefits and filed a lawsuit against the company.

The case, Ileana Bermudez vs. Dielectrics, Inc., came about after Career Group Staffing Services Inc., a temporary employment agency, hired Bermudez and placed her at Dielectrics Chicopee, Mass., manufacturing facility.

On July 26, 2013, Bermudez was injured when Kevin Ramos, an employee working at the facility, negligently operated a forklift, causing several large metal sheets to fall on her right foot.

Bermudez suffered a fracture to her right foot as a result, and she could not work for about eight weeks. She filed a workers compensation claim that named Career Group as her employer and collected benefits from its insurer for medical bills and lost wages.

She was able to return to work at the facility in September 2013, and in December 2013, she was hired as a full-time employee. In July 2015, she filed a third-party action for negligence and respondeat superior against Dielectrics and Ramos. Dielectrics then terminated Bermudez in a notice.

It is important to Dielectrics that when we promote an employee to a supervisory position the employee has a belief in the [c]ompany and behave[s] with the [c]ompanys best interests at heart. Our supervisors need to support Dielectrics in that way so that we can entrust them to spread those same values to their subordinates.

When you sued Dielectrics after being compensated for your injury by workers compensation, we had little choice but to conclude that you dont believe in the company and dont have its best interests in mind, the notice stated, as referenced in the Appeals Court opinion. This adversely affects the department youve been entrusted to supervise and the company as a whole. As such, we have decided to terminate your employment effective immediately.

As a result, Bermudez brought an action against Dielectrics for retaliatory termination. A first judge ruled that Dielectrics wasnt an employer and couldnt be sued for retaliation but allowed Bermudez 20 days to file an amended complaint for wrongful termination in violation of public policy. Bermudez filed an amended complaint that added this public policy claim.

After Dielectrics moved to dismiss the amended complaint, however, Bermudez voluntarily dismissed her public policy claim and a second judge also dismissed her claim for retaliatory termination. Bermudez appealed, contending that the dismissal is erroneous because her third-party negligence claim is a right.

In his opinion regarding the appeal, Associate Justice James R. Lemire pointed to the Massachusetts workers compensation act, which provides wage-loss protection to employees who are injured on the job and incur a loss of earning capacity from the injury.

He stated in his opinion that prior to 1971, when an employee suffered from a work-related injury, she could choose either to file for benefits under the act or to file a third-party action for her injuries but could not do both. In 1971, a revised version of the act abolished the necessity for an election between filing a workers compensation claim and an action against a negligent third party.

In 1991, the act was amended again through the Workers Compensation Reform Act.

The language in the first sentence of the 1971 statute, abolishing the need for an election between remedies, remained the same for the 1991 statute, Lemire stated in his opinion. At the time of Bermudezs injury, an employee was entitled to pursue a third-party action against any person responsible for her injury after collecting benefits under the act.

Although Dielectrics argued that the right to sue for personal injury cannot be afforded by the act because it was created by common law, the Massachusetts Appeals Court disagreed, finding that Massachusetts law prohibits an employer from retaliating against its employee for exercising a right afforded by the act.

In Lemires opinion, he stated that without the 1971 amendment, Bermudez likely would not be able to sue Dielectrics for her injury because she already collected workers compensation from Career Group.

It would be unfair today to allow an employee to file both a workers compensation claim and a third-party action, yet only prevent the employer from terminating an employee for filing one claim but not the other, Lemire continued in his opinion.

As a result, the Massachusetts Appeals Court concluded that Bermudez exercised a right afforded by the act when she filed her third-party action against Dielectrics, and her amended complaint sets forth sufficient facts that Dielectrics termination of her employment was in retaliation for the third-party negligence suit. The judgment to dismiss her amended complaint was therefore vacated.
A malfunctioning sensor at the center of the investigation into the Oct. 29 crash of a Lion Air jetliner into the Java Sea wasnt repaired before the fatal flight even though it had failed on the planes previous trip, according to a preliminary investigative report.

A mechanic worked on other sensors and equipment during a night shift before the early morning departure, but not on the so-called angle-of-attack vane, according to Indonesias National Transportation Safety Committee. The investigators also asked Lion Air to take corrective steps to improve the safety culture as they released the report in Jakarta on Wednesday.

The report doesnt offer a cause for the accident that killed all 189 on board but provides the most detailed look so far into the chaotic minutes before the crash and into the steps that were taken to address malfunctions that occurred on the plane the previous night. On both flights, pilots reported that they had difficulty figuring out basic information such as speed and altitude.

The pilots on Flight 610, which plunged into the Java Sea more than 11 minutes after it took off from Jakarta, appeared not to understand what was happening to them as they radioed air traffic controllers asking for their altitude and speed. They said they had an unspecified flight control problems, according to the report.

Lion Air Director Zwingly Silalahi said the airline was still studying the safety recommendations made by the investigators in the report for implementation. Boeing said in a statement that its 737 Max series of jets are safe and it is working closely with investigators to assist the Indonesian probe.

The Boeing Co. 737 Max 8s angle-of-attack sensor, which measures how high or low the planes nose was pointed relative to the oncoming air, had malfunctioned on the previous flight as well as in the minutes before the crash, according to the report. The sensor erroneously concluded the nose was pointed too high and the aircraft was in danger of losing lift, prompting a stall warning in the cockpit and triggering safety software that attempted to put them into a dive.

The two sets of pilots reacted differently to the multiple errors messages and malfunctions. On the previous flight, the pilots were able to shut off the motor that was trying to push down the nose relatively soon after taking off.

For reasons that havent been explained, the pilots on Flight 610 didnt take that step  which is part of a long-standing emergency procedure. The planes crash-proof cockpit recorder hasnt been recovered, so investigators dont have much insight into what they were thinking as they responded to the emergency.

Boeing is taking every measure to fully understand all aspects of this accident, working closely with the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board as technical advisers to support the NTSC as the investigation continues, the aircraft maker said in a statement.

Earlier this month the manufacturer issued a bulletin to operators of the Max reminding them that such a cascade of failures could be addressed by an existing emergency procedure. The manufacturer has said its confident in the safety of the latest version of its 737 model.

Earlier Flight

On the Oct. 28 flight that landed safely in Jakarta, the captain told investigators that he scanned cockpit instruments and determined that the copilots readings matched a third standby system and were accurate. He turned over control of the plane to the copilot.

By contrast, the captain on the flight that crashed radioed a controller about a minute before the plane disappeared from radar to say that all of the planes altitude gauges were different and they couldnt determine how high they were.

Investigators will focus on how the airline performed maintenance on the plane.

The captain on the Oct. 28 flight reported problems with speed and altitude readings and with a system called Feel Differential Pressure, which controls the force pilots need to push or pull the control column that raises and lowers the nose, according to the report. There was no indication that the angle of attack sensor was malfunctioning.

An angle of attack sensor had been replaced and tested just before the Oct. 28 flight. According to flight data from the plane, the sensor on the left was reading about 20 degrees differently from the one on the right.

On both flights, a device known as a stick shaker  a warning that the wings are about to lose lift, which vibrates the control column and also makes a loud thumping noise  was activated shortly after takeoff for the captain but not the copilot, according to the data. It was triggered by the faulty sensor.

It also triggered safety software newly added to the Max. The Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System is designed to ensure the wings dont lose lift, which is known as an aerodynamic stall. It was programmed to automatically lower the nose and was doing so for most of the 11-minute flight even though the plane was not close to stalling.

The pilots on the flight that crashed responded by hitting a switch on their control column that temporarily raised the nose, but it only stopped the MCAS temporarily. They apparently never shut off the motor activating the movement as the pilots did on the previous flight.

Indonesian authorities met with passenger families Tuesday in Bangka and Jakarta to provide a snapshot of preliminary findings. Those who attended the briefing say it didnt indicate a cause for the crash.

There was no explanation related to Boeing, said Ari Priawan, whose brother, sister-in-law and their child were on board Flight 610.

Investigators say they hope to resume the search for the planes voice data recorder when equipment is obtained. A ship that can hold its position in one spot without casting anchor is needed because of the presence of many gas pipelines in the area, said Nurcahyo Utomo, the lead investigator.

The search for the cockpit voice recorder will resume, Utomo said. We are hoping to start this week and will put in our maximum efforts.

Copyright 2021 Bloomberg.
Bernard Haufiku has every reason to beam. The Namibian Minister of Health is in Amsterdam to announce that despite his country's vast deserts, ethnic and linguistic diversity, variable roads and modest rural health facilities, Namibia is the latest nation to bring a devastating AIDS epidemic under control.

This week, roughly 15,000 scientists, activists, policy-makers and even a few celebrities have converged on Amsterdam for the 22nd International AIDS Conference. This year's scientific findings include remarkably good news: nearly 22 million people are now on lifesaving treatment and new HIV infections are decreasing in several of the hardest hit countries, including Namibia.

But it's not time to celebrate yet. In a report released this week, UNAIDS acknowledges the progress achieved but also notes that the response is lagging in some regions. As a result, the worldwide decrease in new HIV infections is not on track to meet 2020 targets.

At the same time, the United States, the largest donor to the AIDS response, is in the midst of a political swing towards isolationism. For the past two years, the Trump administration has proposed unprecedented $1 billion cuts to the US AIDS response program, PEPFAR. Congress rejected these cuts and maintained flat funding for PEPFAR, but the threat persists. If the US steps back from its leadership role in this effort, it will put the world at risk for a dangerous resurgence just when the end of the epidemic is within reach.

As Haufiku said, Namibia's rate of new HIV infections has declined by 50% compared to the 2012 UNAIDS estimate. The decrease in new infections is largely driven by the dramatic scale-up of HIV treatment funded by PEPFAR and other partners, including The Global Fund for AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. By suppressing the amount of virus circulating in the body of a person living with HIV, this treatment prevents not only sickness and death, but also HIV transmission.

UNAIDS projects that if 73% of people living with HIV are on effective treatment that limits the amount of virus in their body by 2020, and that level is maintained for ten years, we would see the end of the AIDS epidemic as a global health threat by 2030. Namibia has exceeded this target with 77% of adults living with HIV virally suppressed.

South Africa, the country with the largest number of people living with HIV, and Swaziland, the country with the highest HIV prevalence, have both announced a 44% decrease in new HIV infections over the last 5 years. Swaziland has also achieved the 73% goal for viral suppression.

These figures make the global AIDS response one of the most effective humanitarian interventions of all time. For 15 years, the US has played an admirable leadership role through PEPFAR. Of the 22 million people on treatment worldwide, PEPFAR supports over 14 million. That's 14 million people who would be dead or dying otherwise.

PEPFAR's yearly budget of approximately $6 billion represents a generous commitment from the American people that has set the bar for other countries. However, when compared to other line items in the U.S. budget, such as $686 billion in military spending, PEPFAR also represents excellent value for money in terms of humanitarian impact and soft power.

While an end to the epidemic is coming into view, the battle is not yet won, and near victory could turn to renewed tragedy.

Despite improvement in the overall population, HIV is still spreading rapidly among young people, especially young women. At the same time, populations key to the epidemic -- such as gay and bisexual men and people who inject drugs -- also face a high risk of infection and uneven access to services.

In order to expand treatment to nearly 37 million people living with HIV and reduce new infections to zero, we need to increase financial support and intensify programming.

Instead, we face a funding crisis. The UNAIDS report notes that there is a 20% shortfall against the funding they project is required to meet the 2020 targets for epidemic control, and it could get worse.

Continued U.S. commitment to the AIDS response is critical for multiple reasons. With the US contributing eight times as much as the second leading donor, the United Kingdom, even a small percentage change in US support would be deeply felt. Additionally, if the U.S. were to decrease funding significantly for the AIDS response, other countries may follow suit in a domino effect that could lead to a deadly resurgence of HIV around the world.

Already, analysis by the Kaiser Family Foundation has found that eight of the 14 countries that provide international funding for AIDS decreased their support last year. These 8 countries include Australia, Denmark, Germany, Ireland, Japan, the Netherlands, Norway and Sweden. This may reflect the influence of inward-looking politics on development assistance overall. It may also reflect the resource pressures of the migration and refugee crises in Europe.

The evidence is clear: it is possible to prevent and treat HIV/AIDS at large scale -- even in low-resource contexts. We have the technologies and approaches to do it. We just need the political will to deliver on the promise of an AIDS-free generation.

Elizabeth Radin is the technical director for the Population-based HIV Impact Assessment Program at ICAP at Columbia University. The program receives technical and financial support from PEPFAR (the US President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief) through the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The views expressed in this commentary are her own.
A New York City woman who suffered a severe arm injury while protesting the Dakota Access oil pipeline in North Dakota two years ago is suing law enforcement even though she does not yet have evidence that might help her prove law officers were to blame.

Sophia Wilansky was injured during a violent November 2016 clash between protesters and police during the unsuccessful months-long protest in North Dakota against the $3.8 billion pipeline that began carrying oil to Illinois in June 2017.

Wilansky, who was 21 at the time, suffered a left arm injury in an explosion and has since had five surgeries. Protesters allege the blast was caused by a concussion grenade thrown by officers, but police maintain it was caused by a propane canister that protesters rigged to explode. The cause is still unknown, and no one has been charged in the blast despite a criminal investigation.

She sued the federal government in February, seeking access to shrapnel and clothing taken from her while she was hospitalized. Her attorney at the time and her father, Wayne Wilansky, both told The Associated Press that she wanted the evidence to bolster an excessive force lawsuit she planned to eventually file against police.

A federal judge in August rejected the request, saying in part that Wilansky didnt have a good argument for why she couldnt file a civil lawsuit without the seized property.

Wilansky on Nov. 19 sued law enforcement officials and Morton County for alleged excessive force, assault, negligence, emotional distress and defamation. The lawsuit seeks millions of dollars in damages.

One of Wilanskys attorneys, Benjamin Stoll, declined comment on whether they will seek the shrapnel and clothing through the discovery process, in which attorneys exchange evidence. Calls to Wayne Wilansky were not answered.

She alleges that an unknown law officer threw a flashbang device directly at her, and that officers laughed rather than helped her as she lay on the ground in agony after the explosion. She says law enforcement later made untrue and defamatory statements about her injury.

Despite enduring numerous painful surgeries to save her arm from amputation and a grueling ongoing rehabilitation, Sophia still has almost no feeling in or ability to use her left hand and forearm, another of her attorneys, Edward Barnidge, said in court documents. She is disabled and disfigured, and she will likely remain so permanently.

Law enforcement hasnt commented on the lawsuit or responded in court. U.S. Magistrate Judge Charles Miller has given defendants until Jan. 22 to do so. Defense attorney Randall Bakke has successfully asked to have a gruesome photo of Wilanskys injury that accompanied the complaint sealed from public view, saying it could inflame people and possibly taint a jury pool.

Copyright 2021 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
To all the world, it looked like breast implants were safe. From 2008 to 2015, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration publicly reported 200 or so complaints annually  a tiny fraction of the hundreds of thousands of implant surgeries performed each year.

Then last fall, something strange happened: Thousands of problems with breast implants flooded the FDAs system. More than 4,000 injury reports filed in the last half of 2017. Another 8,000 in the first six months of 2018.

Suddenly, women like Jamee Cook had evidence suggesting their suffering might be linked to their breast implants. An emergency room paramedic, Cook had quit her job because of a vague but persistent array of health problems that stretched over a decade, including exhaustion, migraines, trouble focusing and an autoimmune disorder diagnosis.

Why had it taken so long for complaints like hers to see the light of day?

Makers of breast implants were required to track patients and their health. But for more than a decade, manufacturers with high numbers of recurring problems  in the case of implants, ruptures that required surgery to remove  were allowed to report issues in bulk, with one report standing in for thousands of individual cases and no way for the public to discern the true volume of incidents.

That agreement stood even as the FDA began closely monitoring a rare type of cancer and acknowledged in 2011 that it might be linked to breast implants.

It looked like these devices had become safer, but they hadnt, Cook told The Associated Press. The data was hidden. Its a deceptive practice.

Once Cooks textured saline implants were removed, she said the majority of her symptoms disappeared. Her experiences prompted her to become a patient safety advocate, lobbying lawmakers and organizing groups of women online who have concerns about breast implants.

Public health advocates whove watched the debate over breast implant safety rage for nearly three decades say summary reporting is yet another way that information about the devices has been elusive for patients.

They were told those devices were safe  the FDA would go back and say `We only have this many reports, said Madris Tomes, a former FDA staffer who founded a company to analyze medical device reports. But data was coming in another way that wasnt public. It leaves the patients demoralized  they dont understand how many other people are suffering.

The data came to light after the FDA instructed manufacturers in mid-2017 to go back and file individual reports in each case of patient injury, in response to a lawyers discovery that reports from his clients werent represented in the agencys data. Patient advocates took up the issue, complaining about a lack of transparency and voicing concerns about a host of autoimmune problems they believed stemmed from their implants.

But even as the FDA was dealing with the problems of how breast implant manufacturers had used summary reporting, the agency was moving to expand device makers flexibility in how they report problems, saying it was trying to reduce the industrys paperwork requirements.

This August, the agency began allowing roughly 90 percent of all medical devices  including all breast implants and more than 160 types of other high-risk implanted devices like artificial hips and replacement heart valves  to report malfunctions in a quarterly tally, instead of individually. They will not be able to report cases involving deaths or injuries that way, however.

The FDA rejected claims that expanding summary reporting could harm public health by making problems with devices less transparent, saying the plan will also yield benefits. such as helping FDA process malfunction reports more efficiently and helping both FDA and the public more readily identify malfunction trends.

FDA officials also said that the agency has closely monitored the breast implant industry in the past decade and issued updates about potential risks.

Two of the largest breast implant manufacturers, Mentor and Allergan, said they stood behind the safety of their products, citing years of studies that have led to inconclusive evidence that autoimmune problems are linked to breast implants.

Our medical devices undergo extensive laboratory testing before they are submitted to government health experts for a science-based review, Mentor spokeswoman Mindy Tinsley said. Many of our devices undergo careful reviews by not just one, but multiple regulatory bodies around the world.

Still, it can be hard for breast implant patients and advocates to track problems that do arise.

Insurance claims make no mention of the specific device or model implanted in a patient, and patients electronic health records arent required to record that either. In addition, products sold overseas can be renamed or carry a different model number, making international recalls or tracking across borders nearly impossible.

Meanwhile, the FDAs main database on medical device problems, which requires manufacturers to report patient deaths and serious injuries to the government within 30 days, relies on hand-typed entries from a variety of people  from patients to device manufacturers  to help track troubled products. That can lead to underreporting, along with missing and flawed data.

Tomes said accurate, complete and publicly accessible data is crucial to identifying problems quickly and making sure devices are safe. The FDA numbers, she said, offer the lowest possible count of reports about problems with breast implants.

You can assume that the numbers are probably much, much higher, she said.

A Duke University report funded by the FDA in 2016 found that even though the agency collected data on device malfunctions for more than two decades, reliably and efficiently tracking the medical device safety and effectiveness outcomes of most interest to patients remains a generally unfulfilled promise that significantly affects the public health.

Insurers, auto buyers and regulators all use a cars VIN number to track a vehicles history, down to the line it was manufactured on at a specific factory, and the FDAs own pharmaceutical drug oversight works similarly. But medical devices didnt have a similar unique identifier until 2015, and many of the least-risky devices wont put an ID into use until 2020. On top of that, experts say it could be years before their use is required in patient records, on insurance claims and in the FDAs own data.

What are the most common makes and models of breast implants reported as having caused injury? The FDAs answer is still quite often Unknown.

The FDA requires manufacturers and medical facilities to file a report when any kind of medical device causes serious injury, death or malfunctions.

The resulting database  called MAUDE, for Manufacturer and User Facility Device Experience  is available online to the public, so consumers can search for a device type, manufacturer, the details of an incident and the date on which it occurred. That is, if the forms are filled out properly.

But categories often are left blank, with no indication of the model or who submitted the report. And device names and manufacturers also are often misspelled, making it nearly impossible for users to find all the reports of problems with a specific device or company. For example, the data contains roughly 2,000 variations of the name Medtronic plc, one of the worlds largest medical device manufacturers.

Overall, the MAUDE data contains reports of more than 1.7 million injuries and nearly 83,000 deaths over the past 10 years for all types of medical devices, according to an analysis of FDA data by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, which collaborated with the AP on a global investigation of medical device safety.

But in looking at problems with the MAUDE data, the investigation found an additional 2,100 cases in the past five years where people died but their deaths were misclassified as malfunctions or injuries. Of those, 220 deaths could be directly linked to medical device failure; the other reports did not include enough information to determine conclusively if the device played a role.

Beyond the misclassified data, FDA inspections at 17 hospitals in 2015 and 2016 found that only a fraction of adverse events were even being reported anyway. The review  which included major facilities in Los Angeles, New York, Boston and Chicago  found more than half failed to report deaths of patients with medical devices, as required by the agencys rules. Jeffrey Shuren, the head of the FDAs device division, said at the time that underreporting problems from hospitals was widespread. The agency enhanced compliance training for hospital employees nationwide as a result.

Part of the problem, advocates say, is that the FDAs guidelines for reporting problem devices is vague  the agency states that reports are required from manufacturers within 30 days of an event when evidence reasonably suggests that a device was involved, allowing companies to make their own judgments.

S. Lori Brown, now a retired FDA senior researcher, used MAUDE for years in her studies of breast implants, ruptures and possible links to rare forms of cancer and a host of autoimmune disorders.

Its a difficult database to use, because theres no good way to confirm whats reported, and theres no denominator  you dont know how many people have received breast implants, Brown said. The MAUDE database was just not very helpful in finding out how frequently things happened or how severe the impact was.

Where it was helpful, she said, was in gathering patient stories and seeing general trends. In the 1990s, even as manufacturers claimed breast implants were durable enough to be run over by a car without breaking, MAUDE showed silicone implants leaking gel into thousands of womens bodies.

As a signal, it was a burning bush, for sure, Brown said. Because there were so many reports of ruptured implants from every manufacturer.

After the FDA removed silicone breast implants from the market in 1992, the public attention around ruptures and leaks resulted in a huge spike in the number reports about problems. During the 1990s, silicone implants represented the third-highest number of adverse events reports in MAUDE. At the time, the data show patients also complained about other symptoms, with hundreds of reports about chronic fatigue, headaches, autoimmune problems and fibromyalgia.

In 2006, silicone implants returned to the market, under the requirement that companies track patients for at least a decade. Although more than half the women dropped out of the studies within the first two years, researchers at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston released a study this September using the data the companies did collect and found that certain rare health problems  including immune system and connective tissue disorders  might be more common with silicone gel implants. The FDA, which mandated the original data collection, later criticized the study, citing inconsistencies in the data.

Last year, the FDA did confirm a link between breast implants, particularly textured saline or silicone models, and anaplastic large cell lymphoma  a rare cancer documented in only a few hundred cases.

On its website, the FDA also noted more common problems with implants, such as ruptures, which can send silicone gel throughout the body. And the agency warned that implants are not lifetime devices, but will likely need to be removed or replaced at some point.

The return of silicone implants, which advocates say feel more natural, has fueled a surge in surgeries. The American Society of Plastic Surgeons reported 400,000 procedures took place in 2017, up nearly 40 percent since 2000.

More than three-quarters of the implant surgeries were for cosmetic, not reconstructive, reasons. And there were about 20 percent fewer removals compared to 2000, the data show.

The increase in implants worries Diana Zuckerman, a medical researcher who was a congressional staffer during the earliest contentious House hearings on breast implant safety. She said poorly performed studies, research funded directly by manufacturers and the lack of data have left most women in the dark about the risks involved.

Somehow, its the most studied device and we have almost no useful information about it, said Zuckerman, the president of the National Center for Health Research, a nonprofit think tank that performs its own research, assesses the quality of others research and works with patients.

Zuckermans center reviewed more than 20 studies it says has been used by the industry to claim there is no evidence breast implants cause connective tissue problems and other long-term illnesses. She said almost all the studies were too small to detect rare diseases and conditions, only one required that participants have a medical exam and most didnt focus on patients who had implants long enough for problems to develop.

In September, Cook and 19 other breast implant patients-turned-health-advocates visited Washington to lobby the FDA for more stringent regulation, testing and reporting on breast implants. Among their requests  that all types of textured implants, which are more closely associated with lymphoma, be banned from the market, and that manufacturers be required to disclose the chemicals in silicone implants shell and gel filling, which the makers claim is a trade secret.

The FDA has scheduled an advisory committee hearing for early 2019 on breast implant safety to address some of the U.S. groups concerns and determine whether additional actions are needed to protect public health. The agency did not rule out the possibility of including a black box warning, the notification it puts on its most dangerous devices to draw attention to serious risks.

However, the FDA said in a statement: The agency continues to believe that the weight of the currently available scientific evidence does not conclusively demonstrate an association between breast implants and connective tissue diseases.

Cook, who leads several breast implant groups on Facebook from her home near Dallas, said she chose to get her implants, but did so with almost no information on the potential dangers.

If you had sat down with me and said `this is the list of chemicals youre about to put in your body and you could get lymphoma, no way in hell I would have done it, she said.

Her implants, a textured saline model made by Poly Implant Prothese of France, were used in the U.S. for four years before the FDA implemented more stringent standards for breast implant approval in 2000. Under the new rules, the FDA denied the companys application to sell implants in the U.S. after officials toured the companys French plant and cited 11 major deficiencies in quality control and manufacturing practices.

Poly Implant went bankrupt in 2010 after doctors in France noted abnormally high rupture rates of the implants, which were found to be filled with industrial-grade gel. The companys president was found guilty of aggravated fraud, and French authorities advised tens of thousands of women to get their implants removed as a precautionary measure.

Cook, 41, said she and others who already had the saline implants never were warned of the FDAs actions.

Im not going to sit back and be embarrassed about my decision when I can try to change the way that the future is going to occur for women younger than me, she said. We need to make sure were giving that patient the most safe device we possibly can. And above that, we need to make sure she understands what the risks are before she makes that choice.

The FDA may now require an identifying number on medical devices, but Zuckerman and other advocates note one big issue with the code associated with breast implants: The number is not actually stamped on the implant itself, but on the packaging.

For the most part, these devices dont cause immediate problems  they cause problems later, Zuckerman said. What good does it do to have these numbers if theyre not in your medical records and they arent on the implant itself?

The unique device identifier, or UDI, is intended to help standardize device names and manufacturer information and make it easier to track devices to help in recall efforts and analyses of problems.

But that doesnt work if the codes arent in the FDAs own database. Tomes, whose company Device Events analyzes MAUDE data, said UDIs are still rarely included in adverse event reports and, even when they are, often are removed from the public data so they cant be used to identify specific devices.

The whole point of having a UDI is so that hospitals and providers and insurance companies and anyone else would be able to say Im seeing a pattern, its all this serial number, Tomes said. But its redacted.

Similarly, Tomes and others say the FDAs expansion of summary reporting and its use of device registries  databases funded and maintained by outside organizations to track a singular specific device  may ultimately make less data available to consumers.

This fall, the agency announced a breast implant registry run through the Plastic Surgery Foundation that will collect patient and device data  including UDI numbers for breast implants  and allow surgeons to track patients medical history, complications and follow-up surgeries.

The participation of plastic surgeons in the registry is voluntary, and patients also can opt out. Doctors and researchers will have access to the collected data, but the public will not.

As the FDA weighed its expansion of the summary reporting program earlier this year, Cook and a dozen other patients with medical device problems, along with the patient-advocacy group Public Citizen, urged the agency to rethink its plan.

But the FDA sided with manufacturers and industry organizations, which had asked for easier reporting requirements for malfunctions, freeing them in some cases from filing tens of thousands of individual reports a year. Under the new rules now in place, roughly 90 percent of devices can report malfunctions quarterly.

Thousands on thousands of consumers are harmed every single year by medical devices and we are discussing making it easier to hide the information that we need to make an informed decision, Cook wrote in her dissent to the plan.

While the goal is not to `hide the data, she wrote, in essence that is what is happening.

(AP Health Writer Matthew Perrone contributed to this story.)

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The governor of Puerto Rico overhauled the U.S. territorys insurance laws on Tuesday to help protect policyholders as thousands of claims remain unresolved more than a year after Hurricane Maria.

Gov. Ricardo Rossello signed six laws into effect as he stressed that his administration was not pleased with how insurance companies handled complaints filed after the Category 4 storm hit.

Loiza, PR, September 21, 2017  This home in Loiza was destroyed by the strong winds brought by Hurricane Maria. The category 4 hurricane tore through Puerto Rico on September 20, 2017. Yuisa Rios/FEMA

One law now requires insurance companies to start making partial payments under certain conditions shortly after a state of emergency is declared. Another creates special courtrooms with expert judges to solve appraisal disagreements via mediation, a first for Puerto Rico. All decisions reached during mediation will be binding but can be appealed in court. A third law sharpens the types of actions officials can take against insurance companies if they do not resolve cases promptly or act improperly.

This is a historic moment, Javier Rivera, who oversees the Office of the Insurance Commissioner of Puerto Rico, said in a phone interview. It transforms how insurance companies will respond in a catastrophic event.

Another law will for the first time create micro insurance to help low-income people on an island of 3.3 million inhabitants with a poverty rate of nearly 45 percent. Additional new laws required that each insurance company have a written emergency response plan that has to be certified annually by the government, and that a company pay the cost of an audit if its required. A final law states that qualifying businesses can use surplus line insurers if at least three other companies decline partial or full cover.

Thiswill result in considerable savings to our policyholders, who in many cases have seen unsustainable increases in their premiums, Rossello said.

Hurricane Maria caused more than an estimated $100 billion in damage when it hit on Sept. 20, 2017, destroying Puerto Ricos power grid and forcing businesses to remain closed for months. Overall, it was the most expensive catastrophe for the insurance industry last year, with losses amounting to $32 billion, higher than Hurricanes Irma and Harvey, according to a report from Swiss Re, a reinsurance company based in Switzerland.

More than 287,000 claims were filed, and of those, nearly 11,000 claims representing a total of nearly $2 billion have not been resolved, Rivera said. Insurance companies struggled after the storm, including Real Legacy, which folded. The number of claims that went unanswered or unpaid also prompted the government to file a lawsuit against several companies to prevent them from dropping claims because they have allegedly expired. The lawsuits also seek $2.6 billion in damages for those who have not been compensated.

Iraelia Pernas, executive director of Puerto Ricos Association of Insurance Companies, said by phone that no one was prepared for the level of disaster that Maria caused, and that the unresolved cases are the most complex ones and involve mostly government agencies and large businesses. She also praised the new laws.

We think its a good initiative, she said. God willing we dont have to test it.

Copyright 2021 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Kosta Karakashyan is a talented artist devoted to social justice and LGBT rights.

The New York choreographer is fighting for the vulnerable in the hostile region of the Russian Federation. He intends to win over hearts and minds through film.

Karakashyan produced Waiting For Color  a documentary dance film about the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Chechnya. LGBT Refugees from Chechnya have told Karakashyan the film captures their experience completely.

That was so reaffirming to me, Karakashyan said in a telephone interview last week from New York.

Karakashyan performs ballet to the words of Chechnyan refugees as described in government police reports and articles in Novaya Gazette, a Russian newspaper. He swiftly moves around an empty city loft spaces as whispers of violence eerily recite the persecution in Chechnya.

The short film (6:25) got its first film festival entry at Emory University in Atlanta and will air on a television station in Germany next month.

Its been getting a lot of different coverage that Im really excited about, Karakashyan said.

The film is a direct, albeit artistic, response to last years gay purge by the Chechnya government, led by President Ramzan Kadyrov. The Russian state is accused of abducting, torturing and killing hundreds of gay men. Chechnya is a largely Islamic country and Kadyrov maintains strong relations with Russian President Vladimir Putin, said Mishko Miloan, a journalist who has reported in Russia.

Broken down into three scenes  surveillance, torture and contemplation,Waiting For Coloris a shockingly dramatic expression. It was shot and edited by Kevin Chiu with Jude Icarus providing sound and music. Voice actors Venya Gushchin and Ksenia Voronkova read the chilling accounts. Photography by Miles Rixon and sound mixing by Andro Mathewson.

Waiting For Color recently announced a partnership with LGBT World Beside, an international group advocating for peace. Karakashyan said there is much work to be done.

Its overwhelming where to start dismantling it, Karakashyan said when asked about the global crusade. We have to reduce the amount of violence and take it from there.
AKRON, Ohio - Summit County Health and its partners have so far this year collected 8,000 pounds of unwanted pills for disposal in their efforts to combat opiate overdose deaths in Summit County, officials announced at a Thursday briefing.

A similar effort last year collected 9,000 pounds of pills, not counting the weight of the containers, said Dr. Doug Smith, chief clinical officer of Summit County's Alcohol, Drug Addiction & mental Health Service Board.

Summit Health called the briefing to report on an array of services implemented through the Opiate & Addiction task Force, a partnership of more than 600 local and state agencies working to bring down the number of opiate overdose deaths.

In 2016, Summit Health Department received a $1.6 million grant from the Ohio Department of Health through the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Since then, grants have totaled more than $2.5 million to fight overdose deaths through several efforts, said Summit Health Commissioner Donna Skoda.

Groups have distributed free naloxone, a life-saving remedy administered during an overdose, and programs have been established to get users into treatment. Officials also have worked to deter doctors from prescribing opiates in the first place, she said.

D.U.M.P. boxes have been set up at locations such as police stations for disposal of unwanted medication and more than 3,000 Deterra Drug Deactivation bags, which dissolve pills and render them safe for residential trash disposal, have been distributed around the county, she said.

The ADM Board has established an addiction helpline that can get opiate users immediate assistance by calling 330-940-1133. A residential-treatment setting has been so effective it no longer has a waiting list for beds, Smith said.

As a result, Summit County opiate overdose deaths have dropped from 313 in 2016 to 100 so far this year, Smith said.

Smith contrasted how opiates are prescribed today as opposed to how pain was treated in 1995. Back then, patients were more likely to be prescribed rest and Tylenol for sprains and other injuries, he said, which is a scenario the partners want to see the health-care industry return to.

However, the opiate abuse is still considered an epidemic in Summit County, he said

According to ODR Director Lance Hines, progress is being made statewide as well.

Opiate prescriptions dispensed in Ohio declined by 225 million doses between 2012 and 2017. In 2017, overdose deaths from prescription opiates not involving fentanyl declined for the third straight year.

However, prescription opiates were involved in 523 deaths in Ohio last year, he said. And opiates are considered a gateway for heroin and fentanyl.

As opiate use declines, the state is seeing a rise in the number of overdoses in cocaine and methamphetamines, Hines said.

Naloxone has been successful in Summit County in saving lives during overdoses, and many people come back to the health department for refills, Skoda said.

The Summit Health offers clinics to train individuals or groups on how to use the life-saving remedy. Clinics are from 3 to 6 p.m. on Thursdays at 1867 West Market St. in Akron and from 3 to 6 p.m. on Wednesdays at the clinic at 1400 South Arlington St. in Akron.

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ORANGE, Ohio -- Missing person, Orange Place: A reportedly despondent Pennsylvania man remained missing Nov. 29 after his disappearance from the area before Thanksgiving.

Thomas Short, 55, of Malvern, located outside of Philadelphia, is believed to have arrived in Orange around Nov. 18, with arrangements to meet for a family dinner on Nov. 22.

"There is no evidence of foul play at this time. However, Mr. Short may be depressed about personal matters," a Nov. 24 press release from the Orange Police Department stated.

Family members contacted police on Nov. 23. Short's 2018 Honda HRV was found in the parking lot at the Hampton Inn, covered in snow that was believed to have accumulated from the storm two days earlier.

Short had booked a room at the Hampton from Nov. 21 to Nov. 25, but never showed up inside, management said.

Inside his car, police and family members found his phone, a packed suitcase and backpack, some groceries, as well as personal effects, prompting officers to canvass nearby wooded and secluded areas, but turning up no clues.

A search of his travel history showed that after flying back up from a professional conference in Florida on Nov. 17, he had gotten his car and driven from Malvern to Beachwood, then to the Hampton Inn.

Short's financial records showed no transactions after Nov. 18.

Police spoke with a colleague believed to have seen him last at the Florida conference, where he had outlined the same holiday itinerary and appeared to be very depressed about it.

The colleague said that Short was upset about having to tell family members that he was going through a divorce.

Anyone with information is asked to contact The Orange Village Police Department at 440-247-7321.

If you would like to discuss the police blotter, please visit our crime and courts comments page.
Scientists using data from NASA's Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope have measured all the starlight produced over 90 percent of the universe's history.

The analysis, which examines the gamma-ray output of distant galaxies, estimates the formation rate of stars and provides a reference for future missions that will explore the still-murky early days of stellar evolution.

"Stars create most of the light we see and synthesize most of the universe's heavy elements, like silicon and iron," said lead scientist Marco Ajello, an astrophysicist at Clemson University in South Carolina. "Understanding how the cosmos we live in came to be depends in large part on understanding how stars evolved."

A paper describing the new starlight measurement appears in the Nov. 30 issue of Science and is now available online.

One of the main goals of the Fermi mission, which celebrated its 10th anniversary in orbit this year, was to assess the extragalactic background light (EBL), a cosmic fog composed of all the ultraviolet, visible and infrared light stars have created over the universe's history. Because starlight continues to travel across the cosmos long after its sources have burned out, measuring the EBL allows astronomers to study stellar formation and evolution separately from the stars themselves.

"This is an independent confirmation of previous measurements of star-formation rates," said David Thompson, Fermi's deputy project scientist at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. "In astronomy, when two completely independent methods give the same answer, that usually means we're doing something right. In this case we're measuring star formation without looking at stars at all but by observing gamma rays that have traveled across the cosmos."

Gamma rays are the highest-energy form of light. They are so energetic, in fact, that their interactions with starlight have unusual consequences. "When the right frequencies of light collide, they can convert into matter through Albert Einstein's famous equation E=mc2," said co-author Alberto Dominguez, an astrophysicist at Complutense University of Madrid.

The collision between a high-energy gamma ray and infrared light, for example, transforms the energy into a pair of particles, an electron and its antimatter counterpart, a positron. The same process occurs when medium-energy gamma rays interact with visible light, and low-energy gamma rays interact with ultraviolet light. Fermi's ability to detect gamma rays across a wide range of energies makes it uniquely suited for mapping the EBL spectrum. Enough of these interactions occur over cosmic distances that the farther back scientists look, the more evident their effects become on gamma-ray sources, enabling a deep probe of the universe's stellar content.

The scientists, led by Vaidehi Paliya, a postdoctoral researcher in Ajello's group at Clemson, examined gamma-ray signals from 739 blazars -- galaxies with monster black holes at their centers -- collected over nine years by Fermi's Large Area Telescope (LAT). The measurement quintuples the number of blazars used in an earlier Fermi EBL analysis published in 2012 and includes new calculations of how the EBL builds over time, revealing the peak of star formation around 10 billion years ago.

The new EBL measurement also provides important confirmation of previous estimates of star formation from missions that analyze many individual sources in deep galaxy surveys, like the Hubble Space Telescope. These types of surveys, however, often miss fainter stars and galaxies and cannot account for star formation that takes place in intergalactic space. These missing contributions must be estimated during each survey's analysis.

The EBL, though, includes starlight from all sources and avoids these problems. The Fermi result therefore provides independent confirmation that measurements using deep galaxy surveys properly account for their biases. It can also help guide future surveys from missions like the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST).

"One of Webb's primary objectives is to unravel what happened in the first billion years after the big bang," said co-author Kari Helgason, an astrophysicist at the University of Iceland. "Our work places important new limits on the amount of starlight we can expect to see in those first billion years -- a largely unexplored epoch in the universe -- and provides a benchmark for future studies."

Reference:

"A Gamma-Ray Determination of the Universe's Star Formation History," Fermi-LAT Collaboration, 2018 Nov. 30, Science [http://science.sciencemag.org/content/362/6418/1031, related perspective: http://science.sciencemag.org/content/362/6418/995].

The Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope is an astrophysics and particle physics partnership managed by NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. Fermi was developed in collaboration with the U.S. Department of Energy, with important contributions from academic institutions and partners in France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Sweden and the United States.

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CLEVELAND, Ohio  The citys Department of Public Health will offer free vaccinations for Hepatitis A at its health clinics in response to a spike in the number of cases reported in 2018.

Free vaccinations will be offered at the following times at the health departments two health centers:

McCafferty Health Center, 4242 Lorain Avenue:

Every Monday from 8 to 11 a.m.

The first, second and fourth Wednesday of the month from 8 to 11 a.m. and 1 to 4 p.m.

The second and fourth Thursday of the month from 4 to 7 p.m.

J. Glen Smith Health Center, 11100 St. Clair Avenue:

The second and fourth Tuesday of the months from 4 to 7 p.m.

Thursdays from 8 to 11 a.m.

The vaccine will also be available at the upcoming Homeless Stand Down, scheduled for Jan. 12 in Cleveland Public Auditorium.

Thirteen cases of the contagious liver disease were reported from January to November in 2018 in Cleveland, according to the health department. Thats an increase of 117 percent over the same period in 2017.

Hepatitis A is most commonly spread by the ingestion of food or water contaminated by feces or by oral contact with contaminated objects. Most infections result from contact with an infected household member or a sexual partner, according to the health department.

Hepatitis A cannot be spread through coughing or sneezing.

Symptoms of the virus include fatigue, abdominal pain, nausea, fever, jaundiced skin, dark urine, pale stool and joint pain. The infection can last from a few weeks to several months.

People infected with the virus can spread it to others starting one to two weeks before symptoms even appear.

More information about hepatitis A is available via the Centers for Disease Control.

Individuals can limit the risk of the hepatitis A infection and the potential infection of others by getting vaccinated and washing hands frequently with soap and water.

The health department recommends at-risk individuals get vaccinated. Those concerned about potential exposure should speak with their health-care provider, pharmacist or the health department as soon as possible.
CLEVELAND, Ohio  The city of Cleveland agreed to pay $910,000 to the family of Brandon Jones, an 18-year-old unarmed burglary suspect shot and killed by a police officer in March 2015.

Paul Cristallo, a lawyer representing Jones family, confirmed the family reached the settlement following negotiations that went all day Thursday in front of a federal magistrate judge.

Officer Alan Buford shot Jones on March 19, 2015 during a struggle outside the Parkwood Grocery store in the Glenville neighborhood. Buford, a veteran of the police force for more than two decades, was later charged with negligent homicide, a first-degree misdemeanor.

It is not common for authorities to bring charges against police after an officer shoots someone, but Assistant Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Brian Radigan wrote in a court filing that Buford had a substantial lapse of due care when he had his finger poised on the trigger of his gun well before he shot Jones.

Buford and officer Gregory King approached Jones as he backed out of the store with a bag of stolen goods. Each officer grabbed Jones with one hand as they kept their other hands on their guns.

Buford shot Jones moments after officers grabbed him, King testified at trial. While King said he did not believe his partners actions were necessary, Buford has maintained that he shot Jones because he feared for his life.

Cleveland Municipal Court Judge Michael Sliwinski acquitted Buford in 2017.

Jones family sued the city and the officers in 2016, though King was later dismissed from the lawsuit.

A Cuyahoga County probate judge must approve the settlement before it is final.

Cristallo, who brought the lawsuit along with attorney Anthony Jordan, said he was pleased with the outcome.

On behalf of Brandons mother Tanya, and his entire family, were pleased to have resolved this matter, Cristallo said in a statement. It has been a long and hard fought journey, but this settlement represents some justice and brings closure. Most importantly, we are thankful for everyones love, support and prayers.

A city spokesman did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The city fired Buford in December 2017 but an arbitrator ruled in October that the officer should get his job back and back pay. The arbitrator said it was reasonable for Buford to fear for his life because of Jones' size and perceived strength, that Jones failed to comply with the officers' orders and that Jones pushed back at the officers before being shot.

Jeff Follmer, president of the Cleveland Police Patrolmens Association, called the settlement a joke.

He said the case is another one where an officer "got fired, got their job back, and the city pays out for something for which we were justified for doing our job.

Bufords attorney Henry Hilow said he has not been told whether the city will appeal the arbitrators ruling.

Jones death came three months after the Justice Department issued a blistering report detailing what it saw as a troubling pattern of Cleveland officers using force and violating citizens constitutional rights.

The city entered into a consent decree with the Justice Department in May 2015 and agreed to make a series of reforms, including on how officers use force and what they must do to try to de-escalate tense encounters with suspects.

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CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The countys chief judge warned his 33 colleagues in a letter this week that he anticipates the filing of a lawsuit that will seek federal oversight of the beleaguered Cuyahoga County Jail.

Recently, I have become aware of a lawsuit that will be filed in Federal Court regarding the county jail, Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court Administrative Judge John J. Russo wrote in the letter. I am told they will be asking for the Federal Court to take over control of the jail.

Russo asked each of the judges to review the numbers of defendants they have locked up in jail because I feel this lawsuit may put us under scrutiny, according to a copy of the letter obtained Thursday by cleveland.com.

The list referenced in the letter refers to a list that judges keep that includes the names of defendants locked in the county jail as they await trial, sentencing or transportation to a prison or another facility. It also includes people accused of violating their probation.

I know we all work very hard in monitoring our jail lists, and I am extremely proud of this, Russo said. I am simply asking that we each take a closer look at our individual lists.

The letter, which was hand-delivered to judges late Wednesday and Thursday, comes in the wake of a blistering report by the U.S. Marshal that found widespread civil rights abuses and inhumane conditions in the jail. The investigation was launched this year after seven people died inside the jail during a four-month span under the countys director of corrections, Ken Mills.

Mills resigned days before the release of the report.

Russo, who was on the bench in a civil trial Thursday and unavailable for comment earlier in the day, told cleveland.com in an interview Thursday evening said that the contents of the Marshals report were scary and that he hoped the county administration corrected the issues raised in the report as quickly as possible. He said the letter was meant to encourage judges to evaluate why each person on their docket was behind bars and make sure that they needed to be there.

"Thats what the jail is for and I want to make sure were using it for those purposes, Russo said.

County Executive Armond Budishs spokeswoman, Mary Louise Madigan, told cleveland.com Thursday that the letter was not shared with Budishs office and she had not yet seen the letter when reached by a reporter.

Were focused on the US Marshals report and making improvements to the jail, Madigan said.
CLEVELAND, Ohio -- A judge gave no jail time to a six-year veteran of the Cleveland police force who used a law enforcement database to look up information about a 17-year-old girl in which he sent a lewd picture.

Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court Judge Nancy Fuerst said that the public humiliation that 31-year-old Thomas Tewell faced through media coverage and his inability to ever work as a police officer after his felony conviction was punishment enough.

Fuerst placed Tewell on one year of probation and ordered him to complete 100 hours of community service and pay a $1,000 fine.

A jury last month found Tewell guilty of unauthorized use of a police database, a fifth-degree felony. Jurors acquitted him of a misdemeanor count of disseminating matter harmful to juveniles after Tewells lawyers argued that the girl misled him into thinking she was 18 years old.

Tewelll faced up to a year in prison, but the low-level felony conviction carried a presumption of probation because Tewell had no prior criminal history.

Assistant Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Matthew Meyer asked Fuerst to impose jail time because it was the worst form of the offense.

The girls mother said that the now 18-year-old has barely wanted to leave her room since she had to testify during Tewells trial and was subjected to hours of cross-examination by Tewells lawyers.

The mother turned to Tewell after she told Fuerst that Tewell, as a 31-year-old man, should have stopped communicating with the girl all together after they met in person and he suspected she was underage.

Shame on you, the mother told Tewell. Shame on you.

Tewell read a written apology to Fuerst, the police department and prosecutors, but he did not apologize to the girl or to her mother when he spoke. He said he did not regret taking his case to trial because it gave him the opportunity to get the facts of my case out there.

Fuerst asked Tewell if he had anything to say to the victim. He began to say that he already apologized to the victim, which was the state of Ohio, but Fuerst said what about the young woman who came up here and testified.

I never intended to do any harm to any individuals, Tewell said. If I have caused harm to anyone, I deeply apologize.

Tewell and the girl met in November 2017 when she saw his profile on the dating app Tinder and swiped right," which sent Tewell a message that she was interested in connecting, according to testimony. Tewell accepted, and the two exchanged messages. She said in her profile that she was 18 years old.

After months of exchanging messages on the app, as through text messages and Snapchat, the two agreed to meet up for lunch at Original Pancake House. Later that same day, Tewell said to her in a text message, I could see it in your eyes that you wanted to f--k me today.

Tewell ran the girls license plate number through a law enforcement database that afternoon, and learned that she was underage. He sent her a text message telling her not to send him any nude photographs, and that he would be happy to date her on her 18th birthday.

The two continued exchanging text messages, and Tewell continued to describe sexual acts he wanted to perform on her, records presented at trial showed.

He also bragged in one photograph about slamming a fugitives face with a door during an arrest, the message said.

The next month, the girl was arrested for shoplifting and her mother flipped through her phone, and found the messages with Tewell. She also found photographs of him in his police uniform, and the undated photograph of his penis in the girls deleted photographs folder.

Tewell was suspended in 2014 for 25 days after he sent a woman an uninvited sexually explicit photo, using social media to track down -- and ask out for drinks -- a woman he ticketed, and failing to appear in court.

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MAPLE HEIGHTS, Ohio -- Police are investigating a shooting that injured a woman Sunday evening at a Maple Heights bar.

Officers responded to the Tonight II Lounge on the 16000 block of Libby Road to investigate a report that someone heard gunshots, Maple Heights police said in a press release.

Investigators learned there was a fight inside the bar prior to the shooting. Management escorted the men involved out of the bar, police said.

Someone fired the gunshots a few minutes after the men left, police said. Officers initially found evidence of a shooting but no people involved.

A woman who had left the scene returned and officers noticed that she had a gunshot wound to her leg. The woman was not able to identify the shooter or shooters.

No one has been arrested, Maple Heights police said Thursday.

Anyone with information is asked to call Maple Heights police at 216-587-9624 or Crime Stoppers of Cuyahoga County at 216-252-7463.

To comment on this story, visit Thursdays crime and courts comment section.
CLEVELAND, Ohio  News that at least one law firm is considering suing Cuyahoga County over the inhumane conditions found by federal investigators in the county jail earlier this month is unsurprising and, in many ways, a blast from the past.

Civil rights attorneys make their bread and butter filing lawsuits over what they see as violations of peoples constitutional rights. However, the kind of remedies sought through lawsuits over jail conditions give them an opportunity to have a federal judge step in and oversee reforms.

That includes the possibility of a court-enforced agreement which, if drafted and approved, would be the third time the county has entered into one over jail conditions in the past 50 years. It is also something that has historically been used across the country to address issues over inmates civil rights.

News of a potential lawsuit came Thursday, when a letter Common Pleas Administrative Judge John Russo sent to his 33 colleagues this week was made public. The letter addressed the possibility of a lawsuit that would ask for the Federal Court to take over control of the jail.

The letter was sent a week after a report written by the U.S. Marshals Service detailing its investigation in the jail was released. That investigation uncovered widespread inhumane conditions in the jail.

The probe was launched this year after seven inmates died during a four-month span. The countys director of corrections resigned earlier this month.

Russos statement about the potential of a federal judge taking over the beleaguered jail is, perhaps, an in-artful way of referring to having another court overseeing reforms that arose from violations outlined in a lawsuit.

Those reforms, should it ever get to that, could come through what is known as a consent decree, or an agreement from both the plaintiffs and the defendants to enact change.

If the term sounds familiar, its because the city of Cleveland is in its third year of a reform effort bound by a consent decree it negotiated with the Justice Department after the federal agency unveiled a 2014 report that detailed instances of officers using excessive force and other troubling policing practices.

Such a tool has also been used for jails in other cities. Some have been with cases brought by the federal government; others have not. Some last decades.

Notably, in New Orleans, a federal judge in 2013 approved a settlement between the Orleans Parish Sheriffs Office and the Justice Department to address conditions in its jail.

Cuyahoga County finds itself in a slightly different position than the city of Cleveland. A lawsuit from a non-government entity could result in a consent decree with Cuyahoga County, though it doesnt necessarily constitute a federal judges take over of the jail.

While the jail director resigned ahead of the release of the marshals report, and Cuyahoga County Executive Armond Budish said the wheels are in motion to correct some of the glaring problems at the jail, a civil-rights lawsuit that results in a consent decree could add a layer of federal oversight that goes above the promise of good faith made by Budish.

If a lawsuit results in a consent decree, it would mark the third time the county finds itself in this position. The county jail has been the subject of two large-scale lawsuits over inmate conditions that led to change in the past five decades.

The first, filed in 1971 when Ralph Kreiger led the Sheriffs Office, led to the construction of one of the jail towers to replace the old jail at East 21st Street and Payne Avenue. The second, filed in 1984 with a sheriffs office under Gerald McFaul, led to the construction of the second tower in the 1990s.

Longtime Cleveland civil-rights lawyer Terry Gilbert was involved in the second case, joining in 1989 and seeing it through until 1994, when then-federal Judge Lesley Wells terminated a consent decree.

His firm is now the one deciding whether to file a lawsuit, as he and another attorney from his firm met with Russo on Monday.

It is clear that these deplorable conditions have been festering for years, the firm said in a statement Thursday. In light of the Countys woefully inadequate and indifferent response, independent intervention and oversight are necessary to ensure real reform.

Jails in Chicago, New York and Los Angeles and other cities have also operated under court-enforced agreements.
CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The Trump Tower of lies grew ever higher with the latest guilty plea reached in the Robert Mueller-led Russia investigation.

Longtime Trump lawyer and 'fixer' Michael Cohen pleaded guilty to lying to Congress about efforts by then presidential candidate Donald Trump to get a Trump Tower built in Moscow.

In his plea deal, Cohen admitted work on the proposed development deal actually continued well into June 2016, in the thick of the presidential campaign. Cohen also said he had discussed the project with candidate Trump and Trump family members more than he had divulged in his Congressional testimony.

At one point Cohen was in direct contact with individuals in Putin's office about the deal.

Cohen said he lied to protect Trump, by not contradicting Trump's messaging on the campaign tail. During the 2016 campaign, Trump virguousy denied any business dealings in Russia, beyond holding his Miss Universe pageant in Moscow. He denied having any Russia investments or debts.

BuzzFeed reports that it was proposed Putin be given the penthouse in the tower. The penthouse gift, valued at $50 million, was intended to entice Putin to sign off on the deal and Russian oligarchs to buy units in the tower.

So, at the same time U.S. intelligence agencies now say Russia was interfering in the 2016 election, and Trump was denying any Russia business deals, members of Trump's and Putin's offices were in direct contact discussing building a Trump Tower in Moscow which would include a $50 million penthouse reserved for Putin.

A rattled President Trump denied Cohen's claims. Trump claimed Cohen was lying in an effort to reduce potentially long prison sentences he's facing.

Cohen's account is backed up by Robert Mueller as credible based on corroborating evidence Mueller's investigation has gathered.

Trump said he did nothing wrong, regardless of what Cohen claims.

"Even if he was right, it doesn't matter because I was allowed to do whatever I wanted during the campaign. I was running my business, a lot of different things, during the campaign," Trump told reporters

If it really didn't matter, why was Trump so adamant in denying any Russian deals? Clearly Trump feared if it became known that efforts were ongoing to build a Moscow Trump Tower, that included a Putin penthouse, he would not be the nominee, let alone president.

Trump can technically say he didn't have any Russia deal, since it didn't get done. What he can't say is that he wasn't trying to do a Russia deal while running for president and the same time the convention platform was changed to a pro-Russia stance on Ukraine.

What should really concern Trump is do the answers he just gave to Mueller's questions contradict what Cohen is telling Mueller?

Does what Cohen told Mueller contradict what Donald Trump Jr. told Congress?

Cohen has spent over 70 hours being interviewed by Mueller and his team and is still working with them. As is the Trump organization's financial officer, who likely knows more damaging information than Cohen.

It's not going unnoticed by Mueller that the Trump Tower Moscow deal was being brokered by Felix Sater. Sater is a Russian immigrant and former broker for the Trump organization. Sater also helped set up Don Jr's infamous meeting with the Russians in Trump tower.

While they were trying to get the tower deal done, Sater sent Cohen the following email message looking forward to Trump becoming president:

"Buddy our boy can become President of the USA and we can engineer it. I will get all of Putin's team to buy in on this, I will manage this process."

The fact that Trump was still pushing to do the Russia development while he was the Republican presidential campaign frontrunner is more evidence that Trump still didn't expect to win and that his real motivation for running was to boost his celebrity and business brand.

Cohen's plea testimony also confirms what many had long speculated. That Trump's fawning treatment of Putin is in part due to Trump's Russian business interests.

More significant than Cohen knowing Trump was lying to voters about his Russia business interests, is that Putin knew Trump was lying to the voters and could blackmail him over it. What else does Putin know about Trump and his family that American voters don't?
CLEVELAND, Ohio - Two out of three homeowners who contested new property appraisals from Cuyahoga County have won reductions, meaning lower tax bills than otherwise would have been the case for next year.

Informal appeals were filed for 32,201 parcels, or about 7 percent of the residential parcels countywide, the county reported Friday. Values were then reduced for 21,212 parcels through the informal appeal process, with reductions averaging $24,231 in the value of the homes or properties for tax purposes.

The bad news for other homeowners is that their property tax bills will go up slightly as a result of these reductions. Many taxes included in the overall tax bill are designed to raise a set amount of money, so if some people pay less, others will pay a little more. But with reductions granted for just 4.8 percent of the residential property values countywide, the changes could be tiny overall.

Cuyahoga County this year completed the process required every three years by state law to update property values. Proposed values were mailed to each property owner, who then had an opportunity to appeal the new values through what is considered an informal process.

The new values will be included in the bills due in January and July 2019.

Property owners still have the opportunity to file formal appeals through the Cuyahoga County Board of Revision from Jan. 1 through April 1. Instructions can be found at the Board of Revisions website.

In addition to the changes for residential properties, informal appeals were filed for 2,240 commercial, industrial or other parcels. More than half of those - 1,381 - won reductions, averaging $14,621.

More about appraisals and the appeal process

Rich Exner, data analysis editor for cleveland.com, writes about numbers on a variety of topics. Follow on Twitter @RichExner. Find data-related stories at cleveland.com/datacentral.
ELYRIA, Ohio -- About 2,100 homes in Elyrias Eastern Heights neighborhood have been without heat, hot water and use of some appliances for nearly a day after Columbia Gas shut off gas service Thursday afternoon.

Crews noticed an influx of air in the system Thursday, and as a safety precaution, Columbia Gas shut down the system which services Elyria residents in the areas of Eastern Heights Boulevard, Concord Avenue and Boston Avenue, the company said.

Crews restored service to 60 customers by 11 a.m. Friday, Columbia Gas said on Twitter.

The company first had to turn off the valves at the customer meters, Elyria Mayor Holly Brinda said Friday in a statement.

The next step is to remove all air from the lines in the system, Brinda said. After that is completed, gas will slowly be reintroduced to the system and technicians will go door-to-door and manually restore service to customers.

Columbia Gas has divided the affected area into three zones. Crews will restore service to the blue zone, then the yellow zone and lastly the pink zone.

Columbia Gas will restore service to the blue zone, then the yellow zone and lastly the pink zone.

The company hopes to restore service to residents in the blue and yellow zones by the end of Friday. Customers in the pink zone will likely not have service until Saturday.

Columbia Gas is encouraging customers in the pink zone to find housing arrangements for Friday evening.

The Red Cross has a shelter open at Eastern Heights Middle School on the 500 block of Garford Avenue. The shelter at the East Park Recreation Center is closed.

Columbia Gas will reimburse residents for the cost of reasonable hotel and meal expenses, the company said on Twitter.

University Hospitals Elyria Medical Center provided lunch Friday for residents who were affected.

#Elyria update: The warming center is now located at Eastern Heights Middle School, 528 Garford Avenue. Anyone needing a hotel should email ohlodging@nisource.com or call 1-800-272-5440. @ElyriaOhio @ElyriaPolice  Columbia Gas of Ohio (@ColumbiaGasOhio) November 30, 2018

Impacted customers are advised to keep their porch light on. To restore service, Columbia Gas employees will need access to each home to complete a safety inspection and relight appliances, the company said.

An adult needs to be present and the process could take about 30 minutes per home.

If you have to leave your home, please make sure you leave a contact number on the door, Columbia Gas said on Twitter.
ELYRIA, Ohio -- Columbia Gas announced Thursday afternoon that about 2,500 customers in Elyria would be without gas while crews perform maintenance.

Customers in the Eastern Heights Boulevard, Concord Avenue and Boston Avenue areas are affected, according to the companys website. Service is expected to be restored in 24 to 48 hours.

While crews were working on our lines, they noticed an influx of air in the system, the company said. As a safety precaution, the system was shut down.

Residents are not in danger but anyone who smells gas is urged to move to a safe place and call 911 or Columbia Gas at 1-800-344-4077.

A map of Elyria shows the homes of about 2,500 residents in the city's Eastern Heights neighborhood who are without gas Thursday.

A warming center is open at the East Recreation Center at 1101 Prospect Street, Elyria Mayor Holly Brinda said in a statement. Those who need assistance or transportation to the shelter should call 440-284-0357.

The City of Elyria is working with Lorain County Emergency Management and the Red Cross, Brinda said. The Red Cross is prepared to open additional shelters if there is a demand.

Volunteers have arrived to set-up a shelter in @CityofElyria for residents affected by @ColumbiaGasOhio svc interruption. Stay warm at East Park rec 1101 Prospect st. pic.twitter.com/06bL7iQBCl  NEO Red Cross (@NEORedCross) November 30, 2018

The Elyria Fire Department is urging residents to not use auxiliary heating methods, Brinda said.

Columbia Gas is working to turn off the valves at the customer meters so that natural gas can be reintroduced into the distribution delivery system, the company said. Crews will then begin the process of restoring service to customers.

To restore service, Columbia Gas employees will need access to impacted customers' homes to complete a safety inspection and relight appliances, the company said. An adult needs to be present and the process could take about 30 minutes per home.

Impacted customers are advised to keep their porch light on.

In #Elyria: If you are one of the 2,100 affected customers please leave your porch light on if you want us to come to your home tonight. We may not reach you until after Midnight or later. We will be working all night.  Columbia Gas of Ohio (@ColumbiaGasOhio) November 30, 2018

Customers worried about frozen pipes are advised to keep cold water dripping from any faucet, as even a trickle helps prevent pipes from freezing, Columbia Gas said.

Elyria City Schools are closed Friday because of the gas outage, according to a post on the school districts Facebook page.
Gazing across 300 million light-years into a monstrous city of galaxies, astronomers have used NASA's Hubble Space Telescope to do a comprehensive census of some of its most diminutive members: a whopping 22,426 globular star clusters found to date.

The survey, published in the November 9, 2018, issue of The Astrophysical Journal, will allow for astronomers to use the globular cluster field to map the distribution of matter and dark matter in the Coma galaxy cluster, which holds over 1,000 galaxies that are packed together.

Because globular clusters are much smaller than entire galaxies -- and much more abundant -- they are a much better tracer of how the fabric of space is distorted by the Coma cluster's gravity. In fact, the Coma cluster is one of the first places where observed gravitational anomalies were considered to be indicative of a lot of unseen mass in the universe -- later to be called "dark matter."

Among the earliest homesteaders of the universe, globular star clusters are snow-globe-shaped islands of several hundred thousand ancient stars. They are integral to the birth and growth of a galaxy. About 150 globular clusters zip around our Milky Way galaxy, and, because they contain the oldest known stars in the universe, were present in the early formative years of our galaxy.

Some of the Milky Way's globular clusters are visible to the naked eye as fuzzy-looking "stars." But at the distance of the Coma cluster, its globulars appear as dots of light even to Hubble's super-sharp vision. The survey found the globular clusters scattered in the space between the galaxies. They have been orphaned from their home galaxy due to galaxy near-collisions inside the traffic-jammed cluster. Hubble revealed that some globular clusters line up along bridge-like patterns. This is telltale evidence for interactions between galaxies where they gravitationally tug on each other like pulling taffy.

Astronomer Juan Madrid of the Australian Telescope National Facility in Sydney, Australia, first thought about the distribution of globular clusters in Coma when he was examining Hubble images that show the globular clusters extending all the way to the edge of any given photograph of galaxies in the Coma cluster.

He was looking forward to more data from one of the legacy surveys of Hubble that was designed to obtain data of the entire Coma cluster, called the Coma Cluster Treasury Survey. However, halfway through the program, in 2006, Hubble's powerful Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS) had an electronics failure. (The ACS was later repaired by astronauts during a 2009 Hubble servicing mission.)

To fill in the survey gaps, Madrid and his team painstakingly pulled numerous Hubble images of the galaxy cluster taken from different Hubble observing programs. These are stored in the Space Telescope Science Institute's Mikulski Archive for Space Telescopes in Baltimore, Maryland. He assembled a mosaic of the central region of the cluster, working with students from the National Science Foundation's Research Experience for Undergraduates program. "This program gives an opportunity to students enrolled in universities with little or no astronomy to gain experience in the field," Madrid said.

The team developed algorithms to sift through the Coma mosaic images that contain at least 100,000 potential sources. The program used globular clusters' color (dominated by the glow of aging red stars) and spherical shape to eliminate extraneous objects -- mostly background galaxies unassociated with the Coma cluster.

Though Hubble has superb detectors with unmatched sensitivity and resolution, their main drawback is that they have tiny fields of view. "One of the cool aspects of our research is that it showcases the amazing science that will be possible with NASA's planned Wide Field Infrared Survey Telescope (WFIRST) that will have a much larger field of view than Hubble," said Madrid. "We will be able to image entire galaxy clusters at once."

The Hubble Space Telescope is a project of international cooperation between NASA and ESA (European Space Agency). NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, manages the telescope. The Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) in Baltimore, Maryland, conducts Hubble science operations. STScI is operated for NASA by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, in Washington, D.C.

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TOLEDO, Ohio  A man accused of molesting an 8-year-old boy is facing multiple charges after authorities say he used Facebook to lure his victims, according to reports.

Antonio Ramos is charged three counts of gross sexual imposition, The Blade reports.

Prosecutors tell The Blade that Ramos first met the 8-year-old boy through Cedar Creek Church in Toledo but used Facebook to build a relationship.

WTOL Channel 11 reports Ramos is facing a charge of inopportuning in a separate case, in which he is accused of offering a 13-year-old boy money to masturbate for him.

Ramos has been released on supervised bond.

To comment on this story, visit Thursdays crime and courts comment section.
CINCINNATI, Ohio  Students at the University of Cincinnati were told to shelter in place late Thursday night after gunfire during a fight on the campus.

The alert from the school was sent just after 11:30 p.m., saying shots were fired near the schools campus recreation center. The shelter in place was lifted just before 12:30 a.m. today.

UPDATE: Shots were fired tonight on the UC campus during a fight near the Campus Rec Center.



All those involved are believed to be gone from the scene.



No reported injuries.  U of Cincinnati (@uofcincy) November 30, 2018

Captain David Fink of the Cincinnati Police Department tells WCPO Channel 9 that shells were found on the ground near the rec center.

There were no reports of injuries, but police are still searching for a suspect, Local 12 reports.

To comment on this story, visit Thursdays crime and courts comment section.
BROOKLYN HEIGHTS, Ohio  Ansly Damus of Haiti got his first taste of freedom in two years on Friday when he was released from the windowless jail he occupied even though a judge twice ruled he should be granted asylum.

Speaking in heavily accented English with some translation by ACLU Legal Director Freda Levenson, Damus said he was happy to be free and to be able to see the sky and go to church to thank God. He also said, however, he worries for his wife and two children who are still in Haiti.

Though not totally free, Damus, 42, is on the path. He was released from jail Friday to stay with his sponsors, Gary Benjamin and Melody Hart, at their home in Cleveland Heights until an immigration hearing can be arranged on the governments appeal of his asylum request.

Since shortly after his arrival at the California border in October, 2016, he has been held in a cell in Geauga County.

An immigration court judge in Cleveland twice granted Damus asylum status after hearing his tale of an attempt on his life in his native Haiti. He was an ethics teacher who ran afoul of a local politician by criticizing him in a lecture. Both times, ICE appealed Immigration Judge Alison M. Browns ruling, stating that he spent too much time in Brazil on his way to America to qualify for asylum.

The ACLU sued ICE over the treatment of Damus and about 1,000 other men and women who came to the United States seeking asylum only to be jailed indefinitely. In July, a federal judge ruled that ICE must review each case individually to determine if they should be released pending a final decision. A person is granted asylum in the United States if he can show that he has a credible fear of persecution or torture in his homeland.

Levenson said since then, almost all the asylum seekers have been released.

Damus was among the last.

This week, an agreement was reached with immigration to allow him to be free, wearing an ankle monitor, and stay with Gary and Melody until his hearing, Levenson said. Its criminal the way he has been treated. He was not permitted outside, could only talk to people through a video screen, and the food was awful. The last time I was there his meal was a gelatinous pile of glop.

ICE officials declined to comment on Damus case because it was an active litigation.

His sponsors have prepared a welcome for Dumas in their house where he has a room already set up.

We have steaks that have been marinating for him since yesterday ready to go, and a nice bottle of champagne, said Hart. We will have some people over who have been fighting for him through this whole ordeal to celebrate.

She and her husband were asked if they would sponsor Damus a year ago and they agreed.

We visited him every weekend at the jail in Geauga County, she said. We helped him learn English.

She said he is happy that he will be able to ride a bicycle in the city, attend church and shop, the things people take for granted. Eventually, he would like to resume his career as a teacher of science, math and ethics.

He had been in Michigan for the past few days for a hearing on his case before an immigration court judge when ICE agreed to release him into the custody of the Cleveland Heights couple. On Friday, he was brought to the unmarked ICE building at 925 Keystone Circle in Brooklyn Heights for his release. There, Damus haltingly talked to reporters about his ordeals in Haiti and in the United States.

He offered an apology to his father who warned him about speaking out against a local corrupt politician.

He told me not to do it, that it was dangerous, he was right, he said.

Levenson said that a group of thugs loyal to the politician beat him to within an inch of his life and set his motorcycle on fire. Thats when he decided to leave Haiti and seek asylum in America and later bring his family with him. Damus said his attackers told him if he did not leave the country he would be killed.

He said he was a teacher and had never been in trouble in his life in Haiti, until he criticized the politician. He said if you speak out against a politician in his country, they will come after you.

Levenson criticized immigration officials for subjecting people like Damus to jail when they follow the law and come to America seeking asylum.

They must be made to follow the law and the dictates of the Constitution, she said. Its a way to discourage people from coming here seeking amnesty, nothing more.
Rotunda Rumblings

Telephone tag: President Donald Trump discussed the impending closure of GMs Lordstown assembly plant with Ohio Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown in a Wednesday night phone call, cleveland.coms Sabrina Eaton reports. Niles Democratic Rep. Tim Ryan was on the phone with GM CEO Mary Barra the following morning as part of the Ohio congressional delegations effort to save the plants jobs.

Oversight, not Judiciary for Jordan: Champaign County Republican Rep. Jim Jordan took his name out of the running for the top Republican spot on the House Judiciary Committee after realizing he wouldnt get the job. But in a surprise late-night move, he switched his focus Thursday to the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, CNN reports. He now is expected to be named the committees top-ranking Republican, with his friend, Rep. Mark Meadows, stepping aside for him.

Chabot shelved: Cincinnati-area Rep. Steve Chabot missed out in his own bid to be the ranking Republican member on the House Judiciary Committee, writes the Cincinnati Enquirers Scott Wartman.

Just for fun: Cleveland.coms Andrew Tobias compiled a hypothetical rundown of the Republicans who might be in line to replace Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown if he ends up in the White House in 2020. (The list also works as a stand-in for possible 2022 Senate candidates if say, Rob Portman doesnt run for re-election.) Check out the list, led by Secretary of State Jon Husted.

Pension tension: A congressional committee examining the problem of underfunded multi-employer pension plans will miss a Nov. 30 deadline to propose a solution, but will continue work on the problem, said Ohio Senators Rob Portman and Sherrod Brown, who are both committee members. Working together, Rob and I have made significant progress on the committee and we know that with more time a bipartisan agreement is achievable, Brown said in a joint statement from the Ohioans. Roughly 60,000 Ohioans and thousands of small businesses around the country are affected.

Consumer protection: The U.S. Senate voted along party lines Thursday to consider Chagrin Falls native Kathleen Kraningers Consumer Financial Protection Bureau directorship nomination on the Senate floor. The job was vacated when Richard Cordray decided to run for Ohio governor. In a Senate floor speech, Brown said Kraninger  who once had an internship in his congressional office  is not on the side of people who work for a living, she is on the side of big corporations collecting a tax break to send American jobs overseas. Portman backs the nominee. Her confirmation vote will likely be held next week.

Appeal struck down: The Ohio Supreme Court on Thursday threw out the latest attempt by a death row inmate to get his 1984 murder conviction overturned on the basis of newer DNA testing, cleveland.coms Laura Hancock writes.

Shiny new voting booths: Husted notified county boards of elections they can begin buying new voting equipment for the 2019 primary election from five vendors that competitively bid with the state. The Ohio General Assembly made $104.5 million available earlier this year to help counties, many of which had equipment that predated the first generation of the iPhone, Husteds office said. Additionally, $10 million is available to reimburse counties that have replaced systems since 2014.

Texting controversy escalates: The Cincinnati Enquirers Sharon Coolidge and Wartman put it best: Cincinnati City Councils texting troubles, an anti-tax group, and charges of racism spawned an inflammatory Twitter war that has prompted calls for a police investigation. Figures in the latest iteration of this ongoing saga include Cincinnati Councilwoman Tamaya Dennard and State Rep. Tom Brinkman.

Standing up the bride: Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine sued the operator of now-shuttered Elegant Bride, saying they failed to deliver wedding gowns, alterations and accessories to dozens of customers. DeWine said customers paid the Dublin store hundreds of thousands of dollars for dresses they never received.

Surrendered: The first OB/GYN to perform and abortion in Ohio  back in 1973  has agreed to surrender his medical license in part over allegations that he improperly prescribed men drugs without keeping patient records, writes the Columbus Dispatchs JoAnne Viviano. The Greater Columbus Right to Life took some credit, saying theyve worked to uncover the true conditions of the clinic, refer injured patients to legal counsel and state regulators.

Hack attack: Our Revolution, the pro-Bernie Sanders group led by former Ohio Sen. Nina Turner, lost $242,000 last year to an email scam, writes Politicos Scott Bland. Turner told Politico that following the discovery of the theft, we hired a cybersecurity firm to advise us on how to prevent these types of crimes in the future. The money was supposed to have gone to the Standing Rock Sioux Native American tribe.

Vote now on the Sloopys

Be sure to cast your vote now for the Sloopys, Capitol Letters Ohio politics awards. Want to weigh in on the biggest windbag, the best-dressed or the most effective lobbyist? You can send in your nominations now for more than 30 award categories by visiting the link here.

Full Disclosure

Rep. Tom Patton is the Republican incumbent representing House District 7. Here are five things we learned from his April 9 financial disclosure.

1. Patton reported four sources of income. As a state representative, Patton earned $60,584. He worked as a consultant at Amazing Tickets and as the president of I.A.T.S.E, making between $10,000 and $24,999 in each of those positions. His final source of income was as a consultant at Blue Technologies, where he earned between $50,000 to $99,999.

2. Patton had 14 investments in 2017, including savings, insurance an IRA and more.

3. At some point in 2017, he owed more than $1,000 to Huntington National Bank for home equity.

4. He was reimbursed $3,407.04 for travel.

5. Patton received gifts totaling more than $75 from Ohio Association of Professional Fire Fighters, Ohio Association of Justice and the Ohio Fire Chiefs Association.

On the Move

State Rep. Tavia Galonski of Akron has been unanimously elected as chairwoman of the Ohio House Democratic Womens Caucus. She will succeed state Rep. Michele Lepore-Hagan.

Birthdays

Saturday 12/1: State Sen. Jay Hottinger

Straight from the Source

Some folks have gotten overzealous. We will tone down the rhetoric. Its unfortunate.

- Coalition Opposed to Additional Spending And Taxes Chairman Brad Beckett, commenting on the recent tweets from his organizations Twitter account that have generated controversy in Cincinnati.

Capitol Letter is a daily briefing providing succinct, timely information for those who care deeply about the decisions made by state government. If you do not already subscribe, you can sign up here to get Capitol Letter in your email box each weekday for free.

This story has been revised to reflect that Rep. Steve Chabot was vying to be the ranking member, not the chairman, of the House Judiciary Committee
CLEVELAND -- Since the dawn of the space age, Ohio has played a vital role in space exploration. Ohioans were there during the Mercury and Gemini programs, and Ohio was there when humans first orbited the moon during Apollo 8.

Former astronaut Janet Kavandi heads the NASA Glenn Research Center in Cleveland.

Next month marks 50 years since American ingenuity, teamwork and sheer determination overcame several technical challenges to launch Apollo 8 with Clevelands own Jim Lovell piloting the pioneering moment in human history.

Today, humans are preparing to return to the moon, and NASA is ready to lead the charge. But, this time its not about flags and footprints. This time, were going back to stay and to explore in a sustainable way, and it will set us on a course to destinations farther than we have ever traveled.

And Ohioans are again coming along on this exploration journey. Not only as astronauts, but by developing the hardware and technology needed to ensure our successful return and long-term presence on the moon.

But why return to the moon? Well, we need the moon to understand how to live and work on another world. It will help us understand where weve been and where we are going. Our moon will serve as a proving ground as we test and validate the infrastructure and technologies needed for those future exploration missions. And it will allow us to understand what we are capable of.

Our next giant leap is back to the moon, but it starts just 250 miles above us with the fundamental research being conducted by NASA astronauts every day on the International Space Station. For 17 years, we have used our presence in low-Earth orbit to understand what is needed to be successful away from the relative safety of our home planet, and were ready to move beyond.

Soon NASA, along with our commercial and international partners, will begin to build the Gateway, an orbiting lunar outpost that will serve as an important stepping stone for our lunar science and exploration missions. The Gateway will, over time, evolve into a versatile platform where NASA will develop refueling depots, spacecraft-servicing capabilities, and a facility for processing resource samples from the moon and other celestial bodies in support of science and commerce.

From there, well develop a series of small reusable robotic landers to explore the lunar surface and to identify and to collect the resources found there. By harvesting and transforming the resources found on the moon into breathable oxygen, drinkable water and rocket fuel, we will enhance and extend our exploration capabilities. These smaller landers will eventually lead to larger robotic landers with advanced capabilities, followed by revolutionary human-rated landers.

And none of this would be possible without the backbone of NASAs future exploration missions  the cutting-edge Orion spacecraft and the powerful Space Launch System rocket. Our new spacecraft, coupled with American commercial launch providers, will provide unmatched capabilities to low-Earth orbit and beyond.

And as it always has, the path to the moon will travel through Ohio  though our towns, our companies, our schools and our people. NASA wouldnt be where it is today, and we wont be where we are 50 years from now, without significant contributions from the Buckeye State.

I am proud of the work being done at NASA Glenn and the many aerospace companies across our great state. This is a thrilling time to be involved in space exploration, and I hope you all will join us on this journey as we learn what humankind can do when it comes together to achieve a common goal for the common good.

Janet Kavandi is a veteran astronaut and the director of NASAs Glenn Research Center in Cleveland.

****************

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CLEVELAND, Ohio  Those who want Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown to run against Republican President Donald Trump in 2020 will be stoked at the first publicly available 2020 poll in Ohio.

A new poll from Public Policy Polling, a firm that does work for Democrats and liberal groups, shows Brown besting Trump in Ohio in a head-to-head matchup. Three other Democratic candidates were also surveyed, with two of them winning.

Cleveland.com was not able to determine who paid for the poll, but Public Policy Polling confirmed its authenticity. They surveyed 648 registered voters in Ohio using automated telephone interviews. The margin of error is plus-or-minus 3.9 percentage points.

As a predictor for the eventual outcome of the 2020 election, the poll is mostly useless. It is way too early to make any concrete observations about a single poll more than a year before any primary votes are cast. None of the major candidates have even declared their candidacy.

But it does suggest a Democrat  particularly Brown  could potentially be competitive in Ohio in a presidential race.

In a head-to-head matchup, Brown bested Trump 48 percent to 42 percent, with 10 percent undecided. Brown also had an 8-percentage point net favorable rating compared to respondents 6-percentage point net unfavorable opinion of the president.

Three other Democrats were also tested against Trump in the survey. Former Vice President Joe Biden  who made numerous campaign visits to the state in 2018  bested Trump 48 percent to 44 percent.

Sen. Bernie Sanders, an independent from Vermont who finished second in the Democratic primary in 2016, essentially tied Trump, with Sanders holding a narrow 47 percent to 46 percent lead.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren, a Democrat from Massachusetts and frequent target of attacks from both Trump and Republicans, fared worse. Trump held a 6-percentage point advantage over Warren, with 49 percent saying they supported Trump and 43 percent backing Warren.

Ohios status as a swing state has been a matter of contention among Democrats following the 2018 midterms. Republicans dominated the statewide ticket, with Brown being the sole exception in the partisan races.

Some of this talk about Ohio, it sort of unmoors Ohio from the national conversation, said Kyle Kondik, managing editor of Sabatos Crystal Ball at the University of Virginia Center for Politics and an Ohio native. You cant really do that. If Trump loses nationally by five points or something, he may very well lose Ohio. If the election is razor-thin again, you expect Trump to probably take Ohio.

That somebody was willing to spend money on polling Democratic candidates in Ohio is interesting in itself. Cleveland.com confirmed that it did not come from the Ohio Democratic Party or Brown, leaving a plethora of possibilities for why someone would want to poll the state.

It could be an attempt to gauge Browns chances at running in 2020. Or it could be an effort to show Ohio is still winnable by Democrats.

Ohios competitiveness is crucial to how the 2020 election will shake out. Trump performed well throughout the Midwest, particularly in Ohio, but also in Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania. Those three states share many similarities with Ohio, but are more Democratic in their voting trends.

Kondik said a Democrat running for president would be mistaken to write off the state before the election begins in full swing.

I can see why Ohio might seem like a more daunting state for Democrats these days than usual. But if a Democrat wins Ohio, the election is over, he said. That should be part of the calculus as well here.

Read the poll:
PHOENIX  The parent company of Frontier Airlines is coming to the rescue of Icelands Wow Air.

Just hours after a deal fell through for competitor Icelandair to buy Wow, Indigo Partners, the Phoenix-based private equity firm that owns Frontier, stepped up to invest in the beleaguered carrier. Terms were not disclosed.

Indigo, well-known in discount-airline circles, used to own Spirit Airlines. In addition to Frontier, it also owns Chiles JetSmart and has a stake in Hungarys Wizz Air and Mexicos Volaris.

The announcement, late Thursday, gives a boost to Wow just as things were looking dire. The airline  which flew from Cleveland Hopkins International Airport for six months this year  has been reducing routes in recent months due to financial struggles. Just this week, the airline returned four of its airplanes to lessors, forcing it to cancel even more routes.

In addition to cutting its Cleveland route in October, Wow also canceled service from Cincinnati and St. Louis. Its Pittsburgh service has been put on hiatus, starting in mid-January.

It will be interesting to see how Wow moves forward  continuing with rapid growth, or taking a more measured approach.

Icelandair, meanwhile, continues to fly from Cleveland, with nonstop service to Reykjavik starting up again in May.

Related: Icelandair calls off purchase of Wow Air; Pittsburgh flight in jeopardy

Wow Air will pull out of Cleveland Hopkins airport
For Ron Burke, North Americas leading trainer in victories and earnings, Sundays (Dec. 2) $100,000 Potomac Pace at Rosecroft Raceway is just another pari-mutuel mission. For trainer Buddy Bright, its the opportunity of a lifetime and it comes less than a week before his 71st birthday.

Burke will be represented by Filibuster Hanover, the probable favourite, and stablemate Rockin Ron. Bright, a regular at Rosecroft for years, sends out long shot Rock N Roll Jet, a one-eyed pacer and winner of five of the last six Open Paces at Rosecroft.

It could be a classic case of David versus Goliath.

Burkes stable has won over 900 races and more than $20 million this year. Brights barn has 16 victories and $114,256.

Filibuster Hanover and Rockin Ron combine for 10 victories and $1.16 million in earnings this year. Rock N Roll Jet has nine victories and $73,975 in earnings.

But as far as horses being on top of their game, its Brights Rock N Roll Jet that is in the spotlight. The nine-year-old gelding has won his last four starts, all at Rosecroft.

Hes sharp right now, said Bright. He won last week from the eight-hole. Never saw the wood (rail) and got up in time (by a neck) in 1:51.3.

Bright said Rock N Roll Jet lost his left eye to a fungus four years ago, but that it hasnt affected his performance.

Hes the same. He doesnt care. He just races hard.

As for upsetting Burkes two entries, Bright is eager to try them.

I dont know if we can beat them, but if we draw inside of them, well give a heckuva try.

Rock N Roll Jet drew post 5, between Filibuster Hanover (post 4) and Rockin Ron (post 8).

The Burke trainees have raced in all the top level races this season, but both are on losing streaks. Filibuster Hanover hasnt won since scoring in the June 10 Graduate at Tioga Downs, having lost his last 13 starts. Rockin Rons last victory came in the May 26 Camluck. He has since lost 14 starts.

The victory droughts do not faze Burke.

I dont buy into the belief that horses need victories to boost their confidence, said Burke. Its a big mistake to attempting to tie human emotions to horses.

Rosecroft Extras: In addition to the $100,000 Potomac Pace, Sundays card will feature a $25,000 Maryland Invitational for horses owned, sired or bred in the state, as well as the $15,000 Foiled Again Invitational. Slick Tony and Sams Triple Crown, both eight-time winners this year, head the Maryland Invitational.

Foiled Again, the richest horse in harness history with earnings of $7.6 million, has drawn the post 9 for his farewell tour appearance. The Burke-trained Foiled Again is 14 and faces mandatory retirement following his final start on Dec. 31 at The Meadows.

(Rosecroft)
Sock It Away will resume his remarkable three-year-old season as he again takes on the Preferred Pace Saturday afternoon (Dec. 1) at Red Shores Racetrack and Casino at Charlottetown Driving Park. The 15-dash program has a 12:30 p.m. start time.

Sock It Away, looking for the 19th win of his sophomore campaign in as many starts, is saddled with post 5 in the $2,650 Preferred, carded as race 14. Marc Campbell once again will drive the son of Pang Shui for trainer Kevin MacLean and owner Reg MacPherson. The pacer will tackle four foes, including top Invitational pacer Czar Seelster, who has post 2 with Kenny Arsenault at the controls. Also in the field are Rockin Indy (Corey MacPherson), Winter Blast (Jason Hughes) and Rollwithitharry (Ron Matheson).

Race analyst Les MacIsaac sees no reason Sock It Away cannot extend his win streak after defeating this group in his two latest races.

Sock It Away has tackled the big boys for his last two starts, and had either of them been fights they would have been stopped. That's how easily he won, MacIsaac said. Other than the likely short price, there's not much to dislike.

Race eight will see open pacing fillies and mares vie for a $2,350 purse, as Elektra Express returns to the East Coast for new trainer Jennifer Doyle. Jason Hughes will drive the four-year-old daughter of Western Paradise, who was a top two- and three-year-old in the Atlantic Stakes program the past two years before leaving to compete in the United States late last year. Other top entries include Collective Wisdom (Drew Neill) and Prettyndangerous (David Dowling).

Burn Out Hanover makes his Atlantic Canadian debut in race nine as the morning-line favourite for new owner-trainer Jeff Holmes. The three-year-old son of Well Said is out of the great pacing mare Burning Point, and will be looking for a new lease on life from post 1 with Arsenault in the bike after struggling recently on the Ontario circuit.

For more information, go to www.redshores.ca.

To view Saturday's entries, click the following link: Saturday Entries  Red Shores Charlottetown.

(Red Shores)
The civil lawsuit that a group of Ontario Standardbred breeders have filed against the Province of Ontario and the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation over the cancellation of the former Slots at Racetracks Program returns to Ontario Superior Court next week.

Case No. CV-14-00000272-00OT, which is also known as Seelster Farms Inc. v Her Majesty The Queen In Right Of Ontario, began with the plaintiffs' factum being presented over four days in mid-September. The province began its side of the defense and is expected to resume its case on Tuesday, Dec. 4.

"I definitely think the five days in September went very well," SBOA President Walter Parkinson told Trot Insider. "Our lawyers conveyed our side and our case very well, I thought, and then it moved onto The Crown and OLG so we'll hear their final arguments over these coming three days.

"It's a very interesting case and we're very optimistic about it."

Parkinson noted that there hasn't been much happening with respect to the case from the plaintiffs' perspective but that its legal team has kept them all very well informed on how the case is going.

The timing of the break wasn't decided by the plaintiffs but Parkinson noted that it certainly worked out well for those breeders in the midst of yearling prep season.

"I think there was good attendance through the first five days; for us, I know we [at Seelster Farms] were video taping through part of that," said Parkinson, "but certainly this is more of a downtime for most of the plaintiffs. And to anyone interested in the case, even if you're not a plaintiff yourself and want to go to court it's a better time outside of yearling season and outside of stakes season.

"Hopefully there's great attendance [next week] and anyone interested it or want to hear first hand what the arguments are should feel free to attend."

Joanne Colville is part of the plaintiff group and she echoed Parkinson's sentiments, encouraging those affected by the decision to terminate the slots-at-racetracks program (SARP) to be present for the proceedings.

"A full court room indicates how many people the decision to end SARP affected," said Colville. "Wed all like to see as many horsepeople as possible in attendance to show support."

Hearings are taking place at the A. Grenville and William Davis Courthouse, located at 7755 Hurontario St. in Brampton, Ont. with the plaintiffs being represented by Lax OSullivan Lisus Gottlieb LLP. The sessions start this week at 9:30 a.m., with Tuesday (Dec. 4), Thursday (Dec. 6) and Friday (Dec. 7) reserved for the case.

Parkinson expects that the province and OLG will conclude their arguments in these three days, after which time Justice Emery will take all the arguments into consideration and render his decision, likely in the new year.

To view the recaps of Trot Insiders earlier coverage, please utilize the corresponding links which appear below.

 Tuesday, September 11

 Wednesday, September 12

 Thursday, September 13

 Friday, September 14
1. Dollar Tree

Dollar Tree, for one, has long been a "fabulous operator," Cramer said, calling the discount retailer "a personal shopping fave." But since the company acquired Family Dollar four years ago, its stock has been struggling because of the mismatch: while Dollar Tree's stores were pristine, Family Dollar's seemed "shabby [and] uninviting," Cramer said. But now that Dollar Tree has started renovating the Family Dollar locations  creating value in the process  the "Mad Money" host thought it was time to reconsider buying into the stock. "I'm sure the vast majority of Wall Street types have never been to a Dollar Tree. They don't know how nice it is," he explained. "I like that management's already planning for 25-percent tariffs and is adjusting its sourcing to get the heck out of Dodge, or Beijing, or Shanghai, as the case may be."

2. CVS Health

CVS, which closed on its acquisition of health insurer Aetna on Wednesday, was another underestimated company that Cramer thought would make for a good investment regardless of what happens with U.S.-China trade. "I don't think people understand how potent this combination could be," he said, adding that he's been telling club members of his charitable trust that CVS shares "can go higher simply thanks to the power of arithmetic." "Now that CVS and Aetna have combined forces, I expect the stock to be valued more like a health-care play than a retailer," he continued. "That could easily take CVS to $100, up $20 from where it is right now. I know some people are probably fretting about all the $40 billion CVS borrowed in order to pay for Aetna, but this company will generate $10 billion in cash flow next year. Count me not concerned."

Not only is McDonald's a strong hedge against "periods of economic slowing," according to Morgan Stanley, but the company is also reinventing itself by remodeling its locations around the world, Cramer said. And now that the Federal Reserve has indicated that there's "no preset policy path" for its interest rate hikes, money managers will probably build up more defensive stock positions in case there's an economic slowdown, the former hedge fund manager explained. "A lot of Wall Streeters figured that the Fed must know something they don't. They now assume something's very wrong with the economy  they just can't see it  and they're also terrified of the upcoming tariff increases," Cramer said. "In that kind of environment, these fund managers will want to buy the stock of McDonald's."

4. Constellation Brands

Fourth but definitely not least, Cramer highlighted Constellation Brands, the beer, wine and liquor distributor behind Modelo and Corona that has a massive stake in Canadian cannabis producer Canopy Growth Corp. While Constellation's stock has dropped since its investment in Canopy, Cramer said that right now, the alcohol giant seems to be ahead of other consumer-facing companies that are starting to wade into the cannabis industry. "Don't forget: with Canopy, you get exposure to both the medical  they just started a large trial in nursing homes where the elderly are routinely drugged with opiods  and you also get the recreational," he said. "[With] Constellation, you get a company that already knows how to create good-tasting liquids that get people intoxicated."

Final thoughts

The bottom line? If U.S.-China trade talks don't pan out the way some investors think they might, Cramer would use the resulting weakness to buy "the mothers of reinvention:" Dollar Tree, CVS, McDonald's, and Constellation Brands.

WATCH: Cramer finds stocks with natural catalysts
J. Crew will discontinue its budget clothing line Mercantile a little less than three months after the company had announced it was opening a dedicated storefront for the brand on Amazon.

The news was first reported by the Wall Street Journal. A spokesperson for J. Crew confirmed the decision to CNBC. The company informed employees of the news in an internal memo Thursday, which was seen by the Journal.

The end of the Mercantile line raises questions about J. Crew's deal with Amazon, which has been selling the budget line since September. J. Crew had originally resisted selling its products through Amazon to maintain control of pricing and marketing.

The Amazon deal was made under former CEO James Brett, who left the company earlier this month.

In the memo,the company told employees its priorities are to "return the J.Crew brand to profitable growth" and "more diligently manage our balance of investments and expenses," the Journal reported. The company will focus on growing its lower-cost "factory" business online and in stores.

"We believe that a 'good' price tier opportunity is better served by the J.Crew label," the memo says, according to the Journal.

The memo also said the Nevereven brand will be shut down. A spokesperson confirmed to CNBC that the brand, which was a part of J. Crew Group, will close.



J. Crew reported its third-quarter results on Thursday, which showed a 10 percent revenue increase to $622.2 million. Its net loss for the third quarter was $5.7 million, compared to losses of $18.4 million in the third quarter last year.

Comparable company sales increased 8 percent. In the third quarter last year, those sales decreased 9 percent.

Read the full report in The Wall Street Journal.

WATCH: Sears was the Amazon of the 1930s. Here's where the retailer is today
John Doerr David Paul Morris | Bloomberg | Getty Images

John Doerr made a fortune for his venture firm through an early investment in Amazon, when it was just an online bookseller. More than two decades later, he's betting the company is preparing for a big move into health care. Speaking at the Forbes Healthcare conference this week, Doerr said Amazon is among the best-positioned companies to take information its learned from customers and use it to their benefit. He's expecting CEO Jeff Bezos to roll out an offering for medical and health products that resembles Amazon Prime, which has over 100 million users.

"Imagine what it's going to be like when he rolls out Prime Health, which I'm convinced he will," said Doerr, chairman of Kleiner Perkins, the firm he joined in 1980. Doerr, who also backed companies including Google and Intuit, led Kleiner's investment in Amazon in 1995 and sat on the e-retailer's board until 2010. Doerr didn't say whether he'd spoken with Bezos about his plans in health care, but the two remain close. As CNBC reported in March, Doerr was involved in helping to find someone to lead the joint health initiative between Amazon, Berkshire Hathaway and J.P. Morgan Chase.

Amazon isn't the only company that Doerr expects to play a role in pushing health care forward. Despite Google's failed efforts with an earlier electronic medical records product called Google Health, Doerr still sees Alphabet as player in the market, and he should know since he's on the board. Doerr praised Verily, Alphabet's life sciences unit, as a more promising project, as well as the various artificial intelligence research groups like Google Brain. He also wouldn't rule out Microsoft as an enterprise-focused health player, given the software giant's efforts to get doctors using cloud technology. Doerr is ultimately hoping that entrepreneurs and tech companies will start to build on top of traditional electronic medical records companies, like Epic and Cerner, rather than replace them altogether. "This is a theme of mine," he said.

From ad-tech to health-tech
Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-NY) speaks to reporters after Democratic members of the Senate met to elect their leadership on Capitol Hill November 14, 2018 in Washington, DC.

Sen. Chuck Schumer accused President Donald Trump of trying to shut down parts of the federal government for political gains as Congress headed closer to its deadline to fund the government.

Lawmakers have to pass spending legislation by Dec. 7 or see funding lapse. Only parts of the government would shut down: lawmakers have already approved bills to fund five agencies, but still need to pass legislation to keep seven other departments running.

Trump's demand for $5 billion for his proposed wall on the U.S.-Mexico border has derailed talks and raised the specter of a partial shutdown. On Thursday, Schumer, the Senate minority leader, put the onus on Trump to avoid letting funding lapse. The New York Democrat contended that "this is the president trying to manufacture a shutdown to fire up his base" over immigration policy.

"Make no mistake: The president is the only person who holds the ultimate responsibility for a government shutdown," Schumer said Thursday on the Senate floor.

Congress already funded some key agencies such as the Departments of Defense and Health and Human Services. It has not passed spending bills for others such as the Department of Homeland Security.

Schumer proposed two possible solutions. He said Trump could agree to sign a bipartisan DHS spending deal that would put $1.6 billion toward fencing and other border security measures rather than the physical wall the president wants. Trump could also approve a short-term continuing resolution to keep the government funded while negotiations continue, Schumer said.

Republicans currently hold 51 seats in the Senate and need 60 votes to pass a spending bill. Therefore, they need at least nine Democrats to come on board.

"It would be a shame if the country suffered because of a Trump temper tantrum. It's the president's choice," Schumer said.

The White House did not immediately respond to a request to comment.

The Senate Democrat's stance sets him apart from the leaders in the GOP-controlled House. On Wednesday, House Speaker Paul Ryan said his chamber had the votes to pass the $5 billion in funding Trump seeks. He said "we hope the Senate comes with us."

Trump told Politico on Tuesday that he would "totally be willing" to shut down parts of the government over the border wall. He called immigration a "total winner" as a political issue.

But in an earlier Washington Post interview Tuesday, he took a softer stance, appearing to acknowledge that Senate Democrats may not approve $5 billion for the wall.

Many House Democrats are also unlikely to back a bill that includes border security funding.

The government has briefly shut down twice already this year. Disagreements over border security and legal protections for young immigrants brought to the U.S. illegally as children contributed to those lapses in funding.

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"He has the silent support, not so much public, of a lot of governments around the world who are also victims of Chinese trade practices," Burns said on " Closing Bell ."

Trump's tough trade tactics have ruffled feathers around the globe, but Burns said this case is different.

As President Donald Trump heads to his meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping , he'll have the support of many other world leaders, former ambassador Nicholas Burns told CNBC on Thursday.

U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping during the plenary session at the G20 Summit on July 7, 2017 in Hamburg, Germany.

The highly anticipated dinner between the two leaders, set for Saturday, will occur on the sidelines of the G-20 summit in Argentina.

"I bet a lot of those leaders around the table at the G-20 might be whispering to Donald Trump, 'Strike a hard bargain with the Chinese,'" Burns said.

The U.S. and China have been engaged in escalating tariffs. In September, the White House announced its latest duties on $200 billion of Chinese goods. If the two nations don't reach a truce by 2019, the tariffs will jump from 10 percent to 25 percent. It's part of the administration's plan to obtain what it sees as more favorable trade deals for the U.S.

Trump has already fired the first round in negotiations, said Burns, who served as U.S. ambassador to NATO and was the State Department's third-ranking diplomat during George W. Bush's presidency.

The president told The Wall Street Journal earlier this week that he expects to move ahead with the 25 percent tariffs and also suggested he could place a 10 percent tariff on iPhones and laptops imported from China.

"He's a cagey negotiator," said Burns. "He's trying to put the ball in China's court and see the amount he can get from China, from Xi Jinping, across that table on Saturday night.

He expects China to offer a guarantee that they will import a certain level of U.S. exports per year. However, the administration is more interested in structural changes to China's predatory trade practices, he added.

"It's a cat-and-mouse game between two very strong-willed leaders, strong governments," Burns said.
President Donald Trump's political troubles don't bode well for a resolution to the U.S.-China trade war, John Rutledge, a principal architect of Ronald Reagan's economic plan, told CNBC on Thursday.

"The political difficulties here make Trump do bad policy, which is more protectionism," he said on "Power Lunch."

Trump is set to have dinner with Chinese President Xi Jinping later this week at the G-20 summit in Argentina. Trade is expected to be among the topics discussed.

The meeting will occur just days after Trump's ex-lawyer, Michael Cohen, pleaded guilty to lying to Congress about a Trump real estate project in Russia, as well as the extent of the president's knowledge and involvement in the deal, which never came to fruition.

The plea in federal court Thursday is Cohen's second and is part of a new deal with special counsel Robert Mueller. After the hearing, Trump told reporters on the White House's South Lawn that Cohen was lying in his latest plea to "get a reduced sentence."

"The more we see Cohen and impeachment talks in the news, the more we're going to see Trump act like a tough guy because that'll make his base more excited in trying to defend him," said Rutledge, also a former advisor to President George W. Bush.

"That's bad for the trade dispute."

In September, the Trump administration announced new 10 percent tariffs on $200 billion of Chinese goods. If the two sides fail to reach a truce for 2019, the levies will climb to 25 percent.

According to The Wall Street Journal, the U.S. and China are exploring a trade agreement that would stop further tariffs from Washington in exchange for new talks about changes to Beijing's economic policy.

On Thursday, Trump told reporters, "I think we're very close to doing something with China but I don't know that I want to do it."

In the end, Rutledge, now chief investment officer at Safanad and a CNBC economics contributor, expects a "verbal solution, not a tariff solution" from the Trump-Xi meeting.

He also thinks that the inclusion of China trade hawk Peter Navarro at the dinner is "not a good sign." The White House trade policy advisor has taken an aggressive stance toward changing the U.S. trade relationship with China.

Earlier this month Navarro said any potential deal will be on Trump's terms, not Wall Street's terms. However, the president's top economic advisor, Larry Kudlow, later said Navarro was not speaking for the president nor the administration.

 CNBC's Kate Rooney and Kevin Breuninger contributed to this report.
Airbnb has already changed the way people travel. Now it's aiming to bring the sharing economy to housing, with the introduction of Backyard.

Airbnb's product development team, Samara, announced the project on Thursday. The Backyard initiative will prototype new ways that homes can be designed and built to accommodate flexible and shared living arrangements, while still being sustainable and adaptable.

Backyard aims to test prototypes units as soon as the fall of 2019.

"We began with a simple question: What does a home that is designed and built for sharing actually look and feel like?" Airbnb co-founder Joe Gebbia said in a statement about Backyard. "The answer is not simple at all.

"Other questions quickly emerged," said Gebbia. "Can a home respond to the needs of many inhabitants over a long period of time? Can it support and reflect the tremendous diversity of human experience? Can it keep up with the rate at which the world changes? Can we accomplish this without filling landfills with needless waste?

"It's a tall order."

While there are no details about what the homes might look like or how much they will cost, Gebbia told Fast Company that Backyard isn't just about a house, it's an "initiative to rethink the home."

"We helped people activate underutilized space  from a spare bedroom or treehouse to your apartment while you're away  and built a community that connected people around the world," Gebbia said. "With Backyard, we're using the same lens through which Airbnb was envisioned  the potential of space  and applying it more broadly to architecture and construction."

As The Washington Post points out, the project "could augment Airbnb's home-rental marketplace, adding real estate development to its portfolio, as cities continue to limit the company's short-term rentals." Cities from New York to Washington, D.C. and Boston are passing regulations that have the effect of restricting Airbnb offerings.

And Airbnb is not the only company expanding into residential real estate and shared living space: In 2016, WeWork launched WeLive, which currently has two apartment locations (one in NYC and the other in D.C.). Both have dorm-like apartments and communal social spaces.

Don't miss: Sallie Krawcheck: This is the biggest challenge going from a cushy corporate gig to a start-up

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Gary Jones, the newly-elected President of the United Auto Workers (UAW), addresses the 37th UAW Constitutional Convention June14, 2018 at Cobo Center in Detroit, Michigan.

"We were hopeful that this new agreement would rein in the corporate greed that has bled manufacturing in the United States," said UAW President Gary Jones. "Unfortunately, as GM's idling of plants in Ohio, Michigan and Maryland this week showed  the 'New' NAFTA, as it stands now, is not strong enough to protect American workers."

GM is "thumbing its nose" at the trade deal, commonly referred to as the new NAFTA, the United Auto Workers union said Friday. The U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement is meant to replace the 24-year-old North American Free Trade Agreement, which President Donald Trump has repeatedly denounced as a bad deal for Americans.

The United Auto Workers union said General Motors ' decision to idle plants in the U.S. and Canada shows the new trade deal between the United States, Canada and Mexico is not strong enough to stop the flow of jobs across the Mexican border.

GM, which announced Monday plans to cut 14,000 jobs as part of a massive restructuring, didn't immediately respond for comment.

But automaker Ford issued its own statement on the signing of the deal.

Joe Hinrichs, executive vice president and president of global operations for Ford, called it an "important step towards achieving free and fair trade in North America" that will help boost sales and support manufacturing jobs.

"To achieve the full potential of the trade agreement and to ensure ratification, the elimination of tariffs on steel and aluminum will be critical and we will continue to work with all stakeholders on this important issue," Hinrichs said.

The future looks bleak through the eyes of the workers at the factories GM plans to idle, the UAW said. The new measure has failed to stop the flow of work from the U.S. to Mexico where labor is cheaper because workers are exploited, he said.

"Corporations, like GM, have revealed time and time again that they will continue to play by their own rules at the expense of workers, even after raking in record profits," Jones said. "Our elected leaders owe it to working families in the United States to go back to the table and make this stronger, tighter and enforceable."
Frontier Airlines' parent is planning to buy a stake in low-cost carrier WOW Air, the companies said Thursday, the same day Icelandair Group announced it had scrapped a planned acquisition of its ailing rival, calling WOW's fate into question.

Indigo Partners, a Phoenix-based private equity firm which owns Frontier, has invested in discount carriers in Latin America and Europe. Indigo said it has reached an in-principle agreement with WOW Air to invest in the Icelandic airline. The terms were not disclosed.

"We have a strategic vision for the airline, and look forward to working with its employees and agents to deliver that vision," said Bill Franke, managing partner of Indigo Partners in a news release.

Franke is a veteran of the low-cost airline world. The firm had once owned Spirit Airlines, and helped grow and shape the once-struggling carrier. In addition to Frontier, Indigo Partners has invested in Chile-based JetSmart, Mexico's Volaris Airlines and Hungary-based Wizz Air, all discount airlines.

Indigo Partners is also a major purchaser of Airbus jets. WOW operates an all-Airbus fleet.

The investment, if finalized, is a new twist in the fortunes of struggling WOW Air.

The Icelandic WOW Air said this week that it has faced escalating financial problems since its bond issuance in September, including higher fuel costs.

Aircraft lessors and the company's creditors have "demanded stricter payment terms than before, putting further pressure on the company's cash flow," WOW Air said in a statement Tuesday. The airline reduced its fleet by four planes earlier this week.

The low-cost carrier, which expanded rapidly and helped fuel a tourism boom to Iceland, has grappled with other problems as well, including complaints about poor customer service.

"We have to do better," WOW's Chief Executive Officer Skuli Mogensen told CNBC in an interview in June in Iceland's capital of Reykjavik. "It's obviously in our interest to fix it." He said problems such as canceled flights and delays have cost the airline in terms of lost passengers and the money paid out as compensation.

"This conclusion is certainly disappointing," Bogi Nils Bogason, Icelandair Group's interim president and CEO, said in a statement after the company scrapped plans to acquire its rival WOW Air. "We want to thank WOW Air's management for a good cooperation in the project during recent weeks. All our best wishes go out to the owners and staff of the WOW Air."

WOW Air's flights first took off in 2012 and , adding trans-Atlantic service from several U.S. cities. The airline is a no-frills budget carrier, that offers low airfares, some below $100 one-way. It charges passengers for everything else, such as seat assignments, carry-on baggage and food and beverages.

WATCH: What it's like to train to become a commercial pilot  behind the scenes of United Airlines' simulation hub
California Gov.-elect Gavin Newsom is scheduled to attend the inauguration Saturday of Mexico's incoming president, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, and plans to discuss the caravan of Central American migrants at the border.

Newsom is part of a larger California delegation of elected officials and business leaders from the state attending the swearing in ceremony of Mexico's new president.

The trip, coming just over a month before Newsom takes the reins of California government, underscores how the state has taken a leadership role in immigration rights and continues to have a thriving economic relationship with Mexico.

It also comes as President Donald Trump and the leaders of Canada and Mexico on Friday signed the new United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, which will replace the 24-year-old NAFTA. The trade pact was signed on the sidelines of the G-20 Summit in Buenos Aires.

Despite the new USMCA signing, Mexico and Canada continue to target various U.S. goods with retaliatory tariffs in response to the Trump administration's duties on imported steel and aluminum. Tit-for-tat tariffs also have impacted a wide range of goods traded with China.

Mexico is California's top export market. Last year it accounted for 15.5 percent of all the state's exports, according to the U.S. Department of Commerce. Top exports from California include electronics and computers, while the top imports from Mexico are cars, electronics and agricultural products.

According to Beacon Economics, Mexico remained California's top export market in the third quarter of 2018 with shipments south of the border reaching $7.68 billion, up 14 percent from a year ago. By comparison, exports in the same period to Chinathe state's third biggest marketdipped 5.3 percent to $3.94 billion and reflected the expanding trade war with Beijing.

California ranks as the world's fifth largest economy, with gross state product last year totaling $2.74 trillion. Beacon estimates that the California's stake in the modernized North American Free Trade Agreement has grown in the past year, reaching 28 percent of the state's entire merchandise export trade in the third quarter of 2018 compared with 27 percent a year ago.

Meantime, immigration-related issues also have taken a more prominent role in ties between Mexico and California. More than two million undocumented immigrants reside in California, with Pew Research Center estimating in 2014 that over 70 percent are Mexican-born.

There are signs Newsom may take a more activist role on immigration-related matters than outgoing California Gov. Jerry Brown.

The shift comes as thousands of Central American asylum seekers are waiting in the Mexican city of Tijuana, hoping U.S. officials will let them cross the southern border. Federal officials this week defended the use of tear gas at the U.S.-Mexico border to defend against what they claim are "violent" migrants throwing rocks and other objects at U.S. officers.

On Thursday, Newsom visited San Diego where he said there's "a humanitarian crisis" at the border. He toured the Otay Mesa Immigration Detention Center and a temporary shelter for asylum seekers, saying the state should invest more money. The Democrat said there was a need for more to be done by local governments as well as the federal government.

"We can't do everything ourselves but I know we're capable of doing more," Newsom said during a news conference in San Ysidro. "I think we need to humanize the issue, not politicize the issue."

Newsom also indicated he plans to discuss the plight of the Central American migrants when he attends the inauguration Saturday of Mexico President-elect Lopez Obrador. The incoming governor, who assumes the governorship Jan. 7, 2019, reiterated his opposition to the use of California National Guard troops as part of Trump's mission of clamping down on southern border security.

In April, Brown announced the state reached an agreement with the Department of Defense to deploy up to 400 National Guard troops but indicated they would have a limited role to "combat criminal gangs, human traffickers and illegal firearm and drug smugglers  within the state, along the coast and at the U.S.-Mexico border." That agreement is set to expire at the end of March 2019.

"I have every desire to pull those Guardsmen back and assist in other capacities," Newsom said Thursday.

-The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Beijing has issued a notice to Chinese fishing boats operating overseas, warning them to avoid illegal activities during the G-20 summit in Argentina this weekend.

The country's Agricultural Ministry released a statement this week asking Chinese offshore fishing enterprises to stay at least three nautical miles away from other countries' marine exclusive economic zones. This distance will ensure that violations such as cross-border fishing don't occur, it said.

These measures are designed to protect China's image as a responsible great power and prevent any violations of foreign laws during the G-20, the ministry said.

Vessels entering the exclusive zone of another country must notify that nation and follow the principles of harmless navigation, according to the statement. Offshore fishing companies should also monitor the movement of their boats 24 hours a day and verify that each one operates in strict accordance with the law, the notice continued.

China's maritime image has been called into question in recent years. The world's second largest economy has engaged in aggressive behavior in international waterways such as the South China Sea while several Chinese ships have been implicated in illegal fishing abroad.

Last year, a Chinese ship in the Galapagos National Park  a marine sanctuary where industrial fishing is banned  was found with more than 6,000 sharks in what was deemed a huge blow to international marine conservation.

The country is also frequently accused of over-fishing within its territorial waters. Since 1994, China has exceeded its annual catch allowance every year, according to Greenpeace East Asia.
Below is the transcript of an interview with PIL's Executive Chairman, SS Teo and Founder, YC Chang. The interview will play out in CNBC's latest episode of Managing Asia on 16 November 2018, 6.30PM SG/HK (in APAC) and 11.00PM BST time (in EMEA). If you choose to use anything, please attribute to CNBC and Christine Tan.

Christine Tan: So Mr. Teo your father founded PIL in 1967. Earlier this year you finally succeeded your father in heading up the family's shipping business. How does it feel like to be talking over at a time when there's so much volatility on the global trade front?

SS Teo: First of all, I am very happy and honored that he handed over the chairmanship to me. He still remains as chairman emeritus, he still is on the board, and he will always be my chairman. There's never a thing as good time, best time or worst time to take over, but he believes I am prepared to take over the shipping group amongst all this volatility. And he's always there to guide me, and I can take comfort that he has actually put the company on a very solid foundation for me to take over.

Christine Tan: Mr. Teo, your family was one of the first shipping lines to really break into China. You yourself at the age of 16 made your first voyage to China in 1970. What are some of your memories doing business in China before the country opened up for economic reforms?

SS Teo: Well, my father started dealing with China, in fact, (even) before he formed PIL. He was the part of the business delegation that went to China in 1956 under Mr David Marshall. During that time, we were called the Singapore-Malaysia Federation. So when he formed PIL, his first so-called long haul sailing was from China to the Middle East. So since then, we have been talking about China over the dinner table whenever he travels to China, so there was a lot of mystery. So when I finished my "O levels" in December of 1970, he said, "Do you want to see China?" I said yes. At that time if you're Singaporean below 55, you cannot go to China until the early '80s. So the only way to go was as a sailor. So I sailed on a ship at the end of December 1970 to China for the first time. I went again in 1971, and again in 1977. So, the memory was that China was a very poor country.

Christine Tan: How much has changed since he started doing business in China? What were some of the changes you saw and felt?

SS Teo: Since then, the country had gone through tremendous changes. Now people are very commercial, competition is very fierce. 40 years ago they learn from us, I think now we learn from them.

Christine Tan: PIL was also an early mover into Africa. But you know doing business in a war-torn conflict-stricken continent was always very challenging. Even one of your vessels was hijacked off the coast of East Africa. Why stick with Africa after all these years?

SS Teo: Well, when my father first started PIL in 1967, we were a small private capital (firm), not much... You know, we don't really have the means to compete with the big boys in the Europe or the U.S. trade. So, we picked places like Africa and the Middle East and, in particular, the Red Sea. At the time, China needed to export goods to Africa, both East and West. They couldn't find a shipping line to carry their goods because many of them were barter trade project cargo. So, PIL became the natural choice.

Christine Tan: So you are getting the cargo, you are getting the money that rewards you for the risk you're taking?

SS Teo: Risk and also the determination, and persistency.

Christine Tan: Do you remember the time your vessel was hijacked off the coast of East Africa?

SS Teo: Yes, I'd never forget it. It was in 2009, in the middle of October.

Christine Tan: Just how traumatic was it?

SS Teo: When it happened, I got a phone call and before that, you always thought it would never happen to you, right? My ops manager called me and said pirates had boarded one of our ships, they were now escorting the ship back to Somalia. So my first reaction was: Life goes on, don't let this hijack affect the operation of the company. So the instruction was that, "Life goes on, let's form a disaster action team to actually try to get the ship back." So, the first thing that came to my mind was actually the safety of the men on board. So, we had to make sure that the family was informed, made sure that no media would go and disturb them, and we negotiated with the pirates. We told them that the safety of our men was number one. If you do any harm to them, then forget about the.

Christine Tan: So how long was the whole negotiation process?

SS Teo: 75 Days.

Christine Tan: So how did you manage in the end to free the vessels and your crew?

SS Teo: In the end, we had to pay an amount we cannot disclose. Then when they were freed, the ship sailed to a nearby port. In fact, I wanted to go to receive the ship but my father said no. He said "Your deputy better go". So he went, but the next thing we did was to make sure that all the crew had a psychiatrist to actually give them a check and we made sure that they were sent back to their home. We made sure that when they arrive at their home port, we have actually our manager in the local office to accompany the family to receive them. So I think that the post release, how to give them the treatment and all that, is very important.

Christine Tan: So, what important lessons have you learnt as a result? What precautions are you now taking?

SS Teo: We now try to avoid those, what we call, "high-risk areas". But if we have to go through (these areas), then we carry armed guards.

Christine Tan: Last year, the shipping industry bounced back from a deep downturn we saw in the industry itself. Both PIL and your Hong Kong-listed container manufacturer Singamas returned to profitability. How do you expect to do this year?

SS Teo: The trade war at the moment doesn't affect the cargo flow. If anything, the trans-Pacific volume is very strong. That could also be, what we call, "upfront loading": people bringing goods in, in advance of tariff increase. But we think in the medium-term, as long as America continues to consume, the supply chain will be altered. So we are seeing now, in fact, increasing amount of enquiries of factories relocating from China to nearby Vietnam, Cambodia, even Malaysia, Indonesia and Bangladesh. So, we think there will be disruption if a sudden tariff is imposed, but overall, as long as consumption is there, Americans continue to have their hand phones, shoes and clothes, in fact, the whole supply chain will be dragged longer and there will be new locations of production. Their logistics are not as efficient as China so in fact, the turnaround of ships will be longer. So in the medium and long term, as long as trade volume remains on growth, the ship utilization will go up. For this year, in the first half, most of us did badly. One of the reasons was that during Chinese New Year, the cargo rate did not go down. So I think all of us, most of us, got carried away. We thought that the cargo would come back off at the end of March this year. Some lines chartered more ships in preparation for the pickup, but the pickup did not happen at the end of March. It only came around in May. So, rates went down in the second quarter which should have gone up. But more importantly, the fuel price went up, bunker price went up. So, it was a double whammy. So by May, many lines were already calling for emergency bunkers surcharge. Lines came out to make statements to say that they would not have any sailing if they were not making money. So coming to the second half, I think the result will be much better. One is that rates have continued to recover to partly offset the fuel price increase. More importantly, shipping lines realize the importance of maintaining a stable service is to have a reasonable return. So rates are still firming up, as we speak, this month.

Christine Tan: Are you still fighting for market share?

SS Teo: I don't think so. We don't see anybody aggressively grabbing market share because we understand among the many lines is that they want to see in lay man words, "money on the table". We have to, because of the trading results in the last few years, plus many lines have gone through M&A. A lot of money has been spent, and money is getting more expensive. So, I think common sense is returning. And most lines are now more conscious about the bottom line. In fact, because of the higher fuel price, we see now many shipping lines, once the schedule slips because of typhoons and bad weather, we don't speed up the ship (any more) because when you speed up, you consume more fuel. So in a way, the vessel utilization actually has gone up.

Christine Tan: So, this recovery we're seeing in the shipping industry, it's still on track in your view?

SS Teo: Yes, yes. And I think after we see the painful lesson in the first half, and the positive result last year, I think most shipping lines will want to make sure that they run a more sensible operation.

Christine Tan: So in terms of earning, how do you see PIL doing?

SS Teo: PIL should be doing better, much better than first half. Yes.

Christine Tan: The massive consolidation in the shipping industry, has seen the bankruptcy of South Korea's Hanjin Shipping, not to mention the sale of Hong Kong's OOCL to China's Cosco Shipping as well, there is talk that PIL is the next to be taken over. What are your thoughts on that? Are you fighting to stay independent?

SS Teo: First of all, the rumor about it started as far back as 2016. One, I think it's because we are a very prized shipping line. Because today after all the M&A you mentioned, we are number nine. We are very well spread in many of the emerging markets in Southeast Asia, South Asia, even the Western Pacific. We are also very well established in the Middle East and Africa. These are markets that can only grow. They have a very low base, they have large population and young population. In fact, I think the Sino-U.S. trade tension will result in more factories being relocated to this area that I mentioned already, Vietnam, Cambodia, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka. So in a way, PIL is a very prized shipping line. Some lines have actually approached us to say "Would you like to be part of a big family?"

Christine Tan: And what did you say?

SS Teo: No.

Christine Tan: Why "no"?

SS Teo: Yes because one, my father founded this 51 years ago. Two, more importantly, I owe it to my staff. You know, we went through a very difficult time in 2017. We are not the strongest of the lines around, but I think that people matter a lot. And many customers tell us, "Please, you have to stay around because after being used to dealing with maybe five carriers, now we're down to three". Two are very big, and one is someone like us who is medium-sized but we have a very personal service and we are very flexible and nimble. We are very proud to say that, in all modesty, we are the flag bearers of Singapore across the seven seas. So after our national line was sold, PIL is the only remaining Singapore container liner company that spans the seven seas. So I think you can say this little red dot still needs a little red shipping line.

Christine Tan: Let's talk about your relationship with China's Cosco shipping line. It has been very close and it has grown even closer over the years. You've been chartering ships; you've been operating joint services. How much have you benefitted from doing business with China's state owned shipping and logistics giant over the years?

SS Teo: Well first of all, as you say, we have known each other for a long time, as far back as my father's time. Number two, they have grown tremendously but more importantly, China has become the most important market for liner shipping companies. Most of what we call the ocean-going carrier, 40 to 50 percent of cargo actually comes from Greater China. So, having a good relationship with the state-owned line is important.

Christine Tan: How did you and Cosco managed to hit it off so well all these years?

SS Teo: Well, it takes time. To me it has always been give and take. I think some people look at China Costco as a giant but even a giant have a spirit. How do you understand them? How do you get along with them on all levels, not only the top level, but the working level and the management level? I think so far, we have all spent a lot of effort get to know each other better. And I think so far that relationship and cooperation has been mutually beneficial. In fact, someone told me that China's Cosco has more joint services with PIL than their own consortium member.

Christine Tan: Your relationship has been so close that there were rumors swirling in the market last year that they were studying the possibility of acquiring PIL. Did they approach you? Did they talk about it with you? Are you opened to the idea?

SS Teo: You know Christine, I must emphasize this point that there is a difference between the West and the East. They can have lunch with you, in the afternoon the banker can call you, "Are you for sale?" Then, they say "I can give you X dollars, how much do you want?" That is the way I think the West does. The Eastern way is to get to know each other, to be comfortable and then they will say, "If you want to sell, why not consider us?" You know, they're not saying "I will buy you". So again, this is not impossible, in fact if you look from a third party viewpoint, we match very well because we work with them in Africa and we are going to have more cooperation.

Christine Tan: And you are actually sitting on the board of Cosco as well.

SS Teo: Yes, and we are going to have more cooperation which we will announce soon. But so far, I think the relationship and cooperation is better when we are separate. Sometimes, when you're friends, you worked together better, sometimes, when you are family, you may not work together so well.

Christine Tan: So the understanding is, you told them on the phone that it's okay to be friends for now, that you don't need to come together?

SS Teo: On the phone, over drinks.

Christine Tan: What do you tell them? What do you say?

SS Teo: We tell them we still treasure our independence and I think we can go back to being separate.

Christine Tan: What did they say?

SS Teo: Yes it's a fact. They respect you. So that's why I say, it's a very different way of doing things. Of course there are other ways they can grow. You know they can grow organically. They bought OOCL. They are looking at acquiring new things and even with some of the new things they've acquired, we can work together. Why not right?

Christine Tan: Let's talk about this great opportunity arising from China's "One Belt One Road". You're focusing on projects linking Western China and Southeast Asia. What are your plans there?

SS Teo: Well, the Belt and Road Initiative proposed by President Xi Jinping five years ago is a grand vision. In fact, when he was first proposed it, it really hit a note with us because my father came on a boat. He sailed on a boat from Xiamen to Singapore in 1937. So, the proposed new Maritime Silk Road really struck a chord with us because this is just a repeat of what my father did, almost exactly the route that we sailed from China to Southeast Asia, to South Asia to Africa. I think half of the countries on the Belt and Road sit on our trading lane. So, we think it's a great vision. But later on we got involved in Chongqing for the third Singapore government-to-government project, the Chongqing Connectivity Initiative. So, we look at how to develop more cargo from Chongqing, whether you go by the Yangtze, or you go by the rail to Europe, or you go by the traditional trucks and rail to Guangdong. So when we actually bring it down to Guangxi, Guangxi's port is called Qinzhou, the travel distance down from Guangxi down from Chongqing is 1200 km less than from Chongqing back by the Yangtze. So the wise leaders of the two countries, China and Singapore, came up with this idea called the Southern Transport Corridor. That means to link the whole western part of China to Guangxi, as well as to the sea and the sea outlet. Guangxi is very unique because it is the only province with a district that has a sea outlet and also it's bordering Vietnam. Definitely Guangxi is the place to be. We know that it is a very important "jie dian". We call it the focal point for the whole Southern Corridor. And the southern corridor is now being identified as a key project by China. Singapore is very active in this Southern Corridor as well. In fact, the Southern Corridor, the new definition is called the "lu hai mao yi xing dong dao". "Lu" is the train. "hai" is the sea. So this is going to be the new "logistics channel" to develop the western part. So I think we are benefiting from it already. We have two sailings a week from Guangxi to Southeast Asia and we're going to have a third sailing very soon.

Christine Tan: How many sailings could you ultimately have in the Southern Transport Corridor?

SS Teo: Ideally, it's daily sailing. Because one of the disadvantages of Guangxi at the moment is that it doesn't have as much sailing frequency as compared to Shanghai. Definitely for cargo from the western part to Southeast Asia it makes sense to come down. But the other way is imports, for example, now we are carrying durian and longan from Bangkok to Guangxi. From there, we go by train to Szechuan. It's only seven days. Compared if you go by the Shanghai side, it takes 20 fewer days. We are carrying coffee beans, from Vietnam to Guangxi in two days, by train to Chengdu in five days. One week and your goods are there. Previously, it would take you three weeks. But it would take time because people are so used to running that route. We are not saying that we would take away anything from Shanghai or Guangdong. I am looking at new growth and I think this new growth will bring prosperity to the western part of China which has partly been affected because of high logistics costs. So I think it's a great initiative, and PIL is very happy to be one of the first movers in the Southern Transport Corridor.

Christine Tan: PIL was founded 51 years ago in 1967, how much has technology changed this industry? What changes have you seen?

SS Teo: Well, the changes we see at the moment are mainly for the vessels. We can track our vessels' consumption 24/7 using mass flow meters and satellites. Electronic data has actually changed. Now we're using electronic BLs, we can have immediate transfers of information. But the way we do the business is still the same. But I believe that blockchain will be a revolution in the way that we process our information and the way the customer interacts with us. So I think blockchain is something that we need to embrace. But the most important is to make sure that everybody buys into it, not only the stakeholders, but more importantly, our staff.

Christine Tan: I understand you just completed your block chain trial that tracks and traces the cargo movements from Chongqing, to Guangzhou, to Southeast Asia. Are you happy with the results?

SS Teo: We're happy because it shows how blockchain can work - to track and trace this cargo movement and also how documentation can be simplified. Besides that, we have also just finished a trial with MPA Singapore, IMDA on the electronic bill of ladings. So really I think this is all going towards a paperless, safer way to transmit the information.

Christine Tan: There's just so much paperwork and documents involved in shipping, how much cost savings and time are we talking about?

SS Teo: For cost savings, we can't really tell, of course we'll be saving on man power, but that has to be balanced with the investment in the hardware and the software. So definitely I think we'll be saving on the overhead costs, but more important is that it'll be the safest transmission of information. People will take ownership of the information that they upload, whether to the shipper, the banks and all that. But most important is that you can literally book cargo anytime you want, 24/7. So it'll be more efficient way of doing things, but of course it will mean that there will be some loss of jobs, and we have to see how we can redefine a job for them.

Christine Tan: So, that's a big concern of yours? To what extent are you looking to deploy blockchain throughout the entire operations of PIL?

SS Teo: We will look at deploying it in areas where infrastructure is poorer, so it could be in certain parts of Southeast Asia, it could be South Asia, and we are looking actually at Africa. Africa doesn't have the infrastructure, but there's a lot of paperwork involved and there has been possible fraud. So, having this blockchain technology will ensure that we leapfrog in the documentation process, and even in improving the logistic efficiency.

Christine Tan: Mr. Chang, earlier this year, you put your son, Mr. Teo here, in-charge of the company.

YC Chang: Because I'm getting old already

Christine Tan: You're getting old, but you still come to work every day. Why?

YC Chang: It's my habit. I cannot stay at home.

Christine Tan: You cannot stay at home?

YC Chang: Very, very bored.

Christine Tan: What do you do when you come to work every day?

YC Chang: Every day, I write down all my activities in my diary, everything. Every department comes to see me.

Christine Tan: They still come to see you every day?

YC Chang: Yeah.

SS Teo: Yeah, all the division heads, department heads, will see him before they travel. He will have everybody's travel schedules. So, all the seniors before they leave they will see him, and they will see him again after they come back. So in a way he will brief them, also they will report back to him the outcome of the trip. So in a way, he still gets updated.

Christine Tan: So Mr. Chang it sounds like you're still in-charge. Yes?

YC Chang: No. Not really. I'm getting old, so I should step down. He is the successor.

SS Teo: No, he's still in charge, ultimate in-charge.

Christine Tan: So, ultimately now that he's passed on the reigns to you, how often do you consult your father on a day-to-day basis? How often do you talk to your father about business matters?

SS Teo: Maybe twice a day. I will see him every morning after my daily meeting. I just update him on whether there are any visitors in town, whether I am travelling or if I just came back. For example, now we have a big logistics project in Guangxi, so I update my father almost every day about Guangxi. He will ask about Guangxi, he will ask about our new ships being deployed, where they are going and all that. So I would consult him, I would say, twice a day, once in the morning after my morning meeting, and once will be after lunch before he goes home.

Christine Tan: Mr. Chang, do you like talking to your son every day about the company?

YC Chang: Yes, of course. Yeah. He likes to talk to me every day.

Christine Tan: The other way around?

SS Teo: I call him once a day when I'm overseas.

Christine Tan: Mr. Teo, what is the most valuable lesson you've picked up from your father about doing business?

SS Teo: I think, staying calm, that's very important. Because in any business, especially shipping, there's a lot of unknown. There can be political (issues), there can be technical issues, there can be accidents. Like the hijack of ships by pirates, ships get into trouble. So I think what he's taught me is to stay calm. It doesn't help losing your temper and getting all worked up. So staying calm is something that I learnt from him and I'm still learning from him.

YC Chang: I never lose my temper

Christine Tan: You never lose your temper, not once?

YC Chang: Very hard. Cannot. When you lose your temper, you just cannot control yourself.

Christine Tan: What advice are you giving your son, now that he's taking over the family business?

YC Chang: Hardworking. Humble.

Christine Tan: To be hardworking and humble?

YC Chang: Yeah.

Christine Tan: What do you worry about most for the family business? What do you worry about?

YC Chang: I worry about our cash flow. You cannot go too fast if your financials can't support you. So that's what my worry. We built 12 ships in Shanghai, they are very huge ships, and they cost a lot of money, so I'm a bit worried about our cash flow. (points to son) But he's so confident about that.

SS Teo: Well, that's the ship that you were on board, the P-class. So, we built 12 of them, it's the biggest investment we have, but he's worried about these big investments, but I would explain that without these 12 ships, we would not be in a competitive position, but at the same time, we need to watch our cash flow and our finances carefully.

Christine Tan: Mr. Chang, all these years growing PIL, the company has stayed private. Why?

YC Chang: It's easy to control.

Christine Tan: You don't want the company to go public?

YC Chang: Shipping very competitive, if you go public, you have to list out information about all your activities to the outside. But being private, we get to keep it in our company.

Christine Tan: So you've heard what your father wants, will that change under your leadership in the future?

SS Teo: That will be a major consideration, to bear in mind the pros and cons, of staying private, or rather, the pros and cons of going public. So, that will be a major consideration when we consider going forward.

Christine Tan: In terms of leadership style, Mr. Teo, how different are you from your father? You say your father is very calm, something you're trying to learn from him, but how different are you in terms of leadership style? What are you like as the boss?

SS Teo: When I was younger, I was more bad-tempered, so I was more (of) a hard leader. But my father taught me one thing, in Chinese, it's "yi de fu ren", that means you want people to obey you, not because of your authority, not because of your power, or because you are fierce, but more because of your integrity, your quality, that people actually respect you and listen to you. So, "yi de fu ren" is a very difficult thing to do, but I think I'm slowly learning it. So, these are the things that I have to learn; how to really be able to command respect, not because of my authority or my position, but more because of the contribution I'm doing and working together with my colleagues.

Christine Tan: Mr Chang, you're 100 years old. You are the world's oldest billionaire. Are you happy about what you've built so far at PIL?

YC Chang: Yes, I am. I am. Last time, Singapore had 15 (shipping companies). Now, only one, PIL can survive. Shipping is a very tough business. Very, very tough.

Christine Tan: And finally, Mr. Teo, you know you've got big shoes to fill. How does it feel like to carry on your father's legacy?

SS Teo: They are big shoes, and he had always reminded me at the year-end that next year is going to be very tough. I've been hearing it for 39 years already. But recently, we did a survey. We actually listed the shipping companies that were around when he started PIL. So we actually counted 15 of them but the 15 of them are no longer around. So that is actually, both a warning and an encouragement. The warning to say that look, you also can be one of them on the list. Encouragement is that we're still around despite all the ups and downs including that major consolidation we saw two years back. So, I think it's really to make sure that the legacy carries on. So, last year we celebrated 50 years, so my commitment to him and to my family, and to my colleagues is that we will celebrate 100 years.

Christine Tan: Your son has made a promise that the company will be around for the next 50 years.

YC Chang: He's getting old already. I stepped down because I'm getting old. Let the young man take over.

SS Teo: So to him, 60 years is considered a young man.

Christine Tan: Thank you, Mr. Chang, thank you so much, Mr. Teo.

YC Chang and SS Teo: Thank you.

ENDS

For more information:

Clarence Chen

Communications Manager APAC, CNBC International

D: +65 6326 1123

M: +65 9852 8630

E: clarence.chen@cnbc.com

About CNBC:

CNBC is the leading global broadcaster of live business and financial news and information, reporting directly from the major financial markets around the globe with regional headquarters Singapore, Abu Dhabi, London and New York. The TV channel is available in more than 410 million homes worldwide.

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CNBC is a division of NBCUniversal. For more information, visit www.cnbc.com.

About Managing Asia:

Managing Asia is the Asia Pacific region's ground-breaking interview programme featuring CEOs, entrepreneurs and other business leaders.

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Three of the most popular TV series from writer and director Joss Whedon are coming to Facebook.

All episodes of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," "Angel," and "Firefly" will be available to stream on Facebook Watch, the company's section for series and other premium video content, starting on Friday. Viewers will be able to binge with others real-time using the platform's communal viewing capabilities, kicking off with three official Watch Parties on launch day.

The shows, which originally aired on TV around the turn of the millennium and will evoke nostalgia among older millennials, may reflect Watch's new strategy to focus on viewers in their 30s and older, as CNBC previously reported. Facebook Watch was meant to let the company tap into the digital video advertising industry, which was worth $28 billion in 2018 per eMarketer. But the service, which launched in August 2017, has yet to gain widespread household recognition, according to publishers and media buyers.

"Our focus with Facebook Watch is on content and experiences that help people connect, ignite conversation and build community," Facebook vice president of video Fidji Simo said in a blog post. "We think there is a range of content that can do this, and are excited to bring iconic pop culture favorites like these series for their avid fan communities to experience them in new ways, and for new fans to discover these awesome 90s classics."

The financial terms and duration of the deal were not disclosed.

The initiative is a critical part of Facebook's efforts to diversify its revenue beyond News Feed ads. The company is looking to expand video, messaging, and Stories to ensure future growth as other areas slow down, CEO Mark Zuckerberg said during a call with analysts in October. The company was expected to spend between $1 billion and $2 billion on video content through 2019, Variety reported.

Facebook has indicated to some publishers they plan on focusing the service to focus on older millennials, Gen X and up, which could also be a reaction to teens leaving the main Facebook platform.

Facebook is heading into shiny new territory with this deal, which marks some of the best-known series available on Facebook Watch. The company has been looking to acquire the rights to existing intellectual property (IP) for Watch, several video publishers have told CNBC. The company is creating a new version of MTV's "The Real World," for example. Other companies have posted their entire content library on Facebook Watch, including Freemantle and its global "Got Talent" series and some selections from FilmRise. A Facebook spokesperson said it will continue to focus on identifying content that will engage its community.
A spokesperson for Facebook told CNBC the company researched possible motivations behind Soros' criticism of Facebook in January, before Sandberg inquired about Soros.

Sandberg told subordinates to look into Soros' criticism and whether he stood to gain financially from the attacks by shorting its shares, the Times said.

The request came after Soros bashed Facebook and Google in a January speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos, calling them a "menace." At the time, Facebook was facing new scrutiny over its handling of Russian misinformation campaigns and the proliferation of hate speech its platform.

Sandberg asked for the information in an email in January to senior communications and policy executives, the Times reported late Thursday, citing three unnamed sources with knowledge of her request.

Facebook Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg told the company's communications staff to carry out research on the financial interests of liberal billionaire George Soros, The New York Times reports .

"Mr. Soros is a prominent investor and we looked into his investments and trading activity related to Facebook. That research was already underway when Sheryl sent an email asking if Mr. Soros had shorted Facebook's stock," the spokesperson said. "Sheryl never directed research on Freedom from Facebook. But as she said before she takes full responsibility for any activity that happened on her watch."

Freedom from Facebook is an anti-Facebook group.

Earlier this month, an extensively reported New York Times article described how CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Sandberg downplayed internal efforts to assess Russia's misinformation campaigns, and then tried to deflect public scrutiny onto Facebook's competitors instead.

The report added that even as Facebook claimed some criticism of the company was anti-Semitic, a Republican-linked opposition research firm it worked with was trying to plant the idea that Soros  himself a frequent target of anti-Semitic attacks  was behind the growing anti-Facebook movement.

For her part, Sandberg responded by saying some of the allegations were "simply untrue" but acknowledged that the company was "too slow" to respond to the Russian interference on the site. On Soros, Sandberg said in a Nov. 15 Facebook post she wasn't aware that Facebook had hired opposition research group Definers Public Affairs or the work it was doing. "I have great respect for George Soros  and the anti-Semitic conspiracy theories against him are abhorrent," she added in the post.

But in a memo a week later, she acknowledged "Some of their work was incorporated into materials presented to me," the Times has reported.

Last week, Facebook's outgoing head of communications and public policy, Elliot Schrage, reportedly took the blame for hiring Definers, which Facebook dropped after the initial Times story on Nov. 14.

Read more about the Times' report on Sandberg's request to Facebook staff to research George Soros here.
U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping are expected to discuss trade at the G-20 summit in Argentina this week  a meeting that's watched globally for clues on where tensions between the U.S. and China are going. The meeting comes after tit-for-tat tariffs between the two countries dominated headlines this year: The U.S. levied additional duties on $250 billion worth of Chinese goods, and China responded with retaliatory tariffs on $110 billion of American imports. And there could be more in the works. Trump has threatened to increase those additional duties imposed on Chinese goods this year from 10 percent to 25 percent next January. The U.S. president also said he's considering levying extra tariffs on another $267 billion worth of Chinese imports should Beijing retaliate. The escalation in tensions between the world's two largest economies is a threat to the global economy. And the upcoming meeting between Trump and Xi could either calm nerves or continue to keep the world on edge. WATCH: What is the difference between the G-7, G-8 and G-20?

What to expect?

Discussions around trade are expected dominate the G-20 summit, with the meeting between Trump and Xi likely to overshadow much of the main agenda at Bueno Aires  but most experts are not expecting any breakthrough in the ongoing U.S.-China tariff fight. Trump himself has indicated as much. Before departing for Argentina, the president told reporters that the U.S. is "close to doing something with China but I don't know that I want to do it." To Gary Locke, former U.S. ambassador to China, that statement shows that Trump is preparing the world for a "no deal" outcome. "Because there have been really no substantive negotiations over the last several weeks or months, at most, there might be an agreement for the president to withhold further tariffs, not adding to the tariffs already imposed on some $250 billion worth of goods coming from China, in exchange for discussions over the next several months," Locke told CNBC's "Squawk Box" on Friday.

At most, there might be an agreement for the president to withhold further tariffs ... in exchange for discussions over the next several months Gary Locke former U.S. ambassador to China

There are two reasons why Trump would agree to hold back tariffs, according to Kirk Wagar, former U.S. ambassador to Singapore. The first is that China seems likely to come to the table with "some real deliverables" to ease tensions with Washington, he told CNBC's "Street Signs" on Friday. The other reason is the increasing political pressure that Trump is facing at home: American businesses and consumers have had to pay billions of dollars in taxes due to those higher tariffs on China, Wagar said. That has resulted in farm bankruptcies, and companies cutting jobs and closing plants, he added. However, other experts have warned that Trump could well go ahead with the additional tariffs scheduled for January, and eventually on all Chinese goods that enter the U.S. "Trump may want to keep the threatened increase as a way to further pressure China into a deal," analysts from Geneva-based Pictet Wealth Management wrote in a report last week.

What's at stake?

The U.S. and China together account for close to 40 percent of global gross domestic product, according to data by the World Bank. The two countries are also large consumer markets, important nodes in the global manufacturing supply chains and major investment destinations. That means any hits to the two economies will spill over to the rest of the world. The International Monetary Fund has already downgraded its forecasts for global growth this year and next, citing trade tensions as a major risk that will derail economic activity worldwide. Companies have also started to re-think their business strategies. Citi, in a poll conducted earlier this month, found that many of its clients are adjusting supply chains to circumvent additional tariffs.

Even without trade tensions, economic growth in the U.S. and China is expected to slow in 2019. Stateside, the effects of fiscal support from the Trump administration's tax cuts will wear off while in China, structural reforms are putting a lid on growth prospects.

What are the underlying issues?

But to some experts, the real issue is China's growing influence on the global stage, which they say the U.S. wants to curb. "We can't expect a deal of breakthrough that fundamentally solves the issues between the United States and China because they're too profound, they're too deep, there are too many of them," said Robert Daly, director of the Kissinger Institute on China and the United States at Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. "It's not simply trade friction because the countries are involved in a global competition for pre-eminence which includes trade regime, security architectures, norms and practices, values and ideologies and there's really nothing that Xi Jinping can put on the table that will satisfy Trump's demand for structural change within China," Daly told CNBC's Sri Jegarajah on Thursday.

Watch: How do tariffs work?
Shares of Goldman Sachs fell 2.1 percent Friday after an analyst at Bank of America Merrill Lynch said the stock's gains could be capped as a scandal related to the Malaysian government investment fund festers.

Bank of America Merrill Lynch analyst Michael Carrier downgraded Goldman to neutral from buy and slashed his price target on the stock to $225 a share from $280, still implying a 15.5 percent upside from Thursday's close. The stock traded around $191 before the bell Friday.

"While we view the current valuation as discounting most of the potential negative scenarios related to 1MDB, we only have limited information and the uncertainty could linger for a while and limit the upside potential if markets stabilize," Carrier wrote in a note to clients.

Goldman's stock has fallen sharply since news broke that the Malaysian government sought refunds of fees it paid the bank for deals related to 1MDB, Malaysia's state investment fund. The deals raised billions of dollars that were later stolen. In that time, Goldman shares have dropped more than 10 percent. But most of those losses came after it was reported that former CEO Lloyd Blankfein attended an introductory meeting with the financier later accused of stealing billions from the fund.

Goldman shares since Nov. 12

Source: FactSet

Morgan Stanley also lowered its Goldman rating on Nov. 21 amid the scandal, noting it is not clear how long the situation "will take to resolve."

Meanwhile, Bloomberg News reported Thursday that the Federal Reserve is ramping up an investigation into how Goldman executives avoided the bank's compliance controls. Former Goldman investment banker Tim Leissner, who pleaded guilty for his involvement in the 1MDB scandal, said this behavior is part of the bank's culture.

Goldman "could face fines, penalties and other sanctions, but as of now, we don't expect it to have a [long-term] impact on the business," Bank of America Merrill Lynch's Carrier said. "That said, given that the timing of the investigation is not known, this may take some time, could continue to weigh on GS, and limit [near-term] stock upside."

To be sure, Carrier points out that similar cases in the past have ended with penalties ranging from millions of dollars to about $2 billion. Goldman "has lost ~$12B in market cap (~14%) since the beginning of Nov on these headlines  so it appears to us that the stock has more than discounted the outcome. In addition, the headlines shined a negative light on GS during a broader market and sector sell-off, which likely added to the pressure," Carrier said.

CNBC's Michael Bloom contributed to this report.
U.S. Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke talks to reporters before departing Kanab Airport on May 10, 2017 in Kanab, Utah. Zinke has been in the state of Utah since Sunday talking with state and local officials and touring the Bears Ears National Monument.

The nasty back-and-forth underscored both the unusually high number of official investigations facing Zinke , and a previous situation involving Grijalva and a former top staffer on a congressional committee.

Responding to Zinke's tweet, Grijalva said in an email, "The American people know who I'm here to serve, and they know in whose interests I'm acting. They don't know the same about Secretary Zinke."

"It's hard for him to think straight from the bottom of the bottle," Zinke said in a scathing tweet he posted in response to Arizona Democrat Grijalva's op-ed piece in USA Today, which accused Zinke of numerous "ethical and managerial failings" that require him to "resign immediately as Secretary of the Interior."

Embattled Interior Department Secretary Ryan Zinke on Friday angrily lashed out at a congressman who had called on him to resign , saying Rep. Raul Grijalva used tax dollars to pay off a staffer with "hush money to cover up his drunken and hostile behavior."

Zinke or his department have been the subject of "17 publicly known probes" since he took office in 2017, Grijalva noted in his op-ed. Those probes include one, since referred to the Justice Department, into whether he had a conflict of interest in a real estate deal in his native Montana involving a developer who is the chairman of the energy company Halliburton.

His Cabinet position makes him one of the chief regulators overseeing oil and gas drilling activities.

Zinke said during an interview on Fox News on Thursday night that "I'm 10 for 10" in the outcome of investigations into his conduct.

"I've had 10 investigations completed, and you know what they all say? Ryan Zinke followed all the rules, all the regulations, all the procedures. This is politically motivated. In Montana we call it B.S."

Tweet

Last December, Grijalva said on a radio show that he signed off on a $48,000 settlement to a former committee staff member who had claimed he was drunk while working. Grijalva, who denied ever being intoxicated on the job, said she had made a complaint of a hostile working environment after he moved to fire her.

"On the advice of House Employment Counsel, I provided a severance package to a former employee who resigned," he said in a statement last year. He also denied having a drinking problem at the time.

His USA Today op-ed Friday said that "Zinke is embroiled in scandals and nepotism," and warned that scrutiny of Zinke by the Natural Resources Committee "will only intensify if I'm chairman" of the committee in the upcoming session of Congress.

In calling for Zinke's resignation, Grijalva wrote, "I take no pleasure in calling for this step, and I have resisted it even as questions have grown about Mr. Zinke's ethical and managerial failings."

"Unfortunately, his conduct in office and President Donald Trump's neglect in setting ethical standards for his own cabinet have made it unavoidable," the congressman wrote.

"While the secretary continues to project confidence, questions have grown since the election about his future plans, and the White House reportedly fears that he would be unable to withstand scrutiny on Capitol Hill," Grijalva wrote. "Those fears are justified. Mr. Zinke has never even tried to offer an explanation for the sheer scope of his well-documented scandals."

The congresman went on to say: "This silence is insulting to the American people, and given the Nov. 6 election results it is unsustainable. Continuing in office as though nothing has changed only shows how little Mr. Zinke has learned over the past year and a half."

"He holds his job as a public trust, not as a stepping stone to his further personal ambitions. He has abused that trust and damaged the Interior Department in the process. The least he can do is step down and give his successor a chance to begin reversing that damage."
Lana Del Rey might croon about "Summertime Sadness," but her life is pretty enviable: She's gearing up to release a new album, is the face of the new Gucci perfume and just bought a million-dollar Echo Park cabin in Los Angeles, California.

But for Del Rey, life wasn't always so luxurious. Before she was making money as a musician, she was waiting tables as a teenager in Lake Placid, New York. At 18, she headed to New York City to study metaphysics at Fordham University.

"When I was in New York, I would take jobs off Craigslist," Del Rey, 33, tells CNBC Make It at the Breakthrough Prize ceremony in Palo Alto, California.

"I'd be like a mover, you know, paint houses. I got paid actually not to paint, once I got hired...I was so bad," she jokes.

"I would take odd jobs babysitting, even in my mid-20s."

Del Rey says struggled for nearly a decade: "I was singing in bars for maybe eight years."

Happily, Del Rey went on to release a number of successful albums and singles like "Summertime Sadness" (2013), "Young and Beautiful" (2013), "West Coast" (2014) and "Love" (2017). Over the years, her work has been nominated for several Grammy Awards.

Still, those early years were challenging. Buts she maintained her drive to keep going, she says, because she was pretty sure singing, "was always going to be my most favorite thing to do."

In her mid-20s, when she finally inked a record deal, she remembers exactly what she spent her money on.

"I paid off all my credit card debt," Del Rey says. "$17,200."

Don't miss: Mindy Kaling reveals how she learned to be confident  and why it's key to success

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Canopy Growth operations in Smiths Falls, Ontario. Tom Franck | CNBC

Michigan and New Jersey are on track to become the latest states to legalize recreational marijuana, potentially bringing in millions of dollars in tax revenue. Still, some lawmakers and advocates say the states are leaving money on the table. On Nov. 6, Michigan voters passed a measure to legalize marijuana for recreational use, with 56 percent voting in favor. The change will take effect on Dec. 6, however marijuana won't be available for sale until the government grants licenses to businesses sometime in 2019. New Jersey state Senate and Assembly committees passed a bill on Monday to legalize recreational marijuana in the state. The bill will need to be approved by the full legislature as well as by Governor Phil Murphy, who supports legalization. If it passes as expected before the end of the year, New Jersey will be the 11th state, in addition to Washington, D.C., to legalize recreational marijuana.

A new stream of revenue

Recreational marijuana sales in Michigan will rake in $89 million in tax revenue for the fiscal year beginning Oct. 1, 2019, according to estimates by the state's Senate Fiscal Agency. After funding implementation and enforcement, 70 percent of the remaining tax revenue from marijuana sales will go to schools and infrastructure repair and 30 percent will go to counties and municipalities with marijuana businesses. The New Jersey government estimated that recreational marijuana would bring in $60 million in tax revenue before June 30 of next year alone. "We examined other states that already have a legalized mechanism in place and took a conservative estimate based on the revenue they generated in year one of legalization," Treasury department spokeswoman Jennifer Sciortino said in March. Tax revenue from sales that remains after funding regulatory operations will be deposited into the state's general fund.

Lowest marijuana tax rates

Michigan and New Jersey are poised to have some of the lowest marijuana tax rates in the country, which has sparked a debate about the best taxation strategy. Sales in Michigan will be subject to a 10 percent excise tax in addition to the standard 6 percent sales tax. The proposed bill in New Jersey imposes a 12 percent sales tax, and municipalities who host marijuana businesses can impose up to an additional 2 percent tax. The first two states to legalize recreational marijuana, Washington and Colorado, imposed a 37 percent sales tax and a 30 percent combined excise and sales tax, respectively. Tax revenue in Michigan "that may come from this initiative will be far less than one half of one percent of the state budget," said Scott Greenlee, president of anti-legalization group Healthy and Productive Michigan, in a statement released after the election. "The people may have voted on the concept of legalizing marijuana, but they probably wouldn't mind more money going to the roads and schools than the pockets of the pot business," wrote columnist and author Mitch Albom in an op-ed for the Detroit Free Press criticizing Michigan's tax rate. New Jersey Gov. Murphy is a proponent of a 25 percent tax on recreational marijuana. On the campaign trail, he touted potential tax revenues of $300 million from legalization, which is only attainable with a 25 percent tax. On the other hand, Senate President Steve Sweeney pushed for the 12 percent tax that is included in the current bill. It is yet to be determined what the tax rate in the final legislation will be. "I believe this is a reasonable and responsible rate that is fair to the consumers and will generate adequate revenue to support the regulatory system," he said. "We want to be competitive with other states and it is important that we put the illegal drug dealers who want to continue to sell marijuana out of business." Supporters of lower tax rates argue that steep taxes will only drive consumers towards the black market. "A high tax rate doesn't do much to incentivize the consumer to use legal businesses," said Josh Hovey, spokesperson for Michigan's Coalition to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol, which advocated for legalization, in an interview with CNBC. California, which legalized recreational marijuana at the beginning of this year, imposes a statewide 15 percent excise tax in addition to sales and municipality taxes that can reach 20 percent. According to a survey conducted by cannabis delivery platform Eaze, one in five Californians still purchase cannabis from the black market. The survey also found that a 5 percent reduction in the tax rate could convert 23 percent of consumers from the black market to the legal market.

Economic hardships persist

Both the New Jersey and Michigan state governments have faced their share of financial challenges. "Our economic growth has trailed almost every other competitor state in the nation, in almost every category," Gov. Murphy said in his annual budget address in March. Credit ratings firm S&P Global calls the state pension system as one of the worst-funded in the country. Its unfunded liability totals roughly $90 billion, according to a 2017 study commissioned by then-Governor Chris Christie. State Treasurer Elizabeth Muoio, testifying before the Senate Budget Committee in May, noted the state's "anemic post-recession revenue growth is still 6 percent below our pre-recession peak." In Michigan, the Senate Finance Agency dubbed the state's economic growth after the 2008 financial crisis "a record-weak recovery for a record-setting recession." October tax collections for the School Aid Fund, which will receive some of the tax revenue from recreational marijuana sales, were $92 million below forecasts, according to the agency. According to a 2016 government report commissioned by Gov. Rick Snyder, Michigan is underinvesting in transportation infrastructure by $2.7 billion each year. Governor-elect Gretchen Whitmer tweeted during the campaign that recreational marijuana should be legalized and taxed "so that we can #fixthedamnroads." Despite the potential revenue gains, "states should be wary of trying to use marijuana tax revenue to fund essential services," warned Katherine Loughead, policy analyst at the nonprofit Tax Foundation. "As more and more states legalize, it's less of a novel concept," she said. "We could see revenues decline over time."

A step forward
Padmasree Warrior, chief executive officer of U.S. operations for NextEV Inc., speaks during the Future of Mobility Summit in Palo Alto, California, U.S., on Friday, Feb. 2, 2018.

The U.S. head of Nio, an electric car-maker seen as one of the main Chinese rivals to Tesla, will leave the company, the firm said in a filing on Friday, the first major management departure since its September IPO.

Padmasree Warrior, chief executive officer of NIO USA and global chief development officer, will resign from her posts on Dec. 17 for "personal interests", the company said.

Warrior joined Nio, previously called NextEV, in 2015, and led the company along with founder and CEO William Li to become one of China's most legitimate challengers in the global race to develop electric vehicles.

Before joining Nio, Warrior was chief technology and strategy officer at Cisco Systems and chief technology officer at Motorola.

China is the world's largest and fast-growing market for new-energy vehicles (NEVs), a category comprising electric battery cars and plug-in electric hybrids.

NEV sales in the first 10 months of 2018 came in at 860,000 vehicles, up 75.6 percent year-on-year.

Competition is, however, rising as Beijing looks to rein in subsidies that led to a huge array of EV contenders entering the market. Some of those are now being weeded out.

Tesla itself is building a car manufacturing plant in Shanghai to bolster its presence in the market and reduce its prices to become more competitive.

Nio's shares - up strongly this year on robust revenue growth and bullish views from some analysts - dropped more than 4 percent in U.S. trading on Thursday.
Russian President Vladimir Putin (L) looks at U.S. President Donald Trump during the welcoming ceremony prior to the G20 Summit's Plenary Meeting on November 30, 2018 in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Mikhail Svetlov | Getty Images

Senior Russian officials publicly chided U.S. President Donald Trump following his announcement on Thursday that he would no longer meet with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin during the G-20 summit of world leaders in Argentina. Trump announced the cancellation via Twitter, citing Russia's seizure of two Ukrainian gunboats and a tugboat in the Kerch Strait, a shared zone which sits between Ukraine and Russia. He said his decision "would be best for all parties concerned." But some wondered if new developments in special counsel Robert Mueller's Russia investigation were to blame. Russian officials questioned Trump's justification for scrapping the meeting at the last minute and dismissed the notion that the diplomatic development would be a setback for Russia.

A spokesperson for the Kremlin on Thursday said the cancellation would free up time "for useful meetings." A top Russian lawmaker said the forgone meeting was a lost opportunity "not for Putin, but for Trump." "We have heard the official explanation and taken note of it," Kremlin foreign ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said during a Friday briefing. "But is it true? I think the true reason is rooted in the domestic political situation in the United States." The leaders could still connect at the summit. The Kremlin said Friday that it expects an informal meeting to take place. The White House seemed to leave open that possibility, saying only that no meeting had been scheduled. Asked if he would exchange pleasantries with Putin, Trump told reporters Friday, "not particularly. I don't know." WATCH: What is the difference between the G-7, G-8 and G-20?

Timing spurs speculation

The timing of the cancellation spurred speculation that domestic politics were at play. The president had told reporters just before he boarded a plane to Argentina that he believed it was "a good time to have the meeting." That morning, however, the president's former lawyer Michael Cohen pleaded guilty to lying to Congress about the president's business dealings with Russia, a possibly embarrassing development just ahead of a bilateral meeting with that country's leader. Cohen said that he had lied to the Senate Intelligence Committee last year about his work on a potential Trump Tower in Moscow. Cohen had told lawmakers negotiations had ended in January 2016. In reality, Cohen said during his plea Thursday, work continued for at least six more months, during the crucial period in which Trump all but secured the Republican nomination for president.

Rudy Giuliani, the president's attorney, said in a statement following the plea that it was "hardly coincidental" that Mueller brought the charge "just as the President is leaving for a meeting with world leaders." White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said that Mueller's probe "probably does undermine our relationship with Russia." But, she said, the "reason for our canceled meeting is Ukraine." "I think that likely President Trump and his advisors realized that meeting with Putin would create increased liabilities for President Trump, considering his performance in Helsinki," said Mark Simakovsky, a former Russia country director in the Department of Defense. "Clearly they felt vulnerable because of this domestic situation going on." Russian lawmakers suggested that the cancellation was pushed by "anti-Russian" forces in the U.S. government. "Trump's cancellation of a meeting with Putin is another [instance of] Twitter anti-diplomacy," said Leonid Slutsky, a Russian member of parliament who chairs the foreign affairs committee in the Duma, the lower chamber of parliament. Slutsky told reporters Trump was "probably squeezed by Russian opponents inside the U.S.," and said the move "goes completely in line with the anti-Russian policy," according to a report in the state news agency TASS. In a post on Facebook, Russian senator Konstantin Kosachev said the "source and the driving forces" behind Trump's action are "exclusively in the whirling of domestic political passions in the American capital." Kosachev chairs the foreign affairs committee in the Russian parliament's upper house. John Herbst, a former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine and the director of the Atlantic Council's Eurasia Center, said in an email that Moscow has a pattern of "distinguishing between President Trump and the tougher, more realistic policies of his Administration." The latest development, he said, is no exception.

Foreign policy victory

Kosachev also suggested that Trump may have delivered Russia a foreign policy victory. He cited the language the president used in his post on Twitter. "Based on the fact that the ships and sailors have not been returned to Ukraine from Russia, I have decided it would be best for all parties concerned to cancel my previously scheduled meeting," the president wrote. Kosachev wrote that, because the ships are in Russia-occupied Ukraine, Trump's statement that the ships are in Russia "is nothing but a long-awaited recognition." "This is already an alarming signal for Kiev, and not for Moscow," he wrote.
Taco Bell wants to help send you to college. The Taco Bell Foundation, has announced that it will be giving away more than $21 million in college scholarships by 2021. To apply, students must submit a two-minute video describing their passion. That's it  no grades, essays or test scores required. Earning a college degree gives you a serious advantage in the workforce. College graduates consistently out-earn workers with just a high school diploma and, according to the Georgetown Center on Education and the Workforce 65 percent of all jobs in the American economy will require education beyond high school by 2020. But most Americans struggle to cover the cost of college and philanthropic efforts like Taco Bell's have become increasingly common among major corporations interested in appealing to young consumers. While vacation giveaways and celebrity endorsements used to be tried-and-true marketing techniques for brands, efforts like Taco Bell's reflect changing priorities. In February, Natural Light announced that it would be giving away $1,000,000 to help grads pay off student loans.

Courtesy of Taco Bell

The Taco Bell Foundation has offered the Live Mas Scholarship for four years now. The initiative was originally designed to give away just $10 million, but the organization recently decided to double its efforts. "We know that affordability is a major barrier to education," said Tina Nguyen, Executive Director of the Taco Bell Foundation, in a statement, "so we hope that by doubling our funding we can double the number of doors opened for young people, and remove twice as many obstacles for innovators, creators and dreamers." The Live Mas Scholarship offers students between the ages of 16 and 24 prizes ranging from $5,000 to $25,000. Students have until by February 21, 2019, to submit their video applications and do not need to include their SAT scores or grades.

This year, the Taco Bell Foundation plans to give away over $4 million in awards, with roughly $1 million going to students who work for the fast-food chain. So far, the fund has awards $5.8 million in support to approximately 600 students. One of those lucky winners is Heidi Estrada, who dreams of entering politics. When she was accepted by George Washington University last school year, Estrada feared the cost would be prohibitive. "When I received my acceptance letter, I was like 'Oh my goodness!' At first, I did not think that I could get into that school," says Estrada, in a video produced by Taco Bell. "And then second of all, I looked at their sticker price and I thought, 'There's no way I can come up with this money." In May, Estrada received a $25,000 scholarship and this fall, she became the first in her family to go to college.
WASHINGTON  As U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin tease on whether or not they will meet at the annual G-20 summit, a crucial nuclear weapons treaty between the world's two greatest nuclear powers hangs in the balance.

Last month, Trump announced his decision to withdraw from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces, or INF, Treaty, an agreement that eliminated an entire class of nuclear weapons from U.S. and Russian arsenals.

Russia, Trump says, has violated the arms agreement by building and fielding the banned weapons "for many years." On behalf of the administration, national security adviser John Bolton flew to Moscow to personally deliver the decision to the Kremlin.

"It is the American position that Russia is in violation," Bolton told reporters after a meeting with Putin. "It is Russia's position that they are not in violation. So one has to ask, 'How do you convince the Russians to come back into compliance with obligations they don't think they're violating?'"

Read more: The US and Russia control the lion's share of the world's nuclear weapons

The INF treaty, signed in 1987 between President Ronald Reagan and Soviet Union leader Mikhail Gorbachev, prohibited the development and deployment of midrange nuclear-tipped missiles. The agreement forced each country to dismantle more than 2,500 missiles with ranges of 310 to 3,420 miles from their arsenals.

In short, the treaty has kept nuclear-tipped missiles off the European continent for the last 30 years.

Gorbachev criticized Trump for threatening to withdraw from the nuclear disarmament treaty, saying the move "is not the work of a great mind."

"Given Russian violations, there's no question the U.S. is justified in withdrawing," explained Thomas Karako, director of the Missile Defense Project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, to CNBC. "But we don't want withdrawal to merely let Russia off the hook without other robust actions to support U.S. deterrence and defense goals," he added.

"This is a colossal mistake," Jeffrey Lewis, a nuclear-weapons analyst at the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies in Monterey, California, told The Guardian. "Russia gets to violate the treaty and Trump takes the blame," he added.
Shanghai (Gasgoo)- Evergrande Health Industry Group Limited (Evergrande Health) announced on November 29 that the emergency arbitrator of the HKIAC (Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre) has rejected the application submitted by Smart King to deprive Season Smart Limited of the right to mortgage Smart King's assets.

It is known that Smart King is the joint venture between Season Smart and FF Top Holding Ltd., the original shareholder of Faraday Future (FF). Evergrande Health claimed on June 25 that it acquired 100% stake in the Hongkong-based Season Smart with an investment of HK$6.746 billion, which meant it also indirectly obtained 45% stake in Smart King.

However, Faraday Future announced on November 30 that its latest appeal of emergency arbitration will be transferred to an official arbitral tribunal that will be formed soon and be adjudicated by the latter. It also said Evergrande Health's announcement about FF being rejected by HKIAC is not entirely true. Currently, FF, supported by the U.S. investment banking firm Stifel, is in talks with many investors worldwide and accelerating its financing plan.

On October 25, Evergrande Health released an inside information saying that the HKIAC vetoed Smart King (on behalf of FF)'s application about entirely depriving Season Smart of the right as Smart King's shareholder to approve financing plans and removing Season Smart's right to mortgage assets. Meanwhile, the arbitrators agreed Smart King to get funds limited by rigorous conditions as a temporary rescue measure in light of FF's current severe financing crisis.

After the first-time rejection, FF said on November 13 that it submitted another application for emergency relief arbitration to the HKIAC regarding Evergrande Health's refusal to remove the asset preservation over FF. In addition, the EV maker stated it is unable to get financing through asset based mortgage because Evergrande Health chooses to preserve Smart King's core asset as much as possible.
President Donald Trump will hold a dinner meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping at the G-20 summit in Argentina. The leaders of the world's two largest economies will try to make progress toward a trade deal as businesses and investors fear a mounting series of tariffs could damage the global economy.

The Trump administration has one of its best opportunities yet Saturday to de-escalate a potentially ruinous trade war with China.

The U.S. has already put tariffs on $250 billion in Chinese goods, and could slap duties on an additional $267 billion in imports. Beijing has responded with tariffs on $110 billion in U.S. goods targeting politically important industries such as agriculture.

Trump, who campaigned in 2016 on cracking down on what he called Chinese trade abuses, comes into the meeting with a specific set of demands. He wants to address alleged Chinese theft of intellectual property, forced technology transfers, ownership of American companies in China, and tariffs and nontariff barriers, among other issues.

The White House has shown optimism about making progress, but Trump has threatened even more tariffs if the sides cannot reach a deal. Washington and Beijing appeared to have a difficult task in striking a concrete trade agreement even as Trump seeks a political win on one of his signature issues.

On Friday, a senior administration official said Trump "doesn't feel pressure to make a deal for the sake of a deal" and feels "he has more time." The president has gotten information from advisors that the economy "continues to show resilience and strength" despite a recent slide in U.S. stock prices, the official said.

Here is a timeline of the U.S.-China trade conflict during the Trump era that led up to the dinner, and the products the tariffs have affected so far:
Paul Manafort, former campaign manager for Donald Trump, exits the District Courthouse after a motion hearing in Alexandria, Virginia, on Friday, May 4, 2018.

Manafort, who is currently in jail in Alexandria, Virginia, had waived his right to appear in court Friday.

U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson also scheduled a Dec. 7 deadline for the government to submit a report on Manafort's alleged breach of the terms of his agreement with the special counsel. Jackson said she expects to hold a hearing about it in January.

"That determination has not been made yet," U.S. Attorney Andrew Weissmann said when asked if the special counsel would lodge more charges.

An attorney for Mueller revealed during the Friday morning hearing in Washington, D.C., federal court that the special counsel is mulling whether to file new charges against Manafort.

A federal judge on Friday set a tentative sentencing date of March 5 for Paul Manafort, after special counsel Robert Mueller accused President Donald Trump 's former campaign chairman of lying to the FBI in violation of his plea deal.

The hearing came a day after Trump's former personal attorney Michael Cohen pleaded guilty to a charge of lying to Congress about plans to build a Trump Tower in Moscow. Cohen, who has already reportedly spent dozens of hours in interviews with Mueller's team, agreed to cooperate with the special counsel as part of his plea deal.

Mueller is investigating Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election, possible coordination between Russia and Trump campaign-related people, and potential obstruction of justice by the president himself.

On Monday, Mueller's team alleged in a court filing that Manafort had lied about "a variety of subject matters" to the FBI after entering into his own plea agreement with the special counsel in September. Mueller said the breach of terms relieves the special counsel from its obligations to the plea agreement, but maintains all of Manafort's duties.

Manafort's lawyers pushed back on the allegation, made in a joint document sent to Jackson in the D.C. court. Manafort "believes he has provided truthful information and does not agree with the government's characterization or that he has breached the agreement," the lawyers said.

The special counsel had lodged charges against Manafort in D.C. and a federal court in Alexandria, which mostly related to work he did for a pro-Russia political party in Ukraine years before he became Trump's campaign chief in early 2016. Manafort was convicted of eight criminal counts in the Virginia case in August, and struck a deal with Mueller on the eve of his second trial in D.C.

His sentencing in the Virginia case is set for Feb. 8.

In June 2016, Manafort, along with Donald Trump Jr., and Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner, met a Russian lawyer at New York's Trump Tower in hopes of receiving damaging information about Trump's then-political opponent, Hillary Clinton. In a letter to Mueller's team in January, the president's legal team said that Trump himself had "dictated" a response to The New York Times' story about the Trump Tower meeting.

Cohen on Thursday admitted that he had lied when he told the Senate Intelligence Committee in a letter that the proposal for a Moscow Trump Tower "ended in January 2016 and was not discussed extensively with others" in the Trump Organization.

Rather, Cohen knew that the Moscow project had been discussed as late as about June 2016, Mueller said in a criminal information filing. Cohen also briefed Trump about the project on more occasions than he claimed to the Senate committee, and had "briefed family members of [Trump] within the Company about the project."
President Donald Trump joined the leaders of Canada and Mexico at a global meeting in Argentina on Friday to sign a revised North American trade pact that he called "groundbreaking" and a benefit for "working people." The U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement is meant to replace the 24-year-old North American Free Trade Agreement, which Trump has long denigrated as a "disaster." He appeared with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and outgoing Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto at the Group of 20 nations summit in Buenos Aires for the formal signing ceremony. Each country's legislature must also approve the agreement. "It's been long and hard. We've taken a lot of barbs and a little abuse, but we got there," Trump said of the pact. WATCH: What is the difference between the G-7, G-8 and G-20? Legislative approval is the next step in the process, but could prove to be a difficult task in the United States, especially now that Democrats  instead of Trump's Republicans  will control the House of Representatives come January. Already Democrats and their allies in the labor movement are demanding changes to the agreement.

While Trump hailed the revised trade pact, Trudeau was more measured, saying there was still work to be done and calling on Trump  using his first name  to remove steel and aluminum tariffs the U.S. imposed on Canada and Mexico. Trudeau also referenced recent downsizing by General Motors in North America as a "heavy blow." Trump did not mention the job losses. The signing came at the front end of two days of tough diplomacy for Trump. On the top of his agenda is a Saturday dinner meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping. which will determine if the two can ease escalating trade tensions. Before Trump arrived in Argentina he injected additional drama into the proceedings by canceling another high-stakes meeting, with Russian President Vladimir Putin. On Friday, Trump opened the day with a cordial meeting at the Casa Rosada with Argentine President Mauricio Macri, a longtime business acquaintance. Posing for photos in the gilded Salon Blanco, Trump spoke about their longtime personal relationship and said they would discuss trade, military purchases and other issues.

"We've known each other a long while," Trump said, noting he worked with Macri's father on real estate developments. The businessman-turned-politician joked that when he and Macri first met they'd never have imagined their future roles on the world stage. Macri is hosting the summit as he struggles with problems at home. He is trying to halt economic turmoil that has caused the steep depreciation of the Argentine peso. Trump, who arrived in Buenos Aires late Thursday, barreled into the two-day meeting by announcing via Twitter that he was canceling a planned meeting with Putin over Russia's seizure of Ukrainian vessels. His agenda for the weekend includes meetings with world leaders, as well as a number of heavily choreographed group activities for the gathering of leaders of rich and developing nations.

(L to R) Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto, US President Donald Trump and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau deliver a statement on the signing of a new free trade agreement in Buenos Aires, on November 30, 2018. Saul Loeb | AFP | Getty Images
President Donald Trump is not the only one with the flexibility to make a last-minute decision during Saturday's G-20 trade meeting, a former official in the administration of George W. Bush told CNBC on Friday.

Bilateral meetings at the G-20 summits "really are quite structured," said Robert Kimmitt, a former deputy Treasury secretary and former U.S. ambassador to Germany. Yet, Chinese President Xi Jinping "is powerful enough in their system that he could come in with a very well prepared, very well structured agenda. But depending what he hears from the president, he too could call an audible."

Wall Street has been hoping that Trump and XI will keep the trade war between the U.S. and China from escalating. The two countries are locked in a conflict that's seen each side imposing tariffs on each other's products. In the latest moves, the U.S. levied 10 percent duties on $200 billion worth of goods from China, prompting Beijing to put tariffs on $60 billion worth of U.S. goods.

Before departing for the summit in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on Thursday, Trump told reporters that the U.S. is "close to doing something with China but I don't know that I want to do it." On Tuesday, the president told The Wall Street Journal that it's "highly unlikely" that he would delay the tariff hike on those $200 billion worth of Chinese goods from 10 percent to 25 percent. He even reiterated his threat to put tariffs on the rest of Chinese imports.

Kimmitt, who has decades of experience in both the government and private sector, said in a "Squawk Box" interview that it appears Trump tends to make quick decisions "at the last moment," but said there is a small chance a breakthrough deal is worked out during the meeting. Kimmitt also said China will have to meet the U.S. halfway on alleged unfair practices such as intellectual property theft.
The financial markets will turn out fine even if President Donald Trump follows through with tariff threats on all Chinese imports, Barry Knapp, founder of Ironsides Macroeconomic Research, told CNBC Friday.

"It'll have an impact but I think it'll be a fairly small impact," he said on "Squawk Box." "It is not going to be as disruptive as you'd be led to believe by the market reaction."

Many investors have braced for the worst as Trump has shown that he is willing to go to the limit to force concessions out of China. But others have played a wait-and-see approach ahead of Saturday's meeting between Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping at the G-20 summit in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

In the latest tariff moves, the U.S. levied 10 percent duties on $200 billion worth of goods from China, prompting Beijing to put tariffs on $60 billion worth of U.S. goods.

"I think that trade deals themselves really are overstated in terms of investor expectations and that I don't view it as wildly disruptive to the economy in 2019," said Knapp, formerly a market strategist at investment giants Guggenheim Partners and BlackRock. "Trade and politics are lagging the core economics," he added, arguing "the model where businesses produce in the U.S. to sell in the U.S. was already well underway."

Before departing for Argentina on Thursday, Trump told reporters that the U.S. is "close to doing something with China but I don't know that I want to do it." On Tuesday, the president told The Wall Street Journal it's "highly unlikely" that he would delay January's tariff hike on those $200 billion worth of Chinese goods from 10 percent to 25 percent. Trump even reiterated his threat to put tariffs on the rest of Chinese imports.

Meanwhile, Robert Kimmitt, a former official in the administration of George W. Bush, on CNBC Friday warned Trump to stay on script during Saturday's XI meeting or risk botching any potential trade agreement.

"[Xi] is powerful enough in their system that he could come in with a very well prepared, very well structured agenda," said Kimmitt, a former deputy Treasury secretary and former U.S. ambassador to Germany. "But depending what he hears from the president, he too could call an audible."
An airplane sits at the Avianca Holdings SA Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) Aeronautical Center in Rionegro, Colombia on Tuesday, Nov. 7, 2017. Avianca Holdings SA reported a net income of $36.1 million USD in the third quarter despite a pilot strike that lasted for almost two months.

United Continental Holdings has reached a long-sought after deal with two major Latin American airlines allowing the third-largest carrier in the U.S. to expand in the region.

The agreement, which United announced on Friday, will allow United Airlines, Panama's Copa Holdings and Colombia-based Avianca Holdings to share revenue from flights and coordinate schedules. The three-way partnership is subject to approval from regulators. Avianca, Copa and United are already tied through a code-sharing partnership.

Joint ventures that allow airlines to coordinate routes and share either profits or revenue have become more common in recent years as carriers seek to expand internationally. Foreign ownership rules generally limit airlines from abroad to purchase another carrier outright, so such deals along with minority stakes, are a way to provide them with exposure to international markets.

Avianca serves around 170 destinations and has more than 180 aircraft, while Copa has a fleet of about 100 aircraft and serves about 75 destinations, according to the companies.

Flying to and from Latin America accounted for about 8 percent of United's revenue in the third quarter, while American Airlines, the largest U.S. carrier in the region, received more than 11 percent of its revenue from Latin America flying in the quarter.

United's agreement with Avianca comes after a legal battle that could have further delayed the deal was dropped last year.

In a filing on Friday detailing the deal with Avianca, United said it would provide a $456 million loan to Syngery Aerospace Corporation, Avianca's owner, using stock in Avianca as collateral. The Wall Street Journal, which reported the deal earlier on Friday, said it would be used to repay a loan from hedge fund Elliott Management. Elliott did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
President Donald Trump, left, and Xi Jinping, China's president, shake hands during a news conference at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China, on Thursday, Nov. 9, 2017.

Expect a deal between U.S. President Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping at the G-20 summit in Argentina, but manage your expectations, a Wells Fargo executive told CNBC on Friday.

"I am optimistic that they will strike a deal. I don't think it's going to be the deal that either side wants, but I think there will be some concessions," said Kirk Hartman, global chief investment officer at Wells Fargo Asset Management. "I think this is more about protecting U.S. technology as much as it is trade, so I think you will see some comments on that front."

Hartman said the U.S. may delay on Chinese imports that were due to take effect in January. Washington and Beijing may also agree to meet for further negotiations.

Trump told reporters Thursday that he was "close" to doing something on trade with China but added he wasn't sure if he wanted to do it. "Because what we have right now is billions and billions of dollars coming into the United States in the form of tariffs or taxes, so I really don't know," he said.
Two of President Donald Trump's favorite strongmen  Russian President Vladimir Putin and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman  warmly shook hands with one another, smiled broadly and laughed when they were seated together Friday at the G-20 summit in Argentina. Tweet Twitter quickly labeled the Putin-MBS palm slap a "bro-five." Tweet But it wasn't a joking matter for Garry Kasparov, the Russian who is both a former world chess champion and an outspoken critic of Putin, who retweeted the video with the caption: "Murder Incorporated." Their hearty embrace came two days after the Senate overwhelmingly voted to call for an end to U.S. involvement in the Saudi-led war in Yemen, and after weeks of strong suspicion that the Saudi crown prince had ordered the brutal killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in the kingdom's consulate in Istanbul last month. WATCH: Who is Mohammed bin Salman?

The bonhomie in Buenos Aires came at the end of a week in which Russia seized several Ukrainian naval ships and their sailors in the Black Sea  and in which Trump's former personal lawyer Michael Cohen pleaded guilty to lying to Congress about the extent of Trump's involvement and knowledge of an aborted plan to build a Trump Tower in Moscow. Special counsel Robert Mueller is continuing to investigate Russian efforts to influence the 2016 president race that ended in Trump's victory, as well as possible collusion by the Trump campaign in that skulduggery. Trump adamantly denies any wrongdoing. Trump, right after Cohen's guilty plea Thursday, told reporters he planned to meet with Putin at the G-20. An hour later, however, the president tweeted that the meeting was canceled in light of Russia's refusal to release the Ukrainian ships and sailors. WATCH: What is the difference between the G-7, G-8 and G-20?
Sri Lanka penned two multi-million dollar contracts with Chinese firms for a port upgrade project on Thursday in the middle of a political hiatus that has raised doubts over the legitimacy of the government and the legality of the deals .

The debt-saddled island has long been a target of Beijing's ambitious Belt and Road infrastructure scheme to connect China with countries cross Asia and beyond, while regional power India has also been vying for deals to counter China 's influence.

But a political crisis triggered by President Maithripala Sirisena's replacement of Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe with Mahinda Rajapaksa, who was in turn sacked by parliament, has raised doubts over who can legitimately make decisions in the country.

Foreign countries have yet to recognise the new government and Wickremesinghe's party has said any decisions by Rajapaksa's cabinet are illegal.

An official at the state-run Sri Lanka Port s Authority told Reuters it signed two contracts with Chinese firms worth more than $50 million combined on Thursday after the deals were approved by Rajapaksa's disputed cabinet last week.

One of Rajapaksa's cabinet ministers, speaking on condition of anonymity, also confirmed the deals had been approved by the cabinet, while documents seen by Reuters showed the deals were set to be rubber-stamped at the meeting.

The deals are a $32 million contract to enhance the deep berth capacity of state-run Jaya Container Terminal (JCT) in Colombo with China Harbour Engineering Company, and another one worth $25.7 million for the purchase of three cranes from Shanghai Zhenhua Heavy Industries for the same project, according to the port s authority official.

Asked about the deals , the former cabinet spokesperson under Wickremesinghe's government, Rajitha Senaratne, told Reuters:

"We will have to re-examine definitely. They don't have the legal power to decide."

The port s authority official said the tenders for the deals had been advertised in state-owned newspapers, as is the norm in Sri Lanka , and that they were sent to a cabinet-appointed procurement panel months ago.

India, which accounts for around 80 percent of Colombo's trans-shipment business, has raised concerns over increasing Chinese projects in Colombo.

New Delhi had been pushing Sri Lanka for the award of an estimated $1 billion contract for a second foreign-operated container terminal in Colombo.

But that deal was the subject of an argument between Sirisena and Wickremesinghe just before his ouster, in which Sirisena re port edly said the country couldn't give any more of its assets to foreigners.
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DES MOINES, Iowa  Democrats beginning to think about the type of person they'd like to see take on President Donald Trump face an early conundrum: whether a pragmatist has a better chance to take the White House than someone with a more inspirational personal story.

This heart-versus-head balancing act is coming into focus as potential White House hopefuls begin making trips to Iowa, home to the first presidential caucus in 2020, ahead of formally announcing their candidacies.

Term-limited Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper  who went so far as to tell a woman at a diner in New Hampshire last month, Im the governor of Colorado and Im going to run for president," before partially walking back the statement  met with 25 Democratic activists in Des Moines last month, according to The Des Moines Register.

"I think there's a pretty high probability that we're going to go ahead and do it," he told the activists when asked about announcing a White House bid, The Register reported.

And a recent Associated Press article regarding potential 2020 Democratic contenders mentioned that Colorado's U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet "has been in contact with some influential Iowa Democrats."

Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota will be in the state on Saturday, representing the case for pragmatism. Far from flashy, Klobuchar won a commanding re-election victory this year in a Midwestern state, potentially boosting the argument that she could win in a region that helped send Trump to the White House. Other prospects in this camp include Sens. Sherrod Brown of Ohio and Bob Casey of Pennsylvania, each of whom cruised to re-election in states that Trump carried in 2016.

But this isn't an easy argument to make to activists in early voting states who are not just hungry to beat Trump, but also long for inspiration reminiscent of Barack Obama's early campaign, when thousands in Iowa were drawn to his distinctive oratory and biography. That could help prospects such as Sens. Kamala Harris of California and Cory Booker of New Jersey along with Beto O'Rourke, whose narrow loss in the 2018 Senate race in Republican-heavy Texas has fueled speculation about his national prospects.

"The electability argument is less emotional," said John Norris, a veteran Iowa Democratic operative who led John Kerry's successful 2004 caucus campaign. "And this will be an emotional election, I think."

Still, the pragmatics point to the math a Democrat will need to get to 270 electoral votes.

A Democrat could conceivably return to the White House by holding Minnesota and winning back any of a number of combinations of Ohio, Pennsylvania, Michigan or Wisconsin, typically Democratic presidential states Trump narrowly carried. Klobuchar, Brown and Casey could be well suited for this role.

Klobuchar won a third term this month, getting 60 percent of the vote and carrying vast stretches of rural western and northern Minnesota that Trump won two years ago.

Brown won a third term by six percentage points in Ohio, where Trump won by 8, on a day Republicans also held the state's governorship, all of its U.S. House seats and majorities in the legislature.

Casey won by nearly 13 percentage points in Pennsylvania, a state Trump carried by less than a percentage point.

And yet the road to the White House is paved with failed candidates who made their dominance of a particular state a central selling point.

In 2003, Democratic Sen. Bob Graham campaigned as one of the most successful candidates in Florida, where the contested 2000 election was decided. But Graham dropped out of the race before the Iowa caucuses, crowded out by Kerry, North Carolina Sen. John Edwards and Vermont Gov. Howard Dean, who campaigned individually as inspirational figures on national security, economic populism and opposition to the war in Iraq.

In 2008, the historic potential surrounding Obama and Hillary Clinton pushed out other Democrats early such as Indiana Sen. Evan Bayh, who saw their home state success as a strategic advantage.

Republicans have faced the same challenge. Former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty bet heavily on being a Republican in Democrat-leaning Minnesota as a chief argument in his bid for the 2012 nomination, but was nudged out by a combination of emerging stars Michele Bachmann and Rick Perry.

Likewise, Gov. Scott Walker approached the 2016 campaign having won, and beat back a recall effort, in swing state Wisconsin, only to be quickly eclipsed in the race to be the alternative to Trump.

But Klobuchar's play could be as much about style as it is electoral strategy. In the era of Trump, where boisterous, public insults are the rule, Klobuchar pushed her persona of competence. In effect, the self-effacing Klobuchar known for her neighborly demeanor and penchant for bowling alleys could be the stylistic anti-Trump.

"She seems very down to earth and common, like we can relate to her," said Bryce Smith, Democratic chairman in Dallas County, Iowa, where Klobuchar is scheduled to visit Saturday. "I think she falls closer to the inspirational side than many think."

Brown could pose a challenge to Klobuchar for that mantle. More devoutly liberal than Klobuchar on issues such as health care, Brown carries the torch of an ardently pro-labor populist, which could resonate in those pro-Trump pockets.

So could Montana's Democratic Gov. Steve Bullock, who, as he weighs a 2020 campaign, is touting not just being re-elected in a state Trump carried by 20 percentage points, but testing a message of unity as he works with a Republican legislature.

"Judging whether a candidate can win the general election will be part of the calculus voters consider," said former Obama and Clinton adviser Jennifer Palmieri. "But it's a mistake to think that a candidate can't be both inspiring and electable."
For the past one and half years, ever since President Trump took office, we have been assaulted with accusations of racist dog-whistles. Almost every utterance from the President, from the GOP, from Trump voters, has been twisted by the Left into charges of racism.

Now we have a hateful message from a CNN commentator, Marc Lamont Hill, who basically just called for the genocide of over 8 million Israelis.

The cry of free Palestine from the river to sea was uttered by Hill at a UN conference yesterday.

The river refers to the Jordan River, the sea refers to the Mediterranean. The area from the river to the sea, from east to west, is approximately nine miles. When President George W. Bush visited Israel, he was able to view from the river to the sea in a helicopter tour, which prompted him to comment that in Texas, we have driveways bigger than that.

Hill has denied that he called for the destruction of Israel. He is either woefully ignorant, or a liar.

Will any Democrats who claim to be supporters of Israel denounce Hill? Schumer? Pelosi? Gillibrand?

Dont hold your breath.

Via Fox News.

A CNN commentator lambasted Israel in a U.N. speech that drew applause from diplomats on Wednesday, while calling for a free Palestine from the river to the sea  language critics describe as a dog whistle advocating the elimination of Israel. Marc Lamont Hill made the remarks during a special meeting of the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People in observance of the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People. In the remarks, in which he accused the Israeli government of normalizing settler colonialism, Hill drew a comparison to the civil rights movement in America and suggested violence could be a tool for Palestinian activists. At one point, he poured himself some water and told participants that he just got off a flight from Palestine and that I was boycotting the Israeli water so I was unable to quench my thirst. He finished his speech by saying that justice requires a free Palestine from the river to the sea. The remark was applauded by participants in the chamber. In response, Israel Ambassador to the U.N. Danny Danon told Fox News: It is unfortunate to see the forces of hatred and rejection co-opt and seduce news commentators into believing their lies and false narratives.. Anne Bayefsky, director of the Touro Institute on Human Rights and the Holocaust and President of Human Rights Voices, told Fox News that Hills speech was an especially obscene U.N. moment that reveals the true nature of the anti-Israel and anti-Jewish animus of the modern United Nations. Hills call at the United Nations for the destruction of the Jewish state was not some accident. He didnt misspeak. He was an invited guest. He was the only person invited to speak as the representative of civil society. When he ended his extraordinary tirade with Give us a free Palestine from the river to the sea his words were met by a round of applause. The only applause for any speaker, she said.

UPDATE: Via Fox: CNN drops Marc Lamont Hill after anti-Israel remarks at UN spark backlash

CNN announced Thursday that it had fired commentator Marc Lamont Hill after he gave a speech at the United Nations in which he used language critics describe as a dog whistle advocating the elimination of Israel. Marc Lamont Hill is no longer under contract with CNN, a spokesperson for the cable network told Fox News.

I believe in a single secular democratic state for everyone. This is the only way that historic Palestine will be free. https://t.co/6RXO7WfwG1  Marc Lamont Hill (@marclamonthill) November 28, 2018

The earliest use I could find of the specific phrase was 1984 by the PLO. Please educate us of when it was used during the British Mandate and in what context. pic.twitter.com/ObUqtbWs8x  ElderOfZiyon (@elderofziyon) November 29, 2018

ADL Responds to CNN Commentator Calling for a Free Palestine from the River to the Sea
Amazon this week announced its latest data analytics product, one aimed at scouring unstructured data within electronic medical records (EMRs) to offer up insights that physicians can use to better treat patients.

Amazon's new Comprehend Medical AWS cloud service is a natural-language processing engine that purports to be able to read physician notes, patient prescriptions, audio interview transcripts, and pathology and radiology reports  and use machine learning algorithms to spit out relevant medical information to healthcare providers.

Amazon's Comprehend Medical software service is one of 13 new machine learning software products the company announced on Tuesday.

From unstructured records, or records that aren't in a structured database format, Comprehend Medical can extract patient medical conditions, anatomy, medications, protected health information (PHI), tests, treatments and procedures and then put them in an easy-to-read, spreadsheet-like format, according to Amazon.

Just eight years ago, only 10% of hospitals used even basic EMRs, instead relying on paper records. The 2009 Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act, however, pushed healthcare facilities to adopt EMRs, withholding Medicare and Medicaid incentives if they did not. Today, 80% of hospitals and physician practices use EMRs, which has created a large universe of electronic patient data to be mined for valuable information.

The Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle has used Amazon's Comprehend Medical in a number of pilot studies for the past year and the results, it said, have been fast and accurate.

Comprehend Medical is a cancer research center that identifies patients for clinical trials who may benefit from specific cancer therapies. Fred Hutch, as it's known locally, was able to evaluate millions of clinical notes to extract and index medical conditions, medications, and choice of cancer therapeutic options, reducing the time to process each document from hours to seconds.

"It's still early and it's not been used for clinical trials yet, but it does have the capability of making the cohort selection process much faster," Tom Kim, a spokesperson for the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, said via email.

The process of developing clinical trials and connecting them with the right patients requires research teams to sift through and label mountains of unstructured clinical record data, according to Kim. Amazon Comprehend Medical will reduce that time burden "and allows researchers and data teams to turn their attention to more interesting analytics," Kim added.

Ultimately, the richness of information culled from patient records and other sources could one day help consumers manage their own health, including medication management, proactive scheduling of care visits, and the ability to make informed decisions about their health and eligibility, Amazon said in a blog post.

Amazon is part of a flurry of large tech companies entering the healthcare arena with services of their own, including Apple, Google, Microsoft and IBM, whose Watson supercomputer's natural language processing engine is offered as a service to pull key data points from unstructured healthcare data and published research.

IBM Watson Health Cognitive Services, however, actually uses artificial intelligence to generate hypotheses, recommend patient treatments to physicians or match patients to clinical trials. In recent months, IBM Watson  and particularly Watson for Oncology  has been criticized as not meeting expectations.

"[It's] hard to say who will make the most progress given their unique strengths, but I wouldn't say that just because Watson struggled means that others won't succeed," said Dr. Julia Adler-Milstein, director of the Center for Clinical Informatics and Improvement Research at the University of California, San Francisco.

Cynthia Burghard, a research director at IDC Health Insights, said while Amazon's Comprehend Medical service is like Watson Health in that its natural language processing ingests unstructured data, it does not use machine learning to suggest patient treatments or perform clinical trial matching.

"I think their value proposition is taking all your unstructured data, making sense of it and giving it back so you can use your own machine learning against it," Burghard said.

While many technology companies have tried, however, there hasn't been a lot of success using unstructured clinical data to come up with valuable care insights, Burghard said.

Another concern Burghard said she has is the notion of tech firms gathering millions of patient records for their own or third-party use, and if Amazon's service is yet one more player in the ongoing "data wars"  the objective of which is to claim industry dominance of medical information.

"I don't know if AWS is retaining the data for other use, but there's a lot of activity out there and concern that the Amazons, Googles and Apples of this world will eventually have access to all that data," Burghard said.

Last year, for example, an academic study on a partnership between Google's DeepMind A.I engine and the U.K.'s National Health Service (NHS) found "inexcusable" errors involving the transfer of identifiable patient records across networks without explicit patient consent for the purpose of developing a clinical alert app for kidney injury.

An Amazon spokesperson said its Amazon Web Service, the cloud over which data is transferred, does not collect or store any data processed by Comprehend Medical. And once analysis is complete, the output is delivered solely back to the customer. Data is also encrypted and the keys are held by the medical institutions providing it.

"Finally, no customer data is used to train or improve the machine learning models under the hood of Comprehend Medical," the spokesperson said via email.

Additionally, the healthcare industry has developed "very good approaches" to anonymize patient data by removing personally identifiable information (PII), according to Adler-Milstein. While, "not perfect," the possibility of re-identifying patients from anonymized data is far less risky than EHR systems' vulnerability to hacking, she said.
We love Canada. Butis this really a winning message for someone who still dreams of being the President of the United States?

Maybe Hillary needs to become more of a, yes, nationalist.

Meanwhile, the Hill and Bill Canadian Show trudges along, with the first stop, in Toronto, opening with 83% empty seats.

Between bashing President Trump, Bills babbling and Hillarys coughing fit, I do hope the people who shelled out $200 for tickets felt they got their moneys worth.

Via American Mirror.
What happens if you get sick at sea? For a good example of how telemedicine can help even the smallest and most remote communities, I spoke with Alaska Maritime Physicians to find out how it provides medical assistance to people at sea.

Worse things happen at sea

Alaska Maritime Physicians is working with DrChrono to provide electronic health records (EHR) solutions to its physicians, who use this in conjunction with iPads and iPhones to provide treatment to patients remotely at sea. Doctors handle treatment, recovery and triage using Apples technologies and DrChrono.

Communication technologies (radio, cellular, satellite, and internet networks) underpin the solution, but even though these continue to improve, these tools must handle some unique challenges.

Imagine being in the remote regions of the Bering Sea as close to Russia as you are far from Alaska and having a medical emergency with storms and rolling seas, R Scott Lord, vice president of operations at Alaska Maritime Physicians, told me.

With a vessel in rolling seas it can be very difficult to make a solid satellite connection. AMPs physicians have to be extremely versatile in working through urgent and emergent cases serving the maritime industry, he said.

Unique industry challenges

While most larger vessels have medically trained personnel aboard, smaller vessels (or even larger vessels with small crews) may not have such luxury. Not only that, but even when trained medical officers are available, its likely they only support a limited scope of care.

Thats where this system comes into its own. It enables fully trained practitioners to dispense qualified advice remotely with reference to the case notes and medical histories of individual patients.

Another problem solved through provision of access to credible treatment is that it improves the relationship that exists between operators and the crew.

If one crew member gets hurt or sick and the vessel is in the middle of a mission, or if they break off to get medical help for the injured or sick crew, then the mission can fail and become unprofitable, explained Lord.

Access to treatment means operators can maintain their legal/ethical duty to their staff while also managing risk to the company in part because access to professional advice may help assist any necessary insurance claims.

The transformation is helping manage risk for the operator/owner while caring for the sick or injured, Lord said.

Expert help  fast

There are other benefits.

In the absence of appropriate skills, a sick or injured crew member may be required to languish for a very long time before help is received.

The new system means medical assessments and treatment can begin almost immediately.

We are able to leverage the medically trained crew members on-board to administer care and treatment from our physicians treatment plan, Lord said.

Alaska Maritime Physicians finds that one of the biggest challenges when providing remote treatment is staying organized. DrChronos solution eases that problem, as it enables doctors to document and follow up each case effectively through the app.

This leads to other benefits.

Not only does this make it much easier to help remote patients keep to treatment plans, but the reporting features make it possible to more easily identify trends on a specific vessel, company or across the entire fleet.

We recently had a frostbite case on a vessel, followed by a second. Shortly thereafter we got a third frostbite case on a second vessel, Lord told me. We identified this trend, worked with the safety teams on best practices and were able to communicate these to the crews on-board. This was all possible because of DrChronos reporting tool.

Thats not to be underestimated and I think illustrates how connected (yet private) data analysis can help fight infectious disease.

What the Apple/DrChrono system does

The service, which will be announced soon, has been available in quiet mode for a few months, with 350 patients treated.

Clients benefit from knowing theres a doctor on call 24 hours a day and that if they are called, medical professionals will be able to securely access patient data on their Apple device.

The system handles consultations, treatment plans, diagnosis and referrals, and it includes tools to help analyze some of the most common medical scenarios that happen at sea. (These include burns, lacerations, frostbite, and broken bones.)

One thing that is no different at sea than it is on land is the need to protect patient confidentiality. That security is essential in healthcare and mandatory under HIPAA.

Apples big platform advantage in the provision of security was one of the big reasons the medical group opted to standardize its service around the platform.

We looked at many other platforms but kept coming back to iOS because of Apples dedication to privacy and security, Lord said.

He also likes the fact that physicians can access the solution using biometric ID (Touch/Face ID). This eliminated the brain damage of entering lengthy complex passwords, he said.

An Apple advantage

Would a service like this be possible without Apples solutions? I asked Lord.

With a lot more difficulty, it would, he said. Apple was our preferred platform from the beginning with its elegant and consistent user interfaces, intense focus on privacy and security, biometric access, excellent hardware, and support. We were very excited to discover DrChrono was Apple based.

What about the future of healthcare as digital transformation takes hold?

If you have the medical intelligence, then machines could be made to diagnose and treat, perhaps organs, fingers, legs could be printed on machines and used for transplant?

"I dont know if I want to get into some robotic surgical machine on a vessel churning in the Bering Sea just yet, but who knows what the future holds. ... said Lord.

Please follow me on Twitter, and join me in the AppleHolics bar & grill and Apple Discussions groups on MeWe.
Singapore and Indian armies conduct joint drill in Devlali, Maharashtra

Even as India and Singapore conducted a successful silver jubilee of naval exercise SIMBEX last week, the armies of both countries are engaged in bilateral artillery exercise, Agni Warrior, in Devlali, India, from that started on November 12 and concludes tomorrow.

Singapore Light Weight Howitzers of Singapore Armed Forces firing off in a joint live-firing with the Indian Army at Exercise Agni Warrior 2018. Photo courtesy: Ministry of Defence, Singapore

This years exercise, the eleventh in the series, involves 175 troops from the 23rd and 24th Battalions, Singapore Artillery, and 80 troops from the Indian Army.

The exercise culminated in a joint live-firing involving the Singapore Armed Forces's Singapore Light Weight Howitzer, Field Artillery Meteorological System and the Indian Armys 155mm Field Howitzer 77B. Through the exercise, the two armies enhanced mutual understanding and interoperability and built strong professional ties.

Held in India since 2004, Exercise Agni Warrior is conducted under the ambit of the Army Bilateral Agreement. The Bilateral Agreement, renewed on 20 November 2018 at the third India-Singapore Defence Ministers Dialogue, facilitates the Singapore Armys artillery and armour training in India and increased interactions between both armies.

Soldiers from the Singapore Army interacting with the chief artillery instructor of the Indian Army in an informal exchange. Photo courtesy: Ministry of Defence, Singapore

The Ministry in a statement said the renewal of the Army Bilateral Agreement is a testament to the strong and long-standing defence relationship between Singapore and India. At the armed forces level, the SAF and the Indian Armed Forces share a long history of military cooperation, with regular interaction through exercises, military exchanges, visits, courses and other professional exchanges.

Earlier, the bilateral agreement on joint army exercises was renewed on June 3, 2013 and then again this year.

It was first established on August 12, 2008. Its renewal allows the Singapore Army to train and exercise with the Indian Army in India for another five years.

Bilateral Agreement for the Conduct of Joint Army Training and Exercises was renewed on November 20 during Defence Ministers Dialogue held between Minister for Defence Dr Ng Eng Hen and Indian Defence Minister Dr. Nirmala Sitharaman at New Delhi. Photo courtesy: Indian Ministry of Defence

Apart from the Army, the Republic of Singapore Air Force and the Republic of Singapore Navy engage their Indian counterparts in joint military training and exercises annually. Besides joint military training, both defence establishments also interact regularly through high-level visits, policy dialogues, courses, seminars and other professional exchanges.
Brexit 1) The number of Conservative MPs who have spoken out against the deal reaches 100

May rules out a compromise  Financial Times

Peoples Vote campaign demands a slot in the TV debate  The Guardian

Claims that Newsnight hired a vicar to defend the PMs plan  The Sun

Electoral wipeout warning from Greening, Willetts and Jo Johnson  The Guardian

Scottish Parliament set to vote against the deal  The Scotsman

Bradley faces tough questions visiting an art class in Lisburn  Belfast Telegraph

Dispute over slot for TV debate  Daily Telegraph

May rejected Irish backstop solution to please EU  Daily Express

The number of Tory MPs who have spoken out against Theresa Mays Brexit deal hit 100 as critics said her two-week charm offensive is failing. Matthew Offord, the Tory MP for Hendon, on Thursday became the hundredth MP to say he would vote against the Prime Ministers deal, warning that it will leave the UK bound to the EU and put the Union at risk. It came as Jo Johnson, a former minister who quit in protest at the deal, warned that the Tories will face a landslide defeat at the next election on a scale similar to 1997 if they push ahead with Mrs Mays Brexit deal. The Prime Minister on Thursday flew to the G20 meeting of world leaders in Argentina where she will attempt to convince them that her Brexit deal is good for the world economy.  Daily Telegraph

>Today

>Yesterday:

Brexit 2) May arrives in Argentina for the G20 and rules out a Plan B

Theresa May has put herself on a collision course with senior Cabinet ministers by ruling out a Norway-style Brexit as a plan B if she loses the Parliamentary vote on her Brexit deal. The Prime Minister said a Norway-style arrangement, favoured by more than a third of the Cabinet as a fallback option, would not end freedom of movement and therefore would not deliver what people voted for in the EU referendum. She also warned rebel Tory MPs they will tear Britain apart if they vote against her Brexit deal as she insisted she can still win Parliaments backing. Mrs May said the country would not prosper if politicians failed to unite around her deal. Mrs May arrived in Argentina in the early hours of this morning for the G20 summit of world leaders, where she will try to convince them that President Donald Trump was wrong to say earlier this week that her Brexit deal will harm US-UK trade and, by implication, trade with other countries outside the EU.  Daily Telegraph

Why Norway plus is unlikely  Financial Times

She tells reporters she still hopes to won the vote  BBC

Brexit 3) Fox declares that tough choices must be faced

Brexit 4) Whips threaten to cancel Christmas, if deal does not go through

Liam Fox will today issue a stinging rebuke to Tories who oppose the Prime Ministers Brexit deal amid claims that as many as 100 of the partys MPs could now vote against it. The International Trade Secretary will accuse them of not facing up to the tough choices that Theresa May has had to make in the negotiations. And he will warn Conservative MPs that they have an abiding duty to act in the best interests of the country. Dr Fox will become the latest Cabinet Brexiteer to come out in support of Mrs Mays agreement ahead of the meaningful vote on December 11. The Mail revealed yesterday that Andrea Leadsom is also backing the deal.  Daily Mail

Mutinous Conservative MPs have been warned that Parliaments Christmas break could be cut short if they defeat Theresa Mays Brexit agreement. Whips and ministers are mounting a desperate attempt to reverse the growing rebellion as the number of MPs who have publicly attacked her deal reached 100.Tensions are rising within Tory ranks over the meaningful vote on 11 December on Mrs Mays Brexit blueprint. Whips have abandoned the bully boy approach used by previous generations of whips to apply more subtle pressure to MPs threatening to vote against the Prime Ministers proposals.According to one scenario floated by the whips, defeat for Mrs May on 11 December could leave the country facing an unprecedented constitutional crisis which could not be allowed to drift on into the New Year. There has been talk of Parliament being recalled before the New Year. The message is vote for the deal or you might not see your families for much of the holidays, said one MP.  The i

Brexit 5) Rees-Mogg warns that efforts to frighten people undermine democracy

The Bank of Englands reputation has been damaged  Leader, Daily Telegraph

Brexit 6) EU willing to postpone Article 50 by three months

There is a crisis of trust in British institutions that has been made worse by Brexit. Although there has probably never been a golden age when a revered establishment was held in high regard both publicly and privately, the current position is worse than normal and continues to deteriorate. The problem is that people are right to be distrustful, for there is an effort both to frighten and to gull them into acquiescing into a non-Brexit Brexit. The Government is primarily to blame. Its Withdrawal Agreement contradicts its previous and clear policies, while its spokesmen insist that the reverse is true.  Daily Telegraph

European leaders are prepared to offer Britain a three-month extension to Article 50 to prevent parliamentary deadlock triggering a no-deal Brexit. Under plans being discussed in European capitals the EU would agree to extend Britains membership until July to allow time for either a second referendum or to agree a Norway-style soft Brexit. However, the EU has made clear that the extension would only be offered after parliament had come to a clear conclusion about the type of future relationship it wantsSpeaking to the European parliament yesterday, Michel Barnier, the EUs lead negotiator, warned MPs threatening to vote against the withdrawal treaty that the future of the country is at stake and that it was the only offer available. Given the difficult circumstances of this negotiation and given the extreme complexity of all the issues of the British withdrawal, the treaty that is on the table is the only deal possible, he said. This is now the moment of ratification.  The Times

We need to put Brexit on hold  until we work out what Britain wants  Lisa Nandy, The Guardian

Brexit 7) We can renegotiate later, claims Truss

Brexit 8) Collins: Labour remainers are taking a risk

Heaven help any male number-crunchers at the Treasury who question Chief Secretary Liz Trusss sums. She did double maths A-level and is the first female Conservative to hold the post of Treasury Chief Secretary, which means shes effectively the Deputy Chancellor.She has nothing but contempt for Boris Johnsons antics. While Mrs May worked like a Trojan to get an EU deal, Classics scholar Johnson merely studied the Trojans. Truss suggests, surprisingly, that once the UK has left the EU it could ignore parts of the deal it doesnt like. We can do what we want. Some things are set in treaties but no parliament can bind its successor. We can just rip it all up? I ask. We can renegotiate, she replies. Brussels may have other ideas.  Interview with Liz Truss, Daily Mail

There is a lot of talk of Project Fear but none of the participants is at all scared. Perhaps they ought to be because they cannot all be right. If, collectively, they screw their noses at all deals, then Britain will either leave or remain. We cannot do both; they cannot both be right. Somebody is going to get a nasty shock. The Labour Remainers are playing for very high stakes here. If leaving without a deal is as bad as they say it is then it is quite a gamble to discard a compromise for a 50:50 shot at triumph or disaster. Yet, with every Labour move, that is where we are heading. Philip Collins, The Times

Euro-fanatics are stoking the populist fire  Iain Martin, The Times

Britains overseas influence requires a Brexit rethink  David Miliband, Financial Times

Their smirks say everything about Davis and Raab  Oliver Kamm, The Times

Labour knows it must now decide Britains fate by choosing between Mays deal and no deal  Tom Harris, Daily Telegraph

The PM is touring the country but wont give the people a say  Justine Greening, The Times

Police to patrol with guns to tackle knife crime

Overseas Aid spending increases to 14.1 billion

Armed officers will patrol on foot in the parts of London worst hit by gang violence under plans for a significant shift in British policing. The Metropolitan Police, the countrys biggest force, wants to send officers armed with guns to deal directly with violent criminals in the areas most affected by gang feuds and knife crime. Officers deployed with visible weapons would mark a change in firearms policy. They have previously been restricted to foot patrols in areas most at risk of terrorist attack, such as the Palace of Westminster. Critics warned last night that armed officers walking around streets and council estates in areas such as Tottenham, in north London, and Newham, in east London, would be provocative and risked alienating communities.  The Times

Data from the Department for International Development showed 14.1billion of UK taxpayers cash was handed out to projects in developing countries, compared with 13.4billion in 2016. Pakistan was the largest recipient of UK aid, receiving 402 million during 2017, the figures showed. Other big hand outs last year included 327 million to Nigeria, 326 million to Ethiopia, 314 million to Syria and 282 million to Somalia.Projects in war-torn Yemen received 205 million while a further 227 million went to Afghanistan. The total amount given by the UK each year rises in line with economic growth as the Government is committed to matching a United Nations target of spending 0.7% of national GDP (Gross Domestic Product) on aid each year.  Daily Express

Immigration from outside the EU increases

Government to relax restrictions on non-EU doctors  The Guardian

The PMs immigration pitch for her Brexit deal is unravelling  Leader, Daily Telegraph

Immigration from outside the EU soared to its highest level since 2004 this year  as Romanians became the second largest foreign nationality living in the UK. The number of Romanians living in the UK jumped by more than a fifth in the year to June  increasing the total number to 433,000. This is up 75,000 on the previous 12 months  the largest increase for any country. The only larger non-British nationality is Poland  with an estimated 985,000 Poles currently in the UK. India was the third highest followed in third place with 374,000 nationals, followed by Ireland with 337,000 and Italy 292,000.  The Sun

>Yesterday: Columnist Alex Morton: Whether you like her plan or not, the Prime Minister is right to prize reducing immigration over everything else

Northamptonshire Council is bailed out

The government has in effect bailed out Tory-run Northamptonshire county council after giving it unprecedented permission to spend up to 60m of cash received from the sale of its HQ on funding day-to-day services. The highly unusual move  accounting rules normally prevent councils using capital receipts in this way  means the crisis-hit authority is likely to escape falling into insolvency for the third time in less than a year. Ministers gave the go-ahead for the bailout after commissioners sent in to run the council issued a stark warning that without a cash injection, Northamptonshire would be unable to meet its legal duties to run core services such as social care.  The Guardian

Grayling blames unions for rail fare increase

Closing Scotlands tax gap with England would cost a billion pounds

Rail passengers face fare rises of more than 200 with train operators set to announce their price increases as Chris Grayling said union greed was to blame for the hikes. It was announced in August that rail fares in much of the UK would increase by as much as 3.2 per cent in January and on Friday train operators will publish the impact on specific services. The fare rises have reignited a war of words between the Government and unions, with the Transport Secretary insistent the only way for fares to be reduced is if rail workers accept lower pay rises.  Daily Telegraph

Scotlands hard-pressed public services would be left facing a 1 billion black hole if finance secretary Derek Mackay emulates the tax cut south of the Border set out in the recent UK Budget, new research shows. And there is a warning Scots may be facing further tax hikes anyway if the Scottish Government is to meet ambitious policies to reduce child poverty and improve attainment in schools. The Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) in Scotland has drawn up analysis following Chancellor Philip Hammonds decision in the Autumn Budget to bring forward plans to raise the threshold at which workers start paying the higher 40p rate to salaries of 50,000.  The Scotsman

Gove pledges genetic food revolution

Labour MP reveals he is HIV positive

Britain will lead an agricultural revolution with the use of gene editing despite concerns about genetically modified food, the environment secretary said. Michael Gove pledged that scientists and farmers would be freed from a European court ruling that had the effect of halting the use of food produced using the technology. Scientists believe that the technique will lead to crops and animals with higher yields, resistance to disease and the ability to cope with the effects of climate change.  The Times

A Labour MP today revealed he is HIV positive in an emotional speech in the Commons  telling how he has been on a decade-long journey from fear to advocacy. Lloyd Russell-Moyle, 32, told how he decided to speak out and tell his story in a debate to mark World Aids Day because he could not keep quiet anymore. Mr Russell-Moyle, who is gay, told how it hit him like a wall when, as a 22 year-old student, he was told he had the virus while sat in an NHS clinic a decade ago.  Daily Mail

Trump cancels meeting with Putin

News in brief

Are we really in danger of getting designer babies?  Matt Ridley, CapX

Full text: Liz Trusss Parliamentarian speech  the backstop, Andrew Bridgen and overpaid bureaucrats  The Spectator

May faces a big defeat  John Redwood

For 100 minutes the prime minister faced questions. She did not answer a single one.  Tom Peck, The Independent

How the rights Brexit dream died  George Eaton, New Statesman

President Trump abruptly cancelled a meeting with President Putin yesterday, setting the stage for one of the frostiest G20 summits in recent times as world leaders grapple over the crisis in Ukraine, support for Saudi Arabia and the threat of a global trade war. Mr Trump had been reluctant to condemn Russias latest aggression in Ukraine, and shortly before heading to Buenos Aires he said he would meet the Russian president. As he set off, however, he apparently changed his mind. Three Ukrainian seamen were wounded on Sunday when Russian warships opened fire on their navy vessels as they attempted to pass through the Kerch Strait to the Sea of Azov, where there are two Ukrainian ports. Russia says the ships illegally entered its territorial waters, a claim that Ukraine denies. Russian border patrol officers detained 24 Ukrainian sailors during the incident.  The Times
I first visited Tanzania aged six. My father was a colonial civil servant so we were living in Malawi, then called Nyasaland and a wonderful place for a child such as me to grow up. We were heading home on leave, taking the ship to Tilbury, and so travelled through the bustle of Dar Es Salaam, enabling my dad to meet up with some colleagues. The city seemed an amazing, exotic place through my young eyes, with its thriving port and throng of cultures.

Since those far-off days, the east African nation has been comparatively stable, economically sluggish but avoiding the coups, ethnic conflicts and free expression clampdowns that have blighted too much of the continent over recent decades. No longer. A former schoolteacher called John Magufuli won the presidency three years ago, then sent it sliding down a wearily-familiar path into repression. As The Economist put it earlier this year, he is fast transforming Tanzania from a flawed democracy into one of Africas more brutal dictatorships.

Magufuli, nicknamed The Bulldozer, took over hopes that he might crush the curse of corruption. Instead, he is ripping apart the fabric of freedom and democracy amidst deteriorating human rights within his nation of 56 million people. Business are bullied by tax officials, investor confidence has crashed, the media is muzzled, political rallies prohibited and opponents disappear. Even bloggers are targeted with a yearly charge costing more than Tanzanias average annual income. In another alarming incident, a henchman announced the creation of surveillance squads to seize homosexuals, who can face up to 30 years in jail  a move that led the United States to warn its own citizens to take care in the country.

This is depressing for a place that had largely escaped some of Africas worst political problems. But Tanzania shows again the fallacies of patronising Western aid policies that pump huge sums of money into poor nations with too little regard for realities on the ground. Our politicians love to boast of boosting democracy and ending poverty as they spend billions taken from taxpayers on their pet projects around the world. Yet, as economists point out, such interventions can shore up the rent-seeking elites and corruption that corrode democracy, civil society and wealth creation, who focus on foreign donors rather than tackling needs on the ground.

Tanzania has long been a donor darling. It is, after all, next door to the aid capital of Kenya, filled with all those foreigners in swish white jeeps and subsidised housing that love to lecture the rest of us on development. So it was handed about 20 billion between 1990 and 2019 as it shifted from benign one-party Socialism into a multi-party democracy, making it the second-biggest recipient of foreign funds on the continent after Ethiopia. Big chunks came from Britain. Yet even before Magufuli took power, there were warnings from experts that donor interventions were having unintended consequences on issues such as accountability.

Despite the worrying repression, Britain still hands over 153 million a year to Tanzania as the aid budget soars. One-third goes directly through the government, according to the Department for International Development, with its usual hollow talk about zero tolerance for corruption. Yet four years ago, Western donors suspended hundreds of millions of pounds in general budget support after it was revealed that ministers had stolen up to $180 million from the central bank, using energy company escrow accounts. Tanzania fails to dent the top 100 in Transparency Internationals corruption perceptions index of nations.

Britain has its own creaking public services. Yet our political masters say we must give away about 14 billion this year to hit that controversial target of donating 0.7 per cent of national income. So Magufuli can talk about harmful effects of birth control, ban advertisements, close AIDS clinics and attack women using contraception as lazy, but we none the less donate 45 million for promotion of family planning in his nation. Even the World Bank, hardly renowned for its moral leadership, suspended a 230 million loan after Tanzania banned pregnant girls from school and made it a crime to question official data (although it still backs other schemes there worth almost 3 billion).

Earlier this month, Denmark  Tanzanias second-biggest donor  announced it was withholding 7.5 million of aid due to concerns on human rights abuses and homophobia. Im very worried about the negative developments in Tanzania, said Ulla Tornaes, its development minister. Canada admits to being in a dilemma over following suit. The European Union has withdrawn its ambassado,r and is reviewing aid projects along with all its member states. Respect for human rights and the rule of law has been repeatedly undermined, it said in a statement.

Britain  hiding behind the EU cloak despite Brexit, strong historic links and being such a key donor  has kept pretty quiet. Yet amid this tragic descent into despotism and bigotry, among the projects we fund is a 14 million scheme claiming to strengthen democratic institutions and governance in Tanzania. As seen so often in the back-scratching aid sector, this programme intending to promote more inclusive and accountable institutions has won A-grade reviews. It is one more example of how Western donors can be so blind to the bigger picture, focusing on well-meaning projects while ignoring obvious events swirling all around them.

Sadly, aid can have corruptive effect, as seen in this fine country, where a tide of foreign cash only served to shore up corrupt and now repressive leaders. Clearly the cash failed to solidify weak institutions. Tanzania shows the dangers of aid fungibility, when funds designed to help the poor and oppressed end up doing the precise opposite by severing the bond between government and the governed. That contract is deeply undermined if the government never has to raise any revenue, does not have to generate any services for its people, because essentially all it has to do is play games with the aid agencies, said Angus Deaton, the Nobel-winning British economist and poverty expert.

It was another brilliant British economist who defined foreign aid in 1975 as a transfer of resources from the taxpayer of a donor country to the government of a recipient country. Peter Bauer also famously pointed out that decent governments did not need aid while it would not work in places where there was bad leadership. Yet still today our politicians ignore his wise words, as they brush aside the growing mountain of evidence that so much of their aid has failed to achieve its stated aims.

Is it any wonder Western electorates have lost so much faith in leaders when you look at the tragic failures of aid and this contempt for clear evidence? Look at how Westminster colludes across tribal divisions to divert billions taken from taxpayers at home to assist some of the most appalling leaders abroad, enriching those at the top while worsening life for those at the bottom of impoverished societies. This is little more than a con trick, cheered on by charities and consultants growing rich from the largesse. Sadly, Tanzania is now a casebook study in the bulging textbook of aid failure.

More information on Lord Ashcrofts work can be found at www.LordAshcroft.com. All his polling and public opinion research can be found online at www.LordAshcroftPolls.com.
Iain Dale: Why is May making her case to 35 million people wont vote on her deal? And not to the 650 or so who will?

Iain Dale is an LBC presenter, a commentator with CNN and the author/editor of over 30 books.

When you are fighting a political battle its a good idea to identify who your target audience is. Im therefore somewhat perplexed by the Prime Ministers strategy to embark on a whistle-stop campaigning tour of the country to sell her Brexit deal to voters.

The point is that the electorate as a whole wont vote on December 11th  650 MPs will. Shouldnt Theresa Mays time be spent convincing her own MPs, rather than the generality of voters, to support her? After all, they will now decide the fate of her Brexit deal, and indeed her own too.

There are echoes of 1990, when Margaret Thatcher thought her time would be better spent in Paris at a summit of world leaders than in the Commons tea room convincing her backbenchers. That worked out well

         

Almost as baffling is the Prime Ministers decision to offer to debate the Leader of the Opposition on TV about the proposed Brexit deal.

Given its importance, Im not saying that its wrong to seek to do so but, given her lack of willingness to debate Jeremy Corbyn directly during the last general election, it shows how desperate Number Ten have become. I suppose its the sh*t or bust strategy.

Once again, her audience in this debate has to be her 315 colleagues rather than the country at large. A lot of hot air has been expelled on this debate by people desperate to muscle in on it. In the last few days weve had the ludicrous sight to both Boris Johnson and the Peoples Vote campaign pleading to be let onto the stage too.

No doubt the Liberal Democrats, Greens and UKIP think they should have a representative there too, not to mention the SNP, Plaid Cymru and the DUP. How utterly ridiculous.

May and Corbyn are the only two possible people who can negotiate a Brexit deal at present  the current Prime Minister, or the man who might be were a general election to take place. It would be preposterous to have anyone else on the stage apart from the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition.

         

I was on Politics Live on Tuesday with Rosena Allin-Khan, the Labour MP for Tooting, and Alan Duncan, the Europe Minister.

Rosena is seen as a rising star in the Labour Party and is appearing everywhere in the media. I was, however, slightly disappointed that all she did throughout the programme was trot out the party line and a few vacuous soundbites.

OK, shes a politician hoping to be promoted, but it was disappointing nonetheless. She argued that there was an exodus of companies leaving this country for the EU, and jobs are leaving the City of London in droves.

Patent nonsense  so I decided to take her on. I simply asked her to name one big company that had left the country because of Brexit. She couldnt name a single one. Had I been quicker witted, I could have talked about the major Dutch publishing group which has relocated to London, or the fact that Chanel is moving here from Paris.

Alan Duncan also disappointed me by making specious claims about the links between Breitbart, the Leave campaign and the Russians. So Im afraid he got the benefit of my views as well!

Its the second time I have been on Politics Live, and I have to say I think it has really found its feet. Its very different to its predecessor, the Daily and Sunday Politics, and no doubt cheaper to make, but in many ways it is much more watchable, and I suspect it has more stickability. If you like the guest lineup, I suspect youll stick with the whole programme rather than tune out halfway through.

        

Its entirely right for the Bank of England to look at what effect the various forms of Brexit would have on the UK economy. What is not right for it to be partisan.

Mark Carney said he was not making predictions but looking at scenarios. Utter rot. If that was his aim hed have modelled the various best scenarios too, but those didnt get a look in.

What about if the Eurozone collapses? What if the Italian banking sector collapses? Wouldnt we be better off out in those circumstances? Im afraid I take the Governors warnings with a respectful pinch of salt, because weve heard it all before.
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CORNWALL, Ontario  Grade 11 and 12 students of St. Josephs Secondary School hosted a spaghetti supper on Saturday, Nov. 24 at Blessed Sacrament Parish.

Community members could indulge in vegetarian or non-vegetarian spaghetti, salad and a variety of sweets for $10. Several silent auction items were also available to bid on.

All proceeds from the supper will support students through a mission trip to Guatemala in the new year.

Our spaghetti supper and silent auction is to help raise funds for our students going to Guatemala, explained school Chaplin, Gordie Vanputten. They will be spending just about 10 days there in February doing a service trip. We will work on painting and building roads in one of the villages through the One By One program.

Vanputten explained that the school has been hosting the program for the past 20 years.

I think the trip is very important because we are going to be making impacts on small communities there who usually dont have the same opportunities as us, said Erica Joyce, a student who will be attending the trip. Joyce thinks that it is especially important for young individuals to experience a trip like this.

Andrea Uhr, another student who will travel to Guatemala, said that her and a few fellow students reached out to local businesses for silent auction donations during their free time on weekends. Some sponsors include Echo Trends, Fence Depot, Best Buy and more.

Some of the students are feeling nervous but excited for the trip and they are eager to make a difference.
Farms run by Japanese Americans once numbered around 200 on the Peninsula. Now, Rancho Palos Verdes will evict the last such farm next summer.
IBM and IIT Delhi announced that the university will join the AI Horizons Network as part of a multi-year research collaboration on artificial intelligence (AI). The aim is to discover novel AI techniques which can help organizations take informed decisions by being able to logically reason with their AI systems. AI solutions will be trained to comprehend complex questions using natural language techniques and derive new insights using domain knowledge.

Today, an AI system is not trained to explain its decision-making process. IBM researchers will partner with students and professors from the Department of Computer Science and Engineering at IIT Delhi to address this issue and conduct joint research to inculcate in AI systems some key traits like reasoning, comprehension and inferencing. For example, a procurement analyst may not be able to decide the right price for a commodity based on the recommendations shared by a trained AI assistant without knowing why it made those suggestions. The research will benefit sectors such as Healthcare and Medicine, Finance, and Customer support which deal with complex set of questions and require reasoning.

While working with AI systems, organizations require explicit reasoning and comprehension to reach a particular conclusion. We believe advancement in AI can tackle such problems, said Michael Karasick, Vice President, Global Labs, IBM Research. We are excited to collaborate with IIT Delhi to focus on this area of research and empower organizations to make informed decisions by infusing key characteristics like reasoning, comprehension and transparency in their AI systems.

Speaking on the relevance of collaboration Prof. V. Ramgopal Rao, Director, IIT Delhi, said India has immense talent to accelerate innovation in AI and related technologies. We are happy to collaborate with IBM Research scientists and provide opportunities to our students and faculty colleagues to work on some of the complex problems around AI and apply the solutions to real-world scenarios.

The teams plan to publish their research in peer-reviewed academic journals and release datasets and open challenges to the research community to identify new areas in making AI decisions better.

With this collaboration, IIT Delhi becomes one of the select institutions in India to join the IBM AI Horizons Network (AIHN). Universities like IIT Bombay in India and globally, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Renesselaer Polytechnic Institute, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, University of Michigan, University de Montreal, University of Maryland at Baltimore County, UC San Diego and University of Massachusetts at Amherst  are working with IBM in key areas designed to accelerate the development of AI technologies. Focus areas include deep learning, natural language processing, computer vision, and others, as well as their application to big societal challenges, ranging from aiding the understanding of disease to education and cybersecurity.

@Technuter.com News Service
Nagasaki saw 267 cruise calls in 2017, with 262 of those from international ships from 21 different cruise lines.

Nagasakis success in trade and tourism are due in part to the ports history, where during Japan`s nationalistic isolation, it was the only port to stay open to outside trade and was considered the only gateway to Japan at that time.

This has allowed the port to prosper and grow over the years. There are now 10 different wharfs that can dock cruise ships.

The port is expecting a decrease in calls in 2019 with the tentative number being 250, according to the Nagasaki Port Authority. This is due in part to a significant capacity decrease from the Chinese cruise market.

The port is now focusing its efforts toward its 450th year anniversary which will be held in 2020.
Today, Marco Mendicino, parliamentary secretary to the minister of Infrastructure and Communities, and Sonterra Ross, chief operating officer of the Greater Victoria Harbour Authority, announced more than $6.8 million in joint funding for a dolphin extension project in Victoria.

The project involves extending the dolphin structure at Ogden Point Cruise Terminal by more than 55 meters and adding two breasting dolphins on each side of the main pier structure to accommodate larger vessels.

According to the port authority, the new structure will be able to dock Quantum-class cruise ships, allowing Vancouver Island to accommodate more passengers while supporting tourism and economic growth for the region as a whole.

The Norwegian Bliss started calling at Ogden Point this past season. Next year, the large ships calling will include the Bliss along with her sister ship, the Joy, and Royal Caribbeans Ovation of the Seas.
Nokia successfully showcased its Network Exposure Function (NEF) for 5G Core at Nokias Research and Development center in Bengaluru on the centers Innovation Day. NEF will allow service providers to deliver an improved quality of experience for internet application and device provisioning, enabling a number of 5G use cases including Massive IoT, Ultra Reliable Low Latency Communication and Enhanced Mobile Broadband. Nokia NEF will be commercially available in the third quarter of 2019.

Nokia NEF is based on the 5G specifications released by the 3GPP standardization body. It is a part of the 5G Core network function and securely exposes operators assets to application developers in the enterprise and Over-The-Top (OTT) domain. Enabling new services and business models, it also allows service providers to boost revenues. At the same time, subscribers are also able to enjoy best-in-class applications.

Rupa Santosh, head of the Bangalore R&D Center at Nokia, said, It is a proud moment for us, as NEF has been conceptualized at Nokias Bengaluru R&D center and developed jointly with the Budapest R&D center. Our center is actively involved in the development of new technology approaches for state-of-the-art quality products, for which Nokia is known across the globe, and Nokia NEF is just one example of this work. We are committed to continue developing new and innovative products to help service providers meet various market challenges and maximize their investments.

The annual Innovation Day event showcases Nokias latest innovations and advances. It also brings together Nokias partners from Bengalurus technology ecosystem across academia, technology companies and start-ups. This year, Nokia demonstrated a wide spectrum of technologies under its event theme 5G is Now, Intelligent Machines that connect the Next Billion. These included Nokia Drone Networks, Immersive Presence, Cloud Base Station, NB-IoT applications, Analytics, Machine Learning and more, demonstrating innovative ideas that will be vital in paving the way for the successful deployment of 5G in India by 2020.

@Technuter.com News Service
MIDDLETOWN  The Middlesex United Way is dedicated to working on improvement of education, income, health, and housing in our community, and has been making progress in these areas since 1935. Of the 15 towns we serve in Middlesex County, I would like to take the opportunity to highlight some of the work and resources we have in our shoreline communities of Clinton, Old Saybrook and Westbrook.

Middlesex United Way supports many programs that touch the lives of Clinton residents. In the last fiscal year, at least 2,382 Clinton residents benefited from Middlesex United Way initiatives and programs provided by our funding partners. In all, 1,964 Clinton residents visited one of the Shoreline Soup Kitchens & Pantries, a United Way funding partner, to receive a warm meal when in need.

Fifty-three residents sought and received help at The Connection Counseling, and more than 250 youth in town participated in either Boy Scouts or Girl Scouts, both United Way partners. United Way also established and actively supports the Best Beginnings initiative, which provides a strong base for the development of Clinton children up to age 5. They work with more than 80 families in town, ensuring the children are prepared to enter the school system and ready to learn.

Old Saybrook is home to another outstanding nonprofit agency providing housing assistance to residents in need. Established in 2003 with the support of the United Way to address the shortage of affordable workforce housing in our area, HOPE is focused on finding housing solutions for low-income residents who suffer disproportionately from the housing crisis.

We continue to support HOPE as the organization works with town government, builders, and other private partners to build housing that is attractive, sustainable, and appropriate to the surrounding neighborhood.

Literacy Volunteers Valley Shore, located right in Westbrook, is a Middlesex United Way funded nonprofit dedicated to providing one-on-one tutoring in English literacy skills at no cost to our hard-working residents.

When Michele came to Connecticut after living in Brazil, she found that, due to the language barrier, she was unable to continue working the type of job she had in Brazil, and began working as a cleaning lady, but without the ability to communicate at work. When she was not working, she was home raising her daughter, who was born blind and on the autism spectrum.

After her daughter turned 9, Michele decided it was time for her to pursue her dreams. She came to Literacy Volunteers Valley Shore to learn English and gain greater communication skills. With the help of her tutor, she was able to make great improvements in her English skills and was now able to better communicate with medical personnel to help her daughter receive the medical attention she needed.

Michele has decided she wants to go back to college and work in the medical field as an interpreter. With the help of her tutor, she knows her dreams are no much closer to a reality.

Stories like this are one of the countless reasons we are so proud of the amazing work our funded partners do daily. From HOPE to Literacy Volunteers Valley Shore, to numerous other programs and initiatives in our community, we work tirelessly to make sure that education, income, health, and housing are top priorities in our work.

To learn more about the resources available to you in your town, visit middlesexunitedway.org/mytown.

Kevin Wilhelm is CEO and president of the Middlesex United Way, based in Middletown.
In two major developments this week, President Donald Trump has been labeled in the parlance of criminal investigations as a major subject of interest, complete with an opaque legal code name: "Individual 1."

New evidence from two separate fronts of special counsel Robert Mueller III's investigation casts fresh doubts on Trump's version of key events involving Russia, signaling potential political and legal peril for the president. Investigators have now publicly cast Trump as a central figure of their probe into whether Trump's campaign conspired with the Russian government during the 2016 campaign.

Together, the documents show investigators have evidence that Trump was in close contact with his lieutenants as they made outreach to both Russia and WikiLeaks - and that they tried to conceal the extent of their activities.

OBAMA: 'Nobody in my administration got indicted'

On Thursday, Trump's longtime personal lawyer Michael Cohen pleaded guilty to lying to Congress when he insisted that Trump was not pursuing plans to build a Trump Tower in Moscow after January 2016, casting Trump's repeated claims that he had no business interests in Russia in a new light. A draft special counsel document revealed Tuesday also indicates that prosecutors are closely scrutinizing Trump's interactions with a longtime adviser, Roger Stone, as he was seeking information about WikiLeaks' plans to release hacked Democratic emails.

Legal experts said it's still unclear how much peril the president might face as a result of the new evidence Mueller has gathered about the Moscow project and WikiLeaks, but his prominence in the prosecutors' papers puts the president in an awkward starring role.

"It's deeply troubling. It's not a place that anybody wants to be, or where you would want your friends or family to be," former federal prosecutor Glen Kopp said. "And it's certainly not a place that you would want your president to be."

Trump, identified as "Individual 1" in Cohen's guilty plea, was said to have received direct updates from Cohen as he pursued a Moscow Trump Tower project with the Kremlin, up until June 14, 2016. The president also appears in the draft charging document for Trump ally Jerome Corsi, who allegedly told Stone about WikiLeaks' plans to release damaging Democratic emails in October of that year because he knew Stone was in "regular contact" with Trump. The Washington Post reported this week that Trump spoke with Stone the day after he got the alert from Corsi.

In the draft documents, prosecutors sought to have Corsi plead guilty to lying when he said he didn't know about WikiLeaks' plans and urging others to visit WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange to obtain emails damaging to Democrats.

Trump has given slightly differing accounts of his Moscow business ties over time. In July 2016, he tweeted: "For the record, I have ZERO investments in Russia." A day later he claimed, "I have nothing to do with Russia."

In January 2017, he told a reporter: "I have no deals that could happen in Russia, because we've stayed away."

Trump's personal lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, said Thursday that the president's written answers to Mueller about the Moscow project, which he submitted just before Thanksgiving, conforms with Cohen's version of events. They discussed a project, starting in 2015, continuing into 2016, and it went nowhere, he said.

"The president, as far as he knows, he remembers there was such a proposal for a hotel," Giuliani said. "He talked it over with Cohen as Cohen said. There was a nonbinding letter of intent that was sent. As far as he knows it never came to fruition. That was kind of the end of it."

IMMIGRATION: Trump officials defend using tear gas on migrants during border fracas

Alan Dershowitz, a Trump ally and constitutional lawyer, said Cohen's confessions don't suggest Trump committed any crime but could suggest that Trump wasn't telling the public the whole truth about the Moscow deal.

"This is politically damaging, but I'm not sure how legally damaging it is," Dershowitz said. "This is all about questionable political behavior. It's a good reason for people voting against Trump. But I don't see a crime yet."

But Tim O'Brien, a Trump biographer and frequent critic, said the developments pose significant new challenges for the president.

"This is part of the fact pattern that gets to the heart of whether there was collusion between the Trump campaign and the Kremlin during the campaign," O'Brien said. "I think the unforgiving grinding force of the U.S. justice system, which he has tried to undermine since he became president, is encircling him. I don't think we know where he will land. But he is certainly mired in something that he is ill-equipped, legally and personally, to handle."

CALL FOR CIVILITY: Houston Republican Dan Crenshaw's next mission: 'Make conservatism cool.'

Some legal experts argued Mueller appears to be drawing a picture of a candidate who was beholden to the Kremlin. Emails released in the Cohen plea show Trump seeking a financial endorsement from the Russian government on a private project while Russian President Vladimir Putin was offering to say flattering things about Trump.

"It creates the potential for Trump to feel an obligation to pay back President Putin, or Russia in general that . . . do not put the best interests of American forward." Kopp said. "You are creating a potential vulnerability for a future leader of America."

Trump privately stewed as he followed news coverage of Cohen's plea early Thursday morning, a White House official said.

A Justice official called the White House Counsel's Office on Wednesday evening to let personnel know that Cohen would be pleading guilty in a case the following day, according to one person with direct knowledge of the notice. They were not told the details, however, which they learned about shortly before Cohen's plea Thursday morning.

Giuliani said the president believed the news development was a gratuitous slap from the Mueller team just as he was about to depart the White House for a trip to the Group of 20 summit in Argentina.

In public, Trump was defiant, telling reporters that Cohen was a liar and a "weak person" who would do anything to save himself from fraud charges he faces related to his taxi business. Speaking before he stepped onto the Marine One helicopter for his trip, he also denigrated Cohen's intelligence, calling him "not very smart."

"He was convicted of various things unrelated to us," Trump said. "He's a weak person, and what he's trying to do is get a reduced sentence. So he's lying about a project that everybody knew about. I mean, we were very open with it."

He questioned the scrutiny of the Moscow project.

"There would have been nothing wrong if I did do it," Trump said. "When I'm running for president, that doesn't mean I'm not allowed to do business."

Trump often grows aggrieved seeing Cohen on TV, aides say. Among White House advisers, Cohen is seen as an existential threat - as much or more so than the Mueller investigation itself due to his longtime role as Trump's fixer. Trump's legal team did not learn until Thursday that Cohen had sat for dozens of hours of interviews with Mueller's office, according to a senior administration official.

Trump was infuriated earlier this year when Cohen released tapes of him and asked his lawyers and advisers if anything could be done to stop him from releasing any more.

The Trump legal team cast Cohen as a flawed character whose word is meaningless, as it had when he pleaded guilty in August to eight felony counts, including paying women for their silence about alleged affairs with Trump.

Legal experts said prosecutors were not likely to build a guilty plea - a brick in the overall case - on the word of one person. The prosecutors' filings show they have corroborated and buttressed Cohen's account with contemporaneous emails, and people familiar with the probe say they have also obtained corroborating testimony from other witnesses.

TEXAS POLITICS: Cornyn to seek cooperation on trip to inauguration of Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador

"This is obviously a significant plea and statement. It means that when the president was representing during the campaign that he had no business interests in Russia, that that wasn't true," said Rep. Adam Schiff, Calif., the ranking Democrat in line to become chairman of the House Intelligence Committee. " If the president and his associates were being untruthful in real time as they were pursuing this deal, what does it mean now about how much we can rely on what the president is saying about any continuing Russian financial interest?"

Giuliani said the president and his business have not tried to hide his pursuit of a Moscow tower project, and voluntarily disclosed some of the documents Mueller's team used in its probe of Cohen for lying to Congress. According to a person familiar with the investigation, Cohen and the Trump Organization could not produce some of the key records upon which Mueller relies. Other witnesses provided copies of those communications.

In the White House, two aides said Trump had complained more in recent days about Mueller's prosecutors and has kept close tabs on the comments of Corsi and Stone. Trump has praised his former campaign chairman, Paul Manafort, extensively for fighting Mueller's team, which accused Manafort this week of breaching a plea agreement by lying repeatedly to prosecutors as part of his pledged cooperation in the Russia probe. Cohen had not been on the front of Trump's mind, both of these aides said.

Many in the White House try to avoid talking with the president about the Mueller probe, for fear they will be subpoenaed. And both of the aides said it was unclear why Trump was complaining more about the investigation recently. During the midterm campaign, the president occasionally told advisers that people had forgotten about the Mueller probe and remarked positively that it was no longer dominating TV headlines.

- - -

The Washington Post's Alice Crites contributed to this report.
Syska Group, a leading FMEG brand with the best innovations in technology adds two new innovative products to its catalogue. It announced the launch of two smart products: Syska Smart Plug with Power Meter and Syska Wi-Fi Spike Buster that can convert simple/ regular devices into smart devices. Syska smart plug and spike buster can convert any connected regular product into a smart product. The smart plug and smart spike buster are aesthetically designed which gives home or office a complete makeover with its fine and classy look.

The Syska Smart Plug with Power Meter comes with the promise of making your life comfortable. With just one click through Syska Smart Home App you can control any connected device using Syska Smart Plug with Power Meter. You can switch on/off your device through one tap from the Syska Smart Home App. It comes with a timer feature that allows you to schedule the connected device via app. The plug sends a notification on your smartphone as soon as the connected device gets overheated. The power meter is enabled to monitor voltage consumption of any device ever connected with the Syska Smart Plug. All the data ever collected by the power meter can be accessed via the Syska Smart Home App. The product is priced at INR 2599/- and is available on ecommerce portals Amazon and Flipkart.

Features of Syska Smart Plug with Power Meter

It is a Wi-Fi Plug.

It can turn devices on/off with the mobile app.

It creates on/off schedules for your devices.

It prevents your devices from overheating.

It monitors your energy usage.

Syska Wi-Fi enabled Spike Buster takes automation and safety to a whole new level. It protects your sensitive devices from voltage spikes. You can control the electronic devices using voice control or using by Alexa/Google/Syska Smart Home App. All your electronic devices plugged into this spike guard can be turned on and off with your voice or by using your smart phone. SYSKA Spike Buster comes with 3 Universal Power Sockets, 4 USB Charging Ports which can accommodate devices ranging from a Smartphone to a laptop. The 3 universal sockets make it easy to operate any three different devices all at once, through the Syska Smart Home app. Syska Spike buster protects your electronic device from short circuits, voltage spikes and overheating of your devices. The Surge & Spike Protection offer surge suppression or voltage spikes suppression so that your devices do not get damaged. The Child Safety Protective Shutter protects young children from accidentally putting their fingers into the sockets. The product is priced at INR 4999 and is available on ecommerce portals Amazon and Flipkart.

Features of Syska WiFi spike buster

It is Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa supported

It offers Surge & Spike protection

It has 4 USB charging ports

It has 3 Universal sockets

It has 1.8 m Cord length

It offers overheating protection

It has LED On/Off indicator

It offers child safety protective shutter

Commenting on the launch, Mr. Gurumukh Uttamchandani, Director, Syska Group, says, Smart home automation industry in India is booming and consumers are looking for products that make their life smart and convenient at the same time. We at Syska believe in providing a better experience to consumers through continuous innovation. We have launched new and innovative product like Syska Smart Plug with Power Meter and Syska WiFi Spike Buster to enable the consumers convert their simple homes into smart homes. Syska aims to launch a range of smart products to drive urbanisation and provide a superior standard of living to the consumers.

Syska has recently partnered with a global IoT player Tuya smart to bring about smart home capabilities in India. In its mission to provide the best customer experience through innovative product solutions, SYSKA has proactively introduced WiFi enabled home appliances which will be voice controlled. Syska aims to enter two million homes in the next 1 year and plans to grow steadily year on year. The company is targeting revenue of 200 crores in next financial year. Syska Group will be investing 25 crores in Marketing and R&D in the upcoming year to build the smart home category in India.

You may also need the Aicool Smart Trash Can in your smart home.

@Technuter.com News Service
Pa. election audit: Private company vows to protect voters' information

The company contracted by state Senate Republicans pledged to be fair and protect voters' sensitive information in its election, but didn't elaborate.
At the Bengaluru Tech Summit, Robert Bosch Engineering and Business Solutions today unveiled Phantom  an intelligent ecosystem platform for SMEs to embark on their I4.0 journey. Phantom supports SMEs to prepare digital transformation roadmaps for their manufacturing plants, machine intelligence and energy analytics.

Addresses a real need of the hour: Bosch Phantom stands behind the Indian SME sector to significantly improve their machine efficiency which is the cornerstone to secure Indias digital future, said Swaminathan K, VP, Sales and Marketing, RBEI. A non-invasive, retrofit solution that can be set up in a few minutes, it is installed in a machine, gathers unique machine usage and production patterns for extensive analytics, and provides valuable insights on usage, benchmarks, trends, losses and best practices. It also provides input on critical safety, machine maintenance and early warnings on malfunctions. Vijay Ratnaparkhe, President and Managing Director of RBEI said, Phantom will help SMEs jump start their digital transformation journey. RBEIs vision is to provide smart solutions for the globe and Phantom is a step in that direction.

The Phantom platform is a powerful ecosystem on the cloud and on-premise that delivers manufacturing efficiency, real time alerts and notifications for timely actionable insights. A user configurable portal and dashboard provides transparency and visibility of factory operations, worker productivity and machine effectiveness. It automates data capture and provides timely, bias-free, accurate data that form the basis for managers to set targets, track performance, analyze, and improve on a continuous basis.

Working with a view of an ideal benchmark across similar industries is much needed and now provided by Phantom. Analytics form the core of this solution and it is Phantoms purpose to bring advanced technology and insightful analytics to SMEs. We have built a product that has been truly invented for life, said Uday Prabhu, head of Connected Products and Digital Labs at RBEI.

The true benefits of Industry 4.0/Connected Industry will be realized when there is a seamless integration of the entire value stream that includes partners (such as suppliers, logistics providers). Phantom is a platform that provides for this inclusivity in realizing Industry 4.0. SMEs do not have to be left out due to constraints of cost of ownership of technology or talent. They can get on the Phantom platform and pace their journey of Industry4.0 and strive for global competitiveness in cost and quality, said Dattatri Salagame, VP of Domain Digital at RBEI.

Bosch Phantom is designed to be leveraged for multiple industries to jump start a digital (#JSD) journey through customized advisory sessions, consulting workshops and a content rich knowledge portal for asset intensive industries such as retail stores, airports, oil and gas terminals, textile, construction, buildings and many more industries. SMEs form the core of our focus.

Lets be remarkable: Cars drive autonomously, machines speak to each other, and houses become smarter. At Bosch, we turn these visions into reality to improve the quality of life for people all over the world. Start something big and become a part of forward thinkers where you can create something remarkable: Invented for life.

@Technuter.com News Service
News Desk Editor

Jack is the news editor at the Emerald. He is a journalism and political science major at the University of Oregon who enjoys reading alone, drinking coffee alone and eating in parks...alone. Send tips or food recs to jforrest@dailyemerald.com
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
About me I'm Avi Green

From Jerusalem, Israel

I was born in Pennsylvania in 1974, and moved to Israel in 1983. I also enjoyed reading a lot of comics when I was young, the first being Fantastic Four. I maintain a strong belief in the public's right to knowledge and accuracy in facts. I like to think of myself as a conservative-style version of Clark Kent. I don't expect to be perfect at the job, but I do my best. My profile

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Why would a lay Dominican woman from the so-called dark ages have any lasting relevance in todays world?

For one reason, Catherine of Siena, was no ordinary woman. And she eventually became no ordinary saint. She was the saint of burning love for her passionate sense of service, reform and justice. It was St. Catherine who famously said: Be who God meant you to be, and you will set the world on fire.

Her infectious magnanimity and heroic life of virtue alone is a timeless gift for all of humanity.

Born in 1347 while the Black Death ravaged her city of Siena and the rest of Europe, wiping out one-third of its population, St. Catherine grew up a spirited, strong-willed daughter of an entrepreneurial father whose cloth dying business earned the family a comfortable living. Joining the third order of the Dominicans as a teenager, she became a tireless caregiver of the sick and poor and was a charismatic spiritual counselor to both clergy and nobility.

Most importantly, Catherine grew to become an expert in diplomacy and negotiations at a time when Romes very future hung delicately in the balance of schism and self-destruction.

St. Catherine is a patron saint of Rome, for without her, Rome may have ceased being the Eternal City.

It was during her lifetime that Rome had been officially abandoned as the traditional Capital of Christianity. Since St. Peter the Apostle, Rome was the center of moral and spiritual rule over all of Christendom. However, in 1305  four decades before Catherines birth and when bishop Raymond Bertrand de Got was elected Pope Clement V  Western Civilization took a detour: all the roads that had previously lead to Rome, now headed north to the Avignon, in what is now France, but then in the Kingdom of Arles.

Refusing to move to a factious, back-stabbing Rome, the new French pope chose to remain safely in Avignon. The papal Curia eventually transferred its residence to this small Frankish town in 1309. After this year, six other popes were legitimately elected and stayed in Avignon until 1376.

By the middle of the 14th century, a pope-less Rome had become a ruinous slum of looters, abject poverty, and festered in contagious disease. The Eternal City became the Forgotten City  the abandoned Black Widow  tail spinning out of control into economic, political and moral decrepitude. Its population was decimated: the city had dwindled to a mere 50,000 and eventually reached an all-time low of 20,000 inhabitants during the ensuing Western Schism that began in 1378.

In brief, throughout the 14th Century, while many great medieval Italian cities like Florence, Siena and Pisa eventually rose to become economic and political powerhouses, Roma caput mundi was reduced to a sickly village. It appeared destined to die.

St. Catherine reacted with righteous indignity, especially after Gregory XI became the seventh pope to reject a dangerous Rome for a more comfortable and protected life in Avignon. The unintended consequence was that Avignon popes  just like the previous Roman pontiffs  had effectively once again became political puppets to local crowns and power-positioning nobility. The Church had again grown passive, was manipulated by lust for power, and thus relinquished her true sovereign freedom.

What did Catherine do? She began a furious letter writing campaign to Gregory XI during the last part of her life in order to convince him to have his pontificate reestablished in Rome. Surely emulating the persistence and salesmanship of her entrepreneurial father, St. Catherine pulled off a feat for the ages, helping to end 70 years of the Churchs exile in Avignon, a period in the Church historians call the Babylonian Captivity.

With laser-focused attention on the just goal to be achieved for the common good, she would not take no for an answer from a stubborn Gregory XI. She pleaded with and charmed the pope with her personal affection while insisting on his moral courage and giving clear and urgent reasons.

Catherines convincing words are found in one of her more noteworthy letters (n. 74), where she argues to fight not evil with devilish evil, but with the power of saintly virtue:

I am begging you, I am telling you, my dear babbo ( dad in the Tuscan dialect), in the name of Christ crucified, to conquer with kindness, with patience, with humility, with gentleness the wrongdoing and pride of your children who have rebelled against you their father. You know that the devil is not cast out by the devil but by virtue. Even though you have been seriously wrongedsince they have insulted you and robbed you of what is yoursstill, father, I beg you to consider not their wrongdoing but your own kindness. Up, father! Put into effect the resolution you have made concerning your returnYou can see that the unbelievers are challenging you to this by coming as close as they can to take what is yours. Up, to give your life for Christ!  Why not give your life a thousand times, if necessary, for Gods honor and the salvation of his creatures? That is what he did, and you, his vicar, ought to be carrying on his work. It is to be expected that as long as you are his vicar you will follow your Lords ways and example.

St. Catherines optimistic persistence finally paid off. In September of 1376, Pope Gregory XI packed up and left Avignon. He headed back to Rome, even while his papal fleet battled fierce storms at sea and faced constant threats from Avignon.

Gregory XI arrived in Rome on January 17 of 1377, dying just one year later.

The rest is history, as they say, even if for the next forty years Rome had to endure further battles of power struggle while contesting claimants to the papal throne  the anti-popes  were illegally elected in the court of Avignon which refused to recognize the restored line of popes in Rome.

The tumultuous Western Schism, which at one point culminated in three simultaneous claimants to the papacy, ended with the Ecumenical Council of Constance (14141418) and the unanimous, uncontested election of Pope Martin V.

Less than a century later, in 1506, the construction of a new magnificent St. Peters Basilica had begun. The revived center of Catholic worship, whose famous dome was designed by Michelangelo, effectively paved way for Rome to raise her head proudly out of sinking despair. Rome was reborn into what is todays 4,000,000 energetic metropolis  full of joyous creativity, zealous faith and steady commercial enterprise.

Todays Rome, no doubt, was saved from an early death, thanks to St. Catherine, the daughter of a gritty and determined Tuscan entrepreneur who herself had fought with the same skills to negotiate the Eternal Citys righteous return as the Churchs home-sweet-home.

Note: To hear more about the heroic life of St. Catherine of Siena, come to or watch on-line Actons December 4, 2018 Rome conference Freedom, Virtue, and the Good Society: The Dominican Contribution.
WEST CHESTER  Plans call for the Charles A. Melton Arts and Education Center to build about 50 affordable workforce development housing units along Market Street, Miner and Worthington streets.

Church Housing of Phoenixville and NRP LLC are also involved in construction expected to cost $15.4 million.

Lisa Dorsey, president of the Melton broad of directors, said dirt might be turned at the 2.5 acre site to the east of the current building during the spring of 2020 if a grant from the Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency is approved.

The design is not yet finalized, with plans in draft form. Dorsey and the board of directors expect to build up to four floors.

The Melton Center would receive 49 percent of any income generated and Church Housing would receive 51 percent from rental of the one and two bedroom apartments and townhouses.

The name tells us what it brings to the community-affordable workforce housing, Dorsey said. Some cant necessarily afford to live here (in West Chester).

Ken Winston, executive director, said the complex will serve Melton Centers mission of helping the least, the last and the left behind.

The center recently celebrated its hundredth anniversary.

A part time social worker will be hired to manage the property and a new playground will replace one located in the proposed construction zone.

Letters of support for the facility were sent by Chester County Community Development, the county commissioners office, Bridge of Hope, Friends Association, the Borough of West Chester and Home of the Sparrow.
Have Kate and Meghan really fallen out? If so, it must be a world record for sisters-in-law; from hello to zero in less time than it takes to say: 'I saw that tiara first.'

Speculation of a rift between the royal wives has been percolating for months. News that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex are to move out of Kensington Palace  and away from William and Kate  only seems to confirm the bitter ribbons of rumour that continue to flutter around.

Or does it? The royal residence in London may be grand, but it is still a kind of gilded campus; stuffed with royals of all stripes, seething with major and minor dukes, duchesses, attendant courtiers plus those saucer-eyed honeymooners Princess Eugenie and Jack Brooksbanks, ugh!

Speculation of a rift between the royal wives has been percolating for months. News that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex are to move out of Kensington Palace  and away from William and Kate  has fuelled rumours of a Royal row

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are looking to relocate to a countryside hideaway (Frogmore Cottage is pictured, above)

Have Kate and Meghan really fallen out? If so, it must be a world record for sisters-in-law, writes JANE MOIR

Wouldn't you want to flee from this suffocating west wing of royal bling, where the Cambridges are the senior principals who must come first and to whom everyone must defer at all times?

I'm a celebrity, says Meghan Markle, get me out of here.

So perhaps it shouldn't be too surprising that she and Harry are fleeing 20 miles down the M4 to Frogmore Cottage in Windsor. There, they will set up home under the Heathrow flight path, just as soon as their gourmet kitchen and Soho House velvet sofas have been installed.

And if their wives continue to simmer at each other like two furious eggs in a poaching pot, what will happen to the relationship between the two brothers? William and Harry have always been close.

They were the two little boys bonded by maternal bereavement; the teenagers united in the odd loneliness and peculiarities of their royal lives; the young men who railed against the strictures of long-established protocol and custom.

Now they are both married  and we all know that wives change everything, especially wives who do not get along.

Within family dynamics, especially royal ones, married couples become a unit; a vessel of ambition and mutual desires steered by the strategic thinker in the partnership  the woman.

Men are mere buoys in the household slipstream; merrily bobbing along unsure of the undertow, prevailing currents or direction. Traditionally, it is the womenfolk who plot like mad, nurse supposed grievances, open up storm-fronts where there was only calm before and protect their vested interests.

I don't say this as a criticism  after all, someone has to take charge. No doubt William and Harry will start to see each other in a different, less flattering light  perhaps they already have.

They will certainly see each other less and will never again enjoy that easy, knockabout friendship of their youth.

There is too much at stake now.

For a brief shining moment, the two couples teamed up for informal public events and were known as the Fab Four, but I think we can kiss that cosy scenario goodbye, too.

From now on, the courts of the Sussexes and the Cambridges have officially and emotionally parted company.

By settling in Windsor, Harry and Meghan hope to distinguish themselves outside the stultifying orbit of William and Kate. They want to make their own mark and create their own power base.

Behind them they leave the reek of sisterly misunderstandings, including Kate's apparent tears during a Princess Charlotte bridesmaid fitting for Harry and Meghan's wedding, plus heightened tensions between the Sussexes and the royal household staff.

'What Meghan wants, Meghan gets,' Prince Harry is reported to have said. It makes me suspect that it is him  and not her  who is hyper-aware of insider status and royal slights.

Meanwhile, Kate was asked if she was excited about the arrival of a little cousin for George, Charlotte and Louis. 'Absolutely,' she replied. 'It's such a special time to have little kiddies.'

What on earth did she mean? In a post-Brexit world? Before Christmas? In the history of the Royal Family?

Who knows, but it seems we are entering an era with a vista of difficult family occasions, hurt and exclusions on the distant horizon.

As outsiders, Kate and Meghan could have been powerful allies for each other, but it is clear that life as a wife of Windsor is anything but merry.

Proof that some poor daughters do 'ave 'em

What to do when you have an embarrassing mother? I would ask my own, but shes just gone into town in her PVC mini-kilt and matching bralette to buy tickets for Hugh Jackmans concert tour next year.

This is me, she screamed, popping some whisky into her message bag before she got on the bus. She and me need to have some serious words.

Thats why I cant agree with health guru Gillian McKeiths daughter Skylar, who says that her 59-year-old mother should be able to wear what she wants.

This is why I cant agree with health guru Gillian McKeiths daughter Skylar, who says that her 59-year-old mother should be able to wear what she wants

No, Skylar. Not when she goes out to a London film premiere looking like a cross between a trapeze artist and a porn star who is hoping for a high wind.

I dont know what the dress code is in Gillians head, but she is the kind of woman who likes to unleash her inner stripper at the drop of an invite.

Some mothers need more guidance than others. And sometimes the things Gillian wears are less of a party outfit and more of a cry for help.

Has she never heard of Marks & Spencer? Will someone please take her to the Per Una rails before she is arrested?

Spare us Sheen's Brexit break-up

Actor Michael Sheen says his relationship with the American comedienne Sarah Silverman ended because he was worried about Brexit and she was worried about Donald Trump.

The poor darlings had to split up so that LA-based Michael could return to Britain and explore why we voted for Brexit, while she toured America looking for Trump answers.

In a crowded field, is this the most self-important, self-assigned project of all time? I really think so.

Both Michael and Sarah, who dated for four years, think they are clever and important. They just cant understand why others dont think as they do, and see this as a problem that needs fixing.

Yet even though they have a mutual disdain for those who dont share their beliefs, neither wanted to give up their chosen path for the other. Its a shame  the horrors were clearly made for each other.

Is it really such a turkey to charge for Christmas dinner?

A grandmother from Scarborough plans to charge her family 30 a head for Christmas lunch. Hayley Garbutt, 50, explained on ITVs This Morning that she asked for help with the bill because she was fed up spending more than 500 on her extended family, including her three children and four grandchildren.

So she started asking for contributions and didnt see anything wrong with that. Some think her stance is outrageous and terrible  but why didnt her family offer to make a contribution in the first place?

It reminds me of a friend who was delighted to be invited to a country wedding, before he was told there would be a 35 charge to attend the evening marquee reception. Expressing surprise, he was told: But weve hired a jazz band.

What were they playing? Ka-Ching? Wear My Ring? Ten Cents A Dance? Pennies From Heaven? Squeeze Me?

Some families do take their Christmas lunch for granted, but charging at the door doesnt feel right. its much better to do it afterwards.

You had two Tia Marias, double sprouts and an extra slice of cake, so that all comes to 37.52, please. Plus service. Cash only. Youre welcome.

A grandmother from Scarborough plans to charge her family 30 a head for Christmas lunch. Hayley Garbutt, 50, explained on ITVs This Morning that she asked for help with the bill because she was fed up spending more than 500 on her extended family, including her three children and four grandchildren.

So she started asking for contributions and didnt see anything wrong with that. Some think her stance is outrageous and terrible  but why didnt her family offer to make a contribution in the first place?

It reminds me of a friend who was delighted to be invited to a country wedding, before he was told there would be a 35 charge to attend the evening marquee reception. Expressing surprise, he was told: But weve hired a jazz band.

What were they playing? Ka-Ching? Wear My Ring? Ten Cents A Dance? Pennies From Heaven? Squeeze Me?

Some families do take their Christmas lunch for granted, but charging at the door doesnt feel right. its much better to do it afterwards.

You had two Tia Marias, double sprouts and an extra slice of cake, so that all comes to 37.52, please. Plus service. Cash only. Youre welcome.

Christmas Quiz. Who am I? I am an excluded minor who has been bullied by my peers who laugh and call me names. Even my superiors, who clearly need diversity and inclusion training, sometimes have a go. I have been marginalised by everyone who meets me and some even accuse me of being a parable for racism and homophobia. I was verbally abused by my father and at school I wasnt allowed to join in any games. If you looked at me, you might also think I had alcohol issues, too.

Answer. Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer, 2018 style.

Dumb and Drummer

The Little Drummer Girl has lost about half its BBC1 audience since it began in October.

Viewers have complained about confusing plotlines and murky characters in this six-part adaptation. It was as if John le Carre was too much, and they wanted to get back to Spongebob Squarepants.

The show stars a lot of splendid moustaches and Florence Pugh (pictured) as actress-turned-spy Charlie

What has happened to us? In 1974, more than 11 million were gripped for seven weeks by Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy  another Le Carre adaptation that was, if anything, even more perplexing than this one.

Its not that people are more stupid today, just that our attention spans have been shattered by the instant gratification of the internet. To be honest, I nearly gave up myself  but hung on in there and switched on the subtitles. That helped a lot! The highly stylised production of Drummer Girl is sometimes too distracting and rather thrilled with itself; crammed with period detail such as Zoom ice lollies, ribbed polo-necks and a preponderance of mustard hues.

Yet it stars a lot of splendid moustaches and Florence Pugh (pictured) as actress-turned-spy Charlie. She is being hailed as the new Kate Winslet  but lets not hold that against her.
Deciding to campaign to leave the European Union wasnt easy for me. At the time the referendum was called, I was part of a government led by David Cameron and George Osborne which was achieving amazing things for our country.

We were transforming our education system so the poorest in our society could enjoy the same opportunities as the wealthiest; we were overhauling our prison service to give offenders a second chance and in doing so cut crime; we were mending our economy  broken after years of over-spending by Labour and reckless behaviour by chancers and profiteers in the banking sector.

I am proud of what David and George achieved, and my small part in that success. It was a great team effort that, I sincerely believe, made our country a better place to live for all our citizens.

Michael Gove (pictured above) says campaigning to leave the European Union wasn't an easy decision

So I knew that in campaigning to leave, I would be breaking with colleagues with whom I was working to change the country for the better, and putting at risk the future gains we could yet have made together.

I also knew it would come at a personal cost. The impact of my decision on my family and friendships has been impossible to ignore.

I make these points not because I expect sympathy  that is the price you pay as a politician, you are elected to make tough decisions in the national interest  but to help explain my thinking then and now.

Because, despite everything, would I make the same decision again? A thousand times, yes.

When you are faced with a fundamental question about the future of your country, you must put aside your own interests and do what you think is right.

And leaving the EU is the right thing to do.

Michael Gove (pictured above) delivering a speech at the Leave Campaign offices in London

For too long, this overbearing, undemocratic and profligate bureaucracy has told us what to do, protected vested interests, stood in the way of innovation and inflicted economic and social harm on its citizens.

The referendum offered us the chance to break free, to become the authors of our own national story, to bring democracy home.

I believe in Brexit, I campaigned for it heart and soul. And now I want to see it through.

Theresa May (left) and Argentine President Mauricio Macri (right) at the G20 summit

And we should be in no doubt, seeing it through is by no means guaranteed. Brexit is under greater threat than at any time since the referendum. Should we fail to leave, dont be fooled into thinking we could just stick with the status quo.

Like a guilty partner who had threatened to leave for another and come crawling back, we would be forced to accept far tougher terms than we have now.

Keeping the rebate? Forget about it. Stopping a tide of new EU laws? No way. Halting progress towards a European army? Nope. Guaranteeing we wouldnt have to pay billions to bail out euro members in the future? Im afraid not.

Michael Gove (right) said he was pleased with the work he achieved under David Cameron (left)

And the danger of finding ourselves dragged back into the rigid structures of the EU is growing. Those members of the Establishment who campaigned to remain and have never accepted the result are now trying to reverse Brexit by calling for a second referendum.

And now they have been joined by Jeremy Corbyn and John McDonnell.

At the last election, they pledged to honour the referendum result. Yet now John McDonnell says a second referendum is inevitable.

Michael Gove was part of a government led by David Cameron (pictured above)

I fear a second vote to overturn the first would not just damage public faith in democracy, it would also cause deep wounds to the social fabric of our country.

The vote in 2016 gave voice, for the first time, to millions of people who had always felt ignored by politicians. At last, they had a say and a stake  and they won.

For them to be told now that they got it wrong the first time, that they should get back in their box, that their will is going to be ignored, would cause disillusionment on a scale never seen before.

Michael Gove has said he is proud of what David Cameron and George Osbourne (pictured above) achieved when in government

It would also prove right all the criticisms we made of the EU and the Westminster establishment during the campaign  that they never listen; that they only answer to the people when it suits them; that they will simply never change.

And that is why, for all its flaws, I am doing everything I can to support the Prime Ministers deal which secures, at long last, our exit from the EU.

Is it perfect? Far from it. Does it deliver 100 per cent of what I wanted? No. But then we didnt win 100 per cent of the vote on June 23 2016.

Members of the Establishment are now trying to reverse Brexit by calling for a second referendum. And now they have been joined by Jeremy Corbyn (pictured above), says Gove

In politics, as in life, you cant always get everything that you want. But this deal delivers in crucial ways.

It guarantees an end to freedom of movement and control over our borders.

Immigration wasnt the main concern for all leave voters but it was for some  and this deal delivers for them.

Future governments will now be free to implement immigration policies which they think best for the country  whether its this Governments preferred option of a visa system or the Australian-style points system Vote Leave advocated.

Finally, voters will be able to hold politicians to account at the ballot box on immigration.

The deal also means we will no longer be automatically sending huge sums of money to the EU every single week.

The size of our financial contributions to Brussels was of huge concern to a great many leave voters during the referendum campaign. The Leave campaign argued we should end these contributions and invest in priorities such as the NHS instead. This deal delivers that critical pledge.

Although the deal limits our ability to control some of the existing laws and rules relating to manufactured goods and agricultural products, it does give us control of rules over services which make up a far larger proportion of our economy and it allows us to reject new EU rules we think are bad for business.

In the areas for which I am responsible as Environment Secretary, we will take back control of both farming and fishing policy.

The Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) has failed to help farmers create the productive and profitable businesses they aspire to and has damaged our countryside environment.

From 2020 we will be outside the CAP and able to create our own farming policy.

Michael Gove has said is is support Prime Minister Theresa May (pictured above)

And we will be able decide who has access to our waters and on what terms. The great injustice which was inflicted on the fishing industry in the Seventies, and which drove my own fathers fish processing business into the ground, will at last be put right.

There are, however, real concerns which many of my friends and colleagues have raised about this deal. And in many respects I share those concerns. Its important to be honest about that.

The so-called backstop  the insurance policy to prevent a hard border in Ireland in the event that we havent agreed a new trading relationship with the EU  is uncomfortable for me. I would prefer to have had a mechanism to exit the backstop unilaterally.

But its important to look in detail at what the backstop entails  and to appreciate that however uncomfortable it is for the UK, it actually creates major problems for the EU.

Gove says that by leaving the EU we would be largely free from the European Court of Justice (pictured above)

We would have tariff-free access to their markets  without having to pay a penny. Not only would we be free from any financial contributions, we would be largely free from the rule of the Commission and direct control by the European Court of Justice.

We would have total control over our borders. And we would take back full control of our fishing waters.

Not only would we have many of the benefits of Brexit, but also many of the benefits of EU membership, without most of the obligations. Just what the EU said they could never offer.

And if we do enter a backstop, there are ways in which we can leverage it to our advantage. There are good reasons European leaders are uncomfortable about this deal  especially because it doesnt deliver what so many of them want.

For how long would the Emmanuel Macron (pictured above) put up with the protests of French fishermen denied all access to UK waters?

For how long would the President of France put up with the protests of French fishermen denied all access to UK waters? How long will other EU countries be comfortable with us diverging from EU rules in many areas while we have tariff-free access to their home markets?

The longer the backstop lasts, the more difficult it will be for Europe. Far from it suiting their interests to keep the backstop going, they will be keen to avoid it and conclude a durable free-trade deal.

And in considering whether to support this deal, we all need to assess these issues in the round  we must not make the perfect the enemy of the good.

Michael Gove (above) has said he believes he made the country a better place

Indeed, if we dont accept this deal, I believe we enter dangerous waters. We risk a softer Brexit, no Brexit at all, or no deal.

Compared to the PMs deal, a softer Brexit  such as the Norway option which some of my colleagues advocate  would mean less freedom to decide our laws, less control over our borders and we would still be sending significant sums to Brussels every year. Its better than EU membership, but worse than this deal.

I also know some of my colleagues would prefer a clean break  that we should walk away from the negotiating table and move towards a relationship based on World Trade Organisation (WTO) rules. I respect their position but I cant share it. Lying behind their view is a fair point  the economy could adjust to WTO rules and succeed over time.

Many other countries around the world trade with the EU on this basis, so there is no reason the UK couldnt as well. While higher tariffs arent desirable, they neednt be catastrophic.

This is all true, but tariffs arent the whole story. Over the past 40 years of membership, the EU has extended its reach into the functioning of our economy and society in countless ways  indeed, this is one of the strongest arguments for getting out.

From how we regulate chemicals to how we track movements of animals and animal products; from licences that let hauliers operate to arrangements which allow organic food to be sold  these are just a handful of the ways in which we rely on EU systems and processes.

While we may want to unwind all these arrangements, it is simply not possible do so overnight in an orderly fashion without ructions and repercussions. So it is undeniable that no deal would cause considerable dislocation and disruption in the short term.

I know some of my colleagues think these warnings are Project Fear Mark Two. Well, during the referendum campaign, there was no greater opponent of Project Fear than me.

I called out those economists  experts if you will  who tell us they know best but get it consistently wrong.

My comments were misquoted and criticised at the time and have continued to attract ire since. But the central point was proven right  after the leave vote, the sky did not fall in, the economy did not shrink, jobs were not lost. Quite the opposite.

However, if those who orchestrated Project Fear last time round were the boys who cried wolf, lets not forget how that story ended. Too many false warnings meant that when the real threat came it wasnt heeded.

I know that if we left without a deal it would cause difficulties for farmers and food producers, manufacturing industry and small businesses. And because we currently rely so much on the narrow straits between Dover and Calais for our trade, the EU, and the French government, could cause considerable disruption if they chose.

Yes, we would recover over time. And, yes, across a range of areas, the Government can and will take the necessary steps to mitigate the worst effects of no deal.

Deciding to campaign to leave the European Union wasnt easy for me, says Michael Gove (pictured above)

At the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs, as in other departments, were working full tilt on plans to cope with the consequences  and, indeed, its because Ive looked so long and hard at whats required that I am of the firm view that no deal would generate turbulence.

And why risk that damage when this deal can deliver much of what we campaigned for?

The choice facing my colleagues in Parliament is momentous. Get this wrong and we may put in peril the Brexit the British people voted for and want us to deliver.

Its time for all of us to put our personal perfect plan to one side, recognise the reality of the choice we face, and start to bring the country back together again.

The United Kingdom has been a force for good in the world all my adult life, now we can use the tools this deal gives us to aim even higher, and create a brighter future for our children. Lets not, at this critical hour, risk the chance to reclaim our democracy and renew faith in our country.

'Brexit is in peril': Leading Brexiteer Michael Gove says mutinous Tories MUST back the PM's deal or risk a vote to overturn the referendum result

By Jason Groves for the Daily Mail

Michael Gove today warns mutinous Tories they will put Brexit at risk if they vote down Theresa Mays plan in ten days time.

In a powerful intervention, the former Vote Leave chief tells Eurosceptic MPs that Brexit is under greater threat than at any time since the referendum.

The Environment Secretary admits in an article in the Daily Mail that Mrs Mays withdrawal agreement is not perfect.

Michael Gove (right) admits in an article in the Daily Mail that Theresa May's (right) withdrawal agreement is not perfect

But he adds: Does it deliver 100 per cent of what I wanted? No. But then we didnt win 100 per cent of the vote on 23 June 2016. In politics, as in life, you cant always get everything that you want.

He dismisses those accusing the Prime Minister of betrayal, saying that her plan delivers in crucial ways which honour the vote to leave.

Downing Street will hope the intervention by the Cabinets leading Eurosceptic  and architect of the Brexit campaign  will prove pivotal in the campaign to gain a seemingly impossible Commons majority on December 11 and safeguard the PMs job.

Mr Gove makes it clear he is uncomfortable with parts of the withdrawal agreement, but argues it is much better than either a second referendum or a no-deal exit.

He warns his fellow Eurosceptics that those pushing for a second vote might well succeed if Mrs Mays plan is voted down  a move he says would cause disillusionment on a scale never seen before.

And in a direct appeal to the 100 Tory MPs threatening to side with Labour to block the PMs deal, he urges them to reconsider ahead of the momentous vote: Get this wrong and we may put in peril the Brexit the British people voted for and want us to deliver.

Prime Minister Theresa May (pictured above) in Buenos Aires

His intervention throws a lifeline to Mrs May, who spent yesterday trying to persuade world leaders at the G20 summit in Argentina to back her proposals.

In other developments:

EU president Donald Tusk revealed Brussels is preparing for the possibility that Britain may stay in the EU if the Prime Ministers plans are voted down;

International Trade Secretary Liam Fox claimed Parliament risked a schism with the public if it jeopardised Brexit;

The Prime Minister said Labour was guilty of a betrayal of the British people in opposing her plan;

Labour MP Ian Austin said his colleagues needed to think carefully or risk an electoral backlash from Leave voters.

A YouGov poll found public support for Mrs Mays deal has almost doubled in a week, with most preferring it to no deal;

Remainers in Parliament launched a bid to seize control of Brexit if Mrs Mays deal is voted down, potentially opening the door to a second referendum;

Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell said Labour would put remaining in the EU on the ballot paper in any second referendum;

Last month Mr Gove came close to following Dominic Raab out of the cabinet

Last month Mr Gove came close to following Dominic Raab and Esther McVey out of the Cabinet after Mrs May agreed with Brussels a plan that fails to give the UK a unilateral exit route from the Irish backstop, which its critics say could keep the UK in the EU customs union indefinitely.

He spent 36 hours wrestling with his conscience before deciding to stay on.

Today he rallies firmly behind the PM, declaring that he will be supporting the withdrawal agreement for all its flaws. He says it will end free movement, meaning future governments will now be free to implement immigration policies which they think best for the country. The package will also mean an end to sending huge sums of money to the EU every week  an issue he says was a huge concern to a great many Leave voters.

And he says it will finally right the great injustice done to our fishing industry by entry into the EU 45 years ago. The fallout from the Brexit vote fractured Mr Goves close friendships with both David Cameron and Boris Johnson, who he helped persuade to lead the Leave campaign. He acknowledges that the against-the-odds referendum victory in 2016 came at a personal cost, adding: The impact of my decision on my family and friendships has been impossible to ignore.

The fallout from Brexit has damaged Gove's friendship with Boris Johnson (pictured above)

However, he insists the UK is right to leave the EU.

For too long, this over-bearing, undemocratic and profligate bureaucracy has told us what to do, protected vested interests, stood in the way of innovation and inflicted economic and social harm on its citizens, he writes.

The referendum offered us the chance to break free, to become the authors of our own national story, to bring democracy home. I believe in Brexit, I campaigned for it heart and soul. And now I want to see it through. And we should be in no doubt, seeing it through is by no means guaranteed.

Condemning calls for a second referendum, he warns: It would prove right all the criticisms we made of the EU and the Westminster establishment during the campaign  that they never listen; that they only answer to the people when it suits them; that they will simply never change.

Mr Gove acknowledges that he is uncomfortable with the backstop plan, which is designed to prevent a return to a hard border on the island of Ireland.

But he says the EU is determined to prevent the backstop ever being invoked for fear it would give British firms many of the benefits of EU membership, without most of the obligations.

I would prefer to have had a mechanism to exit the backstop unilaterally, he writes.

But its important to look in detail at what the backstop entails  and to appreciate that however uncomfortable it is for the UK, it actually creates major problems for the EU.

Mr Gove also takes a swipe at hardline Brexiteers who claim the UK can make a painless exit from the EU without a deal.

I know some of my colleagues would prefer a clean break  that we should walk away from the negotiating table and move towards a relationship based on World Trade Organisation rules, he writes. I respect their position but I cant share it. It is undeniable that no deal would cause considerable dislocation and disruption in the short term.

And he warns those pushing for a soft Brexit, such as his ally Nick Boles, to think again and back the PMs proposal.

Mr Gove warns that a Norway-style deal, inside the single market, would mean less freedom to decide our laws, less control over our borders and we would still be sending significant sums to Brussels every year. He adds: Its better than EU membership, but worse than this deal.

In an article for the Guardian last night, Mr Austin, who is Labour MP for Dudley North, said: It is clearly not a perfect deal, but there was never going to be a perfect deal. My constituents voted to leave. They expect us to sort this out and we in the Labour party need to think carefully before rejecting it.

He added: It is very unlikely that voting the deal down would bring about the general election Labour members desperately want to see.
Specsavers has taken on its high street rivals with its first ever Christmas avert.

The optician said it hoped to capture the magic of Christmas with its Shouldve gone to Specsavers TV ad, starring a troupe of primary school children describing what Santa looks like to them.

In the latest iteration of its famous tagline, Specsavers asked youngsters aged between three and six years old what they think Old Saint Nick looks like - and hilarity ensued.

Filmed in Manchester , Edinburgh and Dublin, it sees the adorable children describing, in adorable detail, what Father Christmas looks like.

A cast of pint-sized stars were chosen for Specsavers' first ever Christmas advert, released with 25 days to go until the big day. The unnamed youngsters are from across the UK

Creative director Graham Daldry said that while some brands celebrate Christmas by telling stories, Specsavers wanted to do so by 'being real'.

Children tend to appreciate the true magic of Christmas more than adults, so we were there to listen and learn, said Graham.

They think of Santa as more than someone that just appears once a year to deliver presents. Children see him as having a life, living with his family at the North Pole.

'In fact, its only children that can really see Santa, so maybe it is us adults who need an eye test. Its a very simple, heart-felt concept that many families will be able to relate to.

The adverts were created in-house by Specsavers film-makers Lenny Lenfesty and Kristin Rathje, with filming taking place at two primary schools in the UK and one in Dublin.

Three adorable tots describe Santa for the camera. In the latest iteration of its famous tagline, Specsavers asked youngsters aged between three and six years old what they think Old Saint Nick looks like

Real school children star in Specsavers' first Christmas advert. Creative director Graham Daldry said that while some brands celebrate Christmas by telling stories, Specsavers wanted to do so by 'being real'

A pint-sized cast star in Specsavers' new advert. The optician said it hoped to capture the magic of Christmas with its Shouldve gone to Specsavers TV ad, starring a troupe of primary school children describing what Santa looks like to them

The children, aged between three and six, appear in groups of two and three and the backdrops are their own schools and nurseries.

Each advert opens with a child who claims to have seen the real Father Christmas before animated discussion ensues, detailing Santas distinctive features. They close with the remark: Never seen Santa? Shouldve gone to Specsavers.

Graham said of the advert: 'We are confident it will capture the nations hearts and minds thanks to the ahh factor delivered by the wonderful children who took part.

Filmmaker Kristin Rathje added: We have tried to make it as real and as true to the childrens stories as possible. Its not about Specsavers, its about Santa and Christmas.

The ads can be viewed after their TV debut on Specsavers YouTube channel here
She's the Australian-born real estate executive who captivated the world with her fairy tale transition to royalty.

And Crown Princess Mary of Denmark proved she was as relatable as ever by throwing on a pair of sneakers to dance with local women and children in Nairobi during her two-day trip to Kenya this week.

Mary happily posed for selfies with residents and showed her maternal side with young children.

Crown Princess Mary of Denmark proved she was as relatable as ever during a visit to the Kibera Slum in Nairobi, Kenya, where she happily danced with women and children

Accompanied by Danish Minister for Development Ulla Toernaes, the Princess visited the Kibera Slum in the Kenyan capital.

The 46-year-old royal ditched her usual heels in favour of New Balance running shoes, which she paired with a crisp white shirt and flowing khaki maxi-skirt.

Princess Mary showcased her incredibly trim physique by cinching her waist with a slim brown belt, accessorising with small hoop earrings and a citrus stone drop necklace.

The wife of Prince Frederik was coiffed to typical perfection with her shiny brunette locks styled in a sleek blow dry.

A mother to Princes Christian and Vincent and Princesses Isabella and Josephine herself, Mary looked at ease and cut a maternal figure with Kibera children, playfully shaking hands and even lifting some onto her hip.

The 46-year-old royal ditched her usual heels in favour of New Balance running shoes, which she paired with a crisp white shirt and flowing khaki maxi-skirt

Mary cut a maternal figure with the children of Kibera, playfully shaking hands and even lifting some onto her hip

The Princess visited the northern part of the country to launch the 'Deliver for Good' campaign aimed at promoting gender equality and sexual education.

Her jovial jiving came after a visit to the Kalama Conservancy nature reserve on Tuesday, where she donned traditional African robes and a colourful headdress.

Wearing her hair in a relaxed high bun with natural makeup, the mother-of-four looked to be in high spirits as she was given a warm welcome by a group of women at the reserve.

During her whirlwind 48 visit, Princess Mary also met with the chair of a sexual health mentoring programme which teaches mothers and children about their reproductive rights.

She has made numerous visits to Africa in the past, including an official trip to Burkina Faso in 2016.

As part of her official visit to the African nation Mary also visited Kalama Conservancy nature reserve where she donned traditional Kenyan robes and a colourful headdress

Wearing her hair in a relaxed high bun with natural makeup, the mother-of-four looked to be in high spirits as she was given a warm welcome by a group of women at the reserve

Mary has had a busy month so far, joining husband Frederik, 50, in presenting the Crown Prince Couple's Prizes 2018 on Friday.

The couple put on a loved-up display at the event, following suggestions of marriage troubles.

Rumours began swirling of relationship woes after an unnamed insider told Australia's New Idea magazine: 'There are a lot of rumours of tension between Mary and Fred.'

'There are whispers running wild of a divorce or possible split and it's become very stressful for the whole palace [who are] trying to work out what's going on.

'The truth is that like any married couple, Fred and Mary are having a tough time of it at the moment.'
Michelle Obama looked chic in an all-black ensemble as she surprised a group of female high school students at the African American Museum in Philadelphia on Thursday afternoon.

The former first lady was in Philadelphia as part of her 10-city promotional tour for her New York Times bestseller, Becoming, which sold a whopping 1.4 million copies in its first week.

After surprising the schoolgirls, the 54-year-old swiftly changed into a daring red suit and matching stilettos to cap off her evening on stage at the Wells Fargo Center at a ticketed event for her book tour.

Magical moment: Michelle Obama, 54, visited a group of local high school students at the African American Museum in Philadelphia on Thursday afternoon

After surprising the schoolgirls, the 54-year-old swiftly changed into a daring red suit to cap off her evening on stage at the Wells Fargo Center at a ticketed event for her book tour

Michelle's first look of the day was an off-the-shoulder black sweater tucked into a pair of dress pants. Se tied the outfit together with a thick black corset-style belt.

The fabric wrap that cinched her waist featured white stitching and was closed with two black buttons.

The author topped off her look with a pair of black pointed toe ankle boots, and she even sported trendy black nail polish to match her ensemble.

A pair of dangly earrings peeked out from her dark curls, which were worn loose around her shoulders, and her diamond engagement ring sparkled on her finger.

Ahead of her scheduled talk at the Wells Fargo Center on Thursday evening, Michelle made a surprise visit to the museum to the delight of the local students.

Outfit: The former first lady looked chic in an off-the-shoulder black sweater and a pair of black dress pants, which were cinched with a black wrap belt

Style: Michelle, who was in Philadelphia as part of her 10-city tour for her bestseller, Becoming, sported trendy black nail polish to match her ensemble

Surprise! The students had no idea Michelle would be stopping by the museum before her talk at the Wells Fargo Center on Thursday night

Group: The young women who were in the audience are participants of beGirl.world, a nonprofit that encourages young women of color to travel

The young women who were in the audience are participants of beGirl.world, a Philadelphia based nonprofit that encourages young women of color to seek opportunities to travel and study abroad.

Although they were given copies of Becoming and tickets to Thursday's discussion with Michelle, they had no idea the former first lady would be joining them at the museum.

They thought they were there to talk to Deesha Dyer, the former White House social secretary who co-founded the organization, and Phoebe Robinson, half of the comedy duo 2 Dope Queens.

Michelle arrived halfway through the talk to the shock of the girls, and one excited student jumped out of her seat to give her a hug, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer.

'Before this is over, everyone will get hugs,' Michelle said.

The former first lady opted for a daring red suit and matching stilettos when she took to the stage on Thursday night

Former first lady Michelle Obama, left, is interviewed by Phoebe Robinson during the 'Becoming: An Intimate Conversation with Michelle Obama' event at the Wells Fargo Center on Thursday

The mother of two spoke candidly with the young women about self-confidence and overcoming fears and circumstances.

She revealed that her youngest daughter, 17-year-old Sasha, is interested in becoming a food critic, and she reminded the teens that she grew up in an inner city just like them.

Michelle admitted that she was afraid to travel when she was a teenager on Chicago's South Side.

'It was something I didn't know. It was new, the idea of leaving your neighborhood  let along your city  and being away from home,' she said.

'It's so important to travel and see the world. The world is big, and it's important to know it. I wish I had known that when I was your age.'

Opening up: Michelle admitted that she was afraid to travel when she was a teenager on Chicago's South Side
With so many varieties of wine on offer, it's likely you have been pronouncing a number of them wrong without realising it.

So, to help avoid any embarrassing encounters, Babbel, a language learning app, has worked alongside Australian sommelier Rochelle Goodwin to help create a handy guide.

'Being a sommelier is as much about teaching people about wine as it is about serving it. Aussies have a great palette and discerning tastes when it comes to wine, but sometimes pronunciations leave a lot to be desired,' she said.

From Riesling, Semillon to Pinot Gris (along with some you might not know), FEMAIL takes a look at the wines commonly mispronounced - and the correct way to say them.

With endless international wine offerings now available, not only is it tricky to make a choice, but getting the names right can also pose a problem (stock image)

Pinot Gris

Topping the list of most commonly mispronounced names is Australian white wine favourite Pinot Gris.

The top drop, along with its Italian cousin Pinot Grigio, both use the same grape variety, which means they smell and taste virtually the same.

The pronunciation of Pinot Gris is pee - noh - gree while Pinot Grigio is said pee - noh - GREE - jo.

Tempranillo

Tempranillo is a full-bodied red which hails from the warmer climes Spain.

When young, the wine has fresh and fruity characteristics. With oak and age, tobacco, and leather flavours become more enhanced.

The wine is pronounced tem - prah - NEE - yoh.

Semillon

This dry white originated from grapes grown in vineyards in the French wine-making region of Bordeaux.

It's understood to be a classic in the sense it's a great all-rounder and easily pairs with seafood, poultry or Asian style cuisines.

The pronunciation of Semillon is SEM - eh - lon.

Gewurztraminer

This German white wine (born in the Alsace region of France) is a fruity drop, one that is believed to smell identical to lychee fruit.

In Australia, those shopping for the tasty wine might know it better as Traminer.

It's correctly pronounced geh - VAIRTZ - trah - mee - ner.

'Aussies have a great palette and discerning tastes when it comes to wine, but sometimes pronunciations leave a lot to be desired,' said sommellier Rochelle Godwin

Rioja

A Rioja is a red wine which hails from Spain and is understood to have some similarities in flavour to a Cabernet Sauvignon.

This style of wine is separated into four classifications - Rioja, Crianza, Reserva, Gran Reserva - depending on the amount of time the wine spends in oak.

It pairs well with flavoursome dishes including roast pork and is a natural partner with aged cheese. It's pronounced ree - OH - hah.

Beaujolais

Beaujolais is one of the most widely drunk red wines in the world.

As well as being lighter bodied, part of this wine's appeal may lay in the fact it's also lower in alcohol which makes it an excellent dinner choice.

To avoid any possible chance of saying this wrongly, pronounce this drop accordingly: boh - jhoe -lay.

Chablis

Wines from Chablis are frequently described as having 'citrus and floral aromas with, lean, light-bodied flavours of citrus, pear, and salinity', advises Wine Folly.

And because this wine is almost always fermented in steel tanks, rather than oak, it's flavour profile tends to be lighter and fruitier.

Pronounce this wine shah - blee.

Riesling

Cellarmasters explains Riesling is a white grape varietal from which white wine is made.

Originally from the famed Rhine region of Germany, Riesling has historically been made as a sweeter wine.

In order to sound as educated as a sommelier, pronounce this wine REESE - ling.
A new study has uncovered a number of disturbing and harmful views many Australian men and women still have towards domestic violence and rape.

The National Community Attitudes towards Violence against Women Survey, led by Australia's National Research Organisation for Women's Safety was released on Friday.

The survey was taken by 17,500 Australians aged 16 and over and highlighted that many hold outdated views despite wide-spread education campaigns and greater community awareness.

Some of the most worrying findings were related to blame, with many Australians continuing to shift the blame away from men in violent and dangerous situations.

The survey found 21% of men and women believed that 'sometimes a woman can make a man so angry he hits her when he didn't mean to' and one in three thinks 'rape results from men not being able to control their need for sex'.

A shocking new study has uncovered a number of disturbing and harmful views many Australian men and women still have towards domestic violence and gender equality

Many also denied the problem of violence as a whole, with 23 per cent of people believing women 'exaggerate the problem of male violence'.

Almost half (42 per cent) of respondents agreed it is 'common for sexual assault accusations to be used as a way of getting back at men'.

Opinions toward consent are also a concern, with 30 per cent believing women are partly responsible if their nude photos are shared without permission by their partners.

One in five also agreed that 'since women are so sexual in public, it's not surprising that some men think they can touch women without their permission'.

The figures everyone should see: Domestic Violence in Australia  On average, one woman a week is murdered by her current or former partner  1 in 4 women have experienced emotional abuse by a current or former partner since the age of 15  1 in 5 women have experienced sexual violence since the age of 15  85% of Australian women have been sexually harassed  Almost 40% of women continued to experience violence from their partner while temporarily separated  1 in 6 women have experienced stalking since the age of 15  72 women and 20 children have been killed in Australia since January 1, 2018 Source: White Ribbon Advertisement

The study highlighted a lack of understanding surrounding the reality of violence against women - something ANROWS CEO Dr Heather Nancarrow is worried about.

She is also concerned about the discrepancy between many Australians' knowledge and reality as there have been many high profile cases of sexual and domestic violence over the past two years.

'Despite an increase in the number of high-profile cases of sexual violence in the media it is deeply concerning that so many Australians are still not believing women who come forward with claims of violence and sexual assault,' Dr Nancarrow said.

'We're now more likely to understand that violence against women involves more than just physical violence, and to support gender equality  but we need to put this knowledge into action.'

Almost half (42 per cent) of respondents agreed it is 'common for sexual assault accusations to be used as a way of getting back at men'

What are the attitudes to violence against women in Australia? A fifth believe that 'a lot of what is called domestic violence is really a normal reaction to day-to-day stress and frustration'  32% believe that a female victim who does not leave an abusive partner is partly responsible for the abuse continuing  Half believe that women mistakenly interpret 'innocent' remarks or acts as being sexist  40% think women exaggerate how unequally women are treated and 36% believe many women fail to appreciate all that men do for them Advertisement

Dr Nancarrow hopes that by sharing research like this people feel more empowered to step up and act against abuse, violence or disrespect when they see it.

'This research shows most people would have the support of their peers if they took a stand against violence against women and sexism,' she said.

Health promotion foundation VicHealth CEO, Jerril Rechter, said it was unacceptable that many in the community were quick to dismiss or explain away women's experiences of sexism, violence and abuse.

'There has been a continued decline in the number of people who realise that women are the primary victims of domestic violence, which is ludicrous when we consider that violence against women is still the leading preventable contributor to death and disease in women aged 18-44,' she said.

'The physical and mental health impacts of family violence on women and their children is enormous.'

If you or someone you know has experienced, or is at risk of, family and domestic violence and/or sexual assault call 1800RESPECT (1800 737 732) for 24 hour national sexual assault, family and domestic violence counselling line.

Mensline Australia 1300 789 978 Supports men and boys who are dealing with family and relationship difficulties. 24/7 telephone and online support an information service for Australian men. Call 1300 789 978 for help.
A transgender woman who was Ireland's first recipient of complete reassignment surgery has told how she felt trapped in the wrong body when she was three years old.

Rebecca Tallon De Havilland, 60, was born in County Longford, Ireland, as Eamon Tallon, but told how some of her earliest memories are of being filled with hatred at the sight of her male genitalia.

She said: ''People ask transgender children now, "How can you know? You're so young" - but I knew. If I'd realised back then that you could take hormone blockers, I'd have been first in the queue.'

Not realising what it meant to be transgender, Rebecca married a woman and fathered a child before later trying to live as a gay man, thinking it might be an answer to her underlying identity issues.

Pioneer: Rebecca Tallon De Havilland, 60, pictured, was Ireland's first recipient of complete reassignment surgery

Difficult journey: Rebecca, pictured today, married and fathered a child before trying to live as a gay man. She also worked as an escort during a difficult period

Early years: She born in County Longford, Ireland, as Eamon Tallon, pictured, but told how she felt trapped in the wrong body when she was three years old

After moving to London, she met transgender women and realised with great relief that she had been born the wrong gender. She underwent gender reassignment in 1991, garnering widespread media attention, particularly in Ireland.

Now Rebecca, who lives Chelsea, west London, reflects on her personal story.

Born into a middle-class family as a boy called Eamon Tallon, despite not feeling like a male, Rebecca did not discuss her confusion as, back then, she remembers even same sex relationships were taboo in Ireland.

She continued: 'As a child, I would do things like drape the net curtains over my head, pretending I had long hair. I would get a laugh, but deep down, being female was what I truly wanted.

Finding her way: Rebecca in the 1980s, before her gender reassignment surgery

Discovery: On moving to London, Rebecca learnt about the transgender community and realise she was living the same experience

'I was a late developer, puberty wise, which I think was my body sub-consciously trying to block it all out as I didn't want it to happen.'

Her discomfort had been exacerbated by being sent to an all boys' boarding school aged seven, which she then left at 12.

From there, she attended another non-boarding school until the age of 15, which she was later expelled from for feeling that she didn't fit in and eventually rebelling.

Thankfully, work was her salvation when she discovered hairdressing - a career she loved - although she still struggled with her identity.

'I felt pressured to be a certain way,' she said. 'Back then, you didn't have Google or phones. We survived on what we saw, and our wits  and nobody was talking about being transgender.

Campaigner: Rebecca, pictured, now raises funds and awareness for the HIV charity the Terrence Higgins Trust

Turning point: Rebecca said she first felt like herself when she had sex as a woman for the first time

'So, I married and had a daughter, who I loved enormously, but I still didn't know who I was.

'I tried being a straight man, and that wasn't me, so I tried being a gay man, but being homosexual was illegal back then, and it still didn't fit my identity, so it led to difficulties with seeing my child.'

It was not until Rebecca's career brought her over to London in 1984 that she met with like-minded people in the city's bohemian Soho district, and finally realised her issues were because she was transgender.

I met with and spoke to transgender people who'd had gender reassignment surgery and it was hugely emotional to realise that's what I was, and what I wanted, too Rebecca Tallon De Havilland

She continued: 'I met with and spoke to transgender people who'd had gender reassignment surgery and it was hugely emotional to realise that's what I was, and what I wanted, too.'

Finally knowing who she was, Rebecca set her sights on raising the 10,000 needed for surgery, which would include breast implants.

But, in 1987, just before she prepared to go under the knife, a routine blood test revealed she had HIV.

She recalled: 'Though I didn't tell many people about the diagnosis, the news about my transition had got out, and I lost everything virtually overnight. I needed money for my surgery but was absolutely penniless.

'I started escorting which, in turn, made me find alcohol and drugs. I felt I'd come to the line. I'd lost my career and loved ones, I'd been given two years to live  I needed something to numb the pain.'

Family ties: Rebecca, pictured, reconnected with her daughter after many years estranged

Still, despite her life being in turmoil, in 1991 she had full gender reassignment surgery via St Charles Hospital's Raymede Clinic, having already lived as a woman for several years.

She continued: 'I was in the papers a lot then for being trans, especially back home in Ireland. That did me no favours, but it did the world a favour as it brought transgender issues into the mainstream media.

'A few journalists in particular saved me at times by showing me, finally, in a positive way. Someone out there could have been watching me, thinking, "That's me. I need to transition too".'

Rebecca, now a tireless campaigner for the HIV charity the Terrence Higgins Trust, said it was making love to a man for the first time that made her feel truly female.

She added: 'I made love as a woman for the first time aged 31, and I finally thought, "This is me".' It was so emotional. I'd dealt with so much heartache and humiliation to get to where I was.'

But Rebecca - who fortunately defied her pessimistic two-year prognosis - still had a long way to go before her life was back on track.

Passionate: Rebecca campaigning for the Terrence Higgins Trust

Taking medication for HIV, she supported herself any which way she could - even working as a madam in a male brothel in Amsterdam, Holland.

Then, in 2007, after she was hospitalised twice for an drug overdose, she woke up to the damage her hedonistic lifestyle was doing to her and got sober - then penning her life story in 2010, although she omitted any detail about having HIV.

She said: 'For a long time, I didn't tell anybody about my diagnosis. I wanted to out myself without being victimised. Telling people was one of the scariest things I have ever done, but now I am finally out of the shadows.

They'd lost a son and brother  but now had this daughter and sister in his place. They were very supportive and told me they loved me no matter what though Rebecca Tallon De Havilland

'I have realised HIV isn't fussy. It isn't just something sex workers or gay people get  it can happen to anyone.

'I now want to help raise awareness because it's often said that if we end the stigma, we can end HIV  but you have to start at the root of it, which for me, is correcting that common misconception that HIV and AIDs are the same thing.'

Meanwhile, when she was 51, Rebecca returned to Ireland to reconnect with her family.

'I'd been in such a drug haze before that I knew they hadn't met the true Rebecca yet,' she said.

'I can understand it must've been difficult for them. They'd lost a son and brother  but now had this daughter and sister in his place. They were very supportive and told me they loved me no matter what though.'

Deciding to stay in Ireland, Rebecca got a job performing as a hostess, nicknamed Lady V, at a Dublin club.

Talking to a colleague about her life one day, it was mentioned that a girl who worked in the ticket kiosk had a transgender father, who had gone to London years before.

Unbelievably, that woman turned out to be Rebecca's daughter, who she soon reconnected with.

'I was astonished when I joined the dots and realised it was her,' said Rebecca, who does not wish to reveal daughter's name. 'My head went into panic mode, but I'd done my last running and hiding.

'I met with my daughter and told her my side of the story and how hard I'd been fighting and she was amazing. Having her back in my life has made every part of my journey worthwhile.'

Just a year later, though, Rebecca's health deteriorated and she was admitted to hospital with pneumonia, having run out of her HIV medication, but been worried about getting more from doctors back in Ireland, as nobody there knew she had the condition.

'I was in hospital for a month and didn't want anyone to see me, as my family didn't know then that I had HIV,' she said. 'I really thought I was going to die, but I was desperate to get a second opinion to see if there was anyone out there that could help me.'

So, Rebecca raced back to London's Chelsea and Westminster Hospital, where she had been treated before.

She said: 'I'd survived everything else  why not this? I ended up being a very sorry girl indeed, though.'

Rebecca moved back to London and, by 2015, she was declared 'undetectable'  meaning the HIV virus levels in her body are so low, that blood tests do not pick it up.

Finally at peace, she wanted to use her own astonishing experiences to help others.

Rebecca has worked with the Terrence Higgins Trust, learning essential skills through their Work Positive programme, before landing a job with their Soho Outreach branch.

This year marks the 30th anniversary of World AIDS Day, and the UK's leading HIV charity Terrence Higgins Trust has used it to launch its #ZeroHIV campaign. The campaign ends to reach zero HIV transmissions and zero HIV stigma here in the UK.

Currently, there is a global target to end HIV of 2030, and so many people believe that it can be ended in the UK even sooner.

For information, visit www.tht.org.uk
There was a healthy royal contingent among the star-studded crowd that assembled at Claridge's to watch the unveiling of its spectacular Christmas tree on Thursday night.

Socialite and fashion muse Lady Amelia Windsor, the 23-year-old granddaughter of the Duke of Kent, was among the guests, as were Princess Maria-Olympia of Greece, 22, and her mother Princess Marie-Chantal, 50.

The Duchess of York, 59, also put in an appearance at the glamorous party in the exclusive Mayfair hotel.

Lady Amelia put on a chic display in a statement maxi dress, while Maria-Olympia and Marie Chantal turned up the festive glamour in turquoise velvet and flashes of gold respectively.

Hosted by British Vogue's Editor-in-Chief Edward Enninful, the lavish party was awash with stars and models.

Lady Amelia Windsor was among the exclusive guests attending Claridge's 'Zodiac Party' on Thursday

Princess Maria-Olympia of Greece and Denmark, 22, (seen left) and her mother Princess Marie-Chantal of Greece, 50, (seen right) to celebrate the launch of Claridge's 'The Tree of Love' Christmas Tree

Proving her model credentials, Amelia, who is signed with Storm Models, slipped into a floor-length nineties inspired dress which was cinched in at the waist.

Wearing her hair loose and accessorising with a gold medallion necklace, Amelia put on a stylish display at the extravagant bash.

She was later seen looking in good spirits as she left the party, having changed into checked trousers, blue shoes and a striped jumper.

Back at the party Princess Maria-Olympia, goddaughter to Prince Charles, and her mother Princess Marie-Chantal turned up the festive glamour in statement frocks.

Back at the party Princess Maria-Olympia, goddaughter to Prince Charles, and her mother Princess Marie-Chantal turned up the festive glamour in statement frocks, joined by American filmmaker Pia Getty (far right)

Proving her model credentials, Amelia, who is signed with Storm Models, slipped into a floor-length nineties inspired dress which was cinched in at the waist

Maria-Olympia opted for a deep green velvet dress which she teamed with a pair of flower-embellished stockings and embellished red heels, coordinating the look with a red lip.

Meanwhile Marie-Chantal put on a youthful display in a floor-length black gown embellished with gold patterns and a matching clutch, completing the look with a pearl necklace.

The mother daughter duo posed alongside American filmmaker Pia Getty, who coordinated with their looks in a mint-green dress and festive silver heels.

The pair were later joined by designer and model Diane von Furstenberg, and her model granddaughter Princess Talita von Furstenberg, who is Marie-Chantal's niece and daughter to Prince Alexander von Furstenberg.

Also present was Sarah Ferguson, Duchess of York, 59, who turned heads in a purple blouse and black skirt.

Amelia was later seen looking in good spirits as she left the party, having changed into checked trousers, blue shoes and a striped jumper

The pair were later joined by designer and model Diane von Furstenberg, (second right)and her model granddaughter Princess Talita von Furstenberg, (right) who is Marie-Chantal's niece and daughter to Prince Alexander von Furstenberg

Also present was Sarah Ferguson, Duchess of York, 59, who turned heads in a purple blouse and black skirt

The star-studded guests, which included Viscountess Weymouth who turned up the glamour in a silk blue feathered ensemble, were out in force to admire the hotel's unveiling of the tree.

Claridge's Christmas tree was unveiled on Tuesday and is 'inspired by Diane's passion and strong belief in the power of love', according to the hotel's website.

The tree is a six-metre tall sculpture that is decorated 8,000 hand painted silver-leafed leaves, glass spheres and 150 hand-blown glass hearts.

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.

The society beauty, who is 36th in line to the British throne, was also named among Vanity Fair's 2017 Best Dressed List.

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.'

Sarah Ferguson Duchess of York and Heather Kerzner 'Zodiac Party' celebrating the launch of Claridge's 'The Tree of Love' Christmas Tree

Diane von Furstenberg (L) and Sarah Ferguson, Duchess of York, attend the Claridge's Zodiac Party hosted by Diane von Furstenberg & Edward Enninful

(L to R) Jacquelyn Jablonski, Candice Lake, Princess Maria-Olympia of Greece and Denmark, Diane von Furstenberg, Marie-Chantal, Crown Princess of Greece and Talita von Furstenberg attend the Claridge's Zodiac Party

Meanwhile Princess Maria-Olympia is the daughter of Pavlos, Crown Prince of Greece and Prince of Denmark, and Crown Princess Marie-Chantal Miller.

The Greek monarchy's reign ended in 1973 but the family have kept their titles.

New York City-born Olympia is a student at Parsons School of Art and Design in New York, and has modelled for the likes of Dolce & Gabbana.

Her rented apartment in Soho is believed to be worth as much as $9,000 (around 6,500) a month.

Raised in London, she is the goddaughter of Prince Charles, who is also her grandfather's second cousin, and has been romantically linked to Prince Harry in the past.

In May her mother Crown Princess Marie-Chantal of Greece gushed over Meghan Markle in an interview, saying her marriage to Harry is 'the symbol of an opening to the new millennium'.

The wife of Crown Prince Pavlos of Greece, who met him while she was studying in New York in the nineties, paid tribute to the former Suits star's passion for human rights and equality in an interview with Paris Match.

'In countries where it still exists, monarchy is traditionally a force uniting the nation. Meghan showed and proved that she knew how to move and adapt,' she said.

The clothes designer and mother-of-five said that she was sure Meghan would have the full support of the British royal family as her role evolves.

The star-studded guests, which included Viscountess Weymouth who turned up the glamour in a silk blue feathered ensemble, were out in force to admire the hotel's unveiling of the tree

Lady Sabrina Percy attends the Claridge's Zodiac Party hosted by Diane von Furstenberg & Edward Enninful
This is the heart-stopping moment a Foreign Office employee helped a young Brit escape a forced marriage by sneaking her out of Baghdad on her 18th birthday.

Case worker Sophie Lott has been hailed as a hero after coming to the aid of a British national who had been sent to live in Iraq where her family planned to force her to marry her cousin.

New BBC Two documentary Inside the Foreign Office captured the moment she landed safely on British soil at Heathrow airport - where the emotional teen said, 'Pinch me, am I dreaming?'

The Forced Marriage Unit (FMU), where Sophie works, deals with over 1,000 cases a year across 65 countries, and works closely with the Home Office to prevent British victims being taken from the UK and to take back those already abroad.

Pictured left, the British national who had been sent to live in Iraq where her family planned to force her to marry her cousin. A heart-stopping scene in last night's Inside the Foreign Office saw the teen escape back to the UK with the help of the Forced Marriage Unit (FMU)

Sophie is a former probation officer who used to work with perpetrators of 'honour-based' violence in east London, and now helps victims at the Foreign Office's FMU.

Her latest case involved a 17-year-old girl who had been orphaned in Britain and sent to live with relatives in Iraq.

As the girl approached her 18th birthday, Sophie discovered that the teen's family in Baghdad had made it clear that if she didn't marry her cousin, she would be killed.

Using a secret communication lifeline, Sophie worked closely with the consul at the British embassy in Baghdad to try to meet her, bring her to the embassy and arrange for her escape back to the UK before her family found out she had gone.

The family had threatened to have her killed if she tried to escape to the UK, Sophie explained.

Sophie Lott, pictured, works to help women at risk of forced marriage at the Foreign Office. She said: 'I think the default with most of our victims is that they believe their families are good and they're good people and that they love them; it's just this one issue that's a problem'

Sophie at work, trying to reassure her victim in Baghdad. Using a secret communication lifeline, she worked closely with the consul at the British embassy in Iraq to try to meet her, bring her to the embassy and arrange for her escape to the UK before her family found out

To make matters more difficult, the journey had to be completed on the day of the girls's 18th birthday because travelling overseas as a minor would raise suspicions; and the marriage was expected to take place as soon as she came of age.

The teen had been out of the country for so long, she no longer had a British passport - and getting her to the British Embassy in Baghdad was fraught with risks.

Fortunately her birthday fell on a Sunday - the only day she is allowed out of the house to study - and once the arrangements had finally been made, the pair agreed to take advantage of their 'tiny window of opportunity' and meet at Heathrow airport.

'I was anxious at first, really frightened of course, but really, really happy,' the teen confessed as she prepared to fly back to the UK. 'In my opinion, every single girl in the world should be the one to choose who she wants to complete her life with.

Once the arrangements had finally been made, the pair agreed to take advantage of their 'tiny window of opportunity' and meet at Heathrow airport (pictured: Sophie waiting at arrivals)

Relief: Sophie meets the teen at Heathrow airport. Her family had threatened to have her killed if she tried to escape to the UK, Sophie explained

After touching down at Heathrow, the teen repeatedly said, 'Pinch me, am I dreaming?' The teen was referred to a women's refuge charity to help her settle back to life in the UK

Sophie meets the teen at Heathrow airport. Reflecting on the case, she later said: 'It's really sad to think that the people who are supposed to love you and protect you are the people who are causing you those problems'

'Other people shouldn't get involved, it's your choice to make, a marriage should last a lifetime and it's really horrible for someone to force you to marry someone you want.'

She and Sophie shared an emotional reunion at the airport terminal, with the tearful teen repeatedly saying: 'I'm so happy. Pinch me, am I dreaming?'

Sophie reassured her: 'It's OK, you don't have to turn back. I'm so glad you're here. Everyone's so, so happy. We know so many cases where, sadly, people don't have to the courage to do what you did. I'm so excited to see you'

The teen was referred to a women's refuge charity to help her settle back to life in the UK.

Viewers have heaped praise on Sophie, with one tweeting: 'The woman from the Forced Marriage Unit should be in charge of Brexit. She'd sort it out pretty sharpish.'

Viewers have heaped praise on Sophie, with one tweeting: 'The woman from the Forced Marriage Unit should be in charge of Brexit. She'd sort it out pretty sharpish'

Sophie Lott, pictured, is a former probation officer who used to work with perpetrators of 'honour-based' violence in east London, and now helps victims at the Foreign Office's FMU

Others called the show 'outstanding' with Jocelyn Cornwell tweeting: 'Who knew that there were such fabulous people doing fabulous work for their fellow citizens? I didn't and was v moved by the humanity and care revealed Inside the Foreign Office.'

Reflecting on the case, Sophie later said: 'It's really sad to think that the people who are supposed to love you and protect you are the people who are causing you those problems.

'And that can be very hard for them to face - but when they do, they know that there's lots of support thereafter.'

She added: 'I think the default with most of our victims is that they believe their families are good and they're good people and that they love them; it's just this one issue that's a problem.

'And the reality is for a lot of them, yes they haven't done anything to you thus far in your life but they are the ones presenting a risk - and sadly, you need to safeguard yourself and protect yourself from that.'
A married couple with a 30-year age gap have refused to let their age difference get in the way of their relationship.

Vince and Wesleigh Strazzabosco, from Little Rock, Arkansas, met each other online and have been together for three years, recently welcoming a baby girl.

Vince, 54, is divorced and has a son from his previous marriage who is two years older than his 24-year-old wife  but that didn't stop the couple from embarking on a whirlwind romance.

Wesleigh admits she was always interested in older men and was looking for a protective, older male figure to fill the emotional void left when her father passed away when she was a child.

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Vince and Wesleigh Strazzabosco at their baby shower. The couple met each other online and have been together for three years, recently welcoming a baby girl

Vince and Wesleigh share a smooch at Disneyland. Vince describes himself as a 'Disney aficionado' and this is what helped to bring the couple together when they met online

Vince said: 'I was attracted to her blonde hair, she had a beautiful smile and then, of course, she used the word Disney in her profile and I thought "Well, she has to be a Disney fan, otherwise everything is off, because I'm kind of a Disney aficionado."'

His wife Wesleigh said that she has never been attracted to men of her age and has only dated older men.

'I wasn't really interested in what a man of my age could offer me family-wise, and when I met Vince I fell in love with him because he is a different type of man,' she explained.

Vince had never dated significantly younger women before, and admitted that this is his first age gap relationship.

He explained: 'I have never really thought that it would be a long-term thing.There were some things in my previous marriage that were lacking and I felt that a younger girl would be able to provide those for me, but at the time I didn't realise that I was going to fall so hard for Wesleigh.'

The couple pictured earlier this month with their daughter. Because of Vince's age, doctors thought that the couple wouldn't be able to have kids, and despite the fact that their daughter wasn't planned, she was a pleasant surprise for both parents

The couple pictured at Disneyland. Vince is divorced and has a 26-year-old son, Jeff, who, according to the couple, gets along very well with his new two-year younger stepmother

Vince and Wesleigh with their daughter Rosalie. Vince had never dated significantly younger women before, and admitted that this is his first age gap relationship

Wesleigh's mother, Paige - who is a year younger than her son in law - said that it took her a while to get used to her daughter's husband, even though she knew that Wesleigh has always been interested in older men.

'Wesleigh has never done anything by the book,' she said. 'As a mom, you want your kids to comply but you want them to do their own thing and find their own place.'

The couple admitted that their romance has raised some eyebrows, as Wesleigh explains: 'A lot of middle-aged women think that I am with Vince just for money, because of the way I look.

'I feel like if I look different then your typical cheerleader or whatever girl next door then we probably wouldn't get as many nasty looks.'

Vince added: 'To be someone younger especially that much, 30 years younger than you it's not the norm and when things are not the norm many people will feel uncomfortable, just don't want to associate with you.'

The couple with their daughter Rosalie. The pair admitted that their romance has raised some eyebrows, as Wesleigh explains: 'A lot of middle-aged women think that I am with Vince just for money, because of the way I look

The couple pictured with their dog. Vince and Wesleigh say that, despite their significant age difference, their sex life is great - and Vince says his wife 'treats him like a man'

Vince and Wesleigh say that, despite their significant age difference, their sex life is great.

Wesleigh said: 'Sex with an older man is better, that is something that you don't get from somebody your age, they don't really care or they just assume that they are doing it right and women are very complex creatures.'

Vince added: 'Wesleigh is very intimate, she is very loving, she treats me like a man, she makes sure that all of my needs are met, she also makes me feel loved which is very important, sex without love is not really a connection.'

Because of Vince's age, doctors thought that the couple wouldn't be able to have kids, and despite the fact that their daughter wasn't planned, she was a pleasant surprise for both parents.

The couple have hit back at their critics. Vince is divorced and has a 26-year-old son, Jeff, who, according to the couple, gets along very well with his new two-year younger stepmother

The couple all dressed up for Halloween. Speaking about what the future might bring, Vince said: 'Having the age gap and knowing that I have a young wife and a very young daughter at my age, the depressing part for me is the fact that I won't be able to see her as a grown up and maybe I won't be able to see her having children'

The couple in the labour ward before welcoming baby Rosalie. Smitten Vince says his wife is 'constantly guiding me in the right direction'

Vince is divorced and has a 26-year-old son, Jeff, who, according to the couple, gets along very well with his new two-year younger stepmother.

Speaking about what the future might bring, Vince said: 'Having the age gap and knowing that I have a young wife and a very young daughter at my age, the depressing part for me is the fact that I won't be able to see her as a grown up and maybe I won't be able to see her having children.'

The Disney-obsessed couple, for whom age is really just a number, are deeply in love and say that they complete each other.

Wesleigh said: 'I have somebody that is constantly guiding me in the right direction. If I need advice I don't really need to go to my mom, I can go to Vince.

'I have somebody there to constantly provide support for me which I wouldn't get if I was with somebody of my own age.'

Vince added: 'I have a number of different hats now as supposed to just being a husband, I kind of feel like I am a mentor.

'I feel like I can teach and bring items into Leslie's life that I have gone through and my experiences to somewhat make her a better person.'
The photographer behind a set of recently-surfaced images of Meghan Markle in Malta has revealed what it was like working with the future Duchess of Sussex.

Kurt Arrigo spent two days with Meghan in the Mediterranean country in March 2015, after she was invited by the local tourist board to explore her the birthplace of her great-great-grandmother.

However the future royal - who would not meet Prince Harry for another year - was also 'in her element' shooting an ELLE spread and working on her now-defunct lifestyle blog, The Tig, Kurt reveals.

Speaking exclusively to MailOnline, he told how 'down-to-earth' Meghan was 'very pleasant to work with' and recalls the remarkably candid actress happily chatting about her recent divorce as she sampled the local food and wine.

The future Duchess of Sussex exploring the streets of Mdina, Malta in 2015 as captured by Kurt Arrigo. Before marrying into the royal family, Meghan, then an up-and-coming actress, spent a few days on Malta soaking up the local culture and learning about her ancestry

Meghan exploring the picturesque streets of Mdina, Malta in 2015. The photographer behind the recently-surfaced images of Meghan Markle in Malta has revealed what it was like working with the future Duchess of Sussex, who was also working on her now defunct blog, The Tig

'She had mentioned that she was previously married as well but she didnt really open up about it,' said Kurt, who met Meghan two years after her split from director Trevor Engelson.

One of the more striking images shows Meghan wearing a traditional gonnella headdress on a visit to the magnificent sixteenth-century Casa Rocca Piccola palace in Malta's capital Valletta.

'She was very game to try it on and to be a bit playful,' Kurt recalls.

Meghan later touched on going back to her roots and blending in with the locals, saying: 'There is something so lovely about fitting in a piece of the puzzle.'

Other snaps show the future duchess, casually dressed in ripped jeans and a baggy grey t-shirt, exploring the streets of Mdina and marvelling at Saint John's Co-Cathedral in Valletta.

'It was very candid,' Kurt reveals. 'She didnt really want any poses, but then after a while she felt comfortable. It want a fashion shoot, it was very much a lifestyle [shoot].

Wearing a traditional headdress, the future Duchess of Sussex is pictured on a visit to Malta in 2015 - a year before she met her future husband Prince Harry - wearing a gonnella. 'She was very game to try it on and to be a bit playful,' photographer Kurt Arrigo recalls

Future royal: Casually dressed in a grey t-shirt and baggy jeans, the future Duchess of Sussex looks decidedly happy and carefree in the images, which were taken in 2015. She said of her stay in Malta: To come somewhere where you so quickly settle in to feeling welcomed is really special. Its this Maltese hospitality that is really special to the place'

'It was a very casual shoot and I just kind of tagged along and made her feel comfortable and not do it in an invasive way and do it discreetly.'

Kurt also revealed that his two daughters had been desperate to meet the Suits actress, but Meghan had to cancel as well was feeling unwell.

It was very candid. She didn't want any poses Kurt Arrigo

However, she later wrote a sweet message to Kurt and his children on her blog by way of apology.

Less than two years after her Maltese trip, Meghan became a household name overnight when her relationship with Prince Harry hit headlines - and Kurt said he was pleased to see she got her 'fairytale ending'.

'She's probably one of the most influential [women] around now,' he says. 'I guess shes got to be part of that royal system, and maybe cant let her hair down as much as would have liked to.

'In those times, it was all relaxed and chilled and easy. Now wherever she is I suppose everyones got a camera and wants to take a picture.

'It was nice to be able to meet her and get to know her in her real element.'
Prince Harry will attend a gala performance of Meat Loaf musical Bat Out Of Hell - but pregnant Meghan won't be joining him.

The Duke of Sussex, 34, will be in the audience for a special performance of the musical at the Dominion Theatre in the West End on Thursday, in aid of the Invictus Games Foundation.

While the Duchess of Sussex, 37, has previously accompanied him for a gala performance of Hamilton, which was in aid of Harry's African children's charity Sentebale, she is not expected to attend this engagement.

Bat Out Of Hell features the anthems of Meat Loaf and Jim Steinman, and follows the story of the young leader of a rebellious gang as he falls in love with the daughter of a tyrannical ruler.

Prince Harry (pictured in Zambia on Tuesday) will be attending a gala performance of Meat Loaf musical Bat Out Of Hell in aid of the Invictus Games next week

Meghan, 37, will not be joining him for the engagement, after previously attending a gala performance of Hamilton in August (above)

Earlier this year, the musical announced a partnership with the Invictus Games Foundation, including private tours and family theatre workshops for wounded, injured or sick servicemen and women.

Harry will meet a number of servicemen and women, along with their families, who have been invited to the gala.

He will address the audience on stage on behalf of the Invictus Games Foundation, alongside the shows producer and cast members, before taking his seat for the performance.

The engagement comes after Harry's solo trip to Zambia this week, where he sent his 'very best wishes' from wife Meghan, who stayed at home in London.

The Duchess of Sussex, who is expecting her first child in the Spring, visited the Hubb Community Kitchen last week on a solo engagement

There had been reports that the Duchess dropped out of the tour due to a Zika scare, although to date there have been no recorded cases of the virus in Zambia.

Meghan has no doubt been keeping busy, with the announcement that she and Harry are set to move to Frogmore Cottage in Windsor next year, ahead of the arrival of their first child together in the Spring.

Renovation work will need to be complete at the property, before the couple can move in.

Meanwhile, sources have suggested that Meghan will continue to work as close to her due date as possible.
The latest in a long line of portraits of the Queen has been given the royal seal of approval by the head of state.

At Windsor Castle the Queen saw for the first time the painting by military artist Stuart Brown, showing the monarch in a room of the famous royal fortress.

The painting was commissioned by the RAF Regiment to commemorate its 75th anniversary and to honour the Queen who is the regiment's Air Commodore in Chief.

Look familiar? The Queen today viewed a new portrait of herself at Windsor Castle, commissioned by the RAF Regiment and painted by the artist Stuart Brown

With the Queen at the official viewing in the castle's oak room was Air Commodore Scott Miller and other members of the RAF.

The painting shows the head of state sat at a desk in the white drawing room at Windsor Castle.

In the image she is wearing a brooch presented to her by the RAF Regiment which shows the Astral Crown and crossed Lee Enfield rifles.

After the viewing Mr Brown said: 'This was the professional and personal opportunity of a lifetime. I had an overwhelming sense of being in the presence of living history.'

The painting will be displayed at RAF Honington in Suffolk, home to the RAF Police and the RAF Regiment.

The Queen recently unveiled another portrait of herself with an RAF association, a painting by award-winning artist Ben Sullivan commissioned by the RAF Club in London to mark its centenary.

Her Majesty today viewed a new portrait by Stuart Brown, commissioned by the RAF Regiment to celebrate its 75th anniversary. It was unveiled to the Queen in the White Drawing Room at Windsor Castle

The Queen is seen left with (left to right) the artist Stuart Brown, Air Commodore Scott Miller, Deputy Commander of the Defence Academy of the United Kingdom, Warrant Officer Shaun Griffin, and Wing Commander Dale White

The finishing touches were also being added to the Christmas tree at Windsor Castle today, as the Queen's Berkshire residence is decked out for the festive season
Ivanka Trump dazzled in Oscar de la Renta while attending the G20 summit in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on Friday, as she faces scrutiny for her involvement in failed Trump building deal in Russia.

While she may be feeling the heat, the 37-year-old first daughter looked calm, cool, and collected in a $2,490 navy blue peplum top featuring a white grid pattern embroidery and a matching $1,190 pencil skirt, cinching her waist even further with a thin white belt.

Ivanka boldly broke the old fashion rule of not wearing white after Labor Day and accessorized her spring-appropriate outfit with a pair of white pumps and her trusty $275 white handbag from her now-defunct fashion label.

Style: Ivanka Trump, 37, donned a ladylike Oscar de la Renta ensemble to attend the G20 summit in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on Friday

Ready for spring? The first daughter's $2,490 navy blue peplum top and matching $1,190 pencil skirt featured a white grid pattern embroidery. She opted to wear white accessories

With the weather in Buenos Aires being in the 70s, she opted to leave her legs bare while enjoying the reprieve from the chilly fall weather in Washington, D.C.

The White House senior adviser's blonde hair was straightened and center parted, with Ivanka going back to her preferred 'do after trying out a side part on Thursday, and a pair of stud earrings peeked from underneath her long locks when she walked.

Ivanka arrived at Costa Salguero in Buenos Aires for the G20 Leaders' Summit on Friday with her 37-year-old husband, White House senior adviser Jared Kushner, who sported a navy suit and tie.

The couple held hands as they made their way through the crowd ahead of the summit.

It was a busy morning for Ivanka, who attended a signing ceremony of the new trade agreement between the U.S., Mexico, and Canada, on the sidelines of the summit.

The U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), which her husband, Jared, helped negotiate, is a successor to the North American free trade pact NAFTA.

Ivanka was present to see Mexican President Enrique Pena Neto award the Order of the Aztec Eagle, the highest Mexican order awarded to foreigners, to Jared.

The first daughter's attendance at the summit comes just one day after it was revealed that she recommended the architect for the failed Trump Tower Moscow project in an email to her father's then-lawyer Michael Cohen.

Cohen copied Ivanka and her older brother, Donald Trump Jr., on emails about the project in late 2015, and she replied suggesting an architect for the building, according to a person close to the Trump Organization.

Look: The White House senior adviser's blonde hair was straightened and center parted

Accessories: Ivanka opted to cinch her waist with a thin white belt

In good spirits: She was all smiles as she attended a signing ceremony of the new U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), a successor to the North American free trade pact NAFTA

Ivanka was also due to have a spa inside the building branded with her name, according to documents linked to the project.

Trump's company was explicitly given the option to 'brand any or all portion of the spa or fitness facilities as "The Spa by Ivanka Trump" or similar,"' according to papers seen by CNN.

The Trump Organization previously turned over the emails to congressional committees, but their existence became public with renewed scrutiny on the planned luxury development in Russia following Cohen's surprise guilty plea.

On Thursday, Cohen confessed that he had lied to Congress when he said that the plans for Trump Tower Moscow had fallen through in January of 2016  they had actually fallen through in June of that year.

The source close to the Trump Organization said the company doesn't have any email traffic about the Moscow project after January 2016. The person wasn't authorized to discuss the matter and spoke on condition of anonymity.

The substance of the emails was first reported by the Wall Street Journal, which cited law enforcement sources.

In pleading guilty, Cohen said he lied to be consistent with Trump's 'political messaging.' Trump said repeatedly during the campaign that he had no business deals in Russia, which appears technically true as the Moscow project never progressed past preliminary discussions.

But the plea agreement made clear that prosecutors believe that Cohen continued to pursue the Trump Tower Moscow project weeks after his boss had clinched the Republican nomination for president, and well beyond the point that had been previously acknowledged.

Cohen said he discussed the proposal with Trump on multiple occasions and with members of the president's family, according to documents filed by special counsel Robert Mueller, who is investigating possible 'links and/or coordination' between the Trump campaign and the Russian government.

Feeling welcome: Ivanka received a warm greeting when she arrived for the signing

Proud: She watched Mexican President Enrique Pena Neto award the Order of the Aztec Eagle, the highest Mexican order awarded to foreigners, to her husband, Jared Kushner

Family photo: Jared, 37, received the award for his contributions to the renegotiation of the new trade agreement

Ready to go: Ivanka was all smiles as she and her husband joined her father and stepmother, Melania Trump, on Air Force One on Thursday for their flight to Argentina ahead of the summit

There is no clear link in the court filings between Cohen's lies and Mueller's central question of whether the Trump campaign 'colluded' with Russia.

Ivanka and Don. Jr.'s involvement in the family real estate companys Russia skyscraper plans has attracted the attention of Mueller.

During an ABC interview that aired earlier this week, Ivanka brushed aside concerns about her legal exposure in Mueller's expansive Russia probe.

'I think it should reach its conclusion,' she said. 'I think it's been a long time that this has been ongoing, but I want it to be done in a way in which nobody could question that it was hurried or rushed.'

But 'we're well beyond that point,' she added.

The first daughter insisted, however, that she isn't worried about how Mueller's findings might impact her.

'I know the facts as they relate to me and my family, and so I have nothing to be concerned about,' she said.

Ivanka has also come under fire for sending official emails from a personal email address  with many drawing comparisons to the similar controversy surrounding Hillary Clinton.

President Trump spent nearly two years blasting Clinton, his 2016 opponent, for a far broader arrangement that used a private home-brew email server in her basement for tens of thousands of emails during the four years she was secretary of state.

'All of my emails are stored and preserved. There were no deletions. There is no attempt to hide,' Ivanka said. 'There's no equivalency to what my father's spoken about.'

Under fire: Ivanka is facing scrutiny after it was revealed that she recommended the architect for the failed Trump Tower Moscow project

Feeling good: Ivanka has also come under fire for sending official emails from a personal email address, but she looked like she didn't have a care in the world on Thursday

Happy as can be: The first daughter flashed a big smile at the cameras as she left her Washington, D.C. home on Thursday morning

Speaking out: During an ABC interview that aired earlier this week, Ivanka brushed aside concerns about her legal exposure in Mueller's expansive Russia probe

She also confirmed that none of the emails that have generated snickers and finger-wagging from congressional Democrats this month contained classified information.

Clinton maintained the same thing for months in 2016. But 110 examples were later discovered sitting on her unsecured server, open to prying eyes, that were classified when she sent them.

Ivanka said commingling personal and government material wasn't strictly prohibited, citing legal advice about an easy and common way to remedy it.

'There is no restriction of using personal email,' she said. 'In fact, we're instructed that if we receive an email to our personal account that could relate to government work, you simply just forward it to your government account so it can be archived.'

The president has defended his daughter, pointing out that while Clinton and her attorneys deleted more than 33,000 emails  messages they deemed 'personal'  before eventually turning the rest over to State Department record-keepers. Ivanka's have already been made part of the government's records.

Congressional Democrats are crying foul, suggesting that they'll launch an investigation in 2019 after they take over control of the House of Representatives.

Despite the scrutiny, Ivanka was all smiles as she and her husband joined her father and stepmother, Melania Trump, on Air Force One on Thursday for their flight to Argentina.

Ivanka was bundled up in a $199 gray wrap coat from Zara, which had a $150 bee-shaped pin from Kenneth Jay Lane pinned to the lapel.

The first daughter topped off the look with a pair of black over-the-knee boots and her beloved Chanel Executive Tote that retails for about $3,400.

It is not known who is watching Ivanka and Jared's three children, Arabella, seven, Joseph, five, and Theodore, two, while the couple is away. However, they are not believed to have joined their parents on the trip and likely remained in Washington, D.C. with a family member or their nanny.
Melania Trump began the G20 leaders summit with a glamorous display on the first day as she arrived to the Villa Ocampo museum in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on Friday.

The first lady, 48, looked stylish and ready to embrace warmer weather in the South American country while wearing a $4,900 Gucci floral dress paired with matching green Manolo Blahnik heels.

To accent her slim waist, she cinched the sleeveless dress with a thin dark brown belt and wore large sunglasses while out in the sunshine.

Stylish: Melania Trump, 48, arrived to the Villa Ocampo museum in in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on Friday for the first day of the G20 two-day summit

Beautiful: She wore a $4,900 Gucci floral dress and paired the outfit with green heels and sunglasses

Embracing the warmth: Melania seemed happy in the warm weather as she paired her sleeveless dress with a dark brown belt that cinched at her waist

Happy: The first lady (pictured left) appeared happy to embrace the warm weather as she posed for pictures with Argentinan First Lady Juliana Awada (pictured right)

Picture perfect: The two women were all smiles as they both wore their long brown locks down for the day

Melania certainly looked thrilled to be enjoying a break from the frosty winter weather in Washington, D.C., and was showing off a healthy glow in her summery ensemble.

Bold: Melania paired the green trim on her dress with a pair of bright pointed-toe heels

When arriving to the museum, Melania was all smiles as she was pictured standing with Argentinian First Lady Juliana Awada, 44, who was wearing a stunning white dress while holding a matching clutch.

Both women had their long brunette locks down and softly curled for the day's events.

They later posed with 11 other spouses and first ladies from other countries in a picture on the museum's front steps.

Standing behind Melania and Juilana in the picture was France First Lady Brigitte Macron, 65, who appeared to be wearing a short sleeved white dress with her blond hair styled in her go-to straightened lob.

Included in the group was also Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's spouse Sophie Gregoire Trudeau, Chinese President Xi Jinping' spouse Peng Liyuan, and South Korea's first lady Kim Jung-sook.

Big smiles: Juliana appeared happy to see Melania while wearing a stunning white dress

Poised: During the day, 13 first ladies and spouses took a picture on the steps of the Villa Ocampo museum

(1) Melania Trump; (2) Argentinian First Lady Juliana Awada; (3) French First Lady Brigitte Macron; (4) Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's wife Sophie; (5) Chinese President Xi Jinping's wife, Peng Liyuan; (6) European Council President Donald Tusk's wife Malgorzata; (7) South Korean First Lady Kim Jung-sook; (8) Singaporean First Lady Ho Ching; (9) Turkish First Lady Emine Erdoganl; (10) Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's spouse Akie Abe; (11) Mufidah Kalla, the wife of Indonesian vice-president Jusuf Kalla

Ready for the day: The women have a list of events to attend to during the summit

Glamorous: Melania looked stylish in a leather coat and white pencil skirt as she touched down in Buenos Aires with President Donald Trump on Thursday

Outfit change: The first lady opted to wear the white skirt in Buenos Aires after being pictured in Washington, D.C. with a purple skirt on

Melania arrived in Buenos Aires on Thursday night with President Donald Trump and hinted at the designer wardrobe to come for the two-day summit by wearing a $5,990 leather Ralph Lauren coat and white pencil skirt.

This look differed slightly from what she wore when departing from Washington, D.C. as she changed out of a purple Derek Lam skirt into the white option.

She was not the only first lady putting on a glamorous display for the two-day summit with prominent world leaders.

France First Lady Brigitte Macron, 65, opted for a chic white blazer and matching skirt, featuring a zip down the front, as she joined husband President Emmanuel Macron at a reception with Argentinian President Mauricio Macri and Juliana on Thursday evening.

Portrait: Brigitte Macron opted for a chic white blazer and matching skirt as she joined husband French President Emmanuel Macron at a reception Thursday with Argentinan President Mauricio Macri (second from right) and First Lady Juliana (far right)

Beautiful: Sophie Trudeau, 43, looked stylish in all black ensemble as she joined husband Justin Trudeau in Argentina. They posed for photographs with Argentina's President Macri, and wife Juliana, outside the Olivos presidential residence

Happy couple: Sophie Trudeau looked chic in a burgundy shift dress as she landed in Buenos Aires with husband Justin on the eve of the G20 summit

Juliana has been busy meeting world leaders and their wives as they arrive in Argentina, including Justin Trudeau and his wife Sophie.

The Canadian Prime minister and his wife Sophie posed for photographs outside the Olivos presidential residence in Buenos Aires on Thursday, along with President Macri and his wife Juliana.

Sophie, 43, looked sophisticated in a black blouse and tailored trousers, along with a pair of black stilettos and a colorful clutch bag. Juliana meanwhile opted for a glamorous black lace dress on Thursday, which she teamed with co-ordinating heels.

The G20 summit will see two days of talks take place between 19 leading countries and the EU.

This is the 13th time the G20 have met, and the first time that the meeting has taken place in South America.

The member countries of the group are Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, South Korea, Turkey, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
A self-professed political dominatrix is finding pleasure in humiliating her clients  almost exclusively white, right-wing men  using mind games as she tries to turn them into socialists.

Reba Maybury, a 27-year-old professional dominatrix and a political science lecturer at Central Saint Martins in London who is of mixed race, will only work with white men, and as a socialist, she prefers to dominate conservatives.

'I cant force myself to be even fictionally cruel to any other type of man. It makes the performance a lot easier,' she told The Guardian. 'I could never be mean to someone who wasnt white, because the world is run by white men, isnt it?'

Career: Reba Maybury, aka Mistress Rebecca, is a 27-year-old professional dominatrix as well as a political science lecturer at Central Saint Martins in London

Submissives: Maybury, a socialist who is of mixed race, will only dominate white men, preferably those with right-wing views. Her aim is to turn them into socialists

Maybury, who is also known as Mistress Rebecca, opened up about one client who claimed 'he was a "female supremacist"and a Tory,' explaining that she found it to be 'such a disgusting contradiction' that she 'couldn't let him get away with it.'

'Submissives often say that all they want to do is make their mistress happy, and what could make me happier than him becoming a socialist?' she asked.

She documented their short-lived relationship and her attempt to turn him into a socialist in her novella Dining with Humpty-Dumpty, which was released by her publishing company, Wet Satin Press, last year.

In the book, the submissive, whom she dubbed Humpty, is a Tory with a feeding fetish who claims to believe women are superior to men.

The author told the Guardian that 'about 75 per cent of the book is real' while 'the rest is fictionalized.'

Take that: Maybury's work stems from ongoing frustration with men who indulge in fetishes that have 'no alignment with their everyday politics'

Humiliation: Instead of using whips and clamps, she relies on words and mind games to degrade her male clients

Maybury's desire to be a political dominatrix stems from her interest in powerful women and the shame surrounding certain fetishes.

With her work, she looks to shift the balance of power between the sexes and explore the hypocrisy of men who have sexual proclivities that oppose their public political beliefs.

Instead of using whips and clamps, she relies on words and mind games to degrade her male clients.

Her tricks of the trade are so subtle that she insists most people wouldn't even realize she and a client have a dominant and submissive relationship when they are out in public.

'From the outside youd never know what the dynamic was between us  we just look like two ordinary people having a coffee,' she explained.

Candid confession: Maybury said she 'could never be mean to someone who wasnt white, because the world is run by white men'

Calling all clients: She tends to meet her submissives on Tinder or Instagram or through her online radio show, Mistress Rebecca's World

Stay there: The author looks to shift the balance of power between the sexes with her work

Maybury also works with clients virtually, using webcams and text messages to communicate with them.

She said she tends to meet her clients on Tinder or Instagram or through her radio show, Mistress Rebecca's World, which airs NTS Radio, an online radio station based in London.

Before working with her submissives, she makes them fill out an application form asking them to list everything from their favorite leader to their favorite film.

Maybury takes great interest in what makes her clients tick, including their aspirations, the source of their confidence, and 'the women they say they're attracted to publicly, but not privately.'

'Once I sweep away the capitalist achievements, then what remains are their real desires,' she said. 'Most men never even consider what their masculinity is based on, which is the frightening thing.

Notes: Maybury takes great interest in what makes her clients tick, including their aspirations and the source of their confidence

Chronicles: In her novella Dining with Humpty-Dumpty, she documents her relationship with a Tory who claimed to be a 'female supremacist.' She said 'about 75 per cent of the book is real'

Wise: Maybury enlisted one of her submissives to pay for the expenses of her next book, and she plans on donating the proceeds to a sex workers' collective based in the UK

'All masculinity, when we look at it from a historical point of view, is to dominate women.'

Maybury, who is well-known in the London art and fashion world, has turned her dominatrix work into her own version of performance art, showing several exhibitions at the London art gallery Arcadia Missa.

Her next book, Bints! A Conversation Between Mistress Rebecca and the Elysium Harvester, to Swarm, is based on a discussion she had with 'this very strange misogynist.'

She wisely enlisted one of her submissives to pay for the book's expenses while she had other clients do the art work ahead of its release.

Maybury plans on giving the proceeds to Swarm, a UK-based sex workers' collective, explaining she is 'trying to use these men to help women make money as well.'

Her ongoing frustration with men who indulge in fetishes that have 'no alignment with their everyday politics,' is what drives her work, but does she think she will be able to change the steadfast views of the men she works with?

'It is my aim but it is complex,' she said.
The festive season is about to get a lot sweeter - and a lot messier - thanks to Tim Hortons, which has debuted a special snowball-shaped white donut to celebrate the start of the Christmas month.

Snowbits, as they are so aptly named, are an enlarged version of the Canadian coffee chain's beloved Timbits - small round donut holes that come in a variety of flavors.

Covered in white powdered sugar, the Snowbits, which are three times bigger than the original Timbits, are designed to look just like snowballs - and Tim Hortons is happily encouraging customers to use them as such.

A seasonal treat: Canadian coffee chain Tim Hortons is releasing special snowball-sized donut holes on December 1

In a release about the festive launch, customers are encouraged to 'use Snowbits like snowballs to engage in a friendly Snowbit fight' or to 'build a Snowbit snowman' using the powdered sugar pastries.

If wintry games aren't your cup of tea however, the chain notes that the Snowbits can also be 'enjoyed with a holiday beverage'.

But anyone hoping to lay their hands on a Snowbit - or perhaps to launch them in the direction of a friend or family member - will have to act fast.

The Snowbits are only available in stores on December 1, and will only be given to the first 12 customers who mention them to staff at select US locations.

News of the launch was met with serious excitement from the chain's Instagram fans, with people commenting on images of the Snowbits to share their positive feedback on the tasty treats.

'Ohhhhh yesssss please!' one person wrote, while another piped up: 'Omg cute!'

Ready, aim, eat! The chain is encouraging customers to use the Snowbits - which are enlarged versions of the classic Timbits - for a Snowbit fight, or to build a Snowbit snowman

Get 'em while they're... cold? The Snowbits can only be secured by the first 12 customers to mention them at select Tim Hortons locations in the US

'We are celebrating the return of the holidays and thanking our guests this holiday season by giving away free Snowbits at select stores on December 1,' Shawn Thompson, President Tim Hortons US, said of the launch.

'We encourage guests to get into the holiday spirit by sharing a Snowbit with a friend alongside a holiday beverage in our festive winter-themed cups.'

Although the Snowbits are a new launch for Tim Hortons, this is not the first time the the coffee chain has taken advantage of a holiday in order to jazz up their Timbits.

In May 2017, customers were offered the chance to order a special Timbits Donut Bouquet for Mother's Day; the arrangement was made up of 24 donut holes that were all stuck onto the end of wooden skewers and then tied together with a pretty ribbon.

The sweet treats even came complete with an elegant presentation box in order to ensure that any mothers lucky enough to receive them felt extra special.
After his second class, Alan Ross was ready to drop out of the program he was in that was training him to be a suicide hotline operator.

'I wasn't sure if I could do it. You have to learn that you can't solve depression, emotional issues, or trauma,' he said.

According to new figures released this week by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), suicide was the 10th leading cause of overall death in the US in 2017 with nearly 45,000 people taking their own lives - a 33 percent increase since 1999.

Hotlines do not decrease rates of suicide, but there is evidence that they help: a 2007 study from Columbia University in New York found that callers' thoughts of suicide decreased during and several weeks after a call.

Ross, Executive Director of Samaritans of NYC, and Paloma Woo, Crisis Services Manager of The Trevor Project, which provides crisis support to LGBTQ youth, spoke to DailyMail.com about what goes on the other side of the line, from the extensive training for volunteers, the heartbreaking calls and crisis counseling for operators.

Some studies have shown that people's thoughts of suicide decrease during a suicide prevention hotline call and several weeks after the call (file image)

TRAINING

No matter which hotline an operator works at, they go through a great deal of training before they can graduate.

At the Trevor Project, operators have to receive about 40 hours of classroom training and 20 hours of supervised training.

'They learn about basic LGBTQ terminology, different identities experienced on the line, how to build relationships over the phone or online,' Woo told DailyMail.com.

The supervised training consists of a minimum of seven role plays 'to try things in a safe environment before getting on the phone'.

At Samaritans, one of the oldest suicide prevention centers in the world, it's a 10-week course, where volunteers will go through the equivalent of a graduate class in crisis communications.

Ross says the Samaritans have found it increasingly harder to find people to fill the operator roles.

'We get 300 applicants for the training class and we bring in 80 for interviews - 20 don't even show - so we end up interviewing 60,' he told DailyMail.com.

A HISTORY OF SUICIDE PREVENTION HOTLINES The first crisis hotline was founded in the UK in 1953 by English vicar Chad Varah. Samaritans soon spread branches throughout the UK and the first US branch was founded in Boston in 1974. The Los Angeles Suicide Prevention Center founded in 1958 was the first in the US to had a 24-hour hotline and to use volunteers as operators. Most hotlines are geared to a general audience but some cater to a specific demographic such as veterans, LGBTQ youth, and transgender individuals. There is not a great deal of evidence that suicide hotlines reduce suicide rates. A 2007 study from Columbia University in New York found that callers' thoughts of suicide decreased during and several weeks after a call. Advertisement

'From there we accept 30 people and we're satisfied if 30 percent of them making the program.'

That means that out of 300 applicants, only about nine go on to become volunteers. When asked why there was such a drastic drop, Ross said he believed it is due to a culture of gratification.

'I think the need of immediate gratification has gotten greater, a lot of people think they can give people advice and tell them what to do,' he said.

'They want to gratify their own advice and ego. But that's not what we're about. We're here to listen.'

ON THE LINE

Neither Woo nor Ross were able to disclose call procedures, but both were willing to share how the operator works to form a connection with callers.

'It's a conversation and we let the callers take the lead so if they are interested in looking for resources, we can give those to them but we don't push resources on them,' she said.

'Especially for young people, we want to provide a supportive base where they can feel and be in control.'

Ross described the crisis communication model at Samaritans as similar to triage, meaning that they prioritize the number of issues a caller presents and work their way through the issues, starting with the 'most important'.

'It's about friendly, non-judgmental and empathetic communication,' Ross explained.

'If people don't trust you, you won't get very far, so the focus on the caller and not on the service.'

Ross started his 30-year career with Samaritans as a volunteer operator before eventually working in the executive offices.

'I learned to ask open ended questions like, "How are you dealing with this?" Don't give people yes or no questions that may seem judgmental,' he said.

'It can be painful or heartbreaking but it can also be humbling. They may have gotten alleviation from reaching out to you and you recognize true nature of helping.'

THE COUNSELING VOLUNTEERS RECEIVE TO DEAL WITH THE CHALLENGING EXPERIENCES ON THE LINE

Answering calls can also take a toll on the mental health of the workers, so Woo says The Trevor Project constantly checks on its volunteers.

'We offer one-on-one counseling and a monthly support group to talk about challenging experiences they had on the line,' she said.

The organizations also hosts regular activities for hotline operators as well as appreciation events.

'They are doing important, hard work and we want to make sure they're being rewarded for that,' Woo said.

Ross said there are fewer social activities at Samaritans, but that the organizations does host walk-a-thons and benefits.

'We also have supervisors for our workers if they need to talk, and every hotline operator debriefs on each call they receive before their shift is over because calls are confidential so there's no one else they can talk to about it,' he said.

Suicides have climbed steadily in the US since 1999 among men and women, but rates have increased at an alarming rate in rural America, the CDC's latest data reveal

The more isolated people are in rural America, the greater the risks of suicide are, as confirmed by the CDC's latest data showing that 20 out of every 100,000 rural deaths were suicides in 2017 (light purple, far right)

THE FUTURE OF HOTLINES: CENTERS EXPLORE TEXTING SERVICES - AND EVEN REACHING OUT TO PEOPLE WHO SEEM AT-RISK

Woo says The Trevor Project is looking for ways to provide even further outreach.

In addition to The Trevor Lifeline, which is the 24/7 phone line, the organization also provides TrevorChat, available seven hours a day seven days per week and TrevorText, available seven hours a day five days a week.

And demand has risen.

'In the last two years, volume is higher than it's ever been because there are more ways for people to reach out,' Woo says.

Rates are particularly high among LGBTQ youth.

Attempted suicide rates for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and trans youth and adults in the US are three times higher than national averages.

They are more than four times more likely to attempt suicide than their straight peers, according to The Trevor Project.

'There are currently 1.5 million LGBTQ youth in crisis across the country,' Woo said.

The organization is hoping to make the Chat and Text programs available 24/7, adding interpreter services for non-English speaking callers, and integrating into social media platforms to provide outreach.

'For example, if someone is posting suicidal content on Facebook, is there a way we can integrate our services into that?' Woo said.

Ethicists are divided on the issue - with some saying it could lead to more lives saved and others saying it could prevent people from reaching out for help.

'My sense is that it is important to respect an individual's privacy when they post about mental health,' Dr Dominic Sisti, an assistant professor in the department of medical ethics & health policy at the University of Pennsylvania, told DailyMail.com.

'But they relinquish a bit of privacy when they post things on social media. It's now in the public domain and it transitions from a privacy matter into a public health matter.'

But Dr Arthur Caplan, a bioethics professor in the department of population health at NYU School of Medicine, says this type of outreach could lead to people avoiding the internet or watching what they post.

'Outreach has many positive attributes...but people may be angry that they're being monitored unless they give their explicit permission,' he told DailyMail.com.

'People may worry that there is a slippery slope and they may be monitored misusing their credit card or getting into trouble for speeding.'

WHY CALL?

Both Ross and Woo admit that there is a lot of stigma that surrounds mental health and reaching out for help but encourage people to reach out.

'If someone is curious about calling, just try it,' Woo said. 'We are non-judgmental and we have a team of hundreds of counselors there to support them. It's just a conversation.

Ross adds that being able to provide a human connection might be enough to get somebody in crisis to call.

'Acceptance brings relief from pain. When we [as operators] accept, we are able to respond and be more available,' Ross said.

'And with people who are struggling, it validates and its a path to healing.'
When Kevin Amundson opened his eyes for the first time after he attempted suicide, he could see that he was in a hospital, but he had no recollection of why.

His father's face slowly came into focus.

'Do you know why you're here?' he asked, from Kevin's bedside.

Kevin didn't remember - not yet - but he loved to drive around in his truck, so he figured that it must have been a car crash.

'No, bud,' Kevin's father said, 'you tried to kill yourself.'

For the next few days, Kevin was in and out of consciousness and a torrent of painful memories.

'That was a hard time for me because I was remembering the minutes and hours before the attempt, and it came back in bits and pieces.'

The gun in his hand. The water beneath the dock. The heat of tears on his face. That phone call.

As is true for many suicide attempt survivors, those first days in the hospital were crucial to Kevins future. During those days, he would decide that he wanted a future.

Getting an exact count of how many people attempt suicide each year is difficult, but rates of suicide have surged by 33 percent since 1999, and the American Association for Suicide Prevention (AASP) estimates that attempts number somewhere in the neighborhood of 1.3 million.

The hour after a massive injury is considered the golden hour - the period during which the chances of recovery are highest. After those first 60 minutes, the odds of survival start to fall, and fast.

For suicide attempt survivors, the next 365 days are like one long golden hour. The risk of suicide is 37 percent higher for that first year after an attempt.

Kevin Amundson (left) has always been close to his family, including his father, Dave (right), but he couldn't bring himself to talk to anyone about depression until after his suicide attempt

Now, Dese'Rae Stage (left) has a steadfast support network, anchored by her wife, Felicidad Garcia (right), but at the time of her attempt in 2006, she was isolated in an abusive relationship

WHAT SUICIDE STATISTICS GET WRONG ABOUT SUICIDE SURVIVORS

A suicide attempt itself is a traumatic event. Survivors are shaken, fragile, and the act as well as the immediate aftermath of an attempt is difficult to talk about - for those who tried to take their own lives, for their loved ones and even for us as a society.

There is no typical suicide, but the most often told stories stand in for what is 'usual': a low point, an attempt, an epiphany, healing, and a new outlook on live, and why its worth living.

Paradoxically, Kevin fits the statistical model completes suicide - but not some who attempts, but survives - in the US: hes male, hes white, he lives in a rural area of Minnesota, he has access to firearms - all the most commonly shared features of Americans who do take their own lives.

Kevin does not fit the statistical features of someone who attempts suicide - young, female, Hispanic, with a documented history of mental illness.

But our statistics fail pretty miserably to capture the identities and personalities of people who attempt or commit suicide - much less how to prevent them from doing so or help those who survive to move forward.

Kevin shot himself under the chin and the bullet got lodged in the speech center of his brain (left). Even after it was removed, Kevin's brain swelled so badly that doctors had to temporarily remove a piece of his skull to relieve the pressure (right)

Dese'Rae began to struggle with depression and self-injury, and it continued through high school (pictured) and into her twenties

For Kevin, there was a moment when he decided to live, and never looked (all the way) back.

Thats not every story, either, DeseRae Stage says - and so many suicide attempt survivors have been hidden from view.

So Dese'Rae started Live Through This, a project that tells the stories of attempt survivors, like herself.

'Any stories I saw about people who had lived through suicide attempts were anonymous. There wasn't any kind of dimensional representation,' she says.

'And they all had happy endings. Everything was like, "I had a hard time, I got help and I'm better now."

'We have no faces, we have terrible experiences, we get better and there's no more exploration than that.'

She started exploring the subject of suicide attempts and the people who make them.

'Let's talk about it and put faces and names to it. Stats are cool, but I can't relate to statistics the way I can related to a person,' Dese'Rae says.

YOU DON'T HAVE TO BE ALONE TO BE LONELY: ISOLATION IS AN OFTEN UNSEEN SUICIDE RISK FACTOR

Anonymity and isolation are common threads in the stories of suicide attempts, including both Dese'Rae's and Kevin's - even though the first thing Kevin says about himself is really about his family.

'I have very close relationships with my family, I always have,' he says.

'But I was working a dead-end job, I wasn't making a whole lot of money, I kind of felt stuck and I was drinking quite a bit even though I wasn't 21.'

Then he found out his girlfriend was cheating on him.

'It all just kind of culminated. I thought, "screw this, I don't want to be here any more" and I felt like I wasn't wanted any more,' he recalls.

Kevin (left) and Dese'Rae (right) both attempted suicide after struggling quietly for many years. Now, they each finds ways to speak out about suicide, speak to those that might be considering suicide and help to put faces to an often shadowed topic

Perhaps worst of all, Kevin felt he was a burden to his family. He'd had never talked to them about his depression. He'd never talked to anyone about it and didn't even really think of what he was experiencing as depression himself.

Kevin felt alone with a beast he couldn't name - when in fact he had a support system but just couldn't see it.

THE STAGGERING STATISTICS OF SUICIDE IN THE US Since 1999, the rate of suicide in the US has increased by a staggering 33 percent according to the CDC's latest data. Suicides now account for 14 out of every 100,000 deaths in the US. Rates are highest among white males - but have increased across the board. In fact, rates for women have shot up by 53 percent since 1999. Rural America is disproportionately affected by suicides and, in 2017, a full 20 out of every 100,000 deaths in the countries least populated areas were suicides. Advertisement

'I think I did have that' - a support network - 'but the whole depression and feeling like I was a burden made me not see that,' he says.

'It very much clouded the fact that I had people there. [Depression] wouldn't let me see that.'

It was only after his suicide attempt that that curtain began to lift.

Kevin remembers his mother reading him messages his co-workers had written on the Caring Bridge page she'd made for him. Guys just like him, saying they felt just like he had, and for all those years he'd thought he was the only one.

'A lot of them felt the same way I had. Two of the guys were working the same job [as me], still living with their parents,' Kevin recalls.

'They said, "we're all the same, we're here to support you, you have more people here than you know." That touched me more than anything else.'

Kevin saw these messages at the hospital where he was being treated primarily for his physical trauma - a bullet lodged in the speech center of his brain which had caused such severe damage and swelling that the doctors there thought he would likely never use the right side of his body again and almost certainly be unable to talk.

His mother saw that he was reading cards she would hold up for him, and, at her urging, doctors continued to work with Kevin to help him regain full physical and mental function.

HOSPITALS DON'T KNOW HOW TO HELP SUICIDE SURVIVORS

Every day, a psychiatrist came to check in on him. Just the most rudimentary questions about how he was feeling, asking Kevin to rank his mood.

It was simple, but it was enough for Kevin to see that he was feeling a little better, day-by-day.

'There are situations where folks who have survived a suicide attempt would say the person who made the biggest difference was someone in the ER who just believed in them and wanted them to get better, explains Dr DeQuincy Lezine, who directs the American Association of Suicidologys lived experiences and attempt survivor division.

'Someone who treated them with kindness, and respect [and had a] simple bedside manner that makes things better.

Dese'Rae's brief stay in a Tennessee hospital in 2006 didn't come with any of that.

'I was hospitalized for approximately three hours. They didn't really know what to do with me,' she says.

After her suicide attempt, Dese'Rae took applied the skills she had learned photographing and interviewing artists like Jay Z and Tori Amos to Live Through this, her incredible catalog of suicide attempt survivors

Doctors thought Kevin might never read, speak, have use of the right side of his body or be able to walk again after his suicide attempt

After her attempt, Dese'Rae found support and comfort in the few friends (one, unidentified, pictured) she didn't share with her ex-girlfriend

That isn't just Dese'Rae's perception of hospitals' confusion over suicide attempt patients - in most states in the US, health care providers aren't taught how to deal with suicide.

Only 10 states in the US (Tennessee is actually one of them, alongside California, Nevada, Kentucky Indiana, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, Utah, Washington and West Virginia) legally require suicide prevention training for doctors, nurses and others working in health care settings.

Kevin slowly but surely relearned to walk, and every day a psychiatrist's simple check-in - 'how are you feeling today' - helped him gauge his psychological improvements

Dr Lezine says that organizations like the American Association of Suicidology (AAS) and the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) are working to introduce standard practice for the care of suicidal patients, but it's slow going.

'It's getting better and there's ore consistency in how folks are treated, so we're definitely moving in the direction of uniformity that I would like to see, but we're not there yet,' he says.

The horror stories of police bringing people who have attempted suicide to hospitals in handcuffs, at-risk people left alone in police cruisers or restrained in their hospital beds persist.

For much of Dese'Rae's brief time at the hospital, she was left completely alone. The staff seemed cold. One nurse responded to her explanation that she was afraid of needles by placing vials of Dese'Rae's blood on her own stomach.

The three pages of her discharge papers described depression, described 'abrasions,' and gave her a number to call to follow up with someone within 24 hours: 000-000-0000.

Dese'Rae could tell that the hospital was over-crowded and she didn't want to be there any more than she felt the staff wanted her to be there. She says she lied her way out.

The only thing the Tennessee facility did right for her was to require that she stay the night with a friend.

PEOPLE ARE THE BEST SUICIDE PREVENTION

Instead of calling her abusive girlfriend, Dese'Rae called the one friend that her partner wasn't also close to ('because she thought I was sleeping with her,' Dese'Rae add) and stayed the night with her.

The friend was kind, and listened, but Dese'Rae needed to get further away. She spent three weeks in Texas with her best friend, who helped her 'disentangle' her life from her abusive partner by getting distance, and getting back to the basics, like opening an independent bank account.

'I didn't have insurance, I was not on meds and I had no therapist. A lot of people can't do those things. We kind of know "you've got to get treatment," but we don't talk about the other ways you can get that,' Dese'Rae says.

'To me, that' - having a friend to be around - 'is what saved my life. I think we discount the importance of the people around us.

'When you're suicidal, for a lot of people, isolation isn't necessarily real - it can just be psychological isolation - but you feel misunderstood, like no one is there, even if you have a huge support system.'

Today, Dese'Rae is happily married with one son and is currently pregnant. She photographs and interviews suicide attempt survivors on her website, Live Through This

But the 'reaching out' part 'has to come from both sides,' says Dese'Rae, who recognizes the importance of asking for help, but also sees that putting the onus to seek help on people in crisis is a tall order.

'The most dangerous time is when someone is just out of the hospital. That first week or month or so tends to be one of the highest times when somebody might attempt,' explains Dr Lezine.

'Getting somebody into quality outpatient care is one of the best things you can do for them, but it's also one of the hardest.'

Wait times for even a referral to such a clinic often stretch to over a month, when would-be patients are 'struggling the most,' Dr Lezine says.

In better hospitals than the one Dese'Rae found herself in, Dr Lezine says that follow-up calls and partnerships with crisis centers can help to keep suicide attempt survivors from being isolated and unmoored after discharge.

Peer bridging in particular 'puts them in contact with somebody to come an meet them, somebody who has lived through a suicide attempt or experience and tells them what to expect going forward and stays in contact with them in the time between getting out of hospital and getting into care,' or simply getting on with life, says Dr Lezine.

Kevin has made a remarkable recovery. The only physical signs of his suicide attempt are the scar that still runs through his hair and his lost sense of smell (he likes garlic a lot now because he gets a hint of the scent) but he continues to talk about depression with friends and family

'The next best thing is when family or friends find out about warning signs and how to treat people with care and respect and dignity, though I understand it's often hard to balance between walking on egg shells versus taking care of them.'

Kevin was required to do a few sessions with a therapist after he got out of the hospital - having made a truly remarkable full recovery - but he was certain therapy was not for him.

Instead, he's turned to his family and friends.

'One of the biggest things people have done for me is just to make the time and the effort to hang out. If somebody you know a break up or something, just be like, "hey let's go grab a beer, or a coffee,' Kevin says.

He still feels the pull of depression, but 'the sense of camaraderie that I have with my friends that I didn't feel like I had before helped me to recover to where I am today,' which is walking, talking, working a new job, driving his beloved truck and living in a new house he just bought

The only thing he's missing is a sense of smell.

These days, Kevin makes sure to ask his friends what's going on when they seem to be having a hard time, and he is exceedingly open about his experience, because he knows it could save a life.

'I think if I had a friend that had been through what I have been through, and they were like how I am now, I think that would have drastically improved where my mindset would be,' he says.
An opioid epidemic appears to be looming in Mexico as pharmaceutical companies push addictive prescription drugs on the aging population to offset crackdowns on prescriptions in the US and Canada.

Historically, drug abuse of any kind - and particularly of opioids - has been low in Mexico compared to its northern neighbors, which have the two highest prescription rates in the world, and some of the highest opioid death rates.

It's largely due to cultural factors: in Mexico, pills have always been hard to get hold of, and seen as something for the terminally ill or severely sick, not (as in the US and Canada) as a silver bullet pick-me-up for even the slightest of illnesses.

But according to a new report, published today in the American Journal of Public Health, recent changes in legislation and insurance coverage have opened the gates for the same players to perform a sequel.

The country's elderly population is set to more than double in the next 12 years - and experts believe that is providing pharmaceutical companies with a clear target to put more pressure on the Mexican market.

Deportation, heroin use, and methadone treatment centers in Mexico, 2016. The country's low rate of heroin use has long been confined to the north. But opioid prescriptions are set to increase, and without measures to curb it, that could drive up the rate of addicts

Dr David Goodman-Meza, the lead author of the study who has worked as a clinician in both the US and Mexico, says Mexico is at a turning point, much like the US in the 1970s: opioids are not yet a problem, but could well be soon.

'Mexico is in a great position to expand opioids for those who need it but to avoid the same fate as the US and Canada,' Dr Goodman-Meza, a clinical instructor in the UCLA Division of Infectious Diseases, told DailyMail.com.

While heroin production is rife in Mexico (produced in and exported from 26 of its 31 states), drug use has always been low.

Alcohol aside, just 2.9 percent of Mexicans aged 12 to 65 used illicit drugs in 2017, and the vast majority was cannabis use. Comparatively, 9.4 percent of Americans that age used drugs last year. Heroin use is higher in certain areas (particularly along the northern border, which accounts for 10 percent of Mexicans in rehab for heroin addiction).

But the opioid epidemic that is still consuming the US - driving its life expectancy down for two consecutive years - didn't start on the street with illicit drugs; it started in doctor's offices.

And that, again, is where Mexico differs.

Dr Goodman-Meza has first-hand experience of the stark difference in culture.

'When I did my medical training in Tijuana [around 2011], we would never prescribe opioids,' he explained.

'It was a very rare experience [to prescribe opioids]. Maybe for some cancer patients, but it was very rare, and even rarer in the outpatient setting.'

What's more, the general population didn't seek them out.

'In the lay community, because opioids have never been a thing down there, people just don't know about them. In Mexico, the only opioid is tramadol, which is one of the weaker opioids.'

When he got to New York for his internal medicine training in 2013, it was like a switch flipped.

'I saw the complete other side of what opioid prescriptions were in the US,' he said.

DRUG OVERDOSE DEATHS RISE AGAIN IN THE U.S., CDC REPORT In 2017, 70,237 people died of drug overdoses in the US, a CDC report revealed on Thursday. That is a nearly 10 percent increase from 2016. Fentanyl, the synthetic opioid 100 times stronger than morphine, was the driving culprit, alone accounting for a 45 percent increase in deaths between 2016 and 2017 Deaths involving synthetic opioids like fentanyl increased by 45 percent between 2016 and 2017. The majority of fentanyl, and precursors used to make the drug, come from China. US Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar insists the tide has turned and that statistics from next year will show a downturn. But experts say that after legislation in several states set limits on prescription painkillers, users turned to illicit opioids like fentanyl to feed their addiction, worsening the already deadly epidemic. Advertisement

'For most of my patients, I was prescribing opioids. They were just long-standing prescriptions they'd been on for ages.

'It was around then when we [the medical community] started being concerned about this and started to try stopping the prescriptions.'

Part of the reason why things look so different either side of the border is down to regulation and pricing.

Mexico's regulatory system moves at snail speed to approve insurance coverage for medication.

While that can be agonizing for people with chronic diseases, waiting for unapproved treatments, it has been something of a blessing for the general, healthy population.

Getting hold of morphine, oxycodone, hydrocodone, and other highly-addictive painkillers is difficult and expensive.

Dr Goodman-Meza's essay, researched with colleagues at UCLA, UC San Diego, Mexico's National Psychiatry Institute and the Mexican National Center of HIV/AIDS, tracks how that came to be.

He points out, morphine was first regulated in Mexico in 1988, and the next couple of years saw the expansion of pain clinics, which gained permission to administer the drug. But that progress dried up in the early 90s, and since then, not much has changed in terms of who can prescribe it.

In the US, there isn't much story to tell: there was never any real resistance to the promise of a pill that fixes literally any kind of pain. For doctors and patients alike, it was a God-send.

Prescriptions were dished out for surgery patients, women after a Cesarean section, the millions of Americans who suffer back pain, arthritis sufferers - anyone.

The rise in prescriptions was immediately followed by an uptick in illicit drug use, and it soon became clear that hard-up patients would get hooked on their prescribed drugs, but instead of paying a hefty co-pay at the pharmacy, would turn to cheaper, street-cut dope.

The opioid epidemic was first declared in the US in 2013, decades after it was set in motion.

Now, prescriptions are finally on the downturn - after five years, and tens of thousands of deaths. But that can't reverse how many drugs were released into US homes and streets. Last year, drug overdoses went up again, largely driven by illicit drug use (mainly fentanyl).

Two things have changed in Mexico recently that make it more fertile ground for the same thing to happen.

In 2015, two years after the US declared an opioid epidemic, Mexico relaxed its laws on prescriptions, under pressure from human rights groups on behalf of chronic pain patients.

Seguro Popular, a public health insurance service, has also extended coverage for four different types of opioids, meaning the drugs are no longer as wildly expensive as they were before.

It's a catch-22 for doctors: some people need opioids, and the benefits outweigh the risks. For most of the people consumed by the epidemic in the US, the risks far, far outweigh the benefits.

But Dr Goodman-Meza warns there are some caveats that need to be filled to prevent a pill mill. For example, only 10 percent of Mexican physicians and dentists are trained on how to prescribe opioids; there are little to no surveillance systems to monitor opioid prescriptions and misuse; there are few rehab facilities for addicts.

One of the biggest issues is that, in Mexico, there is no equivalent to the Sunshine Act, which forces manufacturers to disclose any payments or gifts they've made to doctors or hospitals.

'There's a balance,' he says. 'These are important and effective drugs for treating certain kinds of painful illnesses. These are medications that you should be able to give to patients who need them.

'The ongoing concern is when the balance gets tipped and you're prescribing to patients at risk of addiction or who don't need them. When you're starting to prescribe them to people with muscularskeletal conditions or common back pain, that's when you have a problem.'

Mexico, he says, needs to learn from its neighbor's tragic past and present.

But the US has a role to play, too.

'This is potentially a joint epidemic,' he says. 'The US shares responsibility because those companies are US-based. The US should provide resources, training, funds and infrastructure for the war against drugs in Mexico.'
A mother-of-two has two has defied the odds and survived stage-four cancer after finding a drug trial online.

Heidi Spencer, 45, now claims to be symptom-free, despite being told by the NHS she had six to 12 months to live.

The NHS offered her palliative chemotherapy to give her extra time with her family, who live in Burland, Cheshire.

But she went online and found US company FoundationOne, who offered a test which revealed the drugs she needed to get rid of her 25 tumours in three months.

FoundationOne's test looks at the genetic profile of a patient with a tumour, and then notifies them of the correct drug-targeted treatment.

Heidi Spencer, 45, is symptom free of stage-four cancer after finding a trial online. The NHS told her she had six-12 months to live and offered her palliative chemotherapy to give her extra time with her family, including sons William, seven, and Lewis, four

Mrs Spencer, from Cheshire, was diagnosed with stage-four lung cancer on Mothers' Day 2017, which had already spread to her bones and brain, where there were 25 tumours (pictured with Antoinette Sandbach, the Conservative MP for Eddisbury)

'If I'd relied on NHS advice and their standard of care I would be dead now': Mrs Spencer is relieved she took matters into her own hands and found treatment for her cancer online

Mrs Spencer, a business analyst, told The Sun: 'If I'd relied on NHS advice and their standard of care I would be dead now.

'I owe my life to those tests and to not always listening to the doctors.'

What is lung cancer? Lung cancer is one of the most common and serious types of cancer. Over 41,000 people are diagnosed with the condition every year in the UK. There are usually no signs or symptoms in the early stages of lung cancer, but many people with the condition will eventually develop symptoms including: People with these symptoms are advised to visit their GP. Source: NHS Choices Advertisement

Mrs Spencer began experiencing numbness in her right leg last year. What was to come on Mother's Day was devastating news.

She had stage-four lung cancer, which had already spread to her bone and brains, where 25 tumours had grown.

To her horror, the NHS told Mrs Spencer she had limited time left, six to 12 months, with her husband, David, 39, and their two boys, William, seven, and Lewis, four.

She took matters into her own hands by searching the internet for a treatment that would save her life.

Mrs Spencer came across FoundationOne, a US company that offers a test that costs 3,000. It would analyse all the relevant genes for tumours which would reveal the exact targeted therapy she would need.

Mrs Spencer, with her four year old William, took the test FoundationOne, which found she had five mutated genes. Treatment was available, which she had at The UK's leading cancer treatment clinic, The Christie Manchester,

Mrs Spencer, who's cancer is now under control, made a Facebook video featuring her husband, David, 39, and their two sons, to raise awareness and funds for her treatment

The company, which only launched in 2012, has tested 200,000 patients already, matching them to targeted therapies and clinical trials.

The revolutionary test found five of Mrs Spencer's genes had mutated. Of these, two have treatments available, to the families relief.

Mrs Spencer only needed to travel 40 minutes away to Withington, Manchester, home to the UK's leading cancer treatment clinic, The Christie.

Within three months her brain tumours had vanished  and the tumours in her bones and lung are in remission or have shrunk.

She was given life-saving drugs - it is unclear which ones - as well as targeted radiotherapy.

Now, she has no symptoms of her cancer, although she is not cured, according to reports.

Consultant at The Christie, Matthew Krebs, said: 'We have to be reserved when delivering advice to patients  as not everyone will benefit.'
Health Secretary Matt Hancock has been accused of breaking ethics rules after he praised the private health firm app Babylon.

Mr Hancock claimed he has 'become known for using the app' while speaking to the Evening Standard in an article published 'in association' with Babylon GP At Hand.

A source has insisted the Cabinet Minister did not know the feature, which a critic has called 'embarrassing', would be sponsored by Babylon.

Labour Shadow Cabinet Minister Justin Madders has reported the incident to Theresa May and requested an investigation into whether Mr Hancock received any 'gift, hospitality or payment for being interviewed'.

The controversial app charges users 9.99 for fast-track treatment and receives NHS funds for every patient it treats. But some have questioned how accurate it is, calling Babylon 'McDonald's medicine'.

Health Secretary Matt Hancock has been accused of breaking ethics rules after he praised the private health firm app Babylon. The incident reportedly goes against the Ministerial Code. Mr Hancock is pictured arriving for a cabinet meeting at 10 Downing Street on Monday

The Ministerial Code states ministers should not 'normally accept invitations to act as patrons of, or otherwise offer support to, pressure groups, or organisations dependent in whole or in part on Government funding'.

It adds: 'Ministers should take care to ensure they do not become associated with non-public organisations whose objectives may in any degree conflict with government policy and thus give rise to a conflict of interest.'

In a letter passed to HuffPost UK, Mr Madders told the Prime Minister: 'I am writing to express my sincere concern that [Mr] Hancock may be in direct contravention of the Ministerial Code.

Controversial health app Babylon charges users 9.99 for fast-track treatment and receives NHS funds for every patient it treats

'Promoting pay-for-access health products, which Mr Hancock's comments would appear to amount to, subverts the objective and principles of a National Health Service, free at the point of use and open to all regardless of means.

'Would you please investigate whether the Rt Hon Matt Hancock received any form of gift, hospitality or payment for being interviewed for this newspaper advertorial?'

In the article, Mr Hancock praised the app for allowing more people to visit their GP and said the 'efficient' technology should be 'embraced'.

An online version of the article, which featured in the Future London Health Supplement, states it received 'financial support' from the app.

Mr Hancock was previously special adviser to the former chancellor George Osborne, who is now editor of the Evening Standard.

Maxine Mackintosh, a PhD student in data science & dementia at UCL, called the article 'embarrassing' for 'dangerously blurring personal use of a service in a sponsored feature'

ONE IN FOUR GPS WOULD CONSIDER QUITTING THEIR JOBS TO WORK FOR A HEALTH DIAGNOSIS APP One in four GPs would consider quitting their jobs to work for a health diagnosis app, research suggested in July 2018. Improved pay is a key driver behind doctors considering working for controversial online private providers such as Babylon Health, a survey found. In 2018, an NHS consultant claimed he tested Babylon by pretending to have a nosebleed with reduced sexual desire. The app concluded he was likely suffering from erectile dysfunction, which he called a 'risk to patient safety'. Although Dr Krishna Kasaraneni, from the British Medical Association, claims most doctors prefer face-to-face consultations within the NHS, she adds many medics are increasingly frustrated by 'unmanageable workloads' and 'chronic underfunding'. Babylon, which offers both a private and an NHS service, reportedly pays its 200 GPs a full-time salary of around 90,000 to work from home or 108,000 if office based. Although an attractive option for some, other GPs dismiss such services as 'McDonald's medicine'. Yet 63.16 per cent of the 760 GPs surveyed by Pulse said they would not consider working for such apps due to them being 'high risk' for patient safety and 'unethical'. Advertisement

A Department of Health spokesperson said the Health Secretary has no alliances to any particular company or brand.

He instead champions a range of technologies that could improve patient outcomes, free up doctors' time and make money go further, the spokesperson added.

The Department for Health and Social Care, and Babylon, declined to comment when approached by HuffPost UK.

A representative from the Evening Standard stated the interview was carried out according to the paper's 'editorial judgement' and was not an advert.

This comes after Mr Hancock called Babylon 'revolutionary' in an interview with The Telegraph two months ago and said it should be available to 'all'.

He spoke at the company's offices in Chelsea that same month.

Documents released to the Health Service Journal under the Freedom of Information Act in August also revealed Babylon's CEO Ali Parsa was among the first technology executives to meet Mr Hancock within days of his appointment as Health Secretary.

GP At Hand is available to those who live and work in London, and is classed as a full NHS GP practice.

Babylon, which offers both a private and an NHS service, reportedly pays its 200 GPs a full-time salary of around 90,000 to work from home or 108,000 if office based.

Although an attractive option for some, other GPs have dismissed such services as 'McDonald's medicine'.

Earlier this year, an NHS consultant claimed he tested Babylon by pretending to have a nosebleed with reduced sexual desire.

The app concluded he was likely suffering from erectile dysfunction, which he called a 'risk to patient safety'.
A 15-year-old cancer patient was left in joyful tears when she returned to school - to a surprise party telling her: 'you're cancer-free'.

Emily Sadler was diagnosed in March 2017 with thyroid cancer, which often carries no symptoms and rarely affects people under the age of 30.

After more than a year of grueling surgeries, chemotherapy and radiation therapy, Sadler's tests came back all clear - but the nurses didn't tell her directly.

Emily had always said that, if she did beat it, she wanted to celebrate big. So her mother kept it a secret for a few days, coordinating with her teachers and friends at Raytown High in Missouri.

Finally, the week before Thanksgiving, a teacher announced that it was time for their yearbook photo - but when Emily arrived in the hall, she was met with roaring crowds declaring her diagnosis.

Emily Sadler was diagnosed in March 2017 with thyroid cancer. The week before Thanksgiving, her school revealed she was cancer-free by staging a surprise party (pictured)

Schoolmates stood with signs, and Emily was told they were going to take a yearbook photo

Treatments to beat the disease, and prevent it spreading to the lungs or brain or liver, are intense

'I went out there, and I cried a lot,' Emily told Fox 4.

'I walked out, and I didn't know what was going on. I was like, 'Oh my gosh.'

'All my best friends were there. All my teachers were there, and my whole family was there. It was just amazing to see all the support I had because they've all supported me through this.'

While thyroid cancer is more common in white females than any other demographic, it typically affects people in their 40s and older.

The average five-year survival rate is 90 percent for all forms of thyroid cancer, and can be closer to 100 percent for young sufferers since it is slow-growing.

The most common way it's detected is when patients develop a swollen throat.

Treatments to beat the disease, and prevent it spreading to the lungs or brain or liver, are intense.

Emily had always said that, if she did beat it, she wanted to celebrate big. So her mother kept it a secret for a few days, coordinating with her teachers and friends at Raytown High in Missouri

Emily's mother brought her whole family - her father Joey, grandparents, teachers, friends, and her brothers Chris, 20, and Tim, 18

Emily was overjoyed, saying: 'It was a great way to tell me. [The tears] really came down. It was like Niagara Falls'

Emily endured more than a year of grueling surgeries, chemotherapy and radiation therapy

Most endure surgery to remove the thyroid, a butterfly-shaped gland at the base of the voice box which is essential for hormone regulation, metabolism and body heat.

The operation takes at least two hours under general anesthesia, carefully extracting the gland from the nerves and vessels. Patients then require two days of supervision in hospital, and will need thyroid replacement drugs for life.

To ensure all the cancer cells are blitzed, most patients - especially those whose cancer has spread - are advised to get radioactive iodine treatment.

The procedure involves ingesting a radioactive form of iodine (iodine 131), which sweeps through the body. The cancer-infected thyroid cells consume the iodine, which kills them.

Essentially, it turns the patient radioactive for a few days, and they remain in quarantine throughout.

Sadler's mother Amy, who is an orchestra teacher at the school where Emily is a sophomore, said she wanted to hold the surprise on Thanksgiving but she couldn't wait that long.

She got Emily's whole family - her father Joey, grandparents, teachers, friends, and her brothers Chris, 20, and Tim, 18.

'I told the whole class that the orchestra was taking a yearbook photo and had Emily taken out for a [mock] rehearsal,' Amy told GMA.

'When she got around the corner, everybody yelled, 'Emily is cancer free' and everybody cried.'

Emily was overjoyed.

'It was a great way to tell me,' she said. '[The tears] really came down. It was like Niagara Falls.'
Charles Dickens loved a party. He was a generous host, serving delight after delight to his guests who stayed long into the early hours.

More, please: The dining room at the Dickens Museum on London's Doughty Street

Please sir, I want some more. More? You bet. Seconds, thirds, puddings, sweets, cheese, glass after glass.

By the age of 30, novels such as Oliver Twist and The Pickwick Papers had made him the most famous writer in the world. On his tour of America in 1842 he was introduced to cocktails and brought them back to London.

In his travelogue American Notes, he wrote: Did I tell you that my landlord made me a drink (brandy, rum, and snow the principal ingredients) called a Rocky Mountain Sneezer? Or that the favourite drink before you get up is an Eye-opener? (rum, orange curacao, egg and sugar). Well all be in need one of those when the party season kicks in.

Milk punch, a gin-based concoction of milk boiled down and flavoured with lemon and nutmeg was one of his favourites. But he also served something called a Timber Doodle.

All the right ingredients: The cellar list from Gad's Place, punch ladles and lemon squeezer on display

While a sherry cobbler crops up in Martin Chuzzlewit, a very large tumbler, piled to the brim with little blocks of clear transparent ice, through which one or two thin slices of lemon, and a golden liquid of delicious appearance, appeared from the still depths below, to the loving eye of the spectator.

This wonderful invention, sir, said Mark, tenderly patting the empty glass, is called a cobbler. Sherry cobbler when you name it long; cobbler when you name it short.

Go to the Dickens Museum on Londons Doughty Street, where the family lived from 1837-1839, and where a new exhibition, Food Glorious Food: Dinner with Dickens, has just opened and youll see the house decorated for Christmas. The dining table is laden with gaudy puddings.

Chin chin: A set of champagne coupes, 72 for six, from The Vintage List

Note the dainty wine glasses which make our pub servings look like flagons and the spoons laid curved side up rather than down, as was traditional for the time.

Three silver punch ladles and a bulky lemon squeezer are on display alongside his cellar list from Gads Hill Place, his home in Kent. Champagne, sherry, Sauternes, Chablis, claret: Dickens lived well.

He ordered food from Fortnum & Mason  the store still has a note from his butler for a Yorkshire pie and cooked ham  and wine from Justerini, now Justerini & Brooks.

At this time of year many of us will be planning our festive gatherings. Our tables might not look so different from the one at Doughty Street. Though we might favour bowls of Quality Street chocolates over dried fruits and nuts.

No, Dickens didnt invent Christmas, but it is thanks, in part, to him that we embrace it with such gusto. The success of A Christmas Carol, which he wrote in 1843, rekindled interest in doing things properly.

Go green: Real trees, mistletoe and holly is better for the environment than plastic decorations

Dickens understood both deprivation and decadence, which is perhaps why he embraced the latter with such enthusiasm.

This year the Victorian look chimes with our consciences. Sprigs of holly, mistletoe and real trees are more environmentally friendly than their plastic counterparts.

If you fancy shaking a Dickensian cocktail, then you might like to update your glassware at the same time. The Vintage List has sets of six champagne coupes in three designs, 72, thevintagelist.co.uk.

For gold trimmings look to LSA International, which has a set of eight tumblers for 50, lsa-international.com.

Or Iittalas classic bobbly glasses, which come in an array of frosty shades, 11.50 for one, skandium.com. William Yeowards crystal is expensive but youll enjoy it year round, williamyeowardcrystal.com.

Set the scene: Nicola Fassano's tableware for The Conran Shop is from 16 for a plate

When it comes to table settings, more is more. Polish the silver. Pans off, tureens on. Candles lit.

Claridges Christmas table settings feature gold chargers, crackers tied with grey ribbons, vases of white roses and table lamps that nod to warmly lit libraries. VV Rouleaux is still the best place for seriously special ribbons, vvrouleaux.com.

Nicola Fassanos tableware for The Conran Shop has a crisp, festive feel. Plates from 16, conranshop.co.uk. While K.H. Wurtzs ceramics for Skandium are beautifully tactile. The father and son team supply the crockery for some of the worlds finest restaurants, Noma among them. Plates from 50, skandium.com.

Supper is served: Pen Vogler with a Dickens-inspired pudding from her recipe book

Mud Australia do gorgeous tableware and your turkey will look the business in their pebble bowl, which comes in a ferny green and rich red as well as white, from 99, uk.mudaustralia.com.

You could even re-create the sort of menu the Dickens family would have enjoyed.

Pen Voglers book Dinner With Dickens: Recipes inspired by the life and work of Charles Dickens, contains his recipe for punch and the familys Twelfth Cake, a January 5th tradition.

 Food Glorious Food is on until April 22, 2019, dickensmuseum.org

Pep up your festive celebrations by taking a leaf out of Dickenss book,
Prime Minister Theresa May is nearing the half-way point in a two-week battle to get her Brexit transition deal through Parliament.

Meanwhile, businesses remain in the dark as to what will eventually emerge  scrabbling behind the scenes to formulate contingency plans that could soften even the most dramatic of Brexits.

A scenario that remains very much in sight is that of a no deal Brexit.

UK supermarkets, which are reliant on the frictionless transportation of food to and from the EU, hope it won't come to that, but have to be prepared... just in case the UK does crash out of the EU on March 29 at 11pm without a deal.

A customs control point at Dover docks - supermarkets fear stock could go off in long queues

As the likes of Tesco, Sainsbury's and Asda have warned over the last year, there could be immediate hold ups at the borders if an agreement is not reached that ensures the free flow of goods from Europe.

Tailbacks are most likely on the route between Calais and Dover, as well as in the other direction between London and what is the UK's busiest port.

The supermarkets are keeping exact contingency plans quiet, claiming that they are commercially sensitive. The British Retail Consortium insists that they are being proactive, however.

Just over 40 per cent of all the UK's food is imported (three quarters of which comes from the EU) meaning that supplies of certain foods  especially fresh fruit and vegetables  could run out within days of Brexit.

EU tariffs may be imposed too, pushing up the price of food and eating into grocers' already wafer thin margins.

Queues of lorries could form in the other direction too on the M20 between London and Dover

In the summer, Sainsbury's chief Mike Coupe was vocal about the possibility of fresh food rotting at borders, while Tesco chief executive Dave Lewis spoke out about tariffs leading to price hikes.

Asda boss Roger Burnley chimed in and said 'any prospect of a hold up  that includes the southern Ireland border  would have very significant consequences' for Walmart-owned Asda.

Concerns about food supplies were widely dismissed as 'scaremongering', with May telling the nation that people needn't worry, nor start stockpiling food.

But as the deadline for Brexit approaches, without much further clarity on what it will entail exactly, UK supermarkets are moving from talk to action.

Fresh food is the main point of concern as it has a limited shelf life and can not be stockpiled

How are supermarkets preparing for a no-deal Brexit?

The British Retail Consortium (BRC), which is campaigning for a deal that safeguards frictionless, tariff-free trade with the EU, claims that 'retailers are doing everything they can to put in place contingency plans to mitigate against the grave effects of a no-deal Brexit'.

And, according to the BRC's head of food Andrew Opie, these damage control efforts have 'accelerated' in the last few months, with grocers taking definitive action to defend themselves from the potential cliff edge.

Speaking to This is Money, Opie says the BRC has been working closely with supermarkets to explore new ways of getting food into and out of the UK and to help keep suppliers prepare for the worst.

But the word on everyone's lips at the moment is 'stockpiling'.

The pitfalls of stockpiling food

Most consumer firms prefer to steer clear of politics, and have remained tight lipped on Brexit, but some have admitted that they are or will stockpile food to help limit shortages.

Tesco's Dave Lewis made waves last month when he said Tesco would start stockpiling dry goods after Christmas unless a deal is struck.

Tesco boss Dave Lewis (above) said that Tesco would consider stockpiling after Christmas

Since then talk of stockpiling has become all the rage.

Majestic Wine said it is piling up between 5million and 8million worth of wine to ensure stock keeps flowing. Likewise, Premier Foods says it is actively storing raw materials  a move that could cost the Mr Kipling-maker as much as 10million.

However, fresh food remains the biggest issue.

As Lewis warned last month, 'the possibility of stockpiling fresh food is very, very limited'.

The same goes for all supermarkets, reliant on perishable fresh food imports that can't be stockpiled. After all, not everything can be grown in the UK all year round.

Aldi joined Sainsbury's and Tesco in pointing to the limitations of stockpiling fresh food

What makes the matter worse, Opie points out, is that Brexit is timetabled for March, when the vast portion of the UK's fresh produce, including soft fruit, tomatoes and lettuces, is imported from the continent and funnelled through Dover.

Another problem with stockpiling is a severe lack of storage space in the UK supply chain.

Sainsbury's, for example, has about 20 distribution centres in the UK that can each hold about a week's worth of food.

And as businesses from a host of different industries, from carmakers to medicine firms, seek to put some supplies in storage, already sparse available warehouse space is quickly drying up.

The Food and Drink Federation told MPs in the Commons business committee earlier this week that all available frozen and chilled space had been taken, speculating that warehoused have been snapped up by Amazon as the online giant mulls launching a full scale grocery offer in the UK.

The Food and Drink Federation implied that Amazon could be holding onto some of the UK's warehouse space, making stockpiling more challenging

So, what else can supermarkets do?

Most firms are trying to keep lids on their contingency plans  however vague  under the veil of commercial sensitivity. But the BRC insists that supermarkets are being proactive.

Some are considering swerving Dover and using alternative ports, such as Southampton and DP World London Gateway instead.

But, this option is seen to be extremely limited, Opie points out, as the UK's other ports are not properly equipped. Firms would need expensive fleets of trucks to take delivery of the containers.

And even then, he says, it wouldn't make up for sheer volume of food imported via Dover.

'At the moment, in the run up to Christmas there are 130 lorries full of citrus fruit going through Dover every day. When we get to those sort of volumes, you're going to lose a big chunk of that capacity,' Opie says.

Some suppliers are even exploring the possibility of buying in new, different fruits and vegetables  ones with a much longer shelf life the could survive a few days longer in transit than, say, strawberries, which typically have around 8 days from being picked to being past their best.

Meanwhile, supermarkets are working closely with their suppliers to help understand the implications of Brexit and iron out any negative impacts, including tariffs, issues with ingredients, packaging materials, labelling and the number of EU staff they employ.

Will it suffice?

Opie fears that, given the prominence of Dover and the looming threat of tariffs, efforts taken by supermarkets will not go far enough in the event of a no-deal Brexit.

'Supermarkets are doing a lot and are as prepared as they can be, but will it compensate for what is likely to be lost? No,' he says.

Brits may have to stomach different foods 'and pay more for it', he concludes.

There are fears that the price of food could go up in the event of a no-deal Brexit

But others worry that supermarkets, like a whole host of other businesses, have not yet done nearly enough to prepare  awaiting more clarity or a definitive answer before map out a course of action.

Speaking as Aldi posted full-year results last month, Aldi's UK boss Giles Hurley admitted that the discounter does not yet have a 'detailed' Brexit plan in place, owing to a lack of certainty around the deal.

And when This is Money asked supermarkets about their individual Brexit preparations, none were too willing to share.

Iceland declined to comment.

A Lidl spokesperson said: 'We have a dedicated task force in place which is engaging closely with the BRC and government departments to ensure that we are kept informed of the latest developments and prepared for various scenarios.'

But the grocer wouldn't go into any more detail.

Lidl has not shared any details of its contingency planning for a no-deal Brexit

And Sainsbury's was unwilling to add to the few lines of detail on Brexit it shared at its half-year results: 'As negotiations continue, the Board will monitor outcomes, assess the impact on customers, colleagues and supply chains and implement an appropriate response.'

That's not to say Brexit isn't a huge priority for UK supermarkets, and they have a right to keep a lid on their plans if they wish.

But 'if ever there was a time to collaborate and share ideas,' one retail advisor said to me this week, 'this is it'.
Tech tycoon Mike Lynch has been charged with fraud in the US over the sale of his software company Autonomy to Hewlett-Packard in 2011.

The charges, which were filed overnight and follow a six-year investigation, include 14 counts of conspiracy and fraud and carry a maximum penalty of 20 years in jail.

The US justice department has accused Lynch and former Autonomy finance executive Stephen Chamberlain of having artificially inflated the company's performance between 2009 and 2011  just before it was sold to HP.

Fraud charges: Mike Lynch, founder and former chief executive of Autonomy

The indictment also says they made 'false and misleading statements' to cover the fact. And that they 'intimidated, pressured and paid off persons who raised complaints about or openly criticized Autonomy's financial practices and performance'.

But Lynch's lawyers said the indictment was a 'travesty of justice' and that he would contest the charges.

'These stale allegations are meritless and we reject them emphatically', Chris Morvillo of Clifford Chance and Reid Weingarten of Steptoe & Johnson said in a statement.

They added: 'There was no conspiracy at Autonomy and no fraud against HP for the DoJ to take up. HP has a long history of failed acquisitions. Autonomy was merely the latest successful company it destroyed. HP has sought to blame Autonomy for its own crippling errors, and has falsely accused Mike Lynch to cover its own tracks.

'Mike Lynch will not be a scapegoat for their failures. He has done nothing wrong and will vigorously defend the charges against him.'

It comes as Sushovan Hussain, Autonomy's former chief financial officer, was convicted of fraud in a US court earlier this year.

Lynch, who co-founded Autonomy in 1996 and was once dubbed Britain's answer to Bill Gates for turning the firm into a world leader, sold it to HP for $11billion (7.1billion) in 2011.

Mike Lynch,But a year later HP wrote off three-quarters of Autonomy's value and accused executives, including Lynch, of having cooked the books to make it look more valuable than it was.

Hewlett Packard Enterprise issued a statement saying: 'HPE believes that the facts uncovered during the course of this matter will further demonstrate the harm that was caused by Dr Lynch, Mr Chamberlain, Mr Hussain and others to HP and looks forward to seeing justice served once again'.
An Australian world sporting champion who was locked up in a Japanese jail cell for almost two weeks has offered his advice to a former AFL star who has found himself behind bars in a similar situation.

Motorcycle great Wayne Gardner, who spent 12 days in a Japanese jail cell, said Brian Lake should find a way out of prison as soon as possible.

Three-time Hawthorn premiership defender Lake was detained by authorities following an alleged scuffle at a bar in Osaka on Saturday night, the Herald Sun reported.

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Former motorcycle world champion Wayne Gardner (pictured), who spent 12 days in a Japanese jail cell in 2016, has offered his advice to former AFL star Brian Lake, who has been detained by authorities in the country

'Playing for the volcanos in Osaka! What random stuff you get up to when the wife gives you the ass,' Lake posted on Instagram several days ago. He was detained by Japanese authorities following an alleged scuffle at a bar in Osaka on Saturday

'He needs to get out as quick as he can - even if he has to plead guilty, even if he didn't do it,' Gardner said.

Gardner was locked up in 2016 after being accused of assaulting three men in Motegi, north of Tokyo, following an alleged road rage attack. He denied any involvement in the incident and was eventually released without charge.

He described his time in a Japanese jail as 'the worst period of his life' and said it was 'very tough and strict', with prisoners only allowed to shower once every three days.

Gardner said they were given the same meal to eat for breakfast, lunch and dinner - comprised of a small bowl of rice topped with a pickle - and his pillow was a rolled-up jumper.

He said Lake's best plan of attack was to confess within the first three days of being detained.

'You can't win, even if you are right,' Gardner said.

This is Brian Lake's most recent photo posted on Instagram three days ago, before he was arrested and detained in Japan

Lake's management company, i50, confirmed the 36-year-old had been detained.

'We are still gathering all the information, however, Brian is assisting the authorities with their inquiries,' a statement from the company said.

The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade said they were 'making inquiries about an Australian in Japan who may require consular assistance'.

Lake could be held in jail for up to 23 days.

It is believed Lake, who retired from the AFL in 2015, was involved in a push-and-shove but did not throw any punches, sources told the Herald Sun.

It has also been reported Lake's arrest came after a 'Sportsman's Night', which was held at an Irish pub.

The father-of-three had been in Japan playing in an Asian AFL tournament for the Indonesia Volcanoes, which his team won.

Brian Lake played 251 AFL games and won three premierships with the Hawthorn Hawks in his final three seasons

Lake had recently been in Fiji filming an upcoming season of Channel Ten's Australian Survivor with former rugby league and union international Mat Rogers and former special forces commando Damien Thomlinson.

A Ten spokeswoman told Daily Mail Australia late Monday afternoon she was unaware of reports regarding Lake.

Lake's most recent Instagram post was three days ago where he posted a video of a Japanese man named Yoshi singing the Hawks song in a bar.

Earlier in the day, he posted a photo celebrating with a trophy won at the event.

Lake played 251 AFL games, including 197 for the Western Bulldogs, before he moved to Hawthorn in 2013 where he won three successive premierships until he retired at the end of the 2015 season.

He won the Norm Smith Medal for best on ground in the Hawks' 2013 grand final win against Fremantle.
A former bikie leader who converted to Islam has fronted a video endorsing a Sharia-compliant cryptocurrency.

Vince Focarelli, who survived five attempts on his life as the Adelaide-based leader of the Comancheros, is the new frontman for Bayan Token, a Singapore-based Islamic finance group.

The 42-year-old reformed bikie is introduced in a three-minute YouTube clip as a 'devout Muslim and social worker' who was previously a 'gang leader'.

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A former bikie leader who converted to Islam has fronted a video endorsing a Sharia-compliant crypto currency

'My name is Vince Focarelli and I believe in God,' he said, after delivering a brief introduction in Bahasa Indonesian.

'I believe that when you do good, goodness will come back to you.'

The Italian-born former underworld figure describes the cryptocurrency as something that delivers 'goodness at every turn' and has 'real world benefits and a 'higher purpose'.

'It is backed by ongoing projects that are strong in Islamic principles,' he said in the video.

Vince Focarelli, who survived five attempts on his life as the Adelaide-based leader of the Comancheros, is the new frontman for Bayan Token, a Singapore-based Islamic finance group

The man with a colourful past said the world's growing Islamic population meant there would be more demand for halal products, that were permissible in Islam.

Last year, he fled South Australia to live in Malaysia to escape a criminal-related deportation.

The Kuala Lumpur-based man, who describes himself as a devoted Muslim, has a wife and a stepdaughter in Adelaide.

The man with a colourful past said the world's growing Islamic population meant there would be more demand for halal products, that are permissible in Islam

Last year, he fled South Australia to live in Malaysia to escape a criminal-related deportation

The former Comancheros leader narrowly escaped time in a detention centre over criminal activity, but says his underworld ties are now behind him

The former Comancheros leader risked having his Australian visa cancelled under the Migration Act, which gives Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton the power to deport a non-citizen that is regarded as a threat to community safety.

Fearing it would be revoked and he would be sent to a detention centre, he left the country before an adjudication process could begin.

Focarelli, who became a Islam devout in 2012, survived five assassination attempts at the hands of gangland rivals - the last attempt killing his stepson.

Once a man who's life literally involved dodging bullets, Focarelli has now devoted himself to caring for his mother (right), who has stage-four cancer

Now, he encourages others to celebrate the beauty of life, and hopes to reopen his old Adelaide restaurant, La'Fig Cucina, in Kuala Lumpur.

The daunting task won't be the same without his wife though, given she was 'the backbone' behind their Carrington Street establishment.

Once a man who's life literally involved dodging bullets, Focarelli has now devoted himself to caring for his mother, who has stage-four cancer.
A 65-year-old Malaysian drug dealer dubbed the 'Iceman' has been sentenced to death after he hired a man to smuggle nearly 300 kilogrammes of crystal meth in Southeast Asia's 'Golden Triangle'.

Tun Hung Seong was handed the death penalty by a court in Thailand today, after he was convicted of running a narcotics network that funnelled huge profits into legitimate businesses.

He was arrested at Hat Yai Airport in April last year after Thai cops received a tip-off that he had hired a man to smuggle the crystal meth - known as ice - through the violence-scarred south.

Tun Hung Seong was today put on death row by a court in Thailand, after he was convicted of running a narcotics network

Thai law enforcement standing behind packages of 'Ice' or crystal meth, and ketamine during a press conference at the Office of the Narcotics Control Board in Bangkok

Tun Hung Seong, dubbed 'The Malaysian Iceman, pictured in custody following his arrest on suspicion of trafficking methamphetamine from Thailand to Malaysia in April last year

Investigators believe he acted as a gatekeeper to the Malaysian drug market just over the border, and laundered money through karaoke bars, hotels and restaurants.

The Bangkok court convicted Tun on drug trafficking charges alongside two Thai women and a Taiwanese man.

All four were sentenced to death, although the sentences of the Taiwanese man and one of the Thai women were reduced to life imprisonment due to their 'useful' confessions.

Situated along the drug-running routes of the 'Golden Triangle', Thailand provides overland routes for the smuggling of meth from factories in lawless parts of neighbouring Myanmar and Laos, in a trade estimated to be worth $40billion a year.

Drug seizures across the region have shot up to record levels in recent months.

Malaysian authorities said in May that they seized a record 1.2 tonnes of crystal meth from Myanmar hidden in tea packets, believed to be the largest ever in the country in terms of value and weight.

Southeast Asia's Golden Triangle Compared to their ultra-violent Central and Latin American cousins, the drug dealers of Southeast Asia's Golden Triangle use their low-profile to remain beyond the long arm of the law. But they control the world's second largest drug producing region. They do so by manufacturing and moving meth and heroin out off hidden labs in a remote, mountainous wedge of land that cuts across Myanmar, Laos, Thailand and China. Arrests in Thailand and Laos last year shone a rare spotlight on some of the key middlemen pushing product from the Golden Triangle across Asia - including Thai-based Malaysian Tun Hung Seong. Source: AFP Advertisement

Thailand torched more than six tonnes of narcotics in June, most of it meth.

From October to July this year, about 1,705 drug cases were reported in the kingdom, compared to 453 in the same period the year before.

Suspects convicted of serious drug offences face harsh sentences in Thailand in one of its many overcrowded prisons.

The country carried out its first execution since 2009 - when two drug dealers were executed - in June this year, after previously sending signals it would abolish the practice.

Theerasak Longji, 26, was executed by lethal injection at Bang Kwang Central Prison north of Bangkok in June after he was found guilty of murdering a 17-year-old boy in 2012

His death was condemned by human rights group Amnesty International as a 'deeply misguided' effort to reduce crime.

He was the seventh person to be executed by lethal injection since Thailand introduced the method in 2003 to replace execution by firing squad.
Aviation experts have been stunned by the serious safety check that was overlooked on a Malaysia Airlines flight, leading it to make an emergency landing.

The plane left Brisbane at 11.20pm on July 18, and was bound for Kuala Lumpur when it was found that the aircraft still had covers on its air speed indicators, which meant the pilots had no idea how fast they were going during the flight.

An investigation of flight MH134 by the Australian Transport Safety Bureau found that the reason for the loss of airspeed indication was because the pitot probes were covered - to stop wasps building nests inside the aircraft.

The flight, which was carrying 226 passengers, was forced to turn back to Brisbane after dumping a load of fuel over Moreton Bay.

The aircraft still had covers on its air speed indicators (pictured), which meant the pilots had no idea how fast they were going during the flight

The flight which was carrying 226 passengers turned back to Brisbane after dumping a load of fuel over Moreton Bay, and made a difficult landing at the airport (pictured route)

WHAT IS A PITOT TUBE? Pitot tubes were invented by Henri Pitot in 1732.

A pitot tube is a wind tunnel which measures how fast the plane is going.

It is an L-shaped device with two holes on it located on the exterior of the aircraft.

The front hole is placed in the airstream.

The side hole measures the static pressure. Advertisement

It then made a difficult landing at the airport, which left the aircraft's nose wheel damaged.

The report states that after the aircraft initially landed in Brisbane, covers were placed on the aircraft's three pitot probes, located at the front of the plane.

'Subsequent inspections during the turnaround did not identify the presence of the pitot probe covers and they were not removed prior to the aircrafts departure,' the report says.

An issue with wasps at the airport has seen pitot probes being covered while aircraft are on the ground, even during routine turnarounds, to prevent nests being built.

The pitot tubes measure airspeed and altitude, which allow the pilots to know what speed they're travelling at.

Australian Licensed Aircraft Engineers Association secretary Steve Purvinas told The Australian that failure to double check small things leads to 'critical failures'.

'If those checks arent happening, they shouldnt be flying a plane,' Mr Purvinas told the publication.

Chief Commissioner of the Australian Transport Safety Bureau, Greg Hood, said the investigation is ongoing.

'We will be focusing specifically on the procedures for flight crew and ground crew in relation to the pre-flight checks for the aircraft, and also the cockpit warning systems received by the flight crew as they accelerated down Runway 01,' he said.

Pictured are the pitot tube covers that were removed from the aircraft following the flight

Pictured are the pitot covers that were left on the pitot tubes during the Kuala Lumpar bound flight

Mr Hood said that CCTV footage shows that the three pitot covers remained in place as the aircraft pushed back from the terminal and accelerated down the runway.

'Now this limited the amount of information  the critical information  that is available to flight crew during the take off and in fact during the short flight, up to 10,000 feet, and then the return to Brisbane Airport where the aircraft landed safely,' he said.

This is not the first time that the airline has made headlines.

In March 2014, Malaysia airlines flight MH370 disappeared while flying from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing.

An extensive search for the missing flight carrying 239 passengers was called off on May 29, the the US-based firm Ocean Infinity.

Malaysia is expected to release a report into the disappearance of MH370 on July 30, according to ABC News.

Another Malaysia Airlines flight made headlines in July 2014.

Flight MH17, which was flying from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur, disappeared in July 2014. It was reportedly hit by a Russian-made Buk missile over Ukraine, killing all 298 passengers, including 38 Australians on-board.

Australia has requested negotiations with Russia regarding the incident.
A Tennessee mother, so convinced her daughter was murdered she launched her own investigation, has uncovered a litany of failures by officers first on the scene and compelling scientific evidence that proves her death could not have been the accident cops say it was.

It has been three years since 21-year-old Lauren Agee was found floating face down in a cove on Center Hill Lake in DeKalb County, Tennessee.

She had been camping with four others - Hannah Palmer, now 26, Aaron Lilly, 25, Chris Stout, 26 and Brixner Gambrell, 28 - on a nearby cliff the night before.

In an explosive interview with DailyMailTV, Lauren's mother Sherry Smith, 51, has shared the shocking details she has uncovered about the botched investigation.

She has told why she brought, and last month dropped, a $10 million wrongful death lawsuit against the four 'friends' with her daughter that night and how they all pleaded the fifth.

And Sherry has revealed her certainty that she is on the cusp of uncovering the truth of what happened to her beautiful, vivacious 'spitfire' of a daughter.

Lauren Agee, 21, was on a trip with friends when she was found floating face down in a cove on Center Hill Lake in DeKalb County, Tennessee on July 24, 2015

Lauren's mother Sherry Smith (pictured together) is convinced her daughter was murdered and has launched her own investigation and brought a $10m wrongful death lawsuit

Speaking to DailyMailTV, Sherry said: 'I have been portrayed as a crazy, hysterical mom who won't go away and can't accept it was an accident. 'It's been three years and there is always the hope in the back of my mind that somebody is going to tell the truth'

Sherry said: 'I believe my daughter was murdered and I believe DeKalb County [investigators] did nothing. Their attitude was to get it done as quickly as possible and get on with their lives.

'I have been portrayed as a crazy, hysterical mom who won't go away and can't accept it was an accident. But it was not an accident and I will not go away and be quiet.'

She admitted: 'It's been three years and there is always the hope in the back of my mind that somebody is going to tell the truth, somebody is going to have a conscience [and] do the right thing.'

All Sherry ever wanted, she said, is for her daughter's death to have been properly investigated.

Instead, when deposed under oath lead investigator, Jeremy Taylor, was forced to admit he had done 'nothing.'

The crime scene was trampled and unprocessed, key texts were erased from Lauren's phone, 911 audio was lost, notes were not taken, recordings were never made of interviews with witnesses and not a single DNA test was conducted.

Sherry had never heard of WakeFest until the day in July of 2015 when her daughter told her she was planning to attend - a weekend of wake boarding and partying on the lake at Pates Ford Marina some 80 miles southeast of Nashville.

Lauren told her mother she was going with a group including her friend Hannah Palmer - a girl who lived two blocks away and whom she had known for a decade.

Sherry admitted she had misgivings. She didn't view Hannah as a friend who had her daughter's best interests at heart.

She said: 'But Lauren was 21 years old and she could make her own decisions. So I said, ''Okay'' against my better judgment.'

Lauren had been sleeping in a hammock alongside Chris Stout (above), who claimed he hadn't felt her get up but she must have done so, drunkenly perhaps, needing to pee and fallen from the cliff and into the water below

Lauren's friend Hannah Palmer (above) told a police officer that she had become concerned because Lauren's shoes, cellphone and purse were all still at the camp but there had been no sign of Lauren

The group of friends told police they were all drunk when they returned to the campsite and Agee fell asleep in a hammock (above) close to the cliff edge with one of her male friends

Lauren only intended to stay for one night, driving out to the lake on Friday, July 24th and returning to her home in Hendersonville the next day when she had plans with her boyfriend, Chase.

Realtor Sherry came home that Friday just in time to cross paths with her daughter leaving.

She recalled: 'We kind of stopped side-by-side and Lauren gets out and runs over and she gives me this giant bear hug. I said, ''Oh honey, be safe, have fun. See you tomorrow.''

'And as she walked away she stopped and turned and goes, ''Well, one last hug mom.'' And she comes back and gave me another one and I just knew something was off.

'I said, ''I love you, I love you, I love you. Lauren be safe, make wise decisions.'''

The next time Sherry saw her daughter it was in a casket.

I woke up and I couldn't go back to sleep. I just had a feeling. It was almost like a panic attack.

Exactly what happened between that last goodbye and the knock at the Smith's door by two Hendersonville Police Department officers early Sunday evening may never be known.

Sherry texted Lauren several times on Friday - checking she had sunscreen and bug spray. Lauren stopped replying that night and Sherry suppressed any worries with the thought that reception out at the lake was poor and, besides, Lauren's phone may have died.

When Lauren didn't return on Saturday and didn't call, Sherry and her husband Mike told themselves she must be having fun and decided to stay.

But by Sunday afternoon, and with still no word to either Sherry, Mike or Lauren's biological father Brian Agee, panic began to set in.

The night before, Sherry recalled, she had a terrible sense of foreboding.

She said: 'From two o'clock to four o'clock in the morning I woke up and I couldn't go back to sleep.

'I just had a feeling. It was almost like a panic attack.'

Sherry and Mike were about to drive out to the lake when the knock came. There had been an accident, they were told, and Lauren was in DeKalb County Hospital.

They made the two hour drive in 90 minutes flat and after an agonizing wait, former DeKalb County officer Jeremy Taylor, who has since moved to nearby White County, delivered the news: 'Lauren didn't make it.'

Detective Jeremy Taylor (left), the lead detective on the case admitted that he failed to talk to witnesses or look for DNA or blood evidence. Dekalb County Sheriff's Patrick Ray (right) conceded in July 2018 that former detective Taylor could have collected more information

Agees family hired a hydrologist who determined that if the young woman fell from the cliff where she and her friends were camping, like Taylors report claimed, it would have been impossible for her body to float against the current (pictured)

He said she had been cliff jumping earlier in the day and knocked her head. He said she maybe had a concussion.

Taylor added that Lauren had been sleeping in a hammock alongside Chris Stout, who claimed he hadn't felt her get up but she must have done so, drunkenly perhaps, needing to pee and fallen from the cliff and into the water below.

Today, Sherry is struck by the fact that Taylor recounted this scenario with such certainty when Lauren's body had only been found a couple of hours earlier.

She said: 'He assumed it was an accident from the start - case closed before it began.'

In her grief and shock, Sherry might have accepted that. But two days after she buried her daughter, she got a phone call that changed everything.

Ryan Melanson, an officer with White County police department, told Sherry he was deeply troubled by the behavior they had witnessed of both the investigators and Lauren's friends

It was from Ryan Melanson, an officer with White County police department. He had been working as security for Wakefest and was there when Lauren was found.

Sherry said: 'He said he had been trying to reach me for days.

He said, ''You don't know me but I need to tell you that your daughter's death investigation was not handled correctly. I want you to know that I think the people she was with are somehow involved in her death.''

'He said I can meet you somewhere, we can talk and I can tell you what I witnessed.'

Ultimately Sherry spoke with Melanson and Detective Chris Yarchuck, also a White County officer who was present that day. Both were deeply troubled by the behavior they had witnessed of both the investigators and Lauren's friends.

Lauren had not been seen for more than 12 hours by the time her body was found around 4pm on Sunday July 26th.

As news of the discovery broke, Hannah Palmer told Melanson that she had become concerned because Lauren's shoes, cellphone and purse were all still at the camp but there had been no sign of Lauren.

Within minutes of Lauren's body being found by two fishermen in a secluded cove, Aaron Lilly and Chris Stout were there paddling towards the body, shouting that their friend was missing and asking if that was a woman's body.

The fishermen were startled by their presence - the police officers both thought it was odd they were first on the scene and they were actively looking for (and apparently concerned about) a friend none of them had reported missing.

Lauren's friends were interrogated, as DeKalb County officer Jeremy Taylor initially claimed. In fact only three brief statements were ever taken from Lilly, Palmer and Stout. None mentioned the fact Brix Gambrell was also there. Pictured: Hannah Palmer's statement

Pictured: Christopher Stout's statement who referenced Lauren as 'the girl'

Pictured: The statement Aaron Lilly gave to police

Within minutes of Lauren's body being found by two fishermen in a secluded cove, Aaron Lilly and Chris Stout were there paddling towards the body, shouting that their friend was missing and asking if that was a woman's body. Pictured: Pates Ford Marina

Officers Melanson was in the same boat as Lilly and Stout when Lauren's body was retrieved. He told Sherry they were acting suspiciously. He said that Lilly seemed to adopt the role of leader, telling Stout to be quiet.

At one point Lilly told Stout to 'stick to the story', the officers recounted to Sherry.

Melanson had shared this information with DeKalb County Sheriff Patrick Ray. When deposed in the civil suit Ray could not remember Melanson's name nor which boys he had been talking about, despite the fact that he interviewed him.

He didn't write anything down, he said, because Melanson 'didn't have anything important to say.'

Sherry listened in horror as she was told how DeKalb County investigators failed to tape off the camp and treat it as a possible crime scene.

No evidence was numbered or bagged. There were no DNA samples taken from under Lauren's nails. There was no rape kit conducted.

The list went on and on. Sherry said: 'They said the officers weren't taking pictures of the scene but they were taking selfies up there.'

To this day Sherry does not know what happened to her daughter's backpack, sleeping bag or any of the clothes packed for that weekend.

Most painful of all, she said: 'That was my baby in the water and they handled her like a piece of meat. They hauled her out with a hook and threw her on a boat like a piece of trash.'

When Sherry started asking questions she learned Lauren's friends had never been interrogated, as DeKalb County officer Jeremy Taylor initially claimed.

Sherry does not know what happened to her daughter's backpack, sleeping bag or any of her clothes. Most painful of all, she said: 'That was my baby in the water and they handled her like a piece of meat. They hauled her out with a hook and threw her on a boat like a piece of trash'

The only statements taken were from Lilly, Palmer and Stout. None mentioned the fact Brixner Gambrell (above) was also there. Gambrell, who was four years older than Laura, wasn't really a friend according to Sherry - nor would she have wanted him to be

Gambrell's Instagram account shows his fondness for German guns and his travels to Paraguay with his father, Michael, 66, (pictured together) where they have family. Descried as a white supremacists to DailyMailTV, Gambrell Sr has the Third Reich Eagle tattooed on his arm

In fact only three brief statements were ever taken from Lilly, Palmer and Stout. None mentioned the fact Brix Gambrell was also there.

Gambrell, who was four years older than Laura, wasn't really a friend according to Sherry - nor would she have wanted him to be.

Gambrell's Instagram account shows his fondness for German guns and his travels to Paraguay with his father, Michael, 66, where they have family.

Descried as a white supremacists to DailyMailTV, Gambrell Sr has the Third Reich Eagle tattooed on his arm, wears clothing emblazoned with the SS ensign and was convicted of shooting dead a black teenager in his youth.

During his trial the jury heard how Gambrell Sr, then 22, picked up his shotgun with the words: 'I'm going to kill me a bunch of n*****s.' He was sentenced to 10 years.

Brix describes his father as his 'best friend,' in an Instagram feed peppered with allusions to Nazi salutes and memorabilia.

Sherry hired 'pit bull' private investigator Sheila Wysocki (above), who brought in expert witnesses who found that Lauren was murdered

By the time Sherry had learned of Gambrell, he had lawyered up and moved out of the state.

Within two months of Lauren's death, Taylor labeled her death accidental and closed the case.

Sherry decided to take matters into her own hands. A friend recommended private investigator Sheila Wysocki, described as 'a pitbull' and her 'best bet.'

Wysocki, also based in Tennessee, initially turned the case down but Sherry persisted. Today Wysocki admitted: 'I don't think I've ever seen anything as egregious as what has happened to this family and this girl.

'Lauren was let down by every single person who was supposed to be there to help her. There wasn't one person who did their job correctly or who looked out for her.'

Wysocki brought in expert witnesses who found, beyond any doubt she said, that Lauren was murdered.

A pathologist found blood in Lauren's throat consistent with choking not 'possible drowning,' as the DeKalb County Medical Examiner found. And Lauren had a broken nose and busted lip - suggestive of an altercation.

And perhaps most damningly, the hydrologist brought in by Wysocki found that Lauren's body would have had to drift against the current to have fallen and been found where she was.

Wysocki began a podcast, 'Without Warning' as an investigative tool detailing her findings and appealing for tips.

In January 2016, Sherry brought a $10 million wrongful death suit against Aaron Lilly, Hannah Palmer, Chris Stout and Brixner Gambrell, in a similar bid to shake out the truth.

She told DailyMailTV: 'I did it as away to subpoena evidence. It wasn't about the money. I just wanted the truth.'

A pathologist found blood in Lauren's throat consistent with choking not 'possible drowning,' as the DeKalb County Medical Examiner found. And Lauren had a broken nose and busted lip - suggestive of an altercation

In January 2016, Sherry brought a $10 million wrongful death suit against Aaron Lilly, Hannah Palmer, Chris Stout and Brixner Gambrell, in a similar bid to shake out the truth

It has been a fraught process. She secured a court order to get audio of all the 911 calls made from the lake but when she arrived to collect the CD she was told they had been lost due to a 'computer glitch.'

The possibility that her daughter had made a call or tried to reach out is one that haunts her to this day.

Sherry said: 'We know from other friends she had messaged saying, ''Come get me, I'm not having fun, people are being mean to me.'' She didn't make a call from her phone but I know my daughter. I know she would have tried to call if she was in trouble.'

Meanwhile all of the kids with her daughter that night pleaded the fifth.

Sherry said: 'They threw her out like a piece of garbage - like a woman can die in the state of Tennessee and it doesn't matter. I owe it to Lauren to show that it does'

During one hearing Hannah Palmer refused to answer direct questions including, 'Did you choke, strangle, or otherwise put your hands round Lauren Agee's throat between July 24, 2015 the evening you were together and the time of her death?' and,'Did you intentionally or accidentally kill Lauren Agee?' a total of 154 times.

Sherry's attorney noted: 'Those aren't hard questions to answer if you're innocent.'

Sherry dropped the suit last month when the judge passed an order banning her from speaking about it publicly.

She said: 'It was never about the money and we were making more progress through tips from the podcast than I ever did in a courtroom.'

Wysocki described the podcast as 'the greatest tool' she has ever used as an investigator. From numerous tips she now believes they have a 'pretty clear idea of what happened.'

According to Wysocki: 'My job is to find out the truth. If Lauren was drunk and fell off a cliff that would be her story. But that's not her story.'

Sherry knows that too much was lost or left undone all those years ago for there to be much chance of ever seeing anybody arrested or charged in connection with her daughter's death. That's not the point for her.

She said: 'I owe it to Lauren to find the truth. That's all I want. Lauren was just at that time in her life when she had finally come into herself.

'She was 21 years old. She had a plan to finish college. She actually wanted to go into the CSI field or law enforcement.'

In a bitter twist Sherry said: 'She had a knack for science and solving mysteries. She was very intuitive and she was just like a light in a dark room.an unstoppable energy.

'They threw her out like a piece of garbage - like a woman can die in the state of Tennessee and it doesn't matter. I owe it to Lauren to show that it does.'

Listen to private investigator Sheila Wysocki's podcast Without Warning surrounding the death of Lauren Agee here.
A second Republican senator has said he will vote against President Donald Trump's nominee to serve as a district judge in North Carolina, likely dooming the prospects of Thomas Farr filling the nation's longest court vacancy.

Civil rights groups such as the NAACP have heavily criticized Farr for his work defending state laws found to have discriminated against African-Americans.

Farr is nominated to serve as a district court judge in North Carolina.

Republican Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina announced on Thursday that he would not vote for Farr. He joins Sen. Jeff Flake of Arizona and 49 Democratic lawmakers in opposing the nominee.

Farr once served as a lawyer for the re-election campaign of Republican Sen. Jesse Helms in 1990.

Thomas Farr (above) is nominated to serve as a district court judge in North Carolina but is facing opposition from two Republican senators and 49 Democratic lawmakers

The Justice Department alleged that about 120,000 postcards sent mostly to black voters before that election was intended to intimidate them from voting.

The postcards targeting black voters said they could be prosecuted and imprisoned for up to five years if they tried to vote in a precinct in which they had lived for fewer than 30 days.

Farr told the Senate Judiciary Committee he was not consulted about the postcards and did not have any role in drafting or sending them.

He said that after he had been asked to review the card, 'I was appalled to read the incorrect language printed on the card and to then discover it had been sent to African Americans.'

A 1991 Justice Department memo, first reported by The Washington Post, raised questions about Farr's claim that he was never consulted about the postcards. The memo said Farr had met with key campaign officials and had advised them 'that a postcard mailing like the mailing conducted in 1984 would not be particularly useful.'

Scott cited the memo as to why he would vote against Farr.

'This week, a Department of Justice memo written under President George H.W. Bush came to light that shed new light on Mr Farr's activities,' Scott said.

'This, in turn, creates more concerns. Weighing these important factors, this afternoon I concluded that I could not support Mr Farr's nomination.'

Scott has supported an overwhelming number of Trump's judicial nominees, but in July, the nomination of Ryan Bounds to serve on the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, was withdrawn after Scott said he 'had unanswered questions that led to me being unable to support him.'

Republican Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina announced Thursday that he would not vote for Farr. He joins Sen. Jeff Flake of Arizona and 49 Democratic lawmakers in opposing the nominee

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer had repeatedly criticized Republicans in recent days for moving forward with the Farr vote.

He said Scott 'has done a courageous thing.'

'Thomas Farr has been involved in the sordid practice of voter suppression for decades and never should have been nominated, let alone confirmed to the bench. Thankfully, he won't be,' Schumer said.

Earlier Thursday, senators had agreed to postpone the vote on Farr until next week. That decision came less than 24 hours after Republicans needed Vice President Mike Pence to cast a tie-breaking vote Wednesday to move Farr's nomination forward for a final vote.

The history of the judicial opening has contributed to the acrimony. President Barack Obama nominated two African-American women to serve on the court, but neither got a hearing.

Republican Sens. Thom Tillis and Richard Burr of North Carolina both supported Farr's nomination. Tillis said earlier in the week he believed that Farr was being treated unfairly.

Scott is the lone black Republican in the Senate. The NAACP and the Congressional Black Caucus had been highly critical of Farr for his work defending stay laws they said suppressed the black vote.

GOP leaders in charge of the North Carolina Legislature hired Farr and others at his firm to defend congressional and legislative boundaries that the state's legislature approved in 2011. A federal court eventually struck some boundaries down as racial gerrymanders and the Supreme Court affirmed that decision.

Farr also helped defend a 2013 law that required photo identification to vote, reduced the number of early voting days and eliminated same-day registration during that period.

North Carolina Republicans said that requiring voter ID would increase the integrity of elections. But the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the state provided no evidence of the kind of in-person voter fraud the ID mandate would address. The Richmond, Virginia-based court said the law targeted black voters 'with almost surgical precision.'

Farr told lawmakers that, as an advocate, he vehemently disagreed with the argument that the state's legislature sought to curtail the voting rights of people of color or any other voter. But, said, 'I am obligated to follow the decision by the 4th Circuit and pledge that I will do so.'
A sculpture of an angel made out of more than 100,000 handed-in knives will travel to Liverpool.

The sculpture was created two years ago by the British Ironwork Centre in Shropshire to illustrate the impact of knife crime.



An emergency room nurse working in Royal Liverpool Hospital campaigned for the 27ft Knife Angel sculpture to spend Christmas in Liverpool city centre.

A 27 foot sculpture of an angel made out of more than 100,000 handed-in knives will travel to Liverpool. The Knife Angel's sculptor said he hopes the statue will tour the nation in an attempt to combat knife violence

Nurse Rob Jackson campaigned for the statue to visit the city as a monument to the devastating impact of knife violence.

Mr Jackson tours schools around Merseyside talking to young adults about the impact of knives and his work in the emergency room with victims.

More than 80 of the angel's knife blade wings are engraved with messages from families affected by knife crime.

The statue will be first seen on the streets of Liverpool, outside its Anglican Cathedral near the city centre. It was installed yesterday afternoon having travelled just under 60 miles from the ironworks

Organisers had to arrange a police escort for the statue to be transported into Liverpool via the Mersey tunnel.

The statue had been made to stand in Trafalgar Square in London. This year, the capital has seen a record number of stabbings, shootings and murders.

But the statue will be first seen on the streets of Liverpool, outside its Anglican Cathedral near the city centre.

It was installed yesterday afternoon having travelled just under 60 miles from the ironwork centre.

When the statue was first built, the British Ironwork Centre had offered to build 150 knife amnesty banks for police forces for free.

Police forces then donated the weapons from the banks to the centre, who used them to create a monument.

The Knife Angel's sculptor Alfie Bradley said he hopes the statue will tour the nation in an attempt to combat knife violence.

An emergency room nurse working in Royal Liverpool Hospital campaigned for the 27-foot Knife Angel sculpture to spend Christmas in Liverpool city centre

Dean of Liverpool, Dr Sue Jones, told the Liverpool Echo the city wanted to show 'solidarity' with knife crime victims.

She said: 'As well as standing alongside all those affected by knife crime we want to urge those who carry knives to recognise the pain they cause themselves and others as we work to a day when we truly see peace in our streets.'
No criminal charges will be filed against any of the 42 people associated with a caravan of Central American migrants who were arrested in a clash that ended with U.S. authorities firing tear gas into Mexico to counter rock throwers.

The decision not to prosecute came despite President Donald Trump's vow that the U.S. will not tolerate lawlessness and after extensive preparations were made for the caravan, including deployment of thousands of active-duty troops to the border.

Charges were not filed because the administration generally doesn't separate families and because Customs and Border Protection didn't collect enough evidence needed to build cases, including the names of arresting officers, according to a U.S. official.

Customs and Border Protection acknowledged that no charges were filed but declined to say why.

Administration officials have portrayed the caravan as a lawless, violent mob, saying there are some 600 people in the group who have a criminal history.

No criminal charges will be filed against any of the 42 people associated with a caravan of Central American migrants who were arrested in a clash that ended with U.S. authorities firing tear gas into Mexico to counter rock throwers

Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen said in a tweet after the Sunday clash that the actions by the migrants were 'dangerous and not consistent with peacefully seeking asylum.'

'The perpetrators will be prosecuted,' she said then.

Sunday's incident occurred at the border in Tijuana, where thousands of caravan members have been arriving in recent weeks after fleeing poverty and violence in Central America.

Many plan to seek asylum in the U.S. but may have to wait months because the U.S. government only processes about 100 of those cases a day at the San Ysidro border crossing in San Diego.

Hundreds of people marched toward the San Ysidro crossing where they were stopped by Mexican police. They fanned out on both sides of the crossing and many slipped through an opening in the border fence or tried to climb over.

U.S. authorities say assailants threw a 'hail of rocks' at agents, striking four who escaped serious injury. That prompted Border Patrol agents to launch tear gas and pepper spray balls to quell the unrest.

Rodney Scott, chief of the Border Patrol's San Diego sector, has said those arrested Sunday for illegal entry included 27 men, with the other 15 being women and children.

Customs and Border Protection, the Border Patrol's parent agency, referred only two cases to the Justice Department for prosecution and charges were not filed because the accused had medical problems that prevented them from being held in San Diego's detention center, according to the U.S. official.

Maria Meza, 35, was pictured running from tear gas with her twin five-year-old daughters Saira ad Cheili by the hand

A Honduran migrant lies on the riverbank as Mexican police move away from tear gas fired by U.S. agents at the Mexico-U.S. border in Tijuana on Sunday

Many others were not referred to the Justice Department because they were children or parents accompanying children, the official said. In June, Trump retreated on the administration's 'zero-tolerance' policy on prosecuting illegal entries by generally exempting people who enter the country in families.

The other adults were not prosecuted because Customs and Border Protection didn't have enough information to pursue charges, including the name of the arresting officers, according to the official, who said it was a chaotic scene.

U.S. authorities are working on a new system to better record evidence if similar circumstances arise in the future, the official said.

The fate of the 42 immigrants remains unclear but Customs and Border Protection said they will face deportation.

'Depending on their country of citizenship and their case's final disposition, the Border Patrol may turn those people over to Immigration and Customs Enforcement,' said spokesman Ralph DeSio.

Lauren Mack, a spokeswoman for Immigration and Customs Enforcement, said the agency could not provide information about the immigration status of the 42 arrested without names because it doesn't track people affiliated with the caravan.

Central Americans are typically turned over to ICE, which flies them back home. Asylum seekers are often released in the U.S. pending the outcome of their cases in immigration court.
A man who saw the fatal shooting of black Chicago teenager Laquan McDonald claims that police waved the witness away that night in October 2014 without questioning him or even bothering to take down his name.

Testifying in the trial of three officers accused of lying to protect Jason Van Dyke, the white officer who shot 17-year-old McDonald, witness Jose Torres on Thursday offered an account that contradicts what the officers wrote in their reports.

Van Dyke - the first Chicago officer to be charged with murder for an on-duty shooting in about 50 years - was convicted last month of second-degree murder and aggravated battery.

McDonald was seen crumpling to the ground in a hail of 16 bullets as he walked away from officers in shocking dashcam footage that stoked outrage nationwide.

Prosecutors are now seeking to show that after the shooting, former Detective David March, former Officer Joseph Walsh and Officer Thomas Gaffney began working to cover up what happened.

Torres told the court he decided to come forward with his version of events after he heard a spokesman for the police union on TV telling reporters that McDonald 'was lunging' at Van Dyke with the small knife the teen was carrying in his right hand.

'I told my wife at that moment: "They're lying,"' he said in his testimony. 'I told her I had to say something. It's eating away at me [and] or the next few days, I couldn't sleep.'

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Jose Torres, a witness to the fatal shooting of black 17-year-old Laquan McDonald in Chicago in 2014, testified on Thursday in the trial of three officers accused of lying about the events to protect Officer Jason Van Dyke, who was convicted of second-degree murder last month. Torres claims that police didn't take down his name or question him after the shooting

Van Dyke, 40, (left) was convicted of second-degree murder for shooting McDonald (right) while on duty in Chicago in October 2014

Shocking dashcam footage captured the moment Van Dyke fired 16 bullets at McDonald

Torres' claim that McDonald was not lunging at Van Dyke matches the dashcam footage that was played repeatedly at Van Dyke's trial last month.

March, Walsh and Gaffney are facing charges of conspiracy, official misconduct and obstruction of justice.

Walsh, who was Van Dyke's partner at the time, and Gaffney were present during the altercation with McDonald, who was high on PCP and popped one of their squad car's tires and slashed the windshield before being shot as he walked away.

March was the lead detective investigating the shooting.

Torres, who was driving his adult son to a hospital the night of the shooting, said it was clear to him that police wanted him to leave after he watched Van Dyke fire 16 bullets, many of them after McDonald had collapsed on the ground.

'When they continued shooting I was upset, and I said why the f*** are they still shooting?' he said.

As he approached responding officers, Torres said a patrolman waved a flashlight at him and gestured for him to leave.

Much of the prosecution's case hinges on the claim that officers didn't take a statement from the sole civilian witness.

Prosecutors are also hoping to submit emails exchanged by the defendants that allegedly provide proof of a conspiracy between the three officers and others that have not been indicted.

Days later he contacted the independent review board that investigates shootings involving Chicago police and met with investigators to tell of what he'd seen, including that McDonald appeared to be walking away from Van Dyke when he was shot.

During an intense cross examination by defense attorneys for two of the officers, Torres on Thursday acknowledged that some of the things he previously said match the officers' reports but not the dashcam video of the shooting.

For example, days after the shooting, Torres told investigators that it appeared to him that McDonald was trying to get up after being shot. The witness told the court he could not remember making that statement.

Torres had also testified in Van Dyke's murder trial, and repeated much of that testimony on Thursday.

The bench trial is set to resume Tuesday afternoon. A judge will determine whether the three officers are guilty.

Torres was driving his adult son to a hospital when he witnessed the shooting last October. He told his version of events to the court on Thursday
The hunt is on for a gunman after a shooting overnight left one man in hospital.

A couple were driving on the Melton Highway, in Melbourne, when the gunman opened fire on their car at 12.40am.

The shaken couple pulled over at the nearby Melton Highway Caltex service station before calling police for help.

A couple who were shot at while travelling on the Milton Highway pulled over to a service station (pictured) and called 000. One man injured in the shooting is in hospital.

The injured man, who is in his 40s, was taken to the Royal Melbourne hospital with non-life threatening injuries and remains in a stable condition.

A female travelling in the car was not injured.

According to a Victoria Police spokesperson: 'Police are yet to establish the exact circumstances surrounding the incident and the investigation is ongoing.

Victoria Police have urged anyone with information or dash-cam footage to contact Crime Stoppers.
Amazon has joined Australia's multi-billion dollar food and grocery market and is selling products 50 per cent cheaper than Woolworths and Coles.

The e-commerce giant is selling a number of household staples at half the price Woolworths and Coles are selling them for.

Amazon is also offering slashed prices on brands such as Huggies, Omo and Finish.

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Amazon is selling groceries 50 per cent cheaper than supermarket giants Coles and Woolworths

Colgate Total toothpaste is sold at Amazon for $3.50 in comparison to $7 at Coles and Woolworths, while Omo laundry powder is sold for $22 versus $30 at the other supermarkets

Huggies nappy wipes cost about $3.99 on Amazon in comparison to $6 at both supermarkets

Currently, Colgate Total toothpaste costs $3.50 on Amazon.com.au but is $7 at Coles and Woolworths.

Huggies nappy wipes cost about $3.99 on Amazon in comparison to $6 at both supermarkets.

Omo laundry powder is $22 compared to $30 and Finish dishwasher tablets are costing $16.99 versus $35.

Amazon, which makes up less than one per cent of the online food and grocery market, grew nearly 40 per cent over the last 12 months.

Woolworths has questioned if Amazon is selling products below cost or whether Australian suppliers are giving them better deals, reports The Australian Financial Review.

Woolworths has made plans to ask suppliers to clarify how their deals work with Amazon early next year.

Suppliers who favour Amazon risk being replaced by rival and private brands if their products underperform in sales in Woolworths stores.

Retailers can delist products from shelves if sales fail to meet targets, according to the Food and Grocery Code of Conduct.

Suppliers risk being delisted by Coles and Woolworths, which account for 69 per cent of the food and grocery market and will have to rely on Amazon.

Despite the competition, a Woolworths spokesperson told Daily Mail Australia the supermarket has said they are always focused on offering competitive prices for their customers.

Woolworths has questioned if Amazon is selling products below cost or whether Australian suppliers are giving them better deals

Market sources said Amazon was possibly sourcing some international brands for cheaper stock.

Suppliers who source international brands risk having Australian consumers complain about the differences in the quality of products and will blame the supplier  as they did when Aldi imported Nescafe from Indonesia and Brazil in 2006.

Coles has said they have ensured the supermarket has sold quality products at an affordable price.

The supermarket has said they are proud of their 'Australian first sourcing policy supporting Aussie farmers and producers'.

'One hundred per cent of fresh meat, 96 per cent of fresh fruit and vegetables and more than 85 per cent of Coles Brand packaged food and drinks are Australian,' a Coles spokesperson told Daily Mail Australia.

The 2018 financial year is the ninth consecutive year of Coles lowering prices for customers, the spokesperson said.

'We understand many Australians face cost of living pressures every day,

'We are absolutely committed to making life easier for our customers by continuing to offer great value across the Coles group.'

Coles supermarket has said they are proud of their 'Australian first sourcing policy supporting Aussie farmers and producers'

Amazon Australia has said they 'obsess over the things' they believe customers 'will always care about' such as 'low prices, vast selection and fast delivery'.

Daily Mail Australia has contacted Amazon Australia for comment regarding the relationship between their company and their suppliers.
Chatty text messages between an alleged Mexican drug trafficker and a young woman accused of trying to import $21million worth of ice into Australia have emerged in court.

Rose Thomas, 25, and her girlfriend Norma Zuniga Frias, 26, were arrested in March after police intercepted a massive shipment of 24 kilograms of meth hidden inside speakers.

Frias, a Mexican national living with Thomas in a share house in Sydney's inner-west, has pleaded guilty to importing a commercial amount of the drug.

Thomas, the daughter of wealthy online publisher Jackie Maxted, faces sentencing next year for aiding and abetting an attempt to possess a commercial quantity of an unlawfully imported drug.

She pleaded guilty on November 7.

Chatty text messages between an alleged Mexican drug trafficker and a Sydney-based woman accused of trying to import $21million worth of ice into Australia have been read out in court (pictured Rose Thomas, 25 left and her girlfriend Norma Zuniga Frias, 26, right arrested in March)

Exchanges between Frias and the alleged associate in Mexico 'Julian' show regular contact, police allege, with the former following orders to book Airbnb's for a drop-off.

One exchange between the pair on Telegram showed Julian claim he had an insider working for Sony who was monitoring the parcel until it was safely delivered - the Daily Telegraph reports.

But Australian Border Force officers intercepted the shipment of ice, removed the drugs from the speakers and replaced them with an inert substance before the delivery went ahead.

Another message between Thomas and Frias on February 20, when the Mexican national said the goods were on their way, showed Thomas was 'scared of this convo'.

Around a month earlier 'Julian' had remarked to Frias they were 'going to be rich' - with the latter posting a money emoji in response, a court heard.

One of the texts exchanged between the alleged associate and Frias (pictured) showed the too talk about the latter buying a mobile phone

Another between the two spoke about how much money Frias would receive for her role

'Julian' had remarked to Frias they were 'going to be rich' - with the latter posting a money emoji in response, a court heard

A message at the end of last year also showed the alleged associate telling Frias to buy a mobile phone so 'they can contact you regarding the parcel'.

Other exchanges prior to the shipment in February showed 'Julian' telling the 26-year-old he couldn't wait till the process was over so they could get paid - adding a few days later as soon it was finished she'd receive $15,000.

Between the delivery and Frias and Thomas' eventual arrest, the pair bought backpacks, screwdrivers and a pot plant from Broadway Shopping Centre.

Thomas and Frias were arrested in March after police intercepted a massive shipment of 24 kilograms of methamphetamines hidden inside speakers (pictured)

Frias (right)moved in April last year from Guadalajara, on a student visa, to Sydney where she was reunited with Thomas (left), who she has known for several years

One message between Thomas and Frias (pictured together) on February 20, when the Mexican national said the goods were on their way, showed Thomas was 'scared of this convo'

They ran a handmade socks label called Chicken Sox, specialising in colourful and quirky pairs for $10 each (pictured)

The pair ran a handmade socks label called Chicken Sox, specialising in colourful and quirky pairs for $10 each.

Meanwhile, Frias produced artwork that mainly focuses on gay rights and sexual themes.

Her portfolio is often posted to her Instagram account, revealing her drawings of naked women and bouncing breast animations.

She moved in April last year from Guadalajara, on a student visa, to Sydney where she was reunited with Thomas, who she has known for several years.

Frias was preparing for her first major art exhibition at a gallery in Marrickville, but she was arrested the day before its opening night during police raids of their share house in the inner-west suburb, and another property in nearby Rozelle.
Incredible drone footage has emerged of an enormous shark lurking just metres from stand-up paddle boarders at a popular beach.

Reed Plummer, a freelance photographer who runs the business Central Coast Drones, told Daily Mail Australia grey nurse sharks, some measuring up to three metres, are regular 'visitors' to North Avoca Beach, north of Sydney.

'With the water getting warmer leading into summer they [sharks] often come in close to shore to feast on schools of fish,' Mr Plummer said.

Martin Axe (pictured on white SUP) gets up close and personal with a grey nurse shark at North Avoca Beach

Grey nurse sharks (pictured) are regular visitors to North Avoca Beach, feasting on schools of fish close to the shore

'I guess you could say it is a safe haven for them.

'Surfers and stand-up paddle boarders often don't even realise how close they are to the [grey] nurses.'

Martin Axe and Simon Turner are the two men on stand-up paddle boards in Mr Plummer's video, and he said both knew the shark was nearby.

'I spoke to both of the guys on social media and they were aware the shark was there, they actually paddled towards it - but kept a safe distance,' he said.

'Grey nurses are the labradors of the sea, they are very timid.

'They certainly seem to like North Avoca, in another video I spotted seven grey nurses across a stretch of about 400 metres, it was crazy.'

Mr Plummer uploaded his latest drone clip to Facebook on Thursday, and it has already chalked up over 58,000 views online.
Federal agents executed search warrants at the City Hall office of a powerful Chicago alderman on Thursday as part of an ongoing investigation, the Chicago Tribune reported.

An unidentified law enforcement source told the Chicago Tribune agents arrived at Ed Burke's aldermanic office Thursday morning, told staff to leave and pulled brown paper across its glass doors blocking the view.

Media photographs showed similar paper across the door of Burke's 14th Ward office on Chicago's Southwest Side.

There were no arrests and none was imminent, the Tribune reported.

Later in the day, the 74-year-old Burke released a statement striking an upbeat tone, saying investigators have also requested information from his offices in previous decades.

'So once again we will be cooperating fully and I am completely confident that at the end of the day nothing will be found amiss in this instance either.'

Federal agents executed search warrants at the City Hall office of a powerful Chicago alderman on Thursday as part of an ongoing investigation

The Democrat, one of the last of the old Chicago machine politicians, has been on the council for half a century representing an area that is now largely Hispanic.

Going back three decades, he has chaired the City Council's finance committee, which makes key budgetary decisions for the nation's third largest city.

Burke is also a partner in a law office specializing in property-tax appeals and its clients have included the Chicago high-rise tower that bears President Donald Trump's name. U.S. Rep.-Elect Jesus 'Chuy' Garcia and other Burke critics in Chicago's Hispanic community have drawn attention to that tax work in a bid to hurt Burke politically.

Garcia issued a statement as news spread about the office raids that called Burke an 'impediment to political progress and community empowerment.'

U.S. attorney's office spokesman Joseph Fitzpatrick and FBI Chicago spokeswoman Janine Wheeler told The Associated Press the FBI was 'executing search warrants at multiple locations' in Chicago. They declined to say whether the target of the warrants was Burke.

A message left at Burke's ward office wasn't returned. There was no answer at his City Hall office. A person who answered the phone at his law office and did not identify herself declined comment other than to say: 'We really don't know what's going on with all of this.'

Burke's wife, Anne Burke, is an Illinois Supreme Court justice. Ed Burke's father was also influential in Democratic circles in Chicago until his death in the 1960s. Other Burke relatives have also been involved in Illinois politics.

A long series of Chicago alderman have faced state and federal investigations going back decades. Since the 1970s, nearly three dozen aldermen have been convicted. A common joke in Chicago is that so many aldermen had gone to prison that when they saw each other behind bars they'd holler, 'Quorum call!'

Federal agents removed computer equipment from Burke's ward office

Brown paper covers the windows of Ald. Edward Burke's office at Chicago City Hall
The tragic death of a teenager celebrating Schoolies on Queensland's Gold Coast is being treated as a suicide, police have confirmed.

Hamish Bidgood, 18, plunged to his death from a 11-storey-high balcony at the Surfers Regent Apartments in Surfers Paradise on Thursday morning.

The teenager, who is from Turramurra on Sydney's north shore, was with a group of mates who had been been ingesting nitrous oxide, known as laughing gas, soon before he fell, just after 5am.

Yet police confirmed on Friday his death was not considered suspicious.

Hamish Bidgood (pictured), 18, plunged to his death from a 11-storey-high balcony at the Surfers Regent Apartments in Surfers Paradise on Thursday morning

The teenager, who is from Turramurra on Sydney's north shore, was with a group of mates who had been been ingesting nitrous oxide, known as laughing gas, soon before he fell, just after 5am

Hamish Bidgood (pictured) fell into the grassed pool area of the Surfers Regent Apartments. Pictured (right) is a balcony from the building

'There is a strong indication that it was a suicide and we're treating it as one,' a police source told Daily Mail Australia.

However the spokesman said police cannot confirm that the teenager took his own life until a full toxicology report has been completed.

Friends and classmates of Hamish have posted tributes on social media.

'Such a good talented kid to be taken away this early, my condolences to all those blessed to have known you. Rest In Peace Hamish mate god has bigger plans for you now,' a friend posted on Facebook.

'Rest easy Hamsterdam. I Love you always brother,' another said.

'Thank you for being an absolute legend and always finding a way to make me smile. I'm gonna miss you and your cheekiness. You'll forever be in our hearts,' a close friend said.

'The world had bigger plans for you bro, rest easy,' another friend said.

Hamish's colleagues at McDonald's also sent their condolences.

'So devastating to hear the news one of my Maccas hires Hamish has loss his life. My heartfelt condolences go out to beautiful parents and brothers Oli and Daniel. To all my Turramurra high peeps sending you love,' one woman said on Facebook.

Bidgood's (pictured) friends have returned home following the tragedy on Thursday morning

'Such a good talented kid to be taken away this early, my condolences to all those blessed to have known you. 'Rest In Peace Hamish mate god has bigger plans for you now,' a friend posted on Facebook

Bidgood reportedly fell into the grassed pool area (pictured) of the Surfers Regent Apartments

Earlier in the night, Bidgood had been filmed by his friends in a chilling Snapchat video captioned: 'This is the beginning of the end for Hamish Bidgood'.

In the video, which has since been deleted from social media, Bidgood can be seen partying with his mates, the Daily Telegraph reported.

Hours later, he fell 11 storeys from the high-rise and died. He had fallen into the grass pooled area of the hotel.

Balcony safety during Schoolies Dangerous behaviour on balconies can lead to eviction and even police arrests. The Queensland Government has issued some tips on balcony safety to keep young people safe during their Schoolies week. Don't sit on, lean over, climb or hang off the side of balconies. Accidents happen  you could slip and fall Never 'room hop' from balcony to balcony. One wrong move could prove fatal Avoid overcrowding. Take it inside or head down to the beach party Don't throw objects  Schoolies is a very busy time and there may be people walking below. Objects thrown or dropped from a height can become dangerous projectiles when they reach the ground Source: QLD Government Advertisement

The tragedy occurred at Surfers Regent Apartments (pictured) in the centre of the Gold Coast

Two police officers attempted CPR before giving way to paramedics who unsuccessfully attempted to revive him.

Bidgood's friends, who were also from Turramurra High School in Sydney's upper north shore, have ended their celebrations early and returned home.

'I'm absolutely gutted,' one of his friends told the Gold Coast Bulletin.

'He was such a great kid.'

Counselling has being offered to fellow school leavers on the Gold Coast following the teen's death.

Bidgood was believed to be celebrating with a friend from Turramurra High School (pictured)

Meanwhile, the 18-year-olds devastated parents, Des and Lyn Bidgood, along with his brothers Daniel and Oliver, made their way to Surfers Paradise on Thursday afternoon.

There are claims he had inhaled nitrous oxide, otherwise known as laughing gas or nangs, before he fell, the Courier Mail reported.

More than a dozen canisters used for administering a 20-second high were found in the vicinity of the hotel.

Police are now preparing a report for the Coroner.

A 17-year-old girl also fell to hear death from a balcony during Schoolies in 2012.

Isabelle Colman fell from the 26th floor of the Chevron Renaissance, only two kilometres from the Surfers Regent Apartments.

If you need someone to talk to, contact Lifeline Australia 13 11 14 or Beyond Blue on 1300 22 4636

 Suicide Call Back Service - 1300 659 467

 Kids Helpline - 1800 55 1800
The love letters waver from passionate to pining to pleading, the overwrought writings of a man tormented by unrequited love. He sleeps with a blown-up picture of the object of his affection in his bedroom and carries at all times a collection of different photos of his beloved, his mind constantly rehashing every kind word, touch or hope he receives in return.

It sounds like the emotional outpourings of a hapless teenager, but the collection of letters  and thousands of pages of a six-volume diary  were written by a man in his late 50s and 60s, a highly intelligent general seeking the affections of a male spy half his age.

The revelation becomes all the more shocking considering the position of the writer on the world stage: he was Robert Cutler, the national security advisor and right-hand man of President Dwight D. Eisenhower  and the person who was instrumental in kicking off a veritable witch hunt for homosexual government employees (as Cutler relentlessly pursued a dashing young man named Skip himself.)

The press dubbed Cutler a Mystery Man, a guardian of state secrets throughout everything from coups in Iran and Guatemala to the Sputnik satellite crisis  an influential individual who made a point of never speaking to the media. But through it all, perhaps the greatest mystery was one he hid from the public: his true orientation and identity.

He was living in the super-heated crucible of the National Security Council at the height of the Cold War; it was certainly a highly pressurized environment, says Peter Shinkle, Cutlers great-nephew and author of a new bombshell book about Eisenhower's staffer. To wrestle with ones homosexuality and sexual identity in that environment must have been extremely difficult for him.

Robert Cutler, right, was a trusted advisor to President Dwight D. Eisenhower, left, helping to reform the national security council and shepherd the nation through everything from the Iran and Guatemala coups to the Sputnik satellite crisis

Cutler, left, was secretly gay, falling in love with a handsome, charismatic young male intelligence officer named Tilghman B. 'Skip' Koons, right, who was half his age

Although the two men were close, spending time and traveling together - with Cutler offering career and financial support, even offering to help Koons pay for a boat, car and apartment - the older man's love was unrequited and at times caused tension, as evidenced by hundreds of pages of diary entries and correspondence pored over by Cutler's great-nephew, Peter Shinkle, who has written a new book about the Harvard-educated lawyer

Shinkles book, Ikes Mystery Man: The Secret Lives of Robert Cutler, takes its title from the very moniker bestowed upon Uncle Bobby by the press at the time  which had even greater resonance given the fact that his private life was so secretive, the author tells DailyMail.com.

Shinkle himself didnt know that Cutler  the youngest of five sons in a successful and influential Boston family  had been gay; his great-uncle died in 1974 and St. Louis-based Shinkle had never met him. The writer was on vacation 12 years ago in Rhode Island with his family, however, when an aunt informed him of the Harvard-educated lawyers sexuality.

A former newspaper reporter for nearly 20 years, Shinkle sensed there was a story  but had no idea, when he started digging, just how tragic and astonishing that story would be.

Cutler, who had a talent for storytelling and poetry in his own right, graduated second in his class from Harvard in 1916  later attending the universitys law school  and served in both world wars before joining Eisenhower on the campaign trail; when the Kansas-born general was elected to the presidency, Cutler became a key advisor, working to reform the National Security Council. He was such an integral part of the White House, in fact, that his photo hung near one of the smaller entrances to the Oval Office.

Eisenhower so respected Cutlers counsel, in fact, that he took to heart one of the advisors suggestions about how best to deliver on a campaign promise to get subversives out of government  subversives which, it turned out, would include homosexuals.

Rather than simply accept new rules about federal hiring - developed by the attorney general to tighten security  Cutler urged the president to implement the broad overhaul of security rules developed under President Truman, writes Shinkle, adding that the Truman rules cited sexual perversion as a factor for investigations to consider when determining whether a federal employee posed a security risk.

This was all happening against the backdrop of McCarthyism and hysteria surrounding Communists and other subversives; there was a fear that gay people would be more susceptible to blackmail by Soviets or other forces and hence posed a risk to national security. Wisconsin Senator Joseph McCarthy jumped at any and every chance to investigate and/or declare people one or the other, posing a loud and disruptive threat to the intended smooth machinations of Eisenhowers government.

Based on Cutlers recommendation, Eisenhower issued Executive Order 10450 on April 27, 1953, which expanded investigations of homosexuals across the federal government, Shinkle writes in Ikes Mystery Man.

Agencies had to establish their own security regulations to implement the order  In addition, the order abolished the requirement that a person be found disloyal in order to be dismissed as a security risk. Eisenhowers order gave agencies authority to dismiss employees suspected of homosexuality whether or not they had done anything disloyal. The order set the stage for inquiries into the private lives of thousands of suspected gays, many of whom were fired or resigned to avoid the pain of an investigation.

Although Cutler was secretly gay, it was based on his recommendation that Eisenhower issued Executive Order 10450 on April 27, 1953, which expanded investigations of homosexuals across the federal government, Shinkle writes in his new book, Ikes Mystery Man: The Secret Lives of Robert Cutler

Cutler's letters to Koons over a period of more than ten years wavered from passionate to pining to pleading; he kept a blown-up picture of the younger man in his bedroom and carried with him a 'pocket book' of other photos of the young intelligence officer

A White House staffer and friend of Cutler's from the Eisenhower campaign named Steve Benedict, center, introduced him to Koons, pictured to the right of Benedict; the two younger men had been lovers and shared a house

Cutler, who died in 1974 at the age of 1978, had before his death gifted his diaries to Koons; when Koons died in 2005, the writings were left to Benedict, pictured - who gave Shinkle access to the extraordinarily revealing diary entries and letters

Some who came under investigation suffered depression or even committed suicide. By October 1953, the US Civil Service Commission reported that the order had led to 58,791 new investigations, with 50 job applicants rejected, 843 employees fired, and 2,283 employees resigning.

Cutler, he writes, showed no sign of concern over 10450s impact on gays and instead remained focused on national security, nuclear weapons, and the struggle against Communism.

Although Shinkle painstakingly reviewed his great-uncles correspondence and diaries  and read Cutlers autobiography  he still tells DailyMail.com: Its difficult to know exactly what Bobby was thinking, because there is simply no record on that.

The very same year that Eisenhower signed the order that led to the persecution of gays in government service, Cutler hired the man who would become the love of his life  albeit a love that was not returned in kind. Tilghman Skip Koons was a handsome, charming, Russian-speaking naval intelligence officer, a former lover of Stephen Benedict, Cutlers friend from the Eisenhower campaign.

As Cutler began spending more and more time with Koons and Benedict and their friends, his infatuation with the young intelligence officer  who had physical relationships with both men and women  began to grow and deepen. Koons was literally half his age, and Cutler was aware that the object of his desire had relationships and friendships with a wide circle; like a lovelorn teenager, however, Eisenhowers right-hand man began recording even the slightest interactions with Koons in his diary.

When Koons drove Cutler home in his Thunderbird after a movie night in July 1957, Cutler wrote: I took his hand our fingers for a moment interlaced. It was at that moment the greatest adventure of my life began: the best, the purest, the most penetrating emotion I ever knew. God keep this spirit always so  remembering every minute of his serenity and serious charm, wanting nothing of life but to have a part of his life.

Desperate confessions of love and longing against a national backdrop of secrecy, fear and persecution 'I lie in bed looking at your blown up picture on the other side of the room. It is a pleasure to see its smile, once more - and now I would like to hear your foot on the stair, and hear your solemn gentle thoughtful voice, and take your hand in mine again ...' -Letter from Robert Cutler to Skip Koons, November 25, 1957 Are you still my friend? ... To see you again, a little while, is like strong drink. -Cutler to Koons, December 4, 1957 Long days and nights pass without seeing each other, talking, touching hands, welcoming the responsive smile, sharing a walk - a meal - a ride: the infinite little things that make life precious and not just routine. In seven months, we've been ten days together. yet out of all the concerns in my world this interest in you and yours predominates. As if some electric current, invisible but sure, pulsed across the sea to communicate between us. I hope this can always be so, and that you will not find I have overidealized. -Cutler letter to Koons, February 9, 1958 I feel in my heart and soul and body a need for him. He does not have any such feeling for me... When I took his hand and held it a moment in mind, when we said goodnight, and kissed the warm strength, he permitted it. There was no counter gesture. Why should there be? Where this is no feeling, there is no overt evidence. Am I really a great fool, a laughing-stock, a silly old broken monument. -Cutler diary entry, January 30, 1959 You never understood (quite) the great passion I have for you. And, as you understand it, you did not like and were repelled by it. You thought it unnatural, unmanly, perhaps a little wrong - though your respect for my life service troubled you on the other side. You wished it would go away. You never realized that it was a great love, something you had a share in and that can't be turned aside without immeasurable harm. You kept away from realization. So it has been thrown aside. And the bloody damage has been done... -Cutler diary entry, July 29, 1960 Yes, I am emotionally immature, as you say. And I thank God for it. For the alive freshness of early and penetrating feelings, rushing through me like a wild west wind, has done more to carry me forward in whatever levels my little life has attained ... I realize I am an 'accident,' a 'sport.' But it is too late now to change, even if in my case it made sense ...So then, in the eleventh year, my imagined dream of mutual love shatters on a cold half-contemptuous note: yet my dream differed from that of other men in its divinity and gentleness and perfectionate reach for happiness. -Cutler diary entry, May 26, 1963 This letter comes with six volumes of Diary which concern my life and yours. I give them to you now as a birthday present in their specially made carrier because you have said you wanted them to continue our friendship in later years and because they will be more discreetly kept in your care from misunderstanding readers and destroyed when you die ... Had I your good sense and depth of understanding I might have been a better friend, one more comfortable and comforting to you. But to paraphrase 'Ulysses,' - 'that which I am, I am.' While I cannot change my essential emotional high voltage nature any more than you can make yourself anew, (which God knows I would not wish), I can - in whatever future relations we may have - learn to rejoice in what you give me.' -Cutler letter to Koons, February 17, 1967 Advertisement

His diary entries about  and his correspondence with  Koons would become more obsessive as time went on; the two spent significant time together, with Cutler fretting about their relationship at every turn. They traveled and took vacations, and Cutler offered assistance not just with Koons career but also financially, offering to help fund a new car and a sailboat at different times. There is no suggestion that the relationship was ever consummated; even a hug elicits joyful exaltations from Cutler in his personal diary.

Cutler resigned from the White House in 1955  though he later returned as a security consultant  and Eisenhower likened his departure to losing my right arm; Shinkle tells DailyMail.com that it is very possible that Ike suspected Bobby was gay, but was unwilling to part company with Bobby because Bobby was so effective in the post of national security advisor.

There had certainly been rumblings about the sexuality of Cutler, whose name had been put forward by other government employees targeted for being gay; on top of that, Shinkle was told during his research that Cutler did not go to great lengths to hide his orientation from close friends.

J. Edgar Hoover  the zealous anti-gay and anti-Communist head of the FBI  knew Cutler relatively well and wrote to him to congratulate the general on his return to Eisenhowers service, though he addressed Cutler as Bobbie, using a female spelling of his nickname.

Was it merely a slip, or was Hoover signaling that he had learned things about Bobby? Shinkle writes. A copy of Hoovers letter in FBI files includes additional typed notes stating there was an alleged homo-sexual incident involving Cutler while at Harvard University and that Cutler left the Government when stories relating to this incident began circulating about him. Hoover inscribed his initials below these typed notes, indicating he had read them.

No new FBI investigation was ordered to re-vet Cutler, however, and various other developments that could have pointed fingers at his behavior were not assiduously followed up. Shinkle hypothesizes in the book that going after Cutler would mar the FBI chiefs relationship with the president, and also that Hoover may have recognized in Bobby a kindred soul  a powerful, aging bachelor who had intense relationships with men. Each was vulnerable to, and could ill afford, an allegation of homosexuality levied against him publicly.

Whatever Cutlers concerns about being outed  or lack thereof  he continued pursuing a closer and closer relationship with Koons, becoming alternatively forlorn and indignant in his correspondence with the younger man.

In one September 1957 letter to Koons  who was in Europe at the time  Cutler writes: In the actual 6-8 weeks we had before you left, I found in you all kinds of qualities and excellences that I rejoiced to find, wanted to find  But did I ever get to know you as you really were? Your letters present a new Skip  friends everywhere, late hours, no sleep, running to keep up. Somehow this was not my idea of you: who had seemed to me so gentle and tender and compassionate and full of intellectual and artistic appreciation to share.

He also writes, a bit petulantly: There I go boring you again, I suppose, and will be dismissed with a postcard. Please, no. Your friendship is most important to my life, my friend.

Koons responded tartly to this chiding and questioning, Shinkle writes; the letter he sent back reproaches Cutler for the interrogation. That back-and-forth exchange would continue for years, as Cutler continually pressed for further closeness and love from Koons, who remained more aloof and was arguably pushed away by Cutlers puppy-dog-like persistence. At one point, Koons even privately lost patience with Cutler at the older mans own birthday party, crushing him.

All of this detail was uncovered by Shinkles research, which led him to Eisenhowers presidential library in Kansas, where he found thousands of pages that had been donated by Cutlers friend and Koons ex-lover, Benedict. The story became even more layered and extraordinary when Shinkle contacted Benedict himself  who revealed not only his own homosexuality and the relationships between the three men but also the treasure trove of correspondence and diary entries by Cutler himself.

Cutler handed the diaries to Koons more than a decade before the older mans death, along with a letter that reads: This letter comes with six volumes of Diary which concern my life and yours. I give them to you now as a birthday present in their specially made carrier because you have said you wanted them to continue our friendship in later years and because they will be more discreetly kept in your care from misunderstanding readers and destroyed when you die ... Had I your good sense and depth of understanding I might have been a better friend, one more comfortable and comforting to you. But to paraphrase 'Ulysses,' - 'that which I am, I am.'

Eisenhower was close to Cutler and compared his advisor's departure from the White House to losing an arm; Shinkle tells DailyMail.com that it is very possible that Ike suspected Bobby was gay, but was unwilling to part company with Bobby because Bobby was so effective in the post of national security advisor.

Benedict, pictured, and Koons were among the mourners at Cutler's funeral, which was held in his native Boston; it was Cutler's niece - and Shinkle's aunt - who eventually told the author that Cutler had been gay during a family vacation in 2006, prompting him to research the book

Shinkle, left, took the title of his book, right, from the nickname bestowed upon Cutler by the media during his government service, when he was famously tight-lipped; the author tells DailyMail.com that 'Mystery Man' 'had even greater resonance given the fact that his private life was so secretive

While I cannot change my essential emotional high voltage nature any more than you can make yourself anew, (which God knows I would not wish), I can - in whatever future relations we may have - learn to rejoice in what you give me.'

Cutler died at the age of 78 in 1974, with Benedict and Koons among the mourners at the Boston service. Koons himself died in 2005 and left the volumes to Benedict.

There was no way that Shinkle could have guessed what he would discover as he read through that trove of information, which he describes as a very vivid and amazing experience. He was getting to know his great-uncle  and Cutlers intimate social circle  while simultaneously dissecting a heretofore unknown chapter of life within Eisenhowers White House.

He had to wrestle with whether Cutler would have wanted all of that laid bare for all the world to see; it was a significant concern  absolutely, he tells DailyMail.com.

But I believe that the issues raised here, particularly concerning the rights  the civil rights  of gay Americans demanded a full exploration of the diary and the experiences of Robert Cutler, he says, adding: I believe that, in todays far different climate for homosexuals in America, that he would want this story told. I do genuinely believe that.

Shinkle hopes that readers, in addition to learning the truth about his extraordinary great-uncle, will also take other lessons from the book.

One is that we can never forget that gay Americans can make tremendous patriotic contributions, and they have done so even when the investigative forces of the government have been turned against them in obvious persecution  and heavy-handed persecution, he tells DailyMail.com.

And the other is that Executive Order 10450 tells an important story about how officials can seek to identify enemies among our own population for their own political ends.

On the final page of Ikes Mystery Man, Shinkle includes a snippet from a letter Koons gave Cutler after reading the diaries the older man had gifted him  with Koons writing: I can only feel the greatest humility, and sense of marvel, before your love and affection. Indeed it was marvellous, a beautiful thing.

And yet  a passionate type of love, which, indeed I could never satisfy in your terms.

To conclude the book, Shinkle writes: Bobby experienced deep anguish because of his unrequited love for Skip, yet there is no sign that emotional turmoil ever impeded his performance of the patriotic duties that he embraced throughout his life, from his youth through both world wars and beyond.

Bobby persevered in in his service to the country at a time when anti-gay investigators were in the ascendant, the love of his life spurned him, and Bobbys own questions about his sexual orientation were profound.

His great-uncles story, Shinkle tells DailyMail.com, is a tale of tremendously sad unrequited love  but it undeniably also was tremendously powerful and moving.
An adorable photo of a heroic fireman who saved a four-week-old puppy during Queensland's disastrous fires has gone viral.

The unnamed female puppy was given a drink of water by firefighter Blake Hyland after it was rescued near Baffle Creek.

Jason Holm, 48, and his family evacuated their home as raging bushfires edged their way closer to them, taking their four dogs and two of the three female puppies with them.

An adorable photo of a heroic fireman who saved a four-week-old puppy during Queensland's disastrous fires has gone viral (pictured)

Jason Holm, 48, and his family evacuated their home, taking their four dogs and two of the three female puppies with them.

Unfortunately, they couldn't find the final puppy before they had to evacuate to safer ground, The Courier Mail reported.

'The fire brigade left me a message saying they'd found a puppy at our place and it was being looked after,' Mr Holm said.

The 48-year-old and his wife Charmain were relieved to know the puppy had survived the horrendous blaze and was being cared for at Agnes Water fire station.

Mrs Holm said she was surprised the puppy was found at their evacuated Muller Road home as they looked extensively and couldn't find her.

'When we were leaving, it had hidden itself very well, but it was just one of those situations where we had to leave,' she said.

Mrs Holm picked up the puppy from the fire station on Wednesday evening.

Posted to the Queensland Fire and Rescue Service facebook page, the adorable image quickly gained popularity on social media.

The photo has been shared hundreds of times and has garnered thousands of comments since it was posted on Wednesday.

Many of the comments are thanking the fire service for their hard work as disastrous fires continue to ravage Queensland, forcing 10,000 people to flee their homes.

More than one hundred bushfires are burning across an almost 2,000km stretch from Yungaburra, south of Cairns, to Mount French, west of the Gold Coast

While more than 10,000 people fled their homes under the state imposed orders, dozens of others chose to stay behind

There is believed to be no end in sight to the bushfire crisis in Queensland severe heatwave conditions spread across the state.

Thousands of people have been forced from their homes as firefighters battle up to 140 wildfires during the unprecedented six-day emergency.

Queensland Fire and Emergency Services Commissioner Katarina Carroll said crews have been confronted with high temperatures and 'unimaginable' conditions.

'(But) due to all the proactive work conducted over the last several days, we have lost a minimal amount of houses, thankfully,' she said on Thursday.

Two houses, two cabins and 15 sheds have been destroyed, with a further 14 homes damaged, since the crisis began on Saturday.

About 10,000 people were told to flee immediately as more than 100 fast-moving blazes tear through Queensland as the state's bushfire crisis rolls on

'This number could have easily been greater,' she said.

Ms Carroll says the extreme temperatures have also caused 15 firefighters to suffer from heat stress, with more hot days forecast.

Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk urged residents to remain indoors and said the crisis would continue for days.

'There's going to be a lot of fire around Queensland today - a lot of smoke. So can I please ask residents if they are concerned, to stay inside,' she told Channel Nine.

'If you don't need to be outside, don't. Because this smoke could have effect, especially on asthmatics and our elderly.

'So please take care today. But another big day. We're not out of this. It's going to go on for four more days.'

The Bureau of Meteorology has forecast a severe heatwave that began in the state's north to move south in coming days.

'Around Capricornia, up around MacKay and inland, it'll be very hot again, so we're talking temperatures getting well up into the mid to high 30s for a lot of places, maybe even touching 40 in the odd spot,' meteorologist Rick Threlfall told AAP.

'The hot conditions will persist over the weekend and continue in the fire areas, and in fact spread to many other parts of the state.'

What they're saying about the QLD fires * 'If you have children with you, you need to think really hard about not losing a house, but losing the people you care most about. People will burn to death. The normal approaches probably won't work if this situation develops the way it is predicted to develop. It is no different to a Category 5 cyclone coming through your door.' Brian Smith, Regional Manager for the Rural Fire Services Central Region, says experts have predicted catastrophic conditions in the area south of Bundaberg. * 'This is something we don't want to overstate, but they're comparing this to the conditions in the Waroona fires in Western Australia, which completely wiped out a town a few years ago, and also to the recent California fires,' he told AAP. Fire and Emergency Services Minister Craig Crawford said the conditions reminded him of the Ash Wednesday fires in Victoria. * 'I'm sure that some people have probably got very good and elaborate systems of pumps and dams and systems and they believe that 'I'll be OK and I know what I'm doing and I've done this before'. Today is not one of those days. Today is different. We are expecting a firestorm.' Fire and Emergency Services Minister Craig Crawford warns conditions are so dangerous people could die. * 'What we're expecting in Queensland today is the kind of conditions (that other states) have seen in the past - these are the kind of days where people could lose their lives.' Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk warns people who refuse to leave might not be rescued. * 'We may not be able to rescue you once the fire reaches containment lines. Even if you are on the beach, the wind conditions are so dangerous we will not be able to send people in to remove you.' Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk Advertisement
A former Colombian drug lord known for his extensive plastic surgeries has testified that he used El Chapo to smuggle cocaine into the United States.

Juan Carlos Ramirez Abadia, also known as 'Lollipop' told the federal jury in Brooklyn on Thursday that he used drug lord Joaquin Guzman's Sinaloa cartel to help move more than 440 tons of the drug.

Ramirez Abadia estimated that while leading the Norte de Valle cartel in Columbia, he ordered at least 150 killings.

Juan Carlos Ramirez Abadia is seen above in 2007. The drug lord known as 'Lollipop' had extensive plastic surgery and testified against El Chapo on Thursday

A government exhibit shown at trial shows Ramirez Abadia show the drug lord before (left) and (after) extensive plastic surgery to change his appearance

Known by the moniker 'El Chupeta', Spanish for 'The Lollipop', the 55-year-old Ramirez Abadia tried to hide his identity by surgically altering his eyes, cheeks, jaw and nearly every other facial feature.

However, the law caught up to him in 2007, when he was arrested in a luxury condominium in Brazil where he had been hiding.

Witnesses said he ran his sprawling narcotic empire as a recluse from the condo, leaving only at night to ride his bicycle in the dark wearing heavy disguises.

Investigators were only able to confirm his identity using a voiceprint analysis of his taped telephone conversations.

On Wednesday, another former confidante of Guzman testified that he had survived four murder attempts ordered by the drug lord, including one that was preceded by a menacing serenade from a Mariachi band.

Miguel Angel 'El Gordo' Martinez was extradited to the United States in 2001 and was subpoenaed to testify at Guzman's federal trial in Brooklyn on Wednesday.

He claimed that he fought 'tooth and nail' against his extradition and that while he insists he never once betrayed his former friend, the paranoid Guzman ordered hits on his life.

The accused Mexican drug lord Joaquin 'El Chapo' Guzman (right) is seen in a courtrom sketch earlier this month. He pleaded not guilty claiming he is being framed by shady cooperators

'I never mentioned Mr Guzman, I never failed him, I never stole from him, I never betrayed him, I took care of all his family and the only thing I got from him is four attacks against me,' he told jurors.

Martinez worked for Guzman in the Sinaloa cartel as a drugs big-wig in Mexico City, earning at least $3 million and in the process becoming so addicted to the class A drug that his nose had to be repaired.

The bulky witness in his 60s, with a bald head and mustache, said he was testifying against his will, fearing that Guzman could order a fifth attempt on his life.

The terms of his witness protection program affording him a new identity in the U.S. require him to cooperate with the government.

Guzman is seen being extradited to the US last year. His trial is now in its third week

Martinez testified that he became a loyal servant of Guzman and helped him arrange the massive shipments of cocaine flown in from Colombia that made his boss a fortune.

The two became so close, he said, that Guzman was the godfather to his son.

Martinez told the jury that after Guzman landed in prison in 1993, he tried to look after his friend's family and handle his legal fees. That was before his own arrest, which started a behind-bars nightmare.

He said the four attempts on his life took place in Mexican prisons between his arrest in 1998 and his arrival in the United States in 2001.

In the first jail in Mexico City where he was locked up, he was cornered in his cell by other prisoners and stabbed 15 times, he said. After he was released from the hospital, he was returned to very same cell - with the same cellmates.

He said at night 'I actually heard them polishing their knives, their blades'.

He survived a second knife attack before he was transferred to another jail, where the interest in his shoe size made it clear there that anyone who killed him would get money from the cartel, he said. He was stabbed again while making a phone call, treated again and put in solitary confinement for his protection.

One night, Martinez said, he heard a band outside the jail playing a favorite 'corrido' folk song of Guzman's - 'Un Puno De Tierra' - over and over, through the night.

The song was about living life to the fullest because 'once you die, you can't take anything with you,' he said.

The next morning, someone armed with a pistol and a grenade appeared outside his cell, he said. The would-be assassin struggled with a guard who refused to open the cell before tossing the grenade inside. He survived the explosion, he said, by taking cover in the cell's bathroom.

The testimony came in the third week of the trial at a New York City courthouse where Guzman has pleaded not guilty to drug-trafficking charges that could land him in a U.S. prison for life if he is convicted.

Guzman claims he is being framed by shady cooperators.
Former FBI Director James Comey has filed a motion to quash a House subpoena ordering him to testify in private  arguing the conditions would lead to 'selective leaks' and is 'abusive to witnesses.'

Comey, who has previously gotten grilled by both the House and Senate in public over his handling of the Clinton email scandal and his firing by President Donald Trump, has been ordered to appear December 3.

The GOP-run House Judiciary and Oversight and Government Reform committees are demanding he appear as part of their probe into decisions not to prosecute Clinton, as well as FBI conduct during the Russia investigation.

Lawyers for former FBI Director James Comey argue a subpoena to appear behind closed doors is 'abusive to witnesses' due to likely leaks

But Comey argues that a closed hearing would allow for 'selective leaks, is abusive to witnesses, and furthers no legitimate congressional purpose,' according to a court filing by his lawyers.

The filing cites what it calls the 'abusive pattern of the selective leaking' by the joint committee.

His legal team also argues that Trump's criticisms, a combination of leaks and his tweets have created a 'corrosive narrative' that could harm his credibility.

The narrative, they claim, is that Clinton has 'committed serious crimes but was given unwarranted leniency', whereas the president has been 'been saddled with unwarranted scrutiny, for purely partisan political reasons, by the same FBI and DOJ'.

It cites a Supreme Court case that grew out of the McCarthy hearings, and a ruling that if a subpoena is 'issued solely for sake of exposure or intimidation, then it exceeds the legislative function of Congress.'

It was unclear how much weight Comey's arguments would carry against Congress, which has compelled cabinet officials and corporate chiefs to appear at numerous hearings in the past, even if those on the other side of the dais considered it grandstanding.

Comey is resisting the subpoena, but says he will appear at a public hearing. If the matter gets delayed until January, Democrats will take over the committees

The lawyers cite committee leaks, including leaking of the testimony of former deputy FBI Director Andrew McCabe, who was fired after a report cited him for leaking

Comey's lawyers are fighting the subpoena

LETS DO THIS IN PRIVATE: Comey got a subpoena to appear before the GOP committees Dec. 3

Comey says he would be willing to appear in public to testify where the public and the media would be present and his views could get aired in full.

'Today my legal team filed court papers to try to get transparency from House Republicans. Let the American people watch,' Comey wrote.

President Trump has attempted to brand Comey a 'leaker' and a 'liar' for having kept copious private notes during his time at the FBI and then passing them on to a friend.

Bombshell stories of Trump demanding what Comey said was a pledge of 'loyalty' from Trump made it into the New York Times following a leak.

Comey also tweeted about the subpoena over the holiday weekend.

'Happy Thanksgiving. Got a subpoena from House Republicans. I'm still happy to sit in the light and answer all questions,' he wrote on Thanksgiving. 'But I will resist a 'closed door' thing because I've seen enough of their selective leaking and distortion. Let's have a hearing and invite everyone to see.'

Comey's lawyers, Vincent Cohen, Brett Kohlhofer, David Kelley, Jeffrey Brown, and Kaitlyn Walsh of Dechert LLP, also cited numerous leaks from closed testimony that ended up in the press. Among them are snippets from fired FBI deputy director Andrew McCabe, FBI lovers Peter Strzok and Lisa Page, and Justice Department official Bruce Ohr.

Former attorney general Jeff Sessions fired McCabe following an IG report that faulted him for leaking.

Comey's lawyers even quote Oversight panel chairman Rep. Trey Gowdy of South Carolina, who said: 'I don't get the chance to say this very often, but I do think Jim Comey is right. Leaks are counterproductive whether Jim Comey is doing it, whether the FBI is doing it, or whether Congress is doing it.'
Shocking footage shows police being attacked with bricks and fireworks after they are surrounded by 100 teenagers in town centre.

Body-cam video shows the huge gang of youths confronting officers in yet another night of violence across 'Wild West Britain.'

A Police Community Support Officer was punched in the face during the 'appalling' scenes in Stanley, County Durham.

One officer is heard saying 'we are asking people nicely to move away' before tensions rise and the teenagers are told to 'move back now'.

A youth attacks a police Police Community Support Officer, while other hoodies throw bricks and fireworks at officers

Durham Police were responding to a report of a 'vulnerable female' at the bus station in Stanley and were quickly surrounded by youths

Police were called to the area to reports of a 'vulnerable female' at a bus station - but it is unclear why the huge mob of youths was there, and what triggered the clash.

Up to 20 youths in hoodies start throwing bricks, they light fireworks during the disturbance at 8.40pm on a Saturday night.

The disorder came as violence on the streets of Britain continues to spiral as the nation is gripped by a crime-wave of muggings, knife attacks and shootings.

Sergeant Emma Kay said of the incident on November 3: 'Disorder of this kind is totally unacceptable and violence against our officers will not be tolerated.

'Action will be taken against all the individuals involved that night and Stanley Police will continue to take positive action against anyone involved in this type of behaviour.

'Parents were asked to come and review the footage from the officers' body cams that night and they all agreed the behaviour of the children was appalling.

Officers were heard to say 'We are asking people nicely to move away' before tensions rose and they shouted: 'Everybody out, move back now'

Durham Police urged parents to take responsibility for their children following the frightening disturbance in Stanley around 8.40pm on Saturday November 3

A large group of youths in the street. Sergeant Emma Kay said: 'Disorder of this kind is totally unacceptable and violence against our officers will not be tolerated'

'While there is a hardcore group of individuals involved in this incident, there are many more people stood on the sidelines, young people who are going to affect their life chances by continuing to engage in this type of behaviour.

'We are asking for parents to step up to the plate, take responsibility for your children.

'Do you know where they are, or are they going to bring trouble to your door?'

Police officers were assaulted more than 26,000 times in England in Wales in 2017/18, according to Home Office statistics.

That means around 72 police officers were attacked every day last year on average  or one every 20 minutes.

The total number, however, is likely to be higher because many officers dont report some attacks as crimes.

Earlier this month a policeman and his colleague were savagely beaten in a brutal attack on a south London street.

In mobile phone footage posted on Twitter two men can be seen punching and kicking the male and female officer as scores of people pass without intervening.

The two men wearing tracksuits and hoodies savagely kicked the two police officers

The shocking incident in Merton, south west London saw the two male attackers wearing hoodies and dragging the policeman away from his patrol car and kicking him.

A policewoman can then be seen trying to pull them off her colleague but she fails as a man brutally kicks her to the ground.

The assault came amid London's violent crimewave, with the capital's murder count reaching more than 120 so far this year.

The clip, recorded by a man in his car at 7.55pm with music playing in the background, shows several people walk by without stopping to help the officers.

One of the men (pictured in navy) can be seen brutally fly-kicking the female officer (in black and white uniform on the ground) as she rushes in to try and help her stricken colleague

A bus also drives straight past the chaos without stopping to intervene.

Eventually, with the help of a heroic moped rider, the policeman manages to get the attacker off him and pins him down ready to arrest him.

The video was uploaded to Twitter alongside the caption: 'South London at night..

Martin Payne, 20, of South Croydon was charged with assault causing ABH and assault after a female officer sustained head injuries and a male officer suffered a fractured rib and cuts in the brawl.

A heroic moped rider (pictured in helmet) eventually manages to get one of the attackers off the officer

He was further charged with driving without insurance and driving other than in accordance with a licence.

He appeared at Wimbledon Magistrates' Court on Monday, 19 November, pleaded not guilty and was sent for trail at Kingston Crown Court.

Kursan Euell from Catford was charged with two counts of ABH. A third man connected to the incident remains at large and is being hunted by police.

On Tuesday cyclist thug Joshua Gardner, 18, was spared jail for brandishing a huge zombie knife on a busy south London road.

Joshua Gardner lashed out at the driver and tried to smash a window with an enormous knife

Shocking dashcam footage showed him threatening a 19-year-old driver, who got out and ran away.

He was handed a suspended sentence for the attack, and the Attorney General is now reviewing the ruling to decide whether there is grounds to ask appeal judges to jail him.

Gardner is known to the Met Police's gang unit and has appeared in drill videos produced by the so-called 'GLane' gang, The Times reported.

He had a previous conviction for attempting to rob a schoolboy of his mobile and wallet at knifepoint and was convicted of attempting to cause grievous bodily harm with intent over the road rage incident.

Violence in 'Wild West' Britain has seen 69,000 children hurt Nearly 70,000 children have been wounded in stabbings and beatings in just one year as violence on the streets of 'Wild West' Britain continues to spiral. Jackie Sebire, assistant chief constable of Bedfordshire police, revealed the shocking statistic in October 2018 as she lamented the 'constant torrent' of murders and knife attacks unfolding in the UK. Mrs Sebire said police forces face a 'constant and sustained' demand, adding: 'Wild West? It can be... it's happening in broad daylight, they're in public spaces.' Stats released earlier this month showed a wide range of offences showing dramatic increases In the year to June there were 69,000 child woundings, where a youngster aged 10 to 15 was stabbed or seriously injured, a rise of 4,000 on the previous year. Mrs Sebire, the National Police Chiefs Council spokesman for serious violent crime, said: 'I've worked in some really challenging London boroughs. This is different, this level of violence, this constant torrent of every single day there is another stabbing, that we can't seem to get ahead of.' Police chiefs believe they are at a turning point, after years of struggling to meet high public expectations and soaring demand. Recorded crime has risen by 9 per cent  including rocketing levels of knife crime and robbery  as 22,000 officers were lost from the frontline. Statistics released earlier this month show the number of homicides nationwide is up from 630 to 719, with overall recorded crime up by almost 10%. The number of offences registered as involving a knife or sharp instrument, 39,332, was the highest since 2011, when comparable records started. Advertisement

Last week The Metropolitan Police told how they are starting to fight back against moped thieves.

There has been a rise in the number of crimes linked to young criminals on scooters who were able to evade the police over fears they could be injured.

But not they have developed tactics to knock them off their bikes to stamp out the two wheeled crimewave.

A moped criminal is left scrambling on the bonnet of a police car in footage released today

Dashcam video showed a squad of specially trained drivers carrying out so called 'tactical contacts', which involve tipping crooks off their scooters or dumping them on the bonnets of police cars.

One incredulous rider raises his hands in indignation after he is sent clattering to the ground, and another told police: 'I took my helmet off so I thought you'd stop chasing me.'

The Met says it only uses the tactic as a last resort to stop muggers who are a risk to pedestrians or putting police in danger.
A sadistic sex predator who raped and beat a woman was caught hiding under his bed after his mother called police.

Thomas William Gyemore faced Cairns District Court on Thursday over the rape and torture of a woman at his family home in Yarrabah, Queensland last year.

The court heard he met his victim out of town, Cairns Post reported.

Thomas William Gyemore faced Cairns District Court yesterday over the rape and torture of a woman at his family home in Yarrabah, Queensland last year

He managed to lure the woman back to Yarrabah on the promise of employment in his hometown.

Prosecutor Gelma Meoli said Gyemore then led the woman into a tin shed that comprised of a double mattress, unclean floor and items like a washing machine drum.

Gyemore proceeded to force himself onto the woman and anally violated her.

He later sat her on an esky and told the distraught woman he was going to tie her to a tree before killing her.

Rocks, saucepans and the metal drums were thrown at the victim who tried to defend herself.

'She grabbed his [Gyemore's] testicles and squeezed hard,' Ms Meoli said.

Gyemore punched her in the right eye and she blacked out.

The court heard she was left with a fractured wrist, bruises and a loosened tooth.

When the noise woke up his family, Gyemore tried to cover his tracks and dressed the woman in glasses and a t-shirt to hide her injuries.

'You continued the attack, which was brutal, callous, sustained, controlling and relentless,' Judge Dean Morzone said.

He labelled the attack 'prolonged' and as 'purposeful degradation' for the 39-year-old's own sexual 'fulfilment'.

Gyemore was sentenced for nine years, including 341 days time served.

Prosecutor Gelma Meoli said Gyemore then led the woman into a tin shed that comprised of a double mattress, unclean floor and items like a washing machine drum 9 (stock photo)
CNN has fired a commentator who made comments that critics described as a 'dog whistle' advocating the elimination of Israel.

During a speech at the United Nations on Wednesday, Marc Lamont Hill said accused the Israeli government of 'normalizing settler colonialism' and called for a 'free Palestine from the river to the sea.'

Hill made the comment during a meeting of the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People in observance of the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People.

On Thursday, a a spokesperson for CNN told Fox News, 'Marc Lamont Hill is no longer under contract with CNN.

Those calling out the television personality said his use of the phrase 'from the river to the sea' was problematic, due to its regular use by anti-Israel groups, including the terrorist organization Hamas.

Hill said the phrase 'precedes Hamas by more than 50 years' and 'has a variety of meanings,' calling the assertion that he was calling for the eradication of Israel 'absurd on its face.'

When Hill used the phrase in question, the crowd erupted in applause.

Hills speech was described as an 'especially obscene UN moment that reveals the true nature of the anti-Israel and anti-Jewish animus of the modern United Nations,' by Anne Bayefsky, director of the Touro Institute on Human Rights and the Holocaust and president of Human Rights Voices/

'Hill's call at the United Nations for the destruction of the Jewish state was not some accident,' Bayefsky added.

'He didn't misspeak. He was an invited guest. He was the only person invited to speak as "the" representative of "civil society." When he ended his extraordinary tirade with "Give us a free Palestine from the river to the sea" his words were met by a round of applause. The only applause for any speaker.'

CNN has fired commentator Marc Lamont Hill, after he made comments that critics described as a 'dog whistle' advocating the elimination of Israel at a UN meeting on Wednesday (shown)

Before Hill's profile was removed from the CNN site, it described the political commentator as 'one of the leading intellectual voices in the country'

Before Hill's profile was removed from the CNN site, it described the political commentator as 'one of the leading intellectual voices in the country.'

He's appeared on the cable network discussing a variety of issues, including guns in America.

At other points during his speech, Hill said he had just taken a flight from 'Palestine' and that he 'was boycotting the Israeli water so I was unable to quench my thirst,' as he poured himself a drink.

'If we are standing in solidarity with the Palestinian people, we must recognize the right of an occupied people to defend itself,' Hill said at another point during his talk, while comparing the Palestinian movement with the American civil-rights movement.

'We must prioritize peace, but we must not romanticize or fetishize it.'

Hill wrote on Twitter on Thursday: 'In my speech, I talked about the need to return to the pre-1967 borders, to give full rights to Palestinian citizens of Israel, and to allow right of return. No part of this is a call to destroy Israel. Its absurd on its face.'

In response to the controversy, Hill wrote on Twitter on Thursday:

'Yesterday, I gave a speech at the UN in which I critiqued Israels polices and practices toward Palestinians. Its baffling how people are not responding to the critique, but instead responding to things I didnt actually say.

'In my speech, I talked about the need to return to the pre-1967 borders, to give full rights to Palestinian citizens of Israel, and to allow right of return. No part of this is a call to destroy Israel. Its absurd on its face.

'I believe in full rights for all citizens. I believe in safety for all citizens. I believe in self-determination for all citizens. This is not an anti-Semitic position.

'While I have my own beliefs about one vs two state solutions (I prefer one), it is not my job as an outsider to decide for Palestinians or Israelis. Regardless of the resolution, however, Palestinians cannot be denied freedom, self-determination, or human rights.

'Unfortunately, we are in a moment where any critique of the Israeli government is called anti-Semitic. Any call for Palestinian freedom is seen as an attempt to diminish Israel freedom. This does not have to be, nor should it be, the case.

'I concluded my remarks with a call to free Palestine from river to sea. This means that all areas of historic Palestine e.g., West Bank, Gaza, Israel must be spaces of freedom, safety, and peace for Palestinians.

'Anyone who studies the region, or the history of Palestinian nationalism, knows that river to sea has been, and continues to be, a phrase used by many factions, ideologies, movements, and politicians.

'The phrase dates back to at least the middle of the British Mandate and has never been the exclusive province of a particular ideological camp. The idea that this is a Hamas phrase is simply untrue.

'Its also ABSURD and illogical to suggest that a speech that explicitly called for redrawing borders and granting full citizenship for Palestinians IN Israel was also calling for its destruction. People either didnt listen to the speech or theyre being dishonest.'

'Anyone who studies the region, or the history of Palestinian nationalism, knows that river to sea has been, and continues to be, a phrase used by many factions, ideologies, movements, and politicians,' Hill tweeted on Thursday

In response to one Twitter user who accused Hill of calling 'for the destruction of Israel,' saying, 'That is not criticism that's violence,' Hill wrote: 'I did not. I have not. And I would not'

In response to one Twitter user who accused Hill of calling 'for the destruction of Israel,' saying, 'That is not criticism that's violence,' Hill wrote:

'I did not. I have not. And I would not.'

After this exchange, Hill tweeted again, this time writing:

'I normally would ignore the current drama, but its actually important to me that Im clear and understood. As a matter of principle.

'I support Palestinian freedom. I support Palestinian self-determination. I am deeply critical of Israeli policy and practice. I do not support anti-Semitism, killing Jewish people, or any of the other things attributed to my speech. I have spent my life fighting these things.

'My reference to "river to the sea" was not a call to destroy anything or anyone. It was a call for justice, both in Israel and in the West Bank/Gaza. The speech very clearly and specifically said those things. No amount of debate will change what I actually said or what I meant.

'This isnt a case of throwing rocks and hiding hands. I genuinely believe in the arguments and principles that I shared in the speech. I also genuinely want peace, freedom, and security for everyone. These are not competing ideals and values.'

A few hours later, Hill tweeted again, this time writing: 'I normally would ignore the current drama, but its actually important to me that Im clear and understood. As a matter of principle'

Hill wrote: 'My reference to "river to the sea" was not a call to destroy anything or anyone. It was a call for justice, both in Israel and in the West Bank/Gaza. The speech very clearly and specifically said those things. No amount of debate will change what I actually said or what I meant'

Hill is a former professor at both Columbia University in New York and Atlanta's Morehouse College.

He currently teaches media studies and and urban education at Temple University in Philadelphia.

Temple spokesperson Brandon Lausch said in a statement that Hill 'does not represent Temple University and his views are his own. However, we acknowledge that he has a constitutionally protected right to express his opinion as a private citizen.'
An unemployed woman who twisted her ankle in a KFC car park is suing the fast food giant for $3.8 million.

Toni Marie Hawke, 53, alleges the injury occurred when she 'stepped onto uneven concrete' at Bundaberg KFC, Queensland.

Ms Hawke claims she was navigating her way through cars queuing in the store's drive-thru when she slipped at about 6.50pm on July 26, 2013, the Courier Mail reported.

Toni Marie Hawke, 53, is suing KFC for $3.8 million after she twisted her ankle while walking through a store car park in Bundaberg (pictured)

Her lawyers have filed documents to the Supreme Court in Brisbane requesting a meeting with Collins Foods Limited, the operator of KFC, and their insurer Marsh.

Ms Hawke, a former admin assistant, claims Collins Food were responsible for her fall because they allegedly failed to fix uneven concrete slabs and didn't turn on the lighting in the drive-thru.

She alleges the fast food chain's owners should have notified customers about the uneven path and directed customers to enter the store at the other side.

In her notice of claim, Ms Hawke said she is unemployed, wheelchair-bound and unsure when she will be able to look for a job since surgery on her ankle in June 2014.

The claim acknowledged that she was due to undergo further surgery in October 2014 to remove plates and screws from her ankle.

Ms Hawke claims she struggles to walk and has allegedly lost sensation in her ankle, leaving her unable to drive.

Documents have been filed to the Supreme Court in Brisbane (pictured) by her lawyers to seek a compulsory conference with KFC owner Collins Foods Limited and their insurer Marsh

Insurer Marsh denied liability for the accident in a letter from February 2015.

According to court documents Ms Hawke is seeking 'more than $3.8 million' in compensation following claims she suffered economic loss of $28,546.

On November 26 the case was ordered to proceed to a compulsory conference on February 8 by a Supreme Court registrar.
Theresa Mays aeroplane was at the airport, waiting to whisk her weary bones to Argentina for the G20 summit, but first the Prime Minister had the Westminster equivalent of a trip to the fang bandit: 90 minutes at the liaison committee to discuss her imperilled Brexit deal.

Not that she ever concedes her withdrawal agreement is in trouble. Computer not recognise. Unexpected item in the bagging area. She insists on calling it this good deal, rather as Mrs Thatcher always dropped her voice and called the poll tax the community charge.

When anyone suggested she had no hope of pushing the deal through the Commons, Mrs May swished her eyes side to side, two jerky wipers on a tractors windscreen, and said MPs needed to focus before voting on it. That was her verbal formula. She stuck to it, glueishly.

Prime minister appearing before the liaison committee of select committee chairs

The liaison committee contains all the Commons select committee chairmen. At full strength that means 35 chest-puffing grandees not short on circumlocution. So many mayors of Trumpton. Yesterday, thank goodness, someone had persuaded the stodgier bores to stay away and there were just 13 MPs.

Of these, only four (Sir Bill Cash, Sir Bernard Jenkin, Julian Lewis, Andrew Murrison) were Brexiteers. Yes, the referendums Leave majority was represented by just four souls. Thus does the Establishment grip our democracy by its windpipe. Meanwhile, the broadcasting ninnies obsess about a TV debate on Mrs Mays deal  a matter on which only MPs can vote. No Brexiteer will be in that debate. And the political class wonders why it is so hated.

Back to yesterdays committee. Labour Europhiles Hilary Benn, Rachel Reeves and Meg Hillier were soon ringing their plague bells about what a catastrophe it might be if we sail out of the EU without a deal.

When anyone suggested she had no hope of pushing the deal through the Commons, Mrs May swished her eyes side to side, two jerky wipers on a tractors windscreen, and said MPs needed to focus before voting on it

Feverishly they predicted disaster and kept trying to get Mrs May to agree she would never allow no-deal to happen. Mrs May gave no such undertaking. Miss Reeves quoted economic predictions pumped out by the Chancellor and his friend Mark Carney, Governor of the Bank of England. The elite is at full shriek, blasting forth against no-deal like Haigs howitzers before the battle of the Somme. That didnt do much good either, as I recall.

Sir Bernard drily noted that George Osbornes 2016 predictions of immediate economic disaster after a Leave vote had proved to be complete rubbish. Mrs May stressed that the Hammond predictions were not forecasts. They were analysis.

Mrs May stressed that the Hammond predictions were not forecasts. They were analysis

Listen to this sort of stuff long enough and you end up chewing the tip of your necktie. Around the committee table Mr Benn kept leaning forwards, mouth open, eyes bulging. Miss Reeves leaned back and hectored in a stiff-necked way, making Mrs May fiddle irritatedly with her pen. Miss Hillier mumbled about how the Civil Service are not going to be able to deliver everything perfectly if there is no deal. Dear heart, its hardly as if they do much perfectly at the best of times. Mrs May plainly thought Miss Hillier a poor piece of work.

The gaze of Pete Wishart (SNP) darted like that of a man about to sprint across a motorway.

Y VETTE Cooper, clutching her chin, watched Mrs May intently, her eyes boring into the PM. Soon she was lecturing the PM in her most kindergarten voice, wobbling her head, going pink with indignation. Mrs May stared back calmly over a pair of turquoise half-moon spectacles.

Mr Lewis asked, eight times, who was going to erect the hard border in Ireland if we left the EU without caving in to their thieving demands. Mr Lewis has difficulty with the letter R, so this came out as ewect. Eight times we had it: Who was going to ewect that blessed hard border. And eight times Mrs May wefused to answer. Because she knew no one is ever going to ewect a wuddy thing on the border. The whole backstop thing is built on a nonsense. Yet she wants it made law.
Donald Trump has dreamed for decades of building a Trump Tower in Moscow, but the project never materialized despite two attempts to get it off the ground.

However, with his name back in the news amid a presidential run, lawyer Michael Cohen saw an opportunity to get the skyscraper built and reached out to Moscow.

Cohen's efforts alongside associate Felix Sater have dragged the now-President into hot water over his potential financial ties to Moscow after Cohen admitted his talks with Russia went on deep into 2016.

Trump has disputed Cohen's timeline and suggested his former fixer was telling prosecutors what they wanted to hear to save his own skin.

Donald Trump began looking into the idea of building a Trump Tower in Moscow in 1996 when he visited Moscow and toured several possible sites (pictured)

Trump mulled the idea of revamping the Hotel Moskva next to the Kremlin and also of building towers around the city, but the ideas eventually petered out

As for why the most recent deal failed, Trump said he made the decision himself for one main reason.

'It was very simple,' he said. 'I was very focused on running for president.'

Trump's plans for a Trump Tower in Moscow went back as far as 1996 when the future president paid a visit to the Russian capital to check out building sites on land being developed by a U.S. company.

That idea fell through, along with plans to revamp the dilapidated Hotel Moskva next to the Kremlin, but the real estate mogul raised the prospect of a 'super-luxury residential tower' bearing his name on other sites he visited on his three-day stay in the city.

'Moscow is going to be huge,' Trump told Playboy magazine in a 1997 interview.

Trump revived the idea in 2013 during his visit to Moscow as owner of the Miss Universe pageant when the final was held in the city.

Trump later said he had discussed the idea with Aras and Emin Agalarov, a father-and-son Russian development team close to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Trump reportedly scouted a potential site, but the idea again faded.

The tower idea came back yet again in October 2015, when Andrey Rozov, an obscure Russian real estate developer, signed a letter of intent sent by Cohen to advance the construction of a Trump World Tower.

The skyscraper would feature 250 luxury condos, no fewer than 15 floors of hotel rooms, commercial and office space, a fitness center and an Ivanka Trump spa.

It was a potentially lucrative deal for Trump's company, handing it $4million in upfront fees plus possibly millions more from a cut on everything from food and banquet fees to spa charges.

His share on the first $100million in condo sales alone would reach another $5million.

As part of a plan to sell the condos to oligarchs, the Trump Organization mulled handing a $50million penthouse to Vladimir Putin.

Trump then revived the idea of building a skyscraper in Moscow in 2013, when he visited the city to host the final of Miss Universe

Trump said while hosting the competition that he discussed the idea with Aras and Emin Agalarov, father-and-son developers who were close to Putin, but again the idea stalled

Sources told Buzzfeed that the idea was put forward by Sater, who figured that oligarchs would line up to live in the same building as Putin, and Cohen approved.

Rozov's signed letter was sent back to Cohen by Sater, along with an email expressing optimism.

'Let's make this happen and build a Trump Moscow,' he wrote.

'And possibly fix relations between the countries by showing everyone that commerce and business are much better and more practical than politics.'

Donald Trump Jr. and Ivanka Trump were copied in on emails about the project in late 2015, according to a person close to the Trump Organization.

In one email, Ivanka even suggested an architect for the building, the person said, noting the Trump Organization provided the emails to congressional committees.

According to documents seen by CNN, Ivanka was also due to have a spa inside the hotel named after her.

Trump's company was explicitly given the option to 'brand any or all portion of the spa or fitness facilities as "The Spa by Ivanka Trump" or similar.'

The company's email traffic about the project ends in January 2016, said the person, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Like the previous failed projects, the Rozov-helmed effort soon ran aground.

According to Cohen's testimony in 2017 and his plea agreement, negotiations with Rozov's group stalled, and the two Trump associates turned to aides to Russian President Vladimir Putin to move the project forward.

Cohen told congressional investigators last year that he had sent an email in January 2016 to Dmitry Peskov, Putin's spokesman.

Cohen told the committee he never heard back from Peskov and the tower deal collapsed by the end of that month.

In 2015, Michael Cohen tried pushing forward with the tower for a third time, capitalizing on the fact that Trump's name was back in the news amid his presidential run

Cohen kept speaking to Russia about the tower until June 2016, which is later than he previously told Congress and brings fresh scrutiny to Trump's monetary ties to Moscow

But according to Cohen's new statement to prosecutors, the tower deal remained viable as late as June 2016, after Trump had vanquished his Republican presidential rivals and was mounting his general election campaign against Hillary Clinton.

Cohen said he kept Trump, named as 'Individual 1' in the plea, updated about the deal's progress, and also 'briefed family members of Individual 1 within the company about the project.'

Cohen said in his plea that he also spoke by phone with an assistant to Peskov - identified in the plea as 'Russian Official 1' - in January 2016 and outlined the project and 'requested assistance in moving the project forward.'

According to the plea, Cohen later discussed traveling to Moscow to jump-start the deal.

In May 2016, a month after Trump had emerged the winner of the GOP primaries, Sater - identified as 'Individual 2' - told Cohen that Peskov wanted to meet him in mid-June at an international business forum in St. Petersburg and 'possibly introduce you' to Putin or Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev.

Sater and Cohen continued to email about the foundering project well into June 2016, soon after a much-scrutinized meeting at Trump Tower in New York between Trump's son Don Jr., son-in-law Jared Kushner, campaign chairman Paul Manafort and several Russian attendees, purportedly to discuss 'dirt' on Hillary Clinton.

On June 14, Cohen met Sater in the tower lobby and told him his potential trip to St. Petersburg was off.

Thursday, Trump suggested his consideration of a Moscow tower was all part of being a businessman who was also running for president.

While attending the G20 summit in Argentina, Trump fired off a pair of tweets on Friday further defending himself.

He wrote: 'Oh, I get it! I am a very good developer, happily living my life, when I see our Country going in the wrong direction (to put it mildly).

'Against all odds, I decide to run for President & continue to run my business-very legal & very cool, talked about it on the campaign trail...

'Lightly looked at doing a building somewhere in Russia. Put up zero money, zero guarantees and didnt do the project. Witch Hunt!'
Footage has emerged of a frozen fish being 'brought back to life' after being defrosted in warm water.

The video, filmed in a market in Japan, starts as a man places a fish - which appears to be frozen solid - in a tub of crushed ice.

Panning to the right, the camera then zooms in on a thermometer that indicates the temperature inside the vat is -2.10 C (28F).

It is then taken out of the tub and placed in a plastic tub of warm water where it lies motionless for a couple of seconds.

The man is seen grabbing the fish by its tail and trying to turn it under the stream of warm water, at which point it starts to move.

The fish then starts to flap its body vigorously as it comes to before starting to thrash around in the warm water.

According to an expert from the National Marine Aquarium, the fish is 'most likely a species related to a tuna'.

The fish in the video was likely not completely frozen through but merely left in crushed ice at a temperature of -2.10 C (28F) for a short period of time.

Fish can survive this kind of freezing cold because they contain 'antifreeze' proteins in their blood.

The footage was uploaded on Pro Fishing Video's Facebook page on Wednesday and has garnered 50,000 views since then.

Viewers have been posting comments attempting to get to the bottom of what's actually happening in the clip, with some suggesting that it's a fake or animal cruelty.

But, this curious happening is actually quite a common method of keeping fish fresh in Japan.

The video shows a fish being covered in crushed ice and stored in a box until it was frozen solid

The fish are frozen just enough to slow their heart rate but not enough to kill them.

This keeps their meat fresh and tender to use in Japanese delicacies like sashimi.

Coldwater fish that live in freezing areas are able to produce antifreeze agents in their blood to help them withstand freezing temperatures, a permanent feature of the Antarctic fishes.

Seawater freezes at around -22C (28 F) because of the salts in the water. This is known as freezing point depression.

Fish are also 'cold-blooded' so their metabolism slows to a point that it can be barely detectable.

Due to the fish being relatively small they are able to warm up at a faster rate, hence the speed at which the fish in the video came 'back to life'.

The fish was seen viciously flapping its fins while it was in the process of being defrosted

According to a study by Queen's University, Canada in 2004, fish have blood that contains proteins to help them survive the cold.

After viewing previous videos, experts have warned that this type of treatment can place stress on the fish.

Repeated treatments would likely kill it.

Japanese researchers managed to bring a water bear back to life in January 2016 that had been frozen for 30 years and survived.

The microanimal, which survived being frozen for three decades, laid 19 eggs, 14 of which successfully hatched.
A woman was stunned to find a 1.8 metre long carpet python inside her washing machine on Thursday.

After recovering from the initial shock, the Sunshine Coast woman contacted local snake catcher, Stuart McKenzie, from Snake Catcher 24/7 - Sunshine Coast .

While Mr McKenzie and his team have had to remove snakes from people's homes before, this is the first time they've found one inside a washing machine.

'Yeah, this is a first,' he said.

'We've found them underneath washing machines and dishwashers, and on top too, but not inside.'

Scroll down for video

A Buderim woman got the 'fright of her life' after discovering a 1.8 metre (six feet) long Carpet Python (pictured) in her washing machine

Mr McKenzie told Daily Mail Australia that finding snakes in unexpected places is not uncommon during this time of the year.

'They crawl in from the bush looking for cool places to escape the heat. It's really hot around here at this time of year,' he said.

He said people should 'be weary' and keep on the lookout for unexpected reptilian visitors.

As for the carpet python, Mr McKenzie and his team 'relocated' it in local bush surrounding Buderim.

After recovering from the initial shock, the Sunshine Coast woman contacted local snake catcher, Stuart McKenzie (pictured), from Snake Catcher 24/7 - Sunshine Coast
Police reacted with fury yesterday after a thug jailed for battering a woman police officer was freed just a quarter of the way through his sentence.

Kieron Murray, 24, attacked Cumbria Police dog handler Diane Irving after she tried to help him during her patrol of Carlisle city centre last December.

WPC Irving came to his assistance after he collapsed in the street  only for Murray to thump her so hard that fellow officers failed to recognise her.

PC Diane Irving after the brutal attack by Kieron Murray, 24, after she tried to help him

When arrested, Murray cracked sick jokes about Dale Cregan, who murdered WPCs Fiona Bone, 32, and Nicola Hughes, 23, in 2012.

Murray was jailed for ten months at Carlisle Crown Court on September 7 after admitting assault causing actual bodily harm. He was freed on curfew on Thursday last week, having served just 76 days.

Carlisle MP John Stevenson said: Its appalling. As members of the public, we all benefit from the hard work and dedication of front-line emergency service workers.

In return, they expect the judicial system to support them.

Martin Plummer, chairman of Cumbrias Police Federation, which represents rank-and-file officers, added: Its a disgrace. Given the circumstances, we felt the original sentence was lenient. At the time Diane was not too disappointed. She knew hed at least be spending Christmas in prison.

Murray made sick jokes about Dale Cregan who was arrested after he handed himself in at Hyde Road Police Station in Manchester in 2012

For her to find out he was released was a huge shock. To say she was upset, disappointed and deflated is an understatement.

Mr Plummer added: When Murray attacked her, Diane was in uniform and going to his aid. Were not looking for an increase in his sentence, just for it to fit the crime.

Murray was released on the condition of a 3pm to 7am curfew. Prisoners sentenced to between 12 weeks and four years can be released with such curfews after serving a quarter of their jail term.

A Prison and Probation Service spokesman said: No one is released from prison without a tough risk-assessment, close monitoring, and strict licence conditions.
Zholia Alemi, 55, worked for the health service for 22 years after duping her way on to the UK medical register with a forged degree certificate in 1995

A fake psychiatrist who worked for decades in the NHS without any medical qualifications passed supposedly strengthened checks just five years ago.

Zholia Alemi, 55, worked for the health service for 22 years after duping her way on to the UK medical register with a forged degree certificate in 1995.

The General Medical Council claimed that the conwoman, who arrived in the UK from New Zealand, took advantage of less stringent rules in the 1990s which allowed doctors from Commonwealth countries to apply to work in Britain by simply presenting their qualification documents without sitting exams.

But yesterday it emerged that she was re-validated to remain on the GMC register in 2013, soon after the introduction of stricter rules designed to ensure all doctors stay up to date with their fields of medicine.

In addition, Alemi acted as a responsible officer for other doctors, which gave her the power to raise concerns or sign off their own revalidations.

Her lies were only discovered after she was convicted of trying to fake the will of an elderly woman to steal her 1.3million fortune. She was jailed for five years last month

By then the GMC was already aware of questions about her honesty and practice, having started investigations following reports from at least two hospitals and a private care provider in 2010.

Alemi, who became a consultant in 2001, also passed a two-part Royal College of Psychiatrists exam in 2003 before being recommended for entry on to the specialist medical register by the college in 2012.

Despite her interactions with regulatory bodies, nobody picked up on the fact that she did not have a medical degree.

The GMC is now looking into Alemis work across the UK to try to find out how many patients may have been harmed by her treatment.

Their findings will be handed to Cumbria Police, who are expected to launch an investigation into more allegations of fraud.

The General Medical Council claimed that the conwoman, who arrived in the UK from New Zealand, took advantage of less stringent rules in the 1990s which allowed doctors from Commonwealth countries to apply to work in Britain by simply presenting their qualification documents

Her lies were only discovered after she was convicted of trying to fake the will of an elderly woman to steal her 1.3million fortune. She was jailed for five years last month. Two months earlier she had finally been suspended from practising.

Last night a spokesman for the GMC admitted their checks in 1995, when Alemi entered the medical register, were inadequate.

But she pointed out that Alemi had passed all her Royal College exams and said the revalidation process in 2013 was not necessarily concerned with basic qualifications, adding: Its focus is on reviewing what a doctor has done to retain and build on their knowledge and skills.
A British teenager is being held in an Egyptian prison after being accused of 'spying', after taking a photograph of the airport from the plane window, his family claim.

Muhammed Fathi Abulkasem, 19, was travelling to visit friends in Egypt when he was arrested on arrival at the airport in Alexandria last week.

His family said the teenager had been accused of 'collecting information of a military facility' and was currently being held in a jail cell.

They said the arrest came after Muhammed, an A-level student who was travelling from Libya with a friend, took a photograph of the airport from the plane window as he arrived in Egypt.

Muhammed Fathi Abulkasem, 19, (pictured) was travelling to visit friends in Egypt when he was arrested on arrival at the airport in Alexandria last week

The 19-year-old, a UK national from Cheetham Hill, in Manchester, was questioned by authorities at the airport who examined his phone and discovered a photograph which included an image of a military helicopter, his family claim.

His cousin, Shareen Nawaz, from Wilmslow, Cheshire, said 'soft and compassionate' Muhammed has been locked up in a cold cell ever since.

Shareen said: 'Everything is happening so fast.

'All within a few days he's in court being accused of being a spy. His parents are going out of their mind.

'His 13-year-old sister has been puking up blood because she overheard a conversation and it was her who told Muhammed to take the picture.

'It's madness - is it that easy being a spy?'

Muhammed, an A-level student was travelling from Libya with a friend, took a photograph of the Alexandria airport (picture) from the plane window as he arrived in Egypt.

Muhammed's family have now appealed for the Foreign Secretary, Jeremy Hunt, to step in.

Muhammed's mother, Imaan Rafiq, said: 'My baby Muhammed would not even hurt a fly, he is a big soft teddy.'

Shareen added: 'He is a soft and compassionate person, we just want to stop this before a kid's life is ruined.'

Though Muhammed's family said he has been accused of spying, no details have been confirmed by Egyptian authorities.

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) said it could not comment on individual cases.

However an FCO spokesperson said: 'We are seeking more information from the Egyptian authorities following the arrest of a British person in Alexandria, as well as permission for consular access. Our staff are providing assistance for his family.'

Muhammed, who is one of five siblings, recently moved to Libya with his family to support an elderly relative.

He has spent most of his life living in Manchester, where he was born and educated.

He previously lived in Egypt with his family and had planned a trip back to the country to visit friends.

Muhammed and his Libyan friend booked a hotel in Egypt together ahead of their visit.

They boarded a flight from Libya on November 20, landing in Egypt later that morning.

Upon arrival it is understood that both Muhammed and his friend were questioned and arrested by Egyptian authorities.

Both young men have been held in jail ever since with two appearances in court, Shareen said.

Muhammed has never been arrested, charged or even questioned by the police before now, his family said.

Though Muhammed's (pictured) family said he has been accused of spying, no details have been confirmed by Egyptian authorities

They have hired a lawyer in Egypt who is currently working to help Muhammed.

Humanitarian aid worker Shareen said details about the exact nature of the offence were unclear.

However the family have been told by Muhammed's solicitor that he has been accused of 'collecting information of a military facility'.

Shareen said: 'When they landed at the airport in Alexandria he was arrested and his bag and phone were checked. He has not been released since.

'Slowly over the course of the week we've been finding out what has actually happened.

'When he landed his mum didn't hear anything but when he finally spoke to her he said he'd been in court all day. And he said they'd thrown him in prison.'

Shareen said Muhammed had told his family that conditions in prison have been difficult and he has been hauled before the courts twice.

She understands that Egyptian authorities are due to review the photograph he took at the airport.

Shareen said: 'He put his phone out of the window and took a picture of the airport and there is a military helicopter in the background.

'He says he has been accused of being a spy.'
Liam Fox will today issue a stinging rebuke to Tories who oppose the Prime Ministers Brexit deal amid claims that as many as 100 of the partys MPs could now vote against it.

The International Trade Secretary will accuse them of not facing up to the tough choices that Theresa May has had to make in the negotiations.

And he will warn Conservative MPs that they have an abiding duty to act in the best interests of the country.

Dr Fox will become the latest Cabinet Brexiteer to come out in support of Mrs Mays agreement ahead of the meaningful vote on December 11. The Mail revealed yesterday that Andrea Leadsom is also backing the deal.

But the scale of the task was illustrated last night by reports that 100 Tory MPs are now preparing to vote against the agreement, a number which would appear to give it little chance of passing the Commons.

Britain's International Trade Secretary Liam Fox has backed Mrs May and will accuse them of failing to understand the efforts of Mrs May

Matthew Offord became the latest to say he planned to vote against the Prime Ministers plan. The MP for Hendon said he could not support a deal which handed over 39billion without certainty of a future trading relationship. According to unofficial estimates and a list collated by the website Buzzfeed, that took the number of Tory opponents to 100. However, in a Daily Mail survey of those on the list earlier this week, several indicated that they were still undecided.

Mrs May did receive a boost last night when the Remainer Tory MP Antoinette Sandbach said she would back the deal. She said that, while the deal was not perfect, no one could have done better and voting against it would be hugely destructive. The latest developments came as:

Mrs May launched a frantic bid to sell her Brexit deal to world leaders at the G20 summit in Argentina;

Bank of England Governor Mark Carney warned that more than half of UK firms were completely unprepared for a no-deal Brexit;

Security Minister Ben Wallace said quitting the EU without a deal would leave the UK more vulnerable to terrorist attack;

The PMs de-facto deputy David Lidington warned that a second Brexit referendum would run the risk of the radicalisation of right wing voters in the UK;

Environment Secretary Michael Gove revealed that French President Emmanuel Macron was speechless with rage over post-Brexit fishing rights;

Justine Greening claimed Britain could hold a new referendum by the end of May. The former education secretary said that if the PMs deal is voted down, organising a referendum could begin immediately.

Miss Greening suggested the referendum could have three choices  Remain, Brexit with Mrs Mays deal, or leaving with no deal. She said: You could plan and hold a referendum in 22 weeks.

Mr Fox will today offer his full backing to the Prime Minister when he tells an audience that though her deal wont please everyone, it provides a firm and stable base on which to leave the EU.

He is due to outline Britains global trade role, saying it is time to raise our sights, and acknowledge there is a world beyond Europe, and a time beyond Brexit.

Dr Fox was reported to be among a group of five Cabinet ministers seeking to tweak Mrs Mays Withdrawal Agreement before MPs vote on December 11. In his speech he will appeal for unity, saying: Now is the time to set aside our differences, and lead our country to a future of freedom, success, and prosperity. In politics we cannot always have the luxury of doing what we want for ourselves, but we have an abiding duty to do what is right for our country.

News that she has won over Antoinette Sandbach is a significant win for Mrs May because she is one of Parliaments prominent Remainers and it suggests she may win over others.

Miss Sandbach said: The Prime Minister has done remarkable work putting together a compromise as good as this. The agreement does not give any one group everything they want, but it does have something for everyone.

Mrs Leadsoms support suggests backing from the other side of the Brexit spectrum. Yesterday, arch-Brexiteer Mr Gove offered his support, telling the Commons that the Governments deal on fisheries had caused anger in Paris.

Prime Minister Theresa May has a tough job ahead of her to get the Brexit deal through Parliament

He said: As an independent coastal state we will be able to decide who comes into our waters and on what terms.

Mrs May will become the first British PM ever to visit Buenos Aires. She was stung by criticism from Donald Trump this week, who said her proposals were a good deal for the EU.

But Downing Street said Mrs May would now use the meeting of leaders from the worlds biggest economies to stress the fact her deal would allow the UK to develop an independent trade policy.

Mr Lidington warned that with former English Defence League leader Tommy Robinson now a standard bearer for many on the far-Right, there could be an ugly reaction to a second referendum.

Such a move could be seen as an attempt by the political elite to set aside a democratic verdict, he warned. That would pose a risk of a radicalisation.

It came as reports emerged that Mrs Mays Brexit adviser Olly Robbins has reportedly drawn up a secret blueprint to let Britain unilaterally abandon guarantees over the Irish border.

A No 10 spokesman said it would not comment on leaks.
The ex-girlfriend of NASCAR driver Kurt Busch has been found guilty of stealing $900,000 from the veterans charity she worked for.

Patricia Driscoll, 40, was convicted on Thursday by a federal jury in Washington DC of wire fraud, tax evasion and first degree fraud. She now faces a maximum prison sentence of 35 years.

Driscoll, who famously accused Busch of domestic assault in 2014, was the director of the Armed Forces Foundation.

She worked for the charity for 12 years but resigned indignantly in 2015 when it claimed in a tax filing to have found proof that she had been misappropriating funds.

That year, she reported a salary of $93,062.

According to the charity's tax filings, Driscoll received$1,113,382 in compensation between 2006 and 2015.

She claimed not to have been paid in 2005 and 2004 and records for 2003 and 2002 could not be found.

Kurt Busch's ex-girlfriend Patricia Driscoll was found guilty on Thursday of fraud and tax evasion for stealing $900,000 from the veterans charity she worked as the director of

Her annual salary varied greatly. In 2012, she pocketed $194,000. Six years earlier, she reported an income of $9,752.

It remains unclear if the $900,000 she misappropriated was part of her reported $1.1million income.

She also defrauded donors and lied to the IRS about the organization's books, they said.

She was arrested in 2016 on fraud charges and was found guilty on Thursday.

Driscoll, a mother-of-one who Busch thought was a 'trained assassin', denies any wrongdoing.

Her attorney vowed to appeal the verdict on Thursday, telling The San Diego Tribune: 'The jury did not get it right  Patricia Driscoll is innocent.

'We are very disappointed by the verdict and the governments misconduct in this case. We will appeal.

'This is not the final chapter to this story.'

The charity was founded in 2001 to help promote mental and physical health among veterans. In the years Driscoll worked for it, it reported $44millon in revenues.

Busch and Driscoll (in April 2014) split that year after he allegedly strangled her and slammed her against a wall. They are pictured months earlier. She was a regular on the NASCAR circuit and promoted the charity through it and through Busch who was a celebrity ambassador for it

It was a fixture on the NASCAR racing circuit, and Busch formerly served as a 'celebrity ambassador' for the group.

According to the charity's records, Driscoll spent the money on shopping sprees, jewelry for herself and trips to the dermatologist.

She also spent $65,000 on lawyers when she accused Busch of domestic violence in 2014.

Driscoll, pictured with her son from a previous relationship, told Busch that she was a trained assassin and that a character in the film Zero Dark Thirty was based on her

At the time, she said he choked her and slammed her against a wall at his motor home on a race track after she went over to check on him because he had sent her worrying text messages which suggested he was depressed.

Busch denied her allegations and offered up a series of outlandish explanations for the altercation.

He claimed that he was naked and having a 'spiritual experience' after watching Brad Pitt in Seven Years in Tibet.

He told a judge that he did not attack Driscoll, as she claimed, and that he only ever 'cupped' her face.

One of his reasons for not attacking her, he said, was that she would win a fight because she was a 'trained assassin'.

He said she 'could take me down at any moment, because she is a bada**'.

He also claimed that she told him a character in the film Zero Dark Thirty, which tells the story of the operation to track down Osama Bin Laden, was based on her

Busch is now married to polo player Ashley Van Metre, 27. Before Driscoll, he was married to Eva Bryan for five years. They divorced in 2011.

It is unclear who Driscoll has been dating since.

Busch denied ever hitting Driscoll and claimed he was having a 'spiritual experience' watching Seven Years in Tibet naked when she says he attacked her. They are pictured in April 2014
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World leaders have begun arriving in Argentina for the G20 summit as issues such as a trade war between the United States and China, the killing of a Saudi journalist in the country's Istanbul consulate and the conflict over Ukraine threatened to overshadow the gathering.

Heads of state from China, Italy, Canada, South Korea, Singapore and Turkey were among the first to arrive in Buenos Aires on Thursday.

They joined French president Emmanuel Macron and Saudi crown prince Mohammed bin Salman, who arrived the previous day.

President Donald Trump abruptly canceled a planned meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin as he headed to Buenos Aires, citing Russia's seizure of Ukrainian vessels as a source of tension in a relationship he has fostered in the face of criticism. He and First Lady Melania landed in Buenos Aires late on Thursday.

Theresa May became the first serving UK Prime Minister to visit Buenos Aires when she arrived - without husband Philip - and only the second to travel to the country, following a Tony Blair trip over the border from Brazil in 2001.

France's First Lady Brigitte Macron, 65, French president Emmanuel Macron, 40, Argentina's president Mauricio Macri, 59, and First Lady Juliana Awada, 44

Theresa May arrived in Buenos Aries early today, descending the plane steps alone as husband Philip opted to stay in the UK

US President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump arrive ahead of the G20 leaders summit in Buenos Aires

US President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump disembark from Air Force One upon arrival in Buenos Aires

Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his wife Sophie Gregoire Trudeau arrive ahead of the G20 summit in Buenos Aires on Thursday

Chinese President Xi Jinping (L) and First Lady Peng Liyuan arrive at the Ezeiza International Airport in Buenos Aires on Thursday

The long-running dispute over the Falkland Islands - still claimed as Las Malvinas by Argentina, 36 years after the 1982 war - is likely to be discussed in a one-on-one meeting with President Mauricio Macri, but is not thought likely to dominate the talks, which will focus on trade.

More awkward for Mrs May could be a potential encounter with Prince Mohammed, after the UK's condemnation of the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in October.

Asked whether Mrs May would be willing to shake the Crown Prince's hand, a senior UK official said the PM believed it was important to 'engage' with Saudi Arabia and would take any opportunity to get across Britain's message on the need for 'full accountability and full transparency' over the Khashoggi killing and an end to bloodshed in Yemen.

Meanwhile, German Chancellor Angela Merkel was supposed to arrive in Buenos Aires early on Friday, but her plane returned to Germany on Thursday night due to a technical problem.

Mrs Merkel and German Finance Minister Olaf Scholz will resume their travel on Friday, but the long flight time means they will miss the opening of the summit.

France's President Emmanuel Macron and France's First Lady Brigitte Macron, 65, during a visit to the Remembrance Park in Buenos Aires on Thursday

Emmanuel Macron (2-L) looks as his wife Brigitte Macron (C), signs a visitors book at the Remembrance Park, a monument on the banks of the Rio de la Plata in memory of the 30,000 people who disappeared or were killed under the 1976-1983 military regime in Argentina

France's President Emmanuel Macron (L) and his wife Brigitte Macron (R), walk with Vera Vigevani de Jarach (C-L), a member of the human rights organization Madres de Plaza de Mayo Linea Fundadora (C) and Lita Boitano a member of Abuelas de Plaza de Mayo, during a visit to the Remembrance Park in Buenos Aires on Thursday

France's First Lady Brigitte Macron (R) is welcomed by Argentina's First Lady Juliana Awada, at the Casa Rosada presidential palace in Buenos Aires on Thursday

The two-day summit beginning Friday is supposed to focus on development, infrastructure and food security.

But those seemed largely an afterthought amid soured US-European relations and as the US, Mexico and Canada hammered out the final language of a replacement for the North American Free Trade Agreement expected to be signed Friday.

However there was no mention of a USMCA ceremony in Canadian Prime Minister's Trudeau's G20 schedule as of late Thursday, amid speculation he could send his foreign minister to sign instead if Trump does not lift steel and aluminum tariffs.

Michael Shifter, head of the Inter-American Dialogue, a Washington-based think tank, said that this G-20 summit was once considered an opportunity for Latin American members Argentina, Brazil and Mexico 'to project a regional bloc to shape a global agenda.'

But, he said, 'that turned out to be a fleeting aspiration.'

Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte and Argentina's President, Mauricio Macri, with Argentina's first lady Juliana Awada during their meeting at the Presidential Palace in Buenos Aires

Italy's Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte toasts with Argentina's President Mauricio Macri an his wife Juliana Awada at the presidential palace in Buenos Aires on Thursday

Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte (L) and the Argentine President Mauricio Macri (R)pose for a photograph during their meeting at the Casa Rosada, in Buenos Aires, on Thursday

'The fact that the G20 is taking place in South America for the first time is almost beside the point,' Shifter said. 'Argentine President Mauricio Macri, the summit's host, has lowered expectations. ... Now a success would be a summit meeting that goes smoothly, without any major disruption.'

Nonetheless, Mr Macron, who flew into Buenos Aires on Wednesday as one of the earliest arrivers, clung to the importance of the ideal of cooperation that the G20 represents.

'I believe in our capacity to make the spirit of dialogue and cooperation triumph,' Mr Macron said at a joint news conference with Macri, warning that if nations 'close down,' the alternative could be trade wars or armed conflict.

Mr Macron also called for international involvement and 'complete clarity' in investigations into the killing of Khashoggi, and said European leaders should discuss it at a meeting Friday.

Mr Macri said the matter of the killing would be 'on the table' during bilateral and possibly broader meetings.

Australia's Prime Minister Scott Morrison (front), followed by his Finance Minister Mathias Cormann, steps off his plane upon arrival at Jorge Newbery airport in Buenos Aires, on Thursday evening

South Africa's President Cyril Ramaphosa (R) is welcomed by Argentinas Foreign Affairs Minister Jorge Faurie, shortly after arriving at Ezeiza International airport on Thursday

India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi greets participants of a Yoga for Peace event at La Rural Convention Center in Buenos Aires on Thursday

Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez (C), being welcomed by Argentinian deputy Emilio Monzo, upon arrival at Ezeiza International airport in Buenos Aires

Saudia Arabia has denied that Prince Mohammed, the country's de facto ruler, played a role in Khashoggi's gruesome slaying at the kingdom's consulate in Istanbul.

But Human Rights Watch accuses him of responsibility and also of war crimes in Yemen.

On Wednesday, Argentine legal authorities took initial action to consider a request to prosecute him for alleged crimes against humanity, a move apparently aimed at embarrassing him as he attends the summit.

It is to be Prince Mohammed's first significant appearance overseas since the killing.

Turkey's Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who has been sharply critical of Saudi Arabia over the incident, is also attending.

'Given the role that Turkey has played in this, given that the murder happened at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, this will be an interesting meeting,' said Willis Sparks, director of global macro politics at Eurasia Group.

'Just to see how leaders interact with the crown prince will be interesting - how warm they are. I expect Trump to be very warm with him, but European leaders probably are going to be very reluctant to have their pictures taken with him.'

US President Donald Trump waves before departing the White House to head to Buenos Aires for the G20 summit on Thursday

US First Lady Melania Trump and President Donald Trump walk to Marine One on the South Lawn of the White House on Thursday

Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump arrive ahead of the G20 leaders summit in Buenos Aires on Thursday evening

Donald Trump jets into Argentina on Thursday for a G20 summit, keen to do battle with China on trade and sharpening his rhetoric against Russia over Ukraine

An expected high-profile bilateral meeting between Mr Trump and Mr Putin planned for Saturday was abruptly canceled by Trump, who made the announcement in a tweet.

The Kremlin said it had not been notified and only learned about it from the tweet.

Mr Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the cancellation means that the Russian president will have 'a couple more hours' for 'useful meetings' with G20 leaders, Russian news agencies reported.

Mr Trump was still scheduled to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping, but analysts were not optimistic about prospects for a major breakthrough on the two countries' trade disputes a month before US tariffs on Chinese goods are set to ramp up.

Shannon O'Neil, an expert on global trade at the Council on Foreign Relations, said she believes it 'very likely' that the tariffs will take effect in January.

'I think this is an issue that Trump cares a lot about and is going to use when he campaigns for 2020,' O'Neil said. 'It used to be Mexico and NAFTA, and now it's going to be China.'

The US, Canada and Mexico are scheduled to sign the new United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement that is replacing the NAFTA trade deal during a ceremony Friday.

However there was no mention of a USMCA ceremony in Canadian Prime Minister's Trudeau's G-20 schedule as of late Thursday, amid speculation he could send his foreign minister to sign instead if Trump does not lift steel and aluminum tariffs.

South Korean President Moon Jae-in (L) and First Lady Kim Jung-sook (C) arrive in Buenos Aires on Thursday

The foreign minister, Chrystia Freeland, said the three countries are 'very much on track' to sign on time.

'These agreements are massive, and a vast number of technical details need to be scrubbed and wrapped up,' she said.

'The fact that this is an agreement in three languages adds to the level of technical complexity, and it is on that level that we're just being sure that all the i's are dotted and all the t's are crossed.'

The pact must still be approved by lawmakers in all three countries. O'Neil said she anticipates that to be 'quite smooth' in Mexico and Canada, but passage could be more complicated in the United States after midterm elections flipped the House of Representatives, meaning the next speaker could be Democratic Rep. Nancy Pelosi.

'There are some ... things in there that I think Democrats can support,' O'Neil said. 'But I can't imagine having a new NAFTA is going to be Pelosi's first priority when she comes in, so I'd expect it to be drawn out.'

It stands to be a short visit for Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto, who is scheduled to return to his country for the inauguration Saturday of his successor, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador.

On Thursday, Mr Macron also criticised protectionist stances by Mr Trump but said they have no plans for a one-on-one at the summit.

The two have increasingly clashed in recent weeks on everything from Mr Trump's nationalism to wine tariffs.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel was supposed to arrive in Buenos Aires early on Friday, but her plane returned to Germany on Thursday night due to a technical problem.

MERKEL TO MISS OPENING OF SUMMIT AFTER HER PLANE WAS FORCED TO MAKE EMERGENCY LANDING People gather around German Chancellor Angela Merkel's Airbus 'Konrad Adenauer' on on the tarmac of Cologne's airport after the plane was forced to make an emergency landing German Chancellor Angela Merkel will miss the opening of the G20 summit in Argentina after technical issues forced her government plane to make an emergency landing on Thursday. Merkel and German Finance Minister Olaf Scholz will resume their travel to Buenos Aires early on Friday, but the long flight time means they will arrive after world leaders start their discussions. The government's Airbus A340 aircraft carrying Merkel and her delegation to the G20 summit turned around after technical problems surfaced an hour into the 15-hour flight, and landed safely at the Cologne-Bonn airport. The airplane captain told passengers he had decided to land after the 'malfunction of several electronic systems', but said there had been no security risk. Merkel and other passengers initially remained on board the aircraft, called 'Konrad Adenauer', as mechanics inspected its brakes and several fire engines waited nearby, according to a Reuters reporter on board. No details were immediately available about the cause of the technical issues. The German military blog Augengeradeaus reported that the plane's transponder was transmitting the code 7600 which refers to a radio malfunction. Later, the delegation traveled by bus to a hotel in Bonn. Delegation sources said a different government plane would fly Merkel and Scholz to Madrid, where they would switch to a commercial carrier for the final leg of the trip. The delay will complicate Merkel's schedule at meeting where the G20 members already expect to face very difficult negotiations on myriad issues. Merkel, who had planned bilateral meetings with the presidents of the United States, China, Russia and India, was unlikely to arrive in Buenos Aires until Friday evening, German government sources said. It was not immediately clear which bilateral meetings would have to be rescheduled. Scholz was grounded on the same A340 aircraft last month after an International Monetary Fund meeting in Indonesia, according to German media reports. They said the issue involved damage caused by rodents. Advertisement

The French president envisions himself as a new leader of the free world and is fashioning himself at this summit as the anti-Trump - a champion of the Paris climate accord, defender of the postwar system of global trade and crusader against multinational tax evaders.

Mr Macron warned that Europe might not sign trade deals with the South American regional bloc Mercosur if Brazil's incoming president, Jair Bolsonaro, pulls out of the Paris accord.

Taking the world stage at the G20 is a welcome relief for Mr Macron, who has faced mass protests at home over rising fuel taxes that are the biggest challenge yet to his presidency.

But his party dominates parliament and neither faces re-election until 2022.

Other European leaders at the summit are facing domestic struggles of their own.

Mrs May is fighting for political survival as she tries to pull her country out of the European Union.

Mrs Merkel is preparing to leave politics after announcing last month she would give up leadership of her party, a post she has held since 2000.

Italy's Giuseppe Conte heads a populist coalition that is clashing with the EU and suffers internal divisions.

The 'Baby Trump' balloon is seen ahead of the G20 leaders summit, in front of the Congress building in Buenos Aires

Demonstrators protest outside the presidential palace, ahead of the Group 20 summit, in Buenos Aires, on Thursday. The writing on the banner reads 'Property of the G20, who chooses?'

A figure made of recycled materials, resembling US President Donald Trump, is seen during a protest ahead of the G20 leaders summit, in Buenos Aires

Senior German officials, briefing reporters in Berlin on condition of anonymity, said Mrs Merkel planned to hold bilateral meetings with Mr Trump, Mr Putin, Mr Xi, India's Narendra Modi, Australia's Scott Morrison and Mr Macri.

The British Embassy in Argentina said Mrs May's visit would be the first by a UK prime minister to Buenos Aires; the only other prime minister to visit the country was Tony Blair who went to Puerto Iguazu in 2001.

The two countries have long been at odds over the disputed islands known as the Falklands in Britain and the Malvinas in Argentina.

Outside Argentina's congress, as many as 1,000 people gathered Thursday for a forum hosted by organisations opposing the G-20 and the International Monetary Fund.

A large inflatable blimp caricaturing Mr Trump as a baby holding a cellphone - which has appeared at protests in other places the U.S. president has visited - floated over the square underneath a light rain.

Thomas Bernes of the Centre for International Governance Innovation, a Canada-based think tank focusing on global governance, said this summit could be a defining moment for the Group of 20 - for better or for worse.

'The G20 Leader's Summit is at risk of falling into disarray with the summit being overshadowed by items not on agenda,' he said.

'The true test will be whether the other members of the G-20 will act resolutely or whether we will witness the crumbling of the G20 as a forum for international economic cooperation.'
Suitcase killer Daniel James Holdom has been handed two life sentences for the murder of a mother and her toddler after making a last-minute bid to change his guilty plea over the death of the child.

Holdom pleaded guilty in July to the December 2008 murder of his girlfriend of two months, Karlie Pearce-Stevenson, 20, and Khandalyce Pearce, aged two-and-a-half, about four days later.

Ms Pearce-Stevenson's remains were found in the NSW Belanglo State Forest in 2010, but were not identified until her daughter's were discovered in 2015 in a suitcase dumped beside a South Australian highway.

In the NSW Supreme Court on Friday, Justice Robert Allan Hulme imposed life sentences for both murders.

'His treatment of her [Karlie] showed complete disdain for her existence as a human being,' Justice Hulme said, labelling it a murder of 'extreme gravity and appalling depravity'.

Daniel James Holdom has been handed two life sentences for the murder of a mother and her toddler

'For him, she was just flesh with a life that could be extinguished for his vile pleasure.'

Justice Hulme then described Holdom's killing of the 'completely defenceless two-year-old' girl as 'despicable'.

Immediately after the sentencing, the victims' family released a statement, saying Holdom's 'brutality will haunt us forever'.

'We feared justice for our loved ones would never be attained but Department of Justice staff did not give up,' the statement read.

'They could not have done more to make amends for what has happened. They have restored our faith in the system, which we worried might not hold Daniel Holdom accountable.'

The family went on to say 'no sentence will ever bring closure' and they would live in pain for the rest of their lives.

Holdom pleaded guilty in July to the December 2008 murder of his girlfriend of two months, Karlie Pearce-Stevenson (left) and Khandalyce Pearce (right) about four days later

'Nothing done to him will bring Karlie and Khandalyce back or repay the toll on us,' they said.

'We can no longer hold and hug Karlie and Khandalyce, but we will never stop loving them.'

Ms Pearce-Stevenson's unidentified skeleton was for years known as 'the Angel of Belanglo' due to a t-shirt found with the remains with the word 'angelic' on it.

She had bone fractures indicative of being forcefully stomped on or kneed in the chest, the agreed facts state.

Holdom's barrister said he had received instructions 'a matter of minutes' earlier that 'he wishes to withdraw his plea of guilty to count two' - being the child's murder

Her blonde toddler, suffocated by Holdom 'probably' in a hotel room in Narrandera, was found with balls of dishcloth stuffed in her mouth, layers of tape wound from her chin to her eyes, and a disposable nappy wrapped around her skull.

Holdom also used bank cards and personal papers to steal more than $70,000 from Ms Pearce-Stevenson's accounts, and a mobile phone to create 'false indications' to her family that she and Khandalyce were alive.

'The offender, for at least for the foreseeable future, represents a danger to society,' Justice Hulme said.

At the start of the hearing on Friday, Holdom's barrister, Thomas Woods, said he had received instructions 'a matter of minutes' earlier that 'he wishes to withdraw his plea of guilty to count two' - being the child's murder.

Khandalyce's remains were discovered in 2015 in a suitcase dumped beside a South Australian highway

'I would ask that Your Honour not proceed to deliver sentence remarks today and set a date, if possible, for a hearing application,' Mr Woods told Justice Hulme.

Crown prosecutor Mark Tedeschi QC opposed the application.

'The Crown submits that your honour should proceed to sentence him on both charges and there is nothing to stop him making an application in the Court of Criminal Appeal,' he said.

The judge briefly adjourned proceedings before refusing Holdom's application.
Igor Vorotinov, 54, is accused of dressing a corpse in his clothes in order to fake his death. FBI agents say they do not know who the corpse actually belonged to

A father from Minnesota faked his own death by dressing a corpse in his clothes and planting his passport on the body, it is alleged.

Igor Vorotinov, 54, then laid the body by the side of a road in Moldova to be discovered by police, prosecutors say.

Vorotinov is accused of hatching the scheme alongside his wife Irina, 51, and 29-year-old son Alkon in 2010 in order to claim $2million in life insurance.

The couple took out the life insurance policy in spring that year with Irina as the primary beneficiary before they divorced.

The following year, while on a trip to Moldova in eastern Europe, Igor apparently died and remains were found at the side of a road.

Irina flew to Moldova where she falsely identified the body as her husband in the presence of U.S. Embassy official.

She then had the remains cremated and put into an urn which she brought back to the US an had interred in a mausoleum in Minneapolis.

Insurer Mutual of Omaha wrote a check for $2million, which Irina cashed.

But in 2013 a tipster in Moldova contacted the FBI and claimed that Vorotinov was living in Ukraine under an assumed name.

In November that year customs agents stopped Alkon as he came back from a trip to Moldova and found pictures of his father alive in April and May 2013 - more than a year after his supposed death.

Alkon later admitted that his father had been living in various locations across Ukraine and Moldova under the name Nikolai Patoka, the Star Tribune reports.

Igor's wife Irina identified the remains as his and had them cremated and interred at this cemetery in Minneapolis. Checks by FBI agents confirmed they did not belong to her husband

In 2015 the ashes supposedly belonging to Igor were disinterred by FBI agents and found to be fake. The agency says they do not know who they really belonged to.

Vorotinov was indicted in February 2015 for fraud but agents could not find him.

The following year, Irina was sentenced to three years in jail for her part in the scheme while Alkon was handed three years of probation for concealing a felony.

Investigators also discovered that between 2013 and 2015, $1.5million was transferred to bank accounts in Switzerland and Moldova, though say they don't know where it ended up.

In May 2016 prosecutors did managed to speak with with Igor Vorotinov in hopes of persuading him to return to the U.S.

But he told investigators he would rather live with his new love interest on an apple farm, according to a judge's filing.

Vorotinov was captured on November 14 in Moldova, extradited to the US three days later, and made his first court appearance on Monday.

He pleaded not guilty and is awaiting trial with a date set for January.

Vorotinov requested to be freed while awaiting his date in court but Judge Katherine M. Menendez ruled against it on Wednesday, saying he posed too great a flight risk.

Menendez said Vorotinov showed 'substantial resourcefulness and cunning'.
President Donald Trump has asked Republican National Committee Chair Ronna McDaniel to stay on as party chief through the 2020 election when he is once again on the ballot.

Trump praised McDaniels' for her work in a tweet on Thursday evening as he traveled to Argentina for a G20 meeting.

'As RNC Chair Ronna McDaniel oversaw history defying gains in the Senate and unprecedented fundraising strength. I have asked her to serve another term for my 2020 re-elect, because there is no one better for the job!,' he wrote.

President Donald Trump has asked Republican National Committee Chair Ronna McDaniel to stay on as party chief through the 2020 election

Ronna McDaniel joined President Trump on the campaign trail in 2018, including his final rally before Election Day in Cape Girardeau, Mo.

Trump praised her in a tweet as he headed to Argentina for the G20

Republicans held on to the Senate in the 2018 midterm election but lost control of the House of Representatives with Democrats netting almost 40 cities.

Trump campaigned hard for his party and Senate candidates in particular.

Republicans were able to knock off four Democratic senators in states the president won in 2016: Florida, Missouri, North Dakota and Indiana.

McDaniel was at his side in his final rally before election day in Cape Girardeau, Mo.

She led the party in a fundraising boon, bringing in over $250 million the midterm election.

She is also a steady presence on cable news, defending Trump and his presidency.

Under her leadership the RNC has begun to run ads in support of the president's reelection campaign.

RNC members will have to officially vote McDaniel as their chair at the group's winter meeting but Trump's blessing should make that vote a formality.

She served as chairman of the Michigan Republican Party and headed the GOP there when Trump won the state in the 2016 election. Republicans lost the Senate race in Michigan in November.

Trump named her party head on December 14, 2016, shortly after he won the presidency.

She is the niece of Mitt Romney, the incoming Senator from Utah, and former GOP presidential nominee.
Pictures posted to social media have given electronic music fans the biggest insight yet of what Ultra Australia will look like.

The festival's Instagram account shows impressive light shows, fireworks and flames shooting off stages in front of elated crowds.

Ultra Australia promises to bring some of the hottest names in EDM music to the country for its planned shows in Melbourne and Sydney next year.

The Chainsmokers, Martin Garrix, Adam Beyer and Marshmello have already been name dropped in the first phase of the lineup announcement.

Scroll down for video

One of the biggest electronic dance music festivals in the world is getting set to drop on Australian shores

The Chainsmokers, Martin Garrix, Adam Beyer and Marshmello (pictured) have already been name dropped in the first phase of the lineup announcement

The festival is good news for hard-style music fans of Stereosonic after the country's biggest rolling rave was cancelled back in 2016

The festival is being hotly anticipated by fans of Stereosonic which was cancelled back in 2016.

The unpopular closure of the festival followed a string of deaths and the festival's failure to crack down on illicit drug use.

Ultra lifted off in Melbourne earlier this year for a single-day event featuring Axwell & Ingrosso, Afrojack and KSHMR.

'After the thrilling debut of "Road to Ultra" in Melbourne this year, we are beyond excited to welcome the full scale Ultra experience to both Melbourne and Sydney in February 2019 for Ultra Australia,' ULTRA organisers said in a statement.

This time around, the EDM festival will be completing a circuit tour of Melbourne and Sydney with back to back shows.

Festival organisers have flagged Flemington Racecourse in Melbourne for February 23 and Parramatta Park in Sydney on February 24.

The ULTRA music festival has attracted big namers in the past along the likes of Tigerlily

ULTRA lifted off in Melbourne earlier this year for a single-day and single-stage event in February and showcased acts like Axwell  Ingrosso, Afrojack, KSHMR

One festival goer (left) shows her patriotism to Australia while another (right) seized the opportunity to dress up as her spirit animal

'After watching the success of the event in Miami over the last 20 years and across the globe, its time we experienced this fantastic festival down under!' ULTRA also said in the statement.

The EDM festival has traditionally taken place in Miami, Florida in the United States. Though it has since grown in size and ballooned to places like Europe and South America.

The EDM festival has traditionally taken place in Miami, Florida in the United States.

After ULTRA's success in Melbourne earlier this year its organisers decided to return down under for a circuit tour in 2019

ULTRA has ballooned from its birthplace in America and now plays in countries across Europe and South America
Bunnings customers in New Zealand are outraged after discovering they are paying almost double the amount for items that are sold in Australia for half the price.

Australians can pick up a door emergency lock for $19.98 from their local hardware store, but New Zealanders are forced to fork out $55.90 for the same item - despite having the same manufacturer.

A NZ Herald reader spoke to the publication venting their frustration over the price difference on identical items.

For a door emergency access lock, it costs Australians $20 (pictured on Bunnings site)

New Zealander's need to fork out almost $60 for the same item sold in Australia

Jacqui Coombes, Bunnings Director New Zealand and Group Human Resources told Daily Mail Australia that they're not the only retailer with price differences in New Zealand and Australia.

'Like other retailers, the individual size of the markets, freight and shipping in addition to differing suppliers, can cause a disparity in price between items stocked in New Zealand and Australia,' she said.

'We always aim to provide great value for our customers wherever theyre shopping.

'This includes sourcing from local suppliers, regularly checking competitor prices and maintaining our commitment to lowest prices backed up by our price guarantee.'

She explained that Bunnings do have the lowest prices in the market, but will continue to work with suppliers to provide quality and availability for their customers.

Another reader told the publication they found the DeLonghi Tasciugo AriaDry Slim Dehumidifier for $799 in New Zealand, but would only have to pay $349 in Australia.

'It would have been cheaper to fly to Australia and fly back with the device rather than buying it here,' the reader said.

Jacqui Coombes, Bunnings group and HR New Zealand director, spoke to the publication and explained that the price difference was due to the smaller market in the country (stock)








Don Trump Jr is facing renewed questions about his Congressional testimony after information in Michael Cohen's guilty plea that could be construed as contradictory.

Trump Jr, the President's eldest son, testified in September 2017 that he was 'peripherally aware of' but 'not involved' in plans to build a Trump Tower in Moscow.

On Thursday, Cohen's plea deal revealed he had consulted about the deal with President Donald Trump's family members, including Trump Jr.

Cohen confessed that he had lied to Congress when he said that the plans for the luxury development in Russia had fallen through in January of 2016, though they had actually fallen through in June of that year.

Michael Cohen confessed on Thursday that he had lied to Congress about plans for a Trump Tower Moscow, saying the plans fell through in January 2016 instead of June

Don Trump Jr (above in September) testified last year that he was 'peripherally aware of' but 'not involved' in plans to build a Trump Tower in Moscow

The Trump Organization's plans for a Trump Tower Moscow, which never materialized, were previously reported and there was nothing inherently illegal about them.

However, Cohen's guilty plea to lying about the plans brings the failed project under new scrutiny.

Trump Jr testified last year that he was aware that Cohen had pursued a deal to build a Trump Tower in Russia with Felix Sater, a real estate developer and convicted mobster turned federal informant who served as an advisor to the Trump Organization.

Trump Jr told the Senate Judiciary Committee of Sater: 'He was involved as a broker. I don't know if he's a principal. I wasn't involved.'

Court filings from Cohen's guilty plea on Thursday suggest that the lawyer consulted with Trump Jr to some extent on the deal.

The filing reads in part: 'COHEN discussed the status and progress of the Moscow Project with Individual 1 [Trump] on more than the three occasions COHEN claimed to the Committee, and he briefed family members of Individual 1 within the Company about the project.'

Prosecutors for special counsel Robert Mueller said that Cohen lied in part to conceal discussions he'd had with Trump family members about the project.

Trump is seen with developer partners Tevfik Arif and Felix Sater (right) in 2007. Sater was a broker involved in the Trump Organization's failed plan to build a Trump Tower Moscow

Seen above is the relevant section of Don Trump Jr's September 2017 testimony about failed plans to build a Trump Tower Moscow

A person close to the Trump Organization told the AP that Trump Jr and Ivanka Trump were copied in on emails about the project and Ivanka Trump suggested an architect for the building.

The emails were exchanged in late 2015 and included in a tranche of emails turned over to congressional committees by the Trump Organization.

The person says the company doesn't have any email traffic about the project post-January 2016. The person wasn't authorized to discuss the matter and spoke on condition of anonymity.

The Wall Street Journal also reported the existence of the emails fitting the same description from Cohen to Trump Jr and Ivanka Trump, citing law enforcement sources.

President Donald Trump on Thursday defended the failed deal to build a Trump Tower in Russia, saying that it was a normal part of his business to explore new developments.

He called Cohen a 'weak person' who was lying to get a lighter sentence and repeatedly stressed that the real estate deal at issue was never a secret and never executed.

'There would be nothing wrong if I did do it,' Trump said of pursuing the project. 'I was running my business while I was campaigning. There was a good chance that I wouldn't have won, in which case I would have gone back into the business, and why should I lose lots of opportunities?'

President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump arrive for the G20 summit in Argentina on Thursday night. He has blasted Cohen as 'weak' and a liar over the plea deal

Trump is seen touching down in Argentina. He continued to blast the Mueller probe in a series of tweets on Thursday night

Trump went on to criticize Mueller in tweets once again on Thursday night.

'This is an illegal Hoax that should be ended immediately. Mueller refuses to look at the real crimes on the other side. Where is the IG REPORT?' he wrote.

Trump's critics have pointed to the failed deal as evidence that he lied in the presidential debate in October 2017 when he said 'I know nothing about the inner workings of Russia. I don't deal there. I have no businesses there.'

However, because the proposed deal had fallen through by June 2017, Trump's supporters would argue that there was nothing false about his denial.

The failed plan at the heart of the controversy was the latest in a long-running dream Trump had of building a Trump Tower in the heart of Moscow, a plan that flared and fizzled several times over the years.

Trump's plans for a Trump Tower in Moscow went back as far as 1996 when the future president paid a visit to the Russian capital to check out building sites on land being developed by a U.S. company.

That idea fell through, along with plans to revamp the dilapidated Hotel Moskva next to the Kremlin, but the real estate mogul raised the prospect of a 'super-luxury residential tower' bearing his name on other sites he visited on his three-day stay in the city.

'Moscow is going to be huge,' Trump told Playboy magazine in a 1997 interview.

Trump is seen in 1996 checking out sites in Moscow for luxury residential towers. Trump's dream of building a luxury tower in the heart of Moscow flared and fizzled several times

Trump visits a reception in 1996 as he checks out building sites in Moscow. Despite several attempts, his plans to build there failed, most recently in 2016

Trump revived the idea in 2013 during his visit to Moscow as owner of the Miss Universe pageant.

Trump later said he had discussed the idea with Aras and Emin Agalarov, a father-and-son Russian development team close to Russian President Vladimir Putin. Trump reportedly scouted a potential site, but the idea again faded.

The tower idea came back yet again in October 2015, when Andrey Rozov, an obscure Russian real estate developer, signed a letter of intent sent by Cohen to advance the construction of a Trump World Tower that would feature 250 luxury condos, no fewer than 15 floors of hotel rooms, commercial and office space, a fitness center and an Ivanka Trump spa.

It was a potentially lucrative deal for Trump's company, handing it $4 million in upfront fees plus possibly millions more from a cut on everything from food and banquet fees to spa charges. His share on the first $100 million in condo sales alone would reach another $5 million.

Rozov's signed letter was sent back to Cohen by Felix Sater, another Trump world figure who had worked on and off for the Trump Organization and operated as a government informant following a 1998 conviction in a stock fraud case.

Sater sent Cohen an email expressing optimism: 'Let's make this happen and build a Trump Moscow. And possibly fix relations between the countries by showing everyone that commerce and business are much better and more practical than politics.'

Trump is seen at the 2013 Miss Universe competition in Moscow, where he revived the idea of building a luxury development in the Russian capital

Like the previous failed projects, the Rozov-helmed effort soon ran aground. According to Cohen's testimony in 2017 and his plea agreement, negotiations with Rozov's group stalled, and the two Trump associates turned to aides to Russian President Vladimir Putin to move the project forward.

Cohen told congressional investigators last year that he had sent an email in January 2016 to Dmitry Peskov, Putin's spokesman. Cohen told the committee he never heard back from Peskov and the tower deal collapsed by the end of that month.

But according to Cohen's new statement to prosecutors, the tower deal remained viable as late as June 2016, after Trump had vanquished his Republican presidential rivals and was mounting his general election campaign against Hillary Clinton. Cohen said he kept Trump, named as 'Individual 1' in the plea, updated about the deal's progress, and also 'briefed family members of Individual 1 within the company about the project.'

Cohen said in his plea that he also spoke by phone with an assistant to Peskov - identified in the plea as 'Russian Official 1' - in January 2016 and outlined the project and 'requested assistance in moving the project forward.'

According to the plea, Cohen later discussed traveling to Moscow to jump-start the deal. In May 2016, a month after Trump had emerged the winner of the GOP primaries, Sater - identified as 'Individual 2' - told Cohen that Peskov wanted to meet him in mid-June at an international business forum in St. Petersburg and 'possibly introduce you' to Putin or Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev.

Sater and Cohen continued to email about the foundering project well into June 2016, soon after a much-scrutinized meeting at Trump Tower in New York between Trump's son Don Jr., son-in-law Jared Kushner, campaign chairman Paul Manafort and several Russian attendees, purportedly to discuss the possibility of 'dirt' on Hillary Clinton.

On June 14, Cohen met Sater in the tower lobby and told him his potential trip to St. Petersburg was off.
Drivers could soon be fined thousands of dollars for speeding or running a red light under a proposal linking penalties to income.

A Greens proposal, supported by the Territory government, calls for the system of flat fines to be scrapped.

Offenders would instead be charged in line with their capacity to pay so drivers with low incomes don't have to choose between paying up or feeding their families.

Drivers in the ACT could soon be fined thousands of dollars for speeding or running a red light under a proposal to link penalties to income

The proposal by Greens Treasury spokeswoman Caroline Le Couteur was presented in the ACT Legislative Assembly this week.

'We want to change behaviour not force people into poverty,' she said in parliament while advocating for the plan.

For someone earning $5,000 a week, a $500 fine is nothing, Ms Le Couteur said.

But for someone with a low income, the fine can be an entire week's wage.

Ms Le Couteur argued it was unfair and people should instead by fined on a sliding scale in line with their income.

'Financial penalties are disproportionately affecting people already struggling to pay their bill,' she said.

Offenders would instead be charged in line with their capacity to pay so drivers with low incomes don't have to choose between paying up or feeding their families

Ms Le Couteur cited statistics showing more than 80 per cent of driving suspensions were due to failure to pay traffic and parking fines.

Of 85,051 parking fines issued in the ACT last year, 88 per cent were paid on time.

The government now has to come up with a proposal for how an income-based system would work, but is not obliged to actually implement it.

Finland has used an income-based fines system for decades, famously charging wealthy businessmen massive amounts for speeding.

Former Nokia director Anssi Vanjoki was fined 116,000 (AU$276,000) in 2002 for driving 75 km/h in a 50km/h zone.

In 2015, businessman Reima Kuisla was caught doing 103km/h in an 80km/h zone and fined 54,024 (AU$84,000).
A conservative activist has handcuffed herself to Twitter's headquarters in New York after being permanently banned from the social media platform for attacking a newly elected Muslim Democrat congresswoman.

Laura Loomer, 25, chained herself to the company's front door in Chelsea on Thursday afternoon to protest the decision to shut down her Twitter account last week .

Loomer yelled through the door that Twitter employees worked for an 'evil company' during the nearly two-hour protest.

'I am not going to stand by as people like Jack Dorsey and Mark Zuckerberg silence the voices of millions of conservatives,' Loomer said.

Laura Loomer, 25, chained herself to Twitter's front door (above) in New York on Thursday afternoon to protest the decision to shut down her Twitter account last week

The NYPD ended up using bolt cutters to remove the handcuffs after Loomer requested them to do so.

She was not arrested for the protest, which was livestreamed on Periscope, after Twitter declined to press charges.

Twitter issued a statement during the ordeal, saying: 'We have notified the relevant authorities who are responding. The account holder was suspended for violating our policies. We apply the Twitter Rules impartially and not based on ideology.'

Loomer had her account shut down after she posted an Islamophobic tweet attacking the Minnesota Rep.-elect Ilhan Omar and her religion.

In the tweet, Loomer accused Omar of being 'anti-Jewish' and 'pro Sharia' and 'pro-FGM (female genital mutilation)' based solely on her Muslim faith.

Loomer also said that under Islamic law, 'homosexuals are oppressed' and that 'women are abused' and 'forced to wear the hijab.'

Loomer yelled through the door that Twitter employees worked for an 'evil company' during the nearly two-hour protest

Loomer yelled through the door that Twitter employees worked for an 'evil company' during the nearly two-hour protest. She posted copies of her tweet on the door of the building

Loomer had her account shut down after she posted an Islamophobic tweet attacking the Minnesota Rep.-elect Ilhan Omar and her religion

She had about 260,000 followers on Twitter when her account was shut down.

In a YouTube video responding to the ban, Loomer said: 'I've been silenced in America'.

Loomer describes herself as an investigative journalist and has often referred to herself as a martyr for the right-wing cause.

Back in August, Loomer interrupted a campaign event in Minneapolis for Ilhan Omar.

Loomer was part of a group that confronted Omar and Tlaib at the Holy Land deli.

She told the Star Tribune at the time that she's been traveling the country investigating Muslim candidates for office.

Loomer was arrested in New York in June after storming the stage of a production of Shakespeare's 'Julius Caesar' that has a character resembling Donald Trump who's assassinated.
A leading girls independent school has asked families to sign a contract pledging to cut their smartphone use at home.

The two-page document states that girls and their parents will outlaw phones during meal times and the daily commute, and read, listen to a book or talk instead.

The voluntary contract also asks for phones to be banned an hour before going to sleep and charged outside the bedroom overnight.

South Hampstead High School in north-west London said it wanted to help families get out of the habit of being glued to their screens. Undated photo

South Hampstead High School in north-west London said it wanted to help families get out of the habit of being glued to their screens.

The idea was proposed by sixth-form psychology students.

Laura Lee, one of its authors, told The Times: What parents do has a big impact on children.

'If checking a phone at the dinner table is their norm, it becomes the norm for the children too.

The schools former pupils include actresses Angela Lansbury and Helena Bonham Carter.
A cyclone developing thousands of kilometres off the coast of Queensland's far north could lash the peninsula by the weekend, forecasters warn.

Cyclones are unusual in November during an El Nino period, but the system building near the Solomon Islands could spell devastating consequences for the near 300,000-strong population of the Sunshine State's northern section.

The Bureau of Meteorology has issued a moderate tropical cyclone warning for the Coral Sea on Sunday.

A cyclone developing thousands of kilometres off the coast of Queensland's far north could lash the peninsula by the weekend, forecasters warn (pictured simulation from Windy)

Duty forecaster Janine Yuasa told Daily Mail Australia the system would continue to move south-westerly over the next few days.

She said there were 'a number of options' as to where the cyclone could end up after Sunday.

Windy.com predicts the system will pass across the tip of the Cape York Peninsula overnight on Wednesday.

The cyclone would become the first of the 2018-19 season in Australia were it to cross the coast.

The system echoes the movement of Cyclone Yasi, which struck far north Queensland in February 2011, and is one of the largest cyclones to hit Australia in recent years

The system echoes the movement of Cyclone Yasi, which struck far north Queensland in February 2011, and is one of the largest cyclones to hit Australia in recent years.

Meanwhile, subscription-based weather forecaster Higgins Storm Chasing also said the same system could hit the far north.

The alert, issued earlier this week, warned however the path of the cyclone was highly uncertain past Sunday - with the BOM only forecasting the storm until Monday.

If the storm were to hit Queensland, it could add further misery to a population already reeling from devastating fires raging across the state.

There was still an extremely large fire south of Agnes Water on the state's central coast forcing evacuations of about 1000 people as of Thursday evening.

The early season storm is developing two months after an 'exceptionally rare' cyclone developed near Fiji.

It was the first cyclone to develop in the South Pacific in September in almost 70 years.

BOM forecaster Janine Yuasa told Daily Mail Australia the system would continue to move south-westerly over the next few days (pictured 2011 cyclone)
Jurors in the case against Marianne Benjamin-Williams, 46 (pictured Thursday), saw photos of the wet wipe the nanny is accused of using in the attack

Jurors in the case of a nanny accused of attempting to choke an infant to death with a baby wipe were shown photos of the towelette and heard distressing testimony from the child's father Thursday.

Radiologist Salomon Blutreich, 37, testified that Marianne Benjamin-Williams, 46, who is on trial for attempting to kill his two-month-old son Maxwell, first refused to answer the phone and then hung up on him as he tried to explain life-saving measures on May 18, 2017.

The frantic father recalled telling Benjamin-Williams: 'Turn him over on his belly  turn him upside down and slap his back,' to which he said she replied, 'I know what the f**k Im doing!' before she hung up on him.

During the call, Blutreich had no idea a cloth was stuffed in the boy's throat, which members of the court viewed as part of photographic evidence on Thursday.

Raymond Loving, the defense attorney for Benjamin-Williams, has argued the wipe was inadvertently lodged in Maxwell's throat, or alternatively that his 14-month-old sister Ariella put it there, the New York Daily News reported.

Prosecutors say it would have been impossible for Maxwell's sister to do that.

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Raymond Loving, the defense attorney for Benjamin-Williams, has argued the wipe was inadvertently lodged in the throat of baby Maxwell (shown), or alternatively that his 14-month-old sister Ariella put it there

Maxwell's father radiologist Salomon Blutreich is pictured in court on the witness stand on Thursday

The father had received a call from a family friend that something wasn't right at his home in Waterside Plaza, on the East River between Peter Cooper Village and East Bay.

Fearing the worst could happen in the time it took him to cycle home from the downtown Brooklyn hospital where he worked, Blutreich called Benjamin-Williams as he rushed home.

She didn't answer at first, he said, but when she eventually picked up, Blutreich asked, 'Whats going on?' which is when he said the nanny told him, 'she saw something white in (baby Maxwells) throat  thats all she knows'.

Blutreich got a call from a family friend that somethign was wrong, so he raced home and called the nanny, and when Benjamin-Williams eventually picked up, Blutreich asked, 'Whats going on?' which is when he said the nanny told him, 'she saw something white in (baby Maxwells) throat  thats all she knows.' Photos of the baby wipe which led to Maxwell's death were shown to the jury on Thursday

The wet wipe is shown in liquid in a container

Knowing that 'he could either be dead or brain-dead' by the time an ambulance arrived, that's when Blutreich tried to explain to the caregiver how to do the Heimlich maneuver on his child, but was met with cursing and anger, before he said Benjamin-Williams hung up on him.

Once at the Bellevue Hospital, Blutreich said Benjamin-Williams' wouldn't provide information to the medical personnel fighting for Maxwell's life.

'Everyone was running around but I dont know if anyone had any idea what to do,' he said, as doctors at that point were unable to see the wipe lodged in the baby's throat.

Benjamin-Williams 'clammed up and wouldnt say a word to me' Blutreich said, describing her reaction as the father tried to get more information about what had happened.

Ariella is shown here holding her baby brother, Maxwell

Benjamin-Williams left the hospital before finding out what Maxwells condition was

'I felt that angerI heard on the phone. It was scary and I didnt want to get between her and the physicians to figure out what the heck was going on with him,' he said.

Blutreich described the scene to the jury on Thursday, as Maxwell's situation grew increasingly dire.

'He looked terrible. There was blood coming out of his mouth,' Blutreich said, of his son's appearance in the pediatric emergency room.

'He was a tiny little baby and he looked like he was already dead.'

Benjamin-Williams left the hospital before finding out what Maxwells condition was, Blutreich said, but not before complaining that she could go to jail if the baby died on 'her watch,' and refusing to come back to work without cameras in the apartment to 'protect herself,' the father said.

Blutreich said he thought at the time, 'Mondays not going to be a normal day because Max was going to be dead or brain-dead, so why are we even having this conversation?'

The father is expected to take the witness stand again on Friday.
Ben Needham (pictured) went missing from his grandparents' farmhouse on Kos in 1991

The family of British missing toddler Ben Needham have been dealt another heartbreaking blow after they were told blood on a toy car believed to have belonged to the toddler did not match his DNA.

His mother Kerry Needham said her 'torture' continues following is disappearance on the Greek island of Kos 27 years ago, when he was just 21-months-old.

Speaking out after the devastating news, the 44-year-old said: 'Our 27 years of slow torture goes on. Its endless heartache and torment.'

In September, Ms Needham was told by forensic experts in Oxford they had found weak DNA profile from decomposed blood inside the car near to where Ben went missing.

She provided a DNA sample, only to be told there was no positive match.

Ms Needham said: 'If that blood is not Ben's  then who does it belong to? It's devastating. We had built ourselves up thinking it would be a positive result and would prove Ben had died.

'It would have given us closure and we would have been able to start the grieving process.

'When it came back negative it was a shock. I don't know what to think now. Is Ben dead or is he still alive?'

She added: 'I'm angry and I can't stop shaking my head.

'Some people on Kos have been lying for 27 years and we've suffered years of torture, slow torture.'

Forensic scientists say chemical traces which indicate the presence of decomposing human blood have been found on a toy car and a sandal which they believe belonged to Ben

Mother Kerry Needham (pictured) believed the body was dug up and moved a second time before officers returned to search the site last year

The toy car was found in 2016 by an elderly witness who told British police and told them a digger driver called Konstantinos Barkasin was behind Ben's death.

Police believe Ben was crushed to death by digger driver Konstantinos 'Dino' Barkasin in a tragic accident close to the farmhouse where he was last seen in 1991 and where the sandal was found in 2012.

Barkas died from stomach cancer but apparently confessed on his death bed.

The witness claimed Barkas had told him he thought he killed the toddler.

Barkas allegedly said: 'I thought I heard a yelp but I thought it could have been a dog.'

The toy car thought to have belonged to Ben was found on a second dump site where the witness led them to.

Barkas' family denied his involvement in Ben' sdisappearance. It is thought the witness has now stopped helping police.

Police formally ended a search on the Greek island in October, saying they believe Ben died as a result of an accident involving a digger on July 24, 1991

Kerry, of Sheffield, said: 'Now I want to know what the public prosecutor in Greece is going to do about it. I want them to get him back in and get to the bottom of it. Was he lying? Was it just a smoke screen?'

Detective Chief Insp Jon Cousins, said: 'Despite this forensic examination and result, it is still my professional belief based on all the evidence that Ben died as a result of a tragic incident at the farmhouse in Kos involving heavy machinery.

'We will continue to support Ben's family and the Greek authorities, who retain primacy, should any further information come to light.'
Thousands of school kids have walked out of class to demand federal government action on climate change in a series of coordinated rallies across Australia.

The 'Strike 4 Climate Action' rallies involved children in capital cities as well as 20 regional centres across Australia.

An estimated 1000 protesters packed Sydney's Martin Place in the CBD on Friday afternoon, chanting 'climate action now,' with similar numbers in Melbourne.

But in an extraordinary rant, Federal Resources Minister Matt Canavan slammed the thousands of students who skipped school to protest climate change action.

Protesters gather in Sydney on Friday (pictured) - they demanded the government take action on climate change

A student who skipped school to take part in the political rally has his say on Friday

Mr Canavan said students who truanted from the classroom 'may as well learn to join the dole queue.'

'These are the type of things that excite young children and we should be great at as a nation,' he told 2GB radio on Friday.

'Taking off school and protesting? You don't learn anything from that.

'The best thing you'll learn about going to a protest is how to join the dole queue. Because that's what your future life will look like, up in a line asking for a handout, not actually taking charge for your life and getting a real job.'

The Sydney rally on Friday attracted plenty of people keen to see the government address the issue of climate change

Students gathering in Sydney's CBD on Friday to demand a government response on climate change

Not everyone was a fan of Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison (pictured)

The series of rallies are inspired by Greta Thunberg, a teenager who went on strike ahead of Sweden's national election.

She demanded the country's leader address climate change back in September.
An amusement park operator has been charged over the death of a boy who was thrown from the Cha-Cha ride at an Easter carnival.

Eugene Mahauariki, fell out of his seat on the Cha-Cha ride at the Rye Easter Carnival on April 17, last year, and sustained serious head and foot injuries.

The six-year-old was airlifted to a Melbourne hospital in a critical condition after his fall on Easter Monday in 2017. He died later that day in hospital.

Eugene Mahauariki, fell out of his seat on the Cha-Cha ride at the Rye Easter Carnival on April 17 last year and sustained serious head and foot injuries

The six-year-old boy was flung out of his seat on The Cha Cha ride (pictured) at the Rye Carnival on Monday, leaving him in a critical condition. He died in hospital.

Wittingslow Carnivals Pty Ltd were charged by WorkSafe Victoria on Friday at Dromana Magistrates Court for breaching workplace laws after exposing people to health and safety risks.

'Wittingslow Carnivals Pty Ltd is charged with a breach of section 23 of the Occupational Health and Safety Act for failing to ensure, so far as reasonably practicable, that persons other than its employees were not exposed to risks to their health and safety,' they said.

At the time of Eugene's death, his grieving parents, father Stacey and mother Tammy, described him as a 'happy kind and caring boy' who 'loved nothing more than to dance'.

'While our hearts are broken, it is important to us that Eugene is remembered as we knew and loved him,' they said in a statement.

'Eugene was loved by so many people and he brought us, his brother and four sisters, extended family, friends and community so much joy and happiness in his short life.

'He was an energetic boy and he loved nothing more than playing with his siblings and his beloved two dogs.

'We could not have been more proud of him and cannot imagine our world without him.'

'We could not have been more proud of him and cannot imagine our world without him'

Wittingslow Carnivals Pty Ltd were charged by WorkSafe Victoria at Dromana Magistrates Court for breaching workplace laws after exposing people to health and safety risks

Paramedics were called to the scene at about 5.15pm to assess a boy in a 'serious' condition who had fallen for head injuries, a spokesperson for Ambulance Victoria told Daily Mail Australia at the time.

Nine News had reported that Eugene had been hanging on to the side of one of the gondolas on the ride before he fell, though witnesses say he was thrown from his seat.

The ride seats 44 people, and is made up of small carriages which are lifted off the ground and spun around.
Hundreds of General Motors workers and their families have gathered in Ohio for an emotional prayer vigil over the closure of their plant and the loss of 15,000 jobs across the company.

The solemn prayer vigil took place outside the General Motors plant in Lordstown on Thursday.

It is among the five GM plants across North America that are set to close next year.

Emotional co-workers hugged each other and wiped away tears as they prayed together.

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Hundreds of General Motors workers held a prayer vigil outside the company's plant in Lordstown, Ohio on Thursday following news the plant will close next year

A Lordstown employee, Norman Perry, told Fox8 that workers were just trying to stay positive in the wake of the news earlier this week.

'Everyone just wants to keep working right now and get through this. Christmas is coming, they want to enjoy Christmas,' he said.

'This is a time where we should be lifted up.

'We're just trying to lift spirits and that what all this (the vigil) is all about.'

Union members were among those to address the crowd during the vigil, saying they were trying to save the plant and jobs.

They fear there will be a negative economic impact on the Lordstown region if the closure goes ahead.

Emotional co-workers hugged each other and wiped away tears as they prayed together

A Lordstown employee, Norman Perry, told Fox8 that workers were just trying to stay positive in the wake of the news earlier this week

The solemn prayer vigil took place outside the General Motors plant in Lordstown on Thursday

GM announced on Monday that it would shutter the five plants, stop building six low-selling passenger cars in North America and cut up to 15,000 jobs.

The news has sparked widespread backlash, including from President Donald Trump, who threatened to revoke the company's subsidies as a result.

Trump said on Wednesday that new auto tariffs were 'being studied now,' asserting they could prevent job cuts such as the layoffs and plant closures announced this week.

He tweeted that the 25 percent tariff placed on imported pickup trucks and commercial vans from markets outside North America in the 1960s had long boosted U.S. vehicle production.

'If we did that with cars coming in, many more cars would be built here,' Trump said, 'and G.M. would not be closing their plants in Ohio, Michigan & Maryland.'

Several automakers said privately on Wednesday they feared GM's action could prompt Trump to take action faster than expected on new tariffs.

GM did not directly comment on Trump's tweets, but reiterated that it was committed to investing in the United States.

Union members were among those to address the crowd during the vigil, saying they were trying to save the plant and jobs
But victim's psychologist says she had never expressed any suicidal feelings

Woman who was drowned by her ex did not want to end her life, a court heard

A woman drowned in a bath by her ex-lover who claims it was part of a death pact didn't want to end her life, a Melbourne court has been told.

Murat Davsanoglu, 43, is charged with murdering Ozlem Karakoc, 34, after he held her down in her bathtub at Dandenong in July 2017.

But Davsanoglu claims the act was part of a suicide pact between them and he is guilty instead of the lesser crime of manslaughter.

A woman drowned in a bath by her ex-lover Murat Davsanglu (pictured) did not want to end her life, a court heard

Murat Davsanoglu, 43, is charged with murdering Ozlem Karakoc, 34, (pictured) after he held her down in her bathtub at Dandenong in July 2017

The victim's psychologist Semra Durmaz told a Supreme Court jury she checked on her client's suicide risk status regularly, but didn't believe she was suicidal.

'(She) never, ever said to me she was suicidal. Ozlem was still having future plans and trying to make a major decision in her life, she was quite relaxed and comfortable.' Ms Durmaz said about her client's status, the month of her death.

Defence barrister John Desmond questioned whether Ms Durmaz inquired if her patient had ever attempted suicide.

The psychologist said she did not ask her, but assessed her on whether she had any current thoughts, plans or intentions around suicide.

Mr Desmond also queried why the psychologist didn't contact Ms Karakoc's psychiatrist or crisis assessment team after she was hospitalised for mental health issues in February 2017.

However, Ms Durmaz said she didn't contact them because she was under their care at the time.

Prosecutors claim Davsanoglu intentionally murdered Ms Karakoc, who was engaged to marry another man.

However, defence barrister John Desmond has claimed the killing was a 'tragic case' involving 'two people who are in love' and saw no way out of their situation other than to kill themselves.

'He killed her, drowned her, pursuant to that agreement,' Mr Desmond said previously.

The trial continues.

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The first New Zealander to be jailed for possessing, making and distributing extremist propaganda will be released on parole as he is no longer deemed a safety risk.

Imran Patel, 29, was locked up for three years and nine months in June 2016 after he admitted charges relating to the extremist videos.

Patel had distributed the twisted videos by text to 52 people, while more material showing extreme violence and torture were found at his house during a police raid.

Imran Patel (pictured) has been granted parole and will be released on an undisclosed date next month

Patel had his New Zealand passport had been cancelled after he was stopped at Auckland International Airport trying to fly to Syria with a friend.

The Parole Board granted Patel an early release from prison after a hearing on November 21.

Two earlier requests for parole  last year and again in February this year  were declined.

The Parole Board's decision means Patel has had almost a year shaved off his original sentence, as his official statutory release date is September 12, 2019.

In its report, the Board noted he was now considered 'moderate-low risk for reconviction.'

It also stated: 'Radicalisation does not necessarily mean an individual will engage in terrorist behaviour'.

Imran Patel (pictured, left, at his original sentencing hearing in 2016) will be subject to strict 'release conditions'

A report provided by a community adviser noted the 'problems for a young Muslim man in a religiously contradictory environment with starkly contradicting values.'

Judge Neil MacLean, the Parole Board panel convenor, said: 'The report points out that the whole court and parole process had forced Patel to revisit the basis of his existence' and has a developing ability to remain calm.'

Imran Patel distributed ISIS propaganda including videos depicting 'violence' and 'cruelty' (Stock image)

Earlier this year Mr Patel's father told stuff.co.nz his son's behaviour had been the result of falling in with the wrong crowd  a group of young Muslim men with extremist views.

'We never wanted him to be with the group he used to be with. He was a bit of a headache for us, put it this way,' said the father.

The Parole Board's report concludes that Patel will be subject to comprehensive release conditions including guidance on religious matters, a strict curfew, a ban on initiating media contact, and on possessing or distributing objectionable material that promotes 'hatred for any religious, ethnic or other group of people.'
More than 100 Bull Terrier dogs and puppies living in 'appalling conditions' have been seized after the RSPCA raided a puppy farm in central Queensland.

Inspectors raided a property north west of Gladstone on Thursday after a complaint about five dogs, but found another 105 living in deplorable conditions.

'The conditions were appalling,' RSPCA Qld Chief Inspector Daniel Young said.

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More than 100 Bull Terrier dogs and puppies living in 'appalling conditions' have been seized after RSPCA raided a puppy farm in central Queensland

Inspectors raided a property north west of Gladstone on Thursday after a complaint about five dogs, but found another 105 living in deplorable conditions

'The conditions were appalling,' RSPCA Qld Chief Inspector Daniel Young said

'Many were in small cages with no enrichment.'

A spokesperson for the organisation told Daily Mail Australia the animals were found sitting on newspapers soaked in urine.

Many of the dogs were cramped together in cages.

'They were basically living in equivalent conditions to that of a battery hen,' the spokesperson said.

'Some of the dogs had dental problems from chewing on the wire.'

The RSPCA spokesperson calculated that each dog could have 'been sold for up to $2,000'.

The high price is a further attraction for puppy farmers.

As their name suggests Bull Terriers are a cross between bulldogs and various terriers. Initially bred for fighting, they have evolved to become a favourite household pet.

Some of the dogs rescued from the farm are now being cared for in Rockhampton and Bundaberg while the others are receiving care at the RSPCA's headquarters at Wacol.

A spokesperson for the organisation told Daily Mail Australia the animals were found sitting on newspapers soaked in urine

'They were basically living in equivalent conditions to that of a battery hen,' the spokesperson said
A Northern California sheriff's office released harrowing body camera footage of a deputy who was nearly overrun by flames as he helped with evacuations the night the deadly Camp Fire swept through Paradise.

Butte County Sheriff's Deputy Aaron Parmley, 23, was attempting to save a group of stranded nurses with a California Highway Patrol officer when he was forced to abandon his vehicle and continue the rescue attempt on foot, surrounded by flames on November 8.

As smoke blackened the sky, Parmley activated his body camera thinking it would capture the last moments of his life.

Thanks to his quick thinking, Parmley, the nurses and the CHP officer made it out alive, with the video of their escape released on Thursday.

The Camp Fire killed at least 88 people.

The video starts with a scrolling text block that reads:

'On November 8, 2018, BCSO Deputy Aaron Parmley was driving on Pentz Road in Paradise, attempting to locate four nurses from Feather River Hospital who needed help evacuating.

'Flames were on both sides of the roadway and he couldn't see more than ten yards in front of him. His car became disabled, forcing him to get out and walk on foot.

'He activated his body-worn camera, in hopes of capturing what he thought were going to be the last moments of his life.'

Northern California's Butte County Sheriff's Office released harrowing body camera footage of Deputy Aaron Parmley, 23, who was nearly overrun by flames as he helped with evacuations the night the deadly Camp Fire swept through Paradise November 8

Parmley was en route to help four nurses and a California Highway Patrol officer evacuate the fire when the engine of his cruiser died.

The scene of the peril unfolded after Parmley left the Feather Canyon Gracious Retirement Living, Parmley told The Los Angeles Times, where the deputy was the first law enforcement official on the scene, and the last to leave.

Once there, he found a 16-person shuttle attempting to get a long line of elderly patients to safety.

The video starts with a scrolling text block that reads: 'On November 8, 2018, BCSO Deputy Aaron Parmley was driving on Pentz Road in Paradise, attempting to locate four nurses from Feather River Hospital who needed help evacuating'

It went on: 'Flames were on both sides of the roadway and he couldn't see more than ten yards in front of him. His car became disabled, forcing him to get out and walk on foot. 'He activated his body-worn camera, in hopes of capturing what he thought were going to be the last moments of his life'

'The manager said that no one had been evacuated yet. And that there were 140 people that needed to be evacuated,' he said.

With the howl of wind and glowing flames everywhere, Parmley said to himself, 'Its embers. Its not good.'

After Parmley called for backup, patrol cars showed up along with vans from the jail.

'We just started shoving everybody into those random cars, and everybody got out,' Parmley said.

And not a moment too soon. Within 30 minutes, 'There was fire everywhere. And you could hardly see. There was black smoke. And it was terrible,' Parmley said.

He was the last one to leave the retirement home, and began making his way to one of three man north-south routes in the mountaintop town, along Pentz Road. But Parmley wasn't head down just yet.

The deputy instead drove up, on his way to help evacuate the town of Magalia.

Parmley was attempting to save a group of stranded nurses with a California Highway Patrol officer when he was forced to abandon his vehicle and continue the rescue attempt on foot

But on his way, his car filled with smoke, and a firefighter knocked on his window and told him traffic was blocked, he would have to turn around, and the emergency responder needed Parmley to take four nurses with him.

One male nurse and three female nurses got into his patrol car, but that was shortlived, as the routes down the mountain had become impassable and the group came upon CHP officer Nick Powell who was stopped in the road with more stranded people, and a car that didn't run.

The law enforcement officials and the male nurse worked to get the others into a separate car which went on his way, and Powell joined Parmley and the crew in his car, only now it wouldn't start.

Surrounded by flames and thinking he would die there, he flipped on his body camera

' Its bad,' Parmley said in the video, as another voice said, 'Its almost impossible to get somebody in there'

A nurse asked, 'Are they coming for us?' as Parmley led the group on foot along an ember-lined road, with flaming hot debris visibly blowing across their paths in the video

'We have to walk,' Parmley said, before radioing in three times before dispatchers could understand that he was leaving his patrol car behind, and injuring his ankle on the way out of the car.

'Everything was engulfed in flames around us,' Parmley said. 'It was hard to see, and hard to breathe. I thought that was where I was going to die.'

The others thought so too, with some nurses calling loves ones to say their goodbyes.

The young deputy switch on his body camera, thinking these would be the last moments of his life, but still soldiered on.

'Its bad,' Parmley said in the video.

'Its almost impossible to get somebody in there,' a voice said.

The deputy spotted a bulldozer in the distance, without which the group may very well may perished in the flames, and Parmley flagged it down with a flashlight

A nurse asked, 'Are they coming for us?'

Parmley led the group on foot along an ember-lined road, with flaming hot debris visibly blowing across their paths in the video.

The deputy spotted a bulldozer in the distance, without which the group may very well may perished in the flames.

'Can we get in?' Parmley said, to which the driver replied, 'Yeah, come on.'

'Theres no room,' one woman said, asking where on of their friend Jess had gone

'Get in,' Parmley said, as the driver told them, 'I cant fit everybody, and just as it seemed all hope was lost, a fire engine pulled up with enough room for the rest of the people, including Parmley

'Theres someone here to save us,' Parmley said he thought. 'I have never been happier in my entire life than when I saw that bulldozer.' Parmley used his flashlight to flag down it down.

'Can we get in?' Parmley said, to which the driver replied, 'Yeah, come on.'

'Theres no room,' one woman said, asking where on of their friend Jess had gone.

'Get in,' Parmley said, as the driver told them, 'I cant fit everybody.'

And just as it seemed all hope was lost, a fire engine pulled up with enough room for the rest of the people, including Parmley.

The deputy climbed on board, placed his hand on his chest, turned off the camera, and rode to safety with the others.
The wife of a father-of-four has said his family cannot 'think, eat or sleep' after the 45-year-old vanished from their family home three days ago.

Rose Miller, from Coomba Bay on New South Wales' mid-north coast, has made a string of impassioned social media pleas since her husband of 15 years Scott Taylor left home on Tuesday taking nothing but the clothes he was wearing and an umbrella.

He left behind his keys, mobile and wallet, Yahoo 7 reported.

Ms Miller reported the stay-at-home father missing after she went to work that day and later received a message from him saying 'I love them and this has nothing to do with them'.

Rose Miller (right), wife of father-of-four Scott Taylor (left), have said his family cannot 'think, eat or sleep' after the 45-year-old vanished from their home three days ago

Police later found him almost 400 kilometres south of his home on the Hume Highway near Mittagong.

The mother said police took him to a service station and bought him breakfast but did not help him get home.

In a statement, police said Mr Taylor presented 'healthy and well and there was no concern for welfare or threats for self harm' so let him continue on his journey.

Authorities are no longer considering him missing.

The couple's (Ms Miller left and Mr Taylor right) youngest child is four-year's-old and Ms Miller added her children were 'hysterical'- while she was 'numb, broken and scared'.

Police later found him (pictured) almost 400 kilometres south of his home on the Hume Highway near Mittagong. His wife said police took him to a service station and bought him breakfast but did not help him get home

Ms Miller said her husband had previously worked as a transit officer on the railways.

Posting to Facebook on Friday morning, his wife continued with her pleas for him to come home - saying 'I know its not a crime to leave your wife but his circumstances are concerning ... I am truly scared for him and our children need their daddy!

The couple's youngest child is four-year's-old and Ms Miller added her children were 'hysterical'- while she was 'numb, broken and scared'.

On Thursday night the worry-stricken mother also put up a flyer-style post to encourage her father to come home.

She said: 'I know you're hurting from your core. We feel it too. We don't need to talk about anything if you don't want to.

'I will always love you - without you I am just a walking corps.'

On Thursday night the worry-stricken mother also put up a flyer-style post (pictured) to encourage her father to come home

A post on the Australian Missing Persons Register said Mr Taylor was last seen at Pheasant's Nest and it was believed he had hiked to the destination.

He was wearing dark blue canvas joggers, tan shorts and a blue button up shirt, it read.

The post said: 'Scott is suffering from a medical condition that can cause him confusion and his behaviour is very out of character.

The register encouraged anyone with information to call Forster Police on (02) 6555 1299 or Police Link on 131 444.
Two men who allegedly deliberately lit separate blazes in Central Queensland have been arrested as 114 bushfires continue to burn across the state, forcing residents to flee their homes.

A man, 27, was arrested for allegedly attempting to light a grass fire along the Burnett Highway at Port Curtis near Rockhampton on Friday morning.

The man is currently assisting police with their investigations but is yet to be charged.

Police wouldn't confirm 9 News reports that the man was taken to hospital for unknown injuries, where he reportedly remains under police guard.

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Homes were destroyed in Kabra near Rockhampton on Thursday, where two men have been arrested in relation to allegedly lighting fires

Firefighters battled 114 bushfires across Queensland on Friday, including this one at Deepwater in the Gladstone region

This latest incident comes after a local man, 26, was arrested and charged with allegedly setting fire to vegetation at Rockhampton on Wednesday.

The blaze brought quickly under control and and caused no property or structure damage.

The man will appear in the Rockhampton Magistrates Court on December 17.

Anyone found guilty of arson faces a maximum sentence of life imprisonment, while anyone found guilty of unlawfully setting fire to a crop or endangering property by setting fire faces up to 14 years in jail.

Firefighters are closely monitoring this bushfire in Deepwater in the Gladstone region, where residents were urged on Friday afternoon to leave their homes

All 37 local government areas across Queensland are under total fire bans

There is no end in sight to the bushfire crisis in Queensland as severe heatwave conditions forecast to spread across the state with 114 fire still burning on Friday.

An emergency warning was issued for Broken River, Finch Hatton, Eungella, Dalrymple Heights near Mackay on Friday afternoon, where residents were urged to seek shelter.

'It is now too late to leave the area. Driving now would be extremely dangerous,' a Queensland Fire and Emergency Services Facebook post states.

'The fire is expected to have a life-threatening impact on the community. Conditions are now very dangerous and firefighters are unable to prevent the fire advancing.The fire poses a threat to all lives directly in its path.'

Queensland Police have urged anyone who sees suspicious arsonists in action to report it

Earlier on Friday afternoon, residents in Deepwater, Baffle Creek, Rules Beach and Oyster Creek were also advised to leave their homes.

Elsewhere, across the state, firefighters are also closely monitoring fires in Tinnanbar, Ellerbeck, Captain Creek, Round Hill, North Stradbroke Island and Takuka near Hervey Bay.

Queensland Police urge anyone who sees suspicious arson behaviour to report it.

Bushfires forced the closure of the Kabra Hotel on Thursday

A shattered Jeanette Schwindt inspects her shed and water tanks destroyed by fire in Mount Larcom near Gladstone

'Police will continue to patrol and actively target people who deliberately light fires. If you offend, you are going to get caught,' State Disaster Coordinator and deputy police commissioner Bob Gee said.

'Arson can have devastating consequences including the potential for loss of life, the destruction of property, livestock and livelihoods.'

All 37 local government areas across Queensland are under total fire bans.

Queensland Fire and Emergency Services Commissioner Katarina Carroll said crews have been confronted with high temperatures and 'unimaginable' conditions.

There is no end in sight to the bushfire crisis in Queensland, with severe heatwave conditions forecast to spread across the state

Thousands of people have been forced from their homes as firefighters battle up to 140 wildfires during the unprecedented six-day emergency

Queensland Fire and Emergency Services Commissioner Katarina Carroll says extreme conditions will be ongoing.

'We are not out of the woods. We've got a heatwave still with us for the next four days. We've got thunderstorms that interfere with how the fire spreads,' she said.

'This is completely difficult and challenging circumstances to work in. We have never seen this in our state before.'

Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk urged residents to remain indoors and said the crisis would continue for days.

'There's going to be a lot of fire around Queensland today - a lot of smoke. So can I please ask residents if they are concerned, to stay inside,' she told Channel Nine.

'If you don't need to be outside, don't. Because this smoke could have effect, especially on asthmatics and our elderly.

'So please take care today. But another big day. We're not out of this. It's going to go on for four more days.'

Thousands of people have been forced from their homes in recent days as firefighters battle up to 140 wildfires during the unprecedented six-day emergency.

Three blazes of significance continued to burn late Thursday at Tinnanbar, south of Hervey Bay, Deepwater and North Stradbroke Island.

The small isolated community of Tinnanbar was cut off by bushfire and told to seek shelter as fire bombers and more than 20 fire crews fought the blaze.

Three blazes of significance continued to burn late on Thursday at Tinnanbar, south of Hervey Bay, Deepwater and North Stradbroke Island

Six other towns were ordered to pack up their valuables and evacuate as fires continue to rage in central Queensland.

In the state's south, a blaze on the eastern side of North Stradbroke Island threatened campers and powerlines.

The Bureau of Meteorology has forecast a severe heatwave that began in the state's north to move south in coming days.

'Around Capricornia, up around MacKay and inland, it'll be very hot again, so we're talking temperatures getting well up into the mid to high 30s for a lot of places, maybe even touching 40 in the odd spot,' meteorologist Rick Threlfall told AAP.

Nearly 10,000 people were told to flee immediately as more than 100 fast-moving blazes tore through Queensland on Wednesday

'The hot conditions will persist over the weekend and continue in the fire areas, and in fact spread to many other parts of the state.'

Thousands of people were evacuated from communities in central Queensland after catastrophic fire conditions on Wednesday.

Early on Thursday, residents of two more communities - Campwin Beach and Sarina Beach south of Mackay - were woken by police and emergency text messages telling them they were in danger and to move to safety immediately.

A firefighter is seen feeding water to a dehydrated puppy on Queensland on Wednesday

About 140 bushfires were burning across an almost 2,000km stretch from Yungaburra, south of Cairns, to Mount French, west of the Gold Coast

Roughly 8,000 people were ordered out of Gracemere, near Rockhampton, on Wednesday, with hundreds of them spending the night in an evacuation centre at the Rockhampton showgrounds.

Thick, billowing smoke surrounded the town, as the blaze edged closer to homes and shopping precincts in the region.

Thousands of people were evacuated from communities in central Queensland after catastrophic fire conditions on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, a low pressure system near the Solomon Islands could develop into a cyclone over the weekend or early next week, the Queensland premier warned.

'In relation to what's happening further up north in the Solomon Islands, we are watching a pressure system up there that has around a 20 to 50 per cent chance of developing into a cyclone over the weekend into early next week,' Ms Palaszczuk told reporters on Friday.

Rhonda Anderson evacuates herself and her horse to safety near Mount Larcom, Queensland
With it's palm-fringed beaches and sun-drenched holiday resorts it's no wonder that Bali is many Aussies favourite holiday destination.

And now sun-seekers can fly there for as little as $119 as Jetstar slashes its prices in its summer sale.

The budget airline is offering flights to Bali from Darwin for just $119, from Melbourne for just $179 and from Sydney for $189.

But those hoping to get a bargain will have to hurry, because the sale ends at midnight on Friday.

Australians can pick up a travel bargain as Jetstar is selling flights to Bali for just $179 from Melbourne

Jetsetters from Darwin can grab a ridiculously cheap deal for just $119, with the holiday on offer to Sydneysiders for $189

Other airlines are also offering great deals on flights with British Airways selling return flights to Singapore for just $625, to Dublin for $1168 and to London for $1,193 - all from Sydney.

The deals are part of British Airway's Black Friday sales, which also end today.

Australians who are keen to experience a white Christmas on a budget can book flights to New York for $1,455 and Seattle from $1,275 with Virgin Australia.

The airline is also offering flights to one of the UK's biggest travel hotspots London for just $1,199.

Aussies who want travel locally and interstate have until today to grab a flight from Melbourne to sunny Brisbane for $172.

Australians who are keen to experience a white Christmas on a budget can book flights to New York for $1,455

Those in Adelaide can snatch up a sweet deal to Sydney for $150.

Tigerair Australia is offering a range of incredibly low fares until December 2.

Melburnians can fly to Cairns for $133.95 and to Hobart for just $59.95.

The airline is also offering flights from Sydney to Coffs Harbour for $59.95 and to the Whitsundays Coast for $98.95.

All sales have terms and conditions which apply and are subject to availability, so Aussies with the travel bug will have to hurry.
Ontario father-of-two Paul Fitzpatrick, 56, took his own life in October

A Canadian man has taken his own life after suffering intolerable pain in his eyes for 20 years following a laser eye surgery.

Paul Fitzpatrick, 56, underwent a laser PRK procedure in 1996 that involved removing the thin, top layer of the eye and reshaping corneal tissue to sharpen vision - a predecessor of the popular Lasik eye surgery.

Since then, the father-of-two suffered headaches and described feeling needles in his eyes as well as an unbearable dry and burning sensation.

He left a suicide note when he took his life in October, which described the pain he felt that pushed him to death.

'I cannot experience any type of pleasure anymore,' Paul wrote. 'Just the pain of burning eyes inside my head and throughout myself Since 1996 Pain, pain and more pain, please forgive me for not being strong enough to cope. The past few months have been unbearable.'

His parents Gene and Christine Fitzpatrick, of Ontario, spoke to CTV about their son's condition.

'It ruined his life, and it also left a lot of people around him suffering,' Gene said.

In 1996 he underwent laser eye surgery that left him with painful burning eyes that he said felt like needles for 20 years. He would often close his eyes to escape the pain

'He had always worn glasses, maybe since he was about 12 and he just thought it would be great not to have them,' Christine said. 'He researched it and he made sure that he was going to the best place. He felt the PRK was safer because there was less cornea used.'

PKR, or photorefractive keratectomy, was the first form of laser eye surgery and typically safe.

However, Paul's family said he began suffering from migraines and dry eyes shortly after his surgery.

Canadian doctors were unable to diagnose what was causing his pain, so the self-made-millionaire traveled to Europe and the US to find a specialist who could help.

He began treatments and underwent more surgeries which only made the pain worse.

Paul's family said in the months leading up to his death, the pain was so unbearable he would keep his eyes closed for most of the time, walking with a cane and planned to move in with his parents.

His parents, Glenn and Christine Fitzpatrick, believe he suffered from a rare condition known as corneal neuralgia

In his suicide note he wrote: 'Just the pain of burning eyes inside my head and throughout myself. Pain, pain and more pain'

'We didn't know what to do for him,' his mother told CTV. 'We would recommend pain killers and he would take some. He wasn't one to take pain killers much, but when they wore off he said the pain was worse so he'd keep his eyes closed most of the time.'

Now his family believe he suffered from a rare, yet severe condition known as corneal neuralgia.

Corneal neuralgia can cause nerve damage to the eye causing excruciating pain.

'Had he been aware (of his condition)he definitely would not have continued with subsequent surgeries,' his brother Kevin Fitzpatrick said.

Paul's case is the first-known suicide from laser eye surgery in Canada, according to CTV.
Former Attorney General Jeff Sessions joked about joining the growing list of people who President Donald Trump has forced out of his administration on Wednesday in Chicago.

'I've got a new title: former. Pink slip. That's everybody  a lot of people have gotten pink slips, I guess,' Sessions, 71, said, in a video of the statements published by The Hill.

'But mine is a little more public than most. But I really enjoy the honor and appreciate the president allowing me to serve almost two years in one of the greatest jobs in the world.'

Sessions resigned from his leadership role in the Department of Justice on November 7 , which was the day after the midterm elections, after being asked to do so by Trump, with the president tweeting the news of the shakeup.

Sessions was speaking at the Chicago Crime Commission's Stars of Distinction 2018 Awards Dinner on Wednesday when he made the humorous comments.

Jeff Sessions: "A lot of people have gotten pink slips, I guess, but mines is a little more public than most." https://t.co/FeuhZfDyNz pic.twitter.com/FaFHJF7khV  The Hill (@thehill) November 29, 2018

'A lot has changed since my visit here a few months ago, about a month ago, actually,' Sessions said, before launching into his pink slip joke.

He followed that up with a serious note, say he felt, 'satisfied and fulfilled with what we were able to accomplish.'

Sessions added that he's 'excited for those who will continue to lead the great department.'

During the course of his remarks, Sessions rallied against consent decrees, a tool used by the Department of Justice for force reforms in police districts accused of abusing civil rights, the Chicago Sun Times reported.

In the talk he referenced from October, Sessions said Chicago police 'are not the problem, Chicago police are the solution.'

One of his final duties as Attorney General before he resigned was singing an order limiting the Justice Departments ability to use consent decrees in such a way, previously saying it would 'rob the people of Chicago of their votes,' and 'make policing unaccountable to the people.'

Some time after he signed that order, the news of his departure and replacement was announced by Trump on Twitter, on November 7.

Former Attorney General Jeff Sessions joked about joining the growing list of people who President Donald Trump has forced out of his administration on Wednesday in Chicago

The news of his departure and replacement was announced by President Donald Trump on Twitter, on November 7. Trump is pictured pointing while talking to reporters as he departs on travel to the G20 Summit in Argentina from the White House in Washington, DC on Thursday

The president tweeted: 'We are pleased to announce that Matthew G. Whitaker, Chief of Staff to Attorney General Jeff Sessions at the Department of Justice, will become our new Acting Attorney General of the United States. He will serve our Country well....

'....We thank Attorney General Jeff Sessions for his service, and wish him well! A permanent replacement will be nominated at a later date.'

Even after his ouster, Sessions remains faithful to Trump philosophies on sanctuary cities, which he made clear on Wednesday during his speech in Chicago.

He said he remained 'steadfast' that Chicago and other cities that operate with sanctuary city policies were 'making a monumental mistake.'

Sessions said the policies 'impede' Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers from doing their jobs and that 'frustrates their lawful mission' and 'places their lives at greater risk.'

'I urge the city and all the jurisdictions who are involved in the sanctuary agenda to reevaluate what theyre doing,' Sessions said. 'Whatever the crime rate will be in the future, itll be higher if you maintain these policies.'

Meanwhile, three Democratic senators have filed a lawsuit challenging the appointment of Whitaker as acting attorney general.

The president tweeted: 'We are pleased to announce that Matthew G. Whitaker, Chief of Staff to Attorney General Jeff Sessions at the Department of Justice, will become our new Acting Attorney General of the United States. He will serve our Country well....'

Trump tweeted again: '....We thank Attorney General Jeff Sessions for his service, and wish him well! A permanent replacement will be nominated at a later date'

The complaint was filed on November 19 by Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut, Mazie Hirono of Hawaii and Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island.

It argues that Whitaker's appointment violates the Constitution because he has not been confirmed by the Senate and seeks to have a judge declare the appointment unconstitutional.

Separately, the Justice Department defended Trump's naming Whitaker as acting attorney general without Senate confirmation, saying on November 19 that the appointment was legal based on 'centuries of practice and precedent.'

Three Democratic senators have filed a lawsuit challenging the appointment of Matthew Whitaker as acting attorney general. Whitaker is pictured speaking about the opioid crisis on Thursday in Nashville

Department spokesperson Kerri Kupec said Whitaker's appointment was consistent with laws governing presidential appointments of top-level officials and 'comports with... actions of US presidents, both Republican and Democrat.'

Questions have also been raised over whether Trump's choice of Whitaker violated federal law, because Whitaker has not gone through the confirmation process required for cabinet officials and especially Justice Department chiefs.

Many analysts believe the former prosecutor and television commentator was chosen to protect Trump from the Russia collusion investigation of Special Counsel Robert Mueller, who will now be under Whitaker's control.

Sessions had recused himself from overseeing the Russia probe, handing the responsibility to Deputy Attorney general Rod Rosenstein.

Normally Rosenstein, who has gone through Senate confirmation, would have been made acting attorney general until a new nominee could be vetted.

Some have speculated Sessions, the long-time former Senator from Alabama who held the seat from 1997 to 2017 and only resigned from it to join the Trump administration, may make a run for his old position again in 2020.

Two people familiar with his thinking said a Senate run was possible, Politico reported.
An elderly man accused of indecently assaulting two young boys in a public bathroom allegedly returned to the scene only days after being granted bail.

The 64-year-old Tibetan man allegedly approached an eight-year-old and his 11-year-old brother at the toilet block at Walter Gors Park in Sydney's north on November 10.

Facing court, he was charged with a number of child sex offences and released on strict bail conditions not to return to within 100 metres of the park.

But only four days later, he was allegedly seen wandering the playground.

A 64-year-old Tibetan man (pictured) is accused of breaching bail conditions implemented when he allegedly assaulted two young brothers

An elderly Tibetan man is accused of indecently assaulting a pair of young boys in a public park bathroom (pictured)

The boys claim the elderly man forced them to perform a sex act in front him inside the public toilet, Nine News reported.

He allegedly grabbed the 11-year-old by the throat and told him to expose himself.

The man then allegedly shoved the younger boy in the face and spoke to them in clear English.

The older of the two boys called police, who arrested the Dee Why man and took him to Manly police station about 30 minutes after the alleged assault.

He spent a night in custody before being released on bail under strict conditions.

One of those conditions was to stay away from the park, a clause he allegedly broke four days after the incident when police, who were concerned he would return, allege they caught him in the area.

Only four days after being released from custody, the man allegedly returned to the park (pictured) despite direct bail conditions not to

He was charged with two counts of common assault and two counts of inciting a person under the age of 16 to commit an act of indecency.

During a court hearing on November 11, he was allowed a translator. Nine News reported he claimed not to understand English when they spoke to him outside of court.

But police allege he spoke to the boys in clear English inside the bathroom.

He appeared before Manly Local Court on November 28 and was again granted conditional bail.
Los Angeles County authorities have ordered evacuations in a small Malibu community within a wildfire burn zone where a mudslide has blocked roads amid heavy rains.

Sheriff's Deputy Joana Warren says residents of several homes were ordered to leave as streets filled with mud, ash and debris during a downpour. She says no injuries are reported.

The storm has knocked out power and flooded roadways across Southern California.

Residents below wildfire burn scars and near creeks and streams are advised to be alert until the wet weather moves through Thursday night.

Mud and debris flowed onto Kanan-Dume Road in an area burned by the Woolsey Fire in Malibu, California on Thursday. Mudslides prompted a small evacuation in the burn area

Mud and debris has flowed down normally-dry Solstice Creek in an area burned by the Woolsey Fire in Malibu on Thursday

Netting and straw wattle covers a hillside along Pacific Coast Highway in an area burned by the Woolsey Fire in Malibu on Thursday

This USGS map shows the risk zones for mudslides in areas affected by wildfire near Malibu

A mandatory evacuation remains ordered for Trabuco Canyon in the Santa Ana Mountains, where a wildfire burned earlier this year.

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

Rainfall rates in the area reached a half-inch (127 millimeters) or greater in an hour.

In Northern California, a heavy downpour on Thursday also prompted road closures and evacuations in a wildfire-scarred area devastated by the Camp Fire.

Firmware engineer Dale Word of Chico was forced to evacuate his home for the second time this month.

Word said he waded out in thigh-high water until the rain receded enough for him to return. He said the water-related evacuation of a dozen homes in his neighborhood was brief.

Rick Carhart, a spokesman with the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, said that roads in Chico that had flooded during afternoon thunderstorms were receding by late afternoon.

He said that swift water rescue teams used boats to evacuate people from three homes.

Northern California: Vehicles pass each other on a flooded street Thursday in Chico, where flash flooding hit a wildfire-scarred area, forcing officials to deploy swift water rescue teams

About 50 vehicles were briefly stranded above flooded areas but drivers were able to safely drive their cars out of the area once the water went down.

He said the Honey Run Road area of Chico 'is not seeing flooded roads now like before' and was cleared of water.

He said during flash floods earlier in the day, a Swift water rescue team used boats to evacuate people from three homes on nearby Horse Run Lane.

About 50 vehicles were briefly stopped on roads above flooded areas but allowed to continue once flooded roads were reopened and the water cleared, he said.

He said a flash flood warning was still in effect until the evening.
A motorcyclist has died after he swerved to avoid hitting a kangaroo and crashed his bike in South Australia overnight.

Police and emergency services were called to Gomersal Road at Shea-Oak Log in the Barossa Valley about 1.15am on Friday morning after they received reports of a crash.

The 62-year-old man from Tanunda was seriously injured and died at the scene as a result of his injuries.

Police and emergency services were called to Gomersal Road at Shea-Oak Log in the Barossa Valley about 1.15am on Friday morning after they received reports of a crash

The 62-year-old man from Tanunda was seriously injured after he crashed his motorcycle and died at the scene as a result of his injuries

Motorists were advised to avoid Sturt Highway for several hours as major crash investigators conducted their investigations to uncover the cause of the accident.

Roads have since been reopened and police believe the rider crashed his vehicle and after he swerved to avoid hitting a kangaroo.

The man's death is the third fatal accident involving a motorcyclist in less than a fortnight and takes the state's road toll 72 as compared to 91 deaths in 2017.

On Sunday, another 63-year-old rider from Mt Gambier died when he crashed near Beachport in the state's south-east, The Advertiser reported.

Similarly, a 71-year-old motorcyclist from Surrey Downs was killed when he crashed head-on with a truck on Lobethal Road near the Norton Summit cemetery.
Prosecutors may bring additional charges against former Trump campaign chair Paul Manafort after blasting him in an explosive document that accused him of 'lies' in violation of his cooperation agreement, prosecutors said Friday.

Special counsel Robert Mueller's investigators will spell out in a court document next week precisely what falsehoods they say Manafort told them, notwithstanding his pledge to provide truthful answers to their questions in connection with his guilty plea.

Manfort, currently in solitary confinement in a Virginia jail, also faces a March sentencing date.

And in the background, there is continued focus on a potential presidential pardon, after President Trump refused this week during an interview to take the idea off the table  even as critics warn dangling a pardon could potentially play into any obstruction of justice charges against the president.

Prosecutors may hit Paul Manafort, President Donald Trump's former campaign chairman, with additional charges after he told 'lies' in breach of his cooperation agreement

The latest development in Manafort's case comes at a time of brisk public activity in special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation.

Prosecutors obtained a guilty plea from President Donald Trump's longtime legal fixer Michael Cohen on Thursday and appear to be lining up charges against another Trump supporter.

Man

President Donald Trump isn't taking a pardon of Manafort off the table

Special counsel Robert Mueller's team has engaged in a flurry of public activity

The prospect of new charges adds to the legal peril of Manafort, the onetime political consultant who already faces years in prison after being convicted of financial fraud crimes in Virginia and pleading guilty to conspiracy counts in Washington.

U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson set the tentative March 5 sentencing date as prosecutors plan to disclose the lies Manafort told since pleading guilty in September and agreeing to cooperate with the investigation.

Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani this week confirmed that Manafort's team had briefed Trump's lawyers on his conversations with the special prosecutor, the New York Times reported this week. The lawyers have a joint defense agreement that continued even beyond Manafort's conviction.

Legal experts believe the conversations may have been staged as an apparent bid from Manafort, 69, to obtain a presidential pardon or have any potential sentence reduced.

Manafort's lawyers, who deny that Manafort lied, will have an opportunity to respond and a judge is expected to hear arguments before deciding whether he breached his plea deal.

Prosecutor Andrew Weissmann told the judge that prosecutors had not yet decided whether to file new charges against Manafort for the alleged lies, saying, 'That determination has not been made.'

Attorneys Kevin Downing and Thomas Zehnle, right, with the defense team for Paul Manafort, walk from federal court in Washington, Friday, Nov. 30, 2018, after a scheduling conference

Trump is facing continued questions about whether he might pardon Manafort. At the same time, he is playing down the significance of the guilty plea of his former lawyer, Michael Cohen, for lying to Congress.

None of the recent moves by Mueller has definitively answered the question of whether Trump or his associates coordinated with Russian interference in the 2016 presidential campaign. And they don't directly accuse the president of any criminal wrongdoing or indicate that the president faces legal jeopardy.

But Trump has continually surfaced in Mueller's investigation, with references to him in Cohen's plea on Thursday and in a draft plea offer extended to conservative writer and conspiracy theorist Jerome Corsi and made public this week.

Trump has expressed sympathy for Manafort, Corsi and his longtime confidant Roger Stone, telling The New York Post this week that they were 'very brave' for resisting the Mueller investigation. He said a pardon for Manafort, who has denied lying to investigators, wasn't 'off the table.'

That prospect of a pardon has drawn criticism, including from Mark Warner, the top Democrat on the Senate intelligence committee who said it would be a 'complete abuse of power' and could prompt congressional action against the president.

Manafort faces up to five years in prison on each charge in his plea agreement. He is also set to be sentenced on eight felony counts in a separate case in Virginia in February.

Trump has spent recent weeks casting Mueller's team as hell-bent on destroying the lives of those in the president's orbit. Armed with information passed along by Manafort's attorneys to the president's legal team, Trump has accused prosecutors of dirty tactics and pressuring witnesses to lie.

Trump's lawyers' arrangement with Manafort's lawyers was unusual because it continued after he pleaded guilty to two felony charges and agreed to cooperate with the prosecutors. Trump's legal team also has received help from Corsi. He told The Associated Press that while in contact with Mueller's team, he directed his lawyer to informally share information with Trump's attorneys, including Jay Sekulow.

Former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen, seen smiling as he was driven away from court, faces sentencing on Dec. 12 for his guilty pleas, including one involving a hush-money payment to pornographic actress Stormy Daniels at President Trump's direction

Sekulow also received the draft plea documents a couple of weeks ago. The legal team alerted the Justice Department but privately was put off by a reference to Trump in the document.

Corsi, who rejected the plea deal, has said he expects to be charged by Mueller with lying to investigators as part of the probe's scrutiny of WikiLeaks and whether he or Stone had advance knowledge of the group's release of thousands of hacked emails stolen from Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta. Mueller and U.S. intelligence agencies have said Russia was the source of the material provided to WikiLeaks.

Both Corsi and Stone have denied having any contact with WikiLeaks or having any foreknowledge of its plans. Corsi also denies making false statements to investigators.
A homeless hero who intervened in an inner-city terrorist attack is behind bars after another alleged burglary.

Michael Rogers, affectionately known as 'Trolley Man' for his role in trying to stop the Bourke Street terror attack with a shopping cart on November 9, is accused of stealing from an East Melbourne apartment on Wednesday afternoon.

The 46-year-old was arrested on Friday and charged with burglary, theft and committing an indictable offence while on bail, and was remanded in custody.

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Michael Rogers, known as 'Trolley Man' (pictured) has been jailed following an alleged burglary

The alleged offence took place on Wednesday, the day after Rogers told Melbourne Magistrates Court he would 'try his best' not to re-offend.

In an earlier incident, Rogers was accused of stealing a bike and breaking into a cafe and raiding the till on the day before the Bourke Street attack, The Age reported.

He allegedly took $500 out of the counter drawer, as well as stealing a $2,000 bicycle from a nearby apartment block.

Facing court for the accusations on Tuesday, he said he would 'try his best' to comply with strict bail conditions imposed by Magistrate Julie Grainge until his next court hearing a month later.

His lawyer Melinda Walker said Rogers had an appointment with a psychologist on Wednesday and was still in the process of considering his position on the charges.

He will now be remanded in custody until December 17 to reappear in court.

The 46-year-old rose to fame when he attacked the Bourke St terrorist with a trolley (pictured)

He rose to fame after attacking Islamic State extremist Hassan Khalif Shire Ali with a trolley as he ran rampant through Melbourne's Bourke Street on November 9, stabbing three men and killing one.

More than $155,000 was raised for the homeless man in a GoFundMe campaign started by Donna Stolzenberg from the National Homeless Collective.

Speaking to Daily Mail Australia after the attack, Rogers said: 'I want to 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.'
The worst of mother nature has taken an economic toll on Australia which has caused $38billion worth of damage in the last decade, according to a new report.

The recently released International Federation Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies' World Disasters Report ranked Australia in the top 10 countries for economic damage caused by natural disasters.

Australia was ranked tenth for the cost of damage caused by natural disasters such as cyclones, floods and bushfires between 2008 and 2017 with a $38billion bill.

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Mother nature has caused more damage in recent days with the bushfire crisis in Queensland, where more than 110 fires burned across the state on Friday

Neighbours New Zealand were just ahead in ninth place with a $41million damage bill.

The top three countries US, China and Japan made up for almost two thirds of the worldwide damage costs.

Another alarming statistic was that the Asia-Pacific region was identified as the world's most disaster-prone.

The region was hit by around 40 per cent of the 335 disasters recorded worldwide in 2017 and accounted for almost 60 per cent of disaster-related deaths.

More than 200 million people worldwide are affected by natural disasters each year, which is expected to increase.

Tropical Cyclone Marcus caused extensive damage (pictured) in Darwin in March

'We've seen some of the worst ever disasters in Australia and the Asia Pacific in recent years and we must ensure that we help everyone, particularly those being left behind,' Australian Red Cross international director Peter Walton said.

'Essential aid is increasingly not reaching all those in need as humanitarian crises, caused by extreme weather and natural disasters, such as droughts, heatwaves, floods and cyclones, dramatically worsen the human toll.'

The report called on governments to do more to help people devastated by humanitarian crises such as natural disasters.

Australia was ranked tenth worldwide for the cost of damage caused by natural disasters such as cyclones and floods. Pictured is the Ingham in north Queensland in March

'Our report highlights that people who are isolated and not receiving help in disasters could be better supported if local and national agencies in the Asia Pacific and beyond are empowered and resourced to do more in their countries,' International Federation of Red Cross secretary general Jemilah Mahmood said.

This year has been a tough year alone for Australia with floods in north Queensland, Cyclone Marcus in Western Australia and the Northern Territory and the current bushfire crisis in Queensland,.

More than 100 fires were burning across the state on Friday night, where thousands of residents have been forced to evacuate in recent days.

Australia could be devastated by more bushfires this summer with higher than average temperatures predicted by the Bureau of Meteorology

And more natural disasters could soon be on the way.

A cyclone is developing thousands of kilometres off the coast of Queensland's far north could lash the peninsula by the weekend, forecasters warned.

A low pressure system near the Solomon Islands could develop into a cyclone over the weekend or early next week.

'In relation to what's happening further up north in the Solomon Islands, we are watching a pressure system up there that has around a 20 to 50 per cent chance of developing into a cyclone over the weekend into early next week,' Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk told reporters on Friday.

Meteorologists have warned parts of Queensland could be hit by another cyclone within days. Pictured is damage from Tropical Cyclone Marcus that struck Darwin in March

Australia is heading towards one of the warmest summers ever with more heatwaves and more bushfires predicted in the next months.

The Bureau of Meteorology released an alarming map this week showing the predicted average temperature across the country - set to be 80 per cent higher than average.

Southern parts of the country will see shorter, sharper heatwaves, but northern areas will suffer through prolonged periods of heat.
What just happened?

Earlier this week the U.S. Congress voted unanimously to support HR 309, the Iraq and Syria Genocide Relief and Accountability Act of 2018. The purpose of the bill is to provide relief for victims of genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes who are members of religious and ethnic minority groups in Iraq and Syria, for accountability for perpetrators of these crimes, and for other purposes.

The bipartisan bill, first introduced in 2017 by Representatives Chris Smith (R-NJ) and Anna Eshoo (D-CA), now heads to President Donald Trumps desk, where hes expected to sign it into law.

What does the Iraq and Syria Genocide Relief and Accountability Act do?

This bill states that it is U.S. policy to ensure that humanitarian, stabilization, and recovery assistance for nationals and residents of Iraq or Syria, and of communities from those countries, is directed toward ethnic and minority individuals and communities with the greatest need, including those individuals and communities that are at risk of persecution or war crimes, such as Christians and Yazidis.

The bill also allows the Department of State and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) to provide assistance, including financial and technical assistance, to support the efforts of entities, including nongovernmental organizations with expertise in international criminal investigations and law, to address crimes of genocide, crimes against humanity, or war crimes in Iraq since January 2014 by conducting criminal investigations, developing indigenous investigative and judicial skills to adjudicate cases consistent with due process and respect for the rule of law, and collecting and preserving evidence for use in prosecutions.

The State Department will now encourage foreign governments to identify and prosecute individuals who are suspected of committing such crimes, including members of foreign terrorist organizations operating in Iraq or Syria. Additionally, the State Department shall identify:

 threats of persecution, genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes against members of Iraqi or Syrian religious or ethnic groups that are minorities in Iraq or in Syria with respect to whom the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) has committed such crimes in Iraq or Syria since January 2014 or who are members of other persecuted religious or ethnic groups;

 persecuted religious and ethnic minority groups in Iraq or Syria that are at risk of forced migration and the primary reasons for such risk;

 humanitarian, stabilization, and recovery needs of these individuals; and

 entities, including faith-based entities, that are providing such assistance and the extent of U.S. assistance to or through such entities.

Why is this legislation necessary?

According to Rep. Smith, the bills original sponsor, less than 200,000 Christians remain in Iraq, down from 1,400,000 in 2002 and 500,000 in 2013, before ISIS swept through the region on its genocidal campaign. Many of the remaining Christians in Iraq are displaced, mostly in Erbil in the Kurdistan region and need assistance to return to their homes and stay in Iraq.

Many Christian survivors of the ISIS genocide in Iraq and Syria had reported receiving no aid from the U.S. or the UN Smith said and they had been relying completely upon aid from donations of non-governmental organizations like the Knights of Columbus and Aid to the Church in Need.

When genocide or other atrocity crimes are perpetrated, the United States should direct humanitarian, stabilization, and recovery aid to enable these people to survive-especially when they are minorities whose existence as a people is at-risk, Smith stated on the House Floor before the vote Tuesday night. HR 390 would ensure our actions match our words.

Who supported the bill?

A broad range of Christian, Jewish, secular, and governmental organizations endorsed the legislation, including the Knights of Columbus, the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention, Open Doors, HIAS, and the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom.
A Canadian farmer has started beef by claiming he has an even bigger cow than 6ft 4ins Australian behemoth Knickers.

Karl Schoenrock, who runs Kismet Creek Farm, an animal sanctuary around 50 miles south of Winnipeg, claims his bull Dozer is one inch taller at 6ft 5ins.

Mr Schoenrock, who runs the farm with wife Raelle, described Dozer as a 'gentle giant' and said he is 'not intimidating at all... except for his size.'

Karl Schoenrock and wife Raelle claim to have an even bigger cow than Knickers on their farm in Canada - a 6ft 5ins steer named Dozer

Mr Schoenrock explained how Dozer was rescued from a beef farm in Alberta by Rebecca Hanuschuk, who eventually sold him to the Schoenrocks after he grew too big

Just like Knickers, Dozer was born on a beef farm in Alberta and was due to be sliced up into steaks until he was rescued by Rebecca Hanuschuk.

She told Steinbach Online that she didn't know he would grow to be so big and watched in amazement as he grew to weigh 3,000lbs in just a few months.

After moving him around several farms, Dozer eventually settled at Kismet Creek and have been there ever since.

Mr Schoenrock said he last measured Dozer's height a few years ago, when he was 6ft 3ins, and so initially thought that Knickers was bigger.

But the similarities in their height prompted him to measure a second time, when he discovered that Dozer had grown a couple of inches since then.

Dozer stands 1ins taller than Australian steer Knickers, who was also born on a beef farm but grew so big he couldn't be killed

Dozer's huge bulk is causing the six-year-old problems, and he needs pain-relief cream rubbed into his hind legs because of tendon problems

Dozer and Knickers also share more similarities than just their size - both of them also share a breed, being Holstein Friesian steers, which are usually used as diary cows.

Size comes at a price, however, and Dozer suffers tendon issues in his back legs as they struggle to hold up his bulk.

As a result, the Schoenrocks have to rub pain-relief cream into Dozer's legs.

But his life is more pleasant that it would have been on the beef farm, where he would already have been slaughtered for meat by this age.

Instead, he will live until his natural death in a paddock that he shares with two other steers and a horse.

Dozer is still two inches short of the Guinness World Record for the tallest living steer, which belongs to an Italian cow named Bellino.

The Schoenrocks said they last measured Dozer a few years ago when he was 6ft 3ins but after hearing of Knickers they decided to measure again, and discovered he had gained 2ins

As news of Knickers has spread, other animal owners have been coming forward with their own colossal creatures.

Farmer Fitim Sejfijaj revealed he owns a 3ft tall chicken named Merakli who lives alongside two hens on his farm in Kosovo.

The Brahma chicken became an online sensation after footage of him strutting around his pen went viral last year.

Meanwhile a photo of a squirrel believed to be two-feet-tall also began making its rounds on the internet.

North Carolinians were left in disbelief after the snap of the fox squirrel was shared on Facebook by North Carolina's Candid Critters.

'This is one of the top photos of an eastern fox squirrel I have seen from Candid Critters citizen scientists!' the post read.

According to state officials, the squirrel was likely 26 inches tall, which doesn't include the length of its tail, and probably weighed about three pounds.

Farmer Fitim Sejfijaj also revealed he owns a 3ft tall chicken named Merakli who lives alongside two hens on his farm in Kosovo
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Theresa May today had a very-awkward looking encounter with Donald Trump today after vowing to tell him 'face to face' that he is wrong about her Brexit deal.

The US leader threatened to pile yet more pressure on the PM's under-fire Brexit plan by saying it looked like a 'great deal for the EU', and suggesting it will torpedo UK trade ties with the US.

But arriving in Argentina today for the G20 summit, the Prime Minister said she will put the US president right on her deal.

And the pair, who have both previously reaffirmed their commitment to the US-UK 'special relationship', looked like they were having an awkward encounter when they sat down for round-table talks at the meeting.

Mrs May said she will be 'very happy to tell President Trump and others that we will have an independent trade policy' after leaving the bloc.

However, any discussions are likely to take place in the margins of the gathering in Buenos Aires as Mrs May has made clear her displeasure by avoiding formal talks.

The premier will push a message of free trade as she attends the potentially fraught two-day summit.

It comes as she faces overwhelming opposition to her Brexit deal at home in Britain, after Matthew Offord became the 100th Tory MP to say he will not back her deal.

Theresa May (pictured today with Donald Trump in Argentina at the G20 summit) vowed to tell him to his face that he is wrong about her Brexit deal

Donald Trump (pictured with the PM today) has caused Theresa May more problems by pouring scorn on her Brexit deal

Theresa May, pictured with Donald Trump today in Buenos Aires at the G20 summit. Unusually, the two leaders are not holding a bilateral meeting at the summit

The two leaders - who have both previously reaffirmed their commitment to the UK-Us special relationship - looked friendlier at other points in the conversation

Theresa May (pictured today with other G20 leaders in Buenos Aires) said she will be 'very happy to tell President Trump and others that we will have an independent trade policy' after leaving the bloc

Mr Trump (pictured with Argentina president Mauricio Macri at the G20 today) threatened to deepen the premier's Brexit crisis by jibing that she had struck a 'great deal for the EU'

May vows to confront Saudi Crown Prince over murder of journalist and Yemen violence when they come face-to-face at at G20 summit Theresa May will meet with Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (pictured arriving in Argentina today) even though he is accused of ordering the murder of Jamal Khashoggi Theresa May today vowed to confront the Saudi crown prince over the murder of a dissident journalists and Yemen violence when they come face to face at the G20 summit. The Prime Minister made clear she will not avoid a meeting with Mohammed bin Salman at the gathering in Argentina. But she insisted that she would be demanding a 'full and transparent' investigation into who was behind the death of Jamal Khashoggi - a critic of the Saudi regime who is believed to have been tortured and killed in the Kingdom's consulate in Turkey. She also said she will raise the military campaign in Yemen that has seen the death of thousands of civilians. Speaking to reporters en route to Buenos Aires overnight, Mrs May confirmed she will speak to the Crown Prince. 'The message I give will be very clear. It is the message we have consistently given on this issue of Jamal Khashoggi and the issue of Yemen,' she said. Advertisement

Mrs May's attendance at the summit - the first time a British PM has gone to the Argentinian capital since the Falklands War - could offer some respite from the domestic strife she faces.

While the PM is due to hold bilateral talks with around half-a-dozen other leaders during the two-day gathering, aides have made clear she will not be seeking a one-on-one meeting with the US president.

But despite being thousands of miles away, Mrs May could not escape questions about her Brexit deal, which is widely expected to be voted down by MPs when they vote on it on December 11.

Speaking to journalists in Buenos Aires today, she said: 'It's not about me, this is about what is in the national interest.

'It's about delivering the vote to leave the EU and doing it in a way that protects people's jobs and livelihoods and protects our security and our United Kingdom.'

The PM has faced a barrage of attacks from all sides on her Brexit plan.

And several Tory MPs are in talks with Labour politicians to try to force her tear up her deal and back a Norway-style deal instead.

But Mrs May ruled out the fudge today, saying it would not meet her red line of ending free movement.

'I've been very clear about my position, we won't be in the customs union,' she said, onboard her RAF Voyager plane to the two-day summit in Buenos Aires.

'What you see in the political declaration is what would be a deal for the United Kingdom that is not Norway, it is not Canada, it is a more ambitious free trade agreement than Canada, and it ends free movement  which Norway doesn't do.'

The PM also faces a controversial encounter with Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in the wake the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

Confirming that she intends to speak with the Crown Prince during the summit, Mrs May said: 'The message I give will be very clear.

'It is the message we have consistently given on this issue of Jamal Khashoggi and the issue of Yemen.

'In relation to Mr Khashoggi, we want to see a full and transparent investigation of what happened and those responsible being held to account.

May rules out Norway-style Brexit fudge despite facing defeat over her deal Theresa May ruled out a Norway-style Brexit fudge today as she stares down the barrel of a Commons defeat - around 100 Tories saying they will oppose her deal. Despite the PM's desperate scramble to win support ahead of a crunch Commons vote on December 11, the list of critics on her own benches has now gone into three figures. The grim threshold was reached despite Cabinet Eurosceptic Liam Fox urging Conservatives to do their 'duty' and back the plan - insisting the premier's gruelling PR drive is 'changing the public mood'. But with Labour, the SNP and Lib Dems all joining the Tory rebels in opposition to the deal Mrs May appears to be on track for a catastrophic defeat in the looming showdown. The Tories who have declared against include some 30 former ministers, and Remainers are also preparing to help vote the package down. Jo Johnson who resigned from the cabinet over his objection to the deal with Brussels, said the Tories could face a 'landslide' loss at the next election if the deal was to go through. Amid mounting pressure to come up with a 'Plan B' today, Mrs May signalled defiance - dismissing the idea of a Norway-plus model that could see the UK effectively stay in the single market and customs union. Advertisement

'With the issue of Yemen, we continue to be deeply concerned about the humanitarian situation.

'The long-term solution for Yemen is a political solution, and we will be encouraging the parties to work for that political solution.'

She will also be rubbing shoulders with Russia's Vladimir Putin following the poisoning of Sergei Skripal in Salisbury and the seizure of Ukrainian ships.

Mrs May will hold one-on-one talks today with Argentine President Mauricio Macri, who is hosting leaders from around the world at the G20 summit of major economies.

The Falklands are expected to feature in their discussions, but are not expected to dominate talks which will focus on trade.

President Macri has toned down official rhetoric over the islands which Argentinians know as Las Malvinas since taking over from Cristina Kirchner in 2015.

This week's announcement of a new air link between the Falklands and the South American mainland via Argentina has been greeted in London as an indication that relations are headed in a positive direction.

Asked during her flight to Buenos Aires whether the UK remained ready to defend the Islands with military force if necessary, Mrs May said: 'I am clear that our position on the sovereignty of the Falklands has not changed.

'What has changed in recent months is we have seen better relations with Argentina.

'I think the announcement we saw earlier this week of the extra flight from the Falklands through to South America is important.

'It is important for the Falklands and it is important in showing a different relationship developing.

'I am talking to President Macri about issues about trade and opportunities for trade, but our position on the sovereignty of the Falklands hasn't changed and will not change.'

Theresa May (pictured with other leaders at the G20 summit for the traditional 'family photo') has faced questions about why she has gone to the summit when her time may be better spent trying to convince her Tory rebels to back her Brexit plan

Theresa May (pictured with other leaders at the G20 summit today) is hoping to show that Britain can drum up interest in post Brexit free trade deals while on the trip

Theresa May (pictured today with other G20 leaders including Emmanuel Macron) is pushing a message of free trade as she attends the potentially fraught two-day summit

Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May is welcomed by Argentina's President Mauricio Macri in Argentina today

Mrs May faces a controversial encounter with Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (pictured left arriving in Argentina) in the wake the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. Russian leader Vladimir Putin is pictured at the summit today, right

Mrs May is not expected to have bilateral talks with Mr Putin in Buenos Aires, as relations between the UK and Russia remain in the deep-freeze following the Salisbury poisoning and the annexation of Crimea.

Britain has been a keen supporter of sanctions against Moscow for its interference in Ukraine and Mrs May made clear she does not rule out their extension following the seizure of three naval ships and their crews in the Black Sea.

'Our message to Russia is very clear,' she said. 'They should release the ships and sailors and de-escalate the situation.

'If you look at what we have seen over the last year of so, this is part of a pattern of Russian behaviour.

'We have always been at the forefront in Europe of asking for sanctions on Russia in relation to its behaviour. We will continue to push for what we consider to be appropriate sanctions on Russia.'

Mrs May added: 'Russia could take a different approach. Russia could support the rules-based international system. If it did that, its position would be a different one. It is choosing to continue with this pattern of behaviour.'

The PM will use the G20 gathering to push her 'global Britain' message, telling fellow leaders that her Brexit deal will be good for the world economy.

She will tell fellow leaders that trade relations with the EU 'will remain close', with no tariffs, quotas or rules of origin checks introduced, in order to avoid damaging complex supply chains.

'International firms that have invested in UK production or use European bases to supply the UK market will benefit from these arrangements,' she will say.

'But... for the first time in more than four decades, the UK will have an independent trade policy. We will play a full and active role on trade on the global stage, working with friends new and old, at a time of unprecedented global interconnectedness.'

Mrs May is the first serving Prime Minister to visit Buenos Aires and the second to come to Argentina, after Tony Blair crossed the border from Brazil in 2001.

Her visit marks an effort by the UK to increase trade links with Latin America after Brexit.
Three people have been killed and eight injured when a pickup truck fleeing Border Patrol agents at speeds topping 100mph hit a spike strip and rolled over in California near the Mexican border.

According to California Highway Patrol, the deadly crash took place in Campo at around 4.30pm Thursday on westbound Interstate 8 near Crestwood Road.

Officials say the incident began unfolding when Border Patrol agents patrolling the US-Mexico Border in East San Diego County noticed tire tracks headed north and a piece of a vehicle.

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This white Chevy Silverado carrying 11 people rolled over on westbound Interstate 8 in Campo, California, fleeing Border Patrol Thursday

A woman and two men were killed in the wreck, and eight others were injured

Debris is seen scattered on the roadway at the site of Thursday afternoon's crash

Another agent spotted a white Chevy Silverado, which was missing a part, and attempted to pull it over, according to NBC San Diego, but the driver refused to stop and sped away eastbound on Interstate 8 before turning around to the opposite direction.

Witnesses say the pickup was weaving through traffic and traveling at speeds of more than 100mph, reported Good Morning America.

Agents deployed a spike strip to stop the runaway vehicle before the pickup truck lost control and drove into an embankment, causing several passengers to be ejected.

CHP spokesman Officer Travis Garrow says a male driver and a female passenger were believed to be seated in the cab of the truck, and nine men were lying unrestrained in the bed.

Officials say the pickup truck was doing more than 100mph when Border Patrol agents deployed a spike strip to stop it

The driver, a US citizen, was taken into custody and then hospitalized with injuries

Several of the 11 people in the pickup truck were ejected onto the road because they were riding unrestrained

The driver, believed to be a US citizen, was the only one wearing a seat belt in the truck. He was taken into custody and transported to a hospital to be treated for injuries.

Officials have not released any personal information concerning the three fatalities, only saying that one of them was a woman.

Cal Fire San Diego tweeted that of the eight people who survived the crash, three were seriously injured and the other five sustained minor injuries.

The immigration statuses of the passengers in the wrecked Chevy were not immediately available.
Relatives of MH370 victims today presented what they believe are pieces of debris from the aircraft, which they hope can help solve the mystery of the lost plane.

The debris was presented at a press conference at the Malaysian Ministry of Transport's headquarters in Putrajaya on Friday, as they were officially handed over to the government.

The five new pieces of debris were found off Madagascar, where some debris from MH370 has been found before, most recently in August.

Flight MH370 was on its way from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing on March 8, 2014, with 239 people on board, when it disappeared and sparked a mystery that has gripped the world.

New find: Grace Subathirai Nathan, daughter of Malaysian Airlines flight MH370 passenger Anne Daisy, shows a piece of debris believed to be from flight MH370 in Putrajaya, Malaysia

Pieces of the puzzle: Relatives of the victims believe the five pieces of debris is from the missing jet, which disappeared in 2014

Potential leads: Jacquita Gonzales, the wife of in-flight supervisor Patrick Francis Gomes, holds up one of the pieces found

An official report released in July following a lengthy investigation and years of fruitless searching gave no new clues about why the plane disappeared, sparking anger among relatives.

In a statement released by Voice370, the association for relatives of the vicims, they say there has been no word from the Malaysian government on further efforts or developments in the search since the July report.

Grace Subathirai Nathan, a lawyer whose mother, Anne Daisy, was on the plane said the items were found between December 2016 and August 2018, adding that 'this... offers a fresh ray of hope to all the relatives.'

"The fact that debris is still washing up now means that the investigation should still be live. It shouldn't be closed.'

Handover: The debris were presented to the press before being handed over to Malaysia's Transport Minister Anthony Loke Siew Fook

Details: Ms Nathan speaks to the press about the pieces of debris that the families of the victims have found off the coat of Madagascar

New evidence: Malaysian official holds debris believed to belong to MH370

Investigating: Malaysia Transport Minister Anthony Loke, centre, holds a piece of debris believed to be from Malaysian Airlines flight MH370

Ms Nathan's father V.R. Nathan added the items were discovered by fishermen and that one piece of the debris 'has part of a label still readable.'

'We want the government to continue searching for these debris and piece them together like a jigsaw puzzle so that we can get some clue as to what happened to the plane.'

Malaysia's Transport Minister Anthony Loke Siew Fook said the government will 'immediately verify the items' ranging from almost 60 centimetres (two feet) in length to palm-sized.

'We will need some credible leads before we reopen the search,' he told reporters.

T. Mohan, one of the experts who took part in the investigation, told AFP that one of the items 'is a floor panel of a Boeing aircraft.'

Malaysian and international investigators believe the jet veered thousands of miles off course from its scheduled route before eventually plunging into the Indian Ocean.

The cause of the planes sudden diversion off course is still not known.

One of the pieces of debris still has a label on it where letters and numbers can be read, which could help determine if the pieces of debris belong to MH370

Hope: A Malaysian official inspects debris which some relatives of the victims believe belong to MH370 during a press conference at ministry of transport headquarters in Putrajaya

Jacquita Gonzales, wife of MH370 steward Patrick Gomes, shows a piece of debris believed to be from flight MH370 during a press conference in Putrajaya

In all, 27 pieces of aircraft debris have been collected from various places around the world but only three wing fragments that washed up along the Indian Ocean coast have been confirmed to be from the missing Boeing 777.

In May, Malaysia called off a three-month search by U.S. firm Ocean Infinity, which spanned 112,000 sq km (43,243 sq miles) in the southern Indian Ocean and ended with no significant findings.

It was the second major search after Australia, China and Malaysia ended a fruitless A$200 million ($144.80 million) search across an area of 120,000 sq km (46,332 sq miles) last year.

Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad had said in May that the country would consider resuming the search only if new clues come to light.

In July, investigators released a 495-page report, saying the plane's controls were likely deliberately manipulated to take it off course but they were not able to determine who was responsible.

Hijacking was not ruled out as the reason behind the plane diverting from its course.

Missing Boeing 777 aircraft taking off at Roissy-Charles de Gaulle Airport in France, 2011

Last year scientists used a reconstructed Boeing 777 flaperon to work out where pieces of the jet could have drifted after debris washed up on Reunion island off the coast of Africa in 2015

Reconstruction of doomed flight MH370 which is thought to have crashed into the sea after veering thousands of miles off course

The official search for the plane ended in May but a new TV documentary revealed for the first time the plane's suspected final moments, with a reconstruction showing it plunging towards the sea in a 'death spiral'.

Investigators on the documentary said the plane almost certainly ran out of fuel after flying in the wrong direction over the Indian Ocean for six hours.

This could have been caused by the right engine breaking down first, meaning the autopilot would have lurched the plane to the left to compensate.

In July 2015, a wing part known as a flaperon was found on Reunion Island, east of Madagascar. Since then, 27 pieces of debris have been found.

One of the pieces was a TV monitor, found by amateur wreckage hunter Blaine Gibson.

Sarah Nor (centre), the mother of Norliakmar Hamid, a passenger on flight MH370 crying at the Ministry of Transport headquarters in Putrajaya, Malaysia, in July when the final report was released

Officers carrying pieces of debris from what is thought to be flight MH370 washed ashore in Saint-Andre de la Reunion on Reunion Island in July 2015

Last month a pilot claimed to have discovered parts of flight MH370 in the same area of the Cambodian jungle where a filmmaker was forced to abandon his pursuit of the plane's wreckage because of 'illegal loggers high on meth'.

Daniel Boyer said he has found the engine, tail and cockpit of the plane buried in the jungle north of Phnom Penh using Google Earth, just a month after British film producer Ian Wilson embarked on a two-day trek to find a 'plane-shaped object' he had sighted on Google Maps.

French police also said last month that officers were investigating if navigation data from MH370 could have been hacked to disguise the route it took before crashing into the ocean.

The new theory was revealed by Ghyslain Wattrelos, a Frenchman who lost his wife and two teenage children when Flight 370 vanished.
Lawyers for a New Jersey businessman charged with killing his brother's family say he loved his brother's wife like a sister and doted on their children.

They claim 51-year-old Paul Caneiro is wrongly charged in the deaths of younger brother Keith Caneiro, 50; his wife, Jennifer, 45; and their young son, Jesse, 11, and eight-year-old daughter, Sophia.

His defense lawyers said: 'He worked with his brother Keith for 31 years and he loved his sister-in-law as if she was his sister.

'Paul Caneiro participated in the lives of Jesse and Sophia from watching them at their various events at school and spending time with them frequently.'

Keith Caneiro's mansion in Colts Neck is shown above on the day of the fire as firefighters worked frantically to put out the blaze on November 20

Paul Caneiro, 51, (left) was charged on Thursday with the murders of his 50-year-old brother Keith, Keith's 45-year-old wife Jennifer and their children, Sophia, eight, and Jesse, 11 (right)

They claimed his family meant the world to Paul and that the truth would come out, in the statement obtained by NJ.com.

Their statement stated, 'Paul Caneiro just couldn't say no to his family.'

But Monmouth County Prosecutor Christopher Gramiccioni described 'the most brutal crime' he had ever seen yesterday; Keith was shot on the lawn of his Colts Neck mansion, his wife was shot and stabbed, and their children were repeatedly stabbed.

Police say Paul burned the millionaire's mansion and then returned home to torch his own house, in a botched effort to make it appear like someone had it in for their family.

Monmouth County Prosecutor Christopher Gramiccioni speaks during a news conference in Freehold, New Jersey on Thursday

Keith, 50, was found outside the house and he had been shot at least twice; his wife Jennifer, 45, had been shot and stabbed

Paul (left) is the older of the two brothers by a year but he worked for Keith (right with his son when he was a baby)

The brothers were business partners who formed their technology company, Square One, together in 1987.

At the time it was called Jay-Martin and specialized in computer installing but it grew in success and size as the internet boomed.

Keith started it and brought his older brother in as his first hire when he earned contracts with Citibank and at the Statue of Liberty.

According to The New York Times, their decades-long business brotherhood had come under recent tension.

A friend of Keith's, Brian Bott, said that Keith was excited after completing his master's degree this year and was exploring a new career path.

Police sources cited by NJ.com also said the business was struggling to stay afloat.

Gramiccioni said a financial motive stemmed from two businesses the brothers ran in Asbury Park, a technology firm and a pest control company.

Prosecutors say Paul (right after a car accident which gave him a limp) set fire to his home using gasoline while his wife Susan, (center left) and daughters Marissa, 23, (second from right) and Katelyn, 26, (left) were inside

The two houses are 12 miles apart; there were just over seven hours between the two fires

Paul arrived at his brother's house early in the morning - police could not say whether Keith's family were awake at the time of the alleged attack.

After allegedly killing them, Paul went to basement of the house where prosecutors say he set a fire.

They say he then left the house, leaving the fire smoldering, and returned to his own home where he set another fire using cans of gasoline. He survived that fire along with his wife and their two adult daughters.

The blaze at Keith's house was not reported until 12.38pm and police say it was fed for several hours by oxygen blowing through the house.

'It continued to smolder until there was entry made into the home, a great deal of oxygen coming into the home effectively fed that fire.

'(The fire) wasnt reported until 12:38, what we believed caused the fire to catch on from there is the feeding of oxygen once the house was entered into,' Gramiccioni said.

Paul Caneiro is charged with four counts of murder among arson and weapons charges.

He is due in court this morning.
Viral video filmed at the resort has attracted 2.65 million views on social media

This is the bizarre moment Mickey Mouse made a teenage fan faint in shock after giving her a kiss at Disneyland.

The viral video, which has attracted 2.65 million views on social media, shows a Disney worker dressed in a Mickey Mouse costume giving a teenage girl more than she had bargained for at Tokyo Disney Resort in the city of Urayasu.

The incident, which was caught on camera by an eyewitnesss, shows the moment the young fan, named only as Arisu, fainted in disbelief after her unexpected encounter with the world's most famous mouse.

The Disney worker dressed in a Mickey Mouse costume first gives the teenage fan a kiss on the hand before drawing her in for a long kiss on the lips at the Disneyland resort in the city of Urayasu, Tokyo

The teenager, named only as Arisu, faints in shock after her unexpected encounter with the world's most famous mouse during the viral video

During the footage, Mickey is seen getting down on one knee in front of the teenage girl and giving her a gentlemanly kiss on the hand.

But as he stands to give her a hug he almost instantly draws her in for what feels like an embarrassingly long kiss.

He then lets go of the girl's hands and is spotted turning away when she appears to faint and fall over backwards.

Clearly alarmed, the Mickey Mouse character frantically waves his hands in the air as if to deny any fault before looking directly into the camera to proclaim his innocence.

As the teenage girl falls to the ground the Mickey Mouse character waves his hands to the crowd to plead his innocence

The young girl manages to get to her feet soon after her apparent loss of consciousness. She later said on social media: 'My brain could not catch up with the series of things I did not expect'

Tokyo Disney Resort is a theme park located in the city of Urayasu, in Japan's Chiba Prefecture

Arisu, who was captured in the video wearing Mickey Mouse ears and a Mickey Mouse bag around her neck, soon managed to get to her feet.

However the shaken fan later said on social media she had been left speechless by what she described as the 'long, long, long kiss'.

Arisu said she considered Mickey Mouse to 'no longer a gentleman' and added: 'My brain could not catch up with the series of things I did not expect.'
A suspected drink driver has been detained after a hit-and-run crash left a motorbike driver severely injured and its passenger dead in south China.

CCTV footage of the accident shows a silver saloon speeding down a road with a motorbike caught under the tyres of the car in Zhuhai, Guangdong province. The bike was dragged for 10 kilometres (6.2 miles), according to police.

However, during investigations, the 28-year-old driver told officers that he had 'no idea' he had hit a motorbike.

CCTV footage of the accident shows a silver saloon speeding down a road with a motorbike caught under the tyres of the car in Zhuhai, Guangdong on October 1 at about 3:40am

However, the 28-year-old driver later told officers that he had 'no idea' he had hit a motorbike

The video also shows bright sparks flying as the motorbike was dragged along the road

The rider and passenger, both in their 20s, were found at the crash site and were immediately taken to hospital. The passenger, Qin, later died from his injuries.

A witness said he was shocked to see a motorbike lodged in front of a saloon after hearing loud screeches of metal scraping against the ground and immediately alerted police.

The video also shows bright sparks flying as the motorbike was dragged along the road.

Police retrieved the damaged motorbike five miles away from where the victims were found

The footage revealed that the car only stopped after the driver (pictured) crashed and flipped while trying to avoid a road block. The driver, surnamed Chen, was miraculously unhurt

As officers were trying to locate the car, they discovered two injured men lying on the side of the road, according to Zhuhai police in a news release. The men told police that they were knocked off a motorbike when a car hit them along Nangang Road a short while ago, and their scooter was missing.

Motorbike driver, Li, and his passenger, Qin, were transported to Pingsha Hospital for treatment. Both sustained serious injuries to their head as neither of them were wearing a helmet.

Qin died three hours later of a serious head wound and multiple organ failure resulting from a ruptured liver and spleen. Li remained in intensive care.

The driver was miraculously unhurt and called his two colleagues to help him tow his car to a local body shop instead of reporting the accident to the police

Authorities arrested Chen for drink-driving and for causing a hit-and-run accident, meaning he could face three to seven years in prison

Police finally retrieved the heavily damaged motorbike about five miles away and searched for the driver via surveillance footage.

The footage revealed that the car only stopped after the driver crashed and flipped while trying to avoid a road block.

The driver, surnamed Chen, was miraculously unhurt and called his two colleagues to help him tow his car to a local body shop instead of reporting the accident.

Authorities arrested Chen for drink-driving and for causing a hit-and-run accident, meaning he could face three to seven years in prison if convicted.
A pensioner with dementia asked 'What's going on' moments before plummeting to his death in a faulty care home life, an inquest heard.

Kenneth Bardsley, 88, died from catastrophic injuries sustained in the horrific accident at Serendipity Care Home in Urmston, Greater Manchester.

The lift was more than 20 years old and malfunctioned due to a fault in the door mechanism.

A coroner heard engineers had serviced the lift twice in the week of Mr Bardsley's death, including less than an hour before it crashed into the basement.

The inquest also heard previous inspections had found other less serious faults in the lift but no works were carried out on it because the managers had not read the reports.

Kenneth Bardsley, 88, pictured, died of 'catastrophic injuries' caused when a lift he was in at his Greater Manchester care home plummeted into the basement despite being serviced less than an hour before the crash

On January 30, 2017, Mr Bardsley, a retired export packer, was wheeled from his room by care worker Sharon Cover to go to the ground floor for lunch.

Ms Cover had noticed earlier that morning that the lift was out of order, but said a Lancs and Cumbria Lifts engineer gave her the all-clear to use it.

But shortly after loading Mr Bardsley's wheelchair into the lift, which had an outer door and an inner bi-folding metal door, the car came to a halt.

Ms Cover sounded the lift alarm and shouted out to colleagues that she was stuck and could see a door 'hanging off its hinge' and Mr Bardsley was asking 'What's going on?', when they suddenly plummeted to the basement.

Ms Cover said: 'He was shouting, I was screaming. When we hit the ground the panel from the top of the lift hit his head, I heard him say "Oh my God". The walls of the lift came in.'

The carer hit her head on the handle of the wheelchair and injured her jaw.

Colleagues arrived to find the lift had dropped below the basement floor and the doors had caved in on them.

Described as 'covered in blood', Ms Cover had to be pulled from the lift while a 'grey and groaning' Mr Bardsley was wheeled out and taken up to the ground floor.

Paramedics were called but during assessment, Mr Bardsley deteriorated and went into cardiac arrest.

He was taken by ambulance to Salford Royal Hospital, where he later died.

An inquest jury concluded that Mr Bardsley's death was accidental, caused by multiple injuries, including a fractured pelvis and ribs.

It is not known if the door fault found by an expert to have caused the accident was identified before Mr Bardsley was injured.

Back-up safety gear also failed, but this fault had never been found during inspections.

Coroner Alison Mutch OBE will now write a report to prevent future deaths occurring in similar situations.

She also said the Care Quality Commission (CQC) had not picked up in 2014 that faults identified with the lift had not been acted upon.

After the hearing at Stockport Coroner's Court, Mr Bardsley's daughter Carol said: 'We never anticipated anything like this would ever happen.

'In the latter part of his life he had a stroke and my brother could no longer look after him as he needed professional help. We had every faith that the care home would help us.

'We can't understand why it happened. It's been extremely difficult for us to understand why the lift was being used if it wasn't safe.'

She added: 'The past two years have been tough for the whole family.

Mr Bardsley, pictured, asked 'what's going on?' to his carer when the lift door malfunctioned

'It's been a very long wait and we've finally had some of the answers that we have been searching for.

'We wouldn't want any other family to have to go through what we have.

'My father was a hardworking, family man and there will always be a big gap in our lives that will now never be filled. He will be greatly missed by all who knew him.'

Josmy Anish, the care home's manager, said the lift had issues 'every now and then' and the problems were 'mainly the doors'.

At these times, Lancs and Cumbria Lifts, which carried out four service checks a year, would be called out to fix it.

Lancs and Cumbria Lifts had twice been out to look at the lift in the week before it crashed into the basement.

The first of these checks was a call-out a week earlier over reports the door was 'sticking' and a service engineer identified a fault with the top of the door, but returned it to service pending repair.

A second visit was for a routine service less than an hour before Mr Bardsley got into the lift.

The fault later found by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) to have caused the incident was in a pin at the bottom of the door and it is not known if this issue arose before or after the visits by lift engineers.

The lift was also subject to twice-yearly regulatory examinations by services firm Bureau Veritas, the last of which had been in November 2016.

However, Ms Anish admitted she 'did not see the back of the reports', adding: 'I wasn't aware there was a second page.'

Ms Anish said she thought the engineer would 'tell them and do maintenance there and then', adding 'now I read every single page'.

But Shazir Karim, a director at Bureau Veritas, said the onus was on the care home to make the necessary repairs.

The inquest heard the lift at Serendipity Care Home in Urmston, Greater Manchester, had faults found in a previous inspection but that management had 'not read the reports'

Lancs and Cumbria Lifts were called out on January 23, 2017, to reports the door was 'sticking' and the firm's handyman said he was informed a part was needed for the door to replace a makeshift bolt.

However, while Ms Anish believed Lancs and Cumbria Lifts would proactively fix this, the firm said they were awaiting a purchase order for the needed part.

On January 30, a second engineer, who said he had not been aware of his firm's visit on January 23, carried out a routine service check before putting the lift back into service.

He said if someone had mentioned the breakdown of seven days earlier he would 'probably have rung the office' and further investigated the doors.

Less than an hour later, Mr Bardsley used the lift.

Tabinda Dahir, the care home's owner, told the coroner she had asked Lancs and Cumbria Lifts if she needed to replace the lift in 2013 but had been advised this wasn't necessary.

She also said that, although Alan Sharples of Lancashire and Cumbria Lifts had 'recommended' in 2015 that the door be refurbished, he had advised this could be carried out 'at a later date'.

Ms Dahir added: 'I don't know about these mechanical things. It was up to an expert to suggest to me what we need. Nobody ever said this lift shouldn't be used.'

The court heard that Lancs and Cumbria Lifts had never seen the reports from Bureau Veritas detailing faults with the lift.

Alan Sharples, director of Lancs and Cumbria Lifts, said he employed only qualified and experienced lift engineers and argued the onus was on the care home to show them the reports. Care home bosses insisted the firm had never asked to see them.

He said he would have supplied a new lift in 2013 had he been asked to, and he denied Ms Dahir's claims that in June 2015 he had advised against refurbishing the lift doors.

Andrew Crouch, a mechanical engineer for the Health and Safety Executive, inspected the lift after the incident.

He said the door had come out of the runner and jammed in the lift shaft.

The lift car became snagged on the left hand inner car door on the floor below.

The inquest also heard the lift at the care home, pictured, had 'crude repairs' to previous issues but that they did not cause the accident

However, the hydraulic cylinder that allows the lift to move continued to descend.

This left the car suspended on just one door panel, not intended to take this weight.

The ropes holding up the lift slackened and the lift eventually gave way, causing it to 'plunge' into the cellar.

Mr Crouch described 'crude repairs and bodging', including a metal bolt and wooden screw attached to the lift. However, he did not find these to be linked to the incident.

Mr Crouch told the inquest: 'The absence of the roller pin in the bottom of the door allowed the door to kick out at the bottom.

'In my view with a little bit of investigation and a torch you would have seen the roller had gone.'

He said a safety device which activates a safety gear should have stopped the incident, but that factors including 'wear and tear' had 'conspired together to cause a loss of traction of the pulley rope'.

He said this would not necessarily have been picked up in routine service engineer tests.

There had been a heavy reliance on just one safety device and there should have been other safety devices according to British 2003 standards, he added.

Det Insp Thomas Gilbert, who investigated the death on behalf of Greater Manchester Police, said they had considered two possible offences - gross negligence causing manslaughter and corporate manslaughter, but that the case had not passed the 'high threshold' to bring these charges.

Dr Lumb, a Home Office pathologist, told the court the cause of death was multiple injuries, including fractures to Mr Bardsley's ribs and a fractured pelvis, consistent with a 'fall from a height', which caused extensive blood loss.

Contributory factors, he said, were osteoporosis and heart disease.

Daniel Denton, lawyer at Slater and Gordon, said: 'Kenneth Bardsley was a frail and very vulnerable gentleman who had suffered from worsening dementia for several years.

'We hope that lessons will be learned from this unnecessary death and changes will be implemented to make sure this never happens to anyone else.'

Coroner Alison Mutch OBE said she would draft a report on the problems with the current system to try to prevent future deaths. This would include:
Princess Tessy of Luxembourg has told for the first time how she broke a UN peacekeeper's nose when he tried to sexually assault her.

The princess was working with the peacekeeping force in Kosovo when a colleague forced himself into her room and pushed her onto the bed.

Recalling the moment she broke his nose while fighting him off, the mother-of-two, said: 'I still don't know how I had the strength. It literally was a reflex.'

She told MailOnline: 'It was one evening and I went into my room and someone knocked very obnoxiously on my door. I kept the door shut and shouted: 'What is going on?'

Princess Tessy of Luxembourg (pictured) has told for the first time how she broke a UN peacekeeper's nose when he tried to sexually assault her

The princess (pictured with her two sons) was working with the peacekeeping force in Kosovo when a colleague forced himself into her room and pushed her onto the bed

Tessy also told of her sadness at divorcing the father of her two sons, Prince Louis, third son of Henri, Grand Duke of Luxembourg (pictured on their wedding day in 2006)

Tessy was serving for the UN when she met Prince Louis, who was visiting the troops in Kosovo. It was while working for the UN that a colleague (not pictured here) tried to assault her

'Finally, I open the door, because I knew the person, and he pushed me in on the bed. I pushed him out straight back. I broke his nose.

'I didnt tell anyone about it, for me it was done and dusted. But the day afterwards everybody knew about it. As I went for breakfast everyone stood up and clapped.

I didnt understand why at first but then my supervisor came to me and said: I knew I would have no problems with you. I knew you would be fine.

And that was fantastic. Just to know I could defend myself in such terrible situations.

Nothing happened because I could defend myself, but millions of other women are taken advantage of from time to time.

A couple of days afterwards he got sent home for having sex with a local woman. Obviously, he had issues controlling himself.

Princess Tessy, 33, spoke in a frank and emotional interview as she opened up for the first time on her sadness at the end of her marriage to Prince Louis, third son of Henri, Grand Duke of Luxembourg.

'It is a very, very, very, very sad reality for me, obviously,' she says. 'No one wants to get divorced. You don't get married to get divorced. It's a difficult time for both of us equally. There's not me or not him who suffers more.

'But we try to make the best out of it. We have lunches together and dinners. We hang out and call each other every day. The kids call me every day, so I brief him on that.'

Hinting at the reason for the break-up, she added: 'Divorce nowadays what does that mean to me? It means to me you should always follow your heart and if it doesn't work anymore you need to accept the reality and do what is necessary to find your own happiness.

Recalling the moment she broke his nose while fighting her attacker off after he had barged his way into her room Tessy said: 'I still don't know how I had the strength. It literally was a reflex'

Princess Tessy married Prince Louis in 2006 but their lives took different paths - while Louis struggled to find work, Tessy's career soared as she joined security company DS-48, juggling her job with her work as a UNAIDS global advocate for young women and her charity work

Tessy said that the couple had to tell their children the truth about their unhappy marriage to be proper roles models to the boys. She added: 'What we wanted them to understand from our situation is that first of all it was not their fault, we made sure they understood that'

'Having young children, it's not OK to lie to them. What role model would we be if we pretend?

Every parent has a duty to raise our children with integrity and love and truth because that sets out how they will be when they are older.

'What we wanted them to understand from our situation is that first of all it was not their fault, we made sure they understood that, because children often think it's their fault.

'Secondly, we made clear that they understand that love changes. Just because you get divorced, it doesn't mean you don't love each other anymore. It's just different and that's OK.'

Tessy was serving for the UN when she met Prince Louis, who was visiting the troops in Kosovo. They got married in September 2006, six months after the birth of their son, Gabriel.

Their second son Noah arrived within a year. But it was only two years later, that she was recognised as a member of the Royal family, which was granted by decree.

Now her marriage has broken down and she has been forced to battle for a financial settlement for herself and her two sons.

She has been reduced to representing herself rather than employing a top QC like her ex-husband. In fact, she studied law two years in order to become a litigant in person.

'I know my case better than anyone else,' she said. 'And I guess, as a woman, I felt quite empowered to do so. It's very complex. I felt very empowered. I learnt a lot about law. I studied law for the last two years and I loved it.

'Obviously for sad reasons I needed to do that, but I always try to look at every situation in a positive way, a constructive way, and as such I have learnt so much.'

She is battling Prince Louis in the English courts as they settled in London after their marriage. She still lives in the martial home while he has moved to France.

She was granted a degree nisi last February, on the grounds of his unreasonable behaviour, but is unable to talk about the divorce hearing, as there are reporting restrictions.

Opening up about her marriage ending and how it affected her boys, Tessy said: 'We made clear that they understand that love changes. Just because you get divorced, it doesn't mean you don't love each other anymore. It's just different and that's OK'

The princess is battling Prince Louis in the English courts as they settled in London after their marriage. She still lives in the martial home while he has moved to France

Tessy was granted a degree nisi last February, on the grounds of his unreasonable behaviour, but is unable to talk about the divorce hearing, as there are reporting restrictions

Tessy spoke about her ordeal and divorce to raise awareness of the domestic violence charity Refuge.

She is spearheading the Great Dress Giveaway initiative by littleblackdress.co.uk along with Alesha Dixon to offer 1,000 10 dresses to vulnerable women 'to make them feel more empowered'.

'As a mother, it's nice to feel beautiful in a dress - it gives oneself the feeling of being a woman, other than just being a Mum. If we can, even just for a moment, give back that feeling of being a stunning, beautiful confident woman, it will be incredible.'

Click here to apply for the Great Dress Giveaway.
Theresa May today vowed to confront the Saudi crown prince over the murder of a dissident journalists and Yemen violence when they come face to face at the G20 summit.

The Prime Minister made clear she will not avoid a meeting with Mohammed bin Salman at the gathering in Argentina.

But she insisted that she would be demanding a 'full and transparent' investigation into who was behind the death of Jamal Khashoggi.

The critic of the Saudi regime is believed to have been tortured and killed in the Kingdom's consulate in Turkey.

She also said she will raise the military campaign in Yemen that has seen the death of thousands of civilians.

Speaking to reporters en route to Buenos Aires overnight, Mrs May confirmed she will speak to the Crown Prince.

'The message I give will be very clear. It is the message we have consistently given on this issue of Jamal Khashoggi and the issue of Yemen,' she said.

The Prime Minister (pictured centre front) has made clear she will not avoid a meeting with Mohammed bin Salman (pictured rear centre) at the gathering in Argentina

Theresa May (left) has made clear she will not avoid a meeting with Mohammed bin Salman (right) at the gathering in Argentina

'In relation to Mr Khashoggi, we want to see a full and transparent investigation of what happened and those responsible being held to account.

'With the issue of Yemen, we continue to be deeply concerned about the humanitarian situation.

Putin and Saudi Crown Prince - who have both been accused of conniving in killings - high five each other at G20 summit Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman gave Vladimir Putin a high five in extraordinary scenes during the G20 leader's summit in Argentina. Salman, who is facing international condemnation for the killing of journalist Jamal Kashoggi, had been left standing alone as world leaders filed past him and into a meeting room - before the Russian President arrived. Putin, who has also faced isolation from western leaders over the poisoning of Sergei Skripal in Salisbury, then held up his hand which the Saudi enthusiastically grabbed before they sat down with broad smiles on their face. It comes after Salman - who had been courting western leaders with promises of human rights reforms in Saudi Arabia - was given a hard time by the likes of French President Emmanuel Macron over Kashoggi's death in Istanbul. During a five-minute exchange on the sidelines of the summit, Macron insisted that international experts form part of the team investigating Khashoggi's killing. He also conveyed 'very firm' messages to the Prince over the Saudi-led war against Houthi rebels in Yemen, which has left half of the country's population at risk of famine, including 8million pregnant women and children. Advertisement

'The long-term solution for Yemen is a political solution, and we will be encouraging the parties to work for that political solution.'

But while the PM vowed to confront the Saudi leader over the brutal murder, Salman looked like he did not have a care in the world as he high-fived Valdimir Putin at the summit.

The Russian leader, who is also facing international condemnation over the Salisbury poison outrage, shared the warm embrace with Salman in extraordinary scenes at the summit.

Putin is also facing international isolation from western leaders over the poisoning of Sergei Skripal in Salisbury.

The extraordinary scenes were captured on camera as the pair joked around together as they took their seats for talks at the global summit.

The summit in Buenos Aires is the first major international event Prince Mohammed has attended since Khashoggi's murder.

The Kingdom has flatly denied he had any prior knowledge of the killing, suggesting rogue agents might have been responsible.

Initially the authorities denied that Khashoggi had been murdered in the consulate in Istanbul.

The scandal has heaped pressure on the government to impose sanctions against Saudi - which was already facing a backlash over military action in Yemen.

Asked if Mrs May would shake hands with the Crown Prince, an aide said: 'Engagement is important if we are to address these issues.'

French President Emmanuel Macron took the same line as Mrs May and said he would raise the killing of Mr Khashoggi.

EU Council President Donald Tusk didn't mention the Khashoggi killing, but stressed the importance of the 'basic safety of journalists' and said 'it's our obligation to press our partners to respect these basic principles.'

Donald Trump, who has insisted relations with Saudi will be strong despite the Khashoggi murder, also greeted the Crown Prince as he arrived at the summit today.

Vladimir Putin and Mohammed bin Salman shared a high-five in extraordinary scenes ahead of a summit between world leaders at the G20

Jamal Khashoggi - a critic of the Saudi regime who is believed to have been tortured and killed in the Kingdom's consulate in Turkey

Russian President Vladimir Putin (pictured right) and the Crown Prince greeted each other with an enthusiastic, thumping handshake that resembled a high-five, and hearty laughter
A customer who had an allergic reaction after eating a teacake at coffee chain Costa claims she was assured it did not contain dairy products by staff.

Gwenda Jenkins, 73, visited the Costa branch in Debenhams at Llanelli's Trostre Retail Park on November 15, with her husband Henry Jenkins.

Mrs Jenkins, who has had a severe allergy to all dairy products for the last 40 years, said she asked if the teacake contained dairy products or eggs and after her server checked the ingredients list she decided to buy it along with a coffee.

However shortly after eating her food, she began feeling unwell, suffering from agitation, nausea, shaking and itchiness and was rushed to Prince Philip Hospital.

Gwenda Jenkins, 73, had an allergic reaction after eating a teacake at the Costa at Llanelli's Trostre Retail Park (pictured) despite staff telling her it didn't contain dairy

Costa said it had launched an investigation following what happened to Mrs Jenkins.

Mrs Jenkins added that the vegetable spread sachet she had at the branch did have the contents listed on the packaging and was free of dairy products and eggs.

Recognising the signs, Mr Jenkins took his wife to hospital where she was taken straight into recess and given an intravenous infusion, courses of steroids and cardiac monitoring.

Mrs Jenkins returned home six hours later, and the couple, of Llanelli, claim that they got in touch with Costa to ask for an explanation.

Mrs Jenkins claimed: 'I was told there was nothing in the teacake, but afterwards I had a massive reaction to it.

'I knew there could be dairy in teacakes so that's why I asked and was told it was fine.

'I later began feeling very unwell in an odd way, feeling agitated, nausea and began shaking and having itchiness.

'My husband took me to hospital and they immediately took me into recess and I spent six hours there having treatment until I was out of danger. It was a very frightening experience.'

A Costa spokeswoman said: 'At Costa Coffee, we take the health and wellbeing of our customers extremely seriously and were very concerned to hear about Mrs Jenkins' experience.

Mother of two Sonia Bagga, 39, went into anaphylactic shock after eating an in-flight snack that she didn't know contained sesame seeds while flying to London Heathrow

'All our store teams receive training on how to communicate allergen information to help customers make informed choices based on their needs.

'We have been in contact with Mrs Jenkins' family and launched an investigation to understand what happened on this occasion.'

The incident comes only two months after mother-of-two Sonia Bagga, 39, went into anaphylactic shock and stopped breathing after taking two bites of a chicken wrap that she didn't know contained sesame seeds on a British Airways flight.

Mrs Bagga said: 'I thought I was going to die in front of my husband and two children.

'I couldn't breathe. It was like someone had tied a rope around my neck and was pulling it tighter. It was the most frightening experience of my life.'

She was saved by the swift action of a young female doctor on board who saw Mrs Bagga had stopped breathing.

Natasha Ednan-Laperouse, 15, died of cardiac arrest after having a severe allergic reaction to a Pret a Manger baguette

She found Mrs Bagga's emergency EpiPen containing adrenaline in her handbag and injected her. Mrs Bagga went to hospital for checks after the jet landed.

The terrifying episode took place in September, two weeks before an inquest heard how Natasha Ednan-Laperouse, 15, collapsed on a BA flight and died of cardiac arrest following a severe allergic reaction to a Pret a Manger baguette which had sesame seeds in it in July 2016.

Natasha had been on her way to a four-day break in France with her father and best friend when she bought an artichoke, olive and tapenade baguette as they passed through Heathrow Airport's Terminal 5.

The teenager, from Fulham, south-west London, suffered from numerous allergies and allegedly reacted badly to sesame seeds 'hidden' in the bread, which caused her throat to tighten and vicious red hives to flare up across her midriff, eventually triggering cardiac arrest.

Her father jabbed two epipens into her legs, but she was declared dead the same day at a hospital in Nice.

During the inquest West London Coroner's Court heard the on-board defibrillator was not used in-flight as it was situated at the back of the plane and it would have been 'too dangerous to get it from the other end of the aircraft' when Natasha went into cardiac arrest minutes before landing.

Following a series of shocking incidents involving allergic reactions the family of an 18-year-old boy who died in his girlfriend's arms after suffering anaphylactic reaction have called for more to be done.

Owen Carey's sister Emma Kosher told the BBC: 'Some people might think "oh if there's a tiny splash of butter on their food, it's ok", but they don't realise how serious it is. People can die from a tiny splash of allergen on their food.'
Donald Tusk made clear the EU is braced for Brexit to be cancelled today amid claims the EU is ready to offer a three month extension to the Article 50 process.

The EU council president warned MPs that voting down Theresa May's deal would mean 'no deal or no Brexit at all'.

But speaking at the G20 summit in Argentina, he appeared to fuel Remainer hopes of blocking the process altogether by saying Brussels was 'prepared for every scenario'.

The manoeuvring comes amid mounting fears that Theresa May will fail to get the package she has thrashed out with the EU through the Commons.

Around 100 Tory MPs have now publicly come out against the arrangements, and with Labour, the SNP and Lib Dems opposed the PM looks on course for catastrophic defeat in a key vote on December 11.

Theresa May was at the G20 summit in Argentina today with leaders including Jean-Claude Juncker (centre) and Emmanuel Macron (right). She is facing a titanic battle to get her Brexit deal passed by the Commons in two weeks' time maid overwhelming opposition

EU council president Donald Tusk (pictured left with Jean-Claude Juncker, centre, and Argentina president Mauricio Macri) warned MPs that voting down Theresa May's deal would mean 'no deal or no Brexit at all'

McDonnell plots Labour power grab John McDonnell last night demanded urgent meetings with Whitehall mandarins to prepare for a smooth transfer of power if there is an election and Labour wins. His partys front bench believes that if MPs vote down Theresa Mays Brexit deal the Government could collapse, forcing the country to the polls within weeks. In a letter to Sir Tom Scholar, the most senior civil servant in the Treasury, the Shadow Chancellor said the current instability meant an election could come at any time. He wrote: I believe it behoves us to make suitable preparations now to ensure that there is a smooth transfer of power obviously depending on the outcome of that election. Tory chairman Brandon Lewis accused Labour of playing political games instead of acting in the national interest. Advertisement

A fallback option said to be under discussion in European capitals could see membership continue until July to give time for a second referendum or a Norway-style agreement to be put together.

But the EU is adamant that such an extension would only be possible if there is a clear chance that Parliament can unite around a solution.

Mrs May has so far dismissed the idea that the Article 50 process could be made longer, insisting that the UK is going to leave the EU on March 29.

She has also denied that she is preparing a 'Plan B' - saying she is focused on getting MPs to agree to her plans.

Former ministers Justine Greening and Jo Johnson argued yesterday that a second referendum could feasibly be held in May, 22 weeks after the Commons vote.

An amendment tabled to the motion by Remainers from across parties could give MPs more power to dictate what happens if the PM loses.

Mr Tusk today echoed warnings about the alternative to her plan being no Brexit.

He said at the G20 summit in : 'If this deal is rejected in the Commons we are left with, as was already stressed a few weeks ago by Prime Minister May, an alternative - no deal or no Brexit at all.'

Former education secretary Justine Greening (pictured today) said a national ballot could start being arranged immediately after the Commons showdown on December 11 - and would potentially be held in May

UK to drop claim for 1.2bn satellite cash Britain is to abandon plans to claw back 1.2billion from the EU over the Galileo satellite navigation system, it emerged last night. Ministers agreed a strategy of trying to demand a refund from the satellite scheme in May after Brussels said the UK would be locked out of some future developments after Brexit. But last night sources said the claim would be dropped after warnings British firms could be ruled out of future EU contracts. The news came as Theresa May confirmed the UK would now develop its own rival system. At the G20 summit in Argentina, she said: Given the European Commissions decision to bar the UK from being fully involved in developing all aspects of Galileo, its only right we find alternatives. I cannot let our armed services depend on a system we cannot be sure of. That would not be in our national interest. And, as a global player with world-class engineers and steadfast allies around the world, we are not short of options. Galileo was conceived as an alternative to Americas GPS satellite navigation system on which we currently rely for both military and civilian applications. The British system will be compatible with GPS so the two can act as back-ups for each other if one is knocked out by a cyber attack. Advertisement

He added: 'I want to reassure you that the EU is prepared for every scenario.'

Several Cabinet ministers are understood to be mulling the 'Norway plus' option being championed by Tory MP Nick Boles to avoid no-deal chaos.

EU sources told the Times the latter option could be a 'game changer'. 'Norway plus a customs union would be viewed positively,' the source said.

Another diplomat said Article 50 would only be extended to give time for a deal to be implemented, not to re-open negotiations.

'It is something available to us that has been talked about in Paris and Berlin,' they told the newspaper.

'Where we are clear is that this is only on offer when we know what the British parliament wants.'

It is thought the extension could only practically last until July when elections to the European parliament have been completed.

The EU insists the legal text of the Withdrawal Treaty - including the Irish border backstop - cannot be reopened.

Any changes would potentially be made to the political declaration, which is intended to provide the framework for a future trade deal.

Speaking to the European Parliament yesterday, chief negotiator Michel Barnier urged MPs to back Mrs May's deal.

'Given the difficult circumstances of this negotiation and given the extreme complexity of all the issues of the British withdrawal, the treaty that is on the table is the only deal possible,' he said.

Meanwhile, Brexiteers have again opened fire on Mrs May for refusing to insist on the UK being able to exit unilaterally from the Irish border backstop.

The Prime Minister, pictured arriving for the G20 summit in Argentina this morning, is fighting to save Brexit deal

Speaking to the European Parliament yesterday, chief negotiator Michel Barnier (pictured) urged MPs to back Mrs May's deal

There are claims that UK negotiators went as far as drawing up a clause that would have given effect to the demand.

The secret plan is said to have been commissioned last month by then-Brexit Secretary Dominic Raab and Attorney General Geoffrey Cox.

However, Mrs May did not put it to Brussels as she was convinced it would never be accepted.

The EU and Ireland have been totally insistent that the backstop could not be unilaterally ended.
This is the shocking moment repair workers narrowly avoid being crushed by a giant clock face as it plummets to the ground.

The maintenance workers had been conducting repairs on the 160-foot clock tower at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana, when the the clock face suddenly detached from the crane above them.

As it comes crashing to the ground, the workers, who are directly underneath the hanging object, are seen making a narrow miss and escaping unscathed.

Maintenance workers conducting repairs on Purdue University's bell tower narrowly miss the plummeting clock face

The clock face hangs above the workers before detaching itself from the crane at the university in West Lafayette, Indiana

In the video, the clock face appears to bounce off the cherry picker lift that the two workers are stood inside before knocking the side of the bell tower.

As it hits the side of the tower pieces of the clock appear to shatter before the entire object comes crashing to the ground.

According to the Journal & Courier the contractors working on the bell tower, Verdin Clock Company, said no one was injured and they are reviewing the incident.

On Twitter WLFI reporter Trevor Peters released a statement by The Verdin Company which read: 'We want to express our sincerest apology to Purdue University regarding the damage to their clock.

The clock hits the cherry picker lift that the two workers are stood in before crashing to the ground

As the giant object falls to the ground pieces of it are seen flying into the air as it knocks the side of the bell tower

'We will continue to work with Purdue University to ensure 100% customer satisfaction by replacing the damaged clock.'

A video of the incident was later posted on Facebook by Yang Yu and has already gathered more than 300,00 views.

One user commented: 'And that's why you put a lead line on it to keep from twisting and breaking the chains.'

The original video can be viewed here: https://www.facebook.com/yuyang930/videos/926050190926865/?type=2&video_source=user_video_tab
Theresa May's task of getting her Brexit deal past the House of Commons is looking near-impossible as opposition mounts.

The 'meaningful vote' promised to MPs will happen on December 11 and is the single biggest hurdle to the Brexit deal happening - as well as being the key to Mrs May' fate as PM.

But despite opinion polls suggesting the public might be coming round to her deal, there is little sign of a shift among politicians.

Remainers have been stepping up calls for a second referendum in the wake of Sam Gyimah's resignation as universities minister over the weekend - while Brexiteers including Boris Johnson have accused Mrs May of betrayal.

Mrs May 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.

The situation looks grim for Mrs May and her whips: now the deal has been published, over 100 of her own MPs and the 10 DUP MPs have publicly stated they will join the Opposition parties in voting No.

This means the PM could have as few as 225 votes in her corner - leaving 410 votes on the other side, a landslide majority 185.

This is how the House of Commons might break down:

Mrs May needs at least 318 votes in the Commons if all 650 MPs turns up - but can probably only be confident of around 230 votes.

Mrs May 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 Government (plus various hangers-on)

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.

There are also a dozen Tory party 'vice-chairs and 17 MPs appointed by the PM to be 'trade envoys'.

How many of them are there? 178.

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.

European Research Group Brexiteers demanding a No Confidence Vote

Who are they: The most hard line of the Brexiteers, they launched a coup against Mrs May after seeing the divorce. Led by Jacob Rees-Mogg and Steve Baker.

How many of them are there: 26

What do they want: The removal of Mrs May and a 'proper Brexit'. Probably no deal now, with hopes for a Canada-style deal later.

How will they vote: Against the Prime Minister.

Other Brexiteers in the ERG

Who are they: There is a large block of Brexiteer Tory MPs who hate the deal but have so far stopped short of moving to remove Mrs May - believing that can destroy the deal instead. They include ex Tory leader Iain Duncan Smith and ex minister Owen Paterson.

Ex ministers like Boris Johnson and David Davis are also in this group - they probably want to replace Mrs May but have not publicly moved against her.

How many of them are there? Around 50.

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.

How will they vote: Against the Prime Minister.

Remain including the People's Vote supporters

Who are they: Tory MPs who believe the deal is just not good enough for Britain. They include the group of unrepentant Remainers who want a new referendum like Anna Soubry and ex-ministers who quit over the deal including Jo Johnson and Phillip Lee.

How many of them are there: Maybe around 10.

What do they want? To stop Brexit. Some want a new referendum, some think Parliament should step up and say no.

A new referendum 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.

How will they vote? Against the Prime Minister.

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 lots of unaligned Tory MPs who are desperate to talk about anything else.

How many of them are there? Based on public declarations, about 48 MPs have either said nothing or backed the deal.

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.

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 on the grounds they believe the deal breaches the red line of a border in the Irish Sea.

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? Up to 250 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 says Mrs May's deal fails its six tests for being acceptable.

How will they vote? Against the Prime Minister's current deal.

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? Maybe 10 to 20 MPs but this group is diminishing fast - at least for the first vote on the deal.

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.
A supermarket chain is being accused of gastronomic 'terrorism' after announcing it plans to sell a cheesy version of the usually sweet treat churros.

Morrisons is to sell a savoury version of the Spanish snack, but instead of coating it in sugar as is typical, it will instead be filled with cheese.

The decision has sparked fury among Spaniards who have taken to Twitter to vent their fury over the product.

Morrisons plans to launch its cheesy taken on the Spanish snack Churros on December 20. It will cost 3.50 for a 300g portion and will be a blend of mashed potato with cheese sauce and Gouda cheese

Some even compared it to the recent spat over Gibraltar which temporarily threatened a crunch EU summit over the weekend, reports The Times.

With one person writing 'keep Gibraltar but don't do this please' and another saying 'we don't want this British cooking nonsense spreading over Europe.'

Morrisons describes the new product as a blend of mashed potato, with both Gouda cheese and a cheese sauce.

It is comes with a red pepper dip and a medium fat hard cheese sprinkle, which is designed to be eaten alongside the product.

The new take on the classic Spanish snack is set to launch on December 20 in time for Christmas - and will be on offer throughout the festive period.

But that's not to say the locals aren't putting up a good fight against the launch of the new product - which they say is an insult to the Spanish snack.

With even some British fans of the snack wading into the debate online.

When news of the snack broke, locals reacted with outrage that a typically sweet dish could be tainted in this way. Dozens have taken to Twitter (above and below) to express their view

Erik Burgess, writing on Twitter, said: 'A crime against Spanish gastronomy and not proper Churros in any way whatsoever.

While Olivia Emisar said: 'I forcefully object on behalf of all Spaniards who eat churros.

'I never cared for them, but I recognise a serious culinary travesty.'

Some started to come up with alternative names for the snake, so offended that they could be called churros.

One user urged them not be named as such to which another suggested they be called 'British Doritos'.

Churros are classically a fried-dough pastry, which is sprinkled in sugar and served alongside chocolate or coffee. They are usually eaten at breakfast time and are traditional in Spain and Portugal - where they originate

Several Spaniards even suggested they start tampering with classic British dishes.

One said: 'We will strike back with fish and chips layered over maple syrup and sprouts. Not survivors there.'

While another said: 'This is like if you dip fish and chips in a cup of coffee'.

Speaking to MailOnline this morning, Morrisons said it still planned to go ahead with the product launch.

A spokeswoman said: 'Our cheese churros are inspired by the original Spanish recipe but we wanted to do a savoury version instead.

'Our customers appreciate it when we do a twist on a popular classic.'
A female prisoner was allegedly gang-raped by two police officers in a hospital she had been moved to for treatment.

The woman was taken from Sitamarhi jail in Bihar district in India and transferred to Sri Krishna Medical College and Hospital (SKMCH) in nearby Muzaffarpur.

But she was said to have been attacked in a bathroom after being dragged into the toilet and raped on November 14.

Sri Krishna Medical College and Hospital in Muzaffarpur where the gang rape of a transferred prisoner allegedly took place

The woman prisoner was said to have been arrested on charges of kidnapping and was awaiting trial, the Bihar Post reports.

The victim had been undergoing treatment in the SKMCH since November 11 and was sent there by the prison authorities after her health had deteriorated.

Police registered the case after a letter from prison authorities was sent and officers began an investigation into the allegations.

Opposition leader, Tejashwi Yadav, alleged in a tweet that the rape was carried out by two police officers and accused Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's of losing control of the prison system, according to NDTV.

The town of Muzzafarpur recently saw allegations 34 girls were gang raped and tortured at a child care home earlier this year.

Accused Brajesh Thakur, is currently in Punjab's Patiala jail following a Supreme Court order to move him out of the state.
A taxi driver has died after his own car rolled down a hill and hit him while an elderly passenger inside desperately tried to find the handbrake.

Father-of-four Brian Braiden, 50, got out of his car to close a customer's gate after picking her up, but his car rolled down a steep him towards him.

His passenger, an elderly woman travelling to the airport for a flight to Singapore, desperately tried to stop the car but couldn't find the handbrake.

Grandfather-of-one Mr Braiden died at the scene in Belfast, Northern Ireland, on Monday. He leaves behind a heartbroken wife, Carol, 47.

Taxi driver Brian Braiden, pictured with his wife Carol, died in a tragic accident this week

His sister-in-law, Margaret Kell, 57, said: 'He would have closed the gate for anyone. That's just the sort of person he was. He had a heart of gold.

'He loved his job and loved to meet other people. If anyone needed help in any way he would offer.

'It was a freak accident. You couldn't ever imagine something like this happening. It's unbelievable.

'We have been thinking "why us?, why Brian?". He didn't have a bad bone in his body and was so loving. It doesn't seem like real life that it has happened.

'We are all still in shock about it. He got out of his car to shut a gate and never came home. Our hearts go out to that poor lady who tried to save him.

'We know she did all she could. She looked for the handbrake but couldn't find it. How can she enjoy her holiday having seen what she saw and heard what she did.'

Mr Braiden (second left) and his wife, Carol (second from right), pictured with their four children and grandson at their wedding three years ago in Cyprus

Mr Braiden, who had been driving taxis for 20 years, was described by his family as a 'devoted husband and grandfather', who always took the time to tell his children he loved them.

His children Johnnine, Tammie, Ross and Leith, have had their 'hearts ripped out' by their father's devastating death, his sister-in-law said.

Mr Braiden had spoken to his wife Carol, a yoga instructor, just moments before the tragic accident and had just made plans with her for that evening.

The couple have been together since 1998 but married three years ago.

His sister-in-law said the couple were 'soul mates' and devoted their lives to providing for the large but close-knit family.

Mr Braiden was picking up a customer on Belfast's Antrim Road, which is connected to a number of steep roads at the foot of Belfast's Cave Hill

She said: 'He was the life and soul of every party and lived to provide for his family. He lived his life like a saint.

'Carol is a tough girl but she has been torn apart by it. She is trying to be strong for her children but they are devastated.

'Carol will want to carry on as normal for them. He was the best father ever. He was there for the children constantly and I can't imagine what they are going through.

'Brian brought so much happiness to everyone's life and to everyone he met. He was loved by his whole family and he loved being together with them.

'Everyone will miss Brian tremendously. He will be remembered for so many reasons and in so many ways.'

A funeral service for Brian will be held on December 5, at Roselawn Crematorium in Belfast.
Zoo staff who shot dead a member of an endangered species due to a keeper's negligence have been slammed by animal lovers.

Snow Leopard Margaash, eight, escaped from the compound at Dudley Zoo when it was left open by a member of staff.

The West Midlands enclosure issued a statement saying there was 'no other option in the interest of public safety' than to kill the animal.

The snow leopard is an endangered species and there are just 4,000 left in the wild, sparsely spread across 12 countries.

The snow leopard (pictured) broke free when the door was left open leaving zoo staff no option but to shoot

The zoo (pictured) was slammed by animal lovers as well as a charity boss after a keeper left the door open

Social media users have slammed the shooting and questioned why the zoo did not tranquilise the creature instead

It was found that the door had been left open due to 'keeper error' after a disciplinary investigation.

Elisa Allen, Director of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) said: 'Snow leopards, like all animals - humans included - want to be free.

'When animals who have been imprisoned, like Margaash, see an opportunity to escape their dreary lives, they often take it.

'Sadly, these acts of self-liberation are often their last, as many once-captive animals who attempt to follow their natural instincts are killed.

'Zoos are in the business of misery and death - from taking wild animals from their homelands and disrupting their familial bonds to subjecting them to totally unnatural living conditions.

The snow leopard (pictured) escaped when its door was left open and the zoo claims its only option was to shoot the animal

'Holding them captive is one tragedy that often leads to another - and the days of facilities that charge people to see depressed and deprived animals behind bars are numbered.'

The zoo said they had 'no other option in the interest of public safety' after efforts to persuade the animal to return to his enclosure failed and said he did not suffer.

Animal lovers reacted with anger after the zoo announced they had shot dead the escaped snow leopard.

Dozens of people bombarded the attraction's social media accounts with furious messages dismayed at the decision to kill Margaash instead of trying to sedate him.

The eight-year-old was killed, leaving staff 'heartbroken' and an investigation found the leopard only broke free due to keeper error

Sarah Campbell said: 'Shame on you Dudley zoo vet ! disgusting u had the chance to tranquilliser pfft rip beautiful leopard.'

Marc James Mattinson added: 'No visitors as he escaped after the zoo was closed, why the hell didn't you tranq him instead of killing him?'

Alison McNally Cliff said: 'I hate the zoo's for this.....what quality of life did he have anyway, he should of been running free in the wild.... and now due to HUMAN error he's dead.... VILE.'

Titch Larson put: 'Very disappointing action taken by the zoo. A tranquilizer dart should of been used. Useless idiots'.

Dudley Zoo (pictured) caused outrage when it shot the snow leopard, which was part of an endangered species

Kel Lunny Moo wrote: 'Disgusting why kill it. Why didn't u just dart it. The zoo was closed and if you'd of followed him till he fell asleep after darting him no one would of been in danger.

'You are just evil. The animal didn't deserve to die just becuz one of your idiot staff didn't close the enclosure prop. I will not be returning to a zoo that thinks it's ok to kill a defenceless animal.'

How many endangered snow leopards are left? There are just 4,000 snow leopard left in the wild and they are sparsely distributed across 12 countries. The animals are currently classed as endangered. The live from southern Russia down to the Tibetan plateau, including Mongolia, China, Afghanistan, Pakistan, India and Nepal. Their natural habitat is mountain landscapes higher than 3,000 metres. But the high Himalayas are warming at three times the global average, affecting their habitat. Domestic livestock over-grazing is also wrecking mountain grasslands. And the animals are hunted by poachers for use in traditional Asian medicine. Source: WWF Advertisement

Michelle Palfreeman said: 'Poor snow leopard. U should off darted him not kill him. One off my favourite animals. The person who left the door open should be fired!!!!!'

Sadie Jones put: 'Devastated it wasn't even his fault and wasn't given any sort of chance.'

Zoe Durnin said 'I have to say I am an annual member have been for years and have always fiercely supported you but this bitterly disappoints me!

'I don't think it was necessary to kill that poor animal, I may think twice before renewing my membership next year.

'Let's hope nothing like this ever happens again and a review of your staff training is already underway!!'

The zoo said Margaash's escape happened after the zoo had closed and all visitors had left the site before he was shot by a senior member of the firearms team.

A spokesman said: 'Once keepers saw snow leopard Margaash outside, the animal escape procedure was implemented and managers were notified, while the firearms team managed the incident.

'At the time and in the subsequent weeks, the zoo's prime focus has been to fully investigate what happened and carry out a stringent review of all zoo enclosure security.

Margaash (pictured) is dead, leaving zoo staff heartbroken

'The door to the enclosure was left open through keeper error which has resulted in a disciplinary investigation of those involved.'

Margaash was born at Banham Zoo in Norfolk in May 2010 and came to Dudley Zoo in September 2011, where he lived with our three-year-old female Taiga.

The zoo said visitors who adopted Margaash were told of the incident shortly after it happened and all keepers were informed to be able to explain the extremely difficult circumstances to visitors.

Zoo Director Derek Grove said: 'This was an incredibly sad incident and our staff are understandably heartbroken.

'Euthanasia is, and always will be, a last resort. Efforts to persuade Margaash to return to his enclosure failed.

'As he was close to surrounding woodland and dark was approaching, the vet did not believe a tranquiliser dart was a safe option due to the amount of time the drug takes to work.

'Safety of the public is always of paramount importance and our staff are highly experienced and rigorously trained.'
The Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia has scrambled the kingdom's army in response to rumours that members of the royal family are planning to unseat him in a coup, Emirati media claims.

Military personnel and assets have reportedly been moved from eastern and western Saudi Arabia to Riyadh while Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman attends the G20 summit in Argentina.

Any military reshuffling would likely be a pre-emptive move to deter any potential plotters from making a move while the Crown Prince, known as MBS, is abroad.

The claims made in Emirati media coincided with an interview with a dissident Saudi Prince who claimed a royal coup is in the offing, and that the opposition is mobilising against the Crown Prince.

Worried? Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has reportedly moved troops and assets from other parts of Saudi Arabia to Riyadh in response to rumours of a coup

Prince Khalid bin Farhan al-Saud, who lives in exile in Germany, said that an opposition group has formed in Saudi Arabia with one goal: to unseat Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman.

In an exclusive interview with al-Khaleej Online, Prince Khalid said the Crown Prince's style of government is 'ignorant and delusional'.

He said that if the royal family and 'other countries' decide to move against King Salman and the Crown Prince 'a wave of violence is likely to occur as the Saudi kingdom is reigned using ignorant and barbaric methods'.

'I hope that there will be a soft coup that overthrows the deep state and takes controls of prominent security institutions, and then sacks the Crown Prince and the king.'

His words backs up reports that there is a growing conspiracy among members of the House of Saud to ensure the favoured son does not become King when the 82-year-old King Salman dies.

Feeling safe: Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince is pictured arriving at the G20 leaders summit in Buenos Aires, Argentina, which opens today

Greetings: Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is welcomed by Argentina's President Mauricio Macri in Buenos Aires

Coup rumours: Dissident Prince Khalid bin Farhan al-Saud, who lives in exile in Germany, said he hopes for a coup which unseats both the Crown Prince and King Salman, pictured, 82

Unlike European monarchies, the House of Saud is made up of hundreds of princes, with the power of succession drawn across tribal lines, rather than automatically going to the eldest son.

Each branch of the dynasty is consulted before a new King succeeds, but as the Crown Prince is now the de-facto ruler, an attempt to remove him from the equation would likely have violent consequences.

A preferred candidate of the opposition is Prince Ahmed bin Abdulaziz, 76, younger full brother of King Salman and uncle to Mohammad bin Salman.

Prince Ahmed was one of only three people on the Allegiance Council, made up of the ruling family's senior members, who opposed MBS becoming crown prince in 2017, two Saudi sources said at the time.

Senior U.S. officials have indicated to Saudi courtiers in recent weeks that they would support Prince Ahmed, who was deputy interior minister for nearly 40 years, according to Saudi sources with direct knowledge of the consultations.

These Saudi sources said they were confident that Prince Ahmed would not change or reverse any of the social or economic reforms enacted by MbS, would honour existing military procurement contracts and restore the unity of the family.

As well as dealing with enemies at home, Crown Prince Mohammad likely faces the cold shoulder in Argentina as he struggles to shrug off the lingering stigma of a the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

Prince Ahmed bin Abdulaziz, 76, younger full brother of King Salman and uncle to the crown prince is the preferred candidate for the throne, according to sources within the Saudi court

He has been on an Arab tour before he attends the Group of 20 summit in Argentina on Friday, where he faces world leaders who have strongly condemned Jamal Khashoggis killing last month in the kingdom's Istanbul consulate.

The country's de facto ruler has brushed aside the international pressure, attempting to use the overseas visits to shore up his tarnished reputation and reinforce relationships with allies, but some officials in the prince's entourage are bracing for a frosty reception at the G-20 summit.

Ahead of the princes visit, Human Rights Watch urged Argentine prosecutors to consider bringing criminal charges against Prince Mohammed over alleged war crimes in a brutal Saudi-led war in Yemen and his possible complicity in Khashoggis murder.

It was unclear whether Argentine prosecutors would act on the request.

The prince's supporters fear that world leaders could leverage his weakened international position to gain concessions from the kingdom, as it struggles with a slump in oil prices.

The hostility stands in stark contrast to the princes month-long tour of the United States earlier this year, where he received something of a rockstar reception and hobnobbed with business titans such as Disney chief Bob Iger and Apple's Tim Cook.
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A rare collection of 150-year-old hand-coloured slides thought to be the earliest images of animals at London Zoo are to go on sale for 3,000.

Among the fascinating pictures from 1870 are extinct animals like the quagga, a type of zebra of which only a handful of images exist.

Other famous creatures depicted include Jumbo the elephant who was later sold to the 'Greatest Showman' P.T Barnham - famous for founding the Barnum and Bailey Circus.

The 48 'Magic Lantern' slides were recently uncovered and will be sold by auctioneers David Lay of Penzance, Cornwall, with an estimate of 3,000.

These images now for sale were taken by photographer Frederick York. They were then transferred onto glass plates and hand-painted to add colour.

They would then have been used for a lecture on the zoo, bringing the attraction to those unable to travel to London to see it themselves.

The slides are very fragile and therefore rare as few have survived. They will be sold at David Lay in Penzance, Cornwall, on December 6.

The most famous animal pictured is Jumbo the elephant, who would be used to give rides to children at the zoo. The elephant came to London Zoo in 1865 and was a hugely popular attraction until he was sold to the Barnum & Bailey Circus in 1882 for 2,000. At the time the public objected to the sale and 100,000 schoolchildren wrote to Queen Victoria begging for him not to be sold. There was a lawsuit but a court upheld the sale and Barnum took the elephant to America, earning enough in three weeks to recoup the money he spent

The fascinating pictures include one of the now-extinct quagga (pictured), a type of zebra of which only a handful of images exist. The rear of a quagga did not contain the stripes typical of a plains zebra and was therefore more like a horse. It lived in South Africa until becoming extinct late in the 19th century - as a result of being over-hunted for its meat and skin. Mimi Connell-Lay, from the auctioneers, said of the quagga: 'There are only five known photos ever taken and this is probably the best of those images because it shows the animal very clearly so that is quite a special photograph'

The 48 'Magic Lantern' slides are believed to be some of the earliest pictures of animals at London Zoo, including this sea lion - which is seen here with a zoo keeper. The Magic Lantern slides were a sort of precursor to modern cinema, according to Ms Connell-Lay from the auctioneers. She said: 'They were for public display. Someone would buy them and go around village halls doing lectures and people would pay to see it.

Obaysch the hippo was the first hippo seen in Britain since prehistoric times. He mated with a female and they had a female calf, which was named Guy Fawkes. The slide in this collection (pictured) shows the whole family, the only one of its kind. The hippos would draw 10,000 visitors a day

Even 150 years ago, the zoo housed a wide range of different animals. A zoo keeper is seen here with a Boa constrictor, a non-venomous snake that uses its heavy body to constrict and kill prey

This Babylonian lion was one of the star attractions at the zoo, and is seen here inside a cage at the zoo. London Zoo only opened in April 1828, and by 1870 there were already dozens of animals on display

Some of the animals, including this chimpanzee, would be dressed up in clothes for the public's amusement. But not all were made to sport the colourful attire

It wasn't only Jumbo at the zoo, there was also this Indian elephant which is seen here kneeling down with a zoo keeper. Its colours were added after the photograph was taken using glass plates

Crowds would gather to see the elephants (pictured) at the zoo, and children would often be allowed to ride on top of them. The remarkable images also reveal the dress at the time, with men wearing bowler or top hats and women wearing frocks

A white handed gibbon was another of the animals on display at the zoo. It is seen here chained to a tree. Many sets of the remarkable images would have been made, but as they were printed on glass plates - and therefore small and fragile - most haven't survived

Pictured here is a Syrian wild ass, which is also now extinct. They were preyed upon by lions, leopards and wolves. It is a subspecies of the Onager, which is a species of horse native to Asia

A Markhor, a large wild goat, is pictured here alongside another goat kept at the zoo. It is distinctive because of its screw horn and is found in countries including Afghanistan and Northern India

A tiger was another ferocious predator on display at the zoo and is seen here caged and next to a sign notifying members of the public of what they are looking at. Mimi Connell-Lay, from the auctioneers, said: 'As photography goes, these are pretty early images and they are all hand-coloured, at a time when most photos were black and white'

There was not only predators on display at the zoo, but also prey - including this Cape buffalo (otherwise known as an African buffalo). Although they are still very dangerous creatures and only hunted by a few predators including lions and crocodiles

A monkey is seen here smoking a pipe, no doubt given to it by a keeper at the zoo. The image is around 150 years old, like the others in this collection

A camel is seen here with a zoo keeper. The Bactrian camel has two humps on its back, unlike the single-humped dromedary camel

Wolves were also kept at the zoo, with one seen here waiting at the entrance to its den. The images were taken in 1870 and are going up for auction at David Lay in Penzance, Cornwall, on December 6

A West African river hog was another of the creatures on display at the zoo. It is a member of the pig family living in Africa, and in its natural habitat would rarely be seen away from the rainforest

A Sumatran rhinoceros is seen here at London Zoo in 1870. It was one of the tourist attraction's most popular animals at the time. It is one of five subspecies of rhinoceroses still in existence. Images of creatures such as this were taken as not everybody could go to the zoo, whereas somebody could take these pictures all over the country

It's dinner time for this bear, as it is fed using a pole in this remarkable image from photographer Frederick York. His images were then transferred onto glass plates and hand-painted to add colour
A popular tourist hot-spot made famous by The Beach movie has made an 'unimaginable' recovery after being closed just six months ago.

Thailand's picturesque Maya Bay was shut to visitors because crowds of beach-goers were destroying its coral ecosystem.

But just six months later conservationists have hailed the 'beyond imagination' recovery the delicate beach has made.

Thai conservationists have welcomed new video footage of reef sharks gliding through the azure waters of Maya Bay as a 'positive sign' of recovery.

The bay, circled by dramatic limestone cliffs on Ko Phi Phi Ley island in the Andaman Sea, was made famous by the Danny Boyle film starring Leonardo DiCaprio.

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National Park, Wildlife and Plant Conservation Department officials shared a video of dozens of blacktip reef sharks swimming close to the beach six months after it was closed to the public

Thai conservationists have welcomed footage of reef sharks gliding through the waters of Maya Bay as a 'positive sign' of recovery

But the movie, which was released in 2000, prompted hordes of tourists to sweep in on a daily of flotilla of motor boats, damaging the coral ecosystem and eroding the once pristine white sand beach.

Authorities shut the park temporarily to the public in June but later extended the closure indefinitely to let the bay recover.

On Friday park officials shared video of dozens of blacktip reef sharks serenely swimming close to the beach - images unimaginable just weeks ago as tourists jostled for selfies on the white sand.

The National Park, Wildlife and Plant Conservation Department, said in a Facebook post: 'Come and count sharks! It's a good sign that Maya Bay has changed and that change is positive.'

A Thai marine biologist prominent in the campaign to close Maya Bay hailed the shark video as 'beyond imagination, unbelievable'.

Crowds of tourists flocked to Maya Bay where The Beach was filmed, damaging the delicate ecosystem and eroding the shoreline

After Leonardo Dicaprio starred in the The Beach in 2000, tourists flooded the picturesque bay looking for their own adventure

Thon Thamrongnawasawat said on Faceboook: 'How do I feel? Tearful. At the beginning I never thought (the rehabilitation) would be as good as this in only six months.'

Despite the remarkable recovery Thai authorities have not said if, or when, the bay will open.

A National Park, Wildlife and Plant Conservation Department official said: 'The reef will take a longer time to recover.'

Many Thai marine national parks were closed from mid-May to mid-October, but because of tourist demand Maya Bay stayed open all year round.

Thailand's idyllic beaches are under increasing strain from huge numbers of tourists and accompanying development in remote and fragile ecosystems.

The country drew around 35 million visitors last year.

Many flock to the town of Krabi where boat trips carried visitors to nearby islands replete with opportunities for snorkelling and selfies - among them Maya Bay.

Koh Yoong, part of the Phi Phi island chain, and Koh Tachai, in the Similan Islands national park, have been off limits to tourists permanently since mid-2016.
This is the moment a clever police dog demonstrates the ultimate test of restraint - by balancing a tasty sausage on his nose before scoffing it whole.

The pooch, whose official name is Police Dog (PD) Krush, managed to resist temptation and only eats the tasty treat when his handler gives the 'finish' command.

In the footage, he is seen with his front paws perched on a chair, patiently waiting to be allowed to devour the snack, gazing with complete concentration at the sausage - before he wolfs it down.

The discipline displayed by the nine-and-a-half-year-old Dutch Shepherd was filmed by Northumbria Police officer PC Wayne Thompson.

Police dog Krush prepares to perform his party piece which begins with his handler - Northumbria Police officer PC Wayne Thompson - putting a sausage on his nose

Krush, a nine-and-a-half-year-old Dutch Shepherd, resists temptation and only eats the tasty treat when his handler gives the 'finish' command

The food was given to the pair by catering staff at the hotel where they were staying while on a mutual aid job  the provision of policing assistance between different forces - and the film was made after they had finished duty.

The smart dog performed a similar feat on the same day at the hotel - this time with Mini Cheddars.

In that video, PD Krush sits calmly as his handler manages to stack a total of six of the cheese-flavoured snacks on the tip of his nose.

The handler then shouts 'finish' at which point the dog flips the biscuits in the air and catches them in his mouth.

Footage of the cheddar snack obedience display went viral after it was watched more than 130,000 times on Facebook in just two days.

PC Thompson, who works out of Houghton Police Station in Tyne and Wear, said: 'As dog handlers, we spend more time with our dogs than our friends or family so we do strike up a special bond.

The pair were staying at a hotel while on a mutual aid job  and the film was made after they had finished duty. Krush performed a similar feat on the same day - this time with six Mini Cheddars

'I'm with Krush every hour of the day and we have had some spare time at the end of a busy day of mutual aid, so we thought we would give it a go as a bit of a party trick.

'Our police dogs are probably the most obedient and loyal dogs you will find, but most of them wouldn't show the restraint Krush did when that food was balanced on his nose.

'We couldn't believe how widely the video was shared and that is why we did the new video with the cooked sausage. It may end up being a regular thing.

'His skills are impressive, but it is nothing compared to the work Krush and his canine pals get up to every day to keep people safe.'

PC Thompson added that criminals in the North East should be concerned  because Krush is even better at sniffing out criminals.
An Olympic medal-winning show-jumper has offered a 'fearless' eight-year-old boy an apprenticeship after he saw a photo of him clearing a 'massive' hedge on a pony.

James Cleary, eight, fearlessly sailed over a hidden three-and-a-half foot drop on three-year-old pony Little Paddy Brown while out riding with his father.

It was a 'breathtaking' leap that even some of the adults with him on the hunt through the Irish Midlands region South Westmeath countryside would not attempt.

Showjumper and Olympic bronze medallist Cian O'Connor spotted a picture of the feat and has now offered James a bursary to come and train at his prestigious riding school, Karlswood Stables, in County Meath, near Dublin.

James Cleary, eight, made the impressive jump over a hidden three-and-a-half foot drop on pony Little Paddy Brown while out riding with his father Paul and other family members

Mr O'Connor, 39, shared the remarkable photo of James jumping over the hedge on his Facebook page on Monday - and has since been shared over 1,100 times.

He wrote: 'Incredible photo of eight-year-old James Cleary this weekend, showing great braveness, position and balance over a massive hedge.

'This kind of horsemanship is perhaps one of the key factors why Ireland consistently produces so many good riders.

'If young James would ever like a bursary to come to train at Karlswood Stables, he has one waiting.'

James' father Paul Cleary, 39, from Westmeath in the Irish Midlands Region, said Mr O'Connor's comments about James were 'really lovely'.

James' father made the jump in the South Westmeath countryside first and said 'it was a bit of a shock to see him coming over' adding that his fearless son's 'so brave and so easy-going'

A keen rider himself, and a big fan of Cian O'Connor, Mr Cleary said of the professional's offer: 'It would be an amazing opportunity. It would be everything James has dreamed of.'

Mr Cleary added that he has been in touch with Cian O'Connor, saying: 'We got in touch with him through WhatsApp, and we've been chatting to him on there.

'I think we will be meeting him in the summertime. He seems to want to meet up with us.

Olympic bronze medallist Cian O'connor offered James a bursary to train at his prestigious riding school, Karlswood Stables, in County Meath, near Dublin

'James is so young that I don't think he really understands it all at the moment. But he loves horseriding. He's mad keen and just loves it all.'

James has been riding since he was just three years old, and trains every Saturday at Derwin's Equestrian Centre in Westmeath.

He also regularly accompanies his father and his uncle Rory Cleary, a jockey, on hunts through the South Westmeath countryside.

And it was during one of these hunts that James made the huge, unexpected three-and-a-half foot jump over the hedge, that caught the attention of Cian O'Connor.

Mr Cleary said: 'James hunts with me a lot and as a family we're involved in racing. James' uncle Rory rides for trainer Jim Bolger - so he was born into a horse family, really.

'He loves showjumping, too, and has competed locally. When the picture was taken, he was following behind me and I jumped the hedge first.

'When I realised there was such a big drop behind it, I turned round hoping James wasn't coming too - there was a smaller side that he could have gone around to.

'But it was too late, he was already in mid-air. His pony went so high, it looked like it was coming down for ages. It was a bit of a shock to see him coming over.

Eight-year-old James (left and right) is already an accomplished jockey, has three ponies of his own and trains every Saturday at Derwin's Equestrian Centre in Westmeath

James started riding when he was only three years old and his father said he was 'born into a horse family' as his uncle is a jokey and they all love riding

'And actually, only three of us jumped that hedge that day. But that sums James up - he's so brave and so easy-going.

'He's such a natural. He's a bit of a show-off, shall we say,' the proud father joked.

And Mr Cleary's cousin, Nicola Collins, who snapped the photo of James jumping the hedge, described her cousin once removed as 'a heart attack on a pony'.

She said: 'He's absolutely unbelievable. I took the photo of him coming over - but I think I had my eyes squeezed shut as I was pressing the camera shutter.

'It's absolutely amazing the stuff he does on all his ponies. Nothing fazes him. If he thinks his pony can do it, he'll just get on and do it.

'He has a real 'anything anyone can do I can do better' attitude. If he's not riding up and down the street on a bicycle, he'll be riding on the back of a pony.'

Mr Cleary said: 'James has always had a great seat, he's tidy and has tremendous balance in the saddle. He just loves riding, so we're encouraging him as best we can'

And Nicola added: 'It's absolutely fantastic for a person of his age to get such an opportunity as to train with Cian O'Connor. It's not like going to your local riding school.'

James has three ponies and straight after school he heads out to look after and ride them.

Little Paddy Brown, the pony that James jumped over the hedge, was bred by his late great-uncle Paddy Dunning, and is only three years old - and has only been out on a couple of hunts with James.

Mr Cleary said: 'James has looked after the pony from day one, since we broke him, so he's done all the hard work himself.

'James is eight, but he's quite small, so he's done really well on such a novice pony.

'James has always had a great seat, he's tidy and has tremendous balance in the saddle. He just loves riding, so we're encouraging him as best we can.'
Michelle Obama's memoir has already sold a staggering two million copies just 15 days after it hit shelves.

The former first lady, 54, dishes on life in the White House, growing up in the South Side of Chicago, and shares her views on Trump in her book Becoming, which is selling at a pace rarely seen for a political memoir.

Crown publishing announced on Friday that combined hardcover, e-book and audio sales in the U.S. and Canada have topped two million.

She's a hit! Michelle Obama's memoir Becoming has sold a staggering two million copies two weeks after it went on sale. Michelle pictured above signing books on Friday in New York

Red hot! The former first lady pictured above speaking at a ticketed book promo event at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia on Thursday

Crown publishing announced on Friday that combined hardcover, e-book and audio sales in the U.S. and Canada have topped two million. Pictured above at a ticketed event for her book tour interviewed by comedian and writer Phoebe Robinson

The former first lady, 54, dishes on life in the White House, growing up in the South Side of Chicago, and shares her views on Trump in her book Becoming

Her book was released on November 13 and has 3.4million hardcover copies in print. In its first week it sold 1.4million copies.

By comparison former first lady Hillary Clinton's memoir Living History, released in June 2003, needed a month to reach the one million copies sold mark.

Her husband Bill Clinton's book My Life quickly sold one million copies but took much longer to hit two million.

Former President George W. Bush's Decision Points took several weeks to reach two million.

Michelle is now criss-crossing the country on a 10-city promo tour for her book bringing along celebrity guests like Oprah Winfrey and Reese Witherspoon.

Winfrey moderated a talk with Michelle on the book's release date at Chicago's United Center. Witherspoon will join the former first lady during her tour stop in Denver on December 13.

On Thursday the former food lady stopped at the African American Museum in Philadelphia to surprise a group of female high school students.

Afterwards she whisked off to the Wells Fargo Center for a ticketed event for her book tour.

On Thursday the former first lady Michelle Obama surprised a group of female high school students at the African American Museum in Philadelphia

Tuning in: The young women who were in the audience are participants of beGirl.world, a nonprofit that encourages young women of color to travel

Her book, along with an upcoming one by former President Barack Obama, are a part of a $65million book deal.

Michelle and former President Barack Obama each have been working on memoirs this year, for which they negotiated a $65million dollar deal with Crown Publishing Group/Penguin Random House. His book is expected to be released in 2019.

'I've spent the last year and a half reflecting on my story as deeply and honestly as I could, and now I'm thrilled to travel the country and do the same with readers,' Michelle previously said in a statement.

Oprah Winfrey, who visited Obama during her book tour, told the Associated Press earlier this month 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.'
French politicians have passed a law banning parents from smacking their children.

The French parliament voted today to outlaw corporal punishment in a bid to make sure parents do not overstep their authority.

The bill on 'corporal punishment or humiliation' seeks to ensure that parental authority is exercised 'without violence' of any sort, including 'physical, verbal or psychological' violence.

Despite 85 per cent of French parents saying they resort to smacking their children to discipline them, the National Assembly passed the bill.

MPs voted it through 51-1 early Friday morning, after a late-night debate, and it will now pass to the Senate.

French Member of Parliament of the Mouvement Democrate MoDem centrist party Maud Petit sponsored the measure to ban smacking

The move has largely been seen as a symbolic ban on parents smacking their children, as although the practise has been condemned by the UN, it still enjoys widespread support in the country.

Attempts by previous governments to ban the practise have been scuppered by conservatives.

A 2016 bill condemning the smacking of children was later struck down by the Constitutional Council, which vets legislation, because it was adopted in the form of an amendment to an unrelated piece of legislation.

Schools have long been banned from physically punishing children, but not parents.

According to the non-governmental Childhood Foundation, 85 per cent of French parents resort to corporal punishment, to the dismay of many European neighbours, including Sweden and Germany.

Crucially, the bill would not sanction parents who continue to 'discipline' their children as its main goal is 'educational' - a way to encourage society to mend its views, according to Maud Petit, the MP who sponsored the measure.

The French National Assembly voted to ban 'corporal punishment or humiliation' to ensure parental authority is exercised 'without violence' of any sort

But it will slap down a 19th-century addendum to the Civil Code's definition of parental authority, which is read out to couples taking their wedding vows and which specifically allows for 'disciplining' children.

It will also bring France into line with international legislation.

In March 2015, human rights organisation the Council of Europe singled out France for failing to ban smacking, unlike most other European countries.

A year later, the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child took up the issue, calling on France to 'explicitly prohibit' all forms of corporal punishment of children.

Those in favour of the ban say scientific studies prove that children suffer both mental and physical consequences when smacked.

If the bill is adopted, France will become the 55th state to ban corporal punishment of children, a move started by Sweden in 1979.
A group led by Tory rebel Dominic Grieve (pictured) has tabled an amendment to the PM's deal that could give MPs power to direct the government

Theresa May is facing a dramatic bid to derail her Brexit plans altogether today after Remainers from across parties joined forces.

A group led by Tory rebel Dominic Grieve and Labour's Hilary Benn have tabled an amendment to the PM's deal that could give MPs power to direct the government.

The package thrashed out by Mrs May with Brussels is due to come before the Commons on December 11, in a showdown that could define the country's future for generations.

But Mrs May is staring down the barrel of a catastrophic defeat as around 100 Tories have publicly signalled opposition, while Labour, the SNP and the Lib Dems are also against.

Ministers have been trying to reduce the potential for Parliament to undermine the government's approach by restricting amendments to their plan.

If the PM loses the so-called 'meaningful vote' on December 11, the EU Withdrawal Act states that it must come back to the Commons within 21 days and spell out their intentions.

However, under normal Standing Orders at that point the plan would only be subject to a 'neutral motion' - meaning MPs could only 'take note' of the proposed approach.

The rebel amendment would not only kill the PM's deal, but also remove this restriction for when the Commons comes to consider the government next steps.

That would allow MPs to table amendments that would reject the government's plans, and instruct ministers to do something different - such as extending Article 50 and holding a second referendum.

While not necessarily binding, such an expression of Parliament's will would have huge political force and might well be impossible to ignore.

However, while the rebels have tabled the amendment there are doubts about whether Commons clerks will accept it as within procedural rules.

Mr Benn said the amendment 'opposes the deal, rejects a no-deal Brexit and would enable the House to express its view about what should happen next if the Prime Minister's deal is defeated'.

Mr Grieve and Mr Benn, the chairman of the Brexit Select Committee, have enlisted the support of fellow Labour MP Yvette Cooper, who heads the Home Affairs Committee.

It is also signed by Tory Remainer Sarah Wollaston, who chairs Health Select Committee respectively.

Mrs May (pictured in Argentina today) is staring down the barrel of a catastrophic defeat as around 100 Tories have publicly signalled opposition to her Brexit deal

Labour's Meg Hillier and Rachel Reeves, who head the Public Accounts and Business Select Committees, are also on board.

Shadow Brexit secretary Sir Keir Starmer said it had his 'full support', tweeting last night that it was a 'great amendment'.

Labour former foreign secretary Jack Straw said this signalled that party leader Jeremy Corbyn is 'gradually moving' towards backing a second EU referendum.

He told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: 'Hilary Benn's proposal to ensure that there can't be no deal, that is a staging post to having a second referendum.'

Up to six amendments will be chosen by Commons Speaker John Bercow for MPs to vote on when they give their verdict on the Withdrawal Agreement next month, although they will have no legal weight.
A gang of Georgians took advantage of lax Irish border controls to smuggle illegal migrants into the UK, a court has heard.

Gurami Shariashvili, 27, and a group of his compatriots allegedly helped their girlfriends and family members to claim asylum in the Republic of Ireland before smuggling them across the border and into mainland Britain via the ferry to North Wales.

George Kapitadze, who has pleaded guilty to conspiracy to break immigration rules, was stopped by Special Branch officers at Holyhead port as he drove four female Georgians into the country, on June 22 last year.

A jury heard how Shariashvili conspired with family members Levani, 30, Giri, 45, alongside Mikhail Mamulashvili, 35, Leri Mgaloblishvili, 45, and Ilia Diasamidze, 35, to smuggle the economic migrants using a variety of methods.

A group of Georgian nationals are on trying after they were arrested in Holyhead. Prosecutors say they used the Welsh port as a backdoor into Britain

In June 2017, a man called Giorgi Berikashvili was cought trying to board a flight from Belfast to Manchester using a fake Portuguese passport after he'd travelled to Northern Ireland from the Republic.

A couple called Amiran Sharishvili, brother of Levani, and Lili Mdzelura successfully made it into the UK using the same rouse and were discovered in living at Levani's Eastham home in July 2018.

Prosecutor Simon Mills said: 'The prosecution case is that this is economic migration, albeit of an illegal kind. Some of the activity related to family members or partners of the defendants.

'The events you will be considering result from commercial transactions and involve an abuse of the common travel area between the Republic of Ireland and the United Kingdom.

'You are going to hear about people claiming asylum in Ireland, then disappearing from that system and then travelling into the United Kingdom, sometimes by getting a ferry from Dublin to Holyhead and sometimes by flying from Belfast to Manchester carrying false identity documents,' explained the prosecutor.

'This happened after making the easy crossing from the Republic of Ireland to Northern Ireland.'

Prosecutors alleged they went through Ireland to avoid stronger borders elsewhere

Mr Mills continued: 'The core dispute in this case will be whether the people in the dock accused of these offences knew what was going on or particip[ated on what was going on.'

The Irish border has been a political issue during the Brexit negotiations, with both the EU and the UK keen to maintain the arrangements laid out in the Good Friday Agreement.

Gurami and Giri Shariashvili, both of Feltham, Middlesex, Mamulashvili, of Eastham, London, and Mgalobshvili, of London all deny conspiracy to facilitate breach of immigration law.

The three Shariashvili's deny two counts of facilitating the commission of a breach of immigration law, one of which involved Ilia Diasamidze, of Lewisham, London.

Diasamidze denies a further count of assisting unlawful immigration.

The trial continues.
South Africa's High Court rejected a legal challenge today brought by a group representing white farmers against President Cyril Ramaphosa's plans for land expropriation without compensation.

Land is a hot-button issue in South Africa where racial inequality remains entrenched more than two decades after the end of apartheid when millions of the black majority were dispossessed of their land by a white minority.

Ramaphosa, who replaced scandal-plagued Jacob Zuma in February, has made land redistribution a flagship policy as he seeks to unite the fractured ruling African National Congress (ANC) and win public support ahead of an election next year.

In its legal challenge, Afriforum questioned the legality of a key parliamentary committee report which recommended a change to the constitution to allow land expropriation without compensation.

President Cyril Ramaphosa (right) arriving at the G20 summit by Argentina's Foreign Affairs Minister Jorge Faurie, at Ezeiza International airport in Buenos Aires yesterday

'The relief sought by the applicants... is dismissed,' said Judge Vincent Saldanha.

Afriforum, which represents mostly white Afrikaners, alleged that the parliamentary committee had illegally appointed an external service provider to compile the report, and also failed to consider more than 100,000 submissions opposing land expropriation without compensation.

Around 65 percent of public submissions were against a change, according to parliamentary officials.

Parliament successfully countered Afriforum's case by saying the court action was premature, the committee had not abrogated its powers and all views had been taken into account.

'We welcome the orders handed down today particularly because we've always been of the view that the matter was not urgent,'

Lewis Nzimande, co-chair of the constitutional review committee, told reporters outside the High Court in Cape Town.

'They [lawmakers] may set aside the recommendations, they may reject the recommendations but procedurally... we can't just reject the whole work of the committee,' he said.

He said the report, just one step in a long process to change the constitution, will probably be debated in both houses of parliament on December 4.

Thereafter, it is expected a new bill proposing the exact changes envisaged to the constitution will go to parliament and further public participation.

Only once both houses of parliament approve changes to the constitution will it be sent to Ramaphosa for ratification.

Cyril Ramaphosa has made land redistribution from white farmers to black disadvantaged citizens a flagship policy

This process is unlikely to be completed before a parliamentary election expected to be held in May.

Afriforum said after the judgement they would continue challenging what they say is a flawed process, including through further legal action.

'AfriForum therefore undertakes to use every possible mechanism at its disposal to, in the interest of everyone in the country, fight to the bitter end against the undermining of property rights,' it said in a statement.

Nearly a quarter of a century after the end of white-minority rule, white South Africans comprise just eight per cent of the population but still hold most of the individually owned private land.

This disparity keeps most of the economic power in the hands of a few and makes the country one of the most unequal societies in the world.

In July President Cyril Ramaphosa said the ANC planned to amend the constitution to allow for expropriation without compensation, sparking concerns that the move could destabilise the fragile economy and spur conflict in an already socially divided nation.

A month later US President Donald Trump waded into the controversy by tweeting - incorrectly - that South Africa had begun seizing farms and that high numbers of farmers were being killed.
Four St. Louis police officers were indicted Thursday for allegedly beating an undercover colleague during a 2017 protest and conspiring to cover up the crime.

The U.S. Department of Justice announced the indictments of officers Dustin Boone, Randy Hays, Christopher Myers and Bailey Colletta. All four are suspended without pay, the city said. The indictment follows an FBI investigation requested last year by St. Louis police.

The September 2017 acquittal of former police officer Jason Stockley set off weeks of protests. Stockley, who is white, was found not guilty in the 2011 death of a black suspect, Anthony Lamar Smith.

The indictment alleges that Boone, Hays and Myers beat the undercover officer during a protest on Sept. 17, 2017, and that the three along with Colletta conspired to cover it up.

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Christopher Myers (right) is one of the men suspended without pay and indicted over the incident

Protesters stop traffic on Interstate 64 last year as part of ongoing demonstrations against the acquittal of a white former police officer in the 2011 killing of a black man

'These are serious charges and the vigorous enforcement of civil rights is essential to maintaining public trust in law enforcement,' U.S. Attorney Jeff Jensen said in a statement, adding that the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department 'recognized the importance of this investigation and its leadership has cooperated at every turn.'

St. Louis Police Officers Association business manager Jeff Roorda said all four officers are members of the association, but he declined further comment.

Mayor Lyda Krewson said professionalism is expected of all officers, without exception. 'The charges brought against these officers today do not reflect the standards we hold ourselves to as public servants,' she said in a statement.

Cori Bush, a protest organizer, said the indictment should send a message to police.

'Now officers will start to see they may be accountable for their actions,' Bush said. 'So it's a start.'

Stockley had tried with his partner to corner Smith, 24, in December 2011 after observing what they thought was a drug transaction on a fast food parking lot. Smith drove away, nearly striking the officers. That led to a chase.

Stockley shot Smith at the end of the chase. The officer claimed self-defense, but prosecutors alleged that Stockley planted the gun found inside Smith's car.

Stockley left the police force in 2013.

The acquittal immediately set off protests in the St. Louis region that was still recovering from unrest that followed the fatal police shooting of Michael Brown in nearby Ferguson in 2014.

Perhaps the most violent of the Stockley protests occurred two nights after the acquittal when demonstrators broke windows and damaged property downtown. About 120 people were arrested during a police technique known as 'kettling' in which officers form barriers that gradually close in on the protesters.

U.S. Rep. William Lacy Clay, a St. Louis Democrat, and civil rights leaders demanded investigations, saying many of those arrested were peaceful protesters, onlookers and journalists. Protest leaders accused police of heavy-handed tactics and even taunting.

Police chase vandals as demonstrators march in response to a not guilty verdict in the trial of former St. Louis police officer Jason Stockley

Protesters raise their hands in silence on Market Street. A St Louis Post-Dispatch reporter said police on Sunday blocked all exits at an intersection, gave an impossible command to leave, then sprayed him with pepper spray when he was down

The indictment said all four of the accused officers were part of the police department's Civil Disobedience Team, which included more than 200 officers responding to the protests.

A 22-year police veteran identified only as L.H. also was part of the team, but working undercover, the indictment said.

The indictment accused Boone, Hays and Myers of throwing L.H. to the ground, and kicking and striking the undercover officer, using a police baton. They didn't know at the time that the person was an undercover officer, according to the indictment.

Boone, Hays and Myers conspired to obstruct justice by trying to prevent information about the attack from reaching federal authorities, the indictment said. Myers was accused of destroying L.H's cellphone as part of the obstruction.

Colletta, whom the indictment said was involved in a romantic relationship with Hays, was accused of making misleading assertions and false statements in testimony before a grand jury.

The indictment includes electronic messages shared between the officers. In one exchange on Sept. 17, 2017, Boone was asked if he was doing OK.

'Yeah. A lot of cops gettin hurt, but it's still a blast beating people that deserve it,' he allegedly responded.

Police actions during the Stockley protests are the subject of a lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union of Missouri. It alleges that officers shoved the heads of some of those arrested into the pavement and taunted protesters by chanting 'Whose streets? Our streets!' mocking a common chant by demonstrators.
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Despite all the chaos surrounding Prime Minister Theresa Mays Brexit deal, 10 Downing Street has still found time to get festive.

The glorious 20ft Christmas tree was delivered to Number 10 earlier today and required the strength of around ten men to put up. Once the tree had arrived it had been a struggle to put up, and after two attempts to raise the tree, surgeons had to be called in to assist.

In previous years the prestigious tree, which is displayed outside Mrs May's residence, has been sourced from Christmas Common in Henley-Upon-Thames, however this year's tree has Scottish roots, perhaps in a bid to appease the Scots over the turbulent Brexit negotiations.

Standing tall: the 20ft tree almost covers the door of 10 Downing Street (left). The tree was difficult to put up and tree surgeons had to be called to assist (right)

A Christmas wish: a sparkly gold star sits on the top of the tree which has been placed outside 10 Downing Street

The HUGE tree needed nine people to help put it up outside Prime Minister Theresa May's residence

Earlier in November a Highland Farmer had won the prestigious title of providing the tree to Number 10. John Junor, of Farr North Christmas Trees in Inverness, beat off competition from across the UK to win the accolade at what are described as the 'Oscars of the Christmas tree growers calendar.

Mr Junor had reportedly travelled more than 550 miles to take part in the annual competition earlier this month, organised by the British Christmas Tree Growers Association (BCTGA) which was held this year at Goathurst in Somerset.

Each year the BCTGA holds a competition for 'Grower of the Year', the winner of which then supplies a tree for 10 Downing Street.

Getting the tree up was no small feat as it required ropes and harnesses in order to get it in a stable position

Workers pushed and pulled as they attempted to raise the tree. After two attempts at raising it, tree surgeons were called to assist

A tree surgeons takes a chainsaw to the tree as it is trimmed down so it can stand correctly in front of 10 Downing Street

Last year's tree was provided by Robert Morgan of Gower Fresh Christmas Trees in Swansea .

However the festive cheer could soon be dampened as Tory whips have threatened to cancel Christmas for MPs if they vote down Theresa May's under-fire Brexit deal.

The enforcers of party discipline have been piling pressure on mutinous Tories by warning they could have to stay in Parliament for the festive season.

The tree was finally raised to be displayed in its full glory where it will be enjoyed by MPs, tourists and Londoners alike

But the PM looks set for a humiliating defeat when her deal is voted on in two weeks' time as the number of Tory rebels who have vowed to vote it down has reached 100.

Mrs May's whips have been scrambling to try to peel off as many of her critics on the backbenches as possible.

While the PM has been travelling the breadth of the UK to try to appeal to the public over the heads of her warring MPs.

Tory whips have threatened to cancel Christmas for MPs if they vote down Theresa May's under-fire Brexit deal (pictured, Parliament and its Christmas tree)

But amid signs she is failing to convince MPs, whips are trying to turn the screw by warning that if the deal is voted down on December 11 then Parliament could be recalled.

One MP told the i newspaper: 'There has been talk of Parliament being recalled before the New Year.

'The message is vote for the deal or you might not see your families for much of the holidays.'

Tory MPs (pictured in the Commons for PMQs on Wednesday) threaten to torpedo Theresa May's Brexit deal when it comes to Parliament in two weeks time

Another backbencher told the newspaper: 'People are being told they would be letting down the voters and jeopardising Theresa May's future. It amounts to emotional blackmail.'

Mrs May is facing a barrage of criticism from all sides after she unveiled her deal, with Brexiteers and Remainers both branding it a betrayal of the referendum vote.

Theresa May snubs call for Boris Johnson to be included in live TV Brexit debate Theresa May today dismissed demands for Boris Johnson or Nicola Sturgeon to join the live TV Brexit debates. The PM said that throwing the invite open to politicians across the political divide would see the same old referendum arguments re-run. Instead, she is insisting it is a head to head showdown between her and Jeremy Corbyn so the two leaders have to explain their Brexit stance. It comes after Number Ten has faced furious demands from Brexiteers for a 'true believer' like Mr Johnson to join the clash. While other leading political parties including the SNP, Lib Dems, and the Greens have all demanded a spot to - and threatened legal action if they are snubbed. But speaking to journalists on a plane on her way to Buenos Aires for the G20 summit, the PM said: 'This is not a debate about recreating the referendum debate of Leavers versus Remainers.' Advertisement

While the DUP - whose 10 MPs are propping the Tories up in Downing Street - have also vowed to vote it down.

Stripped of her working majority and facing a wall of opposition from Labour, the SNP and Lib Dems, her deal is expected to be defeated when it is voted on on December 11.

And opposition o her backbenches is mounting despite Number Ten deploying Cabinet Eurosceptic Liam Fox to dfeend the deal.

The International Trade Secretary today urged Conservatives to do their 'duty' and back the plan - insisting the premier's gruelling PR drive is 'changing the public mood'.

The Tories who have declared against include some 30 former ministers, and Remainers are also preparing to help vote the package down.

Jo Johnson who resigned from the cabinet over his objection to the deal with Brussels, said the Tories could face a 'landslide' loss at the next election if the deal was to go through.

Meanwhile, Mrs May has flown to Argentina to the G20 summit to convince world leaders her deal can work.

Last night, Tories and Labour MPs got together to table an amendment to get rid of Mrs May's deal, stop a no-deal Brexit and give MPs a choice in what follows.

Iain Duncan Smith said to The Telegraph: 'When this many people tell you that you're going down the wrong road, which will be damaging to the UK, it doesn't matter who you are. You must stop, you must listen, and not just lecture.

'This whole plan to go round the country to try and put pressure on MPs isn't working.

'I do not want a conservative prime minister of Great Britain and Northern Ireland to face a defeat which could have been avoided. The consequences of that defeat could also be personally damaging for her, which I do not want.

'It is time to think again.'

Going down: Theresa May seeks to build support for her Brexit deal ahead of next month's vote in the Commons. Pictured: The PM arriving at the G20 summit in Argentina this morning
Recent data has shown that the campaign to reduce smoking habits of Australians over the last half a dozen years has failed as smoking rates among men actually increased in that time.

The Daily Telegraph reported on the figures released by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare which showed smoking among young men, 25-29, had seen an increase.

Rates among young men had risen from 17.3 per cent to 19.3 per cent between 2013 and 2016 alone.

Smoking among older men, 40-49, also saw an increase.

Recent data has shown that the campaign to reduce smoking habits of Australians over the last half a dozen years has failed as smoking rates among men actually increased in that time

The overall rate of smoking among Australians only saw a very slight reduction of .6 per cent from 12.8 per cent after to 12.2 per cent between 2013 and 2016.

In 2012 the Federal Government introduced a number of initiatives to try and influence the smoking trend which included plain packaging and a recurring tax rise on the product.

However it has done little to discourage long term smokers from the habit.

To make matters worse, the government's war on smoking will slug ordinary Australians an extra 12.5 per cent in taxes in each of the next two years.

Ryan Robinson, 27, who started smoking at 13 and now gets through four packs of 20 a week, said higher prices wouldn't stop him or anyone else.

'People will smoke anyway and the government knows it,' he told Daily Mail Australia from the smokers area of Maloney's Hotel in Sydney's CBD in September.

Overall rate of smoking among Australians only saw a very slight reduction of .6 per cent from 12.8 per cent after to 12.2 per cent between 2013 and 2016 after introduction of plain packaging and tobacco tax

'It's the same as speeding fines and alcohol taxes, it's just an easy way for them to make cash off something many people need.'

The original aim of the campaign against tobacco was to reduce the rate of smoking Australians to just 10 per cent.

However figures found that the rate of Australians still smoking is hovering around the 14 per cent mark.

Australia now has the most expensive cigarettes in the world - double New York City where they hit US$13 ($17) a pack earlier this year after a sharp increase.

Then Treasurer and current Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced the latest tax increase in the Federal Budget in May in a bid to curve smoking.

However, spending on smoking increased in the last quarter of 2017 by 2.6 per cent to just under $4 billion - the first time it rose in generations.

Australians spent about $16 billion on smoking last year as ABS trend measurement of underlying cigarette consumption has been going up since December 2016.

The original aim of the campaign against tobacco was to reduce the rate of smoking Australians to just 10 per cent but as of 2016 the rate sits at 14 per cent

Experts were starting to admit having some of the toughest anti-smoking laws in the world - including plain packaging, high taxes, and widespread location bans - was no longer working.

'While smoking rates have been on a long-term downward trend, for the first time in more than two decades the daily smoking rate did not significantly decline over the most recent three-year period,' the 2016 national drug strategy found.

Experts told The Daily Telegraph one reason why they feel the campaign has faltered is alack of advertising.

They claim federal funding of mass advertising educating smokers about the dangers have fallen short.

However a crucial positive to come from the campaign was a reduction in the number of youths smoking.

The institute stated that the amount of people aged over 14 who smoked daily had dropped from 24 per cent to just 14 per cent.

And the number of youths aged between 14-19 who had never smoked rose to from 75 per cent to 94 per cent.

There was also a staggering decline in the number of people who chose to smoke around children and other dependents in the home, dropping from 31 per cent in 1995 to just 2.8 per cent in 2016.
A passenger was filmed violently hitting a bus driver in east China after accusing him of pulling away from the station without letting him on.

The man in his 30s was so angry that he jumped on a taxi and chased down the bus to confront the driver, officers in Suqian, Jiangsu province said.

The furious passenger was filmed fly-kicking the bus door and shattering the glass with an object following a brawl with the driver.

The man in his 30s was so angry that he jumped on a taxi and chased down the bus to confront the driver after he pulled away from the station without letting him on

The furious passenger was filmed kicking the bus door and shattering the glass with an object

Shocking surveillance footage from the No. 8 bus travelling in Sihong county on October 7 shows the man storming onto the bus and punching the driver.

After being pushed off the bus, the man did not give up and gave chase on foot. He was seen running while throwing objects at the bus door.

At one point, he gives the door a tremendous flying kick.

'When I pulled away from the bus stop, the passenger wasn't looking at me and didn't indicate he had wanted to get on the bus,' the driver, Xu Chuang, told Sihong Television.

Shocking surveillance footage from the No. 8 bus travelling in Sihong county on October 7 shows the man storming onto the bus and punching the driver

At one point, the unruly passenger gives the door a tremendous flying kick

The man is seen running while throwing objects at the bus door and shattering the glass

'It was only after I left that he started yelling. But the bus had already left the station and it was unsafe for me to stop,' he said, adding that the passenger questioned him why he didn't let him on intentionally.

The man, whose identity has not been revealed, has been detained by police. It is unclear if he would be charged amid ongoing investigations.

Passenger-driver disputes recently came under the spotlight in China after a fight between a driver and a commuter caused a bus in Chongqing to plunge into a river last month, killing at least 13 people on board.

In a similar incident, a man in Yinchuan was caught dragging a bus driver by his arms and grabbing the steering wheel after he missed his stop.

A bus crashes into the opposite lane before plunging off a bridge into the Yangtze River, killing at least 13. The accident last month was caused by a brawl between a passenger and the driver

He was convicted of endangering public safety by dangerous means in a court and was sentenced to three years and two months in prison.

There were 223 criminal cases involving disputes between passengers and bus drivers from 2016 to Oct 31 this year, according to Xinhua news agency citing the Supreme People's Court.

Nearly 30 per cent of passengers involved were found to have grabbed the steering wheel from drivers, the report added.

About 60 per cent of the disputes were caused by misunderstanding over charging and the location of bus stops. Nearly 70 per cent of offenders were passengers, and about 20 per cent were drivers.
In one of his final acts as president of Mexico, Enrique Pena Nieto bestowed his nation's highest award for a foreigner on Jared Kushner, a senior adviser to and son-in-law of the United States president.

President Trump made a surprise stop at the ceremony, held in the same hotel as a trade deal signing between the U.S. and Mexico that was to follow. He sat in the front row next to his daughter, Ivanka, as Pena Nieto presented her husband with the award.

Kushner in a tribute to his boss declared Trump to have a 'genuine respect and care' for Mexico and it's people.

'I do believe we have been able to put that in the right light,' he said of relations between the two nations, which he claimed are in a 'historic place' in the current administration.

In one of his final acts as president of Mexico , Enrique Pena Nieto bestowed his nation's highest award on Jared Kushner, a senior adviser to and son-in-law of the United States president

President Trump and Ivanka Trump (pictured later at the USMCA signing) were front and center to see Jared win his award on Friday

Mexican President Enrique Pena Neto, right, awards White House Senior Adviser Jared Kushner with The Order of the Aztec Eagle, the highest Mexican order awarded to foreigners

Pena Nieto honored Kushner for the work he did to bring a modernized trade deal between the two countries and Canada across the finish line

Kushner in a tribute to his boss - who can be seen sitting in the front row next to Ivanka - declared Trump to have a 'genuine respect and care' for Mexico and it's people

Pena Nieto honored Kushner for the work he did to bring a modernized trade deal between the two countries and Canada across the finish line.

He and Trump signed it alongside Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau at the U.S. president's hotel an hour later at a ceremony at which Trump said the leaders had become friends.

'This has been a battle, and battles sometimes make great friendships,' Trump said in formal remarks.

Trump and Pena Nieto have indeed had their share of battles over trade and immigration since Trump announced his candidacy for office in 2015 with a declaration that Mexicans illegally crossing the border are criminals and rapists.

He escalated the rhetoric in the lead-up to the federal election in November with claims that Mexico was doing nothing to halt caravans of Central American migrants full of criminals, and possibly terrorists, hurdling toward the United States' southern border.

A central campaign promise of Trump's had been to build a wall to keep illegal immigrants out and make Mexico pay for it.

But Pena Nieto steadfastly refused to put up the funds, even after Trump promised to exact the money from Mexico through trade deliberations. Trump is trying to squeeze the money he need to complete construction on the barrier out of Congress now.

Kushner emerged as a central figure in the negotiations, working with the country's foreign secretary so closely that he was accused of engaging in shadow diplomacy that deeply irritated the previous U.S. secretary of state.

Sources told DailyMail.com that Kushner would call to smooth negative feelings over every time the president indulged in a Twitter tirade about Mexico. The White House denied the charge while acknowledging that the president's son-in-law had taken a leading role in the deal-making and talked frequently with Mexican Secretary of Foreign Affairs Luis Videgaray.

Trump and Pena Nieto signed the deal an hour later in President Trump's hotel at a ceremony, where the U.S. president said that Pena Nieto had become a friend

Tomorrow will bring a brand new government in Mexico, and the Trump administration was eager on Friday to finish its hard-nosed deal with Mexico and Canada while Pena Nieto was still in office.

Before the two presidents and the prime minister put pen to ink, however, Pena Nieto had a gift for Kushner.

Pena Nieto in a private ceremony at the Park Hyatt in Buenos Aires gave Kushner the Order of the Aztec Eagle, the highest honor that can be bestowed on a foreigner by the Mexican government.

He put a pin symbolizing the nations' friendship Kushner's blazer and delivered remarks in Spanish as President Trump, Ivanka Trump, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, National Security Advisor John Bolton, Office of Management and Budget head Mick Mulvaney, U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, economic adviser Peter Navarro and other senior White House staff looked on.

He also presented Kushner with a medal and a diploma, which Kushner proudly held up for his audience, which included a pack of photographers trailing the president.

'I am very honored by the recognition that youve given me here today,' Kushner told the exiting leader.

He told Pena Nieto that he had made a 'very big difference' as president by doggedly protected his nation's interests.

'You have always put Mexican interests first even when it wasnt popular,' he assessed.

Kushner said that the American president had also demonstrated a commitment to the fair treatment of the Mexican people.

'Through your direction and leadership we were able to accomplish a lot of great things,' he told President Trump in a short speech.

'While there has been a lot of tough talk, I have seen the genuine respect and care that President Trump has for Mexico and the Mexican people and I do believe we have been able to put that in the right light.'

He also gave a shout out to his wife, Ivanka, who serves as an unpaid adviser to her father in the White House, just as he does. She put up with late-night trade talks at their Washington, D.C. home, he said.

The former real estate developer who came to the job with no formal foreign policy experience, having never worked in government prior to the Trump administration, said he had earned a 'PhD in trade' throughout the process.

White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders, who was also in the crowd, congratulated Kushner after the event in a tweet.

'Incredible honor for Jared and great moment for the entire Trump administration,' she said.
Four men in their twenties have been arrested on suspicion of child abduction after a teenage girl was found five days after she went missing.

The girl, who is in her mid-teens, went missing from Manchester on November 12 and was found in Leeds on November 17.

Two men aged 23, a 22-year-old man and a 27-year-old man have all be arrested and bailed by police pending further investigation.

Four men have been arrested on suspicion of child abduction after a teenage girl went missing for five days (file picture)

Greater Manchester Police said the girl is being supported by the City of Manchester Complex Safeguarding Team.

The team works with children that may be at risk of criminal and sexual exploitation.

They also said that officers had arrested a 50-year-old man at a Manchester address but he has since been released without charge.

One neighbour of the property raided in the Burnage area told the Manchester Evening News that: 'Police came to the address on Sunday afternoon November 18th.

'I understand the investigation is into people trafficking and child prostitution.'
The British man stabbed to death by his wife in Malaysia was a 'violent and controlling monster' who would regularly beat his partner and bully her in public, friends have revealed.

John Jones, 63, banned wife Samantha, 52, from talking to men and even attacked her with a sword, according to fellow Britons living in the area.

Samantha Jones, a former insurance clerk from Somerset, has admitted to killing her husband in their 200,000 home in Langkawi on October 18, but says she stabbed him in self-defence.

Samantha Jones, 52, pictured leaving court in Langawi today, has admitted to killing her husband John Jones, 63, but says she stabbed him in self-defence

'Violent': Friends say Mr Jones was a 'violent and controlling monster' who would beat his wife and bully her when he had been drinking

Death penalty: Samantha Jones faces death by hanging, although her claim of self-defence could lead to her being convicted under a different section carrying a prison term

A British man who worked as a bartender in the area and regularly served the couple said he witnessed Mr Jones being violent multiple times when he had been drinking.

Speaking to Mirror Online he recalled her turning up in tears after Mr Jones had once more physically attacked her.

Friends say Mr Jones tried had previously attacked his wife with a Firangi sword

'Her car window had been smashed in and she told me he had run at her with a Firangi blade. He'd tried to kill her.'

Debbie Aqoudi, 57, who moved to Langkawi in 2009, said 'he beat the s*** out of her. I'm not talking about violence once in a blue moon, either.'

Other British friends living in Langkawi describe having to sweep Samantha's hair off their floor after it 'came out in clumps' after she fled to their home following a violent beating.

The couple lived in a single-storey home with views over paddy fields in a tiny village two miles from the sea built 11 years ago under Malaysia's My Second Home programme which has seen hundreds of Britons gain residency on the island.

Mr Jones, who has two grown-up children from a previous marriage and four grandchildren, was a popular and gregarious figure on the island and a regular at bars and restaurants along the lively Centai Beach tourist strip.

Crime scene: Samantha Jones stabbed her husband to death in the early hours of October 18, in their 200,000 villa in Langkawi, Malaysia

The single knife thrust pierced Mr Jones' heart and he was dead by the time an ambulance crew arrived

Other British friends living in Langkawi describe having to sweep Samantha's hair off their floor after it 'came out in clumps' after she fled to their home following a violent beating

Detailing what happened that night, Samantha told police a fierce row broke out when John got home which escalated when John kicked her in the stomach and punched her in the face

But despite their seemingly sunny lifestyle, Samantha has told police her husband was a heavy-drinking wife beater whom she had twice reported to police in the UK for assault before the couple emigrated to Langkawi.

Friends say the couple separated temporarily while in Malaysia because of his violent outbursts.

John Jones originally from Stourport in Worcestershire, underwent treatment to control his temper and his drinking before they reconciled.

In the early hours of October 18, Samantha Jones claims her husband punched her in the face and kicked her in the stomach after a night of drinking.

She claims she grabbed a kitchen knife to defend herself and that her husband goaded her to stab him before she fled to the bedroom holding the knife.

She says she only thrust the knife into the chest of the burly retired fire-fighter when he chased after her and lunged at her in a renewed attack.

Murder carries a mandatory sentence of death by hanging in Malaysia, although her claim of self-defence could lead to her being convicted under a different section carrying a prison term.
Belgium faces a 'persistent terror threat' and a 'wave of jihadism' because prisoners are being radicalised in jails, the country's spy agency has warned.

The State Security Service said Belgium faces a 'considerable problem' of extremism in jails and that convicted terrorists continue to re-offend.

Belgium's domestic intelligence agency warned today that the country faces a persistent terror threat, in part because of the radicalisation of prisoners.

The country has already been hit by several attacks claimed by the Islamic State group, including the bombings in Brussels in March 2016 that left 32 dead.

Attacks across the border in France have also been traced to Brussels-based cells, including the November 2015 assault on Paris targets that killed 130 people.

Police officer and soldiers on security duty inside Galerie de la Reine following the terror alert level being raised in Brussels in 2015

Some of those behind these plots have also fought in Syria, where the Islamic State is one of several extremist groups involved in the ongoing civil war.

According to the report, Belgium now has 'a never before seen population of detainees jailed for terrorism' that poses a greater than ever threat of 'contagion'.

'Taking into account the persistent recidivist tendency among former terrorism detainees, never mind radicalised common criminals, Belgium will continue to face a latent terror threat for some time to come,' it said.

The Security Service said the Syrian war continues to serve as a 'catalyst' for radicalisation and to push convicted extremists back into violence.

Prime suspect in the November 2015 Paris attacks Salah Abdeslam (right) surrounded by special police officers in court in Brussels. He was charged with attempted murder of police when he was on the run in the Belgian capital

It warned that those who will leave prison in the next three to five years could trigger 'a new wave of extremism, even jihadism in our country.'

In relation to the size of its population, Belgium has been one of the biggest sources of foreign fighters in Syria, with more than 400 departing since 2012.

Around a third of these Belgian combatants have returned and many are dead, but around 150 are still thought to be active in the field, the report says.
Terry Harnish, 72, of Hubbards, Nova Scotia, was visiting friends on Thanksgiving when she took a wrong turn onto a dirt road

A Canadian woman was found by snowmobilers after she spent three days stuck with her car on a muddy rural road in southeastern Iowa.

Terry Harnish, 72, of Hubbards, Nova Scotia, was visiting friends on Thanksgiving when she took a wrong turn onto a dirt road outside Fairfield, which is about 95 miles southeast of Des Moines.

Her car became mired in mud up to its wheel wells, and she was unable to walk to one of the farmhouses she'd passed along the way.

'I journeyed by some farmhouses, and then went over a hill and another hill, and realized it was all mud and not paved,' she said to CBC. 'I was fishtailing through the mud. Thank heavens I've been a driver since I was 11, and I could manoeuvre through the mud.'

Harnish tried to turn the car around, but her tiny Nissan got stuck in mud up to the wheel wells.

She then decided to try and walk, however Harnish, who recently had a knee replaced, found even walking a short distance difficult.

Harnish's car became stuck in the mud and she was unable to call for help (file photo)

The mud was so thick she kept getting stuck. At one point, she lost her balance and fell face first, unable to get up for about two hours before she was able to regain the strength to stand back up.

As she tried to wipe the mud from her shoes she fell for a second time.

After regaining her footing, she decided to head back to the car where she spent the next three days in her car, surviving on a bottle of kombucha and marzipan cake according to The Des Moines Register.

She was rescued Sunday after her car was discovered by a group of snowmobilers.

Terry Harnish was rescued three days after her car became stuck in mud on a remote road

'I was a bit concerned. I knew my angels and God would save me, but I'm glad those boys came along,' she said.

'I knew getting back to the car was my best bet,' Harnish said from her friend's home in Fairfield. 'If I was going to be rescued at all, I would need to be in the car.

Harnish said she wanted to turn on the car to dry her clothes and warm up but the key was so caked in mud she couldn't get it into the ignition. So she tried to sleep instead.

'I was so wet and so cold, I don't think I slept at all,' she said.

Eventually she was able to clear the mud off and start the engine but she ran out of gas by Sunday just as a snowstorm was approaching.

'It was so desperately cold,' Harnish said.

Harnish said she didn't want to run out of gas. She had seen no sign of other people in the time she was stuck. She had no working cellphone and limited supplies.

'I had a fruitcake that I'd bought that morning  a Christmas fruitcake  and two bottles of kombucha,' she said. 'That was it, for four days.'

Harnish's rescuers arrived in the form of two boys out for a jaunt on their snowmobiles (file pic)

Her friends had filed a missing person's report with the Fairfield Police Department and police tried to trace her cellphone - although she hadn't taken it with her.

Fairfield police, Jefferson County Sheriff's Office and Iowa State Patrol began searching.

Fairfield police Lt. Colin Smith says Harnish ended up on a dirt road that isn't traveled this time of year.

'Where she ended up being was just too far off of any travel-able road!' Smith explained.

The heavy snow that fell Sunday proved her salvation because it brought out two teenage snowmobilers whose attention she attracted with her car lights and horn.

'They opened the door and screamed 'Oh my God, she's alive!'' she said. 'Thank God for a miracle.'

Their father used a tractor to take Harnish back into Fairfield more than 78 hours since she'd left on her car ride.

Harnish was checked out at the hospital. She suffered no serious injuries. She remains in good spirits and plans to extend her six-week stay in Iowa.
Donald Trump has never made any secret that he enjoys doing business with Russians.

When I interviewed him for GQ magazine in 2008, he told me how hed recently made a $60 million profit on a house in Florida that way.

I have stuff they (Russians) want to buy, he said. I bought a house in Palm Beach for $40 million and just sold it to a Russian for $100 million. Theyre very smart, very cunning business people. They know great assets when they see them. And they know exactly what theyre doing when they hand me a big fat check. I am getting a good price but in five years I will probably regret it.

That house sale was ten years ago, and was well publicized in the media at the time.

I was reminded of this yesterday when it was revealed that Trumps former lawyer Michael Cohen has done a deal with Special Counsel Robert Mueller as part of the Russia Collusion investigation.

It's well known Trump likes making money off Russia. I was reminded of this yesterday when it was revealed that Michael Cohen has done a deal with Special Counsel Robert Mueller as part of the Russia Collusion investigation

When I interviewed him in 2008, Trump told me how hed recently made a $60 million profit on selling this mansion in Florida to a Russian

Cohens reportedly spent 70 hours spilling the beans to Muellers team, and provided copious notes, emails and tapes.

All very exciting, and, I imagine, very nerve-wracking for the President.

Who in the world would feel relaxed about their long-time trusted lawyer turning on them like this?

Cohens biggest bombshell so far is a confession that he lied to Congress about an interest Trump had in buying a building in Moscow and turning it into a new Trump Tower, an interest that apparently continued deep into his presidential campaign in 2016.

It is further suggested that Trump was thinking of giving Russian president Vladimir Putin a $50 million apartment in the new Tower if he went through with it.

As is turned out, the interest came to nothing, but that hasnt stopped Trumps enemies and a salivating media treating this revelation as a smoking gun.

The implication being that it establishes Trump had a commercial relationship with a nation we now know was actively seeking to cyber-attack the 2016 election and help Trump win.

Separately, Mueller is probing a much-rumoured link between Trump associates and WikiLeaks, the website that revealed emails from Hillary Clintons campaign team stolen by Russia.

As Jens David Ohlin, vice dean of Cornell Law School, put it to CNN: The two big questions have been  was there any person who was acting as a link between the campaign and Russia or Wikileaks, and what incentive did Trump have to collude with the Russians and why is he so beholden to the Russians? I think we now have potential answers to both those questions.

Yes, but the key word there is potential.

The fact remains that Mueller, so far as we know, has yet to prove Trump either colluded with the Russians to fix the election or had business activities with Russia that clouded his approach to dealing with Russia.

Nor do we know if Cohen has any actual evidence to implicate the President in wrongdoing.

As for the bombshell Tower story, Trump himself tweeted this today: Oh, I get it! I am a very good developer, happily living my life, when I see our Country going in the wrong direction (to put it mildly). Against all odds, I decide to run for President & continue to run my business  very legal & very cool, talked about it on the campaign trail Lightly looked at doing a building somewhere in Russia. Put up zero money, zero guarantees and didnt do the project. Witch Hunt!

Trump took to twitter first thing on his first day at the G20

Trump started his Friday with these tweets

If Trump is telling the truth, and I accept this can never be taken for granted, then it seems to me this new Tower story is a gigantic nothing-burger that boils down to real estate billionaire whos openly done property business before with Russians doesnt do property business with them again on this occasion before he became President.

So what?

Cohens been caught lying about it, and other things, and so is desperate to do a deal to save himself from a lengthy prison sentence.

But that doesnt mean Trumps done anything illegal or wrong.

As he said to reporters yesterday, he was perfectly entitled as a businessman running for president to pursue new deals, especially since there was a 'good chance' he wouldnt win.

We don't know Trumps done anything illegal or wrong. As he said to reporters yesterday, he was perfectly entitled as a businessman running for president to pursue new deals

Of course, more evidence may emerge that proves something more serious occurred but it hasnt yet, and Trumps denials in relation to Russian collusion allegations have been relentlessly emphatic from the time they were first made.

To date, the Mueller investigation has caught a lot of lying Trump associate rats like Cohen, Paul Manafort, General Michael Flynn and Rick Gates, in carefully laid traps.

But it hasnt proved collusion, and it hasnt caught Trump,.

And if it doesnt end up catching the big whale, but only the minnows that swam around him, then we will be left with a spectacularly expensive and ultimately futile fishing expedition.

This investigation was set up to probe election-rigging Russian collusion by the President of the United States, not nail a bunch of his underlings for telling fibs about other stuff.

At the end of our GQ interview in 2008, Trump explained his business philosophy: Youve gotta win. Thats what its all about. You know, Muhammad Ali used to talk and talk, but he won. If you talk and talk but you lose, the act doesnt play.

Well, were reaching the moment of win-or-lose truth in this Mueller investigation, and the stakes couldnt be higher.

The Special Counsel will either produce hard evidence that Donald Trump colluded with Russia to fix the 2016 election  or he wont.

There can only be one winner - Mueller or Trump.

The whole Russian collusion scandal will have all been real, or fake news.

And right now, if you cut through all the partisan noise to cold hard facts, I see nothing that says its real.

Mueller needs to put up or shut up.
President Donald Trump was caught on a hot mic at his trade pact signing asking Justin Trudeau which copy of the agreement was 'the one that matters' and then urging the Canadian prime minister to hold up the document for a photo op, which Trudeau didn't do.

Trump, Trudeau and Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto were seated a table, each signing a copy of the agreement and then switching them around for the others leaders to sign when the president made his inquiry.

'Which is the one that matters,' Trump asked of the three copies being shuffled.

'Each of us get a copy,' Trudeau responded.

President Donald Trump and Mexico's President Enrique Pena Nieto hold up copies of the trade pact for the photo op while Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau does not

Trump told Trudeau the trade battle had made them great friends

Trump kept signing, his large sharpie pen dwarfing the regular pen used by his North American counterparts.

When the signatures were fixed, Trump held up his copy and said: 'We might as well hold that up.'

Nieto did so. Trudeau did not but sat there smiling for the clicking cameras.

The exchanges were caught on the microphones.

Trump had emphasized friendship in his remarks prior to the signing, acknowledging the 'long and hard' road that the United States, Canada and Mexico took to Friday's signing of a new trade pact but said 'great friendships' came out of it.

'I am honored to be here with President Enrique Pena Nieto  whos become a great friend  of Mexico and with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who has also become a great friend. Its been a battle and battles sometimes make great friendships,' Trump told Trudeau and Nieto at the signing ceremony at the G20 summit.

'We worked hard on this agreement. Its been long and hard. Weve taken a lot of barbs and a little abuse and we got there. Its great for all of our countries,' he said.

The signing of the trade pact came to fruitation after more than a year of contentious negotiations that came right down to the wire.

Negotiations went down to the wire with questions as late as Thursday night on whether Trudeau would attend Friday's signing

Trump tweeted about the 'important' deal he made

As late as Thursday night questions remained on whether the signing would take place after the ceremony didn't appear on Trudeau's official schedule and he told reporters Canada is 'still in discussions with the Americans' about the deal before he left for Buenos Aires.

But the three leaders sat down to put ink to paper, signing a deal that has a few questions hanging over it - mainly the fate of steel and aluminum tariffs the U.S. imposed on its North American neighbors.

Trudeau made a personal plea to Trump during the ceremony to get rid of the tariffs, saying the recent closures of auto plants by General Motors in the United States and Canada made it more important for cooperation.

'Donald it's all the more reason we need to remove the tariffs on steel and aluminum between our two countries,' Trudeau said.

Trump and Trudeau have had a rough relationship in the past, fighting over the steel tariffs the president implemented that resulted in Trump calling Trudeau 'meek and mild' after a G7 meeting in Canada this summer.

The two men shook hands on Friday and thanked each other for their work on the trade pact but no formal meeting is scheduled between while they're both here for the G20.

And Trudeau did not refer to the agreement by Trump's moniker - the USMCA - but instead called it the 'new North American Free Trade Agreement.'

The Canadian prime minister explained he attended the ceremony because the agreement 'maintains stability for Canada's entire economy' and removes the dangers associated with a threatened U.S. withdrawal.

Trump, meanwhile, treated the event as a celebration.

He also thanked his son-in-law Jared Kushner for his work on the deal and gave shout outs to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin and White House economic adviser Peter Navarro.

Kushner sat in the front row next to his wife Ivanka Trump, the president's daughter.

Ivanka Trump sat in the front row of the trade pact signing

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo (right) and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin (left) also attended

In the second row were White House Chief of Staff John Kelly, National Security Adviser John Bolton, economic adviser Larry Kudlow and press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders. White House deputy chief of staff Bill Shine was also there.

Trump praised the deal in the lavish language he uses when touting one of his administration's accomplishments.

'In short, this is a model agreement that changes the trade landscape forever and this is an agreement that first and foremost benefits working people, something of great importance to all three of us here today,' he said.

He called the signing a 'very historic occasion' and noted the trade deal was one that would be the 'envy of nations all around the world.'

He also claimed the USMCA - as he named the replacement for NAFTA - would bring back U.S. auto jobs and was 'an amazing deal for our farmers.'

'The new agreement will assure a new prosperity,' he added.

The signing by the three leaders was a formality - it was the three of them issuing a directive to their trade representatives to finish the final pact.

And the legislative bodies in each nation will have to ratify the treat.

Trump, however, didn't appear to think he'd have a problem getting it through Congress.

'It's been so well reviewed I don't anticipate much of a problem,' he said.

The signing for President Donald Trump's new North American trade deal appeared in jeopardy Thursday night

The signing ceremony for the trade agreement is not on Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's schedule for the G20

The three nations had a bitter, year-long fight over the trade pact before reaching an 11th-hour deal in October, right as the deadline hit.

Friday's signing ceremony is a crowning moment for Trump, who loves to tout his deal-making prowess.

When the agreement was reached in October, the president called it 'truly historic news for our nation and the world.'

There is no formal meeting between Trump and Trudeau on either leader's schedule for the Friday and Saturday summit.

Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland told reporters here on Thursday that there was still some fine tuning to do on the new trade pact before they would sign.

'Our objective has always been to sign this agreement on Nov. 30 and we are on track to hit that objective,' Freeland said shortly after the Canadian delegation arrived in Argentina, according to the Canadian Press.

And U.S. Trade Repsentative Robert Lighthizer told reporters after the ceremony that negotiations were continuing on the steel and aluminum tariffs.

'We want an agreement thats fair to Mexico and fair to Canada but maintains the integrity of the presidents steel and aluminum programs,' he said.

Canadas Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and first lady Sophie Gregoire arrive in Buenos Aires

President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump leaving for Buenos Aires

And dairy remains a sticking point with the influential Canadian dairy lobby urging Trudeau's government not to sign the trade deal as it gives the United States expanded access to Canada's dairy, egg, and poultry markets.

'A vast number of technical details need to be scrubbed and wrapped up,' Freeland said. 'The fact that this is an agreement in three languages adds to the level of technical complexity and it is on that level that we are just being sure that all the Is are dotted and all the Ts are crossed.'

The Friday deadline is important as new Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrado is being swore into office on Saturday and he could scramble the hard-fought agreement between the three nations.

Outgoing Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto is attending the G20 meeting.

'It'll be your last day in office and its' a very auspicious day when you can sign something,' Trump told Nieto at the ceremony.

'It's really an incredible way to end a presidency,' he said.
Samuel Oliver-Bruno was deported Thursday after hiding out in a church for almost a year

A Mexican father who sought refuge from deportation in a North Carolina church for more than 11 months was deported from the US on Thursday, an Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokesman has confirmed.

Samuel Oliver-Bruno was sent to his native country at 8.45pm, a week after he was detained by plainclothes officers during a trip have his fingerprints taken for what he believed was an appointment to apply for permanent residence.

His family and those who supported his wish to stay in the country learned he was be moved from Stewart Detention Center in Lumpkin, Georgia and would remain in the custody of ICE. However they were not told where.

He was initially held locally at Wake County Detention Center.

Last week, members of Congress for the Durham county were told by authorities that the 47-year-old would be allowed to stay in the US while his case was adjudicated.

Oliver-Bruno's wife Julia Perez-Pacheco told ABC 11 on Thursday that her husband was anxious about his fate.

Speaking in Spanish, she cried: 'I heard him very sad, desperate that they were going to move him and he didnt know where.'

Oliver-Bruno moved to the US in 1994 and after a stint away he returned in 2014 to look after his spouse - who has a work permit - because she was having open heart surgery.

However he got into trouble at the border when he admitted he had paid $1,000 for a fake birth certificate in another person's name, in order to obtain entry to the US from Mexico.

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Samuel Oliver-Bruno appeared after a press conference held at CityWell United Methodist Church in Durham, North Carolina December 13, 2017 when he went into hiding

Oliver-Bruno's wife Julia Perez-Pacheco (pictured) said: 'I heard him very sad, desperate that they were going to move him and he didnt know where'

Oliver-Bruno was granted stays of removal in 2015 and 2016 but was denied in 2017. However he has had a work permit since 2014 and obtained a driver's license.

Before his arrest, ICE said Oliver-Bruno had exhausted all appeals to remain in the country and in December 2017 he moved into Citywell United Methodist Church while he worked with community organizations on a plan to legally stay.

ICE generally avoids making arrests at churches, schools and hospitals.

So some believe he was duped into attending the scheduled appointment last week at a Raleigh-area immigration office, prompting dozens of supporters to block a law enforcement van with Oliver-Bruno inside.

Of those people, 27 wound up under arrest themselves that day because they ignore law enforcement's orders to move after two hours.

Immigration officers generally avoid making arrests at churches but Oliver-Bruno left the building to attend and appointment with ICE last week

Pastor Cleve May (left) was arrested last week and Oliver-Bruno's 19-year-old son, Daniel Oliver-Perez (right) - a US citizen - faced charges of assaulting a government official

One of the people taken into custody was the church's own Pastor Cleve May and another was his 19-year-old son, Daniel Oliver-Perez, who is a US citizen.

Among those praying around the van, some were seen involved in physical altercations. Oliver-Perez faced charges of assaulting a government official.

After his release, May was one of many who gathered at the US Citizenship and Immigration Services office to pray about the matter.

'Many among family and friends are traumatized by the violence employed by ICE in this detainment and deportation operation,' he said in a statement. 'Samuels supporters are deeply unsettled by the collusion between USCIS and ICE to utilize a supposedly legitimate immigration process as bait for entrapment and ambush.'

Durham City Council member Javiera Caballero is still hoping for a turnaround.

'I'm not giving up hope,' Caballero said. 'We have had other immigrants in the past here in Durham - Wilden Acosta-was a big case a few years ago - and we got him back and so I'm hopeful that we will get Samuel back.'

ICE previously said Oliver-Bruno was arrested as part of a 'targeted enforcement action'.

'Mr Oliver-Bruno is a convicted criminal who has received all appropriate legal process under federal law, has no outstanding appeals, and has no legal basis to remain in the US,' Cox, ICE director of communications for the southern region, told ABC News.

Demonstrators surrounded a government vehicle after Oliver-Bruno, an undocumented Mexican national, was arrested after arriving at the appointment with immigration officials

Immigration officers took people into custody after they protested sending Oliver-Bruno back to Veracruz, Mexico where his family had recently received threats to their safety

According to an advocacy group, his family had recently received threats from Veracruz where drug cartels are active.

The group, Alerta Migratoria, previously said Oliver-Bruno was aware he had to 'risk getting detained'.

He posted a video Wednesday via their Facebook page asking for the community's support as he prepared for his 8.45am appointment Friday.

'If deported, Samuel fears for his life,' Alerta Migratoria said in a statement. 'If deported, Samuel will be returned to the state of Veracruz, where his family has recently faced threats and which is a state that is constantly in threat of drug cartels.

'If deported, ICE will be delivering Samuel to danger and death. Furthermore, ICE is not allowing us to give Samuel his diabetic pills or insulin medication, which is further putting his life in danger.'

Congressman G.K. Butterfield and David Price said in a statement: 'Samuel's sudden and inappropriate arrest in the middle of the Thanksgiving season reflects the callous and cruel approach we've come to expect from the Trump administration.'

USCIS spokesman Pamela Wilson said the agency generally can't discuss individual applications for deportation deferment.

Police detained 27 people Friday after they say they ignored warnings to disperse

Those arrested came in support of Oliver-Bruno after he appealed on Facebook
Police are investigating claims a man has been impersonating a paramedic and turning up at accident scenes to offer patients 'treatment'.

The man was reportedly a trainee with the London Ambulance Service who 'went rogue' after failing his paramedic exams.

The ambulance service has sacked an employee and the Met Police have arrested a 21-year-old as part of their probe.

Police are investigating claims a man has been impersonating a fully-trained paramedic

According to the Evening Standard, the 'fake' paramedic treated around 100 patients and discharged some people at the scene who could have been sent to hospital.

Investigators are examining a number of possible charges, including burglary, over entering homes, fraud and dangerous driving.

Authorities insist there is no evidence any patient was harmed by the man's alleged actions.

A Scotland Yard spokesman said: 'In July 2018 police at Lambeth were contacted by an organisation regarding concerns about the actions of one of their staff members.

'An investigation was launched and following inquiries, on 27 September a man was arrested at an address in Hornchurch, Essex.

'The 21-year-old was arrested on suspicion of fraud, burglary, theft by employee, assault by beating, dangerous driving, driving otherwise in accordance of license, and driving without insurance.

'He was taken into custody at a south London police station and later released under investigation. Inquiries are ongoing.'

London Ambulance Service, whose Waterloo headquarters are pictured, say they are assisting police and health authorities with their various investigations

A London Ambulance Service spokesman said: 'We take our responsibilities to patients extremely seriously.

'As soon as we became aware of the activities of this individual, we initiated a full internal investigation, informed the police and contacted patients affected. The individual's employment with us was also immediately ended.

'Following our investigation, we have improved, and will continue to improve, our security, systems and processes.

'We continue to work closely with our Commissioners, NHSI, the CQC and the Metropolitan Police Service, who are now conducting a criminal investigation.

'Changes designed to eliminate the possibility of anyone with internal knowledge of our computerised systems being able to misuse them in this way, have already been implemented.'
A new trail of court documents is for the first time establishing President Donald Trump as a critical figure in the Russia probe  with the conspicuous new legal branding as 'Individual 1.'

Trump is featured in the government 'information' that prosecutors released Thursday in connection with former Trump lawyer and fixer Michael Cohen's guilty plea to lying to Congress.

In the information, Cohen states that he was not truthful when he said he only spoke to 'Individual 1'  Trump  three times about a proposal to build a gleaming Trump World Tower in Moscow.

The very first paragraph of the information establishes that Cohen was 'special counsel' and attorney for 'Individual 1.'

The designation, common in government charging documents that seek to keep out the identities of other people who have not been charged with a crime, nevertheless brings the president in closer to the Russia probe, despite his frequent protestations that he did nothing wrong, that there was 'no collusion,' and that special counsel Robert Mueller's probe is a 'witch hunt.'

Trump hasn't been charged with any crime, and the courts would have to decide whether he could even be indicted as a sitting president.

Trump also figures in a draft charging document that emerged earlier this week for conspiracy theorist Jerome Corsi, who is being investigated for his alleged contacts with WikiLeaks. It states that Corsi knew longtime Trump adviser Roger Stone was in 'regular contact' with Trump.

MADE THE FRONT PAGE: Michael Cohen's charging document features 'Individual 1'  President Donald Trump

Although that document is just a draft and Corsi has not been charged, it raises the prospect that Trump also would feature in a WikiLeaks related indictment. Mueller is investigating alleged contacts between Stone and WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange.

Trump has flatly denied having Russia dealings in July 2016  even though Cohen's information states that he was engaged in conversations about it through June of that year.

'For the record, I have ZERO investments in Russia,' Trump tweeted in July 2016, the Washington Post noted.

Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani once again pushed back against the Mueller probe on Friday, this time taking to Twitter and referencing conspiracy theorist Jerome Corsi, who says he turned down a plea offer from Mueller's team that would have him admit to perjury.

'Hysterical coverage of Cohen plea. It misses point that ,once again like Corsi leaked documents demonstrate, Muellers crew has no evidence of collusion. Along the way,however,he is keeping America safe from false statement makers or people with faulty memories or both,' Giuliani wrote.

The president condemned Cohen as a liar on Thursday, less than an hour after his longtime legal confidant pleaded guilty to lying to Congress about Trump's exploration of a real estate venture in Russia during the entire time he was slicing through the 2016 Republican primary field.

The government information is laced with references to 'Individual 1' - Trump

Prosecutors say Cohen lied to 'minimize links' between Trump and the Moscow project durign the 2016 campaign

The Trump Tower project in Moscow never got off the ground, but the Trump Organization didn't shelve it until June 2016, long after the future president had locked up the GOP's White House nomination.

The revelation is giving Trump's Democratic adversaries new reasons to trumpet their belief that the president has long maintained ties with Russia that he hasn't acknowledged.

With Mueller's Russia probe appearing to gather steam and House Democrats eager to wield subpoena power when they take over in January, pressures on the White House are intensifying.

An hour after Cohen emerged from a Manhattan courthouse, Trump canceled a planned one-on-one meeting with Vladimir Putin that was to have occurred during this week's G20 summit in Argentina. The White House said the move was a reaction to the Russian navy firing on and seizing three of Urkaine's ships in contested waters.

One detail inthe Cohen case could be especially damaging to the president: Special Counsel Robert Mueller's team charged that Cohen had promised Trump would visit Moscow personally to pitch the building project, but not until after the 2016 Republican National Convention when he would have the security of being the GOP's presidential nominee.

The president was combative on Thursday, saying as he left the White House that Cohen is 'making up a story' and 'lying, very simply, to get a reduced sentence.'

'He's a weak person and not a very smart person,' Trump told reporters, contending that 'he's trying to get a much lesser prison sentence by making up a story.'

Cohen admitted falsely telling House and Senate Intelligence Committee investigators earlier this year that the Moscow project didn't extend past January 2016.

Michael Cohen, former lawyer to President Donald Trump, was in federal court on Thursday to enter his latest guilty plea

President Trump bashed his former confidant as he left the White House, saying he's 'making up a story' and 'lying, very simply, to get a reduced sentence'

Trump also abruptly canceled a planned meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, which was to occur at the G20 summit kicking off Friday in Argentina

Special Counsel Robert Mueller charged Cohen with lying to Congress about a plan to build a Trump Tower project in Moscow

Cohen, seen smiling as he was driven away from court, faces sentencing on Dec. 12 for his guilty pleas, including one involving a hush-money payment to pornographic actress Stormy Daniels at President Trump's direction

Prosecutors wrote in a charging document that Cohen lied in order to 'minimize links' between Trump and his proposal, and to 'give the false impression that the Moscow Project ended in early 2016 before 'the Iowa caucus and the very first primary,' in hopes of limiting the ongoing Russia investigations.'

Trump said before boarding the Marine One helicopter on the South Lawn of the White House that even if Cohen were telling the truth, 'it doesn't matter. Because I was allowed to do whatever I wanted during the campaign. I was running my business.'

He said 'I'm not worried at all' about the implications of Cohen's actions, and boasted that he would have resumed work on the Moscow undertaking if he had lost the election to Hillary Clinton.

Trump's personal attorney Rudy Giuliani told The New York Times on Thursday that when the president supplied Mueller with written answers to his questions a week ago, he documented his conversations with Cohen about the Moscow project.

'The president said there was a proposal, it was discussed with Cohen, there was a non-binding letter of intent and it didn't go beyond that,' Giuliani said.

CNN correspondent Jim Acosta noted Thursday that Trump and Giuliani 'have had very harsh words for Michael Cohen, but they are not alone.'

'I talked with a source close to the White House earlier today who described Michael Cohen as a, quote, 'rat,' adding that inmates hate rats,' Acosta said.

Asked Thursday at the White House why he ever hired Cohen for a top-tier Trump Organization job in the first place, given his recent characterization of the attorney as dishonest, Trump responded: 'Because a long time ago he did me a favor.'

Cohen helped Trump in 2003 during a dispute with condominium owners in Trump World Tower. He had hiked condo fees by tens of thousands of dollars per unit in order to recoup legal expenses from suing New York City in a case that resulted in $94 million in tax savings for the building.

Trump's other handing Russsia thread is Paul Manafort, his former campaign chairman who faces a decade or more in prison for charges Mueller reportedly used as leverage to encourage him to implicate the president in crimes; The president has said he hasn't ruled out pardoning him

THREAT? CNN's Jim Acosta reported that a person close to the White House warned that Cohen was a 'rat,' and added that 'inmates hate rats'

Rep. Adam Schiff, a California Democrat who will take over the reins of the House Intelligence Committee in January, blasted Cohen and Trump on Twitter.

'To help Trump, Cohen lied to Congress about Trump's business interests in Russia. The President's own denials during the campaign were also false or misleading, and underscore the importance of investigating any financial entanglement between Trump and Russia,' Schiff wrote.

Dianne Feinstein, the ranking Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee, said that Cohen's plea 'shows that the Trump family did have business dealings in Russia despite President Trump's repeated statements to the contrary.'

'It raises serious questions about the president's relationship with Russia and whether he and his family have been honest,' she said in a statement.

Democrats also howled on Wednesday when Trump confirmed that a pardon for Paul Manafort, his former campaign chairman, is 'not off the table.'

'It was never discussed, but I wouldn't take it off the table. Why would I take it off the table?' the president said in an interview.

Manafort is awaiting formal sentencing for making millions representing Russian oligarchs and a Ukrainian strongman without registering as a foreign agent in the U.S., and without paying taxes on the income. The crimes occurred years before he and Trump met.

A pardon is thought to be unlikely because some of the crimes Manafort stands convicted of are also covered by state laws in New York and elsewhere. A 150-year-old legal tradition holds that presidential pardons cannot cover state-level convictions because the U.S. and individual states are 'separate sovereigns.'

The Supreme Court could overturn that doctrine in a matter of weeks, however. The high court is weighing the fate of a man who was charged with both state and federal crimes for the same illegal gun possession. Overturning the 'separate sovereigns' tradition could change the equation for Manafort, if not for Cohen.

In this courtroom sketch, Michael Cohen, center, read his statement Thursday in a New York City federal courtroom. He pleaded guilty to lying to Congress about work he did on a canceled project to build a Trump Tower in Russia

Trump's current personal attorney Rudy Giuliani said Thursday that written answers the president sent in response to Mueller's questions included one about the Moscow project, and that he had answered truthfully

Special counsel Robert Mueller charged that Cohen lied to Congress in a written statement that described an ultimately shelved Trump Tower project in Moscow

Contrary to his initial written testimony, Cohen discussed the status of the Trump Tower project with the future president 'on more than three occasions,' prosecutors wrote

According to the government's criminal indictment, known as an 'information,' Cohen made false statements in writing to the House and Senate Intelligence Committees about the length of discussions about the project, and about his related conversations with Trump Organization figures.

His false statements included claiming that the deal wasn't discussed extensively, that he never agreed to travel to Russia to promote it and 'never considered' asking Trump to travel there, and that he didn't recall a Russian government response.

The information says Cohen 'knowingly and deliberately' lied.

'In truth and in fact, and as Cohen well knew, Cohen's representations about the Moscow Project he made' to Congress were 'false and misleading,' according to prosecutors.

Cohen discussed the project with the future president 'on more than the three occasions,' briefed Trump and his family members about it, and had multiple discussions with an unnamed person about Trump making a Moscow visit.

That unnamed individual is likely project backer Felix Sater.

In one May 4, 2016 email, Sater wrote that he 'had a chat with Moscow' about the real estate venture and said the question was whether Trump would go 'before or after the [Republican] convention' for a meeting between the 'big guys.'

Cohen responded that he would go 'before Cleveland,' the site of the Republican National Convention, and that Trump would take a trip 'once he becomes the nominee after the convention.'

A May 5 email includes an invitation from Vladimir Putin's press secretary, Dmitri Peskov, inviting Cohen to St. Petersburg for an introduction to either the president or prime minister of Russia.

'Individual 2,' likely Felix Sater, emailed Cohen about the lawyer's potential visit to Moscow. Cohen responded that his own trip would be 'before Cleveland' and Trump' would go once he becomes the nominee'

On January 14, 2016, Cohen emailed Putin spokesman Dmitri Peskov about the Trump Tower project

Prosecutors also found proof that on Jan. 20, 2016, exactly a year before Trump took office, Cohen spoke to a Peskov assistant for about 20 minutes.

He 'requested assistance in moving the project forward, both in securing land to build the proposed tower and financing the construction,' the criminal information says.

Sater contacted him the following day to ask about the call, writing that it was 'about [the President of Russia that] they called.'

Cohen's courtroom comeuppance on Thursday came after he gave Special Counsel Robert Mueller and his team a reported 70 hours of interviews.

They pressed him on Trump's real estate business ties in Russia, possible discussions with the president about pardons, and obstruction of justice.

Cohen appeared outside the federal courthouse in Manhattan with his lawyer Guy Petrillo, who told reporters: 'Mr. Cohen has cooperated. Mr. Cohen will continue to cooperate. Sentencing is set for December 12.'

Trump said that even if Cohen were telling the truth, 'it doesn't matter. Because I was allowed to do whatever I wanted during the campaign. I was running my business'

Cohen's courtroom comeuppance came after Cohen gave Special Counsel Robert Mueller and his team 70 hours of interviews.

Cohen appeared outside the federal courthouse in Manhattan with his lawyer Guy Petrillo, who told reporters: 'Mr. Cohen has cooperated. Mr. Cohen will continue to cooperate. Sentencing is set for December 12'

He has already testified in a Manhattan courtroom that he made an illegal hush-money payment to Stormy Daniels, a pornographic actress who claims to have bedded Trump a decade ago, 'in coordination with, and at the direction of' Trump.

Virginia Democratic Sen. Mark Warner told reporters that Cohen's admissions were part of a 'rollout of close Trump allies' pleading guilty 'almost always to their trying to hide their ties with Russia and the Russians attempt to infiltrate the Trump campaign.'

'You've got all these close associates of the president one after another pleading guilty, often pleading guilty, about their ties to Russia and Russians. And what are they covering up for?'

'If anything the president said is true, that there's 'no there there,' why are all his closest associates being found guilty of lying about their ties to Russia?' Warner asked.

The latest twist in his saga will come with an attached string of dozens of hours of of testimony that could be criminally damaging to the president.

Cohen's new charge comes from Mueller. His previous ones, bank and tax charges to which he has already pleaded guilty, were lodged by federal prosecutors in the Southern District of New York.

At issue is Cohen's testimony before two congressional panels in September 2017 during the course of their own Russia investigations. At the time, he was still considered a loyal Trump footsoldier.

Some of his testimony related to the construction of a Trump World Tower Moscow, a project that involved the Agalarov family  who was also involved in the effort to set up a Trump Tower meeting with Russians in 2016.

Cohen testified before Congress that the tower project had fizzled, saying the 'proposal was not feasible for a variety of business reasons and should not be pursued further,' Yahoo News reported in May.

However, Cohen's communications with Moscow-born developer Felix Sater revealed that the contacts continued beyond what Cohen admitted during his sworn testimony.

Sater handed over his texts and emails to Mueller's investigators. The texts and other communications revealed Cohen and Sater were discussing the project as late as May 2016.

That puts the high-level talks about a plan to build the tallest building in Moscow well into the Republican nominating process. Trump during the campaign said repeatedly he didn't have business dealings with Russia.

Emails between Sater and Cohen revealed Sater's efforts to pitch the skyscraper project to the Trump Organization. Sater said he could get Russian President Vladimir Putin to say 'great things' about Trump.

In a statement released before his closed-door sessions with congressional investigators, Cohen said he 'had nothing to do with any Russian involvement in our electoral process' and 'never saw anything  not a hint of anything  that demonstrated [President Trump's] involvement in Russian interference in our election or any form of Russian collusion.'

Cohen has testified that he paid off Stormy Daniels for her silence with Trump's knowledge and at his direction

He is expected to be sentenced to between four and five years in prison in December for his first federal case. It's unclear if the new guilty plea will involve more jail time.

Cohen has publicly turned against President Trump since the FBI raided his home and offices in April.

Prosecutors deemed the $130,000 Stormy Daniels payment illegal because it was intended to help Trump avoid an embarrassing electoral loss to Hillary Clinton  and was therefore an 'in-kind' political contribution far in excess of the limits of the law.

Cohen's earlier plea also covered his role in arranging an illegal payment from the parent company of the National Enquirer to Karen McDougal, a former Playboy model who claimed to have had a Trump affair.

At Cohen's request, American Media Inc. bought the rights to McDougal's life story and sat on it without publishing anything, in a practice known as 'catch and kill.'

American Media's chairman and CEO, David Pecker, is a longtime Trump friend.

The Mueller probe has been a consistent thorn in the president's side, turning Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein into his bete noire for having appointed the special counsel.

On Wednesday he defended his decision to distribute a Photoshopped image that showed 11 of his foes in a prison cell together, including Rosenstein.

A New York Post reporter asked the president, 'Why do you think he belongs behind bars?'

'He should have never picked a special counsel,' Trump responded.

President Trump used his Twitter account on Wednesday to forward posts from a fan account, including a graphic that depicted his Democratic opponents in prison, along with Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein

This image from 'The Trump Train' includes 9 of Trump's partisan opponents behind bars, and shows Robert Mueller (far left) and Rosenstein (3rd from left, back row) joining them

Trump has long resented Rosenstein for hiring Mueller to investigate the unproven allegation that campaign aides in 2016 colluded with Russian agents to tilt the election in the president's favor

The president had hours earlier retweeted a series of posts from a fan account, including the cartoonish image that also depicts Special Counsel Robert Mueller joining nine prominent Democrats in lockup.

'NOW THAT THE RUSSIA COLLUSION IS A PROVEN LIE, WHEN DO THE TRIALS FOR TREASON BEGIN,' its caption reads.

Among the 'imprisoned' Democrats in the collage are former Presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton; Hillary Clinton, her former campaign chairman John Podesta and top aide Huma Abedin; former Attorney Generals Loretta Lynch and Eric Holder; and former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper.

Trump has long resented Rosenstein for hiring Mueller to investigate the unproven allegation that campaign aides in 2016 colluded with Russian agents to tilt the election in the president's favor.

The special counsel appointment became inevitable after Trump fired Comey last year. That followed a decision by then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions to recuse himself from the matter because he was a Trump campaign adviser and investigators could consider him a witness.

Trump has grumbled publicly and exploded privately about Sessions' move, saying he never warned him before he got the job that the recusal would be part of the deal.
Dave Sharma has been unanimously endorsed as the Liberal Party candidate for Wentworth, despite his overwhelming rejection in a by-election just weeks earlier.

Mr Sharma lost the historically conservative seat to Independent candidate Dr Kerryn Phelps with a 19 per cent swing against him during the October election.

The by-election was called after the brutal leadership spill that led jilted ex-Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull to quit politics.

Despite Mr Sharma's historic loss - he became the first conservative candidate to lose the affluent Wentworth seat since 1901 - he was endorsed without contest.

Mr Sharma's defeat was a devastating blow for current Prime Minister Scott Morrison and the Coalition.

Dave Sharma (pictured) has been unanimously endorsed as the Liberal Party candidate for Wentworth, despite his overwhelming rejection in the 2018 by-election

The by-election was called after the brutal leadership spill that led jilted ex Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull (pictured) to quit politics

Sally Betts, Malcolm Turnbull's former electorate officer, who is also president of the Liberal Party's Wentworth Federal Electoral Conference, emailed party members to announce the state executive decision.

'The State Executive of the Liberal Party unanimously endorsed Dave Sharma as our candidate for the next Federal Election to be held, most probably, in May 2019,' she wrote.

Sally Betts (pictured) emailed party members to announce the state executive decision

'The Prime Minister, the State President and the State Director were of the view that Dave Sharma is the best person to run as the endorsed candidate.'

'It leaves us in a really good position to start campaigning immediately and raise the funds necessary to run a really good campaign.'

Dr Phelps, a former president of the Australian Medical Association, claimed 23 of the 35 booths in Wentworth, in Sydney's eastern suburbs, in a victory which saw the government forced into minority rule.

The Prime Minister (pictured) is supportive of the decision to back Mr Sharma, describing him as the best person to run as the endorsed candidate

She was supported in droves around the beachside suburbs of Bondi, Bronte and Clovelly as voters deserted the Liberal Party.

In Bronte, the Liberal's vote collapsed by 27 per cent, with Dr Phelps edging out Mr Sharma 489 votes to 430.

Dr Phelps gained 1,300 votes at the Bondi Beach Public School booth, to Mr Sharma's 1,087 - a 20 per cent drop in the Liberal vote since the 2016 election.

Mr Sharma, by contrast, enjoyed majority support around the middle of the electorate, in the affluent suburbs of Vaucluse, Darling Point, Double Bay, Bellevue Hill, Rose Bay, Dover Heights and Watsons Bay.

The Liberal Party are backing Mr Sharma, and doubling down on their belief that the recent loss was a result of voter outrage toward the parliamentary levels of the party for ousting Mr Turnbull from the top job, resulting in the by-election.
Fifty-eight inmates are suing state officials claiming their constitutional rights have been violated after a pornography ban was introduced in Iowa's prisons.

The new legislation has been approved by the Iowa House and Senate and signed by Iowa Governor, Kim Reynolds.

It states that funds given to to the Iowa Department of Corrections will not be used to make available any commercially published material to an inmate that are sexually explicit, or contain nudity, as reported by the Des Moines Register.

It reverses policies that had been in place for three decades.

The 58 inmates, all at Fort Dodge Correctional Facility, (pictured above) are suing state officials claiming their constitutional rights have been violated by the pornography ban

The law, that came into force on November 14, has shut down designated prison rooms, in which inmates could read sexually oriented materials.

Previously, inmates had enjoyed checking out publications before being escorted to a private reading area.

After the inmate had finished with the material, staff would be responsible for inspecting it to check no pages were missing and no contraband had been inserted.

Prison officials had called the system 'a staff-intensive process.'

The ban includes Playboy. The magazine had long been allowed in the state's nine prisons.

Inmates are also prohibited from having nude photos in their cells.

The lawsuit, brought by the 58 inmates, was filed in U.S. District Court in Des Moines, and seeks to overturn the new state law.

Designated prison rooms, in which inmates could read sexually oriented materials, have been shut down and Playboy magazine banned

The plaintiffs are all inmates at the Fort Dodge Correctional Facility and include 70-year-old Allen C. Miles who is serving a life sentence for the stabbing death of Cheryl Kleinschrodt on March 3, 1982, in Des Moines.

The suit claims that the prisoners have been denied a constitutional right and alleges the law has been brought in 'under the guise of 'morality.'

It goes on to blame 'religious tyrants who have no regard for the U.S. Constitution or Declaration of Independence.'

The suit states female correctional officers employed in Iowa's prisons for men 'should find employment elsewhere,' if they have a problem handling an environment that includes pornographic photographic material.

Prison officials said the population of sex offenders has grown significantly in Iowa's prisons in the last 30 years and prison officials want to keep sexually oriented publications out of reach.

'The department really feels that inmates having access to that kind of material does not lend itself to pro-social thinking and behavior and as far as our responsibilities to change the mindset of the offender as they transition back into the community,' Michael Savala, the Iowa prison system's general counsel, told state lawmakers.

The suit claims that the prisoners have been denied a constitutional right and alleges the law has been brought in 'under the guise of 'morality'

The legislation was opposed by Sen. Rich Taylor, a retired Iowa State Penitentiary employee.

He argued that the changes don't take into consideration that male inmates have a sex drive and taking away their pornographic material could make things worse.

'That is just a fact and you have to have some way to relieve that,' Taylor said. 'This gives the inmates no release point except another offender, and don't think that it doesn't happen. This will make it worse. They will have no other alternatives for their relief. I think that this is a bad idea,' Taylor said during Senate debate on the bill.

A Spokesman for the Iowa Department of Corrections, Cord Overton, said that inmates were informed in July of the changes which gave them time to stop subscriptions to sexually explicit publications.

'Operationally, department leadership advised the incarcerated individuals and staff that after the 14th of November, we would not be 'shaking the institution down,' but any pornography found during the course of a routine search might lead to discipline. We have had no real issues so far,' Overton said in an email, according to the Des Moines Register.

Iowa's prisons are said to hold 8,575 inmates.
Samuel Little, 78, confessed to killing 90 women across three decades as a bargaining chip so he could move jails from California to Texas, the FBI says

A drifter who may be the most prolific serial killer the US has ever known confessed to a three-decade long murder spree so that he could move jails.

Samuel Little, 78, was already serving a life sentence in California for murdering three women when he admitted killing 87 more across a dozen states between 1970 and 2005.

If proven, that total would make him the most prolific killer in US history. Investigators have so far linked Little to 34 of the killings.

FBI agents now say Little used the confession as a bargaining chip because he wanted to move jails from California to Texas, though they did not give his reasons for wanting the transfer.

In September Little was indeed transferred to Texas to face trial for the 1994 killing of Denise Christie Brothers in Odessa.

Agents say Little, who uses a wheelchair and is in poor health, will likely remain incarcerated in the state until he dies.

When Little first requested his transfer he only mentioned the Brothers murder, but his attitude changed after he met Texas Ranger James Holland, who was dispatched to extract the confession.

The two men formed an unlikely bond and what followed were a series of near-daily admissions in which Little often recalled the exact car he was driving during the murder, and even sketched some of the victims.

Little was serving life for three murders in California when he confessed to killing Denise Christie Brothers in Texas in 1994, prompting his transfer (pictured at court this week)

Near-daily discussions took place with law enforcement 'to create the most accurate accounting possible of Little's crimes,' the FBI said.

'Little remembers his victims and the killings in great detail,' the bureau added.

'He remembers where he was, and what car he was driving. He draws pictures of many of the women he killed.

'He is less reliable, however, when it comes to remembering dates.'

Little, who also went by the name Samuel McDowell, targeted vulnerable women who were often involved in prostitution and addicted to drugs, authorities say.

Once a competitive boxer, he usually stunned or knocked out his victims with powerful punches before he strangled them while masturbating.

'With no stab marks or bullet wounds, many of these deaths were not classified as homicides but attributed to drug overdoses, accidents, or natural causes,' the FBI said in a statement.

That, couple with queries over the dates, means it is proving difficult to connect Little to some of the killings he claims.

In the case of the 1972 murder of an unidentified Jane Doe, Little described the signs he saw, the dirt roads he drove and the U-turn he took, and then explicitly pinpointed the spot where he left the woman's body, all of which was on point with what police knew about the murder site.

'The FBI is working with the Department of Justice's Bureau of Justice Assistance, the Texas Rangers, and dozens of state and local agencies to match Little's confessions with evidence from women who turned up dead in states from California to Florida between 1970 and 2005,' the report read.

'Little's run-ins with the law date back to 1956, and there are clear signs of a dark, violent streak among his many shoplifting, fraud, drug, solicitation, and breaking and entering charges. But law enforcement has only recently begun unraveling the true extent of his crimes.'

In one murder confession of a 20-year-old Florida woman, Little told an investigator 'God put him on this earth to do it.'

Little, who stands at six-foot-three-inches-tall, was first arrested at a homeless shelter in Kentucky in 2012 and extradited to California to face drug charges.

Once there, DNA evidence linked him to three cold cases and Little was convicted in 2014 of murdering three women in Los Angeles between 1987 and 1989.

Those victims were 41-year-old Carol Alford, whose body was found on July 13, 1987; 35-year-old Audrey Nelson, found on Aug. 14, 1989; and 46-year-old Guadalupe Apodaca, found on Sept. 3, 1989.

All three had been beaten and strangled.

After forming a bond with a state trooper, Little confessed to killing 90 women, which if proven would make him the most prolific serial killer in US history. So far investigators have connected him to 34 of his claimed crimes

Little was convicted of the 1989 murder of Audrey Nelson, 35 (left), in Los Angeles in 2014. The cold case of the 1982 murder of Rosie Hill, 20 (right), in Ocala, Florida was closed on November 15 following Little's confession to the slaying

Sentenced to three life terms in prison, Little was transferred to Texas in connection with the investigation into the murder of Denise Christie Brothers in Odessa, Texas. Pearl Nelson (left) is shown holding a photo of her mother, victim Audrey Nelson, as she is hugged by Mary Louise Frias, whose Godmother, Guadalupe Apodaca Zambrano, was also a victim of convicted serial killer Little

Sentenced to three life terms in prison, Little was transferred to Texas in connection with the investigation into another murder.

Bobby Bland, district attorney of Ector County where Little is being held, said the elderly man eventually confessed to the 1994 murder of Denise Christie Brothers in Odessa, Texas.

After Holland gained his trust, Little began confessing to dozens of other murders.

During the course of an interview in May 2018, Little 'went through city and state and gave Ranger Holland the number of people he killed in each place,' FBI crime analyst Christina Palazzolo said.

'Jackson, Mississippi - one; Cincinnati, Ohio - one; Phoenix, Arizona - three; Las Vegas, Nevada-one...' Palazzolo said.

Investigators from Prince George's County in Maryland traveled to Texas to interview Little, and once there were warned that the convicted killer showed absolutely no remorse for taking the lives of so many.

'We were told directly not to ask him, 'Let's do this for the family,' because he did not view his victims as deserving of any type of remorse,' Prince George's Police Sgt. Greg McDonald told the Washington Post.

'So if you went into a room and asked him, 'Want to do this for the family?' he would shut down.'

The Maryland investigators said Little described the crime scene from Prince George's County's longest running cold case with such detail that they were sure he had committed the murder of Jane Doe, who they had hoped he would help them identify. It's one of only two homicide cases in the county with unidentified victims, police said.

Bobby Bland, district attorney of Ector County where Little is being held, said the elderly man eventually confessed to the 1994 murder of Denise Christie Brothers in Odessa, Texas. Little is pictured leaving the Ector County Courthouse after attending a pre-trial hearing Monday in Odessa, Texas for the 1994 murder of Denise Christie Brothers

A crime scene is shown from a 1972 murder in Prince George's County in Maryland, which investigators believe Little was responsible for, based on an interview with matching details

He revealed he had known the woman who was from Massachusetts for a few days, that she had a child, and had recently become divorced, all of which were new details the Maryland police didn't know.

Little told Texas Rangers before Maryland police came to interview him that met 20-something woman off New York Avenue at the old Greyhound Bus Station in the District.

The two eventually drove together to a wooded area up Interstate 295, where she suggested they pull over at Maryland Route 197 to have consensual sex on a dirt road, where Little claimed to have killed her and dumped her body.

Little said he strangled her to the point of unconsciousness, but she came back to and tried to flee, so he had to catch up with her and make sure she was dead.

Little also said that he strangled the women for sexual gratification, and took joy in reliving the details of his murders, which is why he was confessing to so many heinous crimes after all these years.

'Talking with him, you can hear he actually gets excited about describing his homicides and describing how he strangled his victims,' Bernie Nelson, one of the county detectives, said.

'He looked you right in your eye and said he couldn't help himself. He's a monster.'

Maryland police are now awaiting DNA results from the woman's bones, and hope to use some of this new information to finally identify her.

On November 15, the Marion County, Florida Sheriff's Office closed the cold case of the 1982 homicide of Rosie Hill, 20, after Little also confessed to that killing, the agency announced in a Facebook post.

On November 15, the Marion County, Florida Sheriff's Office closed the cold case of the 1982 homicide of Rosie Hill, 20 (pictured), after Little confessed to that killing

MCSO Major Crimes Detective Sergeant Michael Mongeluzzo interviewed Little while he was in custody in Texas after he was incarcerated for the murders of the California women, which is when he confessed to killing Rosie Hill (pictured) and dumping her body, reportedly telling an investigator that he killed Hill 'because God put him on this earth to do it'

'On Monday, August 16, 1982, at approximately 6.00pm, Rosie Hill's remains were discovered in a wooded area off of County Road 326 in the vicinity of a hog pen,' the post read.

'During the investigation, it was determined that Rosie was either strangled or suffocated by her attacker. Several witnesses came forward saying that Rosie left a bar with an unknown male and was not seen again. The witnesses gave a description of the suspect and his vehicle, which matched Little's.

'In December 1982, Little was arrested for the attempted murder, aggravated assault and rape of two prostitutes in Pascagoula, Mississippi.

'MCSO detectives interviewed Little there and he claimed that he did not know Rosie and he invoked his right to an attorney. MCSO detectives did not have enough evidence at the time to charge Little with Rosie's murder and ultimately, he was never charged in the Pascagoula case.

'In 1983, Little was arrested and ultimately acquitted, in Alachua County, Florida for the homicide of Patricia Mounts.'

MCSO Major Crimes Detective Sergeant Michael Mongeluzzo interviewed Little while he was in custody in Texas after he was incarcerated for the murders of the California women, which is when he confessed to killing Rosie Hill and dumping her body.

'Little told Sgt. Mongeluzzo that he killed Rosie because God put him on this earth to do it,' the MCSO said.

'Due to his three life sentences and recent indictment in the state of Texas for murder, the MCSO and the State Attorney's Office for the Fifth Judicial District will not be pursuing murder charges against Little in the death of Rosie Hill.'

Little admitted to a total of 90 murders in all, authorities said, of which law enforcement officers have so far verified 34 killings.

'Little will be confirmed as one of, if not the most, prolific serial killers in US history,' Bland said in a statement.

Prior to his confessions, the deadliest known US serial killer was believed to be Gary Ridgway, the so-called 'Green River Killer' convicted of 49 murders who is serving a life sentence in Washington state.

The FBI said it was working with the federal, state and local agencies to match Little's confessions to unsolved murders across the country, many of which were not classified at the time as homicides.

According to the FBI, Little 'remembers his victims and the killings in great detail' but is 'less reliable, however, when it comes to remembering dates.'

'Little's method of killing also didn't always leave obvious signs that the death was a homicide,' the FBI said.

'The one-time competitive boxer usually stunned or knocked out his victims with powerful punches and then strangled them,' it said.

'With no stab marks or bullet wounds, many of these deaths were not classified as homicides but attributed to drug overdoses, accidents, or natural causes.'

Little grew up in Ohio, dropped out of high school and lived a 'nomadic life,' shoplifting or stealing to buy alcohol and drugs, the FBI said.

His criminal record dates back to 1956 with arrests for shoplifting, fraud, drugs and breaking and entering.

He was accused of murdering women in Mississippi and Florida in the early 1980s but was not convicted.

The FBI said Little is in poor health and is likely to spend the remainder of his days in prison in Texas.

The FBI did not say what ailments he suffers from but Little is wheelchair-bound and has heart disease and diabetes.
One of Australia's most prominent underworld figures could walk free within four years after reports one of the biggest police scandals in the country is set to be exposed.

The Herald Sun reported that convicted drug lord Tony Mokbel, 53, sentenced to 22 years prison on drug importation and trafficking charges in 2012, could be free as early as 2022 after reports of police misconduct in Victoria.

The publication reported that Mokbel had been keeping tabs on developments around the alleged misconduct.

It's alleged that the misconduct of high ranking officials and police undermined the ethics of the criminal system and 'distorted trials' through committing perjury and and 'compelling state witnesses'.

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Convicted drug lord Tony Mokbel, 53, (pictured) sentenced to 22 years prison on drug importation and trafficking charges in 2012, could be free as early as 2022 after reports of police misconduct

One of the main road blocks in the path of Mokbel reaching an early release is his guilty plea for the serious charges of cocaine importation.

It's believed some of the state's most high profile cases from 1994 to 2014 will be caught up in the allegations of misconduct.

Leading many high profile prisoners readying appeals for their convictions.

As well as the possibility of him being charged for crimes which were struck from his case as part of a plea deal with police.

Mokbel was arrested by police in Greece after skipping bail when an informant close to the police informed him his arrest was impending.

He was arrested 15 months after fleeing the country and extradited back to Australia to face trail.

The latest development comes after The Herald Sun revealed some of Australia's most notorious criminals could have their convictions quashed amid claims of police misconduct during the Melbourne gangland war.

One of the main road blocks in the path of Mokbel (pictured with Greek police) reaching an early release is his guilty plea for the serious charges of cocaine importation

Dozens of jailed criminal figures are set to lodge appeals against their sentences next week, claiming 'systematic wrongdoing' compromised their cases.

There are also calls for a Royal Commission into police misconduct, sanctioned by their high-ranking officials, that took place during and after the infamous war.

At least 20 underworld figures - including Carl Williams, Andrew 'Benji' Veniamin and several members of the Moran family - were murdered.

There are claims police and high ranking officials were complicit in 'systematic wrong doing' during the course of the Melbourne gangland war to gain arrests like that of Carl Williams

Williams was killed in HM Prison in Barwon in 2010 when Matthew Johnson (pictured) bludgeoned him to death with a metal pipe

Tony Mokbel (pictured left and right) was among those jailed amid the gangland war. He fled to Greece while he was facing drug charges before being extradited

The bloody war erupted when Williams, a former associate of the Moran's Carlton Crew, turned on the infamous gang, before waging war against its members for the next decade.

From January 1998 until August 2010, up to 36 people were killed in the tit-for-tat underworld war as Victoria Police tried desperately to stem the bloodshed.

Sir Ken Jones, Victoria's former deputy chief commissioner, had raised concerns about the conduct of officials and police as they grew ever desperate to end the bloody street war.

A 2014 email he wrote said he had began to hear whispers of the wrongdoing as early as 2010.

Andrew 'Benji' Veniamin (pictured) was shot dead by Mick Gatto, who was acquitted on grounds of self-defence

Lewis Moran (pictured centre) was among those killed in the bloody Melbourne gangland war

Williams (pictured) was one of the biggest gangland scalps for police and it was alleged he was helping them with further investigations at the time of his death

'(Systematic) abuse of the Victorian criminal court process and distortion of trials over many years. Serious crimes and imprisonable contempts of court committed by amateur police sleuths,' he wrote, according to the paper.

He said there are potential issues of misconduct that would likely be levied against a number of senior police.

Williams and the Carlton Crew, including Jason Moran (pictured) were at war for a decade in Melbourne

Mr Jones claims that when he attempted to address the whispers of misconduct he lost his position as deputy chief commissioner.

Police conduct from 1999 to 2014 will be subject to scrutiny with some senior legal officials claiming police tactics and conduct at the time was 'out of control'.

Senior police and former politicians are expected to be questioned about what they know of the claims.

The convicted criminals from that time period in Melbourne are lodging appeals with hopes any findings against the conduct of police could slash time from their sentences.

Williams, one of the leading figures during the gangland war, was killed in HM Prison in Barwon in 2010 when another inmate bludgeoned him to death with a metal pipe.

Williams was one of the biggest gangland scalps for police and it was alleged he was helping them with further investigations at the time of his death.
Novichok victim Charlie Rowley has left hospital and hopes to spend Christmas with his family as he tries to come to terms with his year of hell.

The 45-year-old's partner Dawn Sturgess was killed and he was left fighting for his life when they picked up the perfume bottle which Russian spies had used in the Salisbury nerve agent attack.

After treatment in intensive care, he was discharged from hospital, but became critically ill again in August when he contracted meningitis.

Novichok victim Charlie Rowley is back out of hospital and will spend Christmas with family

His partner Dawn Sturgess died this summer when she came into contact with nerve agent novichok, brought Salisbury by Russian assassins in a perfume bottle

His brother Matthew Rowley, 47, revealed today Charlie is now out of hospital and has moved into a new flat in Amesbury, Wiltshire.

Matthew, 47, said: 'He's still a bit ill because of the meningitis and we don't know the long-term effects of Novichok.

'He phones me every night and tells me what he is doing. He likes to get a friendly voice on the phone.

'Charlie says he doesn't like to be alone - he is having nightmares and is feeling insecure.

'He is still dealing with the loss of Dawn and is living on his own. We are planning on having Christmas dinner together.

The nerve agent, which could have killed thousands, was smuggled into Britain inside a perfume box. Britain has said the botched assassination was ordered by the Kremlin

Matthew Rowley says Charlie's family are still worried about the long term effects of the poison

Mr Rowley's brother added: 'I'm extremely relieved he is out of hospital and fingers crossed he is going to recover 100 per cent.

'It's still all a bit daunting though because of what the future may hold.

'On the negative side he says his eyesight is not very good and his arms have also lost a bit of movement.'

Britain has accused Russia of carrying out the poisoning of ex-spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia with Novichok in Salisbury in March, which the pair survived.

Charlie is thought to have found the bottle used by the attackers and Ms Sturgess sprayed the lethal substance on her wrist.
James Leon Jackson is accused of killing 10-year-old Tammy Welch while her family was moving out of their apartment in 1984

A man accused of raping and killing a 10-year-old girl in Florida in the 1980s has protested his innocence in court despite having a back tattoo referring to the crime.

James Jackson, 66, spoke as he took to the stand in the second day of his trial in Jacksonville.

'It was a little girl. I wouldn't kill no little girl,' Jackson said.

Prosecutors say Jackson raped and killed Tammy Welch at her apartment complex and then put her body outside his window.

Jackson claimed he never knew the girl or her family who lived next door and said that he was asleep during the time that the girl was murdered.

A little while later, a detective showed up at his door.

'I went over there to take a nap on the couch and a few hours later, my friend started knocking on my door and asked to come in because there had been a body discovered outside,' Jackson said.

This is a school photo of Tammy Welch. The youngster had been playing outside with her sister before running inside. A short time later she was found raped and strangled

Tammy's body was found on grass outside her apartment window. She had been thrown out

The murder happened on the day Tammy's family was due to move out of the complex

Jackson got 'Tammy Welch 1984' tattooed on his back. A confession written in ink, the state alleges but Jackson claims that the tattoo was a jailhouse prank

The little girls' sandals were found outside

'He said 'you realize a young girl was killed next door?' I said, 'what that got to do with me?' Jackson recalled.

'I'm asking why your first response to homicide detectives about the death of a person feet away from your home is, 'What does this have to do with me?'' prosecutor Alan Mizrahi asked Jackson on the stand. 'Don't you think the right answer should have been, 'How can I help?''

Jackson replied, 'Yes, probably.'

'I never met Tammy, I didn't even know she existed,' Jackson said.

'It was a little girl,' Jackson testified in court on Thursday. 'I wouldn't kill no little girl.'

Jacksons back was covered in tattoos before his arrest, including two large gravestones running down his flank with Bible verses inked along their sides

Tammy Welch, left, a brown-haired 10-year-old, had been allowed to stay home from school with her older brother and little sister, Jennifer. They playing outside on the day of the crime

Tammy Welch,left, alongside her older brother. Their father, a U.S. Navy serviceman, was deployed at sea

Jennifer testified decades later that she was so terrified by the sight of seeing her sister's dead body that she ripped a clump of her own hair from her head

Jackson was interviewed the day Tammy was killed and again the next month but no arrest was made.

Some years later, in 2002 Jackson voluntarily submitted his DNA to law enforcement.

Ten after that, the DNA was finally sent to a lab for a testing. Then in 2013, a partial DNA profile had been identified and matched Jackson.

Jackson claims he gave his DNA because 'didn't kill anybody,' but prosecutors insist that Jackson admitted to the crime to fellow inmates who have testified in court.

He allegedly confessed to multiple inmates that he was drunk and killed the young girl.

The inmates said Jackson asked about the death penalty and said he could've gotten away with the murder if the girl didn't break the screen door.

But Jackson now denies ever having those conversations.

Fellow inmates testified how Jackson boasted how he could have gotten away with the murder

Jackson blames his fellow inmates for putting a tattoo of the little girl's name on his back

At one stage during Thursday's interrogation, Jackson was questioned about the 'Tammy Welch 1984' tattoo that he had on his back.

Jackson is a five-time convicted felon. He said another cellmate was touching up a tattoo and put that there without his knowledge and says he covered it up as soon as he found out.

When asked if he raped and killed Tammy Welch in 1984 Jackson said 'No, I didn't.'

Earlier this week Jennifer Roache, Tammy's older sister explained what happened on the day of the murder.

Jackson was actually interviewed following the discovery of the girls body in 1984 but never arrested in the dase

Jackson, pictured in court this week, sat down with police in 2002, reiterating that he had nothing to do with the crime. He even provided a DNA sample for elimination purposes

She and her sisters were playing with a beach ball. The two got in a fight, and Roache went inside but Tammy never came back in.

Roache then went looking for her sister less than an hour later, she found her body lying on the ground in the courtyard of the apartment complex.

Tammy's shorts were bloodied, she had been raped and strangled.

Jennifer testified decades that she was so terrified by the sight of seeing her sister's dead body that she ripped a clump of her own hair from her head

Jackson's lawyers had filed several motions to spare him from the death penalty if convicted, including an argument that his health is deteriorating.
A plane crashed into a university campus in Georgia and the pilot and a single passenger were rushed from the scene in ambulances Thursday night.

Students at Kennesaw State University poured out of faculty buildings as the Cirrus SR22 propeller plane crashed into their campus near Atlanta, Georgia, at around 7pm Thursday.

Two men were taken in ambulances to hospital but were conscious and alert when they were hauled from the wreckage.

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One of the casualties can be seen on a stretcher; both men were rushed to hospital, but were conscious and alert after the crash

The plane is covered in tree branches after it crashed into the Kennesaw State University campus at around 7pm

It is unclear what caused the crash.

The $500,000 plane was heading from Omaha, Nebraska to Charlie Brown Airport, close to the university campus, according to CBS.

Cobb County Fire Department's Denell Boyd told the broadcaster: 'I mean, mechanical problem is one thing. Running out of fuel is something else. But yeah, we're very thankful that they're okay.'

Students reported on Twitter that the aircraft crashed next to the Social Sciences building.

Emergency services including the fire brigade sprang into action Thursday night as stunned students flocked around the scene after hearing a colossal bang

KSU's Office of Emergency Management tweeted that there are no reports of damaged buildings, injuries to students, faculty or staff.

KSU graduate student Abby Rodriguez told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution that upon hearing the impact, she thought a bridge had collapsed or that there was an explosion.

The campus was opened back up today as investigators continue working at the crash site.
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Used as a form of initiation into adulthood and a sign of beauty or membership of a specific clan, scarification is a way for tribes to wear their identities on their faces.

The ceremony is a process of initiation and is of great social importance as the rites of the ritual have special symbolic meanings and pick and individual out as being from a certain village.

For centuries in parts of Africa, such body-marking shows a person's tribal identity, which some believe connects them to their ancestors.

These marks are made on the skin using stones, razors, glass or knives to permanently etch decoration and drawings onto the skin as ancient African 'tattoos'.

In Papua New Guinea some men cut their skin to look like crocodiles to represent their 'crocodile spirit', creating a rippled scarring to resemble the reptile's scaly skin.

The body art can also involve branding designs into the skin which can signify belonging to a particular tribe, family or religion.

Body marking has been used for centuries in parts of Africa to indicate a person's tribal heritage and connect them to their cultural history

Scarification is becoming less common but some tribal members still want to carry the marks of their ancestors and keep the tradition alive

The Houeda ethnic group is one of a number of tribes in Benin, West Africa, which believes that scarring children, usually on their faces, will connect them with their ancestors

The patterns are often similar to the designs on the walls of local buildings. But the practice is dying out because in urban areas, such as the city of Cotonou and Porto-Novo, people with scars can be judged and regarded as savages

After the ceremony the children are given new names, their hair is shaved off and they are taken to a convent where an oracle will try to communicate with previous generations

Each ethnic group in Benin has its own distinct scarring patterns and can identify each other based on the intricate lines and marks etched into the face and head

Vince Heminson, a writer and filmmaker who has studied body modification, told National Geographic: 'Scarification almost always happens in a culture where there is so much melanin in skin that it would be difficult to see a tattoo'

Neighbouring Nigeria has seen some states ban the practice on all children over fears it is against the rights of young people

Some cuts are on the tribe member's face, others have cuts on their backs and stomachs when they reach puberty to show their courage

Many have abandoned the traditional ancient practice of scarification because they believe there are other ways to celebrate their heritage, such as clothing, language, dancing and religion

Some tribesman are now not letting their children be cut over fears for HIV and AIDS. Medical advice has warned sterile surgical instruments should be used but tribal chiefs often refuse

A woman from Burkina Faso told photographer Joana Choumali: 'When I was ten I asked for them [scars]. I wanted to be like my brothers and sisters, and to show that I am courageous'

Children as young as a week old can be subject to the ancient ritual that sees their face, head and body permanently marked

Some of the spiritual leaders performing the ritual use the same tools every time, raising fears over the transmission of blood-born infections such as tetanus and HIV

Followers of the custom of scarification place superficial incisions on their skin, using stones, razors, glass or knives, permanently decorating the body to communicates many different cultural expressions

Most Benin tribe-members are around the age of eight when they go through the ritual of scarification and are marked by a tribal elder with a razor

If a child dies before he or she is able to receive their traditional tribal markings, they are not buried in the village cemetery because they are considered 'not Betamarribe' in the eyes of their ancestors

The scarification ritual can be very painful and is often performed on children aged eight and ten as part of a naming ceremony

The instruments used to carry out scarification can vary from razors, to pieces of glass or knives. Some have abandoned the practice for fears of the spread of diseases

Benin is the birthplace of the vodun religion, which gave rise to the word 'voodoo' in West Africa and is connected to the scarification ritual still practised is some parts of the region

The scarification of human skin is a longstanding practice that has played a significant role in cultural consciousness and community-building, says the photographer, Jean-Michel Clajot

Some tribal elders from the Betamarribe tribe in Benin, also known as Somba or the Tammari people, say that a child without markings is 'not human'

Cuts and scarring can symbolise identity in a number of different ways, some identity status within the community, the passage into adulthood or a connection to a spiritual or religious group

Scarification is used as a form of initiation into adulthood, beauty and a sign of a village, tribe, or clan and follows the complex biological process of 'wound healing'

The ceremony of scarification is a process of initiation is of great social importance and the rites of the ritual have special symbolic meanings

During wars tribes would recognise each other by their facial scars and therefore avoid killing a friends as opposed to a foe

Some tribe members are revered in their village for the status their scars give them, but in expanding cities they feel embarrassed by the marks
PC Adam Provan, 38, has been jailed for nine years after being found guilty of raping a teenage girl at Wood Green Crown Court

A disgraced policeman has been jailed for nine years for raping a 16-year-old girl against a tree.

PC Adam Provan, 38, said he wanted to take the teenager to the cinema after telling her he was just 22-years-old, but he instead took her to woodland and attacked her in Romford, east London.

Wood Green Crown Court heard how he then took her to a McDonald's drive-through in Harold Hill and bought milkshakes while researching film plots so he could convince the victim's father that they had been to the cinema.

He was jailed today for nine years after he was found guilty by the jury following a week-long trial.

The court heard Provan and the victim met through a friend of the victim's who he had initially contacted by mistake in 2010.

They had exchanged messages and photos before deciding to go on a date in August 2010.

It was said Provan told her he was a police officer but lied about his age.

The girls father had been reassured to let his daughter go on the date because Provan was a a police officer.

He insisted he would have to meet him first and agreed after Provan told him he was 22.

Mr Anthony Metzer, QC, prosecuting, told the court how 'after a 15-25 minutes drive' Provan pulled into a car park by the woods and they walked over to a 'tree trunk' where the teenager was raped.

Jurors heard how the victim tried to think of ways to escape, but had left her bag in the police officer's car and had no way of getting out of the woods alone.

Provan, pictured leaving court at an earlier hearing, also faces being banned from policing after a disciplinary hearing

He then took her to the fast food restaurant in Harold Hill where he looked up films on his mobile phone, encouraging her to lie to her father and tell him that they had been to the cinema.

PC Provan then took the girl for a walk in Central Park, Harold Hill, and forced her to perform a sex act.

The girl told jurors how she had said 'no' several times and it was clear she was not consenting.

It was not reported to police until May 2016 and an investigation was launched into Provan, who was attached to the East Area Command Unit. He was arrested in June that year and charged in September 2017.

Provan admitted during the trial he had been on the date but denied anything sexual had happened.

He now faces being banned from policing after a disciplinary hearing.

Detective Superintendent Sian Thomas of Child Abuse and Sexual Offences Command said: 'PC Provan abused his position to win the trust of his victim and deliberately deceived her; she felt reassured he was a police officer and had no idea of the large age gap between them.

'This assault was brazen and calculated, with clear indication he had planned it beforehand.

'The victim has been incredibly brave in giving evidence in court and I commend her courage in reliving what happened to her in court.'

She added: 'I would like to praise the effort of the investigators involved whose dedication and thorough work has helped secure this conviction, and the sentence reflects the severity of his offending.

'The MPS expects its officers to uphold the highest standards of behaviour both whilst on and off-duty. PC Provan has been suspended from duties, and will now face misconduct proceedings.'
A woman died after a large tree fell onto a dual carriageway during 80mph winds and landed on the car she was travelling in.

Police say the tree crashed onto the Ford Fiesta, killing the 75-year-old passenger and causing 'life changing' leg injuries to the 74-year-old woman who was driving.

The tree fell on the A30 near Sailsbury, Wiltshire, as Storm Diana tore across the south west, with wind speeds reaching 80mph.

Emergency services were called to the accident on the northbound carriageway at Compton Chamberlayne at 9.30am yesterday.

Emergency services were called to the accident on the northbound carriageway at Compton Chamberlayne at 9.30am yesterday

Huge waves crash into the seafront at Porthleven in Cornwall as stormy conditions battered the UK yesterday

Firefighters used hydraulic cutting equipment to remove the female driver, from Dorset, who was rushed to hospital.

The female passenger, also from Dorset, died at the scene.

The A30 was closed in both directions and was not re-opened until 11.45pm on Thursday because power cables had also fallen into the road with the tree.

Wiltshire Police spokeswoman Katie Bond said: 'Emergency services were called shortly after 9.30am to a single vehicle collision on the A30 at Compton Chamberlayne.

An uprooted tree in Birmingham after heavy winds as weather warnings for gusts of up to 80mph and persistent rain hit parts of the country

'It is believed a large tree fell into the road and on to a Ford Fiesta, which was travelling northbound from the direction of Fovant.

'The 75-year-old passenger, who is from Dorset, sadly died at the scene. Her family are being supported by specially trained officers and our thoughts remain with them at this time.

'The driver, a 74-year-old woman also from Dorset, suffered serious injuries to her leg, believed to be life changing, and was taken to Southampton Hospital where she remains in a serious condition.

'Due to the complexities of removing the tree and restoring the power infrastructure, the road remained closed until approximately 11.45pm.'
The mayor of a small Salvadoran city has driven dangerous gangs MS-13 and La Barrio 18 out of town by taking to the streets armed.

Mauricio Vilanova, a married father-of-one who has been mayor for 18 years, has been patrolling the streets of San Jose Guayabal with a Beretta and assault rifle, wearing a bulletproof vest as part of a two-year plan to rid the area of the gangsters.

'Carrying a weapon doesn't make me feel more of a man,' Vilanova told the AFP.

'I do this out of love for my town.'

The 60-year-old has been credited with dramatically reducing the city's crime rate with the number of murders for 2018 currently standing at zero compared to around 18 killings a year in previous years.

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Mayor of San Jose Guayabal Mauricio Vilanova is credited with driving out gangs

The mayor of the Salvadoran city of 13,000 has 300 informants who patrol the streets

El Salvador has one of the highest murder rates in the world - in 2017, 45 per 100,000 people were killed.

Many citizens have fled the country due to violence and joined the migrant caravan towards the Mexico-United States border in the hopes of being awarded asylum.

In 2006 La Barrio 18, with help from the MS-13, took over control of two villages in the municipality of 13,000 residents that Vilanova oversees in the center of El Salvador.

Fast forward to 2012, the mayor was forced to strategize how to drive out the ruthless MS-13 after six neighborhoods fell under the power of the Maras.

To keep the streets safe, the mayor set up closed-circuit surveillance camera system and gathered around 300 informants.

On any given day, mayor Mauricio Vilanova can be seen patrolling the streets of San Jose Guayabal

Each cop in the town is paired up with three members of the military to patrol the area

Vilanova, who has received threats but has never been physically harmed by gangs, also decided to pair each cop with three military members and provides a pickup truck driven by a chauffeur to the teams.

'It makes our work more efficient,' a law enforcement officer told AFP.

'At the same time we cover the sector a lot more because normally our patrol would have to be on foot.'

Keeping close eye on any suspected gang presence, those caught are quickly subjected to a stern lecture from Vilanova along with a mandatory job assignment of painting over any gang signage.

'If we identify a youth at risk... we appoint a mentor to accompany him,' said Vilanova.

Vilanova said: 'I do this out of love for my town.' He is seen above holding a weapon
Its not unusual for Miss Universe contestants to wheel out the old line that what they really want is world peace, but this year Miss Singapore is taking it to a new level.

Zahra Khanum, 24, will take to the stage in a gown portraying the historic handshake between US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, which took place in her homeland in June.

The dress designer, Moe Kasim, says: 'This is just a representation of what Singapore stands for, which is world peace, and the fact that Singapore is reaching out to other countries to create positive relationships.'

The old Cold War foes met in Singapore this year as Trump claimed Kim had agreed to step down his nuclear weapons program.

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Miss Singapore, Zahra Khanum, 24, is hoping to impress judges with her dress at the Miss Universe contest in December

Miss Singapore unfurls her peacefully themed dress at a backstage gathering, as she builds up media hype ahead of her appearance at the competition on December 17

Khanum's royal blue ensemble features dove wings across the back with a picture of shaking hands in shirt-sleeves decorated in the colors of the US and North Korean flags.

'I believe the MUS organizers wanted to highlight what was relevant, current and unique - something that was probably only going to happen once in our lifetime and in Singapore's history,' Kasim said, referring to Miss Universe Singapore.

Khanum will represent the city state in the Miss Universe finals in Bangkok on December 17.

The Trump-Kim summit was already a public relations coup for Singapore.

Pictures of Kim strolling in the open-air rooftop bar of the iconic Marina Bay Sands hotel beamed around the world and 'Singapore' became the most searched term on Google in the US.

In June of this year President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un met to discuss peace after decades of diplomatic tensions and threats of nuclear war

Singapore said it spent $14.6 million on the summit, as marketing experts said the business generated by the coverage could be worth more than 10 times that.

But some have been critical of the dress; the North Korean flag stands as a horrifying symbol of communist dictatorship to many in the Far East.

'This cannot be shown to the world. We will become a laughing stock,' Facebook user Elisah Lim said.

Trump bought the Miss Universe pageant outright in 1996 before entering into a joint venture with NBC.

The US network famously cut all business ties with then candidate Trump when he made controversial statements about Mexican migrants being 'rapists' and 'criminals' in 2015.

Trump sold Miss Universe three days later to Beverly Hills talent agency WME/IMG.
A toddler in Mexico proved that a dog's master should always be obeyed no matter how young they are.

The child's father recorded the adorable moment in which he teaches his daughter how to get her pet pitbulls Bella and Buzz to give the paw and sit.

The viral cell phone video, which has been a hit on social media, also shows the moment she rewards each of the pooches with their favorite treats.

A video of a toddler feeding her two pet pitbulls snacks in her Mexico home recently went viral

The father of a Mexican girl instructed his daughter how to approach a breed that has been criticized in the past for its violent mood swings

The video was shot in the living room of the family's home in Monterrey, Mexico, with Buzz and Bella attentively listening to the tot's words.

She asks Buzz for his paw and grabbed it when the pet raised the front-right leg while sitting down.

She then tries to feed Buzz, who nibbles at the cracker, and thanks him by saying, 'good job'.

The little girl feeds one of the dogs a cracker after it obeyed her command and lifted its paw

Bella (left) finally sits after the toddle had to raise its soft voice while signaling with her hand

The child then turns to her other dog, Bella, and asks it to sit as well.

The low pitch in her soft voice perhaps wasn't too audible for the dog, so she hilariously raises her voice, signaling at Bella with her left hand.

She innocently then pulls the cracker away from Bella and asks for her paw before Buzz comes into the video and raises his at the same time.

The parent continues developing the relationship between the toddler and the pitbulls, breeds which in the past have been publicly criticized for their violent mood swings and the mistreatment handed by their owners.
The New Jersey businessman accused of murdering his millionaire brother, wife and their two young children and setting fire to their mansion and his own house has pleaded not guilty at his first court appearance today.

Paul Caneiro, 51, was limping badly and supported by court officers as he was brought into the packed courtroom at Monmouth Superior Court in Ocean Township shortly before 9.30am.

He was unshaven, wearing prison-issued dark green overalls and was handcuffed around the waist. Caneiro appeared dazed and emotionless and stared straight ahead as he responded to the judge in monosyllabic 'yes' and 'no' answers.

His wife Susan and two adult daughters Marissa, 23, and Katelyn, 26, did not attend the hearing but his lawyers later said that his family were supporting him and had decided it 'better' not to be at the brief detention hearing.

Monmouth County Superior Court Judge James J. McGann began by reading Caneiro his rights and then assistant prosecutor Christopher Decker stood in front of Caneiro and read the charges against him.

In addition to the second degree aggravated arson charge he has been facing since last week, he is now facing four first degree murder charges, another count of aggravated arson, one count of possession of a firearm for an unlawful purpose and one count of possession of a knife for an unlawful purpose.

Each one of the murder charges carries a sentence of between 30 years and life imprisonment.

Paul Caneiro, 51, pleaded not guilty on Friday to murdering his brother and his family before setting their $1.5 million mansion on fire. The 51-year-old looked dazed and emotionless at he sat at Monmouth Superior Court in Ocean Township in New Jersey

Paul Caneiro was charged on Thursday with murdering his younger brother Keith, 50, and Keith's wife and children, Jennifer, 45, Jesse, 11, and Sophia, eight.

Prosecutors say Paul shot his brother then shot and stabbed Jennifer before 'repeatedly' stabbing his niece and nephew in their mansion and then allegedly went to the basement of the home and set a fire that would take hours to get going

Caneiro's defense attorney Robert A. Honecker entered a plea of not guilty to all charges but consented to his client's continued detention. Honecker did not contest the probable cause at the hearing but said he reserved the right to challenge it at a later date.

Caneiro then got to his feet unsteadily and placed his hand on the Bible. He responded 'I do' when asked he if he understood his rights and when asked by the judge if he was under the influence of drugs or alcohol, he replied: 'No I'm not.'

After the 15-minute hearing, he was helped down from the box by court officers again.

Prosecutor Christopher Grammicioni did not wish to comment further outside of the courtroom.

Outside of court, defense attorneys Honecker and co-counsel Richard B. Ansell made a short statement.

'We understand that Mr Caneiro has been charged with four counts of murder and associated charges of arson. Mr Caneiro maintains his innocence of the charges and he would never engage in conduct that would cause harm to his brother or his family,' Honecker said, adding that they planned to challenge the evidence put forward by the prosecutor's office.

Ansell said: 'Mr Caneiro loves his brother, loves his sister-in-law like a sister, loves those children. He would never do anything to harm them.'

The attorneys refused to comment when asked who may have targeted the Caneiro family and said that the case was a 'search for the truth'. They also declined to address questions about Caneiro's state of mind.

Paul Caneiro was charged on Thursday with murdering his younger brother Keith, 50, and Keith's wife and children, Jennifer, 45, Jesse, 11, and Sophia, eight.

It is unclear what finally led police to file charges against Paul who has been in custody on aggravated arson charge for the past week, but they say he the killings were 'financially motivated'

His wife Susan and two adult daughters Marissa, 23, (second from right) and Katelyn, 26, (left) did not attend the hearing but his lawyers later said that his family were supporting him and had decided it 'better' not to be at the brief detention hearing

Paul's lawyer Mitchell Ansell (left) said: 'Mr Caneiro loves his brother, loves his sister-in-law like a sister, loves those children. He would never do anything to harm them'

Prosecutors say Paul shot his brother then shot and stabbed Jennifer before 'repeatedly' stabbing his niece and nephew in their mansion in Colts Neck, New Jersey, in the early hours of November 20.

He then allegedly went to the basement of the home and set a fire that would take hours to get going, returned home and set his own house on fire in an effort to make it appear as though he too had been targeted.

It is unclear what finally led police to file charges against Paul who has been in custody on aggravated arson charge for the past week, but they say he the killings were 'financially motivated'.

It emerged this week that Keith Caneiro had been talking 'openly' about cutting ties with the business partner brother before he was murdered, it emerged this week.

The two brothers were business partners who formed their technology company, Square One, together in 1987. At the time it was called Jay-Martin and specialized in computer installing but it grew in success and size as the internet boomed.

Keith started it and brought Paul in as his first hire when he got his first contracts with Citibank and at the Statue of Liberty.

According to The New York Times , their decades-long business brotherhood had come under recent tension.

Keith, the younger of the two, had been talking about his desire to try something new and was eager to go to work for a larger company as a CIO (Chief Information Officer).

Keith's wife Susan, left, and one of his adult daughters, right, were seen at the property on Wednesday. Last week, they said they would stand by him and believed he was innocent of arson

Workers were seen at Keith's home in Ocean Township on Wednesday. It was partially damaged in the fire police say he set himself while he was inside with his wife and adult daughters

The two houses are 12 miles apart; there were just over seven hours between the two fires

TIMELINE OF FIRES AND MURDERS Early hours of Tuesday November 20: Paul Caneiro allegedly shoots his brother Keith outside his home then stabs and shoots Keith's wife Jennifer and stabs their two children inside. He allegedly sets a fire in the basement then leaves 5.01am: A fire is reported at Paul Caneiro's home in Ocean Township. He escapes it with his wife and two adult daughters 12pm: Paul and his family leave the area after staying for hours to talk to police 12.38pm: A fire at Keith Caneiro's home is reported by a landscaper. Once they arrive, police find Keith's body outside, shot at least twice, and his wife and children inside. It takes several hours for them to extinguish the fire November 21: Prosecutors charge Paul with setting the fire at his own home but will not say if he is a suspect in the murders November 24: Paul's wife and daughters say he is innocent of arson and will testify in his favor November 29: Paul is charged with the murders November 30: Paul's court appearance December 2: Funeral for Keith, Jennifer, Jesse and Sophia Advertisement

Police sources cited by NJ.com also said the business was struggling to stay afloat. 'He would just mention it to everyone. He wanted to try something different,' Ameet Chaudhury, who attended Columbia University with Keith when he returned to obtain an undergraduate history degree in 2014, said.

The brothers were raised in Brooklyn with a third brother, Corey. Their father was a Spanish immigrant and they were brought up in a typical 'working class' environment, according to friends.

For years, they were by one another's side. Keith was Paul's best man when he got married to his wife Susan in 1991 and Paul was in Keith's wedding party when he married his wife Jennifer.

The business in Asbury Park grew and changed its name from Jay-Martin, named in honor of the brothers' middle names, to Square One.

At some stage, they also acquired EcoStar Pest Management. Friends and co-workers told the Times that in recent year, Paul was in charge of the pest management business and Keith was left to run the technology business.

Paul underwent multiple surgeries around five years ago after getting into a car accident and according to friends it changed his behavior.

'He was frustrated, but not to the point to hurt his family members,' family friend Demetris Potamianos said, emphasizing his disbelief over what Paul now stands accused of.

'It was Paul and Keith all the time. It was the perfect helpful brother relationship.

'The last thing I can ever picture is Paul doing something like that. Paul was like a father to all of them. Shocking is not the word.'

They said the accused was a proud gun owner who had previously revealed his collection of handguns and rifles.

Prosecutors say that on November 20, he went to his brother's house in the early hours of the morning, shot him outside and then entered the home where he allegedly shot and stabbed Jennifer then stabbed Sophia and Jesse 'repeatedly'.

It emerged this week that Keith Caneiro (pictured with his wife Jennifer) had been talking 'openly' about cutting ties with the business partner brother before he was murdered, it emerged this week

Pictured is the couple's daughter, who was killed in the fire

Heartbreaking tributes to the family were left including some addressed to Sophia and Jesse

It is unclear if they were asleep when they were attacked. After allegedly killing them, Paul went to basement of the house where prosecutors say he set a fire.

They say he then left the house, leaving the fire smoldering, and returned to his own home where he set another fire using cans of gasoline. He survived that fire along with his wife and their two adult daughters.

Prosecutors say the fire at his home was an attempted 'ruse' to make it look like he too had been targeted by a mysterious arsonist but was also a way for him to get rid of evidence he had brought back with him from their home.

The blaze at Keith's house was not reported until 12.38pm. Police say it was fed for several hours by oxygen blowing through the house.

'It continued to smolder until there was entry made into the home, a great deal of oxygen coming into the home effectively fed that fire.

'(The fire) wasn't reported until 12:38, what we believed caused the fire to catch on from there is the feeding of oxygen once the house was entered into,' Montmouth County Prosecutor Christopher Gramiccioni said at a press conference on Thursday, adding that it was 'the most brutal crime' he had ever seen.

'There were two reasons for the fire at his home,' he went on, explaining why Paul allegedly set the fire at his own house.

'One was to destroy evidence that he brought back from the Colts Neck crime scene and the other was to create some sort of ruse that his family was targeted,' Gramiccioni said.

The burned out mansion is pictured on Thursday

Montmouth County Prosecutor Christopher Gramiccioni (pictured) said at a press conference on Thursday, adding that it was 'the most brutal crime' he had ever seen

'The defendant's motive was financial in nature, stemming from their joint business ventures that they owned and operated out of Asbury Park,' he went on, adding there was no evidence that either brother had any link to organized crime.

It remains unclear if he is being cooperative or if he has confessed to any of the crimes.

Neighbors previously described Paul as a 'big fish in a small pond' who was enamored' with money but never quite lived up to his younger brother's wealth.

When police arrived at Keith's burning home on November 20, they found him shot outside.

Jennifer had been shot and stabbed and the children had been stabbed 'repeatedly'.

Their bodies were badly burned and it took investigative teams days to be able to get into the house to survey the damage. At 5am that morning, a fire was reported at Paul's home in Ocean Township, 12 miles away.

He was at the home with his adult daughters and wife at the time but they all made it out alive and stayed at the scene for hours afterwards to talk to police.

He left the area at around noon. Forty minutes later, the fire at Keith's home was reported.

On November 21, Paul was charged with arson for allegedly setting fire to his own home but authorities refused to say whether he was a suspect in his brother's death or the deaths of his family.

Neighbors of Paul's in Ocean Township told DailyMail.com afterwards that they would be surprised if he had had anything to do with his brother's murder and that they thought it was unlikely he would set fire to his own house because he was so proud of it.

They described him as being a 'big fish in a small pond' who never quite lived up to the wealth his younger brother had amassed.

'He said it must have been a gas leak, he had tears in his eyes.

'Susan was devastated,' one neighbor, who did not want to be named. 'He said, 'I'm in complete shock, I can't believe this is happening to me.'
President Vladimir Putin has denounced Western nations' 'vicious' use of sanctions against Russia during a speech at the G20 summit in Argentina.

The speech was also a veiled swipe at President Donald Trump, who advocates an 'America First' policy on trade, and who cancelled a G20 meeting with Putin yesterday, in protest at Russia's naval skirmish with Ukraine last weekend.

Other world leaders, including Prime Minister Theresa May, want to impose further sanctions against Moscow after the incident, which saw Russia capture three Ukrainian navy vessels and their crews off the coast of Crimea.

Not pleased: Vladimir Putin's speech was a veiled swipe at Trump, who has advocated an 'America First' policy on trade, and other Western nations' sanctions against Russia

'One cannot help but see a dishonest competition increasingly taking the place of honest dialogue based on equality among states,' Putin told leaders of emerging economies as the summit opened in Buenos Aires.

'A vicious practice of returning to illegal, unilateral sanctions and protectionist measures is spreading, going around the UN Charter, the rules of the WTO and internationally recognized legal norms,' Putin said.

Putin said that the result was 'an extremely negative effect on the spirit of international cooperation,' discouraging business.

The Russian rouble, which is sensitive to events that might lead to new sanctions being imposed on Russia, fell on news of the cancelled meeting between Trump and Putin.

Ukraine and Russia have blamed each other for last Sunday's clash at the Kerch Strait through which ships have to pass to reach Ukrainian ports at Berdyansk and Mariupol.

President Trump, pictured with Mexico's President Enrique Pena Nieto today, cancelled a meeting with Putin in response to Russia's naval skirmish with Ukraine last weekend

Prime Minister Theresa May, pictured with the President of Argentina Mauricio Macri today, said she would push for 'appropriate sanctions' against Russia in the wake of the the incident, which saw Russia capture three Ukrainian navy vessels and their crews off the coast of Crimea

The incident has prompted renewed calls for more Western sanctions on Russia.

Highlighting the deep rifts within the G20, European Council President Donald Tusk said the European Union would extend its economic sanctions on Moscow next month.

'Europe is united in its support to Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity. This is why I am sure that the EU will roll over the sanctions against Russia in December,' Tusk told a news conference in Argentina.

UK Prime Minister Theresa May on Thursday said London would push for 'appropriate sanctions' and called on Russia to release the Ukrainian vessels and crew.

The United States and the EU have imposed sanctions on Russia since 2014, when Moscow annexed Crimea after a pro-Russian leader was toppled in Kiev.

Fighting between Ukraine and Moscow-backed separatists has killed more than 10,000 people. Major fighting ended with a 2015 ceasefire but deadly exchanges of fire are still frequent.
This is the hilarious moment a bungling burglar breaks through the wall of a car dealership, but loses his pants in the process.

Police in the town of Lakeland, Florida released the clip on Friday as they appealed for help from the public to catch the unwitting criminal who broke into the store earlier this month.

Footage shot at around 9pm on November 18 shows the man struggling to get in through a gap in the wall having punched a hole in it using a fire extinguisher.

As the clip starts the man can be seen bursting through a wall in the Hyundai dealership and poking through the hole

As he attempts to wriggle through the gap, the burglar's shorts get caught on a shard of wood and begin to come off.

After a long struggle he manages to squeeze through and sets about rummaging through the car dealership's drawers.

He was then caught on camera struggling to get out and making his way across the store's empty car park wheeling a stolen generator.

'Climbing in through the hole in the wall wasnt as easy as he thought,' the Lakeland Police Department wrote on Facebook.

It takes him a while to actually get in, however, as he gets stuck and loses his shorts in the struggle

The clumsy criminal can then be seen checking his feet for shrapnel before walking around the room

'He even lost his shorts on the way in. However he was able to make off with a generator and was last seen heading south bound on Brunnell Parkway.

'Now we need your help to find this bumbling burglar and get him off the streets.'

Police say they are now seeking leads on identifying the suspect.

Anyone with any information is being urged to call the Lakeland Police Department.

There is a cash reward being offered for the man's arrest.

He casually checks through the office drawers for anything of value and slowly examines the contents
A federal agency is warning government employees that they may be breaking the law by discussing the 'resistance' at work  and cautions that advocating for or against impeachment could constitute improper activity.

The independent Office of Special Counsel issued the warning in the form of a letter and specifically called out terms like '#resist' and 'resistance' at a time of continued White House skepticism about 'deep state' adversaries burrowed into the bureaucracy.

The OSC sent out new 'Guidance Regarding Political Activity' that specifically cautions about impeachment  at a time when newly empowered Democrats are already warning President Trump may have committed obstruction of justice in efforts to go after the Russia probe.

New guidelines warn federal employees that advocating for or against President Trump's impeachment while on the job would constitute an offense. There is pressure from rank and file Democrats in Congress to impeach the president

The letter poses the question: 'Is advocating for or against impeachment of a candidate for federal office considered political activity?' and provides the simple answer: 'Yes.'

Federal employees are prohibited from advocating for or against a candidate while on the job or as part of their duties, though they are allowed to engage in politics outside the office, as governed by the federal Hatch Act.

'Impeachment is the process by which certain federal officials, including the president and vice president, may be removed from office and disqualified from holding any future 'Office of honor, Trust or Profit,' according to the letter distributed by the office Tuesday.

KEEP IT OUTSIDE: Federal employees are warned not to push 'resistance' on the job

'Resistance' and '#resist' are among the terms workers were cautioned about

The group American Oversight sent out the letter from the office of special counsel this week

As such, advocating for or against impeachment is akin to promoting or opposing a candidate.

'Assuming that disqualification from holding federal office would bar an individual from serving as president, any advocacy for or against an effort to impeach a candidate is squarely within the definition of political activity for purposes of the Hatch Act,' according to the letter.

'Advocating for a candidate to be impeached, and thus potentially disqualified from holding federal office, is clearly directed at the failure of that candidate's campaign for federal office,' OSC wrote.

The letter was tweeted out by watchdog group American Oversight and reported by the Washington Post.

Another section addresses prohibited discussion of 'resistance'  a term that emerged following Trump's election in 2016 amid protesters and political opponents.

'To the extent that the statement relates to resistance to President Donald J. Trump, usage of the terms 'resistance,' '#resist,' and derivatives thereof is political activity,' according to the guidance.

'We understand that the 'resistance' and '#resist' originally gained prominence shortly after President Trump's election in 2016 and generally related to efforts to oppose administration policies. However, 'resistance' '#resist' and similar terms have become inextricably linked with the electoral success (or failure) of the president.'

The Guidance Regarding Political Activity has a section on impeachment

GOOFING OFF IS STILL OKAY: One odd line gives a example of when 'resistance' is still allowed. A worker could Tweet: 'I must #resist the temptation to eat another donut from the breakroom'

Policy opposition is generally allowable if deemed outside of politics.

'Now that President Trump is a candidate for reelection, we must presume that the use or display of 'resistance' '#resistTrump' and similar statements is political activity unless the facts and circumstances indicate otherwise,' according to the memo.

'The rules relate to conduct while on duty or in the workplace or in uniform.'

As an example of what is allowed, the memo cites an example that does not exactly cast federal employees as worker bees.

'For example, an employee would not be engaging in political activity by posting on social media 'I must #resist the temptation to eat another donut from the breakroom,' according to the memo.

Norm Eisen, a former Obama administration ethics lawyer, told the Post: 'It's contrary to my understanding of the Hatch Act and its interpretation, which is confined to what's more commonly understood as political activity  vote for or against a candidate. This infringes into policy questions,' he added.

The Office of Special Counsel did not immediately return a call seeking comment on what prompted the memo.
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Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman gave Vladimir Putin a high five in extraordinary scenes during the G20 leader's summit in Argentina.

Salman, who has been accused by the international community of ordering the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, had been left standing alone as world leaders filed past him and into a meeting room - before the Russian President arrived.

Putin, who has faced claims he ordered the nerve attack on Sergei Skripal in Britain, then held up his hand which the Saudi enthusiastically grabbed before they sat down with broad smiles on their face.

The Russian leader has also been put under increasing pressure in recent days after warships rammed, fired on, then seized three Ukrainian boats in the Kerch Strait in a serious escalation of tensions around Crimea.

Vladimir Putin and Mohammed bin Salman shared a high-five in extraordinary scenes ahead of a summit between world leaders at the G20

Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman holds up a fingers as he speaks with Russia's President Vladimir Putin during the opening of the G20 leaders summit in Buenos Aires, Argentina

Salman had been left standing alone as other world leaders filed into the meeting, until Putin came to sit next to him and the leaders shared a very warm greeting

Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Vladimir Putin laughed together ahead of the G20 summit in Argentina

The Saudi prince is accused of crimes against humanity over the war in Yemen, and his international standing has plummeted over the killing of Mr Khashoggi - but that does not appear to have worsened him in the eyes of Putin who was happy talking to the Saudi Crown Prince

The de-facto Saudi leader and Russian President could be seen smiling broadly as they sat down together, in defiance of western leaders who have sought to ostracize them

Salman has been accused by the international community of ordering the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, while Putin was accused of ordering the nerve agent attack of Sergei Skripal

The two world leaders, who have been heavily condemned by the international community, sat together during the hearing

The two world leaders appeared deep in conversation with one another. Putin has also been criticised for Russia's recent seizure of Ukrainian ships and their crews near Crimea

While Putin's sudden embrace of the Middle Eastern leader may come as a surprise, the two have actually met before - when Russia played Saudi Arabia on the opening game of the World Cup

Salman had cut a lonely figure at the summit until the arrival of Putin, as western leaders he tried to court with promises of human rights reforms admonished him over Khashoggi

The warm welcome comes as Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said this afternoon that a visit by President Putin to Saudi Arabia is being prepared, although the timing has not yet been finalized.

Salman's warming friendship with Putin coincides with pressure from western leaders over his human rights record, after he initially marketed himself as a reformer who would break Saudi's fundamentalist state.

CHARGE SHEET: PUTIN VS BIN SALMAN The two strongmen leaders seen high-fiving with broad smiles on their faces at the G20 meeting have both been involved in their fair share of international conflicts and alleged bloody removals of critics and opponents. Here we list some of the most recent allegations made against them: Jailing opponents: Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman MOHAMMAD BIN SALMAN In 2015, the then 29-year-old Defense Minister pursues a war in Yemen against Shiite rebels that wears on today.

December 2015 sees the arrest of Israa al-Ghomgham, 29, and six other activists. She remains on death row.

November 2017 sees MbS round up hundreds of members of the Saudi royal family, government ministers and business leaders in an 'anti-corruption purge'. Some 200 end up in house arrested in Riyadh's Ritz Carlton hotel.

In 2017, the hardline Muslim nation executed a total of 146 people, according to Amnesty, up from 90 in 2015.

May 2018, Saudi Arabia arrests more than a dozen women's rights activists. They remain in prison, without charge.

October 2, 2018 sees the brutal murder of dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi at the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul by a 'hit squad' with links to the Saudi government. Many believe the murder was ordered by the Prince. Dissidents disappearing: Russia's President Vladimir Putin VLADIMIR PUTIN Former Russian spy Alexander Litvinenko dies after drinking a cup of tea poisoned with polonium at a London hotel in 2006, evidence presented at a 2016 inquiry suggests Putin ordered and approved the operation.

Journalist and Putin critic Anna Politkovskaya is shot dead in her home on the Russian President's birthday, 7 October 2006. Her murder was found to have been a contract killing orders by an 'unknown person', believed by many to have been the leader himself. She had fallen ill in 2004 after drinking a cup of tea.

Oligarch Boris Berezovsky, who fled to the UK after falling out with Putin, is found dead in his home in Berkshire, in March 2013 in an apparent suicide. An inquest later recorded his death an open verdict.

In March 2014, Putin sends troops into the Ukraine after a pro-Russian leader was toppled in Kiev, sparking a bloody war which has seen Russia annex the Crimean peninsula. Major fighting ended with a 2015 ceasefire but deadly exchanges of fire are still frequent.

In March 2018, former Russian spy Sergei Skripal, 66, and his daughter Yulia are poisoned with military-grade Novichok nerve agent in Salisbury, UK. A British woman is also exposed and dies. Two men, later found to be working for the Russian intelligence agency GRU are suspected of murder. This leads to global sanctions against Russia. Advertisement

Before the handshake with Putin, he was grilled for five minutes by French President Emmanuel Macron, who insisted that international experts form part of the team investigating Khashoggi's killing.

He also conveyed 'very firm' messages to the Prince over the Saudi-led war against Houthi rebels in Yemen.

The Saudi prince is accused of crimes against humanity over the war in Yemen, and his international standing has plummeted over the killing of Mr Khashoggi.

The journalist was murdered by a hit squad in Istanbul on October 2. Saudi authorities have denied Prince Mohammed ordered the hit but the CIA is said to be claiming that the order came from the top.

In Yemen, a Saudi bombardment has destroyed the country, leaving 10,000 civilians dead and 15million facing what the UN says could be the worst famine the world has known in 100 years.

Theresa May, the UK Prime Minister, also vowed to confront Salman over Khashoggi and Yemen, saying she will not avoid speaking with him at the summit.

'In relation to Mr Khashoggi, we want to see a full and transparent investigation of what happened and those responsible being held to account,' she said.

'With the issue of Yemen, we continue to be deeply concerned about the humanitarian situation. The long-term solution for Yemen is a political solution, and we will be encouraging the parties to work for that political solution.'

Mrs May was also using the summit to hold face-to-face bilateral talks with a series of world leaders to talk about the future trade deals that could be struck post-Brexit.

She is set to meet with Australian PM Scott Morrison, Japan's Shinzo Abe, Chilean President Sebastian Pinera and Canada's PM Justin Trudeau, and was also seen in discussion with Donald Trump.

The mystery surrounding Khashoggi's death did not deter Chinese President Xi Jinping from talking to the Saudi Crown Prince.

The pair met on the sidelines of the G20 summit, although it is unclear what they discussed.

Earlier, Putin used a speech to the summit to denounce Western nations' 'vicious' use of sanctions against Russia over Ukraine, election interference and the poisoning of Skripal and his daughter Yulia with nerve agent Novichok.

The speech was also a veiled swipe at President Donald Trump, who advocates an 'America First' policy on trade, and who cancelled a meeting with Putin yesterday, in protest at Russia's naval skirmish with Ukraine.

'One cannot help but see a dishonest competition increasingly taking the place of honest dialogue based on equality among states,' Putin told leaders of emerging economies as the summit opened in Buenos Aires.

'A vicious practice of returning to illegal, unilateral sanctions and protectionist measures is spreading, going around the UN Charter, the rules of the WTO and internationally recognized legal norms,' Putin said.

Putin said that the result was 'an extremely negative effect on the spirit of international cooperation,' discouraging business.

The Russian rouble, which is sensitive to events that might lead to new sanctions being imposed on Russia, fell on news of the cancelled meeting between Trump and Putin.

Ukraine and Russia have blamed each other for last Sunday's clash at the Kerch Strait through which ships have to pass to reach Ukrainian ports at Berdyansk and Mariupol.

The incident has prompted renewed calls for more Western sanctions on Russia.

Russia was also accused of sending tanks to its border with Ukraine on Friday night.

Petro Poroshenko, president of Ukraine, released images of what he said were heavy armoured vehicles at a base ten miles from the border.

There was no love lost between Turkey's Recep Tayyip Erdogan (left) and bin Salman, however, after Turkey accused the highest levels of Saudi's government of being responsible for Khashoggi's murder in their capital city

Vladimir Putin also did not seem in the mood for talking to Erdogan, despite the two countries forging an ever-closer alliance as they cooperate over Syria

Vladimir Putin used an earlier speech at the G20 to hit out at western sanctions against Russia while also taking a veiled swipe at US President Donald Trump, who cancelled a meeting with him at the last minute

Donald Trump also exchanged a look with Salman after the group picture. The US President has come under pressure to step up his criticisms of Saudi Arabia, but has firmly stood by their business dealings including arms sales

The Netherlands' Prime Minister Mark Rutte (right) appears to extend his hand to greet Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman

Putin was not the only one to share a joke with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, as South Africa's president Cyril Ramaphosa was seen laughing with the Saudi chief

The closest Trump came to Putin was during the group photograph when the two leaders walked past each-other but did not appear to make eye contact

Putin looks on at Donald Trump, who does not appear to make eye contact with the Russian leader, during the first day of the G20 summit

Leaders from the world's 20 wealthiest countries pose for a group photo as they gather in Buenos Aires for summit on Friday

French President Emmanuel Macron, US President Donald Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe talk among themselves as they group photo is taken

Emmanuel Macron swaps words with a smiling Donald Trump, despite a cooling of their relationship in recent weeks which saw the US President accuse France of taking advantage on trade

Trump did manage to raise a smile from Macron as he was caught making a silly face during the group photo

Donald Trump, China's Xi Jinping and South Korea's Moon Jae-in stand side by side as Moon greets another dignitary, watched by President Mauricio Macri of Argentina (left)

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan sits near to Chancellor Philip Hammond during a session of the G20 Summit. The Turkish leader is pictured as he was being briefed while Hammond sits alone

Donald Trump sits down for a meeting with Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison at the G20 summit in Buenos Aires

Leaders gather for a 'Fair And Sustainable Future' meeting during the G20 summit, which is due to finish tomorrow

He said: 'This was happening in September, October, and now. This is the same warehouse where they have their ammunition, the same where they have multi-rocket launch systems.'

He pleaded with the West to come to his country's aid. 'There is no red line for Putin and this is the very strong reason why we should be together, the whole civilised world,' he said.

Highlighting the deep rifts within the G20, European Council President Donald Tusk said the European Union would extend its economic sanctions on Moscow next month.

'Europe is united in its support to Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity. This is why I am sure that the EU will roll over the sanctions against Russia in December,' Tusk told a news conference in Argentina.

UK Prime Minister Theresa May on Thursday said London would push for 'appropriate sanctions' and called on Russia to release the Ukrainian vessels and crew.

The United States and the EU have imposed sanctions on Russia since 2014, when Moscow annexed Crimea after a pro-Russian leader was toppled in Kiev.

Fighting between Ukraine and Moscow-backed separatists has killed more than 10,000 people. Major fighting ended with a 2015 ceasefire but deadly exchanges of fire are still frequent.

Donald Trump had been due to meet with Vladimir Putin at the summit but abruptly called off the talks, with the White House blaming the detention of Ukrainian sailors in Crimea

Despite smiles during the group photograph, world leaders are reportedly struggling to come to an agreement on a joint statement for the summit, with climate change and World Trade Organization being sticking points

Trump also swapped words with British Prime Minister Theresa May at the summit, days after saying her Brexit deal was 'good for the EU' and might stop America trading with the UK

World leaders and powerful economic figures wave to the cameras during the G20 summit in Buenos Aires

Front, from left, are South Africa's President Cyril Ramaphosa, Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May, France's President Emmanuel Macron, and Senegal's President Macky Sall. Center, from left, are European Council's President Donald Tusk and Netherlands' Prime Minister Mark Rutte. Top, from left, are Mark Carney, President Chair of the Financial Stability Board and World Bank President Jim Yong Kim

Theresa May and Argentina's President Mauricio Macri meet during the G20 Summit. The two-day event is being held in the Argentinian capital

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau shakes hands with a dignitary as he makes his way into the summit

Chinese leader Xi Jinping also attended the summit, which took place in the Argentine city of Buenos Aires

US President Donald Trump with Mexico's President Enrique Pena Nieto, during a ceremony in which Trump's Senior Advisor Jared Kushner was decorated with the Mexican Order of the Aztec Eagle in Buenos Aires

Despite warming relations between some leaders, the G20 as a whole looked to be heading for a fractious conclusion, with diplomats reporting deep divisions over what language to use on the Paris climate accord and the World Trade Organisation.

Facing the prospect of a no-statement summit, European delegations are trying to create a common front and may come out with their own separate declaration if they cannot get the US or others on board.

European leaders were meeting at the summit venue in the Argentine capital Buenos Aires to stake out common positions on trade, climate and the killing of dissident Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

France is seeking to build coalitions on certain issues or 'ad hoc partnerships' to try to salvage the spirit of the G20 even if all countries cannot agree, according to a French official.

The G20 was supposed to focus on issues such as development, infrastructure and investment, but as the gathering officially kicked off, those themes seem like afterthoughts, overshadowed by contentious matters from the US-China trade dispute to the conflict over Ukraine.

European Council president Donald Tusk urged G20 leaders to discuss 'trade wars, the tragic situation in Syria and Yemen and Russian aggression in Ukraine'.

He said the European Union is expected to extend sanctions on Moscow over its 'totally unacceptable' seizure of Ukrainian ships and their crews near Crimea.

'Europe is united in its support for Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity,' Mr Tusk said, calling the standoff 'a cause of great concern'.

Russian President Vladimir Putin, who arrived in Buenos Aires on Friday morning, is among the leaders involved.

Wives and partners of some of the G20 leaders, including US first lady Melania Trump (third right) and Argentina's first lady Juliana Awada (centre front) also met at the Villa Ocampo museum

First lady Melania Trump and Argentina's first lady Juliana Awada smile during a visit of partners of the Group of 20

Ivanka Trump, the President's daughter and close adviser, was also present at the summit alongside husband Jared Kushner

Leaders of the United States, Canada and Mexico met in the morning to sign a trade deal replacing the North American Free Trade Agreement that was struck following months of tough negotiations that analysts say left a bitter taste among the partners.

Mr Trump called the pact known as the USMCA a 'model agreement that changes the trade landscape forever'.

It must still be ratified by politicians in all three countries, and passage in the US could face a tough road in the House of Representatives after Democrats won a majority in November midterm elections.

Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto, whose six-year term ends on Saturday, said the deal modernises the trade framework, highlights a need for economic integration in North America and protects labour rights and the environment.

Armed vehicles patrolled downtown Buenos Aires during the two days of summit talks

Security forces were kitted out in full protective clothing, including a bullet proof vest and helmet, as the summit talks get underway

Armed guards were also on patrol to ensure the two-day event went smoothly in Buenos Aires

Military police stand ready to clash with demonstrators around G20 Leaders' Summit during a protest against Argentina G20 Leaders' Summit 2018

Protesters lined the streets of Buenos Aires to vent their anger at world leaders. Among some of the targets were Donald Trump and Brazilian president-elect Jair Bolsonaro

Trade agreements should 'move along with the economy', Mr Pena Nieto said.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called on Mr Trump to remove tariffs on steel and aluminium, saying they remain a major economic obstacle.

Mr Trump met in the morning with summit host and Argentine President Mauricio Macri at the presidential palace known as the Casa Rosada, or Pink House.

Posing for photos in a gilded salon, Mr Trump spoke about their longtime personal relationship and said they would discuss trade, military purchases and other issues.

Mr Trump was still scheduled to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping, but analysts were not optimistic about prospects for a major breakthrough on the two countries' trade disputes a month before US tariffs on Chinese goods are set to ramp up.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel was supposed to get into Buenos Aires early on Friday, but her arrival was delayed when her plane suffered a technical problem and returned to Germany on Thursday night.

Mrs Merkel's office said that she and a small delegation, including the finance minister, took a different government plane to Madrid and then boarded a commercial flight to Buenos Aires.
Police are searching for a woman who made a can of hairspray into a makeshift blowtorch and used it to damage items in a Philadelphia store after the owner refused to give her beer for free.

The incident happened at 10.30 a.m. in the Wyncote Beer Deli, West 65th Avenue, Philadelphia on November 20 when the unidentified woman wanted beer, but couldn't buy it because she had no money.

Store Owner Yang Lin, told NBC10, that the woman became angry and threw glass toward him when he wouldn't give her the beer free of charge.

'I said, 'You need to get out of here.' You know? She was more angry. She seen me go out so she wanted to fight me,' Lin said.

He said he had seen the woman in the store before but that she wasn't a regular.

'If this spray into my face, I think my eyes is gone. So she's crazy.' Lin added. He said he had to run from the counter to avoid being burned.

Lin has been in the job for 10 years and said he'd never experienced anything like it and hopes other stores in the neighborhood won't be targeted.

The surveillance video shows the woman taking a can of hairspray from a pocketbook and bashing in the serving window before making it into a makeshift blowtorch after igniting the aerosol with a lighter.

She set the hairspray alight and proceeded to torch items in the store after the owner refused to give her the beer for free

The store owner said she flew into a rage. Police are hunting for the yet to be identified woman

The woman came into the Wyncote Beer Deli, West 65th Avenue, Philadelphia on November 20 at 10:30 a.m.

She goes on to torch what looks like bottles of alcohol on the front counter in the store.

No one was injured during the incident but police say they are taking it very seriously. Arson investigators are now looking to question the woman.

'Thankfully the fire didn't spread,' Philadelphia Police Captain Sekou Kinebrew said. 'The building didn't burn down but it could have had catastrophic results.'

The woman is described as in her mid-30s to early 40s. She is around 5-foot-5 inches tall with short red hair and a thin to medium build. She was wearing a black jacket, gray pants with a flower design and a white stripe down the outer leg, black boots and round earrings.
White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders slammed special counsel Robert Mueller and his investigation for undermining U.S.-Russian relations but claimed President Trump nixed his meeting with Vladimir Putin over Ukraine.

She made the notable attack on the special counsel amid speculation that the president pulled out of his planned meeting with Putin in part due to blowback from the stunning guilty plea by his former lawyer Michael Cohen to an additional charge.

Trump announced that the meeting was off just an hour after he said Thursday it was a good time to meet with Putin at the G20 summit in Argentina.

Sanders made the accusation against federal investigators in a statement in following reports that Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Putin and Trump would have an informal conversation while they are both in Argentina.

'The Russian Witch Hunt Hoax, which is hopefully now nearing an end, is doing very well. Unfortunately, it probably does undermine our relationship with Russia. However, the reason for our canceled meeting is Ukraine. Hopefully, that will be resolved soon so that productive conversations can begin,' Sanders said.

President Trump walked by President Putin (left) during the family photo op at the G20 but they were not seen speaking

G20 leaders pose for a family photo

'Witch hunt' is the term the president routinely uses to denigrate Mueller's investigation into Russia's role in the 2016 campaign and whether or not there was coordination with Trump's campaign, which the president has repeatedly denied.

Sanders doubled down on the White House assertion it was Russia's seizure of three Ukrainian vessels, which provoked international outrage  and not the bad optics of Trump meeting with the Russian president in the wake of Cohen's guilty plea.

The president faced blowback after his one-on-one meeting with Putin in Helsinki this past summer, where he declined to forcefully confront the leader and even explained Putin's denial of hacking the U.S. elections.

A White House official confirmed there will be no 'pull aside' - State Department term for informal, unscheduled talks between world leaders that can happen at summits - between Trump and Putin.

But another Kremlin official, spokeswoman Maria Zakharova, cited 'domestic' politics as the likely cause of the cancellation.

"Is the provocation started by Kiev in this area (Azov Sea) a real reason for the cancellation? We heard that as an official version and we accepted that,' Zakharova said. 'Is it a real one? I believe we should look for answers in the U.S. domestic political situation," she was quoted saying by Russian news agencies.

Both Trump and Putin were in the same room for the 'family photo' - the time when all the G20 leaders gather on stage for a group picture.

Trump walked by Putin in order to get to his spot, but did not shake his hand or otherwise interact with him.

Trump stood between French President Emanuel Macron and Japanese Prime Minister Shizo Abe for the event.

After Trump unexpectedly nixed the Putin meeting on Thursday, Peskov told reporters the Kremlin had not yet received direct confirmation from the White House about it.

If this is indeed the case, the president will have a couple of additional hours in his schedule for useful meetings on the sidelines of the summit, Peskov quipped in reference to Putin.

Sanders told reporters en route to Buenos Aires that the two sides had exchanged phone calls, but her language didn't reveal whether they had in fact connected.

Peskov, as a senior aide to Putin, features in the stunning government information that accompanied Cohen's guilty plea Thursday.

It described Cohen's efforts to contact a Russian official, known to be Peskov, about a Trump tower project in Moscow even as Trump plowed through the presidential primary process.

Cohen falsely told Congress he did not recall 'any contacts by me' with a person identified as 'Russian Official 1.'

However the information cites a May 2016 email where former Trump business partner Felix Sater said that 'Russia Official 1' wanted to invited him to a St. Petersburg business forum and introduce him to the president of Russia or another top official.
This is the comical moment a 15-year-old boy 'confessed' to his mother he had taken drugs during surgery to have his tonsils removed.

Anson Bagley, from Riverton, Utah, had gone into hospital to undergo tonsillectomy surgery and to have his deviated septum corrected when his mother Jean decided to record his recovery.

As the clip begins a bleary-eyed Anson, who has just woken up from surgery, calls for the doctor before staring at his mother and saying: 'Mom I'm so sorry I did drugs.'

Anson Bagley, 15, confesses to his mother that he has taken drugs during his tonsillectomy surgery- only the drugs are medically approved drugs given to him by the doctors

The teenage boy wakes up from his surgery and tells mother Jean: 'You always told me not to do drugs but I did them'

The teenage boy continues: 'You always told me not to do drugs but I did them'.

However all is not quite as it seems when he later explains to his mother he did the drugs 'in the surgery' and 'didn't mean to.'

Nevertheless the young boy continues to apologise for his drug-taking and tells Jean: 'Mom I swore and did drugs. I'm going to hell.'

As the footage continues Anson spots the female nurse looking after him and says: 'You're beautiful. I'm Anson I usually look way hot but today I don't.'

Clearly unaware of what he is saying a bleary-eyed Anson continues sharing his hilarious 'confessions' with his mother

He later tells a nurse: 'You're beautiful. I'm Anson I usually look way hot but today I don't'

Humouring the drowsy teenager the nurse replies: 'You still look pretty good bud don't worry.'

Not wanting to miss a moment of her son's hilarious 'confessions' mother Jean continues to film her son's high episode on hospital drugs and even catches him tell her: 'Mom don't cry I love you.'

The video was posted on the YouTube channel Lemon Slices under the title: 'Confessions of a Soulless Ginger - Anson's Tonsil Removal - Our House Preview'

As he dips in and out of consciousness Anson continues to share his remorse at taking drugs.

In another scene he pleads with his mother and hospital staff: 'When I go on trial for doing drugs will you all testify that I didn't mean to?'

The hilarious scenes soon draw to an end when the 15-year-old is brought his much needed cherry-flavoured slush.

Anson's tonsil recovery was posted on the YouTube channel Lemon Slices under the title: 'Confessions of a Soulless Ginger - Anson's Tonsil Removal - Our House Preview'.

Since it was posted last month the video has gathered more than 12,000 views on YouTube, with one user writing: 'This really made my day even if laughing is killing my throat this just makes me smile!'
John McDonnell is pleading for a meeting with the Treasury's most senior civil servant to prepare Labour for power.

Labour is battling to try to force a General Election and the collapse of Theresa May's Government if she fails to get her Brexit deal through the Commons next month.

And with the party on an election war-footing, the shadow chancellor has written to Sir Tom Scholar, the Permanent Secretary to the Treasury, to request a meeting.

He said the meet-up will help ensure a 'smooth transfer of power, obviously depending on the outcome of that election'.

Mrs May is staring down the barrel of defeat on her divorce package after 100 of her Tory MPs publicly vowed to vote down her Brexit deal.

John McDonnell (pictured at a meeting in London last week) is pleading for a meeting with the Treasury's most senior civil servant to prepare Labour for power

The mutinous Conservatives have joined Labour the SNP, the Lib Dems and the DUP in tearing into the divorce package.

If the PM suffers a massive defeat on the vote, on December 11, then her Brexit deal and premiership could lie in tatters.

Theresa May snubs call for Boris Johnson to be included in live TV Brexit debate Theresa May today dismissed demands for Boris Johnson or Nicola Sturgeon to join the live TV Brexit debates. The PM said that throwing the invite open to politicians across the political divide would see the same old referendum arguments re-run. Instead, she is insisting it is a head to head showdown between her and Jeremy Corbyn so the two leaders have to explain their Brexit stance. It comes after Number Ten has faced furious demands from Brexiteers for a 'true believer' like Mr Johnson to join the clash. While other leading political parties including the SNP, Lib Dems, and the Greens have all demanded a spot to - and threatened legal action if they are snubbed. But speaking to journalists on a plane on her way to Buenos Aires for the G20 summit, the PM said: 'This is not a debate about recreating the referendum debate of Leavers versus Remainers.' Advertisement

More Tory MPs could join the mutinous ban who have already sent their letters of no confidence in to Sir Graham Brady, chairman of the Tory Party's 1922 Committee.

In a letter obtained by TalkRadio, Mr McDonnell has requested the top level meeting as he and Jeremy Corbyn eye up Number Ten.

It reads: 'Currently as shadow chancellor, I'm working with my shadow ministerial team and a team of advisors led by Lord Kerslake, in an exercise to prepare our shadow treasury team for government in the light of a possible early general election.'

He also warned that Labour is preparing to tear up the Treasury's green book - the official guidelines on how to come up with and assess economic forecasts - and to impose a post election Budget.

Mr McDonnell added: 'I'm writing to seek a meeting with you to discuss our thoughts and proposals given the potential for an early election.

'In view of the current instability in government as a result of which an election could come at any time, I believe it behoves us to make suitable preparations now to ensure that there is a smooth transfer of power obviously depending on the outcome of that election.'

Mr McDonnell also today repeated his view that if there is a second referendum dubbed a People's Vote - then Remain should be on the ballot.

Speaking to TalkRadio, he said: 'The ballot paper will be determined by Parliament. It's difficult to see Parliament deciding if there is to be a choice that they wouldn't have at least some sort of Remain option on there.

'But it will be determined by Parliament if we get to that state.'

It came as Mrs may today ruled out a Norway-style Brexit fudge as she stares down the barrel of a Commons defeat - with around 100 Tories vowing to oppose her deal.

Theresa May was at the G20 summit in Argentina today with leaders including Jean-Claude Juncker (centre) and Emmanuel Macron (right). But as she scmoozes with leaders abroad, she is staring down the battle of defeat over her Brexit deal at home in the UK

The PM warned that her plan is the only option that 'delivers on the referendum' as she scrambles to win support ahead of a crunch Commons vote on December 11.

Leading Cabinet Eurosceptic Liam Fox urging Conservatives to do their 'duty' and back the plan - insisting the premier's gruelling PR drive is 'changing the public mood'.

Dr Fox said the choice facing MPs was 'stark', suggesting killing off the deal could lead to the referendum result being 'stolen' by Remainers.

But with Labour, the SNP and Lib Dems all joining the Tory rebels in opposition to the deal Mrs May appears to be on track for a catastrophic defeat in the looming showdown.

One anxious minister said the stand-off between Mrs May and Eurosceptics, who are demanding she renegotiates with the EU, 'feels like a game of chicken'.
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Ready-made homes, which cost as little as 65,000 and can be constructed in just 36 hours, will be built in UK factories and delivered around the country in a bid to tackle the country's housing crisis.

Ilke Homes operates a plant in Knaresborough, Yorkshire, where they hope eight fully-fitted houses will be made each day.

The modular homes will come with a kitchen and bathroom and a two or three-bedroom house will cost between 65,000 - 79,000, reports the Guardian.

New ready-made two and three-bedroom homes can be built in 36 hours after being made in a factory and transported to site. Ilke Homes constructed one of their modular homes in Manchester in June (pictured) to show how quickly it can be done

Ilke have opened a factory in Yorkshire and hope eight fully-fitted houses will be made each day. Pictured is the construction effort at the housing conference in Manchester in June

The company's website explains how their focus is on 'low-rise houses and apartments up to four storeys' which will provide much-needed family housing across the UK

However potential buyers will have to factor in the cost of land, assembly and connecting to services such as electricity and water, when they purchases the compact homes.

At the opening of the factory housing secretary James Brokenshire, said: 'We want to see 300,000 homes being delivered by the mid-2020s, so we need to scale up and build more, better and faster. And that is precisely what this facility is about.'

Prefabricated homes were promoted after World War Two in an effort to rebuild the country. More than 150,000 of these 'palaces for the people' were mass produced in sections at a factory and assembled on sites around the country.

However modern day company's prefer the term 'modular construction' but homes such as Ilke's 40 sq metre houses are still transported mostly at night on to low-loader lorries, and bolted together on site.

The company's website explains how their focus is on 'low-rise houses and apartments up to four storeys' which will provide much-needed family housing across the UK.

They also claimed that the modular homes typically cost 20 per cent less to heat than traditionally built brand-new properties and half the cost to heat of an average UK home.

The Manchester house is given a third level. Housing secretary James Brokenshire, said: 'We want to see 300,000 homes being delivered by the mid-2020s'

Ilke also claimed that the modular homes typically cost 20 per cent less to heat than traditionally built brand-new properties and half the cost to heat of an average UK home

Currently, the record has been 36 hours for assembling a house at the location, but one to two weeks is more likely to be the norm when the homes are installed around the country.

At Europe's largest housing conference in Manchester in June Ilke constructed two properties in less than 48 hours, highlighting how fast build programmes for modular homes can be.

Onsite preparation works and build manufacturing are undertaken simultaneously for modular properties, so build programmes for Ilke Homes can be completed in half the time of a traditional build.

Currently, the record has been 36 hours for assembling a house at the location, but one to two weeks is more likely to be the norm when the homes are installed around the country

At Europe's largest housing conference in Manchester in June Ilke constructed two properties in less than 48 hours

Onsite preparation works and build manufacturing are undertaken simultaneously for modular properties, so build programmes for Ilke Homes can be completed in half the time of a traditional build

This means that the traditional 40 weeks that it takes to build one house could be cut to just 10 days.

Bjorn Conway, CEO of Ilke Homes said: 'We're on a mission to help solve the UK's housing shortage, so have set ourselves an ambitious target to deliver 2,000 modular homes a year within two years with our partners.

'2018 looks set to be the year for modular homes, with the housing industry recognising the potential offsite manufacturing holds for the UK's housing market.'

British modular housebuilder Ilke Home officially opened the doors to its first modular housing factory in Knaresborough, Yorkshire

Communities Secretary Rt Hon James Brokenshire officially opened the new 25,000m2 modular homes factory, meeting with ilke Homes employees, testing out the innovative 3D modelling technologies used by their manufacturing team and seeing modules at various stages of the construction flow-line

Ilke Homes are not alone in their decision to re-embrace prefab style homes. Insurance company Legal & General have also built a 550,000 sq ft factory in Elmet, near Leeds and hope to build more than 3,000 homes a year.

On their website Legal & General explain how modular housing is a 'natural evolution and extension' and say that they 'ensure accuracy of build, in dry controlled conditions, using state of the art methods and materials with a series of quality assurance checks carried out before it leaves the factory.'

Some critics fear factory-built housing would condemn families to living in cramped conditions or 'rabbit-hutch homes.'

However although the homes being built in Yorkshire are lacking in storage, they come with ceiling heights of a minimum of 2.5 metres and enough space to live in.

Ilke Homes are not alone in their decision to re-embrace prefab style homes. Insurance company Legal & General have also built a 550,000 sq ft factory in Elmet, near Leeds

ilke Homes, in partnership with housing associations, developers and registered providers will deliver much-needed, high-quality housing in less than half the time of traditional construction
MAGAbomber suspect Cesar Sayoc was accused of throwing urine from his van at two women on a moped in an apparent road rage incident in Hollywood, Florida, earlier this year, according to a police report. The 56-year-old is pictured in an undated mugshot

MAGAbomber suspect Cesar Sayoc was accused of throwing urine from his van at two women on a moped in an apparent road rage incident in Florida earlier this year, a police report has revealed.

The report from the Hollywood Police Department obtained Friday says Sayoc pulled up beside the moped at a traffic light in his white van - which is plastered with politically-charged stickers in support of President Donald Trump - on March 16.

He began yelling unspecified obscenities at 32-year-old Indiana Parra and 29-year-old Rimbow Gomez, and tossed two vials of urine out the window, drenching one of the women.

Parra and Gomez told police they could tell it was urine 'by the smell'.

They said Sayoc, whom they described as a 'maniac Trump supporter'- then chased after them and tried to run them off the road before they swerved into a warehouse parking lot and he drove on.

The women reported the license plate number on Sayoc's van, gave a description of both him and the vehicle and provided clothing samples for DNA testing.

Court records, however, show Sayoc was never charged.

Indiana Parra, 32, and Rimbow Gomez, 29, claimed that Sayoc pulled up beside them in his sticker-covered van and began yelling obscenities before throwing two vials of urine. The photo above of Sayoc driving his sticker-covered van in Boca Raton on October 18 circulated on social media after he was arrested in connection with 16 mailed pipe bombs last month

The women reported the incident to police, describing Sayoc as a 'maniac Trump supporter'. He is seen above at a Trump rally in a photo posted on his Twitter

Months later, authorities say Sayoc began sending out the 16 pipe bombs to a number of prominent Democrats including Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton.

He was arrested October 26 in Plantation, Florida, in an auto parts store parking lot with his white van, which was impounded by authorities.

In a 30-count New York indictment, prosecutors say Sayoc, 56, sent the improvised explosives along with photographs of the targets and their family members marked with a red X.

The 56-year-old, who faces life in prison if convicted, has pleaded not guilty.

According to prosecutors, DNA evidence has linked Sayoc to at least 10 of the pipe bombs and fingerprints on two of them.

Sayoc has had numerous other arrests in Florida, including one incident in which he threatened to bomb an electric utility in a dispute over his bill.
Seven Iraqis including four children are receiving medical treatment after they were found in a field only a mile from a major ferry terminal on the River Humber.

Police were alerted after a passer-by spotted the small group around 9pm yesterday.

The three adults and four children are all believed to be from Iraq. An investigation is underway as to how they made their way to Hull, although they were found less than a mile from a ferry terminal with services to Rotterdam and Zeebrugge.

The three adults and four children were found in a field off Staithes Road, near Hull

Humberside Police confirmed the group received medical attention and have been handed over to Immigration Enforcement services who will assess their circumstances.

A police spokesperson said: 'Officers were called out last night around 9pm to a report of a concern for safety after a member of the public had seen a number of adults and children in a field in East Yorkshire.

'Following a search, the adults and the children were found off Staithes Road near to Preston. Its believed they are a family from Iraq.

'Officers ensured that the adults and children received medical checks and the appropriate support agencies were notified.

'They are now being looked after by our colleagues at Immigration Enforcement services who will be looking into their circumstances.'

British and French authorities have intercepted several boats carrying migrants across the Channel in recent weeks.

More than 80 people have been rescued over the past fortnight.

One group of 17 migrants were intercepted on board a stolen fishing boat which had been taken from Boulonge.
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President Donald Trump gave Russian President Vladimir Putin and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman the side eye as he joined world leaders for their 'family' photo at the G20 summit here.

Trump projected coolness as he walked on to the stage in the Costa Salguero Centre for the G20 'family photo' - the time when the leaders gather on stage for a group picture - passing each man but not speaking to either of them.

The president's indifference aside, Putin and the prince greeted each other enthusiastically, smiling broadly and exchanging a high-five.

President Donald Trump side eyed Russian President Vladimir Putin and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman as he joined world leaders for their 'family' photo

The Saudi prince and Putin exchanged high fives when they greeted each other at lunch

A White House official said the president and the prince did 'exchange pleasantries' when the leaders met after they had their photo taken

Trump's diplomatic discretion comes amid questions about will he or won't he meet with either leader - both of whom are in international scandals of their own making.

A White House official said the president and the prince did 'exchange pleasantries' when the leaders met after they had their photo taken.

'They exchanged pleasantries at the leaders session as he did with nearly every leader in attendance,' a senior White House official said on background.

But the president said the two did not talk. 'We had no discussion. We might, but we had none,' he said.

He's met with autocrats before but he's faced criticism for his willingness to speak with Putin and the prince at the summit, which comes as the president faces political problems back home in the wake of a new guilty plea from his former personal attorney Michael Cohen.

Trump cancelled his meeting with Putin on his way down to Buenos Aires. Before he arrived in Argentina, he said he'd be willing to talk with the prince if it was on his schedule yet he didn't acknowledge him Friday.

Putin and MBS - the crown prince is known by his initials - are in the international dog house: Putin for Russia's seizure of three Ukrainian vessels; MBS for ordering the murder of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

The two men were seated next to one another at the luncheon following the leaders' 'family' photo.

That's where their high-five took place, happening as Trump is seen entering the lunch behind them.

The warm welcome comes as Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said this afternoon that a visit by President Putin to Saudi Arabia is being prepared, although the timing of visit has not yet been finalized.

Trump stood between French President Emanuel Macron and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe

At a meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Trump denied he spoke to the saudi prince

It comes as Salman - who had been courting western leaders with promises of human rights reforms in Saudi Arabia - was grilled by the likes of French President Emmanuel Macron over Kashoggi's murder in Istanbul.

The journalist was murdered by a hit squad in Istanbul on October 2. Saudi authorities have denied Prince Mohammed ordered the hit but the CIA is said to be claiming that the order came from the top.

Earlier, Putin used a speech to the summit to denounce Western nations' 'vicious' use of sanctions against Russia over Ukraine, election interference and the poisoning of Sergei Skripal in England.

The speech was also a veiled swipe at PresidentTrump, who advocates an 'America First' policy on trade and cancelled his scheduled sit down with his Russian counterpart.

'One cannot help but see a dishonest competition increasingly taking the place of honest dialogue based on equality among states,' Putin told leaders of emerging economies as the summit opened in Buenos Aires.

'A vicious practice of returning to illegal, unilateral sanctions and protectionist measures is spreading, going around the UN Charter, the rules of the WTO and internationally recognized legal norms,' Putin said.

G20 leaders pose for their family photo a tradition at every summit

The Saudi prince and Putin are both in international scandals of their own making

Putin said that the result was 'an extremely negative effect on the spirit of international cooperation,' discouraging business.

His slamming of Trump comes as the Kremlin told Reuters the president will speak with the Russian leader after all - a story the White House scrambled to denounce.

And Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov weighed in.

'I doubt that this move will be conducive to the resolution of a whole host of important international problems. But love can't be forced, of course,' Lavrov said in an interview with Russian state TV, according to the Interfax news agency.

White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders also used the opportunity to slam special counsel Robert Mueller and his investigation for undermining U.S.-Russian relations but claimed President Trump nixed the Putin meeting over Ukraine.

She made the notable attack on the special counsel amid speculation that the president pulled out of his planned meeting with Putin in part due to blowback from the stunning guilty plea by his former lawyer Michael Cohen to an additional charge.

Putin and MBS get in place for the 'family' photo

Trump told reporters during a meeting with Japanese PM Abe that he cancelled the meeting with Putin over Russia's seizure of Ukrainian ships

The prince faces condemnation for his role in the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi's

'The Russian Witch Hunt Hoax, which is hopefully now nearing an end, is doing very well. Unfortunately, it probably does undermine our relationship with Russia. However, the reason for our canceled meeting is Ukraine. Hopefully, that will be resolved soon so that productive conversations can begin,' Sanders said.

And a White House official confirmed there will be no 'pull aside' - State Department term for informal, unscheduled talks between world leaders that can happen at summits - between Trump and Putin.

But there will be plenty of opportunities for the two men to bump into each other over the next two days, including Friday night's cultural event and dinner for leaders at the Teatro Colon.

The president, during a bilateral meeting Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, told the press his meeting with Putin was cancelled because of Russia's actions against the Ukraine.

'We don't like what happened. We don't like that,' he said, adding 'the basis with what took place in respect to the ships that is the sole reason' for the cancellation.

The president, thus far, has stood firm in ignoring the controversial world leaders

Trump stood between French President Emanuel Macron and Abe for the 'family' photo, which lasted about five minutes.

The president was one of the last leaders to come on stage to take his spot in the lineup, minimizing the opportunity leaders had to speak with him.

He walked past MBS and Putin to take his spot in the line up.

While he waited for the cue from the cameras, Trump chatted with Abe, with whom he has a close relationship.

Trump talked with British Prime Minister Theresa May at the leaders' luncheon

Putin and MBS sat next to each other at lunch and shared a laugh

Trump gives his signature thumbs' up move

Before the family photo, each leader came out one by one to shake hands with Argentina President Mauricio Macri - the host leader - and get a photo with him.

Then they all returned to the stage for the group picture.

After the 'family' photo, the leaders moved into a separate room for lunch, where they all sat around a round table, each of them with screens and microphones in front of them.

Flags lined the wall in the back and desks were set up behind the leaders for other top officials. Secretary of State Pompeo sat behind the president.

Trump sat two seats away from President Macri with British Prime Minister Theresa May to his left and a German official, sitting in for a missing Chancellor Angela Merkel, to his right. (Merkel's arrival was delayed by plane trouble but she is in route to Argentina).
Google engineers discussed on email changing algorithms to disfavor conservative publications after Donald Trump won the 2016 presidential election, it has been claimed.

The Daily Caller  a conservative website  claimed both their outlet and Breitbart were singled out as sites to potentially bury after some Google employees suggested may not have deserved a prime spot on the search engine's result.

According to the publication, on November 9 after Hillary Clinton lost her bid for the White House, liberal employees shared emails that conspired to reduce the search result visibility even if articles contained useful information that would usually be featured prominently.

The publication claims to have viewed internal emails between Google employees that label the news outlet - founded by Tucker Carlson and Neil Patel in 2010 - an 'opinion blog,' which they say is a false statement.

The right-wing Breitbart News Network was also given the same treatment according to The DCNF.

Google engineers allegedly discussed changing the algorithm of search results in reaction to Donald Trump winning the 2016 presidential election against Hillary Clinton

'This was an election of false equivalencies, and Google, sadly, had a hand in it,' engineer Scott Byer wrote, according to DCNF.

'How many times did you see the Election now card with items from opinion blogs (Breitbart, Daily Caller) elevated next to legitimate news organizations? That's something that can and should be fixed.'

'I think we have a responsibility to expose the quality and truthfulness of sources  because not doing so hides real information under loud noises,' Byer is said to have continued. 'Beyond that, let's concentrate on teaching critical thinking. A little bit of that would go a long way. Let's make sure that we reverse things in four years  demographics will be on our side.'

The DCNF added in their report that even liberal employees spoke up against the suggested action.

One is said to have warned that limiting access to a range of views would only fuel conspiracy theories from the far right and pointed out that the likes of the Drudge Report may have started as small news aggregation operations but are now highly regarded by many.

'Thinking that Breitbart, Drudge, etc. are not 'legitimate news sources' is contrary to the beliefs of a major portion of our user base is partially what got us to this mess. MSNBC is not more legit than Drudge just because Rachel Maddow may be more educated / less deplorable / closer to our views, than, say Sean Hannity,' engineer Uri Dekel is said to have written.

'I follow a lot of right wing folks on social networks you could tell something was brewing. We laughed off Drudge's Instant Polls and all that stuff, but in the end, people go to those sources because they believe that the media doesn't do its job. I'm a Hillary supporter and let's admit it, the media avoided dealing with the hard questions and issues, which didn't pay off. By ranking 'legitimacy' you'll just introduce more conspiracy theories.'

According to the publication, on November 9 liberal employees shared emails that conspired to reduce the visibility of some websites

However it's claimed Byer argued both MSNBC and Brietbart echo 'made up' stories and insisted the aim was to 'break the myth feedback loop, the false equivalency'.

Another Google employee suggested improving the visibility of just original sources instead of displaying a number of articles from websites using the same information, hence flooding the search engine with numerous stories that express the same view.

Engineer Mike Brauwerma is reported to have said a 'comprehensive but effectively summarized view' not 'context-free rage-inducing sound-bytes' would be more helpful.

Vice president of engineering at Google, David Besbris, chimed in to say he aim was indeed to give people a well-rounded view of the political information available online.

'We're working on providing users with context around stories so that they can know the bigger picture,' he explained according to TheDCNF.

'We can play a role in providing the full story and educate them about all sides. This doesn't have to be filtering and can be useful to everyone.'

One Google engineer reportedly said: 'MSNBC is not more legit than Drudge just because Rachel Maddow [pictured left] may be more educated / less deplorable / closer to our views, than, say Sean Hannity' (pictured right)

Google engineers Uri Dekel (left) and Mike Brauwerman (center) allegedly agreed it wasn't a good idea to limit visibility of some websites. Vice president of engineering at Google, David Besbris (right), said his aim was to give people a well-rounded view

Google denied that the internal conversations showed they push a liberal agenda.

A representative went as far as saying employees couldn't change results to their liking due to strict rules they have in place.

'This post shows that far from suppressing Breitbart and Daily Caller, we surfaced these sites regularly in our products. Furthermore, it shows that we value providing people with the full view on stories from a variety of sources,' the spokesperson emailed DailyMail.com after reaching out for comment.

'Google has never manipulated its search results or modified any of its products to promote a particular political ideology. Our processes and policies do not allow for any manipulation of search results to promote political ideologies.'

President Trump claimed in August that the search engine tried to harm his campaign by only giving 'fake news' prominence.

In a Twitter post that has since been deleted he said 'they are controlling what we can & cannot see'.

'Google search results for 'Trump News' shows only the viewing/reporting of Fake New Media. In other words, they have it RIGGED, for me & others, so that almost all stories & news is BAD. Fake CNN is prominent,' he posted. 'Illegal? 96% of  results on 'Trump News' are from National Left-Wing Media, very dangerous. Google & others are suppressing voices of Conservatives and hiding information and news that is good. They are controlling what we can & cannot see. This is a very serious situation-will be addressed!'

He later continued to reporters: 'Google has really taken advantage of a lot of people and I think that's a very serious thing and it's a very serious charge,' Trump told reporters after a meeting with the president of FIFA. 'They better be careful because they can't do that to people.'

At the time Google denied his claim and said in a statement the search results are 'not used to set a political agenda and we don't bias our results toward any political ideology'.
A mother has admitted to suffocating her six-month-old son and discarding his body in a dumpster, South Carolina authorities say.

Vernita Jones, 25, has been charged with homicide by child abuse in Edgefield County, State Law Enforcement Division spokesman Thom Berry said Thursday.

Anthony Frost's body was found following a two-day searched at a landfill where the contents of the dumpster - which was located at her apartment complex - had been unloaded after Jones left the child sometime last weekend.

Authorities used waste management records to pinpoint a 60ft by 100ft area of the landfill in the town of Honea Path where the trash bin had been emptied.

Vernita Jones, 25, (left) admitted to suffocating her six-month-old son Anthony Frost (right) and leaving his body in a dumpster in Edgefield County, South Carolina

According to an arrest warrant, Jones admitted to suffocating Anthony to death on November 24.

The mother from Clewiston, Florida who recently moved to South Carolina has been interviewed by investigators several times, according to SLED.

Details about her motive have not been released.

She is currently being held at the Edgefield County Detention Center.

The dumpster where the body was discarded at Jones' apartment complex is pictured

The landfill in the town of Honea Path where Anthony's body was found Thursday following a two-day search is pictured above
Lake County Sheriff deputies received a call from a restaurant sharing that they had to kick out a man, later identified as Mohammad Choudhary, for being drunk

A Florida doctor allegedly peed on himself while confessing his love for a deputy during a Wednesday DUI arrest.

Lake County Sheriff deputies received a call from a restaurant sharing that they had to kick out a man, later identified as Mohammad Choudhary, for being too drunk.

Authorities were called 15 minutes later by a Clermont Publix employee who told them that a silver car was driving in circles in the parking lot.

A responding deputy said that when he arrived at the parking lot, Choudhary had been been trying to exit the lot but made a U-turn once seeing the patrol car.

The doctor's eyes were said to have been bloodshot and glassy. Choudhary was said to have also reeked of alcohol, according to the affidavit obtained by Click Orlando.

He was also unable to stand and keep his balance.

Responding officer said that the doctor 'continuously stated that he loved me over and over' and even peed on himself while being arrested in the Publix parking lot

The responding officer said that the doctor 'continuously stated that he loved me over and over' and even peed on himself while being arrested.

A field sobriety test proved that Choudhary was far too inebriated to be driving. The doctor refused to take a Breathelyzer.

He was charged with DUI second offense and refusal to submit a Breathalyzer.

Choudhary was recently arrested on a DUI charge in 2011. At the time of the arrest, the doctor refused to take a breath test.
A Syrian refugee who was filmed having water poured on his face and being pushed to the ground in a viral video has urged people to not attack the alleged bully behind his suffering.

Footage of the incident went viral earlier this week and has since been watched millions of times. However the boy at the centre of the alleged attack known as Jamal, has said he wants no violence to be aimed at the bully following the incident at the school in Huddersfield.

Online abuse has been directed at the alleged 16-year-old perpetrator and a solicitor representing Jamal said he and his family have been alarmed by the violent threats they have seen online against the alleged attackers.

Jamal with supporters outside Almondbury Community School in Huddersfield

Jamal (left) outside Almondbury Community School in Huddersfield as he met with supporters who were rallying for him following the attack (right)

15-year-old Jamal said: 'I am very concerned about the violent comments going out on social media about the bully. I don't want anything terrible to happen to him at all. I just don't want anything bad to happen to anyone.'

Meanwhile his lawyer, Tasnime Akunjee said Jamal has become concerned that other children could be harmed.

'It is a shocking video. But some people are calling for the bully to be bullied and that is certainly not what this boy or any of his family want. He just wishes this never happened and that none of the bullying ever took place. This is the mature attitude with which he has conducted himself even while being bullied.'

The incident at Almondbury community school, which occurred on 25 October has attracted widespread condemnation which has led to a police guard being stationed outside the home of the alleged attacker.

The shocking video shows the moment a bully grapples with the Syrian boy on the floor and squirts water in his face

Despite the furore surrounding the video, far-right campaigner Tommy Robinson had claimed that Jamal had previously attacked two schools girls and has posted screenshots of messages from a mother claiming her daughter had been bullied.

Barry Sheerman (pictured above) said he had been supporting the boy and his family

However, the mother later posted a message on Robinson's page denying that it was Jamal who had allegedly attacked her daughter.

Jamal's lawyer confirmed that the family are planning to take legal action against Robinson.

In a letter to Robinson, Akunjee demanded that 'defamatory' videos posted online relating to Jamal be removed immediately.

It said: 'We have been made aware of two videos posted to your Facebook page  these videos contain a number of false and defamatory allegations in respect of our client.

'We wish to place you on notice that our client intends to pursue legal action against you in respect of the contents of these publications.'

Robinson has since retracted false claims that 'Muslim gangs' had attacked a white boy at a school where bullies waterboarded a 15-year-old Syrian refugee.

Tommy Robinson, pictured, claimed he was 'set up' by a bogus Instagram account when he made false claims that a white boy had been beaten up by a Muslim gang at a school where a 16-year-old boy was charged with assaulting a 15-year-old Syrian refugee

Local councillor, Bernard McGuin, revealed that Jamal had previously wrote to authorities in a desperate plea for help, just three weeks before the alleged attack.

McGuin said Jamal emailed him listing a series of 'incidents and allegations' at the school.

Jamal told the councillor he had written to Almondbury community school, West Yorkshire police, Kirklees education services, Ofsted and the Department for Education on 4 October, asking for help but that no action had been taken.

McGuin, who represents Almondbury on Kirklees council, said: 'It was a list of allegations which he said had happened in the school. He said the police and the school had not helped him. He felt nobody could help him.'

He said protocol had been followed and that he had contacted a senior party member who told him to refer the matter to Kirklees council's director of children's services, Steve Walker.

He said he received an email on 5 November from the Department for Education which said the case was being dealt with.

The local MP for the town Barry Sheerman has also tweeted his support for Jamal and his family.

On Thursday afternoon about 30 protesters took part in a peaceful demonstration outside the school organised by the Huddersfield Pakistani Community Alliance.

Jamal and his father made an appearance at the protest and thanked the community for their support.

Speaking at his home, Jamal told the Guardian he and his sister would not be returning to the school.

Since Tuesday, new footage has now emerged that is said to show Jamal's sister being physically abused at the same school.

The video shows a girl being pushed towards a grass verge. At the end of the clip she falls to the ground.

Akunjee confirmed Jamal's 14-year-old sister had been bullied by another group of pupils, and last week someone had forcibly removed her hijab. On Tuesday a girl was excluded from the school over that incident.

Jamal's sister's headscarf is tugged at as she is shoved and falls down a grassy slope at school

This is while West Yorkshire police said a 16-year-old boy had been interviewed in connection with the Jamal incident and would be charged with assault. They are separately investigating the incident involving his sister.

The family came to Huddersfield two years ago after fleeing persecution under the Bashar al-Assad regime in Syria.

A fundraising page for Jamal and his family has received more than 148,000 in donations since it was launched on Tuesday night and the family has said they will use the money to relocate.
Met Police chief Cressida Dick has warned that moped thieves should expect the force to 'come after' them, if they continue their tirade.

Miss Dick has said the force have had to put 'the fear back into the criminal' following the announcement that the Met has cut moped crime through tough new methods.

Scotland Yard was praised by Londoners last week after it released footage of its new 'tactical contact' method of catching scooter criminals. Detectives explained they only use the technique - which involves tipping thieves onto the ground by driving into their bikes - when the riders become a danger to the public.

However Miss Dick's backing of the new measures come after Labour's Diane Abbott slammed the new measures as 'potentially very dangerous'.

During the interview Cressida Dick (above) praised officers and said 'they couldn't be better trained.

Cressida Dick (pictured above) has warned that moped thieves should expect the force to 'come after' them

Ms Abbott had tweeted her disdain for the new tactics and said that 'police are not above the law'.

The Labour frontbencher, who is MP for Hackney, a borough plagued by moped crime, waded into the debate four days after the police announcement. Stats released earlier this year show her constituency has seen more than 3,000 moped-enabled crimes in the last five years.

During an interview on Channel 5 with Julian Druker, Miss Dick reveals she has been shocked at the level of crime across the capital.

Dianne Abbott (pictured above) had tweeted her disagreement with the new measures

According to Cressida Dick (pictured above) there has been 'at least one person' who has broken their arm' and another who has had 'some sort of break'.

'When I started on my first day there was a high level of this crime. I was shocked. And I said we must do more. We must improve. We are going to push this right down, not stand by. One of a multitude of tactics is to have more trained pursuit drivers in these areas.

'Relatively rarely during pursuits, the pursuit is brought to an end by a supremely well trained driver having assessed all the risks. We've had to put the fear back into the criminal.'

Miss Dick praised officers and said 'they couldn't be better trained.

'They've been risk assessing it. These are people who have been repeatedly left in no doubt whatsoever that there's a police car right behind them. If you look over your shoulder and drive on as fast as possible putting the public in danger, you should expect we will come after you and we have had a very small number of injuries.'

According to Dick there has been 'at least one person' who has broken their arm' and another who has had 'some sort of break'.

'My officers make life and death decisions every day of the week, they're very accountable. They make best possible decisions. We are in a risk business.'

Diane Abbott provoked anger online when she criticised the police's new methods of stopping moped thieves by knocking them over

Ms Abbott was responding to footage released by police of 'tactical contact' stop methods

However, despite her harsh stance against moped crime she has admitted that she doesn't believe the UK should have a heavily armed' routinely armed police service.

'However... we have them patrolling, keeping London safe from terrorists, armed gangs and criminals every day. I have no intention of causing armed officers to be routinely walking around the suburbs, except when it might be really necessary.

'Often young people are friendly, approachable, so rest assured I'm not going to ask firearm officers to do more unless there's a reason to do it. Huge misunderstanding.'
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A 3.4million JMW Turner painting has been blocked from leaving Britain by the Government 'for the benefit of the nation'.

Turner's Walton Bridges, an oil on canvas painting from 1806, is at risk of leaving the country unless a buyer can be found, after it was sold at auction in July.

Arts Minister Michael Ellis has deferred the export licence after a recommendation by the Reviewing Committee on the Export of Works and Art and Objects of Cultural Interest, administered by the Arts Council.

Turner's Walton Bridges, an oil on canvas painting from 1806, is at risk of leaving the country unless a buyer can be found. Any decision on the export licence application has been pushed back until February 28, 2019

It is thought that Walton Bridges is the first landscape painting to be completed in the open air by an artist, alongside Constable, to directly sketch from nature.

The painting shows the double-span bridge which ran across the River Thames between the locks at Sunbury and Shepperton in Surrey.

It was one of a number of paintings of the Thames by Turner, where he worked in sketchbooks and painted in watercolour and oil.

Mr Ellis, minister for arts, heritage and tourism, said: 'Turner is one of Britain's greatest ever artists, whose studies of British life still resonate with the public today.

'Walton Bridges is a wonderful example of his distinctive style and his fascination with the landscapes of 19th century Britain.

'It has so much significance for artistic and historical reasons that it is right that we do all we can to save this masterpiece for the benefit of the nation.'

Any decision on the export licence application has been pushed back until February 28, 2019. This could be extended until June 30 if it looks as if there is a 'serious' buyer willing to pay the recommended price of 3,484,000.

A JMW self-portrait, painted in 1799 (pictured). Arts minister Michael Ellis has put a temporary export bar on the 1806 masterpiece Walton Bridges

Lesser offers from public bodies may be considered for less than the recommended price through the private treaty sale agreements.

Lowell Lisbon, of the Reviewing Committee, said: 'This beautiful evocation of the unusual and picturesque double bridge crossing the Thames by the market town of Walton was made at a time when Turner was mostly living at nearby Isleworth rather than in London.

'At that time, around 1806, Turner was frequently sketching in oil, watercolour or pencil from a boat which he rowed along this stretch of the Thames.

'This calm elegiac painting of gentle water-bound commerce and agricultural activity would have contrasted greatly with the turmoil in Continental Europe during this phase of the Napoleonic Wars. It is the absolute antithesis of his Battle of Trafalgar.'
A New Jersey teacher will likely be getting lumps of coal in her Christmas stocking this year after telling a class of first-graders that Santa Claus isn't real.

Cedar Hill School Principal Michael Raj sent a letter to parents following the incident Thursday at the school in Montville.

Raj noted that as a parent himself, he understands the 'sensitive nature' of the topic.

On the naughty list: A substitute teacher at Cedar Hill School in Montville, New Jersey, sparked a firestorm after telling first-graders that Santa Claus isn't real

According to outraged parents at the school, St Nick was not the only cherished children's character in the teacher's crosshairs that day.

Mayra Aboyoun posted on the Facebook group Montville Moms that the teacher, identified only as 'Ms M,' also announced to the classroom full of six-year-olds that elves and reindeer were not real either, as the news site TAPInfo first reported.

Mad mom: Mayra Aboyoun wrote on Facebook that the teacher, 'Ms M,' did not stop there and told the students that elves and reindeer were not real either

Having made quick work of all the magical dwellers of the North Pole, the teacher went on the offensive against a host of other kid favorites.

'Oh, it wasn't just Santa  it was the Easter bunny, tooth fairy, leprechauns, everything,' Ginger Holmes posted on the Facebook page. 'She told the children, 'your parents buy all your gifts.' My daughter literally said, 'she took away our imagination.''

Irate members of the parenting group had some choice words for the educator, with some labeling her 'the Grinch' and others demanding that she be fired.

Montville Schools Superintendent Rene Rovtar said in a statement that she was 'troubled and disheartened by this incident'.

Rovtar explained that 'childhood wonder associated with all holidays and traditions' is special to her.

Aboyoun said her daughter (pictured above with her brother visiting Santa) was left heartbroken by the teacher's outburst

Principal Raj said he has spoken with the teacher about her 'poor judgment.' Administrators haven't released the teacher's name or said if she would be allowed to work again in the district.

Aboyoun, whose daughter is enrolled at Cedar Hill, said the first-grade was left heartbroken after the teacher's outburst, prompting the mom to take her to meet Santa at a local event.

'Don't ever mess with my Christmas spirit!' she wrote on Facebook Friday.
Emmanuel Macron told Saudi Arabia's crown Prince he was 'worried' during a conversation about the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi and the ongoing Yemen war.

The French President was recorded expressing his concern to Mohammed bin Salman at the G20 summit in Argentina.

In audio of the conversation, the Saudi royal can be heard saying 'Don't worry,' to which Macron replies: 'I am worried'.

The French President expresses his concern to Mohammed bin Salman at the G20 summit

The pair spoke in hushed tones and kept their heads close together as they tried to have the private conversation on the sidelines of the summit.

Mr Macron looked rather sternly at the crown prince, while the Saudi nodded his head and smiled.

Later in the one-minute clip posted on Twitter, Mr Macron says: 'You never listen to me,' and Prince Mohammed replies: 'I will listen, of course.'

At the end of the video, Mr Macron can be heard saying: 'I am a man of my word.'

French officials said the video showed 'a sort of contrast between MbS's face sporting an embarrassed smile and the [French] president's face, which was rather stern, and was keen to convey these messages in a very firm manner.'

As soon as the crown prince arrived at the G20 summit he was confronted by the French President, who pressed him on the Khashoggi investigation and the Saudi-backed war in Yemen.

Macron stares sternly at Mohammed bin Salman during the conversation about the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi

Saudi Arabia has denied that bin Salman played a role in Mr Khashoggi's death, but some leaders may be cool toward him to avoid seeming to legitimize a man who US intelligence agencies concluded ordered the killing.

Trump's administration has made clear it does not want to torpedo the longstanding US relationship with Riyadh, however.

It is the prince's first significant appearance overseas since the killing. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who has been sharply critical of Saudi Arabia over the incident, is also in attendance.

Prime Minister Theresa May's attendance at the summit marked the first time a UK prime minister has visited Argentina's capital.

The G20 summit was opened in Buenos Aires today as world leaders gathered at the Coasta Salguero Centre

Macron told Prince Mohammed that Europeans wanted international investigators to take part in the probe on Khashoggi's (pictured) death

The only other prime minister to visit the country was Tony Blair, who went to Puerto Iguazu in 2001.

Mrs May said she intended to use the summit to sell the vision of a 'global Britain' after Brexit.

Both Macron and Mrs May said they were raising the killing of Khashoggi during meetings with the 33-year-old prince.

The French presidency said that Macron had also spoken to the crown prince about the Saudi-led offensive in Yemen, where millions are on the brink of starvation in what the United Nations calls the world's worst humanitarian crisis.

Macron told Prince Mohammed that Europeans wanted international investigators to take part in the probe on Khashoggi's death and stressed 'the necessity of a political solution in Yemen,' the Elysee Palace said.

Speaking to Sky News before the summit, Mrs May said she would press both on Yemen and Khashoggi.

'The Saudi Arabians need to ensure that their investigation is a full investigation, that it's credible, that it's transparent, and that people can have confidence in the outcome of it, and that those responsible are held to account,' the prime minister said.
A friend of the former Disney princess whose fiance killed two in a crime meant to fund the pair's dream wedding has revealed he saw one of the victims with the couple just before his murder.

Chris Williams sat down for an interview with Dateline that airs on Friday, and in a preview of the program reveals that one week before his friend Rachel Buffett was set to walk down the aisle with Daniel Wozniak he went to get some money he was owed by the couple.

Soon after he arrived, Wozniak and a second man who was at the apartment left the residence, and he sat with Buffett as she tried to find ways to make money ahead of the couple's wedding.

That other man Williams later learned was Samuel Herr, a wounded veteran that Wozniak has now been convicted of murdering to get ahold of $64,000 to put towards his wedding.

And according to Williams, he too was almost a victim of the murderous couple.

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Dynamic duo: A friend of Dan Wozniak and Rachel Buffett (above) will appear on Dateline Friday

Victims: Woznack was later convicted in the murders of Samuel Herr (left) and Julie Kibuishi (right)

Williams says in a preview of the interview obtained by DailyMail.com that Wozniak was gone for three hours, and returned to the apartment alone.

He then paid Williams the $400 that he was owed, at which point Williams left the apartment.

'And he throws his $400 down right in front of me. And he's, like, shaking and there's this, like, wild look in his eyes. And he's, like, breathing almost like this, like, giant panic attack,' recalls Williams.

'And I'm sitting there and I go, "Hey, like, everything's okay, man. Like, everything's okay." And he's like, and he slumps down in the chair. And-- and I said, "Are-- is this every penny that you have?"'

Williams left, but then got a phone call 20 minutes later from Buffett.

'And Rachel goes "I think you left a $20 here. I think you dropped some money. You should come back,"' reveals Williams.

'And I said, "I'm not comin' back. I didn't drop a $20, I-- I left a $20 so you guys could get dinner." And she goes, "No, no. You should come back."'

Williams did not and a week later learned of the murders, while preparing for the couple's wedding.

He will reveal more tonight when Dateline airs at 10pm / 9 pm central on NBC.
President Donald Trump is willing to double and even quadruple tariffs on China, he revealed on Friday as he shrugged off the economic competitor's enhanced global influence.

Trump told Voice of America in an interview on the margins of the G20 summit that he doesn't want to bear down on China further, but he will, in order to reign in the country that has expanded it footprint to Latin America.

'I think theyre going to have less money than they have right now,' he said of the $250 billion in tariffs he's already slapped on Beijing. 'Were going to be taking in billions and billions of dollars, plus I can double that up, and then I can double it again.'

The U.S. president suggested he was feeling optimistic about a trade deal with China heading into his dinner with Xi Jinping when he spoke to reporters hours before the interview with VOA on the first day of the two-day conference for international leaders.

President Donald Trump says he is optimistic about a trade deal with China heading into his dinner with Xi Jinping

The leaders of the world's two largest economies will dine together on Saturday evening before Trump departs Argentina for the United States. They are seen here during a family photo of on Friday at the G20 summit

'Were working very hard. If we can make a deal thatd be good. I think they want to, and I think wed like to,' he told reporters during a meeting with Japan's Shinzo Abe. 'Theres some good signs. Well see what happens.'

Trump and Xi, the leaders of the world's two largest economies will dine together on Saturday evening before Trump departs Argentina for the United States.

U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer told Fox Business on Friday morning, 'I would be very surprised if the dinner wasnt a success I absolutely feel there will be positive feeling at the end of the dinner.'

Trump said as he was leaving the White House on Thursday for Buenos Aires that he's 'open' to an agreement with China, but he'd be content with the 'deal' that's already in place between the nations, in an apparent reference to the $250 billion in tariffs he's slapped on the rival power since June.

Comments from U.S. officials on Friday suggested new optimism for a deal just as a state-run newspaper in Beijing said economic cooperation would only be possible if America is fair in its approach.

'Beijing wants a deal, just as Washington does. And it is willing to cooperate with Washington in dealing with concerns about trade if they are fair-minded,' China Daily said. 'Should there be any other aspirations, such as taking advantage of the trade spat to throttle Chinese growth, then an agreement is unlikely to be reached.'

National Economic Council Director Larry Kudlow had warned this week that 'certain conditions have to be met with respect to fairness and reciprocities' in order for an a detente to be reached.

'The president said, there is a good possibility that we can make a deal,' Kudlow told White House reporters said at a televised briefing on Tuesday outlining the goals of the United States at the G20. 'But on the other hand, if these conditions I mentioned a few moments ago are not met and not dealt with  you know, the president said, look, hes perfectly happy to stand on his tariff policies.'

Tariffs on China that stand at 10 percent, or $200 billion, are scheduled to go up to 25 percent without a deal, bring the total amount to $500 billion.

Comments from U.S. officials on Friday suggested new optimism for a deal just as a state-run newspaper in Beijing said economic cooperation would only be possible if America is fair in its approach. The two leaders are seen here a year ago in Beijing

'If need be  if things dont work out in this U.S.-China summit meeting  he will invoke another 267-some-odd billion dollars in tariffs,' Kudlow warned. 'That may not be the first choice. Im just saying that is his view if we cant get something done.'

The top adviser to the president said that Trump called Xi and jump-started trade talks.

'If China will come to the table  or, in this case, the dinner table  with some new ideas and some new attitudes and some new cooperation, as the president said, theres a good possibility they can make a deal. Hes open to it. So nothing is written in cement or stone,' he added.

Trump suggested to reporters as he departed the White House on Thursday that a deal is imminent but he was waiting until after his dinner with Xi to decide whether he wants to move forward.

'I think were very close to doing something with China, but I dont know that I want to do it because what we have right now is billions and billions of dollars coming into the United States in the form of tariffs or taxes. So I really dont know,' he admitted.

'But I will tell you that I think China wants to make a deal. Im open to making a deal. But, frankly, I like the deal we have right now.'

Kudlow had said earlier in the week that the United States' economic position is strong amid the tariffs that pitted the two nations against each other in a trade war.

'Im not here to critique or second-guess the Chinese economy, but most observers believe China to be in a slump, whereas the United States is in a very strong, solid position going into this summit,' the top U.S. official stated.

Trump's comments on Thursday that the two nations are close to an agreement, helped to pull the Dow out of a slump and keep it trading above 25,000 points.

The Dow had dropped after a report that Trump trade adviser Peter Navarro would be attending the dinner between Trump and Xi, according to CNBC.

Navarro's hawkish stance on a trade deal with China earned him a public brush back from Kudlow as fighting between factions in the White House spilled into the public.

Kudlow told CNBC, and other reporters shortly after, that Navarro's remarks 'were way off base' and 'not authorized by anybody' as he tried to preserve the possibility that a deal would be arrived at the G20.

As journalists asked President Trump about a trade deal with China on Friday morning at the G20, he deferred to Kudlow, noting that his economic adviser and his staff had been working on the deal with the foreign power on a near-constant basis in advance of the 'big' summit with Xi on Saturday evening in Buenos Aires.
Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke described a congressman as an out-of-control drunk on Friday after the Democrat wrote an op-ed calling for him to resign.

When the lawmaker saw the tweet, he was sitting in a Capitol Hill bar.

In his USA Today essay, Rep. Raul Grijalva wrote that the Interior Department needs 'credible leadership, and he offers none. He needs to resign.'

Zinke fired back in a statement he posted on Twitter: 'Its hard for him to think straight from the bottom of the bottle.'

'This is coming from a man used nearly $50,000 in tax dollars as hush money to cover up his drunken and hostile behavior. He should resign and pay back the taxpayer for the hush money and the tens of thousands of dollars he forced my department to spend investigating unfounded allegations.'

Zinke's tweeted jab ended with the hashtag '#Tuneinnformore.' The Tune Inn is a popular bar on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. Grijalva was inside the bar when he read the tweet, according to E&E News.

Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke stunned Washington by calling a congressional critic a drunk, saying that '[i]ts hard for him to think straight from the bottom of the bottle'

Democratic Rep. Raul Grijalva of Arizona called for Zinke's resignation Friday in an op-ed

Zinke's tweeted jab ended with the hashtag '#Tuneinnformore.' The Tune Inn (pictured) is a popular bar on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C.

Grijalva was inside the Tune Inn bar when he read Zinke's tweet

Grijalva abruptly canceled a scheduled appearance on C-SPAN on Friday, citing health concerns.

In a short statement after Zinke's jaw-dropping tweet, he said that 'the American people know who I'm here to serve, and they know in whose interests I'm acting. They don't know the same about Secretary Zinke.'

Grijalva is the House Natural Resources Committee's top Democrat and is likely to become chairman in January when control of the House changes hands.

Zinke cited a $50,000 payout Grijalva made in 2017 to a staffer who reportedly claimed the Arizona lawmaker was frequently drunk on Capitol Hill, resulting in a hostile workplace environment.

The money came out of Grijalva's House Natural Resources Committee budget, a taxpayer-funded account.

Grijalva's office did not immediately respond to a request for further comment.

He said at the time the payment became news that he had 'provided a severance package to a former employee who resigned,' but claimedthat 'at no time was any allegation of sexual harassment made, and no sexual harassment occurred.'

The jaw-dropping pushback from Zinke is the latest chapter in a battle between the two men

The congressman said months later, in January 2018, that the employee was only on the job for 28 days.

Grijalva's Republican opponent in 2014, Gabby Saucedo Mercer, told a Tucson radio host in December 2017 that the congressman had sexually assaulted a campaign volunteer who was assigned to monitor his public appearances.

'One of my volunteers was at a location downtown and Grijalva grabbed her butt,' Saucedo Mercer said KQTH Radio in Tucson. She said the volunteer had told her 'he was drunk.'

'I dont care if he was drunk, Saucedo Mercer told the interviewer. 'She was just there to kind of keep an eye on him  because we heard he was going to give a speech  and he went by and just grabbed her butt.'

Grijalva told KVOA-TV4 in Tucson that he was a problem drinker decades ago, but 'I dealt with it and I feel very comfortable that I got past that.'

'Once you wrestle the demons, and you beat 'em, you beat 'em. And I feel very comfortable that that demon's beat,' he said then.

He called allegations of alcoholic behavior 'embarrassing and sometimes difficult,' but suggested political enemies keep stories of his past drinking alive.

He sought professional help following a DUI conviction in 1985, when he served on the board of the Tucson Unified School District Board.

In his op-ed, the congressman condemned Zinke for alleged ethics lapses including one that resulted in a criminal referral to the Justice Department.

That probe is centered on a Montana land deal involving a foundation he created and David Lesar, the chairman of Halliburton, a prominent energy services company that does significant business with Interior.

A management group headed by Lesar reportedly planned to offer Zinke and his wife a microbrewery to own and run as part of a commercial development deal it was pursuing near his hometown of Whitefish, Montana.

Investigators also reviewing Zinke's decision to block two tribes from opening a casino in Connecticut.

Interiors internal watchdog also determined last month that Zinke tried to change or evade government policies in order to justify taking trips with his wife at taxpayer expense.

That same office, the agency's inspector general, cleared Zinke of wrongdoing following a complaint that he redrew the boundaries of a national monument in Utah in order to benefit a former state lawmaker who is a political ally.

It was Grijalva's office that asked the IG at the Interior Department to investigate Zinke.
President Donald Trump did have an encounter with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman at the G20 on Friday but the White House said the two only 'exchanged pleasantries.'

Cameras at the summit caught the president talking with the prince during a luncheon - after Trump gave MBS the side-eye during the leaders' family photo earlier in the day.

A White House official said the president and the prince did 'exchange pleasantries' after the leaders met after they had their photo taken.

President Donald Trump did have an encounter with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman at the G20 on Friday as first daughter Ivanka Trump looked on

Earlier in the day President Trump side-eyed Russian President Vladimir Putin and the Saudi prince at a family photo event

'They exchanged pleasantries at the leaders session as he did with nearly every leader in attendance,' a senior White House official said on background.

But the president said he did not talk to the prince, who faces international condemnation for his role in the murder of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi.

'We had no discussion. We might, but we had none,' he said during a photo opportunity with Prime Ministers Shinzo Abe of Japan and Narendra Modi of India.

Camera footage from the luncheon event shows Trump with the prince as Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin and first daughter Ivanka Trump look on.

Trump had said before he arrived in Argentina that he was willing to talk with MBS but it wasn't on his schedule.

Large gatherings of world leaders often contain 'pull asides' - a State Department term for informal, unscheduled talks between world leaders.

They can often happen at events like luncheons.

And later in the day the president was asked if he would exchange pleasantries with another controversial leader at the G20: Vladimir Putin after a White House official said there would be no pull-aside with the Russian president.

'I don't know,' he said. 'Not particularly. I don't know.'

But there will be plenty of opportunities for all the leaders to bump into each other over the next two days, including Friday night's cultural event and dinner at the Teatro Colon.

Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin was part of the conversation with the prince, the president and Ivanka Trump

Trump, in the back center, can be seen with the prince and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin

The White House said Trump and the prince 'exchanged pleasantries'

The prince and Putin exchanged high fives when they sat next to each other at a luncheon

Trump said last week he was opening to sitting down with MBS - the crown prince is known by his initials - at the G20 summit after he repeatedly defended the prince against allegations MBS ordered Khashoggi's murder.

And he repeated that option to reporters on Thursday.

'It just wasn't set up,' the president said when asked if the two would talk. 'I would have met with it but we didn't set that up.'

The president has repeatedly defended Saudi Arabia as a 'strong ally' who has invested billions of dollars into the United States.

Trump said on Thanksgiving Day that the CIA has not 'concluded' the Saudi crown prince ordered Khashoggi's murder.

'Whether he did or whether he didn't, he denies it vehemently,' Trump said of the prince to reporters after he spoke on the phone with U.S. troops. 'The CIA doesn't say they did it. They do point out certain things, and in pointing out those things, you can conclude that maybe he did or maybe he didn't.'

'The CIA points it both ways. And as I said, maybe he did, maybe he didn't. I will say very strongly that it's a very important ally,' he noted of the oil-rich Saudi Arabia.

Trump cancelled his meeting with Putin on his way down to Buenos Aires.

Trump did not speak to Putin or the prince during a 'family' photo at the G20

The president has met with autocrats before but he's faced criticism for his willingness to speak with Putin and the prince at the summit

Putin and MBS - the crown prince is known by his initials - are in the international dog house: Putin for Russia's seizure of three Ukrainian vessels; MBS for ordering the murder of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

The president has met with autocrats before but he's faced criticism for his willingness to speak with Putin and the prince at the summit, which comes as the president faces political problems back home in the wake of a new guilty plea from his former personal attorney Michael Cohen.

The president, during a bilateral meeting Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, told the press his meeting with Putin was cancelled because of Russia's actions against the Ukraine.

'We don't like what happened. We don't like that,' he said, adding 'the basis with what took place in respect to the ships that is the sole reason' for the cancellation.

The president's indifference aside, Putin and the prince greeted each other enthusiastically at the G20, smiling broadly and exchanging a high-five at the leader luncheon, where they sat beside one another.
An Indiana army veteran has told a court how he came to be hired by a Florida man to kill the man's wife and her son who were embroiled in a bitter custody battle.

Richard Stoner, 43, from Indiana, testified on Thursday, that he killed Lois Schmidt from Virginia, her son from another marriage and a dog, wounded her brother and then set their home on fire in 2004.

The Virginian-Pilot reports Stoner was practicing shooting guns with his friend, 46-year-old Christopher Schmidt from Florida, 14 years ago, when Schmidt mentioned wanting to shoot his wife.

Schmidt and his wife, Lois, were in the middle of a divorce and battling for custody of their one-year-old daughter.

Richard Stoner, 43, from Indiana was practicing shooting guns when his friend Christopher Schmidt, 46, from Florida, mentioned wanting to shoot his wife Lois Schmidt (pictured above with her son, Jonathan, from a previous relationship)

Video courtesy WTKR

Schmidt had fired a shot at a metal silhouette. Stoner had complimented the shot and, according to Stoner, Schmidt had replied. 'I wish that was Lois.'

Stoner said to Schmidt that he had friends who could take care of it.

Stoner was testifying against Schmidt at a preliminary hearing in Virginia on Thursday.

Stoner went on to describe how plans were made that led to Stoner gunning down Lois Schmidt, 29, and her seven-year-old son from a previous marriage, Jonathan Vetrano.

Stoner told the court he thought Schmidt was joking but he went on to give Stoner a book of ideas called 'Diary of a Hitman' (pictured)

Schmidt is charged with one count of first-degree murder. Stoner, who was once married to a cousin of Schmidt's, is facing two counts.

Stoner and Schmidt were arrested in June, on charges of first-degree murder and extradited to Virginia, almost 14 years after the killings, after police uncovered new information in what had become a cold case.

The Schmidt's separated in 2003 and Lois Schmidt had moved in with her parents.

On June 28, 2004, Lois Schmidt, her son and her brother were at home in Virginia Beach when a gunman came in and shot them all.

The Schmidt's one-year-old daughter was staying with her father in Florida.

Stoner (pictured right) testified that plans were made with Schmidt (pictured left) that led to Stoner gunning down Lois Schmidt, 29, and her seven-year-old son from a previous marriage, Jonathan Vetrano

The brother survived the shooting. One dog also was killed, another wounded. The house was then set on fire.

Stoner told the court how he'd initially thought Schmidt was 'joking' but how Schmidt's visits to Stoner's house become more frequent and plans were made.

Stoner said Schmidt gave him a manual called 'Diary of a Hitman.' He'd highlighted ideas such as wearing over-sized shoes at the scene which Stoner said he did.

The duo talked about what weapon was to be used. It was decided that it would be a Russian pistol called a Makarov.

Stoner had driven to the house in Virginia Beach on June 28, 2004, after being given a specific time to go to the property, a photo of Lois and her son, along with a map and directions from Florida.

Stoner said he'd lingered around the property for more than a hour before the killings. Schmidt had said there would be no-one else home, although that didn't turn out to be the case.

Stoner testified that he killed Lois Schmidt, her son from another marriage and a dog and then set their home on fire after being hired by Christopher Schmidt (pictured above)

Lois Schmidt had answered the door and Stoner said he was a high school friend, but he wasn't invited in and Lois Schmidt had slammed the door, according to Stoner.

Stoner said he was going to go home but instead he lingered around the house before eventually going into the garage. He cut the phone lines and popped the circuit breakers.

Lois Schmidt had opened the door between the house and the garage with her son close by.

Stoner told the court how he hadn't been warned by Schmidt there would be a dog. He shot the animal and then turned the gun on Lois Schmidt who he said was screaming.

Stoner testified he told her seven-year-old son to run.

Lois Schmidt's brother had come into the hallway from a bedroom and Stoner fired down the hall and then followed the brother, shooting him again.

Stoner said he told Jonathan Vetrano, 7, who was sitting on the couch, to run again but ended up shooting him when he considered the child would be 'messed up' from seeing what had happened to his mother and 'better off' if Stoner killed him.

Police said they uncovered new information this summer about the 2004 killings that led to the arrests of Richard Stoner and Christopher Schmidt

He'd then poured gasoline on the floor and dropped a chlorine tab in brake fluid to set the house on fire.

Stoner drove back to Schmidt's house in Florida, he told the court, and discarded evidence along the way.

Stoner said police had approached him three times but in June this year he admitted involvement. 'I was cracking up at this point. I was done,' he said.

He added that he felt Schmidt took advantage of his emotionally instability at the time.

'I felt obligated,' Stoner testified. 'I pretty much gave him my word.'

Schmidt was to pay Stoner $11,000 for the killings, he said, although Stoner only got $1,000.
Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey said Friday that a police officer who decorated a precinct Christmas tree with items such as a cigarette pack and police tape will be fired.

A photo circulating on Twitter showed the tree decorated with a collection of items exemplifying offensive racial stereotypes including a pack of Newport cigarettes, a can of Steel Reserve malt liquor, police tape, a bag of Takis and a paper cup from Popeye's Louisiana Chicken.

Frey called the tree a 'racist display' and said the unidentified officer's termination is necessary.

The police officer who decorated the a Minneapolis precinct tree with 'despicable' Christmas tree decor after he put a cigarettes, police tape and a Popeyes cup, is to be fired

Council member Jeremiah Ellison was at a loss for words on how to respond to seeing a photo of the tree

'This behavior is racist, despicable, and is well beneath the standards of any person who serves the city of Minneapolis,' Frey said in a statement.

'The offending party will be fired before the day is over. Shifting the culture of the police department requires swift and decisive action. Termination is necessary - both to discipline the officer and to send a clear message: Chief Medaria Arradondo and I will not tolerate conduct that departs from our values.'

The tree is in the precinct police station on the city's North Side, which has a fractured relationship with police and comes at a time when Minneapolis is working to repair community perception of the police.

The tree was erected at Minneapolis 4th Precinct police station, pictured

The precinct was the site of more than two weeks of protests after the 2015 fatal police shooting of Jamar Clark, an unarmed black man.

That 2015 shooting launched an 18-day activist occupation of the police station.

A picture of the tree circulated online before the items were removed.

Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey has identified repairing community-police relations in the aftermath of several controversial officer-involved shootings as one of his top priorities

City Council member Jeremiah Ellison was at a loss for words on how to respond to seeing a photo of the tree.

'Man, every way I could put it would understate it,' said Ellison to the Star Tribune. 'It's disappointing, but also I think deeply disturbing to wake up to something like that. Not just for myself, but for my neighbors.'

He said: 'The police precinct as a whole needs to address it further.'

According to the Star Tribune, City Council Member Phillipe Cunningham wrote on Facebook that an officer hung the inappropriate items as a prank after the tree was decorated.

Cunningham said that he spoke with Fourth Precinct Inspector Aaron Biard, who said the ornaments have been taken down

'Every year an officer is assigned to decorate the tree,' wrote Cunningham. 'As a prank, another officer hung some inappropriate ornaments after it was decorated. Inspector Biard immediately took action the day the tree went up.'

Since taking office this year, Mayor Frey has identified repairing community-police relations in the aftermath of several controversial officer-involved shootings as one of his top priorities.

Also Friday, the Minneapolis City Council voted to reduce the mayor's proposed police budget for 2019 by more than $1 million.
A commercial passenger jet bound for Tampa, Florida returned safely to Las Vegas with terrifying engine cover damage incurred just minutes after takeoff.

No injuries were reported after Frontier Airlines flight 260 landed at 7.26am Friday with 166 passengers and crew members aboard but according to some one on board, people believed they were going to die in the incident.

One passenger described how a man noticed something was wrong and was screaming to alert cabin crew but the plane had already taken off by the time staff could do anything about it.

This photo from a passenger on the Frontier flight shows how an engine cover blew off after takeoff and scattered debris

'As the plane started to accelerate, to take off, there were engine pieces flying and the engine had caught a slight fire ... One man started yelling and then everyone was yelling for assistance and pressing the buttons for [the crew] to stop the plane but we had already started taking off,' Jazmin Pedraza told ABC News.

'Once we got the attention of the flight attendants, she came and looked out of our windows to see what was going on and then went to call the pilot and got the passengers under control.

'Everyone started making phone calls to their loved ones and crying and panicking then they announced we will be doing an emergency landing and we stayed in the air for about 10 to 15 minutes until we were able to safely land the plane.'

Passengers near the engine were treated to this frightening view after the mishap

Crews says the pilot of the Airbus 320 reported an engine 'concern' before circling back to the airport 15 minutes after takeoff.

Airline spokeswoman Allison Redmon says an engine cover cowling came loose and separated from the aircraft.

McCarran International Airport spokeswoman Christine Crews says emergency crews found debris on the runway while the aircraft taxied to a gate under its own power.

Emergency crews found debris on the runway while the aircraft taxied after landing back in Las Vegas

'Our pilots followed procedure and immediately returned to the airport. The engine continued to operate normally and the aircraft, an Airbus 320, landed safely,' Frontier said in a statement.

'Safety is our top priority at Frontier Airlines and we would like to acknowledge the professionalism of our pilots and flight attendants. We are working to get our passengers to their destinations as quickly as possible.'

The Federal Aviation Administration is investigating.

A spokesperson says passengers were given refunds and were being re-booked on other airlines.
The home of former Alaska governor and vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin has been damaged in an earthquake that shook the state on Friday.

The quake with a preliminary magnitude of 7.0 struck near Anchorage at 8.29am local time and was felt up to 400 miles from the epicenter, triggering rock slides and alarming residents who took cover under tables and desks.

Palin took to Twitter to ask for prayers for the state in the aftermath of the earthquake.

'Our family is intact - house is not... I imagine thats the case for many, many others. So thankful to be safe; praying for our state following the earthquake,' she wrote.

The Palin family compound is located about 44 miles northeast of Anchorage and less than 30 miles from the epicenter in Wasilla on the banks of Lucile Lake.

Palin later shared a video of her parents' home, which shows the kitchen and living room with broken items scattered all over the floors and counters.

She wrote in the caption: 'My parents home in Wasilla is usually in tip top shape. Here it is this morning following the earthquake. The video doesnt begin to show the scope.'

Sarah Palin's home was damaged by the 7.0 magnitude earthquake that shook Alaska on Friday

The Palin family compound, which features two houses (pictured), is located in Wasilla, about 30 miles northeast of the earthquake's epicenter

The former Alaska governor tweeted about the quake Friday afternoon asking for prayers

Palin also shared a clip of her parents' home in Wasilla that was left in disarray after the quake

In the video caption she wrote: 'My parents home in Wasilla is usually in tip top shape. Here it is this morning following the earthquake. The video doesnt begin to show the scope.'

The property has one two story, 3,400-square-foot home built in 2002 and another even larger mansion right next door erected in 2010.

The first home was valued at $550,000 for tax purposes in 2008.

Palin and her husband Todd also own two cabins on a remote lake in Denali State Park, about 130 miles from Anchorage.

The former governor's daughters also posted about the quakes on their Instagram stories.

Bristol Palin wrote: 'Just sick I'm not in Alaska to help my family and friends with the aftermath of the massive earthquake they had this morning, sending all the prayers to everyone affected.'

Willow Palin wrote: 'Our house is a mess but our family is safe, very shook up!! That was the scariest couple minutes of my life.'

The former governor's daughters Bristol and Willow also posted about the quakes on their Instagram stories. Bristol's message is shown left and Willow's is right

A tsunami warning was initially issued and expected to effect Alaska's Cook Inlet and the Kenai Peninsula.

Officials monitored gauges to see if any underwater landslides would generate tsunami waves. There were none and the warning was then cancelled.

The Anchorage Office of Emergency Management is urging people to find shelter.

'I could tell this was bigger than anything I'd been in before, and it wasn't going to stop, resident Phillip Peterson said to CNN.

He was in a multistory building in downtown Anchorage that started to suddenly sway when the shake temblor hit, causing roof tiles to fall in.

'I just jumped under my desk and had to ride it out,' he added.

The quake was so strong it cracked buildings and knocked local news station KTUU off air.

An exit ramp on the Minnesota Drive highway crumbled in the quake, leaving a car stranded in the destroyed road.

Power outages, floods from water main breaks, rock slides, and closed roads were reported in the quake, according to Geek Wire.

Quake damage is seen inside a store in Anchorage, which is seven miles from the epicenter

Cabinets in an Anchorage home shook open during the quake, causing dishes to fall and break

A newsroom is seen in disarray after the tremors at around 8.30am local time on Thursday

Shocking images on social media show people hiding under desks as their rooms shake, groceries tumbling off of their shelves at local markets, and roads ripped apart by the natural disaster.

It's not yet clear if there are any deaths or injuries.

At least eight aftershocks rippled through the city after the earthquake hit, the largest one measuring 5.8 magnitude in Anchorage.

According to the NOAA alert, 'for other US and Canadian Pacific coasts in North America, the level of tsunami danger is being evaluated.'

Alaska averages 40,000 earthquakes per year, which is more large quakes than the other 49 states of the US combined.

Southern Alaska is particularly vulnerable to earthquakes as it's located directly above tectonic plates sliding past each other.

The strongest earthquake in US history took place in Alaska in March 27, 1964 when a 9.2 earthquake devastated the region then triggered a deadly tsunami that killed 130 people.
This is the moment Ivanka Trump and Prime Minister Theresa May shared an animated conversation while attending the 2018 G20 summit in Buenos Aires.

The pair were chatting away while Ivanka's father, President Donald Trump stood to the left of them, keeping a watchful eye over the various conversations taking place in the room.

Mrs May's hands seemed to be extremely animated during their talk, as though she was trying to get her point across, or convince Ivanka of something.

The pair (right) seem to be having a rather animated conversation as May continuously moves her hands around

Ivanka seems to look concerns at what May is saying, while her father President Trump looks on

Ivanka, 37, seemed to be looking intently at Mrs May as their conversation continued.

Their exchange ended when Ivanka touched the Prime Minister on the arm before turning around and walking away.

Mrs May then looks somewhat out of place as she looks around before heading in the opposite direction.

ritish Prime Minister Theresa May gestures during the opening day of Argentina G20 Leaders' Summit 2018 at Costa Salguero

Donald Trump (left) and Theresa May (right) engage in conversation during the summit

Ivanka has attended the summit in Buenos Aires in order to support her father, as she faces scrutiny for her involvement in failed Trump building deal in Russia.

This is while Theresa May became the first serving UK Prime Minister to visit Buenos Aires when she arrived - without husband Philip - and only the second to travel to the country, following a Tony Blair trip over the border from Brazil in 2001.

Ivanka Trump (above) arrives to attend Mexican President Enrique Pena Neto awarding

The long-running dispute over the Falkland Islands - still claimed as Las Malvinas by Argentina, 36 years after the 1982 war - is likely to be discussed in a one-on-one meeting with President Mauricio Macri, but is not thought likely to dominate the talks, which will focus on trade.

More awkward for Mrs May could be a potential encounter with Prince Mohammed, after the UK's condemnation of the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in October.

Asked whether Mrs May would be willing to shake the Crown Prince's hand, a senior UK official said the PM believed it was important to 'engage' with Saudi Arabia and would take any opportunity to get across Britain's message on the need for 'full accountability and full transparency' over the Khashoggi killing and an end to bloodshed in Yemen.
Police say Chelsea Watrous Cook, (pictured) a Utah high school teacher, shot and killed her ex-husband's girlfriend while the former couple's children looked on

The family of a woman killed by her boyfriend's ex-wife while decorating a Christmas tree say the suspect harassed their daughter for months before she pulled the trigger.

Lisa Vilate Williams, 26, was making homemade ornaments with her boyfriend's twin three-year-olds at his apartment on Sunday when his ex-wife, Chelsea Watrous Cook, 32, burst in and shot her to death in front of the children, police said.

The slaying came after Cook targeted her with online bullying, in-person confrontations and harassment for months, her sister and mother told The Associated Press.

'I worried for her safety every day,' said her mother, Tawny Williams.

Chelsea Cook's lawyer did not return calls seeking comment, and family members reached by phone declined to comment or did not return messages.

She was arrested on suspicion of aggravated murder after her ex-husband took the gun away and pinned her to the wall until police arrived, authorities said.

Lisa Williams died at a hospital.

Lisa Vilate Williams, 26, (pictured) was making homemade ornaments with her boyfriend's twin three-year-olds when his ex-wife burst in and shot her to death in front of the children

The family of the victim (pictured) killed by her boyfriend's ex-wife is sounding a warning about the devastating consequences of domestic violence that goes beyond two people

She had loved reading books and buying dying plants to nurse back to health. On her 16th birthday, she saved money to buy gifts for everyone in her family, said her sister Bekah Williams.

She loved children, and was so eager to begin Christmas decorating with her boyfriend's twins that she left early from her own family's Thanksgiving celebration in Centennial Park, Arizona, with a popcorn popper strapped into the back seat of her car.

'I spoke to her an hour or so before it all happened, and she was so excited ... to give those kids something happy,' Bekah Williams said.

But during the six months she dated Travis Cook, a colleague at the bank where she was a teller, she had also been targeted by his ex-wife.

The harassment started in June and included confrontations at the bank, bullying on Instagram and phone calls made from the high school where Chelsea Cook was a health teacher, Bekah Williams said.

Court records show the couple's divorce was finalized in January, but Chelsea Cook had been charged with domestic violence in the presence of a child the month before the slaying. She pleaded not guilty.

Her ex-husband Travis (pictured right) told police that Cook sat in a recliner chair near their daughters and watched as he tried to help his injured girlfriend

Police said Cook came to her ex-husband's Salt Lake City apartment on Sunday night to give one of their three-year-old twins cold medicine but refused to leave

Chelsea Cook's lawyer in that case did not return calls seeking comment, and family members reached by phone declined to comment or did not return messages.

Bekah Williams said she reported the behavior and use of school phones to the principal at Skyridge High School in Lehi in August, but 'it seems to me that nothing was done,' she said.

Alpine School District did not return messages seeking comment on Friday, but Ben Rasmussen, director of law and professional practices with the Utah State School Board, said teacher behavior outside the classroom can be difficult for schools to address.

School officials also weren't aware that Chelsea Cook had been arrested Oct. 16 on suspicion of domestic violence.

While teachers are required to self-report such arrests to their superintendents within 48 hours, she hadn't done so, Rasmussen said.

The state also flags arrested teachers though a fingerprint database, but it was a misdemeanor case and her prints weren't flagged for more than a month. The notification came through after her murder arrest.

'It took a lot longer than we would hope,' Rasmussen said.

At school, meanwhile, Chelsea Cook was an engaging teacher whose class students looked forward to attending, KUTV in Salt Lake City reported.

The victim's mother, Tawny Williams, called her 'kind, sweet, generous' and 'loving'

Details of the domestic violence arrest haven't been made public, but Bekah Williams said it didn't involve her sister.

Lisa Williams was reluctant to report Chelsea Cook's behavior to police, worried that involving authorities could make the situation harder on the children, her sister said. Looking back now, she wondered if that was a mistake.

'In hindsight, I think the best thing for the kids would have been to call the police every time,' Bekah Williams said.

Tawny Williams is pictured on her Facebook page

She's at a loss to explain exactly what led to it. The last conversation between the two women had been encouraging, with Chelsea Cook thanking Lisa Williams for picking up the twins at day care.

They hadn't had contact in the days before, since she was with her family for the Thanksgiving holiday.

Lisa Williams had moved to American Fork, south of Salt Lake City, a few years ago to care for her sister, who was hospitalized with a potentially life-threatening lung ailment. She'd stayed after the recovery, living with two of her sisters.

In the end, it's that kind of caring for others that Lisa Williams' family hopes she is remembered for.

'She had a wise soul,' Bekah Williams said. 'I feel lucky to have had her in our lives.'

The victim's mother also said: 'She was so kind, sweet, generous, loving, and brought joy and excitement to every aspect of life.

'She was magic, and I want her remembered for how she lived and not for how she was killed.'
An Orthodox priest blessed Russian missiles as part of a deployment ceremony for the country's anti-aircraft launchers yesterday, which were seen amassing close to the Ukrainian border yesterday.

Triumf surface-to-air missile systems - part of an anti-aircraft military unit of the Russian Air Force and the Russian Southern Military District - entered combat duty near the Crimean town of Dzhankoy, just 12 miles away from Ukraine on Thursday night.

It is common for Orthodox priests in Russia to bless military equipment before use; in January 2017 a bishop sanctified the S-400 Triumf medium and long-range surface-to-air missile system at the base of the Russian Southern Military District and in 2016 a similar event occured when the Sukhoi Su-30SM fighter aircraft joined the Russian Navy Baltic Fleet for the first time.

An Orthodox priest blessed Russian missiles as part of a deployment ceremony for the country's anti-aircraft launchers yesterday

It is customary for Orthodox priests in Russia to bless military equipment before its use

Last month, the Soyuz rocket at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan was consecrated by a churchman in preparation for its space launch.

Petro Poroshenko, Ukraine's president, has this week warned that Russian tanks are lining up along the border and taken the step of banning all Russian men of military age from entering the country.

Poroshenko said he has evidence that Russian tanks are lining up just 11 miles (18km) from the border, close to where Russia stores its ammunition and multi-rocket launch systems, Sky News reports.

Members of the armed forces in Crimea during the ceremony of deployment for the S-400 Triumph missile system

Petro Poroshenko, Ukraine's president, has this week warned that Russian tanks are lining up along the border and taken the step of banning all Russian men of military age from entering the country

The Fourth Battalion of S-400 Triumph air defence missile system assumes combat duty in Crimea, November 29, 2018

Poroshenko made the claim just hours after accusing President Vladimir Putin of wanting to annex his whole country.

'This is the tank base just 18km from our border, this was happening in September, October, and now,' Poroshenko told Sky.

'This is 18km from my border, this is the same warehouse where they have their ammunition, the same where they have multi-rocket launch systems, we should be prepared to protect my country.'

He added: 'If the whole world has no reason to trust Putin, Ukraine definitely doesn't have a reason to go with him.'

S-400 Triumf surface-to-air missile systems as part of an anti-aircraft military unit near the Crimean town of Dzhankoy on Thursday night

The unit was seen entering combat duty near the Crimean town of Dzhankoy 12 miles away from the Ukrainian border

President Vladimir Putin departing his plane upon arrival at Ezeiza International airport in Buenos Aires for the G20 summit today

President Poroshenko also said the country has barred Russian men between 16 and 60 from travelling to the country.

The move comes as the long-simmering conflict between the two nations escalated in the Black Sea on Sunday when Russian border guards opened fire on and captured three Ukrainian vessels and their 24-member crew.

Poroshenko tweeted today that the restrictions on Russian travellers have been taken in order to prevent the Russians from forming 'private armies' fighting on Ukrainian soil.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Poroshenko's request is 'clearly aimed at provoking further tensions' and driven by the Ukrainian leader's 'electoral and domestic policy motives.'

Russia seized three Ukrainian navy ships and their crews on Sunday near the Crimean Peninsula, which Moscow annexed in 2014, over what it said was their illegal entry into Russian waters - a charge Ukraine strongly refutes.

The Russian coast guard fired on and seized the three Ukrainian vessels that sought to pass from the Black Sea into the Sea of Azov through the Kerch Strait.

Ukraine's president Petro Poroshenko has warned that Russian tanks are massing along the border

He showed Sky News what he claimed is evidence that Russian tanks are lining up along the border, close to where Russia stores its ammunition

Poroshenko claimed to have evidence that Russian tanks are lining up just 11 miles (18km) from the Ukrainian border

Ukraine insisted that its vessels were operating in line with international maritime rules, while Russia said they had failed to get permission to pass.

The G7 foreign ministers' today released a statement on the recent events near Kerch Strait.

'We, the G7 foreign ministers of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, the United States of America, and the High Representative of the European Union, express our utmost concern about Russia's actions against Ukraine in the Kerch Strait and surrounding waters, which have dangerously raised tensions,' the statement said.

'There is no justification for Russia's use of military force against Ukrainian ships and naval personnel.

'We urge restraint, due respect for international law, and the prevention of any further escalation. We call on Russia to release the detained crew and vessels and refrain from impeding lawful passage through the Kerch Strait.

'We, the G7, once again reiterate that we do not, and will never, recognize Russia's illegal annexation of the Crimean peninsula, and we reaffirm our unwavering support for Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity.'

In interviews with Germany's Bild newspaper and the Funke newspaper group on Thursday, Poroshenko rejected Russia's charge that the vessels' entry into the Sea of Azov - a body of water shared by Ukraine and Russia on which the Ukrainian ports of Mariupol and Berdyansk sit - was a provocation.

'Don't believe Putin's lies,' he told Bild, Germany's biggest-selling paper, comparing Russia's protestations of innocence in the affair to Moscow's 2014 denial that it had soldiers in Crimea even as they moved to annex it.

'Putin wants the old Russian empire back,' he said.

'Crimea, Donbass, the whole country. As Russian Tsar, as he sees himself, his empire can't function without Ukraine. He sees us as his colony.'

Putin as he gets into a waiting car at an airport in Buenos Aires. The G20 powers open two days of summit talks on today after a stormy build-up dominated by tensions with Russia and US

Soldiers of a Triumf surface-to-air missile system crew f the Russian Air Force and the Russian Southern Military District

A serviceman walks near a Ukrainian military helicopter flying during military drills near Urzuf village not far from the city of Mariupol, eastern Ukraine yesterday

He added that there needs to be increased pressure on Moscow, including stopping the construction of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, which is being built under the Baltic Sea and would bypass Ukraine to deliver gas directly to Germany.

Poroshenko said the government will impose unspecified restrictions on Russian citizens in response to the seizure of the three Ukrainian vessels and their crews.

He that the one-month period of martial law introduced this week in Ukraine wouldn't restrict travel, cash withdrawals or currency purchases by Ukrainians but Russians will face some constraints.

The Ukrainian leader tweeted Thursday that 'there will be restrictions regarding Russian citizens, which I believe are quite justified.' He did not elaborate.

The seizure of the navy vessels drove tensions to their highest since 2015, when Moscow-backed rebels rose against the Kiev government in the eastern Donbass region, sparking a war that has killed tens of thousands.

A Tupolev Tu-144AK airliner flying by, an S-400 Triumf missile system on standby

President Petro Poroshenko called for the stationing of NATO vessels in the Sea of Azov and Germany to halt the building of an undersea gas pipeline that would allow Russia to supply Germany directly, cutting out Ukraine

Ukraine's president accused Russia's Vladimir Putin of wanting to annex his whole country

A Russian government-appointed ombudswoman said on Friday the three commanders of the Ukrainian vessels captured near the Russia-annexed Crimean Peninsula last weekend are being transferred to Moscow.

The Tass news agency on Friday quoted Russian government-appointed ombudswoman Lyudmila Lubina as saying that the vessels' commanders are being transferred to Moscow for interrogation. The other 21 remain in custody in Crimea.

A Crimea court earlier this week ruled to keep the Ukrainian seamen behind bars for two months pending the investigation.

Poroshenko called on Germany, the largest and wealthiest buyer of Moscow's gas exports, to halt the building of an undersea gas pipeline that would allow Russia to supply Germany directly, cutting out Ukraine.

'We need a strong, resolute and clear reaction to Russia's aggressive behaviour,' he told Funke. 'That also means stopping the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline project.'

Putin is welcomed by Argentina's President Mauricio Macri as he arrives for the G20 leaders summit in Buenos Aires

A Ukraine Border Security Force soldier in the machine-gun turret of an armoured vehicle on a patrol of the coast of the Azov Sea near Mariupol Port

Ukraine's Border Security Force soldiers patrol the coast of the Azov Sea near Mariupol Port on Thursday

Germany regards the pipeline, which is being built by Russian state-owned energy company Gazprom, as a private investment. But Merkel recently acknowledged its 'political dimensions' and said Ukraine must continue to be a conduit for Russian gas sold to western Europe.

German officials said on Wednesday that their position on the pipeline remained unchanged and that talk of tighter sanctions against Moscow, demanded by the United States and many European politicians, was 'premature'.

Poroshenko also called for the stationing of NATO vessels in the Sea of Azov.
Children who believe they are transgender are secretly beginning the process of changing sex behind their parents backs by buying drugs on the internet, the Mail can reveal today.

As part of our investigation, we were offered a range of transgender medications online, with no questions asked, for as little as 25.

One mother, whose identity is known by the Mail but who wishes to remain anonymous, told yesterday how she discovered her teenage son developing breasts after ordering pills containing the female hormone oestrogen from an online pharmacy based in the US.

Children who believe they are transgender are secretly beginning the process of changing sex behind their parents backs. Anna Friel and her son Callum Booth-Ford are seen talking about transgender issues in a new documentary series, Butterfly

The drugs, which she found in the schoolboys bedroom, were sent in a plain wrapper to his local Post Office in London where he collected them using his ID card.

She said: I noticed one day that my son was growing breast buds like a young girl. I looked on his bedroom desk and found the packet of pills, with an import duty slip.

They had come from America to a mail box he had set up at the Post Office in his name.

He told me, at 16 and in the sixth form, that he felt like a woman. He thinks he is in the wrong body and should not be male. He then he went on to buy the drugs online.

The Mail received a packet of pills claimed to be male hormone blockers two weeks after we bought them using an ordinary bank card from a Thai pharmacy for 34, including postage and packaging

She added: I dont know how he paid for them but online hormones are so cheap. Like other kids doing this, he could have used his birthday money from Granny or pocket money.

The Mail also found the do-it-yourself sex change drugs easily available over the internet with no age checks on buyers.

Scores of online chat forums for would-be transgender children explain how to order them and which pharmacy sites to use.

The Mail received a packet of pills claimed to be male hormone blockers two weeks after we bought them using an ordinary bank card from a Thai pharmacy for 34, including postage and packaging.

The label says the tablets contain natural oestrogen to promote transgender breast growth. It took a half-minute internet search for transgender hormone to find them.

We were not asked about age and no prescription was needed.

On another website based in India we were offered sachets of testosterone gel, marketed under the name Cernos. It is sold as transgender hormone therapy for females transitioning to male.

The warnings on the order form said some effects of the tablets in girls, such as deepening of the voice, are irreversible once they develop.

Scores of online chat forums for would-be transgender children explain how to order them and which pharmacy sites to use. The Mail also found the do-it-yourself sex change drugs easily available over the internet with no age checks on buyers [File photo]

A third pharmacy site, in the American state of Florida, offered us a drug called Triptorelin for 25. It acts on the pituitary gland to pause sexual development in boys and girls reaching the early stages of puberty, which makes it easier for them to undergo a full transition later.

Triptorelin is the same drug prescribed for some children by gender identity clinics in the UK, according to the results of a Freedom of Information request seen by the Mail.

Stephanie Davies-Arai, who runs Transgender Trend, a parents group worried about a huge rise in the number of children wanting to change sex, warned last night that the internet is fuelling the phenomenon.

[File photo]

In my experience, it can start with a teenager going on to websites like Tumblr or Reddit, where they are convinced in linked chat rooms by total strangers that they must be transgender, even if what they are feeling might be little more than normal teenage angst, she said.

There are young transgender celebrities with hundreds of thousands of followers on internet sites where youngsters are encouraged to want to change sex and then told how to go about it.

Transgender Trend said the waiting lists for gender identity clinics are long, especially for children under 18. It can take more than a year for a youngster to get an appointment for advice from a medical expert.

Miss Davies-Arai added: Children dont want to wait so they turn to the internet. Some even do so with the help of their parents who believe they should not challenge their boy or girl if they want to change gender.

Parents who do object are called transphobic and face a society that cheers their children on because its now cool to be trans.

She demanded the introduction of parental controls to block sites that push sex change medicines aimed at children and teenagers just as you can block the anorexia and self-harm sites that vulnerable young people are drawn to.

However, she warned that 15-year-old girls and boys are getting their older friends, often away at university and away from parental control, to order the drugs online for them.

The Tavistocks Gender Identity Development Service for under-18s also says it is concerned about the online purchase of trans drugs by youngsters because it is completely unregulated. They dont know what they have been taking.

It is incredibly dangerous to buy these online, said the spokesperson, who pointed out that many young people later change their mind about changing sex. By getting drugs off the internet, adolescents may start on a path they dont want to tread later on.

Transgender Trend said the waiting lists for gender identity clinics are long, especially for children under 18. It can take more than a year for a youngster to get an appointment for advice from a medical expert [File photo]

A spokesperson says the waiting time for children and adolescents to start treatment now stands at between 14 and 18 months. That seems a very long time when you are young, she added.

A lot of these under-18s have already socially transitioned  for instance, changing what they wear or their first name to reflect the sex they wish to become  by the time they get to see the experienced medical experts at the clinic.

The Tavistock GIDS now runs an online advice service for youngsters on the waiting list. It hopes this will help those who might otherwise be tempted to turn to the web to buy hormone drugs. We are also trying to get the wait to see us down, says the spokesman.

Last night, the 50-year-old mother who spoke to the Mail, who chose not to be named to protect the identity of her son who has just started university, said: These drugs for trans kids are completely unregulated and any child can buy them. I want to warn families of that.

I have been on these pro-transgender sites myself. I believe my son has been brainwashed by them. They have made him believe he is in the wrong body and then told him how to go about doing something about it without any checks at all.
Michael Gove today warns mutinous Tories they will put Brexit at risk if they vote down Theresa Mays plan in ten days time.

In a powerful intervention, the former Vote Leave chief tells Eurosceptic MPs that Brexit is under greater threat than at any time since the referendum.

The Environment Secretary admits in an article in the Daily Mail that Mrs Mays withdrawal agreement is not perfect.

Michael Gove (pictured today) today warns mutinous Tories they will put Brexit at risk if they vote down Theresa Mays plan in ten days time

But he adds: Does it deliver 100 per cent of what I wanted? No. But then we didnt win 100 per cent of the vote on 23 June 2016. In politics, as in life, you cant always get everything that you want.

He dismisses those accusing the Prime Minister of betrayal, saying that her plan delivers in crucial ways which honour the vote to leave.

Downing Street will hope the intervention by the Cabinets leading Eurosceptic  and architect of the Brexit campaign  will prove pivotal in the campaign to gain a seemingly impossible Commons majority on December 11 and safeguard the PMs job.

Mr Gove makes it clear he is uncomfortable with parts of the withdrawal agreement, but argues it is much better than either a second referendum or a no-deal exit.

He warns his fellow Eurosceptics that those pushing for a second vote might well succeed if Mrs Mays plan is voted down  a move he says would cause disillusionment on a scale never seen before.

And in a direct appeal to the 100 Tory MPs threatening to side with Labour to block the PMs deal, he urges them to reconsider ahead of the momentous vote: Get this wrong and we may put in peril the Brexit the British people voted for and want us to deliver.

Michael Gove (right) admits in an article in the Daily Mail that Theresa May's (right) withdrawal agreement is not perfect

His intervention throws a lifeline to Mrs May, who spent yesterday trying to persuade world leaders at the G20 summit in Argentina to back her proposals.

In other developments:

EU president Donald Tusk revealed Brussels is preparing for the possibility that Britain may stay in the EU if the Prime Ministers plans are voted down;

International Trade Secretary Liam Fox claimed Parliament risked a schism with the public if it jeopardised Brexit;

The Prime Minister said Labour was guilty of a betrayal of the British people in opposing her plan;

Labour MP Ian Austin said his colleagues needed to think carefully or risk an electoral backlash from Leave voters.

A YouGov poll found public support for Mrs Mays deal has almost doubled in a week, with most preferring it to no deal;

Remainers in Parliament launched a bid to seize control of Brexit if Mrs Mays deal is voted down, potentially opening the door to a second referendum;

Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell said Labour would put remaining in the EU on the ballot paper in any second referendum;

Last month Mr Gove came close to following Dominic Raab (pictured above) out of the cabinet

Last month Mr Gove came close to following Dominic Raab and Esther McVey out of the Cabinet after Mrs May agreed with Brussels a plan that fails to give the UK a unilateral exit route from the Irish backstop, which its critics say could keep the UK in the EU customs union indefinitely.

He spent 36 hours wrestling with his conscience before deciding to stay on.

Today he rallies firmly behind the PM, declaring that he will be supporting the withdrawal agreement for all its flaws. He says it will end free movement, meaning future governments will now be free to implement immigration policies which they think best for the country. The package will also mean an end to sending huge sums of money to the EU every week  an issue he says was a huge concern to a great many Leave voters.

And he says it will finally right the great injustice done to our fishing industry by entry into the EU 45 years ago. The fallout from the Brexit vote fractured Mr Goves close friendships with both David Cameron and Boris Johnson, who he helped persuade to lead the Leave campaign. He acknowledges that the against-the-odds referendum victory in 2016 came at a personal cost, adding: The impact of my decision on my family and friendships has been impossible to ignore.

However, he insists the UK is right to leave the EU.

For too long, this over-bearing, undemocratic and profligate bureaucracy has told us what to do, protected vested interests, stood in the way of innovation and inflicted economic and social harm on its citizens, he writes.

Gove has said he will rally behind Prime Minister Theresa May (pictured above in Buenos Aires)

The referendum offered us the chance to break free, to become the authors of our own national story, to bring democracy home. I believe in Brexit, I campaigned for it heart and soul. And now I want to see it through. And we should be in no doubt, seeing it through is by no means guaranteed.

Condemning calls for a second referendum, he warns: It would prove right all the criticisms we made of the EU and the Westminster establishment during the campaign  that they never listen; that they only answer to the people when it suits them; that they will simply never change.

Mr Gove acknowledges that he is uncomfortable with the backstop plan, which is designed to prevent a return to a hard border on the island of Ireland.

But he says the EU is determined to prevent the backstop ever being invoked for fear it would give British firms many of the benefits of EU membership, without most of the obligations.

I would prefer to have had a mechanism to exit the backstop unilaterally, he writes.

But its important to look in detail at what the backstop entails  and to appreciate that however uncomfortable it is for the UK, it actually creates major problems for the EU.

Mr Gove also takes a swipe at hardline Brexiteers who claim the UK can make a painless exit from the EU without a deal.

I know some of my colleagues would prefer a clean break  that we should walk away from the negotiating table and move towards a relationship based on World Trade Organisation rules, he writes. I respect their position but I cant share it. It is undeniable that no deal would cause considerable dislocation and disruption in the short term.

And he warns those pushing for a soft Brexit, such as his ally Nick Boles, to think again and back the PMs proposal.

Mr Gove warns that a Norway-style deal, inside the single market, would mean less freedom to decide our laws, less control over our borders and we would still be sending significant sums to Brussels every year. He adds: Its better than EU membership, but worse than this deal.

In an article for the Guardian last night, Mr Austin, who is Labour MP for Dudley North, said: It is clearly not a perfect deal, but there was never going to be a perfect deal. My constituents voted to leave. They expect us to sort this out and we in the Labour party need to think carefully before rejecting it.

He added: It is very unlikely that voting the deal down would bring about the general election Labour members desperately want to see.
Social media users are expressing their disgust at the enthusiastic high five shared by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Russian President Vladimir Putin during the G20 Leaders' Summit in Argentina.

While many world leaders have distanced themselves from Salman, who is accused of ordering the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, Putin is certainly not one of them.

Salman, known as MBS, had been left standing alone as leaders filed past him and into a meeting room - before the Russian President arrived.

Putin, who has faced claims he ordered the nerve attack on Sergei Skripal in Britain, held up a friendly hand, which Salman happily grabbed before they sat down with wide grins on their faces.

The brotherly greeting quickly went viral on social media as users pointed out the unsettling similarities between the two controversial leaders who've both had more than their fair share of negative headlines.

Twitter user Adam Best summed up the general feeling by captioning the video: 'Putin and MBS: Just two authoritarians gleefully bonding over their shared passion for killing journalists.'

Social media users reacted with disgust to the enthusiastic, brotherly high five shared by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Russian President Vladimir Putin during the G20 Leaders' Summit in Argentina on Friday (pictured)

The almost-brotherly greeting quickly went viral on social media as users pointed out the unsettling similarities between the two controversial leaders who've both had more than their fair share of negative headlines

Daily Beast reporter Spencer Ackerman captioned Putin as saying: 'Bone sawwwwwwww waddup' and had Salman respond with 'Humbled!!!! You were having journalists killed while I was in school! Kinda can't believe this is happening bro' in a widely-shared tweet.

Another user, Marie Connor, similarly captioned it with the following: 'Putin: And when you loan him money, he lets you do it. You can do anything. Mohammed bin Salman: Whatever you want. Putin: Grab em by the Jared. You can do anything.'

Connor's tweet was a reference to Trump's 'grab 'em by the pussy' Access Hollywood tape and the president's son-in-law and adviser Jared Kushner.

Someone under the handle @DazeEddie wrote: 'Putin: What you been up to?!? MBS: Nothin, just Chillin, killin,' alongside a photo of a threatening ghost.

@MashourII referenced the earthquake that shook Argentina on Friday, writing: 'Putin high-fiving MbS could be behind the earthquake hit.'

Salman and Vladimir Putin laughed together ahead of the G20 summit in Argentina while many world leaders distanced themselves from the crown prince, who is accused of ordering the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi

Many of the social media posts pointed out that President Donald Trump looked almost disappointed to not be involved in the enthusiastic Putin-Salman exchange

Many people also pointed out how President Donald Trump, who has been criticized for being sympathetic to both leaders on a number of occasions, was on the outside looking in as he sat across the table from Putin and Salman.

Trump's relationship with Salman came under scrutiny this month after the CIA announced it believed the crown prince had ordered the death of Saudi Arabian journalist Khashoggi.

The president received a great deal of backlash for what was perceived as a weak response to Khashoggi's brutal murder after he refused to condemn Salman's involvement.

Earlier this year Trump was vilified for a press conference in which he sided with Putin over US intelligence officials on confirmed reports of Russia's election meddling.

One person posted a photo of the handshake in which Trump can be seen in the background which reads: 'When ur best comrade calls someone else their best comrade.'
Billy Higgins only signed up as a bone marrow donor to impress his office crush.

Now his ploy has worked out better than anyone could have hoped  for not only did he marry the colleague in question, but he proved the ideal match for a boy with a rare blood disorder.

Without Mr Higgins help, Rupert Cross was at risk of leukaemia. Two years on, the ten-year-old has made a full recovery  and come face to face with the donor he calls his superman.

Without Mr Higgins help, Rupert Cross was at risk of leukaemia. In April 2016 he was diagnosed with myelodysplasia  a condition that makes bone marrow produce immature cells instead of red blood cells

Rupert, who is now back at school, said: I feel very lucky ... I cant believe someone would do this for me.

Mr Higgins, 29, added: Im not really a believer in karma but its nice when things come together like this and everyone gets a happy ending.

Mr Higgins had signed up with the blood cancer charity Anthony Nolan in 2011 after seeing Kate Willis, his colleague at investment bank MUFG, taking part in a recruitment drive for donors.

Wed spoken before but I saw the opportunity to get to know her a bit better. I thought joining the queue would put me in a good light, he said.

Billy Higgins only signed up as a bone marrow donor to impress his office crush. Now his ploy has worked out better than anyone could have hoped  for not only did he marry the colleague in question, but he proved the ideal match for a boy with a rare blood disorder

The gambit worked  and went on to provide vital help for Rupert after it emerged no family members were a match for a bone marrow transplant.

He had fallen sick in 2014, and was referred to Great Ormond Street Hospital in London after a series of headaches. In April 2016 he was diagnosed with myelodysplasia  a condition that makes bone marrow produce immature cells instead of red blood cells.

The disorder, which normally affects the elderly, can lead to a life-threatening deterioration of the immune system. After it emerged his relatives could not help, Mr Higgins emerged as a suitable match.

He was called in to make a donation, and Rupert received his transplant that same day in June 2016. Having needed chemotherapy before the procedure, Rupert then spent 88 days in isolation at the hospital after suffering complications. However, he has now recovered, and is back at school.

Two years on, the ten-year-old has made a full recovery  and come face to face with the donor he calls his superman. Rupert, who is now back at school, said: I feel very lucky ... I cant believe someone would do this for me'

Ruperts parents Holly, 47, and Toby, 43, from Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire, emailed their thanks to the City trader after the minimum two-year wait for recipients to contact donors.

He agreed to meet the family at a pub this month, where Mr Higgins revealed the good news of his own  his wedding to Kate, 31, with whom he lives in Basildon.

'They are a lovely couple and the story was magical, Mrs Cross said. He only went into the queue because the girl he liked was there. If it wasnt for Kate this wouldnt have happened  and for them to get married ... the story is crazy.

Mr Higgins said: Theyve been through so much and I wasnt fully aware of the impact youre having on someones life when you donate. It was just so nice to have been able to help.

Henny Braund, chief executive of Anthony Nolan, said Mr Higgins can be incredibly proud of the difference he has made.
President Donald Trump promised Friday to 'spare no expense' in helping survivors of a 7.0 magnitude earthquake that struck Anchorage, Alaska.

The powerful tremor ripped apart roads, rocked buildings on their foundations and sent Alaskans running for cover.

'To the Great people of Alaska. You have been hit hard by a big one. Please follow the directions of the highly trained professionals who are there to help you,' Trump tweeted during G20 summit meetings in Argentina.

'Your Federal Government will spare no expense. God Bless you ALL!'

The White House said Trump had been briefed on the earthquake's aftermath. White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders tweeted: 'We are praying for the safety of all Alaskans.'

There have been no immediate reports of deaths or injuries but Alaska Governor Bill Walker declared a state of emergency.

President Donald Trump assured Alaskans on Friday that his administration will help the Anchorage area rebuild after a 7.0 magnitude earthquake struck

'Your Federal Government will spare no expense,' Trump vowed in a tweet

Friday's earthquake completely broke up Vine Road in Wasilla, Alaska, destroying the only road connecting the town to Anchorage

The newsroom of KTVA-TV was completely destroyed, with roof tiles falling in and furniture strewn about following the quake and eight powerful aftershocks

Walker wrote in a tweet: 'After a major earthquake, I have issued a declaration of disaster & I have been in direct contact with the White House. Major General Laurie Hummel & I are now working w emergency responders to make sure Alaskans are safe.'

Police warned the 6,000 residents of Kodiak island to head to higher ground, even as authorities canceled an earlier tsunami warning.

According to the U.S. Geological Survey, the heart of the quake took place just seven miles north of Alaska's largest city.

The state's seismologist Michael West said the shock was felt up to 400 miles outside of Anchorage.

The quake was so strong it cracked buildings and knocked TV station KTUU off the air. Highways crumbled, stranding cars in an asphalt mess. It also broke up the only road connecting Anchorage and the nearby towns of Wasilla and Palmer.

Power outages, floods from water main breaks, rock slides, and closed roads were also reported.

Books and ceiling tiles littered the floor at the The Mat-Su College library in Anchorage

Friday's 'big one' knocked food off of shelves at this Anchorage grocery store

The earthquake struck at 8:29 a.m., with its center located just seven miles away from Anchorage, the biggest city in Alaska

Images on social media showed people hiding under desks as their rooms shake, groceries tumbling off of their shelves at local markets, and roads ripped apart by the natural disaster.

Former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin was also affected, tweeting that her house was torn apart in the vicious shake.

'Our family is intact - house is not... I imagine thats the case for many, many others. So thankful to be safe; praying for our state following the earthquake,' she wrote.
Married to Prince Harry and with a baby on the way, the Duchess of Sussex has the world as her stage.

The American former actress will, nevertheless, perform a spectacular return to Hollywood, according to her last showbusiness agent.

Im sure shell make a movie again, Gina Nelthorpe-Cowne tells me. I really do think that.

Gina Nelthorpe-Cowne (left with Meghan Markle) says Meghan (right) is set to make a comeback

Gina, who represented Meghan until she met Harry, compares the Duchesss situation with that of Oscar winner Grace Kelly, who abandoned Tinseltown to marry Prince Rainier of Monaco.

However, Princess Graces yearning to return led to major ructions with her husband, who banned her from accepting the leading role in Alfred Hitchcocks 1964 film Marnie and subsequent Hollywood offers.

Gina said that Meghan (right) will be a 'lovely mummy' and her nurturing nature was why Harry (left) married her

Meghan now has an important role in the royal Firm and a diversion to La La Land would not be welcomed by officials.

But Gina, who became close friends with Meghan and was with her the day she met the Prince, says courtiers couldnt prevent her achieving her big-screen ambitions.

If Meghan wants to make a movie again, she will, says Gina at a party in Londons Marylebone.

Shes a determined woman and she knows what she wants. Shes a woman of today, shes got her will and shes a leader.

Meghan made her name in the legal drama Suits and had mainly small parts in films, but she would win starring roles on her return.

Shell definitely do something serious, Gina says. Shes not going to be a frivolous little girl like shes been before. And shes a great actress.

The Hollywood return will not happen until Meghan, 37, has had a number of children. I know how much she wanted babies  plural, Gina adds.

Shes going to be a lovely mummy  shes very nurturing and thats probably why Harry fell for her.

Jacobs's property ladder

Jacob Rees-Mogg has been appointed as a trustee of Charlton Park

Although a pin-up of the hard Brexiteers, Jacob Rees-Mogg denies he has his eyes on No. 10. But does the double-breasted MP have designs on an even grander address?

I ask only because Rees-Mogg has been appointed as a trustee of Charlton Park, ancestral Wiltshire seat of the Earl of Suffolk.

Jacob and his wife Helena already own a 5 million townhouse near Parliament and a 400-year-old Somerset mansion. But a friend jokes: With six children, Jacob could do with even more space.

The turrets of Charlton Park were converted into flats in the Seventies. The 21st earl owns the park and surrounding agricultural estate, which hosts world music festival Womad. I always had the rarefied Rees-Mogg down as a Purcell man.

The Queen appeared close to tears when she spoke to Grenfell Tower survivors last year and later paid tribute to them in her Christmas speech. HM takes a close interest in the inquiry into the disaster and invited the coroner, Dr Fiona Wilcox, to lunch at Buckingham Palace this week.

A courtier tells me: The Queen likes to be kept up to date and wants to know how a similar tragedy can be prevented.

Sabahat Khan (left) and Hasnat Khan (right)

Dianas One steps out with fiancee

Princess Diana called him The One, assuring a friend: He has given me all the things I need.

But has Punjab-born heart surgeon Hasnat Khan, 60, married his much younger fiancee, Somi Sohail?

The couple were pictured at the Chain Of Hope charity ball. Somi now opts to be known as Somi Khan, suggesting they may have already married.

Diana, who met Khan in 1995, so longed to become his wife that she contemplated converting to Islam.

Khan loved her too and frequently visited her at Kensington Palace, where he was known as Natty, but ended their relationship when he realised they were from two different planets.

Cabinet minister Penny Mordaunt tells me shes often confused for a French screen legend.

Im afraid to say I regularly get told that I look like Catherine Deneuve, she reveals.

I cant see it myself, but Im flattered.

Yikes! Zoe Balls boy makes outlandish fashion debut

What a debut! Zoe Balls son Woody rocks a sackcloth and ashesmeets- The Hobbit look for his first professional photoshoot. And while DJ Zoe can expect to command a 1 million salary when she takes over Radio 2s Breakfast Show next month  Woody is just starting out in his modelling career.

Zoe Ball's son Woody (pictured left) has just signed to a modelling agency in London. He is pictured (right centre) with his father Norman Cook and Mother Zoe Ball

He took the first steps this week by signing up to PRM Model Agency in London.

Posting his inaugural efforts online, Woody sported a bizarre beige corset-style garment over a terracotta boiler suit with flared legs, paired with eye-catching wooden footwear. The 17- year-old jokes: A man is nothing without his clogs.

Zoe, 48, who also has a daughter, Nelly, eight, by ex-husband Norman Cook  aka DJ Fatboy Slim  has given her approval by describing Woody as her model son.

She recently revealed that it was Woody who encouraged her to take the Breakfast Show radio job, telling her it was the coolest thing.

Jade Jagger (pictured above) leaving Claridges Hotel in Mayfair

Jaggers girl looks just a little Jaded

Jade Jagegr, who became a grandmother at the age of 47, still knows how to party like a teenager.

So enthusiastically did Sir Mick Jaggers jewellery-designing daughter revel at a festive shindig at Claridges this week that she left barefoot in the small hours, clutching her 6in platform heels.

The party was hosted by Diane von Furstenberg and Jade wore one of the fashionistas 750 wrap dresses. Handily, it complemented the green shade of the departing jewellery designers toenails.

Lady Annabel recalls night the Queen came clubbing

Unlikely as it might sound, the Queen once visited a nightclub  Annabels in Mayfair.

And now Lady Annabel Goldsmith, who inspired its name, has been recalling the unique evening.

The Queen was at my table, Lady Annabel says. She was animated, joking and laughing, really loving it. She told me, as she left, that shed had such a good time. I was amazed.

It was the 70th birthday party of the Queens close friend, the Countess of Airlie, in 2003.

Lady Annabel  whose first husband, Mark Birley, founded the club  was a confidante of Princess Diana. I suppose I was a mother figure to her, she says in next months Tatler. We were very close.

Prince Andrew was once refused admission for being inappropriately dressed.

Mark felt that if he relaxed the rules for one, it wouldnt be fair, she explains in the interview, in which she also remembers the unwelcome advances of late American senator Teddy Kennedy on the dancefloor  not a treat.

Perhaps he was over-enthused by the memorable portrait of Annabel which hung above the bar.

She says triumphantly: Richard Caring [Annabels new owner] really wanted it, but I negotiated and got it back.

Humbug! Celebrity vicar Rev Richard Coles says the Churchs most well-attended festival should only be held once every five years. Secretly, a part of me rather wishes that Christmas were quinquennial, he says: Theres something about too frequent repetition that can dull even the strongest appetite.

The smart set's talking about...Lorry driver's lifting Carly

Celebrated tenor Alfie Boe sang and Hollywood star Tom Hardy gave a reading at a charity carol concert in St Jamess this week, but the audience was left captivated by the daughter of a Nottinghamshire lorry driver.

She is Carly Paoli, a 29-year-old soprano who performed a sublime rendition of Dvoraks Rusalka (Song To The Moon) at the London concert held by the Quintessentially Foundation for The Felix Project food charity.

Classic BRIT Nominee Carly Paoli performs in aid of Help for Heroes Charity at Debenhams, Oxford Street

Born in Mansfield to Paul Hopkinson and former travel agent Tina Paoli, Carly is now singing for royalty and credits her success to her humble upbringing.

Their full-time jobs make me ever more grateful that they made time for me, she tells me. After school, theyd whisk me to dance class and singing lessons. Afterwards, Id find them in the car park fast asleep. They now work for their daughter. In a way, my dream became their dream. I couldnt be in better hands than my dads, driving me all over the country. My mums pretty much my manager.

Her hard work has paid off. Its not unusual for me to earn more than 10,000 for a 60 to 90-minute concert, says Carly, who doesnt have time for a boyfriend and lives with her parents in a ten-bedroom house she bought in Wiltshire.

Shes sung with Andrea Bocelli and Jose Carreras, but one of her most thrilling experiences was performing for Prince Charles.

The first occasion was at Windsor Castle. I felt incredibly honoured that he then invited me back to perform on behalf of his foundation.

That was really special. He said he loved the songs. And the Duchess of Cornwall asked for my debut album, Singing My Dreams.

(Very) modern manners

If you run a business, should you give your friends freebies? Thats the dilemma faced by pop star James Blunt, whos taken over a pub in Chelsea, The Fox & Pheasant, with his aristocratic wife, Sofia Wellesley.

But Blunt, 44, has been inundated with visits from old pals who might expect the booze to be on the house. My friends dont get free drinks, he tells me. Everyone has to pay.

At least it should make his popularity soar during the festive season. The singer, who was a guest at his chum Princess Eugenies wedding, says of the pub: Its a wonderful thing to have at Christmas.
MP Barry Sheerman was contacted by a teen Syrian refugee weeks before he was waterboarded at school in a sickening racial attack - but nothing was done

A little over a month ago, Huddersfield MP Barry Sheerman received an email from one of his constituents. It was from a 15-year-old boy and titled: Complaint. Please help me.

Underneath, he catalogued, in chilling detail, the physical and psychological abuse he had been subjected to by bullies at his school.

They had, he said, doused him in water, thrown an egg at him, broken his arm, and even set his hair on fire.

On a number of occasions, the youngster revealed, I have observed my abusers laughing and recording me on their smart phones without my permission.

Behind this harrowing testimony is a story which has dominated the headlines this week.

For the writer of this email is a Syrian refugee called Jamal. He was identified this week after a sickening video of him allegedly being waterboarded was posted online.

The footage shows him being headbutted and dragged to the ground by the neck before his attacker threatens to drown him by pouring a bottle of water over his face as fellow pupils at Almondbury Community School, just outside Huddersfield, cheer.

Yesterday, the incident prompted Theresa May to say Britain remains a welcoming country despite the sickening bullying of a child refugee. The Prime Minister added that she had been horrified by footage of the playground attack.

Could there be a more damning commentary of the world we now live in? What happened to Jamal seems especially shocking because he thought Britain was a place where he would be safe. A place where he could be happy. A place where his family had sought sanctuary from the horrors of war-torn Syria.

Indeed, the more we learn about his background, the sadder this story becomes; his childhood, according to a relative we spoke to this week, has been defined by fear, instability and struggle.

Jamal was born in the ancient Syrian city of Homs, a city once dubbed the capital of the revolution after its inhabitants embraced a call to overthrow Bashar al-Assads regime back in 2011.

They paid a terrible price in the brutal government-led backlash; Jamal himself was barely eight when a number of his extended family were abducted, tortured and murdered by the Assad regime.

Jamal (pictured returning to school after the video went viral) was born in the ancient Syrian city of Homs, a city once dubbed the capital of the revolution

Their lives in grave danger, Jamal and his family fled to neighbouring Lebanon, the nearest safe haven. There, his parents and younger sister, now aged 13, would spend the next six years in desperate conditions. They, along with more than a million Syrian refugees, lived in makeshift tents, sleeping on dirt floors.

Finally, in 2016, they were given safe passage to this country by the United Nations. The British Government promised to resettle up to 20,000 of the Syrian diaspora, and Jamal and his family were among the lucky few who were welcomed here.

More than 108,000 has been raised for a teenage Syrian refugee after a video of him being bullied at school was posted online. The victim, in white and wearing a blue cast on his left arm, was approached on the school field as others looked on

Or so it seemed.

They were placed in Almondbury, one of the oldest and prettiest villages on the edge of the Pennine moors on the outskirts of Huddersfield. The former mill town has a higher than average number of residents from ethnic minorities. The largest (making up nearly 16 per cent of the population) describe themselves as Asian.

Around 100 Syrian refugees, in particular, ended up in the Huddersfield area. Jamals family were given a three-bedroomed end-of terrace council house on a cul de sac, near Almondbury Community School.

Jamal described the optimism he initially felt on his arrival in Yorkshire in his one and only TV interview a few days ago.

I was thinking my life was going to be good, my future is really going to be really good if I study at school, he said poignantly.

In fact, Jamal says he and his sister  the only Syrian children in their respective classes  became targets for bullies within just a month of starting school. Neither of his parents speak English so they couldnt make the case for their children. But Jamal, a bright boy, had learned good English in the two years he had been here. In desperation, he decided he had no choice but to help himself as he felt nothing was being done to protect him at school.

In the video, the attacker, carrying a water bottle, headbutts him, and pushes him to the ground

He not only had the wherewithal to send an email to the local authority, Kirklees Council, but also to individual councillors, the Department of Education, Ofsted and the police.

That email found its way to veteran MP Barry Sheerman.

I did everything I could to support him, Mr Sheerman, who also lives in Almondbury, told the Mail this week. He said he was satisfied the authorities had responded positively but said he had enormous sympathy for Jamal.

The tragedy is that Huddersfield is a cosmopolitan, university town, a great place to live.

It is clear from the email, though, that the so-called waterboarding episode was far from the only incident. It occurred on October 25 on the school playing fields.

Police said they were sent a video of what happened at the time  before it was posted on social media this week  and interviewed the suspect on November 6, after which the case was reviewed by a youth offending team, who recommended further action; a teenager is to appear before a youth court for the alleged attack.

Officers also fully investigated a wrist injury (Jamal refers to this as a broken arm in the email) he sustained on October 7 and three youths were subsequently interviewed. No further action was taken as the evidential test required to prosecute was not met.

Nevertheless, the video shows Jamal with his arm in a cast, so he wasnt making it up.

We now know, of course, that, previously his hair was set on fire and hed had an egg thrown at him, too.

Police have also confirmed they are investigating an assault on Jamals sister, a video of which went viral as well. Footage showed girls trying to pull off her hijab and pushing her to the ground.

How did all this make Jamal feel? I was feeling like I couldnt study, he revealed in that moving TV interview. I woke up at night and just started crying. They think Im different, different from them. It was really bad. I dont feel safe at school. I was feeling unsafe everywhere  even to go to the shop. Sometimes I say to my dad, I dont want to go to school any more.

The bully then holds his victim's throat she her pours water over his face

Jamals ordeal, since it became public, has brought out the best  and worst  in British society.

Crowdfunders have raised 150,000 for his family. Nearly 10,000 people contributed to the GoFundMe appeal after a clip of the waterboarding incident surfaced on the internet.

But Tommy Robinson, the former English Defence League leader, defended the 16-year-old accused of picking on Jamal. In a series of poisonous rants on Instagram and Facebook, Robinson (real name Stephen Yaxley-Lennon) claimed Jamal was not innocent.

He accused him of joining in an assault on a white girl at Almondbury Community School.

Later, the mother of the alleged victim posted a message on Robinsons site denying Jamal was responsible. Robinson further claimed the case went to court, but a spokesman for West Yorkshire Police said they were not aware of any such case. Robinson has since retracted his claims. And it is not only the Far Right who have been accused of using the plight of Jamal to peddle their own political message.

Members of the Muslim community have also been criticised.

Around 30 protesters, from a group calling themselves British Asians, gathered outside Almondbury Community School on Thursday to show their support for Jamal. But most, if not all, were from outside the area, including Mirban Aslam, 41, a bricklayer from Bradford. He complained that the system had failed Jamal and accused Almondbury of a cover-up. When the Mail spoke to him yesterday, he denied trying to politicise events.

The idea of the protest was to generate national media coverage of the issues, for other victims of bullying and racism to come forward and to bring out the truth on this matter from the school.

The attacker then loosens his grip, the victim gets up and calmly walks away as other students watch on

Not everyone, including Muslim parents with children at Almondbury, saw it that way. I cant seem to understand why they think protesting is going to help a situation like this, read one message left on the website of the local paper. What about all the children at school today. Will they not be frightened seeing all these people? Getting very much out of hand now. The message was from Zoya Hussain.

Others voiced similar concerns. Its an absolute f****** joke. There are innocent children in the school and three of them are mine. All you protesters are worse than the bullies, making innocent children scared and making us worry!

A third added: This isnt fair. Our kids are at school petrified, most didnt wanna go today. Its not on, its frightening them.

Either way, Jamals family say they will be using the money raised by wellwishers to leave Huddersfield.

They dont want to live here any more, said their lawyer Tasnime Akunjee. The level of abuse the children received has become too much. Its early days on exactly where they will relocate to, but I have been advising them and they need to think about that now. They need to take stock and get over the shock of it all. The children need to move on and get on with their lives.

The terrible irony is that, after the horrors of Homs, Huddersfield is the place where they should be getting on with their lives.
A funeral driver who left a baby's body on the roof of his van before driving away has broken his silence - saying he feels 'shattered' after he forgot to move the infant's casket inside his van.

Richard Bertrand, 58, accidentally left the corpse on top of his vehicle on Wednesday, which was en route to the John Tonge Centre, in Brisbane, from Rockhampton.

It wasn't until Mr Bertrand, of Queensland Funeral Transfers, arrived at the morgue that he realised the baby was missing.

Funeral driver Richard Bertrand, 58, (pictured with one of his company's van) who left a baby's body on the roof of his van before driving away has broken his silence - saying he feels 'shattered' after he forgot to move the infant's capsule inside his van

The grim discovery was made by road workers on Thursday morning - who are understood to be have been offered counselling.

His company's licence has been suspended while the incident is investigated by Queensland Health, and the driver said his heart went out to the family.

He told Daily Mail Australia: I just feel bad about the fact I made a mistake. I really feel for the family who are going through this.

Mr Bertrand said the mistake occurred when he was doing a change-over after dark with another driver at Eumundi, and he didn't notice he had left the coffin on top.

The casket fell off almost immediately as he pulled away from outside the other driver's home.

Mr Bertrand said: 'It (the casket) had to be moved and I put it on the roof. I just forgot to move it again.'

The 58-year-old from Gracemere near Rockhampton told Channel 9 he felt 'absolutely shattered' by the incident.

His company's licence has been suspended while the incident is investigated by Queensland Health, and the driver said his heart went out to the family (company van pictured)

He added his mistake came at a time when he was under the stress of having his hometown evacuated on Wednesday due to bushfires.

The baby's body was diverted to Brisbane because the local pathologist in Rockhampton had taken sick leave, police said.

Shadow Attorney-General David Janetzki said the incident showed more regulation was needed in the funeral industry.

He said: 'Words fail me.

'The entire system which deals with deceased in Queensland has to be urgently reviewed.'

The driver added his mistake, discovered by roadside workers on Wednesday, came at a time when he was under the stress of having his hometown evacuated due to bushfires (stock image)

The family, who are said to be 'extremely distressed', has been made aware of the incident.

They have so far been too distressed to comment on the matter to the media.

'This is an incredibly distressing incident... We have spoken with the family to explain what happened, support them and to apologise,' a Queensland Health spokesman said.

'This transport was not undertaken by Queensland Health but by a licenced private funeral contractor. Queensland Health has already begun a process to fully investigate the contractor's actions, so that nothing like this ever happens again.'

Charges are not expected to be laid following the incident.
Santiago Rodriguez Campos, 34, pleaded guilty on Friday to four counts of fourth degree sexual abuse

An illegal immigrant has pleaded guilty to sexually assaulting four women who he attacked in the street at random over a period of two years.

Santiago Rodriguez Campos, 34, pleaded guilty on Friday to four counts of fourth degree sexual abuse and two counts of misdemeanor sexual abuse.

He now faces up to 24 years in prison and deportation.

Between 2016 and June this year, Campos attacked the women randomly in Washington DC.

The first attack occurred as a woman was walking to her apartment at 10.30pm in September 2016.

He was dressed in dark-colored clothing with a hood covering his head and face and approached her from behind as she was walking up the steps to her door.

He approached her from behind, stuck his hand between her legs and grabbed her genitals.

She was wearing jeans and traces of his DNA were later recovered from the fabric.

The second attack happened a month later, in October 2016. That time, the victim was walking to her car at around 8.15pm when he struck.

He approached her from behind again after walking past her, grabbing her vagina after sticking his hand up her skirt.

Police were trying to find Campos for years after seeing him on surveillance cameras waiting for victims. He was arrested in August when two officers who were out looking for him spotted him in the street. They then matched his DNA to swabs taken from the victims' skin and clothes

She told police he left what felt like a lubricant on her skin.

The woman screamed and began yelling for help. She hit him with her elbow and fell to the ground in the scuffle.

He ran away before anyone could catch him.

The third time was in May 2018. He approached the victim as she walked home and grabbed her from behind by the neck then grabbed her vagina and left lubricant on her legs.

The fourth time was in June this year when he did the same thing.

Police used surveillance camera footage to track him down and later tested his DNA against the swabs taken from the women and their clothes.

He was arrested in August this year.

It remains unclear where he is originally from or what he does in the United States. It is also not known how long he has been in the country.

He will be sentenced in February next year.
A Los Angeles church says that two retired nuns who worked at its school stole substantial sums of money over a number of years, but the archdiocese says it will not seek criminal charges against them.

St. James Catholic Church in Redondo Beach says it conducted an internal investigation which found that the former principal of St. James School, Sister Mary Margaret Kreuper, and former teacher Sister Lana Chang embezzled funds for their own personal use, KTLA-TV reported.

A church pastor, Monsignor Michael Meyers, announced in a letter that the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet, the nuns order, is cooperating in an effort to learn just how much money was taken, according to the Los Angeles Times.

Kreuper spent almost 29 years as principal at St. James School. She retired at the end of the 2017-18 school year, a spokesperson for the Archdiocese of Los Angeles said.

St. James Catholic Church in Redondo Beach says it conducted an internal investigation which found that the former principal of St. James School, Sister Mary Margaret Kreuper (left), and former teacher Sister Lana Chang (right) embezzled funds for their own personal use

Chang taught eighth grade for almost 20 years. She was promoted to vice principal, a job she held for several years before she also retired after last school year.

The sisters order will reimburse the school. It also said it will mete out appropriate penalties to the nuns.

But the Archdiocese of Los Angeles has indicated that it will not pursue criminal charges against the nuns.

Instead, it prefers to handle the matter internally.

In his letter, Meyers said that the school has put in place new procedural and oversight mechanisms to ensure that similar instances wont happen again.

Kreuper spent almost 29 years as principal at St. James School. Chang taught eighth grade for almost 20 years

I want to assure you that the investigation has disclosed that, notwithstanding this misappropriation, no student or program at St. James has suffered any loss of educational resources, opportunities, or innovations, he wrote.

In sum, the education of your children has not and will not be affected by these events.

Meyers writes that Kreuper and Chang have asked for forgiveness and feel deep remorse.

They and their Order pray that you have not lost trust or faith in the educators and administrators of the school, he wrote.
Theresa May has become the first Conservative Prime Minister to visit Argentina - and the only one to visit its capital - since Margaret Thatcher's Falklands war.

Mrs May is in Buenos Aires for the G20 summit of industrialised nations on Friday and Saturday, hosted by Argentinian president Mauricio Macri.

Tonight she conducted a private meeting with Macri and vowed that Britain will continue to defend the South Atlantic archipelago, to which Argentina also lay claim.

British Prime Minister Theresa May and Argentine President Mauricio Macri sit for a bilateral on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Buenos Aires, Argentina, 30 November 2018

May is welcomed by Argentina's President Macri. The Group of Twenty (G20) Summit brings together the heads of State or Government of the 20 largest economies and takes place from November 30 to December 1 2018

Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May and Argentina's President Mauricio Macri talk during the G20 Leader's Summit at the Costa Salguero Center in Buenos Aires

Macri has softened rhetoric on the islands, known in Argentina as Las Malvinas, compared to his predecessor Cristina Kirchner.

But Mrs May still wanted to make clear that Britain had not been lulled into a false sense of security and would send forces to the Falklands if need be.

The Prime Minister said: 'I am talking to president Macri about opportunities for trade, but our position on the sovereignty of the Falklands hasn't changed  and will not change.'

Margaret Thatcher meets personnel aboard the HMS Antrim in January 1983 during her five-day visit to the Falkand Islands

Lady Thatcher on a visit to the Falkland Islands in June 1992, ten years after the Falklands war

The meeting comes 36 years after the 1982 war, and this week the two governments announced a new agreement on an additional air link between South America and the Falkland Islands, via Argentina.

The British government issued a statement saying that the new flight, as well as annual bilateral air services discussions, was part of the recognition 'that building closer links represents a shared goal.'

'The additional air link will greatly benefit the people of the Falkland Islands and support their economic development.

'It will also engender wider engagement and provide economic benefit for the region,' the statement said.

Jorge Faurie, the Argentinian foreign minister, said the recent establishment of more flights to the disputed islands was a positive development.

Regarding Mrs May's visit, he said: 'Dialogue must be maintained.'

Relations between the two countries have thawed since Macri took over as President from Cristina Kirchner in 2015 and toned down rhetoric regarding the disputed Falklands (Las Malvinas)

'We are not withdrawing our historic claim,' he added. 'The focus of this opportunity is in the reestablishment of trust.'

In the meantime, Mrs May will push the case for reform of the World Trade Organization at the G20 summit, including increasing transparency, updating dispute settlement processes and promoting trade in services and digital alongside goods.

'We will take our independent seat at the WTO next year when we leave the European Union and we do see the need for reform,' she told reporters on the plane.

Mrs May is only the second British prime minister to travel to Argentina and the first to visit Buenos Aires. Labour's Tony Blair briefly visited Argentina in 2001.

Britain is expected to announce that it will create a post of trade envoy to Buenos Aires following talks between May and Argentine President Mauricio Macri.
British Prime Minister Theresa May has told Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman that he should take action to prevent the recurrence of incidents like the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, her office said on Friday.

The two leaders sat stony-faced as they met during part of the G20 summit in the Argentinian capital Buenos Aries.

'The Prime Minister stressed the importance of ensuring that those responsible for the appalling murder of Jamal Khashoggi are held to account, and that Saudi Arabia takes action to build confidence that such a deplorable incident could not happen again,' May's office said in a readout of a meeting with Prince Mohammed.

Saudi Royal Court shows British Prime Minister Theresa May (centre left) and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman (centre right). The G20 Summit (or G-20 or Group of Twenty) takes place from 30 November to 01 December 2018 and brings together the heads of State or Government of the 20 largest economies

British Prime Minister Theresa May looks stony faced as she joins Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman for a bilateral on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Buenos Aires, Argentina, 30 November 2018

The killing of Washington Post columnist Khashoggi last month at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul has strained Saudi Arabia's ties with the West and battered Prince Mohammed's image abroad

Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, top center, stands as Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May, right, and Brazil's President Michel Temer, left, gather for a group photo at the start of the G20 summit

The killing of Washington Post columnist Khashoggi last month at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul has strained Saudi Arabia's ties with the West and battered Prince Mohammed's image abroad.

Saudi Arabia has said the prince had no prior knowledge of the killing.

Western leaders are also concerned about the worsening situation in Yemen, where a Saudi-led war has put millions on the brink of starvation.

There has been widespread condemnation and public outrage over attacks on sites such as school bus and hospitals, where Yemeni civilians, including children, have died.

U.S. President Donald Trump looks over at Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia Mohammad bin Salman during the opening day of Argentina G20 Leaders' Summit 2018 at Costa Salguero

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (right) speaks to French President Emmanuel Macron in Buenos Aires during the G20 Leaders' Summit, on November 30, 2018

The BBC's political editor Laura Kuenssberg wrote on Twitter that 'The Prime Minister stressed the importance of ensuring that those responsible for the appalling murder of Jamal Khashoggi are held to account.'

'She encouraged Crown Prince to ensure Saudi Arabia co-operated fully with Turkish authorities and worked to bring both investigations to an acceptable close.

'To ensure full accountability there needed to be full transparency about exactly what had happened'.

French President Emmanuel Macron also spoke to the prince about the killing Khashoggi, his office confirmed.

Theresa May also held a historic one-to-one with Argentina's President Mauricio Macri - the first time a British Premier has visited the country since the Falklands

Russia's President Vladimir Putin (centre) and Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman greet each other with a familiar and friendly handshake

Putin (left) and Prince Mohammad will likely find common ground in that they are both under increasing pressure from Western countries over aggressive foreign policy

Saudi Arabia Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman talks with Russia President Vladimir Putin during a G20 session with other heads of state, Friday, November 30

World leaders participate in a family photo at the G20 summit, Friday, Nov. 30, 2018 in Buenos Aires, Argentina

Before the summit, May said Saudi Arabia needs to ensure that their probe is 'a full investigation, that it's credible, that it's transparent, and that people can have confidence in the outcome of it, and that those responsible are held to account.'

US President Donald Trump said before the summit in a statement that he was unconcerned with whether Prince Mohammed was involved in Khashoggi's death, naming business ties with Saudi Arabia and its hostility to Iran as his priorities.

Meanwhile a beaming Vladimir Putin welcomed Prince Mohammed at the G20 summit by shaking his hand as if the two were old friends, in an image that quickly went viral.

The two will likely find common ground in that the Russian leader has also been put under increasing pressure from Western countries in recent days.

Putin's warships rammed, fired on, then seized three Ukrainian boats in the Kerch Strait in a serious escalation of tensions around Crimea, leading the G20 nations to issue a joint condemnatory statement today.
Mr Gyimah's departure underlines the uphill task the Prime Minister faces if she is to win the crunch vote in the Commons on the deal

Theresa May suffered another blow as universities and science minister became the latest minister to resign over her Brexit deal - and urged the Government not to rule out the possibility of a second referendum

Mr Gyimah was scathing of the Prime Minister's Brexit deal and said he could not support the 'naive' agreement with Brussels which was 'not in the national interest'.

The 42-year-old, who campaigned for Remain in the referendum, has left the Government hanging by a thread following a string of departures from the front bench since Mrs May announced her Brexit deal.

The East Surrey MP posted his heartfelt resignation letter on his Facebook page, warning that no options should be taken off the table, including extending Article 50 or having another vote.

He said: 'The decision before us is irreversible, which is why an increasing number of MPs are demanding we explore the options from every angle.

'And we shouldn't dismiss out of hand the idea of asking the people again what future they want, as we all now have a better understanding of the potential paths before us.'

Speaking on the BBC Radio 4 Today programme today Mr Gyimah, dismissed Mrs May's agreement with Brussels as a 'deal in name only'.

Mr Gyimah, who was universities and science minister, is the seventh minister to resign

Gyimah's resignation came as Theresa May was in Buenos Aires for G20 meeting

Mr Gyimah said Britain was giving up 'our voice, our veto and our vote' in Europe and would get 'hammered' in the next stage of the talks on future relations with the EU.

He said: 'Our interests will be hammered because we will have no leverage.

'My worry is the British public will be sleepwalking into a situation where we will wake up and find out that we are no longer equal partners with the countries in Europe.

'We are pure supplicants and rule takers. The democratic deficit and the loss of sovereignty that will result in that situation is one the British public, rightly, will never accept.'

Sam Gyimah's resignation letter in full I will vote against the Government's EU Withdrawal Agreement. After careful consideration and reflection, I cannot support the Government's deal and as such, I have tended my resignation as Universities and Science Minister. I will continue to work hard for East Surrey from the backbenches and push for a deal that is right for the whole country that will help us all prosper. See more below on this Galileo puts the lie to 'best endeavours'  Why I cannot back the Government's Brexit proposal The government is finally pulling out of frustrating negotiations over Galileo, the EU's strategic Satellite Navigation system. The PM is right to call time on a negotiation that was stacked against us from the very beginning. But Galileo is only a foretaste of what's to come under the Government's Brexit deal. Having surrendered our voice, our vote and our veto, we will have to rely on the 'best endeavours' of the EU to strike a final agreement that works in our national interest. As Minister with the responsibility for space technology I have seen first-hand the EU stack the deck against us time and time again, even while the ink was drying on the transition deal. Galileo is a clarion call that it will be 'EU first', and to think otherwise  whether you are a leaver or remainer - is at best incredibly naive. To be fair, the Government's Brexit deal has been hard won. But at its heart, all the big decisions in the Political Declaration that will shape our future in Europe, and the world, are yet to be agreed. Where we set the balance between an independent trade policy and frictionless trade, high market access and freedom of movement, fisheries, agriculture, and the all-important Northern Ireland question are just some of the big issues still in play. It is a deal in name only. And we will be relying on the good faith of the EU to deliver the bespoke deal we have been led to expect. There is a mountain to climb, and we are still in the foothills. Under the deal we will have only two, at most four, years to agree at least five times what has been settled to date. With so much left to negotiate, we must take a clear-eyed view on the strength of our position. So far, the EU has been able to set the timetable, the sequencing and the hurdles to be cleared at each stage of Brexit, limiting our room for manoeuvre. They have the luxury of time - we need to conclude a deal because the Northern Ireland backstop is our existential issue, not theirs. And the clock is ticking to the next General Election. All of this points to an off-the-shelf deal dictated by the EU that will be materially worse for my constituents in East Surrey than staying in. In these protracted negotiations our interests will be repeatedly and permanently hammered by the EU27 for many years to come. Britain will end up worse off, transformed from rule makers into rule takers. At the end of these negotiations, Britain will not be standing side-by-side with our European partners as equals. Even in programmes where we have agreement, we will be outside the room when key decisions affecting our future and prosperity are made. It is a democratic deficit and a loss of sovereignty the public will rightly never accept. These negotiations are as much about our future trading relationship with Europe as they are about our security, foreign policy and power and influence in the world. We are an island nation, and for the last 350 years have managed all aspects of our relationship with our immediate neighbours to meet our need to have a preeminent place in Europe. While we must be mindful of giving business the certainty they need, we must ensure the constitutional treaty we end up with stands the test of time. So, what is being presented to the public as a sensible compromise Brexit deal, a 52/48 Brexit as some call it, will not bring closure or heal the divisions of Brexit. In the fullness of time, the public will wake up to what this so-called deal entails; neither leave nor remain voters will be pleased with a deal that leaves us poorer, less secure and weaker in the pursuit of our national interests. What is the alternative, I hear people say? Sometimes it seems our horizons have been narrowed and our expectations lowered to the point where potentially crippling ourselves politically and economically for decades to come is seen as a success we should welcome. There are alternatives that we have ruled out through our own red lines that need to be considered seriously. Even if this means extending the Article 50 deadline. The decision before us is irreversible, which is why an increasing number of MPs are demanding we explore the options from every angle. And we shouldn't dismiss out of hand the idea of asking the people again what future they want, as we all now have a better understanding of the potential paths before us. I voted remain, but at all times since the referendum I have endeavoured to reflect the fact that before we are remainers or leavers, we are British. The results in my constituency were in line with the national vote; over the last few weeks I have received hundreds of emails and phones calls from constituents on the deal, the overwhelming majority urging me to vote against it. It has become increasingly clear to me that the proposed deal is not in the British national interest, and that to vote for this deal is to set ourselves up for failure. We will be losing, not taking control of our national destiny.It was therefore with deep regret that I have tendered my resignation as the Universities, Science, Research and Innovation Minister  certainly one of the best jobs in government. Innovation, scientific endeavour and our universities represent the best of Britain, underpin our economic fortunes and are central to our place in the world. It has been a pleasure and honour to serve these extraordinary communities.The grit and determination demonstrated by the Prime Minister should be an inspiration to us all. I am saddened, as an early and vocal backer of her leadership, to have reached a cross-roads where I cannot support her on this crucial issue. Sam Gyimah Member of Parliament for Surrey East Advertisement

Downing Street now fears his resignation could spark a fresh wave of frontbench resignations before Parliament begins to formally debate the Withdrawal Agreement on Tuesday.

His departure underlines the uphill task the Prime Minister faces if she is to win the crunch vote in the Commons on the deal on December 11.

Gyimah's resgination comes after Dominic Raab, Esther McVey, Suella Braverman, Ranil Jayawardena, Rehman Chishti and Shailesh Vara all quit the frontbenches following May's deal.

Rehman Chishti (left) and Dominic Raab (right) have also resigned over the Brexit deal

Ranil Jayawardena (left) and Suella Braverman (right) also resigned with Mr Jayawardena telling the Prime Minister her deal does not deliver a good and fair Brexit

Writing on his Facebook page, Mr Gyimah said that if MPs were to support the agreement it would 'set ourselves up for failure' by surrendering 'our voice, our vote and our veto'.

'Britain will end up worse off, transformed from rule makers into rule takers.

'It is a democratic deficit and a loss of sovereignty the public will rightly never accept,' he said.

Shailesh Vara, the former Minister of State for Northern Ireland, has also stepped down

The deciding factor for his resignation was the EU's continued wrangling over the Galileo satellite project, which Britain has already spent 1.2billion on.

The Prime Minister announced on Friday that Britain was pulling out of the programme and may not seek to recoup any of its huge outlay.

Speaking of the project, Gyimah said: 'As Minister with the responsibility for space technology I have seen first-hand the EU stack the deck against us time and time again, even while the ink was drying on the transition deal.

'Galileo is a clarion call that it will be 'EU first', and to think otherwise  whether you are a leaver or remainer - is at best incredibly naive.'

Mr Gyimah urged the Prime Minister not to rule out a second referendum if she loses the vote on December 11.

'There is a blocking minority in the House of Commons for almost every possible option which means that letting the people decide, now that we know more, might be the most sensible path for both Leavers and Remainers,' he said.

'The Prime Minister has already taken one step in that direction by appealing to the country to put pressure on MPs to vote for her deal.

'If you are going to appeal to the country to put pressure on MPs to vote for a deal, then by all means you can give the decision to the country in terms of which direction we go in.

'If Parliament was in deadlock, Theresa May could get herself out of that deadlock by backing a second referendum.'

Frontbench Tory MPs who resigned following Theresa May's Brexit deal Dominic Raab - Brexit Secretary Esther McVey - Work and Pensions Secretary Suella Braverman - Brexit minister Shailesh Vara - Northern Ireland minister Ranil Jayawardena - ministerial aide Rehman Chishti - Conservative vice-chairman Advertisement

The East Surrey MP was born in Beaconsfield, but split from his single mother aged six and was sent to live in Ghana, before returning to a state comprehensive to complete his GCSEs and A-Levels.

The 42-year-old credited 'good schools with great teachers' as he earned a place at Somerville College, Oxford, to read philosophy, politics and economics.

His political teeth were cut at the Oxford Union, where he served as president, and sharpened as he stood for Camden council elections unsuccessfully.

Initially employed by Goldman Sachs as an investment banker, where he worked on mergers and acquisitions, Mr Gyimah was added to the Conservative party A-List and selected as the prospective parliamentary candidate for East Surrey in 2010 following the retirement of Peter Ainsworth.

He took the seat with a 17,000 vote majority and had only been in Westminster for two years when he was made parliamentary private secretary to then Prime Minister David Cameron.

But he pushed for a bigger role in Government, becoming a whip in 2013 and childcare minister in 2014.

Former Work and Pensions Secretary Esther McVey left her post on November 15 and she said to have been 'emotional' in Theresa May's five-hour cabinet

Further promotions to prisons minister and his most-recent role as universities minister followed.

Outside Westminster circles, his following increased after he appeared to quote from Harry Potter during Question Time.

When discussing US President Donald Trump's Britain First retweets and Theresa May's condemnation, he channelled Albus Dumbledore and said: 'It takes great bravery to stand up to your enemies, it takes even more bravery to stand up to your friends.'

Culture Secretary Jeremy Wright said he was 'very sad' to see Universities Minister Sam Gyimah leave the Government over the Brexit deal.

Mr Wright acknowledged the agreement with the EU was not perfect, but said it was the best deal available.

'All of my colleagues are going to have to make their own judgment about what they think about this deal,' he told the BBC Radio 4 Today programme.

'The negotiation we have had with the European Union was always going to be a matter of compromise for both sides. You do have to compare this deal with the realistically available alternatives.

'This isn't a perfect deal but I think it is the best one available.'

Earlier, there was some welcome support for the Prime Minister from Environment Secretary Michael Gove - one of the leaders of the Leave campaign - who urged Tory Brexiteers to get behind the agreement.

In an article for the Daily Mail, he warned that Brexit could be 'in peril' if the agreement was voted down.

'Does the deal deliver 100% of what I wanted? No. But then we didn't win 100% of the vote ... you can't always get everything that you want,' he wrote.

McDonnell plots Labour power bid John McDonnell last night demanded urgent meetings with Whitehall mandarins to prepare for a 'smooth transfer of power' if there is an election and Labour wins. His party's front bench believes if MPs vote down Theresa May's Brexit deal the Government could collapse, forcing the country to the polls within weeks. In a letter to Sir Tom Scholar, the most senior civil servant in the Treasury, the Shadow Chancellor said the 'current instability' meant an election could come 'at any time'. He wrote: 'I believe it behoves us to make suitable preparations now to ensure that there is a smooth transfer of power obviously depending on the outcome of that election.' In radio interviews, Mr McDonnell said any second referendum should include the option to 'throw the whole thing out' and stop Brexit altogether. He also admitted Labour was voting against the deal in part to secure 'party political advantage'. Tory chairman Brandon Lewis accused Labour of 'playing political games' instead of acting in the national interest. Advertisement
PASCAGOULA, Mississippi -- Officials with a manatee sighting network are concerned for the welfare of a manatee spotted in a Pascagoula harbor over the past week.

Pascagoula resident Ben Moore, a retired U.S. Park Ranger, was among the first to see the manatee last Sunday in the Pascagoula Small Craft Harbor.

"One of my neighbors was walking around (the harbor) and flagged me down as I was leaving," Moore said. "He said 'Hey, there's a manatee in the water.' I had to run an errand, but I came back a short time later and more people had gathered. We all stayed there a while watching."

Moore said he tried to capture images of the manatee with his cellphone, but ultimately returned to his house for his good camera to take photos and video, which he posted to his Facebook page.

Dick Dickson, who has a boat berthed at the harbor, notified the Dauphin Island Sea Lab Manatee Sighting Network.

Representatives from the network have been in Pascagoula this week trying to assess the manatee's situation. They spotted the animal on Wednesday and then returned Friday, but did not make a sighting.

Ruth Carmichael of the manatee network said while it's not altogether uncommon for manatees to appear in this area, the water temperature this time of year is of concern.

"We do get manatee sightings in our region year round," Carmichael said. "It becomes a problem, however, when the temperatures drop below 60 degrees.

"When the water temperatures get below that threshold, the manatee starts to experience some internal changes. Physiologically, they start to shut down. They can experience stress or shock because of the cold and it can ultimately kill them."

Carmichael said network representatives have been trying to spot the manatee in the harbor and do a health assessment to determine if the animal is under stress.

"Our philosophy is most of the time they know what they're doing better than we know," she said. "So we try to keep an eye on them, particularly this time of year when an animal might be getting too cold, might need an intervention.

"That's basically what we've been doing (in Pascagoula). Trying to keep an eye on the animal, do a health assessment and then determine if we need to intervene."

More information on manatee sightings, including how to report one, and other information can be found on the network's Facebook page or website.

Carmichael said the network encourages the public to report any manatee sightings, particularly this time of year "when animals may be at risk."
President Donald Trump said it wasn't the 'right time' for him to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin given the country's seizure of Ukrainian ships and noted 'I can't read his mind' when it comes to his counterpart's actions.

The president talked tough on Russia, saying 'we can't allow certain things to happen.'

It was a notable difference in demeanor given criticism Trump has faced in the past about appearing too deferential to Putin.

President Donald Trump said it wasn't the 'right time' for him to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin at the G20

Trump has stayed away from Putin, including at photo opportunities such as the one above with world leaders and their spouses

The president talked tough on Russia in a Voice of America interview

'I cant read his mind, and nobody can,' Trump told Voice of America when asked why Putin directed Russia's military forces to take three Ukrainian vessels.

'He knows what he wants to do, but we cant allow certain things to happen, you know, it happened, and I just cant be a part of it,' Trump added.

Russia's aggression toward the Ukraine sparked international outrage and was the reason Trump gave for canceling his scheduled sit down with him at the G20 summit.

'Frankly, in light of what happened with Ukraine with the ships and the sailors, it just wouldnt be the right time, but I will meet with him. I think we have a very good relationship, and I think were going to have a very good relationship with Russia, and China, and everyone else. I mean, I think its important. So Ill meet with him at the appropriate time,' the president told Voice of America.

The president has been keeping his distance from Putin - literally - during the first day of the G20 summit here.

In group photos during two different sessions during the day, Trump neither stood next to nor acknowledged the Russian president.

Friday evening, at a cultural event for the leaders and their spouses, Trump stood next to first lady Melania Trump and Argentina first lady Juliana Awada.

The president talked to Awada while Melania Trump turned around to talk to Brigitte Macron, the first lady of France, who was standing behind her.

Putin, who arrived at the event after Trump, stood next to German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who finally made it to Buenos Aires after being delayed by plane problems.

Trump also pointedly ignored Putin earlier in the day at the 'family' photo session - a G20 tradition where all the leaders gather for a group photo

The president gave Putin the side-eye as he walked by him but didn't stop to speak to him.

'I cant read his mind, and nobody can,' Trump told Voice of America when asked why Putin directed Russia's military forces to take three Ukrainian vessels

Earlier in the day President Trump side-eyed Russian President Vladimir Putin and the Saudi prince at a family photo event

Trump did 'exchange pleasantries' with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman as Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin and Ivanka Trump looked on

After the 'family' photo, the leaders moved into a separate room for lunch, where they all sat around a round table, each of them with screens and microphones in front of them.

Trump sat two seats with British Prime Minister Theresa May to his left and a German official, sitting in for a missing Chancellor Angela Merkel, to his right.

Putin sat on the other side of table next to Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman.

The two men, both facing international crisises of their own making, exchanged a high-five.

And White House officials had to deny that the two men would engage in a 'pull aside' - State Department term for informal, unscheduled talks between world leaders that can happen at summits - during their two days in Argentina.

The denial came after he Kremlin told Reuters the president will speak with the Russian leader after all - a story the White House scrambled to denounce.

White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders also used that opportunity to slam special counsel Robert Mueller and his investigation for undermining U.S.-Russian relations but claimed President Trump nixed the Putin meeting over Ukraine.

She made the notable attack on the special counsel amid speculation that the president pulled out of his planned meeting with Putin in part due to blowback from the stunning guilty plea by his former lawyer Michael Cohen to an additional charge.

The prince and Putin exchanged high fives when they sat next to each other at a luncheon

Putin and MBS also shared a laugh

'The Russian Witch Hunt Hoax, which is hopefully now nearing an end, is doing very well. Unfortunately, it probably does undermine our relationship with Russia. However, the reason for our canceled meeting is Ukraine. Hopefully, that will be resolved soon so that productive conversations can begin,' Sanders said.

But there will be plenty of opportunities for the two men to bump into each other over the next two days, including Friday night's cultural event and the dinner for leaders afterward at the Teatro Colon.

Trump did end up 'exchanging pleasantries' with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman at the G20 on Friday after avoiding talking to him during the 'family' photo session that afternoon.

Cameras at the summit caught the president talking with the prince during a luncheon after the photo taking.

'They exchanged pleasantries at the leaders session as he did with nearly every leader in attendance,' a senior White House official said on background.

But the president said he did not talk to the prince, who faces international condemnation for his role in the murder of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi.

'We had no discussion. We might, but we had none,' he said during a photo opportunity with Prime Ministers Shinzo Abe of Japan and Narendra Modi of India.

Camera footage from the luncheon event shows Trump with the prince as Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin and first daughter Ivanka Trump look on.

And later in the day the president was asked if he would exchange pleasantries with the other controversial leader at the G20: Putin.

'I don't know,' he said. 'Not particularly. I don't know.'
The two strongmen leaders seen high-fiving with broad smiles on their faces at the G20 meeting have both been involved in their fair share of international conflicts and alleged bloody removals of critics and opponents.

Here we list some of the most recent allegations made against them:

Jailing opponents: Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman

MOHAMMAD BIN SALMAN

In 2015, the then 29-year-old Defense Minister pursues a war in Yemen against Shiite rebels that wears on today.

December 2015 sees the arrest of Israa al-Ghomgham, 29, and six other activists. She remains on death row.

November 2017 sees MbS round up hundreds of members of the Saudi royal family, government ministers and business leaders in an 'anti-corruption purge'. Some 200 end up in house arrested in Riyadh's Ritz Carlton hotel.

In 2017, the hardline Muslim nation executed a total of 146 people, according to Amnesty, up from 90 in 2015.

May 2018, Saudi Arabia arrests more than a dozen women's rights activists. They remain in prison, without charge.

October 2, 2018 sees the brutal murder of dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi at the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul by a 'hit squad' with links to the Saudi government. Many believe the murder was ordered by the Prince.

Dissidents disappearing: Russia's President Vladimir Putin

VLADIMIR PUTIN


[Intro: Meek Mill]

You know what free is, n***a?

[Chorus: Meek Mill]

What's free?

Free is when nobody else could tell us what to be

Free is when the TV ain't controllin' what we see

Told my n***as 'I need you'

Through all the fame you know I stay true

Pray my n***as stay free

Made a few mistakes but this ain't where I wanna be

Before I'm judged by 12, put a 12 on my V

Told my n***as, 'I need you'

Stay up I know these times ain't true

Real life, what's free

[Verse 1: Rick Ross]

Since a lad, I was cunning

Just got a pad out in London

I keep stackin' my money, I need a ladder by summer

AK shots, n***as duckin' stray shots

Been a Top Dawg, that's before the K.Dots

Crackin' in '06, immaculate showmanship

Talk it like you Mitch, disastrous on the strip

Holdin' on your b***h, coulda never sold you a brick

With them people you never been on a list

Mona Lisa to me ain't nothin' but a b***h

Hanging pictures like n***as swinging from his d**k

We so different you thought these didn't exist

The Megalodon never seen on his wrist

I'm from the South where they never make it this rich

God is the greatest, but Satan been on his s**t

Walkin' the pavement, I pray I'm illuminated

Over a decade and never nobody's favorite

Pot and kilo go hand in hand like we gamblin' huf

My amigo, a million grams and we countin' 'em up

You was dead broke, I let you hold a pack

You paid for it, but I f****d around and stole the track

Screaming 'gang gang' now you wanna rap

Racketeering charges caught him on a tap

Lookin' for a bond lawyers wanna tax

Purple hair got them f****ts on your back

[Chorus: Meek Mill]





[Verse 2: Meek Mill]

Fed investigations, heard they plottin' like I trap

20 mil' in cash, they know I got that off a rap

Maybe it's the Michael Rubins or the Robert Krafts

Or the billionaire from Marcy ain't no way they got my back

Seein' how I prevailed now they try to knock me back, uh

Lock me in the cell for all them nights and I won't snap, uh

Two-fifty a show and they still think I'm sellin' crack

When you bring my name up to the judge just tell em' facts

Tell em how we fundin' all these kids to go to college

Tell him how we ceasin' all these wars, stoppin' violence

Tryna fix the system and the way they designed it

I think they want me silenced (Shush)

Oh say can you see

I don't feel like I'm free

Locked down in my cell, shackled from ankle to feet

Judge bangin' that gavel turned me to slave from a king

Another day in the bing, I gotta hang from a string

Just for poppin' a wheelie, my people march in the city

From a cell to a chopper view from the top of the city

You can tell how we rockin' soon as I pop up we litty

Poppin' like Bad Boy in '94, Big Poppa and Diddy

And n***as counted me out like my accountant ain't busy

That's five milli' in twenties, sit up in council, I'm dizzy

Phantom, five hundred thousand, hundred round in a stizzy

Is we beefin' or rappin', I might just pop up with Drizzy like

[Chorus: Meek Mill]

[Verse 3: Jay-Z]

In the land of the free, where the blacks enslaved

Three-fifth's of a man I believe's the phrase

I'm 50% of D'usse and it's debt free (Yeah)

100% of Ace of Spades, worth half a B (Uh)

Roc Nation, half of that, that's my piece

Hunnid percent of Tidal to bust it up with my G's

Since most of my n****s won't ever work together

You run a cheque up but they never give you leverage

No red hat, don't Michael and Prince me and Ye

They separate you when you got Michael and Prince's DNA, uh

I ain't one of these house n****s you bought

My house like a resort, my house bigger than yours

My spou- (C'mon man)

My route better of course

We started without food in our mouth

They gave us pork and pig intestines

S**t you discarded that we ingested, we made the project a wave

You came back, reinvested and gentrified it

Took n***a's sense of pride

Now how that's free?

And the people stole their soul and hit n***as with 360's

I ain't got a billion streams, got a billion dollars

Inflating numbers like we 'posed to be happy about this

We was praisin' Billboard but we were young

Now I look at Billboard like 'Is you dumb?'

To this day, Grandma 'fraid of what I might say

They gon' have to kill me Grandmama, I'm not they slave (Ha-ha-ha)

Check out the bizarre rappin' style used by me the HOV

Look at my hair free, care free

N***as ain't near free

Enjoy your chains, whats your employer name with the hair piece?

I survived the hood, can't no Shaytan rob me

My accountant's so good I'm practically livin' tax free

Factory, that's me

Sold drugs, got away scot-free

That's a CC, E-copy

Guilt free, still me

And they expect me to not feel a way to this day

You would say y'all kill me

Sucker free, no shuckin me

I don't jive turkey

Say 'Happy Thanksgiving'

S**t sound like murder to me

Smoke free

All of y'all calling out toll free

Labels rob you for millions yet you wanna put a hole in me

Sugar free, seasoned but I'm salt free

Lay a hand on Hov, my shooter shoot for free

I promise World War three

Send an order through a hands free, kill you in 24 hours or shorter you can't ignore the hand speed

On god, it's off the head this improv

But it's no comedy

Sign I fail, hell naw (Ha-ha-ha)
Researchers in Singapore are seeking a patent for a new sound-proof and heat-resistant material made from recycled plastic bottles they say could help reduce plastic waste dumped in oceans and clogging landfills.

The National University of Singapore team said it had found a way to convert bottles made from polyethylene terephthalate (PET) into aerogels that have many potential uses - from insulation and fire safety to cleaning up oil spills.

'Plastic waste is one of the hardest wastes to recycle,' Hai Minh Duong, an associate professor at the university's Department of Mechanical Engineering, told Reuters Television.

An NUS researcher shows an Aerogel pellet at NUS's Department of Mechanical Engineering in Singapore November 23, 2018.

WHAT IS THE NEW MATERIAL? The PET aerogels made from plastic bottle waste are soft, flexible, durable, very light and easy to handle. One recycled bottle can produce an A4-sized aerogel sheet. The material can be customised for various uses by adding surface treatments to enhance its ability to absorb and insulate. Versions of the material can also be used for heat and sound insulation in buildings, cleaning oil spills and in masks to absorb carbon monoxide. Advertisement

The team had been looking for novel engineering applications to help reduce the global scourge of plastic waste, he said.

Some eight million tonnes of plastic is dumped into oceans every year, killing marine life and entering the human food chain, according to the U.N. Environment Programme.

Five Asian countries - China, Indonesia, the Philippines, Vietnam and Thailand - accounted for up to 60 percent of plastic waste leaking into oceans, according to a 2015 study.

The PET aerogels made from plastic bottle waste are soft, flexible, durable, very light and easy to handle, the team said in a statement this month.

One recycled bottle can produce an A4-sized aerogel sheet, the team said, and the material can be customised for various uses by adding surface treatments to enhance its ability to absorb and insulate.

For example, a sheet coated with fire retardant chemicals was able to withstand temperatures of up to 620 degrees Celsius.

That is seven times higher than a regular thermal lining in a firefighter's coat, and only 10 percent of the weight.

Versions of the material can also be used for heat and sound insulation in buildings, cleaning oil spills and in masks to absorb carbon monoxide.

An NUS researcher explains how face masks are enhanced with Aerogel at NUS's Department of Mechanical Engineering in Singapore November 23, 2018.

One recycled bottle can produce an A4-sized aerogel sheet, the team said, and the material can be customised for various uses by adding surface treatments to enhance its ability to absorb and insulate.

The team published its research in the scientific journal Colloids and Surfaces A in August.

It filed for a patent in March and is looking for partners to mass produce the aerogel.

The cost of making a 1 metre by 1 metre by 1 cm sheet could be less than S$10 ($7.30), Duong said.

As countries struggle to cope with growing piles of plastic and other waste, Duong said their invention showed that engineering and technology can offer solutions.

'In the future, my dream is that ... there will be no waste for me to recycle,' he said.
Recent discoveries on the history of tobacco suggest the plant may have played an important role in North Americas transition to farming.

Two studies published this year show indigenous populations began smoking tobacco much earlier than previously thought, and were likely growing the crop at least 1,200 years ago in some parts of the US.

An analysis of a dozen ancient pipe fragments containing traces of nicotine from a Pacific Northwest tribe is now said to be the longest continuous record of tobacco smoking from any single region in the world.

In the WSU study, researchers worked with Nez Perce tribe leaders to analyze pipes and fragments from three sites on the Snake River using a solvent and mass spectrometry. The oldest dates to roughly 1200 years ago

I think its a very reasonable proposition that people were cultivating tobacco, says Shannon Tushingham, a Washington State University assistant professor and director of its Museum of Anthropology.

This is just another sign of the sophistication of cultures in this area and how they managed plants and animals.

In the WSU study, researchers worked with Nez Perce tribe leaders to analyze pipes and fragments from three sites on the Snake River using a solvent and mass spectrometry.

The team expected to find traces of kinnikinnick (bearberry), which it was long thought the indigenous people in the Pacific Northwest smoked exclusively until traders arrived with tobacco from the east in the 1790s.

Tobacco does not grow plentifully in the cool, wet climate of the Pacific Northwest.

Coyote tobacco (Nicotiana attenuate) typically grows on sandy river bars, while N. quadrivalvus grows further south.

Despite this, none of the pipes were found to contain the compound associated with this plant.

N. quadrivalvus (illustrated) was among the species found in the pipes

Instead, the team detected nicotine dating to periods before and after the group made contact with European settlers.

The oldest date as far back as 1,200 years ago.

The history of tobacco in North America has largely been overshadowed by the boom in trade that occurred in the 17-1800s, after settlers realized potent, dried tobacco was easy to transport.

This occurred so rapidly and so early in the historic record that a complete understanding of in situ pre-contact smoking practices has been obscured, the researchers explain in the paper.

A second study published this summer pushes the date of tobacco smoking to more than 1,000 years earlier than previously thought.

According to that team, led by anthropologist Stephen Carmody of Troy University, traces of nicotine were found in a pipe from around 1685 BC, Smithsonian reports.

This was found during excavations at the Moundville complex in central Alabama. Before this, the oldest evidence was a smoking tube from around the year 300 BC.

Nez Perce tribe members can be seen holding tobacco pipes in the images above, all from the late 1800s. These pipes are post-contact-era elbow pipes

Tobacco does not grow plentifully in the Pacific Northwest. Nicotiana attenuate grows on sandy river bars, while N. quadrivalvus grows further south. But, researchers detected nicotine dating to periods before and after the group made contact with European settlers

Much like the WSU team, Carmody also suspects indigenous groups in North America may have cultivated tobacco, as the discovery somewhat narrows the gap between hunter-gatherer lifestyle and the onset of crop domestication.

With the arrival of the Europeans, however, much about the way tobacco was used changed, transforming from a largely religious and ceremonial practice to be a recreational activity.

Once [Europeans] discovered tobacco and smoked it, the desire wasnt just for its stimulant qualities, but also for its sociability, says archaeologist Georgia Fox, author of The Archaeology of Smoking and Tobacco, told Smithsonian Mag.

It became a tool in the social world for people to converse and drink and smoke and create relationships.
Lyft has taken the wraps off of its new shareable bikes and scooters.

In a blog post, the ride-share firm gave a glimpse at what the bicycles and scooters will look like, complete with wheels colored in Lyft's trademark fuchsia pink hue.

The firm told TechCrunch that users will be able to rent bikes in the Lyft app soon.

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In a blog post, the ride-share firm gave a glimpse at what the bicycles and scooters will look like, complete with wheels colored in Lyft's trademark fuchsia pink hue

WHERE WILL LYFT BIKES BE AVAILABLE? Motivate, the firm bought by Lyft, operates many of the largest bikeshare systems in North America, including: Citi Bike (New York) Ford GoBike (San Francisco Bay area), Divvy (Chicago) Blue Bikes (Boston metro area) Capital Bikeshare (Washington, D.C. metro area) BIKETOWN (Portland metro area) CoGo (Columbus, Ohio) Nice Ride (Minneapolis). Advertisement

'Today, Lyft takes a large step forward in our vision to provide a more sustainable transportation experience that will bring together all your favorite ways of getting around into one unified Lyft app,' Lyft co-founder John Zimmer wrote.

'We're excited to introduce new and exciting mobility products in the months ahead for our partners and riders.'

It comes as the firm also announced that it had closed its acquisition of Motivate, which operates bike programs in New York, Boston, San Francisco, Washington and elsewhere.

Lyft reportedly spent approximately $250 million to purchase Motivate.

With the deal complete, it makes Lyft 'America's largest bikeshare service,' according to the firm.

'With this acquisition, we are poised to help take bikeshare to the next level: adding thousands of bikes and stations in communities that havent had access to transportation; making bikeshare membership more convenient and affordable than ever; and deploying new electric bikes, on a major scale,' Lyft said in the blog post.

It comes as the firm also announced that it had closed its acquisition of Motivate, which operates bike programs in New York, Boston, San Francisco, Washington and elsewhere

Lyft's scooter rental service has been around for a while, with the first fleet arriving in Denver earlier this year. The firm has seen a growing number of users opt to take scooters there, which like means it will continue to expand to more cities over time

New York-based Citi Bike currently oversees 12,000 docked bikes, but with a new $10 million investment from Lyft, it will count 40,000 bikes in its arsenal by 2023.

Its fleet is expected to include a sizable number of e-bikes, according to the Verge.

'We are still learning from our pilot how best to prepare for the L train shutdown, but early results show that demand for pedal-assist bikes is extremely high, and our investment will help meet that demand,' a Lyft spokesperson told the Verge.

It seems the firm will not be adopting the dockless bike model, as the dock-based system 'has been successful,' the spokesperson added.

New York-based Citi Bike currently oversees 12,000 docked bikes, but with a new $10 million investment from Lyft, it will count 40,000 bikes in its arsenal by 2023

Lyft's scooter rental service has been around for a while, with the first fleet arriving in Denver earlier this year.

The firm has seen a growing number of users opt to take scooters there, which like means it will continue to expand to more cities over time.

Lyft recently began allowing users in Santa Monica and Washington, DC to rent scooters in the app.
An outright ban on plastics could cause even more harm to the environment and lead to triple the amount of greenhouse gas emissions.

That's the finding of experts from Herriot-Watt University in Edinburgh, who say that replacing plastic with alternate materials such as metal and glass won't help the environment.

The team say this is because the manufacturing of these replacements could double global energy consumption.

Resources required to process these replacement materials would lead to more energy consumption and more greenhouse gas.

Campaigners have called for reductions or bans, with recent programmes such as the BBC's Blue Planet highlighting the impact of plastics on the world's oceans.

But the team of forty academics said arguments surrounding a reduction or ban are 'often shortsighted and not based on facts'.

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A volunteer creates a heart shaped collection of plastic bottles littering the foreshore of the River Thames. Experts from Herriot-Watt University in Edinburgh say that banning plastic and replacing it with materials such as metal and glass would lead to more energy consumption

The waste products produced when making metal and glass are all bad for the environment.

The major environmental impact of glass and metal production is caused by atmospheric emissions from melting activities.

The combustion of natural gas/fuel oil and the decomposition of raw materials during the melting lead to the emission of CO2.

Professor David Bucknall, who led the research, said that transportation of consumer goods in plastic packaging means fewer vehicles because plastic is lightweight.

The academics draw expertise from engineering, science, economics and social science, said there needs to be a 'circular economy' for plastic usage.

'Almost everything we touch or interact with on a daily basis is made of or contains a plastic of some description,' said Professor David Bucknall, chairman in materials chemistry from the university's Institute of Chemical Sciences.

'Banning or reducing their use would have a massive impact on the way we live.

A seal in the Arctic with a plastic bag in its mouth. The team of forty academics said arguments surrounding a reduction or ban are 'often shortsighted and not based on facts'. The group said there needs to be a 'circular economy' for plastic usage

'Plastics are lightweight, transportation of consumer goods in plastic packaging means fewer vehicles are required for transportation of those goods.

'Therefore burning less fuel and greatly reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

'So whilst some people may wish for plastics to be reduced or banned altogether, we need to ensure we are replacing them with materials that are better for the planet.

'In many cases there is no credible alternative to using a plastic so we need to move towards a "circular economy" for plastics, rather than the largely 'make-use-dispose' model we currently adopt.'

The plastics polluting the world's oceans have been highlighted with recent programmes such as the BBC's Blue Planet. The group of academics say replacing plastics with alternative materials such as glass and metals would cost more to manufacture
Apple is set to make an iSheet woven with strange sensors that monitor people's sleep, according to the firm's latest patent.

The multi-sensor sleep system includes a camera that analyses people as they snooze from above.

According to the firm, this peculiar system could help people sleep better and also pick up hidden medical issues.

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Apple is set to make an iSheet woven with sensors that monitor people's sleep. The multi-sensor sleep system also includes a camera that analyses people's sleep from above (stock)

According to the patent published by the US Patent & Trademark Office this week the bedding would connect to a touch-screen control panel.

This would display the sleeper's heart rate, breathing rate and temperature.

It could also provide tips on how to get a better quality sleep.

Typically, bulky systems are needed to monitor how people sleep which generally involve going to a special medical facility.

However, using miniature electrical sensors this Apple patent records physiological measurements from home, writesPatently Apple.

The patent describes 53 'piezo' sensors on one duvet or cover, that would generate multiple electrical signals.

This means they can analyse the user's vital signs using data from multiple regions of their body.

A camera could also oversee someone sleeping which the firm says would further improve sleep analysis.

A camera could also oversee someone sleeping which the firm says would improve sleep analysis. The patent describes 53 'piezo' sensors on one duvet or cover (pictured), that would generate multiple electrical signals

The monitoring system could also include fewer or more sensors as well as different types of sensors to monitor different conditions.

'Apple notes that the system and sensors could also be used with sheets where the system is incorporated into the fabric or textile of the sheet and may have related monitoring accessories such as pillow cases, a duvet and/or blanket', Patently Apple writes.

The developers say that personal information will not be shared or collected without the consent of the user.

'In some examples, the user(s) can selectively block or restrict access to and/or use of the personal information.

'The monitoring system can include one or more hardware components and/or one or more software applications to allow the user(s) to selectively block or restrict access to and/or use of the personal information.'

Apple files lots of patents and it is not clear if, or when, this one will materialise.
Faced with seesawing commodity prices and the pressure to be more efficient and environmentally friendly, farmer Jamie Butler is trying out a new worker on his 450-acre farm in England's Hampshire countryside.

Methodically inspecting Butler's winter wheat crop for weeds and pests, the laborer doesn't complain or even break a sweat.

That's because it's a four-wheel robot dubbed 'Tom' that uses GPS, artificial intelligence and smartphone technology to digitally map the field.

Joe Allnutt, lead roboticist at British startup company the Small Robot Company, inspects a farming robot named Tom as part of a trial in East Meon, southern England

Tom's creator, the Small Robot Company, is part of a wave of 'agri-tech' startups working to transform production in a sector that is under economic strain due to market pressures to keep food cheap, a rising global population and the uncertainties of climate change.

Most robots are still only being tested, but they offer a glimpse of how automation will spread from manufacturing plants into rural areas.

'If we can keep our costs to an absolute minimum by being on the leading edge of technologies as one method of doing that, then that's a really, really good thing,' said Butler, one of 20 British farmers enlisted in a yearlong trial.

Next year, the British startup plans to start testing two more robots controlled by an artificial intelligence system that will work alongside Tom, autonomously doing precision 'seeding, feeding and weeding.'

The aim is to drastically cut down on fertilizer and pesticide use to lower costs and boost profits for struggling farmers.

As such, it not only helps economically, but it also lowers the environmental impact of farming.

'What we're doing is stuff that people can't do,' said Ben Scott-Robinson, co-founder of the Small Robot Company .

'It's not physically possible for a farmer to go round and check each individual plant and then treat that plant individually.

A farming robot named 'Tom' produced by Small Robot Company as part of a field trial to develop new farm technologie. The 'agri-tech' startup company is developing lightweight autonomous machines that can carry out precision 'seeding, feeding and weeding'

Most robots are still only being tested, but they offer a glimpse of how automation will spread from manufacturing plants into rural areas

That's only possible when you have something as tireless as a robot and as focused and accurate as an AI to be able to achieve that.'

Commercial sales of the robots is still years away, with larger-scale testing planned for 2021. They represent the next step in the evolution of automation for farms.

Self-driving tractors and robotic milking machines have been in use for years and, more recently, unmanned aerial drones that monitor crops have gone into service.

Eventually, farmers 'will be able to automate virtually everything,' said Tim Chambers, a fruit farmer who's not involved in the trial.

Some jobs are harder to automate, such as harvesting delicate raspberries or strawberries by hand, but even that is coming, said Chambers, a member of Britain's National Farmers Union.

WHEN WILL ROBOT FARMERS BE A REALITY? Leading agricultural minds are working on developing robots to increase the efficiency of plant harvesting. Harper Adams University in Shropshire are developing a robot that don't harvest crops until they are perfect, eradicating wonky and inedible vegetable. Farmers currently harvest fields all at once, in a practice known as slaughter harvesting. But this method leads to up to 60 per cent of the crop being wasted, because it is either wonky or inedible. Engineers are working on machines that can autonomously plant seeds, weed, water and spray without a farmer. The robots can also be programmed to only pick crops where they are perfectly ripe. Developer of the autonomous veg pickers, Professor Simon Blackmore, said: 'I am trying to develop a completely new agricultural mechanisation system based on small smart machines. 'We are developing laser weeding, droplet application where only 100 per cent of the chemical goes onto the target leaf, selective harvesting where we can grade the product at the point of harvest.' Advertisement

Florida's Harvest Croo Robotics , Spain's Agrobot , Britain's Dogtooth Technologies and Belgium's Octinion are all developing berry-picking bots. California startup Iron Ox and Japan's Spread grow vegetables in automated indoor farms.

Bosch startup Deepfield Robotics is working on a weeding robot that punches them into the ground.

Last year, British researchers planted, monitored, tended and harvested a barley crop using only autonomous machines robots, in what they said was a world first.

A more fundamental problem 'will be the cost of building those robots and the research that has to go into making them,' Chambers said.

The low cost of air freight could still make it cheaper to, for example, fly in fruit from other countries where labor is cheaper, he said.

To ease financial pressure on farmers reluctant to make big one-off investments in equipment, the Small Robot Company plans to sell its services as a monthly subscription, charging 600 pounds per hectare a year.

Self-driving tractors and robotic milking machines have been in use for years and, more recently, unmanned aerial drones that monitor crops have gone into service

With a bright orange 3D-printed body, and beefy all-terrain wheels, Tom resembles an oversized roller skate.

Their light weight means these robots won't compact soil the way tractors do, Scott-Robinson said.

On Butler's farm, Tom trundles along crop rows taking hundreds of thousands of high-resolution pictures during the growing season.

The images are fed to Wilma, the artificial intelligence platform, which is being trained to tell the difference between wheat and weeds.

In 2019, the company will hold trials for two more robots, Dick and Harry. Dick will deliver fertilizer directly to soil around roots, instead of wasteful blanket spraying, and use a laser or micro-spray chemicals to kill weeds.

Harry will insert seeds into the earth at a uniform depth and spacing, eliminating the need for tractors to plow furrows.
Instagram has launched a new feature dubbed 'Close Friends' that lets users share their stories with a smaller group of people.

The new feature will appear on the user's profile in the side menu enables Instagram's more than one billion users.

They can then create a smaller group of friends and share stories exclusively with them exclusively.

However, it could lead to huge rows with other followers that find out they have been excluded.

Instagram has launched a new feature dubbed 'Close Friends' that lets users share their stories with a smaller group of people. The new feature will appear on the user's profile in the side menu enables Instagram's more than one billion users (stock image)

HOW CAN PEOPLE TELL IF THEIR ON YOUR CLOSE FRIENDS LIST? Instagram users that make the list will see a green ring around their friend's profile photo in the Stories tray. They will also see a green badge when you're viewing their Stories. You'll also see a green badge when you're viewing their Stories. Another way the game may be given away is if people have open conversations about photos they have received but have been hidden from other friends. Advertisement

The idea is people may feel more comfortable sharing some things with just close friends, rather than all followers.

Regular posts would still appear to everyone, though users have the option of pre-approving followers.

Facebook already lets people narrow audiences for individual posts, but the Facebook-owned Instagram hasn't.

Social-media companies are quickly learning that bigger audience sizes for users can mean a reluctance to share more personal information.

So, they are adding ways to communicate with smaller groups. This is why Facebook is beefing up its Groups feature, and why messaging apps are so popular.

Robby Stein, product director at Instagram, said the feature took more than a year to complete. It starts rolling out to users Friday.

'If you're on someone's close friends list, you'll see a green ring around their photo in the Stories tray and a green badge when you're viewing their stories,' Instagram said in a statement.

The idea behind the new feature is that people may feel more comfortable sharing some things with just close friends, rather than all followers (stock image)

Facebook has been focusing on Instagram, its fastest-growing revenue generator, as the social networking website's core platform has come under fire from regulators.

They are pushing to improve information safeguards for individual privacy, to combat addiction to social media, and to stop misinformation or fake news.

In October, Instagram appointed long-term insider Adam Mosseri as the head of the photo-sharing app following the high-profile exits of the photo-sharing app's co-founders Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger.

Rival Snap Inc owner of Snapchat, which faces stiff competition from Instagram has been redesigning the app to lure more users and advertisers.

Snap also bagged a $250 million (195m) investment from Saudi Arabia's Prince Alwaleed bin Talal as it shifted toward a self-serve model for advertisers.
Imitating the accent of a country 11,000 miles away from his home allowed a 28-year-old man to regain control of his own voice.

Nick Prosser, from Rotorua, New Zealand, spent his entire life struggling with a stutter but cured his affliction by putting on an Irish accent.

He adopted the accent of the Emerald Isle when fooling around with friends and says the chance discovery has liberated him.

Speaking in a foreign accent is a novel technique which has also helped actress Emily Blunt overcome a stammer in childhood.

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Nick Prosser, 28, (pictured) spent his entire life struggling with a stutter but cured his affliction by putting on an Irish accent. He adopted the accent of the Emerald Isle when fooling around with friends and says the chance discovery has liberated him

There are several causes of a stutter as they can be hereditary, neurophysical or developmental.

It is believed that speaking in a different accent can alleviate a stammer by subconsciously avoiding the regions of the brain that cause the speech impediment.

Elaine Kelman, a consultant speech and language therapist at the Michael Palin Centre, told MailOnline: 'Using a different accent for some people can induce fluency and for some people it is very temporary.

'I don't know of anyone who has done this for their whole life.'

'Neurophysiological decisions make it difficult for your mouth to form the words the brain wants and is often worsened by emotions.

'If you feel more confident because of a certain technique, confidence then grows and acts as a double-whammy.

'By looking at the brains of people who stammer we see differences in the way their brain is wired and this makes it more difficult to speak with fluency.'

Nick Prosser, from Rotorua, New Zealand, suffered from low confidence due to his speech impediment.

After playing a simple game with a friend, the keen rapper discovered that when conversing in an Irish accent he was able to hold a conversation without hindrance.

'I tried (the accent) and then next thing we are having a long conversation with no stuttering,' Mr Prosser told the Rotorua Daily Post.

Mr Prosser (pictured) found himself by himself in social gatherings as it was a lot harder for him to contribute just a few words in conversations. Since taking on the accent, Mr Prosser says he is a new man

'I couldn't believe it. I had been to so many speech therapists and doctors and they never suggested this technique.'

Mr Prosser spoke of how his stutter had left him with low confidence and acted as a serious barrier as he struggled to find jobs and fit in at social occasions.

But since taking on the accent, Mr Prosser says he is a new man.

Even though he has never visited Ireland, Mr Prosser brings the remarkable cure down to his heritage, as his mum is a descendant from the country.

HOW DOES SPEAKING IN AN ACCENT CURE A STUTTER? Stuttering affects about five per cent of children ages two to five, according to the National Institute of Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD). The amount of people who have a stutter persist into adulthood is even less - with around one per cent of people carrying the condition throughout their life. Speech and language therapists have a variety of techniques to circumnavigate the neurological issues that can cause a stutter. It is believed that using a foreign accent, one that is familiar to the individual, can help with neurogenic and psychogenic ailments. Using a different accent can bypass the regions of the brain responsible for signal abnormalities between the brain and nerves or muscles or the type of the brain that originates in the part of the mind that governs thinking and reasoning. Advertisement

Hollywood actress Emily Blunt (pictured) has previously spoke out about her struggles with a speech impediment at school. In an interview with People , the actress revealed that the ailment ran in her family, with 'an uncle, cousin, grandfather who stuttered'

He urges people who suffer from a stutter to try out different accents from different countries, particularly if they have ties to it.

Despite Mr Prosser's cure, speech specialists are still not confident it has longevity.

'This is something that works for him and that's fine. But in six months time, if it is still working I would be saying 'wow, that's amazing',' Rotorua speech specialist Annette Stock said.

His friends and family, however, aren't worried about how long it'll last - they're just ecstatic to see that his confidence has lifted.

Hollywood actress Emily Blunt has previously spoke out about her struggles with a speech impediment at school.

In an interview with People, the actress revealed that the ailment ran in her family, with 'an uncle, cousin, grandfather who stuttered'.

Ms Blunt, the star of Devil Wears Prada, said: 'I used to find a lot of funny voices and funny accents because I could speak more fluently if I didn't sound like me.'

Since making the discovery, Mr Prosser (centre) now has more confidence in social gatherings
Russia will establish a moon colony by 2040, the federal space agency announced.

According to officials, getting a human-crewed landing to set up a lunar base is the top priority.

The news comes just after NASA revealed it plans to take America back to the moon 'to stay' using private firms to run the business.

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Russia will establish a moon colony by 2040, the federal space agency announced. According to the agency, getting a human-crewed landing to set up a lunar base is the top priority (stock)

Rosmocos, the Russian space agency, said it will launch the strategy in three phases.

This will include launching an orbital station, then a manned mission and subsequently the construction of a permanent base.

A spokesperson said the agency had pinpointed 'unique regions with favourable conditions for the construction of lunar bases' using a satellite.

'The implementation of the lunar program will be held in several stages until 2040.'

The announcement was made at a joint meeting of the Moscow-based Scientific and Technical Council of Roscosmos and the Space Council of the Russian Academy of Sciences.

Officials say the goal of lunar programmes is to ensure national interests are fulfilled in space.

'Moon exploration issues are now heading the agenda of our Space Council. The question is really serious', said the President of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Alexander Sergeyev.

'We understand our limited resources. The geopolitical situation is not conducive to attracting these resources.'

'It's impossible to solve earthly problems, not knowing where we are moving in the future,' said Dmitry Rogozin, Director General of the Roscosmos State Corporation.

The announcement was made at a joint meeting of the Moscow-based Scientific and Technical Council of Roscosmos and the Space Council of the Russian Academy of Sciences. Pictured is Dmitry Rogozin, Director General of the Roscosmos State Corporation at the conference

Just yesterday NASA revealed it also wants to return to the moon - and set up for good.

The space agency plans to work with nine private firms, ranging from small startups to giants like Lockheed Martin, to develop robotic landers and systems to mine the natural resources on the moon.

This will help develop the technology need for eventual manned missions, and NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine pledged to have a manned lunar base within a decade.

The first new lunar missions could blast off as early next year.

'We're building the next chapter of American exploration, returning to the moon - to stay,' the space agency announced.

'I think that it is possible we can have a presence on the moon with humans within a decade,' said NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine.

'We're going to utilize the resources of the moon, and take this all the way to Mars

Bridenstine, a former U.S. Navy fighter pilot and Oklahoma congressman tapped by President Donald Trump in April as NASA chief, said the plan was part of Trump's Space Directive-1 policy.

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Administrator Jim Bridenstine announces new Moon to Mars partnerships with American companies

The new missions will see the US return to the lunar surface for the first time since Apollo 17 in December 1972, the final mission of the crewed lunar exploration program (pictured, Gene Cernan, the last man to walk on the moon).

'Today's announcement marks tangible progress in America's return to the Moon's surface to stay,' he said.

He said future bases would be international, and that he hoped the US would lead the plans.

'The innovation of America's aerospace companies, wedded with our big goals in science and human exploration, are going to help us achieve amazing things on the Moon and feed forward to Mars.'

NASA plans to create a commercial marketplace called the Commercial Lunar Payload Services Program (CLIPS) to develop technology that will eventually establish a continuous Moon presence.

A maximum of $2.6bn is earmarked for the project, and NASA will also buy space on commercial robotic landers, along with other customers, to deliver payloads to the lunar surface.
The search for a giant rat and a monkey-faced bat have helped heal long-standing colonial wounds.

Scientific research into the species led to a reconciliation ceremony between Australia and indigenous people in the Solomon Islands 90 years after a brutal spree of murders.

Tyrone Lavery, postdoctoral researcher at the Field Museum in Chicago, travelled nearly 8,000 miles to find the species in Malaita, one of the Solomon Islands' largest provinces.

The search for a giant rat and a monkey-faced bat have helped heal long-standing colonial wounds. Pictured is Tyrone Lavery, postdoctoral researcher at the Field Museum in Chicago with a member of the Kwaio tribe

WHAT HAPPENED IN 1927? The tensions between the Kwaio and the Western world that this reconciliation ceremony sought to alleviate came to a head in 1927. This was when the Solomon Islands were a British protectorate. Rebelling against colonial rule and a tax imposed on his people, Kwaio leader Basiana killed William Bell, a district officer. In retaliation, British authorities launched a punitive expedition, sending Australian and Solomon Islands forces to murder more than 60 Kwaio. They also defaced shrines to ancestors, whom the Kwaio worship in religious practice. Advertisement

In partnership with the Kwaio, an indigenous people in Malaita, Australian researchers took part in a reconciliation ceremony that help mend a century's worth of colonial wounds.

The tensions between the Kwaio and the Western world that this reconciliation ceremony sought to alleviate came to a head in 1927.

This was when the Solomon Islands were a British protectorate.

Rebelling against colonial rule and a tax imposed on his people, Kwaio leader Basiana killed William Bell, a district officer.

In retaliation, British authorities launched a punitive expedition, sending Australian and Solomon Islands forces to murder more than 60 Kwaio.

They also defaced shrines to ancestors, whom the Kwaio worship in religious practice.

'After these killings happened, it created a rift between the Kwaio people and the outside world,' said Tommy Esau, a Kwaio community leader.

'This historical trauma has also become a barrier to a lot of development, research, and a lot of good things that can help us.'

Pictured are members of the Kwaio community and Australian scientists gathering for a ceremony reconciling acts of colonial violence that took place in 1927

Since 2015, Dr Lavery and the group of Australian researchers have worked with Kwaio locals to navigate Malaita's lush rainforests in search of the giant rat and monkey-faced bat.

On these expeditions, the Kwaio would cite unrest among ancestors as a threat to both the goal of finding the mammals and the scientists' safety.

The paper, published in Nature, spurred on conversations about the reconciliation ceremony.

'Kwaio leadership saw the relationship developed with the Australian researchers as an opportunity to finally reconcile', said lead researcher Tyrone Lavery, a postdoctoral researcher at the Field Museum in Chicago.

Kwaio and Australian scientists work together to find a giant rat and a monkey-faced bat on Malaita. Dr Lavery and his colleagues continue to advocate for the protection of Kwaio land to research and conservation entities

'This July, we and other representatives and descendants of tribes affected in 1927 and of Australians met in the mountains of Malaita for traditional ceremonies, exchanging pigs and shell money to resolve the dispute.

'The watershed event has established us as genuine partners and is a beginning to peace among Kwaio tribes, Malaita, Solomon Islands and ultimately with Britain.'

There's still much work to be done - from meetings within the Kwaio community to further reconciliations with people from surrounding Christian villages.

Dr Lavery and his colleagues continue to advocate for the protection of Kwaio land to research and conservation entities.

The search for the giant rat and monkey-faced bat persists - and so, too, does the strengthened partnership between the Kwaio and scientific communities.

'Our experience shows that all parties can benefit from biodiversity surveys if they respect local cultural processes and are built on mutual collaboration', researchers wrote in the paper.
An ancient species of humans lived on the Tibetan Plateau before modern man, scientists believe.

Denisovans, an ancient ancestor of modern humans, may have inhabited the harsh environment tens of thousands of years before previously thought.

The Tibetan Plateau has an annual temperature around freezing and is 4,000 metres (12,000 feet) above sea level.

Extreme altitude at the plateau makes survival tough and modern-day Tibetans carry remnants of Denisovan DNA.

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Analysis at an archaeological site called Nwya Devu provided evidence that the first traces of humanity at the Tibetan Plateau. The site has long been used by academics and has wielded several hauls of artefacts, including stone tools (pictured)

Previous research has claimed humans didn't inhabit the inhospitable region until 3,600 years ago.

Analysis at an archaeological site called Nwya Devu provided evidence that the first traces of humanity at the site predate this considerably.

'What we know is that the Denisovans left their homeland in the Altai Mountains of southern Siberia and eventually trekked all the way to Melanesia [the islands northeast of Australia], taking with them their signature genome,' Dr John Olsen at the University of Arizona in Tucson told New Scientist.

'One logical route for such a migration may have included passage up and over the Tibetan Plateau.'

The site has long been used by academics and has wielded several hauls of artefacts, including stone tools.

Dating techniques used by the researchers found the earliest tools date back to between 40,000 and 30,000 years old.

Most Tibetans carry a novel piece of DNA in their genome which is believed to originate from the interbreeding between Homo sapiens and members of the cousin species Denisovans.

The presence of Denisovan DNA - as well as that of Neanderthals - has further muddied the waters around whether they are in fact distinct species (stock)

Previous research has claimed humans didn't inhabit the inhospitable region until 3,600 years ago. New analysis claims the ancient humans may have lived in the region 9,000 years before what was previously thought

It is believed this chunk of DNA allows the natives to cope with the limited oxygen availability.

The presence of Denisovan DNA - as well as that of Neanderthals - has further muddied the waters around whether they are in fact distinct species.

'Neanderthal DNA is slowly being purged from our genomes for reasons that are not fully understood, humans today bear their living genetic heritage, as we do the genes of another type of human, the Denisovans, further to the east,' Dr Adam Rutherford writes in his book, 'The Book of Humans'.

The Tibetan Plateau has an annual temperature around freezing and is 4,000 metres (12,000 feet) above sea level

If the hominids were indeed two separate species, the offspring would normally be sterile.

The propagation of the chunks of neanderthal and Denisovan DNA in the current human genome shows this is not the case.

Scientists continue to bicker about whether they were humans, or a separate species.

The research was published in the journal Science.
Elon Musk has received a major ticking off from the head of NASA after he smoked marijuana on a podcast.

'I will tell you that was not helpful, and that did not inspire confidence, and the leaders of these organizations need to take that as an example of what to do when you lead an organization that's going to launch American astronauts,' NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstein said during a meeting at NASA's headquarters in Washington, DC, The Atlantic said.

Bridenstein said he has spoken with the Tesla founder several times already as the space agency continues probes into workplace culture at SpaceX and Boeing, the two companies that have multimillion-dollar contracts with the space agency to fly its astronauts.

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NASA is planning to review the workplace safety culture at SpaceX and Boeing Co, as the two companies gear up to fly astronauts to the International Space Station. A report from the Washington Post claims the decision was sparked by Elon Musk's recent behavior

Officials at the space agency are holding hundreds of 'pretty invasive' interviews to examine workplace culture at both companies and 'everything and anything that could impact safety,' William Gerstenmaier, NASA's associate administrator for human exploration, has previously said.

Musk is under close examination after being caught on video sipping a whiskey on the rocks and taking a hit from a joint on the 'Joe Rogan Experience' podcast in September.

The show is filmed in California, where marijuana is legal.

'We've had a number of conversations,' said Bridenstein.

'I will tell you, he is as committed to safety as anybody, and he understands that that was not appropriate behavior, and you won't be seeing that again.'

Bridenstein told reporters his decision to launch the safety reviews was made after consideration of previous tragedies, such as the Apollo 1 fire in 1967, which left three astronauts dead, and the Challenger and Columbia space shuttle disasters that killed 14.

'Every single one of those accidents had a number of complications.

'Of course, the technological piece was a big piece of it.

'But the other question that always comes up was, What was the culture of NASA?' he said.

Bridenstein told reporters his decision to launch the safety reviews was made after consideration of previous tragedies, such as the Apollo 1 fire in 1967, which left three astronauts dead, and the Challenger and Columbia space shuttle disasters that killed 14.

'What was the culture of our contractors, and were there people that were raising a red flag that we didn't listen to, and ultimately did that culture contributes to the failure and, in those cases, to disaster?'

The space agency said it would conduct a 'cultural assessment study' of the companies, 'including the adherence to a drug-free environment,' prior to crew test flights scheduled to take place in the coming months.

NASA did not give further details on the reasons behind the move, but the Washington Post, which first reported it, said the review was prompted by the recent behavior of SpaceX's founder Elon Musk.

The Washington Post says it spoke with three officials who have knowledge of the investigation.

SpaceX and Boeing are the two main contractors selected under NASA's commercial crew program to send astronauts to space as soon as 2019, using their Dragon and Starliner spacecraft respectively.

Boeing (Starliner pictured left) plans to fly an uncrewed mission early next year, with plans to add crew mid-2019. SpaceX is currently eyeing November 2018 for its first demo mission with the Crew Dragon (right), followed by its first crewed flight to the ISS in April 2019

NASA has revealed the nine astronauts that will soon take to space aboard the Boeing CST-100 Starliner and SpaceX Crew Dragon. From left: Suni Williams, Josh Cassada, Eric Boe, Nicole Mann, Chris Ferguson, Doug Hurley, Bob Behnken, Mike Hopkins, Victor Glover

Musk was filmed drinking whiskey and briefly smoking marijuana during a live podcast in September.

While a NASA spokesperson declined to comment, NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine told the Washington Post is hoping to secure the public's confidence ahead of the upcoming crewed launches.

'If I see something thats inappropriate, the key concern to me is what is the culture that led to that inappropriateness and is NASA involved in that,' Bridenstine told the Washington Post.

'As an agency were not just leading ourselves, but our contractors, as well.

'We need to show the American public that when we put an astronaut on a rocket, theyll be safe.'

Boeing said in an emailed statement that it was committed to mission success as NASA's partner, while ensuring the integrity, safety and quality of its products, its people and their work environment.

SpaceX said it actively promoted a safe work environment.

'We are confident that our comprehensive drug-free workforce and workplace programs exceed all applicable contractual requirements,' SpaceX said in a statement sent to Reuters.

WHEN DID NASA LAST LAUNCH CREWED MISSIONS FROM THE US? Shuttle Columbia is shown during lift-off from the Kennedy Space Center in 2003 NASA launched its first space shuttle, Space Shuttle Columbia (STS-1), from the Kennedy Space Center on April 12, 1981. In the three decades that followed, the space agency deployed a total of 135 missions from US soil. Columbia was only the beginning; following in its footsteps, NASA launched Challenger, Discovery, Atlantis, and Endeavor to carry people to orbit. These launches also allowed for the construction of the International Space Station  the largest structure in space, thats now home to a revolving crew of astronauts from all around the world, conducting important experiments that continue to advance our knowledge of the cosmos. The shuttle missions came to an end with the Atlantis shuttle on July 21, 2011 after STS-135. In the years since, NASA has had to rely on Russian modules to send astronauts to the ISS, all of which launch from foreign soil. Now, the space agency has turned to the private sector to provide space taxi services, to take astronauts from US soil to the ISS. On August 3, 2018, NASA revealed astronauts would fly on the Boeing CST-100 Starliner and SpaceX Crew Dragon. So far only SpaceX has successfully taken astronauts to the ISS, but it is hoped the first Starliner flight will happen in 2022. The shuttle missions came to an end with the Atlantis shuttle on July 21, 2011 after STS-135. Above, Atlantis lands at the Kennedy Space Center at Cape Canaveral, Fl, marking the official end of the 30-year program Advertisement

NASA revealed the nine astronauts that will take to space aboard the Boeing CST-100 Starliner and SpaceX Crew Dragon earlier this year.

With the two new capsules, NASA will finally be able to launch crewed missions from US soil for the first time in nearly a decade.

SpaceX and Boeing's first Commercial Crew flight tests will be led by astronauts: Eric Boe, Chris Ferguson, Nicole Aunapu Mann, Bob Behnken, Doug Hurley, Josh Cassada, Suni Williams, Victor Glover, and Mike Hopkins.

For astronauts Cassada and Mann, the milestone missions will also mark their first ever space flights.
NASA's Curiosity rover is investigating a strange 'golden rock' on Mars.

The space agency said the rover is being sent for a close up look at the strange object.

Officially named 'Little Colonsay', scientists spotted the rock in a wider image, and have now decided to go back for a closer look.

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The golden rock on Mars: NASA revealed this image of taken of 'Little Colonsay,' a potential meteorite, on the surface of the red planet. It was taken by the rover's ChemCam. Curiosity is now heading back for a closer look.

HOW WILL NASA GET A BETTER LOOK? Operators will use the six-wheeled NASA rover's ChemCam to study the rock. Looking at rocks and soils from a distance, ChemCam fires a laser and analyzes the elemental composition of vaporized materials from areas smaller than 0.04 inch (1 millimeter) on the surface of Martian rocks and soils. An on-board spectrograph provides detail about minerals and microstructures in rocks by measuring the composition of the resulting plasma - an extremely hot gas made of free-floating ions and electrons. The camera can resolve features 5 to 10 times smaller than those visible with cameras on NASA's two Mars Exploration Rovers that began exploring the red planet in January 2004. Advertisement

'One of the samples that we try to get a better look at is 'Little Colonsay', NASA said.

'The planning team thinks it might be a meteorite because it is so shiny.

'But looks can deceive, and proof will only come from the chemistry.

'Unfortunately, the small target was missed in the previous attempt, and with the information from that, Curiosity will try again. '

Operators will use the six-wheeled NASA rover's ChemCam to study the rock.

Looking at rocks and soils from a distance, ChemCam fires a laser and analyzes the elemental composition of vaporized materials from areas smaller than 0.04 inch (1 millimeter) on the surface of Martian rocks and soils.

An on-board spectrograph provides detail about minerals and microstructures in rocks by measuring the composition of the resulting plasma - an extremely hot gas made of free-floating ions and electrons.

The camera can resolve features 5 to 10 times smaller than those visible with cameras on NASA's two Mars Exploration Rovers that began exploring the red planet in January 2004.

Curiosity has been working at Vera Rubin Ridge, investigating the Highfield outcrop, a unique patch of grey bedrock.

Curiosity has been working at Vera Rubin Ridge, investigating the Highfield outcrop, a unique patch of grey bedrock.

NASA has a plethora of rocks there it wants to investigate, including 'Flanders Moss,' which shows 'an interesting, dark coloured coating, for which chemistry is required to confirm its nature.'

The rover recently underwent an electronic brain transplant.

The Mars rover was forced to switch to its spare, Side-A, computer on October 3 after a memory anomaly detected on Sept 15.

Doing this allowed engineers to diagnose the issue while the robot continues operations.

When Curiosity first landed on Mars, it used its Side-A computer.

But, five years ago, it experienced hardware and software issues, and the team switched it over to Side B.

The affected part of Side A was then quarantined, allowing the rover to continue storing data and event records on it.

The team decided to again make a switch last month after the memory anomaly.
Air New Zealand's Christmas ad pokes fun at Donald Trump by showing an American boy on Santa's naughty list wearing a 'Make Christmas Great Again' cap.

The three-minute advert beckoning travellers with a Christmas greeting from 'the nicest place on earth' sees Santa accidentally emailing his 2018 list of naughty children to a student in New Zealand named Elvis Anderson instead of his elves at the North Pole.

Sitting in detention, Elvis gets the idea of gathering the naughty kids from around the world to fix the problem.

An American boy wearing a 'Make Christmas Great Again' cap features on Air New Zealand's Christmas ad

He then calls on New Zealand's national carrier to help transport the children to 'the very first summit of all the naughty kids' on the country's North Island.

Each child representing a country makes promises to change their behaviour for the better by eating more vegetables, reducing flatulence and cutting down on hair-pulling.

The American boy, dressed in a two-piece suit and red sloganed cap, says he is not naughty at all and is the nicest person he knows, provoking laughter from the other children.

The three-minute promo was released this week and it beckons travellers with a greeting from 'the nicest place on earth'

The ad sees Santa accidentally emailing his 2018 list of naughty children to a student in New Zealand named Elvis Anderson instead of his elves at the North Pole

It is reminiscent of the reaction to Trump's speech to the UN General Assembly in September, when he spoke about the achievements of his administration.

'I didn't expect that reaction, but that's okay,' the boy adds in the advertisement, the same words Trump used at the United Nations.

Further pledges to be good from Elvis, including one to be nicer to neighbouring Australia made with his fingers crossed behind his back to suggest he doesn't intend to keep the promise, pushes a meter to 'Nice' for the children, and confetti rains down as they celebrate.

Air New Zealand's general manager of global brand and content, Jodi Williams, says the airline has a reputation for poking fun and wanted to inject some Kiwi humour into Christmas celebrations.

US president Donald Trump is known for wearing a cap with the slogan 'Make American Great Again'

She explained: 'From childhood memories of writing to Santa, through to the drama of a festive tech fail, the heartwarming video plays on silly season moments in a very Kiwi way.

'Showcasing our people is a hallmark of Air New Zealand's brand campaigns and it was fantastic to be able to share the limelight with more of the Air New Zealand family this time.'

After the ad was released online, many people took to Twitter to say how much they loved it.

Cinders23 wrote: 'You guys nailed Donald. I love how the kids just ignored him and went on being nice. It's what we do here, too!'

Many people took to Twitter to say how much they loved the promo, but it did also receive some criticism

Ansyley Broom added: 'I absolutely love this! Especially the small jabs that are there. This is why I will always fly Air New Zealand.'

And Sue tweeted: 'The new Christmas ad by Air New Zealand ad is on the money again! and they promised to be nice to Australia.'

However, the ad also came in for criticism, with 'Daniel' tweeting: 'They have released an ad that mocks Trump! Why aren't they mocking Putin or China? Why mock the leader of a country that allows freedom? It's sick!'
This is the dramatic moment that an Emirates Boeing 777 made a hard landing in heavy crosswinds  and was forced to take off again for another attempt.

The go around took place at Newcastle Airport on Thursday and was captured on camera by aviation enthusiast Jonathan Winton, who described it as completely unexpected.

The 777, which was operating a service from Dubai, looked fairly stable as it made the approach in 35mph winds courtesy of Storm Diana  but the landing was far from smooth.

This is the dramatic moment that an Emirates Boeing 777 made a hard landing in heavy crosswinds  and was forced to take off again for another attempt

The video shows the plane  the worlds largest twin-engine jet  veering to the right after touching down.

The pilot immediately hits full power and takes off again.

On the second attempt, its a safe landing, but Mr Winton explains that initially it was thought that the aircraft had sustained damage.

He posted the video to YouTube with this caption: 'The wind had been gusting at around 25 [28mph] to 31kts [35mph] this Thursday morning. Having established on the approach for runway 25 and been cleared to land by the controller, it looked like a normal approach in the challenging crosswinds from the south.

As the 777 disappeared behind the hedge before touching down, it slammed down onto runway 25, the spoilers deployed, and the next thing full power was applied for a go around.

'I've never seen anything like it here at Newcastle Airport. The aircraft then came in for a second approach and landed safely.

'Upon landing the aircraft was inspected and initially there was thought to be damage to the rear landing gear. Upon further inspection though it was deemed safe to fly and the aircraft departed Newcastle for Dubai 45 minutes later than planned.'

Commenting on the footage, a serving airline captain told MailOnline Travel: 'It didnt look that hard a landing to me - but the aircraft got hit by a wind gust quite close to the ground and as a result the aircraft lands a little deeper into the runway than normal - as Newcastle is 2,200m long (compared to Heathrow at 3,600m) then the sensible thing to do is go-around and have another go. And that part looked well executed to me.

'Bet the passengers found it entertaining, too!

'And none of the above can be done by the autopilot, by the way - all manually controlled by the human holding onto the stick and the rudder!'

An Emirates spokesperson said: 'We can confirm that flight EK35 from Dubai (DXB) to Newcastle (NCL) on 29 November, performed a standard go-around due to high winds on approach, before landing safely at 11.25am.

'After an engineering inspection of the aircraft, it was cleared for departure and has since left for Dubai. The safety of our passengers and crew is of utmost importance and will not be compromised.'

For nervous fliers, crosswind landings can be terrifying, but pilots receive thorough training on how to perform them.

On approach, they bring the plane in sideways to keep the nose lined up with the runway. Its a technique known as a crab landing.

The 777, which was operating a service from Dubai, looked fairly stable as it made the approach in winds courtesy of Storm Diana  but the landing was far from smooth

Speaking to MailOnline Travel, Steven Draper, a representative of the British Airline Pilots' Association (Balpa) and a former pilot, said of the crab landing method: 'Landing in strong crosswinds or turbulence goes beyond the capabilities of the aeroplane's automatic pilot.

'A pilot should be alert and free from fatigue when landing, and be given the opportunity to develop excellent handling skills.'

Speaking to MailOnline previously, Dai Whittingham, the chief executive of the UK Flight Safety Committee, stated that while crosswinds appear dangerous, they are an everyday occurrence.

He said: 'High winds in themselves are not dangerous but they can certainly be inconvenient, especially if the wind direction is across the runway.

'All pilots train to land in high crosswind conditions and will have practiced to the aircraft limits in the simulator.

'When any new aircraft is certified to carry passengers it comes with a published crosswind limit, which is the maximum that has been demonstrated by a test pilot during the certification process.

Winds were gusting to 31 knots when the 777 landed at Newcastle Airport

At first it was thought that the 777 had sustained damage on the landing, but it was given the all clear and departed for Dubai 45 minutes late

HOW DO PILOTS DEAL WITH TURBULENCE? A serving airline captain reveals four methods for dealing with turbulence: 1. Grin and bear it - the aircraft is more than capable of withstanding the loads associated with turbulence (although severe turbulence can be quite uncomfortable and best avoided for passenger comfort). 2. Try flying higher (if aircraft performance allows it) or lower (although this burns more fuel and might make things worse). 3. Fly at the aircraft turbulence penetration speed - generally a little slower than normal cruising speed 4. Turn to avoid the area of turbulence if its localised (such as near a thunderstorm). Advertisement

'If the wind is outside that limit the crew will have to take the aircraft to an alternate airport where the wind is within limits (which means a runway that has less of a crosswind component).

'In practice, the wind is rarely aligned fully with the runway so there is always a slight crosswind to deal with, it is just the amount of it that varies.'

Whittingham also noted that the public misconceptions about landing in strong winds is probably down to turbulence as the approaches are always bumpy.

Additionally, passengers do not have the same forward view as the pilot, which makes the sensation of being buffeted in all directions all the more uncomfortable.

He concluded by saying: 'There is a briefing given before all approaches to ensure that both pilots understand the type of approach, what the division of duties are, and any special considerations.

'A strong crosswind (or strong winds in general) would certainly be a briefing topic.

'Both pilots will be monitoring the situation to ensure the wind does not exceed their limits and both will be alert to the possibility that the landing may need to be abandoned.

'The pilots would also remind themselves of the correct techniques and decide on the additional safety factor to be applied to the target approach speed.'
America's Got Talent starlet Skilyr Hicks was arrested in Ohio for underage drinking on Tuesday.

According to TMZ, the 20-year-old songstress was still in custody as of Thursday.

She has been charged with one count of 'sale to/use by underage person' which was referring to alcohol.

Mug shot: America's Got Talent starlet Skilyr Hicks was arrested in Ohio for underage drinking on Tuesday

Law enforcement sources told the outlet that she was taken into custody on Tuesday for underage consumption as well as intoxication, and was promptly charged with a misdemeanor.

The charges apparently stem from an incident that occurred back in October, but an arrest warrant was delayed for unknown reasons and was only issued last week.

Her current jail stint is the second time the budding songstress has been incarcerated since her appearance back in 2013 on America's Got Talent.

Excited! Hicks emerged as a promising young talent on season eight episode seven of AGT when she performed an original song titled Brand New Day

In April of 2017, Hicks spent time in jail for allegedly assaulting her grandmother and two other members of her family while drunk.

During the incident she injured her sister and had a blood alcohol concentration of .126 when police responded to the call.

She was later charged with domestic violence.

Latest update: Hicks' last Instagram post was posted on November 18

Hicks emerged as a promising young talent on season eight episode seven of AGT when she performed an original song titled Brand New Day.

Judges Howard Stern, Heidi Klum, Howie Mandel and Mel B voted to move the 14-year-old onto the Vegas round.

The young phenom was ultimately eliminated in Vegas after singing another original song titled Second Chance.
Katie Price will reportedly sell her three wedding rings to raise enough cash for a quickie divorce from estranged husband Kieran Hayler.

The former glamour model, 40, is allegedly desperate to end her marriage to Kieran but her ex is 'refusing' to pay for the legal bills.

The mother-of-five will therefore resort to flogging her rings from her ex-husbands Kieran, Alex Reid and Peter Andre to drum up the cash herself, sources claimed.

Hmm: Katie Price will reportedly sell her three wedding rings to raise enough cash for a quickie divorce from estranged husband Kieran Hayler

Katie's representative strongly denied the claims, telling MailOnline: This is absolutely not true and completely incorrect.'

However, a source alleged to The Sun: 'Katie has decided to sell all her wedding rings to raise the cash to pay for a speedy divorce.'

'She always wanted to keep them and would have given the one from her wedding to Pete to Princess, Kieran's to Bunny, and share the sale of Alex's ring between all the boys.

The insider added: 'But a divorce is very costly and Kieran is refusing to do it a hurry because he doesn't want to pay anymore in legal bills. If she wants it, she pays both their legal fees, plus a nice sum on top for him.'

Katie and Kieran married in 2013 after a whirlwind two-month romance. They split in May this year amid Kieran's cheating scandals.

Interesting: The former glamour model, 40, is allegedly desperate to end her marriage to Kieran but her ex is 'refusing' to pay for the legal bills

Right then: The mum-of-five will therefore resort to flogging her rings from her ex-husbands Kieran, Alex Reid and Peter Andre (pictured in 2005) to drum up the cash herself, sources claimed

Not true? Katie's representative strongly denied the claims, telling MailOnline: This is absolutely not true and completely incorrect' (pictured Katie with Alex Reid in 2009)

The duo are reportedly fighting over custody of their two kids, Jett, five, and Bunny, four.

Kieran is dragging their divorce out because he knows Katie's boyfriend Kris Boyson has asked her terminally ill mum Amy for permission to propose to her daughter, sources claimed.

MailOnline has contacted Kieran's representative for comment. It comes amid claims Katie will declare herself bankrupt in emotional scenes set to air on My Crazy Life next week.

Price, who was once worth 45million, allegedly insisted bankruptcy is 'not that bad' and she has 'nothing to be ashamed of' while filming footage this week.

She apparently blamed her famous exes for her financial ruin, who she is thought to have paid millions of pounds to, collectively.

Moving on: Kieran is dragging their divorce out because he knows Katie's boyfriend Kris Boyson (pictured) has asked her terminally ill mum Amy for permission to propose to her daughter, sources claimed

Kids: The duo are reportedly fighting over custody of their two kids, Jett, five, and Bunny, four

'I will be out of bankruptcy in a year. It's not that bad,' she will say on her Quest reality show, according to The Sun.

'I've got nothing to be ashamed of anymore. Loads of people go through it like me. It's just a matter of going through the motions. This is what has to be.'

A representative for Katie has declined to comment.

The mother-of-five managed to escape bankruptcy for another month at the end of October - after narrowly avoided being declared bankrupt in August, when she was given 12 weeks to come up with the money she owes to creditors.

Her lawyers came back to London's High Court at the end of October for a fresh hearing over how she will clear up a 22,000 debt with the taxman.

Claims: It comes amid claims Katie will declare herself bankrupt in emotional scenes set to air on My Crazy Life next week as she blames her exes for rinsing her of cash

Katie Price was married to first husband Peter Andre from September 10, 2005 - 8 September, 2009.

In 2009, it was reported that Peter was likely to be awarded 6million, half of the 12million the pair earned while they were married.

He did not ask for any of the 28million that she reportedly earned as Jordan, which she earned before they got together.

In 2011, it was reported that Alex Reid valued his brief reunion with Katie at 6million. They were married from February 2, 2010 - March 20, 2012.

Hmm: Price has allegedly said that funding her exes' decadent lifestyles with luxury holidays, cars, homes and watches has left her in financial ruin. Left, with Peter and right, with Alex

The cagefighter was said to have demanded the large settlement from the glamour model, who thought 700,000 is a more adequate reflection of their short time together.

Katie offered to buy him a 500,000 property.

In July this year, it was reported that Kieran wanted a slice of Katie's fortune because he had stopped working in order to take care of the family.

But let's not forget that Katie is said to have spent 40k on sex addiction therapy for Kieran after discovering he had slept with two of her best friends, according to The Sun.

Struggle: 'I will be out of bankruptcy in a year. Its not that bad,' she will say on her Quest reality show, according to The Sun

The couple were married on January 16, 2013. He apparently turned down a quickie 300 online divorce.

But it seems as though she still hasn't learned her lesson. When she started dating toyboy Kris Boyson, 30, she reportedly spent 300k on cars, gifts and holidays for him, according to The Sun.

Estimates over the Loose Women star's total debts have ranged from 250,000 to 500,000.

The reality star is due to appear in court on December 4 - next Tuesday - where she will reportedly say she can't keep up with the repayments needed to get rid of her debt.

Candid: She will add: 'I've got nothing to be ashamed of anymore. Loads of people go through it like me. It's just a matter of going through the motions. This is what has to be'

Price has also allegedly said that funding her exes' decadent lifestyles with luxury holidays, cars, homes and watches has left her in financial ruin.

However Kieran purportedly told the My Crazy Life cameras: 'Katie is never in the wrong - its always someone else that's done it to her.'

In 2008, Katie spoke about her love of money in an interview with The Independent.

She said: 'No one can live without money. Money and religion are the big things, and that's it, and I stay away from religion.

'We love to earn money, who doesn't? It gets you things and it's security but at the same time it doesn't bring you good health and not always happiness.

'I just think Harvey is going to need to be set up for life, with his ways, and I want the other kids to have a good start in life, too.'
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Linkedin Clement Sabourin (Agence France-Presse) Havre-Saint-Pierre, Canada  Thu, November 22, 2018 01:02 1100 882ab4bc56dbda08a069b30877d2afb7 2 Environment Canada,Quebec,dam,hydroelectric,hydroelectric-dam,energy,forest,water Free

On a frigid night, the roar of heavy machinery chipping away at rock echoes through Canada's boreal forest: in the far north of Quebec province, four massive hydroelectric dams that will produce "clean energy" for the northeastern United States are nearing completion.

Flowing more than 500 kilometers through the wilderness, the Romaine River in the Cote-Nord region of Quebec is about to hit a literal wall at 51 degrees north latitude with the erection of the fourth and last power station.

Once completed, the construction project -- which started in 2009 -- will see the cold, clear waters of one of Canada's longest untamed rivers flood surrounding lands claimed by indigenous tribes.

From a distance, the bright lights at the site where more than 800 heavy dump trucks, drills and giant backhoe loaders are in use look like reflections of stars in the night sky.

The teams from Hydro-Quebec are working on two fronts.

They are razing a mountain to make room for the power station. They are also erecting a dike 500 meters long and 90 meters high that will hold back the water to be used to generate electricity.

Quebec has a power surplus, so the government is hoping to sell the power produced here to its American neighbors to the south -- and in turn do its bit to help alleviate global warming.

Read also: Collector cards inspire visits to dams in Japan

- Dangers of dam building -

The construction site extends over several kilometers: there is a full cement factory, an infirmary for workers, offices, a quarry and a dynamite depot.

"This is a major project -- there are many different stakeholders, many simultaneous activities, and many dangers to manage daily," including inquisitive wolves and bears, says Christian Guimond, who is in charge of the dam's construction.

Already four workers have died, which forced the public utility Hydro-Quebec to suspend construction in 2017 while it reviewed its workplace safety practices.

There's now a greater awareness of the risks for workers, said Guimond.

From atop a nearby mountain peak, he points to a kilometer-long tunnel and a ditch built to divert the raging river in order to start construction of the dam itself on the dry riverbed.

The dam is to be completed in 2019.

Costing more than Can$6.5 billion (US$4.9 billion), it is among the top 10 largest infrastructure projects currently underway in Canada, ranking behind two nuclear plant refurbishments, three other hydroelectric projects and a new Toronto subway line.

For residents of the region, the hydroelectric project has been a mixed blessing, creating jobs in a remote and economically-depressed region but flooding the local indigenous people's traditional hunting grounds.

"I didn't want it at first, but I needed work... when I got my first paycheck, I changed my mind about it," said Gilbert Pietacho, a foreman and member of the Innus of Mingan.

His father, who is also chief of the small tribe that lives on a reserve on the north shore of the Saint Lawrence River, is a fierce opponent of the project.

The chief has the backing of environmental groups, such as Greenpeace, which have decried huge hydroelectric dams as "ecologically devastating."

"It pains me, makes me sad what we're doing to nature," said Patricia Bacon, a 24-year-old Innu who came here to work at the cafeteria in order to pay for her university studies.

"But times have changed -- every house must have electricity now."

Read also: Hi-tech conservationists fight Indonesia wildlife crime

- Export to US -

Once fully operational in 2021, the four power plants on the river will cumulatively generate 1,550 megawatts of electricity, enough to power a city or an estimated 1.5 million homes.

Since the 1970s, hydroelectricity has supplied 90 percent of Quebec's power needs.

The new Quebec provincial government of Francois Legault, with the backing of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, has pledged to build even more dams once the Romaine project is completed.

The aim is to export as much power as possible to the United States, saying it would be "the biggest contribution that Quebec could make to the planet."

Other provinces also have big hydroelectric projects on the go, such as Newfoundland's Muskrat Falls, Manitoba's Keeyask and British Columbia's Site C.

Neighboring Ontario, meanwhile, is spending Can$25 billion to refurbish two aging nuclear power plants.

Pierre-Olivier Pineau, an energy specialist at HEC university in Montreal, expressed doubt after visiting the Romaine project about the need for more power plants, pointing to Quebec's current surplus energy.

"In the northeastern United States, there is a great desire to decarbonize electricity production in New England or New York state, so there is a real opportunity for Quebec," he told AFP.

"La Romaine could provide this renewable energy."

However, more transmission lines connecting the power stations to US buyers still need to be approved and built.
She was last seen switching on the Christmas lights at Altrincham.

And Catherine Tyldesley was enjoying a night out on Thursday in the company of her soap star pals, attending The One Aestetics Studio launch in Alderley Edge, Cheshire.

The former Coronation Street actress looked super stylish in a cream wrap dress with belt detailing at the waist.

Stylish: Catherine Tyldesley was enjoying a night out on Thursday in the company of her soap star pals, attending The One Aestetics Studio launch in Alderley Edge, Cheshire

Catherine accessorised her striking dress with a pair of gold strappy heels and dazzling drop earrings.

She wore her brunette locks down loose and highlighted her cheekbones with plenty of bronzer.

Corrie's Katie McGlynn was also in attendance, sporting a red dress with a quirky black cap and matching thigh-high boots.

Terrific trio: The former Coronation Street actress looked super stylish in a cream wrap dress with belt detailing at the waist, posing with Katie McGlynn (left) and Sophie Austin (right)

Keeping it casual: Sophie (left) rocked jeans while Leanne Brown (right) opted for snakeskin knee-high boots

Calling it a night: Katie bundled up in a white shearling coat as she headed off home

Sophie Austin and Leanne Brown also put in appearances at the event.

Catherine joined her husband Tom Pitford and son Alfie to switch on the Christmas lights in Altrincham last weekend.

The former Eva Price actress, 35, oozed elegance in her chic black dress paired with a vibrant fuschia coat as she took to the stage with her beau and toddler son, three.

Festive: Catherine joined her husband Tom Pitford and son Alfie to switch on the Christmas lights in Altrincham last weekend

Her raven tresses were styled in loose waves while her pretty features were enhanced with metallic shadow, peachy blush and a slick of rose lipstick.

Fitness instructor Tom looked stylish in a navy gilet, jeans and a dove grey sweater as he cuddled their adorable son.

Her outing comes after the actress has been focusing on herself and her family since she decided to leave Coronation Street.

While she admitted she may make a return to the cobbles, the star laid out her plans to travel as a family with her husband Tom and her young son Alfie.

Family: The former Eva Price actress, 35, oozed elegance in her chic black dress paired with a vibrant fuschia coat as she took to the stage with her husband Tom Pitford and toddler son, Alfie three

Glamour: Her raven tresses were styled in loose waves while her pretty features were enhanced with metallic shadow, peachy blush and a slick of rose lipstick

She told Manchester Evening News: 'The timing seemed right. My son Alfie doesnt start at school for another two years so as a family we wanted the chance to travel.

'I have relatives in Australia, but we didnt want to go for just a couple of weeks, wed like to go over there and spend six weeks or more over there and then visit as many countries as possible. Tom and I had always talked about travelling and we are keen for Alfie to visit different cultures.

'In between there will hopefully be some exciting projects for me as well.'
Emmy winner Amy Schumer admitted Thursday that 'the last few days have been tough' and she postponed more stand-up shows while struggling with the second trimester of her first pregnancy.

'I'm grateful as hell and know it's temporary but tough just the same,' the expecting 37-year-old - due next spring - captioned a snap of her dog Tati.

'Please if you don't mind, post pics of your kids and tag me. My friends sending me pics and vids of their kids is making me feel so much better. Much love.'

Feel better! Emmy winner Amy Schumer admitted Thursday that 'the last few days have been tough' while struggling with the second trimester of her first pregnancy (pictured Sunday)

The expecting 37-year-old - due next spring - captioned a snap of her dog Tati: 'I'm grateful as hell and know it's temporary but tough just the same'

Two weeks ago, the Brett Kavanaugh protester was hospitalized in Dallas with Hyperemesis Gravidarum (severe morning sickness), and on Tuesday she shared a video of herself vomiting.

Amy has since postponed her stand-up comedy shows which were scheduled for early December in Los Angeles, Philly and Oxon Hill until she 'feels human again.'

'I wish I could be there and I'm going to come as soon as possible,' Schumer - who boasts 14.8M social media followers - apologized Wednesday.

'I'm sick as hell and intend to rest until I'm really better.'

'It blows': On November 15, the Brett Kavanaugh protester was hospitalized in Dallas with Hyperemesis Gravidarum (severe morning sickness)

Vomiting: Amy has since postponed her stand-up comedy shows which were scheduled for early December in Los Angeles, Philly and Oxon Hill (pictured Tuesday)

The I Feel Pretty actress' videographer Marcus Russell Price has been shooting a documentary over the last few months 'leading up to a special I'm filming.'

'You will see that I'm strugglin' right now,' the Leather Special star explained on Tuesday. 'But I'm so grateful and excited to be a mom.'

It will be Amy's first child with her husband - Beetlebung Farm manager Chris Fischer - whom she wed on February 13 after only five months of dating.

Schumer and the 38-year-old chef - who's also a James Beard Award-winning cookbook author - reportedly met through her personal assistant (Chris' sister).

Schumer apologized Wednesday: 'I wish I could be there and I'm going to come as soon as possible. I'm sick as hell and intend to rest until I'm really better'

'You will see that I'm struggling': The I Feel Pretty actress' videographer Marcus Russell Price has been shooting a documentary over the last few months 'leading up to a special I'm filming' (pictured November 18)

'That's why I'm puking every day': It will be the Leather Special star's first child with her husband - Beetlebung Farm manager Chris Fischer - whom she wed on February 13 after only five months of dating (pictured in November)

The second cousin of Senator Chuck Schumer is next scheduled to perform December 19-20 at the Chicago Theatre in Illinois.

The Golden Globe nominee teamed up with her stylist Leesa Evans on a 23-item ready-to-wear collection of wardrobe essentials for women of all sizes called Le Cloud, which launches December 13.

Fans can procure Amy's line (costing $38-$248) exclusively at Saks Off 5th online and at their 57th Street flagship in Manhattan as well as the Beverly Connection location in Los Angeles.

Still on? The second cousin of Senator Chuck Schumer is next scheduled to perform December 19-20 at the Chicago Theatre in Illinois (pictured Tuesday)

Launches December 13! Amy teamed up with her stylist Leesa Evans on a 23-item ready-to-wear collection of wardrobe essentials for women of all sizes called Le Cloud (pictured October 25)

Costing $38-$248: Fans can procure Schumer's line exclusively at Saks Off 5th online and at their 57th Street flagship in Manhattan as well as the Beverly Connection location in LA

'It's not supposed to be maternity. A lot of the cuts of the clothing really allow for those big belly days,' Schumer told WWD on Tuesday.

'And if you're a curvy girl like me, it's all about the proportions. A lot of hugging in just a little below the bra line. I can still wear a lot of it even though it wasn't designed to be a maternity line.'

The twosome first met when Leesa did the costumes on the blonde funnywoman's 2015 big-screen debut, Trainwreck, which she also penned.
The hit Broadway musical Mean Girls, written by Tina Fey, is headed to the West End.

Based on the successful film starring Lindsay Lohan and Rachel McAdams, about tribal gangs of high school girls, and gossipy goings-on in and out of class, the show  directed and choreographed by Casey Nicholaw (whos already got The Book Of Mormon, Dreamgirls and Aladdin running in town)  is looking to open in the West End about autumn 2020.

We are sniffing around for a theatre, an executive on the New York production told me.

London calling: The Broadway production of Mean Girls adapted from the hit 2004 movie

The show  directed and choreographed by Casey Nicholaw  is looking to open in the West End about autumn 2020

The shows heroine Cady arrives in the U.S. after being home-schooled by her zoologist parents in Africa.

Cadys bedazzled by a trio of snooty Alpha girls known as The Plastics, who somewhat grudgingly let her join them.

I saw the show at the August Wilson Theatre on Broadway and felt like a fish out of water  there were girls everywhere, sitting with their parents, and during the interval I overheard them reciting the lines and comparing the script Fey wrote for the movie with the book she penned for the stage version.

Its certainly not aimed at me, but once I relaxed, I enjoyed it. Its slick, shiny  and very funny. Fey adapted the tale from Rosalind Wisemans 2002 study Queen Bees & Wannabes: Helping Your Daughter Survive Cliques, Gossip, Boyfriends & Other Realities Of Adolescence.

The shows heroine Cady (far right) enrolls in a U.S. school after being home-schooled by her zoologist parents in Africa

Producers Lorne Michaels (who also produced the film) and Sonia Friedman are checking schedules and getting their team in line for 2020

However, she added a lot of her own observations, particularly how schoolgirls (and boys) use ostracism as a weapon.

The mean bits apart, the show is very jolly, with a handful of numbers that wow you.

Producers Lorne Michaels (who also produced the film) and Sonia Friedman are checking schedules and getting their team in line for 2020.

Theres no hint about casting but I imagine the producers wont have too much trouble finding stars who are triple threats  able to act, sing and dance . . . and speak with good U.S. accents.

Cant wait to listen to a packed theatre shouting Fetch! or any of the other well-known phrases from the film and show.

Watch out for...

Kit Harington and Johnny Flynn, who excel as bickering brothers in Sam Shepards white-hot black comedy True West.

When I walked into the Vaudeville Theatre for a preview performance on Monday, one of the cast members was already on stage, sitting at a table, pretending to work on a screenplay.

Kit Harington and Johnny Flynn play bickering brothers in black comedy True West

It took me a moment to realise that it was Harington: hair slicked back, sporting a weedy moustache. He was virtually unrecoginisable as Austin, the bro who has borrowed his vacationing mothers house to complete a screenplay, but is interrupted in his efforts by Lee, his officious oaf of a sibling.

Lees a burglar who only nicks TV sets and he is generally very stupid. But despite this, he tries to usurp his sibling, Austin, in a film-writing deal.

Director Matthew Dunster sets the drama up well so that the laughs really do land  and I had forgotten that there are belly laughs in True West. A very lovely surprise.

Go, go, go Joseph! The amazing dude is coming back. A new production of the Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber musical Joseph And The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat will run for 12 weeks at the London Palladium from June 26, 2019.

Michael Harrison has been asked to produce the show. Lloyd Webber said it was high time for another production of Joseph and he decided to hand over to Harrison because (as I wrote elsewhere) hes busy on the Cats film, and with workshop projects at the Other Palace Theatre in Westminster.

One of the highlights of last Aprils Olivier Awards show was a tribute to the Joseph musical, and I was struck by how well the score and lyrics have stood the test of time.

Harrison hasnt signed a director yet but as soon as he does, they will cast actors for Joseph, the Pharaoh and the Narrator. Three fab parts, he said. Visit Josephthemusical.com for ticket details.
Tyra Banks turned the sidewalk into her personal runway on Thursday while promoting Life-Size 2 in New York City.

The 44-year-old TV star struck a few poses outside the AOL Building following a Build Series event at Build Studio.

Tyra opted for the urban chic look in a pair of distressed, cuffed jeans that she paired with bright pink heels.

TV star: Tyra Banks struck a pose on the sidewalk on Thursday while promoting Life-Size 2 in New York City

She also wore a funky jacket with a pink front, puffy black shoulders and multi-coloured sleeves.

Tyra had her long brown hair down in wavy curls below her shoulders.

The Inglewood, California native spoke about the Life-Size 2 sequel that she is both starring in and co-producing.

Tyra starred in the original 2000 ABC television movie that starred a young Lindsay Lohan, 32, as tomboy Casey Stuart whose Eve doll, played by Tyra, comes to life.

Personal runway: The 44-year-old actress turned the sidewalk into her runway

The sequel follows Grace Manning, played by 30-year-old Francia Raisa, whose childhood Eve doll returns to help after the death of her late mother who was CEO of the company that created the Eve doll.

Tyra during the Build Series said that she reached out to Lindsay to participate in the sequel and reached her at one of her nightclubs in Mykonos, Greece.

'She literally was at the beach at her clubs and I could hear the music,' Tyra said.

Film sequel: Tyra was promoting Life-Size 2 at the Build Series in NYC

Role reprisal: The Inglewood, California native is reprising her role as Eve in the sequel

Lindsay unfortunately couldn't leave due to her new MTV reality, but Tyra said they found 'creative ways' to still incorporate her into the sequel.

Tyra said the sequel was a 'labor of love' that she had been working on for the past five years.

Life-Size 2 will premiere on Sunday on Freeform as part of its 25 Days Of Christmas programming.

Creative ways: Tyra said that she wanted Lindsay Lohan back for the sequel, but they found 'creative ways' to incorporate her into the sequel
They just hosted dozens of their famous friends at their Legendary Christmas Party.

So Chrissy Teigen and husband John Legend treated themselves to a little break on Thursday in Mexico.

The couple were spotted arriving at Cabo San Lucas International Airport with eldest daughter Luna.

Getaway: Chrissy Teigen and husband John Legend treated themselves to a little Mexican break on Thursday

Chrissy looked cosy in furry black slides and leggings, a low cut tank top and denim jacket.

The fresh-faced model went make-up free for the trip, and heaped her hair high on her head in a lofty knot.

John didn't get the dress casual memo, rocking a fancy looking long black dress coat with gold buttons.

Family time: The couple were spotted arriving at Cabo San Lucas International Airport with eldest daughter Luna

Chill: Chrissy looked cosy in furry black slides and leggings, a low cut tank top and denim jacket

Updo: The fresh-faced model went make-up free for the trip, and heaped her hair high on her head in a lofty knot

Two year-old Luna looked adorable as always, rocking a striped top, pink boots and an pair of envy-inducing Cookie Monster sweatpants.

The family were seen hauling their belongings to their silver rental Cadillac, including a car seat for Luna.

Youngest member Miles, their six-month-old son, did not seem to be present, possibly hanging out at home with his live-in granny Vilailuck.

Forgot one: Youngest member Miles, their six-month-old son, did not seem to be present, possibly hanging out at home with his live-in granny Vilailuck

Cutie: Two year-old Luna looked adorable as always, rocking a striped top, pink boots and an pair of envy-inducing Cookie Monster sweatpants

Can't go wrong: John looked handsome all in black

Chrissy's mom was one of the many guests invited to the family's one hour Christmas special, which was broadcast on Wednesday night

Kim Kardashian, her mom Kris Jenner, Meghan Trainor, Jane Lynch, Daren Criss, Awkwafina, Kenan Thompson, Stevie Wonder, Derek Hough, Retta, Neal Brennan, Ben Schwartz, Blake Shelton, Adam Levine, Kelly Clarkson and Zach Galifianakis as Santa Claus  among others  also joined in the festivities.

Chrissy and John have been married since 2013; they met in 2007 on the set of his music video Stereo.

Safety first: The family were seen hauling their belongings to their silver rental Cadillac, including a car seat for Luna
Ronnie Ortiz-Magro took a big step back from his rocky relationship after nearly cheating on his girlfriend on Thursday's episode of Jersey Shore Family Vacation.

The 32-year-old reality star after taking a dip in the hot tub with Lindsay aka Jewish Barbie offered his bed to her.

Ronnie told Jewish Barbie that he was going to take a shower and would be right back as she slipped into his bed.

Single again: Ronnie Ortiz-Magro claimed he was single again on Thursday's episode of Jersey Shore Family Vacation

'There goes my life. Nothing about this is good. Nothing good can came from this ever. Ever. Ever. Ever. Ever. Ever.' Ronnie told himself.

'Ever. I can't. I can't,' he said while retreating outside for a cigarete.

Ronnie smoked and checked his phone as Jewish Barbie left his room and climbed into bed with her friend Angelina Pivarnick.

'He has a girlfriend,' Lindsay told Angelina.

In bed: The 32-year-old reality star stayed in bed after being drained by drama

Close call: Lindsay aka Jewish Barbie took Ronnie up on the offer of his bed, but he didn't join

'He ain't going to be in a relationship after this,' quipped Angelina.

Jennifer 'JWoww' Farley, 32, was surprised by Ronnie's behavior.

'I'm actually shocked. Ron is grown up,' JWoww said.

Right move: Ronnie talked to Angelina and Lindsay after he stayed up all night

Ronnie later talked to the girls and told them he did not sleep as he was dealing with drama.

'Apparently I'm single,' he told them.

Ronnie shared that his baby mama Jen Harley sent him 'disrespectful' texts saying she can't wait to find a better man to raise their daughter Ariana born in April.

No respect: The MTV star said that his baby mama Jen Harley sent him 'disrespectful' texts saying she can't wait to find a better man to raise their daughter Ariana born in April

She also apparently sent him pictures of his ex-girlfriend Sam Giancola with her new boyfriend saying she was looking forward to being as happy as her without him.

JWoww said their relationship was 'way worse' than she thought and deemed it 'unhealthy'.

'You need to be single,' Angelina told him.

Breakfast time: Pauly D, Vinny Guadagnino and JWoww ate breakfast together

Ronnie in a rare display of self-awareness said he was going to be a new kind of 'Single Ronnie' with 'some self-respect for myself'.

He said it would be best for him to 'step back' and re-evaluate what happened and his future.

Ronnie said the planned to live in California to be closer to baby Ariana in Las Vegas as he tried to get his life back on track.

Michael 'The Situation' Sorrentino, 36, and Nicole 'Snooki' LaValle, 30, argued over breakfast what to call Taylor Ham and Taylor Pork Roll.

Raging debate: Snooki and The Situation argued over Taylor Ham versus Taylor Pork Roll

Northern part: Taylor Ham was the preferred name in North Jersey

Roll it: The Situation insisted the sausage was called a 'Pork Roll'

Online check: Snooki turned to the Internet to figure out the correct name

Snooki said they call it 'Taylor Ham' in North Jersey, while The Situation claimed that it was called a 'Pork Roll'.

Ronnie was worn out by the drama and slept all day as the roommates spent time together.

The Situation brought Ronnie back some pasta, but he was too drained to eat.

Kidnap plan: The group devised a plan to kidnap Deena Nicole Cortese

Bag man: Pauly D practiced his kidnap technique with Vinny

Bad plan: JWoww voiced her disapproval of the plan to kidnap pregnant Deena

Under cover: Snooki was undercover as The Meatball while kidnapping Deena

'I'm just numb,' he told his friends.

The Situation the next day took the guys to his local barber shop and Ronnie's spirits were lifted.

'I had a bad day yesterday,' Ronnie said as he admitted to 'over-thinking'.

He was appreciative of the support from his friends as they stood by him.

'They're my family, my brothers and sisters,' Ronnie said.

Fresh cut: The Situation took the guys to his local barber

New outlook: Ronnie was smiling after spending a day in bed following the drama
It's been a decade since she filmed her Transformers blockbusters.

But Megan Fox has finally opened up to having a romantic relationship with co-star Shia LaBeouf on the set, confirming comments he made previously.

Appearing on Watch What Happens Live on Thursday, she admitted: 'I mean I would confirm that it was romantic. I love him, I have never been really quiet about that, I love him.'

Clubhouse debut: Megan Fox made her debut on Watch What Happens Live on Thursday and played Plead The Fifth

The 32-year-old actress made the revelation during a game of Plead The Fifth with show host Andy Cohen, 50.

'I have three questions for you, you may Plead The Fifth to only one,' Andy told Megan who made her debut in the Bravo clubhouse in a sparkling suit and braless under her jacket.

Andy then mentioned Shia, 32, telling Details magazine in 2011 that he and Megan had a romantic relationship onset while filming Transformers and asked how she would characterize their then-relationship.

Breakout role: The actress is shown in a still from the 2007 movie Transformers with co-star Shia LaBeouf

The host: Andy Cohen, 50, hosted the Bravo chat show

Good times: Andy smiled with his guests Megan and Tyra Banks

'I would confirm that it was romantic. ...I love him. I've never been really quiet about that, I love him,' said Megan who has three children with husband Brian Austin Green, 45.

When further pressed if her relationship with Shia was a 'showmance', Megan answered: 'Sure'.

Andy then brought up a 2009 Rolling Stone article in which Megan revealed that she 'destroyed the house' with Brian during arguments and asked what was the most damage she ever caused.

Romantic relationship: Megan confirmed being in a 'romantic relationship' with Shia while filming the 2007 sci-fi adventure film Transformers

Megan admitted to a 'little hyperbole' in describing their tiffs.

'I did one time, I got really angry with him, and I wrote in Sharpie marker a bunch of Nietzsche poems all over his walls,' Megan said.

Andy also referenced Megan's acting debut at age 15 in the 2001 direct-to-video family film Holiday In The Sun starring the Olsen twins. He asked Megan which twin she liked better Mary-Kate or Ashley Olsen.

'I think I like Mary-Kate better,' admitted Megan who explained that she was 'just a little more open with me' at the time.

'Megan Fox did not Plead The Fifth everybody! She aced it!,' Andy exclaimed.

Aced it: Tyra applauded as Megan 'aced' Plead The Fifth and answered all three questions

A caller also asked Megan if given the opportunity would she return to the Transformers franchise after starring in the 2007 original and its 2009 sequel.

Megan said that she has made up with Transformers director Michael Bay, 53, since her critical remarks in 2009 while promoting Jennifer's Body.

'I think I would for a cameo,' she said about returning, but added that it likely wouldn't make sense given how the franchise has developed.

Good question: A caller asked Megan if she would return to the Transformers franchise

She said that Michael invites her to his Christmas parties and laughed while saying they were best friends.

Megan also said that she made the first move in the reconciliation after realizing that she was young and thought she was right when she made the remarks.

The actress was promoting her new Travel Channel show Mysteries And Myths With Megan Fox.

New show: Megan was promoting her new Travel Channel show Mysteries And Myths With Megan Fox

Megan created, co-produces and stars in the docu-series that will explore her longtime interest in the history of ancient cultures, people and places.

Andy also welcomed Tyra Banks, 44, as a guest on the show.

She was promoting her upcoming sequel Life-Size 2 that will air on Sunday on Freeform.

Sequel soon: Tyra was promoting her upcoming sequel Life-Size 2 that will air on Sunday on Freeform

Tyra revealed that she once dated a 'famous recording artist' after he reached out via direct message on social media.

Megan begged for a hint, but Tyra refused.

St. Louis Cardinals outfielder Harrison Bader, 24, was behind the bar.
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She's stepping into the role of the iconic character Mary Poppins for her latest film.

And Emily Blunt looked every bit the Hollywood leading lady as she stepped out for the world premiere of Mary Poppins Returns in LA on Thursday night.

The English actress, 35, was absolutely stunning in a gauzy white dress featuring billowing sleeves and a deep V-neckline which perfectly showcased her delicate cleavage.

Loved up! Emily Blunt looked every bit the Hollywood leading lady as she stepped out for the world premiere of Mary Poppins Returns in LA, on Thursday night with husband John Krasinski

There, Emily was accompanied by husband John Krasinski, who looked dapper in a burgundy suit, polygon-patterned shirt and contrasting herringbone tie while holding his love's hand on the red carpet.

While surrounded by fans and photogs, the couple only had eyes for each other at the affair. They gazed at each other lovingly while on the carpet.

The Golden Globe winning starlet's was a vision of style in her white gown, which was by Russian fashion designer Yanina Couture.

Wonder in white! Emily was simply stunning in a gathered white dress with billowing sleeves and a deep neckline during the world premiere

Partners in everything! The happy couple are close collaborators and they share two beautiful daughters, Hazel and Violet

Supporting role: By her side was husband John, who looked dapper in a burgundy suit while holding his love's hand

Bits of glitz: Emily's look also featured dazzling chandelier earrings with a collection of rings

The frock embodied pure elegance, featuring a gathered center and floor-sweeping skirt along with full peasant sleeves.

Emily pulled her vanilla tresses back into a low chignon for a charmingly undone touch and kept her makeup at a natural glow.

Her look also featured dazzling chandelier earrings with a collection of rings.

Emily was happy to pose with her pal Lin Manuel-Miranda, who plays Jack the lamplighter, at the event.

The look of love! While surrounded by fans and photographers, the pair looked loved up on the red carpet

Like a fine wine: The Office star paired her wine red polygon-patterned shirt and contrasting herringbone tie while holding his love's hand on the red carpet

You glow girl! Emily pulled her vanilla tresses back into a low chignon for a charmingly undone touch and kept her makeup at a natural glow

Broadway beloved! Lin Manuel-Miranda, who plays Jack the lamplighter in the movie, also attended the event

Broadway beloved! Emily beamed as she posed up a storm with her friend and co-star Lin-Manuel

A Hollywood icon! The legendary Dick Van Dyke looked sprightly when attending the star-studded premiere

No way! Dick appeared to be gobsmacked at whatever news leading lady Emily shared with the veteran film star

The Hamilton creator was accompanied by his wife Vanessa Nadal, who glowed in a shimmering, one-shouldered salmon number.

He also cozied up to the legendary Dick Van Dyke, 92, who looked sprightly at the affair.

The comedian, who played narrator and faithful chimney sweep Bert in the original film, looked dapper in a navy blue suit perked up by an aqua tie.

Though he carried a cane, Dick still proved to have quite the pep in his step.

Sealed with a kiss: Van Dyke kissed his wife and lovely date Arlene Silver, who is 46 years his junior, on the red carpet

Pleased as punch! Dick was happy to spend time with the exquisite Emily at the affair

A secret to tell! Co-stars Dick and Lin-Manuel looked to be getting on wonderfully during the event

Dancing the night away! Dick looked in high spirits as he performed a few of his moves on the red carpet

Going the extra mile! Emily Mortimer (left) opted for an embellishment-heavy frock, which was covered in pearls and beads for a luxurious effect, while Emily's onscreen sibling Ben Whishaw (right) was fashionable in a white suit

Making the most out of the premiere, he played around on the red carpet, got close to leading lady Emily, and kissed his wife and lovely date Arlene Silver, who is 46 years his junior.

Emily Mortimer, who plays a grown up version of the character Jane in the film, also wowed in white.

She opted for an embellishment-heavy frock, which was covered in pearls and beads for a luxurious effect. Her red clutch provided a colorful accent, which matched cherry lips.

Emily's onscreen sibling Ben Whishaw was fashionable in a white suit which appeared like it was full of graphite scribbles.

Dressed to match! Matt Damon and wife Luciana Barroso were perfectly coordinated for their date evening at the premiere

Grey lady! Karen Gillan of Dr. Who fame looked perfectly prim in a short, grey argyle sweater which revealed just a sliver of stomach

It takes two: John Stamos and wife Caitlin McHugh also enjoyed a night on the town, looking loved up on the red carpet

Karen Gillan of Dr. Who fame looked perfectly prim in a short, grey argyle sweater which revealed just a sliver of stomach.

A steely brocade skirt was equal parts classic and fashion-forward, tying the whole ensemble together.

Proving her style prowess, she added pointy, ankle-strap patent leather kicks for a bit of flair.

Karen complemented her porcelain skin with a pop of red lipstick that matched the velvet bow securing her rich auburn locks as well as a tiny, red, crocodile skin handbag.

Stunning: The 55-year-old Full House Alum looked stylish in a pinstriped suit with red pocket square while Caitlyn wore an emerald-hued lace number which featuring a thigh-skimming hemline

Girls' night out! Beth Behrs (L), Katherine McNamara (C) , and Bellamy Young (R) also all attended the star-studded event

Chic: Jordana Brewster was stylish in a pair of wide-legged silk trousers with a simply illustrated top

Matt Damon and wife Luciana Barroso did date night at the affair. They were perfectly coordinated for their evening out, with Matt clad in all black while Luciana flashed a sexy hint of her side in a spaghetti strapped ebony number with lacy panels on the flank.

The Argentinian beauty, who is 42, piled her tresses into an easy updo, kept her makeup fresh, and framed her face with golden hoop earrings.

John Stamos and wife Caitlin McHugh also enjoyed a night on the town, looking loved up on the red carpet. The 55-year-old Full House Alum looked stylish in a pinstriped suit with red pocket square while Caitlyn wore an emerald-hued lace number which featuring a thigh-skimming hemline.

Jordana Brewster was stylish in a pair of wide-legged silk trousers with a simply illustrated top. The Furious 7 star styled her cinnamon-hued hair sleekly and added point Mary Jane heels.

Keeping warm! Josh Gad (L), who is part of the Disney family from his roles in Frozen and the live action version of Beauty And The Beast, bundled up in a black peacoat and plaid trousers while Lori Loughlin (R) flashed a hint of skin in a striped blouse

Cast away! Mary Poppins Returns takes place years after the original, capturing the magical nanny (Blunt) as she returns to the Banks siblings (Mortimer and Whishaw) to help them raise their kids

Newcomers! Child actors Joel Dawson (left) and Pixie Davies (right) were thrilled to grace the red carpet

Cast of characters! There were extras dressed like chimney sweeps and town folk at the premiere

From Russia, with love: The Golden Globe winning starlet's was a vision of style in her white gown, which was by Russian fashion designer Yanina Couture

The Saved By The Bell actress matched plaid navy trousers to her little girl's beige and blue patterned blouse.

Beth Behrs paired a black and white pussybow blouse with textured blonde locks, sharp paints, and stacked heels.

Arrow's Katherine McNamara was stylish in a mod, little black velvet dress and pointy booties. Bellamy Young looked elegant in a crisp, white pantsuit complemented with matching heels and a shiny gold belt.

Lori Loughlin flashed a hint of skin in a striped blouse with sheer bands of black. She teamed the look with velvet leggings, over-the-knee boots, a Gucci belt, and matching chain bag.

Cute couple! Matthew Morrison and wife Renee (L) both went for fashionable ensemble for the night out, while Lesley Ann (R) Warren was sharp in a black suit

Old and new: The Mindy Projects' Utkarsh Ambudkar donned traditional Indian attire for the occasion

The Wright stuff! The Royals' Mark Wright kept to a simple olive sports coat work with boots, slim pants

Lesley Ann Warren was sharp in a black suit with double breasted jacket tailored to her feminine figure.

Burgundy heels and curly chestnut locks tied everything together along with a red satin snap clutch.

Mary Poppins Returns takes place years after the original, capturing the magical nanny (Blunt) as she returns to the Banks siblings (Mortimer and Whishaw) to help them raise their kids.

Mary Poppins Returns comes out in the US on December 19 2018.

He makes her laugh: Billy Crystal wore a suit with sneakers while at the even with his wife Janice (L) and Caroline Rhea looked great in red while taking daughter Ava Rhea Economopoulos (R) to the premiere
Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban shocked onlookers when they were seen casually enjoying fried chicken at a local KFC in Chatswood Chase mall in Sydney's Lower North Shore on Thursday.

And now it's been revealed exactly what the Hollywood A-listers decided to feast on during their late-night trip to the shops.

The couple certainly didn't hold back, ordering various items on the menu.

They're just like us! Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban ate dinner at a KFC restaurant in Sydney on Thursday, before enjoying a late-night trip to Kmart at the Chatswood Chase shopping mall

'They had a Go Bucket of Tenders with aioli. Large Chips. Six Nuggets with sweet and sour sauce and five Tenders,' a KFC spokesperson told Daily Mail Australia.

In a photo shared to Facebook, the actress, 51, was seen kept a low profile in a blue shirt while sitting in a booth with her country music star husband.

A KFC spokesperson told Daily Mail Australia on Friday: 'Our secret recipe doesn't discriminate. It's loved by all, including Hollywood royalty.

NICOLE AND KEITH'S KFC ORDER A KFC spokesperson confirmed the couple ordered the following items: Go Bucket of Tenders with aioli

Large Chips

6 Nuggets with sweet and sour sauce

5 Tenders and chips Advertisement

'We were thrilled to host legendary Aussie icons Nicole and Keith this week and if they're in the neighbourhood again, the next buckets on us!'

As well as tucking into the greasy take-away, Nicole and Keith also took a VIP trip to Kmart at the mall.

The couple reportedly visited several shops, including Kmart and Australian retailer Country Road.

According a comment left on the Mosman Living Facebook page, Nicole and Keith did not have to line up at Kmart - perhaps due to their celebrity status.

'They got a special cashier': As well as tucking into the greasy take-away, Nicole and Keith also took a VIP trip to Kmart at the mall

'They did a big shop in Kmart. The staff were beside themselves taking photos! They didn't have to line up, they got a special cashier,' wrote a fellow shopper.

Nicole and Keith, also 51, recently appeared at the ARIAs, an awards ceremony for the Australian music industry comparable to the Grammys or BRITs.

Keith hosted the prestigious event, at one stage embarrassing his wife by describing her as an 'up and coming actress'.

Down Under: Nicole and Keith appeared at the ARIA Awards in Sydney earlier this week, with the country music star hosting the ceremony. Pictured on stage with Sir Bob Geldof (right)

'I think good things are ahead for her!' he added.

The Oscar winner was seen covering her face in the audience, but appeared to take her husband's joke in good humour.

The ARIAs was also something of a family reunion for Nicole, who grew up in Sydney, as she posed with her niece Lucia Hawley, 19, on the red carpet.
They are both known for their love of the finer things in life.

So it was no surprise that Roxy Jacenko and her best friend Francesca Packer dressed to the nines for a charity luncheon at Bistro Moncur in Sydney on Friday.

The socialites showed off their matching $13,000 Hermes Birkin bags as they cuddled up in front of the media wall.

Ladies who lunch! Roxy Jacenko and her best friend Francesca Packer carried near matching $13,000 Hermes Birkin bags as they cuddle up at Royal Hospital for Women charity in Sydney

Stunning in a bright yellow mini dress, Roxy, 38, showed off her slender physique and trim pins.

The blonde businesswoman paired her bright ensemble with black strappy heels and a black Togo Birkin bag, which costs around $13,000.

She emphasised her stunning looks by using luminous makeup and her platinum-blonde locks were styled into loose beach waves.

Francesca also looked stylish in a white knit paired with a printed high-waisted skirt and nude stilettos.

Best friends: The socialites were all smiles as they posed in front of the event's media wall, which was hosted by Public House Management Group to raise money for the Royal Hospital of Women

The brunette, who is the niece to billionaire James Packer, also carried a matching Togo Birkin bag, but hers was in green.

The gal pals were attending a charity luncheon to raise money for the Royal Hospital for Women.

Roxy and Francesca have been friends for years and have often travelled to luxurious destinations together.

Meanwhile, Roxy revealed this week that she hired husband Oliver Curtis to work in her company's financial department after he struggled to find work following his release from prison last year.

Oliver, a former investment banker, was released from Cooma Correctional Centre in June 2017 after serving 12 months of a two-year sentence for conspiracy to commit insider trading.

Candid: Meanwhile, Roxy revealed this week that she hired husband Oliver Curtis to work in her company's financial department after he struggled to find work following his release from prison last year

He apparently found looking for work 'challenging', but fortunately his 38-year-old wife was able to offer him a job that perfectly suited his numerical skills.

'It was a big call but I have got someone with knowledge of the back end to support me,' she told WHO magazine on Thursday.

'Obviously, given Oli's time in prison and subsequent challenges of getting a job, it was a natural progression.'

Oliver is the COO of Roxy's umbrella of companies, which include Sweaty Betty PR, The Ministry of Talent, Pixies Bows and Social Union.
Cassandra Thorburn, ex-wife of Today show host Karl Stefanovic, is poised to waltz onto the rebooted version of Dancing with The Stars.

According to Sydney Morning Herald, Channel Ten have courted the mum-of-three to appear on the glamourfest, set to return to screens next year.

'Cassandra's name has been mentioned in hushed tones around Ten,' the publication reported.

Karl Stefanovic's ex wife Cassandra Thorburn 'to sign onto Dancing With The Stars reboot' as her former husband prepares to tie the knot with Jasmine Yarbrough. Pictured 2015 winners Emma Freedman and Aric Yegudkin

'And the network is keen to cash in on the huge amount of publicity her marriage break-up with Karl Stefanovic has generated over the past two years.'

Daily Mail Australia have reached out to Cassandra Thorburn for comment.

The rumour comes just days before the Today Show host, 44, will marry his fiancee Jasmine Yarbrough, 34, in Mexico.

'The network is keen to cash in on the huge amount of publicity her marriage break-up with Karl Stefanovic has generated': Channel Ten have reportedly courted the mum-of-three to appear on the glamourfest which is set to return to screens next year. Pictured Rachael Finch and husband Michael Miziner in 2010

The couple will tie the knot at the One&Only Palmilla Resort in the seaside town of San Jose del Cabo on Saturday, December 8.

Their wedding will be a three-day affair, with the newlyweds sparing no expense.

Cassandra, 47, and Karl announced their split in September 2016 after 21 years.

Soon to wed: The rumours comes just days before the Today Show host, 44, will marry his fiancee Jasmine Yarbrough, 34, in Mexico

And the former TV producer and journalist recently opened up about how tough the marriage breakdown had been on their three kids together, Jackson, 19, Ava, 13, and 11-year-old River.

'I think everyone knows separating and divorce is particularly challenging, for the children especially,' she said during an appearance on The Morning Show in September.

'It being so public wasn't perfect': The former TV producer and journalist recently opened up about how tough the marriage had been on their three kids together, Jackson, 19, Ava, 13, and 11-year-old River. Pictured on The Morning Show in September

'And it being so public wasn't perfect,' Cassandra added, referencing her own marriage breakdown.

But as for the future, the devoted single mother is taking it one step at a time.

'I want to focus on my children, and making sure that they're all happy and well. Looking that far ahead and focusing on myself is not something that I'm wanting to do right now,' she said.
Recently split Wiggles couple Emma Watkins and Lachlan Gillespie put on a united front at the ARIA awards following their marriage breakdown.

And on the red carpet, Red Wigggle Simon Pryce praised the pair for the 'professional' way they have handled their breakup.

Speaking to Yahoo! Lifestyle at the Australian music industry's night of nights, the children's performer said: 'Emma and Lachy have been incredible, the way theyve been working through it.'

'You would never know! The Wiggles' Simon Pryce (pictured) praises co-stars Emma Watkins and Lachlan Gillespie for the 'incredibly professional' way they have worked through their marriage split

'It must be difficult for them at times personally but you would never know, theyre incredibly professional,' he added to the publication.

Simon went on to hint the former husband and wife adopted a 'show must go on' attitude to their recent overseas tour.

'Weve done a Canadian tour together, weve filmed, recorded. It really is business as usual,' Simon said.

'It really is business as usual': Simon went on to hint the former husband and wife adopted a show must go on attitude to their recent overseas tour. Emma and Lachlan pictured on March 10, 2015

Meanwhile on Wednesday night, Emma and Lachlan sat side-by-side in the audience at the ARIA awards after they announced their marriage split in August.

Despite their unusual situation, the pair looked relaxed and happy in a photo posted to the group's official Instagram page during the ceremony.

The photo is casually captioned: 'Dressed up in style!'

The group were nominated for Best Children's Album for their latest release Wiggle Pop!, which was produced by ABC Kids and Universal Music.

That's awkward! The Wiggles' Emma Watkins and Lachlan Gillespie (together, centre) sit side by side in the audience at the ARIA awards after marriage split

Arresting look! Emma went to the ARIAS in a yellow dress under which she wears a high-neck white blouse with a black pussy bow

Back then: The pair wed in a lavish ceremony in Bowral, New South Wales in 2016, one year after becoming engaged. Emma and Lachie joined The Wiggles in 2013, and began dating just weeks later. Pictured in 2015

Despite their break-up, Lachlan and Emma have vowed to remain friends and still perform together in The Wiggles.

The pair wed in a lavish ceremony in Bowral, New South Wales in 2016, one year after becoming engaged.

Emma and Lachie joined The Wiggles in 2013 and began dating just weeks later.
He appeared in the 1964 original Mary Poppins, and is back for another round.

Dick Van Dyke beamed as he attended the Mary Poppins Returns premiere at Hollywood's Dolby Theater with wife Arlene Silver, 47, on a drizzly Thursday in Los Angeles.

The veteran entertainer, 92, appears in the new movie some 54 years after he was in the first film alongside Julie Andrews, David Tomlinson and Glynis Johns.

Legend: Dick Van Dyke, 92, beamed as he attended the Mary Poppins Returns at Hollywood's Dolby Theater on a drizzly Thursday in Los Angeles, 54 years after he starred in the original film

Awww! The actor planted a kiss on the cheek of his wife Arlene Silver, 47, who was clad in a maroon dress

Van Dyke was snapped posing with co-stars such as Emily Blunt and Lin-Manuel Miranda, as well as director Rob Marshall at the luxe premiere on the rainy evening in Southern California.

The original Mary Poppins hit theaters in 1964, starring Julie Andrews as the title character and Dick Van Dyke as the chimney sweep Bert.

The actor wore a navy blue suit with a sky blue tie as he posed with his wife Arlene, 47, who was clad in a maroon gown on the big night.

Dick's return sees him playing the son of Bert Dawes, with the actor putting on an energetic display in the trailer by dancing on a desk.

Chim Chim Cheree: The original Mary Poppins hit theaters in 1964, starring Julie Andrews as the title character and Dick Van Dyke as the chimney sweep Bert

Excited: The Tinseltown mainstay dazzled on the red carpet with his electric smile and proved he hand't lost his youthful zeal (pictured R in Mary Poppins)

Joyous: Emily Blunt said she was charmed working with the legendary show business personality

Viewers were left in tears after seeing Dick Van Dyke's return, with one writing: 'Dick Van Dyke is now fully Mr Dawes, Im crying!

Speaking with in Mary Poppins Returns: Behind the Magic, a 20/20 a special about the remake, Miranda said Van Dyke 'has more energy at 91 than I ever have in my life, and I'm not an unenergetic person,' adding that 'it was such a joy to have him' on the project.

'You spend five minutes with Dick Van Dyke and you are more alive than you were before,' said the 38-year-old Hamilton creator, who plays Jack in the Disney remake. 'You feel like you're not doing enough in your life.'

Blunt said of the iconic entertainer, 'The energy and the spirit behind the eyes is extraordinary,' as she also opened up about a touching moment on the set of the new film to Harper's Bazaar.

'Obviously, he'd be exhausted by the end of the day, but between takes he'd put his hand on my arm and sing: "It's a jolly holiday with Mary,"' she said. 'Yes, he's 92-years-old, but the eyes and the smile are seared into your memory.

'It was terribly moving having him there.'

The original film received 13 Oscar nominations, winning five including Best Actress for Julie Andrews.

Mary Poppins Returns opens in theaters December 19.

Jolly: Van Dyke was snapped posing with co-star Lin-Manuel Miranda

Fired up: Miranda told ABC that Van Dyke 'has more energy at 91 than I ever have in my life, and I'm not an unenergetic person'

Uplifting: The Hamilton creator said, 'You spend five minutes with Dick Van Dyke and you are more alive than you were before'

Coming soon: Audience will get to see Van Dyke in his second go-round when Mary Poppins Returns opens in theaters December 19
They walked down the aisle and exchanged vows in July near Jackson Hole, Wyoming.

And on a wet and rainy Thursday in Los Angeles, actress Beth Behrs and her husband Michael Gladis walked the red carpet for the first time as a married couple as they attended the Mary Poppins Returns at Hollywood's Dolby Theater.

Beth, 32, and her new spouse, 41, posed on the red carpet, as she wore a black blouse with a white bow, sharp black pants, and chunky black heels.

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Banner outing: Beth Behrs, 32, and her husband Michael Gladis, 41, walked the red carpet for the first time as a married couple as they attended the Mary Poppins Returns at Hollywood's Dolby Theater

The actress, best known for playing Caroline Channing on 2 Broke Girls, had her blonde locks textured and parted toward the side on the rainy autumn evening in Southern California.

Behrs and Gladis married near Jackson Hole, Wyoming this past summer at the Moose Creek Ranch in Victor, Idaho, near the border between the two states.

After they exchanged vows, they emerged as a married couple to a live performance of the 1963 song Jackson, originally performed by Johnny Cash and June Carter.

Beth, who currently appears on the CBS sitcom The Neighborhood, had huge words of praise for the motion picture, calling it in a tweet 'practically perfect in every way and her 'favorite movie going experience since childhood.'

Glimmering: The actress was decked out in an all-black ensemble as she posed on the red carpet

Christmas love: The couple exchanged vows this past summer just outside of Jackson Hole, Wyoming

Fun time: The actress took to Twitter to share her night out with her followers

She added, 'If you dont leave with a smile on your face and the warmest, gooey-est feeling in your heart then we cant be friends. I loved every minute.'

Beth also addressed at tweet to Lin-Manuel Miranda, telling the 38-year-old Hamilton creator, who plays Jack in the Disney remake: 'Well, @Lin_Manuel you are practically perfect in every way! Bravo my friend.'

Mary Poppins Returns opens in theaters December 19.
Alyssa Milano brought her fashion A-game to the American Cinematheque Awards Presentation in Beverly Hills on Thursday.

The actress worked the red carpet in a silky, two piece metallic dress that flashed some leg.

Alyssa, 45, oozed glamour in a glossy, champagne wrap-style top paired with gold, bohemian chic skirt with thigh-high slit.

Golden girl! Alyssa Milano brought her fashion A-game to the American Cinematheque Awards Presentation in Beverly Hills on Thursday

The actress stood tall in a pair of sparkling silver peep toe heels.

Enhancing her stunning facial features, Alyssa slicked on bold red lipstick, a dramatic slick of eye liner, and finished off the makeup with ample amounts of mascara.

She wore her dark blonde hair down in a glossy style that was parted at the center and framed her stunning complexion.

Dangling silver earrings and an array of golden accessories gave her look even more glitz.

Picture perfect: Dangling silver earrings and an array of golden accessories gave her look even more glitz

Bringing the glam: The actress oozed style in a gold bohemian chic maxi skirt with thigh-high slit

Hello gorgeous! Enhancing her stunning facial features, Alyssa slicked on bold red lipstick, a dramatic slick of eye liner, and finished off the makeup with ample amounts of mascara

Tonight's event was honoring A Star Is Born actor and director, Bradley Cooper.

Alyssa has been back in the spotlight this year not just for her acting career, but for her activism.

In response to sexual misconduct allegations against Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein, Alyssa sent a tweet that turned the hashtag #MeToo into a rallying cry against sexual assault and harassment.

In December, Alyssa and Tarana Burke, the creator of the original Me Too movement back in 2006, were recognized among Time magazine's 'Silence Breakers' as the person of the year.

Currently the actress stars opposite Emma Roberts and Hayden Christensen in the romantic comedy Little Italy.
Alan Carr has revealed he has given up alcohol to support his husband who hit the bottle while the comedian was on tour.

The Chatty Man presenter, 42, known for offering his guests a drink or two on his Channel 4 talk show, has also given up sugar and fatty foods.

The star went teetotal in June to help his husband, Paul Drayton, and joked on stage: Hes been sober for 161 days. I havent had a drink during this time either or a smile, reported the Mirror.

Teetotal: Alan Carr has revealed he has given up alcohol to support his husband who hit the bottle while the comedian was on tour

In 2016, the star admitted that his husband had a few issues with alcohol while Alan was away from home, with the presenter confessing that he neglected his personal life.

He recalled: I used to love going to M&S at the station and getting a G&T or a Pina Colada for the journey.

The TV personality wed his partner of 10 years in an idyllic ceremony in Los Angeles in front of just four guests in January, before enjoying a relaxing honeymoon in Mexico.

Supportive: The star went teetotal in June to help his husband, Paul Drayton, who had 'a few issues' (pictured together in 2015)

Nuptials: The TV personality wed his partner of 10 years in Los Angeles in front of just four guests in January, with best friend Adele officiating (pictured in February 2017)

Back in 2016, the couple were on holiday in Indonesia when Paul popped the question.

Alan thought he had had a dental accident while chowing down on his dessert - only to reveal his beau had hidden an engagement ring in the pudding.

His best pal Adele officiated the wedding ceremony, and he later revealed during an appearance on This Morning in April that she also paid for the entire wedding.

Alan recently revealed that he role plays asTOWIE star, Gemma Collins, 37, in order to spice things up in the bedroom with his husband.

In an interview with The Mirror, the funnyman, 42, admitted: 'Me and my husband Paul have been together 10 years  in gay years that's around 200 and almost unheard of.

Surprise: Alan (left) revealed recently that he dresses up as Gemma Collins (right) in bed to spice things up with his husband

'Posh and Becks have been together almost double that time  imagine how bored of each other me Paul will be by then? But we add a bit of spice and freshen things up with role play.

'Obviously I dress as Gemma Collins in bed. And we often like to pretend to be Elton John and David Furnish  the Poundland version.'

Last year, Alan wore not one but two outfits inspired by Gemma for comedic effect as he went to Jonathan Ross' Halloween party wearing a dress she was trolled for on Instagram.

He then recreated Gemma's epic fall dressed in a mesh swimsuit during his hilarious Love Island sketch in his two-hour New Year Specstacular.
Lorraine Kelly celebrated her 59th birthday in spectacular fashion on Friday morning, as the stars of Magic Mike Live descended on the studio for a cheeky performance.

Donning vests emblazoned with the breakfast presenter's face, the dancers were introduced by Channing Tatum, who said in a pre-recorded message he had a special surprise for the Scottish breakfast presenter.

It proved to be a show full of surprises for Lorraine, as she also received special messages from The Spice Girls and stars of Queer Eye, and was even set the ultimate extraterrestrial challenge by astronaut Tim Peake.

Hilarious: Lorraine Kelly celebrated her 59th birthday in spectacular fashion on Friday morning, as the stars of Magic Mike Live descended on the studio for a cheeky performance

After Lorraine was wished the happiest of birthdays she was sent the surprise message by Hollywood star Channing, who quickly teased that he had a 'little surprise' for her.

Within seconds Lorraine was joined on the set by all manner of hunky dancers dressed in vests emblazoned with her smiling face, who proceeded to perform a hunky dance - complete with backflips - to Ginuwine's Pony.

Lorraine's joy at her big surprise was apparent as she gushed 'I don't know where to look!' before rushing to hug each dancer individually.

Look who it is! At the start of the show Lorraine received a surprise message from Channing Tatum, where he revealed he had a special surprise for the presente

Surprise! The cast of Magic Mike live then descended on the studio, wearing vests emblazoned with her face

Naughty: Storming the studio the dancers showed off their incredible skills from the big stage show, complete with plenty of backflips

Shocked: Lorraine's stunned delight was apparent as she gushed: 'I don't know where to look'

And the surprises didn't stop there for Lorraine on her special day, as she also received special video messages from The Spice Girls and the stars of the reality TV hit Queer Eye.

As the show came to a close the legendary presenter was set the ultimate challenge by Dan Wootton, as part of a series of tasks to complete ahead of her 60th birthday.

Lorraine was tasked with taking a flight on the plane known as 'the vomit comet' as it mimics the zero-gravity environment endured by astronauts as they rocket into space.

The space adventure also came with a message from British space explorer Tim Peake, who joined many stars in wishing her a happy birthday.

Shocked: As the performance came to an end Lorraine was quick to hug and thank each of the dancers, joking that she would 'see them in her dressing room later'

Lovely: The performance was just one surprise for Lorraine as she celebrated turning 59, also getting video messages from The Spice Girls and the cast of Queer Eye

Happy returns! Viewers at home also took to Twitter throughout the morning to wish Lorraine a happy birthday, as they also enjoyed the dancers' cheeky performance

Viewers at home also took to Twitter throughout the morning to wish Lorraine a happy birthday, as they also enjoyed the dancers' cheeky performance.

One wrote: 'Happy birthday lovely lady. I hope Angus enjoys your cake!'

Another wrote: 'Happy birthday to everybody's favourite! Hope you have a great day Lorraine.'

A third cheekily added: 'Happy Birthday @lorraine have a lovely day!! By the way loved the dancers on @Lorraine this morning!! Birthday treat!!'

Celebrate! Many viewers took to social media to wish Lorraine a happy birthday
She revealed she's torn between having more children and 'getting annihilated' in a candid interview earlier this week.

And Kate Beckinsale was enjoying her freedom as she cheered on the Los Angeles Lakers with a group of friends at the Staples Center on Thursday night.

The actress, 45, cut a stylish figure in a black blouse and dramatic fur coat as she whooped from her seat.

Go, Lakers! Kate Beckinsale was enjoying her freedom as she cheered on the Los Angeles Lakers with a group of friends at the Staples Center on Thursday night

Accentuating her toned legs, the Underworld star wore tight leather leggings for her sporty outing.

The mother-of-one completed her look with a dainty silver necklace, which highlighted her blouse's plunging neckline.

Waves of brunette locks framed the actress' flawless complexion as she giggled with her friends.

The screen star would no doubt be pleased with the result with her adopted home's team beating the Indiana Pacers 105-96.

Chic: The actress, 45, cut a stylish figure in a black blouse and dramatic fur coat as she whooped from her seat

Fun night: The mother-of-one completed her look with a dainty silver necklace, which highlighted her blouse's plunging neckline

Natural beauty: Waves of brunette locks framed the actress' flawless complexion as she giggled with her friends

Kate recently hit headlines for enjoying a steamy romp with British comedian Jack Whitehall, 30.

The Van Helsing star admitted to Tatler she is torn between having more children and enjoying her freedom.

On whether she would have another child, she told the publication: 'I definitely would, but then I think "Oh God, I annihilated my twenties and I suddenly get a taste of freedom and annihilate myself again?" But I am open to seeing what happens'

Kate also admitted she hasn't always been quite as wild as revealed she was voted 'sixth most boring person' at Oxford University when she was a student.

Result! The screen star would no doubt be pleased with the result with her adopted home's team beating the Indiana Pacers 105-96

Candid: The Van Helsing star recently admitted to Tatler that she is torn between having more children and enjoying her freedom

She added: 'I didn't like drinking vodka out of a welly. In fact, I didn't drink at all, which meant there was no real chance of getting into my knickers - so what was the point of me? I was deeply unpopular.'

The actress has a daughter Lily, now 19, with long-term former partner Michael Sheen, 49, who she split from in 2003 after eight years together.

Kate tied the knot with director Len Wiseman, 45, in 2004 after meeting on the set of Underworld the previous year; the couple divorced in 2016 after 12 years together.

Discussing her love life, Kate said: 'When you get divorced, everybody waits to see where you land. But I might not land anywhere for a bit.

'I'm really quite happy: it's quite nice to have a bit of Virginia Woolf time.'

Mum's the word: The actress has a daughter Lily, now 19, with long-term former partner Michael Sheen, 49, who she split from in 2003 after eight years together

Single lady: Kate tied the knot with director Len Wiseman, 45, in 2004 after meeting on the set of Underworld the previous year; the couple divorced in 2016

Style: Kate cut a casual figure as she stepped out in Los Angeles on Friday
He's been in London promoting his highly-anticipated film, Aquaman.

But American-actor Jason Momoa has now returned to the States following his hectic schedule as he was spotted arriving at JFK airport in New York, on Thursday.

Combating the chilly weather, the 38-year-old action star slipped his muscular 6ft4in form into a vibrant pink jumper for his flight.

Going back home: American-actor Jason Momoa has now returned to the States following his hectic schedule as he was spotted arriving at JFK airport in New York, on Thursday

Jason (born Joseph), who played Khal Drogo on Game Of Thrones, teamed his colourful look with black wide leg trousers, opting for a comfortable style.

The Hawaiian born star completed his ensemble with laced up tan boots to match the bag thrown over his right shoulder.

Rocking his trademark look, the chiselled actor sported long, untamed locks and a bushy beard.

The long and the short of it: Combating the chilly weather, the 38-year-old action star slipped his muscular 6ft4in form into a vibrant pink jumper for his flight

Following on from his popularity as Daenerys Targaryen's husband Khal Drogo in GOT, Jason has been cast as the lead role in the new Aquaman film.

The Warner Bros film, adapted from the DC Comics of the same name, has received rave reviews so far.

On his similarities with the character, Jason told This Morning on Wednesday: 'I come from a very loving home. I was raised by my single mother in Iowa but I spent my summer in Hawaii.

'It was two different worlds so thats relatable and the single parent thing. Its the people around you and believing you that make you the king.'

His big role: Following on from his popularity as Daenerys Targaryen's husband Khal Drogo in GOT, Jason has been cast as the lead role in the new Aquaman film

Just alike: On his similarities with the character, Jason told This Morning on Wednesday: 'It was two different worlds so thats relatable and the single parent thing.'

Asked on about the brutal stunts for the superhero flick, Jason confessed he was forced to employ a stunt double for the first time.

'I never had stunt doubles before I do my own fights, but for instance this guy Brian got knocked out!', he said.

'Theres just so much action. I love doing my own stunts, but these stunts were at such a high level and if stunt guys are getting knocked out then I probably shouldnt [risk it].

'So I found two beautiful men that tried to emulate me. Im almost 40, Im waking up a little slower!'
They have enjoyed a whirlwind romance since sparks first flew back in August.

And Hayden Panettiere's beau Brian Hickerson had bar bystanders believing he was ready to take the next step in their romance, as he faked a proposal in Los Angeles.

The Nashville actress, 29, and her new boyfriend, 28, were enjoying an evening at Sunset Strip hotspot Rock & Reilly's recently when Brian decided to get down on knee, captured on a video obtained by TMZ.

Fake out: Hayden Panettiere's beau Brian Hickerson had bar bystanders believing he was ready to take the next step in their romance, as he faked a proposal in Los Angeles (pictured in October)

According to fellow bar guests, the hunk shouted: 'Everyone shut the F up! I'm about to propose to my girlfriend.'

Getting down on one knee, as people gasped, Brian uttered the fateful words, but hilariously aimed them at a different actress.

He said: 'Dakota Fanning, will you please marry me?' as Hayden cracked up laughing.

Sources close to the couple told the website Hayden bet Brian he couldn't make her laugh in 10 seconds, and that he even sealed the deal with a paper ring.

Hot mama: The couple have enjoyed a whirlwind romance since sparks first flew back in August

The Nashville actress, 29, and her new boyfriend, 28, were enjoying an evening at Sunset Strip hotspot Rock & Reilly's recently when Brian decided to get down on knee, captured on a video obtained by TMZ (pictured in August 2018)

MailOnline has contacted Hayden's representative for comment.

Hayden was previously engaged to boxer Wladimir Klitschko, 42, but split from him in the summer after a nine-year relationship.

Panettiere met the sportsman at a book party and dated for two years before breaking up.

The pair got back together in 2013 and were engaged by the end of that year.

Less than a year after announcing their plans for matrimony, the Heroes actress gave birth to their daughter Kaya Klitschko on Dec. 9, 2014.

Outing: According to fellow bar guests, the hunk shouted: 'Everyone shut the F up! I'm about to propose to my girlfriend' before asking for Dakota Fanning's hand in marriage (pictured in October 2018)

The fake proposal comes as Brian slammed rumors that their relationship is in trouble.

The actor gave a statement to Access Hollywood earlier this month that directly addressed said rumors.

'Just to be clear, Hayden's friends and family are not worried about her at all. Hayden is happy and healthy and so is our relationship,' he told the outlet.

He concluded with: 'That is all I will comment on so please respect my privacy. Have a great day.'

Happier times: Hayden was previously engaged to boxer Wladimir Klitschko, 42, but split from him in the summer after a nine-year relationship. They share one daughter, Kaya, three (pictured in December 2013)




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He's playing Batman's arch enemy in Warner Bros. upcoming Joker film.

And three-time Oscar nominee Joaquin Phoenix looked the part as failed stand-up comedian Arthur Fleck before he transforms into Gotham City's clown-inspired criminal mastermind.

Appearing downcast for the iconic role, the 43-year-old dons a perfectly put together costume, illustrating him as a 'disregarded member of society' on Thursday, in New York.

Three-time Oscar nominee Joaquin Phoenix looked the part as failed stand-up comedian Arthur Fleck before he transforms into Gotham City's clown-inspired criminal mastermind

With a dowdy tan cardigan on top of a white shirt, the character was piled in layers to depict the scene's cold weather.

Joaquin's ensemble was completed with a mustard-coloured jacket and a pair of formal grey trousers.

In the action scene, the Sisters Brothers actor can be seen running out of an ambulance and walking around with both arms in his pockets.

Action scene: During filming, the Sisters Brothers actor can be seen running out of an ambulance and walking around with both arms in his pockets

Drama: Appearing downcast for the iconic role, the 43-year-old dons a perfectly put together costume, illustrating him as a 'disregarded member of society' on Thursday, in New York

Combating the chill: With a dowdy tan cardigan on top of a white shirt, the character was piled in layers to depict the scene's cold weather

Joaquin is the seventh actor to take on the Jester of Genocide, and his performance already seems to be most inspired by Heath Ledger's Oscar-winning 2008 rendition.

He signed on to portray Batman's arch villain in July with Joker, which follows Arthur in 1981 as he becomes a psychopathic criminal, scheduled to be released in theatres on October 4, 2019.

'It feels unique, it is its own world in some ways, and maybe, mostly, it scares the f***ing s*** out of me or something. It might as well be the thing that scares you the most,' the Golden Globe winner told Collider back in July.

'I wouldn't quite classify this as like any genre. I wouldn't say it's a superhero movie...I think, underneath the excitement of these films, and the size of them, there are these incredible characters that are dealing with real life struggles.'

Downcast: Joaquin's ensemble was completed with a mustard-coloured jacket and a pair of formal grey trousers

The film by director Todd Phillips also features Robert De Niro, Zazie Beetz, Bill Camp, Frances Conroy, Glenn Fleshler, Marc Maron, Josh Pais, and Shea Whigham.

After films, Batman v Superman: Dawn Of Justice and Justice League, were considered underwhelming, Warner Bros. seemingly decided to undergoing a transformation of their superhero movies.

The Hollywood Reporter revealed in September that Henry Cavill is out as Superman, after playing the iconic hero in both those movies and Man Of Steel.

Ben Affleck is expected to also part ways with his role as Batman, with the studio focusing on new movies like this Supergirl and a sequel to the 2017 hit Wonder Woman.
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It was a summer of romance, feuds, heartache and fall-outs.

And Megan Barton Hanson, 24, and her boyfriend Wes Nelson, 20, led the cast of Love Island to film the show's special Christmas reunion episode on Thursday.

With five couples having split since the series ended, the reality stars looked a little apprehensive as they made their way into a country retreat on the outskirts of London, with Alexandra Cane coming face-to-face with her former crush Paul Knops- who happens to be single.

Power couple: Megan Barton Hanson, 24, and her boyfriend Wes Nelson led the glamorous arrivals as filming got under way for the Love Island's Christmas reunion episode on Thursday

Megan cut a stylish figure in a grey tartan skirt and a simple white t-shirt, which she tucked in at the waist.

She added a pop of colour to her outfit with a furry mustard coat and added a boost to her height with black ankle boots.

The former exotic dancer styled her newly-dyed peroxide blonde locks in soft waves and complemented her ensemble with fluttery eyelashes and a pink lip. Wes cut a dapper figure in a shearling jacket and bootleg jeans.

Sparks flying: Alexandra Cane was spotted coming face-to-face with her former crush Paul Knops- who happens to be single

Fashion maven: Megan cut a stylish figure in a grey tartan skirt and a simple white t-shirt, which she tucked in at the waist

Vibrant: The reality starlet added a pop of colour to her outfit with a furry mustard coat and added a boost to her height with black ankle boots and puffed on a cigarette ahead of filming

Smitten: The loved-up couple put on a united display as they left their hotel with Charlie Brake and headed to their awaiting white Rolls Royce, with the millionaire heir, 24, enjoying a smoke break with Megan later on in the night

Sizzling chemistry: Meanwhile, sparks seemed to fly between Alexandra and her former crush Paul, who is now a single man after he announced his split with Laura Anderson back in September

Reunion: The make-up artist, 27, looked festive in a red teddy bear coat, and appeared in high spirits as she mingled with her former co-stars

The couple looked in throes of love as they left there nearby hotel with Charlie Brake and were picked up by a white Rolls Royce to take them to the beautiful country mansion.

Meanwhile, sparks seemed to fly between Alexandra and her former crush Paul as they filmed outside.

The pair were spotted looking cosy as they chatted to unlucky-in-love Eyal Booker, who seemed to be cracking a few jokes.

Romantic moment? The former flame of Dr Alex George appeared to be filming a segment outside next to a Christmas tree

Ready for fireworks: The trio then filmed their entry into the stunning stately home to greet their exes

Nerves: Megan and Wes looked a little apprehensive as they also filmed scenes for the ITV2 special, hosted by Caroline Flack

Going to be explosive: Charlie looked cool in black leather biker jacket, baker boy hat and jeans as he nervously awaited seeing his ex Ellie Brown for the first time

During Alexandra's stint on Love Island, she made a beeline for Paul, who declined her interest due to his loyalties with Laura Anderson.

But the carpenter, 31, is now a single man after he announced his split with the air hostess back in September.

Laura, 29, is now loved-up with former Love Island winner Max Morley.

A source told MailOnline that most of the islanders who are now not together filmed at separate times in a bid to avoid any awkward encounters.

Making an entrance: The stars of the show were picked up by a flurry of white Rolls Royces' to take them to the beautiful country mansion

Casually-clad: Wes cut a dapper figure in a shearling jacket, black t-shirt, trainers and bootleg jeans

Matchmaker: The pair were spotted looking cosy as they chatted to unlucky-in-love Eyal Booker in the rain

Stunning: The country retreat features a sublime indoor swimming pool and stables and was beautifully decked out in Christmas decorations

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas: Pine trees, fairy lights and festive ornaments adorned the entrance

During the filming, host Caroline Flack gave fans of the show a sneak peek of the first ever Christmas special.

The show host, 39, delighted viewers by offering a glimpse behind the scenes, while Wes shared a video from his car journey with Megan to his 1.6 million Instagram followers.

Wes said: 'Filming the Christmas reunion. It's about to go down.'

In a separate post, the reality star said he was 'gonna be quiet for a couple of days'.

Christmas special: Wes and Megan filmed a video as they headed to film the Christmas reunion

Caroline also teased the upcoming special to fans, sharing a series of clips to get her followers excited for the reunion and admitted it felt odd to film the sun-kissed series in the middle of winter.

The Love Island presenter teased the location of the reunion by posing outside a stately home, wearing an embellished skirt and one-shoulder top.

She also posted on Instagram wrapped up in a parka jacket, the TV presenter shared a snap of herself and wrote: 'Off to film a bit of Christmas Love Island today... feels weird in the winter.'

Exciting times: Show host Caroline Flack, 39, wowed in an embellished silver and black skirt with a frill-trim one-shoulder top as she posed outside a stately home

Jumping for joy: Caroline couldn't hide her excitement for the reunion as she leaped into the air

The host later shared a glimpse at her reunion script and the Love Island Christmas Reunion cue cards.

The location for the special has been kept top secret but Caroline looked to be in luxurious surroundings as she relaxed in a spa and showed fans a glimpse of the huge pool.

Love Island alumni Georgia Steele, 20, also told of her excitement ahead of the special.

She shared a snap on the way to filming, writing that she had a 'two hour drive' ahead of her.

Kinky boots: Caroline shared a snap of her festive attire including a pair of thigh-high boots

Sneak peak: Caroline shared a series of clips to get her followers excited for the reunion and admitted it felt odd to film the sun-kissed series in the middle of winter

Sharing a clip of herself chowing down on a meal, the former dance student told of her excitement about being reunited with her former cast mates, including ex-boyfriend Sam Bird, 25.

Georgia said: 'So I'm here eating my last supper before I go back to see everyone from Love Island. So excited.'

Paul Knops who was linked with Laura Anderson on the series, also announced he was on his way to the reunion and would be going off social media.

He wrote: 'Destination unknown @LoveIsland. I shall be offline for a couple of days too.'

Preparation: The TV presenter later shared a glimpse at her reunion script and the Love Island Christmas Reunion cue cards

Reunin: The location for the special has been kept top secret, but Caroline looked to be in luxurious surroundings as she relaxed in a spa and showed fans a glimpse of the huge pool

Only four couples from the show remain united, with a series of splits blighting the series' stars in the weeks and months following the final.

Winners Jack Fincham, 26, and Dani Dyer, 22, are still together and filming their own reality show, while Adam Collard, 23, and Zara McDermott, 20, have recently moved into their first flat.

Along with Megan and Wes, Kazimir Crossley, 23, and Josh Denzel, 26, are also still loved-up.

Journey: Georgia Steel, 20, also told of her excitement ahead of the special, sharing a snap on the way to filming, writing that she had a 'two hour drive' ahead of her

Most of the couples who got together in the Mallorca villa have gone their separate ways since the cameras turned off.

Georgia and Sam Bird confirmed their split on Instagram in October, with Sam admitted he was 'devastated' by the break-up while Georgia insisted she will 'always care about him'.

Paul and Laura broke the string of success' for the finalists' relationships as they called it quits shortly after the series ended.

Break: Paul Knops, 31, who was linked with Laura Anderson, 29, on the series, also announced he was on his way to the reunion and would be going off social media

Romance: Winners Jack Fincham and Dani Dyer are still going strong and have been filming their own reality show together (pictured after winning the show in July)

Paul told The Sun: We werent compatible for each other. I knew I had to be 100 per cent sure about it because you know  the next person youre with could potentially be youre wife; you dont want to be unsure about it.'

Frankie Foster, 22, and Samira Mighty, 22, also didn't last outside the villa, despite Samira leaving when her other half was voted out - they called it quits in August.

It also wasn't meant to be for Charlie Brake, 23, and Ellie Brown, 20, who announced they were splitting on Instagram in October.
She's one step closer to Strictly's glitterball trophy, having sailed through to the quarter finals with a magnificent Paso Doble last week.

And Stacey Dooley looked cool, calm and collected as she grabbed a coffee while heading to her final day of rehearsals for Musicals Week in London on Friday morning.

The broadcaster, 31, went makeup free and wrapped up in a stylish camel coat as she headed into the studio to meet her professional partner Kevin Clifton, 36.

Come dance with me: Stacey Dooley looked cool, calm and collected as she grabbed a coffee while heading to her final day of rehearsals for Musicals Week in London on Friday morning

Dressed ready for her training session, the documentary maker woe a pair of sporty leggings and white trainers.

Stacey's flame red hair was in light waves and accessorised with a pair of chunky gold hoop earrings.

Showcasing her cool sense of style, the TV personality completed her ensemble with a pair of trendy gold framed sunglasses.

Ready for action: The broadcaster, 31, went makeup free and wrapped up in a stylish camel coat as she headed into the studio to meet her professional partner Kevin Clifton, 36

So stylish: Dressed ready for her training session, the documentary maker woe a pair of sporty leggings and white trainers

The journalist appeared to need a caffeine boost as she carried a cup of coffee in her right hand.

The outing comes as Stacey, along with fellow celebrities Dr Ranj Singh and Joe Sugg are confirmed to take part in the UK Strictly Come Dancing tour in 2019.

Her pro partner Kevin Clifton confirmed he won't part of the show, but Stacey has been partnered with dancer Aljaz Skorjanec.

All in the details: Stacey's flame red hair was in light waves and accessorised with a pair of chunky gold hoop earrings

The BBC journalist said: 'Im loving this experience so much. I know people always say that, but its so true.

'To be able to go on tour and perform for the fans all over the UK is such an honour. Im so excited! I will miss Kev, but I am looking forward to putting Aljaz through his paces.'

Stacey and Kevin are favourites to win the BBC dancing show after their sizzling performance last Saturday, which scored them a near-perfect 39 points.

Stellar: The BBC journalist sailed through to the quarter finals by wowing the judging panel and the public alike with a magnificent Paso Doble last week

Judge Darey Bussell commended them on their skills: 'Stacey you look amazing oh my goodness you tore up the dancefloor, it was dramatic, powerful, brilliant'.

Last week a Betfair spokesperson said: 'It's Stacey Dooley who goes from strength to strength each week and is the 11/8 favourite to win the series ahead of Joe Sugg who is 11/4 and Faye Tozer at 7/2.'

Also confirmed to join host and former Strictly winner Ore Oduba on the tour are pro dancer Janette Manrara as well as judges Craig Revel Horwood, Darcey Bussell, Shirley Ballas and Bruno Toniolo.
Ali Oetjen and Taite Radley are at the height of their fame and it appears that the pair are in search of someone to manage it.

According to The Daily Telegraph, the couple, who formed on The Bachelorette finale just a couple of week ago, are emailing talent agents in the hope of procuring management and opportunities.

And the alleged leaked pitch is 'poorly worded' and 'riddled with spelling mistakes' the paper reports.

Help wanted! Leaked email suggests The Bachelorette's Taite Radley and Ali Oetjen are searching for a talent agent... but it's riddled with spelling mistakes

The leaked message, obtained by The Daily Telegraph, professes to be written by Taite.

It reads in part: 'Being both into Heath (sic) and fitness, we're looking at getting some good management to help strengthen our brand.

'We are currently getting offers but are unsure how to handel (sic) them.'

The leaked message, obtained by The Daily Telegraph, professes to be written by Taite and reads in part: 'Being both into Heath (sic) and fitness, we're looking at getting some good management to help strengthen our brand

Ready to work: It also refers to the '2milion (sic) visits over 7 days' the pair had on Instagram for their recent trip to Cairns

It also refers to the '2milion (sic) visits over 7 days' the pair had on Instagram for their recent trip to Cairns.

Daily Mail Australia has reached out to Taite Radley for comment.

It comes after the pair attempted to brushed off split rumours by posting a series of loved-up Instagram photos.

Loved up pair: It comes after the pair brushed off split rumours with some some loved-up Instagram photos

The couple cuddled up at a Melbourne gym, and Ali gushed about the bank manager in the caption, writing 'My other half'.

However the loved-up display is contrary to recent reports that their relationship is not what it seems.

According to Monday's Woman's Day, the couple are staying together purely 'for the sake of the franchise'.
She has been throwing herself into work after the demise of her relationship with her love rat ex-fiance, John Noble.

But Vicky Pattison showed no signs of heartbreak as she left ITV studios in a stylish ensemble on Friday, after joking about her split during her I'm A Celebrity segment on This Morning.

The television personality, 31, looked typically chic in a vibrant red jumper and blue tartan miniskirt.

Fashion maven: Vicky Pattison showed no signs of heartbreak as she left ITV studios in a stylish ensemble on Friday, after joking about her break-up during her segment on This Morning

Vicky showcased her tremendous pins in the thigh-grazing electric blue skirt, adding extra height to her slim frame with a pair of suede black ankle boots.

The former Geordie Shore star layered a tailored pea coat atop of her stylish ensemble and accessorised the look with her staple Prada leather handbag.

Styling her brunette locks into a bouncy blow-dry, Vicky finished off the look with a bronzed smoky eye, blush-swept cheeks and a soft pink lip.

Keeping busy: Following her TV appearance, Vicky headed across to Covent Garden for the W7 Cosmetic Winter Wonderlaunch

Sartorially-savvy: The television personality, 31, looked typically chic in a vibrant red jumper and blue tartan miniskirt

Leggy: Vicky showcased her tremendous pins in the thigh-grazing electric blue skirt, adding extra height to her slim frame with a pair of suede black ankle boots

Perfectly polished: Styling her brunette locks into a bouncy blow-dry, Vicky finished off the look with a bronzed smoky eye, blush-swept cheeks and a soft pink lip

The former I'm A Celeb jungle queen made a quick change out of her burgundy leopard print dress she had worn during her TV appearance on the daytime stalwart.

During her segment, Vicky made reference to her heartache as she jokingly told hosts Eamonn Holmes and his wife Ruth Langsford off for quarreling, saying she had 'been through enough'.

It happened when Eamonn interrupted the Geordie beauty, telling her: 'Before we do that Victoria my wife got somewhat excited there...'

The former I'm A Celeb jungle queen had made a quick change out of her burgundy leopard print dress she had worn during her TV appearance on the daytime stalwart

During her segment, Vicky made reference to her heartache as she jokingly told hosts Eamonn Holmes and his wife Ruth Langsford off for quarreling

Bicker: It happened when Eamonn interrupted, telling Vicky: 'Before we do that Victoria my wife got somewhat excited there', with Ruth interjecting: 'No I knew what I was doing'

Emotions running high: Witnessing the bicker, Vicky tried to put a stop to it, referencing her own romance woes as she said: 'Oh guys don't have a domestic. I cannot deal with it'

Looking better than ever: Vicky added a black baker boy hat to her stylish ensemble and flashed a smile for photographers

Leading ladies: The reality star rubbed shoulders with TOWIE's Lauren Pope, who rocked black PVC trousers and a leopard print coat

Love Island hunks: Vicky also caught up with Eyal Booker and pal Alex Bowen

That's what friends are for: Vicky has relied on her close pals Alex and his wife Olivia Buckland to help heal her broken heart

With Ruth interjecting: 'No I knew what I was doing. I knew there was a competition Eamonn, calm down everybody.'

Witnessing the bicker, Vicky tried to put a stop to it, referencing her own romance woes as she said: 'Oh guys don't have a domestic. I cannot deal with it, I've been through enough.'

Earlier this week, the presenter confessed she's been crying every day as she took to Instagram to thank her fans and friends for their support after her fiance was caught getting cosy with a bevy of beauties during a trip to Dubai.

Distractions from the pain: The Geordie Shore star has been throwing herself into work following the demise of her relationship to her love rat ex-fiance, John Noble

Alongside a series of snaps with her nearest and dearest, she wrote: 'This is a post to say THANKYOU...

'To be honest the main things that have gotten me through the last couple weeks has been the love and kindness of my family and friends, my career that I feel so utterly grateful to have and the support of strangers and people on social media.

'Im so overwhelmed at the love Ive been shown I just cant thank everyone enough.'

Speaking candidly about her heartache, she continued: 'I am so looking forward to someday soon my smiles being real and not crying everyday but in the meantime, Im off home to try and rest up for a couple days, watch Im a celeb and eat a lot of toast.

Devastated: Earlier this week, the presenter confessed she's been crying every day as she took to Instagram to thank her fans and friends for their support

Touched: Earlier this week, the presenter confessed she's been crying every day as she took to Instagram to thank her fans and friends for their support

'Im sorry Im such a utter pity party at the moment- Ill be better soon I promise, dont give up on me and THANKYOU again for your patience'.

She signed off the post: 'Vicky Pattison (worlds most miserable cow and toast enthusiast!)'

Earlier this month, John was pictured cavorting with three girls while on his holiday, behind Vicky's back, leaving her devastated.

A spokesperson for the TV star recently told MailOnline that she has proof that he is not being truthful with his claims that they had already split when he was pictured cavorting.

They wrote: 'Vicky is not rolling over on this and will fight any false statements which dispute the facts of her former relationship.

'He should just apologise and let her move on  instead he is trying to cover up his mistakes.

'Vicky has not once received an apology  and now hes claiming they werent together, despite a ton of public evidence that they were.

'The entire situation is madness but Vicky will come out fighting each and every time to protect herself and the truth.
Christmas Hallmark movies have become a massive phenomenon, dominating cable ratings with an average of six million viewers per film.

DailyMail.com talked to one of the channel's favorite writers, Nina Weinman - who has two Hallmark Christmas movies this year: Homegrown Christmas with Lori Loughlin and Pride, Prejudice And Mistletoe with Lacey Chabert, about the cultural trend.

'There is a lot of negative news and polarization, specifically on social media, and Hallmark provides a sort of comfort food for the masses,' said the Los Angeles resident. 'It's a wonderful escape, where you're never going to be blindsided. You know that you're going to feel warm and fuzzy and that in Hallmark land, happily-ever-after always exists.'

She explains it all: Christmas Hallmark movies have become a phenomenon, dominating cable with an average of six million viewers per film. DailyMail.com talked to one of the channel's favorite writers, Nina Weinman

Her new film, Homegrown Christmas, stars Loughlin - best known for Full House and Fuller House - who she can't say enough good things about.

'Yes, she's beautiful and eternally youthful, but those aren't even close to the best things about her,' said Nina.

'She is kind, collaborative, supportive, an incredible mom and a complete pro. When the producers called and asked me if I'd like to develop something with her for this Christmas, I didn't hesitate.

NEW! Homegrown Christmas airs December 8 and stars Lori Loughlin and Victor Webester

Synopsis: When forced to work together to organize a Christmas dance for the local high school, former sweethearts find themselves rediscovering what made them fall in love all those years ago

Ace: And she can't say enough good things about Loughlin, best known for Full House and Fuller House. 'Yes, she's beautiful and eternally youthful, but those aren't even close to the best things about her,' said Nina. 'She is kind, collaborative, supportive, an incredible mom and a complete pro'

'I had heard great things about her and, from our first lunch together, I knew how lucky I was that they chose me for this project. We've had a great time over the past year, putting together Homegrown Christmas and I'm thrilled with the outcome.

'She's completely hilarious and fantastic in it and the chemistry between Lori and Victor Webster is going to make everyone feel ALL the feels.'

And Lacey - best known from Party Of Five and Mean Girls - is also a fun actress to collaborate with.

'I joke with Lacey that she's the hardest working lady in show business,' said Weinman. 'She and I pitched a movie together in 2014 that ultimately didn't sell and have wanted to work together ever since.

A hit: Pride, Prejudice And Mistletoe with Lacey Chabert came out in November

'When the network called me about PRIDE, PREJUDICE and MISTLETOE, she was already attached and I was like, FINALLY! To sum up Lacey, I would say, there is a light in that girl. She is just pure kindness, without an ounce of diva or drama. She's a delight to work with and sets the tone for a really positive set.

'Also, I'm never proprietary about my dialogue because I know that a script is a living document and we are all partners in the process, but she (and Loughlin, as well) was so respectful and if changes were necessary, we discussed them together. It was a true collaboration on both movies and two incredibly wonderful experiences, working with the best of the best.'

As far as her closest celeb pals, she says they are Danica McKellar and Rachel Boston.

Synopsis: Darcy is a career woman who hasn't found love, but her life turns upside down when she returns home to help her mother plan a charity event

'Danica's son is close in age to my kids and they've become really close. We get the families together pretty often. Danica and I had such a great time making COMING HOME FOR CHRISTMAS that we just sold another really exciting Christmas movie for next year.

'I can't say much about it yet but if the stars align and all the deals close and such, it's going to be really special.

'Rachel Boston and I met when I went to Vancouver to visit on STOP THE WEDDING and we hit it off right away. We've since sold three other movies together. I wrote and she produced LOVE AT FIRST DANCE, which aired this past summer, during June Weddings, and we had the best time.

Good team: And Lacey - best known from Party Of Five and Mean Girls - is also a pal. 'I joke with Lacey that she's the hardest working lady in show business. She and I pitched a movie together in 2014 that ultimately didn't sell and have wanted to work together ever since'

'Hallmark has this magical way of attracting the kindest, most decent people to the network. I think it comes from Bill Abbott (President and CEO) and Michelle Vicary (EVP, Programming), who are lovely and fun and completely accessible to everyone. I'm very fortunate that they've embraced me in their world and continue to hire me.

As far as a star she'd like to work with, she said it's Candace Cameron-Bure.

'I watched her Christmas movie the other night and she is just delightful on every level. Aside from Candace, a few actresses I would love to see come into the Hallmark fold are Mandy Moore and/or Brittany Snow. They have an energy that feels like they'd be such a seamless fit.'

For 2019? As far as a star she'd like to work with, she said it's Candace Cameron-Bure. 'I watched her Christmas movie the other night and she is just delightful on every level'

She also wouldn't mind writing for Chris Pratt and Elizabeth Banks.

Writing for Hallmark is a great fit for her.

'First of all, as a working mom, TV movies give me a lot of flexibility. I definitely have deadlines that I need to meet and sometimes that requires me to work around the clock, but if my kids (who are six and eight) have a school performance or a holiday potluck or a field trip to the museum, I can be there for them. I'm not stuck in an office or a writer's room until after bedtime; I get to be present for my family AND make a living, doing what I love. I am so grateful that every night I get to put them to bed. (Though sometimes I do have to go right back to my computer, afterward.)

'Secondly, the world is a little crazy right now and with everything so negative and polarized, I get to contribute to the feel-good side of life. Hallmark is 100% feel-good television. You always know where it's going, but that's okay because we take great care in bringing you along on a fun ride of light and love and VERY often gingerbread men and snowball fights and twinkling lights.

And she loves the challenge.

Friends: As far as her closest celeb pals, she says they are Danica McKellar and Rachel Boston. 'Danica's son is close in age to my kids and they've become really close'

'My inspiration is always changing, depending on the project. If I'm writing for a specific actor or actress, I'm inspired by his/her voice and strengths and talent. At the same time, I'm always looking for the humor in a situation and mining the moments for comedy. I've always found laughter to be the best medicine and if something makes me laugh, hopefully it'll do the same for others. I do try to layer in a message that's generally a lesson I would want my kids to learn. Be true to yourself. It's okay if you're not perfect. You can be whatever you want.

'The underlying message is so often the beauty of a Hallmark movie. Oh and also, the kiss at the end. I take them very seriously. The audience has been waiting for it and I feel a responsibility to deliver.

As far as those story lines, they are not from her life, but the dialogue is.

Top writer: Nina has been very busy writing 23 movies, but she won't name a favorite. 'Each has a special place in my heart in its own way. My favorite thing about these movies has been the friendships I've developed along the way, getting to visit fun locations and being a part of this incredible family that Hallmark has built'

'I've drawn from real life many times in small moments but, quite honestly, nothing in my own life is interesting enough for a movie. Most of the time, it's lines of dialogue that I take from my experiences and put into the films. For example, in one movie, the main character has a career disappointment and her love interest says to her, "It's one setback. You can't let rejection break you. You have to let it fuel you." This was something I used to say to myself as an up-and-coming writer when one of my scripts would get rejected. And it's advice I still give to young writers when they ask me for guidance. I hope those little moments that spoke to me in my life will resonate with the audience, as well.'

Nina has been very busy writing 23 movies, but she won't name a favorite.

'Each has a special place in my heart in its own way. My favorite thing about these movies has been the friendships I've developed along the way, getting to visit fun locations and being a part of this incredible family that Hallmark has built.'

Pride, Prejudice and Mistletoe aired November 23 and Homegrown Christmas airs December 8.
Strictly Come Dancing head judge Shirley Ballas has revealed that dancer Karen Clifton took mistaking her for Dianne Buswell 'in good humour,' as she appeared on Friday's This Morning.

The 58-year-old admitted that in among the chaos of the technical mishap during Saturday's Lindy-hopathon, she mistakenly 'saw royalty' and thus accidentally said Dianne instead of Charles.

It comes after Shirley laughed off the technical mishap which saw her forced to read out the couples final rankings from a blank piece paper after the panel's iPad broke down, posting on Twitter that it was just 'live TV.'

Chatty: Strictly Come Dancing head judge Shirley Ballas has revealed that Karen Clifton took mistaking her for Dianne Buswell 'in good humour,' as she appeared on Friday's This Morning

Speaking to Eamonn Holmes and Ruth Langsford, Shirley explained that the misconception came as was frantically searching for the list of the seven couples as they had been ranked, after they all danced lindyhops at the same time.

She said: 'Darcy was doing the iPads and Craig had to write, the iPad seemed to go down and then we were fumbling for this piece of paper.

'As I looked up I saw royalty and then saw Charles and Karen and I said Charles and Diana. But Karen took it with a great sense of humour.'

Open: The 58-year-old explained that in among the chaos of the iPad breaking down, as she looked up she 'saw royalty' and thus said Diana instead of Karen's name

Hilarious: Shirley also explained that as she and her fellow judges scrambled to reveal the correct winner of the Lindy-hopathon, she said the wrong name

Fans had taken to Twitter to claim Strictly had been fixed as they pointed Karen's unimpressed reaction to her name being misread, while other questioned how the presenters had already known the results.

Originally when Shirley attempted to announce the results the revealed the winner first, leading Darcy Bussell to add that she should read out seventh place first, and Craig Revel Horwood to grab the back-up results on a piece of paper.

One wrote: 'How can the judges cock up the scoring? Where did the piece of paper come from? Why did Claudia think Graeme was 7th? Seems like a lot suspicion. Fix?'

Oops! Fans had taken to Twitter to claim Strictly had been fixed as they pointed Karen's unimpressed reaction to her name being misread

Upset: Several Strictly fans pointed out Karen's unimpressed reaction after she was not named, though Shirley has since insisted she took it 'with good humour'

'That hopathon thing is such a scam,' another shared. 'Supposed to be picking at that point in time and yet they havent got the paper, which comes from someone else, and then they have got in a right middle, what an absolute fix and shambles.'

A third said: 'What a fix how did the judges who supposedly made the decision not know who they placed where.'

A Strictly spokesperson told MailOnline: 'Once the judges had scored the Lindy-hopathon, the marks were successfully electronically recorded on a tablet and fed to the gallery who received an accurate record of the judges marks.

'When Head Judge Shirley had to read the marks out live on air, the tablet she was reading from malfunctioned and went blank so she was unable to read out the final order.

They added: 'Bruno therefore read out the results from a back up, which is a paper template and had been filled in by the judges.'

Shocking: During her This Morning chat Shirley also touched on Sunday's shock dance-off which saw frontrunner Ashley Roberts land in the bottom two

Not my fault: The Queen Of Latin said that viewers 'shouldn't complain' if such a dancer is voted off the show if they decide not to vote for them

During her This Morning chat Shirley also touched on Sunday's shock dance-off which saw frontrunner Ashley Roberts land in the bottom two opposite Graeme Swann.

The Queen Of Latin said that viewers 'shouldn't complain' if such a dancer is voted off the show if they decide not to vote for them.

She added: 'The standard every year is always great but I think this year it's exceptional, because people come with different stories different levels, but it's very very difficult to find out who's gonna be the winner.

'It goes to show that the audience must vote. Nothing is a certainty so if you have a favourite please vote.'

During her appearance on the show Shirley also revealed that she would be hosting a special This Morning segment in the New Year, which will see her attempt to find love for men and woman over the age of 50.

Open: Shirley's appearance came as it was also revealed that she would be hosting a This Morning segment in January, which will see her find love for men and woman over 50

Open: This marks Shirley's second series has the head judge on the Strictly Come Dancing panel, taking over proceedings from Len Goodman

This Saturday will see the remaining six couples take to the floor once again as part of the quarter finals' Musicals Week, performing to tracks from all manner of stage staples including Les Miserables and Funny Girl.

While Ashley will be hoping to bounce back after ending up in the dance-off with a quickstep, Faye Tozer will be looking to wow once again with a Charelston to The Lonely Goatherd from The Sound Of Music.

Meanwhile Stacey Dooley will take on the American Smooth (Foxtrot) to the iconic I Dreamed A Dream, and Joe Sugg will dance the salsa to a medley of songs from Joseph and His Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat.

Finally Lauren Steadman will dance the American Smooth to Im In Love With A Wonderful Guy from South Pacific, and Charles Venn will perform the Rhumba to Maria from West Side Story.

Strictly Come Dancing continues on Saturday 1st December at 7:05pm on BBC One.

Big show: This Saturday will see the remaining six couples take to the floor once again as part of the quarter finals' Musicals Week
Four years sober, Amanda Bynes is now ready to resume her life as a working actress.

And having announced her plans to return to Hollywood, the actress is getting stuck into plotting her next move.

But first, coffee. Before heading to a business meeting on Thursday, the former child star was spotted stopping by her local Starbucks, where she picked up some drinks to go, ordered via the app.

Drinks run: Amanda Bynes picks up coffee in Los Angeles on Thursday before heading to a business meeting as she plots her return to Hollywood

Then it was on to her meeting, with Amanda photographed wearing a businesslike all black outfit and carrying a leather messenger bag.

The 32-year-old has been slowly making her way back into the limelight after a 2014 mental breakdown that led to her being placed under a psychiatric hold.

Her lawyer, Tamar Arminak, addressed her mental health that year, only to state that she does not have schizophrenia and wished to keep her actual diagnosis private.

Months later, a tweet was posted to her official account stated she was diagnosed as bipolar and manic depressive. She later took to Twitter to claim a friend had taken her phone and posted the tweet.

She means business: Before heading to a business meeting on Thursday, the former child star was spotted stopping by her local Starbucks, where she picked up some drinks to go, ordered via the app

That same year she famously tweeted she wanted Drake to 'murder my vagina' and accused her father of abusing her before retracting her claims.

People were quick to put a psychological label on her behavior during that time, and Amanda admitted to Paper magazine in a revealing interview this month that she was bothered by the headlines about her mental health.

She insists her past behavior  including her wild tweets  were drug-induced.

'If you deny anything and tell them what it actually is, they dont believe you,' she said. 'Truly, for me, [my behavior] was drug-induced, and whenever I got off of [drugs], I was always back to normal.'

Next move: Four years sober, Amanda Bynes is now ready to resume her working life

The former child star said she didn't really like the taste of alcohol as a teenager, but she started smoking marijuana when she was 16. However, she added that she wasn't 'addicted' or 'abusing it' at that time.

As she got older, her drug use progressed to molly and ecstasy. She also said she tried cocaine three times but 'never got high' from it.

'I definitely abused Adderall,' she said, recalling how she read a magazine article calling it 'the new skinny pill' around the time she starred in the 2007 film Hairspray.

Amanda said she was able to get a prescription after going 'to a psychiatrist and faking the symptoms of ADD.'
She is making the transition into acting, thanks to her recently announced lead role in upcoming film Diva.

And Tulisa looked sensational as she arrived alongside Charlotte Dawson at W7 Cosmetics' Winter Wonderlunch at the Ivy Market Grill in London on Friday.

Putting on a sexy display, the former N-Dubz star, 30, flashed her taut abs in a nude-coloured crop top which she teamed with skinny black trousers.

Babes: Tulisa looked sensational as she arrived alongside Charlotte Dawson at W7 Cosmetics' Winter Wonderlunch at the Ivy Market Grill in London on Friday

Tulisa looked casually glam for her outing, which saw her don an off-white unzipped jacket which emphasised her honed torso.

She boosted her height in a pair of brown boots as she posed up a storm at the cosmetics bash.

Tulisa enhanced her striking features with a contoured make-up look, which complemented her sleek brunette tresses.

Putting on a sexy display: The former N-Dubz star, 30, flashed her taut abs in a nude-coloured crop top which she teamed with skinny black trousers

Loving life: She boosted her height in a pair of brown boots as she posed up a storm with Santa Claus at the cosmetics bash

Stunning: Tulisa enhanced her striking features with a contoured make-up look, which complemented her sleek brunette tresses

Meanwhile, Charlotte showed off her eye-popping cleavage in a perilously plunging one-shouldered top.

The reality star teamed it with a pair of shiny leather trousers and added to the colour scheme with towering stilettos.

Charlotte was primped and preened to perfection with a glamorous blowdry and toted her belongings in a red handbag.

Got front: Charlotte showed off her eye-popping cleavage in a perilously plunging one-shouldered top

Standing tall: The reality star teamed it with a pair of shiny leather trousers and added to the colour scheme with towering stilettos

Bombshell: Charlotte was primped and preened to perfection with a glamorous blowdry and toted her belongings in a red handbag

Chilling: Charlotte looked incredibly giddy as she sat on Santa's lap for a sweet photo

Fun: Charlotte was in her element as she posed away with her festive companion

Say cheese! The pair put on an incredibly animated display as they hogged photographers

Despite being in the midst of personal anguish with her fiance John Noble, Vicky Pattison cut a cheery figure at the event.

The former Geordie Shore star opted for a red jumper which she teamed with a plaid blue mini-skirt.

Lauren Pope kept things chic in a simple white top, black leather trousers and a leopard print coat.

Troubles aside: Despite being in the midst of personal anguish with her fiance John Noble, Vicky Pattison cut a cheery figure at the event

Casually cool: The former Geordie Shore star opted for a red jumper which she teamed with a plaid blue mini-skirt

Topping things off: Vicky added to the casual vibes with a black baker boy hat

Looking good: Lauren Pope kept things chic in a simple white top, black leather trousers and a leopard print coat

Also at the event was Love Island star Eyal Booker who cut a trendy figure in an all-black ensemble.

Tina Stinnes was hard to miss in a pair of high-waisted red trousers, semi-sheer white top and leather jacket.

Another Love Island star at the event was Alex Bowen, who looked handsome in a marl grey jacket.

Also at the event was Love Island star Eyal Booker who cut a trendy figure in an all-black ensemble

Stunning: Tina Stinnes was hard to miss in a pair of high-waisted red trousers, semi-sheer white top and leather jacket
Her portrayal as the hard-hitting journalist Marie Colvin in A Private War has received critical acclaim.

And Rosamund Pike cut a sophisticated figure as she took to the stage to discuss the film at Elle Weekend's event held at the Saatchi Gallery on Friday.

The actress, 39, looked effortlessly chic in a monochrome jumpsuit and sharp black blazer for the intimate talk.

Elegant: Rosamund Pike cut a sophisticated figure as she took to the stage to discuss her latest film A Private War at Elle Weekend's event held at the Saatchi Gallery on Friday

The cream jumpsuit, which featured black piping around its Peter Pan collar, sheathed over Rosamund's trim frame.

Shrugging the tailored black blazer over her shoulders, the Gone Girl star complemented the look with a pair of suede open-toe heels and delicate pearl earrings.

She wore her blonde tresses back in a messy chignon and highlighted her youthful visage with rosy cheeks, glossy pink lip and soft brown eyeliner.

Stylish display: The actress, 39, looked effortlessly chic in a monochrome jumpsuit and sharp black blazer for the intimate talk

Fashion maven: The cream jumpsuit, which featured black piping around its Peter Pan collar, sheathed over Rosamund's trim frame

Pensive: Rosamund appeared deep in thought during the Q and A as she chatted to Pandora Sykes

Chic: Shrugging the tailored black blazer over her shoulders, the Gone Girl star complemented the look with a pair of suede open-toe heels and delicate pearl earrings

Talented: The Die Another Day star's portrayal as the hard-hitting journalist Marie Colvin in A Private War has received critical acclaim

Radiant: She wore her blonde tresses back in a messy chignon and highlighted her youthful visage with rosy cheeks, glossy pink lip and soft brown eyeliner

Gripping portrayal: Rosamund transforms into the fearless and rebellious war correspondent Marie Colvin for A Private War. Her character is driven to the frontline across the globe

Hard-hitting: The former Bond girl previously chatted about why she wanted to play a part in the harrowing film

Rosamund transforms into the fearless and rebellious war correspondent Marie Colvin for A Private War. Her character is driven to the frontline across the globe.

The former Bond girl previously chatted about why she wanted to play a part in the harrowing film.

The talented star discussed struggling to detach herself from playing Colvin, 52, who was killed during a rocket strike in Syria in 2012

Dedicated: Rosamund previously said she researched the role heavily, spending time with Colvin's close friends and watching videos of her

She told Town and Country Magazine: 'I wanted to capture her spirit of rebellion. But I also had to dive into Curies bitterness. I want people to care about journalism again.'

Rosamund previously said she researched the role heavily, spending time with Colvin's close friends and watching videos of her.

In an interview with The Sunday Times magazine, Rosamund said of her latest starring role: 'I have taken responsibility for this one. I care very much about it, about the whole thing.'

Pretty in plaid: Molly Goddard looked effortlessly stylish in her pleated dress at the ELLE Weekender at The Saatchi Gallery

Gorgeous: Molly styled her flame-coloured locks in loose waves tumbling down her frame

So stylish: Anne-Marie Curtis and Neelam Gill looked happy when they attended the bash among a whole slew of big names

Cool: Neelam looked incredible in her crisp white shirt and tan trousers

Asides from her busy career, the actress is a doting mum to sons Solo, aged six and Atom, now three.

Rosamund has been romancing her long-term love Robie Uniacke since they first started dating in 2009.

And while she is one of the most beautiful actresses in Hollywood, Rosamund insisted bystanders see her as a 'regular' mum.

She told the publication: 'People might recognise me, but I think they just see me as a mother trying to handle small kids on the subway.'

She's so chic: Laura Jackson looked cool in her white dungarees which had a zip detailing down the front of the design to catch the eye
Margot Robbie has revealed filming THAT provocative scene in Wolf of Wall Street was a 'weird' and 'embarrassing' experience.

The actress, 28, who established herself in Hollywood with her portrayal of Naomi Lapaglia in the 2014 movie, became well-known for one particularly crude scene in the film where she is seducing her onscreen beau Leonardio DiCaprio, who plays Jordan Belfort.

Recalling filming in a new interview with Porter magazine, Margot recalled how she dug deep to hide her embarrassment as she had to carry out the risque scenes in front of 30 crew members - all male - watching her.



Awkward: Margot Robbie has revealed filming THAT provocative scene in Wolf of Wall Street was a 'weird' and 'embarrassing' experience in a new interview with Porter magazine

Wolf of Wall Street consists of steamy scenes between DiCaprio and Robbie, with one particularly crude scene standing out among others.

Leo plays Jordan Belfort, a stockbroker on Wall Street who's downfall came as a result of his firm engaging in corruption and fraud.

Robbie's character Naomi, who uses her sexuality to exert control over her husband, is seen trying to seduce her husband Jordan in one very provocative scene that takes place in their baby's nursery and sees her touching herself and calling him 'Daddy'.

While onscreen it made for very risque viewing, Margot recalls that filming the scene was 'weird' and 'embarrassing' in reality, as she was in a tiny room with 30 crew members, all male, watching her.

Risque: Wolf of Wall Street consists of steamy scenes between DiCaprio and Robbie, with one particularly crude scene where Margot is seen seducing her beau in their baby's nursery standing out among others

Ever the professional: Margot recalls she was in a tiny room with 30 male crew watching her, telling Porter: 'For 17 hours I'm pretending to be touching myself. It's just a very weird thing'

She explained: 'It doesn't come across when you're watching the movie, but in reality we're in a tiny bedroom with 30 crew crammed in. All men.

'For 17 hours I'm pretending to be touching myself. It's just a very weird thing and you have to bury the embarrassment and the absurdity, really deep, and fully commit.'

That scene in particular had actually been the very scene Margot had to audition with to bag her part in the movie.

Previously speaking about the awkward audition, Margot revealed how she went off-script and slapped her co-star DiCaprio across the face instead of kissing him in the hope of impressing movie bosses.

She revealed how she was fully prepped for the scene after rehearsing it with her 'poor, poor' manager Dylan in an interview with Vogue. Margot revealed: 'I was in his office for hours asking to do the take again, while he was probably thinking, "Dear God, this is so uncomfortable."'

Intense: Claiming the experience was 'weird', Robbie added: 'It's just a very weird thing and you have to bury the embarrassment and the absurdity, really deep, and fully commit'

Memorable! That scene in particular had been the very scene Margot had to audition with, with Robbie revealing she had impulsively slapped DiCaprio in a bid to impress movie bosses

Speaking of her decision to slap DiCaprio, Margot added in an interview with Harper's Bazaar: 'In my head I was like, "You have literally 30 seconds left in this room and if you dont do something impressive nothing will ever come of it. Its a once-in-a-lifetime chance, just take it."

'And so I start screaming at him and hes yelling back at me. And hes really scary. I can barely keep up, and he ends [the scene] saying, You should be happy to have a husband like me. Now get over here and kiss me.

'So I walk up really close to his face and then Im like, Maybe I should kiss him. When else am I ever going to get a chance to kiss Leoanardo DiCaprio, ever? But another part of my brain clicks and I just go [whack] I hit him in the face... the room just went dead silent and I froze.'

Luckily for Margot, she made a lasting impression on director Martin Scorsese - not only landing the part but huge praise from the US filmmaker.

Speaking about Robbie, Scorsese has previously said: 'Margot is stunning in all she is and all she does, and she will astonish forever.'

She's a hit: Luckily for Margot, she made a lasting impression on director Martin Scorsese - not only landing the part but huge praise from the US filmmaker

Meanwhile, in her interview with Porter for the publication's winter escape issue, Margot touches on Hollywood's battle with sexual harassment in light of the #MeToo movement.

The campaign has garnered much attention since last year, after famed Hollywood director Harvey Weinstein was faced with multiple allegations of sexual misconduct.

Many of Hollywood's leading ladies have come forward, recalling their own experience with sexual harassment and sexual assault in the workplace, as part of the wide-spread campaign across social media to raise awareness.

Sharing her own experience, Margot claims she 'has been sexually harassed but not in Hollywood', while admitting she only recently learnt of what constitutes sexual harassment and misconduct.

'I struggle to find many women who haven't experience sexual harassment on some level,' she told Porter. 'So yes, [I have experienced it] lots of times. And to varying degrees of severity throughout my life.'

Although, the star did admit: 'I didnt know what constituted sexual harassment until the #MeToo movement. Im in my late twenties, Im educated, Im worldly, Ive traveled, I have my own business, and I didnt know. Thats insane.'

Candid: Margot stars on the cover of Porter's winter issue and also touches on her experience of sexual harassment in her interview with the publication

She expained: 'I didnt know that you could say, "I have been sexually harassed" without someone physically touching you, that you could say, "Thats not OK."

'I had no idea. I now know because Ive researched what constitutes illegal sexual harassment so as to have negative connotations for your job and how you get paid.'

Robbie first kickstarted her acting career in Australian soap Neighbours, before landing a part alongside Rachel McAdams and Bill Nighy in romantic comedy About Time.

She then went on to land her breakthrough role in Wolf of Wall Street, before starring alongside Will Smith in Focus and movies including Suicide Squad, I, Tonya, The Legend of Tarzan and Terminal.

Margot also stars as Queen Elizabeth I in new release Mary Queen of Scots.

To see the full interview, buy the latest issue of PORTER, on sale globally on Friday 7th December, 2018. Also available as a Digital Edition, or visit here
She bowed her own line of organic cosmetics in her native Australia in 2009.

And supermodel Miranda Kerr's looked as pretty as a picture at the launch of The Grove's Pop Shops in Los Angeles on Thursday, where her Kora brand has a presence.

The 35-year-old entrepreneur donned a pink, short-sleeved, knitted sweater with a white crocheted neckline set with blingy crystals.

Floral fresh: Supermodel Miranda Kerr's looked as pretty as a picture at the launch of The Grove's Pop Shops in L.A. on Thursday, where her Kora cosmetics brand has a presence

The beautiful brunette teamed it with a cream mini-skirt with more bling near the hemline and matching cream pumps.

Miranda smiled proudly as she stood in front of a backdrop of glorious flowers next to a table of her cosmetics.

By the end of this year the Kora range will be avilable in 25 countries, according to the brand's website.

Check it out: The 35-year-old model and entrepreneur bowed her own line of organic cosmetics in her native Australia in 2009

Meanwhile, busy Miranda welcomed her second son, Hart, in May this year.

But you would never guess it as there didn't appear to be an ounce of baby weight left on her.

Speaking in the upcoming January issue of Marie Claire magazine, Miranda talked about women being positive about their bodies after childbirth.

Growing fast: By the end of this year the Kora range will be avilable in 25 countries, according to the brand's website

'It's really important that we're gentle with ourselves and don't feel like we have to snap into shape after a baby,' Miranda said.

And she added: 'I took nine months - well, 10 months - to grow a beautiful child and it might take 10 months to feel good in a swimsuit again. Or longer. Or never.'

Miranda shares Hart with her billionaire husband, Snap founder Evan Spiegel, 28, and her oldest son Flynn, seven, with first husband, actor Orlando Bloom, 41.
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His biggest hit may have been 2008's Lollipop.

But a decade later, Lil Wayne's life is even sweeter than candy.

The 36-year-old rapper has purchased a sprawling 10,632-square-foot mansion on Miami Beach's Allison Island for nearly $17million according to a Thursday report from the Wall Street Journal.

More than A Milli: Lil Wayne has purchased a sprawling 10,632-square-foot mansion on Miami Beach's Allison Island for nearly $17million according to a Thursday report from the Wall Street Journal

Big mood: The 36-year-old rapper is pictured in August 2014

According to the listing the stunning home features seven bedrooms with nine bathrooms and two half baths.

No doubt the Cash Money Records rapper will enjoy some privacy as it is located within a gated community on Allison Island.

The estate features a tall mahogany-clad entryway which looks very inviting upon arrival.

Right Above It: The estate features a tall mahogany-clad entryway which looks very inviting upon arrival

Wow factor: According to the listing the stunning home features seven bedrooms with nine bathrooms and two half baths

Leather So Soft: There is also a massive living room featuring 22-foot ceilings which will no doubt be a wonderful place to host parties

Let it fly: Adding to the luxury is a movie theater featuring suede wall coverings

There is also a massive living room featuring 22-foot ceilings which will no doubt be a wonderful place to host parties.

Adding to the luxury is a movie theater featuring suede wall coverings.

Perhaps the best feature of all is a massive pool with a stunning bay front view of Miami beach.

Vibes: Perhaps the best feature of all is a massive pool with a stunning bay front view of Miami beach

Gorgeous: The home definitely has a modern feel

No doubt Wayne - real name Dwayne Michael Carter, Jr. - will be enjoying plenty of amazing home-cooked meals in the bright and open kitchen featuring italian cabinetry with Subzero and Wolf appliances.

Those appliances are also adjacent to the exposed courtyard which features 20 foot 'living' walls.

There is also a separate butler's kitchen and staff quarters with a dedicated entrance.

Sweet: There is also a separate butler's kitchen and staff quarters with a dedicated entrance

Relaxation: The master bedroom offers up amazing views of the home

Making a splash: The bathrooms are outfitted with plenty of marble

Sucker For Pain: Wayne - real name Dwayne Michael Carter, Jr. - pictured in March 2016

As Wayne has shown himself to be a champagne enthusiast, there are also individual cellars on the property.

The big purchase comes more than a year after Wayne sold his previous home on Miami Beach at a loss of $10 million according to the Wall Street Journal.

In his over a decade of owning the home it was the scene of at least two swatting incidents meaning where SWAT teams are deployed to an unsuspecting victim's home under false pretenses.

Sunny days: One of the seven bedrooms on the property which features a private balcony for lounging

Stunning: No doubt Wayne will enjoy the stunning home

Back in August 2016 police received a call claiming a man had been shot and was bleeding at the rappers home.

When police arrived at the home, they entered through an unlocked door and found Wayne asleep.

The rapper gave them permission to search the home and nothing was found.

Wayne was recently featured in the raunchy Nicki Minaj music video for the Good Form remix music video which was released earlier this week.
EastEnders' fans sobbed over the 'powerful' message about sexual consent addressed by Ruby Allen's rape ordeal during Thursday night's episode.

Viewers were in awe at the sensitive way EastEnders' bosses had scripted the harrowing aftermath of Ruby's sexual assault and the reaction from the residents.

Social media was awash with comments praising the 'spot on' storyline when Ruby's character stood up for herself and named herself as the unidentified rape victim.

'It is so spot on': EastEnders' fans left in 'tears' over Ruby Allen's rape storyline as they praised a 'powerful' message about sexual consent

'New @bbceastenders viewer. I'm @louisalytton as Ruby. Her storyline is so timely, and spot on. #Ruby #EastEnders #SexualAssault.' One fan wrote, leading the troops across social media platforms.

Drama ensues when Ruby (Louise Lytton) reads tormenting messages on social media after her rape has been reported in the local paper.

A powerful sequence showed Ruby listen to the Walford residents discuss her sexual assault in the Queen Vic without knowing she is the victim.

Hearts stopped when Glenn (Todd Von Joel) wickedly asks Ruby why she didn't stop his friends Matt (Mitchell Hunt) and Ross (Ossian Luke) from attacking her.

Wow: Social media was awash with comments praising the 'spot on' storyline when Ruby's character stood up for herself and named herself as the unidentified rape victim

However, Ruby stands her ground as she insisted she did not give sexual consent and the men should not have attacked her in the first place.

She told him: 'It is not on me to stop them. It's on them not to do it in the first place.'

Fans rushed to social media to say: 'Ruby couldnt have said that any better when she stood up to that bloke #EastEnders.' (sic)

'The way Eastenders dealt with Rubys rape story is amazing !! #Eastenders.' (sic)

Big well done! Viewers were in awe at the sensitive way EastEnders' bosses had scripted the harrowing aftermath of Ruby's sexual assault and the reaction from the residents

'Why is a woman never just a woman? Always has to be someones daughter, sister, belong to a man somehow like it makes them less human. YES RUBY. The writing tonight. #EastEnders.' (sic)

'Can't believe what happened in the Queen vic last night on #EastEnders when ruby stud up to the rapidst and told Stacy no one will believe her now.' (sic)

'Wow!!!! Last night's Eastenders... brilliantly done! Everyone should watch it. Covering issues of consent. #Ruby #consent #anythinglessthanyesisno.' (sic)

'just found out ruby allen is back in eastenders deffo gonna start watching again.' (sic)

Impressive: Fans rushed to social media to say: 'Ruby couldnt have said that any better when she stood up to that bloke #EastEnders' (sic)

'#EastEnders wow and well done to all for this episode about Ruby rape very powerful.' (sic)

'Wow. What an episode. #eastenders had me in tears. So glad Ruby got to speak her truth and that Linda and Stacey are there for her.' (sic)

'I'm literally balling my eyes out at eastenders, ruby is amazing.' (sic)

Ahead of Thurday's episode, Louise revealed she had been inundated with messages from fans saying she had helped them.

She said: 'Obviously I know the show has a huge impact. When I was on the show before social media wasnt really a thing so Ive never had this experience where people are contacting me about how the storyline has helped them.'

'Its been amazing in that sense. Its lovely to be back, within two days I felt like I had never left. I was like ''what was I doing with all that time?''

Louise has returned to Albert Square after 12 years away from the role.

She's back! Louise has returned to Albert Square after 12 years away from the role




She is best known as the award-winning actress with a whole host of gongs to her name.

However during a segment on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon, Claire Foy revealed her secret party trick at the end of an interview with the host.

The Crown star, 34, was sat chatting to Jimmy when he told her that he had 'heard some weird rumour on the internet', prompting Claire to squirm in her seat at what is about to come next.

Uh oh! Claire Foy revealed her secret party trick at the end of an interview with the host

Jimmy continues that he has heard whispers that Claire knows all the words to The Sugarhill Gang's Rappers Delight.

It appears that what heard Jimmy was correct, as Claire proceeded to perfectly recite the lyrics to the hit track, leaving the host stunned at her abilities.

Claire is due to host Saturday Night Live this weekend and ahead of her presenting duties, she did battle with cast member Pete Davidson in an epic food right.

In an official SNL promo, she showed off her playful side as she engaged in a hilarious food fight with the platinum haired star, 25, who said it was a 'tradition that we have to do with every host.'

Rumours: The Crown star, 34, was sat chatting to Jimmy when he told her that he had 'heard some weird rumour on the internet', prompting Claire to squirm in her seat at what is about to come next

Blushing: Jimmy continues that he has heard whispers that Claire knows all the words to The Sugarhill Gang's Rappers Delight

Pete kicked off the calorific battle by chucking a powdered doughnut in the brunette beauty's face, before she retaliated with an onslaught of spaghetti.

The hunk whipped some pasta out of his pocket as Claire reeled back, before the actress threw a whole pizza like a frisbee in his direction, knocking Ariana Grande's ex off his feet.

Next up was the battle of the squirty creams, before Claire threw an entire bag of popcorn in Pete's face, and showered him with lettuce.

Pelting him with glazed doughnuts, Pete dug his hands into a mammoth cream cake and launched it at the star.

Popcorn shower: Ahead of her first foray into hosting on Saturday Night Live, Claire Foy did battle with cast member Pete Davidson in an epic food fight

Oh dear: In an official SNL promo, the actress, 34, engaged in a hilarious food fight with the platinum haired star, 25, who said it was a 'tradition that we have to do with every host

Sugary: Pete kicked off the calorific battle by chucking a powdered doughnut in the brunette beauty's face

Pasta the point of no return: Claire then retaliated with an onslaught of spaghetti

Silent rage: Pete plotted his next move after being pelted with the carby delight

Take that! Pete whipped some pasta out of his pocket as he took aim at Claire

Pizza the action: The actress threw a whole pizza like a frisbee in his direction

A final dousing of chocolate milk sealed Claire's victory in the epic food battle.

Fellow SNL cast member Heidi Gardner then walked in with a shocked expression and revealed the now destroyed banquet was her lunch.

Baffled at the supposed tradition, she then said: 'You owe me $413' as an innocent Pete told a shocked Claire to 'pay the woman.'

I didn't know my own strength: The star knocked Ariana Grande's ex off his feet

Brave: Next up was the battle of the squirty creams as Claire cringed

The star shot to fame with her much-lauded role as Queen Elizabeth II in The Crown, a role which has netted her

She recently starred alongside Ryan Gosling in First Man, which is generating Oscar buzz.

The actress has traded an orb and sceptre for piercings, tattoos and spiked dog collars for her latest role in The Girl In The Spiders Web - in a role originally made famous by the likes of Noomi Rapace and Rooney Mara.

Claire announced her split from husband Stephen Campbell Moore in February after four years of marriage. They share a three-year-old daughter, Ivy.

She's fuming: Fellow SNL cast member Heidi Gardner then walked in with a shocked expression and revealed the now destroyed banquet was her lunch
She is most commonly found turning heads in slinky gowns at glamorous events.

But Pamela Anderson proved she could work a dressed-down look just as well, as she stepped out in Paris on Friday.

The Baywatch star, 51, wrapped up warm for the declining temperatures, wearing a belted Burberry padded jacket.

Keeping is casual: Pamela Anderson proved she could work a dressed-down look just as well, as she stepped out in Paris on Friday

Pamela's coat featured button detailing down the front and buckled cuffs around the wrists, giving her winter coat an added edge.

She teamed the look with a pair of form-fitting black leggings and heeled pumps as she left her hotel in the city for a dog walk.

The actress styled her blonde bombshell locks in glamorous waves while opting for a full pallet of make-up in natural tones with lashings of kohl liner.

Stylish: The Baywatch star, 51, wrapped up warm for the declining temperatures, wearing a belted Burberry padded jacket

For the outing, Pamela took with her two raffia bags, one of which she slung of her shoulder while toting the other in hand.

Her outing comes just weeks after she accused Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison of making 'smutty' and 'unnecessary' comments about her after she appealed to the prime minister to defend Julian Assange.

Earlier this month, the actress called for Mr Morrison to support the WikiLeaks founder, who has been holed up in the Ecuadorian embassy in London for six years.

Pamela recently slammed Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison for making 'lewd' comments about her (pictured appearing on 60 minutes)

Asking for help: Baywatch star Pamela Anderson appealed to Prime Minister Scott Morrison to defend her friend Julian Assange

'Defend your friend and get Julian his passport back and take him back to Australia and be proud of him and throw him a parade when he gets home,' she requested of Mr Morrison through the Nine Network's 60 Minutes.

The prime minister later chuckled loudly in an interview after being asked if intended to heed the star's advice, before simply replying: 'No.'

'I've had plenty of mates who have asked me if they can be my special envoy to sort the issue out with Pamela Anderson,' he told Gold Coast radio station Hot Tomato FM.

'But putting that to one side, the serious issue is no, our position on that hasn't changed.'

Unwilling: WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange will not willingly travel to the United States to face charges filed under seal against him, one of his lawyers said on Saturday

In an open letter published on her website, Ms Anderson has said the comments were 'disappointing'.

'You trivialized and laughed about the suffering of an Australian and his family. You followed it with smutty, unnecessary comments about a woman voicing her political opinion,' she wrote.

The star said people deserve better from their political leaders and that Mr Assange is not 'getting a fair go'.

No chance: Scott Morrison (pictured) was quick to shoot down the suggestion of bringing Assange to Australia

'Rather than making lewd suggestions about me, perhaps you should instead think about what you are going to say to millions of Australians when one of their own is marched in an orange jumpsuit to Guantanamo Bay - for publishing the truth. You can prevent this.'

'This Australian is not getting a fair go; his human rights are being openly violated. I am hopeful Australia now has a leader with strength and conviction enough to bring him home.'

Mr Assange took refuge in Ecuador's embassy in 2012, after British courts ordered his extradition to Sweden to face questioning in a sexual molestation case.

The case was dropped but supporters have said Assange fears leaving the embassy in case he's extradited to the United States over WikiLeaks' publication of US diplomatic and military secrets.
They've been keeping busy shooting the Love Island Christmas reunion recently.

But Samira Mighty, Alexandra Cane and Ellie Brown took a night off from filming on Friday evening to attend the Teens Unite Tales & Tiaras annual charity ball.

West End star Samira turned heads in a tiny plunging nude dress with a flirty frilled hemline as she joined her co-stars at The Dorchester in London.

Double trouble: Love Island's Samira Mighty stunned in a plunging nude minidress as she joined her glam co-star Ellie Brown to attend the Teens Unite Tales & Tiaras annual charity ball

Letting her statement dress do the talking, Samira accessorised with Perspex barely-there heels and a white embellished bag.

Meanwhile, Ellie, 20, flaunted her curves in a skintight nude lace-up dress and matching heeled sandals.

Make-up artist Alexandra, 27, was hot on her heels in a black beaded dress with a Twenties style feather-trim skirt.

She styled her glossy raven tresses in tumbling waves and framed her striking features with subtle make-up.

Stunning: Make-up artist Alexandra, 27, was hot on their heels in a black beaded dress with a Twenties-style feather-trim skirt

Chic: Letting her statement dress do the talking, Samira accessorised with Perspex barely-there heels and a white embellished bag

Radiant: She framed her features with pink lipgloss and bronze eyeshadow

Dare to bare: Samira flaunted every inch of her toned physique thanks to her skintight dress

Stealing the limelight: Samira stayed close to her pal Ellie as she left the ball

The trio's outing comes after they joined a host of co-stars to film the show's special Christmas reunion episode on Thursday.

With five couples having split since the series ended, the reality stars looked a little apprehensive as they made their way into a country retreat on the outskirts of London, with Alexandra coming face-to-face with her former crush Paul Knops- who happens to be single.

It has been a tough week for Alexandra, who broke down in tears on Monday night after she was attacked by two female revellers in a London nightclub.

Preened to perfection: Ellie styled her blonde extensions in glossy waves and plumped her pout with a slick of taupe lipstick

Diamonds are a girl's best friend: The Scouse beauty accessorised with gem drop earrings

Exuding elegance: Alexandra carried her belongings in a glittery diamond box clutch

Glam: She styled her glossy raven tresses in tumbling waves and framed her striking features with subtle make-up

Had a good night? The brunette bombshell appeared to be in great spirits

The Love Island star had been dancing at Cirque Le Soir with co-star Ellie when she was kicked from behind by a girl standing on a chair, with sources telling MailOnline the clubber hadn't liked the male attention she was getting.

She was comforted by her friends outside the Soho hotspot at 4am as she re-enacted the horrific assault, while another pal rang the police who questioned Alexandra's attackers.

A source close to the shaken reality star said she was left 'frightened' by the attack but is unhurt, adding that while the girls were questioned, no arrests were made.

Glam: Casey Batchelor flaunted her impressive two-stone post-baby weight loss as she posed with her partner Dane Goodson

Blooming lovely! Showcasing her sensational physique, Casey dazzled in a figure-hugging black gown adorned with floral applique

Dressed to impress: Cinching in at her tiny waist, the garment then flared out into a full length skirt that highlighted her hourglass curves

Brunette bombshell: Casey kept her accessories low-key for the outing, donning a delicate diamond bracelet, whilst she finished off the look by styling her glossy locks in waves

'She was attacked inside the nightclub by some girls who didn't like her. She was with Ellie Brown. They'd gone to the Beauty Awards and went to Cirque Le Soir after,' the insider told MailOnline.

'They were dancing and getting quite a bit of attention from some guys and these girls didn't like it. The girl was standing on one of the chairs and kicked Alexandra from behind.'

The source added: 'One of her friends called the police. The girl was questioned but there didn't end up being an arrest. Alexandra is doing OK. She's a bit frightened.'

Cute couple: Cara De La Hoyde and her fiance Nathan Massey left their son Freddie at home for the night as they got glammed up for the bash

Sensational: The Love Island star went for a princess look in a shimmering nude gown

Check her out: TOWIE's Courtney Green rocked a simple checked skirt and matching cropped jacket

The mane attraction: She styled her glossy brown tresses in cascading curls and framed her features with a generous sweep of bronzer

Alexandra appeared to be sobbing inconsolably outside the nightclub as she was hugged by a concerned Ellie, who wore a scarlet gown on the night.

With a coat wrapped around her shoulders, the brunette beauty had her phone in her hands as she was comforted by her close friend. Alexandra later re-enacted the shocking assault to a male friend, kicking her leg out to the side.

A Met Police spokesman confirmed that a woman was taken to hospital after the clash.

He said: 'Two women, aged in their 20s, are alleged to have had an argument with another female which then resulted in a physical altercation. Officers spoke to both parties. No arrests were made. One female went to hospital for treatment for minor injuries.'

Here she is: Nicole Bass, who enjoyed a fleeting stint on TOWIE, rocked a deeply plunging navy sequinned gown

Working her angles: The reality star flaunted her figure in the thigh-split number which featured a low back

Glitter galore: She drew further attention to her cleavage with a delicate gold necklace

Speedy getaway: Nicole grinned as she headed home with a male companion

Good night: The reality star looked somewhat worse for wear as she clambered into a taxi

She's always ready for the camera: Nicole struck a sultry pose inside the car
He has won a Pulitzer Prize, three Tonys, three Grammys, an Emmy, two Olivier Awards and been nominated for an Oscar.

Now Lin-Manuel Miranda also has a star on the Hollywood Walk Of Fame.

The 38-year-old writer, composer, lyricist and star of smash musical Hamilton was on the red carpet at 6243 Hollywood Blvd for the unveiling of his star on Friday.

Locking lips: Hamilton creator Lin-Manuel Miranda kissed his lovely wife Vanessa after receiving one of the coveted stars on the Hollywood Walk Of Fame on Friday

And the delighted Lin-Manurl couldn't resist giving his wife Vanessa Nadal a big hug and a kiss during the ceremony.

Aside from Vanessa and their sons Sebastian, four, and nine-months-old Francisco, he was joined by friends Weird Al Yankovic, 59, and fellow Puerto-Rican Rita Moreno, 86.

They both took to the podium to talk up Lin-Manuel's not inconsiderable achievements.

Rita called him: 'The real deal, you deserve this honor, you've earned this honor.'

Such an honor: The 38-year-old writer, composer, lyricist and star of smash hit musical Hamilton knelt by his star at 6243 Hollywood Blvd

Checking it out: Lin-Manuel bent over to get a better view of is star

And she joked that he was performing a public service by allowing critics who didn't agree with his point of view 'to walk all over him.'

Rita added: 'I've got a star down the street, they've been doing it to me for years.'

Al, who received his star three months ago, continued the jokes.

Talking up their pal: Weird Al Yankovich 59, and fellow Puerto-Rican Rita Moreno, 86, paid gushing tributes to Lin-Manuel...and made jokes at his expense

'This is a huge deal,' he said. 'Out of all the awards he has received in the last few years this is easily in the top 1,000 or so.'

Meanwhile, Lin-Manuel can next be seen on the big screen in Mary Poppins Returns as Jack, the lamplighter, along with Mary Poppins, played by Emily Blunt.

It's due out on December 19.
Rachael Ostovich has agreed to keep her commitment of fighting Paige VanZant in January even though earlier this month she was brutally beaten up by her husband Arnold Berdon who left her with a broken face bone.

The beauty, 27, said to quit the fight would allow him to mess with her dreams,' she told KHON2 in Hawaii on Friday. The star spoke on camera, revealing she still has a black eye.

'This is something that cant be taken away from me,' said the UFC fighter. 'I want to use this big worldwide UFC platform to show people that dont let anyone or anything come between you and your dreams and your career.'

For more on Rachael Ostovich click here

Still recovering: Rachael Ostovich showed a black eye as she talked to RHON2 in Hawaii on Friday, revealing she is fighting Paige VanZant in January because she has to

The mark was under her right eye

The fight will take place on January 19 in New York.

She wore a tie-dye tank top with a gold heart necklace and a nose ring.

And she wants to be a role model for women suffering from domestic abuse.

'I felt that it was extremely important to me to follow through with it and not only for me but for my daughter and other people that might be going through similar situations,' Ostovich told KHON2.

She has daughter Ruby Rose with Berdon.

'I want to take a stand against domestic violence and show others that its okay to come out and speak about it and not be quieted.'

Her look: She wore a tie-dye tank top with a gold heart necklace and a nose ring

Straight talk: 'I felt that it was extremely important to me to follow through with it and not only for me but for my daughter and other people that might be going through similar situations,' Ostovich told KHON2

Take that Arnie! She has daughter Ruby Rose with Berdon. 'I want to take a stand against domestic violence and show others that its okay to come out and speak about it and not be quieted.'

He used to love her, then he beat her, allegedly: Berdon showed off his toned body as he put his arm around his wife earlier this year

Mugged: Here he is seen showing off his chest again; he has said the beating was self defense

She also said, 'I feel like I have to do this.'

And she thanked her family.

'Im extremely grateful and blessed for my support system. My family, who has done so much for me and has kept me together and kept me strong.'

VanZant also explained why the fight is good.

She tweeted earlier this week, 'Yes we are going to war with each other in the cage, but I stand by her side with her ongoing battle at home. Lets put on a fight and show these people how strong we are. #GirlPower #UFC.'

Fight is back on: VanZant also took to her own Twitter page to share the news, revealing, 'FIGHT STILL ON!!!!! I couldnt be more great full to @rachaelostovich.'

This comes after Ostovich, 27, shared a photo with VanZant, 24, along with 'Thank you Jesus' and a prayer hands emoji, along with a tweet from ESPN reporter Brett Okamoto which broke the news.

VanZant also took to her own Twitter page to share the news, revealing, 'FIGHT STILL ON!!!!! I couldnt be more great full to @rachaelostovich.'

The fight was initially cancelled due to Ostovich's injuries, which were sustained in an alleged attack by her husband, another MMA fighter, Arnold Berdon, in Hawaii.

While the fight was cancelled, Ostovich's manager Brian Butler-Au told ESPN that the fighter sought a second opinion on her injuries, and she was cleared this week.

Ostovich vs VanZant: Ostovich, 27, took to her Instagram story to share a pic of herself and VanZant, 24, along with 'Thank you Jesus' and a prayer hands emoji, along with a tweet from ESPN reporter Brett Okamoto which broke the news

'She never really wanted to be off of this fight,' Butler-Au said. 'When everything happened, it was very emotional.

'The injuries were significant enough that, combined with the emotions of everything that was going down, we made a decision to pull out of the fight,' Butler-Au continued.

'Now that things are settling out and the swelling of the injury is going down, Rachael got a second opinion and everything will work out to where she can keep this fight.'

Fight back on: 'She never really wanted to be off of this fight,' Butler-Au said. 'When everything happened, it was very emotional.'

Ready to fight: 'Yes we are going to war with each other in the cage, but I stand by her side with her ongoing battle at home. Lets put on a fight and show these people how strong we are,' VanZant added

ESPN also confirmed with UFC president Dana White that the fight is back on for January 19.

Berdon was taken into custody by Honolulu police last week and charged with second-degree assault, and his next court hearing will be December 18.

Ostovich was also granted a restraining order against Berdon.

Happier times: Berdon was taken into custody by Honolulu police last week and charged with second-degree assault, and his next court hearing will be December 18; here they are seen with their daughter

The Ostovich/VanZant fight is part of the UFC Fight Night lineup at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.

The January 19 fight will be the first event as part of a new five-year deal between the UFC and ESPN, with the fight airing on the network's new ESPN+ streaming service.

Ostovich has a 4-4 mixed martial arts record and is 1-1 in two UFC fights, while VanZant has a 7-4 record and is coming off a one-year injury hiatus.

Fight-ready: The Ostovich/VanZant fight is part of the UFC Fight Night lineup at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. Seen in Las Vegas




Japan's Prince Akishino, seen here with his wife, has questioned funding religious rites with public finances

A senior Japanese prince has issued rare public criticism of the government over plans to spend state funds on religious rites related to the enthronement of a new emperor next year.

Prince Akishino, the younger son of the emperor, will become crown prince in 2019 when his father steps down and his brother Crown Prince Naruhito takes over.

He took the highly unusual step of wading into a controversy about whether using state funds for an enthronement ritual would violate a constitutional principle separating state and religion.

Speaking at a press conference last week that was made public on Friday, he said the Daijosai ritual that will take place in November next year "has a highly religious nature."

"I wonder if it is appropriate to finance this highly religious thing with state funds," he said, adding that he had expressed his opposition to the government's Imperial Household Agency chief but he "didn't listen to me."

Local media said agency chief Shinichiro Yamamoto reacted by apologising, but saying the agency had clearly explained its decision-making process to the prince.

Akishino's remarks are considered surprising given a constitutional prohibition on imperial interference in political affairs.

"If his remarks were taken as objecting to (the government's decision on) public funding, they could amount to a violation," a source in the prime minister's office told the Kyodo news agency.

However, deputy chief cabinet secretary Yasutoshi Nishimura told reporters that Akishino had "expressed his personal views" and "there is no constitutional problem as they have no influence on national politics."

The prince's comments come as a group of Japanese citizens, including members of Christian groups and Buddhist monks, prepare to sue the government over its plans to use taxpayer money for several enthronement rites.

Similar suits were filed against the government when the current emperor was enthroned in 1989 and again in 1990 over rituals following the death of Emperor Hirohito.

All of those cases were thrown out and the government said Friday it was "not considering fresh action" on the controversy.

Akishino will become first in line to the throne after the enthronement of Naruhito on May 1 next year, a day after his father Emperor Akihito steps down.

A series of ceremonies will take place around the enthronement, culminating in the November Daijosai thanksgiving ritual.
North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Yong-ho has visited countries including Vietnam, Iran and Russia in a series of diplomatic meetings

North Korea's foreign minister kicked off an official visit to Vietnam Friday as the hermit nation seeks to learn lessons from the one-party state's post-war economic reform that has transformed the communist nation into one of Asia's fastest growing economies.

Ri Yong Ho is expected to meet with leaders in Hanoi and visit a hi-tech zone and speak to agricultural experts, according to state media and diplomatic sources.

North Korea, with an economy long crippled by wide-ranging sanctions and years of self-imposed isolation, is seeking to learn from Vietnam's "doi moi" economic reforms introduced in the 1980s, according to Seoul's official Yonhap News Agency.

Vietnam's economy has flourished as it has embraced market reforms, opened its doors to foreign investment and embraced free trade deals, with GDP growth hitting five percent or higher for the past decade.

It has done so while maintaining a single-party state with a tight grip on power and little tolerance for dissent, a model that experts say could appeal to Pyongyang.

It may be using the current diplomatic thaw following a series of meetings with Seoul and Washington -- including a landmark summit between North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un and US President Donald Trump in June -- to disarm its nuclear programme, Vietnam expert Carl Thayer told AFP.

"North Korea is using this period of not testing (its nuclear weapons) to recover its external relations to appear as a respectable member of the international community," said Thayer, emeritus politics professor at the University of New South Wales in Canberra.

Ri has visited Iran, Russia, China, Turkmenistan and Azerbaijan this year.

It is an approach encouraged by US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo who on a trip to Vietnam in July remarked on the "once-unimaginable prosperity and partnership" between former war foes Hanoi and Washington.

"Your country can replicate this path. It's yours if you'll seize the moment. The miracle could be yours; it can be your miracle in North Korea as well," he said in comments aimed at Kim Jong-Un.

A diplomatic source in Hanoi told AFP that Ri is scheduled to visit a technology park near the city and meet with experts from the Vietnam Academy of Agricultural Science.

He will also meet with his Vietnamese counterpart Pham Binh Minh and Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc, according to his official schedule.

The visit could be a sign that Pyongyang is looking to expand from its reliance on China -- its largest trading partner and one of its closest allies.

"They want to expand their economic relations with other countries and not be completely depend on China," Kevin Gray, professor of international relations at University of Sussex told AFP.

Vietnam and North Korea established diplomatic relations in 1950, though there has been little in the way of trade following UN sanctions passed last year aimed at cutting off Pyongyang's revenue streams.

Hanoi's exports to Pyongyang reached $7.3 million, mainly of food products, according to official data.
Hiba Jan was hit by a pellet fired from a pump-action gun in Kashmir

Doctors are fighting to save the right eye of Hiba Jan, the 20-month-old who has become an emblem of India's devastating and highly contentious use of pellet-firing shotguns in Kashmir, where a separatist conflict has raged since 1947.

India began deploying the pump-action guns, which spew 600 metal shards at high velocity at a time, in the restive part of Kashmir it controls 2010, since then killing dozens and maiming thousands.

As her husband sobbed, Hiba Jan's mother Marsala said that they were shot at trying to escape from clouds of tear gas during disturbances last Sunday.

Troops were trying to push back thousands of villagers protesting after the deaths of six suspected militants and a civilian in a fierce firefight that also killed one soldier.

"As soon as I tried to open the metal wire mesh door to get out, a soldier outside fired pellets at us," Marsala told AFP at the SMHS hospital in Srinagar.

"Instinctively, I covered Hiba's eyes with my hand but pellets broke through the net and one lodged in her right eye," she said, sat in a dark waiting room crowded with other victims.

- 'Non-lethal' -

Violence in Kashmir since it was split between India and Pakistan in 1947 has killed tens of thousands. This year has been the bloodiest in nearly a decade with at least 530 dead so far.

India introduced the officially 'non-lethal' 12-gauge pellet shotgun in Kashmir in 2010 when major anti-India protests and clashes with government forces left over 100 dead

New Delhi and Islamabad claim the former Himalayan kingdom in full. India has about 500,000 soldiers in the part it controls, where armed groups are fighting for independence or a merger with Pakistan.

India introduced the officially "non-lethal" 12-gauge pellet shotgun in Kashmir in 2010 when major anti-India protests and clashes with government forces left over 100 dead.

Reliable aggregate data about the number of injuries and blindings from the pellets is hard to come by.

Government data from 2017 revealed the weapon killed 13 people and injured more than 6,000 in eight months alone, including nearly 800 with eye injuries.

2016 is still recalled by locals as the year of mass blinding in Kashmir, or as the "dead eye epidemic".

More than 1,200 victims -- men, women and children -- have organised themselves as an association since 2017, the Pellet Victims Welfare Trust.

Nearly 100 of them have both eyes severely damaged or are completely blinded.

Its chief, Mohammad Ashraf, blind in one eye and with 635 pellets lodged in his body and head, said they came together after meeting and sharing stories in hospital.

"We were like walking dead, emotionless and purposeless, a burden on our families," Ashraf told AFP. Some of its members report having suicidal feelings.

Hiba Jan's mother Marsala said they were shot at trying to escape from clouds of tear gas during disturbances

Lawyers say most of the victims have been booked by police in cases like rioting, stone throwing, damaging public property, attempting to murder government forces personnel or even waging war against India.

Many with blinded eyes and other injuries are in jail under a preventive detention law that allows for imprisonment between three months and three years without charge.

"Not a single case has reached the stage of trial," said human rights lawyer Arshid Andrabi.

The local government has paid cash compensation to a handful of victims, but the Trust depends on individual donations and support from numerous mosques in the Muslim-majority territory.

- 'Lethal at close range' -

India's interior minister said in 2016 that the pellet guns are used as a last resort but refused to stop deploying it for crowd control.

Shahid Ahmad, 16, was treated in Srinagar's main hospital after his left eye was damaged by pellets fired by Indian government forces

The Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), the Indian paramilitary deployed in Kashmir, told a court in 2016 that they fired about 1.3 million pellets in just 32 days.

In June this year, a report rejected by India from the UN human rights office called for a major investigation into abuses in Kashmir, highlighting the use of pellet guns as an area of concern.

Amnesty International has urged the Indian government to ban the use of pellet guns, and lawyers and other rights groups have appealed to courts, to little avail so far.

US-based Physicians for Human Rights has called their use "inherently inaccurate (and) indiscriminate", and potentially "lethal to humans at close range".

According to Amnesty International, Israel, Egypt and Venezuela have also used the pump action gun for crowd control but rarely against unarmed protestors.

Egyptian activist Shaimaa al-Sabbagh died after he was hit with pellets in Tahrir Square in 2015. His death led one police officer being sentenced to 15 years in prison.

But there have been no prosecutions of any Indian forces personnel.

On Tuesday, as little Hiba's well-publicised plight added to local anger, the local government ordered an inquiry into the pellet firing incident to "fix responsibility".

"Since 2003 government ordered at least 210 such magisterial enquiries, but not in a single case anyone has been held responsible or punished," a prominent rights lawyers, Pervez Imroz told AFP.
Bangladesh is home to around a million Rohingya, most of whom fled Myanmar last year following a military crackdown and are now housed in vast camps

Bangladeshi police have arrested 10 Rohingya refugees as they were about to board a boat to travel to Malaysia, an officer said Friday.

Southeast Bangladesh is home to around a million Rohingya, most of whom fled Myanmar last year following a military crackdown and are now in vast camps.

There are fears that with the current calmer weather, many may try to reach other more prosperous countries by boat by paying often unscrupulous traffickers.

The elite Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) said it stopped the six young women and four men at Shah Porir Dwip, a coastal station, on Thursday night before they could board a boat on the Naf river estuary dividing Bangladesh and Myanmar.

"They were about to head to Malaysia through the Bay of Bengal. The girls won't be aged more than 22 years. They were tempted that they can get married with well-off persons in Malaysia," RAB Cox's Bazar chief Mahedi Hasan told AFP.

People smugglers in recent years have taken tens of thousands of Rohingya to Malaysia before Bangladesh launched a crackdown in 2015 after Thai authorities discovered mass graves and overcrowded boats drifting at sea.

Hasan said the women paid $100 each to traffickers and the men paid nearly $250. "Each of them were supposed to pay another 200,000 taka (nearly $2,500) once the boat crosses Thai waters," he said.

A Bangladeshi trafficker was also arrested, he added.

RAB said two of those who were arrested came to Bangladesh from Myanmar in 2000-2001. The rest were part of exodus of around 720,000 last year.

Early this month the Bangladeshi coastguard intercepted a boat in the Bay of Bengal carrying 33 Rohingya to Malaysia.

The sea tends to stay calm between November and March. During this time of year even small boats can travel long distances via the Bay of Bengal and the Andaman Sea.
Chinese scientist He Jiankui claims to have successfully altered the DNA of twin girls whose father is HIV-positive

The head of a Chinese AIDS support group expressed deep regret Friday for helping a scientist recruit participants for a controversial experiment claiming to have created the world's first genetically-edited babies.

The medical trial, which was led by Chinese scientist He Jiankui, purports to have successfully altered the DNA of twin girls, whose father is HIV-positive, to prevent them from contracting the virus.

The founder of the Baihualin (BHL) China League, who calls himself "Bai Hua", reportedly introduced 50 families to He's team for clinical trials.

The AIDS support group operates various online chat groups, including some dedicated to married couples affected by the disease -- the perfect source for He's experiment.

"I admit that I really regret this incident, and am also very worried about these families and their children," Bai wrote in statement on BHL's blog Friday.

"I really want to say that I was tricked, but I don't want to push away responsibility either," Bai added.

He's experiment has prompted widespread condemnation from the scientific community in China and abroad, as well as a harsh backlash from the Chinese government.

On Thursday, the Chinese ministry of science and technology stressed its opposition to the gene-editing baby experiment, and demanded a halt to the "scientific activities of relevant personnel".

The Chinese scientist's claims were "shocking and unacceptable" and breached "the bottom line of morality and ethics that the academic community adheres to", vice minister Xu Nanping told state broadcaster CCTV, warning that it may have broken the law.

China's National Health Commission has ordered an investigation into He's experiment.

- China's AIDS epidemic -

The public outcry over He's experiment has drawn attention to the growing HIV/AIDS epidemic in China, which has seen a drastic surge in new cases in recent years.

Last week, citing remarks at a national health commission conference, official news agency Xinhua reported that there were an estimated 1.25 million HIV-positive people in China.

Evolution of genetic engineering

According to statistics from UNAIDS, an international organisation dedicated to AIDS advocacy, a total of 36.9 million people around the world were living with HIV in 2017.

In the 1990s, rural parts of China -- particularly the central province of Henan -- endured the country's most debilitating AIDS epidemic.

It stemmed from a tainted government-backed blood donation programme and infected tens of thousands of people, including entire villages.

However, sexual transmission is now the primary way of contracting HIV in China, not blood transfusions. According to a Xinhua report in September, 93.1 percent of new reported cases in the second quarter were through sex.

The same report said the number of people with HIV/AIDS in China surged 14 percent year-on-year as of the end of June, or by about 100,000 people.

China also has a long history of ostracism of HIV/AIDS patients, which further complicates prevention efforts.

HIV-positive individuals have faced discrimination in the Chinese job market for years, and foreigners with the virus were banned from obtaining visas until 2010.

In December 2014, more than 200 people signed a petition to expel an HIV-positive eight-year-old boy from their village, prompting a national debate and highlighting the stigma involved.

"I hope that everyone can view the HIV/AIDS community in a correct way, and not discriminate against those with HIV/AIDS," emphasised Bai in his statement Friday.
The USS Chancellorsville entered waters off the Paracel Islands, known as Xisha in Chinese

China on Friday scolded the United States for sending naval vessels close to disputed islands in the South China Sea where Beijing has built military installations.

The US and its allies periodically send planes and warships through the area to conduct "freedom of navigation" operations, intended as a signal to Beijing of their right under international law to pass through the waters claimed by China.

According to the Pentagon, the USS Chancellorsville guided-missile destroyer sailed Monday near the Paracel islands, known as Xisha in Chinese, "to challenge excessive maritime claims and preserve access to the waterways as governed by international law."

The Chinese military scrambled aircraft and warships, sending out warnings for the American vessel to leave the area.

"We urge the US to strengthen the management of its vessels and aircraft that pass by Chinese territory to prevent unexpected events," People's Liberation Army Southern Theatre spokesman Li Huamin said in a statement.

China has also lodged a diplomatic complaint with Washington, foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said during a regular press briefing, calling on the US to "immediately stop such provocative actions that violate China's sovereignty".

The Paracels are claimed by China, Taiwan and Vietnam.

China claims nearly all of the South China Sea though Taiwan, the Philippines, Brunei, Malaysia and Vietnam all claim parts.

Further angering those countries, and the US, Beijing has moved aggressively to build up reefs into artificial islands capable of hosting military planes.

It was the second US naval operation to irk China this week.

On Wednesday, two US ships sailed through the Taiwan Strait -- which China considers its territory but the US and others see as international waters open to all -- prompting a furious Beijing to send warships and fighter jets.

This was the third such operation this year, including one last month which prompted a diplomatic protest.

"US Forces operate in the Indo-Pacific region on a daily basis, including the South China Sea," the Pentagon statement read.

"All operations are designed in accordance with international law and demonstrate that the United States will fly, sail and operate wherever international law allows."

The naval tensions come just ahead of scheduled talked between US President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping at the G20 summit in Argentina this weekend aimed at softening trade tensions.
Nigeria's President Muhammadu Buhari, seen here with the army chief of staff this week, is under pressure to show results in the fight against Boko Haram ahead of February elections

Boko Haram militants attacked an army base in northeast Nigeria, killing one soldier, military sources told AFP Friday, a day after regional leaders urged more international support to fight the jihadists.

Fighters with the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) came in trucks fitted with anti-aircraft guns and attacked the base in Arege village near the fishing town of Baga on the shores of Lake Chad.

The base came under attack before dawn, prompting clashes, a military source told AFP.

"The attack was successfully repelled but unfortunately a soldier was killed and seven others were injured," he said, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to speak on the incident.

The same base came under attack on Wednesday, but the militants failed to overrun it "and suffered heavy casualties," a military statement said on Twitter.

The jihadists have in recent months intensified their attacks on military bases in the northeast, with the most audacious taking place on November 18 when military sources said at least 43 soldiers were killed at a base in Metele near the border with Niger.

Troops who survived said over 100 of their colleagues were killed, but after a long period of silence, the military on Wednesday gave an official figure of 23 deaths.

The latest attack came a day after President Muhammadu Buhari went to N'Djamena to meet top leaders from Chad, Niger and Cameroon to discuss how to deal with the surge in violence.

Buhari is under pressure to show his administration is winning the fight against Boko Haram ahead of a presidential election in February at which he will seek a second term in office.

"The heads of state and government... expressed their deep concern with regards to the upsurge of attacks... and expressed the crucial need to change their modus operandi in the fight against Boko Haram," a joint statement said after the talks.

They also urged the international community "to support their efforts in the fight against terrorism in the region."

The nine-year conflict has killed 27,000 people and displaced 1.8 million from their homes in Nigeria.

The violence has also spilt over into neighbouring Chad, Niger and Cameroon.
Two Sri Lankan police officers had their hands tied behind their backs and their weapons taken before being shot in the head

Two police officers were shot dead execution-style while manning a checkpost in Sri Lanka's former war zone, officials said Friday.

The victims had their hands tied behind their backs and had been shot in the head, according to authorities, and their weapons had been taken.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility, but the shooting shattered the relative calm in the region where fighting between troops and Tamil rebels ended over a decade ago.

The country's police chief, Inspector General Pujith Jayasundara, led a team of detectives to Batticaloa, 300 kilometres (187 miles) east of Colombo after the double murder.

Sri Lanka's largest political party, the United National Party (UNP), told parliament Friday that it feared the killings had been carried out to exploit the political instability which erupted late last month.

The country has been at a virtual standstill since President Maithripala Sirisena sacked Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe on October 26 and replaced him with former strongman president Mahinda Rajapakse.

But parliament, where the UNP enjoys a majority, has refused to acknowledge the Rajapakse government.

Sri Lanka's parliament has already voted to stop spending by Rajapakse and his disputed cabinet ministers until the political crisis is resolved.
Mongolian Prime Minister Khurelsukh Ukhnaa, pictured September 2018, told his parliament that he is "not a dictator" during a heated session that lasted more than four hours

Mongolias prime minister and his cabinet survived a parliament vote to sack them Friday over a corruption scandal that has implicated high-level politicians in a state fund embezzlement scheme.

"I am not a dictator," said prime minister Ukhnaa Khurelsukh during a heated parliamentary session that lasted more than four hours Friday afternoon.

"Some of you are thinking and are afraid that I might turn into a dictator -- I assure you I won't", he said.

In a council meeting earlier this month, Khurelsukh demanded that several high-ranking officials step down for various reasons, including incompetence, resulting in the vote to oust him from office.

One member of the prime ministers cabinet resigned over corruption allegations.

The move to boot Khurelsukh comes just over a year after the prime minister was named to replace his predecessor, Jargaltulgiin Erdenebat.

In September 2017, Erdenebat too faced parliament over allegations of corruption, such as providing illegal cash allowances to voters, and was sacked, along with his cabinet.

Political instability has been a constant problem for the young Central Asian democracy, which passed its first constitution in 1992 after decades of Communist rule.

The country has been through 15 different cabinets in the years since, each lasting an average of 1.5 years.
Spanish aid group Proactiva Open Arms, which helped a Spanish fishing vessel rescue the migrants (like this one pictured July 2018), told AFP that one young man suffering from dehydration had to be evacuated to Malta

The UN refugee agency appealed on Friday for an urgent solution to the plight of 12 migrants stranded in the Mediterranean, as activists said they had evacuated one of them to Malta.

Spanish aid group Proactiva Open Arms, which helped a Spanish fishing vessel rescue the migrants more than a week ago, told AFP that one young man suffering from dehydration had to be evacuated to Malta in "a highly weakened state."

The 11 others also needed to get to a safe port as soon as possible, the group said. The 13-strong crew of the "Nuestra Madre Loreto" fishing vessel rescued the migrants on November 22.

The migrants from Egypt, Niger, Senegal, Somalia, Sudan, had originally set out from Libya and were found drifting in a rubber dinghy in Maltese waters.

The Spanish authorities had already tried to get Tripoli to take them back and were in talks with Italy and Malta.

But Pascual Dura, captain of the aid vessel sheltering them, told AFP that both countries had already refused to let them dock at their ports.

The Madrid office of the UN refugee agency appealed on Friday for an urgent solution.

It had been in touch with the Spanish authorities since Monday, it said "... to express deep concern at the possibility of a forced return of the people rescued to Libya".

More than 106,000 migrants have arrived in Europe by sea since the start of the year, according to the International Organization for Migration, and at least 2,119 others have died in the process.
LIBREVILLE, Gabon (AP) - Gabon's government says President Ali Bongo Ondimba, who has been in treatment in Saudi Arabia for more than a month, will be transferred to Morocco on Wednesday to continue treatment.

The statement says Bongo feels better and "is in full possession of all his faculties." Bongo's wife, Sylvia Bongo Ondimba, says in a message on Twitter that the transfer to Morocco was possible due to "a very significant improvement" in his health.

The 59-year-old president was hospitalized on Oct. 24. The government said he suffered dizziness, but some media reports suggested he'd had a stroke.

Bongo has ruled the oil-rich Central African nation since 2009, assuming power in a contested election after the death of his father, Omar Bongo, who had ruled since 1967.
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BIHAC, Bosnia-Herzegovina (AP) - Braving cold weather and snow, dozens of migrants are heading daily from Bosnia up a steep mountain pass toward neighboring Croatia, trying to slip by unnoticed by border guards or police.

Carrying sleeping bags and personal belongings, the migrants tread slowly through the snow in groups, with some waving: "See you in Europe!"

Croatia's border is 20 kilometers (15 miles) from the Bosnian town of Bihac, where hundreds of migrants are staying in a makeshift camp waiting for a chance to cross. Croatia is one of the 28 nations in the European Union, while Bosnia is not.

The narrow road winds up the Pljesivica mountain through the forest and migrants must walk for hours before they reach the Croatian border. With the weather worsening in the past several days, migrants now face snow and freezing temperatures on their trek, setting off in the afternoon to reach the border in the dark.

Thousands of migrants from the Middle East, Africa or Asia have been flocking to northwestern Bosnia for the crossing, and many must try several times before they manage to slip past the border police.

Impoverished and still recovering from its own 1992-95 war, Bosnia has had difficulties properly accommodating the migrants. At the migrant camp in Bihac, wet snow is falling, mud is everywhere and tents offer little comfort from Bosnia's harsh winter.

A group of migrants moves through a forest on the Pljesevica Mountain in a attempt to illegally cross the border into Croatia, in Bihac, Bosnia, on Wednesday, Nov. 28, 2018. Braving cold weather and snow, dozens of migrants headed from Bosnia up a steep mountain pass hoping to reach neighbouring European Union member Croatia.(AP Photo/Amel Emric)

Some migrants wear only worn-out shoes and no socks as they line up to receive a hot meal from aid groups helping out in the Borici camp, a former student dormitory damaged during the war.

"It's very difficult to survive here," said Feroz Han Amanazay from Afghanistan, noting that the water is cold, there is no heating and the tents are too big to warm up.

Nur Rahman, also from Afghanistan, agrees the situation is "very difficult" and says the migrants need more clothes and medicine. But he says they won't give up their quest to reach the EU.

"We are planning to cross the mountain, even if it's minus 50 every day," he said.

A group of migrants moves through a forest on the Pljesevica Mountain in a attempt to illegally cross the border into Croatia, in Bihac, Bosnia, on Wednesday, Nov. 28, 2018. Braving cold weather and snow, dozens of migrants headed from Bosnia up a steep mountain pass hoping to reach neighbouring European Union member Croatia. (AP Photo/Amel Emric)

A migrants prepare food at a migrant camp, in Bihac, Bosnia, close to the border with Croatia on Wednesday, Nov. 28, 2018. The approach of the tough Balkan winter spells tough times for the migrants that remain stuck in the region while trying to reach Western Europe, with hundreds of them staying in make-shift camps with no heating or facilities. (AP Photo/Amel Emric)

Migrants inside sleeping bags try to get warm, in Bihac, Bosnia, close to the border with Croatia on Wednesday, Nov. 28, 2018. The approach of the tough Balkan winter spells tough times for the migrants that remain stuck in the region while trying to reach Western Europe, with hundreds of them staying in make-shift camps with no heating or facilities. (AP Photo/Amel Emric)

Migrants wait for food distribution in Bihac, Bosnia, close to the border to Croatia on Wednesday, Nov. 28, 2018. The approach of the tough Balkan winter spells tough times for the migrants that remain stuck in the region while trying to reach Western Europe, with hundreds of them staying in make-shift camps with no heating or facilities. (AP Photo/Amel Emric)

Migrants wrapped in blankets wait for food distribution in Bihac, Bosnia, close to the border to Croatia on Wednesday, Nov. 28, 2018. The approach of the tough Balkan winter spells tough times for the migrants that remain stuck in the region while trying to reach Western Europe, with hundreds of them staying in make-shift camps with no heating or facilities. (AP Photo/Amel Emric)

Migrants wait for food distribution in Bihac, Bosnia, close to the border to Croatia on Wednesday, Nov. 28, 2018. The approach of the tough Balkan winter spells tough times for the migrants that remain stuck in the region while trying to reach Western Europe, with hundreds of them staying in make-shift camps with no heating or facilities. (AP Photo/Amel Emric)

A migrant covers himself with a blanket at a migrants' center in Bihac, Bosnia, close to the border with Croatia on Wednesday, Nov. 28, 2018. The approach of the tough Balkan winter spells tough times for the migrants that remain stuck in the region while trying to reach Western Europe, with hundreds of them staying in make-shift camps with no heating or facilities. (AP Photo/Amel Emric)

A migrant covers himself with a blanket at a migrants' center in Bihac, Bosnia, close to the border with Croatia on Wednesday, Nov. 28, 2018. The approach of the tough Balkan winter spells tough times for the migrants that remain stuck in the region while trying to reach Western Europe, with hundreds of them staying in make-shift camps with no heating or facilities. (AP Photo/Amel Emric)

Migrants wrap themselves with blankets to keep warm, at a migrants' shelter in Bihac, Bosnia, close to the border with Croatia, Wednesday, Nov. 28, 2018. The approach of the tough Balkan winter spells tough times for the migrants that remain stuck in the region while trying to reach Western Europe, with hundreds of them staying in make-shift camps with no heating or facilities. (AP Photo/Amel Emric)

Migrants warm by fire at a migrants shelter in Bihac, Bosnia, close to the border with Croatia on Wednesday, Nov. 28, 2018. The approach of the tough Balkan winter spells tough times for the migrants that remain stuck in the region while trying to reach Western Europe, with hundreds of them staying in make-shift camps with no heating or facilities. (AP Photo/Amel Emric)

Migrants prepare food as they warm near a fire at a camp for migrants, in Bihac, Bosnia, close to the border with Croatia on Wednesday, Nov. 28, 2018. The approach of the tough Balkan winter spells tough times for the migrants that remain stuck in the region while trying to reach Western Europe, with hundreds of them staying in make-shift camps with no heating or facilities. (AP Photo/Amel Emric)

Clothes hang from a rope at a window of a migrants shelter, in Bihac, Bosnia, close to the border to Croatia on Wednesday, Nov. 28, 2018. The approach of the tough Balkan winter spells tough times for the migrants that remain stuck in the region while trying to reach Western Europe, with hundreds of them staying in make-shift camps with no heating or facilities. (AP Photo/Amel Emric)

A migrant covers himself with thermal blanket as he waits in line to get food at a migrants' center in Bihac, Bosnia, close to the border with Croatia on Wednesday, Nov. 28, 2018. The approach of the tough Balkan winter spells tough times for the migrants that remain stuck in the region while trying to reach Western Europe, with hundreds of them staying in make-shift camps with no heating or facilities. (AP Photo/Amel Emric)

Migrants prepare food by a fire at a migrants' shelter in Bihac, Bosnia, close to the border with Croatia on Wednesday, Nov. 28, 2018. The approach of the tough Balkan winter spells tough times for the migrants that remain stuck in the region while trying to reach Western Europe, with hundreds of them staying in make-shift camps with no heating or facilities. (AP Photo/Amel Emric)

A group of migrants moves through a forest on the Pljesevica Mountain in a attempt to illegally cross the border into Croatia, in Bihac, Bosnia, on Wednesday, Nov. 28, 2018. Braving cold weather and snow, dozens of migrants headed from Bosnia up a steep mountain pass hoping to reach neighbouring European Union member Croatia. (AP Photo/Amel Emric)

A group of migrants moves through a forest on the Pljesevica Mountain in a attempt to illegally cross the border into Croatia, in Bihac, Bosnia, on Wednesday, Nov. 28, 2018. Braving cold weather and snow, dozens of migrants headed from Bosnia up a steep mountain pass hoping to reach neighbouring European Union member Croatia.(AP Photo/Amel Emric)
NEW YORK (AP) - A former Colombian drug lord known for an extreme plastic-surgery makeover meant to hide his identity testified Thursday at a U.S. trial about his lucrative drug-trafficking alliance with notorious Mexican counterpart Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman.

Asked about his distorted facial features, Juan Carlos Ramirez Abadia explained that he had undergone at least three surgeries that altered "my jawbone, my cheekbones, my eyes, my mouth, my ears, my nose."

Ramirez Abadia told the jury that he bribed authorities in Colombia to destroy any criminal records naming him to better stay ahead of the law while he was overseeing the Norte del Valle cartel.

In a 20-year career, the witness estimated, he smuggled 400,000 kilos, ordered 150 killings and amassed a fortune so large that he forfeited $1 billion after his arrest in Brazil in 2007.

Ramirez Abadia was extradited to the United States, where he pleaded guilty to murder and drug charges and agreed to become a government witness in major narcotics prosecutions like Guzman's. He was the third former drug dealer to testify so far at the trial in federal court in Brooklyn, where Guzman has pleaded not guilty to conspiracy and other charges.

On Thursday, Ramirez Abadia described a meeting at a hotel in Mexico in the early 1990s where he struck a deal with Guzman whereby the Colombian cartel would fly his cocaine into Mexico for the Sinaloa cartel to smuggle it into Los Angeles and New York City, the witness said.

FILE - In this Aug. 7, 2007 file photo, Colombia's Juan Carlos Ramirez Abadia arrives to a federal police station after being arrested in Sao Paulo. Ramirez Abadia, a former Colombian drug lord known for an extreme plastic-surgery makeover meant to hide his identity, testified Thursday, Nov. 29, 2018, at a U.S. trial about his lucrative drug-trafficking alliance with notorious Mexican counterpart Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman. (Evelson de Freitas/Agencia Estado via AP, File)

When Guzman asked for the purest product possible, Ramirez Abadia was happy to oblige because he wanted "a reputation for myself for my cocaine being so good," he said.

Guzman also demanded a bigger cut of the proceeds than other Mexican kingpins because his network was so efficient at getting it across the border.

"I'm a lot faster. You'll see," he recalled Guzman bragging.

After Ramirez Abadia relocated to Brazil and redid his face, he looked so different that drug investigators were forced to use voice recognition technology to make the positive identification needed for a search warrant, his lawyer said after his capture. He was found in a luxurious home with a gym, sauna, swimming pool and nearly $1 million in stashed cash.

FILE - In this Aug. 7, 2007 file photo, Colombia's Juan Carlos Ramirez Abadia arrives to a federal police station after being arrested in Sao Paulo. Ramirez Abadia, a former Colombian drug lord known for an extreme plastic-surgery makeover meant to hide his identity, testified Thursday, Nov. 29, 2018, at a U.S. trial about his lucrative drug-trafficking alliance with notorious Mexican counterpart Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman. (Marcio Fernandes/Agencia Estado via AP, File)
WASHINGTON (AP) - The surprise plea agreement with President Donald Trump's former lawyer made clear that prosecutors believe Michael Cohen was continuing to pursue the Trump Tower Moscow project weeks after his boss had clinched the Republican nomination for president and while investigators believe Russians were meddling in the 2016 election on his behalf.

Cohen confessed in his guilty plea that he lied to Congress about the Moscow real estate deal he pursued on Trump's behalf during the heat of the 2016 Republican campaign. He said he lied to be consistent with Trump's "political messaging."

Cohen said he discussed the proposal with Trump on multiple occasions and with members of the president's family, according to documents filed by special counsel Robert Mueller, who is investigating Russian interference in the presidential election and possible coordination with the Trump campaign. Cohen acknowledged considering traveling to Moscow to discuss the project.

There is no clear link in the court filings between Cohen's lies and Mueller's central question of whether the Trump campaign colluded with Russia. And nothing said in court on Thursday, or in associated court filings, addressed whether Trump or his aides had directed Cohen to mislead Congress.

Still, the case underscores how Trump's business entity, the Trump Organization, was negotiating business in Moscow well beyond the point that had been previously acknowledged and that associates of the president were mining Russian connections during the race.

Trump, who's in Argentina for the Group of 20 summit, on Friday blasted the investigation in which Cohen pleaded guilty . In a tweet, Trump recalled "happily living my life" as a developer before running for president after seeing the "Country going in the wrong direction (to put it mildly)."

Michael Cohen walks out of federal court, Thursday, Nov. 29, 2018, in New York, after pleading guilty to lying to Congress about work he did on an aborted project to build a Trump Tower in Russia. Cohen told the judge he lied about the timing of the negotiations and other details to be consistent with Trump's "political message." (AP Photo/Julie Jacobson)

"Against all odds," he continued, "I decide to run for President & continue to run my business-very legal & very cool, talked about it on the campaign trail. Lightly looked at doing a building somewhere in Russia. Put up zero money, zero guarantees and didn't do the project. Witch Hunt!"

The Cohen revelation comes as Mueller's investigation is showing fresh signs of aggressive activity. Earlier this week, Mueller's team accused Trump's former campaign chairman, Paul Manafort , of lying after his own guilty plea, which Manafort denies. The special counsel continues to investigate whether campaign associates had advance knowledge of hacked emails becoming public. Another potential target, Jerome Corsi, has rejected a plea offer and faces a possible indictment. Last week, Trump for the first time provided Mueller with responses to written questions.

Cohen is the first person charged by Mueller with lying to Congress, an indication the special counsel is prepared to treat that offense as seriously as lying to federal agents and a warning shot to dozens of others who have appeared before lawmakers.

Cohen told two congressional committees last year that the talks about the tower project ended in January 2016, a lie he said was an act of loyalty to Trump. In fact, the negotiations continued until June 2016, Cohen acknowledged.

His court appearance Thursday marked the latest step in his evolution from trusted Trump consigliere to prime antagonist. Prosecutors say Cohen is cooperating with Mueller and has met with his team at least seven times. It is the second time the lawyer's legal woes have entangled Trump, coming months after Cohen said the Republican president directed him to make hush money payments to two women who said they had sex with Trump.

Trump on Thursday called Cohen a "weak person" who was lying to get a lighter sentence and stressed that the real estate deal at issue was never a secret and never executed. His lawyer Rudy Giuliani said that Cohen was a "proven liar" and that Trump's business organization had voluntarily given Mueller the documents cited in the guilty plea "because there was nothing to hide."

"There would be nothing wrong if I did do it," Trump said of pursuing the project. "I was running my business while I was campaigning. There was a good chance that I wouldn't have won, in which case I would have gone back into the business, and why should I lose lots of opportunities?"

He said the primary reason he didn't pursue it was "I was focused on running for president."

About an hour later, Trump canceled a planned meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Group of 20 summit.

During the campaign, while publicly espousing a conciliatory relationship with Putin, Trump was repeatedly dismissive of claims that he had connections to the Kremlin, an issue that flared as especially sensitive in the summer of 2016 after the Democratic National Committee and a cybersecurity company asserted that Moscow was behind a punishing cyberattack on the party's network.

"I have a great company. I built an unbelievable company, but if you look there you'll see there's nothing in Russia," Trump said at a July 2016 news conference.

"But zero, I mean I will tell you right now, zero, I have nothing to do with Russia," he said.

Mueller's team included a question about Russian real estate deals in a list of queries presented earlier this year to Trump's lawyers, but it was not immediately clear whether it was among the questions Trump answered last week. If he did answer questions on the topic, Trump could have problems if the responses deviate from prosecutors' factual narrative.

The Cohen case in New York is the first charge filed by the special counsel since the appointment of Matthew Whitaker, who has spoken critically about the investigation, as acting attorney general with oversight of the probe. Whitaker was advised of the plea ahead of time, according to a person familiar with the investigation.

The nine-page charging document traces behind-the-scenes communication about a project that had first been discussed more than 20 years ago. It almost became reality in October 2015 when an obscure Russian real estate developer signed a letter of intent sent by Cohen for a 15-floor hotel, condominium and retail complex in Moscow.

Cohen looped in Trump's adult children Donald Trump Jr. and Ivanka Trump, copying them on emails about it in late 2015, according to a person close to the Trump Organization. In one email, Ivanka Trump even suggested an architect for the building, the person said. The company's email traffic about the project ends in January 2016, said the person, who wasn't authorized to speak publicly and spoke on the condition of anonymity.

On Jan. 14, 2016, just weeks before the Republican party caucuses in Iowa, Cohen emailed the office of Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov asking for help getting the Trump Tower Moscow project off the ground. He later had a 20-minute phone call with one of Peskov's assistants and asked for help "in securing land to build the proposed tower and financing the construction," prosecutors say.

The dialogue continued over the next several months with the Republican primaries in full swing.

In early May, prosecutors say, Cohen and Felix Sater, an executive who worked on and off for the Trump Organization, discussed having Trump visit Russia after the Republican National Convention. They also discussed the possibility of Cohen meeting in June with Putin and Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev.

On June 9, 2016, Trump Jr., Manafort and Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, met with a Kremlin-connected lawyer at Trump Tower in New York about getting "dirt" on Democrat Hillary Clinton. Around that time, prosecutors say, Sater sent Cohen several messages about the project and Cohen said he wouldn't be traveling then to Russia.

On June 14, the DNC announced that its computer networks were penetrated by Russian hackers.

Cohen and prosecutors referred to Trump as "Individual 1" throughout Thursday's proceedings. Cohen said he lied out of loyalty to "Individual 1."

Cohen said he also lied about his contacts with Russian officials and lied when he said he never agreed to travel to Russia in connection with the project and never discussed with Trump plans to travel to Moscow to support the project.

Thursday's charges were handled by Mueller, not the federal prosecutors in New York who handled Cohen's previous guilty plea in August to other federal charges involving his taxi businesses, bank fraud and campaign work for Trump. Cohen is to be sentenced Dec. 12. Guidelines call for little to no prison time on the new charge.

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Neumeister reported from New York. Associated Press writers Jim Mustian in New York and Stephen Braun in Washington contributed to this report.

Michael Cohen walks out of federal court, Thursday, Nov. 29, 2018, in New York. Cohen, President Donald Trump's former lawyer, pleaded guilty to lying to Congress about work he did on an aborted project to build a Trump Tower in Russia. He told the judge he lied about the timing of the negotiations and other details to be consistent with Trump's "political message." (AP Photo/Julie Jacobson)

In this courtroom sketch, Michael Cohen, center, reads a statement in federal court in New York, Thursday, Nov. 29, 2018. President Donald Trump's former lawyer made a surprise appearance before a federal judge in New York on Thursday and pleaded guilty to lying to Congress about work he did on an aborted project to build a Trump Tower in Russia. (Elizabeth Williams via AP)

Michael Cohen, left, walks out of federal court with his attorney Guy Petrillo, Thursday, Nov. 29, 2018, in New York. Cohen, President Donald Trump's former lawyer, pleaded guilty to lying to Congress about work he did on an aborted project to build a Trump Tower in Russia. He told the judge he lied about the timing of the negotiations and other details to be consistent with Trump's "political message." (AP Photo/Julie Jacobson)

Michael Cohen, left, walks out of federal court with his attorney Guy Petrillo, Thursday, Nov. 29, 2018, in New York. Cohen, President Donald Trump's former lawyer, pleaded guilty to lying to Congress about work he did on an aborted project to build a Trump Tower in Russia. He told the judge he lied about the timing of the negotiations and other details to be consistent with Trump's "political message." (AP Photo/Julie Jacobson)

Michael Cohen, left, walks out of federal court with his attorney Guy Petrillo, Thursday, Nov. 29, 2018, in New York, after pleading guilty to lying to Congress about work he did on an aborted project to build a Trump Tower in Russia. Cohen,President Donald Trumps former lawyer, told the judge he lied about the timing of the negotiations and other details to be consistent with Trump's "political message." (AP Photo/Julie Jacobson)

Michael Cohen walks out of federal court, Thursday, Nov. 29, 2018, in New York, after pleading guilty to lying to Congress about work he did on an aborted project to build a Trump Tower in Russia. Cohen, President Donald Trumps former lawyer, told the judge he lied about the timing of the negotiations and other details to be consistent with Trump's "political message." (AP Photo/Julie Jacobson)

Michael Cohen, left, walks out of federal court with his attorney Guy Petrillo, Thursday, Nov. 29, 2018, in New York, after pleading guilty to lying to Congress about work he did on an aborted project to build a Trump Tower in Russia. Cohen, President Donald Trumps former lawyer, told the judge he lied about the timing of the negotiations and other details to be consistent with Trump's "political message." (AP Photo/Julie Jacobson)
BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) - The latest on the Group of 20 summit (all times local):

8 p.m.

G-20 leaders are attending a cultural show at the Colon Theater, the landmark in the Argentine capital that is one of the world's great opera houses.

U.S. President Donald Trump, Germany's Angela Merkel, and Russian President Vladimir Putin were among the dignitaries who joined for leaders' photo before they took their seats at the stately Belle Epoque building that was founded in 1908.

The show features videos celebrating Argentina's majestic landscapes as well as dancing and music that goes from a philharmonic orchestra, to rock and the Argentine Tango.

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President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump pose for a photo with Argentina's President Mauricio Macri and his wife Juliana Awada as they arrive at the Teatro Colon to join other heads of state for the G20 leaders dinner, Friday, Nov. 30, 2018 in Buenos Aires, Argentina. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

6:55 p.m.

A top Argentine Treasury official is hopeful a final joint statement will be possible at the Group of 20 summit that began Friday in Buenos Aires.

Laura Jaitman says world leaders have made progress in talks about the challenges of the global economy regarding finance and trade.

She adds that U.S. President Donald Trump is "very active and committed" in the dialogue with all members.

European officials said earlier that the U.S. is blocking progress on agreeing how to fix world trading rules, fight climate change and deal with migration.

Jaitman says that "there's a very positive message of how trade has been an engine of growth for the next decades and how it will continue in the future providing benefits for all citizens."

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6:35 p.m.

Vladimir Putin found an unusual way to explain why Russia was justified in seizing Ukrainian naval ships near Crimea - he took out pen and paper and drew a map.

Officials in French President Emmanuel Macron's office say that when Putin and Macron met Friday, Putin pulled out a sheet of white paper and sketched out the Ukrainian coast and the disputed waters where the weekend incident took place.

The French officials say Macron asked for documents proving Russia's claims, and insisted on the need for restraint in the conflict.

Ukraine contends its ships were in international waters, while Russia claims the boats violated its maritime border. Russia annexed the Crimean peninsula in 2014, and neither Ukraine nor Western powers recognize the territory as Russian.

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4:45 p.m.

Thousands of demonstrators are flooding a downtown avenue in Buenos Aires to protest the Group of 20 summit taking place in the Argentine capital.

They're waving flags and holding up banners with slogans like "Go away G-20" and "Go away Trump."

Activists from France, Germany, Italy and several Latin American nations are taking part alongside Argentines in a demonstration organized by left-leaning groups and labor unions. It's occurring more than 6 miles (10 kilometers) from the summit meeting.

About 22,000 police officers and other security forces are guarding the leaders during the two-day summit that began Friday.

Argentina is the first South American country to host the G-20.

Argentine authorities have said they will not tolerate violence or allow the gathering to be disrupted.

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2:55 p.m.

A senior Argentine official is pushing back on a remark by White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders suggesting that Argentina sides with the United States in its trade war with China.

Sanders said Friday that Presidents Donald Trump and Mauricio Macri had "reiterated their shared commitment" to face challenges that include "predatory Chinese economic activity" during a morning meeting on the sidelines of the G-20 summit.

The official told The Associated Press that the "adjective used by Sanders is too strong and doesn't reflect" Argentina's relationship with Beijing. The official was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.

China is one of Buenos Aires' top trading partners and the main importer of Argentine agricultural commodities that are the backbone of its economy.

- Associated Press Writer Luis Andres Henao contributed to this report.

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1:50 p.m.

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman have shared a smiley, enthusiastic greeting as the Group of 20 summit opened in Argentina's capital.

The two men beamed widely and clasped hands in something of a cross between a handshake and a high-five. The crown prince patted Putin's hand three times for emphasis as the two leaders took their seats next to each other.

Putin and bin Salman are two controversial figures at the summit in Buenos Aires, having recently come under international criticism.

In Putin's case, other world leaders have expressed concern over Russia's recent seizure of Ukrainian ships and their crews near Crimea.

For the prince, it's about the killing of a dissident Saudi journalist in the country's Istanbul consulate. Saudi Arabia denies that bin Salman ordered the killing, but U.S. intelligence agencies have concluded the opposite.

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1:45 p.m.

European officials say that the U.S. is blocking progress at the Group of 20 summit on agreeing how to fix world trading rules, fight climate change and deal with migration.

Diplomats are working to come up with a final statement from the summit in Argentina Friday and Saturday that all leaders agree on.

Because of resistance from President Donald Trump's administration, an official in the French president's office said that the statement may have language that sets the U.S. apart. For example, a draft says 19 of the participants agree on the importance of upholding the Paris climate accord, but the U.S. doesn't.

The officials said the U.S. is also blocking any mention of migration or of reforming the World Trade Organization. The officials were not authorized to be publicly named discussing the closed-door talks.

European participants are trying to put up a united front at the G-20 and are concerned that Trump is using it to advance his own goals via bilateral meetings.

- Associated Press writer Angela Charlton contributed to this report.

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1:35 p.m.

Argentina's president has opened the Group of 20 summit with a call for member nations to support international cooperation and multilateralism.

Mauricio Macri said Friday that the gathering of major economic powers will focus on issues such as labor, infrastructure, development, financial stability, climate sustainability and international commerce.

He added that it will be an agenda "centered on people."

Macri acknowledged divisions within the G-20, but said "consensus is not something that is built overnight, but a process with advances and setbacks."

He asked world leaders to have a "sense of urgency" and for actions "based on shared interests."

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12:15 p.m.

Argentina's security minister is confirming that eight gasoline bombs were discovered in an area of the capital where a protest against the G-20 summit is expected later in the day.

A police operation on Friday turned up the rudimentary explosives made from bottles and cloth wicks in a burned and abandoned taxi on the street.

The site is more than 6 miles (10 kilometers) from the place where the summit is taking place.

Security Minister Patricia Bullrich said that despite the find, "a day of peace and without violence is expected."

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12:10 p.m.

Russian President Vladimir Putin says that the U.S. intention to opt out of a Cold War-era nuclear pact could trigger a new arms race.

Putin spoke in Buenos Aires Friday at a meeting of BRICS country leaders, a grouping that includes Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. He warned that Washington's planned withdrawal from the 1987 Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty "creates risks of uncontrollable arms race."

The Russian leader also called for securing a nuclear deal with Iran despite the U.S. withdrawal from it to "prevent a new round of tensions over the Iranian nuclear program."

Putin hailed the U.S. dialogue with North Korea, but warned Washington against putting ultimatums to Pynogyang, saying that it could thwart the agreements reached.

The meeting took place on the sidelines of the Group of 20 summit.

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11:55 a.m.

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has talked with world leaders at a Group of 20 summit clouded by concerns about the gruesome killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

Journalists saw the crown prince speaking with French President Emmanuel Macron and others at the summit venue Friday in Buenos Aires.

Macron's office wouldn't comment on what they discussed. On the eve of the summit, the French president called for international involvement in the investigations into Khashoggi's killing in the Saudi Embassy in Istanbul last month.

EU leaders urged G-20 participants to address concerns about journalist safety and the Saudi-backed war in Yemen.

U.S. intelligence agencies have concluded the crown prince ordered Khashoggi's killing. Saudi Arabia has denied that.

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10:35 a.m.

Mexico's government has presented President Donald Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner with the highest honor America's southern neighbor gives to foreigners.

Mexico's Foreign Relations Department says that Kushner earned the Order of the Aztec Eagle for his work on renegotiating a new trade agreement signed Friday by Mexico, the U.S. and Canada.

The award has caused an uproar in Mexico, where many are angry over Trump's insulting comments about Mexicans.

Prominent Mexican historian Enrique Krauze called the decision to give Kushner the award an act of "supreme humiliation and cowardice."

The trade deal was signed on the sidelines of the Group of 20 summit in Argentina. It replaces the North American Free Trade Agreement, or NAFTA.

Kushner says U.S.-Mexico relations have improved because the countries decided to craft "win-win" solutions to migration, drug trafficking and other issues plaguing relations.

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10:05 a.m.

The European Union wants world leaders to use a summit in Argentina to confront the Saudi crown prince over threats to journalists and the Russian president over his country's actions in Ukraine.

EU Council President Donald Tusk spoke Friday at the Group of 20 summit and called on fellow leaders to discuss "trade wars, the tragic situation in Syria and Yemen and Russian aggression in Ukraine."

He didn't mention the killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, but stressed the importance of the "basic safety of journalists" and said "it's our obligation to press our partners to respect these basic principles."

There are deep divisions among G-20 leaders and Tusk acknowledged that "this is a difficult moment for international cooperation."

The summit opens Friday in Buenos Aires.

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9:55 a.m.

European Council President Donald Tusk says the EU is expected to extend sanctions on Russia over its "totally unacceptable" seizure of Ukrainian ships and their crews near Crimea.

Tusk said Friday that "Europe is united in its support for Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity" and called the standoff "a cause of great concern."

Tusk was speaking on the sidelines of a G-20 summit in Buenos Aires and he urged the leaders meeting to use the summit to discuss points of tension including what he called "Russian aggression in Ukraine."

Russian President Vladimir Putin is among the leaders involved. Russia and Ukraine have traded blame over the ship incident.

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9:45 a.m.

Diplomats from the G-20 countries are haggling hard over a final summit statement, with deep divisions over what language to use on the Paris climate accord and the World Trade Organization, according to two European officials involved in the discussions.

Facing the prospect of a no-statement summit, European delegations are trying to create a common front and may come out with their own separate declaration if they can't get the U.S. or others on board.

European leaders are meeting Friday morning at the summit venue to stake out common positions on trade, climate and the killing of Saudi writer Jamal Khashoggi.

France is seeking to build coalitions on certain issues or "ad hoc partnerships" to try to salvage the spirit of the G-20 even if all countries can't agree, according to a French official.

The officials weren't authorized to be named speaking about the closed-door discussions and spoke on condition of anonymity.

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9:05 a.m.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has arrived in Argentina's capital for the Group of 20 summit, where a highly anticipated meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump was abruptly called off.

Putin's plane landed Friday morning in Buenos Aires and he was greeted by officials on the tarmac.

Trump tweeted on Thursday that he was canceling the one-on-one with Putin because of Russia's seizure of Ukrainian vessels near the Crimean Peninsula, which Moscow annexed in 2014.

A Putin spokesman said the cancellation meant the Russian president would have more time for "useful meetings."

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7:55 a.m.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel still plans on meeting Russian President Vladimir Putin for talks on the sidelines of the Group of 20 summit in Argentina despite her delayed arrival.

Merkel's arriving later than intended because a technical issue with her government plane forced her to change plans, but spokeswoman Martina Fietz said Friday she'll still meet one-on-one with Putin on Saturday morning.

On Thursday, Merkel said she hoped to use the meeting to press Putin to deescalate tensions with Ukraine over the Russian seizure of three Ukrainian ships in the Sea of Azov.

Germany's calling for the ships and sailors to be released, and is trying to help bring about a diplomatic solution to the crisis.

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6:50 a.m.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel is finally on her way to Argentina for the Group of 20 summit after a technical problem with her plane forced her to change plans and stay overnight in Bonn.

Merkel's office says she and a small delegation, including the finance minister, took a different government plane to Madrid on Friday morning, and then boarded a commercial flight to Buenos Aires.

Merkel was en route Thursday night on an air force plane, but turned around over the Netherlands after the captain reported a technical problem.

The plane was diverted to the Cologne/Bonn airport and landed without incident.

The problem is being investigated but the air force says it appears to have been an electrical issue that could have affected the radio system and a fuel system.

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2 a.m.

Leaders from the world's leading economies were invited to the Group of 20 summit to discuss development, infrastructure and investment. As the gathering officially kicks off Friday, those themes seem like afterthoughts, overshadowed by contentious matters from the U.S.-China trade dispute to the conflict over Ukraine.

Also expected to loom large are tensions between longtime allies the United States and Europe, the gruesome slaying of a dissident Saudi journalist and how the Saudi crown prince who is alleged to have ordered the killing is received by world leaders.

The U.S., Canada and Mexico also are supposed to sign a trade deal replacing the North American Free Trade Agreement that was struck following months of tough negotiations that analysts say left a bitter taste among the partners.

Russian President Vladimir Putin, right, and France's President Emmanuel Macron pose for a photo prior to their talks at the G20 summit in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Friday, Nov. 30, 2018. Leaders from the Group of 20 industrialized nations are meeting in Buenos Aires for two days starting Friday. (Mikhail Klimentyev, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)

Protesters march against the G20 summit being held in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Friday, Nov. 30, 2018. Leaders from the Group of 20 industrialized nations are meeting in Buenos Aires for two days starting today. (AP Photo/Martin Mejia)

A protester marches against the G20 summit being held in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Friday, Nov. 30, 2018. Leaders from the Group of 20 industrialized nations are meeting in Buenos Aires for two days starting today. (AP Photo/Martin Mejia)

China's President Xi Jinping, left, enters to shake hands with Argentina's President Mauricio Macri at the start of the G20 summit in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Friday, Nov. 30, 2018. Heads of state from the world's leading economies were invited to the Group of 20 summit to discuss issues like development, infrastructure and investment, but those themes seem like afterthoughts, overshadowed by contentious matters from the U.S.-China trade dispute to the conflict over Ukraine. (AP Photo/Ricardo Mazalan)

Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, left, and Russia's President Vladimir Putin speak at the start of the G20 summit in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Friday, Nov. 30, 2018. The two leaders are controversial figures at the summit. In Putin's case, other world leaders have expressed concern over Russia's recent seizure of Ukrainian ships and their crews near Crimea. For the prince, it's about the killing of a dissident Saudi journalist in the country's Istanbul consulate. Saudi Arabia denies that bin Salman ordered the killing, but U.S. intelligence agencies have concluded the opposite. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)

President Donald Trump, front center, listens to France's President Emmanuel Macron as they pose with world leaders for a group picture at the start of the G20 Leader's Summit inside the Costa Salguero Center in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Friday, Nov. 30, 2018. Bottom row from left are South Africa's President Cyril Ramaphosa, Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May, Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Argentina's President Mauricio Macri and China's President Xi Jinping. Middle row, from left, are European Council's President Donald Tusk, the Netherlands' Prime Minister Mark Rutte, Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi and South Korea's President Moon Jae-in. International Monetary Fund Managing Director Christine Lagarde stands in the top row, second from right. (AP Photo/Ricardo Mazalan)

Russia's President Vladimir Putin enters to greet Argentina's President Mauricio Macri at the start of the G20 summit in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Friday, Nov. 30, 2018. Leaders from the Group of 20 industrialized nations are meeting in Buenos Aires for two days starting today. (AP Photo/Ricardo Mazalan)

Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, left, shakes hands with Argentina's President Mauricio Macri at the start of the G20 summit in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Friday, Nov. 30, 2018. Leaders from the Group of 20 industrialized nations are meeting in Buenos Aires for two days starting today. (AP Photo/Ricardo Mazalan)

Mexican President Enrique Pena Neto, right, awards White House Senior Adviser Jared Kushner with The Order of the Aztec Eagle, the highest Mexican order awarded to foreigners, Friday, Nov. 30, 2018 in Buenos Aires, Argentina. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

European Council's President Donald Tusk, left, leaves the presidential palace after meeting Argentina's President Mauricio Macri in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Thursday, Nov. 29, 2018. Leaders from the Group of 20 industrialized nations will meet in Buenos Aires for two days starting Friday. (AP Photo/Sebastian Pani)

Russian President Vladimir Putin chairs a Security Council meeting in the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, Thursday, Nov. 29, 2018. (Alexei Druzhinin, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)

German Chancellor Angela Merkel delivers a speech during the German Ukrainian Economy Forum in Berlin, Germany, Thursday, Nov. 29, 2018. (AP Photo/Michael Sohn)

Argentina's President Mauricio Macri, left, and Argentina's first lady Juliana Awada, right, share a glass of champagne with Italy's Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte at the presidential palace in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Thursday, Nov. 29, 2018. Leaders from the Group of 20 industrialized nations will meet in Buenos Aires for two days starting Friday. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)

Mexico's President Enrique Pena Nieto, center, is received by Argentina's Tourism Secretary, Gustavo Santos, at the Ministro Pistarini international airport in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Thursday, Nov. 29, 2018. Leaders from the Group of 20 industrialized nations, including Pena Nieto, will meet in Buenos Aires for a two-day starting Friday. (AP Photo/Martin Mejia)
NICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) - Serbia's president says a move by Kosovo to impose a 100 percent tax on all goods imported from Serbia amounts to "new provocations" for Europe and Belgrade and will harm Serbia-Kosovo peace talks.

President Aleksandar Vucic says that he informed Cypriot counterpart Nicos Anastasiades about the "possible consequences" that could arise from Kosovo's "unilateral actions."

Vucic, who visited the Cypriot capital Friday for a bilateral conference, also thanked Cyprus for its strong support of Serbia's bid to join the European Union.

Anastasiades said that a three-way summit between Serbia, Greece and Cyprus that's planned for next year aims to promote stability and security in the Balkans and the eastern Mediterranean.

Cyprus President Nicos Anastasiades, left, and Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic during the Serbian president's arrival at Cyprus' Presidential Palace in the capital Nicosia, on Friday, Nov. 30, 2018. Vucic is in Cyprus for what officials said was the 2nd Cyprus-Serbia summit that aims to strengthen bilateral ties in areas including trade, tourism, defense and energy. They will also discuss regional issues including Kosovo, refugees, security and stalled efforts to reunify ethnically split Cyprus. (AP Photo/Petros Karadjias)

Cyprus President Nicos Anastasiades, left, and Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic talk as inspect an honor guard during the Serbian' president's arrival at Cyprus' Presidential Palace in the capital Nicosia, on Friday, Nov. 30, 2018. Vucic is in Cyprus for what officials said was the 2nd Cyprus-Serbia summit that aims to strengthen bilateral ties in areas including trade, tourism, defense and energy. They will also discuss regional issues including Kosovo, refugees, security and stalled efforts to reunify ethnically split Cyprus. (AP Photo/Petros Karadjias)

Cyprus President Nicos Anastasiades, left, and Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic shake hands during the Serbian' president's arrival at Cyprus' Presidential Palace in the capital Nicosia, on Friday, Nov. 30, 2018. Vucic is in Cyprus for what officials said was the 2nd Cyprus-Serbia summit that aims to strengthen bilateral ties in areas including trade, tourism, defense and energy. They will also discuss regional issues including Kosovo, refugees, security and stalled efforts to reunify ethnically split Cyprus. (AP Photo/Petros Karadjias)

Cyprus President Nicos Anastasiades, center, and Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic inspect an honor guard during the Serbian' president's arrival at Cyprus' Presidential Palace in the capital Nicosia, on Friday, Nov. 30, 2018. Vucic is in Cyprus for what officials said was the 2nd Cyprus-Serbia summit that aims to strengthen bilateral ties in areas including trade, tourism, defense and energy. They will also discuss regional issues including Kosovo, refugees, security and stalled efforts to reunify ethnically split Cyprus. (AP Photo/Petros Karadjias)

Cyprus President Nicos Anastasiades, right, and Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic walk during the Serbian' president's arrival at Cyprus' Presidential Palace in the capital Nicosia, on Friday, Nov. 30, 2018. Vucic is in Cyprus for what officials said was the 2nd Cyprus-Serbia summit that aims to strengthen bilateral ties in areas including trade, tourism, defense and energy. They will also discuss regional issues including Kosovo, refugees, security and stalled efforts to reunify ethnically split Cyprus. (AP Photo/Petros Karadjias)

Cyprus President Nicos Anastasiades, left, and Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic shake hands during the Serbian president's arrival at Cyprus' Presidential Palace in the capital Nicosia, on Friday, Nov. 30, 2018. Vucic is in Cyprus for what officials said was the 2nd Cyprus-Serbia summit that aims to strengthen bilateral ties in areas including trade, tourism, defense and energy. They will also discuss regional issues including Kosovo, refugees, security and stalled efforts to reunify ethnically split Cyprus. (AP Photo/Petros Karadjias)
MADRID (AP) - The Latest on migration into Europe (all times local):

2:30 p.m.

Spanish officials say they have rescued about 650 migrants from 16 boats crossing the Mediterranean from North Africa to Europe, finding one dead woman among them.

Officials rescue services told Spanish private news agency Europa Press on Friday the woman was with about 50 other people encountered on a boat, whose owner was taken into custody.

The rescues occurred Thursday in the so-called Alboran Sea, east of the Strait of Gibraltar. Spanish authorities pulled three bodies from the sea there on Wednesday.

The Mediterranean is a deadly route for migrants trying to enter Europe illegally, with at least 1,857 deaths recorded so far this year.

A sick migrant from Egypt is given medical treatment on the deck of the Nuestra Madre de Loreto Spanish fishing vessel carrying 12 migrants rescued off the coast of Lybia on Friday, Nov. 30, 2018. Meanwhile, Spanish officials say they have rescued about 650 migrants from 16 boats crossing the Mediterranean from North Africa to Europe on Thursday, finding one dead woman among them. (AP Photo/Javier Fergo)

The Geneva-based International Organization for Migration said last month that 45,145 men, women and children entered Spain through the western Mediterranean route through Oct. 21 - more than in the previous three years combined.

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1 p.m.

The German government says Chancellor Angela Merkel will travel to Morocco for a Dec. 10 conference meant to approve a U.N.-backed migration pact that is drawing strong opposition from nationalists in Europe and elsewhere.

Government spokeswoman Martina Fietz announced Merkel's attendance on Friday, a day after the German parliament approved a motion endorsing the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration and emphasizing that the non-binding agreement doesn't change German law.

That motion passed 372-153, with 141 abstentions. The pact has been opposed loudly by the far-right Alternative for Germany and also has drawn reservations from some in Merkel's conservative bloc.

Several countries, including the United States, Hungary, Austria, Israel and Poland, have said that they won't back the accord, to be approved at the conference in Marrakech.

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12:40 p.m.

A Spanish humanitarian aid organization says it has put a medical team aboard a fishing vessel stranded at sea for a week after it rescued 12 migrants in the Mediterranean.

Open Arms said in a tweet Friday the medics are giving check-ups to the migrants, two of whom it described as minors.

The plight of the Nuestra Senora de Loreto trawler has deepened in recent days, with the Spanish government saying it is concerned about the lack of food and fuel on board amid worsening weather.

The Spanish government is trying to persuade Italy or Malta to let it dock. Those countries have rejected the appeal because the rescue took place in Libyan waters.

European Union countries have been at odds over who should take in migrants from North Africa.

Migrants stand on the deck of the Nuestra Madre de Loreto Spanish fishing vessel carrying 12 migrants rescued off the coast of Lybia on Friday, Nov. 30, 2018. Meanwhile, Spanish officials say they have rescued about 650 migrants from 16 boats crossing the Mediterranean from North Africa to Europe on Thursday, finding one dead woman among them. (AP Photo/Javier Fergo)

The Nuestra Madre de Loreto Spanish fishing vessel carrying 12 migrants rescued off the coast of Lybia, sails to meet with the Spanish NGO Proactiva Open Arms vessel in order to obtain medical attention for some of the migrants on Friday, Nov. 30, 2018. Meanwhile, Spanish officials say they have rescued about 650 migrants from 16 boats crossing the Mediterranean from North Africa to Europe on Thursday, finding one dead woman among them. (AP Photo/Javier Fergo)

Pascual Dura, the capitain the Nuestra Madre de Loreto Spanish fishing vessel carrying 12 migrants rescued off the coast of Lybia, stands on the deck on Friday, Nov. 30, 2018. Meanwhile, Spanish officials say they have rescued about 650 migrants from 16 boats crossing the Mediterranean from North Africa to Europe on Thursday, finding one dead woman among them. (AP Photo/Javier Fergo)

The Nuestra Madre de Loreto Spanish fishing vessel carrying 12 migrants rescued off the coast of Lybia, sails to meet with the Spanish NGO Proactiva Open Arms vessel in order to obtain medical attention for some of the migrants on Friday, Nov. 30, 2018. Meanwhile, Spanish officials say they have rescued about 650 migrants from 16 boats crossing the Mediterranean from North Africa to Europe on Thursday, finding one dead woman among them. (AP Photo/Javier Fergo)

Migrants looks out from the Nuestra Madre de Loreto Spanish fishing vessel carrying 12 migrants rescued off the coast of Lybia on Friday, Nov. 30, 2018. Meanwhile, Spanish officials say they have rescued about 650 migrants from 16 boats crossing the Mediterranean from North Africa to Europe on Thursday, finding one dead woman among them. (AP Photo/Javier Fergo)

The Nuestra Madre de Loreto Spanish fishing vessel carrying 12 migrants rescued off the coast of Lybia, sails to meet with the Spanish NGO Proactiva Open Arms vessel in order to obtain medical attention for some of the migrants on Friday, Nov. 30, 2018. Meanwhile, Spanish officials say they have rescued about 650 migrants from 16 boats crossing the Mediterranean from North Africa to Europe on Thursday, finding one dead woman among them. (AP Photo/Javier Fergo)

Migrants sit on the deck of the Nuestra Madre de Loreto Spanish fishing vessel carrying 12 migrants rescued off the coast of Lybia on Friday, Nov. 30, 2018. Meanwhile, Spanish officials say they have rescued about 650 migrants from 16 boats crossing the Mediterranean from North Africa to Europe on Thursday, finding one dead woman among them. (AP Photo/Javier Fergo)
KOSTOLAC, Serbia (AP) - A foul smell permeates the air in this gray mining town. People rarely open their windows as thick smoke billows from the huge chimneys of Serbia's main coal-fired power station.

Things are only getting worse for residents living close to the Kostolac power plant complex in eastern Serbia, which is being expanded with a $715 million loan from a Chinese state bank and constructed by one of China's largest companies.

When U.S. President Donald Trump abruptly withdrew from the Paris agreement on tackling global climate change in 2017, China was seen as the champion in the battle to cut carbon emissions and prevent a global environmental catastrophe.

Experts say China is tackling pollution at home by implementing renewable energy projects and reducing the use of coal, by far the most polluting fossil fuel. But abroad, China is pursuing a different strategy.

Chinese companies are the world's largest investors in overseas coal plants. They are involved in building about a fifth of new coal-fired energy capacity around the world, mostly in the countries along its ambitious "Belt and Road" investment program, which is seen in the West as an attempt by China to globally increase its political and economic influence.

Beijing has issued guidelines on foreign investments, urging environmentally friendly practices. But a major worry is that the guidelines aren't binding and that the power stations are built mostly in developing states that have low pollution emission standards, or no set standards at all.

In this photo taken Wednesday, Oct. 3, 2018, smoke rises from the chimneys of Serbia's main coal-fired power station near Kostolac, Serbia. The Kostolac power plant complex in eastern Serbia is currently being expanded with a $715 million loan from a Chinese state bank and constructed by one of China's largest companies. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)

"The (Chinese) central government explicitly stipulated that all 'Belt and Road' initiative projects should be green and low-carbon projects," China's special representative for climate change affairs, Xie Zhenhua, said in Beijing. "Therefore, all projects underway introduced the most advanced technology to save resources and energy, and do its utmost to ensure emission reduction."

Huang Wei, a Greenpeace climate and energy activist, said China has "coal overcapacity" at home, so the market space there for coal power companies "is shrinking a lot," prompting Chinese construction companies to seek lucrative deals abroad.

"China is on the right track of fulfilling its domestic commitment on reducing carbon emissions. But its plan to invest in the 'Belt and Road' countries, especially infrastructure, could have a potentially big climate impact," she said.

"So far they (the Chinese government) define 'green' as complying with local environmental standards. We don't think that's enough, because a lot of the recipient countries have very low environmental standards. So I think it's up to China, both China and the recipient countries, to lift the standard," Huang said.

Experts say the Paris climate goals can only be met by cutting emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases to net zero by 2050.

But the Paris deal let countries set their own emissions targets. Some are on track, others aren't. Overall, the world is heading the wrong way.

Last week, the World Meteorological Organization said globally averaged concentrations of carbon dioxide reached a record in 2017, while the level of other heat-trapping gases such as methane and nitrous oxide also rose.

This year is expected to see another 2 percent increase in human-made emissions, as construction of coal-fired power plants like the one in Serbia continue while carbon-absorbing forests are felled faster than they can regrow.

Chinese construction workers wearing hard hats are building a huge chimney for the new "Kostolac B" Serbian power plant, which will be fueled by the light brown variety of coal called lignite - considered to be among the most heavily polluting fossil fuels. It produces huge amount of ash, which has to be carefully deposited on vast fields with water sprinklers to prevent the dust from being blown into the atmosphere or the nearby Danube River.

Serbian state power company EPS says the new 350 megawatt unit, to be operational by 2020, will meet the highest environmental standards. More than 70 percent of Serbia's energy comes from coal while the rest is from hydropower.

"What is very important to emphasize is that we are doing this project absolutely in accordance with European standards and Serbian laws," said Zeljko Lazovic, the plant's EPS project manager.

Energy analyst Misha Brkic said Serbia's government "is making a crucial mistake" by insisting on the use of coal as fuel to produce electricity instead of focusing on renewable energy.

"The chosen (Chinese) partner does have money and offers technology, but we as a country that wants to build power plants or renew and modernize the existing ones, we don't have enough experience and knowledge and sometimes also not enough sense for European standards," he said.

China Machinery Engineering Corporation, which is expanding the plant, has refused to comment despite repeated requests.

Residents living near the Kostolac plant say most of the pollution comes from the lignite ash field and the open-pit mine that will expand even further when the new plant starts production.

"When we wash our laundry, we leave it to dry and then in three days you see how white laundry becomes black laundry," said resident Dejan Grujic. "When winds are strong, it is a catastrophe."

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Dake Kang and Liu Zheng contributed to this story from Beijing.

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Read more stories on climate issues by The Associated Press at https://www.apnews.com/Climate

In this photo taken Wednesday, Oct. 3, 2018, mining machines work in the open cast mine near Kostolac, Serbia. The Kostolac power plant complex in eastern Serbia is currently being expanded with a $715 million loan from a Chinese state bank and constructed by one of China's largest companies. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)

In this photo taken Wednesday, Oct. 3, 2018, smoke rises from the chimney of Serbia's main coal-fired power station near Kostolac, Serbia. Chinese companies are the world's largest investors in overseas coal plants. They are involved in the building of about a fifth of new coal-fired energy capacity around the world, mostly in the countries along its ambitious "Belt and Road" investment program which is seen in the West as an attempt by China to globally increase its political and economic influence. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)

In this photo taken Thursday, Nov. 29, 2018, a chimney of Serbia's main coal-fired power station can be seen from the village of Drmno, Serbia. Chinese companies are the world's largest investors in overseas coal plants. They are involved in the building of about a fifth of new coal-fired energy capacity around the world, mostly in the countries along its ambitious "Belt and Road" investment program which is seen in the West as an attempt by China to globally increase its political and economic influence. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)

In this photo taken Wednesday, Oct. 3, 2018, a warning sign of existing high voltage at the fence of Serbia's main coal-fired power station near Kostolac, Serbia. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)

In this photo taken Wednesday, Oct. 3, 2018, workers prepare a new lignite excavator in the open cast mine near Kostolac, Serbia. The Kostolac power plant complex in eastern Serbia is currently being expanded with a $715 million loan from a Chinese state bank and constructed by one of China's largest companies. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)

In this photo taken Wednesday, Oct. 3, 2018, a new lignite excavator stands in the open cast mine near Kostolac, Serbia. The Kostolac power plant complex in eastern Serbia is currently being expanded with a $715 million loan from a Chinese state bank and constructed by one of China's largest companies. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)

In this photo taken Wednesday, Oct. 3, 2018, a plane flies over smoke emits from the chimneys of Serbia's main coal-fired power station near Kostolac, Serbia. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)

In this photo taken Wednesday, Oct. 3, 2018, a flock of pigeons flies over smoke emits from the chimneys of Serbia's main coal-fired power station near Kostolac, Serbia. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)

In this photo taken Wednesday, Oct. 3, 2018, a worker inspects works on huge chimney for the new, so-called "Kostolac Bloc 3" in Serbia's main coal-fired power station near Kostolac, Serbia. The Kostolac power plant complex in eastern Serbia is currently being expanded with a $715 million loan from a Chinese state bank and constructed by one of China's largest companies. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)

In this photo taken Wednesday, Oct. 3, 2018, workers prepare a new lignite excavator in the open cast mine near Kostolac, Serbia. The Kostolac power plant complex in eastern Serbia is currently being expanded with a $715 million loan from a Chinese state bank and constructed by one of China's largest companies. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)

In this photo taken Wednesday, Oct. 3, 2018, a bird flies past as smoke emits from the chimneys of Serbia's main coal-fired power station near Kostolac, Serbia. Chinese companies are currently involved in the construction of about a fifth of the new coal-fired energy capacity around the world, mostly in countries along its ambitious "Belt and Road" investment program that is seen in the West as China's attempt to globally increase its zone of political and economic influence. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)

In this photo taken Wednesday, Oct. 3, 2018, a sign of the new, so-called "Kostolac Bloc 3" at the fence of Serbia's main coal-fired power station near Kostolac, Serbia. The Kostolac power plant complex in eastern Serbia is currently being expanded with a $715 million loan from a Chinese state bank and constructed by one of China's largest companies. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)

In this photo taken Thursday, Nov. 29, 2018, a chimney of Serbia's main coal-fired power station are seen from the village of Drmno, Serbia. Chinese companies are currently involved in the construction of about a fifth of the new coal-fired energy capacity around the world, mostly in countries along its ambitious "Belt and Road" investment program that is seen in the West as China's attempt to globally increase its zone of political and economic influence. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)

In this photo taken Wednesday, Oct. 3, 2018, workers prepare a new lignite excavator in the open cast mine near Kostolac, Serbia. Chinese companies are currently involved in the construction of about a fifth of the new coal-fired energy capacity around the world, mostly in countries along its ambitious "Belt and Road" investment program that is seen in the West as China's attempt to globally increase its zone of political and economic influence. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)
CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) - A pair of Venezuelan opposition leaders urged the Bank of England on Friday not to hand over $550 million worth of gold sought by President Nicolas Maduro, saying officials in the South American country would either steal the gold or use it to finance its dictatorial government.

In a letter to the bank, former National Assembly president Julio Borges and opposition party leader Carlos Vecchio said Maduro's socialist administration would pocket the last 14 tons of the Venezuelan gold in the bank's vaults or use it to illegally imprison and kill its opponents.

It reminded the bank that the United States, United Kingdom and many European countries consider Maduro's government illegitimate following his re-election this year in what was widely considered a fraudulent vote.

"Maduro is not the legitimate owner of the gold," the letter said. "Without doubt the intention of Maduro and his regime is to steal these resources that rightly belong to the people."

Borges and Vecchio both live in self-imposed exile, saying they fear for their safety in Venezuela.

The Bank of England and Venezuela's communications ministry didn't immediately respond to requests for comment by The Associated Press.

FILE - In this March 1, 2018 file photo, members of a military agency that transports valuables put gold bars into an armored vehicle to be taken to Venezuela's Central Bank, at the Carlota military airport in Caracas, Venezuela. A pair of Venezuelan opposition leaders urged the Bank of England Friday, Nov. 30, 2018, not to hand over $550 million worth of gold sought by President Nicolas Maduro, saying officials in the South American country would either steal the gold or use it to finance its dictatorial government.(AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos, File)

As the economic crisis mounts in cash-strapped Venezuela, Maduro increasingly relies on gold to make up for plummeting crude oil production. The once-wealthy oil nation is beset by scarce food supplies that have driven masses to flee Venezuela seeking a better life.

The Trump administration recently ratcheted up sanctions against Venezuela, targeting the country's gold sector by prohibiting U.S. citizens and entities from financial involvement in the trade.

That was the latest round of U.S. sanctions already targeting Maduro and dozens in his administration as well as blocking Venezuela from access to U.S. financial markets.

In 2017, Borges was instrumental in rallying Wall Street against buying Venezuelan debt. He sent more than a dozen letters to international investors saying they risked their reputations by throwing a lifeline to Maduro.

The letter to the Bank of England says that allowing Maduro to repatriate the gold would further breach the bank's legal obligation to prevent money laundering and corruption spelled out by law.
WASHINGTON (AP) - The U.S. plans to cut the number of active-duty troops along the border with Mexico but extend the unusual deployment for another 45 days, U.S. officials said Friday.

Overall troop levels assigned to assist the Department of Homeland Security with border enforcement will drop from 5,600 to about 4,000 under a new proposal from the agency to the Pentagon.

Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis was traveling and had not yet signed off on the plan but the Pentagon has been working with DHS on the request and it is expected to get approval, said the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

President Donald Trump ordered the unusual deployment of active-duty troops to the border in response to a caravan of Central American migrants walking north toward the U.S. Critics dismissed the deployment as a political stunt ahead of the midterm elections

Most of the troops have been deployed in Texas, far from where the migrants eventually arrived in Tijuana, along the southern border with California. Soldiers have strung vast amounts of concertina wire and transported Border Patrol agents but have not been engaged in any law enforcement activities, which would be prohibited under U.S. law.

The initial deployment was scheduled to end Dec. 15, but Mattis and other officials had said it could be extended. The new order extends it for 45 days while still allowing about 1,600 troops to return home.

A U.S. Border Patrol detains Honduran migrants after they walked onto U.S territory from Tijuana, Mexico, Friday, Nov. 30, 2018. Thousands of migrants who traveled via a caravan members want to seek asylum in the U.S. but may have to wait months because the U.S. government only processes about 100 of those cases a day at the San Ysidro border crossing in San Diego. (AP Photo/Felix Marquez)

U.S. officials described the new request on condition of anonymity to discuss internal deliberations that had not yet been approved.

A Pentagon spokesman, Lt. Col. Jamie Davis, said the new DHS proposal "refines" the military support so "it remains aligned with the current threat," but declined to give details.

DHS issued a similar statement, citing the "ongoing threat at our southern border."

Homeland Security officials said Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen has also reached out for assistance from other federal agencies.

Politico reported Friday that Nielsen requested help from other departments - , including State, Labor, Energy, Transportation, Interior and Justice - to determine whether they have law enforcement personnel they can send to the border.

"The President has made it clear that border security is a top administration priority. In line with the President's direction and given the very real threat we face at the border from potential mass migration actions - of course, DHS has reached out for assistance from partners across the federal government to defend our sovereignty, protect our frontline men and women, and secure our border," spokeswoman Katie Waldman said.

U.S. officials said the troops at the border will provide support and protection for Border Patrol agents and continue to install and repair wire barriers. In addition, more troops are expected to shift from Texas and Arizona to California.

As of Friday, 2,400 troops were deployed in Texas, 1,800 in California and 1,400 in Arizona.

The troops at the border include combat engineers who can install and repair the concertina wire barriers, helicopter crews to provide transportation, and military police along with other service members who provide support for the troops.

As of last week, the cost of using troops to help secure the border was estimated at $210 million, but this extension is likely to increase that figure.

That total included $72 million for approximately 5,900 active-duty troops providing support to Customs and Border Protection, plus $138 million so far for 2,100 National Guard troops who have been performing a separate border mission since April, according to a report sent to Congress early last week.

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Associated Press reporter Colleen Long contributed to this report.
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) - The Latest on the earthquake in Alaska (all times local):

5:25 p.m.

A city official says thousands of residents remain without electricity after a powerful earthquake shook parts of Alaska.

Anchorage Municipal Manager Bill Falsey said Friday that progress was being made restoring power and utilities aren't expecting protracted outages.

Falsey also said city workers were responding to reports of 28 mainline water breaks and dozens of requests to cut off residential service because of flooding.

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An employee walks past a damaged aisle at Anchorage True Value hardware store after an earthquake, Friday morning, Nov. 30, 2018, in Anchorage, Alaska. Tim Craig, owner of the south Anchorage store, said no one was injured but hundreds of items hit the floor and two shelves collapsed in a stock room. (AP Photo/Dan Joling)

4:30 p.m.

Alaska Gov. Bill Walker says it will take more than a week or two to repair roads damaged by the powerful earthquake.

"This is much more significant than that," he told reporters Friday at a news conference.

Walker leaves office Monday and says he advised the incoming administration of what his staff has been doing to take care of Alaskans affected by the quake.

He said members of Gov.-elect Mike Dunleavy's staff had been involved with the earthquake response to further ensure a smooth transition.

Walker said says he has spoken to President Donald Trump and the White House has offered to help. But he didn't say what help he had requested other than a disaster declaration.

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2:40 p.m.

A state official says Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport is open and operating at reduced capacity with delayed flights following back-to-back earthquakes.

Alaska transportation and public facilities spokeswoman Meadow Bailey said Friday that no injuries were reported at the airport but light fixtures, water pipes and windows broke in the shaking.

Bailey advised travelers to check with airlines about flight information.

She says some roads in the Anchorage area, including some leading to the airport, are impassible, and drivers should follow detour signs to drop off and pick up passengers at taxi and shuttle bus queues.

Bailey says most airport elevators and escalators have returned to service.

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2:30 p.m.

Alaska Gov. Bill Walker surveyed Anchorage and nearby areas from the air in an Alaska National Guard Black Hawk helicopter to evaluate critical infrastructure damage after a major earthquake struck the state.

State Department of Transportation staff flew another Black Hawk to assess roads in and out of Anchorage.

The governor plans to hold a news conference later Friday.

An Air National Guard aircraft is available for search and rescue.

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1:25 p.m.

Gov. Bill Walker says he was in an office building elevator when an earthquake rocked Anchorage and southcentral Alaska and caused widespread damage.

Walker said Friday he's surprised the elevator did not get stuck. He says lights on the control board were blinking and things were falling from the ceiling.

Walker was a child during the magnitude 9.2 Good Friday earthquake that hit in 1964, devastating his hometown of Valdez. He said he wondered if Friday's quake "could be the one."

He says he spoke with President Trump and was assured by the White House that help was on the way.

He said water pipes at his own home broke and he stopped there briefly to shut off valves.

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12:30 p.m.

Scientists say the damaging Alaska earthquake and aftershocks occurred on a type of fault in which one side moves down and away from the other side.

Seismologist Lucy Jones told reporters Friday at the California Institute of Technology that the fault is within the Pacific tectonic plate that is diving under Alaska, a mechanism that produces the largest earthquakes in the U.S.

Jones says the type of damage being reported is not surprising.

She says the area in which the quake occurred has loose sediments containing lots of water and when the ground moves it creates liquefaction, or "temporary quicksand."

Jones says liquefaction can cause damage to structures because the ground moves out from beneath them.

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12:25 p.m.

Tim Craig, an owner of Anchorage True Value Hardware in south Anchorage, says the quake knocked hundreds of items onto the floor and caused two stockroom shelves to become unbolted from the wall and collapse.

No one was hurt. Six off-duty employees, and some customers, offered to help clean up after the earthquake hit Friday morning.

Craig and his wife were driving to the store when the quake hit and he says their car was bouncing.

An overhead traffic signal bobbing over their heads caused immediate concern and his wife pulled over because she was worried it would fall.

The quake knocked out numerous stoplights, snarling traffic in downtown Anchorage.

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12:20 p.m.

April Pearce was at her desk at work in the assessor's office in the small city of Soldotna and started filming once she realized the rumbling of the Alaska earthquake was the start of something big.

In the video, the murmurs of her colleagues can be heard as filing cabinets jostle.

Pearce says: "Holy smokes."

She says in an email later that people were gasping and panicking and called the event "spooky."

Her home escaped major damage, but some Christmas decorations fell down.

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12:05 p.m.

Fifteen-year-old Sadie Blake and other members of the Homer High School wrestling team were at an Anchorage school gymnasium waiting for a tournament to start when the earthquake hit.

She says the bleachers started rocking "like crazy" and then the lights went out. People ran the bleachers in the pitch dark, trying to get out.

Team chaperone Ginny Grimes says Tuesday's quake created "a gym full of screams."

By the time it was over, Sadie was still in the gym and says she started crying while hanging out in a nearby mall with her team.

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12 p.m

Molly McCammon says was at home waiting for a work teleconference when the quake started.

She says she's lived in Alaska 45 years and called Friday's earthquake "worst earthquake I've ever been in."

McCammon had taken a tour Thursday of the Anchorage Emergency Operations Center in her role as a member of the Cook Inlet Regional Citizens Advisory Council. One of the topics was earthquake preparation.

She says: "Then it happens the next day."

McCammon says the quake reminded her how much more emergency preparation she needs to do. She plans to sign up for an emergency alert system and make sure she has an emergency kit on hand.

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11:45 a.m.

Anchorage Police Chief Justin Doll says he's been told parts of a scenic highway that heads from Anchorage toward mountains and glaciers have sunken and "completely disappeared" following the earthquake.

He says officials are evaluating the damage to the Glenn Highway but some was so significant that it will probably "take a long time to repair."

Doll also said Friday that there has been damage reported to bridges.

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11:40 a.m.

President Donald Trump has tweeted that the federal government "will spare no expense" helping Alaska following the 7.0-magnitude earthquake that shook Anchorage.

Trump on Friday tweeted "you have been hit hard by a 'big one'" and asked residents to follow officials' directions.

Former vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin tweeted that her family is OK but said her "house is not." She did not elaborate but said the thinks "that's the case for many, many others."

The police chief and the mayor of Anchorage said they were unaware of any reports of deaths of injuries after the quake shook buildings and opened up crevices and cracks in roads.

Anchorage Fire Department Jodie Hettrick says there were reports of buildings collapsing but she did not have further details.

-This version corrects that the earthquake happened Friday, not Tuesday.

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11:20 a.m.

Anchorage Police Chief Justin Doll says he is unaware of reports of deaths or serious injuries following the earthquake that rocked the state's largest city.

Doll made the statement to reporters Friday after the quake shook buildings and damaged road infrastructure.

It was felt 350 miles (560 kilometers) away in Fairbanks.

- This version corrects that the earthquake happened Friday, not Tuesday.

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11:05 a.m.

The Alaska Railroad has suspended all operations amid "severe" damage at their Anchorage Operations Center and unknown track conditions throughout the state.

External Affairs Manager Tim Sullivan says the operations center lost power and is experiencing flooding following the quake Friday that rocked Anchorage and surrounding areas.

He says: "It's tough to run trains when you have no dispatch."

Sullivan says no reports of track damage have yet been reported, but it will take a day or two for staff to fully assess conditions. Until the tracks are cleared for use, all railroad operations will are suspended, Sullivan said.

The quake was felt 350 miles (560 kilometers) away in Fairbanks.

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10: 55 a.m.

The operators of the 800-mile (1,290-kilometer) long trans-Alaska pipeline said they shut the system down as a precaution following the earthquake in southcentral Alaska.

Michelle Egan is a spokeswoman with Alyeska (Al-ee-es-kuh) Pipeline Service Company.

She says there is no known damage to the pipeline.

She says data will be assessed at an operations center and a physical inspection of the line will be performed.

She says pipeline can be restarted before the physical assessment is complete.

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10:45 a.m.

The Providence Alaska Medical Center in Anchorage says it has canceled elective surgeries and that the hospital experienced multiple water leaks.

The hospital says in a statement that there was not a large influx of patients after the quake rocked Anchorage Friday morning.

There were no reports of serious injuries or deaths and there were no reports of injuries at the hospital.

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10:40 a.m.

The Federal Aviation Administration says operations have stopped at Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport following the earthquake that rocked buildings and damaged roads.

FAA spokesman Allen Kenitzer in Washington state said Friday it's not known when inbound flights will resume and that travelers should check with their airlines.

Kenitzer and Alaska transportation spokeswoman Meadow Bailey say telephone service is out at the airport.

The FAA spokesman says the airport tower was evacuated and flights that could be diverted were being sent to Kodiak.

He says inbound international flights to Anchorage were being guided by controllers at a regional radar approach facility.

Alaska Gov. Bill Walker tweeted that he has issued a disaster declaration.

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10:30 a.m.

The White House says President Donald Trump has been briefed about the earthquake that rocked Anchorage, causing damage to buildings and infrastructure.

Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders tweeted Friday that Trump is monitoring the reports of damage.

Trump is in Argentina at the Group of 20 summit.

Huckabee adds: "We are praying for the safety of all Alaskans."

There have been no immediate reports of serious injuries or deaths following the 7.0-magnitude earthquake.

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10:20 a.m.

The earthquake that shook Anchorage and damaged roadways also knocked many traffic lights out of service and has snarled traffic.

Jeremy Zidek, a spokesman for the state's Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management, said the earthquake also disrupted some communications and electrical service.

The Anchorage School District cancelled classes for its more than 100 schools and asked parents to pick up their kids when they could.

The district wants to examine its buildings for potential damage and check for any potential gas leaks.

State government offices in Anchorage were also closed so officials could assess damage.

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10:10 a.m.

Officials have canceled a tsunami warning for coastal areas of southern Alaska following the 7.0-magnitude earthquake that shook Anchorage.

National Tsunami Warning Center senior technician Michael Burgy said the tsunami warning was automatically generated,

Officials monitored gauges to see if any underwater landslides would generate tsunami waves.

Because there were none, the warning was canceled.

Police had told residents of the island community of Kodiak to head to higher ground.

The quake damaged buildings in Anchorage and buckled roads and sent people running into the streets.

There were no immediate reports of serious injuries or deaths.

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9:55 a.m.

Police in Alaska's island community of Kodiak say residents are heeding advice to head to higher ground because of a tsunami warning issued after a 7.0-magnitude earthquake shook Anchorage.

Kodiak has about 6,000 residents and the city is about 250 miles (400 kilometers) south of Anchorage.

The tsunami warning issued by the National Tsunami Warning Center in Palmer, Alaska, was automatically generated following the Friday morning temblor.

Senior center technician Michael Burgy says gauges are being monitored to determine if any underwater landslides have generated tsunami waves.

If there are none, the warning will be canceled.

The warning could be expanded if concrete data is received about waves that have been generated.

___

9:40 a.m.

Brandon Slaton was alone and home and soaking in the bathtub when the Alaska earthquake struck.

Slaton just moved to Kenai, Alaska with his wife from Arizona and had never felt an earthquake before the 7.0 magnitude temblor hit on Friday morning.

Slaton says the quake created a powerful back-and-forth sloshing in the bathtub and before he knew it, he'd been thrown out of the tub by the force of the waves.

His 120-pound (54-kilogram mastiff panicked and tried to run down the stairs, but the house was swaying back and forth so much that she was thrown off her feet and into a wall and tumbled to the base of the stairs.

Slaton says: "It was anarchy. There's no pictures left on the walls, there's no power, there's no fish tank left. Everything that's not tied down is broke."

Slaton ran into his son's room after the shaking stopped and found his fish tank shattered and the fish on the closet floor, gasping for breath.

He grabbed the Betta fish and put it in another bowl.

He says the area was eerily quiet. His children, 11 and 16, were evacuated from school.

___

This version corrects that the earthquake happened Friday, not Tuesday.

___

9:35 a.m.

Police in Alaska's Kodiak island community have told residents to head to higher ground amid the tsunami threat from the earthquake that rocked buildings in Anchorage, caused damage to roads and sent office workers running out to the streets.

Kodiak is an island about 200 miles (321 kilometers) south of Anchorage.

The U.S. Geological Survey said it was a 7.0-magnitude quake and tsunami warnings were issued for southern Alaska coastal areas.

___

9:25 a.m.

Photographs posted to social media sites showed damage that included collapsed ceiling tiles at an Anchorage high school and buckled roadway pavement in places.

Cereal boxes and packages of batteries littered the floor of a grocery store after the earthquake Tuesday morning that rocked buildings in Alaska's largest city, and picture frames and mirrors were knocked from living room walls.

Alaska averages 40,000 earthquakes per year, with more large quakes than the other 49 states combined.

Southern Alaska has a high risk of earthquakes due to tectonic plates sliding past each other under the region. According to the U.S. Geological Survey, the Pacific plate is sliding northwestward and plunges beneath the North American plate in southern Alaska, the Alaska Peninsula and the Aleutian Islands.

On March 27, 1964, Alaska was hit by a magnitude 9.2 earthquake, the strongest recorded in U.S. history, centered about 75 miles (120 kilometers) east of Anchorage. The quake, which lasted about 4 minutes, and the tsunami it triggered claimed about 130 lives.

___

9:20 a.m.

Anchorage lawyer Justin Capp says he was getting ready for work when he felt the shaking start.

He grabbed on to the doorframe in the hallway and the door slammed into his hands, scraping his fingers and hand.

Capp says he's lived in Anchorage eight years and that Friday's quake was the worst he had experienced.

Another lawyer, Hank Graper, was driving when the quake struck. He first thought his vehicle had a flat tire, then thought it was exploding. He realized it was an earthquake after he saw traffic poles swaying.

Graper called it the most "violent" earthquake he's experience in his 20 years in Anchorage.

The U.S. Geological Survey initially said it was a 6.7 magnitude earthquake and later boosted the magnitude to 7.0.

- Corrects that earthquake happened Friday, not Tuesday.

___

8:55 a.m.

The National Tsunami Warning Center has issued a tsunami warning for coastal zones of southern Alaska following an earthquake that rocked buildings in downtown Anchorage.

The center said Friday that the warning was in effect for parts of the state's Cook Inlet and the southern Kenai peninsula.

The warning means tsunami waves are expected.

The U.S. Geological Survey initially said it was a 6.7 magnitude earthquake and then reduced that to 6.6.

The quake was centered about 7 miles (12 kilometers) north of Alaska's largest city.

___

8:45 a.m.

A 6.6 magnitude earthquake has rocked buildings in Anchorage and caused lamp posts and trees to sway, prompting people to run out of offices and seek shelter under office desks.

The U.S. Geological Survey says the earthquake Friday morning was centered about 7 miles (12 kilometers) north of Alaska's largest city.

An Associated Press reporter working in downtown Anchorage saw cracks in a 2-story building after the quake. It was unclear whether there were injuries.

People went back inside buildings after the earthquake but a smaller aftershock a short time later sent them running back into the streets again.

A tow truck holds a car that was pulled from on an off-ramp that collapsed during a morning earthquake on Friday, Nov. 30, 2018, in Anchorage, Alaska. The driver was not injured attempting to exit Minnesota Drive at International Airport Road. Back-to-back earthquakes measuring 7.0 and 5.8 rocked buildings and buckled roads Friday morning in Anchorage, prompting people to run from their offices or seek shelter under office desks, while a tsunami warning had some seeking higher ground. (AP Photo/Mike Dinneen)

A customer at Anchorage True Value hardware store shops in the partially cleaned-up paint aisle after an earthquake Friday morning, Nov. 30, 2018, in Anchorage, Alaska. Tim Craig, owner of the south Anchorage store, said no one was injured but hundreds of items hit the floor and two shelves collapsed in a stock room. (AP Photo/Dan Joling)

Cars line up for gas at an open station in Anchorage, Friday, Nov. 30, 2018. Back-to-back earthquakes measuring 7.0 and 5.8 rocked buildings and buckled roads Friday morning in Anchorage, prompting people to run from their offices or seek shelter under office desks, while a tsunami warning had some seeking higher ground. (AP Photo/Mark Thiessen)

Highway workers and spectators look at a car stuck on a section of an off-ramp that collapsed during an earthquake Friday morning, Nov. 30, 2018 in Anchorage, Alaska. The driver was not injured attempting to exit Minnesota Drive at International Airport Road. Back-to-back earthquakes measuring 7.0 and 5.8 rocked buildings and buckled roads Friday morning in Anchorage, prompting people to run from their offices or seek shelter under office desks, while a tsunami warning had some seeking higher ground. (AP Photo/Dan Joling)

A car is trapped on a collapsed section of the offramp of Minnesota Drive in Anchorage, Friday, Nov. 30, 2018. Back-to-back earthquakes measuring 7.0 and 5.8 rocked buildings and buckled roads Friday morning in Anchorage, prompting people to run from their offices or seek shelter under office desks, while a tsunami warning had some seeking higher ground. (AP Photo/Dan Joling)

Staff begin the clean up process after an earthquake caused damage at the Alaska Institute of Oriental Medicine in Anchorage, Alaska on Friday, Nov. 30, 2018. Back-to-back earthquakes measuring 7.0 and 5.8 rocked buildings and buckled roads Friday morning in Anchorage, prompting people to run from their offices or seek shelter under office desks, while a tsunami warning had some seeking higher ground. (AP Photo/Mike Dinneen)

A car is trapped on a collapsed section of the offramp of Minnesota Drive in Anchorage, Friday, Nov. 30, 2018. Back-to-back earthquakes measuring 7.0 and 5.8 rocked buildings and buckled roads Friday morning in Anchorage, prompting people to run from their offices or seek shelter under office desks, while a tsunami warning had some seeking higher ground. (AP Photo/Dan Joling)

Dennis Keeling measures for a broken window at an auto parts store in Anchorage, on Friday, Nov. 30, 2018. Back-to-back earthquakes measuring 7.0 and 5.8 rocked buildings and buckled roads Friday morning in Anchorage, prompting people to run from their offices or seek shelter under office desks, while a tsunami warning had some seeking higher ground. (AP Photo/Mike Dinneen)

A car is trapped on a collapsed section of the offramp in Anchorage, Friday, Nov. 30, 2018. Back-to-back earthquakes measuring 7.0 and 5.8 rocked buildings and buckled roads Friday morning in Anchorage, prompting people to run from their offices or seek shelter under office desks, while a tsunami warning had some seeking higher ground. (AP Photo
The Mexican government has presented US President Donald Trumps son-in-law and White House adviser Jared Kushner with the Order of the Aztec Eagle, the highest honour the country gives to foreigners.

Mr Kushner earned the honour for his work on renegotiating a new trade agreement signed by Mexico, the US and Canada on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Argentina, Mexicos Foreign Relations Department said.

It replaces the North American Free Trade Agreement.

Mexican President Enrique Pena Neto awards Jared Kushner the Order of the Aztec Eagle (Pablo Martinez Monsivais/AP)

Mr Kushner, who has been working on US-Mexico issues, said relations have improved because the countries decided not to work across the table, but on the same side to craft win-win solutions to migration, drug trafficking and abuse, and other issues plaguing relations.

He said there is a strong level of trust between the US and Mexico, despite news reports citing clashes between the neighbours.

The award has caused uproar in Mexico, where many are angry over Mr Trumps insulting comments about Mexicans.

Prominent Mexican historian Enrique Krauze called the decision to give Mr Kushner the award an act of supreme humiliation and cowardice.
Actress Sanya Malhotra says working with Nawazuddin Siddiqui in her forthcoming release "Photograph" has been a huge thing for her as it gave her the opportunity to work with her favorite actor.

"I started shooting for 'Photograph' right after 'Dangal' so, it's really special for me," said Sanya interacting with the media at fashion designer Ritu Kumar's store launch on Thursday here.

"It was my second film, though 'Patakha' (by Vishal Bhardwaj) got released after 'Dangal'. I had really good experience working with Ritesh Batra and Nawaz sir. It was a huge thing for me to work with Nawaz sir because he is my favorite actor," she added.

"Initially, I was a bit nervous working with him. But then I watched all his interviews to know how he prepares for his roles so that I could chill out working alongside.

"When he used to come on the set, he would leave his starry vibes back at home. He was this completely transformed -- like totally into his character. I got to learn a lot from him," said the actress, who was last seen in "Badhaai Ho".

"Photograph" revolves around a struggling street photographer (Nawazuddin), pressured to marry by his grandmother. He convinces a shy stranger to pose as his fiancee. The pair develops a connection that transforms them.

The film will be premiering at Sundance Film Festival 2019. "I is very exciting news," she said.

Sanya along with Fatima Sana Shaikh made their Hindi film debut in "Dangal" alongside Aamir Khan. Fatima's second wasv "Thugs of Hindostan".

While "Thugs..." failed to impress, Sanya's "Badhaai Ho" has crossed Rs 100 crore at the box-office and has entered its 6th week at the theatres.

She said she was happy with the outcome but stayed clear of the comparison.

"The kind love and appreciation we have been receiving for the film is really amazing. It's the 6th week and still drawing audiences to the theatres," she said.

"Photograph" is written and directed by Ritesh Batrra, who is alos a co-producer along with Voila Fugen, Neil Kopp, Anish Savjani and Michael Weber.

The 2019 edition of Sundance Film Festival will be held at Park City, Utah in the US from January 24 to February 3, 2019.

Image Instagrammed by @sanyamalhotra_
The Trinamool Congress and the BJP had been indulging in competitive communalism to make up for their political and ideological bankruptcy, the Left Front leadership on Thursday said after staging an impressive return from a long political hibernation during which they shed their vast ground to a rising BJP and failed even to find candidates for this years panchayat elections.

Both the BJP and the Trinamool Congress are cheating the people of the State by indulging in competitive communalism and sending the real issues concerning the people on the backburner, CPI(M) State secretary and politburo member Surya Kanto Mishra told a massive rally in Kolkata at the end of a two-day long march organized by the All-India Kisan Sabha.

In an apparent bid to recover its lost ground in Bengal, once a hardcore Red bastion the Left Front had on Wednesday returned to Singur from where its downslide began more than a decade ago thanks to then Opposition leader Mamata Banerjees relentless movement against forcible occupation of agricultural lands to set up the Tata Nano factory in this fertile block of Hooghly district.

Aware that Singur has got nothing but failed promises for siding with Mamata Banerjee in a suicidal movement that sent the States industrial prospects to grave, the Left leadership resorted to a long march comprising several thousand farmers that traversed over two days a good 50 km in support for a host of demands.

Singur was the original site for Tata Motors Nano small car factory that was planned in 2006 when the CPI (M)-led Government was in power in the State.

But after massive protests led by TMC (that eventually catapulted Banerjee to power), the company shifted the plant to Sanand in Gujarat in 2008. Subsequently the Supreme Court decided in favour of restoration of the land to its original state. The demands included: setting up either an industry in the erstwhile Nano lands at Singur or helping the farmers to make the abandoned fully cultivable, correct procurement price for agricultural produce, pension for farmers who had crossed the age of 60 etc and steady industrialisation of Bengal etc.
External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on Friday met with Regis Immongault, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Gabon during which the two discussed ways to strengthen the bilateral ties, an official statement said.

During the meeting, both the sides discussed issues of bilateral and regional interest including combating terrorism and development partnership, the statement by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said.

The importance of enhancement of bilateral trade and investment was also emphasised in the meeting. The two sides agreed to identify priority projects in the areas of mutual cooperation to be undertaken with the support of Government of India's concessional lines of credit, it said.

The total value of bilateral trade in 2017-18 stood at USD 440.47 million.

Oil India Limited, a public sector undertaking, is the operator of an onshore exploration block in Gabon. PTI
Envoys of partner countries, CEOs of global firms and experts in the field of agriculture today applauded the initiatives taken by the Government of Jharkhand in the leadership of Chief Minister Raghubar Das to promote agriculture and provide logistic and technical support to the rural agriculturists in their speeches during the first Global Agriculture and Food Summit that kicked off here on Thursday.

Speaking on the occasion Maya Kadosh, Charge D Affaires, Embassy of Israel, said that the work being done in the field of agriculture is invigorating. She said that Israel in collaboration with Jharkhand is working on increasing productivity by using latest technology in agriculture and water management.

She said that a lot of work is already happening in the State and with the prospects of food processing, use of latest technology and sharing of new ideas in the field of agriculture the State can be a huge producer of agro-products.

Ambassador of Mongolia, Gonchig Ganbold said that his country is one of the smallest democracies in the world and it has worked a lot in the field of agriculture. He said that the government in Jharkhand is working with several investors in the field of agriculture and this will help increase the income of the farmers. He said that the summit is going to be a milestone for agriculture development in the State.

Vice President, Coca Cola, India, Ishteyaq Ahmed said on the occasion that the State of Jharkhand has umpteen opportunities in food processing industry, which need to be utilised by the farmers. Lauding the efforts of the government, he said that the company will help in possible way to promote agriculture and food processing in the State.

Niti Ayog CEO Amitabh Kant congratulated the people of Jharkhand for registering 19 per cent growth in agriculture in just four years. He said that the State has registered 83 per cent growth in fish production in just four years. He encouraged farmers of the State to adopt dairy farming, fisheries, organic farming to increase their income and hoped that the kind of efforts the government is putting in will result in four times increase in the income of farmers of the State. Kant said that the kind of transformation the lives of farmers in Jharkhand has undergone is not seen in any other State of the country in last four years.

Deputy Director General, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs of China, Song Joguo said that the global summit is a beautiful platform for the farmers and industries involved in agriculture. He said that it is pleasure to be a partner country in the summit and they will work jointly to protect the interest of developing countries.

Meanwhile, Business Head, SAFAL, Pradipta Sahu said that the kind of cooperation they have received in Jharkhand is not available anywhere. We offered to set up a plant here in the year 2016 and within 30 days we were made available the required land. Within a year we set up a plant here investing Rs 100 crore. Now we are exporting peas and American Sweet corn from here. In coming days we have aimed to set up a plant for processing of one lakh tonnes of tomato with the help of 50,000 farmers, he said.

Deputy Chief of Mission, Embassy of Philippines Arvin De Leon said on the occasion that agriculture is backbone of food security. He said that the summit will open doors for collaboration between Philippines and Jharkhand and next time they will have bigger delegation here for mutual cooperation in the field of agriculture.
Bhilai Steel Plant (BSP), the flagship unit of the public sector Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL), held a Safety Leadership Workshop in Bhilai and discussed in details how to avoid industrial accidents.

BSP had hit headlines last month when its 13 workers were charred to death and several others critically injured in a gas pipeline blast. Following the blast, the production at the plant was halted as hundreds of workers had refused to resume work complaining about poor safety measures.

The accident had also pulled down shares of SAIL and the steel giant has now decided to restore its image by improving safety standards with an exclusive Safety Leadership Workshop programme.

The Management of Bhilai Steel Plant has taken several positive steps for promotion of safety. Rs Rs A Safety Leadership Workshop was held on Friday for the top officials of BSP in the auditorium of Human Resource Development Center, this important workshop was held by the Safety Engineering Department of the plant a press release of the BSP informed.

KK Dwivedi, Deputy Director (Industrial Health and Safety) Chhattisgarh government graced the occasion as the chief guest while SK Khairul Basar, Executive Director (Materials Management) was present as special guest. Surendra Singh, General Manager (Safety and Fire Services) was also present.

Geoffrey Dean Kurie, Chief Health, Safety and Environment Officer of Vedanta Group of BALCO at Korba in Chhattisgarh was specially invited to address this high level workshop. Kurie, who hails from Australia, is widely recognised as an expert of safety principles. He has played a leading role in improving safety management of various institutions.

Kurie has also played important role in the development of safety management in South Asia. He has prepared road safety programs for India and is widely known as a world-class safety strategist.

Surendra Singh welcomed the participants and said, Rs Rs leadership has an important role in safety management. It is leadership decisions that make it possible for creation of a safe environment. We will learn a lot from Kuries rich and wide experience, which will enable us to strive for achieving the goal of zero accident.

In his address, KK Dwivedi said, Rs Rs human beings are conscious of security since birth, but over time, they start becoming overconfident. Because of which they invite accidents by taking unnecessary risks. Hence, it is up-to the leadership to stop such recklessness and encourage safe behaviour.

Starting with this very high level workshop in a very interesting manner, Geoffrey Dean Kurie said that the business performance of institutions that improve their safety performance, is also excellent.

It is the work of every leader that he prepares the atmosphere to create a safe environment for work in the department. By which safety becomes part of our work culture. A leader should never compromise on safety. Leadership should not only be displayed in speeches on safety, but it also has to be displayed in our daily behaviour and everyday activities. We should remember that with safe production, we can scale new peaks in business remarked Kurie.

At the end of the programme, GP Singh, Departmental Security Officer and DGM (Instrumentation) proposed the vote of thanks. The workshop was conducted by Shovan Ghosh of Safety Engineering department.
Alcatel Lucent SA is a provider of Internet protocol (IP) networking, ultra-broadband access and cloud technology solutions. The Company operates through two segments for the networks business. The Ultra Broadband Networks segment consists of Mobile Networks and Fixed Networks business groups. The IP Networks and Applications segment consists of Internet protocol (IP)/Optical Networks and Applications and Analytics business groups. Its other segment consists of businesses run as separate operations (Alcatel Submarine Networks and Radio Frequency Systems (RFS)). The Company offers a range of solutions, including Communications and collaboration, IP Core Routing, IP/optical integration, long term evolution (LTE) Ultra-Broadband, Software-defined networking and Vplus. The Company offers a range of consulting, managed, maintenance and professional services, including Bell Labs Consulting and Build, Operate and Manage (BOM) Solution for Mobility Networks. The main shareholder is Nokia.

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SociAtA GAnArale SociAtA anonyme provides financial services in Europe, the Americas, Asia, Oceania, Africa, and France. The company offers retail banking services, including deposits and loans, vehicles and asset management, corporate finance, insurance, payments, investment, and online brokerage and financial information services; Internet, mobile, telephone, and service platforms; and online banking to individual and professional customers, businesses, non-profit associations and local authorities under the Societe Generale, CrAdit du Nord, and Boursorama Banque brands. It also provides international retail banking and financial services, comprising of deposit and loan products; consumer finance and car finance; mortgage facilities; corporate and investment banking; infrastructure, renewable energies, and agribusiness financing; life, retirement savings, and personal protection insurance products; vehicle leasing and fleet management services; and vendor and equipment finance services to corporate and individual customers. In addition, the company offers capital market services, such as fixed income and currencies, equities, and securities services; mergers and acquisitions, advisory and other corporate finance advisory services, and corporate banking and investment banking, as well as capital raising solutions for debt or equity, financial engineering, and hedging for issuers; transaction and payment services, comprising of cash management, trade finance, cash clearing and correspondent banking, supply chain finance, and foreign exchange services; and export finance, aircraft finance, shipping finance, real estate finance, and structured solutions and leasing. Further, it provides financial engineering and wealth management solutions; structured products, hedge funds, mutual funds, private equity funds and real estate investment solutions; and asset management solutions. SociAtA GAnArale SociAtA anonyme was founded in 1864 and is headquartered in Paris, France.

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BCE Inc., a telecommunications and media company, provides wireless, wireline, Internet, and television (TV) services to residential, business, and wholesale customers in Canada. It operates through three segments: Bell Wireless, Bell Wireline, and Bell Media. The Bell Wireless segment offers wireless voice and data communications products and services. The Bell Wireline segment provides data, including Internet access and Internet protocol television; and local telephone, long distance, satellite TV service, and connectivity, as well as other communications services and products. This segment also buys and sells local telephone, long distance, data, and other services from or to resellers, and other carriers. The Bell Media segment provides conventional TV, specialty TV, pay TV, and streaming services; and digital media, radio broadcasting, out-of-home advertising services. It owns and operates approximately 35 conventional TV stations; 27 specialty and four Pay TV channels; 3 direct-to-consumer streaming services; 109 licensed radio stations; and websites. The company was formerly known as Bell Canada Enterprises Inc. BCE Inc. was founded in 1880 and is headquartered in Verdun, Canada.

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BNP Paribas SA provides a range of banking and financial services in France and internationally. It operates through two divisions, Retail Banking and Services, and Corporate and Institutional Banking. The company offers long-term corporate vehicle leasing, and rental and other financing solutions; and digital banking and investment services, cash management, and factoring services to corporate clients, as well as wealth management services. It also provides credit solutions for individuals under the Cetelem, Cofinoga, Findomestic, AlphaCredit, and Opel Vauxhall brands; savings and protection solutions, including insuring individuals, and their personal projects and assets; and asset management, private banking, and real estate services. In addition, the company offers global market services, including investment, hedging, financing, research, and market intellingence across asset classes; security services comprising clearing, custody, and asset and fund services, as well as corporate trust, and market and financing services; and corporate trade and treasury, debt financing, specialized financing, strategic advisory, mergers and acquisition, and equity capital market services for institutional and corporate clients. The company was formerly known as Banque Nationale de Paris and changed its name to BNP Paribas SA in May 2000. BNP Paribas SA was founded in 1848 and is headquartered in Paris, France.

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CEMEX SAB de CV engages in the production, distribution, marketing, and sale of cement, ready-mix concrete, and aggregates. It operates though the following geographical segments: Mexico; United States; Europe; South, Central America and the Caribbean (SCA&C); Asia, Middle East and Africa (AMEA); and Others. The Europe segment covers United Kingdom, Germany, France, Spain, and Czech Republic, Poland and Latvia, as well as trading activities in Scandinavia, and Finland. The SCA&C segment includes Colombia, Panama, Costa Rica, Caribbean TCL, the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Nicaragua, Jamaica, the Caribbean, El Salvador, and Guatemala. The EMEA segment comprises of Egypt, Israel, the Philippines, and the United Arab Emirates. The Others segment refers to the cement trade maritime operations, information technology solutions business, and other corporate entities as well as other minor subsidiaries with different lines of business. The company was founded by Lorenzo Zambrano Gutierrez in 1906 and is headquartered in San Pedro Garza Garcia, Mexico.

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Deutsche Telekom AG, together with its subsidiaries, provides integrated telecommunication services. The company operates through five segments: Germany, United States, Europe, Systems Solutions, and Group Development. It offers fixed-network services, including voice and data communication services based on fixed-network and broadband technology; and sells terminal equipment and other hardware products, as well as services to resellers. The company also provides mobile voice and data services to consumers and business customers; sells mobile devices and other hardware products; and sells mobile services to resellers and to companies that purchases and markets network services to third parties, such as mobile virtual network operators. In addition, it offers internet services; internet-based TV products and services; and information and communication technology systems for multinational corporations and public sector institutions with an infrastructure of data centers and networks under the T-Systems brand, as well as call center services. The company has 242 million mobile customers and 22 million broadband customers, as well as 27 million fixed-network lines. Deutsche Telekom AG has a collaboration with VMware, Inc. on cloud-based open and intelligent virtual RAN platform to bring agility to radio access networks for existing LTE and future 5G networks; and partnership with Microsoft to deliver high-performance cloud computing experiences. The company was founded in 1995 and is headquartered in Bonn, Germany.

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The following companies are subsidiares of Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft: 87 Leonard Development LLC, ABFS I Incorporated, ABS MB Ltd., Acacia (Luxembourg) S.a r.l., Accounting Solutions Holding Company Inc, Alex. Brown Financial Services Incorporated, Alex. Brown Investments Incorporated, Alfred Herrhausen Gesellschaft mbH, Amber Investments S.a r.l., Ambidexter GmbH, Ambidexter GmbH i.L., Argent Incorporated, BHW - Gesellschaft fur Wohnungswirtschaft mbH, BHW Bausparkasse Aktiengesellschaft, BHW Holding GmbH, BHW Kreditservice GmbH, BNA Nominees Pty Limited, BT Globenet Nominees Limited, BTAS Cayman GP, BTD Nominees Pty Limited, Baincor Nominees Pty Limited, Bainpro Nominees Pty Ltd, Baldur Mortgages Limited, Bankers Trust Investments Limited, Barkly Investments Ltd., Bayan Delinquent Loan Recovery 1 (SPV-AMC) Inc, Bayan Delinquent Loan Recovery 1 (SPV-AMC) Inc., Berkshire Mortgage Finance, Betriebs-Center fur Banken AG, Biomass Holdings S.a r.l., Birch (Luxembourg) S.a r.l., Blue Cork Inc, Blue Cork Inc., Borfield Sociedad Anonima, Breaking Wave DB Limited, Cape Acquisition Corp., CapeSuccess Inc., CapeSuccess LLC, Cardales UK Limited, Cardea Real Estate S.r.l., Career Blazers LLC, Career Blazers Management Company Inc, Career Blazers Management Company Inc., Career Blazers Personnel Services Inc, Career Blazers Personnel Services Inc., Career Blazers Personnel Services of Washington D.C. Inc. Washington D.C., Caribbean Resort Holdings Inc, Caribbean Resort Holdings Inc., Carpathian Investments Designated Activity Company, Cathay Advisory (Beijing) Co. Ltd., Cathay Advisory (Beijing) Co. Ltd., Cathay Asset Management Company Limited, Cathay Capital Company (No 2) Limited, Cedar (Luxembourg) S.a r.l., Centennial River 2 Inc., Centennial River Corporation, Chapel Funding, Charlton (Delaware) Inc, China Recovery Fund LLC, China Recovery Fund LLC, Cinda - DB NPL Securitization Trust 2003-1, City Leasing (Thameside) Limited, City Leasing Limited, Consumo S.p.A., Consumo Srl in Liquidazione, Cyrus J. Lawrence Capital Holdings Inc., Cyrus J. Lawrence Capital Holdings Inc., D B Investments (GB) Limited, D&M Turnaround Partners Godo Kaisha, D.B. International Delaware Inc., D.B. International Delaware Inc., DAHOC (UK) Limited (in members' voluntary liquidation), DAHOC Beteiligungsgesellschaft mbH, DB (Barbados) SRL, DB (Malaysia) Nominee (Asing) Sdn. Bhd., DB (Malaysia) Nominee (Tempatan) Sendirian Berhad, DB (Pacific) Limited, DB (Pacific) Limited New York, DB (Pacific) Limited New York, DB Abalone LLC, DB Alex. Brown Holdings Incorporated, DB Alps Corporation, DB Aotearoa Investments Limited, DB Asia Pacific Holdings Limited (in voluntary liquidation), DB Asset Finance I S.a r.l., DB Asset Finance II S.a r.l., DB Aster II LLC, DB Aster III LLC, DB Aster Inc., DB Aster LLC, DB Beteiligungs-Holding GmbH, DB Boracay LLC, DB Capital Investments Sarl, DB Capital Markets (Deutschland) GmbH, DB Capital Partners Inc., DB Capital Partners Inc., DB Cartera de Inmuebles 1 S.A.U., DB Cartera de Inmuebles 1 S.A.U., DB Chestnut Holdings Limited, DB Commodity Services LLC, DB Consorzio S. Cons. a r. l., DB Corporate Advisory (Malaysia) Sdn. Bhd., DB Covered Bond S.r.l., DB Credit Investments S.a r.l., DB Delaware Holdings (Europe) Limited, DB Direkt GmbH, DB Elara LLC, DB Energy Commodities Limited (in members' voluntary liquidation), DB Energy Trading LLC, DB Enfield Infrastructure Holdings Limited, DB Equipment Leasing Inc., DB Equipment Leasing Inc., DB Equity Limited, DB Finance (Delaware) LLC, DB Finance (Delaware) LLC, DB Finance International GmbH, DB Ganymede 2006 L.P., DB Global Markets Multi-Strategy Fund I Ltd., DB Global Technology Inc., DB Global Technology Inc., DB Global Technology SRL, DB Group Services (UK) Limited, DB HR Solutions GmbH, DB Holding Fundo de Investimento Multimercado Investimento no Exterior Credito Privado, DB Holdings (New York) Inc., DB Holdings (New York) Inc., DB Holdings (South America) Limited, DB IROC Leasing Corp., DB Immobilienfonds 1 Wieland KG, DB Immobilienfonds 2 KG i.L., DB Immobilienfonds 4 KG i.L., DB Immobilienfonds 5 Wieland KG, DB Impact Investment (GP) Limited, DB Impact Investment Fund I L.P., DB Impact Investment Fund I L.P., DB Industrial Holdings Beteiligungs GmbH & Co. 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Objekt Leipzig KG, Postbank Leasing GmbH, Postbank Service GmbH, Postbank Systems AG, QR Tower 2 LLC, Quantiguous, R.B.M. Nominees Pty Ltd, REO Properties Corporation, RREEF, RREEF America L.L.C., RREEF China REIT Management Limited, RREEF European Value Added I (G.P.) Limited, RREEF Fund Holding Co., RREEF India Advisors Private Limited, RREEF Management L.L.C., RTS Nominees Pty Limited, Reference Capital Investments Limited, RoPro U.S. Holding Inc., RoPro U.S. Holding Inc., Route 28 Receivables LLC, Route 28 Receivables LLC, SAB Real Estate Verwaltungs GmbH, SAGITA Grundstucks-Vermietungsgesellschaft mbH, SAPIO Grundstucks-Vermietungsgesellschaft mbH, SCUDO Grundstucks-Vermietungsgesellschaft mbH i.L., SEDO Grundstucks-Vermietungsgesellschaft mbH i.L., SENA Grundstucks-Vermietungsgesellschaft mbH & Co. Objekt Kamenz KG, SIFA Grundstucks-Vermietungsgesellschaft mbH, SOLIDO Grundstucks-Vermietungsgesellschaft mbH, SP Mortgage Trust, SPINO Grundstucks-Vermietungsgesellschaft mbH i.L., SPV I Sociedad Anonima Cerrada, SPV II Sociedad Anonima Cerrada, STATOR Heizkraftwerk Frankfurt (Oder) Beteiligungsgesellschaft mbH, Sal. Oppenheim, Sal. Oppenheim Alternative Investments GmbH, Sal. Oppenheim jr. & Cie. AG & Co. Kommanditgesellschaft auf Aktien, Sal. Oppenheim jr. & Cie. Beteiligungs GmbH, Sal. Oppenheim jr. & Cie. Komplementar AG, Sechste Salomon Beteiligungs- und Verwaltungsgesellschaft mbH, Sechste Salomon Beteiligungs- und Verwaltungsgesellschaft mbH i.L., Service Company Four Limited, Sharps SP I LLC, Singer Island Tower Suite LLC, Somkid Immobiliare S.r.l., Stelvio Immobiliare S.r.l., Structured Finance Americas LLC, Structured Finance Americas LLC, Swabia 1. Vermogensbesitz-GmbH, Suddeutsche Vermogensverwaltung Gesellschaft mit beschrankter Haftung, TAKIR Grundstucks-Vermietungsgesellschaft mbH, TELO Beteiligungsgesellschaft mbH, TEMATIS Grundstucks-Vermietungsgesellschaft mbH i.L., TERRUS Grundstucks-Vermietungsgesellschaft mbH i.L., TESATUR Beteiligungsgesellschaft mbH & Co. Objekt Halle I KG i.L., TESATUR Beteiligungsgesellschaft mbH & Co. Objekt Nordhausen I KG i.L., TOSSA Grundstucks-Vermietungsgesellschaft mbH, TRIPLA Grundstucks-Vermietungsgesellschaft mbH, TRS Aria LLC, TRS Leda LLC, TRS Maple II LTD, TRS Oak II LTD, TRS SVCO LLC, TRS Scorpio LLC, TRS Tupelo II LTD, TRS Venor LLC, TRS Walnut II LTD, Tagus - Sociedade de Titularizacao de Creditos S.A., Tasfiye Halinde Deutsche Securities Menkul Degerler A.S., Tempurrite Leasing Limited, Thai Asset Enforcement and Recovery Asset Management Company Limited, Tianjin Deutsche AM Fund Management Co. Ltd., Treuinvest Service GmbH, Triplereason Limited, UKE Beteiligungs-GmbH, UKE Grundstucksgesellschaft mbH, UKE s.r.o., Ullmann - Esch Grundstucksgesellschaft Kirchnerstrae GbR, Ullmann - Esch Grundstucksverwaltungsgesellschaft Disternich GbR, Ullmann Ullmann Krockow Krockow Esch GbR, VCJ Lease S.a r.l., Vesta Real Estate S.r.l., VOB-ZVD Processing GmbH, WEPLA Beteiligungsgesellschaft mbH, WEPLABeteiligungsgesellschaftmbH, Wealthspur Investment Ltd., Whale Holdings S.a r.l., World Trading (Delaware) Inc., World Trading(Delaware)Inc., Zumirez Drive LLC, db PBC, and norisbank GmbH.
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The U.S. Education Department failed to conduct timely, effective investigations of potential violations of the nations main student-data-privacy law, allowing a years-long backlog of unresolved cases to pile up without any mechanism for effectively tracking the number or status of the complaints it received.

Thats according to a scathing new audit from the departments own Inspector General, released this week.

According to the audit, the departments privacy office in September 2017 had on its books 285 open investigations of complaints made under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, or FERPA.

Nearly a third of those complaints were more than two years old, the audit found. In 31 cases during the 2017 fiscal year, the department completed investigations, but failed to officially close them, because the necessary paperwork was left to languish on managers desks for as long as eight months. Even the two-dozen investigations the office did officially close took an average of more than two years to complete.

The Privacy Office is not meeting its statutory obligation to appropriately enforce FERPA and resolve FERPA complaints, the Inspector General concluded. Complainants privacy rights are also not appropriately protected as FERPA intends.

Privacy advocates said the findings validate longstanding criticism of a process that has for years left parents frustrated and infuriated.

Theyve felt completely left in the lurch, said activist Leonie Haimson, the co-chair of the Parent Coalition for Student Privacy. Parents have these very serious complaints about their kids privacy having been violated, and they go through the trouble of filing complaints, but they just sit for years without any kind of substantive response.

The Inspector Generals report included a number of recommendations for improvement, including allocating appropriate resources to FERPA enforcement, implementing modern software to track complaints, and halting the practice of designating some cases as indefinitely inactive.

Department officials said they agreed with the suggestions and have already begun taking steps to address the problems.

Education Secretary Betsy DeVos takes the recommendations in the OIGs report seriously and is committed to ensuring the resources and mechanisms are in place for the Department to meet its legal obligation under FERPA, department spokeswoman Elizabeth Hill said in a statement.

Enforcing FERPA

Passed in 1974, the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act gives parents the right to access their childrens educational records and to seek changes in records they believe to be inaccurate.

Under the law, schools must generally obtain written consent before releasing any part of a students educational record to third parties, although a number of exceptions apply.

According to the Inspector General audit, FERPA violations can harm children by exposing them to bullying or harassment, damaging their chances of graduating or finding employment, or by allowing their personal information to be improperly shared with vendors or other third parties.

Because of such risks, parents who believe their childs FERPA rights have been violated have the right to file complaints with the U.S. Education Department. Such complaints could focus on instances in which an individual student believes that his or her personal information was improperly shared, for example. Or, the complaints could be more wide-reaching, as in a recent case involving Pennsylvanias Agora Cyber Charter School, which was found to have been improperly demanding that its 8,000 students waive their FERPA rights as a condition of enrollment.

The education department is required by law to have an office charged with processing and investigating those complaints.

For decades, though, there has been a massive backlog, according to the Inspector General audit. The Agora case, for example, took five years to resolve.

Reasons for the delays include insufficient staff and resources, unresolved policy issues, and increasing volume and complexity of complaints, the audit found.

The Inspector General also criticized the departments privacy office for not sufficiently prioritizing its enforcement role.

In 2015, for example, the office received authority to hire five new staff members, but ultimately assigned the majority of them to work on providing states and school districts with FERPA-related technical assistance, training, and policy guidance.

Although these other FERPA activities are important and can lead to fewer complaints in the future, it is critical that the privacy office focus its attention to timely and effectively resolve FERPA complaints, the audit reads.

That raised concerns from some in the education world, who said the best approach would be to make sure that enforcement and technical-assistance work both get the resources they need.

We dont think the solution is to rob Peter to pay Paul, said Paige Kowalski, an executive vice president for the Data Quality Campaign.

A complaint is often the only recourse a parent has when they feel their childs privacy has been violated, she said. But the department will never get ahead of its backlog if its not also effectively delivering supports.

A Massive Loss of Trust

In the meantime, though, the problems caused by the backlog have been far-reaching, said Amelia Vance, the director of education privacy and policy counsel at the Future of Privacy Forum, a Washington think tank.

Theres been a massive lost of trust, and a massive assumption that FERPA is toothless because of a lack of concrete enforcement actions, Vance said.

The department, for example, has never exercised its right to cut off all federal funds to a school or district as the result of FERPA violations, she said. Nor have any third parties, such as vendors, been banned from working with schools for up to five years, as the law allows.

Vance also called it mind-boggling that privacy officials in the education department were unable to tell the Inspector General how many open cases they had, the result of not having any real system for tracking the complaints prior to 2017.

Still, there have been signs of recent progress.

In recent months, Secretary DeVos has moved to reorganize the departments privacy functions and direct staff to focus their efforts on reducing the backlog of FERPA complaints. According to Hill, the education department spokeswoman, there has been a 43 percent reduction in the number of pending cases since May.

The Inspector Generals report also included a detailed response from Denise L. Carter, the acting assistant secretary in the departments Office of Management, which oversees the privacy office.

The department generally concurred with the findings and its recommendations. Carter wrote:



Additional staff have already been reassigned to assist with processing FERPA complaints. The director of the compliance office was replaced with someone with extensive FERPA expertise and project-management experience.



The Office of Management is currently working to identify and implement a new complaint-tracking system. It will also soon begin using a new performance-management dashboard system to better track the work of the office as a whole, as well as individual staff.



Complaints will no longer indefinitely be designated as inactive, and cases that were previously coded in that way have already been re-examined and addressed.



Multiple steps have been taken to improve communication with parents who file FERPA complaints, including automating the processes of letting people know their complaints have been received and dismissed.



The department is moving towards evaluating and responding to complaints based on their seriousness and the risks they present, rather than based solely on when they come in.

And, notably, the department agreed with the Inspector General that it should begin conducting self-initiated investigations in response to potential FERPA violations, rather than solely working in response to parents complaints.

The first such investigation has already begun, the department acknowledged, although a request for details went unanswered.

Even if such action results only in a letter telling a school or third party not to engage in specific conduct anymore, that would be valuable, Vance said.

It can be a lesson for everyone else in the country, she said. This is what FERPA does and does not allow.

See also:

Reorganization of U.S. Ed. Departments Privacy Office to Take Effect in Early 2019

Beyond FERPA: Five Tips For Protecting Student Data

Stronger Data-Privacy Protections for Students and Teachers Needed, Report Argues
Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria SA engages in the traditional banking businesses of retail banking, asset management, private banking, and wholesale banking. It operates through the following segments: Spain, the United States, Mexico, Turkey, South America, and Rest of Eurasia. The Spain segment includes mainly the banking and insurance business that the group carries out in Spain. The United States segment consists of the financial business activity of BBVA USA in the country and the activity of the branch of BBVA SA in New York. The Mexico segment refers to banking and insurance businesses in this country as well as the activity of its branch in Houston. The Turkey segment reports the activity of Garanti BBVA group that is mainly carried out in this country and, to a lesser extent, in Romania and the Netherlands. The South America segment comprises of operations in n Argentina, Colombia, Peru, Uruguay, and Venezuela. The Rest of Eurasia segment includes the banking business activity carried out by the group in Europe and Asia, excluding Spain. The company was founded in 1857 and is headquartered in Madrid, Spain.

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Precision Drilling Corporation, an oilfield services company, provides oil and natural gas drilling and related products and services in North America and the Middle East. The company operates in two segments, Contract Drilling Services, and Completion and Production Services. The Contract Drilling Services segment offers onshore well drilling services to exploration and production companies in the oil and natural gas industry. This segment's services include land drilling, directional drilling, and turnkey drilling; and procurement and distribution of oilfield supplies, as well as manufacture, sale, and repair of drilling equipment. As of December 31, 2020, it operated 227 land drilling rigs, including 109 in Canada; 105 in the United States; 6 in Kuwait; 4 in Saudi Arabia; 2 in the Kurdistan region of Iraq; and 1 in the country of Georgia. The Completion and Production Services segment provides service rigs for well completion, workover, abandonment, maintenance, and re-entry preparation services; wellsite accommodations; oilfield surface equipment rentals; and camp and catering services to oil and natural gas exploration and production companies. This segment operated 123 well completion and workover service rigs, including 113 in Canada and 10 in the United States. It also had approximately 1,400 oilfield rental items, including surface storage, small-flow wastewater treatment, power generation, and solids control equipment; 113 wellsite accommodation units; 966 drill camp beds; 822 base camp beds; and three kitchen diners in Canada. Precision Drilling Corporation was incorporated in 1951 and is headquartered in Calgary, Canada.

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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..
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.
Right: The Dec 3  7 period set for the hearing of the Election Petitions could well be set aside given the unavailability of Graham Bollers.

The opposition New Democratic Party (NDP) had another one of its applications turned down, in its ongoing matter of two Election Petitions.





Justice Esco Henry, on Tuesday, dismissed for the second time, a renewed application for disclosure of documents in the election petition cases.





Justice Brian Cottle had also made a similar ruling an an earlier similar application.

The NDP had requested of the court that it allows the inspection of ballot boxes.

On Tuesday, Justice Henry also disapproved a request for specific disclosure of certain election documents.

The NDP contends, through two Elections Petitions before the court, that there were gross irregularities as per the conduct of the December 2015 general elections in the Central Leeward and North Windward constituencies.

In support of its claim, they attempted to have the NDP the court rule that the ballot boxes in both constituencies be open for inspection, but had failed to win that approval on each attempt.





Last Tuesday, the court also ruled that on December 3, the date given for continuance of the hearing on the petitions, it will hear a submission from Attorney Carlos James, representing defendants Sir Louis Straker and Montgomery Daniel, that the trial days of December 3  7 be vacated, given the unavailability of lead counsel  Graham Bollers, who is on medical leave.





Should that submission be granted, then it is likely that hearing of the petitions will be advanced to the New Year.

Sources say that Bollers has been granted 30 calendar days medical leave, effective from November 23, 2018.




The following companies are subsidiares of Banco Santander: 2 & 3 Triton Limited, A & L CF (Guernsey) Limited (f), A & L CF June (2) Limited, A & L CF June (3) Limited, A & L CF March (5) Limited, A & L CF September (4) Limited, AFB SAM Holdings S.L., ALIL Services Limited (b), AN (123) Limited, ANITCO Limited, Abbey Business Services (India) Private Limited, Abbey Covered Bonds (LM) Limited, Abbey National, Abbey National Beta Investments Limited, Abbey National Business Office Equipment Leasing Limited, Abbey National International Limited, Abbey National Nominees Limited, Abbey National PLP (UK) Limited, Abbey National Property Investments, Abbey National Treasury Services Investments Limited, Abbey National Treasury Services Overseas Holdings, Abbey National UK Investments, Abbey Stockbrokers (Nominees) Limited, Abbey Stockbrokers Limited, Ablasa Participaciones S.L., Administracion de Bancos Latinoamericanos Santander S.L., Aduro S.A., Aevis Europa S.L., Afisa S.A., Albert., Aljardi SGPS Lda., Alliance & Leicester, Alliance & Leicester Cash Solutions Limited, Alliance & Leicester Commercial Bank Limited, Alliance & Leicester Investments (Derivatives) Limited, Alliance & Leicester Investments (No.2) Limited, Alliance & Leicester Investments Limited, Alliance & Leicester Limited, Alliance & Leicester Personal Finance Limited, Altamira Santander Real Estate S.A., Alternative Leasing FIL, Amazonia Trade Limited, Amherst Pierpont, Andaluza de Inversiones S.A., Aquanima Brasil Ltda., Aquanima Chile S.A., Aquanima Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Aquanima S.A., Arcaz - Sociedade Imobiliaria Portuguesa Lda., Argenline S.A. (b), Asto Digital Limited, Athena Corporation Limited, Atual - Fundo de Invest Multimercado Credito Privado Investimento no Exterior, Atual Servicos de Recuperacao de Creditos e Meios Digitais S.A., Autodescuento S.L., Autohaus24 GmbH, Auttar HUT Processamento de Dados Ltda., Aviacion Antares A.I.E., Aviacion Britanica A.I.E., Aviacion Centaurus A.I.E., Aviacion Comillas S.L. Unipersonal, Aviacion Intercontinental A.I.E., Aviacion Laredo S.L., Aviacion Oyambre S.L. Unipersonal, Aviacion Real A.I.E., Aviacion Santillana S.L., Aviacion Suances S.L., Aviacion Triton A.I.E., Aymore Credito Financiamento e Investimento S.A., BEN Beneficios e Servicos S.A., BRS Investments S.A., BZW Bank, Banca PSA Italia S.p.A., Banco Bandepe S.A., Banco Madesant - Sociedade Unipessoal S.A., Banco PSA Finance Brasil S.A., Banco Popular, Banco Santander (Brasil) S.A., Banco Santander (Mexico) S.A. Institucion de Banca Multiple Grupo Financiero Santander Mexico como Fiduciaria del Fideicomiso 100740, Banco Santander (Mexico) S.A. Institucion de Banca Multiple Grupo Financiero Santander Mexico como Fiduciaria del Fideicomiso 2002114, Banco Santander (Mexico) S.A. Institucion de Banca Multiple Grupo Financiero Santander Mexico como Fiduciaria del Fideicomiso GFSSLPT, Banco Santander - Chile, Banco Santander Consumer Portugal S.A., Banco Santander International, Banco Santander International SA, Banco Santander Mexico S.A. Institucion de Banca Multiple Grupo Financiero Santander Mexico, Banco Santander Peru S.A., Banco Santander Rio S.A., Banco Santander S.A., Banco Santander Totta S.A., Banco Santander de Negocios Colombia S.A., Banco de Albacete S.A., Bansa Santander S.A., CCAP Auto Lease Ltd., Canyon Multifamily Impact Fund IV LLC, Capital Street Delaware LP, Capital Street Holdings LLC, Capital Street REIT Holdings LLC, Capital Street S.A., Carfax (Guernsey) Limited (f), Carfinco Financial Group, Carfinco Financial Group Inc., Carfinco Inc., Casa de Bolsa Santander S.A. de C.V. Grupo Financiero Santander Mexico, Cater Allen Holdings Limited, Cater Allen International Limited, Cater Allen Limited, Cater Allen Lloyd's Holdings Limited, Cater Allen Syndicate Management Limited, Centro de Capacitacion Santander A.C., Certidesa S.L., Chrysler Capital Auto Funding I LLC, Chrysler Capital Auto Funding II LLC, Chrysler Capital Auto Receivables LLC, Chrysler Capital Master Auto Receivables Funding 2 LLC, Chrysler Capital Master Auto Receivables Funding 4 LLC, Chrysler Capital Master Auto Receivables Funding LLC, Cobranza Amigable S.A.P.I. de C.V., Community Development and Affordable Housing Fund LLC (g), Compagnie Generale de Credit Aux Particuliers - Credipar S.A., Compagnie Pour la Location de Vehicules - CLV, Comunidad Laboral Trabajando Argentina S.A., Comunidad Laboral Trabajando Iberica S.L. Unipersonal en liquidacion (b), Consulteam Consultores de Gestao Lda., Consumer Lending Receivables LLC, Crawfall S.A. (b), Cantabra de Inversiones S.A., Cantabro Catalana de Inversiones S.A., Darep Designated Activity Company, Decarome S.A.P.I. de C.V., Deva Capital Advisory Company S.L., Deva Capital Holding Company S.L., Deva Capital Investment Company S.L., Deva Capital Management Company S.L., Deva Capital Servicer Company S.L., Digital Procurement Holdings N.V., Diners Club Spain S.A., Direccion Estratega S.C., Dirgenfin S.L. en liquidacion (b), Ebury, El Corte Ingles, Elavon Mexico, Electrolyser S.A. de C.V., Entidad de Desarrollo a la Pequena y Micro Empresa Santander Consumo Peru S.A., Erestone S.A.S., Esfera Fidelidade S.A., Evidence Previdencia S.A., Financeira El Corte Ingles Portugal S.F.C. S.A., Financiera El Corte Ingles E.F.C. S.A., Finsantusa S.L. Unipersonal, First National Motor Business Limited, First National Motor Contracts Limited, First National Motor Facilities Limited, First National Motor Finance Limited, First National Motor Leasing Limited, First National Motor plc, First National Tricity Finance Limited, Fondos Santander S.A. Administradora de Fondos de Inversion (en liquidacion) (b), Fortensky Trading Ltd., Fosse Funding (No.1) Limited, Fosse Master Issuer plc, Fosse Trustee (UK) Limited, GTS El Centro Equity Holdings LLC, GTS El Centro Project Holdings LLC, Gamma Sociedade Financeira de Titularizacao de Creditos S.A., Gesban Mexico Servicios Administrativos Globales S.A. de C.V., Gesban Santander Servicios Profesionales Contables Limitada, Gesban Servicios Administrativos Globales S.L., Gesban UK Limited, Gestion de Instalaciones Fotovoltaicas S.L. Unipersonal, Gestion de Inversiones JILT S.A., Gestora de Procesos S.A. en liquidacion (b), Getnet Adquirencia e Servicos para Meios de Pagamento S.A., Global Vosgos S.L. Unipersonal, Grupo Empresarial Santander S.L., Grupo Financiero Santander Mexico S.A. de C.V., Grupo Financiero Santander SAB de CV, Guaranty Car S.A. Unipersonal, HQ Mobile Limited, Hispamer Renting S.A. Unipersonal, Holbah II Limited, Holbah Santander S.L. Unipersonal, Holmes Funding Limited, Holmes Master Issuer plc, Holmes Trustees Limited, Hyundai Capital Bank Europe GmbH, Iberica de Compras Corporativas S.L., Independence Community Bank Corp., Insurance Funding Solutions Limited, Interfinance Holanda B.V., Inversiones Capital Global S.A. Unipersonal, Inversiones Maritimas del Mediterraneo S.A., Isla de los Buques S.A., Klare Corredora de Seguros S.A., Landcompany 2020 S.L., Langton Funding (No.1) Limited, Langton Mortgages Trustee (UK) Limited, Langton Securities (2008-1) plc, Langton Securities (2010-1) PLC, Langton Securities (2010-2) PLC, Laparanza S.A., Liquidity Limited, Luri 1 S.A. en liquidacion (b) (e), Luri 6 S.A. Unipersonal, Master Red Europa S.L., Mata Alta S.L., Merciver S.L., Mercury TFS, Mercury Trade Finance Solutions S.A. de C.V., Mercury Trade Finance Solutions S.L., Mercury Trade Finance Solutions S.p.A., Moneybit S.L., Mortgage Engine Limited, Motor 2016-1 PLC, Motor 2017-1 PLC, Mouro Capital I LP, Multiplica SpA, NW Services CO., Naviera Mirambel S.L., Naviera Trans Gas A.I.E., Naviera Trans Iron S.L., Naviera Trans Ore A.I.E., Naviera Trans Wind S.L. (b), Naviera Transcantabrica S.L., Naviera Transchem S.L. Unipersonal, NeoAuto S.A.C., Norbest AS, Novimovest  Fundo de Investimento Imobiliario, Open Bank Argentina S.A., Open Bank S.A., Open Digital Market S.L., Open Digital Services S.L., Operadora de Carteras Gamma S.A.P.I. de C.V., Optimal Investment Services SA, Optimal Multiadvisors Ireland Plc / Optimal Strategic US Equity Ireland Euro Fund, Optimal Multiadvisors Ireland Plc / Optimal Strategic US Equity Ireland US Dollar Fund, PBE Companies LLC, PECOH Limited, PI Distribuidora de Titulos e Valores Mobiliarios S.A., PSA Bank Deutschland GmbH, PSA Banque France, PSA Finance UK Limited, PSA Financial Services Nederland B.V., PSA Financial Services Spain E.F.C. S.A., PSA Renting Italia S.p.A., PagoFX Europe S.A., PagoFX HoldCo S.L., PagoFX UK Ltd, PagoNxt Merchant Solutions S.L., PagoNxt S.L., Parasant SA, Patagon.com, Pereda Gestion S.A., Pingham International S.A., Popular Spain Holding de Inversiones S.L.U., Portal Universia Argentina S.A., Portal Universia Portugal Prestacao de Servicos de Informatica S.A., Prime 16  Fundo de Investimentos Imobiliario, Punta Lima LLC, Punta Lima Wind Farm LLC, Retop S.A., Return Capital Servicos de Recuperacao de Creditos S.A., Return Gestao de Recursos S.A., Riobank International (Uruguay) SAIFE (b), Rojo Entretenimento S.A., SAM Asset Management S.A. de C.V. Sociedad Operadora de Fondos de Inversion, SAM Investment Holdings S.L., SAM UK Investment Holdings Limited (b), SANB Promotora de Vendas e Cobranca Ltda., SCF Eastside Locks GP Limited, SDMX Superdigital S.A. de C.V., SMPS Merchant Platform Solutions Mexico S.A de C.V, Sancap Investimentos e Participacoes S.A., Santander (CF Trustee Property Nominee) Limited, Santander (UK) Group Pension Schemes Trustees Limited, Santander Ahorro Inmobiliario 1 S.A., Santander Ahorro Inmobiliario 2 S.A., Santander Alternatives SICAV RAIF, Santander Asesorias Financieras Limitada, Santander Asset Finance (December) Limited, Santander Asset Finance plc, Santander Asset Management - S.G.O.I.C. S.A., Santander Asset Management Chile S.A., Santander Asset Management LLC, Santander Asset Management Luxembourg S.A., Santander Asset Management S.A. Administradora General de Fondos, Santander Asset Management S.A. S.G.I.I.C., Santander Asset Management UK Holdings Limited, Santander Asset Management UK Limited, Santander Back-Offices Globales Mayoristas S.A., Santander Banca de Inversion Colombia S.A.S., Santander Bank & Trust Ltd., Santander Bank National Association, Santander Bank Polska S.A., Santander Brasil Administradora de Consorcio Ltda., Santander Brasil Gestao de Recursos Ltda., Santander Brasil Tecnologia S.A., Santander Capital Desarrollo SGEIC S.A. Unipersonal, Santander Capital Structuring S.A. de C.V., Santander Capitalizacao S.A., Santander Cards Ireland Limited, Santander Cards Limited, Santander Cards UK Limited, Santander Chile Holding S.A., Santander Consulting (Beijing) Co. Ltd., Santander Consumer (UK) plc, Santander Consumer Auto Receivables Funding 2013-B2 LLC, Santander Consumer Auto Receivables Funding 2013-B3 LLC, Santander Consumer Auto Receivables Funding 2018-L1 LLC, Santander Consumer Auto Receivables Funding 2018-L3 LLC, Santander Consumer Auto Receivables Funding 2018-L4 LLC, Santander Consumer Auto Receivables Funding 2018-L5 LLC, Santander Consumer Auto Receivables Funding 2019-B1 LLC, Santander Consumer Auto Receivables Funding 2019-L2 LLC, Santander Consumer Auto Receivables Funding 2019-L3 LLC, Santander Consumer Auto Receivables Funding 2020-B1 LLC, Santander Consumer Auto Receivables Funding 2020-L1 LLC, Santander Consumer Auto Receivables Funding 2020-L2 LLC, Santander Consumer Bank, Santander Consumer Bank AG, Santander Consumer Bank GmbH, Santander Consumer Bank S.A., Santander Consumer Bank S.p.A., Santander Consumer Banque S.A., Santander Consumer Credit Services Limited, Santander Consumer Finance Benelux B.V., Santander Consumer Finance Global Services S.L., Santander Consumer Finance Oy, Santander Consumer Finance S.A., Santander Consumer Finance Schweiz AG, Santander Consumer Financial Solutions Sp. z o.o., Santander Consumer Finanse Sp. z o.o. (b), Santander Consumer Holding Austria GmbH, Santander Consumer Holding GmbH, Santander Consumer International Puerto Rico LLC, Santander Consumer Leasing GmbH, Santander Consumer Mediacion Operador de Banca-Seguros Vinculado S.L., Santander Consumer Multirent Sp. z o.o., Santander Consumer Operations Services GmbH, Santander Consumer Receivables 10 LLC, Santander Consumer Receivables 11 LLC, Santander Consumer Receivables 3 LLC, Santander Consumer Receivables 7 LLC, Santander Consumer Receivables Funding LLC, Santander Consumer Renting S.L., Santander Consumer S.A., Santander Consumer S.A.S., Santander Consumer Services GmbH, Santander Consumer Services S.A., Santander Consumer Technology Services GmbH, Santander Consumer USA Holdings Inc., Santander Consumer USA Inc., Santander Consumo S.A. de C.V. S.O.F.O.M. E.R. Grupo Financiero Santander Mexico, Santander Corredora de Seguros Limitada, Santander Corredores de Bolsa Limitada, Santander Corretora de Cambio e Valores Mobiliarios S.A., Santander Corretora de Seguros Investimentos e Servicos S.A., Santander Customer Voice S.A., Santander Digital Assets S.L., Santander Drive Auto Receivables LLC, Santander Equity Investments Limited, Santander Espana Merchant Services Entidad de Pago S.L. Unipersonal, Santander Espana Servicios Legales y de Cumplimiento S.L., Santander Estates Limited, Santander F24 S.A., Santander Facility Management Espana S.L., Santander Factoring S.A., Santander Factoring Sp. z o.o., Santander Factoring y Confirming S.A. E.F.C., Santander Finance 2012-1 LLC, Santander Financial Exchanges Limited, Santander Financial Services Inc., Santander Financial Services plc, Santander Finanse Sp. z o.o., Santander Fintech Holdings S.L., Santander Fintech Limited, Santander Fundo de Investimento SBAC Referenciado di Credito Privado, Santander Gestion de Recaudacion y Cobranzas Ltda., Santander Global Consumer Finance Limited, Santander Global Facilities S.A. de C.V., Santander Global Facilities S.L., Santander Global Operations S.A., Santander Global Services S.A. (b), Santander Global Sport S.A., Santander Global Technology Brasil Ltda., Santander Global Technology Chile Limitada, Santander Global Technology S.L., Santander Global Trade Platform Solutions S.L., Santander Guarantee Company, Santander Holding Imobiliaria S.A., Santander Holding Internacional S.A., Santander Holdings USA Inc., Santander ISA Managers Limited, Santander Inclusion Financiera S.A. de C.V. S.O.F.O.M. E.R. Grupo Financiero Santander Mexico, Santander Insurance Agency U.S. LLC, Santander Insurance Services UK Limited, Santander Intermediacion Correduria de Seguros S.A., Santander International Products Plc. (d), Santander Inversiones S.A., Santander Investment Bank Limited, Santander Investment Chile Limitada, Santander Investment I S.A., Santander Investment S.A., Santander Investment Securities Inc., Santander Investments GP 1 S.a.r.l., Santander Inwestycje Sp. z o.o., Santander Lease S.A. E.F.C., Santander Leasing LLC, Santander Leasing S.A., Santander Leasing S.A. Arrendamento Mercantil, Santander Lending Limited, Santander Mediacion Operador de Banca-Seguros Vinculado S.A., Santander Merchant Platform Operations S.A. de C.V., Santander Merchant Platform Services S.A. de C.V., Santander Merchant Platform Solutions Mexico S.A. de C.V., Santander Merchant Platform Solutions S.A., Santander Merchant Platform Solutions Uruguay S.A., Santander Merchant Platform SolucoesTecnologicas Brasil Ltda., Santander Merchant S.A., Santander Mortgage Holdings Limited, Santander Paraty Qif PLC, Santander Pensiones S.A. E.G.F.P., Santander Pensoes - Sociedade Gestora de Fundos de Pensoes S.A., Santander Private Banking Gestion S.A. S.G.I.I.C., Santander Private Banking UK Limited, Santander Private Banking s.p.a. in Liquidazione (b), Santander Private Real Estate Advisory & Management S.A., Santander Private Real Estate Advisory S.A., Santander Real Estate S.A., Santander Retail Auto Lease Funding LLC, Santander Rio Asset Management Gerente de Fondos Comunes de Inversion S.A., Santander Rio Trust S.A., Santander Rio Valores S.A., Santander S.A. Sociedad Securitizadora, Santander Secretariat Services Limited, Santander Securities LLC, Santander Seguros y Reaseguros Compania Aseguradora S.A., Santander Servicios Corporativos S.A. de C.V., Santander Servicios Especializados S.A. de C.V., Santander Technology USA LLC, Santander Tecnologia e Inovacao Ltda., Santander Tecnologia Argentina S.A., Santander Tecnologia Espana S.L.U., Santander Tecnologia Mexico S.A. de C.V., Santander Totta SGPS S.A., Santander Totta Seguros Companhia de Seguros de Vida S.A., Santander Towarzystwo Funduszy Inwestycyjnych S.A., Santander Trade Services Limited, Santander UK Group Holdings plc, Santander UK Investments, Santander UK Operations Limited, Santander UK Plc, Santander UK Technology Limited, Santander Wealth Management International SA, Santander de Titulizacion S.G.F.T. S.A., Santusa Holding S.L., Services and Promotions Delaware Corp., Services and Promotions Miami LLC, Servicio de Alarmas Controladas por Ordenador S.A., Servicios de Cobranza Recuperacion y Seguimiento S.A. De C.V., Sheppards Moneybrokers Limited, Shiloh III Wind Project LLC, Sociedad Integral de Valoraciones Automatizadas S.A., Sociedad Operadora de Tarjetas de Pago Santander Getnet Chile S.A., Socur S.A., Sol Orchard Imperial 1 LLC, Solarlaser Limited, Sovereign Community Development Company, Sovereign Delaware Investment Corporation, Sovereign Lease Holdings LLC, Sovereign REIT Holdings Inc., Sovereign Spirit Limited (f), Sterrebeeck B.V., Suleyado 2003 S.L. Unipersonal, Summer Empreendimentos Ltda., Super Pagamentos e Administracao de Meios Eletronicos S.A., Superdigital Argentina S.A.U., Superdigital Colombia S.A.S., Superdigital Holding Company S.L., Superdigital Peru S.A.C., Suzuki Servicios Financieros S.L., Swesant SA, TIMFin S.p.A., TOPSAM S.A de C.V., Taxagest Sociedade Gestora de Participacoes Sociais S.A., Teatinos Siglo XXI Inversiones S.A., The Alliance & Leicester Corporation Limited, The Best Specialty Coffee S.L. Unipersonal, Time Retail Finance Limited (b), Tonopah Solar I LLC, Toque Fale Servicos de Telemarketing Ltda., Tornquist Asesores de Seguros S.A. (b), Totta (Ireland) PLC, Totta Urbe - Empresa de Administracao e Construcoes S.A., Trabajando.com Mexico S.A. de C.V. en liquidacion (b), Trabajando.com Peru S.A.C., Trans Rotor Limited (b), Transolver Finance EFC S.A., Tresmares Growth Fund Santander SCR S.A., Tresmares Santander Direct Lending SICC S.A., Tuttle and Son Limited, Universia Brasil S.A., Universia Chile S.A., Universia Colombia S.A.S., Universia Espana Red de Universidades S.A., Universia Holding S.L., Universia Mexico S.A. de C.V., Universia Peru S.A., Universia Uruguay S.A., Uro Property Holdings SOCIMI S.A., WIM Servicios Corporativos S.A. de C.V., WTW Shipping Designated Activity Company, Wallcesa S.A., Wave Holdco S.L., Waypoint Insurance Group Inc., and Wirecard (Technological Assets).
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Seplat Petroleum Development Company Plc engages in the oil and gas exploration and production, and gas processing activities in Nigeria. It operates a seven oil and gas blocks in the Niger Delta region. The company holds 45% interest in the OML 4 that covers an area of 267 km2; OML 38 covering an area of 2,094 km2; OML 41 that covers an area of 291 km2; and OML 40, which covers an area of 498 km2 located onshore within the Niger Delta. It also holds a 40% non-operated working interest in OPL 283 marginal field area, which covers as area of 102.2 km2 located in the northern onshore depo-belt of the Niger Delta; a 40% in OML 53 that covers an area of 1,585 square kilometers located onshore in the north eastern Niger Delta; and interest in OML 55 that covers an area of 840 km2 and is located in the south eastern Niger Delta. Seplat Petroleum Development Company Plc was incorporated in 2009 and is headquartered in Lagos, Nigeria.

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Newly appointed Head of the Major Crime Unit (MCU)- Inspector Elgin Richards intends to continue along the path set by those who preceded him as head, since the Units formation in 2003.





And he thinks that his 28 years experience in the local constabulary, including his tenure as a prosecutor, will serve him well in facing up to the critical task ahead.





Richards took up duties as MCU chief on Tuesday replacing Inspector Atland Browne, who is now in charge of the Barrouallie Police Station, the position Richards held prior to his new appointment which took effect from November 22.





Richards highlighted what he described as "the very good job done by Inspector Browne during his tenure as head of the unit, and promised to continue in that vein.

The MCU Chief was speaking to reporters at the Units Office in the Central Police Station on Tuesday.

"I am pleased to be here as head of the MCU, he declared proudly.

"There are always challenges as to the way we do things in the fight against crime, he admitted, but assured, "I will continue the task of ensuring that the mandate of the Police Force, and the Department is met, as we continue to work as a team going forward. We all want to work in the interest of St. Vincent and the Grenadines in the best way we can.

Richards served at a number of outstations, and was attached to the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) from 2003 to 2005.





He was also attached to the Deputy Commissioners Office in an administrative capacity before moving to the Prosecutorial Department, where he worked for a number of years.

He was among a team of police prosecutors who were seconded to the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) about two years ago, in a move to have all prosecutors housed in the same building, thus making it easier for them to be supervised on a day to day basis, by the DPP.

Richards last prosecutorial stint was at the Kingstown Magistrates Court, before being transferred to head the Barrouallie Police Station.





The MCU is a unit of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) and therefore falls under the command of CID Chief, Assistant Superintendent of Police Hesron Ballantyne.

The first police officer to head the MCU was Sydney James, retired Assistant Superintendent of Police, who held the rank of Corporal when the Unit was formed in 2003.
TelefAnica Deutschland Holding AG provides integrated telecommunication services to private and business customers in Germany. It offers voice, data, and value-added services in mobile and fixed line networks; access to infrastructure and services for its wholesale partners; and digital products and services in the fields of Internet of Things. The company provides its products and services through a network of independently operated franchise and premium partner shops, and online and telesales channels, as well as indirect selling channels, such as partnerships and co-operations with retailers. It markets its products and services under the O2, Blau, AY YILDIZ, Ortel Mobile, FONIC, netzclub, and TArkeiSIM brand names. As of December 31, 2020, TelefAnica Deutschland Holding AG had approximately 47 million customers. The company was formerly known as TelefAnica Germany Verwaltungs GmbH and changed its name to TelefAnica Deutschland Holding AG in September 2012. The company is based in Munich, Germany. TelefAnica Deutschland Holding AG is a subsidiary of Telefonica Germany Holdings Limited.

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Dr. Ralph Gonsalves will have nothing to do with decriminalizing the use/possession of small quantities of cannabis.

Do not expect the Dr. Ralph Gonsalves led Unity Labour Party government of St. Vincent and the Grenadines to move to decriminalize the use/possession of small quantities of cannabis.





Prime Minister Gonsalves made this clear while addressing a meeting of a Select Committee of Parliament which was tasked with further examining and soliciting input for amendments of three Bills: the Medicinal Cannabis Industry Act, the Cannabis Cultivation (Amnesty) Bill, and the Permitted Use of Cannabis for Religious Purpose Bill.





What Dr. Gonslaves assured was that his government was prepared to amend the Drugs Act so that there will be no jail time, there will only be a fine for possession of small quantities of cannabis. These quantities will be determined in due course.

Amendments would also have to be made to the Rehabilitation of Criminal Offenders Act, so as to allow for the fines to be collected through a civil process, but the PM repeated that there will be no change to the offence being a criminal one.

Past offences related to smaller quantities can be expected to be erased, once the Parliament passes the amendments as proposed.





In support of his governments proposed action, Prime Minister Gonsalves referenced Canada and Jamaica, countries that have decriminalised the possession of small quantities of cannabis, as now facing serious questions with respect to their compliance to International Narcotic Treaties which they have signed.
The following companies are subsidiares of TransDigm Group: 1711 Waterview Pkwy LLC, ARA Deutschland GmbH, ARA Holding GmbH, Acme Aerospace, Adams Rite Aerospace GmbH, Adams Rite Aerospace Inc., Advanced Inflatable Products Limited, Aero-Instruments, AeroControlex Group Inc., Aerosonic, Aerosonic LLC, Air-Sea Survival Equipment Trustee Limited, Airborne Acquisition Inc., Airborne Global Inc., Airborne Holdings Inc., Airborne Systems, Airborne Systems Canada Ltd., Airborne Systems Group Limited, Airborne Systems Holdings Limited, Airborne Systems Limited, Airborne Systems NA Inc., Airborne Systems North America Inc., Airborne Systems North America of CA Inc., Airborne Systems North America of NJ Inc., Airborne Systems Pension Trust Limited, Airborne UK Acquisition Limited, Airborne UK Parent Limited, Aircraft Materials Limited, AmSafe, AmSafe Aviation (Chongqing) Ltd., AmSafe Bridport (Kunshan) Co. Ltd., AmSafe Bridport (Private) Ltd., AmSafe Bridport Ltd., AmSafe Global Holdings Inc., AmSafe Global Services (Private) Limited, AmSafe Inc., Angus Electronics Co., Arkwin Industries, Arkwin Industries Inc., Auxitrol SAS, Auxitrol Weston Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Auxitrol Weston Singapore Pte. Ltd., Auxitrol Weston USA Inc., Aviation Technologies, Aviation Technologies Inc., Avionic Instruments LLC, Avionics Instruments, Avionics Specialties Inc., AvtechTyee Inc., Beta Transformer Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Beta Transformer Technology Corporation, Beta Transformer Technology LLC, Breeze-Eastern Corporation, Breeze-Eastern LLC, Bridport Erie Aviation Inc., Bridport Holdings Inc., Bridport Ltd., Bridport-Air Carrier Inc., Bruce Aerospace Inc., Bruce Industries, CDA InterCorp LLC, CEF Industries LLC, CMC Electronics Inc., CMC Electronics ME Inc., Champion Aerospace LLC, Cobham, DDC Electronics K.K., DDC Electronics Ltd., DDC Electronics Private Limited, DDC Electronique S.A.R.L., DDC Elektronik GmbH, Darchem Engineering Limited, Darchem Holdings Limited, Data Device Corp., Data Device Corporation, Dukes Aerospace Inc., EST Defence Company UK Limited, Edlaw Limited, Electromech Technologies LLC, Elektro-Metall Export GmbH, Elektro-Metall Paks KFT, Esterline, Esterline Acquisition Ltd, Esterline Europe Company LLC, Esterline Foreign Sales Corporation, Esterline International Company, Esterline Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Esterline Services China Ltd., Esterline Technologies Acquisition Ltd, Esterline Technologies Corporation, Esterline Technologies Europe Limited, Esterline Technologies France Holding SAS, Esterline Technologies French Acquisition Limited, Esterline Technologies Global Limited, Esterline Technologies Holdings Limited, Esterline Technologies Management France SAS, Esterline Technologies SGIP LLC, Esterline Technologies Unlimited, Esterline do Brasil Assessoria e Intermediacao Ltda, Extant Components Group Holdings Inc., Extant Components Group Intermediate Inc., GQ Parachutes Limited, Guizhou Leach-Tianyi Aviation Electrical Company Ltd, Harco, HarcoSemco LLC, Hartwell Corporation, ILC Holdings Inc., Irvin Aerospace Limited, IrvinGQ France SAS, IrvinGQ Limited, Janco Corporation, Johnson Liverpool LLC, Jupiter SAS, Kirkhill Elastomers, Kirkhill Inc., Kunshan Shield Restraint Systems Ltd., Leach Holding Corporation, Leach International Asia-Pacific Ltd, Leach International Europe S.A.S., Leach International Mexico S. de R. L. de C. V., Leach International UK Ltd, Leach Technology Group Inc., MarathonNorco Aerospace Inc., McKechnie Aerospace, McKechnie Aerospace (Europe) Ltd., McKechnie Aerospace DE Inc., McKechnie Aerospace DE LP, McKechnie Aerospace Holdings Inc., McKechnie Aerospace US LLC, Mecanismos de Matamoros S.A. de C.V., Militair Aviation Ltd., Norco, Nordisk Asia Pacific Limited, Nordisk Asia Pacific Pte Ltd, Nordisk Aviation Products (Kunshan) Ltd., Nordisk Aviation Products AS, North Hills Signal Processing Corp., North Hills Signal Processing Overseas Corp., Norwich Aero Products Inc., Pascall Electronics Limited, Pexco Aerospace, Pexco Aerospace Inc., PneuDraulics, PneuDraulics Inc., Pressure Systems International Ltd, Racal Acoustics Inc., Racal Acoustics Limited, Rancho TransTechnology Corporation, Retainers Inc., SSP Industries, Schneller, Schneller Asia Pte. Ltd., Schneller LLC, Schneller S.A.R.L., Schroth Safety Products, ScioTeq LLC, ScioTeq Ltd., ScioTeq Pte. Ltd., ScioTeq SAS, ScioTeq bvba, Semco Instruments, Semco Instruments Inc., Shield Restraint Systems Inc., Shield Restraint Systems Ltd., Signal Processing Matamoros S.A. de C.V., Skandia, Skandia Inc., Skurka Aerospace, Skurka Aerospace Inc., Symetrics Industries, Symetrics Industries LLC, Symetrics Technology Group LLC, TA Mfg Limited, TDG ESL Holdings Inc., TDG France Ultimate Parent SAS, TDG Germany GmbH, TEAC Aerospace Holdings Inc., TEAC Aerospace Technologies Inc., TREALITY SVS LLC, TTERUSA Inc., Tactair Fluid Controls Inc., Takata Protection Systems, Technical Airborne Components Industries SPRL, Telair International, Telair International AB, Telair International GmbH, Telair International LLC, Telair International Services PTE Ltd, Telair US LLC, Texas Rotronics Inc., TransDigm (Barbados) SRL, TransDigm Canada ULC, TransDigm European Holdings Limited, TransDigm Ireland Ltd., TransDigm Receivables LLC, TransDigm UK Holdings plc, Transicoil (Malaysia) Sendirian Berhad, Transicoil LLC, Wallop Industries Limited, Weston Aerospace Ltd, Whippany Actuation Systems, Whippany Actuation Systems LLC, XCEL Power Systems Ltd., Young & Franklin, and Young & Franklin Inc..
Varian Medical Systems, Inc. designs, manufactures, sells, and services medical devices and software products for treating cancer and other medical conditions worldwide. It operates through Oncology Systems and Proton Solutions segments. The Oncology Systems segment offers hardware and software products for treating cancer with radiotherapy, fixed field intensity-modulated radiation therapy, image-guided radiation therapy, volumetric modulated arc therapy, stereotactic radiosurgery, stereotactic body radiotherapy, artificial intelligence based adaptive radiotherapy, and brachytherapy, as well as quality assurance equipment. Its products include linear accelerators, brachytherapy afterloaders, treatment accessories, and quality assurance software; and information management, treatment planning, image processing, clinical knowledge exchange, patient care management, decision-making support, and practice management software. This segment serves university research and community hospitals, private and governmental institutions, healthcare agencies, physicians' offices, medical oncology practices, radiotherapy centers, and cancer care clinics. The Proton Solutions segment designs, develops, manufactures, sells, and services products and systems for delivering proton therapy for the treatment of cancer. The company has a strategic agreement with McKesson Corp. to supply treatment delivery systems and planning, services, and radiotherapy information system solutions to its U.S. Oncology Network and Vantage Oncology affiliated sites of care; and a strategic partnership with Siemens AG to represent Siemens diagnostic imaging products to radiation oncology clinics in the United States and other select markets. Varian Medical Systems, Inc. was formerly known as Varian Associates, Inc. and changed its name to Varian Medical Systems, Inc. in April 1999. The company was founded in 1948 and is headquartered in Palo Alto, California.

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The following companies are subsidiares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.: 2235158 Alberta Limited, A.J. Amer Agency, AHC Digital LLC, AIX Limited, AJG Coal LLC, AJG Financial Services LLC, AJG Meadows LLC, AJG North America ULC, AJG RCF LLC, AJGRMS of Louisiana LLC, ARM RE Ltda., AVIATION INSURANCE SERVICES, AVRECO, Ace IRM Insurance Broking Group, Acumus Holdings Limited, Acumus Interco Limited, Acumus Ltd, Adams & Associates International, Adaptive Marketing LLC, Adco General Corporation, Advanced Benefit Advisors, Aequus Trade Credit, Affinity Marketing Group, Ahrold Fay Rosenberg, Aires Consulting Group, Alesco Risk Management Services Limited, Alize Limited, Allied Claims Administration Inc., Alternative Market Specialists, Altman & Cronin Benefit Consultants, American Freedom Carriers Inc., American Security Services Corp., American Wholesalers Underwriting Ltd, Andrew-Anthony Insurance Agency, Anthony Hodges Consulting Limited, Antrobus Investments Limited, AquaSurance, Argentis, Argentis Financial Group Limited, Argentis Financial Management Limited, Argus Benefits, Armstrong/Robitaille/Riegle, Artex (SAC) Limited, Artex Cedar Hill, Artex Corporate Services (Malta) Limited, Artex Corporate Services Limited, Artex Holdings (Gibraltar) Limited, Artex Holdings (Malta) Limited, Artex Insurance (Guernsey) PCC Limited, Artex Insurance (Tennessee) PCCIC Inc., Artex Insurance Brokers (Malta) PCC Limited, Artex Insurance ICC Limited, Artex Intermediaries Ltd, Artex Risk Solutions (Bermuda) Ltd, Artex Risk Solutions (Cayman) Limited, Artex Risk Solutions (Gibraltar) Limited, Artex Risk Solutions (Guernsey) Limited, Artex Risk Solutions (International) Ltd, Artex Risk Solutions (Malta) Limited, Artex Risk Solutions (Singapore) Pte Ltd, Artex Risk Solutions (UK) Limited, Artex Risk Solutions Inc., Arthur J Gallagher (Norway) Holdings AS, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co., Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (AUS) Ltd, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (Bermuda) Limited, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (Illinois), Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Insurance Brokers of California Inc., Arthur J. Gallagher (Aus) Pty Ltd, Arthur J. Gallagher (Bermuda) Holding Partnership, Arthur J. Gallagher (Life Solutions) Ltd, Arthur J. Gallagher (Singapore) Pte Ltd, Arthur J. Gallagher (U.S.) LLC, Arthur J. Gallagher (UK) Limited, Arthur J. Gallagher Asesoria S.A.C., Arthur J. Gallagher Australasia Holdings Pty Ltd., Arthur J. Gallagher Brokerage & Risk Management Services LLC, Arthur J. Gallagher Broking (NZ) Limited, Arthur J. Gallagher Financial Services Professionals Risk Purchasing Group LLC, Arthur J. Gallagher Group Quebec ULC, Arthur J. Gallagher Holdings (UK) Limited, Arthur J. Gallagher Insurance Brokers Limited, Arthur J. Gallagher Latin America LLC, Arthur J. Gallagher Management (Bermuda) Limited, Arthur J. Gallagher Real Estate Risk Purchasing Group LLC, Arthur J. Gallagher Risk Management Services (Hawaii) Inc., Arthur J. Gallagher Risk Management Services Inc., Arthur J. Gallagher Risk Management Services of Utah Inc., Arthur J. Gallagher School Risk Purchasing Group LLC, Arthur J. Gallagher Service Company LLC, Arthur J. Gallagher Services (UK) Ltd, Ashmore & Associates Insurance Agency, Atlantic Risk Management Corp., Atrex Insurance (Cayman) SPC Limited, Avantek Pty Ltd, Axe Insurance PCC Limited, BIS Insurance Services, Baker - Tillys employment benefits solutions, Ballard Benefit Works, Bankers Financial Benefits, Barmore Insurance Agency, Behnke & Co. Inc., Bellisle Pty Ltd, Belmont Associates Consultants, Belmont Insurance Holdings Limited, Belmont International, Belmont International Limited, Benefit Development Group, Benefit Management Group, BenefitLink Resource Group, Benefits Planning & Insurance Agency, Benefits Unlimited, Bennett & Shade Co., Bergvall Marine, Bergvall Marine A.S., Besselman & Little Agency, Big Savings Insurance Agency Inc., Blenheim Park Ltd, Blenheim Park Services Limited, Blue Holdings Pty Ltd, Blue Horizon Insurance Services, Blue Water Benefits, BluePeak Advisors, Blueleaf Consulting Pty Ltd., Bluewater Incorporated Cell Insurance Company, Bollinger Inc., Bollinger Insurance Services Inc., Bowen Miclette Britt & Merry of Arkansas Inc., Brendis & Brendis, Brim AB, Broker Benefit Services, Brokerage Professionals, Brown Hobbs & McMurray Insurance, Bultman/Bell Associates Inc., Burkwald & Associates, Burns-Fazzi Brock & Associates, Bushong Insurance Associates, C&B Consulting Group, CGM Gallagher Insruance Brokers (Trinidad & Tobago) Limited, CJM Solutions Inc., CMA Solutions LLC, Cairnstone Financial, California Insurance Center, Capital Bauer Insurance Agency, Capitol Benefits Group, Capsicum CRLA LLP, Capsicum Re Brasil Participacoes Ltda, Capsicum Re Latin America Corretora De Resseguros Ltda, Capsicum Reinsurance Brokers Bermuda Limited, Capsicum Reinsurance Brokers Miami Inc., Carefree Marketing Inc., Carpenter Cammack & Associates, Cashan & Co., Castle Insurance Associates, Centennial Insurance Agency, Charity First Insurance Services Inc., Charles Allen Agency, Charter Lakes Insurance Agency, Chris Schroeder Insurance, Christie-Phoenix, Cintran Claims Canada Limited, Classic Insurance Services, Cleaveland Insurance Group, Cohen & Lord Insurance Brokers, Cohn Financial Group, Coleman Group Holdings Limited, Coleman Holdings Limited, College and University Scholastic Excess Risk Purchasing Group LLC, Commercial Insurance Brokers, Complete Benefit Alliance, Complete Financial Balance, Complete Financial Balance Pty Ltd, Consolidated Casualty Specialties LLC, Construction Risk Solutions, Contego Underwriting Limited, Contego Underwriting Ltd, Continental Excess & Surplus, Convergence Risk Services Ltd, Copper Mountain Assurance Inc., Cornwall & Stevens Co., Corporate Benefit Advisors, Corporate Life Consultants, Countrywide Accident Assistance Limited, Coverdell & Company Inc., Coverdell Canada Corporation, Cowles and Connell, Craig M. Ferguson & Co., Crist Elliott Machette Insurance Services, Crombie Lockwood (NZ) Limited, Davis-Poston & Associates, Denman Consulting Services, Detlefs Johnson & Partners, DiBrina Group, Dickinson & Associates, Discount Development Services L.L.C., Discovery Benefit Solutions, Dodson-Bateman & Co., Donald P. Pipino Co. Ltd., E. S. Susanin Inc., EHE Holdings LLC, EHS Holdings Limited, Elantis Premium Funding (NZ) Limited, Elantis Premium Funding Limited, Elite Benefits Insurance Marketing Services, Employee Benefits Analysis Corp., Employee Benefits of The Carolinas, Encore Insurance & Bonding, Everett James, Evolution Risk Services Limited, Evolution Technology Services Limited, Evolution Underwriting Group, Evolution Underwriting Group Limited, Evolution Underwriting Limited, Excel Insurance Services, FYI Direct Canada Corporation, FYI Direct LLC, Farallone Pacific Insurance Services, Fenchurch Faris Limited, Fidelity Benefits & Insurance Services, Financial Profiles Inc., Finergy Solutions Pty Ltd, First Agency, First Iowa Insurance Agency, First Premium Inc., First Premium Insurance Group, Fish & Schulkamp, Fishermans Insurance Services, Foley Healthcare Limited, Fortress Financial Solutions Pty Ltd, Fortress Insurance LLC, Foundation Strategies, Fox Lawson & Associates, Franklin-Case Agency LLC, Fraser MacAndrew Ryan Limited, Friary Intermediate Limited, Fuller & O'Brien, G.S. Chapman & Associates Insurance Brokers, G.S. Levine Insurance Services, GBS (Australia) Holdings Pty Ltd, GBS Administrators Inc., GBS Insurance and Financial Services Inc., GBS Retirement Services Inc., GBS Specialty Markets LLC, GGB Finance 1 Limited, GGB Finance 2 Limited, GGB Finance 3 Limited, GGB Finance 4 Limited, GPL Assurance, GPL Assurance Inc., Gabor Insurance Services, Gale Smith & Co. Inc., Gallagher (Bermuda) Insurance Solutions Ltd., Gallagher - Grace/Mayer Insurance Agency, Gallagher Bassett Aires Inc., Gallagher Bassett Canada Inc., Gallagher Bassett Insurance Services Ltd., Gallagher Bassett International Ltd., Gallagher Bassett NZ Pty Ltd., Gallagher Bassett Services Inc. , Gallagher Bassett Services Pty Ltd., Gallagher Bassett Services Workers Compensation Victoria Pty Ltd., Gallagher Benefit Services (Canada) Group Inc., Gallagher Benefit Services (Holdings) Limited, Gallagher Benefit Services Inc., Gallagher Benefit Services Management Company Limited, Gallagher Benefit Services Pty Ltd, Gallagher Benefits Consulting Limited, Gallagher Bomford Couch Wilson, Gallagher Burgess, Gallagher Canada Acquisition Corporation, Gallagher Caribbean Group Limited, Gallagher Clean Energy LLC, Gallagher Communications Limited, Gallagher Community Clinic RPG LLC, Gallagher Consulting Ltda, Gallagher Corporate Services LLC, Gallagher Coyle, Gallagher CyberRisk, Gallagher Energy Risk Services Inc., Gallagher Fiduciary Advisors LLC, Gallagher Holdings (UK) Limited, Gallagher Holdings Bermuda Company Limited, Gallagher Holdings Four (UK) Limited, Gallagher Holdings Three (UK) Limited, Gallagher Insurance Brokers (Barbados) Limited, Gallagher Insurance Brokers (St. Kitts & Nevis) Limited, Gallagher Insurance Brokers (St. Lucia) Limited, Gallagher Insurance Brokers (St. Vincent) Limited, Gallagher Insurance Brokers Jamaica Limited, Gallagher International Cash Management s.r.l., Gallagher International Holdings (US) Inc., Gallagher Investment Advisors LLC, Gallagher Inwest Group, Gallagher Koster, Gallagher Lambert Group, Gallagher Madison Risk & Insurance Services, Gallagher Mauritius Holdings, Gallagher Mississippi Brokerage LLC, Gallagher RE Colombia Ltda Corredores de Reaseguros SA, Gallagher Risk & Reward Limited, Gallagher Risk Group LLC, Gallagher Risk Placements Pty Ltd, Gallagher SKS, Gallagher Service Center LLP, Gallagher-Tarantino, Galtney Group, Game Day Insurance Inc., Gardner & White Corp., Gardner Marine Agency, Garza Long Group, Gatehouse Consulting Limited, Gault Armstrong Kemble Pty Ltd, Gault Armstrong SARL, Giles Group, Giles Holdings Limited, Giles Insurance Brokers, Gillis Ellis & Baker Inc., Goodman Insurance Agency, Grandy Pratt Co., Greenseed Alternative Mangaers Platform Ltd, Grossman & Associates, Group Benefits of Arkansas, Group Insurance Associates, Gruppo Marcucci, HLG Holdings Limited, HMG-PCMS Limited, HPF Investments LLC, HR Owen Insurance Services Limited, Hagan Newkirk Financial Services, Hagedorn & Company, Hardman & Howell Benefits, Harlequin Insurance PCC Limited, Hartstein Associates Inc., Healthcare Professionals Purchasing Group LLC, Healthcare Risk Solutions, Heath Lambert Group Ltd., Heath Lambert Limited, Heath Lambert Overseas Limited, Heiser Insurance Agency, Henderson Phillips Fine Arts Insurance, Herbruck Alder & Co., Heritage Insurance Brokers (CI) Limited, Hesse & Partner AG, Hesse Consulting, Hexagon ICC Limited, Hexagon Insurance PCC Limited, Hill Chesson & Woody, Hogan Insurance Services, Home & Travel Limited, Honour Point Limited, Horseshoe Corporate Services Ltd, Horseshoe Fund Services (Cayman) Ltd, Horseshoe Fund Services Ltd, Horseshoe Fund Services USA Inc., Horseshoe ILS Services UK Ltd, Horseshoe Insurance Advisors US LLC, Horseshoe Insurance Advisory Ltd., Horseshoe Insurance Services Holdings Ltd, Horseshoe Insurance Services Holdings US Inc., Horseshoe Management (Gibraltar) Limited, Horseshoe Management (Ireland) Ltd, Horseshoe Management Ltd., Horseshoe PCC Limited, Horseshoe Re Limited, Horseshoe Services (Cayman) Ltd, Horseshoe Services (Pty) Ltd, Horton Insurance Agency, Housing Authorities Services Risk Purchasing Group LLC, Human Resource Management Systems, I-Protect Underwriting Pty Ltd, IBIS Advisors, IBS Reinsurance Singapore Pte Ltd, ILS Fund Services Ltd., ISG International, ITI Solutions, Igloo Insurance PCC Limited, Independent Benefit Services, Independent Fiduciary Services, Ink Underwriting Agencies Limited, InsSync Group Pty Ltd, Inspire Underwriting Limited, Instrat Insurance Brokers, Instrat Insurance Brokers Pty Ltd, Instrat Integration Holdco Pty Ltd, Insurance Acquisitions Holdings Limited, Insurance Associates Inc., Insurance Dialogue Limited, Insurance Dialogue Ltd., Insurance Plans Agency, Insurance Plus Risk Purchasing Group LLC, Insurance Point, Insurance Risk Managers of Missouri Inc., Insure My Villa Limited, Insure Pty Ltd, Integrated Healthcare Strategies, InterNational Insurance Group, InterPacific Underwriting Agencies, Intermountain Financial Benefits, Interstate Insurance Underwriters, JPGAC LLC, James F. Reda & Associates, James R. Weir Insurance Agency, Jenkins and Associates, Joe E. Martin Inc., John P. Woods Co. Inc., Jones Brown, Jones Brown Group Inc., Jones Brown Insurance Solutions Inc., Joseph Distel, Joseph James & Associates Insurance Agency, Just Landlords Insurance Services Ltd, KDC Associates, KRW Insurance Agency, Kahl Insurance Services, Kaler Carney Liffler & Co. Inc., Kane Group - Insurance Management Operations, Kelly Financial, Kent Kent & Tingle and RBS, Keyser Benefits Corp., Kingspark Enterprises Pty Ltd, L&R Benefits, LSG Insurance Partners, Learn About Money Limited, Lewis & Associates Insurance Brokers, Leystone Insurance & Financial, Life Plans Unlimited, Lincoln Financial Management, Longfellow Financial, Lucas Fettes Limited, Lucas Fettes and Partners Limited, Lutgert Insurance, MA Underwriting Pty Ltd, MDM Insurance Associates, MG Advanced Coal Technologies-1 LLC, MGA Insurance Services, MRS Holdings Ltd., Madison Scott & Associates, Managed Healthcare Solutions, Mannequin Insurance PCC Limited, Marchetti Robertson & Brickell Insurance, Marine Insurance Service, Martin Gordon & Jones Inc., McDowall Associates Human Resource Consultants, McIntyre Risk Management, McLean Insurance Agency, McNeary, McPherson Benefits Group, McRory & Co., Mecacem Insurance SPC Ltd, MedInsights Inc., Melton Insurance Associates, Memberworks Canada LLC, Merit Insurance, Metcom Excess, Metzler Bros. Insurance, Meyers-Reynolds & Associates, Mid America Group, Midwest Surety Services, Mike Henry Insurance Brokers, Mike Henry Insurance Brokers Limited, Mike Henry Insurance Funding Limited, Miller Buettner & Parrott, Miller-Harrison Insurance Services, Milne Alexander Pty Ltd, Minvielle & Chastanet Insurance Brokers, Monument Insurance (NZ) Limited, Monument Llc, Monument Premium Funding Limited, Mortgage Insurance Agency, Murphy Consultants, Mutual Insurance Services, NationAir Aviation Insurance, National Administration Co., National Ethics Association, National Transportation Adjusters, Nelson/Monarch Insurance Services, Nicoud Insurance Services, NiiS/Apex Group Holdings, Nonprofit Insurance Risk Purchasing Group LLC, Noraxis Capital Corp, Nordic Forsakring & Riskhantering AB, North Alabama Insurance, Nourse Insurance Brokers, O'Gorman & Young, OAMPS (UK) Limited, OAMPS Gault Armstrong Pty Ltd, OAMPS Limited, OAMPS Special Risks Ltd, Offshore Market Placements Limited, Optimum Talent, Orb Financial Services, Orb Financial Services Limited, Osprey Insurance Brokers Limited, Oval Group, Oval Healthcare Limited, Oval Insurance Broking Limited, Oval Limited, Oval Management Services Limited, Oxygen Insurance Managers, P2 Group, PEN Insurance Management Advisors Ltd, PT IBS Insurance Broking Service, Pacific Insurance Agency, Palmer Atlantic Insurance, Palmer Atlantic Insurance Ltd, Palmer Atlantic Risk Services Ltd., Park Row Associates, Parkstar Enterprises Pty Ltd, Parmia Pty Ltd, PartnerSource, Pastel Holding (NZ) Company, Pastel Holdings Pty Limited, Pastel Purchaser (NZ) Limited, Pastel Purchaser Pty Limited, Pavey Group Holdings (UK) Limited, Pavey Group Holdings Limited, Pavey Group Limited, Pearson Dunn Insurance Inc., Pen Underwriting Canada Limited, Pen Underwriting Group Pty. Ltd., Pen Underwriting Limited, Pen Underwriting Pty Ltd, Persing Dyckman & Toynbee Inc., Personal Advice Services Pty Ltd, Petty Burton Associates, Pointer Insurance Agency, Portmore Insurance Brokers (Wilshire) Limited, Portmore Insurance Brokers Limited, Potter-Holden & Co., Powell Insurance Agency, Premier Insurance Services Inc., Premier Risk Services, Premium Finance Corporation, Preston-Patterson, ProSource Financial, Professional Agents Risk Purchasing Group LLC, Professional Claims Managers, Proinova AB, Proinova Agency AB, Pronto California Agency LLC, Pronto California General Agency LLC, Pronto Florida Claims LLC, Pronto Florida General Agency LLC, Pronto Franchise LLC, Pronto General Agency Ltd, Pronto General Agency Management LLC, Pronto Holdco Inc., Pronto Holding California LLC, Pronto Holding Florida LLC, Pronto Insurance Agency of Laredo Inc., Pronto Premium Finance LLC, Property & Commercial Ltd., Property Insurance Initatives Limited, Property and Commercial Limited, Protected Insurance Company, Protection Plan Association Inc., Protek Group Limited, Providium Consulting Group, Ptarmigan Underwriting Agency Limited, Ptarmigan Underwriting UK Limited, Purple Bridge Claims Management Limited, Purple Bridge Finance Limited, Purple Bridge Group Limited, Purple Bridge Investments Limited, Purple Bridge Online Services Limited, Purple Bridge Publishing Limited, Quantum Underwriting Solutions Limited, Quillco 226 Limited, Quillco 227 Limited, R. L. Youngdahl & Associates, R.G. Speno Inc., R.W. Scobie, RA Rossborough (Guernsey) Ltd., RA Rossborough (Insurance Brokers) Ltd, REGENCY Group inc., RGA Referencing Limited, RGA Underwriting Limited, RIL Administrators (Guernsey) Ltd., RJ Dutton Inc., RSM Insurance Services Limited, Reassurance Holdings Inc., Rebholz Insurance Agency, Reid Manson Ltd., Reimbursement Services, Rentguard Limited, Reward Management Limited, Reynolds & Rodar Insurance Group, Riley & Associates, Rio 587 Limited, Rio 588 Limited, Risk & Reward Group, Risk Management Partners Limited, Risk Placement Services Inc., Risk Planners, Risk Services (NW) Limited, Risk Services (NW) Ltd., Risk Solutions Group Limited, Robert A. Schneider Agency, Robert Keith & Associates, Roberts & Roberts Insurance Service, Robinson-Adams Insurance, Rossborough Healthcare International Ltd, Rossborough Insurance (IOM) Ltd., Rossborough Insurance Services Ltd. (Jersey), S. A. Freerks & Associates, SEG Insurance Ltd, SGB-NIA Insurance Brokers, SHILLING Ltd, SKANCO International, SMERI AB, SRS Underwriting Pty Ltd, Secure Enterprises Pty Ltd, Securitas Re, Sellers Group, Sentinel Indemnity LLC, Septagon Insurance PCC Limited, Shuford Insurance Agency, Sigma II Insurance Agency, Sinclair Billard and Weld Limited, Sobieski & Bradley, Solid Benefit Guidance, Spanjers Insurance Agency, Spataro Insurance Agency, Specialised Broking Associates, Specialty Risk, Stackhouse Poland, Stackhouse Poland Bidco Limited, Stackhouse Poland Group Limited, Stackhouse Poland Holdings Limited, Stackhouse Poland Midco Limited, Stackouse Poland Limited, Stanton Group, Stark Johnson & Stinson Inc., Steel Agency, Strata Solicitors Ltd, Strategic Health Plans Corp., Strathearn Insurance Brokers, Strathearn Insurance Brokers (Qld) Trading Trust, Strathern Insurance Group Pty Ltd, Strathern Integration Holdco Pty Ltd, Strathern Unit Trust, Strong Financial Resources, Summit Insurance Group, Sunday and Associates, Sunderland Insurance Services, Super Advice Corporate Services Pty Ltd, Taylor Benefits, Texas Insurance Agency, Texas Insurance Managers, The BeneTex Group, The Buchholz Planning, The Chapman Group, The Commonwealth Consulting Group, The Daniels Group Inc., The EHE Group LLC, The EHE Insurance Agency LLC, The Eagle Insurance Agency LLC, The Eriksen Group, The Forker Company, The Gleason Agency, The Great Lakes Agency, The HR Group, The Hawk Agency, The Human Capital Group, The Lance Group, The Levitt/Kristan Co., The MW Bagnall Company, The Old Greenwich Consulting Group, The Parks Johnson Agency, The Plus Companies Inc., The Presidio Group, The Producers Choice, The Rains Group, The Splinter Group, The Titan Group, The Treiber Group, The Woodsmall Companies Inc., Title & Covenant Brokers Ltd., Title Investments Limited, Tom Sherwin Insurance Agency, Total Reward Group, Total Rewards Group (Holdings) Limited, Towle Agency, Transwestern, Tri-State General Insurance Agency, Triad Insurance Agency, Triad USA, Tribeca Strategic Advisors, Trinder & Norwood, Trip Mate, Trissel Graham & Toole, Tropp & Co., Tudor Risk Services, Tyloma Holdings Limited, Uni-Care Inc., Unison Inc., Universico Group, Unoccupied Direct Limited, V2V Holdings LLC, VEBA Service Group, Vasek Insurance Services Limited, Velo ACU LLC, Velo Holdings Inc., Verbag AG., Vertrue LLC, Victory Insurance Agency, Vincent L. Braband Insurance, Vital Benefits, Voluntary Benefits Solutions, W. E. Kingsley Co. Inc., WM. W. George & Associates, Walker Taylor Agency, Welling Associates, Wesfarmers Insurance - Insurance Brokerage Operations, Western Benefit Solutions, White & Company Insurance, Whitehaven Insurance Group, William Gallagher Associates Insurance Brokers, William H. Connolly & Co., Williams Insurance Agency Inc., Williams-Manny Insurance Group, Winn & Company Insurance Brokers, Wischmeyer Benefit Partners, Woodbrook Underwriting Agencies, Woods & Grooms, WorkCare Northwest, Worksite Communications, Y. S. Liedman & Associates, YOA Capsicum Reinsurance Broker Limited, Zenor Limited, Zuber Insurance Agency, and e3 Financial.
The following companies are subsidiares of Becton, Dickinson and: (Bard Istanbul Healthcare Limited Company), Accuri Cytometers, Accuri Cytometers Inc., Adaptec Manufacturing Singapore, Alverix, Alverix Inc., Atto Bioscience, BD Holding S. de R.L. de C.V., BD Infection Prevention BV, BD Kiestra BV, BD Kiestra Total Lab Automation, BD Rapid Diagnostic (Suzhou) Co. Ltd., BD San Luis Potosi S.A. de C.V., BD Switzerland Sarl, BD Ventures LLC, BD West Africa Limited, BDX INO LLC, Bard (Thailand) Limited, Bard ASDI Inc., Bard Access Systems Inc., Bard Acquisition Sub Inc., Bard Australia Pty. Limited, Bard Benelux N.V., Bard Brachytherapy Inc., Bard Brasil Industria e Comercio de Produtos Para a Saude Ltda., Bard Canada Inc., Bard Chile S.p.A., Bard Colombia S.A.S., Bard Czech Republic s.r.o., Bard Devices Inc., Bard Dublin ITC Limited, Bard EMEA Finance Center Sp.z o.o., Bard European Distribution Center N.V., Bard Finance B.V. & Co. KG., Bard Financial Services Ltd., Bard Finland OY, Bard France S.A.S., Bard Global Holdings I LLC, Bard Global Holdings II LLC, Bard Global Holdings III LLC, Bard Healthcare Inc., Bard Healthcare Science (Shanghai) Limited, Bard Hellas S.A., Bard Holding SAS, Bard Holdings Limited, Bard Holdings Netherlands B.V., Bard Hong Kong Limited, Bard IP Holdings Inc., Bard India Healthcare Pvt. Ltd., Bard International Holdings B.V., Bard International Inc., Bard Korea Ltd., Bard Limited, Bard MRL Acquisition Corp., Bard Malaysia Healthcare Sdn. Bhd., Bard Medica SA, Bard Medical Devices (Beijing) Co. Ltd., Bard Medical R&D (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Bard Medical SA (Proprietary) Limited, Bard Mexico Realty S. de R.L. de C.V., Bard Norden AB, Bard Norway AS, Bard Pacific Health Care Company Ltd., Bard Peripheral Vascular Inc., Bard Poland Sp. z.o.o., Bard Productos Plasticos e Medicos Ltda., Bard Reynosa S.A. de C.V., Bard S.r.l., Bard Sdn. Bhd., Bard Shannon Limited, Bard Singapore Private Limited, Bard Sourcing Office Singapore Pte. Ltd., Bard Sweden AB, Bard UK Newco Limited, Bard de Espana S.A., Becton Dickinson (Gibraltar) Holdings Ltd., Becton Dickinson (Gibraltar) Limited, Becton Dickinson (Gibraltar) Management Limited, Becton Dickinson (Mauritius) Limited, Becton Dickinson (Pty) Ltd., Becton Dickinson (Thailand) Limited, Becton Dickinson A.G., Becton Dickinson A/S, Becton Dickinson Argentina S.R.L., Becton Dickinson Asia Holdings Ltd., Becton Dickinson Asia Limited, Becton Dickinson Austria GmbH, Becton Dickinson Austria Holdings GmbH, Becton Dickinson B.V., Becton Dickinson B.V. Saudi Limited Company, Becton Dickinson Benelux N.V., Becton Dickinson Biosciences Systems and Reagents Inc., Becton Dickinson Canada Inc., Becton Dickinson Caribe Ltd., Becton Dickinson Croatia d.o.o., Becton Dickinson Czechia s.r.o., Becton Dickinson Dispensing Belgium BVBA, Becton Dickinson Dispensing Denmark A/S, Becton Dickinson Dispensing France SAS, Becton Dickinson Dispensing Ireland Limited, Becton Dickinson Dispensing Norway, Becton Dickinson Dispensing Spain S.L.U., Becton Dickinson Dispensing UK Ltd., Becton Dickinson Distribution Center N.V., Becton Dickinson East Africa Ltd., Becton Dickinson Euro Finance Sarl, Becton Dickinson Europe Holdings S.A.S., Becton Dickinson France S.A.S., Becton Dickinson GSA Beteilgungs GmbH, Becton Dickinson Global Holdings I Inc., Becton Dickinson Global Holdings II LLC, Becton Dickinson Global Holdings IV LLC, Becton Dickinson Global Holdings V LLC, Becton Dickinson Global Holdings VI LLC, Becton Dickinson Global Holdings VII LLC, Becton Dickinson Global Services Centre Sdn. Bdn., Becton Dickinson GmbH, Becton Dickinson Guatemala S.A., Becton Dickinson Hellas S.A., Becton Dickinson Holdings Limited, Becton Dickinson Holdings Pte Ltd., Becton Dickinson Hungary Kft., Becton Dickinson India Private Limited, Becton Dickinson Industrias Cirurgicas Ltda., Becton Dickinson Infusion Therapy AB, Becton Dickinson Infusion Therapy Holdings UK Limited, Becton Dickinson Infusion Therapy Systems Inc., Becton Dickinson Infusion Therapy Systems Inc. S.A. de C.V., Becton Dickinson Infusion Therapy UK, Becton Dickinson Insulin Syringe Ltd., Becton Dickinson International Holdings II Pte Ltd., Becton Dickinson International Holdings III Pte Ltd., Becton Dickinson International Holdings Pte Ltd., Becton Dickinson Israel Ltd., Becton Dickinson Italia S.p.A., Becton Dickinson Ithalat Ihracat Limited Sirketi, Becton Dickinson Korea Holding Inc., Becton Dickinson Korea Ltd., Becton Dickinson Ltd., Becton Dickinson Luxembourg Finance S.a.r.L., Becton Dickinson Luxembourg Global Holdings Sarl, Becton Dickinson Luxembourg Holdings II S.a.r.L, Becton Dickinson Luxembourg Holdings III S.a.r.L, Becton Dickinson Malaysia Inc., Becton Dickinson Management GmbH & Co. KG, Becton Dickinson Matrex Holdings Inc., Becton Dickinson Medical (S) Pte Ltd., Becton Dickinson Medical Devices (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Becton Dickinson Medical Devices (Suzhou) Co. Ltd., Becton Dickinson Medical Products Pte. Ltd., Becton Dickinson Medical Technology (Jiangsu) Co. Ltd., Becton Dickinson Netherlands Global Holdings II C.V., Becton Dickinson Netherlands Holdings B.V., Becton Dickinson Netherlands Holdings II B.V., Becton Dickinson Norway AS, Becton Dickinson O.Y., Becton Dickinson Overseas Services Ltd., Becton Dickinson Pakistan (Pvt) Ltd., Becton Dickinson Penel Limited, Becton Dickinson Philippines Inc., Becton Dickinson Polska Sp.z.o.o., Becton Dickinson Portugal Unipessoal Lda., Becton Dickinson Pty. Ltd., Becton Dickinson Research Centre Ireland Limited, Becton Dickinson Rowa Germany GmbH, Becton Dickinson Rowa Italy Srl, Becton Dickinson S.A., Becton Dickinson Sample Collection GmbH, Becton Dickinson Scot Financing L.L.P., Becton Dickinson Scot Financing L.P., Becton Dickinson Sdn. Bhd., Becton Dickinson Slovakia s.r.o., Becton Dickinson Sweden AB, Becton Dickinson Sweden Holdings AB, Becton Dickinson Switzerland Global Holdings SarL, Becton Dickinson Technology Campus India, Becton Dickinson U.K. Limited, Becton Dickinson UK Financing I Ltd., Becton Dickinson UK Financing II Ltd., Becton Dickinson Venezuela C.A., Becton Dickinson Venture LLC, Becton Dickinson Verwaltungs GmbH, Becton Dickinson Vostok LLC, Becton Dickinson Worldwide Investments Sa.r.L., Becton Dickinson Zambia Limited, Becton Dickinson and Company Ltd., Becton Dickinson de Colombia Ltda., Becton Dickinson de Mexico S.A. de C.V., Becton Dickinson del Uruguay S.A., Benex Ltd., Biometric Imaging, Bridger Biomed Inc., C. R. Bard, C. R. Bard (Portugal)-Produtos e Artigos Medicos e Farmaceuticos, C. R. Bard Do Brazil Productos Medicos Ltds., C. R. Bard GmbH, C. R. Bard Inc., C. R. Bard Netherlands Sales B.V., CME America LLC, CME Ltd., CME Medical (UK) Limited, CME UK (Holdings) Limited, CRISI Medical Systems, CRISI Medical Systems Inc., Caesarea Medical Electronics, Cardal II LLC, Care Fusion Development Private Limited, CareFusion, CareFusion (Barbados) SrL, CareFusion (Shanghai) Commercial and Trading Co. Limited, CareFusion 213 LLC, CareFusion 2200 Inc., CareFusion 2201 Inc., CareFusion 302 LLC, CareFusion 303 Inc., CareFusion Asia (HK) Limited, CareFusion BH 335 d.o.o. Cazin, CareFusion Corporation, CareFusion D.R. 203 Ltd., CareFusion France 309 S.A.S., CareFusion Germany 318 GmbH, CareFusion Iberia 308 S.L., CareFusion Israel 330 Ltd., CareFusion Italy 312 S.p.A., CareFusion Manufacturing LLC, CareFusion Mexico 215 S.A. de C.V., CareFusion Netherlands 328 B.V., CareFusion Netherlands 503 B.V., CareFusion Netherlands 504 B.V., CareFusion Netherlands Financing 283 C.V., CareFusion Resources LLC, CareFusion S.A. 319 (Proprietary) Limited, CareFusion Solutions LLC, CareFusion U.K. 244 Limited, CareFusion U.K. 305 Limited, CareFusion U.K. 306 Limited, Carmel Pharma AB, Carmel Pharma Inc, Cato Software Solutions, Cell Analysis Systems Inc, Cellular Research, Cellular Research Inc., Clearstream Technologies Group Limited, Clearstream Technologies Limited, Clontech Laboratories Inc, Corporativo BD de Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Cubex, Cytopeia, DLD (Bermuda) Ltd., DVL Acquisition Sub Inc., Davol Inc., Davol International Limited, Davol Surgical Innovations S.A. de C.V., Difco Laboratories Incorporated, Distribuidora BD Mexico S.A. de C.V., Dutch American Manufacturers (D.A.M.) B.V., Dymax Corporation, Embo Medical Limited, Enturia de Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Enturican Inc., FJ International Inc., FlowCardia Inc., FlowCardia LLC, FlowJo LLC, Franklin Lakes Enterprises L.L.C., GSL Solutions, Gamer Lasertechnik GmbH, GenCell Biosystems, GenCell Biosystems Ltd., GeneOhm Sciences, GeneOhm Sciences Canada Inc., Gentest Corporation, Gesco International Inc., Gesco International LLC, HandyLab Inc, HandyLab Inc., IBD Holdings LLC, Ionotophoretics Corporation, JoHome LLC, Kabushiki Kaisha Medicon (Medicon Inc.), Liberator Health and Education Services Inc., Liberator Health and Wellness Inc., Liberator Medical Holdings Inc., Liberator Medical Supply Inc., LifeBond, Limited Liability Company Bard Rus, Loma Vista Medical Inc., Loma Vista Medical LLC, Lutonix Inc., Med-Design Corporation, Med-Design Investment Holdings Inc., Med-Safe Systems Inc., MedChem Products Inc., Medafor Inc., Medegen LLC, Medinservice.com Inc., Medivance Inc., NAT Diagnostics, NAT Diagnostics Inc., NOW Medical Distribution Inc., NOW Medical Distribution LLC, Navarre Biomedical LLC, Navarre Biomedical Ltd., Neomend Inc., Nippon Becton Dickinson Company Ltd., Omega Biosystems Incorporated, P.R.C.(Isialys)Societe a responsabilitie limitee(Societe a associe unique), PT Becton Dickinson Indonesia, PharMingen, PreAnalytiX GmbH, Pristine Access Technologies Inc., ProSeed Inc., Procesos para Esterilizacion S.A. de C.V., Productos Bard de Mexico S.A. de C.V., Productos Para el Cuidado de la Salud S.A. de C.V., Puls Medical Devices AS LC, PureWick Corporation, Roberts Laboratories Inc., Rochester Medical Corporation, Rochester Medical Ltd., Saf-T-Med, Safety Syringes, Safety Syringes Inc., Sendal S.L.U., SenoRx Inc., SenoRx LLC, Shield Healthcare Centers Inc., Sirigen, Sirigen II Limited, Sirigen Inc., Sistemas Medicos ALARIS S.A. de C.V., Specialized Cooperative Corporation, Specialized Health Products Inc., Specialized Health Products International Inc., Specialized Health Products International LLC, Staged Diabetes Management LLC, Straub Medical, Straub Medical, Straub Medical (US) LLC, Straub Medical (United Kingdom) Ltd., Straub Medical France, Surgical Site Solutions Inc., TVA Medical, TVA Medical GmbH, TVA Medical Inc., Tepha, Touchstone Medical Limited, Tri-County Medical & Ostomy Supplies Inc., TriPath Imaging, TriPath Imaging Inc., Vas-Cath Incorporated, Vascular Pathways Inc., Velano Vascular, Venetec International Inc., Venetec International LLC, Y-Med Inc., and Y-Med LLC.
Bishop Melford Pompey has been a strong and consistent advocate on behalfof Spiritual Baptists here.

The Spiritual Baptist Archdiocese of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines now has a new Archbishop.





The Rt. Rev. Melford Pompey received the nod on Saturday 17th November 2018 to fill the position left vacant after the death of the former Archbishop Frank Simon.





Archbishop Simon and Laverne Pompey-Young died in a vehicular accident at Gordon Yard, while on their with other pilgrims to a church service in Chateaubelair.





The 56-year-old Pompey, who heads the St Marys Spiritual Baptist Cathedral, Overland, is following in the footsteps of his father - Blessed Cosmore Mathias Pompey - who served as Archbishop and Supreme Head of the Spiritual Baptiste Archdiocese of SVG, from 1985-2010.





It is the first time a son has followed his father into occupying a leading position in local Spiritual Baptist Archdiocese, and, as per a comment from a Spiritual Baptist, "Bishop Melford was destined to become a leader of our faith.





The Rt. Rev. Melford Pompey becomes the 5th Archbishop to be elected.

A teacher by profession and a well-known and respected member of the Spiritual Baptist fraternity both here and abroad, it was no surprise, said a release from the Spiritual Baptist. Archdiocese, that congratulatory remarks pour in for the new Archbishop from relatives, friends and the Spiritual Baptist fraternity in St. Vincent, Barbados, Grenada, Trinidad and the United States of America.





The Archbishop elect will first be presented to the Archdiocesan Synod before his enthronement, a date for which will be set by Archdiocesan Council when they meet in December.

THE VINCENTIAN congratulates Rt. Rev. Melford Pompey on his elevation and wishes him Gods richest blessings as he undertakes this new responsibility.
The following companies are subsidiares of BorgWarner: B80 Italia S.r.l., BERU AG, BW El Salto S.A. De C.V., BWA Receivables Corporation, BWA Turbo Systems Holding LLC, Borg Warner Europe Holdings (PDS) B. V., BorgWarner (China) Investment Co. Ltd., BorgWarner (Reman) Holdings L.L.C., BorgWarner (Thailand) Limited, BorgWarner Aftermarket Europe GmbH, BorgWarner Alternators Inc., BorgWarner Arden LLC, BorgWarner Arnstadt RE GmbH & Co. KG, BorgWarner Asia Inc., BorgWarner Automotive Asia Limited, BorgWarner Automotive Components (Beijing) Co. Ltd., BorgWarner Automotive Components (Jiangsu) Co. Ltd., BorgWarner Automotive Components (Ningbo) Co. Ltd., BorgWarner Automotive Components (Tianjin) Co. Ltd., BorgWarner Automotive Components (Wuhan) Co. Ltd., BorgWarner Brasil Ltda., BorgWarner Chungju Co. LLC, BorgWarner Comercial e Distribuidora de Pecas para Veiculos Automotores Ltda., BorgWarner Comercializadora PDS S. de R.L. de C.V., BorgWarner Componentes PDS S. de R.L. de C.V., BorgWarner Cooling Systems (India) Private Limited, BorgWarner Cooling Systems GmbH, BorgWarner Diversified Transmission Products Services Inc., BorgWarner Drivetrain Engineering GmbH, BorgWarner Drivetrain Management Services de Mexico S.A. de C.V., BorgWarner Drivetrain de Mexico S.A. de C.V., BorgWarner Electric Motors L.L.C., BorgWarner Emissions Systems (Ningbo) Co. Ltd., BorgWarner Emissions Systems (Ningbo) Co. Ltd., BorgWarner Emissions Systems Holding LLC, BorgWarner Emissions Systems India Private Limited, BorgWarner Emissions Systems LLC, BorgWarner Emissions Systems Portugal Unipessoal LDA, BorgWarner Emissions Systems Spain S.L.U., BorgWarner Emissions Systems of Michigan Inc., BorgWarner Emissions Talegaon Private Limited, BorgWarner Engineering Ketsch RE GmbH & Co. KG, BorgWarner Engineering Kibo RE GmbH & Co. KG, BorgWarner Esslingen GmbH, BorgWarner Europe GmbH, BorgWarner Europe Holding S.a. r. l., BorgWarner Gateshead Limited, BorgWarner Germany Holding GmbH, BorgWarner Germany Holding Services GmbH, BorgWarner Germany REH GmbH, BorgWarner Germany REM GmbH, BorgWarner Germany Verwaltungs GmbH, BorgWarner Global Holding S.a. r. l., BorgWarner Heidelberg I RE GmbH & Co. KG, BorgWarner Heidelberg II RE GmbH & Co. KG, BorgWarner Heidelberg REH GmbH, BorgWarner Heidelberg REM GmbH, BorgWarner Holding Inc., BorgWarner Holdings Limited, BorgWarner Hungary Kft., BorgWarner IT Services Europe GmbH, BorgWarner India Holdings Inc., BorgWarner Investment Holding Inc., BorgWarner Ithaca LLC, BorgWarner Ketsch Plant RE GmbH & Co. KG, BorgWarner Ketsch REH GmbH, BorgWarner Ketsch REM GmbH, BorgWarner Kft., BorgWarner Kibo RE GmbH & Co. KG, BorgWarner Korea Holdings (PDS) B.V., BorgWarner Korea Holdings LLC, BorgWarner Korea LLC, BorgWarner Limited, BorgWarner Ludwigsburg GmbH, BorgWarner Ludwigsburg RE GmbH & Co. KG, BorgWarner Markdorf Plant RE GmbH & Co. KG, BorgWarner Markdorf REH GmbH, BorgWarner Markdorf REM GmbH, BorgWarner Massachusetts Inc., BorgWarner Mauritius Holdings Ltd., BorgWarner Mexico Holding BV, BorgWarner Mexico Holdings II LLC, BorgWarner Mexico Holdings LLC, BorgWarner Morse Systems India Private Limited, BorgWarner Morse Systems Italy S.r.l., BorgWarner Morse Systems Japan K.K., BorgWarner Morse Systems Mexico S.A. de C.V., BorgWarner Muggendorf RE GmbH & Co. KG, BorgWarner NW Inc., BorgWarner Netherlands Holdings (PDS) B.V., BorgWarner Oroszlany Kft., BorgWarner PDS (Anderson) L.L.C., BorgWarner PDS (Changnyeong) LLC, BorgWarner PDS (Indiana) Inc., BorgWarner PDS (Livonia) Inc., BorgWarner PDS (Ochang) LLC, BorgWarner PDS (Thailand) Limited, BorgWarner PDS (USA) Inc., BorgWarner PDS Brasil Produtos Automotivos Ltda., BorgWarner PDS Irapuato S. de R.L. de C.V., BorgWarner PDS Mexico Holdings S. de R.L. de C.V., BorgWarner PDS Technologies L.L.C., BorgWarner Poland Sp. z o.o., BorgWarner Pyongtaek LLC, BorgWarner Romeo Power LLC, BorgWarner Rzeszow Sp. z o.o., BorgWarner Shenglong (Ningbo) Co. Ltd., BorgWarner South Asia LLC, BorgWarner Southborough Inc., BorgWarner Spain Holding S.L.U, BorgWarner Sweden AB, BorgWarner Systems Lugo S.r.l., BorgWarner Thermal Systems Inc., BorgWarner Thermal Systems of Michigan Inc., BorgWarner TorqTransfer Systems Beijing Co. Ltd., BorgWarner Tralee Ltd., BorgWarner Transmission Products LLC, BorgWarner Transmission Systems Arnstadt GmbH, BorgWarner Transmission Systems GmbH, BorgWarner Transmission Systems Korea LLC, BorgWarner Transmission Systems Tulle S.A.S., BorgWarner Trustees Limited, BorgWarner Turbo & Emissions Systems France S.A.S., BorgWarner Turbo Systems Engineering GmbH, BorgWarner Turbo Systems GmbH, BorgWarner Turbo Systems LLC, BorgWarner Turbo Systems Worldwide Headquarters GmbH, BorgWarner Turbo Systems of Michigan Inc., BorgWarner Turbo and Emissions Systems de Mexico S.A. de C.V., BorgWarner UK Financing Ltd., BorgWarner UK Holding and Services Ltd., BorgWarner US Holding LLC, BorgWarner USA Industries L.L.C., BorgWarner United Transmission Systems Co. Ltd., BorgWarner Waterloo Inc., BorgWarner Wrexham Limited, Cascadia Motion LLC, Creon Insurance Agency Limited, Delphi Technologies, Dytech ENSA, Gustav Wahler GmbH u. Co. KG, Haldex, Kuhlman LLC, Kysor Europe Limited, M. & M. Knopf Auto Parts L.L.C., NSK-Warner (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., NSK-Warner K.K., NSK-Warner Mexico S.A. de C.V, NSK-Warner U.S.A. Inc., New PDS Corp., Old Remco Holdings L.L.C., Old Remco International Holdings L.L.C., Remy International, SeohanWarner Turbo Systems LLC, Sevcon, Sevcon New Energy Technology (Hubei) Company Limited, and Transmission Systems AutoForm LLC.




The Lowmans Leeward Anglican School, home to a population of some 400 students, has become embroiled in a clash of differing perspectives.





The SVG Teachers Union (SVGTU) advised teachers at that school to "withdraw their services, with immediate effect due to deplorable working conditions. That was last Tuesday.





SVGTU Public Relations Officer (PRO) - Johnathan Roberts stated in a release dated Nov. 27, that "all the toilets that serve the students have not been able to flush since Monday 26, November 2018. A sewerage truck is currently on the compound of the school emptying the septic tank while school is in session.

Roberts also alluded to the "unbearable scent emanating from the truck, along with the loud sound of the suction device has interfered with the teaching and learning process at the school.





Roberts highlighted that "members of staff are very uncomfortable with this situation because "students have been using the one staff toilet that is working.





"The situation gravely affects the teaching and learning process, as well as the psychological well-being of students and teachers at the school, Roberts outlined.





He underscored that the Teachers Union, "takes its responsibility seriously and will not sacrifice the health of students, its members and any other occupant of that building.

The PRO Roberts concluded by encouraging parents to "keep their children at home until the situation has been "





The Vincentian visited the school on Wednesday morning. Students and teachers were on the compound but classes had not yet commenced.





compound but classes had not yet commenced.

The Principal did not wish to be identified, but she informed that BRAGSA had repaired the toilet on Tuesday afternoon. She disclosed that a child had thrown a bottle in the toilet, and she blamed some (news) outlets for getting the story wrong.

Minister of Education Jimmy Prince, weighing in on the matter, outlined that BRAGSA "came promptly and that the toilet was "cleared.

Prince accused the Teachers Union of being "too quick to abandon school for every little thing.

A former Head of the Agency for Public Information, Prince described the action of the Teachers Union as "premature, and further labelled their behaviour as "irresponsible.




ONEOK, Inc. engages in gathering, processing, fractionating, transporting, storing and marketing of natural gas. It operates through the following segments: Natural Gas Gathering and Processing, Natural Gas Liquids and Natural Gas Pipelines. The Natural Gas Gathering and Processing segment offers midstream services to producers in North Dakota, Montana, Wyoming, Kansas and Oklahoma. The Natural Gas Liquids segment owns and operates facilities that gather, fractionate, treat and distribute NGLs and store NGL products, in Oklahoma, Kansas, Texas, New Mexico and the Rocky Mountain region, which includes the Williston, Powder River and DJ Basins, where it provides midstream services to producers of NGLs and deliver those products to the two market centers, one in the Mid-Continent in Conway, Kansas and the other in the Gulf Coast in Mont Belvieu, Texas. The Natural Gas Pipelines segment provides transportation and storage services to end users. The company was founded in 1906 and is headquartered in Tulsa, OK.

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Jacobs Engineering Group Inc. provides technical, professional, and construction services. The company's Aerospace, Technology, Environmental and Nuclear segment offers scientific, engineering, construction, nuclear, environmental, and technical support services to the aerospace, defense, technical, and automotive industries. Its Buildings, Infrastructure and Advanced Facilities segment develops/rehabilitates plans for highways, bridges, transit, tunnels, airports, railroads, intermodal facilities, and maritime or port projects; develops or rehabilitates critical water resource systems, water/wastewater conveyance systems, and flood defense projects; and provides engineering design, construction management, design build, and operations and maintenance. This segment also designs and constructs buildings; offers consulting, engineering, procurement, construction management, and delivery services for life sciences clients; and provides services relating to modular construction and other consulting and strategic planning services, as well as offers services in containment, barrier technology, locally controlled environments, building systems automation, off-the-site design, and fabrication of facility modules. The company's Energy, Chemicals and Resources segment offers services relating to onshore and offshore oil and gas production facilities, processing facilities, gathering systems, and transmission pipelines and terminals; feasibility/economic studies, technology evaluation, conceptual engineering, front end loading, detailed engineering, procurement, construction, maintenance, and commissioning services; and engineering, procurement, and construction solutions. This segment also provides services, such as manufacturing complex, expansions, modifications, and management of plant relocations; construction management and field construction services; and services to operate and maintain facilities. The company was founded in 1947 and is headquartered in Dallas, Texas.

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Vitamin Shoppe, Inc., through its subsidiaries, operates as a omni-channel specialty retailer and contract manufacturer of nutritional products in the United States and internationally. It operates in two segments, Retail and Manufacturing. The company provides custom manufacturing and private labeling services for vitamin, mineral, and supplement products, as well as develops and markets own branded products. It offers vitamins, minerals, herbs, specialty supplements, sports nutrition products, and other health and wellness products of approximately 900 brands, such as own brands comprising The Vitamin Shoppe, BodyTech, True Athlete, Mytrition, plnt, ProBioCare, Next Step, and Betancourt Nutrition; and national brands, including Optimum Nutrition, Cellucor, Garden of Life, Quest Nutrition, Solaray, Solgar, Megafood, and Nature's Way. The company sells its products through Vitamin Shoppe and Super Supplements retail stores, as well as through its vitaminshoppe.com Website. As of November 7, 2018, it operated 775 company-operated retail stores under the Vitamin Shoppe and Super Supplements retail banners. It also operates franchise stores. The company was formerly known as VS Holdings, Inc. and changed its name to Vitamin Shoppe, Inc. in November 2009. Vitamin Shoppe, Inc. was founded in 1977 and is headquartered in Secaucus, New Jersey.

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Another commercial house here has lent its support to the World Pediatric Project (WPP)which brings free specialized and advanced medical care to the children of St. Vincent and the Grenadines and the rest of the OECS.





On Tuesday 27th November, 2018, Cedric McIntyre, Island Manager - Tropical Shipping, presented a cheque to Lauren McIntosh Executive Director of World Pediatric Project, in a brief handing over ceremony, which took place at the office of WPP, Kingstown.





McIntyre stated that it was a privilege to be able to make a meaningful contribution to the World Pediatric Project to assist specifically with its December medical mission and their community clinics.

He explained that the donation was in keeping with his companys recognition of its corporate (social) responsibility and its particular commitment to support programmes aimed at improving the lives of children in St. Vincent and the Grenadines.





Ms. McIntosh expressed gratitude on behalf of the WPP, assuring that the donation will go some way in defraying costs for the Mission.





To demonstrate their recognition of the invaluable support, McIntosh handed over a Certificate of Appreciation to Mr. Mc Intyre.





Sister Jackie Browne-King, WPPs Eastern Caribbean Director, in brief remarks, informed that they had just completed their Scoliosis Mission, the largest financial mission for the year.

Browne-King said that to date, the WPP has performed some 73 spinal fusion surgeries which is no easy task.

She looks forward to forging ties similar to the one recognized with Tropical Shipping, and urged other commercial entities to come on board.





Tropical Shipping has been serving the St. Vincent & the Grenadines and the Caribbean for over 50 years.
WellCare Health Plans, Inc. provides government-sponsored managed care services. The company operates in three segments: Medicaid Health Plans, Medicare Health Plans, and Medicare Prescription Drug Plans (PDPs). The Medicaid Health Plans segment offers plans for beneficiaries of temporary assistance for needy families, supplemental security income, and aged blind and disabled residents; and other state-based programs, such as children's health insurance programs and long-term services and supports programs for qualifying families who are not eligible for Medicaid. The Medicare Health Plans segment provides Medicare, a federal program that provides eligible persons aged 65 and over, as well as some disabled persons with a range of hospital, medical, and prescription drug benefits; Medicare Advantage, a Medicare's managed care alternative to the original Medicare program, which offers individuals standard Medicare benefits directly through Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services; and coordinated care plans that are administered through health maintenance organizations and require members to seek health care services and select a primary care physician from a network of health care providers. The Medicare PDPs segment provides Medicare part D PDP plans to Medicare-eligible beneficiaries. Its PDP plans offer national in-network prescription drug coverage, including a preferred pharmacy network. As of December 31, 2018, the company served approximately 5.5 million members in the United States. WellCare Health Plans, Inc. was founded in 1985 and is headquartered in Tampa, Florida.

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Director-General of the World Trade Organization (WTO), Roberto Azevedo, has commended a young Vincentian trade professional among the 2018 cohort for the groups excellent work, during their one-year placement at the Geneva, Switzerland-based organization.





Azevedo lauded Deah James  an administrative cadet in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Commerce in St. Vincent and the Grenadines  and the other cohort participants during his address last Thursday.

James is the daughter of Supervisor of Elections Dora Thompson-James and Cuthbert Mr. Cool James, coordinator of the local Peace Corps, Inc.

Azevedo said that the young professionals have established "good examples for this initiative to keep moving forward.

The 15 participants in the 2018 Young Professionals Program said they will carry the knowledge and skills gained at the WTO throughout their future careers as trade policy practitioners.

Besides St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Antigua and Barbuda was the other Caribbean country represented in the WTO 2018 cohort.





The other countries represented were Armenia, Cameroon, Georgia, Indonesia, Ivory Coast, Kazakhstan, Madagascar, Mongolia, Panama, Paraguay and Togo.





The WTO said the young professionals  who were chosen from more than 1,500 candidates following a competitive selection process  spent their 12 months at the WTO Secretariat developing their knowledge, skills and experience, and learning about the organizations work and activities.

This is the second year for the Young Professionals Program following the inaugural program in 2017.

Azevedo said the program was launched with the objectives of enhancing knowledge of WTO issues among young professionals from developing and least-developed members, and widening the pool of qualified applicants for future recruitment at the WTO, with a special focus on those members that are not currently represented at the professional level in the Secretariat.





Speaking on behalf of the group, James said it was "a privilege working at the WTO for the past year.

"And I appreciated the experience accumulated through the interaction with colleagues in the division, she said. "All WTO colleagues have been so welcoming and helpful.





"I learned the expertise thats most in demand, for which I am very grateful, James added. "I believe that we are leaving the WTO with knowledge and skills that will be useful for our future careers.

She subsequently told THE VINCENTIAN, in an exclusive interview, that: "As a budding trade policy analyst, it is a dream to work at an international organization, especially the WTO.





"So, the opportunity was a dream come through, she said. "It was great to see the discussions, as they happened in real time, between members on trade issues, especially now with the throwing trade tensions.

"My division was welcoming and facilitating to growth by exposing me through numerous opportunities, James added. "I was trusted to attend expert level meetings and treated like staff.
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..
HDFC Bank Ltd. engages in the provision of banking and financial services, including commercial banking and treasury operations. The firm also provides financial services to upper and middle income individuals and corporations in India. It operates through the following segments: Treasury, Retail Banking, Wholesale Banking and Other Banking Operations. The Treasury segment consists of bank's investment portfolio, money market borrowing and lending, investment operations and trading in foreign exchange and derivative contracts. The Retail Banking segment provides loans and other services to customers through a branch network and other delivery channels. The Wholesale Banking segment provides loans, non-fund facilities and transaction services to large corporates, emerging corporates, public sector units, government bodies, financial institutions, and medium scale enterprises. The Other Banking Business segment includes income from para banking activities such as credit cards, debit cards, third party product distribution, primary dealership business, and the associated costs. The company was founded by Aditya Tapishwar Puri in August 1994 and is headquartered in Mumbai, India.

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Helix Energy Solutions Group, Inc. is an international offshore energy company. It focuses on subsea construction, maintenance and salvage services to the offshore natural gas and oil industry. The firm also provides specialty services to the offshore energy industry, with a focus on well intervention and robotics operations. The company operates through three segments: Well Intervention, Robotics and Production Facilities. The Well Intervention segment offers vessels and related equipment that are used to perform well intervention services primarily in the Gulf of Mexico and North Sea regions. The Robotics segment involves four chartered vessels and also includes ROVs, trenchers and ROVDrills designed to complement offshore construction and well intervention services. The Production Facilities segment includes its investment in the Helix Producer I and Kommandor LLC. Helix Energy Solutions Group was founded in 1979 and is headquartered in Houston, TX.

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By Trend





Azerbaijan's State Oil Company (SOCAR) has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Public Utilities Autonomous State Corporation (AASS) of San Marino.

The Azerbaijani Embassy in Italy said that the document, which provides for energy cooperation between the two companies, is the first step taken within the memorandum of understanding signed between the foreign ministries of the two countries during the visit by Nicola Renzi, secretary of state for foreign affairs of San Marino, to Azerbaijan in May.

The document was signed during the visit of a delegation led by SOCAR Deputy Vice President for Investment and Marketing Vitaliy Baylarbayov to San Marino.

During the visit, meetings were held with San Marino energy secretary, Marco Podeschi, and AASS President Federico Crescentini.

SOCAR is the sole producer of petroleum products in Azerbaijan owning over 370 filling stations in Georgia, Ukraine, Romania and Switzerland. It is also a co-owner of the largest Turkish petrochemical complex Petkim.








American Water Works Co., Inc. engages in the provision of complementary water and wastewater services. It operates through the following segments: Regulated Businesses; Market-Based Businesses; and Other. The Regulated Businesses segment provides water and wastewater services to customers. The Market-Based Businesses segment is responsible for Military Services Group, Contract Operations Group, Homeowner Services Group, and Keystone Operations. The Other segment includes corporate costs that are not allocated to the Company's operating segments, eliminations of inter-segment transactions, fair value adjustments and associated income and deductions related to the acquisitions that have not been allocated to the operating segments for evaluation of performance and allocation of resource purposes. The company was founded in 1886 and is headquartered in Camden, NJ.

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DATA Communications Management Corp., together with its subsidiaries, provides business communication solutions in North America. It provides a range of communication solutions, including multi media campaign management, location-specific marketing, 1:1 marketing, custom loyalty programs execution, and brand management, as well as commercial printing services. The company also offers warehousing and freight services. It serves the financial institutions, insurance, healthcare, lottery and gaming, retailing, not-for-profit, energy, and governmental industries. The company was formerly known as DATA Group Ltd. and changed its name to DATA Communications Management Corp. in July 2016. DATA Communications Management Corp. was founded in 1959 and is headquartered in Brampton, Canada.

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13 Wall Street analysts have issued "buy," "hold," and "sell" ratings for John Wood Group in the last year. There are currently 1 sell rating, 8 hold ratings and 4 buy ratings for the stock. The consensus among Wall Street analysts is that investors should "hold" John Wood Group stock. A hold rating indicates that analysts believe investors should maintain any existing positions they have in WDGJF, but not buy additional shares or sell existing shares.

View analyst ratings for John Wood Group or view top-rated stocks.
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.
By Trend





Thanks to the efforts of State Committee for Work with the Azerbaijani Diaspora, the disinformation about Azerbaijan in the Yandex.ru search engine owned by Russia was removed from the engine, the committee said in a message Nov. 29.

After the committee received information about this, Azerbaijani diaspora organizations operating in Moscow were given certain instructions to prevent the provocation.

In this regard, Chairman of the organization Azerbaijan Community of Moscow Shamil Tagiyev asked Azerbaijani compatriots in social networks to appeal to the Yandex leadership.

Thanks to protests by diaspora organizations and the compatriots, the disinformation about Azerbaijan was removed from the search engine.

The Yandex voice search engine for smartphones contained false information, the Azerbaijani lands in the search results were indicated as the territories of Turkey and 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.




SPDR S&P Retail ETF's stock was trading at $34.97 on March 11th, 2020 when Coronavirus reached pandemic status according to the World Health Organization. Since then, XRT stock has increased by 184.8% and is now trading at $99.58.

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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.

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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.

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Morneau Shepell Inc. provides technology based human resources consulting services in Canada, the United States, and internationally. It provides health and productivity, administrative, and retirement solutions to assist employers in managing the financial security, health, and productivity of their employees. The company offers health and productivity services, including absence and disability management, Internet-based cognitive behavioral therapy, safety groups, influencecare, and workers' compensation services; and administrative solutions, such as defined benefit and contribution pension administration, employee self-service, health and benefits administration, and human resources contact centers, as well as pension and benefits software. It also provides modern employee assistance, wellness, news feed and recognition, perks and savings, workplace learning, total health index assessment, workplace mental health, children's support, traumatic event support, workplace support programs, domestic and international student support, and HR support solutions. In addition, the company offers retirement solutions comprising actuarial; compensation consulting; defined contribution consulting; international pension regulatory; investment consulting; governance, legal, and compliance; pension sustainability and design; pension regulatory; pooled registered pension plans and voluntary retirement savings plans; and retirement planning and total plan solutions. Further, it provides asset and risk management, and communication and change management solutions. The company was formerly known as Morneau Sobeco Income Fund and changed its name to Morneau Shepell Inc. in January 2011. Morneau Shepell Inc. was founded in 1962 and is headquartered in Toronto, Canada.

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For teachers, crowdfunding has became a go-to method for financing hands-on projects, planning class trips, and outfitting classroomsfour out of five public schools in the U.S. have at least one teacher who has listed a project on the teacher-crowfunding site DonorsChoose.org, according to the nonprofit .

New research from Texas State University offers a closer look at what factors lead a teacher to list a projectand how educators may be shifting their instructional priorities to become more marketable on the platform.

In his doctoral dissertation, Brett Lee, now a lecturer at the university, conducted in-depth interviews with 16 teachers and school administrators at four schools in a Texas district. All of the schools had relied heavily on the platform over the course of a decadeeach school had raised at least $25,000 through the site from 2006 to 2017.

Many of these teachers drew a direct line from budget cuts to crowdfunding. A smaller stream of money to their districts meant fewer funds for updated or supplementary materials, interviewees said. One teacher said that she turned to DonorsChoose amid deep cuts to Texass school spending in 2011 , and that the ongoing effects of that state funding decision have kept her on the platform.

Sadly, it seems that the responsibility to close the funding sinkhole trickles down from the district, to the campus, to the classroom teacher, said Lee, in an email. Most of the teachers admitted to previously spending thousands of dollars of their own income.

School administrators were largely supportive of their teachers using DonorsChoose, in some cases even promoting the site. One administrator included links to match offers on the platform in a weekly newsletter to staff, while two of the four schools in the study offered crowdfunding professional development. At one of these schools, the PD was mandatory for teachers who had not yet launched a DonorsChoose campaign.

Teachers also said equity for their students was a driving goal. Of all of the schools in the district, the most frequent and successful DonorsChoose users had large populations of students from low-income households. The four schools in the study were all classified as Title I.

Within these schools, the parents and parent-teacher organizations do not have the same amount of fiscal leverage to meet the needs of their respective campuses, said Lee. Simply put, as the budgets shrink statewide, the campuses that have-not have to look to innovation to make up for education budget shortfalls.

One teacher described her reason for using the platform: Theres another school here and its on the west side and its mostly white, and they have a lot of money. [That teachers] budget was $25,000, because she gets district money and then she does fundraising, and the parents buy products, and they had $25,000. My budget is $2,000. Why should my kids have less? ... [S]o Im gonna hustle.

Teachers were mostly likely to post requests for classroom technology to replace outdated or broken tools, new books (especially culturally relevant titles that they couldnt find in school libraries), and personal items like food and hygiene supplies for students who couldnt afford them. If their projects were funded, teachers often shared their materials across classrooms in the building.

How Teachers Sell Projects

But successful crowdfunding also requires marketingin order to get these projects funded, teachers had to design projects that would be appealing to donors.

Teachers researched other projects that had been fulfilled, making stylistic and tactical changes to their proposals as a result. Teachers said that they tried to keep costs relatively lowbetween $200-$500as projects with more modest goals tend to be more likely to get fully funded.

In other cases, teachers created projects designed to be eligible for matching funds from companies and foundations. For example, one teacher said, if theres an organization offering matching contributions for science materials, shell submit a proposal for science materials.

Sometimes, this means that companies play a part in shaping the topics that teachers cover. One teacher, after researching match offers, discovered that the bank Charles Schwab was funding projects related to financial literacy.

I made sure that my resources fit the criteria and then my description of how the students and why they needed it was really to what the company wanted, she said. It wasnt something that I thought off the top of my head like, Hey, my students really need this, but I saw the match and I thought, Oh, this would great. 

Even so, Lee said, teachers didnt express concern that tailoring their requests in this way would limit or dictate what they could do in the classroom. Requirements for matching funds are generally rather broad, he said.

Image: Getty
The managing director of the Ports and Maritime Organization of Iran called the announcement by the International Maritime Organization that Iran's shipping sanctions do not comply with the convention of the International Maritime Organization, an achievement for Iran.

"The International Maritime Organization (IMO) is the main authority of the International Maritime Legislation and the specialized agency of the United Nations. The legitimacy of the Islamic Republic of Iran has been proven in this non-political organization, the managing director of the Ports and Maritime Organization of Iran, Mohammad Rastad said today at the opening ceremony of the 13th International Conference on Coastal, Ports and Marine Structures.

The restrictions imposed on the Islamic Republic of Iran's shipping industry do not comply with the International Maritime Organization's convention, he said.

"The recommendation of the International Maritime Organization on Iran's Shipping sanctions by US is non-binding, but it emphasized that countries should not engage in acts that lead to discrimination against other countries, he said.

The Trump administration reinstated all sanctions removed under the 2015 nuclear deal, targeting both Iran and states that trade with it.

The final phase of Iran sanctions targets Irans port operators and shipping and ship-building sectors; petroleum-related transactions; financial transactions and specialized messaging services with the Central Bank of Iran; underwriting and insurance services; and Irans energy sector.

In addition, all activities under General License H will no longer be authorized.
The following companies are subsidiares of Colgate-Palmolive: 887357 Ontario Inc., COLGALIVE S.A., CP GABA GmbH, CP International Holding C.V., CP West East Investment Limited, Cleaning Dimensions Inc., Colgate (BVI) Limited, Colgate (Guangzhou) Company Limited, Colgate (U.K.) Limited, Colgate Business Services of the Americas S.C., Colgate Flavors and Fragrances Inc., Colgate Global Business Services Private Limited, Colgate Holdings, Colgate Inc., Colgate Oral Pharmaceuticals Inc., Colgate Palmolive Ghana Limited, Colgate Palmolive Holding S.Com.P.A., Colgate Palmolive Nouvelle Caledonie Sarl, Colgate Palmolive Tanzania Limited, Colgate Sanxiao Company Limited, Colgate Venture Company Inc., Colgate-Palmolive (America) Inc., Colgate-Palmolive (Asia) Pte Ltd, Colgate-Palmolive (Blantyre) Limited, Colgate-Palmolive (Brunei) Sdn Bhn, Colgate-Palmolive (Central America) Inc., Colgate-Palmolive (Central America) Inc. y Compania Limitada, Colgate-Palmolive (Centro America) S.A., Colgate-Palmolive (China) Co. Ltd, Colgate-Palmolive (Costa Rica) S.A., Colgate-Palmolive (Dominica) Inc., Colgate-Palmolive (Dominican Republic) Inc., Colgate-Palmolive (East Africa) Limited, Colgate-Palmolive (Eastern) Pte. Ltd., Colgate-Palmolive (Egypt) S.A.E., Colgate-Palmolive (Far East) Sdn Bhd, Colgate-Palmolive (Fiji) Pte Limited, Colgate-Palmolive (Gabon) S.A., Colgate-Palmolive (Guyana) Ltd., Colgate-Palmolive (H.K.) Limited, Colgate-Palmolive (Hellas) S.A. I.C., Colgate-Palmolive (Hong Kong) Holding Limited, Colgate-Palmolive (Kazakhstan) L.L.P., Colgate-Palmolive (Latvia) Ltd., Colgate-Palmolive (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd, Colgate-Palmolive (Middle East Exports) Ltd., Colgate-Palmolive (Myanmar) Limited, Colgate-Palmolive (New York) Inc., Colgate-Palmolive (Poland) Sp. z o.o., Colgate-Palmolive (Proprietary) Limited, Colgate-Palmolive (Research & Development) Inc., Colgate-Palmolive (Romania) SRL, Colgate-Palmolive (Thailand) Limited, Colgate-Palmolive (UK) Limited, Colgate-Palmolive (Uganda) Limited, Colgate-Palmolive (Vietnam) Ltd., Colgate-Palmolive (Zambia) Inc., Colgate-Palmolive (Zimbabwe) Inc., Colgate-Palmolive A.B., Colgate-Palmolive A/S, Colgate-Palmolive Adria Ltd., Colgate-Palmolive Argentina S.A., Colgate-Palmolive Asia Pacific Limited, Colgate-Palmolive Asia Pacific Treasury Services Limited, Colgate-Palmolive Belgium S.A., Colgate-Palmolive Bolivia Ltda., Colgate-Palmolive Canada Inc., Colgate-Palmolive Caricom Service Co. Inc., Colgate-Palmolive Central European Management Inc., Colgate-Palmolive Chile S.A., Colgate-Palmolive Cia., Colgate-Palmolive Comercial Ltda., Colgate-Palmolive Commercial (Hellas) SP LLC, Colgate-Palmolive Commerciale S.A.S., Colgate-Palmolive Commericale S.r.l., Colgate-Palmolive Compania Anonima, Colgate-Palmolive Company Distr. LLC, Colgate-Palmolive Company GmbH, Colgate-Palmolive Cote dIvoire S.A., Colgate-Palmolive Cyprus Limited, Colgate-Palmolive Development Corp., Colgate-Palmolive East West Africa Region (Pty) Ltd, Colgate-Palmolive Enterprises Inc., Colgate-Palmolive Espana S.A., Colgate-Palmolive Europe (Holdings) Sarl, Colgate-Palmolive Europe Sarl, Colgate-Palmolive Finance (UK) plc, Colgate-Palmolive Global Trading Company, Colgate-Palmolive Holding Argentina S.A., Colgate-Palmolive Holding Inc., Colgate-Palmolive Hungary Kft Limited Liability Company, Colgate-Palmolive IHQ Services (Thailand) Limited, Colgate-Palmolive Inc., Colgate-Palmolive Inc. S.A., Colgate-Palmolive Industrial Ltda., Colgate-Palmolive Industriel S.A.S., Colgate-Palmolive International Holding LLC, Colgate-Palmolive International LLC, Colgate-Palmolive Investment Co. Inc., Colgate-Palmolive Investments (BVI) Ltd., Colgate-Palmolive Investments (PNG) Ltd., Colgate-Palmolive Investments (UK) Limited, Colgate-Palmolive Investments Inc., Colgate-Palmolive Israel Ltd., Colgate-Palmolive Italia S.r.l., Colgate-Palmolive JSC, Colgate-Palmolive Lanka (Private) Limited, Colgate-Palmolive Latin America Inc., Colgate-Palmolive Limited, Colgate-Palmolive Manufacturing (Poland) Sp. z o.o., Colgate-Palmolive Marketing Sdn Bhd, Colgate-Palmolive Maroc S.A., Colgate-Palmolive Mocambique Limitada, Colgate-Palmolive NJ Inc., Colgate-Palmolive Nederland B.V., Colgate-Palmolive Norge A/S, Colgate-Palmolive Participacoes e Investimentos Imobiliarios Lda., Colgate-Palmolive Peru S.A., Colgate-Palmolive Philippines Inc., Colgate-Palmolive Pty Ltd, Colgate-Palmolive Retirement Trustee Limited, Colgate-Palmolive S.A. de C.V., Colgate-Palmolive S.p.A., Colgate-Palmolive Senegal S.A., Colgate-Palmolive Services (Hellas) LLC, Colgate-Palmolive Services (Poland) Sp. z o.o., Colgate-Palmolive Services CEW GmbH, Colgate-Palmolive Services S.A., Colgate-Palmolive Slovensko s.r.o., Colgate-Palmolive Support Services, Colgate-Palmolive Temizlik Urunleri Sanayi ve Ticart S.A., Colgate-Palmolive Transnational Inc., Colgate-Palmolive Ukraine LLC, Colgate-Palmolive Unipessoal Lda, Colgate-Palmolive de Paraguay Sociedad Anonima, Colgate-Palmolive de Puerto Rico Inc., Colgate-Palmolive del Ecuador S.A.I.C., Colgate-Palmolive del Peru (Delaware) Inc., Colgate-Palmolive Eeska republika spol. s r.o., Colpal CBS S de R. L. de C. V., Consumer Viewpoint Center Inc., Cotelle S.A., Dimac Development Corp., Dominica Coconut Products Limited, EKIB Inc., ELM Company Limited, Elta MD Holdings Inc., Elta MD Inc., EltaMD, Filorga Americas Inc., Filorga Asia Limited, Filorga Benelux SA, Filorga Cosmetiques Polska, Filorga Middle East DMCC, Filorga Portugal Unipessoal Lda., Filorga RU Limited Liability Company, GABA Europe Holding GmbH, GABA International, GABA International Holding LLC, GABA Schweiz AG, GABA Therwil GmbH, Gamma Development Co. Ltd., Global Trading and Supply LLC, Hamol Ltd., Hello Products, Hello Products LLC, Hills Funding Company, Hills Pet Nutrition (NZ) Limited, Hills Pet Nutrition (Thailand) Co. Ltd., Hills Pet Nutrition Asia Limited, Hills Pet Nutrition B.V., Hills Pet Nutrition Canada Inc., Hills Pet Nutrition Denmark ApS, Hills Pet Nutrition Espana S.L., Hills Pet Nutrition GmbH, Hills Pet Nutrition Holding B.V., Hills Pet Nutrition Inc., Hills Pet Nutrition Indiana Inc., Hills Pet Nutrition Italia S.r.l., Hills Pet Nutrition Korea Ltd., Hills Pet Nutrition Ltd., Hills Pet Nutrition Manufacturing B.V., Hills Pet Nutrition Manufacturing s.r.o, Hills Pet Nutrition Norway AS, Hills Pet Nutrition OOO, Hills Pet Nutrition Pty. Limited, Hills Pet Nutrition S.p.A., Hills Pet Nutrition SNC, Hills Pet Nutrition Sales Inc., Hills Pet Nutrition South Africa Proprietary Limited, Hills Pet Nutrition Sweden AB, Hills Pet Nutrition Switzerland GmbH, Hills Pet Nutrition Taiwan Ltd, Hills Pet Nutrition Trading (GZ) Co. Ltd, Hills Pet Nutrition de Mexico S.A. de C.V., Hills Pet Nutrition de Puerto Rico Inc., Hills Pet Nutrition s.r.o., Hills Pet Products (Benelux) S.A., Hills Pet Products Inc., Hills Veterinary Companies of America Inc., Hills-Colgate (Japan) Ltd., Hopro Liquidating Corp., Hygiene Systemes et Services SA, IES Enterprises Inc., Inmobiliaria Colpal S. de R.L. de C.V., Inmobiliaria Hills S.A. de C.V., Innovacion Creativa S.A. de C.V., Kolynos Corporation, Laboratoires Filorga Cosmetiques Espana S.L.U., Laboratoires Filorga Cosmetiques Italia S.R.L., Laboratoires Filorga Cosmetiques S.A., Laser Brand Toothpaste, Lournay Sales Inc., Mennen Company, Mennen Interamerica Ltd., Mennen Limited, Mennen South Africa Ltd., Mennen de Chile Ltd., Mennen de Nicargua S.A., Mission Hills Property Corporation, Mission Hills S.A. de C.V., Norwood International Incorporated, Olive Music Publishing Corporation, PCA SKIN, Paramount Research Inc., Penny LLC, Pet Chemicals Inc., Physicians Care Alliance LLC, Productos Halogenados Copalven C.A., Purity Holding Company, Purity Music Publishing Corporation, Refresh Company Limited, Samuel Taylor Holdings B.V., Sanex, Sanxiao Company Limited, Services Development Co. Ltd., Societe Generale de Negoce et de Services (GENESE) S.A., The GDN - The Global Distributive Network SAS, The Lournay Company Inc., The MPDP - The Medical and Pharmaceutic Distributive Platform SAS, The Murphy-Phoenix Company, Tom's of Maine, Toms of Maine Holdings Inc., Toms of Maine Inc., Veterinary Companies of America Inc., Vipont Pharmaceutical Inc., and XEB Inc..
Wells Fargo & Co. is a diversified, community-based financial services company. It is engaged in the provision of banking, insurance, investments, mortgage, and consumer and commercial finance. It firm operates through the following segments: Community Banking, Wholesale Banking, Wealth & Investment Management, and Other. The Community Banking segment offers complete line of diversified financial products and services for consumers and small businesses including checking and savings accounts, credit and debit cards, and automobile, student, and small business lending. The Wholesale Banking segment provides financial solutions to businesses across the United States and globally. The Wealth and Investment Management segment includes personalized wealth management, investment and retirement products and services to clients across U.S. based businesses. The Other segment refers to the products of WIM customers served through community banking distribution channels. The company was founded by Henry Wells and William G. Fargo on March 18, 1852 and is headquartered in San Francisco, CA.

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iShares MSCI Eurozone ETF's stock was trading at $32.80 on March 11th, 2020 when COVID-19 (Coronavirus) reached pandemic status according to the World Health Organization. Since then, EZU shares have increased by 49.7% and is now trading at $49.09.

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By Trend





The investigation of German journalists about the links of the Armenian mafia in Europe with the Armenian Foreign Ministry shouldnt be surprising, because this is true, Yevgeny Mikhailov, a famous Russian TV anchor and political analyst, told Trend.

He was commenting on the information published Nov. 28 on the website Crime Russia, based on the investigation carried out by Der Spiegel and MDR TV Channel in this regard.

Results of a journalistic investigation carried out by Der Spiegel and MDR TV Channel implying that high-ranked Armenian diplomats patronize Armenian mafia operating in Germany under the leadership of thieves-in-law compromised the reputation of the local Armenian diaspora, sparked lawsuits, and caused diplomatic tensions between the two countries, according to the website.

In early November, Der Spiegel weekly newspaper and the Thuringian branch of Mitteldeutscher Rundfunk TV Company have partially published results of their joint journalistic investigation based on the 19-page report produced by the Federal Criminal Police Office (Bundeskriminalamt, BKA), thus, announcing the forthcoming premiere of a documentary entitled Godfathers in Germany  Armenian Mafia and thieves-in-law (Paten in Deutschland  die armenische Mafia und die Diebe im Gesetz), the website reported.

According to the journalists, a well-conspired and sophisticated Armenian mafia network infiltrates a number of big German cities running various illegal businesses, including credit frauds, counterfeiting of money, laundering of criminal proceeds, racketeering, drug trafficking, and prostitution, the report said.

The publication drew attention to the fact that the Armenian Foreign Ministry often fell into extremely ambiguous situations from the time of Serzh Sargsyans rule, Mikhailov said.

He noted that cases of interaction between Serzh Sargsyan and thieves in law have long been known, and it is no secret that many of the authorities were hiding in Armenia after the persecution began in Russia.

Money laundering, drugs, smuggling, prostitution are only a small part of the Armenian mafias activities around the world, Mikhailov said. The fact that the German special services started the investigation shows that they are interacting with Russian colleagues who have already gained successful experience in combating criminal ethnic groups. In Russia, Armenians also often stand at the head of many criminal groups that withdraw cash money and are engaged in other criminal activities.
iShares Europe ETF's stock was trading at $37.19 on March 11th, 2020 when Coronavirus reached pandemic status according to the World Health Organization. Since then, IEV shares have increased by 44.2% and is now trading at $53.64.

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Sprott Physical Silver Trust is a closed-end investment trust company, which engages in the provision of a secure, convenient, and exchange-traded investment alternative for investors interested in holding physical silver bullion without the inconvenience that is typical of a direct investment in physical silver bullion. The Trust invests and intends to continue to invest primarily in long-term holdings of unencumbered, fully allocated, physical silver bullion, and does not speculate with regard to short-term changes in silver prices. The company was founded on June 30, 2010 and is headquartered in Toronto, Canada.

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The following companies are subsidiares of Roche: 454 Life Sciences, Adheron Therapeutics, Adheron Therapeutics Inc., Anadys Pharmaceuticals, Anadys Pharmaceuticals Inc., Ariosa Diagnostics, Ariosa Diagnostics Inc., Arius Research, Ascur Versicherungsvermittlungs GmbH, BINA Technology, Bina Technologies Inc., BioImagene, BioVeris, BioVeris Corporation, Biopharm AG, Boehringer Mannheim, Borean Pharma, Chemical Manufacturing and Trading Company Limited, Chugai Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd., Disetronic Holding AG, Dutalys GmbH, F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd, F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd / Jordan P.S.C., FLLC "Roche Products Limited", FMI Germany GmbH, Flatiron Health, Flatiron Health Inc., ForSight Labs, ForSight VISION4 Inc., Foundation Medicine, Foundation Medicine Inc., Foundation Medicine Securities Corporation, Galenus Mannheim Pharma GmbH, GeneWEAVE, GeneWEAVE Biosciences Inc., Genentech, Genentech Inc., Genentech P.R. Inc., Genentech USA Inc., Genia Technologies, Hoffmann - La Roche Ltd, Hoffmann-La Roche Inc., Hoffmann-La Roche Limited, Hoffmann-La Roche Products Limited, I5 Surviving Corp., IGEN International Inc., IGEN LS LLC, IQuum, IQuum Inc., Ignyta, Ignyta Inc., Inflazome, Infogenetik Molekuler Bilgi Hizmetleri Anonim Sirketi, Institut Roche SAS, InterMune, InterMune Holdings Limited, InterMune Inc., InterMune International AG, Jecure Therapeutics Inc., Kapa Biosystems, Kapa Biosystems (Pty) Ltd, Kapa Biosystems Inc., Limited Liability Company Roche Diabetes Care Rus, Limited Liability Company Roche Diagnostics Rus, MTM Laboratories, Marcadia Biotech, Medingo Ltd., Medingo Medical Solutions, Memory Pharmaceuticals, Memory Pharmaceuticals Corp., Mirus, Museum Tinguely AG, N.V. Roche S.A., P.T. Roche Indonesia, PVT Probenverteiltechnik GmbH, Phaor AG, Piramed, Productos Roche (El Salvador) S.A. de C.V., Productos Roche (Honduras) S.A., Productos Roche (Nicaragua) S.A., Productos Roche (Panama) S.A., Productos Roche Dominicana S.R.L., Productos Roche Guatemala (Sociedad Anonima), Productos Roche Interamericana S.A. (PRISA), Productos Roche Quimica Farmaceutica S.A., Productos Roche S.A., Productos Roche S.A. Quimica e Industrial, Productos Roche S.A. de C.V., Produtos Roche Quimicos e Farmaceuticos S.A., Promedior, Rabbit-Air Ltd, RoDiagnostics Egypt for Trading S.A.E, Roche (China) Holding Ltd., Roche (Hellas) S.A., Roche (Hungary) Ltd, Roche (Malaysia) Sdn. Bhd., Roche (Philippines) Inc., Roche (Shanghai) Pharmaceuticals Consulting Co. Ltd, Roche (Shanghai) Pharmaceuticals Trading Co. Ltd., Roche - Moscow Ltd., Roche AB, Roche Algerie SPA, Roche Austria GmbH, Roche Bangladesh Limited, Roche Beteiligungs GmbH, Roche Biomedical Laboratories Inc., Roche Bolivia SRL., Roche Bulgaria EOOD, Roche Cameroun SARL, Roche Capital Market Ltd, Roche Capital Services Ltd., Roche Catalyst Investments Ltd., Roche Chemische Unternehmungen AG, Roche Chile Limitada, Roche Cote dIvoire SARL, Roche DC Japan K. K., Roche DC Mexico S.A. de C.V., Roche Deutschland Holding GmbH, Roche Diabetes Care (Switzerland) Ltd, Roche Diabetes Care Argentina S.A., Roche Diabetes Care Asia Pacific Pte. Ltd., Roche Diabetes Care Australia Pty Limited, Roche Diabetes Care Austria GmbH, Roche Diabetes Care Brasil Ltda., Roche Diabetes Care Deutschland GmbH, Roche Diabetes Care France SAS, Roche Diabetes Care GmbH, Roche Diabetes Care Inc., Roche Diabetes Care India Private Limited, Roche Diabetes Care Italy S.p.A., Roche Diabetes Care Limited, Roche Diabetes Care Middle East FZCO, Roche Diabetes Care Nederland B.V., Roche Diabetes Care Polska sp. z o.o., Roche Diabetes Care South Africa Proprietary Limited, Roche Diabetes Care Spain S.L., Roche Diagnostica Brasil Ltda., Roche Diagnostics (Hellas) S.A., Roche Diagnostics (Hong Kong) Limited, Roche Diagnostics (Malaysia) Sdn. Bhd., Roche Diagnostics (Shanghai) Ltd., Roche Diagnostics (Suzhou) Limited, Roche Diagnostics (Switzerland) Ltd, Roche Diagnostics (Thailand) Limited, Roche Diagnostics Asia Pacific Pte. Ltd., Roche Diagnostics Australia Pty. Limited, Roche Diagnostics Belgium NV, Roche Diagnostics Corporation, Roche Diagnostics Deutschland GmbH, Roche Diagnostics France SAS, Roche Diagnostics GmbH, Roche Diagnostics Hematology Inc., Roche Diagnostics India Private Limited, Roche Diagnostics International Ltd, Roche Diagnostics K.K., Roche Diagnostics Korea Co. Ltd., Roche Diagnostics Limited, Roche Diagnostics Ltd., Roche Diagnostics Middle East FZCO, Roche Diagnostics NZ Limited, Roche Diagnostics Nederland B.V., Roche Diagnostics Norge A/S, Roche Diagnostics Operations Inc., Roche Diagnostics Oy, Roche Diagnostics Polska Sp. z o.o., Roche Diagnostics Proprietary Limited, Roche Diagnostics S.L., Roche Diagnostics S.p.A., Roche Diagnostics Scandinavia AB, Roche Diagnostics Turkey Anonim Sirketi, Roche Diagnostics a/s, Roche Ecuador S.A., Roche Eesti OU, Roche Egypt LLC, Roche Egypt for Manufacturing and Trading SAE, Roche Farma (Peru) S.A., Roche Farma S.A., Roche Farmaceutica Quimica Lda., Roche Finance Europe B.V., Roche Finance Ltd, Roche Financial Investments Ltd., Roche Financial Management Ltd., Roche Financial Services Ltd., Roche Forum Buonas Ltd, Roche Georgia LLC, Roche Glycart, Roche Glycart Ltd, Roche Health Solutions Inc., Roche Holding (UK) Limited, Roche Holdings Inc., Roche Hong Kong Limited, Roche Innovation Center Copenhagen A/S, Roche Innovatis, Roche International Ltd., Roche International Ltd. (Montevideo Branch), Roche Intertrade Limited, Roche Ireland Limited, Roche Kazakhstan LLP, Roche Kenya Limited, Roche Korea Company Ltd., Roche Laboratories Inc., Roche Latvija SIA, Roche Lebanon S.A.R.L., Roche Long Term Foundation, Roche Makedonija DOOEL, Roche Molecular Systems Inc., Roche Myanmar Company Limited, Roche Mustahzarlari Sanayi Anonim Sirketi, Roche Nederland B.V., Roche NimbleGen, Roche Norge A/S, Roche Operations Ltd., Roche Oy, Roche PVT GmbH, Roche Pakistan Limited, Roche Palo Alto LLC, Roche Pars Co. (Ltd.), Roche Pharma (Switzerland) Ltd, Roche Pharma AG, Roche Pharmaceuticals (Israel) Ltd., Roche Pharmaceuticals Middle East FZCO, Roche Pharmholding B.V., Roche Polska Sp. z o.o., Roche Privacy GmbH, Roche Products (India) Private Limited, Roche Products (Ireland) Limited, Roche Products (Mauritius) Ltd, Roche Products (New Zealand) Limited, Roche Products (Proprietary) Limited, Roche Products Ghana Limited, Roche Products Inc., Roche Products Limited, Roche Products Ltd., Roche Products Pty. Limited, Roche Products Saudi Arabia LLC, Roche R&D Center (China) Ltd., Roche Real Estate Services Mannheim GmbH, Roche Registration GmbH, Roche Registration Limited, Roche Romania S.R.L., Roche S.A., Roche S.p.A., Roche SAS, Roche Sequencing Solutions Inc., Roche Services (Asia Pacific) Sdn. Bhd., Roche Services (Europe) Ltd, Roche Services Americas Sociedad de Responsabilidad Limitada, Roche Services Holdings Ltd., Roche Servicios S.A., Roche Servicios de Mexico S.A. de C.V., Roche Singapore Pte. Ltd., Roche Singapore Technical Operations Pte. Ltd., Roche Sistemas de Diagnosticos Sociedade Unipessoal Lda., Roche Slovensko S.R.O., Roche TCRC Inc., Roche Thailand Limited, Roche Tunisie SA, Roche Ukraine LLC, Roche Vietnam Company Limited, Roche a/s Medicinalvarer og Kemikalier, Roche d.o.o., Roche d.o.o. farmaceutsko drustvo  Roche Ltd. Pharmaceutical Company, Roche farmacevtska druzba d.o.o., Roche mtm laboratories AG, Roche s.r.o., Santaris Pharma, Sapac Corporation Ltd., Seragon Pharmaceuticals Inc., Shanghai Roche Pharmaceuticals Limited, Signature Diagnostics GmbH, Spark Therapeutics, Spring Bioscience Corp., Stratos Genomics, Syntex Corporation, Syntex Pharm AG, Syntex Pharmaceuticals International Limited, Syntex Puerto Rico Inc., Tanox Inc., Tavero AG, Tensha Therapeutics, Tensha Therapeutics Inc., Therapeutic Human Polyclonals, Therapeutic Human Polyclonals Inc., Trophos, Trophos SA, Tusk Therapeutics, Tusk Therapeutics Limited, UAB Roche Lietuva, Ventana Medical Systems, Ventana Medical Systems Inc., Verum Diagnostica GmbH, Viewics, Viewics Inc., Viewics India Private Limited, mySugr, mySugr GmbH, and mySugr Inc..
Royal Dutch Shell plc operates as an energy and petrochemical company worldwide. The company operates through Integrated Gas, Upstream, Oil Products, Chemicals segments. It explores for and extracts crude oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids; markets and transports oil and gas; produces gas-to-liquids fuels and other products; and operates upstream and midstream infrastructure necessary to deliver gas to market. The company also markets and trades natural gas, liquefied natural gas (LNG), crude oil, electricity, carbon-emission rights; and markets and sells LNG as a fuel for heavy-duty vehicles and marine vessels. In addition, it trades in and refines crude oil and other feed stocks, such as gasoline, diesel, heating oil, aviation fuel, marine fuel, biofuel, lubricants, bitumen, and sulphur; produces and sells petrochemicals for industrial use; and manages oil sands activities. Further, the company produces base chemicals comprising ethylene, propylene, and aromatics, as well as intermediate chemicals, such as styrene monomer, propylene oxide, solvents, detergent alcohols, ethylene oxide, and ethylene glycol. Royal Dutch Shell plc was founded in 1907 and is headquartered in The Hague, the Netherlands.

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The following companies are subsidiares of Sysco: 2234829 Alberta ULC, 2234842 Alberta ULC, A. M. Briggs Inc., A.M. Briggs, Almacen Fiscal Frionet Caldera S.A., Almacen Fiscal Frionet Limon S.A., Appert's Foodservice, Arnotts (Fruit) Limited, Asian Foods, Bahamas Food Holdings Limited, Bahamas Food Services Limited, Brake Bros, Brake Bros Foodservice Ireland Limited, Brake Bros. Foodservice Limited, Brake Bros. Holding I Limited, Brake Bros. Ltd., Brakes Foodservice NI Limited, Buchy Food Service, Buckhead Beef Co., Buckhead Meat & Seafood of Houston Inc., Buckhead Meat Company, Buckhead Meat Midwest Inc., Buckhead Meat of Dallas Inc., Buckhead Meat of Denver Inc., Buckhead Meat of San Antonio LP, Buzztable Inc., CAKE Corporation, Central Seafood Co., Christys Wine & Spirits Limited, Clafra Aktiebolag, Colorado Boxed Beef Co - Specialty meat-cutting division, Corporacion Frionet Sociedad Anonima, Crossgar Foodservice, Crossgar Foodservice Limited, Crown I Enterprises Inc., Cucina Acquisitions (UK) Limited, Cucina Finance (UK) Limited, Cucina French Holdings Limited, Cucina Fresh Finance Limited, Cucina Fresh Investments Limited, Cucina Lux Investments Limited, Curleys Quality Foods Limited (Third Party), Davigel Belgilux S.A., Davigel Espana S.A., Desert Meats & Provisions, Distagro, Doerle Food Service, Doughtie's Foods Inc., Dust Bowl City LLC, Eko Fagel Fisk o mittemellan AB, Enclave Insurance Company, Enclave Parkway Association Inc., Enclave Properties LLC, European Imports, European Imports Inc., Figg Inc., Freedman Meats, Freedman Meats Inc., Freedman-KB Inc., Fresh Direct (UK) Limited, Fresh Direct Group Limited, Fresh Direct Limited, Fresh Holdings Limited, FreshPoint, FreshPoint Arizona Inc., FreshPoint Atlanta Inc., FreshPoint California Inc., FreshPoint Central California Inc., FreshPoint Central Florida Inc., FreshPoint Connecticut LLC, FreshPoint Dallas Inc., FreshPoint Denver Inc., FreshPoint Hawaii LLC, FreshPoint Inc., FreshPoint Las Vegas Inc., FreshPoint North Carolina Inc., FreshPoint North Florida Inc., FreshPoint Oklahoma City LLC, FreshPoint Pompano Real Estate LLC, FreshPoint Puerto Rico LLC, FreshPoint San Francisco Inc., FreshPoint South Florida Inc., FreshPoint South Texas Inc., FreshPoint Southern California Inc., FreshPoint Tomato LLC, FreshPoint Vancouver Ltd., Freshfayre Limited, Fruktservice i Helsingborg AB, GHS Classic Drinks Limited, Gilchrist & Soames Inc., Gilchrist & Soames UK Limited, Guest Packaging LLC, Guest Supply, Guest Supply Asia Limited, Guest Supply Singapore Pte. Ltd., International Food Group, Isakssons Frukt & Gront AB, J & M Wholesale Meats, J. Kings Food Service Professionals, J. Kings Food Service Professionals Inc., Kent Frozen Foods, Les Ateliers Du Gout, Liquid Assets Limited, M&J Seafood Holdings Limited, M&J Seafood Limited, Manchester Mills LLC, Mayca Autoservicio S.A., Mayca Distribuidores S.A., Menigo Foodservice AB, Mitshim Etatu Supply LP, Newport Meat Company, Newport Meat Northern California Inc., Newport Meat Pacific Northwest Inc., Newport Meat Southern California Inc., Newport Meat of Nevada Inc., North Star Holding Corporation, North Star Seafood, North Star Seafood Acquisition Corporation, North Star Seafood LLC, PFS de Mexico S.A. de C.V., Palisades Ranch Inc., Pallas Foods, Pallas Foods Farm Fresh Unlimited Company, Pallas Foods Unlimited Company, Pauleys Produce Limited, Promotora del Servicios S.A. de C.V., Restaurangakdemien AB, Restaurant of Tomorrow Inc., Rohan Viandes Elaboration SAS, SMS Bermuda Holdings, SMS GPC International Limited, SMS GPC International Resources Limited, SMS Global Holdings S.a.r.l., SMS International Resources Ireland Unlimited Company, SMS Lux Holdings LLC, SOTF LLC, SYY Netherlands C.V., SYY Panama S. de R.L., Serca Foodservice, Servicestyckarna I Johannes AB, Servicios Ameriserve S.A. de C.V., Shenzhen Guest Supply Trading Co. Limited, Societe Civile Immobiliere (SCI) Bianchi Montegut, Societe Civile Immobiliere (SCI) De Boiseau, Societe Civile Immobiliere (SCI) De Garcelles, Societe Civile Immobiliere (SCI) J.D. Lanjouan, Societe Civile Immobiliere (SCI) Le Dauphin, Specialty Meat Holdings LLC, Stockflag Limited, Stockholms Fiskauktion AB, Supplies on the Fly, Sysco Albany LLC, Sysco Asian Foods Inc., Sysco Atlanta LLC, Sysco Autoservicio S.A., Sysco Baltimore LLC, Sysco Baraboo LLC, Sysco Bermuda Partners L.P., Sysco Boston LLC, Sysco Canada Holdings S.a.r.l., Sysco Canada Inc., Sysco Central Alabama LLC, Sysco Central California Inc., Sysco Central Florida Inc., Sysco Central Illinois Inc., Sysco Central Pennsylvania LLC, Sysco Charlotte LLC, Sysco Chicago Inc., Sysco Cincinnati LLC, Sysco Cleveland Inc., Sysco Columbia LLC, Sysco Connecticut LLC, Sysco Corporation, Sysco Corporation Director's Deferred Compensation Plan Trust, Sysco Corporation Employee's 401(k) Plan Trust, Sysco Corporation Executive Deferred Compensation Plan Trust, Sysco Corporation Good Government Committee Inc., Sysco Corporation Retirement Trust, Sysco Corporation Supplemental Executive Retirement Trust, Sysco Corporation Supplemental Unemployment Benefits Plan Trust, Sysco Detroit LLC, Sysco Disaster Relief Foundation Inc., Sysco EI VI S. s.r.l., Sysco EU II S.a.r.l., Sysco EU III S.a.r.l., Sysco EU IV Capital Unlimited Company, Sysco EU IV S. s.r.l.., Sysco EU V S. s.r.l., Sysco Eastern Maryland LLC, Sysco Eastern Wisconsin LLC, Sysco Foundation Inc., Sysco France Holding SAS, Sysco France SAS, Sysco George Town II LLC, Sysco George Town Limited S. s.r.l.., Sysco Global Finance LLC, Sysco Global Finance LLP, Sysco Global Holdings B.V., Sysco Global Resources LLC, Sysco Global Services LLC, Sysco Grand Cayman Company, Sysco Grand Cayman II Company, Sysco Grand Cayman III Company, Sysco Grand Rapids LLC, Sysco Guernsey Limited, Sysco Guest Supply Canada Inc., Sysco Guest Supply Europe Goods Wholesalers LLC, Sysco Guest Supply Europe Limited, Sysco Guest Supply LLC, Sysco Gulf Coast LLC, Sysco Hampton Roads Inc., Sysco Hawaii Inc., Sysco Holdings II LLC, Sysco Holdings LLC, Sysco Indianapolis LLC, Sysco International Food Group Inc., Sysco International Inc., Sysco Iowa Inc., Sysco Jackson LLC, Sysco Jacksonville Inc., Sysco Kansas City Inc., Sysco Knoxville LLC, Sysco Labs Europe Limited, Sysco Labs Pvt. Ltd., Sysco Leasing LLC, Sysco Lincoln Inc., Sysco Lincoln Transportation Company Inc., Sysco Long Island LLC, Sysco Los Angeles Inc., Sysco Louisville Inc., Sysco Memphis LLC, Sysco Merchandising and Supply Chain Services Canada Inc., Sysco Merchandising and Supply Chain Services Inc., Sysco Metro New York LLC, Sysco Minnesota Inc., Sysco Montana Inc., Sysco Nashville LLC, Sysco Netherlands Partners LLC, Sysco North Central Florida Inc., Sysco North Dakota Inc., Sysco Northern New England Inc., Sysco Philadelphia LLC, Sysco Pittsburgh LLC, Sysco Portland Inc., Sysco Raleigh LLC, Sysco Resources Services LLC, Sysco Riverside Inc., Sysco Sacramento Inc., Sysco San Diego Inc., Sysco San Francisco Inc., Sysco Seattle Inc., Sysco South Florida Inc., Sysco Southeast Florida LLC, Sysco Spain Holdings SLU, Sysco Spokane Inc., Sysco St. Louis LLC, Sysco Syracuse LLC, Sysco Technologies Cayman Ltd., Sysco Technologies LLC, Sysco UK Holdings Limited, Sysco UK Limited, Sysco UK Partners LLP, Sysco USA I Inc., Sysco USA II LLC, Sysco USA III LLC, Sysco Ventura Inc., Sysco Ventures Inc., Sysco Virginia LLC, Sysco West Coast Florida Inc., Sysco Western Minnesota Inc., The SYGMA Network Inc., Upsys, Victua SAS, Walker Foods Inc., Waugh Foods, and Wild Harvest Limited.
Taubman Centers, Inc. (NYSE:TCO) announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November, 9th. The real estate investment trust reported ($0.49) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.58 by $1.07. The real estate investment trust earned $130.99 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $125.10 million. Taubman Centers had a net margin of 30.09% and a negative trailing twelve-month return on equity of 94.88%. The business's quarterly revenue was down 19.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.86 EPS.

View Taubman Centers' earnings history.
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President Donald Trump said on Thursday he would make a final decision on whether to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin at the G20 summit in Argentina after he receives a full report on the Kerch Strait incident, according to Sputnik.

US President Donald Trump said on Thursday that he decided to cancel a scheduled meeting with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin.

'Based on the fact that the ships and sailors have not been returned to Ukraine from Russia, I have decided it would be best for all parties concerned to cancel my previously scheduled meeting in Argentina with President Vladimir Putin. I look forward to a meaningful Summit again as soon as this situation is resolved,' Trump said in a Twitter message.
Raymond James Financial, Inc., a financial holding company, through its subsidiaries, engages in the underwriting, distribution, trading, and brokerage of equity and debt securities, and the sale of mutual funds and other investment products in the United States, Canada, Europe, and internationally. The company operates through Private Client Group, Capital Markets, Asset Management, RJ Bank, and Other segments. The Private Client Group segment provides securities brokerage services, including the sale of equities, mutual funds, fixed income products, and insurance products to their individual clients; and borrowing and lending of securities to and from other broker-dealers, financial institutions, and other counterparties. The Capital Markets segment offers securities brokerage, trading, and research services to institutions with a focus on sale of the United States and Canadian equities and fixed income products; and manages and participates in underwritings, merger and acquisition services, and public finance activities. The Asset Management segment engages in the operations of Eagle, the Eagle Family of Funds, Cougar, the asset management operations of Raymond James & Associates, trust services of Raymond James Trust, and other fee-based asset management programs. The RJ Bank segment provides corporate loans, SBL, tax-exempt loans, and residential loans. The Other segment engages in private equity activities, including various direct and third party private equity investments; and private equity funds. Raymond James Financial, Inc. was founded in 1962 and is based in St. Petersburg, Florida.

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Teekay Offshore Partners L.P. provides marine transportation, oil production, storage, long-distance towing and offshore installation, and maintenance and safety services for the oil industry. It operates in six segments: Floating Production, Storage and Offloading (FPSO); Shuttle Tanker; Floating Storage and Off-Take (FSO); Unit for Maintenance and Safety (UMS); Towage and Offshore Installation Vessels; and Conventional Tanker. The company serves customers in offshore oil regions of the North Sea, Brazil, and the East Coast of Canada. As at December 31, 2018, it had a fleet of 35 shuttle tankers, 2 chartered-in vessels, 1 HiLoad dynamic positioning unit, 8 FPSO units, 6 FSO units, 10 long-distance towage and offshore installation vessels, 1 UMS, and 2 chartered-in conventional oil tankers. Teekay Offshore GP L.L.C. serves as the general partner of Teekay Offshore Partners L.P. The company was founded in 2006 and is based in Hamilton, Bermuda. Teekay Offshore Partners L.P. is a subsidiary of Brookfield TK TOLP L.P.

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iShares Russell Mid-Cap Growth ETF's stock split on the morning of Monday, December 7th 2020. The 2-1 split was announced on Friday, November 6th 2020. The newly issued shares were distributed to shareholders after the market closes on Friday, December 4th 2020. An investor that had 100 shares of iShares Russell Mid-Cap Growth ETF stock prior to the split would have 200 shares after the split.
Total Energy Services Inc. provides various products and services to the oil and natural gas industry primarily in Canada, the United States, and Australia. It operates through four segments: Contract Drilling Services, Rentals and Transportation Services, Compression and Process Services and Well Servicing. The Contract Drilling Services segment offers contract drilling services to oil and gas exploration and development companies. As of December 31, 2020, it operated a total fleet of 98 drilling rigs. The Rentals and Transportation Services segment provides drilling, completion and production rental equipment, and oilfield transportation services in western Canada and in the United States. This segment owned and operated a fleet of 87 heavy trucks. The Compression and Process Services segment offers gas compression services; and designs and packages skid style compressors and proprietary trailer-mounted compressors under the NOMAD brand in Canada and the United States, the European Union, Australia, and Mexico. It had 54,800 horsepower of compression in its rental fleet. The Well Servicing segment offers well services. This segment operated a total fleet of 83 well servicing rigs across Western Canada, mid-western United States, and Australia. It has a strategic alliance with Pason Systems Inc. to develop and deploy drilling automation and optimization technologies. The company was founded in 1996 and is headquartered in Calgary, Canada.

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iShares China Large-Cap ETF's stock was trading at $38.80 on March 11th, 2020 when COVID-19 (Coronavirus) reached pandemic status according to the World Health Organization. Since then, FXI shares have increased by 2.8% and is now trading at $39.89.

View which stocks have been most impacted by COVID-19.
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In Khorramabad county of Irans Lorestan province 3,000 hectares account for walnut trees, Murad Beiranvand, director of the agriculture organization of Khorramabad county of Lorestan province, said in an interview with IRNA.

So far, more than 4,000 tons of walnuts have been harvested from that area, he said.

Beiranvand added that trees in a 300-hectare-area are young and are not productive yet.

This Iranian year (started March 21, 2018), the walnuts have not been fully picked, he added.

Beiranvand said that last Iranian year, 6,622 tons of walnuts were picked in Khorramabad county.

Last Iranian year 14,433 tons of walnuts were picked, while this Iranian year 16,821 tons of walnuts were harvested, Beiranvand said.
Xcel Energy, Inc. operates as a holding company, which engages in the generation, purchase, transmission, distribution and sale of electricity. It operates through the following three segments: Regulated Electric Utility, Regulated Natural Gas Utility and All Others. The Regulated Electric Utility segment generates, transmits and distributes electricity primarily in portions of generates, transmits and distributes electricity in Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, North Dakota, South Dakota, Colorado, Texas and New Mexico. In addition, this segment includes sales for resale and provides wholesale transmission service to various entities in the United States. It also includes commodity trading operations. The Regulated Natural Gas Utility segment transports, stores, and distributes natural gas primarily in portions of Minnesota, Wisconsin, North Dakota, Michigan and Colorado. The All Others segment engages in steam, appliance repair services, nonutility real estate activities, processing solid waste into refuse-derived fuel and investments in rental housing projects that qualify for low-income housing tax credits. The company was founded in 1909 and is headquartered in Minneapolis, MN.

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Losberger De Boer, an international military and government temporary structure supplier, said it has created a fully self-contained field camp product made specially for the defence forces and government agencies in the Middle East region.

Headquartered in Bad Rappenau, Germany, the company operates eight production facilities and 21 sales offices globally. Losberger De Boer employs over 1,100 staff worldwide.



The offering from Losberger De Boer provides wet lease technical support as part of its turnkey operational package, going as far as providing onsite staff who are available seven days per week to ensure utilities as well as maintenance requirements remain fully functioning - a first in the Middle East.



The German firm revealed that confirmed orders had already been received and delivered for a major undisclosed Middle Eastern government organisation.



One of the challenges faced by defence forces is how to rapidly deploy fully self-contained camps with integrated utilities, ablutions and waste disposal in desert and other remote locations.



A further challenge is how to deal with technical faults such as utilities and electricity going down during operations. Another common problem is how to relocate and redeploy the entire complex at short notice minimising impact on the environment.



Losberger De Boers design teams worked for over a year with specialist suppliers to develop an integrated solution to address these challenges.



The result unveiled is its new product known as the Losberger De Boer Military Field Camp (MFC), which differs from standard military camps by integrating all the facilities and utilities that would be expected in an actual military operation, together with onsite technical support to troubleshoot and resolve issues.



Losberger De Boer is ISO 14001-certified according to the standardised norms for environmental management systems.



Providing improved sustainability credentials, waste and garbage can be treated and removed or incinerated onsite with low impact on the local environment and the entire complex can be rapidly dismantled and redeployed in a new location at short notice, said the statement from the company.



The concept integrates over 70 different products, including inflatable self-erecting tents, metal frame temporary structures, modular half barrel buildings and sun screens.



Containerised ablutions and utilities blocks are added together with portable waste disposal facilities. The entire complex is scalable and can be customised to the unique needs of any defence force. For example, temporary aircraft hangars can be added for air force users and vehicle and weapon storage for ground forces, said the global military structure specialist.



All buildings can be temperature and humidity controlled, including storage areas and plant rooms, which can help extend the lifespan of the equipment stored and reduce their maintenance cost by up to 30 per cent, it stated.



Jim Muldoon, managing director of Losberger De Boer Middle East, said: "We believe our new integrated concept is a game changer in the temporary military camp space. When government and defence forces need to act quickly for training, regional deployment or on critical missions, we can now provide a rapid-build solution with improved, functionality and sustainability credentials."



The Losberger De Boer Military Field Camp can be ordered off-the-shelf and then customised to the individual needs of clients with onsite technical staff fully trained prior to deployment, said the top official.



Losberger De Boers Rapid Deployment team provides a full design service, from 3D conception through to fly-through renderings, enabling clients to fully understand layout and functionality prior to deployment, it added.-TradeArabia News Service
Saudi Electricity Company (SEC) yesterday (November 29) signed a revolving credit facility agreement with eight international banks for a maximum of $2.15 billion (equivalent to SR8.06 billion).

The facility is divided into two tranches: the first with a maximum of $1.578 billion, which will mature after three years, and the second with a maximum of $573 million that will mature after five years, said a Saudi Press Agency report.

SEC acting chief executive officer Fahd Al-Sudairy said: ''Saudi Electricity Company is the largest electricity service facility in the Middle East and North Africa region and one of the world's largest service facilities. It has managed to obtain funding without any guarantees from the company, stressing that the funding aims to spend on the company's public works."

The major international banks include Abu Dhabi First Bank, Mizuho Bank, MUFG Bank, Standard Chartered Bank, Mitsui Sumitomo foundation, HSBC Bank - Middle East, Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited, JPMorgan Chase, and Natixis Bank.
By Auqib Javeed, TwoCircles.net

Dr Mubeena Ramzan of Kashmir created history earlier this month when she became the first Kashmiri woman to be enlisted among the 500 most influential personalities in the Muslim world. The list was released by The Royal Islamic Strategic Studies Centre, an independent research entity affiliated with the Royal Aal al-Bayt Institute for Islamic Thought.

The list named Dr. Mubeena from North Kashmirs Sopore as one among the worlds most influential persons. Dr Mubeena heads the women-only socio-religious organization Ansar-un-Nissa and is the Rector of Jamia Islamia Mahdul Muslimat, which has its branches in Sopore (Baramulla), Baghat (Srinagar) and Sumbal (Bandipora) under the aegis of a registered public trust namely Mahdul Muslimat Educational Trust in Kashmir. Dr Mubeena travels extensively across the valley for womens rights and ensure that women suffering from domestic violence are provided a vent. In an exclusive interview with TwoCircles.net, Dr Mubeena talks about her activism, journey and her views regarding role of women in conflict-torn state.

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Here are the excerpts

Could you please tell us a little about yourself?

I was born in Sopore of District Baramulla and had my initial schooling from Islamia High School, Sopore where we were taught Islamiyat, Arabic and Hindi, which broadened our thought process.

After pursuing Bachelors degree in Islamic Studies, Education, Political Science and Philosophy from Islamia College, Sopore. After that, I completed my B.Ed, Masters degree and Research from University of Kashmir (KU). During my Research in Kashmir University, I had specialised in Islamic Law, Jurisprudence (Fiqh) and Orientalism.

Besides all this, I had learned Islamic Sciences from Hazrat Mufti Muzaffar Hussain Qasimi Sahab, Head Mufti, Darul-ul-Uloom Sopore.

When did the idea of setting up your own institute for women come to your mind and why?

As a scholar, my research on Kashmiri Society and its social evils had made me realise that I must play an active part in mitigating the crisis. The very idea motivated me to quit lectureship in a B.Ed college in Kupwara and started Jamia Islamia Mahdul Muslimat under the aegis of Mahdul Muslimat Educational Trust in 2002, from a rented building in Sopore and took us eight years to purchase a land and built a proper girls-only seminary-cum-skill school there.

The objective was to inculcate education with Islamic integration and impart skills among women. We started another branch in Baghat area of Srinagar city and recently, opened another campus at Sumbal-Hajin area of Bandipora district.

What do you teach to your students?

Jamia Islamia Mahdul Muslimat is a seminary-style girls only institute where besides teaching of religious text we impart worldly education also. But main thrust is on religious scriptures like Quranic exegesis, science of Hadith, Jurisprudence and History.

We also teach languages viz, Arabic, English, Urdu and train them in the field of Computers, Cutting & Designing skills to help them become competent and self-reliant.

Tell us about this institute and your journey with it?

We empower our students through education and skills, which boosts their confidence to face different realities of life. I believe that training a girl on these parameters was not possible by mere religious sermons, debates, seminars, etc.

We had to upgrade our religious syllabus on modern lines to make our girl students relevant to the contemporary society. We believe in natural upbringing of students, especially girl. We understand it well that apart from education and shelter, orphans also need motherly love and care. While we try to provide that, we also counsel and guide them regarding their future. This is what our Institute Jamia Islamia Mahdul Muslimat provides.

In 2013, we called a meet of women from different walks of the life-around 100 of them-in Sopore where we decided to have some welfare initiatives among women. And as a result, in March 2014, we floated Ansar-un-Nissa, a women welfare body which provides a helping hand to the needy, would-be brides, widows, orphans, and also establishes vocational training centres.

What challenges do you face during your activism in a society that can be patriarchal?

When it comes to a woman who observes Hijab, challenges are tremendous. Women now-a-days is sandwiched between two extremes  Religious and Western. A man is called qawwam in Quran, which means head / protector / sustainers of the family but this status has been misused by some by enslaving women.

I was opposed by so-called Moulvis for starting girls only seminary style institute (Madrassa) as it was in their mind how come a female run a Madrassa. But Alhamdulillah, now their perception has changed as we are successfully running three branches now.

The need of the hour is to have a very balanced approach where woman and man both would take care of their roles and responsibilities. Men and Women are equal, but not similar.

Reportedly, you were associated with Dukhtaran-e-Millat (DeM) of Aasiya Andrabi and later on due to some differences you left from the organisation. What were the differences?

Yes, I was associated with the organisation till 2004. Later on the differences grew with the organization for it being more into political spectrum. I left the organization as I wanted to do activism on academic parameters and started academic activism among women folk.

Do you think there are need for more Muslim women scholars in Kashmir?

Obviously, yes. In the rest of the Muslim world, we have good number of women Islamic Scholars but in Kashmir we are lacking them. We need more and more women scholars in Kashmir in order to educate common women-folk.

You must be knowing that in Ottomans Empire, 40% of contribution to Bait-al-Mal (House of money) was by the women and the oldest degree-granting university in the world i.e., Al-Qarawiyyin University was founded by Fatima al-Fihri, a women.

Women have been the pioneers of the education from the beginning of the Muslim society which is evident from the fact that a great major of Ahadiths (sayings of the Prophet, saws) are quoted by none other than his wife, Hazart Ayesha Siddiqa (r.a).

You have conducted various religious gatherings in different parts of the valley.

What draws you to that endeavour?

There are many issues related to women where she needs to be educated in right perspective. People often gossip about four wives, but no one thinks about having four daughters. Even a mothers face turn pale now-a-days on the birth of a girl child.

The experiences which I gained after travelling throughout the Valley and beyond it for conduct of various religious gatherings are quite astonishing and still prevalent in this century. Most of the daughters and sisters are being debarred from the property / inheritance while Islam and Islamic law have given them a Right to Inheritance. Remarriage, Widow Marriage is still considered something evil in this Kashmir.

Daughters, Sisters, Wives are being forced to work outside for earnings and height of the things are that now-a-days it is difficult for an unemployed girl to get a suitable match as most mothers prefer to have employed daughter-in-law.

The hadiths of the Prophet (peace and blessing be upon him) about raising girls are beautiful and amazing. Girl children come with great rewards and blessings. If you offer care, love, support and education to your girl child, Paradise awaits you.

At a time when baby girls were deemed a source of shame, even buried alive, the Prophet (peace and blessing be upon him) came to rectify this grave wrong. The Prophet (peace and blessing be upon him) said: If anyone has a female child, and does not bury her alive, or slight her, or prefer his male children to her, Allah will bring him into Paradise. (Ahmad). On one other occasion, The Prophet (peace and blessing be upon him) said, Whoever supports two girls till they attain maturity, he and I will come on the Day of Resurrection (close to each other) like this The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessing be upon him) joined his fingers to illustrate closeness. (Muslim)

These are just examples of how Islam cared for the girl children. The care mentioned in these hadiths and others is comprehensive. It covers the girls physical, emotional and mental needs. Such is the care and affection that our daughters deserve. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) commands us to be loving, patient and supportive parents.

You were recently listed as one among the most influential 500 personalities in the Muslim world. Do you have any comments on your selection?

I came to know through my husband about it and I believe that real action and delight comes from helping your people grow. But yes, if your welfare activism is being recognised in any way, it does boost you.

Do you have any personal Muslim women heroes you would like to mention?

Not Hero, but inspiration. Maryam Jameela is one in this regard. She was brought up in a modern society but did not get getting influenced by it. On the contrary, she was able to influence and inspire people with her thought. Yvonne Ridley is other one.

Do you have any messages for young Kashmiri Women?

As Muslims, they should believe that their rights, duties and status are justified. They dont need any westerner or any ragtag activist to tell them their rights as a woman. Those who are rallying behind it are knowingly and unknowingly attempting to overlook the dignified status and rights given to women by their religion.

Islam invites you to a mission based on obedience to Allah and Islam addresses persons spirit, emotions, belief, etc. West is dragging women from homes, only to fulfil economic and materialistic objectives. Its intended to commercialize things but Islam gives dignity and status while addressing the soul.

There are some jobs in the field of Education and Health and other suitable fields, where women have a primary role. However, in choosing any job, your home should be your preference. Your family should not suffer at the cost of earning. People in Kashmir nowadays prefer earnings over other things which need to be discouraged.

Almighty Allah says in the Quran ..For Muslim men and women, for believing men and women, for devout men and women, for true men and women, for men and women who are patient and constant, for men and women who humble themselves, for men and women who give in charity, for men and women who fast, for men and women who guard their chastity, and for men and women who engage much in Allahs praise, for them has Allah prepared forgiveness and great reward (Al-Ahzab 33:35)
This is the second and final part of the two-part series on the role of Faith-based organisations in West Bengal and how education facilities continue to elude Muslims in the region.

Read Part One Here: The role of Islamic faith-based organisations in the education sector in West Bengal

By Sheikh Khurshid Alam for TwoCircles.net

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There are various studies that have concentrated on the social exclusion of Muslim, Adivasi and Dalit communities and related it to the low literacy rate among these communities. Such studies conclude that low literacy rate is the outcome of factors like low number of schools in areas with higher concentration of backward communities, highly unequal access to schooling institutions and acute shortage of teachers in such schools but what they are unsuccessful in informing is the reason behind low number of schools in such areas.

A study conducted by the Pratichi (India) Trust in association with UNICEF Kolkata draws attention to the fact that there are major gaps in policy and implementation of elementary education but the study fails to dig deep and identify the larger picture which could shed light on the absence of sufficient schools in the first place. Because no matter how effectively the policies are implemented in the schools, it wont achieve the expected results if there is insufficient number of schools to implement such policies. The Pratichi study says, there are major gaps in the policy and implementation of elementary education which results not only in the exclusion of a large section of the population from the arena of education but also excludes them from the larger societal planeWe have seen above that in the Muslim areas child enrolment per school is much higher than in the other areas. Again, the gender gap in literacy among the Muslims is the narrowest among all communities. These clearly suggest a very high level of aspiration for education amongst Muslims.

If the Muslim children have high level of aspiration for education, then it is important to examine the relationship between insufficiency of schools in the areas dominated by Muslim community and the accountability of the state. This article claims that the insufficiency of schools in Muslim majority areas of West Bengal is not a result of a mere gap between policy and implementation but rather a planned and structured step by the government. It has been found in the course of this study that Islamic FIOs had to wait for decades to get their educational institutions affiliated and registered without any fault of theirs. Such delay has acted as a deterrent to many other Islamic FIOs who could have promoted more and more schools if it had not been because of such delays.

This article includes 3 (three) case studies of those Islamic FIOs which are running educational institutions under various West Bengal State Boards.

CASE ONE

Name of the IFIO: Society for Islamic Education (SIE), established in 1986 Registering Authority: Registrar of Societies under West Bengal Societies Registration Act, 1961 Name of the School: Sishu Bikash Academy Medium/Category of School: Bengali, Co-Education. Unaided Category Board affiliated with: WBBSE (V-VIII) in 2001, WBBSE (IX-X) in 2003, WBBHSE (XI-XII) in 2005. Whether Minority Status awarded: Yes Awarding authority: National Minority Commission

South 24 Parganas is one of the neighbouring districts of Kolkata, the capital of West Bengal. In one of the villages of South 24 Parganas, where the residents were mainly peasants and daily labourers; hence, they could not afford to send their children to nearby affluent schools, few public spirited people, under the guidance of Abul Qasim Munshi, nurtured a dream of pulling out the community from the jaws of poverty and let them lead a dignified life through education. To achieve such goal, in the year 1985, Society for Islamic Education (SIE) was registered under the West Bengal Societies Registration Act 1961. The same year SIE established Sishu Bikash Academy, a Bengali medium, co-educational school to cater to the educational needs of the poor people of the village.

When SIE approached the education department of the government of West Bengal for getting affiliation for their school, they were advised to run Madrasah and drop the idea of running a school under the West Bengal Board of Secondary Education. Abul Qasim Munshi, the founder secretary of SIE contended before the government saying that, Madrasah, whether recognised or not, pretending itself to be the foster child of Islamic education is reluctant to provide adequate berth to science and technological education in its curricula, resulting in a miserable setback for its wayfarers to overcome the hurdles of competitive examinations in every sphere of lifeWe can never forward our students to the campus of our National Universities for acquiring knowledge in different branches for science and research-oriented education, unless we begin from early childhood with the right course of education. SIE made multiple representations before the Government but their request remained unattended.

SIE invoked Article 30 of the Constitution of India and reminded the government that Minorities, whether based on religion or language, had the right to establish and administer educational institution of their choice and not of the choice of the Government. SIEs struggle continued for 15 years and in the year 2001, Sishu Bikash Academy got affiliation as an unaided institution till class VIII from the West Bengal Board of Secondary Education. The state secured a written declaration from SIE that the said school will never seek financial help from the government in the future. Having no choice left before the management of SIE, they agreed to give the declaration in lieu of affiliation to Sishu Bikash Academy.

It is evident from the correspondence between Sishu Bikash Academy and the School Education Directorate that the government even rejected scholarships to underprivileged Muslim and SC students of Sishu Bikash Academy. The reason cited for such rejection states, as the concerned school is recognised by WBBSEwithout financial assistance from government. There is no provision for granting non-recurring grant(s) in favour of such type of school. (Letter No. 930 G.A/OM-19/95 dated 27/03/2007) Abul Qasim Munshi brought to my notice that such arbitrary steps by the School Education Directorate could be easily challenged in the court of law but that would amount to a costly litigation where though justice would not be denied but definitely be delayed. Even though Abul Qasim Munshi had been the Public Prosecutor at the Alipore Court in Kolkata, where he had gained a lot of influential contacts through his professional standing, his tryst with the various agencies of the government in regards to the affiliation of Sishu Bikash Academy makes one realise the apathy of those FIOs who are not fortunate to have the likes of Abul Qasim Munshi in their ranks.

CASE TWO

Name of the IFIO: Aulad Hossain Education and Welfare Trust (AHEWT), established in 2001 Registering Authority: Directorate of Registration and Stamp Revenue, Govt. of West Bengal  Deed of Trust. Name of the School: Aulad Hussain Islamic Academy (AHIA) Medium/Category of School: Urdu, Co-Education. Unaided Category Board affiliated with: WBBSE (V-VIII) in 2012, WBBSE (IX-X) in 2015. Whether Minority Status awarded: Yes Awarding authority: National Minority Commission

Aulad Hossain Education and Welfare Trust (AHEWT) manages one of the oldest Masjid by the name of Jinnati Masjid and runs a co-educational Urdu medium school named as Aulad Hussain Islamic Academy (AHIA). Both the Masjid and the School are situated on a waqf property and the management of this property lies with the people from in and around the locality. AHIA has been in service to the students of the locality, specially the girl students since 1990, a time when the girl students of the locality did not have any other school in proximity.

Though the activities of the AHEWT goes back to the early 90s, it got formally registered in the year 2001 by virtue of a Deed of Trust before the Directorate of Registration and Stamp Revenue, Government of West Bengal. The registration of the Trust was necessary in order to get affiliation from the West Bengal Board of Secondary Education for the AHIA. AHEWT complied with all the required formalities for the affiliation process and in the year 2003 applied to the Board but the affiliation request got rejected. The management also made representation before the then Chief Minister of West Bengal but that too did not bear any result. The subsequent applications for affiliation also kept getting rejected by the authorities on one pretext or the other till 2011. Hum musalmano pe sabse bada zulm yeh hua ki riyasati huqumat ne humarey schoolon ko ek lambey arsey tak manzoori nahi di. (The worst injustice done to us Muslims is that our schools did not get affiliation and recognition from the state government for a long period of time); this is how Jawed Ahmed, the secretary of AHIA lamented while narrating the legal challenges faced by AWEWT.

In the meantime, AHEWT had also applied to the State Minority Commission in 2008 to recognise and bestow it with minority status but did not get any response. For two years in a row, AHEWT kept making representations but there was no reply from the State Minority Commission. AHEWT kept its struggle for minority status alive and approached the Central Minority Commission at New Delhi. Finally, in 2010 AHEWT got the fruit of its struggle and it was bestowed with minority status from the Central Minority Commission.

In 2011, West Bengal witnessed a change in the political arena and about 35 years of CPM rule came to an end with the first woman Chief Minister of West Bengal, Mamata Banerjee. As part of her campaign promise Mamata Banerjee visited the locality and the management of AHEWT submitted a memorandum before her about their inability to secure affiliation for AHIA from the West Bengal Board of Secondary Education. She directed the M.L.A. Mr Javed Ahmed Khan to look into the matter and do the needful. Finally, in the year 2012, with the cooperation of the Chief Minister and the MLA, AHIA got affiliation from the West Bengal Board of Secondary Education for classes V to VIII and gradually in 2015 the affiliation was extended to class IX and X as well.

The interesting factor to note here is that though the school got affiliation with the state board, it was recognised as an unaided institution and in this case too, the West Bengal Board of Secondary Education secured in writing from the management of the school that the school authority shall never claim any financial assistance from the state government in future. The AHEWT is under the belief that if it claims financial assistance from the state then the school running under it will lose the affiliation and the trust its minority status.

CASE THREE

Name of the IFIO: Multiple Islamic FIOs spread across Eight districts of West Bengal Registering Authority: 1. Directorate of Registration and Stamp Revenue, Govt. of West Bengal  Deed of Trust. 2. Registrar of Societies under West Bengal Societies Registration Act, 1961 Name of the School: 58 Urdu Medium Schools Medium/Category of School: Urdu/Aided Category Board affiliated with: WBBSE Whether Minority Status awarded: No Awarding authority: N/A

This case study is a little different from the previous two case studies. Case 1 and Case 2 dealt with such schools which are affiliated with WBBSE, are run by the Islamic FIOs and also have the minority status from the concerned authority but are not aided by the government of West Bengal. The instant case deals with those schools which are affiliated with WBBSE, are run by the Islamic FIOs and are aided by the government of West Bengal but they do not possess the minority status from the concerned authority.

In 1990, with the intervention of All Bengal Urdu Medium Schools Association (ABUMSA), some 101 teaching posts were de-reserved in different stages by the government and Urdu knowing non-SC & ST candidates filled the de-reserved posts. But due to various factors like resignation, retirement and death of the teachers occupying the de-reserved posts, the posts kept on becoming vacant and as per the survey conducted by ABUMSA in 2016, about 451 teaching posts under SC & ST category are vacant till date. On being asked about the future of such Urdu medium schools, Aftab Alam, President of ABUMSA, West Bengal, said that until and unless the government de-reserves the said posts again, it will remain vacant. ABUMSA has been making representations before various government bodies since 2010 but the concerned authorities are yet to take action.

ABUMSA SURVEY FINDINGS

In 2012, the Mamata Banerjee government declared Urdu as the second language in the areas where 10 % of the population was Urdu speaking. The Indian Express reported saying that the decision to declare Urdu as the second language in areas with more than 10 per cent Urdu speaking population according to 2001 Census is a move that will have far reaching consequences. ABUMSA conducted the survey of fifty-eight (58) schools in eight (08) districts of West Bengal where large number of aided Urdu medium schools existed. The survey had some alarming findings as mentioned below;

That the total number of students in the surveyed schools were 68,585 i.e. each school had an average of 1,182.5 students. That the total number of sanctioned post in the schools was 1,268 i.e. each school should have an average of 22 teachers. That the total number of existing teachers in the schools was 541 i.e. each school had only an average of 9 teachers. 57% of existing sanctioned post remained vacant, out of which 35% posts belonged to the reserved category 25% to the general category.

In the light of the above mentioned survey, it can be argued that the aided Urdu medium schools are in dire need of immediate attention from the respective authorities. The Islamic FIOs running the aided schools are at a slight advantageous position in terms of ease of financial burden than their counterparts that are running unaided schools. The students studying in such aided Urdu medium schools are the worst sufferers because though they do not have to bear the expenses of the school fees and books, they end up learning very less or nothing due to unavailability of the required number of teachers.

Interestingly, all the aided Urdu medium schools do not possess the minority status certificate from the concerned department. Had such schools possessed minority status certificates then they would be exempted from following the reservation policies.

LACK OF POLITICAL WILL

The West Bengal government had no mechanism to identify the minority educational institutions of the state; therefore, it came out with a notification to identify and certify minority institutions of West Bengal. In 2008, during the CPI(M) rule, a notification was issued by Minority Affairs and Madrasah Education Department, Government of West Bengal, which provided guidelines for recognition of educational institution as Minority Educational Institution in West Bengal and it read, Article 30 of the Constitution of India provides the right to all minorities whether based on religion or language, to establish and administer educational institution of their choice. For identification of such minority educational institution already established and are being administered as such the state government shall verify the status of such institutions in the light of norms prescribed hereunder and issue necessary certificate so that such institutions can be associated with various state-aid schemes for education intervention in minority development.

Further, Article V of the notification titled Entailment of general effects after recognition as minority educational institution said:

Reservation policy for Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribes and Other Backward Classes shall not apply in recruitment of teachers and staff in minority educational institutions. There shall be no bar for the state government to provide the financial assistance to such institution for the purpose of educational enlightenment and upliftment of the minorities. Stipend/Scholarship and other such benefits may be allowed to students of such institution as per government norms. There shall be no discrimination for such minority educational institution for providing other aids by the government in consonance with the spirit of article 30(2) of the Constitution of India.

After the TMC came to power, in 2012 a notification, which provided Guidelines for grant of no objection certificate and minority educational institutions status certificate to a minority educational institution, the same clauses of 2008 notification were repeated with minor amendments here and there.

Prima facie, there is no difference between the Article 30(2) of the Constitution of India and the notification issued by the West Bengal government and the notification seems to compliment the constitutional provision. But on close scrutiny it will be evident that the words of the constitution have been tweaked in such a manner that it has potential to hit the beneficiaries of the provision without any apparent attack on their rights.

The vital difference between Article 30(2) of the Constitution of India and Article V(4) of the notification by Minority Affairs and Madrasah Education Department, Government of West Bengal is that the former has used aid and the latter has used other aids to denote the kind of support to be provided to minority educational institutions. It is because of this difference in words that the West Bengal government did not find itself duty-bound to acknowledge aided affiliation to a number of institutions like Shishu Bikash Academy and Aulad Hussain Islamic School, who had to run from pillar to post begging for their constitutional right.

The teachers salary of any school consumes the major portion of the financial support. The government of West Bengal hides behind the charade of Article V(4) of the mentioned notification and deprives the minority institutions of teachers salaries but the same government does not fail to uphold the tokenism in the name of support for mid-day meals and petty expenses. The unaided minority educational institutions either compromise with the quality of education or gradually close down operations in the long run. A community which is kept illiterate for ages is automatically pushed towards poverty.

The author is a Kolkata-based lawyer
When was the last time you looked at your bank account balance? According to a survey, over 60% of Americans check their balance at least once a week. This habit, if practiced the right way, can put you on the path to achieving your financial...
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.
Mumbai: Visa today released data on consumer spending in India during the week leading to Diwali this year on Visa cards. The data captures consumer spending patterns via payment cards (debit and credit), both for face to face (F2F) and online shopping across cities and different shopping categories during the period.

Our study has thrown up some very interesting and encouraging insights on consumer spending habits. While ecommerce continues to make strong inroads in India, for key occasions and festivities citizens still prefer a personalized experience, accompanied by touch-and-feel. In addition, the higher debit penetration by spend from the smaller cities, validates the healthy progress of the nation towards a less-cash society, Group Country Manager, India & South Asia, Visa, TR Ramachandran, said.

During the week leading to Diwali, Visa recorded 7.9 crore transactions, up 49 per cent from last year, amounting to Rs 15,300 crores, up 37 per cent, year-on-year. While the average spend was 1.48 times more than that during a normal week, it doubled (to Rs 2,900 crores) on Dhanteras, which was on November 5, 2018. This could also be seen from a 2.9 times increase in the spend for Jewellery during the week, compared to a normal week.

Breaking down the spends via payment cards, there was a 40 per cent YoY increase in credit spend as against a 35 per cent YoY increase in debit spend. Of the total spends, credit contributed to 50% and debit to 48 per cent respectively this year.

While the top five cities of Delhi NCR, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Chennai contributed 46 per cent of total F2F spend, the city of Chandigarh, with a 34 per cent change, recorded the highest growth in F2F spend. Chandigarh, along with other smaller cities like Coimbatore and Pune, showed increases of up to 64 per cent in debit spend. This reinforces the confidence that the citizens of India are adapting to digital payments, thereby reducing their dependence on cash.
The face-off scenes are few, but dramatic. Apart from that theres little drama in 2.0, but a lot of clumsy scenes and listlessness.

Rating:

Cast: Rajinikanth, Akshay Kumar, Amy Jackson, Adil Hussain

Director: S. Shankar

When you love someone or something, its hard to let go. And its harder still if not just your own survival, but the well-being of an entire film industry depends on it. Or, well, him.

Superstar Rajinikanth is perhaps one of the most loved actors of our times. He has not just made a lot of money for a lot of people, but also resides in the hearts of his devotional fans where he smiles and repeatedly flips a cigarette into his mouth, or twirls his cooling glasses off and on his face while saying, Mind it.

Rajini Sir is one of those few stars who seamlessly shot into that realm of hyper adolescent imagination where superheroes with superpowers dwell without actually playing one.

And now that he is 67 years old, directors, fans and perhaps he himself are finding it hard to let go.

Thus, the process of embalming.

The mummification of Superstar Rajinikanth began in 2010, with Enthiran, S. Shankars film that retold the story of Ramayan with Ravan as the robot Chitti. Rajini Sir played both, Ram and Ravan.

There, for the first time, the ageing superstar whose creaking joints and stiff movements the camera would not have been able to look away from, was turned into a machine for most part of the film  so, the slow, robotic movements with the same wooden expression throughout was given a reason, a context.

Despite this, Rajini fans danced when he made his entry as the hero and again as the villain.

Eight years later, we are being made to revisit project mummification, 2.0. And honestly, having to genuflect at a superstar who has been airbrushed and back-dated on a computer screen into a rather stiff but wrinkle-less young man is getting a bit pathetic.

The disarming honesty and grace that Rajinikanth displays in real life, shunning wigs and wearing a simple vesti, forever humble and yet so bloody cool, is strangely not visible on screen. Especially not in roles devoted to present him as a pickle of his old self. A bit of his real-life spunk on screen would be magical, I say. But, again, letting go isnt easy.

Like most nonsense thats peddled under the tag of sci-fi, 2.0 doesnt have a story but a plot thats basically a lot of gibberish and mumbo jumbo with random scientific words thrown in to make it sound as if they are all talking sense, when really its a load of rubbish.

2.0 opens with a man walking to a phone tower and hanging himself to death as birds swirl round him in an agitated state.

Soon, in Chennai, mobile phones, and not the sweet landline instruments gathering dust, go rouge.

They suddenly just up, hover a bit in the air and then take off for an unknown destination, much like the chidiya which appears on the screen before the mobile phone departs.

This happens while people are talking, taking selfies, coochie cooing. And it happens to VIPs and their diamond-studded phones, and aam jantas old, sad handsets. Its all very distressing and irritating, till it also becomes scary.

All those disappeared phones soon start to return, at night, to do nasty, violent things to certain men who have been profiteering from the sales and calls of mobile phones.

What is happening? Who is doing this? Why are they doing it?

The government is worried but clueless. As are the scientists called to shed light on this most bizarre occurrence.

But the SIMs cant be traced. The phones are off. Yet the dancing swarms of cell phones  which the movie loves very much and shows repeatedly  keeps returning as instruments of terror and murder. At times its a stunning bird, at times a man.

To crack the mystery of death by departed cell phones, the great scientist Dr Vaseegaran (Rajinikanth) is summoned.

Dr V, who is usually found in his strangely dystopian white-and-grey office working on virtual screens with just one colleague  robot Nila (Amy Jackson)  takes charge of the investigation.

Research by Nila throws up one suicide at a mobile tower and a field trip brings Dr V face-to-face with a very large, very angry bird, but also a special space the bird cant enter. Soon a phone call follows to understand what sort of messages India has been sending to aliens and Dr V has it all figured out.

A harebrained explanation is offered to us through some more gibberish around virtual screens with words like troposphere, the 5th force, the aura people emit thrown in.

The sci-fi idiocy is at its peak now and humans like me, who the film tells me are made up of neutrons and protons and emit electro-magnetic radiation, are kind of short-circuiting out of boredom and an overload of nonsense.

But the film is not even at the interval point, and neither the villain nor Chitti the original and the 2.0 upgraded version have arrived yet Neither have we witnessed Nilas oh-la-la moments every time she enters the very charged electro-magnetic field of Chitti

Director S. Shankar, who claims responsibility for having written this gibberish, also announces at the onset that his films plot is based on some newspaper reports that stuck in his head.

Theres a lot of heartfelt gyaan in 2.0 about how happy, chirping birds are dropping dead because of radiation from mobile towers, and this forms the backstory of Pakshi Rajan (Akshay Kumar)  his first avatar as a sad, depressive activist, and then, post-passing, as a raging evil power charged by cell phones and the aura of a gazillion birds.

Its all very touching, especially when its delivered around little mounds of earth with sad white daisies resting on them. And though theres little scientific proof, it sounds believable because, well, we are now a nation in active pursuit of the Brahmastra.

So obviously, evil gets outdone by the collective might of a good scientist, his two robots and three large aluminium kadhais (frying pans) emitting lovey-dovey messages.

But then the potbellied son of a scientist who was killed in Enthiran puts a spanner in Dr Vs work.

Chitti dies and Dr V is possessed. But quick-thinking Nila creates 2.0 to take on the killer bird.

This battle is long-drawn and feels exhaustingly unending, but it is also, in parts, quite stunning.

The shape-shifting robot and cell phone creature create moments that in a more tightly edited film would have been mind-blowing.

But 2.0 goes on and on, with the battle at one point looking like a game of rock-paper-scissors between two computer-generated things.

Thankfully 3.0 or, Kutti, glides in and puts an end to it all.

Ill be pakki kutti with Rajini Sir if he ever returns with 4.0.

I have never understood why people take sci-fi so seriously. One reason, of course, is that Im an English literature student and my brain cells begin to slip into coma at the mention of anything sciency.

But the other is that whatever I try to understand it in all seriousness, it sounds a lot like the drug-induced idiotic hallucinations of boys.

The trick with sci-fi is to keep it simple, minimal and amp-up the human drama, emotions.

Most of 2.0, I imagine, has been created on computer screens by boys with thick glasses and dark circles as they wolfed down chips and pizzas with fizzy drinks.

Nonetheless, the big bad bird is beautifully visualised and stunningly executed. And Akshay Kumar is excellent as the angry killer bird.

But his character is also a bit confusing. He has whatever power and whatever shape he wants at whatever point. At one point he is made of cell phones and is a bird that sometimes turns into a man.

Then he inhabits another, and its all very complicated and needless.

The face-off scenes are few, but dramatic. Apart from that theres little drama in 2.0, but a lot of clumsy scenes and listlessness.

The only historical purpose 2.0 will serve is that at some point a thesis will be written on Dr Vaseegaran who didnt just design a male robot that looked just like him but was evil, more powerful and horny. But also modelled a female robot whose pornographic proportions rival that of Barbie. I hope I live to read it. Thatll give some meaning to this meaningless ordeal.
A birds-eye view of the Kisan Mukti March, in New Delhi, Friday. Farmers from 24 states have joined the protest to press for their demands, including debt relief and remunerative prices for their produce. PTI

New Delhi: Thousands of farmers marched through the streets of the capital, chanting slogans, flashing flags and some carrying skulls of loved ones who committed suicide, to demand loan waiver and remunerative prices for their produce and were joined by social activists and leaders of non-BJP parties in a show of strength near Parliament.

The march, which caused snarls in Central Delhi, brought together Opposition parties of all hues showcasing how agrarian distress and farm loan waiver would be a major poll plank in the 2019 general elections.

The tone for a united Opposition over farmers issues was set by Congress president Rahul Gandhi by showing solidarity with the protesters and saying, Farmers are not seeking free gifts but only their rights,

Mr Gandhi shared the stage and shook hands with his bete noire, AAP chief and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, burying deep political differences between the two leaders. Other seniors leaders, including NCP chief Sharad Pawar, National Conference leader Farooq Abdullah and CPM general secretary Sitaram Yechury, were also present and addressed at the farmers from over 207 organisations across the country.

Mr Yechury called the Prime Minister Narendra Modi a pocketmaar (pick-pocket) to rhyme with the latters self-proclaimed status of publics chowkidar (watchman). He said that Mr Modi is a pocketmaar who takes all your money and gives back a little as a sop.

The Opposition show of strength over farmers issue saw a quick reaction from the government with agriculture minister Radha Mohan Singh sending out a series of 22 tweets explaining his governments stance. Mr Singh asked whether the Congress has woken up to farmers issues today.

The agitating farmers are demanding passage of two private members bills  The Farmers Freedom from Indebtedness Bill, 2018, and The Farmers Right to Guaranteed Remunerative Minimum Support Prices For Agricultural Commodities Bill in the coming session of Parliament and implementation of the Swaminathan Committee report among other things to address agrarian distress.

Addressing farmers at Jantar Mantar where they had assembled after they were stopped on their march to Parliament, almost all leaders, including Mr Gandhi, Mr Kejriwal and Mr Pawar, called for a complete waiver of farm loans, failing which the people would remove the BJP government in the next elections.

The Congress president hit out at the Prime Minister for favouring 15 of his favourite industrialists by waiving their loans worth Rs 3.5 lakh crore while not doing the same for farmers.
Lucknow: After the Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath stirred a controversy by claiming that Lord Hanuman was a Dalit, Nand Kumar Sai, the chairman of the National Commission for Scheduled Tribes added fuel to the fire by claiming that Hanuman was a gotra among tribals and Hanuman, therefore, was not a Dalit but a tribal.

Mr Sai said, There is a Hanuman gotra among tribals, like there is Giddha gotra or Reechh gotra. There is a Tigga gotra as well in which Tigga means vanar or monkey. There are various tribal communities and separate gotras. These, like the Garud and Reechh were part of Lord Rams army when he

went to war. Hanuman was definitely not a Dalit.

Mr Sai further said that politicians were given to making statements at political rallies and the Uttar Pradesh chief minister would have to specify the context in which he called Hanuman a Dalit.

Meanwhile, UP BJP MLA Surendra Singh has also disapproved of Mr Adityanaths reported statement.

It may be recalled that while addressing an election rally in Rajasthan, UP cinister Adityanath had reportedly called Hanuman a Dalit.

Meanwhile, Uttar Pradesh Bharatiya Janata Party MLA Surendra Singh has also disapproved of Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanaths reported statement terming Lord Hanuman as Dalit.

The Bharatiya Janata Party MLA said, It is inappropriate to relate God with a caste. God is above caste. There are Gods of all castes... relating them with a particular caste in not appropriate, he said.

Congress leader Pramod Tiwari has also condemned Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanaths remarks, and said that The Bharatiya Janata Party divides individuals and the society but it is for the first time that it has divided Gods into castes.
Naxal commander Mupalla Laxman Rao alias Ganapathy escaped to Nepal and then fled to the Philippines from there, a senior police officer of Chhattisgarh disclosed to this newspaper on Friday requesting anonymity.

Bhopal: Top Naxal leader Ganapathy who has recently relinquished his position as Maoist general secretary due to ill health, was suspected to have fled to the Philippines.

Naxal commander Mupalla Laxman Rao alias Ganapathy escaped to Nepal and then fled to the Philippines from there, a senior police officer of Chhattisgarh disclosed to this newspaper on Friday requesting anonymity.

We are keeping a watch on the development. Phone calls of senior Naxal leaders believed to be in touch with Ganapathy are being intercepted to trace his hideout in the Philippines, the Intelligence officer of the Chhattisgarh police said.

Intelligence sources said he was undergoing treatment in his hideout in the Philippines. Ganapathy, 71, has a long association with Peoples War Group (PWG), which later took the form of Maoists following mergers with other wings.

The Naxal commander who carried a bounty of Rs 2.52 crore by several state governments and Central forces, was elected general secretary of PWG in 1992. He later became Maoist general secretary in 1992 and retained the position till November 10, 2018, when he was replaced by Nambala Keshav Rao alias Basavaraj, the military head of the outlawed outfit.

A press release issued by the Maoist central committee this month said Ganapathy had volunteered to step down from his position due to ill health. The press release dated November 10 but released on November 28, said Ganapathys recommendation to relieve him of his charge has been endorsed by the central committee.

Basavaraj, now 63, is a native of Jiyannapetta village in Srikakulum district in Andhra Pradesh. The new chief of Maoists is known for being an expert in explosives and military tactics. He has been underground for the last 28 years.
Buenos Aires: Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman have decided to set up a mechanism at the leadership level to scale up the oil-rich kingdoms investments in energy, infrastructure and defence sectors in India as they met on the sidelines of the G-20 summit.

During the meeting, the two leaders discussed ways to further boost economic, cultural and energy ties. It was a cordial and warm meeting, foreign secretary Vijay Gokhale said after the meeting in Argentinas capital.

Prince Salman spoke of India as an important partner. There was specific discussion on How Saudi Arabia can enhance its investments across number of sector in two to three years, he said. Prince Salman said that Saudi Arabia will be finalising an initial investment into the National Infrastructure Fund.

He also referred to the future prospects for investment in the technology sector, the agriculture sector and energy sectors, Mr Gokhale said.

Two leaders have agreed that we will now set up a mechanism at the leadership level which will go into the possibilities of concrete actions in terms of investment, in terms of technology, in terms of manufacturing across various sectors from energy to food security and to infrastructure to defence, he said.

This mechanism will be worked out shortly and we will expect that in the next two to three years there will be significant scaling up in the Saudi investments in India, Mr Gokhale said.

The Prime Minister stressed upon the importance of having stable and predictable energy prices and some discussion took place between the two leaders how Saudi Arabia can contribute and help in stabilising energy prices, particulary for India.

Saudi Arabia is India 4th largest trade partner and is a major source of energy as the country imports around 19 per cent of its crude oil requirement from the kingdom.

Prince Salman was mindful of the contributions that Indians have made in the building of Saudi Arabia over the years and he specifically expressed appreciation for this, Mr Gokhale said. Had a fruitful interaction with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud. We discussed multiple aspects of India-Saudi Arabia relations and ways to further boost economic, cultural and energy ties, the Prime Minister wrote on Twitter.

In recent years, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has been a valuable partner. The relationship has expanded beyond the Indian community to issues related to the economy, energy and security. All issues of bilateral and regional interest will be discussed, sources in the Prime Ministers Office said. The G-20 summit is the first international forum attended by the Saudi Princes since the crisis over the grisly murder of Washington Post columnist.
Army Chief Bipin Rawat was speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the Passing Out Parade of the 135th course at the National Defence Academy (NDA) in Pune. (Photo: ANI):

Pune: Army chief General Bipin Rawat on Friday said Pakistan must curtail terror activities on its soil and develop itself as a secular state if it wanted cordial relations with India.

He also said the Indian Army was not yet ready to have women in combat roles.

Rawat was speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the Passing Out Parade of the 135th course at the National Defence Academy (NDA) in Pune.

Asked about a recent statement of Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan about his country willing to take two steps for every step forward by India, Rawat said the neighbouring nation should first take steps to curtail terror activities on its soil.

"I would like to tell Pakistan to initiate that first step (curtailing terror). In the past, India has taken several steps. When we say terror is being harboured in your country, show some action by curtailing terror activities which are used against India," Rawat advised Pakistan.

On Imran Khan's statement as to why India and Pakistan could not be friends when Germany and France could be good neighbours, Rawat said the neighbouring country first needed to see its internal condition.

"They have turned Pakistan into an Islamic country. If they want cordial relations with India, they will have to develop themselves as a secular state," Rawat said.

"How can you say that we can stay together when you are an Islamic state? India is a secular state and for us to stay together, both of us will have to be secular. If they are willing to become secular like us, I think they have an opportunity," he added.

Speaking about assigning combat roles to women in the armed forces, Rawat said, "We are not yet ready for that as facilities have to be created within the armed forces and women also need to be prepared for that kind of hardships. It is not easy. Let us not compare ourselves with western nations. The western nations are more open," he said.

"Yes, we may be more open in our big cities, but our Army personnel are not coming from big cities only. They are coming from rural areas too, where the intermingling, which is expected, is still not there," the Army chief added.

"Women officers are being inducted in all the three services. But what we have to decide is whether some of them can be given permanent commission. The Army too has taken a call that there are some aspects, some fields, where we need some kind of continuity and permanency. In a command-oriented Army, male officers do not fit the bill everywhere. The Army needs language interpreters as military diplomacy is gaining ground. The basic requirement is understanding the language while talking to other nations, military to military. So we are looking for women as interpreters," he said.

Rawat added that there were several other fields where the Army was thinking of inducting women.
New Delhi: Leaders of opposition parties stand united with farmers in ensuring their good future, Congress president Rahul Gandhi Friday said and called for a farm loan waiver, asserting that peasants are asking for what is due to them and not a "free gift".

The Congress supremo joined several leaders from the opposition parties, including AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal, NCP chief Sharad Pawar, veteran politicians Sharad Yadav and Sitaram Yechury at Jantar Mantar here where thousands of farmers from across the country have gathered to press for their demands, including debt relief and remunerative prices for their produce.

"The farmers of India are not asking for a free gift, they are only asking for their rights and what is due to them. The prime minister said he will provide remunerative prices to farmers, bonus and increased MSP, but the situation today is you pay for insurance and it goes into the pocket of Anil Ambani. Farmers cannot even decide which company's insurance to buy," he said.

"The country has been divided between Ambani and Adani. But your farm loan waiver does not happen, you don't get the right prices and hollow speeches are made," he went on to add.

He trained his guns at Prime Minister Narendra Modi alleging that if Rs 30,000 crore can be given to Anil Ambani, an apparent reference to the Rafale fighter jet deal, why can't loans of farmers be waived.

"Farmers are not asking Anil Ambani's aircraft from Modi ji, but India's farmers are saying that if Anil Ambani can be given Air Force's money of Rs 30,000 crore, if you can give 3.5 lakh crore to your 15 friends, then for our hard work, sweat and blood, why cannot our farm loans be waived," he said.

Trying to project the event as a show of strength of the opposition parties, he said, "We may have different ideologies, but for the future of the farmers and the youth, we are all standing together on one stage. We want to tell Modi ji and the BJP that if we need to change the laws, change the chief ministers or even the prime minister, we do that for the sake of future of farmers. We will not budge even an inch, you may do whatever you want."

He said the "voice being raised here will go across to every state - Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Telanagana, Rajasthan and in every state this voice will be raised. This is the voice of India's farmers, youth and this cannot be silenced".

Gandhi said there are two big issues before the country now, one of farmers' future and the other employment of youth.
The warning has been issued particularly for fruits bitten by bats. (Photo: Pixabay)

Thiruvananthapuram: The Health department on Thursday called for precautionary measures ahead of Nipah virus transmission season between December and June.

In a letter, additional chief secretary health Rajeev Sadanandan asked the director of health services and director of medical education to put in place precautionary measures in hospitals.

He said people need to be cautioned about consumption of fruits and vegetables. The warning has been issued particularly for fruits bitten by bats.

He directed doctors and staff at the primary, community health centres, taluk, district and general hospitals and medical colleges to take adequate precaution while treating patients with respiratory distress syndrome. The patients coming with symptoms of cough will be examined at cough corner in the hospitals. The authorities have been asked provide safety kits for staff handling such cases. However, experts said there was no need for panic about Nipah virus. In the event of fever accompanied with headache, one must consult a doctor. Staying home is advisable for those having fever, headache, respiratory infection at least till the infection subsides.

In Nipah virus the patient experiences dizziness, vertigo, abdominal pain and vomiting. Some of these symptoms are different from the viral infection. While bodys internal mechanism is effective in treating the disease and it provides antibodies to kill the virus, in serious infections one might require specialist care.

Nipah was in the news recently after a report in an international medical journal put Nipah death toll in the state at 21. This had , created confusion as it contradicted the official figure of 17 deaths.

Of the 17 Nipah deaths 14 were reported in Kozhikode and three in neighbouring Malappuram in May this year.
Minister for Foreign Affairs of Maldives Abdulla Shahid was recently on an official visit to New Delhi, where he met top leaders including his counterpart Sushma Swaraj and Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. (Photo: Twitter | @MEAIndia)

Male/New Delhi: The Maldives Government has strongly denied media reports stating that India had offered USD 1 billion to Maldives in exchange for the deployment of Indian troops in the island nation.

The Minister for Foreign Affairs Abdulla Shahid said that the Maldivian territory would not be used for the establishment of any foreign military bases.

Taking to Twitter, Shahid said, "Categorically refute media reports alleging that government is planning to allow the establishment of an Indian military base in Maldives in exchange for financial assistance or other material benefits. It is baseless and aimed at discrediting the government as it starts to rebuild good relations with its neighbours and the rest of the international community."

"Government assures the people, that it will always act in the national interest of Maldives and will not undertake any international engagement that will compromise the sovereignty and independence of the country," he added.

Shahid was reacting to a news article published in a Japanese Daily, NIKKIE Asian Review, which stated that India offered Maldives USD 1 billion in exchange for stronger security ties.

Abdulla Shahid was recently on an official visit to New Delhi, where he met top leaders including his counterpart Sushma Swaraj and Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.

He described India as time-tested and a trusted partner. He showed commitment to strengthen bilateral trade ties between the two countries.

The Foreign Minister, however, mentioned that his country will closely work with all of its neighbours and the international community.

He also called China as a friend and one of the largest economies of the world whose assistance had benefited Maldives.

New Maldives President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih is scheduled to visit India on December 17 in keeping with his 'India-First' policy.
Thousands of farmers are marching to Parliament demanding higher prices for their produce and a government waiver on their farm loans to alleviate hardships. (Photo: AP)

New Delhi: Denied permission by police to march to Parliament, around 35,000 farmers from across the country converged near Parliament Street Police station in New Delhi on Friday, where their leaders addressed the protesters.

The national secretary of the All India Kisan Sangharsh Coordination Committee (AIKSCC), Asish Mittal, said farmers from 24 states have also joined the protest to press for their demands, including debt relief and remunerative prices for their produce.

The farmers, who have been camping at the Ramlila ground in the national capital since Thursday, began their march to Parliament Street around 10.30 am amid heavy policy deployment.

They were stopped near Parliament Street police station, after which they assembled there.

Over 3,500 police personnel have been deployed on the route of the march.

According to a senior police officer, special arrangements have been made in Central and New Delhi police districts.

Farmers from different parts of the country, including Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal and Uttar Pradesh converged at the Ramlila ground on Thursday.

Banded under the AIKSCC, which claims to be an umbrella body of 207 organisations of farmers and agricultural workers, many farmers arrived in the city on Thursday, on trains, buses and other modes of transport.

Five Gurdwaras in the Delhi region have extended their help to the farmers. Also students from various universities turned out in large numbers to lend support to the farmers.

The protest also saw participation of a number of women farmers who travelled from various parts of the country. Volunteers, including doctors, lawyers, professors and artists, all came out in large numbers to help the farmers.

Delhi: Farmers from all across the nation hold protest for the second day over their demands of debt relief, better MSP for crops, among others; latest #visuals from near Barakhamba Road. pic.twitter.com/Po5aGAhuSk  ANI (@ANI) November 30, 2018

Around 600-700 volunteers of a solidarity group 'Nation For Farmers' marched with the protesters from the four assembly points.

Gaining support from the Left and a number of farmer groups, they marched to Ramlila Maidan from five different locations.

Here are the big points to this story:

Farmers converged in the national capital on Thursday from different corners of the country, including Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal, to participate in the two-day Kisan March.

Banded under the All India Kisan Sangharsh Coordination Committee (AIKSCC), which claims to be an umbrella body of 207 organisations of farmers and agricultural workers, many of the farmers came in trains and other packed into buses and other modes of transport.

The historic Ramlila Maidan, known for hosting big political events over the years, turned into a sea of red as farmers wearing caps and carrying flags gathered there.

Some farmers resonated with slogans like 'Ayodhya nahi, karz maafi chahiye' (We don't need Ayodhya but debt waiver) earlier on Thursday.

Battling Delhis cold, a group of farmers were heard raising chants of 'Jai Jawan, Jai Kisan'.

With an edge of anger in his voice, 50-year-old Kartar Singh, sugarcane farmer from Uttar Pradeshs Sambal district, said: "We have not come here to sleep. Farmers have converged in Delhi to remind the Union government that the party leading it had made promises of waiving off loans in its manifesto. And, its been four and a half years since they came to power."

On Thursday night, farmers, both men and women, from all parts of India tried to sleep in a chilly night inside tents, while many sat huddled together, discussing the next strategy and family issues.

The Communist Party of India (CPI) on Thursday said it supports the farmers agitation and urged the entire country to stand up in solidarity with the community as the government has been "insensitive" to their demands.

About 1,200 farmers from Tamil Nadu reached the national capital in the early hours of Thursday carrying skulls of two of their colleagues who had committed suicide, National South Indian River Interlinking Agriculturalists Association leader P Ayyakannu claimed. The group from Tamil Nadu threatened to march naked if they are not allowed to go to Parliament on Friday.

A farmer from Tamil Nadu arrives for a two-day rally to press for demands, including debt relief and remunerative prices for their produce, in New Delhi. (Photo: PTI)
Modi told Xi that he was looking forward to host him for an informal summit next year. (Photo: @PMO/Twitter)

Buenos Aires: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday met Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the G-20 summit here and discussed how to strengthen the bilateral ties between the two neighbours.

The two leaders have met twice after their informal summit in the Chinese city of Wuhan in April -- once at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit held in June in China's Qingdao and the second time at the BRICS summit in South Africa's Johannesburg in July.

Modi told Xi that he was looking forward to host him for an informal summit next year.

"Today's meeting will be important in proving a direction in terms of strengthening our relations," Modi said. "Such initiatives are helpful in maintaining the momentum," the prime minister said, adding that there "have been two review meetings -- in Qingdao and in Johannesburg."

"I express my heartiest thanks to you (President Xi) for taking out time for this meeting," he said.

After the meeting, the PMO tweeted that the two leaders held productive discussions.
'We are only demanding MSP for us. Today, we expect that the government will announce the Right of Loans and profitable price to the farmers,' President of National South Indian River Interlinking Agriculturalists Association from Tamil Nadu, Ayyakannu said. (Photo: ANI)

New Delhi: Farmers from different corners of the country have started congregating at the Ramlila Maidan on the second day of the two-day protest demanding debt relief and better Minimum Support Price (MSP) for crops.

Over 1,000 farmers from Tamil Nadu have reached Delhi in the early hours of Friday carrying skulls of their colleagues who had committed suicide.

The group threatened to march naked if they are not allowed to go to Parliament today.

"We are only demanding Minimum Support Price for us. Today, we expect that the government will announce the Right of Loans and profitable price to the farmers. If they fail to do so, then we (farmers from Tamil Nadu) will march naked to the Parliament," President of National South Indian River Interlinking Agriculturalists Association from Tamil Nadu, Ayyakannu, told news agency ANI.

A farmer from Tamil Nadu arrives for a two-day rally to press for demands, including debt relief and remunerative prices for their produce, in New Delhi. (Photo: PTI)

The rally has been organised by the All India Kisan Sangharsh Coordination Committee (AIKSCC) for two days (November 29-30) against the ongoing rural distress. The committee claims to be an umbrella body of 207 organisations of farmers and agricultural workers.

The farmers have come from Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Bengal, and Uttar Pradesh.

Also Read: 'Not Ayodhya, need debt waiver': Farmers begin march to Parliament

During the past couple of months, the country has witnessed a number of protests by farmers.

On October 2, the birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, farmers from the neighbouring states of Haryana and Punjab were not allowed to launch a protest in Delhi, which later led to a violent confrontation with the state police at the Delhi border.
WARANGAL: It was the Narendra Modi government which put the country on the path of development. As part of it, the Centre has taken up the responsibility of turning Warangal into a smart city, home minister Rajnath Singh said on Wednesday.

Speaking at a public meeting in support of BJP candidate M. Dharma Rao in Hanamkonda, he noted that Janga Reddy from Warangal was one of the only two BJP MPs who had won in the 1984 elections.

Mr Rajnath Singh said India has a good image in the international community. "In 2014 in regard to the economy size, India was placed at the ninth position out of 10 countries. Within four and half years, we have jumped to the sixth position. By the next financial year we will be in the 5th position and by 2030 in the third position.

The country is developing very fast. An international report says five crore people have now gone above the poverty line. By 2022 there will be no family without a house, Mr Singh said.

In Telangana state, 4,500 farmers had committed suicide. Many farmer welfare schemes were introduced by the BJP. We reduced the price of the fertilisers. By 2022 we will double the income of the farmers, he said.

Mr Singh recalled that the Vajpayee government had created Chhattisgarh, Jharkand and Uttarakand which had forged ahead in terms of development and are now looked upon as model states. The two Telugu states are not receiving any development, he noted.

People must question why this is happening. There is no dearth of natural resources in Telangana. During the 13th Finance Commission the Congress government gave only Rs 16,500 crore for Telangana but in the 14th Finace Commission the BJP gave Rs 1.5 lakh crore but still the state remains underdeveloped. The people must question this. There is lack of political will in Telangana, he said.

The minister alleged that Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao was diverting the attention of the people by raking up the minority reservation issue. People must not encourage communal politics. We live in the country which believes in unity. We all must live as one family," he said.

Calling the TD-Congress alliance unholy, he said the people were not welcoming this. The TD was created by the late N. T. Rama Rao against Congress policies.

He pointed out that Mr Rao in his speech at Adilabad on Thursday had said voters were not mature and asked under what circumstance he came to be elected as Chief Minister.
Hyderabad: On Friday it was the turn of Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge to take on caretaker Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao, who he said had the mentality of use and throw.

Mr Rao was once a devotee of Sonia Gandhi. As he doesn't need her help now, he has started attacking her and exposed his true colours, Mr Kharge told media persons at Gandhi Bhavan on Friday,

He released a photograph of the whole family of Mr Rao along with UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi. See this family photo of Mr Rao with Sonia Gandhi. This photo alone shows the real behaviour of Mr Rao. He behaves like a devotee if he is in need and attacks them once his wishes are fulfilled. Telangana was created with the blessings of Ms Sonia Gandhi and Mr Rao is behaving like an autocrat. Now, he supports Prime Minister Narendra Modi in each and every crime. The TRS, which is considered to be the B-Team of the BJP, dissolved the Assembly like there was an emergency or the sky was falling.

Mr Kharge has said that the appointment of the director of the Central Bureau of Investigation was done according to the wish of the Prime Minister and the same Prime Minister removed him at midnight.

Just like his boss Mr Narendra Modi, the Chief Minister of Telangana is also behaving as a dictator. The Prime Minister attended the Parliament sessions only twice or thrice. The same is followed by m Rao in attending the secretariat. Where ever Mr Modi goes in the country, he is trying to pull in other party leaders by threatening them with raids by the Enforcement Directorate and Income Tax department. Now the same help is being taken by the Chief Minister of Telangana to take control of opposition leaders. The BJP is indirectly helping the TRS. All sections of the people are unhappy with the rule of the TRS in the state.

Mr Kharge also slammed the BJP over its manifesto. He said, The BJP made several promises to the country like bringing back black money and depositing Rs 15 lakh in every bank account. Despite failing to bring the black money, Mr Modi is putting our white money in danger by providing loans to the richest people in the country.

Mr Kharge said the BJP in states or at the Centre does not have any credibility. The people were not ready to believe the BJP any more, he said. The people are really bothered about petrol prices, he said.
Hyderabad: Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC) working president Revanth Reddy has stopped his campaigning tours in other districts, alleging that caretaker Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao along with top police officers was planning to eliminate him and to put the blame on Naxals.

Speaking to media persons at Kodangal constituency on Friday, Mr Revanth Reddy said, Mr Rao and DGP Mahender Reddy have deployed an expert officer who had dealt with the Naxals to eliminate me and to blame this on the ultras. KCR had warned me in the Assembly directly. The police are filing false cases against me. After Mr Mahender Reddy become the DGP, the attacks on my people have increased. Now the situation appears like I will be the next target.

Though the Central intelligence department had given a report that there were chances of attack on me, the Centre has not provided me security. Even after the court ordered the Centre to provide me 4 + 4 security, the Centre is not giving it to keep me away from campaigning.

He added, Some police officers have informed me about their plan. The surveys are clear that the Prajakutami and my campaigning will affect the TRS in the elections. They tried to disqualify me from the elections by filing false cases against me. The police refused to provide information regarding the cases till the court intervened. The IG intelligence is also part of the plan to eliminate me. The election commission should immediately respond and provide security to me as directed by the court.
Kothagudem / Warangal: Caretaker Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao said the Bayyaram steel factory  promised in the AP Reorganisation Act  would be built by Singareni Collieries Company Limited on its own.

He said that the state government had written to the Centre and the Union steel minister 30 times on setting up of steel factory but there is no response. We have decided to build the factory on our own and SCCL will take up the project. The iron ore available in the state will be used for the factory. Thousands of jobs will be created with it, he said.

He said the Adani group had met him some time back. I inquired where he was getting coal from. I was told that he had coal mines in Australia and Indonesia.

Then, I asked SCCL managing director N. Sridhar, why should we take up projects abroad. Project reports are being made for it, he said.

He said Kothagudem would get an aerodrome.

Speaking at Mulugu, he said he would make it a district and carve out Mallampalli mandal, which are long-term dreams of the people there. Speaking at a public meeting in Bhupalapalli, he said Prime Minister Narendra Modi was lying regarding lack of power in Telangana.
Hyderabad: Punjab minister Navjot Singh Sidhu compared the family of caretaker Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao to the film Alibaba aur Chalis Chor (Alibaba and 40 thieves). KCR is Alibaba and the four thieves are KTR, Kavitha, T. Harish Rao and Santosh, he alleged. The assets of KTR went up by 400 per cent.

Addressing mediapersons at Gandhi Bhavan on Friday, Mr Sidhu said, Only this family is ruling Telangana. The Chief Minister should come out of his Rs 300 crore bungalow. The government of KCR is similar to a bamboo tree, which will be empty inside. The surplus state is now in debt. Each new baby born in the state is bearing a debt of Rs 60,000.

Referring to the video of Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao losing his cool against a youth who questioned him about the 12 per cent reservation, Mr Sidhu asked what was wrong in questioning him. He said, KCR is filled with pride. He should remember that no government will return to power when the people are angry with it.

KCR is a jadugar. He has looted Rs 40,000 crore in Pranahitha project alone. It is the Rafale scam of Telangana, Mr Sidhu claimed.
According to Hindustani classical musicologists, the sam is the first beat of the cycle of the system of tal without which compositions cannot move ahead. It has special significance in performance and theory. The sam is also the transition point between lead musicians and the supporting cast. In any performance, if the principal performer is the only one rendering the composition while the accompanist remains in the background, it has the potential becoming monotonous.

As a result, often main musicians take a backseat allowing the accompanying artist, the tabla mostly or an instrumentalist in jugalbandhi, to take the lead. But the secondary performers do not have the liberty to snatch the initiative completely from the main musician. The sam thereby acts as the pivot in this transition between them, the point where the cycle is picked up anew with renewed vigour.

If long-running political campaigns are to be viewed as musical compositions heading for a climactic finish, the sam is the issue to which the movement returns with the completion of every cycle or ascending phase. Another way of framing this argument is that every movement or agitation always has a cementing objective and without this, it runs the risk of dissipating because no agitation can sustain a high pitch constantly. In the national movement, Indias independence from colonial rule was the principal purpose but several other secondary demands were raised in its course because these indirectly bolstered the primary goal.

Yet, time and again the leaders of the national movement returned to the main agenda launching headlong confrontations with British imperialism. Leaders, Mahatma Gandhi downward, were well aware that the intensity of such phases, be it during the Non-Cooperation Movement, the Civil Disobedience agitation or the Quit India Movement, could not be maintained unceasingly. Consequently, there were phases when the national movement was pursued with low intensity, engaging the British administration to seek additional rights and privileges.

From when the Ram Janmabhoomi agitation was launched in 1984, it has functioned as the sam of the movement for installing Hindu nationalism as Indias dominant political credo. The struggle has been waged for this idea to replace inclusive or territorial nationalism  the central idea during the decades-long freedom struggle from which Hindu nationalists were consciously absent. This inclusive approach to Indian nationalism determined Indias post-Independence development policies and acted as the nations unifying spirit. For those imagining that building a temple in Ayodhya is all that drives supporters of the stir, it is best to recollect Lal Krishna Advanis words after the demolition  the agitation is not just constructing a temple but to propagate Hindutvas foundational idea  cultural nationalism.

The Ayodhya agitation has been a recurring theme to which the Sangh Parivar and its affiliates, most importantly the Bharatiya Janata Party, have returned to. Although the issue was raked up by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad initially, the BJP committed itself to the demand in June 1989 with the adoption of a resolution in Palampur, Himachal Pradesh. This was followed by Mr Advanis Somnath to Ayodhya rathyatra in September 1990. The benefits were obvious in the Lok Sabha elections in 1989 and 1991. The BJP also secured a majority in the Uttar Pradesh Assembly and formed a government in the state.

From the onset the Sangh Parivar has used the Ayodhya issue as a rallying point. It has also benefited by a surge in growth through programmes like the shilanyas in 1989, the kar seva in 1990 and 1991 and finally in 1992 when the Babri Masjid was demolished. Thereafter, it was a decade before the issue was revived when the next confrontational programme was scheduled. This was perforce abandoned midway due to a Supreme Court directive for maintaining the status quo at the disputed site. Thereafter, there was little effort to organise another confrontational programme in the temple town, suggesting the Sangh Parivars realisation that the issue had become one of diminishing returns.

The Ayodhya issues return to public discourse with a roar in recent weeks is paradoxical given the setback to the Hindutva movement in the wake of the demolition. To recollect, the BJP learnt cruelly that success in agitations did not necessarily yield electoral benefits  the party lost the 1993 elections in UP and Madhya Pradesh. Additionally, after displaying its aggressive face with Mr Advani at its helm, the Sangh Parivar was forced to replace him with the moderate-faced Atal Behari Vajpayee. After the defeat in 2004, Vajpayee had declared that the BJPs failed re-election bid was factored by his inability to take action against then Gujarat CM Narendra Modi for his alleged role in the 2002 riots. Although belligerent Hindutva bolstered the agitation on several occasions, it also impeded the acquisition or continuity of political power.

The return of the Ayodhya issue, with a clear certainty of unforeseen developments, suggests possible divergences within the Sangh Parivar over its short-term objectives and long-term goals. There is no doubt that Mr Modis primary goal is about his tenure and securing another term, while that of the RSS and other Sangh affiliates are more futuristically oriented. True, RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat has given primacy to politics over character-building, and canvassing votes for the BJP is on his task list for the first time. Yet, because the Hindutva fold is increasingly resembling a saffron rainbow, there are nuanced divergences over what needs to be prioritised, and when.

The RSS has not been part of governance despite having benefited from its decisions and policies. Consequently, Mr Modi has to carry the burden of disenchantment, but the Sangh cant afford to allow any such resentment to weaken the movement. Raising the pitch on Ayodhya has to be seen in this backdrop. If it comes to choosing between the government and furthering its movement, the RSS will always opt for the latter. And therein lies a key danger for the republic, the government and the BJP. Realpolitik is indeed full of ironies.
November is never a happy month. It commemorates the end of the First World War, during which about 40 million people fell casualty to conflicts they had not started. About 20 million died. This month, the victors and the vanquished commemorated the fallen in pious acts of collective remembrance. None of them dared recall the petty reason  the neutrality of Belgium  why their countries had fought in the first place.

November is also the anniversary of the commencement of the Nuremberg trials, when, after the Second World War, the Allies put Nazi Germany on trial. On November 20, 1945, R.H. Jackson, chief counsel for the prosecuting Allies, presented this justification to the tribunal: The wrongs which we seek to condemn and punish have been so calculated, so malignant, and so devastating, that civilisation cannot tolerate their being ignored, because it cannot survive their being repeated.

Yet, civilisation has survived and then repeated the same follies. The copybook of recent history is bulging with mini-wars, scarred battlegrounds, uncounted corpses, and now haunting images of starving Yemeni children too weak to cough, too young to die.

Leaders are expected to have strong stomachs. Queen Elizabeth I boasted having the heart and stomach of a king. She spoke for kings and Presidents. President Barack Obama felt no queasiness watching live from Washington the capture and assassination of Osama bin Laden in Abbottabad. His successor Donald Trump though is more finicky. He refuses to listen to an audiotape of the vivisection of the Saudi dissident Jamal Khashoggi within the Saudi consulate in Istanbul. Trump prefers Khashoggis screams to be drowned by the lullaby of oil wells pumping petrodollars into his countrys armament economy.

Humanists have criticised President Trump for not censuring the Saudi leadership for suspected complicity in Khashoggis elimination. They should read the statistics of the strong-arm relationship between the overdeveloped United States and the overrich Arabs. Between 2009 and 2016, the US supplied $65 billion of arms to Saudi Arabia. As if that was not gluttony enough, in May 2017 Trump inked sale agreements worth $110 billion more.

Can Saudi Arabia sustain such outlays? According to a Congressional Service report (2018), it is anticipated that by 2025, Saudi Arabias recurring expenditure will equal its anticipated revenues at SAR 1.13 trillion. Its government reserves will have halved from their present levels to SAR 271 billion, and its debt doubled to SAR 854 billion.

Its affluent neighbour UAE has a sedentary army of 50,000, protected by 5,000 US forces. The UAE was persuaded by the US to buy 80 F16 aircraft with advanced air missiles at a price of $8 billion. Only last year these needed to be improved at the cost of another $6 billion.

Men who are in charge of such edged tools, President Woodrow Wilson once said, grow very impatient if they are not permitted to use them. And they have done, though not always with the success expected. President Richard Nixon, heading the worlds biggest superpower, bemoaned its impotence: Never has so much military economic, and diplomatic power been used as ineffectively as in Vietnam. Had he lived, he would have added Iraq, Syria, Libya, Egypt, Afghanistan and now Yemen.

Shouldnt these conflicts be upgraded to wars? Shouldnt murders, violence and assassinations perpetrated during them come under the definition of war crimes and attract punishment? Or do these atrocities have the shelf life of a sandwich? In the 1970s, the United Nations resolved that there is no period of limitation for war crimes and crimes against humanity. Such a carte blanche mandate would imply that one could go as far back as the fringes of revenge. Will there ever be a second Nuremberg, though, where individuals are held accountable for sins committed by them in the name of the state?

At Nuremberg, the Allies thought they would shock the Nazi defendants by showing them films of concentration camps at Auschwitz and Belsen, taken after their skeletal inmates had been rescued by US and Allied forces. Reacting to the smugness shown by the unrepentant Nazis, one observer realised that their guilt, in contrast to all criminal guilt, oversteps and shatters any and all legal systems [.] We are simply not equipped to deal, on a human, political level, with a guilt that is beyond crime.

Future generations will wonder why we ordinary citizens condone brutality which explodes the limits of the law. Or are we like Goering at Nuremberg and Trump with the Khashoggi tapes comfortable ducking below the bar of personal guilt? It is for each of us to answer. Meanwhile, the dying and the dead queue for justice, for action against those who act with brazen impunity confident of Teflon immunity.

By arrangement with Dawn
Seeking to politically leverage a good act is common. So is the case with Thursdays ceremony in Pakistan when the neighbouring countrys Prime Minister Imran Khan inaugurated the project to construct the 4-km-long corridor through which Sikh pilgrims from India can travel the short distance to Gurdwara Kartarpur Sahib from Dera Baba Nanak in Gurdaspur district on the Indian side. It is just possible, of course, that Islamabad had timed the gesture to make it possible for Prime Minister Narendra Modi to accept the invitation to the Saarc summit to be held in Pakistan later this year. After the Uri attack, India had boycotted the proposed 2016 summit in Pakistan, which could not take place as following Indias lead, Afghanistan, Bhutan and Bangladesh also decided against participating.

Mr Khan  as well as his Army  may have hoped that the positive vibes produced by Kartarpur would make it hard for India to say no to summit participation this time around. But after the ground-breaking ceremony was done, external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj said in a stiff formal statement that India will be boycotting Saarc this year as well.

The reasons provided are extremely valid. Since 2016, Pakistan has not moved an inch to check Pakistan-based terrorism against India. In fact, this is why Ms Swaraj did not herself travel to Kartarpur Sahib, though formally invited. New Delhi is also put out that in his speech Mr Khan spoke at some length about the need to solve the Kashmir issue since going to war was not an option.

He seemed to go out of his way to underline that he, his party, the entire political class in Pakistan and the Pakistan Army were on the same page in desiring a civilised relationship with India, in effect seeking to counter the notion in India that the Pakistan Army and the Inter-Services Intelligence sabotage any and every steps initiated for peace.

India is seldom pleased when Pakistan brings up the Kashmir issue out of context. In the present instance, however, when the Kartarpur gesture is being widely appreciated in our border state of Punjab, especially among the Sikhs, whose contribution to the countrys security sector is particularly visible, New Delhis response should have been innovative.

Instead of being openly rejectionist, the Indian statement could have reiterated Indias desire to solve all outstanding issues with Pakistan peacefully and bilaterally, provided terrorism is tossed out of the equation. After all, Kartarpur was a bilateral forum. Besides, it is Mr Modi who a few days earlier had referred to the fall of the Berlin Wall, raising hopes.
Amidst oft-emerging disputes over sacred space  masjids, churches, mandirs and gurdwaras  it might help us all to look into the eyes of our neighbours, whispering: You are Gods temple! (Photo: Pixabay)

King Janaka of ancient India was greatly revered for his holiness. Once, while listening to a wise guru together with others, a herald announced: The kings palace is on fire! Everyone rushed to the palace since they had friends working there or fields around it. King Janaka sat unmoved. Thinking that Janaka hadnt heard him, the herald cried louder: Your palace is burning! The king calmly replied: Let it burn! Its more important that I become holy by heeding my guru rather than saving my palace. The king was aware that personal holiness was far more precious than any concrete structure.

The Bible has myriad images of temple  visible, invisible, geographical and personal. At a basic level, temple is symbolic of Gods abode. However, the omnipresent God cannot be confined within the walls of any temple. Thus, King Solomon  who builds Gods temple  acknowledges the impossibility of imprisoning God therein, saying: Will God indeed dwell on the earth? Even the highest heaven cannot contain you, O God, much less this temple that I have built!

Biblical imagery has this paradox of portraying God as both, present in the temple, as well as being present everywhere. Therefore, the earth and all of creation is sacred  regarded as Gods abode. Temple is also the place to communicate and enter into communion with God. It is a cosmic centre. Ezekiel describes Jerusalems temple as centre of the nations and navel of the earth.

Since the temple represents Gods house, sacred geography of religious traditions holds that the nearer one gets to the sanctum sanctorum or the garbhagriha, the greater holiness one encounters. Social hierarchies also either allow or disallow ones access to sacred space.

The gospels contain a startling narrative of Jesus driving out the money-changers and merchants from the temple, profiting from religious commercialism, saying, Stop making Gods house a marketplace! Moreover, to a socially-stigmatised Samaritan women, he says: The time is coming when believers will worship God not in any temple, but in spirit and in truth.

After Jesus resurrection, in the absence of any mortar-and-brick church for community prayer, Paul tells believers: You are Gods temple! Likewise, Peter teaches: Let yourselves be built into a spiritual house, meaning, temples and churches are neither built by bricks nor as institutions but rather by hearts and as body of believers.

The Brihadaranyaka Upanishad speaks of the divine internal principle, the Antarayamin present within believers, which is Gods spirit: The Divine Indweller that someone harmonises our hearts with melodies of love, joy, forgiveness and peace.

Amidst oft-emerging disputes over sacred space  masjids, churches, mandirs and gurdwaras  it might help us all to look into the eyes of our neighbours, whispering: You are Gods temple!
In spite of so much evidence from our history, even the recent history of the past few decades, very few Indians realise the extent to which certain unfriendly foreign powers, and some neighbours, take full advantage of our open, even transparent, society. It is high time that more Indians realise the extent to which Chinese nationals, for one, have taken full advantage of the phenomenal ignorance of ordinary citizens to carry out adversarial activities on our soil, and also exploited their goodwill.

Have people really forgotten how, back in the 1960s and early 1970s, a serious attempt at armed rebellion was begun in West Bengal by armed Naxalites inspired, funded and equipped by Communist China and its then founder Chairman Mao Zedong. When their cadres brazenly chanted on the streets that Chinas chairman is our chairman! Or when, a decade or so later, Punjab was awash in bloodshed as the Khalistan movement was instigated, supported and funded by Pakistans Inter-Services Intelligence and its supporters in the West, all with the basic objective of weakening this country.

Coming back to the Chinese, just a few instances of the gross misdemeanour of its nationals (in India) will suffice. In 2010, for example, a 47-year-old Chinese woman from Chengdu Jing Ping Ling, who had entered India without a visa from Nepal, was arrested from a bus at Khairbari in West Bengal (very near Naxalbari, where the original Chinese-inspired Naxalite movement had been launched, leading to the deaths of over 50,000 people, mostly Hindu Bengalis) while she was on her way to Sikkim. Though sentenced to two-year rigorous imprisonment for espionage by a Siliguri court in January 2011, thanks to Chinese consular intervention she was shifted from Presidency Jail to a womens correctional home in Kolkata.

In August 2015, two Chinese nationals and their Indian driver from Delhi were arrested in the Matigara police station area (again near Naxalbari), close to the India-Nepal border, for smuggling three quintals of red sandalwood. The two cases, at Khairbari and Matigara, both near Naxalbari, were in an area that adjoins Nepal, West Bengal, Sikkim, Bhutan and Bangladesh. It is next door to the Indian Armys Siliguri corps headquarters and several Air Force stations. There are sufficient grounds for suspicion about espionage. Would it be possible for Indian nationals to move as freely deep inside China, and particularly near sensitive locations? Is this the type of people to people contacts that we would want to encourage?

The intrusive penetration of India by the Chinese goes on unabated. In the third week of June 2018, Ye Wang, a Chinese national, along with Ganesh Bhattarai of Nepal and Indian businessman Bipul Agarwal were arrested under the Foreigners Act for forgery and cheating. Ye Wang, despite having a valid Chinese passport, produced an Aadhaar card to prove his identity at a Siliguri hotel. Siliguri is again in the heart of north Bengal, a stones throw away from Nepal, Bangladesh, Sikkim and Bhutan. Has West Bengal been identified as a target state for destabilisation? Also remember, that not very far from here is the Nathu La pass and Doklam. In June 2018, Chinas invasion-cum-penetration shifts 550 km south. Five Chinese nationals from Guangzhou were arrested from Kolkatas Chitpur railway station for smuggling 197 kg of amphetamine, a banned narcotic drug with an approximate market price of Rs 39 crores. All five had planned to fly out of Kolkata by the next mornings flight to Hong Kong. And nobody in our security and intelligence agencies appeared to be aware that these five had been travelling to India at least four times a year since 2016. What were they doing? Was it just drug smuggling, or was there some link to terror or espionage as well?

Charlie Peng from Nanjing, after crossing over illegally to India five years ago, got married to an Indian girl from Manipur in the Northeast, and got caught with an Aadhaar card (with an address of a residential society in Delhis Dwarka) and an Indian passport! Was he running an organised espionage ring from posh DLF in Gurgaon, where he was living, with lakhs of rupees in cash and a top-of-the-line Toyota SUV. From the Northeast to Delhi to Himachal, with a new Indian wife, and with addresses in Gurgaon and Delhi. These are individuals who must face the closest scrutiny  the income-tax department should monitor his transactions and property, the DRI and customs should do other financial checks, and the Enforcement Directorate must vet his foreign exchange dealings.

One case emerged in Uttar Pradesh when two Chinese  Guoqing Xia and Wenxin Zu (both from Hunan)  were caught drunk and naked as they rammed their SUV into a car in Meerut. An accident involving a naked and drunk foreign driver on an Indian road attracted attention by the authorities, and it emerged that the two drunk Chinese were quality control experts for a Chinese firm and that they frequently visited a local factory which exports meat products to China, and that they lived in a rented house in Meerut. Both were issued business visas, one from April to September 2018 (for six months) and the other from July to September 2018 (three months). How did someone with a three-month business visa in India manage to rent a place to stay in Meerut for such a short duration? Remember, Meerut has a big military cantonment, one of the closest to Delhi. Do Indians get similar treatment in China? Have you heard of quality control experts from India going deep inside factories in small Chinese cities to ensure that quality goods are being exported to India?

On November 19, a Bengali daily carried this report: Chinese citizen Wang caught without a passport at Digha, a sea resort in West Bengal. After failing to convince interrogators with a web of false stories, Wang ultimately confessed having entered India through Nepal without a passport. But how did he enter Nepal without a passport? Many other questions also arise. Digha, incidentally, is very close to Kalaikunda, a major Air Force base in eastern India. Four decades ago, the Indian Central Excise Act 1944 had a mandatory provision for the permanent official presence of central excise inspectors inside factory premises for physical control of manufactured goods which had to pay indirect tax or central excise duty before leaving the factory gate. Understandably, this physical control was replaced by the self removal procedure of manufactured goods, thus passing on the onus of tax payment to the producer himself. Is the presence of Chinese officials in Indian factories a repeat of physical control by foreigner, instead of Indians themselves?

It is high time that our government takes urgent steps to tackle the deep Chinese invasion and penetration of India. China plans for the long term. What began with Jing Ping Ling in 2010 near Naxalbari in West Bengal has now spread all over India  from Manipur to Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, UP, Himachal, Haryana and Delhi. Indias sovereignty is under the gravest of threat from the non-military Chinese strategy of surprise, deception and mobility. Will we wake up in time, or wait to be broken from within by the Chinese?
German Chancellor Angela Merkel will miss the opening of the G20 summit in Argentina. (Photo: File | AP)

Berlin: German Chancellor Angela Merkel will miss the opening of the G20 summit in Argentina after her plane was forced to make an emergency landing in Cologne on Thursday due to a technical problem, her spokeswoman said.

"We will not be proceeding today," she told AFP.

According to tweets by German journalists on board the Airbus A340, named Konrad Adenauer after Germany's first post-war chancellor, Merkel will leave for Madrid on Friday and head on a commercial flight for Buenos Aires with a slimmed down delegation.

The Chancellery did not confirm these reports.

A senior journalist with the public national television ZDF said Merkel would spend Thursday night in Bonn.

The plane turned back from the Netherlands and landed in Cologne because it was the only base with a replacement aircraft, the DPA news agency said.

It was met on the tarmac by fire engines, DPA said, adding that the captain told the passengers the plane would have to turn back as a technical problem was disrupting several electrical systems.
The route along the India-Pakistan border is three kilometres away from Gurdaspur in Punjab. Once opened, it would allow Sikh pilgrims a direct access to the historic Gurudwara Darbar Sahib in Kartarpur, Pakistan, where Guru Nanak Dev died in 1539. (Photo: Youtube | Screengrab)

Washington: The United States on Thursday welcomed efforts by India and Pakistan to increase people-to-people contact, days after the two countries laid foundation stones for the Kartarpur Sahib corridor.

In a briefing here, US State Department deputy spokesperson Robert Palladino told reporters, "I'm aware of the reports of this Kartarpur corridor, as you referenced there. I understand that it's kind of a visa-free way for Indians to visit this important Sikh site. And of course, the US -- we would welcome efforts to increase people-to-people ties between India and Pakistan."

The route along the India-Pakistan border is three kilometres away from Gurdaspur in Punjab. Once opened, it would allow Sikh pilgrims a direct access to the historic Gurudwara Darbar Sahib in Kartarpur, Pakistan, where Guru Nanak Dev died in 1539.

Replying to a question on US President Donald Trump's tweets on stopping aid to Pakistan at a time when the US is seeking its cooperation on bringing the Taliban to the negotiating table, Palladino underlined the need for Islamabad to "build confidence and trust in bilateral relations" with Washington.

"The Secretary (of State Michael Pompeo) has emphasised the need for Pakistan to deliver the outcome and build confidence and trust between our two countries, and our policy towards Pakistan is clear," the State Department spokesperson said.

Ties between the US and Pakistan have been strained since this year after the Trump administration hit out at the Pakistan government for its lacklustre approach in combating terrorism on its soil by halting military aid to Islamabad.

Commenting on the now-cancelled meeting between Trump and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, Palladino asserted, "It was aboard Air Force One, I believe, that (the announcement of cancelling the meeting) took place and the Secretary of State was with the President at the time. But what's clear is the President's tweets on the subject were quite clear at what we looked for, and that is the return of the Ukrainian sailors and the vessels. The aggression that we've witnessed this week is unacceptable and a strong message has been sent."

On November 25, Russian guards fired upon and captured three Ukrainian naval ships after they illegally entered into the Russian territory of the Black Sea. The incident drew international condemnation especially by the US, further leading to Ukraine preparing to impose martial law in its border areas with Russia.

Reacting to the same, Palladino said that the captured Ukranian vessels and detained crew members should be released by the Russian government and Washington is going to be "firm" in this position.

Replying to another question on the prospects of having high-level talks with North Korea, the State Department spokesperson said that deliberations would happen soon, while their policy on North Korea's denuclearisation remains unchanged at the same time.

"We are looking forward to having high-level talks. Our policy hasn't changed on North Korea. Progress (of denuclearisation) has been made, and we are hopeful that more will be made on North Korea as well. The Secretary and the President have been clear that we're not going to be forced into artificial time constraints. We've made great progress at the summit in Singapore for the final, fully verified denuclearisation. We are going to continue to push forward on that. And of course, future dialogue will take place and it'll definitely be something that Special Representative (Stephen) Biegun will be leading," Palladino elaborated.

Replying to a query on the comments of the head of the Iraqi militant group Asa'ib Ahl al-Haq, who recently said that the Hashd al-Shaabi should have a role in security along Iraq's border with Syria, Palladino said that the security of Iraq and its border is the Iraqi government's responsibility.
Night Drone Racing made a pulsating debut in Territory India, landing first in Namma Bengaluru on Friday. Directed by 23 pilots from across the nation, the remote-controlled aerial vehicles breezed through obstacles at bizarre speeds, as Indias largest drone race left an emphatic footprint.

Back in Europe and the United States, drone-racing is huge, beckoning fans in their millions. But in India, Friday was time to take the biggest baby step. Video goggles hooked to their eyes, their hands firmly on the controllers, the pilots were ready to go. A motley crowd sat riveted for action.

Brilliantly lit up, right outside the Bangalore Palace hosting the Bengaluru Tech Summit 2018, the square and rectangular-shaped obstacles looked formidable. But trained for hours and days, the young drone pilots were raring to go. And they did, as the quad-copters fitted with flashy LED lights and customised cameras flew past at speeds hitting 150 kmph and more.

The nano and mid-sized drones, weighing 250g and more, first conquered the heights, hitting 20-30ft, before the hi-speed fly-throughs. But even at these speeds, the drone camera gives first-person view to the pilot, controlling from the ground station, explained an Indian Drone Racing League (IDRL) racer.

Qualification meant the pilots had to first get their drones past three laps, going through over 20 obstacle gates. The live video feeds from the drone guided our path. It was tough yet exciting. After hours and hours of practice, we had to aim for precision. We had to keep the drones light and fast, agile and race-worthy, explained Latesh Galia, now in his fourth IDRL race.

After the semis and finals, the prize money of Rs 5 lakh beckoned. But for Mumbaikar Siddharth Nayak, Indias drone-racing leaderboard topper, it was more about those precious points. A top gold fetched 15 points, a silver 12 points and a bronze, nine. Staying in the lead meant how well you manoeuvred, how fast and precise your customised drones were.

For Monish D V, a city-based drone pilot, the Friday race was just the right way to go. I returned from the US recently. Drone-racing is extremely big back there. Here, it is catching on, and will surely get bigger, he felt.

Galia could see it coming. He offered the numbers to prove: Two years ago, there were only 10 to 12 drone racing pilots in the entire country. Today there are hundreds registered on our groups, said he, rushing out for his next flight.
The wrongful detention of 32 nurses at the Kempegowda International Airport (KIA) bound to Armenia for study purpose has taken a twist.

It has now transpired that a man who runs a foreign language learning institute in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, connived with two staffers of the Intelligence Bureau (IB) in Bengaluru and created problem to Tony Tom over business rivalry.

Tom runs Hopesyn Education International in Mangaluru.

The nurses from Kerala were scheduled to fly to Yerevan to enrol for a 2-month course to learn German at the University of Traditional Medicine Republic of Armenia (UTMRA) with genuine travel documents.

The nurses and Tom were detained during wee hours of November

27 at the KIA on the claims that he was trafficking the nurses.

My son-in-laws business rival plotted the incident projecting it as trafficking of nurses. He convinced his two acquaintances from Kerala serving in the IB that Tom was involved in the trafficking, Toms father-in-law Roy Abraham told DH.

However, Abraham neither disclosed the name of the rival nor his institute.

Candidates from Toms rivals institute failed to get nursing jobs abroad. Meanwhile, Tom arranged a 2-month course for learning German in Armenia. The first batch was sent to Armenia. There were 32 candidates for the second batch to pursue the course in Armenia.

The rival viewed Toms arrangements as blocks to his business. He told his acquaintances in the IB that Tom was trafficking the nurses. The message was passed on to the immigration staff who detained the nurses and Tom.

Based on communication, the BIAL police booked Tom under IPC sections 370 (trafficking), 420 (cheating) and 465 (forgery).

The nurses were made to sit on the floor and not allowed to use phones. They were not allowed to use restrooms and given breakfast, Abraham added.

Toms wife escorted the nurses back to Kerala after they were released.

Intelligence Bureau, immigration and the police staff acted on a false alert and

did not verify facts, he charged.

The UTMRA has confirmed that 32 nurses were visiting to learn the German language. A police team is gathering details on Toms institute in Mangaluru.

Tom has been remanded to judicial custody.
Severely mauled by the twin blows of a significant increase in aviation turbine fuel (ATF) prices and the depreciation of the Rupee against the US Dollars, the Indian aviation industry continues to grapple tough times in the current fiscal.

On top of that, low pricing power of the industry and inability to raise fares has resulted in mounting losses for the airlines, according to rating agency ICRA.

The industrys financial health has nosedived, with the three listed airlines having reported a combined net loss of Rs. 36.4 billion in H1 FY2019. That means the three listed airlines together have lost around Rs. 20 crore per day during H1 FY2019," Kinjal Shah, Vice President and Co-Head, Corporate Sector Ratings, ICRA.

The overall debt levels in the industry remain high and would require equity infusion to bring the same to reasonable levels. ICRA believes an equity infusion of around Rs. 350 billion would be needed over the next 3-4 years," she added.

While the average ATF prices have witnessed a year over year increase of around 35% during April-November 2018, the average Rupee depreciated by 7.8% against US Dollars during this period, an ICRA press statement said.

This has resulted in an increase in the CASK of the airlines, not buttressed by an increase in yields. In fact, yields have declined for most airlines despite the surging costs. This is due to the price-sensitive nature of the industry which is plagued by rising capacities, with Indias aviation sector likely to have significant over-capacity in the next two-three years.

ICRA noted that while the domestic passenger growth continues to be robust, supported by an underpenetrated aviation market, growing economy and rising population, the challenges are equally confounding as airlines resort to predatory pricing so as to maintain their passenger load factors (PLFs) in an environment of increasing capacities. This has resulted in deterioration in the industry economics, and thus, financial stress.

Over the last two years, four airlines (Air Carnival, Air Costa, Air Pegasus, Zoom Air) have already suspended their operations.

In order to contain further losses, the domestic airlines have resorted to several measures, which include among others, rationalisation of non-fuel costs, network review, rationalisation of routes, and manpower reduction. Airlines are also inducting fuel-efficient aircraft in their fleet. Some airlines have also sought approval for deferment of payments to the vendors and lessors, and are also delaying on payment of salaries to employees, so as to tide over their short-term cash flow mismatches.

Airlines are also focussing on increasing their ancillary revenues, which currently contribute to less than 10% of the revenues of domestic airlines, as against much higher share of revenues (10-20%) in developed markets. However, these measures are not adequate to compensate for the large hike in ATF prices and the increase in costs due to the Rupee depreciation.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has summoned Robert Vadra, the brother-in-law of Congress chief Rahul Gandhi, in connection with its money laundering probe in a land grab case in Rajasthan's Bikaner.

Officials said on Friday that Vadra has been asked to appear before the investigating officer (IO) of the case next week to record his statement under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). This is the second summon issued to Vadra in this case.

Vadra was issued a summon earlier this month, but he did not appear before the investigating officer, prompting the agency to issue the second one, officials said.

The ED has registered a money laundering case in connection with the land grab case based on 18 FIRs filed by the Rajasthan police in August 2016 after the local tehsildar filed a complaint.

It came after the ED suspected that money was laundered in connection with the case of transfer of government land in 34 villages of Bikaner, to be used for expanding the army's firing range in the area, to private persons using "forged and fabricated documents."

However, the ED has not mentioned Vadra's name in its FIR filed under the PMLA. The FIR names some Rajasthan government officials and the "land mafia." The ED had attached assets worth Rs 1.18 crore of government officials and others in connection with the case.

Officials said Vadra may face questions about the operations of M/s Skylight Hospitality Private Ltd, which is "linked" to him. This firm had purchased land in the area.

On February 9 this year, the ED conducted searches at the premises of Mahesh Nagar, who is claimed to have links with Vadra, in the case. Last December, it had also arrested Ashok Kumar, a close associate of Nagar, and another person, Jaiprakash Bagarwa.
Warangal, the capital city of the erstwhile Kakatiya dynasty and the adjoining Karimnagar had erupted in favour of a separate Telangana state every time the highly emotive issue was on the centre stage.

And, it was these two districts, along with Nizamabad and Adilabad, that gifted the highest number of seats to the TRS, catapulting the regional party to power in Indias youngest state in 2014.

K Chandrashekar Rao, the TRS chief and first chief minister of Telangana, has been the darling of masses in the Telangana region through the last phase of the movement that began in 2009 and ended in 2014 with the creation of the state.

He and his party, TRS, is still hugely popular in Warangal and Karimnagar districts though people have many complaints against local MLAs and MPs.

On the streets of Karimnagar and Warangal, the urban pockets of north Telangana region, one can witness the popularity of KCR, especially with the older generation.

Though many youngsters scoff at him for not generating enough jobs in the government sector, they acknowledge his contributions in achieving a separate state and might vote for him just for the Telangana sentiment.

I will vote only for TRS. I dont care whether KCR-garu has performed or not. Congress ruled the state for so many years and were they able to satisfy all sections? It is KCR garu who fought for a separate Telangana state and it is only fitting that he be given one more chance, Tirupathi, who sells clothes on a platform in Karimnagar market, told DH.

KCRs welfare schemes, such as Rythu Bandhu, under which farmers get Rs 4,000 per season for buying seeds and fertilisers, Kalyana Lakshmi, which provides financial assistance for marriages of girls, and the KCR kit, for the well being of pregnant and lactating women, have helped keep his popularity intact in the region.

Support for KCR seems to be on a high-pitch in rural areas with the downtrodden being explicit in their loyalty towards him.

Ramaiah, a marginal farmer who was busy herding sheep some 20 km away from Huzurabad, flaunted KCRs gift to him and said he would certainly vote for the chief minister. He gave me 20 sheep and I get more income now. I want the TRS government to continue, he said.

People are upset with the TRS for not fulfilling its promises  two-bedroom houses to the needy, 3-acre land to people from Scheduled Castes and generating 1 lakh jobs in government sector  but in these two districts, such concerns take the backseat and Telangana statehood sentiments come to the fore. The Congress-TDP alliance is also being seen as opportunist and KCRs statement, leaders from Andhra will become dominant again if the Peoples Alliance romps home, has trickled down to the people.

A Telangana party should win in Telangana and TRS is the Telangana party. Obviously, KCR has to be the leader and should rule the state. Why should we vote for TDP which is a party from Andhra? Raju, an autorickshaw driver, said.

Zunaid, a small-time business in Warangal district, said: He (KCR) was here on Monday. I went to the rally and saw him speak. He has always been very good to the people of Warangal and we are confident he will continue to be so.
Students who want to pursue higher education in the Netherlands can now apply for the Orange Tulip Scholarship, in which 19 universities are offering affordable education.

Launching the 2018-19 round of the scholarship at Bengaluru Tech Summit on Friday, Dutch Ambassador Marten Van den Berg said 55 scholarships in bachelors and masters courses totalling a value of about Rs 3.65 crore. As many as 5 lakh engineers pass out of Indian universities and Netherlands industry requires 35,000 engineers, he said.

Noting that India will be home to the worlds youngest workforce by 2027, he said the Netherlands has much to offer to talented students and professionals.

The scholarship is offered in the form of a fee waiver at the universities, some of which are also helping students accommodation. Deadline for application varies depending for different universities. Visit https://www.nesoindia.org for more information.
SALT LAKE CITY  A grandmother in Georgia is suing the county and officers whom she says wrongfully imprisoned her for over three months after they mistook her blue cotton candy for methamphetamine, CNN reports.

What happened: On Dec. 31, 2016, Dasha Fincher was pulled over because officers thought her car windows were tinted too dark. Fox News reported that when the windows ended up being legal, the officers proceeded to search the car.

According to WMAZ, Fincher and the driver were eventually arrested after officers found a bag in her car containing what they thought was meth. It was actually blue cotton candy.

The officers decided to test the substance using a field kit known for producing false-positives, according to multiple reports.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported that the lawsuit said Fincher was charged with trafficking meth and possession of meth with intent to distribute.

Jail time: According to CNN, Fincher, who was reportedly unable to pay the $1 million bond that was set, spent the next several months in jail waiting for the Georgia Bureau of Investigation to test the substance.

The lawsuit, obtained by WMAZ, states that while Fincher was incarcerated, she was denied proper medical treatment for both a broken hand and an ovarian cyst, according to CNN.

Fox News reported that while she was in jail, Fincher also missed the births of her twin grandchildren and was unable to be there after her daughter had a miscarriage.

Even after test results for methamphetamine came back negative on March 22, 2017, Fincher was not released until two weeks later on April 4, according to the lawsuit.

Legal measures: The lawsuit involves the two officers involved in Finchers arrest, Monroe County and the manufacturer of the field kit that produced the false-positive.

Fincher is asking for punitive damages as well as court fees, as reported by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
SALT LAKE CITY  Utah's two senators introduced a resolution Thursday to honor fallen soldier Brent Taylor and rename a Veterans Affairs center after him.

The legislation would rename the North Ogden Department of Veterans Affairs outstation the Major Brent Taylor Vet Center Outstation after the Army major who was killed in Afghanistan during a yearlong leave of absence from his service as the mayor of North Ogden.

Hatch, R-Utah, called a Taylor a patriot, hero, loving father and dear friend.

"News of his death in Afghanistan was devastating to all Utahns. Renaming this facility after Brent is a fitting tribute to his leadership, courage and integrity. I hope it will also show Jennie and the Taylor family how much we honor their sacrifice," the senator said.

Lee, R-Utah, said Taylor's life might best be defined by the word service.

When he said service is what leadership is all about, he knew that from personal experience, and he exemplified that motto in all aspects of his life. Bestowing his name on an outpost that aids his fellow servicemen and women in the town that he loved and served is a poignant way to honor his legacy of service, leadership and Christ-like love," he said.

Rep. Rob Bishop, R-Utah, introduced the same legislation in the House earlier this week.
UTAH STATE PRISON  For five years, Becca Morales attempted to get justice for her nephew, Gabriel.

But if there is any silver lining for waiting that long, Morales said it's that she learned to harbor no ill will toward Robbie Michael Macdonald, the man sentenced in May to up to six years at the Utah State Prison for severely abusing Gabriel.

"Those five years were a gift in one single way. I was given the time to practice forgiveness for Robbie. I made myself clear at his sentencing hearing, should he decide to confront the full extent of the pain and the loss that he has caused, he may do so without the weight of my resentment," Morales said. "And while I no longer hold any resentment toward him, I do struggle to know if any remorse is genuine when he now stands so much to gain from it."

Speaking Tuesday before a member of the Utah Board of Pardons and Parole during Macdonald's first parole hearing, Morales also made it clear that forgiveness did not mean she wanted him to be released early.

"Our family would be shocked and deeply disappointed if the board felt his rehabilitative needs had been met in 18 short months when he has taken a lifetime from Gabriel," she said in a recording of the hearing.

Macdonald is serving time at the Utah State Prison for convictions of child abuse in one case and drug distribution in another. The child abuse charge was filed in 2013 but moved slowly through the court system as Macdonald continued to deny he abused Gabriel.

In January of 2013, Gabriel, then 10-months-old, was at home with his mother's boyfriend, Macdonald, when police say he shook the boy, causing a severe brain injury.

At his parole hearing, Morales said Gabriel, now 6 1/2 years old, "is a bright and a joyful boy despite his limitations" and loves the sound of birds and opera music.

But Gabriel, who needs care around the clock, has also had 10 surgeries, is nearly blind due to the injuries he sustained, is nonverbal, has to eat through a tube, and has a tube in his spine to help with muscle tone, Morales said.

"If Primary Children's had a punch card, we'd be set," said Morales, who managed to make a joke in-between tears while recounting to the board what Gabriel and the family have been through.

Morales was emotional as she described how hard it was for the family when deciding whether each ensuing surgery for her nephew would be doing more harm than good.

Doctors concluded that Gabriel's injuries, "could only be caused by violent and intentional shaking," Morales said.

But even at sentencing, Macdonald continued to insist that he accidentally dropped the boy.

To this day, Morales does not believe Macdonald has taken full responsibility for what he did, and feared any apologies or admission of guilt at this point would be futile.

"Unfortunately, any expressions of remorse at this point seem somewhat long overdue and disingenuous. We waited five years for resolution in this case," she told the board.

When it was Macdonald's turn to speak to board member Denise Porter, he continued to insist he tripped on a rug that night while attempting to put Gabriel in his crib, propelling him about four feet to the floor.

"It is just as I said. I did drop Gabriel. And that is the honest truth," he told her.

"And you understand that from medical experts, that they don't believe that is medically likely?" Porter questioned. "How do you explain that?"

"I can't, because I'm no expert," replied Macdonald who spoke slowly and softly during the hearing.

Macdonald added that it "might be no consolation at all," but he offered an apology to Morales and Gabriel's family.

"I do have a profound amount of remorse and I always have. And just because I was trying to fight my charges didn't mean that I didn't, although I can see how it made it seem that way," he said.

Porter noted during the hearing that Macdonald's sentencing guidelines suggest he serve a minimum of 18 months in prison. The judge who sentenced him recommended he serve his entire sentence.

The full five member board was expected in a week or two to make a decision whether to grant parole, set a rehearing or let Macdonald serve his full sentence.
LAYTON  One boy was injured and another was arrested at Northridge High School Thursday after an attack with a razor blade during lunch, officials said.

Police are calling the attack an attempted homicide.

The incident happened about 12:30 p.m. in the school lunchroom and involved two 15-year-old sophomores who had "an ongoing dispute that escalated," said Layton Police Lt. Travis Lyman.

Lyman said one boy approached the other in the lunchroom and cut him in the neck with the razor.

After the slashing, a school resource officer and administrator "quickly apprehended" the student who had cut the other boy, Northridge High Principal Brian Hunt said in an email sent to parents.

The cut to the boy's neck was not life-threatening. He was taken by ambulance to a hospital, Lyman said.

According to the lieutenant, the boy accused of cutting the other student went with police willingly and remained at the Farmington Bay Youth Center on Thursday afternoon for investigation of attempted homicide and possession of a dangerous weapon at school.

Based on interviews with those involved, police believe the attack was planned, Lyman said.

"I was told that it had been brewing for a little while," he said.

The boy also faces discipline from the school district.

"The student who allegedly committed the assault is in custody and will be referred to district case management for a safe school violation," Hunt said.

Hunt said that thanks to the work of the school's resource officer, the school was not placed on lockdown and classes continued as normal for the rest of the day.
HERRIMAN  Herriman Mayor David Watts has been under fire for allegations that he misspent nearly $1,000 of city funds on travel expenses  an issue that was investigated by the Salt Lake County District Attorney's Office.

But according to a Nov. 15 letter sent to the city attorney of Herriman and obtained by the Deseret News on Thursday, prosecutors declined to file criminal charges, expressing doubt that the evidence would prove any criminal intent at trial.

"We believe the nature of the claims and allegations involved can be addressed and probably resolved in a forum other than by means of a criminal charge in the criminal justice system," the letter states. "Finally, to the extent that we believe some of the facts tend to raise a reasonable doubt whether the mayor possessed a criminal intent when he purchased the airfare, we believe the interests of justice are not served by filing a criminal charge."

Yet despite waiting months, city officials say they haven't received reimbursement for the funds after first raising concerns about the issue about five months ago  and the City Council plans to issue an official letter of written reprimand for the mayor and demand that he repay the money at its next meeting scheduled for Dec. 12.

"It just needs to get resolved," Councilwoman Sherrie Ohrn told the Deseret News Thursday, noting that about $950 that city officials determined Watts spent against city policy still hadn't been paid back.

"It's unfortunate it's had to drag out this long and has had such a negative impact on the mayor and the city," she said.

Ohrn added she wasn't surprised by prosecutors' decision not to file charges, noting she doesn't believe Watts "intended to be fraudulent."

"But regardless, what he did was wrong and needs to be corrected," she said. "From the get-go, that's what we've asked to have cleared up and for him to repay the funds, but for some reason that still has not been done."

Watts said in a prepared statement to the Deseret News Wednesday that he would be "issuing a response soon" regarding the issue, and was still reviewing the district attorney's findings regarding the investigation into him. He didn't respond to an additional request for comment Thursday.

"I was made aware of and given a copy of that finding only (Tuesday)," Watts said. "I am currently reviewing the information and will be issuing a response soon. The citizens of Herriman are entitled to transparency from their mayor, City Council, and their city staff. I look forward to being able to provide responses to their questions."

During its Nov. 14 work meeting, the council discussed concerns that have lingered for months about Watts' use of a city credit card during two trips to Washington, D.C., earlier this year  one on city business, and one for a separate government entity.

"Frankly, I've never seen a case this bad in terms of lack of documentation," Alan Rae, the city's finance director, told the council during the meeting, explaining that Watts' city credit card had 21 transactions during the two trips, but only two receipts were initially provided by the mayor.

Among those charges, about $950 were determined to have violated city policy, Rae told the council during a meeting in July.

Questionable charges included about $690 for a flight he purchased so he could fly back from city officials' annual visit with Utah's congressional delegation in Washington, D.C., earlier than originally planned. The flight included an overnight layover in Denver, where Watts stayed in a hotel "that seriously exceeded our per diem rate," Rae said.

The earlier flight was meant to get Watts home in time for a City Council vote, even though city officials had already made arrangements for Watts to participate by phone, according to Rae.

Charges also included a $50 purchase at a Grand Hyatt hotel with no documentation, and nearly $50 in Uber charges for a ride to the airport and from the Salt Lake City International Airport directly to Herriman City Hall, according to city minutes.

Watts' second trip to Washington, D.C., was to attend the American Mosquito Control Association's annual Washington conference, as a representative of the South Salt Lake Valley Mosquito Abatement District. But Rae said that trip wasn't considered Herriman business, so he questioned why the mayor used the city credit card for its travel expenses, including hotel costs and another earlier flight.

During the July council meeting, Watts acknowledged the issues and agreed to pay the city back.

"I'm happy to have a very open and public discussion about the use of public funds," the mayor said at the time. "It's public money. We should be held to a higher standard."

But nearly five months later, council members wonder why the issue hadn't yet been addressed. Council members expected Watts to attend their Nov. 14 meeting, but Watts sent an email the morning of the meeting saying he wouldn't be attending.

The email, read aloud in the meeting by Councilman Jared Henderson, stated Watts had obtained legal counsel, who had advised he not participate in any discussions regarding the issue until the "third-party review" of the issue had concluded, referencing the district attorney's investigation.

Prosecutors in their letter to Herriman's city attorney stated the mayor was "presumably" reimbursed by the mosquito abatement district for the plane ticket and the mayor may still have in his possession the unused return flight home, but it's "unclear" whether it has any monetary value. It also appears that the mayor received some refund for the return flight expense charged to Herriman, the district attorney's office wrote.

"It, therefore, remains questionable as to whether, and if so to what extent, the mayor personally benefited from his actions," the letter states.

But prosecutors also wrote that because a defense at trial could show the mayor "was on official business, that he did not take affirmative steps to hide or conceal the expense, and/or the mayor appears to have taken steps to mitigate the expense," the evidence would likely amount "to a reasonable doubt that the mayor acted with criminal intent when he purchased the return flight home."
SALT LAKE CITY  After 20 years of waiting, the pieces to solve a murder fell together in just two months.

It started with an episode of "Dateline," followed by an Oct. 2 press conference by Utah law enforcement detailing the 1998 death of a woman known only as the "Maidenwater victim."

Completely independent of what officials in Utah were doing, police in Youngstown, Ohio, at about the same time were updating their missing persons files. One of the cases they updated was that of Lina Reyes-Geddes, 37, who disappeared after allegedly leaving on a trip from Ohio to Dallas and then to Mexico to visit her family. It is unknown if she ever made it to Dallas.

As part of her file update, police were able to obtain a picture of Reyes-Geddes from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security Immigration and Customs Enforcement. It was the first picture police had ever received of the missing woman.

"Had that not occurred, we wouldn't be here today," said State Bureau of Investigation Agent Brian Davis at a press conference on Thursday to announce the identity of the Maidenwater victim.

But it wasn't a detective or private investigators who linked the two cases.

Instead, a private citizen in California, who Davis described as someone fascinated with true crime stories, happened to compare the unsolved cases. On Oct. 14  less than two weeks after Davis' press conference  that citizen called him and suggested he compare the Maidenwater murder with the missing person in Ohio.

Davis said as soon as he saw Reyes-Geddes photo, "It looked quite good to begin with."

After contacting police in Youngstown, Ohio, investigators were eventually able to make contact with a family member of Reyes-Geddes in Mexico. Two of her family members agreed to travel to the U.S. Consulate in Monterrey, Mexico, on Nov. 9 where DNA swabs were taken. A Utah-based company then compared their DNA with the Maidenwater victim and confirmed it was Reyes-Geddes, Davis said.

But who killed Reyes-Geddes remains a mystery.

Still considered a suspect is convicted serial killer Scott "Hannibal" Kimball, 52, currently serving a 70-year prison sentence for murdering four people, including his own uncle. But investigators believe he could be responsible for up to 21 more deaths across the nation, including the Reyes-Geddes. In October, Davis called him the only person of interest in the case.

On April 20, 1998, the body of a woman now confirmed to be Reyes-Geddes was found wrapped in several layers of plastic and duct tape and rolled in a sleeping bag and piece of carpet on the side of state Route 276 about 40 miles north of Lake Powell in Garfield County near Maidenwater Spring. The woman died of a gunshot wound.

Investigators were unable to compare fingerprints to any database because the victim's fingers had been cut off. Kimball, Davis noted, chopped off the hands of one of his confirmed victims. Police were never able to identify the Maidenwater victim and the case went cold.

Despite a Facebook post by the Garfield County Sheriff's Office on Wednesday announcing, "the suspect of this murder committed suicide in Nevada in the early 2000s," Utah state officials on Thursday said they did not agree with that information.

"From our standpoint  we don't consider him a suspect at this time. There's a misunderstanding there," said Davis, who has investigated the case extensively over the past couple of years.

The deceased individual Garfield County Sheriff's Office referred to was Reyes-Geddes' husband, Davis confirmed. He was also the person who reported his wife missing in 1998. Davis said the husband was not even a person of interest on Thursday for his office or Ohio authorities.

Now that investigators know who the Maidenwater victim is, Davis said they can start retracing her steps to figure out how she ended up in Utah from Ohio, and possibly who killed her and whether it was Kimball.

"Those things that have led us to believe it was Kimball, those facts haven't changed. Our hope now is to backtrack through Ohio and see if we can find any connections there, or anyone else involved," he said.

The remains of Reyes-Geddes will now be flown to her family in Mexico to give them closure. The Utah Office of Crime Victim Reparations will pay for her remains to be returned.
SALT LAKE CITY  After an extensive national search, a 21-member search committee has selected two women and two men as finalists for the presidency of Weber State University, according to an announcement Friday by the Utah System of Higher Education.

The finalists include:

Katherine P. Frank, provost and vice president for academic and student life at Central Washington University and professor of English

Frank R. Lamas, vice president of student affairs and enrollment management at California State University, Fresno

Brad L. Mortensen, vice president of university advancement at Weber State University

Melody Rose, president of Marylhurst University in Oregon

The new president will succeed Charles Wight, who stepped down earlier this year after serving five years as Weber States president.

In early May, Wight was appointed president of Salisbury University in Maryland.

The selection of two female finalists raises the possibility that a majority of the state's eight colleges and universities could be led by women. Presently, half are led by women, and combined, those institutions enroll 70 percent of students who attend state colleges.

The finalists will be on Weber States Ogden campus next Wednesday to meet with faculty, staff, students, trustees and administrators. Each finalist will participate in a public meeting, during which they will field questions from attendees.

The 50-minute meetings will be held in Shepherd Union Ballroom C starting at 1 p.m. with Mortensen, followed by Frank at 2 p.m., Lamas at 3 and Rose at 4.

On Thursday, the Utah State Board of Regents, which has the sole authority to hire college and university presidents, will interview each of the candidates and possibly select a new president late in the afternoon.

In her role as provost and vice president for academic and student life at Central Washington University, Frank focuses on institutional sustainability and student success, which include the transition to a new university budget model, complete general education redesign and the opening of an eighth off-campus instructional site.

Previously, she served as dean of arts and sciences at Northern Kentucky University in Newport, where she led the universitys largest college. She has also served as dean of humanities and social sciences at Indiana University East in Richmond and as chairwoman of English and foreign languages at Colorado State University, Pueblo.

Frank earned a bachelors degree from Bates College and her masters and doctoral degrees from the University of Washington.

Lamas leads 53 departments and programs in his role as vice president of student affairs and enrollment management at California State, Fresno. He has more than 30 years of administrative experience in higher education. Lamas was also an assistant professor at the University of Texas at Arlington and Canisius College in Buffalo, New York, in the Department of Higher Education.

His research interests include social and academic determinants of retention/student success among college students and leadership. He previously served as board chairman of the National Association of Student Personnel Administrators.

Lamas earned his bachelors degree from the State University of New York at Potsdam and his masters and doctoral degrees at the State University of New York at Albany.

Mortensen has served Weber State University since 2004, the past 11 years as vice president of university advancement. In this role, Mortensen has developed partnerships and philanthropic resources that promote educational access, student success, inclusiveness, and faculty and staff vitality. He recently began guiding Weber State's efforts to support regional economic development. Mortensen has chaired the Ogden-Weber Chamber of Commerce and United Way of Northern Utah.

Previously, Mortensen worked for the Utah System of Higher Education, in the Utah governors office, Arizona Legislature and two policy fellowships. Mortensen earned a bachelors degree from Utah State University, a masters degree from Syracuse University and a doctorate from the University of Utah.

Rose has 25 years of experience in public and private higher education, most recently as president of Marylhurst University, a private Catholic institution near Lake Oswego, Oregon. In May, the universitys board of trustees voted to close the 125-year-old university by the end of the year after "a steady decline in enrollment since the end of the Great Recession," according to a university press release.

In the press release, the university trustees thank Rose for her expertise and leadership during these challenging times and express our continued trust in her as she shepherds our community through this transition.

Earlier in her career, Rose spent 20 years with public institutions. As chancellor of the Oregon University System, she oversaw all seven public universities after having spent 17 years at Portland State University. At Portland State, she founded the Center for Womens Leadership, served in faculty governance and provided leadership as department chair, vice provost and dean.

She earned a bachelors degree from University of California, Santa Cruz and two masters degrees and a doctorate degree from Cornell University.

Founded in 1889, Weber State University serves 28,247 students and offers educational programs ranging from certificates to graduate degrees at eight locations, including its Ogden and Davis campuses.
DRAPER  Draper police are looking for a man who they say rammed an officer's patrol car early Friday.

About 3 a.m., two officers were in the area of 13413 S. Minuteman Drive checking on a business, when a silver Ford F-150 with "extensive front end damage and a shattered windshield" drove past them, said Draper Police Sgt. Scott Adams.

Believing the vehicle may have just been involved in a crash, the officers walked back to their cars to follow it and try to pull it over. Just as one officer began following the truck, however, Adams said the truck driver put his vehicle in reverse and purposely hit the front of the officer's patrol car with the back of his pickup.

The officer's patrol car suffered moderate damage but no one was injured, he said.

The truck sped off, and later fled from Unified police officers who also attempted to pull it over, according to Adams.

The driver is believed to be David Lee Jordan, 24, of Salt Lake City, according to police.

In May, Jordan was charged with two counts of aggravated assault for allegedly threatening two people in a hotel with a knife, according to charging documents, The case was later dismissed when the state's witnesses failed to show up for court.

In 2016 he was convicted of failing to stop for police. In 2014, Jordan was convicted of felony drug possession, according to court records.

Anyone with information about Jordan or where he is is asked to call police at 801-840-4000.
CEDAR CITY  A review is underway to determine if a potentially offensive mascot at a southern Utah high school should remain.

The Spectrum reports Iron County school officials are considering changing Cedar High School's Redmen mascot.

The Iron County School District said in a statement that the Redmen moniker was intended to be an honor when it was chosen in 1943. The district says it was selected as a way of "representing the many Native Americans that lived and continue to live in this area."

However, the term widely has become known as a racial slur.

The district says the local Native American tribe, the Cedar Paiute Tribe of Utah, has not requested a name change but is supportive of the district's review.

Two meetings  Tuesday and Dec. 18  will be held at the school to gather public input.
Zain Saudi Arabia (Zain KSA) has signed a SAR2.43 billion ($648 million) agreement with investment firm IHS Holding to sell and lease back its 8,100 towers.

The operator stated that it is selling only its passive, physical infrastructure to IHS and will retain its intelligent software, technology and intellectual property with respect to managing its network. The agreement also involves a lease back period of 15 years, with a 5-year renewal option and building of an additional 1500 towers over next 6 years.

Zain Group CEO and vice chairman of Zain KSA Bader Al Kharafi noted that the operator plans to use the proceeds to reduce its debt, saying that the agreement creates shareholder value by helping the company reduce its debt position, as the proceeds will be used to reduce the companys Murabaha facility.

The deal unlocks capital and resources, allowing the operator to focus on its core operations and further invest in and deliver ICT technologies to meet the increasing demand for reliable broadband access and data consumption.

Zain KSA, which is 37% owned by Kuwaits Zain Group, has been looking into divesting its towers since January 2015, according to Reuters. A $500 million deal to sell 7500 of its towers to Lebanons TASC Towers was tabled in 2017, but never closed.

However, in Q3 of the same year Zain Kuwait sign a sale and leaseback agreement with IHS for $165 million, making this deal something of a consolidatory move that will create the first independent tower company of scale in the region.

The Saudi deal will require approval from the Kingdoms Communications and Information Technology Commission (CITC) and lenders.
Prosecutors in South Korea have charged 11 people for illegally selling Samsungs bendable screen technology to a Chinese rival company. According to Bloomberg, the CEO of Samsung supplier Toptec, and eight of his employees had received 15.5 billion won (approx $13.8 million) for conspiring and transferring information regarding organic light-emitting diode (OLED) displays. Samsung uses OLED panels in its phones, televisions and monitors. The two others were from the Chinese company with whom they hatched the conspiracy.

Bloomberg says that intellectual property theft is a national concern for South Korea and the country is spending billions for becoming self-sustaining in areas such as memory chips and displays, two fields where Samsung is the world leader. On the revelation, Samsung Display said it was shocked at the results of the investigation by prosecutors, at a time when competitors are intensifying their technological rivalry. Samsung said that it would keep a close eye on the trial.

Citing prosecutors, the report noted that the South Korean supplier transferred 3D lamination technology and other equipment to the Chinese screen maker between May and August, violating a non-disclosure agreement with Samsung. They were caught while loading additional pieces onto a ship headed for the mainland. Another report says that Samsungs display technology is considered a national core technology under South Korean law, making the offense graver.

Whats more, one of the accused was said to be using a fake company headed by his sister-in-law to cover up the espionage. Reportedly, Samsung spent about 150 billion won over a period of six years to develop the OLED technology. Meanwhile, Toptec has issued a statement denying the charges. Our company has never provided Samsung Displays industrial technology or business secrets to a Chinese client. Our company will fully cooperate with legal proceedings to find the truth in court, the company was quoted as saying.

This is not the first time that such an incident has occured in the technology world. Earlier this year, Anthony Levandowski, a former Google employee and the engineer behind the company's self-driving car programme was fired from Uber after he was accussed of stealing autonomous car technology from Waymo (a subsidiary of Google's parent Alphabet) before joining Uber. Levandowski reportedly downloaded around 14,000 files from his company-issued computer containing trade secrets related to Waymo's LIDAR technology, circuit board designs, and testing documentation.
A day after it was reported that Meizu may soon start a new inning in India, the company has confirmed that it is going to launch a smartphone in India on December 5. The company has sent media invites to the media fraternity which shows a smartphone with an in-display fingerprint sensor. The Chinese company has also updated its Twitter handle teasing the smartphone with a dual-camera setup. It is also possible that the company will launch three phones belonging to the same series.

Currently, Meizu has three phones under the 16 series -- the Meizu 16 and Meizu 16 Plus which are powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 processor and a third device, the Meizu 16X, which has a similar product design and but a lower price tag. The information is in sync with a previous report that said that the company will unveil three smartphone and pit them against OnePlus and Xiaomi.

With a whopping 65-percent market share, Xiaomi is currently the most preferred brand for users in the Rs 10,000 to Rs 15,000 price segment. Samsung is the second-most loved brand in this category with a 43-percent market share, followed by Vivo and Oppo with 29-percent market share. When it comes to the Rs 25,000 - Rs 40,000 segment, OnePlus leads with 55 percent, followed by Xiaomi at 47 percent, Apple with 45 percent and Samsung at 39 percent.

The new Meizu smartphones are expected to have dual-SIM functionality and run Flyme OS on top of Android OS. The one smartphone, which the company is expected to put against the OnePlus 6T may sport a 6-inch full-HD+ display. It could be powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 processor and may be offered in 6GB RAM and 64GB storage, and 8GB RAM 128GB onboard storage variants. As teased in a tweet, the smartphone may offer a dual-camera setup on the back and at least 3000mAh battery with fast charging support.
Smartphone trends are changing and the next big innovation leap in this space seems to be foldable phones. While Samsung had been teasing its foldable smartphone for a couple of years, the company finally gave us a glimpse of it at its Developers Conference this year. Now, Oppo seems to have snuck up close behind Samsung and has announced that it is developing its own foldable smartphone. Oppo's Product Manager, Chuck Wang, has announced that the smartphone manufacturer will dole out more information about its foldable device next year in February. This is the time when the Mobile World Congress takes place in Barcelona, so one can expect to hear from Oppo at the event.

With this development, Oppo has become one of the several smartphone makers that are vying to get a chunk of the foldable smartphone market. This is not surprising since the company has been granted some patents for a foldable phone. Unfortunately, there is no additional information about Oppos upcoming smartphone like its release date or specifications. Currently, alongside Samsung and Oppo, LG and Huawei have also confirmed a foldable device.

As mentioned earlier, Samsungs foldable smartphone was showcased at the Samsung Developers Conference (SDC) in San Francisco. The companys Senior Vice President of Mobile Product Marketing, Justin Denison, showcased the phone under dimmed lights with a black cover camouflage to obfuscate its design. Samsung did say that the phone uses an Infinity Flex Display that measures 7.3 inches with a 1536 x 2152p resolution. When unfolded, the phone has a display aspect ratio of 4.2 and it folds in half to reveal a second display called cover display. On the front, it functions as a 4.58-inch phone with a resolution of 840 x 1960 pixels with an aspect ratio of 21:9. Samsung says that the phone can be folded up to fit into a pocket. Although the smartphone manufacturer did not announce how much the smartphone will cost, reports suggest that it could be priced at $1770 (approx Rs 1.25 lakh). Additionally, a tipster also tweeted that the smartphone might be priced at a minimum of $1925 (approx Rs 1.36 lakh) or a maximum of $2,565 (approx Rs 1.81 lakh). If this turns out to be true, the upcoming foldable smartphones could soon shatter the 1 lakh price point set by the current flagships like the iPhone XS and the iPhone XS Max.

In October, the CEO of LG Mobile, Hwang Jeong-hwan confirmed that the company is working on a foldable phone. LG also recently applied for three new trademarks, Flex, Foldi and Duplex, with the EUIPO (European Union Intellectual Property Office). These names are speculated to be used on the companys upcoming foldable phones. The Flexi and Foldi trademarks could be used for phones with flexible and foldable displays respectively, while Duplex might be reserved for an LG phone with two flexible screens. Additionally, a day after applying for the three aforementioned trademarks, LG is said to have applied for five more smartphone model names; LG Bendi, Solid, Solidis, XB and XF.

Source
Its been over a year since many of NSAs exploits leaked online and as a result, over hundreds of thousands of computers remain unpatched and vulnerable to date. These exploits were initially used to spread ransomware and cryptocurrency mining attacks but now, it seems hackers are using the leaked tools to create an even larger malicious proxy network, reports TechCrunch.

Akamai, the American content delivery network, did some digging around and found that the previously reported UPnProxy vulnerability, which misuses the common Universal Plug and Play network protocol, is now capable of targeting unpatched computers behind the routers firewall. While it is unfortunate to see UPnProxy being actively leveraged to attack systems previously shielded behind the NAT, it was bound to happen eventually, commented Akamais Chad Seaman, the author of the report.

The new injection attacks use two exploits: EternalBlue (for Windows computers) and EternalRed (for Linux machines), which are backdoors created by the NSA to target computers. While UPnProxy modified the port mapping on a router that was vulnerable, the two Eternal exploits target the service ports used by SMB, which is a common networking protocol used on most computers. Akamai calls the two exploits EternalSilence collectively.

The goal here isnt a targeted attack, added Seaman. Its an attempt at leveraging tried and true off the shelf exploits, casting a wide net into a relatively small pond, in the hopes of scooping up a pool of previously inaccessible devices. The problem is Eternal-based attacks are hard to detect. So it becomes difficult for administrators to even know if theyre attacked. Though fixes for the Eternal-based attacks have been around for a over a year, many computers remain unpatched and therefore, vulnerable. According to Seaman, flashing an affected network router and immediately disabling UPnProxy could solve the issue but completely replacing the router is always better.
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LEWISTON, Idaho (AP)  The Washington Department of Ecology has fined a Lewiston, Idaho-based company $189,000 for an oil spill at a facility in Wenatchee.

The government agency says a corroded underground pipe at the Coleman Oil plant allowed the fuel to contaminate nearby soil and groundwater, seeping into the Columbia River.





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SEATTLE  The Melmar Apartments, at 219 Harvard Ave. E., sold for almost $9.4 million, according to King County records.

The sellers were four LLCs related to the Jackson family, which had owned the property for decades.





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Saudi prince meets Modi in Argentina, discuss investment

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who is in the eye of a storm over alleged role in the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, on Thursday met Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi with proposals of scaled-up investments in Indias tech, farm and energy sectors.

The Crown Price met Modi in his residence in Buenos Aires and discussed Saudi Arabias readiness to supply India with oil and petroleum products.

The two leaders are in Argentina to participate in the G-20 summit.

The G20 summit in Buenos Aires is the first major international event the Saudi prince has attended since the Khashoggi Jamal in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul in October.

The Saudi prince is reported to have told Modi that he would soon be finalising an initial investment in Indias National Investment and Infrastructure Fund that was constituted to raise funds for financing investments in ports, highways and other infrastructure projects.

The crown prince also referred to future projects for investments, in sectors such as tech, energy and farm, Indian Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale, who is accompanying Modi to the G20, said during a meeting.

The two countries are also reported to have discussed ways of Saudi Arabia replacing its agricultural imports from other countries with Indian agricultural produce also, the Saudi news agency said.

Modi, who has vowed to double farmers income but could not do anything so far, is looking at new ways of boosting farmers income and is ready to go to any length in achieving his objective.

Modi also has high stake in stable oil prices as India imports 80 per cent of its crude oil requirements.

We expect that in the next two to three years there will be significant scaling up of Saudi investments in India, Gokhale said. The two leaders also talked about cooperation in arms manufacturing and Saudi Arabias efforts to develop a domestic arms industry, SPA said.

Modi stressed the importance of stable energy prices and the two leaders discussed ways in which Saudi Arabia, a top crude oil supplier, could help stabilise prices, particularly for India, Gokhale said.

Saudi Arabia has told India it is committed to meeting its rising oil demand and is the shock absorber for supply disruptions in the oil market.

The two leaders also explored investing in solar energy through Softbanks Saudi-backed Vision Fund and opportunities to export Saudi non-oil products to India

The meeting comes at a time when Saudi oil giant Aramcos proposed investment in a large refinery project in the west coast of India is facing local opposition, which forced the Maharashtra government to halt land acquisition for the project.

The Indian prime minister will also be meeting with US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the G20 meeting.
India to chair Kimberley Process from 1 January

India will be chairing the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme (KPCS) after the EU formally handed over the chairmanship of KPCS to India at the plenary 2018, held in Brussels, Belgium.

On the concluding day of the plenary, Federica Mogherini, high representative for foreign affairs and security policy, vice president of the European Commission, in the closing ceremony, handed over KPCS chairmanship to India, from 2019, by passing on the gavel to commerce secretary Anup Wadhawan.

During his valedictory address, the Indian commerce secretary said India as a KP chair from 1 January 2019, will be committed to make the KPCS a stronger process in terms of inclusiveness, strengthened administration and implementation, efficient in terms of delivery of what it promises, more transparent and empathetic towards the living standards of people who are dependent on the production, trade and manufacture of diamonds.

He further said that India is sensitive to the issues and challenges of Artisanal & Small-Scale Mining (ASM) and acknowledged the contribution made by the KP members, observers and agencies for the upliftment of ASMs. India, during its chairmanship will continue with the tradition and aim to support the ASMs with capacity building, technical assistance and education on valuation, differentiation between natural and lab grown diamonds, importance of legal and formal mining practices.

On the sidelines of the plenary, chair of working groups conducted meetings to discuss some key issues like KP statistics and confidentiality, synthetic diamonds and separate HS code for synthetic rough diamonds, issues relating to review visit and review mission and the issue of Central African Republic (CAR).

The 4-day plenary also witnessed discussion on environmental challenges in diamond mining and industry responsibility.

During the plenary session, India held bilateral meetings with Botswana, USA, Russian Federation and World Diamond Council to discuss various issues related to KPCS and its working groups.

India is the founding member of KPCS and is actively involved in KP activities to ensure that almost 99 per cent of the diamond trade in the world is conflict free.

India also chaired the ad hoc committee on review and reform (AHCRR).

The AHCRR held one joint session with chairs of other Working groups and four sessions with AHCRR committee members to discuss the issue of funding of permanent secretariat, Multi Donor Trust Fund (MDTF), peer review mechanism and consolidation to the core document.

This year was the fifteenth anniversary of KPCS. Since its launch in 2003, the Kimberley Process has proven to be an effective multilateral tool for conflict prevention in stemming the flow of conflict diamonds. The Kimberley Process has made valuable developmental impact in improving the lives of most people dependent on the trade in diamonds.
The polar regions communicate via 'postcards' and 'text messages'

In a study just published in the journal Nature, an international team of researchers describes how an ocean current repeatedly strengthening and weakening again 60,000 to 12,000 years ago led to an extremely sudden change in the climate.

The current is known as the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) and warms Greenland and Europe with the warm water that it sends into the North Atlantic with the Gulf Stream. The new research findings show how these extreme events, also known as "Dansgaard-Oeschger Events", affect Antarctica at the other side of the world.

"The North Atlantic sends messages to the Antarctic on two different timescales," explains the lead author of the study, Christo Buizert, a climate change specialist at Oregon State University (USA). He compares the atmospheric link to a text message that is received immediately. The ocean link, on the other hand, is apparently more like a postcard that takes a long time to reach its destination in the case of the AMOC, 200 years.

During the last glacial period, the AMOC was normally very weak, and this created glacial conditions in the North Atlantic region. From time to time, however, the AMOC strengthened rapidly and significantly. As the international research team has discovered, this phenomenon caused a sudden rise in temperatures in Greenland. And when Greenland got warmer, the climate in the Antarctic also changed  in two ways. There was an immediate change in global atmospheric conditions, which led to a rise in temperatures in some parts of Antarctica and a fall in temperatures in others. The second type of change happened much more slowly. It was not until 200 years later that the drop in ocean temperatures in the northern hemisphere was mirrored in the Antarctic.

Abrupt climate change in Greenland

"Our study is the first to show in detail how the climate works over periods that extend far beyond those of meteorological observations", explains Michael Sigl, an environmental chemist at the University of Bern's Oeschger Centre for Climate Change Research. He worked on the study as an expert in the reconstruction of the earth's volcanic past.

Nearly 1,600 layers of volcanic deposits in ice were analysed to synchronise the climate data for ice cores from five different locations in Antarctica. "It is only thanks to these geological horizons that we were able to put nearly 50,000 years of Antarctic climate history on a common timeline and compare it with the climate history of Greenland," says Sigl. He adds that the reconstruction of Greenland's climate shows that the region could warm up by 10 to 15 degrees within a decade once the Gulf Stream has reached its full strength. "This change is huge and sudden."

Weaker monsoon rains in Asia

In their study, the climate researchers were able to show that there are analogies between the climate of the past and current observational data. The atmospheric change in Antarctica follows a pattern of warmer and colder areas  a kind of temperature fingerprint. "Like detectives, we can compare these fingerprints in the ice with current wind patterns", explains Christo Buizert from Oregon State University. "Westerlies in the southern hemisphere and their influence on the sea ice around Antarctica are responsible for these temperature differences."

Observational data and climate models show that the AMOC is currently weakening  a consequence of global climate change. This means that what happened during the last glacial period could recur: an abrupt change in the climate triggered by fluctuations in this ocean current. If this phenomenon is repeated, researchers fear that a weakening of the AMOC will probably reduce the strength of the Asian monsoons. Asia's monsoon rains are fundamental to the livelihoods of billions of people. Changing wind patterns in the southern hemisphere will also affect the ocean's ability to absorb carbon dioxide. This means that more CO2 emissions will remain in the atmosphere and increase the greenhouse gas effect.

"The climatic connection between the North Atlantic and Antarctica that we proved still exists today," says Michael Sigl. "The reason for the current weakening in the AMOC is global warming and meltwater from Greenland. In other words, the atmospheric conditions are already starting to change as the text message is being sent just now." The "postcard" that will trigger changes in the oceans is, he says, also already on its way.
A group of community activists from Gaoth Dobhair are planning to protest outside the main post office in Letterkenny.

The protest is due to take place on Saturday, December 8 at 11am and the group is calling on people in other areas of the county to join them.

The activists have already protested in their own area against the closure of local post offices but feel the time is ripe to widen the focus of their actions.

Independent Councillor Micheal Cholm Mac Giolla Easbuig, one of the organisers of the protest, said that it was intolerable for any community to put up with what An Post is doing to rural Donegal at the moment.

We have already lost four post offices in Burtonport, Dunfanaghy, Gort a Choirce and An Bun Beag and we are awaiting the result of a review of the decision to close the post office in Bun na Leaca. On other areas, like Churchill, Quigley's Point, Ballymagen, Ballyliffin, Burnfoot, Culdaff, Culkeeny, Dunaff, Dunkineely, Kildrum, Meenaneary and Rossnakill, post offices are either closing down or are threatened with imminent closure. This is death by a thousand cuts.

Mac Giolla Easbuig went on to explain that the post office issue was just a symptom of a greater disease affecting the whole county, and rural areas in particular.

Since the foundation of the state, successive governments led by both Fianna Fail and Fine Gael, have starved Donegal of infrastructure such as hospitals, railways, motorways, broadband and proper electrical and gas networks. Some rural areas become inaccessible during the winter because of lack of funding to the County Council. The list is endless. It is time communities came out and took a stand and fight for their survival because government policies are killing communities throughout rural areas, not just in Donegal, but throughout the country.

We were advised by establishment politicians that the only way to fight post office closures was to make submissions to the review body. This approach has patently failed and it is now left to the communities to fight their own cause.

Mac Giolla Easbuig said that people from other rural areas would be very welcome to join the Gaoth Dobhair protest outside the post office in Letterkenny and, if they needed more information on the event, to contact him at 0858042050.

READ MORE: Closure of another Donegal post office confirmed

Dunfanaghy post office to close after appeal fails
The international model, currently in its tenth-generation iteration received a mild mid-cycle update in August this year. The sedan will come to India along with the new updates which include smoked headlamps, gloss black accents on the front grille, C-shaped chrome elements around the front fog lamps and a front bumper with full-width diffusers.

The side profile offers a set of large alloy wheels, along with sharp creases which add a sporty touch. The rear of the sedan features sporty LED tail lights and other chrome elements on the rear bumpers as well.

Inside, the new Honda Civic features a new seven-inch touchscreen infotainment system, among a host of other equipment in the feature-packed and spacious cabin.

Engine options for the new upcoming 2019 Honda Civic will include a 1.8-litre i-VTEC and 1.6-litre i-DTEC units. The 1.8-litre petrol is said to produce 140bhp and 174Nm of torque while the 1.6-litre diesel churns out 120bhp and 300Nm of torque.

The petrol variant will come mated to a standard CVT gearbox, without a manual gearbox option. The diesel variant, on the other hand, comes with a choice of either a six-speed manual or a nine-speed automatic transmission.

Honda is aiming to localise assembly of the model in India. The new Civic will be imported into the country from its plant in Thailand, as a CKD unit.

Thoughts On The Upcoming 2019 Honda Civic

Honda is all set to bring back the Civic nameplate in the country. The D-segment sedan offering from Honda is expected to bring in a lot of updates and features, in order to attract more customers, especially owners of the previous Civic model in the country. Once launched in India, the 2019 Honda Civic will rival the likes of the Skoda Octavia, Hyundai Elantra and the Toyota Corolla Altis.

Image Courtesy: IAB
Two beef farmers from Louth, Richard Lynch from Ardee, and Joe OReilly from Togher, have been shortlisted in Bord Bias Origin Green Farmer Awards.

The biennial awards recognise and reward the exceptional performance being achieved by members of its Sustainable Quality Assurance schemes for beef, horticulture and dairy. These schemes are pivotal in differentiating Irish food products in the global marketplace.

Richard Lynch from Ardee

Richard and Joes farms, along with the 37 other finalists, meet high standards around hygiene, farm safety, traceability, animal welfare, remedy use and commitment to their locality. The overall category winners will be announced at an awards ceremony at The Heritage Hotel, Killenard, Co. Laois on Wednesday 12th December.

Richard Lynch from just outside Ardee, Co. Louth is nominated in the dairy calf to beef production category. Having previously run a suckler herd, Richard changed enterprise a few years ago due to his contracting business. The farm rears dairy calves and brings them to finish as bull and heifer beef.

Joe O' Reilly runs a suckler to beef farm on the coast of the Irish Sea at Togher, Co. Louth. The herd consists of predominantly Limousin and Simmental suckler cows. The farm also has a substantial tillage operation which grows most of the cattle feed for the farm.

Chief Executive of Bord Bia Tara McCarthy paid tribute to the achievements of all the finalists, saying:

The farmers chosen as finalists for these awards are already regarded by the industry as being among the very best. Their commitment to sustainable production through the Origin Green programme and willingness to have their achievements judged by a panel of experts shows their ambition to be the best and to make the Irish food and drink industry a world leader.

She added: These are the farmers Bord Bia will be looking to when we are demonstrating to food buyers the solid foundations on which the Irish food and drink industry has been built and why it is sustainable into the future.

With the Origin Green programme, Ireland is the first country in the world to audit and carbon footprint its livestock farms, currently at a rate of 650 a week, under what is in effect a national programme providing measurement and feedback to farmers for continuous improvement in how they farm sustainably.

The results represent a unique selling point for Irish food exports, proving that farmers are operating with due care for the surrounding environment, resulting in a low *carbon footprint.
Schools in Dundalk were well represented at the Soroptimist Ireland hosted heat of the Girls Public Speaking Competition 2018/19, on November 17 in St Olivers Community College, Rathmullen Road, Drogheda.

Open to female students in TY, fifth and sixth year, the competition started in 1981. It aims to inspire girls to take a more prominent role in public life and encourages them to develop the skills needed to speak effectively, with clarity and conviction.

Fourteen speakers entered the Drogheda heat. St Vincents, St Louis, Dundalk Grammar School and St Olivers CC all had contestants participating.

The girls were given between four and six minutes to speak on topics relating to domestic violence, the environment, global food extremes, democracy and the empowerment of women.

Queensley Odidi from St Vincents, Dundalk and Aine Winters from St Olivers CC, Drogheda were chosen as the winners for their speeches on democracy and the environment respectively.

Deborah Adu from Dundalk Grammar School was chosen as the reserve for her speech on domestic violence.

All entrants also received a certificate of participation and a gift, provided by the competitions sponsors, Newbridge Silverware.

Katie McKeown, one of the speakers, said, It was really inspiring to see such a number of young women speaking their minds passionately about important topics that affect us all.

The winners now progress to the regional heat, which will be held on January 19 2019 in Athlone.


"We've seen alerts from our system that have been used by the water point owners to improve revenue accountability. In some water points we've seen up to 30 percent increased water consistency and faster recharge of the tanks when they run out of water". This reports Kevin Gacheru in his update on the Maji Mkononi project in Kibera, Africa's largest informal settlement in Nairobi, Kenya.

Gacheru is the founder of MobiWater, a firm that developed a smart monitoring system to collect data on water levels in tanks at community led water points.

MobiWater collects storage data from 38 water point that is made available through mobile phones to operators of the water tanks, as well as the community that can see if a tank is empty or not before leaving home.

Mobile phones

The data is made availably to the community by mobile phone. People in the community can see if a tank is empty or not.

"We've had to make various changes to our initial solution and tested various iterations of our systems with the water point operators, working hand-in-hand to build a customer-centric solution that addresses their needs", Gacheru continues in his blog.

Alerts for low levels

MobiWater runs the monitoring system for a year now and experiences that water point operators can learn from them through community-led conversations at focus group meetings.

The firm installed real-time water monitoring sensors in local water point tanks which allowed the operators to monitor their available stored water in their tanks and alerts them via their mobile phone when water levels exceed their thresholds.

Gacheru writes: "Currently, we are working with 38 water points, across 4 different wards in the informal settlement, among them being privately owned water points, NGO led water points, and also water points led by communities or youth."

Realtime monitoring of water levels of water tanks has led to faster recharging by operators.

Pricing models

At the moment, his firm is discussing repayment plans for the system with the with the water point operators. These are set to begin in January. "I'm glad to say it's going on well. We came up with three structured pricing models which we are currently discussing with the water point owners."

The Maji Mkononi project is supported by Via Water, a programme set up by several Dutch water-related organisations and the Dutch government, to solve the water crises in African cities. The programma has an emphasis on the creation of sustainable solutions that are implemented by local people.

Via Water currently holds a portfolio of almost 60 projects in 8 African countries, being Benin, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Mali, Mozambique, Rwanda and Senegal.

Read the original blog by Kelvin Gacheru on the website of Via Water.

(Photos: MobiWater/Via Water)

Read more on this website

 Stockholm World Water Week 2018: Latest generation water-related apps for small farmers shown at African Spatial Delight, 4 September 2018

 Eight winning African entrepreneurs to pilot their water innovative ideas, 5 December 2016

 Via Water supports three Kenyan water start-ups to roll out their business plans, 18 March 2016

 Expertise: Water for all

 Country: Kenya



More information



Via Water

The Hague, the Netherlands

+31 70 720 0870

www.viawater.nl

MobiWater

Nairobi, Kenya

+254 732 002 307

www.techwatersolutions.com
This week was another big week in Dynamic Business news. Highlights include an entrepreneur disrupting the edutech sector, experts explained how to future-proof a business and advice was given on how to throw an acceptable work Christmas party.

Mark Woodland: Disrupting Edutech

CEO of Xplor- Mark Woodland is a recognised thought leader in the edu-tech space, and a current BRW Young Rich List member. Woodland witnessed first-hand the need for customised technology within the education sector, after working alongside his mum in Aussie childcare centres.

Lets Talk: Future Proofing

With Christmas time coming up- its easy to just focus on the task ahead. But its also important to make sure your business is future-proofed. Dynamic Business asked founders what their businesses are doing to make sure they are future proof.

Christmas fails and how to avoid them

Employers and employees across Australia are in full preparation mode to celebrate a year of hard work with a Christmas party or social function. As well as making sure everyone has a good time, employers and their staff need to be aware of some of the risks that can arise through social interaction outside the usual work environment, particularly when a drink or two is involved.

Tune in for next week!


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An apparent prefix leak from an errant router misconfiguration caused Google to lose control of several million of its IP addresses for more than an hour on Monday.

During the event, Internet traffic was misrouted to China and Russia from Nigeria. The incident initially sparked concerns that it might have been a malicious hijacking attempt.

The mishap made Google's search and other services unavailable to many users intermittently. It caused problems for Spotify, Google cloud customers, G-Suite users and Youtube viewers, among others.

The problem started when the MainOne Cable Company in Lagos, Nigeria, improperly updated tables in the Internet's global routing system to declare that its autonomous system was the proper path to reach 212 IP prefixes belonging to Google. China Telecom shortly thereafter improperly accepted the route and announced it worldwide.

That move, in turn, caused Russia-based Transtelecom and other large service providers to follow the route. The misdirected traffic led to China Telecom, the Chinese government-owned provider that recently was caught improperly routing Western carriers' traffic through mainland China.

"We're aware that a portion of Internet traffic was affected by incorrect routing of IP addresses, and access to some Google services was impacted. The root cause of the issue was external to Google, and there was no compromise of Google services," a Google spokesperson told TechNewsWorld via company rep Lindsay Hart.

Questionable Explanation

Google is adamant that the mishap resulted from a prefix leak in configuring BGP, the Internet's main routing protocol, rather than a hijack. Each Internet Service Provider advertises to all others a list of Internet Protocols it owns. A prefix leak occurs when an ISP advertises a range of IPs it does not own, according to the Google spokesperson.

BGP is a decades' old technology that is not cryptographically secure, enabling these types of mistakes by third parties, which is what this incident most likely was, said Rick Moy, chief marketing officer at Acalvio.

"There have certainly been nefarious BGP hijackings in the past, and I am sure they will continue because they enable traffic hijacking and even cryptojacking," he told TechNewsWorld. "Also, unfortunately, there is no quick fix."

These types of issues are typically due to hacking, rather than a mistake that was made, noted Chris Rivers, vice president of Web development at MGH.

However, in this case, the incident seems to have been caused by an error that occurred during planned network maintenance.

"It is interesting that the traffic was rerouted to countries already known for 'big brother' uses of technology to spy on citizens," Rivers told TechNewsWorld. "There was definitely a vulnerability via mistake that Google is denying."

Looking at the bigger picture, this type of situation caused a massive denial of service to the G Suite. Attacking a vulnerability like this would be designed to disrupt service to its intended audience, he added.

No Harm, No Foul?

Still, Google claims that a Nigerian ISP caused the problem with no malicious intent. This issue only affected network traffic.

Since nearly all Internet traffic to Google services is encrypted, there was no increased risk of data exposure as a result of this leak, according to Google.

Google maintains that nothing indicates this was an attack or a breach. Google's internal analysis is consistent with Mainone's claim that the situation was caused by a misconfiguration.

"Given the time to resolve this issue, it is highly likely that this was an honest mistake by a core Internet provider," said Brian Chappell, senior director for enterprise and solutions architecture at BeyondTrust.

"The mechanisms for managing the routing of traffic across the Internet have been an area of concern for some time, as there is no real authentication for the information. It is a trust-based approach," he told TechNewsWorld.

Regardless of an intentional attack or mistake, the implications can range from denial of service and slow response of service to the compromise of data in transit, said BeyondTrust CTO Morey Haber. If there had been an intention to target an ISP, this could have been a serious incident.

"While [data compromise] is much less likely due to all Google traffic being encrypted, there are scenarios from man-in-the-middle attacks to compromised keys that could be utilized in a blended attack to decrypt the traffic," Haber told TechNewsWorld.

What Comes Next?

Viewed as an accident, this incident will drive attention and activity toward a more robust solution, suggested Chappell. The organization responsible for the mistake very likely will implement more stringent processes to avoid such an event happening again.

"Assuming that the systems in question are accessed through a secure solution, such as a privileged password management solution, it is likely there were session recordings that could be searched to find the event and allow for rapid remediation," he said. "If not, that is definitely the first step that organizations should be taking."

Viewed as a malicious action, it highlights the inherent insecurity of routing protocols. While core providers are likely to have significant controls around the manipulation of protocols and tables within their organization, that does not eliminate the possibility of malfeasance by internal and external parties. Either way, we can expect to see renewed activity in this space, according to Chappell.

Whether accidental or deliberate, there are implications that need fixing, noted Haber. The rerouting of traffic out of a geographic region due to pure ISP hygiene is unacceptable. If it had occurred in other regions -- like Europe, the Middle East and Africa -- it could have been perceived as an EU General Data Protection Regulation violation.

Attack or Accident: Same Impact

This type of attack or accident can have real financial impact for companies doing business online, warned Chappell. Being able to redirect traffic away from legitimate sites, either to interrupt services or worse, to present fake sites, undoubtedly would lead to immediate financial and secondary reputational loss for organizations.

"While it didn't actually stop [Google's] platform working, it may have impacted many sites which rely on their services. The final tally will become apparent in time," he said.

This type of incident is a reminder of the dependencies all cloud users face. Entities in far regions of the world can affect traffic and cause an outage in services users rely on every day, added Haber.

"Businesses operating online need to be reminded that their dependencies on cloud services should have contractual requirements in the form of SLAs," he said, "and that operational backup plans should be developed in case incidents like this materialize as full-blown attacks."

Jack M. Germain has been an ECT News Network reporter since 2003. His main areas of focus are enterprise IT, Linux and open source technologies. He has written numerous reviews of Linux distros and other open source software. Email Jack.




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We made it. The holiday shopping season is here once again!

This is a great opportunity for you as an e-commerce retailer. If you're like many other merchants out there, the run-up to Christmas is one of the most profitable, and busiest, times of the year. You may need some extra help to handle the surge in traffic and maximize your return. That means hiring seasonal employees.

Plenty of different businesses will feel the need to bring on additional staff -- from those in the travel sector to shipping and even dining. However, retail is going to experience the biggest holiday hiring bump, and wages for temporary workers in the retail sector are expected to surge 54 percent over last year. It's all part of the booming economy and tight labor market, and those conditions have been forcing recruiters to start hunting for help earlier this year, too.

Hourly wages for seasonal workers will rise an incredible 32 percent compared with last year, based on a recent survey. The average seasonal employee in the U.S. can expect to make US$15.40 per hour during the 2018 holiday rush, up from just $11.70 last year.

The scarce labor market could force many businesses to compete for less-qualified candidates, though, which could have the effect of further exposing retailers to a key threat source: employee-assisted fraud.

When you think of employee-assisted (or occupational) fraud, you probably get the image of a retail worker sneaking merchandise out the back door of a shop or pocketing cash from the till. Employee-assisted fraud is not just a problem for brick-and-mortar sellers, however. It can impact any business that takes on seasonal workers, including e-commerce retailers.

Employee Theft and Fraud Worsening

Employee theft is now the fastest-growing crime in the U.S., according to the FBI. Looking at employee theft overall, the average company will lose roughly 5 percent of annual revenue to employee fraud.

Losses are even higher for companies with fewer than 100 employees. Despite the risk, though, fewer than 20 percent of all small businesses have a system in place to report suspicious activity by employees, compared to 70 percent of larger companies.

Let's assume you already take occupational fraud seriously. That's great. Still, what you may not know is that employee-assisted fraud tends to jump an estimated 20 percent during the holiday season.

Anyone who hires additional staff during the holidays could face a sudden uptick in occupational fraud -- and really, it shouldn't be that surprising. When you recruit seasonal workers, you're entrusting your business to a group of people who may not have the same interest in the organization's long-term success as a permanent employee.

So we know it's a problem. The real question: How are they doing it?

Organized Retail Crime and Your Employees

Of course, you probably won't have to worry about seasonal employees involved in corporate espionage or anything elaborate like that. The most professional threat you're likely to encounter is accidentally inviting organized retail crime, or ORC, into the business.

Organized retail crime involves a professional group who carry out a coordinated criminal attack against a retailer. While we usually think of it in terms of brick-and-mortar locations, ORC can still occur in the e-commerce environment if the thieves have cooperation from someone within the business.

For example, 40 percent of retailers of retailers experienced cargo theft last year. An ORC group could work with someone inside your business to coordinate and steal merchandise. ORC cost the average business $726,351 per every $1 billion in sales during that same period.

You should know that groups of organized, professional thieves can affect your business. Don't take this as justification to mistrust your employees and assume the worst, though. When it does occur, employee-assisted fraud is more likely to take a simple, more innocuous form.

Occupational Fraud Is Primarily an Amateur Effort

Workers you bring on as seasonal help probably will not work in high-level positions within the company. They're in positions of lower authority. However, they tend to have more direct interaction with both customers and cash, and those conditions can enable fraud. This speaks to an important distinction when looking at occupational fraud among seasonal employees: It's mostly amateur fraudsters.

Eighty-six percent of people who committed fraud had no previous fraud activity, based on recent research. There are three primary reasons that explain why an otherwise-honest employee might commit fraud:

Opportunity: Many cases of employee-enabled fraud are primarily crimes of opportunity. Workers who do not feel they have any personal stake in the company's well being will see an opening and take it. Considering that most of your seasonal hires will not be sticking around once the holiday season wraps up, this could be a serious concern. Financial Trouble: Pressures on one's personal finances can lead individuals to commit fraud out of desperation. There are many potential triggers, including debt, substance abuse problems and illness, just to name a few. Attitude: Employees who feel they've been mistreated by the company may try to "get even" through fraud. For example, an individual may be passed over for a promotion, and see fraud as a way to get what is rightfully hers. This easily could happen with a seasonal employee who is turned down for a permanent position.

Return fraud is an example of a common occupational scheme. A customer knows someone within the company and goes to that person to request a return. The employee knows the item in question is not eligible, but processes the return anyway.

The "customer is always right" mantra has helped foster an environment of lax standards for product returns in general. This makes it easier for a customer to commit return fraud with help from within your company.

5 Tips to Minimize Occupational Fraud

This holiday season, you're facing the threat of ORC infiltration, plus the opportunism, desperation and resentment that are three primary triggers of employee-enabled fraud. That points to one very simple question: What can you do about it?

Fortunately, there is a solution. Here are five simple suggestions you can adopt that might help cut back on your exposure before and after the holidays:

1. Know Your Employee: Some may see this as excessive, but performing a background check on short-term workers easily can identify anyone who might have been busted for retail crime. A simple background check before you hire any temporary workers can limit your risk of encountering organized retail crime. 2. Recognize Your Employees: You should aim to align individual employees' responsibilities -- and their pay -- with their ability. Overlooking this very basic concept can lead to division and resentment within your team. Make a conscious effort to recognize your permanent and seasonal employees for their accomplishments and good work, and compensate them accordingly. 3. Embody an Ethical Culture: Setting the tone of your business culture in terms of ethics starts at the top. You need to embody the workplace culture you expect from your employees to gain their trust and respect. This sensibility will trickle down to management, and then through to your other workers. You can start by creating a written ethics policy, so that everyone understands what is expected. 4. Enable Employees to Report Fraud: Your employees are in a better position than you to notice abuse and fraud by their coworkers. Do you have a way for employees to anonymously report that information? A lot of people would be hesitant to step forward publicly, but could be much more inclined to do so if they can keep their identity secret. 5. Mandate Purchase Orders: Requiring purchase orders for any items bought by the company can prevent abuse by both seasonal and permanent employees. You should verify all vendors before authorizing an order, and mandate price comparisons as part of the purchasing process.

All Fraud Is Connected

Of course, being prepped against employee-assisted fraud goes hand-in-hand with protection against other threats. For example, let's take a look at chargebacks. These are forced payment reversals resulting from disputed payment card transactions. In all, chargebacks are projected to cost retailers $30 billion a year by 2020, and most of it will be caused by "friendly fraud," or unsubstantiated chargeback claims.

Friendly fraud, return fraud, occupation fraud -- these are all interconnected threats. Employees can try to enable unsubstantiated returns, and you can put measures in place to try and prevent that from happening. However, if employee-assisted return fraud is off the table, the buyer might turn to friendly fraud instead.

You see, fraud is like the hydra: You cut-off one head, and three more take its place. Trying to stop one threat, without taking others into account, can enable fraud rather than prevent it.

It's best to think about all fraud threats as an interconnected problem. Rather than adopting compartmentalized responses to a bunch of different threat sources, you should think of your approach to fraud prevention as a comprehensive strategy.

A Comprehensive Strategy Works Best

The best way to take on fraud is with a host of tools and policies all working together. If you can't separate employee-assisted fraud from external criminal fraud, for example, you end up with skewed data, leading you to try and fix nonexistent problems, while leaving real problems unaddressed.

While the holiday season is high-time for fraud risk, it's really a year-round issue. Fraud doesn't vanish once the decorations are boxed-up and you've said goodbye to your seasonal workforce. It morphs and adapts, with the post-holiday season being the peak months for friendly fraud.

Hiring seasonal employees to help with the surge of holiday shoppers does increase your risk for fraud. Adopting the practices mentioned earlier will help you minimize your exposure. However, the best response is to make multilayer fraud mitigation a year-round priority.

Monica Eaton-Cardone is the COO and cofounder of Chargebacks911, a provider of comprehensive risk management solutions to the payment processing industry. It is a division of Global Risk Technologies, which manages more than 200 million transactions worldwide each month. Chargebacks911 is headquartered in Tampa Bay, Florida, and specializes in chargeback mitigation and dynamic loss prevention.




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Theresa Payton, CEO of Fortalice Solutions, is one of the most influential experts on cybersecurity and IT strategy in the United States. She is an authority on Internet security, data breaches and fraud mitigation.

She served as the first female chief information officer at the White House, overseeing IT operations for President George W. Bush and his staff.

With the U.S. midterm elections fast approaching, both Payton's observations about the current cybersecurity threat level and her advice about shoring up the nation's defenses carry special weight.

In this exclusive interview, she also shares her views on social networking, privacy, and the changing playing field for women who aspire to leadership roles in technology.

TechNewsWorld: What is the chief cyberthreat to the upcoming midterm elections?

Theresa Payton: My biggest worry and concern is that citizens will not trust election results and that the election process will lose legitimacy. We know that the Department of Homeland Security, working with state election officials, have raced against the clock to secure voting systems. Our U.S. intelligence agencies have repeatedly been on the record stating there is no evidence that cybercriminals modified or deleted any votes in 2016.

The next area of concern is for the communications, contacts, and digital campaigns of candidates being broken into and doxed. While the news focuses on securing the votes and the voter databases of the midterm elections, there is not a lot of attention on whether or not campaigns take threats targeting their campaigns seriously. Nothing would hit closer to home for a candidate than if their election was hacked and they lost -- or won.

"Cyber" is certainly a buzzword, but it's not a word without meaning. With the onslaught of breaches, candidates should be laser-focused on cybersecurity.

TNW: What should federal officials do to shore up election security? What should state and local governments do? Where does the buck stop?

Payton: It's crucial that elected officials on the left and right not politicize an issue in the short term that will have grave long-term consequences for national security.

Defensively, we need to harden our election infrastructure at the local level. This is the responsibility of the Department of Homeland Security.

DHS needs to continue to work at the local level with state election officials, but also to provide much more robust cybersecurity capabilities for protection and detection at the campaign level.

We also need to be sure that the intelligence and homeland security community is effectively sharing information and tools, techniques and tactics.

TNW: How serious are concerns that election interference might be caused by tampering with back-end election systems? What can federal agencies do to address the problems of outdated voting equipment, inadequate election-verification procedures, and other potential vulnerabilities? Is there an argument to be made for some level of mandatory federal oversight of state and local voter systems?

Payton: There are grave concerns about election interference and the race to secure them, globally, is under way. The idea that voter databases could be seeded with falsified data or modified has been around for decades, but the technical know-how and motive has caught up with that idea. Election officials in a race towards automation and efficiency may have helped criminals along, but it's not too late if we act now.

Today, there are entire countries totally relying on electronic voting: Brazil, since 2000, has employed electronic voting machines, and in 2010 had 135 million electronic voters. India had 380 million electronic voters for its Parliament election in 2004.

It is easy to see why electronic voting is the wave of the future and how the United States could model its own voting system after these countries. It's faster, cheaper and more accessible for those with disabilities. Also, would you miss the experience of, or the reporting of, the every-election-day headline of "Long Lines at the Polls Today"? Probably not. That is certainly less painful than a recount though.

We are headed towards electronic voting as the sole system we use despite these facts:

"The U.S. intelligence community developed substantial evidence that state websites or voter registration systems in seven states were compromised by Russian-backed covert operatives prior to the 2016 election -- but never told the states involved, according to multiple U.S. officials," NBC News reported earlier this year.

Russia hacked the Democratic National Committee's emails with the intention to "interfere with the U.S. election process," according to the director of national intelligence, James R. Clapper Jr., and the Department of Homeland Security.

As far as we know, despite the scans and alarm bells, no outside entity has changed any records in the registration database.

Scams such as "text your vote" were more prevalent than ever, and will increase as electronic voting becomes more widespread.

The good news is our government took this very seriously. Prior to the midterm elections, the Department of Homeland Security offered state election officials "cyber hygiene scans" to remotely search for vulnerabilities in election systems. They also conducted threat briefings and onsite reviews, as well as released a memo of "best practices" -- guidance how best to secure their voter databases.

Some have called for more federal oversight and moving towards a more restrictive security model, but the states own the voting process. Providing year-round briefings from DHS, FBI, CIA, and NSA would prove to be very helpful over time.

Also, we have to remember elections are decentralized. Sometimes there is security in obscurity. Each state in our country, plus the District of Columbia, run their own election operations, including voter databases. A hostile nation state could not feasibly wipe out each system with one wave of their magic wand.

How we vote, though, is just one-way our elections could be compromised. Another concern going forward must be disruption of Internet traffic, as we saw occurred just days before the last presidential election cycle on Oct. 21st, 2016, when the Mirai botnet crippled part of the Internet for hours.

A massive Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacked a host server causing major disruptions to some of the most highly visited websites in the United States. The attack was in two waves, first on the East Coast and then on the West Coast.

As our country votes on Election Day in different time zones, and polling stations close at different times, the similarity is chilling.

However, we need everyone to turn out to vote. The focus on bolstering our election security defenses is reassuring. What we know is the warning signs are there. As we move towards the future, and focus on creating and protecting a new system to collect our votes, we need to protect the one we already have.

Two things you can be sure of after this year's election: Eventually, every vote you cast in a United States election will be electronic, and one of those elections will be hacked. No doubt about it. But the recount in 2016 in Wisconsin reminds us all why we need a backup.

TNW: What are some ways candidates and campaigns can shore up their cybersecurity without draining their war chests? What are some of the practices they should implement in the very early days? A campaign that's very secure ultimately might lose due to lack of visibility. How can campaigns strike the right balance?

Payton: Never before have campaigns collected so much essential information that would be lucrative to so many cybercriminals. Credit card numbers, bank account information, addresses, online identities. The assets go on and on, and cybercriminals are just like bank robbers in the old days: They follow the money.

That is why in today's day and age, if you are on a campaign, whether it be state, national or local, you need to be as vigilant about protecting data as any business. Otherwise, you will lose your customers -- also known as constituents and voters.

Anyone on a tight budget can follow these guidelines to protect their campaign assets:

Make it as hard as possible on cybercriminals by separating donor information details onto a completely separate domain name with separate user IDs and passwords from the campaign. For example, your campaign domain might be VoteSallySue.com, but donor details would be stored at MustProtectDetails.com. Using that same practice, run all of your internal communications on a domain name that's not the campaign name -- i.e., email addresses should not be henry@VoteSallySue.com but rather henry@MustProtectDetails.com. Increase the level of protection for internal messages by using encrypted messaging platforms for internal communications, such as Signal or Threema. Also, be sure to encrypt all of your campaign's donor data. We have yet to hear a report of a campaign's donor data being hacked and used for identity theft, but we will -- of that I am sure. It would be too lucrative not to try. Once it is hacked, it will be hard to restore confidence in your operation. Just ask any major retailer, bank or organization who has recently been hacked, and they will tell you. I don't even need to use their names, you know the headlines. Train technology and campaign staff to spot spearphishing emails and scams. Oh, sure, you think everyone knows not to "click on that link," but recent studies illustrate doing just that is the No. 1 cause of breaches among employees. Another safeguard that raises the bar in terms of security is implementing two-factor authentication wherever feasible. When you use a platform that employs two-factor authentication, don't you feel safer? Possibly annoyed, as well, but certainly reassured that the extra step has been taken to secure your data. Don't you want the electorate to feel the same way? Finally, post a privacy policy that's easy to read, easy to find, and you'll find voters have more confidence in just your agenda.

TNW: How well -- or poorly -- have Facebook, Twitter, Google and other tech companies addressed the problems that surfaced in 2016?

Payton: I was encouraged to hear that with less than three weeks to go for the U.S. mid-terms, that Facebook has stood up a war room to combat social media community manipulation as the world heads into elections this fall and winter.

They have also said they have war-gamed a number of scenarios to ensure their team is better prepared for elections around the globe. Much is at stake, so the fact that Facebook also integrated the apps they have acquired -- such as WhatsApp and Instagram -- into the mix of the war room is a great idea.

If I were to give them advice, I would suggest that another great step to take would be to create a way to physically embed representatives from law enforcement, other social media companies -- including Twitter, Linkedin and Google -- and to allow election officials around the globe to have a "red phone" access to the war room.

TNW: What are some of the most pressing cybersecurity problems facing social networks, apart from their use as political tools?

Payton: The ability to change their business and moderator models, in real time, to morph quickly to shut down fake personas, fake ads, and fake messaging promoting political espionage, even if it means higher expenses and loss of revenue. Social media companies have made a lot of progress since the 2016 presidential elections and claims of global-wide election meddling, but the criminals have changed tactics and it's harder to spot them.

On the heels of the August 2018 news that Microsoft seized six domains that Russian Internet trolls planned to use for political espionage phishing attacks around the same time that Facebook deactivated 652 fake accounts and pages tied to misinformation campaigns, Alex Stamos, the former Facebook security chief, posted an essay in Lawfare, and stated that it was "too late to protect the 2018 elections."

TNW: What role should the government play in protecting citizens' privacy online?

Payton: As the Internet evolves, laws and regulations must change more rapidly to reflect societal issues and problems created by new types of behavior taking place online. Never before has the world had access to statements, pictures, video and criticism by millions of individuals who are not public figures.

The Internet provides us with places to document our lives, thoughts and preferences online, and then holds that material for an indefinite period of time -- long after we might have outgrown our own postings.

It also provides places where we can criticize our bosses, local building contractors, or polluters.

This digital diary of our lives leaves tattered pages of our past that we may forget about because we cannot see them, but they could be collected, collated, and used to judge us or discriminate against us without due process. The government needs to think ahead and determine which laws need to be enacted to protect our right to opt in and out of privacy features and to own our digital lives and footprints.

TNW: What is your opinion of Europe's "right to be forgotten" law? Do you think a similar law would make sense in the United States?

Payton: The European Union's "right to be forgotten" sets an interesting precedent, not just for its member countries but for citizens around the world. It is too early to know what the long-term impacts of the EU's decision to enforce a "right to be forgotten" with technology companies will be. However, it's a safe bet the law will evolve and not disappear.

There are concerns that giving you or organizations more control of their Internet identity, under a "right to be forgotten" clause, could lead to [censorship] of the Internet. Free-speech advocates around the globe are concerned that the lack of court precedent and the gray areas of the EU law could lead to pressure for all tech companies to remove results across the globe, delinking news stories and other information upon an individual's request.

A quick history lesson of how this law came about: A Spanish citizen filed a complaint with Spain's Data Protection Agency and indicated that Google Spain and Google Inc. had violated his privacy rights by posting an auction notice that his home was repossessed. The matter was resolved years earlier but since "delete is never really delete" and "the Internet never forgets," the personal data about his financial matters haunted his reputation online.

He requested that Google Spain and Google Inc. be required to remove the old news so it would not show up in search engine results. The Spanish court system reviewed the case and referred it to the European Union's Court of Justice.

Here is an excerpt of what the May 2014 ruling of the EU Court said:

"On the 'Right to be Forgotten': Individuals have the right -- under certain conditions -- to ask search engines to remove links with personal information about them. This applies where the information is inaccurate, inadequate, irrelevant or excessive for the purposes of the data processing . A case-by-case assessment is needed considering the type of information in question, its sensitivity for the individual's private life and the interest of the public in having access to that information. The role the person requesting the deletion plays in public life might also be relevant."

In the U.S., implementing a federal law might be tempting, but the challenge is that the ability to comply with the law will be complex and expensive. This could mean that the next startup will be crushed under compliance and therefore innovation and startups will die before they can get launched.

However, we do need a central place of advocacy and a form of a consumer privacy bill of rights. We have remedies to address issues but it's a complex web of laws that apply to the Internet. Technology changes society faster than the law can react, so U.S. laws relating to the Internet will always lag behind.

We have a Better Business Bureau to help us with bad business experiences. We have the FTC and FCC to assist us with commerce and communications. Individuals need an advocacy group to appeal to, and for assistance in navigating online defamation, reputational risk, and an opportunity to scrub their online persona.

TNW: What is your attitude toward social networking? What's your advice to others regarding the trustworthiness of social networks?

Payton: Social networking can offer us amazing ways to stay in touch with colleagues, friends and loved ones. It's a personal decision as to how involved you are online, how many platforms you interact with, and how much of your life that you digitally record or transact online.

If you want to be on social media but don't want to broadcast everything about you, I tell my clients to turn off location tracking -- or geolocation tools -- in social media. That way you aren't "checking in" places. Cybercriminals use these check-ins to develop your pattern of life and to track your circle of trust. If a cybercriminal has these two patterns, it makes it easier for them to hack your accounts.

Register for an online service that will give you a phone number, such as Google Voice or Talkatone. Provide that number on social media and forward it to your real cellphone. Avoid personality surveys and other surveys -- they are often very fun to do, but the information posted often gives digital clues to what you may use for your password.

Always turn on two-factor authentication for your accounts, and tie your social media accounts to an email address dedicated to social media. Turn on alerts to notify you if there is a login that is outside your normal login patterns.

The amount of personal information you choose to share is up to you -- and everyone has to find that limit of what is too much -- but at the very least, never give out personally identifiable information like your address, DOB, financial information, etc.

TNW: As the first woman to serve in the role of CIO at the White House, under President George W. Bush, how did you feel about becoming an instant role model for girls and young women interested in tech careers?

Payton: It's an honor to think about the opportunity to give back and to help along anyone that wants to pursue this career path, especially young women. Candidly, we need everyone to fight the good fight. My heart breaks when I see computer and engineering classes with very few women in them.

We did not reach out to the women early enough, and when I talk to young women in high school and college about considering cybersecurity as a career, many of then tell me that since they have had no prior exposure they are worried about failing, and that it's "too late now to experiment." To which I tell them that it's always a great time to experiment and learn new things!

Prior to taking on the role at the White House, I had been very active in women in technology groups and was passionately recruiting young women to consider technology careers. At the time I was offered the role and accepted, I candidly didn't have an immediate aha moment about being a role model for women because of that specific job. I was most focused on making sure the mission was a success. I see it now and it's an honor to be able to be a role model and I strive to live up to that expectation.

The cybersecurity industry can do more to help women understand the crucial role that cybersecurity professionals play that make a difference in our everyday lives. Unfortunately, hackers, both ethical and unethical, are often depicted as men wearing hoodies over their faces, making it difficult for women to picture themselves in that role as a realistic career choice, because they don't think they have anything in common with hackers.

Studies show that women want to work in professions that help people -- where they are making a difference. When you stop a hacker from stealing someone's identity, you've made a difference in someone's life or business. At the end of the day, the victims of hackers are people, and women can make a tremendous difference in this field. This is something the industry as a whole needs to do a better job of showing women.

TNW: You're now the CEO of a company in the private sector. Can you tell us a little about what Fortalice Solutions does, its mission, and your priorities in guiding it?

Payton: Fortalice Solutions is a team of cybercrime fighters. We hunt bad people from behind a keyboard to protect what matters most to nations, business and people. We combine the sharpest minds in cybersecurity with active intelligence operations to secure everything from government and corporate data and intellectual property, to individuals' privacy and security.

At Fortalice, our strengths lie in studying the adversary and outmaneuvering them with our human-first, technology-second approaches.

TNW: How have attitudes toward women in powerful positions changed -- for better or worse -- in recent years?

Payton: Although thankfully this is beginning to change, I am typically the only woman in the room -- and that was common in banking as well as technology. I had to learn how to stand up for myself and ensure my voice was heard. I've had more than my fair share of times when my technical acumen has been discounted because I'm female.

I've learned that grace and tact go a long way, and I'm very, very proud to say that my company is nearly dead-equal male/female. We even started an organization called "Help A Sister Up" -- you can find us on LinkedIn -- that's dedicated to advancing women in technology and serving as a rallying point for them and their male advocates. We post job openings, interesting articles, avenues for discussion. Please join us!

TNW: What's your advice to girls and women entering technological fields about whether to seek employment in the private or the public sector? What are some of the pros and cons, particularly from the standpoint of gender equality?

Payton: An April 2013 survey of Women in Technology found that 45 percent of respondents noted a "lack of female role models or [the encouragement to pursue a degree in a technology-related field]."

It's been proven that professional mentorship and development dramatically increase participation in any given field, so the lack of women in cybersecurity is really a compounding problem -- we don't have enough women in cyber because there aren't enough women role models in cyber.

While connecting with other women has had its challenges, there are wonderful women in cyber today. Look at Linda Hudson -- currently the chairman and CEO of The Cardea Group and former president and CEO of BAE Systems Inc. -- shattering the glass ceiling for women behind her. Also, up-and-comer Keren Elazari, a global speaker on cybersecurity and ethical hacker out of Israel.

I've been very lucky to work with wonderful, inspiring women in cyber, but I recognize that my exposure might be more than women starting their career. This brings me to my next point: I recommend all cyber practitioners, and especially women, take advantage of all the amazing free tools out there from RSA, TED talks, and even YouTube.

You can watch speeches from veteran cybersecurity professionals about their careers, hear their advice on how to succeed, and learn new skills to keep you competitive in the workplace. Consider free online courses in cybersecurity or popular programming languages like Python. Ask your colleagues to show you their favorite geek gadget or ethical hack.

There are some excellent security frameworks and guidance available for free online, such as the NIST framework, CIS Critical Security Controls, SSAE 16, and discussions on GDPR. Leverage social media to hear what's on the minds of security experts. You must be a constant student of your profession in this field.

Mick Brady is managing editor of ECT News Network.


The devastating Camp Fire was the deadliest and most destructive wildfire in California history, killing at least 88, with 196 still missing, according to the most recent figures reported by USA Today Thursday.

And life isn't getting any easier for the survivors. Heavy downpours Thursday damaged the tents and possessions and threatened the health of more than 100 evacuees camping out in the area, The Huffington Post reported.

Now, it looks like help is on the way from an unlikely source: America's beer industry. More than 1,000 breweries have signed on to brew a special beer to raise funds for the survivors of the fire, which burned more than 153,000 acres, CNN reported Friday.

The Resilience Butte County Proud IPA is the creation of the Sierra Nevada Brewing Company. The company is based in Chico, west of the town of Paradise that was destroyed in the early days of the fire. Flames got so close that the company actually had to close its Chico brewery for a few days in mid November.

The company quickly moved to give back to its community, establishing a Camp Fire Relief Fund Nov. 13 seeded with an initial $100,000 from the brewery.



"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," Sierra-Nevada founding family Ken, Sierra and Brian Grossman wrote in a Facebook message announcing the fund.

The brewery then moved from a local to a national fundraising effort with the creation of its Resilience IPA, which it began brewing on Giving Tuesday, inviting Butte County Sheriff Kory Honea to help out.

The company invited breweries around the country to participate, and the response has been enthusiastic so far. Within two days, more than a thousand breweries answered the call, sharing their support on social media.

"Our hope is to get Resilience IPA in taprooms all over the country to create a solid start for our community's future," founder Ken Grossman said in a statement reported by CNN.



Brewers aim to have the beer available for sale by Dec. 17. One-hundred percent of proceeds will be donated to Camp Fire relief efforts.

"We are working with malt, hop and yeast suppliers to provide raw ingredient donations to all participating breweries and are asking those breweries to donate 100 percent of their sales to the fund, as well," Sierra Nevada said in a post reported by CNN.
(Photo: REUTERS / Adrees Latif)Some of hundreds of thousands take part in the People's Climate March through Midtown, New York September 21, 2014. An international day of action on climate change brought hundreds of thousands of people onto the streets of New York City on Sunday, easily exceeding organizers' hopes for the largest protest on the issue in history. Organizers estimated that some 310,000 people, including United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, former U.S. Vice President Al Gore, actor Leonardo DiCaprio and elected officials from the United States and abroad joined the People's Climate March, ahead of Tuesday's United Nations hosted summit in the city to discuss reducing carbon emissions that threaten the environment.

The doubt U.S. President Donald Trump cast on a report by his own government warning of devastating effects from climate change as California was burning down at the beginning of winter seemed consistent with what he had said in the past.

When he was asked outside the White House about the findings that unchecked global warming would wreak havoc on the U.S. economy, he said: "I don't believe it."

The U.S. government report found that climate change will cost the United States hundreds of billions of dollars each year and will damage the health of the nation, the BBC reported.

Trump's administration has pursued a pro-fossil fuels agenda and he is running against the preaching of the Catholic Church and other Christian religions about the protection of creation.

The current U.S. administration is not along in its climate change denial.

Brazil this week pulled out of hosting next year's United Nations global summit meeting on climate change, the latest signal that Latin America's largest nation no longer aspires to be an influential player in efforts to mitigate the effects of a warming planet.

The decision leaves the United Nations scrambling to find a new venue for the conference, which was scheduled to take place next November, The New York Times reported.

It comes about a month before the inauguration of president-elect Jair Bolsonaro, who has pledged to empower commercial ventures in the Amazon and other Brazilian biomes while weakening enforcement of environmental laws.

This week a new UN report came out that countries are failing to take the action needed to stave off the worst effects of climate change, The Guardian reported.

It said the commitments made in the 2015 Paris agreement, which the Trump administration is opting out of, will not be met unless governments introduce additional measures as a matter of urgency.

It is likely that new taxes will be needed on fossil fuels, investment in clean technology and much stronger government policies to bring down emissions. Governments will have to stop subsidising fossil fuels, directly and indirectly, the UN said.

Gunnar Luderer was one of the authors of the UN report and senior scientist at the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research in Germany.

He said, "There is still a tremendous gap between words and deeds, between the targets agreed by governments and the measures to achieve these goals."

"Only a rapid turnaround here can help. Emissions must be reduced by a quarter by 2030 [to keep warming to no more than 2C (3.6F) above pre-industrial levels] and for 1.5C emissions would have to be halved," said Luderer.

CHURCHES APPEAL TO WORLD LEADERS

On November 22, the World Council of Churches, the Lutheran World Federation, ACT Alliance and the German Protestant development service Bread for the World appealed to world leaders to take swift and coordinated action to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius as a humanitarian and ethical obligation.

"As faith-based organizations we are very concerned that marginalized, vulnerable, and poor people are affected by climate change impacts that are increasingly exposing them to emergencies and humanitarian crises," the four organizations warned.

The 60-page publication is titled, "Limiting Global Warming," released today, just a couple of weeks before the December 4-12 climate conference in Katowice, Poland.

They reiterated their sustained advocacy on climate change at the annual United Nations' conferences and other fora, the four organizations insist sound financial, technological and political solutions are possible.

"If we fail to address climate change and to increase efforts to protect the affected communities now, we will bear the incalculable risks to future generations," they state in the publication's preface.

On the other hand, they argue that increased efforts towards protecting the poorest and most vulnerable to climate change will be a significant step toward ensuring future generations are protected.

Rev. Olav Fykse Tveit, WCC general secretary, said that the research is "important" in that it "focuses on those living with vulnerabilities and in impoverishment which is decidedly a Christian lens."

Further, its conclusions reinforce the urgent appeal "to enact changes now and with conviction  that is, radically reshape our economic life  to safeguard God's most sacred gift of life."

"Limiting Global Warming" was written by a team of climate experts and development practitioners from Africa, Europe and Oceania, who studied scientific literature and grassroots reports.

It states that the Special Report on Global Warming of 1.5C by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change confirmed the convictions of partners and members of groups in the Global South that every tenth of a degree Celsius temperature rise profoundly affects their lives and livelihoods.

Despite the 2015 Paris Agreement to keep global warming at 1.5C, the world is "off-track," the authors maintain, adding that overshooting the goal would "severely jeopardize" the achievements of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

The publication identifies Small Island Developing States, Least Developing States, South Asia, Southern Africa, the Horn of Africa, the Mediterranean, the Middle East, Central America and Northeast Brazil as climate change "hot spots."

If global temperatures rise above 1.5C, agriculture, water health, coastal communities and cities, marine and tropical marine and (coral) ecosystems are most at risk.

There would be heatwaves, erratic rainfall, storms, floods, droughts and rising sea levels.

"This is not the future we want," the authors write, urging countries to "fulfil their responsibilities and ratchet up their NDCs (Nationally Determined Contributions) now."

LIMITING GLOBAL WARMING

"Limiting Global Warming" recommends deep and fast reductions in Co2 emissions; multilateral cooperation; shifting investments to "green" or sustainable ones; addressing equity justice and climate justice to overcome the root causes of vulnerability; sustainable consumption; low population growth; and low energy and food demands.
Appeal to trace women from old TT photo

Manx National Heritage are appealing for help in tracing three women featured in an old photograph.

Pictured in elegant outfits and wearing a sash which reads Miss TT 75, these three elegant ladies are dressed very differently to the TT pit girls we see today.

If you recognise any of the three ladies  perhaps theyre youre mum, grandma, relative or friend, then Manx National Heritage would be interested in hearing from you.

Anyone who can help, is asked to contact Matthew Richardson at Manx National Heritage on 648053.
Belgian police used teargas on yellow vest protesters

Belgian police fired water cannon and teargas in central Brussels on Friday to drive back protesters inspired by Frances yellow vest anti-tax movement.

For nearly three hours, crowds of people complaining about fuel prices and a squeeze on living standards had disrupted traffic and walked the streets in an unauthorized demonstration that lacked clear leadership, largely promoted via social media.

Belgian police said about 60 were arrested before the violence, mostly for blocking roads or carrying large fireworks. Several hundred people wearing the fluorescent safety vests drivers must carry in their vehicles eventually converged on the office of Prime Minister Charles Michel.

Protests in Belgium, notably around fuel depots in the French-speaking south, have been inspired by the yellow vest  or gilet jaune  actions in France against increases in fuel duty imposed by President Emmanuel Macrons government as part of efforts to reduce emissions causing global warming.

Michel, resign! people chanted on Friday. Michel, a liberal ally of Macron, voiced sympathy for peoples troubles on Thursday, but added: Money doesnt fall from the sky.





His center-right coalition faces an election in May.
North Korea conducted its last missile test one year ago today, marking a high point in escalations between its supreme leader Kim Jong Un and President Donald Trump. Since then, however, the two men have struck up a sort of friendship in pursuit of a historic, yet fragile detente in Northeast Asia. Newsweek reports in its article NORTH KOREA LAUNCHED ITS LAST MISSILE ONE YEAR AGO, DOES THIS MEAN DONALD TRUMPS POLICY IS WORKING? that on November 28, 2017, North Korea launched its third and farthest-flying intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM).

The HUnlinkwasong-15 was vertically fired more than 2,700 miles away from Earth, or about 11 times farther than the International Space Station, which orbits about 250 miles above the planet. The display of might showed Pyongyang could theoretically be capable of hitting nearly any target in the world, including the entirety of the United States. The Pentagon affirmed its readiness to respond to any attacks at the time, while U.S. ally South Korea conducted exercises of its own and some called for Trumpwho had previously warned of "fire and fury" against North Koreato respond militarily to the missile launch. Nevertheless, the president only warned on Twitter, "It's more important than ever to fund our gov't & military!" and vowed to impose more sanctions on nuclear-armed North Korea.

In January 2017, a rhetorical escalation between Trump and Kim took place, only for the situation to shift gradually toward real hopes of an elusive concept for the decades-long inter-Korean conflictlasting peace. Though Trump's apparent embrace of the North Korean ruler has garnered him some criticism at home, the guns of last November have remained silent ever since.

Ironically, the same New Year's address in which Kim prompted Trump's notorious nuclear "red button" comparison paved the way for the ongoing inter-Korean dialogue. South Korean President Moon Jae-in accepted Kim's offer to hold high-level talks, which eventually evolved from co-participating in the Pyeongchang 2018 Winter Olympic Games in February to a South Korean security delegation the following month. When this delegation returned, it conveyed to Trump an offer from Kim to hold what would be the first meeting between the leaders of the two countries and Trump accepted.

Weeks later, Kim made his debut foreign trip, choosing longtime North Korean ally China as his destination. In April, Kim announced he was officially suspending nuclear tests and long-range missile launches ahead of the third-ever inter-Korean summit days later, marking the first time Moon and Kim met. This was followed by another inter-Korean summit in May.

In the lead-up to the first U.S.-North Korea summit in June, Pyongyang also released the three U.S. prisoners in its captivity, demolished its nuclear test site and razed a missile test stand at one of its main testing facilities. Trump and Kim then sat down in Singapore, where the latter vowed to denuclearize in exchange for a lifting of sanctions and peacetwo things the U.S. had refused to grant unless North Korea's nuclear weapons were fully disabled.

Since then, Trump has suspended "provocative" war games with South Korea and North Korea has handed over the remains of U.S. troops killed fighting alongside South Korea against North Korea and China in the 1950s Korean War, but not much has progressed in the way of U.S.-North Korea talks. Though the Trump administration has so far affirmed Kim's commitment to the dialogue and the president himself described how he "fell in love" with Kim, the diplomatic momentum has stalled, at least publically.

Some observers have indicated that North Korea may be biding its time to further develop its nuclear capabilities, which it has always argued were solely for self-defense. A secret U.N. inquiry reportedly found in August that North Korea had "not stopped its nuclear and missile programs," and the International Atomic Energy Agency issued a report Thursday noting that the Yongbyon nuclear facility was still functional and has possibly been expanded.

The New York Times portrayal of a Center for Strategic and International Studies report earlier this month on potential secret North Korea nuclear-capable missile sites as proving Kim was deceiving Trump was challenged by a number of leading experts, as well as Trump himself. Critics argued that the sites were well-known to U.S. intelligence and observers and that Kim had made no commitments toward limiting his ballistic missile program.

Despite a slowdown in the U.S.-North Korea process, Pyongyang and Seoul have continued joint efforts to solve their Cold War-era conflict. The two have begun work on an inter-Korean railway, opened a unified liaison office and begun disarming their heavily fortified border. Another inter-Korean summit is reportedly being planned for December, while Vice President Mike Pence said last week that a second meeting between Trump and Kim was also in the works.

As of Wednesday, Secretary of State Mike Pompeowho made his fourth and most recent visit to Pyongyang last monthtold reporters that he did not "have anything to add on the sequence of events in North Korea" but remained "very hopeful we will have senior-level meetings before too long."
CNN fired journalist after supporting Palestinians

CNN fired contributor Marc Lamont Hill after a speech the college professor made on Israel and Palestine at the United Nations.

US CNN on Thursday said it had ended its contract with one of its political commentators after he said a free Palestine from the river to the sea  during a speech at the United Nations.

"THE DREAM OF A FREE PALESTINE"

Marc Lamont Hill, a professor of Media Studies and Urban Education at Temple University who also hosted the syndicated television show, spoke at the United Nations on Wednesday at an event held for the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People. We have an opportunity to not just offer solidarity in words but to commit to political action, grassroots action, local action, and international action that will give us what justice requires and that is a free Palestine from the river to the sea, Lamont Hill said.

Palestine from the river to the sea is a slogan of the Palestine Liberation Organization beginning with its founding in 1964, a Palestinian state between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea. It later became a popular political slogan used by Palestinians who withstand Israels oppression.

Lamont Hill defended his remarks, saying in a tweet that the phrase predates Hamas by some 50 years. It also has a variety of meanings. In my remarks, which you clearly didnt hear, I was talking about full citizenship rights IN Israel and a redrawing of the pre-1967 borders, he retweeted.
Migrants launch hunger strike at Tijuana

A number of migrants launched a hunger strike in Tijuana on the US-Mexican border in an attempt to have their asylum requests expedited.

The group is asking for US authorities to expedite their asylum claims as well as asking Mexico to provide visas and other documents. They also demand an end to deporting caravan members.

Footage shows the migrants as they tried to keep dry from the rain, while Mexican police officers were blocking them from approaching the offices of the National Institute of Migration. Erendina Santiago, a migrant from Honduras, said "I want to tell you that we are going, women are going on a hunger strike," and added that "we are approximately ten women."





Over 5,000 migrants from Central America have been waiting near the US border after traveling over 4,000 km (2,500 miles) as part of the migrant caravan. They say they are seeking asylum in the US to escape poverty and violence back home.
Turkey aims to fight climate change

Turkey is striving to more effectively combat climate change and is aiming to obtain more financing to invest in solutions.

In order to be eligible for financial support to carry out its initiatives, it applied to the UN on Nov. 15 to switch its status from a developed to a developing country, according to information obtained by Anadolu Agency.

Representatives from the country will also attend the 24th session of the UN Climate Change Conference (COP24) between Dec. 2-14 in Katowice, Poland. There, they will negotiate to amend the list of parties included in Annex I to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in a bid to remove Turkey from the list of developed countries.

PARIS AGREEMENT WORK PROGRAMME

The most important item on the conferences agenda is the approval of the Paris Agreement Work Programme, including the implementation rules of the Paris Agreement, which came into force on Nov. 4, 2016, and regulates the fight against climate change post-2020. For Turkey, approval of its demand to remove its name from Annex I to the Convention is the most critical topic apart from the Work Programme.

TURKEY HAS THE POTENTIAL TO REDUCE CARBON EMISSION

The country will participate in the conference with a large delegation consisting of representatives of relevant institutions and organizations and under the presidency of Environment and Urbanization Minister Murat Kurum. It is said that Turkey has the potential to engage in significant greenhouse gas reduction and to assess this potential, the country needs financial and technological support for infrastructure, innovation and research and development investments.

Environment and Urbanization Minister Murat Kurum

Under the climate change regime, only developing countries can access financial support. For that aim, Turkey has been actively attending negotiations.

In 2017, even though Turkey and German Deputy Environment Minister Jochen Flasbarth worked on a draft resolution that will allow access to financial support, a unanimous decision could not be reached due to objections from developing countries.
DARIEN, IL - A new study is the first population-based investigation to report a significant association between artificial, outdoor light exposure at night and insomnia, as indicated by older adults' use of hypnotic drugs.

Results show that increasing nighttime levels of artificial, outdoor light exposure, stratified by quartile, were associated with an increased prevalence of hypnotic prescriptions and daily dose intake. Furthermore, older adults exposed to higher levels of artificial, outdoor light at night were more likely to use hypnotic drugs for longer periods or higher daily dosages.

"This study observed a significant association between the intensity of outdoor, artificial, nighttime lighting and the prevalence of insomnia as indicated by hypnotic agent prescriptions for older adults in South Korea," said Kyoung-bok Min, PhD, an associate professor in the Department of Occupational and Environmental Medicine at Seoul National University College of Medicine in South Korea. "Our results are supportive data that outdoor, artificial, nighttime light could be linked to sleep deprivation among those while inside the house."

The study results are published in the Nov. 15 issue of the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine.

According to the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, insomnia can involve struggling to fall asleep, having trouble maintaining sleep, or waking up too early. A variety of environmental factors, including excessive noise or light and extreme temperatures, will disrupt the sleep of most individuals.

The authors reported that the inappropriate or excessive use of artificial, outdoor light at night, referred to as "light pollution," has emerged as a novel environmental factor linked to human health. Research has shown that artificial nighttime lighting, whether indoor or outdoor, induces disruption of circadian rhythms, potentially leading to metabolic and chronic diseases, including cancer, diabetes, obesity and depression.

The study used data from the 2002-2013 National Health Insurance Service-National Sample Cohort (NHIS-NSC), a population-based cohort in South Korea. The final study sample, after excluding those with a diagnosed sleep disorder, comprised 52,027 adults who were 60 years of age or older. About 60 percent of participants were female.

Light exposure was based on satellite data provided by the National Centers for Environmental Information. The estimated light pollution level in each administrative district was matched with individuals' residential districts to determine an individual exposure level.

Usage data for two hypnotic drugs, zolpidem and triazolam, were extracted from health insurance records. About 22 percent of study participants had prescriptions for hypnotic drugs.

Min added that public health officials seem to be less concerned with light pollution than with other environmental pollutants. However, this study strengthens the potential link between light pollution and adverse health consequences.

"Given the recent scientific evidence including our results, bright outdoor lighting may be a novel risk factor for prescribing hypnotic drugs," Min said.

The authors noted that more studies and public policy initiatives are needed to define and minimize the adverse effects of light pollution on human health.

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The study was supported by the Education and Research Encouragement Fund of Seoul National University Hospital and by National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) grants funded by the South Korean government (Ministry of Science and ICT).

To request a copy of the study, "Outdoor Artificial Nighttime Light and Use of Hypnotic Medications in Older Adults: A Population-Based Cohort Study," or to arrange an interview with the study author or an AASM spokesperson, please contact Communications Coordinator Corinne Lederhouse at 630-737-9700, ext. 9366, or clederhouse@aasm.org.

The monthly, peer-reviewed Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine is the official publication of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, a professional membership society that improves sleep health and promotes high quality, patient-centered care through advocacy, education, strategic research, and practice standards (aasm.org). The AASM encourages patients to talk to their doctor about sleep problems and visit SleepEducation.org for more information about sleep, including a searchable directory of AASM-accredited sleep centers.
The light from the explosion's first hours revealed that the genesis of these phenomena is even more mysterious than previously thought

Washington, DC--A supernova discovered by an international group of astronomers including Carnegie's Tom Holoien and Maria Drout, and led by University of Hawaii's Ben Shappee, provides an unprecedented look at the first moments of a violent stellar explosion. The light from the explosion's first hours showed an unexpected pattern, which Carnegie's Anthony Piro analyzed to reveal that the genesis of these phenomena is even more mysterious than previously thought.

Their findings are published in a trio of papers in The Astrophysical Journal and The Astrophysical Journal Letters.

Type Ia supernovae are fundamental to our understanding of the cosmos. Their nuclear furnaces are crucial for generating many of the elements around us, and they are used as cosmic rulers to measure distances across the universe. Despite their importance, the actual mechanism that triggers a Type Ia supernova explosion has remained elusive for decades.

That's why catching them in the act is crucial.

Astronomers have long tried to get detailed data at the initial moments of these explosions, with the hope of figuring out how these phenomena are triggered. This finally happened in February of this year with the discovery of a Type Ia supernova called ASASSN-18bt (also known as SN 2018oh).

ASASSN-18bt was discovered by the All-Sky Automated Survey for Supernovae (ASAS-SN), an international network of telescopes headquartered at the Ohio State University that routinely scans the sky for supernovae and other cosmic explosions. NASA's Kepler space telescope was simultaneously able to take complementary data of this event. Kepler was designed to be incredibly sensitive to small changes in light for its mission of detecting extrasolar planets, so it was able to obtain especially detailed information about the explosion's genesis.

"ASASSN-18bt is the nearest and brightest supernova yet observed by Kepler, so it offered an excellent opportunity to test the predominant theories of supernova formation," said Shappee, who is lead author on the on the discovery and early time light curve paperand one of our Carnegie alumni.

Combining data from ASAS-SN, Kepler, and telescopes around the world, the astronomers realized that ASASSN-18bt looked unusual during its first couple of days.

"Many supernovae show a gradual increase in the light they put out," said Drout, who is jointly appointed at the University of Toronto. "But for this event, you could clearly see there's something unusual and exciting happening in the early times--an unexpected additional emission."

Type Ia supernovae originate from the thermonuclear explosion of a white dwarf star--the dead core left over by a Sun-like star after it exhausts its nuclear fuel. Material must be added to the white dwarf from a companion star to trigger the explosion, but the nature of the companion star and how the fuel is transferred has long been debated.

One possibility is that this additional light seen during the supernova's early times could be from the exploding white dwarf colliding with the companion star. Although this was the initial hypothesis, detailed comparisons with Piro's theoretical modeling work demonstrated that this additional light may have a different, unexplained origin.

"While the steep increase in ASASSN-18bt's early brightness could indicate that the explosion collides with another star, our follow-up data don't fit predictions for how this should look," Holoien said. "Other possibilities, such as an unusual distribution of radioactive material in the exploded star, are a better explanation for what we saw. More observations of ASASSN-18bt and more early discoveries like this one will hopefully help us differentiate between different models and better understand the origins of these explosions."

"Nature is always finding new ways to surprise us, and unique observations like this are great for motivating creative new approaches to how we think about these explosions, "added Piro. "As a theorist at the Carnegie Observatories, it's so helpful and inspiring to be right near the observers who are making these key measurements."

This supports a hypothesis put forward in recent work from the Carnegie Supernova Project, led by Maximilian Stritzinger ofAarhus University and co-led by Shappee and Piro, that there may be two distinct populations of Type Ia supernovae--those that show early emission and those that do not.

Thanks to ASAS-SN and the next generation of surveys that are now monitoring the sky every night, astronomers will find even more new supernovae and catch them at the moment of explosion. As more of these events are found and studied, they will hopefully home in on the solution to the longstanding mystery of how these stellar explosions originate.

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The researchers were supported by a NASA Hubble Fellowship, the Villum Foundation, the U.S. National Science Foundation, the NSFC, the Research Corporation, NASA, the David G. Price Fellowship for Astronomical Instrumentation, the Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for All Sky Astrophysics in 3 Dimensions, a sabbatical grant from Aarhus University's Faculty of Science & Technology, the Gordon & Betty Moore Fation, the Heising-Simons Foundation, the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, and the David and Lucile Packard Foundation.

This work was made possible by the use of the AAVSO Photometric All-Sky Survey, funded by the Robert Martin Ayers Sciences Fund. ASAS-SN is supported by the Bordon and Betty Moore Foundation and the NSF. This research made use of the NASA/IPAC Extragalactic Database, which is operated by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Caltech, under contract with NASA. This research has made use of NASA's Astrophysics Data System Bibliographic Services. IRAF is distributed by the National Optical Astronomy Observatory, which is operated by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy under a cooperative agreement with the NSF. Pan-STARRS (PS1) is supported in part by NASA. The Dark Energy Camera (DECam), which was constructed by the Dark Energy Survey (DES) collaboration. Funding for the DES Projects has been provided by DOE, NSF, MISE, STFC, HEFCE, NCSA, KICP, CCAPP, MIFPA, CNPQ, FAPERJ, FINEP, MINECO, DFG, and the collaborating institutions in the Dark Energy Survey,. Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory, National Optical Astronomy Observatory is operated by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy (AURA) under a cooperative agreement with the National Science Foundation.

The Carnegie Institution for Science (carnegiescience.edu) is a private, nonprofit organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with six research departments throughout the U.S. Since its founding in 1902, the Carnegie Institution has been a pioneering force in basic scientific research. Carnegie scientists are leaders in plant biology, developmental biology, astronomy, materials science, global ecology, and Earth and planetary science.
A 'rule book' to guide precision combination immunotherapies and to speed up the development of new lung cancer treatments will be created as part of a collaboration between Cancer Research UK, the Francis Crick Institute and Bristol-Myers Squibb, announced today (Friday).

The new 2.4 million research project called RUBICON - a rule book and immune atlas for combination therapy - will map out the immunology of lung cancer in detail.

The study will be led by Cancer Research UK's chief clinician and Francis Crick Institute group leader, Professor Charles Swanton. He said: "Biological therapies, including immunotherapies are set to transform the way we treat patients and the RUBICON study will bring us a step closer to this vision.

"When we see patients with hard-to-treat cancers like lung, we struggle to keep up with the speed at which tumours evolve, become aggressive and resistant to treatment. Our research so far has uncovered many of cancer's evolutionary secrets, opening opportunities for us to develop new and targeted biological therapies, and understand how they can be combined to maximum effect.

"By learning more about immune suppressive cell types - the molecules they express and how stable they are during disease evolution - we hope researchers can start to develop molecularly targeted immunotherapy combination strategies."

The innovative project builds on Cancer Research UK's strategic investment in lung cancer, enhancing our understanding of cancer evolution through tumour samples and data prospectively gathered and analysed as part of the TRACERx* and PEACE** studies, led by Professor Swanton and his team at the Cancer Research UK-Lung Cancer Centre of Excellence at UCL.

Multidisciplinary researchers at the Francis Crick Institute will use state of the art technologies, including deep learning and artificial intelligence tools, to analyse tumour samples and data from TRACERx and PEACE. This will allow them to map an atlas of immune cell activity across distinct tumour regions, and to understand how the incredibly complex tumour immune microenvironment evolves and develops over time.

Veronique Birault, head of translation at the Francis Crick Institute, said: "This project is a fantastic example of the industry and charity sectors working together to support world-class discovery science for the benefit of patients. The project wouldn't be possible without Cancer Research UK's significant investment in research, amplified by the complementary expertise of three different cancer labs collaborating at the Crick. This new funding will allow our scientists to map out the immune landscape around lung tumours to develop better combination therapies for patients."

Dr Iain Foulkes, Cancer Research UK's executive director of research and innovation, said: "We're pleased to bring together these partners of industry and academia to advance this ambitious study. As we delve ever deeper into the tumour microenvironment, we can equip ourselves with the necessary knowledge to take the next steps toward truly personalised cancer treatments.

"Lung cancer is a disease for which there has been very little improvement in patient survival over the last 40 years. We look forward to seeing how new treatment combinations that arise from this study could make a real difference for these patients."

Bristol-Myers Squibb will provide 2.4 million in funding for the RUBICON project.

"Bristol-Myers Squibb is proud to be part of this innovative research initiative. We look for first-class science everywhere and we know that continued progress in cancer can only happen through strong collaboration with scientists, academic researchers, clinicians and patients who participated in clinical trials," said Tom Lynch, M.D., Executive Vice President and Chief Scientific Officer, Bristol-Myers Squibb.

"The UK has a strong heritage in cutting edge research and, through this RUBICON project, we believe further progress will be made for lung cancer patients across the world."

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For media enquiries contact Kathryn Ingham in the Cancer Research UK press office on 020 3469 5475 or, out of hours, on 07050 264 059.

Notes to editors

* TRACERx (Tracking Cancer Evolution through therapy (Rx)) is the single biggest investment in lung cancer research by Cancer Research UK. Taking place over nine years, the translational research programme is the first study to look at the evolution of cancer in real time and immense detail. Researchers follow patients with lung cancer all the way from diagnosis through to either disease relapse or cure after surgery, tracking and analysing how their cancer develops. TRACERx is led by UCL (University College London) via the Cancer Research UK Lung Cancer Centre of Excellence and also supported by the National Institute for Health Research, University College London Hospitals Biomedical Research Centre, Francis Crick Institute and the Rosetrees Trust. https://www.cancerresearchuk.org/funding-for-researchers/applying-for-funding/how-to-make-a-successful-application/successful-applicant-case-studies/case-studies-of-major-research-programmes/tracking-cancer-evolution-the-tracerx-lung-study

** The Cancer Research UK funded PEACE (Posthumous Evaluation of Advanced Cancer Environment) study, led by UCL via the Cancer Research UK Lung Cancer Centre of Excellence, is the UK's first ever national study collecting blood and tissue samples from patients who have died from cancer, to enable research to shed light on what happens during the final stages of the disease.

https://www.cancerresearchuk.org/about-cancer/find-a-clinical-trial/a-study-looking-at-blood-and-tissue-samples-to-learn-more-about-advanced-cancer-peace

About Cancer Research UK's Commercial Partnerships Team

Cancer Research UK is the world's leading cancer charity dedicated to saving lives through research. Our specialist Commercial Partnerships Team works closely with leading international cancer scientists and their institutes to protect intellectual property arising from their research and to establish links with commercial partners. The team develop promising ideas into successful cancer therapeutics, software, devices, diagnostics and enabling technologies. This helps to accelerate progress in exciting new discoveries in cancer research and bring new treatments to patients sooner.

Visit http://commercial.cancerresearchuk.org/

Cancer Research UK's commercial activity operates through Cancer Research Technology Ltd. (CRT), a wholly owned subsidiary of Cancer Research UK. It is the legal entity which pursues drug discovery research in themed alliance partnerships and delivers varied commercial partnering arrangements.

About Cancer Research UK

* Cancer Research UK is the world's leading cancer charity dedicated to saving lives through research.

* Cancer Research UK's pioneering work into the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of cancer has helped save millions of lives.

* Cancer Research UK receives no government funding for its life-saving research. Every step it makes towards beating cancer relies on vital donations from the public.

* Cancer Research UK has been at the heart of the progress that has already seen survival in the UK double in the last forty years.

* Today, 2 in 4 people survive their cancer for at least 10 years. Cancer Research UK's ambition is to accelerate progress so that by 2034, 3 in 4 people will survive their cancer for at least 10 years.

* Cancer Research UK supports research into all aspects of cancer through the work of over 4,000 scientists, doctors and nurses.

* Together with its partners and supporters, Cancer Research UK's vision is to bring forward the day when all cancers are cured.

* Cancer Research UK has extensive expertise in drug discovery and development as established through the charity's Therapeutic Discovery Laboratories and Centre for Drug Development. The organisation also has access to large scale clinical trial capabilities through the Experimental Cancer Medicine Centre (ECMC) network.

For further information about Cancer Research UK's work or to find out how to support the charity, please call 0300 123 1022 or visit http://www.cancerresearchuk.org. Follow us on Twitter and Facebook.

About the Francis Crick Institute

The Francis Crick Institute is dedicated to understanding the fundamental biology underlying health and disease. The Institute's work is helping to understand why disease develops and to translate discoveries into new ways to prevent, diagnose and treat illnesses such as cancer, heart disease, stroke, infections and neurodegenerative diseases. An independent organisation, the Crick's founding partners are the Medical Research Council (MRC), Cancer Research UK, Wellcome, UCL, Imperial College London and King's College London.

The Crick was formed in 2015, and in 2016 we moved into a brand new state-of-the-art building in central London which brings together 1500 scientists and support staff working collaboratively across disciplines, making it the biggest biomedical research facility under a single roof in Europe. https://www.crick.ac.uk/

About Bristol-Myers Squibb

Bristol-Myers Squibb is a global biopharmaceutical company whose mission is to discover, develop and deliver innovative medicines that help patients prevail over serious diseases. For more information about Bristol-Myers Squibb, visit us at BMS.com or follow us on LinkedIn, Twitter, YouTube and Facebook.
Because of the ubiquitous nature of its questions and the stunning insights into the nature of the Universe, astronomy has often been thought of as appealing and the natural science with the most far-reaching popularisation efforts. A recently published study of the outreach activities of IAU members, Bustling public communication by astronomers around the world driven by personal and contextual factors [1], has shown that professional astronomers may be engaging with the public more than scientists in any other field.

The study, which was conducted by surveying a record-breaking 2587 professional astronomers [2] of the IAU in early 2016, found that as many as 87% participated in scientific outreach activities, both by taking part in events and engaging with representatives of the media. Those astronomers who participated in outreach activities reported an average of 18 activities in the preceding year.

The leader of the study, Marta Entradas (London School of Economics and Political Science & ISCTE-IUL) explains: "What surprised me most about this study was the high activity found among astronomers working in less developed regions, which in some cases may exceed the activity of those working in Europe or in the US."

The vast majority of astronomers [3] prefer to interact with the public in traditional ways, through lectures and school talks, and fewer than 20% use social media and digital platforms for outreach activities. Most engagements with news reporters are conducted by senior astronomers, while junior scientists prefer face-to-face interactions, and they are motivated?--?above all else?--?intrinsically. "We have a passion for our science and we feel it is our duty to share it widely," explains Teresa Lago, the IAU General Secretary. "We feel privileged to work in astronomy and want to share the excitement as our knowledge of the Universe unfolds."

Despite Europe and North America having larger communities and older traditions of astronomical research and public engagement, as well as the easier access to funding, the most active publicly communicating astronomers come from South America and Africa, the homes of many outstanding telescopes [4]. Their efforts have been thoughtfully supported by the IAU Office for Astronomy Development, which awards funding to socially aware projects for the public communication of astronomy.

The outreach activities in which IAU astronomers participate tend to be self-organised. Despite 86% of astronomers being in contact with communication experts at their institutions, only 43% of those decide to use the available outreach structures, the rest preferring instead to organise their own activities.

Marta Entradas concludes: "Even though a large number of IAU astronomers do not receive (or look for) any outreach training or funding, their impact on the popularisation of astronomy is immense and does not depend on external factors such as their gender, potential rewards or fear of peer criticism?--?all that matters is intrinsic: their love of astronomy. I believe that other sciences can learn something from this community." [5]

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Notes

[1] The study was carried out by Marta Entradas (London School of Economics and Political Science & ISCTE - University Institute of Lisbon) and Martin W. Bauer (LSE) and was published on 26 November 2018 in the online journal Nature Astronomy. A summary of the study has been published as a news article in the journal Nature, under the title Astronomers have an outsize passion for outreach (https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-018-07519-2 ).

[2] The authors contacted 9162 active IAU members and repeatedly stressed the importance of participation for those astronomers who do not participate in any outreach activities. The survey data was provided by 30% of the prompted astronomers.

[3] On average, astronomy communicators had held four public lectures and two talks at schools in the preceding year. All other outreach activities were less popular.

[4] South America, among others, boasts the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA), the Very Large Telescope (VLT), Cerro Tololo, Las Campanas Observatory, La Silla Observatory and Gemini South, while Africa is host to telescopes such as MeerKAT, the Square Kilometre Array (SKA), the High Energy Stereoscopic System (HESS), and the Southern African Large Telescope (SALT).

[5] Of the 2,587 surveyed astronomers, 68% reported not having received any outreach training and 71% reported not being awarded funding for outreach activities.

More information

The IAU is the international astronomical organisation that brings together more than 13 500 professional astronomers from more than 100 countries worldwide. Its mission is to promote and safeguard astronomy in all its aspects, including research, communication, education and development, through international cooperation. The IAU also serves as the internationally recognised authority for assigning designations to celestial bodies and the surface features on them. Founded in 1919, the IAU is the world's largest professional body for astronomers.

Links

Research paper - https://www.nature.com/articles/s41550-018-0633-7

News article on Nature about the study - https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-018-07519-2

News article on LSE News - http://www.lse.ac.uk/News/Research-Highlights/Society-media-and-science/Star-performers

Contacts

Marta Entradas

London School of Economics and Political Science & ISCTE - University Institute of Lisbon

Cell: +44 78 023 69977

Email: m.entradas@lse.ac.uk

Lars Lindberg Christensen

IAU Press Officer

Garching bei Munchen, Germany

Tel: +49 89 320 06 761

Cell: +49 173 38 72 621

Email: lars@eso.org
BAR HARBOR, MAINE -- Vicki P. Losick, Ph.D., has been named the inaugural recipient of an award from the William Procter Scientific Innovation Fund. The award will support her research at the MDI Biological Laboratory on age-related macular degeneration (AMD), a leading cause of vision loss in older people.

The Procter Fund was established at the MDI Biological Laboratory earlier this year by a member of William Procter's family in honor of his achievements in science and business. Procter was the grandson of William Procter, the founder of Procter & Gamble (P&G), and an active member of the P&G board until his death in 1951.

In recognition of Procter's interest in translating science into applications to improve human health and quality of life, the fund provides up to $50,000 annually to support high risk/high impact research, basic research with potential for commercialization and education programs focused on translating discoveries into commercial applications.

Losick's "high risk/high reward" project, which was selected by an external review committee, will establish a fruit fly model that mimics the cellular dysfunction associated with human retinal diseases, including AMD. She will use the model to study the genetics underlying the disease, and potentially to test for interventions to prevent or reverse it.

The development of treatments for AMD has been challenged by the fact that the underlying cellular dysfunction takes years to manifest in mouse models and decades in humans. Since such cellular dysfunction takes only weeks to arise in the short-lived fruit fly, it could serve as an inexpensive and efficient platform for the study of the disease.

"With the aging of the population, age-related macular degeneration is increasingly being viewed as an impending epidemic," Losick said. "I am deeply grateful to the Procter Fund for supporting research that could lead to the identification of the genetic and cellular causes underlying retinal dysfunction."

The award to a scientist who studies the fruit fly is especially fitting given the fact that Procter was a graduate student in zoology at Columbia University, where he was inspired by Thomas Hunt Morgan, the Nobel-prizewinning scientist who founded modern genetics and established the fruit fly as a model for the study of human disease.

Procter went on to become a prominent entomologist and the author of a "Biological Survey of the Mount Desert Region," an exhaustive, seven-part survey of the insect and marine fauna of Mount Desert Island that was launched in the 1920s at the MDI Biological Laboratory, where he served as a trustee and as president.

Losick's research on AMD is an outgrowth of her earlier work on wound healing in which she found that extra-large cells called polypoid cells maintain the size and function of injured tissue. In 2017, she was recognized as an "outstanding investigator" by the National Institutes of Health(NIH) for this research.

In the eye, however, the presence of these extra-large cells in the retinal epithelium sets the stage for AMD. Losick's goal is to identify the role played by polyploidy in AMD and, in collaboration with Patsy Nishina, Ph.D., an expert on retinal diseases at The Jackson Laboratory, identify genetic or pharmacological strategies to treat it.

The fruit fly is a novel model for AMD because the generation of polyploid cells in its abdominal epithelium mimics that of these cells in the human retinal epithelium. Since the fruit fly shares many of its genes with humans, an increased understanding of the genes governing polyploidy could open the door to new therapies for AMD.

Losick, who joined the MDI Biological Laboratory in 2016, has established herself as a leader in research on the role of polyploidy in wound healing and aging. In October 2018, she led a first-of-its kind conference at the MDI Biological Laboratory on "Polyploidy in Organ Development, Repair and Disease."

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About the MDI Biological Laboratory

We are pioneering new approaches to regenerative medicine focused on developing drugs that slow age-related degenerative diseases and activate our natural ability to heal. Our unique approach has identified potential therapies that could revolutionize the treatment of heart disease, muscular dystrophy and more. Through the Maine Center for Biomedical Innovation we are preparing students for 21st century careers and equipping entrepreneurs with the knowledge, skills and resources needed to turn discoveries into applications that improve human health and well-being. For more information, please visit mdibl.org.
A new study outlines the key parameters affecting the production of gas from shale reservoirs, by simulating what is happening at the microscopic scale

Extracting gas from new sources is vital in order to supplement dwindling conventional supplies. Shale reservoirs host gas trapped in the pores of mudstone, which consists of a mixture of silt mineral particles ranging from 4 to 60 microns in size, and clay elements smaller than 4 microns. Surprisingly, the oil and gas industry still lacks a firm understanding of how the pore space and geological factors affect gas storage and its ability to flow in the shale. In a study published in EPJ E, Natalia Kovalchuk and Constantinos Hadjistassou from the University of Nicosia, Cyprus, review the current state of knowledge regarding flow processes occurring at scales ranging from the nano- to the microscopic during shale gas extraction. This knowledge can help to improve gas recovery and lower shale gas production costs.

Extracting gas from shale has become a popular method in North America and has attracted growing interest in South America and Asia, despite some public opposition. Unlike conventional reservoirs, the pore structures of shale gas reservoirs range from the nanometric to microscopic scale; most natural gas reservoirs display microscopic or larger scale pores.

In this paper, the authors outline the latest insights into how the pore distribution and geometry of the shale matrix affect the mechanics of the gas transport process during extraction. In turn, they present a model based on a microscopic image obtained via scanning electron microscopy to determine how gas pressure and gas speed vary throughout the shale. The model is in agreement with experimental evidence.

The authors reveal that the orientation, density and magnitude of rock bottlenecks can affect the volume and flow in gas production, due to their impact on the distribution of pressure throughout the reservoir. The findings of their numerical simulation match available theoretical evidence.

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Reference:

N. Kovalchuk and C. Hadjistassou (2018), New Insights from Shale Gas Production at the Microscopic Scale, Eur. Phys. J. E, 2018, 41:134. DOI: 10.1140/epje/i2018-11741-5
Russian and Chinese officials said Thursday they want to promote growing energy cooperation in response to political risks. Russia-China energy cooperation has grown in recent years. Initially based on Russia's extensive energy resources and proximity to the growing Chinese market, US sanctions against Russia and now the trade war between China and the US are stimulating this cooperation further.

S&P Global Platts reports in its article Russia, China seek greater energy cooperation to offset political risks that China's first deputy prime minister Han Zheng said on the sidelines of the first Russia-China energy business forum that amid the politics of unilateral action and trade protectionism, strengthening Russia-China energy cooperation is extremely important for jointly securing energy security and shaping an open world economy.

Rosneft CEO Igor Sechin echoed this sentiment. "The nature of the developing political situation, the strengthening of protectionism and the threat of trade wars in the global economy are additional incentives to work more closely together and take decisions more quickly," he said.

Chinese President Xi Jiping and his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, sent letters to the forum supporting greater energy cooperation between Russia and China, Rosneft said.

Rosneft struck three deals Thursday to this end. It signed a new, one-year crude supply agreement with ChemChina that envisages shipments of 2.4 million mt of ESPO crude via the port of Kozmino. This would be equivalent to around 48,197 b/d.

"The contract will allow us to increase direct crude supplies to China, which is a strategic market for the company, and ensures a guaranteed cost-effective export channel for the sale of oil," the company said in a statement.

Separately Rosneft agreed to set up a joint venture to develop compressed natural gas filling stations in Russia with Beijing Gas. Beijing Gas will hold a 45% stake in the JV, which plans to build around 170 CNG stations in Russia and consider using LNG as a motor fuel.

It also signed a cooperation agreement with Hengli Group. The companies are considering cooperation on upstream, refining and petrochemicals projects in Russia and China, as well as oil and petrochemicals trading.

Russia and China have significantly increased energy cooperation in recent years, signing new oil and gas supply contracts and agreeing to cooperate on upstream projects in Russia.

Sechin underlined Rosneft's key role in this rising cooperation. "Last year, Rosneft supplied about 40 million mt of oil, thereby providing about 6.5% of China's total demand. The company is aware of its leading role and responsibility in ensuring China's energy security," Sechin said.

He added that over the next 20-25 years, China's demand for oil and gas will grow by 125 million-250 million mt of oil and 350-550Bcm of gas. "These needs can largely be met by increasing supplies from Russia. For this we have to create conditions to attract investment in production and transportation of energy," he said.

Sechin listed the East Siberia-Pacific Ocean oil pipeline, Power of Siberia gas pipeline and Yamal LNG as key areas of development. He sees oil and gas projects offshore in the Arctic and the Russian Far East, as well as further development of shipping via the Northern Sea Route as potential growth areas for cooperation.

Sechin said investment in existing and developing energy projects in the East of Russia with target sales markets in China is around $100 billion.

"We see synergies from these interactions, Chinese banking services are more in demand, there is the opportunity to build vertically integrated networks and we have opportunities to work together in other countries," Sechin said.

Russia is also looking to expand cooperation on petrochemicals, power and coal projects with China.

Leading Russian energy companies including Transneft, Gazprom, Tatneft and Russneft as well as Russian natural resources minister Dmitry Kobylkin took part in the event, with CNPC, China Gas and Beijing Gas joining officials on the Chinese side.
The 2018 annual meeting of the American Society of Hematology will include research from St. Jude Children's Research Hospital that stretches from the laboratory to the clinic

The 60th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Hematology will feature research from St. Jude Children's Research Hospital on topics ranging from the genomic basis and vulnerabilities of leukemia to an update on gene therapy for hemophilia B to advances in sickle cell disease and beta-thalassemia.

St. Jude research will be highlighted at the Sunday plenary session and throughout the four-day meeting that begins Saturday in San Diego. St. Jude faculty and staff will also chair sessions, give talks, provide updates on clinical advances, participate in panels and moderate sessions on scientific and clinical topics throughout the meeting and in the Friday scientific workshops. The subjects include inherited predisposition to hematopoietic malignancies, how to establish a hematopoietic predisposition clinic and myeloid development.

At the plenary session, St. Jude researchers will lift the veil on the biology of acute erythroid leukemia (AEL) to reveal the genomic basis and therapeutic vulnerabilities of this high-risk leukemia. The findings will be presented by Ilaria Iacobucci, Ph.D., a scientist in the laboratory of Charles Mullighan, MBBS, M.D., a member of the St. Jude Department of Pathology. The plenary session begins at 2 p.m. PT in San Diego Convention Center Hall AB.

"This project marks a paradigm shift in our understanding and possible treatment of acute erythroid leukemia," Mullighan said. AEL is a rare subtype of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) that affects children and adults. AEL has a poor prognosis. Until this study, the genetic basis was poorly understood.

Researchers previously used integrated genomic analysis to compare 159 patients with AEL to 1,509 patients with AML or related red-blood disorders. Scientists identified five age-related subtypes of AEL, each with distinct genomic features and survival rates.

Using CRISPR/Cas9 genome editing, researchers developed mouse models of the AEL subtypes. This was done by simultaneously inactivating different combinations of nine genes in mouse blood stem and progenitor cells. The genes were frequently mutated in the AEL subtypes. The method helped to capture the genomic complexity of AEL and identify mutations driving the leukemia. For example, inactivating the genes Tp53, Bcor and Dnmt3a or Tp53, Bcor, Rb1 and Nfix promoted development of AEL. Inactivating a different constellation of genes--Tp53, Bcor, Tet2--promoted development of B-ALL.

The mouse models were then used to screen the subtypes for sensitivity to almost 200 chemotherapy agents and other compounds, including precision medicines that target specific pathways.

"We found that leukemic cells driven by different mutations have different sensitivities and vulnerabilities to drugs," Iacobucci said. For example, AEL subtypes with NUP98-fusions were highly sensitive to various classes of BET inhibitors and were resistant to common chemotherapeutic drugs. Tp53 wild-type tumors without gene fusions were highly sensitive to a variety of standard chemotherapy agents. In contrast, leukemia subtypes with Tp53 mutations resisted certain chemotherapy drugs, but were sensitive to compounds called PARP inhibitors.

Mullighan said: "These results make a strong case for using genomics to classify patients and then use the information to help guide therapies, since leukemic cells with different genotypes do not respond to treatment the same way."

Other St. Jude oral presentations:

Sunday

San Diego Convention Center, Room 25B

Abstract: 385

Noon PT

Leukemia risk gene revealed as an important regulator of B-cell development

Certain genetic variation in the gene ARID5B is linked to as much as a two-fold increased risk of childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), but until now the biology behind this association and the function of the ARID5B protein have been poorly understood. Charnise Goodings-Harris, Ph.D., a St. Jude postdoctoral fellow in the laboratory of Jun J. Yang, Ph.D., an associate member of the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, will present evidence Sunday that ARID5B is an important regulator of B-cell development. "These results fill a knowledge gap regarding the roles this protein plays during blood cell development," Yang said. "That can then help us understand how variations in the gene influence risk of pediatric ALL."

For this study, researchers developed a mouse that overexpressed Arid5b and tracked how that affected development of B cells and other blood components. B-ALL is the most common childhood cancer.

Previous work by Yang and others identified inherited variations in ARID5B that were associated with elevated susceptibility to ALL in childhood and to a poor prognosis. Compared to children of European ancestry, children of Hispanic ethnicity had more of the high-risk variations and had an increased risk of developing the disease.

San Diego Convention Center, Room 25B

Abstract: 410

4:45 p.m. PT

Researchers home in on the mechanism to turn back the clock on hemoglobin production Sunday, St. Jude researchers will offer new details of the mechanism by which red blood cells switch from producing fetal hemoglobin to adult hemoglobin. That change leaves individuals with the inherited blood disorders sickle cell disease and beta-thalassemia at risk for debilitating, sometimes life-threatening complications. Increasing fetal hemoglobin levels is proven to ease symptoms in affected individuals.

For this study, researchers identified the protein UHRF1 in a gene editing-based screen designed to find proteins that facilitate the fetal-to-adult hemoglobin switch.

"UHRF1 is the guardian of methylation throughout the genome," said senior author Mitchell Weiss, M.D., Ph.D., chair of the St. Jude Department of Hematology. Methylation, the process for adding or removing methyl groups from DNA, regulates gene expression.

"In this study, we detail efforts to pinpoint where methylation is most important for turning off fetal hemoglobin with the goal of reactivating it in individuals with sickle cell disease or beta-thalassemia to alleviate their symptoms. This study contributes to that effort," Weiss said.

Ruopeng Feng, Ph.D., a postdoctoral fellow in the Weiss laboratory, will present the results.

San Diego Convention Center, Room 25B

Abstract: 411

5 p.m. PT

Immunosuppression agent may offer new treatment of beta-thalassemia

An immunosuppressive drug best known for protecting organ transplants from rejection may also help to ease symptoms of beta-thalassemia, a common inherited blood disorder. The research will be presented Sunday by Christophe Lechauve, Ph.D., scientist in the laboratory of Mitchell Weiss, M.D., Ph.D., chair of the St. Jude Department of Hematology.

The drug is rapamycin. St. Jude researchers found that rapamycin reduced the effects of beta-thalassemia in mice and in cultured red blood cells of beta-thalassemia patients. Rapamycin combats -thalassemia by activating an enzyme (Ulk1) that reduces the toxic build-up of hemoglobin components.

Hemoglobin is the protein in red blood cells that carries oxygen. Normal hemoglobin has four protein chains--two alpha-globin and two beta-globin. Beta-thalassemia patients have too little beta-globin, which leads to a toxic build-up of ?-globin in red blood cells and the developing cells that give rise to them. Patients develop anemia and other, sometimes life-threatening, symptoms associated with the disorder.

"Rapamycin treatment significantly reduced and in some cases fully corrected the accumulation of ?-globin in the developing blood cells of patients with beta-thalassemia," Weiss said. Researchers hope the findings will lead to a clinical trial of the drug in beta-thalassemia patients.

San Diego Convention Center, Room 6B

Abstract: 491

5:30 p.m. PT

Gene therapy provides long-term relief for men with severe hemophilia

Eight years after the first men with severe hemophilia B received gene therapy developed in Memphis and London, researchers will report the therapy is still working. The therapy was pioneered by researchers at St. Jude, University College London and the Royal Free Hospital.

"This is the first report that gene therapy provides a safe, reliable supply of the blood clotting factor for such an extended period after a single infusion," said co-author Ulrike Reiss, M.D., of the St. Jude Department of Hematology. "The findings address lingering concerns that factor IX levels might decline with time."

Not only were the initial increased levels in clotting factor IX maintained in the 10 men enrolled in the study, but their bleeding episodes decreased 82 percent. Their use of clotting-factor concentrate to prevent or treat spontaneous bleeds dropped 66 percent.

A mutation in the factor IX gene leaves individuals with hemophilia B, who are mostly men, with sometimes dramatically reduced or absent levels of the clotting factor. That leaves patients at risk for painful episodes of spontaneous bleeding that can result in crippling joint damage early in life as well as potentially fatal bleeds in the brain.

For this study researchers modified the adeno-associated virus (AAV8) to serve as the delivery device (vector) to carry the genetic material for making factor IX in liver cells, where it is normally produced.

Researchers also reported that a new vector preparation method failed to prevent an asymptomatic increase in liver enzymes that some patients experienced. Enzyme levels returned to the normal range following steroid treatment. Investigators had tried removing empty viral particles before the gene therapy was infused into patients in case they were triggering an immune response. This finding suggests other factors are involved.

While this study is closed to new patients, St. Jude, University College London and the Royal Free Hospital have opened another gene therapy trial for patients with severe hemophilia B. This clinical trial involves a new vector that researchers believe is even more effective.

Monday

Marriott Marquis San Diego Marina, Pacific Ballroom 24

Abstract: 529

7 a.m. PT

Tumor suppressor protein also plays key role in red blood cell development

St. Jude researchers have identified an intriguing new role for the tumor suppressor protein FBXO11 and a new mechanism important for red blood cell maturation.

FBXO11 is a type of enzyme called ubiquitin ligase, which tags unneeded or unwanted proteins for degradation. Previous studies showed that loss-of-function mutations in the FBOX11 gene arrest the development of normal lymphoid cells and promote their transformation to cancer. In this study, researchers found that FBXO11 is essential for the development of human and mouse red blood cells.

"Evidence suggests that FBXO11 acts early in red blood cell development to degrade a repressor protein called BAHD1, thereby activating the expression of hundreds of genes essential for maturation of red blood cells," said Mitchell Weiss, M.D., Ph.D., chair of the St. Jude Department of Hematology. "The finding may help explain how FBXO11 works in other tissues and prevents cancer."

Peng Xu, Ph.D., a postdoctoral fellow in Weiss' laboratory, will present the research Monday.

San Diego Convention Center, Room 25B

Abstract: 565

7 a.m. PT

RNA sequencing helps uncover mutations that launch most common childhood cancer

Researchers led by St. Jude have identified eight new subtypes of the most common form of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), which is also the most common childhood cancer. The finding means that more than 90 percent of B-ALL cases can now be classified by subtype.

"Prior to this study, 30 percent of B-ALL cases could not be classified into subtypes," said corresponding author Charles Mullighan, MBBS, M.D., of the St. Jude Department of Pathology. "These patients lacked precision medicine approaches to treatment and commonly relapsed."

The research, which identified 23 B-ALL subtypes, involved integrated genomic analysis, including RNA sequencing, of almost 2,000 children and adults with B-ALL. The research highlighted RNA sequencing as a tool to recognize chromosomal rearrangements, gene-expression profiles, novel point mutations and other alterations that are difficult to detect using whole-genome or whole-exome sequencing.

The newly identified subtypes are strongly associated with prognosis in children and adults. The list includes two that involve the PAX5 gene, notably PAX5 P80R, the first point mutation identified that initiates leukemia. Researchers reported that the mutation blocked B cell differentiation and maturation, and in a mouse model created by CRISPR/Cas9 genome editing, resulted in the development of leukemia in mice. The PAX5 subtypes accounted for almost 10 percent of previously uncategorized B-ALL cases.

The study provides a new framework for classifying ALL in children and adults and shows the utility of RNA-sequencing to provide much of the information required for accurate diagnosis of B-ALL.

Zhaohui Gu, PhD, a postdoctoral fellow in Mullighan's laboratory, will present the results Monday. . St. Patient-derived samples of many B-ALL subtypes are available to researchers worldwide through a St. Jude resource called PROPEL (Public Resource of Patient-derived and Expanded Leukemias). The PROPEL data portal provides access to more than 200 human leukemia samples. The cancers were grown in mice and are known as patient-derived xenografts.

San Diego Convention Center, Room 10

Abstract: 550

7:45 a.m. PT

Gene rearrangement drives high-risk leukemia

Charles Mullighan, MBBS, M.D., of the St. Jude Department of Pathology, and his colleagues recently identified a subtype of acute leukemia defined by rearrangements involving the transcription factor gene ZNF384. These tumor cells typically have features of both B lymphocytes and myeloid cells, and may be diagnosed as B-ALL or mixed phenotype acute leukemia (MPAL).

Researchers had shown that the ZNF384 fusion proteins cause leukemia when expressed in mouse bone marrow, and that the fusions are first acquired in primitive human blood stem cells.

This study examined the effects of expressing the fusion in human blood stem cells. Using stem cells isolated from umbilical cord blood, the researchers showed that the TCF3-ZNF384 fusion, but not normal ZNF384, skewed blood cell development to resemble that of human leukemic cells. In addition, the stem cells resulted in development of B/myeloid leukemia in mice.

"This is the first human model of mixed phenotype leukemia, and provides the foundation to probe the mechanism, including associated epigenetic changes, induced by the fusion gene," Mullighan said. Patient-derived samples of the subtype are available to researchers through the PROPEL data portal.

Kirsten Dickerson, a graduate student in the Mullighan laboratory, will present the research Monday.

San Diego Convention Center, Room 29C

Abstract: 723

3:15 p.m. PT

Online resource offers rich source of genomic and clinical data on sickle cell disease

St. Jude researchers have developed a data portal to fuel collaboration and advance understanding of the genomic landscape of sickle cell disease, particularly genetic factors that contribute to disease severity and complications. Lance Palmer, Ph.D., of the St. Jude Department of Computational Biology, will outline the initiative during his presentation Monday.

The Sickle Cell Disease Portal includes whole-genome sequencing data and select clinical information from more than 800 individuals with the chronic inherited blood disorder. It is one of the first such sickle cell disease data sets available to researchers worldwide. The resource is expected to grow as whole- genome sequencing data from more individuals with sickle cell disease are added as well as visualization tools for scientists.

Each year about 300,000 infants are born worldwide with sickle cell disease. It is caused by inherited mutations in the HBB gene that results in stiff, brittle red blood cells with a characteristic sickle shape. Affected individuals are at risk for premature death and a variety of complications, including episodes of acute pain, stroke and progressive organ damage.

"Not every patient gets every complication," said Mitchell Weiss, M.D., Ph.D., chair of the St. Jude Department of Hematology. "Genetics plays a role in who develops which complications, but many of those genetic modifiers are unknown or poorly understood.

"The Sickle Cell Disease Portal is designed to complement existing resources and help address the knowledge gaps by fueling the collaboration that is essential to change the outcomes for patients," he said.

The portal includes whole-genome sequencing data of 503 St. Jude patients, primarily individuals enrolled in the Sickle Cell Clinical Research and Intervention Program (SCCRIP). This long-term St. Jude study follows individuals with sickle cell disease throughout their lives. The goal is to better understand how the disease progresses and assess treatment efficacy.

The site also includes whole-genome sequencing data from 304 sickle cell patients treated at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston.

Overall, more than 98 percent of the Sickle Cell Disease Portal data come from African-American participants. Along with whole-genome sequencing, the site includes such clinical information as hemoglobin and fetal hemoglobin levels as well as some known genetic modifiers of the disease. Identifying patient information has been removed.

The information is available through St. Jude Cloud, a data-sharing resource developed to make it easier for scientists worldwide to access raw sequencing data along with analytic and visualization tools for pediatric cancer and sickle cell disease.

Data-access requests will be handled by a data-access committee. Along with whole-genome sequencing data, access may include coded clinical and demographic information.

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St. Jude media relations staff onsite at ASH

Michael Sheffield

Cell: (901) 379-6072

Michael.Sheffield@stjude.org

media@stjude.org

Katy Hobgood

Cell: (901) 568-9869

Katy.Hobgood@stjude.org

media@stjude.org St. Jude Children's Research Hospital

St. Jude Children's Research Hospital is leading the way the world understands, treats and cures childhood cancer and other life-threatening diseases. It is the only National Cancer Institute-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center devoted solely to children. Treatments developed at St. Jude have helped push the overall childhood cancer survival rate from 20 percent to 80 percent since the hospital opened more than 50 years ago. St. Jude freely shares the breakthroughs it makes, and every child saved at St. Jude means doctors and scientists worldwide can use that knowledge to save thousands more children. Families never receive a bill from St. Jude for treatment, travel, housing and food -- because all a family should worry about is helping their child live. To learn more, visit stjude.org or follow St. Jude on social media at @stjuderesearch.
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - Preclinical experiments by University of Alabama at Birmingham researchers suggest the cancer drugs vorinostat, belinostat and panobinostat might be repurposed to treat infections caused by human papillomaviruses, or HPVs.

HPV infections caused an estimated 266,000 deaths from cervical cancer worldwide in 2012, according to the World Health Organization. Routine screening by Pap smears or HPV DNA tests has reduced death rates in developed countries compared to less developed regions of the globe. Still, an estimated 12,200 United States women are diagnosed with cervical cancer each year.

Highly efficacious vaccines against HPV infection exist -- including the recently approved Gardasil 9, which immunizes against nine genotypes of HPV known to cause cervical, vulvar, vaginal and anal cancers, and genital warts. But the vaccine needs to be given before a person becomes sexually active, since it has no therapeutic efficacy against existing HPV infections.

"Safe, effective and inexpensive therapeutic agents are urgently needed," said N. Sanjib Banerjee, Ph.D., assistant professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics at UAB and lead author of the vorinostat study.

Epithelium of anogenital sites -- the cervix, penis and anus -- or epithelium of the mouth and throat are sites of HPV infection. But HPVs cannot be propagated in conventional cell culture, hampering the investigation into their pathogenic effects. The laboratory of Louise Chow, Ph.D., and Thomas Broker, Ph.D., in the UAB Department Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics has investigated HPV-host interactions for decades. They discovered that the productive program of HPV depends on differentiation of the epithelium into a full-thickness, squamous epithelium. Furthermore, HPV reactivates host DNA replication in these differentiated cells, such that the replication proteins and substrates become available to support viral DNA amplification.

The Chow and Broker lab re-produced a fully differentiated human squamous epithelium by culturing primary human keratinocytes at an air-media interphase for two to three weeks, a growth they call raft culture. In 2009, their lab developed a breakthrough model for a raft culture of HPV-18-infected primary human keratinocytes, allowing a robust amplification of HPV-18 DNA and production of infective viral progeny. This productive raft culture is an ideal model for preclinical investigation of potential anti-HPV agents.

Banerjee and colleagues hypothesized that inhibitors of histone deacetylases, or HDACs, would inhibit HPV DNA amplification because of their known mechanism of disrupting chromosomal DNA replication. Chromosomal replication requires HDAC alterations of histone proteins, the proteins that act like spools that wind DNA to help package and condense chromosomes and the viral genome. Vorinostat inhibits many HDACs, so it might interrupt not only chromosomal replication but also viral DNA replication.

Using the HPV-18 model raft cultures, the researchers found that vorinostat effectively inhibited HPV-18 DNA amplification and virus production. Importantly, vorinostat also induced the programmed cell death called apoptosis in a fraction of the differentiated cells. Cell death could be attributable to DNA breakage when chromosomal DNA replication was interrupted. Similar results were obtained with two additional HDAC inhibitors, belinostat and panobinostat. In contrast, the differentiated cells of uninfected raft cultures, which do not replicate their DNA, were thus largely spared in the presence of the inhibitors.

The UAB team also examined how vorinostat affected levels and functions of viral oncoproteins, and they described the mechanisms that led to programmed cell death in HPV-18-infected cultures. "On the basis of these detailed studies," Banerjee said, "we suggest that HDAC inhibitors are promising compounds for treating benign HPV infections, abrogating progeny production and hence interrupting infectious transmission."

The UAB team also reported that vorinostat caused extensive cell death in raft cultures of dysplastic and cancer cell lines harboring HPV-16. HPV-16 and HPV-18 are the most prevalent, high-risk HPVs responsible for causing anogenital and oropharyngeal cancers. "But further investigation would be required to verify that these agents could also be useful in treating HPV associated dysplasias and cancers," Banerjee said.

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Authors of the paper, "Vorinostat, a pan-HDAC inhibitor, abrogates productive HPV-18 DNA amplification," published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, are Banerjee, Chow, Broker and Dianne W. Moore, UAB Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics.

Support came from National Institutes of Health grant CA83679, UAB Comprehensive Cancer Center/HIV-Associated Malignancy Pilot Grant 316851, UAB Comprehensive Cancer Center Pilot Grant 5P30CA013148-43 and UAB Bridge Funding.

At UAB, Chow holds the Anderson Family Chair in Medical Education, Research and Patient Care in the School of Medicine.
TUCSON, Ariz. - Repairing heart muscle damaged by a heart attack or other cardiovascular diseases is one of the "holy grails" for cardiovascular scientists. The ability to repair heart muscle - especially by using a person's own cells - would be a significant advance that could enhance quality of life for the millions of people who suffer from a heart attack or have a chronic heart condition.

Researchers believe that human-induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSC) are the key to unlocking this regenerative ability. By taking a tiny bit of blood, scientists can generate an individual's patient specific stem cells and then convert them into any cell type in the body -- including cardiomyocytes, the cells that make up the heart muscle. The research, however, is in its infancy and the technique is not yet ready to be deployed for human heart disease regenerative purposes.

Now, researchers at the University of Arizona are one step closer to understanding hiPSC cardiomyocytes and how they may better be utilized to repair heart muscles. In a study published this month in Nature Communications, Jared Churko, PhD, assistant professor of Cellular and Molecular Medicine at the UA College of Medicine - Tucson, used a systems-based approach encompassing single-cell transcriptomics, single-cell proteomics and CRISPR gene-editing to identify different subpopulations of cardiomyocytes.

Definitions:

Transcriptomics is the study of the transcriptome - quantification of the types of RNA produced within the cell.

Proteomics is the study of proteomes, the proteins expressed by a cell, tissue or organism.

CRISPR gene editing is a technology for modifying an organism's DNA code at the single-cell level. This has the potential to correct cells that are known to cause a heart condition.

The research reveals multiple subpopulations of cardiomyocytes expressing specific transcription factors (NR2F2, TBX5 and HEY2) -- with different spatial and biological functions as observed in the heart. Dr. Churko believes this new understanding of cardiomyocytes can be used to better repair heart muscle injuries in the future.

"Understanding the gene signatures of different populations of hiPSC-CMs will impact our understanding of how to use such cells to discover drugs, model heart disease and repair a damaged heart," Dr. Churko explained.

Dr. Churko's research team included scientists from Stanford University and the Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center. Dr. Churko is associated with the Center for Innovation in Brain Science, an assistant professor of physiological sciences and genetics in the Graduate Interdisciplinary Programs, member of the Center for Applied Genetics and Genomic Medicine and the UA BIO5 Institute and director of the UA iPSC Core in the UA Sarver Heart Center.

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The Nature Communications article is titled, "Defining human cardiac transcription factor hierarchies using integrated single-cell heterogeneity analysis." Co-authors include Priyanka Garg, Haodi Lee, Jaecheol Lee, Quinton Wessells, Wen-Yi Chen, and Arun Sharma from Stanford Cardiovascular Institute. Other Stanford co-authors are Barbara Treutlein, Shih-Yu Chen, Gary Mantalas, Norma Neff, Garry Nolan and Eric Jabart. Dr. Churko received funding from Canadian Institute of Health Research (201210MFE-289547), National Institutes of Health (1K99HL128906), and NIH Progenitor Cell Biology Consortium (PCBC_JS_2013/3_03). Joseph Wu, MD, PhD, Stanford University, received funding from NIH R01 HL126527, NIH R01 HL141371, NIH R01 HL130020, NIH R01 HL123968 and NIH HL128170.

Heart Disease Facts

Each year in the United States:

About 610,000 people die of heart disease; that's about 1 in 4 deaths.

About 735,000 people have a heart attack.

Coronary heart disease causes about 370,000 deaths.

About 5.7 million adults have heart failure. Source: U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

The University of Arizona Sarver Heart Center's 150 members include faculty from cardiology, cardiothoracic surgery, pediatric cardiology, neurology, vascular surgery, radiology, endocrinology, emergency medicine, nursing, pharmacy and basic sciences. The UA Sarver Heart Center emphasizes a highly collaborative research environment, fostering innovative translational or "bench-to-bedside" research; dedicated to innovating lifesaving patient care. If you would like to give permission for Sarver Heart Center to contact you about heart research studies, please complete a Cardiology Research Registry Information Form. The academic mission of the Sarver Heart Center encompasses for fellowship programs in cardiovascular disease, interventional cardiology, advanced heart failure and transplant cardiology, and electrophysiology.
Up to 17 per cent of children could have symptoms consistent with fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD) according to new research published today (Friday 30 November) in Preventive Medicine.

The UK has the fourth highest level of prenatal alcohol use in the world, but no estimates existed from a population-based study on how many people may have FASD. FASD is a group of lifelong conditions caused by exposure to alcohol in pregnancy that affect learning and behaviour and can cause physical abnormalities.

FASD is considered to be a relatively hidden disability because most individuals with it do not show physical features. It is thought to be under-diagnosed with only one specialist clinic in England.

Researchers from the University of Bristol and Cardiff University worked with clinicians to assess a wide range of information on mothers' drinking in pregnancy and studied the development of 13,495 children from Bristol's Children of the 90s study.

They applied a screening tool and found that up to 79 per cent of children in the sample were exposed to alcohol in pregnancy and that to up to 17 per cent screened positive for symptoms of FASD. A positive FASD screen was defined as problems with at least three different areas of learning or behaviour, with or without physical anomalies (growth deficiency and distinctive facial features, which include a smooth philtrum, thin upper lip and small eye openings).

Dr Cheryl McQuire, researcher in epidemiology and alcohol-related outcomes at the University of Bristol, led the research and said:

"Our results showed that a significant number of children screened positive for features consistent with FASD. The results are based on a screening tool, which is not the same as a formal diagnosis. Nevertheless, the high rates of prenatal alcohol use and FASD-relevant symptoms that we found in our study suggest that FASD is likely to be a significant public health concern in the UK.

"These results are important because without UK estimates of FASD prevalence, awareness will remain low and children, teenagers and adults will continue to find it difficult to seek diagnosis and to access the support they may need.

"Although information on prenatal alcohol use was collected several years ago and guidance on drinking during pregnancy has since changed, rates of prenatal alcohol exposure in the UK have remained high. Recent estimates suggest that three quarters of women drink some alcohol during pregnancy, with one third at binge levels. This suggests that many individuals in our population today could also have symptoms of FASD.

"The most up-to-date guidance states that the safest approach is not to drink alcohol at all if you are pregnant, or if you think you may become pregnant. It is important that people are aware of the risks so that they can make an informed decision about drinking in pregnancy.

"The next steps should include follow-up studies to further clarify the current number of people in the UK with FASD. Some countries, such as the USA, Canada and Italy have used in-school screening and have concluded that up to 10 per cent of children in the general population are affected, with rates as high as 30 per cent among children in care."

Dr Raja Mukherjee runs a diagnostic clinic for FASD at Surrey and Boarders Partnership NHS Foundation Trust and contributed towards the research. He said:

"These are really important results that show there are likely to be many individuals with this disorder already out there who are being missed. There seems to be a disconnect between these findings and what many clinicians often report as a rare condition.

"It shows that it is a disorder that is seemingly hidden in plain sight that we need to pay attention to. Unless we start looking for it we will continue to miss it. If we fail to diagnose it then those affected individuals will continue to be affected by a lack of support and have subsequent impact on them and wider service. These results can be the first step in helping us in the UK to realise it is no longer a condition we can ignore"

Chief Executive of NO-FAS UK Sandra Butcher added:

"This study shines light on a staggeringly widespread and largely avoidable public health crisis. No policy maker who cares about the mental and physical health of the most vulnerable in our society should rest easy until we have in place UK-wide comprehensive action and training on FASD prevention, diagnosis and support that extends across the individual's lifespan. Babies with FASD grow into adults with FASD and more support is needed on every level."

Advice updated in January 2016 from the Chief Medical Officer states that if you are pregnant or think you could become pregnant, the safest approach is not to drink alcohol at all, to keep all risks to your baby to a minimum. It also states that the risk of harm is likely to be low if you have drunk only small amounts of alcohol before you knew you were pregnant or during pregnancy.

The guidance advises that if you find out you are pregnant after you have drunk alcohol during early pregnancy, you should avoid further drinking. It also states that it is unlikely in most cases that your baby has been affected and you are worried about alcohol use during pregnancy to talk to your doctor or midwife.

###

Notes for Editors

Screening prevalence of fetal alcohol spectrum disorders in a region of the United Kingdom: a population-based birth-cohort study by Cheryl McQuire, Raja Mukherjee, Lisa Hurt, Andrea Higgins, Giles Greene, Daniel Farewell, Alison Kemp, Shantini Paranjothy. This study uses a screening test which is not the same as a diagnosis and acts to seek out potential indicators of disease by looking at at-risk individuals. Screening tests usually indicates a suspicion of disease that merits further investigation. The screening prevalence estimates reported in this study indicate that up to 17% of children were exposed to alcohol prenatally and also had evidence of significant impairment in at least three areas of learning and behaviour. Our study provides a starting point, however additional research is needed to further clarify the current prevalence of FASD in the UK population. This study does not show that up to 17% of the sample have a diagnosis of fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD). Rather, it presents estimates of the screening prevalence of FASD. Expert clinical judgement was incorporated in our screening algorithm specification and validation process, however it was not feasible to conduct individualised assessments of FASD to determine diagnosis. The national clinic for Fetal Alcohol Spectrum disorders (FASD) is the only specialist clinic in the UK for assessing and treating children and adults with FASD, including Alcohol related Neurodevelopmental Disorder and Fetal Alcohol Syndrome. The clinic is led by Dr Raja Mukherjee, Consultant Psychiatrist, and hosted by Surrey and Borders Partnership NHS Foundation Trust from its base in Redhill, Surrey. More information at https://www.fasdclinic.com/ Based at the University of Bristol, Children of the 90s, also known as the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC), is a long-term health-research project that enrolled more than 14,000 pregnant women in 1991 and 1992. It has been following the health and development of the parents and their children in detail ever since and is currently recruiting the children and the siblings of the original children into the study. It receives core funding from the Medical Research Council, the Wellcome Trust and the University of Bristol. Find out more at http://www.childrenofthe90s.ac.uk. NO FAS-UK (The National Organisation for Foetal* Alcohol Syndrome-UK) is dedicated to supporting people affected by Foetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD), their families and communities. It promotes education for professionals and public awareness about the risks of alcohol consumption during pregnancy. NOFAS-UK is a source for information on FASD to the public, press and to medical and educational professionals. http://www.nofas-uk.org/ The current guidelines from the Chief Medical Officer. Other sources of support and advice are: The UK & European Birth Mum Network (FASD): https://www.eurobmsn.org/Home.html The network is a place where women can share their experience, support each

NHS choices provides information on fetal alcohol syndrome: https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/foetal-alcohol-syndrome/
A study carried out in collaboration with the University of Birmingham has used an innovative approach to identify thousands of antibiotic resistance genes found in bacteria that inhabit the human gut.

The human gut is home to trillions of microorganisms, mainly bacteria. Most of these are sensitive to antibiotics, but a significant number of bacteria in the human gut have mechanisms that make them resistant to antibiotics. However, we still lack a mechanistic understanding of the genes that confer resistance to antibiotics in gut bacteria.

A team of researchers, led by the Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)in France, in collaboration with Professor Willem van Schaik at the University of Birmingham, developed a new method to identify resistance genes in gut bacteria by comparing the three-dimensional structures of known antibiotic resistance enzymes to the proteins that are produced by gut bacteria.

The researchers, in collaboration with other European teams, then applied this method to a catalogue of several million genes of the gut. Thanks to this method, they have identified more than 6,000 antibiotic resistance genes that are very different from previously identified genes in pathogenic bacteria.

Professor Willem van Schaik, of the University of Birmingham's Institute of Microbiology and Infection, said: "Most gut bacteria live in a harmless relationship with the human host. However, the gut is also home to bacteria that can cause infections in hospitalised patients.

"Unfortunately, these bacteria are becoming increasingly resistant to antibiotics and we need to understand the processes that contribute to this development.

"By comparing the structures of known antibiotic resistance proteins to proteins that are produced by the bacteria of the human gut, we found thousands of new antibiotic resistance genes in the human gut, highlighting the immense diversity of antibiotic resistance genes in this environment.

"Most of these genes appeared to be present in bacteria that live in a harmless relationship with the human host, so may not be an immediate threat to human health.

"However, the continuing use of antibiotics may lead to these resistance genes being transferred to pathogenic bacteria, thereby further reducing the effectiveness of antibiotics in treating infections."

###

For media enquiries contact Emma McKinney, Communications Manager (Health Sciences), University of Birmingham, Email: e.j.mckinney@bham.ac.uk or tel: +44 (0) 121 414 6681, or contact the press office out of hours on +44 (0) 7789 921 165 or pressoffice@contacts.bham.ac.uk

Notes to editor:

The University of Birmingham is ranked amongst the world's top 100 institutions. Its work brings people from across the world to Birmingham, including researchers, teachers and more than 5,000 international students from over 150 countries.

Ruppe et al (2018). 'Prediction of the intestinal resistome by a three-dimensional structure-based method'. Nature Microbiology. DOI: 10.1038/s41564-018-0292-6

The full paper is available at https://rdcu.be/bb0aa

Professor Willem van Schaik was funded for this research by the EU FP7 project 'Evolution and Transfer of Antibiotic Resistance' (EvoTAR).
Almost ninety years ago on a freezing January morning, the keepers of the Stockholm Zoo in Sweden discovered a dead seal pup in their seal pond. The pup was immediately recognized as a bastard; a hybrid between species that should not interbreed. Only two grey seal males and one ringed seal female, species belonging to different mammalian genera, were housed in the pond. The hybrid appeared to carry a mixture of features of both the parent species.

The researchers in the University of Helsinki and their international colleagues have located the preserved hybrid in the museum collections, and confirmed genetically that the skull specimen is the hybrid between the grey and ringed seal.

They also examined new genomic data from wild Baltic Sea grey and ringed seals. By comparing these genomic sequences with that of the Saimaa ringed seal, it was possible to examine whether the grey and the ringed seals could have interbred also in the wild.

Just like has been found to be the case between many mammalian species, including early humans, the analyses revealed genetic traces of hybridization between the seal species in the Baltic.

"The shape of the skull, and especially the teeth of grey and ringed seals are so different that they could be classified as belonging to different families if discovered as fossils. Yet, the seal hybrid was found to be an almost perfect intermediate between the species with no detectable anomalies. When placed into the context of other hybridizing mammals, the grey and ringed seals provide the extreme bracket of shape difference found between hybridizing species pairs," Academy Professor Jukka Jernvall from the Institute of Biotechnology, University of Helsinki, Finland says.

Compared to Neanderthals and modern humans, grey and ringed seals are genetically and dentally at least twice as different, suggesting that there may be more fossil human hybrids to be discovered. The analyses also revealed that landlocked species, such as the Saimaa ringed seals found only in Lake Saimaa, can be genetically quite distinct as they have had no mates other than their own kin.

###

The research was a collaboration between the Institute of Biotechnology and the Faculty of Biological and Environmental Sciences in the University of Helsinki, Department of Environmental and Biological Sciences of the University of Eastern Finland, Institut Systematique Evolution Biodiversite, Museum national d'Histoire naturelle, CNRS, Sorbonne Universite in France and the Departament de Genetica i Microbiologia, Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona in Spain.
UPDATE: The US and China have agreed to stop additional tariffs and the Trump-Xi Summit over the weekend, something that could see US dollar volatility when foreign exchange markets reopen.

Donald Trump agreed to hold tariffs on $200bn of Chinese goods at 10%, while Beijing agreed to buy a "very substantial" amount of agricultural, energy, and other products according to a White House statement from press secretary Sarah Sanders.

FOMC Policy to be Guided by Economic Data, 60% Chance of Trade War Ceasefire

Last nights FOMC minutes release has left the U.S. Dollar (USD) muted against a host of majors as focus now turns towards the G20 summit and the expected Trump-Xi confrontation. Following Fed Chair Powells comments on Wednesday which saw U.S. Dollar exchange rates tumble on investor uncertainty over future Fed rate hikes, last nights FOMC minutes will have been thoroughly scrutinised.

In the near-term the minutes left little doubt that a December rate hike is still on the cards. However in concurrence with Powells comments the minutes indicated that further adjustments to the cash rate will be subject to incoming economic data, the stance of policy should be importantly guided by incoming data and their implications for the economic outlook, emphasising that rate hikes are not on a preordained course.

Analysts from Danske bank still see the potential for three further rate hikes in 2019, given our view on the US economy, we see no reason to change our call for two more rates hikes in H1 and possibly a third hike in H2 on top of the widely expected hike this December. 

Looking ahead, its likely that economic data releases for the U.S. will carry more weight in Dollar exchange rates as investors try to decipher how the data will impact on the Feds rate policy, as opposed to anticipating rate hikes as a forgone conclusion.

US-China Trade War Developments in Focus

As the G20 summit gets underway today in Buenos Aires, uncertainties over the direction of the US-China trade war push the expected Trump-Xi exchange to the foreground of investors focus. While the U.S. Dollar is currently relatively muted, a potential cease-fire would likely weight heavily on the Greenback.

Despite the escalating war of words weve seen developing in the lead-up to the summit between Us and Chinese officials,

Danske Bank predict a 60% probability of a ceasefire in the US-China trade war after the G20 meeting for reasons outlined below.

1. The planned meeting plus dinner between President Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping was initiated by Trump. Following a break-down in high-stake trade talks earlier in the year it has been Trump, despite the interims fighting talk, who proposed a face to face meeting at the G20 summit. Such a move indicates Trump could now be willing to resume talks with a view to achieving an accord with his Chinese counterpart.

2. US stock markets have started to wobble. In the face of Trumps boasts that his policies would boost US markets and that Chinese markets would collapse, the opposite, albeit not quite so extreme scenario seems to be unfolding, with the US stock market faltering lately. Its worth noting that ahead of the talks Asian stocks are solidly in the green this morning. In light of this, Trumps likelihood of forging ahead with the planned hike on tariffs relating to $200B of Chinese goods may have decreased somewhat given the impact on US markets.

3. Further escalation to the trade war would likely have a severe negative impact on U.S. manufacturers and consumers. With increased costs, U.S. Companies are increasingly starting to complain about the tariffs and consumers would also feel more pain. A worsening of the trade-war could see 10% tariffs applied to the remainder of ($267B) Chinese imports and could prompt Chinese consumers to boycott select U.S. goods, severely impacting on U.S. companies with a high exposure to China.

4. Due undoubtedly to media attention, Trumps aggressive economic attitude is well known. However its unlikely the Chinese will agree to terms which pose long-term economic risks, China will not give concessions that it believes will hurt the economy in the long term. It would rather pay the short term cost of facing higher tariffs.

5. China will not negotiate with a gun to its head. Danske bank predicts that should Trump persist with his intention to hike tariffs at the start of 2019, China will demand a ceasefire to enter a new round of negotiations.
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Over the past decade, Europe has faced two existential turning points: a sovereign debt crisis triggered by the 200809 U.S. financial market meltdown and the surge in migrants that followed the Arab Spring and the Syrian civil war. Its hard to imagine how either might have been managed without German Chancellor Angela Merkel, according to The Time and its article The Race to Succeed Merkel Will Also Determine Who Leads Europe.

Merkel faced her share of (sometimes deserved) criticism along the way. But Merkels toughness, resilience and endurance helped hold the European Union together through these unprecedented challenges. Yet her political moment is nearing an end. Merkels bailouts for financially vulnerable countries like Greece, and especially her decision to open Germanys borders to more than 1 million refugees, have eroded her popularity at home. After a series of disappointing election results for Merkels center-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU) party, she has pledged not to run for Chancellor in 2021. Now there is a hotly contested election on Dec. 78 to replace her as leader of the CDU. Whoever wins will likely lead Germany next.

Merkels chosen successor is Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, known as AKK, a candidate who mirrors Merkels pragmatism and her rejection of any CDU drift toward right-wing populism. The other lead contender is the more conservative Friedrich Merz, a surprise candidate and former Merkel rival who is returning to politics after almost a decade in the private sector. His distance from the political compromises of the past 10 years might help explain his recent surge in national opinion polls. In that sense, the choice between AKK and Merz is a party referendum on Merkels performance.

AKK, the pollsters favorite, has two important advantages. First is the Chancellors backing; few should underestimate Merkels ability to rally support within the party. AKKs second advantage is that she has no centrist rival. Merz must compete for the partys conservative wing with Health Minister Jens Spahn, the partys best-known Merkel critic. So far, polls havent been kind to Spahn, perhaps because Merz is the much fresher face.

AKK and Merz have both signaled that they accept that Merkel will remain Chancellor until the next scheduled federal election, in 2021. But thats much more likely if AKK wins. A victory for Merz signals a new direction for the CDU, and Merkel could step aside. In addition, its hard to imagine that the unapologetically pro-business Merz would continue with the grand coalition Merkel has formed with the center-left Social Democratic Party (SDP)or that the SPD would want to remain in that partnership indefinitely. That might well mean an early election.

Whatever happens when CDU delegates vote, the sound of Germanys political page turning will be heard across Europe. When France elected Emmanuel Macron President in the spring of 2017, E.U. boosters hoped Macron would partner with Merkel to strengthen European institutions. President Donald Trumps often hostile attitude toward the E.U. seemed destined to bolster bonds.

But Macron now has a 26% approval rating in his own country and faces a wave of protests that forces him to focus mainly on domestic headaches. And Merkels time as Chancellor has now reached its twilight. Can Kramp-Karrenbauer or Merz match Merkels formidable political talent at handling the European crises yet to come? The answer will matter far beyond Germanys borders.
Moscow will support Tehrans initiatives to support Iranian studies, including in the North Caucasus, Russian Minister of North Caucasus Affairs Sergei Chebotarev said following a meeting with the Iranian Energy Minister, of the Joint Economic Commission of Iran and Russia on trade and economic cooperation Reza Ardakanian.

At the meeting in the Ministry of North Caucasus Affairs, the parties discussed strategic areas of cooperation at the regional level, including in the Caspian region: the development of the transport and logistics structure of the region and adjacent territories, the simplification of mutual trade regimes, an increase in agricultural and industrial goods turnover, as well as an increase in investment activity. According to the negotiators, an integrated approach will significantly increase the trade turnover, which currently worth about $1.7 billion.

"The North Caucasus is rich in hydropower resources that can be used to develop the energy sector. But the hydro potential of the North Caucasus has not been yet sufficiently developed. We invite you as partners to cooperate in this direction," Sergey Chebotarev said.

Reza Ardakanian confirmed the prospects of bilateral cooperation, focusing on the tourism industry.

The participants in the meeting agreed that the promotion of relations in the spheres of science, education and culture can make an important contribution to the development of strategic partnership between the two countries.

"The Russian side, our ministry will support Iran's initiatives focusing on supporting Iranian studies, including in the North Caucasus. We will support a conference on Iranian studies, which will be held in a region of the North Caucasus. If we want to develop bilateral relations effectively, then the Russian side needs experts on Iran, who would deeply understand, feel and know Iranian culture, Iranian history, as well as those who understand modern Iran. This is the key to having effective bilateral relations in the future," Sergei Chebotarev stressed.
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Everyone agrees there is an opioid crisis in America. As Paul Brakke, publisher of American Leadership Books and author of Crime in America, notes in a chapter in that book, there were more than 72,000 drug overdose deaths in 2017 from both illicit drugs and prescription opioids. This number reflects an upward climb each year since 2002, according to the Center for Disease Control's CDC Wonder database. Another troubling statistic is that more than 115 people in the U.S. die each day after overdosing on opioids. And the economic burden on prescription opioid misuse is $78.5 billion a year, which includes the costs of healthcare, lost productivity, addiction treatment, and criminal justice involvement.

Yet given the need to resolve this crisis, Brakke is concerned about the apparently failed efforts of the U.S. Congress to come up with a bipartisan response in writing the Opioid Crisis Response Act of 2018. The bill received a 99-1 vote in the Senate on September 17, after the House passed its own bill in June, though the two still have to be reconciled before they can be passed. Unfortunately, this reconciliation seems difficult to achieve, since experts and activists claim the bill doesn't go far enough, mainly because it doesn't significantly increase the spending for the crisis, apart from authorizing some relatively small grant programs with the actual funding to be decided later in Congress. Also, the bill doesn't pay for a wide expansion of addiction treatment, which many experts believe is necessary.

And now it would seem that the bill has died in Congress, since after a spate of articles in September hailed this bipartisan compromise, nothing further has been done to finalize the bill. Perhaps this is because all interest turned to the elections and now it's up to a new Congress to deal with the issue.

Thus, Brakke is determined to let legislators and the media know about the need to act quickly to stem this growing epidemic. He especially urges cracking down on the dealers who are furthering addiction while lining their pockets, despite the widely known dangers of drug overdoses. He has encouraged several policies that have been recommended by President Trump. These include the following:

- Establish mandatory minimum sentencing as a penalty for distributing certain opioids, based on the amount of drugs seized to help reduce the supply.

- Increase the interdiction efforts at all ports of entry and along U.S. borders.

- Expand access to proven treatments and recovery methods.

- Broaden education and awareness of the crisis.

In addition, Brakke recommends these additional approaches in his book:

- Create a separate drug sales court to deal with death penalty for drug trafficking cases.

- Set up a separate division in the prisons or separate prison wings to house drug traffickers.

- Publicize the names of the individuals sentenced under the new laws.

- Set up a tip line for information that leads to the arrest of drug traffickers.

- Provide more funds for research into better addiction treatments.

Brakke's goal is to get legislators to incorporate these ideas into the next iteration of the Opioid Crisis Response Act to help reduce the use and abuse of opioids in America.

To learn more about Brakke's views on the opioid crisis, you can now get a free review copy of Crime in America, which includes a chapter on the subject. The book is available for preorder, too. Brakke is offering these books for free to anyone who wants to review and comment on the book. Also, copies are available for government officials who might turn some of these suggestions for reducing crime and fixing the criminal justice system into legislation. Members of the media are additionally invited to request copies of the book.

To help draw attention to these suggested fixes in the book, Brakke has launched a video and social media campaign with five new videos each day. The first 10 videos are featured on his American Leadership Books' YouTube channel. Among the most recent videos is Paradoxes in Politics https://youtu.be/kPoQ1wnc-yI.

Brakke brings to this discussion of crime and the drug problem in American society an extensive background in researching the subject as the publisher of American Leadership Books and the author of seven books. Six of them deal with what to do about crime in America, and one deals with understanding and healing the great national divides in America. Other past books include: Dealing with Illegal Immigration and the Opioid Crisis and Fixing the U.S. Criminal Justice System. Since these first books were designed especially for law enforcement professionals, government officials, and academics, Brakke is now adapting these books for a general audience and will be bringing out his next books -- Fractured America and Prisons in America -- in the next few months.

Copies of Crime in America for review are available to the general public at no charge at www.crimeinamericathebook.com. For media copies of the book, along with additional information on American Leadership Books and Paul Brakke and to set up interviews, please contact:

Jana Collins

Jones & O'Malley

Toluca Lake, California

jana@jonesomalley.com

(818) 762-8353
Toyotas San Antonio plant, Toyota Motor Manufacturing Texas, has a new president.

Senior Vice President Kevin Voelkel replaces Yoshihisa Nagatani, who will become executive vice president of Toyota do Brasil. Voelkel starts Jan. 1.

Toyota broke ground on the South Side plant in 2003 and produced its first Tundra there in 2006. Voelkel joined Toyota in 2005 and played an integral role in setting up the plant, the company said in a news release.

He later held the dual role of vice president of One Toyota Competitiveness and group manager of production strategy at Toyota Motor North America before returning to San Antonio earlier this year.

Toyota employs more than 3,000 people at the plant, and another 4,000 work at the 23 on-site suppliers.
San Antonios favorite petal-powered photo studio is back in bloom, this time with a holiday twist.

The Flower Vault once again is welcoming families, friends and their furry loved ones to make those perfect Instagrammable memories, this time with a holly-jolly array of backdrops and props for Yuletide photos just begging to be hashtagged #flowervaultattherim.

We wanted to do something Christmas-themed, said Sarah Forrest, who co-created the Flower Vault with her husband Robbie Forrest. We know that its a good time to come together as a family.

The five-room installation opens with a giant wreath swing and a perfectly placed mistletoe. Next comes the Candy Cane Room, a sweet space plastered with the red-and-white treats and a giant candy cane prop covered in artificial flowers.

From there its on to Christmas Morning, a room covered in poinsettia-patterned wrapping paper with a pile of prop presents, some designed for you to pop out of.

Next is the Flower Forest, a simple space bearing a small array of flower-decorated Christmas trees. The mazelike setup ends with the Snow Globe Room, which bears a wall of white artificial flowers and a shower of faux snow, no shaking required.

Flower Vault tickets give you one hours time and cost $20 per person and $10 per pet pet, with kids ages 10 and younger free with a paid family member or guardian. You can even bring your own props, pending staff approval.

Monica Calvo did just that at a recent Flower Vault shoot. The San Antonio master hairstylist not only had a change of outfits that included a set of Christmas pajamas for herself and her infant son Matteo, but also a miniature sofa for that extra cozy touch.

At one point in her photo session, Calvo popped out of a giant present in the Christmas Morning room to bring a smile to her little sons face.

I really wanted something that was unique, to celebrate such a transitional year in both of our lives, Calvo said of her mother and child photo shoot. So I found this, and I was really excited about the opportunity to do something a little bit unique to meet our needs.

Of course, the Flower Vault also encourages your more vibrant selfies.

While Calvo and her son posed for their cameras, Heidi Tate had her smartphone at arms length for a self-portrait in front of the Snow Globe rooms wall of white flowers. Tate also had her mom Susie Hamlin along for the fun, as well as her younger brother, 4-year-old Matthew Hamlin.

Tate seconded her mothers assessment of the Flower Vaults backdrops as amazing, and said that its Christmas decor inspires creativity.

Theyre really Instagram-worthy, definitely, Tate said I really love posting this stuff on Instagram, or even Christmas cards. Families love doing Christmas cards and stuff like that. Or just frame nice holiday photos for your house. These are the perfect reasons to come here, to take these photos.

Sarah and Robbie Forrest launched the Flower Vault in March on the citys North Side as a pop-up photo shop where people as well as their pets could strike a pose in floral environs with names like the Rainbow Room, the Poppy Room, the Pink Peony Room, the Hanging Bluebonnet Meadow and the Wheres Wallflower Room.

That first Flower Vault proved so popular, the Forrests extended its opening into the summer. And in early October, they planted a second installation in Houston thats open until mid-January.

Sarah Forrest noted the debut Flower Vault saw plenty of memorable occasions, including bridal portraits and marriage proposals as well as childrens birthday parties and family reunions. She said it even hosted a family in town for a funeral, with more than 20 people who hadnt been together for many years.

Even in mourning you can still have joy, Sarah Forrest said.

Now the current Flower Vault in San Antonio looks to bring comfort and joy thats perfect for the Christmas season. Case in point: Its already has had its first baby announcement.

The Flower Vault is open through Dec. 31 at The Rim shopping center, 17610 La Cantera Parkway. Reservations can be made at flowervault.com.

Rene A. Guzman is a staff writer in the San Antonio and Bexar County area. Read him on our free site, mySA.com, and on our subscriber site, ExpressNews.com. | rguzman@express-news.net | Twitter: @reneguz
Four Iranian films made it into the top 100 in BBC Cultures recent poll to find the greatest foreign-language films. Hamid Dabashi celebrates the countrys outstanding cinematic moments. Three films by Abbas Kiarostami  Close-Up (39), Where is the Friends Home? (94), and Taste of Cherry (97) were on BBC Cultures list of the 100 greatest foreign-language films. One, by Asghar Farhadi, A Separation (21) made it into the top 25.

Neither the fact that a number of key moments in Iranian cinema made it onto this illustrious list, nor the particular films that were selected, is surprising. One might suggest any number of other great works that could have appeared, but no one can question the importance of these four, nor the towering presence of Kiarostami among world-class film-makers. The wider landscape of Iranian cinema over the last 100 years or more has been a varied topography of extraordinary cinematic events through which these major film-makers have risen to global attention.

By and large, the critics who were consulted to create BBC Cultures list likely know of Iranian or any other world cinema through the major international film festivals, chiefly Cannes, Venice, Berlin, and Locarno, which overshadow other festivals in the US, Japan, Korea, the Middle East, Africa and Latin America. The path of Iranian films into these major festivals has been long and winding, from its origins in the social and cultural history of Iran. And the historical formation of Iranian cinema took place on a transnational public sphere  both in its origins and its destinations  from the East India Company film studios in India where the very first Iranian films were made, to these European film festivals.

There has never been a moment in the long history of Iranian cinema when it was confined to its current frontiers. The very first Iranian sound film, Dokhtar-e Lor/Lor Girl, 1932, also known as The Iran of Yesterday and The Iran of Today, was produced by Ardeshir Irani and Abdolhossein Sepanta in the Imperial Film Company in Bombay. There is a larger frame of reference that extends from Europe to the Ottoman and Russian empires all the way to Egypt and India, which was the site of the rise of Persian prose and poetry as well as Iranian visual and performing arts.

The figure of Forough Farrokhzad (1935-1967), a leading poet of her time, shines over the history of Iranian cinema. With a single short documentary, The House is Black (1962), Farrokhzad set Iranian film on a creative path from which it has not diverged since. Shot on location in a leper colony, The House is Black defined the fusion of fact and fiction in a unique and ground-breaking way.

Before that fateful decade had ended, Dariush Mehrjuis The Cow (1969) was smuggled out of Iran and screened at the 1971 Venice Film Festival, where it won the critics prize (Fipresci); a screening in Berlin further consolidated its global recognition as a defining moment in the emerging Iranian cinema. Based on a short story by Gholam-hossein Saedi, The Cow told the story of a villager and his unique anthropomorphic relationship with his animal with astonishing visual and narrative panache.

Although there were many crucial developments in Iranian cinema in the 1970s, the worlds attention was captured by the Iranian Revolution of 1977-1979. What brought the focus back to Iranian cinema was Amir Naderis masterwork, The Runner (1984), which was something of a revelation when it premiered at the Festival of the Three Continents in Nantes. Shot in multiple locations in the south of the country during the Iran-Iraq War (1980-1988), The Runner crafted a cinematic landscape of its own, following the solitary life of a young boy mesmerised by running, to which Naderi gave a deeply moving, allegorical significance.

It was immediately after the global success of The Runner that the world took notice of Abbas Kiarostami, when his now classic film Where is the Friend's Home? (1985) premiered at the Locarno Film Festival. By this time Kiarostami was a known and fairly successful film-maker in Iran, but his reception in Europe suddenly placed him next to Vittorio De Sica of Bicycle Thieves (1948), Yasujiro Ozu of Tokyo Story (1953) and Satyajit Ray of The Apu Trilogy (1955-1959) and gave his work global power and significance.

While Kiarostami was established as the leading Iranian film-maker on the world stage, the Makhmalbaf family put a particularly poignant spin on the perception of Iranian cinema, particularly when Samira Makhmalbaf premiered her debut film The Apple (1998) at the Cannes Film Festival when she was just 18. I was at the festival that year and saw how the global perception of Iran changed overnight from a bearded angry man (Khomeini) to the bright smiling face of a young film-maker. It was a transformative moment in the global reception of Iranian cinema and, with it, Iran itself.

The following decade, Jafar Panahi won international critical acclaim when his film The Circle (1999) premiered at the Venice Film Festival. Panahi was a protege of Abbas Kiarostami, but he pushed the cinematic prowess of his mentor into decidedly social and political domains, far beyond the cinematic interests of Kiarostami. Initially he did so in measured and judicious strokes. But, soon after, he was arrested because of his political activism during the Green Movement (2008-2010) and sentenced to suspended prison terms. He was barred from making films, which he began smuggling to European film festivals.

The spectacular rise of Asghar Farhadi altered the perception of what Iranian cinema had to offer. Farhadis family drama A Separation (2011) won the Academy Award for best foreign-language film in 2012  and, five years later, his 2016 film The Salesman went on to win the same award. Farhadi had come to cinema from a theatre background, and his films remain deeply dramatic in a theatrical sense. The ingenious cinematography of Farhadis director of photography, Mahmoud Kalari, has been instrumental in defining this sense of cinematic drama.

The global staging of Iranian film offered some of its best works international attention, a crucial component that fed back, aesthetically and thematically, into the countrys cinematic repertoire and inspired successive generations of Iranian film-makers.

In the process, no doubt, some of the best Iranian films never received the attention they richly deserved. Among its older masters, the cinema of Farrokh Ghaffari, Ebrahim Golestan, and Bahman Farmanara are chief among such oversights. Iran has also benefitted from some gifted women film-makers like Rakhshan Banietemad, Marziyeh Meshkini, and Manijeh Hekmat, who too have not received their dues.

Meanwhile, outside Iran, and from the fertile ground of its transnational origins, a new generation of Iranian film-makers has emerged, chief among them Ramin Bahrani (Chop Shop, 2007) and Shirin Neshat (Women without Men, 2009). These directors, who have deep roots in the most enduring aspects of Iranian cinema, now carry its future into uncharted territories.
The mother-daughter design team of Patricia Hart McMillan and Katharine Kaye McMillan say home decorating for Christmas 2018 is a combination of emphasizing the personal while pushing boundaries into the nontraditional.

That means placing cherished ornaments or other treasures youve either collected yourself or inherited from relatives around the house. But it also means breaking free of the staid red/green/gold holiday palette and experimenting with a whole crayons box worth of colors.

The McMillans explore these and other trends in their new book, Christmas by Design: Private Homes Decorated by Leading Designers (Schiffer Publishing, $45). The sumptuous, 250-page coffee table tome gives readers up-close tours of more than two-dozen abodes all gussied up for the holidays.

The homes run the spectrum from grand to cozy, hacienda to high-rise, modern to traditional. And because the McMillans are based in San Antonio, nine are owned by San Antonians.

After paging though the book, whats most obvious is that these homes are definitely not decorated with the kind of stereotypical, even impersonal scenes found on your dentists Christmas cards. Instead, the houses seem warm and lived in, with as many meaningful touches as possible.

On ExpressNews.com: Ribbon the key to big holiday decor color on a budget

Those highly stylized show-windows are devoid of feeling, Patricia said. But its the personal, multigenerational things that draw you in ... Its the difference between decorating a home and simply staging one.

For example, Leland Stone, founder of the high-end Stone Standard hardware store, decorates the neo-classical home he shares with partner Neil Schneuker (a renovated library building on the near South Side) with plaster ornaments made from wood molds dating from 19th century Europe. Their Christmas tree holds a bouquet of fondant flowers preserved from Stones mothers wedding cake. And the toy bear at the base once belonged to his father.

While Meredith and Mike Howard have one whimsical tree decorated in pinks, purples, yellows and greens in their Terrell Hills home, they set up a second one they call their memory tree decorated with both cherished ornaments from their own childhoods and their childrens more recent handmade art.

Cheri Stith of Feather, Fluff and Flings, which does seasonal decorating and interior design, crowns the tree in her Alamo Heights home with the tiara she wore and the scepter she carried as a duchess during Corpus Christis Buccaneer Days. And her tree skirt was repurposed from the train her daughter later wore when she was in Buccaneer Days.

Its also obvious from the book that, when it comes to color, San Antonians have no trouble eschewing tradition.

For example, Karlos Anzoateguis 1920s Moorish-style Mahncke Park home was awash in ribbon, painted branches, various baubles and even faux poinsettias all in eggshell blue, often called Tiffany Blue for the color of the jewelry stores boxes.

I asked myself, wouldnt everyone want to find a Tiffany box under the tree? said Anzoategui, affectionately known to his friends as Karlos with a K. I change my color every year. Ive done purple and pink and contrasting colors like purple and red.

This year, he took inspiration from the peacocks tail and decorated with celery green, dark blue and turquoise.

On ExpressNews.com: A Downton Abbey tablescape on a cottage budget

In San Antonio, we see a lot of people decorating with Fiesta colors, which is kind of unexpected, Katharine said. This year I decorated my tree entirely with Fiesta medals. They already have the hooks. Its adorable.

Sometimes decorating can be a way of sharing. About five years ago, businessman Robert Dick Tips and his wife Kristin became concerned about the cars speeding by their Terrell Hills home. So the father of young children created a public space outside decorated with poinsettias, lights, even two wooden sleighs where people come to take family photos and selfies.

Now people slow down to look or stop to take pictures, he said of the house on Terrell Road. Theres even a mailbox where little ones can post their letters to Santa.

We try to fill as many of those wishes as we can.

The McMillans concede that most people dont have the means to decorate their homes as extravagantly as those in the book. But, they say, dont discount the aspirational aspect.

So maybe you dont have a crown or a tiara from when you were a member of a Fiesta court, Patricia said. But maybe you have a crown or tiara from one of your childs school pageants. Put that on top of the tree. Maybe you dont have a collection of Christopher Radko ornaments, but you have a few pieces from your grandmother or somebody else that carry nostalgia. Put those on. They mean something.

If you cant afford a second tree, decorate the one you do have with your childrens art, they said. Or decorate with an inexpensive string of colorful chile peppers or ribbon. Collect and paint branches from your yard, spray paint them and use them as part of your table centerpiece.

The thing to do is look at the photos and dont focus on the grandiose, Patricia said. Instead, pick out individual items you like and can replicate yourself.

Related: Get your Christmas decorating mojo on with these DIY ideas

Its something of a Christmas miracle that the McMillans book is even made it to the stores.

It was about this same time last year when, hot on the success of their previous decorating book Christmas at Designers Homes Across America, they received a call from their publisher: Could they do another? And have it ready for the 2018 holiday season?

We had to arrange to have 29 homes around the country decorated and photographed, write the text and submit it all by the end of January, said Patricia McMillan. We had about two months total.

This new book gives each home at least a half-dozen glossy pages containing plenty of four-color photos of the decorations.

Patricia is by training an interior designer and has been an editor at several design magazines and the (Newark) Star-Ledger. Katharine is a design consultant and worked as a journalist in New York and Florida. Together, theyve co-authored several design and decor books, including Home Decorating for Dummies, which has been in print since 1998  a lifetime for design books, according to Patricia.

The idea for Christmas by Design and its predecessors emerged from the McMillans experience several years ago while covering Mueble Paris, an international furniture exhibition.

At the time there was a big to-do that religion is dying in America and around the world, said Patricia. So while we were in Paris we decided to attend worship service in Notre Dame. Standing room only. And this was in January, not the tourist season.

A Wednesday night service they attended at Sacre-Cur was also SRO.

So we said, we dont think religion is dead, and we think its time to do a Christmas book.

So have yourself a merry little  and beautifully decorated  Christmas.

Richard A. Marini is a features writer in the San Antonio and Bexar County area. Read him on our free site, mySA.com, and on our subscriber site, ExpressNews.com. | rmarini@express-news.net | Twitter: @RichardMarini
If you thought slime went the way of fidget spinners and other flash-in-the-pan toys, allow 13-year-old slimemaker Jalen Chuck to drop some gooey knowledge. Slime is still very popular, oozing fun and even profit for Chuck and many other slime fans and purveyors, most of them kids but some also grown-ups.

Its more like a craft than a toy, said Chuck, a San Antonio-area slimer better known to her slime customers and more than 55,000 Instagram followers as jammy.slimes. And you can put all your creativity into it. And you can use it more as a business than having to play with it.

Talk about your sludge with legs. Even after almost three years  an eternity in the world of trendy kid toys  slime is still sticking around to more than just carpets. Sales continue to grow, booming more than 400 percent from $26 million to $136 million just in the past year according to The NPD Group.

READ ALSO: Downtown marathon will attract thousands

Now Playing: Jalen Chuck, age 13, creates and sells her unique slime concoctions on her Instagram account jammy.slimes to the tune of 55.7k followers. Video: San Antonio Express-News

Consider Chucks latest slime-venture. In July she launched the Slime Rodeo, an all-ages slime convention dedicated to making and marketing the goop. The event debuted in Dallas with more than 1,700 attendee. San Antonio will see its own Junior Slime Rodeo Saturday at the Austin Highway Event Center, and there plans for a Slime Rodeo next year in Tampa and again in Dallas.

Galactic Glitter Slime Here's Haylie Borlinghaus' stellar spin on the basic slime recipe found at elmers.com/slime. Ingredients 1 bottle Elmer's School Glue (4 ounces)  tablespoon baking soda  tablespoon contact lens solution 1 tablespoon hot water Colorful sand to match galaxy colors Food coloring and glitter to match galaxy colors Directions: Pour entire bottle of glue into a mixing bowl. Add  tablespoon baking soda and  tablespoon contact solution. Add desired drops of galaxy-colored sand, food coloring, and/or glitter. Mix and knead all the contents together. Junior Slime Rodeo When: Saturday, noon to 6 p.m. Where: Austin Highway Event Center, 1948 Austin Highway Price: $20-$60 in advance via slimerodeo.com/san-antonio, $25 at the door More info: slimerodeo.com See More Collapse

Its like Comic-Con, said Chucks mom Teresa, whos in event promotions with her husband. We have a whole audience of people that are there that are obsessed with it on the same level we are.

Todays handmade slime is similar but different from the goop thats dripped through pop culture for the past four decades. For instance, Gen-Xers may remember slime as just, well, Slime, a Mattel toy in a little trash can that first rolled out in the mid-1970s.

Then you have that totally 80s ooze in the original Ghostbusters movie, when an attack by a chubby green apparition made Bill Murray utter that famous phrase, He slimed me. And who could forget the signature green goop poured on young stars heads in Nickelodoens 1990s show You Cant Do That on Television. It still gets heavy play on celebrities noggins at the Nickelodeon Kids Choice Awards.

READ ALSO: This holiday season adopt, don't shop, for a pet

Todays slime is a thicker, almost frostinglike goo, perfect for squishing, squeezing and poking. And if you seek the icky roots to slimes current heyday, look no further than the DIY slime videos of California YouTube star Karina Garcia, the so-called slime queen often credited as launching the modern slime craze in 2016  a squishy wave shes still riding to the bank.

Last year, she told The New York Times she made as much as $200,000 a month just from sponsorships on her slime clips. Today, she has more than 8.4 million YouTube subscribers and her own craft line called Craft City, which has sold more than $3 million worth of slime since October 2017.

Part of what makes the continuing popularity of slime all the more remarkable is its so easy to make at home. Basic slime is made by mixing school glue with a little bit of baking soda, contact lens solution and food coloring. Some slimemakers get really creative and mix in teeny objects, such as foam beads, glitter and even charms and other doodads.

Chuck typically offers around 10 different varieties of slime and even mixes in natural fragrances such as peppermint and lavender for that aromatherapy experience. She sells those wares on Etsy, where she whips up to $1,000 a month in sales. Her best-seller is the perfectly named Fruit Loops Milkshake, a foamy blend that smells just like that colorful breakfast cereal.

Kids are constantly looking at how they can make it different and how they can make themselves stand out, Teresa said. And as long as they continue to do that I think it will maintain its popularity.

And its not just kids breathing new life into the goop.

READ ALSO: A peek inside San Antonio's most lavishly decorated homes

Two years ago, San Antonio middle school teacher Rachel Woodworth started making slime as a stress-relieving hobby. Now with more than 232,000 following her Instagram account @bookshelf.slimes, Woodworth makes a nice supplemental income selling her slime on Etsy, and plans to move to a new selling platform.

I will tell you that I dont teach for the money, said Woodworth, who would not say how much she makes making slime. I will say I do very well.

Woodworth said most slimers sell their creations for between $1 and $2 an ounce, while the more popular slimers charge upwards of $3 to $4 an ounce. Woodworth said right now the popular slime is bread slime, which looks, smells and feels like bread dough.

But sales aside, the joy of slime still starts and continues with making a fresh batch that makes worries disappear with every squish, stretch and slap.

Tracy Asamoah, a child and adolescent psychiatrist in Austin, said making and playing with slime basically mirrors a mindfulness activity. Asamoah said with so much about anxiety and depression and technology taking up kids head space, slime helps them detach from all that and engage their brains in a calming way that taps their senses of touch, sight and even smell.

Likewise, Asamoah said theres the gratification that comes with seeing their slime creations come together. And dont forget that bonding agent of sharing that passion with a fellow slimemaker.

Theres something about being able to connect with someone else about what you two are interested in, Asamoah said. And its something thats very accessible to kids.

Of course, kids continued love of slime also means parents continued love-hate relationship with the mesmerizing yet messy craft.

Its the science of it that I think that I love, said Jennifer Borlinghaus, mom to slime fans Haylie, 14, and Emma, 7. But I really dont like to clean it up. At all.

For that, allow Teresa to drop some goo-removing knowledge. She cleans up slime by pouring hot water on it to break it up and then scrapes it away.

As for the future of slime, Teresa sees it as the next Play-Doh, another arts-and-crafts staple for kids of all ages that should continue to adapt and evolve with whatever generation of creative hands pick it up.

I look at it as a sensory toy thats stood the test of time, Teresa Chuck said.

And so the great slime movement oozes on.

Rene A. Guzman is a staff writer in the San Antonio and Bexar County area. Read him on our free site, mySA.com, and on our subscriber site, ExpressNews.com. | rguzman@express-news.net | Twitter: @reneguz
The Harlandale Independent School District will challenge the unfavorable findings of a Texas Education Agency investigation  now in its second year  into the districts governance and financial practices.

The findings have not been publicly released. The TEA gave the district a preliminary report on the probe two weeks ago, and the Harlandale board voted in a special called meeting before Thanksgiving to request an informal review, essentially asking TEA to reconsider its conclusions.

TEA officials launched the investigation in August of 2017, saying it was in response to complaints about governance, contract procurement, and alleged nepotism and conflict of interest.

Superintendent Rey Madrigal said in a prepared statement that he and the districts seven board members were disappointed with the report.

While we may not always agree on specific issues, we deny (that) any disagreement between board members and my office rises to the level of dysfunction alleged in the report, Madrigal said. That being said, this board, like any other in the state, can always improve and we recognize this.

He pointed to the superior rating the TEAs Financial Integrity Rating System of Texas gave the district in an evaluation of the 2016-2017 year.

A letter from the agency to board members when it launched the probe cited accusations that Madrigal made four agreements with Terracon Consultants in 2015 for construction materials and testing services and six payments to the company totaling nearly $61,000, all without board approval. The letter alleged that Madrigal bought land from a district vendor in violation of state law and that several employees were hired in violation of anti-nepotism policies.

Investigators also planned to look into allegations that the bidding process was improper for work done on Gillette, Vestal and Carroll Bell elementary schools between 2013 and 2016 and that the district had purchased insurance in a way that violated state law.

The investigation cast a wide net and looked into a lot of Harlandales contracts, said Albert Tovar, the districts lawyer, in an interview Thursday.

With great respect for TEA, the district doesnt agree with the report and the district will seek to have the report reviewed, Tovar said.

District officials gave investigators thousands of pages of information and helped them with access to current and former board members and employees, and it will continue working with TEA to address the allegations, Madrigals statement said.

The report wont become public until it is finalized, which will not occur until after the informal review.

Similar investigations preceded state takeovers of the boards of Southside and Edgewood ISDs in 2016.

Texas Education Commissioner Mike Morath appointed a board of managers to replace the elected Edgewood board, which had been unable to resolve a 3-3 factional standoff that paralyzed essential decisionmaking for months.

For Southside, Morath appointed a conservator and a board of managers after an investigation found trustees failed to govern the district or comply with contract procurement rules, and were acting individually to direct hiring decisions and give orders to district employees.

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
City officials havent figured out how they will recruit a successor to City Manager Sheryl Sculley, but they suggested they might not have to look very far.

I have to have conversations with council about the selection process, Mayor Ron Nirenberg said. However ... my experience and instinct tells me that the best candidates are already local.

Nirenberg said one of Sculleys strengths was her ability to assemble a talented executive team. Asked if Sculleys two top lieutenants, deputy city managers Erik Walsh and Peter Zanoni, were front-runners to replace her, Nirenberg declined to speculate, pointing out the city doesnt have any official job candidates yet.

READ ALSO: San Antonio's Sculley retirement announcement creates new issues

City officials didnt rule out a national search for successors. But they have to deal with the ramifications of Proposition B  a popular city charter amendment that limits the pay and tenure of future city managers.

The measure caps city manager pay at $312,000  10 times the salary today of the lowest-paid city employee. Prop B also limits the tenure of future city managers to eight years.

Pushed by the San Antonio firefighters union, one of Sculleys loudest critics, the measure won broad support in the Nov. 6 election, with 60 percent of San Antonio voters from nearly every part of the city favoring it.

Prop B didnt apply to Sculleys current contract. But it was widely seen as a rebuke of her pay and benefits package, which totaled $475,000 this year. She also could receive a $100,000 bonus.

City Council members said theyll respect the will of voters. But they fear Prop B will limit qualified candidates, or attract those who view San Antonio as a steppingstone, not a destination.

READ ALSO: Sculley was bigger than the city served

We will pay them less than market rate, City Councilman Manny Pelaez said of future city managers. And theyll be fired within eight years.

City Councilman Greg Brockhouse, an ally of the firefighters union and the lone Council supporter of Prop B, said that kind of talk misses the point.

Brockhouse said Sculleys departure is an opportunity to re-evaluate the role of the city manager and how much power that person should wield.

When we say, Oh, my God, how are we going to replace her? Were not, Brockhouse said. Were going to create a new role. Thats what I hope we do.

In years past when City Council members were paid 20 bucks a meeting and served their roles as public servants between full-time jobs, a strong city manager position made sense, Brockhouse said.

But now that council members are paid a higher salary and enjoy longer term limits, Brockhouse said, the City Council has become a more serious and professional body in its own right, and the balance of power needs to start shifting away from the city managers office.

I think we really need to examine what that role is going to look like, Brockhouse said. Because I think the voters sent that message as well.

Richard Perez, president and CEO of the San Antonio Chamber of Commerce who, as a city councilman, supported hiring Sculley in 2005, said hes heard no talk in the business community to diminish the city managers responsibilities.

READ ALSO: Ball is back in fire union's court after San Antonio drops 'evergreen' lawsuit

I hired her, Perez said. I never felt that she had too much power. She works for the mayor and City Council. Period. Its that simple.

Perez and other community leaders encouraged the City Council to cast a wide net in their search.

There ought to be a robust interviewing process as they select the next city manager, said former San Antonio Mayor Julian Castro, who as a councilman raised concerns about Sculleys salary but later supported her. And there should be a good balance between external candidates and candidates from within the city of San Antonio organization.

As deputy city managers, Walsh and Zanoni are second-in-command below Sculley. There are also four assistant city managers and a chief financial officer who report directly to her.

Zanoni said hed be open to the idea of applying for city manager but emphasized the hiring process is a big unknown.

If they did have a process that included us as potential applicants, I would consider, Zanoni said.

In a text message sent to the San Antonio Express-News, Walsh wrote: We have an outstanding team and business will continue to be handled with the utmost enthusiasm, but he didnt say whether hed apply for the job.

Assistant city managers Maria Villagomez and Carlos Contreras issued similar statements saying theyll wait to see how the City Council conducts the search.

Nirenberg pledged to keep it transparent. The mayor said San Antonio wont follow the footsteps of Austin, which had tried to conceal the names of finalists for its city manager position last year.

The attempt at secrecy created a scene as reporters staked out interviews and took to social media trying to identify job candidates. The Austin American-Statesman sued the city arguing that the names of finalists were public information.

The naming of the next city manager is as important for the operations of the city as it is for the spirit of our community, Nirenberg said.

The city will handle that with care and professionalism, the mayor promised, with no politicking that would sully the process.

John Tedesco is a staff writer in the San Antonio and Bexar County area. Read him on our free site, mySA.com, and on our subscriber site, ExpressNews.com. | jtedesco@express-news.net | Twitter: @John_Tedesco
WASHINGTON - President Donald Trump, one of fossil fuels best friends, faces a backlash against his efforts to unravel government support for renewable energy in state capitols from Maine to Nevada.

In January, Democrats who ran campaigns promising to transition their states away from oil, natural gas and other fossil fuels will replace Republican governors in six states that include Colorado, New Mexico, Wisconsin and Illinois. The election earlier this month did not deliver across-the-board victories for clean energy, with voters in Washington state rejecting a carbon fee and those in Arizona voting no on a referendum for 50 percent renewable energy. But the industry chalked up far more wins than losses.

Those wins include Colorado Governor-elect Jared Polis, who pledged to help bring his state to 100 percent renewable energy by 2040. In New Mexico, one of the countrys largest oil producing states, Governor-elect Michelle Lujan Grisham says that state will reach 50 percent of its energy from renewables by 2030.

At a recent event in Washington, lobbyists for the wind and solar energy industries predicted the election would accelerate growth, as this new wave of Democratic politicians put pressure on legislatures to increase renewable energy mandates in the decades ahead.

This was a seismic shift, said Greg Wetstone, president of the American Council on Renewable Energy, a Washington-based trade group. When you have pro-renewables governors in office things can happen very quickly.

On HoustonChronicle.com: In Silicon Valley, power industry is next target for disruption

The Democratic victory comes as the Trump administration continues to seek a government subsidy for coal and nuclear power plants, which, under pressure from cheaper natural gas and renewables, have closed at a fast clip across the country. Such proposals have drawn jeers, not only from clean energy advocates, but also the oil and gas industry.

Pressure building

The pressure on coal and nuclear, meanwhile, is only expected to increase. Technological innovation, along with a huge surge in output from Chinese manufacturers, has driven down the cost of renewables to the point they have made up the majority of new generation installed in the United States for five years running.

A report by the investment bank Lazard released earlier this month found that even without government tax breaks, onshore wind turbines and solar panels generated electricity at the same price or lower than coal and natural gas plants in some markets.

This [election] puts the brakes on any talk were going to take away support for renewable energy, said Amy Myers Jaffe, a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, a think tank in New York. People are in favor of [climate change] solutions if they are sure it would work. States put in renewable energy and everyones light are still on.

The continued rise of solar and wind energy presents an existential threat to the Texas oil and gas industry, which, facing forecasts of shrinking gasoline demand, is banking on selling more natural gas to power plants as world economies reduce carbon emissions

Oil executives hope that the renewable pledges of the Democratic governors-elect are just campaign promises, not to be taken too seriously. And they take heart in politicians such as Polis in Colorado, who, despite his clean energy platform, also opposed a referendum putting restraints on oil and gas drilling in his state.

They took on this platform, knowing it was an easy box to check given their base. But I wouldnt read too much into it, said Steve Everly, an energy consultant and spokesman for the advocacy group Texans for Natural Gas. Its easy if youre coming into an office, at most for eight years, and say this is what were going to do in 2050.

Even if they do commit to renewables as pledged, the new governors will face a gauntlet of public utility commissions, state budget fights, shifting public opinion and an entrenched utility sector that commands tens of thousands of jobs around the country and spends heavily on lobbying legislatures and state-level political campaigns. .

Already, fossil fuel interest are lobbying to roll back government support for wind and solar energy, setting up fights in Washington and state capitols including Austin.

In Illinois, where Governor-elect J.B. Pritzker has called for 50 percent renewables by 2025, a large nuclear power sector along with ballooning public debt are likely to make meeting that target near impossible, said Colin Smith, an analyst with the research firm Wood Mackenzie.

No guarantees

The political landscape is improved for wind and solar, but its by no means a guarantee, he said. In a lot of these areas, 100 percent renewable targets might not be realistic. But at the very least were seeing a picture where theres going to be a lot of demand for additional renewables in these states.

On HoustonChronivle.com: Is Houston missing the next energy wave?

Already wind and solar developers in Texas are gearing up for a lot more work. In some ways, they say, the growth was inevitable. Falling costs of wind turbines and solar panels, along with increasing societal pressure on corporations to shift to cleaner energy, are driving demand for more solar installations and wind farms.

And with advances in battery technology, the days of a cost competitive home battery system linked with rooftop solar are not far off, said John Berger, CEO of the Houston solar developer Sunnova. If that prediction proves out, that could move consumers to renewables long before the clean energy targets set by state governors.

Those people who think batteries are 10 years away, I dont know if its going to take two years, Berger said. It really doesnt matter whos in the White House or Congress. Were going to win.

james.osborne@chron.com

Twitter: @osborneja
Federal and San Marcos investigators will announce a reward Friday for information leading to the arrest or conviction of those believed to be responsible for a catastrophic apartment fire that killed five people and severely burned a sixth victim.

The reward strongly suggests that officials have concluded that someone set the fire at Iconic Village Apartments on July 20. That would bring even more urgency to an already high-profile investigation that authorities have been working on for more than four months.

Authorities also are expected to reveal more information about how the fire started.

News of the reward came from a press release Thursday from the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Houston Field Division.

The briefing at 10:30 a.m. Friday is not open to the public. The city of San Marcos will broadcast a live feed on its Facebook page.

The consequences of the disaster were devastating and impacted families across the state. Five victims were found dead in the rubble  Dru Estes, 20, of San Antonio; Belinda Moats, 21, of Big Wells; Haley Michele Frizzell, 19, of San Angelo; David Angel Ortiz, 21, of Pasadena; and James Phillip Miranda, 23, of Mount Pleasant.

They were all in second-floor apartments of Building 500 when the conflagration started there shortly before 4:30 a.m. while most residents were asleep. The victims apartments composed almost the entire circumference of the buildings center courtyard  an indication of how fast the flames spread.

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Those inside the buildings 28 apartments had little time to react. When firefighters arrived, flames had wrapped around the metal roof, which soon collapsed.

The complex was built in 1970, when San Marcos didnt require fire sprinklers in new buildings. San Marcos current city code doesnt order such buildings to be retrofitted with sprinklers unless those structures undergo significant renovations.

The apartments at 222 Ramsay St.  two blocks from the Texas State University campus  were occupied mostly by current and former students of that school.

Frizzell and Ortiz, both students, were in the same corner apartment, along with their friend, Zachary Sutterfield, 20, of San Angelo, according to Dallas attorney Bruce Steckler, who represents their families. Sutterfield had been in San Marcos for about a week as he prepared to transfer to Texas State.

Sutterfield survived the fire but suffered head trauma and third-degree burns covering 70 percent of his body. He has since undergone at least 21 surgeries and remains in the intensive care unit of the U.S. Army Institute of Surgical Research Burn Center at Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio, according to a GoFundMe page raising money on his behalf.

Details on how Sutterfield escaped the inferno havent been made public. He has no memory of the fire or of his move to San Marcos, according to posts his parents have made on a Facebook page dedicated to his recovery. He continues to ask if any of his friends died in the fire, his parents noted.

Moats, a former Texas State student who was planning to resume studies at the school, lived three doors down from the apartment occupied by Frizzell, Ortiz and Sutterfield. Miranda, an assistant manager at Discount Tire, lived three doors down from Moats and across the courtyard from Frizzell, Ortiz and Sutterfield.

Estes, a musician who had completed his sophomore year at Texas State, lived two doors from Miranda.

Autopsy results showing how exactly the five victims died have not been released.

Those unfortunate five young people were already passed before our units got on scene, San Marcos Assistant Fire Chief Rick Rowell told the Express-News several days after the fire.

Ultimately, the flames spread to another apartment building at Iconic Village and to a building at Vintage Pads Apartments next door. Both complexes are owned by San Marcos Green Investors LLC.

Firefighters spent more than 13 hours dousing the flames and didnt withdraw most of their engines and equipment until around 6 p.m. later that day.

The fire was so massive that San Marcos Fire Marshal Kelly Kistner, whose office is leading the investigation, brought in the federal ATF National Response Team and the Texas State Fire Marshals Office to assist. The ATF sent 50 agents  an unusually large number, one forensic fire investigator told the Express-News in August.

In the days after the fire, some residents who had been in their apartments when the pandemonium began said they never heard their smoke detectors go off. Many were awakened by screams, the sounds of glass breaking, others banging on their doors or the smell of smoke.

Some residents in Building 500 had to escape by jumping from second-floor windows, and several suffered broken bones.

The families of all five victims killed and Sutterfields parents sued the owner and managers of Iconic Village Apartments, as have some survivors with less serious injuries. To date, four separate lawsuits have been filed in Travis County.

San Marcos Green Investors LLC and the others being sued  property management company Elevate Multifamily LLC and two people who work in the apartments leasing office, Deborah Jones of Austin and Thomas Steubing Jr. of New Braunfels  have denied any wrongdoing.

In court papers responding to the lawsuits, theyve said the fire was caused by acts, omissions or negligence of others over whom they have no control or legal responsibility.

Attorneys defending the apartments owner and managers filed new documents this week saying there is a reasonable probability that the incident in question was caused by (an) unknown criminal third party. There are no known identifying characteristics of the unknown criminal third party at this time.

The defendants attorney, Jennifer Akre of Houston, has declined to comment. She and other defense attorneys are seeking to consolidate the lawsuits and move them to Hays County, where the fire occurred.

Peggy OHare is a staff writer in the San Antonio and Bexar County area. Read her on our free site, mySA.com, and on our subscriber site, ExpressNews.com. | pohare@express-news.net | Twitter: @Peggy_OHare
Hours after City Manager Sheryl Sculley announced her retirement Thursday, the city dropped its lawsuit over the evergreen clause in the firefighters contract, putting the matter back in union hands.

It was largely a symbolic act; after lower courts ruled against the city and the Texas Supreme Court refused to hear the case this summer, the lawsuit was all but dead.

But the city had refused to drop the suit unless the San Antonio Professional Fire Fighters Association agreed to drop its lawsuit against the city at the same time, which the union wouldnt do.

Now, the dismissal of the suit sets the stage for contract negotiations to begin more than four years after the fire unions contract initially expired.

Union leaders did not return phone calls seeking comment, but President Chris Steele has maintained since the city filed its lawsuit in the fall of 2014 that he would begin negotiations within seven days of the suit being dropped.

The unions top ally on the City Council  Greg Brockhouse  said the two sides should get to negotiating.

Yeah, I think they should negotiate, he said. Ive told them that myself. My hope would be that they get back as quickly as possible.

Its unlikely, he said, that the two sides would start up traditional negotiations in full view of the public. If the two sides meet, it will likely be before the mediator whod previously worked on reaching an agreement. Thats typically done behind closed doors, but Brockhouse suggested that it should be done publicly since San Antonians are so vested in the matter.

On Nov. 6, voters approved a hotly contested charter amendment that gives the union the unilateral ability to call for binding arbitration on contract negotiations.

Mayor Ron Nirenberg said hes hoping for a quick resolution  and that its not related to Sculleys retirement announcement.

San Antonio, the public, the city and the firefighters deserve this contract dispute to be resolved yesterday, he said. I have faith that professional negotiations will occur and would have occurred regardless of Sheryls announcement.

Sculley said she will stay on and help with the transition to her successor but will end her 13-year career with the city no later than June 30.

She was the consistent force behind the citys lawsuit, which alleged that its contract with the fire union violated the Texas Constitution and public policy because of its evergreen clause, which keeps the agreement intact for up to a decade after it expires while a new one is negotiated.

Josh Baugh is a staff writer in the San Antonio and Bexar County area. Read him on our free site, mySA.com, and on our subscriber site, ExpressNews.com. | jbaugh@express-news.net | Twitter: @jbaugh
There was a snarky joke that went around in summer 2014, when President Barack Obama tapped then-Mayor Julian Castro to serve as his housing secretary.

According to the joke, if Obama really had wanted to appoint the leader of San Antonio to his Cabinet, he should have picked City Manager Sheryl Sculley.

For 13 years, Sculley has towered above the elected officials whose policies she enacted.

Greg Brockhouse, the most vociferous council critic she ever encountered, recalls her giving him this reality check shortly after he took office last year: Ive been through 49 council members.

The unmistakable message: Council members come and go, but Im still here, and you better get used to it.

Sculley co-existed (and generally thrived) with four wildly diverse mayors, endured harsh personal attacks from the citys public safety unions and managed a staff of 12,000 people with utter assurance. But her tenure will soon end, as she made clear Thursday with her announcement that she will retire, no later than June 30 of next year.

Its easy to look at the timing of Sculleys announcement and conclude political reality forced her hand, in the same way a no-confidence vote forces the ouster of a prime minister.

Sculleys name never appeared on a San Antonio ballot, but the closest we ever got to a public referendum on her leadership was the Nov. 6 midterm election, with a charter-amendment proposition  crafted by the San Antonio Professional Firefighters Association  limiting city managers to no more than 10 times the pay of the lowest-paid municipal employee and an eight-year term in office.

Although Sculley was grandfathered in under the terms of Proposition B, there was no doubt voters looked at her $550,000 in base and bonus pay, and her long stint in the city managers office, when they passed the proposition with 59.2 percent of the vote.

In recent years, Sculley occasionally had been targeted by dark-horse mayoral candidates trying to generate attention.

In 2015, we saw former County Commissioner Tommy Adkisson blame her for the bad relationship between the city and San Antonios public safety unions. Two years later, Manuel Medina based his campaign largely on the idea that, if elected, he would replace Sculley.

But neither candidate got much traction. Over six election cycles, Sculleys presence never had posed a real problem for any mayoral or council candidate.

To the contrary, she provided Phil Hardberger  the mayor who brought her here from Phoenix in 2005  with the legacy achievement of his administration.

If, as Hardberger always insisted, Sculley was the finest city manager in the United States, his concerted efforts to lure her to San Antonio  after she had withdrawn her name from the selection process only a few months earlier  surely made him one of the smartest mayors in the country.

In 2019, coming off this years charter-amendment election, it would have been different.

Brockhouse, a likely challenger to Mayor Ron Nirenberg, would have tied the mayor to Sculley at every turn. Sculley would have provided a convenient face for Brockhouses argument that City Hall lacks transparency and runs roughshod over the will of the people.

With Sculley leaving, of her own accord, that political argument gets weakened.

Sculley always pushed back against suggestions she overstepped her role and dictated policy decisions to weak, rubber-stamping council members. In purely formal terms, thats true, but theres no doubt she wielded more power than any city manager in San Antonio history.

In part, that was because of her command of the issues and the sense of authority she conveyed, down to her famously firm handshake. In part, it was because council members needed her more than she needed them. Politically prudent council members didnt want to cross her, because they knew their futures depended on Sculleys willingness to help them address problems in their districts.

Even though the council approved the citys 2014 decision to file lawsuits against the police and fire unions over the 10-year evergreen clauses in their contracts, there never was a doubt the impetus came from Sculley.

It would be an overstatement to say Sculley, to borrow an awesomely corny phrase from the To Sir, With Love theme, took San Antonio from crayons to perfume, but she successfully navigated the city through a period of intense growth and maintained fiscal responsibility even in the face of a 2008-09 recession that crippled other cities.

The San Antonio whose management she will relinquish next year is stronger than the one she inherited in 2005.

Her legacy includes a Triple A bond rating, the citys three biggest bond programs, Hardberger Park, Main Plaza, an Equity Assessment Program and the coming revamp of Alamo Plaza.

Those achievements, however, dont convey her impact. She was bigger than her office, bigger than the city she served.

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
When it comes to establishing a commission devoted to raising awareness and educating students about the Holocaust, Texas is not only a relative newcomer  its an anomaly.

Most such entities are decades older, operating primarily on the East Coast, where Jewish populations are far larger than the Lone Star States.

The Texas Holocaust and Genocide Commission only dates to 2009, but it was forged by a robust Jewish community in Houston, Dallas and, to a lesser extent, San Antonio, executive director Matt Verdugo said.

And they went farther than in other states by adding genocides beyond the Holocaust to its work.

On advocates minds were the diminishing numbers of survivors, the living witnesses to the atrocities in Nazi death camps during World War II, couple with the ongoing religious wars and ethnic cleansing in places such as Darfur, the Balkans, Rwanda and Iraq. The list has only grown since then.

In October, the commission got a major San Antonio presence, the writer and public relations executive Jonathan Gurwitz, who will serve a three-year term.

Related: San Antonio pastor is walking with the caravan

The 54-year former newspaperman became the third San Antonian on the 15-member body, after businesswoman Laura Ehrenberg-Chesler and Sichan Siv, notable for having escaped Cambodias killing fields in 1976 and serving as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations under President George W. Bush.

Gurwitz, vice president of KGBTexas Communications, says his advocacy was influenced by two beloved mentors  the late Oscar Ehrenberg, a Holocaust survivor and father of a fellow commissioner; and writer Jan Karski, a Polish resistance fighter in World War II with whom Gurwitz studied at Georgetown University.

Both left a lasting imprint on Gurwitz, who made writing about Darfur, a region of Sudan that erupted in civil war in 2003, a focus of his writing at the Express-News.

A former board member of Temple Beth-El and former board chair of the Jewish Federation of San Antonio, Gurwitz said his work for the state commission will be to make more Texas teachers aware of its educational resources. Some dont know about the commission and how it can assist them in the classroom.

Gurwitz said hes also looking forward to the commissions work of redesigning its website to improve functionality; developing a plan for social media to reach educators on Twitter and Facebook; and touring the state to meet with newspaper editorial boards.

He has worked on both sides of that table as a columnist and member of the Express-News editorial board and in advocating for clients before such panels.

The commission went into overdrive this fall, when it fought proposed changes to the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills, or TEKS, that would have deleted mention of the Holocaust. It ultimately was reinstated as a component of what is taught about WWII under world history curriculum for Texas high schools.

Related: This holiday season, text 'compassion' to 55000

Such cases arent mere curriculum battles but part of a larger societal need, especially as the youngest remaining Holocaust survivors die off, Verdugo said.

The fear is that once they pass away, as in many other events in history, well forget the Holocaust happened in a modern, industrialized western country, where we like to think that society has progressed beyond stuff like this, the commissions executive said.

Gurwitz agreed.

Unless you understand what happened and why it happened, the likelihood that it happens again increases, he said. It has practical application to the daily lives of students, like cyber-bullying.

Dehumanizing targeted people is an essential component of genocide, he said, as has happened to Muslims in Bosnia and Christians in Syria.

Sometimes the source of hatred is religion, or ethnicity, or sexual orientation, but it begins with marginalizing and dehumanizing people. Its no different from the victims in a church in South Carolina or a synagogue in Pittsburgh, Gurwitz said.

Gurwitz will attend his second commission meeting in January.

The commissions work includes funding studies and developing programs and exhibits, among them, The Texas Liberator: Witness to the Holocaust exhibit that will be in Fredericksburg next and will at some point show in San Antonio, Verdugo said.

The commission has a Hispanic outreach coordinator to bring knowledge of the Holocaust to the growing majority of Texas student population. It also awards grants to nonprofits doing genocide awareness work, conducts student contests and recognizes educators doing superior work in the field.

Verdugo said the commission will seek additional funding in the next legislative session to hire a staffer to develop course materials on other genocides. It is also negotiating with the University of Texas to conduct research on an elusive topic  the alleged work by a young Texas congressman and future president, Lyndon Johnson, in rescuing Jews during World War II.

Another of its research projects, at Texas A&M University medical school, will investigate generational suffering of Holocaust survivors and their descendants, and whether physiological trauma is handed down.

Elaine Ayala covers religion and minority affairs in the San Antonio and Bexar County area. Read her on our free site, mySA.com, and on our subscriber site, ExpressNews.com. | eayala@express-news.net | Twitter: @ElaineAyala
Today Baku hosts the FIG Congress. Vestnik Kavkaza talked to President of FIG Morinari Watanabe about development of gymnastics in the world and contribution of the Azerbaijani Gymnastics Federation to the work.

- How do you assess contribution of the Azerbaijani Gymnastics Federation to global development of gymnastics?

- The Azerbaijani Federation holds a lot of events and competitions. All of them meet global standards. We love being here in Baku. AGF is a strong federation which develops and pushes gymnastics forward. We can see a special attention paid to gymnastics in Azerbaijan.

- What do you think about the work of AGF President, the First Vice-President of Azerbaijan Mehriban Aliyeva?

- Mehriban Aliyeva does a great job supporting gymnastics. Its important to note that she does it not only in Azerbaijan but also in the world.

- How do you assess cooperation between FIG and UEG under Farid Gaibovs management?

- Farid is my brother. I support everything that Farid supports. We cooperate very well.

- What does FIG do to attract wider audience to gymnastics?

- In any sports, not only in gymnastics, entertainment is important. I mean not only beauty of competitions in gymnastics. But we need to make gymnastic rules easier for understanding. We need entertainment.
Hola from the front row of the caravan crisis in San Diego. The U.S.-Mexico border is just 17 miles from Americas Finest City. So here are 17 observations:

From perches in New York and Washington, the liberal media showed again how little they know about immigration when some commentators claimed, after the election, that the caravan was fake news. Its here.

Conservatives are so eager to dismiss the idea that these arrivals from Central America are seeking asylum that they pounce whenever one of them says in an interview that theyre actually coming to work. Remember when those on the right used to say they wanted immigrants to work?

When entering a foreign country, a little humility goes a long way. Many of the refugees have been on their best behaviors. Others threw rocks and tossed tear gas canisters back to the Border Patrol agents who fired them.

Who knew that border hawks are so easily distracted by nonissues? Many are fixated on the fact that so many members of the caravan are not women and children but young men. So what? Does that mean they are any less in need of refuge?

It is not a good idea for immigrant advocates to downplay allegations of rock throwing by caravan members. Its a real act of violence, and a real threat that has for years resulted in Border Patrol agents being wounded and, in some cases, permanently blinded by border crossers.

Its not productive for anti-immigrant forces to blame migrant parents for putting their children in harms way. As opposed to what? Staying in Honduras, Guatemala or El Salvador so their children could be harmed, or killed, there?

According to media reports, there was an argument in the White House over whether to allow U.S. troops on the border to use lethal force. Those opposed: Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen, and her predecessor, chief of staff John Kelly. That is, folks who understand the border.

President Donald Trumps threat to close the border if Mexico doesnt keep the Central Americans south of the Rio Grande is hot air. Forget that closing down a nearly 2,000-mile border might be illegal. The real snag: Its not possible.

Federal immigration agents have to hold off those who try to crash the gate. Thats their job, and they must be free to do it.

This doesnt mean that Border Patrol agents should not be held accountable for their actions. They should be. Spraying migrants with tear gas, including women and children, raised eyebrows a few weeks ago on the Mexico-Guatemala border. And its raising eyebrows again now that it is happening on the U.S.-Mexico border.

Right-wingers went nuts when Rep.-elect Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., said that seeking refuge isnt a crime for Central Americans any more than it was for Jewish families fleeing Germany. She was making this point: Americans can be fickle depending on whos at the door.

Speaking of racists, all they see is color. Like when Ron Colburn, president of an outfit called the Border Patrol Foundation, told Fox News that the Border Patrol agents were fending off migrants with a pepper spray so natural that you could actually put it on your nachos and eat it.

The hostility that Central Americans are facing in Mexico isnt about racism. Its about other -isms that arent any better: elitism and classism. It is appalling that Mexicans  who expect to be treated well by their northern neighbors  treat their southern neighbors so poorly.

As badly as this administration has bungled immigration, Democrats are no prize. They have no ideas, no integrity and no credibility with immigrant activists given that they often overcompensate on deportations and enforcement as if to prove theyre not weak on border security.

Reportedly there is a deal between the U.S. and Mexico in which Mexico houses asylum seekers on its side of the border while their applications are considered by the U.S. This is not a solution. Its just a way to create more problems.

The photo of a young girl in the caravan, smiling and waving the American flag against a backdrop of makeshift tents, is both haunting and poetic. Is this who were supposed to be afraid of?

Many of these people are exactly the sort we want in this country: bold risk takers who will walk hundreds of miles and literally crawl under barbed wire to get a taste of what so many native-born Americans take for granted.

This is a complicated problem  and a recurring one. Why do people from Central America keep coming to the United States? Weve hired them, and their family members, for years. They come because they know the way.

ruben@rubennavarrette.com
MILFORD  A Bridgeport man and a Stratford woman face charges after city cops stopped them in a stolen car earlier this week.

Robert Smith, 24, of Boston Avenue in Bridgeport, was charged with third-degree larceny. He was held on a $5,000 bond. There were no updated court records for him on Thursday.

Hollyann Smith, 20, of Stratford Avenue in Stratford, was charged with possession of a controlled substance. Shes expected in court on Dec. 26.

Milford police stopped a car on the Exit 36 off-ramp of Interstate 95 north on Tuesday for an equipment violation, police said.

Investigation showed the vehicle to be stolen out of Berlin, police said.

Robert Smith was immediately taken into custody and charged with the theft of the vehicle, police said.

A passenger int he car, Hollyann Smith, who police say claimed to be of no relation to the driver, is accused of being in possession of prescription medication that she does not hold a prescription for.

It was unclear if the two are actually related.
contributed

The very first Holiday Express Train Show at the Fairfield Museum took place in 2006. It was the brainchild of Fairfield Museum Executive Director Mike Jehle and then Board member Pinky Anderson.

Back in 2006, the two of them thought it would be a nice way to get people to stop by the former Fairfield Historical Society located on Old Post Road during the holidays. With the success of The Polar Express movie just a few years before, in 2004, the popularity of trains and train sets was on the rise. Jehle and Anderson worked with the members of the Housatonic Model Railway Club to install the first train show in December of 2006. It was an instant success.
Today Baku hosts the FIG Congress. Ahead of the event, Vestnik Kavkaza talked to President of the Women's Artistic Gymnastics Technical Committee Nelli Kim about the Congresss agenda and development of gymnastics in Azerbaijan.

- What is the agenda of the current FIG Congress?

- One of main goals of the Congress is changing the Charter of FIG. Its our key document which regulates our life. We have a lot of very serious suggestions. For example, elections in 2020 will be regulated by changes made in todays Congress. Its a historical congress. We expect hard discussions as different people have different points of view on suggestions in the agenda.

- Will new gymnastic disciplines appear?

- We will discuss parkour. Its a big topic for the Baku Congress  whether parkour should be a FIG discipline or not.

- Does FIG plan to admit new members to FIG?

- We are discussing an admission of Oceania, a continental gymnastic union, to FIG. I agree that we should have separate unions and the more is better. The International Olympic Committee wants gymnastics to develop in the whole world. However, its necessary to do, according to certain rules.

- How do you assess cooperation between FIG and UEG under Farid Gaibovs management?

- Farid does a good job. I like the questions he raises. It makes the work of FIG more efficient. Its not enough to sit still and nod. We should reveal problems and solve them. I like the way we discuss current problems in the Executive Council.

- What do you think about Azerbaijani Gymnastic Federation and its head Mehriban Aliyeva?

- My hats off to Mehriban Aliyeva. I admire her and the way she as Vice-President of the republic has time for gymnastics and not only Azerbaijani but also the global one. She is a unique woman.

I love visiting Baku. I know many employees of AGF as frequently visit the city. The Azerbaijani Federation is the most active in the world in hosting competitions. I admire AGF and would like to complement its staff. The federation has not so many people but the small working group does a huge work.
HARTFORD  Connecticut Chief Disciplinary Counsel Brian Staines is seeking disciplinary action against Paul J. Manafort Jr. for his criminal conviction in September.

According to court documents filed Thursday, Staines is asking Manafort to appear for a hearing in Connecticut regarding his conviction, but it doesnt offer a date as to when that could happen.

The three-page brief says its related to discipline for attorneys found guilty of serious crimes in another jurisdiction. It cites Manaforts plea deal in September when he admitted to funneling more than $60 million of unregistered lobbying income from pro-Russian Ukrainians into offshore accounts, and hiding more than $15 million in taxes from the IRS. At the time, he agreed to cooperate with special counsel Robert Muellers 2016 election probe to avoid a second trial.

But Manafort may have jeopardized his plea deal this week when prosecutors accused him of lying to them.

While Manaforts future is unknown the Connecticut filing means he could be asked to address a Connecticut court within the next 60 days, but no date has been scheduled.
In December of 2000, President of Azerbaijan Heydar Aliyev signed a decree on establishment of the Day of National Cinema of Azerbaijan, celebrated on August 2. Over the past 10 years, Azerbaijani films, documentaries and cartoons have been shown in more than 50 countries, at more than 200 international film festivals in France, Germany, Great Britain, USA, Canada, Italy, China, Russia, India and other countries. Film director, screenwriter, producer of the "Eurasia Film" company, Oleg Safaraliyev, discussed birth and development of Azerbaijani cinema, which celebrates its 120th anniversary this year, in an interview with Vestnik Kavkaza.

- This year marks 120th anniversary of Azerbaijani cinema. What main stages of its development would you highlight?

- First years of development of Azerbaijani cinema required participation of the "big brother" - there were few national talents, many pictures were filmed by visiting directors, mostly from Moscow. That's why first Azerbaijani film (not silent) "By the Bluest of Seas" (1936) was filmed by director Boris Barnet. However, it's also important to note that the second director of this film was Samad Mardanov. This is one of the landmark Azerbaijani movies. I would also highlight 1932 movie "26 Baku Commissioners", which was filmed by director Nikolai Shengelaya. As for documentaries, two films that were created by Roman Carmen: "A Tale of the Caspian Oilmen" (prize of the Cannes Film Festival 1954) and "The Caspian Conquerors" (Lenin Prize 1960).

1945 marks creation of one of the best Azerbaijani musical comedies - "Arshin Mal Alan" - which received the Stalin Prize. This film enjoyed great success in the Soviet Union and for a long time remained a of benchmark for Azerbaijani cinema. All of this happened at the first stage of formation, development of national cinema.

Azerbaijan's cinematography prime began in the 1960s. By this time, highly professional national film-makers had already appeared. There were a lot of young talented cameramen, artists, as well as directors from the Gerasimov Institute of Cinematography. Many pictures of that period were interesting to both film critics and historians of cinematography, and not only in Azerbaijan. Names of such directors as Hasan Seyidbeyli, Rza Tahmasib, Ali-Sattar Atakishiyev, and a little later Rasim Ojagov, whose 85th anniversary we celebrated just recently, were famous at the All-Union level. These directors showed how great they were and became an example for younger cinematographers.

- Rasim Ojagov was a key figure in renaissance of Azerbaijani cinema. What was his contribution to development of Soviet and Azerbaijani cinema?

- From late 1960s to 1980, best examples of Soviet Azerbaijani cinema were filmed at the Azerbaijanfilm studio. This period began with the movie titled "In One Southern City", which was created by Eldar Kuliyev. Rasim Ojagov also worked on this movie. This period ends in 1980 with "Interrogation", directed by Rasim Ojagov. Its script was written by Rustam Ibrahimbekov. This film, which received the State Prize of the USSR, was the only Azerbaijani film that was praised so much during the Soviet era.

Mid-1960s - early 1980s - the most prominent period of the Azerbaijani cinema. During this period Rasim Ojagov created his best films. His style formed completely during that time, just like his preferences, his desire to show moral topics, desire to think about life choices, purpose of life. "Interrogation" was a social films, which raised very topical issues.

- How can you describe his works' style?

- Rasim Ojagov really loved and knew a lot about Italian neorealism. Perhaps he got that trait when he began to study at the camera department of the Gerasimov Institute of Cinematography, when he gained access to those works. As a student he saw the best examples of Italian neorealism. Just like it happens with any creative person, they influenced him. I remember when I was studying in Moscow during the "Perestroika", old films appeared on various media, cassettes, disks. Ojagov always asked me to bring films of Italian directors to Baku. He collected them, loved to quote them. It was one of his favorite topics - Italian neorealism.

Rasim Ojagov paid a lot of attention to acting, to actors' understanding of tasks that go far beyond any particular episode or a story that is told in the film. He liked to expess excessive demands to actors and always looked for complete immersion in the role. It's no wonder that he needed great masters to complete all those tasks.

Occasionally, Ojagov was even criticized for his love of Russian actors, but he always tried to get famous, best actors of that time to appear in his films. Rodion Nahapetov played one of his best roles in in "Behind the Closed Door". Alexander Kalyagin had one of his iconic roles in "Interrogation". He also played major role in Rasim Ojagov's other film - "Another Life". These actors played our countrymen, Azerbaijanis, and it didn't bother anyone, because they played so well.

Professionalism of both Ojagov and actors helped them to completely immerse in the story they were telling. They didn't stand out compared to those Azerbaijani actors that performed with them.

By this time, Azerbaijani acting school became one of the most professional ones. Some Azerbaijani actors began to perform in Russian films. There was an active exchange of creative resources.

Seven out of more than a dozen movies filmed by Rasim Ojagov were created based on scenarios of Rustam Ibragimbekov. This creative tandem of sceenwriter and director was one of the most productive ones. Each of their films, like Interrogation and Behind the Closed Door, immediately became a phenomenon in the Soviet cinematic sphere. All these films participated in numerous festivals. They attracted attention of not only audience members, but also film critics, people who studied and developed Azerbaijani cinema.
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Georgian Prime Minister Mamuka Bakhtadze said that if anyone at the opposition rally tries to create destabilization, they will be held accountable within the law.

"Everyone has the right of expression and the right is protected by the constitution. However, at the same time, if anyone tries to act out, we will act within the law," Agenda.ge cited the PM as saying.

He noted that everyone should respect the choice of the Georgian people. "We will not allow for revolutionary scenarios or confrontations. The elections are over and we should return to normal, everyday life, as much is to be done and many challenges need to be overcome," Bakhtadze stressed,

The Georgian Dream ruling party endorsed presidential candidate Salome Zurabishvili received 59.52% of votes (1,147,627 votes), while candidate from the United National Movement Grigol Vashadze - 40.48% of votes (780,633).
The Boeing Co. is an aerospace company, which engages in the manufacture of commercial jetliners and defense, space and security systems. It operates through the following segments: Commercial Airplanes; Defense, Space and Security; Global Services; and Boeing Capital. The Commercial Airplanes segment includes the development, production, and market of commercial jet aircraft and provides fleet support services, principally to the commercial airline industry worldwide. The Defense, Space and Security segment refers to the research, development, production and modification of manned and unmanned military aircraft and weapons systems for global strike, including fighter and combat rotorcraft aircraft and missile systems; global mobility, including tanker, rotorcraft and tilt-rotor aircraft; and airborne surveillance and reconnaissance, including command and control, battle management and airborne anti-submarine aircraft. The Global Services segment provides services to commercial and defense customers. The Boeing Capital segment seeks to ensure that Boeing customers have the financing they need to buy and take delivery of their Boeing product and manages overall financing exposure. T

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Tahoe Resources Inc., together with its subsidiaries, acquires, explores for, develops, and operates mineral properties in the Americas. It explores for silver, gold, lead, zinc, and copper deposits, as well as precious metals assets. The company holds interest in the La Arena gold mine located in the Huamachuco district of northern Peru; Shahuindo mine located in the province of Cajabamba in northern Peru; and La Arena II, a copper-gold porphyry deposit located in Peru. It also holds interest in the Timmins mines, including the Bell Creek and Timmins West mines, the Fenn-Gib project, the Juby project, the Vogel project, and the Gold River project located in Timmins, Ontario. The company was formerly known as CKM Resources Inc. and changed its name to Tahoe Resources Inc. in January 2010. Tahoe Resources Inc. was incorporated in 2009 and is headquartered in Reno, Nevada.

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November 11 marked 100 years since the end of World War I, which U.S. President Woodrow Wilson called the war to end all wars.

Wilson saw himself as a historic peacemaker; instead, he became an ironic phrasemaker.

The Great War never brought an end to war or even an end to that war. The then-raging Russian civil war continued for three more bloody years. Moreover, historians now estimate that more than 100 million military personnel, civilians, and victims of genocide died in 20th-century warfare that followed The Great Wars peace in 1918.

Worse, all that horror occurred despite a century of new institutions  the League of Nations, the United Nations, NATO, SEATO, the European Union, the IMF, ASEAN, the G-20, the G-7, GATT, the WTO, the World Bank, and the OAS to name but a few  designed to prevent war, promote peace, and underwrite global prosperity.

Today, some of those same institutions are failing to prevent another age-old conflict: trade wars.

For example, China and the U.S. are engaged in an epic trade battle that both continue to escalate. On Jan. 1, 2019, in fact, the current White House-imposed 10 percent tariffs on $200 billion of imported Chinese goods will rise to 25 percent. How do you think China will respond?

But this trade fight, like most wars, isnt only bilateral.

At the just-concluded Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation meeting, a gathering of 21 nations that rim the Pacific Ocean, U.S. Vice President Mike Pence and Chinese President Xi Jinping hammered each other for their mutual trade intransigence.

The hostility, the New York Times reported, was reminiscent of the uncompromising rhetoric heard during the Cold War.

Peter ONeill, prime minister of the meetings host nation, Papua New Guinea, said Xi and Pences words frightened all: The entire world is worried.

Brexit battle

The picture is equally troubling off Americas other coast.

Presently, the European Union (EU) is looking at the twin barrels of a deadly trade fight with both Great Britain and the U.S. that, three short years ago, would have been seen as preposterous.

But, in June 2016, British voters narrowly approved Brexit, a vote to leave the European Union and, five months later, U.S. voters elevated Donald J. Trump to the presidency. Both results signaled a rise of populist nationalism and a setback for the liberal world order, an international recognition by disparate nations to follow rules-based institutions (the UN, WTO, NATO) to foster political stability and economic peace.

Like American farmers and ranchers caught in the Trump-Xi trade fight, British farmers now face an uncertain future as Prime Minister Theresa May beseeches her deeply split fellow Conservatives in Parliament to approve a leave deal recently negotiated with the EU.

Its an uphill fight for the Prime Minister that may cost May her job whether she wins or loses.

Her winning  leaving the EU, that is  will likely cost British farmers almost $4 billion in ag payments they receive each year under the European Unions Common Agricultural Policy.

U.S. farmers hit

American farmers and ranchers are also entering their own winter of discontent. Few market analysts or land grant economists have measured the actual rural cost of White House trade actions against Mexico, Canada, the EU, and China. The U.S. Department of Agriculture, however, pegs the American tab at $12 billion, the money it authorized the Commodity Credit Corp. to borrow to mitigate the trade damages sustained by tariff-slowed markets.

More troublesome than even the cost, however, is that there is no end in sight to the fights. Tough talk and more digging in have replaced any olive branch or kind gesture.

As such, these nearly worldwide trade battles eerily resemble the stalemated trench warfare that was the deadly hallmark of World War I, the war that didnt end all wars.
By Other News

WASHINGTON  The top wheat yield in the National Wheat Foundation national contest topped the 200 bushels/acre level for the first time in the contest.

Phillip Gross, Adams County, Washington, produced 202.53 bushels per acre of winter wheat on irrigated ground, planting an LCS variety.

That makes the third year in a row Gross has been the contests high yield winner.

State winners

Eighty-two growers from 23 states participated in two primary competition categories: winter wheat and spring wheat, and two subcategories: dryland and irrigated.

This years winners from Ohio and Pennsylvania include:

Ohio

1. Douglas Goyings, Paulding County, (dryland); Strike; 2. Jason Grant, Brown County (dryland); BioGene Seeds; 3. Robert Miller, Trumbull County (dryland); AgriPro; and

1. Dave Cunningham, Williams County (irrigated); Pioneer.

Pennsylvania

Darrel Martin, Lancaster County; (dryland); Chemgro; 2. Jim Hershey, Lancaster County; (dryland); AgriPro; 3. Leslie Bowman, Franklin County; (dryland); Pioneer.

Winners are selected by the percentage increase their yield exceeds the most recent five-year Olympic county average as determined by USDA.

Official rules and entry details for the 2019 contest will be available Jan. 1, 2019 at www.yieldcontest. wheatfoundation.org.
Bayer has announced it will cut 12,000 jobs worldwide and sell its animal health division, which could be worth 6.2bn.

The German drug giant explained that the measures will include a reduction of around 12,000 of 118,200 jobs worldwide.

More than 4,000 jobs will go at the company's crop sciences division.

The company has also announced it intends to exit the animal health business due to planned efficiency and structural measures.

Bayer anticipates annual contributions of 2.6 billion euros from 2022 as a result of these measures.

Werner Baumann, CEO of Bayer, said: Through the end of 2022 alone, we aim to invest a total of around 35 billion in the companys future, with research and development accounting for over two thirds of this figure and capital expenditures for just under one third.

Shares in Bayer have substantial decreased by over a third so far in 2018, partly due to concerns over the company's exposure to lawsuits involving Roundup, a weedkiller made by Monsanto.

In October, San Francisco Superior Court upheld a jury's verdict that Monsanto's 'Roundup' weedkiller caused a school caretaker's cancer, but drastically reduced the amount of money to be paid from $289m to $78m.
The Christmas period is the "perfect time" for the Scottish public to buy and support local, which in turn backs farmers and crofters.

This festive season, NFU Scotland is asking the public to support farmers and crofters  many of whom will even be working on Christmas day  and buy local.

Farmers and crofters work year-round to provide the world-renowned Scottish produce which it is famous for.

Not only does buying local cut down on food miles, but consumers can be rest assured that farmers get the full return they deserve for the food they produce, NFU Scotland says.

The public are also guaranteed high quality, with full traceability back to the farm, knowing that the food they are tucking into with family on Christmas day is of the finest quality. the union explains.

Even simply visiting a local farmers market, a local farm shop or going directly to the farmer ensures the meat and vegetables bought are "produced to the highest of standards".

NFU Scotland President, Andrew McCornick said: Our thousands of farmers and crofters work day in and day out to provide the fine Scottish produce many will enjoy over the festive period.

At a time of year when farmers and crofters are working hard to ensure you have food on your plate on Christmas Day, what better way to support them than to buy fresh, Scottish produce.

Many continue to feed the beasts, milk the cows, and work on the farm during Christmas Day, and wed ask consumers to show appreciation by making sure their festivities are as Scottish and local as possible.

He added: This Christmas, I ask you to support your local farmers and crofters  that may be as simple as buying your brussels sprouts from the local shop or it could be buying your turkey or beef directly from the farmer.

A little can go a long way and helps to enable farmers to feed you every day of the year, Mr McCornick said.
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.
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Anushka Sharma and Virat Kohli tied the knot last year in December. The two lead very busy work lives but the power couple also know that it's important to spend time together. In a recent interview to Quint, Anushka talked about the work-life balance and said, "Work takes up majority of my time. I was working literally two days before I got married. Got married and then was away for a week with Virat and again came back and started shooting for Sui Dhaaga. So I have always been working round the clock and back to back, so much so, that this year we have four releases."

She added, "Like I was always somebody who understood that categorising is important. That this is my work and this is my personal life, is very important and I think both of us have managed to do that really well. Given that we have two lives which are so busy equally. Always traveling so much, all around the world. Sometimes only one person stays in the house at one given time. This is what any new age young couple goes through so we are just a good example for that."

Meanwhile, as per recent reports, Anushka Sharma and Virat Kohli will celebrate their first annivesary in Australia. Talking about the same, a source told DNA,''The two had planned this trip months ago and the Zero team was aware that she would be taking a few days off in December to celebrate this special moment.''

He added, "Shahrukh Khan has planned an extensive promotional campaign with Anushka and she has given till the end of November to finish all the activities. Their story is the film's plot driver, so plans have been made accordingly by the superstar. After the Sui Dhaaga: Made In India star returns, she will dive headlong into the hectic promotions of Zero for the entire month.''

Most Read: Priyanka Chopra- Nick Jonas' Wedding: Guests Receive Personalized Key Cards & Luggage Tags
Two people were injured in a shootout in Yerevan.

According to Armenia's Investigative Committee, shots were fired yesterday evening at the courtyard of a building in Yerevan.

A Yerevan resident who was born in 1981, and a man who was born in 1984 were hospitalized immediately after the incident, News.am reported.

The Investigative Committee has filed a criminal case on charges of illegally carrying weapons and attempted murder. The investigation is in progress.
Shahrukh Khan's Zero recently sparked a controversy when a writ petition was filed against the superstar and the makers for allegedly hurting religious sentiments of the Sikh community by showcasing Kirpan in one of the scenes. Petitioner Amritpal Singh Khalsa, an advocate, had demanded for the removal of scenes where SRK is shown wearing a Kirpan.

Khalsa was quoted as saying by ANI, "The movie Zero which is coming, the lead actor Shah Rukh Khan is seen wearing a Kirpan along the Gatra that we wear (the belt). So that is a clear-cut mockery of our religion, our article of faith that is hurting my religious sentiments. I think only Sikhs are given the exclusive privilege of wearing and carrying Kirpans under Article 25.

So he is clearly violating the Article 25. Kirpan in the Sikh religion is our fundamental right and the way Shah Rukh Khan has worn the Kirpan, he has made fun of it. A lot of Sikhs have sacrificed their lives for Kirpan during the British time so he can't make fun of it. There is no ban on wearing Kirpan, he can wear Kirpan but he has to follow the Sikh Rehat Maryada code of conduct."

Fire Breaks Out On The Sets Of SRK's Zero In Film City, No Casualties Reported

Now as per the latest reports, the Bombay High Court heard his petition today and has asked the CBFC to examine the film and submit their reports.

ANI tweeted, "Bombay High Court asks Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) to examine the film Zero and submit the report before 18 December, 2018, while hearing a writ petition filed against it for allegedly hurting religious sentiments by a scene in the movie with 'kirpan."

Before Amritpal, Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee's general secretary Manjinder Singh Sirsa had also filed a complaint against Shahrukh for allegedly hurting Sikh community's sentiments.

In response, the makers had released an official statement that read, "The concern is duly noted and we wish to respectfully clarify that the film does not depict a Kirpan but in fact has used what is commonly known as a Katar. The filmmakers have been careful not to hurt the feelings of any community including the Sikh community."

To this, Sirsa had replied, "Your point is well taken. However, any misrepresentation related to Sikhism will hurt Sikh sentiments. So we expect a public statement from Film producers and @iamsrk clarifying your stance that this is not depicted as Kirpaan."

Speaking about Zero, the film helmed by Aanand L. Rai also stars Anushka Sharma and Katrina Kaif and is slated to release on 21st December.
Makers of Kangana Ranaut-starrer "Manikarnika: TheQueen of Jhansi" are yet to clear dues of approximately Rs 1.5 crore to the workers and junior artists, according to Federation of Western India Cine Employees.

The film, which is due to be released on January 25 next year, is currently under post-production. The makers have been shooting some portions of the film at Filmcity in suburban Mumbai.

The shoot was halted Wednesday afternoon mid-way because of non-payment of dues of workers, technicians and junior artists.

"It has been three months but they have not cleared dues of daily wage workers, which is about Rs 40 lakh. About Rs 90 lakh are to be paid to light vendor and Rs 25 lakh to junior artists. The producer (Kamal Jain) had promised to make the payment by October but he has not fulfilled his commitment,"

Ashok Dubey, General Secretary of Federation of Western India CineEmployees (FWICE) told PTI.

The Film Studio Setting and Allied Mazdoor Union workers stalled work on the sets. The workers union then approached FWICE to seek their help in this matter.

"There was some patch up work that was remaining. We spoke to Kamal Jain in the first week of November to sort out this payment issue. But now he has stopped answering our calls. He had told he will not pay the workers if the shooting comes to a halt," Dubey said.

Dubey said FWICE is planning to write a letter to Prime Focus, a company working on the post production of "Manikarnika" and the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) to not work on the film and give it clearance till the payments are made.

"The producers should understand the plight of these workers, technicians and junior artists, there is no safety and security on the sets, there is no insurance for them. Besides this, the quality of food on the sets is not always good and there is also an issue of hygiene.

"We are also planning to meet Kirit Somaiya, who is the chairman of Labour committee," he added.

When contacted Jain, he remained unavailable for comments.
Meghan Markle, who tied knot with Prince Harry in May, 2018, will skip Priyanka Chopra's wedding taking place in Jodhpur. According to the Us Weekly, the Duchess of Sussex will not return the favour to PeeCee, who marked her presence at her wedding! An insider said, "Meghan will not be going to Priyanka's wedding, especially now that she's pregnant."

In 2016, Meghan had gushed about Priyanka Chopra and why she's so fond of her. She had said, "Priyanka is unbelievable. She has become a really good friend. Elle Magazine in the US hosted a dinner celebrating Women in TV, and we met that night - turns out she really likes Suits."

"You know when you meet someone and you just click? It was just an easy, natural progression. We've managed to keep in touch via email and text, and try to see each other whenever we're both in the same town."

2.0 FIRST DAY (Thursday) Box Office Collection!

Coming back to PeeCee's wedding, she and Nick Jonas, along with their families have reached the Umaid Bhawan Palace. The wedding festivities have already kick-started and soon the duo will tie knot in two different kind of weddings - Punjabi and Christian.

Priyanka & Nick announced their engagement on August 18, 2018.
Priyanka Chopra & Nick Jonas Wedding : Here's the Wedding Invitation Card; check out | FilmiBeat

Priyanka Chopra is all set to become Mrs Jonas this weekend. She and her fiance Nick Jonas will be tying the knot at the royal Taj Umaid Bhavan in Jodhpur and it's going to be a royal affair for sure. While PeeCee's international guests like Lilly Singh, Jonathan Tucker, Yasmine Al Massri, Joe Jonas, Sophie Turner, Kevin Jonas, and his wife Danielle Jonas have already landed in the city for the big fat wedding, we are yet to get our hands on the inside pictures from Umaid Bhavan because of the beefed up security at Umaid Bhavan.

However, we did come across a picture of the welcome goodies for the guests and it looks quite elegant. Check it out here-

Even We Want One Of These Lovely Gifts! The wedding goodies have been wrapped in white and contain initials, 'NP' which which stands for Nick and Priyanka. Meanwhile, Parineeti's Heart Is All Full Of Love & Happiness The actress is quite excited for her 'Mimi' didi's special day and shared a picture on her Instagram story, captioning it as, ""Heart full of love and happiness". Priyanka- Nick Landed In Jodhpur Yesterday For Their Wedding PeeCee looked beautiful in off-white anarkali style suit with a colorful bandhani dupatta. Nick, on the other hand, looked his stylish best in a brown jacket and biege chinos. We Just Can't Wait For Their Wedding Pictures Priyanka and Nick will be tying the knot as per Indian traditions and will also have a Christian wedding. Later, the couple will be hosting two wedding receptions- one in Mumbai and another in New Delhi.

Priyanka Chopra- Nick Jonas Wedding: Lilly Singh aka 'Superwoman' Lands In Jodhpur!
The wedding festivities have already began for Priyanka Chopra- Nick Jonas. The engaged couple is all set to exchange wedding vows this weekend. While buzz goes that the desi girl hasn't invited any B-town celebs, the actress is making sure that she has her loved ones by her side on the D-day. The guest list might have been kept under the wraps, but we hear that the wedding will be graced by many Hollywood biggies.

We recently got a glimpse of the first international guest for PeeCee's wedding. Canadian YouTuber, comedian, actor, and public speaker Lilly Singh aka Superwoman has already arrived in Jodhpur. Priyanka's Quantico co-star Yasmine Al Massri and Nick's groomsman Jonathan Tucker have also set their foot in the Blue City-

Priyanka Chopra & Nick Jonas Wedding: Arpita Khan reaches Jodhpur with Ahil Sharma | FilmiBeat

The First International Guest Priyanka and Lilly Singh had earlier teamed up for a Christmas special video titled How to Be a Good Wing Woman in 2016. A Star-Studded Wedding Apart from Lilly, Dwayne The Rock Johnson, Meghan Markle and other Hollywood celebs are also expected to be a part of NickYanka's wedding. Speaking About Priyanka's Bridal Trousseau As per Vogue magazine, the bride-to-be will be wearing a Ralph Lauren gown at her wedding this weekend. A Customized Gown For PeeCee Vogue also revealed that Ralph has never designed outfits only for his daughter, his daughter-in-law, and his niece. Ralph is designing a custom gown for PeeCee who might be seen donning more than one gown for the wedding weekend. Priyanka's Videsi Dulha To Go Desi Reports suggest that Nick will "dress like royalty, as is customary-turban, sword-and he'll ride in on a horse." Latest Update: Arpita Khan Sharma Reaches Jodhpur Salman Khan's sister Arpita Khan Sharma arrived in Jodhpur a few hours back. She will be a part of Priyanka-Nick's wedding celebrations.

Priyanka and Nick will reportedly tie the knot in a two-day ceremony. They will get married as per Indian traditions on 2nd December which will be followed by a Christian wedding the next day.

Priyanka Chopra- Nick Jonas' Wedding: Dwayne Johnson Aka 'The Rock' Will Attend Their Jodhpur Shaadi
Sumalatha And Abhishek

Ambareesh's wife Sumalatha and his son Abhishek attended the condolence meet and interacted with the guests. Sumalatha had Ambi fell in love during their professional commitments and they ultimately tied the knot in 1991.

Sumalatha's Heartbroken

In this photo, Sumalatha can be seen shedding tears and remembering Ambareesh. This is a hard time for her and we hope that she stays strong. As fans most probably remember, Sumalatha had broken down during the Rebel Star's funeral and refused to leave his body.

Jaggesh Attends The Event

Actor-turned-politician Jaggesh too attended the meet and offered his condolences to the family. Shortly after Ambi's death, the veteran star had written a poem in Kannada and paid tribute to the matinee idol.

Sudharani,Prema and Sruthi At The Meet

Actresses Sudharani,Prema and Sruthi were seen sitting togrther during the prayer meet. Just like everyone else they too seemed to be in a sombre mood.

Ambi We Miss You

During the ceremony, a garland was put around Ambareesh's photo as per the traditions, He truly was a loved person and he will be missed big time.
CALGARY, AB / ACCESSWIRE / November 29, 2018 / Prospera Energy Inc. ("Prospera" or the "Corporation") (TSX-V: PEI) is pleased to announce its financial and operating results for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2018. The condensed interim financial statements, and related management's discussion and analysis ("MD&A") will be available at www.sedar.com and www.prosperaenergy.com .

OPERATION AND FINANCIAL SUMMARY

The Corporation's oil and gas revenues have experienced significant growth due to changes in production volumes and the price realized for the sale of the Corporation's production.

Results of Operations

Three months ended Nine months ended September 30 September 30 2018 2017 2018 2017 Total sales volumes (BOE) 22,212 7,200 40,196 26,123 Daily sales volumes (BOE per day) 241 78 147 96 Per BOE Oil and gas revenue ($) 58.07 47.90 57.72 53.17 Royalties ($) 5.72 5.16 4.64 5.09 Operating and transportation costs ($) 33.38 33.27 27.66 33.58 Operating netback ($) 18.97 11.63 25.41 14.50



The positive increase attained in Q3 was largely a result of an increase in production due to the acquisition of three new properties in eastern Alberta and southwest Saskatchewan; Cuthbert, Luseland and Hearts Hill, in June 2018.

(Please refer to the Corporation's press release dated June 13, 2018 for detailed information regarding the transaction and the agreement regarding the acquisition of these new properties).

THIRD QUARTER 2018 HIGHLIGHTS

OVERALL PERFORMANCE

A significant increase in revenues from operations was reported in the amount of $1,289,934 for Q3 2018 with royalty expenses of $127,051. The Corporation reported a loss of $11,926 for Q3 2018, which is a significant improvement in comparison to a loss of $261,052 for Q3 2017. The reduction in loss arose as a result of gains on the disposition of property and equipment, as well as the revenues from the newly acquired properties at Cuthbert, Luseland and Hearts Hill.

Total sales volumes in Q3 2018 showed impressive growth as well with 22,212 BOEs (241 BOE per day) as compared to 7,200 BOEs (78 BOE per day) for Q3 2017, representing a significant increase of 209%.

Also positive was the Corporation's realized average oil price Q3 2018. The average price received per barrel in Q3 2018 was $58.07, compared to $47.91 per barrel for Q3 2017.

NETBACK

Average netback for Q3 2018 was $18.97 per BOE compared to $14.00 per BOE for Q3 2017. The increase in the Q3 2018 netback occurred because the Corporation made initiatives to operate its wells at its Red Earth properties and not use third party facilities for water disposal and oil processing. In addition, production volumes from the newly acquired properties led to increased BOEs and revenues. With the price differential decreasing, the result was a significant Q3 2018 netback improvement.

Operating Costs

All activities associated with operating the wells and facilities are included in operating expenses. They include such items as gathering, processing, treating, compression, hauling, lifting and production storage. The average operating cost per BOE for Q3 2018 was $18.97 as compared to Q3 2017 costs of $33.27 per BOE. This significant decrease in operating costs was the result of an increased number of BOEs being spread over fixed and semi-fixed costs in general well servicing, water disposal, property taxes and processing fees. Transportation costs represented 5% of total revenue in Q3 2018. On a per BOE basis, the cost was $3.05 in Q3 2018 as compared to $5.04 per BOE in Q3 2017. This reduction in trucking costs was a result of system modifications and upgrades in the facilities put in place by the Corporation.

Business Combination

On June 11, 2018, pursuant to a purchase and sale agreement (the "Agreement"), the Corporation acquired a 100% working interest in producing properties located in southwest Saskatchewan and eastern Alberta (the "Assets"). The Corporation was the lead on the transaction and was supported by an arm's-length private corporation participant who was responsible for 80% of the purchase price and was subsequently assigned an 80% working interest in the Assets and in the rights and obligations under the Agreement. Per the Agreement, the Corporation is the operator of the Assets for a minimum period of 18 months from the date of closing and holds a 20% working interest in the Assets. Cash consideration of $900,000 was paid by the Corporation for its 20% working interest plus $173,865 in adjustments for prepaid lease rentals paid by the vendor between the effective and closing dates.

The Corporation has the option until December 11, 2019 to acquire an additional 10% working interest in the Assets for $1,250,000. Since June 11, 2018, the acquisition has contributed $945,322 of petroleum and natural gas revenues and in addition, $212,120 in operating income (petroleum and natural gas revenue less royalties and operating expenses) to the Corporation.

DEBT SETTLEMENT

The Corporation is pleased to disclose that a settlement has now been reached with respect to a long-standing dispute with the former operator of its Red Earth properties, for which the Corporation accrued a contingency amount in trade and other payables in its 2017 financial statements. For further information surrounding the details of this dispute please refer to the Corporation's press release dated July 5, 2018.

The Corporation has now paid $150,000 in full settlement of the debt, originally totalling $501,000, that was held in payables. On November 26, 2018, the Corporation received notice that the former operator's writ of enforcement and security agreement in respect to these properties were fully discharged.

OUTLOOK

The Corporation continues to be successful in its pro-active approach to lowering overall operating costs while obtaining a premium price per BOE. Prospera's alliance with Boomerang Energy Marketing is successfully limiting its exposure to apportionments and the suppressed market conditions that currently affect many other Canadian oil companies.

Proven reserves are significant at the newly acquired Cuthbert, Hearts Hill and Luseland properties. Original oil in place (which is referred to as total petroleum volume of oil- initially -in-place-stored in a reservoir and includes petroleum contained in the sub-surface, as well as those quantities already produced) is estimated to be 299,000,000 BOE. The Corporation's strategy to re-invest revenues into the continued development and expansion of these properties in the last quarter of 2018 will continue throughout 2019. There are currently 110 wells in production at these properties with a further 75 wells targeted for re-activation. Prospera is accelerating its ongoing review of all wells and reactivations and workovers are projected to take place at a rate of 5-8 per month moving forward.

ABOUT PROSPERA INC

Prospera Inc is a Canadian natural resource Corporation engaged in the acquisition, exploration, development and production of oil and gas properties with operations in Alberta and Western Saskatchewan.

DIRECTORS:

Burkhard Franz, Kelowna, BC, Canada

Daryl Fridhandler, Calgary, AB, Canada

Lorraine McVean, Calgary, AB, Canada

OFFICERS:

Daryl Fridhandler, Chairman

Burkhard Franz, President & CEO

Savi Franz, Chief Financial Officer

Glenn Thunberg VP of Exploration & Operations

OTHER:

Corporate Office:

Auditors:

Legal Counsel:



Transfer Agent:



Bank: Ste 700, 1300-8 Street SW, Calgary, AB T2R 1B2

MNP LLP, 800-700 6th Avenue, S.W., Calgary, Alberta T2P 0T8

Burnet, Duckworth & Palmer LLP,

Suite 2400, 525-8th Avenue S.W., Calgary, Alberta, Canada T2P 1G1

Computershare Trust Company of Canada,

100 University Ave., 11th Fl., South Tower, Toronto, ON M5J 2Y1

ATB Financial

102 - 8th AVE. S.W. Calgary, Alberta T2P 1B3

Production volumes are commonly expressed on a barrel of oil equivalent ("BOE") basis whereby natural gas volumes are converted at a ratio of six thousand cubic feet to one barrel of oil. The intention is to convert oil and natural gas measurement units into one basis for improved analysis of results and comparisons with other industry participants. The term BOE may be misleading, particularly if used in isolation. The conversion ratio is based on an energy equivalent method and does not represent an economic value equivalency at the wellhead.

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This news release contains forward-looking statements relating to the future operations of the Corporation and other statements that are not historical facts. Forward-looking statements are often identified by terms such as "will", "may", "should", "anticipate", "expects" and similar expressions. All statements other than statements of historical fact, included in this release, including, without limitation, statements regarding future plans and objectives of the Corporation, are forward looking statements that involve 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. More particularly, it contains forward-looking statements concerning: (i) production (ii) planned drilling, reactivation, development and waterflood activities, (iii) the potential number of drilling locations at certain of the Transactions properties, (iv) timing and completion of the Transaction, including expectations and assumptions concerning timing of receipt of required regulatory approvals and the satisfaction of other conditions to the completion of the Transaction, and (v) potential development opportunities associated with the Transaction.

Although Prospera believes that the expectations and assumptions on which the forward-looking statements are based are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on the forward-looking statements because Prospera can give no assurance that they will prove to be correct. Since forward- looking statements address future events and conditions, by their very nature they involve inherent risks and uncertainties. Actual results could differ materially from those currently anticipated due to numerous factors and risks. These include, but are not limited to, risks associated with the oil and gas industry in general (e.g., operational risks in development, exploration and production; delays or changes in plans with respect to exploration or development projects or capital expenditures; the uncertainty of reserve estimates; the uncertainty of estimates and projections relating to production, costs and expenses, and health, safety and environmental risks), commodity price and exchange rate fluctuations and uncertainties resulting from potential delays or changes in plans with respect to exploration or development projects or capital expenditures.

The reader is cautioned that assumptions used in the preparation of any forward-looking information may prove to be incorrect. Events or circumstances may cause actual results to differ materially from those predicted, as a result of numerous known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors, many of which are beyond the control of Prospera Inc. As a result, Prospera cannot guarantee that any forward-looking statement will materialize and the reader is cautioned not to place undue reliance on any forward-looking information. Such information, although considered reasonable by management at the time of preparation, may prove to be incorrect and actual results may differ materially from those anticipated. Forward-looking statements contained in this news release are expressly qualified by this cautionary statement. The forward-looking statements contained in this news release are made as of the date of this news release, and Prospera 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 expressly required by Canadian securities 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.

SOURCE: Prospera Energy Inc.

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/529420/Prospera-Reports-Financial-and-Operating-Results-for-the-Third-Quarter-Ended-September-30-2018
TOKYO, Nov. 30, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- AGC Inc., headquartered in Tokyo, has announced the global sales launch of AMOLEA AS-300, a new type of fluorinated solvent with low environmental impact. The product is available for sampling from November 2018.



(Logo: https://kyodonewsprwire.jp/prwfile/release/M000303/201811280853/_prw_PI1fl_DkAhoP4x.png)



(Photo: https://kyodonewsprwire.jp/img/201811280853-O2-dvK6bh3R)



Rising environmental awareness in recent years has created strong demand for new fluorinated solvents with decreased Ozone Depletion Potential (ODP) (*1) and decreased Global Warming Potential (GWP) (*2). This launch marks the first ever fluorinated solvent that reduces ODP to almost "0" and GWP to below "1". AMOLEA AS-300 not only exerts minimal impact on our global environment, but also delivers superior safety, excellent solvency and an optimal boiling point that decreases consumption. Since announcing the product in October 2017, AGC has conducted several detailed performance evaluations in cooperation with customers, which have verified its suitability for a wide range of applications. Now that mass production preparations have also been completed, the company is focusing efforts on the official global sales launch of the product.



Fluorinated solvents have several traits, which give them advantages over other products, chlorinated solvents, hydrocarbon, t-DCE blended solvents, n-PB, HFC (*4) and so on. For instance, their non-flammability provides easy handling. They also feature a less rusting issue of final products and their low surface tension allows for cleaning parts with complex shapes while they reduce water discharge compared with water-based detergent and their moderate boiling point helps to reduce consumption. This makes AMOLEA AS-300 ideal for a wide range of applications, including the cleaning of precision parts and optical components, as well as being a dilution and carrier fluid. AMOLEA AS-300 is ideal for customers moving away from chlorinated solvents, and n-propyl bromide (*3) due to its lower impact on the environment and superior solvency. AMOLEA AS-300 may easily be used in existing vapor degreasers currently used with chlorinated solvents or n-propyl bromide.



Under its "AGC plus" management policy, the AGC Group has made a commitment to create products that add various "pluses" for stakeholders. Pluses for society include "safety," "security" and "comfort" while pluses for customers include "new value" and "functionality." AGC is dedicated to leveraging the technical strengths it has built up and refined through years of experience with fluorochemicals to continue to develop and provide products that help in reducing environmental impact.



Notes:

(*1) Ozone Depletion Potential (ODP): A coefficient that represents the destructive effect of the unit weight of mass of substance emitted into the atmosphere, as compared with the potential of chlorofluorocarbon-11 (CFC-11) which is assigned a reference value of 1. (*2) Global Warming Potential (GWP): A coefficient that represents the effect on global warming. It refers to a figure that expresses the global warming potential of greenhouse gases in relation to the baseline value of carbon dioxide. (*3) n-propyl bromide (1-bromopropane): Based on toxicity data, the ECHA (European Chemicals Agency) has banned the use of such solvents in Europe, except for specified uses, with effect from July 4, 2020, as described in Annex XIV of REACH (Registration, Evaluation, Authorization and Restriction of Chemicals). (*4) Hydrofluorocarbon (HFC): HFC will be phased down worldwide as per the Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol. * The company changed its name from Asahi Glass Co., Ltd. to AGC Inc. on July 1, 2018. Its President is Takuya Shimamura. * Handling of personal information is governed by our privacy policy.

For reference, please visit:

https://kyodonewsprwire.jp/attach/201811280853-O1-p12XG7mt.pdf



Web site: https://www.agcce.com/amolea-as-300/


Pan African Resources PLC

(Incorporated and registered in England and Wales under Companies Act 1985 with registered number 3937466 on 25 February 2000)

AIM Code: PAF

JSE Code: PAN

ISIN: GB0004300496

("Pan African" or the "Company" or the "Group")

UPDATE ON BARBERTON MINES' ROYAL SHEBA PROJECT ("ROYAL SHEBA")

Shareholders are referred to previous announcements relating to Royal Sheba, specifically, the announcement of 6 September 2018 pertaining to the update on the exploration drilling programme and the Mineral Resource Estimate ("MRE"). The Group has finalised the exploration drilling programme on the Royal Sheba project and can now provide an updated MRE, signed off by an independent mining consultant - SRK Consulting (South Africa) Pty Ltd ("SRK") in accordance with the South African Code for the Reporting of Exploration Results, Mineral Resource and Mineral Reserve, 2016 edition (the "SAMREC Code"). The exploration results have exceeded expectations and the salient features of the updated MRE are as follows:

Royal Sheba's total Mineral Resources declared and independently signed off by SRK at 0.8Moz (8.97Mt at 2.62g/t);

A 6% increase in the near surface Mineral Resource from 0.35Moz (2.84Mt at 3.81g/t) to 0.37Moz (5.85Mt at 1.96g/t). The updated MRE is considered conservative, exhibiting a high level of confidence, and the Company believes there is further exploration upside;

The near surface Mineral Resource of 0.37Moz is conducive to open-pit mining;

The Royal Sheba Project's near surface drilling programme (Phase 1, 2 and 3, totalling 4,311.6m of drilling) confirms robust mineralisation extending from the surface along a 900m strike and 150m down dip of the Royal Sheba orebody;

Summarised drilling results confirms the mineralisation ranges in a width from 5m to 25m with in-situ gold grades ranging between 0.5g/t to 376g/t and averaging 3.14g/t;

The underground Mineral Resource is delineated at 0.39Moz (3.12Mt at 3.87g/t) and;

The Definitive Feasibility Study ("DFS") undertaken by DRA Global (Pty) Ltd ("DRA") is progressing well and is expected to be completed in February 2019.

The Company has commenced an extended exploration drilling programme at Barberton Mines' mining right at New Consort Mines, targeting the Main Maiden Reef ("MMR") orebody as a potential satellite deposit for the Royal Sheba project.

Pan African CEO Cobus Loots commented:

"Pan African is very pleased with the outcome of our in-fill drilling programme and the updated Mineral Resource Estimate for the Royal Sheba Project. The drilling programme has confirmed that the orebody extends to surface, with the potential to establish a new open pit mining operation, which will transition to an underground mining operation only after a number of years. The scale and grade of the Royal Sheba Mineral Resource gives us confidence to advance the near-surface mineral resource to a definitive feasibility study status, which DRA is currently undertaking, with this full study expected in February 2019.

We are excited by the further prospectivity of our mining lease specifically New Consort, where drilling has recently commenced to identify similar near-surface mineral resources at the Main Maiden Reef orebody, targeting 0.2Moz to 0.3Moz at an in-situ grade of between 2g/t and 4g/t.

Royal Sheba's opencast has the potential to sustainably increase production from our flagship Barberton operations at a very competitive cost, further bolstering Pan African's low cost, long-life asset portfolio. In conjunction with the feasibility process, we have commenced work on planning and permitting. We look forward to working with all stakeholders in advancing this project, to the benefit of all our stakeholders - including our shareholders, the Mpumalanga province and the greater Barberton area."

MRE results

Project geology

The Royal Sheba orebody is associated and aligned along the prominent regional shear zone of the Sheba Fault, within the north-western quadrant of the Archaean - aged Barberton Greenstone Belt. The Sheba Fault juxtaposes the Fig Tree Group's deep marine sediments, namely the greywacke and banded chert and carbonatised shale in the Ulundi Syncline, adjacent to the shallow marine sediments of the Moodies Group in the Eureka Syncline.

The mineralisation of the Royal Sheba orebody is encapsulated in a shear envelope of the Sheba Fault, ranging in width from 5m to 25m. The gold mineralisation occurs predominantly in sulphide minerals and as native gold. In-situ gold grades range up to 376g/t averaging 3.14g/t. The Royal Sheba orebody has a potential strike length of more than 900m and the down dip extension has been drill tested to a depth of 600m and remains open. The Royal Sheba orebody is therefore open ended along strike and down dip.

Drilling results

Drillhole Number Intersection depth downhole (m) Intersection depth below collar (m) Full composite Significant intersection Corrected intersected width (m) Average grade intersected (g/t) Corrected intersected width (m) Average grade intersected (g/t) RSPE001 34.75 31.49 11.50 3.38 0.65 19.16 RSPE002 56.63 51.32 9.89 2.53 3.28 5.10 RSPE003 24.34 22.06 12.94 0.91 1.36 2.31 RSPE004 47.32 42.89 6.28 1.36 0.62 5.96 RSPE005 26.34 23.87 15.59 1.91 0.34 9.96 RSPE006 35.02 31.74 8.77 1.41 3.50 2.98 RSPE007 26.73 24.23 14.17 1.38 2.13 5.45 RSPE008 6.97 6.32 13.60 3.17 1.81 12.79 RSPE009 69.56 63.04 11.48 6.10 1.73 30.43 RSPE010 25.54 23.15 8.01 0.63 1.00 2.12 RSPE011 38.70 35.07 8.33 0.72 1.05 1.83 RSPE012 24.05 19.70 24.05 1.53 2.42 6.35 RSPE013 67.91 61.55 10.97 2.67 5.96 3.37 RSPE014 42.88 35.13 7.83 1.50 3.80 2.51 RSPE015 60.23 13.55 8.51 0.62 1.60 2.32 RSPE016 84.59 10.31 13.85 1.38 3.11 3.12 RSPE017 68.87 49.54 15.98 0.84 1.83 2.22 RSPE018 105.10 89.13 21.54 0.25 0.91 1.01 RSPE019 56.96 18.54 18.60 0.47 0.30 4.97 RSPE020 92.54 67.68 8.84 0.33 1.23 1.71 RSPE026* 153.55 26.66 6.27 0.52 1.93 1.07 RSPF001 105.00 95.16 4.32 0.68 1.07 1.37 RSPF004 54.10 49.03 9.54 0.20 0.39 1.00 RSPF005 45.50 41.24 7.52 0.15 0.29 0.76 RSPF006 53.73 48.70 8.73 0.35 0.31 1.32 RSPF010* 110.22 99.89 32.62 0.13 0.35 0.82 RSPF011* 98.30 89.09 1.76 0.39 0.37 0.76 RSPF012* 150.73 136.61 8.07 0.20 0.76 0.77 RSPF014* 137.98 125.05 6.86 0.64 0.75 2.85 RSPF016* 74.53 67.55 8.10 0.23 0.40 0.32 * Drill holes not incorporated into the updated MRE due to the assaying results being released after completion of the MRE. The assay results of an additional nine drill holes' assay results are still outstanding. All drill hole results will be incorporated into the annual Mineral Resource update.

The in-fill drilling programme of 4,311.6m (Phase 1, 2 and 3) comprising 39 drill holes was completed in November 2018. The 25 drill-hole results presented above were used in the updated MRE, confirming robust mineralisation extending from surface over a strike length of more than 900m at grades above economic break-even concentrations (0.5g/t).

Mineral Resource

SRK audited the updated geological model and MRE for the Royal Sheba Project and is of the opinion that the Mineral Resource statement, as tabulated below, effective 27 November 2018, is a reasonable representation of the in-situ grade, tonnage and metal content as contained in the mineralised envelope. Mr. Ivan Doku, who is responsible for the audit on behalf of SRK, has signed off on the Mineral Resource statement below.

The following new Mineral Resource tabulation has been reported from the 3D geological model and resource block model, using a 0.5g/t cut-off grade for near-surface ore (within a ZAR 600 000 per kilogram of gold Whittle pit shell at a revenue factor of 1.5) and 1.7g/t for down-dip extensions to be mined from underground workings. The underground Mineral Resource excludes a 30m crown pillar beneath the pit and is reported within the modelled mineralisation envelope based on current drill holes available.

Contained gold As at 30 June 2018 Category Tonnes Grade Tonnes Ounces (Million) (g/t) (Gold) (K'oz) Open-pit Mineral Resource (0.5g/t cut-off) Measured 3.10 2.10 6.52 210 Indicated 2.32 1.84 4.28 138 Inferred 0.43 1.56 0.67 22 Total 5.85 1.96 11.47 369 Underground Mineral Resource (1.7g/t cut-off) Measured 0.95 3.62 3.45 111 Indicated 1.52 4.24 6.46 208 Inferred 0.64 3.38 2.16 69 Total 3.12 3.87 12.07 388 Resources Total 8.97 2.62 23.54 757

Mineral Resources are reported in accordance to the South African Code for the Reporting of Exploration Results, Mineral Resources and Mineral Reserves (SAMREC) Code. Mineral Resources would be the same if it is reported according to the guidelines of the Canadian Institute of Mining's (CIM) National Instrument 43-101. Cut-off values are calculated at 0.5g/t and 1.7g/t for open-pit and underground Resources, respectively, applying a gold price of ZAR 600 000/kg (USD 1 435/oz and ZAR 13.00/1 USD). Mineral Resources are reported inclusive of Mineral Reserves. Open-pit Mineral Resources are reported within an optimised ZAR 600 000 per kg Au pit shell with a revenue factor of 1.5. All Mineral Resources reported exclude geological structures and a crown pillar of 30m below the open-pit shell. Mineral Resources are reported as in-situ tonnes. Any discrepancies in totals are due to rounding. Additional effects of geological, mining and recovery losses have been considered in the cut-off grade calculations.

Exploration

The Company has achieved its objective of generating 0.37Moz (5.85Mt and 1.96g/t) near-surface Mineral Resources for the Royal Sheba Project and is now exploring the Jamestown Shear Zone, within the New Consort mining right for near-surface Mineral Resources. The exploration team is excited to advance the prospective MMR orebody at New Consort. This brownfield project targets near-surface mineral resource definition drilling to yield between 0.2Moz to 0.3Moz, at grades between 2g/t and 4g/t.

The exploration programme comprises of two phases. Phase 1 drilling commenced on 13 November 2018 and will comprise 10 drill holes, totalling 1,035m, testing 600m of strike length and 200m of dip extension of the MMR orebody and the associated Consort Bar. Phase 2 will comprise a further 11 drill holes, totalling 1,350m, which will test a further 500m of westerly strike and dip extension of the MMR deposit.

Several historic satellite deposits have also been identified in the Jamestown Shear Zone and Sheba Hills namely the Bluejackets, Betty, Hard Cash and No. 3 Shaft orebodies, as well as Clutha, Golden Quarry, Oriental Quarry, Eureka, Margaret and Sheba West for resource definition drilling.

Next steps

A DFS for the development of the Royal Sheba Project is being undertaken by DRA which is progressing well and is expected to be completed in February 2019. Pan African has also started with the process of obtaining the regulatory permitting required for the project.

The information contained in this announcement has not been reviewed or reported on by Pan African's auditors and is the responsibility of the directors of Pan African.

The competent person for the Mineral Resource is Mr Hendrik Pretorius, the Group Project Geologist, who signs off the Mineral Resources for Evander Mines and Barberton Mines Limited. He is a member of the South African Council for Scientific Professions (400051/11 - Management Enterprise Building, Mark Shuttleworth Street, Innovation Hub, Pretoria, Gauteng Province, South Africa), as well as a member in good standing of the Geological Society of South Africa (GSSA - CSIR Mining Precinct, Corner Rustenburg and Carlow Roads, Melville, Gauteng Province, South Africa). Mr Pretorius has 15 years of experience in economic geology and mineral resource management (MRM). Mr Pretorius holds a BSc. (Hons) degree in Geology from the University of Johannesburg as well as a Graduate Diploma in Engineering (GDE) from the University of the Witwatersrand. He is based at The Firs Office Building, 2nd Floor, Office 204, Cnr. Cradock and Biermann Avenues, Rosebank, Johannesburg, South Africa. Mr Pretorius has confirmed in writing that he has reviewed the information disclosed in this announcement, which is compliant with section 12 of the JSE Listings Requirements and Table 1 of the SAMREC Code, and that it may be published in the form and context in which it is intended.

For further information on Pan African, please visit the Company's website at www.panafricanresources.com

30 November 2018

Contact information Corporate Office

The Firs Office Building

1st Floor, Office 101

Cnr. Cradock and Biermann Avenues

Rosebank, Johannesburg

South Africa

Office: + 27 (0) 11 243 2900

Facsimile: + 27 (0) 11 880 1240 Registered Office

Suite 31

Second Floor

107 Cheapside

London

EC2V 6DN

United Kingdom

Office: + 44 (0) 207 796 8644 Cobus Loots

Pan African Resources PLC

Chief Executive Officer

Office: + 27 (0) 11 243 2900 Deon Louw

Pan African Resources PLC

Financial Director

Office: + 27 (0) 11 243 2900 Phil Dexter

St James's Corporate Services Limited

Company Secretary

Office: + 44 (0) 207 796 8644 John Prior / Paul Gillam

Numis Securities Limited

Nominated Adviser and Joint Broker

Office: +44 (0) 20 7260 1000 Taryn Carter

One Capital

JSE Sponsor

Office: + 27 (0) 11 550 5000 Ross Allister/James Bavister/David McKeown

Peel Hunt LLP

Joint Broker

Office: +44 (0) 207 418 8900 Julian Gwillim

Aprio Strategic Communications

Public & Investor Relations SA

Office: +27 (0)11 880 0037 Jeffrey Couch/ /Thomas Rider

BMO Capital Markets Limited

Joint Broker

Office: +44 (0) 207 236 1010 Bobby Morse

Buchanan

Public & Investor Relations UK

Office: +44 (0)20 7466 5000

Email: PAF@buchanan.uk.com Website: www.panafricanresources.com

Glossary of technical terms:
- Fleet ramp-up completed: all 69 vessels taken over end-of Q3 2018

- Q3 2018 EBITDA USD 14.6 million. Q3 YTD 2018 EBITDA USD 35.8 million

- Q3 2018 net profit USD 1.2 million. Q3 YTD 2018 net profit USD 3.5 million

OSLO, Norway, Nov. 30, 2018 /PRNewswire/ --Q3 and nine month 2018 results:

MPC Container Ships ASA ("MPCC" or the "Company", together with its subsidiaries the "Group") today published its interim financial report for the nine-month period ended 30 September 2018. The Group succeeded in realising a net profit of USD 3.5 million for Q1 - Q3 2018.

Total revenue was USD 55.8 million in Q3 2018, compared to USD 46.9 million in Q2 2018. For Q3 YTD 2018, total revenue was USD 131.0 million .

in Q3 2018, compared to in Q2 2018. For Q3 YTD 2018, total revenue was . EBITDA were USD 14.6 million in Q3 2018, compared to USD 13.3 million in Q2 2018. For Q3 YTD 2018, EBITDA were USD 35.8 million .

in Q3 2018, compared to in Q2 2018. For Q3 YTD 2018, EBITDA were . Average time charter equivalent ("TCE") was USD 10,230 per day in Q3 2018 ( USD 9,841 per day in Q2 2018) and USD 9,881 per day in Q3 YTD 2018.

As of 30 September 2018, the Group has acquired and taken over 69 container vessels, whereof 61 are fully consolidated and eight are operated in a joint venture.

Q3 and nine month 2018 earnings call:

The Company will host a webcast for the presentation of the Q3 and nine month 2018 results commencing on 30 November 2018 at 15:00 hours CET. The presentation will be made available on the Company's webpage (www.mpc-container.com/IR) from 12:00 hours CET. There will be a Q&A session after the presentation.

The webcast can be accessed through the following link:

https://digital.vevent.com/index.jsp?eid=8329&seid=18

Please note that for optimal viewing, it is recommended not to use VPN, but instead to connect directly to the internet. Please disable pop-up blockers in order to view the content in its entirety.

This event is being streamed. It is recommended that you listen via your computer speakers.

International/Toll Attendee Dial In: +44 (0) 2071928000

Conference ID: 2281855

Contemplated share buy-back programme:

Due to current market conditions, the Company intends to explore a share buy-back programme and to present a detailed plan of progress in an extraordinary general meeting in early 2019. A summon to an extraordinary general meeting will follow in due course.

Further information and contact:

ir@mpc-container.com

About MPC Container Ships ASA:

MPC Container Ships ASA (ticker code "MPCC") was formed in April 2017. Its main activity is to own and operate a portfolio of container ships with a focus on the feeder segment between 1,000 and 3,000 TEU. The Company is registered and has its business office in Oslo, Norway. For more information, please see our webpage: www.mpc-container.com

This information was brought to you by Cision http://news.cision.com

http://news.cision.com/mpc-container-ships-asa/r/mpc-container-ships-asa-reports-q3-and-nine-month-2018-results,c2686913

The following files are available for download:
French President Emmanuel Macron will meet with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on the sidelines of a G20 meeting in Argentina in what would be a first meeting with a Western leader since the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, Reuters reported.

Ive always been very clear about the issue of Saudi Arabia and I will inevitably have the opportunity to discuss it with the Saudi crown prince on the sidelines of the G20, Macron told a news conference with his Argentine counterpart.

France said last week it had imposed sanctions, including travel bans, on 18 Saudi citizens linked to the murder of Saudi journalist Khashoggi and said more could follow depending on results of an investigation.

Macron said that European G20 participants will coordinate on the issue together on Friday morning.

Personally, Im in favor of transparency and associating the international community in this affair, because the whole world is concerned, he said.
Groupe PSA to supply a Compact Van (C-Van) to Toyota.

Toyota to take financial ownership of the TPCA joint-venture operations in Czech Republic, maintaining current production for both companies.

Regulatory News:

Toyota Motor Corporation (TMC) and Groupe PSA (PSA) (Paris:UG) today announced the next chapter of their successful and mutually beneficial long-term partnership in the European market.

Specifically, the companies have agreed the following:

From end 2019, PSA will expand the range of commercial vehicles supplied to Toyota Motor Europe NV/SA (TME) for sale in Europe under the Toyota brand by supplying TME, with a C-Van from its Vigo plant (Spain).

PSA and TME started their collaboration on mid-size light-commercial vehicles in 2012, with the Toyota PROACE produced at Groupe PSA's Hordain plant, France.

The aim of the deepening collaboration is for both companies to use their respective strengths to offer both compact and mid-size light commercial vehicles in Europe, benefiting from development and production cost optimisation. Toyota will participate in the development and industrial investment costs for the future light-commercial vehicle.

From January 2021, Toyota will take financial ownership of the Toyota Peugeot Citroen Automobile Czech s.r.o. (TPCA) plant in Kolin (Czech Republic), the manufacturing joint venture that produces the compact A-segment models12

The TPCA joint venture was created by PSA and TMC in 2002 and included a review clause that allowed each partner to reconsider their shareholding.

The plant will become a subsidiary of TME, joining the seven other plants Toyota already operates in Europe.

The Kolin plant will continue to produce the current generation compact A-segment models for the two companies.

Toyota intends to continue production and employment in the future at the Kolin plant.

Marking the agreement, TMC Executive Vice-President Didier Leroy said: "Today's announcement reflects the complementarity and excellent relationship that exist between Groupe PSA and Toyota. Our agreement allows each company to play to its strength while sharing technology and development costs. Our commitment to the Kolin plant demonstrates Toyota's philosophy of producing cars where we sell them and our long-term manufacturing presence in Europe."

Carlos Tavares, Chairman of Groupe PSA's Managing Board, added: "We open a new chapter of our successful and mutually beneficial partnership, based on our trusting relationship for the best advantage of our clients, and our companies."

Note to editors:

TPCA Kolin plant (Czech Republic), started operation in 2005:

Production 2017: 199 000 vehicles for the 3 brands

Models 2018: Peugeot 108, Citroen C1, Toyota Aygo

Groupe PSA's Hordain plant (France), created in 1992:

Production 2017:135 000 vehicles for the 3 brands

Models 2018: Peugeot Expert/Traveller, Citroen Jumpy/Spacetourer and Toyota Proace

Groupe PSA's Vigo plant (Spain), created in 1958:

Production 2017: 434 000 vehicles

Models 2018: Peugeot Partner/Rifter, Citroen Berlingo Van/Berlingo, Opel/Vauxhaul Combo,Citroen C4 Spacetourer, Citroen C Elysees and Peugeot 301.

About Groupe PSA

Groupe PSA designs unique automotive experiences and delivers mobility solutions to meet all customer expectations. The Group has five car brands, Peugeot, Citroen, DS, Opel and Vauxhall and provides a wide array of mobility and smart services under the Free2Move brand. Its 'Push to Pass' strategic plan represents a first step towards the achievement of the Group's vision to be "a global carmaker with cutting-edge efficiency and a leading mobility provider sustaining lifetime customer relationships". An early innovator in the field of autonomous and connected cars, Groupe PSA is also involved in financing activities through Banque PSA Finance and in automotive equipment via Faurecia..

Media library: medialibrary.groupe-psa.com @GroupePSA_EN

Toyota Motor Corporation (TMC) is the global mobility company that introduced the Prius hybrid-electric car in 1997 and the first mass-produced fuel cell sedan, Mirai, in 2014. Headquartered in Toyota City, Japan, Toyota has been making cars since 1937. Today, Toyota proudly employs 370,000 employees in communities around the world. Together, they build around 10 million vehicles per year in 27 countries and regions, from mainstream cars and premium vehicles to mini-vehicles and commercial trucks, and sell them in more than 170 countries and regions under the brands Toyota, Lexus, Daihatsu and Hino. For more information, please visit www.toyota-global.com

Toyota Motor Europe NV/SA (TME) oversees the wholesale sales and marketing of Toyota and Lexus vehicles, parts and accessories, and Toyota's European manufacturing and engineering operations. Toyota directly employs around 20,000 people in Europe and has invested over EUR 9 billion since 1990. Toyota's operations in Europe are supported by a network of 29 National Marketing and Sales Companies across 53 countries, a total of around 3,000 sales outlets, and nine manufacturing plants. In 2017, Toyota sold 1,001,662 Toyota and Lexus vehicles in Europe. For more information, visit www.toyota-europe.com

Toyota Peugeot Citroen Automobile Czech s.r.o. (TPCA) is a joint venture between Toyota Motor Corporation and PSA Peugeot Citroen. Production in the plant, built in 2002 in the industrial zone of Kolin Ovcary, was launched in February 2005 with an initial investment of 26 billion Czech crowns. Currently, there are 2 400 people working at TPCA and the company represents one of the biggest exporters in the Czech Republic. It currently manufactures Toyota Aygo, Peugeot 108 and Citroen C1 city car models with reliability and low power consumption. TPCA employs the most environmentally-friendly technology as proven with the BAT (Best Available Techniques), which the plant was awarded along with certified environmental management EN ISO 14001:2004. Development of the Kolin region in the past ten years has been impacted not only by creating thousands of jobs in the region but has also supported charitable projects in the region. It has financially supported more than 700 projects totalling in excess of 114 million Czech crowns."

1 Peugeot 108, Citroen C1, Toyota Aygo

2 Subject to the approval of all relevant competent authorities and legal requirements

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20181129005907/en/

Contacts:

Media:

Groupe PSA Karine Douet +33 6 61 64 03 83 karine.douet@mpsa.com

TPCA Tomas Paroubek +42 736 526 605 tomas.paroubek@tpca.cz

TMC Jean-Yves Jault +81 80 5812 9749 jean.yves.jault@mail.toyota.co.jp

TME Sylvie Caira +32 2 745 22 88 sylvie.caira@toyota-europe.com
SEOUL, South Korea, Nov. 30, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- The Gyeonggi Tourism Corporation, which serves as a tourist information center for Gyeonggi Province, announced on November 28 the recommended travel spots for December with the theme of 'Alley'. The alleyway is a narrow lane that is connected with other places including main roads and markets.The five 'hot' spots announced by the Gyeonggi Tourism Corporation are places visitors should visit in December.

King Sejong's Hangul Alley 'Yeoju Hangul Market Mural Alley'

There is a special principle in the Hangul market in Yeoju, Gyeonggi Province. Along with name of the 'Hangul Market', every single sign of all shops are in Hangul. Unlike other places, the franchise ice cream shop and cosmetic shops that people are familiar with also have signs in Hangul, which is invented by King Sejong.

The Hangul market is constantly open, and on the 5th and 10th day of every month, visitors can have more active experiences. King Sejong's tomb is located in Yeoju. He invented Hangul because of his love for the people. Therefore, the market is based on 'Hangul' and it is impressive that such a small market is operated so actively.

'Suwon Haenglidangil', the Cultural Street Next to the Castle

Haenglidangil is the hottest spot in Suwon. It is located in Haeng-gungdong, nearby Hwaseong Haenggung, Hwaseomun (West Gate) and Janganmun (North Gate) of Suwon Hwaseong Fortress. As there are many unique new cafes in this area, people started calling this place Haenglidangil or Haeng-gungdong Cafe Street.

From the beginning of 2018, as some cafes were featured on SNS, young people started to come to this alley that used to be quiet. This is how the area began to attract attention. Since then, plenty of cafes opened and now about 90 cafes are operating. Some people are worried about gentrification due to the opening of too many cafes.

However, new restaurants with brilliant ideas also opened in Haenglidangi, where there were mainly cafes. Now, this area has emerged as a lively cultural street in Suwon.

One thing to note about Haenglidangil is that it is not a gorgeous mall but an alley leading to Suwon Hwaseong Fortress. The alley is a place where memories of many people have been dissolved, but traditional aspects and modernity coexist. Visitors can see old walls and houses built with red bricks. While watching Hwaseong -- the world cultural heritage in the alleyway -- with a coffee aroma, visitors can listen to the story of Haenggung-dong.

Feel the Kindness of Neighbors at 'Yangpyeong Market Road'

The most interesting alley of all is the market alley. There are so many things to see, buy and eat. A place full of people's kindness and joy even during noisy bargaining. The market alley, where visitors can hear a great deal of stories from everyone they meet, is splendidly beautiful in the winter.

The Yangpyeong Market Alley in Yangpyeong is also an alleyway full of people. Especially, on the 3rd and 8th of every month, when the Yangpyeong Oil Market is held, it is a festival where all villagers and the merchants come together. To get to the Yangpyeong market, after exiting Yangpyeong Station and walking over, the Market is on the left side.

The first scenery that stands out is the people preparing for the winter. Wearing thick coats, they are busy choosing warm gloves and hats. Passing by the markets of radishes and cabbages, visitors can smell the fragrant of deodeok and bellflower for kimchi and the spicy fragrance of buckwheat pancakes.

A piece of buckwheat pancake with cabbage is only KRW 1,000, which visitors cannot miss. The Yangpyeong Market, which has a long history and large scale, is the place where environment-friendly agricultural products are actively traded. Yangpyeong City announced it has become an 'eco-friendly agricultural area' for the first time in the nation. Now, the metropolitan subway is available and the city has emerged as a travel spot.

Enjoy Gourmet Food at the 'Ansan Multicultural Food Street'

Won-gong-dong, on the other side of Ansan Station, is called a 'village without borders'. It is a unique village where foreigners and naturalized Koreans from all over the world live together. About 60% of people walking on the streets and alleys are foreigners.

Foreign workers working in the industrial complex around here are extremely busy on weekdays. Therefore, banks and hospitals are open on weekends, which only happens in this area.

70% of the 400 foreign businesses in the area are restaurants. Along the street, visitors can see delicious food from all over the world including China, Vietnam, Uzbekistan, etc. Ansan City has referred to this area as a 'special place for multicultural food'. It is a food street that appeals to foreigners who came to Ansan in search of a dream and who will enjoy the feeling of a nostalgia. Also, this place is developing into a global food town where local Koreans taste foreign food.

Recently, the Indonesian restaurant located in the inner alley has been attracting attention due to the travel program on TV. Especially mi goreng (stir-fried rice noodles) and nasi-goreng (fried rice noodles) are popular. At the shops in the alley, visitors can easily buy food ingredients from China and Southeast Asian countries.

'Pyeongtaek International Central Market Shopping Street' - the Itaewon of Gyeonggi Province

The Pyeongtaek International Central Market has developed into a unique shape due to the influence of US troops stationed nearby. Foreigners are enjoying holidays on the streets where the flags of Korea and the US are raised. It looks just like a shopping complex in a foreign resort.

In recent years, restaurants that sell food from various countries such as Turkey, Thailand and Vietnam have opened on alleys connected to 'Shopping Street', the main street market. It is also called the Itaewon of Gyeonggi Province, because many foreign tourists and Koreans visit this place. If visitors take a look at the alley slowly during a walk, visitors may discover unexpected treasures such as unusual patterns of clothing or military accessories.

Songtan, where the International Central Market in located, is famous for its special food culture. It is a combination of Western and Korean food under the influence of the US military.

Typical examples are the Songtan sausage stew and the Songtan hamburger. The sausage stew is very rich and spicy, and the 'Songtan hamburger,' a Korean-style hamburger, is Songtan's special food that has been loved for many years. Between the thick pieces of bread, the Songtan hamburger is made with a meat patty, ham, fried egg, and plenty of fresh vegetables to create a rich taste, also comes with common sauces such as ketchup and mayonnaise. It tastes familiar but with a strong taste that's distinctly different from other franchise hamburgers.
The European Investment Trust Plc - Transaction in Own Shares

The European Investment Trust plc ("the Company")

The Company announces that on 29 November 2018 it purchased the following number of its ordinary shares of 25 pence each on the main market of the London Stock Exchange.

Ordinary Shares:

Date of purchase: 29 November 2018 Number of ordinary shares purchased: 20,000 Lowest price per share 824p Highest price per share 824p

The Company intends to cancel the purchased shares.

Following the above transaction, the Company has 41,146,269 ordinary shares in issue. Each of the Company's shares carries one vote. Accordingly, the total number of voting rights of the Company is 41,146,269.

30 November 2018

LEI: 213800QNN9EHZ4SC1R12

Enquiries:

Kenneth J Greig

Edinburgh Partners AIFM Limited

Tel: 0131 270 3800

The Company's registered office address is:

Beaufort House

51 New North Road

Exeter

EX4 4EP
Almere, The Netherlands

November 30, 2018

ASM International N.V. (Euronext Amsterdam: ASM) today announces that it will host a technical luncheon seminar in San Francisco, CA, US, on Tuesday, December 4, 2018, the second day of the IEDM Conference.

At this technology seminar ASM will highlight the challenges and potential solutions for advanced ALD processes, equipment and productivity.

The agenda is as follows:

11:30 am Reception,food and drinks

11:55 - 12:00 pmDr. Ivo Raaijmakers (ASM) - Welcome and introduction

12:00 - 12:30 pmSpeaker: SH Hong, MSc (ASM) - "ALD for Advanced Memories"

12:30 - 1:00 pmInvited speaker: Dr. Bala Haran (IBM) - "Materials Need for the Next Era of Computing

Following the presentations, there is an opportunity for open discussion and networking until 1:15 pm.



The ASM technology seminar will take place in the Bay View room (25th floor) at the Nikko Hotel (across from the Hilton San Francisco), San Francisco, CA 94102. The room will open at 11:30 am for invited attendees. Interested parties should contact Rosanne de Vries, +31 88 100 8569, Rosanne.de.Vries@asm.com.

About ASM International

ASM International NV, headquartered in Almere, the Netherlands, its subsidiaries and participations design and manufacture equipment and materials used to produce semiconductor devices. ASM International, its subsidiaries and participations provide production solutions for wafer processing (Front-end segment) as well as for assembly & packaging and surface mount technology (Back-end segment) through facilities in the United States, Europe, Japan and Asia. ASM International's common stock trades on the Euronext Amsterdam Stock Exchange (symbol ASM). For more information, visit ASMI's website at www.asm.com .

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements: All matters discussed in this press release, except for any historical data, are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. These include, but are not limited to, economic conditions and trends in the semiconductor industry generally and the timing of the industry cycles specifically, currency fluctuations, corporate transactions, financing and liquidity matters, the success of restructurings, the timing of significant orders, market acceptance of new products, competitive factors, litigation involving intellectual property, shareholders or other issues, commercial and economic disruption due to natural disasters, terrorist activity, armed conflict or political instability, epidemics and other risks indicated in the Company's reports and financial statements. The Company assumes no obligation nor intends to update or revise any forward-looking statements to reflect future developments or circumstances.

CONTACT

Rosanne de Vries

T: +31 88 100 8569

M:+31 651 25 2448

E: Rosanne.de.Vries@asm.com





ASMI To Host Technology Seminar (http://hugin.info/132090/R/2227415/874475.pdf)



This announcement is distributed by West Corporation on behalf of West Corporation clients.

The issuer of this announcement warrants that they are solely responsible for the content, accuracy and originality of the information contained therein.

Source: ASM International NV via Globenewswire


Financiere Japia leads series A investment as MondoBrain focuses on Enterprise Augmented Intelligence (EAI), an explainable Artificial Intelligence, that unlocks and leverages Human and Collective Intelligence, empowering organizations and individuals to make optimal performance decisions with undisputed consensus and transparency.

MondoBrain, today announced the closing of a $13.3 million Series A funding round led by Japia, a France-based Fund owned and managed by Jean- Paul Inchauspe. Finamar, one of Luc Dulayet's Company, strengthens the European part of the venture, and Noreen Harrington, a former Goldman Sachs executive, took the lead of a selection of private US investors, like Philipp Simotas and Steven Tye.

The company will invest in expanding its sales and marketing international teams and in accelerating innovation in product development.

"The rapid development of Artificial Intelligence legitimately generates anxiety and fears, however MondoBrain proposes a new approach where AI serves professionals and help them make better decisions and execute them will full collective consensus" said Augustin Huret, founder and CEO of MondoBrain and inventor of the technology. "Our solution provides Prescriptive Analytics that welcomes users' experience and intuitions, thus empowering them to always make the best possible decisions, with full traceability and transparency. In environments where complexity is growing exponentially, MondoBrain brings simplicity and facilitates team work and action."

MondoBrain began selling in 2016 and already serves more than 50 enterprise customers. For most of them, MondoBrain brought contributions to mission critical processes that are measured in millions of US$. In 2018, BNP Paribas Personal Finance granted their Innovation Award to MondoBrain for the first use of AI in a fully compliant support to "New Ways of Working". MondoBrain also received recognition by Airbus Helicopters with their Quality Award to a team who brought an improvement to the quality of composite manufacturing.

"We realized that the main goal of Mondobrain team was to give to Artificial Intelligence the most adequate and relevant role within human organizations, thanks to their capability to empower every single professional." Said Jean-Paul Inchauspe, head of Financiere Japia, "It allows everything to be done with and for the people involved".

Luc Dulayet said "My investment in Mondobrain is not only financial. I want Mondobrain to be at the core of my tourism company and show how Augmented Intelligence can contribute to the success of businesses of any size and purpose, now."

With her personal investment and presence at the Board of Directors, Noreen Harrington brings a unique Prospective of the US market to MondoBrain. She said that "AI can be a threat or an opportunity. With MondoBrain, it will be successful because it is designed to service people, enhance performance and productivity."

About MondoBrain

Based in the US, MondoBrain founded in 2014 by Augustin Huret is the first digital decision-making platform to marry human, artificial and collective intelligence in a simple interface dedicated to decision makers. With almost 30 employees and well-known customers (BNP Paribas, Airbus, Johnson&Johnson, Sanofi, Safran), MondoBrain's unique Artificial Intelligence algorithm provides intelligent and 100% traceable recommendations on business levers to optimize profit. Its success lies on the combination of artificial, human and collective intelligences thanks to an upgraded calculation power from exclusive algorithms. MondoBrain's solution for decision making enables an unrivalled performance monitoring in every public or private industries such as: banking, industries, space aeronautics, pharmaceuticals, asset management finances, supply chains, marketing, retail, R&D, risk, fraud, compliance There is no business that cannot be improved by MondoBrain in complex environment: MondoBrain is THE reference Artificial Intelligence solution which simplifies the decision-making process in an optimal way.

Headquartered in Virginia USA, MondoBrain has offices in New York, Washington and Paris.

www.mondobrain.com

Noreen Harrington has been Trustee of Adelphi University since October 2008. Ms. Harrington served as a Managing Director at Goldman Sachs, head of hedge funds and non-dollar sales in the Fixed Income Division on the global scale; co-head of Barclays Capital Fixed Income, and a member of its management committee. She is a founding member of 85Broads, the Goldman Sachs Alumni Women's Network, and 100 Women in Hedge Funds. She received various industry awards, including Titan of the Year 2003, Top Fifty Women in Finance (1997), Compliance Person of the Year 2003, and Truthsayer Award.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20181129005460/en/

Contacts:

Press contact

MondoBrain

Bruno Saint Cast

Strategic Marketing

bruno.saint-cast@mondobrain.com

+33 6 34 68 34 76

Axel de Chavagnac

A2C Conseil Communication

axel.dechavagnac@adeuxc.fr

+33 6 82 43 60 75
LONDON, November 30, 2018 /PRNewswire/ --

BE OPEN think tank and the Society of British & International Design (SBID) announce the winners of Designed for Business, the new national competition that showcases emerging talent, promotes equal opportunities and nurtures relationships between students and the working world.

Finalists, along with key names from the design business community and academia, gathered at the House of Commons for the prize-giving ceremony. The entries were judged by an esteemed panel from across the creative industries including Sebastian Conran Associates, Amazon UK, Christie's Education, John Lewis, Amara, HG Designworks and VitrA, as well as creative educators from a number of the UK's leading universities.

Katarina Spenerova, University of Dundee, was announced as the overall winner of Designed for Business competition, winning the 30,000 prize. Katrina's project PETAL - a modular building system that allows communities to grow in an organic way, was chosen due to its originality in providing an inventive solution to the problem of housing in today's society.

In addition, the category winners across the five disciplines, receiving 1,000 were announced.

Fashion category winner - Anna Cuinu, Heriot-Watt University Cuinu's entry aims to create accessible clothing for the two million plus people living with sight loss in the UK. The collection is a contemporary, transseasonal, capsule knitwear collection with easy fastenings that includes the integration of wooden Feelipa buttons as a tactile marker to communicate the garment's colour.

Interior Design category winner - Stephen Tozer, University Arts Falmouth. Tozer designed The Gas House to provide support for 16-20 year olds who are, or have been, in the social care system and require guidance to become successfully independent. The Gas House aims to create a sense of 'belonging' for inhabitants by engaging members of the local community to aid young people through education, work, living and support.

Interior Decoration category winner - Catherine Sinclair, Glasgow School of Art. Sinclair designed a sustainable collection of knitted textiles for interiors that have a sense of fluidity and surprise, inspired by the idea of building shelter.

Product Design category winner - Stefan Guiton, University of the West of England. Guiton designed Kulinda, a simple, low cost pneumonia diagnosis device. Kulinda counts a child's breaths per minute with a stretch sensor and a light indicates if pneumonia is present, determined by an algorithm in a microchip.

Art & Design category winner - Joshua Redican, Coventry University. Redican's project explores the cultural issue of social media addiction due to instant gratification and reveals how it is affecting our society.

SBID founder, Dr Vanessa Brady OBE, says "We were delighted to receive such a high volume of impressive entries, all of which aim to change traditional ways of thinking through design with innovation and social conscience at their heart. We believe that the competition will provide a lifechanging opportunity for the winning student and hope to encourage current students to develop a business mind throughout their creative education, in order to become the pioneers of the future."

BE OPEN founder Elena Baturina comments, "I am thoroughly impressed by the calibre of entries and the thinking behind each of our finalists work. The lens of the future generation looks bright and we can see how well they have considered their brief to find solutions that are not only pleasing to the eye, but also take on board values such as sustainability and the environment. BE OPEN is delighted to be involved in celebrating the next generation of young, creative designers and support them as they develop their careers."
H.I.G. Capital, LLC ("H.I.G."), a leading global private equity investment firm with over 26 billion of equity capital under management, announced today that one of its affiliates has recently completed an investment in BollAnts Spa im Park, a 105-room wellness hotel resort in Bad Sobernheim, Germany. BollAnts Spa im Park is one of the leading wellness resorts in Germany and has earned many awards including, most recently, the prestigious Tatler award for one of the best spas in the world (2018). Terms were not disclosed.

H.I.G. Realty continues to add to its sizeable holdings of real estate assets across Europe, consisting of both equity as well as debt investments, with a particular focus on its target market of value-added small/midcap opportunities.

Riccardo Dallolio, Managing Director and Head of H.I.G. Europe Realty Partners in London, commented: "The German real estate market represents a key part of our European value-add strategy and we continue to actively look at opportunities in the small/midcap sector across the capital structure."

Sanjoy Chattopadhyay, Managing Director at H.I.G. Europe Realty Partners in London, added: "The transaction demonstrates our ability to leverage our strong network and track record to acquire high-quality assets with significant value-add potential. The fundamentals of the German wellness industry are attractive, and we look forward to pursuing further similar investments."

About H.I.G. Capital

H.I.G. is a leading global private equity and alternative assets investment firm with over 26 billion of equity capital under management.* Based in Miami, and with offices in New York, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Atlanta in the U.S., as well as international affiliate offices in London, Hamburg, Madrid, Milan, Paris, Bogota, Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo, H.I.G. specializes in providing both debt and equity capital to small and mid-sized companies, utilizing a flexible and operationally focused/value-added approach:

1. H.I.G.'s equity funds invest in management buyouts, recapitalizations and corporate carve-outs of both profitable as well as underperforming manufacturing and service businesses.

2. H.I.G.'s debt funds invest in senior, unitranche and junior debt financing to companies across the size spectrum, both on a primary (direct origination) basis, as well as in the secondary markets. H.I.G. is also a leading CLO manager, through its WhiteHorse family of vehicles, and manages a publicly traded BDC, WhiteHorse Finance.

3. H.I.G.'s real estate funds invest in value-added properties, which can benefit from improved asset management practices.

Since its founding in 1993, H.I.G. has invested in and managed more than 300 companies worldwide. The firm's current portfolio includes more than 100 companies with combined sales in excess of 28 billion. For more information, please refer to the H.I.G. website at www.higcapital.com.

Based on total capital commitments managed by H.I.G. Capital and affiliates.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20181130005145/en/

Contacts:

Riccardo Dallolio

Managing Director

rdallolio@higrealty.com
Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - November 30, 2018) - Advantagewon Oil Corp. (CSE: AOC) (OTCQB: ANTGF) (the "Corporation", "Advantagewon", "AOC") released today a summary of its financial results for the Three & Nine months ended September 30th, 2018. Key highlights include:

Total Revenue increased to $247,819 CDN in Q3 2018, from $85,222 CDN in Q3 2017, representing an increase of 191%.

Total Revenue for the Nine months ended September 30, 2018 increased to $674,964 CDN from $349,822 CDN for the Nine months ended September 30, 2017, representing an increase of 93%.

Total Assets increased to $14,801,951 CDN in Q3 2018 from $14,664,526 CDN in Q3 2017, representing a slight increase of 1%.

Net loss for the Nine months ended September 30, 2018 was reduced to $729,537 CDN vs. $1,155,398 CDN for the Nine months ended September 30, 2017 representing a decrease of 37%.

Fully Diluted EPS for the Nine months ended September 30, 2018 remained as $0.00 vs. $0.00 for the Six months ended June 30, 2018.

The Corporation's Unaudited Consolidated Financial Statements and Management's Discussion and Analysis for the Three & Nine months ended September 30th, 2018 have been posted on the Corporation's SEDAR profile page which can be viewed by visiting www.sedar.com and on the Corporation's website, which can be viewed by visiting www.aoc-oil.com

About Advantagewon Oil Corp.

Advantagewon is focused on building consistent cash flow from low cost, low risk oil wells in the State of Texas. AOC applies specialized expertise to increase oil recovery from 10-15% to up to 75% for each well. Once the enhanced recovery strategy is successfully applied, AOC will repeat the process throughout the oil pool to maximize output and minimize cost and risk. Advantagewon's common shares are listed on the OTC Markets in the United States and on the Canadian Securities Exchange ("CSE") in Canada. Advantagewon is a member of the CSE Composite Index (CSE: AOC). For more information please visit www.aoc-oil.com

For further information please contact:

Mr. Charles DoveCEO & DirectorAdvantagewon Oil Corp.T: (403) 815-2440E: charles.dove@aoc-oil.comW: www.aoc-oil.comMr. Paul HaberChairman & DirectorAdvantagewon Oil Corp.T: (416) 318-6501E: paul.haber@aoc-oil.comW: www.aoc-oil.comMr. Frank KordySecretary & DirectorAdvantagewon Oil Corp.T: (647) 466-4037E: frank.kordy@aoc-oil.comW: www.aoc-oil.com

Forward-Looking Statements

Information set forth in this news release may involve forward-looking statements under applicable securities laws. The forward-looking statements contained herein are expressly qualified in their entirety by this cautionary statement. The forward-looking statements included in this document are made as of the date of this document and the Corporation disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as expressly required by applicable securities legislation. Although Management believes that the expectations represented in such forward-looking statements are reasonable, there can be no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct. This news release does not constitute an offer to sell or solicitation of an offer to buy any of the securities described herein and accordingly undue reliance should not be put on such. Neither 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. We seek safe harbor.

- 30 -
Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - November 30, 2018) - Gunpowder Capital Corp. (CSE: GPC) (CSE: GPC.PR.A) (OTCQB: GNPWF) (FSE: YS6N), (the "Corporation") released today a summary of its financial results for the Three & Nine months ended September 30th, 2018. Key highlights include:

Total Revenue decreased to $ 159,981 CDN in Q3 2018 from $ 680,501 CDN in Q3 2018, representing a decrease of 76.5%.

Total Revenue for the Nine months ended September 30, 2018 decreased to $ 803,774 CDN from $ 1,029,876 CDN for the Nine months ended September 30, 2018, representing a decrease of 22%.

Total Assets increased to $ 8,052,915 CDN in Q3 2018 from $ 7,739,972 CDN in Q3 2017, representing an increase of 4%.

Net loss was -$ 313,589 CDN in Q3 2018 vs. a profit of $ 295,862 CDN in Q3 2017, representing a decrease of 206%.

Fully Diluted EPS was (-$0.02) for Q3 2018 vs. $0.00 for Q3 2017.

The Corporation's Unaudited Consolidated Financial Statements and Management's Discussion and Analysis for the Three & Nine months ended September 30th, 2018 have been posted on the Corporation's SEDAR profile page which can be viewed by visiting www.sedar.com and on the Corporation's website, which can be viewed by visiting www.gunpowdercapitalcorp.com.

Mr. Frank Kordy Stated: "Q3 of 2018 in comparison to Q3 of 2017 looks as if there was a regression however it should be noted that the revenue spike that occurred in Q3 of 2017 was heavily driven by the successful completion of one of our 'go public' assignments, and while we continue to build out recurring revenues, these large gains tied to our 'go public' assignments are expected to continue, and will add large quarterly spikes in revenue and profit when the 'go public' assignments are completed. With the removal of the revenue generated from the completed Q3 2017 'go public' assignment, the Q3 2017 and Q3 2018 totals are fairly in-line with each other."

Mr. Frank Kordy Added: "We are currently working on completing two 'go public' assignments which we anticipate will be completed in the near future. The first assignment we expect will be completed at some point towards the end of December 2018, however this assignment could carry over to the beginning of January 2019. Once this assignment is completed, Gunpowder will own approximately eight percent of the entity and we anticipate that the valuation of our ownership stake in this entity will be similar to the valuation that was recorded for our 'go public' client we recorded in Q3, 2017. The Second assignment, once successfully completed, is expected to increase the valuation of our current investment in that entity. As a result, we are anticipating a similar spike in revenue that occurred in Q3 of 2017 to occur again in either this current quarter, or in Q1 of 2019."

About Gunpowder Capital Corp.

Gunpowder Capital Corp., is a merchant bank and advisory services firm based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Gunpowder invests in both publicly traded and private businesses that have successful management teams and attractive economic models. Gunpowder partners with these businesses to support their growth initiatives with its proven methodology of appropriate financing and structured exits. Gunpowder offers debt financing, including mezzanine and bridge loans, equity financing and advisory services. Gunpowder is also building a portfolio of companies in which it takes a long term position and view. For more information please visit www.gunpowdercapitalcorp.com

For further information please contact:

Mr. Frank Kordy

CEO & Director

Gunpowder Capital Corp.

T: (647) 466-4037

E: frank.kordy@gunpowdercapitalcorp.com

Mr. Paul Haber

CFO

Gunpowder Capital Corp.

T: (416) 363-3833

E: paul.haber@gunpowdercapitalcorp.com

Forward-Looking Statements

Information set forth in this news release may involve forward-looking statements under applicable securities laws. The forward- looking statements contained herein are expressly qualified in their entirety by this cautionary statement. The forward-looking statements included in this document are made as of the date of this document and the Corporation disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as expressly required by applicable securities legislation. Although management believes that the expectations represented in such forward-looking statements are reasonable, there can be no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct. This news release does not constitute an offer to sell or solicitation of an offer to buy any of the securities described herein and accordingly undue reliance should not be put on such. Neither 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. We seek safe harbor.

- 30 -
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - November 30, 2018) - First Vanadium Corp. (formerly Cornerstone Metals Inc.) (TSXV: FVAN) (OTCQX: FVANF) (FSE: 1PY) ("First Vanadium" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that it has negotiated the purchase of a 1.5% NSR attached to its Carlin Vanadium property in consideration for which it will issue 1,300,000 common shares of the Company to the owner of the NSR. The shares, when issued, will be subject to a hold period expiring four months plus a day after the date of their issuances in compliance with Canadian securities laws. The completion of this purchase is subject to TSX Venture Exchange acceptance.

Paul Cowley, President of the Company, stated: "This is a unique opportunity for us at this time to extinguish a 1.5% NSR on the Carlin Vanadium Property and associated advanced royalty payments, all at a deep discount of roughly 67% to the original US$3 million buy-back price established for this NSR. This preserves and focuses our treasury on advancing the project. Upon completion of this transaction, only a 2% NSR will remain attached to the property, with the Company retaining the rights to purchase the remaining NSR for US$4 million."

About First Vanadium Corp.

First Vanadium (formerly Cornerstone Metals Inc.) has an option to earn a 100% interest in the Carlin Vanadium Project, located in Elko County 6 miles south from the town of Carlin, Nevada on Highway I-80. The Carlin Vanadium Project hosts the Carlin Vanadium Deposit which is flat to shallow dipping and at shallow depths, 0-60 m (0-200 ft) below surface.

ON BEHALF OF FIRST VANADIUM CORP.

per: "Paul Cowley"

CEO & President

(604) 340-7711

pcowley@firstvanadium.com

www.firstvanadium.com

Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Forward-looking information

Certain statements in this news release constitute "forward-looking" statements. These statements relate to future events or the Company's future performance and include the Company's completion of the acquisition of a 1.5% NSR attached to the Carlin Vanadium project. All such statements involve substantial known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results to vary from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements involve significant risks and uncertainties, they should not be read as guarantees of future performance or results, and they will not necessarily be accurate indications of whether or not such results will be achieved. Actual results could differ materially from those anticipated due to a number of factors and risks. Although the forward-looking statements contained in this news release are based upon what management of the Company believes are reasonable assumptions on the date of this news release, the Company cannot assure investors that actual results will be consistent with these forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements contained in this press release are made as of the date hereof and the Company disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required under applicable securities regulations.
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has congratulated Salome Zurabishvili on her election as Georgian president.

The head of state recalled that Azerbaijan and Georgia are bound together by traditional relations of friendship and good neighborliness. He expressed confidence that Baku and Tbilisi will keep making joint efforts to strengthen their strategic partnership, based on mutual confidence and support, and develop our bilateral cooperation in all areas in the years to come.

"I wish you the best of health, happiness, and success in your future responsible activities for the well-being of the friendly people of Georgia," Ilham Aliyev concluded.

The Georgian Dream ruling party endorsed presidential candidate Salome Zurabishvili received 59.52% of votes (1,147,627 votes), while candidate from the United National Movement Grigol Vashadze - 40.48% of votes (780,633).
Acquisition of one of Germany's leading creative agencies will help Accenture Interactive create end- to-end brand experiences for clients

Accenture (NYSE:ACN) has completed its acquisition of Kolle Rebbe, one of Germany's leading creative agencies, known for its digital-first approachThe Hamburg-based agency will become part of Accenture Interactive and strengthen its ability to create and deliver integrated brand experiences for clients in Germany and across other geographies.

The acquisition, previously announced on November 2. Financial terms have not been disclosed.

Founded in 1994, Kolle Rebbe creates cross-channel advertising campaigns and digital content for brands such as Audi, DAZN, Netflix and TUI Cruises. Trade publication W&V ranked Kolle Rebbe the seventh largest independent agency in Germany by revenue, while Horizont ranked Kolle Rebbe #4 in its list of the most creative agencies in Germany in 2018. The agency employs approximately 300 artists, designers, digital designers, technologists, concept engineers and copywriters at its Hamburg headquarters.

Anatoly Roytman, Accenture Interactive's Europe, Africa and Latin America lead, commented: "Today, we completed a significant and exciting addition to our culture of cultures and strengthened our credentials as an experience agency. With the addition of Kolle Rebbe to the Accenture Interactive team, we will greatly strengthen our ability to create, build and run the greatest customer experiences for our clients in Germany."

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 approximately 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.

Accenture Interactive helps the world's leading brands transform their customer experiences across the entire customer journey. Through our connected offerings in design, marketing, content and commerce, we create new ways to win in today's experience-led economy. Accenture Interactive is ranked the world's largest digital agency in the latest Ad Age Agency Report, for the third year in a row. To learn more, follow us @accentureACTIVE and visit www.accentureinteractive.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

Except for the historical information and discussions contained herein, statements in this news release may constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Words such as "may," "will," "should," "likely," "anticipates," "expects," "intends," "plans," "projects," "believes," "estimates," "positioned," "outlook" and similar expressions are used to identify these forward-looking statements. These statements involve a number of risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied. These include, without limitation, risks that: Accenture and Kolle Rebbe will not be able to close the transaction in the time period anticipated, or at all, which is dependent on the parties' ability to satisfy certain closing conditions; the transaction might not achieve the anticipated benefits for Accenture; Accenture's results of operations could be adversely affected by volatile, negative or uncertain economic and political conditions and the effects of these conditions on the company's clients' businesses and levels of business activity; Accenture's business depends on generating and maintaining ongoing, profitable client demand for the company's services and solutions including through the adaptation and expansion of its services and solutions in response to ongoing changes in technology and offerings, and a significant reduction in such demand or an inability to respond to the changing technological environment could materially affect the company's results of operations; if Accenture is unable to keep its supply of skills and resources in balance with client demand around the world and attract and retain professionals with strong leadership skills, the company's business, the utilization rate of the company's professionals and the company's results of operations may be materially adversely affected; Accenture could face legal, reputational and financial risks if the company fails to protect client and/or company data from security breaches or cyberattacks; the markets in which Accenture operates are highly competitive, and Accenture might not be able to compete effectively; changes in Accenture's level of taxes, as well as audits, investigations and tax proceedings, or changes in tax laws or in their interpretation or enforcement, could have a material adverse effect on the company's effective tax rate, results of operations, cash flows and financial condition; Accenture's profitability could materially suffer if the company is unable to obtain favorable pricing for its services and solutions, if the company is unable to remain competitive, if its cost-management strategies are unsuccessful or if it experiences delivery inefficiencies; Accenture's results of operations could be materially adversely affected by fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates; as a result of Accenture's geographically diverse operations and its growth strategy to continue geographic expansion, the company is more susceptible to certain risks; Accenture's business could be materially adversely affected if the company incurs legal liability; Accenture's work with government clients exposes the company to additional risks inherent in the government contracting environment; if Accenture is unable to manage the organizational challenges associated with its size, the company might be unable to achieve its business objectives; if Accenture does not successfully manage and develop its relationships with key alliance partners or fails to anticipate and establish new alliances in new technologies, the company's results of operations could be adversely affected; Accenture's ability to attract and retain business and employees may depend on its reputation in the marketplace; Accenture might not be successful at acquiring, investing in or integrating businesses, entering into joint ventures or divesting businesses; if Accenture is unable to protect its intellectual property rights or if Accenture's services or solutions infringe upon the intellectual property rights of others or the company loses its ability to utilize the intellectual property of others, its business could be adversely affected; changes to accounting standards or in the estimates and assumptions Accenture makes in connection with the preparation of its consolidated financial statements could adversely affect its financial results; many of Accenture's contracts include payments that link some of its fees to the attainment of performance or business targets and/or require the company to meet specific service levels, which could increase the variability of the company's revenues and impact its margins; Accenture's results of operations and share price could be adversely affected if it is unable to maintain effective internal controls; Accenture might be unable to access additional capital on favorable terms or at all and if the company raises equity capital, it may dilute its shareholders' ownership interest in the company; Accenture may be subject to criticism and negative publicity related to its incorporation in Ireland; as well as the risks, uncertainties and other factors discussed under the "Risk Factors" heading in Accenture plc's most recent annual report on Form 10-K and other documents filed with or furnished to the Securities and Exchange Commission. Statements in this news release speak only as of the date they were made, and Accenture undertakes no duty to update any forward-looking statements made in this news release or to conform such statements to actual results or changes in Accenture's expectations.

Copyright 2018 Accenture. All rights reserved. Accenture and its logo are trademarks of Accenture.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20181130005300/en/

Contacts:

Dr. Thomas Wittek

Accenture

+49 175 57-63105

thomas.wittek@accenture.com

Alexandra Annable

Global Media Relations Manager

Accenture Interactive

+44 7918780916

alexandra.annable@accenture.com
Toronto, Canada--(Newsfile Corp. - November 30, 2018) - Sweet Natural Trading Co. Limited (TSXV: NTRL) ("Sweet Natural Trading", or the "Company") announces that is has released its financial and operating results for the three months ended September 30, 2018 and September 30, 2017. Highlights of the results include:















2018

2017 Revenue $ 1,050,208 $ 1,627,207 Gross Profit $ 299,566 $ 543,163 Net Loss $ (1,187,891) $ (432,758) EBITDA $ (995,114) $ (198,896) Adjusted EBITDA* $ (409,283) $ (122,056) Loss per share $ (0.02) $ (0.01)











* EBITDA adjusted for share-based payments, restructuring and research and development costs.

Sweet Natural Trading continues to be an industry leader in providing the highest quality xylitol to the North American retail market and aspires to continue to be the industry leader. To allow for continued growth and capacity, management decided to shutter operations in Denver and utilize the services of focused and established co-packers together with a leading third party logistics company which will help to improve cost efficiencies, reduce fixed cost overhead and improve margins. Sales and margins in Q3 however were impacted by the transition. The Company has worked diligently with both suppliers and co-packers to execute a plan to mitigate the situation for the remainder of the year. As part of the transition the Company also incurred $574,347 in restructuring costs in shutting down Denver operations this quarter of which the majority was non cash related to write offs of legacy inventory and equipment.

With the brand transformation and restructuring of the business almost complete, the Company has focused its efforts on meeting with retailers and customers to now focus on sales growth - from adding new accounts, expanding geographic distribution with existing accounts and product extension to leverage the now 7000+ retail doors that the Company currently penetrates. We continue to use this momentum to target sales growth with our newly branded portfolio of natural sweeteners. The full text of the Company's interim consolidated financial statements and related management's discussion and analysis ("MD&A") can be found at: www.sedar.com.

Additional Financing

On November 6, 2018 the Company completed its non-brokered private placement previously announced on September 21, 2018 (the "Offering"), resulting in the issuance by the Company of 30,000,000 units (the "Units") for gross proceeds of $1,500,000. Each Unit consists of one common share (a "Common Share") of the Company and one Common Share purchase warrant (each a "Warrant"). Each Warrant will entitle the holder thereof to purchase one Common Share, at a price of $0.075, for a period of 36 months following the date of issuance. Each Warrant will also have an accelerated expiry date within 30 days of when the Company provides written notice to the holder thereof that either: (i) the Common Share volume weighted average price on the TSX Venture Exchange for any 10 consecutive trading days has equaled or exceeded $0.22; or (ii) the Company closes a subsequent private placement of Common Shares at a price per Common Share exceeding $0.22. The funds raised pursuant to the Offering will be used by the Company for general working capital purposes including purchasing inventory to satisfy new sales accounts and to pursue the Company's strategic plan.

About Sweet Natural Trading Co. Limited

Sweet Natural Trading Co. Limited is a leading natural sweetener company that promotes healthier eating by selling food products that reduce refined, added sugar consumption. With obesity and diabetes reaching unprecedented levels, the Company is focused on making a positive impact in reducing these lifestyle diseases. Sweet Natural Trading Co. products are sold in over 7,000 stores including major retail customers such as Loblaws, Walmart, Whole Foods, Costco, Publix, Sprouts and distributors including UNFI and KeHE.

For more information about Sweet Natural Trading Co. Limited please contact:

Steven Haasz

CEO and a director of Sweet Natural Trading Co. Limited

416.288.1019

shaasz@sweetnaturaltrading.com

Neither 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.

This news release contains forward-looking statements and other statements that are not historical facts. Forward-looking statements are often identified by terms such as "will", "may", "should", "anticipate", "expects" and similar expressions. All statements other than statements of historical fact included in this release, including, without limitation, statements regarding the Offering and the Company's strategic growth plan, are forward-looking statements that involve 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 Company's expectations are risks detailed from time to time in the filings made by the Company with securities regulators.

The reader is cautioned that assumptions used in the preparation of any forward-looking information may prove to be incorrect. Events or circumstances may cause actual results to differ materially from those predicted, as a result of numerous known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors, many of which are beyond the control of the Company. As a result, the Company cannot guarantee that any forward-looking statement will materialize and the reader is cautioned not to place undue reliance on any forward-looking information. Such information, although considered reasonable by management at the time of preparation, may prove to be incorrect and actual results may differ materially from those anticipated. Forward-looking statements contained in this news release are expressly qualified by this cautionary statement. The forward-looking statements contained in this news release are made as of the date of this news release and the Company will only update or revise publicly any of the included forward-looking statements as expressly required by Canadian securities law.
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.
STOCKHOLM, Nov. 30, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, the last trading day of the month, there are in total 98,904,665 shares and votes in the company. After the increase, the share capital amounts to SEK 717,744.57. The increase in the number of shares is due to the exercise of warrants in accordance with the Company's incentive programs.

This information is information that Tobii is obliged to make public pursuant to the Financial Instruments Trading Act. The information was submitted for publication, through the agency of the contact person set out below, on November 30, 2018, at 19:45 p.m. CET.

This information was brought to you by Cision http://news.cision.com

http://news.cision.com/tobii-ab/r/new-number-of-shares-and-votes-in-tobii,c2687956

The following files are available for download:

http://mb.cision.com/Main/2874/2687956/955776.pdf New Number of Shares and Votes in Tobii - press release - 30 November 2018

CONTACT: Sara Hyleen, VP of Corporate Communications & Investor Relations, Tobii AB, phone: +46-709-16-16-41, email: sara.hyleen@tobii.com
By Alex Lawler LONDON (Reuters) - OPEC oil supply has fallen in November from a two-year high due to U.S. sanctions on Iran, a Reuters survey found, although most of the output gap left by Iran was plugged by Saudi Arabia and the UAE in response to calls from U.S. President Donald Trump.

By Alex Lawler

LONDON (Reuters) - OPEC oil supply has fallen in November from a two-year high due to U.S. sanctions on Iran, a Reuters survey found, although most of the output gap left by Iran was plugged by Saudi Arabia and the UAE in response to calls from U.S. President Donald Trump.

The 15-member Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries has pumped 33.11 million barrels per day this month, the survey on Friday found, down 160,000 bpd from October, which was the highest by OPEC as a group since December 2016.

The survey adds to indications that OPEC output remains ample despite U.S. sanctions imposed on Iran this month. Oil prices have slid 30 percent since early October on worries a new glut may emerge. OPEC and its allies including Russia meet on Dec. 6-7 in Vienna to discuss cutting supply.

With Saudi Arabia and Russia pumping at record rates, U.S. output surging and forecasts pointing to lower demand in 2019 due to a slowing economy, some analysts are sceptical the producers will avoid generating a surplus.

"The most likely outcome of next week's OPEC meeting is a fudge," said Stephen Brennock of oil broker PVM. "Russia and Saudi Arabia will agree to curb production but by less than is needed to prevent a supply imbalance in early 2019."

OPEC, Russia and other non-members agreed in June to return to 100 percent compliance with output cuts that began in January 2017, after months of underproduction in Venezuela and Angola that had pushed adherence above 160 percent.

In November, the 12 OPEC members bound by the supply-limiting agreement boosted compliance to 120 percent as production fell in Iran, from a revised 110 percent in October, the survey found.

IRAN DECLINE

The biggest drop in OPEC supply this month has come from Iran, according to the survey.

Exports fell at times below 1 million bpd as returning U.S. sanctions discouraged companies from buying Iranian oil, although volumes rose later in the month, sources in the survey said. Sanctions waivers granted to eight buyers could lead to higher exports in December, analysts have said.

The second-biggest decline was in Iraq, where exports from southern Iraqi terminals were curbed by bad weather, despite the resumption of some Kirkuk exports in the north after a one year halt.

There were small falls in production in Libya and Nigeria, both exempt from the supply pact. OPEC is discussing including one or both of the African producers in a 2019 supply deal.

The biggest rise was in Saudi Arabia, where supply hit a record 11 million bpd. Trump has been urging Saudi Arabia and other producers to pump more oil to curb rising prices and make up for losses from Iran.

UAE output rose following a jump in October, reaching 3.35 million bpd. The UAE says its oil-production capacity will reach 3.5 million bpd by the year-end.

Supply to market unexpectedly rose in Venezuela as two tanker-trackers reported a rise in exports, which have been declining for months due to the country's economic crisis.

Before Congo joined OPEC this year, the group had an implied production target for 2018 of 32.78 million bpd, based on cutbacks detailed in late 2016 and Nigeria and Libya's expectations of 2018 output.

OPEC excluding Congo pumped almost exactly that amount in November, according to the survey.

The Reuters survey aims to track supply to the market and is based on shipping data provided by external sources, Refinitiv Eikon flows data and information provided by sources at oil companies, OPEC and consulting firms.

(Editing by Edmund Blair)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
MUMBAI (Reuters) - China was looking to boost agricultural exports to India while increasing imports of rapeseed and soymeal from the country, President Xi Jinping told Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the sidelines of a G20 meeting on Friday. China's Xi also indicated greater trade in the pharmaceuticals sector between the two nations, India's foreign secretary Vijay Gokhale, who was travelling with Modi, said, detailing the deliberations between the two leaders

MUMBAI (Reuters) - China was looking to boost agricultural exports to India while increasing imports of rapeseed and soymeal from the country, President Xi Jinping told Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the sidelines of a G20 meeting on Friday.

China's Xi also indicated greater trade in the pharmaceuticals sector between the two nations, India's foreign secretary Vijay Gokhale, who was travelling with Modi, said, detailing the deliberations between the two leaders.

"On the economic side, President Xi Jinping referred to enhanced imports of rice and sugar from India and spoke of

possibility of greater imports of soymeal and rapeseed," he said.

The meeting at the G20 summit was the fourth between Xi and Modi this year as the leaders looked to build on a thaw in ties between the two countries after a military standoff on their disputed border last year, officials told Reuters on Thursday.

India's commerce ministry and a six-member Chinese delegation signed an agreement on Wednesday allowing Beijing to inspect imports of Indian fish meal and fish oil in an effort to ease market access for exports of various farm products.

(Reporting by Nidhi Verma and Abhirup Roy, editing by Louise Heavens)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
Arvind Subramanian is now in a Mark Antony act from Julius Caesar as he slams the government even as he seems to praise the 'honourable men' who surrounded him

If there was a Sherlock Holmes detective mystery to be written on Arvind Subramanian's tenure at the Finance Ministry in New Delhi, it might well be titled, 'The Curious Case of the Demonetised Advisor.' We also need to do some good sleuthing to find out what the former chief economic advisor to the Government of India really means when he describes the outlawing of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 denomination currency notes on that fateful night of 8 November 2016, as "draconian"the word a dictionary describes as "excessively harsh and severe."

Commentators who are now berating the US-based economist for either not quitting in protest over the move after being party to the controversial decision by Prime Minister Narendra Modi have to read between the lines of his forthcoming book and also past some silences and events to get some vital clues on what really happened. Or might have.

To start with, anyone knowing the lay of the land at North Block may be mistaken in saying that demonetisation happened right under the advisor's nose. That would not be true either literally or figuratively.

All anecdotes and accounts suggest that the demonetisation that seems to have substantially backfired (except in the eyes of its protagonists) was such a big secret that it would go down in history as much for its dark stealth as for its failed pursuit of black wealth. They say even finance minister Arun Jaitley was brought in at the last hour. If Subramanian was not consulted, as it appears, should he be blamed in the first place?

So our focus should shift to what the chief economic advisor did after demonetisation happened. The CEA's post has a quasi-institutional quality and Subramanian by all accounts excelled in his role as the eloquent author of the annual pre-budget economic survey that is supposed to give an objective account of the preceding year's hits and misses in the economy. Some Shakespearean clues lie here.

Subramanian is now in a Mark Antony act from Julius Caesar as he slams the government even as he seems to praise the "honourable men" who surrounded him. However, in the spring of 2017, he was in the throes of a Hamletian dilemma, in a "to be or not to be" frame of mind.

Chapter 3 of the economic survey of the demonetisation year is titled "To Deify or Demonize". The choice of words then seems to offer criticism shaped as doubt, while the choice of words now appears to offer condemnation as description.

The survey that spoke of the "secrecy and suddenness" of the note ban has one telling para: "The public debate on demonetisation has raised three sets of questions. First, broader aspects of management, as reflected in the design and implementation of the initiative. Second, its economic impact in the short and medium run. And, third, its implications for the broader vision."

And it goes on to say: "This Survey is not the forum to discuss the first question." Thus, the CEA, much before departing his chair had kept the option open to discuss this in future, as he seems to be doing in his impending book. The survey appeared to defend the demonetisation by calling it a "reverse helicopter drop" to suck out money, but it carefully added that any attempt to guess its future would be "hazardous."

Well, away from Ground Zero Subramanian describes the same event as a "massive, Draconian monetary shock." Picture the past event now like a helicopter that contained a vacuum cleaner to suck out not wads of currency notes but poor workers and farmhands stuck in long queues outside ATM machines. Here is a man who is supposed to have shown a mirror to the government but it seems to have had a convex-concave trick -- the kind that they charge you for showing funny, mocking faces in village fairs.

The CEA clearly ploughed a lonely furrow during his tenure but for some appreciative gestures from Jaitley. And let it be remembered that apart from Subramanian himself, Jaitley was also targeted by Subramanian Swamy, a sitting BJP member of the Rajya Sabha, with none left to significantly defend either in the ruling party. You could even interpret the whole thing as a hint for the CEA to resign, which he did, eventually. But, the CEA for the most part preferred to be resigned to his fate than resign his office on principle.

You could say the CEA was himself substantially demonetised in design while being honoured for a period, much like the high-value notes that went out of the system amid fanfare and confusion. He is popping up again to use less fancy expressions to describe what in proximity seemed to us like an optical illusion of support for the demonetisation.

Unlike Raghuram Rajan, who was consulted on the note ban while he was heading the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and said a firm 'no', for all practical purposes, Subramanian was presented with a fait-accompli that he could justify only with the power of his literary imagination. With equal imagination, he is now hitting at the government, and that is bound to be a good thing for the sales of his book. We can now wait for an I-told-you-so statement from Subramanian Swamy, with whom the former CEA seems to share little apart from half his name.

The mirror Subramanian spoke of has now turned into a hand lens and is trying to heat up the government in an election year. Much like the NDA government's new back series GDP data that show the predecessor UPA's economic performance to be poorer than its own, Subramanian's current description of the past event he witnessed from close quarters is controversial for its engineered hindsight.

What is it they say about karma and sowing as you reap?

( The writer is a senior journalist and commentator. He tweets as @madversity)
In order to contain further losses, the domestic carriers have resorted to several measures, which include among others, rationalisation of non-fuel costs, network review,

Mumbai: Domestic carriers, which are grappling with high jet fuel cost and falling rupee coupled with cut-throat competition, are estimated to require a massive capital infusion of around Rs 350 billion over the next 3-4 years, rating agency Icra said Thursday. These funds would help bring down the high debt levels in the airline industry, Icra said in a note. Significantly, all the three listed airlines, Jet Airways, InterGlobe Aviation-run IndiGo, and SpiceJet, are currently in the red.

"ICRA believes an equity infusion of about Rs 350 billion would be needed over the next 3-4 years," said Kinjal Shah, vice president and co-head for corporate sector ratings, ICRA.

While the average jet fuel prices have witnessed an increase of around 35 percent during April-November this year over the same period last year, the average rupee depreciated by 7.8 percent against the US dollar during this period, according to the rating agency. This has resulted in an increase in the cost per available seat kilometres of the airlines, not buttressed by an increase in yields, it added.

In fact, yields have declined for most airlines despite the surging costs. This is due to the price-sensitive nature of the industry which is plagued by rising capacities, with the domestic aviation sector likely to have significant over-capacity in the next two-three years, as per the note.

The industry's financial health has nosedived, with the three listed airlines having reported a combined net loss of Rs 36.4 billion in the first half of the fiscal, Shah said adding, "that means the three listed airlines together have lost about Rs 20 crore per day during H1 FY2019."

In the near-term, the balance sheets of Indian carriers are expected to remain stressed until the carriers are able to reduce their debt burden through a combination of improvement in operating performance and/or by way of equity infusion, she added.

ICRA, in the note also said that while the domestic passenger growth continues to be robust, the challenges are equally confounding as airlines resort to predatory pricing so as to maintain their passenger load factors (PLFs) in an environment of increasing capacities. This has resulted in deterioration in the industry economics, and thus, financial stress, as per the note.

According to Icra, in order to contain further losses, the domestic airlines have resorted to several measures, which include among others, rationalisation of non-fuel costs, network review, rationalisation of routes, and manpower reduction.

"Some airlines have also sought approval for deferment of payments to the vendors and lessors, and are also delaying on payment of salaries to employees, so as to tide over their short-term cash flow mismatches," the note said.

Airlines are also focusing on increasing their ancillary revenues, which currently contribute to less than 10 percent of the revenues of domestic airlines, as against much higher share of revenues (10-20 percent) in developed markets, it said.

"However, these measures are not adequate to compensate the large hike in jet fuel prices and the increase in costs due to the rupee depreciation," Icra said.
WHY DONT YOU READ THESE?
By Humeyra Pamuk WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S.

By Humeyra Pamuk

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency lifted its annual blending mandate for advanced biofuels by 15 percent for 2019, while keeping steady the requirement for conventional biofuels like corn-based ethanol, according to an agency document seen by Reuters on Thursday.

The mandate includes 4.92 billion gallons for advanced biofuels that can be made from plant and animal waste, an increase from the EPA's initial proposal in June of 4.88 billion and above the 4.29 billion that had been set for 2018, according to the document.

The requirement for conventional biofuels remains at 15 billion gallons for 2019, on par with 2018 and the same as proposed by the agency in June.

The EPA is required to announce formally the biofuel mandate figures, which are closely watched by the rival corn and oil industries, by Friday.

Biodiesel blending credits rose 4 cents to trade at 46 cents on the report, before paring gains, two traders said.

Under the U.S. Renewable Fuel Standard, first adopted in 2005, oil refiners are required to blend a certain amount of biofuels, as determined by the EPA, into their fuel each year or purchase blending credits from those that do.

The policy has helped farmers by creating a huge market for ethanol and other biofuels, but oil refiners say compliance can cost a fortune.

The new figures confirm the agency has declined requests by the corn industry to reallocate biofuel blending obligations previously waived under the small refinery exemptions program, which has been expanded dramatically under the administration of President Donald Trump.

Small refineries can be exempted from the RFS if they prove that complying would cause them financial strain.

The powerful corn lobby and top officials in the U.S. Department of Agriculture have complained for months that the expansion of the waiver program since Trump took office threatens demand for ethanol.

An EPA official told Reuters earlier this week that the decision not to reallocate waived volumes was due mainly to timing.

"The primary reason why were not reallocating in this rule is because we have no idea what the volume of SREs (Small Refinery Exemptions) will be for calendar 2019 and we wont know that late 2019, early 2020," the official said.

"ABUSIVE WAIVERS"

The Trump administration has also temporarily put on hold processing of current waiver applications as the EPA and the Department of Energy review the scoring system used to evaluate them, sources familiar with the matter told Reuters.

The EPA is still expected to rule on current applications before the March 31 compliance deadline for the 2018 calendar year.

In an interview with Reuters, Bill Wehrum, assistant administrator at the EPA's Air and Radiation Department, said most applications have not yet been received.

"For calendar year 2018, I think we are only now starting to get applications, and the bulk of them we are not going to see until probably early next year," he said, but declined to comment on any expected change in the number of waivers granted.

"I am not going to predict what we may or may not do," he said. "Each waiver decision is based on an individual application filed by an affected entity."

Biofuels industry participants repeated calls on the EPA to not grant too many waivers.

"Without a check on abusive EPA waivers, well continue to see plants closing their doors or idling production," Brooke Coleman, executive director at the Advanced Biofuels Business Council, said.

Trump has sought to please the corn lobby with a different tweak to U.S. biofuel policy: In October he directed the EPA to draft a rule allowing year-round sales of higher ethanol gasoline blends called E15 - a product restricted during the summer over concerns it contributes to smog.

Wehrum said the agency was on track to finalise the rule before June 1, in time for the 2019 driving season.

"We will get it done by then," he said. "I think there's a virtual certainty that we're going to get challenged in court. I think we gave a good legal argument."

(Reporting by Humeyra Pamuk; Additional reporting by Jarrett Renshaw in New York, Editing by David Gregorio, Richard Valdmanis and Leslie Adler)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
Russian President Vladimir Putin is ready for contacts with his U.S. counterpart Donald Trump, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, commenting on Washington's decision to cancel the presidents' meeting scheduled for December 1 on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Argentina.

"We regret the US administrations decision to cancel the planned meeting between the two presidents in Buenos Aires," Peskov said.

"This means that a discussion on important issues on the bilateral and international agenda is being postponed indefinitely," TASS cited the spokesman as saying.

U.S. President Donald Trump wrote in a Twitter post yesterday evening that he decided to cancel a bilateral meeting with the Russian president on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Buenos Aires due to the recent incident in the Kerch Strait.
Hindustan Unilever, the Indian arm of Unilever, confirmed that the company was in the race to acquire GlaxoSmithKline Plc's consumer healthcare nutrition products

New Delhi: GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare Thursday confirmed that "consideration is being given to a potential transaction" amid reports that Unilever Plc has emerged as the top contender to acquire the nutrition business of UK-based GSK Plc.

Hindustan Unilever, the Indian arm of Unilever, confirmed that the company was in the race to acquire GlaxoSmithKline Plc's consumer healthcare nutrition products, including the popular drink Horlicks, but said it was bound by "confidentiality obligations" from disclosing details at this point of time.

In March this year, GlaxoSmithKline Plc (GSK) had announced a strategic review of Horlicks and its other consumer healthcare nutrition products following its acquisition of 36.5 percent stake in the consumer healthcare business of Novartis for GBP 9.2 billion.

GSK is considering to sell Horlicks and other nutrition brands as part of plans to fund the acquisition.

The majority of Horlicks and other GSK nutrition products sales are generated in India by GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare (GSKCH).

"The company can confirm that consideration is being given to a potential transaction, which includes a merger of the company," GSKCH said in a clarification to BSE.

It, however, did not disclose details and the identity of potential buyer although reports suggested that Anglo-Dutch consumer goods firm Unilever PLC has emerged as the top contender for the nutrition business of GlaxoSmithKline.

In a separate clarification to BSE over the reports, Hindustan Unilever said, "With reference to this particular case, we wish to state that we are bound by the confidentiality obligations at this point in time."

The company further said,"...considering confidentiality norms, it will not be correct for us to provide any further details at this stage."

GSKCH also said, "There can be no assurance that a transaction will result from the review process nor has any decision on the matter been made by the company."

The Financial Times had reported that Unilever has beaten rival bid from Nestle, which was looking to build on its market-leading position in powdered hot drinks, where it already sells Milo and Nesquik.

If the deal is sealed in favour of Unilever, it would further consolidate the position of its Indian arm Hindustan Unilever, which is expanding its portfolio in the food and beverages segment.

Earlier, Atlanta-based cola major CocaCola Co was also in the race to acquire the malt-based health drink Horlicks from GSK.
Indias imports of Iranian oil dropped the least, falling just 0.2 percent from the same month last year to 466,400 bpd.

Tokyo: Imports of Iranian crude oil by major buyers in Asia hit a five-year low in October, as China, Japan and South Korea sharply cut purchases ahead of US sanctions on Tehran that took effect in early November, government and ship-tracking data showed.

China, India, Japan and South Korea last month imported about 762,000 barrels per day (bpd) from Iran, according to the data, down 56.4 percent from a year earlier.

This marks the lowest volume of shipments since October 2013, when an earlier round of tough the US and the EU sanctions had slashed exports from the OPEC member starting from early 2012.

In reimposing sanctions on 5 November on Irans energy and shipping industries, however, Washington also granted exemptions to China, Japan, South Korea and five other countries, allowing them to continue buying some Iranian oil for at least another 180 days.

Indias imports of Iranian oil dropped the least, falling just 0.2 percent from the same month last year to 466,400 bpd.

Most India refiners boosted purchases from Iran ahead of the US sanctions as Iran was offering almost free shipping and extended credit periods, according to oil analysts.

South Korean oil imports from Iran, though, fell to zero for a second straight month in October.

Japans oil imports from Iran plunged by 71 percent to a six-month low of 48,033 bpd last month, trade ministry data showed on Friday.

Japans imports for November are set to fall to zero for the first time since July 2012, when the nations buyers reined in its appetite to keep from falling afoul of European Union sanctions targeting insurance.

Japan has not imported any crude after the last cargo was shipped in early October, according to Refinitiv data.

South Korea is likely to hold its oil imports from Iran at zero until the end of the year and resume shipments from January, industry sources said in mid-November.

Japans JXTG Nippon Oil & Energy is likely to load Iran crude around the end of December, two industry sources said. A company spokesman said, however, that the company is considering the purchase but nothing has been decided yet.

Chinas imports of Iranian crude tumbled 64 percent in October to 247,200 bpd.
The 19-year-old alliance between Renault and Nissan is facing its biggest test to date after the arrest of its larger-than-life leader, Carlos Ghosn, for suspected financial misconduct.

Tokyo: Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe and French president Emmanuel Macron were arranging to meet on the sidelines of the G20 summit meeting, media said, amid signs of a brewing diplomatic feud over the power balance at the troubled Renault-Nissan alliance.

The 19-year-old partnership between Renault SA and Nissan Motor Co is facing its biggest test to date after the arrest this month of its larger-than-life leader, Carlos Ghosn, for suspected financial misconduct.

Ghosn, 64, has been detained in Tokyo since his 19 November arrest, and prosecutors are widely expected to seek a maximum 10-day extension of his detention. If the court approves, authorities will have to file charges by 10 December or arrest him on suspicion of fresh crimes to keep him in custody.

Ghosns detention in Tokyo has left the Franco-Japanese auto alliance without a leader and an advocate for the French government, which has said it wants to retain the current capital structure. Renault controls Nissan through its 43 percent stake, while Nissan holds a non-voting 15 percent stake in its partner.

After meeting in Paris last week, Japanese industry minister Hiroshige Seko and French finance and economy minister Bruno Le Maire reaffirmed the two countries support for the alliance.

A few days later, however, Le Maire said on French television that he and Seko agreed that keeping the alliances current capital structure was desirable  an agreement the Japanese minister denied making.

The Mainichi Shimbun daily reported on Friday that Seko had sent a rare letter of protest to Le Maire for the remarks. Officials at Japans ministry of economy, trade and industry said they could not immediately comment on the reported letter.

Macron's fight

Ghosns arrest, including for allegedly under-reporting his income, has triggered new attempts by Nissan to shake off what it considers Renaults outsized control of it, adding to problems at Macrons Elysee.

As economy minister, Macron had masterminded the French governments surprise increase of its Renault stake in 2015, raising alarm bells inside Nissan that the Elysee was out to wield more influence over the Japanese company.

Macron has requested a meeting with Abe at the G20 summit starting on Friday, the Mainichi reported. A Japanese government spokesman said nothing had been decided.

The auto alliance, which also includes Japans Mitsubishi Motors Corp, for its part emphatically reiterated its commitment to the partnership on Thursday after executives met in Amsterdam for the first time since Ghosns arrest.

A review of the capital structure was not discussed at the meeting, Mitsubishi Motors CEO Osamu Masuko said.
The SBI chief did not mention RBI in his speech nor did he name the policy changes which have hampered the private sector play in infrastructure.

Mumbai: State Bank chairman Rajnish Kumar on Thursday blamed some adverse policy interventions for the flight of private sector capital from infrastructure sectors and called for greater stability on the policy front. The remarks come days after Union minister Nitin Gadkari blamed the Reserve Bank for "complicating" project finance and asked the central bank to aid infrastructure creation.

"We need private capital for infrastructure. But unless policymaking is conducive to private investment, we will have problems like we are facing today," Kumar told a conference on corporate governance organised by an advisory floated by ex-Sebi chairman M Damodaran. "Private sector investments in infrastructure projects are stranded due to adverse policy interventions," Kumar said.

It can be noted that most of the over Rs 12-trillion of bad loans are from key infra space like power, steel, coal, telecom, and roads among others, where government or court-driven policy changes stranded dozens of projects either halfway through implementation or never took off.

Speaking in the financial capital earlier this month, Gadkari had said financial closure for large projects were getting stuck due to the RBI. "Unfortunately, many times the circulars issued by the RBI are creating more complications and this is one of the reasons why I am facing problems as far as financial closure of large projects is concerned," Gadkari said, while speaking at an awards function. "I feel that it is appropriate time for RBI to support infrastructure," he added.

The SBI chief did not mention RBI in his speech nor did he name the policy changes which have hampered the private sector play in infrastructure. Kumar also said there is a need for the regulators to take a liberal view and not go by the book alone in certain cases, as of late, the regulatory stance has hardened making compliance the key concern.

The "pendulum" has swung to the other extreme and it may be having adverse effects, the SBI chairman said but underlined that the trust between the regulator and the regulated entities is essential.

He said domestic banking has gone the American way, where banks get off at the first sign of trouble, from the earlier approach of tolerance and rehabilitate an account to protect the enterprise.
By Roberta Rampton BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) - The United States, Canada and Mexico signed a North American trade pact on Friday, and President Donald Trump brushed aside difficulties he may have in getting the deal through U.S.

By Roberta Rampton

BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) - The United States, Canada and Mexico signed a North American trade pact on Friday, and President Donald Trump brushed aside difficulties he may have in getting the deal through U.S. Congress, where opposition Democrats will control one of its two chambers.

The leaders of the three countries agreed on a deal in principle to replace the North American Free Trade Agreement that governs more than a trillion dollars of mutual trade after a year and a half of acrimonious negotiations concluded with a late-night bargain just an hour before a deadline on Sept. 30.

Friday's signing potentially ends a big source of irritation for the U.S. administration as it pivots to a much bigger trade fight with China that threatens the global economy. All eyes are on a meeting between Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping on Saturday after a G20 summit in Buenos Aires.

Trump had vowed to revamp NAFTA during his 2016 presidential election campaign. He threatened to tear it up and withdraw the U.S. completely at times during the negotiation, which would have left trade between the three neighbours in disarray.

The three countries were still bickering over the finer points of the deal just hours before officials were due to sit down and sign it as the G20 summit kicked off in Buenos Aires.

"Its been long and hard. Weve taken a lot of barbs and a little abuse and we got there, Trump said after the signing.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau still had a few barbs of his own on Friday. He called the deal by its old name NAFTA, prodded Trump over U.S. steel and aluminium tariffs and said General Motors Co's decision to cut production and slash its North American workforce, including in Canada, was a "heavy blow."

"Donald, its all the more reason why we need to keep working to remove the tariffs on steel and aluminium between our two countries, Trudeau said.

Mexico's President Enrique Pena Nieto, who awarded Jared Kushner, Trumps son-in-law and adviser, with Mexicos highest order for foreigners, was warmer. On his last day in office, he said the new deal was forged with the "firm belief that we are stronger and more competitive."

Legislators from the three countries must still approve the pact, officially known as the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), before it goes into effect and replaces NAFTA.

But the U.S. trade landscape will shift significantly in January when Democrats take control of the U.S. House of Representatives in January after winning midterm elections in November.

Presumptive incoming Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosis described the deal as a "work in progress" that lacks worker and environment protections.

"This is not something where we have a piece of paper we can say yes or no to," she said at a press conference on Friday, noting that Mexico had yet to pass a law on wages and working conditions.

Still, Trump and U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer expressed confidence the agreement would pass Congress.

"Its been so well reviewed I dont expect to have very much of a problem," Trump said.

Lighthizer said the pact was negotiated from the beginning to be a bipartisan agreement. "I think well get the support of a lot of Democrats," he told reporters.

Trump had forced Canada and Mexico to renegotiate the 24-year-old agreement because he said the existing pact encouraged U.S. companies to move jobs to low-wage Mexico.

U.S. objections to Canada's protected internal market for dairy products was a major challenge facing negotiators during the talks, and Trump repeatedly demanded concessions and accused Canada of hurting U.S. farmers.

BDI, Germany's main industry association, said in a statement the agreement's rules on preferential origin for the automotive sector would be stricter and more complex, calling it "a retrograde step compared with NAFTA."

(Reporting by Roberta Rampton, Matt Spetalnick and Caroline Stauffer in Buenos Aires and David Ljunggren in Ottawa; Additional reporting by Richard Cowan and Lisa Lambert in Washington; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Susan Thomas)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
A UK investor revolt forced Polman and the Unilever board to scrap a plan in October to move the headquarters of the dual-listed company to the Netherlands

Unilevers Chief Executive Paul Polman will step down next month after 10 years in the job, leaving insider Alan Jope to step into his shoes after the Anglo-Dutch groups failed attempt to shift its headquarters.

A UK investor revolt forced Polman and the Unilever board to scrap a plan in October to move the headquarters of the dual-listed company, which makes Dove soap and Ben & Jerrys ice cream, to the Netherlands.

Company veteran Jope, 54, is the boss of the beauty and personal care division which is Unilevers largest, accounting for almost half of group annual profits. The Scotsman also previously led the companys business in China and has long been seen as a possible successor to Polman.

Our global footprint includes strong positions in many important markets for the future and our focus will remain on serving our consumers, and our other multiple stakeholders, to deliver longterm growth and value creation, Jope said.

At the helm since January 2009, Polman, 62, generated big returns for shareholders totalling 290 percent over the period, expanded its presence in emerging markets, and in 2017 fended off a $143 billion takeover approach by Kraft-Heinz.

That failed bid, however, helped prompt Dutchman Polman to seek to simplify Unilevers structure by shifting its headquarters to Rotterdam. That angered UK-based shareholders as Unilever would have left the UK FTSE 100 share index, forcing some to sell.

Unilever had faced mounting opposition from key shareholders, including Aviva Investors, Royal London, Columbia Threadneedle, Legal & General Investment Management, Lindsell Train, M&G Investments and Brewin Dolphin. The group had originally unveiled the planned switch in March in a symbolic decision that was largely interpreted by analysts as a blow to post-Brexit Britain.

Polman, 62, tweeted that he had decided to "step down from my role as CEO", adding: "It's been a great honour to lead this team for the past 10 years and together build a sustainable business that has made a difference to millions of lives."

"I have no doubts that I will be leaving the company in excellent hands. Under Alan's leadership Unilever is well-placed to prosper long into the future."

It has been a true privilege to be @Unilevers CEO, I will always remain a passionate advocate for all the company stands for, immensely proud of what we have achieved over the past 10 year, & will continue to work towards making sustainability commonplace https://t.co/t56TJ7N0tA pic.twitter.com/1lIvcK5z97  Paul Polman (@PaulPolman) November 29, 2018

Unilevers board, led by Chairman Marijn Dekkers, ditched the HQ move plan on 5 October after it became clear that it could fall short of the investor approval needed.

Dekkers denied the row had accelerated Polmans retirement.

The appointment of Alan Jope as the successor of Paul has nothing to do with the simplification process, he told reporters on Thursday.

Polmans decision to retire was not unexpected and the board had started a process a year ago to consider appropriate replacements, Dekkers added.

Thats why we were able to appoint Alan immediately, he said.

Marmite

Polmans reputation as a champion of issues like sustainability and the companys social impact wasnt always appreciated. Bernstein analyst Andrew Wood said some investors were irked by what they considered a preachy style but added that Polman had a strong record over the past decade.

Just like one of Unilevers highest-profile products, Marmite, Polman engenders strongly differing opinions from investors, Wood said.

We consider that Polman has been an exceptionally good CEO of Unilever, Wood added.

Dekkers said that Jopes appointment stands for continuity, reassuring investors that the company was on track to meet guidelines set by Polman, that includes a target for an underlying operating margin of 20 percent by 2020.

Unilever investor Skagen Global Fund said it hoped that Jope would build on Polmans legacy.

Jope is an impressive executive and we congratulate the board on an excellent choice of successor, Skagen Global fund portfolio manager Knut Gezelius said.

Choosing Jope over presumably a long list of strong external candidates is another testament to the strength of the internal bench and management quality at Unilever.

National balance

The appointment of Jope rebalances the Anglo-Dutch leadership of the company in favour of the British-side. While Dekkers is Dutch, Unilevers Chief Financial Officer Graeme Pitkethly is also British.

Dekkers said that nationality played no role in how Unilever made appointment decisions.

Pitkethly, who was involved in the media campaign defending the plan to move the HQ, had also been rumoured as a possible replacement for Polman.

Jope joined Unilever as a graduate trainee in 1985. He will be paid a fixed salary of 1.45 million euros ($1.65 million) plus a target annual bonus of 150 percent of fixed pay in his new role as CEO.

Investors will not have to wait long for a chance to quiz the company on its future - Unilever is due to hold an investor day in Mumbai, India on 4 and 5 December.

On the new CEOs agenda will be Unilevers bid for GlaxoSmithKlines Indian Horlicks nutrition business, where it is competing against consumer giant Nestle, as well as handling any fallout from a possible no-deal Brexit as Britain is due to leave the EU in March 2019.

Polman, who was paid a fixed annual salary of 1.4 million pounds but with bonuses took home a total package of about 10 million pounds, will stay on for six months to support Jopes transition into the role, Unilever added in its statement.

Shares in Unilever traded 0.2 percent higher in midafternoon. The stock has risen 170 percent since Polman took the top job, outperforming Britains bluechip index which is up about 75 percent.

With inputs from agencies
In a letter to Trai, Telecom Watchdog flagged concerns over the manner in which the two companies had allegedly fixed similar tariffs at the same time

New Delhi: Non-profit group Telecom Watchdog on Thursday questioned new minimum monthly recharge plans of Airtel and Vodafone Idea and charged the operators of indulging in "anti-consumer activities", but the firms asserted that the plans are fully compliant with rules.

In a letter to Trai, Telecom Watchdog flagged concerns over the manner in which the two companies had allegedly fixed similar tariffs at the same time.

It claimed that forcing users to cough-up a minimum monthly amounts was like demanding a monthly rent "which is not the practice for pre-paid users".

"We wish to bring to your kind notice an alarming situation under which two telecom operators - Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea - have once again resorted to anti-consumer activities. In total disregard to the regulatory principles, they have now unilaterally decided to terminate the services of subscribers within 15 days of the expiry of validity period of the `special tariff plan'," Telecom Watchdog said in a letter to the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI).

"All tariff plans of Bharti Airtel are in compliance with the applicable regulations. The matter raised by the TRAI, relating to the communication of the tariff plans to the consumers, has already been addressed," an Airtel spokesperson said in an email response.

The spokesperson added the company did not wish to respond to "frivolous allegations".

A Vodafone Idea spokesperson, too, categorically denied what it termed were levelling of "baseless allegations".

"Catering to the changing needs of consumers, Vodafone Idea has radically simplified its prepaid plans to enhance customer convenience. These plans are fully compliant to all applicable regulations and guidelines. We have rolled them out nationally and are actively communicating with customers, informing them of changes and helping them avail these new plans," the Vodafone Idea spokesperson said.

Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea have been looking to boost their revenue realisation per user and recently announced minimum monthly recharge plans starting from Rs 35.
As Kapoor still remains the head of the bank until January next year, the possibility of him proposing for the chairman post looks bleak, added the sources

New Delhi: Yes Bank Managing Director and CEO Rana Kapoor is unlikely to be in the fray for the post of chairman which fell vacant following the resignation of Ashok Chawla earlier this month, sources said Thursday.

Besides, as Kapoor still remains the head of the bank until January next year, the possibility of him proposing for the chairman post looks bleak, added the sources.

Chawla, a former bureaucrat, had resigned from the post of non-executive chairman, which, according to sources, was triggered in the wake of controversy on his continuance on the board of the bank while his name appeared in a CBI chargesheet in the Aircel-Maxis case.

"Yes Bank announces that Ashok Chawla, non-executive independent part-time chairman, has tendered his resignation from the bank's 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 had said on his resignation.

The private sector lender will recommend the name of new chairman for approval by the RBI after the meetings of the Nomination and Remuneration Committee (N&RC) and the board of directors scheduled for 13 December.

The bank has seen the exit of three independent board members, including Chawla, in November. Rentala Chandrashekhar, former telecom secretary, and Vasant Gujarathi were the two others members who quit the board.

Also, one new member -- Uttam Prakash Agarwal -- has joined the board, taking the current strength to seven.

Also, Yes Bank's Search and Selection Committee (SSC) and the N&RC are scheduled to meet on 12 December to discuss the final shortlist for new MD & CEO appointment as Kapoor cannot continue beyond 31 January, 2019, as the RBI earlier in September declined to give him extension beyond this period.

It is also learnt that the bank will suggest the name of candidates for the MD & CEO post to the RBI by mid-December.

Continuing the slide further, the stock of Yes Bank witnessed an intra-day fall of 9.5 percent but managed to close the session lower by 0.77 percent at Rs 160.45 on the BSE following ratings downgrade by Moody's Investors Service, ICRA and CARE.
India and Pakistan's fishermen are frequently detained for illegal fishing since the Arabian Sea border is not clearly defined and many boats lack the technology to fix their precise location.

Twenty-four Indian fishermen on Friday were caught in Pakistani waters near the Gujarat border, and were subsequently taken into custody by the Pakistan Coast Guard. The fishermen reportedly veered into Pakistan's territory by accident.

According to India Today, eight of the 24 detained fishermen hailed from Andhra Pradesh. Following the incident, the state's chief minister Chandrababu Naidu asked Andhra Bhavan's resident commissioner in New Delhi to contact the Ministry of External Affairs in efforts to free the fishermen.

Indian and Pakistani fishermen are frequently detained for illegal fishing since the Arabian Sea border is not clearly defined and many boats lack the technology to fix their precise location.

Pakistan had on 29 October released 68 Indian fishermen held for trespassing into its territorial waters, officials said. "The fishermen were released from Karachi's Malir jail," Afaq Rizvi, a senior official from the prison, told AFP.

He said 380 Indian fishermen remained behind bars in the country.

Fishermen often languish in jail even after serving their terms, as poor diplomatic ties between the two neighbours mean fulfilling bureaucratic requirements can take a long time.

Pakistan had also released 78 Indian fishermen in July held for trespassing into its territorial waters.
The reality is, lessons, if learned, are soon forgotten. We quickly slide back into apathy and sluggishness.

In the wake of major terrorist incidents, there is much talk about lessons learned both in India and across the world. Politicians and administrators are enthusiastic participants in this discourse, and eager to flaunt their many purported achievements. Such an exercise is not difficult, since things are constantly changing, and it is always possible to attribute at least some of these changes to the incident in question.

Such has been the case with the catastrophic 26/11 Mumbai attacks. But if such a discourse is to be meaningful, it must address not only lessons learned, but those acted upon and vulnerabilities and deficiencies actually addressed. Preceding these, moreover, is the question: Lessons learned by whom?

Several investigations and inquiries followed the attacks, and crucial lessons were certainly drawn from visible and dramatic failures that afflicted responses at every level. What is absent, however, is the evidence of systemic learning across government and, equally crucial, the wider public. The importance of the first of these is obvious, but the latter is also critical to the quality of a nations response to terrorism and security.

In some ways, in fact, it is even more fundamental, because public attitudes drive politics and policies. In the 2009 general elections, shortly after the 26/11 attacks, it was widely expected that terrorism and security would be decisive issues for Mumbaikars, and that they would come out and vote in strength. The reality is, Mumbai saw a tepid voter turnout of 43 percent, against a national average of 59.7 percent, confirming public indifference, often misinterpreted as resilience.

Indeed, it is useful to recall that Mumbai was also the location of the 1993 serial bombings, engineered by the Dawood Ibrahims gang, which killed 257 people. It is significant that Ibrahims D-Company still dominates organised crime in the city, reportedly with the active collusion of elements within the political and police leaderships. No party has paid an electoral cost for this.

The reality is, lessons, if learned, are soon forgotten. We quickly slide back into apathy and sluggishness. While a large number of schemes were immediately announced, approved and funded after 26/11, implementation has been fitful, fragmented, tardy, uncoordinated and, eventually, has had little impact on vulnerabilities to future terrorist attacks. This despite the fact that governments boast of the large sums spent, the special forces raised or located in Mumbai, the creation and expansion of a coastal security infrastructure, and improvements in the intelligence gathering and infrastructure.

The core of the problem is the general policing system and its crippling deficits. Security is indivisible, and it is not possible to ensure effective security against terrorist attacks unless all aspects of the apparatus are strengthened. Former prime minister Manmohan Singh rightly observed more than a decade ago: Unless the beat constable is brought into the vortex of our counter-terrorist strategy, our capacity to pre-empt future attacks would be severely limited.

Beat constable, in this context, is shorthand for the entire system of preventive and first response, comprehending the general intelligence system as well as the basic deployment for law and order management. While there have been some marginal improvements on various parameters in this regard, the reality is, the beat constable is still under-resourced, poorly equipped and abysmally trained. Public confidence in the police, even for routine functions, is low; expectations of any extraordinary efficiency in the event of catastrophic terrorist attack can only be misplaced.

This is not to suggest that nothing has changed. The next time around, special forces may not take 10 hours to effectively deploy  they may take just an hour or two; but that is more than enough time for terrorists to do their worst (Mumbais Force One and NSG hub are both located over 30 kilometres from the citys high-profile southern tip). Cumulative improvements in intelligence  including technical capabilities  have resulted in a number of preventive successes, most of which go unnoticed; but there are colossal gaps, as Gurdaspur and Pathankot demonstrated, and Mumbai is far from immune.

A chain is as strong as its weakest link. Large ships still run aground, or drop anchor, along Mumbais coast, unnoticed till well after the event; who is to say another rubber dinghy will not bring a new batch of mass murderers to its shores?
French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife Brigitte Macron arrived in Buenos Aires ahead of the G20 Summit, but there was no Argentine delegation waiting to greet them.

Macron made his way down the red carpet and stopped to greet two airport workers who comprised his makeshift guard of honor. Only when they were about to leave, Argentine officials led by Vice President Gabriela Michetti arrived to greet them, the Bubble reported.

Michetti placed the blame on the officials in charge of the protocol, saying: "We had to wait for them to tell us now! to go to the red carpet to receive them. It was all timed, theoretically. But when they said now they were getting into the car."
In the massive rally, organised by the All India Kisan Sangharsh Coordination Committee (AIKSCC), the agitating protesters shouted slogans against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Centre, alleging that it had failed to address their plight.

About fifty thousand farmers from across the country including Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal and Uttar Pradesh on Friday marched from Ramlila Maidan to Parliament Street in New Delhi to press for several demands, including loan waiver and higher crop prices.

In the massive rally, organised by the All India Kisan Sangharsh Coordination Committee (AIKSCC), the protesters shouted slogans against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Centre, alleging that it had failed to address their plight.

A plethora of Opposition leaders  including Congress president Rahul Gandhi, Aam Aadmi Party chief Arvind Kejriwal, CPM general-secretary Sitaram Yechury  came together in a show of strength at Parliament Street as the BJP-led government emerged as the common enemy.

Opposition leaders including Rahul Gandhi, Arvind Kejriwal and Farooq Abdullah at farmers protest in Delhi pic.twitter.com/ThHeMKGrpm  ANI (@ANI) November 30, 2018

Here are the highlights from the march: Kejriwal demanded that the Centre allow the implementation of the Swaminathan report. "A country where farmers are hungry cannot succeed," said the Delhi chief minister. "BJP in last election promised to implement Swaminathan report but it didn't do that... Now in Supreme Court, the government has said that it cannot implement Swaminathan report," Kejriwal said. Kejriwal also said that farm loans have to be waived, adding that the crop insurance policy floated by the government is a "fraud". "The Pradhan Mantri Bima Yojana for farmers is fraud... this is not a 'bima yojana', this is BJP's daka yojana (dacoity scheme)," he said. Rahul Gandhi made a scathing attack on the Centre and said no one will be able to silence the voice of farmers and youth. "If this government can waive Rs 3.5 lakh crore loans of 15 big industrialists, why can't the loans of crores of farmers in the country be waived? I assure the farmers of India, we are with you, don't be afraid," he said.He added that the farmers were not seeking a "free gift" from the government by asking for a farm loan waiver but were only demanding their dues. Yechury called Modi a "pocket maar" as he compared the prime minister and BJP president Amit Shah with the Kauravas in the Mahabharat. He said, "There were a hundred Kauravas but do you know any of the names other than two? Duryodhan and Dushasan. Same way BJP claims they have crores in their party, but people know just two  Modi and Shah. We, the Opposition, on the other hand, are like Pandavas who when together are like a fist." Yechury told the farmers that an alternative government would be able to solve their problems. According to NDTV, at the rally, a group of women hailing from Telangana whose farmer husbands had committed suicide, marched with pictures of their deceased partners around their necks. Swaraj Abhiyan leader Yogendra Yadav lashed out at "anti-farmer Modi". While addressing the gathering, the former AAP leader said, "There are two mantras for farmers' liberation  learn to speak up, and identify your enemies, which should be easy, Yadav added, "The parties which are not present in the stage today are our enemies.""Farmers should speak up in a unified voice. No party is as anti-farmer as the present regime," said Yadav. Jammu and Kashmir National Conference chairman Farooq Abdullah urged the protesters to vote out the Modi government. "If you want to improve the future of this country, and of your children, you should vote this government out when elections are held," he said. As the rally arrived at the Parliament Street, Tamil Nadu farmers took off their clothes and used the skulls and bones of their "dead crop growers" to cover their private parts. According to a News18, about 1,200 members of the National South Indian River Interlinking Agriculturalists Association reached the national capital on Thursday carrying skulls of two of their colleagues who they claimed had committed suicide. Some were also spotted wearing a garland of dairy products. Farmers who were part of the 2017 Mandsaur protest left Madhya Pradesh after casting their votes in the 28 November Assembly election.The protesters complained on Friday that due to faulty policies of the Centre, farmers are dying under the burden of debt. Criticising the Shivraj Singh Chouhan government, Kedar Sarohi from Harda district in Madhya Pradesh told Firstpost that the BJP-ruled state which boasts of development has no empathy towards the cultivators. Kedar, who was also part of the Mandsaur protest, said that the government tried to hide its own shortcomings. At least, 3,500 police personnel were deployed on the route of the march. Special arrangements were made in Central and New Delhi police districts. After the traffic came to a halt in Lutyens' Delhi due to large-scale farmers' protest, Deputy Commissioner of Police Madhur Verma said that multiple rounds of talks with protesting leaders were held, following which they were given permission to move to Jantar Mantar. Surrounded by criticism against its government's policies, the BJP  which had no representation at the farmers rally  attacked the Opposition parties for targetting it. Hitting out at the Congress, BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra said at a press conference, "The 'naamdaar' family has done only one and only one task is corruption. Harassing farmers' land and pursuing their corruption has been the work of Robert Vadra and the entire Gandhi family. Robert Vadra is the biggest farmer in the Gandhi family who grows money instead of moong and masoor." He further claimed that the people of the country had abandoned Rahul Gandhi and Kejriwal, and so their attempts would remain inconclusive.

With inputs from agencies
The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) will start a 10-day 'Sankalp Rathyatra' in Delhi on Saturday demanding an ordinance for the construction of Ram Mandir from the Centre

The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) will start a 10-day 'Sankalp Rath Yatra' in Delhi on Saturday demanding an ordinance for the construction of Ram Mandir in Ayodhya. The RSS 'rath yatra' aims to push for a decision on the construction of Ram Mandir ahead of the Supreme Court hearing, which is likely to begin in January 2019.

The Sankalp Rath Yatra will cover all districts and will culminate on 9 December, the same day the Sangh Parivar affiliate Vishwa Hindu Parishads (VHP) is holding a mega rally at the Ramlila Maidan in Delhi to put pressure on the Centre for the construction of the temple.

According to an Asian Age report, the rath yatra will be spearheaded by another Sangh Parivar affiliate, Swadeshi Jagran Manch (SJM). It will will start from Jhandewala Mandir, a few metres from RSSs Delhi headquarters.

The RSS on Tuesday had demanded an ordinance or a law to build a Ram temple in Ayodhya at the earliest, saying the Supreme Court's decision to defer the hearing in the land dispute case has "hurt" Hindu sentiments.

The Supreme Court put the case to January next year. They said they have own priorities, said RSS national executive member Indresh Kumar, questioning the apex court's decision.

Maintaining that it was a matter of faith for crores of Hindus and justice must not be delayed, Kumar, while addressing a seminar, said, "From whom can we have hope? The answer is government. Ram Janma Bhoomi se anyaay kyun (Why Injustice towards the birthplace of Ram)?"

"The government will bring a law or an ordinance and they should do so, but till 11 December, the model code is in force (due to the Assembly polls in five states). The government's hands are tied till then," he added.

On 25 November, RSS, VHP and Shiv Sena organised events in Ayodhya, Nagpur and Bengaluru, respectively, to muster support for the construction of Ram temple.

The Supreme Court had deferred the politically sensitive matter to the first week of January, refusing to accord an urgent hearing on the Ayodhya land dispute case. The apex court order has triggered a chorus of demands from within the BJP and various Sangh Parivar outfits for promulgating an ordinance, or enacting a law in the Winter Session of the Parliament, to build the Ram temple before the 2019 Lok Sabha polls without waiting for the verdict.

With inputs from PTI
The BJP claimed that the Congress, which released its manifesto four days after the BJP, has misled the people by producing a 'tampered version' of the BJP's announcements ahead of the elections.

Jaipur/Jodhpur: The BJP accused the Congress Thursday of copying its manifesto for the Rajasthan Assembly polls scheduled to be held on 7 December. While talking to reporters, Union minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat said most of the public welfare issues in the Congress's manifesto were already raised by the BJP.

The Congress in its election manifesto released Thursday made promises like loan waiver to farmers, free education to girls and women, unemployment allowance of up to Rs 3,500 to educated youth and pension to elderly farmers, among others.

"The Congress has released its manifesto four days after the BJP did so. But surprisingly, no mind was applied by the Congress in drafting it, which contained most of the issues mentioned by the BJP in its manifesto," Shekhawat claimed.

He said the Congress has misled the people by producing a "tampered version" of the BJP's announcements ahead of the elections.

Union minister Arjun Ram Meghwal also slammed the Congress, saying the party was deceiving the people of Rajasthan with the announcements ahead of the elections. "The Congress has talked about waiving-off loans of farmers. They had made a similar promise in Punjab and Karnataka before the election, but did not waive-off loans worth a single penny," Meghwal said in a statement.

While referring to the Right to Health announcement made by the Congress in its election manifesto, the Union Water Resources minister said the scheme was a replica of the BJP's Ayushman Bharat.

Briefing about electioneering in the poll-bound state, he said the BJP will run a 'Kamal Diya' campaign across the state on Friday during which the party workers will contact 51 lakh beneficiaries of various government schemes.
The announcement comes two days after the Kerala High Court ordered that no protests or demonstrations should be held at Sabarimala, holding that it was not a place for such activities.

Thiruvananthapuram: The BJP, which has been spearheading the agitation against the entry of young women at Sabarimala, Thursday announced its decision to shift its protest from the temple complex to the state capital to intensify its stir.

The announcement comes two days after the Kerala High Court ordered that no protests or demonstrations should be held at Sabarimala, holding that it was not a place for such activities.

Reacting to the saffron party's move, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said the decision to "stop" the protest in Sabarimala was because the BJP had got an inkling of the secular minds of the people in the state. Talking to reporters here, he said, "We can see that the measures adopted by the governmentin Sabarimala have been welcomed by everyone. Now, BJP has stopped their protest in Sabarimala.. change can be seen there.."

BJP state president PS Sreedharan Pillai said its leaders would launch an indefinite hunger strike before the Secretariat, to press various demands, including the lifting of prohibitory orders and providing basic amenities to pilgrims in and around the Lord Ayyappa temple.

The saffron party also wanted the scrapping of alleged 'fake' cases against its state general secretary K Surendran, who is now behind the bars after being arrested en route to Sabarimala earlier this month.

Rejecting reports that BJPwas ending its Sabarimala agitation, he said, "The party will launch indefinite hunger strike before the Secretariat from 3 December." Senior leader and state General secretary AN Radhakrishnan will kick-start the agitation," he told reporters in Kochi.

At present, we are planning a 15-day-stir, he said adding that the party would decide on further course of the agitation after taking into consideration the CPM-led LDF government's stand on their demands. Besides this, the party has also plans to start a state-wide signature campaign to collect one crore signatures demanding protection of rituals and traditions of the shrine.

However, the Chief Minister rejected BJP's claim that his office had masterminded the cases against Surendran. "My office already has enough files to take care of other than that of Surendran's...its not my office's duty," he said. "And, how can they (BJP) protest seeking to withdraw cases charged for violating the law? We cannot help it..," Vijayan said.

Meanwhile, Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) president Mullappally Ramachandran alleged that the BJP's decision to shift their agitation here was part of the "adjustment" between the saffron party and the chief minister. Congress-led UDF opposition disrupted the proceedings of the state assembly for the second day today over the issues related to Sabarimala, which had witnessed intense protests by devotees and right wing activist against the LDF government's decision to implement the Apex court verdict permitting women of all age groups into the shrine.
Canada's sanctions target individuals alleged to be members of a Saudi hit squad that killed Jamal Khashoggi, as well as close aides of the prince.

Ottawa: Canada announced targeted sanctions Thursday against 17 Saudi nationals it said were linked to the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in Istanbul in August.

The sanctions, which freezes their assets and bars their travel to Canada, "target individuals who are, in the opinion of the government of Canada, responsible for or complicit in the extrajudicial killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi on 2 October, 2018," Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland said in a statement.

At the same time, Ottawa continued to call for "a transparent and rigorous accounting of the circumstances" surrounding Khashoggi's murder, saying that "the explanations offered to date by Saudi Arabia lack consistency and credibility."

"The murder of Jamal Khashoggi is abhorrent and represents an unconscionable attack on the freedom of expression of all individuals," Freeland also told a press conference in Buenos Aires on the sidelines of the G20 Summit.

"This case is not closed," she said. "Those responsible for Khashoggi's murder must be held to account and must face justice."

Freeland accompanied Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau to the summit, also attended by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

Saudi Arabia has said that 21 people are in custody, with death penalties sought against five men.

International pressure has mounted on Riyadh to find those responsible for the grisly murder of Khashoggi, a US resident who wrote for The Washington Post and had been critical of Prince Mohammed.

A recent CIA analysis leaked to the US media reportedly pointed the finger at Prince Mohammed, though Saudi prosecutors have said he had no role in the killing.

The Canadian sanctions target individuals alleged to be members of a Saudi hit squad that carried out the killing, as well as close aides of the prince. They come after allies France, Germany and the United States imposed similar sanctions on these individuals.
Kerala, which suffered a loss of Rs 31,000 crore during the floods in August, on Thursday wanted the Centre to expedite the promised assistance to enable it to rebuild the state.

Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala, which suffered a loss of Rs 31,000 crore during the floods in August, on Thursday wanted the Centre to expedite the promised assistance to enable it to rebuild the state.

Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan said the state had received only Rs 2,683.18 crore in its Distress Relief Fund and was finding it difficult to cobble resources for the 're-build Kerala initiative.' He said the state has to pay Rs 290 crore to the Centre towards the rations received and rescue assistance provided during the floods.

"Air Force has asked the state to pay over Rs 33.79 crore as the charge incurred for the rescue efforts during the deluge," Vijayan told reporters. He also said he was planning to send a letter to the Centre to expedite the assured assistance.

Vijayan said he had written to Union home minister Rajnath Singh to convene a high power committee meeting to provide assistance to the state. This is because the assistance will be provided only after the committee meeting, he said.

"We are not losing hope. However, assistance worth thousands of crores of rupees from foreign countries have been denied," he said. The Centre has said the Rs 600-crore aid extended to Kerala for flood relief was interim in nature and that more funds would be released after assessment of the damage by central teams.

Vijayan also dismissed the oppositions allegations over lack of facilities at Sabarimala and Pamba which were also affected in the floods. "As of now, Pamba has 404 toilets. Last year it was 380, of which 240 were washed away in the floods. We had to rebuild from scratch.

Can't say we lack facilities compared to last year. Actually, this year we have more facilities," Vijayan claimed. "We were able to arrange everything possible. Nilackal has 1,020 toilets and 50 bathrooms, while Sannidhanam (temple complex) has 1,043 toilets and 100 bathrooms.

We also have a water purification facility which can purify 25,000 litres water per hour. There are no worries there at Sabarimala," Vijayan said. About the controversy over Piravom Church incident, the chief minister said the apex court had dismissed a plea seeking contempt action against the state government.

"Court said it cannot take contempt action against government in matters related to religion. Even the Supreme Court has taken into consideration that conciliatory talks were going on," Vijayan said.

He said the questions raised by the High Court on Thursday was only to seek clarity in the matter and the Advocate General had responded to all queries posed by the court. "Even the high court had earlier said both the issues  at Sabarimala and the Piravom Church  are different," he said.

The high court on Wednesday came down heavily on the state government for adopting "double standards" in implementing Supreme Court judgements.

The court questioned how despite an apex court order the state government was unable to ensure that a group was allowed to offer prayers at a church, when authorities had "no difficulty in deploying thousands of police personnel at Sabarimala".

The court's observation came while considering a plea by the Orthodox faction of the Malankara Syrian Church seeking police protection for offering prayers at Piravom Church. Even though the apex court had allowed the Orthodox faction to offer prayers, members belonging to the rival Jacobite faction of the Malankara Church prevented them from entering the church.

The state government has drawn severe flak over its handling of Sabarimala issue as a section of devotees has been protesting its decision to implement the apex court order allowing entry of women of all age groups into the hill shrine.
The Tamil Nadu government has decided to move the Supreme Court against the Central Water Commission's (CWC) nod to Karnataka governments proposal to build a balancing reservoir-cum-drinking water project at Mekedatu across the Cauvery.

The Tamil Nadu government has decided to move the Supreme Court against the Central Water Commission's (CWC) nod to Karnataka governments proposal to build a balancing reservoir-cum-drinking water project at Mekedatu across the Cauvery. DMK chief MK Stalin also announced a protest on 4 December at Trichy to condemn the decision.

The move comes after DMK had called for a meeting of its alliance and friendly parties on Thursday for the same, and had asked the Tamil Nadu government to approach the Supreme Court to obtain stay for the Centre's permission and Karnataka's efforts for the dam.

NewsAlert | DMK and allies to stage a mega protest on December 4 in Trichy | @nimumurali with more details pic.twitter.com/phcWgoQNvr  News18 (@CNNnews18) November 30, 2018

The CWC has recently given its go-ahead to Karnataka for preparing a DPR for a proposed balancing reservoir-cum-drinking water project at Mekedatu. The Rs 5,912-crore project is a balancing reservoir-cum-drinking water project which is set to provide water to villages in Bengaluru, Kolar and Ramnagara districts, reported News18.

On Tuesday, Tamil Nadu chief minister E Palaniswami had urged the Centre to withdraw its permission to Karnataka for preparing a DPR for the project. He added that he had also urged the prime minister to not give consent to any projects across the Cauvery without obtaining the prior concurrence of Tamil Nadu and other co-basin states.

"The proposal for the reservoir is not just for drinking water alone as claimed by Karnataka, but to increase the extent of irrigation which is in clear violation of the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal Award," Palaniswami said.

The CWC, without considering the genuine and justifiable objections of Tamil Nadu, has given permission to Karnataka to prepare the DPR for the Mekedatu project, he said. The CWC's action has caused apprehension among people as its decision will affect the livelihood of lakhs of farmers who depend on the Cauvery water, he added.

Reacting to the Tamil Nadu government's demand, Karnataka chief minister HD Kumaraswamy had asserted that the project has to come into effect.

With inputs from PTI
The BJP's goal of cultivating the support of a large chunk of Bengali Hindus in Assam using the the controversial Citizenship (Amendment) Bill 2016 could very well be based on misconceptions if the available Census data is taken into account

Editor's note: Exactly how many illegal Bengali Hindus will benefit from the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA)? From thousands to lakhs to crores, the number of illegal Bengali Hindu migrants has swung like a pendulum over the years. What is worse is that there is still no legitimate source from which to get an authentic number. In a press conference on Monday, Assam finance minister Himanta Biswa Sarma kept the figure at 5.42 lakh Hindu Bengalis who will directly benefit from the CAA, ironically calculating the figures from the NRC that the state government vehemently rejected. Rajya Sabha MP Javed Ali Khan in a decent to a joint parliamentary committee in January this year said that "Out of 40 lakhs people whose citizenship are under threat, 28 lakh are Bengali Hindus, 10 lakh Bengali Muslims and two lakh Hindus from states other than Bengal and Assam." While KMSS leader Akhil Gogoi maintains a figure of one crore Hindu Bengalis in Assam, AASU chief adviser Samujjal Bhattacharya says there 70-72 lakh Hindu Bengalis in Assam.

This article was originally published on 30 November, 2018 and is being republished in view of the confusion regarding the actual number of Hindu Bengali beneficiaries after the passage of the CAA.

The BJP's goal of cultivating the support of a large chunk of Bengali Hindus in Assam using the controversial Citizenship (Amendment) Bill 2016 could very well be based on misconceptions if the available Census data is taken into account. Research reveals that the actual numbers of this community could be drastically less than imagined earlier.

Census data shows that Assam had been the destination for people of East Bengal (now Bangladesh) since 1891. The movement of people from Bihar, Chotanagpur and Odisha for employment in the tea sector is discernible until 1901 but the migration was almost entirely from East Bengal and particularly from Mymensingh since 1911 Census of India. The abnormal trend was noticed by CS Mullan, census commissioner in 1931. He observed that the Assamese could be reduced to a minority in their own land.

Lending credence to Mullan was the 1951 Census of India which referred to a land revenue report on Muslim immigration and said, thus during (the) last 20 years 15,088 thousand acres were settled with immigrants, a figure almost unbelievable in its immensity for any other important state of India".

Census reports between 1891-1951 reveal the following statistics of the presence of people of East Bengal/East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) origin, in Assam:

Table 1: Migrants from East Bengal/East Pakistan Origin in Assam, 1891-1951

Year Persons 1901 5,03,876 1911 1,91,612 1921 3,75,583 1931 5,75,000 1951 8,33,000

From the pre-Independence Census reports, it can be concluded that about 85 percent of total immigrants from East Bengal to Assam were Muslims. For instance, in Nagaon (earlier Nowgong) district, their share increased from 5 percent to 40 percent in a span of 50 years (during 1901 to 1951). During the same period, districts like Darang, Kamrup, Lakhimpur witnessed a nearly three-fold increase, whereas in Goalpara, the Muslim population increased by over 15 percentage points. Definitely, this phenomenon cannot be attributed as natural by any stretch of imagination.

Table 2: Share of the Muslim population to total population in districts of Assam, Assam and India, 1901-2011 (in percentage)

District 1901 1951 1971 2011 Cachar 30.55 38.49 39.89 48.14 Darang 5.15 17.03 16.19 28.59 Goalpara 27.79 42.94 42.25 56.57 Kamrup 9.11 29.29 38.21 38.21 Lakhimpur 3.21 8.63 4.59 7.30 Nagaon 4.82 40.54 39.39 54.65 Sibsagar 4.16 5.82 5.27 7.27 UM &NC Hills NA 1.33 1.65 2.27 Assam 12.40 25.37 24.57 34.23 India 12.20 10.43 11.20 14.22

(All data has been adjusted to the original 1901 district boundaries of current Assam)

This trend of immigration from then East Pakistan (East Bengal was renamed East Pakistan after Partition and later to Bangladesh after its Independence in 1971) to Assam continued even in post-Independence period.

The 1951 Census of India documented that immigration had been due to economic reasons which was more than two times higher than that of political refugees. Similarly, the 1961 Census documented that although Muslim immigration continued during 1951-1961, there was a massive misreporting of their place of birth since by then it (India) was a different country for Muslim peasants and they could not have infiltrated Assam as political refugees.

Also, in the post-Independence period, Assam experienced a high mortality rate and moderate fertility rate indicating a low natural growth, yet Assams growth rate had been far higher than Indias. This phenomenon has been examined by demographers who inferred that Assam has at least 50 lakh immigrants and their descendants from then East Pakistan who migrated in the post-Independence period.

Population of Bengali Hindu immigrants in Assam

Due to the absence of a robust vital registration system, diverse opinions have been forwarded about the population of Bengali Hindus in Assam with estimates ranging between 40 to 70 lakh. As a demographer and having studied immigration in Assam for two years, it's difficult to accept these statistics on the Hindu immigrants from Bangladesh. A study on population composition of Assam reveals that the Hindu population in Assam has declined from 70.78 percent in 1951 to 61.47 percent in 2011 (see Figure 1).

In terms of growth rate, it is found that the Hindu population in Assam had grown at a slower pace where as the Muslim population had increased at a much faster rate after 1971.

When the trends in population growth rate are analysed in terms of religion, an interesting pattern is discernible in Assam during 1951-1961. An equal number of Hindus and Muslims immigrated to Assam, but while the Hindus immigrated primarily as refugees and stated their place of birth as "East Pakistan", Muslims immigrated due to economic reasons and misreported their true place of birth as it was no longer the same country. This was mentioned by the census superintendent of Assam BH Pakyntein. In the subsequent decade (1961-1971), the growth rate of Hindus in the state was found to be marginally higher than Muslims (see table 3).

Since there is only 1.17 percent increase in the Hindu Population of Assam during 1961-1971, this excess amount which is about two lakh, can be attributed to Hindu immigration due to war and the genocide in East Pakistan. However, Census data, according to the place of birth, reveals that there were 2,95,785 and 3,12,495 (total of six lakh) East Bengalis settled in Assam during 1951-1961 and 1961-1971, respectively. But data in terms of religion showed a massive under-reporting of the actual birth place by the immigrant Muslims.

The census commissioner estimated that about 5.2 lakh East Bengalis entered Assam during 1951-1961 as against the reported figure of 2,95,785 according to the place of birth. Given this kind of under-reporting in 1961 as well as the 1971 Census, and the consequent population increase in Assam, it can be concluded that about 12-14 lakh East Bengalis immigrated to Assam during 1951-1971. Out of this total number, Hindu immigrants would be around 4-5 lakh. It's also interesting to note that the Muslim growth rate slows down during 1961-1971 due to the low rate of immigration as a result of the strict implementation of the Prevention of Infiltration of Pakistani Scheme from 1962.

Table 3: Intercensal population growth rate of Hindus and Muslims in Assam during 1951-2011 (expressed in percentage)

Period Intercensal Hindu Growth rate Intercensal Muslim Growth Rate 1951-1961 31.49 30.52 1961-1971 31.60 26.96 1971-1991 17.49 28.66 1991-2001 13.93 25.69 2001-2011 10.34 25.92

Between 1971-91, the Hindu population experienced a reduction of nearly 50 percent in the growth rate (31.60 percent to 17.49 percent as mentioned in the above table). This is the period when Assam movement (1979-1985) took place, for which 1981 Census was not conducted.

In the post 1971 period, there were two factors that pulled down the Hindu growth rate as compared to the Muslims.

First, the fertility reduction phenomenon was discernible earlier among the Hindus than that of Muslims (Muslims of India have been experiencing a faster decline in fertility in the last two decades) and secondly, a considerable proportion of Hindus migrated to other states from Assam in the post-Assam Movement period. Compared to the other states of India, out-migration from Assam has been a recent phenomenon, observed mainly after the Assam movement.

These trends in the population pattern and my visit to various districts in Assam as a researcher compels me to arrive at the conclusion that Bengali Hindus comprised the largest chunk among all the communities that migrated out of the state between 1979-1992. Unlike the first phase of the out-migration which is known, the second phase during the early 1990s which happened due to communal strife in some districts had remained under wraps and hardly publicised.

In his book Infiltration: Genesis of Assam Movement, Abdul Mannan had compared the Muslim growth rate of Assam with other states as well as the growth rate of socially deprived castes of India. He concluded that the Muslim growth rate in Assam is similar to other states of India during 1971-1991 and hence it can be surmised that immigration is not the reason for the growth rate of Muslim population in Assam during 1971-1991.

But inferring that Assam has not experienced immigration of Muslims during the post-1971 period is a biased conclusion due to several reasons.

The Muslim growth rate remained high and nearly constant during 1971-2011. In recent decades, Muslims everywhere in India were experiencing a rapid fertility decline and Assam was not an exception. At the same time, the mortality rate in the Muslim majority districts in Assam were found to be high from various household surveys. Further, out-migration of Muslims from Assam to other states also happened after the 1991 census. In the absence of immigration, it is simply impossible to retain a constant growth rate of Muslims in Assam in the post-1971 period.

Secondly, between 1901-41, the share of the Muslim population in Assam shows an increase as well, which had been possible only as a result of immigration from East Bengal (which is discussed above) and not due to natural factors. Likewise, the natural increase of the Muslim population cannot explain the rise in Muslim population during 1971-2011 in some districts of Assam. For instance, between 1971-1991, undivided Nowgong (later renamed to Nagaon) district observed about 15.26 percent increase in the population share of Muslims (from 39.30 percent to 54.65 percent). A similar phenomenon is observed in other districts in Assam like Cachar, Darrang, Goalpara and Kamrup. In contrast, the same trends were not discernible with regard to the Bengali Hindu migrants in the state (see figure 3).

Despite Muslims having a higher growth rate than Hindus in many other states of the country, this kind of spectacular change in the population composition is discernible only in the districts of Assam, or wherever in-migration has happened.

Moreover, migration literature shows that an established migration route (From East Bengal to Assam) will not be altered unless there is a check or stringent policy against migrants. Except for the period 1961-1971 (when Prevention of Infiltration from Pakistan Scheme was implemented), push and pull factors remained the same in the places of origin and destination. Further, the implementation of the pro-immigrant Illegal Migrants (Determination by Tribunal ) Act in the post-Assam movement period (until 2005) encouraged continuous infiltration to Assam which is why it was repealed by the Supreme Court.

In middle and lower Assam, there has been a sudden increase of Bengali Muslim population as evidenced from the observations of local people, but we do not come across a similar phenomenon for Bengali Hindu immigrants in the state.

During my field study, I also came across newly settled Bengali Muslim villages which are alleged as illegal immigrants by neighbouring Bengali Muslim villagers, who were settled in the pre-Independence period. Government records also show that after independence, the highest encroachment of government and community land by immigrant Muslims were done in the post-Assam movement period.

The actual scenario about Hindu illegal immigrants in Assam also becomes clear when the religious composition of the population is analysed at the district level. Except in United Mikir and North Cachar Hills (currently Karbi Anglong and Dima Hasao), there is not a single district that shows a jump in the Hindu population. In United Mikir and North Cachar Hills, there was an increase in the Hindu population in 1971 due to the shift in reporting from other religion (probably recorded as animists in previous censuses) to Hindu religion. If there had been a massive Bengali Hindu immigration as stated by some intellectuals in Assam, this would have been evident at the district level population of undivided Cachar district). On the other hand, out of the eight original districts in the state (currently divided into 16 districts), the Hindu population has been overtaken by the Muslim population in five districts at a rather fast pace, thus bearing ample testimony that immigrant Muslims have occupied a large chunk of the excess 50 lakh population in Assam (as estimated by this researcher).

In Barak Valley as well, the Hindu growth rate has been continuously declining, whereas the Muslim growth rate has increased. The Hindu population in the Valley also includes non-Bengali Hindus, all Hindus recorded in the 1951 and 1971 census and the natural increase of the Hindu population. Therefore, the population of Bengali Hindu immigrants in Assam can be safely estimated at about five lakh prior to 1971 and it can be concluded that nearly no Hindu immigration happened in the post 1971 period. Hindu Bengalis who landed in Assam from Bangladesh in the post 1971 census to Assam moved out of the state before the 1991 census.

Table 4. Hindu and Muslim Population Trends in Barak valley, Assam, 1951-2011

Undivided Cachar/Barak Valley Yearly growth rate in each decade Year Hindu Population Muslim Hindu Growth Rate Muslim Growth Rate 1951 676660 429496 - - 1961 821600 539457 19.41 22.80 1971 1005995 683387 20.25 23.65 1991 1381803 1071872 15.87 22.51 2001 1580660 1362114 13.45 23.96 2011 1812141 1744958 13.67 24.77

Sources: Authors own calculations from various rounds of Census data, 1951-2011

So, if Bengali Hindu illegal immigrants are small in numbers, should they be entitled to citizenship especially in Assam?

The cut-off date for citizenship in Assam is 24 March 1971 which means that the state has already accommodated lakhs of immigrants and refugees from East Pakistan and their descendants. The Assam Accord was supposed to have granted constitutional safeguards to the indigenous people of Assam but the clause has remained unimplemented till date. Lack of safeguards has endangered the existence of several indigenous communities in lower (western) Assam as evidenced from my fieldwork in five middle and lower Assam districts.

There were numerous instances when members of some community (say, Koch Rajbongshis in Dhurbri or Goalpara) were compelled to migrate to safer areas due to aggression by immigrants for security and livelihood.

Bengali as a language was imposed in Assam in 1837 as the official language with the justification that Assamese was a branch of the language which was revoked only after more than three decades. The similarities between the two languages cannot be denied but Assamese has existed as a separate language with its own glorious history. So, the Assamese and other native speakers could be reduced to a minority if more Bengali Hindu immigrants are given shelter in Assam. The popular discourse in Assam is that while Bengali Muslims have accepted Assamese as their language, the Hindus have not, which has been a primary reason for the apprehension against the current bill proposed by the BJP.

At the same time, the claims by some sections that Muslim Bengalis have adopted or are willing to accept Assamese as their language must be taken with a pinch of salt. During a field visit at a Bengali Muslim village, called Kandhulimari in Nagaon district with some students from JNU in 2017, residents of that village disclosed that they were more interested to study in Bengali rather than in the Assamese language.

In retrospect, the attempt to paint a communal angle to the phenomenon of illegal immigration in Assam is a fallacy. It is not an entirely Assamese versus Bengali issue. This is a conflict between the rights of the indigenous people cutting across all religions and languages and illegal immigrants of all religions many of whom have acquired citizenship through fraudulent means. My fieldwork experience in lower and middle Assam points to the inescapable conclusion that the indigenous communities are being marginalised rather at a faster rate which has also been highlighted by the recent Brahma Committee Report.

Dr Nandita Saikia is an Assistant Professor in Population Studies at the Centre for Study of Regional Development in Jawaharlal Nehru University, and currently a post-doctoral research fellow at International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis, Austria. The views presented here do not represent to the institutes she affiliates.
CJI Ranjan Gogoi said that as good judges, like Justice Kurian Joseph who retired on Thursday, are going away, there was a need for more replacements for which the Supreme Court collegium has been working day in and day out to find the right man.

New Delhi: Chief Justice of India (CJI) Ranjan Gogoi on Thursday expressed "apprehension" over young lawyers' unwillingness to become judges, saying one reason was that the higher judiciary was "losing its aura and majesty".

The CJI said that as good judges, like Justice Kurian Joseph who retired on Thursday, are going away, there was a need for more replacements for which the Supreme Court collegium has been working day in and day out to find the right man. "Good judges are going away. We need replacements and this is what I want to share with the bar. I am afraid. I am apprehensive. The younger lot in the bar are not willing to become judges.

"One of the reasons is that the office of a judge in the higher judiciary is losing its aura and majesty," the CJI said at the farewell to Justice Kurian by the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) on his last day as a judge.

The CJI said that it was the aura and majesty of the higher judiciary that attracted the talent of the Bar as lawyers were willing to work hard and make sacrifices in terms of money.

He said the Bar can help restore the aura by understanding and appreciating the compulsion and hard work as well as the commitment of the judges. "Your cooperation and understanding of the work of a judge can go a long way in restoring the aura back," he said.

Justice Kurian also stressed the need to encourage young lawyers while addressing the huge gathering at the event. "Justice (late) VS Malimath once said to me and which I always remember is that when youngsters are arguing before the court and are performing well, we must encourage them and extend our appreciation. It will give them encouragement, inspiration and help in taking their life forward," he said.

Apart from that, Justice Kurian also spoke briefly on how unnecessary litigation was "killing" judicial time, the need for compassion to be shown by courts and judges and his passion for mediated settlement of disputes and arbitration awards.

On the impact of PILs on judicial time, Justice Kurian said, "I find that a vast number of the cases are unnecessarily entertained as in the public interest."

He said that people who make law are also aware of the public interest as they are also conscious of public morality. "They (lawmakers) are also in the knowledge of the constitutional morality. Let us concede to them that they have made the law in the public interest and keeping in mind constitutional morality.

"While interpreting the constitution by the court and the laws made by the lawmakers in terms of the constitution, we should also concede that people who have made law also know the requirements under the constitution and the challenges that the people of India had to face. They know the pulse of the people better than the judges appointed in courts," he said.

He further said that India is one despite its "diversity of culture, religion and philosophies" due to the Constitution, which is the common thread, and people who engage in interpretation of the Constitution should keep in mind the diversity of the country.

He said, "silence of the lawmen can do more harm than the violence of the layman".

On the issue of Constitutional compassion, he said, "The compassion from the court is not a charity of a judge, but a bounden duty of a constitutional court. When you approach the question of compassionate appointment, the first thing is the judges should have compassion. Unless the judges have compassion there is no point in interpreting the law on compassion appointments."

Speaking about his years in the judiciary, Justice Kurian said, "My conscience is clear. I can hold my head high. I have done my best. I may not be perfect, no one can be perfect.

On his passion for court assisted settlement and mediation, he said that it was an attempt made by him to reduce the workload of the courts and added that mediated arbitration was another field in which he wishes to work. "Once you settle one dispute you are avoiding 10 litigations," he said.

Justice Kurian further said that in arbitration matters, 90 percent of the cases were in courts for enforcement of the awards and suggested the option of "mediated award" as a solution to help reduce judicial workload.

"If it is a case that can be settled, then please ask the court to refer it to mediation," he said to the lawyers.

His success in court-assisted mediation was praised by Attorney General (AG) KK Venugopal and senior advocate Vikas Singh, who is also the president of the Supreme Court Bar Association (SBCA), when they spoke at the event.

Venugopal said Justice Kurian was one of the nicest and most pleasant judges the apex court has ever seen and that it was "great" that he was not accepting any post-retirement posts or appointments. The AG also said that of the 1040 judgements delivered by apex court benches of which Justice Kurian was a member, he had himself penned 843 which was one of the 10 highest number of verdicts authored by a judge.

Singh, in his address, highlighted efforts made by Justice Kurian for flood relief in Kerala as well as his patience and the relationship he had with the Bar. He also spoke about Justice Kurian's work in court-assisted mediation and added that the judge has offered his services for mediation and conciliation after retirement.
Narendra Modi is scheduled to meet Donald Trump on the sidelines of the G20 Summit, Day 2 of the Kisan Mukti March; here are the day's top stories.

G20 Summit: Narendra Modi to meet Donald Trump and Shinzo Abe

At the G20 Summit, which is scheduled to begin on Friday, India, US, and Japan are expected to have their first ever trilateral meeting on the sidelines of the summit. Additionally, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to meet with his Russian and Chinese counterparts at the summit for the first time in 12 years.

Amid speculation that US president Donald Trump would meet Russian president Vladimir Putin on the sidelines of the conference, Trump has tweeted that he will not meet Putin due to "the fact that the (seized) ships and sailors have not been returned to Ukraine from Russia". Earlier this week, Russia had seized three naval ships in a strait near Moscow-annexed Crimea.

Ahead of the Summit, Modi also met with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who has been at the epicentre of the controversy surrounding the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi in Turkey's Saudi consulate. Modi and the Crown Prince reportedly discussed ways to further boost economic, cultural, and energy ties. Modi wrote on Twitter, "Had a fruitful interaction with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud. We discussed multiple aspects of India-Saudi Arabia relations and ways to further boost economic, cultural and energy ties."

Centre sends invoice of Rs 290 crore to the Kerala government

Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan said the state has to pay Rs 290 crore to the Centre for the rations received and rescue assistance provided during the massive floods paralysed the state in August. He added that the state government had received only Rs 2,683.18 crore in its Distress Relief Fund and was finding it difficult to cobble resources for the 're-build Kerala initiative'.

The Controller of Defence Accounts on Thursday also presented the government of Kerala with a Rs 33 crore bill as charges towards the use of Indian Air Force planes for air-lifting services. Reportedly, the bill also included services for air-dropping resources like diesel and rice to those stranded.

"Air Force has asked the state to pay over Rs 33.79 crore as the charge incurred for the rescue efforts during the deluge," Vijayan said.

NDTV also quoted Vijayan as saying, "We in the recent past have also written to the Central Government, stating that we were expecting the ration including the extra quota of rice and kerosene as free of charge, given as assistance during the floods. But we've not received any response to even that."

Day 2 of Kisan Mukti March in Delhi

Farmers from across the country have converged in the National Capital to demand the implementation of the Swaminathan Committee report through a special 21-day session of the Parliament. On the second day of the agitation, farmers who arrived at Ramlila Maidan on Thursday will march towards the Parliament Street at 8 am on Friday. Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal and CPM cheif Sitaram Yechury are expected to attend the march later in the day.

The All India Kisan Sangharsh Coordination Committee, the umbrella body under which at least 200 farmer organisations have joined the protest, has reportedly written to Modi as well as representatives of other political parties to join the march.

Congress not part of current Opposition alliance in Uttar Pradesh

Akhilesh Yadav's Samajwadi Party, Mayawati's BSP and Ajit Singh's RLD have worked out a formula for an alliance for the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, however, the Congress has not been made part of the current 'gathbandhan'.

Apart from BSP-SP-RLD, Mayawati and Akhilesh will also consider the Om Prakash Rajbhar-led Suheldev Bhartiya Samaj Party. Rajbhar is presently a minister in the Yogi Adityanath cabinet but had constantly been criticising his own government and the BJP.

Samajwadi Party MLC and party's national spokesperson Sunil Singh Sajan told News18 that the Congress cannot be beneficial to the larger political narrative that the SP and BSP want to build against the BJP. Our national president Akhilesh Yadav had made his stand clear on the Congress recently in Madhya Pradesh, he said.

Scientists call for probe into research claiming to have produced world's first genetically modified babies

Wrapping up the Second International Summit on Human Genome Editing in Hong Kong, organisers called for an investigation into He Jiankui's research. They have also asked for an assessment to be made to verify Jiankui's claims. Jiankui, a Chinese scientist, claims to have created the first genetically modified babies.

Kangana Ranaut's Manikarnika: Queen of Jhansi faces trouble over non-payment of dues to workers, claims FWICE

The producers of the film are yet to clear dues of approximately Rs 1.5 crore to the workers and junior artists, according to Federation of Western India Cine Employees. The film, which is due to be released on 25 January next year, is currently under post-production. The makers have been shooting some portions of the film at Film City in suburban Mumbai. The shoot was halted on Wednesday afternoon mid-way because of non-payment of dues of workers, technicians and junior artists.

"It has been three months but they have not cleared dues of daily wage workers, which is about Rs 40 lakh. About Rs 90 lakh are to be paid to light vendor and Rs 25 lakh to junior artistes. The producer (Kamal Jain) had promised to make the payment by October but he has not fulfilled his commitment," Ashok Dubey, general secretary of Federation of Western India Cine Employees (FWICE) told PTI.

With inputs from agencies
German Chancellor Angela Merkel will miss the opening of the G20 summit in Argentina after her plane was forced to land in Colonge shortly after leaving Berlin.

Her office says Merkel and delegates made a safe, but unscheduled, landing after the aircraft developed a technical problem.

The plane turned back while it was over the Netherlands, Germany's dpa news agency reported.

The captain announced to passengers that he had decided to turn back after the "malfunction of several electronic systems", Reuters reported.

Merkel will reportedly travel on to Buenos Aires today.
Professor MS Swaminathan, better known as the 'Father of the Green Revolution', spoke in support of the Kisan Mukti March (farmers' freedom march) in Delhi on Friday.

Professor MS Swaminathan, known as the 'Father of the Green Revolution', spoke in support of the Kisan Mukti March (farmers' freedom march) in Delhi on Friday. Swaminathan, an agriculture scientist who was in charge of a commission to study and suggest solutions for the growing farmer distress, said that "farmers have come to the conclusion that only agitation and not reasoning will lead to action on their problems".

The ultimate result of the research, which was conducted between 2004 and 2006, was called the 'National Policy for Farmers' (NCF) or the Swaminathan Commission report.

At least 50,000 farmers from all over the country have gathered in Delhi to protest against the dormant approach of the central and state governments towards the chronic problems faced by the community. Over Thursday and Friday, farmers under the umbrella organisation of All India Kisan Sangharsh Coordination Committee (AIKSCC) have made their displeasure with the Centre's agrarian policies evident in various ways.

One of the community's major demands, which was even put forward by the Kisan Long March which took place in Maharashtra in March 2018, is the implementation of the Swaminathan Commission report. As a means to this end, the farmers are demanding a 21-day special session of the Parliament. The farmers are also demanding the waiving of loans and an effective rate of minimum support price (MSP) on their crops.

Asserting that evidence of the agrarian crisis has been growing over the last decade, Swaminathan said in a statement, "The demand for loan waiver comes from the present non-remunerative nature of farming and is indicative of the fact economic viability is as important to farmers as to industrialists." He also said that an adequate MSP "will make farming economically viable and attractive" for the farmers.

The waiver of loans assumes significance for the farmers, according to Swaminathan, so that they can rid themselves of debt and get back to farming, however, only "by taking another loan". Swaminathan expressed unhappiness over the fact that "electoral politics" bring "solutions like loan waivers" into focus for a limited amount of time. He elaborated, "Only integrated attention paid to pricing, procurement and public distribution will address farmers' woes."

At least 60 percent of India's population uses agriculture for livelihood and this percentage is mostly made up of women and the youth, according to Swaminathan. This vast majority, largely ignored, has realised the discrepancy in the level of attention the government pays to its issues, and to problems of other sections of society. Swaminathan said, "Farmers have now understood that while the problems of the other sections of society receive continuous attention, their own problems tend to be neglected unless they agitate."

According to Swaminathan's statement, the government must bring out changes to its policies based on the "serious" repercussions of climate change as well. He said, "Compounding the difficulties of today, the most unfavourable impact of climate change will be high temperature, wide variation in precipitation and rise in sea level."

He added that "equal attention" should be paid to families living and working in different ecosystems like: Arid zones, semi-arid dry farming areas, irrigated areas, groundwater farming, and plantation crops in hilly areas. Swaminathan added, "The support extended to farmers should be according to the requirements of those cultivating in the above-mentioned ecosystems."

The Congress government led by former prime minister Manmohan Singh, however, "did not take action" on the NCF presented in 2007, Swaminathan said in the statement. He added that the reports under the NCF gave "a clear sense of direction" to shape the agriculture sector "based on farmers' welfare".

Referring to the AIKSCC protest, Swaminathan said, "The march has rightly called for a special Parliament session to discuss issues confronting those who provide us with sustenance. It is sad that farmers who are life givers are forced to take their own life due to economic reasons. I sincerely hope that todays Kisan Mukti March will be a turning point in the history of public policy formulation in the field of agriculture."

In the statement, Swaminathan expressed hope that one of the suggestions of the NCF that the government did implement, which was to change the name of the agriculture ministry to 'Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare', would get "reflected in action". He said, "The change in name should get reflected in action designed to promote farmers well-being as the main purpose of agriculture ministries at the Centre and states."

A few of the suggestions made by the NCF were: To prevent the diversion of forest and agricultural land to the corporate sector for non-agricultural purposes; to set up a system to regulate the sale of agricultural land; to give farmers an MSP of 50 percent above the cost of production.

Follow LIVE updates on the Kisan Mukti March here
In support of the farmers' protest, photographers are posting pictures of the agrarian crisis with the hashtag #PhotographersForFarmers

More than one lakh farmers from across the country have taken to the streets and marched to Delhi in protest of the agrarian crisis in the wake of the farmer-unfriendly policies set by the current government. On 25 November, the All India Kisan Sangharsh Coordination Committee (AIKSCC), in association with CPI-M, proposed a protest march on 29-30 November to the Parliament, demanding a loan waiver and better prices for agricultural yield.

Also read  Farmers plan march in New Delhi: Agrarian crisis is deep and pervasive, but not fully appreciated or remedied

This move found great support from various agricultural organisations, farmers and other support groups. The movement grew as it gained attention on social media with a number of artists, photographers, and academicians raising their voice in support of the cause. On 29 November, farmers from different states including Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal and Uttar Pradesh reached Delhi  on tractors, by train, on jeeps and even on foot  and marched ahead towards Ramlila Maidan in the capital.

Renowned photojournalist and Padma Shri-awardee Sudharak Olwe conceptualised the idea of bringing together photographers from across the country to support the farmers' protest. He invited all the photographers to document the farmers march and upload pictures using the hashtag #PhotographersForFarmers on different social media platforms.

"It all began when I met P Sainath a while ago, and he told me that there was going to be this protest in November and that we should do something about it. After we left, it struck me that as a photographer, as an artist, I should really do something... I come from the Vidarbha region of Maharashtra where there have been many cases of farmer suicides. I have made a film and documented those farmers. In fact, when I look at my body of work, it is mostly centered on the farmers," Olwe tells Firstpost.

In spite of the fact that India has an agrarian economy, most people are often ignorant about the agrarian crisis the country has been facing for so long. "It is such an important issue  the environment is changing, the market is changing, and nobody is actually paying heed to the demands of the farmers. So, I thought since photography is my forte I should give a call to all my photographer friends around the country to reach out to the farmers and document them, so that everyone knows that these are the farmers of our country and they need support," says Olwe.

Olwe's beckoning was received positively by other senior photographers and it became a discussion on social media too. By 29 November, around 160 people had uploaded pictures with the #PhotographersForFarmers hashtag, including an architect/artist friend from Istanbul who also extended his support to this cause, informs Olwe. When many professional photographers uploaded their works on the farmers, other social media users too followed suit. Soon, timelines were filled with pictures and photo essays from across the country representing Indian farmers, their daily struggles and the plight that follows when the administration ignores their concerns.

"Our aim was to sensitise people about this issue. Almost everybody in our country has a phone today, so everyone is a photographer. The mobile phone is one of the most important communication tools in todays day and age, and with the dominating presence of social media, it is even easier. So I wanted the common people to meet these farmers, talk to them, understand their problems and document all of that through pictures. It is not just a picture, it is much more than that. These people are walking barefoot, in the direst of the situations. We should help them, offer food, water etc. This is a way to connect the country and make it more inclusive. After all, these issues do not pertain solely to the farmers, it is a national issue that affects all of us. Hence everyone has to look into it, only then we will be able to look at the larger picture," says Olwe.

Speaking about what lies ahead, Olwe responded with a mix of optimism and resolution: "It is a continuous process, it doesnt and shouldnt end with this protest march. This is just a small drop in the ocean, we still have a lot to do. Just this hashtag wont do, we need many other hashtags for our country and our people."

 With inputs from Suryasarathi Bhattacharya



View this post on Instagram #farmersmarch #kisanmuktimarch #dillichalo #photographersforfarmers A post shared by Vaibhav Bhardwaj (@vaibhavbhardwaj.27) on Nov 29, 2018 at 10:25pm PST

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All India Kisan Sangharsh Samiti Coordination Committee is organizing farmers for a protest. In solidarity citizens will gather outside Dadar East station Mumbai,India today at 5.30pmpic bu Gajanan Dudhalkar #photographersforfarmers#Nationforfarmers#DilliChalo#kisanMuktiMarch#farmers#farmersprotests#mumbai#indianfarmersprotests

A post shared by Gajanan Dudhalkar (@gajanandudhalkar) on Nov 29, 2018 at 9:46am PST

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#dillichalo Head to Warje Maalwadi any morning. Close to the express highway that connects Pune to Mumbai(Maharashtra, India), there is a flyover that sees a congregation of hundreds of men and women under its dusty pillars. Daily wage workers, they gather in the hope of being picked up by a contractor who would herd them on to the back of a lorry to some faraway worksite to build the citys suburban sprawls, roads and flyovers, or dig wells and ditches. Most of them have migrated form some village nearby or the neighboring states due to the long, unending farming crisis and are living wherever they can get roof over their head in the city. They gathered with an array of tools depending on their specific skills  spades and gloves for gardening or masonry, pick axes and shovels for farming or building. But most came barehanded except for one thing  their tiffin carriers. And these came in all shapes and sizes: small polythene packets tucked in pant-pockets and cloth satchels carrying three decker metal dabbas. We are what we eat. Food is political and, I hope these pictures will provide some clues to the lives of these faceless people we pass by daily who live their lives one day at a time, one meal to the next. I did this photo story back in 2012. Nothing much has changed. Except they now occupy much more space under and around this flyover as the number of them waiting for work has steadily gone up. #nationforfarmers #dillichalo #kisanmuktimarch #photographersforfarmers #rojandari #india #agriculture #farmingcrisis #permaculture #peoplesarchiveofruralindia #foodispolitical

A post shared by Abhijit Aruna Vilas (@bidhaar) on Nov 28, 2018 at 5:59am PST

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Indian Farmer #photographersforfarmers #dailylifeindia #dailylife #indian_village
Thousands of farmers from across the country, who have been camping at the Ramlila ground since Thursday, will march to Parliament Street on Friday to press for their demands, including debt relief and remunerative prices for their produce.

New Delhi: Thousands of farmers from across the country, who have been camping at the Ramlila ground since Thursday, will march to Parliament Street on Friday to press for their demands, including debt relief and remunerative prices for their produce.

Over 3,500 police personnel have deployed as the farmers were scheduled to begin their march from the Ramlila Maidan to Parliament at 10.30 am.

According to a senior police officer, special arrangements have been made in Central and New Delhi police districts.

As many as 850 police personnel, up to the rank of sub-inspectors, have been deployed in the Central district. They will be augmented by the presence of 12 police companies, including two of women, comprising 75-80 personnel each, a police official said.

Farmers from different parts of the country, including Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal and Uttar Pradesh converged at the Ramlila ground on Thursday.

"We are to start marching toward Parliament around 10.30 am. We had discussion with police Thursday night so that the event goes on smoothly," the National Secretary of All India Kisan Sabha (AIKS), Atul Anjaan, said.

Traffic was disrupted in many parts of the city on Thursday as the farmers marched to the Ramlila ground in the heart of the city on four different routes  Anand Vihar, Nizamuddin and Bijwasan railway stations and at Sabzi Mandi.

Banded under the All India Kisan Sangharsh Coordination Committee (AIKSCC), which claims to be an umbrella body of 207 organisations of farmers and agricultural workers, many farmers kept pouring into the city. They came in trains, buses and other modes of transport.

Kamla, a functionary of the All India Kisan Sabha's Delhi unit, said farmers from nearby areas converged at Majnu Ka Tila on the outskirts of Delhi from where they marched in groups to Ramlila Maidan on Thursday.

About 1,200 members of the National South Indian River Interlinking Agriculturalists Association reached the national capital in the early hours of Thursday carrying skulls of two of their colleagues who had committed suicide, their leader P Ayyakannu claimed.

The group from Tamil Nadu had threatened to march naked if they are not allowed to go to Parliament on Friday. The group had last year staged protests at Jantar Mantar with the skulls of eight farmers who killed themselves owing to losses.

The AIKSCC has claimed that the two-day rally will be one of the largest congregations of farmers in Delhi.

Five gurdwaras in the Delhi region have extended their help to the farmers. Also students from various universities turned out in large numbers to lend support to the farmers. The protest also saw participation of a number of women farmers who travelled from various parts of the country.

Volunteers, including doctors, lawyers, professors and artists, all came out in large numbers to help the farmers. Around 600-700 volunteers of a solidarity group Nation for Farmers marched with the protesters from the four assembly points.

The AIKSCC was formed under the aegis of All India Kisan Sabha and other Left-affiliated farmers' bodies in June 2017, following protests by farmers in states such as Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh for debt relief and remunerative prices.
Farmers Protest in Delhi LIVE updates: Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Friday joined farmers' protest at Parliament street. Addressing the mega rally in New Delhi, Rahul said that Modi has duped the nation in the name of NPAs; adds that farmers and youth have been ignored by the government.

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Farmers from across the country have travelled to demand a special session of Parliament to discuss the agrarian crisis in the country. More farmers joined in the protests this morning. Their issues of priority vary from region to region. In the tribal belt of Nashik, lack of enforcement of FRA, in sugarcane belt, the gripe is with slashed rates, in Punjab, farmers complain of low MSP.

Leaders like Yogendra Yadav and students of Delhi University joined in the farmers protest in Delhi

Visuals from near Ramlila Maidan on the second day of the two-day protest by farmers from all across the country, who are asking for debt relief, better MSP for crops, among other demands.

Students, activists, artists have all extended help and solidarity. Students from Delhi University, Jawaharlal University, among others created posters and circulated on social media, gathered signatures on a petition in spite of the fact that their exams are on. The Delhi government organised mobile toilets and water tankers. The gurudwara at Nizamuddin station provided a meal to farmers after they arrived in Delhi on the morning of 29 November.

One of the most significant aspects of the rally, which started on Thursday, was the support of the middle class, just like Mumbai had embraced farmers at the time of Kisan Long March.

One of the busiest stalls at Ramlila Maidan was that of a doctor who was handing out medicines to ailing farmers. He says, "Almost everyone who has come here has visited me. They complain of cough and cold. Kheto ki hava se delhi mein aaye hai."

Speaking to reporters, joint commissioner of police for Delhi traffic police said, "Traffic police will give real-time updates on affected traffic routes on Facebook and Twitter. Commuters are advised to stay updated. Around 1,000 traffic personnel have been deployed in all these routes to plan diversions and to keep the traffic smooth."

Over 8,000 rallying protesters affect traffic near Jawaharlal Nehru Marg. According to the Delhi Traffic Police , commuters are likely to face inconvenience as traffic has been diverted in central Delhi due to farmers' protest. The protesters have blocked both routes on Jawaharlal Nehru Marg as they head to Parliament. A few minutes ago, the procession crossed Zakir Hussain College.

Farmers wait near Jantar Mantar on the second day of protest by farmers, who are demanding debt relief, better MSP for crops, among other demands.

The farmers march has moved and is on the Tolstoy Road. Traffic is affected here, tweeted the Delhi Traffic Police.

In New Delhi district, 346 police personnel, up to the rank of sub-inspectors, have been deployed and 600 personnel from other districts will also help them, the official said. Nine police companies, along with 71 officers, from the rank of inspectors up to additional DCPs, are also present. Farmers from different parts of the country, including Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal and Uttar Pradesh converged at the Ramlila ground on Thursday. Traffic was disrupted in many parts of the city on Thursday as the farmers marched to the Ramlila ground in the heart of the city on four different routes, starting from Anand Vihar, Nizamuddin and Bijwasan railway stations and Sabzi Mandi.

Volunteers, including doctors, lawyers, professors and artists, all came out in large numbers to help the farmers. Around 600-700 volunteers of a solidarity group Nation For Farmers also marched with the protesters, the newspaper reported.

Five Gurdwaras in the National Capital have extended their help to the farmers, The Hindu reported. Additionally, students from various universities also turned out in large numbers to lend support to the farmers.

"Due to this march, Kasturba Gandhi Marg, Ferozshah Road, Janpath, Mandir Marg, Panchkuian Marg, Ashoka Road, Jai Singh Marg and inner and outer circles of Connaught Place will be affected. Our senior traffic officials, along with other traffic personnel, are managing traffic," a senior traffic police official said.

Around 1,000 traffic police personnel have been deployed between Ramlila Maidan and Parliament, to ensure that commuters do not face inconvenience.

The rally has now reached Parliament Marg (near police station) Ramlila Maidan, Jawaharlal Nehru Marg, Gurunank Chowk, Ranjeet Singh Flyover, Barakhamba Chowk. Traffic is now normal, says Delhi police.

Sehlab Barik from Odisha who left home on 27 November said, "It's been such a long journey. We took a train and reached early morning. Bahot pareshan hai. All we want is better MSP and fair enforcement of PMFBY."

Hoshiyar Singh Nain from Haryana said that there is no end to farmers' troubles. "It will be evening if I told you about farmers' struggle. Getting loan waivers and MSPs would be a good start."

Tweeting about the ongoing rally in Delhi, agricultural scientist MS Swaminathan, known for his leading role in Indias green revolution, tweeted and said, "Evidence of agrarian unrest has been growing and farmers have come to the conclusion that only agitation and not reasoning will lead to action on their problems."

In a series of tweets, agriculture scientist MS Swaminathan slammed the current political dispensation and said that economic viability is not just important for industrialists. "The loan waiver demand comes from the non-remunerative nature of farming and is indicative that economic viability is as important to farmers as to industrialists. Unfortunately, the then govt did not take action on the National Policy for Farmers (NCF) report presented in 2007."

Economic viability is as important to farmers as it is to industrialists: MS Swaminathan

"It is sad that farmers who are life givers are forced to take their own life due to economic reasons. I sincerely hope that todays Kisan Mukti March will be a turning point in the history of public policy formulation in the field of agriculture."

Expressing sadness that farmers are the ignored lot, Swaminathan said that the farmers' march should be a turning point in the history of public policy in India.

Noting that merely changing the name of the ministry  from agriculture ministry to Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare  won't be enough, Swaminathan noted that this change in name should get reflected in action.

Traffic was affected on the Jawaharlal Nehru Marg, on the stretch near Guru Nanak Eye hospital, Maharaja Ranjit Singh flyover, Barakhamba Chowk and Janpath on Friday morning. Commuters were advised to avoid these routes. Around 1,000 traffic police personnel have been deployed between Ramlila maidan and Parliament to ensure that commuters do not face inconvenience. "Due to this march, Kasturba Gandhi Marg, Ferozshah Road, Janpath, Mandir Marg, Panchkuian Marg, Ashoka Road, Jai Singh Marg and inner and outer circles of Connaught Place will be effected. Our senior traffic officials, along with other traffic personnel, are managing traffic," a senior traffic police official said. Citizens were advised to follow the Delhi Traffic Police Facebook page, Twitter handle, WhatsApp and the traffic helpline for live updates. Over 3,500 police personnel have also been deployed on the route of the march and special arrangements have been made in Central and New Delhi police districts. As many as 850 police personnel, up to the rank of sub-inspectors, have been deployed in the Central district. They have been augmented by the presence of 12 police companies, including two of women, each comprising 75-80 personnel, a police official said. In New Delhi district, 346 police personnel, up to the rank of sub-inspectors, have been deployed and 600 personnel from other districts will also help them, the official said.

Doctors also came from Aligarh Muslim University and Rohtak and Chandigarh and other Delhi hospitals to assist farmers, many of whom complained of body ache as they had travelled long distance. "One person had fainted, so, after first aid, we sent him to LNJP Hospital," said Mahtab Alam, a doctor at a Delhi government hospital.

A group of doctors, who had taken off from work, were offering medical aid till about 11 pm on Thursday. Rashid, a junior resident at AIIMS was among the doctors volunteering, told PTI, "I took an off today from work, as I had to be here. They feed us, and we are not doing any favour by helping them, we are serving them."

About 1,200 members of the National South Indian River Interlinking Agriculturalists Association reached the national capital in the early hours of Thursday carrying skulls of two of their colleagues who had committed suicide, their leader P Ayyakannu said. The group from Tamil Nadu had threatened to march naked if they are not allowed to go to Parliament on Friday.They had last year staged protests at Jantar Mantar with the skulls of eight farmers who killed themselves owing to losses.

According to a senior police officer, special arrangements have been made in Central and New Delhi police districts. Farmers from different parts of the country, including Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal and Uttar Pradesh converged at the Ramlila ground on Thursday. Banded under the AIKSCC, which claims to be an umbrella body of 207 organisations of farmers and agricultural workers, many farmers arrived in the city on Thursday, on trains, buses and other modes of transport.

Heavy police security has been deployed on the route of the march. At least, 3,500 police personnel will accompany the protesting farmers.

The farmers, who have been camping at the Ramlila ground here since Thursday, began their march to Parliament Street around 10.30 am amid heavy policy deployment. They were stopped near Parliament Street police station, after which they assembled there.

Denied permission by police to march to Parliament, around 35,000 farmers from across the country have converged near Parliament Street Police station in the national capital on Friday, where their leaders addressed the protesters. The national secretary of the All India Kisan Sangharsh Coordination Committee (AIKSCC), Asish Mittal, said farmers from 24 states have also joined the protest to press for their demands, including debt relief and remunerative prices for their produce.

After traffic came to a halt in Lutyens' Delhi due to large-scale farmers' protest, Deputy commissioner of police Madhur Verma said that multiple rounds of talks with protesting leaders were held, following which they were given permission to move to Jantar Mantar with "conditions". "Proper arrangements have been made for security, traffic and law and order. We hope that farmers will follow the conditions," he said.

"Farmers should speak up in unified voice. No party is as anti-farmer as the present regime," said Yadav terming Prime Minister Narendra Modi, kisan virodhi.

While addressing the farmers at Jantar Mantar, former AAP leader Yogendra Yadav said that there are two mantras for farmers liberation  learn to speak up and identify your enemies, which should be easy, Yadav added, "The parties which are not present in the stage today are our enemies."

Protesters complain that due to faulty policies of the Centre farmers are dying under the burden of debt. Criticising the Shivraj Singh Chouhan government, Kedar Sarohi from Harda district in Madhya Pradesh said that even in the BJP-ruled state which boasts of development and is one of the star states of the saffron party has no empathy towards the cultivators. Kedar, who was part of the Mandsaur farmers' protest, said that the government tried to hide its own short comings.

Madhya Pradesh farmers cast their vote in the 28 November Assembly election and left to join the farmers protest which was headed towards Delhi.

Farmers, who were part of 2017 Mandsaur protest, cast vote first, then join rally in Delhi

As the kisan rally arrived at the Parliament Street, Tamil Nadu farmers took off their clothes and used the skulls and bones of their "dead crop growers" to cover their private parts. According to a News18, about 1,200 members of the National South Indian River Interlinking Agriculturalists Association reached the national capital on Thursday carrying skulls of two of their colleagues who they claimed had committed suicide. Some were also spotted wearing a garland of dairy products.

Tamil Nadu farmers do it again: Remove clothes and hang skulls and bones to protest in Delhi

According to latest news, Congress chief Rahul Gandhi will visit the farmers at 3.30 pm and will likely address the Kisan Kranti March which is currently converged at the Parliament street. Apart from Congress, JD(U), Samajwadi Party and other Opposition leaders and activists are at the Jantar Mantar to support the protesting farmers.

Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal will also join the farmers' protest this evening. Senior JDU leader KC Tyagi, CPI national secretary D Raja and some Samajwadi party leaders are also likely to join the agitation.

Noting that agriculture is still the backbone of Indian economy, the former prime minister, in another tweet, said, "Eradication of poverty, employment generation, rural development are all possible if India betters itself in 'Ease of Doing Agriculture' too."

Supporting the farmers' march in New Delhi, former prime minister H D Deve Gowda Friday said, along with "ease of doing business", India should also better itself in "ease of doing agriculture". Referring to the Karnataka government's farm loan waiver initiative, the JD(S) supremo urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi issue proper direction to banks who are issuing notices to farmers and creating uncertainties. "Modi Government and BJP are boasting about betterment of India's position in the 'Ease of Doing Business' index. But, with 'Ease of Doing Business', India should also better itself in 'Ease of Doing Agriculture'.

The farmers are demanding that the government pass legislation guaranteeing loan waivers and remunerative prices for their crops.

We will continue to support the farmers. We support both the bills. We will keep pressuring the government to pass the bills and make laws. We want to tell the government of the day that if you do not listen to the demands, we will use the power to dethrone you, said Sitaram Yechury at farmers rally.

Speaking at the farmers' protest march, Sitaram Yechury told the farmers, "We will unseat the BJP and bring an alternative government which will raise your issues in the Parliament. The BJP's brahmastra is the Ram mandir. They rake it up every five years, but we will have to tell them that today the marginalised, the workers, the farmers are all united. They misuse the name of Ram for votes," he said.

Psephologist and political activist Yogendra Yadav's political outfit Swaraj India has been backing the farmers' massive protests in New Delhi. While addressing the farmers Yadav said that the ruling government was anti-farmer and its policies were flawed at a fundamental level.

Congress president Rahul Gandhi joined the farmers' protest march in Delhi. He is expected to address the gathering shortly.

The Congress chief claimed that the Congress governments have waived off farm loans in the states it rules.

Addressing the farmers' protest rally in New Delhi, Rahul Gandhi said that the farmers are not asking for any favours or gifts. They seek what is their right.

Anti-BJP parties should stand with farmers, said Rahul. The Congress chief said that Modi has duped the nation in the name of NPAs; adds that farmers and youth have been ignored by the government.

Rahul Gandhi repeats his Rafale attack at the government, says Prime Minister Narendra Modi only speaks for the industrialists. He says a government that disrespects the youth and farmers will be removed by the country.

"India is made and run by farmers, youth and labourers and we stand by them," Rahul says amid cheers from protesting farmers. Several other leaders such as Sharad Yadav, Arvind Kejriwal and Sitaram Yechury are also in attendance at the rally to show their support for the farmers.

Psephologist and political activist Yogendra Yadav's political outfit Swaraj India has been backing the farmers' massive protests in New Delhi. While addressing the farmers Yadav said that the ruling government was anti-farmer and its policies were flawed at a fundamental level.

Congress president Rahul Gandhi joined the farmers' protest march in Delhi. He is expected to address the gathering shortly.

The Congress chief claimed that the Congress governments have waived off farm loans in the states it rules.

Addressing the farmers' protest rally in New Delhi, Rahul Gandhi said that the farmers are not asking for any favours or gifts. They seek what is their right.

Anti-BJP parties should stand with farmers, said Rahul. The Congress chief said that Modi has duped the nation in the name of NPAs; adds that farmers and youth have been ignored by the government.

Rahul Gandhi repeats his Rafale attack at the government, says Prime Minister Narendra Modi only speaks for the industrialists. He says a government that disrespects the youth and farmers will be removed by the country.

"India is made and run by farmers, youth and labourers and we stand by them," Rahul says amid cheers from protesting farmers. Several other leaders such as Sharad Yadav, Arvind Kejriwal and Sitaram Yechury are also in attendance at the rally to show their support for the farmers.

Arvind Kejriwal at farmers protest in Delhi: Five months are left, I demand that the Central Govt implement Swaminathan report. Warna 2019 mein ye kisaan qayamat dha denge pic.twitter.com/wkTyPJgA1n

Kejriwal also said that farm loans have to be waived, adding that the crop insurance policy floated by the government is "fraud".

"Now in Supreme Court, the government has said that it cannot implement Swaminathan report," Kejriwal said.

"A country where farmers are hungry cannot succeed," said the Delhi chief minister. "BJP in last election promised to implement swaminathan report but it didn't do that."

Let us set aside our political differences and work together to address the concerns of our farmers. They are the backbone of our country and they deserve better. Economic justice & social justice are twin goals of our Constitution. We cannot fulfil them while ignoring farmers.

But apart from the huge number of farmers present at the event and the show of unity by the Opposition, the rally may have failed to achieve anything substantial.

The farmers' rally was indeed a massive event, where an estimated 50,000 farmers from all over the country had come to highlight their grievances.

Farmers Protest in Delhi LATEST updates: Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal said that a country where farmers are "hungry" cannot succeed.

Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Friday joined farmers' protest at Parliament street. Addressing the mega rally in New Delhi, Rahul said that Modi has duped the nation in the name of NPAs; adds that farmers and youth have been ignored by the government.

Rahul said, " Modi ji had promised MSP will be increased, PM promised bonus, but look at the situation right now, empty speeches are being given and nothing else."

Supporting the farmers' march in New Delhi, former prime minister H D Deve Gowda Friday said, along with "ease of doing business", India should also better itself in "ease of doing agriculture". Referring to the Karnataka government's farm loan waiver initiative, the JD(S) supremo urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi issue proper direction to banks who are issuing notices to farmers and creating uncertainties. "Modi Government and BJP are boasting about betterment of India's position in the 'Ease of Doing Business' index. But, with 'Ease of Doing Business', India should also better itself in 'Ease of Doing Agriculture'.

Noting that agriculture is still the backbone of Indian economy, the former prime minister, in another tweet, said, "Eradication of poverty, employment generation, rural development are all possible if India betters itself in 'Ease of Doing Agriculture' too."

Congress chief Rahul Gandhi will visit the farmers at 3.30 pm and will likely address the Kisan Kranti March which is currently converged at the Parliament street, according to reports. NCP leader Sharad Pawar and Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal will also join the farmers' protest this evening. Senior JDU leader KC Tyagi, CPI national secretary D Raja and some Samajwadi party leaders are also likely to join the agitation. Apart from Congress, JD(U), Samajwadi Party and other Opposition leaders and activists are at the Jantar Mantar to support the protesting farmers.

Denied permission by police to march to Parliament, more than 50,000 farmers from across the country have converged near Parliament Street Police station in the national capital on Friday, where their leaders addressed the protesters. The national secretary of the All India Kisan Sangharsh Coordination Committee (AIKSCC), Asish Mittal, said farmers from 24 states have also joined the protest to press for their demands, including debt relief and remunerative prices for their produce.

While addressing the farmers at Jantar Mantar, former AAP leader Yogendra Yadav said that there are two mantras for farmers liberation  learn to speak up and identify your enemies, which should be easy, Yadav added, "The parties which are not present in the stage today are our enemies."

"Farmers should speak up in unified voice. No party is as anti-farmer as the present regime," said Yadav terming Prime Minister Narendra Modi, kisan virodhi.

In a series of tweets, agriculture scientist MS Swaminathan slammed the current political dispensation and said that economic viability is not just important for industrialists. "The loan waiver demand comes from the non-remunerative nature of farming and is indicative that economic viability is as important to farmers as to industrialists. Unfortunately, the then govt did not take action on the National Policy for Farmers (NCF) report presented in 2007."

Tweeting about the ongoing rally in Delhi, agricultural scientist MS Swaminathan, known for his leading role in Indias green revolution, tweeted and said, "Evidence of agrarian unrest has been growing and farmers have come to the conclusion that only agitation and not reasoning will lead to action on their problems."

As the kisan rally arrived at the Parliament Street, Tamil Nadu farmers took off their clothes and used the skulls and bones of their "dead crop growers" to cover their private parts. About 1,200 members of the National South Indian River Interlinking Agriculturalists Association reached the national capital a day earlier. They claimed that the 'dead remains' were of their fellow farmers, who had "committed suicide". Some protesters were also spotted wearing garland of dairy products.

Delhi commuters are likely to face inconvenience as traffic has been diverted in central Delhi due to the farmers' protest. The protesters have blocked both routes on Jawaharlal Nehru Marg as they have started marching towards Parliament. A few minutes ago, the procession crossed Zakir Hussain College.



Thousands of farmers, including members of Kisan Mukti Morcha, from across India have started heading towards the Parliament in a two-day-long rally to press for their demands, including debt relief and remunerative prices for their produce. In view of the large-scale agitation, security has been beefed up in the area.

The historic Ramlila Grounds, known for hosting big political events over the years, resonated with slogans like 'Ayodhya nahi, karz maafi chahiye' (need loan waiver, not temple in Ayodhya) as farmers wearing red caps and carrying red flags gathered in the national capital.

Over 3,500 police personnel have deployed as the farmers are likely to begin their march from the Ramlila Maidan to Parliament at 10.30 am.

According to a senior police officer, special arrangements have been made in Central and New Delhi police districts.

As many as 850 police personnel, up to the rank of sub-inspectors, have been deployed in the Central district. They will be augmented by the presence of 12 police companies, including two of women, comprising 75-80 personnel each, a police official said.

Farmers from different parts of the country, including Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal and Uttar Pradesh converged at the Ramlila ground on Thursday.

"We will start marching toward Parliament around 10.30 am. We had discussion with police Thursday night so that the event goes on smoothly," the National Secretary of All India Kisan Sabha (AIKS), Atul Anjaan, said.

Traffic was disrupted in many parts of the city on Thursday as the farmers marched to the Ramlila ground in the heart of the city on four different routes -- Anand Vihar, Nizamuddin and Bijwasan railway stations and at Sabzi Mandi.

Banded under the All India Kisan Sangharsh Coordination Committee (AIKSCC), which claims to be an umbrella body of 207 organisations of farmers and agricultural workers, many farmers kept pouring into the city. They came in trains, buses and other modes of transport.

Kamla, a functionary of the All India Kisan Sabha's Delhi unit, said farmers from nearby areas converged at Majnu Ka Tila on the outskirts of Delhi from where they marched in groups to Ramlila Maidan on Thursday.

About 1,200 members of the National South Indian River Interlinking Agriculturalists Association reached the national capital in the early hours of Thursday carrying skulls of two of their colleagues who had committed suicide, their leader P Ayyakannu claimed.

The group from Tamil Nadu had threatened to march naked if they are not allowed to go to Parliament on Friday. The group had last year staged protests at Jantar Mantar with the skulls of eight farmers who killed themselves owing to losses.

The AIKSCC has claimed that the two-day rally will be one of the largest congregations of farmers in Delhi.

Five Gurdwaras in the Delhi region have extended their help to the farmers. Also students from various universities turned out in large numbers to lend support to the farmers. The protest also saw participation of a number of women farmers who travelled from various parts of the country.

Volunteers, including doctors, lawyers, professors and artists, all came out in large numbers to help the farmers. Around 600-700 volunteers of a solidarity group Nation For Farmers marched with the protesters from the four assembly points.

The AIKSCC was formed under the aegis of All India Kisan Sabha and other Left-affiliated farmers' bodies in June 2017, following protests by farmers in states such as Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh for debt relief and remunerative prices.
Students from farming families are among the students with the highest dropouts in India.

While farmers have been the face of the rally, planning it from scratch, mobilising 200 different farmers organisations and unions across the country, students have been playing their part to help the farmers, facilitate their march in Delhi.

AIKSCC (All India Kisan Sangarsh Coordination Committee) had planned to organise the march involving the middle class and the urban population to be part of these demands for the two Kisan Mukti bills to be passed. In order to do so, the mobilisation involved people from different professions to get involved such as techies for farmers, artists for farmers, photographers for farmers and students for farmers.

About a month ago, with the help of senior journalist Palagummi Sainath, a group of students from different universities started mobilising students online under the name of Nation for farmers to show solidarity for the farmers' march. The online group primarily started with understanding why the march is important to students and how students can relate to the struggles of the agrarian class. It grew into a platform where students began to think they are connected to the agrarian crisis on a macro level and began to organise themselves to support the march in physical terms. This materialised in the form of guiding the farmers from each of the railway stations to the nearest Gurudwaras, where they were given accommodation, food collection and distribution, money collection from their respective colleges and helped them organise the march.

Students from farming families are among the students with the highest dropouts in the country today. A week ago, I was in a march in Nasik, researching on farmers suicides, where the dropout rate among the farmers children is the highest because they had to fend for their livelihoods, says Bibin Thomas, a student from TISS Hyderabad, who has been actively taking part in organising the march.

This phenomenon of increasing dropout rate among farmers' children is a concern because of the larger fight for social justice in universities.

Why would any privileged student be part of the march is the question that's often been asked. To this, the students say that the idea is to make students understand how exactly the agrarian crisis is part of their crisis. However, that's not the agenda the students are trying to drive.

We're not trying to evoke the consumer in the students. We want to appeal to the social justice conscience of the students and members of the education society, says Bibin.

Largely students from Delhi University and Jawaharlal Nehru University have been actively involved in mobilising students and the middle class on the ground level. Part of the mobilising process involved solidarity march, talks on the significance of the agrarian crisis and majorly seeking out help in the form of providing food and water for the farmers while marching. Jamia Milia Islamia University, Ambedkar University and Delhi University have formed their own groups for farmers.

The special session of Parliament the farmers have been demanding for isn't the end goal of this mobilisation. The movement among the students aims to go much beyond merely expressing solidarity for the march on Friday.

Many students have shown up for volunteering in addition to organisations like SFI (Student Federation of India) and All India Students' Association (AISA) which had their own set of volunteers matching with the farmers.

Groups like artists for farmers and photographers for farmers have created the art forms and have captured the essence of the farmers struggle by documenting the farmers' lives to appeal to the middles class and members of the education society.

Utkarsh, the convenor the SFI wing in Delhi University, says, As part of Nation for farmers we have been preparing for this for the past two months. The agrarian crisis might not affect the students of Delhi directly but a lot of students come from different rural backgrounds. And the crisis has hit the student community also. Our classmates are not able to continue their studies because some of them come from families where one member or the other committed suicide owing to farm distress. Apart from this, we are participating because we feel it's our responsibility as a mass organisation, we need to support the farmers and workers in their struggle against the neo-liberal policies.

Deepali Aparajita, a member of the SFI and a PhD student from JNU says, The past two decades, the kind of agrarian crisis that has been going on in the country, the food on our plate is at stake. There's constant cut in public funding that's been happening and the farmers are facing the brunt of such economic policies adopted by the government.
The two leaders, who are in Argentina for the G20 summit, met in the princes residence in Buenos Aires and discussed Saudi Arabias readiness to supply India with oil and petroleum products.

New Delhi/Cairo: The two leaders, who are in Argentina for the G20 summit, met in the princes residence in Buenos Aires and discussed Saudi Arabias readiness to supply India with oil and petroleum products.

The G20 summit in Buenos Aires is the first major international event the Saudi prince has attended since the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul in October.

The Saudi prince told Modi he would soon be finalising an initial investment in Indias National Investment and Infrastructure Fund, a quasi-sovereign wealth fund, to help accelerate the building of ports, highways and other projects, a top Indian diplomat said.

The crown prince also referred to future projects for investments, in sectors such as tech, energy and farm, Indian Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale, who is accompanying Modi to the G20, said in a readout of the meeting.

Ways in which Saudi Arabia could replace its agricultural imports from other countries with Indian agricultural produce were also discussed, the Saudi news agency said.
India is looking forward to several key bilateral meets apart from the trilateral Russia, India, China delierations. Here is what to expect at the international summit.

In an apparent reflection of India's growing global profile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be part of two trilateral meetings on the sidelines of G20 summit: The first with leaders of Japan and the US, and the second with leaders of Russia and China. Sources said the trilateral 'JAI' between Japan, America and India is the first such meeting while the Russia-India-China (RIC) trilateral  at the Head of Government-level  is taking place after 12 years.

However, that aside, this year's G20 congregation is likely to be a divided lot. With the US-China trade war looming large over the meeting which is being held in Argentina. Trump's dismissive approach towards the threat of climate change makes it another thorny issue, and member nations will find it difficult to reach a consensus. Here is what to expect at the international summit.

India-specific agenda: New Delhi looks forward to key bilateral, trilateral meets

Modi, who arrived in Buenos Aires earlier on Friday, will have a series of bilateral meetings including with Chinese president Xi Jinping. He has already met Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia Prince Mohammed bin Salman and the UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres.

Sources said in recent years, Saudi Arabia has been a valuable partner of India and the relationship has expanded beyond the Indian community to issues related to the economy, energy and security. All issues of bilateral and regional interest were discussed, they said.

They said that UN secretary general has reached out to Modi for the second time in two months. Both leaders have been giving a lot of importance to the issue of climate change and the outreach is taking place just a week before COP24, the 24th annual UN climate conference in Katowice, Poland. Sources said the meeting was a reflection of the respect for India's initiatives on issues of global importance.

They said the timing of trilateral meetings is directly related to period of major global developments and is indicative of India's growing diplomatic and economic profile in the world. The sources said it was a recognition of several aspects such as India being a factor of stability in the region and it being a "global engine of economic growth."

Meanwhile, the meeting of foreign ministers of India, Russia and China is another strategic development to look out for. Russia, a longtime partner of India, has been drifting closer to China and Pakistan in view of India warming up to US. Also in the backdrop are both Russia and China's developing tensions with the US for separate reasons. The meeting is crucial for India to warm up ties with the two Communist nations, in the face of an emerging multi-polar world order.

According to two Indian officials, the three foreign ministers could likely agree on further official level meetings in this format that would strengthen coordination and understanding, Livemint reported.

Apart from this, in the bilateral meeting with China, Modi is expected to take up key issues like Pakistan-backed terrorism, including Masood Azhar's name in UN's list of terrorists, and the thorny issue of China's controversial China Pakistan Economic Corridor passing through disputed territory under Pakistani occupation. India is also expected to discuss, mainly with Russia, the fast tracking of the 7,200km-long International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC) linking India, Iran, Afghanistan and Central Asia with Europe.

Also, on cards is a trilateral meet between India Japan, and US aimed at meeting the challenges posed by a rising Chinese influence and safeguarding the three nations common interests in a coherent Indo-Pacific strategic region.

The meeting comes in the backdrop of resumption of the abandoned quad talks between the above three nations, with the addition of Australia. The meetings, first initiated in 2007, were suspended possibly over Chinese displeasure, at a time when India's ties with it were hit by border dispute. China has been warily eyeing the resumption of the quadrilateral exchanges while stating its hope that the group and its actions were not directed against Beijing. The talks also hold importance for New Delhi as both Japan and US have improved security cooperation with it over the past few years.

While the US upgraded India's status to 'major defense partner," granting New Delhi access to certain sensitive defense technologies, during a summit meeting earlier this year in Japan, Modi and Abe announced that the two sides would soon start talks on an Acquisition and Cross-Servicing Agreement (ACSA) that would give the armed forces of both sides reciprocal access to the others facilities for logistics and resupply, according to The Diplomat.

Global agenda: World leaders a divided lot this G20 summit

G20 member nations were still struggling to reach agreement on major issues including trade, migration and climate change as world leaders began arriving in the Argentine capital ahead of a summit starting on Friday.

"This is not a good year for multilateralism, said a German government source about talks on a final statement that the leaders are due to issue at the end of their meeting on Saturday. The negotiations are very, very difficult, the official told Reuters.

Meanwhile, global trade tensions, fuelled by Trumps launch of a trade war against China, are expected to dominate this years gathering of the Group of 20, an unwieldy club of the worlds industrialised countries.

Financial and commodities markets are closely watching the outcome of the summit, especially the planned meeting between Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping on Saturday.

A slowdown in the global economy will worsen if Trump presses ahead with plans to further increase tariffs on some $200 billion of Chinese imports to 25 percent, OECD Secretary General Angel Gurria told Reuters. Gurria said the impact of existing US trade tariffs of 10 percent on Chinese goods amounted to a loss of 0.2 percent of global gross domestic product by 2020. "If you jack the tariffs up to 25 percent and then others retaliate, the impact could go all the way up to almost one percent," he said.

Argentina, this years G20 president, has stressed the importance of the summit as a consensus-building forum. But the divisions have only highlighted how fractured the grouping has become on key global issues.

After two-and-a-half days of talks and very short nights, some two-thirds of the paragraphs have been okayed, said a G20 official involved in drafting the statement. Now, trade, climate, migrants, refugees, multilateralism, steel - which are really the thorny issues - remain without agreement. An Asian delegate told Reuters the closed-door discussions were moving very very slowly - so slowly that I think we will have to stay in this room past midnight, again.

Financial markets though are less concerned about the ability of the leaders to present a united front and more anxious about the outcome of key bilateral meetings. Wall Street edged lower on Thursday amid jitters over Trumps meeting with Xi.

Trump said on Thursday he was open to a trade deal with China but was not sure he wanted one. "I think were very close to doing something with China but I dont know that I want to do it, Trump told reporters. China, for its part, is hoping for positive results in resolving the trade dispute with the United States, the commerce ministry said on Thursday.

Another bilateral meet, that stopped short of taking place will dominate the discourse around G20 summit. Trump on Thursday abruptly cancelled his planned bilateral talks with Russian president Vladimir Putin, citing Russia's seizure of Ukrainian vessels.

A Russian diplomatic source said afterwards that Trump and Putin still needed to meet to discuss the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) treaty. Trumps administration has accused Russia of non-compliance with the 31-year-old missile accord and warned it will pull out of the deal as a result. The Kremlin denies violating the pact. "We still have to discuss the INF. This is important. We still need a full scale meeting," the source told Reuters.

This years G20 summit is also grappling with how to handle the presence of Mohammed bin Salman. Saudi Arabias de facto ruler arrived in Buenos Aires on Wednesday under a cloud of controversy over the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi in a Saudi consulate in Istanbul in October.

Argentine president Mauricio Macri said the allegations against the prince may be discussed during the G20 Summit. Saudi Arabia has said he had no prior knowledge of the murder.

With inputs from agencies
PDP president Mehbooba Mufti on Thursday welcomed Pakistan's offer on opening several shrines, including Shardapeeth, to devotees from India, saying Prime Minister Narendra Modi should consider the offer.

Srinagar: PDP president Mehbooba Mufti on Thursday welcomed Pakistan's offer on opening several shrines, including Shardapeeth, to devotees from India, saying Prime Minister Narendra Modi should consider the offer.

"Great initiative of offering peace through these channels. PM @narendramodi ji should consider the offer by PakPM (Pakistan Prime Minister) @ImranKhanPTI for opening of SharadaPeeth in Kashmir, Katasraj & other shrines too this will certainly bridge the gap & usher peace in region," Mehbooba said in a tweet.

Her tweet came in response to Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan's interaction with Indian journalists, in which he reportedly said, "We can consider other proposals, including opening up travel for the Sharada Peeth in Kashmir, Katasraj and other Hindu shrines too." Mehbooba, later issued a statement, in which she said her party is sure that the offer will elicit a positive response from the Indian government.

Mufti said the hawks on the either side must be sidelined so that a new beginning in the India-Pakistan thaw could be made possible. "The prime minister must lead this process personally so that the hawks are not allowed to disrupt this new atmosphere of peace. Such initiatives of offering peace through these channels are worth to hail," she said.
India should note with alarm the manipulative nature of the Imran Khan government that decided to exploit this opportunity of gaming Indias internal political dynamics, and Kartarpur Sahib corridor was used as a handy tool.

Pakistan will do what it must but the point that remains inexplicable is why do Indians appear so naive while dealing with a revisionist state that sees eternal enmity against India as the core reason for its survival. What new treachery on Pakistans part will take for us to understand that bilateral peace is impossible? How many more times shall Indian media, commentators and delusional peaceniks fall for Pakistan leaders words instead of verifying its actions on the ground?

Imran Khan, the Rawalpindi minion who now sits on the prime ministers chair, still looks handsome and speaks impeccable English (better than he does Urdu), though he may have ditched Oxford for an earthier accent. Are these reasons enough for gullible Indians to believe that he really wants peace? Even a perfunctory glance at his statements during the interaction with visiting Indian journalists reveal a mismatch between Khans lofty rhetoric and slippery commitments.

And yet, seasoned journalists who should know better have shelved their armour of cynicism for misty-eyed optimism. The headlines in Indian newspapers appear as if the only thing that obstructs peace between the two nuclear neighbours is obduracy from Indian leadership. Pakistans politicians, military and its pet jihadists must be laughing their bottoms off.

We do not have to dig for evidence that Indias Kartarpur naivete has generated quite a bit of mirth across the border. Just a day after the groundbreaking ceremony where Khan made a passionate appeal for peace with India, his foreign minister was busy gloating before a public gathering  where Khan was seated at the front row  that Pakistan PMs googly has stumped India.

Speaking on the occasion of PTI governments completion of 100 days in power, Shah Mehmood Qureshi quipped: The entire world saw, Pakistan saw that that yesterday Imran Khan threw the Kartarpur googly at India. What was the result? India, which was hesitant to engage, had to send across two of their ministers. His boast was met with raucous laughter from the audience.

Qureshi knows what he is talking about. Indians may be gullible, but Pakistan isnt. Islamabad is aware of the high religious value of the project among Sikhs. That neither the ruling party (BJP) or the Opposition (Congress) can afford to disassociate itself or play down the importance of a visa-free corridor for Kartarpur pilgrims in the middle of a busy election season meant that a green signal from Pakistan would compel the Indian government to send its ministers to show its solidarity with Sikh sentiments.

India should note with alarm the manipulative nature of the Imran Khan government that decided to exploit this opportunity of gaming Indias internal political dynamics, and Kartarpur Sahib corridor was used as a handy tool.

Khan, who was seated at the front row and enjoyed every bit of the sycophancy, had earlier met members of an Indian media delegation and proclaimed that it is not in Pakistans interest that our soil be used for terrorism against others". Not for the first time has a Pakistan premier made those solemn and empty declarations.

This apostle of peace routine is getting a bit boring. On crucial, specific questions regarding this peace rhetoric, Khan tried to wriggle his way out with obfuscations and non-committal answers. On handing over Dawood Ibrahim to India, he told NDTV, incredibly, that he cant be held responsible for the past and reminded India that we also have a list of wanted in India.

On Lashkar-e-Taiba founder and Mumbai attacks mastermind Hafiz Saeed, the UN-designated terrorist who carries a bounty of $10 million on his head, Khan talked about legal process, UN sanctions, clampdown and finally washed his hands off by saying: These are the issues we have inherited. When asked by India Today if Pakistan was willing to make a grand gesture on Saeed or Dawood, Khan said gestures can be one-sided only up to a point and India must reciprocate...we understand till your elections in six months but after that, we need a response.

Khan needs to be reminded that killing the snakes in its backyard cannot be incumbent on any reciprocal action from anyone. It is Pakistans duty to hand over Dawood and Saeed to India  who are guilty of grave crimes against the state and its people  instead of indulging in fake whataboutery. Not just India, the world recognises Pakistan as the epicentre of jihadist terror that uses violent extremism as a state policy to destabilise the neighbourhood. It is Khans duty and responsibility  if he is serious about peace  to hand over these terror assets to India as a starting point without demanding any give-and-take. We dont hide terrorists in our backyard.

That, of course, is beyond Khans mandate. The army puppet cannot guarantee any action against LeT chief or Dawood because he has no power to do so. These terror assets are employed by Pakistans military-intelligence complex that sets Pakistans security and foreign policy. As long as Pakistans military has Saeed or Jaish-e-Mohammed chief Masood Azhars back, Khan is powerless to touch them even if he wishes to do so. Nawaz Sharif tried, and for his arrogance now lies rotting in jail.

Which is why when Khan pitches for talks with India we should ignore it with the disdain that such a meaningless offer deserves.
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will not have a meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov at the G20 summit in Argentina, Department of State Deputy Spokesperson Robert Palladino said.

"The Secretarys schedule at the Group of 20 Summit in Buenos Aires will follow that of the Presidents, and I have no new  nothing new to announce for the Secretary," Palladino told the briefing.

U.S. President Donald Trump wrote in a Twitter post yesterday evening that he decided to cancel a bilateral meeting with the Russian president Vladimir Putin on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Buenos Aires.
85 percent of these 11 million NRIs  where emigration clearance is required  are blue-collar workers with little or no access to computers

There is little that is more discomforting than a government that dispatches commands only to rescind them because it didnt think it through to a logical conclusion. Take last week, when some mandarin in the external affairs ministry had an epiphany that all 11 million NRIs living in 18 West Asian and Gulf countries have to register on E-Migrate web portal (whatever that is) and sign in online. As Indian embassies and consulates across the region were inundated with queries, doubts and fears that the ridiculous one month registration period was nowhere near enough, it was announced that External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj would meet select NRIs over lunch on 5 December in Dubai.

In the interim, several hundred Indian associations launched their representatives and protests over the imposition. And less than 24 hours later Swaraj's visit was cancelled. The Indian missions, already dealing with the last gasps of the amnesty declared in the UAE, saw themselves swamped by this utterly pointless diktat. Fine, no sweat.

However, the draconian order carried a rider that if you were not registered by this date you would be offloaded from any India-bound flight. Not only was this now bordering on the absurd, it was also insulting. Can you imagine the chaos that would have descended on airports as thousands were prevented from flying, families split apart like some Trump-like penalty for living outside the motherland? This was punitive action against NRIs.

Within 36 hours, as pressure mounted, the ministry did an about-turn and temporarily suspended its own order. This is because over 85 percent of these 11 million NRIs  where emigration clearance is required  are blue-collar workers with little or no access to computers or the wherewithal to use them to register online. The website www.emigrate.gov is lumbering, clumsy and complex.

Now, the ministry is being projected as a great saviour, sensitive and efficient and very much on the ball for backing down and understanding the plight of the NRI fraternity. What is not being asked is why this exercise was undertaken in the first place given its reason, aim, intent, foolishness and most vitally, its impracticality?

If this was a pre-election effort to create some sort of data bank of Indians abroad, that already exists: Immigration. Whenever NRIs return, they are put into the system, stamped in and out. It's all there. No one sneaks out of the country. Besides, for those with Emigration Check Required mandates there is the Protectorate of Emigrants that supposedly conducts due diligence before allowing these people to leave Indias shores. It even takes a security deposit that seldom, if ever, is returned when someone retraces his footsteps and returns to his native land.

It is bad enough that the foreign ministry imposed a cockamamie scheme that is hostile, aggressive and without any visible redeeming feature, but then it backtracked quickly once it realised it could not be implemented. Didn't they work this out in advance? Who is responsible for the panic it caused? Surely, if there was a sufficient reason such as security or terror, such a major Big Brother is watching measure would have stayed come hell or high water and not been so tamely rescinded. Legal eagles in the Gulf have concluded there is something more diabolical about collecting data on Indians abroad and it is tied to the elections. Though what can be done with the data remains unclear.

No wonder Sushma cancelled lunch on 5 December. She would have been served more than her just desserts when 11 million NRIs would have asked: Why this disdain for us?
The porn ban covers less than 2 percent of porn websites online. Since it is clearly not about banning porn, what is the porn ban really about?

The porn ban covers less than 2 percent of porn websites online. Since it is clearly not about banning porn, what is the porn ban really about?

To understand what the most recent porn ban is all about, we must start with a number: 827 websites have been blocked under the most recent order by the Uttarakhand High Court. How did the high court come up with this number?

Its story begins with the tragic 2012 Delhi gangrape case. In the wake of the tragedy, an Indore-based advocate, Kamlesh Vaswani, decided pornography is the chief cause for crimes against women, and embarked on a crusade against porn websites. It was he who came up with a list of 857 websites when he filed a public interest litigation in the Supreme Court in 2013 to get these sites banned.

The Supreme Court put the then UPA government on notice, which expressed its helplessness in the matter of taking action against pornography websites whose servers were outside India. The case ran till July 2015, when then Chief Justice of India HL Dattu ruled that the Supreme Court cannot tell an adult what to do in the privacy of their room.

That would be where the list would have died its natural death, but like Mihir Virani on Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi, it found a way to be reborn. Vaswani passed the list on to Pinky Anand, a top lawyer in the BJP government, who then passed it on to the ministry of telecom for appropriate action. Was this action the careful crafting of laws that regulate cyberspace? Or perhaps a committee to find out the ill effects of pornography and how best to fight them? No. The government did what was easiest for it to do: send a circular to internet service providers asking them to ban the list of websites.

After realising their order had no defensible legal basis, and facing both critique by intellectuals and ridicule and jokes from the masses (remember all those porn ban jokes?), the ministry backtracked in 2015. It was not a pretty retreat, with the government first trying to put the blame on the Supreme Court, and then telling ISPs to voluntarily block websites. One of them, Reliance Jio, actually took the government up on its offer.

Which brings us to the present day. Again, it is a court order that has prompted this ban. Once again, it is a horrifying gang rape in a Dehradun school that has prompted the order. According to reports, four students assaulted a girl after they watched porn clips. The court has hoped that this order to internet service providers will avoid an adverse influence on the impressionable minds of children. But did the court find out how best to go about achieving this goal? Or encourage the government to find out? No, it turned to Vaswanis list instead. The government found 30 websites to be not pornographic, and so we arrived at the number 827.

Now that we know of how the ban came about, we can infer everything that this ban is not about. Firstly, this is not about internet censorship. It is clear that it is a very tightly defined ban and does not spread to other parts of the internet. Equally, it is a ban that the Supreme Court has found constitutionally indefensible, meaning it will be struck down were it to be challenged. That the government has chosen to implement a ban rather than pass legislation shows that legislation would likely be unpopular. If we want to discuss internet censorship, there is the much more pressing use by the government of internet blackouts and arbitrary bans, particularly in Jammu and Kashmir. Itd do us well to pay attention to that instead.

Nor is this ban about punishing safe pornographic sites and therefore diverting traffic to unsafe sites as Pornhub.coms brilliant public relations team has argued. They are right that they have more controls than smaller players, but anyone can upload a revenge porn video on the website and have it spread widely, well before it can be flagged and taken down. Also, a lot of the content is unregulated, meaning that a lot of videos repeat toxic narratives, objectify women, and misrepresent sex and consent. It is hard to see Pornhub.com as a solution to the nastier consequences of pornography. Luckily, we have the enterprising Cindy Gallop and her lovely website, makelovenotporn.tv, to show us how it is to be done.

Next, the ban is not about preventing sexual assault. Even a cursory analysis of the effect of porn on sexual assault shows that increase in access to pornography actually reduces cases of sexual assault. There are many causes of sexual assault: rape culture led by our esteemed leaders, toxic masculinity, and the absence of any conversation around sex, leave alone a comprehensive programme of sex education. But these issues will take sensitivity, intelligence, creativity and effort to solve, and will also require questioning religious traditions and social customs, something this government is particularly loath to do. If anything, the tragic court cases have been used as an excuse to implement the porn ban.

That this has precious little to do with sexual assault is made even clearer by how utterly ineffective this ban is. Remember how Reliance Jio voluntarily blocked websites on the list? Pornhub.com circumvented it by switching to Pornhub.net. If porn was truly causing sexual assault, and was a dragon that needed slaying, would our measure be so utterly ineffectual?

Which brings us to the final point: that this ban is not even about banning internet pornography.

If it was, it would start by finding out how many pornographic websites exist. The number in 2010, according to Ogi Ogas, the author of A Billion Wicked Thoughts, was 42,337 of the million most popular websites in the world. That makes our porn ban cover less than 2 percent of popular pornographic sites  a fig leaf that wouldnt even hide the genitals  and this is all the way back in 2010. Other estimates count the total number of porn websites in the millions.

So if it is not about any of these things, what is it about? First, like with our Statue of Unity, it is about perception rather than action. Solving the real problems here  sexual assault, and our silence around sex that is filled up by the toxic narratives of pornography  is complex and challenging. Much easier to make a show of doing something about pornography, which will appease the anti-porn constituency in your electorate, while actually doing so little that the pro-porn electorate will not be too outraged.

Second, it is about the limits of national governments in the age of the internet. If anything, this porn ban is likely to educate our youngsters in the use of proxies and routers, making them even more proficient at circumventing any other bans the government implements. Governments are helpless to regulate a land where anarchic coders are constantly coming up with ways to defeat control and surveillance.

Third, it is about another opportunity lost for a meaningful conversation about the prevention of sexual assault, and even the harmful effects of porn. Pornography is not innocent. There are entire communities of people online who have had their lives significantly disrupted by porn addiction. Revenge porn has devastating consequences for those featured in it. And the most horrifying pornography problem in India is not online websites  it is rape videos being sold offline.

Unfortunately, the government cannot hope to regulate internet pornography. States have too little influence over the internet, and they cannot meaningfully influence the supply of pornography. Given a force that you cannot stop, the only appropriate response is to arm the citizenry with ways to deal with this onslaught. This should have been used as an occasion to have India take the lead on comprehensive and progressive sex education for all its adolescents, including a discussion on the ethical and proper use of pornography. Mixed in with it could be a sexual assault prevention training programme like Kenyas that conducted workshops with both girls and boys in schools. The programme has demonstrated its efficacy in studies. If anyone from the government is taking note: please stop investing time and effort in empty, illusory measures. The harms here are real. They need real intent and action from you.
However, taking a step back from the initial euphoria, all evidence suggests that the commendable move by both governments is unlikely to be a game changer in the overall scheme of things.

The opening of the Kartarpur Corridor was an event in history that changed the tone of pessimistic analytical op-eds on both sides at least transiently if not permanently. While some hailed the move as start of new form of back-channel talks, termed 'religious diplomacy', others remarked that the fresh move to improve people-to-people ties was like thaw in a period of prolonged frost. However, stepping back from the initial euphoria, all evidence suggests that the commendable move by both governments is unlikely to be a game changer in the overall scheme of things.

One look at India's response suggests that while the BJP is pleased with itself for scoring a brownie point with the Sikh community, an outgoing government in its last year is unlikely to shift focus from its pressing domestic priorities. Plus, the BJP, which has persistently used the popular jingoism in its election rallies invoking surgical strike and cross-border action, will be ill-advised to drastically alter its Pakistan policy. While in Pakistan, Union minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal spoke of the fall of Berlin Wall, her cabinet colleague Hardeep Singh Puri re-iterated the talks-don't-go-with-terror stance of his government once he touched Indian soil. The government has simply spent too much time and energy to leverage the Pakistan issue in elections to step back to a friendly approach just months before Lok Sabha polls.

Pakistan prime minister Imran Khan, on the other hand, used the opportunity to rub it in that India was playing the obstructionist, while Islamabad has expressed its intent for peace time and again. Khan's speech predominantly touched upon three major flashpoints between India and Pakistan. However, a closer look reveals that neither countries are seriously looking at improving ties just yet.

Khan said that "the only issue between us is Kashmir, all it needs is just two capable leaderships to resolve this issue. Just imagine the potential we have if our relationships become strong." He also said that if India takes one step towards peace, Pakistan will take two. Khan, perhaps for the first time, also directly addressed the commonly held view that Pakistan's powerful military and intelligence subvert the civilian government's attempts to make peace with India. "My political party, the rest of our political parties, our army, all our institutions are all on one page. We want to move forward. We want a civilised relationship with India," he said.

Speaking on thornier issues such as India's allegations that Islamabad continues to support terror, Khan said: "It is not in Pakistan's national interest to allow our territory to be used for terror outside." On India's demand to bring Mumbai attack mastermind to books, Khan said that he "inherited" the Hafiz Saeed problem and that he can't be "held accountable for the past." Khan apparently appeared sympathetic to India's domestic pressures as well. "India must reciprocate...we understand till your elections in six months but after that, we need a response," Khan said, referring to the 2019 Lok Sabha election.

However, ripples after the initial euphoria suggest that Pakistan too might be playing to gain domestically rather than using the Kartarpur Corridor development as an opportunity to initiate dialogue on more pressing bilateral issues. The most recent incident to leave a bitter aftertaste after the Kartarpur groundbreaking ceremony was Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi's comment. He said that Imran Khan bowled a "googly" to ensure Indian government's presence at the groundbreaking ceremony of the landmark Kartarpur Corridor. "Imran delivered a googly and India sent two ministers to Pakistan."

This further highlights that Pakistan too seeks to score brownie points in domestic politics. Foreign ministers looking to have a positive impact on bilateral ties usually don't undo layers of back-channel diplomacy by tactlessly boasting about it.

Secondly, the presence of pro-Khalistani leader again betrays Pakistan's claims of wanting peace. Gopal Singh Chawla, a pro-Khalistan leader seeking a separate homeland for the Sikh community, was not only among guests at the event, he was pictured shaking hands with Pakistan army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa. Pakistan dismissed Indian media's 'obsession' with Chawla's presence as a myopic view of the event.

Indian media taking a myopic view is selectively showing Mr. Gopal Chawla meeting COAS. Army Chief met all guests at the venue irrespective of identity. A peace initiative should not be subjected to propaganda. @IndiaToday pic.twitter.com/NMkQ17PhKn  Maj Gen Asif Ghafoor (@OfficialDGISPR) November 28, 2018



However, when peace is on agenda, putting separatist leaders in the same frame as foreign dignitaries sends confusing signals at best. Add to that the deep mistrust India and Pakistan share, the move was particularly ill-advised if indeed Pakistan wanted a positive breakthrough in bilateral ties.

Thirdly, while Khan gingerly acknowledged that Kashmir remains the thorniest issue in India-Pakistan ties, he also expressed optimism that when man can walk on moon, both countries can surely resolve the one issue between them. "We have just one problem, Kashmir. If man can walk on the moon, what problems are there that we cannot resolve? We only need determined leadership on both sides," he said. Pakistan's actions, however, suggest otherwise. Apart from the relentless cross-border skirmishes, another move that was purely aimed at jeopardising relations between two countries was the release of a set of 20 postal stamps that highlight what Islamabad calls "atrocities in Indian-occupied Kashmir."

The release of a stamp book glorifying militant figures such as Burhan Wani, had little tactical gains for Pakistan, apart from stirring public emotion and heightening anti-India sentiment. Yet the move came a little before foreign ministers of India and Pakistan were supposed to meet on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York in September this year.

This is the reason why analysts remain cautious of reading too much into the significant move of opening a visa-free pilgrimage route for Sikh devotees. While the move surely instills confidence that level-headed administrators in both countries are negotiating for peace regularly, but at the end of the day India and Pakistan are still at loggerheads.
The Assembly Thursday submitted to a decades-long demand for a Maratha quota in the state and unanimously passed a bill granting the community 16 percent reservation.

Maharashtra governor C Vidyasagar Rao on Friday signed the Maratha reservation bill passed by both Houses of the state Assembly Thursday, ANI reported.

The state Assembly Thursday submitted to a decades-long demand for a Maratha quota in the state and unanimously passed a bill granting the community 16 percent reservation in government jobs and educational institutes. The bill was passed in both Houses of the Assembly amidst chants of "Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj ki jai!"

On 18 November, the Devendra Fadnavis-led government had approved the recommendation for Maratha reservation, including quota for women in education and employment.

"We've completed a due procedure for Maratha reservation report and we're bringing in a bill on Thursday. But for Dhangar reservation, we've not completed the report, a sub-committee is appointed and soon, a report and ATR will be tabled in this house," Fadnavis said earlier Thursday.

With inputs from PTI
MJ Akbar resigned from his post on 17 October. On 28 November he had a byline in a newspaper that all of Delhi reads. Would that other peoples careers looked a hundredth as good as his exile.

By Nisha Susan

Perhaps youve studied Chaucer in college. I didnt. I knew he was a poet from medieval England and called the Father of English Literature and really that was about it. This week I read for the first time that Chaucer scholars everywhere now have to take in the implications of a legal document from 1380 by a young woman called Cecily Chaumpaigne releasing Chaucer from charges of rape. I didnt feel any sense of deep personal betrayal, the way I would have if Id found out that George Michael was a horrible man, for instance. But I was fascinated to see that almost the entire screen of results if you google Chaucer and rape are defences of the man.

Here is Wikipedia, for instance, inserting earnest feels where there should be bald and unsatisfying description. He was mentioned in law papers of 4 May 1380, involved in the raptus of Cecilia Chaumpaigne. What raptus means is unclear, but the incident seems to have been resolved quickly and did not leave a stain on Chaucer's reputation. Here is a sample from a blog dedicated to Chaucer. It also seems unlikely that a man of Chaucers character would commit a crime of sexual violence. Chaucers contemporaries recognised his sympathy for women (Gavin Douglas described him as evir [] all womanis frend), and he is still held as a man before his time by many modern critics.

Six hundred years later most people dont want to deal with the fact that Angrezi Ke Daddy may have been a baddie. So is it surprising how MJ Akbar and other men accused by multiple women of sexual harassment or assault are being rehabilitated at the speed of light? They are all the beneficiaries of himpathy a kakka-sounding but super useful word that seems to have been coined by American writer Kate Manne to describe the inappropriate and disproportionate sympathy powerful men often enjoy in cases of sexual assault, intimate partner violence, homicide and other misogynistic behaviour.

'His eyes fell on me, my nightmare began': Women share harrowing experiences with MJ Akbar

On Wednesday, a portion of the newspaper-reading public woke to an opinion piece in the Hindustan Times by MJ Akbar who stepped down from his position as Minister of State for External Affairs under massive public pressure. He has been accused by 16 women journalists of sexual harassment and assault. Seventeen other women have asked the courts to take in their testimonies while evaluating Akbars defamation suit against Priya Ramani, among the first journalists to name him.

MJs appearance in Hindustan Times has triggered a wave of worry and a wave of glee. Is #MeToo over, asks the genuinely concerned and the concern trolls.

Opinion pieces are meant to offer you perspective. The first thing that MJs does is provide an answer for all the folks who have been so concerned for the precious reputations of men accused of harassment and assault? Oh my god, what about his reputation? The answer seems to be that wonderful Hindi word, ghanta. I know that it may mean other things but let us pretend it only means bell. For whom does the ghanta toll? Nobody. They get op-eds. They get jobs. They get congratulated warmly for winning awards like Nawazuddin Siddiqui, despite actor Niharika Singhs crystal-clear accusations against him. I saw a man kicked out of a Bengaluru organisation for incredibly gross behaviour, tweet a week later about his new project  happy as you please. Bishops are garlanded. I hear that men who are still being investigated by internal complaints committees are telling their friends and acquaintances that its all a conspiracy, sometimes against them, sometimes against the BJP, sometimes by the BJP.

What about the other question that concerned citizens have? 'Is a man accused of sexual assault to be ostracised forever?' May I briefly point out that Akbar resigned from his post on 17 October. On 28 November he had a byline in a newspaper that all of Delhi reads. Would that other peoples careers looked a hundredth as good as his exile.

But sure, if you have done time for your crime you should be allowed to move on with life. If there was a legal process that kicked in to examine the crimes committed or where the crime cant be prosecuted the accused repented, sought forgiveness that would be a different thing. Instead powerful men all over the world grab the law as their next weapon of choice against complainants. So actor Arjun Sarja files a case of cyber crime against Sruthi Hariharan. Akbar files a case of defamation against Priya Ramani. RK Pachauri wants his reputation of being litigious to be as widespread as dandruff. Witnesses die when bishops are accused. Rajalakshmi was beheaded. This week, an American newspaper had a story about billionaire Jeffrey Epstein who was accused of exploiting dozens of underage girls. His lawyers managed to get him a deal where he pleaded guilty and only had to serve 13 months in a local jail, during which time he could work out of his own office for 12 hours, six days a week.

Meanwhile, women are roundly scolded for not following due process. Actor Parvathi doesnt get offered any work anymore in Kerala. Chinmayi Sripada has been shunted out of the Tamil film industry by just the most shady tactics. This whole storm started with Tanushree Dutta talking about how she was shunted out for attempting to follow due process.

Most of all, we should learn from MJs op-ed that men will be appointed, hired, rehired and rehabilitated where no one needs them. Where women could have done the job happily, competently and without assaulting anyone. Men accused get rehabilitated on the basis of himpathy. Because can anyone really argue that the world needed one more article praising Arun Jaitley? And then that we needed one specifically written by MJ Akbar? No, the fine balance of the male world has been ruined by a man being made accountable. That fine balance can only be restored on the shoulders of another man who has not been made accountable. Daddy to Daddy network.

Akbars article extolling the smartness of Jaitley begins, Success, as the saying goes, has a thousand fathers and failure languishes as an orphan. Dude. Come On. Himpathy ki bhi hadd hoti hai.

The Ladies Finger is Indias leading digital feminist magazine.
Modi later tweeted that he had an excellent meeting with the Secretary General and that there were wide-ranging deliberations on various global issues.

Buenos Aires: India will play its "due and responsible" role at the crucial climate change negotiations in Poland next week, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has assured UN chief Antonio Guterres during a meeting on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in Buenos Aires.

The main topic of Prime Minister Modi's discussion with the UN chief was the forthcoming COP24 climate change meeting in Katowice, Poland from 3 December, Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale said.

Modi tweeted that he had an excellent meeting with the Secretary General and that there were wide-ranging deliberations on various global issues. "We talked about mitigating climate change and India's efforts in this regard through initiatives like the International Solar Alliance," the prime minister tweeted.

Gokhale said Secretary General Guterres said India plays a major role in climate change negotiations and acknowledged that Prime Minister Modi has taken a number of concrete steps towards addressing climate change.

"He mentioned the International Solar Alliance. The Secretary General also said that when he was in Delhi last month he had seen for himself the manner in which other campaigns the prime minister had led including the Swachh Bharat campaign having an impact on the environment," he said.

It was the Secretary General's sincere hope and expectation that in the forthcoming meeting in next week in Poland, India will pay a uniting role, will play the role of a good Samaritan.

He hoped that India would bring together the various groups of developed countries and developing countries  those which have money those which need money  to come up with certain solution which would eventually feed into the climate change summit that the UN chief is planning in 2019, he said.

"It was a good meeting. The prime minister assured the Secretary General that India plays an important role in climate change negotiations and that it is part of the Indian culture and civilisation to preserve the environment and that he could be rest assured that India would play its due and responsible role at COP24," he said.

According to PMO sources, the UN Secretary General has reached out to prime minister Modi twice in the last two months.

They said the meeting on Thursday signifies the importance that both leaders attach to the issue of climate change.

It reflects the respect in which the prime minister and his initiatives are held globally to take the lead on issues of global importance, the sources said.
Thousands of farmers from across the country on Friday marched from Ramlila Maidan to Parliament Street in the heart of the capital.

Thousands of farmers from across the country on Friday marched from Ramlila Maidan to Parliament Street in the heart of New Delhi, seeking loan waiver, higher crop prices, and warning political parties not to ignore their plight.

Men and women marched under various banners and with flags and placards in the massive show of strength organised by the All India Kisan Sangharsh Coordination Committee (AIKSCC), which was allowed by police to go up to Parliament Street after initially being denied permission.

Most marchers sloganeered against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his BJP-led government, accusing it of 'failing them'. A plethora of Opposition leaders and activists addressed the gathering on Parliament Street, a traditional venue for protest meetings.

Congress president Rahul Gandhi said the leaders of all Opposition parties stood united with farmers in ensuring their good future. He also called for a farm loan waiver.

Addressing a gathering of protesting farmers at Jantar Mantar, he said no one will be able to silence the voice of farmers and youth.

"If the Indian government insults them, they will will ensure its removal," Rahul said.

He added that the farmers were not seeking a "free gift" from the government by asking for a farm loan waiver. They were only asking for what's due to them, the Congress chief asserted.

"If this government can waive Rs 3.5 lakh crore loans of 15 big industrialists, why can't the loans of crores of farmers in the country be waived?" he asked.

Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal also hit out at the prime minister and alleged that he had "stabbed them (farmers) in their back" by not fulfulling promises made to them.

Kejriwal, in his address, claimed that the Centre filed an affidavit in the Supreme Court, saying it would not implement the MS Swaminathan Commission report.

"The government had also made lot of promises to farmers in last elections (2014), but it has not fulfilled those promises. And by not implementing the Swaminathan Commission report, Modi ji stabbed the farmers in their back," he alleged. The AAP leader said the Union government should implement the report in five months, otherwise the farmers will show their might in the 2019 elections. "The affidavit filed in the court should be withdrawn and the report should be implemented, otherwise, farmers would wreak havoc in 2019 elections," he said.

Speaking at the rally, CPM general secretary Sitaram Yechury said, "We will unseat the BJP and bring an alternative government which will raise your issues in the Parliament. The BJP's brahmastra is the Ram Mandir. They rake it up every five years, but we will have to tell them that today, the marginalised, the workers, the farmers are all united. They misuse the name of Ram for votes."

Social activist Medha Patkar led the protest march. The AIKSCC said it invited Modi to join the protest too. Addressing the farmers, Yogendra Yadav of Swaraj India said the congregation was not here to just protest but had emerged as an alternative to existing policies. "Farmers should speak up in unified voice. No party is as anti-farmer as the present regime," said Yadav, calling Modi "kisan virodhi".

Swabhimani Shetkari Sanghtana leader and MP Raju Shetti demanded a special session of Parliament to pass two private member Bills he introduced in the Lok Sabha in 2017, seeking a loan waiver and a guaranteed remunerative prices for agricultural commodities based on the recommendations of the MS Swaminathan Commission."If Modi continues with his anti-farmer policies, he will not come to power in 2019," Shetti warned.

Rajendra Prasad, a farmer from Lakhimpur Kheri in Uttar Pradesh, said he and fellow farmers would vote only for political parties which cancel farm loans and give increased minimum support price (MSP). "I find the input cost is more than the remuneration received for what I produce. And the loan waiver scheme by (the) Yogi (Adityanath) government is a farce," he said. "Modi is not my enemy. But he has not fulfilled the promises he made to farmers."

A farmer from Unnao in Uttar Pradesh, Ashutosh Choudhary, said the government should be concerned more about farmers' welfare than building a Ram temple in Ayodhya. "What will we do with the Mandir if we do not have resources to survive? If good income is ensured to farmers, they themselves will build the temple. But for now, farmers' issues should be given priority," he said.

The Friday rally is the fourth major farmers' protest held by the AIKSCC, which represents over 200 farm outfits. On Thursday, several groups of farmers held 'Chalo Dilli' marches from various places in the capital under the banner of AIKSCC. Many young women whose fathers committed suicide carried the pictures of the dead around their necks as they marched.

With inputs from agencies
The NHRC notice was issued to the Uttar Pradesh chief secretary and director general of police (DGP), calling for a detailed report in the matter.

Lucknow: The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has issued notice to the Uttar Pradesh government over the reported mob lynching of a man. The victim was said to have been pulled out of a police van in Shamli district, and the NHRC noted that it appeared that the victim was not protected by policemen from the clutches of hooligans.

The notice was issued to the state chief secretary and director general of police (DGP), calling for a detailed report in the matter within four weeks, a press release from the NHRC said Friday.

"There cannot be any denial that it was the solemn duty of the police personnel to keep the arrested man in safe custody so that he could not be denied his infallible right to get justice in accordance with law," the commission said.

In the instant reported incident, it appeared that not protecting the victim from the clutches of hooligans resulted in his death, it noted.

The commission took suo motu cognisance of media reports that Rajendra alias Manu (28) was pulled out of a police van and beaten to death by a mob in the presence of constables in Hathchoya Village of Shamli district on 26 November.

It observed that the contents of the media reports, if true, amounted to violation of the human rights of the victim.

The NHRC release mentioned a video clip of the purported incident circulated on the social media showing the victim sitting in a police vehicle. A man in a blue shirt opened the door of the van and slapped the victim repeatedly. A policeman seated next to the victim held him by the arm. The man was then seen pulling Rajendra out of the vehicle.

The victim's family has alleged that six villagers, with whom he had quarrelled the previous day, beat him to death with lathis.

The Shamli superintendent of police (SP) was reported as saying that the victim did not die in police custody as he had escaped from the police van and was beaten up by the crowd later. The SP had also reportedly said that after about two hours, the victim suffered a fall from the roof of his house and died due to head injuries, the release noted.

However, on the basis of a complaint filed by the victim's brother, an FIR under various Indian Penal Code (IPC) sections, including 302 (murder) and 148 (rioting with armed weapons), was lodged at the Jhinjhana police station against six persons and one of them, identified as the "main accused", was arrested, the NHRC said.

Meanwhile, the Opposition Samajwadi Party (SP) and the Congress took potshots at the Yogi Adityanath-led Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in the state, accusing it of "carrying out fake encounters".

"This government is carrying out fake encounters and we have been highlighting this. There is no law and order in the state and the police are using encounters to pat their own back. All encounters in the present regime should be thoroughly probed," SP MLC Rajpal Kashyap said.

Similar was the refrain of the Congress.

"The state government has failed on all fronts. Police encounters are done with a political agenda and these tantamount to violation of human rights, which need in-depth probes," Congress spokesperson Mukesh Singh Chauhan said.
While speaking to journalists, retired justice Joseph said that he has no regrets regarding the press conference held on 12 January.

A day after his retirement as a Supreme Court judge, Justice Kurian Joseph once again questioned the delay by the government over new norms for appointing judges.

At a press conference, CNN-News18 quoted the retired judge as saying: "I wonder why the government says Memorandum of Procedure (MoP) is still not final. The collegium is working as per the draft MoP but the government is not acting."

While speaking to journalists, justice Joseph said he had no regrets regarding the press conference held on 12 January.

It may be recalled that on that day, four senior judges of the apex court  justice Joseph, J Chelameswar, Ranjan Gogoi, Madan B Lokur  held a press conference where they publicly raised concerns over allocation of cases to benches.

The retired judge further said that the press conference was done for a cause and added that the "crisis" for which the press conference was held is not yet over and the process is still going on. "It will take some more time," the he said. However, justice Joseph added that even though the crisis is not over, "it has brought about some changes".

When questioned about senior judges being left out on important matters, Joseph responded, "In matters of larger public interest, it is better if diversity is reflected in constituting benches," reported Bar and Bench.

The retired judge has repeatedly questioned the Centre's tactics in delaying appointment of then Uttarakhand chief justice KM Joseph as a judge of the apex court. KM Joseph was elevated to the Supreme Court on 3 August after the Centre cleared his name ending several months of uncertainty.

Justice KM Joseph's elevation to the apex court had put an end to a protracted stand-off between the government and the judiciary. He had headed a bench that had quashed the imposition of President's Rule in the state in 2016. Uttarakhand was then under Congress rule.
A group of volunteers, belonging to welfare organisation 'Khudai Khidmatgar' are trying to offer some comfort to these wearied farmers in the cold weather.

New Delhi: It is past midnight and a group of farmers are raising chants of 'Jai Jawan, Jai Kisan' while a few volunteers are offering tea to other peasants at Delhi's Ramlila Maidan to beat the cold.

Thousands of farmers from across the country converged Thursday at the historic Ramlila Ground after journeys that took some as long as 36 hours to complete to press for their demands, including debt relief and remunerative prices for their produce. They are spending the night at the ground before marching to Parliament on Friday.

Kartar Singh, 50, a sugarcane farmer from Sambal district, Uttar Pradesh, is anxious about the march tomorrow and cannot sleep, but he's not complaining. "We have not come here to sleep. Farmers have converged in Delhi to remind the Union government that the party leading it had made promises of waiving off loans in its manifesto. And, its been four and a half years since they came to power," he said, with an edge of anger in his voice.

Singh, a father of two sons is from Fatehpur Sarai village and, his younger son (22 years) has taken the field work while he is away. "My wife and children have told me, that I should fight and stay even for a week in Delhi, if needed," he told PTI.

Inside the tents, farmers, both men and women, from all parts of India try to sleep in a chilly night, while many sat huddled together, discussing the next strategy and family issues. But, a group of volunteers, belonging to welfare organisation 'Khudai Khidmatgar' are trying to offer some comfort to these wearied farmers in the cold weather.

Shahjeb Jamal, a civil engineering student at Jamia Islamia and a volunteer with the group is lugging around a steel container and a hands out paper cups to farmers as they huddle around. "Our organisation's philosophy as envisioned by its founder Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan, is service and public harmony, and so we are here. We Stand its the farmers," he said.

Jamal said Friday morning another batch of volunteers would be coming to offer tea and some breakfast to them. A group of 25-30 doctors also offered medical aid till about 11 pm, some of them took off from work to volunteer.

Rashid, a junior resident at AIIMS was among the doctor's volunteers who attended to people till night. "I took an off today from work, as I had to be here. They feed us, and we are not doing any favour by helping them, we are serving them," he told PTI.

Doctors also came from Aligarh Muslim university and Rohtak and Chandigarh and other Delhi hospitals to assist farmers, many of whom complained of body ache as they had travelled long distance. "One person had fainted, so, after first aid, we sent him to LNJP Hospital," said Mahtab Alam, a doctor at a Delhi government hospital.

The historic ground, known for hosting big political events over the years, resonated with slogans like 'Ayodhya nahi, karz maafi chahiye' earlier in the day. Now, many are waiting for the crack of dawn, for start of a new day, filled with unwavering hope.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has arrived in Argentina to take part in the G20 summit.

The head of state will also hold a number of bilateral meetings with colleagues, including Argentinas President Mauricio Macri, as part of an official visit to this country.

Right from the airport Putin went to a meeting with colleagues from the BRICS countries. Later on Friday he will take part in three rounds of sessions at the G20 summit, an isolated meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping and a trilateral meeting with him and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Putins negotiations with French President Emmanuel Macron are planned for the same day, TASS reported.

Putin will continue communication with the G20 colleagues at a ceremonial reception for distinguished guests held on behalf of the summits host, Argentinas President Mauricio Macri.

On December 1, the Russian president will take part in sessions of the G20 summit and hold isolated meetings. His visit to Argentina will end the same day.
The bench had observed that the use of 'excessive force' by the armed forces or police was not permissible in 'disturbed areas' under AFSPA.

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday rejected the plea of over 300 army personnel challenging the lodging of FIRs against soldiers involved in operations in Manipur and Jammu and Kashmir, where AFSPA is in force, though the Centre contended that it will have a "demoralising effect" on soldiers who are fighting terrorism. The apex court brushed aside the fervent request of the Centre which supported the plea and said the issue should be "debated and discussed" so that a mechanism is evolved "where hands of our soldiers do not shake while fighting terrorism".

The Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act (AFSPA) gives special rights and immunity to security forces in carrying out various operations in "disturbed" areas. The government said that armed forces were operating in an "altogether different situation" in disturbed areas and a balance has to be struck, but the apex court said that it was for the government, and not the courts, to come out with an internal mechanism so "that if somebody loses his life like this, it should be looked into".

"But who has stopped you from coming out with a mechanism? Why you require our intervention? These are issues which you have to discuss, not the courts," a bench of justices Madan B Lokur and UU Lalit told Solicitor General (SG) Tushar Mehta, who was representing the Centre. "When there is a loss of life, even in a encounter, should not the human life demands that it should be looked into and investigation should be done," the bench observed. As soon as the apex court said it was dismissing the plea, the SG stood up and said he should be heard as the Centre wants that the issue be debated.

"There has to be a mechanism where hands of our soldiers do not shake while fighting terrorism," Mehta said, adding, "human life has a value which can never be disputed". "The fact that over 300 soldiers of our country have to pray for this is itself unfortunate," he said, adding, "It has a demoralising effect. The country cannot afford that our soldiers are demoralised. Please do not stop the debate". The bench reminded him that it has not yet issued notice to the Centre on the plea filed by these army men.

When the SG said the matter was required to be debated upon before the highest court of the land, the bench said, "It does not concern the court. You can have your debate. You have to find it (mechanism and solution) out, not us". "As a laymen, even the life, which the army men put on stake, also have value," he said. To this, the bench referred to the ongoing CBI probe into some Manipur encounter cases and said if a central agency finds that someone has exceeded his powers then inquiry should be done.

"Why Government of India cannot come out with an internal mechanism that if somebody loses his life like this, it should be looked into. We cannot, as a court, devise such a mechanism," the court said. Advocate Aishwarya Bhati, appearing for these army men, told the bench that the plea should be heard with the main matter which relates to alleged extra-judicial killings by the army, Assam Rifles and police in insurgency-hit Manipur.

The bench told Bhati that the plea by army men was "completely different" from the main matter and it cannot be tagged with the pending case. When the lawyer referred to provisions of AFSPA and the Army Act, the bench observed, "There are sufficient safeguards available". Bhati claimed that one of the directions in the court's earlier verdict in Manipur encounter case "runs counter" to a judgement rendered by a five-judge constitution bench in 1998.

However, the court said when it had heard the arguments before delivering the verdict in Manipur case, it had repeatedly asked the then Attorney General as to whether the government would take any action against the members of armed forces against whom allegations were levelled. "If no action is taken at all by the authorities under the Army Act, you cannot say that no investigation can go on," the bench said.

Bhati then said the petitioners had never stated they want "complete immunity" but the army personnel were facing a "proxy war situation" in AFSPA areas. The bench also made it clear that it had ordered probe in only those Manipur encounter cases where there were orders from the high court, reports from the National Human Rights Commission, judicial enquiries and a commission headed by former Supreme Court judge Justice Santosh Hegde.

"Today, we are not giving any clean chit to either side," the bench said, adding that if the CBI has filed charge sheets in some of these cases, it would be considered by the court of law. It said in one of the cases, Manipur government had paid compensation to family of a man who was killed in an alleged encounter in accordance with the direction passed by the high court there but still nothing was done to find out the "real culprits" behind the offence.

At the fag end of hearing, Bhati said it was "serious" that army officers were being probed by cops in these cases. One of the advocates also told the bench that around 400 retired defence personnel have approached the top court in support of the plea filed by these over 300 persons. The court had earlier ordered setting up of a special investigation team (SIT) of CBI to probe the alleged fake encounters in Manipur.
External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on Friday met Regis Immongault, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Gabon.

New Delhi: External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on Friday met Regis Immongault, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Gabon, during which the two discussed ways to strengthen the bilateral ties, an official statement said.

During the meeting, both the sides discussed issues of bilateral and regional interest including combating terrorism and development partnership, the statement by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said.

The importance of enhancement of bilateral trade and investment was also emphasised in the meeting. The two sides agreed to identify priority projects in the areas of mutual cooperation to be undertaken with the support of Government of India's concessional lines of credit, it said.

The total value of bilateral trade in 2017-18 stood at USD 440.47 million.

Oil India Limited, a public sector undertaking, is the operator of an onshore exploration block in Gabon.

Immongault, who arrived in India on Wednesday, also met Commerce and Industry and Civil Aviation Minister Suresh Prabhu, Minister of Steel Chaudhary Birender Singh and Minister of State for Chemicals and Fertilizers Rao Inderjit Singh.

The president of Gabon had visited India in October 2015 to attend the India-Africa Forum Summit (IAFS) and later in March 2018 to participate in the Founding Conference of International Solar Alliance (ISA).
They came to Kanyakumari on 26 November on tourist visas and violated the law by carrying out professional journalistic activities such as shooting videos, clicking pictures and interviewing people about environmental issues.

Kanyakumari: The Tamil Nadu police has registered a case against two French journalists for allegedly trespassing into a prohibited area in Kanyakumari to shoot videos for a documentary on beach sand mining, a senior police official said Thursday.

The official, who identified the French nationals only by their first names Arthur and Jules, said they came to Kanyakumari on 26 November on tourist visas and shot videos, clicked pictures and interviewed some people about environmental issues like beach sand mining in the area.

When the duo attempted to get into the Indian Rare Earths Limited premises at Manavalakurichi, they were intercepted. "They were stopped at the second gate of the IREL. They did not take pictures or videos inside the premises (of the PSU). However, they had taken pictures in the vicinity for their documentary," Kanyakumari Superintendent of Police N Shreenath told PTI.

Being foreigners visiting the country on a tourist visa, they had violated the law by carrying out professional journalistic activities, he said. They did not have permission to do such things even in a non-prohibited area, he said.

A case has been registered against them under provisions of the Foreigners Act and the IPC for offences including criminal trespass, the officer said.

When asked about their whereabouts, he said, police had information that they have already returned to France.

Two Tamil Nadu men, who helped the duo, including a freelance journalist, were summoned for questioning. While one did not appear despite receiving the summons, the other did not accept the formal communique.

"They have to be enquired," he said.
Agitated students at the University of Jammu accused Mohammad Tajuddin of hurting sentiments after he called Bhagat Singh a 'terrorist' in a lecture. They have also demanded his resignation.

A senior political science professor from the University of Jammu, Mohammad Tajuddin, was suspended on Friday after he referred to freedom fighter Bhagat Singh as a terrorist during a lecture.

The incident came to light after a video clip of the episode recorded by a student went viral on the social media on Thursday.

Agitated students lodged a complaint with university authorities, and accused him of hurting sentiments. They have also demanded his resignation. According to India Today, Tajuddin has been suspended by the university.

We have demanded the resignation of professor Tajuddin. Our voice is being suppressed by the authorities. If Bhagat Singh was a terrorist, who is the hero, Zakir Musa? News18 quoted one of the students as saying.

As a report from The Tribune, Vinay Thusoo, the official spokesperson of the university, said that the university's vice-cnacellor, Manoj K Dhar, had constituted a high-level committee headed by the senior-most professor of the university, to look into the complaint.

"The 6-member committee will look into the entire incident. Let's wait for the outcome of the inquiry committee and based on that, we'll take further action," he told ANI.

Tajuddin responded to the allegations made against him and told ANI: "I also consider Bhagat Singh a revolutionary. He is one of the people who sacrificed their lives for the country."

"I was teaching Lenin (Russian revolutionary) and made the comment about Singh in that context. I said that the state calls any violence against it 'terrorism'. Someone took a 25- second clip out of my two-hour lecture. 'Terrorist' came in that, and it was not what I meant. Still, if anyone is hurt, I'm really sorry for it," he told the news agency.
According to latest reports, the political parties in Uttar Pradesh are busy drafting the stencils of what could be a Congress-mukt Mahagathbandhan (a grand alliance sans Congress).

The first signs of an anti-Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) grand alliance emerging from North India has all the bearings of the initial idea of a Third Front. According to latest reports, the political parties in Uttar Pradesh are busy drafting the stencils of what could be a Congress-mukt Mahagathbandhan (a grand alliance without Congress).

After dumping the Congress in Madhya Pradesh, the Samajwadi Party and the Bahujan Samaj Party have apparently worked out a formula to align non-BJP, non-Congress caste based parties in Uttar Pradesh ahead of the Lok Sabha elections.

CNN-News18, quoting sources from the parties, reported that Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav and Bahujan Samaj Party supremo Mayawati have been holding talks over the last few days. The duo have readied a basic framework for a larger alliance. Included in the scheme of things is the Rashtriya Lok Dal, led by Chaudhary Ajit Singh, the son of former prime minister and farmers' leader Charan Singh.

The fragile formula

The report further stated that the parties are waiting for the result of the Assembly elections in five states, before they hold a formal meeting and go public with the finer details of the arrangement.

Sources told News18 that the seat sharing formula being deliberated upon seems to be slightly skewed in favour of BSP. The party, which has a strong support base amid the Dalit voters, will get somewhere around 30 to 40 seats in Uttar Pradesh, which sends 80 MPs to the Lok Sabha. RLD, which has considerable reach among farmers and Jats in Western Uttar Pradesh, may get three to four seats. The alliance will also set aside a few seats in reserve, in case it is able to lure Om Prakash Rajbhar's Suheldev Bhartiya Samaj Party, which is currently a very bitter BJP ally in Uttar Pradesh. Feelers have also been sent out to the Krishna Patel faction of Apna Dal, a party whose other faction is led by Union Minister Anupriya Patel.

The Samajwadi Party will contest on the remaining number of seats, while the alliance is expected to not contest from Raebareli and Amethi, seats traditionally contested by Congress president Rahul Gandhi and UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi.

That being said, working out the finer details may be easier said than done as the constituencies in Uttar Pradesh are usually a complex mix of caste and class equations. Ajit Singh's party, once a force to reckon with amid sugarcane farmers of Western Uttar Pradesh many of whom were from the Jat community, has only just started reorganising its strength. The likely areas, where it wields influence, are currently held by Samajwadi Party, which holds appeal amid a larger cross-section of castes.

Similarly, the presence of Suheldev Bhartiya Samaj Party in a BSP-dominated alliance may also complicate things, as Rajbhar and Mayawati may not see eye on the fundamental issue of reservation. While Mayawati's core support base constitutes of Dalits, the primary beneficiaries of the reservation policy, Rajbhar seeks quota for his community. Rajbhar also supports reservation on economical backwardness than only social backwardness.

The eastern UP on average has 18 percent Rajbhars and in some assembly segments like Sehar and Selampur in Ballia district, their share in population is as high as they are as many as 35 percent and as per 2011 census, Dalits constitute 21.1 percent of Uttar Pradesh population.

Missed opportunity for Congress?

Meanwhile, the Congress which initially floated the idea with much enthusiasm by collaborating with Akhilesh in last state Assembly election, seems to have missed out on the chance to be part of the grand alliance in the most politically-important state.

It is Congress that has been reiterating the need to bring the smaller and regional parties together to defeat the 'greater evil', and yet buoyed by the possibility of winning in Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh Assembly polls it failed to honour the demands of these smaller parties, which could have served its greater interest in Lok Sabha. A win in Uttar Pradesh, Indias most populous state, can be a game-changer in national elections for any party, as it accounts for 80 out of 545 parliamentary seats.

After the Congress failed to reach an understanding with both Samajwadi Party and BSP, Akhilesh had strongly criticised the grand old party for its arrogance and incapability of being able to take along the non-BJP forces.

Akhilesh lambasted Congress for going solo saying, "It was good they did not choose us or the BSP, as now we have the chance to highlight their mistakes."

Congress is responsible for BJP ruling the country, he added claiming that had it been an alliance among Congress, SP, BSP and Gondwana Gantantra Party, the coalition could have mustered 200 plus seats in Madhya Pradesh.

After the alliance discussions with the BSP collapsed in Madhya Pradesh, Congress leader Kamal Nath claimed that it was not a setback for his party. And yet, if the talks of such a grand alliance in Uttar Pradesh solidifies, it is Congress' loss in all plausible caste equations.

Narayan Dutt Tiwari, popularly known as ND Tiwari, was the last Congress chief minister in Uttar Pradesh. Since the 90s, the grand old party has been increasingly relegated to the margins by the rise of regional satraps like Mulayam Singh Yadav and Mayawati. The party, which contested 105 seats in the Assembly polls, could win only seven, and in last Lok Sabha polls, the party was restricted to an abysmal two seats.

To add to this, Congress' major support base of Hindu upper caste is long lost to the BJP, and nothing seems to indicate that things may have changed on ground, at least in Uttar Pradesh. Dalits, who abandoned Mayawati and got divided between BJP and Congress, are much more likely to go back to the BSP than vote for Congress. Similarly, Muslims who have been voting for Congress in other states, will find an attractive alternative in the Samajwadi Party.

However, Congress leader Salman Khurshid thinks that leaving Congress out of the grand alliance will eventually benefit BJP. Khurshid, who has been Uttar Pradesh Congress Committee Chief twice, asserted that parties should not write off the Congress in the state and it was important that it is part of an alliance with the SP and the BSP to take on the BJP in the 2019 polls.

Asked about talk of Congress being given very few seats in Uttar Pradesh or excluded from the grand alliance, Khurshid said, "I would think it will be very myopic. I am not saying it because we stand to gain from the opposite view, but I think excluding the Congress or making Congress look (like a) dwarf in UP will be myopic." He said the BJP would also benefit if such a scenario pans out.

Khurshid said that The SP and BSP can certainly go up to 24, 25 or to 26 percent vote share, but it doesn't mean that the Congress is "nothing". He said that it should be kept in mind that the Congress had done well in the state in the 2009 Lok Sabha polls. "And we did that, while we still were considerably behind them (the SP and BSP) in vote share because the big cities voted for us in a major way. Today, at the worst, we are 7 percent and they (SP and BSP) are three times our vote share. But if we were to go out on our own, we are not going to be 7 percent, we will probably once again touch 10, 11 or 12 percent that we have shown repeatedly we can touch," he said.

"It will not be correct to write-off the Congress as despite being battered repeatedly in polls, it has about 10 percent vote in the state that has stuck to it which is crucial in many seats," Khurshid said.
Punjabs politics is in a holy mess with the ruling Congress and the fledgling Aam Aadmi Party taking a leaf out of the Shiromani Akali Dals book.

Punjabs politics is in a holy mess with the ruling Congress and the fledgling Aam Aadmi Party taking a leaf out of the Shiromani Akali Dals book to cripple the states oldest party ahead of next years Lok Sabha elections.

A report by the Justice (Retd) Ranjit Singh Commission, formed to investigate the alleged sacrilege of Sikh holy scripture Guru Granth Sahib in 2015, is being used by the two parties to pelt SAD, which so far maintained its grip on Punjabs backwoods by exploiting religious passions of the people. The brisk stirring of the poll pot has turned the matter into the "Ayodhya of Punjab.

SAD patriarch and former chief minister Parkash Singh Badal was indicted by the commission, after which the popularity of the party plummeted in the state. The report was presented in the Assembly this monsoon session. The Ranjit Singh Commission, constituted by the Congress government in April 2017, underscored alleged inaction of the then SAD-led government against the culprits of sacrilege. A special investigation team (SIT) of Punjab Police was later formed that is now probing the matter.

Following the purported desecration of religious texts on 12 October, 2015 at Bargari village, two protesting Sikh youths were also killed in police firing at Behbal Kalan in Faridkot district two days later. This caused anti-SAD sentiment to spiral, especially among Sikhs, leading to the partys defeat in the 2017 Assembly polls. Akali Dal netted just 15 seats, five less than debutant AAP.

Punjab Congress chief and Member of Parliament Sunil Jakhar said SAD cannot escape blame for the sacrilege and firing on Sikh youths. Those involved in sacrilege act and those who did not act against the culprits will be brought to book by the Congress government. Justice will be delivered soon to the people of Punjab, he said.

Concurrently, to protect its vote base from attacks by the Congress and AAP, SAD is also banking on religious overtures. The Shiromani Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee (SGPC)  which is a statutory body comprising elected representatives of Sikhs concerned primarily with the management of sacred Sikh shrines under its control within Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and Chandigarh  has got Gobind Singh Longowal, considered a loyalist of SAD chief and former deputy chief minister Sukhbir Singh Badal, as its president. Longowal was elected a second time after Sukhbir proposed his name for the post. A majority of SGPC members owe allegiance to SAD.

In a bid to strike a chord with Sikh sentiments, Sukhbir credited the move to build the Kartarpur Corridor to the central government led by the BJP that is an alliance partner of SAD in Punjab. The corridor will let Sikh pilgrims visit the iconic Gurudwara Darbar Sahib at Kartarpur on the banks of river Ravi in Pakistan. The shrine is associated with the first Sikh master, Guru Nanak Dev, who commands deep respect from the community across the globe.

With anti-SAD public sentiment spiraling, many senior leaders have already fled the decks of the party and have launched attacks on Parkash Singh Badal and his son Sukhbir. SAD leader and Rajya Sabha member Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa resigned from all party posts, reportedly annoyed with findings of the Ranjit Singh committee. Senior leader and former minister Sewa Singh Sekhwan also quit the party with similar reservations.

Another senior leader and the MP from the Khadoor Sahib Lok Sabha constituency, Ranjit Singh Bhrampura, had trained guns on Sukhbir while stating that he was not happy with the sacrilege incident at Bagari and the way SAD handled it. He offered to resign from all party posts before being expelled. Former MP Rattan Singh Ajnala was also thrown out after he revolted against the party.

Sukhbir Badal in a press conference at Chandigarh said the SIT on the sacrilege row formed by the Congress government was an attempt to frame him and his father in false cases. The Congress is trying to score brownie points through this SIT by eliminating political opponents. The Congress is also hiding its failures in Punjab by distracting people through this inquiry, he said.

Amid the political strikes on SAD in the state with religious ammunition, radicalisation of Sikh youths, apparently backed by Pakistani spy agency ISI, is spreading in Punjab. Critics say an attack this month on a religious congregation in Amritsar, allegedly aided by Pakistani elements, indicates the Congress and AAP are playing with fire by igniting religious issues. Two people have been arrested by Punjab Police for their involvement in the grenade strike. A plot to assassinate Parkash Singh Badal was also foiled mid-October with the arrest of some men associated with the pro-Khalistan movement, in Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan.

Experts believe that the desecration controversy will not only damage SADs prospects in the general elections but also spur radicalisation. Professor Jatinder Singh from the department of political science at Punjabi University in Patiala said SAD is considered to be a party close to the Sikh religion and naming of its leaders in the Ranjit Singh Commission report has dented its position. While Congress may gain by attacking SAD on a religious issue, AAP is not likely to benefit. Meanwhile, the matter can radicalise Sikh youths, he said.

However, even AAP doesnt want the matter to die down. Its MP from Sangrur, Bhagwant Mann, said he would highlight the alleged inaction by SAD over the sacrilege row in Parliaments winter session. Action against culprits should be taken soon, he said. Else, expect some Mann ki baat in the Lok Sabha this December.
Farmers in Madhya Pradesh have been protesting over the failure of the Bhawantar Bhugtan Scheme and glitches in crop insurance, among other issues.

The epicentre of the farmers protest in Madhya Pradesh and a fortress of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)  Malwa region  registered a record high voting percentage of 84.19 percent in the Assembly election held on 28 November.

After the death of six farmers in police firing in Mandsaur on 6 June, 2017, farmers' protests had erupted in several districts, including Mandsaur, Ratlam, Neemuch, Ujjain, Shajapur, Agar Malwa, Sehore and rural areas of Indore.

Malwa is the biggest region in the state, and the road to electoral power here goes through this region. No party can form a government if it is defeated in this region. which has around 66 Assembly seats, which account for nearly 30 percent of the total strength of the Assembly.

The highest jump in the voting percentage as compared to the previous election (4.2 percent) has been recorded in Neemuch district, which is adjacent to Mandsaur. Sehore reported the second highest increase of 4 percent, while Shajapur recorded the lowest increase of 1.8 percent, according to data provided by the state election commission.

A total 74.85 percent voters cast their ballots from a total voting population 5.4 crore.

Decoding the reason for the high turnout

According to political experts and journalists, a four percent jump in farmer-dominated areas and other rural areas of the state indicates voters anger against the government.

Farmers have been protesting over the failure of the Bhawantar Bhugtan Scheme, glitches in crop insurance, not getting the actual minimum support price, problems they faced at mandis, and the killing of six farmers in Mandsaur. They have also sought the implementation of the Swaminathan Commission's recommendations.

The high turnout in the farmer-dominated districts, including Bundelkhand, indicates voters anger against the government, and that the BJP government failed to please the farmers, said senior journalist SA Pateriya.

He further said If we look at the voting percentage of rural and urban areas, there is a major difference. For example, people in rural areas of Indore district have voted in large numbers, in comparison to the urban areas, and there is a difference of almost 4 to 5 percent between the two.

Ahead of the 2013 Assembly elections, Narendra Modi (then chief minister of Gujarat) addressed 11 rallies in the Malwa region. The BJP had secured a stunning victory in 56 out of 66 Assembly seats in the region. The Congress was left with only nine seats, while one seat went to an Independent.

Another political expert Girja Shankar sees this jump in a different way. He said that if there had been anger against the government coupled with a rise in the voting percentage, then the ruling party would have borne the brunt. This had happened in 2003, when voters were angry with the Congress, and the voting percentage rose by 2 percent.

But in Madhya Pradesh, the Congress failed to convert voters disappointment into anger. Indeed, the voting percentage has risen in the Malwa region, but since the Congress failed to cash in on the opportunity, the ruling party may retain power despite all odds and a high turnout.

The reason for the anger

Farmer leader Shiv Kumar Sharma, along with 500 farmers, had visited more than 300 blocks of the Malwa region after the Mandsaur shooting, and had appealed to voters to come out in large numbers to cast their ballots.

Such a rise in the voter turnout is an indication of a change in the government. The farmers have expressed their anger against the government. It is clear that the BJP will be thrown out, and Congress will form the government with a clear majority.

Amritlal Patidar, another farmer leader, and the main accused in the Mandsaur protests case, said, "After the killing of our fellow farmers last year, the farmers of the Malwa region have pledged to vote out this anti-farmer government in the upcoming election...The high turnout is an indication of voters anger.

When asked for the reason behind the anger, Patidar mentioned a slew of reasons. He said that the Bhawantar Bhugtan Scheme, which was launched after the Mandsaur farmers' protest, has been benefiting businessmen and not farmers. "Since then, the prices of major crops have crashed to a record low. Instead of punishing the police officers who opened fire on farmers, the state government has given a clean chit to them. Besides, the government has booked thousands of innocent farmers on allegations of creating unrest in the area, and they are running from pillar to post to end this case."

Speaking on the issue, senior journalist Ashutosh Shukla said, The voter turnout was high in drought-hit Bundelkhand. In many places, BJP leaders were shouted away because people are unhappy with the current regime. In this context, the high voting percentage may not hold positive news for the BJP."

State Congress chief Kamal Nath said, The high turnout shows the anger of voters against the current government. The people want to overthrow the BJP and bring the Congress to power.

Hitting back at the Congress, BJPs national general secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya tweeted, The record turnout shows voters' trust in the BJP, and their willingness to give us another chance.

The counting of votes is on 11 December.
Sidhu, addressing a press conference, seemingly taking a dig at Punjab chief minister Captain Amarinder Singh said, 'Rahul is my captain. He sends me everywhere.'

On Friday, Punjab cabinet minister Navjot Singh Sidhu said Congress president Rahul Gandhi sent him to Pakistan to attend the groundbreaking ceremony of the Kartarpur Corridor project.

Sidhu, addressing a press conference, seemingly taking a dig at Punjab chief minister Captain Amarinder Singh said, "Rahul is my captain. He sends me everywhere."

Sidhu, the Punjab culture minister, replying to a query from the media, further added: "Which captain are you talking about? Amarinder Singh is an army captain."

Sidhu has been hitting the headlines for his visit to Pakistan. On Thursday, amid a controversy over a photograph with Pakistan Sikh Gurudwara Prabhandak Committee general secretary Gopal Singh Chawla, Sidhu denied knowing the identity of the pro-Khalistani leader.

Sidhu, already taking flak for attending the event, sparked a new controversy when Chawla shared a photograph of the two on his Facebook page. At the ceremony on Thursday, Chawla was also seen shaking hands with Pakistan Army chief Qamar Javed Bajwa.

With inputs from PTI
Union minister and senior BJP leader Rajnath Singh on Friday flayed the TRS government in Telangana over the alleged suicides of more than 4,000 farmers.

Hyderabad: Union minister and senior BJP leader Rajnath Singh on Friday flayed the TRS government in Telangana over the alleged suicides of more than 4,000 farmers in the state during the last four-and-half-years.

"The TRS government did a cruel joke with ryots. You may know that more than 4,500 farmers committed suicides in its four-and-half years of governance," he said.

"I would like to ask you...You claim to have extended many schemes for ryots and implemented many welfare schemes. What is the reason that the ryots here had to commit suicides?" he said at an election rally in Hyderabad.

The minister also addressed BJP campaign rallies at different places in the state on Friday.

Observing that a "crisis of credibility" has cropped up against politicians and politics, he said that the BJP has taken up the phenomenon as a challenge.

The BJP would do what it says and has gained a reputation for good governance in comparison with other parties in the country, he claimed.

For that reason, Singh said, the BJP is in governance in Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh for many years, Singhs said.

The minister expressed confidence that the BJP would come to power again in Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh.

Massive road development works were undertaken across the country during the NDA government led by Atal Bihari Vajpayee, he said.

He criticised the TRS government in Telangana over the allegedly poor condition of roads.
Winds of change seem to be blowing over the political landscape in Rajasthan, and Vasundhara Raje's popularity has seen a steep decline in the state.

The BJP's catchphrase for the Rajasthan Assembly Election to be held on 7 December is a simple one  Bhajapa Phir se. The emerging equations on the ground, however, indicate that it will be difficult for the party to turn the slogan into reality and ensure the return of a government led by Vasundhara Raje.

Winds of change seem to be blowing over the political landscape in Rajasthan, and it appears that the Congress' prolonged drought in terms of electoral successes may come to an end.

The BJP had swept the election in 2013, winning 163 out of a total of 200 seats. This was a strike rate of nearly 82 percent. The Congress had managed to win only 21 seats. If the results this time go in favour of the Congress, which is the most likely scenario, the party should thank Raje, rather than its organisational strength or Rahul Gandhis appeal.

As the incumbent chief minister and the BJP's chief ministerial candidate for the next term, Raje is obviously the most talked-about person in the context of the state's politics. As far as she is concerned, what matters most is popular perception, rather than what she did for the state, how she governed or what her attitude was like.

Inside the university campus in Jaipur, a group of female students were engaged in a lively chat at a cafe, and were commenting on an news report. Megha Chaudhary, a post-graduate student, argued that Raje had tremendous opportunities to take the state to greater heights, but she failed. She listed out a series of issues before delivering her final verdict  this time, she will not vote for Raje and she is keen to see a change in leadership in the state. She was clear that she would vote for the Congress this time.

She further opined that the situation may have been different had the BJP acted in time, and replaced Raje a year ago, or even some months ago. Her friends nodded in agreement.

Outside the campus, two B.Sc students  both first-time voters  spoke about their voting preferences. One of them, Rahul Meena, asserted, "Raje will not come back to power, that's for sure. My vote will go to the Congress, and the Congress is going to come to power in the state. I am no admirer of Rahul Gandhi, but a Congress government in the state will be beneficial. The party's state leaders are good. Lets see who becomes the next chief minister, Ashok Gehlot or Sachin Pilot."

The situation is similar in Alwar, which recently saw flared communal sentiments after the lynching of Pehlu Khan and the activities of cow vigilantes. In the district's Tijara town, Sunder Singh Chaudhary says that he believes in Hindutva and does not want to see the Congress come to power. However, he will not vote for the BJP because of two reasons. Firstly, he is not happy with the way Raje has run the state, and secondly, the BJP denied a ticket to Sandip Yadav, the incumbent MLA and an important party leader. Yadav has switched sides and is contesting on a BSP ticket. Chaudhary says he wants to vote for him, but is worried that if there is a hung Assembly, the BSP will side with the Congress, no matter what Yadav says now. He says, They have made me confused, and also slightly tense. Lets see how it goes.

A combination of things go against the chief minister. Many people have different reasons for being opposed to her, but on the whole, the voices seeking a change in leadership are echoing far and wide. The assertiveness and conviction in these voices should be a cause of concern for the BJP leadership. Most voters are not as angry at the BJP as they are at her.

A small businessman near Aligarh remarked, In the past several months, it has become clear that Raje is no longer liked as the chief minister. The people gave signals in this direction during the by-elections, but nobody in the BJP's top leadership cared. So, the BJP will hear its own slogan being changed to 'abki baar, Rajasthan mein Congress sarkar'.
Russian Energy Ministry is ready to hold another trilateral meeting on gas issues with Ukraine and the European Union, Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak said.

As for ministerial meetings with the European Commission, we dont say no to such consultations and are always ready," TASS cited him as saying.

According to the energy minister, the proposal to hold such a meeting at the ministerial level was already received, and now they are coordinating dates. "Perhaps, it will take place before the end of the year," Novak concluded.
Rejecting his rivals' claims of being seen as an outsider, Manvendra Singh said he has been accepted 'very wholeheartedly, very warmly' by the people of Jhalrapatan.

Jhalawar: Fighting the most keenly-observed contest in Rajasthan polls, Congress candidate Manvendra Singh said Friday it was an "uphill task" to beat Rajasthan chief minister Vasundhara Raje in her political fortress of Jhalrapatan, but he was here to "fight and win" the election.

With a battle cry of "Jhalawar azaad hoga (Jhalawar will be free)", Singh said he is determined to live up to the challenge of taking on his formidable opponent.

"I am here to fight and win the election and not to contest for the sake of contesting," the son of former BJP leader Jaswant Singh said. Manvendra Singh, who crossed over from the BJP to the Congress just weeks before joining the electoral fray, said when he was asked to fight against the chief minister, it took him just a second to accept the challenge.

Asked if he was viewing it as a "David and Goliath" battle, Singh answered in the negative.

"It is an uphill task no doubt. I am not belittling the challenge. It is an uphill task and I don't see myself as David at all. Besides the three Vidhan Sabha victories, she (Raje) has been MP from here for five times," Singh told PTI in an interview.

"She has an advantage of 30 years and I have to cover that handicap of 30 years in 15 days. So it is a challenge... but it is a challenge I am living up to," said Singh, who had contested and won from Sheo assembly seat in 2013.

Rejecting his rivals' claims of being seen as an outsider, Singh said he has been accepted "very wholeheartedly, very warmly" by the people of Jhalrapatan.

It doesn't take people more than a day or two to know whether one belongs to them or not, Singh said.

On the kind of feedback he was getting after campaigning extensively in the Jhalrapatan constituency, Singh said: "I am being realistic. I am not pinning my hopes on a miracle, but it is not impossible. I am getting very positive feedback from the people and from the Congress workers who have been toiling on this seat for many years."

Despite the "very positive" feedback, Singh said, he keeps putting himself through a reality check and every time he gets a positive report, he keeps questioning that report to figure out where all it could go wrong.

Asked if the treatment meted out to his father by the BJP will have a bearing on the election, he said: "I don't think the BJP as such is answerable for this as Prime Minister (Narendra) Modi told me, it is some individual in Rajasthan and a couple of people in Delhi that are responsible for it."

He asserted that it will have a bearing on this election as it was a topic of discussion, not by him but by other speakers in some of the meetings.

On whether he would be in the running for the chief minister's post if he succeeds in the giant-killing act of defeating Raje, Singh said, "No, not at all."

What has made the Singh-Raje battle the most talked about is the tension between the two leaders that is well known.

Singh, 54, quit the BJP in September and joined the Congress in October after being sidelined within the ruling party, reportedly because of Raje's feud with his father Jaswant Singh, who was denied a BJP ticket in the last Lok Sabha polls.

Asked if it was also a "prestige battle" for him, Singh said, "I don't personally (take it as a prestige battle) and I don't link it to any kind of revenge that people talk about. I am just looking at it as an electoral contest and it should remain that way."

The contest should remain clean and fair, he added.

On Raje's statement that the Congress could not find a constituency for him and therefore fielded him against her from here, Singh said he didn't ask for a constituency.

"I was very clear from the time I joined the Congress party that I wasn't interested in a Vidhan Sabha election and I didn't ask for a seat for myself. So I think she is off the mark when she says that," he asserted.

He said the main issue in this constituency, on which he was taking on Raje, was farmers' distress. "I was surprised by the distress among the farmers. Within the MLA constituency, there have been two farmer suicides in the last year or so," he said.

There is a seething anger about the garlic crop and how badly it has been handled in terms of the minimum support price issue, Singh said.

To resolve the MSP issue, the government came up with some kind of token system and those who have got a token would have their crop picked up, while others had their produce rotting in their house, he alleged.

Singh said the decision to switch to the Congress from the BJP evolved over a period of time and it was cemented by two factors  his friendship and fondness for Rahul Gandhi and a senior member of the BJP family telling him that wherever former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee would be, he would be blessing him.
The recent averments of Tej Pratap manifest the fury of one who feels rejected by his own. They also indicate his refusal to play an understudy to Tejashwi.

He played the chief minister of Bihar in the 2016 Bhojpuri film Apaharan Udyog. But in the real-life political drama unfolding within his family, Tej Pratap Yadav finds himself playing second fiddle to his younger brother, Tejashwi. And ever since he filed for divorce at a Patna court in October, the older of Bihars former chief ministers Lalu Prasad Yadav and Rabri Devis sons has been venting his rebellious streak. The marital discord has added an intimate contour to the political imbroglio emerging in the Lalu clan and a rivalry between brothers. Their quandary reflects the clash within the family and the changing perceptions in the state about key voters of the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD): Bihars 14 to 16 percent Yadav population.

Tej Prataps recent averments manifest the fury of one who feels rejected by his own. They also exhibit his strong will as he refuses, in his typical rustic style, to play an understudy to Tejashwi. Now party leaders say a fecund Yadav elite and middle class will reject Tej Prataps unrefined ways. He has adopted the language and flair of politics of latter-day Yadavs, his fathers traditional supporters. For instance, after the states RJD-Congress-JD(U) coalition government fell in 2017, Tej Pratap blew the conch shell, referred to being a Yadav, and said at a public meeting: Papa will say Im stealing his speechand I will! In imitating his hugely popular father, regardless of the jail term Lalu is serving for the fodder scam, Tej Pratap lost the middle-class polish that tomorrows OBC politics demands, giving Tejashwi the edge. Bihars Yadavs have become much more refined, socially and politically, says a Congress leader from Vaishali. Yadav youth believe in the backward-forward dynamic, but not with the intensity of Lalus heyday. Lalus projection of his more urbane son, therefore, signals his rejection of his own political style.

The 29-year-old Tej Pratap is scripting a tale of thwarted ambition in public, displaying a personality closer than his brothers to their father. A third contender for the political crown in the family, Misa Bharti, has signaled support for Tej Pratap, giving critics more fuel. The question of Tejashwi taking the lead has been settled by none other than Lalu Yadav, says Manoj Jha, RJD member in the Rajya Sabha. The siblings are 100 percent united and any issues in Tej Prataps marriage are personal.

Tejashwi was made deputy chief minister in 2015 when the RJD, Congress and Janata Dal (United) formed the government. Tej Pratap got the health ministry. After this government collapsed, Tejahswi became the leader of Opposition. Tej Prataps sense of hurt over this is understandablehis outrage appears like rebellion because Tejashwi has been handpicked by their father.

Since then, Tej Pratap has displayed dissident individualism either in veiled barbs or direct allegations. For example, he once said, Party people dont answer my calls because leaders have asked them not to. On a separate occasion, he said his relationship with Tejashwi is unbreakable, like Krishnas with Balaram, referring to the exemplars of filial ties from the epic Mahabharataanother way to convey his secondary status.

Bringing up mythological figures is Tej Prataps way of reconciling with his demotion, says Mohammad Sajjad, who teaches history at Aligarh Muslim University and is a commentator on Bihar politics. It also sends a message to his voters that hes not out of the political game.

Tej Pratap is overtly religious since childhood, dressing up as Lord Krishna, whom the Yadavs revere. He also plays the flute and conch shells in public to forge a close connection with Yadav voters.

Yet, party leaders and allies find Tej Pratap too rough: in Hajipur in 2015, he is said to have yelled at a senior leader in Lalus presence. This was because Tej Prataps photo was not put up on a public poster, says Sajjad. Lalu looked on helplessly, but must have realised his son could antagonise party leaders. About a year ago, Tej Pratap threatened to skin Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in an angry reaction to the central governments decision to downgrade the security cover of his father.

In Mahua, the Assembly constituency in Vaishali from where Tej Pratap was elected in 2015, he has made the political mistake of going invisible. Except when he arrives occasionally with two-three friends from Patna, says the Congress leader from Vaishali. He doesnt know ten people here. Then again, Lalus politically untested sons got votes primarily because he and Rabri campaigned for them, and JD(U) leader Nitish Kumar was a prominent alliance face.

RJD leaders say when Lalu became Member of Parliament in 1977, Yadavs were neither educated nor had a salient middle class. Thats why Lalus politics was always dominated by the struggle of backwards against forwards, says an old-time RJD member and former Bihar minister. "Forward-backward" politics symbolises the struggle of the numerous downtrodden against a smaller traditional or caste elite. However, times have changed. Tejashwi is a dynast who has gained initial acceptance in the party because of his fathers clout. He has more political sense than his older brother, and wants to expand the RJDs Muslim-Yadav social base. But he is also hamstrung by corruption charges. Expanding the social base of his party will be a challenge for him as Yadavs are bound to resist, unlike the social engineering formula of Lalu that they could dominate.

Should Tej Pratap want, he can rock Tejashwis political boat because his clout within the party persists, despite the sidelining. This makes his refusal to buckle under family pressure to reconcile with his wife, Aishwarya, significant. The marriage will have a political fallout because there is a fight within the family, says Devesh Kumar, vice-president of the BJP in Bihar. Kumars party also attacked Lalu for overlooking the principle of primogeniture in elevating Tejashwi, calling it contrary to Hindu tradition. We raised that issue as we were trying to play one against the other in the family, Kumar says.

Obviously, this aspect of his demotion would not be lost on Tej Pratap, a man who repeatedly asserts his own will. He would be hurt by speculation that his father picked the educated, elite Aishwarya, possibly as his future political proxy. In choosing Aishwarya, Lalu broke with Rabri Devis past averment that she wouldnt seek a mall-going wife for her sons, and Tej Pratap is said to be his mothers favourite.

Rais family is a polar opposite to Lalus: educated, wealthy and powerful since the pre-Mandal 1980s, when Yadavs neither enjoyed reservation nor dominated Bihars politics. Lalu, an astute politician, perhaps sought to paper over his sons rough edges  he never finished school  by choosing a wife educated in elite institutions. But his son rejected this blatantly aspirational match, instead calling Rai and himself the north and south poles. Thus, he demonstrated obstinacy and boldness, characteristics that made his father a totem for canny politics. But that may not be enough for the older son to outshine his sibling.
After the Enforcement Directorate conducted raids at his offices and residence on 24 Novermber, Chowdary had rejected the allegations made by the agency the next day

After senior Telugu Desam Party leader and former Union minister YS Chowdary on Friday moved the Delhi High Court against summons issued by the Enforcement Directorate (ED), the court directed him to appear before the agency on 3 December. The court also directed ED to not take coercive steps in the case, ANI reported.

Earlier on Friday, Chowdary had approached the court seeking quashing of summons issued against him by the ED. The agency had summoned Chowdary for financial irregularities.

In his petition, Chowdary has alleged political vendatta against him by the present government ahead of the Lok Sabha elections in 2019.

After the ED and the Income Tax Department had conducted raids at his offices and residence on 24 November, Chowdary had rejected the allegations made by ED the next day. The ED claimed that the Chowdary's group of companies have defrauded banks to the tune of Rs 5,700 crore. The directorate also issued a summon notice for further investigation by the agencies.

While addressing the media a day after the raids, Chowdary had said, "From the past 27 years, I have been staying in a single house. After entering politics I have not participated in any business. ED said that banks have complained against my companies but none of the banks have complained. There are no companies on my name. ED has showed the wrong amount in the balance sheet. The ED raids seems to be like a quick act."

The searches by the agencies were conducted in seven locations in Hyderabad and one in New Delhi. According to officials of the ED, the searches were conducted in a case pertaining to Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) charges. The probe pertains to the investigation of a bank fraud by more than 120 shell companies controlled by Chowdary.

With inputs from ANI
TRS leader and Telangana caretaker chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao on Thursday lost his cool at a voter during a rally in Kagaznagar town in the state.

TRS leader and Telangana caretaker chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao lost his cool at a voter during a rally in Kagaznagar town in the state. After the voter questioned KCR about the promise of 12 percent reservation for Muslims, he insisted that the voter sit down, accusing him of creating "tamasha" and eventually said "Tumhare baap ko bolunga (I will tell your father)."

According to reports, in his response to the voter, KCR on Thursday also said that he would talk about the promise to the minority community later in his speech at the rally. The Times of India reported that the TRS leader also said that it was possible that another party had sent the man to make a scene at the rally.

The report quoted KCR as saying, "A rival party making a person drink and sending him to this meeting cannot be ruled out. It happens." Later, KCR targeted the Centre and said that the state government had taken steps to implement the quota, but had not received a favourable response from the BJP-led government.

NewsAlert | Confronted by a voter, KCR loses his cool and snaps at the man at the poll rally | @RishikaSadam with more details | #BattleForTheStates pic.twitter.com/u8zwxuAhcx  News18 (@CNNnews18) November 30, 2018

He also said that he was committed to form a non-BJP and non-Congress government at the Centre, and added that the government would work to amend the law in Parliament to enable the implementation of reservations more than 50 percent.

A Deccan Chronicle report said, "KCR said that it was the responsibility of the Central government to give 12 percent reservations to minorities and tribals, but both the Congress and BJP were silent on this."

The Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC) condemned KCR's behaviour and called him a "dictator". The party tweeted, "Drunk with power, KCR acts like a dictator. Mr KCR, you are answerable to the people of Telangana. Arrogance and dictatorship have no space in a democracy!"

With inputs from agencies
tech2 News Staff

In its latest crackdown, Apple has pulled down over 700 apps from its App Store in China.

This was first reported by News163 (via The Telegraph), which said that the removed apps include Sogou, a Chinese alternative to Google, and Pinduodo, an online retail app. The reason for the crackdown is the apparent flouting of regulations of the Apple App Store.

The report states that per the App Store rules, app developers are prohibited from rolling out software updates without Apples permission. "Apple requires that app updates, such as new features or security improvements, are downloaded via the App Store itself, so that the company can approve them," The Telegraph report reads.

Further, according to an Apple Insider report, app makers in China were notified of this rule almost two years ago.

Even in August this year, Apple removed some 25,000 gambling apps from its store in China because they fell foul of Chinese regulations.

This crackdown is the company's latest attempt to achieve greater control over the Chinese App Store, which is believed to be the companys biggest source of app revenue.

Interestingly, Apple's App Store is the only foreign source available to users in China, where the government has a strict ban on the Google Play Store.
Reuters

German security officials have detected a fresh cyber attack on the email accounts of German lawmakers, the military and several German embassies by the Russian hacker group Snake, Der Spiegel reported on Thursday.

The news magazine, citing security sources, said the latest cyber attack was detected on 14 Nov. but it was not yet clear if any data had been stolen.

It quoted the BfV domestic intelligence agency as saying: The BfV, in the framework of investigating the cyber campaign Snake, has detected new attacks. The victims are primarily in the government and political realm.

No comment was immediately available from the agency.

In April, BfV said there was a high likelihood that the Russian government was behind a cyberattack on German computer networks that was discovered in December 2017 that was also linked to the hacker group Snake.

German officials have also said Russia was behind an earlier cyber attack on the German lower house of parliament in 2015.

Russia has repeatedly denied that it is involved in cyber attacks on German institutions.
tech2 News Staff

Finnish company HMD Global, which sells Nokia-branded smartphones, on Friday launched the Nokia 7.1 smartphone for Rs 19,999 in India. The Nokia 7.1 was launched in London on 4 October.

The phone will go on sale starting 7 December 2018 and will be available across retailers in India and on Nokia's website in gloss midnight blue and gloss steel colours.

There's a full HD+ 5.84-inch display with a 19:9 aspect ratio. The device is the first to feature Nokia's "PureDisplay" screen technology which is claimed to be HDR10 ready.

The Nokia 7.1 also features Zeiss camera optics with 12 MP + 5 MP dual rear camera with autofocus and an 8 MP selfie snapper.

"It was important for us to bring both ZEISS optics and 'PureDisplay' technology together in a device that offers a superior content experience, regardless of whether you're taking photos for social media or watching your favourite streaming service," Ajey Mehta, Vice President and Country Head, India, HMD Global, said in a statement.

The Nokia 7.1 is powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 636 chipset coupled with 4 GB RAM and 64 GB internal storage.

Fuelling the Nokia 7.1 is a 3,060 mAh battery with support for fast-charging.

The device has dual-anodised aluminium diamond-cut coloured edges.

Being an Android One phone, the Nokia 7.1 will receive three years of monthly security patches.

The smartphone has recently been upgraded to Android 9 Pie OS, thus, bringing new features, including "App Actions" which is exclusive to Android One devices and Google Pixel phones.

The Nokia 7.1 comes with an offer for Airtel prepaid customers where they can enjoy 1 TB of 4G data on eligible plans starting at Rs 199 and also Airtel postpaid customers can get an additional data of 120 GB along with three months of Netflix subscription and one year of Amazon Prime subscription on plans starting from Rs 499.

Consumers who purchase Nokia 7.1 using HDFC Bank credit and debit cards on EMI transactions which will be carried out through Pinelabs terminals in offline stores are mentioned to receive a 10 percent cash back.

With inputs from IANS.
tech2 News Staff

Looks like 2019 is going to see a host of smartphone brands releasing their foldable smartphones.

After Samsung showcased its foldable Galaxy F smartphone, it's now the turn of Oppo to announce its ambitions in this segment. According to a report in GSMArena, the Chinese smartphone maker has promised that it will show off its foldable smartphone at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain, next year. The confirmation has come from none other than Oppo's product manager Chuck Wang.

Wang hasn't mentioned any particular specification about this upcoming foldable device. He did mention that Oppo plans to release a 5G smartphone in 2020 and is also looking at releasing its first phone with a display cutout in 2020. Going by Oppo's design feat with the Find X, we wouldn't be surprised if Oppo does indeed deliver on these promises. It is one company that does focus on the aesthetics of its devices.

Foldable smartphones could be a design trend in 2019 as we have already seen a lot of brands showing interest in pursuing this design philosophy. Samsung has already showcased its foldable display sporting smartphone, which we will see a lot more of at MWC 2019.

Huawei has also filed its own patents for a foldable smartphone.

Samsung's Korean rival LG has also expressed its plans to release a foldable smartphone in 2019. LG has applied for three brand name registrations  "Flex", "Foldi" and "Duplex"  at the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO).
Reuters

The US Army is investing millions of dollars in experimental exoskeleton technology to make soldiers stronger and more resilient, in what experts say is part of a broader push into advanced gear to equip a new generation of super-soldiers.

The technology is being developed by Lockheed Martin Corp with a license from Canada-based B-TEMIA, which first developed the exoskeletons to help people with mobility difficulties stemming from medical ailments like multiple sclerosis and severe osteoarthritis.

Worn over a pair of pants, the battery-operated exoskeleton uses a suite of sensors, artificial intelligence and other technology to aid natural movements.

For the US military, the appeal of such technology is clear: Soldiers now deploy into war zones bogged down by heavy but critical gear like body armor, night-vision goggles, and advanced radios. Altogether, that can weigh anywhere from 90 to 140 pounds (40-64 kg), when the recommended limit is just 50 pounds (23 kg).

That means when people do show up to the fight, theyre fatigued, said Paul Scharre at the Center for a New American Security (CNAS), who helped lead a series of studies on exoskeletons and other advanced gear.

The fundamental challenge were facing with infantry troops is theyre carrying too much weight.

Lockheed Martin said on Thursday it won a $6.9 million award from the US Army Natick Soldier Research, Development and Engineering Center to research and develop the exoskeleton, called ONYX, under a two-year, sole-source agreement.

Keith Maxwell, the exoskeleton technologies manager at Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control, said people in his companys trials who wore the exoskeletons showed far more endurance.

You get to the fight fresh. Youre not worn out, Maxwell said.

Maxwell, who demonstrated a prototype, said each exoskeleton was expected to cost in the tens of thousands of dollars.

B-TEMIAs medically focused system, called Keeogo, is sold in Canada for about C$39,000 ($30,000), company spokeswoman Pamela Borges said.

The United States is not the only country looking at exoskeleton technology.

Samuel Bendett at the Center for Naval Analyses, a federally funded US research and development center, said Russia and China were also investing in exoskeleton technologies, in parallel to the US advances.

Russia, in particular, was working on several versions of exoskeletons, including one that it tested recently in Syria, Bendett said.
Reuters

South Korean prosecutors on Thursday said they have indicted nine people on suspicion of leaking Samsung Electronics Co Ltd flexible display technology to a Chinese company.

The Suwon District Prosecutors Office has charged the chief executive and eight employees of supplier Toptec Co Ltd for selling information earlier this year about Samsungs organic light-emitting diode (OLED) panels.

The group are accused of forming a separate shell company that received information on the use of equipment and drawings of panels obtained from Samsung subsidiary Samsung Display, and which sold some of the documents in China for 15.5 billion won ($13.85 million), the prosecutors office said.

Toptec, which produces automated equipment to make mobile phone display panels, denied any wrongdoing.

Our company has never provided Samsung Displays industrial technology or business secrets to a Chinese client. Our company will fully cooperate with legal proceedings to find the truth in court, Toptec said in a statement.

Shares in Toptec tumbled 20 percent.

A Samsung Display spokesman said the indictment was regrettable and that the firm would increase efforts to protect technology.

Prosecutors said Samsung Display invested 150 billion won over six years to develop the leaked technology of 3D lamination, which they said was a national core technology.

Samsung dominates the market for small and mid-sized OLED displays and is a supplier of Apple Inc.
A rising number of Russian banks are involved in dubious foreign currency cash operations performed by individuals, the Russian Central Bank said in a letter.

The same people buy foreign currency cash worth no less than $100,000 at a time in different banks regularly, sometimes daily or several times a day. The foreign currency is never sold.

The Interior Ministry on request from the central bank questioned some of the people who said that they either did not buy foreign currency on that day, or bought it in lesser volumes.

Checks of the source of the money is only formal, without requests for documents or comparison with the sums of operations, the Vedomosti newspaper reported.

The newspaper added that such operations are done for illegal foreign exchange points, which service the shady economy and swap uncollected revenue of wholesale outlets and markets.

The central bank said that such operations can be done "with corruption or other illegal aims" and demanded that banks improve their system of checking the source of income.
Reuters

The Trump administration, which has had sometimes strained relations with high-technology companies, will meet with top tech executives next week to discuss innovation and future jobs, several companies attending and a White House official said on Thursday.

Chief executives expected to participate include Microsoft Corps Satya Nadella, Alphabet Incs Sundar Pichai, Qualcomm Incs Steven Mollenkopf and Oracle Corps Safra Catz, a White House official confirmed. Others have been invited but not yet confirmed they will attend the roundtable discussions.

Microsoft and Oracle separately confirmed they would take part. The sessions will focus on jobs of the future in the technology space, the White House official said.

President Donald Trump has had many run-ins with technology companies since he took office, including his accusations without evidence of bias by Alphabets Google, Facebook Inc and Twitter Inc and trying to silence people.

I think that Google and Facebook and Twitter ... treat conservatives and Republicans very unfairly, Trump told reporters at the White House in August.

Next week, the House Judiciary Committee will hold a hearing with Pichai to discuss Republican allegations of bias against conservatives  a charge Google has denied.

The roundtable, to be held next Thursday, will also feature Blackstone Group LP chief executive officer Steve Schwarzman and Carnegie Mellon University President Farnam Jahanian.

The White House declined immediate comment. Blackstone declined to comment and Carnegie Mellon did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

White House adviser Larry Kudlow said in early October that the administration was working on a meeting with tech companies.

Were going to have a little conference  the president will preside over it  we will have big internet companies, big social media companies, search companies, Kudlow said at the time. Also attending, he added, would be some who are dissatisfied with those companies.

Trump met in June 2017 with the heads of 18 US technology companies including Apple Inc, Amazon.com Inc and Microsoft, seeking their help to make the governments computing systems more efficient.
Frank F Islam

India's public healthcare system is sick. In late September, Prime Minister Narendra Modi's administration launched Ayushman Bharat, meaning Long Life India, to address this illness.

This initiative, which has been described as the "world's biggest healthcare programme" will insure more than 500 million Indian citizens who currently have no coverage. Will "Modicare", as the programme has been labeled, cure what ails India's public health care system?

The answer is maybe. That answer must be equivocal because of the enormity of India's healthcare needs, concerns regarding the adequacy of funding to address those needs, and uncertainty regarding Modicare's implementation.

Healthcare in India today is tale of two groups. The first group is the wealthy and upper-middle-class who receive their healthcare primarily from private sector providers. Overall, that healthcare is of good quality and easily accessible but can be expensive.

The second group is the lower middle-class and the poor who receive their healthcare primarily from public sector providers. Overall, that healthcare is of poor quality, difficult to access and the money spent on it is insubstantial.

In 2015, India's public expenditure on public healthcare was approximately one percent of its GDP. This compares quite unfavorably to other countries who provide some form of universal healthcare coverage.

For example, Singapore expended 2.2 percent of its GDP, South Korea expended 4.2 percent and the United States expended 8.5 percent.

India's small expenditures are reflected in its healthcare performance. Some of the deficiencies of the current system are:

The per capita insurance expenditure on healthcare is one of the lowest in the world. Over 75 percent of Indians have no health insurance.

Because the states carry the primary burden for healthcare coverage, there is a significant difference in the scope and nature of that coverage across the country.

There is a huge rural-urban disparity in terms of the quantity and quality of coverage.

Compared to the rest of the world, India has an average number of doctors but they attend to only one third of the Indian population.

The lack of adequate insurance coverage and availability of public sector health care causes Indians to have to cover more than 60 per cent of their expenses personally.

Ayushman Bharat is structured to address these conditions. It provides poor families insurance of up to $6,950 (nearly Rs 500,000) for hospitalisation, calls for the establishment of 150,000 health and wellness centres to provide primary care throughout India and emphasises holistic healthcare ideas such as yoga as part of this intervention.

The programme will expand the public health network far beyond the existing governmental hospitals. It will pay public and private sector facilities a fixed rate for covered services. To date, 15,000 hospitals have applied to be certified providers.

This appears to be a solid framework for launching this new initiative. The government has appropriated $1.5 billion for Modicare health insurance for 2018-19 and 2019-20. Of this, $300 million is allocated for the first year of the programme.

This seems like a lot of money. But, $1.5 billion divided by 500 million covered lives means this is only $3,000 per individual  a very modest amount.

The total allocation also seems insufficient when unknowns are considered: What percentage of the-newly insured will take advantage of their coverage in year one? Who provides payment when an insured individual or family exceeds it coverage? To what extent will private sector providers deliver their services at fixed rates to public sector patients, if they can get full payment from more affluent clients?

Another problem is the issue of implementation and roll-out. The new scheme looks good on paper. But establishing 150,000 health and wellness centres is much easier said than done. This is especially true given that doing this will require extensive collaboration and coordination with India's 29 states and seven Union Territories which have varying levels of capacity and competence.

In sum, this is not a negative or pessimistic perspective on India's new healthcare programme, but a realistic one. Modicare represents a beginning and an initial step that must be taken to bring India's healthcare system into the 21st century.

Some have criticised the introduction of this new programme as a political stunt designed to influence the results of the national elections to be held in 2019. Regardless of why it was done, this action was essential given the sad and sorry state of India's current public healthcare system.

The challenge and opportunity is to continue to move the healthcare ball up the field. The goal for whomever becomes the next Prime Minister should be to make India's healthcare programme not only the "world's biggest" but also among its finest. Accomplishing this will help to move India from a developing to a developed nation and bring it closer to becoming a full-fledged world leader.
In a fertilised human-egg cell, the scientist, He Jiankui, intends to make a person resistant to HIV by disabling a gene that forms a protein doorway allowing the virus to enter the body.

Beijing: A Chinese researcher, who claimed to have created the world's first gene-edited babies that are resistant to HIV, has been suspended from any scientific activity amid mounting criticism at home and abroad about the controversial experiment, according to media reports.

In a fertilised human-egg cell, the scientist, He Jiankui, intends to make a person resistant to HIV by disabling a gene that forms a protein doorway allowing the virus to enter the body. "The case, as media have reported, is a blatant violation of China's laws and regulations, and it breaks the bottom line of academic morality and ethics," Xu Nanping, vice-minister of science and technology, told State-run China Central Television. "It's shocking and unacceptable," Xu was quoted by the China Daily as saying in the interview.

Xu said the ministry had ordered authorities to suspend all scientific activity of people involved with the case and mete out punishments after an ongoing investigation. He, an associate professor at the Shenzhen-based Southern University of Science and Technology, announced on Monday that twin girls, Lulu and Nana, were born healthy earlier this month after in vitro fertilisation (IVF).

Gene-editing technology had been used to immunise them from HIV, he claimed. The news shocked the world and aroused widespread criticism, both for its ethics, technical flaws and the necessity of such a procedure to prevent AIDS. The Shenzhen government joined Guangdong provincial authorities in an investigative group on Tuesday.

Zeng Yixin, vice-minister of the National Health Commission, said Thursday the commission had paid close attention to the reports and sent a working group to assist in the probe. With the rapid development of science and technology, the research and application of science must be more responsible and follow technical and ethical norms, Zeng said.

He, while attending a summit on human-genome editing in Hong Kong on Wednesday, said he was "proud" of his work and believed he was helping people with HIV: the twins' father is HIV positive. He, however, declined to reveal the babies' identities, citing China's policy regarding privacy in cases involving HIV/AIDS.

On Thursday, the organising committee of the summit released a statement, saying that the experiment was "irresponsible and failed to conform with international norms". Many scholars spoke against the research, saying it violated ethical norms and was unnecessary because couples where the male is HIV-positive can have virus-free children through the application of existing medical technology.

In an open letter, more than 300 Chinese scientists raised 10 questions for He and his team related to safety, effectiveness and purpose of the research, and whether he has concealed other related experiments from the public, China Daily reported. The Chinese Academy of Engineering, a top academic body of the country, has urged strict protection of the twins' privacy, calling for the development of a detailed care plan for the babies as they grow "to guard against possible health damage resulting from the gene editing".

"We care deeply about the two babies and appeal for the research and formulation of detailed medical and ethical care plans," it said. The academy said it hopes the babies would grow up happy and healthy, both physically and psychologically, with "the most care possible that can be provided by society".
Every year, on 30 November, United Nations observes the Day of Remembrance for all Victims of Chemical Warfare commemorating an opportunity to pay tribute to millions of lives lost round the globe in the wake of chemical warfare.

Every year, on 30 November, United Nations observes the Day of Remembrance for all Victims of Chemical Warfare to pay tribute to millions of lives lost round the globe in the wake of chemical warfare.

In his opening statement, during the 20th session of the Congress of the States Parties in 2015, the Director-General had announced, "To honour the victims of chemical warfare, it is proposed to have the Remembrance Day on 30 November. It can be marked every year on the first day of the regular session of the Conference of the States Parties from 2016, drawing on participation by non-governmental organisations (NGOs), including victim-assistance associations."

The dark history of chemical warfare dates back to more than a century ago. During World War I (1914-1918), chemical weapons were used in abundance that resulted into a catastrophe. More than 1,00,000 people lost their lives. It is estimated around a million others sustained various degrees of injuries. Incidentally, no chemical weapon was used during World War II.

Acknowledging the immense magnitude of the loss of lives and property that results from the aftermath of a chemical warfare, several countries realised that it was high time a comprehensive ban was imposed on such weapons. Adopted in 1993, the Chemical Weapons Convention or CWC was formed on 29 April 1997. It comprised of a Preamble, 24 Articles, and three Annexes  the Annex on Chemicals, the Verification Annex and the Confidentiality Annex. The Preamble determines, "for the sake of all mankind, to exclude completely the possibility of the use of chemical weapons."

As a result, the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) was established by the States Parties present in the above-mentioned convention. Its objective remains to comply with the purpose of the 1997 Convention and "to ensure the implementation of its provisions, including those for international verification of compliance with it, and to provide a forum for consultation and cooperation among States Parties," as stated in the Article VIII of the CWC.

The CWC aims to eliminate "an entire category of weapons of mass destruction by prohibiting the development, production, acquisition, stockpiling, retention, transfer or use of chemical weapons by States Parties." About 98 percent of the global population and landmass, as well as 98 percent of the worldwide chemical industry find representatives as State Members of the OPCW.

For its extensive efforts towards elimination of chemical weapons, the OPCW was honoured with the Nobel Peace Prize in 2013.
US President Donald Trump on Thursday abruptly cancelled a planned meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Argentina, registering his disapproval of Russia's treatment of Ukraine and casting new uncertainty over US-Russian ties.

Abroad Air Force one: US President Donald Trump on Thursday abruptly cancelled a planned meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Argentina, registering his disapproval of Russia's treatment of Ukraine and casting new uncertainty over US-Russian ties.

Trump said he pulled out due to tensions over Russian forces opening fire on Ukrainian navy boats and then seizing them and their crew on Sunday near Crimea, which Russia annexed from Ukraine in 2014.

His decision also comes as a federal investigation into his 2016 election campaign's ties to Russia is intensifying. Trump's former lawyer Michael Cohen pleaded guilty on Thursday to lying to Congress about a proposed Trump real estate project in Russia.

"Based on the fact that the ships and sailors have not been returned to Ukraine from Russia, I have decided it would be best for all parties concerned to cancel my previously scheduled meeting in Argentina with President Vladimir Putin. I look forward to a meaningful Summit again as soon as this situation is resolved!" Trump tweeted.

Trump's tweet from aboard Air Force One shortly after takeoff from Washington on the way to Buenos Aires for a Group of 20 summit, was a sudden turnaround. Roughly an hour earlier, he had told reporters he would probably meet with Putin at the summit and said it was "a very good time to have the meeting."

Trump had also said he would get a final report during the flight to Argentina on the tension in the region after Russia seized Ukrainian vessels near Crimea on Sunday. Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko on Thursday accused Putin of wanting to annex his entire country and called for NATO to deploy warships to a sea shared by the two nations.

While it was unclear why there was a sudden change in plans for a meeting originally set for Saturday, holding talks with Putin now could represent bad optics for the White House at a time when the president is under scrutiny over prior plans to build a Trump Tower in Moscow.

Cohen pleaded guilty on Thursday to lying to Congress about the proposed Trump Organisation skyscraper in Moscow, prompting Trump to lash out at Cohen as a "liar" and "weak person."

Air Force one

White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders told reporters on the presidential aircraft that Trump made the decision not to meet Putin after speaking with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, White House chief of staff John Kelly and national security adviser John Bolton.

Bolton has pushed for Trump to withdraw the United States from the Cold War-era Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces treaty over what U.S. officials called Moscow's violation of it. Trump's cancelling of the meeting appeared to catch the Kremlin by surprise. The Kremlin's spokesman said Moscow had no official information on Trump's decision, and that if true, Putin would have some extra time for a useful meeting at the G20 summit.

Differences over Ukraine, as well as Moscow's role in the civil war in Syria, have been an irritant in US-Russian relations for years. Democratic US Senator Bob Menendez of New Jersey said Trump was missing an "an opportunity to redeem himself, stand up for American values, stand up for international law, stand up for our own national security interests, and he had that opportunity and instead he's abdicating it.

It is ironic that this President cannot find his spine to confront Vladimir Putin but can challenge the closest allies the United States has across the globe," Menendez said.

The administration of former President Barack Obama imposed sanctions on Russia for its annexation of Crimea from Ukraine in 2014. That in part brought ties between Washington and Moscow to their lowest point since the end of the Cold War.

Since then, the United States has investigated Russia's possible interference in the 2016 election that Trump won. Russia has denied meddling and Trump has repeatedly said there was no collusion.

Russia seized three Ukrainian navy ships and their crews on Sunday near Crimea over what it said was their illegal entry into Russian waters, which Ukraine denies. Some of Ukraine's Western allies have raised the possibility of imposing new sanctions on Russia over the episode, which could deliver a blow to the Russian economy.

Kiev is aiming to gain Western support for more economic sanctions against Moscow, secure tangible Western military help, and rally opposition to a Russian gas pipeline that threatens to deprive Ukraine of important transit revenue.
The Maldives Government has strongly denied media reports which stated that India had offered $1 billion to Maldives in exchange for the deployment of Indian troops in the island nation.

Male: The Maldives Government has strongly denied media reports which stated that India had offered $1 billion to Maldives in exchange for the deployment of Indian troops in the island nation.

The Minister for Foreign Affairs Abdulla Shahid said that the Maldivian territory would not be used for the establishment of any foreign military bases. "Categorically refute media reports alleging that government is planning to allow the establishment of an Indian military base in Maldives in exchange for financial assistance or other material benefits. It is baseless and aimed at discrediting the government as it starts to rebuild good relations with its neighbours and the rest of the international community," he said on Twitter.

"Government assures the people, that it will always act in the national interest of Maldives and will not undertake any international engagement that will compromise the sovereignty and independence of the country," he added. Shahid was reacting to a news article published in a Japanese Daily, NIKKIE Asian Review, which stated that India offered Maldives $1 billion in exchange for stronger security ties.

Abdullah Shahid was recently on an official visit to New Delhi, where he met top leaders including his counterpart Sushma Swaraj and Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.

He described India as time-tested and a trusted partner. He showed commitment to strengthen bilateral trade ties between the two countries. The Foreign Minister, however, mentioned that his country will closely work with all of its neighbours and the international community. He also called China as a friend and one of the largest economies of the world whose assistance had benefited Maldives.

New Maldives President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih is scheduled to visit India on 17 December in keeping with his 'India-First' policy.
Donald Trumps former campaign manager Paul Manaforts case comes up in a Washington DC court Friday barely 48 hours after news broke that he has gone rogue on his co-operation agreement with special counsel Robert Mueller who is investigating a range of alleged Russian involvement in the Trump 2016 campaign.

Washington DC: Donald Trumps former campaign manager Paul Manaforts case comes up in a Washington DC court Friday barely 48 hours after news broke that he has gone rogue on his co-operation agreement with special counsel Robert Mueller who is investigating a range of alleged Russian involvement in the Trump 2016 campaign.

Manafort will not show up for the hearing but his and Mueller's lawyers will face off in less than 24 hours after former Trump fixer Michael Cohen pleaded guilty to lying about Trump's Russia connections during the thick of the 2016 campaign. "I waive my right to appear because of the time involved in having the U.S. Marshal Service transport me to and from the courthouse," Manafort said in a new filing.

Paul Manafort's plea deal went up in smoke after he repeatedly lied to investigators, an allegation Manafort denies. The extraordinary dissolution of the deal means Mueller loses a witness in his Russia probe. But it's a potentially bigger loss for Manafort come sentencing time. And it raises important questions about the state of the Russia investigation.

How did we get here?

Manafort cut a deal with prosecutors in September, agreeing to plead guilty to two felonies and cooperate with Mueller's team "fully, truthfully, completely, and forthrightly." In exchange, prosecutors agreed that if he provided "substantial assistance" they could help him get a lighter sentence.

The deal headed off a second trial for Manafort related to his Ukrainian political consulting and unregistered foreign lobbying. He was previously convicted at trial of eight felony counts in a separate case.

Why does Manafort matter to Mueller?

Manafort knows a lot about Donald Trump's presidential campaign  and he is an eyewitness to at least one key meeting under investigation by the special counsel. While leading the Trump campaign in June 2016, he joined Donald Trump Jr., Jared Kushner and a Russian attorney at Trump Tower for a meeting, which Trump Jr. had been told was part of a Russian government effort to help his father's campaign. Mueller has interviewed several participants in the meeting. Manafort also can offer his recollections of discussions with Donald Trump during the months he led the campaign. Manafort was at the helm when Trump made some public pronouncements that have caught Mueller's attention, including Trump's famous late July 2016 invitation for Russia to hack Democrat Hillary Clinton to find 30,000 missing emails.

Manafort could also offer federal prosecutors in New York help with an investigation into Ukrainian political work he led and whether others were acting as unregistered foreign agents. That probe is examining the conduct of Democratic lobbyist Tony Podesta, former Obama White House counsel Greg Craig and former Republican congressman and lobbyist Vin Weber. None of the three has been charged.

What did Manafort lie about?

We don't know yet  but we will soon - as early as Friday. Prosecutors were vague in court papers. They only wrote that Manafort lied to the FBI and the special counsel's office on "a variety of subject matters." But they promised U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson that they will lay out "the nature of the defendant's crimes and lies" in a later filing. For his part, Manafort disputes he lied. He said he truthfully answered investigators' questions on numerous occasions.

More details could emerge Friday when Jackson hears from both sides about next steps in the case including the possible setting of Manafort's sentencing date.

Does it matter that Manafort has backed off?

Now that Micheal Cohen is co-operating with Mueller, Manafort matter's a little less than if Cohen wasn't playing ball. The value of Manafort's cooperation has also likely gone down since he held out for so long while Mueller's team vacuumed up millions of pages of documents, interviewed scores of people and gained other key cooperators, such as former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn. And Mueller still has Manafort's right-hand man, Rick Gates, as a cooperator. Gates spent more time on the campaign and later served on the presidential inaugural committee, potentially giving him more insight than Manafort into the actions of the president and people around him.

Is this a pardon play?

In the wake of Manafort's conviction in August, Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani told The New York Times that he and the president discussed the political consequences of pardoning Manafort. But there have been few signs since that a pardon is still on the table. For their part, Manafort's attorneys aren't saying. And on Tuesday, Giuliani told The Associated Press that Trump is not considering a pardon at this time. "The president could consider it at an appropriate time as Manafort has the same rights as any American," Giuliani said.

(With additional inputs by FP Staff)
By Scott Squires BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) - The United Nations is 'working hard to ensure the start of meaningful peace talks in Yemen' before the end of the year, U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres said on Thursday

By Scott Squires

BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) - The United Nations is "working hard to ensure the start of meaningful peace talks in Yemen" before the end of the year, U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres said on Thursday.

Speaking in Buenos Aires ahead of the start of the Group of 20 summit of industrialized nations, Guterres said he did not want to raise expectations, due to "a number of setbacks that have taken place," but said he was hopeful talks would resume.

"We are working hard to create conditions for those peace talks to start, hopefully this year," Guterres said.

A worsening humanitarian crisis in the nearly 4-year-old conflict in Yemen has prompted Western nations to call for an end to the Saudi-led military campaign there.

The U.N. has sponsored a series of peace talks aimed at ending the conflict, which has killed more than 10,000 people and pushed the impoverished country to the brink of starvation.

The Secretary General also addressed recent Russian aggression in the Ukraine, which prompted U.S. President Donald Trump to cancel a scheduled meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

"It is clear that the integrity of the Ukraine must be respected," Guterres said, adding that he hoped the international community would help to avoid escalating the conflict and pave the way for a lawful and meaningful dialogue between Russia and the Ukraine.

(Reporting by Scott Squires; writing by Scott Squires and Cassandra Garrison, editing by Ross Colvin, Leslie Adler and James Dalgleish)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
The $3 billion security aid to Pakistan that the US suspended, is much higher than the $1.3 billion quoted by President Donald Trump this month and $1.66 billion reported by the Pentagon last week.

Washington: The US has suspended $3 billion in security assistance to Pakistan this year after it failed to rein in terrorist groups, a figure which is much higher than the $1.3 billion quoted by the Trump administration earlier, according to sources.

The $3 billion amount was calculated in the latest compilation of all figures coming from various funding streams from different fiscal years, PTI has learned.

Not been made public yet, the suspended figure of $3 billion is much higher than the $1.3 billion quoted by President Donald Trump this month and $1.66 billion reported by the Pentagon last week.

The compilation of the figures coming from various wings of the US Government is understood to have been done after the recent Twitter spat between President Trump and Pakistan prime minister Imran Khan.

The US president this month said that Pakistan did not "do a damn thing" for the US despite billions of dollars in American aid for the South Asian nation.

Khan fired back, telling the president on Twitter that he "needs to be informed about historical facts," adding that the US aid to Pakistan was a "minuscule" $20 billion, while the country lost 75,000 people and more than $123 billion fighting the 'US War on Terror'.

Over the past several years, senior US officials had been accusing Pakistan of playing a double game with the US and not taking satisfactory action against terrorist groups like Haqqani networks, the Taliban and Lashkar-a-Taiba.

During the second term of the Obama administration, US lawmakers started bringing in legislation that imposed stringent conditions on Pakistan for certain security assistance. However, Trump became the first US president to announce the suspension of security aid to Pakistan.

"The United States has foolishly given Pakistan more than 33 billion dollars in aid over the last 15 years, and they have given us nothing but lies and deceit, thinking of our leaders as fools. They give safe haven to the terrorists we hunt in Afghanistan, with little help. No more!" Trump announced on 1 January.

Since then, senior administration officials assert no security aid has been given to Pakistan. Among this also includes the coalition support fund.

Early this month, Trump charged Pakistan of harbouring Osama bin Laden, Al Qaeda leader, and asserted that his country will not give any financial aid to Pakistan.

Trump told White House reporters last week that he wants to have a better relationship with Pakistan, but would not revoke the suspension of aid unless he sees changes in the approach of Pakistan towards terrorist organisations.
Winston Churchill is known as Great Britain's most iconic Prime Minister; he held the office twice during 1940-45 and later in 1951-55.

Winston Churchill is considered one of the most formidable socio-political leaders in the history of the United Kingdom. His contributions  as a politician, orator, writer, and journalist  to his country and the world made him one of the greatest statesmen of the 20th century.

Churchill is known as Great Britain's most iconic prime minister; he held office twice, during 1940-45 and later in 1951-55. His political acumen is said to have led the country to victory during World War II.

Born on 30 November, 1874, Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill came from a wealthy, aristocratic family in Blenheim Palace, Oxfordshire. His father was a descendant of the Dukes of Marlborough and his mother was of American origin. While growing up, he was sent to a military school at the Royal Military Academy in Sandhurst on account of his poor grades and bad behaviour.

He was employed as a soldier and part-time journalist by the British Empire and went on numerous trips to India, Afghanistan, Cuba, Egypt and South Africa. These military travel expeditions prompted him to write extensively. He wrote as many as five books and many campaign reports until 1900 when he returned to England. The same year, he published his only novel, Savrola: A Tale of the Revolution in Laurania; six years later he penned the biography of his father, Lord Randolph Churchill. He later went on to write the biography of his most renowned ancestor, John Churchill, the first Duke of Marlborough, which was published in four volumes from 1933 to 1938.

However, it was during the World War that he came into prominence. I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears and sweat, Churchill told the House of Commons in his first speech as prime minister. He further added, "We have before us many, many long months of struggle and of suffering. You ask, what is our policy? I can say: It is to wage war, by sea, land and air, with all our might and with all the strength that God can give us; to wage war against a monstrous tyranny, never surpassed in the dark, lamentable catalogue of human crime. That is our policy. You ask, what is our aim? I can answer in one word: It is victory, victory at all costs, victory in spite of all terror, victory, however long and hard the road may be; for without victory, there is no survival, as quoted by History.com.

Churchill also documented the history of World War I in four volumes titled The World Crisis, that were published between 1923-29. Almost two decades later, he also wrote Memoirs of the Second World War that was published between 1948-1953/54 and ran to six volumes; this also won him the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1953.

The same year, he was knighted and conferred with the Order of the Garter. In 1963, he was given an honorary citizenship of the United States by the then President John F Kennedy. Churchill was also criticised and condemned for his politics and decisions, namely his role in the devastating Bengal famine in 1943; his inclination towards elitism and colonisation; his remarks against Mahatma Gandhi; and his attitude towards Islam and the Jews.

Churchill breathed his last on 24 January 1965 and was honoured with a state funeral by Queen Elizabeth II.
The Turkish Air Force has killed 14 terrorists in northern Iraq as part of the operation against the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) terrorists.

In a Twitter post, Turkish General Staff said its jets pounded PKK terrorists in the Hakurk, Avasin-Basyan, Gara, Haftanin, and Metina regions.

According to the post, shelters belonging to the terror group were also destroyed in the airstrikes, Anadolu Agency reported.

Earlier, Turkish Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu said that 87,838 operations have been carried out against the PKK this year, during which 289 PKK terrorists were killed.
1 December is celebrated as World AIDS day every year to raise awareness about HIV/AIDS and to demonstrate international solidarity in the face of the pandemic. It is observed internationally to spread awareness as HIV testing coverage remains low among various population groups.

World Aids Day, which falls on 1 December, will have Know your status" as the theme this year, encouraging people to get tested, raising awareness about the importance of knowing ones status and calling for the removal of all barriers to accessing HIV testing. This year also marks the 30th anniversary of the first World AIDS Day.

The first day of December is celebrated as World AIDS day every year internationally to raise awareness about HIV/AIDS and to demonstrate international solidarity in the face of the pandemic.

Each year, Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) sets a theme for the campaign. The theme for this year is important because a UNAIDS report states that 9.4 million people living with HIV do not know they are living with the virus and urgently need to be linked to HIV testing and treatment services.

Despite tremendous progress, the AIDS epidemic is still at large, especially in India. An estimated 120,000 children and adolescents aged 0-19 were living with HIV in India in 2017, the highest number in South Asia, according to a UNICEF report released on Thursday, 'Children, HIV and AIDS: The World in 2030.' The report warned that around 80 adolescents will be dying of AIDS every day globally by 2030 if progress in preventing transmission is not accelerated.

The report noted that South Asia has made substantial progress in reducing HIV risks and vulnerability among children, adolescents, pregnant women and mothers. In India, an estimated 120,000 children and adolescents aged 019 were living with HIV in 2017. In Pakistan, this number was 5,800, followed by Nepal (1,600) and Bangladesh (less than 1,000).

In 2017, the estimated number of children under 5 years old newly diagnosed with HIV was 43 percent lower than the comparable estimate in 2010  a decline greater than the 35 per cent recorded globally.

The report, however, warned that by 2030, around 80 adolescents will be dying of AIDS every day if "we don't accelerate progress in preventing transmission."

Currently, three million persons 19 years and younger, are infected with HIV worldwide. Two million new infections could be averted by 2030 if global targets are met this means providing adequate access to HIV prevention, care and treatment services, and testing and diagnoses.

Further, the report cites a global target reduction in the number of HIV-infected children by 2030 to 1.4 million, while the projected number today of 1.9 million, shows that the world is off-track by around 500,000. The major shortfalls show slow progress in prevention among the young, and a failure to address the key drivers of the epidemic. Many infected children and adolescents are unaware of their illness, and even when tested HIV-positive, rarely adhere to proper treatment.

World AIDS Day originated at the 1988 World Summit of Ministers of Health on Programmes for AIDS Prevention. Since then, every year United Nations agencies, governments and civil society join together to campaign around specific themes related to AIDS.

With inputs from PTI
Meizu is all set to launch its flagship Meizu 16 smartphone in India on December 5th, based on its teaser on its social channels. The Meizu 16 was introduced back in August and packs a 6-inch Full HD+ 18:9 aspect ratio display from Samsung with 91.18% screen-to-body ratio, thanks to 1.43mm side bezels and 5.74mm chin, is powered by Snapdragon 845 with up to 8GB of RAM, has custom copper cooling tube and feature an in-display fingerprint sensor that has 99.12% high recognition rate.

It has a 12-megapixel rear camera with Sony IMX380 sensor, 1.55m pixel size, f/1.8 aperture along with a 20-megapixel secondary telephoto lens with Sony IMX350 sensor for portrait shots and 3x loss-less zoom and a 20-megapixel front facing camera with AI beauty recognition and Face unlock. It has a 3D glass back with ceramic texture, and pack a 3010mAh with 24W mCharge flash charge.

Meizu 16 specifications

6-inch ( 1080  2160 pixels) Full HD+ Super AMOLED display with 10000 : 1 aspect ratio, 430cd/m2 (typical) brightness, 402 PPI

Octa-Core Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 Mobile Platform with Adreno 630 GPU

6GB RAM with 64GB / 128GB (UFS 2.1) internal memory, 8GB RAM with 128GB (UFS 2.1) internal memory

Dual SIM

Android 8.1 (Oreo) with Flyme OS

12MP rear camera with wide-angle lens, 1/2.3 Sony IMX380 sensor, 1.55m pixel size, f/1.8 aperture, Four-axis OIS, PDAF, Laser auto-focus, secondary 20MP telephoto lens, Sony IMX350 sensor, f/2.6 aperture, 6-LED ring LED flash

20MP front-facing camera with f/2.0 aperture, AI face unlock

In-display fingerprint sensor

3.5mm audio jack, dual speakers

Dimensions: 150.573.27.3mm ; Weight: 152g

4G VoLTE, Wi-Fi 802.11 ac (2.4GHz + 5GHz) 2 x 2 MIMO, Bluetooth 5, GPS + GLONASS, USB Type-C

3010mAh (typical) / 2950mAh (minimum) battery with mCharge fast charging

The Meizu 16 was introduced starting at 2698 yuan (US$ 388 /  27,130 approx.), and there is also Meizu 16X with Snapdragon 710 SoC at a cheaper rate of 2098 yuan (US$ 302 / Rs. 21,095 approx.). It is not clear if the company is launching both the phones in India next week.
The UKs trade agreement with Australia is the first it has negotiated from scratch, setting the template for a line of new deals currently underway. Analysts are... Read More
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The European Union may extend its existing economic sanctions on Russia next month over Moscows actions against Ukraines navy in the Sea of Azov, European Council President Donald Tusk said.

"Europe is united in its support to Ukraines sovereignty and territorial integrity," Reuters cited him as saying.

"This is why I am sure that the EU will roll over the sanctions against Russia in December, the European Council President told a news conference in Argentina, where the leaders of the worlds 20 biggest economies were meeting.

Tusk said that such Russias actions were "totally unacceptable".
The European Union is prepared for every Brexit scenario, European Council President Donald Tusk said.

"A few days before the vote in the House of Commons, it is becoming more and more clear that this deal is the best possible  in fact, the only possible one," the European Council President said, ruling out any renegotiation by the EU if the British parliament votes down last Sundays deal on December 11.

"If this deal is rejected in the Commons, we are left with ... an alternative: no deal or no Brexit at all. I want to reassure you that the EU is prepared for every scenario,"Reuters cited Tusk as saying.

Tusk will chair an EU summit two days after the British parliament votes on a deal that May has also said is the best London can get. Britain is due to leave the EU on March 29, although some campaigners hope the withdrawal can be stopped.
The Ukrainian State Border Guard Service has prohibited Russian men, aged 16-60, from entering the country.

"Control measures at checkpoints have been enhanced," head of the Ukrainian State Border Guard Service Pyotr Tsigikal said. "As of today, foreigners, primarily Russians, have been restricted entry," TASS cited him as saying.

"Russian men, aged 16-60, have been prohibited from entering," Tsigikal added.

The chief of Ukraine's State Border Guard Service added that entry is only possible should the situation a "humanitarian nature" emerge, like funerals, for example.

Ukraine's President Petro Poroshenko said that the measures are taken in order to prevent the Russian Federation from forming private armies on Ukrainian soil.

The deputy dean of the Faculty of Global Economics and International Affairs of the Higher School of Economics of the National Research University, Andrei Suzdaltsev, speaking with the correspondent of Vestnik Kavkaza, noted that this ban breaks human ties between residents of Russia and Ukraine and separates families. "The ban will hit, first of all, on ordinary people. Russians mostly go to Ukraine to visit their relatives. Now they are deprived of this opportunity. But it will not have an impact on Russia in economic terms," he said.

"Naturally, there will be a proposal to respond in the same way, that is, to prohibit Ukrainian men of the same age to enter Russia. Such ideas have been heard for a long time. Considering the fact that yesterday Ukrainian Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin stressed the need to break diplomatic relations, then Kievs actions are in line with his statements. Here its necessary to understand that there are 3.5 million Ukrainian guest workers in Russia, and if we ban them all, it will be a terrible blow for Ukraine. But Russia will not do it, because it is not fighting against the Ukrainian people," Andrey Suzdaltsev stressed.

A professor of the Department of Russian Foreign Policy in the National Security Faculty at RANEPA, Alexander Mikhailenko, said that Ukraine is trying to bring the West's interest back through the aggravation of relations with Russia. "This conflict is being escalated in order to aggravate the situation and they stop to talk about Ukraine only in a negative way. Obviously, Kiev wants to draw the attention of the world community to an absolutely empty bubble. At the same time, if Russia takes tit-for-tat measures, it will benefit Kiev. Its better for us to pay less attention to these provocations and emphasize that it is being done only to bring the Ukrainian issue back to the international agenda," the expert pointed out.
The U.S. Senate unanimously approved a resolution condemning Russia's "provocative actions" in the Kerch Strait.

The resolution was introduced by Senators Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) and Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), the chairman and ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on Europe and Regional Security Cooperation.

"The resolution of the Senate 709, condemning Russia's provocative actions in the Kerch Strait against the Ukrainian navy, was adopted," the resolution says.

Johnson said that the resolution "strongly condemns" Russia's actions and urges the country to release crew members. The resolution also voices support for the Ukrainian government. Johnson noted that the resolution has "almost 50 co-sponsors in the Senate."

The U.S. Congress resolutions have no imperative force.

British Prime Minister Theresa May, in turn, said that Britain would continue to push for :appropriate sanctions" against Russia over the Kerch Strait situation.

She recalled that the UK has always been "at the forefront in the EU of calling for sanctions on Russia in relation to its behavior." "We will continue to push for what we consider to be appropriate sanctions on Russia," Reuters cited May as saying.

The British PM said that this situation was "part of a pattern of Russian behavior".She urged to release "those ships and sailors, de-escalate the situation."

The senior research fellow at the European Research Centre of the International Relations Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Vladimir Olenchenko, speaking to Vestnik Kavkaza, noted that the West proceeded to exacerbate relations with Russia due to the fact that Moscow did not behave in the Kerch provocation as it had been expected. "Russia's resolute and firm actions ruled out the scenario planned by Kiev and in the West, that is, the western plan for this provocation was, in fact, thwarted. The current situation is an expression of deep disappointment with developments by the U.S. and the UK, which were the main producers of the Kerch Strait provocations. In April, the UK allocated 11 million to help Ukraine in repelling the so-called 'Russian aggression'. Now it turned out that their plans against Russia do not work."

"I think they intended to attract all countries to it, but most of the Western states avoided, because circumstances indicate that is was a deliberately prepared provocation in the Kerch Strait. There have been calls to increase pressure on Russia only from the U.S. and the UK (and Estonia), that is, the countries, which are traditional generators of Russophobia and anti-Russian policy. Therefore, one should not expect that the American-British campaign will unfold to the whole world," Vladimir Olenchenko stressed.
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News

Draft raises questions about park board authority

GALVESTON

A proposed agreement between the city and Park Board of Trustees has leaders at odds and is raising questions about the origins and legal sovereignty of a board that for more than 50 years has overseen island tourism initiatives and administered millions of dollars in hotel occupancy taxes.

City staff members last month gave the park board staff a draft of the proposed interlocal agreement, a contract between public bodies. The document caused confusion and inspired indignation among park board officials who see it as an undue and perhaps illegal intrusion into their authority.

The document is an effort to clarify and consolidate several other agreements made since the park boards creation in 1963, city officials said. But park board staff members worry it would weaken their organizations authority and cause confusion about what the park board is and isnt.

After a series of rhetorical clashes, both city council members and park board trustees agree language in the proposed agreement is confusing and must be clarified.

There seems to be little agreement, however, about the core question  whether the park board should be more subordinate to the city, like a department would be, or whether its meant to be mostly autonomous and in some ways beyond city control.

The dispute has both blocs parsing decades-old and much amended legal texts in search of original intent.

We are a separate government, said Carla Cotropia, the park boards attorney. Theres confusion that we are some type of department of the city. That is not accurate.

Some city leaders, however, disagree with that assessment, at least to a degree.

They may not be the city itself, but they are deriving their authority from the city and they are deriving their duties because the city contracted for them to do it, Mayor Jim Yarbrough said.

Unlike the city, which gets sales and property taxes from residents, the park board is funded partly through hotel occupancy taxes, which come from overnight hotel stays, Cotropia said.

Those taxes amounted to more than $12 million, about 43 percent, of the park boards $28 million budget last year, according to board budget documents.

This money pays for beach cleaning and patrol and tourism promotion, duties tasked to the park board upon its creation by city ordinance in 1963. Voters supported the board at the ballot box earlier that year, after the state legislature in 1962 authorized the creation of an organization overseen by nine city council-appointed trustees to lure visitors to the island.

The legislation allowed Gulf Coast cities with more than 60,000 people to vote for a board with authority to operate and maintain public parks placed under its jurisdiction, according to legislative documents.

A.R. Babe Schwartz, a state senator at the time, led the effort to pass the legislation.

Schwartz died in August, but his son Richard remembers his fathers commitment to the legislation.

My father believed that the park board was meant to be independent of the city, Richard Schwartz said. We were talking about this before he passed.

Schwartz had represented interests of Galveston hoteliers who were paying fees to the Galveston Chamber of Commerce to lure tourists to the island, city spokeswoman Marissa Barnett said.

Many in the hotel industry felt the money was not being used in the way it was intended, Barnett said. The main purpose of the park board was advocating for tourism and beach maintenance.

But since then, questions have arisen about exactly where the line between the park board and city lies.

The city doesnt have to approve the park board budget. Attorneys from both entities said the financial departments are completely separate.

An ordinance passed last year required the park board to obtain city council approval expenditures on city assets of more than $125,000. This was meant to give the city more oversight of activity on city assets, city officials said.

The 1963 ordinance creating the park board awarded the entity authority to manage and control certain city assets, such as Stewart Beach and R.A. Apffel Park, according to city ordinance.

Clarifying about half a dozen ordinances such as this is the purpose of the draft interlocal agreement, Yarbrough said.

These later agreements designated management to the park board, Barnett said.

The rules of management, so to speak, were created by ordinance later, not in the original legislation, Barnett said. The authorizing legislation didnt get into those details, just the overarching responsibilities.

The city could resume operation of those assets, if it so chose, because the existing interlocals arent perpetual, Barnett said.

Understanding how the park board runs these city assets is a main reason for the interlocal agreement, District 2 Councilman Craig Brown said. Brown also is a park board trustee.

For so many years, for a number of varied reasons, the city did not have an understanding and knowledge of city-owned assets not only at the park board, Brown said.

The document doesnt intend to impose expenditure micromanagement, Brown said.

But the park board contends it already provides sufficient transparency, Spencer Priest, chairman of the park board, said.

For anyone to say that they dont know how tourism developments spending money, I dont know how to help them because they have representation and we publish all of those documents online, Priest said.
Galveston, TX (77553)

Today

Cloudy and windy with rain ending overnight. Low 52F. Winds N at 25 to 35 mph. Chance of rain 70%. Higher wind gusts possible..

Tonight

Cloudy and windy with rain ending overnight. Low 52F. Winds N at 25 to 35 mph. Chance of rain 70%. Higher wind gusts possible.
The producers of the Emmy Award winning PBS hits Beyond The Powder and Red Tail Reborn now have a new historical aviation series available online to viewers in the U.S.; The Restorers  Season 1. The documentary series is now available through the Amazon Prime streaming service.

The Restorers  Season 1 is the original aviation series that started it all.

This exciting, award-winning series examines warbird and vintage aircraft restorers and the planes they resurrect from the graves of history. Each one hour episode follows a theme and contains several related stories within. The first seasons five episodes are titled: Living History, Aircraft Recovery, The Aviatrix, Aviation Destinations, and They Were All Volunteers.

Scenes depicted in the episodes include the following

Jim Lauria of the Commemorative Air Force  Minnesota Wing states, Each of these aircraft have a soul of their own. And when it stops flying its just like we stop living. We wanna be able to keep flying them.

The Restorers  Season 1 is available to Amazon Prime Video subscribers.

For those outside the USA, The Restorers  Season 1 is being distributed by Principal Media, both in broadcast and VOD arenas.

The Restorers  Now on Amazon Prime from Hemlock Films on Vimeo.

Helpful links:

www.TheRestorers.com

www.hemlockfilms.com
Advertisement

By West Kentucky Star Staff

Nov. 29, 2018 | PADUCAH

By West Kentucky Star Staff Nov. 29, 2018 | 06:24 PM | PADUCAH

A Paducah man has been charged with the alleged rape of a child.



The McCracken County Sheriff's Department reports that they received a complaint that alleged a 30-year-old male had been raping a girl under 12-years-old, and that this activity had been occurring for approximately two years.



An investigation was started and interviews with multiple family members were conducted.



On Wednesday at 1:20 pm, detectives located Brendin Rounds, of Paducah, at his Ogilvie Avenue home. A search warrant was executed on the home and several items of evidence were found. Rounds was then interviewed by detectives.



During the interview, detectives say that Rounds admitted to committing sexual acts with the child on several different occasions.



He was charged with five counts of 1st degree rape, five counts of 1st degree sexual abuse, and taken to the McCracken County Regional Jail.
The future is bright for electric cars in Georgia - GeorgianJournal
The after-pains of the presidential election in Georgia - GeorgianJournal


Annual General Meeting Presentation

Perth, Nov 30, 2018 AEST (ABN Newswire) - Australian Potash Ltd ( ASX:APC ) provides the Company's Annual General Meeting Presentation.Investment HighlightsPremium fertiliser product- Sulphate of Potash (SOP or K2SO4) is the premium potassium fertiliser- Potash provides potassium, an essential, non-substitutable fertiliser essential for ALL plant growthCompelling macro-economics- Structural changes occurring in China through environmental clean-up- 25% - 35% reduction in supply chain from 2018 onwards- Australia has never produced ANY potash: Import replacement opportunityVery strong project technicals- Low risk, low cost scalable operation- Strong SOP grade in brine: 14MT SOP JORC Resource- Highly-capital efficient CAPEX development- Granted Mining Leases- Lowest quartile cost of production- Compelling Logistical SolutionCommercial milestones- Two Memorandum of Understanding for off-take with large Chinese agricultural companies: Sino-Agri and Hubei-Agri- Australian fertiliser companies: off-take positions?- Gold project exploration farm-outTo view the full presentation, please visit:About Australian Potash Ltd

Australian Potash Limited (ASX:APC) is an ASX-listed Sulphate of Potash (SOP) developer. The Company holds a 100% interest in the Lake Wells Potash Project located approximately 500kms northeast of Kalgoorlie, in Western Australia's Eastern Goldfields.

Following the release of a Scoping Study in 2017, APC has been conducting a Definitive Feasibility Study (DFS) into the development of the Lake Wells Potash Project. The Company is aiming to release the findings of the DFS in H2 2019.

The Lake Wells Potash Project is a palaeochannel brine hosted sulphate of potash project. Palaeochannel bore fields supply large volumes of brine to many existing mining operations throughout Western Australia, and this technique is a well understood and proven method for extracting brine. APC will use this technically low-risk and commonly used brine extraction model to further develop a bore-field into the palaeochannel hosting the Lake Wells SOP resource.

A Scoping Study on the Lake Wells Potash Project was completed and released on 23 March 2017. The Scoping Study exceeded expectations and confirmed that the Project's economic and technical aspects are all exceptionally strong, and highlights APC's potential to become a significant long-life, low capital and high margin sulphate of potash (SOP) producer.
Android 9 Pie update for Motorola One Power, Motorola One rolling out globally News oi-Sandeep Sarkar Motorola took it to its official website to release the notes on Android Pie update for both Motorola One Power and Motorola One smartphones.

Motorola had launched its first Android One backed smartphone the Motorola One Power back in September this year. One of the major highlights of the Motorola smartphones is the stock Android UI which delivers a premium user experience. It was recently reported that Motorola will roll out the Android 9 Pie update for its Android One powered smartphone. Now, the American multinational has started rolling out the latest Android version for both Motorola One Power and Motorola One.

Motorola One Power is an India exclusive smartphone, whereas, the Motorola One is available in the US, Latin America, Asia, and European markets. The update is being rolled out globally in a phased out manner and will be available for all the Motorola One Power and Motorola One users gradually.

Motorola took it to its official website to release the notes on Android Pie update for both Motorola One Power and Motorola One smartphones. A dedicated upgrade page for both the devices has also been prepared where the update schedule depending on different markets and carrier providers. While the Motorola One Power has already received the Android Pie update in India, the Motorola One is also finally receiving the update.

The update notes added by the company on the dedicated page reveal that the new update will bring along the Android Pie goodies along with it. The new update also brings November Android security patch with it. The other features which the latest update will bring include adaptive battery, adaptive brightness, navigation gestures, an improved Do Not Disturb mode and a redesigned split screen among others. The update is further expected to improve the overall performance of both the Motorola smartphones.

With the new Android 9 Pie update, the Motorola One Power will receive camera related improvements along with the added support for dual VoLTE feature. The update will also make some tweaks and improvements to the device.

The steps to update the Motorola One Power and Motorola One are fairly simple, all you need to do is go to the Settings > System > System updates. Once you select the System updates your device will look for the update and download it if it's available.

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MediaTek Helio P90 will launch on the 13th of December in Shenzhen News oi-Vivek MediaTek Helio P90 will be the flagship chipset from MTK

MediaTek recently started to tease the launch of the MediaTek Helio P90 SoC, the next flagship processor from MediaTek with improved AI capability. And now, according to 91Mobiles, the chipset maker will unveil the MediaTek Helio P90 on the 13th of December.

The launch of the MediaTek Helio P90 has been confirmed by MediaTek's General Manager - Wireless Communication, TL Lee. The Helio P90 will be unveiled in Shenzhen, China on the 13th of December 2018.

According to TL Lee, the company might not launch the Helio P80. Instead, the MediaTek Helio P90 will be the next chipset from the MediaTek foundry. The MediaTek Helio P90 will not be the successor to the Helio P70. It will be a much powerful processor with flagship grade CPU, GPU, and AI performance.

Users can expect to see new smartphones powered by the MediaTek Helio P90 SoC from the Q2 of 2019 (from April 2019).

MediaTek Helio P90 features

The main focus for the MediaTek Helio P90 will be with respect to AI capabilities. The official tease reveals that the Helio P90 will offer groundbreaking AI features, which is also power efficient. The Helio P90 could be the first chipset from MediaTek based on either 10nm or 7nm manufacturing process.

Just like the Helio P60 and the Helio P70, the MediaTek Helio P90 will come with a dedicated APU (Artificial Intelligence processing unit) to enhance the performance of the device with respect to gaming, camera, and battery life. This will be the third chipset from MediaTek with a dedicated APU.

Companies like Oppo, Realme, Vivo, and Xiaomi are expected to launch mid-tier smartphones in 2019 with the MediaTek Helio P90 SoC.

The competition

Realme is the first smartphone maker to launch a new device based on the MediaTek Helio P70 SoC. The Realme U1 comes with the Helio P70, which offers better benchmark scores compared to other smartphones based on Snapdragon 660 or the Kirin 710 SoC.

The Helio P90 is expected to a performance similar to the Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 SoC, if not the Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 or the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8150 SoC, which will be the upcoming flagship chipset from Qualcomm with support for the 5G networking.

Source

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Nokia 5.1 Plus receives a new software update with November 2018 security patch News oi-Vivek Nokia 5.1 Plus comes under Android One programme.

HMD Global or the Nokia Mobiles is one of the few Android smartphone brands, which offers a timely software update for the whole suite of devices. And now, the company has released a new software update for the Nokia 5.1 Plus, the latest and the most affordable notch-phone from HMD Global.

This could be the latest Android 8.1 Oreo-based software update for the Nokia 5.1 Plus, as the company is already working on Android 9 Pie OS with stock Android UI.

What's new?

The software update for the Nokia 5.1 Plus is based on Android 8.1 Oreo, which also packs in the Google security patch for the month of November 2018. The update adds user interface enhancements and improves the overall system stability.

How to install the update?

To install the latest software build on the Nokia 5.1 Plus, go to Settings > About smartphone > Check for software update > Download and install.

As this is a stable release, you will not face any issues on the smartphone at any cost.

Nokia 5.1 Plus specs

The Nokia 5.1 Plus comes with 5.86-inch 1520 x 720p resolution, protected by 2.5D curved tempered glass. Under the hood, the smartphone runs on the MediaTek Helio P60 SoC with 3 GB RAM and 32 GB storage with a micro SD card slot for additional storage expansion.

The Nokia 5.1 Plus has a dual camera setup with a 13 MP primary camera and a 5 MP depth camera. On the front, the device has an 8 MP front-facing selfie camera with 1080p video recording capability. Both cameras do offer some of the trending camera features like portrait mode, panorama, and slow-motion video recording.

The phone has a dual SIM card slot with 4G LTE and VoLTE support on both slots with Bluetooth 4.2 and dual channel Wi-Fi. However, the phone has a hybrid slot, where a user can use either two SIM cards or a SIM and an SD card at the same time. The smartphone offers a premium all-glass design with a 3060 mAh Li-ion battery with USB type C port for charging and data syncing with a 3.5 mm headphone jack on the top portion of the device.

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OnePlus 6T McLaren Edition with 10 GB RAM might cost whopping Rs 50,000 News oi-Vivek OnePlus 6T McLaren Edition will launch on the 11th of December

OnePlus started to launch special edition smartphones with the OnePlus 5T Star Wars Edition, and in early 2018, the company launched the OnePlus 6 Avengers Edition. And now, the company has collaborated with a car brand McLaren to launch the OnePlus 6T with McLaren Edition.

What is OnePlus 6T McLaren Edition?

The company is teasing the OnePlus 6T McLaren Edition with a new hashtag "Salute to Speed," which hints towards that fact that the McLaren Edition of the OnePlus 6T will be faster than the standard OnePlus 6T.

The OnePlus 6T McLaren Edition will be unveiled in India on the 11th of December in Mumbai. The OnePlus 6T "McLaren Edition" will be the first OnePlus smartphone to launch in India with 10 GB of RAM and 256 GB of internal storage.

Since even I dont know confirmed pricing as of now, my guess (I mean not exactly but sill) will be around 50,000  Ishan Agarwal (@IshanAgarwal24) November 29, 2018

With the "McLaren Edition, the company will also increase the price of the smartphone, as it comes with a new design with 10 GB of RAM. According to Ishan Agarwal, the OnePlus 6T McLaren Edition is expected to cost Rs 50,000 or Rs 49,999, which makes it the most expensive smartphone from OnePlus. OnePlus is already charging Rs 44,999 for the OnePlus 6T with 8 GB RAM and 256 GB storage, and the company will charge Rs 5,000 more for the additional 2 GB of RAM.

OnePlus 6T McLaren Edition specifications

Just like the Avengers Edition and Star Wars Edition, the OnePlus 6T McLaren Edition will come with a McLaren logo on the back. Just like the standard OnePlus 6T, the McLaren Edition will have an in-display fingerprint sensor with a 6.3-inch display, protected by 2.5D curved Corning Gorilla Glass 6.

The Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 SoC will power the smartphone with 10 GB of RAM and 256 GB of storage with dual SIM card slot with support for 4G LTE and VoLTE on both slots.

The smartphone will feature a 3700 mAh battery with support for Dash Charging via USB type C port. Just like the original OnePlus 6T, the McLaren Edition will miss out on the 3.5 mm headphone jack. The OnePlus 6T McLaren Edition will run on Android 9 Pie OS with custom Oxygen OS skin on top.

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Oppo foldable phone and 5G smartphone pegged for early 2019 launch News oi-Abhinaya Prabhu Oppo is all set for innovative launches next year.

Oppo is reportedly up for an innovation next year. As per a recent report, the company is gearing up to announce its own foldable smartphone as early as February around the MWC 2019 tech show. This is not the first time that the Chinese brand is being speculated to be working on its own foldable smartphone. We have already come across reports regarding such a device in the making but the timelines weren't out so long.

Apart from the foldable smartphone, there are claims that it also working on a 5G smartphone. This device is likely to be out in the European market in the first half of 2019. And, it also believed to be prepping a smartphone with a hole to house the selfie camera in 2020.

Oppo foldable smartphone launch

As per a Dutch blog Tweakers.net, Chuck Wang, the Oppo product manager said that the company is working on a foldable smartphone. It is reported that this device might be announced around MWC 2019 late in February next year. However, the details regarding its specifications, pricing and release date remain a mystery.

The blog post goes on stating that the company is also working on a 5G capable smartphone as well. This device is slated to be launched sometime in the first half of next year. It is said that it could belong to the Find series of devices.

As mentioned above, the post adds that Wang has stated that an Oppo smartphone featuring an all-screen design and a hole for the selfie camera is pegged for 2020 announcement.

Foldable smartphones from Chinese brands

Samsung created the foldable smartphone buzz but the company is yet to launch the device. Recently, the company announced the first-ever foldable smartphone form factor featuring the new Infinity Flex Display design.

Eventually, the Chinese smartphone brands such as Oppo and Xiaomi are gearing up to launch such smartphones. Earlier this year, there were reports that these brands are working with suppliers in China in order to source components such as hinges and foldable displays for these upcoming smartphones. Though Oppo is likely to unveil this device sometime in the first quarter of next year, there is no clarity on the design that it might feature.

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Telecom Watchdog accuses Airtel, Vodafone Idea of indulging in anti-consumer activities News oi-Priyanka Dua Telecom operators such as Airtel and Vodafone have recently introduced minimum monthly recharge plans starting from Rs 35 to increase their revenue.

Non-profit group Telecom Watchdog has written a letter to Trai in which it charged Airtel and Vodafone indulging in "anti-consumer activities".

It said, "We wish to bring to your kind notice an alarming situation under which two telecom operators - Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea - have once again resorted to anti-consumer activities. In total disregard to the regulatory principles, they have now unilaterally decided to terminate the services of subscribers within 15 days of the expiry of the validity period of the "special tariff plan".

"Forcing the user to pay a minimum amount every month is nothing but demanding a "monthly rent," which is not the practice for pre-paid users. That means changing the scheme midway to a user's disadvantage. This is not permitted as per the existing

regulations reproduced below, which gives them protection for at least six months," it said further.

These operators have also started changing the tariff retrospectively, Telecom Watchdog added further.

Meanwhile, PTI reported that both Airtel and Vodafone Idea denied these allegations.

"All tariff plans of Bharti Airtel are in compliance with the applicable regulations. The matter raised by the TRAI, relating to the communication of the tariff plans to the consumers, has already been addressed," an Airtel spokesperson said PTI in an email response.

The spokesperson added the company did not wish to respond to "frivolous allegations".

A Vodafone Idea spokesperson, too, categorically denied what it termed were leveling of "baseless allegations".

For those who are not aware, telecom operators such as Airtel and Vodafone have recently introduced minimum monthly recharge plans starting from Rs 35 to increase their revenue.

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Board Changes and Senior Management Appointment

Sydney, Nov 30, 2018 AEST (ABN Newswire) - Hastings Technology Metals Limited ( ASX:HAS ) ("Hastings" or the "Company") announces that Mr Guy Robertson has retired from his role as Non-Executive Director and Joint Company Secretary following the 2018 AGM. Mr Robertson has served as Non-Executive Director and Company Secretary since 2011 and during this time has helped guide Hastings through a period of significant exploration success.Mr Robertson has been succeeded by the appointment of Mr Neil Hackett as Non-Executive Director and Company Secretary. Neil has over 20 years' ASX director, company secretary and senior executive experience in mining, industrials and funds management industries and a further 10 years corporate experience with the ASIC. Neil is currently Non-Executive Chairman of ASX listed lithium and gold explorer Ardiden Limited, Non- Executive Director of ASX listed oil and gas explorer Calima Energy Limited, Council Member of John XXIII College and Independent Board Advisor and Company Secretary to Footwear Industries Pty Ltd (trading as Steel Blue Boots). Neil holds a Bachelor of Economics from the University of Western Australia, post-graduate qualifications in Applied Finance and Investment, and Financial Planning, is a Graduate and Facilitator with the AICD and is a Fellow of FINSIA.The Board of Hastings also welcomes the appointment of Mr Andrew Reid as Chief Operating Officer. Andrew has 25 years of expertise in mine management with experience in construction, commissioning and plant operation. Andrew has developed and managed mining projects in West Africa and Finland and was previously COO of Finders Resources Ltd, GM of Kevista Mine and First Quantum Minerals.Charles Lew, Executive Chairman of Hastings commented that "I am very appreciative of the support and guidance over the last 5 years from Guy Robertson and welcome Neil Hackett whose qualifications and experience will make him a valuable addition to the Hastings Board. In addition, the arrival of Andrew Reid adds further depth to the management team."About Hastings Technology Metals Ltd

Hastings Technology Metals Ltd (ASX:HAS) (FRA:5AM) is advancing its Yangibana Rare Earths Project in the Upper Gascoyne Region of Western Australia towards production. The proposed beneficiation and hydro metallurgy processing plant will treat rare earths deposits, predominantly monazite, hosting high neodymium and praseodymium contents to produce a mixed rare earths carbonate that will be further refined into individual rare earth oxides at processing plants overseas.

Neodymium and praseodymium are vital components in the manufacture of permanent magnets which is used in a wide and expanding range of advanced and high-tech products including electric vehicles, wind turbines, robotics, medical applications and others. Hastings aims to become the next significant producer of neodymium and praseodymium outside of China.

Hastings holds 100% interest in the most significant deposits within the overall project, and 70% interest in additional deposits that will be developed at a later date, all held under Mining Leases. Numerous prospects have been identified warranting detailed exploration to further extend the life of the project.

Brockman Project

The Brockman deposit, near Halls Creek in Western Australia, contains JORC Indicated and Inferred Mineral Resources, estimated using the guidelines of JORC Code (2012 Edition).

The Company is also progressing a Mining Lease application over the Brockman Rare Earths and Rare Metals Project.

Hastings aims to capitalise on the strong demand for critical rare earths created by the expanding demand for new technology products.
Lawsuits Seek Details of CIA Cover Ups, Public Opinion Campaigns - Rights Group

Sputnik News

20:44 29.11.2018(updated 20:52 29.11.2018)

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - The family of Gul Rahman, who was tortured to death in CIA custody 16 years ago, seeks to discover what happened to the body, according to the first of two lawsuits filed against the spy agency by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) on Thursday.

'The lawsuit filed on behalf of Rahman's family seeks to compel the CIA to turn over records concerning Rahman's body, including information about the location of the body, and any procedures, protocols, or guidelines to be followed in the event of a CIA detainee's death while in US custody', an ACLU press release said.

Rahman died of hypothermia in November 2002 after two weeks of CIA interrogation in an Afghan prison after being kidnapped by US operatives while in Pakistan for a medical checkup, the release said.

To date, the CIA has not officially informed Rahman's family of his death, nor returned his body to his family, the release noted.

The second ACLU lawsuit targets what the release called 'unprecedented propaganda campaign to disseminate favourable information about Gina Haspel while refusing to disclose information about her role in torture and destruction of evidence', the release said.

Haspel was confirmed by the US Senate as CIA director in May 2018, despite reports she was in charge of a secret prison in Thailand in 2002, while a terror suspect was being waterboarded, and reports that she ordered the agency's destruction of interrogation video recordings in 2005.

The lawsuit seeks disclosure of communications between current and former CIA personnel, journalists, former CIA employees and public relations firms; decisions to promote coverage deemed favourable of Haspel; and communications from CIA staff to the White House, according to the release.

 Sputnik

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Speedcast's Crew Wi-Fi solution offers high performance Internet dedicated to crew and removes administrative burden for Seadrill.



Seadrill Enhances Personal Internet Experience for Its Crew

Sydney, Nov 30, 2018 AEST (ABN Newswire) - Speedcast International Limited ( ASX:SDA ) ( OTCMKTS:SPPDF ), the world's most trusted provider of remote communication and IT solutions, today announced that the company is adding its recently-launched Crew Wi-Fi solution onboard over a dozen offshore drilling rigs operated by Seadrill.Seadrill is a world leader in offshore drilling with one of the youngest, most modern fleets employing highly trained and proficient people. They operate in shallow to ultra-deep water, in both harsh and benign environments. Seadrill sees people as their most valuable asset, so the provision of Crew Wi-Fi is an essential service.Speedcast's Crew Wi-Fi provides crew a personal Internet experience that is fast and reliable. As the service is fully managed by Speedcast, Seadrill does not need to administer payment plans or worry about bandwidth management. Crew onboard select Seadrill vessels can now take control of how they contact family and friends, browse websites, engage with social media and stream content, all while paying directly with credit card or PayPal through a self-service portal.Speedcast has completed the Crew Wi-Fi installation onboard four of Seadrill's drilling rigs, and is scheduled to install on eight more before the year end."Speedcast Crew Wi-Fi was developed to streamline personal wi-fi access for onboard personnel, and we're proud to introduce it on multiple assets for one of our top customers," says Speedcast's EVP of Energy, Keith Johnson. "It improves the experience for crew when they're offshore, and also requires virtually no effort from the operations side for the customer - we take care of setup, and payment is done directly from the portal administered by Speedcast, so it's a very simple solution to a common requirement for offshore crew. Seadrill has been a great partner for us throughout the proof of concept project and we are excited to be working with them on Crew Wi-Fi.""The Speedcast Crew Wi-Fi solution is already a great value-add onboard the vessels selected for proof of concept and we look forward to enhancing the experience for our crew on more of our rigs moving forward," says Ian Lamplough, Head of Partner Management, Seadrill. "With Speedcast taking care of all of the administration and setup, it frees up our operational resources while still giving our crews the personal access they need and expect while working offshore."About Speedcast International Ltd

Speedcast International Ltd (ASX:SDA) is the world's most trusted communications and IT services provider, delivering critical communications solutions to the Maritime, Energy, Mining, Media, Telecom, Cruise, NGO, Government, and Enterprise sectors. With more satellite capacity than any other provider, Speedcast enables faster, seamless pole-to-pole coverage from a global hybrid satellite, fiber, cellular, microwave, MPLS, and IP transport network with direct access to public cloud platforms. The company also integrates differentiated technology offerings that provide smarter ways to communicate and distribute content, manage network and remote operations, protect and secure investments, and improve the crew and guest experience. With a passionate customer focus and a strong safety culture, Speedcast serves more than 3,200 customers in over 140 countries. Learn more at www.speedcast.com.
Texas, Washington Air National Guard participate in Brazilian-led international exercise

By Tech Sgt. Mindy Bloem , 149th Fighter Wing / Published November 29, 2018

NATAL, Brazil (AFNS) -- Brazil held its multinational air combat exercise CRUZEX VII Nov. 18-30, with participation from the U.S. and six other partner nations.

Guardsmen from the Texas and Washington Air National Guard joined the two-week long exercise and lent support by providing fighter and tanker aircraft as well as personnel from multiple Air Force job specialties.

The exercise fosters cooperation among nation partners while exchanging operational experiences in an effort to promote peace and security when responding to potential events around the world.

"Being able to understand how they operate with their search and rescue capabilities helps us during crisis," said Tech. Sgt. Kyle Bryant, Washington Air National Guard, 141st Air Refueling Wing survival, evasion, resistance and escape specialist. "It's about building relationships, and it's a good opportunity to work through a lot of the language barriers and terminology. That way we can be on the same page if and when we have to utilize that capability."

CRUZEX incorporates simulated air-focused scenarios that prepare partner militaries for air operations aimed at employing missions with complementary objectives involving sweeps, escorts, strikes and air refuels.

"For me it is awesome flying somewhere that I've never been, with countries that I've never flown with, against airplanes I've never flown with, and just seeing everyone come together to participate in a large-force exercise," said Maj. Weston Killian, 149th Fighter Wing F-16 pilot. "It was cool to come together and listen to the way they do things and plan things, and they are very interested to learn from us also, see how we do things and get better as we work together as a team."

Ground crews like the joint tactical air controllers also get to hone their skills as they establish tactics, techniques and procedures with other JTACs from countries like France, Portugal and Brazil.

"The goal is to work together, to train on how to properly and more efficiently call in close air support in a combat situation, said Tech. Sgt. Matt Renteria, a 147th Attack Wing JTAC. "Riding on the planes, calling in the air strikes together, it makes the learning that much easier because you've already built a rapport. There is trust and you know each other, and that just works really well on a training level."

Since promoting strong defense relationships is crucial to addressing challenges to democratic principles, the participants said they see this exercise as foundational to protecting basic human freedoms across the globe.

"It shows the National Guard is engaged, not just at the United States level but at an international affairs level, " said Lt. Col. Peter Keegan, New York National Guard J3 civil support operations deputy director. "It's important for both the Brazilians and the U.S., training along with coalition partners so that when there is an actual international emergency, we are not meeting for the first time during the event."

New York's National Guard members and service members from Brazil officially became partners in June under the National Guard Bureau's State Partnership Program, a program that links a state's National Guard with another country's military and conducts military-to-military, military-to-civilian and civilian to civilian exchanges.

Keegan believes relationship building is the key to promoting quicker disaster response and used the earthquake in Haiti several years ago as just one example. According to Keegan, two primary leaders for that response, a U.S. general and a Brazilian general, had formerly attended a military school together and had become fast friends. The byproduct of that previously established friendship was a more seamless response effort during the crisis.

"They were able to work together in lockstep because of that friendship," Keegan said. "These types of events are priceless for familiarization and understanding of each other's capabilities."

One of the boasting points of CRUZEX is that the air exchange among partner nations increases interoperability, but it also supports military readiness according to Lt. Col. Sarah Johnson, 149th Maintenance Group commander in charge during CRUZEX.

"It exercises our pack-up-and-get-out-of-town mentality and then operate in unfamiliar territory," Johnson said. "It plans for our supply readiness, what parts do we typically need and helps us understand what do we do next time, so it builds greater expectations, greater lessons learned for our next operational objective."

Participants also acknowledge the valuable role these collaborative exercises play in relationship building. Military members are able to form new friendships and continue ones long established.

One example of this is the camaraderie shared between the Chilean Air Force pilots and the 149th FW pilots. The Chileans are the 149th FW's state partners under the Guard's SPP, and both organizations have taken turns hosting each other for events at their respective bases.

"I've seen some of them on their visits to San Antonio, and they recognize a lot of us from the exercises we've done with them," said Killian. "We've built some friendships with the Chilean F-16 pilots over the years, so it's almost like flying with guys in the squadron, and their English is very good. It's been a really good experience."

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U.S. Department of Defense

Press Operations

News Transcript

Presenter: Secretary of Defense James N. Mattis November 29, 2018

Press Gaggle at the Pentagon with Secretary Mattis

SECRETARY OF DEFENSE JAMES N. MATTIS: How you doing? You guys look cold, what've you been doing out here?

(CROSSTALK)

... cold.

Q: three hour, because I have to ask question about Afghanistan that (inaudible) killing, a really tough situation. Any comment?

SEC. MATTIS: We are going to do our level best to protect the Afghan people. You have 41 nations working in the largest wartime coalition in modern history  stop and think about it. I know it's been going on a long time. The largest coalition in modern history to fight a war under NATO, 41 nations, and their devotion is to ending the war and to protecting the Afghan people.

It'd be nice if the Taliban would get a line with the reconciliation effort and stop murdering their own people, but yeah we'll -- we'll keep at it.

Q: Thank you so much. Are you optimistic about the peace process in Afghanistan? (Inaudible).

SEC. MATTIS: It is -- it is picking up momentum. We have to see if everyone stays sincerely aligned.

Q: Mr. Secretary, on the border, do you expect the troops deployment to be extended beyond December 15th?

SEC. MATTIS: We'll react to the Department of Homeland Security if they ask for it. Right now we're -- we're working with them on the staffs. It comes down to logistics issues right now primarily -- how many miles of wire do they need, how much they defined.

The POE's -- the Ports Of Entry -- are pretty much, I think, done. There's a little on the flanks of a couple of them we're still working on. So we'll have to see if the -- if the request extends further.

Q: You haven't received one yet?

SEC. MATTIS: They're working on it right now and I know I have not received it yet, yes.

(CROSSTALK)

Q: ... surge at the Tijuana checkpoint, the thousands of migrants that are there, the images we saw this weekend. Will the troops be involved in keeping those migrants from crossing into the U.S.?

SEC. MATTIS: Border Patrol -- it's who you saw and that's who will continue to be responsible for the border. Yes?

Q: Mr. Secretary? Just the other day, you said that there still needed to be work done on accountability of what you called the murder of Jamal Khashoggi. Now, today the administration's position is the crown prince, there is no direct link, no direct connection from him to the murder.

What has changed? What now -- why now that position? Do you now believe it's a closed issue, that he is not involved and what makes the administration believe that?

SEC. MATTIS: I don't think there's any change at all, if I -- if I heard your question correctly, Barbara. We have no smoking gun that the crown prince was involved -- not the intelligence community or anyone else. There's just no smoking gun.

We have not changed and accountability for the murder is our expectation of everyone involved in the murder. Accountability is our position -- has not changed at all, and by the way I have read all of the intel -- I have personally read all of the intelligence, I have read all of the translations.

Q: Sir, is it correct the CIA (inaudible) come to a conclusion on these matters that expressed high confidence ...

SEC. MATTIS: There -- there, you need to go to the CIA for that.

Q: And have you listened to the tape?

SEC. MATTIS: No I cannot understand that language, but I have spent more than enough time in service of our country. I know what grim circumstances can be. I needed to see what was said, and I read the translations of what is alleged to be the tape.

We do not have the tapes -- we do not have the tapes. At least I'm not aware that we do have them, but I have read the translation twice the day they were given to me and -- excuse me -- and I have also read (inaudible) about 10 -- two weeks ago, 10 days ago, as I reviewed once again all of the intel that we had, and I will just tell you there is no -- there is no smoking gun, but our position has not changed.

We expect accountability ...

Q: No smoking gun connecting the crown prince to the murder?

SEC. MATTIS: That is correct.

Q: Sir, how would you ...

(CROSSTALK)

... how would you assess this morning's discussion with the senators?

SEC. MATTIS: Very penetrating on both sides. We explained what we were doing, they explained their questions and the various points of views on -- on the murder and on what we are doing in Yemen. So it was explored at -- at length for a little over an hour.

It was a good -- I would characterize it as a very good and even, in terms of addressing all of the various points, pretty exhaustedly.

Q: Thank you. Can you elaborate on why Gina Haspel was ...

Q: ... are you confident that you're going to get the support from the Senate that you need to -- to (inaudible) or are you worried that it's going to go the other way?

SEC. MATTIS: Yeah, I -- I -- I don't forecast things like (inaudible), so I -- I don't know.

Q: Can you clarify what you just told us about the border that there is -- there is a request currently underway to extend the troops, or what did you mean by that?

SEC. MATTIS: No -- no, we are -- we are -- we meet daily with the Department of Homeland Security, specifically the Commissioner of Border Patrol and his people daily, and every day we're crossing off what we're doing.

We're in some cases canceling certain things that we thought we needed before, they don't -- now they determine they didn't and other things come up, so we're working it. You know, just -- it's normal -- normal execution of tasks.

(CROSSTALK)

Q: ... questions on Yemen this morning. A lot of senators came out and said that they were switching their votes, I was just curious what happened in there, why you think there was a change in position from so many senators.

SEC. MATTIS: Yeah, I -- I -- actually I just got back from over there and I haven't seen the news, and I -- I haven't talked -- I talked to a couple of them walking out, but I -- I prefer because their vote is a -- at least a private matter until they do it to let their votes speak for their position.

Q: You talked about needing an exhaustive discussion and thorough ...

SEC. MATTIS: Yeah.

Q: ... was it contentious at all? Did you get a sense that there was a frustration about the U.S. position military on Yemen?

SEC. MATTIS: Some -- some expressed some frustration, but it was not a -- I would just say it was a, in many cases, heartfelt, it was also data-driven and -- you know, what did we know, what did we not know ...

Q: On Yemen or on -- on ...

(CROSSTALK)

SEC. MATTIS: On -- on both -- on both issues, excuse me, yeah, thank you.

Q: Sir? A follow up on the border, please. Last week, you authorized or the president authorized the use of force by the military. What kind of aggression will we have to see to see the military using force?

SEC. MATTIS: Yeah, it keeps coming up. Our principle jobs there right now are the logistics jobs -- you know, putting in the barriers, you saw us have -- Border Patrol had to close the border, we -- the United States had to close the border at one point, and there you saw the preparations were ready, that sort of thing.

As far as the use of force, the Border Patrol is using what they believe is appropriate. We would be backing them up, they have multiple lines in front of them so right now I can't even forecast what would be necessary after seeing the Border Patrol's response under the pressure that we saw this last weekend.

Q: Mr. Secretary? (Inaudible) that's going on there, the -- it escalated with the capture of those ships. Would you say those folks -- what's the way forward for the United States and NATO and Europe, really?

SEC. MATTIS: Well, the secretary general has spoken on it, our secretary of state representing foreign policy has spoken on it. It was obviously a flagrant violation of international law, it was, I think, a cavalier use of force.

It injured Ukrainian sailors, it was contempt really for the traditional ways of settling these kinds of concerns if they had any, and when you think that there is a treaty between the two countries, that permits exactly what happened, it just shows that Russia cannot be counted on right now to keep its word.

Q: Do you think it's worth putting some kind of military ...

(CROSSTALK)

Sir, do you think it's worth putting some kind of military show of force ...

(CROSSTALK)

SEC. MATTIS: No, no ...

Q: Do you need this jacket, sir? (Laughter,)

(CROSSTALK)

SEC. MATTIS: It'd look pretty good on me. (Laughter.)

But thank you.

https://dod.defense.gov/News/Transcripts/Transcript-View/Article/1701004/

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U.S. Department of Defense

Press Operations

News Transcript

Secretary Of Defense James N. Mattis; Lithuania Minister of National Defence Raimundas Karoblis November 29, 2018

Remarks by Secretary Mattis at an Enhanced Honor Cordon and Meeting Welcoming Lithuania Minister of National Defence Karoblis to the Pentagon

SECRETARY OF DEFENSE JAMES N. MATTIS: Well, Minister Karoblis and Ambassador Krisciunas, members of the delegation, military officers and civilians, welcome back to the Pentagon. Mr. Minister, one more time, it's a pleasure to host you here after seeing each other at last month's NATO Def Mins. That's always a very productive Def Mins. We continue our close and collaborative teamwork as NATO allies from the force of Lithuania, obviously to Brussels, and then here to Washington, D.C.

This year, the Lithuanian people celebrated an important milestone, the 100th anniversary of Lithuanians regained independence, something that we are also very proud of, in terms of our NATO allies. And these anniversaries mean your country's more recent release from coercive Communism. Lithuania serves as a potent reminder to others of how precious is freedom.

Our people's shared commitment to our democratic values and to trans-Atlantic unity have forged a strong bond between our nations, and between our militaries. The U.S. remains steadfastly committed to Baltic defense as Lithuania and the United States work together to reinforce respect for sovereignty, territorial integrity, and to deter common security threats like those posed by the Russian Federation in demonstrated at Kerch just last weekend. Russia seeks to redraw the international borders by force, to tamper with other nations' democratic processes, and try to employ its veto power over other people's diplomatic, economic and security decisions.

In the face of such threats, the U.S. applauds Lithuania for exceeding NATO's Wales Pledge of two percent of defense spending, with almost 30 percent of your defense budget dedicated to procurement. You demonstrate Lithuania's leadership by example, proving again that the size of a country does not equal its importance.

The United States also appreciates your support for keeping NATO and European Union efforts complementary and transparent, enhancing military mobility and improving NATO command structure. Our democracies stand united and firmly committed to the common defense.

We also note and commend your leadership of the NATO Energy Security Center and (inaudible) those cyber initiatives, as well your recent hosting of the Baltic Defense Strategic Dialog and support for neighboring nations' defense reforms. These (inaudible) efforts illustrate the value you place on regional and trans-Atlantic security.

And, Mr. Minister, let me express my gratitude for Lithuania's caveat-free deployments to NATO missions, and never shying away from the most dangerous places. Your troops make clear their grit and their courage. Your valiant country always punches above its weight.

Thank you, as well, for your hosting of NATO's Enhanced Forward Presence mission. Mr. Minister, I recall our visit to the woods last year, alongside troops from Germany and six other NATO allies, when you saw those forces unified under your command in training. Amidst the ranks, I could sense the confidence exuding from those troops, a confidence that left no doubt of their commitment to the mission of defending Europe's democracies, and to trans-Atlantic unified deterrence of danger.

Mr. Minister, today I look forward to bolstering our already-strong defense relationship as we work toward a brighter future for the region, and for the European and North American peoples. You and your ideas are most welcome here. Thank you for coming.

Mr. Minister, if you'd like to say a few words in front of the press.

MINISTER OF NATIONAL DEFENCE RAIMUNDAS KAROBLIS: Well, thank you very much, Mr. Secretary, for possibility to meet me and my delegation in Washington, and to know that you're -- you are an (inaudible), and to, first of all, I would like to thank the United States and personally you for the assistance in the reassuring security in the region for Lithuania. Of course, your assistance and partnership with the United States, NATO, and your leadership at NATO are the existential importance of my country.

Of course, you already listed the involved majority; many items, of course, of our agenda, and the giant achievements, indeed, this year was really very important for my country. It was, as you mentioned, we celebrate 100 years anniversary of the establishment of -- of our country, the Republic of Lithuania. Also, on fourth of April, we had, of course, the meeting of (inaudible) Baltic countries and yours. President Trump, which was really very important, included in group. It was of the operation and security in defense issues, and well, of course, NATO summit is of (inaudible) of importance, but was also 100 years last week was celebrated, too -- 100 years from -- of the establishment of armed forces, and (inaudible) I really was -- was very happy that...

So among other soldiers in the parade which we have, we have American troops which are deployed in Lithuania, which are deployed in the EFP Poland, but also the battery of patriots, and indeed, it's also among the substantive issues which we have. Really, it's a very symbolic gesture, and we very much expect that we will continue our cooperation on such a mind/spirit.

SEC. MATTIS: Absolutely. Thank you, Mr. Minister.

So ladies and gentlemen, if the press will excuse us, we'll get down to work.

(CROSSTALK)

Q: What -- what is the signal of the Russians' actions in the Black Sea? What is the level of concern for you and your nation?

SEC. MATTIS: If you want to, you can answer.

MIN. KAROBLIS: Yes, it's, well, without (inaudible) process, without any doubts, that it is the act of aggression of Russia. And so by legal level, it's quite comparable as the annexation of Crimea. By these actions -- actions, Russia is trying to, well, to impose the control over the -- the Kerch Straits, which is related with -- with Crimea, and to close the sea. And it contradicts, so -- not only so the status, legal status of Crimea, but also the principles of the sea, regarding the open seas, and also bilateral agreement. And it is also the reflection of the situation which we have in the -- in the region, that Russia is not implementing international treaties, and such (inaudible) to the country, territorial integrity, not granted as such, and is necessary to the defense. And it's also a reflection that Ukraine defends the south system flank of NATO.

Q: Thank you. Mr. Secretary, have you received any requests from the Department of Homeland Security for additional military capabilities to support the border mission?

SEC. MATTIS: Yeah. With Department of Homeland Security, this is in reference to the border deployments of our troops. We meet daily with them. We are closing out the requests for assistance by meeting the requests. In some cases, those requests have been modified, either reduced or removed altogether, or broadened, and we work daily on it. Right now, we have no new requests, although we are discussing every day the situation. So I can't forecast what that will be.

But thanks very much, ladies and gentlemen. We need to get to work here. (inaudible)

MIN. KAROBLIS: Thank you.

https://dod.defense.gov/News/Transcripts/Transcript-View/Article/1701008/

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Three Senior Executives at Defense Contracting Firms Charged with Scheme to Defraud the U.S. Military in Connection with $8 Billion Troop Supply Contract and with Violating the Iran Sanctions Regime

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Thursday, November 29, 2018



Three men were charged in an indictment returned Nov. 27 for their roles in a scheme to defraud U.S. Military contracts in Afghanistan, engaging in illegal commerce in Iran, and laundering money internationally. Their conduct was in connection to two multi-million dollar contracts to provide supplies and logistical support to U.S. troops in Afghanistan.

Assistant Attorney General Brian A. Benczkowski of the Justice Department's Criminal Division, Special Agent in Charge Patrick J. Lechleitner of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Washington, D.C. and Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) John F. Sopko made the announcement.

Abul Huda Farouki, 75, of McLean, Virginia; his brother Mazen Farouki, 73, of Boyce, Virginia; and Salah Maarouf, 71, of Fairfax, Virginia, were each charged in an indictment filed in the District of Columbia with two counts of major fraud, one count of conspiracy to violate the restrictions on doing business with Iran, four counts of substantive violations of those restrictions, and one count of conspiracy to commit international money laundering. The defendants made their initial appearance on Nov. 29 before Judge G. Michael Harvey. All were arraigned and pleaded not guilty. The next hearing is scheduled for Dec. 6 before Judge Trevor N. McFadden.

The indictment alleges that Abul Huda Farouki was the chief executive officer of Anham FZCO, a defense contractor based in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), which maintained offices in Dubai, UAE, Jordan and the United States. Mazen Farouki was the President and Founder of Unitrans International Incorporated, an international logistics company with close ties to Anham. Defendant Salah Maarouf operated a company that procured goods and services for Anham.

According to the indictment, on June 22, 2012, the U.S. Department of Defense awarded Anham an $8 billion contract to provide food and supplies to U.S. troops in Afghanistan known as the "SPV-A contract." As part of the bidding process, the defendants allegedly caused Anham to represent that it would build two warehouses in Afghanistan, which Anham would use to provide supplies to U.S. forces. The indictment alleges that the defendants schemed to defraud the Department of Defense in connection with the SPV-A contract by submitting bids that contained knowingly false estimates of the completion dates for the warehouses and by providing the government with misleading photographs intended to convey that Anham's progress on the warehouses was further along than it actually was. Specifically, the indictment alleges that, in February of 2012, the defendants and others caused Anham employees to transport construction equipment and materials to the proposed site of one of the warehouse complexes to create the false appearance of an active construction site. Members of the conspiracy then photographed the site, provided the photographs to the Department of Defense, and then largely deconstructed the staged construction site.

The SPV-A contract also required bidders to certify that they abide by the Iran Sanctions Act, which prohibits U.S. citizens and companies from engaging in commercial activity in Iran. According to the indictment, the defendants conspired to increase Anham's profits in connection with the SPV-A contract by shipping warehouse building materials to Afghanistan via Iran, instead of using more costly, but legal, routes. According to the indictment, after learning that the Wall Street Journal was planning to run a story detailing Anham's practice of shipping materials through Iran, Abul Huda Farouki sent an email to a senior Department of Defense official, which falsely claimed that senior management at Anham had been unaware that the transshipments through Anham had taken place.

In addition to the SPV-A contract, the indictment alleges that the defendants schemed to defraud the Department of Defense with respect to the National Afghan Trucking (NAT) contract, which was a $984 million contract that required Anham to supply trucking services to the U.S. Military in Afghanistan. As with the SPV-A contract, the NAT contract required bidders to certify compliance with laws concerning sanctions placed on Iran. According to the indictment, rather than ship trucks to Afghanistan using legal but relatively expensive routes, the defendants conspired to cut costs by transporting vehicles through Iran. The indictment alleges that the defendants' conduct violated laws prohibiting fraud, commercial activity with Iran, and international money laundering.

The charges in the indictment are merely allegations and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

The case was investigated by HSI Washington, DC and by investigators at SIGAR. Trial Attorneys James Gelber and Danny Nguyen of the Criminal Division's Fraud Section are prosecuting the case.

Attachment(s): Download Farouki et al Indictment

Topic(s):

Financial Fraud

Component(s):

Criminal Division

Criminal - Criminal Fraud Section

Press Release Number: 18-1576

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Future USS Michael Monsoor Departs Naval Station Mayport

Navy News Service

Story Number: NNS181129-05

Release Date: 11/29/2018 11:22:00 AM

From Pre-Commissioning Unit Michael Monsoor (DDG 1001) Public Affairs

MAYPORT, Fla. (NNS) -- The Zumwalt-class guided-missile destroyer Pre-Commissioning Unit (PCU) Michael Monsoor (DDG 1001), completed a successful port visit onboard Naval Station Mayport, Florida, Nov. 13-16.

The visit marked Michael Monsoor's first introduction to the fleet. With its sleek, stealth design and unique, wave-piercing tumblehome hull, the new destroyer drew many groups from the surrounding ships and shore commands, including staff from Commander, U.S. Naval Forces Southern Command (COMUSNAVSO) and U.S. 4th Fleet, sailors from the guided-missile destroyer USS Roosevelt (DDG 80), officers from Afloat Training Group Mayport, and a group of foreign liaison officers from the navies of Argentina, Peru, Brazil, and Colombia.

"Mayport was a great way to continue to gain shiphandling and navigation proficiency," said Capt. Scott Smith, commanding officer of Michael Monsoor. "With excellent pilots who take the time to train shiphandlers and the great port facilities, we were able to learn about our ship in a safe environment. We also enjoyed seeing old friends from the waterfront and discussing our contribution to the fight."

In addition to the training value, the ship's crew members also performed maintenance and conducted classroom training while moored. Additionally, the crew was able to enjoy liberty and recreational events.

"It was great to be able to walk around and take advantage of all the MWR (Morale, Welfare, and Recreation) facilities on base," said Gunner's Mate 1st Class Joseph O'Connell. "I also helped with a few of the tours in port, which I enjoyed."

DDG 1001 honors Master-at-Arms 2nd Class Michael A. Monsoor, a Navy SEAL who was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for his heroic actions in Ramadi, Iraq, Sept. 29, 2006. At the ship's 2008 naming ceremony, former Secretary of the Navy, Donald C. Winter recognized Monsoor as, "a consummate professional who faced terrorist enemies with aplomb and stoicism."

Zumwalt-class destroyers are the most technologically-advanced warships ever built by the U.S. Navy, with computing capabilities able to increase range, deception, computer integration, and data analysis from various platforms. With its stealth, size, power, and advanced combat systems, this warship will serve as a centerpiece for deterrence and power projection in the surface environment.

Michael Monsoor is currently transiting to San Diego, and, upon arrival, will begin a combat availability and then undergo a combat test period. The ship is scheduled to be commissioned into the Navy Jan. 26, 2019, in Coronado, Calif.

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Future USS Michael Monsoor Departs Naval Station Guantanamo Bay

Navy News Service

Story Number: NNS181129-06

Release Date: 11/29/2018 11:23:00 AM

From PCU Michael Monsoor Public Affairs

GUANTANAMO BAY, Cuba (NNS) -- The future USS Michael Monsoor (DDG 1001), the second Zumwalt-class guided-missile destroyer, departed Naval Station Guantanamo Bay after completing a port visit Nov. 19-21.

"I have been coming to Naval Base Guantanamo for nearly three decades and I've always been impressed with the level of commitment and service of the Sailors, Marines, Soldiers, Airmen, and Guardsmen here," said Capt. Scott Smith, commanding officer of Michael Monsoor. "It's only in later years that I've come to appreciate the logistical and strategic importance of our oldest overseas base. This is a maritime forward operating location that serves the joint force and partner nations well and I am pleased that we could be part of its rich history."

While inport, Michael Monsoor utilized the base's gun range by holding an M500 gunshoot, took advantage of the many Morale, Welfare, and Recreation facilities, and facilitated key leader engagement by providing tours for area leadership. Capt. John Fischer, Commander, Naval Station Guantanamo Bay and Command Master Chief Nicholas Messina, Naval Station Guantanamo Bay visited the ship while pierside and joined Capt. Smith and Michael Monsoor's Command Master Chief, Master Chief Petty Officer Patrick A. Tummins, on air at American Forces Network (AFN) Guantanamo Bay, the radio station on base, the following day.

The ship is named for Master-at-Arms 2nd Class Michael A. Monsoor. Monsoor was a Navy SEAL who was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for his heroic actions in Ramadi, Iraq, Sept. 29, 2006, when, to save the lives of those around him, he threw himself onto a grenade that had been lobbed onto the rooftop where he was positioned.

The Zumwalt-class features a state-of-the-art electric propulsion system, a wave-piercing tumblehome hull, stealth design and the latest war fighting technology and weaponry available.

Michael Monsoor is currently transiting to San Diego, and, upon arrival, will begin a combat availability and then undergo a combat test period. The ship is scheduled to be commissioned into the Navy Jan. 26, 2019, in Coronado, Calif.

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UN aid chief calls for end to Saudi war on Yemen

Iran Press TV

Thu Nov 29, 2018 03:54PM

The UN aid chief has appealed for a halt to fighting in Yemen amid intense diplomacy to end the ongoing Saudi aggression that has pushed millions to the brink of famine.

UN Under-Secretary General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator Mark Lowcock made appeal during a press briefing after arriving in the Yemeni capital Sana'a on Thursday.

"I'd like to see a cessation of hostilities, especially around the key infrastructure, especially around Hudaydah," Lowcock said

The UN official said the fighting has once again highlighted the ongoing humanitarian tragedy in the war-ravaged Arab country.

"I have come because I am very concerned about the humanitarian situation here, which has deteriorated since I was here last."

Lowcock, who last visited Yemen in October 2017, called on authorities in Sana'a to improve the environment in which the aid agencies operate.

"I'd like to see the environment, in which the aid system operates, made easier for the aid agencies," he said.

"I would like to see stronger economic support, more resources injected into the economy, salaries paid, more foreign exchange so that ordinary people have more money to buy the essentials to survive," he said.

Lowcock will spend three days in Yemen to see first-hand the world's worst humanitarian crisis. He is expected to hold talks with officials in Sana'a and the southern city of Aden, which is controlled by forces loyal to former Yemeni president Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi.

According to the United Nations, operations at Yemen's lifeline port of Hudaydah have dropped by almost 50 percent over the past two weeks, with shipping companies deterred by insecurity and ongoing Saudi attacks in the flashpoint city.

The UN's World Food Program said on Tuesday that a drop in the arrival of wheat and other supplies would affect food stocks in Yemen where 14 million people are facing possible starvation after nearly four years of war.

UN agencies say the closure of the port would exacerbate the humanitarian crisis gripping the impoverished Arabian Peninsula country.

The developments come as the UN peace envoy Martin Griffiths is hoping to bring warring factions to Sweden in the coming days for negotiations on ending conflict.

Talks to start in Sweden next week

Britain's envoy to Yemen said on Thursday that UN-sponsored peace talks between Yemen's warring parties are expected to start next week in Sweden.

"The Sweden consultations led by the UN envoy will take place next week ... the political solution is the way to move forward," said Michael Aron, the Riyadh-based British ambassador to Yemen.

Yemen's popular Houthi Ansarullah movement, which has been defending the nation against the Saudi Arabian war, said last week they were halting drone and missile attacks, responding to a demand from the UN.

Saudi Arabia and the UAE have halted their offensive on Hudaydah, although skirmishes continue on the outskirts. The kingdom has also stepped up its air raids after its ground offensive faced a stiff resistance by the city's protectors.

Ansarullah has warned that the rise in Saudi assaults on Hudaydah could frustrate efforts by Griffiths to rekindle peace talks in Sweden next week.

The outrage over the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in Saudi Arabia's consulate in Istanbul has increased scrutiny on Riyadh's role in conflicts in the region.

Meanwhile, pressure is mounting on the Trump administration over supporting the kingdom in the wake of Khashoggi's murder.

US President Donald Trump has thrown his support behind Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who reportedly ordered the assassination of the dissident journalist and Washington Post columnist at the Saudi consulate in Turkey last month.

The US, Britain and France are major arms suppliers to Saudi Arabia and human rights groups have called on the governments to cease such sales due to the high civilian death toll in Saudi air raids in Yemen.

According to UN figures, the Yemen conflict has killed nearly 10,000 people and left up to 22 million in need of humanitarian assistance.

An independent conflict research group has estimated that 56,000 have been killed since January 2016 which does not include those who have died from hunger and disease.

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Iran calls on world to engage Taliban in 'inclusive' dialogue with Afghan govt.

Iran Press TV

Thu Nov 29, 2018 12:39AM

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has called on the international community to engage the Taliban in an "inclusive" dialogue with the Afghan government in a bid to restore peace to the war-torn nation.

"All of us need to facilitate the intra-Afghan dialogue, by helping to bring the Taliban to the negotiating table with the government for inclusive and comprehensive talks," Zarif said in an address to the Geneva Conference on Afghanistan on Wednesday.

The high-level conference, organized by the UN and the Afghan government in Switzerland, was not attended by the Taliban, but it was reported that the group would closely monitor the gathering of Afghan leaders and international diplomats.

According to Zarif, the conference agreed on the fact that "there is no military solution in Afghanistan, and the time has come for national reconciliation and inclusive political solution in Afghanistan, owned and led by the Afghan government and people."

In his speech, the top Iranian diplomat pointed to the "old and new challenges" facing Afghanistan, and warned of efforts to spread extremism across the country.

"The presence of foreign forces has never brought stability in our region and has historically provided a recruiting ground for extremists," Zarif said, referring to the long-time presence of US and NATO forces in Afghanistan, which has failed to restore security to the country 17 years after the US invasion.

"A new challenge is the introduction of Daesh to Afghanistan which has led to more bloodshed and introduced dangerous sectarian tendencies," Iran's foreign minister said, adding that the issue has radicalized local armed groups in a competition over followers and recruits.

"Believe me, as no one gained from introducing and supporting Daesh and other extremists in Syria and Iraq, no one will gain from introducing them to Afghanistan and Central Asia. This horrific trend needs to be arrested before it reaches catastrophic proportions," he noted.

Principles of peace deal laid out

Addressing the conference, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani laid out the principles of any peace deal with the militants, declaring that he had formed a 12-strong team to negotiate peace with the Taliban.

"We seek a peace agreement in which the Afghan Taliban would be included in a democratic and inclusive society," he said.

Ghani stressed that any deal must fulfill certain conditions, including respecting the constitutional rights of women.

He also urged Afghans to back his peace push in an election next April.

"Presidential elections in the spring are key to successful peace negotiations. The Afghan people need an elected government with a mandate to obtain ratification (and) implement the peace agreement and lead the societal reconciliation process," he said.

The Afghan leader noted that the implementation of any accord will take at least five years.

According to Afghanistan's Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah, the five-phased peace process would start with an intra-Afghan dialogue, followed by discussions with Pakistan and the US, and then with regional actors, the Arab Islamic world and finally NATO and non-NATO countries.

"The aim of each and every effort by our partners has to be to encourage the Taliban to come to the negotiating table with the Afghan government and put everything on the table," Abdullah said.

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US Senate Advances Resolution to End Support for Yemen War

Sputnik News

00:20 29.11.2018(updated 00:50 29.11.2018)

The US Senate Foreign Relations Committee passed a resolution on Wednesday to end US support for the Saudi coalition's war against Yemen.

Wednesday's procedural vote brings the Senate one step closer to ending US support for the three-year war in Yemen, which has created a humanitarian catastrophe in the country, pushing millions to the brink of starvation and allowing cholera to run rampant.

Senators voted 63-37 on the measure, which allows debate on the bill that would terminate US support. While it is only a procedural victory, the passage of the resolution marks a major step forward for the Senate, which has jumped through hoops in the past to prevent the subject from being discussed openly on its floor.

The measure has had bipartisan support from Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Chris Murphy (D-CT), Mike Lee (R-UT) and Rand Paul (R-KY) for years. Congress has never actually voted to authorize the use of the US armed forces to support the Saudi coalition in its battle against Houthi forces in Yemen. The bill forces the Trump administration to withdraw military support for the Saudi coalition or seek authorization from Congress to re-deploy US military support for the coalition.

"Saudi Arabia continues to take actions that undermine confidence  not only with the brazen murder of Jamal Khashoggi, but in its continuing disregard for innocent human life in Yemen," Senator Sheldon Whitehouse of (D-R.I.) said in a Wednesday statement. "The president has been weak in addressing these issuesit is incumbent upon the Senate to send a clear message to the Saudi government that American support is not unconditional or absolute."

"Did we enlist in this war? Did the American people have a national debate about this war? Did we vote in the United States Senate to engage in this war? The answer is clearly no," Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) said on the floor of the Senate prior to the vote.

If the bill  Resolution 54  reaches the president's desk in its current form the White House would veto it, according to a Wednesday statement.

 Sputnik

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UN: Military Operations Killed 25 Civilians in Afghanistan's Helmand Province

By Ayaz Gul November 29, 2018

Military operations against the Taliban in southern Afghanistan killed up to 25 civilians and injured 17 others this week, according to preliminary findings from the U.N. Assistance Mission in Afghanistan.

The casualties occurred in Garmser and Nad-e-Ali districts of Helmand province and involved mostly women and children, according to a statement by UNAMA.

"The Mission is actively working to verify information indicating up to 10 children were killed along with eight women, and three children were injured, including an eight-year-old boy," UNAMA noted.

The statement said Afghan forces and their foreign partners were carrying out an operation against the Taliban in Garmser on Tuesday when international forces conducted an airstrike, killing up to 23 civilians.

Provincial authorities provided different figures, telling reporters on Wednesday the air raids in Garmser were carried out by the U.S. military and killed 30 civilians along with 16 Taliban fighters.

Elsewhere in Helmand, explosive ordnance struck civilian homes during fighting between Taliban insurgents and Afghan forces a few days earlier, killing two civilians and injuring at least 14 others, including 10 children. The U.N. says those clashes occurred in the Nad-e-Ali district.

The clashes erupted after insurgents reportedly entrenched in the vicinity of civilian homes initiated an attack against an Afghan National Army convoy.

Regarding the two incidents, UNAMA expressed particular concern about the number of children that were disproportionately impacted, comprising 55 percent of the civilian casualties.

UNAMA said aerial attacks in Afghanistan in the first nine months of this year have caused nearly 650 civilian casualties, including 313 deaths. The figure includes the highest number of civilian casualties from aerial operations documented by UNAMA since 2009.

The world body reiterated its call for all Afghan warring sides to uphold their obligations and take urgent steps to protect civilians from harm.

The conflict in Afghanistan caused more than 8,000 civilian casualties, including 2,738 deaths, between Jan. 1 and Sept. 30 in 2018, according to UNAMA.

Hostilities have since intensified and observers anticipate overall civilian casualties for the entire year will be at an all-time high in the 17-year war.

The United States has renewed efforts for a negotiated settlement to the conflict with the Taliban, which has taken over half of Afghanistan in recent years. The Taliban considers the United States its main adversary and dismisses the government in Kabul as an American puppet.

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Chairman's Address to Shareholders

Melbourne, Nov 30, 2018 AEST (ABN Newswire) - Environmental Clean Technologies Ltd ( ASX:ECT ) provides the Company's Chairman Address to Shareholders.Welcome Fellow Shareholders,I'm pleased to be reporting to you after a significant year of development for our Company.It's been a long road for the Company and you all, our shareholders, however we've made several important advances in the past year which will be touched on here and in the following presentation.Notably, on 30 May we signed the MOU which set the direction for the largest ever research and development (R&D) collaboration between Australia and India.And while the past year has entailed additional layers of process as we reach 'financial close', shareholders will recognise that to be successful in India requires a high level of on-the-ground engagement and disciplined diplomacy, in addition to patience with polite persistence.India has been our most important objective and for that we make no apologies about the focus and concentration of resources we have directed to finalising this initiative. Delivering on our promised first deal is critical to all other initiatives going forward and sets the baseline for management's ability to India is full of opportunity - growth rates of 8.5%, one of the largest populations in the world and the largest population of young people under 25, who are highly educated, speak fluent English and will become the middle-class consumers that will drive India to being a powerful consumer market to rival China.Despite this, there are necessary reforms yet to take place, which still make it a complex place to do business as a foreign company. But this is changing, and we are seeing the effect of reforms like GST, and changes to insolvency and bankruptcy laws in India which evidence that the Government has the will to change and following suite are companies like NLC and NMDC showing great dedication towards global best practise in many areas of how they do business.With that in mind, this year's strategic objectives have been guided by the following themes:1. Evidence Adoption - Apply our technology to commercial projects2. Secure Value - Improve our development and protection of our technology3. Demonstrate Value - Reach operational revenues to underpin the economic sustainability of 1 & 2 aboveConsistent with our 3-year strategic plan, our objectives cover:1. Commercialisation1.1. Commercialise the Coldry technology1.2. Commercialise the Matmor technology2. Innovation and Market Development2.1. Continual development and leverage of existing technologies2.2. New and evolving technologies and markets3. Corporate Capacity and Capabilities3.1. R&D program management & administration3.2. Capital, finance and resource management3.3. Communications, marketing and stakeholder engagement3.4. Governance, risk and complianceThis has manifested in the following key result areas:1. Progressing our Indian project and making way for feasibility of new projects.2. Improving large-scale R&D capability and processing efficiency at our Bacchus Marsh facility3. Developing markets with near-term revenues for our products and projects4. Restructuring the organisation and right-sizing roles and responsibilities5. These key result areas (KRA's) and the relevant Key Performance Indicators (KPI's) of each staff member, give us the day to day focus as we embark on the challenge of meeting our strategic objectives.India ProjectThis world-first collaboration involves the joint development of our Coldry and Matmor technologies via a research and development (R&D) project in India to the value of ~AUD70M.The objective of the project is to successfully deploy a pilot scale integrated Coldry-Matmor plant as a prelude to broader commercial rollout in India and globally.Our partners in the project, NLC India Limited (NLCIL) and NMDC Limited (NMDC) are Indian government public sector undertakings (PSU's) with a combined market value of ~$10 Bn.NLCIL is India's lignite (brown coal) custodian, with an extensive mining and power generation portfolio.NMDC is India's largest iron ore miner and the 10th largest iron ore miner in the world, producing over 35 million tonnes in 2017.NLCIL and NMDC will each contribute 50% of the ~AUD30 million project capital cost in return for a 51% stake in the project entity.As we stand today, with NLC board approval in hand, we await the NMDC board approval after which our India project is poised to proceed through to 'financial close' upon signing of the detailed Research Collaboration Agreement (RCA).Following 'financial close' our partners, NLCIL and NMDC will release funding in parallel with ECT providing the Project Bond and the project will commence, ushering in the transition from project development, to project execution.We all agree that delivering this project has been the most important objective for our Company, and the team has worked diligently to achieve this outcome.Bacchus March High Volume Test Facility (HVTF)Our facility, located 50km northeast of Melbourne on the outskirts of the town of Bacchus Marsh, has been the focus of our fundamental and applied research and development for both Coldry and Matmor since 2006.Its importance has continued to grow over the past year, with ongoing testing and improvement of our technologies. Our facility not only allows us to generate new knowledge, it also allows us to do so in an environment where we have a high level of control and protection over the test work that leads to new discoveries and future value.Our Coldry facility has been re-engineered to be productive and efficient enough to provide the closest approximation we can currently achieve at small scale, of a commercial application of Coldry, with the intention that the resultant product from our research and development activities is able to be sold as solid fuel into end-user demonstration projects and other commercial customers.Progress with the Bacchus Marsh plant and the subsequent delivery of our R&D programs ensure that the intellectual property that we currently have under patent protection will be rigorously tested and continually improved.Our technology suite features vertical and horizontal integration across our proprietary processes and equipment. This approach is intentional, allowing us to develop further intellectual property within the protective framework of our pre-existing technologies and know-how.The Bacchus Marsh HVTF provides the essential infrastructure and apparatus to further develop and refine our intellectual property through on-going R&D as well as prepare for, and support, data collection and project specific designs for future demonstration and commercial projects.Over time, our research has led to the accumulation of a more sophisticated and detailed understanding of underlying processes which has, in turn, led to new intellectual property, particularly around the Packed Bed Dryer (the 2012 Design for Tender program with engineering firm Arup).More recently, the innovation process has led to new discoveries around the chemical reactions underpinning Matmor, resulting in two new technologies; HydroMOR and COHgen.HydroMOR is the subject of an international patent application (PCT) lodged last November (2017), while fundamental research activity has commenced on our newest discovery, COHgen, with the aim of lodging a provisional patent in due course.As we head into 2019, our HVTF continues to provide critical support to our R&D programs that will allow us to continue pursuing IP protection as we develop our technologies.Developing markets for our products and projectsSupported by our ongoing R&D effort, and consistent with our commercialisation strategy, ECT continued a period of establishing operational revenues to underpin the feasibility of our technology suite.Last year we began developing markets that have near-term potential for generating operational revenues.Over this period, in tandem with the upgrade programs at the HVTF, we developed a pipeline of sales leads, culminating in our announcement during July of a $1.3 million five-year deal to provide a turnkey solution for 'steam services' for a Victorian customer.The deal includes the end-to-end delivery of steam including ongoing operation and maintenance. Importantly, it will run on Coldry solid fuel produced from our HVTF at Bacchus Marsh.We're currently engaged with several other existing and potential customers to develop a similar solution and anticipate that over the coming year, we will continue to develop local opportunities, improve our operational capabilities and establish contracts for the supply of solid fuel pellets and turnkey boiler and steam solutions.Building on our endeavours in the local market for utility-scale heat applications, the economic landscape in Victoria has become increasingly conducive to larger scale deployment of our Coldry technology, justifying further exploration of the broader market.Last year (September 2017) we commenced the early stages of a feasibility study for a commercial scale, zero emissions, solid fuel pellet (Coldry) demonstration plant in the Latrobe Valley. We partnered with the owners of Yallourn mine and power station, Energy Australia, narrowing down the site options and identifying integration requirements. This led to a compelling business case, providing a clear path for increased capacity beyond our HVTF.Progress on this feasibility study was suspended whilst we dedicated resources to completing the India deal but as was announced on the 28th of November, we have restarted the next stage of feasibility. If a project were to proceed on the basis of this feasibility, it would become the largest, most environmentally friendly, economical gateway to upgraded brown coal in Australia and with the current State Government policy statement of the "Future Use of Brown Coal", ECT is in a good position to test Coldry's application on our local market.A Coldry plant in the Latrobe Valley would aim to not only improve energy affordability and reliability to businesses threatened by rising electricity and natural gas costs, but also help realise the potential of brown coal in Australia for prospects such as High- Efficiency Low Emissions (HELE) power plants, low emission hydrogen production, fertiliser production and other downstream chemical conversion methods.As we approach 'financial close' for our India project and advance local market opportunities we look forward to continuing all these efforts through 2019 and on behalf of the board of directors, executive and staff, we thank you, our shareholders for your continued, invaluable support.To view the AGM Presentation, please visit:About Environmental Clean Technologies Ltd

Environmental Clean Technologies Limited (ASX:ECT) is in the business of commercialising leading-edge coal and iron making technologies, which are capable of delivering financial and environmental benefits.

We are focused on advancing a portfolio of technologies, which have significant market potential globally.

ECT's business plan is to pragmatically commercialise these technologies and secure sustainable, profitable income streams through licencing and other commercial mechanisms.
Cohen Guilty Plea Latest Twist in Mueller Probe of Russian Meddling

By Masood Farivar November 29, 2018

When U.S. President Donald Trump recently provided the special counsel with written answers about his knowledge of Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election, his lawyers said it was time for the investigation to end.

"It's time to bring this inquiry to a conclusion," Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani told reporters.

But Special Counsel Robert Mueller has given no indications that he's winding down the sprawling investigation that started more than two years ago and has cast a deep shadow over Trump's presidency.

In the latest development in the probe, former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen pleaded guilty Thursday to lying to Congress about a Moscow real estate project Trump was pursuing during his presidential campaign. Trump had long denied having any business interests in Russia, but Cohen admitted that negotiations proceeded well into the campaign and that he had spoken to Trump about the deal more than three times.

The probe that Trump has called a "witch hunt" and a "hoax" started in July 2016 as an FBI counter-intelligence investigation into alleged Russian hacking of Democratic National Committee and Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee computers. It came shortly after the anti-secrecy website WikiLeaks published tens of thousands of hacked Democratic emails. Investigators suspected Russian hackers with ties to Moscow had been behind the intrusion and shared the emails with WikiLeaks in an effort to damage the campaign of Trump's presidential rival, Democrat Hillary Clinton.

Then a second email dump followed just weeks before the November vote. In October, WikiLeaks published tens of thousands of emails hacked from the account of John Podesta, then-Clinton's campaign chairman. Podesta blamed the Russians and claimed the Trump campaign knew about the hack. Clinton lost the U.S. presidential election, attributing her defeat in part to the damaging emails.

The FBI investigation into Russian interference was kept under wraps even as U.S. intelligence agencies publicly accused Moscow in January 2017 of meddling in the election. It wasn't until March 2017  two months after Trump was inaugurated as president  that then-FBI director James Comey publicly disclosed that the bureau had been investigating Russian interference and allegations of collusion between Trump associates and Moscow.

By then, Comey's relationship with Trump had soured in large part over the FBI investigation. In May of last year, after Trump fired Comey, Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, bowing to Democratic pressure, appointed Mueller, a former FBI director, as special counsel for the Russia investigation.

Mueller was given a broad mandate to pursue two lines of inquiry: whether Russia interfered in the 2016 election and whether there were "any links and/or coordination" between Trump campaign associates and Russia. He was also authorized to pursue "any matters that arose or may arise directly from the investigation."

One matter that grew out of the probe was the question of whether Trump had obstructed justice by asking Comey to "let go" of investigating Trump's former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn and then firing Comey over the Russia investigation.

In June of 2017, days after Comey testified before Congress about Trump's alleged demand, Mueller expanded his investigation to examine whether the president had obstructed justice.

Along the way, as the investigation expanded, Trump grew increasingly virulent in his attack on the probe.

But that did not stop Mueller from forging ahead. In August 2017, he impaneled a grand jury, signaling he had gathered enough evidence to pursue a criminal investigation and bring indictments. Mueller's office then began summoning witnesses to testify before the grand jury.

The first indictment came in October. Former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort and deputy campaign chairman Rick Gates were indicted on 12 counts ranging from money laundering to acting as unregistered foreign agents in connection with their lobbying for pro-Russia Ukrainian politicians.

In the year that followed, the special counsel has indicted or obtained guilty pleas from 30 other people and three entities. Among them:

* Former Trump national security adviser Michael Flynn for lying to the FBI;

* Former Trump campaign foreign policy adviser George Papadopoulos for lying to the FBI;

* Former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen for lying to Congress;

* 13 Russian individuals and three Russian entities on charges of running a misinformation campaign during the 2016 election;

* 12 Russian intelligence officers for hacking Democratic computers.

While the indictments against the Russians provide ample evidence of Russian interference, Mueller's office has not given any indication it has gathered evidence of "collusion" between Trump campaign associates and Russia. Of the five former Trump associates who have pleaded guilty thus far, none has been charged with coordinating with Moscow.

Nor has the special counsel's office disclosed that it has uncovered evidence of obstruction of justice against Trump. Trump's recent responses to Mueller's questions were limited to Russian interference and did not cover obstruction of justice.

Mueller has not closed the door to following up with fresh questions about obstruction, although Trump's lawyers have argued that as president, Trump is not obligated to answer questions about actions he took while in office.

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US May Scrap Plans for Independent Space Force  Reports

Sputnik News

16:50 29.11.2018

The Pentagon has spent the past few months rushing to prepare plans for an independent Space Force only to receive whole new marching orders from the White House.

It looks like an independent Space Force President Trump proudly announced in June may not become a fully-fledged sixth branch of the US military.

Instead, it may end up as part of the Air Force, Defense One online journal reported on Wednesday, citing well informed sources in the Pentagon.

According to the publication, Pentagon officials who have been working overtime for months towards a new military branch, have now been ordered by the White House to go back and look at different ways to reorganise the military's space operations.

The officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, suggested that some in the Trump administration fear that the proposed independent Space Force might not receive Congressional support.

As a result, Defense One continues, the Pentagon began to consider four options: 1) an Air Force-owned space corps that includes only Air Force assets, 2) an Air Force-owned space corps that also takes space-related troops and assets from the Army and Navy, 3) an independent service that takes from the Air Force, Army, and Navy, and 4) an independent service that takes from the three services plus parts of the intelligence community.

According to Defense One, all these options will be discussed by Vice President Michael Pence and First Deputy Secretary of Defence Patrick Shanahan on Thursday.

The DoD and the White House have refused to comment on information about new instructions regarding alternative options for the new force.

On June 18, President Trump said he had instructed the Pentagon to establish a sixth branch of the armed forces dedicated to protecting American interests in outer space.

'When it comes to defending America, it is not enough to merely have an American presence in space. We must have American dominance in space', Trump said in a speech before a meeting of the National Space Council at the White House.

'I'm hereby directing the Department of Defense and Pentagon to immediately begin the process necessary to establish a Space Force as the sixth branch of the armed forces,' Trump added.

Shortly after Trump announced the creation of the US Space Force, Air Force Secretary Heather Wilson issued a memo to airmen in which she cautioned that the process of establishing a new military branch will take time and that it could cost at least 13 billion dollars to turn the Space Force into a reality.

 Sputnik

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US Lawmaker Accuses China of Genocide in Treatment of Uighur Muslims

By VOA News November 29, 2018

A U.S. congressman is calling on President Donald Trump to raise the issue of China's mass internment of Muslim ethnic minorities when he meets with Chinese President Xi Jinping later this week.

Republican Congressman Christopher Smith co-chairs the bipartisan Congressional-Executive Commission on China with Republican Senator Marco Rubio. The two lawmakers have proposed a bill in their respective chambers condemning the gross violations of human rights against the Uighurs in the remote western Xinjiang region. Beijing has faced growing international criticism over the incarceration of Uighurs, Kazakhs and other minorities, which it claims is necessary to combat religious extremism.

But former detainees have described the facilities as political indoctrination camps where they were forced to condemn Islam and declare loyalty to the ruling Communist Party.

In an interview with VOA's Mandarin Service Wednesday, Congressman Smith said their legislation would call on President Trump to use the Global Magnitsky Act and sanction "individual perpetrators" for their actions against the Uighurs. "We are not talking about American values here, we are talking about universally recognized human rights to which the Chinese government has pledged itself to," Smith said.

Smith accused China of committing genocide against the Uihgurs, calling their actions "without precedent in modern times." He also scoffed at a threat that Beijing would retaliate if the U.S. imposed sanctions made this week by Cui Tiankai, China's ambassador to the U.S.

"It's about time we stood up for the Chinese people," he said, "because that's where our hearts, that's where our solidarity has to be with, not with a dictatorship that ruins lives."

President Trump and President Xi will attend the G20 summit that begins Friday in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

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Study: China Engaging in Wide Campaign to Influence American Life

By Ken Bredemeier November 29, 2018

A new study by longtime China experts in the U.S. has concluded that Beijing is engaging in an increasingly aggressive campaign to influence and shape perceptions about China held by American politicians, university scholars and students, as well as executives at major corporations.

"Except for Russia, no other country's efforts to influence American politics and society is as extensive and well-funded as China's," according to the report by Stanford University's Hoover Institution and the Asia Society's Center on US-China Relations.

The report, called "Chinese Influence & American Interests: Promoting Constructive Vigilance," details a wide range of Chinese activities in the U.S. to "advance its influence-seeking objectives." It includes lobbying "influential civil society groups," but also accessing critical U.S. infrastructure and technology and engaging in "covert, coercive or corrupting" behavior, such as pressuring Chinese students studying on U.S. campuses to spy on other Chinese students at the same schools.

The report said China has, with the assistance of U.S. universities, established so called 110 Confucius Institutes on U.S. campuses, but the institutes are forced to use Communist Party-approved materials "that promote PRC Chinese viewpoints, terminology and simplified characters; the avoidance of discussion on controversial topics such as Tibet, Tiananmen, Xinjiang, the Falun Gong, and human rights in American classrooms and programs."

Now, however, some U.S. universities, including the University of Chicago and the Texas A&M system, have had second thoughts about the Confucius Institutes and have closed branches at their schools. The report said U.S. institutions should rewrite their contracts with China to eliminate a clause that stipulates Confucius Institutes must operate according to China's laws.

One of the report's authors, Orville Schell, said money flowing to U.S. universities "will not come with any explicit prohibitions, but implicit ones," that if the schools "want to get more [money], don't say this, don't say that," an effort aimed at "modulating and controlling what people say about it and how they view it."

The report said Hollywood, the film capital of the world, has been influenced by Chinese investment and now routinely makes films that portray China's government in a favorable light. It said that two decades ago, films such as "Red Corner," "Seven Years in Tibet," and "Kundun" addressed topics the Chinese government deemed sensitive. Hollywood studios now are teaming up with Chinese interests to produce such films as "The Martian," a hit in which the Chinese government saves the American protagonists.

"The rush of Chinese investment into the American film industry," the report concludes, "has raised legitimate concerns about the industry's outright loss of independence."

Schell said that after a year and a half of research, he and others came to the conclusion "that the relationship between the U.S. and China when it comes to influence is not reciprocal."

He said, "The open society of the United States gets used for Chinese purposes in myriad ways that are not available to Americans in China."

American universities have not been granted the same access in China as Beijing has received, and U.S. journalists are severely restricted inside China.

The report's conclusions echo those of U.S. Vice President Mike Pence in a speech last month.

"Beijing is employing a whole-of-government approach," Pence said, "using political, economic and military tools, as well as propaganda, to advance its influence and benefit its interests in the United States."

The Hoover-Asia Society report comes as U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President XI Jinping have in recent months imposed tit-for-tat tariffs on hundreds of billions of dollars of exports flowing between the world's two biggest economies.

The two leaders are meeting Saturday night over dinner in Buenos Aires at the G-20 summit of the world's leading economies and could possibly reach a new trade agreement. But obstacles remain and agreement on a deal is uncertain.

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State Department Advisor: Iran's Military Tentacles Expanding in Region

Nov. 29, 2018

By David Vergun

Defense.gov

WASHINGTON -- Iran's missiles and other weapons being exported to proxies pose a "clear and present danger" to civilians and regional stability, the special representative for Iran and senior policy advisor to the secretary of state said today.

"We're one [Iranian] missile away from igniting a regional conflict," Brian Hook told reporters during a news conference at Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling here today, in which he provided evidence of Iran's violation of United Nations resolutions against weapons proliferation.

In the year since U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley was at Anacostia-Bolling to highlight the dangers posed by Iran's proliferation of missiles and other weapons across the Middle East, he said, the proliferation has intensified.

Threats to Region and Europe

Iran has the largest ballistic force in the region, Hook said, with 10 ballistic missile systems in its inventory or under development. Missile development and testing has increased in recent years, he added.

Last year, Iran launched a medium-range missile believed to be the Khorramshahr, he said. It can carry a payload of more than a half ton and could be used to carry nuclear warheads. Its suspected range is 1,200 miles, which puts Europe in range.

The U.S. is unveiling new evidence of Iran's ongoing missile proliferation throughout the region, Hook said, standing near a display of seized Iranian weapons that he said is much larger than it was a year ago. He then elaborated on each weapon on display and where it was found.

Violations in Yemen

Sayyad 2C surface-to-air missiles manufactured in Iran were interdicted by Saudi Arabia in Yemen earlier this year, Hook said. The intended recipients were the Houthi rebels aligned with Iran. They could have used it to target coalition aircraft or civilian aviation up to 46 miles away, he said.

The writing in Farsi on the side of it translates to "Hunter Missile." The conspicuous markings are Iran's way of saying they don't mind being caught violating U.N. resolutions, Hook said.

Iran also is exporting antitank guided missiles, he said. Toophan missiles were seized aboard a dhow ship in the Persian Gulf, and Towsan missiles were found by Saudi Arabia during a raid in Yemen, he said.

Violations in Afghanistan

Fajr rockets intended for the Taliban were recovered by the Afghan National Army in Afghanistan's Helmand province near Kandahar Airfield, Hook said.

A new Iranian unmanned aerial vehicle, the Shaheh-123, was recovered by coalition forces after it crashed. Its purpose, Hook said, is to conduct surveillance missions of coalition forces. Iran has been providing materiel support to the Taliban at least since 2007, he added.

Violations in Bahrain

Bahrain provided captured Iranian small-arms weaponry found on their territory, which were given to Shiite militant groups to carry out attacks against the government. They include sniper rifles, rocket-propelled grenades, AK-47 assault rifle variants and hand grenades, Hook said. An Iranian official has publicly called Bahrain an Iranian province, he noted.

Violations against Saudi Arabia

Qiam, an Iranian short-range ballistic missile, was recovered in Saudi Arabia. It was fired by Houthi rebels, Hook said, and its intended target was the King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, where tens of thousands travel through the terminal each day. "Imagine a missile of this size and power hitting a civilian aircraft or terminal," Hook said.

Just today, the Houthi rebels fired missiles into Saudi Arabia, he added.

Violations in Lebanon

Since 2006, Iran has supplied Hezbollah in Lebanon with thousands of precision rockets, missiles and small arms, Hook said. It now has more than 100,000 rockets or missiles in its stockpile.

"We are using the full scope of our sanctions and authorities to inflict real costs on Iran," Hook said.

Earlier this month, the U.S. reimposed the remaining sanctions that were lifted by the Iran nuclear deal. "This is the largest ever single-day action targeting the Iranian regime," he said. Sanctions went into place against more than 700 individuals, entities, vessels and aircraft.

"Our maximum pressure campaign will continue until the Iranian regime decides to change its destructive policies, or it can continue to watch its economy crumble," Hook said.

The United States seeks a new and comprehensive deal with Iran, the State Department advisor said. Iran must stop testing and proliferating missiles, stop launching and developing nuclear-capable missiles and stop supporting militias in Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Bahrain and Yemen, he added.

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High-tech sub to join navy: Cmdr

IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency

Bandar Abbas, Nov 29, IRNA -- A high-tech submarine, made by Iranian experts, will join the navy fleet in a few months, said the commander of the Iranian navy.

'The enemy should know that this submarine will be a slap on the face of those who invade Iran,' said Rear Admiral Hossein Khanzadi in the ceremony, marking joining of two vessels to the Iranian Navy.

Khanzadi said that making a submarine is the highest level of advanced technologies, adding when a country is present on the sea, it conveys that it enjoys a high level of science and technology.

Apart from Sahand destroyer that will join the navy on Saturday, several other achievements will be unveiled in the coming months, he said.

He added that Jamaran frigate surprises many regional and extra-regional countries; it can carry helicopters and shoot missiles.

Iran aims at providing collective security, and is ready to share experience with other regional countries so that some countries will realize that borrowed security cannot last.

9417**1420

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Iran bank rejects US claims of illegal money transfer to Iraq

Iran Press TV

Thu Nov 29, 2018 05:00PM

The Bank Melli Iran (BMI) has dismissed a claim by US Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) that it has been funneling "billions of dollars" to its Iraqi branch in order to fund militias.

In a statement, Bank Melli said the OFAC 's claim about transferring money for Iraqi militias, which was cited by anti-Iran media outlets a few days ago, is "far from reality and unaccounted for."

Earlier this month, the OFAC sanctioned more than 700 individuals, entities, aircraft, and vessels as part of the US administration's re-imposition of anti-Iran sanctions that had been lifted under the 2015 nuclear agreement.

In its press release, the OFAC said it sanctions Bank Melli for "assisting in, sponsoring, or providing financial, material, or technological support for, or financial or other services to or in support of" the IRGC's Quds Force.

"As of 2018, the equivalent of billions of dollars in funds have flowed through IRGC-QF controlled accounts at Bank Melli," the OFAC claimed.

The Iranian bank, however, says the whole money transferred to and withdrawn from its branch in Iraq is far less than the amount claimed by the US Treasury.

"All the activities of the branch are according to the regulations of the Iraqi Central Bank," the bank's statement said.

The Bank Melli branches in regional countries and other parts of the world are operating in accordance with the international trade regulations and the rules of the host countries, the statement noted.

"The activities of these branches ... have been monitored by the central banks in these countries during the past seven decades," the statement said.

The Bank Melli Iran's branch in Iraq was established in 2007 in a professional move and as part of the bank's branch expansion policies, it added.

The branch was established in Iraq in a bid to offer conventional banking services according to legal procedures of the Arab country, the Bank Melli said in the statement. It added that so far, according to the audits of the host country, the bank's performance has been assessed as accurate and well-documented.

"Therefore, the OFAC 's false claim about transferring money for Iraqi militias ... ignores the consistent cultural, historical, social and economic relations between the two countries, and the fact that the huge number of pilgrims commuting between the two states need to use banking services," the statement said.

In its press release, the OFAC claimed the IRGC's Quds Force "has used Bank Melli to dispense funds to Iraqi Shia militant groups, and Bank Melli's presence in Iraq was part of this scheme."

"Bank Melli has enabled the IRGC and its affiliates to move funds inside and outside of Iran," it added.

Bank Melli Iran is the first national and commercial retail bank of Iran. It is considered as the largest Iranian company in terms of annual income. It is the largest bank in the Islamic world and in the Middle East.

By the end of 2016, BMI had a net asset of $76.6 billion and a vast network of 3,328 banking branches; so it is known as the largest Iranian bank based on the amount of assets.

The Bank Melli has 3,328 active branches inside Iran and 14 active branches and four sub-stations abroad. The first foreign branch of BMI was opened in Hamburg, Germany in 1948.

A recent report by Germany's business newspaper Handelsblatt claimed that Germany's part state-owned telecom provider Deutsche Telekom had cut off Bank Melli's Hamburg office.

However, Bank Melli announced in a statement that all of its overseas branches remained connected to phone and internet services.

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Two new submarines join Iran's naval fleet

Iran Press TV

Thu Nov 29, 2018 07:57AM

Two Ghadir-class submarines capable of launching subsurface-to-surface missiles, torpedoes and mines have joined Iran's naval fleet.

The submarines were unveiled during a ceremony at the southern Iranian port city of Bandar Abbas on Thursday.

Iran's Navy commander Rear Admiral Hossein Khanzadi attended the ceremony which was held on the occasion of the Navy Day.

The Ghadir-class submarines are designed to cruise within the shallow waters of the Persian Gulf to ensure peace and security of Iran's maritime borders.

Iran has so far launched different classes of domestically-built advanced submarines including Ghadir, Qaem, Nahang, Tareq and Sina.

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Iranian Navy Adds Two New Subs to Fleet

Sputnik News

22:43 29.11.2018(updated 22:44 29.11.2018)

The Iranian navy has commissioned and acquired two Ghadir-class diesel-electric submarines to enhance Iranian naval operations in waterways such as the Persian Gulf, according to Iran's state TV.

The miniature submarines took about 18 months to build, Times of Israel reported Thursday, citing a report carried on Iranian state television. Both underwater boats were constructed inside Iran, which began producing the Ghadir-class subs around 2005.

The subs are equipped with sonar-evading technology and underwater-launched cruise missiles, Times of Israel notes. The mini subs, sometimes called midget subs, displace fewer than 120 metric tons of water.

According to video of a ceremony inducting the submarines into the Iranian navy, Adm. Mojtaba Mohammadi said the sub beside him was the 14th Iranian-made submarine to join the country's navy. While it's not clear how many submarines there are in the Iranian fleet in total, the Times of Israel says it's believed there are 12 light submarines and a trio of Russian-made underwater boats.

One of the new submarines included in the Iranian TV segment was located at Iran's southern port of Bandar Abbas near the strategic Strait of Hormuz, through which approximately 30 percent of the world's oil traded by sea passes each year.

Broadcasting the induction of the submarines into the Iranian naval fleet may be aimed at boosting the image of Iran's military as a whole, the Times of Israel opined. Earlier this month, the US re-instated sanctions targeting Iran's energy, financial and automotive sectors.

On Thursday, the US State Department said it was "doing everything it can" to prevent buyers of Iranian oil from evading sanctions. Crude oil exports from Iran are going to drop "very soon," said Brian Hook, special representative for Iran at the State Department.

The sanctions were triggered by Washington's withdrawal from the 2015 Iran nuclear deal earlier this year. The European Union, for its part, is "accelerating" development of a special purpose vehicle to pursue legitimate trade with Iran, said Maja Kocijancic, the European Commission's spokeswoman for foreign affairs and security policy, during a November 7 briefing with reporters.

 Sputnik

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US Accuses Iran of Launching Missile Capable of Reaching Europe

Sputnik News

18:39 29.11.2018(updated 19:16 29.11.2018)

According to the State Department, Tehran is producing several types of missiles that threaten US partner countries in the Middle East and jeopardise American forces in the region.

'Today, the United States is unveiling new evidence of Iran's ongoing missile proliferation', US Special Envoy for Iran Brian Hook claimed. 'The Iranian threat is growing and we are accumulating risk of escalation in the region if we fail to act', he added.

Hook called on the EU to impose sanctions against the Islamic Republic, stressing that the missiles that Tehran has been proliferating are capable of reaching Europe.

'We urge all nations, especially the European Union, to move missile sanctions through the European Union so that we can start managing the risk of a regional conflict through missile proliferation', he told reporters.

The diplomat also blamed Iran for allegedly supplying the missiles to 'its proxy forces' in Yemen, Lebanon and other countries in order to destabilise the whole region.

Washington has been repeatedly accusing Iran of trying to gain influence in the Middle East. Thus, US President Donald Trump has listed the country among the threats in the National Defense Strategy (NDS) submitted in January 2018, which has sought to revamp the US military to counter growing global challenges.

 Sputnik

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Transaction Completed with Strategic Investor

Sydney, Nov 30, 2018 AEST (ABN Newswire) - New Energy Minerals Limited ("New Energy", the "Company) ( ASX:NXE ) ( FRA:GGY ) announces that the strategic investment and joint venture transaction with Hong Kong-based investor UBezTT International Investment Holdings (BVI) Ltd (or Nominee)("UBezTT") has now been completed(see Note below).Pursuant to the transaction, New Energy completed a A$1.5million placement in two tranches to UBezTT at $0.065 per share for a total of 23 million shares, which is a premium to the current share price. Shares were issued to UBezTT under the Company's existing ASX LR7.1 and LR7.1A placing capacity. Please see Appendix 1 (see link below) for further disclosures in relation to ASX LR 3.10.5A.In addition to the placement, the A$3.5 million equity investment by UBezTT in Balama Resources Pty Ltd ("Balama") has been concluded in return for 50% of the enlarged capital of Balama. Balama is the holder of an 80% interest in the Caula Vanadium-Graphite project. All funds in relation to the placement and the Balama investment have been received by the Company and all relevant shares issued.New Energy Minerals Managing Director Bernard Olivier Commented: "We are pleased to have completed this transaction and we welcome Mr Ching's investment into New Energy. With the scoping study now completed, we look forward to applying these funds to fast-tracking the development of the Caula Vanadium Graphite Project".Note: Refer to ASX Announcement dated 7 November 2018 for full details of the transactionTo view the Appendix, please visit:About New Energy Minerals Ltd

New Energy Minerals Ltd (ASX:NXE) (FRA:GGY) is an ASX listed junior mining company, that recently announced the divestment of the Company's Caula vanadium - graphite project and the Montepuez Ruby project in Mozambique.
The Iranian Regime's Transfer of Arms to Proxy Groups and Ongoing Missile Development

Special Briefing

Brian Hook

Senior Policy Advisor to the Secretary of State and Special Representative for Iran

Joint Base Anacostia - Bolling

Washington, DC

November 29, 2018

MODERATOR: Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. Thank you for waiting. Your excellencies, members of the diplomatic corps, and members of the press, we're very pleased to welcome Special Representative Hook, who will be briefing today on the Iran Materiel Display. We will have brief remarks followed by questions. This event is on the record for the press. Let me turn it over to Special Representative Hook for his remarks. Thank you.

MR HOOK: Good morning, and thank you all for coming. I want to thank Secretary Mattis and the men and women of our armed forces for their brave service to our nation and for making this display possible. I want to recognize members of the diplomatic corps from several countries, including South Korea, Japan, Israel, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Italy, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Yemen, and Afghanistan.

I want to also extend a special welcome to His Excellency Yousef Al Otaiba, the UAE ambassador; to Ambassador Ron Dermer of Israel; and to His Excellency Ambassador Shaikh Abdullah bin Rashed Al Khalifa of Bahrain. The United States deeply values our partnerships with the UAE and Bahrain and Israel, and I thank all of you for coming today.

In December of last year, UN Ambassador Nikki Haley stood here to highlight the dangers posed by Iran's dangerous proliferation of missiles across the Middle East. She highlighted how Iran was illegally providing weapons to Houthi militants in Yemen. It was a clear violation of UN resolutions then, and it remains so today. She also spoke of the threat these weapons pose to peace and security and to the innocent civilians caught in the crossfire.

Today, the United States is unveiling new evidence of Iran's ongoing missile proliferation. The Iranian threat is growing and we are accumulating risk of escalation in the region if we fail to act. In the time since Ambassador Haley's remarks, Iran's support of the Houthi militants has deepened. Its backing of terrorist activities across the world has increased, and its efforts to undermine regional stability have expanded.

The inventory in this display has expanded since December. This is a function of Iran's relentless commitment to put more weapons into the hands of even more of its proxies, regardless of the suffering. Iran has been prohibited by several UN resolutions from exporting arms for a decade. These restrictions were in place starting in 2006 under UN Security Council Resolution 1737 and 1747, which I helped to negotiate. The prohibitions have continued since 2015 under UN Resolution 2231. This display and the items we have added to it reveal an outlaw regime exporting arms as it pleases.

Today we are unveiling Iran's Sayyad 2C surface-to-air missile, which you see behind me. This missile was designed and manufactured in Iran, and the writing in Farsi on its side translates as "the hunter missile." The conspicuous Farsi markings is Iran's way of saying they don't mind being caught violating UN resolutions. The Sayyad 2C is one of two identical systems interdicted by Saudi Arabia in Yemen earlier this year. The Iranians wanted to deliver this to the Houthis, who would have used it to target coalition aircraft up to 46 miles away. Given the Houthis' reckless use of other advanced weapons provided by the Iranians, these missiles pose a clear and present danger to civil aviation in the region.

We are also unveiling anti-tank guided missiles. On display in front of me are two of the three types of anti-tank guided missiles that Iran produces and transfers: the Toophan and the Tosan. One of the Toophan rockets that is newly added was seized in an arms cache aboard a dhow in the Arabian Sea. The other was found by Saudi Arabia during a raid in Yemen.

The Tosan rocket on display is also new, and is one of five that were seized in a stockpile by Saudi forces in Yemen. These missiles enhance the Houthis' capabilities and further intensify the conflict in Yemen.

Fajr rockets have also been added to the display and are located next the anti-tank guided missiles. These weapons were recovered in Helmand, near Kandahar Air Field, by the Afghan National Army from the Taliban. Iran has been providing materiel support to the Taliban since at least 2007. These same rockets have been used by Hamas in the past.

To my left is a new unmanned aerial system: the Shahed 123. We have debris from a Shahed which was recovered by coalition forces in Afghanistan after it crashed, as well as Shahed components that were interdicted in Yemen in early 2018. This missile system is primarily designed to conduct covert reconnaissance and surveillance missions, potentially putting American and coalition forces at risk. There are several new small arms of Iranian origin included here, such as sniper rifles, RPGs, AK variants, and hand grenades. These have been provided to us by Bahrain. Iran gave these weapons to Shia militant groups to carry out attacks against the government. I would like to thank Foreign Minister Sheikh Khalid bin Hahmed Al Khalifa for his commitment to exposing the Iranian regime's activities.

In 2016, senior Iran Revolutionary Guard commander Saeed Qassimi publicly called Bahrain an Iranian province and said Iran is a base, quote, "for the support of revolution in Bahrain." In a microcosm, this is exactly how Iran destabilizes the Middle East. But the United States stands with Bahrain to protect its sovereignty, and we will continue to work together to identify and intercept arms shipments in the region. This ongoing collaboration with Bahrain, which is home to the U.S. Fifth Fleet, is critical to the safety of the region.

I want to also highlight the recovered pieces of an Iranian Qiam missile fired by the Houthis into Saudi Arabia, which Ambassador Haley unveiled last December. The missile's intended target was the civilian airport in Riyadh, a G20 airport through which tens of thousands of people travel each day. Imagine a missile of this size and power hitting a civilian aircraft or terminal one at the airport.

The new weapons we are disclosing today illustrate the scale of Iran's destructive role across the region. The same kind of rockets here today could tomorrow land in a public market in Kabul or an international airport. As the Bahraini victims of attacks carried out with some of the weapons here could tell you, the Iranian regime uses arms to export revolution, prolong crises, and inflict death and suffering. The tools of Tehran's foreign policy are here before you today. Tehran is intent on increasing the lethality and reach of these weapons to deepen its presence throughout the region.

This is why it is especially important that we get the de-escalation of conflicts in places like Yemen right. Secretaries Pompeo and Mattis have called for a ceasefire in Yemen, and the United States is committed to the efforts led by UN Special Envoy Martin Griffiths. Iran has no legitimate interest in Yemen, other than to expand its sphere of influence and to create a Shia corridor of control. Although Iran's role in Yemen has been underreported by the media, there is no question Iran has intensified the humanitarian catastrophe and prolonged the conflict. Iran has been funding, arming, and training the Houthis, which has allowed them to continue to fight well beyond what would have made any sense at all.

The United States and our coalition partners have provided billions in aid to the Yemenis, while Iran has provided nothing but weapons and fighters. Just today Houthi rebels fired missiles into Saudi Arabia. This strike is an example of the destabilizing agenda the Houthis are pursuing in partnership with Iran. They act in this way even as UN Special Envoy Martin Griffiths is exerting maximum effort with our full support to bring the parties together for talks.

In the months ahead, we must be careful not to affirm Iran's role as a legitimate political actor in Yemen. The clerics in Tehran will exploit any opening to gain a foothold in Yemen, a place where it has no business being in to begin with. Historically, there has not been a religious connection between Iran's Twelver Shiites and Yemen's Houthis, who are Fiver Shiites. In fact, Iran's religious authorities have long been dismissive of the Fiver Shiites.

Just imagine what Yemen would look like in the future with an entrenched and enduring Iranian presence. We already know how this movie ends, and we cannot watch a new version of Lebanese Hizballah slowly emerge in the Arabian Peninsula. Since the end of 2006, Iran has supplied Hizballah with thousands of precision rockets, missiles, and small arms. It now has more than 100,000 rockets or missiles in its stockpile. If Iran were allowed to operate with similar freedom in Yemen, we can expect the Lebanization of Yemen. The Houthis have launched Iranian-origin missiles at Riyadh, with an estimated range of 560 miles. Iran has funded the Houthis with hundreds of millions of dollars since the conflict broke out. With Iran's ongoing help, the Houthi threat will grow as their capabilities steadily expand.

Iran could use such newfound influence as a power broker and arms dealer to threaten our allies and partners in the region and unravel the stability that we have worked so hard to achieve in the Gulf. It could also create challenges in the Bab al-Mandab Strait in much the same way Tehran leverages its proximity to the Strait of Hormuz. An estimated 4.5 million barrels of oil per day transits through the Bab al-Mandab, while about 17 million barrels a day flow through the Strait of Hormuz. Iran has threatened repeatedly over many years to close the Strait of Hormuz. Give Iran a free hand in Yemen and it can threaten to close both straits and commit acts of maritime aggression with impunity. Just as we must constrain Iranian expansion in Syria, the Golan Heights, and in Iraq, we must also prevent Iran from entrenching itself in Yemen.

I want to now highlight the Iranian regime's investment in missile testing and development. It is increasing. The regime's pace of missile launches did not diminish after implementation of the Iran nuclear deal in January of 2016. Iran has conducted numerous ballistic missile launches and space launches since this time as it continues to prioritize missile development as a tool of revolution. We assess that in January of 2017, Iran launched a medium-range missile, believed to be the Khorramshahr. It can carry a payload of more than 500 kilograms and could be used to carry nuclear warheads. Its suspected range is over 1,200 miles, which is far enough to target some European capitals. Iran's ongoing missile development puts Europe in its range.

Iran has the largest ballistic missile force in the region, with more than 10 ballistic missile systems either in its inventory or under development. Any environment where Iran is able to operate freely can become a forward-deployed missile base for such systems and for many other kinds of weapons that you see here today. This threatens Israel and other partners, especially Saudi Arabia and the UAE.

Just this month, rockets rained down on Israel from territory controlled by Iran's Palestinian partner Hamas. In Lebanon, we have evidence that Iran is helping Hizballah build missile production facilities. In Iraq, credible reports indicate that Iran is transferring ballistic missiles to Shia militia groups. This comes as these militias carried out highly provocative attacks on U.S. diplomatic facilities in Baghdad and Basra in September, which we know that Iran did nothing to stop.

Iran is also dumping cash and forces into conflict zones to support its proxies from the Levant to the Arabian Peninsula. It has extended $4.6 billion in lines of credit to the Assad regime, provided more than $100 million to Palestinian groups including Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad, and manages as many as 10,000 Shia fighters in Syria, some of whom are children as young as 12 years old.

As the world strives toward peace and security in the Middle East, we are working to reverse advances made by Iran and its proxies over the last several years. In fact, we are using the full scope of our sanctions authorities to inflict real costs on Iran. In July of 2017, we sanctioned 18 key individuals and entities for supporting Iran's ballistic missile program. In January, the U.S. designated four additional entities. In May, we designated five Iranians for providing missile expertise to the Houthis. These individuals were also responsible for transferring weapons to Yemen on behalf of the Qods Force.

While we are sanctioning Iran's missile activity and weapons transfers, our economic pressure is much broader. Earlier this month, the United States reimposed the remaining sanctions that were lifted by the Iran deal. This is the largest ever single-day action targeting the Iranian regime. Our sanctions went back into place on more than 700 individuals, entities, vessels, and aircraft. This sanctions campaign puts us in a much stronger position to be confronting the same threats that I have described to you today. Our maximum pressure campaign will continue until Iran  the Iranian regime  decides to change its destructive policies. The regime can change its policies, or it can continue to watch its economy crumble.

For 39 years, the Iranian regime has shaped events in the region through illegal weapons transfers, proxies, and terror  a deadly trifecta. President Trump has made it clear that the United States will no longer tolerate the status quo. We seek a new and comprehensive deal with Iran that addresses the full range of Iran's destructive activities in the region. As Secretary Pompeo said in his speech announcing our new strategy in May, Iran must stop testing and proliferating missiles, stop launching and developing nuclear-capable missiles, and stop supporting militias in Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Bahrain, and Yemen. Iran needs to start behaving like a normal country and surrender its title as the world's number one sponsor of terrorism.

As the special representative for Iran, I have met with partners and allies across the globe to share the concerns that I have shared today and explain the purposes of our pressure campaign. Most of the countries I meet with share our assessment of the Iranian threat, and I invite any who remain on the fence to visit this weapons display to see the evidence for themselves. Delegations from nearly 70 countries have already visited here, and we welcome more.

Despite this clear evidence, not all countries are convinced of the need to take action. Too many remain on the sidelines, arguing that now is not the time to pressure the regime. But this approach has enabled  and will continue to enable  Tehran to expand its presence in the region and become a more destructive force in the Middle East, to say nothing of Europe. The current international environment has created unacceptably low expectations for the regime in Tehran. If, as some people argue, the demands of the United States for the Iranian regime seem too many, it is because Iran's malign activities are too numerous. If our demands seem too unrealistic, it is because the world's expectations are too low. We cannot simply admire the Iranian threat any longer.

The United States has a positive vision for the Middle East, where every state retains the right to defend itself. But no outlaw regime, like the one in Tehran, can freely undermine the sovereignty of other nations. This is not foreign policy; it is state-sponsored, revolutionary terrorism. The Middle East will be best served when an Iranian Government respects the rule of law, abides by fundamental standards and commitments, and rejects terrorism.

It is now up to the supreme leader to do something out of character and act in the interests of the Iranian people. Is it better to remain isolated from the world as an international pariah or to benefit and prosper from inclusion in the international community? It should not be a difficult choice. There is nothing noble about driving a great and proud nation into the ground.

The Iranian people have a rich legacy and a culture dating back to Cyrus the Great, and they deserve a government that represents their interests and not just the interests of their corrupt leaders. This room could just as easily been used to display the artifacts from Persian history or renowned contemporary artists from Iran, but instead we see only missiles, rockets, and small arms. The clerical regime in Iran has chosen this path, but the Iranian people are not destined to follow it. If Tehran changes its policies, a better future awaits the Iranian people.

History shows us clearly that America has no permanent enemies. Throughout our history, enemies torn apart by conflict often become the best allies united in peace, as Japan and others can attest. We hope for the same future with the Iranian people. The choice is now for their government to make. Thank you.

MODERATOR: Thank you very much. We have time for a few questions. May I ask please that you wait for a microphone, that you state your name and outlet, and please  so that we can get as many questions as possible  limit to one question. And I'll also say that if you have very technical questions about the equipment, we may take those for later. And we'll start with Reuters please.

QUESTION: Idrees Ali from Reuters. One of the missiles that you mentioned here was launched five days after Ambassador Haley gave her presentation last year. What benefit do you think there is of showing these weapons publicly, and how do you respond to critics who say this is simply a political stunt and propaganda that actually increases tensions in the region?

MR HOOK: I haven't heard anybody say this is a political stunt. This is simply putting out in broad daylight Iran's missiles and small arms and rockets and UAVs and drones. That missile right there landed right next to Riyadh's international airport, and it's very important for nations to see with their own eyes that this is a grave and escalating threat. We are one missile attack away from a regional conflict. These missiles  we've been very lucky  for the most part have not hit their intended target. But luck is not a strategy, and the international community needs to do more to get after the proliferation of Iran's missiles.

The Iran nuclear deal has created a climate where so long as Iran is in compliance with a nonproliferation deal of modest gains and temporary benefits, that so long as Iran is in compliance with this deal, somehow they're in compliance with all sorts of international norms and standards.

The fact of the matter is, is that during the implementation of the Iran nuclear deal, Iran has expanded its threats to peace and security in almost every category: terrorism, terror finance, cyber attacks, maritime aggression, human rights violations. And so we are now out of the deal and it gives us a great deal of freedom and leverage to address the entire range of Iran's threats to peace and security.

And so our pressure campaign that the President and the Secretary have put in place really yield two very, very concrete benefits: One, it will starve the regime of the revenue it needs to destabilize the Middle East and terrorize other nations. We need to starve these militias of funding. The other thing it does is it creates pressure on the regime to come back to the negotiating table so that we can get a new and better deal that doesn't just address the nuclear threat that Iran presents, but also addresses the entire range: the terrorism, the nuclear threat, the cyber aggression, maritime aggression, the entire range. And we are very confident that we have the right strategy with the right diplomacy in place.

MODERATOR: Nadia, please.

QUESTION: Thank you. Nadia Bilbassy with Al Arabiya. Now that you're showing us an expanded evidence of Iran involvement, what mechanism do you have to stop these weapons from reaching proxies, in particular the Houthis in Yemen? And what leverage do you have on allied countries like Iraq, for example? You just said that there's weapons that goes through to the Shiite militias in Iraq, and Iraq is a close ally of the United States.

MR HOOK: Right.

QUESTION: Thank you.

MR HOOK: Now that our sanctions are back in place, the President and the Secretary of State will be resolutely focused on sanctions enforcement, and we are doing everything we can to deter and discover sanctions evasion. All of our diplomatic posts in the region, especially in the Middle East and in Europe, are putting in place strategies to detect and to prevent sanctions evasion, and that includes the missile proliferation, the missile shipments that you described.

It also is very much going after the money. Eighty percent of Iran's revenue comes from oil exports. We have taken over a million barrels of oil off of Iran's export list and many more barrels will be coming off very soon. And so we have  our maximum economic pressure campaign is focused on the economics. We also need to be restoring deterrents. This display today helps educate people on this clear and present threat that we face. And we urge all nations, especially the European Union, to move missile sanctions through the European Union so that we can start managing the risk of a regional conflict through missile proliferation.

MODERATOR: Let me take VOA, please.

QUESTION: Hi, I'm with the VOA, Farhad Pouladi, Persian Service. Two questions: First of all, are there more actions coming in the way towards the Iranian authorities to stop their malign activities? If you can go briefly over that, whether they are from Treasury or from the Pentagon. And what leverage do you have to convince others to join the campaign of maximum pressure against Iran? Thank you.

MR HOOK: Well, on the first question, we never give advance notice on our sanctions. That's something which is held very closely until they're announced. What I can say is that since we have reimposed our sanctions on November 5th, we have already done two rounds of designations targeting individuals and entities who are trying to evade sanctions, and that we worked very closely with Secretary Mnuchin at Treasury on these efforts. And so yes, there will be more sanctions. We have already done two rounds just since we've restored the sanctions lifted under the Iran nuclear deal.

In terms of leverage, I think we've been very successful so far with putting in place an economic pressure that is going to drive the Iranian economy into a place that's going to really force the regime to decide: Is the cost-benefit of their revolutionary behavior in their favor? Our policy in the Middle East is to reverse the balance of power in favor of our friends and our partners. Iran has had a really good run over many years, partly enabled by the cover that the Iran nuclear deal provided.

And so I think now we are in a much better position with our regional partners, with the United States. We have had enormous cooperation from European companies. Over 100 major firms have announced that they are ending business in Iran and, if given the choice between doing business in the United States and doing business in Iran, it's the fastest decision you'll ever make as an executive. And so we have been very pleased with the progress we've made so far on our sanctions.

MODERATOR: Let me take AFP, and then I will take one last over here.

QUESTION: Thank you. Tom Watkins, AFP. Can you explain a little bit about the timing of today's presentation? Why now, why today? As you know, there's obviously been a tremendous amount of criticism in the media recently about Saudi Arabia. Is this to try and sort of shift the narrative a bit, or can you just talk about why you're doing this again? Thank you.

MR HOOK: Well, we're doing it again because our inventory has expanded. That's just the nature of this regime. As this regime continues its aggressive and revolutionary foreign policy, we interdict more and more equipment. And so at some point, we hope to have this room no longer build its inventory. We need to reduce the inventory here. And so it's just a function of Iran's campaign to export arms in violation of UN embargoes across the Middle East.

In terms of the timing, it's  there isn't anything tied to what's happening in Saudi Arabia. The Secretary of State and the Secretary of Defense testified yesterday before Congress, had a very fulsome discussion about Saudi Arabia. Secretary Pompeo published an op-ed in The Wall Street Journal yesterday explaining our policy. And so today, of course it's related. Many of the missiles here were interdicted by Saudi Arabia, which illustrates just how much of a threat it's under and how much of a threat UAE and Bahrain and Israel are under because of these kinds of weapons, whether it's in Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, or Yemen. And we need to get serious about going after this stuff.

MODERATOR: So our last question is Al Hurra.

QUESTION: Hisham Bourar, Al Hurra TV. First I have a question, but I want to follow up on the AFP question first. To what extent the vote yesterday in the Senate to sort of stop the support for Saudi Arabia in Yemen hurt your efforts to curb these Iranian activities?

And my question is: You spoke about the risk accumulating if you fail to act. What would that look like? Would it look like a military strike at some point? And given that you have tried the sanctions and the maximum pressure, could anything short of a military strike against Iran stop Iran from continuing its proliferation?

MR HOOK: On the first question about Yemen, abandoning Yemen right now would do immense damage to U.S. national security interests and to those of our partners in the Middle East. Right now in Yemen we are carrying out three vital missions. We are trying to assist the coalition in fighting Iranian-backed Houthi fighters, we are decapitating al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula, and we are promoting Americans  we are protecting Americans who are working in Saudi Arabia or transiting the strategic waterways around Yemen.

We definitely want to bolster the conditions for peace in Yemen. We have a number of goals which I would describe as working in parallel tracks. Secretary Mattis has talked about the need to build capacity of legitimate Yemeni security forces. We need to strengthen the defensive capabilities of our regional partners. We need to support our partners' right to defend themselves against Houthi attacks supported by the Iranian regime. And at the same time, we are calling for an urgent end to the fighting, and we hope that all parties will attend the consultations next month in Sweden under the good offices of UN Special Representative Martin Griffiths.

What was the second part of your question?

QUESTION: The other question, you spoke about, if the risk is actually accumulating if you fail to act...

MODERATOR: Please wait for the mic, sir.

QUESTION: ...would that take the form of a military strike? Is it  is the  going to war with Iran an option given that the sanctions and the maximum pressure policies have failed so far to curb Iran and to stop it from smuggling weapons to these militias?

MR HOOK: After the Shia militia attacks on our diplomatic facilities in Basra and Baghdad, the President put out a statement that promised swift and decisive action if any of our diplomatic facilities or diplomats are attacked or injured. And so we have been very clear with the Iranian regime that we will not hesitate to use military force when our interests are threatened. I think they understand that. I think they understand that very clearly. I think right now, while we have the military option on the table, our preference is to use all of the tools at our disposal diplomatically. And as I said earlier, being out of the Iran deal has given us a great deal of diplomatic freedom to address the full range of Iran's threats.

And so we are working very closely with partners around the world. We have had road show teams from State and Treasury that have visited I think almost 40 countries now, and that's helping to explain our sanctions regime and its purposes. And we've been very pleased with the progress that we've made so far. There's a lot of work that remains to be done, and one of the messages that we've been consistently delivering is that preserving the Iran nuclear deal cannot come at the expense of regional stability, and just because Iran is in compliance with the deal does not mean that everything else is fine. And as we see here today and the missile here behind me, this is a grave and escalating threat that we must do more to address.

Thank you very much.

MODERATOR: Thank you. That is the conclusion of our press conference. I want to thank Special Representative Hook and also want to thank the Department of Defense and our hosts here at Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling. If I could ask the media please to hold your seats for a moment, we're going to have some instructions for you, and then we can allow the dip corps to depart. Thank you.

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Top Hashd al-Sha'abi cmdr., four aides killed in Iraq's Diyala bomb attack

Iran Press TV

Thu Nov 29, 2018 03:52PM

A senior commander of the pro-government Popular Mobilization Units has been killed in a bomb attack in Iraq's eastern province of Diyala as government troops and allied fighters are engaged in joint counter-terrorism operations across the crisis-hit Arab country to flush out the last remnants of the extremist outfit.

A provincial security source, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Arabic-language Baghdad Today news agency that a high-ranking commander of the 110th Brigade of the voluntary forces  commonly known by the Arabic name Hashd al-Sha'abi  was killed along with four of his aides on Thursday when a bomb explosion targeted their armored vehicle on the outskirts of the Hamrin Mountains, located 80 kilometers northeast of the provincial capital city of Baqubah.

The source added that security forces have sealed off the site of the blast, and launched an investigation into the incident.

No group has claimed responsibility for the attack yet, but it bears the hallmark of attacks carried out by members of the Daesh Takfiri terror group.

Security forces destroy four Daesh hideouts in Kirkuk

Separately, Iraqi security forces have managed to uncover and destroy four Daesh terrorist hideouts in the rural areas of the country's northern oil-rich province of Kirkuk.

The Iraqi Federal Police announced in a statement that the hideouts were destroyed in the villages of Saghira, al-Khani, al-Owaifiyat, and Ghabzou'a.

The statement revealed that munitions were also recovered from the militant positions, without specifying their types.

Former Iraqi prime minister Haider al-Abadi declared the end of military operations against Daesh in the Arab country on December 9, 2017.

On July 10 that year, he had formally declared victory over Daesh in Mosul, which served as the terrorists' main urban stronghold in Iraq.

In the run-up to Mosul's liberation, Iraqi army soldiers and volunteer Hashd al-Sha'abi fighters had made sweeping gains against Daesh.

Iraqi forces took control of eastern Mosul in January 2017 after 100 days of fighting, and launched the battle in the west on February 19 last year.

Daesh began a terror campaign in Iraq in 2014, overrunning vast swathes in lightning attacks.

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Pakistan unveils new anti-submarine system

IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency

Islamabad, Nov 29, IRNA -- Pakistan has unveiled newly-developed anti-submarine weapon 'Depth Charge Mark-II MOD3' for Pakistan Navy.

President Arif Alvi unveiled the system at ongoing Pakistan's 10th International Defense Exhibition and seminar, IDEAS 2018 in Karachi.

The air-launched anti-submarine weapon detonates at an optimum depth of 70 feet making it very effective against intruder submarines in the act of diving or submerged at shallow depth. Its length is 97cm and firing depth is 70 feet.

President of Pakistan expressed his satisfaction over the quality standard of Pakistan Ordnance Factories (POF) products and lauded the achievements of POF.

Meanwhile, General Zubair Mahmood Hayat, Pakistan Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee also unveiled another newly-developed product of POF namely 'Anti-Tank Mine System" at POF stall.

It can be launched from a moving vehicle at a range of 50-250 meter on either side. The maximum self-destruction time is more than 300 hours.

The Deputy Coordinator of the Islamic Republic of Iran's Army, Rear Admiral Habibollah Sayyari, leading a high level Iranian delegation, also attended the event.

A total of 522 exhibitors from 50 countries are taking part in the exhibition and will be able to showcase their high-quality arms from November 27 to November 30.

Besides trade visitors, more than 262 high-level delegations from 51 countries are also visiting the exhibition.

72**6125**1420

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Canada sanctions 17 Saudis linked to Khashoggi's 'extrajudicial' murder

Iran Press TV

Thu Nov 29, 2018 05:45PM

Canada on Thursday imposed sanctions against 17 Saudi nationals linked to the "abhorrent and extrajudicial" murder of dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

In a statement, Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland called for a "transparent" probe into the killing, for which Riyadh has failed to offer credible explanations.

Freeland said the sanctions "target individuals who are, in the opinion of the government of Canada, responsible for or complicit in the extrajudicial killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi on October 2, 2018."

The statement also called for "a transparent and rigorous accounting of the circumstances" surrounding Khashoggi's murder, saying "the explanations offered to date by Saudi Arabia lack consistency and credibility."

Speaking to reporters in Buenos Aires on the sidelines of the G20 summit, Freeland also noted that "the murder of Khashoggi is abhorrent and represents an unconscionable attack on the freedom of expression of all individuals."

"This case is not closed," she said, urging that "those responsible for Jamal Khashoggi's murder must be held to account and must face justice."

Freeland accompanied Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to the G20 summit, also attended by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who has been accused of being behind the murder of Khashoggi.

The prince is also under fire for the Saudi war crimes in Yemen. At the request of Human Rights Watch, Argentina has agreed to proceed with a case against bin Salman over the Yemen atrocities during his visit to Buenos Aires.

HRW has formally requested Argentine judicial authorities to use a domestic constitutional clause to arrest and prosecute bin Salman, known as MBS, for war crimes in Yemen and the murder of Khashoggi.

Sarah Leah Whitson, the Middle East director of HRW, tweeted on Wednesday that a prosecutor has agreed to proceed with the case, and asked a judge to request information from Yemeni and Saudi authorities regarding war crimes.

She also said that the prosecutor had asked Argentina's Foreign Ministry whether the crown prince's diplomatic status might allow a legal proceeding to go forward.

Saudi Arabia and a number of its regional allies launched a devastating military campaign against Yemen in March 2015, with the aim of bringing a former Riyadh-friendly government back to power.

Bin Salman, who is also Saudi Arabia's defense minister, is known as the architect of the Yemen war.

The HRW official said the case against MBS will at the very least thwart his attempt to repair his battered image after the murder of Khashoggi.

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US Cabinet members defend close ties with Saudis, lawmakers unswayed

Iran Press TV

Thu Nov 29, 2018 10:29AM

Two senior US Cabinet members have urged senators not to downgrade relations with Saudi Arabia over the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, but members of Congress from both political parties said they could not ignore reports that Saudi's de facto ruler, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, was involved in last month's killing.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis said on Wednesday there was no hard evidence that bin Salman was behind the killing, apparently contradicting an assessment by the CIA about Khashoggi's death in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, Turkey, on October 2.

After repeated calls from members of Congress for a strong US response to Khashoggi's death, both Mattis and Pompeo briefed the Senate behind closed doors about Saudi Arabia's war in Yemen and the murder of Khashoggi.

Echoing similar comments from US President Donald Trump, they said downgrading Washington's ties with Riyadh would harm US national security.

Pompeo acknowledged to the lawmakers that Saudi Arabia's devastating war against Yemen has caused massive civilian casualties, but he claimed that the Saudis provide a major counterweight to Iran in the Middle East.

"More broadly, degrading ties with Saudi Arabia would be a grave mistake for US national security, and that of our allies," Pompeo said in his prepared remarks to the Senate. "The Kingdom is a powerful force for stability in an otherwise fraught Middle East."

Mattis told reporters at the Pentagon on Tuesday that he had read all the US intelligence reports about the incident and that there was no information that proves the crown prince was involved.

However, Pompeo and Mattis did not seem to convince senators, including some of Trump's fellow Republicans, who said they believed a lack of action would send a more dangerous message to the world.

Republican Senator Bob Corker, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said after the briefing it was apparent to everyone in the room that the crown prince was responsible for Khashoggi's death.

"We have a problem here. We understand that Saudi Arabia is an ally, of sorts, and a semi-important country," Corker said. "We also have a crown prince that's out of control."

Corker warned that Congress would act if the Trump administration does not. "I think 80 percent of the people left the hearing this morning not feeling like an appropriate response has been forthcoming," Corker said.

Defying the White House, the Senate voted on Wednesday to advance a resolution to end US military support for the Saudi-led war in Yemen, setting the stage for a possible final vote on the measure within days.

The Yemen war has killed more than 15,000 people and created the world's most urgent humanitarian emergency.

Senator Bob Menendez, the Foreign Relations Committee's top Democrat, said Washington was basically telling an ally "you can kill with impunity."

"It is outrageous that we are willing to turn our eye away from such a murder because we have 'interests,'" Menendez said.

Trump has dismissed a CIA assessment that bin Salman likely ordered Khashoggi's murder. He vowed last week to remain a "steadfast partner" of Saudi Arabia and said it was not clear whether the crown prince knew about the plan to kill Khashoggi.

Those comments further angered members of Congress who have demanded an investigation of potential involvement by the crown prince.

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US, Saudi Arabia closer to signing $15b deal for THAAD missile system

Iran Press TV

Thu Nov 29, 2018 07:29AM

Saudi Arabia has signed a letter of offer and acceptance with the United States for Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) missile system, taking a significant step toward closing a $15 billion deal, a US State Department spokesperson says.

The State Department spokesperson, who was speaking on condition of anonymity, said Wednesday that the Saudis and US officials signed the crucial government-to-government document earlier this week, paving the way for the massive sale of 44 THAAD launchers, missiles and related equipment.

The State Department spokesman said the deal supports the "long-term security of Saudi Arabia and the [Persian] Gulf region" in the face of regional threats.

Washington and Riyadh entered formal discussions for THAAD in December 2016. A Saudi official told Reuters in October that the deal could well be closed by the end of the year.

Congressional approval for the THAAD missile defense system sale was given in 2017. The US had already supplied the advanced missile system to Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, both Saudi Arabia's neighbors.

The system has also been deployed to South Korea to allegedly address US regional allies' concerns about a possible strike by North Korea, amid ongoing tensions over Pyongyang's ballistic missile tests and nuclear weapons program.

During his first trip to Saudi Arabia last year, President Donald Trump signed a $110 billion arms deal with the Saudis, with options to sell up to $350 billion over a decade.

Facilitated by Trump's son-in-law and senior adviser Jared Kushner, the massive package includes missiles, bombs, armored personnel carriers, combat ships, THAAD missile systems and munitions.

The announcement generated backlash in Congress, with Republican Senator Rand Paul promising to work to block at least parts of the package.

The Trump administration is looking to loosen restrictions on American arms sales to boost the country's weapons industry.

The development comes as the US is under pressure to suspend its arms sales to the Saudi regime, which has been waging a deadly military aggression against Yemen since 2015.

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.

Defying President Trump's pro-Saudi policies, the Republican-controlled US Senate voted on Wednesday to advance a resolution to end US military support for the Saudi-led coalition waging war on Yemen.

The war in Yemen has been the focus of international attention since the assassination of dissident Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi at Riyadh's consulate in Istanbul, Turkey, in October, which is widely believed to have been ordered by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

Meanwhile, pressure was mounting on the Trump administration over supporting Riyadh following the killing of Khashoggi, a Washington Post columnist.

Trump has thrown his support behind bin Salman, citing the importance of defense deals in defending his decision to stick with Riyadh in the aftermath of the slaying.

The CIA has provided the administration with a tape of Khashoggi's murder, which Trump has refused to listen to.

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Pompeo: No Direct Link to Crown Prince in Khashoggi Death

By Michael Bowman November 29, 2018

The U.S. Senate voted 63-37 Wednesday to move forward legislation seeking an end to U.S. involvement in the Saudi-led war in Yemen. The vote is mostly a signal to the administration because House Republican leaders have not indicated they will take up the measure.

The vote was evidence of the widening gulf between the White House and U.S. lawmakers regarding Saudi Arabia, even after two top members of President Donald Trump's national security team provided a classified briefing to the full Senate.

Nearly two months after a dissident Saudi journalist was killed at the kingdom's consulate in Turkey, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Defense Secretary Jim Mattis urged preservation of Washington's historically close ties to Riyadh, including U.S. support for the Saudi-led military campaign in Yemen.

That message fell on increasingly deaf ears as senators of both parties blasted the exclusion of CIA Director Gina Haspel from the closed-door encounter. The CIA is widely reported to have concluded that Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman ordered the slaying of Jamal Khashoggi, a U.S. resident.

"Not having Gina Haspel at this briefing is a cover-up," the top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Bob Menendez of New Jersey, told reporters. "It tells me volumes about what really is going on here."

"Look, he [Salman] is responsible for this death [of Khashoggi]," said Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Bob Corker, a Tennessee Republican. "The fact that he hasn't come clean, the fact that we haven't forced him to come clean, is creating a problem. And Congress is likely to respond to this."

Pompeo said based on all the intelligence he has seen, there is no direct evidence linking the crown prince to Khashoggi's death. He also strongly objected to a pending Senate resolution to halt American backing for Saudi Arabia's actions in Yemen, describing it as "poorly timed" and arguing it would scuttle efforts to end the country's devastating civil war.

"Passing a resolution at this point undermines that [peace effort]. It would encourage the Houthis [Yemeni rebels]. It would encourage the Iranians," Pompeo said.

In unclassified excerpts released from Pompeo's remarks to the Senate, the secretary of state argued that America's withdrawal from the Yemeni conflict would extend the civil war and make it more deadly.

Connecticut Democratic Senator Chris Murphy argued the reverse is true.

"The fact of the matter is the Houthis don't believe the Americans are an honest broker," Murphy said. "So, by Congress showing that our support for the Saudis is not unconditional, it actually gives reason for the Houthis to come to the [negotiating] table."

The senator added, "I don't think the administration won any votes [to oppose the Senate resolution] in that troubled briefing."

Even so, some senators who opposed a previous version of the resolution earlier this year signaled they had not changed their minds.

"I think the secretaries made a pretty convincing case that, as outrageous as the [Saudi] behavior is, it would be counterproductive to do that [end U.S. involvement in the Yemeni conflict]," Wisconsin Republican Ron Johnson said. "It's a mean, nasty, ugly world out there."

Saudi Arabia has denied allegations that Salman played a role in Khashoggi's death, blaming the killing on rogue agents. Trump has echoed Riyadh's denials and said the matter remains an open question.

South Carolina Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, a frequent defender of Trump, joined other lawmakers in demanding a briefing by the CIA and threatened to withhold votes on urgent legislation if it doesn't occur.

"If that briefing is not given soon, it's going to be hard for me to vote for any [federal] spending bill," Graham told reporters.

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Two US Navy ships pass through Taiwan Strait, defying China

Iran Press TV

Thu Nov 29, 2018 05:50AM

Two US Navy warships have passed through the Taiwan Strait in the third such operation this year, as the US military increases the frequency of transits through the strategic waterway despite opposition from China.

"The ships' transit through the Taiwan Strait demonstrates the US commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific," US Pacific Fleet said in a statement. "The US Navy will continue to fly, sail and operate anywhere international law allows."

It said the passage was carried out by Stockdale destroyer and Pecos, a replenishment vessel.

The US passage risks increasing already high tensions with China but will likely be viewed in self-ruled Taiwan as a sign of support from US President Donald Trump's government amid growing friction between Beijing and Taipei.

Taiwan's Defense Ministry said it was a normal transit through international waters in the Taiwan Strait and that Taiwanese forces had monitored the passage of the ships.

There was no immediate reaction from China.

The US Navy conducted a similar mission in the strait's international waters in July and October.

The US recognizes Chinese sovereignty over Taiwan, but it has long courted Taipei in an attempt to counter China and is the island's main source of arms. The US Defense Department says Washington has sold Taiwan more than $15 billion in weaponry since 2010.

China has been ramping up pressure to assert its sovereignty over the island, which it considers a breakaway province of "one China." Beijing says Taipei has no right to formal diplomatic ties of its own with other countries.

Taiwan is only one of a growing number of flashpoints in the US-China relationship, which also include a trade war, US sanctions and China's increasingly muscular military posture in the South China Sea.

A recent near-miss between a US Navy destroyer and a Chinese warship in the disputed South China Sea was only one of the signs pointing to an increasingly tense relationship between the two nations.

US officials say the administration of US President Donald Trump is moving deliberately to counter what it views as years of unchecked Chinese aggression, signaling a new and potentially much colder era in relations between Washington and Beijing.

The Trump administration is now taking aim at military, political and economic targets in Beijing, The Wall Street Journal reported in October, citing interviews with senior White House officials and others in government.

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Taiwan Considering Buying F-16Vs Instead of Expensive, Unproven F-35s - Report

Sputnik News

00:59 30.11.2018(updated 01:03 30.11.2018)

Taiwanese government officials are considering whether to buy dozens of F-16V jets from the United States for their country's air force, instead of picking up some F-35 Lightning II stealth fighters.

Taiwanese Defense Minister Yen Te-fa told reporters Thursday that "new blood" needed to be injected into the island nation's air defense forces. "As three types of the air force's major warplanes are reaching their mid-life phase, we will take into account purchasing of the [new warplanes] as long as they meet our defensive needs," he said.

Yen's remarks came on the heels of local media reports suggesting Taiwan was looking into purchasing 66 F-16V fighter jets. According to Taiwan News, the Republic of China Air Force would be replacing its fleet of F-5 fighters at the Zhi-Hang Air Base with an F-16V procurement.

When pressed about the potential purchase, Yen stressed that officials were taking into account any options that would help strengthen Taiwan's forces.

In addition to the 66 jets, Taiwan is also considering an order of six F-16Vs to replace its crashed F-16A/B Block 20s, the National Interest reported, noting that the purchase could also include stipulations for "co-production and performance-based logistics (PBL)."

Should the Taiwanese government decide to go forward with the F-16V purchase, first requesting a quote for the load, it is expected that the US will settle on a price sometime in mid-2019, Taiwan News reported, adding that the estimated price for the 66 jets is roughly $10 billion.

The National Interest reported that Taiwan began to shy away from the F-35 fighter after reviewing a Taiwan National Security Council report, which stated that the aircraft was too costly and was an unreasonable purchase due to its lack of real combat tests.

Warplanes currently in service for Taiwan's military include 144 F-16 A/B fighter jets, 55 Mirage 2000s and 129 indigenous Ching-kuo fighter jets, the South China Morning Post reported. Each of these types of planes have been in service since the 1990s.

Taiwan previously inquired about buying new F-16Vs from the US in 2011; however, its past attempts were shot down as a result of Chinese pressure on the Obama administration. Instead, the US later opted to work with Taiwan to upgrade its aging F-16 fleet via the Phoenix Rising program.

Earlier this year, in October, Taiwan accepted its first delivery of remodeled F-16A/Bs from the Aerospace Industrial Development Corporation as part of its $5 billion project with the US to upgrade 24 of its jets every year. The program experienced a delay of more than two years as a result of "unspecified software issues," Defense News reported at the time. The expected completion date for this particular project is 2022.

According to the Post, the recent upgrades included the replacement of outdated radars with the Northrop Grumman AN/APG-83 Scalable Agile Beam Radar, installation of new precision-guided weaponry and general improvements to avionics.

 Sputnik

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National Currencies to Be Used in Russia-Turkey Settlements on S-400 Deliveries

Sputnik News

04:30 29.11.2018(updated 04:31 29.11.2018)

MOSCOW (Sputnik)  The settlements between Moscow and Ankara on the deliveries of the Russian S-400 air defence systems to Turkey will be carried out with the use of national currencies, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Thursday.

"The settlements on S-400 systems must be carried out with the use of national currencies. The transfer of these systems to Turkey should be completed by the end of 2019 after which the provision on the settlements with the use of national currencies, which we have suggested from the very beginning, will be implemented by the efforts of finance ministers and central banks of the two countries," Erdogan told reporters before taking off to Argentina for attending the G20 summit, as broadcast by NTV.

In December 2017, Ankara signed a loan agreement with Moscow envisaging the delivery of the Russian-made S-400 air defence systems to Turkey. Russia's Rostec state corporation CEO Sergey Chemezov said then that the contract envisaged the delivery of four S-400 battalion-size sets worth $2.5 billion, with 55 percent of the contract sum being covered by Russian loans.

In October, Akara said that Turkey would begin the deployment of the S-400s in October 2019.

 Sputnik

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Spargos Reward Scoping Study

Adelaide, Nov 30, 2018 AEST (ABN Newswire) - Mithril Resources Ltd ("Mithril" or the "Company") ( ASX:MTH ) advises that a Positive Scoping Study has been completed for the Spargos Reward Gold Deposit by Perth-based public unlisted company Corona Minerals Limited ("Corona"), Mithril's exploration partner at Spargos Reward.Spargos Reward is located 30 kilometres west of Kambalda, WA and lies within ML15/1828 which is held in a Joint Venture between Corona (65%) and Mithril (35%).An announcement providing details of the Scoping Study can be viewed on Corona's website - http://www.abnnewswire.net/lnk/776XRZC9 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.
Russia-Ukraine confrontation in Kerch Strait adds uncertainties to regional stability

People's Daily Online

By Shi Hao (Xinhua) 07:39, November 29, 2018

MOSCOW/KIEV, Nov. 28 (Xinhua) -- A spike in tensions between Russia and Ukraine around the Kerch Strait could inflame a volatile situation in the region and incur more Western sanctions against Moscow.

In the latest development, Ukraine decided to impose martial law in certain regions bordering Russia for 30 days starting at 9 a.m. local time (0700 GMT) Wednesday, after Russia shot at and seized three Ukrainian naval ships attempting to sail through the Kerch Strait from the Black Sea to the Sea of Azov on Sunday.

RISING TENSIONS

According to an agreement signed in 2003, the Sea of Azov is jointly owned by Russia and Ukraine, whose ships could freely cross the Kerch Strait and moor at their respective Azov ports.

In 2014, Crimea's incorporation into Russia allowed Moscow to fully control the strait and led to the consequent deterioration of relations between Moscow and Kiev.

Earlier this year, Russia inaugurated a bridge over the strait to connect Crimea with its mainland and started inspecting ships sailing through the strait, which Ukraine deemed as "aggressive actions."

However, Russia insisted that it has the sovereign right to build the bridge and carry out the inspections, saying the inspections of ships are aimed at ensuring security in the waters of the Azov Sea and the Kerch Strait and do not violate international law.

Amid rising tensions, Ukraine announced last week it would beef up its maritime defense capabilities to protect itself from a possible invasion by sea.

A day after the announcement, the Russian Foreign Ministry said Moscow was seriously concerned about Ukraine's continuing attempts to exacerbate the situation in the Sea of Azov.

Following Sunday's conflict, the Ukrainian Navy said that it had informed Russia in advance of the passage of its vessels through the Kerch Strait, calling Russia's blocking an "act of aggression."

However, Russia's Federal Security Service accused the Ukrainian ships of breaching the Russian border, defying the orders of accompanying Russian vessels and conducting dangerous maneuvers in Russia's territorial waters.

WESTERN PRESSURE

Citing the ongoing Ukraine-Russian confrontation near the Kerch Strait, U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday threatened to cancel his scheduled meeting with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin during the G20 summit in Argentina.

So far, there has been no comment from the Russian side on Trump's remarks, but Moscow has said its activities in the region are legitimate.

The European Union (EU) and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) also responded to the situation quickly, calling for a de-escalation of the tensions between Russia and Ukraine.

Maja Kocijancic, spokesperson for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy of the EU, urged all to act with "utmost restraint" to de-escalate the situation immediately.

"The events in the Sea of Azov are a demonstration of how instability and tensions are bound to rise when the basic rules of international cooperation are disregarded," Kocijancic said in a statement.

Earlier on Tuesday, NATO said in a statement on its website that NATO allies "call on Russia to ensure unhindered access to Ukrainian ports and allow freedom of navigation" and "to release the Ukrainian sailors and ships it seized, without delay."

Russia rejected any criticism of its actions, saying the latest conflict "was a well-thought-out provocation carefully devised in terms of place and form, aimed at inciting another hotbed of tension in this region, creating a pretext for toughening sanctions against Russia."

UNCERTAIN FUTURE

Russian and Ukrainian experts held different opinions on the nature and the cause of the latest conflict, but agreed that the tensions would not be easily eased.

Igor Delanoe, deputy director of the French-Russian Analytical Center Observo, a think tank, said Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko aimed to stir up nationalist sentiment in hopes of boosting his ratings ahead of the presidential election in March 2019.

However, Ukrainian observer Vitaliy Tysyachnyy said the incident happened because Russia wants to prevent the creation of any Ukrainian military forces in the Sea of Azov as Poroshenko announced in September that his country will create a naval base there.

"The stability in the region is quite illusory given the events of 2014 ... there is a conflict of interests between Russia and Ukraine, and from time to time this conflict may escalate," said Grygoriy Lugovsky, a Ukrainian historian and independent political expert.

Volodymyr Fesenko, director of Ukraine's Penta Center for Applied Political Studies, said he cannot rule out military confrontation between the two countries.

"But the scenario when the situation escalates further can ambiguously affect the situation both in Ukraine and in Russia," he warned.

Russian columnist Sergei Strokan believed that further developments will depend on the actions of the main external players, including the United States, the EU and NATO.

Western countries may use the Kerch Strait incident as a pretext to introduce new sanctions against Russia, or they may refrain from getting involved in yet another conflict with Russia fraught with unpredictable consequences, Strokan said.

(Xinhua correspondents Zhu Dongyang and Liu Chen in Washington, Alona Liashenko in Kiev contributed to the story.)

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Russia deploys S-400 air defense missile systems in Crimean Peninsula

Iran Press TV

Thu Nov 29, 2018 03:31PM

Russia has deployed a new battalion of its advanced S-400 air defense missile system on the Crimean Peninsula amid a standoff with Ukraine.

Russia's TASS news agency, citing a spokesman for the country's Black Sea Fleet, announced the news on Thursday, adding that the air-to-air missile systems had been deployed in Djankoy in northern Crimea.

Ties between Moscow and the rest of Europe have deteriorated since 2014, when Crimea rejoined Russia.

The rejoining of Crimea to Russia came following deep political changes in Kiev where a pro-Western movement staged weeks of street protests that led to the ouster of the pro-Russia government.

People in Crimea and in the industrial eastern territories of Ukraine, areas which are dominated by ethnic Russians, effectively refused to endorse the new administration in Kiev. Crimea decided to rejoin Russia in a referendum in March 2014 and two provinces in the east revolted by establishing self-declared republics.

Pro-Russians have turned the two regions of Donetsk and Lugansk in the east  collectively known as the Donbass  into self-proclaimed republics.

The West and Kiev lambast the reunification as annexation of the territory by Russia, accusing Moscow of having a hand in the bloody conflict in eastern Ukraine. Moscow, however, strongly dismisses both accusations.

On Wednesday, RIA Novosti news agency reported that the new S-400 missile systems would be operational by the end of the year. Footage released on Wednesday showed the new missiles participating in drills at the Kapustin Yar test range in Astrakhan region.

According to the Russian Defense Ministry, the S-400 systems practiced destroying low-flying, high-speed, highly maneuverable targets, relocating after completing combat missions, countering diversion groups, and moving through contaminated areas.

On Sunday, Russia's naval forces intercepted and seized three Ukrainian vessels after they illegally entered Russian waters off the coast of Crimea in the Sea of Azov, further complicating the already strained Moscow-Kiev relations.

The Kremlin has said the seizure of the ships and their crews was lawful because they were trespassing, a charge Ukraine strongly rejects.

Still, that development set off an international dispute in which Kiev and its Western allies have accused Moscow of trying to assert dominion in the Sea of Azov.

Poroshenko claims Putin wants to annex Ukraine

Additionally on Thursday, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of allegedly seeking to annex entire Ukraine.

The Ukrainian leader made the comment in interviews with German Bild newspaper and the Funke newspaper group, inviting German Chancellor Angel Merkel to come to Kiev's aid in the crisis.

"Putin wants the old Russian Empire back; Crimea, Donbass, the whole country. As a Russian Tsar, as he sees himself, his empire can't function without Ukraine. He sees us as his colony," Poroshenko further alleged.

Poroshenko also called for the deployment of NATO warships in the Sea of Azov.

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Ukraine accuses Russia of seeking 'to rebuild empire'

Iran Press TV

Thu Nov 29, 2018 08:05AM

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of planning to rebuild "the old Russian Empire" in the midst of tensions between Kiev and Moscow over the seizure of three Ukrainian vessels in Russia's territorial waters in the Sea of Azov.

Poroshenko made the accusation in interviews with German media on Thursday.

Russia's naval forces intercepted and seized three Ukrainian vessels after they illegally entered Russian waters off the coast of Crimea in the Sea of Azov on Sunday. The Kremlin said the seizure of the ships was lawful because they were trespassing on Russia's territorial waters off the coast of Crimea, which rejoined Russia in a 2014 referendum.

Kiev and its Western allies, however, have been attempting to portray that as an instance of Russian "aggression."

"Putin wants to bring back the old Russian Empire. Crimea, Donbass... he wants the whole country," Poroshenko claimed in remarks made to the Bild daily, Germany's biggest-selling newspaper. "As a Russian emperor, as he sees himself, his empire cannot function without Ukraine, he sees us as a colony."

The Ukrainian president also sought to drum up support from NATO states in the standoff with Russia, calling on Germany and the US-led alliance to send naval vessels to the Sea of Azov to protect Ukraine and its interests.

"Germany is one of our closest allies, and we hope that states within NATO are now ready to relocate naval ships to the Sea of Azov in order to assist Ukraine and provide security," Poroshenko told the German paper, claiming that Russia "wants nothing less than to occupy the sea."

Ukraine is not a member of NATO.

Poroshenko has introduced martial law in parts of Ukraine, something President Putin has voiced "serious concerns" about.

Putin has defended his forces' actions in seizing the three Ukrainian ships last weekend in the Sea of Azov, saying, "They were fulfilling their military duty. They were fulfilling their lawful functions in protecting Russia's borders."

Russia, as well as outside observers, have said Poroshenko is attempting to provoke anti-Russia sentiments ahead of elections in March, which he seeks to contest.

There have been some calls among EU officials for tougher sanctions against Russia following the Azov Sea incident.

Russia is already under sanctions by the West over the allegation that it supports ethnic Russians in Ukraine's eastern regions, or the Donbass, where the Ukrainian military has launched a crackdown. Moscow denies that allegation.

EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini said in a statement that the bloc "expects Russia to ensure unhindered and free passage through the Kerch Strait to and from the Azov Sea, in accordance with international law."

Ukraine calls on Germany to halt gas pipeline project with Russia

In a separate interview with the Funke newspaper, Poroshenko called on Germany  the largest and wealthiest buyer of Moscow's gas  to halt the building of an undersea gas pipeline that would allow Russia to supply Germany directly, bypassing Ukraine and the Baltic states.

"We need a strong, resolute, and clear reaction to Russia's aggressive behavior," he told the paper. "That also means stopping the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline project."

Merkel's government has faced criticism over the Nord Stream 2 pipeline; Berlin, however, regards the pipeline  which is being built by Russian state-owned energy company Gazprom  as a private investment and a purely economic project.

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Trump Cancels Meeting With Putin At G20 Due To Ukraine Crisis

November 29, 2018

U.S. President Donald Trump says he is cancelling a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin due to take place during the upcoming summit for the Group of 20 (G20) industrialized nations in Argentina, over Russia's seizure of Ukrainian vessels.

"Based on the fact that the ships and sailors have not been returned to Ukraine from Russia, I have decided it would be best for all parties concerned to cancel my previously scheduled meetingin Argentina with President Vladimir Putin," Trump said in a tweet posted on November 29.

"I look forward to a meaningful Summit again as soon as this situation is resolved," Trump added after departing for the G20 summit.

Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov reacted by telling Russian media that the Kremlin had not received any official information on the cancellation of the scheduled meeting between Putin and Trump in Argentina. He said Putin would still participate in the G20 summit.

"We are flying to Argentina. So far, we have only seen the tweet and the media. We have no official information," he was quoted as saying.

On November 25, Russian forces fired on Ukrainian ships and seized 24 sailors in the Black Sea off the coast of the Russia-controlled Crimean Peninsula.

Following the incident, Ukraine instituted martial law in parts of Ukraine and Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko called on NATO to send ships to the Sea of Azov to help protect his country.

In an interview with the German tabloid Bild published early on November 29, Poroshenko said he hoped European states would take active steps, including increasing sanctions and military protection against Russia, to help Ukraine after providing verbal support in the wake of Russia's capture of the Ukrainian sailors.

"We hope that NATO states are prepared to send naval ships to the Sea of Azov to support Ukraine and provide security," Poroshenko said. He claimed Russian President Vladimir Putin sees himself as a "Russian emperor" and Ukraine as a Russian "colony."

"The only language he [Putin] understands is the solidarity of the Western world," Poroshenko said. "We can't accept Russia's aggressive policies. First it was the Crimea, then eastern Ukraine, now he wants the Sea of Azov."

Speaking at a German-Ukrainian economic forum in Berlin later the same day, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said she planned to press Putin at the G20 summit on 30 November-1 December to urge the release of the ships and crews.

"We can only resolve this in talks with one another because there is no military solution to all of these conflicts," she added.

'No Military Solution'

While blaming Russia for tensions, Merkel showed no signs of being ready to back military support.

"We ask the Ukrainian side too to be sensible because we know that we can only solve things through being reasonable and through dialogue because there is no military solution to these disputes," she said.

Meanwhile, Kremlin spokesman Peskov criticized Poroshenko's request for NATO to deploy naval ships to the Sea of Azov, alleging it is "aimed at provoking further tensions" and driven by Poroshenko's "electoral and domestic policy motives."

Putin has claimed that the naval confrontation was a ploy to boost his Ukrainian counterpart's popularity ahead of an election in March.

A NATO spokeswoman said the alliance already has a strong presence in the region, with vessels routinely patrolling and exercising in the Black Sea.

"There is already a lot of NATO in the Black Sea, and we will continue to assess our presence in the region," Oana Lungescu said.

The Sea of Azov is the body of water that separates the Crimean Peninsula, which Russia illegally annexed in 2014, from the Ukrainian and Russian mainlands. Russia opened a bridge over the Kerch Strait connecting Crimea with Russia in May and has asserted control over the strait.

The Kerch Strait is the only route for ships traveling between the Sea of Azov, where Ukraine has several ports, and the Black Sea, which is the arena usually patrolled by NATO.

Ukraine is a partner of NATO but not a member of the military alliance. NATO has already said it "stands with Ukraine" and has called on Russia to release the captured ships and their crew.

NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg also warned Russia on November 26 that "its actions have consequences."

Poroshenko told Bild that he has evidence suggesting Russia is planning a new ground offensive against Ukraine, and he said he has shown NATO partners satellite pictures supporting that allegation.

"Germany also has to ask itself: What will Putin do next if we don't stop him?" Poroshenko told Bild.

'Justified' Restrictions

Later on November 29, the Ukrainian president tweeted that Kyiv will impose "restrictions" on Russian citizens in Ukraine.

"No need to run to shops and buy matches and salt. There will be no restrictions on cash withdrawals, currency-exchange operations, travels abroad for Ukrainian citizens. For Russian citizens, these restrictions will be introduced. And I think that's quite justified," he wrote.

Ukraine's State Border Guards Service said that it would only allow Ukrainian citizens to travel to Crimea following the imposition of martial law for 30 days.

"In connection with the introduction of martial law, the administrative border with temporarily occupied Crimea can be crossed exclusively with Ukrainian documents," a spokesman said on November 29.

Citizens from all nations were previously allowed to enter Crimea through the administrative border via mainland Ukraine. But the process for doing so for non-Ukrainians was fraught with bureaucracy. Crimea is accessible by plane from Russia or via Russia's newly-built bridge from the country's mainland. But under Ukrainian law those routes are illegal. Violators -- and there have been many -- are given official bans of three years or longer by Kyiv.

Russia has been providing support for separatists in eastern Ukraine who have been fighting the government since 2014 in a war that has killed more than 10,300 people.

But until the naval confrontation this week, in which Russia fired shots and rammed the captured Ukrainian vessels, injuring six crew members, it had not before engaged directly in battle with Ukraine.

An unknown number of the sailors captured by Russia have been transferred to a detention center in Moscow, one of their lawyer said on November 29. Dzhemil Temishev wrote on Facebook that his "colleagues" in the Lefortovo detention center in Moscow had informed him that some of the Ukrainian sailors had been brought there.

Emine Avamilyeva, another lawyer defending the sailors, said the Ukrainians were "taken by plane" to Moscow.

The lawyers could not say if all or only some of the sailors were being transferred.

There was no reaction from Russian authorities.

Russia's TASS news agency reported the same day that three Ukrainian officers wounded in the incident had been released from hospital in Kerch.

Meanwhile, the European Union has failed to muster support for any immediate new steps to either impose new sanctions on Russia over the naval incident or increase enforcement of existing sanctions on Moscow.

Poland, Britain, and the EU's Baltic countries have called for more sanctions, but after three days of debate, the EU's 28 member states could agree only to issue a statement on November 28 expressing "utmost concern about the dangerous increase of tensions" and the "unacceptable" use of force by Russia.

The statement issued by EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini did not mention sanctions, saying only that the bloc will "act appropriately" while continuing to monitor the situation.

The bloc's top powers Germany and France have so far emphasized efforts to ease tensions. Other members, including Italy, Greece, Bulgaria, and Cyprus, have been calling for a softening of sanctions on Moscow.

With reporting by RFE/RK correspondent Christopher Miller, dpa, AFP, Reuters, AP, and TASS

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/trump-cancels-putin-meeting- ukraine-crisis/29628657.html

Copyright (c) 2018. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.

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Unknown Number Of Captured Ukrainian Sailors Transferred To Moscow, Say Lawyers

November 29, 2018

An unknown number of 24 sailors from three Ukrainian naval vessels captured by Russia in the Sea of Azov last weekend have been transferred to a detention center in Moscow, one of their lawyers says.

Dzhemil Temishev wrote on Facebook on November 29 that his "colleagues" in the Lefortovo detention center in Moscow had informed him that some of the Ukrainian sailors had been brought there.

"They are being taken to Moscow's Lefortovo prison," Temishev said.

Emine Avamilyeva, another lawyer defending the sailors, said the Ukrainians were "taken by plane" to Moscow.

The lawyers could not say if all or only some of the sailors were being transferred.

There was no reaction from Russian authorities.

Well-known Crimean activist Nariman Dzhelyal told RFE/RL earlier on November 29 that wounded Ukrainian sailors who were seized on November 25 by Russian forces off the coast of the Moscow-annexed Crimean Peninsula, had been transferred from the city of Kerch to the Crimean capital, Simferopol.

Russia's TASS news agency reported the same day that three Ukrainian officers wounded in the incident had been released from hospital in Kerch.

Earlier this week, a court in Russia-controlled Simferopol ordered 15 of the captured sailors to be held in pretrial detention for two months despite international calls for their release.

The Ukraine-controlled Prosecutor's Office of Crimea called the captured Ukrainian sailors prisoners of war.

Kyiv said that on November 25, Russian forces opened fire on a group of its ships near Crimea, striking two warships and wounding six crew members before seizing the vessels along with a Ukrainian Navy tugboat.

With reporting by the Crimean Desk of RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service, TASS and AFP

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/unknown-number- of-captured-ukrainian-sailors-transferred-to- moscow-say-lawyers/29628614.html

Copyright (c) 2018. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.

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Ukraine Says Only Its Citizens Will Be Allowed To Travel To Crimea

By RFE/RL November 29, 2018

Ukraine's border service has said that it will only allow Ukrainian citizens to travel to Crimea following the imposition of martial law.

Kyiv imposed martial law in 10 of its 27 regions for 30 days on November 28 after Russian forces fired on Ukrainian ships and seized 23 sailors in the Black Sea off the coast of the Russian-controlled Crimean Peninsula.

"In connection with the introduction of martial law, the administrative border with temporarily occupied Crimea can be crossed exclusively with Ukrainian documents," a spokesman said on November 29.

Citizens from all nations were previously allowed to enter Crimea through the administrative border via mainland Ukraine. But the process for doing so for non-Ukrainians was fraught with bureaucracy.

Crimea is accessible by plane from Russia or via Russia's newly built bridge from the country's mainland. But under Ukrainian law, those routes are illegal. Violators -- and there have been many -- are given official bans of three years or longer by Kyiv.

Earlier in the day, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko called on NATO to send ships to the Sea of Azov to help protect Ukraine.

He claimed Russian President Vladimir Putin sees himself as a "Russian emperor" and Ukraine as a Russian "colony."

The Ukrainian president later on November 29 tweeted that Kyiv will impose "restrictions" on Russian citizens in Ukraine.

"No need to run to shops and buy matches and salt. There will be no restrictions on cash withdrawals, currency-exchange operations, travels abroad for Ukrainian citizens. For Russian citizens, these restrictions will be introduced. And I think that's quite justified," he wrote.

Relations between Moscow and Kyiv have deteriorated after Russia seized Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula in March 2014 and shortly thereafter began supporting separatists in eastern Ukraine in a conflict that has left more than 10,300 dead since April 2014.

In an interview with the German tabloid Bild published early on November 29, Poroshenko said he hoped European states will take active steps, including increasing sanctions and military protection against Russia, to help Ukraine after providing verbal support in the wake of Russia's capture of 24 Ukrainian sailors over the weekend.

"We hope that NATO states are prepared to send naval ships to the Sea of Azov to support Ukraine and provide security," Poroshenko said.

"The only language he [Putin] understands is the solidarity of the Western world," Poroshenko said. "We can't accept Russia's aggressive policies. First it was Crimea, then eastern Ukraine, now he wants the Sea of Azov."

Opening a German-Ukrainian economic forum in Berlin later in the day, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said she planned to press Putin at a Group of 20 (G20) summit later this week to urge the release of the ships and crews.

"We can only resolve this in talks with one another because there is no military solution to all of these conflicts," she added.

Meanwhile, an unknown number of the captured Ukrainian sailors have since been transferred to a detention center in Moscow, according to one of their lawyers.

Dzhemil Temishev wrote on Facebook on November 29 that his "colleagues" in the Lefortovo detention center in Moscow had informed him that some of the Ukrainian sailors had been brought there.

Also on November 29, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov criticized Poroshenko's request for NATO to deploy naval ships to the Sea of Azov, saying it was "aimed at provoking further tensions" and driven by Poroshenko's "electoral and domestic policy motives."

Putin has claimed that the naval confrontation was a ploy to boost his Ukrainian counterpart's popularity ahead of an election in March.

A NATO spokeswoman said the alliance already had a strong presence in the region, with vessels routinely patrolling and exercising in the Black Sea.

"There is already a lot of NATO in the Black Sea, and we will continue to assess our presence in the region," Oana Lungescu said.

The Sea of Azov is the body of water that separates the Crimean Peninsula, which Russia illegally annexed in 2014, from the Ukrainian and Russian mainlands. Russia opened a bridge over the Kerch Strait connecting Crimea with Russia in May and has asserted control over the strait.

The Kerch Strait is the only route for ships traveling between the Sea of Azov, where Ukraine has several ports, and the Black Sea, which is the arena usually patrolled by NATO.

Ukraine is a partner of NATO but not a member of the military alliance. NATO has already said it "stands with Ukraine" and has called on Russia to release the captured ships and their crews.

NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg also warned Russia on November 26 that "its actions have consequences."

Warships of the NATO Standing Maritime Group-2 take part in a military drill in the Black Sea off the coast of Romania in March 2015.

Poroshenko, who on November 28 instituted martial law in parts of Ukraine in response to the Russian actions, told Bild he had evidence suggesting Russia is planning a new ground offensive against Ukraine, and he said he had shown NATO partners satellite pictures supporting that allegation.

"Germany also has to ask itself: What will Putin do next if we don't stop him?" Poroshenko told Bild.

Ukrainian parliament speaker Andriy Parubiy has joined Poroshenko in calling for increased protection from NATO, saying on November 27 that "I urged [NATO] to increase [its presence] in the airspace above the Black Sea and the number of military ships in the Black Sea as a guarantee of security and a guarantee of stability in the Black Sea."

EU: 'Utmost Concern,' But No New Sanctions

Poroshenko's remarks came as the European Union failed to muster support for any immediate new steps to either impose new sanctions on Russia over the naval incident or increase enforcement of existing sanctions on Moscow.

Poland, Britain, and the EU's Baltic states have called for more sanctions, but after three days of debate, the EU's 28 states could agree only to issue a statement on November 28 expressing "utmost concern about the dangerous increase of tensions" and the "unacceptable" use of force by Russia.

The statement issued by EU foreign-policy chief Federica Mogherini did not mention sanctions, saying only that the bloc will "act appropriately" while continuing to monitor the situation.

The bloc's top powers, Germany and France, have so far emphasized efforts to ease tensions. Other members, including Italy, Greece, Bulgaria, and Cyprus, have been calling for a softening of sanctions on Moscow.

The EU first imposed sanctions on Russia after it seized Crimea, and it has ratcheted up those sanctions from time to time. The United States on November 27 called for stricter enforcement of the EU's existing sanctions on Russian and Crimean officials and businesses.

While the EU failed to take any immediate action against Russia, in a gesture of solidarity with Ukraine, Estonia said on November 28 that it had summoned its Russian ambassador and condemned Russia's use of military force in the incident.

With reporting by Christopher Miller, dpa, AFP, Reuters, AP, and TASS

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/ukrainian-president- poroshenko-asks-nato-send-ships-to-azov-sea- help-protect-ukraine-/29627506.html

Copyright (c) 2018. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.

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Kiev Claims Kerch Strait Provocation Meant to Show Capabilities of Its Vessels

Sputnik News

16:17 29.11.2018(updated 16:55 29.11.2018)

KIEV (Sputnik) - Kiev has sent naval ships to the Kerch Strait to signal its presence in the region and demonstrate the capabilities of its vessels, Ukrainian Navy Commander Ihor Voronchenko said on Thursday.

'We aimed to show our face in the Kerch Strait and the Sea of Azov, and demonstrate what these naval boats are capable of', Voronchenko said, as quoted by Ukraine's UNIAN news agency.

The Ukrainian Navy commander noted that he did not consider the decision to dispatch the ships to the region to be a mistake.

On Sunday, two Ukrainian gunboats and a tugboat entered Russian territorial waters illegally as they tried to sail through a temporarily closed area in the Kerch Strait. Their crews were detained by the Russian border service after they failed to respond to warnings and a lawful demand to stop. A Ukrainian naval officer later confessed he was aware of the provocative nature of their manoeuvres.

Commenting on the incident, Russian President Vladimir Putin described it as a provocation, which was likely related to the low approval rating of Ukrainian leader Petro Poroshenko ahead of the upcoming presidential election. Putin noted that two Ukrainian Security Service officers were among the crew and were effectively in charge of the operation. The president also stressed that Russian border service agents were fulfilling their duty to protect the country's borders.

In response to the situation in the Kerch Strait, the Ukrainian authorities introduced martial law in selected regions of Ukraine along the border with Russia as well as along the coast of the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov for 30 days.

 Sputnik

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Ukraine to Ask Turkey to Close Bosphorus to Russian Ships Amid Kerch Strait Rift

Sputnik News

14:19 29.11.2018(updated 14:20 29.11.2018)

Earlier in the day, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said he had discussed the possibility of mediating the crisis between Russia and Ukraine following a violation of Russia's maritime border by Ukrainian warships.

Speaking at the second International Maritime Security Conference in Kiev, Igor Voronchenko, commander of the naval forces of Ukraine, said that the country's authorities would ask Turkey to close the passage of the Bosphorus Strait to Russian warships.

'As the commander of the naval forces, I ask and express my confidence that the international community will still make a decision and recognise that there was an act of aggression against the state of Ukraine  We will try to ask for the closing of the passage of the Bosphorus Strait in the Republic of Turkey', he said, accusing Russia of violating international law.

According to Voronchenko, it would be achieved in line with article 19 of the 1936 Montreux Convention regarding the Regime of the Straits, which gives Turkey control of the Bosphorus Straits and the Dardanelles and regulates the passage of naval warships.

'We had to show our face in the Kerch Strait and the Sea of Azov, and show what these boats are capable of', he added.

Last Sunday, Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) said that three Ukrainian warships had illegally crossed the Russian maritime border as they attempted to sail through the Kerch Strait, the entrance to the Sea of Azov.

The vessels were ultimately seized by Russia after failing to respond to legal demands to leave the area.

Moscow has described it as an unequivocal provocation in violation of international law, while Ukraine has claimed that it was an 'act of aggression' and introduced martial law, which will remain in place until 25 January.

 Sputnik

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Fourth S-400 Battalion Deployed Near Ukraine to Protect Crimea  Black Sea Fleet

Sputnik News

13:29 29.11.2018

DZHANKOY, Crimea (Sputnik) - The fourth battalion of Russia's S-400 Triumph air defence missile systems has been put into active service in Crimea near the border with Ukraine, Russian Black Sea Fleet Information Department Head Alexey Rulev said.

'Today, in Dzhankoy, units of the S-400 Triumph air defence missile system  were put into active service to ensure air defence of Crimea', Rulev told reporters.

The move comes amid an escalation of tensions between Ukraine and Russia after the incident, involving Ukrainian vessels illegally crossing the Russian border at Kerch Strait.

Three Ukrainian ships have provoked an international scandal after they illegally crossed the Russian maritime border and navigated toward the Kerch Strait, the entrance to the Sea of Azov. The vessels were seized by Russia after failing to respond to a demand to stop, with the crews arrested.

As a response to the incident, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko signed a decree officially declaring martial law in select regions of Ukraine that lie on the Russian border as well as the coasts of the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov for 30 days.

Earlier in September, a law enforcement source reported that the fourth battalion of S-400s would be deployed to Crimea near the town of Dzhankoy while the Russian Black Sea Fleet said in a statement that the third battalion of S-400s was put into active service in the Crimean city of Yevpatoria.

 Sputnik

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Introduction of Martial Law in Ukraine's Regions Enters Into Force

Sputnik News

10:10 29.11.2018(updated 10:13 29.11.2018)

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - The law on the imposition of martial law in 10 regions of Ukraine was published on 28 November in the governmental newspaper Uryadovy Kuryer, thus officially entering into force.

The text of the document states that martial law is introduced in Vinnytsia, Luhansk, Mykolaiv, Sumy, Odessa, Kharkiv, Chernihiv, Donetsk, Zaporizhia and Kherson regions, as well as in the inland waters of the Azov-Kerch water area. Mobilization under martial law shall be announced by the Ukranian president.

The day earlier, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko signed a decree to impose martial law in a number of Ukrainian regions, following an incident on 25 November when three Ukrainian vessels were seized by Russia in the Black Sea after breaching the Russian maritime border.

The Ukrainian move has been highly condemned by the Russian officials, stressing that the incident appeared to have been a provocation prepared in advance as well as a pretext to introduce martial law in Ukraine ahead of the country's presidential election.

The incident in the Kerch Strait that served as a pretext for the Ukrainian mobilization took place on 25 November. Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) has stated that the Ukrainian Berdyansk and Nikopol gunboats and the Yany Kapu tugboat illegally crossed the Russian maritime border as they sailed toward the Kerch Strait, the entrance to the Sea of Azov. The Ukrainian vessels were seized by Russia after failing to respond to a demand to stop.

 Sputnik

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Thomas Christopher Wrigley, who was both the CEO and major shareholder of Discovery Flexibles Limited as well as being the chair of trustees for the companys pension scheme, repeatedly refused to comply with TPRs requests for information in connection with an investigation into how the scheme was being run. TPR had been tipped off by a whistleblower that Wrigley, in his role as chair of trustees, was considering investing more than 1.2 million of pension scheme funds in Discovery Flexibles. There are restrictions on the proportion of an occupational pension schemes funds that trustees may invest in its sponsoring employer and the form this may take, so TPR launched an investigation into whether these restrictions had been or were likely to be breached. When pushed for a response to its questions by TPR, Wrigley threatened the TPR case manager involved, saying: If you cross me again I will come after you, personally, with my legal team. TPR referred Wrigleys refusal to provide information to the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS), which is responsible for prosecutions in Scotland, where the offence occurred. After the COPFS launched a prosecution against him, Wrigley pleaded guilty at Dundee Sheriff Court to a charge of failing or refusing to provide information to TPR without good excuse. He was fined 400. Ongoing concerns about governance of the pension scheme has led to TPRs Determinations Panel also prohibiting Wrigley from acting as a pension scheme trustee. TPR has appointed an independent trustee to act in Wrigleys place on the company pension scheme. TPR was concerned about Wrigleys integrity, his inappropriate behaviour and his failure to manage the conflict of interest of him being both chairman of the pension scheme trustees and CEO of the sponsoring employer. Wrigleys behaviour was taken into consideration by the Determinations Panel, which found: There was, over a relatively short period, an evolution of Mr Wrigleys conduct, from the initiation of a proposal which, as a trustee, he should never have made or pursued, to an obdurate and aggressive attitude of non-cooperation with the regulator, all of which demonstrated that he was not a fit and proper person to be a trustee. Nicola Parish, TPRs Executive Director of Frontline Regulation, said: Wrigley earned himself a criminal record by refusing to give us the information he was legally required to. His behaviour towards TPR staff doing their job was intolerable so I welcome the fact that the Determination Panel took this into consideration when it decided to prohibit him. Complying with our powers is not optional - if we ask you for information under section 72 you must provide it. If you fail to give us information weve asked for, you should be prepared to be prosecuted - and convicted.
Ukrainian President Seeks NATO Support in Russia Dispute

By VOA News November 29, 2018

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko is asking NATO allies to send naval ships to the Sea of Azov to aid his country and "provide security" amid tensions with Russia.

Poroshenko's comments were published Thursday in the German newspaper Bild.

NATO spokeswoman Oana Lungescu responded to Poroshenko's request by saying the military alliance already has a strong presence in the Black Sea region.

She said NATO ships routinely patrol the area and several NATO allies conduct reconnaissance flights over the region. "We will continue to assess our presence in the region," Lungescu added.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel also rejected Poroshenko's request, urging Kyiv to adopt a "sensible" approach "because there is no military solution to these disputes."

Also Thursday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said he could play a mediator role between Ukraine and Russia.

He has held phone talks with leaders on both sides, and said he would continue discussing the issue with Russian President Vladimir Putin and U.S. President Donald Trump at a G-20 summit in Argentina.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Putin and Trump will have their own meeting Saturday to discuss relations between the two countries as well as regional conflicts and disarmament issues.

Russian forces seized three Ukrainian vessels and their crews Sunday as they tried to make their way through the Kerch Strait to the Ukrainian port of Mariupol, in the Sea of Azov.

Ukraine said Russia used a tanker to block access to the Kerch Strait, which under a treaty is shared territory. Russia said the vessels illegally entered its waters.

Putin blames Poroshenko

Putin on Wednesday blamed Poroshenko for the incident, alleging it is an attempt by Poroshenko to boost his re-election chances next year.

Ukraine has imposed martial law in some of its border regions in response to the incident, and with a growing number of other European countries, urged Western allies to impose additional sanctions on Moscow.

Poroshenko said martial law will help "strengthen Ukraine's defense capabilities amid increasing aggression and according to international law, a cold act of aggression by the Russian Federation." He demanded Russia release the Ukrainian sailors and vessels.

US envoy

The U.S. special envoy for Ukraine, Kurt Volker, told reporters in Berlin Wednesday he believes Kyiv's account that its ships were operating within global maritime rules.

Volker said the Ukrainian vessels were returning to Odessa "when the Russian vessels then pursued them and attacked them."

Ukrainian officials have released what they maintain is the precise location where its ships were fired upon.

Volker said he has not received independent U.S. verification of Ukraine's information, but believed "the data the Ukrainians have provided is quite clear."

Poroshenko wrote on Twitter Thursday his country will impose unspecified restrictions on Russian citizens in response to Russia's actions. Ukraine has already denied Russians entry into the country since last week's incident.

Crimea annexed

Russia annexed the Crimean peninsula in March 2014, claiming its ethnic Russian majority was under threat from the Ukrainian government. A month later, it fomented a pro-Russia separatist rebellion in eastern Ukraine in an ongoing conflict that to date has claimed more than 10,000 lives.

Ukraine and the West repeatedly have accused Russia of fueling the conflict by providing rebel forces with weapons and other support, a charge Moscow denied despite strong evidence to the contrary.

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MAZDAS design chief says the next-generation BT-50 could adopt the latest iteration of the companys Kodo design language, but with a more masculine edge.

As the next BT-50 continues to take shape, the company is busy working on the design of the pick-up that will share its underpinnings with the next-gen Isuzu D-Max.

The current-generation BT-50, which launched in late 2011, was criticised for its soft design cues that were inspired by the companys previous design language. Mazda has since applied two facelifts to the BT-50 to give it a more butch look.

Speaking with Australian journalists at the Los Angeles motor show, Mazda Motor Corporation managing executive officer and head of design and brand style Ikuo Maeda confirmed that the BT-50 will have a design that is distinct from the D-Max.

I think so. It will have to, he said.

Mr Maeda said that there are challenges with adapting the latest Kodo cues to a pick-up body style.

The rear area of the truck, it may be very difficult to give this kind of design.

But when asked if it was feasible to use the styling for the front of a pick-up, he said: I would like to try.

He added that his personal preference was for a tough-looking pick-up.

I myself think if it is a truck, it should look masculine and strong, which is really a truck.

Mr Maeda said that some of the elements of the latest evolution of Kodo  including the clean surfaces that reflect light  might not fit with a pick-up.

It may be difficult to apply with this kind of design with light reflection (that) maybe keeps moving, but for a family face, maybe we can apply a similar family face to a truck.

Maybe for a large-size vehicle we might want to control the movement of the surface reflections a little bit, just to hold it down.

The Mazda3  revealed at this weeks LA motor show  is the latest example of new Kodo, and this overall philosophy was previewed with the Vision Coupe concept from last years Tokyo motor show.

Timing is still unclear for the next BT-50  and the D-Max donor vehicle  but it could surface in 2021.

As reported, Mazda signed an agreement with Isuzu in 2016 to develop and build the next BT-50, but Mazda has had some engineering involvement as well.

The current BT-50 was a co-development between Mazda and its former financial partner Ford, with both the BT-50 and the Ranger designed and engineered in Australia.

Ford has since signed an agreement with Volkswagen to work on the next-generation light-commercial vehicles, which is believed to include the Amarok.

Meanwhile, MMC president and CEO Akira Marumoto has ruled out an expansion of Mazdas light-commercial vehicle line-up beyond the BT-50.

Since we are pursuing driving pleasure, what you said is low priority, he told Australian journalists in LA this week.

Mazda has previously offered light vans and small trucks in several international markets, including Australia.

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News - Lincoln - Aviator LA show: Lincoln reveals LHD-only Aviator crossover No Australian production, engineering for Lincolns Aviator seven-seat large SUV LINCOLN, the Ford Motor Companys premium brand and Cadillac rival, has revived its Aviator nameplate with a seven-seat large SUV, but right-hand-drive production is not currently planned for markets like Australia, with North America and China the focus.



Ford Australia product communications manager Damion Smy told GoAuto that unlike previous Lincoln models, the Aviator was not partly engineered at the Ford Asia Pacific product development centre in Campbellfield, Victoria, further ruling out any local ties.



Revealed at the Los Angeles motor show, the Ford Explorer-based Aviator is the spiritual successor to the American brands MKT and will slide in between the Nautilus and standard-wheelbase Navigator in its model line-up.



Previewed in concept form at the New York motor show in March this year, the Aviator ushers in a potent plug-in hybrid powertrain with an underfloor battery pack, plus new infotainment technologies and advanced safety features.



While the regular Aviator is motivated by a 3.0-litre twin-turbocharged V6 petrol engine that produces 298kW of power and 542Nm of torque, the Grand Touring version ups the ante with a plug-in hybrid set-up that develops 336kW and 813Nm.



Offered with either rear- or all-wheel drive, the Aviator is paired to a 10-speed automatic transmission as standard.



Five driving modes  Normal, Conserve, Excite, Slippery and Deep Conditions  allow the driver to alter vehicle settings on the move, while the Grand Touring features two extra profiles  Pure EV and Preserve EV  that determine how its electric charge is used.



The Aviators suspension is equipped with air springs and adaptive dampers, while a front-view camera scans the road ahead for potholes and uneven surfaces and then adjusts the ride accordingly.



The driver can use a compatible smartphone to open or close the Aviator and switch its engine on or off. Up to four devices are supported in addition to the traditional key fob.



If a linked smartphones battery were to go flat, the Aviator can be opened via an external keypad, while a separate backup code can be entered using the touchscreen infotainment system to switch the engine on.



Driver-assist systems include autonomous emergency braking with pedestrian detection, lane-keep and steering assist, blind-spot monitoring, cross-traffic alert, high-beam assist, adaptive cruise control with stop and go functionality, traffic sign recognition, park assist and a reversing camera.



Inside, a 28-speaker Revel Ultima 3D sound system, 30-way power-adjustable front seats with massage functionality, a manually sliding and reclining second row, a head-up display and a 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster feature.



According to the Lincoln Motor Company president Joy Falotico, the Aviator marks the start of the American premium brands evolution.



Aviator represents the very best of our brand DNA and signals the direction for Lincoln vehicles going forward, she said.



It offers elegance, effortless performance and unparalleled comfort  a true representation of Lincolns vision for the future.



The first and only other generation of Aviator was released in 2003 and remained on sale until 2005. It was also a large SUV based on the Ford Explorer, albeit with the option of six or seven seats.

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Read more 29th of March 2018 Lincoln no closer to Australia Fords Jim Farley rules out RHD Lincolns for now, but praises Aussie Ranger
The Pensions Dashboard will find and display an individuals pension savings on one screen and is intended to encourage people to engage with and, where appropriate, take action on their retirement income planning. Origo has been at the heart of the Dashboard project since its announcement in 2014 and was selected to provide a prototype to the HM Treasury sponsored Pensions Dashboard Prototype Project which was project managed by the Association of British Insurers (ABI). More recently Origo has provided input to the Department for Work & Pensions Feasibility Study and has brought the technological solution to an advanced state of readiness. Origo is responsible for helping develop and prototype the core technology  the Pension Finder Service  for the Pensions Dashboard. Other industry critical work carried out by the FinTech has enabled significant reduction in the amount of time it takes to transfer pensions (from c.50 working days to an average of 11 calendar days) and ISAs, as well as delivering and servicing digital IDs for 8 out 10 financial advisers in the UK. Mr McKee met with Origo Managing Director Anthony Rafferty and staff around the building. He was shown the demonstration of how the Pensions Dashboard would work for consumers and heard also about Origos aspirations for the future of FinTech in Scotland and the UK. Scottish Government Minister for Trade, Investment and Innovation, Ivan McKee said: Scotland is a highly competitive business location, with investment built around the quality of our research and innovation as well as the skills of our workforce. Origo looks set to reinforce our reputation as a centre of excellence for financial services and FinTech by transforming the sectors operating efficiencies. This includes the introduction of their Pensions Dashboard which will allow members of workplace pension schemes to see all of their pension savings at the same time in one private, secure place. Anthony Rafferty, Origos MD, said: The Origo team was delighted that the Minister dedicated time to meet with us and to see the important work being developed in Scotland to make Pensions Dashboards a reality. We are excited by the potential for Pensions Dashboard to not only benefit millions of consumers and potentially improve their financial outcomes, but also help to drive further innovation in the pensions market by facilitating an open pensions environment. Origo is dedicated to improving the financial services industry's operating efficiencies, lowering costs for market participants and improving outcomes for consumers. We work collaboratively with government, other industry bodies as well as product providers, platforms, financial advisers, portals and software suppliers, to find new ways to cut costs and make processes more efficient. Formed in 1989 in Edinburgh, we are one of the UKs longest established FinTechs and we are proud of our long history at the forefront of innovation in Scotlands and the UKs financial services industries.


ChargePoint, the leading electric vehicle (EV) charging network, secured $240 million in Series H funding, the largest in its history.

The investors reflect a diverse set of participants, from early market to institutional investors across the energy, financial, venture capital, oil and gas, utility, manufacturing, technology and automotive sectors. The latest fundraising effort comes during the companys most aggressive growth period in its history, powered by a broad solution portfolio that is supporting the mass adoption of electric mobility for drivers and businesses.

New investors in the round include American Electric Power, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, Chevron Technology Ventures, Clearvision, Daimler Trucks & Buses, GIC, and Quantum Energy Partners (lead investor). Existing investors include BMW i Ventures, Braemar Energy Ventures, Linse Capital, and Siemens. Jeffrey Harris, a Venture Partner at Quantum Energy Partners, will join the ChargePoint board of directors.

ChargePoint will use the latest funding in part to further expand its network, continue to build its footprint in Europe and North America, improve the experience for EV drivers, and expand solutions for fleets as the market quickly approaches the mass adoption of electrified transportation.

To date, ChargePoint has raised more than half a billion in funding to enable the most comprehensive smart EV charging network around the world. The companys latest fundraise comes just over a year from the Series G funding round that fueled ChargePoints introduction in Europe. In just 18 months, ChargePoint has established a team to support pan-European expansion. In addition, ChargePoint now offers a comprehensive suite of charging solutions that are being deployed across the region.
Jeep unveiled the 2020 Jeep Gladiator pickup at the Los Angeles Auto Show. The Gladiator features Command-Trac and Rock-Trac 4x4 systems, third-generation Dana 44 axles, Tru-Lock electric front- and rear-axle lockers, Trac-Lok limited-slip differential, segment-exclusive electronic sway-bar disconnect and 33-inch off-road tires.





Gladiator will offer two powertrains: a 3.6-liter Pentastar V-6 engine with Engine Stop-Start (ESS) and eight-speed automatic or six-speed manual transmission; and a 3.0-liter EcoDiesel V-6 with ESS and an eight-speed automatic transmission available in 2020.

The FCA US 3.6-liter Pentastar V-6 engine delivers 285 horsepower and 260 lb-ft (353 Nm) of torque and features ESS as standard equipment. It is engineered to provide a broad torque band with a focus on low-end torque, an essential trait needed for extreme off-roading.

A six-speed manual transmission is standard on all Gladiator models equipped with the 3.6-liter Pentastar V-6, and an eight-speed automatic transmission is optional.

Known for its refinement, power, efficiency and adaptability, the Company has produced more than 8.6 million 3.6-liter V-6 Pentastar engines since production began in 2010. The award-winning engine family is currently built at three plants: Trenton (Michigan) Engine Complex, Mack Avenue (Detroit) Engine and Saltillo (Mexico) South Engine.

The 2020 Jeep Gladiator benefits from the popular V-6 engines low-range torque, which is needed when out on the trails or during demanding conditions, such as hauling cargo or towing a trailer.

The 3.0-liter EcoDiesel engine will be available starting in 2020. Gladiator models will offer the 3.0-liter EcoDiesel V-6 engine, rated at 260 horsepower and 442 lb-ft (599 Nm) of torque, with ESS standard. An eight-speed automatic transmission is standard and is designed to handle the increased torque output.

FCA US engineers adapted the enginedesigned and manufactured by FCA EMEA to meet the NAFTA regions regulatory requirements.

The EcoDiesel V-6 engine implements refined turbocharger technology with a low-friction bearing designed for low-end and transient performance. The EcoDiesel V-6 engine also features low-friction pistons to improve fuel economy, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and provide an enhanced combustion system  injector nozzle, piston bowl and glow plug with integrated combustion pressure sensor to optimize combustion.

Low Pressure Cooled Exhaust Gas Recirculation (EGR) assists to combine with the high-pressure system to expand the range of EGR usage and to improve fuel economy.

Transmissions. A unique set of two overdrive ratios in the eight-speed improve highway fuel economy and reduce overall noise, vibration and harshness (NVH) levels.

Uniquely suited to the requirements of the Gladiator Rubicon model, the eight-speed automatic transmission delivers a 77.2:1 crawl ratio. The towing and 4x4 performance benefits from a 4.7:1 first gear ratio coupled with a 4.1:1 final drive delivers unmatched capability.

All-new 2020 Jeep Gladiator models are equipped with the standard six-speed manual transmission. This transmission features a unique design that employs optimized gear ratios for bolstered crawl ratio performance and is cable-operated, eliminating shifter vibration and bolstering sound isolation.

The shift pattern features a comfortable shifting position and bolsters shift accuracy. A 4.41 ratio spread offers impressive fuel efficiency at faster speeds and delivers quick acceleration with smooth, precise shift quality.

Body-on-frame design. Utilizing a body-on-frame design and featuring a five-link suspension system, Gladiator delivers on capability, with composed on-road driving dynamics, passenger safety and best-in-class towing and 4x4 payload capacity.

Gladiators body-on-frame design uses advanced materials and engineering to be lightweight, yet stiff and durable, and features an all-new lightweight, high-strength steel frame.

When compared to Jeep Wrangler 4-door, Gladiators frame is an additional 31 inches longer while the wheelbase is 19.4 inches longer. The longer wheelbase and the beds positioning center aft of the rear axle centerline enables for better weight distribution and a more comfortable and composed ride when carrying cargo. The prop shaft, brake, fuel lines and exhaust system were lengthened to accommodate the changes needed to make the proven body-on-frame design work.

The use of lightweight, high-strength aluminum closures, including the doors, door hinges, hood, fender flares, windshield frame and tailgate, help curtail weight and boost fuel economy. Other ways the Jeep engineering team looked to manage weight included using hollow track and stabilizer bars, aluminum engine mounts and steering gear.

Gladiator utilizes the proven five-link coil suspension configuration with the front suspension using a lateral control arm and four longitudinal control arms. Full-width track bars made of forged steel control lateral movement of the axle with minimal angle change during suspension travel.

The rear five-link coil suspension design, exclusive to Gladiator, features two upper and two lower forged steel control arms for longitudinal control, and a track bar for lateral axle control. The control arms are located under the frame rails while the rear shocks are forward facing to provide consistent damping for ride comfort and load management.

The springs have been tuned for an optimum balance between on-road handling while providing a comfortable ride around town, with or without cargo in the bed, and legendary off-road capability. Ride comfort, body-roll control, handling, payload and towing capability is significantly enhanced with assistance from shock tuning, hard points and body mount strategy.

An approach angle of 43.6 degrees, breakover angle of 20.3 degrees, departure angle of 26 degrees and a ground clearance of 11.1 inches allows Gladiator to go offroading.

Gladiator also benefits from up to 30 inches of water fording, up to 1,600 pounds of payload and up to 7,650 pounds of towing capacity with the available Max Towing Package.

Safety and security features. The all-new 2020 Jeep Gladiator offers more than 80 available active and passive safety and security features. Available features include Blind-spot Monitoring, Rear Cross Path detection, forward-facing off-road camera, standard ParkView rear backup camera with dynamic grid lines, Adaptive Cruise Control and electronic stability control (ESC) with electronic roll mitigation.
A team at the University of Stirling in the UK has found new evidence of the link between air pollution and cancer as part of a new occupational health study. The team analyzed the case of a woman who developed breast cancer after spending 20 years working as a border guard at the busiest commercial border crossing in North America.

The woman was one of at least five other border guards who developed breast cancer within 30 months of each other; at another nearby crossing, a cluster of seven other cases was noted.

Dr Michael Gilbertson, who worked with colleague Dr Jim Brophy, said their findings infer a causal relationship between breast cancer and very high exposures to traffic-related air pollution containing mammary carcinogens. A link between nightshift work and cancer was also identified.

This new research indicates the role of traffic-related air pollution in contributing to the increasing incidence of breast cancer in the general population. With this new knowledge, industry and government can plan for new designs for industrial and commercial facilities to cut down on the occupational exposures to traffic-related air pollution and for scheduling shift work to minimise disruption of sleep patterns. Dr Gilbertson

Drs Gilbertson and Brophy focused on the worker compensation case of the woman, who was employed by the Canada Border Services Agency for two decades at the Ambassador Bridge, which crosses the Detroit River between Windsor, Ontario, and Detroit, Michigan.

The bridgethe busiest commercial border crossing in North Americacarries 12,000 trucks and 15,000 cars each day.

The womanone of at least five colleagues who developed breast cancer within 30 months of each otherwas diagnosed with her first bout of breast cancer at the age of 44 and second at 51. Notably, another cluster of seven cancer cases occurred at a second crossing point, the Detroit-Windsor Tunnel, which lies four miles from the bridge.

The cluster of cases in staff at the bridge was 16 times higher than the rate in the rest of the country; there is less than a one in 10,000 probability that this could have occurred by chance. In addition, the clusters were characterized by breast cancer cases that were early onset and premenopausal with recurrences.

The scientists analyzed the circumstances of the caseheard by the Workplace Safety and Insurance Appeals Tribunal (WSIAT)by applying the Bradford Hill criteria: a group of nine principles that are useful in establishing epidemiologic evidence of a causal relationship between a presumed cause and an observed effect. The criteria considers strength, consistency, specificity, temporality, biological gradient, plausibility, coherence, experiment and analogy.

The case focused on whether the woman had a genetically inherited predisposition to develop breast cancer because of dysfunctional BRCA1/2 tumour suppressor genes. It was found that her BRCA1/2 tumour suppressors were not workingbut that was not connected to her inherited genes. This condition is known as BRCAness and is sporadic, rather than an inherited breast cancer.

The Stirling team investigated whether the dysfunction was potentially caused by occupational exposures to pollution. A review of previous research confirmed that BRCA1 can be silenced by exposures to dioxins and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbonsboth found in exhaust fumes.

In addition, other research has shown that BRCA2 is rapidly degraded in the presence of aldehydesalso components of exhaust fumes.

There is much more research to be undertaken. But we now have plausible mechanisms for inferring how the BRCA1/2 tumour suppressors in this highly-exposed border guard became dysfunctional and likely contributed to the ongoing epidemic of sporadic, early onset, premenopausal breast cancer among her colleagues. These outbreaks of breast cancer represent a new occupational disease that we are provisionally calling occupational BRCAness. Dr Gilbertson

The front-line workers also identified nightshift work as a potential contributing factor to their high incidence of breast cancer.

Drs Gilbertson and Brophy considered whether nightshift work might exacerbate the exposures to mammary carcinogens in traffic-related air pollution. They pointed to a previous study involving rats that found those exposed to continuous daylight developed tumors 36% faster and had 60% more tumors than those subjected to a normal photoperiod.

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Theres only a few more days until the Memorial Hospital of Sweetwater County and the Memorial Hospital Foundation kick off the Christmas season with their How NOVEMBER Stole Christmas event.

The halls of Memorial Hospital of Sweetwater County will be transformed into its very own MHSC-Whoville complete with games, cookie and ornament decorating activities, food, carolers, a visit from Santa Claus, and a special guest appearance from one of MHSC-Whovilles very own citizens.

Free to the community, How NOVEMBER Stole Christmas is this Friday from 6-8 p.m. The event will start with the...
U.S. Senators Mike Enzi, John Barrasso and Congresswoman Liz Cheney, all R-Wyo., urged U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer to prioritize eliminating the Japanese tariff on U.S. natural soda ash during the U.S.-Japan trade agreement negotiations.

While the United States currently supplies nearly 50 percent of the Japanese soda ash market, from 2014 to 2017, U.S. exports of natural soda ash to Japan decreased by 2 percent, while Chinese exports of synthetic soda ash to Japan increased by 73 percent.

In their letter, legislators emphasized how eliminating the Japanese tariff of 3.3 per...
The Food and Drug Administration just announced it would once again try to regulate tobacco products.

This time the target of the agencys regulatory hand is what it believes is the growing menace of flavored e-cigarettes and other tobacco products used by young people whove turned to vaping and smoking. The FDA said about 3.6 million kids under age 18 now admit they use e-cigarettes.

Thats an alarming number and is worrisome because FDA commissioner Dr. Scott Gottlieb has noted that almost all current smokers started when they were kids. At their core, the FDAs proposals are...
What will happen to the Carnegie Library building in Green River?

Right now, its safe to say no one really knows what the future holds for one of Green Rivers landmark buildings. However, we believe if the building can be saved, it should be.

The most important reason for preserving the building is its historical and aesthetic value it gives the city. Generations of residents remember going to Sweetwater County Library when it was housed in the building, while others attest to the building housing the most beautiful courtroom in Wyoming when the building housed the Green River Circuit...
Vincent Leahy and Kassandra Reyes pose for a quick photo in the Taco John's test kitchen.

A new item called the quesadilla burrito created by two Green River students will be added to a business's menu after they won the company's culinary competition.

Vincent Leahy and Kassandra Reyes, both Green River High School seniors, recently won the Taco John's culinary competition in Wyoming.

Their culinary arts teacher Marisa DeClercq said every year Taco John's hosts a contest encouraging high-school students to come up with a new and innovative recipe to add to its menu.

She said Reyes and Leahy came up with the quesadilla burrito recipe to meet the company's requirements. Their reci...
A presentation about mega fires will cover the conditions that lead up to such fires and how they can be managed or mitigated.

The Sweetwater County Fire Department, Rock Springs Fire Department, North 40 Productions, US Forest Service, Wyoming Rural Firefighter Association and Wyoming Fire Chiefs Association is pleased to bring the Era of Megafires by Dr. Paul Hessburg.

The event will take place at the Historic Broadway Theatre, Thursday at 7 p.m.

The firefighters are asking for nonperishable food items in lieu of any admission fees for this event to go towards those less fortuna...
Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived in Buenos Aires Thursday night to attend the 13th Group of 20 (G20) summit and pay a state visit to Argentina.

Chinese President Xi Jinping and his wife Peng Liyuan are welcomed upon their arrival at the airport in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Nov. 29, 2018. Xi arrived here Thursday night to attend the 13th Group of 20 (G20) summit and pay a state visit to Argentina. [Photo: Xinhua]

In a statement released upon his arrival, Xi extended greetings and best wishes to the Argentine people on behalf of the Chinese government and people.

"China and Argentina are sincere friends that trust each other and good partners that benefit each other," said Xi, adding that he is delighted to visit Argentina and meet his Argentine friends again.



The Chinese president made his first state visit to the South American country in 2014.

China and Argentina, Xi said, support each other's path of development, and stay committed to deepening friendly cooperation and strengthening coordination in international and regional affairs.

"I look forward to having extensive exchanges with President Mauricio Macri and people from all walks of life in Argentina, and jointly opening up a new era for the China-Argentina comprehensive strategic partnership," he said.

Noting that Argentina is the first South American country to host a G20 summit and this year marks the 10th anniversary of G20 summitry, Xi said the Buenos Aires summit is of great significance.

Wishing the summit a success, Xi said he stands ready to work together with Macri and all other leaders to uphold the all-in-the-same-boat spirit and steer the "boat" of the world economy from the La Plata River toward the wide oceans.

At the airport, Xi and his wife, Peng Liyuan, were warmly welcomed by Argentine Foreign Minister Jorge Faurie and other government officials.

Argentina is the second stop of Xi's Europe and Latin America trip from Nov. 27 to Dec. 5, which had taken him to Spain and also includes state visits to Panama and Portugal.




Hanukkah falls on December 22-30, 2019. Here in southern Connecticut, local Chabad centers host annual menorah lightnings, festivals, community dinners and family-friendly events to celebrate the winter holiday.

Click through to see some ways to get into the spirit in southwestern Connecticut.
Hemp, which for centuries was a lucrative commodity crops for American farmers, appears certain to become a legal crop for the first time since before World War II.

Senate Majority Leaders Mitch McConnell, R-Ky, announced yesterday that a provision legalizing hemp cultivation has been formally incorporated into the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018 -- commonly known as the 2018 Farm Bill. Hemp has been legally grown in the US on a small scale under provisions of the 2014 Farm that allowed states to create experimental programs. If fully legalized, domestic hemp is anticipated to become the main source of CBD for the booming market.

Thanks for your hard work, @SenPatRoberts, for our farmers, rural communities and all Americans. Pleased that my provision to legalize industrial hemp is included in the Farm Bill. https://t.co/FSLY3CugIN  Leader McConnell (@senatemajldr) November 29, 2018

For the first time in nearly a hundred years, commercial hemp production will no longer be federally prohibited in the United States, said Justin Strekal, political director for the National Organization for Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML. This represents a significant and long overdue shift in US policy."

Related: The Next Big Thing in 'Green' Packaging Is Hemp Bioplastic

Hemp has been used throughout recorded history up until today as a source of fiber and has enjoyed booming popularity as a source of CBD for foods, beverages, cosmetics and pharmaceuticals. US farmers were shut out of the market prior to the 2014 legislation while manufacturers of various kinds have used imported hemp for a market that was estimated at $820 million last year for all products but is anticipated to boom to $22 billion a year by 2022 just for the CBD that can be extracted.

Strekal, of NORML, said once hemp legalized it is imperative the government establish regulations governing purity and basic consumer safety concerns.

Related: Julian Marley Thinks Cannabis Should Be Free

"Future regulatory efforts will still be required to address emerging consumer issues when it comes to the commercial sale and marketing of certain hemp-derived products, particularly so-called hemp-derived CBD extracts," he said. "For years, many of the producers of these products have navigated in a grey area of the law -- manufacturing products of variable and sometimes questionable quality and safety. Now it is time for lawmakers to craft simple benchmark safety and quality standards for hemp-derived CBD in order to increase consumer satisfaction and confidence as this nascent industry transitions into a legal marketplace.

The hemp-specific provisions amend federal regulations to give states the role of regulating hemp and amends the federal Controlled Substances Act of 1970 so that industrial hemp plants containing no more than 0.3 percent THC are no longer classified as a schedule I controlled substance.

Congress is expected to vote on the Farm Bill by the end of the month.

Related:

Hemp Clears Legislative Hurdle and Is Poised to Be Legalized

The Next Big Thing in 'Green' Packaging Is Hemp Bioplastic

Hemp Oil vs. CBD Oil: What's the Difference?



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WASHINGTON -One of President Donald Trump's staunchest defenders on Capitol Hill is bowing out of the race to become the top Republican on the House Judiciary Committee, anticipating that party leaders would select someone else for the position.

Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, has been one of the loudest voices questioning whether anti-Trump bias affected decisions FBI and Justice Department officials made in their probes of the Trump presidential campaign's alleged Russia ties and former secretary of state Hillary Clinton's use of a private email server - agencies that are under the purview of the powerful Judiciary panel. As a member of that panel, Jordan has often clashed with GOP leaders to be more aggressive about questioning law enforcement agents and demanding documents.

GOP leaders have long anticipated that Jordan might try to become the ranking Republican on the committee, even while Jordan was making a bid to be the party leader in the House - a race he lost this month to current House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif.

Jordan only publicly confirmed earlier this week that he had completed a questionnaire and formally thrown his hat in the ring for the Judiciary panel.

Decisions about panel leadership positions are made by the GOP's steering committee - members of which who have not shown an inclination to support Jordan's bid.

"It was made clear to him that leadership will be selecting someone else," said Ian Fury, a spokesman for the congressman, in confirming Jordan's decision.

Jordan was running against Reps. Steve Chabot, R-Ohio, and Douglas Collins, R-Ga., to lead the Judiciary committee Republicans. Both Chabot and Collins are considered by party leaders to be conservative but less combative than Jordan.

Jordan currently serves on the House Judiciary and Oversight and Government Reform panels, and by seniority he was next in line to become the Oversight Committee's ranking member.

While party leaders have indicated a willingness to have a staunch Trump defender lead the party on the Oversight panel, they were nervous about handing over a post as sensitive as Judiciary Committee ranking member to a firebrand such as Jordan.

Still, Jordan chose to run for the Judiciary post, while his close friend Rep. Mark Meadows, R-N.C., applied to lead the Republicans on Oversight.

The two leaders of the conservative House Freedom Caucus, who have become the most prominent Trump defenders on the Hill, promised not to challenge each other.

"He's my best friend in Congress," Meadows said of Jordan earlier this week. "We would never run against each other.

Meadows did not immediately answer a question about whether he would step aside to allow Jordan to run for Oversight, and Jordan's spokesman refused to detail whether he had further aspirations.
EAST HAVEN - A Branford man - wanted on five warrants - was apprehended after a Comcast employee called police about an unconscious motorist pulled over on a side street in a stolen truck.

The incident happened just before 4 p.m. Thursday when officers were dispatched to Silver Sands and Brazos roads for a report of an unconscious man pulled over in a white pickup truck.

Upon officers arrival, they located the male, later identified as Eric Kousen, 28, asleep behind the wheel of a 2018 GMC Sierra. The vehicle was backed into a dirt lot on Brazos Road.

Lt. Joseph M. Murgo said in a release, once officers made contact with Kousen, they observed several bags of suspected crack cocaine and other drug paraphernalia in plain view. Kousen awoke a short time later after an East Haven Fire Department squad treated him for a possible medical issue.

Once it was determined that Kousen was only sleeping, he was removed from the vehicle and detained.

Further search of the vehicle revealed five bags of suspected crack cocaine, two bags of suspected marijuana, a bag of suspected powder cocaine, and a large amount of valuable collectible items believed to be fruits of a multi-state crime spree. There were also several burglary tools scattered throughout the vehicle, Murgo said.

Upon checking Kousen for warrants, it was determined he had five five active arrest warrants throughout the state. It was later determined that Kousen is a suspect in several commercial burglaries in Connecticut and Massachusetts.

The vehicle Kousen was in, a 2018 GMC Sierra, was reported stolen out of Guilford last Saturday.

Kousen, whose last known address was Pentecost Street in Branford, was charged with first-degree larceny, possession of narcotics/controlled substance, possession of drug paraphernalia and possession of less than an ounce of marijuana.

Kousen was held on a $10,000 bond and faced a judge Friday morning in New Haven Superior Court.

Murgo said any agencies with recent unsolved commercial burglaries are urged to contact East Haven detectives at (203) 468-3827, as some of the evidence located may be relevant to their cases.
The strangest questions invade your brain in the middle of the night when you are awake and rehashing the news that in the coming years more migrants will still head north to European countries. More than 2 million have already done so and caravans to America will continue. I wondered why is it that the southern half of the globe always heads to the north? Because it is rich obviously, but how did it happen? Modern man came out of Africa 75,000 years ago then spread throughout the globe. Everybody had an even start. The planet was untouched by human hands. So how did the South end up poor and the North rich? How did little England, just a dot in the north Atlantic colonize the huge country of India, to name just one of many it conquered? Why didnt India conquer England? Why did France, the Netherlands and Belgium colonized most of Africa and not the other way around? Why did the Industrial Revolution start in England and not in Somalia? As I said, the middle of the night is challenging. But the answer was obvious.

The sun of course, the disparity in climates. The human race is controlled by climate.

What other explanation could there be? Take a map of the Earth, fold it in half horizontally. The lower part covers the tropical climates of Mexico, South America, Indonesia, Africa, India. The northern part includes all of Europe, Greenland, the United States and Canada. In Greenwich, the last week of August ended with high 90s feeling like 100 degrees with the high humidity. How did you feel? Unless you had air-conditioning, you felt more like sitting in the shade with a cold drink than going out conquering nations. In cool, rainy England however, you would entertain ideas of building a fleet of ships and sailing the seas looking for treasures you might pick up along the way and claim as yours. Hello colonization. And prosperity for England and the other European nations who were busy doing the same thing in other parts of the world.

The lands in the southern hemisphere were arid, bone dry by the relentless sun foregoing any thought of farming. Without rain, crops fail. Lakes, rivers dry up turning to deserts. In India, the maharajas were powerful, wealthy with their own armies but without desire for adventure abroad or progress at home. While tropical India has been the worlds largest democracy for more than 60 years, it is a sad example of 21st century progress. Its highly skilled, educated young men flocked to Britain after independence and now to America where they are some of our best doctors and technology experts.

As for Africa, it gets the prize for dysfunctional governments, internal wars, revolts. Mexico, Central and South America are no bargains in the 21st century, else why did millions immigrate to the United States and still try.

Why did these countries never progress to the same level as those in the northern hemisphere? There were lagging far behind before, during and after colonization. Could climate be a reason? They can not grow enough food to feed themselves, many children go to bed hungry, without health care, without schools. Lands of deserts, jungles, droughts, floods, earthquakes, hurricanes, poor soil inevitably lead to poverty in spite of rich natural resources.

Climate change is a fact. It started after the Industrial Revolution and has slowly but defiantly progressed to where we are now: the worlds temperature has been going up and is not stopping. Now imagine if todays hot climate in the southern hemisphere were to increase and spread to include the northern hemisphere. The United States and Canada would become tropical and Europe semi-tropical. Dry land would turn to deserts, crops would fail, farm animals would die along with other species. California, which never should have been developed for habitation in the first place and is always short of water would now have none, zero. As this is written, 20,000 people are fleeing wild fires in northern and southern California. As for the southern hemisphere, it would become so unbearably hot that humans could no longer survive and would do the obvious: immigrate to the northern hemisphere not as they do now for a better life but for life itself. How would one half of the globes population fit into the other half? Such a picture invites wars, revolutions, chaos and eventually the extinction of mankind.

Next time there is doubt what climate change can achieve over time, think of the differences right now between the two hemispheres and magnify it a hundred fold. This is no fantasy. The future always seems so far away, but eventually it becomes the present. Count on it.

Greenwich resident Carla Wallach is an author of five books and writer of numerous articles in national newspapers and publications.
If you want to understand why the Senate voted this week to move forward with a resolution ending U.S. support for the Saudi-led war in Yemen, read the speech that Bob Corker delivered from the Senate floor on Wednesday.

The outgoing chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee has long been an ally of Saudi Arabia in Washington. And yet Corker voted to move the Yemen resolution out of his committee. Mind you, he didn't say he would be supporting it when it comes to the floor for a vote. Rather, he was sending a message to the Trump administration to come down harder on Saudi crown prince Mohammed bin Salman for his role in the murder of Washington Post contributing columnist Jamal Khashoggi.

Corker was disappointed by the briefing he and his colleagues received from Secretary of Defense James Mattis and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. Some of this is about procedure: Many senators wanted a briefing about Khashoggi from CIA director Gina Haspel. Some of this is about style: Many senators were infuriated by President Donald Trump's statement on the crown prince's unknowable culpability in the murder. Both objections beg the question: What does any of this have to do with Saudi Arabia's war in Yemen?

Just look at Sen. Lindsey Graham's comments following the briefing. Not only did he vow to hold up any legislation the White House wants in the lame-duck session until he gets a briefing from the CIA director on Khashoggi. He also promised an end to "business as usual" with Saudi Arabia, if indeed the crown prince was implicated in his murder.

Graham's concerns are valid. It's important that the House of Saud pay a price for its recklessness. And Trump committed an unforced error last week when he cleared the crown prince of any responsibility. The U.S. should not go along with the ever-changing Saudi cover-up.

That said, the Saudis have paid a price in terms of prestige. There is a process to hold many senior officials accountable, using so-called Magnitsky sanctions. And even as the administration is arguing Saudi Arabia's case to Congress, it is pressing the Saudis to curb their abuses in the Yemen war by adopting better rules of engagement and cutting off mid-air refueling to Saudi bombers.

Which brings us back to the Yemen resolution itself. It is a blunt instrument that fails to consider what happens when the U.S. leaves. If America withdraws altogether from the Yemen conflict, it's unlikely the Saudis would immediately stop fighting. They consider the Iranian presence in Yemen, and in particular Iran's shipment of missiles to its Houthi clients, as a direct threat to Riyadh.

And while it's difficult in the short term for the Saudis to replace the U.S. as their chief supplier of weapons, in the longer term a U.S. withdrawal would drive them into the arms of the Chinese and Russians. The Saudis have already signed a nuclear cooperation agreement with China and the Russians have offered to sell Riyadh S-400 anti-aircraft systems. That alone would undermine U.S. security in the region, because Saudi Arabia's current air defenses are guided by an American radar system deployed in the Middle East.

Still, let's suppose an end to American support would force Saudi Arabia to stop fighting. Would this make the terms for peace better or worse for American interests? What incentive would Iran have at that point to leave Yemen?

Graham, Corker and other Republicans who voted against the White House understand this. They must know that it's a nervy ploy to move forward with a sure-to-be bruising floor debate over the U.S.-Saudi alliance in order to spur the president to take a tougher rhetorical line on Khashoggi. They also must know that there is no chance the House of Representatives will adopt a similar measure in the remaining days of this Congress.

In that sense, this debate is even more craven politics than it appears: It's a chance for senators to vote to end U.S. support for the Saudis in Yemen without having to face the consequences of such a policy.

There is some principle involved. The genesis of the Yemen resolution is a strange alliance between conservative Republican Sen. Mike Lee of Utah and independent Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont. Both support the resolution in part as a way for Congress to reassert its war powers. It counts as an irony that this resolution is now the vehicle for symbolic dissent.

It's important to remember why the U.S. is aligned at the moment with Saudi Arabia: It is on the American side in a regional war against Iran.

That does not mean the crown prince has permission to send hit teams abroad to murder his critics. If the Senate wanted to be clear about that, it could easily have passed a resolution saying so. Threatening to cut off U.S. support for a war against Iran's proxies in Yemen punishes America for the crime of its ally.

---

Lake is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering national security and foreign policy. He was the senior national security correspondent for the Daily Beast and covered national security and intelligence for the Washington Times, the New York Sun and UPI.
To the editor,

I am writing to urge the Board of Education to strongly consider keeping Ralph Mayo on as the permanent superintendent of schools.

I was born and raised in Cos Cob, having gone to North Mianus School, Eastern Junior High, and Greenwich High School (1985). As I recall, Ernest Fleishman was the one and only superintendent of schools during my entire K-12 experience  and that was a time when our schools were ranked among the top in the nation. Given that we have had around a dozen different superintendents in the last 20 years, it seems to me that the one thing our town needs above all else is stability in this position.

Interim Superintendent Ralph Mayo is in a unique position to provide that stability. Mr. Mayo is certainly qualified , though he may not have as pretty a resume as some that have come in during the search  and he is extremely well-liked by the vast majority of the school community. Perhaps most importantly, however, Mr. Mayo is a native of Greenwich. He knows the unique character and nature of each of the various communities that comprise our diverse town; and because of that, he will not be fazed when, for instance, a bunch of parents from one of those communities peppers him with phone calls or emails about a particular issue, as so many of his predecessors have before him.

The quality of our schools will determined by our teachers, their ability to work through this hideous new Common Core curriculum, our students, and their families  there is no single superintendent who will come riding in on a white horse and make our schools great again. To reiterate, what we need more than anything else at that position is stability.

I implore the BOE to appoint Ralph Mayo to provide that much-needed steady hand at the top.

Lindy R. Urso

Cos Cob
Could state officials cut nearly $1 billion from the annual budget  without harming the grants and services most people care about?

Does that sound too good to be true?

More importantly, should Connecticut spend hundreds of thousands of dollars hiring a consultant to find out?

The answer to that last question rests with Governor-elect Ned Lamont.

And while he hasnt said directly whether or not he will commission the study, the incoming governor has not closed the door on new ideas - even those that might seem pie-in-the-sky  about how best to control the growth of state spending.

Governor-elect Lamont and his transition team are engaging experts from around Connecticut and across the country to develop a budget that addresses our structural deficits without gimmicks or short-term fixes, a spokeswoman for the Lamont transition said Thursday. The governor-elect will bring fresh eyes to the decades-old problems in Hartford and will put forward a long-term vision for making state and local government more efficient.

At issue are the proposals of the Commission on Fiscal Stability and Economic Competitiveness, a 14-member panel of business leaders and others that spent the first two months of 2018 crafting a blueprint to end state governments worsening cycle of deep budget deficits.

The commission, which reported its findings on March 1 and delivered a slightly modified plan this week, centered both of its plans on a few, central pillars:

Cut income taxes and eliminate the estate tax, which would benefit all classes, but help Connecticuts wealthy the most.

Raise the minimum wage to $15 per hour while ending collective bargaining for state employee benefits.

Restructure annual contributions into cash-starved pension funds. The yearly contribution to the teachers pension fund in particular is projected to spike dramatically over the next decade-and-a-half.

Establish tolls and rebuild the states aging, overcrowded transportation infrastructure.

And, finally, cut $1 billion out of state finances through operating efficiencies. In other words, keep current programs, but run them with less money.

If that number seems too steep  $1 billion is 5 percent of the entire General Fund, after all  the commission also said the state could increase revenue without raising taxes, such as through stronger tax collection efforts.

But commission members have acknowledged the bulk of that $1 billion target likely would have to be met by reducing spending rather than optimizing revenue.

Lamont said throughout the campaign he would try to shield state aid to cities and towns. Several key grants to communities already have been cut in recent years.

Similarly, Lamont placed a high priority on higher education, which has faced several years of lean state funding.

Republican legislators have been mostly silent about this efficiency recommendation. Democrats who have spoken say no one could slash $1 billion without hurting health care, municipal aid and education.

Rep. Toni Walker, D-New Haven, told CT Mirror last month that suggesting otherwise was a dangerous fantasy.

There isnt $1 billion of fat in this budget, she said.

But what if these programs could be cut, but not too deeply?

A think-tank sponsored by a business coalition, the Connecticut Institute for the 21st Century, delivered a series of studies in 2010 and 2011 focused on achieving greater cost efficiency in state government.

It estimated the state could save more than $600 million annually by accelerating the ongoing shift of the elderly from nursing home care into home- and community-based health care.

In another report, the institute urged the state to abandon its dual, public-private system of delivering social services, arguing a shift toward complete privatization also would yield big savings.

But there are problems with these recommendations. For one, both of these shifts are projected to take anywhere from five to 10 years to achieve major savings.

And, privatizing social services hinges on negotiations with state employee labor unions.

In fact, efforts to make many state programs more cost efficient hinge on being able to reduce or eliminate staff, or to achieve wage and benefit concessions.

State employee unions granted givebacks in 2009, 2011 and 2017, and leaders have said seeking more concessions now would be unfair. Further complicating matters, the 2017 concessions deal included restrictions on layoffs through mid-2021. This reduces any leverage Lamont would have to force unions back to the bargaining table.

Still, legislators agreed last May  at least in theory  to explore that $1 billion target challenge.

Lawmakers voted to direct the governors budget office to hire a national consultant to study the issue during this fiscal year. But they authorized no money to pay for it, directing the budget office to fund the study from its own resources.

But while officials assumed a study would cost tens of thousands of dollars, bids received this past summer ranged between $300,000 and $400,000.

Malloy also did not seek re-election and his term ends when legislators return to the Capitol on Jan. 9 for the 2019 session.

Malloy administration officials consulted with the co-chairs of the fiscal stability commission, Robert Patricelli and Jim Smith, and all agreed the issue should be left for Malloys successor and the 2019 General Assembly to sort out.

OPM and the chairs of the Commission agreed that this study should be deferred until there were funds made available to pay for the consultant, Chris McClure, spokesman for Malloys budget office, said Thursday.

Presently, the study has no funding within the budget, so while we sought ways to fund it within OPMs existing appropriations, the bids we received through the RFP process exceeded our ability to pay by hundreds of thousands of dollars.

The current fiscal year runs through June 30, 2019, giving lawmakers plenty of time to launch a study in accordance with the law passed last May.




Haiti - ALERT : The United States advises against traveling to Haiti





The US Government advises US citizens to reconsider their travel to Haiti, due to crime and civil unrest unpredictable and sporadic in Port-au-Prince and elsewhere in Haiti. On November 29, 2018, the U.S. government authorized the departure of non-emergency U.S. government personnel and their families. Protests, tire burning, and road blockages are frequent and unpredictable. Violent crime, such as armed robbery, is common. Local police may lack the resources to respond effectively to serious criminal incidents, and emergency response, including ambulance service, is limited or non-existent.



Travelers are sometimes targeted, followed, and violently attacked and robbed shortly after leaving the Port-au-Prince international airport. The U.S. Embassy requires its personnel to use official transportation to and from the airport, and it takes steps to detect surveillance and deter criminal attacks during these transports.



The U.S. government has limited ability to provide emergency services to U.S. citizens in some areas of Haiti. The Embassy discourages its personnel from walking in most neighborhoods. The Embassy prohibits its personnel from :



Visiting establishments after dark without secure, on-site parking;



Using any kind of public transportation or taxis;



Visiting banks and using ATMs;



Driving outside of Port-au-Prince at night;



Traveling anywhere between 1:00 a.m. and 5:00 a.m.; and



Visiting certain parts of the city at any time without prior approval and special security measures in place.



If you decide to travel to Haiti :



Avoid demonstrations. Do not attempt to drive through roadblocks.



Arrange airport transfers and hotels in advance, or have your host meet you upon arrival.



Be careful about providing your destination address in Haiti. Do not provide personal information to unauthorized individuals located in the immigration, customs, or other areas inside or near any airports in Haiti.



As you leave the airport, make sure you are not being followed. If you notice you are being followed, drive to the nearest police station immediately.



Do not physically resist any robbery attempt.



Purchase travel insurance and medical evacuation insurance ahead of time.



HL/ HaitiLibre






















Haiti - France : Support of 2.5 million Euros to the Haitian Caisses Populaires





Thursday, November 29, Richard Bercy the President of the National Federation of Haitian Caisses Populaires (FECAPH - le Levier) and Mrs. Anna Lipchitz, Director of the French Development Agency (AFD) in Haiti, signed, in the presence of Jose Gomez, Ambassador of France Haiti, two financing agreements for a total amount of 2.5 million euros.



The first concerns an AFD loan of the equivalent of 2 million in Gourdes and the second a grant of 500,000 dedicated to strengthening the capacity of the financial institution.



This project aims, on the one hand, to strengthen Levier's credit unions and, on the other hand, to improve the resilience of the agricultural sector and certain sectors, particularly in the face of climate change. This support will enable FECAPH Le Levier to structure and sustain medium-term financing in the agricultural and agroforestry sectors.



Recall that "The Federation Le Levier" is a network of Cooperatives Savings and Credit (CEC) founded June 30, 2007 under the aegis of the law of June 2002 dealing with the operation of credit unions and federations of credit unions.



See also :

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-25021-haiti-economy-$3m-to-develop-micro-and-small-businesses.html

https://www.icihaiti.com/en/news-24792-icihaiti-economy-2nd-financial-center-dedicated-to-entrepreneurs.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-17648-haiti-economy-$500-000-to-increase-access-to-credit-for-very-small-and-small-enterprises.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-24556-haiti-canada-$1-million-for-microfinance-in-haiti.html



HL/ HaitiLibre






















Haiti - Japan : Launch of construction works for 12 new fundamental schools





Thursday, November 29 in Cite Silence (Center), as part of the implementation of a project of the Government, via the Ministry of Education, took place the ceremony laying the foundation stone of the construction works of 12 new fundamental schools in the departments of the Center (10 schools) and Artibonite (2 schools), financed by the Japanese cooperation and aimed at promoting access to quality education for Haitian children



These schools are part of the Head of State's vision and promise to endow the country with more than 15,000 new classrooms by the end of its mandate, said Meniol Jeune, the Director General of the Ministry. who hailed the support of the Japanese Cooperation which will allow the enlargement of the school park in Haiti.



In his speech, Taisei Inoue, the Representative of the Embassy of Japan reiterated the commitment of the Japanese Government alongside that of the Republic of Haiti, to continue to support the country, particularly in the education sector.



HL/ HaitiLibre


















By Vasia Orion | Published on 2018/11/29

Netflix availability is a formidable beast, but we're lucky with clearer announcements at times, and "Memories of the Alhambra" gets good news coverage on equally solid availability. Many a drama fan will get to enjoy the series through the global platform, and not long after first broadcast, too.

Advertisement

According to recent Korean news pieces, South Korea, other parts of Asia (excluding Japan) and several English-speaking countries will be able to watch the episodes on Netflix just 1 hour after the South Korean television broadcast. Japan will get the episodes twice a week starting on December 2nd, while places like South America and Europe will get 2 episodes every Tuesday starting December 11th.

As Netflix describes it, now that the augmented reality cat is finally out of the bag in the promos, "Memories of the Alhambra" is a story following the events that unfold when, "while looking for the cryptic creator of an innovative augmented-reality game, an investment firm executive meets a woman who runs a hostel in Spain".

The Netflix trailer is a very exciting one, including all the elements we can look forward to. We have action, romance, world-bending through advanced technology, and the mystery of this amazing game with a ghost creator behind it. If writer Song Jae-jeong has improved in terms of maintaining plot consistency and internal rule building, we're in for quite a ride.

Written by: Orion from 'Orion's Ramblings'

Sources (1) (2)
Adrift between America and Russia, German foreign policy is effete at best, hypocritical at worst. A good first step would be to admit that honestly.

(Source: Reuters) Keeping up that "dialogue"

Following the Russian seizure of three Ukrainian ships and crews in the Kerch Strait, Angela Merkel this week once again urged Vladimir Putin to de-escalate through dialogue. Of course she did. What else would she have urged, promised, or threatened? If your diplomacy is, like Germanys, based on no hard power and only the mushiest soft power, dialogue - talk - is all youve got.

Since 1949, (West) Germany has in effect outsourced its security policy. For actual defense, should it have come to that, it would have relied on the US, via NATO. Curiously, that never prevented Germans from chanting Ami Go Home and sanctimoniously lecturing the superpower on morality as only Germans can lecture. But now Donald Trump is in the White House, and America may not ride to the rescue.

Hence the resurgence of talk about a European army. Good luck with that. You can cuddle in the drizzle with the French president during World War I commemorations. You can amuse yourself with fancy bureaucratic acronyms such as PESCO (permanent structured cooperation). But that sound you hear in the background is the chortling of Putin and his brass.

So whats left? Mostly denial. Putin has been misunderstood, say his many German apologists, including former chancellor Gerhard Schroder. Putins not that bad. OK, he did something bad again, but he wont go further. OK, he did go further, but well impose sanctions for while. OK, the sanctions didnt work, lets drop them.

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Andreas has been editor-in-chief of Handelsblatt Today (formerly Handelsblatt Global) since March 2017. His articles can be found here. Andreas Kluth

If the Germans are such good Europeans, why dont they ask their Baltic or Polish brethren what they think about all this? Having been under the Russian boot (and before that, under the German one), the Central Europeans are agape at German naivete. You Germans are building a gas pipeline from Russia to Germany that could leave us and Ukraine in the cold? You must be crazy!

German self-delusion is worst in denying the nature of the threat. Putin is too smart to go in one overt step to full-blown war. Thats why he wages hybrid warfare. He deploys Facebook to spread fake news from America to Europe. He hacks into the Wests servers. He dispatches, not uniformed soldiers, but little green men or separatists. His denials after the fact are hardly plausible, but they dont have to be.

Putins goals are: To divide the West; to divide the EU (hurrah Brexit!); to divide each Western democracy by strengthening populists; and to turn the former Soviet vassals (e.g. Ukraine) into failed states, so that he can dominate his sphere of influence. His unwitting allies are: The naifs in the West who dont grasp his cynicism and peddle false equivalence and false symmetry: between the claims of Ukrainians and Russians, say, or between the transgressions of America and Russia.

And standing forlorn in this geopolitical landscape is Germany, forever doomed by its past and mentality to bring the proverbial knife to a gunfight.
By Emily Mayer

In last weeks column, I mentioned about 200 Havre men who signed up to work on a government funded manufacturing plant in Nitro, West Virginia. Its quite the story!

In the Nov. 9, 1918 issue of The Havre Plaindealer on its editorial page, the Promoter printed:

Join the Industrial Army, Be a patriotic worker, Help make General Pershings headquarters Somewhere in Germany instead of Somewhere in France. Strong, able bodied men are wanted to help the government build the fifty million dollar plat at Nitro (near Charleston, W. Va.) You must be able to pass...
After it was worked on for most of 2018, a pre-disaster mitigation plan update was passed by the Hill County Commission on a 3-0 vote Thursday morning during the commissions weekly business meeting.

County Commissioner Mike Wendland commended the employees of Tetra Tech Inc. for their work on helping update the plan for Hill County.

Tetra Tech Inc. is an engineering and consulting firm from Pasadena, California. The company identified and ranked areas of concern in pre-disaster mitigation plans for Hill and Blaine counties and included a plan for cyber security.

The highest disaster c...
The City of Sydney is the first local government organisation to monitor and publicly report on gender pay equity, said Lord Mayor Moore.

Our latest review revealed an overall gender pay gap of 7.5% in favour of women  meaning on average we have more women employed in higher paying jobs, organisation-wide.

When men and women are compared in equivalent roles, there was a gender pay gap of 1.7% in favour of men, which is an improvement of 1.1% on last years result and brings the City closer to pay parity.

The gap is significantly lower than the national average of 14.6%.

Achieving gender equity is a critical issue, not just because it is the right thing to do, but also because its linked to improved national productivity and economic growth, said Lord Mayor Moore.
I like to be prepared for anything when I travel, whether Im headed out to my brother Jakes house for days of holiday feasting and excellent wines, or across the country for a multicity business trip. The remedies I take along help me beator preventminor problems, fast.Thankfully, my travel-related health problems aren't usually a big deal, although they can put quite a damper on my trips. Here are a few of my more common ailments.

I cant sleep well in an unfamiliar bed, because I hate most pillows (OK, Im a pillow diva) and because business trips stress me out.

Germy, dry airplane air gives me sore throats and colds.

Eating unwisely on the run and indulging in rich holiday treats at irregular hours challenges my digestion and makes it respond in unattractive ways.

Then there's the unexpected: Though I never get carsick, on a recent trip a colleague drove maniacally through the back streets of a desert city on a really hot day (with no air conditioner), and I kicked myself for forgetting to carry my favorite nausea remedy. That's a mistake I wont be repeating anytime soon.

Here's what I bring with me when I travel.

For jet lag

Pycnogenol, an extract made from the bark of French pine trees, lessened jet lag symptoms in a recent Italian study of 133 people. People who'd taken Pycnogenol after flights lasting seven to nine hours had 56% fewer symptoms (insomnia or irregular sleep patterns, irritability, disorientation/grogginess, mental performance issues, headaches, and other common physical symptoms) than people who took a placebo. Whats more, jet lag symptoms for people who took Pycnogenol lasted for an average of 18.2 hours, compared to 39.3 hours in the placebo group. Full disclosure: This study is so new Ive just finished reading it and I haven't tried it for jet lag. But I will next month, when Im headed to Denver and L.A. on business.

In other studies, Pycnogenol has been proven to reduce leg and ankle swelling during long flights. Experts think that Pycnogenols ability to improve circulation may be why it works.

To use: Take 50 milligrams of Pycnogenol three times a day for a week, starting two days before takeoff. Find it at VitaminShoppe.com.

For sleep problems

Because I tend to experience insomnia when away from home, I always pack a little bottle of lavender essential oil. Its a proven sleep enhancer; in a study of 31 people, psychologists at Wesleyan University in Middletown, Conn., learned that inhaling lavender helps sedate and promote deep sleep. I shake a few drops on my hotel pillows and the lovely aroma immediately relaxes medon't worry, its invisible and wont stain linens.

If lavenders not enough to help you drift off, bring along a bottle of Deep Sleep, an herbal formula from master herbalist Daniel Gagnon. It contains extracts from proven sleep herbs, including valerian, passionflower, chamomile, lemon balm, and California poppyas well as orange peel to slightly mask its strong, herby taste. You'll wake feeling rested, not dopey. Available in tincture or soft gels (good if you hate the way herbs taste) at health-food stores or from HerbsEtc.com.

Ginger works well to ease motion-induced nausea, plus it tastes great and is easy to takeand to take with you. I love Ginger Honey Tonic from New Chapter. Add a few spoonfuls to club soda before your long car ride and you should be able to ward off "the queasies." Bring along a bag of Reeds Crystallized Ginger Candy to nibble along the way. They're both available at health-food stores.

For fighting infection

Echinacea, a virus and bacterial killer that also eases sore throat and minor wound pain, is my first-aid kit in a bottle. I generally spritz my throat two or three times during long flights to prevent cold viruses from catching me, and I also use it to zap bug bites or boo-boos to prevent infection. Get echinacea spray at VitalBotanicals.com.
French Broad: A Kitchen & Wine Bar opens next week downtown

Just over 170 years ago, river partisans and road partisans fought over where to locate the town of Hendersonville, the seat of the newly formed Henderson County.

River partisans favored a site by the French Broad River, in present-day Horse Shoe. The road party pushed for a location along the Buncombe Turnpike. The road folks won. But the French Broad gets new life on Main Street today.

Diners will be able to enjoy a new restaurant honoring the rivers name when The French Broad: A Kitchen & Wine Bar opens next week at 342 N. Main St.

At this French Broad, foodies will find something new and different, in the menu and the decor. Located in the former Lime Leaf Thai Fusion space, the new restaurant makes liberal use of the second-floor loft, capitalizing on views both of Main Street and the completely renovated downstairs dining room.

Owners Chuck and Janna Watson welcomed a visitor to the new restaurant, where servers and cooks were interviewing for work. A prominent new furnishing is a 30-foot-long marble-topped beauty that they call the community table.

Janna and Chuck Watson are opening The French Broad: A Kitchen & Wine Bar next week.At some point, well have a baby grand piano and a wine cellar, Janna said. We recently got back from Italy and we were inspired when we were there by the European method of having a table wine. So well have a white and a red table wine and its going to be very reasonably priced and its really good.

Diners will find something they like on the menu.

Our menu kind of starts with France and then expands, Chuck said.

Its approachable French, Janna said. People will hear French and they say, oh, thats too rich and heavy 

The Watsons, who relocated to Hendersonville from Greenville, can walk to work from their home on Fifth Avenue West.

I cant imagine living anywhere else, Janna said. We love the downtown, thats why we moved close to it. We love being part of it. We knew we wanted to do something.

They had a smaller-scale venture in mind until they real estate broker Jim Hall showed them the Lime Leaf spot. Its roomier than it looks from the outside.

Sometimes the building kind of determines that the projects going to be, Chuck said.

The restaurant seats about 130 up and down.

Diners will be able to sample that approachable French from a kitchen run by Chef Arienne Casebier, who learned cooking growing up in East Tennessee from her grandmother, a world traveler and gourmand. She worked for two James Beard award-wining chefs in Charleston. She was working as sous chef at FIG (Food Is Good) in Charleston when that restaurant won a James Beard award.

After graduating from Johnson & Wales culinary school in Charleston, Casebier worked in New York City, then returned to Charleston. After FIG, she went to Husk restaurant, serving as sous chef under Sean Brock. She spent the next year developing and testing recipes for Sean's award winning book, Heritage. Four years ago, she ventured out on her own to open Feast, a farm focused catering and private chef service. Air, as shes called for short, was recognized by Charlie magazine as one of the 50 most progressive people in Charleston for her commitment to supporting local farms, other suppliers and artisans.

Were looking forward to doing once a month a family style supper that will be pass-around dishes and thatll ne at our community table, she said. Were going to be working with a couple of nonprofits in the area as well.  Were just hoping to have as many community ties as possible through our nonprofit work and the farms that we intend to support, she said.

* * * * *

The French Broad: A Kitchen & Wine Bar is scheduled to open next week. For updates check out the restaurants Facebook page. Hours are 11 a.m.-3 p.m. and 5-9 p.m. Monday-Thursday; 11 a.m.-3 p.m. and 5-10 p.m. Friday; 11 a.m.-midnight Saturday; and 11 a.m.-3 p.m. for Sunday brunch.
Conor McGregor could have killed himself driving at speeds of more than 150kph, says the boss of the Road Safety Authority (RSA).

The MMA fighter received a six-month ban on Wednesday for driving at 154kph on a 100kph zone of the N7 in Kildare last year. It was his 12th driving conviction.

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Speaking to the Herald, RSA boss Moyagh Murdock said the fighter "appeared repentant" outside Naas District Court.

However, she said she would welcome him "speaking out" and acknowledging that driving at that speed was "completely inappropriate behaviour".

"It could have resulted in a serious collision. It could even have killed him, at that speed, in that area," he said.

"I think Conor has been public about saying he was sorry, and obviously realises it will eventually catch up with you one way or the other.

"You get off lightly if it's just a court conviction. Worst-case scenario is you either kill yourself or somebody else."

Ms Murdock was speaking at the launch of the RSA Christmas safety appeal, which targets drink-driving.

Garda figures revealed that 30pc of people detected for drink-driving were millennials.

Ms Murdock said these young people needed to realise the risk they were taking by drinking and driving.

"Alcohol plays a big factor in the millennials' lifetime. They enjoy a good time," she said.

"It's hard for them to step up and say I'll drive tonight or it's my turn, or they're maybe strapped for cash and don't want to order a taxi home.

"The message really is to re-educate those guys and say look, one or two drinks."

She said that "by and large" millennials were inexperienced drivers and that, "combined with just a small amount of alcohol" can make them a danger to themselves, and other road users.

The message was echoed by Assistant Garda Commissioner David Sheahan, who said millennials had not learned the lesson.

He drew attention to the fact that 86pc of convicted drink-drivers were men.

"I would have expected those people who are millennials to have learned from their forefathers that drunk-driving was no longer acceptable, but it's quite clear to me that those people have not.

"They're way over-represented and account for 30pc of all drunk-drivers.

"So my plea to those people this year is if you're going out, I want you to enjoy yourself, but if you're considering taking your car, the consequences are great for you and I would say don't drink and drive."

Speaking about the gender difference, he said it was "unbelievable" that so many men were drinking and driving.

"At least our female cohorts are listening to some of our messages, but obviously the males are not," he added.

Stricter

Meanwhile, Transport Minister Shane Ross said he will introduce new speeding legislation, following on from stricter drink-driving laws introduced this year.

The Independent TD said he expected the bill to receive Dail backing.

He said that despite a slight drop in road deaths on last year, the fall was not enough.

"Speeding is a killer. Drink-driving is a killer. They both kill in almost equal amounts," said Mr Ross.

He said the new legislation would hit high-speed motorists the hardest.

"The faster you drive, the more penalty points you will receive," the minister said.

"I hope to bring it to Cabinet next week or the week after."
A man accused of the murder of Dublin man Alan O'Neill shouted "I only set the car on fire" as he was arrested near a burning car, a court heard.

Detective Garda Conor Harrison yesterday told prosecuting counsel Shane Costelloe SC at the Central Criminal Court that he arrested the accused man at Belfry Square shortly after the shooting.

He was giving evidence at the trial of 22-year-old Warren Nolan, of Rowlagh Park in Clondalkin, who has pleaded not guilty to the murder of Alan O'Neill (35) at Kiltalown Road, Tallaght, on May 27, 2015.

Mr Nolan also pleaded not guilty to damaging a car by fire at Belfry Square in Tallaght on the same date.

The court heard that on the night in question, the armed detective was on unmarked patrol and his colleague was talking to a driver they considered suspicious.

A call came over the radio that someone had been shot in nearby Kiltalown Road and at about the same moment Det Gda Harrison heard a car being driven "very hard. There was a loud revving noise".

At the top of steps leading to Belfry Manor the detective saw a male who drew his attention as he pulled up his hood and moved "with purpose away from me".

Det Gda Harrison decided to take a closer look and as he walked to the top of the steps a second youth ran across his path, "like he had been fired out of a cannon, at full tilt".

By this time the garda was also aware of a car in flames nearby and he formed the opinion that this youth had come from the burnt-out car which had come from the shooting in Kiltalown Road.

The witness said he shouted "armed garda" as loud as he could and put his hands on the youth to stop him.

Gloved

He brought him to the ground, he said, and as they went down he saw a lighter come out of the youth's gloved hand and the youth said: "I only set the car on fire, I only set the car on fire."

The witness identified the youth as the accused, Mr Nolan.

Det Gda Harrison cautioned him and took Mr Nolan to the garda car and handcuffed him to the open door.

He said he wouldn't normally handcuff a suspect to anything but in the circumstances he made an "executive decision".

He then arrested him under Section 30 of the Offences Against the State Act on suspicion of unlawful possession of a firearm with intent to endanger life.

Mr Nolan was wearing black gloves, had two phones on him and was wearing a blue hooded jacket and white T-shirt.

Under cross examination the witness told defence counsel Michael Bowman SC that he had "no doubt in my mind" that the accused repeated: "I only set the car on fire."

Earlier, Det Gda Harrison was asked about media coverage of the murder probe and said he had "contempt for that kind of carry on" as it frustrated investigations.

He added that he had "no truck with the media, good, bad or indifferent".

Mr Bowman pointed out to the witness that the Evening Herald had carried a headline the morning after Mr O'Neill was shot dead outside his home that read: "Teens quizzed. Pair arrested as gardai hunt for hitman."

The trial continues.
A judge has demanded an explanation from Health Minister Simon Harris as to why a Dublin mother has to wait 27 months for her troubled son to get help.

Describing the delay in accessing a mental health service as "phenomenal", Judge Anthony Halpin presided over a Dublin District Court case of a woman facing prosecution by the Child and Family Agency (CFA).

The case has been brought because her son, whose age was not stated, has been missing school and his attendance has not improved.

The court heard the woman's son had been referred to Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS).

After that she was referred to "primary care", but was told she would have to wait nine or 10 months to get an appointment, said defence solicitor Emer O'Sullivan.

The CFA asked for an adjournment.

Judge Halpin said it was easy to identify the problem, but getting a referral was "phenomenal".

He ordered the mother's solicitor, Emer O'Sullivan, to write to the health minister, on his direction, demanding an explanation.

Disappointed

"We have identified something to help a child who should not be waiting nine months," he told the solicitor.

Ms O'Sullivan said her client had already waited 18 months to get her child into CAMHS before being told to expect a further nine or 10-month delay.

Judge Halpin noted that was 27 months in total and remarked: "In a kid's life that is huge."

Ms O'Sullivan said she had no problem writing the letter, but cautioned: "Do not be too disappointed if it falls on deaf ears."

The boy's mother said she already had four appointments, and the answer she got was they had to "wait for someone else".

Judge Halpin said he wanted the explanation as soon as possible, but certainly by no later than the end of January.

Solicitor Stephanie O'Meara told the court the educational and welfare officer involved in the case would write a similar letter.

"I need the minister on board, 27 months - that's not right," the judge said.

The woman could be fined up to 1,000 and jailed for a month if found guilty of breaking the Education (Welfare) Act for not complying with an official warning to ensure her child went to school.

The case resumes in January.
'"He's lucky to be alive," the judge said, adding that a lot of people who had not driven dangerously or under the influence of alcohol were "unfortunately not with us".' (stock photo)

A DANGEROUS driver who led gardai on two high-speed chases is "lucky to be alive", a judge has said.

Gary O'Farrelly (30) was seen swapping seats with his pass-enger as he drove drunk in another incident.

Judge David McHugh jailed him for five months, banned him from driving for 12 years and fined him 1,500 after he admitted a litany of motoring offences.

O'Farrelly, of Park Villas, Castleknock, pleaded guilty to dangerous, uninsured and drink-driving in several incidents.

Blanchardstown District Court heard gardai were called to Castlegrange Estate in Clonsilla last March 11.

O'Farrelly was driving a silver Volkswagen and failed to stop when gardai signalled, leading to a pursuit. He was eventually stopped on Phibblestown Road.

In another incident, last September 11, O'Farrelly took off at speed the wrong way around a roundabout at the R149 in Co Meath.

He did handbrake turns at junctions, drove on the wrong side of the road and at speed over a humpbacked bridge.

Evasive

Other drivers had to take evas-ive action and there were pedestrians on the footpath.

O'Farrelly almost lost control of the car and nearly collided with cars coming in the opposite direction. He drove at speed through a residential area in Dunboyne.

On May 25 last year, gardai were called to a disturbance involving a Ford Focus at a public car park on Castleknock Road.

The accused failed to stop, and officers saw the car slow down as O'Farrelly swapped seats with his passenger. He was arrested and found to be over the alcohol limit when tested.

In another incident, he cut in front of a Dublin bus in a Toyota Yaris, causing it to brake suddenly.

O'Farrelly had 47 previous convictions and was already under a 15-year driving ban.

The "litany of offending" was appalling, defence solicitor Matthew Kenny accepted.

"He's lucky to be alive," the judge said, adding that a lot of people who had not driven dangerously or under the influence of alcohol were "unfortunately not with us".

"I don't know how he has managed to stay in one piece with two arms and two legs and a head," he added.
New figures showing nearly 10,000 people are homeless are "not worth the paper they are written on", according to experts in the area.

The Inner City Helping Homeless (ICHH) group and the Simon Community have both questioned the validity of figures which show a slight increase in people requiring emergency accommodation during October.

Department of Housing officials reported that there are now 9,724 people, including 3,275 children, relying on the State for accommodation. This is up 15pc on this time last year.

Critical

Housing Minister Eoghan Murphy said a month-on-month jump of 26 people can be partly explained "by new beds being provided to help take people from rough sleeping and into our supported services".

But chief executive of ICHH Anthony Flynn was hugely critical of the way the figures are calculated.

"The minister and the Department of Housing are being completely disingenuous in relation to the homeless figures," he said.

"The process of registering as homeless is becoming more complicated and in one case we saw it take nearly two weeks for someone to register as homeless and avail of services."

Mr Flynn intends to write to Taoiseach Leo Varadkar asking that the Central Statistics Office immediately takes over the compilation of figures, as at present "they are not worth the paper they are written on".

Likewise, the Simon Community said the rationale for recent re-categorisation of some homeless cases "remains unclear".

The charity pointed to spiralling rents as a key factor.

"Without an accessible private rental sector or social housing, people have nowhere to go if they cannot afford to rent," said Niamh Randall, spokesperson for the Simon Community.

While much of the focus has been on Dublin, Ms Randall said the number of people her organisation is working with all around the country are "increasing dramatically".
US Congress Passes Bill to Relieve Assyrians, Yazidis in Iraq and Syria

The US House of Representatives passed Tuesday H.R. 390, a bill titled "Iraq and Syria Genocide Relief and Accountability Act," which seeks to assist with the rebuilding of the Christian and Yazidi communities in Iraq and Syria.

Having also passed the Senate, the bill now will go to President Donald Trump, who has indicated he is willing to sign it.

The bill was introduced by Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ) and was cosponsored by a bipartisan group of 47 members of Congress. Rep. Anna Eshoo (D-CA) was the lead Democratic co-sponsor of the bill. The bill was passed unanimously in the House Nov. 27.

H.R. 390 would provide funding to entities, including those who are faith-based, that are assisting with the humanitarian, stabilization, and recovery efforts in Iraq and Syria to religious and ethnic minorities in the area.

It would also direct the Trump administration to "assess and address the humanitarian vulnerabilities, needs, and triggers that might force these survivors to flee" the area, as well as identify potential warning signs of violence against religious or ethnic minorities in Iraq and Syria.

Additionally, the bill will support entities that are conducting criminal investigations into members of the Islamic State who committed "crimes against humanity and war crimes in Iraq," and will encourage foreign governments to identify suspected Islamic State perpetrators in security databases and security screenings to assist with their capture and prosecution.

The Senate unanimously passed a slightly amended version of the bill Oct. 11.

"The fact that this bill passed both the House and the Senate unanimously shows that the American response to genocide transcends partisanship and that there is enormous political will to protect and preserve religious minorities in the Middle East, including Christians and Yazidis, who were targeted for extinction," said Knights of Columbus Supreme Knight Carl Anderson upon the bill's passage. Anderson testified at a congressional hearing about the bill.

"We thank Representatives Chris Smith (R-NJ), the bill's author, and Anna Eshoo (D-Calif.), its lead cosponsor, for their leadership in partnership with Knights of Columbus on this important bill," he said.

Smith noted that "over-stretched groups on the ground" have been "fill[ing] the gap" in providing aid to survivors of Islamic State. He said that so far, Aid to the Church in Need has contributed more than $60 million, and the Knights of Columbus more than $20 million, to the region's response.

The bill took 17 months to pass, Smith told CNA, and was introduced in two previous years. Smith was able to visit Chaldean Archbishop Bashar Warda of Erbil, and he said he found the work the archbishop was doing there to be inspiring. The congressman said that it was important to include faith-based entities among those receiving funding under the bill.

Since Islamic State came to power in the region, the Christian and Yazidi populations have been decimated, Warda explained to CNA. And even though Islamic State is no longer in power and the area has been liberated, the region's Christians are still struggling due to the conflict.

Many people have not been able to rebuild their homes, and a lack of job prospects cause people to leave even though the situation is largely safe, said Warda. In order to provide long-term security for the region's Christians, he said that there needs to be an emphasis on economic opportunities for young people.

"I'm a shepherd there. I have to really speak to my people there and tell them that it's safe. It's safe to be and to prosper at the same time," he said. "So, providing jobs. Helping and really realizing some of the economical projects for the young people, to help them stay and prosper in the area."

Many of the area's Christians fled to Lebanon, Jordan, and Turkey. While Warda said that he would love to work on luring them back to Iraq, he conceded that this task is "really difficult."

Another effort to ensure long-term safety for religious minorities will require a cultural shift, Warda explained. The deaths or displacement of Christians and Yazidis are considered "collateral damage" by the government, said Warda. This mentality resulted in "the majority of the persecution" faced by those groups.

He laid blame on the public school curriculum used in Iraq, which provides no information at all about religious minority groups in the country.

"There's nothing about Christians," he explained, noting that non-Muslims are described as infidels, and conspiracy theories about these groups abound.

Warda was particularly pleased with the inclusion of support for the criminal prosecution of Islamic State members who committed genocide. This, he said, will ensure that "history will not be written by people like ISIS. For the first time, the victims of this genocide will be able to tell their story and to provide history from their side."

The ability for these groups to have their stories heard will be a way to ensure that this genocide and displacement does not happen again.

"Unless you tell Muslims that there's something wrong in the way that you teach Islam, the history will repeat itself," the bishop explained. Even though Islamic State was defeated, "the ideology is still there."

"Writing the history from the side of the victims; it would help the other (side) to realize 'okay, never again," he said.

"Hopefully."
It's our second pandemic Thanksgiving. How's it affecting you?

It's Thanksgiving Day, and while it's the second COVID-19 Thanksgiving, more of us are traveling to celebrate the holiday with family and friends.
A plane carrying German Chancellor Angela Merkel to the Group of 20 meeting in Argentina was forced to make an unscheduled landing Thursday night in western Germany.

A German military blog reported it was due to technical problem with its radio.

Passengers are standing on the tarmac of Cologne Airport next to the Chancellor's Airbus "Konrad Adenauer". Chancellor Merkel had to interrupt her flight from Berlin to the G20 summit in Buenos Aires on Thursday evening due to a technical defect in the Chancellor's Airbus "Konrad Adenauer". [Photo: IC]

The government A340-300 VIP Airbus, which was en route to Buenos Aires, turned around over the Netherlands about an hour into the flight, the German news agency dpa reported.

The aircraft landed safely in Cologne about 9 p.m. (2000 GMT), with journalists on board reporting no injuries.

Later, two buses were seen driving away from the airfield, and German broadcaster DNF reported that Merkel was on board one of them.

Several firefighting vehicles were on stand-by as Merkel's plane landed because it had more fuel on board than is customary during landing, dpa reported.

A replacement German air force plane was being prepared to carry Merkel and her entourage to the G-20 meeting, which starts Friday in the Argentine capital.

The Cologne-Bonn airport has a military base called Cologne-Wahn that is adjacent to the civilian airport.

According to German military blog Augengeradeaus.net, the aircraft was transmitting a 7600 transponder code, indicating a radio failure.

German government planes, operated by the country's air force, have been plagued by technical problems in recent years.

In 2015, the same aircraft was grounded due to a technical problem shortly before Merkel was to fly to New Delhi, forcing her to switch to a distinctly less luxurious A310 troop carrier.

Merkel was told of the need to turn around Thursday night while she was holding a background briefing for journalists accompanying her to Buenos Aires.
It's taken six years, but former Orlandoan Brian Feldman is finally bringing the project that started it all to the District of Columbia. And not to just one venue, but all eight Wards (charities).

Unlike anything ever seen in D.C. history, "The Feldman Dynamic: 8 Wards of Chanukah," is an unprecedented reality theater event featuring Feldman's actual family: Mom, Marilyn Wattman-Feldman; Dad, Edward Alan Feldman; and sister, Adrienne McIntosh and the family cat (take allergy medicine if you plan to attend).

The scene is the family celebrating Chanukah together live on stage. There's no script, no rehearsal, and every performance is completely different. It's not improv. It's the reality show that will never be on TV.

The performance features cooking potato latkes, eating jelly doughnuts, playing with dreidels, and enjoying chocolate gelt; and it takes place all eight nights of Chanukah (Dec. 2-9), traveling to a different venue and D.C. Ward.

Feldman is an award-winning performance artist and actor. He has been named Best Performance Artist by Orlando Weekly (2008, 2009) and Washington City Paper (2018). "The Feldman Dynamic" had its world premiere in August 2003 as part of FringeNYC, the New York International Fringe Festival, where it was featured on NBC's Today Show, and dubbed "the reason the Fringe exists." It is also one of Feldman's six signature projects, the others being "BFF," performed at the 2012 Capital Fring Festival; "Brian Feldman's Under the Covers"; "Dishwasher," premiered at the 2015 Capital Fringe Festival; "The Kill Crane Kid"; and #txtshow," which was the longest running independent production in D.C. theater history.

Of his more than 115 realized works, Fledman still considers "The Feldman Dynamic" his piece de resistance, and the first project that includes his family, who will travel from Central Florida to Washington for the eight shows.

Two dollars from every sale will benefit eight D.C. charities (Wards): Martha's Table, Miriam's Kitchen, D.C. Law Students in Court, Compassion Over Killing, Some so Others Might Eat, D.C. Central Kitchen, Bread for the City, and Community of Hope.

If you are traveling to the Washington, D.C. area over the Chanukah holiday, and your last name is Feldman, you can get a free ticket at the door (with valid photo ID). This offer applies to Nights 1, 4, 5, and 8.

"Save your Netflix binging for another holiday, the fact that this is actually happening counts as a minor miracle," said Feldman.

The project is supported by the D.C. Commission on the Arts and Humanities, which receives support from the National Endowment for the Arts.

For more information about the performances and tickets, please visit http://www.eventbrite.com/e/the-feldman-dynamic-8-wards-of-chanukah-night-7-ward-7-tickets-52557723566.
Larry Oskin of Art Beautique offers a unique virtual art gallery with Judaica artwork and a professional fine art photography service in Central Florida. For years, many Jewish homes, temples and community facilities have been challenged with creating a unique environment that celebrates Jewish life, traditions and culture.

With seven very diverse Art Beautique Collections, Oskin celebrates Judaica & Religion, Flowers & Nature, Cityscapes & Seascapes, Animals, Americana, World Capitals, and Beauty & Glamour. Through a special photo impressionism technique, Art Beautique images actually look like impressionistic paintings, using bright, bold and vivid colors.

Oskin is available to help create an exciting temple fundraiser with high quality original limited edition fine art Judaica photographs. He will photograph temple members and Judaica objects, while turning each photography session into original frameable artwork that can be sold to decorate walls with beautiful one-of-a-kind original artwork.

Oskin recently donated one of his works, "Ten Commandments," to his shul, Congregation Sinai. It is displayed on the Bimah.

President Peter Sobel had been looking for a mizrachi for the East wall of the temple. "The idea is that when anybody looks at it, they are facing towards Jerusalem," Sobel said. "When I saw it at the art show, it was a perfect match for my idea. Thanks again for this most generous gift!"

Oskin notes, "My Art Beautique work is very stylized. Photography remains one of our best artistic forms of creative media and visual expression. A picture may only be worth 1000 words, while little else will compare when you are able to capture any special moment in time!"

Originally from Buffalo, New York, Oskin was raised in an Orthodox Jewish home with a desire to greatly expand his Judaic Art Collection. Oskin is an active board member at Congregation Sinai. He serves on the board of the Downtown Clermont Partnership Arts Council. He has worked with various temples to create Judaic art shows and special event fundraisers.

Prepared for Shabbat photograph.

Oskin has exhibited his limited edition professional artwork in private art galleries, synagogues and city museums. His accomplishments include exhibiting at the famous Albright-Knox Art Gallery, considered one of the ten best modern art museums in the world. Oskin holds a bachelor's degree in graphic design in advertising, while he also was certified in art education. He completed advanced studies in commercial and fine art photography, sculpture, painting and ceramics using progressive objective and non-objective color and field theories, while studying at the State University College of New York at Buffalo. Earlier in his career, Oskin was director of marketing for Circle Fine Art. He provided marketing and PR services for Peter Max, Erte, Yaacov Agam, Norman Rockwell, LeRoy Neiman, Marcel Mouley, Walt Disney Studios and many internationally respected artists. He has been named the 'Official Photographer' for numerous state and national beauty pageants.

For more information on Art Beautique or Marketing Solutions of Clermont, Florida, call Larry Oskin at 703-508-6800, 407-395-9007, email LOskin@MktgSols.com or visit http://www.ArtBeautique.com, http://larry-oskin.artistwebsites.com and http://www.MktgSols.com.
The Rintel Menorah, which was sold for $563,000, is Holland's priciest object of its kind.

AMSTERDAM (JTA)-Nothing about the appearance of object MB02280 at this city's Jewish Historical Museum suggests it is the capital's priciest Chanukah menorah, worth more than the average local price of a duplex home.

Shaped like the body of a violin, it is only 16 inches tall. Its base cradles eight detachable oil cups intended to function as candles on Chanukah, when Jews light candles to commemorate a 167 BCE revolt against the Greeks. They are set against the menorah's smooth, reflective surface, whose edges boast elaborate rococo reliefs

But for all its charms, the Nieuwenhuys menorah, its creator was the non-Jewish silversmith Harmanus Nieuwenhuys, doesn't stand out from the other menorahs on display next to it at the museum. Far from the oldest one there, the menorah certainly doesn't look like it's worth its estimated price of $450,000.

The Nieuwenhuys menorah can hide in plain sight because its worth owes "more to its story than to its physical characteristics," said Irene Faber, the museum's collections curator.

Made in 1751 for an unidentified Jewish patron, the Nieuwenhuys menorah's story encapsulates the checkered history of Dutch Jewry. And it is tied to the country's royal family, as well as a Jewish war hero who gave his life for his country and his name to one of its most cherished tourist attractions.

The price tag of the Nieuwenhuys menorah, which does not have an official name, is roughly known because a very similar menorah made by the same silversmith fetched an unprecedented $441,000 at a 2016 auction. A collector who remained anonymous clinched it at the end of an unexpected bidding war that made international news. It was initially expected to fetch no more than $15,000.

Another reason for the more vigorous bidding: The menorah came from the collection of the Maduros, a well-known Portuguese Jewish family that produced one of Holland's most celebrated war heroes. The Nazis murdered George Maduro at the Dachau concentration camp after they caught him smuggling downed British pilots back home. In 1952, his parents built in his memory one of Holland's must-see tourist attractions: the Madurodam, a miniature city.

"I imagine the connection to the Maduro family drove up the price," said Nathan Bouscher, the director of the Corinphila Auctions house south of Amsterdam, which has handled items connected with famous Dutch Jews.

Besides the menorah on display at the Jewish Historical Museum, the Netherlands has another very expensive one in the Rintel Menorah: A 4-footer that the Jewish Historical Museum bought last year for a whopping $563,000. Far more ostentatious than the modest-looking Nieuwenhuys menorah, the Rintel, from 1753, is made of pure silver and weighs several kilograms. It is currently on loan to the Kroller-Muller Museum 50 miles east of Amsterdam.

The Jewish Historical Museum has no intention of selling the Nieuwenhuys, Faber said, although it could attract even more spectacular bids owing to its provenance: It was bought by the late queen of the Netherlands, Wilhelmina, as a gift for her mother and given to the museum by her grandson, King Willem-Alexander.

"We don't know who commissioned the work, but from the reputation of the artist and the amount of labor it took, it was probably a wealthy Jewish family, perhaps of Sephardic descent," Faber told JTA last week at the museum.

At the center of the object is a round network of arabesque-like decorations "that probably contains the owner's initials in a monogram," Faber said, "but we haven't been able to decipher it. It's a riddle."

The monogram was one of several techniques that Nieuwenhuys and other Christian silversmiths in the Netherlands had developed for their rich Jewish clients.

Before the 19th century, no Jews were allowed to smith silver in the Netherlands because they were excluded from the Dutch silversmiths guilds, which were abolished in the 1800s.

"This exclusion was beneficial [to the guild] because it kept out competition, but it meant that Christian smiths needed to become experts at making Jewish religious artifacts like this menorah," Faber said.

Works like the menorah on display at the museum illustrate how some Jewish customers clearly were art lovers with sophisticated tastes.

Whereas the Maduro menorah was symmetrical with Baroque highlights, the Nieuwenhuys is asymmetrical with rococo characteristics that were "pretty avant-garde for its time," Faber said. The smooth surfaces are "another bold choice, showing finesse," she added.

Whoever owned the menorah no longer possessed it by 1907, when Queen Wilhelmina bought it for an unknown price at an auction to give it as a gift to her mother, Princess Emma.

This purchase may appear inconsequential to a contemporary observer, but its significance becomes evident when examined against the backdrop of institutionalized anti-Semitism among other European royal houses and governments.

The German Emperor Wilhelm II, a contemporary of Wilhelmina, was a passionate anti-Semite who famously said in 1925 that "Jews and mosquitoes are a nuisance that humankind must get rid of some way or another," adding "I believe the best way is Gas."

Belgium's King Leopold III was more politically correct, stating magnanimously in 1942 that he has "no personal animosity" toward Jews, but declaring them nonetheless "a danger" to his country. He raised no objections when the Germans and their collaborators began deporting Belgian Jews to their deaths.

But in the Netherlands, where thousands of Jews found haven after fleeing the Spanish and Portuguese Inquisition of the 16th century, royals not only refrained from such statements but were genuinely "interested in other faiths, including the Jewish one," Faber said.

Despite its humble appearance, The Amsterdam Jewish Historical Museum's Nieuwenhuys menorah costs more than many of the city's houses.

Wilhelmina's gifting of a menorah to her mother "isn't strange for her," Faber said. "I imagine she found it fun, something to talk about with her mother, to see together how it works." After all, "Jews have always been under the protection of the Royal House."

Except, that is, during the years 1940-45, when Queen Wilhelmina and the Royal House fled to the United Kingdom. Wilhelmina mentioned the suffering of her Jewish subjects only three times in her radio speeches to the Dutch people during five years of exile.

Whereas before the war "Jews always sought the Royal House," during and after "it appeared Wilhelmina didn't think too much about the Jews," Faber said. This was "a stain" on relations between Dutch Jews and the Royal House, which underwent a "rupture."

But this was gradually healed in the postwar years.

The fact that King Willem-Alexander, Wilhelmina's great-grandson, in 2012 gave the Nieuwenhuys menorah on an open-ended loan to the Jewish museum on its 90th anniversary "symbolizes the healing of the rupture," Faber said.
(JNS)For generations, lighting the Chanukah candles together has been the stuff that makes lifelong memories. But todays far-flung families are increasingly challenged to share the sight of the candles aglow, the sound of the blessings and traditional songs sung by old and young alike, the feel of a perfect dreidel spin, and the smell and taste of latkes fresh from the pan.

Long-distance offspring may be away at college, on a gap-year program, studying in a seminary or yeshivah, a lone soldier serving in the Israel Defense Forces, or working and living in another town, with or without kids of their own. Leaving todays parents (and grandparents, too) called upon to apply ingenuity, creativity, flexibility and some basic technical know-how to successfully span the miles with Chanukah spirit.

In fact, says The Red Tent author Anita Diamant, whos also generated a library of guidebooks on modern Jewish life, including How to Raise a Jewish Child: A Practical Handbook for Family Life, my family enjoys Chanukah kitsch so much we keep it going over the miles.

When her daughter was a college student, Diamant would send a box of Chanukah stuff as counterweight to the Christmas decorations. The stuffmenorah, gelt, candles (flame-free ones for those in dorms) can include modest (think: socks) gifts for each of the eight nights, she says, including notice that a donation was made in their name to a nonprofit organization thats meaningful to them.

Indeed, many find that Chanukah invites us to shelve our refined sensibilities for eight days. Theres no such thing as bad taste when it comes to Chanukahthe tackier, the better, according to some.

And here is where technology can be a parents best friend. Diamant recommends sending long-distance kids a light-hearted, light-themed text or email on each night complete with a holiday story and a link to a Chanukah song, plus a video of you lighting your chanukkiah at home.

Whatever form it takes, college students receiving Chanukah love from home is never more appreciated than in these days of anti-Israeland often, outright anti-Semiticinfluences on many North American campuses.

Even celebrating a happy Jewish holiday like Chanukah can get tricky on campuses today, says Tammi Rossman-Benjamin of AMCHA Initiative, a watchdog organization monitoring North American campuses. And yet, the Chanukah storyabout the few against the manyhas so much to say about the threats that Jewish students face today. We know what happened thousands of years ago on this small piece of land, which the anti-Israel forces are telling us we have no historical right to. It reminds students that, even more basic than the latkes and sufganiyot, is that this awesome story and this ancient land truly belong to them.

Lone soldiers are reliving that story daily as they protect the land and its citizens. But its not always easy on their parents multiple zones away. Chanukah is when I miss them the absolute most, and when we light, I usually cry, says Hadassah Sabo Milner, a mom of three IDF lone soldiers (one of whom just completed his service) who lives with her youngest son and husband in New York. On Chanukah, we were always singing Maoz Tzur (Rock of Ages) really badly together. And even though Im not the kind of mom who needs to talk to my kids every daythey need to live their lives without having to check in all the timewhen we light here, its the middle of the night in Israel, and I cant just pick up the phone and call.

Begin new traditions all their own

But at least college students and IDF soldiers have built-in communities to celebrate Chanukah with. For young adults working and living far from their families, it can be a lonely existence.

Thats why Rabbi Rachael Klein Miller makes it a point to host events designed just for young adults at Temple Emanu-El, a Reform congregation in Atlanta.

It might be tough to be away from home because they havent quite mastered the latke recipe, theyre putting together a makeshift menorah, or they simply miss the sounds of parents telling them to Be careful! Watch the flame! Dont let the wax drip! says Miller. But being away from home also means that theyve started to pave their own path; its a chance to share traditions from home and begin new traditions all their own.

And when they pose for a group candle-lighting photo to post on Facebook or Instagram, theres a glimpse of peoplehoodof feeling connected to the Jewish community and loving the chance to share that pride with the digital world.

Whereas young adults are celebrating beloved traditions from childhood, young children are busy forming their memories, and grandparents want to be part of that happy process.

Even when she cant be with them on the holiday, Ann Wanetik, who lives in the Detroit area, takes advantage of her visits to her eight grandchildren, all of whom happen to live in one small country in the Middle East. Whenever Im in Israel in the fall, I take each one out separately and let them choose what they want for Chanukah, she says. Its an opportunity to have some time alone with each one, focus on what that child enjoys most and buy them something special they pick out themselves.

Taking advantage of Skype and the Internet

For Boston-area grandmother Ruth Nemzoff, technology shrinks the miles between her and her long-distance grandkids. Youve got to get with the program, she says.

So Nemzoff, author of Dont Roll Your Eyes: Making In-Laws Into Family, and known as Mama Ruth to her 11 grands ages 8 months to 18 years, has developed a full program of Chanukah connections with those on the West Coast and in Washington, D.C.

No matter what, when you live at a distance you have to be resourceful in creating Chanukah with your grandchildren, but with interfaith ones, its even more important, says Nemzoff, who serves as a board member at InterfaithFamily.

Im not big on materialism, and the goal is not to compete with the gifts under the tree, but I do want to share this special tradition with them, she adds.

The Internet makes much of this possible, she maintains. Through it she uses it to send her younger grandkids Shalom Sesame DVDs and the older ones Chanukah songs, including Maccabeats Chanukah tunes. Shell send small gifts, and in this Skype-able world arrange to light the candles, open gifts and even make latkes together (doable with her West Coast family three hours away on Pacific Standard Time). Sometimes, I also email them a picture of the gift theyll get the next time we visit.

With interfaith families, its important to be both sensitive and honest, says Nemzoff. You need to talk to the parents first so they wont feel you are converting the kids or competing, but [its important to] share your familys traditions, your early memories of Chanukah and your heritage since it also belongs to them.

Sometimes, even with the best of distance-spanners, its hard to beat the appeal of a sloppy sufganyiot-flavored kiss.

We usually just get on a plane, says Baltimore bubbe Belle Libber with a sigh. Be it to the grandkids in Milwaukee, Atlanta or Israel (one daughter and family live nearby), Libber and her husband Jonathan have racked up the frequent-flyer miles. Theres nothing like being right there with them, she says.

When that isnt possible, love itself can travel at the speed of lightnamely, the light of the Chanukah menorah, says Rabbi Yisroel Gordon, principal of Machon Los Angeles, a high school for girls. One reason Chanukah makes a lot of people really homesick is the power of the menorah light itself, the only remnant we still have of the priests service in the holy temple, he says. Chanukah reminds us of the importance of family since it was one courageous Jewish family, Matisyahu and his five sons, who created this miracle and saved the Jewish people.

If I were a mystic, he adds, Id say that, gazing at the lights, you can feel that wherever they are, your child is gazing at the same lights along with you.
(JTA)-Ella, Henny, Sarah, Charlotte and Gertie. The names of the five fictional sisters bring a smile to generations of Jewish Americans who grew up reading "All-of-a-Kind Family," the classic mid-century chapter book series by Sydney Taylor that followed the day-to-day doings and adventures of a Jewish-American immigrant family on New York's Lower East Side.

The trailblazing series marked the first time that a children's book about a Jewish-American family found an audience in both Jewish and non-Jewish American homes.

Now the beloved family comes to life in "All-of-a-Kind Family Hanukkah," the first fully illustrated picture book based on the series, by Emily Jenkins and Paul O. Zelinsky. The dynamic writer-illustrator team will charm young readers with this delightful story that reflects the warmth and spirited character of the original and creates a new chapter for this generation.

It's among eight new outstanding and engaging children's books for Chanukah, the eight-day Festival of Light that begins this year on Sunday evening, Dec. 2.

"All-of-a-Kind Family Hanukkah," by Emily Jenkins & Paul O. Zelinsky;

Schwartz & Wade Books; ages 3 to 8

Jenkins, an award-winning author, grew up reading the "All-of-a-Kind" classics over and over, she told JTA.

"As an only child, I adored books about big families and their escapades," she wrote in an email.

Jenkins read the books to her children, who were just as smitten.

For this illustrated book, set on the eve of Chanukah in 1912, Jenkins focused on Gertie, the spunky 4-year-old, as the family gets ready to celebrate the holiday. Adults familiar with the chapter books will spot various references to the original, such as the ginger snaps hidden in the bed, Ella's favorite hymn and a special library book, Jenkins revealed.

Zelinsky said illustrating the Taylor classic was a chance to reconnect with the books his daughters adored. In a phone conversation, the Brooklynite, whose recognition for excellence includes the prestigious Caldecott Award for "Rapunzel," said he immersed himself in the "All-of-a-Kind" world, down to the details of what the storybook family's New York apartment looked like.

Zelinsky stepped away from his well-known finer, more detailed style and embraced bolder, less polished illustrations that he said matched Gertie's passion and reflect the soul of the stories. In one spectacular double-page spread, kids get a cutaway view of the family apartment: In the bedroom, Gertie is hiding under the bed after a tantrum while Mama and her sisters are in the adjacent kitchen joyfully preparing potato latkes.

The back pages include notes from Jenkins and Zelinsky that fill in details about Taylor and the creation of this new book.

"Dreidel Day," by Amalia Hoffman; Kar-Ben; ages 1-4

Young kids will spin, bounce and tumble their way through Chanukah along with a lively kitty in this delightful board book that glows like the colors of a box of holiday candles. Little ones can count out loud with each double-page spread that features one word and one number and discover the corresponding number of colorful dreidels.

"My Family Celebrates Hanukkah," by Lisa Bullard; illustrated by Constanza Basaluzzo; Lerner Publications; ages 4-8

This easy-to-follow illustrated story is perfect for families and classrooms. Kids learn about the Chanukah tale and the miracle of how a small amount of oil lasted eight days. Families celebrate, light candles, play dreidel, and receive chocolate and coins as gifts. The book's end pages explain the holiday and pose reading-based questions helpful for educators.

"Light the Menorah! A Hanukkah Handbook," by Jacqueline Jules; illustrated by Kristina Swarner; Kar-Ben; ages 4-10

In this contemporary guide to Chanukah, families discover unique ways to celebrate Chanukah that give deeper meaning to the ritual of lighting the menorah, as well as easy to understand explanations of the holiday. Jules, an award-winning author, offers a short verse for each of the eight nights that can be read after lighting the menorah. They reflect the holiday's themes of religious freedom, courage and miracles.

Swarner's illustrations and border designs add warmth and glow. Songs, rules for playing dreidel and instructions for simple crafts such as a homemade coupon gift book make this book a welcome resource.

"Hannah's Hanukkah Hiccups," by Shanna Silva; illustrated by Bob McMahon; Apples & Honey Press; ages 4-8

Uh, oh. Or make that Uh-hic-oh! Hannah Hope Hartman, a spunky young girl who lives in a brownstone on Hester Street, is practicing for her religious school's Chanukah program when she suddenly gets a case of the hiccups-and they just won't go away! Her brother Henry tries to cure her by making funny faces. The building's diverse neighbors offer their own customs: drinking pickle juice backwards; a Mexican red string cure and cardamom cookies.

Kids will relate to Hannah, who doesn't want to be in the school program with the hiccups and finds a creative solution.

Silva's heartwarming story and the play on words that begin with the letter 'h" is perfectly paired with McMahon's cartoon-like illustrations in this lively, laugh-out-loud yarn that shines with the light of a family's "Hanukkah" celebration.

"How It's Made: Hanukkah Menorah," by Allison Ofanansky; Photographs by Eliyahu Alpern; Apples & Honey Press; ages 7-12

Family members of all ages will gather round this engaging book, which shines a light on all things menorah. The 32 pages of Ofanansky's text, brought to life by Alpern's vibrant photographs, explain the holiday and explore the many types of menorahs from antiques to creative whimsical versions. Kids go behind the scenes with menorah-making artists.

A fun fact reveals that one Israeli bakery fries and bakes 2,000 doughnuts for each day of Hanukkah. Gifts, songs and blessings in Hebrew, English and transliterated from Hebrew are also included along with instructions for making candles, olive oil and latkes.

"The Story of Hanukkah,"by David A. Adler, illustrated by Jill Weber; Holiday House; Board book, ages 2-4

In this vibrantly illustrated board book, the award-winning David Adler retells the story of Hanukkah in simple, straightforward prose for young readers, paired with richly colored bold illustrations by Weber, the team that wrote the original (2011) version for older kids. The end depicts a modern family celebrating Chanukah.

"Light the Menorah: A Playful Action Rhyme," by Tova Gitty Broide; illustrated by Patti Argoff; Hachai Publishing; ages 1-4

This lively rhyming book features two young brothers and a sister from a haredi Orthodox family joyfully celebrating Chanukah, with latkes hopping in the frying pan and the sister spinning like a dreidel.
JERUSALEM (JTA)Airbnb will remove listings of rooms and homes for rent in West Bank Jewish settlements, the company announced Monday.

The approximately 200 listings would be removed in the coming days, the company said.

Airbnb said in a statement that it consulted with experts to learn about the historical disputes in the region in order to make a decision about whether it should be doing business in the occupied territories. The statement did not say which experts it consulted.

The company arrived at a framework for evaluating how to treat listings in occupied territories that included assessing any potential safety risks for hosts and guests; evaluating whether the existence of listings is contributing to existing human suffering; and determining whether the existence of listings in the occupied territory has a direct connection to the larger dispute in the region.

We concluded that we should remove listings in Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank that are at the core of the dispute between Israelis and Palestinians, a statement on the Airbnb website said.

Our hope is that someday sooner rather than later, a framework is put in place where the entire global community is aligned so there will be a resolution to this historic conflict and a clear path forward for everybody to follow, the statement said.

Israels tourism minister, Yariv Levin, called the decision discriminatory as well as disgraceful and miserable, according to a statement issued by his office.

Levin ordered his office to formulate immediate measures to limit the companys activity throughout the country, the statement said. He also instructed his ministry to develop and implement a program to encourage tourism and boost vacation apartments in the West Bank.

Arvind Ganesan, the business and human rights director at Human Rights Watch, praised the Airbnb decision.

Airbnbs decision to end its listings in Israeli settlements is an important recognition that such listings cant square with its human rights responsibilities, he said in a statement. For two years, Human Rights Watch has spoken with Airbnb about their brokering of rentals in West Bank settlements that are illegal under international humanitarian law and for which Palestinian ID holders are effectively barred from entering, and are issuing a report about this tomorrow. We urge other companies to follow suit.

Airbnb operates in 191 countries and regions and more than 81,000 cities.
Harris Rosen, the veteran hotelier whose visionary philanthropic efforts have transformed the lives of countless Central Florida residents for decades, recently was honored for Lifetime Achievement in the Orlando Business Journal's inaugural Diversity in Business Awards.

During an Oct. 26 event at the Hilton Orlando, the prestigious business publication saluted Rosen as the first recipient of an award for individuals "who have devoted a major portion of their professional lives to enhancing the practice of equality and diversity, making significant, innovative and cumulatively outstanding contributions to the cause."

In a career spanning more than half a century, Rosen has made it his mission to enhance the quality of life of his neighbors, his city and the hospitality industry. For decades, his namesake foundation has contributed millions of dollars to create and support educational and youth-benefiting programs and scholarships in underserved Orlando communities.

"Harris Rosen has been a philanthropy powerhouse in Central Florida for decades now, giving back to the community in which he built his own business success," said Orlando Business Journal Editor Cindy Barth. "The difference he has made in the lives of children in the Tangelo Park and Parramore communities is a direct result of the educational opportunities they now have thanks to Mr. Rosen's efforts. His willingness to help these neighborhood areas will have long-lasting results for the Central Florida region for many years to come."

Rosen currently serves as president and chief operating officer of Rosen Hotels & Resorts, the largest privately owned hotel company in Florida. A native of Manhattan's Lower East Side, Rosen launched the Orlando firm in 1974 with the purchase of his first hotel on International Drive and has managed its growth into a portfolio of nine world-class properties encompassing more than 6,694 guestrooms.

He established The Harris Rosen Foundation to identify, develop and manage numerous wide-ranging philanthropic initiatives under his direction. In 1993, the organization embarked on its first project, a bold effort to improve educational opportunities for children in Orlando's Tangelo Park neighborhood, a program that has received national acclaim and one that continues today.

The ambitious initiative offers free preschool for all 2-, 3- and 4-year old children and an all-expenses-paid education (including tuition, books, room and board) to every Tangelo Park high school graduate accepted to a trade school, community college or four-year public college in Florida. Its success later guided the creation of a similar, five times larger program that launched in 2016 in Orlando's Parramore neighborhood, promising the same all-expenses-paid education for resident youth who graduate high school. The Parramore program also includes the Rosen Preschool at the OCPS Academic Center for Excellence, where Rosen pays the annual salaries for the school's 48 teachers, teachers' aides and directors.

"I am very humbled by this honor," Rosen said in acknowledging the publication's award. "It reflects the ongoing work of not just myself but of the many men and women who have accompanied me on the journey to offer hope to some of our underserved communities. Thank you to the Orlando Business Journal for celebrating these efforts."
(Israel21c via JNS)Israeli NGO, IsraAID, is sending an emergency response team to California to help communities affected by the unprecedented fires that have killed 80 and destroyed more than 13,000 homes and buildings. Some 1,200 people are still listed as missing.

The two blazes broke out 10 days ago in both Northern and Southern California, and quickly spiraled out of control. The Camp Fire, which wiped out the town of Paradise in Butte County (population 27,000), is already the deadliest and most destructive fire in California history, torching an area the size of Chicago.

The Woolsey fire has burned nearly 100,000 acres in southern California near the border of Ventura and Los Angeles counties.

After a request from local communities, IsraAID is to conduct a needs assessment of the population in affected areas, promote community resilience and recovery, and distribute relief items to families currently staying in temporary accommodation after losing their homes in the fires.

Yotam Polizer, co-CEO of IsraAID, told ISRAEL21c that a team of four Israelis have already flown out to California, and plan to set up operations in Chico, where many evacuees are now living in tent cities, shelters and even sleeping in their cars.

Weve seen a lot of disaster zones over the years, but this is a whole different level of devastation. Everything has been burned to the ground, and there are so many people still missing, said Polizer, who has just returned from California.

The search and rescue teams arent looking for survivors; they are looking for remains. From a psychological perspective, its on a whole different scale. When we talk to local people we see they are getting support, but theres very little psycho-social support there. Thats where we are planning to focus our efforts, he said.

IsraAIDs team will include Israeli and U.S.-based mental-health specialists, who will work with partner organizations on-the-ground to support affected communities as they recover and promote community resilience.

We were devastated by the tragedy of these fires in California, said Polizer. Its a place very close to our hearts. We have an office there, lots of staff members and volunteers. A lot of local people asked that we come and help. We are planning to be there to support the people as long as we are needed.

This is not the first time that IsraAID has sent aid in the wake of deadly fires in California. In October last year, a team of seven aid workers, including Polizer, helped out in evacuation centers in Napa Valley, after a series of wildfires swept the state killing 44, causing $14.5 billion in damages, and forcing 90,000 people to evacuate.

The Israeli team were stationed in Santa Rosa, Calif., and assisted in coordinating and providing relief supplies and stress management to the affected community.

Even today, IsraAID continues to work with the community there to help them build resilience.

IsraAID has extensive experience responding to disasters in the United States and all over the world.

This year alone, the organization provided aid to victims in Florida in the wake of Hurricane Michael, North Carolina, after Hurricane Florence, to the Philippines, Indonesia, India, Kenya and to Guatemala after the volcano.
(JTA)More than 2,000 handmade Stars of David were hung throughout Pittsburgh.

The stars, created by more than 1,000 volunteers from around the world, were hung on Saturday by 40 volunteers. Each starsome crocheted, some made with leatherhad a heart in the center.

The stars were the brainchild of Hinda Mandell and Ellen Dominus Broude, who created the Facebook page Jewish Hearts from Pittsburgh in response to the attack at the Tree of Life synagogue building in the Squirrel Hill neighborhood that left 11 worshippers dead.

The page called for donations of handcrafted stars to help strengthen the community in the wake of the tragedy.

On Oct. 28, Mandell on her own Facebook page provided patterns for knitters, suggested sizes and colors and deadlines of what she calls Jewish Hearts. On Oct. 30 she and Broude set up the Jewish Hearts from Pittsburgh page

The women, both from New York, opened a post office box to receive the stars. They arrived from 12 countries, including New Zealand and Qatar, according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

Stars were sent by Catholic school children from Little Rock, Ark., students from a Hebrew school in London, residents of Parkland Fla, a survivor of the Columbine High School shooting in Colorado and a Quaker woman from Pueblo, Colo., according to the newspaper.

Three weeks ago, I met Ellen Dominus Broude online and we created Jewish Hearts for Pittsburgh. Today, with a team of volunteers, they are installing 2,000 hearts around Pittsburgh. More than 1,000 volunteers from Qatar to California poured their love into their crafted, collaged, painted and crocheted Jewish Hearts. Ellen spent the past week bagging and tagging these creations, and archiving the notes that arrived in the mail, Mandell wrote in a post on her personal Facebook pate.

Mandell, an associate professor of communications at Rochester Institute of Technology in Rochester, N.Y. is a former Boston Globe journalist, according to the Post-Gazette. She is editing an anthology titled Crafting Dissent: Handicraft as Protest from the American Revolution to the Pussyhats.

Broude supervised the hanging of the stars. Her daughter Emily, a senior at Carnegie Mellon University, lives in Squirrel Hill and in previous years taught musical prayers and songs at Tree of Lifes religious school on the weekends, according to the Post-Gazette.

The group reportedly will accept more stars and hang them after Thanksgiving.
With the rise of nationalist sentiment in many parts of Europe, Jewish communities here are facing renewed threats and challenges. Against a backdrop of rising concern about the political climate in Eastern Europe, Warsaws Reform Rabbi Dr. Walter Rothschild will lead an international group of travelers on a Jewish heritage tour of Poland this coming spring, culminating in the March of the Living on May 2, 2019.

Established in 1988, the annual March of the Living is a symbolic walk from Auschwitz to Birkenau on Yom HaShoah, Holocaust Remembrance Day. Jews from around the world come together in this act of commemoration, defiantly demonstrating the perseverance of Judaism in the face of past and current struggles.

Rabbi Rothschilds journey of discovery invites participants to revisit a millennium of Jewish history in Poland. Once a booming center of Jewish culture, Polands Jewish community is currently experiencing a renaissance. The tour, titled Explore Poland 2019: A Millennium of Jewish Heritage, is intended to reveal not only the depths of devastation in Polands Jewish past, but also the heights of joy inherent in the countrys Jewish rebirth.

In some respects it is still a new country born from a traumatic past and a new liberation less than thirty years ago. So, there is a lot to explore and a lot to think about. We wont do it all, but we will make a start, said Rothschild

The tour begins on April 28, 2019 in Warsaw, Poland, and ends on May 5, 2019 in Krakow, Poland.

Explore Poland 2019 is organized by Milk & Honey Tours, a tour operator based in Berlin, Germany. Founded in 2001, Milk & Honey Tours is specialized in Jewish heritage tours in Europe and beyond. True to the companys mission, this tour aims to promote understanding and strengthen ties among Jews from around the world.

A limited number of places are still available for additional participants.

Contact Milk & Honey Tours: groups@milkandhoneytours.com

http://www.milkandhoneytours.com/poland-2019.
(JNS)With Florida Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson conceding his re-election bid on Nov. 18 to Republican Gov. Rick Scott, the state will have its first Jewish governor on an interim basis for five days when Scott is sworn into the Senate on Jan. 3, 2019.

Lt. Gov. Carlos Lopez-Cantera, a Republican who will also become the Sunshine States first Cuban-American governor when Scott becomes senator until former Florida Rep. Ron DeSantis, a fellow Republican who defeated Democratic Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Gillum in a contentious race, is sworn in as governor on Jan. 8, 2019.

Theoretically, Scott could delay being sworn in as a senator, but that risks his seniority in the Senate, placing him in a tier below every other senator elected this fall, instead of on equal footing with them, according to The Capitolist.

Lopez-Canterawhose wife, Renee, and mother are Jewish, while his father is Catholichad a bar mitzvah at the Western Wall in 2016 and put on tefillin two years beforehand as Republican Majority Leader.

Now, you may not have known this from my name, Lopez-Cantera, but Im Jewish, he said at a ceremonial signing of Floridas anti-BDS bill in 2016. My father came from Cuba, but he married a nice Jewish girl in Miami, and I followed suit and married a nice Jewish girl in Miami as well... We keep a Jewish household and are raising our daughters Jewish.

Nearly 650,000 Jews reside in Floridathe majority in Southeast Floridarepresenting about 3.4 percent of the states population.
(JTA)A 181-year-old rule banning Congress members from wearing hats of any kind could be overturned in order to accommodate a newly elected Muslim lawmaker who wears a headscarf called a hijab.

Some Jewish groups are supporting her efforts, which would enable Jewish lawmakers to wear a kippah.

Ilhan Omar, a Minnesota Democrat who won election this month, is a co-author of the proposal. She became one of the first two Muslim women to be elected to the House of Representatives. Rashida Tlaib, who was elected to serve in Congress from the Detroit area, does not wear a head covering.

Born in Somalia, Omar came to the United States as a refugee.

No one puts a scarf on my head but me, she wrote over the weekend on her Twitter account. Its my choiceone protected by the first amendment. And this is not the last ban Im going to work to lift.

The rule change would be part of a larger reform package. It has received the backing of Reps. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., the senior Democrat in the House of Representatives and its likely speaker, and Rep. Jim McGovern, D-Mass., the incoming rules chairman.

Though Omar has come under fire for saying since the election that she supports the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement targeting Israelafter saying during her campaign that it was counteractive and prevents dialoguesome Jewish groups are backing her proposal. They include the Orthodox Union and Agudath Israel, both Orthodox groups.

The O.U. has long supported laws and policies that foster the accommodation of religious practices in the workplace, Nathan Diament, executive director of the Orthodox Unions Advocacy Center, told Jewish Insider. Religious practices such as wearing religious garb, whether a kippah or a hijab, should be accommodated in all workplaces, including Congress.

Avi Shafran, director of public affairs at the haredi Orthodox Agudath Israel, told Jewish Insider: Just as we would want a Jewish congressman to be able to wear a yarmulke in chamber, we would want a Muslim or Sikh representative to be able to hew to his or her religious convictions. That said, relaxing the rules on hats in general, where religious rights arent at issue, is not something we have any position on.

Rep. Frederica Wilson, D-Fla., who has served since 2010, has a collection of sequined cowboy hats that she has argued, unsuccessfully, she should be allowed to wear while at work in Congress.
The world was taken by surprised with the announcement that Nikki Haley, the U.S. Ambassador to the U.N., will be resigning at the end of the year. The pro-Israel diplomat, dubbed Hurricane Haley by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for her strong defense of the Jewish state, viewed standing up to the U.N.s anti-Israel bias and defending moving the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem among her main achievements in her diplomatic posting.

The outspoken pro-Israel diplomat will be sorely missed.

Here is a selection of some her most memorable quotes.

The days of Israel-bashing are overFor anyone who says you cant get anything done at the U.N., they need to know there is a new sheriff in town.

I wear heels. Its not for a fashion statement. Its because if I see something wrong, were going to kick em every single time.

I have seen so many similarities between the Israeli culture and the Indian culture. Were very close-knit. We love our families. We have a strong work ethic. We believe in professionalism and philanthropy and giving back. Its very true. So thats all the good things. Were aggressive. Were stubborn. And we dont back down from a fight.AIPAC Policy Conference, March 2017

I encourage people to find and use the power of their voices just as much when I do not agree with those voices as when I do agree with them.

All Ive done with Israel is tell the truth. So when I saw something wrong, I called it out.

The people of Iran are crying out for freedom... All freedom-loving people must stand with their cause.Aljazeera, Jan. 3, 2018

Israel has been forced to live under constant security threats like virtually no other country in the world. It should not have to live that way. And yet, Israel has overcome those burdens. It is a thriving country, with a vibrant economy that contributes much to the world in the name of technology, science, and the arts.U.N. Security Council session, February 2018

I went to Israel [in June 2017] to see firsthand the country the United Nations spends half its time on. Unfortunately, Im not kiddingits ridiculous. It seems like the rough breakdown at the U.N. is half the time on Israel and half the time on the other 192 countries.Israeli-American Council, November 2017

Ive often wondered why, in the face of such hostility, Israel has chosen to remain a member of this body. And then I remember that Israel has chosen to remain in this institution because its important to stand up for yourself. Israel must stand up for its own survival as a nation; but it also stands up for the ideals of freedom and human dignity that the United Nations is supposed to be about.Ahead of Security Council session on U.S. recognition of Jerusalem as Israels capital, December 2017

The Security Council is supposed to discuss how to maintain international peace and security. But at our meeting on the Middle East, the discussion was not about Hezbollahs illegal build-up of rockets in Lebanon. It was not about the money and weapons Iran provides to terrorists. It was not about how we defeat ISIS. It was not about how we hold [Syrian President] Bashar Assad accountable for the slaughter of hundreds and thousands of civilians. No, instead, the meeting focused on criticizing Israel, the one true democracy in the Middle East.Press conference after attending first Security Council meeting, February 2017

Nowhere has the U.N.s failure been more consistent and more outrageous than in its bias against our close ally Israel.Senate Confirmation Hearing, January 2017

We will not tolerate a situation that a world body of 198 countries can spend half their time attacking one country: Israel. What used to be a monthly Israel-bashing session now at least has more balance. But were never gonna put up with bullying.AIPAC Policy Conference, March 2018

Freedom and human dignity cannot be separated from peace and security. When the rights of the people are denied, the people rightly resist. If the concerns are not acknowledged, then peace and security are inevitably threatened. We have seen that repeatedly throughout human history. The case of Syria provides a horrible recent testament to this fact.Emergency U.N. Security Council Briefing on Iran, January 5, 2018

The capital should be Jerusalem and the embassy should be moved to Jerusalem, because [Israels] government is in Jerusalem. So much of what goes on is in Jerusalem. We have to see that for what it is.Interview on Christian Broadcasting Network, May 2017.
It takes very special people to devote themselves to befriending and uplifting seniors in living facilities who might otherwise be forgotten, and Judy Suberman and Susan Bernstein are two of those people. They will be recognized at this year's JP Connections, the Jewish Pavilion's annual luncheon and holiday bazaar for volunteers and members.

Suberman grew up in Orlando, and her way of connecting with seniors began at an early age. Her mother's mom, who at a relatively young age had suffered a major stroke that made walking and talking difficult, moved to town and was an important part of her family life. Through her frequent interactions with her grandmother and paternal grandparents, Suberman learned the importance of being patient and accepting seniors as they are, which served her well when her mother was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease and became increasingly infirm.

Her mom eventually moved to the memory care wing of what was then known as Heritage, now called Atria Park of Lake Forest in Sanford. Suberman visited regularly and felt very strongly that her mom's essence remained, even when she could no longer communicate. A characteristic gesture or a light pat on Suberman's shoulder would reassure her daughter that the mother she loved was present.

Suberman frequently brought her mother to participate in Jewish Pavilion programs at her building and began volunteering to help out. For about five years, she led monthly Shabbat services with Jerry Leibman, whose mother, Sally, lived in a different wing of the facility. She often brought her two children, Rachel and Jacob, who are now young adults. Suberman's beloved father had passed away in 2006, about seven years after his wife's diagnosis, and her mother followed him in 2011.

After taking a year off following her mother's death, Suberman returned to visiting at Atria and helping with Jewish Pavilion programming. Her many years of connecting with seniors gave her a sense of familiarity and purpose at Atria. "It was just part of my life," Suberman said. She became particularly close to one of the residents, who died this year. "I called her my new mom," she said.

It turns out that Suberman has had several "new moms" over the years. She is careful to ask them first if she can call them that-it's her way to signal a feeling of closeness and companionship. One joked that Suberman was welcome to call her that "as long as you're not asking me for money!"

Suberman makes individual visits to some of the seniors a few times a month and also leads programs at Atria and Spring Hills Lake Mary, where one of her "moms" moved several years ago.

One program at Spring Hills is called History with Judy. It evolved from Suberman's visits to her friend, during which she often accompanied her to the facility's activities. Often, these involved discussions on a variety of topics, to which Suberman contributed her own perspective. The activities staff soon asked her to design her own program, which became the monthly history series she now leads.

Suberman devotes significant time to researching and preparing for the monthly History with Judy programs, and they are popular with residents. If there is a Jewish holiday that month, she takes some time to explain and celebrate it. The population in any seniors' facility fluctuates, and at Spring Hill right now there are few Jewish residents. But Suberman has formed close relationships with a number of the non-Jewish residents who attend her programs, including one who had worked in a synagogue as a non-Jew and wears his kippah when Suberman visits, greeting her affectionately with "Shalom." Suberman's presentations of Jewish practice excite lively interest from her non-Jewish attendees. "I love it when people ask questions about being Jewish," said Suberman.

The History with Judy programs draw between 15 and 25 residents each month, many of them regulars. "We have a good time," said Suberman. "It's fun!"

Suberman's name has come up as a potential Jewish Pavilion honoree a number of times, but she tends to make light of her contributions. She accepted the honor this time when it occurred to her that it would be inspiring for her children to see their mom being honored for her service.

"I keep trying to tell people that I do this for me and that I'm very selfish about it," Suberman laughed, "but nobody wants to believe me."

Co-honoree Susan Bernstein led Shabbat services and holiday programs for the Jewish Pavilion at a number of senior living facilities around town for more than three years before accepting the job of program director for the Pavilion's Longwood, Lake Mary and Sanford programs in late summer. She began her association with the Pavilion when she was congregational life coordinator for Temple Israel, bringing groups of students to a Longwood seniors' residence to sing, tell stories, and sit and talk with the residents.

Bernstein soon began volunteering regularly at other locations, bringing years of experience as a Jewish educator and a wide knowledge of Jewish religion and culture. With a guitar and other instruments in tow, Bernstein leads programs that are fun and engaging-and always educational. The seniors she serves respond to her friendly warmth and sing along with her in prayer and song. Sometimes she hands out small rhythm instruments, welcoming the seniors into her "band."

Bernstein's years as a volunteer were an asset in her transition as a Pavilion program director. "A large part of the duties of program director is similar to those of our volunteers," she said. "Both positions are charged to meet the goals of the Jewish Pavilion's mission: building relationships with Jewish seniors in Central Florida and bringing Jewish programs and celebrating Jewish holidays for those who are unable to attend synagogue services or participate in Jewish life in town."

Shown here (l-r): Abby Drucker, Judy Suberman and Dulce Semmel.

The Friends of the Jewish Pavilion chose Bernstein as one of the JP Connections honorees several months before she was hired and agreed strongly that her new status did nothing to alter the impact of her time as a volunteer. "I am honored," said Bernstein. "I recognize the importance of having one's efforts appreciated, as I work with so many who give of their time graciously."

JP Connections will be held at Hilton Orlando North, 350 Northlake Boulevard, Altamonte Springs, on Thursday, Dec. 6, at 11 a.m. The annual event is a fun afternoon of lunch, schmoozing and shopping as vendors sell fabulous gift items just in time for Chanukah and Christmas. Members, volunteers and the wider community are warmly welcomed with a minimum annual membership pledge of $36. The couvert for the luncheon is $28. For more information or to make a reservation, contact the Jewish Pavilion at 407-678-9363 or nancyludin@jewishpavilion.org.
Man tries to run down Jews leaving Los Angeles synagogue

(JTA)Los Angeles police arrested a man who allegedly attempted to run over two people outside of an area synagogue.

Police are investigating Friday nights incident as a possible hate crime, the NBC Los Angeles affiliate reported.

A security camera video shows the driver trying to run down the two men leaving the Bais Yehuda Shul, and then reversing and trying to hit them again, CBS LA reported. The victims wore clothing typically worn by Orthodox Jews on Shabbat. The driver also reportedly shouted anti-Semitic epithets at them. He was stopped when his car ran a stop sign and slammed into another vehicle.

Why he chose us? Probably because of the yarmulkes on our heads, one of the victims told CBS.

The alleged attacker has been identified as Mohammed Mohammed, 32. He was held on $55,000 bail and charged with assault with a deadly weapon with a vehicle.

US not delaying peace plan over Israeli government turmoil

(JTA)The U.S. ambassador to Israel, David Friedman, denied reports that the Trump administration is delaying the rollout of its peace plan due to the recent upheaval in Israels government.

Friedman also called reports about a high-level meeting last week that included President Donald Trump to discuss the timing of the peace plan wildly inaccurate in a statement released Monday that was posted to the U.S. Embassy in Israels website.

Those in attendance at last weeks Oval Office meeting with Trump included Friedman, Jared Kushner and Jason Greenblattthe administrations team assembling the peace planas well as Vice President Mike Pence, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and National Security Adviser John Bolton, according to the statement. Friedman called it a very productive meeting.

I would like to reaffirm that the United States remains committed to sharing its vision for peace with Israel, the Palestinians and other regional and international stakeholders at the appropriate time, Friedman said in the statement.

Our timing, our strategy and our messaging is and will be entirely our own. We intend to release the Presidents vision when the Administration concludes that we have maximized its potential for acceptance, execution and implementation.

U.S. officials are said to be concerned about releasing a peace plan during an election season in Israel. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahus government coalition currently has a narrow one-seat majority following the defection of the Yisrael Beiteinu party led by Avigdor Liberman, who stepped down as defense minister over a cease-fire with Palestinian terrorist groups firing rockets into southern Israel.

Friedman said he, Kushner and Greenblatt are of one mind in terms of how best to proceed.

Those anonymous experts who purport to speak for the Administration on this issue are ill informed and mistaken, he said.

The Trump administration has never given a hard date for the announcement of the peace plan, though Trump said earlier this year that he hoped to release it early next year. The Palestinians have already said they would reject the plan, though no details about it have been made publicly available.

El Al to compensate all 400 passengers aboard flight diverted for Jewish Sabbath

JERUSALEM (JTA)El Al will compensate the 400 passengers on the Tel Aviv-bound flight that was forced to divert in order to allow Sabbath-observant passengers to get off the plane.

Each passenger will receive a free round-trip ticket to the European destination of their choice, the airline announced Monday.

The airline also issued a clarification of a previous statement about violence toward the flight crew on the plane in order to stave off a threatened boycott of the airline by the haredi Orthodox community.

The flight, which left New York more than five hours late on Nov. 15, was diverted midflight to Athens, where the Shabbat observers disembarked and spent Saturday in a hotel near the airport. The rest of the passengers boarded an Israir plane several hours later and returned to Tel Aviv, since El Al does not fly on the Sabbath.

The flight had been delayed due to bad weather and was racing the clock to reach Israel before the start of the Sabbath. Dozens of passengers had demanded that the plane return to the gate at John F. Kennedy International Airport so they could disembark, but instead the plane took off.

Several accounts on social media and in blog posts have offered differing accounts of what occurred on the flight. It is unclear whether passengers, both religious and non-Sabbath observant, were violent toward the crew

The new statement said that similar to the clarification on November 19, the company did not place blame on the secular, religious or haredi Orthodox communities for the reported events.

Any statement to the contrary was not done with the knowledge of El Al, the statement said, adding that El Al does not distinguish between its customers on the basis of sector, gender, or nationality.

The statement also said that the El Al management supports and appreciates the flight and ground crews who worked on this flight in an admirable manner.

On Monday, shortly after the release of the statement, Rabbi Shalom Ber Sorotzkin, who had been on the flight and threatened El Al CEO Gonen Ussishkin with the boycott if he did not apologize to the haredi community for saying they were violent on the flight, reportedly was seen boarding an El Al flight.

Sorotzkin, the head of the Beit Shemesh-based Ateres Shlomo yeshiva network, on Sunday afternoon had publicly cut up his El Al frequent flier card at Ben Gurion Airport.

Meanwhile, a security official for El Al, a former Shin Bet official, and two others were arrested Monday on suspicion of smuggling large amounts of cocaine into Israel on El Al planes as part of an international drug-smuggling network. It was described during a court hearing on Wednesday as a large and wide-ranging affair, The Times of Israel reported.

3 Israeli soldiers injured in alleged car-ramming attack in West Bank

JERUSALEM (JTA)Three Israeli soldiers were injured in a suspected car-ramming attack in the West Bank.

The incident Monday morning took place near the Karmei Tzur settlement located south of the Gush Etzion Junction, which has been the site of many such attacks.

One soldier suffered a head injury; the other two were lightly wounded. They were treated at the scene before being evacuated to hospitals in Jerusalem.

A fourth soldier at the scene shot the Palestinian driver and successfully neutralized the terrorist before anyone else was hurt, the Israeli army spokesman said.

The Palestinian Maan news agency reported that the driver, identified as Ramzi Abu Yabes, a resident of the Dheisheh refugee camp, was killed by the soldiers bullet. The report said his wife also was in the car and was injured.

Soros foundation pulls out of Turkey after criticism from Erdogan

(JTA)The foundation financed by Jewish billionaire philanthropist George Soros is pulling out of Turkey, days after the countrys president accused Soros of trying to divide and tear up nations.

The Open Society Foundations announced Monday it would cease operations in Turkey, saying that the baseless claims against it made it impossible to continue its work promoting democracy.

On Wednesday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan accused Soros of providing assistance to jailed Turkish activist Osman Kavala, who is charged with attempts to overthrow the government.

In his speech to local officials, Erdogan referred to him as the famous Hungarian Jew Soros, and said that he sends people across the world to divide and tear up nations and uses the large amount of money he possesses to this effect.

Soros support for liberal and pro-democracy forces has led to accusations that he is working to undermined elected governments in his native Hungary and is the force behind grassroots protests in the United States, his adopted country. Many observers say the criticism of Soros often plays on classic anti-Semitic tropes of secretive global control. The Hungarian government launched an ad campaign against Soros last year, which also prompted concerns about anti-Semitism.

The foundation pulled out of Hungary earlier this year.

More recently an investigation found that a Republican-led opposition research company hired by Facebook tried to discredit critics of the social media giant by linking them to Soros. After letting the firm go, Facebook leaders Mark Zuckerberg and Sheryl Sandberg both issued statements denouncing anti-Semitism.

Wisconsin high school students will not be punished over Nazi salute photo

(JTA)The Wisconsin high school students who made what appears to be a Nazi salute in a junior prom photo will not be punished due to their First Amendment rights.

The Baraboo School District is not in a position to punish the students for their actions because of their First Amendment rights, the school district superintendent, Lori Mueller, said in a letter sent last week to parents.

The contents of the letter first appeared in the Baraboo News Republic, and later was reported by the New York Times.

As previously stated, we cannot know the intentions in the hearts of those who were involved, Ms. Mueller wrote in the letter, adding: Despite our efforts, we are still unclear about some key details.

The school announced more than a week ago that it would launch an investigation into the incident, which took place before the junior prom last spring. The school district was assisted in its investigation by the Baraboo Police Department.

The photo was taken in the spring and involves about 50 students. It was posted originally in a private online album tagged #BarabooProud. It was taken by the parent of a student in the class, Peter Gust, who was not hired as a photographer by the school district that night. The photo also was not taken on school property but instead in front of the Sauk County Courthouse in Baraboo.

The school district is holding a series of four meetings on the topic of the photo and white supremacy.

City of Beverly Hills urges Airbnb boycott over ending West Bank rentals

(JTA)The City Council in Beverly Hills, California, unanimously passed a resolution condemning Airbnbs decision to remove listings of rentals in Israeli settlements in the West Bank and is encouraging a boycott of the web service.

The resolution passed last week said Airbnbs decision demonstrates hatred, prejudice, ignorance and hypocrisy. It also said Airbnbs actions are antithetical to the values that we hold dear in Beverly Hills, adding that prejudice and discrimination based on religion have no place in our community, country and world.

The resolution noted that the City of Beverly Hills opposes Airbnbs discriminatory decision to remove all listings in Jewish settlements in the West Bank, and calls on Airbnb to correct this act of disrespect to the land of Israel and restore its original services immediately.

The resolution concludes that if Airbnb does not change its decision, we call upon all civilized people across the globe to boycott Airbnb until such time as they desist from these despicable anti-Semitic actions.

Airbnb announced on Nov. 19 that it would remove the listings of some 200 rooms and homes for rent in West Bank Jewish settlements.

We find the actions of Airbnb deplorable, Mayor Julian Gold said in a statement issued by the city. On behalf of our residents, this unanimous resolution reflects the City Councils ongoing commitment to Israel and to exposing hatred anywhere it exists.

The statement also included Vice Mayor John Mirisch saying that Airbnb is not welcome in Beverly Hills as long as its policies are based on anti-Jewish double standards. Jew hatred is a disease. We can try to inoculate others against this malady but we also must protect ourselves against its effects.

German man, 95, charged as accessory to murder of more than 36,000 at concentration camp

(JTA)A 95-year-old German man has been charged with being an accessory to more than 36,000 murders when he allegedly served as a guard at the Mauthausen concentration camp.

Berlin prosecutors confirmed on Friday that the man, identified as Hans Werner H. due to privacy regulations, is accused of serving as an SS guard at the Nazi camp in 1944 and 1945, The Associated Press reported. The camp was located in northern Austria.

More than 36,000 people were killed at Mauthausen during the time he served at the camp. He is not accused of a specific killing, however.

The 2011 conviction in Munich of former concentration camp guard John Demjanjuk as an accomplice in the murders of nearly 30,000 Jews in the Sobibor death camp in Poland set a precedent in that being a guard at a death camp was sufficient to prove complicity in murder.

German prosecutor Martin Steltner told AP that the man is alleged to have known about the various methods of killing as well as the disastrous living conditions of the imprisoned people.

A court must determine if the man is fit for trial before it can proceed.

Earlier this month, former Nazi SS guard Johann Rehbogen, now 94, went on trial for being complicit in the mass murders of several hundred prisoners at the Stutthof concentration camp. Rehbogen, who uses a wheelchair and is in declining health, was younger than 21 when he worked at the camp between 1942 and 1944 and thus is being tried in a juvenile court in the western German city of Munster.
I was born into what was known as the Sha, Still generation. Jews, who had been in the U.S. since long before the Declaration of Independence, still did not want to call attention to themselves in the 1930s.

The fear of a backlash and stronger displays of anti-Semitism if Jews became too visible, too successful, was the order of the day. Lynchings were still taking place (the last one in Central Florida was in 1941). A Catholic priest by the name of Father Choughlin was preaching anti-Semitism on hundreds of radio stations. As we have pointed out before, there were quotas on Jews at law schools and medical colleges.

Even during the war when it became apparent that there was indeed a Holocaust going on in Europe, American Jews for the most part were silent. A personal plea to President Roosevelt to bomb the tracks leading to Auschwitz was ignored. It was said that he confided to one of his intimates: Can you imagine what would happen if one of our boys got shot down while saving Jews?

It took the end of the war when the stories became realities seen on movie screens in America to mobilize the Jewish community to action. Jews became somewhat emboldened. Israel declared its independence. Lawsuits and political action brought an end to quotas at universities. But still, under the surface, in whispers and in actual practice the spector of anti-Semitism stayed with us.

More rampant in the South, of course, less subtle there than in the dignified club rooms of the North, still, it lived. In recent years, with the Muslim world chanting its Death to the Jewsalong with Death to most other things, anti-Semitism found new traction and was reflected in the clandestine world of extremist groups in the U.S. and Europe.

The new world of Social Media let all the loonies of the world have a forum to blast their hate to a willing audience. For the most part, anti-Semitism is no longer prevalent in country clubs, executive offices and in college administrations.

However, that fringe element breathes just below the surface. Hate is alive. There is ample evidence that in the past year or so, this nation has become less civil, less polite, less gentle.

We are the most gun-violent nation on earth. All of the mass killings in our nation have been executed by gunsmany designed solely for military use but available to the public. Background checks in most of this nation are a joke.

So, when yet another mass killing by gunfire happens, the anti-gun faction rightly calls it out for what it is.

But.

The death of eleven people in Pittsburgh last month was not yet another act of gun violence. No. It was a deliberate and deadly attack on the Jewish community. It was a seemingly sane person walking into a synagogue solely to kill Jews. He said so as he pulled the trigger numerous times.

When he was brought into court, he pleaded not guilty. Not guilty? The most probable explanation is that in his mind, killing Jews is not a crime. The city of Pittsburgh understands this. The headline in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette got it right. It was the first words of the Kaddish printed in Hebrew.

Attacks on Jews in the world are headed for an all-time high since the Holocaust.

Statistics are neutral. They have no soul. But when names of the dead are read, statistics become people. Dont put the dead in the Pittsburgh shul among the others killed by gunfire this year. No. They are in a different category.

This was an anti-Semitic attack. The killer used a gun, true. But had it been a bomb or an explosion the fact is the same. It was an attack on Jews worshiping on a Sabbath morning. More damningit was a baby naming ceremony.

Incivility, race baiting, dog whistles dont just lie there. They are the dry timber that explode hate crimes. The day of the Sha Still Jew is long over. Hate of any groupracial, religious or otherwiseis a threat to us. We are Jews. We are a religion. We are also a people. Our contributions to this world excel almost any other ethnic group.

It is a proud heritage. It is our job to defend it and ourselves. AND to speak out about hatred of any kind. As we have learned, its contagious.
More than a week ago, the police recommended indictments on a half-dozen of prominent Israelis. The issue concerned the purchase of submarines and other warships from Thyssen Krupp a German firm in the port of Kiel. Involved in the police recommendation were a cousin and attorney of the prime minister, a former head of Israels Navy, and several others who held positions close to the top. Details were supplied by a confidant of them all, who had provided information, including recordings, that linked them to maneuvers that moved Israels purchases from a Korean firm to the German.

So far its a case that does not involve the prime minister. Hes busy with three others, involving gifts, an effort to get the publisher of Yedioth Aharonoth to lessen his attacks, and dealings with the head of Israels major telecommunications firm.

Opposing politicians are doing their best to make the point that if the PM did not know about his cousin and friends dealing underhandedly, he wasnt a decent prime minister.

The PM and his supporters, including some of those being charged, are insisting that he knew nothing. One shows the PM waving to a group of those close to him, while they are being led away, handcuffed, by the police. The other has Bibi saying, What corruption? Its difficult to believe.

The police took more than a year sifting through evidence, and finding a turncoat after a reporter from one of the news programs laid out much of the case. Now the prosecutor will take some time before an indictment. And its still pondering the three other cases against the prime minister, as well as dealing with separate charges against Sara. All told, more than two years and still counting.

Meanwhile, son Yair is in the news for instigating a suit against the driver who recorded his and his friends remarks. The event occurred a year ago and including Yair with friends between strip tease shows, having a bit of alcohol, and speaking of girls they would trade among themselves for sexual favors.

According to the suit, the driver violated the secrecy that was meant to prevail, and caused Yair problems in getting out of the house for private and public engagements. Yairs dad has said that he would be willing to give up the job of prime minister, but that there is no one to replace him.

Its time to remind him that cemeteries are filled with the irreplaceable.

Meanwhile, there was an escalation in the south. It came with the response of Gazans to a disguised operation, apparently one of many, that produced the death of a Druze Lt. Colonel and the wounding of another Druze officer. In response there began an increasing tit for tat that produced casualties on both sides.

The IDF was neither neat nor quick in describing what had happened. The dead soldier is identified only as Lt. Col. M. Social media has identified him as Muhammad, and the other wounded officer also as Muhammad. The dead officer has been widely praised for his heroism on this operation and others. Apparently there was a group of soldiers dressed as Arabs, intent on something, who were uncovered and had to be rescued by helicopter.

The process occurred in what seemed like a move toward quiet, if not peace. Some $15 million had been transferred from Qatar to Gaza for the payment of salaries, and there was a moderation of border demonstrations.

In this, the prime minister has demonstrated a coolness, separated from the commotions focused on him, his wife and son.

Once again, he lead his government to accept a cease fire, back to square one, nothing accomplished with respect to Gaza. That produced the resignation of Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman, long on the outs with the prime minister and the heads of the IDF with respect to Liebermans preference for a forceful action against Gaza.

That resignation reduced the coalitions weight to 61 Knesset Members, a bare majority of the 120-seat Knesset. Then Jewish Home issued an ultimatum: either the prime minister appoint Naftaly Bennett as defense minister, or Jewish Home would leave the government.

Were waiting to see how this will play out. Currently it looks like were heading for an election. When is yet to be determined.

Comments welcome. irashark@gmail.com

Ira Sharkansky is professor emeritus of political science and public administration at Hebrew University of Jerusalem. He is a prolific author on policy and politics in Israel and the United States. He regularly blogs for The Jerusalem Post and San Diego Jewish World.
(JNS)Its not every day that Israel decides not to vote with the United States at the United Nations. It happened, however, on Nov. 13, when the two countries wound up on different sides when the U.N. General Assemblys Third Committee held its biannual vote on a resolution that discouraged member nations from using the death penalty. The United States was one of 36 nations opposed to it. Israel was among the 123 countries that voted in favor of the motion.

While it must be nice for Israeli diplomats to not, for a change, be the focus of the U.N.s opprobrium (later in the week, Israel would be unfairly condemned on various bogus counts in nine separate resolutions), the disagreement with the Americans wasnt the only ironic aspect of the vote. Only a day earlier, the Knessets Constitution, Law and Justice Committee debated a bill that would make it easier for the Jewish state to execute captured terrorists.

The law was already passed by the Knesset in a preliminary vote and is now being prepared in committee for final votes. While recently resigned Defense Minister Avigdor Liebermans Yisrael Beitenu Party sponsored it, the legislation received the endorsement of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and its likely that it will be passed into law before this Knesset is dissolved in order to prepare for new elections.

How is it possible for the government to simultaneously oppose the death penalty at the United Nations while pushing for it at home?

The cognitive dissonance here has to do with politics as parties in the coalition maneuver to seem the toughest on terror. But it also illustrates the mixed feelings the subject generates among many Jews.

The death penalty already exists in Israel, but it has only been enforced once in the countrys 70-year history. The only person executed has been Nazi war criminal Adolf Eichmann after an intense public trial that gripped the world.

There have been many egregious mass murders committed by terrorists in Israel. But not only have none of those convicted been executed, many of them have wound up being freed as a result of ransom deals that were struck in order to gain the freedom of Israelis held by terrorists, like kidnapped soldier Gilad Shalit. In 2011, Israels government swapped 1,027 security prisoners to gain Shalits freedom, including 280 serving life sentences for involvement with terrorist crimes. The spectacle of so many killers with blood on their hands being allowed to waltz out of prison in this fashion helped build support for a law that would ensure that murderers pay the ultimate price, rather lounging in prison awaiting the next such egregious agreement.

This ambivalence is also rooted in Jewish religious law.

The Torah demands the death penalty for a wide variety of offenses for both murder and actions that are no longer treated as crimes, such as ritual violations, homosexuality and children who dont respect their parents ideas about discipline.

Yet it also put into places restrictions on its enforcement that made such a final action rare, such as the requirement that two witnesses were needed to secure a conviction. The Talmud also goes into great detail about the difficulties put into place for the death penalty. One was that if the Sanhedrin court were unanimous in its verdict, the accused would be acquitted because such a decision was, by definition, untrustworthy. A well-known passage in the Mishnah says a court that would execute a person once every seven years would be considered bloodthirsty. But the Talmud notes the dissent of one rabbi who said that the definition was actually one every 70 years.

With that standard firmly embedded in Jewish tradition, it is hardly surprising that after 70 years of statehood, the only person deemed worthy of execution was one who played a key role in the death of 6 million Jews. But the discussion about the issue in Israel isnt limited to debates about whether it deters murderers or whether judicial mistakes render the death penalty problematic. In Israel, it is inextricably linked to the conflict with the Palestinians.

One example is the August 2001 bombing of the Sbarro restaurant in Jerusalem during the Second Intifada. It was but one of many such crimes during a five-year period that ultimately took the lives of more than 1,000 Israelis. Among the 15 civilian deaths at the pizzeria were seven children and one pregnant woman. Like images of 9/11, the pictures of the empty strollers outside the bombed-out wreck remain haunting.

One of those complicit in this horror was one Ahlam Tamimi. She escorted the suicide bomber to the site (her younger cousin, the blond teenager Ahed, achieved international fame in the last year for slapping an Israeli soldier). She was caught and convicted to 16 life sentences, and not only expressed no remorse but said she was sorry so few Jews had been killed. She walked free in the Shalit exchange and was received as a heroine in Jordan. So its not surprising that many Israelis think its time to start dealing out justice to Palestinian murderers.

The argument against the law comes from Israels security services. They have good reason to worry that death sentences will not only turn murderers into international martyrs, but also lead to kidnappings of Jews, who would be threatened with murder in retaliation. Far from deterring terror, such sentences might further encourage it in a culture where those who spill Jewish blood are not only given financial rewards by the Palestinian Authority, but also acclaimed as committing an act of resistance and religious role models.

Seen from that perspective, the law is probably counterproductive, and the betting here is that even if it is passed, it will never be enforced. It also might be wiser policy for Israelis to insist that their leaders dont release murderers, but as Netanyahu showed in 2011, the pressure on prime ministers to gain the freedom of captive Jews will always lead to bad deals.

Rather than condemn the Knesset for this bill, those who oppose the death penalty in every circumstance need to understand that there is something profoundly wrong with a system that allows the most bloodthirsty of killers to walk free. Who can blame Israelis for demanding justice for the victims?

Jonathan S. Tobin is editor in chief of JNSJewish News Syndicate. Follow him on Twitter at: @jonathans_tobin.
(JTA)When Stan Lee died on Nov. 12 at 95, he left behind a vast legacy. Between 1961 and 1969, his greatest sustained burst of creative activity, he co-created a vast array of iconic characters, including Spider-Man, the Fantastic Four, the X-Men, the Avengers, the Incredible Hulk, Thor, Iron Man, Black Panther, Daredevil, Nick Fury, Doctor Strange and Falcon.

Lee raised the bar for superhero storytelling. He created characters who had godlike powers, but who were painfully human nonetheless. They were relatable because of their flaws and foibles. They squabbled and gave in to petty jealousies, a rarity at the time. Lees skill at writing clever dialogue and witty one-liners ensured that his characters came off as charming and lovable, if also plagued by self-doubt. By setting many of his stories in New York City rather than a fictional venue like Metropolis, he kept his tall tales grounded in the real world. Or if not the real world, something very much like it.

But Lee did more than that. He also gave American comic books permission to be more Jewish.

One of Lees innovations as a comic book writer was his ability to imbue each of his characters with a well-defined, unique personality. Spider-Man, alias Peter Parker, was neurotic. A superhero nebbish was a novel idea back in 1962, when the character was first created. But this doesnt make the character Jewish per se, and Jews dont have a monopoly on neuroses.

However, Lee injected something very unique into the characters DNA: Jewish humor. When Spider-Man fights his foes, he usually makes jokes and quips to cut the tension. In Amazing Spider-Man #40, published in 1966, the web-head is fighting the Green Goblin, and our hero climbs up on the ceiling. His nemesis yells, The Goblin has ways of bringing you down! Spidey replies, But its so nice and cozy up here!

Superheroes often quipped in the middle of action sequences in those days. But when most superheroes made jokes, the jokes were so... generic. On the other hand, consider Spider-Mans line: But its so nice and cozy up here! It sounds like something a Borscht Belt comedian would say.

Did Lee purposefully intend to put Borscht Belt-style jokes in Spider-Mans mouth? Not likely. However, there was an interesting thing happening to American comedy in the 1960s. Television shows like The Ed Sullivan Show and The Tonight Show would frequently book comedians who cut their teeth at the Catskills resorts, like Henny Youngman, Jackie Mason or Jack E. Leonard. All of America was being exposed to their distinct brand of Jewish humor. American humor was, in effect, becoming more Jewish.

And Stan Lee, born Stanley Martin Lieber, the son of Romanian Jewish immigrants, grew up in New York City in the 1920s and 1930s. He must have been familiar with Borscht Belt humor.

But why did he include those kinds of jokes in Spideys dialogue? Perhaps he couldnt help it. Maybe its the sort of comedic voice he was most comfortable using. But theres definitely a sense of Yiddishkeit that comes through in the webslingers one-liners. And since Lee stopped writing Spider-Man comics in 1972, no other Spidey writer has deviated from this template. These types of jokes have always been a popular part of the characters repertoire. And no matter how dark a Spider-Man story is, Peter Parker never loses his sense of humor.

But Lees stories were more than just yarns about earnest (yet conflicted) do-gooders. Thanks to visionary artists like Jack Kirby and Steve Ditko, the 1960s Marvel titles were stunningly delineated dramas bursting with emotional angst and stuffed to the gills with pulse-pounding action sequences. But thanks to Lee, sometimes they also had a layer of sharp social commentary baked in.

Take for example the X-Men as initially created by Lee and Kirby in 1963. The titular supergroup was a band of mutants, people who were more than people, their bodies having evolved to contain a superhuman ability. One mutant boasted animal-like strength and agility. Another had sprouted wings and could fly. Their mutant powers were triggered during their teenage years, just as their readers bodies mutated during adolescence. The entire premise of the X-Men was an unsubtle metaphor for puberty.

However, in issue 14 of X-Men (published in 1965), Lee and Kirby discarded that rather obvious metaphor in favor of another, more socially relevant onethat of the mutant as a persecuted minority. In this story, titled Among Us Stalk... The Sentinels, an anthropologist named Bolivar Trask builds an army of giant killer robots programmed to detect and hunt down people with mutant DNA.

Toward the beginning of the story, the X-Mens leader, Professor Charles Xavier, worriedly scans a newspaper article about Trask.

So, it has finally begun, he frowns. The one thing I always feareda witch hunt for mutants!

The newspaper features an artists interpretation of a mutant in a chariot being ferried around by human slaves. The caption above the drawing reads, Dr. Trask warns that the superior abilities and supernatural powers of the hidden mutants will enable them to enslave the human race, replacing our civilization with their own.

By todays standards, this dialogue is more than a bit cheesy. But for a comic book designed for children in the 1960s, this was heady stuff; a superhero tale designed to warn kids about the dangers of prejudice. In the story, mutants are clearly a substitute for any oppressed minority. Even the newspaper caption might sound eerily familiar with the line about mutants replacing our civilization with their own. Its the sort of thing that bigots in 1963 would say about Jews, African-Americans or other minority groups. Its exactly the thing white nationalists in Charlottesville, Virginia, said last year, when they marched while chanting Jews will not replace us!

X-Men #14 kicked off a three-part story arc with the mutants as minority allegory. With their intolerance for anyone different, Trasks robots, dubbed the Sentinels, are clearly a metaphor for real-life hate groups such as the Ku Klux Klan or the SS death squads of Nazi Germany. By rerouting the trajectory of the X-Men series and making it about a group of persecuted outsiders, Lee and Kirby opened the door for other writers and artists down the road to make the X-Men a more diverse, inclusive superhero group.

And thats exactly what happened. After floundering during the late 1960s, the X-Men title was rebooted in the mid-1970s under the stewardship of writers like Len Wein and Chris Claremont, who teamed with artists like Dave Cockrum. For the first time, people of color such as Storm (who hailed from Kenya) were a part of the group. So were Jewish characters, like Chicago teenager Kitty Pryde. The backstory of the X-Mens archfoe Magneto was even tweaked, revealing that he was a Jewish Holocaust survivor.

Whereas Stan Lees X-Men was a Rod Serling-style allegory for anti-Semitism, the later incarnation of the group featured actual Jews as superheroes. This was unthinkable when Lee was the primary scripter on the title. In the 1960s, he did co-create a Jewish character: Izzy Cohen, one of Sgt. Nick Furys multicultural group of soldiers known as the Howling Commandos. But Cohen is a mere supporting character in someone elses story. It would take another decade for Jewish characters to become more prominent in comics, and even then it would be under someone elses direction. But it took Stan Lee to carve the path that his successors would follow.

Author and public speaker Arie Kaplan interviewed Stan Lee for his award-winning nonfiction book From Krakow to Krypton: Jews and Comic Books. He has written scores of comic book stories and graphic novels featuring everyone from Superman to Speed Racer. Follow Kaplan on Twitter @ariekaplan
(JNS)The Arab world has so far been indifferent to the political crisis currently plaguing Israel. This may indicate that the Arabs simply expect the next Israeli elections to bring about more of the same with respect to the makeup and balance of power in the government, but it also seems that many Arab rulers are in no rush to see a change in the nature of the Israeli government.

The messiah may not be coming anytime soon, but we are in the midst of a golden age in term of Israels relations with the Arab world. From the Persian Gulf states to North Africa, many in the Arab world no longer regard Israel as a hostile or foreign element in the Middle East, but rather as a solid regional playerone they can cooperate with and even rely on when necessary. 

Gulf states have a clear reason to prefer political stability and governmental continuity in Israel: They are concerned about the regional threats, primarily those posed by Iran, and know that Israel and the United States are collaborating on this issue. 

Arab states have never taken a special interest in Israeli politics, as they struggle to understand its internal dynamics. As ties with Gulf states began to warm up, Arab rulers have sought to work with Israeli leaders they perceive as reliable and focused, those who wield domestic and international clout. 

Egyptian President Anwar Sadat, for example, never hid his desire to see then-Likud leader Menachem Begin win the 1977 and 1981 elections, despite the fact that then-Labor leader Shimon Peres was perceived in Israel and abroad as a moderate on the pressing foreign and security issues of the time. 

Sadat sought an effective and committed partner, even if not an easy one to deal with; someone he could do business with and whose word could be trusted. He found this partner in the leader of the right. 

King Hussein of Jordan also did not bother to hide his satisfaction with Benjamin Netanyahus victory in the 1996 elections. He could never forgive Shimon Peres for going behind his back and colluding with then-Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat on the 1993 Oslo Accords, which he perceived as a threat to the Hashemite Kingdoms stability.

Regardless, the Arab world is up to its neck in domestic problems, and most Arab countries have neither the energy nor the ability to deal with Israels internal political strife. They have even lost all interest in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict; all they want to do now is remove this issue from the regional agenda and prevent it from becoming an obstacle to improving their relations with Israel. 

This is why they are willing to support efforts to promote a solution to the conflict that will be acceptable to Israel and to the Arabs, even if not necessarily to the Palestinian leadership.

An example of these trends was seen as recently as last week, when the recent flare-up between Israel and Hamas led to Yisrael Beytenu leader Avigdor Liebermans resignation as defense minister. No Arab country rushed to stand by the Palestinians against Israel, and most simply sought to restore the calm to the region.

Moreover, no one in the Arab world fell for Hamass claims of victory, nor for politicians claims that Israeli deterrence has been dangerously eroded. After all, when the dust settles, Israels enemies in Gaza, Beirut and Damascus go back to wallowing in their own problems and ever-growing infighting.

No one in the Arab world deludes themselves as to the true balance of power between Israel and its adversaries, which is why many Arab leaders do not really understand the reasons for the government crisis that threatens Israels political stability.

Many Arab rulers would gladly relinquish the upcoming elections in Israel as they see them as harboring a subversive message to their citizens, according to which democracy is not necessarily a recipe for chaos, but rather for internal powera demonstration that a regime can be changed in the polls. 

It is precisely because of this that Israeli democracy is admired by many in the Arab world, and it can contribute to bolstering Israels regional image as a strong and stable country whose system of government should be emulated.

Eyal Zisser is a lecturer in the Middle East History Department at Tel Aviv University.
Fifteen years ago, there were global fears that the HIV/AIDS epidemic in India could spin out of control. Today, India ranks among countries with the lowest HIV prevalence. The control of HIV is one of Indias greatest public health achievements. Sadly, it has not received the recognition it deserves in India, because of the high levels of stigma that still surround this cruel disease.

Consider the following facts. In 2002, Indias National AIDS Control Organisation (NACO) estimated 4.8 million people living with HIV in the country (revised to 2.7 million later based on a new methodology), with 150,000 new infections each year. The prevalence of HIV among female sex workers was more than 25 times that in the general population. There were global fears that the epidemic would spiral out of control.

Today, new infections per year have come down to 88,000 as per NACO data. HIV prevalence in India has been declining steadily. At 0.22%, Indias HIV prevalence today is one of the lowest in the world, less than that in the United States. In 2000, most countries committed to meeting four health-related targets by 2015  reduce the under-five mortality rate, reduce the maternal mortality ratio, halt and begin to reverse the spread of HIV/AIDS, and that of malaria and other major diseases. India achieved only two among these  the target for HIV/AIDS, and for malaria and other diseases.

From 2003-2013, I had the honour of leading the building of Avahan, the India HIV prevention programme sponsored by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Avahan worked primarily with communities most at risk of contracting the HIV virus. There were female and male sex workers, transgenders, injecting drug users, and long-distance truck drivers. Female sex workers were our largest target group.

Thousands of people most vulnerable to the HIV virus, mainly brave female sex workers, fought at the frontline of the war against HIV, driven by a huge sense of community. Avahan worked in six states in India: Manipur, Nagaland, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka.

Avahan expanded rapidly, and soon established itself as the worlds largest ever privately sponsored HIV-prevention programme. The programme covered all but one of the 78 high prevalence districts in India (HIV prevalence of 1% or more). At its peak, Avahan delivered prevention services across 672 towns within 83 districts in six states. It reached out to more than 250,000 people from highest-at-risk communities and was distributing 13 million condoms a month. In 2013, Lancet credited Avahan with having averted over 600,000 HIV infections.

The fact that we could mount such a large campaign, so quickly, is not because of any great aptitude on our part. The smartest thing we did really was to ask the communities of sex workers to point the way to the solution. I remember how a year into my journey in HIV prevention, I met Theny, a 25-year-old street based sex worker, in a small town in Tamil Nadu. As I explained to her the dangers of unprotected sex, she said, You are telling me that if I get HIV I will die in ten years time. But sir, ten years is a lifetime for me. I have other more serious things to worry about now. From women like her, we learnt that sex-workers biggest need was freedom from violence. We then appreciated that violence was strongly linked to unprotected sex. When sex workers came together to tackle that menace, the Avahan programme spread rapidly, and developed its own momentum. This was my first big learning  that even highly marginalised women, working together, have the power to tackle some of their toughest problems.

Sex workers across six states then went on to lead the effort of identifying and mapping every single member of their community by risk category. They used innovative ways to mark hot spots on street maps, create social networks to generate awareness, and prepare elaborate monitoring tools for beneficiary-level tracking. Groups of women sex workers across states shared hard data about incidence of violence with police and media, collaboratively combatting the issue. This was the second learning  that smart data use by front line health workers to achieve focus  was critical for effective response

At Avahan, we always knew that we were playing a temporary role, and so we made every effort to work with and through government, within the framework of the national AIDS control programme under NACO. Once we had played our role, we successfully transitioned our programme to the government, and stepped back after 10 years. This was the third lesson: that it is necessary for any outside agency to work with and though government to achieve scale and sustainability. More important, that the transition of a massive privately sponsored programme to government was feasible.

Having come so far in the battle against HIV, it will be a fatal mistake to declare victory too soon. Several nations made the mistake of being complacent when AIDS-related mortality decreased. Six Indian states have an HIV prevalence that is more than double the national average. The situation in three north-eastern states of Mizoram, Manipur and Nagaland, driven primarily by injecting drug use, is particularly worrying. We ignore the threat of HIV at our own peril, even as we celebrate what we have achieved.

For me, participating in the campaign against HIV in India was a life-changing experience. Coming from McKinsey, where we would deliver smart solutions to clients issues, into a world where consumers knew far more than the supposed experts, was sobering. Working closely with communities of sex workers to find answers to complex problems in HIV prevention, I was humbled and inspired by their leadership, courage and selflessness. Those were the best years of my life.

Ashok Alexander is Founder-Director of the Antara Foundation.

The views expressed are personal
The global climate is changing faster than at any point in the history of modern civilisation  a point made clear by the latest National Climate Assessment from the US Government published last week. The consequences of a warming planet are extensive and drawn-out,affecting the economy, ecology and health. The nature and scale of the response to climate change will shape the health profile of nations for centuries to come. The impacts of existing climate change is placed in stark contrast by recent analysis from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, focusing on extreme weather events such as flood, drought, changing weather patterns, cyclones, wildfires, glacial melt, and other unusual phenomenon witnessed across the planet.

Working with the Lancet Countdown, I have collaborated with some of the worlds foremost climate change and public health experts, documenting the health impacts of a changing climate. The Lancet Countdown is a multidisciplinary research collaboration between 27 leading academic institutions around the world. It is motivated by the idea that the response to climate change could be the greatest global health opportunity of the 21st century. Conversely, the failure to act could undo 50 years of public health gains.

For India, the data is clear in our 2018 Assessment, Shaping the Health of Nations for Centuries to Come: unless the world transitions to a low-carbon economy, climate change will undermine the very viability of health systems across the globe.

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), 97% of major cities in low and middle income countries do not meet safe air quality guidelines. Our research indicates that exposure to ambient air pollution has resulted in some 3 million premature deaths per year globally, with over half a million of these occurring in India. Declining air quality correlates with increased risk of heart disease, lung cancer, and respiratory disorders, such as asthma and COPD. WHO rankings of air quality have shown that Indian cities are among the most polluted in the world.

As the sixth largest economy in the world, Indias need for further economic growth is clear. This development will be most effective when coordinated with sustainability and climate action. A carbon intensive economy leads not only to poor air quality and high emissions, but a rise in extreme heat. Globally, 157 million more people were exposed to heatwave events in 2017, compared to 2000. This is not just difficult for a countrys agricultural and labour force sweating it out in 40+ degree days; it also has far reaching effects on the economy of a country like India. In 2017, India experienced over 75 billion total hours of labour lost due to intense heat. This is 48.8% of the total global loss and 7% of Indias total working population.

Increasingly, climate change is contributing to prolonged, year-round droughts in parts of Asia and across the world. Increasing heat and changing weather patterns are affecting production and food security in weather-dependent agricultural economies, such as India. The recent floods in Kerala were described as the worst flood [the state has seen] in a hundred years and resulted in 1% loss of the states GDP.

Outdated fossil fuel economies will only accelerate global warming and the spread of disease. Continuing to phase out coal demand is clearly crucial in meeting the target of the Paris Agreement. There has been a downward trend in coal consumption around the world, growth in India was 2.4% in 2016, which represents a decrease from previous years. Increases in renewable energy installation in recent years have doubled that of their fossil fuel counterparts, with indicators of investment proving that a transition to clean energy is already underway. A rise in employment in the sector will be a key indicator to follow, with Bloomberg New Energy Outlook 2018 suggesting that India has the cheapest new wind and solar power anywhere in the world.

Our report found, for the first time, that coal use accounts for nearly 16% of deaths globally due to ambient air pollution from fine particulates. Reversing this trend will require availability of favourable technology to make the switch, so that the world will no longer have to depend on coal, but will also require political will, most of all, to make the transition.

India is well placed to take action on climate change, and has voluntarily embarked on a path of higher ambition. Yet, the state of global climate is by definition one that requires collective international effort. The Conference of Parties (COP 24) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) will be held in Katowice, Poland, next week. Agreeing on robust guidelines to implement the Paris Agreement is essential in solidifying commitments made so far. The outcome of decisions made now will shape the health of nations for centuries to come. India can and should take a lead as a country with a lot at stake.

Nicholas Watts is the executive director of the Lancet Countdown

The views expressed are personal
Over 30,000 farmers have marched from Thane to Mumbai in the past few days, seeking a complete farm loan waiver, along with drought compensation of Rs 50,000 to Rs 1 lakh per acre. A number of villages, based in districts as varied as Nashik and Marathwada, facing water deficits (over 30% on average), while being saddled with loans from investing in an underperforming kharif crop, are now seeing villagers seeking daily wage labour in nearby urban centres. My travels across the dessicated landscape of Vidarbha and many others, over the last few years, have highlighted the frail lives of Indias marginal farmers and their need for farm loan waivers (as detailed in my book, A Rural Manifesto). There is little hope from the upcoming rabi crop, given poor rains.

This is not a new trend. Just recently, in Bengaluru, thousands of farmers besieged the Vidhana Soudha, seeking waiver of farm loans. Meanwhile, up north, farmers like Rajinder Singh, a marginal farmer in the hinterlands of Bhatinda in Punjab, are attracting opprobrium from national media for the burning of crop stubble, instead of using mechanised implements to process it; an act of wanton destruction. Such arguments, however, ignore the skewed economics associated with mechanisation even in relatively well-off states. The penalty of burning stubble on average is about ~Rs 2,500 per acre; in comparison, the cost of a stubble processing unit, including the rent of machinery, cost of diesel and associated labour charges, works out to be ~Rs 6,000 per acre (Kumar, R, Oct 2018). Given that stubble has no significant economic value currently and farmers are hard-pressed for loans, burning it makes economic sense. Meanwhile, the average outstanding loan in Punjab is ~ Rs, 119,500 (NSSO, 2013). Increasingly, farmers are simply stopping repayment of crop loans in Punjab, raising non-performing assets under agriculture to over Rs 9,000 Cr (PTI, Nov 2018).

We must retailor our mechanisms for dealing with agricultural distress. In post independent India, farm loan waivers have been a regularly used policy instrument. Even in a place like Punjab, where agricultural growth has arguably been foremost for decades, institutional mechanisms for mitigating uncertainties associated with agriculture have been developed significantly. Governments of every colour often resort to loan waivers for institutional debt; however, non-institutional debt (from moneylenders) continues to weigh the rural economy down. While debt conciliation boards have existed for decades (provisioned from the Punjab Relief from Indebtedness Act, 1934) along with district debt settlement forums (from the Punjab Settlement of Agricultural Indebtedness Act, 2016), such institutions (along with their recent replacements  Divisional Debt Settlement Forums) have been stymied by fund and talent shortages. In comparison, Keralas State Debt Relief Commission has dealt with both institutional and non-institutional debt, while being empowered to declare an area as distress affected. The commission is also able to waive off a percentage of the debts, while declaring a general moratorium on debt repayments. State governments should seek inspiration from the Kerala model, which creates well-funded debt relief commissions that can dole out a quick mitigation process, instead of pushing all such action on the burdened and apathetic executive. A comprehensive debt settlement model legislation is required to allow rural bankruptcy to be declared painlessly. We must not shy away from allowing farmers to declare themselves bankrupt  enabling a fresh start for individual farmers should be possible; after all, recent banking NPAs are allowing industrial chieftains to do the same anyway.

Further reforms in microfinance are necessary. We should encourage self-help groups, which create a safe avenue for savings (Hashemi et al, 1996; Rajasekhar, 2000), functioning like a small bank, lending money to members. Their positive economic impact is well attested, particularly on indicators such as average net income and employment (Puhazhendi and Satyasai, 2000), while inculcating a banking habit. Banks, however, have mostly failed to recognise their self-interest in promoting SHGs, given the lower information costs of lending to the poor through SGHs, avoiding adverse selection and moral hazard (SPS, 2006). To provide economies of scale, building on this linkage between SHGs and the banking sector is critical with studies (Nair, 2001) in Andhra Pradesh & Tamil Nadu showcasing the way  they have shown that SHGs can become financially viable by forming federations, achieving enormous economies of scale (SPS, 2006).

In addition, a regular unconditional basic income, scaled up through pilots, and rolled out slowly and carefully, would be ideal for marginal farmers. Having a regular basic income would help induce rational responses to crisis events (say illness or hunger) instead of forcing them into a vicious cycle of debt. It could even reduce the practice of child labour, with parents encouraged to send their children to schools, transforming villages and leading to a sustained increase in income (Sewa, Unicef, 2014).

The tone of our conversation about addressing farmer loans needs to change as well. Indias fiscal pundits seem to have a rather curious penchant for decrying the offering of any fiscal sops (grants, right to food, loan waivers) offered to farmers, while discounting those offered to the industry. We need to skew our national budget towards agriculture, boosting line items like the Agricultural Demand-Side Management Programme (this seeks to replace existing irrigation pumps with energy-efficient models). We should encourage a long term rural credit policy, offering flexibility for droughts and flooding events. Crop insurance, as proposed by the government, would be a welcome move to institutionalise the habit of insuring against market and weather volatility. Otherwise, the marginal farmer will continue to be born in debt, live through penury and die from such distress.

Varun Gandhi is an MP and author of the recently released book, A Rural Manifesto: Realizing Indias Future Through Her Villages. The views expressed are personal
The Fearless Girl statue that inspired millions with her message of female empowerment has been plucked from her spot opposite Wall Streets Charging Bull and will be reinstalled in front of the New York Stock Exchange by the end of the year, officials said Wednesday.

The Boston-based financial services firm State Street Global Advisors said the sculpture of a defiant-looking young girl was moved Tuesday night. No date for her reinstallation at the stock exchange was given.

A plaque with two footsteps marks the girls former spot on a traffic island near the tip of Manhattan. Fearless Girl is on the move to The New York Stock Exchange, the plaque reads. Until shes there, stand for her.

The hands-on-hips bronze statue was intended as a temporary display when State Street installed it in March 2017 to encourage corporations to put more women on their boards. City officials extended her stay after she became a favourite with tourists, who lined up for selfies with the 4-foot (130-centimeter) bronze celebrity.

One person who was not a fan of the statue was Arturo Di Modica, the artist who created Charging Bull and installed it in lower Manhattan in 1989 without permission. Di Modica complained that his 11-foot-tall bull was meant to embody strength, power and love, but having Fearless Girl face off against his work had turned the bulls message into something negative.

The girl is right in front doing this, Now Im here, what are you going to do? Di Modica said last year.

City officials, meanwhile, announced in April 2018 they would move both statues about three blocks away to the stock exchange because the crowds of pedestrians clustered around the statues presented a traffic hazard.

A spokeswoman for Democratic Mayor Bill de Blasio said details on when the 11-foot-tall (3-meter-tall) bull would be moved and where exactly it would be placed were not available.

Di Modica has maintained the city has no right to unilaterally move Charging Bull. Noman Siegel, an attorney for the Italy-based artist, said Di Modica had no immediate comment Wednesday on the bulls potential relocation.

Fearless Girl sculptor Kristen Visbal did not immediately return a call seeking comment on her statues move.

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Jana Sena Party (JSP) leader and actor Pawan Kalyan foresees a hung assembly in Andhra Pradesh in the 2019 elections, a possible defeat for chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu and a pivotal role for himself, he told Hindustan Times in an interview.

I am sure CBN (Chandrababu Naidu) will lose the assembly election in 2019. He has lost his grip over the administration and over his own Telugu Desam Party (TDP) MLAs, his popularity is fast shrinking, (his is) a government bogged down in corruption, Kalyan said in Andhra Pradeshs Rajahmundry before undertaking a bus journey to areas inhabited by tribespeople.

He said the era of coalition politics was set to replace bipolar politics in Andhra Pradesh. The period between 2019 and 2021 will witness a sea change in Indian polity, which includes Andhra Pradesh. The leaders in power, representing the kind of politics in the early 1980s, are failing to address the aspirations of todays young generation. They have become senile and people are craving the infusion of new blood in politics, the JSP leader said.

The actor-turned-politician ruled out pre-poll alliances with any party when asked about the possibility of JSP aligning with YS Jaganmohan Reddys YSR Congress. He said he intended to pursue a middle path, away from the ruling TDP and the YSR Congress. The JSP will also not align with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), he added.

Asked whether he would extend support to Jagan Reddy to form a coalition government in Andhra, he replied, I will cross the bridge when I come to it. Any decision he would take on post-poll alliances would be in line with public expectations, he said.

Kalyan said he was annoyed by what he claimed was Naidus greed for power and his tendency to hold on to power by any means in violation of his 2014 poll promise of corruption-free governance. This is the reason why I got alienated from him after supporting him in the last election, he explained.

He alleged that Naidu had backed off from his promise that he would build a world-class state capital on land belonging to the government and had, instead, acquired fertile private land spread over 33,000 acres. The so-called world-class capital in Amaravati now looks like a rich mans capital with no space for commoners, he claimed.

Reacting to TDPs allegations that he was playing into the hands of the BJP, Kalyan said, A guy taking the middle path takes more beatings.... In fact, I was the first person to pick a fight with the (Narendra) Modi government at the Centre on demonetisation and singing of the national anthem in cinema theatres.

Click here for complete coverage of Assembly Elections 2018

He recalled that he backed Modi during the 2014 general elections after he promised to undo the damage done to Andhra Pradesh when it was bifurcated to form Telangana state, but the latter failed to keep his word. This has closed all options for the Jana Sena to be friendly with BJP. I am not the kind of person playing backdoor politics, he said.

On his JSP positioning itself in national politics in a scenario where Naidu is trying to forge an anti-BJP front with the Congress on board and Telangana CM K Chandrasekhar Rao pitching for a non-BJP and non-Congress Peoples Front, Kalyan said he wished to make the South a unified block that could defend itself from the lobbies of the elite political class of north India. Southern states like Andhra Pradesh are playing second fiddle to this elite north Indian political class and this equation needs to change, he asserted.

How differently did he propose to do things from his elder brother and film star Chiranjeevi, who started the Praja Rajyam Party (PRP) on the plank of social justice in 2009, and later merged it with the Congress? His intentions are good. But mere good thought is not enough for someone to bring in change. He lives for art and his heart always throbs for art. But I will see art as a medium for expression of my thoughts, Kalyan said.

Reacting to Kalyans comments, Manuka Varaprasad, the TDP whip in the legislative council, said: Pawan Kalyan is living in a fools paradise if he is hoping to see the defeat of TDP in 2019. Andhra Pradesh has become a model state in development and has been receiving widespread appreciation from other states. We are overcoming bifurcation hiccups. The capital in Amaravati will emerge as a centre for economic growth, providing opportunities for everyone with an inclusive approach, he said.

Senior political analyst T. Lakshminarayana said: I dont think Andhra people will patronise coalition politics given its past history of hung assembly or make way for a coalition government that breeds political instability and horse-trading which is not a good sign for development.
Arjun Kapoors last outing Namaste England sank without a trace. However, Arjun is now fully charged for his next film, Ashutosh Gowarikers Panipat. The shoot of the film has commenced and announcing it was the actor himself.

Taking to Instagram, he wrote: Embarking on a journey like never before.. with Ashu sir & our entire team. #Panipat #PanipatShootBeginsToday @agpplofficial...

For the uninitiated, Gowarikers film is based on the third battle of Panipat between the Maratha forces and the invading army of the King of Afghanistan, Ahmad Shah Abdali, supported by two Indian allies - the Rohilla Afghans of the Doab and Shuja-ud-Daula, the Nawab of Awadh.

From the poster, we gather there was a betrayal there which, perhaps, led to the defeat of the Maratha forces. The event is significant in modern Indian history as it halted the march of the Maratha empire and eventually led to the rise of the British in India.

According to a report in Filmfare, Arjun will play Maratha commander-in-chief Sadashiv Rao Bhau while Kriti Sanon will play his wife, Parvati Bai. Arjun has reportedly gone bald for the role. He was recently spotted outside Amrita Aroras residence in what was called his Panipat look. He certainly sported a different moustache.

Speaking about his choice of Arjun, Gowariker had earlier said, What impresses me most about Arjun, apart from his fine performances - is his dynamism. He has played double roles twice, and he has portrayed an action hero as well as a lover boy.

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Rajma Chawal

Director - Leena Yadav

Cast - Rishi Kapoor, Anirudh Tanwar, Amyra Dastur

Rating - 2/5

Rajma Chawal is prepared as a Sunday special in north Indian - mostly Punjabi - households. Some like it slightly on the sweeter side, while others pile on the masala. The colour can vary, too. Certain recipes produce a lighter, more runny curry, while others are thick with onion, tomatoes and garlic. The point being, no two households will have the same Rajma Chawal; and the uniqueness of their recipes is a matter of pride.

Curiously, Rajma Chawal isnt a dish one would have at a restaurant. Unlike other north Indian delicacies such as Daal Makhani or Butter Chicken - which are rarely, if ever, made at home - Rajma Chawals almost exclusive association with family lunches and gossipy gatherings, for the millions who tuck in every Sunday, represents just that -- home, and family.

Watch the Rajma Chawal trailer here

We meet Kabir Mathur at a time in his life when he has become disillusioned with both. He has been uprooted by his father, played by Rishi Kapoor, and plonked in the sweaty gullies of their youth, in Purani Dillis Chandni Chowk. His old home in New Delhi, like the memories of his dead mother, have been snatched away.

Its a classic fish-out-of-water set-up, which the movie milks for about an hour. Kabir has a difficult time settling into the controlled chaos of Old Delhi, and his new neighbourhood -- a secular community of old friends of his fathers, a sardarji and a chacha and various other uncles and aunties - feels more like a crumbly old prison to him.

Fearing that his son might slip away, and desperate to rebuild their relationship, Kabirs father concocts the most ridiculous plan. With the help of his friends, Raj Mathur (thats Rishis character) purchases a smartphone, learns to use it in a day, and then proceeds to Catfish his own son. He picks a random picture of a girl online, and pokes Kabir with a friend request as Tara, a student from Canada.

Rishi Kapoors character Catfishes his son in Rajma Chawal.

Kabir being the angsty teen that he is - hes also in a band and is inseparable from his acoustic guitar, you guys - immediately accepts Taras request and they begin talking. She seems inquisitive about his relationship with his dad, which he accepts is troubled, but not entirely without respect.

Very soon, it is clear that Raj has been caught in a web of his own lies. The momentary gratification of having a conversation with his son - although under disguise - forces him to continue the charade. But when - through one of the films many moments in which convenient coincidences are introduced to propel the plot - the real Tara bumps into Kabir, instead of taking the logical route out, the film doubles down on the nonsensical set-up.

Amyra Dastur in a still from Netflixs Rajma Chawal.

What could have been an engagingly funny story is bogged down by its insistence to add dramatic heft towards the second half, and Ive never seen a movie derail as quickly and spectacularly as this. Alright, I probably have - theres a Spike Lee movie in which it is revealed midway that the protagonist youd been rooting for is a child molester - but this was rough.

The real Tara, as it turns out, is called Seher (Amyra Dastur), and she comes with her own baggage. Ideally, she could have remained a supporting presence, but the decision to try and establish Seher as a full-fledged character halfway into the movie adds unnecessary complications to the plot. This was supposed to be a film about a father and son, and the rushed love story angle cant help but feel tacked-on.

Rishi Kapoor and his cronies, played by Harish Khanna, Manu Rishi Chadha and Jeetendra Shastri, are the highlight of Rajma Chawal.

It doesnt help that the performances are universally poor - with the exception of Rishi Kapoor and his cronies, played by Harish Khanna, Manu Rishi Chadha and Jeetendra Shastri. And Ive figured out half the problem - the other half is still the actors fault. Because the film is so clearly dubbed -which means they did not record sound on set, or if they did, they didnt use that track - every line of dialogue in Netflixs Rajma Chawal (the film) feels like a voice-over. Its so poorly mixed that you can often see the actors mouths moving in complete disconnection to what we hear - its sort of like watching those old Bruce Lee movies, in which his mouth would continue delivering threats well after wed stopped hearing them.

Debutant Anirudh Tanwar plays Kabir like a whiny child, which is disconcerting because he looks like hes in his late-twenties. Rajma Chawal feels like it has been directed by someone who entirely skipped the angsty teen phase of their life, because Leena Yadavs idea of being a rebellious teen begins with miscasting the role, and then overwhelming the character with cliches - being in a band and walking aimlessly around Connaught Place is just the beginning.

The most obvious example of this uncertainty can be seen on Kabirs bedroom walls. He has posters of The Who and Led Zeppelin - hardly the Emo, goth stuff a kid like him would be listening to. Yadav appears to be just as out of touch with the empathetic sadness of millennial culture as Rishi Kapoors character.

Anirudh Tanwar, as Kabir, chills at Jama Masjid.

But at least she gets Delhi right - sort of. The bar has been set so low when it comes to the cinematic representation of the capital - perhaps because hardy anyone from Delhi seems to be making these movies - that Im even willing to forgive calls of daulat ki chaat! and the sight of random monks (they live 10 kilometres away, in Majnu Ka Tila). Only a handful of recent films have done right by Delhi - Titli, Vicky Donor, BA Pass, Gurgaon (close enough) and the best of the lot, Khosla Ka Ghosla.

Rajma Chawal does a far more commendable job of capturing the wicked passion of the city than Netflixs own Brij Mohan Amar Rahe, but it cant capture the passion of its people.

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The author tweets @RohanNaahar
If a picture says a thousand words, then a graphic illustration of 137 figures  the number of women killed every day around the world by a partner or family member  doesnt even begin to tell you the horror.

The statistics are part of a study released on November 25, International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. It finds that 58% of the 87,000 women killed around the world in 2017 died at the hands of an intimate partner or a family member. Every hour, somewhere in the world, six women are killed by people they know.

Theres the16-year-old, legally a child, in rural Bangalore district, who rejects the amorous advances of a 28-year-old relative whos been stalking her. On the day she confronts him near her school, he takes out a sickle and slashes her throat.

The college student in Jalna, Maharashtra, falls in love, gets pregnant and is strangled by her father when he finds out. Some of us call these gruesome patriarchal assertions honour killings. Between 2014 and 2016, there were 356 such murders, men included, most related to inter-caste love.

One in three married women in India has experienced violence  slapped, pushed, shaken, kicked, choked or punched  from a husband, finds the National Family Health Survey, 2015-16.

In a country where 52% of women believe its all right for a husband to beat a wife as punishment, part of the problem is changing attitudes. The entitlement of men has not gone down, says advocate, Indira Jaising, one of the architects of our domestic violence law.

The judiciary, she adds, is also loath to give wives a share in the marital home and, so, These women have nowhere to go.

Perhaps the biggest problem is a lack of political urgency. A 2014 Law Commission recommendation for a separate law on honour killings has been ignored. A debate on criminalising marital rape had ministers waxing eloquent about marriage as sacrament.

We cant seem to stop talking about sexual violence from strangers  the rapist taxi driver, the unemployed drug addict  but cant seem to start talking about the violence women face from within their homes.

There is a simple key to curbing this violence: Education. Women whove completed high school have a lesser likelihood of facing spousal violence  one in five, against one in three. Delaying the age of marriage by just one year reduces a womans chances of being subject to domestic violence, finds a study jointly conducted by IIM, Indore and Shiv Nadar University.

The theme of this years 16 days of activism to end violence against women is #HearMeToo. But first we have to learn to listen.

Namita Bhandare writes on social issues

The views expressed are personal
When I met Harsimrat Kaur Badal at Kartarpur she seemed genuinely overcome. I have no words, she told me, there is too much emotion. As a Punjabi whose family migrated from Sialkot during Partition, I can relate to the raw sentiment that violent displacement can leave in the collective response of a community. That she choked up with tears at the place where Guru Nanak spent his last years was very moving.

But the problem is this: while she stood in the Pakistani border village and invoked Prime Minister Narendra Modis analogy of the fall of the Berlin Wall to indicate how the widening gulf in the Indo-Pak relationship could be bridged, foreign minister Sushma Swaraj simultaneously spoke in Delhi to dispel any such notion. While Badal went on record to talk about how Guru Nanaks message was the perfect way to make a fresh beginning, Swaraj underlined how Kartarpur could not be linked to any resumption of the larger dialogue process.

There was a similar dissonance in the statements of the Congress. While Punjab chief minister Amarinder Singh rejected Pakistans invitation to be in attendance for the ceremonial opening of the corridor, his cabinet colleague Navjot Singh Sidhu walked away with the lions share of the attention in Pakistan. Everywhere we went -- I was among 22 Indian journalists invited by the Pakistan government to report on the developments -- Sidhu was feted like some sort of folk hero . His panache for pithy one liners, a throw back to his years on television, made him a ratings hit. Some Pakistanis joked that there was more of Sidhu on their TV channels in the last few days than their own prime minister. The Sikh devotees I met spoke of how it was the Maharaja of Patiala that restored Kartarpur Sahib and they wished Captain Amarinder Singh had been present to further the legacy of his family.

Captain has expressed concerns about renewed Khalistani extremism and the Modi government has pointed out the continued impunity with which Hafiz Saeed and Masood Azhar are able to operate in Pakistan. These are legitimate apprehensions. But then it was the prime minister who first used the metaphor of the Berlin Wall for the Kartarpur corridor -- immediately elevating the peace initiative to much higher stratosphere. The BJP can hardly brand Sidhu as an anti-national when it sends two Union ministers to represent India at the inauguration in Pakistan -- and who, taking their cues from him, frame the moment as a possible kickstart for a stalled relationship. Similarly the Congress can hardly accuse the BJP of having a muddled Pakistan policy when the Punjab chief minister and his colleague cannot see eye to eye on an issue this sensitive.

When I watched Harsimrat Kaur Badal, Hardeep Puri and Navjot Sidhu stand shoulder to shoulder with Imran Khan for the Kartarpur ceremony, I thought of what a powerful image this could have been for their home state. After all when the British drew a knife across India during Partition it was Punjab that was the most scarred. But the absence of a united front and the noise of the domestic political divisions back home shadowed the power of that moment and left Indias internal disagreements exposed.

The ministers and Sidhu should either not have been given sanction to go at all or should have been briefed to confine their comments only to the importance of the corridor for Sikh pilgrims. And instead of vilifying Sidhu, the MEA should have co-opted him and used him as a diplomatic asset.

It could not have been entirely innocuous or coincidental that at the opening ceremony Pakistan singled out Sidhu for praise. Pakistanis seemed to sense the friction between the Akalis and the Congress and may have played to it. Even the introductory video at the Kartarpur event cast Sidhu in starring role. Badal seemed visibly uncomfortable at the strong and visible personal rapport between Khan and Sidhu. From stage she said archly that she had no friends or relatives in Pakistan; she was here at Guru Nanaks calling.

Indias political fault lines were visible for all to see. Of course this is not to say that Pakistan speaks in one voice or is consistent in its India policy. When Shah Mehmood Qureshi met us in Islamabad, he categorically said: This is no googly to emphasise the sincerity of its intentions. A day later at a public function, he did a complete U-turn and boasted that his government had bowled a googly that compelled India to send two ministers to Pakistan.

This boast will rankle India -- as it should. There are many grave and complex issues, led by terrorism, that stand between us and a peace process. But it doesnt explain the incoherence of our Pakistan policy. And unfortunately the Kartarpur response revealed both a lack of preparedness and cohesion, undermining an otherwise wonderful moment of religious piety and shared history.

Barkha Dutt is a journalist and author

The views expressed are personal
The north, south and east Delhi municipal corporations moved a censure motion against the city government for its lukewarm response in releasing funds under the plan head during the special house meeting on Thursday.

With just a week left for the presentation of their annual budgets for next financial year, the three civic agencies are finding it hard to allocate funds under various heads since the Delhi government has not released sufficient money under plan head this year, said MCD officials.

The plan expenditure is a dedicated fund allocated for development works in specific sectors, while the non plan expenditure is the fund generated from MCDS internal sources of income and taxes (shared by Delhi government) to meet the running costs.

Tilak Raj Kataria, North corporations leader of the house, said, Every year, we plan our budget on the basis of funds from Delhi government received in the previous year. But this year, only Rs 100 crore in health and education sector has been released to date and nothing in urban development and transport sector. In comparison, we received Rs 800 crore in all these five sectors last year.

Kataria appealed to the Union government to withdraw the amendments made in the Delhi Municipal Corporation Act 1957 (Section 66) prior to trifurcation, thereby ending the state government power to interfere in the process of transferring funds (received from Centre) to civic agencies.

Anil Lakra, leader of the opposition and Aam Aadmi Party councillor said the civic agency has done nothing to increase its revenue sources in the past 10 years. There are projects, which are pending for more than five years, when AAP was not in power. We had suggested them several methods for increasing revenue from property tax, advertisements and contractors but nothing has been implemented.

The state government has given them funds more than the previous government for development. In fact, unlike the Congress government, the AAP didnt ask for loan and interest payment, he said.

MCD officials said that the shrinking sources of revenue and increasing expenses have not just increased the deficit but halted work on various projects, which were undertaken from the funds released by the state government.

With no funds released under transport sector, we could not repair most of the roads after rains. Similarly, works like construction of three new rail under bridges at Narela, Ghevra, and Kirari and construction of drains in resettlement colonies could not be taken up due to the state government not releasing funds, said a north corporation official.

SDMC leader of the house Kamaljeet Sehrawat said if the situation prevails, the south body too will start showing budgetary deficit like its east and north counterparts.

This time only Rs 137 crore was released under the plan head by the state government. To cope with the situation, our finance department has made fresh proposal to reduce budget allocations or take out money from projects under non-plan head as a contingency measure till the funds are released to us. But this cant continue forever, Sehrawat said.

Crippled by a financial crisis since the trifurcation of municipal agencies in 2012, the east corporation raised the demand for releasing Rs 10,228 crore as recommended by Fourth Delhi Finance Commission.

However, within hour of beginning of house meeting, councillors indulged into blame game leading to ruckus. Finally, the opposition AAP councillors were marshalled out after huge uproar.

A Delhi government spokesperson said the civic bodies have on several occasion gone to the court on this issue. If the government had not released enough funds then the court would have directed us to do the needful, he said.
The Delhi police took down posters it had put up across the city on November 20, showing two alleged Jaish-e-Mohammad operatives, within a week after a seminary in Pakistan claimed on Monday that they were its students and had never visited India.

Special Cell, the anti-terror unit of Delhi police, had released the pictures of two young men claiming that they are members of a terror module and may carry out a terror strike in the national Capital. The alert was generated two days after a grenade attack on a religious gathering in Amritsar killed three people and injured 20 others.

A police hand-out photo showed two young men leaning against a milestone on which Firozpur 9 kilometres, Delhi 360 kilometres was inscribed in Urdu. The poster had the same photo with a message to the citizens that if they spot these men, they should alert the police. Phone numbers of the station house officer of Paharganj police station were given on the posters. However, the poster did not proclaim the two men to be terrorists.

Police said they assumed that this was Firozpur, a town in Indias Punjab, which is just 133 km from Amritsar and hence security in Delhi was put on high alert.

However, six days later, on November 26, Mufti Zahid, administrator of Jamia Imdadia in Pakistans Faisalabad city identified the men in Delhi polices posters as Nadeem and Tayyab  both students of his seminary who had never visited India, Pakistani newspaper The Dawn reported on its website on Tuesday.

The report on the portal read, In a press conference where the two boys were also present, Mufti Zahid said both of them were students of the seminary for the last couple of years. He said both had visited Lahore some days ago to attend the Tablighi congregation at Raiwind and then went to Ganda Singh border to watch the flag-lowering ceremony. He said they had taken pictures along a milestone which showed the distance to Delhi and Ferozepur and shared a picture on the social media (sic).

The same picture was used by the Delhi police and the Indian media, the article on the website read.

The police took down posters the same day when Zahid addressed the press conference. An officer from the special cell confirmed that the posters were taken down on Monday. However, he said that they had received the alert from intelligence agencies and that its credibility was not questionable.

Delhi police public relation officer, deputy commissioner of police Madur Verma said it was a classified input shared by the superior agencies.

Agencies concerned had conveyed to us that these two men could create trouble and because we wanted to sensitise people in a specific area, the posters were put up. Posters were removed after the purpose was served. Such inputs are meant for a specific time duration and a particular area. It is a usual exercise, DCP Verma said.
Ashwinis father, D Ramesh, a cotton farmer, had committed suicide in 2003. Twelve years later, P Chandrayi, Ramiahs father  also a cotton farmer killed himself in 2015. Both the farmers died for the same reasontheir inability to pay debts.

With many things in common among them, the two girls from Warangal district of Telangana held the photo frames of their late fathers in their hands as they marched inside Ramlila Maidan with a group of farmers on Thursday to take part in the Kisan Mukti March  a two-day farmers protest to demand a three-week special session of the Parliament to discuss the agrarian crisis.

We had taken a few acres of land on lease and we grew cotton on it. There was no profit and my father couldnt pay back the landlord. He couldnt bear the burden and killed self, said Ashwini, who works as a labourer, in broken mix of Hindi and English.

Thousands of farmers, like Ashwini and Ramiah, both 20, from across the country are marching towards Delhis Ramlila Maidan to participate in a peaceful, yet emphatic, protest march on Thursday, a week after their counterparts staged a similar march in Maharashtras Mumbai.

Read live updates here

Many farmer leaders will address the gathering at the street next to iconic Jantar Mantar, once the site for dissent in central Delhi. Representatives from political parties will also give speeches in support of the two-day Kisan Mukti March demanding a 21-day special session of Parliament to discuss agrarian crisis.

Among leaders expected to attend include Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, NCP chief Sharad Pawar, National Conference leader Farooq Abdullah, Loktantrik Janata Dals Sharad Yadav, to name a few.

Read: Joint House session, loan waiver and MSP on protesters wish list

The farmers, in groups representing different organisations, started walking from five different locations entering the National Capital to be part of the march to press for their demands. Enroute, the marching farmers were provided with food and water by volunteers of different farmer organisations.

Ramabai, 45, who left home in Kolhapur, Maharashtra on Monday, reached Delhi on Thursday morning. She donned a red T-shirt of All India Kisan Sabha before joining the march at Shri Bala Sahib Gurudwara.

There are 10 people in my house and the prices of rice, wheat and dal have shot up. Its difficult to sustain the household, said Ramabai, who works in the field of her landowner.

Organised under the banner of the All India Kisan Sangharsh Coordination Committee (AIKSCC), an umbrella body of about 200 farmer organisations from across the country, the march moved towards Parliament for a rally on Friday morning after halting for the night at Ramlila Ground.

Among the groups, a farmers delegation from southwest Delhis Bijwasan on Thursday was led by Yogendra Yadav, the president of Swaraj India and one of the working group members of AIKSCC. Yadav termed the protest as one of the biggest marches of farmers in recent times. The biggest congregation, however, was of over a thousand farmers who walked from Sarai Kale Khan under AIKSCCs banner reaching the ground at around 3.30pm.

A group of farmers from Tamil Nadu also arrived carrying skulls and bones to symbolise the suicides of their colleagues. The group threatened to go naked if they are not allowed to march to the Parliament on Friday.

We are expecting a gathering of 35,000-40,000 people to march towards Parliament Street on Friday morning, said Vijoo Krishnan, member of one of the many AIKSCC-affiliated bodies. In the night, food was served to the farmers at Ramlila Ground, where a cultural programme was also organised. Chief minister Arvind Kejriwal is expected to reach the venue on Friday.

Kiran Jangaiah, a 38-year-old farmer from Ranga Reddy district in Telangana, said, I wanted to represent people like me in court so that our voices dont get drowned. The lake that used to sustain his farm, he added, has gone dry. To make ends meet, his mother Poshamma, works as a farm hand in other farms. Nearly 95 per cent of his district lies in the drought-hit Krishna river basin, which has been experiencing a severe drought.

The demands of the farmers is passing of two bills seeking freedom from indebtedness and the right to guaranteed remunerative minimum support price (MSP), which were introduced in the Lok Sabha in August this year. In 2004, the National Commission for Farmers headed by MS Swaminathan submitted five reports, which contain a draft of recommendations that safeguarded the interest of farmers. The formation of national and state disaster relief commissions that can declare a region or a crop as distress-affected, and provide necessary relief, is also a demand.

The politicians are only interested in mandir and masjids. Our mandirs are our livestock and our crops, said Rakesh Chaudhary, a farmer leader from Uttar Pradeshs Bijnor district. The new season of sugarcane farming has started and we are yet to get prices of previous crop, he added.
To curb the practice of academics getting papers included in so-called predatory journals (as dubious or sub-standard publications are called) instead of focusing on quality research, higher education regulator University Grants Commission (UGC) has formed a consortium of academic bodies to prepare and maintain a list of credible journals.

The step was taken after reports highlighted that the high number of papers being published in poor quality journals in India, adversely affecting the countrys image, UGC said in a note.

Named Consortium for Academic Research Ethics (CARE), the body, headed by UGC Vice Chairman Bhushan Patwardhan will prepare a list of journals in the field of social sciences, humanities, languages, arts, culture and Indian knowledge systems etc.

According to a communique by UGC Secretary Rajnish Jain, the Indian Council of Social Science Research (ICSSR), Indian Council of Philosophical Research (ICPR), Indian Council of Historical Research (ICHR), Sahitya Academy, Lalit Kala Academy, Indian Council for Medical Research (ICMR) etc will be among the several bodies which will be members of the consortium.

Members of the consortium will prepare the list of quality journals in their respective disciplines within a defined time-frame, it said. Once the CARE reference list of quality journals is released, it will replace the existing UGC list of approved journals, the regulator said.

The decision was taken at the UGC meeting earlier this month, the communique said.

Publications in dubious sub-standard journals leads to long term academic damage and tarnishing of image. research articles published in poor quality journals is reported to be high in India, which has adversely affected its image, Jain said in the note.

The number of research articles is an important factor in both institutional rankings as well as individual promotions.

The UGC has decided that since science, engineering, technology, agriculture and bio medical sciences are well covered in globally accepted scientific databases such as SCOPUS and Web of Science, journals indexed in these will be considered kosher.

There have been reports about research in India being hollowed out by predatory publishing.

The results of a global sting operation by Polish researchers published in March revealed that 48 so-called scientific journals were happy to have a fictitious scientist  Anna O Szust  on their editorial board. Interestingly, Oszust is Polish for fraud.

The frenzy of publishing low-quality journals received a boost because of the UGCs method of calculating academic performance indicators (APIs). The API system was introduced in 2010 to decide recruitments and promotions. Under the API system, points were granted for papers published in any journal with an ISSN, an eight digit code used to identify publications. Unfortunately, many predatory journals also have ISSNs.
Two days after software giant Microsoft Corporation (India) Private Limited filed a complaint with the Gurugram police alleging a cyber fraud by city-based call centres, the police registered nine first information reports across five police stations in the city and arrested 15 people after conducting raids at eight call centres.

Microsoft had alleged that fake call centres from at least eight locations in the city were duping unsuspecting users based in the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand and Canada in the garb of proving technical support using Microsofts name. Three cases were lodged in sector 18, two cases in Sadar and one each in Udyog Vihar, Sushant Lok, sector 50 and Cyber police station.

The police said that preliminary probe had revealed that the fake call centres would charge anywhere between 200-550 USD for a technical support service application from a user who had called in to report a security risk bug.

The call centres, through an exhaustive database of IP addresses and email ids, hacked into the computer systems of people based in foreign countries. The users would receive emails with fake pop-up error messages prompting a security risk that a malware had infected their computer systems and if not rectified immediately, the personal and financial details of the users were at the risk of being compromised, said a police official from the crime branch, requesting anonymity.

The police said when the panicked users would call up the hotline numbers mentioned on the locked screens of their computers, the call centre staff, claiming to be from Microsoft, would persuade the users to install applications for a fee ranging between 200-550 USD.

The unsuspecting people were coerced into paying for such bogus anti malware applications, which would also serve as a bug and give remote control of victims computers to the accused. The probe suggests that money was the prime reason for the fraud, said the official.

The police said that after Microsoft conducted an internal investigation and shared its action reports with the police, the police had conducted raids at eight locations on Tuesday late night, arresting 15 people and seizing 83 hard drives, several laptops and electronic gadgets.

The police said the owners of six call centres were arrested and the rest are at large.

In one of the cases, four accused were bailed out and in the case registered at cyber police station, two accused were taken on police remand for a day, said a crime branch official.

The police ruled out a common link of the fraud being perpetrated by any one entity despite several call centres using a similar method to con people.

We have found a brokers list during the raids but no conclusive evidence has come forth that money extorted was transmitted via hawala channels as alleged. The magnitude of the fraud is still not certain. The cyber cell is continuing the probe, said a crime branch official.

The police said the accused persons working at the fake call centres were either graduates or people who had done professional courses in software technology after matriculation.

One of them has a post graduate degree. The accused people are natives of the city, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and Punjab, aged 25-30, and well versed in voice and accent training. In certain cases, the owners of these centres had employed a staff of at least 30 people who claimed to have no knowledge of the alleged fraud and were under the impression of working for Microsoft or other outsourcing firms, said Shamsher Singh, assistant commissioner of police, (ACP) crime, adding that the accused did not have a criminal background or any association with Microsoft in the past.

Six crime teams and two teams from police stations conducted co-ordinated raids on November 27 late night at Udyog Vihar, Sushant Lok, sector 49, sector 18, sector 32, sector 38, sector 44 and sector 10.

Subhash Boken, spokesperson, Gurugram police said the raids were conducted after the complainant had handed over a list of locations of the fake call centres from IP addresses.

The raids continued through the night lasting for over five hours. Police have seized phones, hard disks, servers and electronic hardware from the centres. Currently, the cases are being investigated at different police stations but it is likely that cyber police station would take over the investigation as the probe continues, said Boken.
Kerala, which suffered a loss of Rs 31,000 crore during the floods in August, Thursday wanted the Centre to expedite the promised assistance to enable it to rebuild the state.

Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan said the state had received only Rs 2,683.18 Crore in its Distress Relief Fund and was finding it difficult to cobble resources for the re-build Kerala initiative. He said the state has to pay Rs 290 crore to the Centre towards the rations received and rescue assistance provided during the floods.

Air Force have asked the state to pay over Rs 33.79 crore as the charge incurred for the rescue efforts during the deluge, Vijayan told reporters in Thiruvananthapuram.

He also said he was planning to send a letter to the Centre to expedite the assured assistance.

Vijayan said he had also written to Union home minister Rajnath Singh to convene a high power committee meeting to provide assistance to the state.

This is because the assistance will be provided only after the committee meeting, he said.

We are not losing hope. However, assistance worth thousands of crores of rupees from foreign countries have been denied, he said.

The Centre has said the Rs 600-crore aid extended to Kerala for flood relief was interim in nature and that more funds would be released after assessment of the damage by central teams.

Vijayan also dismissed the opposition allegations over lack of facilities at Sabarimala and Pamba which were also affected in the floods.

As of now, Pamba has 404 toilets. Last year it was 380, of which 240 were washed away in the floods. We had to rebuild from scratch.

Cant say we lack facilities compared to last year.

Actually, this year we have more facilities, Vijayan claimed.

We were able to arrange everything possible. Nilackal has 1,020 toilets and 50 bathrooms, while Sannidhanam (temple complex) has 1,043 toilets and 100 bathrooms.

We also have a water purification facility which can purify 25,000 litre water per hour. There are no worries there at Sabarimala, Vijayan said.

About the controversy over Piravom Church incident, the chief minister said the apex court had dismissed a plea seeking contempt action against the state government.

Court said it cannot take contempt action against government in matters related to religion.Even the Supreme Court has taken into consideration that conciliatory talks were going on, Vijayan said.

He said the questions raised by the High Court yesterday was only to seek clarity in the matter and the Advocate General had responded to all queries posed by the court.

Even the high court had earlier said both the issues-- at Sabarimala and the Piravom Church-- are different, he said.

The high court Wednesday came down heavily on the state government for adopting double standards in implementing Supreme Court judgements.

The court questioned how despite an apex court order the state government was unable to ensure that a group was allowed to offer prayers at a church, when authorities had no difficulty in deploying thousands of police personnel at Sabarimala.

The courts observation came while considering a plea by the Orthodox faction of the Malankara Syrian Church seeking police protection for offering prayers at Piravom Church.

Even though the apex court had allowed the Orthodox faction to offer prayers, members belonging to the rival Jacobite faction of the Malankara Church prevented them from entering the church.

The state government has drawn severe flak over its handling of Sabarimala issue as a section of devotees has been protesting its decision to implement the apex court order allowing entry of women of all age groups into the hill shrine.
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Friday alleged that the Andhra Pradesh government did not allow it lay a trap against a central government official who was seeking a bribe. Such an attitude, the agency said, will make the fight against corruption difficult.

The agency, in a statement issued late on Friday, also alleged that rather than giving consent to lay the trap, the state government leaked the information to the its Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) which acted on the complaint and laid the trap against the same government official.

The Andhra government on November 8 had withdrawn general consent given to the CBI to act against central government officials working under the jurisdiction of the state government.

The agency said its Visakhapatnam unit received a written complaint from a Machilipatnam resident named Lokesh Babu on November 28 alleging that a superintendent-rank official posted with the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) was seeking bribe of Rs 35000 allegedly for not raising objections in the CGST returns filed by the complainants firm.

It said that immediately on receipt of the written complaint, the superintendent of police, CBI, Visakhapatnam wrote a top secret letter addressed to the state principal secretary (home), and sent it by hand through a DSP rank officer of CBI. This letter was delivered to the principal secretary in the afternoon.

In the letter, it was requested to issue specific consent to CBI to lay a trap in this particular complaint. It was also requested to keep the information strictly confidential and not to share the information with any other party, the CBI statement said.

The agency said the SP also personally called on principal secretary at her office at Velagapudy on November 29, and requested early action in issuing the specific consent, required under section 6 of DSPE Act to enable the CBI to register the case and lay the trap given Andhra governments withdrawal of general consent.

The agency said it sent another letter to the principal secretary with copy to the chief secretary on Friday seeking immediate issuance of consent.

But the state government didnt accede to the CBI request, it said.

Instead the details were shared by the home department with state Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) and state ACB laid a trap on the November 30 evening against the above central government public servant by using the contents of the above request letter. Further, state ACB also issued a press release as if the complainant has directly approached them, added the CBI statement.

CBI spokesman Abhishek Dayal said the agency regrets such non-cooperation by the state home department in this matter.

This will only make the fight against corruption more difficult for the anti corruption agencies and the mutual trust between the agencies will be vitiated. Corruption can be eradicated only through mutual cooperation, and trust, he said.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday met Chinese President Xi Jingping for a fourth time in 2018, which he described as a milestone in bilateral relations, as the Asian giants see out the year on a note of warmth after beginning it against the frosty backdrop of a 73-day military standoff in the Doklam plateau last year.

On the sidelines of the Group of 20 (G20) summit talks in Buenos Aires, Modi also met UN chief Antonio Guterres, promising him that India will play its due and responsible role at the vital climate change negotiations next week. He also met Saudi crown prince Mohammed bin Salman , and was to join a trilateral meeting with US President Donald Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Shinto Abe later on Friday.

The G20 summit is taking place amid the confluence of an array of fractious world issues including differences over climate change, a trade war between the US and China, US-Russia tensions and the conflict in Ukraine.

This year has been very good and important for our bilateral relations, Modi told Xi, officials said. I am confident that the coming year would be even better. The informal summit between the two leaders in Wuhan [in April] proved to be a milestone for the two countries. This gave a new momentum to our engagement. Modi said India was eager to host Xi at an informal summit.

The informal talks in Wuhan , where the two leaders met for a candid exchange of views without their diplomatic aides being present, helped melt the frost that developed in Sino-Indian relations following the standoff in Doklam, at the tri-junction with Bhutan. The standoff was caused by Chinese army attempts to build a road in the area, which is claimed by Bhutan, a close neighbour of India, as well as China.

External affairs ministry spokesperson Raveesh Kumar wrote in a Twitter post: Working together to strengthen the Wuhan spirit, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had a warm and productive meeting with President Xi of China, their 4th this year, on sidelines of G20 summit. Discussed joint efforts to further enhance mutual trust and friendship across all aspects of our ties.

China is looking to boost agricultural exports to India while increasing imports of rapeseed and soymeal from the country, President Xi told Modi . Xi also indicated greater trade in the pharmaceuticals sector between the two nations, foreign secretary Vijay Gokhale, who is travelling with Modi, said.

On the economic side, President Xi Jinping referred to enhanced imports of rice and sugar from India and spoke of possibility of greater imports of soymeal and rapeseed, he said

The Indian PM met Guterres as G20 officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said climate change was emerging as the biggest stumbling block to agreement on a joint communique when the summit concludes on Saturday. President Trump has yanked the US out of the landmark Paris climate accord. His opposition to collective action stands in defiance of scientists increasingly urgent warnings that policy action is desperately needed to counter the climate threat.

The climate change meeting in Katowice, Poland, starting on December 3, dominated the talks between Guterres and Modi, who played a leading role in initiatives such as the International Solar Alliance (ISA), a coalition of more than 100 countries aimed at harnessing solar energy to reduce dependence on fossil fuels. Guterres said elsewhere in Buenos Aires that the Katowice meeting is a make-it-or-break-it moment for climate change.

It was a good meeting. The prime minister assured the secretary general that India plays an important role in climate change negotiations and that it is part of the Indian culture and civilisation to preserve the environment and that he could rest assured that India would play its due and responsible role.., foreign secretary Gokhale said.

At their meeting, Modi and the Saudi crown prince discussed Riyadhs readiness to supply India with oil and petroleum products. The prince, known in the west as MBS, also discussed with Modi Saudi oil giant Aramcos investment in refineries in India, including the companys project to build a large refinery on the western coast of India, cooperation in arms manufacturing and Saudi efforts to develop a domestic arms industry, Spa said.

In other engagements in Buenos Aires, Modi addressed a Yoga for Peace event, describing yoga as Indias gift to the world for health, wellness, and peace, adding that the discipline improves the health of both the mind and body of an individual.

The cooperation between the two countries has an ability to create a golden future in sectors of water, land and space, Modi said at the event, addressing Indians living in Argentina. You are all Indias messengers. Your contribution is a bridge which connects both the countries.
Court staff, escorted by police, reached Tamil Nadus Kancheepuram railway station on Friday morning with a property attachment order against the railways. The target was a railway engine.

With the railways yet to pay compensation to four persons for their land acquired in 1999 even after court orders, the Kancheepuram judicial magistrate last month issued an order to attach an engine. Talks between railways and the landowners concerned also failed to resolve the issue.

Staff of the Kancheepuram sub-court, accompanied by policemen, reached the station ahead of the arrival of the Puducherry-Egmore-Tirupati train. As the train came in by 8.15 am, a team of court officials and police approached the loco pilot and asked him to get down.

Passengers inside the train and the crowd outside were under the impression that the police had come to nab some accused. But, they were in for a shock when they realized that the officials intended to seize the train engine.

As arguments broke out between the court team and the station manager and other railway officials, the loco pilot took off the train towards Tirupati.

The sub-court had passed an order in 2017, directing the railways to pay compensation of Rs 1.30 crore to four persons whose 1.5 acres land was acquired for laying railway lines in 1999.

Taj Shah, one of the landowners, alleged that the Railway Board had not given them even a single rupee though they had surrendered the land 19 years ago.

We four had jointly given 1.5 acre land to the railways. Initially, they assured to give Rs 25 per square feet. However, they failed to honour their word and in 2007, we moved the court seeking enhanced compensation, Shah told Hindustan Times.

The court had increased the compensation from Rs.25 to Rs 88 per square feet. As such, the railways had to pay us Rs.38 lakh. For over 10 years, they did not make any payment, forcing us to approach the court again in 2017, he added.

Last month, the court ordered the Railway Board to pay the compensation with interest. As the district administration and revenue department had facilitated the land acquisition, the court had also ordered the attachment of the cars of the Kanchipuram district collector and district revenue officer, Shah said.

Mumtaz Begum, another of the affected landowners, said, When we presented the order copy to the collector last month, he sought 15 days time to settle the issue amicably. But, the Railways did not respond.

I expected the train engine to be impounded. Had it been done, it would have helped us receive the compensation, a disappointed Mumtaz Begum said.

Both the Kancheepuram station manager and the police accompanying the court staff refused to comment on the matter.
The CBI has booked a company and its directors for allegedly cheating over 1.5 lakh investors in Tamil Nadu to the tune of over Rs 1,500 crore by offering lucrative returns on their investments, officials said on Friday.

The agency registered an FIR against Madurai-based Parivar Dairies And Allied Limited and its promoters Basant Lal Sharma, Rakesh Singh Narwaria, Ahibaran Singh, Chandra Bhan Yadav, Neeraj Singh, Banu Pratap Singh, all residents of Gwalior.

Besides them, Alwar resident Pradeep Kumar Sharma and Madurai based Dheivam were also booked under IPC sections related to criminal conspiracy, criminal breach of trust and cheating, an official said.

The action of the CBI came on the directions of Madurai bench of the Madras High Court which asked the agency to take over the investigation, considering interstate ramifications of the case.

It was alleged in the petition before the high court that the company had lured over 1.5 lakh investors collecting over Rs 1,500 crore. The accused kept coming to Madurai to lure depositors through various investment meetings, it alleged.

It is alleged that the company which collected several crore from people did not redeem their deposits from 2014 and close down in October 2015 leaving the investors in the lurch. A similar case against the company was also brought before Madhya Pradesh High Court which had handed over the investigation of the case to the CBI, the court noted.

It is seen from the records that this case has interstate ramifications and also fraud has been committed across different states. The accused persons, who are said to be living in Delhi, have not been arrested by the respondent police (Tamil Nadu police) for the last two years, the court said.

It noted that the accused belonged to North India and they had not only cheated investors in Tamil Nadu but also in other states. ...It will be more appropriate if an agency which could have a national reach across the country will be able to effectively investigate the case, it said.

The court said the case involved the interest of lakhs of innocent depositors who have lost their hard earned money. The accused persons having cheated such a large number of people are moving around freely without any effective action being taken against them, it said.

The bench said it reposed its confidence in the CBI to immediately take up the investigation and bring the accused to book besides recovering the amount to be distributed to innocent depositors.
A 19-year-old woman died and her fiance was in critical condition after they consumed poisonous substance at a hotel here, police said Friday.

The incident took place on the intervening night of November 29 and 30, said SP Shlok Kumar.

The two took the extreme step after their marriage was called off following a dispute over dowry, he said.

Pooja became unconscious after consuming sulphas tablets while the man, identified as Subodh, called up his parents, Kumar said.

They were rushed to a nearby hospital, where the woman was declared brought dead by doctors.

Subodhs condition was stated to be critical, the SP said.
Mehbooba Muftis Peoples Democratic Party(PDP), Sajad Gani Lones Peoples Conference and governor Satya Pal Maliks administration on Thursday claimed credit after the Centre approved the extension of Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla rail link up to Kupwara.

PDP tweeted Railway connectivity to Kupwara will soon be a reality. Thank you for your efforts @MehboobaMufti @MirMohdFayaz. Soon, Lone tweeted obliquely targeting the PDP for taking credit. Railway line a reality and now parties who call us agents of Delhi want to take credit for it. Hilarious, wrote Sajad.

Omar Abdullah also took to Twitter , saying, Grateful to the Government of India for the decision to extend the railway line in the valley to Kupwara in North Kashmir. Unlike others falling over themselves to claim credit for something they didnt do, this credit goes to @PiyushGoyal & we are thankful to him.

Earlier,J&K government issued a statement saying the Centre approved a railway line upto the frontier district of Kupwara.

I am glad to inform you that the Railways has prioritised the extension of rail link from Baramulla to Kupwara and has sanctioned an updated survey for the new link, Anil Srivastava, advisor (transport) NITI Aayog said in his communication to J&K chief secretary BVR Subrahmanyam.

The official statement stated that the demand for the rail link was projected by the governors administration before NITI Aayog CEO, Amitabh Kant during his visit to Baramulla and Kupwara last month.
India expects Saudi Arabia to ramp up investments in several sectors including technology, farm and energy over the next couple of years, a senior Indian official said, after a meeting between Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The two men met on the sidelines of the G20 conference in Buenos Aires and agreed to increase economic cooperation. (Follow live updates here)

We expect that in the next 2 to 3 years there will be significant scaling up of Saudi investments in India, said Indian foreign secretary Vijay Gokhale, providing a readout of the meeting.
The Kisan Mukti March on Friday brought Congress president Rahul Gandhi and Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal of the Aam Aadmi Party on the same platform, as leaders from 23 opposition parties rallied behind farmers from several states, pledging unstinted support to their demands.

An estimated 15,000 farmers, gathered in the Ramlila Maidan in the national capital since Thursday, marched about 3km to Parliament Street, skirting the outer periphery of Connaught Place, the central commercial hub.

The two principal demands of the protesting farmers are higher prices for their produce and loan waivers to alleviate hardships. The protesters, many of them waving red, yellow and green flags, also want the passage of two farmer-oriented private members bills endorsed by 23 Opposition parties, in a special session of Parliament. The march was organised under the banner of the All India Kisan Sangharsh Coordination Committee (AIKSCC), an umbrella body of about 200 farmer organisations from across the country.

There are leaders from other parties here. We can have different ideologies. But we are united in extending support for the cause of farmers and youths of the country, Gandhi told the gathering from a stage opposite the Jantar Mantar monument. We want to tell Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party)  if we have to change laws or even change the PM, we will ensure better future for farmers, no matter what you do.

Kejriwal, who joined the rally in the middle of Gandhis speech and later shook hands with the Congress leader, alleged that Modi had stabbed farmers in the back by not fulfilling promises made to them and warned him that they would wreak havoc in the 2019 elections if those promises were not kept.

The Centres crop insurance scheme is a big scam. The insurance firms withdraw money from bank accounts without informing farmers. You (farmers) did not get any claims, said the Delhi CM. This was perhaps the first time that the two leaders addressed a rally from the same stage.

The rally comes ahead of a crucial meeting of Opposition leaders in Delhi on December 10 to firm up a joint strategy to take on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the ruling BJP in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, and put in place the basic contours of a Mahagathbandhan, or Grand Alliance.

Along with the controversial Rafale jets deal, opposition leaders will also raise the issues of farmers distress, price rise, the state of the economy, and the infighting in the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in the Winter session of Parliament starting December 11.

Among the other leaders who attended the rally were Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar, Communist Party of India (Marxist) general secretary Sitaram Yechury, D Raja of the Communist Party of India, Loktantrik Janata Dals Sharad Yadav, National Conference leader Farooq Abdullah, Samajwadi Partys Dharmedra Yadav and Trinamool Congress MP Dinesh Trivedi. The Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) was the only prominent opposition party that did not participate.

Farmers of the country are suffering.... We are here to wake up the government and ask them to take steps to resolve farmers issues or else we will throw them out in 2019. We will support the agitation unless the [private members] bills are passed in Parliament, Pawar said.

Yechury accused the BJP of pursuing divisive politics to divert the attention of farmers and the country from its governance failures. We should rise against the BJPs divisive politics and be united in speaking for the cause of farmers, he said.

Trivedi, from the Trinamool Congress , the CPI(M)s arch rival in West Bengal, echoed Yechurys views. We consider this gathering as our parliament. Let us pass a resolution of demands which the other Parliament has to support, he said.

Widows of farmers from Telangana, who committed suicide after they did not get adequate compensation from the government, also joined the protest, carrying their husbands portraits.

This is a historic occasion when farmers, supported by urban middle class have started speaking out. The agitation has moved beyond protests and farmers have even suggested solutions by framing two bills which are already in Parliament. Lets pledge to not vote for the party that is not supporting us, said Yogendra Yadav, president of Swaraj India and an AIKSCC working committee member.

2018 is turning out to be another year of farmer incomes not seeing a material pick-up. Higher minimum support prices have done little to lift crop profitability so far. The good news is the rural non-farm side is seeing better days, said Dharmakirti Joshi, chief economist, CRISIL Ltd.
Kisan Bima Yojana only benefits firms: Kejriwal

Launching a sharp attack on the ruling government, Kejriwal said, Kisan Bima Yojana only benefits firms and that the government should stop the scheme.

Swaminathan commission report should be implemented: Kejriwal

Batting for farmers rights, Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal said, BJP should implement the Swaminathan commission report, they should waive off the farm loans and should get fair price for their produce.

If farmers are sad, the country cant progress: Arvind Kejriwal

The country whose farmers are sad can never progress. The prime minister and BJP havent kept their promise. They didnt implement the Swaminathan report, which they promised to implement. said Arvind Kejriwal.

United to extend support for the future of farmers and youths: Rahul

There are leaders from other parties sitting here. We can have different ideologies. But we are united to extend support for the future of farmers and youths. And we want to tell PM Narendra Modi and BJP, if we have to change laws or even change the prime minister, we will ensure good future for farmers, no matter what you do: Rahul Gandhi

Govt that disrespects farmers and youths will be dethroned: Rahul

The government that disrespects farmers and youths of India will be dethroned. And this will happen. I want to assure farmers and every leader said the same here: you feed the country, all of us stand by you. Even if laws have to be changed, we will support you. Not one party runs this country. This country is run by farmers, labourers, shopkeepers... To the leaders who are here, you are standing for farmers of the country. I want to thank you all: Rahul Gandhi

Farmers arent demanding free gifts, theyre asking what they rightfully deserve: Rahul Gandhi

There are two issues facing the country  future of farmers, and jobs for youth. Its a fight for the future of our youth and farmers. The prime minister didnt keep his promise. If he can waive off 3.5 lakh loans of business man, farm loans should be waived off. The farmers of the country are not demanding free gifts, they are just asking what they rightfully deserve: said Rahul Gandhi.

Rahul Gandhi arrives at farmers rally

Congress president has arrived at the farmers rally to extend support to the peasants who are agitating against the government. Thousands of farmers from across the country took out a rallyto Parliament street in Delhi on Friday to press for their demands, including debt relief and remunerative prices for their produce.

Rahul Gandhi to join farmers rally shortly

Congress president Rahul Gandhi will be joining the farmers rally shortly to extend support to them, tweeted Congress.

AAP supports all your demands: Sanjay Singh

Aam Aadmi Party supports all your demands. We will support the bills in Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha, said AAP MP Sanjay Singh.

PM Modiji only seeks votes on Ram Mandir whenever elections are close. Modiji you have exploited the country enough by talking about divisive issues. Its time when you will be judged on issues concerning farmers and youths. You cannot built a nation by dividing people, Singh added.

No growth in agriculture under BJP rule: Yechury

There is no growth in agrarian sector under BJP rule. In these past 4 years, agriculture has been in a downward spiral, which has led to farmers suicides, said Sitaram Yechury, adding BJP is insensitive to farmers cause.

Launching a sharp attack on the prime minister, Yechury said, Modi is a pocketmaar (pickpocket) who is looting the country of all its money, while terming Amit Shah as PM Modis accomplice.

We should rise above BJPs divisive politics and be united for speaking about farmers: Yechury

Addressing the gathering at farmers rally, Sitaram Yechury said, We should rise above BJPs divisive politics and be united for speaking about farmers. Yechury also claimed that the ruling government is using Ram temple issue to create communal divide.

BJP, Modi and RSS have only one weapon in hand that is Ram Temple. As the elections are approaching, they have started chanting Ram Ram, said Yechury.

Will keep pressuring govt to pass bills and make laws: Yechury

We will continue to support the farmers. We support both the bills. We will keep pressuring the government to pass the bills and make laws. We want to tell the government of the day that if you do not listen to the demands, we will use the power to dethrone you, said CPI (M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury at farmers rally.

Sharad Pawar addresses farmers rally

NCP chief Sharad Pawar addressed the farmers rally.

Farmers of the country are suffering . The government has no sympathies for them. The government is not ready to pay them remuneration. We are here to wake the government up and ask them to take steps to resolve farmers issues or else we will throw them out in 2019. We will support the agitation unless the bills are passed in the parliament, he said.

Former railways minister Dinesh Trivedi addresses farmers rally

Former railways minister and TMC leader Dinesh Trivedi addressed farmers rally. We consider this gathering as our parliament. Lets pass a resolution of demands which the other parliament has to support, said Trivedi.

Swaraj Party Chief Yogendra Yadav addresses gathering

Swaraj Party chief Yogendra Yadav addressed the gathering at farmers rally in Jantar Mantar.

This is a historic occasion when farmers, supported by urban middle class have started speaking out. The agitation has moved beyond protests and farmers have even suggested solutions by framing two bills which are already in Parliament. Lets pledge to not vote for the party that is not supporting us, said Yadav.

Sharad Pawar arrives to attend farmers rally

Sharad Pawar arrived at Parliament street, where the agitating farmers are converging. Congress president Rahul Gandhi is also expected to arrive shortly to attend the farmers rally.

Rahul Gandhi expected to attend farmers march

Congress president Rahul Gandhi is expected to attend the farmersmarch at around 3.30 pm on Friday. Delhi CM and AAP convenor Arvind Kejriwal is also likely to address the gathering of farmers in the evening.

The agitating farmers, demanding higher crop prices and farm loan waiver, reached Parliament street after being granted due permission by the Delhi police .

Agitating farmers stopped near Parliament Street police station

Denied permission by police to march to Parliament, around 35,000 farmers from across the country have converged near Parliament Street police station in the national capital on Friday, where their leaders addressed the protesters.

The national secretary of the All India Kisan Sangharsh Coordination Committee (AIKSCC), Asish Mittal, said farmers from 24 states have also joined the protest to press for their demands, including debt relief and remunerative prices for their produce.

They were stopped near Parliament Street police station, after which they assembled there.

Farmers given permission for rally with conditions: Delhi police

After the procession of farmers reached Parliament street, the Delhi police said the farmers were given permission for the rally with conditions.

Deputy commissioner of police, New Delhi, Madhur Verma said, Delhi Police held multiple rounds of talks with farmers leaders and gave permission for rallying from Ramlila Maidan to Jantar Mantar, with conditions. We hope that theyll follow the conditions.

Proper arrangements done for security, traffic, and law and order. Around 8,000 farmers have reached Ramlila Maidan. They will conclude their march at Parliament Street and culminate their protest from there, he added.

Also Read: Farmers march to Parliament disrupts traffic in central Delhi

Farmers march reach Parliament street following due permission from the Delhi Police

The agitating farmers, demanding higher crop prices and farm loan waiver reached Parliament street after being granted due permission by the Delhi police .

The All India Kisan Sangharsh Coordination Committee (AIKSCC), which has organised the Kisan Mukti march, got the required permission around midnight.

Social activist Medha Patkar confirmed to reporters that the permission was received at 12 am.

Traffic in tizzy due to farmers march

Traffic in central and Lutyens Delhi went into a tizzy on Friday as thousands of farmers, who have been camping at the Ramlila ground since Thursday, began their march to Parliament amid heavy policy deployment.

Protesting farmers reach Parliament street

Agitating farmers, banded under the All India Kisan Sangharsh Coordination Committee (AIKSCC), reached the Parliament street. The traffic in the area has been affected due to the rally carried out by the farmers, tweeted Delhi traffic police.

Traffic Alert



      

  (    )    |      |  Delhi Traffic Police (@dtptraffic) November 30, 2018

On Thursday, the Ramlila maidan, known for hosting big political events over the years, resonated with slogans like Ayodhya nahi, karz maafi chahiye as farmers wearing red caps and carrying red flags started to gather.

Protesting farmers reach Jantar Mantar

Protesting farmers reached Jantar Mantar on the second day of 2-day protest to press for their demands for debt relief, better MSP for crops, among others.

The farmers, who have been camping at the Ramlila ground here since Thursday, began their march to Parliament Street on Friday amid heavy police deployment.

Delhi: Latest #visuals from near Jantar Mantar on the second day of 2-day protest by farmers from all across the nation, who are asking for debt relief, better MSP for crops, among other demands pic.twitter.com/SIccqj6DIo  ANI (@ANI) November 30, 2018

Farmers begin march towards Parliament from Ramlila Maidan

Thousands of farmers from across the country, who have been camping at the Ramlila ground here since Thursday, began their march to Parliament Street on Friday amid heavy policy deployment, to press for their demands, including debt relief and remunerative prices for their produce.

Around 1,000 traffic personnel deployed to keep traffic smooth

The joint CP (traffic) said that around 1,000 traffic personnel have been deployed to plan diversions and to keep traffic smooth.

Traffic police will give real-time updates on FB&Twitter of affected traffic routes. Commuters are advised to stay updated

Students, professionals extend support to agitating farmers

Volunteers, including doctors, lawyers, professors and artists, all came out in large numbers to help the farmers. Around 600-700 volunteers of a solidarity group Nation For Farmers marched with the protesters from the four assembly points.

Five Gurdwaras in the Delhi region have extended their help to the farmers. Also students from various universities turned out in large numbers to lend support to the farmers. The protest also saw participation of a number of women farmers who travelled from various parts of the country.

Delhi: Farmers from all across the nation hold protest for the second day over their demands of debt relief, better MSP for crops, among others; latest #visuals from near Jantar Mantar pic.twitter.com/zwnHQHALkk  ANI (@ANI) November 30, 2018

Will be one of the largest congregations of farmers in Delhi: AIKSCC

The All India Kisan Sangharsh Coordination Committee (AIKSCC) has claimed that the two-day rally will be one of the largest congregations of farmers in Delhi.

Elaborate arrangements in place for farmers march

Elaborate arrangements have been made to avoid any untoward incident during the farmers march in Delhi.There will be a rope on both the sides of the marching farmers with the police walking on the other side of the rope to ensure traffic is not affected, police said, adding that they will ensure minimum inconvenience is caused to commuters.

Elaborate arrangements in place for farmers march ( Sanchit Khanna/ Hindustan Times )

Banded under the All India Kisan Sangharsh Coordination Committee (AIKSCC), which claims to be an umbrella body of 207 organisations of farmers and agricultural workers, many of the farmers have come in trains and others packed into buses and other modes of transport.

Farmers group from Tamil Nadu threaten to march naked if they are not allowed to go to Parliament

The farmers group from Tamil Nadu threatened to march naked if they are not allowed to go to Parliament on Friday. Last year, the group staged protests at Jantar Mantar with the skulls of eight farmers who killed themselves owing to farm losses. The two-day rally will be one of the largest congregations of farmers in Delhi, the All India Kisan Sangharsh Coordination Committee (AIKSCC) has claimed.

Also Read: Farmers march to Parliament today in Delhi; Arvind Kejriwal, Sharad Pawar expected to attend rally at Jantar Mantar

Farmers protest with skulls of farmers who killed themselves owing to farm losses. ( Sanchit Khanna/ Hindustan Times )

Arvind Kejriwal, Sharad Pawar, Farooq Abdullah expected to join farmers march to Parliament street

Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, NCP chief Sharad Pawar, National Conference leader Farooq Abdullah, Loktantrik Janata Dals Sharad Yadav, to name a few are expected to join the farmers march to Parliament street.

Tight security in the national capital ahead of farmers march to Parliament street

Over 3,500 police personnel will be deployed on Friday when the farmers will begin their march from Ramlila Maidan to Parliament Street, a high security zone, police said.

On Thursday, traffic was disrupted in many parts of the city as they marched to Ramlila Ground in the heart of the city on four different routes -- starting at the Anand Vihar, Nizamuddin and Bijwasan railway stations and at Sabzi Mandi.

As many as 850 police personnel, up to the rank of sub-inspectors, will be deployed in the Central district. They will be augmented by the presence of 12 police companies, including two of women, comprising 75-80 personnel each, said a police officer.

He added that 95 officers from the rank of inspectors up to additional deputy commissioners of police will also be on the ground to monitor the situation.

Farmers belonging to 200 farmers organizations in Delhi to push for implementation of the MS Swaminathan Committee report,

Farmers belonging to 200 farmers organizations gathered in the national Capital to push for their demands including implementation of the MS Swaminathan Committee report, farm loan waiver and better Minimum Support Price (MSP) for their agricultural produce.

Delhi: #Visuals from near Ramlila Maidan on the second day of 2-day protest by farmers from all across the nation, who are asking for debt relief, better MSP for crops, among other demands pic.twitter.com/j145x5uhc7  ANI (@ANI) November 30, 2018

Thousands of farmers converge at Ramlila ground on the second day of 2-day protest

Thousands of farmers from across the country converged at the historic Ramlila ground on Thursday after journeys that took some as long as 36 hours to complete.

Visuals from Ramlila Maidan on the second day of 2-day protest by farmers from all across the nation, who are asking for debt relief, better MSP for crops, among other demands.

Delhi: #Visuals from Ramlila Maidan on the second day of 2-day protest by farmers from all across the nation, who are asking for debt relief, better MSP for crops, among other demands pic.twitter.com/Awkh9uwIbh  ANI (@ANI) November 30, 2018

No govt can survive without support of farmers: ex-PM Gowda

Assuring the agitating peasants here that he stood by them in their struggle, former prime minister H D Deve Gowda said on Thursday no government can survive without the support of farmers.

No government can survive without (the support of) farmers. The Union government must listen to their demands. The farmers of this country has awakened and they cannot be fooled, Gowda said.

Farmers converge in Delhi from different corners of the country

The farmers converged in the national capital on Thursday from different corners of the country, including Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal, to participate in the two-day Kisan March.
Central Delhi witnessed traffic disruptions on Friday as thousands of farmers from all over the country marched to Parliament after camping overnight at Ramlila Maidan to press for their demands of debt relief, better MSP for crops, among others.

The protesters will gather at Jantar Mantar as processions are not allowed beyond that point.

The Delhi traffic Police gave real time updates on twitter and Facebook advising people to avoid places the procession was passing through.

Click here for Live updates on farmers march to Parliament.

Around 1,000 traffic personnel have been deployed in all these routes to plan diversions and to keep traffic smooth, said joint commissioner Traffic.

Among the places affected were Jawaharlal Nehru Marg, Deshbandhu Gupta Road, Panchkuian Road, Barakhamba Road, Kasturba Gandhi Marg in Central Delhi. However,after the procession reached Parliament street police station, the traffic got cleared at these places.

Traffic Alert



               ,   ,   ,   ,   , -  ,  T-Point      |  Delhi Traffic Police (@dtptraffic) November 30, 2018

In its morning advisory, the Traffic Police advised people to factor in disruptions due to the march. Commuters going to New Delhi Railway Station are advised to keep this factor in view while planning their journey, the department said in a statement.

Also Read: With photos, skulls and placards, thousands of farmers march to Parliament today

It also asked commuters to avoid Sansad Marg, saying the movement of traffic is closed on the stretch because of the march.

Over 3,500 police personnel have also been deployed on the route of the march and special arrangements have been made in Central and New Delhi police districts.

As many as 850 police personnel, up to the rank of sub-inspectors, have been deployed in the Central district. They have been augmented by the presence of 12 police companies, including two of women, each comprising 75-80 personnel, a police official said.

The two-day march has been organised under the banner of the All India Kisan Sangharsh Coordination Committee (AIKSCC), an umbrella body of about 200 farmer organisations from across the country.

It is the second major farmers protest in the national capital in two months. At least 20 people, including police personnel, were injured in a clash between protesters and security personnel on October 2 at the Delhi-Uttar Pradesh gate border on National Highway-24 when Delhi Police denied entry to thousands of farmers into the city.
Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Friday pledged the oppositions unstinted support to farmers at their massive rally near Parliament, nudging them to continue their protests to seek a better life for themselves. I want to assure you we are with you, Gandhi told the tens of thousands of farmers who had marched to Jantar Mantar earlier in the day, underscoring that he wasnt just speaking for the Congress on this point, but opposition parties across the spectrum.

When Modiji can waive off Rs 3.5 lakh crores of 15 rich people of the country why cant he do it for farmers. They (farmers) are not seeking free gifts but only their rights, Rahul Gandhi told the protesting farmers who are demanding higher prices for their produce and farm loan waiver to alleviate hardships.

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar, National Conference leader Farooq Abdullah and Loktantrik Janata Dals Sharad Yadav have also joined the protest.

The protesters, many of them waving red, yellow and green flags and banners representing their organisations, also want the passage of two farmer-oriented private members bills endorsed by 21 Opposition parties in the Parliament.

Farmers of the country are suffering.... We are here to wake up the government and ask them to take steps to resolve farmers issues or else we will throw them out in 2019. We will support the agitation unless the bills are passed in the parliament, NCP chief and a former agriculture minister Sharad Pawar said.

Follow live updates here.

CPMs Sitaram Yechury accused the ruling BJP of attempting to pursuing divisive politics to divert the attention of farmers and the country from their governance failures. We should rise above BJPs divisive politics and be united for speaking about farmers, he said.

His rival back in Bengal, Dinesh Trivedi of Mamata Banerjees Trinamool Congress, was also present. We consider this gathering as our parliament. Lets pass a resolution of demands which the other parliament has to support, he said.

It is the second major farmers protest in the national capital in two months. At least 20 people, including police personnel, were injured in a clash between protesters and security personnel on October 2 at the Delhi-Uttar Pradesh gate border on National Highway-24 when Delhi Police denied entry to thousands of farmers into the city.

The Delhi march comes just a week after farmers from all across Maharashtra marched to Mumbai to reiterate their demands for loan waiver and land rights among others, eight months after they were promised reforms by the BJP government.

And on March 12, more than 35,000 farmers from across Maharashtra, led by Left-affiliated All India Kisan Sabha (AIKS), took out a march from Nashik to Mumbai to press for their demands. Their 180km march over several days culminated in Mumbai on March 11.

Read: With photos, skulls and placards, thousands of farmers march to Parliament today

In 2004, the National Commission for Farmers headed by MS Swaminathan submitted five reports, which contain a draft of recommendations that safeguarded the interest of farmers.

The formation of national and state disaster relief commissions that can declare a region or a crop as distress-affected, and provide necessary relief, is also among their demands.

The march has been organised under the banner of the All India Kisan Sangharsh Coordination Committee (AIKSCC), an umbrella body of about 200 farmer organisations from across the country.

The farmers started their march on Friday morning after braving the nights cold at Ramlila Maidan. Widows of farmers from Telangana, who committed suicide after they did not get adequate compensation from the government, are also participating in the protest.

A farmers group from Tamil Nadu had threatened to march naked if they are not allowed to go to Parliament on Friday. Last year, the group staged protests at Jantar Mantar with the skulls of eight farmers who killed themselves owing to farm losses.

Tight security

Over 3,500 police personnel have been deployed along the route of the march from Ramlila Maidan to Parliament Street, a high-security zone, police said.

As many as 850 police personnel, up to the rank of sub-inspectors, will be deployed in the central district. They will be augmented by the presence of 12 police companies, including two of women, comprising 75-80 personnel each, said a police officer.

He added that 95 officers from the rank of inspectors up to additional deputy commissioners of police will also be on the ground to monitor the situation.

Volunteers, including doctors, lawyers, professors and artists, have come out in large numbers to help the farmers. Around 600-700 volunteers of a solidarity group Nation For Farmers marched with the protesters from the four assembly points.

Five gurdwaras in the Delhi region also extended their help to the farmers as did students from various universities, who turned out in large numbers.
Army Chief General Bipin Rawat said in Pune on Friday that Pakistan needs to be a secular state to have better ties with India, reports ANI.

Pakistan has made its state an Islamic State. If they have to stay together with India, then they have to develop as a secular state. If theyre willing to become secular like us, then they seem to have an opportunity. Rawat said at a function to review the passing out parade of 135th course of the National Defence Academy in Pune.

The observation comes amid Pakistan expressing an inclination for greater engagement, most of which came in the wake of the two nations deciding to build a corridor for Sikh pilgrims from India to visit the Kartarpur shrine in Pakistan.

Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan acknowledged on Thursday it was not in the countrys interest to allow its soil to be used for terrorism and said he was prepared to talk to his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi at any time.

In Pune, Rawat also spoke about the role of women in defence forces. The Army chief said they are exploring if women can be given permanent commission. In some fields where we need permanency and male officers in a command-oriented Army dont fit everywhere. Keeping women officers in fields like language interpreter, military diplomacy will be beneficial, he said
An 18-year-old woman who was two months pregnant, allegedly lost her foetus after she was forced to do sit-ups and thrashed in a kangaroo court in a village near the industrial town of Haldia in Bengal on Tuesday night.

The self-appointed court  was convened to take a decision on how the woman should be punished for bringing disrepute to the village for having an affair and then marrying a man.

They got married three months ago. We agreed to the affair after initial resistance, but the village elders could not, remarked the mother of the victim.

According to a three-page complaint lodged by the mother of the victim, her daughter was tortured, after the village headman present at the spot ordered it.

The kangaroo court was held on November 27 in Uttar Ranichak village, about 124 km from Kolkata, and stretched from 9:30 pm to 20 minutes past midnight.

The complaint mentions the names of five accused including the village headman Sheikh Rabiul Mullick, the secretary of the village Sheikh Ashraf Ali and three witnesses.

She was directed to do 25 sit-ups. But after 9 to 10 she lost consciousness and fell to the ground. Mullick and Ali asked three persons to beat her up . They rained blows on her and kicked her in the stomach, read the complaint. They also snatched a 12 gram gold chain she had around her neck.

The victim is still in the hospital. I have deposited all medical records of the hospital along with my complaint, said the mother of the victim.

The police is yet to arrest anyone. We have received a complaint. We are probing the allegations on the spot. All the accused named in the compliant have fled, said Tanmay Mukherjee, sub-divisional police officer.

Its a serious allegation. I have asked the police to take prompt action, said Sanjay Sikdar, block development officer of Sutahata.

After the torture, the woman was taken by villagers to a primary health centre. But when her condition did not improve, she was rushed to the Haldia sub-divisional hospital where she suffered terrible pain in the lower abdomen. She also lost the foetus, the mother wrote in the complaint.

BJP district president Pradip Das said, The police should take strong action.

It is a dastardly act. We have told the police to arrest the culprits immediately, said block Trinamool Congress leader Sheikh Mainuddin. He denied that Mullick and Ali had any links with the ruling party.

We will evict you and your family from the village, the men kept warning, wrote the victims mother. If your daughter and son-in-law set foot in our village, we will not let them return.

We are living in a climate of fear since the perpetrators are threatening to evict us and kill us, the woman said.

She also wrote that when her daughter was going to fetch water from a local tubewell on the evening of November 27, three men on a white motorbike confronted her and said that if she agreed to having sex with them, they would throw their weight behind her in the kangaroo court. Her daughter rejected their offer and the atrocities followed, alleged the complainant.

The husband of the victim is about 21 years old and is a carpenter while her father is a daily-wage labourer.

Bengal is one of the worst performing states when it comes to crimes against women. According to National Crime Records Bureau data, the state accounted for 11.31%, 10.11% and 9.6% of all the crime against women in the country in 2014, 2015 and 2016 respectively.

In 2012, Bengal had accounted for 12.67% of all cases in India, making the state the worst offender in the country.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi met with Saudi Arabia Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on the sidelines of the G20 summit here on Thursday and they discussed ways to further boost economic, cultural and energy ties. The two sides also held discussions on enhancing investment in technology, renewable energy and food security.

Had a fruitful interaction with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud. We discussed multiple aspects of India-Saudi Arabia relations and ways to further boost economic, cultural and energy ties, the prime minister wrote on Twitter.

Deepening strategic ties. PM @narendramodi met with Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud on sidelines of #G20Argentina. Discussed enhancing Saudi investment in technology, infrastructure, petroleum, renewable energy, food security, fintech & defence sectors, External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Raveesh Kumar tweeted.

Also Read: Side issues loom over G-20 summit as world leaders arrive

In recent years, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has been a valuable partner. The relationship has expanded beyond the Indian community to issues related to the economy, energy and security. All issues of bilateral and regional interest will be discussed, PMO sources said.

Click here for live updates on G-20 summit.

Later, the prime minister met UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres. According to the sources, the UN Secretary General has reached out to the PM for the second time in two months.

They said the meeting signifies the importance that both leaders attach to the issue of climate change. This outreach comes just a week before the COP24 meet in Katowice, Poland.

It reflects the respect in which the prime minister and his initiatives are held globally to take the lead on issues of global importance, the sources said.

On the sidelines of the two-day 13th G-20 summit, Modi, Trump and Japanese Premier Shinzo Abe will hold a trilateral meeting amidst China flexing its muscles in the strategic Indo-Pacific region.

The trilateral, which would be an expansion of the bilateral meeting between Trump and Abe, is part of the series of meetings the US president would have on the sidelines of the G-20 summit on November 30 and December 1.

Also Read: Trump cancels Putin meeting at upcoming G20 summit in Argentina over Ukraine crisis

White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said on Thursday the trilateral meeting with Prime Minister Modi will be held towards the end of the Trump-Abe talks.

Looking forward to a wide range of interactions at the G-20 Summit, aimed at furthering sustainable development, Prime Minister Modi tweeted soon after he landed here.

Modi will also meet Chinese President Xi Jinping and German Chancellor Angela Merkel on the sidelines of the event, the Ministry of External Affairs had said on the eve of his departure.

He will be in Buenos Aires from November 29 to December 1.
Mohammad Imam,71, has inherited stud-farming in legacy. A regular at the Asias biggest livestock fair at Sonepur in Bihars Saran district, Imam has done everything to keep the family business of four generations flourish.

This year, I am at the cattle fair again with 11 family members, including a cousin who is a mechanical engineer. We have brought 105 horses, mares and 80 foals for sale from our farm at Sheikhpura village north Bihars Siwan district, said Imam, who can barely write his name.

Imam, who is involved in the trade for about 45 years, said this year he had sold 50 horse and mares till Wednesday at the annual fair that kicked off early this month.

Keeping horses and training them is a costly affair. They are nurtured like children as well as bred for beauty, elegance and spirited nature, he said.

Read more: Traders keep out of Sonepur cattle fair

Imams family was awarded in 1990 by then Bihar governor Mohammad Yunus Saleem for maintaining the legacy of horse-keeping.

In 2016, I had brought 55 horses of different breeds to the fair and increased their number to 65 in 2017. This year, the business is somewhat better than in the previous years, he said, adding that Badal, a two-year-old horse of Marwar breed from Rajasthan and 15-month-old Rani of Kathiawari breed were drawing huge crowd.

Badal can dance to the tune of music and has featured in many Bhojpuri films, including recently released Veer-Bahubali, said Mohammad Nausher, one of the three sons of Imam, said.

Badal is priced at Rs 11 lakh while Rani carries the tag of Rs 15 lakh. Another horse, 4-year-old Raja, is priced at Rs 9 lakh, he said.

The price depends on speed, breed, colour and nature a horse. A white horse fetches good price because of its demand in race, films and many auspicious occasions, he said.

Apart from Nausher, other family members are also helping Imam. Mohammad Feroz, 35, said he had come from Gujarat, where he works in a private firm, on leave to help his uncle in the family business. Imams cousin Mohammad Sudan Khan, who has just completed his is mechanical engineering, is also lending a helping hand.

Normally, we keep only five horses at our farm in the village. The other horses are purchased form Punjab, Rajashthan, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir and Manipur, trained and then taken to different fairs, including the Sonepur event, Imam said. The horses of Arabian breed have been brought from Mumbai and Punjab, he said.

A family member, assisting Imam, said they were spending Rs 200 on fodder and other needs of each horse at the fair.

The horses, which remain unsold at Sonepur, are taken other livestock fairs, including Etawah cattle fair in UP, Nanded-Malegaon and Sarangkheda cattle fairs in Maharashtra. Some of the are also supplied to Bollywood filmmakers in Mumbai, he said.

The month-long cattle fair is held annually, beginning on Kartik Poornima, at Sonepur, about 30 km from Patna, on 500 acres of land near the confluence of the Ganga and Gandak rivers.
A top Maoist commander, identified as Somda, was killed in a gun battle with security forces in Sukma district of Chhattisgarh on Thursday evening, police said on Friday.

Sukmas superintendent of police Abhishek Meena said the military platoon commander of the outlawed CPI (Maoists) was identified with the help of surrendered rebels.

We are expecting more casualties and it may take some more time to recover the bodies in the deep forests, Meena said while speaking to the Hindustan Times.

We identified blood marks at different places in the forests suggesting more deaths, he added.

Another police officer said at least eight to ten more militants might have been hit in the gunfire.

A joint operation involving District Reserve Guards and Special Task Force (STF) personnel was launched in border areas of Fullbagdi, Aranpur and Gadiras police stations in Sukma and Dantewada areas, sources said.

When the DRG and STF personnel were moving towards Sukma, they encountered a large group of 50-60 Maoists leading to an exchange of fire, Meena said.

The militants were said to have slipped into the deep forests, leaving behind their dead commander after the firing that lasted for more than an hour.

Meena said police have recovered a self-loading rifle and two magazines from Somda.

Thursdays encounter is the second in a week in Sukma after nine Maoists and two security personnel were killed in Saklar village under Kistaram police limits on Monday.
Neglected for 70 years after independence due to its location along the international border, Dera Baba Nanak is finally seeing a ray of hope of economic development in the visa-free corridor to be built from this historic town on the Indian side to Gurdwara Darbar Sahib at Kartarpur in Pakistan.

Little less than 2 kilometres from the international border and nearly 7 kilometres from the Kartarpur gurdwara, the last resting place of Guru Nanak, the founder of Sikhism, Dera Baba Nanak stopped being a trading hub after the new border was drawn. The town has two historic gurdwaras  Gurdwara Darbar Sahib (also by the same name as the Kartarpur shrine) and Gurdwara Chola Sahib.

Though it has a main market and three small bazaars outside Gurdwara Darbar Sahib, it is not able to meet needs of the clients from surrounding areas due to migration of many big traders.

Residents of surrounding villages prefer to visit Batala and Fatehgarh Churian towns for shopping. This affected the business here. With the announcement of the corridor, local traders are seeing a hope of revival, says Gurkirpal Singh, a local resident.

Even as there is uncertainty about alignment of the corridor, the real estate prices in the area have risen tenfold. Even big hoteliers from Delhi and Mumbai are ready to invest here, he says.

Dera Baba Nanak municipal council president Perneet Singh Bedi says, It was a large town before Partition. Keeping its population and business activity in mind, the British formed the municipal council in 1885. However, after 1947, many started migrating from here to big towns.

The 1965 and 1971 Indo-Pak wars forced the locals to leave the place. Two floods and militancy added to the woes of those stayed back. This is perhaps the only Punjab town whose population has been going down. Presently, it has 6,400 residents, he said.

As per the 2001 census, the population of the town was 7,500.

With the corridor project, those who had migrated from here due to loss of trade may return. Those into real estate have started taking rounds of the revenue office to check the volume of land sale. But landowners are not planning yet to sell real estate as they are expecting price rise in near future, he said.

Once the corridor gets completed, the daily footfall of visitors to the town is likely to be in thousands. The pilgrims who come to pay obeisance at the Golden Temple in Amritsar will also visit Kartarpur, says Perneet Bedi.

Punjab cooperation and jail minister Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa, also local MLA, said, Once the corridor opens, the hotel industry in the area will also witness a boom. The proposed infrastructural uplift will also make devotees stay here longer. It will help promote religious tourism.

Amarjit Singh, a farmer and sarpanch of Sadhan Wali village near Dera Baba Nanak, said some people e approached local farmers, especially those whose land is situated along the passage up to the border.

Chaudhri Manan, an Amritsar-based hotelier and transporter who runs buses from Amritsar to Dera Baba Nanak, says his business will grow multifold with the corridor.
Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) president Gobind Singh Longowal , whose selfie with Pakistan-based Khalistani leader Gopal Singh Chawla has gone viral on social media, on Friday said he never knew who Chawla was.

Chawla, the Pakistan Sikh Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (PSGPC) general secretary, clicked the selfie with Longowal during the groundbreaking ceremony of the corridor being constructed from Gurdwara Darbar Sahib, Kartarpur in Pakistan to Dera Baba Nanak in India. The corridor will provide Indian devotees access to the shrine, the last resting place of Guru Nanak. Chawla sat with Longowal as well.

Interacting with media at the Attari-Wagah border post after returning to India from his Pakistan visit, Longowal said that he did not know who sat with him. There were large number of devotees at the ceremony and we did not know all. Secondly, the seats were allotted by the government and we could not move to any other seat. If I would do, it would have violation of the fixed protocol, he said.

Chawlas selfie with Longowal surfaced after leaders of the Akali Dal and the BJP had criticised Punjab minister Navjot Singh Sidhu over his photo with Chawla which had also gone viral. Sidhu also denied knowing Chawla, while adding thousands of photos of him had been clicked during his visit.

Longowal also disclosed that he visited many historic Sikh shrines in Pakistan but found them in bad shape. These shrines are in very bad state and the heritage structures are dilapidated. The local people have encroached on the historical buildings and land. I have planned another visit to Pakistan January 13 next year to take up the matter on government level and with the officials of Pakistan Sikh Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee and Evacuee Trust Property Board (ETPB) representatives, he said.

My visit would be to ensure that the encroachments are removed and old glory and sanctity of the gurdwaras are restored, he added.
The Central Statistical Office (CSO), which releases Indias official GDP numbers, has released a partial back series of GDP statistics for the new GDP series (base year 2011-12). The back series has come almost four years after new GDP series figures were announced in January 2015. They are partial, because the back series ends at 2004-05 currently. The CSO has said that figures for earlier years will be released subsequently.

Even before economists and statisticians could deliberate on the figures, they have generated a political storm. This was expected. The numbers show that the economy has performed much better under the current government than the Congress led United Progressive Alliance (UPA). This is in contrast to what was shown by the old GDP series (2004-05 series).

Predictably, the Congress has rubbished these figures and accused the CSO, and by implication the government, of fudging numbers.

The government has dismissed these allegations. In his blog, finance minister Arun Jaitley has accused the Congress of being selective about the data under the new series. Those who took after the new series in 2015 now consider the new series to be a hatched job and a bad joke. What humours some when data shows an upward trend depresses them if it moves in the reverse direction, Jaitley wrote.

To be sure, the new GDP estimates have been questioned by independent economists too. The seeds of these doubts were sown in when it was revealed that the methodology which was used for estimating output by the private corporate sector in the GDP numbers were different from what was agreed upon by a committee appointed by the CSO itself. The revision led to a significant hike in value added and corporate sector saving figures. A 2015 Mint article by Pramit Bhattacharya had discussed these issues in detail.

Also read | Gimmickry, jugglery: Congress after govt slashes GDP rate during UPA era

The GDP controversy erupted again in August this year, when a committee appointed by the National Statistical Commission (NSC) estimated a back series for the 2011-12 series. These figures suggested that economic growth was much higher under UPA I than what was showed in the old series. It actually went past the psychological barrier of 10% in 2006-07. To be sure, these estimates did not follow the standard methodology used for calculating internationally comparable GDP estimates.

While the CSO has claimed that the latest numbers are in keeping with the United Nations System of National Accounts 2008 framework, an important problem remains. This has to do with use of ministry of corporate affairs (MCA) database for calculating GDP figures. Since the MCA database is not available for the period before 2006-07, consistent calculation cannot be made.

This problem was also flagged by N R Bhanumurthy, professor at the National Institute for Public Finance and Policy, who chaired the sub-committee which prepared GDP back series numbers in the NSC report discussed above.

In fact, the CSO statement which was released along with the GDP back series numbers admits the problem of non-availability of data. The methodology for preparing the back-series estimates for the years 2004-05 to 2010-11 is largely the same as the methodology followed in the new base (2011-12). In certain cases, owing to the limitations of the availability of data, either splicing method or ratios observed in the estimates in base year 2011-12 have been applied, it says. One will have to wait for independent academic evaluation of these methods to ascertain whether such adjustments are justifiable.

You may also like | Govt says new GDP calculation is more reflective of Indian economy

There is another catch with the GDP back series numbers. GDP growth figures are expected to be in line with other important economic variables too. Fortunately, many of these are not embroiled in controversies around change of base year. It is here, that these numbers raise some troubling questions.

For example, Annual Survey of Industry (ASI) data is taken as the most comprehensive indicator of industrial activity in the Indian economy. A comparison of growth of industrial output in the ASI database and manufacturing output in the old GDP series shows that ASI figures were always higher than GDP figures. However, this relation seems to have weakened in the recent phase. Even Index of Industrial Production (IIP) data on manufacturing growth seems to be a continuous underestimate of manufacturing activity shown in the new GDP figures.

This is not to suggest that either of these is definitely better than the other. Such a claim will require serious research beyond the scope of journalistic work. However, it does raise serous questions about using indicators like the ASI and IIP to understand industrial activity in the economy now. (see Chart)

The short point is a credible GDP series should present a methodologically sound and long-term coherent picture of the economy. There are substantive reasons why the new GDP series has shortcomings on this count. It is important that these concerns are addressed in a transparent and effective manner in the days to come and political one-upmanship does not vitiate the process beyond redemption.

Also read | Ahead of 2019 polls, govt slashes GDP growth data during UPA
Tamil Nadus AIADMK government on Friday approached the Supreme Court against the construction of reservoir across Cauvery at Mekedatu in Karnataka, asking the top court to order Karnataka to put on hold all plans to proceed with the reservoir and drinking water project.

The petition comes days after the reservoir became a rallying point for Tamil Nadus opposition parties, which have planned a huge protest next week to target the BJP-led national coalitions decision to allow Karnataka to take the first step towards building the dam across Cauvery. DMK president MK Stalin has described the centres approval as an act of betrayal by the Centre in collusion with the AIADMK government.

Mekedatu is upstream of the Mettur reservoir in Tamil Nadu, which is worried that the reservoir would deprive the state of its share of water from Cauvery, already an emotive issue.

The Mekedatu project concerns the construction of a dam at Mekedatu in Kanakapura Taluk, Ramanagara district, on the river Cauvery at a projected cost of Rs 5,912 crore to store 66 thousand million cubic feet (tmcft) of water to provide for drinking water to Bengaluru, Ramanagara and surrounding districts of southern Karnataka. Around 400 megawatts of power is also proposed to be generated through the project.

The previous Siddaramaiah led Congress government had in 2013 decided to go ahead with the project and had sought the CWCs approval. However, the Tamil Nadu government and then chief minister J Jayalalithaa had written to the Centre opposing the project.

The approval comes about 10 months after the Supreme Court refused to revisit a tribunal order, which was based on a 1924 agreement between the then Mysore princely state and the Madras Presidency. It had ordered Karnataka, the upper riparian state, to release 177.25 tmcft annually to Tamil Nadu as its share of water from the Cauvery.

Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to instruct Union Water Resources Ministry to withdraw the permission forthwith.

News about the approval was greeted with condemnation by opposition parties, which criticized both the BJP-led central and the AIADMK-led state governments.

Palaniswami has also sent a letter to the Prime Minister, pointing out that the Central Water Commission had given its approval without considering the genuine and justifiable objections of Tamil Nadu.

The action of the Central Water Commission has caused great alarm and apprehension among the people of Tamil Nadu, as it will affect the livelihood of lakhs of farmers who depend on Cauvery Water, Palaniswami said in his missive, adding, the proposal for a reservoir is not just for drinking water alone as claimed by Karnataka, but to increase the extent of irrigation which is in clear violation of the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal award as affirmed by the Honble Supreme Court.
Thousands of farmers demanding better prices for their produce marched in the heart of the national capital on Friday, an event that culminated in top opposition leaders, including Congress president Rahul Gandhi, sharing the stage with protesters and launching a united attack on the National Democratic Alliance (NDA)

government over agrarian

distress.

Addressing the estimated 15,000 demonstrators, Gandhi said the opposition was committed to farmers welfare even if that meant changing the law or the Prime Minister.

He was flanked by Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar, National Conferences Farooq Abdullah and Communist Party of India (Marxist) general secretary Sitaram Yechury, among other prominent leaders.

There are leaders from other parties here. We can have different ideologies, but we are united in extending support for the cause of farmers and the youth, Gandhi said, drawing cheers from the protesters who are demanding higher prices for their produce as well as loan waivers.

Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, who too was present at the rally, alleged that Prime Minister Narendra Modis government had stabbed farmers in the back by not fulfilling promises made to them.

The coming together of 23 opposition parties in support of farmers coincided with assembly elections in five states at a time when rural distress  a result mainly of unremunerative prices of farm commodities and adverse weather events  has moved to the centre stage of political discourse . It also set the stage for a key meeting on December 10, when the opposition is expected to chalk out a strategy to fight the 2019 Lok Sabha elections against the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

Agriculture minister Radha Mohan Singh attacked the Congress for not implementing a report by the MS Swaminathan Commission that recommended higher minimum support prices for farmers. Singh stressed the critical reforms introduced by the NDA government, including a new agricultural insurance programme.

It is drama, confusion and corruption and destruction for the whole country, said BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra, reacting to the farmers agitation that turned out to be a display of opposition unity.

Farmers from across the country, under the banner of the All India Kisan Sangharsh Coordination Committee (AIKSCC), converged in New Delhi a day ago, and started their march to Parliament around 10.30am on Friday, waving flags and chanting slogans. Denied permission to proceed to the legislature, they gathered on Parliament Street ,where opposition leaders joined them. Some farmers carried human skulls, symbolic of the spate of suicides by debt-laden farmers.

AIKSCC claims to be an umbrella body of 207 organisations of farmers and agricultural workers. Farmers from states such as Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal and Uttar Pradesh took part in the protest. Agriculture contributes about 15% of Indias $2.6 trillion economy.

Crops are getting sold at a low price. The much-hyped soil health card of the [Madhya Pradesh] government benefits only a selected few. Those who are not benefited are in distress, said Ram Inaniya, who came from the state where elections were held on November 28 and results will be announced, alongside the outcome in four other states, on December 11.

In a pamphlet distributed during the protest, farmers said they had to buy farm inputs at higher price than the price they were able to sell their produce. Our life, too, is cheap...The key to solving our problem is with the government, but it doesnt listen to us, read the message, which apologised to the citys residents for the inconvenience the demonstration may have caused them.

The farmers also demanded a special session of Parliament and the passage of two bills  to assure them a fair price for their produce and for waiving the loans they owe.

Agricultural scientist Swaminathan backed the protest, saying the central and state governments must pay attention to pricing, procurement and public distribution to address farmers woes. He also said the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) in 2007 did not take action on the National Policy for Farmers, which seeks to improve the economic viability of farming, according to news agency Press Trust of India.

The demand for loan waiver comes from the present non-remunerative nature of farming and is indicative of the fact that economic viability is as important to farmers as to industrialists, he said.

(With agency inputs)
The forest department and special task force (STF) rescued 778 parakeets from smugglers in two separate operations conducted in Ayodhya and Lucknow on Wednesday.

In a mid-night operation, forest officials rescued 497 parakeets which were being smuggled from Lucknow to Gorakhpur on the roof top of a state transport department bus.

The operation took place in Tehseenpur in Ayodhya between 12 and 2am on Wednesday night. The bus driver and conductor have been arrested and sent on judicial remand.

We got a tip-off that parakeets are being taken on a transport bus from Lucknow to Gorakhpur and will be smuggled to Nepal, said Ravi Kumar Singh, divisional forest officer, Ayodhya.

A team of forest department and police officials stationed themselves at the national highway and started checking buses that came on the route towards Ayodhya.

Till about 2am in the night they stayed on the highway and checked the suspected buses. We checked 7 to 8 buses and the rescued the birds, said Singh.

A team of forest department and police officials stationed themselves at the national highway and started checking buses that came on the route towards Ayodhya for illegal smuggling. (HT Photo)

The parakeets are protected under schedule-IV of the Indian Wildlife Protection Act. A parakeet is one of many small to medium-sized species of parrot that generally have long tail feathers.

Besides, 285 parakeets were rescued from Chowk near Akbari Gate in Lucknow on Thursday. Three people Mohd Zaid of Sadatganj in Lucknow and Ramu and Ranjit of Sitapur were arrested for keeping the birds illegally in a net cage. They were hiding them beneath sacks.

These three used to purchase the birds from hunters in Kheri and Sitapur and used sell to locals. They also sold birds to people in Kolkata and Patna, said officials.

Three such operations have been conducted in the state in past one week. Besides, 10 turtles were also rescued from smugglers in Munshipulia in Lucknow earlier this week.
After chief minister Yogi Adityanath called Lord Hanuman a Dalit during an election rally in Rajasthans Alwar last week, Dalits in Agra have demanded that management of all Hanuman temples across the country be handed over to them.

At least 30 Dalits, wearing janeu (sacred thread), reciting Hanuman chalisa (a devotional hymn) and shouting slogans like Dalit devta Hanuman ki jai (long live Dalit god Hanuman), reached the Hanuman temple at Langre ki Chowki on Delhi-Kanpur Highway on Thursday.

We were not aware that Lord Hanuman was from our community. It was the chief minister who communicated this to us during his speech last week. Now, all Hanuman temples should be handed over to us. We didnt know that the gods we prayed to are associated with any caste. If our CM is of firm belief, the society should come forward and hand over these temples to Dalits, said Congress leader Amit Singh who led Dalits and offered prayers at the temple.

On Thursday, Nand Kumar Sai, chairperson, National Commission for Scheduled Tribes, claimed: In Kurukh, language spoken by people tigga (a gotra) means monkey. In the Kanwar tribe, which I belong to, theres a clan called Hanuman... Therefore, I believe they belonged to the tribals and accompanied Lord Ram in the big war, Sai said.

Meanwhile, Congresss Rajasthan unit has lodged a complaint against Yogi with the EC.

Also, within BJP, UP MLA Surendra Singh said, God is above caste. There are Gods of all castes... relating them with a particular caste in not appropriate.
Days after chief minister Yogi Adityanath called Lord Hanuman a Dalit during an election rally in Rajasthan, chairman of the National Commission for Scheduled Tribes (NCST) Nand Kumar Sai on Thursday said Lord Hanuman was a tribal.

Addressing media persons after a meeting with the state government officials, Sai said: There are various sub-castes in the tribal community like Hanuman, Vanar, Giddha and Jatayu. It is a well-known fact that when Lord Ram was in exile, members of tribal community became his close aides. They also helped him in the battle against Ravan. Hanuman was also a tribal who resided in forest area.

Addressing a public meeting in Malakheda area of Alwar on Wednesday, Yogi had said, Bajrang Bali hamari bhartiya parampara mein ek aise lokdevta hain jo swayam vanvaasi hain, girvasi hain, dalit hain, vanchit hain (Lord Hanuman was a forest dweller, a Dalit and deprived).

Those who are Ram bhakt (devotees of Lord Ram) should vote for the BJP while those who believe in Ravan should support the Congress, he had said.

A right wing organisation, Sarv Brahmin Mahasabha, sent a legal notice to Yogi demanding unconditional apology from him.

Saying that tribals in Uttar Pradesh were not getting benefits of government welfare schemes, the NCST chief said the UP government had submitted the utility certificate of the funds released by the Centre since 2014.

Due to laxity on the part of UP government, the Centre has not been releasing budget for tribal welfare scheme. The tribal community was also denied benefit of welfare schemes due to an error in 2011 Census as well, he said.

As per the data collected by NCST, the population of tribals in the state is over 1 crore but according to 2011 Census the population of tribal community in the state is 11.34 lakh which is 0.56% of the state population, he said.

Expressing concern over fake caste certificates in the state, Sai said, Non-tribals get fake certificates made while a large number of tribal are not issued certificates. Tribals have also launched agitations on the issue.

Demanding strict action against officers involved in the racket of issuing fake certificates, Sai said the Commission had asked the state government to look into the matter.

Due to the atrocities committed by the police and forest department, a large number of tribals have joined CPI (Maoist) in Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand and other states, he said.

Sai said Maoists were wooing tribals with the promise that they would help them get rid of atrocities.

The Commission has urged the state government to solve the problems of tribals on priority basis. In Sarguja area of Chhattisgarh, the presence of Maoists has diminished as the problems of tribals were solved, he said.

NCST vice-chairperson Anusuiya Uikey said the allotment of land had been denied to tribals in Sonbhadra, Chandauli, Kushinagar and other districts.

Around 92,520 applications were received for allotment of land but merely 17,791 applications were cleared, Uikey said.

Chief secretary Anup Chandra Pandey, who was present in the meeting, assured NCST members that utility certificate would be forwarded soon.

Fake certificates will be cancelled and action will be taken against errant officers, he added.
A 57-year-old leading fireman was killed while another was injured when an explosion ripped through a small eatery in Kalyan (West) on Thursday. Jagan Amle was part of the team of four firemen and died on the spot. Chief fire officer of Kalyan-Dombivli Municipal Corporation, Dilip Gund, said, Amle always followed all safety measures. It was unfortunate that the explosion took place and he lost his life. The Bazarpeth police station has registered a case of accidental death.

On Thursday, the fire department of KDMC received a call around 1.15am, reporting smoke from a small eatery in Khadakpada. A fire tender and four firemen reached Aaswad Chinese Center to douse the blaze around 1am. The fire seemed to be minor. Amle and Sandeep Palve, 35, went towards the entrance to douse the flames while Nikhil Isame and Pramod Kolte looked into the water supply for the hose.

KDMCs fire officer Sudhakar Kulkarni said, The firemen were initially planning to cool the shutter with water and then open it to enter the small eatery. Amle was not going to enter the eatery and so was not wearing a helmet. He was a leading fireman and was supposed to give instructions to Palve. Just as the firemen were going to enter the premises, there was a loud explosion. Two firemen were thrown away. The [eaterys] heavy shutter crashed on Amles head. Amle died on the spot and Palve suffered injuries on his hand, said Kulkarni.

KDMC commissioner Govind Bodke has sought a detailed report from the fire department. The civic body will extend all help to the family, he said.

Amle, who was to retire in September 2019, is survived by his wife Jyotsna, 46; two daughters, Priyanka and Pooja; and one son, Yadnesh. Priyanka, 27, is married and lives in Nagpur. Pooja, 22, is studying engineering, and Yadnesh, 18, is a student at the Industrial Training Institute (ITI) in Bhiwandi. Amle was the only earning member in the family. The family is in shock, said Amles sister Surekha Amurkar, 52. He was known to be the best fireman in the department. Last year, KDMC gave Amle the Adarsh award for his dedication.

The Bazarpeth police station has filed an accidental death report. It is suspected that a short circuit might have caused the fire, said senior police inspector R Tayde, adding that strict action would be taken against the owners if any violations were found. Locals said the eatery is run by two brothers, who also have a battery service shop attached to the eatery. There is an MSEDCL transformer next to the eating joint.

This is the second time KDMCs fire department has suffered losses this month. On November 1, two leading firemen died while carrying out rescue operations at a well in Kalyan (East).
More than a thousand workers of a phone manufacturing unit in Sector 63 gathered outside the plant on Thursday morning to protest against the company asking 200 employees to go on leave. The agitation turned violent after protesters hurled stones at the building, damaging its windows.

The incident took place outside the manufacturing unit of Hipad Technology India Private Limited, a Chinese phone company, in A Block of Sector 63. Police said nearly 200 workers were denied access to the plant and were asked by the management to go on leave for 15 days.

The workers construed that they were being laid off and resorted to violence.

I stay in East Vinod Nagar, Delhi. I came to the plant for work around 8am and saw that some of the workers were not being allowed inside. Soon afterwards, the management put up a list of nearly 200 workers and asked them to go on leave. But, in this business, we all know that going on leave means getting fired and that is why workers got angry. They were being laid off without any prior information and that is not fair, Arjun, a worker with the plant, who was also participating in the demonstration, said.

He said the plant makes phones for Oppo and Xiaomi. The production demand had been low after Diwali. We found out on Thursday that the management had asked the contractors to let some of the workers go, but we didnt know this and everyone continued coming to work. The management told our bosses that they would employ us in a second plant nearby but that would take some time. What do they expect us to do in the meantime? Arjun said.

Around 8.30am, when several workers were unable to get through the biometric system, they started gathering outside the building demanding answers. Around 9.30am, the situation turned violent as some of the protesters hurled stones at the building.

The firm officials, including a few Chinese nationals, were trapped inside during the stone pelting after which police were informed about the incident.

Senior police officers, including the superintendent of police (city) and circle officer, visited the site along with officials of the labour department.

We have spoken to the workers and the company management. It seems that they have contracts with three vendors (contractors). The company had asked them to reduce their workers due to shortage of raw material. However, the vendors didnt do so. Today, they put up a list of 200 employees asking them to go on leave, which the workers mistook as firing, Harish Chandra Singh, assistant labour commissioner (ALC), said.

He said that it was a case of miscommunication. The management should have communicated to the workers instead of just talking to the vendors. They should have taken a list of workers from the vendors and communicated to them whatever the issue was, the ALC said.

He said the plant has closed manufacturing for now and will resume work on Monday. Our team will monitor the situation and we have been told that all workers will be present then, Singh said.

A management official said, The contract of the company clearly mentions that the services of contractual staff can be terminated at any point of their tenure without any prior notice.

Police said so far, neither party has filed a formal complaint. We have taken control of the situation. We came to know about the ruckus around 10am. No injury was reported. However, there was some damage to the building, Akhilesh Tripathi, station house officer, Phase 3 police station, said.

He said the police have detained a few workers and are questioning them to find out how the ruckus started. However, no arrest has been made yet, the SHO said.
An 8-year-old boy was killed allegedly by a Scorpio SUV driver who was performing stunts at a wedding reception in Nandgram, Ghaziabad, late Wednesday.

The boys family said the child had gone to watch the stunts along with two other boys. After the locals informed the police about the incident, officers reached the spot and seized the SUV and arrested the driver, Shamsuddin, who is stated to be a resident of Old Seemapuri in Delhi.

Onlookers said the driver was making steep turns at a high speed, besides applying the brakes suddenly in order to lift the front as well as the back portion of the SUV to entertain people.

The boy, Vansh, was the older of two siblings and a resident of Nandgram. His father, Mohan Kumar, an auto-rickshaw driver, said the boy had gone to watch the stunts performed by the driver in a colourfully painted SUV. The driver was reportedly part of the group that had come to play DJ music at the reception held in Ambedkar Bhawan.

I was having dinner when my wife asked to me go out and look for Vansh around 10.30pm. A wedding ceremony was on in Ambedkar Bhawan nearby. When I neared the venue, I found a crowd there and some people told me that three boys were knocked down by the SUV. The two boys with Vansh escaped with minor injuries, Kumar said.

We then rushed to a nearby hospital where we were told that the boy was taken to another hospital in Kavi Nagar. There, my son was declared dead on arrival. He sustained severe injuries to the head and other parts of the body after he was hit by the SUV at a high speed, Kumar said.

Jitendra Baliyan, SHO, Sihani Gate police station, said, The accused driver was arrested. He had arrived at the wedding with a group of people who provided the DJ music at the function. He was driving the SUV at a high speed and performing stunts. Vansh was taken to a hospital where he was declared dead by doctors. We have lodged an FIR against the accused after a police complaint was filed by the victims family.

Shamsuddin was booked under IPC sections 304a (causing death by negligence) and 279 (rash driving) of IPC at the Sihani Gate police station.
The 1971 Indo-Pak war between December 3 and 16 led to the independence of east Pakistan. With the liberation war nearing its 47th anniversary, Colonel Ashok Kumar Tara (veteran), Vir Chakra, and one of the honoured officers of the war, shares his experience with Hindustan Times. Born on February 27, 1942, Tara (76) was commissioned in the Brigade of The Guards in 1963. He is a veteran soldier of Indo-Pak wars, 1965 and 1971. In 1965 he took part in the Battle of Gadra (Rajasthan) and in 1971 in the Battle of Gangasagar in Bangladesh. During the 1971 war in Bangladesh, he disregarded his safety and without carrying any weapon, rescued the family of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, including present Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina from the custody of Pakistani forces.

Here are some excerpts from the interview

What is your opinion on the current border transgressions happening on the LoC near China and Pakistan?

The transgressions is only a kind of physiological pressure to the force. Its a kind of political pressure the border nations wish to put on. China wants to have a good relationship with India as they are with Pakistan. With the support that China receives from the US and Russia, the Indian Navy should keep themselves more cautious and alert across the Pacific Ocean.

Tell us about rescue operation of the family of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman

Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, first President and founder of Peoples Republic of Bangladesh, and the present Prime Minister of Bangladesh Sheikh Hasina were held by Pakistan during the Indo-Pak War. The rescue has helped the relations with Bangladesh. Failing to save the life of Sheikh Hasina would have changed the present political relations between India and Bangladesh. The operation was also known as the battle of guts and wits (a psychological war).

Do you think the Doklam situation could have been handled better?

Doklam is a narrow plateau line in the tri-junction of Bhutan, China and India. Its basically a pressure point and most sensitive part to Indian Army. The situation in Doklam can change at any point of time and it has to be handled in a strategical way.

There are talks of downsizing the Indian Army by the current chief

Its a matter of perception. Every Army commander will have his own views of handling its men. My experience on the same is from the past, which cannot be compared to the present functioning of the defence system. While we took up some policies of the British Army, but changed it as per our own perspective..

Your point of view on the Army chiefs decision to deploy soldiers to build railway overbridges and clean up garbage?

I believe its just an exercise that has helped the citizens.
BJP national president Amit Shah on Thursday said his party would kick out all the infiltrators from the country if it returns to power at the Centre following the general elections due next year.

Shah was addressing a meeting in Karauli, ahead of the assembly election due on December 7, and again at the Centre in 2019, saying the party would kick out all infiltrators from the country. He said the Congress had failed to disclose its chief ministerial candidate in the state. He requested the people to help BJP form the government again in the state and to make Vasundhara Raje the chief minister.

After winning the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, the BJP won 19 states and removed the Congress from these states, he said.

Shah said during 10 years of UPA rule, the Congress government led by prime minister Manmohan Singh failed to take action against Pakistan. He said the BJP had worked for the development of the people and referred to several schemes of the centre and state governments.

The BJP national president said Congress leaders and workers dont like the slogan Bharat Mata Ki Jai and prefer Sonia Gandhi Ki Jai. He said during the UPA government, the centre had given Rs1,09,242 crore to Rajasthan under the 13 Finance Commission while the government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi had doubled the amount and given Rs 2,63,580 crore to the state.

Click here for complete coverage of Rajasthan Assembly Election 2018
Rajasthans gaupalan minister is campaigning in Sirohi to seek a third term as an MLA. Otaram Dewasi, 54, has helmed Indias only ministry for welfare of cows for four years but doesnt talk about cattle during his poll meetings in the run-up to the December 7 Rajasthan assembly election.

The man, who wraps a white cotton cloth with red border around his bare torso, wears a white dhoti and a maroon turban, looks anything but a politician but when he gets down from his grey Innova to address public meetings in Barewda and Sagalia village, he rattles off like a seasoned politician a list of works he has done as an MLA.

Cows, however, find no mention in his speeches.

A triangular gold earrings dangle from his earlobes and two thick gold bangles on each wrist stand him apart. This is my uniform, says Dewasi, who is pujari (priest) of a temple of Chamunda Devi in Mundara village in neighbouring Pali district.

He came into politics at the behest of former chief minister Bhairon Singh Shekhawat. Shekhawat contested from Bali constituency and Dewasi marshaled his communitys support for him. Later, Vasundhara Raje made his chairman of the Rajasthan Livestock Board. Dewasi contested his first election in 2008 from Sirohi and has represented the constituency for two straight terms.

I was the first chairman of the livestock board and the first minister of the gaupalan department, he says as a matter of pride.

Read| Rajasthan assembly elections 2018: Unemployment dole, jobs in BJP manifesto

Dewasi is a rabari, a pastoral community, and has natural love for the livestock. When chief minister Vasundhara Raje set up the department of gaupalan in 2014 to fulfil a promise BJP made in its manifesto for the 2013 Assembly election, Dewasi was the obvious choice to head it.

Speaking to HT, the six-foot-tall minister said, In 4 years, we have spent 450 crore as grant to cow shelters. Initially the grant was for a maximum of three months; we increased it to six and my plan is to make it for nine months.

However, in village meetings, his work as cow welfare minister doesnt get any mention.

Dewasi is the 11th generation priest of the Chamunda temple in Mundara, where he lives in a joint family with his three brothers. Mundara is about 100km from Sirohi city where he has set up his election office. Dewasi doesnt have a house in his constituency and has put up in a hotel for the campaign.

During his campaign on Thursday, people shouted, Dekho dekho kaun aaya, Chamunda ka sher aaya [Look whos here, the tiger of Chamunda]. Women rushed to touch his feet. Some even sought the blessings of baapji for their children . They call me baapji out of reverence for my position as the pujari, says Dewasi.

BJP candidate from Sirohi, Otaram Dewasi (in maroon turban and white dhoti) during an election campaign. (HT Photo )

In a small crowd gathered to listen to his poll pitch in Morli village, there are men with maroon turbans who are rabaris.

Dewasis driver says, The colour of the turban tells you about peoples caste in this area. The Kumawats wear light maroon colour and the turbans of the Meghwals is almost pink.

Dewasi carries a file from which he reads out the works that he has done for a particular village, a pair of reading glasses precariously perched on the middle of his nose bone. Between public meetings, he calls up people on his mobile phone.

10 days are enough to know a person  I have been here for 10 years. You know me enough now, he begins the address in Van village, before making fun of key, the election symbol of a candidate who is contesting as an Independent after he was denied ticket by the Congress.

Theres rust on the key; it cant open any lock, he says as people break into smiles. The message is conveyed without naming the candidate.

Also Read | Campaigning for Assembly polls gathers steam in Rajasthan

Dewasi speaks in the local dialect and instantly connects with the elders, especially those from his community. Sirohis 33-year-old Zila Pramukh (head of district panchayat body) Payal Parasrampuria makes the introductory pitch for the party. The woman in starched cotton saree is a big draw among the girls.

Dewasi carries a bunch of marigold garlands and a turban in his car, to be used in meetings by the locals and then packed for the next destination.

Click here for complete coverage of Rajasthan Assembly Election 2018
Jharkhand chief minister Raghubar Das on Thursday announced interest-free loan for one year to farmers and six-hour uninterrupted power supply to them for agriculture purpose.

In a bid to ease farmers burden, our government has decided that no interest will be charged from farmers on agricultural loan for one-year. The government will pay the interest to banks, Das said, adding that the farmers would have to repay the loan in a year.

Das was addressing the inaugural function of the two-day Global Agriculture and Food Summit in Ranchi.

The foundation stone of 50 food processing plants was also jointly laid by Das and Union agriculture minister Radha Mohan Singh on the occasion. The plants, being set up at a projected cost of Rs 271 crore, are likely to create employment for the youth and provide the farmers right cost for their products.

The chief minister said the Jharkhand government would also offer mobile phones to 28 lakh farmers of the state so that they could remain updated with the market trends.

Distribution of mobile phones will begin in 2019 and all farmers will have it in their hands by 2021, the CM said, adding that his government would ensure separate electricity feeders for farmers and six-hour uninterrupted power supply for agriculture purpose.

The Jharkhand government paid Rs 21 crore premium against crop insurance in 2018-19. The government will pay the crop insurance premium in the next fiscal also, Das said, adding that 100 farmers, including 50 women, would be sent to Israel and the Philippines to learn modern farming techniques.

The chief minister suggested the farmers to try and earn one-third of their income from agriculture, another one-third from animal husbandry and yet another one-third from horticulture.

The farmers, who have barren fields, could embark on solar farming, which would help them increase their income. The government will procure solar energy through grid at Rs 3 per unit, he said.

Addressing the gathering after inaugurating the event, Radha Mohan Singh said Jharkhand, a mineral rich state, had great agriculture potential.

Agriculture, animal husbandry and fishery saw a remarkable growth in the state in the last four years under the leadership of Das. Jharkhand will soon become number one state in fishery, Singh said, adding that two lakh tonne fish were produced in the state in 2018-19 compared to one lakh tonne in 2013-14.

Representatives from five partner countries China, Israel, Mongolia, the Philippines and Tunisia  said the global forum would open the door of agriculture development in Jharkhand as well as in their countries.

Maya Kadosh, charge daffaires, embassy of Israel, said, We are looking for a joint venture with Jharkhand government in agriculture technology advancement.

Over 5,000 farmers are taking part in the global summit. The farmers said it was lifetime opportunity for them to learn about new technology in agriculture sector.
Chancellor Angela Merkels plane suffered an emergency en route to the Group of 20 summit in Buenos Aires as a serious electrical malfunction forced the pilots to return to Germany, where the plane landed heavily in Cologne on a runway surrounded by fire trucks.

The four-engine Airbus A340 experienced difficulties southwest of Amsterdam, less than an hour into the flight from Berlin. The pilots dumped fuel, but even so the plane touched down in Cologne with a heavy load for a trans-Atlantic flight. News portal Spiegel Online later reported the plane suffered a complete failure of its communication system that left the crew without contact with ground control.

The German leader plans to fly to Madrid early Friday and from there take a commercial flight to Argentina, accompanied by Finance Minister Olaf Scholz and a small delegation, according to an official. The media contingent who had been traveling with her will remain in Germany.

Its Urgent

There were few early signs of trouble on board the flight, aside from a frozen video screen that would normally show the progress of the flight. Then, as Merkel was speaking with reporters about the latest tensions between Russia and the Ukraine, the door opened and a crew member asked her to come out. Why now?, Merkel asked. Its urgent, the crew member replied. Later, Merkel would say she thought something bad had happened in Germany.

(Follow live updates of the G20 summit here)

Scholz remained with the reporters until Merkel returned 10 minutes later. The world is already full of problems, Merkel said. Now we have one more minor problem. The plane has a technical defect. We have to fly back. After landing at Cologne, the reporters were told, they would switch to a substitute plane that was already on its way.

Twenty five minutes later the captain announced the planes electronic systems had failed, rendering it unable to cross the Atlantic. Fire trucks with blue lights waited on the runway as the plane landed thirty minutes later before taxiing to the military area of the airport.

Read: Indian shares hit near 2-month high ahead of GDP data, G20 meet

After 30 minutes on board as firemen inspected the plane, a spokesman told reporters the replacement plane would be unable to fly to Buenos Aires, because the crew had already worked too many hours.

In Argentina on Friday, Merkel had been scheduled to meet with president Donald Trump, Chinese leader Xi Jinping, as well their Argentine host, president Mauricio Macri. She is due to arrive in time for the traditional summit leaders dinner.

After disembarking, Merkel, her husband Joachim Sauer, Finance Minister Scholz and her security officers sat for some time at a desk in the airport restaurant. Leaving shortly after midnight, she told reporters there had been a serious problem.

Im glad we had the most experienced captain of the German Air Force in command, she added.

Previous Mishaps

Its not the first time for German officials to be left stranded. Scholz experienced a mishap last month returning from Bali, Indonesia, when rodent damage incapacitated another Airbus plane. Last year, Merkel was delayed on a trip to Egypt because a windshield heating device malfunctioned on her aircraft.

Last year, Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen was to return from Lithuania to Germany aboard an Airbus A400 military transport, when an engine malfunctioned on the tarmac, prompting the German Air Force to retrieve the minister in an older aircraft.

Compared with the iconic Air Force One used by American presidents, Merkels mode of transport is more modest. She has access to two A340s, of a model thats no longer in production. The Air Force, which is in charge of servicing and operating them, has begun the process of rejuvenating the fleet.
US President Donald Trumps former long-time lawyer and fixer, Michael Cohen, has now admitted to lying to US congress about a Moscow project that Trump had pursued even as he ran for the White House.

Cohen had earlier said the talks about the project stalled in January 2016, just a month before the Iowa caucus. But, he told a New York court on Thursday, negotiations had continued for another five months till June.

According to court papers filed by special counsel Robert Mueller, who is investigating Russian interference in the presidential election and possible coordination with the Trump campaign, Cohen said he discussed the proposal with Trump on multiple occasions and with members of the presidents family. Cohen acknowledged considering traveling to Moscow to discuss the project.

Also Read: Report points to Donald Trumps role in hush money payments

There is no clear link in the court filings between Cohens lies and Muellers central question of whether the Trump campaign colluded with Russia. And nothing said in court, or in associated court filings, addressed whether Trump or his aides had directed Cohen to mislead Congress.

Still, the case underscores how Trumps business entity, the Trump Organization, was negotiating business in Moscow at the same time investigators believe that Russians were meddling on his behalf in the 2016 election, and that associates of the president were mining Russian connections during the race.

The Cohen revelation comes as Muellers investigation is showing fresh signs of aggressive activity. Earlier this week, Muellers team accused Trumps former campaign chairman, Paul Manafort, of lying after his own guilty plea.

The special counsel continues to investigate whether campaign associates had advance knowledge of hacked emails becoming public. Another potential target, Jerome Corsi, has rejected a plea offer and faces a possible indictment.

Also Read: Have more important things to do: Melania Trump on Donald Trumps infidelity rumors

Last week, Trump for the first time provided Mueller with responses to written questions.

Cohen is the first person charged by Mueller with lying to Congress, an indication the special counsel is prepared to treat that offence as seriously as lying to federal agents and a warning shot to dozens of others who have appeared before lawmakers.

Cohen told two congressional committees last year that the talks about the tower project ended in January 2016, a lie he said was an act of loyalty to Trump. In fact, the negotiations continued until June 2016, Cohen acknowledged.

His court appearance Thursday marked the latest step in his evolution from trusted Trump consigliere to prime antagonist. Prosecutors say Cohen is cooperating with Mueller and has met with his team at least seven times.

Also Read: Ex-Trump aide Manafort agrees to cooperate with Mueller, pleads guilty

It is the second time the lawyers legal woes have entangled Trump, coming months after Cohen said the president directed him during his campaign to make hush money payments to two women who said they had sex with Trump.

US President Trump had repeatedly denied having any business dealings with Russia, which has been the focus of probe by a special prosecutor for allegedly meddling in the US elections in 2016 to help Trump win.

Michael Cohen is lying and hes trying to get a reduced sentence for things that have nothing to do with me, the president told reporters before leaving for the G-20 summit.

He added that he had considered the project but did not go ahead with it.

We decided, I decided, ultimately not to do it. There would have been nothing wrong if I did do it.

He added: My focus was running for president. But when I run for president, that doesnt mean Im not allowed to do business. I was doing a lot of different things when I was running. After I won, obviously I dont do business. After January the 20th, which was the following year.

About an hour later, Trump canceled a planned meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Group of 20 nations.

During the campaign, Trump was repeatedly dismissive of claims that he had connections to the Kremlin, an issue that flared as especially sensitive in the summer of 2016 after the Democratic National Committee and a cybersecurity company asserted that Moscow was behind a punishing cyberattack on the partys network.

I have a great company. I built an unbelievable company, but if you look there youll see theres nothing in Russia, Trump said at a July 2016 news conference.

But zero, I mean I will tell you right now, zero, I have nothing to do with Russia, he said.

Mueller has asked Trump about the Russian real estate deal, but it was not immediately clear whether it was one of the questions Trump answered last week. If he did answer questions on the topic, Trump could have problems if the responses deviate from prosecutors factual narrative.

Mueller handled Thursdays charges and not the federal prosecutors in New York who handled Cohens previous guilty plea in August to other federal charges involving his taxi businesses, bank fraud and his campaign work for Trump.

Cohen will be sentenced December 12 and guidelines call for little to no prison time on the new charge.

(With agency inputs)
Indian shares inched up on Friday, with both the indexes marking their highest level in nearly two months, while the Indian rupee strengthened to a fresh 3-month high ahead of key economic growth data later in the day.

Broader Asian markets wavered as investors remained cautious ahead of a crucial meeting between the Chinese and US presidents at the G20 meet during the weekend that could determine the course of a heated trade war over the next year.

MSCIs broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan wobbled between positive and negative territory in early trade and was last up 0.4 percent.

Read: G20 summit opens under assault from Donald Trump on collective action

Back home, investors were awaiting gross domestic product data which probably moderated to 7.4 percent in the July-September quarter, according to a Reuters poll, weakening just as prime minister Narendra Modis government gets set for an election due by May.

The data is expected by 1200 GMT.

The Indian rupee gained up to 0.35 percent on the day to 69.595 per dollar, its best since August 21.

The broader NSE index was up 0.25 percent at 10,885.45 as of 0608 GMT, while the benchmark BSE index rose 0.27 percent to 36,268.19.

The broader NSE index breached its 10,900 level for the first time since Oct. 3, while the BSE index also clocked its best level in almost two months.

Also Read: Modi, Trump, Abe to hold first trilateral meeting at G-20 summit

Decline in international crude oil prices and strengthening of rupee are the positives today, said RK Gupta, managing director at Taurus Asset Management, adding that we may see some profit booking in the second-half after Thursdays rally in some specific stocks.

Investors are also eyeing outcome of the G20 meet over the weekend, he said.

Shares of Indian non-banking financial companies gained after the central bank relaxed rules to sell or securitise their loan books, in a bid to ease persistent stress in the sector.

Dewan Housing Finance Corp Ltds stock rose as much as 7.4 percent, while those of Bajaj Finance Ltd gained up to 2.3 percent, their highest since Sept. 19.

IT firms were among the top performers on the NSE index, with Infosys Ltd up as much as 1.7 percent.

Meanwhile, shares in Tata Motors Ltd dropped as much as 3.9 percent after its British unit Jaguar Land Rover said on Thursday it is going to cut 500 jobs temporarily at its plant in central England.

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi has a name for the triumvirate of Japan, America (the United States) and India, whose leaders held their first trilateral on the sidelines of the G20 in Buenos Aires on Friday. It is JAI (Hindi for success or victory).

The new coinage came in Modis remarks to reporters before the meeting. US president Donald Trump and Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe also made brief remarks.

After the meeting, MEA spokesperson Raveesh Kumar wrote on Twitter, Leaders exchanged views on Indo Pacific, maritime and connectivity issues.

The White House said in a readout of the meeting, As a treaty ally of Japan and major defense partner of India, the United States shares unique and exceptional relationships with both countries based on common democratic values.

The three leaders reaffirmed the importance of the Free and Open Indo-Pacific vision for global stability and prosperity, and pledged to deepen trilateral cooperation.

In remarks to reporters before the meeting, Modi had said the three countries will be playing a a big role together for world peace, prosperity and stability and both countries are our strategic partners and they are very good friends. He spoke in Hindi, which was translated by an interpreter after he was done.

Read: Expect increase in Saudi investments in next 2-3 years, says India after meet with crown prince

When you look at the acronym of the three countries Japan, America and India  its JAI, the prime minister said.

JAI is a good message that goes out; its a good beginning. And together  we will be playing a very big role .. for world peace, prosperity and stability.

President Trump spoke first to reporters and said US ties with both India and Japan have never been better. And underlined lots of trade and military purchases between them.

Speaking last, Prime Minister Abe had said, as translated from Japanese, the three countries shared fundamental values and strategic interests.and stressed the importance of close cooperation between them towards realizing free and open Indo-Pacific.

G20 summit HIGHLIGHTS: PM Narendra Modi interacts with major world leaders

The meeting, on the sidelines of the two-day summit, came amid China flexing its muscles in the strategic Indo-Pacific region. The trilateral was an expansion of the bilateral meeting between Trump and Abe.
The Maldives government has strongly denied media reports which stated that India had offered USD 1 billion to Maldives in exchange for the deployment of Indian troops in the island nation.

The minister for foreign affairs Abdulla Shahid said that the Maldivian territory would not be used for the establishment of any foreign military bases.

Taking to Twitter, Shahid said, Categorically refute media reports alleging that government is planning to allow the establishment of an Indian military base in Maldives in exchange for financial assistance or other material benefits. It is baseless and aimed at discrediting the government as it starts to rebuild good relations with its neighbours and the rest of the international community.

Government assures the people, that it will always act in the national interest of Maldives and will not undertake any international engagement that will compromise the sovereignty and independence of the country, he added.

Shahid was reacting to a news article published in a Japanese Daily, NIKKIE Asian Review, which stated that India offered Maldives USD 1 billion in exchange for stronger security ties.

Abdullah Shahid was recently on an official visit to New Delhi, where he met top leaders including his counterpart Sushma Swaraj and defence minister Nirmala Sitharaman.

He described India as time-tested and a trusted partner. He showed commitment to strengthen bilateral trade ties between the two countries.

The foreign minister, however, mentioned that his country will closely work with all of its neighbours and the international community. He also called China as a friend and one of the largest economies of the world whose assistance had benefited Maldives.

New Maldives president Ibrahim Mohamed Solih is scheduled to visit India on December 17 in keeping with his India-First policy.
Contact: Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights, 212-371-3191, pr@catholicleague.org

When law enforcement agents act like bullies, justice is sundered. That's what happened last month in Michigan when the police raided all seven Catholic diocesesincluding the home of one bishopin search of evidence of sexual abuse by the clergy.

It happened again yesterday when the local police force, the Texas Rangers, the local D.A.'s office, and other agencies raided the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston, headed by Cardinal Daniel DiNardo. They were looking for evidence concerning Rev. Manuel LaRosa-Lopez; he has been accused of molesting two teenagers more than a quarter century ago. The priest says he is innocent of all charges.

Why the raid? The archdiocese says it is wrong to call it a "raid" because they were cooperating with law enforcement. But when dozens of cops and the Texas Rangers show up, unannounced, carrying boxes they expect to fill with documents, records, electronics, etc., what else should we call it? It is precisely because the archdiocese was cooperating with law enforcement that this mad search for data was so unnecessary.

How did the agents even know that the priest was accused of molesting two teenagers at the end of the last century? The cops never apprehended him. The authorities found out because DiNardo notified them. That's how.

Was DiNardo procrastinating? The alleged male victim didn't make his claim until August of this year, andisn't this curious?days later the alleged female victim followed suit.

DiNardo met with the male accuser and immediately removed the priest from ministry. He did more than that: DiNardo contacted the Children's Protective Services. The next day a warrant was issued for the priest and he turned himself in that evening. He was booked on September 11 and released two days later on bond. He is due in court on January 10, 2019 for a hearing.

What made the alarms go off? The archdiocese admitted it was still looking for more documents on the priest, and law enforcement appeared satisfied. So what broke?

CBS did a hit job on DiNardo last week, one which we exposed, and this surely played a role in getting the agents ginned up. They want to assure the public they are doing their job. But their job doesn't include dragnets.

"We do believe, based on our research, that there will be a secret archive that will have information on this case," said J. Tyler Dunman of the special crimes unit for the Montgomery County District Attorney. "Secret archives?" They are what organizations such as CBS call confidential records, but it sounds more melodramatic to label them "secret archives."

Why the dragnet? The agents are not simply looking for evidence against the accused priestthey are going fishing. Dunman admitted that "if we come across additional documents or evidence of criminal conduct," they will grab them as well. The hunt is on.

Montgomery County District Attorney Brett Ligon said, "This is not a search warrant against the Catholic Church." So what is it? He disingenuously admitted, "We're going to go wherever the investigation requires us to go." In other words, they are using the accused priest as a pretext to raid the offices of the archdiocese.

Why didn't the D.A. subpoena the records? Because that would not have accomplished their real goalwhich is to go wherever the raid takes them.

That this is happening at a time when the FBI has been stiffing congressmen for years in their requests for records pertaining to the Obama administration and Hillary Clintonabsent any raidsmakes it all the more disturbing.

The bishops are under siege. What will the bullies think of next? Call on the Navy Seals to find records of inappropriate touching that was allegedly committed a half-century ago by dead priests? They surely wont convene a grand jury probe of the public schools today. Bet on it.


World leaders arrived on Thursday in the Argentine capital for the Group of 20 summit of the globes largest economies as issues such as a trade war between the United States and China, the killing of a Saudi journalist in the countrys Istanbul Consulate and the conflict over Ukraine threatened to overshadow the gathering.

The two-day summit beginning Friday is supposed to focus on development, infrastructure and food security, but those seemed largely an afterthought amid soured US-European relations and as the United States, Mexico and Canada hammered out the final language of a replacement for the North American Free Trade Agreement expected to be signed Friday.

Click here for live updates on G-20 summit.

Michael Shifter, head of the Inter-American Dialogue, a Washington-based think tank, said that this G-20 summit was once considered an opportunity for Latin American members Argentina, Brazil and Mexico to project a regional bloc to shape a global agenda.

Also Read: PM Modi meets Saudi Prince on sidelines of G20 summit

But, he said, that turned out to be a fleeting aspiration.

The fact that the G-20 is taking place in South America for the first time is almost beside the point, Shifter said. Argentine President Mauricio Macri, the summits host, has lowered expectations. ... Now a success would be a summit meeting that goes smoothly, without any major disruption.

Nonetheless, French President Emmanuel Macron, who flew into Buenos Aires on Wednesday as one of the earliest arrivers, clung to the importance of the ideal of cooperation that the G-20 represents.

I believe in our capacity to make the spirit of dialogue and cooperation triumph, Macron said at a joint news conference with Macri, warning that if nations close down, the alternative could be trade wars or armed conflict.

Macron also called for international involvement and complete clarity in investigations into the killing of dissident Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, and said European leaders should discuss it at a meeting Friday.

Also Read: Yoga is bridging distance between India and Argentina, says PM Modi

Macron said the matter of the killing would be on the table during bilateral and possibly broader meetings.

Saudia Arabia has denied that Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman played a role in Khashoggis gruesome slaying. But Human Rights Watch accuses him of responsibility and also of war crimes in Yemen, and on Wednesday, Argentine legal authorities took initial action to consider a request to prosecute him for alleged crimes against humanity, a move apparently aimed at embarrassing him as he attends the summit.

It is to be bin Salmans first significant appearance overseas since the killing. Turkeys Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who has been sharply critical of Saudi Arabia over the incident, is also in attendance.

Given the role that Turkey has played in this, given that the murder happened at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, this will be an interesting meeting, said Willis Sparks, director of global macro politics at Eurasia Group. Just to see how leaders interact with the crown prince will be interesting  how warm they are. I expect (US President Donald) Trump to be very warm with him, but European leaders probably are going to be very reluctant to have their pictures taken with him.

An expected high-profile bilateral meeting between Trump and Russias Vladimir Putin planned for Saturday was abruptly canceled by Trump, who made the announcement in a tweet citing Russias seizure of Ukrainian vessels over the weekend.

The Kremlin said it had not been notified and only learned about it from the tweet. Russian news agencies quoted Putin spokesman Dmitry Peskov as saying the cancellation means that Putin will have a couple more hours for useful meetings with G-20 leaders.

Also Read: Trump cancels Putin meeting at upcoming G20 summit in Argentina over Ukraine crisis

Trump was still scheduled to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping, but analysts were not optimistic about prospects for a major breakthrough on the two countries trade disputes a month before US tariffs on Chinese goods are set to ramp up.

Shannon ONeil, an expert on global trade at the Council on Foreign Relations, said she believes it very likely that the tariffs will take effect in January.

I think this is an issue that Trump cares a lot about and is going to use when he campaigns for 2020, ONeil said. It used to be Mexico and NAFTA, and now its going to be China.

The US, Canada and Mexico are scheduled to sign the new United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement that is replacing the NAFTA trade deal during a ceremony Friday. There had been speculation Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau might not attend and send his foreign minister instead if Trump did not lift steel and aluminum tariffs, but Trudeaus press secretary confirmed Thursday night that he would be at the ceremony.

The foreign minister, Chrystia Freeland, said the three countries were very much on track to sign on time.

These agreements are massive, and a vast number of technical details need to be scrubbed and wrapped up, she said. The fact that this is an agreement in three languages adds to the level of technical complexity, and it is on that level that were just being sure that all the is are dotted and all the ts are crossed.

Also Read: UN chief: G-20 leaders need bolder action at critical time

The pact must still be approved by lawmakers in all three countries. ONeil said she anticipates that to be quite smooth in Mexico and Canada, but passage could be more complicated in the United States after midterm elections flipped the House of Representatives, meaning the next speaker could be Democratic Rep. Nancy Pelosi.

There are some ... things in there that I think Democrats can support, ONeil said. But I cant imagine having a new NAFTA is going to be Pelosis first priority when she comes in, so Id expect it to be drawn out.

It stands to be a short visit for Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto, who is scheduled to return to his country for the inauguration Saturday of his successor, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador.

On Thursday, Macron criticized protectionist stances by Trump but said they have no plans for a one-on-one at the summit. The two have increasingly clashed in recent weeks on everything from Trumps nationalism to wine tariffs.

The French president envisions himself as a new leader of the free world and is fashioning himself at this summit as the anti-Trump  a champion of the Paris climate accord, defender of the postwar system of global trade and crusader against multinational tax evaders.

Macron warned that Europe might not sign trade deals with the South American regional bloc Mercosur if Brazils incoming president, Jair Bolsonaro, pulls out of the Paris accord.

Taking the world stage at the G-20 is a welcome relief for Macron, who has faced mass protests at home over rising fuel taxes that are the biggest challenge yet to his presidency. But his party dominates parliament and neither faces re-election until 2022.

Other European leaders at the summit are facing domestic struggles of their own. Britains Theresa May is fighting for political survival as she tries to pull her country out of the European Union. Germanys Angela Merkel is preparing to leave politics after announcing last month she would give up leadership of her party, a post she has held since 2000. Italys Giuseppe Conte heads a populist coalition that is clashing with the EU and suffers internal divisions.

Senior German officials, briefing reporters in Berlin on condition of anonymity, said Merkel planned to hold bilateral meetings with Trump, Putin, Xi, Indias Narendra Modi, Australias Scott Morrison and Macri. Merkel was supposed to arrive in Buenos Aires early Friday, but her plane returned to Germany on Thursday night due to a technical problem. A German air force plane was being readied to carry the chancellor and her entourage.

The British Embassy in Argentina said Mays visit would be the first by a UK prime minister to Buenos Aires; the only other prime minister to visit the country was Tony Blair who went to Puerto Iguazu in 2001. The two countries have long been at odds over the disputed islands known as the Falklands in Britain and the Malvinas in Argentina.

Outside Argentinas congress, as many as 1,000 people gathered Thursday for a forum hosted by organizations opposing the G-20 and the International Monetary Fund. A large inflatable blimp caricaturing Trump as a baby holding a cellphone  which has appeared at protests in other places the US president has visited  floated over the square underneath a light rain.

Thomas Bernes of the Centre for International Governance Innovation, a Canada-based think tank focusing on global governance, said this summit could be a defining moment for the Group of 20  for better or for worse.

The G-20 Leaders Summit is at risk of falling into disarray with the summit being overshadowed by items not on agenda, Bernes said. The true test will be whether the other members of the G-20 will act resolutely or whether we will witness the crumbling of the G-20 as a forum for international economic cooperation.
The United States will set into motion next week the process of introducing a new rule requiring companies that wish to hire foreigners on H-1B visas to register their petitions in advance and to usher in a more meritorious selection of beneficiaries that will favour foreign students at US institutions of higher studies.

The proposed change in the selection process would result in an estimated increase of up to 16% (or 5,340 workers) in the number of selected those with a masters degree or higher from a US institution of higher education, according to the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), which runs the H-1B programme. There is an annual cap of 65,000 visas under the programme for highly skilled workers recruited abroad and 20,000 from foreign students enrolled in higher studies in the US.

As the largest recipients of temporary non-immigrant work visas under the H-1B programme, more than 70% of the annual quota, Indian outsourcing companies and Indian professionals hoping to work for US companies will be following this process closely.

The new rule will be published in the Federal Register for public comments on December 3, according to an announcement by the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which oversees USCIS Friday. The comment period will last 30 days, and immigration experts say it takes typically one year for a new rule such as this to come into effect.

The Trump administrations stated goal for the entire H-1B system is to shift more of these visas to the most-skilled or highest-paid foreign workers, said Doug Rand, who worked on immigration in the Obama White House and now co-heads Boundless Immigration, a technology company that helps families navigate the immigration process. This new proposal is the beginning of an H-1B overhaul through DHS regulations, however, which would be much more difficult for a future administration to reverse.

The Trump administration seeks to reform the H-1B visa programme to prevent it from displacing American workers by foreigners hired abroad and at home from US institutions of higher studies. More changes are afoot, as has been already indicated  to redefine speciality occupations for H-1Bs and ending work authorization for spouses of H-1B visa-holders waiting for their permanent residency papers (Green Cards).

Under the proposed new rule, according to the Friday announcement, companies that plan to hire foreign workers on H-1B will have be required to first electronically register with US Citizenship and Immigration Services during a designated registration period. Companies currently file when the annual H-1B season is announced in April, and wraps up quickly in just five days.

The USCIS will select registrations to meet the H-1B allocations of cap-mandated 65,000  mostly from India, China and a few other countries  and cap-exempted 20,000 from foreign students with masters and higher degrees from US institutions of higher studies.

They will be combined in one pool from which the USCIS will pick for the cap-mandate allocation, through electronic lottery, which will increase the proportion of those with advanced degrees. The agency will then pick from the remaining registrations to meet the cap for those with advanced degrees.

Changing the order in which USCIS counts these separate allocations would likely increase the number of beneficiaries with a masters or higher degree from a U.S. institution of higher education to be selected for further processing under the H-1B allocations, said the DHS in the announcement.
(ANSA) - Buenos Aires, November 30 - European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker on Friday said the EC was making progress with Italy on budget talks and there was "no war" with Rome.

"One mustn't dramatise the question of the hypothesis of the infringement (procedure) for Italy," he said.

"We are making progress".

Juncker said "I met Premier Giuseppe Conte in Brussels and I will meet him again here" at the G20.

"We are not at war with Italy, the atmosphere is good.

"We are with Italy, if Italy is with us".

The government has signalled it is willing to trim the budget deficit from 2.4% by a couple of percentage points to meet EC strictures.


Pottery skills of Sejnane women in UNESCO heritage list First in this category for Tunisia

(ANSAmed) - TUNIS, NOVEMBER 30 - The pottery skills of the women in Sejnane, Tunisia, has been listed as part of the intangible cultural heritage of humanity by the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).



The decision was taken by the inter-governmental committee for the safeguard of the immaterial cultural heritage of UNESCO during its recent 13th meeting held in Port Louis (Mauritius), said Tunisia's permanent delegation at UNESCO in Paris.



The same source said it is the first time that Tunisia is included in the list created as part of the 2003 UNESCO Convention on the safeguard of immaterial cultural heritage.



''In addition to the international relevance such a report can have for Tunisia in general and for the region in particular, as well as for the promotion of the excellence of Tunisia's craftsmanship, the inclusion of this element in the list of the immaterial cultural heritage of humanity will contribute in strengthening measures to safeguard and valorize this specific heritage'', said a statement of Tunisia's permanent delegation at UNESCO.



It is an ''international recognition of this element of Tunisia's immaterial heritage'', said the Tunisian ambassador to UNESCO, Ghazi Gherairi, adding that this gives Tunisia access to the list ''and also selects an extremely important element of our rich heritage because this technique dates back to the Neolithic and has adapted to its current form today''.



UNESCO, he said, stressed the social and integrated nature of this production process and its respect for the environment''.



The dossier was presented by Tunisia to the secretariat of the Convention in March 2017. Sejane, in the governorate of Biserta, has always been the center of production of artisanal pottery which, exclusively made by women, uses motifs of the Berber tradition dating back to ancient times. The patterns, symmetric and convergent, often have figurative motifs in black and red. The pottery is produced to be used at home, to cook food or preserve it as well as for decoration purposes.



(ANSAmed)
Now Open

30 November 2018

Radisson Hotel Group has expanded its collection of upscale Radisson hotels in China, with the opening of Radisson Ningbo Beilun in the thriving port city of Ningbo, Zhejiang province.

Radisson Ningbo Beilun is a new-build hotel in the citys Beilun district, a free trade zone close to one of Chinas largest international ports. It is an integral part of a new mixed-use development, INSHOW City, which is Chinas first maritime-themed commercial complex and features the citys largest light show. The stylish 21-storey hotel also is strategically located close to commercial offices, dining outlets, retail malls, parks and a media broadcasting base.

Connected to major expressways, Radisson Ningbo Beilun is just a 45 minutes drive from Ningbo Lishe International Airport. The hotel also provides easy access to attractions including Harbor Land Theme Park, Jiufeng Mountain, and other natural and cultural sights in Beilun district.

The citys emerging industrial sector and the success of Ningbo International Port make Ningbo one of Asias most dynamic cities and a key business hub. Radisson, our international upscale brand, is a perfect fit for many of Chinas fast-growing cities. We look forward to introducing local and international travelers to a new era of hospitality in Ningbo Beilun area. said Gary Ye, Vice President, Operations, China, Radisson Hotel Group.

Radisson Ningbo Beilun offers 230 guestrooms and suites, with ample work space and complimentary Wi-Fi providing a seamless work environment for corporate guests, while allowing leisure travellers to unwind and stay connected at all times. Guests are also offered a choice of dining options, with two restaurants, a lobby lounge and an executive lounge.

Radisson Ningbo Beilun is a new leading local destination for meetings and events with two 800-square metre ballrooms backed with professional support and state-of-the-art audio-visual technology.
Pipeline

30 November 2018

Marriott International, Inc., today announced the signing of 12 Fairfield by Marriott hotels across five prefectures in Japan Kyoto, Wakayama, Mie, Gifu and Tochigi in a long-standing collaboration with Japanese real estate developer, Sekisui House; in total, an anticipated 15 hotels will be signed by next year. All properties are expected to open by 2021, with the first dozen hotels scheduled to open in late 2020. All properties are expected to open by 2021, with the first dozen hotels scheduled to open in late 2020. With more visitors exploring Japans lesser known destinations, these upcoming Fairfield by Marriott Hotels will give travelers access to remote destinations whilst ensuring that guests can count on the international brands standards of warm hospitality and inviting spaces with each and every stay.

The upcoming Fairfield by Marriott hotels will be situated in convenient locations near popular roadside rest stations called Michi-no-Eki in Japan. The Michi-no-Eki system was launched 20 years ago by the Japanese government to create a safe and comfortable roadside stop-over for road trip travelers, which also feature unique attributes of each region. There are currently more than 1,000 stations along popular motorways that provide convenient services for travelers, including locally-inspired dining venues, farm-fresh produce and traditional handicrafts. Many rest stops also have a tourist information center that guide visitors to nearby attractions, since many Michi-no-Eki stations are located near national parks and historic UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

The swift speed and efficiency in which the hotels are expected to open is largely due to the innovative construction process. These new Fairfield by Marriott hotels in Japan will be the first of their kind to be constructed in a factory, before being shipped to each site for assembly. This innovative modular construction model allows the hotels to maintain high-quality standards as well as reduce the construction assembly time on site. The hotels feature between 49 to 96 rooms and will offer guests comfortable yet simple hotel experiences in beautiful destinations.

As part of the Kansai region, the Kyoto Prefecture is prized for its historic heritage and stunning nature, which attracts visitors year-round to experience the four seasons. There are three hotels planned to open in Kyoto and its surrounding area by late 2020:

Fairfield by Marriott Kyoto Miyazu with 85 rooms

Fairfield by Marriott Kyoto Kyotamba with 75 rooms

Fairfield by Marriott Kyoto Minamiyamashiro with 51 rooms

Known for its beautiful beaches and mountainous landscape, including the UNESCO designated Biosphere Reserve, there are two hotels planned to open in the Mie prefecture by 2020:

Fairfield by Marriott Mie Mihama with 50 rooms

Fairfield by Marriott Mie Odai with 70 rooms

The Wakayama prefecture is reputed for its national parks that showcase stunning seaside scenery. Three hotels are expected to open by 2021:

Fairfield by Marriott Wakayama Chikatsuyu with 50 rooms

Fairfield by Marriott Wakayama Susami with 50 rooms

Fairfield by Marriott Wakayama Kushimoto with 96 rooms

In the wild and largely unexplored wilderness of the Gifu prefecture in the Chubu region, travelers will find traditional mountain villages including UNESCO World Heritage Site, Shirakawa-go. Four Fairfield by Marriott Hotels are expected to open in the region by 2021.

Fairfield by Marriott Gifu Mino with 53 rooms

Fairfield by Marriott Gifu Gujo with 90 rooms

Fairfield by Marriott Gifu Takayama Shokawa with 60 rooms

Fairfield by Marriott Gifu Seiryu Satoyama Park with 67 rooms

Kanto regions Tochigi prefecture features numerous historical sites including Shinto shrines and Buddhist temples recognised as UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Three hotels are expected to open in the area by late 2020:

Fairfield by Marriott Tochigi Utsunomiya with 87 rooms

Fairfield by Marriott Tochigi Nasushiobara with 79 rooms

Fairfield by Marriott Tochigi Motegi with 49 rooms

Each of the hotels will be newly-built standalone properties with its own warm atmosphere, located either at or within short walking distance of the roadside service areas of Michi-no-Eki along the national or prefectural routes or highways and will provide a convenient access to notable leisure attractions in the region. Some of the Michi-no-Eki locations are accessible via scheduled bus services to major cities and towns with shuttle bus services between major transportation hubs and leisure attractions. All Michi-no-Ekis offer basic facilities including tourist information centers, restrooms, and 24-hour parking and the majority of them also provide dining venues, retail, and recreational facilities.
(ANSA) - CAIRO, 30 NOV - No minimum investment limit, which can also be of a purely financial nature or linked to the transfer of know-how. And specific opportunities for small and medium enterprises, especially in ten sectors from food processing to building materials, to automotive. Egypt also offers these opportunities, explains a source of the Gafi, the General Authority for Investment and the Egyptian Free zones, answering ANSA questions.



"There is no minimum investment, except in the Special Free Zones", the source said, answering the question about the minimum investment possible to start operating in Egypt.



However, the source warned that in these special areas "the project's issued capital shall not be less than USD 10 million, and the investment costs thereof shall not be less than USD 20 million or its equivalent in the free currency".



Of interest for companies that want to taste the (Nile) water is the facts that "for joint venture the investor can be partner in the project through financing the project, transfer know how or buy share in a company. Also, investing in Egyptian stock exchange is possible for foreigners indeed ", the source added.



It's well known that opportunities for small and medium Egyptian enterprises are mostly in sectors such as Food processing, Electronic Industries, Textiles, Food and Furniture, Pharmaceuticals, Tourism, Automotive, Real Estate, Mining, building materials".



Around 1.190 Italian companies have been launched in Egypt so far, recalled the source underlining that "GAFI's role is to support and assist the Italian companies who are establishing a new business or willing to expand their project in Egypt".



The Italian companies are investing mostly oil and gas, financial sectors, infrastructure, chemicals and textiles, the source said. "Most of the top Italian companies investing in Egypt are big companies like Eni, Edison, Pirelli, Albini, Intesa Sanpaolo (Alex Bank), but there are also many medium and small sized companies", it added.
Now Open

30 November 2018

POINT 1: Marriott International, Inc. today announced the opening of Four Points by Sheraton Raleigh Arena. Catering to the needs of todays everyday traveler, the hotel offers approachable design, stylish comfort and all the brands popular extras including a 24-hour fitness center, heated pool, fast and free Wi-Fi throughout the hotel, and the Best Brews & BBQ program, detailed below.

POINT 2: Asset managed by Aimbridge Hospitality, Four Points by Sheraton Raleigh Arena, previously under the name Arena Suites offers 82 spacious guest rooms, over 500 sq. ft. of meeting space, a 24-hour fitness center, business center and fast and free Wi-Fi throughout the hotel. Guests will enjoy full-service dining at the hotel pub and the brands iconic Best Brews and BBQ program, which serves guests refreshing, curated local beers and seasonal BBQ-style appetizers. Hell Yes Maam Belgian Golden Ale from Raleigh Brewing Company is the Best Brew at Four Points by Sheraton Raleigh Arena.

Four Points by Sheraton Raleigh Arena is just a short drive from the State Fairgrounds, Carter-Finley Stadium, numerous corporate centers and within walkable to the PNC Arena. It is also within driving distance of downtown Raleigh and Cary Towne Center and is roughly eight miles from Raleigh-Durham International Airport for a convenient trip.

POINT 3: Designed with the everyday traveler in mind, Four Points by Sheraton Raleigh Arena will be a convenient stay for anyone looking to enjoy the world-class attractions of Raleigh, said Callette Nielsen, Vice President & Global Brand Manager of Courtyard, Fairfield, Four Points, and SpringHill Suites. Accessible to families and business travelers alike, the friendly design of the property will make anyones stay comfortable.

POINT 4: Four Points is the most globally distributed brand in Marriotts Classic Select category, boasting nearly 250 hotels in more than 40 countries and territories. The brand has more than 120 signed hotels in the pipeline, with nearly 50% of Four Points current portfolio of rooms located outside of North America, and over 65% of its signed pipeline expected to open outside of North America.
Appointment

30 November 2018

YOUNTVILLE, Calif. (Nov. 29, 2018) Nestled in the heart of Napa Valley and recognized as one of northern Californias top hotels, Hotel Yountville proudly announces Sean Gazey as general manager, overseeing operations at the wine country retreat. With over 20 years of experience in the hospitality industry, Gazey brings a unique understanding of management in the luxury hospitality industry to continue to elevate the guest experience at Hotel Yountville.

Earning a Bachelors degree in hospitality administration from Johnsons & Wales University, Gazey began his career at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, holding assorted management positions across a variety of hotels in the United States such as the Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts in Newport Beach, Calif., and the Biltmore Resort and Spa in Phoenix, Ariz.

Gazey most recently served in upper level management at Marriott Residence Inn in Jacksonville, Fla., and One Ocean Resort & Spa in Atlantic Beach, Fla. Gazey also served as assistant general manager for Copperwynd Resort and Club and Millennium Resorts and Villas, where he oversaw multiple departments for both boutique hotels in Arizona. Gazey has demonstrated success throughout his career through the development of key, core management skills, essential in excellent customer service, staff development, as well as profits and loss management.

It has been an honor to j
Appointment

30 November 2018

Based in Dubai, Sezgin will oversee all commercial disciplines for the region, including dedicated sales support, digital marketing, brand marketing, communications, loyalty, partnerships, business intelligence and revenue management. One of his main priorities will be to lead the groups digital transformation in the area, drive brand development and delivery as well as integrating business streams, especially as it relates to the groups loyalty program.

Commenting on the appointment, AccorHotels Middle East & Africa CEO Mark Willis said: We are pleased to have Yigit return to Dubai and take on this critical position within our group. Hell play a fundamental role in consolidating our commercial activity in the Middle East and Africa, driving our top-line performance and providing even healthier returns for our valued partners and stakeholders.

With two decades of international hospitality experience, Im looking forward to bringing my global expertise to AccorHotels unique portfolio, Sezgin added. We manage some of the most iconic brands in the world, so its a very exciting time to be a part of this innovative and daring company.

Sezgin joins AccorHotels from Bilgili Holding, a Turkish investment group devoted to developing real estate and tourism in Turkey and beyond.

As the CEO of Bilgili Holding, Sezgins portfolio contained an array of lifestyle and luxury properties, including the W Istanbul, Soho House, Peninsula Hotel, Aman Resorts, Ritz Carlton & Mandarin Oriental Residences and the Radisson Blu Conference & Airport Hotel.

Having lived and worked in eight international markets over a span of 20 years, Sezgin has also held senior leadership roles with multinational groups including Ritz-Carlton, Wilton International and Hilton Hotels. He spent ten years with the Radisson Hotel Group driving commercial development and strategic performance, with a majority of those years in Dubai overseeing more than 100 hotels and several global sales offices as the groups global head of sales and marketing.

Sezgin holds a Masters degree in leadership development from Harvard Business School and a Bachelors degree in business management, marketing and hospitality from Boazii University in Istanbul.
Opinion Article

30 November 2018

A recent story in Travel Weekly hits us, hard, with two truths: the old definition of luxury is obsolete (plush sheets and ornate chandeliers alone don't cut it) but a new definition has rapidly taken hold and it spells a new reality for travel providers and marketers.

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Here's what Travel Weekly's Jamie Biesiada wrote:"The concept of luxury travel has fundamentally changed and evolved over the years. Industry players in the know argue that the glamour associated with opulent accommodations and crystal chandeliers has once and for all made way for a very different kind of upscale travel: the luxury of adventure, experience, authenticity and uninterrupted time."

And that marks the start of a whole new game.

Some providers, and marketers too, have been caught flat footed and still point with pride at 19k gold fittings in the public areas as though that counts for much anymore.

Today's guests - many of whom have ample old-fashioned luxury at home - are in a resort seeking something they don't get at home. Think about that. It is not hard for the affluent to surround themselves with all the right stuff at home and those who care about it do.

But do they have - as Biesiada enumerated - adventure, experience, authenticity?

Nope. At least not all of it that they crave.

But lately I see the most sophisticated resort clients on the hunt for the right ingredients to bring exactly that to their guests.

Mark it down as a must-do this month, even before 2019 starts, because you will need these building blocks to stay competitive in the near-term future. That's how fast this change is taking hold.

Guests today don't want - at least not all the time - a safe resort meal. Many want to go local and drink a jamu with the locals in Bali, they may even want to learn how to make it.

That's just a small case in point. But it illustrates the principle: many guests are eager to explore beyond the boundaries of the resort and to soak up local culture.

Understand that none of this is easy and the bar, suddenly, is much higher and the demands for creativity and insights have multiplied. The old luxury was rather easy to deliver - with a sufficiently sized checkbook. The new luxury requires mating what's authentic and important about a destination with what resonates with your guests - who might not in fact relish every authentic experience on offer.

Go ahead, offer a durian tasting menu and see exactly how many guests want it.

Another complication is that many travelers now are prowling for tips and info on unique, authentic experiences in less traveled places. Just 10 years ago we could safely assume that the major influences on guests were the leading travel magazines. If we knew what was in them, we knew what we needed to know.

Now I'd also point to bloggers, podcasters, Youtubers, Instagram stars, and similar. There is a huge amount of information available about travel experiences that change us - which is what much of today's new luxury is about - and today's new traveler is hunting it down.

Another point in the Travel Weekly piece worth noting: indulgent consumption no longer is a hallmark of luxury, indeed it may no longer even be seen positively in many circles.

And the article makes a fascinating claim: in lots of ways Africa is the proving ground for this new luxury.

A generation ago the luxury traveler wanted isolation from the local environment. They might not have admitted as much but that was the reality.

Today's traveler wants to genuinely see, feel, smell, experience life in Africa.

It's a challenge for resorts and a challenge for marketers to get across the narrative of what this new travel is.

The Travel Weekly piece - persuasively in my mind - argues that a lot of Africa is the same for the budget traveler and the high-end traveler. But what the new luxury traveler providers had better deliver are thoughtful, personalized touches for each guest.

Easy is giving everybody the same gold-plated bathroom sink. Hard is finding and delivering a few moments that makes this traveler's trip.

This goes way beyond Africa. It's true in developing Asia, in Sedona and Sonoma, in Copenhagen and in Berlin.

Hard to do? Yes. But think of the joy in successfully delivering. For the guest too.

Bury the old luxury, it is history. But revel in the new luxury. That's the pathway into tomorrow and it has already started.
Performance

30 November 2018

The U.S. hotel industry reported positive year-over-year results in the three key performance metrics during the week of 18-24 November 2018, according to data from STR.



In comparison with the week of 19-25 November 2017, the industry recorded the following:

Occupancy: +0.7% to 52.0%

Average daily rate (ADR): +2.1% to US$112.26

Revenue per available room (RevPAR): +2.8% to US$58.38

Among the Top 25 Markets, New Orleans, Louisiana, reported the largest increase in RevPAR (+26.2% to US$91.02), driven by the highest rise in occupancy (+13.0% to 63.4%) and the only double-digit lift in ADR (+11.7% to US$143.55).

Boston, Massachusetts, posted the second-highest increases in ADR (+7.4% to US$144.34) and RevPAR (+14.6% to US$83.54).

Denver, Colorado, experienced the only other double-digit increases in occupancy (+10.2% to 48.7%) and RevPAR (+13.7% to US$48.28).

Overall, 14 of the Top 25 Markets reported growth in RevPAR for the week.

Houston, Texas, registered the steepest declines in each of the three key performance metrics: occupancy (-21.9% to 44.1%), ADR (-11.4% to US$80.70) and RevPAR (-30.8% to US$35.56).

San Francisco/San Mateo, California, saw the only other double-digit decreases in occupancy (-12.1% to 53.4%) and RevPAR (-12.7% to US$82.83).
Radisson Ningbo Beilun is a new-build hotel in the city's Beilun district, a free trade zone close to one of China's largest international ports.

Radisson Hotel Group has expanded its collection of Radisson hotels in China, with the opening of Radisson Ningbo Beilun in the thriving port city of Ningbo, Zhejiang province.

Radisson Ningbo Beilun is a new-build hotel in the city's Beilun district, a free trade zone close to one of China's largest international ports. It is an integral part of a new mixed-use development, INSHOW City, which is China's first maritime-themed commercial complex and features the city's largest light show. The stylish 21-storey hotel also is strategically located close to commercial offices, dining outlets, retail malls, parks and a media broadcasting base.

Connected to major expressways, Radisson Ningbo Beilun is just a 45 minutes' drive from Ningbo Lishe International Airport. The hotel also provides easy access to attractions including Harbor Land Theme Park, Jiufeng Mountain, and other natural and cultural sights in Beilun district.

"The city's emerging industrial sector and the success of Ningbo International Port make Ningbo one of Asia's most dynamic cities and a key business hub. Radisson, our international upscale brand, is a perfect fit for many of China's fast-growing cities. We look forward to introducing local and international travelers to a new era of hospitality in Ningbo Beilun area." said Gary Ye, Vice President, Operations, China, Radisson Hotel Group.

Radisson Ningbo Beilun offers 230 guestrooms and suites, with ample work space and complimentary Wi-Fi providing a seamless work environment for corporate guests, while allowing leisure travellers to unwind and stay connected at all times. Guests are also offered a choice of dining options, with two restaurants, a lobby lounge and an executive lounge.

Radisson Ningbo Beilun is a new leading local destination for meetings and events with two 800-square metre ballrooms backed with professional support and state-of-the-art audio-visual technology.

"I am delighted to welcome our first guests to Radisson Ningbo Beilun. Our contemporary rooms, suites and facilities are perfect for all types of guest, including solo business travellers, couples, families and groups. Meanwhile, our extensive MICE facilities give us the flexibility to host a broad range of events, from small boardroom meetings to major events and weddings, putting the hotel in the heart of the local community," said Max Xu, General Manager, Radisson Ningbo Beilun.

The opening of Radisson Ningbo Beilun forms part of a major strategic expansion of the world-famous Radisson brand across the Asia Pacific region. This growth will focus on fast-growing cities in some of Asia's largest and most populous countries, including China, India and Indonesia. Radisson Ningbo Beilun becomes the third Radisson hotel in Mainland China.

The property also marks Radisson Hotel Group's entry into Ningbo, which has a history dating back thousands of years to the days of the ancient Silk Road. As part of the modern-day Yangtze River Delta Economic Zone, one of the world's most important industrialized regions, Ningbo is now playing a major role in the success story of 21st Century China.

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The 4-story, full service hotel features 107 guest rooms and is attached to Cadillac Jacks Gaming Resort and Tru by Hilton Deadwood.

DoubleTree by Hilton Deadwood at Cadillac Jack's opened yesterday as the latest addition to the DoubleTree by Hilton global portfolio. The 4-story, full service hotel features 107 guest rooms and is attached to Cadillac Jacks Gaming Resort and Tru by Hilton Deadwood.

The newly-renovated property features casino-themed decor inspired by the strong gaming culture and exhilarating nightlife in Deadwood, South Dakota. Other design highlights include the hotels fresh take on a getaway, boasting modern architecture, technology and amenities. DoubleTree by Hilton Deadwood at Cadillac Jacks shares a fitness center with the adjacent Tru by Hilton Deadwood. Additionally, Cadillac Jacks Gaming Resort features a newly-expanded casino available to guests of the three hotels with more than 240 exciting slot machines, one poker room and 22 table games, including blackjack, craps and roulette.

Additional hotel features and amenities include:

DINING

Guests of DoubleTree by Hilton Deadwood at Cadillac Jacks, Tru by Hilton Deadwood and Cadillac Jacks Gaming Resort can enjoy several dining options, including Earl of Sandwich, Made Market serving Starbucks, Guadalajaras Mexican Restaurant, Marcos Pizza and FLYT Steakhouse & Nightclub. From delicious small plate delicacies, to a late-night slice of pizza, guests will never go hungry.

AMENITIES

Guests seeking exercise or relaxation have a variety of options, including a 24-hour fitness center with Life Fitness equipment and free weights, and convenient access to Mount Rushmore National Monument, Black Hills National Forest, Custer State Park, Mickelson Trail and Black Elk Peak  all just a short drive away.

MEETINGS & EVENTS

With 2,500 square feet of meeting space, DoubleTree by Hilton Deadwood at Cadillac Jack's is the perfect venue for weddings, business meetings and other gatherings. The hotels meetings and events spaces offer combined room options, LCD projection system, wireless microphones, stage and dance floor. The stunning Charleston and Little Chicago rooms can accommodate up to 120 people each and up to 240 people combined.

To celebrate the hotels opening, Hilton Honors members will earn an additional 1,000 Points per night for bookings from January 10, 2019 through July 10, 2019, when booking directly with Hilton.

DoubleTree by Hilton Deadwood at Cadillac Jack's is located at 360 Main Street, Deadwood South Dakota, 57732, just a short drive from Rapid City, South Dakota.

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Asset managed by Aimbridge Hospitality, Four Points by Sheraton Raleigh Arena, previously under the name Arena Suites offers 82 guest rooms, over 500 sq. ft. of meeting space, a 24-hour fitness center and business center.

Marriott International, Inc. today announced the opening of Four Points by Sheraton Raleigh Arena. Catering to the needs of today's everyday traveler, the hotel offers approachable design, stylish comfort and all the brand's popular extras including a 24-hour fitness center, heated pool, fast and free Wi-Fi throughout the hotel, and the Best Brews & BBQ program, detailed below.

Asset managed by Aimbridge Hospitality, Four Points by Sheraton Raleigh Arena, previously under the name Arena Suites offers 82 guest rooms, over 500 sq. ft. of meeting space, a 24-hour fitness center, business center and fast and free Wi-Fi throughout the hotel. Guests will enjoy full-service dining at the hotel pub and the brand's iconic Best Brews and BBQ program, which serves guests refreshing, curated local beers and seasonal BBQ-style appetizers. Hell Yes Ma'am Belgian Golden Ale from Raleigh Brewing Company is the Best Brew at Four Points by Sheraton Raleigh Arena.

Four Points by Sheraton Raleigh Arena is just a short drive from the State Fairgrounds, Carter-Finley Stadium, numerous corporate centers and within walkable to the PNC Arena. It is also within driving distance of downtown Raleigh and Cary Towne Center and is roughly eight miles from Raleigh-Durham International Airport for a convenient trip.

"Designed with the everyday traveler in mind, Four Points by Sheraton Raleigh Arena will be a convenient stay for anyone looking to enjoy the world-class attractions of Raleigh," said Callette Nielsen, Vice President & Global Brand Manager of Courtyard, Fairfield, Four Points, and SpringHill Suites. "Accessible to families and business travelers alike, the friendly design of the property will make anyone's stay comfortable."

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Dragon Ball Super: Broly is set to shake up the anime universe when it hits theaters in January. Teasers for the new film have been appearing online slowly, and the last trailer for the film left many fans confused. The backstories of characters like Goku and Frieza will be tweaked to make room for the legendary Super Saiyan Broly. Although Broly made his entrance into the Dragon Ball universe back in 1993, he will finally become canon. A new peek at the film has unveiled that Gogeta will be joining the Z fighters in the fight.

Gogeta is the fused form of Goku and Vegeta. They reach the Gogeta form by performing the Fusion Dance. Vegito, on the other hand, is a fused form of Goku and Vegeta in which Potara Earrings are used. In the new Dragon Ball Super: Broly clip, Gogeta shows off his base form before going Super Saiyan. After dodging a lethal assault from Broly, Gogeta goes Super Saiyan Blue. The scenes are pieced together from what appears to be a much larger battle. The rest of the Z fighters will be drawn into the epic fight, and Frieza will be joining the battle as well.
When Berlin-based music sharing website SoundCloud launched in October 2008, it was a one-of-a-kind domain. Its accessibility as a communal launchpad facilitated organic discovery and kickstarted the careers of unproven, do it yourself artists overnight. The by-design lack of a hierarchy or red tape created an unmistakable sense of community, and opened up a world of seemingly limitless possibilities. Suddenly, the good, the bad, and the ugly were just a few clicks away from having their creations heard by millions, democratizing music in a way that had never been done before. By the time the early to mid-2010s rolled around, nascent rap hopefuls were being thrust into the spotlight without the usual co-signs from establishment figures. Artists who cut their teeth on the platform were disparagingly referred to as SoundCloud rappers, a generic catchall term initially dismissed as a passing fad by traditional media outlets and industry gatekeepers.

Yet eventually, SoundCloud rap grew to the point that it could no longer be ignored. The platforms crusaders were putting substantial numbers on the board by employing a wildly aggressive and blown-out aesthetic that propelled them past signed acts. Labels caught wind of the SoundCloud buzz, and promptly began shelling out multi-million dollar deals. Those that showed even the slightest glimmer of promise were quickly snatched up in an attempt to keep up with, and cash in on, the heated market for online rap stars. "Major labels who don't have executives in the company who grew up understanding the culture  I think they do just throw themselves at whatever shiny object or whatever they think is the entry point," Joie Manda, EVP of Interscope Records, told Rolling Stone. In the midst of this mad gold rush, the burgeoning superstars of the digital Wild West ventured into uncharted territory and did the unthinkable: they transformed SoundCloud rap into major-label rap.

Deemed by The New York Times to be the most vital and disruptive new movement in hip hop, SoundCloud rap was built on dissonance, with an emphasis on abandon over structure, rawness over dexterity. It was a breeding ground of uncompromising experimentation: the hypnotic sonics of Atlanta trap were distilled through the makeshift lenses of pop punk, emo, and rap rock. This marriage of disparate sounds was unsophisticated in its construction. Mesmerizing repetition, hyperactive exuberance, punchy adlibs, confoundingly cartoonish catchphrases, digital distortion that was borderline unlistenable, and idiosyncratic, nursery rhyme-like hooks made for songs that could fit anywhere along the widening spectrum of the genre. While some of the music was groundbreaking, much of it predictably paraded under the guise of being avant-garde and did the absolute bare minimum in adding to the musical tapestry.

Bennett Raglin/Getty Images

Nonetheless, SoundCloud rap reflected the platforms plurality: there was a sound for everybody. A crop of upstarts, quirky egos, and eccentrics who thrived on amorphism came to define an unorthodox hip hop sound. Playboi Carti, Lil Uzi Vert, Trippie Redd, Ski Mask the Slump God, and Smokepurpp arose as virality in the flesh, the rangy stylistic descendants of SpaceGhostPurrp, Denzel Curry and hip hop group Raider Klan. The late Lil Peep crafted emotionally vulnerable music that was the antithesis of the hard-edged machismo that previously defined mainstream hip hop. Others like the infamous Tay-K, who is currently facing two separate capital murder charges, may never get to fulfill their musical potential. The rejection of traditionalist ideals championed by purists, who watched the microgenres one-dimensional novelties blossom with abject horror, was embodied by facial ink, multi-colored dreads, gender non-conforming fashion choices, and volcanic, rambunctious energy.

With the lines between the underground and mainstream becoming increasingly blurred, younger and older generations are figuring out how to co-exist. Future and Juice WRLD bonded over their affinity for prescription drugs and joyless sexual conquest on WRLD on Drugs. Kanye West and Lil Pump, an artist heralded by detractors as the genres anti-Christ, landed on the Billboard chart with their top 10 hit I Love It, thanks in large part to a gimmicky music video. Ultimately, the young turks of SoundCloud rap embraced their role as internet underdogs, and in the process rewrote the traditional career arc of a rapper with a disturbingly pronounced live-fast-die-young attitude.

Nowhere was this more apparent than in the jarringly brief career of XXXTentacion, the Broward County, Florida artist who rose to prominence despite, or conceivably because of, a lengthy list of stomach-turning criminal charges that included strangulation, false imprisonment, and aggravated battery of a pregnant woman. His second studio album ? was a modern marvel of the streaming era that cemented his status as the biggest thing to materialize from the depths of SoundCloud. He was an unabashedly independent artist with a fanatical fanbase of disaffected youth who were seemingly unperturbed by, or perhaps unsure of what to make of, the heinous allegations. In the whirlwind of controversy that trailed Xs every step emerged the reality of his unique, undeniable reservoir of talent. His perceptible authenticity and intoxicating gift for melody struck a chord with a horde of listeners who found catharsis and internal validation in his words and frequent Instagram Live life advice. His music offered dichotomies that mirrored his turbulent presence: contagious acoustic ballads shared space with cutthroat, thrashing anthems and operatic rebellion.

Its no secret that all bubbles burst. SoundCloud rap brilliantly captured the spirit of the youth movement, and gave strength to the timeworn notion that rap is the crucible of the young. But like all trends, it was never built to last in its originally ordained format. With 2019 on the horizon, hip hop is teetering on the brink of another inescapable transitional moment. The once endless flow of prospects through the signing funnel has slowed to a mere drip. Though its tricky to put a finger on the pulse of something that has been tenuous and unpredictable from the start, the popular era of SoundCloud rap appears to be coming to a close. Excitement and interest are waning, and the ecosystem is shifting in response. Given the newfound ease with which artists can upload music on premier streaming platforms such as Apple Music and Spotify, many are choosing to skip over the SoundCloud step entirely. I dont really think SoundCloud will ever be the same. Its dying out, says producer Ronny J. I still fuck with SoundCloud but I dont really use it as much. Lyrical Lemonade founder and music video whiz Cole Bennett echoed the sentiment in a recent interview with Complex: I think SoundCloud rap is essentially no longer a thing. Unless you want to put a label on people who actually blew up from it over the past couple years, but I don't think anyone coming out now is a SoundCloud rapper, so to say.

Tastemaking playlists like Apples The A-List: Hip-Hop and Spotifys Rap Caviar are soaking up attention and redistributing the culture cache that SoundCloud once boasted sole ownership of not too long ago. From a strictly monetization standpoint, the aforementioned streaming platforms offer more rewarding opportunities when it comes to paid content, and artists are taking note. [SoundClouds] premium tier hasnt necessarily grown to a point where it makes sense to push to it, says Nima Etminan, VP of Operations at EMPIRE. I cant really speak on the specific payoffs but [with] Apple [Music] being premium only, obviously the payoff is higher. Etminan, whose music company is set to distribute Xs first posthumous album, has also voiced his concern with the way that the SoundCloud categorization may stifle artistic growth. You want to be an artist. SoundCloud rapper devalues that. I dont think any artist likes to be put in a category.

Rappers are now turning to social media and Spotifys new direct upload program as a means of selling their brand and easily distributing their music. Instagram, in particular, is playing a vital role when it comes to artists cutting through the static of competition. Novel creative tactics are oftentimes more effective than having the backing of a marketing or promotional team. Lil Pump can build hype for forthcoming releases by sharing minute-long studio snippets of songs with his millions of followers, generating immense traction in the form of likes and comments. Tekashi 6ix9ines scream-rapping persona, controversial trolling tactics, and harebrained social media jabs are cut from a similar cloth. Its a straightforward formula: internet savvy artists who know how to harness and engage their internet savvy followings.

Paras Griffin/Getty Images

In hip hops forty plus years of existence, never has the genre been more stratified, more oversaturated, more lucrative, or more thrilling. Rap has emphatically taken control of the direction of the music industry, wiggling into every crevice of pop culture. Still, the parameters for where the sound goes next remain shapeless. The deaths of X and Peep, deified stars who were at the center of culture consumption, revealed a staggering fissure in a genre that is in a constant state of renovation. The fantasy of fame and fortune, a product of a bygone era, continues to play a role in the quest for superstardom, but there is a nebulous ingredient bubbling forth in the now mainstream SoundCloud mixture. Jay-Z, Kanye, and Nas, a trio of revolutionaries who had releases in the past year, are noticeably beginning to buckle under the cruel yoke of father time. The middle-ground generation remains firmly entrenched in the familiarity of the self-selected myths of the Marcy-made mogul, college dropout, and Queensbridge poet: Kendrick Lamar, J. Cole, Travis Scott, Nicki Minaj, Drake, Migos, Childish Gambino, and A$AP Rocky are seasoned veterans with predictable and sustainable career trajectories. SoundCloud rappers have not abided by the same narrative, nor do they seem wholly interested in the musical immortalization that has been so heavily stressed by their elders.

Thus looms the question: what will be the fate of the platforms offspring now that SoundCloud rap has outgrown its fringe position? Will this moment in time be remembered as a bountiful cultural spring? Or will it be earmarked as a 21st-century graveyard full of broken hyperlinks, forgotten sounds, and oversized caricatures? For better or worse and regardless of the platforms ongoing struggles to overcome choppy financial waters, the supreme culture-driving force of SoundCloud shaped this lawless landscape. Whether its descendants leave a lasting legacy remains to be seen.
(ANSAmed) - TEL AVIV, NOVEMBER 30 - A surface-to-air missile fired from Syrian territory exploded overnight in an open area near the Golan Heights, an Israeli military spokesman said Friday. The spokesman said the exact location of the impact has not been identified yet.



The incident occurred as part of Syrian anti-aircraft intervention against planes that last night attacked military targets south of Damascus. The Israeli military spokesman did not comment on the attack. However, he denied reports from Syrian sources claiming that the Israeli jet was hit.



Israeli press reports meanwhile highlighted that an Iranian plane flew from Tehran to Beirut, allegedly carrying weapons for Hezbollah. (ANSAmed)
A New Balance factory manager has reportedly been arrested and charged on a warrant for larceny of property valued over $1,200 and larceny from a building, after it was discovered he was stealing and reselling sneakers.

According to a report by the Eagle Tribune, 43-year old Wilton Suarez is accused of stealing thousands of dollars worth of running shoes from the company's South Union Street factory in Massachusetts and sending them to the Dominican Republic to be sold. The report suggests that Suarez had been stealing sneakers for several years, but workers at the factory "were hesitant to come forward and point out theft and fraud."

https://twitter.com/_/status/1067944526638170117



The Eagle Tribune reports:

"Since new management have taken over more people are coming forward and tipping security off about theft and fraud," Detective Patrick Noonan wrote. Suarez is accused of taking at least two pairs of sneakers per day, bringing them back to his cubicle, concealing them and would "then put them in his bag before he leaves for the day," Noonan wrote. "... Suarez apparently has made comments to some workers that he ships the sneakers to the D.R. and the people are always happy when he goes there and hands them out," according to the report.

New Balance security set up surveillance equipment and watched Suarez for two weeks as they witnessed him take sneakers such as the New Balance 990, which has not yet released. Additionally, the report states a New Balance security officer "has seen Suarez counting large sums of money at his desk, splitting the money into individual packs" and then leaving his cubicle.

Needless to say, Suarez is no longer employed by the Boston-based sneaker company.
A former stylist of Nicki Minaj sued the rapper for an unpaid bill for some pretty expensive clothes that were never returned. Maher Jridi alleged that he dropped thousands of dollars to style Nicki Minaj, but never got any of the clothes back. After filing a lawsuit against Nicki for the missing gear and the $74K unpaid bill, the Queen is firing back with her our lawsuit.

According to TMZ, Nicki Minaj has filed a countersuit against Jridi, claiming that she doesn't owe the stylist jack. In fact, Nicki claims that she actually paid him too much and now, wants the money back. Nicki Minaj claims that she overpaid Jridi $12K for his services, but never received the money back.

While Jridi claims Nicki never paid off the $74K for the clothes, Nicki Minaj has receipts of her own to prove her claims. According to legal documents, Nicki Minaj has an email chain with Jridi agreeing to return the overpayment made by the "Good Form" rapper. She's now countersuing him for $12K as well as legal fees. Additionally, Nicki Minaj is demanding the court dismiss the stylist's original suit against her.

Maher was the stylist behind Nicki Minaj's breast-exposing fit for 2017 Paris Fashion Week that many believed was inspired by Lil Kim, although Nicki denied that.

We'll continue to keep you updated on their legal battle.
It's been a minute since we heard anything from Stormzy. In fact, it feels like he's been riding the wave of Gang Signs & Prayers since its release in early 2017. The rapper's been busy venturing off into other lanes since then such as his partnership Penguin/Random House, launching a scholarship fund for Black students to attend Cambridge University and more recently, teaming up with adidas for a new collection. In wake of his new partnership with the sportswear brand, the rapper unleashes his first song in nearly two years titled, "Line."

Over a lurky guitar loop, Stormzy delivers a short new track titled, "Line" exclusively with adidas Originals. The track and video runs for one minute with Stormzy mobbing out with his people with everyone dressed up in adidas head-to-toe. Hopefully, this means we'll be getting a new album from the "Wicked Skengman" rapper in 2019.

Quotable Lyrics

The boy's got fabolous rhymes

And he got adidas slides

100 bags for the show

Had to make my manager decline
Think about your next vacation for a second  a week at a Caribbean beach, Colorado ski slope, Tuscan villa or whichever fill-in-the-blank location youve been googling incessantly since you decided to book your tickets.

Now ask yourself this: Why are you going?

No, really. Why are you going?

Thats the question that Seth Kugel encourages travelers to ask of themselves in his new book, Rediscovering Travel: A Guide for the Globally Curious.

I urge people to think about why they want to go to a specific place. Really dig deep and figure out why you personally want to go to that place and make sure its for your own purposes, your own reasons, your own passions and your own interests, Kugel said during a recent phone interview. Not because of some sort of peer pressure, whether thats literally peer pressure of your friends or societal peer pressure.

These days, thanks to social media, theres tons of external pressure to do things for show. But thats no reason to blow an entire paycheck on Booking.com.

Rediscovering Travel: A Guide for the Globally Curious By Seth Kugel Liveright Publishing Corporation 320 pages, $26.95 See More Collapse

In his book, Kugel, who worked for six years as the New York Timess Frugal Traveler, includes an entire chapter, Why we travel, in which he offers a long list of reasons, from To figure out the world to To boost our social standing.

We travel at least in small part to shape what people think of us, Kugel writes. Everybody gets a kick out of announcing where theyre off to and regaling friends with stories upon their return. Not you? Yeah, right  imagine how different your next trip would be if you were forced to undertake it in secret.

That means no stories. No photos. No posts on social media. No gifts for friends. Ever.

He posits that youd set a different itinerary for your trip than the one youd originally planned in your head. So why not just plan that personal vacation from the beginning?

Is what youre doing every day what you really want to be doing, or what you want to tell other people youre doing? he mused over the phone This is a problem that has existed way before social media, but social media has exacerbated it.

Just think about this example he offers in his book. Say youre heading to Paris. Youll hear that you just have to go to the Louvre. And while at the Louvre you absolutely cant skip the Mona Lisa.

But why?

The Louvre once determined that 80 percent of its seven million annual visitors come principally to see the Mona Lisa. Why? Because its artistic quality so outshines the thirty-eight thousand other pieces on display? Because a passion for Renaissance art is embedded in their DNA? Not a chance, he writes.

Its because its famous. And as a result, its bound to disappoint most who see it, the book continues.

Same goes for the Eiffel Tower and the Taj Mahal, both of which youve likely seen in enough photos that seeing them in person, where clouds may be in the way and other tourists may obscure your view, can never measure up to the postcard images embedded in your consciousness.

Because of this, Kugel said that though theres certainly room for research before every trip, he cautions not to dive too deep, lest you lose some of the immediate joy that accompanies discovering something for the first time.

If youve read or seen too many pictures about something, maybe youll still be amazed. But to me, if Ive read all the reviews, and seen all the pictures, its never quite as good, he said. Before you see a movie, do you read every review you can find of it?

Sure, theres room for research. But Kugel draws a line between preparation and saturation.

My system is that I plan a great deal, but I leave the scheduling flexible, he said. I dont say, Im going to do this on this day and this on that day. I like to make a big list of stuff, and plan day by day and see how it goes.

That tactic served him well from 2010 through 2016, when he embarked on dozens of budget-conscious trips for the Times. And its certainly not the only thing he gleaned from the dream job. In addition to when to plan and when to wing it, his book offers insight into budgeting and risk, through a collection of what feel like stand-alone travel essays.

His ultimate goal, he said, is that those who read Rediscovering Travel will feel empowered to plan their next trips with their pleasure in mind.

maggie.gordon@chron.com

twitter.com/MagEGordon
Michael Pullaras incredible investigation into the murder of a CIA agent began with a simple Freedom of Information Act request, prompted by a feeling of unrest caused by a newspaper story hed read.

In 1993, a CIA agent named Freddie Woodruff was shot in the head on a desolate road in Georgia, the former Soviet republic in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Such a killing couldnt occur without repercussions, and the repercussions in this instance were swift. A suspect was arrested and an admission of guilt secured. Anzor Sharmaidze, a drunk country youth, was imprisoned for accidentally discharging a rifle that resulted in an accidental killing.

That could have been the end of the story. For years, it was. But Pullara wasnt satisfied. Intrigue transformed into a quixotic quest to find the truth behind Woodruffs death, which he describes in his new book, The Spy Who Was Left Behind.

I guess it was a tenacity that borders on obsession, says Pullara, who will appear Tuesday evening at Blue Willow Book Shop. Everybodys got to be somewhere. So I put myself there.

More Information 'The Spy Who Was Left Behind' Michael Pullara discusses and signs When: 7 p.m. Tuesday Where: Blue Willow Book Shop, 14532 Memorial Details: free, $28 for the book; 281-497-8675, bluewillowbookshop.com See More Collapse

Worth noting: Pullaras background was not in espionage or military subterfuge. He was, and is, a Houston-based trial lawyer. That said, he also describes himself as an inveterate traveler and a man who feels out of step with culture. Hed rather pore through thousands of pages of government documents than scroll through the blitz of information found on social media. I feel that tweets and likes on Facebook are acts of existential despair, he says. Theyre confessions of powerlessness. People think clicking like means theyve done something.

So Pullara, 62, was bothered by something and took action. His curiosity was piqued because he and Woodruff grew up in the same town in Arkansas, and their families were close. But Pullara didnt know until he read a 1993 news report about the killing that Woodruff worked for the CIA.

From the outset, Pullara felt something was off in the coverage of Woodruffs death. He describes Georgia in 1993 as a lawless republic, with an undermanned police force and likely too many lingering figures from a Cold War that was declared over but hadnt fully thawed.

An FOIA request in 1994 and another in 1997 led Pullara to believe the recorded and disseminated version of Woodruffs death was fabricated wholly. He delved deeper, visiting Georgia multiple times starting in 2004. And he uncovered other interesting strands, including moles whose cover got blown and drug-trade routes, both of which may have played a part in Woodruffs killing.

To offer too much about Pullaras investigation would rob a reader of the taut tension that runs through the book. The Spy Who Was Left Behind moves at the pace of a fiction thriller, though absent an anti-hero protagonist who knocks down doors and breaks necks.

I think I found out a lot because I was unthreatening, Pullara says with a chuckle. Thats how you get people to talk to you. I went everywhere making friends. So even people who had a strong interest in opposition to mine didnt dislike me. That and always telling the truth.

Pullara at one point is offered definitively the information he seeks about Woodruffs killing. A former chief of Georgias security service was convinced Pullara worked for the U.S. government and was willing to talk in exchange for security that Pullara  again, a trial lawyer  could not provide. Despite the time and money invested in his investigation, Pullara couldnt make a false promise even if it yielded his answers.

He could have been killed, and I couldnt live with that, Pullara says.

A surface-level description of the Woodruff murder and consequences sounds like deep and resolved history, but throughout the book moments resonate with contemporary familiarity. The descriptions of Sharmaidzes torture are grueling: He was handcuffed, arms behind his back, and hung from his wrists, dislocating both shoulders; the bottoms of his feet were beaten.

You read the word torture in a manuscript, and it doesnt convey much anymore, Pullara says. But when Anzor broke it down for me with such pathos and pity, it became much more real.

Pullara believes he met the torturer in the course of his investigation.

But for him, it was so workaday, he couldnt remember Anzor. He didnt deny it. But he had this detachment and pride.

That descriptor, detachment and pride, prompted thoughts of more recent stories about the dismemberment of a Saudi journalist in Turkey.

Its the same sort of thing: him telling the others to bring headphones so you dont have to listen to the sounds, Pullara says.

Sharmaidzes wrongful imprisonment is the force Pullara uses to lead most of his investigation, and resulted in Sharmaidzes release in 2008. But through the narrative he reveals another pursuit, which is proper acknowledgment of Woodruffs death: that he was killed for political reasons, not the result of a drunken accident. Pullara wanted the record straight: This agent died a hero, not a victim of happenstance.

And though the event described is a quarter century old, Pullara sees the killing as a bellwether for contemporary tensions.

When the Soviet Union collapsed, we willingly deceived ourselves about it being the triumph of democracy and the victory of capitalism over communism, he says. We didnt understand or acknowledge why the Soviet Union collapsed, and that the forces there continued to exist that filled a vacuum. Freddies murder in many ways was the first death in a new relationship. There was a new agreement between the CIA and the KGB, and his death was the first violation of that agreement. I think were just coming to grips with the fact that these forces existed after the collapse and still exist. We didnt need NATO and the CIA because Russia was a Soviet communist state. We needed NATO and the CIA because Russia is Russia. It was a rebirth, but not one of democracy. It was a rebirth of the Russian empire.

The United States doesnt come out of the story cleanly either. Clearly, facts of Woodruffs death were known and buried.

I can tell you how Ive tried to resolve that dissonance in my own mind, Pullara says. Ive learned these kinds of international problems; what our government does is lurch from one problem to another problem. And if you can put one problem on the shelf and make it finished, you dont want to open that box again. Off the shelf, you dont have control of the problem. On the shelf, you have control. Even if resolution isnt optimal, at least its done.

So he forced a box off the shelf.

I hope if people come away with anything its that this little story tells one or two people that you have enormous freedom and opportunity and resources, and with that you can change things, he says. What can a curious guy do? The skys the limit. You can change something.

andrew.dansby@chron.com
A new era of the downtown Houston food-hall boom commences Monday when Finn Hall officially opens to the public with 10 chef-driven food outlets, a craft beer and wine bar and a cocktail bar.

Set in the Art Deco opulence of the JPMorgan Chase building at 712 Main, Finn Hall is the first of three food halls  Bravery Chef Hall and Lyric Market are also on the books  to open downtown. With 20,000 square feet of space, including a sleek mezzanine cocktail bar, Finn Hall is named for Alfred C. Finn, the architect of the JPMorgan Chase building, who was considered one of the leading Art Deco-style architects in Texas throughout the first half of the 20th century.

The food operators in the main hall are laid out around a center bar called St. Jacs, offering beer, cocktails and 12 wines on tap. On the mezzanine level, guests will find Swallows Nest, an Art Deco cocktail lounge with tufted red leather booths and cozy tables. The bar will serve specialty and craft cocktails as well as wine by the glass. Guests can order from any menu downstairs, and a server will bring food and drinks to the table.

For some established restaurateurs, Finn Hall allows a different way to position the brand in the busy downtown marketplace. For other vendors, the food hall is their first restaurant.

The Players Amaya Coffee: A new coffee concept from Max Gonzalez, owner of Catalina Coffee and Amaya Roasting Co. The coffee menu will include macchiatos, cortados, flat whites, lattes, cappuccinos, iced coffee, cafe con leche and affogato (Fat Cat Creamery's Amaya coffee ice cream with espresso) as well as chai latte and hot tea. Goode Co. Taqueria: The first expansion of the Goode Co.'s taqueria brand, which opened in 1981. It will serve breakfast, lunch and dinner tacos on house-made flour and corn tortillas, made-to-order guacamole and Goode's famous campechana and Brazos Bottom Pecan Pie. Low Tide: Alli Jarrett, owner of Harold's Restaurant & Tap Room in the Heights, has created a fresh seafood and raw bar concept that will offer oysters, seafood towers and main dishes such as steamed mussels, shrimp and grits, lump crab cakes, fish and chips, fried shrimp platter, shrimp and oyster po'boys and fish ceviche. The menu also includes breakfast options such as fried chicken and biscuit, fish and grits and bagel with lox. Dish Society: The Houston-born farm-to-table restaurant opens its fourth location inside the food hall with an abbreviated menu of the same locally sourced dishes found at the restaurants in Houston and Katy (a fifth is set to open in January in the Heights). Breakfast options include chicken and biscuits, breakfast tacos, breakfast sandwich and Nutella French toast. Lunch and dinner options include shrimp and grits, brisket-stuffed baked sweet potato, chimichurri steak tacos, citrus-glazed salmon, sandwiches and salads. Mr. Nice Pie: The partners behind Moon Tower Inn, Voodoo Queen Daiquiri Dive and Love Buzz have a pizza concept serving up giant slices (yes, there is breakfast pizza with bacon, eggs and hash browns) and creative pies made throughout the day. The menu also includes cheesy garlic bread, pizza poppers, calzones, stromboli and salads. Craft Burger: Chef Shannen Tune has traded in his food truck for his first brick-and-mortar restaurant, serving as many as 15 different burgers made with locally sourced all-natural Black Angus beef. He also has a buttermilk-fried chicken sandwich, beer-battered onion rings, loaded sweet potato fries, hand-cut fries and specialty fries such as truffle and Parmesan. Milkshakes and root beer floats complete the picture. Sit Lo: Another food truck (Bowl'd Up) that has given up its wheels for a sit-down restaurant experience, Sit Lo offers authentic Vietnamese dishes such as pho, grilled pork vermicelli, grilled chicken vermicelli, shaken beef and banh mi sandwiches made with grilled pork, chicken and tofu. Jay Le, who owns the business with siblings Adrienne Le and Jeff Jacobson, said to think of Sit Lo as comfort food like a Vietnamese mom would make. And they have the mom there to prove it:Their mother, Suzi Jacobson, is the chef. Sit Lo's name is a takeoff on "xich lo," the cycle rickshaws of Vietnam. Oddball Eats: The falafel food truck is now a brick-and-mortar restaurant from the brother-and-sister team of Rani and Rene Francis. Main dishes are a falafel sandwich in pita, chicken shawarma sandwich in pita and falafel sampler and salad. Oddball will offer a weekend brunch that includes an Egyptian breakfast, lamb chorizo hash, shakshuka (eggs poached in stewed tomatoes), falafel bowl and Egyptian stewed fava beans with market vegetables and egg. Yong: Daniel Ajtai, former head chef at La Grange and Cottonwood, opens his first restaurant, named for his Korean mother, Yong. He calls the menu Korean comfort food but "decluttered" from the traditional banchan experience. Instead of the many side dishes served with Korean meals, Ajtai is putting them in bowls such as bulgogi bowl (thin-sliced rib-eye with kimchee, spinach, mung beans and soft-boiled egg), bibimbap (rice bowl with bulgogi, kimchee, spinach, daikon, mushrooms, pickled cucumber, Asian pear and carrots), kalbi (marinated grilled short ribs) and Korean fried chicken (double-fried strips with sauce, kimchee and pickled cucumber). Mala Sichuan: The first to sign on, Mala's stake in Finn is part of the carefully plotted growth of the Chinatown-born brand of spicy Chinese cuisine. Owners Cori Xiong and Heng Chen are planning to open two more Malas in 2019 (in Katy and Sugar Land), but for now they are concentrating on how to edit and serve their traditional family-style dishes as individual plates at Finn Hall. Lunch options will include Kung Pao chicken with red oil dumplings, Sichuan beef stew, shredded pork in spicy garlic sauce, garlic pork belly with sour and spicy shredded potato, and mapo tofu with wok fried string beans. Dinner options will include braised oxtail with asparagus, lamb shank stew, pork with bok choy and fried rice, chicken with bamboo shoots and spinach, fish and fillets with cabbage. See More Collapse

Levi Goode, CEO of Goode Co., is no stranger to the Houston restaurant scene, yet his Goode Co. Taqueria in Finn Hall represents the first time hes expanded his Tex-Mex concept since the taqueria opened in 1981. The food-hall model, he said, made for an interesting way to present a long-established brand.

Theres no denying that food halls have made a splash across the country, Goode said. I think it really connects with new diners, new ages and backgrounds. He added that Finn Hall represents a new way of bringing our old-school way of cooking to a modern urban environment.

Restaurateur Alli Jarrett, who owns Harolds Restaurant & Tap Room in the Heights, saw the hall as a way to test-drive a new concept of fresh and affordable seafood and raw bar. If her Low Tide takes off downtown, she hopes to expand the brand to the suburbs, such as Sugar Land, Pearland and The Woodlands. She also sees Low Tide as filling a seafood void in the marketplace that has few middle options but is serviced by the everyday Red Lobsters on one end and McCormick & Schmick and Trulucks on the higher end.

Within Finn Halls restaurant collection, she says shes offering something distinctive. There are no cuisines here that are the same, she said. Everything here is unique, but its all Houston.

Trent Patterson, director of operations for Dish Society, which put its fourth store in Finn Hall, agrees. This isnt a food court, he said. It feels more upscale. Theres not a McDonalds in the corner. Everything in here is uniquely Houston.

Patterson added that Finn Halls dining options distinguish it from fast food in the tunnels where many downtown workers fetch breakfast and lunch.

Though Dish Society has had its eye on downtown, a full-service, seven-days-a-week restaurant on the scale of its other Houston restaurants might not have made financial sense. The food hall, however, is workable and provides more brand awareness. Its a great opportunity not just to market to a new client, its a big opportunity to spread the knowledge of who we are.

Ditto for Cori Xiong and Heng Chen, owners of the Chinatown darling Mala Sichuan. Finn Hall, Xiong said, provided an opportunity to present Mala Sichuan cuisine, served family style, in a new format for the food hall (individual servings).

Its so much better than what I imagined in my head, she said of Malas stall, where guests can see directly into the kitchen line. Its more theatrical than a traditional restaurant.

Finn Hall allowed chef Shannen Tune to take his Craft Burger business from food truck to dine-in restaurant. A menu of about a dozen specialty burgers will be served alongside gussied-up, hand-cut fries and milkshakes, such as Bananas Foster. Tune has waited for years for his brick-and-mortar dreams to come to fruition. Not only is he opening at Finn Hall, he recently signed a lease to open a restaurant in the Heights, due in October. Called Carol Kays, the Caribbean meat and three concept will feature dishes such as oxtails, jerk chicken and curry shrimp served with sides such as rice and peas, macaroni and cheese and sweet potato casserole.

For Daniel Ajtai, Finn Hall offers a new start with his own business. The former chef at La Grange and Cottonwood is making his own name with Yong, named for his mother, serving authentic Korean food, simplified.

I consider myself very lucky, he said. I got in here very late.

But he got in. Just like Jay Le, one of the owners of Sit Lo, serving Vietnamese street food. He and his siblings Adrienne Le and Jeff Jacobson will be working alongside their mother, Suzi Jacobson, the chef, on a project sprung from two years working as Bowld Up food truck. Sit Lo, Jay Le said, isnt just a new direction for their food, its an opportunity for growth. His goal is to create a brand that can be franchised.

Le added that smart culinary operators need to look at where business will thrive in the future. The food-hall concept, he said, is where the food truck was in 2010.

Max Gonzalez, who has a solid customer base for his Catalina Coffee and Amaya Roasting Co., was in no rush to expand his gourmet coffee business. But Finn Hall, with its enviable street-level spot in a handsome, historical building, was something he couldnt pass up.

For us, the history and architecture of the building were important, he said. You already have built-in character. Its priceless.

It also doesnt hurt that his Amaya Coffee owns the best corner position at Rusk and Main. What better way to draw traffic into the building than coffee, he asked.

Finn Halls vendors were carefully curated by Oz Rey, the food halls developer, to represent not just familiar names such as Goode and Dish Society but unique, under-the-radar concepts, including Yong and Sit Lo.

The company had discussions with more than 100 potential operators before settling on 10 to open the hall, said David Goronkin, president of Oz Rey.

We wanted to make sure we were discovering the best the community has to offer, Goronkin said. This is Houston  all authentic Houston.

The halls vendor mix also offers cuisines not currently available downtown. If I want a $50 steak, I have a lot of choices downtown, he said. Whats not readily available are authentic Chinese (Mala Sichuan), inventive pizza (Mr. Nice Pie), made-to-order falafel (Oddball Eats) and upscale fresh seafood presented in a casual environment (Low Tide).

Finn Halls opening will shake up the downtown dining scene by offering so many culinary experiences under one roof, seven days a week. But its not the only such concept planned for downtown. Bravery Chef Hall, at 409 Travis in the Aris Market Square tower, is set to open in January, and Lyric Market, at 411 Smith, is scheduled to open in the summer.

Houstons first food hall, Conservatory, opened at 1010 Prairie in 2016.

greg.morago@chron.com

twitter.com/gregmorago
Texas-style barbecue joints continue to open around the world, and thats good news for expatriate Texans, or those who travel internationally. If youre in London, you can drop by Texas Joes for a taste of legitimate Texas barbecue. Melt and The Beast in Paris offer similar smoked meat experiences just across the English Channel.

On a recent trip to Como, Italy, I found a new outpost of Texas barbecue called Blacket. As I sat down to a plate of the Texas trinity  brisket, ribs and sausage  I again pondered the question, Why do Europeans love Texas barbecue?

Based on my own experience traveling abroad and talking to European pitmasters and diners, Im certain that at least part of the answer can be found in the ingredient that defines Texas barbecue American-made beef.

Europeans have a complicated relationship with beef, both in its consumption and production. In most European countries, eating beef is an afterthought  the tradition of steakhouses that is so prevalent in the U.S. does not exist in most parts of Europe (Spain is something of an exception).

If youve ever ordered a steak in Europe, you quickly realize the experience is quite different from the U.S. The most noticeable difference is how it is cooked  the steaks Ive had are invariably extra-rare. European beef also lacks the high fat content  marbling  of American beef. This is because much of the beef produced in Europe is grass-fed, rather than the grain-fed or grain-finished beef that makes the American product much fattier, and therefore more flavorful.

Indeed, beef production in Europe is highly regulated, mainly due to concerns of sustainability, animal welfare and food safety. The debate over beef production is complex, but clearly Europe as a whole has decided that these concerns are more important than producing, arguably, more tasty beef using the less-regulated American approach.

In my own experience, the flavor and texture of American beef is better than European beef. I believe that many Europeans feel the same way. And thats a big reason why Texas barbecue has become so popular there.

One of the common features of Texas-style barbecue joints in Europe is that they all procure imported American beef. At Blacket in Como, when my brisket order arrived I knew immediately that it was American beef. The generous marbling and fat cap were unmistakable. Pitmaster Vincenzo Enzo Cuccaro confirmed that he imports Creekstone Farms-brand beef out Kansas, when he can get it.

Unfortunately, European barbecue joints cant always acquire American beef. Importing beef into the European Union is a complex process. First, there is a quota for the total amount of tariff-free beef that can be imported from all non-E.U. countries. American beef represents just a small sliver of that overall quota.

Additionally, beef imported to Europe must adhere to the standards of sustainability and other requirements previously mentioned. For American beef, this mainly means that it must be hormone-free. Hormones are often used in American beef production to help the cattle grow faster. European regulators have determined that the use of hormones is unhealthy and unsustainable and bans the importation of beef made this way.

American beef imported to Europe is thus labeled all natural, meaning it was produced without the use hormones or antibiotics. Creekstone Farms is one brand of American beef known for its all-natural product that satisfies European requirements.

This, of course, creates a problem. The demand for high-quality beef in Europe is increasing and the quota, measured by quarter, is being exhausted sooner. European pitmasters have told me that it is often hard to find imported American beef toward the end of each quarter because the quota has been reached.

Thats starting to change. American and European regulators are negotiating for larger quotas of imported American beef.

Thats good news for Texas-style barbecue joints in Europe. Because there is clearly an increase in demand for the tastier, more tender style of beef produced in the U.S. For Europeans who crave American beef, they know that Texas-style barbecue joints are guaranteed to have that beef, cooked in a proper and traditional way (not too rare!).

To paraphrase an American marketing slogan: Beef. Its why Europeans love Texas-style barbecue.

jcreid@jcreidtx.com

twitter.com/jcreidtx
Filmmakers Kate Davis and David Heilbroner have built an awards-studded career often making documentaries about cracks in the criminal justice system where lives can slip through unseen.

From The Newburgh Sting, about four men swept up in an FBI operation in an upstate New York Muslim community, to The Cheshire Murders, which dug into the investigative missteps in a gruesome Connecticut home invasion, theyre attracted to stories of struggle against civic authority.

So its no surprise that the case of Sandra Bland, the 28-year-old African-American woman who was found hanging in her cell while in police custody in Waller County after a confrontational traffic stop with Texas state trooper Brian Encinia, snagged their attention when it hit the headlines in July 2015. That interest mushroomed into their latest project, Say Her Name: The Life and Death of Sandra Bland, debuting at 9 p.m. Monday on HBO.

Blands death, which authorities designated a suicide while Blands family and their supporters raised the specter of racism, foul play, botched oversight and possible homicide, came at a time when the issue of African-Americans dying at the hands of the police was at the top of the news  with fallout from the fatal shootings of Michael Brown in St. Louis, Eric Garner in New York City, Walter Scott in North Charleston, S.C., and Tamir Rice in Cleveland among others still reverberating through the media.

RELATED: Sandra Bland museum exhibit inspires mother to continue daughter's legacy.

Say Her Name: The Life and Death of Sandra Bland When: 9 p.m. Monday Where: HBO See More Collapse

But something about Blands case jumped out to Davis and Heilbroner: She was a woman.

There has been a systemic gender bias, Davis says in a phone interview, regarding media coverage. There have been women who have fallen at the hands of the police or in police custody. So, yes, that added a certain importance to me, to the story.

There are other elements, too. There was a mystery enshrouding what the heck happened. All we really knew at the time was that she was brutalized at the roadside by a cop and, strangely and seriously, three days later, was found in her jail cell, so the authorities said. That led to so many questions.

Both sides of the story

Davis and Heilbroner, himself a former prosecutor in the Manhattan District Attorneys office, managed to get incredible access, not only to the Bland family  particularly her grief-stricken mother and sisters  but to jailhouse photos, videos and autopsy evidence. They also devote a significant portion of the film to letting both the Blands as well as Waller County sheriff R. Glenn Smith and district attorney Elton Mathis tell their side of the story.

It took nearly two years for the film to be completed as the filmmakers had to convince everyone to participate and wait for the case to be settled. In 2016, the Bland family received $1.9 million and changes in Waller County jail procedures from their wrongful-death suit. Subsequently, the Texas Senate passed the Sandra Bland Act which was designed to force local jails to increase mental-health supervision of their charges and suicide-prevention training for employees.

I think the family could see that we really care about humanizing people who are pawns in a larger scheme ... and they knew this project would have the muscle of HBO, which is really something I never take for granted, Davis says. In terms of law enforcement, they couldnt talk to us for a long time because they were in the middle of gathering evidence and presenting their case. ... We held back and approached them once the case was settled ... I think the sheriff and the DA took this as an opportunity to have their voice heard because they felt so attacked and vilified.

RELATED: 'Two Sides' documentary relives the death of Sandra Bland.

We said, Look, tell us what you think happened. What mistakes may have been made. Speak for yourself, otherwise you get people speaking for you. Another part of it is my partner was a prosecutor in Manhattan. I think that helped  that he would give law enforcement a fair shake, and let the audience think what they wish.

Its an even-handed approach that has been criticized in some quarters, such as in a Los Angeles Times review, where they say the filmmakers should have offered more pushback on some of the claims made. Davis waves away such comments.

We put (Smith and Mathis) in the hot seat on really critical issues, like the falsifying of the jail records, she says, referring to the guards who admitted to entering incorrect information on log entries to make it seem as if they had checked on Bland when he hadnt. Thats an egregious error on their part, and we did push them on camera to say that. ... We allow the public to see first-hand that both the sheriff and the DA admit fault, serious fault.

If the jailers werent checking on Sandy, at the very least, its negligence. ... Had they done their job, they could have saved her life, potentially. ... The sheriff admits that he feels that the Waller County Jail is morally responsible for Sandys death. Thats the closest thing the familys ever gotten to an apology.

If we had so-called push farther, they wouldve walked out, she continues. Wed never hear from them at all. (Then) we could just sit in our bubble and fill in the blanks but its not fair reporting. I dont think it gives the audience really a chance to think for themselves and get to know these guys.

Whether you like them or not, whether you think theyre lying through their teeth, whether you think theyre playing to the audience  there are many ways to read what theyre saying  I think its the ethical way to go.  Its not a gotcha film.

On the other side, at least one critic  the Hollywood Reporters John DeFore  has also noted that they dont talk to Alexandria Pyle, the inmate in a cell adjacent to Blands who communicated with her and has said that she might have been distraught enough to kill herself, as authorities have maintained.

We actually tried to reach her, says Davis. She was skittish and avoiding (us). We did try.

Getting to know Bland

One of the most striking elements about Say Her Name is how much of Blands personality percolates throughout. It opens and closes with clips from Blands Sandy Speaks YouTube channel in which she talks about police abuse and racism but also the need for blacks and whites to find common ground in this contentious time.

When the directors discovered the videos, they knew they had to use them to help flesh out Blands personality and life, showing that she was more than just another victim and grim statistic.

Its eerie. Its as if she speaks from the grace, Davis says. She speaks for so many of the fallen whose faces well never know. ... We dont get to know Eric Garner and Michael Brown the same way because its so astonishingly rare  to find that kind of legacy of video blogs where the very person whose life was lost speaks to the issues that brought them down.

Davis concedes that it may be never known with absolute certainty what happened to Bland within the walls of the Waller County Jail. There are some terrifying lapses or gaps of knowledge that will keep everyone wondering, she said. Then the question becomes why was she there in the first place, what other mistakes we know were made, and what can we learn from them. The Sandra Bland Act was one step toward change so that maybe somebody else wont go through the same thing.

Finding uplift

After dealing with so many heavy issues of death and injustice in many of their movies, Davis and Heilbroner are taking a detour with their next film, Born into the Gig, a look at the children of celebrity rock n roll parents.

Im an amateur musician myself and it is nice to explore something thats life-affirming, Davis says. On the other hand, Ive got to say that Sandys own spirit did keep me going through (Say Her Name). As dark as this is, I think its something that surprises audiences. ... Some people just come up and go, Wow, this is about Sandy, this amazing woman who we get to know and sort of love, with her humor and her many different moods and messages.

cary.darling@chron.com
Great flocks of snow geese drift down from the sky onto coastal prairies and inland farm fields, blanketing the landscape in glimmering white.

They arrive from chilly breeding grounds along the Alaskan tundra and across the Canadian Arctic and Hudson Bay. Breeding populations consist of greater snow geese on the eastern breeding range and lesser snow geese on the midcontinental and western range.

In Houston, we see lesser snow geese, although wed be hard pressed to distinguish them from presumably larger greater snow geese that winter on the East Coast. The size of adult snow geese is mostly a result of food abundance for goslings, making some lessers as big as some greaters.

Back in the days of President James Madison, snow geese flew nonstop from Canadian breeding grounds to wintering grounds on the Texas Gulf Coast. But when Americans expanded into the Midwest, they grew acres of corn and other grains across the Plains.

Snow geese discovered waste grain in fallow Midwestern farm fields where they could stop, feed, and rest before heading to the Gulf Coast. Eventually, sweeping fields of waste grain lay in fallow rice fields along the Texas coast and inland. Geese then had a bonanza of food awaiting them on wintering grounds.

They now fill our winter skies with great ribbons of white, streaming in loose V-shaped formations stretching across the sky. High-flying flocks sound off with melodic chortling that echoes over the land, and flocks feeding on the ground will suddenly take flight while yelping in a resounding chorus of diphthongs.

Information Snow geese are the most abundant winter geese in the Houston area, with more than a half million along the Texas Coast. Highly social birds forage in large close-knit flocks on fields and grasslands. They form monogamous lifelong pairs when 2-years-old. Females return to the same nesting colony every year. An overabundance of more than 6 million snow geese is denuding vegetation on breeding grounds, which is stressing the land's ability to support the birds. Look for big flocks at the Anahuac, Brazoria, San Bernard and Attwater Prairie Chicken refuges, as well as in fallow farm fields in west Harris County and east Waller County. See More Collapse

Flocks roost overnight in marshes and wetlands for protection against predators, such as coyotes. Come sunrise, they lift off in billows of white and fly to feeding grounds on fallow farm fields and grasslands.

No other geese in our area have snow-white bodies with black-tipped wings. Individuals called blue geese have grayish-blue bodies, due to a gene reducing the white color, and are not a separate species.

A similar but distinct species called Rosss geese may show up in small numbers among snow geese. Theyre about the size of mallard ducks and have angular foreheads and stubby beaks rather than the sloping foreheads and long beaks of snow geese.

Both feed on vegetation by grazing on waste grains, foraging for aquatic plants, and unearthing roots and tubers beneath the ground.

Drive to coastal wildlife refuges or on inland farm roads with fallow rice fields to see the magnificent flocks of snow geese, and try your eye at finding Rosss geese, too.

Gary Clark is the author of Book of Texas Birds with photography by Kathy Adams Clark (Texas A&M University Press). Email him at Texasbirder@comcast.net
ANSAmed - Today's events in the Mediterranean

(ANSAmed) - ROME, NOVEMBER 30 - These are some of the main events scheduled for today in the Euro-Mediterranean area: MARRAKECH - Film festival kicks off with tribute to Robert De Niro (until 8/12).



CAIRO - The third edition of the Global Migration Film Festival continues (to December 18).



RABAT - 4th edition of the Festival of Theatre Academies, with the participation of over 200 artists (until 5/12).



ROME - 70 refugees from Lebanon will arrive at Fiumicino airport thanks to the humanitarian corridors promoted by the Community of Sant'Egidio.



GENEVA - EU, Commissioner Christos Stylianides meets Filippo Grandi, UN High Commissioner for Refugees, and Borge Brende, presient and member of the administrative council of the World Economic Forum.



LA VALLETTA - EU, meeting of European Commission representatives for the Mediterranean. (ANSAmed).




Last month, Harris County voters elected a socialist.

Technically, Franklin Bynum is a Democrat, who was the partys nominee for Harris County Criminal Court at Law No. 8, a misdemeanor court bench held by Republican Jay Karahan since 2002.

But Bynum is also a card-carrying member of the Democratic Socialists of America. He supported Bernie Sanderss bid to become president in 2016. And when I asked him if he would seriously like to end capitalism, he said yes.

My colleagues on the Houston Chronicle editorial board are sanguine about Bynums election. They endorsed Bynum in part because they had concluded that Dan Simons, his Republican opponent, was unfit to serve as judge.

As a Harris County prosecutor, Simons was reprimanded for mishandling evidence. And his campaign against Karahan, in the primary, succeeded by catering to some of the bases worst impulses. Karahan, a widely respected incumbent, had drawn the ire of social conservatives after deciding to perform same-sex marriages.

Editorial: For County Criminal Court No. 8- Franklin Bynum

But beyond that, the endorsement noted, Bynum, 36, has a reputation as an impressive criminal defense lawyer who cares deeply about his clients. Plus, my colleagues thought his election might be a fun experiment.

He offers a clear alternative to the status quo and even people wary of his socialist credentials should be curious to see if he can deliver, the Chronicles editorial board said.

I was curious about Bynum, too, because many of my Republican friends are convinced that America is facing an incipient socialist menace.

Polls have shown that young Americans, in particular, are broadly skeptical of free enterprise. An August report from Gallup, for example, found that just 45 percent of Americans aged 18-29 have a positive view of capitalism, compared to 51 percent who said the same about socialism.

And a number of young Democrats campaigned this year espousing proposals that would reduce the carceral state and expand the safety net. The most high-profile of them, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, is about to be sworn into Congress as the U.S. representative from New Yorks 14th Congressional District.

There are, of course, a number of progressive Democrats in the Texas Legislature and various local offices. But I would expect the state to be relatively insulated from the socialist trend, because Texas Democrats are, historically, relatively temperate.

It would appear that the same could be said of Texass Democratic Socialists.

Over breakfast at Baby Barnabys, Bynum told me that he supports goals such as Medicare for All for moral reasons. But he added that theres a common-sense case to be made for such proposals, even if he prefers the more idealistic arguments.

Editorial: Why were calling for a judicial sweep in the misdemeanor courts

And as a judge, he said, his priority will be insisting on basic due process protections, which Harris County judges have often ignored if not trampled.

Bynum also startled me, at one point, by saying that he would prefer a federal job guarantee  in conjunction with robust disability benefits  to a universal basic income.

Both ideas would seek to ensure that everyone has enough money to meet basic needs, but the former is better in Bynums view, because people want to work.

Thats what I think, as it happens. But its not a line of argument Ive heard from many young leftists lately.

Theres no one sitting around saying we dont want people to work, Bynum said.

Are you sure? I asked.

Yes, he said.

I said that I had a different impression, based on my occasional encounters with socialists on the internet.

The internets full of all kind of things, Bynum said.

People that are actually out organizing, talking to people, know that people want to work, he continued. They want the dignity of work. They want the ability to go out in the world and make a difference.

In fact, Bynum added, this is one of the reasons so many young people are getting involved with the Democratic Socialists of America, which is a small but rapidly growing political organization.

Thats an astute observation, one that national Democrats should probably take to heart.

And Republicans, for their part, should reflect on the fact that they are directly responsible for creating the incipient socialist menace that a Democrat like Bynum represents.

Grieder: Texans have the right take on the First Step Act

Texas has been a red state since the 1990s. So the next generation of Texas leaders will be those who grew up in that kind of political environmentand were directly exposed to its positive, and negative, effects.

Bynum, for example, has always had a social conscience. But his life experiences, as a native Houstonian, led him to become a socialist.

What radicalized me was growing up in Montrose, and seeing [the Houston Police Department] target my neighbors, and seeing Johnny Holmes, the Harris County DA, send dozens of people to their deaths every year, Bynum said.

Im from here, he continued. This place created me.

Many Harris County voters have had similar experiences, over the years. Its no wonder that they decided to put Bynum in office.

erica.grieder@chron.com
Houston ISD trustees agreed in October to treat each other with respect following a rancorous public meeting.

The truce didn't last long for two board members.

Trustees Jolanda Jones and Elizabeth Santos engaged in a 30-second shouting match during a workshop Tuesday, with Jones shouting for Santos to "be quiet" and Santos calling Jones a "liar."

The brief argument came during an otherwise respectful five hours that trustees spent discussing transportation issues, district values and potential partnerships with private organizations to run low-performing schools. The back-and-forth started when Jones insinuated some trustees have been disingenuous about wanting to provide raises for bus drivers, and Santos called for a "point of order" to rein in Jones' animated comments.

Now Playing: Houston ISD trustees agreed in October to treat each other with respect following a rancorous public meeting. Video: Houston ISD

The conduct of trustees has been closely monitored following the October meeting, during which a few trustees lobbed accusations of racism, hypocrisy and unethical behavior against their colleagues amid a covert attempt to replace Interim Superintendent Grenita Lathan. In the following days, after receiving criticism for their behavior, trustees agreed to a "resolution concerning reconciliation," in which they committed to "reconciling with one another," "treating each other with respect" and engage in "ongoing team building." Trustees had been generally respectful of one another during public meetings prior to Tuesday's tiff.

A top Texas Education Agency official offered Tuesday to work with the HISD board to dramatically overhaul its governance operations, which have been marred by in-fighting and unproductive behavior. The official, Deputy Commissioner of Governance AJ Crabill, said he would offer his services free of charge, on the condition that all nine trustees agreed to his presence. His offer was not in response to the argument between Jones and Santos.

Jones, who has been vocally hostile toward TEA officials, declined Wednesday to answer questions from the Houston Chronicle on whether she would accept Crabill's offer, repeatedly telling a reporter, "I'm not talking to you."
The 59-year-old Houston widow convicted in 2017 of killing her husband in a staged home invasion will be featured Friday on national television news magazine 20/20.

Sandra Melgar, was convicted of fatally stabbing her husband of 32 years, Jaime Melgar, in 2012.

During her trial last year, prosecutors insisted that Melgar, who has epilepsy and lupus, tied herself up and locked herself in a closet to avoid suspicion. She was found the next day by family arriving at the northwest Harris County house to celebrate the couple's anniversary.

EXHAUSTIVE TRIAL COVERAGE: Woman gets 27 years in stabbing death of husband

Melgar maintained her innocence throughout the trial. The couple's adult daughter, Lizz Rose, remains convinced that her mother did not kill her father and is expected to be interviewed on the telecast.

Invited family members arrived early at the couple's home for the anniversary party and discovered Sandra tied up in her closet and Jaime brutally murdered and tied up in his own closet.

At trial, prosecutor Colleen Barnett argued the crime scene didn't match Sandra's story of a home invasion, and that she was motivated by a $500,000 life insurance policy.

Karen Warren / Houston Chronicle

Barnett also argued that Melgar, who is a Jehovah's Witness, did not want to get a divorce because of her religious beliefs.

READ MORE: Houston woman accused of killing husband, staging home invasion begins trial

Defense attorney Mac Secrest argued that Melgar was attacked in a home invasion, tied up and knocked out by a blow to the head.

Houston Chronicle reporters covered the trial gavel-to-gavel and were interviewed for the episode. It airs on Friday, November 30 (9:00 p.m.) on ABC.

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.
It's been two years since Sandra Bland died in Waller County jail after a controversial traffic stop near Prairie View A&M University.

Her death  which came three days after the controversial arrest  became a flashpoint in a nationwide debate over law enforcement's use of force and sent shockwaves through Waller County and across the Lone Star State.

In the weeks that followed, Waller County came under incredible scrutiny. Her death sparked protests in and around Houston, and Bland became an icon of the Black Lives Matter movement.

The Texas Department of Public Safety sidelined and ultimately fired Trooper Brian Encinia, who initiated the stop and arrested Bland after the two got into a heated argument over whether or not she should put out a cigarette. The interaction between the two  caught on Encinia's dashcam - unleashed a torrent of criticism of DPS.

Encinia was later charged with perjury. The charge was dismissed in June.

State jail regulators said Waller County jailers had missed obvious warning signs that Bland was a danger to herself  particularly after she had disclosed a prior suicide attempt  and failed to properly observe Bland, who hanged herself with a ligature made from a plastic trashbag. Bland's death also led to more scrutiny of how the state cares for its inmates and deaths in Texas jails.

The state launched a probe into the death and into Waller County jail. The Texas Commission on Jail Standards changed screening practices in jails across the state to try to prevent similar deaths in the future.

Bland's family sued Waller County, eventually settling for $1.9 million.

State legislators filed bills this past legislative session, seeking to strengthen protections for mentally ill inmates. An early version of the bill also tried to reduce racial profiling during traffic stops, but provisions aimed at law enforcement reforms were watered down and the bill lawmakers ultimately signed focused on diverting people with mental health and substance abuse issues from jail to treatment and requires outside police agencies to investigate jail deaths.

Bland's family criticized lawmakers decision not to pursue reforms aimed at reducing racial profiling during traffic stops.

Her mother, Geneva Reed-Veal, recently moved to Waller County and said she wants to build affordable student housing for students at Prairie View A&M University.

The Chronicle was the first outlet to report on the story, starting with Waller County's announcement of her death. Read the Chronicle's coverage of Bland's death in the two years since she was found in her jail cell:

Authorities investigate apparent suicide at Waller County Jail: http://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/houston/article/Authorities-investigate-apparent-suicide-at-6385033.php

Trooper who pulled over Bland placed on administrative duty: http://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/article/Waller-County-law-enforcement-under-scrutiny-as-6390814.php

Bland told jailers of previous suicide attempt: http://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-texas/houston/article/Bland-told-jailers-of-previous-suicide-attempt-6400692.php

Dash cam in Bland case shows escalating confrontation: http://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-texas/houston/article/Dash-cam-in-Bland-case-shows-escalating-6398428.php

After Bland's death, lawmakers to address jail standards, police interactions: http://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-texas/houston/article/After-Bland-s-death-lawmakers-to-address-jail-6404710.php

Bland's image goes far beyond dash-cam video: http://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-texas/houston/article/Bland-s-image-goes-far-beyond-dash-cam-video-6405874.php

Inmates find variety of methods, tools to end their lives: http://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-texas/houston/article/Inmates-find-variety-of-methods-tools-to-end-6413669.php

Jailer testifies he falsified jail log in Sandra Bland case, lawyer says: http://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-texas/article/Jailer-testifies-he-falsified-jail-log-in-Sandra-8402120.php

Sandra Bland's mother says lawsuit settlement is 'victory for moms': http://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-texas/houston/article/Sandra-Bland-s-mother-says-lawsuit-settlement-is-9226234.php

Sandra Bland wrongful death case resolved: http://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-texas/article/Sandra-Bland-wrongful-death-case-resolved-10482435.php

Nearly 7,000 died in Texas police custody in the last decade: http://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-texas/article/More-than-1-900-died-in-Texas-custody-before-8467323.php

Sandra Bland Act clears Texas Senate on unanimous vote: http://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/politics/texas/article/Sandra-Bland-Act-clears-Texas-Senate-on-unanimous-11140553.php

............

St. John Barned-Smith covers public safety and major breaking news for the Houston Chronicle. Follow him on Twitter and Facebook. Send tips to st.john.smith@chron.com.
Turkish court denies release of Kurdish leader Demirtas European Court had called for end to pre-trial detention

(ANSAmed) - ISTANBUL, NOVEMBER 30 - A Turkish court on Friday denied a request for release from prison by attorneys for Kurdish leader Selahattin Demirtas, after the European Court of Human Rights had called for the end of his pre-trial detention, which has been going on for more than two years, according to Turkish news agency Anadolu.



EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini, during her visit last week to Ankara, had also called for the release of Demirtas, who ran for president twice and is the former leader and MP of the pro-Kurdish HDP party.



Mogherini's request drew criticism from the Turkish government. Demirtas was sentenced to four years in his initial trial for alleged terrorist propaganda in support of the Kurdish PKK.



He is facing charges in numerous other trials and risks being sentenced to more than 100 years of prison for similar accusations.



Demirtas, who was a human rights attorney prior to becoming a politician, has consistently denied all charges against him.



In a statement, HDP said the Turkish court's decision on Friday is "entirely political" and was made "under pressure by President Erdogan and the executive branch".



It said the decision is "a clear violation of the Constitution and the European Convention on Human Rights".(ANSAmed).




A sweeping search warrant used to enter the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston was aimed at learning everything about the accused pedophile priest, Manuel La Rosa-Lopez, from his time as a seminarian to his final parish assignment in Richmond.

The search warrant affidavit released Thursday was what allowed local law enforcement officials to walk out of the church headquarters Wednesday on San Jacinto Street with several boxes of evidence. As their 12-hour hunt for records ended that night, Montgomery County District Attorney Brett Ligon called the search fruitful.

We found several things specifically on point, said Ligon, as investigators packed up.

Among the records being sought were the names of therapists who may have treated La Rosa-Lopez and what their opinion was after he underwent counseling in the early 2000s. A diary that La Rosa-Lopez was required to keep while working as a priest was on their list, but it eluded investigators at three prior raids at the Shalom Center in Splendora, Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Conroe and St. John Fisher Church in Richmond.

It was not clear if the diary was found when authorities searched the archdiocese.

Some of the records investigators were looking for would have been stored in the office of Cardinal Daniel DiNardo, the head of the local archdiocese and the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. He and Sister Maureen OConnell have met with child sex abuse accusers, including the two whose claims prompted the criminal investigation over the summer.

In the affidavit, Conroe police Detective Joe McGrew said he believed there would be notes, recommendations, impressions, or any records of action or investigation taken during their meetings. Those documents would be in the care of Sister OConnell or Cardinal DiNardo in their respective offices, he wrote in the 12-page single-spaced document.

La Rosa-Lopez has been charged with four counts of indecency with a child for incidents that began in 1998 and spanned three years. He was ordered to undergo treatment at the Shalom Center after the family of an accuser confronted the church about his misconduct.

A third accuser came forward in October to say La Rosa-Lopez, then a seminarian, molested him in the early 1990s. The accuser has since been interviewed by the Texas Rangers.

La Rosa-Lopez has not been charged in connection to the latest accuser, but McGrews request to search the archdiocese acknowledges his claim.

So far, McGrew has obtained two documents related to the third accuser, which he described as two 26-year-old letters. The first correspondence was from a lawyer hired by the archdiocese to investigate whether the church was required to notify CPS of La Rosa-Lopez. The other letter was from former Bishop Joseph Fiorenza stating that another psychological examination will be conducted before admittance into the seminary.

The search warrant reveals archdiocese lawyers have handed detectives other correspondence to-and-from the Vatican about whether La Rosa-Lopez was fit to return to priestly services.

A moral opinion was sought from the Holy See relating to whether a Canon Law was violated during the confessional, the document reads, adding that the record would be retained at the church offices.

The detective deduced from several documents that an archdiocese review board recommended La Rosa-Lopez be placed back in service. He was then assigned to the St. John Fisher Church.

DiNardo, in an opinion column in Tuesdays Houston Chronicle, wrote, This archdiocese takes every allegation of wrongdoing brought to our attention seriously and is fully cooperating  with any and all investigations related to the clergy abuse of minors.

We recognize the only way to resolve the abuse crisis and restore trust with the faithful is to address any and all accusations of abuse squarely and transparently.

nicole.hensley@chron.com

jay.jordan@chron.com
Godfrey G.W. Biscamp could barely breathe. After months of struggling with an inflammatory lung disease, his doctor told him he was in need of a transplant, and in 2013, he sent him to Houston Methodist.

There was no better transplant program in the country for patients in need of new lungs, one physician told him. But by the time Biscamp arrived, the program had begun to change.

Biscamp spent more than a year as a patient at Methodist, hoping for a lung transplant that never came. Instead, after numerous appointments and tests, he said doctors reversed themselves in early 2015, saying his condition was too perilous to risk a transplant.

Biscamp did not realize that, behind the scenes, Methodist had been struggling with a high rate of failed lung transplants, or that the hospital had significantly scaled back the number and difficulty of transplants it was willing to perform. Those issues have never before been reported publicly.

HEART FAILURE: At St. Luke's in Houston, patients suffer as a renowned heart transplant program loses its luster

Heart Failure This story is the result of a collaboration between the Chronicle and ProPublica, an independent nonprofit newsroom based in New York. Mike Hixenbaugh is an investigative reporter at the Houston Chronicle. Charles Ornstein is a senior editor at ProPublica. Tell us your story Are you an employee, patient or a family member of a patient at the Texas Medical Center? We'd like to hear about your experience. Please fill out the confidential questionnaire at houstonchronicle.com/heartfailure. See More Collapse

I walked into Methodist at a time when the word on the street was, these guys are blowing and going, Biscamp said. They are transplanting people left and right, and they are the best in the business. Then all of the sudden while I was there, apparently it blew apart, but nobody told me.

Biscamp, a 64-year-old former military test pilot, had the misfortune of needing a new set of lungs during a period of instability and change among Houstons transplant hospitals. His four-year struggle for new lungs demonstrates the human consequences that can follow when a transplant program falters. And it shows the challenges facing patients with advanced organ failure while trying to decide where best to seek treatment.

After leaving Methodist, Biscamp transferred to nearby Memorial Hermann, which was launching a new lung transplant program led by one of his former Methodist doctors. But after two years, Biscamp recalled doctors there telling him his case was too risky, again leaving him to seek care elsewhere.

With his inflammatory lung disease worsening, Biscamp was expecting to be disappointed when he arrived at Baylor St. Lukes Medical Center in early 2017, another Houston lung transplant program that has undergone significant changes in recent years.

But doctors at St. Lukes surprised him. Biscamp arrived at the hospital around the same time as its new lead lung transplant surgeon, and within a few months, he received a new set of lungs.

More than a year later, he knows hes fortunate to be alive.

I got shuffled around big time, Biscamp said. I got run through the bushes.

Elizabeth Conley, Houston Chronicle / Staff photographer

Hospital works on turnaround

There was a reason Biscamps doctors initially sent him to Methodist. A year earlier, in 2012, the hospital performed a staggering 143 lung transplants, making it the busiest program in America. The hospitals willingness to travel farther for donor lungs, to treat sicker patients and to attempt new and unconventional surgical techniques drew national media attention.

But as the program was growing, so was its rate of poor outcomes.

THE LATEST: As St. Luke's heart program in Houston faltered, deaths after liver and lung transplants also rose

Between the beginning of 2012 and the middle of 2014, about a quarter the 289 patients who received new lungs at Methodist had their transplants fail in less than a year, a rate significantly higher than the national average and worse than expected based on its own patient and donor characteristics, according to data compiled and analyzed by the Scientific Registry of Transplant Recipients.

In an interview earlier this month, top Methodist officials acknowledged the below-average outcomes and said they proactively made changes to turn things around, ultimately avoiding the sort of federal crackdown that caused St. Lukes to lose Medicare funding for heart transplants earlier this year. (St. Lukes says it has made numerous improvements, including hiring new surgeons, and it is appealing the decision.)

Turning things around at Methodist meant hiring additional medical staff for the lung program, improving administrative oversight and  unfortunately for some patients  performing fewer high-risk transplants.

Even before these results came out, we had started our improvement efforts, said Roberta Schwartz, Methodists executive vice president, emphasizing that the hospitals lung outcomes have steadily improved since then and are now in line with national standards.

Dr. Osama Gaber, a surgeon who oversees all of Methodists transplant programs, said he commissioned an extensive review of the lung program in 2013 and determined that doctors had been taking on too many high-risk cases, including patients over the age of 70 and those seeking a second or third lung transplant.

Transplant outcomes are measured on a curve, taking into account dozens of patient and donor characteristics in an effort to ensure hospitals are not punished for treating sicker patients than their peers. That includes a patients age and whether they received a transplant previously.

'THEY'VE GOT TO EXECUTE YOU:' Doctor faces discipline after raising concerns at St. Luke's in Houston

Nonetheless, the hospital reformed its patient selection standards and hired additional staff members beginning in 2013, Gaber said, and soon outcomes began to tick upward. By 2015, the year Biscamp was turned down for transplant, Methodist performed a total of 75 lung transplants, about half as many as in 2012, according to publicly reported data.

Gaber said patient privacy rules prevented him from commenting on the reasons Biscamp was turned down for transplant. But, Gaber said, cases like his are a testament to the range of treatment options offered to patients at the Texas Medical Center in Houston.

Gaber acknowledged that the hospitals improvement efforts meant fewer patients received new lungs. He said that is a tragic consequence of the federal governments requirement that transplant programs meet national benchmarks for one-year patient survival.

Every program thats been flagged [by the government] shrinks, Gaber said.

Elizabeth Conley, Houston Chronicle / Staff photographer

A doctor disagrees

Dr. Scott Scheinin, Methodists lead lung transplant surgeon until late 2017, disagreed with the notion that patient selection was the main cause of below-average lung outcomes. He noted that, even when the program was treating sicker patients, the hospital was achieving above-average one-month survival rates, indicating to him that the problems werent related to surgical outcomes, but with the care that followed.

HEART SURGERY: For most common heart surgery, St. Luke's has been among the nation's worst

Scheinin said he does not believe Methodist had adequate medical staffing to care for the hospitals huge population of lung recipients in the months following their transplants. All organ recipients are given anti-rejection medications that suppress their immune systems, making them vulnerable to illnesses and death following transplant.

We had a slew of people who would die between eight and 14 months after transplant, said Scheinin, who has since gone to work for a transplant program in New York. To me, that means somebody is not paying attention to them. Something is wrong.

When asked about Scheinins comments, Gaber said the hospitals improvement efforts included hiring additional staff and strengthening post-transplant care.

Although lung outcomes have gotten better in recent years, Gaber said he and his team are continuing to look for ways to make improvements.

This is not like a speedboat; this is like a airplane carrier, Gaber said. Youve got to move it very slowly.
During the summer of 2017, Baylor St. Lukes Medical Center posted a banner on its website, celebrating its liver and lung transplant programs as #1 in Texas.

That declaration was based on the latest publicly available data, which showed stellar one-year survival rates for patients who received liver and lung transplants at St. Lukes between 2014 and the middle of 2016.

But soon after the hospital published those marketing materials in August 2017, both of those transplant programs began to see increases in patient deaths, an investigation by the Houston Chronicle and ProPublica has found.

Of 85 patients who received a liver transplant at St. Lukes in 2017, at least 15 have died within a year, up from previous years and worse than the national average. Thats according to preliminary data provided to reporters by the Scientific Registry of Transplant Recipients, a Minnesota-based group that measures transplant outcomes on behalf of the federal government.

HEART FAILURE: St. Luke's patients suffer as transplant program loses luster

Also last year, according to data provided by the registry, at least seven of the hospitals 54 lung recipients died within a year of their transplants, double the mortality rate at the hospital during the previous two and a half years.

These figures do not include patients who received livers or lungs as part of multi-organ transplants or those receiving second transplants after having previously received new organs.

Both the lung and liver programs at St. Lukes have slowed down in 2018, with the number of transplants performed down 40 percent and 16 percent, respectively, through October, compared with the same period last year. Both programs also have had patients suffer unusual complications this year, according to a review of medical records and interviews with surviving family members.

In February, a patients new lung flipped over inside her chest, an event so rare that experts sometimes document individual cases in medical journals. Another patient developed a serious tear in his airway following his December 2017 lung transplant and never recovered from the setback. And in July, a 36-year-old single mother undergoing a liver transplant died in the operating room, prompting friends to seek donations to pay for her funeral and care for the daughter she left behind.

These deaths came as St. Lukes was facing scrutiny for poor outcomes in its heart transplant program. In May, the Chronicle and ProPublica reported on an outsized number of deaths and complications in that program, which had prompted a couple of St. Lukes cardiologists to refer some patients elsewhere for transplants.

SHUFFLED AROUND: As Houston Methodist's lung program grew, so did its rate of failed transplants

As was the case with the heart program, some patients and family members who came to St. Lukes for liver and lung transplants have complained to administrators or contacted reporters about the quality of care provided.

St. Lukes officials and doctors declined to be interviewed for this story. In a written statement, spokeswoman Marilyn Gerry pointed out that the hospitals liver and lung programs met national benchmarks in the latest official report from the transplant registry, released in October, which measured one-year survival for transplants performed between the start of 2015 and the middle of 2017.

Gerry said it was misleading to focus on a single year of data from 2017 rather than the entire two-and-a-half-year period examined by the registry.

Because of the complex nature of organ transplant cases, natural fluctuations will occur in a hospitals outcomes from one year to the next, Gerry wrote.

This year, when the Chronicle and ProPublica were reporting on below-average heart transplant outcomes at St. Lukes, hospital officials said something different. They discouraged focusing on the heart programs poor scores in official reports, saying they were based on old data and dont reflect the current transplant outcomes at our institution.

In August, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services terminated federal funding to the heart transplant program after concluding St. Lukes didnt do enough to correct problems that led to poor outcomes dating back to 2015. The hospital is appealing and has said that Medicares decision has not affected its other transplant programs.

Its too soon to say whether the increase in liver and lung deaths in 2017 will cause those programs to slip below national standards in future registry reports or put them at risk of sanctions from Medicare. That will depend, in part, on how the programs perform in subsequent years, as well as any changes in the way the federal government regulates transplant programs.

Many factors can cause a transplant programs outcomes to dip, experts say, from patient selection to the quality of medical care offered in the months following a transplant. A one-year decline in outcomes may not put a program in jeopardy of falling significantly below national benchmarks, experts say, but it could if a hospital fails to correct the trend.

Every transplant program has down years, said Alexander Aussi, a San Antonio-based transplant consultant. But a good program recognizes those trends early, works to understand what is going wrong and then makes proactive changes before things get out of control.

'THEY'VE GOT TO EXECUTE YOU:' Doctor faces discipline after raising concerns at St. Luke's in Houston

St. Lukes leaders announced in October that they had hired a new executive to oversee all of the hospitals transplant programs and had recruited surgeons to help with heart and lung transplants.

The hospital also has launched a new marketing campaign in recent months celebrating patient success stories, in web vignettes and full-page newspaper ads, often emphasizing St. Lukes willingness to treat the most critically ill patients. One of those was Godfrey G.W. Biscamp, a 64-year-old former test pilot from Houston who was turned away by two other local transplant programs before getting a new set of lungs at St. Lukes in July 2017.

I was just about burned out with hospitals, Biscamp said in an interview. When I went to Baylor, I was kind of expecting the same old song and dance. But those people saved my life.

Biscamp and another organ recipient featured in the ads told reporters they were pleased with the care provided by nurses and physicians throughout their stays at St. Lukes.

Marilyn Chambers, whose husband John died in April, more than three months after receiving a double-lung transplant at St. Lukes, tells a different story. She filed several complaints about the care provided to her husband and pressed hospital leaders to explain why he did not survive, leading to a pair of meetings with the hospitals president, Gay Nord.

Chambers said she wasnt satisfied.

I felt in my soul, she said, that they did something wrong.

Elizabeth Conley, Houston Chronicle / Staff photographer

***

Last year was momentous for the lung transplant program at St. Lukes, following two years of turnover in its surgeon ranks.

The senior surgeon who had led the lung program since 2012 left in the summer of 2015 to practice at a hospital affiliated with Harvard University. The surgeon hired to replace him stopped performing lung transplants soon after his arrival in early 2016, after some of his initial patients experienced complications. And the junior surgeon who stepped in left a few months later, also for a job at a Harvard teaching hospital.

HEART BYPASSES: For most common heart surgery, St. Luke's has been among the nation's worst.

Finally, in the spring of 2017, St. Lukes recruited a 41-year-old surgeon from Minnesota, Dr. Gabriel Loor, and the lung program quickly ramped up. The surge in transplants that year came after another nearby hospital, Houston Methodist, significantly scaled back its lung volume after too many transplants failed within a year.

In Loors first four months alone, St. Lukes performed 30 lung transplants, nearly matching the hospitals total from all of 2016 and double the number performed in 2015. But soon the program hit a rough patch. At least two of the six patients who received new lungs at the hospital in May 2017 did not survive a year, according to data provided by the United Network for Organ Sharing and interviews with friends and family members.

One of the patients was Leonard Johnny Arsement, a former railroad switch operator who came to St. Lukes from Louisiana with pulmonary fibrosis. Days after his transplant, doctors told his family that the donor lungs were not working properly, and he never recovered. He died in December at age 72.

Daniel Butler, an artist from Houston, also received a double-lung transplant that May. The new lungs never seemed to work properly, said his best friend, Tim Johnson. After a series of setbacks early this year, Butler asked St. Lukes doctors to stop providing life-saving medical care, and he died a few days later. He was 62.

It was just very mysterious to everybody why these lungs wouldnt take, Johnson said. He spoke highly of the doctors and nurses who cared for his friend during his eight-month hospital stay, despite the outcome.

More deaths followed later in the year, threatening to put a drag on the lung programs survival rate in future transplant registry reports. In the two-and-a-half-year period ending in December 2016, 94.2 percent of St. Lukes 58 lung transplant recipients survived one year, better than the hospitals expected rate of 89.7 percent, according to registry figures.

In 2017, though, during the surge in transplant volume, the programs one-year survival rate was down to 87 percent, a couple of percentage points below the national average. The transplant registry does not calculate expected rates for periods shorter than two-and-a-half years. The 2017 survival rate is current as of mid-November and could drop further if any additional lung recipients die in the final weeks of 2018, within one year of their transplants.

The liver transplant program at St. Lukes was in the midst of its own difficult stretch in 2017.

For several years, the liver program had posted outstanding results. Between 2014 and the middle of 2016, 93 percent of its patients survived at least a year, slightly better than the national average of 92 percent and its own expected rate of 91.3 percent.

But that began to shift at the end of 2016, according to an internal chart obtained by the Chronicle and ProPublica. The line graph, used by programs to track transplant outcomes in real time, appears to show the liver program on a steady path toward worse-than-expected outcomes by the end of last year.

All told, one out of every five liver transplants performed at St. Lukes in 2017 have failed within a year, about double the national rate. This includes two St. Lukes patients who had their new livers fail but who were still alive as of this month, likely after receiving another transplant.

Gerry, the St. Lukes spokeswoman, said the internal chart obtained by reporters represents one piece of a confidential report provided to transplant programs by the [the transplant registry] for peer review and continuous improvement.

***

A day before Hurricane Harvey slammed into southeast Texas last year, Paul Guillory sat up in a hospital bed at Baylor St. Lukes, telling jokes.

Guillory, a 74-year-old retired barber from League City, was in a good mood, thinking about the months he had waited for a new liver after being diagnosed with cancer, and about the prospect of another decade of life to watch his grandkids grow. His wife, Barbara, scribbled a note in her day planner to document the moment when staff wheeled her husband into surgery on Aug. 24, 2017: He was so happy, she wrote.

Elizabeth Conley, Houston Chronicle / Staff photographer

But in the operating room that afternoon, according to medical records, Paul suffered significant blood loss and required multiple transfusions  a complication likely triggered by his liver disease and his bodys inability to form blood clots. By the time hed been wheeled into a recovery room late that night, family members said doctors were expressing grave concerns about the viability of his new organ.

Liver not performing as it should, Barbara wrote the next day in her pocket calendar, hours before Harvey made landfall. Storm was coming in.

The hurricane came and went that weekend, but Paul never recovered, even after receiving a second, emergency liver transplant later that week.

Barbara said she wasnt surprised when she learned from a reporter that Paul was one of 15 St. Lukes patients who died following liver transplants last year. She and her family said they had concerns about the care he received.

Barbara signed a release allowing St. Lukes to speak to reporters about her husbands case; the hospital did not answer questions about his care.

Hours before Paul received his second liver transplant, about a week after the first one failed, Barbara and her children recalled watching in horror as he started to have a seizure in his hospital bed.

After several minutes, a doctor was summoned; he noted the seizure like activity in Pauls medical records and gave him drugs to bring the tremors under control. Two hours later, Paul was taken for his second liver transplant.

A day later, on Sept. 1, 2017, Barbara noted her husbands progress in her calendar: Seizures have continued. Have tried many different medications, but they continue.

Barbara continued taking notes throughout Pauls month-long hospital stay, documenting his steady decline.

She sat next to her husband for several days, squeezing his hand and singing love songs, hoping to see a flicker. It never came, however, and she and her family together made the decision to let him go.

On Sept. 23, Barbara jotted one last note.

I was able to lay with him and love on him, she wrote. Was holding him when he took his last breath.

Elizabeth Conley, Houston Chronicle / Staff photographer

***

John Chambers was nervous when he got the call from St. Lukes three days after Christmas last year. The 56-year-old former FedEx deliveryman from south Houston knew he would eventually need a transplant after years spent struggling with an inflammatory lung disease, but hed been breathing easier in recent months, and now he was having second thoughts.

Chambers reluctantly went ahead with the double-lung transplant that day, his wife said, fearing he wouldnt get another chance. But more than a month later, he still couldnt sit up or breath on his own.

He was in worse shape than when he went in, said his wife, Marilyn.

Finally, in late January 2018, doctors said they identified a major cause of his continued struggles: A tear had formed in Johns respiratory tract where the transplant surgeon had connected the donor lungs to his air passageway.

Such airway complications occur in between 5 percent and 10 percent of lung transplant patients, experts say, but rarely are they as severe as the Grade 4 dehiscence that had opened in Johns respiratory tract.

Despite doctors efforts to repair the airway, St. Lukes officials would later acknowledge that the complication triggered other serious problems  infections, pneumonia, inflammation, organ failure  that ultimately led to Johns death in April.

Elizabeth Conley, Houston Chronicle / Staff photographer

Marilyn believes there were other factors. She repeatedly complained to hospital staff about the care provided to her husband. The concerns are documented in a series of letters between her and hospital administrators.

In one instance, a nurse used a harness to lift her husband out of bed, Marilyn said, and in the process tore open his surgical wound, soaking his gown in blood. Other times, she said, staff inadvertently jostled lines connecting her husband to life-support equipment or failed to follow doctors instructions.

It was one thing after another, Marilyn said. I couldnt believe the way they treated him at that hospital.

In the written statement, Gerry, the hospital spokeswoman, noted that St. Lukes has maintained magnet status in nursing care for two decades, signaling that the hospital meets quality standards laid out by the American Nurses Credentialing Center.

We have full confidence in our nursing professionals in the care they provided to the patients you highlighted and are aware of the patient concerns you relayed, Gerry wrote, referring to the care provided to all of the patients included in this story. We reviewed and responded to families questions and comments, and immediately followed up as necessary.

Heart Failure This story is the result of a collaboration between the Chronicle and ProPublica, an independent nonprofit newsroom based in New York. Mike Hixenbaugh is an investigative reporter at the Houston Chronicle. Charles Ornstein is a senior editor at ProPublica. Tell us your story Are you an employee, patient or a family member of a patient at the Texas Medical Center? We'd like to hear about your experience. Please fill out the confidential questionnaire at houstonchronicle.com/heartfailure. See More Collapse

In August, three months after Johns death, Marilyn met with Nord, the hospitals president, along with Loor and others, to address her complaints. Chambers recorded the conversation and provided reporters with a copy of the audio.

During the meeting, Nord acknowledged that her hospital staff could have done a better job and said the hospital had educated staff based on some of her complaints.

Loor assured Marilyn that he and his team had done everything they could for John and that they were heartbroken with the outcome. Although it was another surgeon who performed Johns lung transplant, Loor said he was confident that it was done correctly. He said that the tear in Johns airway was likely the result of a common complication known as graft dysfunction, in which a set of donor lungs goes into shock after being implanted in a patient.

Loor explained that he had hoped that John was going to recover from that setback, but the infections and other problems eventually became too much.

Ms. Chambers, Im really sorry about all of this, Loor said during the July meeting. And I know its got to be really hard for you, but I know that youre strong, and I know that he [John] is with us. I feel him with us. And we get better and I get better, we all get better from talking about these things and learning from these things.  Were going to take this to heart.

Elizabeth Conley, Houston Chronicle / Staff photographer

***

In early February, three days after doctors discovered the tear in Chambers airway, Edmund Flores sat in a waiting room, praying for his wife while she underwent a double-lung transplant. Patsy Flores, a 58-year-old mother of two adult children, had spent more than a year struggling to catch her breath as result of high blood pressure in her lungs and a devastating autoimmune disease.

It became clear a day after her transplant that something was wrong.

When Loor and another surgeon reopened Patsys chest two days after the transplant, they made a tragic discovery, her medical records show: One of the new lungs had inexplicably flipped over, pinching arteries and choking off blood flow to the organ. The complication, known as lung torsion, is so rare after lung transplants that only 12 cases had been publicly documented as of two years ago.

Researchers who examined each reported case concluded that the deadly complication can be mitigated in some instances if detected right away and corrected. But by the time St. Lukes doctors flipped Patsys left lung back over, much of the organ had essentially died, according to her medical records.

Elizabeth Conley, Houston Chronicle / Staff photographer

In a statement, hospital spokeswoman Gerry wrote that initial X-rays following Patsys surgery did not indicate any twisting of the lung. Additionally, she wrote, all of our standard intraoperative monitoring procedures confirmed correct alignment and orientation.  However, continued monitoring over the next 24 hours detected a misalignment in one of her lungs and a procedure was completed to address the alignment.

In an effort to save her, Loor removed the damaged lung and doctors put Patsy back on the transplant waiting list, in urgent need of a replacement. Within days, they accepted another lung for her and implanted it.

But it was not enough. Patsy spent nearly four months connected to life support, her medical records show. Her kidneys failed. She suffered repeated infections and bedsores.

Edmund also complained to hospital staff about his wifes care. A chaplain recorded some of the complaints in Patsys medical records. Edmund said there were not enough nurses on staff overnight and on the weekends, leaving his wife to sometimes wait too long for assistance.

A few weeks after his wifes surgery, a nurse ripped open Patsys surgical wound while attempting to lift her out of bed, Edmund said, the first of two times that happened: From that point forward, he said, it was taking that much longer to heal.

Patsy smiled in photos as her family gathered around her hospital bed to celebrate her 59th birthday in April. But physically, she continued to decline. She lost weight. Her organs shut down. Infections spread through her body. And finally, on June 1, she aspirated vomit into her lungs and died two days later.

A month later, Edmund sat looking through photos of his wife at their home in Channelview, a blue-collar town east of Houston.

Woo boy, she was something else, Edmund said, fighting back tears. She was a beautiful woman. Strong, vibrant, full of life.

Elizabeth Conley, Houston Chronicle / Staff photographer

Edmund said that he understands Patsy was critically ill, and that she wouldnt have survived much longer without a transplant. But hes struggling to come to terms with the rare complication that caused her first transplant to fail, and with what he felt were lapses in care from seemingly overworked nurses and other medical staff in the months that followed.

The nurses were doing a fantastic job, he said. But there was only so much they could do because they were stretched so thin.

HEART SURGERY: For most common heart surgery, St. Luke's has been among the nation's worst

Since Patsys death, Edmund has received two anonymous letters in the mail. He suspects they were from someone who was involved in his wifes care, or another hospital employee.

The first note alleged that there were problems with Patsys transplant and claimed that her death should have been avoided!!! The second mentioned other lung transplant deaths this year and encouraged him to contact a Chronicle reporter.

I need you to know that the lung twist was avoidable, the letter read, and the whole team feels so so bad for you and your family.

Flores doesnt know what to make of the notes.

For now, he has filed them away with other records documenting his wifes stay at St. Lukes.
Houston-based Intuitive Machines was one of nine companies tapped Thursday by NASA to build moon landers as part of a new strategy in which the space agency is a customer rather than a builder.

When we go to the moon we want to be one customer of many customers in a robust marketplace between the Earth and the moon, NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine said during a news conference livestreamed from NASA Headquarters in Washington, D.C. We want multiple providers that are competing on cost and innovation.

Taking this approach will allow NASA to focus on furthering human exploration to the moon and then to Mars, which President Donald Trump has tried to expand since taking office in 2017.

The companies chosen Thursday will build the landers but not necessarily the science experiments and instruments that are sent to the moon. Instead, NASA will present them with projects they can bid on to transport there. Some of those projects will be NASAs.

Under the 10-year contracts, the companies will not get paid until they start launching projects to the lunar surface.

We have to pay for the launch costs and development, but we will recoup that over multiple missions to the moon, Trent Martin, vice president of aerospace services for Intuitive Machines, told the Houston Chronicle Thursday. Well charge customers based on their needs, such as mass, power and data.

FIRST NINE: NASA names astronauts to fly on commercial vehicles by Boeing, SpaceX

Thursdays announcement is the latest step by the Trump administration to bolster commercialization of space, but it came at a price.

The commercial landers are meant to replace a rover that NASA abruptly canceled in April after sinking more than four years and $100 million into it. The rover, known as Resource Prospector, was being built by the space agency to find water on the moon.

Headed to the moon

Intuitive Machines personnel have been working on their lunar lander, known as Nova-C, since June after securing millions of dollars in private funding, Martin said.

We are extremely excited to be developing the Nova-C spacecraft/lunar lander line and look forward to landing payloads on the moon, Steve Altemus, the companys president and chief executive, said in a statement.

Nova-C is mid-range in size: Weighing 3,300 pounds and standing about 10-feet tall and seven-feet in diameter, the lander will be capable of carrying a payload of nearly 190 pounds.

Martin would not disclose how much funding Intuitive Machines has secured or who provided it. But the company will cover both the building of the lander and the launch services until it can make up the costs through transporting payloads, he said.

RESOURCE PROSPECTOR: NASA's lunar rover could enable deep-space exploration

The lander should be ready to head to the moon by mid-2021, Martin added, and he expects they will launch it on a SpaceX rocket.

What we anticipate is that NASA will issue a task order to all nine companies and say We want to deliver this instrument to the moon in 2021, he said. Then companies will bid to deliver the payload  and then theyll pick between the companies.

One other Texas company was among those chosen  Firefly Aerospace in Cedar Park. The other companies chosen are Astrobotic Technology in Pennsylvania; Deep Space Systems in Colorado; Draper in Massachusetts; Lockheed Martin Space in Colorado; Masten Space Systems in California; Moon Express in Florida; and Orbit Beyond in New Jersey.

Over the course of 10 years, the nine companies will get paid a total of $2.6 billion to fly experiments and instruments to the moon. NASA wants to launch the first payloads as early as 2019 but no later than Dec. 31, 2021.

NASA officials said Thursday they will re-evaluate the companies on the list every few years and might offer opportunities to other companies.

Todays announcement marks tangible progress in Americas return to the moons surface to stay, Bridenstine said. The innovation of Americas aerospace companies, wedded with our big goals in science and human exploration, are going to help us achieve amazing things on the moon and feed forward to Mars.

Unexpected decision

The cancellation of Resource Prospector earlier this year came as a shock to the scientific community, with many questioning the motives given Trumps push to put humans back on the moon for the first time since 1972.

In looking for water on the moon, Resource Prospector would have greatly assisted NASA in its quest for deep space exploration. If there is enough water that can be collected easily, the elements could be broken down to create rocket fuel, for example, or astronaut life support.

Initially, officials said that the time and money invested in the project wasnt in vain. The instruments  such as its ice drill, a system to search for hydrogen below the lunar surface, and a tool to quantify water extracted from the moon  would fly on future missions such as these commercial landers.

UNUSED: Despite spending $100 million, instruments on canceled lunar rover may never leave Earth's atmosphere

But NASA later acknowledged that the parts may not be reused, and the agency put out bids this fall for experiments and instruments to fly on the landers.

On Thursday, Thomas Zurbuchen, associate administrator for NASAs Science Mission Directorate, skirted the question when asked about the canceled rover, saying that the agency already has some experiments in mind for the new landers.

Some of them are resource-focused instruments, he said at a Thursday news conference. Weve continued to support those instruments.

Resource Prospector was slated to fly in 2022 or 2023. Much of the work on the rover was being done at Houstons Johnson Space Center.

Commercialization

Increased commercialization of space has been a key talking point of Trumps administration in his quest to return to the moon as a stepping stone for Mars.

'SAFETY REVIEW:' Workplace culture at Boeing, SpaceX being probed by NASA

For example, Trump has called for NASA to transition activity on the station to commercial companies and an end to federal funding after 2024. The push follows one started in 2014  prior to Trumps presidency  in which SpaceX and Boeing will become the first commercial companies to send crews to the International Space Station, eliminating the nations dependence on Russia to ferry astronauts to and from the orbiting laboratory.

The commercial crew program has faced numerous setbacks and delays, most recently with an investigation by NASA into the workplace culture at both Boeing and SpaceX. And many oppose Trumps plan for the space station, saying companies likely wont be ready to take on the fiscal responsibilities that come along with the station. Just in fiscal year 2017, NASA spent $1.45 billion on the space station  not including the costs to transport astronauts and supplies there.

BRIDENSTINE: 2024 space station funding cut off may not be possible

Even Bridenstine has said that ending federal funding for the space station after 2024 isnt feasible.

It sounds really difficult and it is, no doubt, really difficult, but there definitely is interest, he previously said. But that doesnt mean it can be done and it doesnt mean it can be done in seven years.

Alex Stuckey covers NASA and the environment for the Houston Chronicle. You can reach her at alex.stuckey@chron.com or Twitter.com/alexdstuckey.
Yemen peace talks scheduled in Sweden for December 4 Houthis say they will participate if safety is guaranteed

(ANSAmed) - BEIRUT, NOVEMBER 30 - The highly anticipated UN-mediated inter-Yemeni peace talks are set to start on December 4 in Sweden, with participation from the Saudi- and Emirates-backed Yemeni government as well as the Houthi rebels.



The Houthis, however, put a condition on their delegation's participation, stating that they must be able to safely leave Yemen and return without risking arrest or assassination by pro-government and Saudi-led coalition forces.



The two delegations are expected to arrive in Sweden on December 3.



In September, talks in Geneva failed due to the absence of the Houthi delegation, which had accused the Arab coalition of not having provided the necessary guarantees to ensure the safety of delegation members.(ANSAmed).




WASHINGTON Texas GOP Rep. Will Hurd, who barely avoided re-election defeat, succeeded Thursday in advancing another of his technology bills perhaps his last lawmaking victory for a while with Democrats set to take over the House next year and make life difficult for Republicans.

But Hurd, of San Antonio, insists that he can continue to have an impact in Congress by working in bipartisan fashion on issues ranging from cybersecurity to immigration.

There are many ways to move legislation and to show leadership here in Washington, D.C. My working relationship with Democrats is good, he said, noting that he is involved in the lame-duck session negotiations aimed at averting a government shutdown next week.

The ability to help craft and influence legislation is still going to be important. Youre still going to need coalitions. The concept has not changed; the only way to get big things done is do it in a bipartisan way, he said.

Hurd, 41, a former undercover CIA officer, is the only Republican House candidate in Texas who won on Nov. 6 in a district captured by Hillary Clinton in 2016, and one of just three in the country.

He will find himself in a diminished core of GOP moderates in Congress. Last spring, he was among 15 Republicans who signed a rarely used discharge petition aimed at forcing party leaders to vote on measures to protect young immigrants left in limbo when Trump rescinded the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals Program. They failed.

For subscribers: Beto ORourke and Will Hurd road trip wins them civility award

Of the 15, six lost Nov. 6 and three retired rather than seek re-election, leaving Hurd with fewer allies who depart from hard-edged GOP stances on immigration.

Youre not going to see much change in my behavior (on immigration) from the 115th Congress to the 116th Congress, Hurd said. The one thing that can stall a positive and growing economy is not having a workforce to take advantage of those opportunities. And one of the best ways to ensure that we have a proper work force, whether its in agriculture or artificial intelligence, is through legal immigration.

Lone African-American in House GOP caucus

Hurd has been a leader in Congress on cybersecurity and technology. He engineered passage into law of several significant measures, among them a bill that changes purchasing methods for the governments $90 billion annual IT budget with the aim of saving money and modernizing old, hack-prone systems.

But Hurd will have fewer opportunities with Democrats taking over. He loses the power of the majority to move his legislation and relinquishes chairmanship of a high-profile subcommittee able to hold hearings and summon witnesses on a wide range of technology matters.

Hurds latest bill to pass the House gives new authority to a federal chief information officer with power over the governments vast computer systems. The bill moved to the Senate on Thursday with no debate.

Youll have one person, one office, that is ensuring that all the agencies are utilizing all the tools to make sure systems are the latest and the greatest. Its a real success because the way it is structured now, if you do not enforce good behavior, you will not see good behavior, he said.

Hurd won a third term by defeating Democrat Gina Ortiz Jones by a scant 926 votes. Jones didnt concede until 13 days after the election.

Come January, Hurd will be the sole African-American in the House GOP caucus after the defeat of Utah Rep. Mia Love.

In her concession speech, Love took aim at the party she represents, asserting that Republicans dont take minorities into their hearts.  The problem is not the policy.

I would agree with Mia that its not the policies. If people dont like the party, they will not listen to people who represent the party, Hurd said. The Republican Party in Texas needs to look like Texas. And if it doesnt start looking like Texas, there wont be a Republican Party in Texas.

Hurd criticized the decision leading to border agents firing tear gas into a group of migrants who stormed the San Ysidro Port of Entry in California on Sunday.

You dont tear gas children. Period. End of story, he said. The problem that were seeing in San Diego is a manifestation of a broader problem. And that problem is addressing the root causes of migration from Central America.

Hurd, whose district ranges from San Antonio to El Paso and includes 820 miles of border with Mexico, plans to travel to Mexico City this weekend for the inauguration of incoming Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador. Texas GOP Sen. John Cornyn and Reps. Henry Cuellar, D-Laredo, and Michael McCaul, R-Austin, also plan to attend.
On the verge of the upcoming G20 meeting in Argentina, President Donald Trump finds himself facing a new adversary in the realm of foreign policy  Congress.

In a 63-37 vote on Wednesday, 14 Republicans joined every Democratic senator to move forward on a resolution rescinding U.S. support for Saudi Arabias war in Yemen.

At last members of Trumps own party have found the gumption to stand up for American values, even at the risk of the angering the president. We wish that Sens. John Cornyn and Ted Cruz were among them, however, and encourage the two Texas Republicans to change their minds before the resolution comes to a final vote.

The war in Yemen has become a nightmare, and this serves as an appropriate opportunity for Congress to start reasserting the power it has unwisely ceded to the White House after the Sept. 11 attacks.

Since 2015, the impoverished Arab nation has been embroiled in a bloody civil war. Saudi Arabia has spent the past three years leading a bombing campaign against Iran-aligned Houthi rebels that ousted a Saudi-friendly president.

The Obama administration supported the Saudi campaign by supplying precision-guided munitions and aerial refueling, while encouraging them to avoid civilian casualties. We also deployed Green Berets to assist Saudis and fired missiles at Houthi-controlled radar sites. The Trump administration has continued this support even as the Saudi campaign sinks into quagmire and the number of civilians deaths continue to climb.

Earlier this year a U.S.-made bomb struck a school bus and killed 40 children. At least 50,000 children are dead as a result of ongoing famine due to the war, and a cholera outbreak has likely infected more than 1 million people.

All of this inhumanity, for a military mission that the United States can no longer justify.

The United States originally got involved in this war to support regional allies. We agreed with Saudi Arabias conclusion that a coup next door in Yemen could threaten its government. But things have changed, not just in terms of the conduct of the war, which has turned ugly, but also in our relations with the Saudis.

The murder of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi in a Saudi consulate revealed just how little regard Saudi crown prince Mohammad bin Salman holds for U.S. values and residents. That killing has senators reconsidering our relationship with Saudi Arabia, and theyre coming to terms with the fact that the United States doesnt seem to have a direct interest at stake in the Yemen War.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Defense Secretary Jim Mattis tried to convince key senators otherwise, and made a rare classified briefing to senators ahead of the vote. Their argument apparently fell flat with a bipartisan majority of Senators.

I found their briefing today to be lacking, Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Bob Corker, R-Tenn., said before the vote. I found that in substance were not doing those things that we should be doing to appropriately balance our relationship with Saudi Arabia between our American interests and our American values.

Closer to home, no Texan  including Cornyn and Cruz  should have much sympathy for the Middle East kingdom that purposely crashed oil markets in 2014 in a futile attempt to drive frackers out of business. Since then, the United States has eclipsed Saudi Arabia as the worlds largest oil producer. This shift in energy markets should have us rethinking our direct national interest in the medieval Islamic kingdom.

Since the beginning of the war on terror, Congress has neglected its constitutional power to make war and control the purse strings. Democrats and Republican alike have gladly yielded authority to an executive branch that has gone unchecked for far too long. The Authorization for Use of Military Force passed after the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks has been used to justify troop deployments and military actions in 20 different nations, many of which have little  if anything  to do with the al Qaeda terrorists responsible for the original atrocity.

Congress needs to tighten its reins on the Pentagon, and it can start with Yemen.
Regarding NRA lifer addresses increase of shootings (Outlook, Wednesday): The op-ed by Jeff Kesler makes some good points, especially with regard to his three recommendations for ways that responsible adults can help raise children who are responsible with firearms. I am a non-shooter, married to a man who grew up with guns and speaks positively of the NRA Eddie Eagle Gun Safety Program he participated in as a child. Neither of us is of the belief that a firearm has a mind of its own, and both of us believe this country would benefit from some further gun control legislation.

We view the analogy between guns and motor vehicles a bit differently than Kesler, believing that just as cars can only be driven by individuals who are licensed after proving that they are responsible, so it should be with firearms. If an individual is proven to be a danger (think drunk driving) they should lose the right to drive. Why then is the right to bear arms considered to be inviolate? Furthermore, our society believes it is OK to limit the speed at which cars can be operated in order to minimize vehicular carnage on the highways. Why then does the NRA advocate against any limits on the speed at which lethal bullets can be discharged from a rifle  i.e. why aren't there limits on the purchase of assault rifles?

Assuming that hes a responsible gentleman, I have no desire to take away Kesler's hunting guns, but I'd dearly love for there to be away to keep them out of the hands of the next would-be school shooter.

Lynetta Campbell, Kingwood

Enough already

The NRA lifer who proposed solutions for our nations gun violence epidemic got one thing right: safe storage is one very important step to prevent a gun from getting into the wrong hands, be they those of a small child, a teenager in crisis, or a thief.

However, the reality is that involvement with any of the NRAs versions of gun safety  even the Eddie Eagle program, which places the ultimate responsibility of gun safety into a minors hands  is like trying to prevent a ships sinking by lighting its sail on fire. Its an action, but ineffective at keeping disaster from striking.

The NRAs long-held mission to attack and dismantle sensible gun safety laws has contributed more to Americas outsized epidemic of gun suicides, mass shootings, domestic violence shootings, and unintentional shootings than other social ills ever will, combined. Eddie Eagle loses all clout when one realizes that if the NRA had its way, doctors would be prevented from doing their jobs (i.e., keeping families safe and healthy) by talking to their patients about gun violence and gun safety.

In addition to having awareness about responsible and civil gun ownership, the single boldest and most effective step any American citizen can take to end our gun violence epidemic is to use his/her voice to shut down the NRA leaderships influence on our lawmakers. Enough is enough.

Alexandra Chasse, Houston
In an interview with Vanity Fair, Michael Cohen, President Trump's former lawyer, revealed that Trump made several anti-black statements prior to getting elected to the presidency.

"We were going from the airport to the hotel, and we drove through what looked like a rougher neighborhood. Trump made a comment to me, saying that only the blacks could live like this," Cohen told Vanity Fair writer Emily Jane Fox in an interview that was published on Friday.

Cohen reportedly told Vanity Fair that Trump made those comments in the late 2000s during a trip to Chicago. Vanity Fair reported Cohen said Trump declared black people "too stupid" to vote for him and that every country run by a black leader is a "shole."

The report comes just days after the White House held a summit of young black conservatives, where Trump attributed his increased approval rating amongst blacks to his relationship with rapper Kanye West.

He also asked the crowd of black, MAGA hat-wearing youth (moments after announcing that a man was apprehended for allegedly sending mail-bombs to prominent Democrats), "Who gets attacked more than me?"

On Monday, Oct. 29, a Rasmussen poll revealed that Trump's approval rating amongst blacks was 40 percent, the highest it has been since he took office.

Cohen's comments to Vanity Fair run counter to previous comments he has made defending Trump against charges of racism. The president came under scrutiny for his response to violent white nationalist protests in Charlottesville in August 2017. Around the same time, Cohen told Business Insider that the president "doesn't have a racist bone in his body. All morning I am receiving horrific comments about being anti-black, racist, etc. for supporting Trump. It's just wrong!"

In the hours since the Vanity Fair article was published, people have expressed everything from outrage to deflection to "I-told-you-so" over Cohen's accusations.

"When asked why Trump's #MAGA crowds are so white, Michael Cohen says that @realDonaldTrump said that black people are too stupid to vote for him," wrote Twitter user @EBoyajy. "Actually...black people are too smart to vote for him."

YouTube personalist Paul Joseph Watson said, "Hillary Clinton literally said that all black people look the same, a story that the media barely touched. That same media is now running breathless coverage of unsubstantiated claims from Michael Cohen about Trump supposedly making racist remarks. But there's no bias, honest!"

And writer and filmmaker dream hampton wrote on Twitter, "I hate when white people need white people generated evidence to believe the s we been knew."

Click through the slideshow above to see how people are reacting to Cohen's claims that Trump used racist language prior to becoming president.
Moreover, digital insights and analytics managers will command a top salary of $160,000 next year, up $10,000 from 2018.

Peters added that every industry is now reliant on technology, and the need for talent is more pressing than ever before.

Organisations are embarking on digital transformation and risk management projects simultaneously, said Peters.

To get ahead of the competition, hiring managers will need to emphasise their technology roadmap and how recruits can contribute.

The Robert Walters Salary Survey highlighted the following forces shaping the war for technology talent:
YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 30, ARMENPRESS. President of Armenia Armen Sarkissian, while on an official visit in Germany, on November 30 visited Siemens, one of the leading industrial and technological companies in Europe, headquartered in Berlin, the Presidential Office told Armenpress.

The President toured the company, got acquainted with the production process and then met with the executives.

Siemens is engaged in a major investment program in the energy sector in Armenia. It will carry out the construction and operation of a thermal power plant in Yerevan together with Renco and Armpower companies. It is expected the new TPP will significantly increase Armenias energy production opportunities.

During the meeting the President was reported on the implementation process of the program, as well as the technologies to be used.

President Sarkissian expressed confidence that the use of Siemens leading technologies, as well as experience will play an important role for the effective implementation of the program. The turbine itself is completely managed by new technologies. Therefore, having the latest turbine in Armenia, cooperating with the Siemens, we can also think about what new programs it is possible to implement in IT, programming sectors and open other cooperation directions with the Siemens.

President Sarkissian expressed confidence that the cooperation with Siemens will continue.

Edited and translated by Aneta Harutyunyan
YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 30, ARMENPRESS. Asrtakh Republic President Bako Sahakyan today received a group of teachers of the Stepanakert's music school after Komitas led by the school's director Arthur Petrosyan, the Presidential Office told Armenpress.

Bako Sahakyan congratulated the staff members on the occasion of the 80th anniversary of the school foundation and conferred honorary title of Honored Culture Worker of the Artsakh Republic to a group of teachers for substantial contribution to the music education of the younger generation.

Artsakh Republic minister of culture, youth affairs and tourism Lernik Hovhannisyan and other officials attended the meeting.

Edited and translated by Aneta Harutyunyan
The Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) has joined a nationwide coalition aimed at securing support for the Right to Information (RTI) Bill in the country's Parliament.

It will also join other members of OccupyGhana in the Red Friday campaign, during which people will wear red on Friday, November 30, and all Fridays in December, to pressure members of Parliament to vote in favor of the Right to Information (RTI) bill.

The GJA has also called on media organizations to give coverage to the movement until members of Parliament take action. For the GJA it is a worthy cause for the prompt passage of a bill that is long overdue.

It has been more than twenty years since the law was drafted and blocked by Parliament. For years, the GJA has strongly campaigned for its adoption in Parliament and pledged to continue until it becomes law.

The GPA said: "The bill will not only enhance information gathering and dissemination by journalists but also benefit the general public, adding that a RTI law will ultimately enhance the fight against corruption and promote national development.

IFJ General Secretary Anthony Bellanger said: "The passing of this law is well overdue and we call on legislators in Ghana to act urgently and show their commitment to media freedom and access to information".

Support the #RTIRedFriday on social media !
Imperial Valley News Center

Vice President Pence at World AIDS Day Event

Washington, DC - Remarks by Vice President Pence at World AIDS Day Event:

THE VICE PRESIDENT: Well, thank you, Ambassador Birx, for that kind introduction. And, more importantly, I want to say thank you to Ambassador Deborah Birx for a lifetime of leadership advancing the fight against HIV/AIDS, and, since 2014, as the U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator. We are grateful for your leadership. (Applause.) Its made a difference.

To my friend, Congressman Chris Smith, to Ambassador Green, to Dr. Fauci, to Michel Sidibe, to distinguished faith and business leaders, and honored guests, it is humbling for me to join you all today, just a few days before the 30th Annual World AIDS Day, to make the 15th anniversary of PEPFAR, the most extraordinary and successful American humanitarian initiative in history. (Applause.)

And everyone in this room represents organizations, businesses, and faith-based organizations who played a critical role in implementing this extraordinary success and advancing the progress that we have made, not just over the last 15 years, but over the last 30 years, combating HIV and AIDS.

And as I begin, let me bring greetings from a friend of mine who is a leader committed to the health and well-being of the American people, and has brought new and renewed American commitment to the fight against HIV/AIDS here and around the world. I bring greetings from the 45th President of the United States of America, President Donald Trump. (Applause.)

And on behalf of the President and the First Family, welcome to the White House.

This Saturday, December 1st, is World AIDS Day. And as the President said on that occasion just last year, it is a day to remember those who have lost their lives to AIDS. But its also a day to celebrate the remarkable progress that we have made in combating this disease, and to reaffirm our ongoing commitment to end AIDS as a public health threat.

And so we gather here today with so many faith communities and organizations that have led the fight against this terrible disease. And it gives me great joy to say that because of your remarkable work, and the continued commitment of the American people, and the support of leaders in both parties in the Congress of the United States, we are closer today than ever before to ending the AIDS crisis in our time. (Applause.) Its true.

Now, the credit for this achievement is widely shared, but faith-based organizations and faith communities like those represented here have played a preeminent role. And the leaders in this room have inspired countless others to put hands and feet on their faith and bring hope and healing to literally millions of people around the world suffering with HIV/AIDS.

It is out of a faith tradition  that I share with many in this room  were commanded that when were sick, you cared for me. And I want to commend each and every one of you for making that faith real in the battle against HIV/AIDS to being there for those in needs.

Thanks to your example, thanks to your generosity, thanks in  to the efforts that the organizations here have made, not only all across Africa but all across the wider world, youve rescued a generation from this disease. And every day, one community, one country at a time, were achieving what once seemed impossible: We are controlling the HIV/AIDS pandemic without a vaccine and without a cure. It is a remarkable testament to your compassion in your lives. (Applause.)

Its amazing to think of the progress that weve made. Over the past 37 years, HIV/AIDS has infected more than 77 million people worldwide and claimed no less than 35 million lives, devastating countless families and communities around the world.

In response to this health crisis, the American people did as we always do: We mobilized the resources of the nation to fight this epidemic, not just in our own nation, in our communities, but ultimately in every corner of the world.

America has been on a long journey fighting this disease since it first emerged. And much of the progress that weve made here at home actually began with one young mans story. A boy from my home state of Indiana named Ryan White.

Ryan White was just 13 years old when he was diagnosed with AIDS following a blood transfusion in December of 1984. He was given six months to live. His story not only captured the hearts of people across my home state of Indiana, but it captured the attention of the nation and the world.

When he returned to school, facing his diagnosis in that year, he faced discrimination and a stigma associated with the disease, in part due to the misunderstanding about HIV/AIDS at the time. But Ryan and his mom didnt give up. And Jeanne White-Ginder and her courageous son fought  they fought for his right to go back to school while he was fighting for his life.

Ryans story gained national and international attention. His courage and example though helped educate  educate the American people about the realities of HIV/AIDS and it galvanized the United States Congress to act.

In the end, Ryan defied the odds; he would live for another five years longer before being laid to rest in the state of Indiana. He passed away in April of 1990, just a month before he was ready to graduate from high school. And only a few months though later, the Congress of the United States passed the Ryan White Comprehensive AIDS Resource Emergency Act. And his legacy lives on to this day. (Applause.)

As we speak, the Ryan White CARE Act continues to provide vital medical services to more than 1.1 million people in the United States living with HIV.

And since the days when Ryan White was first diagnosed, weve grown in our understanding of HIV/AIDS and our ability to turn a deadly disease into a manageable and chronic condition.

Since those early days, the number of new HIV infections every year in the United States, Im pleased to report, has fallen by more than two-thirds  from 130,000 in 1985, to 50,000 in the year 2010.

Weve also put feet on our commitment not just to confront HIV/AIDS here in the United States of America but to fight HIV/AIDS across the wider world. By the start of the 21st century, the United States was spending more than $500 million every year to combat this disease  more than any other nation.

But we soon realized it was not nearly enough. Antiretroviral treatments were still too expensive and hard to access. HIV was a death sentence for too many around the world. And it was projected that 100 million people would contract the virus by the end of the first decade of this century.

But in 2003  15 years ago this year  under the leadership of President George W. Bush, and during my and Congressman Smiths tenure in the Congress of the United States, the American people acted to confront the worldwide HIV/AIDS epidemic with American resources and American values. (Applause.)

President Bushs call to action resulted in one of the most extraordinary bipartisan achievements of compassion in our time: The Presidents Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, otherwise known as PEPFAR.

While serving in Congress, I was on the Foreign Affairs Committee along with Chris. And we worked in a concerted and bipartisan way to help forge legislation that would put the Presidents vision into reality. I was honored to be a small part of that. I was proud to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with my colleagues in those days, on both sides of the aisle, to support its reauthorization in 2008.

Since President Bush signed PEPFAR into law, the United States has devoted more than $80 billion to prevent HIV infections and deliver lifesaving treatments to millions. (Applause.) This investment in those around the world suffering with HIV/AIDS is the largest investments by any nation to respond to a single disease in human history.

And PEPFAR has not only been the largest investment; it has been inarguably one of the most successful investment in healthcare and humanitarian aid in American history. (Applause.)

Thanks to the generosity of the American people and the efforts of the organizations that are so well represented here today, its humbling to think, in just 15 years, this American effort has helped save more than 17 million lives and prevented millions more from contracting HIV/AIDS to begin with. And AIDS-related deaths have been cut in half since their peak in 2004. (Applause.)

Like all of you, its  this is a cause thats close to the heart of the American people and close to my heart. And standing before you today, I couldnt be more pleased with the timing of our gathering. Because, just last night, bipartisan majorities in the House and Senate voted to reauthorize PEPFAR, and President Donald Trump will soon sign it into law. (Applause.)

Were grateful for the strong and bipartisan support in the Congress for this extraordinary humanitarian effort by the American people.

President Trump believes this reauthorization is a critical component of our administrations commitment to combat AIDS. And it will build on the renewed energy and focus that the President has brought, and our entire administration have brought to this critical issue.

In fact, last year, our administration published the first-ever Strategy for Accelerating HIV/AIDS Epidemic Control, which lays out President Trumps vision and plan to end the AIDS epidemic as we know it.

And as the State Departments 2018 PEPFAR Strategy Progress Report shows, under President Trumps leadership, were building on our past successes; were reaching new milestones in the battle against this deadly disease.

And as First Lady Melania Trump saw firsthand in her historic trip across  across Africa  four African nations earlier this year: As of September 2018, PEPFAR today is supporting more than 14.6 million people with lifesaving [anti] retroviral treatment, compared to 50,000 people receiving such treatments in Africa before 2003. That represents an increase of nearly 3,000 percent in just fifteen years that have access to these lifesaving drugs. (Applause.)

And thanks to PEPFAR, more than 2.4 million babies of HIV-positive mothers have been born HIV-free. More than 6.8 million orphans, vulnerable children, and their caregivers are surviving and thriving. And over 270,000 healthcare workers have been trained to help save lives in the most vulnerable communities.

Today, as many as 13 high-burden nations are on track to control their HIV epidemic by 2020. Eleven of the fifty-three nations that PEPFAR supports are funding a majority of the HIV response within their borders. And I  I want to assure you, our administration will continue to empower ever more countries to mobilize domestic resources to share more of this burden. We will work with our partners together to confront HIV/AIDS around the world. (Applause.)

With every nation that brings this epidemic under control, the cost of fighting HIV/AIDS around the world also goes down.

Just look at Ethiopia, where PEPFAR assistance has decreased from over $400 million to just $100 million in the last four years, as that country has reached the verge of achieving HIV epidemic control.

Thats what success looks like in the global battle against the HIV, and our administration is committed to investing in the organizations and institutions that are making the greatest impact. And well continue to work very closely with partners around the region and around the world to accomplish that.

Thats why, today, Im pleased to announce that our administration will invest $100 million in new resources to expand our engagement with faith-based organizations and communities of faith that are on the frontlines of the fight against HIV/AIDS. (Applause.)

This new investment of $100 million in faith-based organizations will increase  will increase the funding to those organizations by a full third. And this will make a world of difference, we believe, in countless lives affected by this disease.

The truth is that this is a sound investment because faith-based organizations, like those in this room and so many others around the world, have been the cornerstone of PEPFARs success.

From its very inception  and I remember the debates on Capitol Hill where we ensured that these resources could go to faith-based organizations. From its very inception, its been these organizations that have made the greatest difference and it makes sense. In so many communities around the world, its the faith-based organizations that were already there  already coming alongside vulnerable families and children. And by empowering those faith organizations, weve been able to bring hope and healing to those in need.

In the communities that were hit hardest by this epidemic, these organizations have replaced despair with hope. Youve provided lifesaving medical care. In fact, in some places, faith-based organizations provide up to 70 percent of healthcare services to people affected by HIV, and PEPFAR provides the resources they need to continue in their works of mercy.

It really is an extraordinary testament about the American peoples understanding of the role that faith and faith-based organizations play in confronting and meeting the needs of healthcare and poverty around the world.

With PEPFARs support, organizations like those gathered here, in providing HIV testing and counseling so critical to help people learn their status, prevent the virus from spreading.

You educate families about what it means to live with HIV. You provide those infected with antiretroviral treatment so they can lead full and healthy lives.

I just want to say, on behalf of President Donald Trump, our administration is proud to partner with faith-based organizations across Africa and around the world as we confront HIV/AIDS. (Applause.)

We know, and history teaches, that every dollar we invest in faith-based organizations pays dividends in the fight against this crisis. And your work has made a world of difference among the millions of lives that have been saved since PEPFAR was signed into law by our investment and by those of our partners.

Its still just one life at a time. I learned of one in particular. And I think, as we think about this issue, we ought not to allow ourselves to be caught up in the numbers because were talking about people; were talking about real lives. And as the American people celebrate 15 years of this extraordinary success and accomplishment in PEPFAR, we ought to think about it the way that Americans always do, and that is about its impact on the individual and individual lives.

I recently learned one story in particular: A young Kenyan woman named Mercy Millicent, who might not be alive today without the care and compassion she received through the Lea Toto Program, one of PEPFARs longtime partners, the Children of God Relief Institute.

Now, Lea Toto means to raise a child in Swahili. And through this program, with the strong support of PEPFAR, the Children of God Relief Institute has helped raise more than 10,000 HIV-positive children to lead healthy, happy lives - including Mercy.

Mercys aunt took her to Lea Toto after she discovered her HIV status following the death of her mother. There, Mercy received medical care  care she needed not only to survive, but to thrive. She gained confidence. She gained education. And she gained a future.

Well, now Mercy is 22, studying at the Kenya Institute of Management. But, as she said, quote, I am who I am because of Lea Toto and PEPFAR. (Applause.)

And the American people can be proud  can be proud of Mercys story and the role that we played in her story, and how its emblematic of success and hope from despair in the lives of millions.

But Im also pleased to say that were honored to be joined today by the Executive Director of the Children of God Relief Institute  an organization whose leadership and dedication has helped a generation build a brighter future. Would you join me in thanking Sister Mary Owens and everyone at the Children of God Relief Institute for the difference that you make every day? (Applause.)

God bless you. Thank you, Sister Mary Owens. Thank you for your ministry. Thank you for your example.

And let me thank all of you  thank all of you for being here today, just a few days short of World AIDS Day, as we gather in this moment just to celebrate what the American people and our extraordinary partners have been able to accomplish over the last 15 years and the dedication that weve all demonstrated in the fight against HIV/AIDS around the world.

Weve made great progress, but our work is far from over. And as evidenced by the Congresss action and the Presidents renewed leadership, that work will continue until we end the scourge of HIV/AIDS once and for all. (Applause.)

And I believe that day will come  that day will come. Because I have faith  I have faith in the industry and the ingenuity of brilliant men and women of medicine and science as new therapies are developed. I have faith in the extraordinary commitment of people who have put hands and feet on their faith to come alongside people affected by HIV/AIDS in this country and around the world. I have faith that the American people, and this President, and our entire administration will continue to see this cause through.

And I lastly have that other kind of faith. That faith that  that commands us to not grow weary in doing good, for in due season, we will reap a harvest of blessing if we do not give up. And that, as President Kennedy said so memorably, our greatest blessing, I believe, comes  to paraphrase him  is when we make Gods work on this Earth, our own. Which is so surely what the American people did when we committed ourselves to this cause 15 years ago. And we will not grow weary; we will not give up, so help us God.

Thank you all for being here. Thank you for your work and your ministry. (Applause.) God bless you, and God bless the United States of America.
Imperial Valley News Center

Current romaine lettuce E. coli O157:H7 outbreak investigation

Washington, DC - The U.S. Food and Drug Administration, along with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and state authorities, continues to investigate a multistate outbreak of E. coli O157:H7 infections associated with consumption of romaine lettuce in the U.S. As of November 26, 2018, this outbreak has resulted in 43 people becoming ill in 12 states, with the last reported illness onset date being October 31, 2018. An additional 22 people in Canada have become ill, and the FDA and our partners are also coordinating the investigation with Canadian health and food safety authorities.

As we continue to investigate this outbreak, today the FDA is announcing new steps to help consumers better identify where their romaine is grown through voluntary labeling.

To prevent additional cases of E. coli O157:H7, on Nov. 20, 2018 the CDC advised the public not to consume romaine lettuce and to destroy any romaine lettuce in their homes. At the same time, the FDA requested that all romaine lettuce on the market, including in restaurants and other commercial establishments, should be withdrawn and destroyed. The FDA made this request because initial information available at that time had not identified a likely source for the outbreak that would allow a targeted request, it was likely romaine lettuce contaminated with E. coli O157:H7 that could cause illness was still available on the market, and a market withdrawal was the fastest way to remove potentially contaminated product. The romaine lettuce industry agreed to comply with the FDAs request to withdraw any romaine lettuce on the market on that date, and available information suggests this action was effective in removing potentially contaminated romaine lettuce from retail establishments.

Over the Thanksgiving holiday, the FDA continued to investigate the outbreak. Our investigation at this point suggests that romaine lettuce associated with the outbreak comes from areas of California that grow romaine lettuce over the summer months, and that the outbreak appears to be related to end of season romaine lettuce harvested from these areas. The involved areas include the Central Coast growing regions of central and northern California.

The FDA is continuing tracebacks of romaine lettuce from locations where impacted consumers purchased or consumed romaine lettuce before they became ill in order to identify specific locations that are the likely source of the outbreak and to determine the factors that resulted in contamination. Through laboratory studies we have identified that the E. coli O157:H7 strain causing the outbreak is similar to one that produced an outbreak of E. coli O157:H7 in the fall of 2017 that also occurred in the U.S. and Canada, which was associated with consumption of leafy greens in the U.S. and specifically romaine lettuce in Canada.

Based on further discussions with the leafy greens industry and with agricultural authorities, we have begun to narrow the location in which we believe the contaminated romaine in the current outbreak was grown. At the time of the outbreak, the vast majority of the romaine on the market was being grown in the Central Coast region of California. Since, then harvesting of romaine lettuce from this region has ended for the year. Growing and harvesting of romaine lettuce is now shifting to the winter growing regions of the U.S., which include mainly the California desert region of the Imperial Valley, the desert region of Arizona in and around Yuma, and Florida. Romaine lettuce grown in Mexico is exported to the U.S. during the winter months. Smaller quantities of romaine lettuce are grown in other states. At this time, the FDA has no information to suggest any of these growing areas are involved in the current outbreak, which began well before any romaine lettuce from these winter growing locations was available for harvest. In addition, hydroponic romaine lettuce and romaine lettuce grown in green-houses is also marketed in the U.S., but there is no information to suggest these products are implicated in any identified E. coli O157:H7 outbreak.

The FDA believes it was critically important to have a clean break in the romaine supply available to consumers in the U.S. in order to purge the market of potentially contaminated romaine lettuce related to the current outbreak. This appears to have been accomplished through the market withdrawal request of Nov. 20, 2018.

Knowing the growing origin of produce will continue to play an important role in allowing consumers to avoid contaminated products and facilitating market withdrawals and tracebacks. Thats why we previously called on the romaine lettuce industry to provide unambiguous and clear information to consumers regarding where their lettuce was grown and when it was harvested.

To this end, the FDA recently participated in discussions with the major producers and distributors of romaine lettuce in the U.S. and with the major trade associations representing the produce industry regarding product labeling and dating to assure consumers that any romaine lettuce that will come onto the market is not associated with the current outbreak of E. coli O157:H7. The labeling will identify the origin of the romaine based on harvest region, along with the date of harvest. This can improve the ability of the FDA to provide more targeted information to consumers in the event of a future outbreak of illness. The FDA also has commitments from the romaine lettuce industry that such labeling will continue into the future and become the standard for their products.

In addition, the leafy greens industry has agreed to establish a task force to find solutions for long term labeling of romaine lettuce and other leafy greens for helping to identify products and to put in place standards for traceability of product. The task force will also examine information from this outbreak to identify measures that led to its occurrence and how to prevent ongoing safety problems with romaine lettuce. One outcome could be to extend the commitment for labeling for origin and date of harvest to other leafy greens.

Therefore, the FDA is issuing the following updated advice as part of our investigation and public warning:

Based on discussions with major producers and distributors, romaine lettuce entering the market will now be labeled with a harvest location and a harvest date. Romaine lettuce entering the market can also be labeled as being hydroponically or greenhouse grown. If it does not have this information, you should not eat or use it.



If consumers, retailers, and food service facilities are unable to identify that romaine lettuce products are not affected  which means determining that the products were grown outside the California regions that appear to be implicated in the current outbreak investigation -- we urge that these products not be purchased, or if purchased, be discarded or returned to the place of purchase.

Romaine lettuce that was harvested outside of the Central Coast growing regions of northern and central California does not appear to be related to the current outbreak. Hydroponically- and greenhouse-grown romaine also does not appear to be related to the current outbreak. There is no recommendation for consumers or retailers to avoid using romaine harvested from these sources.

The FDA has urged growers, processors, distributors and retailers to:

clearly and prominently label all individually packaged romaine products to identify growing region and harvest date for romaine; and

clearly and prominently label at the point of sale the growing region when it is not possible for romaine lettuce suppliers to label the package (e.g. individual unwrapped whole heads of romaine lettuce available in retail stores).

We hope that growers, processors, distributors and retailers will join us in our effort to protect consumers by applying these labeling recommendations to their products. We remain committed to identifying ways to decrease the incidence and impact of foodborne illness outbreaks, and will continue to provide updates on our investigation and changes to our advice on romaine lettuce as more information becomes available.
Former Honduran congressman and brother of current President of Honduras arrested

Miami, Florida - The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and federal prosecutors announced the arrest of former Honduran congressman Juan Antonio Hernandez Alvarado, aka Tony Hernandez, who was charged in Manhattan federal court for drug trafficking, weapons charges, and making false statements to federal agents. Hernandez is the brother of the current president of Honduras, Juan Orlando Hernandez. Hernandez was arrested on November 23, 2018, in Miami and will appeared in Miami federal court before a United States Magistrate Judge.

Drug trafficking and corruption around the world threatens the rule of law, fuels violence and instability, and harms innocent families and communities, said DEA Special Agent in Charge Raymond Donovan, who leads the Special Operations Division. Hernandez and his criminal associates allegedly conspired with some of the worlds most deadly and dangerous transnational criminal networks in Mexico and Colombia to flood American streets with deadly drugs. DEA looks forward to Hernandez facing American justice and answering for his alleged crimes.

As alleged, former Honduran Congressman Tony Hernandez was involved in all stages of the trafficking through Honduras of multi-ton loads of cocaine that were destined for the U.S., said Manhattan U.S. Attorney Geoffrey S. Berman. Hernandez allegedly arranged machinegun-toting security for cocaine shipments, bribed law enforcement officials for sensitive information to protect drug shipments, and solicited large bribes from major drug traffickers. Thanks to the ongoing work of the DEA, Hernandez is now in custody on U.S. soil and facing justice in the U.S. courts.

As stated in the unsealed indictment resulting from DEAs investigation, from at least in or about 2004, up to and including in or about 2016, multiple drug-trafficking organizations in Honduras and elsewhere worked together, and with support from certain prominent public and private individuals. These included Honduran politicians and law enforcement officials, who received multi-ton loads of cocaine sent to Honduras from, among other places, Colombia via air and maritime routes, in order to transport the drugs westward in Honduras toward the border with Guatemala and eventually to the United States. For protection from official interference, and in order to facilitate the safe passage through Honduras of multi-hundred-kilogram loads of cocaine, drug traffickers paid bribes to public officials, including certain members of the National Congress of Honduras, according to DEAs investigation.

Other details from the charges state that Hernandez is a former member of the National Congress of Honduras, the brother of the current president of Honduras, and a large-scale drug trafficker who worked with other drug traffickers in, among other places, Colombia, Honduras, and Mexico, to import cocaine into the United States. From at least in or about 2004, up to and including in or about 2016, Hernandez was involved in processing, receiving, transporting, and distributing multi-ton loads of cocaine that arrived in Honduras via planes, go-fast vessels, and, on at least one occasion, a submarine. Hernandez had access to cocaine laboratories in Honduras and Colombia, at which some of the cocaine was stamped with the symbol TH, i.e., Tony Hernandez. Hernandez also coordinated and, at times, participated in providing heavily armed security for cocaine shipments transported within Honduras, including by members of the Honduran National Police and drug traffickers armed with, among other weapons, machine guns.

As part of his drug-trafficking activities, Hernandez and his co-conspirators bribed law enforcement officials for sensitive information to protect drug shipments and solicited large bribes from major drug traffickers.

In or about February 2014 in Honduras, Hernandez met with Devis Leonel Rivera Maradiaga, the former leader of a violent Honduran drug-trafficking organization known as the Cachiros, for a meeting arranged by, among others, a former member of the Honduran National Police. During video and audio-recorded portions of that meeting, Hernandez agreed to help Rivera Maradiaga by causing Honduran government entities to pay money owed to one or more Cachiros money-laundering front companies in exchange for kickback payments from Rivera Maradiaga. Rivera Maradiaga paid Hernandez approximately $50,000 during the meeting.

Hernandez, 40, is charged with four counts: (1) conspiring to import cocaine into the United States, (2) using and carrying machine guns and destructive devices during, and possessing machine guns and destructive devices in furtherance of, the cocaine-importation conspiracy, (3) conspiring to use and carry machine guns and destructive devices during, and to possess machine guns and destructive devices in furtherance of, the cocaine-importation conspiracy, and (4) making false statements to federal agents. If convicted, Hernandez faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in prison and a maximum term of life in prison on count one, a mandatory minimum sentence of 30 years in prison and a maximum term of life in prison on count two, a maximum term of life in prison on count three, and a maximum term of five years in prison on count four. The potential mandatory minimum and maximum sentences in this case are prescribed by Congress and provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the judge.

DEAs Special Operations Division Bilateral Investigations Unit, New York Strike Force, and Tegucigalpa Country Office, as well as the U.S. Department of Justices Office of International Affairs were instrumental in this investigation.
Hungary: Lyubishin Extradition

Washington, DC - The United States requested the extradition of two suspected Russian arms dealers, Vladimir Lyubishin Sr. and Vladimir Lyubishin Jr., pursuant to the U.S.-Hungary Extradition Treaty. Hungary denied the U.S. request and instead extradited the suspects to Russia, where it is unclear whether they will face trial.

The United States is disappointed in the Hungarian governments decision to extradite the Lyubishins to Russia. The United States had a strong case, built in cooperation with members of Hungarian law enforcement. Hungary is a partner and friend of the United States, but this decision raises questions about Hungarys commitment to law enforcement cooperation. This decision is not consistent with our law enforcement partnership, undercuts the work that our agencies had done together to build this case, and will make citizens in the United States, Hungary, and the world less safe.
Patagonia along with the North Face and REI said they would boycott the annual Outdoor Retailer trade show usually hosted in Salt Lake City after Trump's decision to shrink Bears Ears National Monument (pictured here). Courtesy Patagonia

Editor's note: Inc. magazine's 2018 Company of the Year is Bird. Here, we spotlight a contender for the title.

On Wednesday, November 7, spirits were high in Patagonia's Ventura, California, headquarters.

"It was a really exciting day--we were very happy," says CEO Rose Marcario.

The outdoor retailer, which is said to have booked $1 billion in revenue last year, managed to persuade more than 400 companies, including Walmart, Tyson Foods, and Lyft, to sign on to its "Time to Vote" campaign, giving employees time off to cast their ballots. More noteworthy, Patagonia also scored two specific political victories in the midterm elections. In a first ever for the company, Patagonia endorsed two candidates, Democrats Representative Jacky Rosen in Nevada and Senator Jon Tester in Montana, for their stances on protecting public lands. Both won their election battles.

Much was made about how unprecedented and bold it was to make the corporate endorsements. For anyone paying attention, however, the move wasn't terribly surprising. After all, it came after Patagonia sued the Trump administration in December 2017 for reducing the size of two national monuments.

It used to be that companies tried to stay neutral on politics; in these deeply polarizing times, that's not much of an option, or even desirable, says Daniel Korschun, an associate marketing professor at Drexel University who studies corporate political activism. "Consumers and employees are looking for deeper purpose from companies," he says.

For Patagonia and its fans, that purpose is doing whatever they can to try to save the planet. In 2018, Patagonia proved that it will not only preach that mission, it will do so with a much louder voice than most other companies. And--so far, anyway--it's only further burnished the Patagonia brand.

The Activist Company

Marcario took up the CEO role in 2014, and since then Patagonia has seen its revenue and profit quadruple. The company won't disclose exact revenue, but the CEO said in March last year that sales were approaching $1 billion. She's helped nurture new lines of business, including its Patagonia Provisions food line, used goods program Worn Wear, and the venture fund Tin Shed Ventures, which has at least $75 million to plow into environmentally responsible startups.

Marcario--whom Patagonia founder Yvon Chouinard has called the best leader the company has ever had--also has helped Patagonia lean further into its self-appointed role as an "activist company." In the wake of Trump's decision on the monuments, Patagonia galvanized the outdoor industry to try to pressure Utah governor Gary Herbert to change his stance on shrinking Bears Ears National Monument. When he didn't budge, Patagonia along with the North Face and REI said they would boycott the annual Outdoor Retailer trade show usually hosted in Salt Lake City. The show, which generates some $45 million in the state, moved to Denver in 2018.

Patagonia's next big move is an idea that came from Marcario and was approved by Chouinard in minutes--like a lot of the company's political initiatives. She calculated that because of Trump's tax cuts, Patagonia will have around $10 million in unexpected profit. The brand plans to donate all of it to grassroots organizations that are fighting the causes of climate change. That's on top of the 1 percent of annual sales that Patagonia already donates to such groups.

Korschun calls the company the "gold standard in corporate activism" because it has consistently aligned itself with issues that make sense for the brand and that its customers care about.

"Many other companies are not as clear about what they stand for," he says. "They sometimes contradict themselves, and engage in fits and starts, which harms some of their message. [When that happens,] they run the risk of being called hypocritical in their actions--that's when you get in real trouble." Case in point: the backlash that ensued after Grubhub CEO Matt Maloney emailed his employees the day after the 2016 election suggesting that employees who would support Trump's policies resign immediately.

Too Uncomfortable Not to Follow

Some industry watchers have criticized Patagonia for taking political stances that are too "uncompromising." While Marcario admits that occasionally the company has heard from customers who don't agree with Patagonia's actions, she says the response has been "overwhelmingly positive." Coming out swinging on things like public land protections and the rollbacks at the Environmental Protection Agency for her are urgent, moral stances.

As such, she does not mince words when it comes to what she thinks about sectors and companies that don't operate with the greater good of the planet in mind. The tech industry? "I'm super disappointed," she says. "There is a huge concentration of wealth there--billionaires who have more than they could ever spend in their lifetime--and I don't see them doing anything. There is no business to be done on a dead planet. Some want to fly to Mars and colonize it--we're more interested in our home planet. I hope they wake up."

As for the growth-at-all-costs mentality: "The quarterly earnings trap is what got us into this mess. That's what's really killing the planet," she says.
Winnie the Pooh is reportedly being banished from Shanghai Disneyland at the command of Chinese President Xi Jinping.

According to Theme Park University, all mention of the character is set to be eliminated in a costly move that will see two attractions given brand new themes  all because the Chinese nation continually compares Xi to the fictional Disney bear.

The comparison originated from a photo of Xi walking alongside Barack Obama in 2013 in which people claimed they looked like Pooh and Tigger.

Memes of Xi and Pooh became so popular that the phrase Winnie the Pooh was censored from being used on social media, with government laws instructing so.

(Twitter)

Earlier this year, China banned Disneys live-action film Christopher Robin. According to The Hollywood Reporter, which cites an anonymous source, the country denied the films release because Winnie the Pooh had become a symbol of resistance against the countrys ruling Communist Party and its leader, Xi Jinping.

The Chinese social network Weibo blocked all mentions of John Oliver and his HBO show Last Week Tonight in July after Oliver criticised Jinping. Oliver also said Jinping was insecure about the Winnie the Pooh images being used to mock him.

Clamping down on Winnie the Pooh comparisons doesnt exactly project strength, Oliver said. It suggests a weird insecurity in him.
Sir Paul McCartney has shared a number of archive photos from the early beginnings of his band Wings and the birth of their debut album Wild Life.

The legendary musician is about to release a remastered and expanded edition of the 11th and 12th classic works from his catalogue: Wild Life and Red Rose Speedway. Several previously unreleased tracks were made available in advance of the release.

Wings formed in 1971 and enjoyed a string of hits, including the James Bond soundtrack "Live and Let Die", and "Mull of Kintyre", which at the time became the best-selling UK single in history.

Wild Life was made during July-August 1971 at Abbey Road Studios by McCartney and his wife Linda, along with Denny Seiwell on drums, and Denny Laine of the Moody Blues. The majority of the tracks were laid down in a single take, and all songs were written by Paul and Linda McCartney  with the exception of a cover of Mickey and Sylvia's "Love is Strange".

The Independent is sharing a number of archive photos, along with words from McCartney about making the album.

(Paul McCartney (photo by Linda McCartney) (Paul McCartney (photo by Linda McCartney))

"When I started Wings, I'd taken the option of starting from scratch  to find my way down that road again," he says. "We tried. We failed. We tried. We succeeded. We got better."

(Paul McCartney (photo by Linda McCartney) (Paul McCartney (photo by Linda McCartney))

"It was so exhilarating and intoxicating," he added of starting a new band. "I was feeling honest and free. It was a period where I knew I just had to move forward. To keep going."

(1971 MPL Communications Ltd (1971 MPL Communications Ltd)

He explains that he had songs "knocking around" that would eventually end up on the Wild Life album. "What happens for me is that I write all the time and then suddenly I think: 'Oh god, I've got too many. I've got to record them to get them out of the way."

Addressing the backlash to the band and the album's lukewarm reception, McCartney says: "I'm not saying, 'yes, I'll do what you want. I'm saying, 'I'll do what I want.' People don't always like that."

The reissues of Wild Life and Red Rose Speedway are released on 7 December via MPL/Capitol/UMe.
High fuel costs mean nearly half of the worlds coal power stations are already running at a loss, raising doubts about the viability of this fossil fuel.

Climate experts have already warned the majority of coal power needs to be retired in just over a decade to avert catastrophic global warming, but many nations continue to lean heavily on this high-polluting substance.

In the first study of its kind, financial think tank Carbon Tracker analysed the profitability of 6,685 coal plants worldwide, representing 95 per cent of all existing capacity.

Recommended Australia dismisses UN warning to quit coal or face climate disaster

They found that as prices reach record highs, 42 per cent of coal capacity is already unprofitable.

This figure is expected to rocket upwards in the coming years due to taxes on CO2 emissions and stricter air-pollution laws.

By 2030 the proportion of unprofitable coal will be likely to exceed 70 per cent while the cost of renewable energy sources such as wind and solar is slashed.

The report comes ahead of a major UN climate summit taking place in Poland, a nation that has already proved a controversial choice due to its reliance on coal for 80 per cent of its electricity.

Extinction rebellion: Climate change protesters block London bridges Show all 25 1 /25 Extinction rebellion: Climate change protesters block London bridges Extinction rebellion: Climate change protesters block London bridges Demonstrators block Westminster Bridge in central London to show anger at government inaction on climate and ecological issues AFP/Getty Extinction rebellion: Climate change protesters block London bridges A pro environment protester is arrested by police on Lambeth bridge in London EPA Extinction rebellion: Climate change protesters block London bridges Organised by Extinction Rebellion, the protest is part of many taking place this weekend to bring attention to political inaction on issues of pollution and climate change Reuters Extinction rebellion: Climate change protesters block London bridges AFP/Getty Extinction rebellion: Climate change protesters block London bridges Organised by Extinction Rebellion, the protest is part of many taking place this weekend to bring attention to political inaction on issues of pollution and climate change PA Extinction rebellion: Climate change protesters block London bridges Demonstrators on Blackfriars Bridge PA Extinction rebellion: Climate change protesters block London bridges Police with demonstrators on Blackfriars Bridge PA Extinction rebellion: Climate change protesters block London bridges AFP/Getty Extinction rebellion: Climate change protesters block London bridges EPA Extinction rebellion: Climate change protesters block London bridges A demonstrator is led away by police on Blackfriars Bridge PA Extinction rebellion: Climate change protesters block London bridges Reuters Extinction rebellion: Climate change protesters block London bridges PA Extinction rebellion: Climate change protesters block London bridges Reuters Extinction rebellion: Climate change protesters block London bridges AFP/Getty Extinction rebellion: Climate change protesters block London bridges AFP/Getty Extinction rebellion: Climate change protesters block London bridges PA Extinction rebellion: Climate change protesters block London bridges EPA Extinction rebellion: Climate change protesters block London bridges EPA Extinction rebellion: Climate change protesters block London bridges EPA Extinction rebellion: Climate change protesters block London bridges PA Extinction rebellion: Climate change protesters block London bridges Reuters Extinction rebellion: Climate change protesters block London bridges EPA Extinction rebellion: Climate change protesters block London bridges AFP/Getty Extinction rebellion: Climate change protesters block London bridges EPA Extinction rebellion: Climate change protesters block London bridges Reuters

Many countries, including the UK, have already set hard targets to eliminate coal entirely from their energy mix within the next few years.

Elsewhere concerns about economic growth and jobs have both contributed to a dependence on coal, but the new report suggests such worries are misplaced.

Matt Gray, head of power and utilities at Carbon Tracker, said their analysis provides a blueprint for policymakers, investors and civil society.

Lobbying and cronyism, thats the only thing that can save coal, and we are seeing that from Donald Trump and others throughout the world, he told The Independent.

The US president has repeatedly emphasised his enthusiasm for beautiful, clean coal, but the analysis suggests his country would save $78bn (61bn) by shutting plants in line with the Paris climate agreement.

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In China, by far the worlds biggest coal burner, this figure is $389bn (304bn).

Currently, consumers and taxpayers are picking up the bill for coal and keeping the industry profitable thanks to government subsidies.

While a phase-out would save these people billions, it would be a massive financial hit for coal-owners profits.

Earlier this week, the UN warned that nations needed to drastically increase their commitments to cutting carbon emissions, increasing them up to fivefold if some of the worst effects of climate change are to be avoided.

Carbon Tracker recommended that governments that have not already done so must implement plans to phase out coal rapidly, beginning with the least economic plants.

Sebastian Ljungwaldh, Carbon Tracker energy analyst and co-author of the study, said it was clear that a coal phaseout should be seen as an economic inevitability rather than a clean and green nicety.
Cambridge Analytica whistleblower Christopher Wylie has claimed that the political consulting firm used Facebook data on people's fashion tastes to encourage them to vote for Donald Trump during the 2016 US election.

The 29-year-old researcher, who exposed his former employer's severe misuse of data during the election earlier this year, alleged the tactic also boosted the profile and ideologies of Steve Bannon, the former White House chief strategist.

Fashion data was used to help Bannon build the alt-right, he said at The Business of Fashions annual Voices conference in Oxfordshire on Thursday, claiming that examining Facebook likes for American heritage brands, such as Wrangler and LL Bean, helped the company identify peoples political leanings and see who might be most susceptible to pro-Trump messaging.

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"They [Cambridge Analytica] looked at actual people," the former fashion trends forecaster added. "How they engaged with certain brands was put into a funnel and helped build the algorithms. When you look at personality traits, music and fashion are the most informative [tools] for predicting someones personality."

Mr Wylie said the harvested data revealed that people who had an affinity for all-American labels, such as Hollister, were more likely to posses "openness" as a personality trait and would therefore be more willing to respond to pro-Trump ads.

Meanwhile, those with preferences for European brands, such as Kenzo and Alexander McQueen, tended to be more liberal-minded and so were less likely to be targeted.

Mr Wylie, who was the director of research at Cambridge Analytica during the election, called the strategy a weapon of mass destruction, adding that it enabled the firm to exploit the cultural narratives that the fashion and culture industry put out.

He also recalled the first conversation he had with Mr Bannon, who used to run the pro-Trump website Breitbart News, which he said was about fashion, because he was asking: How do you create cultural change?

We [Bannon and I, during that time] said, if we indulge in light stereotyping, [if we look] at culture as a distribution of attributions that plays out in the wider world, we can work out where it goes."

 Cambridge Analytica: Chris Wylie tells Channel 4 News data for 50 million Facebook profiles was obtained

Mr Wylie concluded his talk by reiterating how influential fashion brands can be in shaping peoples political beliefs, calling on industry taste makers in the audience to do their bit and use their platforms to drive change.

We depend on you to not only make our culture but protect our culture, he said.

It is up to you if Trump or Brexit become the Crocs or the Chanel of our political age.
Images of what is claimed to be a new PlayStation 5 are circulating around the internet.

But the images appear to be entirely fake and don't actually show anything of the sort.

The pictures look very convincing: they show a console that looks a little like a smarter version of the PlayStation 4, and even appear to show it starting up. They also came from a reputable Russian leaks site, which has shown off genuine early versions of gadgets in the past.

But the site that initially made them available appears to have suggested they are fake, and there is no reason to think that any PlayStation 5 console is actually available yet.

That has not stopped enterprising designers seizing on the images and mocking up images of what they might look like if they were real. Those, in turn, have been shared by a number of outlets as images of the PS5  but, again, they are simply very convincing and well designed mock-ups of what the next console might look like, not genuine pictures.

Sony has confirmed that it is working on a new console, though it refused to commit even to the name PlayStation 5. In an interview with the Financial Times, Sony president Kenichiro Yoshida would not commit to a release date or any further details about the hardware.

The company has also referred to the PlayStation 4 as being in the "final phase" of its life. That is not thought to suggest that the console is dying or that it is losing any features  but that it is mature, and has developed.

Sony did however suggest that it is preparing for the "next step", in comments that some read as suggesting a new console could arrive in 2021.
A private all-girls school in north-west London has called on its pupils and their parents to reduce their smartphone use at home, asking them to sign a contract to make their promise official.

South Hampstead High School has issued the two-page document to parents in the hope that signing it will encourage families to spend more time talking to one another or reading instead of mindlessly scrolling on their phones.

Though signing the contract is voluntary, the terms state that neither parents nor students will use their phones an hour prior to going to sleep and the devices themselves must be charged outside of bedrooms overnight.

The idea was initially proposed by one of the school's deputy head girls, who is studying psychology as one of her A-levels and identified a negative correlation between self-esteem and time spent on Instagram as part of her course.

After she presented her findings to pupils in an assembly a few weeks ago, she was inspired to write to parents and encouraged by head teacher Victoria Bingham to draw up the pledge along with input from fellow sixth-form students.

"Weve only recently shared the pledge with parents, but were delighted that the feedback so far has been so incredibly positive," a spokesperson for the school tells The Independent.

"Whats important is that this has been developed by the sixth form students themselves, who can be such positive role models to younger pupils.

In a blog post published on the school's website, Bingham explained that while mobile phones have improved lives for the better "in many ways", excessive use can have adverse effects on a person's overall wellbeing.

"Passengers not noticing a pregnant woman needs a seat because they are too engrossed in Netflix on their phone. Entire families glued to their screens in restaurants. Young children handed devices to keep them entertained [...] Now is the time we should start considering  and calling out  the working practices we do not want our children to inherit."

Commenting on the initiative, a spokesperson for the department of education explained that reducing smartphone usage at home could offer pupils major benefits when it comes to boosting learning.

"The education secretary recently spoke about the importance of limiting screen time, for both children and parents, as one-to-one time without gadgets getting in the way is so valuable," they tell The Independent.

The pressures of work and the modern world mean putting phones away is far from easy, however it is a topic to consider, particularly as we look at ways to support parents with childrens learning at home."

The school's move comes after American-Italian restaurant chain Frankie and Benny's announced a similar initiative with its "no phone campaign", which calls on diners to deposit their smartphones in a box on their table with the intention of keeping it there for the duration of the meal.

The idea is that this will encourage families to spend more quality time together while dining.

The restaurant's campaign was launched off the back of a survey of 1,500 parents and children that revealed 70 per cent of children wished their parents spent less time on their phones.
EastEnders has been applauded for airing an episode focused entirely on sexual consent and rape culture, with some describing it as one of the soaps best episodes to date.

At the beginning of the episode Ruby Allen, played by Louisa Lytton, arrives at the Queen Vic where a number of people are discussing a reported case of rape committed against an anonymous woman.

Unbeknownst to many of them, Ruby was the survivor of the attack.

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The episode sees several of the BBC One soaps characters debate the topic of sexual consent in the Queen Vic, with the pubs locals gradually figuring out Ruby's identity as the survivor.

The performances of Lacey Turner as Stacey Slater and Lytton as Ruby have been heavily praised by EastEnders viewers, as has the impactful writing of the dialogue.

Did #EastEnders just have an entire 30-minute episode where they literally only discussed rape culture and what is, and isnt consent? YES THEY DID, one person tweeted.

That was the single most important episode of #EastEnders I have ever watched, another person wrote.

How well-written, fair play.

One of the most powerful moments of the episode comes when Denise Fox, played by Diane Parish, states forthrightly that silence isnt a yes.

Denise is just hitting every single nail on the head tonight, one viewer tweeted.

All her lines are on point!

Lytton has expressed her pride in the significance of the soap's storyline, revealing that many people have reached out to her to thank her for portraying her character's traumatic experience on screen.

"So many women have got in touch to say thank you for doing it, and how they were in a similar situation and it's confirmed to them it was rape after initially not being believed," the actor tells Radio Times.

"People have bought into the story, it's sparked a lot of questions about 'What is consent?'.

"EastEnders is trying to educate and open up the conversation among viewers."

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A recent study conducted by the Family Planning Association for Sexual Health Week revealed the UK's concerning attitudes towards consent.

According to the findings of the survey, less than half of people in the UK think it's OK for a person to withdraw consent if they're already naked with a partner.

If you've experienced a form of sexual violence, you can contact Rape Crisis England & Wales for support on 0808 802 9999, Survivors Trust on 0808 801 0818 and Safeline on 0808 8005005.
The founder of the MeToo movement, Tarana Burke, has said the medias representation of the campaign against sexual assault and harassment is unrecognisable to her, more than a decade after she launched it.

Speaking at the TEDWomen conference in Palm Springs, California, Burke claimed that a backlash was portraying MeToo as a witch hunt that is pitting women against men.

Suddenly a movement to centre survivors of sexual violence is being talked about as a vindictive plot against men, the 45-year-old activist said.

She added that there is little respite for the victims themselves, who are often heard and then vilified for coming forward.

Burke went on to clarify that her intention for the MeToo movement, which she launched in 2006, was to see a world free of sexual violence.

This is a movement about the one in four girls and the one in six boys who are sexually abused every year and who carry those wounds into adulthood.

Its about the far-reaching power of empathy and the millions of people who raised their hands a year ago to say me too  and still have their hands raised.

But she explained that recent incidents, such as the appointment of Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court after hed been accused of sexual misconduct, made her think we have a long way to go if were ever to reach real societal change.

This movement has been called a watershed moment, but some days I wake up feeling that all the evidence points to the contrary.

Burke concluded her talk by urging victims not to feel forced to speak out about their experiences, explaining how this might trigger traumatic memories. Instead, she said MeToo should be about addressing fundamental power imbalances and championing the need for a zero-tolerance approach to sexual violence.

We reshape that imbalance [of power] by raising our voices against it in unison, by creating spaces that speak truth to power, she said.

We have to re-educate ourselves and our children to understand that power and privilege doesnt always have to destroy and take, it can be used to serve and build.

 Michelle Obama on the critics of #MeToo

We owe future generations nothing less than a world free of sexual violence.

I believe we can build that world. Do you?

Burkes comments at TED come just weeks after she highlighted how the MeToo movement has been accused of excluding women from ethnic minorities.

Every day, we hear some version of that, she said at the Facing Race conference in Detroit earlier this month.

But this is what Im here to tell you: The MeToo movement is not defined by what the media has told you, she continued.

 Melania Trump on #MeToo movement: 'we need to have really hard evidence'

We are the movement, and so I need you to not opt out of the MeToo movement. I need you to reframe your work to include sexual violence. Thats how we take back the narrative. Stop giving your power away to white folks.

The MeToo hashtag became a global movement in October last year in light of allegations of sexual assault against Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein.

As more female celebrities, such as Angelina Jolie and Cara Delevingne, came forward with accusations against the producer, people began sharing their experiences of sexual misconduct on social media as prompted by the actor Alyssa Milano, who posted a tweet calling on women to say Me Too if theyd been a victim of sexual violence.

Since then, several high-profile men have been accused of sexual assault and/or harassment, including the actor Kevin Spacey, comedian Louis CK and most recently, Sir Philip Green.
Actor Noma Dumezweni, best known for playing Hermione Granger in Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, has explained why its essential for women to be able to express their anger freely.

As a young girl, Dumezweni was always taught to keep any feelings of anger concealed so as to make others feel comfortable, a childhood lesson that many women will undoubtedly be able to relate to.

Now at the age of 49, the Laurence Olivier Award winner has discussed why its important for women to be able to acknowledge their anger and convey it in a healthy way.

Recommended Noma Dumezweni responds to critics after being cast as Hermione

Writing for the BBC 100 Women series, the actor discusses how feeling angry as a child, teenager and adult had left her with deep feelings of shame.

Citing specific moments in her life in which she experienced full rage, Dumezweni explains how she reached those moments of intense fury by bottling up her anger for years.

I see now that these were boiling points - slow-build internalised anger that bubbled over when triggered by a sometimes random moment - the way I perceived a shoulder shrug, a sigh, or laughter, she says.

Expressing her anger may have also led to disparagers labelling Dumezweni as an angry black woman, a derogatory stereotype thats been used in the past to insult other individuals such as Serena Williams.

Chances are a black woman sharing her point of view with any sort of emotion can be a challenge for those witnessing it, especially those without the same life experiences, Dumezweni writes.

What I have learned is that if you suppress your anger through fear or passivity it can and will go on to explode.

In addition to gaining a greater sense of self as an adult, Dumezweni has also learnt a lot about the importance of not suppressing anger from her 11-year-old daughter, Qeiva.

She explains how being a mother to Qeiva has given her an insight into the minds of today's teenagers, in addition to teaching her valuable lessons about her own internalised anger.

Feelings are all-encompassing, especially on the way to adolescence! she says.

What I hope she learns from me is not to squash them. To let them pass through and understand they are there for a reason.

When the news that Dumezweni was going to play Hermione in the stage production of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child was announced in December 2015, the actor experienced a backlash from critics who opposed the casting decision.

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While many may have expected Dumezweni to respond to the criticism with anger, she chose to rise above it, as she explains.

Because my sense of self wasnt in jeopardy, and the fact I was supported by those working with me, I could step back and not engage with other peoples prejudice, she says.

I could save my anger to use as a powerful and positive force."
This article was first published on 1 December 2018 for World Aids Day.

Nine months after revealing he is HIV positive, former professional rugby player Gareth Thomas has launched the Tackle HIV campaign in an effort to educate people about HIV and correct the myths that exist around it one and for all.

Despite the medical advancements that have been made in recent years in the crusade to improve treatment for people living with HIV, stigma still surrounds HIV and Aids in todays society.

Women are particularly marginalised, often only making up a fraction of HIV clinical research, as Positively UK founder Silvia Petretti explains. Clinical research on HIV has historically failed to focus on women, unless they are pregnant, she says.

This means that women are put on medications that havent been studied on their bodies, which can lead to more side effects and long term toxicities.

Audrey Nosenga, a leading HIV campaigner, recently spoke at the ENDAIDS2030 festival about the need to ensure that all those living with HIV are given the opportunity to live their lives to the fullest.

As the global response to HIV continues through the fourth decade, a good quality of life for people living with HIV is a fundamental right and a critical challenge, she says.

To mark World Aids Day 2018, The Independent has spoken with five inspirational women with HIV whove each shared their personal accounts of what its like to live with the condition and the stigmas that they face today.

In the space of a year and a half, Lizzies entire world was turned upside down when she gave birth to her child, experienced the tragedy of her partner passing away and discovered that shes HIV positive. Following her diagnosis, Lizzie founded Think2Speak, a social enterprise that provides schools, charities, and organisations with tools to help make people feel empowered and confident in life. Lizzie is now 37 and lives in Lincolnshire.

Prior to her HIV diagnosis, Lizzies only knowledge of HIV came from the 1991 storyline in EastEnders in which character Mark Fowler contracts the virus. She was also aware of Freddie Mercurys life story.

All that changed however, when she was informed that she was HIV positive during an especially trialling period of her life.

In 18 months Id become a mum, a widow and was diagnosed with HIV, she says.

After being informed that her partner had died of an Aids-related infection, Lizzies first instinct when getting tested for the virus was that if her results came back negative, she would keep the truth of her partners HIV status a secret.

In retrospect, Lizzie feels sad that she ever thought that way about HIV and the stigma commonly associated with it.

Being HIV positive is not shameful. HIV is one possible outcome of condom-less sex, she says.

I believe in the power of conversation as prevention

After confirming that her child was HIV negative, Lizzie took it upon herself to learn all that she could about the virus and has since become an outspoken advocate of HIV awareness.

On World Aids Day 2017, Lizzie spoke with the Duke and Duchess of Sussex at an event, with the couple recognising Lizzie from a BBC1 documentary.

Lizzie explains that HIV is still highly stigmatised, and appreciates that she comes from a position of privilege in comparison to others who may be living with the condition.

I am privileged and I have to acknowledge that, she says.

Im a white, heterosexual female, who is securely employed; Im educated and fairly articulate, and this means that I am able to challenge stigma when Ive experienced it.

I believe in the power of conversation as prevention.

Following her work with HIV charity Positive East, LeaSuwanna discovered that she was HIV positive while pregnant with her second child. Shes now a part of the Changing Perceptions campaign, an initiative that aims to educate people about those living with HIV and their experiences. LeaSuwanna is 39 and lives in east London.

(LeaSuwanna Griffith)

Before she became aware of her HIV status, LeaSuwanna worked in childcare for Positive East, a charity that provides care and support for children and families affected by HIV.

She was then informed, while pregnant with a baby girl, that shed been diagnosed with the virus.

LeaSuwanna and her partner of two years had stopped using condoms so that they could conceive.

While she would always go for check-ups at sexual health clinics when starting a new relationship, she hadnt asked her partner to do the same thing.

I cried a bit but mostly asked questions about my child being safe, LeaSuwanna remembers about her response to her HIV diagnosis.

I gather knowledge on HIV so I can help others

This is what kept me going; knowing I could have a life with both my kids and that she was going to be born HIV negative.

After confirming that she hadnt passed the virus onto her baby and coming to terms with her HIV status, LeaSuwanna now uses her knowledge of the virus to help others.

I gather knowledge like its going to run out on HIV so I can pay forward for others who may be in my situation, she says.

The best thing to know about HIV is as long as I or anyone who is positive takes their medication as prescribed, they will become undetectable.

This is massive news that should be celebrated and made widely spread to the public.

It is not the people aware of their status causing the continued issues  its the people who are not testing that are.

Despite being born with HIV, Sasha was only made aware of her diagnosis as a young girl when a doctor mentioned that she was HIV positive. She was forced to leave school without any qualifications due to the bullying that she endured when her classmates became aware of her condition. Sasha is now an activist, is 30 years old and lives in Buckingham.

Throughout her childhood, Sasha experienced several bouts of illness with no explanation why.

After a doctor revealed by chance that she was HIV positive while in A&E, Sasha felt intense anger towards her mother, who eventually passed away from HIV when Sasha was 20.

I was furious with my mum and went home and shouted at her because I didnt understand what she was going through, she says. I was a young girl and I just blamed her at the time.

When Sasha confided in a friend at school that she was HIV positive, she never anticipated how quickly the news would spread or the abuse that she would receive from her classmates.

Faced with the prospect of having to endure constant bullying, Sasha left school without any academic qualifications and without the financial means of finishing her education in the future.

As a teenager, Sasha became embroiled in an abusive relationship with a man with whom she had a son and who made her question her self-worth.

People think that HIV people are dirty and its not true, however someone gets it

Her mental health reached such a low point eight years ago that she attempted to take her own life.

Two years later, Sasha left her ex and met her current partner, with whom she has a four-year-old daughter.

She now works as an HIV activist with Positively UK and believes strongly in breaking down the stigmas associated with HIV.

People react with shock and horror when I tell them that Im HIV positive, English, white and have children, she says.

People think that HIV people are dirty and its not true, however someone gets it.

When Charity was told that she was HIV positive, fears over whether she was going to die or ever be able to have children occupied her mind. She recently spoke with Terrence Higgins Trust about her involvement with the Catwalk for Power, an event that helps women living with HIV from all walks of life by making them feel confident and empowered. Charity is 48 and lives in London.

Charity is no stranger to the taboos associated with HIV, having had an unfavourable opinion of the virus prior to her positive diagnosis.

I didnt particularly know a lot about HIV before I was diagnosed and I am ashamed to say the views I had on HIV werent very pleasant, she says.

When she was informed that she was HIV positive, Charity was distraught, feeling as though it was the end of my life.

Various questions, including whether she was going to die, whether shed be able to have sex and whether shed become infertile raced through Charitys mind.

Having been made aware that shed be able to live a long and healthy life, have sex and have HIV-negative children, Charity now has a positive outlook with regards to her condition.

I really dont think attitudes have changed that much

To be honest, now HIV is a very small part of my life and most days, after taking my pills, I forget about it, she says.

One of the biggest misconceptions about HIV that Charity has experienced is the way in which many people assume that HIV and Aids are the same thing.

While there may be greater awareness and more advanced medical treatments for those living with HIV, Charity isnt convinced that the stigma surrounding the condition has lessened over the years.

I really dont think attitudes have changed that much, people are still scared of us, she says.

She urges anyone whos been newly diagnosed with HIV to learn as much as they can about the virus.

Education is power when it comes to surviving without discrimination, she says. But you will need thick skin.

A few days before her 30th birthday, Silvia received the news that she was HIV positive. With her mother having passed away a decade before and a father with Alzheimers, she felt desolate and alone when coming to grips with her diagnosis. Meeting other women living with HIV through a support group gave her the boost that she needed to accept herself and her HIV status. Now 52 and living in south London, Silvia is joint CEO of HIV charity Positively UK.

In 1997, 29-year-old Silvia was residing in Italy when she received the news that she was HIV positive.

It was particularly shocking for Silvia considering the fact that shed always followed a healthy lifestyle.

Silvia had to take 18 pills a day when first diagnosed, leading to her experiencing a barrage of side effects.

When her doctor attempted to prescribe her with antidepressants to no avail, he then suggested that she go to a womens support group called Positively Women, now called Positively UK.

The first time I went, I couldnt believe the women in the group had HIV, she says.

They looked fabulous, joking and laughing, and there were children running around.

Enabling people to live well with HIV is a powerful tool

Meeting other women with HIV lead me to finally have hope it was possible to live a normal life with HIV. I found self-acceptance and new friends.

A few years after discovering that she was HIV positive, Silvia became involved with Positively UK as a volunteer.

This then resulted in a job in the peer support team answering the helpline and managing support groups, which eventually led to Silvia becoming joint CEO of the entire organisation.

I know what a powerful tool it is enabling people to live well with HIV, she says.

I would never be where I am without the role models I have had, and the incredible support of other women with HIV.

Positively UK runs a national programme called Project 100 that trains people living with HIV so that they can become involved in peer support groups.
Nine in 10 businesses say Brexit has affected their ability to recruit and train the staff they needed this year, a survey by the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) found.

It is the latest research to highlight a deepening skills crisis in the UK and came a day after the Office for National Statistics (ONS) revealed on Thursday that net migration from the EU had fallen to a six-year low of 74,000. An estimated 30,000 EU citizens left the UK in June while 27,000 arrived.

These latest statistics highlight the continuing trend of falling net EU migration amid growing shortages across all skills levels in the UK, said the CBIs UK policy director Matthew Fell.

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Of the firms surveyed, 92 per cent said Brexit had affected recruitment.

This means hospitals, schools and housebuilders are already struggling to get the staff they need, Mr Fell said, adding that the governments policy preventing skilled workers earning under 30,000 from moving to the UK for work added to the problem.

The CBIs poll follows a warning this week from the recruitment industrys trade body that three-quarters of businesses cannot take on more work without hiring new staff. However, unemployment is at a 40-year low, leaving firms with few options.

The shortage is acute across both the private and public sector  particularly in social care and the NHS where ensuring safe staffing levels is an absolute must, said Recruitment and Employment Confederation director Tom Hadley.

While immigration from the EU has fallen since the June 2016 Brexit referendum, the number of new arrivals from elsewhere has risen to almost a quarter of a million.

The CBI warned against stemming this flow of migrants, saying that a restrictive approach would result in a double whammy for the UK economy.

Any new system must be based on evidence rather than politically driven targets, Mr Fell said.

Most importantly, firms of all sizes and sectors will need ample time to adjust to what will be a seismic change.

The NHS is under particular pressure with more than 100,000 doctors and nurses positions unfilled at the end of September. In a bid to combat widespread shortages, the government announced on Wednesday that it would double the number of foreign doctors allowed to come to Britain under the medical training initiative.
The flu vaccines failure to protect against some of the key strains of the infection contributed to more than 50,000 extra deaths in England and Wales last winter, according to data from the Office of National Statistics.

It was the worst winter on record for more than 40 years, with the 1975-76 season being the last time deaths climbed so high above the expected levels.

The NHS was rocked by a record winter crisis in early 2018, with a massive rise in flu cases and sub-zero temperatures triggered by the Beast from the East storm, which added further to death rates.

Despite protecting against the potentially serious "Aussie flu", officials said in January that the vaccine which had been widely used was not effective against some of the more prevalent strains of the virus affecting the UK.

The impact on death rates was apparent as early as March, when experts warned the government must urgently investigate a spike of 10,000 deaths in the first weeks of 2018.

But the ONS data, spanning December to March, shows that this trend continued to rise.

A larger rise has not been seen for 40 years (Statista)

The number of excess winter deaths in England and Wales in 2017 to 2018 was the highest recorded since the winter of 1975 to 1976, said Nick Stripe, from the ONS Health Analysis and Life Events team."

He added: It is likely that last winters increase was due to the predominant strain of flu, the effectiveness of the influenza vaccine and below average winter temperatures.

Doctors have warned that the pressures, which carried on into summer and beyond, thanks to a major heatwave, mean the coming winter will be more challenging than the last.

NHS at 70: demonstration and celebration march to mark anniversary Show all 18 1 /18 NHS at 70: demonstration and celebration march to mark anniversary NHS at 70: demonstration and celebration march to mark anniversary AFP/Getty Images NHS at 70: demonstration and celebration march to mark anniversary Labour Party leader, Jeremy Corbyn, addresses demonstrators following the march AFP/Getty NHS at 70: demonstration and celebration march to mark anniversary AFP/Getty Images NHS at 70: demonstration and celebration march to mark anniversary EPA NHS at 70: demonstration and celebration march to mark anniversary AFP/Getty Images NHS at 70: demonstration and celebration march to mark anniversary Reuters NHS at 70: demonstration and celebration march to mark anniversary REUTERS NHS at 70: demonstration and celebration march to mark anniversary EPA NHS at 70: demonstration and celebration march to mark anniversary REUTERS NHS at 70: demonstration and celebration march to mark anniversary PA NHS at 70: demonstration and celebration march to mark anniversary REUTERS NHS at 70: demonstration and celebration march to mark anniversary AFP/Getty Images NHS at 70: demonstration and celebration march to mark anniversary REUTERS NHS at 70: demonstration and celebration march to mark anniversary PA NHS at 70: demonstration and celebration march to mark anniversary AFP/Getty Images NHS at 70: demonstration and celebration march to mark anniversary AFP/Getty Images NHS at 70: demonstration and celebration march to mark anniversary AFP/Getty Images NHS at 70: demonstration and celebration march to mark anniversary AFP/Getty Images

This is not helped by the fact that the additional 20.5bn funding pledged to the NHS to help meet rising demand from an ageing population will not begin to reach services until April 2019.

However, early signs suggest the flu season this year will be less severe and the NHS has also adopted a more effective flu vaccine which provides protection against a wider range of influenza.

The ONS data shows that deaths were highest in women and those over 85, but that death rates doubled in males under the age of 64 compared with the year before.

Daily death rates exceeded the average across the last five years on every day except the 25 March, the ONS says.

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Fuel poverty campaign group National Energy Action said the figures were a tragedy that do not tell the full story of millions of others falling ill and suffering because of damp, cold and inadequate housing.

Todays excess winter death figures should be a huge shock to the system, said NEA chief executive Adam Scorer. The cost in human suffering and lost lives is a tragedy. The cost to the NHS is significant and largely avoidable.

Predictable, preventable and shameful. We seem to have accepted excess winter deaths to be as much a part of winter as darker evenings.

Economists said the figures show the grim reality of the flu outbreak, and are particularly concerning as the ONS revealed earlier in 2018 that decades of improvements in life expectancy ground to a halt this year.

This follows some other recent winters when seasonal deaths have been high, said Dr Veena Raleigh, senior fellow at the Kings Fund. With an ageing population, the worry is that this could be the start of a trend of periodically high winter deaths.

The evidence suggests that stalling life expectancy is due to several factors, including flu-related deaths and a slowdown in improvements in mortality from diseases such as heart attack and stroke.

National agencies have so far been slow to respond to these disturbing recent trends. Public Health England has been commissioned to investigate the slowdown in life expectancy and it is imperative that their findings are acted upon.
Queen Geraldine of the Albanians was one of the last survivors of the Ruritanian ambience of the interwar east European monarchies who lived in an insecure world between the threats of fascism, communism and democracy.

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As the wife of King Zog of Albania she shared the vicissitudes of her husband in his exile during and after the Second World War and after his death remained prominent in the world of the exiled European monarchs as the mother of the pretender to the throne, Prince Leka.

She was born Geraldine Apponyi in Buda, and is customarily referred to as a Hungarian countess, but, although her father was an impoverished Hungarian count, her mother was was Gladys Virginia Stewart, an American heiress.

After a whirlwind engagement in Paris, they rushed off the platform of Geneva station to marry at St Josephs Church in 1914 before their connecting train arrived to take them to Hungary.

Geraldine was born the following year, and enjoyed an idyllic childhood divided mostly between Vienna, where she received a Catholic education, and the vast rambling Apponyi family castle at Nagy Appony in Hungary.

The Apponyi family could trace their descent back to the conquest of Hungary by Arpad in AD894, and the castle had been the family seat since 1280.

After the First World War, it had been somewhat modernised by Geraldines father, who had disposed of the family palace in Budapest and other property in Paris and Vienna in order to ease the heavy burden of family debt.

In good spirits in 1939 (Getty)

It was set in a huge empty forest, and provided an operatic background for the young Geraldines formative years.

She grew up as a bookish and intelligent young woman, and took a job as a librarian at the National Museum and developed an interest in Egyptology. She also attended balls, and it was at one, in the presence of Franz Lehar, the composer, that a photograph was taken that was to change her life.

The photograph was seen by Ahmet Zogu, a northern tribal leader from the Mati river region of Albania who had become king in 1928.

Zog had spent happy times in Vienna in his youth, and was in the process of selecting a bride there.

Geraldine was invited to visit Tirana on the strength of this image, and went in December 1934, chaperoned by a family friend Baroness Ruling.

Their courtship took place in a somewhat stressful atmosphere, to the accompaniment of Leber waltzes and Albanian folk music. The engagement was announced the following year, and the wedding took place in April 1938 with Mussolinis envoy, Count Ciano, as the witness.

They drove to their honeymoon in an enormous scarlet open-top, supercharged Mercedes-Benz, a present from Hitler. She enjoyed a period of immersing herself in the Albanian world, particularly the life of the women in his Mati heartland, where she wrote that the scale of the mountain forests made those of Switzerland seem small.

But the decline of fortunes began in 1936 with the expulsion of Zogs British advisers and with the beginning of full fascist annexation, and with the outbreak of the Second World War the family duly fled to exile to Greece, then France, then England, with a retinue of 500 retainers, officers and friends, many boxes of gold sovereigns, a personal arsenal, and little baby Leka, the heir to the throne.

In England, the court spent time at Lord Parmoors house in the Thames valley, where Geraldine was unhappy, feeling that Zog was too close to his numerous sisters who rivalled her as the chief woman of his family.

After the end of the war, and the communist victory under Enver Hoxha, the same peripatetic pattern of life continued, with periods in Egypt, as part of King Farouks court.

There she formed a close friendship with the similarly exiled Queen Giovanna of Italy.

The family moved to Cannes after the fall of the monarchy in Egypt, and then to Paris in January 1961.

By this time, Zog was suffering from a terminal illness, and he duly died that April. This loss could have reduced Geraldine to the role of a shadowy widow, but in the Albanian culture she had absorbed it did not, and she became the guardian of monarchist tradition, and a strong and partisan figure on behalf of her son, Prince Leka, who was consecrated King of the Albanians in a room in the Hotel Bristol in Paris on 5 April.

After their expulsion from France as a result of problems with the French authorities linked to Prince Lekas well-known proclivity for carrying numerous personal weapons, they moved to Spain, where they lived in a small villa that Geraldines friend Queen Margarita of Bulgaria had found for them. This good period did not last long, as the Spanish government also disliked the alleged links Leka had with the arms business, and Saudi Arabia was the next destination.

The final move was to South Africa, after other scrapes between Leka and various governments, including his arrest in Thailand. They remained near Johannesburg until returning to Albania in 2001, when, in company with Queen Susan, Lekas Australian wife, they reclaimed the magnificent family residence behind the Hotel Bogner in Tirana from the Greek government which had been using it as their ambassadors residence.

In this sense, after many ups and downs, Geraldine returned to live the last months of her life as a loyal Albanian on the soil of her adopted country that she had left in chaos so many years before.

Geraldine Apponyi, born 6 August 1915; died 22 October 2002
Nasa has spotted a strange, shiny object lying on the Martian surface.

The planet is largely red, dusty and bland, meaning that anything unusual stands out. The latest discovery is one such object: a shiny lump that is visible on the surface.

Now the team behind the Curiosity rover intends to have a proper look at the object, in the hope of finding out what it is. Though they have their suspicions, they are ready to be surprised.

Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Show all 30 1 /30 Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Solar Flare An image from Nasa's Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) shows a 200,000 mile long solar filament ripping through the Sun's corona in September 2013 Nasa Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Nasa Celebrates 50 Years of Spacewalking For 50 years, NASA has been "suiting up" for spacewalking. In this 1984 photograph of the first untethered spacewalk, NASA astronaut Bruce McCandless is in the midst of the first "field" tryout of a nitrogen-propelled backpack device called the Manned Maneuvering Unit (MMU) Nasa Nasa's most stunning pictures of space A Hubble Cosmic Couple The spectacular cosmic pairing of the star Hen 2-427  more commonly known as WR 124  and the nebula M1-67 which surrounds it ESA/Hubble & NASA Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Veil Nebula Supernova Remnant Nasa's Hubble Space Telescope has unveiled in stunning detail a small section of the Veil Nebula - expanding remains of a massive star that exploded about 8,000 years ago Nasa's most stunning pictures of space The Soyuz TMA-15M rocket launch The Soyuz TMA-15M rocket launches from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on Monday, Nov. 24, 2014, carrying three new astronauts to the International Space Station. It also took caviar, ready for the satellite's inhabitants to celebrate the holidays Nasa Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Earth from the ISS From the International Space Station, Expedition 42 Flight Engineer Terry W. Virts took this photograph of the Gulf of Mexico and U.S. Gulf Coast at sunset Nasa Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Black Hole Friday Nasa celebrated Black Friday by looking into space instead  sharing pictures of black holes Nasa Nasa's most stunning pictures of space NuSTAR X-rays stream off the sun in this image showing observations from by NASA's Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array, or NuSTAR, overlaid on a picture taken by NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) Nasa Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Cassiopeia A c A false colour image of Cassiopeia A comprised with data from the Spitzer and Hubble Space Telescopes and the Chandra X-Ray observatory Nasa Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Orion Capsule splashes down The Orion capsule jetted off into space before heading back a few hours later  having proved that it can be used, one day, to carry humans to Mars Nasa Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Earth Observations From Gemini IV in 1965 This photograph of the Florida Straits and Grand Bahama Bank was taken during the Gemini IV mission during orbit no. 19 in 1965. The Gemini IV crew conducted scientific experiments, including photography of Earth's weather and terrain, for the remainder of their four-day mission following Ed White's historic spacewalk on June 3 Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Frosty slopes of Mars This image of an area on the surface of Mars, approximately 1.5 by 3 kilometers in size, shows frosted gullies on a south-facing slope within a crater. The image was taken by Nasa's HiRISE camera, which is mounted on its Mars Reconaissance Orbiter Nasa Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Yellowstone from space NASA astronaut Reid Wiseman shared this image of Yellowstone via his twitter account Nasa Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Saturn This near-infrared color image shows a specular reflection, or sunglint, off of a hydrocarbon lake named Kivu Lacus on Saturn's moon Titan Nasa Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Worlds Apart Although Mimas and Pandora, shown here, both orbit Saturn, they are very different moons. Pandora, "small" by moon standards (50 miles or 81 kilometers across) is elongated and irregular in shape. Mimas (246 miles or 396 kilometers across), a "medium-sized" moon, formed into a sphere due to self-gravity imposed by its higher mass Nasa Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Solar Flare An X1.6 class solar flare flashes in the middle of the sun in this image taken 10 September, captured by NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory Nasa Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Large Magellanic Cloud galaxy An image of the Large Magellanic Cloud galaxy seen in infrared light by the Herschel Space Observatory. Regions of space such as this are where new stars are born from a mixture of elements and cosmic dust Nasa Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Mars Rover Spirit Nasa's Mars Rover Spirit took the first picture from Spirit since problems with communications began a week earlier. The image shows the robotic arm extended to the rock called Adirondack Nasa Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Morning Aurora From the Space Station Nasa astronaut Scott Kelly captured this photograph of the green lights of the aurora from the International Space Station Nasa/Scott Kelly Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Launch of History - Making STS-41G Mission in 1984 The Space Shuttle Challenger launches from Florida at dawn. On this mission, Kathryn Sullivan became the first U.S. woman to perform a spacewalk and Marc Garneau became the first Canadian in space. The crew of seven was the largest to fly on a spacecraft at that time, and STS-41G was the first flight to include two female astronauts Nasa's most stunning pictures of space A Fresh Perspective on an Extraordinary Cluster of Galaxies Galaxy clusters are often described by superlatives. After all, they are huge conglomerations of galaxies, hot gas, and dark matter and represent the largest structures in the Universe held together by gravity Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Hubble Sees a Galactic Sunflower The arrangement of the spiral arms in the galaxy Messier 63, seen here in an image from the Nasa Hubble Space Telescope, recall the pattern at the center of a sunflower ESA/Hubble & NASA Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Pluto image Four images from New Horizons Long Range Reconnaissance Imager (LORRI) were combined with colour data from the Ralph instrument to create this enhanced colour global view of Pluto Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Fresh Crater Near Sirenum Fossae Region of Mars The HiRISE camera aboard Nasa's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter acquired this closeup image of a "fresh" (on a geological scale, though quite old on a human scale) impact crater in the Sirenum Fossae region of Mars. This impact crater appears relatively recent as it has a sharp rim and well-preserved ejecta Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Hubble Peers into the Most Crowded Place in the Milky Way This Nasa Hubble Space Telescope image presents the Arches Cluster, the densest known star cluster in the Milky Way NASA & ESA Nasa's most stunning pictures of space An Astronaut's View from Space Nasa astronaut Reid Wiseman tweeted this photo from the International Space Station on 2 September 2014 Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Giant Landform on Mars On Mars, we can observe four classes of sandy landforms formed by the wind, or aeolian bedforms: ripples, transverse aeolian ridges, dunes, and what are called draa Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Expedition 39 Landing A sokol suit helmet can be seen against the window of the Soyuz TMA-11M capsule shortly after the spacecraft landed with Expedition 39 Commander Koichi Wakata of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), Soyuz Commander Mikhail Tyurin of Roscosmos, and Flight Engineer Rick Mastracchio of NASA near the town of Zhezkazgan, Kazakhstan (NASA/Bill Ingalls) Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Jupiter's Great Red Spot Viewed by Voyager I Jupiter is the largest planet in the solar system and perhaps the most majestic. Vibrant bands of clouds carried by winds that can exceed 400 mph continuously circle the planet's atmosphere Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Chandra Observatory Sees a Heart in the Darkness This Chandra X-Ray Observatory image of the young star cluster NGC 346 highlights a heart-shaped cloud of 8 million-degree Celsius gas in the central region

The planning team thinks it might be a meteorite because it is so shiny, wrote Suzanne Schwenzer, one of the curiosity team members, in an update to the missions blog. But looks can deceive, and proof will only come from the chemistry.

The object, nicknamed Little Colonsay by the rovers team, has already been targeted by the scientists who control it. But they missed it the first time around, making it one of a number of objects that the team hopes to go back and have a proper look at.

The rover already snapped a photo of the object, showing its shiny coating amid the dust and rocks of the Martian surface.

But it will investigate it further with other tools in an attempt to understand its chemistry. That will be done using the onboard ChemCam, a set of tools that can examine objects remotely.

In the same journey, it will have a look at a number of other interesting specimens. One very small piece is Flanders moss, which has an interesting, dark coloured coating which the team hope to come to understand by examining its chemistry.

All of the work comes after Curiosity welcomed another visitor to the planet from Earth, the InSight rover. Curiosity played Mr Rogers song Wont You Be My Neighbour to welcome its fellow visitor.
The number of girls identified as victims of female genital mutilation (FGM) or being at risk has more than doubled in a year as campaigners warn the practice is significantly under-reported.

New figures show that FGM was listed in 1,960 social work assessments by councils in 2017/18, compared to 970 cases the previous year.

Possible cases of child abuse linked to faith or belief, such as fears of spirit possession or witchcraft, rose by 12 per cent to 1,630 in the same period.

The National FGM Centre called the figures alarming and experts believe they still do not reflect the true prevalence of the hidden crimes.

The centre, which is a joint initiative between the Local Government Association and Barnardos, said figures may have increased because of increased awareness and improvements in the way social workers identify cases.

Leethen Bartholomew, head of the National FGM Centre, said: Whilst we are making progress in tackling FGM, these alarming statistics show it is still being practised in communities across England. Even more concerning is that these figures are likely to just be the tip of the iceberg because many cases of FGM go undetected.

As many as 100,000 women and girls in the UK are estimated to have undergone the illegal procedure, but a fraction of that number have disclosed it.

 FGM victim and Dahlia Project founder on the culture of the practice within family groups

NHS England statistics show that 1,015 FGM cases were newly recorded between April and June this year, although the procedures may have been performed many years before.

It brings the total number of survivors recorded in the UK to 17,330 since 2015, but a study estimated that 137,000 women and girls who have migrated to England and Wales are living with the consequences of FGM.

Police operations have focused on preventing girls being taken abroad to undergo the procedure, but a survivor previously told The Independent that cutters are also being flown into the UK to carry out procedures to order.

FGM, which refers to any procedure that intentionally alters female genital organs for non-medical reasons, has been illegal in the UK since 1985.

The law was strengthened in 2003 to prevent girls travelling to undergo FGM abroad and it is also illegal to fail to protect a girl from the practice.

But there have not yet been any successful prosecutions under the law and police are instead using hundreds of FGM prevention orders to protect girls at risk, amid education campaigns hoping to stop the practice.

Isatou Kramar, an FGM survivor who lives in Essex, said parents from practicing communities are pressured into putting their daughters through the procedure in the belief it is a cultural tradition or religious requirement.

The 32-year-old underwent the procedure with her sisters and cousin in Gambia when she was seven years old.

She told The Independent children at her school called her names because she was considered old for FGM and that by the time a cutter was organised she was keen to have it done.

Ms Kramar added: As a child you see the tradition and you want to follow it, not realising that is abuse. Most victims dont realise they are victims  it took me a long time.

FGM tribal circumcision ceremony in Baringo County Show all 12 1 /12 FGM tribal circumcision ceremony in Baringo County FGM tribal circumcision ceremony in Baringo County Kenya FGM A Pokot girl cries after being circumcised REUTERS FGM tribal circumcision ceremony in Baringo County Kenya FGM The traditional practice of circumcision within the Pokot tribe is a rite of passage that marks the transition to womanhood and is a requirement for all girls before they marry Reuters FGM tribal circumcision ceremony in Baringo County Kenya FGM Pokot girls are encouraged to leave their hut and make their way to a place where they will take off their clothes and wash during their circumcision ceremony REUTERS FGM tribal circumcision ceremony in Baringo County Kenya FGM A Pokot girl, covered in animal skins, walks to a place where she will rest after being circumcised in a tribal ritual in a village about 80 kilometres from the town of Marigat in Baringo County REUTERS FGM tribal circumcision ceremony in Baringo County Kenya FGM Pokot girls, draped in animal skins, sit on rocks during their circumcision ceremony REUTERS FGM tribal circumcision ceremony in Baringo County Kenya FGM A Pokot woman performs a circumcision on a girl REUTERS FGM tribal circumcision ceremony in Baringo County Kenya FGM A Pokot woman holds a razor blade after performing a circumcision on four girls REUTERS FGM tribal circumcision ceremony in Baringo County Kenya FGM A Pokot girl bleeds onto a rock after being circumcised REUTERS FGM tribal circumcision ceremony in Baringo County Kenya FGM A Pokot girl is smeared with a white paint after being circumcised REUTERS FGM tribal circumcision ceremony in Baringo County Kenya FGM More than a quarter of girls and women in Kenya have undergone genital cutting, according to United Nations data REUTERS FGM tribal circumcision ceremony in Baringo County Kenya FGM A Pokot girl, covered in animal skins, walks to a place where she will rest after being circumcised Reuters FGM tribal circumcision ceremony in Baringo County Kenya FGM Pokot girls covered with animal skins squat on rocks after being stripped naked and washed during their circumcision rite in a village about 80 kilometres from the town of Marigat in Baringo County REUTERS

She realised FGM was illegal in the UK after moving at 16, and now campaigns to raise awareness of the practice.

One of the reasons they do it is to stop women from experiencing sexual pleasure, Ms Kramar added.

People believe it is hygienic, and there is also the fact that in the culture you are not regarded as a woman unless you go with the procedure.

Ms Kramar, who now has three daughters, said the birth of her first child triggered memories of the pain she underwent and she resolved not to do the same to them.

The mother said an imam at her youngest daughters naming ceremony told her FGM was not in the Quran, as believed by some practicing communities, and she believes religious education is key to ending the abuse.

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Anita Lower, the Local Government Associations lead on FGM, said the figures showed the worrying prevalence of FGM, which is ruining lives and destroying communities.

As this crime is under-reported, the true incidence rate of FGM is likely to be higher, she added.

At a time when they should be preparing for adult life and enjoying being young, no girl or young woman should be subject to the horrors of genital mutilation which is child abuse and cannot be justified for any reason.

Ms Lower said councils, police, the NHS and charities were working hard to prevent FGM, but that stretched childrens services department to the scale of demand for help.

Long-term funding for the National FGM Centre is also needed for its vital, specialist work in communities to prevent FGM in the first place, and to develop expert knowledge to build relationships with families which can safeguard against this horrific kind of assault, she added.

Social workers are starting new episode of need cases for more than 1,000 children each day, more than half of which are for reasons of abuse or neglect.

An extra 410m for adult and childrens social care in 2019/20 was announced in the recent budget, with a further 85m over five years to expand programmes in 20 areas.

The Local Government Association welcomed the funding but said it did not go far enough to plug a 3bn funding gap they say is facing childrens services by 2025.
A Scottish couple's festive holiday plans are in disarray after a 70-year-old grandfather accidentally declared himself a terrorist on a crucial visa form.

John Stevenson and his wife, Marion, had planned to fly to New York City on 3 December. The couple spent around 2,000 on flights and accommodation for the trip.

But Mr Stevenson mistakenly answered a question on the Esta visa form, which asked if he was a terrorist, by declaring that he was one.

The couple now fear that the 70-year-old will never be allowed into the US again.

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We were filling out the visa form and it kept timing out before we could tick all the boxes," Mr Stevenson said.

"Then it crashed and when it came back up, you start where you finish off."

The 70-year-old was later told that his visa had been refused because he was a terrorist.

One of the questions ask if you are a terrorist and it must have jumped from No to Yes without me knowing," he said.

"I even called border control in the US and gave them my passport details."

"They looked up my Esta number and said youre a terrorist. I told them that I was 70 years old and I dont even recognise what that means."

"It is the biggest nightmare Ive ever had," he added.

Mr Stevenson tried to convince US officials that he was not a criminal and explained that he had only ever been in court for jury service.

My phone could be getting tapped  I dont know," he said.

We were meant to be going away on December 3," said Mrs Stevenson.

"Its terrible, its shocking and so stupid. I dont know why that question is on the form in the first place.

The couple booked the holiday through United Airlines, which told them there was a possibility of a refund for accommodation and transfers.

But staff explained that the cost of the flights could not be refunded.

Mr Stevenson said that he was "devastated" by the mistake.

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The couple, who are from Inverclyde in Scotland, may be able to fix the error by arranging an appointment at the US embassy in London, where Mr Stevenson would be questioned by officials.

"I've never been in trouble in my life," he said.

"The only time I've been in court was for jury service and now I've been treated like a criminal."

He added: "Marion is sick about it.

"We can't even reschedule because I don't know if I'll ever get back into America."

Additional reporting by agencies
Aid workers fear being jailed for entering conflict zones under proposed new terror laws meant to target Isis fighters.

The Counter-Terrorism and Border Security Bill would mean anyone entering a designated area abroad could be jailed for up to 10 years unless they can prove a reasonable excuse to be there.

Ministers say the proposal was designed to criminalise returning Isis fighters who cannot be prosecuted for other crimes because of a lack of proof.

But critics say the law is too broad.

In a joint statement, leaders of some of the worlds most prominent aid organisations said it would in effect make it a criminal offence for British aid workers to provide support to vulnerable people in war torn countries.

They added: Unless urgently amended, the bill will fail to provide sufficient protection for people who already risk their lives to help others and could instead mean they face police interrogation and arrest on their return, even with the changes proposed by the government this week.

This is simply unacceptable and will make it impossible for civil society organisations to deliver much-needed humanitarian, development and peace-building support to people desperately in need.

The Independent understands that areas considered for prohibition are likely to overlap with those where the government already warns against all travel, which currently includes the whole of Syria, Yemen, Libya, parts of Iraq and other warzones.

Signatories, including the heads of charities including Christian Aid, ActionAid UK, Action Against Hunger, Bond and Oxfam, urged politicians to change the proposals.

They want aid workers, academics and journalists to be wholly exempt from the designated areas law.

 Isis fighters in Afghanistan are communicating with UK terror cells, defence secretary Gavin Williamson says

The draft bill, which is being considered by the House of Lords, has already drawn severe criticism from MPs who demanded substantial changes to prevent human rights breaches.

Last month the Joint Committee on Human Rights called for the deletion or amendment of the designated areas law.

Members said the clause, which is directed at Isis territories but could cover anywhere chosen by the home secretary, does not require harm or intent to cause it.

They noted that the law was added at the Commons report stage in September after the bill had undergone its first reading, leaving limited opportunity for scrutiny in the Commons.

Peers have proposed a series of amendments to clarify protections offered, including some supported by the Home Office.

Syria bombings: US, UK and French military air strikes wreckage Show all 13 1 /13 Syria bombings: US, UK and French military air strikes wreckage Syria bombings: US, UK and French military air strikes wreckage The wreckage of the Scientific Studies and Research Centre in the Barzeh district, north of Damascus, which was targeted by the US, UK and France air strikes. AFP/Getty Syria bombings: US, UK and French military air strikes wreckage A Syrian soldier films the damage of the Syrian Scientific Research Center surrounded by papers and rubble. AP Syria bombings: US, UK and French military air strikes wreckage Firefighrers extinguish smoke that rises from the damage. The Pentagon says none of the missiles filed by the U.S. and its allies was deflected by Syrian air defenses, rebutting claims by the Russian and Syrian governments. AP Syria bombings: US, UK and French military air strikes wreckage The wreckage of part of the Scientific Studies and Research Centre compound . AFP/Getty Syria bombings: US, UK and French military air strikes wreckage Part of a building collapsing, surrounded by the wreckage. AFP/Getty Syria bombings: US, UK and French military air strikes wreckage Further damaged to the Scientific Studies and Research Centre compound. AFP/Getty Syria bombings: US, UK and French military air strikes wreckage Lt. Gen. Kenneth McKenzie, the director of the Joint Staff at the Pentagon, also says there also is no indication that Russian air defense systems were employed early Saturday in Syria. AP Syria bombings: US, UK and French military air strikes wreckage A Syrian soldier sprays water on the wreckage. AFP/Getty Syria bombings: US, UK and French military air strikes wreckage Syrian state news agency SANA reported several missiles hit a research centre in Barzeh, north of Damascus, "destroying a building that included scientific labs and a training centre". AFP/Getty Syria bombings: US, UK and French military air strikes wreckage A Syrian soldier films the damage. AP Syria bombings: US, UK and French military air strikes wreckage Damage to the Scientific Research Center building that was hit by the strikes. EPA Syria bombings: US, UK and French military air strikes wreckage The Scientific Studies and Research Centre was one of the targeted buildings by the US, UK and France. AFP/Getty Syria bombings: US, UK and French military air strikes wreckage Further damage to the centre. EPA

Extremism minister Baroness Williams has tabled a series of changes to the designated areas law, listing reasonable excuses as providing aid of a humanitarian nature, carrying out government or military work, being a journalist, attending funerals, caring for relatives or appearing in court.

Another section says the exemption does not include the provision of aid in contravention of internationally recognised principles and standards.

The suggested amendments would make designations expire every three years, when the area covered would have to be reviewed.

Maryam Mohsin, of the Bond international development network, said aid workers should not have to start the process from a position of guilt.

They should be completely exempt, she told The Independent. They should not go through the process of being vulnerable to interrogation and being required to provide a reasonable excuse in the first place.

A Home Office spokesperson highlighted the amendments naming humanitarian work specifically as a defence.

The added: The offence already includes a reasonable excuse defence which will be available to individuals who travel to a designated area solely for a legitimate purpose.

The Counter-Terrorism and Border Security Bill would also make statements deemed to support a banned group illegal, broaden powers to stop and search people at borders without suspicion and limit access to a lawyer for those questioned and detained.

It would make accessing terrorist material online on just one occasion a criminal offence punishable by up to 15 years in prison.

The United Nations special rapporteur on the right to privacy has accused the government of straying towards thought crime and Max Hill QC, the former independent reviewer of terrorism legislation found it difficult to countenance.

A successor has not been appointed since Mr Hills departure to become the director of public prosecutions a month ago, and he raised concern about the gap in oversight as the bill is scrutinised.

Ben Wallace, the security minister, previously said intelligence services and police had made the case for an update of existing laws to meet their operational needs following last years wave of terror attacks and the Salisbury poisonings.

The number of live terror investigations are at a record high, although the majority of suspects are believed to be British citizens or long term UK residents.

Of around 900 jihadis known to have travelled to Syria and Iraq, the government estimates that 40 per cent have returned and 20 per cent have been killed in the region.
Theresa May has ducked two chances to say she can still win the crucial vote on her Brexit deal, amid mounting evidence that MPs will reject it

Speaking at the G20 summit, the prime minister appeared to concede that hopes are fading in Downing Street that the vote on 11 December could still go her way.

Asked can you turn it round, Ms May would only say that she was talking to colleagues about this vote.

And, pressed again, on whether you have a chance of winning this vote, she instead turned her fire on Labour for refusing to back her agreement.

The prime minister also refused to rule out staging a second vote to try to ram the agreement through the Commons, perhaps after heading back to Brussels to change it following a defeat.

The gloomy comments came as the number of Tory backbenchers threatening to vote against the deal hit 100  pointing to a crushing three-figure defeat in 12 days time.

Ms May was also speaking as EU leaders dismissed her suggestion that the agreement could still be renegotiated, insisting the choice was no-deal or no Brexit if MPs vote it down.

In TV interviews in Buenos Aires, she insisted the British people were warming to the deal, pointing to the message I get from members of the public.

I think it's that interest in constituents that MPs need to have in their minds too when they come to vote, she told the BBC.

But, asked if she could still win the vote, she replied: I am still working to ensure that when we come to the vote on December 11...., failing to complete the sentence.

Cabinet ministers resign over Brexit deal Show all 13 1 /13 Cabinet ministers resign over Brexit deal Cabinet ministers resign over Brexit deal Esther McVey Britain's Work and Pensions Secretary Esther McVey arrives to attend the weekly meeting of the cabinet at 10 Downing Street in London. - Britain's Work and Pensions Secretary Esther McVey resigned from the cabinet over draft Brexit deal AFP/Getty Cabinet ministers resign over Brexit deal PA Cabinet ministers resign over Brexit deal Dominic Raab British Brexit Secretary Dominic Raab give a press conference at the end of the final round of talks in Brexit negotiations at the European Commission in Brussels, Belgium EPA Cabinet ministers resign over Brexit deal PA Cabinet ministers resign over Brexit deal Rehman Chrishti Vice Chairman of the Conservative Party Rehman Chrishti tendered his resignation letter this afternoon PA Cabinet ministers resign over Brexit deal Cabinet ministers resign over Brexit deal Anne-Marie Trevelyan Parliamentary private secretary in the Department of Education Anne-Marie Trevelyan resigned stating that she cannot support the deal Cabinet ministers resign over Brexit deal PA Cabinet ministers resign over Brexit deal Sam Gyimah Universities minister Sam Gyimah resigned on November 30, claiming the government's decision to pull out of the EU's Galileo satellite navigation system as a deciding factor PA Cabinet ministers resign over Brexit deal Shailesh Vara Shailesh Vara who has quit as Minister of State for Northern Ireland, saying he cannot support Theresa May's Brexit agreement, which he said "leaves the UK in a halfway house with no time limit on when we will finally be a sovereign nation" PA Cabinet ministers resign over Brexit deal Cabinet ministers resign over Brexit deal Suella Braverman Brexit minister Suella Braverman has resigned, stating It is not what the British people, or my constituents, voted for in 2016. Cabinet ministers resign over Brexit deal Ranil Jayawardena Parliamentary private secretary to the ministry of justice Ranil Jayawardena resigned as he could not back the deal "in good conscience"

Instead, she attacked Jeremy Corbyn, saying: I think it's important for us all to be thinking of the national interest. Sadly, I see a Labour Party that is playing party politics with this.

We need to put the national interest first. That's about delivering on the Brexit vote, it's about doing it in a way that thinks about constituents, thinks about their jobs and their futures.

And, pressed on whether she would attempt to hold another vote, she replied: I'm focused on the vote that is taking place on 11 December and I want everybody who's going to participate, all members of parliament, to focus on what this vote does.

The prime minister was also asked whether her claims about a future independent trade policy and fishing rights were misleading.

On route to Argentina, she claimed the UK had already negotiated a good trade deal with the EU  despite the exit document having no agreed trading arrangements and no legal force.

There's nothing misleading about what we've agreed, Ms May insisted.

The political declaration is very clear - we will have an independent trade policy, we will be able to negotiate trade deals around the world.

We're also very clear that there is not going to be a longstanding role for the European Court of Justice in having jurisdiction in the United Kingdom. It won't. That will come to an end.

Asked by ITV News, if she risked your own MPs getting rid of you if you lose the vote?, she insisted: It's not about me. This is about what is in the national interest.
 Close Liam Fox says no-deal Brexit wouldn't be a 'walk in the park'

A no-deal Brexit wouldn't be a "disaster" but would also not be a "walk in the park", according to the cabinet minister Liam Fox who has offered his lukewarm backing for Theresa May's agreement.

The international trade secretary said the prime minister's deal offered the right "balance", but added he did not "for a second pretend to be enthusiastic" about the backstop - put in place as an insurance policy to prevent a hard border in Ireland.

The remarks from the prominent Brexiteer came as Ms May arrived in Buenos Aires for the G20 summit alongside other world leaders, including Donald Trump, Vladimir Putin, and the Saudi crown prince Mohammed bin Salman.

Before her scheduled meeting with the crown prince on Friday evening, the prime minister defended her decision to hold talks with the Saudi ruler, despite accusations he ordered the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

Im intending to speak with the crown prince of Saudi Arabia, she told reporters ahead of landing in Argentina.

The message that I will give will be the message that we have consistently given on this issue, but also on the issue of Yemen.

In relation to Mr Khashoggi, we want to see a full and transparent investigation in relation to what happened and those responsible held to account."

This liveblog is now closed, but you can see how the day's events unfolded above
The UK faces a potential 5bn bill for a new satellite navigation system, after Theresa May abandoned efforts to remain part of the EUs Galileo project after Brexit.

Britain may also lose 1.2bn already invested in the scheme after deciding to set up its own system for military use, according to an announcement made at the G20 summit in Argentina.

The estimated cost for the UK of building an alternative is 3bn to 5bn, although the government has declined to put a figure on the bill.

The move means the government has rejected the EUs offer for the armed forces to use Galileos secure systems, because the UK will be barred from decisions on its development.

It was attacked by Dominic Grieve, the former Conservative attorney general and supporter of the anti-Brexit Best for Britain group, who told The Independent: This news will leave most Britons lost.

Brexit was supposed to increase our strength and influence, yet here we are pulling out of a key project of great importance to our national security. To compound this disaster, we will have to pay out billions to replace the project.

But Ms May defended the decision, saying: Given the European Commissions decision to bar the UK from being fully involved in developing all aspects if Galileo, it is only right that we find alternatives.

I cannot let the armed forces depend on a system we cannot be sure of. That would not be in our national interest.

And, as a global player with world-class engineers and steadfast allies around the world we are not short of options.

 No deal or 'no Brexit at all' if MPs reject Theresa May agreement, EU president Donald Tusk says

The announcement came after the EU piled further pressure over Brexit, by rejecting the prime ministers surprise suggestion that her deal could be renegotiated, if MPs throw it out.

Donald Tusk, the European council president, said there was no other deal on offer and the only options were to leave with no deal  or to remain in the EU.

If this deal is rejected in the Commons, we are left with, as was already stressed a few weeks ago by prime minister May, an alternative. No deal or no Brexit at all. I want to reassure you that the EU is prepared for every scenario.

Meanwhile, the prime minister ducked two chances to say she can still win the crucial vote on her Brexit deal, amid mounting evidence that MPs will reject it on 11 December.

She also came under pressure to push harder for the truth behind the killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, after Emmanuel Macron demanded an international investigation.

Cabinet ministers resign over Brexit deal Show all 13 1 /13 Cabinet ministers resign over Brexit deal Cabinet ministers resign over Brexit deal Esther McVey Britain's Work and Pensions Secretary Esther McVey arrives to attend the weekly meeting of the cabinet at 10 Downing Street in London. - Britain's Work and Pensions Secretary Esther McVey resigned from the cabinet over draft Brexit deal AFP/Getty Cabinet ministers resign over Brexit deal PA Cabinet ministers resign over Brexit deal Dominic Raab British Brexit Secretary Dominic Raab give a press conference at the end of the final round of talks in Brexit negotiations at the European Commission in Brussels, Belgium EPA Cabinet ministers resign over Brexit deal PA Cabinet ministers resign over Brexit deal Rehman Chrishti Vice Chairman of the Conservative Party Rehman Chrishti tendered his resignation letter this afternoon PA Cabinet ministers resign over Brexit deal Cabinet ministers resign over Brexit deal Anne-Marie Trevelyan Parliamentary private secretary in the Department of Education Anne-Marie Trevelyan resigned stating that she cannot support the deal Cabinet ministers resign over Brexit deal PA Cabinet ministers resign over Brexit deal Sam Gyimah Universities minister Sam Gyimah resigned on November 30, claiming the government's decision to pull out of the EU's Galileo satellite navigation system as a deciding factor PA Cabinet ministers resign over Brexit deal Shailesh Vara Shailesh Vara who has quit as Minister of State for Northern Ireland, saying he cannot support Theresa May's Brexit agreement, which he said "leaves the UK in a halfway house with no time limit on when we will finally be a sovereign nation" PA Cabinet ministers resign over Brexit deal Cabinet ministers resign over Brexit deal Suella Braverman Brexit minister Suella Braverman has resigned, stating It is not what the British people, or my constituents, voted for in 2016. Cabinet ministers resign over Brexit deal Ranil Jayawardena Parliamentary private secretary to the ministry of justice Ranil Jayawardena resigned as he could not back the deal "in good conscience"

Confirming the Galileo pullout, Ms May did not explain which steadfast allies would help develop an alternative  but stressed the British system must be compatible with the US GPS system.

Australia has previously been suggested as a partner in the project, although Ms May has also insisted the UK has the ability to go it alone.

The latest move is the culmination of one of the bitterest Brexit disputes, after Brussels insisted full participation in Galileo was impossible for any third country.

Under EU rules, non-member states cannot be involved in the development of secret technology behind Galileos secure public regulated service (PRS), a military-grade signal.

 Emmanuel Macron and Mohammed Bin Salman meet at G20 in Argentina

British space companies have been blocked from contracts worth hundreds of millions, despite having been heavily involved in the development of the service.

In the summer, the government announced it was spending almost 100m on an 18-month study to develop the UKs own version of Galileo  a project that will not go ahead fully.

The UK would be allowed to use PRS with a security agreement, but had insisted it needed oversight of the secure technology and its future development to have confidence in it.

A failure of the service could cost the UK economy 1bn a day, with more than 11 per cent of the countrys GDP directly supported by it.

 Liam Fox says no-deal Brexit wouldn't be a 'walk in the park'

Dependable navigation and timing services are increasingly essential for defence, critical national infrastructure and emergency response, a UK official said.

The government and EU will still negotiate whether the UK can use Galileo for non-military purposes, as part of the future trade talks.

If those talks fail, the UK is likely to push for some reimbursal of its 1.2bn outlay, but with no guarantee of success.

The eventual cost of a replacement is likely to depend on which partners can be persuaded to take part in its development.
Councils have been given government backing to strip dangerous Grenfell Tower-style cladding from private high-rise homes.

The ban on using combustible cladding on new high-rise homes  as well as schools, care homes and student accommodation  will come into force on 21 December.

The new regulations were drawn up following a lengthy consultation in the wake of the disaster.

The ban covers all combustible materials on the external walls of new blocks of flats above 18 metres, as well as new hospitals, care homes, boarding school dormitories, student accommodation and government-built schools above the same height

The communities secretary, James Brokenshire, is also demanding owners of private residential tower blocks pay to remove dangerous aluminium composite material (ACM) cladding, similar to that blamed for the rapid spread of last years fire at Grenfell Tower on 14 June, which claimed 72 lives.

The government is already undertaking a 400m programme to remove similar materials from all high-rise social housing in England.

It is now giving local authorities its backing, including financial support, to carry out emergency work on private residential buildings with unsafe cladding.

They will also be able to recover the costs from the owners of the buildings and this will allow buildings to be made permanently safe without delay, the government said.

Grenfell Tower Inquiry: photos of inside the flat where fire began Show all 18 1 /18 Grenfell Tower Inquiry: photos of inside the flat where fire began Grenfell Tower Inquiry: photos of inside the flat where fire began Kitchen in flat 16 where the fire started Grenfell Tower Inquiry/PA Grenfell Tower Inquiry: photos of inside the flat where fire began The kitchen from flat 16 ReutersGrenfell Tower Inquiry/Reuters Grenfell Tower Inquiry: photos of inside the flat where fire began The kitchen from flat 16 PA Grenfell Tower Inquiry: photos of inside the flat where fire began Hallway in flat 16, leading to the kitchen where the fire started Grenfell Tower Inquiry/PA Grenfell Tower Inquiry: photos of inside the flat where fire began The kitchen from flat 16 Grenfell Tower Inquiry/PA Grenfell Tower Inquiry: photos of inside the flat where fire began The kitchen from flat 16 PA Grenfell Tower Inquiry: photos of inside the flat where fire began Bedroom in flat 16 Grenfell Tower Inquiry/PA Grenfell Tower Inquiry: photos of inside the flat where fire began Living room in flat 16 Grenfell Tower Inquiry/PA Grenfell Tower Inquiry: photos of inside the flat where fire began Toilet in flat 16 Grenfell Tower Inquiry/PA Grenfell Tower Inquiry: photos of inside the flat where fire began Living room in flat 16 Grenfell Tower Inquiry/PA Grenfell Tower Inquiry: photos of inside the flat where fire began Bedroom 2 of flat 16 Grenfell Tower Inquiry/Reuters Grenfell Tower Inquiry: photos of inside the flat where fire began Bedroom in flat 16 Grenfell Tower Inquiry/PA Grenfell Tower Inquiry: photos of inside the flat where fire began Bedroom 2 of flat 16 Grenfell Tower Inquiry/Reuters Grenfell Tower Inquiry: photos of inside the flat where fire began The kitchen from flat 16 Grenfell Tower Inquiry/PA Grenfell Tower Inquiry: photos of inside the flat where fire began Kitchen in flat 16 where the fire started Grenfell Tower Inquiry/PA Grenfell Tower Inquiry: photos of inside the flat where fire began Door to flat 16 from the lobby on floor 4 Grenfell Tower Inquiry/PA Grenfell Tower Inquiry: photos of inside the flat where fire began Living room in flat 16 Grenfell Tower Inquiry/PA Grenfell Tower Inquiry: photos of inside the flat where fire began Hallway in flat 16 Grenfell Tower Inquiry/PA

Everyone has a right to feel safe in their homes and I have repeatedly made clear that building owners and developers must replace dangerous ACM cladding. And the costs must not be passed on to leaseholders, Mr Brokenshire said. My message is clear  private building owners must pay for this work now or they should expect to pay more later.

A total of 457 high-rise buildings in England had been found to have unsafe ACM cladding by 12 October, according to Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government data.

They include 157 social residential buildings and nine publicly owned buildings, as well as 291 private sector buildings, including flats, hotels and student accommodation.

 Vulnerable residents information was 15 years out of date at the time of Grenfell Tower fire

Cladding has so far been removed from just 39 buildings, including 22 social sector high-rise buildings, and 17 from the private sector.

In the social sector, the government said work has started to remove cladding from 98 buildings, while plans are in place for another 33.

Work has started on 21 private buildings, with plans in place for 92 others, according to the latest data.

Additional reporting by Press Association
Prominent Brexiteer Liam Fox will attack opponents of Theresa Mays Brexit deal on Friday, as he publicly rows behind the arrangement the prime minister has agreed with the EU.

International trade secretary Dr Fox is set to accuse critics of failing to face up to the tough choices and compromises needed to reach an agreement with Brussels.

The public display of support from the minister, who was involved in the Vote Leave campaign, is a further boost for the PM, after fellow cabinet Brexiteer Andrea Leadsom weighed behind her deal on Thursday.

Recommended Talks over TV Brexit showdown descend into row between May and Corbyn

Dr Fox is also due to outline Britains future global trading role in a major speech, saying it is time to raise our sights, and acknowledge that there is a world beyond Europe, and a time beyond Brexit.

He is expected to say: The withdrawal agreement and the political declaration will not please everyone, and we have had some tough choices to make.

Choices which many in parliament, on both sides of the House, are yet to face up to.

But the deal weve reached will give us a firm and stable base on which to leave the EU and build this countrys global future, a future that still encompasses Europe, of course, but also the wide, fast-growing markets beyond, with all the opportunity that entails.

Dr Fox was among a group of five cabinet ministers said to be led by Ms Leadsom, that was seeking to tweak Ms Mays withdrawal agreement before MPs vote on it on 11 December.

 Britain will reverse Brexit and rejoin EU once 'new generation' is in charge, Guy Verhofstadt predicts

In a letter to constituents seen by the Daily Mail, Ms Leadsom said coming round to the PMs plan had been a challenging journey for her, but it was the only deal on the table, and meant the UK would quit the bloc in March.

In his speech, Dr Fox is also due to make an appeal for unity and a healing of political divisions caused by the referendum result, adding: In politics, we cannot always have the luxury of doing what we want for ourselves, but we have an abiding duty to do what is right for our country.

Statista

Days after cross-government economic analysis suggested growth after Brexit would be slower than if the UK stayed in the EU, he is due to strike an upbeat tone about jobs and exports.

He will say: At the time of the referendum, we were told that just voting to leave the EU would cause such an economic shock that wed lose half a million jobs, our investors would desert us, and we would require an emergency budget to deal with the ensuing fiscal imbalance.

Whats happened since? Weve added over 700,000 jobs to the economy, with more people finding work than at any time in the past 40 years.

 Chancellor Philip Hammond: Brexit deal has many critics but its the best plan available to protect the economy jobs and businesses

This upward trajectory shows no signs of slowing.

He is due to add: The government has made clear that we want to take a balanced approach to the question of our future trading prospects.

We need to maximise our access to the EU market, but without damaging our potential to benefit from emerging trade opportunities in other parts of the world.
Theresa May has defended holding talks with Saudi crown prince Mohammed bin Salman, despite accusations that he ordered the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

The prime minister confirmed the discussions would go ahead at the G20 summit in Argentina  where the prince is likely to be shunned by the likes of Angela Merkel and Emmanuel Macron.

The US Congress has demanded an investigation into whether bin Salman was behind Khashoggis murder, in the Saudi consulate in Turkey on 2 October.

Furthermore, an estimated 85,000 children under the age of five have died in Yemen from extreme hunger or disease since war broke out between a Saudi-led coalition and Iran-backed rebels.

Up to 14 million people are at risk of famine, blamed largely on the stranglehold the Saudis have imposed on the Yemeni economy.

Ms May has rebuffed widespread calls for the UK to end arms sales to the kingdom, insisting there are rigorous checks to ensure they are not used in any human rights abuses.

Jamal Khashoggi death: key figures Show all 7 1 /7 Jamal Khashoggi death: key figures Jamal Khashoggi death: key figures Jamal Khashoggi Washington Post journalist who was critical of the Saudi regime and the young Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, he was murdered on 2 October in the Saudi Arabian consulate in Istanbul AFP Jamal Khashoggi death: key figures Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman Heir to the Saudi throne, Mohammed bin Salman has been implicated in the murder, with US officials claiming that he must have known of the plot AFP/Getty Jamal Khashoggi death: key figures 15 man hit squad Turkish police suspect these 15 men of being involved in the murder of Jamal Khashoggi, issued 10 October, 8 days after the journalist disappeared EPA Jamal Khashoggi death: key figures Saud al-Qahtani Aide to Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Saud al-Qahtani is claimed to have ordered Khashoggi's murder Saud Al-Qahtani/Twitter Jamal Khashoggi death: key figures Maher Abdulaziz Mutreb A former diplomat who often travelled with the Crown Prince, Mutreb was initially claimed to be the leader of the hit squad and is pictured here entering the Saudi consulate on the day of the murder AP Jamal Khashoggi death: key figures Mustafa al-Madani First implicated in the 15 CCTV photos released by the Turkish police, al-Madani was later found to have been used as a body double for Khashoggi, leaving the Saudi consulate dressed in his clothes on the day the journalist was killed CNN Jamal Khashoggi death: key figures Salah bin Jamal Khashoggi (L) Son of the murdered journalist met with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on 23 October EPA

Im intending to speak with the crown prince of Saudi Arabia, she told reporters ahead of landing in Argentina.

The message that I will give will be the message that we have consistently given on this issue, but also on the issue of Yemen.

In relation to Mr Khashoggi, we want to see a full and transparent investigation in relation to what happened and those responsible held to account

On the issue of Yemen, we continue to be deeply concerned about the humanitarian situation. We will be encouraging all the parties to work for a political solution.

The comments came as Britains draft resolution seeking a ceasefire in Yemen was blocked at the United Nations.
Theresa May has hit out at Vladimir Putins aggression in Ukraine, ahead of the two leaders coming face-to-face at the G20 summit in Argentina.

The prime minister called on Russia to release the ships and the sailors it seized after the clashes off the coast of its neighbour.

Our message to Russia is very clear, they should release the ships and sailors, de-escalate the situation, she told reporters.

If you look at what we have seen just over the last year or so, this is part of a pattern of Russian behaviour.

We have always been at the forefront in the EU of calling for sanctions on Russia in relation to its behaviour. We will continue for what we consider to be appropriate sanctions on Russia.

Ms May pointed back to the message she delivered in her recent speech to the Lord Mayors banquet, adding: Russia could take a different road.

Russia could support the rules-based international system and if it did that its position would be a different one. It is choosing to continue with this pattern of behaviour.
Britains interests will be repeatedly and permanently hammered if it leaves the European Union under Theresa Mays Brexit plan, Sam Gyimah said as he became the seventh cabinet minister to resign over the agreement.

Stepping down from his post as universities minister, he said the governments plan was not in the British national interest and voting for it would set ourselves up for failure by surrendering our voice, our vote and our veto.

Britain will end up worse off, transformed from rule makers into rule takers, he said in a resignation letter which he posted to on his Facebook page. It is a democratic deficit and a loss of sovereignty the public will rightly never accept.

His departure underlines the uphill task the prime minister faces if she is to win the crunch vote in the Commons on the deal on 11 December.

Earlier, Ms May, in Argentina for the G20 summit, brushed off questions over whether she would resign if she was defeated in the Commons.

I have been asked these sorts of questions before, she told reporters.Im tempted to think the price of coming on one of these trips is asking questions about my future, because they come up every time and my answers arent going to change.

However the latest ministerial resignation by an MP who was among her early supporters for the leadership leaves her looking increasingly exposed.

Other senior ministers to resign include former Brexit secretary Dominic Raab, former work and pensions secretary Esther McVey and ex-Northern Ireland minister Shailesh Vara. A number of junior ministers also resigned over the deal.

Mr Gyimah said a deciding factor in his resignation was the EUs continued squabbling over the Galileo satellite navigation system.

Britain has given up efforts to gain access to the project for defence and critical national infrastructure purposes after being frozen out by Brussels because of Brexit.

It is unclear whether the UK will get back the 1.2bn already sunk into the project and could face a potential 5bn bill for a new system.

Cabinet ministers resign over Brexit deal Show all 13 1 /13 Cabinet ministers resign over Brexit deal Cabinet ministers resign over Brexit deal Esther McVey Britain's Work and Pensions Secretary Esther McVey arrives to attend the weekly meeting of the cabinet at 10 Downing Street in London. - Britain's Work and Pensions Secretary Esther McVey resigned from the cabinet over draft Brexit deal AFP/Getty Cabinet ministers resign over Brexit deal PA Cabinet ministers resign over Brexit deal Dominic Raab British Brexit Secretary Dominic Raab give a press conference at the end of the final round of talks in Brexit negotiations at the European Commission in Brussels, Belgium EPA Cabinet ministers resign over Brexit deal PA Cabinet ministers resign over Brexit deal Rehman Chrishti Vice Chairman of the Conservative Party Rehman Chrishti tendered his resignation letter this afternoon PA Cabinet ministers resign over Brexit deal Cabinet ministers resign over Brexit deal Anne-Marie Trevelyan Parliamentary private secretary in the Department of Education Anne-Marie Trevelyan resigned stating that she cannot support the deal Cabinet ministers resign over Brexit deal PA Cabinet ministers resign over Brexit deal Sam Gyimah Universities minister Sam Gyimah resigned on November 30, claiming the government's decision to pull out of the EU's Galileo satellite navigation system as a deciding factor PA Cabinet ministers resign over Brexit deal Shailesh Vara Shailesh Vara who has quit as Minister of State for Northern Ireland, saying he cannot support Theresa May's Brexit agreement, which he said "leaves the UK in a halfway house with no time limit on when we will finally be a sovereign nation" PA Cabinet ministers resign over Brexit deal Cabinet ministers resign over Brexit deal Suella Braverman Brexit minister Suella Braverman has resigned, stating It is not what the British people, or my constituents, voted for in 2016. Cabinet ministers resign over Brexit deal Ranil Jayawardena Parliamentary private secretary to the ministry of justice Ranil Jayawardena resigned as he could not back the deal "in good conscience"

Mr Gyimah said we shouldnt dismiss out of hand the idea of asking the people again what future they want, as we all now have a better understanding of the potential paths before us.

The Independent has launched its Final Say campaign to demand voters are given a voice on the final Brexit deal.

The East Surrey MP said there is a mountain to climb, and we are still in the foothills and warned our interests will be repeatedly and permanently hammered by the EU27 for many years to come.

He added that her compromise agreement would not bring the country back together as she hoped and he urged her not to dismiss out of hand the option of a second referendum.

What is being presented to the public as a sensible compromise Brexit deal, a 52/48 Brexit as some call it, will not bring closure or heal the divisions of Brexit, he said. In the fullness of time, the public will wake up to what this so-called deal entails; neither leave nor remain voters will be pleased with a deal that leaves us poorer, less secure and weaker in the pursuit of our national interests.

 No deal or 'no Brexit at all' if MPs reject Theresa May agreement, EU president Donald Tusk says

Responding to his resignation, Liberal Democrat education spokesman, Layla Moran said: This government is falling apart and the decision must be taken back to the public. We know May cant win on the 11th, Sam Gyimah shows us that her deal cant even convince those closest to her.

As universities and science minister Sam Gyimah will have seen at close quarters the devastating effect this botched Brexit will have on these important sectors. He should be applauded for his actions today and for also not discounting a Peoples Vote.

The prime minister received support from environment secretary Michael Gove  one of the leaders of the Leave campaign  who urged Tory Brexiteers to get behind the agreement.

In an article for the Daily Mail, he warned that Brexit could be in peril if the agreement was voted down.

Does the deal deliver 100 per cent of what I wanted? No, he wrote. But then we didnt win 100 per cent of the vote ... You cant always get everything that you want.
Theresa May has refused to rule out quitting rather than be forced to deliver a Final Say Brexit referendum, if MPs vote for it in historic Commons clashes over the next few weeks.

The prime minister said she viewed it as a matter of trust to deliver the referendum result and to leave the EU  implying she might step down if parliament chose to throw the issue back to the public.

Speaking to The Independent, on route to the G20 summit in Argentina, Ms May declined  three times  to commit to staying on as prime minister, if ordered by MPs to deliver a fresh public vote.

We, as a parliament, gave people in this country the decision about whether or not to leave the European Union, she said.

They voted on that  they voted to leave. I think it is matter of trust in politicians that we then deliver on that vote.

The comments come after Ms May accepted that MPs will have the opportunity to opt for a Peoples Vote, when her Brexit agreement comes to the Commons.

During Prime Ministers Questions, she argued it would require an extension to the Article 50 period, beyond next March  but appeared to accept power rests with parliament. Labours John McDonnell has said he now views its support as inevitable.

MPs will vote on the Brexit deal on 11 December, with the prospect of multiple attempts to amend it if  as expected  it crashes to a heavy defeat.

Asked if she would stay on to deliver a fresh referendum, if backed by MPs, she replied: Im very clear that I dont think there should be another referendum.

Asked a third time to rule out resigning in those circumstances, she said: Im focusing on the result of the vote.

The prime minister also refused to accept that defeat was now certain, with almost 100 Tory MPs having spoken out in opposition, saying: We havent had the vote yet.

She was urging MPs to recognise that her deal delivered on the referendum result in a way that protects the union, in a way that protects jobs, in a way that protects our security.

Ms May also turned her fire on Labour for opposing the backstop plan she has struck with Brussels to prevent the return of a hard border in Ireland.

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

By appearing to reject a temporary backstop, they are effectively advocating a no deal, because without a backstop there is no deal, she argued.

However, Labours amendment to the meaningful vote explicitly rules out a no-deal Brexit and calls on other parties to back that stance.

Ms May also insisted she was winning support from the public for her Brexit plan, on her nationwide tour.

They recognise the importance of this deal and are supporting this deal, she argued.

And she urged the UK to unite behind it, saying: A divided country is not one that prospers  its important that we come together and actually look to our future outside the EU.
Scientists believe they might have to rewrite parts of human evolutionary history after new archaeological evidence suggested early peoples ancestors first arrived in north Africa about 600,000 years earlier than previously thought.

The discovery of a collection of ancient stone tools in Algeria has raised questions over east Africas title as the cradle of humanity.

The findings point to evidence of human life in Algeria, north Africa, 2.4 million years ago, according to the research published in the journal Science.

Until now, the oldest known tools from the region were 1.8 million years old.

Archaeologists say it means that either the first humans expanded rapidly from their east African homeland or humans emerged simultaneously across a vast region of the continent.

Earlier this year scientists discovered an ancient species of human with a brain no larger than an orange but with high intelligence, leading to suggestions that long-held beliefs about the evolution of our brains were fundamentally wrong and much of Africas archaeology should be reconsidered.

The excavations at the Ain Boucherit site in north-eastern Algeria have been going on since 1992 to discover more about the earliest representative of the Homo genus.

The tools, said to be typical of the Oldowan stone tools already known of in east Africa, were unearthed near dozens of fossilised animal bones, with cut marks on them, from early crocodiles, elephants and hippopotamuses, and archaeologists think this could be evidence of meat-eating.

The discovery comes as scientists have concluded that human evolution  a gradual change to the DNA of a species over many generations  is still happening, and possibly faster than ever.

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The report in Science said of the archaeological find: East Africa is widely considered to be the birthplace of stone tool use by our ancient hominid ancestors  the earliest examples of which date as far back as about 2.6 million years ago.

One hypothesis is that our early ancestors quickly carried stone tools with them out of east Africa and into other regions. Another is a multiple-origin scenario in which early hominids made and used tools in both east and north Africa.

Prof Mohamed Sahnouni at the National Research Centre on Human Evolution in Spain, who led the research, said: The evidence from Algeria shows that the cradle of humankind was not restricted to only east Africa. Rather the entire African continent was the cradle of humankind.

The discoveries were made in two layers, one dating to 2.4 million years ago and the second dating to 1.9 million years old.

Science news in pictures Show all 20 1 /20 Science news in pictures Science news in pictures Pluto has 'beating heart' of frozen nitrogen Pluto has a 'beating heart' of frozen nitrogen that is doing strange things to its surface, Nasa has found. The mysterious core seems to be the cause of features on its surface that have fascinated scientists since they were spotted by Nasa's New Horizons mission. "Before New Horizons, everyone thought Pluto was going to be a netball - completely flat, almost no diversity," said Tanguy Bertrand, an astrophysicist and planetary scientist at NASA's Ames Research Center and the lead author on the new study. "But it's completely different. It has a lot of different landscapes and we are trying to understand what's going on there." Getty Science news in pictures Over 400 species discovered this year by Natural History Museum The ancient invertabrate worm-like species rhenopyrgus viviani (pictured) is one of over 400 species previously unknown to science that were discovered by experts at the Natural History Museum this year PA Science news in pictures Jackdaws can identify 'dangerous' humans Jackdaws can identify dangerous humans from listening to each others warning calls, scientists say. The highly social birds will also remember that person if they come near their nests again, according to researchers from the University of Exeter. In the study, a person unknown to the wild jackdaws approached their nest. At the same time scientists played a recording of a warning call (threatening) or contact calls (non-threatening). The next time jackdaws saw this same person, the birds that had previously heard the warning call were defensive and returned to their nests more than twice as quickly on average. Getty Science news in pictures Turtle embryos influence sex by shaking The sex of the turtle is determined by the temperatures at which they are incubated. Warm temperatures favour females. But by wiggling around the egg, embryos can find the Goldilocks Zone which means they are able to shield themselves against extreme thermal conditions and produce a balanced sex ratio, according to the new study published in Current Biology journal Ye et al/Current Biology Science news in pictures Elephant poaching rates drop in Africa African elephant poaching rates have dropped by 60 per cent in six years, an international study has found. It is thought the decline could be associated with the ivory trade ban introduced in China in 2017. Reuters Science news in pictures Ancient four-legged whale discovered in Peru Scientists have identified a four-legged creature with webbed feet to be an ancestor of the whale. Fossils unearthed in Peru have led scientists to conclude that the enormous creatures that traverse the planets oceans today are descended from small hoofed ancestors that lived in south Asia 50 million years ago A. Gennari Science news in pictures Animal with transient anus discovered A scientist has stumbled upon a creature with a transient anus that appears only when it is needed, before vanishing completely. Dr Sidney Tamm of the Marine Biological Laboratory could not initially find any trace of an anus on the species. However, as the animal gets full, a pore opens up to dispose of waste Steven G Johnson Science news in pictures Giant bee spotted Feared extinct, the Wallace's Giant bee has been spotted for the first time in nearly 40 years. An international team of conservationists spotted the bee, that is four times the size of a typical honeybee, on an expedition to a group of Indonesian Islands Clay Bolt Science news in pictures New mammal species found inside crocodile Fossilised bones digested by crocodiles have revealed the existence of three new mammal species that roamed the Cayman Islands 300 years ago. The bones belonged to two large rodent species and a small shrew-like animal New Mexico Museum of Natural History Science news in pictures Fabric that changes according to temperature created Scientists at the University of Maryland have created a fabric that adapts to heat, expanding to allow more heat to escape the body when warm and compacting to retain more heat when cold Faye Levine, University of Maryland Science news in pictures Baby mice tears could be used in pest control A study from the University of Tokyo has found that the tears of baby mice cause female mice to be less interested in the sexual advances of males Getty Science news in pictures Final warning to limit "climate catastrophe" The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has issued a report which projects the impact of a rise in global temperatures of 1.5 degrees Celsius and warns against a higher increase Getty Science news in pictures Nobel prize for evolution chemists The nobel prize for chemistry has been awarded to three chemists working with evolution. Frances Smith is being awarded the prize for her work on directing the evolution of enzymes, while Gregory Winter and George Smith take the prize for their work on phage display of peptides and antibodies Getty/AFP Science news in pictures Nobel prize for laser physicists The nobel prize for physics has been awarded to three physicists working with lasers. Arthur Ashkin (L) was awarded for his "optical tweezers" which use lasers to grab particles, atoms, viruses and other living cells. Donna Strickland and Gerard Mourou were jointly awarded the prize for developing chirped-pulse amplification of lasers Reuters/AP Science news in pictures Discovery of a new species of dinosaur The Ledumahadi Mafube roamed around 200 million years ago in what is now South Africa. Recently discovered by a team of international scientists, it was the largest land animal of its time, weighing 12 tons and standing at 13 feet. In Sesotho, the South African language of the region in which the dinosaur was discovered, its name means "a giant thunderclap at dawn" Viktor Radermacher / SWNS Science news in pictures Birth of a planet Scientists have witnessed the birth of a planet for the first time ever. This spectacular image from the SPHERE instrument on ESO's Very Large Telescope is the first clear image of a planet caught in the very act of formation around the dwarf star PDS 70. The planet stands clearly out, visible as a bright point to the right of the center of the image, which is blacked out by the coronagraph mask used to block the blinding light of the central star. ESO/A. Muller et al Science news in pictures New human organ discovered that was previously missed by scientists Layers long thought to be dense, connective tissue are actually a series of fluid-filled compartments researchers have termed the interstitium. These compartments are found beneath the skin, as well as lining the gut, lungs, blood vessels and muscles, and join together to form a network supported by a mesh of strong, flexible proteins Getty Science news in pictures Previously unknown society lived in Amazon rainforest before Europeans arrived, say archaeologists Working in the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso, a team led by archaeologists at the University of Exeter unearthed hundreds of villages hidden in the depths of the rainforest. These excavations included evidence of fortifications and mysterious earthworks called geoglyphs Jose Iriarte Science news in pictures One in 10 people have traces of cocaine or heroin on fingerprints, study finds More than one in 10 people were found to have traces of class A drugs on their fingers by scientists developing a new fingerprint-based drug test. Using sensitive analysis of the chemical composition of sweat, researchers were able to tell the difference between those who had been directly exposed to heroin and cocaine, and those who had encountered it indirectly. Getty Science news in pictures Nasa releases stunning images of Jupiter's great red spot The storm bigger than the Earth, has been swhirling for 350 years. The image's colours have been enhanced after it was sent back to Earth. Pictures by: Tom Momary

Successful earlier hominins were beginning to disappear as early species of Homo were taking over, and Prof Sahnouni suspects the tools were made by one of these.

This new discovery modifies our understanding of the timing and diffusion of the Oldowan stone tool technology throughout Africa and outside the continent, said Prof Sahnouni and colleague Mathieu Duval in a joint article.

But anthropologist Jessica Thompson, of Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia, who wasnt involved in the study, was not convinced that the animal bones are covered in cut marks. She said researchers struggled to identify unambiguous cut marks on ancient bones because natural processes might scratch the surface of bones in a similar way.

Additional reporting by agencies
 Close Employees of Nesbett Courthouse take shelter during Anchorage earthquake in Alaska

A 7.0 magnitude earthquake has struck near the city of Anchorage in Alaska, causing major damage to a number of roads and buildings.

A tsunami warning was issued for parts of the state but officials later cancelled it, as residents began posting videos of ceiling tiles falling and furniture rumbling in the quake.

Former governor Sarah Palin was among those who say their homes have been damaged, but she tweeted that her family was safe in spite of the damage to her home.

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Scientists say that this particular earthquake was caused by two tectonic plates moving apart, and images of roadways show areas where roads simply collapsed in place as if the ground had been moved out from underneath.

No deaths were reported from the earthquake, but President Donald Trump did weigh in to say that the state has the full support of the American government for any recovery needs.

"To the Great people of Alaska. You have been hit hard by a 'big one'", Mr Trump tweeted from Argentina, where he is attending the G20 summit. "Please follow the directions of the highly trained professionals who are there to help you. Your Federal Government will spare no expense. God Bless you ALL"!

World news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 World news in pictures World news in pictures 30 September 2020 Pope Francis prays with priests at the end of a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 29 September 2020 A girl's silhouette is seen from behind a fabric in a tent along a beach by Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 September 2020 A Chinese woman takes a photo of herself in front of a flower display dedicated to frontline health care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic in Beijing, China. China will celebrate national day marking the founding of the People's Republic of China on October 1st Getty World news in pictures 27 September 2020 The Glass Mountain Inn burns as the Glass Fire moves through the area in St. Helena, California. The fast moving Glass fire has burned over 1,000 acres and has destroyed homes Getty World news in pictures 26 September 2020 A villager along with a child offers prayers next to a carcass of a wild elephant that officials say was electrocuted in Rani Reserve Forest on the outskirts of Guwahati, India AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 September 2020 The casket of late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is seen in Statuary Hall in the US Capitol to lie in state in Washington, DC AFP via Getty World news in pictures 24 September 2020 An anti-government protester holds up an image of a pro-democracy commemorative plaque at a rally outside Thailand's parliament in Bangkok, as activists gathered to demand a new constitution AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 September 2020 A whale stranded on a beach in Macquarie Harbour on the rugged west coast of Tasmania, as hundreds of pilot whales have died in a mass stranding in southern Australia despite efforts to save them, with rescuers racing to free a few dozen survivors The Mercury/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 22 September 2020 State civil employee candidates wearing face masks and shields take a test in Surabaya AFP via Getty World news in pictures 21 September 2020 A man sweeps at the Taj Mahal monument on the day of its reopening after being closed for more than six months due to the coronavirus pandemic AP World news in pictures 20 September 2020 A deer looks for food in a burnt area, caused by the Bobcat fire, in Pearblossom, California EPA World news in pictures 19 September 2020 Anti-government protesters hold their mobile phones aloft as they take part in a pro-democracy rally in Bangkok. Tens of thousands of pro-democracy protesters massed close to Thailand's royal palace, in a huge rally calling for PM Prayut Chan-O-Cha to step down and demanding reforms to the monarchy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 September 2020 Supporters of Iraqi Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr maintain social distancing as they attend Friday prayers after the coronavirus disease restrictions were eased, in Kufa mosque, near Najaf, Iraq Reuters World news in pictures 17 September 2020 A protester climbs on The Triumph of the Republic at 'the Place de la Nation' as thousands of protesters take part in a demonstration during a national day strike called by labor unions asking for better salary and against jobs cut in Paris, France EPA World news in pictures 16 September 2020 A fire raging near the Lazzaretto of Ancona in Italy. The huge blaze broke out overnight at the port of Ancona. Firefighters have brought the fire under control but they expected to keep working through the day EPA World news in pictures 15 September 2020 Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny posing for a selfie with his family at Berlin's Charite hospital. In an Instagram post he said he could now breathe independently following his suspected poisoning last month Alexei Navalny/Instagram/AFP World news in pictures 14 September 2020 Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, former Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba and former Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida celebrate after Suga was elected as new head of the ruling party at the Liberal Democratic Party's leadership election in Tokyo Reuters World news in pictures 13 September 2020 A man stands behind a burning barricade during the fifth straight day of protests against police brutality in Bogota AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 September 2020 Police officers block and detain protesters during an opposition rally to protest the official presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus. Daily protests calling for the authoritarian president's resignation are now in their second month AP World news in pictures 11 September 2020 Members of 'Omnium Cultural' celebrate the 20th 'Festa per la llibertat' ('Fiesta for the freedom') to mark the Day of Catalonia in Barcelona. Omnion Cultural fights for the independence of Catalonia EPA World news in pictures 10 September 2020 The Moria refugee camp, two days after Greece's biggest migrant camp, was destroyed by fire. Thousands of asylum seekers on the island of Lesbos are now homeless AFP via Getty World news in pictures 9 September 2020 Pope Francis takes off his face mask as he arrives by car to hold a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 8 September 2020 A home is engulfed in flames during the "Creek Fire" in the Tollhouse area of California AFP via Getty World news in pictures 7 September 2020 A couple take photos along a sea wall of the waves brought by Typhoon Haishen in the eastern port city of Sokcho AFP via Getty World news in pictures 6 September 2020 Novak Djokovic and a tournament official tends to a linesperson who was struck with a ball by Djokovic during his match against Pablo Carreno Busta at the US Open USA Today Sports/Reuters World news in pictures 5 September 2020 Protesters confront police at the Shrine of Remembrance in Melbourne, Australia, during an anti-lockdown rally AFP via Getty World news in pictures 4 September 2020 A woman looks on from a rooftop as rescue workers dig through the rubble of a damaged building in Beirut. A search began for possible survivors after a scanner detected a pulse one month after the mega-blast at the adjacent port AFP via Getty World news in pictures 3 September 2020 A full moon next to the Virgen del Panecillo statue in Quito, Ecuador EPA World news in pictures 2 September 2020 A Palestinian woman reacts as Israeli forces demolish her animal shed near Hebron in the Israeli-occupied West Bank Reuters World news in pictures 1 September 2020 Students protest against presidential elections results in Minsk TUT.BY/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 31 August 2020 The pack rides during the 3rd stage of the Tour de France between Nice and Sisteron AFP via Getty World news in pictures 30 August 2020 Law enforcement officers block a street during a rally of opposition supporters protesting against presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus Reuters World news in pictures 29 August 2020 A woman holding a placard reading "Stop Censorship - Yes to the Freedom of Expression" shouts in a megaphone during a protest against the mandatory wearing of face masks in Paris. Masks, which were already compulsory on public transport, in enclosed public spaces, and outdoors in Paris in certain high-congestion areas around tourist sites, were made mandatory outdoors citywide on August 28 to fight the rising coronavirus infections AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 August 2020 Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe bows to the national flag at the start of a press conference at the prime minister official residence in Tokyo. Abe announced he will resign over health problems, in a bombshell development that kicks off a leadership contest in the world's third-largest economy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 27 August 2020 Residents take cover behind a tree trunk from rubber bullets fired by South African Police Service (SAPS) in Eldorado Park, near Johannesburg, during a protest by community members after a 16-year old boy was reported dead AFP via Getty World news in pictures 26 August 2020 People scatter rose petals on a statue of Mother Teresa marking her 110th birth anniversary in Ahmedabad AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 August 2020 An aerial view shows beach-goers standing on salt formations in the Dead Sea near Ein Bokeq, Israel Reuters World news in pictures 24 August 2020 Health workers use a fingertip pulse oximeter and check the body temperature of a fisherwoman inside the Dharavi slum during a door-to-door Covid-19 coronavirus screening in Mumbai AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 August 2020 People carry an idol of the Hindu god Ganesh, the deity of prosperity, to immerse it off the coast of the Arabian sea during the Ganesh Chaturthi festival in Mumbai, India Reuters World news in pictures 22 August 2020 Firefighters watch as flames from the LNU Lightning Complex fires approach a home in Napa County, California AP World news in pictures 21 August 2020 Members of the Israeli security forces arrest a Palestinian demonstrator during a rally to protest against Israel's plan to annex parts of the occupied West Bank AFP via Getty World news in pictures 20 August 2020 A man pushes his bicycle through a deserted road after prohibitory orders were imposed by district officials for a week to contain the spread of the Covid-19 in Kathmandu AFP via Getty World news in pictures 19 August 2020 A car burns while parked at a residence in Vacaville, California. Dozens of fires are burning out of control throughout Northern California as fire resources are spread thin AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 August 2020 Students use their mobile phones as flashlights at an anti-government rally at Mahidol University in Nakhon Pathom. Thailand has seen near-daily protests in recent weeks by students demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha AFP via Getty World news in pictures 17 August 2020 Members of the Kayapo tribe block the BR163 highway during a protest outside Novo Progresso in Para state, Brazil. Indigenous protesters blocked a major transamazonian highway to protest against the lack of governmental support during the COVID-19 novel coronavirus pandemic and illegal deforestation in and around their territories AFP via Getty World news in pictures 16 August 2020 Lightning forks over the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge as a storm passes over Oakland AP World news in pictures 15 August 2020 Belarus opposition supporters gather near the Pushkinskaya metro station where Alexander Taraikovsky, a 34-year-old protester died on August 10, during their protest rally in central Minsk AFP via Getty World news in pictures 14 August 2020 AlphaTauri's driver Daniil Kvyat takes part in the second practice session at the Circuit de Catalunya in Montmelo near Barcelona ahead of the Spanish F1 Grand Prix AFP via Getty World news in pictures 13 August 2020 Soldiers of the Brazilian Armed Forces during a disinfection of the Christ The Redeemer statue at the Corcovado mountain prior to the opening of the touristic attraction in Rio AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 August 2020 Young elephant bulls tussle playfully on World Elephant Day at the Amboseli National Park in Kenya AFP via Getty

Mr Trump stopped short of issuing a disaster declaration for the state, but Alaska Governor Bill Walker said that he is in contact with the White House for recovery as things proceed.

"From the incident command centre established at Joint Base Elmendorf and Richardson we are closely monitoring reports of aftershocks and assessing damage to roads, bridges and buildings," Mr Walker wrote on Facebook announcing a state disaster declaration. "My family is praying for yours. God bless Alaska".

Read along for live updates as they happened on Friday

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The trial of the man who killed one person after ramming his car into a crowd of counter protesters last year at a white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia has begun, with prosecutors telling jurors the accused had every intention of causing harm when he slammed down on his cars accelerator.

It was willful, premeditated murder, Nina Alice-Antony, the prosecutor said of 21-year-old James Fields.

Mr. Fields faces charges of first-degree murder, malicious wounding, and failure to stop at an accident involving a death. He has pleaded not guilty. The defendent has also been charged in federal court on hate crime charges, in which the death penalty could be imposed.

Mr Fields attorney claimed his client feared for his life in the moments that led up to the death of Heather Heyer last August in an incident that sent shock waves around the country and sparked a national debate about white supremacist groups in the US.

You will hear James tell officers he feared for his safety, John Hill said. Mr Fields told officers he had been fearful for his life before he accelerated into the crowd. He was scared to death.

Ms Heyers death capped two days of protests in Charlottesville last August, where hundreds of white supremacists descended to protest the planned removal of a Confederate statue from a public park as a part of the Unite the Right rally. Those demonstrations brought demonstrators who marched on the University of Virginia campus with lit tiki torches while shouting white supremacist and antisemitic chants.

Those demonstrations attracted a considerable counter-demonstration  a group that included 32-year-old Ms Heyer  who had congregated peacefully on a street when the driving attack took place, leaving Heyer dead alongside several others who were injured.

Charlottesville one year on Show all 15 1 /15 Charlottesville one year on Charlottesville one year on Mary Grace, from Durham, North Carolina, walks through the downtown mall area August 11, 2018 in Charlottesville, Virginia. Charlottesville has been declared in a state of emergency by Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam as the city braces for the one year anniversary of the deadly clash between white supremacist forces and counter protesters over the potential removal of Confederate statues of Robert E. Lee and Jackson. A "Unite the Right" rally featuring some of the same groups is planned for tomorrow in Washington, DC. Getty Charlottesville one year on Chris Jessee (R) hands out placards to people visiting downtown Charlottesville as the city marks the anniversary of last year's 'Unite the Right rally' in Charlottesville, Virginia, USA, 11 August 2018. On 12 August 2017, a bloody clash between white supremacists and counterprotestors in Charlottesville left three people dead and dozens injured Getty Charlottesville one year on A member of the Virginia State Police waits outside the park where a statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee is located August 11, 2018 in Charlottesville, Virginia. Charlottesville has been declared in a state of emergency by Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam as the city braces for the one year anniversary of a deadly clash between white supremacist forces and counter protesters over the potential removal of Confederate statues of Robert E. Lee and Jackson. A "Unite the Right" rally featuring some of the same groups is planned for tomorrow in Washington, DC Reuters Charlottesville one year on A woman displays a shirt ahead of the one-year anniversary of 2017 Charlottesville "Unite the Right" protests, in Charlottesville, Virginia, U.S., August 10, 2018. Reuters Charlottesville one year on A sign reading "Strength, which was taken down at the request of police officers, hangs by the statue of Civil War Confederate General Robert E. Lee, ahead of the one-year anniversary of 2017 Charlottesville "Unite the Right" protests, in Charlottesville, Virginia, U.S., August 10, 2018. Reuters Charlottesville one year on Law enforcement arrives ahead of the one year anniversary of 2017 Charlottesville "Unite the Right" protests, in Charlottesville, Virginia, U.S., August 10, 2018 Reuters Charlottesville one year on A vendor displays wares on the mall as State Police lock down the downtown area in anticipation of the anniversary of last year's Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Va., Saturday, Aug. 11, 2018. The Governor has declared a state of emergency in Charlottesville AP Charlottesville one year on A Police bike patrol takes a break in the downtown area in anticipation of the anniversary of last year's Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Va., Saturday, Aug. 11, 2018. State and local authorities framed the weekend's heightened security as a necessary precaution. AP Charlottesville one year on State Police arrest a local resident, John Miska, in the locked down downtown area in Charlottesville, Va., Saturday, Aug. 11, 2018. Miska purchased razor blades, which are banned items, in a downtown drugstore. On the the anniversary of white supremacist violence, state and local authorities framed the weekend's heightened security as a necessary precaution. AP Charlottesville one year on State Police escort local resident, John Miska, red hat, after he was arrested in the locked down downtown area in Charlottesville, Va., Saturday, Aug. 11, 2018. Miska purchased razor blades, which are banned items, in a downtown drugstore. On the the anniversary of white supremacist violence, state and local authorities framed the weekend's heightened security as a necessary precaution. AP Charlottesville one year on A group Anti-fascism demonstrators, march in the downtown area in anticipation of the anniversary of last year's Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Va., Saturday, AP Charlottesville one year on A group anti-fascism demonstrators march in the downtown area in anticipation of the anniversary of last year's Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Va., AP Charlottesville one year on People receive first-aid after a car accident ran into a crowd of protesters in Charlottesville, VA on August 12, 2017. A vehicle plowed into a crowd of people Saturday at a Virginia rally where violence erupted between white nationalist demonstrators and counter-protesters, witnesses said, causing an unclear number of injuries AFP/Getty Charlottesville one year on Alt-right rally members in Lee Park in Charlottesville, VA on Saturday August 12, 2017 White nationalist 'Unite the Right' rally, Charlottesville, USA Rex Charlottesville one year on A counter protester who got hit with a stick by alt-right member covered with blood on his face in Lee Park in Charlottesville, Rex

President Donald Trump was heavily criticised for his response to the violence after he said there were very fine people on both sides, seemingly equating the white nationalists with those who demonstrated against them.

In a series of statements, the president changed his tune over the span of several days before suggesting during a press conference that removing Confederate statues may not be prudent because doing so would mark precedent for removing statues of non-Confederate historical figures, including American founding fathers.

Those remarks left enough a mark on the grieving mother of Ms Heyer, Susan Bro, who refused to return phone calls from the White House after the presidents remarks.

While the events in Charlottesville shocked the US, the so-called alt-right movement that rallied the white supremacists last year appears to have lost steam. On the year anniversary of the rally, in August, just dozens of white supremacists turned up at an anniversary rally in Washington to mark the occasion.

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Fields case is being heard by a jury of nine women and seven men. One African-American juror is on the bench. The trial is expected to last roughly three weeks.

The trial continues.
Week three of the high-profile trial of alleged drug kingpin Joaquin El Chapo Guzman has brought fresh allegations and intrigue as the government makes its case against the man accused of running a multi-billion dollar drug empire.

Guzman is facing trial in New York City after being extradited from Mexico, where he managed to escape federal prisons on two occasions.

The trial has testimony of alleged assassination attempts, alleged bribes, and huge shipments of cocaine from Colombia to Mexico and into the US. Meanwhile, Guzman, who was once on the Forbes list of richest people in the world, is now wearing cheap suits as he faces trial in Brooklyn.

Former friend and associate Miguel Angel Martinez told court Guzman tried to kill him

Martinez, a former cartel member, testified that he believes Guzman attempted to have him killed four times in a variety of ways since 1998.

At the time of the murder attempts, Martinez was in Mexican jails and said he was fighting extradition to the United States on drug trafficking charges. The attacks included several stabbings that Martinez managed to survive, and one incident in which allegedly grenades were detonated in his cell that he also survived.

Inside Mexicos top drug lord El Chapos hideout Show all 4 1 /4 Inside Mexicos top drug lord El Chapos hideout Inside Mexicos top drug lord El Chapos hideout Inside El Chapo's hideout Pictures reveal how the Mexican drug lord had been living since his escape Getty Inside Mexicos top drug lord El Chapos hideout Inside El Chapo's hideout The inside of a house searched by marine special forces where Guzman was hiding Getty Inside Mexicos top drug lord El Chapos hideout Inside El Chapo's hideout Inside a house searched by marine special forces during the military operation to recapture Guzman Getty Inside Mexicos top drug lord El Chapos hideout El Chapo's attempted escape A marine stands guard next to a manhole of the sewer system through which drug kingpin Joaquin 'El Chapo' Guzman tried to escape Getty

The sensitive nature of the testimony was met with a rare barring of courtroom sketches of the witness, who has been under US protection and custody for 18 years now, and said that he remained loyal to the alleged drug kingpin until the murder attempts were made.

During his testimony, Martinez said that he recalled hearing other inmates in jails sharpening shivs or knives before attacks, and that other inmates had asked him his shoe size in anticipation of vacant kicks following his death. On the night before the attack that involved grenades, he said, a band played a Mexican corrido  or story song  outside of the prison walls with lyrics saying to live your life intensely, because the only thing you take with you is a bunch of soil.

Government witness alleges massive bribe payouts  and cocaine shipments

When business was good, cocaine shipments from Columbia to Mexico were so big that Guzman was able to pay multi-million dollar bribes to a powerful police commander, Martinez told court on Monday.

The shipments were called parties by Guzman, and the largest shipment Martinez said he ever saw came on a fleet of 10 planes that were carrying hundreds of kilos and landed on a hidden airstrip. Martinez worked for Guzman in the 1980s and 1990s.

Fellow drug kingpin Juan Carlos Ramirez-Abadia testified against Guzman

Ramires-Abadia, the former leader of the Columbia Norte Valle cocaine cartel, testified that his organisation used Guzmans organisation to smuggle drugs north through Mexico and into the United States after they first met in 1990s. Guzman's lawyers have said the man known as El Chapo was not part of the leadership of the Sinaloa cartel, but is being framed.

Ramires-Abadia testified that the two struck up a deal after meeting, with Guzman taking charge of the drug smuggling into the United States and its various cities. Guzman argued, the witness said, that he was so fast at smuggling the drugs that he deserved a larger cut of the proceeds.

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The witness was captured in Brazil in 2007 in spite of repeated plastic surgeries that he hoped would confuse those chasing him down. He was extradited to the US that year, and pleaded guilty on charges of conspiracy to manufacture and distribute cocaine into the US. In a 2004 indictment, Ramires-Abadia and alleged co-conspirators were charged with transporting more than 500,000 kilos of cocaine worth more than $10 billion through Mexico and into the US.

Guzman is wearing K-Mart suits

Over the years, Guzman has been seen wearing some pretty flashy threads, but he has taken a much different approach for the federal trial where he and his lawyers are arguing that he has been framed.

He has reportedly opted to wear off-the-rack suits during his trial, and his defence attorney have said they bring and pick up the suits for cleaning for their client. He has about five suits, or enough to keep in rotation for the trial, they have said.
Elon Musk will not be smoking cannabis in public again, the boss of Nasa has assured the public, amid concern about the SpaceX boss's behaviour.

Nasa administrator Jim Bridenstine has said that Mr Musk has promised not to repeat a moment where he smoked a joint and drank whisky on a comedian's podcast.

That incident caused consternation across the space industry, because Mr Musk's rocket company SpaceX is expected to soon begin carrying US astronauts on its rockets. His behaviour had led to worries about whether he was responsible enough to lead an organisation that will take US astronauts to space for the first time in years.

Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Show all 30 1 /30 Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Solar Flare An image from Nasa's Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) shows a 200,000 mile long solar filament ripping through the Sun's corona in September 2013 Nasa Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Nasa Celebrates 50 Years of Spacewalking For 50 years, NASA has been "suiting up" for spacewalking. In this 1984 photograph of the first untethered spacewalk, NASA astronaut Bruce McCandless is in the midst of the first "field" tryout of a nitrogen-propelled backpack device called the Manned Maneuvering Unit (MMU) Nasa Nasa's most stunning pictures of space A Hubble Cosmic Couple The spectacular cosmic pairing of the star Hen 2-427  more commonly known as WR 124  and the nebula M1-67 which surrounds it ESA/Hubble & NASA Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Veil Nebula Supernova Remnant Nasa's Hubble Space Telescope has unveiled in stunning detail a small section of the Veil Nebula - expanding remains of a massive star that exploded about 8,000 years ago Nasa's most stunning pictures of space The Soyuz TMA-15M rocket launch The Soyuz TMA-15M rocket launches from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on Monday, Nov. 24, 2014, carrying three new astronauts to the International Space Station. It also took caviar, ready for the satellite's inhabitants to celebrate the holidays Nasa Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Earth from the ISS From the International Space Station, Expedition 42 Flight Engineer Terry W. Virts took this photograph of the Gulf of Mexico and U.S. Gulf Coast at sunset Nasa Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Black Hole Friday Nasa celebrated Black Friday by looking into space instead  sharing pictures of black holes Nasa Nasa's most stunning pictures of space NuSTAR X-rays stream off the sun in this image showing observations from by NASA's Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array, or NuSTAR, overlaid on a picture taken by NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) Nasa Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Cassiopeia A c A false colour image of Cassiopeia A comprised with data from the Spitzer and Hubble Space Telescopes and the Chandra X-Ray observatory Nasa Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Orion Capsule splashes down The Orion capsule jetted off into space before heading back a few hours later  having proved that it can be used, one day, to carry humans to Mars Nasa Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Earth Observations From Gemini IV in 1965 This photograph of the Florida Straits and Grand Bahama Bank was taken during the Gemini IV mission during orbit no. 19 in 1965. The Gemini IV crew conducted scientific experiments, including photography of Earth's weather and terrain, for the remainder of their four-day mission following Ed White's historic spacewalk on June 3 Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Frosty slopes of Mars This image of an area on the surface of Mars, approximately 1.5 by 3 kilometers in size, shows frosted gullies on a south-facing slope within a crater. The image was taken by Nasa's HiRISE camera, which is mounted on its Mars Reconaissance Orbiter Nasa Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Yellowstone from space NASA astronaut Reid Wiseman shared this image of Yellowstone via his twitter account Nasa Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Saturn This near-infrared color image shows a specular reflection, or sunglint, off of a hydrocarbon lake named Kivu Lacus on Saturn's moon Titan Nasa Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Worlds Apart Although Mimas and Pandora, shown here, both orbit Saturn, they are very different moons. Pandora, "small" by moon standards (50 miles or 81 kilometers across) is elongated and irregular in shape. Mimas (246 miles or 396 kilometers across), a "medium-sized" moon, formed into a sphere due to self-gravity imposed by its higher mass Nasa Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Solar Flare An X1.6 class solar flare flashes in the middle of the sun in this image taken 10 September, captured by NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory Nasa Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Large Magellanic Cloud galaxy An image of the Large Magellanic Cloud galaxy seen in infrared light by the Herschel Space Observatory. Regions of space such as this are where new stars are born from a mixture of elements and cosmic dust Nasa Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Mars Rover Spirit Nasa's Mars Rover Spirit took the first picture from Spirit since problems with communications began a week earlier. The image shows the robotic arm extended to the rock called Adirondack Nasa Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Morning Aurora From the Space Station Nasa astronaut Scott Kelly captured this photograph of the green lights of the aurora from the International Space Station Nasa/Scott Kelly Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Launch of History - Making STS-41G Mission in 1984 The Space Shuttle Challenger launches from Florida at dawn. On this mission, Kathryn Sullivan became the first U.S. woman to perform a spacewalk and Marc Garneau became the first Canadian in space. The crew of seven was the largest to fly on a spacecraft at that time, and STS-41G was the first flight to include two female astronauts Nasa's most stunning pictures of space A Fresh Perspective on an Extraordinary Cluster of Galaxies Galaxy clusters are often described by superlatives. After all, they are huge conglomerations of galaxies, hot gas, and dark matter and represent the largest structures in the Universe held together by gravity Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Hubble Sees a Galactic Sunflower The arrangement of the spiral arms in the galaxy Messier 63, seen here in an image from the Nasa Hubble Space Telescope, recall the pattern at the center of a sunflower ESA/Hubble & NASA Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Pluto image Four images from New Horizons Long Range Reconnaissance Imager (LORRI) were combined with colour data from the Ralph instrument to create this enhanced colour global view of Pluto Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Fresh Crater Near Sirenum Fossae Region of Mars The HiRISE camera aboard Nasa's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter acquired this closeup image of a "fresh" (on a geological scale, though quite old on a human scale) impact crater in the Sirenum Fossae region of Mars. This impact crater appears relatively recent as it has a sharp rim and well-preserved ejecta Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Hubble Peers into the Most Crowded Place in the Milky Way This Nasa Hubble Space Telescope image presents the Arches Cluster, the densest known star cluster in the Milky Way NASA & ESA Nasa's most stunning pictures of space An Astronaut's View from Space Nasa astronaut Reid Wiseman tweeted this photo from the International Space Station on 2 September 2014 Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Giant Landform on Mars On Mars, we can observe four classes of sandy landforms formed by the wind, or aeolian bedforms: ripples, transverse aeolian ridges, dunes, and what are called draa Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Expedition 39 Landing A sokol suit helmet can be seen against the window of the Soyuz TMA-11M capsule shortly after the spacecraft landed with Expedition 39 Commander Koichi Wakata of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), Soyuz Commander Mikhail Tyurin of Roscosmos, and Flight Engineer Rick Mastracchio of NASA near the town of Zhezkazgan, Kazakhstan (NASA/Bill Ingalls) Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Jupiter's Great Red Spot Viewed by Voyager I Jupiter is the largest planet in the solar system and perhaps the most majestic. Vibrant bands of clouds carried by winds that can exceed 400 mph continuously circle the planet's atmosphere Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Chandra Observatory Sees a Heart in the Darkness This Chandra X-Ray Observatory image of the young star cluster NGC 346 highlights a heart-shaped cloud of 8 million-degree Celsius gas in the central region

I will tell you that was not helpful, and that did not inspire confidence, and the leaders of these organisations need to take that as an example of what to do when you lead an organisation thats going to launch American astronauts, Mr Bridenstine told reporters at Nasa headquarters, according to a report in The Atlantic.

Those concerns led Mr Bridenstine to personally launch a safety review of the private companies involved in space missions. The contract to take US astronauts back into space is worth nearly $7 billion, and includes stipulations that the staff working on it remain drug and alcohol free.

As well as SpaceX, the process will look at the culture at Boeing. Together, those two companies are planning to begin the first launches with American astronauts from the US since the Space Shuttle programme finished in 2011.

The reviews are necessary to ensure that the companies are able to keep astronauts safe when they head into space, the Nasa chief said. As well as the drink and drugs concerns, Mr Musk raised worries when he talked publicly about working long hours and feeling under intense stress at his other job as the leader of electric car company Tesla.

The reviews had already been considered before Mr Musk very publicly smoked a joint as part of the Joe Rogan podcast, Mr Bridenstine said. But it highlighted an issue of concern to the space agency and Mr Musk has committed not to behave that way in the future, he said.

They were launched in part because of several failed Nasa missions that led to the deaths of the astronauts involved. Incidents such as the Apollo 1 fire and two disasters involving Space Shuttles led him to want to make sure that the culture at Nasa and the private companies it works with was set up to ensure its astronauts stayed safe, he said.

Rather than waiting untilwe dont believe theres going to be an incident, but if there is an incidentrather than waiting until theres an incident, we do a cultural assessment of our contractors [now], Bridenstine said, according to The Atlantic. We want to get ahead of it. We want to see, right now, today, are they experiencing pressure from schedule, are they experiencing pressure from cost, and are those concerns challenging their thought process in a way that could be dangerous?
 Close World leaders arrive for G20 summit in Buenos Aires

The G20 Summit in Argentina kicked off with world leaders huddling on the sidelines to discuss their response to the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was seen discussing the death with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman, who appeared to be ignored during the groups official family photo portrait session.

Meanwhile, confusion remains over whether Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin will meet during the summit.

See the latest updates in our live blog below

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The president kicked off Friday morning with a series of angry tweets after the White House reaffirmed he had cancelled an expected discussion with Mr Putin, despite the Kremlin claiming otherwise.

Oh, I get it! I am a very good developer, happily living my life, when I see our Country going in the wrong direction (to put it mildly). Against all odds, I decide to run for President & continue to run my business-very legal & very cool, talked about it on the campaign trail..., he tweeted.

....Lightly looked at doing a building somewhere in Russia. Put up zero money, zero guarantees and didnt do the project. Witch Hunt!

Reports suggest Mr Trump is in a terrible mood and completely distracted as he headed to the event.

The president responded to news of Mr Cohens plea deal by saying he was a weak person and not a very smart person.

World news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 World news in pictures World news in pictures 30 September 2020 Pope Francis prays with priests at the end of a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 29 September 2020 A girl's silhouette is seen from behind a fabric in a tent along a beach by Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 September 2020 A Chinese woman takes a photo of herself in front of a flower display dedicated to frontline health care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic in Beijing, China. China will celebrate national day marking the founding of the People's Republic of China on October 1st Getty World news in pictures 27 September 2020 The Glass Mountain Inn burns as the Glass Fire moves through the area in St. Helena, California. The fast moving Glass fire has burned over 1,000 acres and has destroyed homes Getty World news in pictures 26 September 2020 A villager along with a child offers prayers next to a carcass of a wild elephant that officials say was electrocuted in Rani Reserve Forest on the outskirts of Guwahati, India AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 September 2020 The casket of late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is seen in Statuary Hall in the US Capitol to lie in state in Washington, DC AFP via Getty World news in pictures 24 September 2020 An anti-government protester holds up an image of a pro-democracy commemorative plaque at a rally outside Thailand's parliament in Bangkok, as activists gathered to demand a new constitution AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 September 2020 A whale stranded on a beach in Macquarie Harbour on the rugged west coast of Tasmania, as hundreds of pilot whales have died in a mass stranding in southern Australia despite efforts to save them, with rescuers racing to free a few dozen survivors The Mercury/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 22 September 2020 State civil employee candidates wearing face masks and shields take a test in Surabaya AFP via Getty World news in pictures 21 September 2020 A man sweeps at the Taj Mahal monument on the day of its reopening after being closed for more than six months due to the coronavirus pandemic AP World news in pictures 20 September 2020 A deer looks for food in a burnt area, caused by the Bobcat fire, in Pearblossom, California EPA World news in pictures 19 September 2020 Anti-government protesters hold their mobile phones aloft as they take part in a pro-democracy rally in Bangkok. Tens of thousands of pro-democracy protesters massed close to Thailand's royal palace, in a huge rally calling for PM Prayut Chan-O-Cha to step down and demanding reforms to the monarchy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 September 2020 Supporters of Iraqi Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr maintain social distancing as they attend Friday prayers after the coronavirus disease restrictions were eased, in Kufa mosque, near Najaf, Iraq Reuters World news in pictures 17 September 2020 A protester climbs on The Triumph of the Republic at 'the Place de la Nation' as thousands of protesters take part in a demonstration during a national day strike called by labor unions asking for better salary and against jobs cut in Paris, France EPA World news in pictures 16 September 2020 A fire raging near the Lazzaretto of Ancona in Italy. The huge blaze broke out overnight at the port of Ancona. Firefighters have brought the fire under control but they expected to keep working through the day EPA World news in pictures 15 September 2020 Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny posing for a selfie with his family at Berlin's Charite hospital. In an Instagram post he said he could now breathe independently following his suspected poisoning last month Alexei Navalny/Instagram/AFP World news in pictures 14 September 2020 Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, former Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba and former Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida celebrate after Suga was elected as new head of the ruling party at the Liberal Democratic Party's leadership election in Tokyo Reuters World news in pictures 13 September 2020 A man stands behind a burning barricade during the fifth straight day of protests against police brutality in Bogota AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 September 2020 Police officers block and detain protesters during an opposition rally to protest the official presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus. Daily protests calling for the authoritarian president's resignation are now in their second month AP World news in pictures 11 September 2020 Members of 'Omnium Cultural' celebrate the 20th 'Festa per la llibertat' ('Fiesta for the freedom') to mark the Day of Catalonia in Barcelona. Omnion Cultural fights for the independence of Catalonia EPA World news in pictures 10 September 2020 The Moria refugee camp, two days after Greece's biggest migrant camp, was destroyed by fire. Thousands of asylum seekers on the island of Lesbos are now homeless AFP via Getty World news in pictures 9 September 2020 Pope Francis takes off his face mask as he arrives by car to hold a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 8 September 2020 A home is engulfed in flames during the "Creek Fire" in the Tollhouse area of California AFP via Getty World news in pictures 7 September 2020 A couple take photos along a sea wall of the waves brought by Typhoon Haishen in the eastern port city of Sokcho AFP via Getty World news in pictures 6 September 2020 Novak Djokovic and a tournament official tends to a linesperson who was struck with a ball by Djokovic during his match against Pablo Carreno Busta at the US Open USA Today Sports/Reuters World news in pictures 5 September 2020 Protesters confront police at the Shrine of Remembrance in Melbourne, Australia, during an anti-lockdown rally AFP via Getty World news in pictures 4 September 2020 A woman looks on from a rooftop as rescue workers dig through the rubble of a damaged building in Beirut. A search began for possible survivors after a scanner detected a pulse one month after the mega-blast at the adjacent port AFP via Getty World news in pictures 3 September 2020 A full moon next to the Virgen del Panecillo statue in Quito, Ecuador EPA World news in pictures 2 September 2020 A Palestinian woman reacts as Israeli forces demolish her animal shed near Hebron in the Israeli-occupied West Bank Reuters World news in pictures 1 September 2020 Students protest against presidential elections results in Minsk TUT.BY/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 31 August 2020 The pack rides during the 3rd stage of the Tour de France between Nice and Sisteron AFP via Getty World news in pictures 30 August 2020 Law enforcement officers block a street during a rally of opposition supporters protesting against presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus Reuters World news in pictures 29 August 2020 A woman holding a placard reading "Stop Censorship - Yes to the Freedom of Expression" shouts in a megaphone during a protest against the mandatory wearing of face masks in Paris. Masks, which were already compulsory on public transport, in enclosed public spaces, and outdoors in Paris in certain high-congestion areas around tourist sites, were made mandatory outdoors citywide on August 28 to fight the rising coronavirus infections AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 August 2020 Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe bows to the national flag at the start of a press conference at the prime minister official residence in Tokyo. Abe announced he will resign over health problems, in a bombshell development that kicks off a leadership contest in the world's third-largest economy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 27 August 2020 Residents take cover behind a tree trunk from rubber bullets fired by South African Police Service (SAPS) in Eldorado Park, near Johannesburg, during a protest by community members after a 16-year old boy was reported dead AFP via Getty World news in pictures 26 August 2020 People scatter rose petals on a statue of Mother Teresa marking her 110th birth anniversary in Ahmedabad AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 August 2020 An aerial view shows beach-goers standing on salt formations in the Dead Sea near Ein Bokeq, Israel Reuters World news in pictures 24 August 2020 Health workers use a fingertip pulse oximeter and check the body temperature of a fisherwoman inside the Dharavi slum during a door-to-door Covid-19 coronavirus screening in Mumbai AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 August 2020 People carry an idol of the Hindu god Ganesh, the deity of prosperity, to immerse it off the coast of the Arabian sea during the Ganesh Chaturthi festival in Mumbai, India Reuters World news in pictures 22 August 2020 Firefighters watch as flames from the LNU Lightning Complex fires approach a home in Napa County, California AP World news in pictures 21 August 2020 Members of the Israeli security forces arrest a Palestinian demonstrator during a rally to protest against Israel's plan to annex parts of the occupied West Bank AFP via Getty World news in pictures 20 August 2020 A man pushes his bicycle through a deserted road after prohibitory orders were imposed by district officials for a week to contain the spread of the Covid-19 in Kathmandu AFP via Getty World news in pictures 19 August 2020 A car burns while parked at a residence in Vacaville, California. Dozens of fires are burning out of control throughout Northern California as fire resources are spread thin AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 August 2020 Students use their mobile phones as flashlights at an anti-government rally at Mahidol University in Nakhon Pathom. Thailand has seen near-daily protests in recent weeks by students demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha AFP via Getty World news in pictures 17 August 2020 Members of the Kayapo tribe block the BR163 highway during a protest outside Novo Progresso in Para state, Brazil. Indigenous protesters blocked a major transamazonian highway to protest against the lack of governmental support during the COVID-19 novel coronavirus pandemic and illegal deforestation in and around their territories AFP via Getty World news in pictures 16 August 2020 Lightning forks over the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge as a storm passes over Oakland AP World news in pictures 15 August 2020 Belarus opposition supporters gather near the Pushkinskaya metro station where Alexander Taraikovsky, a 34-year-old protester died on August 10, during their protest rally in central Minsk AFP via Getty World news in pictures 14 August 2020 AlphaTauri's driver Daniil Kvyat takes part in the second practice session at the Circuit de Catalunya in Montmelo near Barcelona ahead of the Spanish F1 Grand Prix AFP via Getty World news in pictures 13 August 2020 Soldiers of the Brazilian Armed Forces during a disinfection of the Christ The Redeemer statue at the Corcovado mountain prior to the opening of the touristic attraction in Rio AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 August 2020 Young elephant bulls tussle playfully on World Elephant Day at the Amboseli National Park in Kenya AFP via Getty

Mr Trump will be having a number of meetings at the summit in Buenos Aires starting the day at 6.50am local time and finishing 10.10pm. He said on Thursday he had cancelled a meeting with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, due to the countrys conflict with Ukraine.

The president has downgraded a number of his bilateral meetings as he feels theres nothing in them for him, according to CNN.

Issues such as the trade war between the US and China and the conflict over Ukraine are likely to dominate the agenda.

Ahead of the summit Mr Trump said current tariff levels on Chinese imports would rise as planned.

The summit is being held in South America for the first time and Michael Shifter, head of the Inter-American Dialogue, a Washington-based think tank, said G20 summits wer once considered an opportunity for Latin American members Argentina, Brazil and Mexico to shape the global agenda.

That turned out to be a fleeting aspiration, Mr Shifter said.

...Argentine president Mauricio Macri, the summits host, has lowered expectations. ... Now a success would be a summit meeting that goes smoothly, without any major disruption.
The endgame is approaching in Robert Muellers investigation into Russian interference in the US presidential election and the latest news to emerge shows that the person with the legal codename Individual 1 is very much at the centre of scrutiny.

This is bad news indeed for Donald Trump, Individual 1. He, of course, has been attempting to dismiss the inquiry, mainly through tweets and with increasing shrillness, as fake, a fraud and a witch hunt that will end up finding nothing incriminating.

But as the indictments by the special counsel mounted up  against 32 people at the last count  the presidents more realistic supporters had been presenting the scenario that although people around him may get burned, he himself will survive.

The view was echoed by John Bolton, now Mr Trumps national security advisor, when I discussed the matter with him at a conference in the Ukrainian capital, Kiev, a while ago. One of his predecessors in the post, Michael Flynn, may have pleaded guilty, Mr Trumps campaign manager, Paul Manafort may have been charged, but the president himself, felt Mr Bolton, will remain untouched.

It is someone far closer to Mr Trump than former Lieutenant General Flynn and Mr Manafort who now poses the most peril for the president  Michael Cohen, his personal lawyer, confidant and fixer for years, the man who kept the secrets and, prosecutors believe, know where skeletons are rattling away about the president, his family and close associates.

Mr Mueller, after sticking to protocol and not making major legal moves in the lead up to the midterm elections (even though Mr Trump kept up a steady barrage of insults towards him during that time) came up with one of the most significant successes of his investigation, with Mr Cohen becoming the first person in the case to plead guilty of lying to congressional investigators.

The primary focus of investigations into Mr Cohen until now has been from the New York district attorneys office involving allegations of tax and campaign finance misconduct, which in itself was problematic for Mr Trump. But with his latest admission of guilt, the presidents former personal lawyer moves directly into the orbit of Mr Muellers investigation.

There has long been a belief among those who have been observing the investigations into the president  by the special counsel and the House and Senate intelligence committees  that the problem for Mr Trump is the examination of his business dealings. That they will get him on the money at the end, like they got Al Capone, was one of the adages doing the rounds.

Mr Cohen is now giving information to the Mueller inquiry into the Trump Organisations business interests in Russia during the run-up to the US presidential election, in particular plans to build a Trump Tower Hotel in Moscow.

The lawyer had previously claimed that the Moscow project ended in January 2016, before Mr Trumps campaign could be said to have got under way. In a New York courtroom on Thursday, he now admits: I made these statements to be consistent with Individual 1s political messaging and out of loyalty to Individual 1.

Asked about the Russian business interest revelations as he was flying off to the G20 summit in Buenos Aires, the president accused Mr Cohen of being a weak person who is not very intelligent. In July 2016 Mr Trump had tweeted For the record, I have ZERO investments in Russia, a day later he wanted to clarify that I have nothing to do with Russia. In January 2017 he insisted, I have no deals that can happen in Russia, because we have stayed away.

But following the latest Cohen revelations this has now become: There would have been nothing wrong if I did do it. When I am running for president, that doesnt mean Im not allowed to do business.

Adam Schiff, who will chair the House Intelligence Committee after the Democrats gained control of the House of Representatives, wanted to stress: If Mr Cohen misled the congress about the presidents business dealings in Russia deep into the campaign, it also means that the president misled the country about his business dealings and that the Russians were apparently attempting to gain financial leverage over the potential president of the United States.

The information provided by Mr Cohen, who is said to have spent more than 70 hours with the special counsels team, is just one source of problems for Mr Trump. A document from Mr Muellers office showed a close interest in the presidents dealings with Roger Stone, a long-term friend and advisor at a time when Mr Stone is said to have been seeking to liaise with WikiLeaks over the release of hacked Democratic Party emails.

Jerome Corsi, another Trump ally, had allegedly told Mr Stone  Person 1 in the legal code of the document  about the WikiLeaks plans to make the emails public in October 2016 because he knew that Mr Stone was in regular contact with Mr Trump.

Mr Stone allegedly asked Mr Corsi to reach out to Julian Assange, the WikiLeaks founder who had been living at the Ecuadorean embassy in London to avoid being extradited to Sweden on sex assault charges, days after it had released hacked Democratic National Committee emails. The aim was to coordinate tactics.

Mr Stone and Mr Trump, it has been claimed, spoke together the day after Mr Corsi sent his message. Mr Trump, in written answers to questions sent by Mr Mueller (after the presidents lawyers persuaded him not to be interviewed personally by the special counsels team because of the risk that he may perjure himself) has denied speaking to Mr Stone about the hacked emails.

 Lawyer Alan Dershowitz: Mueller report to be 'devastating' for Donald Trump

Mr Trump had also denied in his written response to Mr Mueller that he knew about a meeting between his son, Donald Jr, his son-in-law, Jared Kushner, and Paul Manafort with a group of Russians, including a lawyer who claimed to have incriminating materials about Hillary Clinton.

The special councils team is believed to be examining claims that Mr Trump knew about the meeting and subsequently helped in the drafting of his sons response about the meeting to the investigations. Mr Schiff has said he wants to get details about the telephone call Donald Jr made during the talks with the Russians.

Meanwhile it has emerged that the legal teams of Mr Trump and Mr Corsi may have agreed to a mutual defence agreement in relation to the special counsels investigation. Mr Corsi has acknowledged that his lawyer, David Gray, has been in contact with Mr Trumps lawyer, Jay Sekulow.

I wanted Jay Sekulow, the presidents attorney, to know what was happening with the Mueller investigation. I did this because I support Donald Trump ... I wanted him to survive the Mueller investigation unscathed, which I believe he will, and I want him to be re-elected in 2020, Mr Corsi said.

It remains to be seen whether Individual 1 will survive the Mueller investigation. Some bookmakers have begun to cut the odds on him winning. Lawrence Lyons, spokesperson for BoyleSports which moved to 21/10 from 9/2 on the president not to complete his first term, said: Trump seems to be bulletproof so far but you do get the impression the Mueller investigation is getting too close for comfort. To say punters are confident Trump will survive to see the 2020 election would be an exaggeration at this stage and the latest betting patterns have forced us to cut the odds on him leaving office over the next year.
Michael Cohen once said he would take a bullet for Donald Trump. Now the presidents former personal lawyer has admitted lying to Congress about a plan to build a Trump Tower in the Russian capital, and that he did so out of loyalty to Mr Trump.

But what do Cohens lies mean for Robert Muellers ongoing investigation into possible collusion between Russia and the Trump presidential campaign? And how does it affect Mr Trump himself?

The Moscow Project goes back as far as 1996 when the future president visited the Russian capital to check out building sites. Although the idea fell through, Mr Trump told Playboy magazine that Moscow is going to be huge.

Further discussions were held with Russian businessmen in 2013, during Mr Trumps visit to Moscow as owner of the Miss Universe pageant, and in October 2015, when Cohen was involved in negotiating a potential deal with Russian real estate developer Andrey Rozov.

When that failed, Cohen emailed a Russian official, Vladimir Putins spokesman Dmitry Peskov, in January 2016 to try and get the project off the ground.

 Donald Trump: 'Even if Michael Cohen was right it doesn't matter, because I was allowed to do whatever I wanted during the campaign'
A federal judge has denied a request to block or limit an order that temporarily prohibits the government from enforcing a ban on transgender troops in the US military, in the latest legal setback for the Trump administration as it aims to regulate who can serve in the American armed forces.

The request was denied in the US District Court for the District of Columbia, where Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly said that the court is not convinced that the US government would be irreparably harmed without a stay of the October 2017 preliminary injunction that stayed President Donald Trump's plan to keep transgender troops out of the military.

"Without supporting evidence, defendants bare assertion that the Courts injunction poses a threat to military readiness is insufficient to overcome the public interest in ensuring that the government does not engage in unconstitutional and discriminatory conduct", Ms Kollar-Kotelly wrote in the court's decision.

She continued: After all, it must be remembered that all Plaintiffs seek during this litigation is to serve their nation with honour and dignity, volunteering to face extreme hardships, to endure lengthy deployments and separation from family and friends, and to willingly make the ultimate sacrifice of their lives if necessary to protect the Nation, the people of the United States, and the Constitution against all who would attack them.

The Trump administration asked that the Supreme Court last week to consider lower court decisions blocking the transgender military ban, which Mr Trump announced on Twitter last year. In announcing his proposed ban, Mr Trump tweeted that the US would no longer "accept or allow" transgender Americans to serve in the nation's armed services, and said that those troops result in "tremendous medical costs and disruption".

Since then, the Trump administration has changed the focus of the ban to individuals with a history of gender dysphoria, but federal judges in three jurisdictions have refused to lift the original block on the ban in light of its more limited scope.

World news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 World news in pictures World news in pictures 30 September 2020 Pope Francis prays with priests at the end of a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 29 September 2020 A girl's silhouette is seen from behind a fabric in a tent along a beach by Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 September 2020 A Chinese woman takes a photo of herself in front of a flower display dedicated to frontline health care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic in Beijing, China. China will celebrate national day marking the founding of the People's Republic of China on October 1st Getty World news in pictures 27 September 2020 The Glass Mountain Inn burns as the Glass Fire moves through the area in St. Helena, California. The fast moving Glass fire has burned over 1,000 acres and has destroyed homes Getty World news in pictures 26 September 2020 A villager along with a child offers prayers next to a carcass of a wild elephant that officials say was electrocuted in Rani Reserve Forest on the outskirts of Guwahati, India AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 September 2020 The casket of late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is seen in Statuary Hall in the US Capitol to lie in state in Washington, DC AFP via Getty World news in pictures 24 September 2020 An anti-government protester holds up an image of a pro-democracy commemorative plaque at a rally outside Thailand's parliament in Bangkok, as activists gathered to demand a new constitution AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 September 2020 A whale stranded on a beach in Macquarie Harbour on the rugged west coast of Tasmania, as hundreds of pilot whales have died in a mass stranding in southern Australia despite efforts to save them, with rescuers racing to free a few dozen survivors The Mercury/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 22 September 2020 State civil employee candidates wearing face masks and shields take a test in Surabaya AFP via Getty World news in pictures 21 September 2020 A man sweeps at the Taj Mahal monument on the day of its reopening after being closed for more than six months due to the coronavirus pandemic AP World news in pictures 20 September 2020 A deer looks for food in a burnt area, caused by the Bobcat fire, in Pearblossom, California EPA World news in pictures 19 September 2020 Anti-government protesters hold their mobile phones aloft as they take part in a pro-democracy rally in Bangkok. Tens of thousands of pro-democracy protesters massed close to Thailand's royal palace, in a huge rally calling for PM Prayut Chan-O-Cha to step down and demanding reforms to the monarchy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 September 2020 Supporters of Iraqi Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr maintain social distancing as they attend Friday prayers after the coronavirus disease restrictions were eased, in Kufa mosque, near Najaf, Iraq Reuters World news in pictures 17 September 2020 A protester climbs on The Triumph of the Republic at 'the Place de la Nation' as thousands of protesters take part in a demonstration during a national day strike called by labor unions asking for better salary and against jobs cut in Paris, France EPA World news in pictures 16 September 2020 A fire raging near the Lazzaretto of Ancona in Italy. The huge blaze broke out overnight at the port of Ancona. Firefighters have brought the fire under control but they expected to keep working through the day EPA World news in pictures 15 September 2020 Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny posing for a selfie with his family at Berlin's Charite hospital. In an Instagram post he said he could now breathe independently following his suspected poisoning last month Alexei Navalny/Instagram/AFP World news in pictures 14 September 2020 Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, former Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba and former Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida celebrate after Suga was elected as new head of the ruling party at the Liberal Democratic Party's leadership election in Tokyo Reuters World news in pictures 13 September 2020 A man stands behind a burning barricade during the fifth straight day of protests against police brutality in Bogota AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 September 2020 Police officers block and detain protesters during an opposition rally to protest the official presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus. Daily protests calling for the authoritarian president's resignation are now in their second month AP World news in pictures 11 September 2020 Members of 'Omnium Cultural' celebrate the 20th 'Festa per la llibertat' ('Fiesta for the freedom') to mark the Day of Catalonia in Barcelona. Omnion Cultural fights for the independence of Catalonia EPA World news in pictures 10 September 2020 The Moria refugee camp, two days after Greece's biggest migrant camp, was destroyed by fire. Thousands of asylum seekers on the island of Lesbos are now homeless AFP via Getty World news in pictures 9 September 2020 Pope Francis takes off his face mask as he arrives by car to hold a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 8 September 2020 A home is engulfed in flames during the "Creek Fire" in the Tollhouse area of California AFP via Getty World news in pictures 7 September 2020 A couple take photos along a sea wall of the waves brought by Typhoon Haishen in the eastern port city of Sokcho AFP via Getty World news in pictures 6 September 2020 Novak Djokovic and a tournament official tends to a linesperson who was struck with a ball by Djokovic during his match against Pablo Carreno Busta at the US Open USA Today Sports/Reuters World news in pictures 5 September 2020 Protesters confront police at the Shrine of Remembrance in Melbourne, Australia, during an anti-lockdown rally AFP via Getty World news in pictures 4 September 2020 A woman looks on from a rooftop as rescue workers dig through the rubble of a damaged building in Beirut. A search began for possible survivors after a scanner detected a pulse one month after the mega-blast at the adjacent port AFP via Getty World news in pictures 3 September 2020 A full moon next to the Virgen del Panecillo statue in Quito, Ecuador EPA World news in pictures 2 September 2020 A Palestinian woman reacts as Israeli forces demolish her animal shed near Hebron in the Israeli-occupied West Bank Reuters World news in pictures 1 September 2020 Students protest against presidential elections results in Minsk TUT.BY/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 31 August 2020 The pack rides during the 3rd stage of the Tour de France between Nice and Sisteron AFP via Getty World news in pictures 30 August 2020 Law enforcement officers block a street during a rally of opposition supporters protesting against presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus Reuters World news in pictures 29 August 2020 A woman holding a placard reading "Stop Censorship - Yes to the Freedom of Expression" shouts in a megaphone during a protest against the mandatory wearing of face masks in Paris. Masks, which were already compulsory on public transport, in enclosed public spaces, and outdoors in Paris in certain high-congestion areas around tourist sites, were made mandatory outdoors citywide on August 28 to fight the rising coronavirus infections AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 August 2020 Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe bows to the national flag at the start of a press conference at the prime minister official residence in Tokyo. Abe announced he will resign over health problems, in a bombshell development that kicks off a leadership contest in the world's third-largest economy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 27 August 2020 Residents take cover behind a tree trunk from rubber bullets fired by South African Police Service (SAPS) in Eldorado Park, near Johannesburg, during a protest by community members after a 16-year old boy was reported dead AFP via Getty World news in pictures 26 August 2020 People scatter rose petals on a statue of Mother Teresa marking her 110th birth anniversary in Ahmedabad AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 August 2020 An aerial view shows beach-goers standing on salt formations in the Dead Sea near Ein Bokeq, Israel Reuters World news in pictures 24 August 2020 Health workers use a fingertip pulse oximeter and check the body temperature of a fisherwoman inside the Dharavi slum during a door-to-door Covid-19 coronavirus screening in Mumbai AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 August 2020 People carry an idol of the Hindu god Ganesh, the deity of prosperity, to immerse it off the coast of the Arabian sea during the Ganesh Chaturthi festival in Mumbai, India Reuters World news in pictures 22 August 2020 Firefighters watch as flames from the LNU Lightning Complex fires approach a home in Napa County, California AP World news in pictures 21 August 2020 Members of the Israeli security forces arrest a Palestinian demonstrator during a rally to protest against Israel's plan to annex parts of the occupied West Bank AFP via Getty World news in pictures 20 August 2020 A man pushes his bicycle through a deserted road after prohibitory orders were imposed by district officials for a week to contain the spread of the Covid-19 in Kathmandu AFP via Getty World news in pictures 19 August 2020 A car burns while parked at a residence in Vacaville, California. Dozens of fires are burning out of control throughout Northern California as fire resources are spread thin AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 August 2020 Students use their mobile phones as flashlights at an anti-government rally at Mahidol University in Nakhon Pathom. Thailand has seen near-daily protests in recent weeks by students demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha AFP via Getty World news in pictures 17 August 2020 Members of the Kayapo tribe block the BR163 highway during a protest outside Novo Progresso in Para state, Brazil. Indigenous protesters blocked a major transamazonian highway to protest against the lack of governmental support during the COVID-19 novel coronavirus pandemic and illegal deforestation in and around their territories AFP via Getty World news in pictures 16 August 2020 Lightning forks over the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge as a storm passes over Oakland AP World news in pictures 15 August 2020 Belarus opposition supporters gather near the Pushkinskaya metro station where Alexander Taraikovsky, a 34-year-old protester died on August 10, during their protest rally in central Minsk AFP via Getty World news in pictures 14 August 2020 AlphaTauri's driver Daniil Kvyat takes part in the second practice session at the Circuit de Catalunya in Montmelo near Barcelona ahead of the Spanish F1 Grand Prix AFP via Getty World news in pictures 13 August 2020 Soldiers of the Brazilian Armed Forces during a disinfection of the Christ The Redeemer statue at the Corcovado mountain prior to the opening of the touristic attraction in Rio AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 August 2020 Young elephant bulls tussle playfully on World Elephant Day at the Amboseli National Park in Kenya AFP via Getty

There are believed to be somewhere between 4,000 and 10,000 active- and reserve-duty transgender service members in the US military, having been allowed to join the armed services after an Obama administration rules change.

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The current policy that the Trump administration hopes to enforce would block transgender people from serving in the military if they experience gender dysphoria. That condition is defined as distress between a person's assigned gender at birth, and a person's gender identity.

The American Psychiatric Association says that not all transgender people experience gender dysphoria.
One of Yellowstone National Parks most popular wolves has been shot dead by a trophy hunter.

Spitfire, also known as Wolf 926F, was killed legally a few miles outside a park entrance in Montana, according to animal rights group Wolves of the Rockies.

The organisation shared the news on its Facebook page on Wednesday.

Spitfire was previously the alpha female leader of the Lamar valley wolfpack.

Spitfire and her pack attracted animal lovers from all over the world (Leo Leckie)

Her mother was also killed by a hunter in 2012 and Spitfire was credited with keeping the pack together after her death.

Both animals were stars in an area described by Yellowstone officials as a wolf-watching mecca, which attracts animal lovers from all over the world.

The hunter who killed Spitfire was acting legally according to The Dodo, as it is currently hunting season for wolves in Montana, Idaho and Wyoming, the states that Yellowstone covers.

Wolf hunting licences in Montana cost just $19 (15) for residents and $50 (39) for others, according to the Wolf Conservation Centre.

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The predators were reintroduced in Yellowstone in 1995 but remain at the centre of a debate in the US between conservationists who argue that the US wolf population needs protection, and hunters and farmers who argue that rising predator numbers are out of control.
Ukraine has banned Russian men of military age from entering the country for the duration of its state of martial law.

The move comes as the long-simmering conflict between the two nations escalated in the Black Sea on Sunday.

Russian border guards opened fire on and captured three Ukrainian vessels and their 24-member crew.

President Petro Poroshenko said the measures would stop Russia implanting private army units  that are in fact subdivisions of the Russian army.

Russia says the Ukrainians had violated its border while Ukraine says its ships were acting in line with international maritime rules.

Head of the border service Petr Tsigikal said his agency had been put on the highest alert and would apply checks to the entry of all foreigners, not only Russians.

There would be exceptions, but only for humanitarian reasons like funerals, he said.

The news comes on the back of other restrictions announced in connection with the application of martial law across 10 border regions this week.

On Thursday, Kiev announced that it would deny foreigners the right to enter Crimea via Ukraine. This means the only way of travelling to Crimea is via Russia, which Ukraine considers to be illegal. It is unclear whether exceptions will be made.

Fridays measures are likely to complicate the lives of many living in border regions, especially those with relatives in Russia. Mr Poroshenko insisted the imposition of martial law would not affect the civic rights of Ukrainians.

The blanket travel ban would seem to be one area where that is not entirely true.

The Tass news agency on Friday quoted Russian government-appointed ombudswoman Lyudmila Lubina as saying the vessels commanders are being transferred to Moscow for interrogation. The other 21 remain in custody in Crimea.

A Crimea court earlier this week ruled to keep the Ukrainian seamen behind bars for two months pending the investigation.

Mr Poroshenko has urged Nato to deploy warships to the Sea of Azov, while Russia warned that would worsen tensions.

Protests break out after Russia seize Ukraine warships in 2018 Show all 32 1 /32 Protests break out after Russia seize Ukraine warships in 2018 Protests break out after Russia seize Ukraine warships in 2018 Activists of opposition parties burn flares during a rally demanding to break an agreement with Russia on the use of the Azov Sea and the Kerch Strait, in front of the parliament building in Kiev Reuters Protests break out after Russia seize Ukraine warships in 2018 Volunteers with the right-wing paramilitary Azov National Corps light flares during a rally on the snowy streets in front of the Ukrainian parliament in Kiev after Russia seized two of their armored artillery vessels and a tug boat in the Black Sea AP Protests break out after Russia seize Ukraine warships in 2018 Ukrainian Nationalists demand to break the diplomatic relations with Russia and nationalization of Russian property in Ukraine EPA Protests break out after Russia seize Ukraine warships in 2018 Ukrainian activists burn flares during their rally in front of Russian Consulate in Kharkiv EPA Protests break out after Russia seize Ukraine warships in 2018 Reuters Protests break out after Russia seize Ukraine warships in 2018 Seized Ukrainian ships, small armoured artillery ships and a tug boat, are seen anchored in a port of Kerch Reuters Protests break out after Russia seize Ukraine warships in 2018 AP Protests break out after Russia seize Ukraine warships in 2018 The President of Ukraine, Petro Poroshenko, announced, on 25 November, at a meeting of the National Security and Defense Council that they will introduce martial law in Ukraine for a period of 60 days and appeal to the Parliament to consider the move Reuters Protests break out after Russia seize Ukraine warships in 2018 Russia seized two small-sized 'Berdiansk' and 'Nikopol' armored artillery boats. The 'Yany Kapu' tugboat has forcibly been stopped Reuters Protests break out after Russia seize Ukraine warships in 2018 Children from an orphanage volunteer to help the city defenders strengthen trenches on Ukraine's Army positions near the village of Rybatske 25 km from Mariupol AP Protests break out after Russia seize Ukraine warships in 2018 AP Protests break out after Russia seize Ukraine warships in 2018 Policemen guard at Russian consulate during a protest action in the Black Sea Ukrainian city of Odessa AFP/Getty Protests break out after Russia seize Ukraine warships in 2018 EPA Protests break out after Russia seize Ukraine warships in 2018 AFP/Getty Protests break out after Russia seize Ukraine warships in 2018 With relations still raw after Russias annexation of Crimea and its backing for a pro-Moscow insurgency in eastern Ukraine, the capture of three Ukrainian naval vessels risks pushing the two countries towards a wider conflict. Graphic explains how the naval incident unfolded on a map Graphic News Protests break out after Russia seize Ukraine warships in 2018 Activists of far-right parties burn flares in front of the parliament building in Kiev during a rally to support the Ukrainian navy Reuters Protests break out after Russia seize Ukraine warships in 2018 A Ukraine army APC moves toward on position at an undisclosed location in eastern Ukraine AP Protests break out after Russia seize Ukraine warships in 2018 Ukrainian Nationalists sign a banner with a slogan reading like 'Not retreat and not surrendering!' EPA Protests break out after Russia seize Ukraine warships in 2018 AFP/Getty Protests break out after Russia seize Ukraine warships in 2018 Activists glue Ukrainian flag on the fence of Russian consulate AFP/Getty Protests break out after Russia seize Ukraine warships in 2018 A volunteer with the right-wing paramilitary Azov National Corps during a rally on the snowy streets in front of the Ukrainian parliament in Kiev AP Protests break out after Russia seize Ukraine warships in 2018 AP Protests break out after Russia seize Ukraine warships in 2018 EPA Protests break out after Russia seize Ukraine warships in 2018 Reuters Protests break out after Russia seize Ukraine warships in 2018 A National Guard serviceman extinguishes a torch thrown by a protester during a rally against the seizure by Russian special forces of three of the Ukrainian navy ships Reuters Protests break out after Russia seize Ukraine warships in 2018 A protester throws a smoke grenade during a rally in front of the embassy of Russia in Kiev AP Protests break out after Russia seize Ukraine warships in 2018 Protestors set up paper ships on the tires during their rally near of Russian embassy building in Kiev EPA Protests break out after Russia seize Ukraine warships in 2018 Reuters Protests break out after Russia seize Ukraine warships in 2018 A man extinguishes a burning car of the embassy of Russia Reuters Protests break out after Russia seize Ukraine warships in 2018 Paper boats are seen placed during a protest Reuters Protests break out after Russia seize Ukraine warships in 2018 EPA Protests break out after Russia seize Ukraine warships in 2018 EPA

Donald Trump has cancelled a planned meeting with Vladimir Putin at the G20 summit in Argentina citing Russias seizure of Ukrainian vessels.

Critics suggested the US presidents abrupt decision not to meet his Russian counterpart was linked to domestic developments after his former lawyer, Michael Cohen, revealed he had lied to Congress to cover up the fact he was negotiating a real estate deal in Moscow on Mr Trumps behalf during the Republican presidential primary in 2016.

 Donald Trump Ukraine imposing martial law: 'we do not like what's happening'

Theresa May also hit out at Mr Putins aggression in Ukraine ahead of the Buenos Aires summit.

The prime minister called on Russia to release the ships and the sailors it had seized after the clashes off the coast of its neighbour.

Additional reporting by agencies
The US administration appears to be losing the war of perceptions over Yemen, and in some ways benefiting its primary adversary, Iran.

The US and Iran this week sought to position themselves ahead of anticipated Yemen peace talks in Sweden that pit their clients against each other at the negotiating table

On Thursday a senior US official gave reporters a show-and-tell about Iranian weapons allegedly recovered in Yemen, whilst Tehrans top diplomat was in Geneva conferring with his Swedish counterpart about upcoming Yemen peace talks to begin in the next week or so.

This is a function of Irans relentless commitment to put more weapons into the hands of even more of its proxies, regardless of the suffering, US State Department Iran envoy Brian Hook said as he presented an array of Iranian weapons he claimed were recovered by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates en route to or in possession of Houthi rebel fighters allied with Tehran.

Mohammad Javad Zarif (left) with Swedens foreign minister Margot Wallstrom (IRNA)

Irans foreign minister Mohammad Javad Zarif derided the elaborate US presentation as an absurd effort to divert attention from the consequences of the Saudi-led war effort backed by Washington, and to come up with a peace formula.

Today, after untold human suffering and war crimes by the Saudi coalition and its US accomplices, and efforts to whitewash their crimes with absurd allegations against Iran, our four-point plan still remains the only viable option, Mr Zarif wrote on Twitter on Friday.

The US Senate, angered in part by the White House response to the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, on Wednesday voted in a surprise move to advance a bill that would cut American participation in the Yemen conflict. The bill may fail, and Mr Trump could veto if it succeeds. But this week marked the moment when, after remaining discreetly on the sidelines for much of the conflict, Washington took ownership of the Yemen war, and the images of starving children associated with it.

Brian Hook, the US special representative for Iran, stands in front of an Iranian missile. (AP)

Mr Hooks presentation built on a similar show given by Nikki Haley last year. Both purported to demonstrate how Iran was violating UN Security Council resolutions by exporting weapons to the Houthis. Mr Hook pointed to a Sayyad 2C surface-to-air missile designed and manufactured in Iran, anti-tank guided missiles seized in an arms cache aboard a dhow in the Arabian Sea or found by Saudi Arabia during a raid in Yemen.

Experts are calling Mr Hooks revelations factually and technically problematic. Neither he nor any other American official has explained why the U.S. was sure that the Houthis hadnt simply bought the rickety, Cold War-era Iranian weapons through the robust Middle East weapons black market.

If you look through his statement, he said Saudi armed forces picked up weapons, said Peter Salisbury, a Yemen expert serving as a consultant for the International Crisis Group. The Saudis dont have boots on the ground anywhere in Yemen.

In addition, the Arabian Sea doesnt border Yemen. That whole area is chock of people smuggling things, said Mr Salisbury. You cant just say, heres some stuff we got in Yemen.

 Sen. Cory Gardner announces measure to move ahead legislation calling for end to US involvement in Saudi-led war in Yemen

A source close to the Tehran government brushed off the presentation as a distraction from the ongoing Saudi-led bombing campaign and blockade, which experts say have been the main causes of the humanitarian crisis in the country.

Iran on several occasions has refused all allegations and suggestions about sending weapons to any party of the war in Yemen as baseless and a cover-up for the continued attacks by some regional powers against one of the poorest nations of the region, he told The Independent.

He noted that the Saudi blockade and control over the flow of humanitarian goods meant that Iran hadnt been able to dispatch food and supplies to Yemen, much less weapons.

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While the US reportedly stalled a UK-backed Security Council Resolution that would call for peace talks, and the Trump administration fought fruitlessly to prevent the US Senate from advancing a bill that would cut American support for the Yemen war, Iran was playing the responsible global citizen, advancing a peace plan Mr Zarif has pitched for years to forge a power-sharing deal between Yemens warring parties.

The Houthis have enthusiastically embraced the talks, so long as their delegation is guaranteed safe passage from and back to Yemen. The Saudi-led coalition has been cagier about its participation, encouraged by battlefield victories in the crucial port city of Hodeidah.

I cant confirm if or when [the peace talks] will happen, but what I can say is that we are preparing, Patric Nilsson, a Swedish foreign ministry spokesman, said in a radio interview on Thursday.

It remained unclear what purpose the US weapons presentation served, other than to underscore how determined the administration was to stand by Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates in a Yemen adventure that is overwhelmingly unpopular in the US. The Saudi-led intervention in Yemen was supposed to last a few weeks. It has instead stretched nearly three years.

Yemeni students walk to classes at their teachers house, which operates as a makeshift free school in the city of Taiz (Reuters)

In the meantime, Iran has gone from training of Houthis to becoming the groups primary global sponsor, and likely arms supplier, as well as a crucial player in any peace talks.

Far from fighting Iranian influence, most analysts say the Saudi-led intervention has backed the Houthis into a corner and forced them to ally more strongly with Tehran and Hezbollah, giving Iran even more sway.

The US this week announced it was allocating $130m in food aid to Yemen, in part to alleviate global concern about the scenes of starving children victimised by the war.

US Secretary of Defence Jim Mattis has insisted that civilian casualties caused by Saudi and Emirati missiles striking Houthi positions would be even greater if not for US help in targeting and intelligence.

But other than the flawed rationale that it was confronting Iran, the US has yet to come up with a clear-cut explanation as to why it continues to participate in a war causing so much devastation, or has not shown any attempt at grappling with the internal tribal, sectarian and political dynamics that led to the war before Iran entered the picture.

In most western capitals Yemen policy has almost always been a subset of some other strategy, said Mr Salisbury. Since the Trump administration has come in, it has treated Yemen as a subset of its broader policy against Iran.
The anniversary of the sinking of two great capital ships off Singapore, one of the great British defeats of the Second World War, falls unnoticed between the proposed May-Corbyn debate on 9 December and the House of Commons vote on the Brexit agreement with the EU on 11 December. This is a pity because the miscalculations that go into producing first rate disasters, both political and military, have a lot in common.

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Seventy-seven years ago, on 10 December 1941, Japanese planes found and sank the battleship Prince of Wales and the battlecruiser Repulse when they unwisely sailed north of Singapore without air cover in a bid to attack the Japanese forces invading Malaya. Describing his reaction to the sinking, in which 840 sailors died, Churchill said: In all the war, I never received a more direct shock.

The ingredients that led to this naval calamity were similar in general terms to those producing most disasters: inadequate resources for the task in hand, over-optimistic assessment of the risks, and self-destructive ignorance of the obstacles to be faced. The two ships went to their doom because the British had no more forces to send and underestimated the threat of Japanese air attack.

Supporters of Britain leaving the EU will bristle and say that it is far too apocalyptic to draw any parallel between a military reverse in the last century and Brexit today. They will say that this is one more exaggerated example of Project Fear and Project Hysteria, and all that is needed is to keep our nerve and exercise greater willpower until those EU leaders and negotiators come running, because they know that their countries would lose out, though not as much as the UK, from a failure to reach an agreement.

This optimistic view suffers from a profound and deeply damaging lack of understanding about what is really at stake as Britain fumbles its way towards the EU exit door. Rational debate on the EU in Britain has been hobbled for years, because it is conducted in terms of economic advantages and disadvantages with talk focusing on issues like single markets and custom unions, tariffs and those magical free trade agreements we are to sign with countries hungering for British goods and services.

But the EU is, and has always been, primarily a political rather than an economic organisation. This has been true since 9 May 1950 when the French politician Robert Schumann made his proposal for the French-German Coal and Steel Community out of which the EU was to develop. The purpose of the Schumann plan was to bind France and Germany together, but the British at that time  and up to the present day  had great difficulty in taking this on board. They have always exaggerated the extent to which the EU is about fostering free trade and economic prosperity.

The nature of the EU, the primacy of politics over economics, made Brexiteer hopes of German carmakers and industrialists pressuring their government to keep access to British markets to be so disappointingly unrealised. The quasi-democratic trappings of the EU, whereby its 27 members appear to have an equal voice, is deceptive. If Germany, France and the EU core members want something then they are going to get it and Britain is going to be over-matched, regardless of whether or not it is inside or outside the union. The outcome of the Brexit negotiations have simply underlined the extent to which the balance of power is skewed against Britain.

The myth preached in Britain down the decades that Brussels is an all-powerful behemoth has led people to underestimate the degree to which Europe is a continent of nation states bound together in a treaty-based alliance dominated by Germany and France.

The French see the revolutionary nature of what Britain is proposing to do more realistically than the British themselves. An article in Le Figaro by Adrien Jaulmes goes to the heart of what is happening, saying that the UK has built its power on two principles: keep the British Isles united and the European continent divided. Today it is close to succeeding in doing the opposite.

Jaulmes goes on to cite with approval Jo Johnsons denunciation of the Brexit venture as a failure of British statecraft not seen since the Suez crisis in 1956. Unfortunately, it is a much more serious failure than Suez where the crisis was short in duration, underlining the self-evident fact that Britain could not launch wars opposed by nationalist forces against the wishes of the US.

Other peacetime crises cited as comparable to Brexit, such as the Ulster Crisis of 1912-14 or going off the gold standard in 1931, do not approach Brexit in terms of long term impact. Only wartime calamities like the loss of the Prince of Wales and Repulse, and the British defeat in Malaya that followed soon thereafter, are really similar to Brexit in terms of the damage done to the British state. To quote Churchill again, the Malayan campaign was the worst disaster and largest capitulation in British history.

A further reason for drawing an analogy between Brexit and wartime disasters is that there is a gratifying but false belief by the British that they flourish in times of disaster. But the disasters usually cited as examples of national robustness at dark moments are usually not that disastrous. Gallipoli and Dunkirk, both heroic failures but not total defeats, are remembered, but not Mesopotamia, where in the First World War 100,000 British and Indian troops were killed or wounded, or Malaya where 130,000 British, Indian and Australian troops were taken prisoner by a smaller Japanese force in 1941-42.

There is nothing surprising about this. What nation anywhere in the world wants to advertise its defeats? But the British differ from other Europeans in having a positive collective memory of the Second World War which is ceaselessly massaged by books and television. The past gains a golden glow, far from reality, which fuels a comfy belief that predictions of disaster are either exaggerated or a malign effort to generate fear and sabotage the whole glorious Brexit project. It is difficult to imagine a cast of mind more likely to produce frustration and failure.

The demonisation of Brussels as a hegemonic power from whose thrall or vassalage Britain needs to escape, leads many to think that they can establish new trading and political relations with all 27 states. Cornish fishermen imagine that post-Brexit they will be able both to catch more fish and go on selling most of it unimpeded to France despite new bureaucratic obstacles. Anything affecting the 900,000 Poles resident in Britain will affect relations with Poland and a Poland empowered by still being a member of the EU.

The supporters of Brexit want greater control or self-determination for Britain, but departure from the EU means that we will permanently rank behind Germany and France. The country is already weaker than it was three years ago and that is even before leaving the EU. The British are more divided and the states of the EU more united than ever before  the exact opposite of British strategy down the centuries. Whatever the impact on trade and the economy, Britain will be a lesser power in future.
The footage of the assault of Jamal, a 15-year-old Syrian refugee living in Huddersfield, is beyond disgusting. It shows Jamal being held down by his abuser who pours water into his mouth in a sick imitation of waterboarding torture while he boasts: Ill drown you. The scene was filmed on a smartphone by a tittering accomplice who encourages the bully to go for it! It has now emerged that Jamals 14-year-old sister was also attacked by them.

Jamals family fled from the besieged city of Homs and Syrias bloody civil war to find safety in the UK. What they found was racism and racist violence.

No one is born a racist. Where did the person who attacked Jamal learn to hate refugees and foreigners?

It should surprise no one that the bully tormenting Jamal has shared racist social media posts by the neo-Nazi group Britain First and by the hate preacher who calls himself Tommy Robinson.

Sasha Simic

London

May ignored trade and it has cost the UK

The whole Brexit campaign was based on a referendum called by a man, David Cameron, who could not conceive that it might turn out the way it did. When he resigned he was replaced by an incompetent woman, Theresa May, who almost lost an unnecessary election and had no desire to get out of the EU. She embarked on a campaign to please both sides of the debate. An impossible task. She and her supporters think they know better than anyone else and believe their time in charge has given them a greater understanding of what is good for the people.

Unfortunately she has now put our country in a chaotic situation with her subservient attitude to Brussels so that the very future of our country in in doubt. As trade is the most important factor in our dealings with the EU it should have been top of the agenda not to be discussed in the transition period as is the case now. I doubt if bringing Theresa May down at this late stage would solve the problem considering the position she has put the country in so it may be wiser to accept her deal and trust future leaders will stand up to the EU and release us from its grip.

William Scott

North Berwick

Politicians needs to be held to account for lying

President Trumps former lawyer Michael Cohen has admitted to lying to a group of politicians  the congress and as the president says of Cohen: Hes got himself a big prison sentence. What about the reverse, politicians who lie to the people?

There are a number of previous cases where politicians, even presidents, have been accused of lying. President Clinton stated, I did not have sexual relations with that woman, Miss Lewinsky, for which he faced impeachment although this did not eventuate. President George W Bush stated in relation to the difficulties in Iraq, Mission accomplished although history has seen it in a different light.

It is easy to suggest that politicians lie and The Washington Post website states that President Trump has made 4,229 false or misleading claims in 558 days. The presidential term of four years suggests that this would lead to about 11,000 or 22,000 false or misleading claims over eight years if re-elected. Based on this information, if this was Pinocchio then his nose would reach to Mexico and beyond, straight through that yet to be built wall.

Let those that lead us, lead us in the truth.

Dennis Fitzgerald

Melbourne

Why is the international community silent on Yemen?

I am a former Gurkha and a veteran of the first Gulf War.

Britain sends weapons to the Saudis and collects huge revenue.

The world knows that the Brits and Americans have been selling weapons to the Saudis and others, to kill thousands of innocent women and children in Yemen, for the money.

Yet the so-called the International Criminal Court of Justice (ICC) funded by the taxpayers money is too incompetent to bring down these cold blooded murderers to justice.

Yam Gurung

Watford

 Support free-thinking journalism and attend Independent events

Thatcher is a deserving 50 winner

Not so long ago it was argued that we should get rid if the 50 note as it was only really used by crooks, money launderers, tax dodgers and other neer-do-wells. Is it therefore appropriate to suggest Margaret Thatcher as a suitable face to adorn the new note?

You decide.

G Forward

Stirling

Tainted by commendation?

I see that Liam Fox has now given his support to Theresa May and her withdrawal agreement.

Surely this now spells the end of the agreement and probably Ms May as well?

Robert Boston

Kingshill
Theresa May: She said peoples vote would put deal back to the start. Photo: Getty Images

British Prime Minister Theresa May has repeatedly refused to say who would erect a Border on the island of Ireland in the absence of the so-called 'backstop'.

She repeatedly stonewalled MPs on the issue, quoting Taoiseach Leo Varadkar's statement that a hard Border cannot be avoided "just through goodwill, political statements and wishful thinking".

The Taoiseach has insisted Ireland is not doing any logistical planning for the operation of a hard Border.

The fact that neither the UK or Irish Government will say who would force a Border to be erected is now being used as Brexiteers argue that the 'backstop' is unnecessary.

However, Mrs May said yesterday that a special acknowledgement of the situation in Northern Ireland is needed in order to uphold the UK's commitments under the Good Friday Agreement.

She said suggestions that the backstop was being forced on her by either Dublin or Brussels were not accurate.

Mrs May appears to be making limited progress in her battle to win over enough House of Commons' members to get approval for the Brexit deal.

But yesterday she pushed back against calls for a second referendum, insisting that a "people's vote" could not take place before 'Brexit Day' on March 29.

The prime minister told the Commons Liaison Committee that seeking an extension to the Article 50 withdrawal process - to enable a referendum to be held - would mean the agreement would fall and they would have to go back to the negotiating table.

"Any second referendum that would be held, if that were the case, would not be able to be held by March 29 next year. You would have to extend Article 50," she said.

"To extend Article 50, actually you are then in the business of renegotiating the deal.

"What is clear is that any extension to Article 50 - anything like that - reopens the negotiations, reopens the deal. At that point, frankly, the deal can go in any direction.

"We would simply find ourselves in a period of more uncertainty, more division in this country."

That position was backed up by the EU's chief negotiator Michel Barnier, who said the deal on the table is the only one possible.

Read more: Philip Lane warns hard Brexit could have large impact on financial services firms here

Addressing a sparsely populated EU Parliament he said that given the "extreme complexity" of the issues that were discussed during the past 18 months "this deal is the only one and the best one possible".

"Now is the time for ratification. It's not a question of winners and losers because Brexit is a lose-lose. There is no added value," Mr Barnier said.

"I am convinced we will be able to work together for a real and unprecedented partnership," he said of Britain's future relationship with the EU, talks on which will start after March.

During the EU parliamentary debate yesterday, Ukip's Nigel Farage said Mrs May's deal would be voted down in the British parliament as "the worst deal in history".

Back in London, the shadow chancellor John McDonnell suggested a second referendum could be "inevitable" unless Mrs May goes back to the country in a general election.

The prime minister acknowledged that there was a series of "practical steps" which would have to follow if the government lost the vote, but refused to be drawn further.

"My focus is on the vote that will take place on December 11 here in this House," she said.

"You want to look at all sorts of options and ideas. I think it is important members of parliament focus on the nature of this vote. This is an important point in our history.

"It is a vote on which we will be deciding whether we deliver on the decision of the British people."

Mrs May will get a boost today when her International Trade Secretary Liam Fox, a leading Brexiteer, will accuse her Tory opponents of not tackling the tough choices facing the UK.

He will say that while the deal hammered out with Brussels will not please everyone it provides a "firm and stable base" on which to leave the EU and start looking to global trade deals.

"Choices which many in parliament, on both sides of the House, have yet to face up to," he is expected to say.
Ireland and Libya has agreed veterinary health certificates for the export of cattle to Libya, the Department of Agriculture here has announced. REUTERS/Paulo Whitaker

Ireland and Libya has agreed veterinary health certificates for the export of cattle to Libya, removing the need for individual boat-by-boat certification.

It said that the agreement had been conveyed today by the Libyan National Center of Animal Health to the Department of Agriculture in Ireland.

The Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Michael Creed said the agreement would apply to the export of breeding, fattening and slaughter cattle.

"Having an agreed health cert for breeding cattle provides much more clarity for exporters, as previously exports of breeding cattle to Libya had to be agreed on a load by load basis," he said.

He also said that agreement was reached on an increase in the age of cattle that can be exported to Libya, from 24 to 30 months, a move that increases opportunities for exporters to export a wider range of cattle.

The agreement on these certs followed a successful visit by an official Libyan delegation to Ireland last August, at the invitation of his Department, he said.

"During their visit here, my officials accompanied the delegation on visits to a beef farm, a dairy farm, and to a slaughter plant, where the high standards of the operators and the official controls applied by my Department were demonstrated."

Live exports have increased by 30pc to date this year over the same period last year (January  10 November) and in particular, exports to other EU Member States have significantly increased this year over 2017.

In the first three months of this year 770 head of cattle were exported to Libya.
The Minister for Agriculture has won his appeal over an order requiring him to pay 124,453, plus interest, to a farmer who had overstated the area of his lands eligible under the Single Payment Scheme.

The Court of Appeal quashed the High Court order made in favour of Michael O'Connor, who farms lands at Nenagh, Co Tipperary.

The High Court made that order after finding errors in how regulations related to the Single Payment Scheme (SPS) for farmers were applied and in how a Department appeals officer decided Mr O'Connor's application under the SPS.

Both the Minister and Mr O'Connor appealed aspects of the High Court decision.

Giving the COA judgment on Thursday, Mr Justice Michael Peart said the SPS is an EU scheme, implemented by each member state, which rewards farmers who conduct their farming activities to a minimum standard.

After Mr O'Connor applied under the scheme in 2010, inspections of his lands found he had significantly overstated the area eligible for the SPS.

They found he failed to made adequate deductions concerning some parcels and included an area of commonage where there was no farming activity and which the inspectors considered was not maintained in good agricultural condition as required under the scheme. Certain animal tagging issues were also raised.

It was ultimately concluded he had overdeclared his lands and he was also informed there would be a 5 per cent sanction arising from the animal tagging.

He sought a review but a department appeals officer upheld the over-declaration of land eligibility and 5 per cent sanction decisions. He was refused a further review.

The Agriculture Appeals Act 2011 Act permits an appeal to the High Court against such a refusal "on any question of law".

For reasons including breaches by the department of relevant regulations relating to land inspections, the High Court allowed the appeal and directed the Minister to pay Mr O'Connor 124,431, reflecting the SPS sum for the eligible lands, plus interest at 2 per cent, from April 2012.

Mr Justice Peart upheld the Minister's arguments the High Court was not entitled to provide a remedy to meet what it considered "the justice of the case".

He agreed an appeal under the 2011 Act is confined to a point of law and the trial judge was not entitled to make what were essentially judicial review findings.

If Mr O'Connor wished to challenge the lawfulness of the inspections and seek to overturn the disputed decisions, his remedy was judicial review, he said.

Once the High Court had concluded that the findings about over-declared lands were properly based on evidence before the appeals officer, the mandatory and directly effective provision of the relevant EC regulation could not be varied as a matter of judicial discretion, he said.

That was so even if the High Court considered that was merited to meet the justice of the case or in light of the serious flaws which the High Court found had occurred in the procedures.

On foot of those and other findings, the COA allowed the Minister's appeal, set aside the payment order, and dismissed the cross-appeal.
Dublin-listed Donegal Investment Group has reported revenues of 76.2m for the 12 months to August 31, a decrease of 200,000 on the same period last year.

The performance was impacted by adverse weather across Europe which resulted in the group's produce division reporting a decrease of 700,000 in profit to 1.6m.

"Seed potato, our key business within our produce division, performed well in key markets, but was impacted by a reduction in the availability of seed following lower than expected yields across Europe during the 2017 seed crop harvest," the group said.

The group's overall profits were marginally ahead of the prior year at 4.7m, with adjusted operating profit decreasing by 700,000 for the year to 4m.

Donegal's food-agri and property division delivered a segmental result of 3.1m, an increase of 900,000 on the prior year's trading performance, while its speciality dairy segment, which trades under the Nomadic brand, continued to achieve "significant volume and sales growth" in its UK and Irish markets.

The group had a cash position of 100,000 at year end, having returned 51m to shareholders during the year through its 45m return of capital in May, as well as ongoing share purchases.

Following the sale of its shareholding in Monaghan Middlebrook Mushroom, Donegal said it is due to receive an additional 4m in deferred consideration, with 2m receivable on or before 15 February next year, and a further 2m receivable on or before 15 February 2020.

Chairman Geoffrey Vance said that the board was "satisfied" with the performance. He added that the group's strategic review process remains ongoing, including in respect of its Nomadic business.

"The group will update shareholders in due course and as appropriate.

"While this review remains ongoing the group will continue to focus on its key strategic produce seed potato business."
Some towns are bucking the pattern of decline, including Westport, Co Mayo. Photo: Getty Images

Small-town Ireland is facing a "perfect storm" which has torn the heart out of life on main street, a stark report warns today.

A lack of local leadership and allowing out-of-town retail developments means that many were "decimated" since the financial crash.

Many small Irish towns were ill-prepared for the recession, and without high-speed broadband they are hamstrung in how they can recover, according to the Society of Chartered Surveyors Ireland report.

But it offers a roadmap for recovery, including banning out-of-town developments, and making it financially viable to get families back living on main streets.

Taxing owners of derelict properties to force them back into use will also be vital if hundreds of small towns are to stop the rot, it warns.

Seven out of 10 settlements outside Dublin suffered a rise in commercial vacancy rates between 2013 and 2017.

This is evidence of the traditional main street being abandoned, even while the population nationally has increased.

The report's author, chartered surveyor Stephen Purcell, warned that without modern infrastructure, struggling towns don't have the ability to bounce back.

Mr Purcell, a chartered surveyor and town planner with Future Analytics Consulting, said shoppers are increasingly going online and towns are struggling to respond to changes in commerce and consumer habits.

"Because businesses in small towns don't have broadband they can't compete with bigger companies and international brands online," he said. "The crash when it came pushed more people towards our main cities - or emigration - while the impact of out-of-town shopping centres exacerbated the challenges faced by businesses in small towns," he said.

"For businesses in small towns, not having broadband is akin to operating with one hand tied behind their back."

The 'Rejuvenating Ireland's Small-Town Centres' report focuses on 200 towns with populations of between 1,500 and 10,000. The towns are home to 600,000 people, 13pc of the population. However, the results are mixed, with some towns bucking the pattern of decline, including Naas, Co Kildare; Clonakilty, Co Cork; and Westport, Co Mayo.

However, in parts of the north-west unemployment has increased or remained largely unchanged despite national figures showing a plunge in joblessness over the past four years.

The report notes that while Ireland's population grew by 31pc between 1996 and 2016, the growth was far from even. The population of Meath, for example, grew by 78pc, Kildare by 65pc, and Laois by 60pc. However, in Sligo, Mayo and Kerry the figure was 17pc.

A similar pattern emerged in unemployment figures. Between 2011 and 2016, unemployment fell by 51pc in Millstreet, Cork; by 44pc in Ballina, Tipperary; and 43pc in Newmarket-on-Fergus, Clare. However, it increased or fell marginally in several towns in counties such as Mayo, Longford and Sligo.

Local leadership is key to halting the decline, Mr Purcell found, including town/municipal architects who can champion and advise on local development.

The report calls for the establishment of an Irish Towns Partnership to combine know-how and provide local leadership, as well as a proactive approach to restoring buildings to residential use and tackling the problem of vacant buildings: "Consumers now spend less on goods and more on experiences such as food, beverages and services. As a result, attractive, vibrant, accessible locations draw visitors, while narrow main streets with lots of traffic and outdated or vacant buildings, deter them."

While the disruption of traditional retail is a global trend, traders here have been hit with "excessive and inflexible rates valuations".

They also face increased insurance costs and additional overheads from bank levies and water charges, Mr Purcell said.

Meanwhile, the families who once lived over their shops have in many cases moved out.

But even where there is appetite to move back into towns, the cost of refurbishing properties can be prohibitively expensive.

The report is published today as the Small Firms Association (SFA) separately called for tomorrow to be 'Small Business Saturday'.

After the massive commercialism of Black Friday and Cyber Monday, it has called on shoppers to support small businesses.

SFA director Sven Spollen-Behrens said: "If each adult spent just 20 extra in small businesses this Christmas, this would amount to an injection of over 73m for small Irish firms and would have a huge, positive impact on local jobs and the vibrancy of town and village centres."
A ground-breaking Dublin biotech firm, backed in part by Bono and The Edge, has won 30m in financing from the European Investment Bank (EIB) in its first direct financing for an Irish firm in the sector.

Nuritas, founded by Dr Nora Khaldi, specialises in studying and isolating the active ingredients in food that can be used to improve human health and lifespans.

The loan will be used to increase and accelerate development of artificial intelligence and DNA analysis for healthcare, the company and the bank said.

Nuritas was set up in 2014 and has identified ways to prevent diabetes using foods and has discovered a peptide that has the capacity to kill the MRSA bacterial infection.

The company was set up by mathematician and bioinformatician Dr Nora Khaldi, who was born in Algeria and has an Irish mother and a French father.

She has a PhD in Molecular Evolution and Bioinformatics from TCD. Nuritas was named one of Europe's top 10 most innovative start-up companies by the European Commission in 2016.

Alongside Bono and The Edge are more traditional startup investors Ali Partovi and Mark Benioff. The company was spun out of NovaUCD's Venture Launch Accelerator Programme.

The European lender said it has been impressed by Nuritas' "innovative use of technology and the number of global deals already achieved and they now become the first Irish biotech firm to benefit from the EIB's dedicated European Growth Finance Facility".
Flying high: John Slattery, said its his dream to see an Aer Lingus shamrock on an E2 aircraft in the future

Brazilian jet maker Embraer expects to sell a "significantly higher number of aircraft" after it seals a deal next year that will see Boeing take an 80pc stake in its commercial division, according to the unit's Irish CEO.

Boeing announced earlier this year that it would buy the stake in the Embraer unit in a transaction that values the business at about $4.75bn (4.1bn).

"At the bottom line level, we will end up selling, producing and delivering a significantly higher number of aircraft than we are today," said Embraer CEO John Slattery. "That will be a benefit to our operating customers around the world." He said airlines are increasingly looking at what equipment to use in order to achieve the highest profitability potential, and the best free cash flow.

"Increasingly, that's being perceived as a dual-fleet solution - narrowbodies at the top end, and the smaller cross-over regional jet at the lower end," said Mr Slattery.

"In the aggregate, when they work together, it generates a better financial result for the airlines."

He added: "With the joint venture with Boeing, and being able to directly access Boeing's franchise footprint of operators around the world, it will allow us to present our aircraft with the larger [Boeing] 737 as a joint fleet solution for airlines."

The joint venture comes after Airbus took control this year of Bombardier's C Series jet programme. Airbus has rebranded the jets as A220s.

"Being ruthlessly pragmatic, for sure, the competitive dynamic changed with Airbus's controlling interest in the C Series," said Mr Slattery, who added that the Boeing deal would give the Embraer jets a "tailwind" they might not otherwise have had.

Mr Slattery was coy on what the joint venture will mean for his role at Embraer.

"Those decisions will be made by Boeing," he said. "They will identify who the new leadership team of the joint venture [is], so I think it best to wait on Boeing to advise on that."

The aviation boss was speaking at Dublin Airport yesterday as Embraer concluded a worldwide tour of its E190-E2 single-aisle jet.

The next generation aircraft is one of three new E-Jets that the Brazilian company is developing to succeed its first generation of the aircraft, which are used by 70 operators in 50 countries.

The E190-E2 is already in service with airlines including SAS and Norway's Wideroe.

The first E195-E2 is due to come into service next year, with Brazilian low-cost carrier Azul.

The new jets deliver significant fuel savings, as well as lower cabin and exterior noise, strong reliability and efficiency.

Dublin-based aircraft lessor AerCap has ordered 50 E2 jets. AerCap's CEO, Gus Kelly, was on the flight of the shark-liveried E190-E2 at Dublin yesterday.

Other lessors have also placed orders for the E2 family.

Mr Slattery also insisted that a recent fall in oil prices wouldn't deter customers from placing orders for the more fuel-efficient jets.

"When you look at the cadence of oil prices over the last three years, it's unambiguously going up," he said.

He added that the best hedge against fuel price increases is having fuel-efficient aircraft.

"That is fundamentally the best hedge you can have in your fleet."
TULLOW Oil has said it will start to pay shareholders a dividend from next year.

The dividend, paid on a semi-annual basis, will be based on the group's free cash flow generation.

The company expects to pay out at least 88m in 2019.

With respect to this year, Tullow's board will review the potential for a one-off ordinary dividend after the year-end.

Tullow CEO Paul McDade said that the group had made "excellent operational and financial progress over the past 18 months".

"Having reached our target of being a balanced self-funding exploration and production business, and having embedded cost discipline across the group, this is the right time to reinstate a dividend and focus on our plans for growth," Mr McDade said.

At its Capital Markets day in London yesterday, the African-focused company also announced plans to drill between three and five oil wells a year globally.

It added that its Guyana discoveries could start production in three years.

Tullow said it has decided to cancel its undrawn $350m revolving credit facility six months before it matures due to the strength of its balance sheet. This will result in cost savings from reduced fees.

Tullow also announced that it has agreed with Discover Exploration to farm into Blocks 35, 36 and 37, offshore the Union of the Comoros in the Indian Ocean.

The group will operate the three blocks and hold a working interest of 35pc.

(Additional reporting Bloomberg)
The black hole in the pension funds of the State's biggest companies disappeared this year for the first time since the financial crash.

Strong stock market rises have helped to eliminate the combined deficits in 15 largest-quoted companies and 11 semi-State firms.

But there are still shortfalls in the pension schemes of CIE, the Central Bank and Ervia.

Pension experts at advisers LCP, which carried out the study, warned that share fluctuations meant the financial position of the traditional defined benefit pensions was precarious.

The combined deficits in the large schemes analysed fell by 1.4bn last year - the shortfall in the retirement funds that were studied was 2.2bn.

Partner in LCP Conor Daly said there was positive news after years of traditional defined benefit schemes losing money.

A defined benefit scheme promises a set level of pension, based on final salary, with the amount also determined by the years of service.

But many defined benefit schemes have been wound up, with few new employees signed into existing ones.

Transport holding group CIE had the largest deficit of the schemes in State-owned bodies looked at with a shortfall of 784m.

Among the stock market quoted firms, Bank of Ireland has a shortfall 478m.
Internet safety advocacy groups hailed Starbuck's recent decision to enforce a ban on customers accessing porn through their free WiFi - but not everyone is happy with the decision.

The global coffee chain is following through on a promise it made two years ago, announcing plans to implement a tool that will block explicit content.

It had reportedly had issued a ban on WiFi users at its shops from using porn, but had not added content blockers to ensure no access to related content.

Not one to take things lying down, adult website YouPorn has now "officially banned" its staff from consuming Starbucks products on site.

The free pornographic video sharing service issued a seemingly tongue-in-cheek memo to employees about the group's updated company policy.

"In light of the news that Starbucks has blocked customers from searching and viewing adult content within their establishments, Starbucks products will officially be banned from the YouPorn offices," the memo read.

It is understood that the policy change comes into effect on January 1 next.
Chinese investors that have renewed their billion-dollar shopping spree for high-tech assets in Europe face greater scrutiny under new EU rules.

The technology sector in particular has been an important target as China is intent on developing its own semiconductor production to lessen its dependence on foreign tech.

EU negotiators last week approved the first bloc-wide rules to prevent foreign investments from threatening national security, largely driven by unease over acquisitions by Chinese companies.

Under the new rules, authorities are likely to intensify their scrutiny of so-called dual-use technology that can be tapped by both the civilian and military sectors, according to Mikko Huotari, deputy director at the Mercator Institute for China Studies in Berlin.

France and Germany in particular are likely to train their eyes more closely on acquisitions from China, he said.

Chinese buyers have been behind 3.8bn in European deals this year, up almost twice the volume on 2017.

Under the new law, EU states will be allowed to request information and offer comments on a FDI in a particular country. The nation would have to take any remarks and opinions into account when deciding on the deal.

EU officials hope the mechanism will provide a broader overview of Chinese investment in Europe amid concerns that companies with indirect ties to the state are snapping up strategically important businesses. Economy Minister Margarete Schramboeck of Austria, which holds the EU's rotating presidency and negotiated the November 20 accord on behalf of the bloc's national governments, called the 2016 acquisition of German robotics company Kuka by Midea Group a "wake-up call" for the bloc's politicians.

The attempted purchase of Aixtron, a German semiconductor supplier, by a consortium of Chinese investors also fanned concerns in Europe and the US. The deal derailed after the Obama administration blocked it on national security grounds.

Ms Schramboeck stressed the EU mechanism isn't aimed only at Chinese investments. Still, China appears to feel targeted. The Mission of China to the EU said investments aren't part of a political strategy and that it hopes the EU can "steer clear of trade protectionism."

Bloomberg
THE activities at Deutsche Bank that prompted a police raid on its headquarters took place as recently as this year, according to authorities.

While money-laundering suspicions stem from the 2016 disclosures known as the Panama Papers, the investigation covers a period from 2013 to 2018, a spokeswoman for Frankfurt prosecutors said.

The main suspects in the probe focused on a unit in the British Virgin Islands that processed 311m in 2016 alone were two bank employees who were not identified beyond their ages - 50 and 46.

For the beleaguered German lender, the raid adds to a panoply of headaches - commercial, regulatory and legal - facing CEO Christian Sewing, who took over in April, and Paul Achleitner, chairman since 2012. The stock has lost almost half its value this year, after sliding more than 3pc on Thursday. The cost of insuring its junior debt against losses jumped 12 basis points to 384 basis points, the highest in two years.

"This must be associated with criminal behaviour and not just a trivial offense," said Stefan Mueller, CEO of DGWA, an investment advisory boutique based in Frankfurt.

He believes the bank will now be paralyzed for months until it becomes clear how it will be affected by new potential fines. "Maybe this time, Achleitner will fall. The bank needs fresh blood to make a radical cut at its management."

The Panama Papers refer to a collection of documents leaked in 2016 from Mossack Fonseca, a Panama-based law firm that created shell companies to facilitate tax avoidance. At the time, Deutsche Bank severed ties with a Cypriot lender partly owned by VTB Group that was identified in the reporting.

Subsequent investigations exposed evidence Deutsche Bank helped clients set up off-shore accounts, prosecutors said. The officials said the raid yesterday wasn't related to its role as a correspondent bank for money laundering at Denmark's Danske Bank.

Authorities seized documents and electronic files after more than six police vehicles, blue lights flashing, pulled up to Deutsche Bank's main offices shortly before 9am in an operation involving about 170 officers.

The German lender may have helped clients in setting up offshore companies in tax havens. Money obtained illegally may have been transferred to accounts at Deutsche Bank, which failed to report the suspicions that the accounts may have been used to launder money, Frankfurt prosecutors said.

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Half a billion people could be impacted by a breach in the Marriott hotel chain's booking database.

According to a statement from the group, people's personal information, used to book rooms at its Starwood properties - which it bought in 2016 - could be accessed.

Guests who have booked with the hotel group since 2014 could have their personal information, including credit card information, compromised in the cyber attack.

Marriott Hotels owns a number of hotel chains, including the Ritz-Carlton and the Sheraton.

Marriott-branded hotels use a separate reservation system on a different network.

Arne Sorenson, Marriotts president and chief executive said the group deeply regrets the incident.

"We fell short of what our guests deserve and what we expect of ourselves. We are doing everything we can to support our guests, and using lessons learned to be better moving forward," he said.

"Today, Marriott is reaffirming our commitment to our guests around the world. We are working hard to ensure our guests have answers to questions about their personal information, with a dedicated website and call centre.

"We will also continue to support the efforts of law enforcement and to work with leading security experts to improve. Finally, we are devoting the resources necessary to phase out Starwood systems and accelerate the ongoing security enhancements to our network."

An investigation into the breach revealed that there was unauthorised access to the database on or before September 10, 2018.

Marriott has reported this incident to law enforcement and has already begun notifying regulatory authorities.

Personal finance expert, Laura Rettie from money.co.uk said that customers who were affected will be contacted, "however you should be super wary of anyone that says theyre from either the Marriott or your bank or credit card provider".

"Unfortunately, fraudsters might take advantage of this being in the news and use it to gain more personal information from you. Stay on high alert and if youre suspicious hang up and call your bank or credit card provider directly. Its worth checking old bank statements and keep a close eye on future ones in the coming weeks and months for any activity you dont recognise."
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and French President Emmanuel Macron were arranging to meet on the sidelines of the G20 summit meeting, media said, amid signs of a brewing diplomatic feud over the power balance at the troubled Renault-Nissan alliance.

The 19-year partnership between Renault and Nissan is facing its biggest test to date after the arrest this month of its larger-than-life leader, Carlos Ghosn, for suspected financial misconduct.

Ghosn, 64, has been detained in Tokyo since his November 19 arrest, and prosecutors are widely expected to seek a maximum 10-day extension of his detention. If the court approves, authorities will have to file charges by December 10 or arrest him on suspicion of fresh crimes to keep him in custody.

Ghosn's detention in Tokyo has left the Franco-Japanese auto alliance without a leader and an advocate for the French government, which has said it wants to retain the current capital structure. Renault controls Nissan through its 43pc stake, while Nissan holds a non-voting 15pc stake in its partner.

After meeting in Paris last week, Japanese Industry Minister Hiroshige Seko and French Finance and Economy Minister Bruno Le Maire reaffirmed the two countries' support for the alliance.

A few days later, however, Le Maire said on French television that he and Seko agreed that keeping the alliance's current capital structure was desirable - an agreement the Japanese minister denied making.

The Mainichi Shimbun daily reported on Friday that Seko had sent a rare letter of protest to Le Maire for the remarks. Officials at Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry said they could not immediately comment on the reported letter.

MACRON'S FIGHT

Ghosn's arrest, including for allegedly under-reporting his income, has triggered new attempts by Nissan to shake off what it considers Renault's outsized control of it, adding to problems at Macron's Elysee.

As economy minister, Macron had masterminded the French government's surprise increase of its Renault stake in 2015, raising alarm bells inside Nissan that the Elysee was out to wield more influence over the Japanese company.

Macron has requested a meeting with Abe at the G20 summit starting on Friday, the Mainichi reported. A Japanese government spokesman said nothing had been decided.

The auto alliance, which also includes Japan's Mitsubishi Motors, for its part "emphatically reiterated" its commitment to the partnership on Thursday after executives met in Amsterdam for the first time since Ghosn's arrest.

A review of the capital structure was not discussed at the meeting, Mitsubishi Motors' CEO Osamu Masuko said.
The United States has filed criminal charges against Mike Lynch over the $11bn (9.6bn) sale of the British software company Autonomy to Hewlett-Packard seven years ago, the Financial Times reported on Friday.

The newspaper said that the charges carry a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and include 14 counts of conspiracy and fraud.

Irish born entrepreneur Lynch co-founded Autonomy in 1996 and served as its CEO.

In 2011, the company was bought by HP for $11bn in a move that was supposed to form the central part of the US group's move into software.

But the deal turned sour a year later when HP wrote off three-quarters of the British company's value, accusing Lynch and his colleagues of financial mismanagement.

Lynch has always denied any wrongdoing. He could not be immediately reached for comment.

The newspaper quoted lawyers for Lynch as saying the indictment was a "travesty of justice" and that he would contest the charges.

HP has tried to sue Lynch while he countersued HP in 2015, saying at the time that "HP was simply incompetent in its operation of Autonomy, and the acquisition was doomed from the very beginning." Those cases have been delayed by the criminal investigation in the US.

The FT reported that Stephen Chamberlain, a former Autonomy finance executive, had also been charged.

Lynch sits on the British government's council for science and technology which advises Prime Minister Theresa May, the FT said.
Ryan Tubridy on the set of the Late Late Toy Show with Tattoo Man Dylan OConnor (11) from Dublin, Napoleon Luke OConnor (7) from Dublin, 3 Legged Man Kayla McMahon (10) from Balrothery, Pierrot Clown Enya Allen (5) from Navan, Fatman Matthew Little (12) from Ardee, Bearded Lady Alannah Willoughby (12) from Carlow, Wolfman Colm Sullivan (8) from Navan and Albino Ella Maher (10) from Carlow. Pic Steve Humphreys 29th November 2019.

Ryan Tubridy on the set of the Late Late Toy Show with Tattoo Man Dylan OConnor (11) from Dublin, Napoleon Luke OConnor (7) from Dublin, 3 Legged Man Kayla McMahon (10) from Balrothery, Pierrot Clown Enya Allen (5) from Navan, Fatman Matthew Little (12) from Ardee, Bearded Lady Alannah Willoughby (12) from Carlow, Wolfman Colm Sullivan (8) from Navan and Albino Ella Maher (10) from Carlow. Pic Steve Humphreys 29th November 2019.

Ryan Tubridy on the set of the Late Late Toy Show with Pierrot Clown Enya Allen (5) from Navan, Bearded Lady Alannah Willoughby (12) from Carlow and Wolfman Colm Sullivan (8) from Navan. Pic Steve Humphreys 29th November 2019.

Ryan Tubridy on the set of the Late Late Toy Show with 3 Legged Man Kayla McMahon (10) from Balrothery, Pierrot Clown Enya Allen (5) from Navan, Fatman Matthew Little (12) from Ardee, Bearded Lady Alannah Willoughby (12) from Carlow, Wolfman Colm Sullivan (8) from Navan and Albino Ella Maher (10) from Carlow. Pic Steve Humphreys 29th November 2019.

Ryan Tubridy on the set of the Late Late Toy Show with Tattoo Man Dylan OConnor (11) from Dublin, Napoleon Luke OConnor (7) from Dublin, 3 Legged Man Kayla McMahon (10) from Balrothery, Pierrot Clown Enya Allen (5) from Navan, Fatman Matthew Little (12) from Ardee, Bearded Lady Alannah Willoughby (12) from Carlow, Wolfman Colm Sullivan (8) from Navan and Albino Ella Maher (10) from Carlow. Pic Steve Humphreys 29th November 2019.

One of the biggest films of the year is the theme for tonight's highly anticipated Late Late Toy Show.

The spectacular RTE production is inspired by The Greatest Showman, with Late Late host Ryan Tubridy channelling Hugh Jackman as P.T. Barnum for the opening number.

"It's a total departure for us," he says of the theme. The presenter's youngest daughter persuaded him to watch the movie despite his prediction that it would be "awful" and the idea for the Toy Show was born from there, "From the moment it started, with the big staccato opening with the cane and top hat and jacket, I was just 'yes!' and for the hour and a half it was on I was just enthralled."

The show will be Tubridy's tenth at the helm, and he's stepping outside his comfort zone, he says, and feeling "pretty nervous" about singing live for the 1 million plus viewers who will be tuning in tonight.

"I've never sung. I've only just acted the maggot. But they've asked me to sing, so it's one thing singing in a karaoke booth after three drinks, it's quite another singing in front of over a million people," he says.

Speaking about the 'key message' of The Greatest Showman, Tubridy becomes emotional. "It is for the child who didn't get picked for the team, who isn't involved in the Snapchat group, who just gets a little bit left out, but who isn't a sad child. This isn't a sympathy head tilt to those children, it's simply a recognition to say, 'You're as important as all the other ones'.

Expand Close Ryan Tubridy on the set of the Late Late Toy Show. Pic Steve Humphreys 29th November 2019. / Facebook

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"So, when you go to a school and see everyone trying to wear the same clothes and look the same, the show isn't about them. It's for them too but it's for the other kid who decides to wear their hair differently, or wears a hat when no one else is wearing a hat, or decides to go to the bookshop when everyone else is buying make-up, or decides they're not ready to get to that point in their life, who just wants to be a child."

Having spent the morning on set with children from around the country who are dealing with difficulties in their lives, he is acutely aware of the positive impact both he and the show can have.

"It's humbling and heartbreaking because they come to you and they hug you like you're their relative or something," he reveals.

"You've got this strange Santa power that I don't... it's hard to understand, because they come up to you straight away as if you can do things for them and make things better, which of course I can't. But we can do a picture together and we can smile and we can make a promise we'll be friends forever and that seems to do a job."

Expand Close Ryan Tubridy on the set of the Late Late Toy Show with Tattoo Man Dylan OConnor (11) from Dublin, Napoleon Luke OConnor (7) from Dublin, 3 Legged Man Kayla McMahon (10) from Balrothery, Pierrot Clown Enya Allen (5) from Navan, Fatman Matthew Little (12) from Ardee, Bearded Lady Alannah Willoughby (12) from Carlow, Wolfman Colm Sullivan (8) from Navan and Albino Ella Maher (10) from Carlow. Pic Steve Humphreys 29th November 2019. / Facebook

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Whatsapp Ryan Tubridy on the set of the Late Late Toy Show with Tattoo Man Dylan OConnor (11) from Dublin, Napoleon Luke OConnor (7) from Dublin, 3 Legged Man Kayla McMahon (10) from Balrothery, Pierrot Clown Enya Allen (5) from Navan, Fatman Matthew Little (12) from Ardee, Bearded Lady Alannah Willoughby (12) from Carlow, Wolfman Colm Sullivan (8) from Navan and Albino Ella Maher (10) from Carlow. Pic Steve Humphreys 29th November 2019.

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The issue of homelessness was touched upon last year and he says it's still an issue and that "one of the joys of the Toy Show is that it allows people who don't have great cause to smile to smile".

Over the years, the Toy Show has been visited by several celebrity guests including Girls Aloud, Ed Sheeran, Liam Neeson, and an array of homegrown TV personalities from Met Eireann meteorologist Evelyn Cusack to architect Dermot Bannon.

Speaking about potential celebrity guests this year, however, Tubridy dismisses the idea of the Spice Girls ("We said five or nothing") and, asked about Boyzone possibly returning following their Late Late appearance last weekend during which Shane Lynch swore on live TV, he laughs, "Been there, done that!" and adds, "There's no issue".

It is not so much about the celebrity guests, he says, as the real life surprises and he references the emotional moment on last year's show when Sergeant Graham Burke surprised his three children by popping out of a box after a six month stint in Mali.

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"There's some gold waiting to happen tomorrow night, I can assure you," he says of those poignant moments. "I don't know how I'm going to keep it together. I seem to be quite emotional about this year. I don't know what it is but it's gotten right under my skin."

On a lighter note, he has revealed that he will wear just one Christmas jumper during the show this year, as well as a pair of Yellow Submarine socks which were gifted to him by a young girl. There will be a computer game segment and the book segment will be back, but Tubridy's own children's book, The First Christmas Jumper (and the Sheep Who Changed Everything) will not feature "in the interest of fairness".

"I think that would be a little bit unfair, not right, so definitely not. It's on the top of my Christmas list obviously, signed copy, but no," he says.

"The book section is very much alive and well because now more than ever we need to get them and put books in their hands because, as I always say to the kids, if you put words in your brain it's like putting water on a plant and it'll grow and get bigger and better so it's so important."

The Late Late Toy Show kicks off on RTE One at 9.35pm. It will be available to watch worldwide for free on RTE Player. Doireann Garrihy will be taking a look behind the scenes in the run up to the show on the RTE One Facebook page. A list of toys featured will be available on www.rte.ie/tv/latelate following broadcast.
Sued on sons behalf: Natasha Houlihan, mother of Thomas (10), who was awarded 75,000 in his action. Photo: Collins Courts

A schoolboy who caught his finger in a chair while attending a concert at RTE two years ago has settled his High Court action for 75,000.

Thomas Houlihan, now 10, later had to have a partial amputation of his left index finger, the court heard.

His counsel Jeremy Maher told the court he is missing a part of the top of that finger but he is right handed and has made a very good recovery.

Thomas, of Brookfield, Tallaght, Dublin, through his mother Natasha Houlihan, sued RTE and the board of management of St Aidan's National School, Jobstown, Tallaght, as a result of the accident on December 9, 2016.

The boy had attended at RTE in Donnybrook with his school at the time.

It is claimed his left index finger became trapped in a metal chair.

An ambulance was called and the boy was brought to a hospital but later had to transferred to another hospital where he was seen by a specialist.

It was claimed that the boy was in significant pain follow the accident and that allegedly a first aid box could not be found and his finger had to be wrapped in tissue.

It was further claimed the boy and his parents were traumatised afterwards as when they first went to a hospital it appeared understaffed and the parents claimed they had to squeeze the boy's finger to stop the bleeding.

It was claimed there was an alleged failure to ensure the seating area at the concert was safe for use by the boy and an alleged failure to take any reasonable steps or precautions for the safety of the boy. The claims were denied.

Mr Justice Kevin Cross approved the settlement.
A judge has told two brothers he found it absolutely extraordinary they should have sustained instantaneous serious injury such as warranted them remaining motionless in a car while waiting for an ambulance to arrive.

Throwing out both of Keith and Terence Piercys 60,000 damages claims, Circuit Court President Mr Justice Raymond Groarke told them they had been involved in a minor contact collision which had not resulted in any injury to anybody.

Judge Groarke awarded legal costs against Keith (29) of Cushlawn Park, Killinarden, Tallaght, Dublin 24, and Terence (30) of Cherry Orchard Crescent, Ballyfermot, Dublin 10.

Barrister Shane English, counsel for the defendant Joseph Lawrence, (23) of Liffey Hall, Lucan, Co Dublin, said the Piercy brothers claimed they had suffered severe personal injury and had to remain seated in their father Raphael Piercys car until an ambulance arrived.

Raphael Piercy (52) of Croftwood Crescent, Ballyfermot, told the Circuit Civil Court that on 8th October, 2016, he had stopped his Nissan Micra at traffic lights on Station Road, Clondalkin, when he felt a bang and a push forward about six feet. His legs were like jelly and his two sons were in agony in the back of the car.

Garda Derek McGuinness said he had been passing the scene of the incident and had been waved down. He examined both cars and was of the opinion there had not been any impact to cause damage to the cars.

Lawrence told Mr English, who appeared with Crowley Millar Solicitors, that he had not hit the Nissan Micra and was annoyed at what he was being accused of.

Judge Groarke said there had been a straight conflict between the parties as to what had happened and the two plaintiffs said there was a severe impact while Mr Lawrence had told the court there was no such impact.

Was there a severe impact or no impact? Judge Groarke asked. I am satisfied there was an impact between the two vehicles that caused little if any damage to either vehicle.

Judge Groarke said the two Piercy brothers never got out of the car to see what damage if any had been caused. They had no interest and made no inquiries whatsoever. Their father had been involved in a heated discussion with the other driver yet they did not leave their car, the reason being, they said, that they had been so badly injured.

When the gardai had arrived they had demanded an ambulance to take them to hospital.

I find it absolutely extraordinary that these two men could have sustained instantaneous serious injury such as warranted that they remain motionless in the car awaiting an ambulance, Judge Groarke said.

Dismissing both their claims he said there had been minor contact between the vehicles which did not result in any injury to anybody. He awarded costs against both of them.
A convicted burglar who took part in shop looting during the extreme weather of last March has been jailed.

Lawyers for David Berney (37) told Dublin Circuit Criminal Court that like many people, Berney was reminded of his childhood by the heavy snowfall.

But unlike others he was high on cocaine at the time, Eoin Lawlor BL, defending, told Judge Cormac Quinn.

Berney of Suncroft Park, Tallaght, Dublin pleaded guilty to burglary of the Centra store in Jobstown, Tallaght on March 2 last (2018).

He was on bail at the time awaiting prosecution for a burglary of a private home at Rocklodge, Stepaside on December 3, 2014 and has since pleaded guilty to that offence.

Mr Berry said that Berney's offending constituted crimes of acquisition to feed his drug habit. He has previous convictions for robbery, assault, burglary and making threats to kill or cause serious harm.

Judge Quinn imposed a two-year sentence for the 2014 burglary. He imposed a further 18 months for the looting incident but suspended this term on condition that he keep the peace and engage with addiction and social reintegration services.

Berney was found hiding in the back of the shop in a cash room. Another man, who is still before the courts, was in his company and this man had used a sledgehammer to smash their way into the back offices while others looted the shop.

Detective Garda David Jennings told Eoghan Cole BL, prosecuting, that on March 2 last gardai in Tallaght became aware of looting at the Centra store. At the time most shops had closed due to the severe weather warning.

He said because of the severe weather, officers travelled to the shop in an official jeep. They were forced to abandon the 4x4 before reaching the shop because the road was impassable with the snow and other abandoned vehicles.

He said there were around 20 people at the scene. A con saw had been used to cut a hole in the security shutters and people were running in and out of the shop.

People began shouting garda garda to alert others who were still inside the shop, but the shop's alarm was ringing so the shouts could not be heard from inside, Det Jennings said.

He said Berney had entered the shop about 90 seconds before gardai arrived. While others were looting the shop, Berney and two other men had gone to the back of the shop where the store room was.

Another man had a sledgehammer and used this to smash the store room door open, and the three then entered the cash room inside.

Counsel for Berney said he is willing to work on his rehabilitation.
A 53-YEAR-OLD criminal who was previously jailed for damaging a 10m Monet painting at the National Gallery has been convicted of possession of a stolen painting.

Andrew Shannon, of Willans Way, Ongar, was due to be sentenced at Dublin Circuit Court today after being convicted by a jury this week of possession of stolen property.

The charge related to possession of a stolen painting from Bantry House in Cork worth 5,000, which was found in Shannon's west Dublin home in April 2014 when around 60 pieces of art were seized.

Shannon's latest conviction follows an investigation by Pearse Street gardai.

It was established that Shannon was staying in the hotel when the painting was stolen, but he was never charged with a theft-related offence.

Amateur antiques dealer Shannon has been in jail here since March when he was extradited back to Ireland after a European Arrest Warrant was issued against him.

Shannon served a short sentence for burglary in the UK after being arrested at Holyhead before he was sent back to Ireland earlier this year.

Trained French polisher Shannon has 35 previous criminal convictions in Ireland for offences which include theft and burglary, but he also has previous convictions for similar offences in the UK.

His last previous conviction here dated from June 2016, when he was jailed for six months after he was caught with 57 stolen antique books, including an extremely rare King James Bible, worth a total of 6,500.

Dublin Circuit Court heard that the stolen books had originated in the library of Carton House in Kildare, the historical family seat of the FitzGerald family.

However, Shannon's most notable criminal conviction was when he received four-and-a-half years for damaging the Claude Monet painting entitled Argenteuil Basin With A Single Sail Boat (1874) at the National Gallery of Ireland on Clare Street on June 29, 2012.

Shannon had entered the gallery and was seen standing in front of the Monet painting.

He was captured on CCTV moving forward in the direction of the painting with his arm raised and striking the painting, causing a substantial tear to it.

The State's case was that the damage was premeditated and deliberate.

Shannon, however, contended that he had fallen accidentally after suffering a coronary episode.

Eyewitnesses from New Zealand said they saw Shannon punching the painting and expert evidence established the force of the blow.

Shannon has previous convictions for stealing from stately homes in England as well as for handling stolen property involving maps dating from 1651 with a value of 6,000.
DANA Rosemary Scallon has won an appeal over an application requiring her sister and niece to put up security for legal costs should they lose a defamation they are taking against the singer and former Presidential candidate.

The defamation action arises out of a 2011 TV interview, during the Presidential election campaign, when she was asked about allegations of sexual abuse made against Dana's brother John Brown.

Susan Stein and her daughter Susan Gorrell, both living in Iowa, US, have taken separate High Court actions alleging Dana defamed them during the interview broadcast on TV3 in October 2011.

Dana, they say, made statements which meant both women maliciously made up claims Ms Gorrell was sexually abused between 1971-81 by her uncle, John Brown, who lived in England. They claim the allegations of abuse are true.

Subsequently, Ms Gorrell made a complaint to English police and Mr Brown (62), of Bracknell, Berkshire, was cleared in July 2014 of charges of indecent assault of two girls aged under 13 and 16 at several locations in Northern Ireland and England in the 1970s and 80s.

He denied all the claims against him.

In the meantime, Ms Stein and Ms Gorrell brought defamation proceedings against Dana, who denied their claims. It was also against TV3 which apologised and paid a sum of compensation to them.

Dana then sought a security of costs order in advance of the trial. She claimed legal costs would amount to some 450,000 while the other side estimated them at 189,000.

A year ago, the High Court refused to make a security for costs order and Dana appealed.

On Friday, a three-judge Court of Appeal overturned that decision and ordered the Ms Stein and Ms Gorrell to put up 150,000 in security.

Ms Justice Maire Whelan, on behalf of the court, said Dana had a bona fide defence upon the merits to the claims of her sister and niece.

This case was over statements about a "private dispute" between Dana and her sister and it got media coverage at the time because Dana was a presidential candidate at the time, she said.

It concerns a claim for defamation and cannot be reasonably characterised, as was done by the High Court, as being litigation involving "allegations of sexual abuse in a civil context", she said.

She also found Ms Stein and Ms Gorrell failed to discharge the burden of proof in relation to the issue of their impecuniosity.

The High Court had erred in placing reliance on reported excerpts from an affidavit which was apparently alluded to in a non-relevant Supreme Court decision of years before, she said.

The High Court also erred in entering in an assessment of the merits of Dana's defence of truth.

In relation to the amount of security for costs, Ms Justice Whelan concluded the amount suggested by the Stein/Gorrell side was an under-statement of the likely exposure there will be.

It was customary to require security to be about one-third of the costs which a defendant would incur and she set the figure at 150,000.

She also noted that an insurance policy Ms Stein and Ms Gorrell had obtained an insurance in England, indemnifying them for costs, was no longer in place.
A 46-year-old man who died of acute MDMA toxicity was found critically ill on a Dublin street.

Passers-by stopped to help Robert Niak (46) who was having a seizure on Dawson Street in Dublin on the night of March 31, 2017.

It was the night of his birthday and we know from CCTV footage he walked down Dawson Street, onto Nassau Street and then back to Dawson St. He was staggering out in front of traffic. He came back to Dawson Street before he lay down on the ground and he removed his shoes, investigating Garda Stephen Farrelly said.

The man, originally from Poland, had no money but was carrying his passport and wallet and wearing multiple layers of clothing.

Authorities were unsure how he was surviving in Dublin.

He had never come into contact with Gardai before, Gda Farrelly said.

Witness Eoin Cassidy found the man lying on his back by a lamp-post around 11.30pm.

He was convulsing, making noises and speaking in a foreign language, Mr Cassidy said.

He phoned an ambulance and a doctor stopped to help. Chest compressions commenced and continued until paramedics arrived.

The man was rushed to St Jamess Hospital where he was pronounced dead shortly after midnight.

The man's sister flew from the UK to identify the remains.

A post-mortem gave the cause of death as MDMA toxicity.

The report shows a very high level of MDMA and also MDA, the breakdown product of that drug, Deputy Coroner Dr Crona Gallagher said.

There was no alcohol or other drugs in the mans system. The coroner returned a verdict of misadventure.

There are some gaps in the knowledge as to how this came to be in his system, but the Gardai are satisfied there was nobody else involved, the coroner said.
A man convicted of the murder of his girlfriend, who was found beaten to death in his flat with 125 different injuries to her body, had four years earlier subjected another woman to a savage attack.

Cathal O'Sullivan (45) received a mandatory life sentence as he was convicted of the murder of mother-of-three Nicola Collins (38) by a Central Criminal Court jury in Cork.

The jury of nine men and three women had deliberated on their verdict for almost four hours over two days following a three-week trial.

Ms Justice Eileen Creedon was told the jury found the defendant guilty of Ms Collins's murder by unanimous verdict.

O'Sullivan, of Popham's Road, Farranree, Cork, and formerly of Charleville, Co Cork, remained emotionless as the verdict was returned and Ms Justice Creedon imposed the mandatory life sentence.

The prosecution maintained throughout the trial the defendant beat Ms Collins to death.

Expand Close Tragic: Nicola Collins was discovered unresponsive in a flat in Cork. / Facebook

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The sentencing hearing heard that in 2013 O'Sullivan received a three-year suspended sentence before Cork Circuit Criminal Court for a violent assault on another woman.

That attack left the young woman physically unable to leave her property for three days - and, when she did, she was assessed as having kidney, liver and head injuries.

Nicola Collins's sister Carly, in a victim impact statement, said her family would be "haunted" by the horrific injuries the mother of three sustained.

"It has been terribly distressing to hear of the devastating injuries she sustained. The thought of the pain she must have suffered and the unimaginable terror she surely felt in her final hours will forever haunt us," she said.

Expand Close Gardai at the scene in Pophams Road, Cork. Photo: Michael Mac Sweeney/Provision / Facebook

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O'Sullivan had denied the murder of Ms Collins, a native of Kerry, at his Popham's Road flat on March 27, 2017.

The science graduate insisted that Ms Collins had suffered her injuries accidentally after lunging at him following the consumption of cider and further that she had later fallen in the bath.

However, bruises and abrasions were found to almost every part of Ms Collins's body.

Emergency services found Ms Collins lying naked on the floor of O'Sullivan's flat with her legs resting on a bed.

O'Sullivan was drinking beer as paramedics tried to revive Ms Collins and initially declined to leave the bedroom, explaining that he was "used to seeing dead people" and would rather stay.

She was found with fatal injuries in the flat by paramedics and gardai in the early hours of March 27.

In one Garda statement, O'Sullivan said of Ms Collins's death: "It was kind of deep - it was her [Ms Collins] dying with me. She was happy. We were singing songs before she passed away."

O'Sullivan had also claimed the couple were in bed watching 'The Young Offenders' when Ms Collins, after drinking cider, had suddenly lunged at him.
Gardai and forensic officers at the scene of the death of Rita Apine in Freshford, Co Kilkenny. Photo: Pat Moore

A Latvian man who was charged with murder despite telling gardai that his partner fell down the stairs has been acquitted of her murder by a jury at the Central Criminal Court.

Justice Tara Burns thanked the jury of eight men and four women and told Renars Veigulis: "You are free to go."

Mr Veigulis (32) of Bridge street in Freshford, Co Kilkenny was charged with murdering his partner Rita Apine (29) at their home on or about May 14, 2017.

Mr Veigulis maintained from the outset that he was playing with his daughter and heard a "boom, boom, boom". When he looked into the hallway he saw Ms Apine at the bottom of the stairs with blood coming from her head.

A pathologist said Ms Apine's injuries were not consistent with a simple fall down the stairs and that she had never seen some of the injuries caused by such a fall.

Mr Veigulis's defence barrister Michael Bowman SC, instructed by Tony Collier Solicitors, asked the jury not to convict on the basis that the pathologist had not seen such injuries before.

"You fall down stairs in as many ways as there are people who fall down stairs," he said.

The jury took 10 hours and 21 minutes in their deliberations.

Mr Veigulis wiped his eyes and hugged his lawyers following the not guilty verdict.

Gardai were first alerted to Ms Apine's death when Mr Veigulis called emergency services and said: Hello can I talk with Kilkenny ambulance. Please, my wife has fallen down the stairs.

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Paramedics gave evidence of attending the scene at Ms Apines heavily bloodstained home.

On call doctor Leonard de Villiers told the jury that he observed a big gash to the right hand side of Ms Apines head.

Both of her eyes were swollen shut and there was bruising to a cheek of her face and one of her hands.

The jury has heard that paramedics resuscitated Ms Apine at the scene and took her to hospital but she died later that day.

Gardai launched a murder investigation when forensic experts found blood spatter on the walls and Deputy State Pathologist Dr Linda Mulligan said Ms Apine's injuries were not consistent with a "simple fall down the stairs".

She said the deceased died from massive blood loss as a result of blunt force trauma to the head.

There were three separate full thickness lacerations over the right side of Ms Apines head. They were in close proximity but all had different shapes and different impact surfaces .

She also noted bruising to both eye areas which were usually caused by direct trauma to that area of the face.

She said the deceased had bruising to both forearms which indicated blunt force trauma and possibly represent defensive injuries.

However, when the bruising to the forearms was considered in conjunction with injuries to Ms Apines legs, she said a fall down the stairs could not be excluded as the cause of those bruises.

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Overall, Dr Mulligan said Ms Apines injuries were not consistent with a simple fall down the stairs.

Mr Bowman told the jury that what happened to Ms Apine wasn't a "simple fall down the stairs" but could have been a "complex" fall and that "you fall down stairs in as many ways as there are people who fall down stairs."

He asked the jury not to convict based on the fact that the pathologist had never seen such injuries before,

Dr Stephen Doak of Forensic Science Ireland told the jury: There was more to the event than someone just landing at the bottom of the stairs. These blood-staining marks are significant and I felt there was a forceful event that occurred at the time, he said.

Dr Doak observed a large area of blood-staining on the wall beside the first step of the stairs and there was contact blood-staining on top of the baby-gate at the bottom of the stairs. Dr Doak said he also found hair swipe blood patterns on the wall of the stairs.

While he said that this suggested to him an "energetic event" Mr Bowman said that the scientist had not considered the evidence given by the accused man, that he had moved the body and attempted resuscitation.

This, Mr Bowman said, combined with the fall could have accounted for all the blood staining observed by Dr Doak.

He said he returned to the house at Old Bridge Street on May 17 and used a chemical based substance known as luminol which lights up blood in a darkened room as he had previously formed the opinion that something was not quite right, namely that there were missing areas of blood.

He said he sprayed the chemical onto the wall of the stairs and believed there had been a washing up incident of the blood-staining.

The person who wiped this wall had a blood-stained sponge or cloth and left this marking which was not visible to the naked eye but was visible to the chemical eye, said Dr Doak.

In conclusion, Dr Doak said that after he had used luminol he was of the opinion that there had been an active attempt to wipe out blood-stained patterns on the interior walls behind the front door.

Mr Bowman questioned a claim there was evidence of blood being cleaned from one wall, telling the jury that nobody found a "stitch of evidence" of any cleaning equipment being used and none of the people arriving at the scene smelled detergent or noticed wet walls.

In his garda interviews, Mr Veigulis denied that he had cleaned up.

When asked how Ms Apine had three different injuries to the side of her head, he said he was "not an expert. That's for the experts.

It was put to him that a paramedic noticed "a lot of bruising" on Ms Apine's face. "I couldn't see any bruising on her face, Mr Veigulis told gardai.

It was put to him that blood spatter was found on his top and blood had been "cleaned" from a wall.

All of these things suggested Ms Apine was assaulted. Mr Veigulis said he couldn't explain.

The gardai said they wanted to find out what happened. Mr Veigulis said the situation was very hard for him. He said he loved his wife and had "never hurt her".

He said he had "no idea" how blood was cleaned from a wall.

When it was put to him that he wiped blood from the wall, he told the detectives: Maybe you did it. Maybe you wiped the walls. I didnt see you. You didnt see me.

Dr Sandra McGrath found blood staining on the sleeve of Mr Veigulis's hoodie, which she said resulted from force being applied to wet blood. She said the force could be made by a strike into wet blood or airflow from the body. Mr Bowman said this spatter pattern could have been caused by people walking through the pool of Ms Apine's blood and did not mean that he struck Ms Apine.

At the scene Mr Veigulis told Garda James Keogh that he had been playing with his daughter in the living room when he heard a boom, boom, boom and Ms Apine crying. Mr Veigulis told the garda that he went into the hallway where he found Ms Apine at the end of the stairs. Following his arrest he maintained in garda interviews that she fell down the stairs.

Mr Veigulis had been in custody during his trial but is now free to go.

In his closing speech to the jury Mr Bowman accused the prosecution of engaging in "pseudoscience" to convict a young man who had lost his partner in tragic circumstances.

He told them that if they stress-test the evidence relied on by the prosecution they will find that it comes up short.

No weapon was found, he said, despite extensive searches of the house in circumstances where Mr Veigulis could not have left his home to dispose of a weapon.

If his hands were the weapon used, he said, bruising or cuts would have been obvious to gardai who spoke to him that day.

No weapon was found, he said, because there was no weapon.

Vincent Heneghan SC for the prosecution pointed to the pathologist's evidence and that of Dr Doak and Dr McGrath. He said that their evidence could only lead to the conclusion that Ms Apine was assaulted.
Pointing the way forward: Music icon Philip King has been appointed Adjunct Professor at DCU for three years. Photo: Colin Keegan, Collins Dublin

Musician and broadcaster Philip King has been appointed Adjunct Professor in Dublin City University's Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences.

Mr King formally takes up his position with immediate effect and will serve for a period of three years.

First rising to prominence in the 1970s as a vocalist, harmonica player and founding member of seminal folk rock band Scullion, he has been hugely influential in Irish arts circles for the past five decades.

Mr King said: "I've had the pleasure of working closely with DCU students and staff on the inaugural Anam Arts and Culture Festival, held earlier this year, which brought North Dublin's communities together through culture, song, poetry and social gatherings.

"As curator and producer of that festival, I'm delighted to have the opportunity to broaden my involvement with the university even further in my new role.

"I look forward to help shaping, sharing and spreading DCU's ethos of culture and creativity both within and beyond its campus walls."

Among his career highlights are writing and producing the Emmy Award-winning 'Bringing It All Back Home' series (1991), and producing the music of 'The General' (1997).

Mr King founded the 'Other Voices' music series for RTE, spawning a number one album of the same name and various events held annually since.

In 2014, he curated the 'Ceiliuradh' concert in London's Royal Albert Hall, coinciding with the State visit to Britain of President Michael D Higgins. He has directed five series of 'Se Mo Laoch' for TG4 and currently presents 'South Wind Blows' on RTE Radio 1.

President of DCU, Professor Brian MacCraith paid tribute to Mr King as "visionary and versatile".

Prof MacCraith added: "This is a wonderful development for DCU. Philip King is a musical and cultural icon.

"We are delighted to have an individual of Philip's calibre join DCU as an Adjunct Professor.

"He will play a pivotal role in our strategy to establish a vibrant North Dublin cultural quarter.

"His presence and guidance will be an invaluable asset to our collective endeavours."
GARDAI have seized a number of homemade firearms after raiding a house in Kerry.

The weapons were recovered along with a quantity of ammunition as part of an investigation by gardai based in Tralee.

The firearms will be examined by ballistics gardai to establish if they were capable of being used.

A foreign national, who is understood to be Eastern European and aged in his 40s, was arrested at the scene.

He was quizzed for firearms offences at Tralee Garda Station in relation to the seizure.

A source told Independent.ie: At this stage gardai do not believe that these homemade devices were to be used for organised crime, but investigations are ongoing.

It is believed the arrested man is a firearm enthusiast who was storing the homemade devices.

A garda spokesman said: During the search Gardai discovered a number of apparent homemade firearm devices and a quantity of ammunition. The scene was preserved for technical and forensic examination.

The man was arrested at the scene at detained under Section 30 of the Offences Against the State Act 1939 at Tralee Garda Station.

He has since been released without charge and a file will be prepared for the DPP, the spokesman added.
Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has admitted that the Government is not making any contingency plans for policing the Border in the event of a hard Brexit.

Ruling out proposals to further increase the strength of the garda force if Britain leaves the EU without a deal, he said garda numbers were rising by an extra 600, compared to a year ago, and it was up to the garda authorities to determine where they should be deployed.

"Obviously, our overriding plan and objective is to avoid a no-deal scenario and thats why we put so much work into negotiating a withdrawal agreement for Westminster in the next couple of weeks," the Taoiseach said.

The best way to avoid a no-deal Brexit was to have a deal and "we have a deal on the table now", he added.

"We're going to continue to expand the force over the next couple of years and how gardai are deployed is, of course, a matter for the commissioner.

"But we will take into account any changes that may arise because of Brexit and we also need to make sure we have very close co-operation with the PSNI. That co-operation is as good as it ever has been."

Mr Varadkar added: "We are not making any contingency plans for a hard Border between Northern Ireland and Ireland. But we do have to have regard for the fact that we could see an increase in smuggling and other illegal cross-border activities."

The Taoiseach made his comments during his first visit to the Garda College in Templemore, Co Tipperary, where he saw 199 recruit gardai graduating.

He said the extra personnel were helping people to stay safe and the increase in numbers was allied to a "really good reform programme now under way".

He said: "We are now able to invest more in vehicles and equipment and have new leadership under Commissioner Drew Harris and also a plan from the Commission on the Future of Policing.

"So, I think we are in a good space. We have a garda force the public can trust and have enormous confidence in. I look forward to the years ahead and working side by side with them".

Asked about the reductions in the overtime budget for the force at a time of rising crime, Mr Varadkar said the plan was to bring up the number of gardai and increase the civilian strength and that should allow for a reduction in overtime.

Justice Minister Charlie Flanagan said overtime was a challenge but he was very pleased to secure "just under" 100m for garda overtime in 2019.

He said the strength of the force would be 14,000 by the end of the year, reducing the overtime demand. The comissioner would continue to monitor that.

In the context of Brexit, Mr Flanagan said there were always challenges for policing on any border, such as organised crime and smuggling.

Asked should there be contingency plans to deal with crime in a hard Border scenario, he said the PSNI and the Garda were speaking to each other on a regular basis on the best ways to ensure there was a very high degree of co-operation, north-south, and that people who committed crimes on either side of the Border were brought to justice.

In contrast to the stance taken by the government in Dublin, PSNI Chief Constable George Hamilton has asked the UK Home Office to fund 400 extra officers to allow him to deal with the repercussions of Brexit.

And the Police Federation in Northern Ireland warned earlier this week that they must receive assurances they would have financial resources to patrol the Border.

A failure to pay for extra recruits would force the redeployment of hundreds of policemen and women away from cities and towns to cover Border crossings, federation president, Mark Lindsay said.

The president of the Garda Superintendents Association, Noel Cunningham has already signalled the problems the Garda would face with a hard Brexit when he pointed out that the garda numbers in the Border region during the Troubles were at least three times the current levels.

And if the additional policing requirements created by a hard Brexit had to be met from current strength levels, it would mean denuding the big urban centres and other divisions of personnel.

He pointed out that in the Monaghan district, there were 26 Border crossings open during the Troubles. Now there were 160 roads open.

As a result of the peace process, the number of open Border crossings had at least quadrupled, Supt Cunningham said, adding that these created corridors for criminals to travel.
A south Dublin community are said to be "sickened" after discovering that their local community centre was vandalised last weekend.

Bluebell Youth and Community Centre in Dublin 12 were forced to close their doors on Sunday and have yet to reopen, after a break-in last weekend.

The centre plays host to a variety of community events and classes during the week.

Notice to all customers and clients, due to a second break-in in the centre unfortunately the centre will not be in operation for a while, the centre shared in a statement.

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It is understood that the interior of the youth centre was damaged and that a sum of cash was taken from vending machines inside the centre.

Local councillor Daithi Doolan described the centre as the heart of Bluebell, and called on any witnesses to come forward with information.

Its the very heart of this community, and that heart has momentarily stopped beating, Mr Doolan told Independent.ie.

Its an attack on the whole community, an act of sheer vandalism.

Mr Doolan said that he will be discussing the possibility of added security measures with Dublin City Council at the next joint policing committee.

Were calling on gardai to make sure the person is brought to justice for this incident. Dublin has less gardai than ever and more demand, its not a good cocktail, he said.

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We need to look at CCTV and security preventions in the building, and well be meeting with the council to discuss that.

Councillor Greg Kelly, who witnessed the damage firsthand during the week, described the damage as want less.

This is not just an attack on a building but an attack on the community as a whole. This DCC facility is used by every group in Bluebell, from children and youths, disability groups, mothers and fathers and the senior citizen, he said.

Having seen the damage first hand I can only express my shock that individuals would do this to the community and staff. There was want less damage to every part of the centre

Meanwhile, one Bluebell resident said: Absolutely sickened to hear this. So many different groups in the community benefit from the services in the centre."

A Garda spokesperson confirmed that an investigation has been launched into the incident.

Gardai are investigating a burglary that occurred at a youth centre in Bluebell Dublin 12 on Sunday morning the 25th of November 2018 (between 3am and 4.30am).

A large number of vending machines were ransacked and money taken. Damage to youth centre also.

No arrests have been made and investigations are ongoing.
Fianna Fail will not make any definite demands relating to broadband as part of the confidence and supply talks until TDs have an opportunity to quiz Peter Smyth.

The independent auditor is expected to come before an Oireachtas committee ahead of the Christmas recess, to explain how he concluded that meetings between ex-minister Denis Naughten and businessman David McCourt did not taint the National Broadband Plan.

Mr Naughten said yesterday that the "sole aim" of his private meetings with the head of consortium Granahan McCourt was "to keep him at the table".

"The reality is that Siro, the ESB, Vodafone and Eir all walked away. I was desperate to ensure that 1.2 million people had access to broadband."

However, Fianna Fail's communications spokesman Timmy Dooley told the Irish Independent that more clarity on the purpose of the meetings is needed.

Mr Smyth's report said the minister was correct to resign to insulate the bidding process from "apparent bias".

Commitments on the rollout of broadband are set to feature heavily in any new confidence and supply arrangement - but Fianna Fail currently has major doubts about the ability of Granahan McCourt to deliver the National Broadband Plan due to its scale.

Mr Dooley said he believes Mr McCourt "breached the rules" relating to canvassing by taking part in private meetings with the minister.

"We need to try to understand why his (Mr Smyth) report didn't deal with the actions of the bidder. Which in our view clearly broke the rules. If the rules were broken, what was the motivation of the bidder?"

The Clare TD said if the contract is awarded without more clarity the "risk is being carried on the shoulders of the 542,000 homes and businesses waiting on broadband".

Mr Naughten rejected suggestions the meetings were inappropriate. He said once other bidders were out of the process, his priority was "to get a viable bid".
St Colman's College undated handout photo of a group of young students hoping to bag a Christmas number one in honour of their classmate who is battling cancer. Photo: St Colman's College/PA Wire

Students at an Irish secondary school have set their musical sights on the Christmas No 1 in a bid to raise funds for Crumlin's Children's Hospital and to honour a classmate who is bravely battling cancer.

Transition Year students at St Colman's College in Fermoy, Co Cork yesterday recorded their version of the Bill Withers classic, 'Lean On Me.'

The classic 1972 song was chosen by the 74 Transition Year students to show their solidarity with their 15 year old classmate's ongoing battle for health.

'Lean on Me' is one of only nine songs to have achieved No 1 status in the US charts for two different artists.

St Colman's students are now hoping to add an Irish Christmas No 1 to that proud chart list.

Assisted by teachers Sarah Barry and Claire McCarthy, the bid to achieve Ireland's Christmas No 1 single has been dubbed 'ColmansStandTogether'.

All proceeds from the single and its YouTube video will go to Crumlin's Children's Hospital and The Ronald McDonald House.

"The aim is to raise as much as we possibly can for these hugely deserving causes," music teacher Sarah Barry said.

Ms Barry said teachers and families at the school were taken aback by the sheer enthusiasm with which Transition Year students embraced the idea of the fundraising single.

Ms McCarthy said support for the project has been nothing short of inspirational.

"It is fantastic to see the students putting such huge efforts into this and we want to support them all the way," she said.

The single was recorded in the school by a production team of Mark Cahill and David Geddes.

St Colman's College Principal, Veronica O'Donoghue, said everyone at the school was immensely proud of the Transition Year project and the solidarity being shown by students with their young classmate and his family.

"We are certainly hoping that the single gets the public support it deserves," she said.

The single and video will be launched on December 6 to coincide with the awards night of St Colman's, one of Ireland's best known hurling schools.
The country's largest union is set to seek a 3.4pc private sector pay hike next year due to increases in the cost of living.

Siptu's deputy general secretary for the private sector, Gerry McCormack, said that although the exact figure hadn't yet been agreed on, it would be copper-fastened next month.

It was likely the 3.4pc or even "higher" bid could be put forward.

Mr McCormack said companies had "to take account of the housing and rent difficulties their workers are having".

"We are hearing crazy stories. When we are in a situation where workers can't afford rent or to get onto the property ladder, we absolutely have to look at a wage increase," he said.

"We also need to look at the childcare costs families are paying which is an average of 1,000 a month."

Meanwhile, the prospect of industrial action in schools over two-tier salary scales has moved a step closer after a second teachers' union rejected the 190m deal on pay equality in the public service.

The Association of Secondary Teachers Ireland (ASTI) has voted by 53pc-47pc against the proposals.

There was a 58pc turnout.

The ASTI result mirrors the outcome in the ballot by the Irish National Teachers' Organisation (INTO), while the other second-level teachers' union, the TUI, voted 53pc-47pc in favour.

It puts two of the teacher unions on a potential collision course with the Government, although any industrial action would result in pay penalties for all their members.

The INTO was committed to following its "no" vote with a ballot for action and is consulting its members in the lead up to that.

The ASTI's "no" vote does not tie it to a ballot on industrial action.

The next move is for its executive committee to consider the result.

But ASTI president Breda Lynch said that it was firmly committed to achieving equal pay for its lower-paid colleagues.

The pay deal offers an average 3,300 to 60,000 public servants recruited since 2011, but it has not brought full equality.

Along with the two teacher unions, the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation voted against the proposals and is balloting members on industrial action, while the result of the Psychiatric Nurses Association ballot is awaited.
Question: I recently bought a 1940s house opposite the sea shore where it gets hit by sea spray, especially in the winter. The windows and wood surrounds are badly affected and were replaced in the 1980s with UPVC but I don't want the same again as it looks so fake. What would you recommend?

A A house by the sea is a lovely idea but it comes with problems, as you have discovered. Salt water is reactive because of its electrical charge and easily penetrates materials causing corrosion.

Eamon Hetherington of property developers GPD.ie says: "There are fantastic alternatives out there at present, and I would recommend doing some research into these. Houses built in the 1940 timeframe would have originally had metal framed windows. I would recommend an external powder-coated aluminium window instead. For the internal window, I would recommend a timber leaf, preferably with a sliding sash. Don't rule out hardwood if the budget allows for same."

Alu Clad frames are very good, he adds. "It is a combination of aluminium and timber and is easily found with window manufacturers. It is low maintenance and you have a lovely timber effect on the inside which you can also paint if you wish. Aluminium windows come in an increasing variety of factory finishes with protective coating to protect from fading from harsh weather conditions."

Q I am a first time buyer. I work in Dublin and am currently paying 750 in rent a month for a room in a three-bed property. I have a deposit of 27,000 and could make the repayments on a mortgage of 243,000. I plan to rent the second room to ensure I am financially secure. However, this is more than 4.5 times my salary. My brother is willing to complete a joint application for a mortgage as he will have our parents' property. However, the banks wouldn't accept a joint application between siblings and we aren't entitled to a mortgage with the county council scheme as it will not be his primary property. Are there any other options for me that I have not considered? If not what should be my next step? Increasing my salary substantially is not possible and I won't find my line of work outside Dublin.

A While banks regularly accept mortgage applications from siblings, what they might not accept are situations where a person is signing up to a property they won't be living in, so that another sibling can purchase a home, says Karl Deeter of Irish Mortgage Brokers.

"If your brother doesn't already own a home he could go ahead and buy with you and live in the property you are jointly purchasing but it's unclear from your question why this isn't being considered and whether he is simply 'living at home' with your parents and they have given him an interest in their property, or whether he a going to inherit a tenancy by staying there." He would not be precluded from being considered a first-time buyer if he is simply living in the family home with his parents, despite awaiting a potential inheritance in the future.

There is no skirting around the loan-to-income rule as this is laid down by the Central Bank. Although some derogation is permitted (15pc of cases), these are generally reserved for potential high-income individuals, say doctors or college professors who can guarantee a future income in excess of their current one.

You mention local authority loans. These are of course an option, however, they are quite restrictive as you have alluded to. You can't earn more than 50,000 as an individual and are limited to a maximum house value of 320,000 in Dublin.

My advice would be to sit down with a mortgage broker. They will be able to explore every option with every lender. There will be new mortgage providers next year, including credit unions who will be anxious to lend.

* Email: siryan@independent.ie to send your questions to Sinead

The Ryan Review

A ministerial aspiration is a wonderful thing. The further down the road it aspires, the better the minister comes out of it because, almost invariably, its failure won't be on his or her watch.

That said, setting out a bold goal, particularly a worthy one, is a good thing to do. It sets the nation's tone. So, when Minister for Older People, Jim Daly announced that there would be no such thing as nursing homes in 20 years, those fearful of ending their days in total dependence on strangers were delighted, while those in the know did an eye-roll.

We're going to have 'retirement villages' instead, he told us. There are some lovely examples of such things and for those who want to live in communal, supported settings, it's a great idea.

Others would prefer to stick pins in their eyes, so Minister Harris dropped in to announce that the HSE would be providing more Home Care Packages too.

For those already in nursing homes - rarely by choice and still necessary - many have left their own home boarded up because Fair Deal doesn't allow you sell or rent it without financial pain.

Elder care is a massive issue and growing exponentially, so putting lots of different options out there is vital. The problem is that every single one is predicated on the already precarious housing market. Let's continue the conversation; it's important, but let's not lose the run of ourselves either.
On an online archive, I stumble across a black-and-white school photo dated 1982/1983. Little seven-year-old me is smirking at the camera and wearing layers of clothes - like my 20 other schoolmates in the group photo - and a dark blonde bob with a fringe that's jagged from trying to escape a home haircut from my nana.

One of the three teachers in that photo from Sylane National School, about 5km outside the Co Galway town of Tuam, kindly collected me on her way to and from the 19th-century rural schoolhouse. My grandfather didn't have it so easy: when he attended in the 1920s he walked there in his bare feet.

When it was my mother's turn in the 1960s, my grandfather would bring the obligatory cartload of turf from the family bog to keep the schoolhouse warm. By the early 1980s, the dry outdoor toilets had been replaced by flushable loos - but using the facilities involved nipping outside in the wind and rain to the toilet block at the back of the school.

Sylane was built in 1852 for the Sylaun House estate of the Catholic landlords the O'Conor Donelans. Today, it is one of the country's oldest functioning schoolhouses. The original three classroom-building has been incorporated into an extended school - with indoor toilets - that is large enough to accommodate 90 pupils, six teachers, and support staff, thanks to help from the community.

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Sadly not all traditional schoolhouses were so fortunate. Abandoned school buildings, once so pivotal to generations of families, pockmark the Irish landscape. Some 240 of these hauntingly beautiful time capsules have been photographed by Enda O'Flaherty and feature in his new book, The Deserted Schoolhouses of Ireland.

O'Flaherty is as an archaeologist and surveyor at Rubicon Heritage in Cork. During a work project four years ago, one of these empty schoolhouses caught his eye. He soon found himself spending weekends capturing images of old schoolhouses and posting them on his blog, where they especially resonated with the Irish diaspora and caught the attention of publishers Collins Press.

"I literally went from Malin Head to Mizen Head during this pet project," he says.

"Every weekend, I'd pull out a map of, say, Monaghan, set up the satnav and search for these deserted schoolhouses. I did that for three years and there isn't a corner of the countryside I haven't been in."

Most are situated in isolated spots on the Atlantic coastline, on offshore islands, and in border counties.

They were abandoned thanks to a combination of depopulation, emigration abroad and centralisation in towns from the 1950s to the 1990s thanks to the arrival of public transport. Many originated from the relaxation of the Penal Laws which prohibited Catholics from formal education between 1695 and 1782. The First Report of the Commissioners of Irish Education Inquiry of 1825 concluded that separate education caused sectarianism and recommended public money for schools only when Catholic and Protestant pupils were taught together. Between 1833 and 1849, the number of new national schools surged to 4,300 and by 1900, there were almost 8,700.

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"They are built with quite high ceilings, generally one-and-a-half storeys single leaf, with rubble and mortar construction used until the 1930s." The number of one and two-teacher schools had fallen by 1,100 by 1973, and the disused buildings began to fall into despair. The archaeologist is now calling for national coordinated efforts to document the exact number of schoolhouses across the country with a view to repurpose as many as possible before they are lost forever. An obvious solution is to offer them for conversion to private homes.

In the last two decades, house-hunters with a penchant for an unusual property have given dozens of abandoned schoolhouses a new lease of life as family homes, often by hiring architects to add a contemporary extension.

In O'Flaherty's experience, those residential conversions typically take place in regions with thriving tourism industries where owners can rent them out as holiday lets.

"All abandoned schoolhouses are rescuable to some degree, apart from those on offshore islands where the weather from the Atlantic can reduce them to a shell," he says. "About 50pc are recorded in the National Inventory of Architectural Heritage. If they are afforded protection, the new owners are supposed to use materials that were originally used in the building and they can be very expensive, deterring a repurpose.

"I'd like to see an assessment of what could be done with all these buildings and a comprehensive record of the number of them out there.

"These buildings are not just bricks and mortar. People contact me through my blog to talk about a grandfather who attended a school until they emigrated at the age of 13 or 14. Those emigrants never came home again, and the school could be the last memory they ever had of Ireland."

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* Deserted Schoolhouses of Ireland is published by Collins Press (24.99)
My friend's brother came around to put up her new bedroom shelf. Normally, she'd have asked her boyfriend to do it, but he'd dumped her the week before. Later, down at the pub, she was passing around photos of the beautiful new shelf in situ. "Is that the shelf you've been left on?" someone asked.

The shelf looked great though.

It was painted in the same colour as the rest of the room and arranged with carefully curated items: a pile of books, a ceramic vase, a trailing plant, and an old silver candlestick. The display was a piece of art in its own right, but the shelf also fulfilled a practical role. Because the bedroom is very small and the bed is pushed up against the wall, it made use of an otherwise inaccessible corner.

"Never underestimate the power of shelving!" says Natasha Rocca Devine, interior designer. For her, the most important thing about shelving is choosing an arrangement that suits the architecture of the room and her advice is to think carefully about the space that it's going in to.

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A tall shelving unit, for example, is a dominant piece of furniture, especially if the shelves are chunky. It could look statuesque in a large room with high ceilings. But then, it might also make a low-ceilinged space feel claustrophobic. "If the ceiling is low, I'd recommend a thin, linear shelving, possibly even glass." Bespoke shelving - like tailored clothing - is always going to fit the room better than something that you buy ready-made. But measure carefully before you commit.

Off-the-peg shelving ranges hugely in price. At the higher end, options are often customisable, with the option of LED lighting. If you can't afford built-in lighting, a five-metre strip of LED lighting costs 78.80 from Eames Lighting (or Lidl is currently selling it at 10 for two half metre strips). Moderately priced shelving units include the straightforward Ford bookcase from Harvey Norman (185cm high) which costs 149, or the asymmetrical Frida bookcase (same height, same price).

For serious shelving installations, the modular Regal system from Cubit is incredibly versatile. It comes in great colours, units cost between 26 and 70, but you have to order from Germany (delivery is free if you spend more than 2,000). For smaller items, Ikea's Sammanhang range of shelves, stands, and cabinets are designed for people who want to display their collections. Prices range from 10 to 125. But, as Rocca Devine points out, it doesn't really matter how much you spend on shelves - it's what you put on them that counts.

Natasha Rocca Devine describes herself as a "design nerd" (her initials do seem to fit the claim wonderfully) and one of her main activities is staging homes before they go on the market.

"When I'm staging a house, I imagine three different clients and design with those characters in mind. Is it a space where they could relax? Would it make them happy? My job is to create emotion within a space. Otherwise, what's the point?" Shelving, she finds, is a useful tool for creating an imagined lifestyle. "You might not have a budget for art," she says. "So the shelving - or what you put on it - has to become art."

This is easier said than done, especially in a real home where shelving will probably have a storage function as well.

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There are a couple of ways of styling a shelf. One is based on the traditional Irish mantelpiece with a clock in the middle, a candlestick at each end, and a couple of ornaments lined up between them. It's a symmetrical way of thinking.

Kate Watson-Smyth, author of Mad About the House, suggests a different approach. First of all, she writes, make sure that there is variation in height. Put some books upright and leave others on their sides; include a short candlestick and, unless the shelf is very narrow, create a layering effect. "Try not to have everything in a straight line. Put the candlestick in front of the postcard that's propped up at the back. Let the necklaces hang down from the jewellery stand and pool on the book below." Then, she gives some very interesting advice. Group things in odd numbers. "Generally speaking, things group better in threes or fives. If you can mix the height within the group, you're already halfway there."

I've tried this, and it works! And, unlike most interior design advice, it's something that can be practiced at home and it doesn't cost a thing.

Another tip is to include some random items. "This is the perfect place for that fabulous stone you brought back from the beach last summer, or that shell that you haven't been quite sure what to do with," Watson-Smyth writes. For me, it would be the wooden horse that my son made, aged seven, from a few sticks and a bit of firewood. In fact, it currently has a shelf to itself. One is an odd number!

A final tip. Don't be afraid of empty space. "Allocate three or four shelves for your books, but leave some of the shelves almost empty so that you can create a balance between the busy shelves and the quiet ones," Rocca Devine suggests.

I found this one counter-intuitive. An empty shelf? The world is ending! But I gave it a go. At first, the empty shelves looked as weird as a face with a missing tooth but, when I came down in the morning, my belongings looked as though they appreciated the elbow room.

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See theinteriorsnrd.com, eameslighting.com, harveynorman.ie, cubit-shop.com, and ikea.com/ie. Mad About the House (2018) by Kate Watson-Smyth is published by Pavilion and costs around 20

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Pigs might fly

Carolyn Donnelly Eclectic is playing a blinder with this year's Christmas decorations for Dunnes. This flying pig (5 from dunnesstores.com) is sure to become a family favourite. The range also includes a festive octopus, a flamingo and a mermaid.

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Caught napping

The Theodore Daybed was designed for Vogue Williams and her new baby, Theodore, as part of a nursery range by Ventura Design. At 1,400 (fabric not included) it's a bit on the pricey side, but breastfeeding and naps are important. See babyventura.ie.

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Pure bananas

Candles are great in the long dark evenings and, if you can have a candle stick in the shape of a gilded banana peel, why wouldn't you? The Banana Candle Holder (12 cm high) costs around 28 from audenza.com and would make a great stocking filler.

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Flight of fancy

These Japanese shades (from 35) come all the way from Cork. They're the work of up-and-coming designers Jade Hogan and Jo Slevin of Mr Kite Designs. You'll can track them down on Facebook, Etsy or meet them in person at dublinchristmasflea.ie.

Cliff hanger

Aisling McElwain is the rising star of Irish ceramics. You'll find this set of Green and Gold Pottery (80) at cliffhome.ie and at Pop Up Pottery and Craft shop, which runs at Cleo, Kildare Street, Dublin, until Sunday (see aislingmcelwain.com).
The latest statistics showing thousands of patients are only being diagnosed with cancer after presenting as emergencies in A&E lay bare a worrying problem which is not getting better.

One in seven patients with invasive cancer - often with the forms of the disease which have a poor prognosis - are told of their illness in this way. That figure has not improved in nearly a decade, and raises major concerns about the continued delay.

Lack of awareness of symptoms is one reason. But the problem of timely access to scans, or the patient previously getting an incorrect diagnosis, play a role.

It is also the case that the symptoms of some cancers can be vague and not follow a traditional pattern.

People from the most deprived backgrounds are also at greater chance of finding out they have the disease after ending up in A&E.

The discovery of a cancer diagnosis in this way cannot be eliminated but the figures should be reducing.

The most common cancers among this group were diseases of the pancreas, liver, brain, lung , ovary, leukaemia, stomach and colon.

Doctors warn of the higher risks women on long gynaecological waiting lists run if they must wait for more than a year to see a specialist. Suddenly the routine becomes an emergency.

Many GPs also still lack timely or direct access to diagnostics .

The Irish Cancer Society has called for targeted public awareness campaigns on the signs and symptoms of cancer.

There should be a case review of all cancer patients diagnosed in an emergency, to examine what went wrong to cause them to find out about a life-threatening illness in this way.

An important message to people is to never ignore symptoms that may seem innocuous and part of the irritating facts of life.

A persistent cough, a sore that refuses to heal, unexplained weight loss and changing bladder habits may all be a signal of something more serious that should be checked out. They can include unintentional weight loss,persistent difficulty swallowing, an unexplained lump, persistent unexplained pain or bleeding. Survival rates for several cancers have never been better - and early diagnosis is key.
In 1964, the historian Richard Hofstadter published an essay titled 'The Paranoid Style in American Politics' in 'Harper's Magazine', and maybe that set it all in motion.

"In recent years we have seen angry minds at work mainly among extreme right-wingers," Hofstadter wrote. "But behind this I believe there is a style of mind that is far from new and that is not necessarily right-wing.

"I call it the paranoid style simply because no other word adequately evokes the sense of heated exaggeration, suspiciousness, and conspiratorial fantasy that I have in mind."

Conservatives weren't pleased with the diagnosis, and they were perhaps even less pleased with being coolly diagnosed. "Hofstadter dismissed conservatives as victims of character flaws and psychological disorders - a 'paranoid style' of politics rooted in 'status anxiety,' etc," my colleague George Will remarked in a reproachful 2008 column. "Conservatism," he said, "rose on a tide of votes cast by people irritated by the liberalism of condescension."

If that's true, then Hofstadter's observation about a trend in conservative rhetoric may have inadvertently helped to breed another one to join it - the triggering style in American politics.

First, an example. When the now-famous Reuters photograph by Kim Kyung-Hoon of a mother and children fleeing tear gas at the San Ysidro point of entry appeared online last Sunday, liberals quickly began sharing it along with demands for humane treatment of migrants at the US border with Mexico. Some conservatives adopted what Hofstadter would doubtlessly characterise as the paranoid style, arguing the photo had been intentionally selected to misrepresent the situation at the border.

Others argued that, pitiful as the depicted events were, they were necessary and not all that different from those used in the Obama era. And a third set celebrated the photo, hamming up their delight with tweets like "I've found my Christmas card photo. #Caring," and "Watching the USA FINALLY defend our borders was the HIGHLIGHT of my Thanksgiving weekend." The last exemplifies the triggering style.

It isn't really about convincing anyone of anything; it's a rhetorical method that speaks to the other side, but without interest in persuasion. Indeed, the triggering style doesn't even aim to reinforce onlooking conservatives' views that liberals are wrong. Instead, it attempts to shatter that calm, intellectual satisfaction that annoyed Will and earned Barack Obama such wide conservative resentment.

By intentionally trying to cause liberals maximum emotional upset, the triggering style strives to compromise liberals' most valued attributes: placid objectivity, moral certainty, intellectual strength, powers of analysis capable of responding to opposing political viewpoints. You're just screaming and yelling and calling names, now, the triggering style says, you're no better than what you say I am.

In 'The Atlantic', Adam Serwer speculated that, for many of President Donald Trump's most dedicated followers, cruelty against people they already despise is the reason for their support, not an unfortunate, unavoidable side effect.

And that's reason enough to nod along with Trump and cast another vote for him. But the exaggerated, highly publicised display of such pleasure seems like another effort altogether, one that is related to the victims of Trump's policies but only incidentally, one that's really about liberals and their tears, as the kitsch coffee mugs advertise.

It's about resentment, a rejection of argument, a deliberate renunciation of any kind of moral common ground. ( Washington Post)
The threat of a crash-out Brexit, with an accompanying return of a 'hard Border' in Ireland, remains very real. Theresa May's chances of getting her Brexit deal endorsed by the London parliament remains a major long-shot, though she will put up a great fight.

The Irish Government's battle for a good outcome over 20 months of Brexit negotiations has delivered the best possible outcome in the circumstances and the senior officials involved, and their political bosses, deserve kudos.

But if this draft deal is not ratified in London, we are headed for some perilous and previously unknown political terrain.

It raises the simple question: How and why should we have a hard Border? Let's recall that the EU, the UK, and Ireland, were agreed since Brexit happened in June 2016, that there should be "no hard Border".

So, why cannot that piece of mutual agreement survive a breakdown in ratifying the UK-EU Brexit deal? How would a hard Border simply have to kick in?

In London the ultra-Brexiteers, who have heaped such unnecessary economic uncertainty upon their fellow citizens, periodically run out the mantra that London will not "put up a hard Border in Ireland". These are the same people who appear to have rarely glanced at an atlas to know Ireland is an island adjacent to their larger one close by.

If as looks likely, Mrs May loses next month, a range of possibilities loom. There could be a new Conservative Party leader; a Brexit-themed general election; a re-run of that British parliament vote after sterling tanks; a less likely second Brexit referendum; or maybe even a delay of the UK's departure date of March 29 next year.

But defeat would increase fears of that "no-deal" where the UK just crashes out. In that case, there would be no backstop that guarantees no hard Border in any circumstance. True, a "no-deal" Brexit is in nobody's interest. We would cling to the hope that some way may be found to avoid it. Those same ultra-Brexiteers have begun talking presumptuously about a "managed no-deal Brexit". It is based on the assumption nobody, but nobody, would risk such a scenario.

But let's recall that assumptions like this prevented London from seriously engaging in the Brexit talks and led to them getting a very poor outcome. They remain the slowest EU learners.

Back with our question: who would put up a hard Border? Well, Ireland would face EU demands to control imports into the single market, and no amount of continuing goodwill in Brussels could erase the reality that the other 27 member states require protection.

Ireland also needs to protect its access to an EU 27 market of 460 million people. Hi-tech options do not exist as of yet we were told. So, it may yet fall to Dublin, with EU support, to re-create that hard Border.
Theresa May is about to fly to Argentina for a summit. She shouldn't. It's an iron law of politics that when beleaguered prime ministers leave their country, they lose control. When the cat's away, the mice can play.

Foreign travel always seems an attractive alternative to the travails of domestic politics.

From the moment the motorcycle outriders clear the roads to the airport so that you can travel at more than 80kmh through London, you feel special. You get VIP treatment all the way.

You meet only your peers - other world leaders. And, blissfully, the foreign press stick to the topic.

But, in politics, when you are weak, you had best act accordingly. The status of your office means opponents - particularly on your own side - plot in private. When you are abroad, the cork is out of the bottle.

Think of Margaret Thatcher; her decision to go to Paris for a security summit in the midst of a leadership challenge proved politically fatal.

Then there was Gordon Brown. The crown never sat easy on his head - not least because his own ambition to be prime minister led to his seemingly constant plotting against Tony Blair.

Mr Brown had a cabinet which, from 2008 onwards, thought he was taking them to election defeat. Mainly, they worked subterraneanly against him. But you can map the flaring up of internal conflict against Mr Brown's travel diary.

Mrs May is in a much worse position than Mr Brown ever was. She faces the crucial "meaningful vote" on her EU deal and, while predictions of a loss by 200 votes are overblown, the smell of defeat is in the air. Her underlying strategy, to take her case to the country and stir up the people's voice, is a good one. But she needs to be at home to be heard.

The best tactic for a prime minister under attack is to go on the offensive at home - to grab the issues of the day, and use the status of government to dominate the agenda.

That is what I always advised Julia Gillard to do when she was Australia's prime minister. Despite leading a minority government, and constant undermining by her Labor Party rival, she never lost a vote in the House of Representatives.

Similarly, Mr Blair's best days in his final term of office were when he went out to the country, as he did on the fight against anti-social behaviour.

It's not just that mischief can be done while you are away. The most disastrous foreign trip by a British prime minister in recent history was Jim Callaghan's to the long-forgotten Guadeloupe conference in 1979. It was an important meeting of Western leaders at the height of the Cold War and its agenda - Afghanistan, Iran, the Middle East and Russia - is still relevant today.

But it is Mr Callaghan's words on landing back home, where strikes had erupted across the land, that have lasted.

"Crisis? What crisis?" sealed the fate of his Labour government. It made the headlines. It framed the famous Saatchi ad about the Winter of Discontent that still defines the iconography of late Seventies politics.

Of course, Mr Callaghan never said those specific words, but they define him because they rang true.

Advisers will have told Mrs May that to cancel a foreign trip would be a sign of panic. Well, to be frank, she should panic. This is a crisis.

John McTernan was Tony Blair's director of political operations from 2005 to 2007.
The first time I was eligible to vote was the referendum on the Good Friday Agreement. My friends and I were hugely enthusiastic about it. I got up at the crack of dawn to be the first one at the polling station. I was not alone - there were many people my age, first-time voters. Looking back, voting itself was a fairly underwhelming experience. I felt slightly cheated that the whole process took less than a minute. But I was never in any doubt about the transformative significance of the peace process and the agreement we endorsed.

Growing up in the North, there was a certain inevitability about violence and discord. Young people left in their droves and those who stayed kept their heads down. We idolised people like John Hume, but I don't think anyone ever thought that the guns would fall silent. Then, to paraphrase Seamus Heaney, hope and history seemed to rhyme.

The current political quagmire is depressing. But the North is a different country. Belfast is booming and people are increasingly optimistic. Even without political institutions, Northern Ireland is enjoying the peace dividend, and friendships across the divide - once a taboo - are now thankfully commonplace.

That hand of friendship reaches across the Border now too. Many Northern Protestants now feel as comfortable with a day trip to Dublin as they do to Portrush. Ian Paisley might have thrown snowballs at then-Taoiseach Jack Lynch in the 1960s, but the sight of the leaders of the Orange Order in Dublin on Monday for a meeting with Leo Varadkar barely raised an eyebrow.

No longer do unionist communities moan about 'interference' from Dublin, they actively welcome funding from the Department of Foreign Affairs for community projects.

Evidently the meeting between the Taoiseach and the Orange Order was a pleasant affair. A statement released afterwards quoted Mr Varadkar saying the meeting was an opportunity to build bridges.

"I strongly believe that states can best be judged on how they treat minorities. This visit today is another step in an ongoing engagement between the Government and the order. We must always keep channels of communication open as a basis for respectful discussion on matters of common interest," he said.

Wise words - and dialogue is surely key. It's not for nothing that the colours of the national flag are white, green and orange in equal measure.

But we also need to ensure that the dialogue is not simply a one-way street. There have been attempts in recent years to rebrand July 12 as a carnival rather than a triumphalist commemoration of a battle more than 300 years ago. The Orange Order has been at pains to point out that Catholics should not feel threatened.

Yet year after year images representative of the Catholic and nationalist community are burned on bonfires celebrating William of Orange's victory over James II at the Battle of the Boyne.

A few years ago, a statue of the Virgin Mary was rescued from a pyre just before it was set alight.

Last year, an effigy of the late deputy first minister Martin McGuinness was burned on a bonfire in east Belfast.

Now the Orange Order hierarchy might protest with some justification that it can't be responsible for the actions of all of its members and followers. That might ring true if it were not for the fact that Orange bands regularly indulge in sectarian actions outside Catholic churches across the North.

The truth is that there are deep and abiding seeds of sectarianism within the Orange Order.

Before you think I'm being overly sensitive, ask the former head of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland. Rev Ken Newell said last year "there is a reservoir of anti-Catholicism and sectarianism" among the order's members. As a former chaplain to the order, one might say he knows of which he speaks.

While this was furiously denied by the order, the fact remains that under the rules of the organisation, it is strictly forbidden for Orangemen to marry Catholics.

It doesn't end there.

In 2011, Ronan Kerr - a 25-year-old Catholic policeman - was murdered in my home town Omagh by dissident republicans.

His funeral a few days later was an occasion when the community game together to support his grieving family. The then-unionist MP for Fermanagh and South Tyrone Tom Elliott fell foul of the Orange Order of which he was a member because attendance at liturgies in Catholic churches is also forbidden. In the end, likely to avoid negative publicity, no action was taken - but the rule remains. Orangemen recently boycotted an ecumenical service to commemorate Irishmen who died in World War I because of the presence of a Catholic priest.

Mr Varadkar is right that dialogue is key. But he must not fall into the trap of allowing that dialogue to be a one-way street. Sectarianism should be called out for what it is, and the Orange Order has deeply engrained sectarian attitudes and rules.

Following the Good Friday Agreement, the GAA rightly came under pressure to lift a ban on 'crown forces' playing Gaelic games. There's more than one way to be Irish, and serving in the police service in the North is a noble vocation for Gaels. The GAA rose to the challenge and there is now a recognised PSNI GAA club.

The Taoiseach should continue to meet with the Orange Order, but he should also put pressure on it and remind it that sectarian bans go against the values of this Republic.

On the issue of Brexit, the DUP is trying to ignore the wishes of the people of the North and go it alone. It is being rightly challenged on this and reminded that the only credible pathway for the North is a shared future. Our political leaders should put the same message before the Orange Order and remind it that time is up on sectarianism.
Since the UK's Brexit referendum, Ireland's political class has been fully engaged in thinking about the EU. There has been a high degree of consensus, both in Dail Eireann and among commentators more broadly, about what Ireland needs to do and what its priorities should be.

One key point of consensus has been Ireland's loyalty to the EU. Even traditionally Eurosceptic parties like Sinn Fein have made it clear that they consider continuing EU membership vital to Ireland's interests.

It is interesting to remember that this was not always clear that this would be the case.

The hard-left in Ireland has long been anti-EU. From a more right-wing perspective, during the Celtic Tiger years, figures like Mary Harney vocally endorsed the view that Ireland was "closer to Boston than Berlin".

And during the economic crash, commentators such as David McWilliams were also advocating that Ireland loosen its ties to the EU in favour of being more closely aligned with the UK and US.

However, when push came to shove and the UK voted to leave the EU, almost the entire spectrum of Irish political opinion from right to left had no hesitation in choosing Berlin over Boston (left-wing backers of Brexit like Richard Boyd Barrett being one of very few exceptions).

Indeed, in late 2016 with the UK in a mess, the Boston option then became even less attractive when Donald Trump took the presidency, ensuring that both 'Anglosphere' powers would be highly unreliable partners.

In any event, the extent to which the UK and US would ever have been partners for a country as small as Ireland was very questionable. The EU was an attractive option for Ireland not only because of the economic benefits it bestowed. It was also a way, to use Robert Emmet's terms, for Ireland to emerge from the UK's shadow and "take her place among the nations of the earth".

However, although Ireland has opted for a future in the EU, there has been a significant failure in recent times to think about non-Brexit-related EU policy. Ireland has key choices to make in relation to its future in Europe. While every element of Brexit policy has been exhaustively discussed, in relation to EU matters other than Brexit, decisions are being made with astonishingly little political debate.

For example, over the past few weeks the Irish Government has been strenuously resisting EU moves to impose a minor tax on internet companies.

The Government is worried about the setting of a precedent that might be used to pass EU laws that would disrupt our low corporation tax regime.

But Ireland's rightly resented fight against measures to combat massive tax avoidance by internet giants is rightly controversial and should be the subject of debate.

More importantly, the past month also reaffirmed that Ireland appears to have thrown its lot in with the so-called 'Hanseatic' group of states, such as the Netherlands and Finland, who take the hardest line against any measures to provide the eurozone with a budgetary capacity.

There are reasons for Ireland to oppose giving the eurozone its own budget. As a rich member state, Ireland is likely to be a net contributor.

On the other hand, it is far from clear that the eurozone can survive in the long run without greater fiscal integration.

As Ireland would be very badly affected by a collapse of the eurozone, it may well be worthwhile agreeing to the creation of a eurozone budget even if we pay more into it.

Either way, the decision the Government has made to oppose such a budget is extremely important and deserved to be fully debated in a way that has not occurred.

These are just two of a number of key issues that arise in relation to Ireland's future role in the EU. There are good reasons for and against Ireland adopting a generally more pro- or anti-integration stance going forward.

We may also have to adapt in some areas to the reality that many EU states will regard Ireland as owing the rest of the EU for the huge support it has received during the Brexit process, so we should carefully consider what proposals we will and will not support.

Furthermore, there should be much more discussion of how Ireland sees the Union evolving and what the EU's future aims should be.

Brexit has given a definitive answer to the Boston versus Berlin debate, but Irish politicians need to realise that there is more to debate on Irish EU policy than Brexit.

Whatever kind of Brexit ultimately occurs, Ireland is staying in the EU. This means that decisions that are currently being taken without significant debate will affect Ireland for decades to come.

This is particularly true of the question of the eurozone where the Government has, with little discussion, allied itself to a fairly extreme position that may end up helping to destroy the single currency altogether. At the very least, this decision needs much more political scrutiny than it has received to date.

Ronan McCrea is professor of constitutional and European law at University College London
As outlined in our report today, the challenges facing Ireland's town centres are daunting. However, as we can see from several case studies in the report, they are not insurmountable.

One of the key differentiators for towns which have developed strategies to successfully tackle the challenges outlined in the report are local leadership and community collaboration.

For example, a plan and architect-led approach to town renewal has seen the town of Westport transformed over the past two decades.

The coherent and collaborative development of the town has given more control over development to the town's residents.

And this has resulted in appropriate and innovative design.

The many facets of the re-imagining of Westport have re-invigorated the town, leading to a livelier and more attractive place to live, work and visit.

There has also been a positive commercial impact, with vacancy rates now under 5pc.

Innovation is key to thriving regional high streets and Naas Regeneration Group established a first-of-a-kind project in Ireland.

The Me2You gift card company collaborated with local businesses to produce a Naas Gift Card, which can be used in local retail outlets and businesses.

This creates a closed loop, retaining expenditure and profit within the town.

Many of the positive recent changes in the thriving town of Clonakilty have been facilitated by the strong leadership provided by an elected mayor.

The Duchas Clonakilty Heritage Group - spurred into action by the dissolution of town councils in 2014 - saw the need for a local champion.

The initiative shown by the heritage group has ensured the community has a locally elected representative who can provide leadership for community projects.

The goal of the Society of Chartered Surveyors Ireland in commissioning this report was to start a dialogue and encourage the rejuvenation of the heart of our rural communities.

The examples above show what can happen when communities are empowered and local authorities work in partnership with key local stakeholders.

The report recommends the establishment of an Irish Town Partnership in order to enable the sharing of best practice, innovation and mentoring from one town to another.

It's clear many of our small towns need to undergo an 'Operation Transformation', but as that programme shows, long-term leadership and commitment is required.

Stephen Purcell is the author of 'Rejuvenating Ireland's small-town centres' and a chartered surveyor and town planner with Future Analytics Consulting
'The main streets of too many rural towns and villages would be all white-washed windows, were it not for the publican and hair-dresser.' (Stock image)

It is a good thing you can't buy a pint or get a hair cut online: the main streets of too many rural towns and villages would be all white-washed windows, were it not for the publican and hair-dresser.

Snakes of traffic sliding out of villages 30 to 40 miles outside of our main cities, taking red-eyed drivers to their jobs hours away, tell their one story.

Bad local planning, and unrestricted and ill-thought-out retail developments tell another - all have taken a toll on small-town Ireland.

Central Government and hard-nosed commercial decision-making has also hit hard.

Banks, post offices and Garda stations have been lost; yet some local authorities and planners have hardly covered themselves in glory through lack of foresight and strategic thinking.

Placing sprawling shopping centres on the edges of towns was always going to distort the gravitational pull of local commerce.

Streets that once bustled with shoppers are boarded up or by-passed throughout the country. But there is nothing to stop councils and planners transforming vacant and dilapidated sites.

Indeed, Project Ireland 2040 has given them new powers which they must use to regenerate and re-purpose derelict buildings.

The 'Rejuvenating Ireland's Small-Town Centres' report, written by Stephen Purcell and published today, also suggests towns can fight back.

It is vital that they do. Every town is not going to have an IDA factory employing hundreds.

Towns like Naas, Co Kildare; Clonakilty, Co Cork; and Westport, Co Mayo, have all shown there is another way.

But according to Mr Purcell, locals must play a leadership role and involving town/municipal architects to drive and direct initiatives.

The establishment of an Irish Towns Partnership as recommended by the report also sounds eminently sensible.

A dynamic approach to restoring buildings to residential use could also have a dramatic impact. Keeping the pulse beating in rural Ireland has to be imperative at local and national level.

There is no going back to the heady days of what Dickens described in 'A Christmas Carol': "The Grocers'! oh the Grocers'! nearly closed, with perhaps two shutters down, or one; but through those gaps such glimpses! It was not alone that the scales descending on the counter made a merry sound, or that the twine and roller parted company so briskly, or that the canisters were rattled up and down like juggling tricks..."

Such sights and sounds may well be gone. But the key to attracting and encouraging people to stay local still lies in making towns vibrant and attractive places to be.

For too often it is only loss that teaches us the true value of things; bigger is not always better.
The Crown star Claire Foy took on hip-hop royalty by performing a cover of the Sugarhill Gangs 1979 classic Rappers Delight on a US chat show.

The British actress appeared on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon on Thursday, to discuss her roles as Neil Armstrongs wife in First Man and as vigilante Lisbeth Salander in The Girl In The Spiders Web.

Foy  known for playing the Queen in Netflixs series The Crown  was then handed a musical challenge by Fallon.

Claire Foy proves she knows every lyric to "Rapper's Delight" by singing it cold when Jimmy puts her on the spot: https://t.co/8vFCk9sGIO #FallonTonight pic.twitter.com/6iKNH7NAj3  The Tonight Show (@FallonTonight) November 30, 2018

Fallon said he had heard a rumour on the internet Foy knew hip-hop classic Rappers Delight word-for-word, before handing her the microphone and playing the beat.

Laughing, Foy performed a cover of the song while the audience clapped along.

The track is often credited with bringing hip-hop to a wider audience.

Writing on Twitter, fans praised Foys musical skills.

omg her rapping skills are  #FallonTonight  michaela (@michajfs) November 30, 2018

One said: omg her rapping skills are (fire emoji).

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Who knew Claire Foy singing Rapper's Delight was just what I needed in my life #FallonTonight  Linda Cozzolino (@SunshineKitty07) November 30, 2018

Another tweeted: Who knew Claire Foy singing Rappers Delight was just what I needed in my life.

Foy, who was born in Stockport, Greater Manchester, will host long-running US sketch show Saturday Night Live this week.

An advert for the show featured Foy alongside Ariana Grandes former fiance Pete Davidson, who is an SNL comedian.

After giving Foy a tour of the studio, Davidson told her it was time for, an SNL tradition that we have to do with every host.

The pair then engaged in a food fight.
At Aurora cinema, hub for south Indian movie screenings, several pamphlets of Rajinikanth as robot Chitti hung.

Mumbai: A Rajinikanth film is nothing but a celebrations for his ardent fans, who once again expressed their love for the superstar by gathering in huge numbers to watch his latest release 2.0 as early as 3.30 AM here.

Fans, who came from far off places like Navi Mumbai and Virar, performed a small aarti before entering the screen to watch their Thalaivar on screen.

President of Maharashtra State Head Rajini Fans Welfare Association, Thalapathi SK Athimoolam said the organisation planned to make the film's release a grand event, just like all Rajinikanth movies.

At IMAX Wadala, Rajinikanth fans took out a rath yatra where a cardboard of the megastar was carried in a small carriage.

People were seen entering the carriage and bowing down in front of their idol, a lot of them wearing T-shirts with Rajinikanth's picture imprinted on them.

Before the 6 AM show, fans performed 'abhishek' on a 69-feet-long cut-out of Rajinikanth, a ritual that has been a part of the celebrations for years.

At the Aurora cinema, hub for south Indian movie screenings, several pamphlets of Rajinikanth as robot Chitti hung from ropes outside the theatre as part of the decorations to celebrate the film.

Directed by Shankar, 2.0 also features Akshay Kumar and Amy Jackson in key roles.
Ruby Rose looked unrecognisable as she shared new pictures of herself as Batwoman (Ian West/PA)

Ruby Rose looked unrecognisable as she shared new pictures of herself as Batwoman.

The Australian actress, 32, revealed she broke down in tears after being offered the part, which will see her play the first openly gay superhero to headline a TV series.

On Thursday, Rose gave fans a glimpse of what to expect from the show and posted two pictures of herself in costume.

The first image showed Rose, with her hair dyed dark pink, wearing a black bat mask and suit emblazoned with a pink bat.

The Flash was seen standing in the background. The second image features Rose in the same costume, this time with a man who looks like DC superhero Green Arrow stood behind her.

She captioned the pictures with a heart and bat emoji. In August, Rose, who is openly gay, told how she cried when she was offered the role.

She said as a young member of the LGBT community she never felt represented on TV, adding she was thrilled and honoured to play Batwoman.

Rose will be introduced as Batwoman in a December crossover event between The CW Networks other DC Comics shows, Arrow, The Flash and Supergirl.

A stand-alone series about Batwoman, whose real name is Kate Kane, is in development for the 2019-20 TV season.

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Kane is described as a highly trained street fighter with a passion for social justice.
He Jiankui: Claims he has delivered two genetically edited infants. Photo: Reuters

China's government has ordered a halt to work by a medical team that claimed to have helped make the world's first gene-edited babies.

Vice minister of science and technology Xu Nanping told state broadcaster CCTV his ministry is strongly opposed to the efforts that reportedly produced twin girls born earlier this month.

Mr Xu called the team's actions illegal and unacceptable and said an investigation had been ordered.

Researcher He Jiankui - dubbed "Dr Frankenstein" - claims to have altered the DNA of the twins to try to make them resistant to infection with the Aids virus.

Mainstream scientists have condemned the experiment, and universities and government groups are investigating.

There is no independent confirmation of what Mr He says he did. He has said a second pregnancy may be under way.

Mr He's experiment "crossed the line of morality and ethics adhered to by the academic community and was shocking and unacceptable", Mr Xu said.

A group of leading scientists gathered in Hong Kong this week for an international conference on gene editing - rewriting the code of life to try to correct or prevent diseases.

Although the science holds promise for helping people already born and studies testing that are under way, a statement issued by the 14-member conference leaders said it was irresponsible to try it on eggs, sperm or embryos except in lab research because not enough is known yet about its risks or safety.

The conference was rocked by the Chinese researcher's claim to have helped make the world's first gene-edited babies.

Conference leaders called for an independent investigation of the claim by Mr He, with international criticism of his claim mounting.

He was scheduled to speak again at the conference yesterday, but he left Hong Kong and through a spokesman sent a statement saying: "I will remain in China, my home country, and co-operate fully with all inquiries about my work. My raw data will be made available for third party review."

Several prominent scientists said the case showed a failure of the field to police itself and the need for stricter principles or regulations.

"It's not unreasonable to expect the scientific community" to follow guidelines, said David Baltimore, a Nobel laureate from California Institute of Technology.

Gene editing for reproductive purposes might be considered in the future "but only when there is compelling medical need", with clear understanding of risks and benefits, and certain other conditions, said Dr Victor Dzau, president of the US National Academy of Medicine.
Spiders are not noted for their maternal bonding, with some matricidal spiderlings even devouring their mothers shortly after hatching.

But the ant-mimicking jumping spider is rewriting the natural history books after scientists discovered it produces milk and suckles its young for nearly 40 days.

Much like baby mammals nursing at the teats of their mothers, researchers have recorded the tiny insects gathering to feed on super-nutritious milk produced in an opening from which the eggs are released.

Until now lactation has been considered a purely mammalian trait. Although some non-mammals such as pigeons, flamingos, emperor penguins and cockroaches produce a similar nutritious fluid it is considered fundamentally different to milk both in production and use.

But researchers at the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Beijing said the fluid secreted by the spiders was four times as nutritious as cow's milk, and could be considered as true milk.

They found that feeding continues long after the little arachnids can forage on their own and probably evolved during a period when food was scarce.

Writing in the journal 'Science', Dr Rui-Chang Quan said: "Extended parental care could have evolved in invertebrates as a response to complex and harsh living environments that require offspring skills to be fully developed before complete independence.

"The mother's physiology, behavior, and cognition might have changed to adapt to providing milk and prolonged maternal care as in mammals.

"We anticipate that the discoveries presented in this study will encourage a re-evaluation of the evolution of lactation and its occurrence across the animal kingdom."

Scientists studied the ant-mimicking jumping spider (toxeus magnus) because of its strange communal living arrangements in which adult females were often seen cohabiting with juveniles when most other spider young had left the nest.

The researchers speculated the teenagers hung around because they were still receiving food from their mother.

After following the spiderlings from hatching, the scientists noticed that for at least 20 days neither mother nor babies left the nest, yet the offspring trebled in size in the period after suckling from the mother.
Chinas foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said Beijing had expressed its concern over the passage to the United States. Photo: PA

Two United States Navy ships have sailed through the Taiwan Strait in the third such operation this year, as the US military increases the frequency of transits through the strategic waterway despite opposition from China.

The voyage risks further raising America's tensions with China but will likely be viewed in self-ruled Taiwan as a sign of support from President Donald Trump's government amid growing friction between Taipei and Beijing.

"The ships' transit through the Taiwan Strait demonstrates the US commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific," the American Pacific Fleet said in a statement.

"The US Navy will continue to fly, sail and operate anywhere international law allows."

Destroyer

It said the passage was carried out by the destroyer USS Stockdale and the Pecos, a replenishment vessel.

Taiwan's defence ministry said it was a normal transit through international waters in the Taiwan Strait and Taiwan forces had monitored the passage of the ships.

China's foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said Beijing had expressed its concern over the passage to the United States.

"We urge the United States to cautiously and appropriately handle the Taiwan issue, avoid damaging the peace and stability of the Taiwan Strait and China-US relations," he said.

China's defence spokesman Ren Guoqiang said their military was fully aware of the action.

"The Taiwan issue is a matter of China's sovereignty and territorial integrity," Mr Ren said.

"The will and determination of the Chinese military to protect our sovereignty and territorial integrity is unswerving."
The German Air Force said on Friday that there was no suspicion of criminal activity after a malfunction forced a plane carrying Chancellor Angela Merkel to the G20 summit in Argentina to make made an unscheduled landing.

Earlier German daily Rheinische Post cited security sources as saying the government was checking whether the incident on Thursday had a "criminal background", though the sources added that investigators would typically look "in all directions" after such an incident.

But a spokesman for the German Air Force said there was no suspicion of any crime, adding: "It's a standard check of the radio equipment that failed."

Merkel was on her way from Germany to the summit when the government's Airbus A340 made an unscheduled but safe landing at Cologne-Bonn airport late on Thursday.

Der Spiegel magazine said the government plane's entire communication system malfunctioned, constituting a serious emergency, with the crew forced to plan the landing using an on-board satellite phone.

The air force spokesman also said the plane had not discharged jet fuel before landing in Cologne, contrary to earlier reports.

Merkel called the incident a "serious malfunction". She and German Finance Minister Olaf Scholz were due to resume their travel to Buenos Aires early on Friday, but they will arrive after G20 leaders start their discussions
On alert: A Ukrainian soldier aims an anti-aircraft rocket launcher during military exercises in eastern Ukraine. Photo: PA

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has asked Nato members, including Germany, to send naval vessels to the Sea of Azov to back his country in its stand-off with Russia.

"Germany is one of our closest allies and we hope that states within Nato are now ready to relocate naval ships to the Sea of Azov in order to assist Ukraine and provide security," he told Germany's 'Bild' newspaper.

President Vladimir Putin has insisted Russian forces were right to seize three Ukrainian ships and their crews last weekend as they sailed from Odessa to Mariupol, a port on the Sea of Azov. But Mr Poroshenko declared Mr Putin "wants nothing less than to occupy the sea. The only language he understands is the unity of the Western world.

"We cannot accept this aggressive policy of Russia. First it was Crimea, then eastern Ukraine, now he wants the Sea of Azov.

"Germany, too, has to ask itself: What will Putin do next if we do not stop him?" he added on the day Ukraine's Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman was to visit Berlin.

Yesterday, Nato said it already has a strong presence in the Black Sea region.

Spokeswoman Oana Lungescu said Nato ships routinely patrol and exercise in the Black Sea, noting Nato ships have spent 120 days there this year compared to 80 in 2017.

Russia fired on and then seized three Ukrainian ships on Sunday, accusing them of illegally entering its waters in the Sea of Azov, in a dramatic spike in tensions that raises fears of a wider escalation.

Kiev accused Russia, which annexed Crimea from Ukraine in 2014, of launching "a new phase of aggression".

Earlier this week Nato chief Jens Stoltenberg demanded Russia free the Ukrainian ships and sailors, warning Moscow that "its actions have consequences".

Mr Poroshenko also told the German newspaper that German "Chancellor [Angela] Merkel is a great friend of Ukraine.

"In 2015, she already saved our country through her negotiations in Minsk, and we hope she will once again support us so strongly, together with our other allies.

"Putin wants to bring back the old Russian Empire. Crimea, Donbas, he wants the whole country," he added.

"As a Russian emperor, as he sees himself, his empire cannot function without Ukraine, he sees us as a colony."

Yesterday Mr Poroshenko also said his government will impose unspecified restrictions on Russian citizens in response to the seizure of the vessels and their crews.

He said the one-month period of martial law introduced this week in Ukraine wouldn't restrict travel, cash withdrawals or currency purchases by Ukrainians but Russians will face some constraints.

Ukrainian authorities have already denied entry to an increased number of Russians following the weekend incident.

Meanwhile, Ms Merkel said she will not cancel plans for a joint pipeline with Russia, but pledged to ensure Ukraine remains a transit country for Russian natural gas.

Ms Merkel told a Ukrainian business forum in Berlin that the pipeline would go ahead, but that Germany would "ensure Ukraine remains an important transit country".

She noted that Germany could control how much fuel was pumped through the pipeline.

Ms Merkel said the latest crisis was "entirely the doing of the Russian president" and accused Moscow of violating a 2003 agreement guaranteeing free movement in the area.

"I want the Ukrainian soldiers released," she said, adding that she would talk to Mr Putin at the forthcoming G20 meeting in Argentina.

"The Ukrainian side has asked us to act wisely. There is no military solution to these problems - we have to emphasise that," Ms Merkel said.
HC Gupta was Coal Secretary for two years under the Congress-led UPA government before he retired in 2008.

The court took all the convicted persons into custody and has fixed December 3 for hearing arguments on quantum of punishment. (Photo: File | PTI)

New Delhi: Ex-coal secretary HC Gupta and five others have been found guilty by a Delhi court in a case related to alleged irregularities in the allocation of Moira and Madhujore (North and South) coal blocks to in West Bengal to Kolkata-based Vikas Metal Power Limited company.

Gupta was Coal Secretary for two years under the Congress-led UPA government before he retired in 2008.

Besides Gupta, Special CBI Judge Bharat Parashar also convicted private firm Vikash Metals and Power Limited, one serving and one retired public servant  ex-joint secretary in Ministry of Coal (MoC) KS Kropha and the then director (CA-I) in MoC, KC Samria  in the case.

The court also convicted the firm's managing director Vikash Patni and its authorised signatory Anand Mallick in the case.

In September 2012, the CBI had registered an FIR in the case.

The court took all the convicted persons into custody and has fixed December 3 for hearing arguments on quantum of punishment.

The convicts may get a maximum seven-year jail term.
A crew member (L, back) of one of Ukrainian naval ships, which were recently seized by Russia's FSB security service, is escorted after a court hearing in Simferopol, Crimea November 28, 2018. REUTERS/Pavel Rebrov

A detained crew member (L) of one of Ukrainian naval ships, which were recently seized by Russia's FSB security service, walks out of a vehicle before a court hearing in Simferopol, Crimea November 28, 2018. REUTERS/Pavel Rebrov

A Ukrainian soldier gets ready at position near frontline with Russia-backed separatists in Shyrokyne, eastern Ukraine, Wednesday, Nov. 28, 2018. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)

A Ukrainian soldier smiles during a pause from digging a trench at a position near the frontline with Russia-backed separatists in Shyrokyne, eastern Ukraine, Wednesday, Nov. 28, 2018. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)

Ukrainian soldiers patrol an area near the frontline with Russia-backed separatists in Shyrokyne, eastern Ukraine, Wednesday, Nov. 28, 2018. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)

Ukrainian naval ships, which were recently seized by Russia's FSB security service, are seen anchored in a port in Kerch, Crimea November 28, 2018. REUTERS/Alla Dmitrieva

A Ukrainian sailor, second right, is escorted by Russian intelligence agency FSB officers from a court in Simferopol, Crimea, Wednesday, Nov. 28, 2018. (AP Photo)

Three Ukrainian naval ships (L), which were recently seized by Russia's FSB security service, are seen anchored in a port in Kerch, Crimea November 28, 2018. REUTERS/Alla Dmitrieva

Deputy Head of Security Service of Ukraine, Oleh Frolov speaks during a news conference on the Black Sea incident, which took place off Russian-annexed Crimea on November 25, in Kiev, Ukraine November 29, 2018. REUTERS/Valentyn Ogirenko

Deputy Head of Security Service of Ukraine, Oleh Frolov demonstrates an image showing Ukrainian armoured artillery vessel Berdyansk damaged by Russian shelling during a news conference on the Black Sea incident, which took place off Russian-annexed Crimea on November 25, in Kiev, Ukraine November 29, 2018. REUTERS/Valentyn Ogirenko

Speaker of Security Service of Ukraine Olena Hitlianska stands near a monitor showing an image of Ukrainian armoured artillery vessel Berdyansk damaged by Russian shelling during a news conference on the Black Sea incident, which took place off Russian-annexed Crimea on November 25, in Kiev, Ukraine November 29, 2018. REUTERS/Valentyn Ogirenko

Deputy Head of Security Service of Ukraine, Oleh Frolov demonstrates a transcript of conversation between crew members of a Russian military helicopter and a control room during a news conference on the Black Sea incident, which took place off Russian-annexed Crimea on November 25, in Kiev, Ukraine November 29, 2018. REUTERS/Valentyn Ogirenko

A detained Ukrainian serviceman and crew member of one of Ukrainian naval ships, which were recently seized by Russia's FSB security service, looks out of a minibus window outside a court building in Simferopol, Crimea November 28, 2018. REUTERS/Pavel Rebrov

Ukraine's president has said Russian men between 16 and 60 have been barred from travelling to the country.

The move comes as the long-simmering conflict between the two nations escalated in the Black Sea on Sunday.

Russian border guards opened fire on and captured three Ukrainian vessels and their 24-member crew.

Ukrainian president Petro Poroshenko tweeted that the restrictions on Russian travellers have been taken in order to prevent Russians from forming "private armies" fighting on Ukrainian soil.

Expand Close Speaker of Security Service of Ukraine Olena Hitlianska stands near a monitor showing an image of Ukrainian armoured artillery vessel Berdyansk damaged by Russian shelling during a news conference on the Black Sea incident, which took place off Russian-annexed Crimea on November 25, in Kiev, Ukraine November 29, 2018. REUTERS/Valentyn Ogirenko / Facebook

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Whatsapp Speaker of Security Service of Ukraine Olena Hitlianska stands near a monitor showing an image of Ukrainian armoured artillery vessel Berdyansk damaged by Russian shelling during a news conference on the Black Sea incident, which took place off Russian-annexed Crimea on November 25, in Kiev, Ukraine November 29, 2018. REUTERS/Valentyn Ogirenko

On Monday, the Ukrainian parliament adopted the president's motion to impose martial law in the country for 30 days in the wake of the naval stand-off near the Crimean Peninsula, which Moscow annexed in 2014.

The Ukrainian vessels had been trying to pass through the Kerch Strait on their way to the Sea of Azov.

Expand Close A view shows a Russian navy minesweeper ship, the Vice-Admiral Zakharin, near Kerch, Crimea November 28, 2018. REUTERS/Staff / Facebook

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Whatsapp A view shows a Russian navy minesweeper ship, the Vice-Admiral Zakharin, near Kerch, Crimea November 28, 2018. REUTERS/Staff

The announcement follows Thursday's decision by US president Donald Trump to scrap the much-anticipated meeting with Russian leader Vladimir Putin.

Mr Trump said it was not appropriate for him to meet Mr Putin since Russia has not released the Ukrainian seamen.

Expand Close A detained Ukrainian serviceman and crew member of one of Ukrainian naval ships, which were recently seized by Russia's FSB security service, looks out of a minibus window outside a court building in Simferopol, Crimea November 28, 2018. REUTERS/Pavel Rebrov / Facebook

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Whatsapp A detained Ukrainian serviceman and crew member of one of Ukrainian naval ships, which were recently seized by Russia's FSB security service, looks out of a minibus window outside a court building in Simferopol, Crimea November 28, 2018. REUTERS/Pavel Rebrov

A Russian government-appointed ombudswoman for Crimea told Russian news agencies that all the seamen have been transported from a detention centre in Crimea.

The three commanders have been taken to Moscow, she said.

Expand Close A Ukrainian sailor, second right, is escorted by Russian intelligence agency FSB officers from a court in Simferopol, Crimea, Wednesday, Nov. 28, 2018. (AP Photo) / Facebook

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Whatsapp A Ukrainian sailor, second right, is escorted by Russian intelligence agency FSB officers from a court in Simferopol, Crimea, Wednesday, Nov. 28, 2018. (AP Photo)

A Crimea court earlier this week ruled to keep the Ukrainian seamen behind bars for two months pending the investigation.

There has been growing hostility between Ukraine and Russia since Moscow's annexation of the Crimean Peninsula from Ukraine in 2014.

Russia has also supported separatists in Ukraine's east, with clandestine dispatches of troops and weapons.

Fighting there has killed at least 10,000 people since 2014, but eased somewhat after a 2015 truce.
President Donald Trump waves as he and first lady Melania Trump arrive to Ministro Pistarini international airport in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Thursday, Nov. 29, 2018. Trump traveled to Argentina to attend the G20 summit. (AP Photo/Martin Mejia)

President Donald Trump waves as he walks from Air Force One, Thursday, Nov. 29, 2018, as he and first lady Melania Trump arrive in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Trump traveled to Argentina to attend the G20 summit. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May arrives to the Ministro Pistarini international airport in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Thursday, Nov. 29, 2018. May and the other leaders from the Group of 20 industrialized nations will meet in Buenos Aires for two days starting Friday. (AP Photo/Martin Mejia)

President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump walk from Air Force One, Thursday, Nov. 29, 2018, as they arrive at the Ministro Pistarini international airport in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Trump traveled to Argentina to attend the G20 summit. (AP Photo/Martin Mejia)

World leaders are meeting in Buenos Aires for the latest G20 Summit  the first time the forum has met in South America.

Here, the Press Association answers some questions about the forum.

What is the G20?

For the first time in its history, Argentina will be hosting the #G20Summit, which brings together over 30 world leaders.#G20 #G20Argentina pic.twitter.com/UIQGfmgelh  G20 Italy (@g20org) November 30, 2018

The Group of Twenty is a forum which sees 19 leading countries and the European Union meet annually to discuss policies to address the worlds most pressing challenges.

The member countries are Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, South Korea, Turkey, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

The 19 members and the EU account for around two in three of the global population and nearly 80% of world trade.

Expand Close Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May arrives to the Ministro Pistarini international airport in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Thursday, Nov. 29, 2018. May and the other leaders from the Group of 20 industrialized nations will meet in Buenos Aires for two days starting Friday. (AP Photo/Martin Mejia) / Facebook

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Whatsapp Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May arrives to the Ministro Pistarini international airport in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Thursday, Nov. 29, 2018. May and the other leaders from the Group of 20 industrialized nations will meet in Buenos Aires for two days starting Friday. (AP Photo/Martin Mejia)

Who else is invited?

Previous summits have seen participants who are not permanent members of the G20 invited, and Spain is a permanent invited guest and will be represented in Argentina.

The summits hosts have also invited Chile and the Netherlands, while several partner organisations such as the African Union, Association of Southeast Asian Nations, International Monetary Fund, United Nations, World Bank, World Health Organisation and the World Trade Organisation are typically present.

What is the history of the G20?

The idea for the G20 started within the G7 meeting of finance ministers in 1999 who felt they needed a more broad group to address the worlds financial challenges.

After the financial crisis of 2008, the G20 worked on stabilising the worlds economy and also looks at markets, trade and development.

Expand Close President Donald Trump waves as he walks from Air Force One, Thursday, Nov. 29, 2018, as he and first lady Melania Trump arrive in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Trump traveled to Argentina to attend the G20 summit. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais) / Facebook

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Whatsapp President Donald Trump waves as he walks from Air Force One, Thursday, Nov. 29, 2018, as he and first lady Melania Trump arrive in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Trump traveled to Argentina to attend the G20 summit. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

What is the difference between the G7 and G20?

The G7 is a group of the largest advanced economies in the world and comprises Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States. Russia was previously a member of the then G8 but was ejected over the annexation of Crimea.

The G7 has a stronger focus on politics in industrialised countries, including discussions on health, energy, environment and terrorism, while the G20 looks at economic issues facing developed and emerging economies.

Expand Close President Donald Trump waves as he and first lady Melania Trump arrive to Ministro Pistarini international airport in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Thursday, Nov. 29, 2018. Trump traveled to Argentina to attend the G20 summit. (AP Photo/Martin Mejia) / Facebook

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Whatsapp President Donald Trump waves as he and first lady Melania Trump arrive to Ministro Pistarini international airport in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Thursday, Nov. 29, 2018. Trump traveled to Argentina to attend the G20 summit. (AP Photo/Martin Mejia)

What will be the focus of the G20 summit in Argentina?

Only one week until leading world leaders meet at the #G20Summit, the most important event of the #G20 annual agenda.#G20Argentina pic.twitter.com/egDLew6rcx  G20 Italy (@g20org) November 23, 2018

President Mauricio Macri said the slogan of the summit is a fair and sustainable future with a focus on putting people first and building consensus.

Discussions at the event take place behind closed doors, but the aim is to create a final document which all members agree on to promote fair and sustainable development.
U.S. President Donald Trump is welcomed by Argentina's President Mauricio Macri as he arrives for the G20 leaders summit in Buenos Aires, Argentina November 30, 2018. REUTERS/Marcos Brindicci

U.S. President Donald Trump meets Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the G20 leaders summit in Buenos Aires, Argentina November 30, 2018. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque

Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May, left, and Argentina's President Mauricio Macri meet during the G20 Leader's Summit at the Costa Salguero Center in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Friday, Nov. 30, 2018. (AP Photo/Gustavo Garello)

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman looks down as leaders arrive for a family photo at the G20 in Buenos Aires, Argentina November 30, 2018. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque

Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman greets Russia's President Vladimir Putin during the opening of the G20 leaders summit in Buenos Aires, Argentina November 30, 2018 in this picture taken from video. Reuters TV Summit Pool via REUTERS

Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman greets Russia's President Vladimir Putin during the opening of the G20 leaders summit in Buenos Aires, Argentina November 30, 2018 in this picture taken from video. Reuters TV Summit Pool via REUTERS

Russia's President Vladimir Putin and Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman are seen during the G20 summit in Buenos Aires, Argentina November 30, 2018. REUTERS/Marcos Brindicci

Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May, left, France's President Emmanuel Macron, center, and President Donald Trump gather for the family photo of the G20 Leader's Summit at the Costa Salguero Center in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Friday, Nov. 30, 2018. (AP Photo/Ricardo Mazalan)

World leaders gather for a group photo at the start of the G20 Leader's Summit at the Costa Salguero Center in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Friday, Nov. 30, 2018. Front, from left, are South Africa's President Cyril Ramaphosa, Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May, France's President Emmanuel Macron, and Senegal's President Macky Sall. Center, from left, are European Council's President Donald Tusk and Netherlands' Prime Minister Mark Rutte. Top, from left, are Mark Carney, President Chair of the Financial Stability Board and World Bank President Jim Yong Kim. (Andres Martinez Casares/Pool Photo via AP)

U.S. President Donald Trump, Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Mexico's President Enrique Pena Nieto sign documents during the USMCA signing ceremony before the G20 leaders summit in Buenos Aires, Argentina November 30, 2018. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque

World leaders participate in a family photo at the G20 summit, Friday, Nov. 30, 2018 in Buenos Aires, Argentina. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

French President Emmanuel Macron has stepped up pressure on Saudi Arabia over the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi by telling Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman that international experts need to be involved in the investigation into his death.

Mr Macron's demand came shortly before Theresa May held face-to-face talks with the crown prince in which she promised to send a "robust" message about the murder, as well as the war in Yemen.

Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Previous Next Close U.S. President Donald Trump, Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Mexico's President Enrique Pena Nieto sign documents during the USMCA signing ceremony before the G20 leaders summit in Buenos Aires, Argentina November 30, 2018. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque World leaders gather for a group photo at the start of the G20 Leader's Summit at the Costa Salguero Center in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Friday, Nov. 30, 2018. Front, from left, are South Africa's President Cyril Ramaphosa, Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May, France's President Emmanuel Macron, and Senegal's President Macky Sall. Center, from left, are European Council's President Donald Tusk and Netherlands' Prime Minister Mark Rutte. Top, from left, are Mark Carney, President Chair of the Financial Stability Board and World Bank President Jim Yong Kim. (Andres Martinez Casares/Pool Photo via AP) Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May, left, France's President Emmanuel Macron, center, and President Donald Trump gather for the family photo of the G20 Leader's Summit at the Costa Salguero Center in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Friday, Nov. 30, 2018. (AP Photo/Ricardo Mazalan) World leaders participate in a family photo at the G20 summit, Friday, Nov. 30, 2018 in Buenos Aires, Argentina. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais) Russia's President Vladimir Putin and Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman are seen during the G20 summit in Buenos Aires, Argentina November 30, 2018. REUTERS/Marcos Brindicci Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman greets Russia's President Vladimir Putin during the opening of the G20 leaders summit in Buenos Aires, Argentina November 30, 2018 in this picture taken from video. Reuters TV Summit Pool via REUTERS Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman greets Russia's President Vladimir Putin during the opening of the G20 leaders summit in Buenos Aires, Argentina November 30, 2018 in this picture taken from video. Reuters TV Summit Pool via REUTERS Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman looks down as leaders arrive for a family photo at the G20 in Buenos Aires, Argentina November 30, 2018. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May, left, and Argentina's President Mauricio Macri meet during the G20 Leader's Summit at the Costa Salguero Center in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Friday, Nov. 30, 2018. (AP Photo/Gustavo Garello) U.S. President Donald Trump meets Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the G20 leaders summit in Buenos Aires, Argentina November 30, 2018. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque Demonstrators march during the Group 20 summit, in Buenos Aires, Argentina November 30, 2018. REUTERS/Andres Martinez Casares U.S. President Donald Trump is welcomed by Argentina's President Mauricio Macri as he arrives for the G20 leaders summit in Buenos Aires, Argentina November 30, 2018. REUTERS/Marcos Brindicci Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman looks out as leaders arrive for a family photo at the G20 in Buenos Aires, Argentina November 30, 2018. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque First lady Melania Trump, left center, and Argentina's first lady Juliana Awada, pose for a photo during a visit of partners of the Group of 20 leaders, at the Villa Ocampo cultural center in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Friday, Nov. 30, 2018. (AP Photo/Sebastian Pani) / Facebook

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Whatsapp U.S. President Donald Trump, Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Mexico's President Enrique Pena Nieto sign documents during the USMCA signing ceremony before the G20 leaders summit in Buenos Aires, Argentina November 30, 2018. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque

Mohammed has appeared isolated among fellow world leaders at the G20 summit in Argentina, with the exception of a vigorous public handshake from Russia's Vladimir Putin - himself treated as a pariah by some of those present.

The crown prince was filmed in an apparently tense conversation with Mr Macron, telling the French president not to worry.

Expand Close Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman greets Russia's President Vladimir Putin during the opening of the G20 leaders summit in Buenos Aires, Argentina November 30, 2018 in this picture taken from video. Reuters TV Summit Pool via REUTERS / Facebook

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Whatsapp Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman greets Russia's President Vladimir Putin during the opening of the G20 leaders summit in Buenos Aires, Argentina November 30, 2018 in this picture taken from video. Reuters TV Summit Pool via REUTERS

Mr Macron responded: "I am worried...You never listen to me."

The widely-shared video showed bin Salman replying: "I will listen, of course." It concluded with Mr Macron saying: "I am a man of my word."

Later, an Elysee Palace official said the president had conveyed a "very firm" message on the need for international involvement in the Khashoggi investigation, currently the subject of two separate probes by Saudi Arabia and Turkey.

Mrs May said she would use her meeting to press Britain's call for a credible and transparent investigation into Mr Khashoggi's death in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul in October and urge Mohammed to ensure his country offers full co-operation to the Turkish investigation.

Mrs May was also pressing the Crown Prince to ensure his country's engagement in talks in Stockholm next week to find a political solution to the bloodshed in Yemen, where a Saudi-led coalition is fighting Houthi rebels.

Amnesty International UK's director Kate Allen said Mrs May should "politely but firmly insist that only a UN investigation into the grisly murder of Jamal Khashoggi is going to be sufficient".

Expand Close Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman looks out as leaders arrive for a family photo at the G20 in Buenos Aires, Argentina November 30, 2018. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque / Facebook

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Whatsapp Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman looks out as leaders arrive for a family photo at the G20 in Buenos Aires, Argentina November 30, 2018. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque

Speaking to Sky News ahead of the meeting, Mrs May said: "It is the relationship we have with Saudi Arabia that enables me to sit down with him and be robust on our views on two issues".

On the Khashoggi case, she said Riyadh must "ensure that their investigation is a full investigation, that it is credible, that it is transparent and that people can have confidence in the outcome of it and that those responsible are held to account".

And she said she was "very concerned" about the humanitarian situation in Yemen resulting from the long-running conflict.

"Now is the time, there is an opportunity to find a solution," said the PM.

Expand Close First lady Melania Trump, left center, and Argentina's first lady Juliana Awada, pose for a photo during a visit of partners of the Group of 20 leaders, at the Villa Ocampo cultural center in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Friday, Nov. 30, 2018. (AP Photo/Sebastian Pani) / Facebook

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Whatsapp First lady Melania Trump, left center, and Argentina's first lady Juliana Awada, pose for a photo during a visit of partners of the Group of 20 leaders, at the Villa Ocampo cultural center in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Friday, Nov. 30, 2018. (AP Photo/Sebastian Pani)

"I will be encouraging all parties, including the Saudi Arabians, to ensure that they sit down at the upcoming UN-led talks in Stockholm in the coming days and weeks and find a way through this, find a political solution for a stable future for Yemen."

Mrs May also held talks with the summit's host, President Mauricio Macri, at which the long-standing dispute over the sovereignty of the Falklands took a back seat as discussions focused on trade.

Mrs May presented keen Queen fan Macri with a book about the rock band, while the Argentine president gave her a special cup for drinking national beverage Yerba Mate herbal tea.

Mrs May is the first Conservative Prime Minister to visit Argentina since the 1982 war, and only the second serving PM to do so, after Tony Blair briefly crossed the border from Brazil in 2001.

Mr Macri has toned down official rhetoric over the islands Argentina knows as Las Malvinas since taking over from Cristina Kirchner in 2015.

Expand Close U.S. President Donald Trump meets Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the G20 leaders summit in Buenos Aires, Argentina November 30, 2018. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque / Facebook

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Whatsapp U.S. President Donald Trump meets Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the G20 leaders summit in Buenos Aires, Argentina November 30, 2018. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque

This week's announcement of a new air link between the Falklands and the South American mainland via Argentina has been greeted in London as an indication that relations are headed in a positive direction.

Speaking during her flight to Buenos Aires, Mrs May said the establishment of the flight showed "a different relationship developing".

"I am talking to President Macri about issues about trade and opportunities for trade, but our position on the sovereignty of the Falklands hasn't changed and will not change," she added.

The PM is using the G20 gathering to push her "global Britain" message, telling fellow leaders that her Brexit deal will be good for the world economy.

On Saturday, she will hold bilateral talks with leaders of Canada, Australia, Chile and Japan to discuss opportunities for future trade links, as well as discussing the progress of the Turkish murder probe with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
The US Senate has voted to end their support for Saudi Arabia's war in Yemen, defying President Donald Trump to act in response to the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

It voted 63-37 to allow debate to proceed on the resolution, after Mike Pompeo, the Secretary of State, and Defence Secretary Jim Mattis failed to sway undecided senators to continue the military support for the war coalition.

Senior politicians from both parties rebuffed the Trump administration's attempt to placate lawmakers demanding action against Saudi Arabia.

The vote opens the way to an open debate over the kingdom's role in the killing of dissident columnist Mr Khashoggi at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul and the war in Yemen.

The debate, which may take place next week, would centre on a measure to restrict US support for the Saudi military campaign against Houthi rebels in Yemen, where a humanitarian disaster is unfolding.

"There will be another opportunity next week to decide whether we proceed to it," Foreign Relations Committee chairman Bob Corker said.

He said he hopes the administration "will figure out a way to bring American interests and American values into balance and they can cause a Saudi Arabian government to take appropriate ownership over what has happened in the killing of this journalist."

Mr Trump has been eager to prevent Mr Khashoggi's killing from derailing US ties with Saudi Arabia, around which the administration has built much of its Mideast strategy. But senators have demanded the White House be more forthcoming about intelligence gathered on the Khashoggi killing and have signalled they may back broader sanctions against the kingdom.

Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, a frequent ally of Mr Trump, vowed he won't vote to wrap up key legislative business this year - including a spending bill needed to avert a partial government shutdown - until he receives a briefing from CIA director Gina Haspel on Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's possible role in the assassination.

"Any key vote, anything that you need me for to get out of town, I ain't doing it until we hear from the CIA," Mr Graham said. The CIA reportedly has said it had "high confidence" the crown prince ordered the murder.

Mr Pompeo wouldn't answer reporters' questions about why Ms Haspel didn't take part in the morning briefing. Some senators said the White House blocked her participation.

"Nobody was happy that she wasn't there," Republican Senator Jeff Flake of Arizona said.

Senator Bob Menendez of New Jersey, the top Democrat on the Foreign Relations Committee, said it was a "cover-up" not to have the CIA director take part.

One Republican emerged from the briefing calling for new sanctions on Saudi Arabia over Mr Khashoggi's murder.

"This is the kind of behaviour we expect from Russia and North Korea," Oklahoma Senator Jim Lankford said. "So we do need to confront them."

The frustration seemed to give the Yemen war resolution, introduced by independent Senator Bernie Sanders, more momentum. Mr Corker said senators would have a chance to vote to proceed to the resolution next week as well as vote on amendments. Such resolutions need a simple majority to advance.

Mr Trump has stood by the crown prince, saying he does not want to jeopardise US business and defying intense pressure to impose broader sanctions on Saudi Arabia.

While Mr Pompeo and Mr Mattis said there was no direct evidence connecting Prince Mohammed (MBS) to the murder, any downgrading of US-Saudi ties in response would hurt homeland security.

That clear message from the Trump administration may be forcing Turkey to think again.

"Initially the objective was to pressure Trump to drop his relationship with MBS," said Sinan Ulgen, a former Turkish diplomat.

"On the contrary, Trump seems to have decided to consolidate that relationship, and that's why there had to be a reassessment in Ankara about how to manage this," he said.
Southwest Airlines has apologised to a five-year-old girl after one of its employees mocked her name. Stock image

Southwest Airlines has apologised to a five-year-old girl after one of its employees mocked her name.

Traci Redford said that a Southwest Airlines agent in Southern California mocked the name of her five-year-old daughter when they were preparing to board a flight home to Texas.

The girl's name is spelled with the first five letters of the alphabet and is pronounced "AHB-sih-dee."

KABC-TV reported that Traci Redford accused the gate agent at Orange County's John Wayne Airport of laughing at her daughter's name and posting a photo of her boarding pass on social media.

Redford said the family was pre-boarding because her daughter has epilepsy.

She says she asked the agent to stop and that someone saw the social media post and notified Southwest.

The airline says it has followed up with the worker.
Donald Trump's former personal lawyer has admitted he was pursuing a project to build a Trump tower in Russia deep into the 2016 presidential campaign and later misled Congress about the discussions.

Michael Cohen, who once said he would take a bullet for Mr Trump, yesterday pleaded guilty to misleading Congress and made a string of new revelations about the project in Moscow.

Court documents showed that while Cohen claimed the project ended in January 2016 - before the first primary vote in the Republican presidential campaign - he actually pursued it until June 2016.

Cohen admitted he talked to Mr Trump - identified as 'Individual 1' in court documents - about the building project more than the three times he had previously disclosed.

He also said he briefed members of the Trump family.

Emails showed that Cohen agreed to visit Russia to discuss the deal in May 2016 and that there appeared to be a discussion about getting Mr Trump to also visit the country during the campaign.

Cohen gave the misleading statements, made to two congressional committees last year, to give the "false impression" that the project had ended before the first Republican primary vote in 2016, according to court documents.

Taken together, the revelations show that the Trump team was pursuing a building project in Russia for months longer during the 2016 election campaign than had previously been admitted.

That raises questions of whether there was a financial incentive to get close to the Kremlin, which could play a role in the approval of such a major building project in the country's capital.

Mr Trump dismissed the developments, saying that Cohen was lying in an attempt to reduce a previous criminal sentence.

He also said there would be nothing wrong with pursuing a business deal while running for president.

"Cohen is a weak person and not a very smart person," Mr Trump told reporters outside the White House.

"He's got himself a big prison sentence.

"And he's trying to get a much lesser prison sentence by making up this story.

"I don't know when I decided but somewhere during the period of time, I was never very enthused, somewhere during the period of time when I was running for president... But when I run for president, that doesn't mean I'm not allowed to do business. I was doing a lot of different things when I was running."

During his surprise court appearance in New York yesterday, Cohen pleaded guilty to making false statements to Congress in August 2017, when he gave testimony to lawmakers leading an investigation into whether the Trump campaign co-operated with Russia to sway the 2016 presidential election.

Cohen told the court he made the "misstatements" to be consistent with Mr Trump's "political messaging" and "out of loyalty" to the president.

Cohen has previously said he was Mr Trump's "fixer" and would "take a bullet" for the president.

His plea may turn up the heat on the president, who has provided written answers to questions posed in the investigation.

In August, Cohen pleaded guilty to campaign finance violations, tax evasion and bank fraud in a case brought by federal prosecutors in New York.

Yesterday's guilty plea may signal Cohen is hoping for a lighter sentence on the charges in exchange for continuing to co-operate with Special Counsel Robert Mueller's Russia investigation.

Mr Trump has sought to distance himself from Cohen despite their long association.

Cohen testified in August that Mr Trump had directed him to commit a crime by arranging payments to silence two women who alleged before the 2016 election that they had affairs with Mr Trump.

He also pleaded guilty in August to eight criminal charges including tax evasion, bank fraud and campaign finance violations.

Mr Trump said in October that Cohen's testimony was "totally false" and he minimised Cohen's role working for him, describing him as "a PR person who did small legal work".

Meanwhile, Mr Trump warned Democrats against launching investigations into his presidency - vowing that he is a "counter-puncher" who will unleash fury.

He warned of consequences if the Democrats - who take control of the House in January - use their new-found power to investigate him.

"If they go down the presidential harassment track... I think that would be the best thing that would happen to me," he said.
The bill must now be cleared by the Senate where it needs unanimous consent. (J. Scott Applewhite/AP)

Thousands of Irish citizens will be able to avail of a visa to work in the United States under proposed legislation passed by the lower house in the US Congress.

The E-3 work visa, a two-year renewable visa currently reserved for Australian nationals, would under the bill which passed through the House of Representatives become available to Irish applicants.

It is for workers in "special occupations" - there is no prescribed list of jobs but the requirement mandates a specialised knowledge.

Only unused visas, not taken up by Australians, would be issued to Irish citizens under the proposed changes.

The bill must now be cleared by the Senate where it needs unanimous consent.

Work has been ongoing, spearheaded by the Department of Foreign Affairs, to gain access for Irish people to the coveted scheme over the past number of months.

Ireland's special envoy to the US, John Deasy, welcomed the bill's progress but said he was under no illusions over the difficulty the bill may face in getting through the Senate.

Tanaiste Simon Coveney has also welcomed the passage of the bill, describing it as a "positive development for future generations to travel to [the] USA". However, he acknowledged there was "still work to do".

To qualify for the scheme as it stands, a legitimate offer of work from a US employer must be in place, and have been accepted, for a person to apply.

The visa can be "indefinitely" renewed and a spouse can also work in the US but not their children.

If the law is passed, there will be a maximum of 5,000 visas awarded to Irish citizens. It will not be accessible to undocumented Irish in the US.

Jim Sensenbrenner, who helped to introduce the legislation, said the bill would add to the "great legacy" between Ireland and the United States.
Rising star Beto ORourke has been invited to the home of the USs first presidential primary amid heightened buzz the Texan Democrat could run for the White House after narrowly losing his states Senate race.

The invitation from the New Hampshire Young Democrats arrived on November 10.

Democrats in Iowa, whose caucuses kick off presidential voting, have extended similar invites.

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Mr ORourkes spokesman Chris Evans said: Weve received invites to both, but added no action has been taken on either.

Some Democratic donors are clamouring for the three-term politician from El Paso to run for president in 2020, following his loss to Republican Senator Ted Cruz by less than three percentage points in fiercely conservative Texas.

Mr ORourke has not ruled out a presidential run, saying he will decide what is next after his House term ends on January 3.

With the midterm elections over, the new year will see announcements from candidates who want to run for president.
World leaders have arrived in the Argentine capital for the G20 summit of the globes largest economies as issues such as a trade war between the United States and China and the conflict over Ukraine threatened to overshadow the gathering.

The two-day summit beginning on Friday is supposed to focus on development, infrastructure and food security, but those seemed largely an afterthought amid soured US-European relations and as the United States, Mexico and Canada hammered out the final language of a replacement for the North American Free Trade Agreement (Nafta).

Michael Shifter, head of the Inter-American Dialogue, a Washington-based think tank, said that this G-20 summit was once considered an opportunity for Latin American members Argentina, Brazil and Mexico to project a regional bloc to shape a global agenda.

But, he said, that turned out to be a fleeting aspiration.

The fact that the G20 is taking place in South America for the first time is almost beside the point, Mr Shifter said.

Argentine president Mauricio Macri, the summits host, has lowered expectations.  Now a success would be a summit meeting that goes smoothly, without any major disruption.

Nonetheless, French president Emmanuel Macron, who flew into Buenos Aires on Wednesday, clung to the importance of the ideal of cooperation that the G20 represents.

I believe in our capacity to make the spirit of dialogue and cooperation triumph, Mr Macron said at a joint news conference with Mr Macri, warning that if nations close down, the alternative could be trade wars or armed conflict.

Mr Macron also called for international involvement and complete clarity in investigations into the killing of dissident Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, and said European leaders should discuss it at a meeting Friday.

Mr Macri said the matter of the killing would be on the table during bilateral and possibly broader meetings.

Saudia Arabia has denied that Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman played a role in Mr Khashoggis killing.

But Human Rights Watch accuses him of responsibility and also of war crimes in Yemen, and on Wednesday, Argentine legal authorities took initial action to consider a request to prosecute him for alleged crimes against humanity.

It is to be the crown princes first significant appearance overseas since the killing.

Turkeys Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who has been sharply critical of Saudi Arabia over the incident, is also in attendance.

Willis Sparks, director of global macro politics at Eurasia Group, said: Just to see how leaders interact with the crown prince will be interesting  how warm they are. I expect (US president Donald) Trump to be very warm with him, but European leaders probably are going to be very reluctant to have their pictures taken with him.

An expected high-profile bilateral meeting between Mr Trump and Russias Vladimir Putin planned for Saturday was abruptly cancelled by Mr Trump, who made the announcement in a tweet citing Russias seizure of Ukrainian vessels over the weekend.

The Kremlin said it had not been notified and only learned about it from the tweet.

Russian news agencies quoted Putin spokesman Dmitry Peskov as saying the cancellation means that Mr Putin will have a couple more hours for useful meetings with G20 leaders.

Mr Trump was still scheduled to meet with Chinese president Xi Jinping, but analysts were not optimistic about prospects for a major breakthrough on the two countries trade disputes a month before US tariffs on Chinese goods are set to ramp up.

Shannon ONeil, an expert on global trade at the Council on Foreign Relations, said she believes it very likely that the tariffs will take effect in January.

I think this is an issue that Trump cares a lot about and is going to use when he campaigns for 2020, Ms ONeil said. It used to be Mexico and Nafta, and now its going to be China.

President @realDonaldTrump is wheels up to Buenos Aires for the G20 Summit, where world leaders will discuss the future of work, infrastructure, and sustainable food management.



The "Group of 20" last convened in 2017 in Hamburg, Germany. Take a look: https://t.co/uLjD9s6pTQ pic.twitter.com/AZgGnCERxF  The White House 45 Archived (@WhiteHouse45) November 29, 2018

The US, Canada and Mexico are scheduled to sign the new United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement that is replacing the Nafta trade deal during a ceremony on Friday.

There had been speculation that Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau might not attend and send his foreign minister instead if Mr Trump does not lift steel and aluminium tariffs, but a Canadian broadcaster reported late on Thursday that he would be at the ceremony.

The foreign minister, Chrystia Freeland, said the three countries were very much on track to sign on time.

These agreements are massive, and a vast number of technical details need to be scrubbed and wrapped up, she said.

The fact that this is an agreement in three languages adds to the level of technical complexity, and it is on that level that were just being sure that all the is are dotted and all the ts are crossed.

The pact must still be approved by politicians in all three countries.

Expand Close President Donald Trump waves as he and first lady Melania Trump arrive to Ministro Pistarini international airport in Buenos Aires (Martin Mejia/AP) / Facebook

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Whatsapp President Donald Trump waves as he and first lady Melania Trump arrive to Ministro Pistarini international airport in Buenos Aires (Martin Mejia/AP)

Ms ONeil said she anticipates that to be quite smooth in Mexico and Canada, but passage could be more complicated in the United States after midterm elections flipped the House of Representatives, meaning the next speaker could be Democratic Representative Nancy Pelosi.

There are some  things in there that I think Democrats can support, Ms ONeil said. But I cant imagine having a new Nafta is going to be Pelosis first priority when she comes in, so Id expect it to be drawn out.

Encuentro con el presidente Macron en Casa Rosada pic.twitter.com/gcdefZFgs6  Mauricio Macri (@mauriciomacri) November 29, 2018

On Thursday, Mr Macron criticised protectionist stances by Mr Trump but said they have no plans for a one-on-one at the summit. The two have increasingly clashed in recent weeks on everything from Mr Trumps nationalism to wine tariffs.

Mr Macron warned that Europe might not sign trade deals with the South American regional bloc Mercosur if Brazils incoming president, Jair Bolsonaro, pulls out of the Paris accord.

Taking the world stage at the G20 is a welcome relief for Mr Macron, who has faced mass protests at home over rising fuel taxes that are the biggest challenge yet to his presidency. But his party dominates parliament and neither faces re-election until 2022.

Other European leaders at the summit are facing domestic struggles of their own.

Theresa May is fighting for political survival as she tries to pull Britain out of the European Union.

Germanys Angela Merkel is preparing to leave politics after announcing last month she would give up leadership of her party, a post she has held since 2000.

Meanwhile, Italys Giuseppe Conte heads a populist coalition that is clashing with the EU and suffers internal divisions.
PM Modi and Saudi Arabia Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman discussed ways to further boost economic, cultural, energy ties.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi met with Saudi Arabia Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Buenos Aires. (Photo: Twitter | @narendramodi)

Buenos Aires/New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi met with Saudi Arabia Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Buenos Aires on Thursday and they discussed ways to further boost economic, cultural and energy ties.

The two sides also held discussions on enhancing investment in technology, renewable energy and food security.

"Had a fruitful interaction with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud. We discussed multiple aspects of India-Saudi Arabia relations and ways to further boost economic, cultural and energy ties," the Prime Minister wrote on Twitter.

"Deepening strategic ties. PM @narendramodi met with Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud on sidelines of #G20Argentina. Discussed enhancing Saudi investment in technology, infrastructure, petroleum, renewable energy, food security, fintech & defence sectors," External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Ravish Kumar tweeted.

"In recent years, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has been a valuable partner. The relationship has expanded beyond the Indian community to issues related to the economy, energy and security. All issues of bilateral and regional interest will be discussed," PMO sources said.

On the sidelines of the two-day 13th G-20 summit, PM Modi, Trump and Japanese Premier Shinzo Abe will hold a trilateral meeting amidst China flexing its muscles in the strategic Indo-Pacific region.

The trilateral, which would be an expansion of the bilateral meeting between Trump and Abe, is part of the series of meetings the US president would have on the sidelines of the G-20 summit on November 30 and December 1.

White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said on Thursday the trilateral meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be held towards the end of the Trump-Abe talks.

"Looking forward to a wide range of interactions at the G-20 Summit, aimed at furthering sustainable development," Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted soon after he landed Buenos Aires.

PM Modi will also meet Chinese President Xi Jinping and German Chancellor Angela Merkel on the sidelines of the event, the Ministry of External Affairs had said on the eve of his departure.

He will be in Buenos Aires from November 29 to December 1.
Thousands of students gather during a rally demanding the government act on climate change, in Sydney, Friday, Nov. 30, 2018. The coordinated rallies Friday were held in close to 30 cities and towns. (Dan Himbrechts/AAP Image via AP)

Thousands of schoolchildren across Australia have skipped classes to attend rallies demanding government action on climate change.

Resources minister Matt Canavan said the pupils should be in school learning about science and mining, rather than discovering how to get on welfare.

The co-ordinated rallies were held in close to 30 cities and towns and were inspired by a 15-year-old Swedish girls activism.

In Sydney, more than 1,000 children, most in their school uniforms, chanted slogans, while similar numbers blocked streets outside the Victoria state parliament in Melbourne.

The rallies were inspired by Greta Thunberg, who protests every Friday outside Swedens parliament, urging leaders to do more about climate change.

Expand Close Thousands of students gather in Sydney (AP) / Facebook

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Sydney student Siniva Esera told the Sydney rally that Australia needs to be the big brother to the low-lying Pacific islands, including her relatives on the Tokelau atolls.

Our prime minister thinks we should be in school right now, and maybe we should, the Chifley College Senior Campus student told protesters.

But how can I just sit by and not do anything to protect the future of this planet, and as my family on the islands worry about the rising sea level?

Forest Lodge Primary school captain Lucie Atkin Bolton said shed learned in class that leaders need to look after everybody and take responsibility when things go wrong.

I wish I lived in a country where our adults, especially our politicians, actually cared about my future, the 11-year-old said.

Mr Canavan, the resources minister, said he is on the side of science and wants Australia to develop all energy sources, including solar and coal.

These are the type of things that excite young children and we should be great at as a nation, he told Sydney radio station 2GB.

The best thing youll learn about going to a protest is how to join the dole queue.
Donald Trump chatted with world leaders during a group photo session at the G20 summit, but walked by without appearing to acknowledge Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

In contrast, Mr Putin and the crown prince shared a smiley, enthusiastic greeting at the gathering.

The two men beamed widely and clasped hands in something of a cross between a handshake and a high-five.

The crown prince patted Mr Putins hand three times for emphasis as the two leaders took their seats next to each other.

The US president cancelled a formal sit-down with Mr Putin at the summit in Argentina over Moscows seizure of Ukrainian vessels.

Expand Close Donald Trump walks past Vladimir Putin as they gather for the group photo at the start of the G20 summit in Buenos Aires (Pablo Martinez Monsivais/AP) / Facebook

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Mr Trump is also not meeting privately in Buenos Aires with the crown prince, who is trying to rebuild his image after the killing of Washington Post columnist and royal family critic Jamal Khashoggi inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.
Ukraines president has said Russian men between 16 and 60 have been barred from travelling to the country.

The move comes as the long-simmering conflict between the two nations escalated in the Black Sea on Sunday.

Russian border guards opened fire on and captured three Ukrainian vessels and their 24-member crew.

Ukrainian president Petro Poroshenko tweeted that the restrictions on Russian travellers have been taken in order to prevent Russians from forming private armies fighting on Ukrainian soil.

On Monday, the Ukrainian parliament adopted the presidents motion to impose martial law in the country for 30 days in the wake of the naval stand-off near the Crimean Peninsula, which Moscow annexed in 2014.

Expand Close Mr Poroshenko left, chairs a Ukrainian national security and defence council meeting in Kiev (AP) / Facebook

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The Ukrainian vessels had been trying to pass through the Kerch Strait on their way to the Sea of Azov.

The announcement follows Thursdays decision by US president Donald Trump to scrap the much-anticipated meeting with Russian leader Vladimir Putin.

Mr Trump said it was not appropriate for him to meet Mr Putin since Russia has not released the Ukrainian seamen.

A Russian government-appointed ombudswoman for Crimea told Russian news agencies that all the seamen have been transported from a detention centre in Crimea.

The three commanders have been taken to Moscow, she said.

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A Crimea court earlier this week ruled to keep the Ukrainian seamen behind bars for two months pending the investigation.

There has been growing hostility between Ukraine and Russia since Moscows annexation of the Crimean Peninsula from Ukraine in 2014.

Russia has also supported separatists in Ukraines east, with clandestine dispatches of troops and weapons.

Fighting there has killed at least 10,000 people since 2014, but eased somewhat after a 2015 truce.

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Meanwhile, Ukraines intelligence agency is searching the home of the father superior of Kievs biggest and oldest monastery, which is part of the Russian Orthodox Church.

Officers are searching the home of Father Pavlo, who leads the Pechersk Monastery in Kiev.

Ihor Guskov, chief of staff of the SBU intelligence agency, told reporters that the cleric is suspected of inciting hatred.

The Ukrainian church, which has been part of the Russian Orthodox Church for centuries, moved close to forming an independent church  fuelled by the conflict with Russia Ukraines Orthodox communities earlier this year.

There are currently three Orthodox communities in Ukraine, including two breakaway churches.

Ukrainian authorities have sought to portray the Russian Orthodox clerics in Ukraine as supporting separatists.
US President Donald Trump has joined the leaders of Canada and Mexico at a global meeting in Argentina to sign a revised North American trade pact that he called groundbreaking and a benefit for working people.

The US-Mexico-Canada Agreement is meant to replace the 24-year-old North American Free Trade Agreement, which Mr Trump has long denigrated as a disaster.

He appeared with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and outgoing Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto at the G20 summit in Buenos Aires for the formal signing ceremony.

President Trump Participates in the USMCA Signing Ceremony https://t.co/ITeDQ39ZrN  The White House 45 Archived (@WhiteHouse45) November 30, 2018

Its been long and hard. Weve taken a lot of barbs and a little abuse, but we got there, Mr Trump said of the pact.

Each countrys legislature must also approve the agreement but this could prove a difficult task in the US, especially now that Democrats  instead of Mr Trumps Republicans  will control the House of Representatives come January.

Democrats and their allies in the labour movement are already demanding changes to the agreement.

While Mr Trump hailed the revised trade pact, Mr Trudeau was more measured, saying there was still work to be done and calling on Mr Trump  using his first name  to remove steel and aluminium tariffs the US imposed on Canada and Mexico.

Mr Trudeau also referenced recent downsizing by General Motors in North America as a heavy blow but Mr Trump did not mention the job losses.

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The signing came at the front end of two days of tough diplomacy for Mr Trump.

On the top of his agenda is a Saturday dinner meeting with Chinese President Xi Jingping, which will determine if the two can ease escalating trade tensions.

Before Mr Trump arrived in Argentina he injected additional drama into the proceedings by cancelling another high-stakes meeting, with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

On Friday, Mr Trump opened the day with a cordial meeting at the Casa Rosada with Argentine President Mauricio Macri, a longtime business acquaintance.

Posing for photos in the gilded Salon Blanco, Mr Trump spoke about their longtime personal relationship and said they would discuss trade, military purchases and other issues.

Weve known each other a long while, Mr Trump said, noting he worked with Mr Macris father on real estate developments.

The businessman-turned-politician joked that when he and Mr Macri first met they would never have imagined their future roles on the world stage.

Mr Macri is hosting the summit as he struggles with problems at home.

He is trying to halt economic turmoil that has caused the steep depreciation of the Argentine peso.

Mr Trump, who arrived in Buenos Aires late on Thursday, barrelled into the two-day meeting by announcing via Twitter that he was cancelling a planned meeting with Mr Putin over Russias seizure of Ukrainian vessels.

His agenda for the weekend includes meetings with world leaders, as well as a number of heavily choreographed group activities for the gathering of leaders of rich and developing nations.
The US has been blocking progress at the Group of 20 summit on fixing world trade rules, fighting climate change and tackling migration, according to European officials involved in the discussions.

The divisions among the worlds leading economies were evident from the moment the Argentinian president opened the summit on Friday with a call for international cooperation to solve the planets problems.

President Donald Trump sought to use the summit to make his own trade deals.

Meanwhile, two men under heavy criticism from the West lately, Russias President Vladimir Putin and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, appeared to seek refuge in each other, bonding with a tough-guy hand grab as the leaders sat down around a huge round table for talks.

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Security concerns also weighed on the two-day talks in Buenos Aires.

Argentinas security minister said eight petrol bombs were discovered in an area of the capital several miles from the summit venue where a protest in the afternoon drew thousands of demonstrators who held up banners with slogans like Go Away G-20 and Go Away Trump.

Diplomats from the Group of 20 countries were haggling hard over a final summit statement, with deep divisions over what language to use on the Paris climate accord and the World Trade Organisation.

Two European officials involved in the discussions said the US was blocking progress on both.

So an unorthodox solution emerged: Because of resistance from the Trump administration, an official in the French presidents office said the statement may have language that sets the US apart.

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For example, a draft says 19 of the participants agree on the importance of upholding the Paris climate accord, but the US does not.

The officials said the US was also blocking any mention of migration in the final statement.

Argentinas foreign minister Jorge Faurie said trade talks were moving forward and nations were continuing to work on climate change wording.

All issues being discussed at the summit have the same relevance, he told reporters.

We are debating (trade and climate change) more closely because we want to reach the consensus of all the countries involved.

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Mr Faurie said that the final communique does not require the signature of presidents.

Despite Mr Trumps dismissal of concerns about global warming, China, France and the United Nations came together Friday to pledge their support for the Paris climate accord.

Their declaration was meant to encourage other G20 members to do the same, and to provide a boost for an upcoming UN climate summit.

Argentinas President Mauricio Macri kicked off the summit by acknowledging divisions within the G20 while urging world leaders to have a sense of urgency and take actions based on shared interests.

The summit is meant to focus on issues such as labour, infrastructure, development, financial stability, climate sustainability and international commerce.

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But as the gathering got under way, those themes seemed like afterthoughts, overshadowed by contentious matters from the US-China trade dispute to the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

European Council President Donald Tusk urged G20 leaders to discuss trade wars, the tragic situation in Syria and Yemen, and Russian aggression in Ukraine.

He said the European Union is expected to extend sanctions on Moscow over its totally unacceptable seizure of Ukrainian ships and their crews near the Crimean Peninsula.

Europe is united in its support for Ukraines sovereignty and territorial integrity, Mr Tusk said, calling the standoff a cause of great concern.

Russia and Ukraine have traded blame over the weekend ship incident which Mr Trump cited in cancelling a much-awaited meeting with Mr Putin at the G20.

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Russias foreign minister regretted the move, but said love cant be forced.

Also looming large amid dozens of bilateral meetings in Buenos Aires: the gruesome slaying of dissident Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi in Saudi Arabias Istanbul consulate and how the Saudi crown prince, who is alleged to have ordered the killing, is received by world leaders.

As soon as he arrived, the crown prince was confronted by Frances President Emmanuel Macron, who pressed him on the Khashoggi investigation and the Saudi-backed war in Yemen.

The prince told Mr Macron not to worry, but Mr Macron countered: I am worried.

Saudi Arabia has denied that the crown prince played a role, but some leaders may be cool toward him to avoid seeming to legitimise a man who US intelligence agencies concluded ordered the killing.

Mr Trumps administration has made clear it does not want to torpedo the longstanding US relationship with Riyadh, however.

It is the princes first significant appearance overseas since the killing.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who has been sharply critical of Saudi Arabia over the incident, is also in attendance.

Leaders of the United States, Canada and Mexico, meanwhile, met in the morning to sign a trade deal replacing the North American Free Trade Agreement that was struck following months of tough negotiations that analysts say left a bitter taste among the partners.

Mr Trump called the pact a model agreement that changes the trade landscape forever.

It must still be ratified by politicians in all three countries, and passage in the US could face a tough road in the House of Representatives after Democrats won a majority in November midterm elections.

While Mr Trump cancelled his meeting with Mr Putin, the US president was still scheduled to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping, but analysts were not optimistic about prospects for a major breakthrough on the two countries trade disputes a month before US tariffs on Chinese goods are set to ramp up.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel was supposed to get in to Buenos Aires early Friday, but her arrival was delayed when her plane suffered a technical problem.
As we all know that the Kapoors lived in Peshawar, Pakistan before the partition of India happened. Raj Kapoor 's father PrithviRaj Kapoor was born in Peshawar and had his ancestral property there. Currently in Qissa Bazar, Peshawar, the Kapoor Haveli stands tall after all these years. Now as per the reports of PTI, Rishi Kapoor has requested the Pakistan government to turn it into a museum.

Pakistan's foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi told a group of Indian journalists ,"There was a call from Rishi Kapoor. He requested that his family's home in Peshawar should be made into a museum or some sort of institution. We have accepted his request."



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Pakistan's state of interior minister Shehryar Khan Afridi said that they received a call from the actor and now they are thinking upon it positively. According to PTI, he said,"He had called me and talked about making his ancestral home into a museum. Now the federal and provincial governments are working on this and will transform the house into a museum soon,"
Its absolutely important for children to learn more than just academically.

Have you ever wondered how independent your child actually is? Will your child be able to look after themselves if left alone for a while? Do you think your child is well-equipped with essential life skills to face the world?

Its absolutely important for children to learn more than just academically. Enrolling them in various activity classes isnt enough either. If your child cant look after themselves, they cant develop essential life skills or the important personality traits developed alongside them.

Life skill education simply cannot stop with the exposure your child receives in school. To learn its importance, a child needs to be taught at home through experiences and training activities. Maximum brain development occurs in the first 5 years of a childs life so we need to utilize the early years to provide the foundation to stimulate a childs creative and innovative thinking.

Here are 5 essential life skills every parent must equip their little ones with for the world out there.

Basic Self Defence: In todays world especially, safety is of utmost importance, and developing self-defense not only makes the child feel more independent but also more confident.

Basic self-defense is a must  be it for your son or your daughter. Most schools these days invest in teaching basic self-defense to children. But if your childs school does not, dont hesitate to send them for classes outside.

First-aid and the importance of health: You cant expect to always be around whenever your child gets a hurt, bite or a rash! So how about empowering them such that they are able to take care in case of an emergency until they reach a grown-up?

This is essentially something the childs schooling should cover but as a parent/guardian one should strongly encourage its reinforcement at home by teaching your child essential first aid steps. This can be done by familiarizing the kids with a first aid kit and its contents. Children are, after all, excellent learners!

Another important skill is teaching your child to take care of their health. Instead of forcing your child to eat vegetables, talk to them about health risks in eating junk food all the time and explain how the healthy food will benefit them in a way that they can apply to themselves.

Making them socially active or Interact with People: Weve all taught children about stranger danger but this doesnt make much logical sense considering every person were close to as adults was a stranger to us at some point. Instead, teach your children to do exactly what adults do. Teach them to differentiate between good strangers and bad strangers. Teach them how to interact with good strangers.

Teach them how to make friends, how to be friendly to good adults, and just how they should go about interacting with these people. If we dont teach children this at a young age, they may not develop positive social skills.

Creative thinking and Innovation skills: Pre-school children should be exposed to a play-based learning environment to enable them to learn, communicate and express themselves from an early age. Learning through the use of audiovisuals, picture books, story-telling, role-playing is helpful to enhance their creative and innovative skills.

Social and cross-cultural skills: Toy- sharing among children including toy libraries can expose a child to a social life and a variety of toys without parents having to purchase all. Toddlers should be encouraged to keep exploring different people and cultures so as to stimulate overall development.

The article has been authored by Meera Vasudev, Flinto R&D Centre & Dr. Pooja Kuray, Senior Medical Officer, Momspresso.
Vicky Kaushal has royally owned this year. With back to back hits and amazing performances, he has established a firm foot in the industry. He is in demand and every filmmaker dreams of working with him.

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The actor is currently promoting his upcoming film Uri. The film is based on the Indian Army's surgical strikes on terror launch pads across the Line of Control (LoC). On September 18, 2016, 19 Indian soldiers were killed in an early morning attack by Pakistani terrorists at the 12 Infantry Brigade headquarters in Uri.

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Vicky managed to create a strong buzz about the film after he unveiled the teaser of the film.

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Vicky Kaushal took to his social media accounts to share the deets. He wrote, "Watch the story behind the surgical strike unfold. #URItrailer out on 5th December. @yamigautam @SirPareshRawal @AdityaDharFilms @RonnieScrewvala @RSVPMovies."

A few days ago, he had shared a video of him dubbing for the film.
After their fairytale wedding in Italy, Ranveer Singh and Deepika Padukone are still celebrating in ways more than one. From dance party to hosting reception parties, the couple is making the most of their wedding break.

While they are gearing up for their last reception in Mumbai for their fraternity friends, the couple was spotted at Mumbai's Siddhivinayak Temple. Like always, paps were more than elated to spot and click their favourite #DeepVeer.

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Paps can't stop calling them 'Baba and Bhabhiji' and the way DeepVeer chuckle on this, says it all. Deepika and Ranveer share a very healthy and symbiotic relationship with the media and that's not the only reason why the couple is adored and respected by the fans and their pap friends. They have time and again proved how they are two of the most grounded individuals.

After their grand Mumbai reception, the couple was spotted in Mumbai while they were headed out to seek blessings of God at Siddhivinayak Temple, Mumbai. Fans crowded the couple and screamed so that they could wish them too. Even paps were seen in a light mood as they clicked their favorite #DeepVeer. The couple was accompanied by their families.

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(Also read: Secret Is Finally Out! Ranveer Gives Deets About Dating Deepika & How He Knew She Was The 'One')
This is the year of celebrity weddings and we have no reason to complain. Seeing their love stories find a happy ever after is definitely a feeling that makes our heart happy too.

The year began with Sonam Kapoor and Anand Ahuja's wedding. And now, we are not even over DP-Ranveer's wedding celebrations and we have another royal wedding.

PTI

Priyanka Chopra and Nick Jonas have chosen Jodhpur to tie the knot and the celebrations have already begun for the couple. The couple flew down to Jodhpur yesterday with their close friends and family in attendance.

But if you are wondering whether these celebrations will get a filmy twist with Bollywood celebrities making a cut in their guest list, you're mistaken. According to reports, no Bollywood celebrity has been invited for the wedding ceremonies and functions that will take place in Jodhpur.

However, after exchanging vows, the couple will fly back to Mumbai and Delhi for the grand receptions.

(Also read: Priyanka Chopra-Nick Jonas' Lavish Four-Day Jodhpur Wedding To Cost Them Approx Rs 64 Lacs Per Day)

Another interesting detail that has been revealed about the Niyanka wedding is that the Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi has also been extended an invitation by the couple but considering that he has been traveling abroad for his commitments, he might have to give these celebrations a miss.

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A few reports claim that Nick's dad, Paul Kevin Jonas, will officiate their Christian wedding. The couple will have two wedding ceremonies  a traditional Indian-style ceremony and a Christian service soon after.

The couple got engaged in August in Mumbai and are all set to take the next step towards their happy forever amidst close ones in Jodhpur. Jonas and Chopra have booked Umaid Bhawan Palace for five days.
Although the spinning wheel has long been as a device for spinning thread or synthetic fibres in India as far ago as 500 and 1000 A.D. its best known for its use by Gandhi. He used it as tool to signify self-sufficiency in the face of British oppression.

Interestingly the most recent study states that spinning charkha for one hour daily may improve concentration, multitasking abilities, patience and mind-body coordination of children and youth.

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The study conducted by the Brain Behaviour Research Foundation Of India (BBRFI) here analysed the relevance of charkha (spinning wheel) among children and youth in the society.

According to the research spinning a charkha everyday had positive and soothing effects on the participants. Pre and post training data was collected using brain mapping & electroencephalogram (EEG).

fanaa.blogspot

Subjects were also tested for psychological, personality and intelligence quotient (IQ) tests.

The study saw positive results in all aspects of behaviour, according to the research recently presented here by Chairperson of BBRFI, Meena Mishra. It provides scientific foundation to anecdotal reports of benefits of charkha spinning, Mishra said.

The study was sponsored by Gandhi Darshan, Ministry of Culture. The event also marked the launch of BBRFI's Annual Magazine on mental health, 'Brain BehaviourMind Matters'.

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The magazine shines the spotlight on issues, approaches and prevailing commentary on mental health in India and across the world.

"Mental health is even more important than physical health. At AIIMS we are actively looking at working with our psychology department to help family members of patients cope with some trying and difficult times," said Rajesh Malhotra from All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi.

Commenting on the status of mental health in India, Rajesh Sagar, Professor, Department Of Psychiatry, AIIMS, Delhi, said, "There is a great deal of stigma in the society on mental health. Mental wellbeing is often construed as being crazy or mad, which mean people find it difficult to talk about and even seek help in intervention. We, as a society, need to change this attitude."

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The urgency of focus on mental health in India can be pointed out with the fact that, one in four people in the world is likely to be affected by mental or neurological disorders at some point in their lives, the researchers said.

Around 450 million people currently suffer from such conditions, with close to a 100 million people suffering from some form of mental disorder in India itself, placing mental disorders among the leading causes of ill-health and disability worldwide, they said.

Treatments are available, but two-thirds of people with a known mental disorder never seek help from a health professional. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO) stigma, discrimination and neglect, prevent care and treatment from reaching people with mental disorders.
Isn't Friday the best day of the week?

After slogging ourselves at work for the whole week, we all look forward to Friday nights. You may want to party it big or just lie down doing nothing, it's true that it's the anticipation of Friday that keeps our souls alive.

However, Friday also has a dark side according to a study done by IllicitEncounters.com.

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Attention all the people in relationship, the study says that your partner is most likely to cheat on you on a Friday evening.

More details?

For the study, the site surveyed 1000 people and concluded that the peak time for your lover to commit infidelity is 6.45pm on a Friday reported Womens Health Australia.

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The study also says that if your partner frequently makes excuses like Hey I am partying with my co-workers on a Friday evening, there are high chances they are cheating on you. Around 74% of people are opting for this excuse, FYI.

The rest of your dilemmas will get clear after this statement by Christain, the spokesman of IllicitEncounters.com

He says, What this new research shows is that cheats are creatures of habit. They have strict routines which they tend to stick to when they are seeing their lover. If your partner regularly goes out with work colleagues on a Friday night, this should raise suspicions, particularly if they always go out with you the following night. The Saturday night date is partly due to guilt over the Friday night liaison.

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Scared already? There is more.

The survey also suggests that if your partner is cheating on you, they prefer seeing you twice a week, making Tuesday the second most popular time to get busy outside of a relationship. So Tuesday comes at the second spot. 64 percent of the people also admitted to having used the same routine to avoid suspicion.






A sea of humanity from across the country are in Delhi to highlight the plight of farmers. The two-day march of farmers from Ramlila Ground is to press for their demands to be discussed in the Winter session of the Parliament.

Under the banner of the All India Kisan Sangharsh Coordination Committee, an umbrella body of about 200 farmer organisations from across the country, the march will move towards Parliament for a rally on Friday morning.

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We are expecting a gathering of 35,000-40,000 people to march towards Parliament Street on Friday morning, said Vijoo Krishnan, leader of All India Kisan Sabha.

For the thousands of farmers who came to the national capital from across the country one of the toughest challenge was to find a night shelter for them.

While majority of the farmers stayed at Ramlila Maidan in tents, and in the open in the cold night, five Gurdwaras in the Delhi extended their help to the farmers.

Bangla Sahib Gurudwara, Sis Ganj Sahib, Rakabganj, Bap Sahib and Majnu Ka Tila provided accommodation to farmers for the night.

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The iconic Bangla Sahib Gurudwara is also the starting points of one of the many farmers rallies which will first march to Ramlila and then proceed to Parliament-street. Other NGOs and volunteer groups too also have come out in support of the farmers who are still flowing to Delhi in large numbers from across the country.

Around 600-700 volunteers of a solidarity group Nation For Farmers marched with the farmers from four assembly points -Bijwasan, Majnu Ka Tila, Nizamuddin and Anand Vihar towards Ramlila Maidan.

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Many big and small groups are also providing emergency help including food and medicine to the farmers.

The farmers, who converged at Ramlila Ground came from different corners of the country, including Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal and Uttar Pradesh.

A group of farmers from Tamil Nadu who had in the past protested in Delhi demanding loan waiver, displaying the skulls of their fellow men who had committed suicide due to debt are also back in the national capital for the protest.

They have threatened to go naked if they are not allowed to march to the Parliament.
Nearly a week after the Delhi Police released a photograph depicting two young men, said to be were suspected Jaish-e- Muhammad (JeM) terrorists, who have infiltrated the national capital, the cops have taken down the posters which were placed across the city.

The development came days after an Islamic Seminary in Faisalabad, Pakistan identified the two men in the photograph as its students.

The Jamia Imdadia in Faisalabad city identified the two men as Nadeem and Tayyab, both students of his seminary who had never even visited India.

On Monday, the Seminary officials held a press conference in Faisalabad, where the two students who are originally from PoK were also present.

According to Mufti Zahid of the seminary, the photo which was widely circulated was taken recently visited Lahore to attend the Tablighi congregation at Raiwind and then went to Ganda Singh border to watch the flag-lowering ceremony.

The photo which was shared on social media landed them in trouble as the milestone had the distance to Delhi and Ferozepur inscribed on it in Urdu.

News about the presence of the two JeM terrorists in Delhi which came nearly a week after four unidentified men hijacked a taxi at gunpoint in Pathankot, sparking fears of another 2016-like attack.

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The grenade attack on a religious congregation in Amritsar last week and the subsequent Punjab Police warning that six to seven Jaish-e-Mohammad terrorists "could be moving towards Delhi" from the state had resulted in the Delhi Police issuing a High Alert.
Drones may soon be able to beat Indian cities notorious traffic and ensure speedy transportation of organs between hospitals, a possibility without creating green corridors or special road routes. Union minister of state for aviation Jayant Sinha said the authorities concerned, which will begin registration of big drones (non-toys) from December 1, are looking at creating drone ports in hospitals.

We will begin registration from December 1 and then the required licences will be issued from a month later to accord drones a legal status in India. We are working on the next step of our recently announced drone policy where we are looking at allowing flying drones beyond line of sight (enabling operators to fly drones without having them in sight) in certain areas, Sinha said.

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One of the main areas being considered for this application is having designated air coorridors between big hospitals. Drone ports in hospitals can allow quick transportation of harvested organs to recipients under the Drone 2.0 policy or the next generation of our policy that was recently announced. The draft civil aviation requirement for the same will be issued for consultation on January 15, at a global aviation summit India is hosting in Mumbai, Sinha said.

Special digital airspace will be created for use of drones, he added. In the next phase, big changes are likely in the drone policy by allowing one pilot to operate multiple drones to allow things like using drones to deliver things in some areas. A white paper on this will be issued shortly, Sinha said.

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India recently got its first set of rules for legally using drones. Getting a licence to operate a big drone (over 2 kg in weight) will cost Rs 25,000 and extending the same will cost Rs 10,000. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has come out with rules to operate remotely piloted aircraft systems (RPAS) like drones, which have been categorised into five categories  nano (weighing up to 250 grams), micro (250 grams to 2 kg) and then small, medium and large drones that are in the weight range of 2-25 kg; 25-150 kg and above 150 kg, respectively.

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Anyone flying a drone weighing over 2 kg will need formal training to do so from a DGCA-approved flying training organisation. Apart from those flying nano drones, which are mostly used as toys, and RPAS owned by security agencies, Indian nationals using all other categories of drones will need to get a unique identification number (UIN).
The fear of law and order seems to have waned in many parts of India. People are fearlessly taking law in their hands and committing crimes unabated. In the latest incident, a man in Hyderabad has been butchered in full public view by his own friend. According to police, nobody came forward to help the person who was crying for help.

The incident happened in Hyderabad's Mirchowk on Wednesday night. The deceased has been identified as Shakeer Qureshi, a 30-year-old auto driver.

Police have identified the accused as Abdul Khaja, a butcher by profession. Both the murderer and the victim were known to each other and the killing is said to be a result of an argument.

Police said Khaja had given his auto rickshaw to Qureshi on rent but he gave it to another friend, which angered the former.

When Khaja confronted Qureshi he allegedly abused him, his mother and sister.

Khaja, in a fit of rage overpowered Qureshi to the ground and stabbed him with his knife multiple times in the middle of a busy road even as shocked passersby stood watching.

A video shot by one of the onlookers showed Khaja even taking a break and screaming at the onlookers before he went back to stabbing Qureshi.

According to Hyderabad Police, "Because of immediate response by a constable, accused was arrested within 10 minutes from the spot." The video, however, showed at least two policemen on the spot standing by, and not intervening.
Says TISS report was against Dhangars, state cant ignore it.

Mumbai: Tribal MLAs have decided to wait and watch as far as Dhangar reservation is concerned. They are of the opinion that the report of the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) is against the demand of the Dhangar community about its inclusion in the scheduled tribes (ST) category.

So, it will be difficult for the state government to recommend Dhangar reservation to the central government. Tribal communities are opposing inclusion of the Dhangars in the tribal category.

The Dhangars, who are currently under the Vim-ukta Jati (denotified tri-bes) and Nomadic Tribes (VJNT) category, are asking that they be included under the ST category. They claim that the Dhankad community of north India, included under the ST category, is similar to it. The state government had asked the TISS to research their demand and the TISS submitted its report to the state government.

Chief minister Devend-ra Fadnavis has said that the state government is studying the report and will take an appropriate decision. He also said that before the Lok Sabha elections, the state government will send its recommendations to the Union government.

The ST MLAs held a meeting to discuss the anger within the community and current issues. Sources said that the MLAs had taken a stand to wait and watch.

The TISS report is against the inclusion of Dhangars in the ST category. So, the state government cannot go against it. If it decides to recommend their inclusion, then it will be challenged and there will be agitations. So, we have decided to wait till the governments move, said Con-gress MLA K.C. Padvi.
Arunachal Pradesh Governor Brig (Retd) B D Mishra took a pregnant woman, who urgently needed medical attention, in his helicopter from Tawang to a hospital. When the chopper developed a snag after refuelling at Tezpur, the Governor requisitioned an Air Force helicopter and let the woman and her husband leave first for the capital city. He returned later in another aircraft.

Adding to the humanitarian gesture, Governor Mishra also arranged for an ambulance with a lady gynaecologist at the Raj Bhawan helipad at Itanagar to take the pregnant patient to the hospital without losing time, the sources said.

At the Heema Hospital, the patient underwent a successful emergency caesarean delivery.

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The distance between Tawang and Itanagar is over 200 km by road in the hilly terrain and it takes around 15 hours. But by air, it is around two hours.

The chain of events started at an official programme in Tawang on Wednesday after the Governor overheard a conversation between Chief Minister Pema Khandu and the local MLA.

The MLA was informing Khandu that a patient was in a critical condition, but there was no helicopter service between Guwahati and Tawang for the next three days, the sources said.

Mishra offered to take the patient and her husband with him to Itanagar in his helicopter and the two officers, who had travelled with him, would stay back at Tawang to accommodate the couple.

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The helicopter had to land at Tezpur in Assam for refuelling, but after that, the pilot noticed a technical snag in the chopper and the flight had to be aborted. Concerned over the condition of the patient, the Governor made a requisition bid to the Air Officer Commanding of the Air Force Station, Tezpur, for another helicopter. The patient and her husband were taken to Itanagar, the sources said.

He followed them in another chopper later.

After coming to know about the woman's successful surgery, Mishra conveyed his best wishes to her and her baby, they added.
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The farmers from Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal and Uttar Pradesh began the march to Parliament Street to press for their demands, including debt relief and remunerative prices for their produce. Read more

Here's more top news of the day:





1) Delhi Gurudwaras Open Dedicated Langars To Provide Food To Protesting Farmers From Across India

A sea of humanity from across the country are in Delhi to highlight the plight of farmers. The two-day march of farmers from Ramlila Ground is to press for their demands to be discussed in the Winter session of the Parliament. Read more

2) Centre Approves Additional Rs 2,500 Crore For Kerala Flood Relief, Charges Rs 290 Crore For Airlift, Food Grains

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This makes the total amount sanctioned by the centre to Kerala for flood relief touches Rs 3,100 crore including the Rs 600 crore which was announced as interim relief to the state. Read more

3) UK Parliament Amends Weapons Bill To Allow Sikhs To Continue Carrying Kirpan

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The UK government has amended a new weapons bill going through the parliament to ensure that it would not impact the rights of Sikhs community to possess and supply kirpans, the religious daggers. Read more

4) Railways Gets 2,648 Fog Safety Devices To Ensure Punctuality Of Trains During Winters

Indian Railways does not have a healthy track record of punctuality, especially during winters. In a bid to counter fog and to ensure that trains run on time, the Northern zone of Indian Railways has come up with an action plan to fight the foggy season by providing as many as 2,648 fog safety devices in trains. Read more

5) Helpless Farmers Do Simple Calculation To Make Us Understand Why They Are Protesting

This is the third farmers rally in three months in New Delhi. Among the demands voiced by farmers, one is increasing the minimum selling price, so that they get a good price for their crop. Read more
Thousands of farmers have assembled from all parts of the country in the national capital for the Kisan March on the agrarian crisis. This is the third farmers protest in three months. The farmers from Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal and Uttar Pradesh began the march to Parliament Street to press for their demands, including debt relief and remunerative prices for their produce.

The All India Kisan Sangharsh Coordination Committee (AIKSCC) said that more than one lakh farmers are expected to be a part of the massive rally.

Also Read: Delhi Gurudwaras Open Dedicated Langars To Provide Food To Protesting Farmers From Across India

The farmers are demanding farm loan waiver, an increase in minimum support price and a special Parliamentary session on farmer distress.

More than 3,500 police personnel have deployed to ensure security at the event.

Also Read: Tamil Nadu Farmers Join Two-Day Protest, Threaten Naked March If Stopped From Reaching Parliament

The last time farmers protested in Delhi was on October 2 and they were met with tear gas, barricades and water cannons.

Salute to these young doctors, who

have come to support our Farmers all

the way from Aligarh. Ramlila Maidan

Delhi #KisanMuktiMarch#FarmersMarch #FarmersProtestpic.twitter.com/AIDFOtCE0m  #KisanMuktiMarch (@_kehkelunga) November 30, 2018

#FarmersMarch Will Anndatas of our country get justice or they will get only this 

 High suicide rate

 These kind of painful marches without any results #KisanMuktiMarch

#KisanLongMarch pic.twitter.com/CEP11uON0o  Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro (@mat_jane_de_yar) November 30, 2018

More than one lakh farmers from across the country reached New Delhi today for a two-day march to press for their demands. I stand in solidarity with them. We as a nation must ensure better life for our farmers.#FarmersProtest #FarmersMarch pic.twitter.com/Fb0CbWgUMV  Manoranjan Rout (@Manoranjan_INC) November 29, 2018

Thousands of farmers from across India began a two-day protest in Delhi yesterday, with demands including loan waivers and better prices for their produce.

Today, they plan to walk to the parliament.#KisanMuktiMarch #FarmersProtest #FarmersMarch @ArvindKejriwal pic.twitter.com/1O0g7o9mAS  Bhanu Bharatiya (@BhanuBhaskar5) November 30, 2018

Farmers protesting daily in Modis #NewIndia and government makes fake projections of mega harvests#FarmersMarch  Neha (@YourGalNeha) November 30, 2018

Col. Vinod Kumar from Bharat Rakshak Party, with ex-servicemen, is part of #NationForFarmers solidarity grp for #farmersmarch. "We soldiers at least get pension. Farmers don't have food to eat. Most of our jawans are from agricultural families." #dillichalo pic.twitter.com/njhjsymgNI  Rohini Mohan (@rohini_mohan) November 29, 2018

This time no political crisis or any propganda, everyone have gathered for only one interest please show your support not mock their voices. They have lived the life of so much ignorance by all govs.#FarmersMarch  ankit choudhry (@anandmugdal) November 30, 2018

Farmers from Maharashtra's Palghar town want to save their land, which is likely to be acquired for the bullet train project.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe had on September 14, 2017 launched the Rs. 1.10 lakh crore Ahmedabad-Mumbai High-Speed Rail Network.

A group from Tamil Nadu threatened to march naked if they are not allowed to go to Parliament on Friday. Last year, the group staged protests at Jantar Mantar with the skulls of eight farmers who killed themselves owing to farm losses.

Volunteers, including doctors, lawyers, professors and artists, all came out in large numbers to help.

Five gurudwaras in Delhi have extended support to the farmers. Bangla Sahib Gurdwara, Sisganj Sahib, Rakabganj, Bap Sahib and Manju Ka Tila provided accommodation to farmers for the night.
Celebrated Indian American poet Meena Alexander, seen at a dinner and discussion hosted by The Norman Mailer Center at The Norman Mailer House June 2, 2011 in New York City, died Nov. 21. She was 67. (Eugene Gologursky/Getty Images for The Norman Mailer Center)
A federal jury in Oakland, Calif., unanimously voted to reject claims by American workers who alleged that Tata Consultancy Services (Santa Clara, Calif., building seen above) has an anti-American bias. This is a shot in the arm for the industry, which has not seen anything positive come out on the U.S. visa regulation front for some years, said Anurag Rana, an Indian American analyst with Bloomberg Intelligence, in the report. (TCS.com photo)
In the wake of the devastating fires that have claimed the lives of many people in California, the Indian American nonprofit Charitable Care Foundation has donated $200,000 for the California Wild Fire and Hospital Project. (David McNew/Getty Images photo)
Battery-grade lithium carbonate prices unchanged on thin trading activity.

Battery-grade lithium hydroxide prices trend down on unimproved demand.

Industrial-grade carbonate price in Qinghai moves slightly up on limited output during winter.

Prices across the rest of the world unchanged with most buyers still in contract negotiations with their suppliers.

Chinas spot battery-grade lithium carbonate market held steady this week due to most major buyers having sufficient stock of material and despite battery-grade lithium carbonate produces higher offer prices.Fastmarkets last assessed the Chinese domestic spot battery-grade lithium carbonate price (min 99.5% Li2CO3) at 74,000-83,000 yuan ($10,638-11,932) per tonne on Thursday 29, unchanged from the previous week."Lithium-carbonate prices have not changed this week as most buyers have completed purchases for the year," a producer told Fastmarkets. "I dont think prices will fluctuate much in the following weeks either due to limited buying activity."Industrial-grade lithium carbonate prices from the Qinghai region in China have slightly firmed week on week due to reduced output over winter.

The industrial-grade lithium carbonate price in China moved up slightly to 68,000-75,000 yuan per tonne on Thursday 29 from 68,000-73,000 yuan per tonne the week before.

"Production from the Qinghai region typically sees a reduction of about 60-70% throughout the winter due to snow and rain, which dramatically reduces evaporation rates," a Chinese lithium distributor told Fastmarkets.Reduced consumption and producers eagerness to sell material have slightly pushed down the battery-grade lithium hydroxide spot prices in China.The battery-grade lithium hydroxide monohydrate (min 56.5% LiOH.H2O) price moved down to 105,000-115,000 yuan per tonne on Thursday, down from 110,000-120,000 yuan per tonne the previous week, according to Fastmarkets market assessment."There have been deals concluded at lower prices and micro-grade hydroxide prices also moved down with deals concluded at around 115,000 yuan per tonne recently. Demand hasnt improved and prices are lacking upward support for the moment," a second producer told Fastmarkets.

"We have lowered our battery-grade lithium hydroxide prices to keep selling material, however, we dont expect to lower our prices further in the weeks to come," a second producer told Fastmarkets.



Asian seaborne prices hold at current levels

The battery-grade lithium carbonate and hydroxide prices, on a cif China, Japan and Korea basis, held steady this week due to limited spot deals being reported.



Most buyers and suppliers remain engaged with their contract price negotiations for 2019, therefore are holding back on spot activity.



Fastmarkets battery-grade lithium carbonate (min 99.5% Li2CO3) price was assessed at $13-15 per kg on November 29, while the lithium hydroxide (min 56.5% LiOH.H2O) price was assessed at $15-17 per kg on a cif China, Japan and Korea basis on Thursday 29 November, both unchanged from the previous week.



"The Asian seaborne spot market remains quite slow becuse we are busy with contract negotiations for 2019, having received very few material inquiries," a third producer told Fastmarkets.



Stable European, US spot prices

The European and US battery-grade lithium carbonate and hydroxide spot prices remained unchanged week on week on a lack of trading activity.



Most producers and consumers are currently negotiating their 2019 lithium contract prices and are, therefore, largely absent from the market.



Fastmarkets assessment of the battery-grade lithium hydroxide monohydrate (min 56.5% LiOH.H2O) spot market price was at $15-17 per kg on Thursday 29 November, on a delivered duty-paid basis to Europe and the United States, stable week on week.



Meanwhile, the battery-grade lithium carbonate spot price (min 99.5% Li2CO3) was assessed at $13-15 per kg on a delivered duty-paid to Europe and the United States on Thursday 29 November, also unchanged from last week.



"The market remains very slow and we dont anticipate much activity until the end of the year because most producers and consumers are currently negotiating contract prices," a lithium distributor told Fastmarkets.

Fastmarkets trade log for battery-grade lithium carbonate in China for November includes all trades, bids and offers reported to Fastmarkets.



Learn more about Fastmarkets lithium pricing methodology and read the latest lithium price spotlight here.



All lithium carbonate, lithium hydroxide and lithium spodumene prices are available in our Battery Raw Materials Market Tracker. Get a sample of the report here.
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With this, Marathas will now be eligible for 16 per cent reservation in educational institutions and government jobs.

Mumbai: A long-standing demand of the Maratha community has finally been fulfilled as the Maharashtra legislature on Thursday unanimously passed a bill granting it 16 per cent reservation under a new and independent category: social and educationally backward class (SEBC).

With this, Marathas will now be eligible for 16 per cent reservation in educational institutions and government jobs.

Chief minister Deven-dra Fadnavis tabled the bill in the Assembly and Council in the afternoon and it was passed without any discussion as legislators across party lines supported it. Amid Mr Fadnavis actions, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) members, who had arrived in the House wearing saffron turbans, hailed the move by chanting Shivaji Maharaj Ki Jai and Jai Shivaji, Jai Bhavani.

The bill, named Maharashtra State Reservation (of seats for admission in educational institutions in the state and for appointments in the public services and posts under the State) for Socially and Educationally Backward Classes (SEBC) Act-2018, was passed by the Houses and was converted into an Act. Now it will go to the governor for his approval.

The bill will be applicable to all direct recruitments and appointments made in public services and posts in the state except super specialised posts in medical, technical and educational fields; posts to be filled by transfer or deputation; temporary appointments of less than 45 days duration; and posts that are single (isolated) in any cadre or grade.

According to the bill, Marathas will avail reservation in all educational institutions including aided and non-aided ones, except minority institutions. The ECBC shall also be considered for the allotment on unreserved seats and appointments to public services and posts, which shall be filled on the basis of merit.

The bill states that any admission authority, who wilfully acts in a manner intended to contravene or defeat the purpose of this Act shall be punished with imprisonment for 90 days or a fine. The Marathas shall not get benefit of reservation in cases where the selection process had already been initiated before the commencement of this Act.

The bill was based on a report by the State Backward Class Commission (SBCC), which had concluded that the Maratha community is educationally and socially backward. The commission had recommended the creation of a separate SEBC category for the community and also opined that the limit of reservation could be increased from the 50 per cent, as fixed by the Supreme Court, to accommodate the SEBC in the ambit of quota.

The report said, The Maratha class of citizens is declared as SEBC citizens and has inadequate representation in the services under the State. Having being declared SEBC, they are entitled to reservation benefits and advantages enshrined in Article 15(4) and 16(4) of the Constitution of India (sic).

Once, the bill gets the final nod of the President of India, it shall be published in the Gazette and, from that day, the Act will come into force and the rules will be applicable to the departments concerned.

Marathas, who form about 30 per cent of the states population, have been demanding reservation for a long time. For this, they had held 58 silent protests under the banner of the Maratha Kranti Morcha (MKM) and 40 people had allegedly committed suicide to press for the demand.
Floridas chief financial officer, Jimmy Patronis, said that in the wake of the 2017 hurricane, Perry sought $16,000 in reimbursements from State Farm for home repairs. However, two invoices he filed were allegedly altered, while a third was completely fabricated.

He had legitimate claims with State Farm Insurance, but then what he also did is he started altering repair invoices and actually made some outright totally false invoices, Patronis told News4Jax.

A spokesperson for Patroniss office said that Perry, who at first refused to cooperate with investigators, later confessed to the fraud.

Insurance fraud takes money from Florida families with legitimate claims and drives up insurance rates for us all, Patronis said.

If convicted, Perry faces up to five years in prison.
Climate change provides a moral challenge to India to create new experiments, to read nature and industry.

Decades ago in the heat of the McCarthyite period, scientist Robert Oppenheimer was being interrogated by the United States congressional committee. He was asked why did he produce the atom bomb. Oppenheimer explained it away by saying the atom bomb was a scientific experiment, a technical answer to a technical question. Yet this same man, a few months earlier, claimed in Los Alamos, when the bomb was first tested, that he had known sin. He recited a piece from the Bhagavad Gita: I am death, the conqueror of worlds. The poignant story of this great atomic scientist reveals that science often tends to be reductionist, avoiding questions of ethics, anthropology and philosophy.

When science faces a crisis it has to go beyond the rigidity of paradigms and examine context and ecology. Sadly, most scientific professionals are not equipped to do this. This is what prompted British scientist John Ziman to say that the scientists know as much about science as a fish knows about hydrodynamics. It does not mean that he cannot swim. It is just that when the waters turn muddy, he is at a loss. He needs to go back to the roots, the cosmology and epistemology of a question.

I am emphasising these narratives because as one confronts the issue of climate change, one sees the same syndrome of technical answers to technical questions. One senses the absence of myth, philosophy and ethics in the resolution of the problem. If there is a political issue, it is one of a hysterical nationalism, which confronts the injustices of the past rather than the responsibilities of the future. The developing nations, including India, want the industrialised West to take the major burden, claiming it is now their turn to develop. This narcissism of development blinds us to the vulnerabilities we are imposing on our own people. In this context, Gandhis ideas of Swadeshi and Swaraj go far beyond the parochial nationalism of our time.

Swadeshi captured the sense of the local, the vernacular and the neighbourhood. It was a concern for the oikos and the region, a sense of what could be created and sustained locally. It was an attempt to sustain local languages, skills and livelihood, protect local competence against obsolescence. Swaraj was a more encompassing term, where the neighbourhood expressed a link with the cosmos, a care, a trusteeship of the planet, emphasising the connectivity with the world. Such a sense of interconnection was caught beautifully in a statement that British philosopher Alfred North Whitehead made during a Harvard lecture. He knocked his head gently and claimed: Gentleman, I have disturbed the most distant star. Gandhi represents a similar sense of connectivity in his idea of the oceanic circles where a dew drops and the ocean were connected through a spiralling cosmos. Here scale becomes central to morality, responsibility and trusteeship. The ideas of Swadeshi and Swaraj transcend the European parochiality of borders, of security as a grid emphasising locality, hospitality and a sense of the planetary commons. As climate change practitioners we need to go beyond idiot ideas of Gandhi as a mere luddite and see how his ideas fit seamlessly into an ethics for the future.

In fact, in a more playful way, we can visit the debates between Gandhi and Tagore on the Bihar earthquake. When the earthquake struck Bihar, Gandhi first set up a relief system under Rajendra Prasad, which worked with care and efficiency. Reflecting on the earthquake, Gandhi claimed that the Bihar earthquake was a punishment for the crime of untouchability. Tagore asked Gandhi how could he confuse the moral and geological. Gandhi said he knew the difference but he was concerned with the systems of erasure and forgetting that follows a disaster. He wanted a connect between nature and man, which would lead to some moral creativity to a citizenship of responsibility and reform. This is precisely what is missing in the debates on climate change despite Pope Francis insistence that climate change was an ethical issue. Gandhi could combine the ethical, the political and the cognitive in new and experimental way. The ashram was a laboratory of the future and it is precisely such ethical and scientific experiments that the debate on climate change needs and lacks.

The Gandhian paradigm can be applied creatively to climate change not by picking superficial slogans but reading it and living it out as a method. In this context, we need to borrow a philosophical distinction between the idea of system and lifeworld. A system is a statement of abstract formal properties but a lifeworld is a lived world, a world of the body and the sensorium. One needs the complementarity of both to understand the ecological problems of today.

Gandhi thought of himself as a scientist; treated his body as a test tube for his moral and physiological experiments. The body becomes the site for resistance, for ethical innovations regarding consumption. Gandhi also provided a critique of the idea of progress and the concept of vulnerability so central to the understanding of disasters it resonates his concern for the last man, his idea of trusteeship as a sense of caring. Climate change has been read in arid, secular anthropocentric terms. In fact, it reminds one of the biologists Lynn Margulis comment that historians and scientists are so preoccupied with man as the centre of history and the cosmos, that she was prompted to set up a trade union to emphasise the role of bacteria in history. Margulis collaborator James Lovelock coined the idea of Gaia to capture this systemic interdependence; this needs to combine myth and science today.

Climate change provides a moral challenge to India to create new experiments, to read nature and industry. The question is whether we have the courage to accept the challenge.
The clinic, at Allens direction, also submitted claims for services that were not actually provided, according to a report by The Lexington Herald-Leader.

Allens attorney, Christopher Melton, said that the Lexington Foot and Ankle Center operates with the utmost integrity and in compliance with all billing and reimbursement regulations and guidance.

Melton said that the governments case stems from a lawsuit filed by two disgruntled former employees  a case which was subsequently dismissed by the US District Court.

The court found the previous case to be legally deficient, and the fact that the United States has chosen to resurrect the case is unfortunate, Melton told the Herald-Leader. He said that the Lexington Foot and Ankle Center would aggressively defend itself against the allegations.

This isnt the first time Allens feet, so to speak, have been in the fire. In a 2010 settlement, Allen and his clinic agreed to pay more than $419,000 to settle allegations that they submitted false insurance claims to Medicaid, Medicare and the Office of Personnel Management, according to the Herald-Leader.
The Trump Administration is committed to empowering states to think creatively about how to secure quality, affordable healthcare choices for their citizens, said HHS Secretary Alex Azar in a statement.

Part of that commitment is providing guidance on how states can use the waiver authorities within the ACA to open up more state-based, consumer-directed, fiscally sustainable healthcare options.

The specific examples laid out today show how state governments can work with HHS to create more choices and greater flexibility in their health insurance markets, helping to bring down costs and expand access to care.

Under current ACA subsidies, lower and middle income consumers can use tax credits to help pay for insurance premiums. According to the HHSs recent advice, states would be able to set different income limits for the subsidies outside the federal requirement. It would also allow states to base subsidy amounts on a persons age.

The guidance has been heavily criticised by Democrats. The Washington Post reported that Reps. Richard E. Neal of Massachusetts and Frank Pallone Jr. of New Jersey dispatched a letter to Secretary Azar contending that the waiver concepts are illegal. They wrote that the suggestions exceed the secretarys statutory authority and are contrary to the plain language of the ACA, according to The Washington Post.
The first commercial pot shops in Massachusetts sold more than $2.2 million worth of marijuana products during the first five days they were open for business.

Thats according to figures released Tuesday by the Cannabis Control Commission.

The stores in Northampton and Leicester began operations on Nov. 20 and combined sold $440,000 worth of cannabis that day. The busiest day was Friday after Thanksgiving when the stores reported nearly $480,000 in gross sales.

A total of 56,380 marijuana products were purchased during the initial five-day period.

The commission released the figures without comment.

The store openings were not without a hitch as some Leicester residents complained about traffic jams and other problems during a town hall meeting Monday.

Additional Massachusetts stores are expected to open in the coming months.

Copyright 2021 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Topics Cannabis Massachusetts
The family of a 30-year-old Vermont woman whose obituary gained national attention for its discussion about her opioid addiction are suing a Massachusetts police department for information about the days leading up to her death.

The lawsuit was filed Tuesday the family of Madelyn Linsenmeir, whose obituary was widely shared after she died Oct. 7.

The suit against the Springfield Police Department and city of Springfield says Linsenmeir was arrested in late September and later transferred to the custody of the sheriffs department.

It says she was rushed on Oct. 4 to the hospital, where she later died.

The complaint says lawyers for Linsenmeirs family have requested documents that might shed light on her arrest and detention, but havent received them.

Springfields city attorney didnt immediately respond to an email.

Copyright 2021 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Topics Lawsuits Law Enforcement Massachusetts
Hartford InsurTech Hub, powered by Startupbootcamp, has unveiled the 2019 cohort of startups for its acceleration program. The chosen startups cover a range of abilities, from property insurance claims to peer-to-peer insurance (P2P).

The 10 teams, selected from more than 230 applications, will relocate to Hartford, Conn., ready for the start of the program in February and will remain for its three-month duration. For the startups themselves, joining the program means they will receive the support, resources and industry and investor connections they need to help grow their businesses. With support from Startupbootcamp, the teams will be provided with access to a range of partners, mentors and investors from across the accelerators global network.

The 10 startups who will join the second year of the Hartford InsurTech Hub acceleration program will work closely with Hartford InsurTech Hubs insurance corporate partners: Aetna, Capgemini, Cigna, Deloitte, The Hartford, Travelers, USAA, White Mountains and CTNext. The startups selected for the program are:

Pineapple: Pineapple offers P2P insurance and is coming to Hartford from South Africa.

Pineapple offers P2P insurance and is coming to Hartford from South Africa. handdii: Coming from Australia, handdii is a digital platform that automates the property insurance claim process from FNOL through claim finalization.

Coming from Australia, handdii is a digital platform that automates the property insurance claim process from FNOL through claim finalization. Dream Payments: Dream Payments is a Fintech startup from Canada that powers digital and mobile payment services for business customers.

Dream Payments is a Fintech startup from Canada that powers digital and mobile payment services for business customers. Pitch Gauge: Pitch Gauge, from Georgia, is a roofing estimating application using mobile devices to do property inspections.

Pitch Gauge, from Georgia, is a roofing estimating application using mobile devices to do property inspections. Medyear: From New York, Medyear is a social network for healthcare collaboration. It connects consumers to more than 190 health systems and 700k doctors for real-time chat, secure email, microblogging and personal health records.

From New York, Medyear is a social network for healthcare collaboration. It connects consumers to more than 190 health systems and 700k doctors for real-time chat, secure email, microblogging and personal health records. SkyWatch: SkyWatch is a licensed insurance broker in all 50 U.S. states offering holistic software for connected, moving platforms. It is originally from California.

SkyWatch is a licensed insurance broker in all 50 U.S. states offering holistic software for connected, moving platforms. It is originally from California. Talem Health Analytics: Coming from Canada, Talem Health Analytics provides data driven insights on bodily injury claims cost.

Coming from Canada, Talem Health Analytics provides data driven insights on bodily injury claims cost. See Your Box: See Your Box provides industrial IoT tools to digitize supply chains. SYB is a tech-service platform that collects, analyses and extracts information related to goods across all steps of the supply chain and is coming to Hartford from Switzerland.

See Your Box provides industrial IoT tools to digitize supply chains. SYB is a tech-service platform that collects, analyses and extracts information related to goods across all steps of the supply chain and is coming to Hartford from Switzerland. ClaimSpace: Coming from Australia, ClaimSpace is a platform that bridges the communication gap between customers, insurers and stakeholders during the claims process.

Coming from Australia, ClaimSpace is a platform that bridges the communication gap between customers, insurers and stakeholders during the claims process. CareValidate: Powered by a life-saving light bulb called SafeLight, CareValidate provides health, safety and quality of care telematics to transform workers compensation, senior living, long-term care, life and health insurance products with plug-and-play insurtech solutions. The company is originally from Georgia.

After five months of scouting more than 500 startups from 38 countries, the announcement comes after 22 InsurTech startups met in Hartford for three selection days. The Hartford InsurTech Hubs corporate partners, mentors and investors selected the 10 most relevant insurance technology startups that will enter its cohort beginning in February 2019.

Hartford InsurTech Hub is an initiative established in 2017 by Hartford insurance companies, the city of Hartford and CTNext. Focused on addressing the need for attracting new technologies and talent in insurance and technology into the city of Hartford and the local ecosystem, the program plans to stretch its reach to other cities in Connecticut to create a spirit of collaboration and innovation between its partners, entrepreneurs and investors while leveraging Startupbootcamps global network of capabilities and a structured delivery approach, according to a Hartford InsurTech Hub press release.

Source: Hartford InsurTech Hub

Related:

Topics InsurTech Tech Startups
British and Dutch regulators on Tuesday [Nov. 27] fined ride-hailing service Uber for failing to protect customers personal information during a 2016 cyber attack involving millions of users.

Names, mobile phone numbers and email addresses were compromised in the breach, which involved 57 million users worldwide. That included 2.7 million user accounts in Britain, representing the vast majority of people using the ride-hailing service in the country.

The Information Commissioners Office (ICO) in Britain fined the company 385,000 pounds ($490,760) while the Dutch Data Protection Authority (DPA) imposed 600,000 euro ($678,780) fine.

This was not only a serious failure of data security on Ubers part, but a complete disregard for the customers and drivers whose personal information was stolen, ICO Director of Investigations Steve Eckersley said in a statement.

At the time, no steps were taken to inform anyone affected by the breach, or to offer help and support. That left them vulnerable.

The ICO also said that the records of almost 82,000 drivers based in the UK  which included details of journeys made and how much they were paid  were also taken during the incident in October and November 2016.

The breach occurred before the introduction of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) earlier this year, which would empower the ICO to issue fines up to 17 million pounds or 4 percent of a companys global turnover.

Uber, which has also faced licensing problems in London and a long-running legal battle over workers rights for its British drivers, said it had changed data practices since 2016 and this year hired a chief privacy officer and data protection officer.

Were pleased to close this chapter on the data incident from 2016, Uber said in a statement.

As we shared with European authorities during their investigations, weve made a number of technical improvements to the security of our systems both in the immediate wake of the incident as well as in the years since.

The breach affected 174,000 people in the Netherlands and the Dutch DPA said it was fining Uber for failing to report the incident within 72 hours of its discovery.

($1 = 0.7845 pounds) ($1 = 0.8839 euros) (Reporting by Alistair Smout in London and Muvija M in Bengaluru; editing by David Goodman)

Related:

Topics Cyber Sharing Economy Ridesharing
A Congressional stalemate over flood insurance highlights the difficulty of enacting the type of reforms urged last week in a U.S. government report on climate change  even for Democrats, who embraced the reports findings.

The heavily indebted National Flood Insurance Program, which provides subsidized coverage for homes in flood-prone areas, is scheduled to expire at midnight on Friday after months of debate over long-term changes. Lawmakers are trying to pass a stopgap extension while talks continue.

Chief among the sticking points is a Republican-led effort to cut the subsidies, something that experts say would be consistent with the message in the National Climate Assessment released on Nov. 23. In that document, a consensus report by U.S. government agencies, scientists warned that coastal communities must adapt more quickly to accelerating flooding and sea-level rise  including restricting development in at-risk areas, and in many cases leaving them altogether.

Democrats talk a good game when it comes to the urgency of climate change, but then they turn right around and vote for the National Flood Insurance Program, a program that subsidizes building in known flood plains, Republican Senator Mike Lee of Utah, a leading advocate for cutting the subsidies, said by email.

If Democrats are really so concerned about economic damage from climate change, why are they subsidizing mansions in flood zones? Lee said.

Democrats defended their support for below-rate flood insurance.

We subsidize crop insurance. We certainly subsidize the oil companiesThe concept of protection [for homeowners] doesnt rankle me, Senator Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island, a state that depends heavily on flood insurance, said in an interview Wednesday. Its really unfair to strip them from coverage.

Senator Bob Menendez of New Jersey, which has some of the nations most flood-exposed communities, said more realistic insurance rates arent the only way to prepare vulnerable areas for climate change. He said he wants Congress to provide more funding so officials can buy homes from people who want to leave.

We wont say, Well take your home, but you have the incentives in place, Menendez, a Democrat, said in an interview Wednesday.

Not all Republicans support cuts. The mostly GOP delegation from Louisiana, which is more reliant on flood insurance than anywhere in the country, has also been strident about resisting the cuts.

There are plenty of folks in both parties that have trouble reforming the NFIP in a way thats consistent with other positions they hold dear, whether thats climate-change impacts or fiscal conservatism, Rob Moore, a senior policy analyst at the Natural Resources Defense Council, said by email. For some members of Congress, when it comes to NFIP reforms, cheap insurance trumps everything else.

Still, R.J. Lehmann, director of insurance policy for the R Street Institute, which advocates for market-based solutions to climate change, said that Democrats who say they support the reports findings face a particular challenge when it comes to flood insurance.

If you say that your goal is affordability, thats your primary goal, without concern for risk, then youre ignoring whats in the climate report, Lehmann said. I just dont think theres any other way about it.

Representative Earl Blumenauer, an Oregon Democrat whos cosponsored bills with Republicans to change the program, supports cutting the subsidies, saying the country needs sensible reform.

Climate Assessment

Katherine Greig, an author of the National Climate Assessments chapter on adaptation, said its appropriate to worry about the impact of higher flood insurance premiums on the most vulnerable homeowners. She said the best solution is to raise rates over time, coupled with means-tested vouchers to protect people with low incomes.

We should communicate risk with a price signal, said Greig, a senior fellow at the University of Pennsylvanias Wharton Risk Center. I think a glide path is the only way.

The person who led the reports adaptation chapter, Robert Lempert, said the best approach would be a mix of higher rates, more funding for coastal infrastructure, and money for buyouts.

Price signals are probably an important part of any effective policy portfolio, said Lempert, a principal researcher at the RAND Corp. The perfect societal solution would combine price signals with subsidies to help people harden where they can, and then ways to relocate where you need to.

Asked why its proving so hard for Congress to agree to those reforms, Lempert said, Change is hard.

Copyright 2021 Bloomberg.

Topics Flood Climate Change Politics
AXIS Insurance said it is merging its U.S. Cyber, Technology, Media and Miscellaneous Professional Liability businesses into one major division to better address borderless risks.

Dan Trueman has been appointed as global head of the division, dubbed the Global Cyber and Technology unit. AXIS Insurance is the insurance business segment of AXIS Capital Holdings Limited.

AXIS said the unified global team is designed to help the Bermuda-based provider of specialty lines insurance and treaty reinsurance better deliver its cyber and technology offerings to customers globally.

In prepared remarks, Trueman said both cyber and technology are borderless risks and with this global unit the company can utilize its international lens and footprint to leverage the full scope of its underwriting expertise and claims services.

In AXISs corporate structure, the companys new Global Cyber and Technology unit is part of AXIS Insurances Professional Lines division. Trueman will continue to report to John Van Decker, president of North American Professional Lines and global lead, Professional Lines, for AXIS Insurance.

As part of the launch of its consolidated Global Cyber and Technology unit, AXIS also announced the promotion of Drew Walter to the newly created role of head of Cyber and Technology Underwriting Delivery, reporting to Trueman. In this role, Walter will be responsible for ensuring that AXIS further grows its cyber and technology insurance underwriting capabilities to best fulfill client and broker needs. Walter previously served as a senior vice president for AXIS Pro.

AXIS launched its AXIS Cyber Center of Excellence earlier this year as a global resource that provides mentorship, education, consulting services and solutions to help improve brokers and insureds understanding of cyber risk.

Source: AXIS Capital Holdings

This article was originally published in Wells Media Groups Carrier Management, the magazine for property/casualty insurance carrier executives.

Topics Cyber Tech Professional Liability
A relief fund established after heavy rain from Hurricane Harvey swamped parts of Houston has provided its final grants in an overall nearly $114 million charitable effort.

Leaders of the Hurricane Harvey Relief Fund on Nov. 28 announced $3 million will be shared by 17 nonprofit groups in the fifth and last round of grants.

Harvey stormed ashore in South Texas in August 2017. Ensuing rain flooded thousands of homes in the Houston area.

Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner and Harris County Judge Ed Emmett set up the Hurricane Harvey Relief Fund, which is administered by the Greater Houston Community Foundation. Organizers say the charitable donations helped about 190,000 households through more than 120 nonprofits.

Experts blame Harvey for about $125 billion in damage in Texas.

Copyright 2021 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Georgia Republican and former deputy insurance commissioner Jim Beck has been elected as the states next insurance commissioner, according to final election results.

In a close race against insurance agent Janice Laws in the state election to replace Georgia Insurance Commissioner Ralph Hudgens, who decided not to seek re-election this year, Beck won by approximately 130,460 votes, the Georgia Secretary of States posted on its elections site Nov. 17 after 100 percent of the precincts had reported.

The Nov. 6 race had been too close to call in the days following the election and the states elections overall faced slow reporting of results due to voting issues in several counties.

Beck thanked his supporters in an e-mail on Nov. 20, saying he was honored and humbled to have earned your vote to serve as your next Insurance Commissioner.

I am excited to spend the next four years working hard to ensure the Georgia consumer is always put first!  I am very excited to take office on January 14th. I will stay true to my promise of transparency, defending against fraud, accessibility, and protecting consumers, Beck said in his email.

He also congratulated and thanked his election opponents on the hard-fought race they ran and wish them the best of luck in their future endeavors.

Beck, who announced his candidacy in Aug. 2017, has more than 30 years of experience working in the industry, including for an independent insurance agency, and serving for 12 years as a director for a Fortune 150 property and casualty insurance company.

During his public service, he served as Deputy Insurance and Safety Fire Commissioner for the State of Georgia, He was most recently chief of staff for Hudgens.

According to his campaign website, Beck said his top priorities if elected would be to focus on Georgia health care solutions centered on a free market system. His other priorities would include defending against insurance fraud against seniors and veterans and protecting consumers from runaway auto insurance rates.

In June, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported that Becks state work records had been subpoenaed by a federal grand jury. Becks campaign released a statement to the AJC at the time saying Beck didnt know what the investigation was about and that he was not in a position to comment on it. Last month, AJC.com reported that the U.S. Attorneys Office has yet to release any information on the case.

In a post on her Facebook page on Nov. 17, Laws, a 16-year-veteran of the insurance industry and current owner of her own agency, J. Laws & Associates, also thanked her supporters and vowed to continue the next leg of the journey in the work that lies ahead for Insurance Reform in Georgia.

Topics Georgia
by Sumon Corraya

The country has no Catholic museum. The first exhibit, which shows the objects used by the pope, will keep the memory of last year's pastoral journey alive.

Dhaka (AsiaNews) - The Catholic Church in Bangladesh wants to open a museum to commemorate the historic visit of Pope Francis to Dhaka, which took place exactly one year ago (30 November-2 December 2017).

"The museum will showcase the objects used by the pontiff during the visit, such as the chair, the rickshaw and the sacred texts, said Fr Kamal Corraya, pastor at the church in Tejgaon who last year hosted the Pope's meeting with the local clergy.

Speaking to AsiaNews, the priest noted that the country has no Catholic museum. The one planned should be built in the Banani District (Dhaka), near the Holy Spirit seminary.

The site will preserve objects associate with the pastoral visit and keep alive the memory of the event, marked by important moments, such as the meeting with Rohingya refugees and the Sisters of Mother Teresa.

For Catholics, Francis pilgrimage to the sites of Bangladesh's history and its Catholic community is a sweet memory.

"I have always wanted to meet Pope Francis. My dream came true last year when I could take his hand in mine, said Ms Puspo Rozario.

"Pope Francis spoke to us, said Rakib Hasian, a young Muslim who was present at Notre Dame College for the meeting with young people. He told us to listen more to our grandparents, instead of wasting our time with mobile phones."

For Joton Silvester Serao, who danced before the Pope, "it was a great honour. He really enjoyed our performance."
No money was paid and no information was lost during a ransomware cyberattack that exploited a cloud-based vulnerability in the Colorado Department of Transportations computer network last spring, officials said.

CDOT was one of several government agencies across the country targeted by two Iranian computer hackers in the sweeping extortion scheme, according to a grand jury indictment filed in New Jersey federal court on Wednesday.

Cities and businesses also were targeted by the two men, who are not believed to be connected to the Iranian government but are believed to be in Iran, the U.S. Justice Department said. The hackers extorted about $6 million and caused victims to lose more than $30 million, prosecutors said.

Colorado paid no ransom during the February CDOT attack, but work to contain and eradicate the ransomware, known as SamSam, cost at least $1.5 million, said Brandi Simmons, a spokeswoman for the Colorado governors Office of Information Technology. The state also invested in new security controls after the attack, she said.

The hackers exploited a cloud-based server without standard firewalls used by the state to access the CDOT system, Simmons said.

Copyright 2021 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Topics Cyber Colorado
A jury has awarded $34 million in damages to 51 current and former residents of a Southern California mobile home park they say is rife with problems including sinkholes, sewage backups and rats.

The Los Angeles Times reported the damages come a week after jurors hit the parks owners with a $5.5 million judgment for negligence and violations of the states residency laws.

Lead attorney Brian Kabateck says the residents, many elderly, lived in squalor at Friendly Village, a property that was once a trash dump for the city of Long Beach.

The lawsuit said the land is constantly shifting, causing electrical problems and structural damage to units.

Attorneys for Friendly Village did not immediately return a request for comment.

Copyright 2021 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Topics Lawsuits California
Vancouver, British Columbia - November 30, 2018 (Newsfile Corp.) (Investorideas.com Newswire) First Vanadium Corp. (formerly Cornerstone Metals Inc.) (TSXV: FVAN) (OTCQX: FVANF) (FSE: 1PY) ("First Vanadium" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that it has negotiated the purchase of a 1.5% NSR attached to its Carlin Vanadium property in consideration for which it will issue 1,300,000 common shares of the Company to the owner of the NSR. The shares, when issued, will be subject to a hold period expiring four months plus a day after the date of their issuances in compliance with Canadian securities laws. The completion of this purchase is subject to TSX Venture Exchange acceptance.

Paul Cowley, President of the Company, stated: "This is a unique opportunity for us at this time to extinguish a 1.5% NSR on the Carlin Vanadium Property and associated advanced royalty payments, all at a deep discount of roughly 67% to the original US$3 million buy-back price established for this NSR. This preserves and focuses our treasury on advancing the project. Upon completion of this transaction, only a 2% NSR will remain attached to the property, with the Company retaining the rights to purchase the remaining NSR for US$4 million."

About First Vanadium Corp.

First Vanadium (formerly Cornerstone Metals Inc.) has an option to earn a 100% interest in the Carlin Vanadium Project, located in Elko County 6 miles south from the town of Carlin, Nevada on Highway I-80. The Carlin Vanadium Project hosts the Carlin Vanadium Deposit which is flat to shallow dipping and at shallow depths, 0-60 m (0-200 ft) below surface.

ON BEHALF OF FIRST VANADIUM CORP.

per: "Paul Cowley"

CEO & President

(604) 340-7711

pcowley@firstvanadium.com

www.firstvanadium.com

Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Forward-looking information

Certain statements in this news release constitute "forward-looking" statements. These statements relate to future events or the Company's future performance and include the Company's completion of the acquisition of a 1.5% NSR attached to the Carlin Vanadium project. All such statements involve substantial known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results to vary from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements involve significant risks and uncertainties, they should not be read as guarantees of future performance or results, and they will not necessarily be accurate indications of whether or not such results will be achieved. Actual results could differ materially from those anticipated due to a number of factors and risks. Although the forward-looking statements contained in this news release are based upon what management of the Company believes are reasonable assumptions on the date of this news release, the Company cannot assure investors that actual results will be consistent with these forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements contained in this press release are made as of the date hereof and the Company disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required under applicable securities regulations.

More Info:

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IN A BID to recruit and retain top talent, employers are reviewing their pay and benefits packages, their engagement with staff and the worker-friendliness of their business locations.

Patrick Robertson, MD of Performance Reward Consulting (PRC) in Dublin, says skills shortages and the competition for experienced staff is forcing employers to think harder about their human resource strategies.

A survey issued by PRC this week revealed that over 80% of Irish businesses report difficulty recruiting over the past year. Over 75% have had to offer above the market median salaries to secure candidates in 2018; and 58% of the 100 surveyed organisations from across all market sectors, expect to search internationally to recruit for some of their Irish-based roles in 2019.

Employers are reviewing their overall pay and benefits packages, said Patrick Robertson. They have been increasingly focusing on this in the past 18 months. This is very true of hot sectors such as legal and construction, where demand is far higher than the general economy.

There are clear shortages around certain roles. To try and combat employee turnover issues, 59% of respondents within the survey report that they are planning active steps to increase their employee retention in 2019. These include market pay reviews, changes to career structures, introduction of incentives and employment rebranding.

For people working in shared services and call centres, employers are also looking at moving their business location from out-of-town premises back into the city centres in Dublin, Cork and Limerick etc. This is particularly true of companies with multi-lingual skills.

Where employers are recruiting people from Europe to work in shared service centres, the employees are often coming to experience the lifestyle and to learn English while working.

They see that experience as being close to the centre of activities, not commuting to work in an outside location.

People who have been living outside of the EU for many years may have issues with their driving licence. If theyre only coming here for a year or two, theyre more interested in a healthcare plan than their pension. From the employers point of view, having invested in recruiting and training someone, it also makes better financial sense to have them come in to work for four years rather than two.

Interestingly, some companies are also looking at softer areas around wellness and adding to the appeal of their workplace. Some are making fresh fruit freely available in workplace canteens, others are hosting cookery courses. The payback seems to be in happier, healthier workers.

In Performance Reward Consultings experience, it seems employers are also working harder to find ways that differentiate them from other companies competing for talent in the same field.

A lot of companies are talking about their employment brand, said Patrick Robertson. That is a matter of looking at which employees you are trying to recruit and retain, and how to make yourself attractive to them.

The Performance Reward Consulting survey also found that the average forecast increase in Irish employee numbers is 6.6% for 2018. Across the survey, 36% of organisations report that their staff turnover had increased over the past year and 32% expect it to increase in 2019. The average employee turnover level reported within the survey was 8.8% in 2018.

Mr Robertson said: As the market continues to heat up, Irish based organisations are now struggling to recruit and retain key talent and they are now often having to look outside Ireland to recruit for certain skills. This brings challenges integrating employees who have worked abroad and concerns around insurance, healthcare, driving licences education and housing often arise during the recruitment and induction process.

It is interesting to see how many organisations are also reviewing their benefits plans to assist with retention. Within our survey 60% of respondents report that they plan to review their employment benefits in 2019. Enhancements to benefits including additional on-site facilities, additional leave, wellness programmes and flexible working are all reported within the survey.

In addition, most organisations within the survey are forecasting pay increases for 2019. Across the survey the median forecast increase in the Republic of Ireland is 2.5% and 3.0% in Northern Ireland.

The survey covered a range of areas related to reward planning also found that the average forecast increase in Irish employee numbers is 6.6% for 2018.

Across the survey, 36% of organisations report that their staff turnover had increased over the past year and 32% expect it to increase in 2019. The average employee turnover level reported within the survey was 8.8% in 2018.
Roll up, roll up! Ryan Tubridy will be the ringmaster tonight when the Late Late Toy Show presents its take on the musical The Greatest Showman.

Phineas Taylor Barnum was famous for playing pranks and for founding the Barnum and Bailey Circus.

But its more likely that the main stars of tonights show  the children  will be running rings around Tubridy.

Ryan Tubridy with performers, left to right, tattoo man Dylan OConnor, 11, Dublin; three-legged man Kayla McMahon, 10, Balrothery; Napoleon Luke OConnor, 7, Dublin; Fatman Matthew Little, 12, Ardee; Albino Ella Maher, 10, Carlow; Pierrot clown Enya Allen, 5, Navan; bearded lady Alannah Willoughby, 12, Carlow; and wolf man Colm Sullivan, 8, Navan. Pictures: Sam Boal/Rollingnews.ie

This years Toy Show has a huge cast, with more than 200 young performers and 30 toy testers taking part.

The children come from all over Ireland and the youngest is just three and a half years old.

Tubridy said it is his 10th year in this bonkers extravaganza and he is very excited about it, and a bit emotional.

This year I am going to be PT Barnum as played by Hugh Jackman in The Greatest Showman, said Tubridy, who will be singing at the top of the show.

His youngest daughter had suggested they see the film together some time ago.

All the kids put themselves out so why shouldnt I? I am going to give it a bit of welly.

He thought the film would be awful but relented when his daughter pleaded with him to go with her  Tubridy ended up enjoying it from start to finish.

Having The Greatest Showman as our theme this year is helping to emphasise the essence of what I believe the Toy Show should be  inclusive, he said.

This year we are celebrating the kid who doesnt get Snapchatted, or who doesnt always have someone to sit beside on the bus.

These kids arent lonely or unhappy, they just find joy in their own way.

This years show will be wrapped up in kindness and warmth and humour. So, as the song goes, see you on the other side.

Tubridy said the odds must be very short on him making a muppet of himself because he does that every year.

He said he will be dressed as the ringmaster for the opening number, which is pretty intense, but added that he will emerge in a Christmas jumper at some point. I am pretty nervous this time... I have only acted the maggot but they have asked me to sing.

Tubridy said he is stepping out of his comfort zone and will be feeling very exposed: But it has been 10 years. All the kids put themselves out so why shouldnt I? I am going to give it a bit of welly.

Tubridy said the Toy Show is the only Late Late Show of the year that he would look back on because he felt he was looking at a cartoon of himself. If you ever want to get a glimpse of what I am like in real life  the weekly thing is just my job, but the Toy Show is more the essence of me. Im a messer.

Before meeting the media yesterday, Tubridy had spent the morning meeting children with difficult stories and found it hard going. It is humbling and heart-breaking because they come to you and hug you like you are their relative, he said.

Ryan Tubridy with Enya Allen, 5, Navan at a preview of the Late Late Toy Show which airs tonight.

They think I have got this strange Santa power  I dont, and it is hard to understand.

Teenagers Chloe Burke, Kate Byrne, and Aoife McCormack, who found they just like singing together will be appearing on the Toy Show tonight.

The third-year students at Loreto Secondary School in Dalkey, Co Dublin, understand why Tubridy is a hit with the children.

He talks to everybody; he is very friendly and is never in a bad mood, said Kate.

If you ever want to get a glimpse of what I am like in real life... the Toy Show is more the essence of me. Im a messer.

He is easy to talk to and is always making jokes, said Chloe.

Toy Show producer Eimear OMahony said a seven-strong team has been working on bringing the magic of Barnums Circus since September.

There are 200 seats in the small studio where the circus-themed set has been created. More than 100,000 people applied for tickets this year.

All the toys featured on the show will be donated to charity following the broadcast.
The attorney general is considering the implications of a Supreme Court ruling which found that a law stopping the payment of the States old age pension to prisoners is unconstitutional.

The Supreme Court ruled on Wednesday that a rapist who successfully challenged the constitutionality of the law is entitled to 10,000 in compensation.

The five-judge court unanimously concluded that the relevant law, Section 249.1 of the Social Welfare Consolidation Act 2005 which disqualifies persons otherwise qualified for various welfare benefits from receiving any of those benefits, including the old age contributory pension, while imprisoned or detained in legal custody  was unconstitutional.

The court formally declared the relevant section of the 2005 Act to be invalid and in breach of the Constitution.

Following its decision, the court adjourned the matter to consider further legal argument as to the precise form of order which should be made and to determine if the man was entitled to substantial damages.

In his judgment, Mr Justice Donal ODonnell said he hoped the Oireachtas would address the question in a comprehensive and humane way and would produce an outcome consistent with the Constitution.

Responding to the ruling, the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection said it would consider the implications of the judgment in association with counsel and the Attorney Generals office.

Fine Gael senator Colm Burke, who is also a solicitor, said it may open the floodgates, in favour of convicted criminals currently serving prison sentences, for unpaid State benefit payments.

I would like to remind the victims of crime that they may apply for a garnishee order.

This order would mean these payments would be held on to by the court pending a decision that it would be paid to them and not to the convicted person.

The victims of crime need to be foremost in our considerations and I have now raised this matter in the Seanad, he said.

Mr Burke said that the ball is now in the hands of Justice Minister Charlie Flanagan and that the issue should be remedied with relative speed.

I would like to see a situation where a judge makes this order automatically as part of the sentencing process, where any State benefit received goes directly to the victims, he said.

Mr Burke said the justice minister should be brought before the Seanad to see what amendments can be made.
by Sandra Awad*

Sharing experiences and creating bonds between people of faith, ethnicity and different origins to overcome the traumas of the war and the confessional divisions. The school of Medaa, in the Ghouta, and the meeting with hundreds of young Muslim students. From fear to the joy of overcoming prejudice.

Damascus (AsiaNews) - Sharing experiences, creating bonds between people of faith, ethnic groups and different origins is the only way to overcome the divisions that are aggravated by a bloody conflict like the one in Syria. As confirmed by a young scout who recently met hundreds of Muslim children from Ghouta. "Today - he explains - I realized I had a mission: to tell what we saw to our families and friends in Damascus".

Here, below, the second part of the testimony (for the first part click here) about which, shortly, Caritas Syria will make a short film. Translation by AsiaNews:

On the Childrens International Day, which was on November 20, our psycho-social team in Caritas walked side by side with the young Christian scout groups from Damascus and the secondary school students of Medaa in the destroyed streets of their village. The school director was explaining to us during the walk about the old days before the war. It was like other Ghouta villages, an agricultural area, full of olive and fruit trees. He pointed to a destroyed two floor house and said with a sad voice: This was my house. It was a beautiful country house, but now as you can see, they destroyed it, and destroyed with it all our good memories, happy moments and hope. I will never be able to restore it again with my modest salary

We finally arrived to our destination, the school of Medaa where around three hundred seventy-seven elementary school students were waiting for us impatiently. We were told that some of them were too excited that they came and waited for us from the early morning. They welcomed us with some songs and applauses. We surrounded them from all side, we asked everyone to put his hand on his heart and started singing the Syrian National Anthem, to feel that we all belong to one country by heart.

After the welcoming speech of the director, I was supposed to explain to those gathered students about Caritas mission and our campaign, but before doing that, I found myself saying: Do you know how I see you from where I stand here in front of you? Colors and colors beautiful colors making a wonderful mixture. This mixture of colors is very similar to Syria. We are different from each other, we might belong to different religions, sects or have different opinions, but with our variation we compose the Syrian rainbow. fI this rainbow loses some of its colors, it wont be shining in the sky in such beauty

We started our program for the day. Children of the elementary and secondary school were distributed among the young people of the psycho-social team and the scout groups to have some fun games together. Meanwhile, we asked participants to color with their fingerprints the Syrian flag, which was prepared earlier by the scouts on a big board.

All the faces were smiling and laughing from the bottom of the heart. We felt that children were thirsty for some joy and young scouts were full of enthusiasm to give those deprived children some happiness. I can dare to say that it was a real festival of joy going around Mary said, assistant in the communication department.

While everyone was having fun, the director of the school approached me and said: Can you see this little girl? She has passed through very difficult times during war and have seen a lot of bad things. Two months ago, when she started attending our school, she was very isolated and she rarely socialized with other children. Her teachers were facing difficulties in dealing with her. Look at her now, I cant believe it. she is playing and laughing. You succeeded in making her get out of her pain and have some fun, but such support should be continued with her and with other children like her, who are so many, to help them get out of their trauma gradually.

At that moment, two young people from our Caritas team who were wearing Disney characters costumes reached the crowd. When we bought those costumes, we tried to choose old cartoon characters, as those children were isolated for many years and might not be familiar with the new trendy characters. Some of them even dont know any of these characters as they have the age of war.

Hiba who was wearing Donald Duck costume said What happened is that children became overwhelmed. They started touching, pinching and hugging me to discover whether I was real or not.

At the end of this day, Caritas team distributed gifts to children, candies, stationery and a warm pajama for each one of them. The children held their gifts like if they were holding treasures. The director said to us while saying goodbyes: Your gifts to those children are very much appreciated. Having a piece of biscuit for many of them is a dream. Some of them are still wearing summer clothes although we are in winter now, but what is the most important is the joy that you made them feel. I assure you that those moments will remain in their minds for a very long time.

It is true that we offered some joy and gifts to 377 children in Ghouta, from which one hundred children are orphans. They lost whether their father or their mother or both, but we received an even more important gift in reward when a young scout took the microphone in the bus while coming back to Damascus and said: I would like to thank Caritas for this opportunity and great experience. Yesterday I was hesitating whether to participate or not and I was really afraid, am I going to be kidnapped in Ghouta? How would be the reaction of the children? Are they going to accept us? I discovered today that I had a lot of pre-judgments that I should change, and I feel that I have a duty now, to talk about what we have seen and experienced here to our families and friends in Damascus

* Director of communications for Caritas Syria
A new poll shows that almost 80% of Irish people believe the government is spending too little on addressing homelessness, and 45% would pay more taxes to help fix the problem.

The findings come from a poll of 700 Irish people conducted as part of a project running across eight EU countries.

It found that across the eight countries, 76% of the 5,600 respondents believed governments were spending too little on homelessness, but the Irish percentage was above that at 79%. Just 11% said they believed the government was spending enough, the third-lowest figure among the eight countries featured in the poll.

The data was presented last Wednesday at a conference on homelessness and housing held in the French city of Marseille.

The information was compiled by the Home_EU HORIZON 2020 Research Project and involved a total sample of 5600 interviews conducted with citizens of eight countries, including Ireland, averaging at 700 responses per country. The other nations involved were France, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Poland, and Sweden.

The attitude of Irish respondents to the level of government spending on homelessness was in contrast to the 51% of Irish people who said the government was spending too little on welfare - below the eight-country average of 62%.

The poll also found that 83% of Irish respondents felt the government should be responsible for emergency shelters and 85% felt the government should be mainly responsible for long-term housing.

Asked would they be willing to pay more taxes to reduce homelessness, 45.5% of Irish respondents said yes - the highest figure among all eight countries. Regarding a willingness to pay for a Housing First model to tackle the problem, 32% of Irish respondents agreed, the third-lowest figure among the eight countries.

Just 3% of Irish respondents said they believed homelessness was down to an individual choice. Overall, Irish respondents had the highest level of good knowledge about the number of homeless people in the country (21%).

Freek Spinnewijn, the director of the EU-wide organisation FEANTSA which is behind the study, told the Irish Examiner: "There is no other country where homelessness is so much in the news [than Ireland].

He said much of the data confirmed differences between countries in how citizens feel the issue of homelessness should be addressed and that more data would be published in future involving service providers from around Europe.

home-eu.org
The potential for disruptive strike action across the primary and secondary sectors has increased significantly with the two of largest teaching unions now opposed to Government proposals for addressing the pay gap for new entrants.

The 18,500 members of the Association of Secondary Teachers Ireland voted by 53% to 47% to reject the proposals aimed at restoring pay for those who joined the public service after 2011. There was a 58% turnout in the ASTI vote.

While the Teachers Union of Ireland decided in a 53%-47% vote last month to accept the deal, the largest union in the sector, the Irish National Teachers Organisation voted by 53% to 47% to reject the proposal with its general secretary, Sheila Nunan, saying what was on offer failed to signal an end to pay inequality.

After her members result was announced yesterday, ASTI president Breda Lynch said the teachers it represents are firmly committed to achieving equal pay for their lower paid colleagues.

ASTI members remain steadfast in their determination to achieve justice for their lower paid colleagues  that is, equal pay for equal work, she said. In 2016, the ASTI took strike action over the discriminatory pay of post-2010 teachers.

In taking industrial action, ASTI members lost pay and were further penalised under Fempi legislation.

However, their action put unequal pay firmly on the agenda, making it an issue the Government could no longer ignore. Despite this, this latest proposal from the Government represents insufficient progress and does not achieve equal pay.

We will continue to pursue the full restoration of pay for our lower paid colleagues.

The union said its executive will meet shortly to consider the outcome of its ballot. However, while strikes may still be some weeks away, they are a distinct possibility.

The Irish National Teachers Organisation has already planned a further ballot, this time for industrial action, in the coming weeks.

Hanging over the unions heads is the fact that if they engage in industrial action, they could lose out on all of the entitlements which come with the deal. Even while rejecting its terms though, they will still benefit from its entitlements if they do not take the action.

The terms of the pay deal hammered out between public service worker representatives and the Government at the end of the summer would increase the pay of more than 60,000 public servants hired since 2011 who have been on lower pay than their longer-serving colleagues. The average increase would be in the region of 3,000.

At last Aprils ASTI conference, Siobhan Peters, a Tipperary branch delegate and member of the unions standing committee who joined the teaching profession in 2011, said she earns 5,000 less than a 2010 colleague and is five points behind him on the pay scale.

At the same conference her fellow delegate Mark Walshe, of the Dublin North East branch, said the pay gap between pre-2011 and post-2011 graduates was 50% to 70% for secondary school teachers in the first 13 years and 30% to 50% for the first 13 years in a primary teachers career.

Commenting on the outcome of the ASTI ballot, Labours education spokesperson, Senator Aodhan O Riordain, called on Education Minister Joe McHugh to act now to avoid industrial chaos.

I am calling on the minister to proactively re-engage with the unions to find a new deal for teachers. Two of the three major teaching unions have now rejected this deal. It is obvious that what is on offer is not satisfactory to the majority of teachers in Ireland. Clearly, the issue of pay equality remains a vital point of principle for teachers.
A 46 year old man who died of acute MDMA toxicity was found critically ill on a Dublin street.

Passers-by stopped to help Robert Niak (46) who was having a seizure on Dawson Street in Dublin on the night of March 31 2017.

It was the night of his birthday and we know from CCTV footage he walked down Dawson Street, onto Nassau Street and then back to Dawson St. He was staggering out in front of traffic.

"He came back to Dawson Street before he lay down on the ground and he removed his shoes, investigating Garda Stephen Farrelly said.

The man, originally from Poland, had no money but was carrying his passport and wallet and wearing multiple layers of clothing.

Authorities were unsure how he was surviving in Dublin.

He had never come into contact with Gardai before, Gda Farrelly said.

Witness Eoin Cassidy found the man lying on his back by a lamp-post around 11.30pm.

He was convulsing, making noises and speaking in a foreign language, Mr Cassidy said.

He phoned an ambulance and a doctor stopped to help. Chest compressions commenced and continued until paramedics arrived.

The man was rushed to St Jamess Hospital where he was pronounced dead shortly after midnight.

The man's sister flew from the UK to identify the remains.

A post-mortem gave the cause of death as MDMA toxicity.

The report shows a very high level of MDMA and also MDA, the breakdown product of that drug, Deputy Coroner Dr Crona Gallagher said.

There was no alcohol or other drugs in the mans system. The coroner returned a verdict of misadventure.
Cathal OSullivan has been jailed for life for beating his girlfriend to death in a horrific ordeal of violence that left her with 125 wounds including a fatal head injury and a fractured jaw.

The jury of nine men and three women considered the garda photographs of the sickening wounds to Nicola Collins face and body. They deliberated for three hours and 58 minutes before reaching a unanimous guilty verdict at the Central Criminal Court in Cork.

Before the mandatory life sentence was imposed on the 45-year-old from Charleville, Co Cork, who claimed her death resulted from a slip in the bath, there was one more piece of evidence to be heard.

Despite the tears of Ms Collins family at the verdict, there was absolute silence in Courtroom 6 as Detective Sergeant Kieran OSullivan told the judge and the jury  who remained in court  of a chilling previous conviction.

Almost five years ago to the day  on November 27, 2013  OSullivan was convicted of assault causing harm to his then girlfriend at a flat where he lived at the time.

What followed was an account of an assault which echoed the attack on the 38-year-old mother-of-three.

The circumstances of the previous conviction, for which he was given a three-year suspended jail sentence, were that the young woman contacted gardai on April 18, 2013 to say she had been violently assaulted by her boyfriend on April 14. Her condition was so serious she was rushed to intensive care.

She had been incapacitated from her injuries in the house for approximately three days until she made her way out of the house, the detective said.

The catalogue of injuries to that young woman included multiple blows to her face, arms, abdomen, scalp, missing clumps of hair, three liver lacerations, rib fractures on both sides, kidney damage caused by massive bruising, and a fracture to her skull.

She also suffered subdural haematoma, the injury that would later cause the death four years later of the other victim of Cathal OSullivans violence  Nicola Collins.

Carly Collins, sister of the late Nicola Collins, outside court yesterday. Picture: Cork Courts

Nicolas sister, Carly, said the terror her sister must have faced in her final hours will forever haunt her family.

To think of her, a person in need of love and kindness, being met with cold-hearted brutality, is beyond heartbreaking. It has been terribly distressing to hear of the devastating injuries she sustained.

The thought of the pain she must have suffered, and the unimaginable terror she surely felt in her final hours, will forever haunt us.

After Ms Justice Eileen Creedon imposed the mandatory period of life imprisonment for murder, Carly Collins said: It is a relief that this person has been put away for a long time, especially having heard of the previous conviction.

Nicolas father, Michael Collins, said it had been a hard ordeal for the family to sit through the evidence and what he described as the vilification of his daughters character by OSullivan and the fact that he did nothing to help her in the end.

Nicolas mother, Kay Collins, said she was shocked by OSullivans previous conviction.

She was my firstborn daughter. She never got to reach her full potential. She was taken away from us in the prime of her life.

I am quite shocked at his previous conviction, that it was not addressed.

Cathal OSullivan: Convicted of assault causing harm to a former girlfriend back in 2013

OSullivan told of first meeting the deceased on a 10-week course called Effective Communication for Better Relationships.

Several weeks later, they started their on/off relationship, with Nicola Collins coming over to stay in his flat on the Thursday night before her death.

He said he was on medication for anxiety, depression and social phobia and sought out the course on effective communication.

OSullivan repeatedly said in his evidence that he struggled with communication and expressing himself. But he spent three days in the witness box, often giving very long and detailed answers where he challenged the forensic minutiae of the pathologists evidence.

While he seemed to have some explanation for almost every mark on her body  involving falls, a lot of evidence about the lats under the mattress, and his key claim that she simply slipped in the bath and suffered the fatal head injury  the prosecution case was always that Cathal OSullivan beat Nicola Collins to death.

In the end, this is what the nine men and three women of the jury believed.
The Commissioners of Irish Lights has paid tribute to one of the great champions of Irish lighthouses and of the people who work in them, as he battles serious illness.

Chief executive Yvonne Shields OConnor arranged for a framed original design drawing of the landmark Fastnet Rock lighthouse off Cork to be presented to photographer and artist, John Eagle, to thank him for his work over the years sharing the history and stories of Irish lighthouses with a global audience.

The Fastnet is one of the West Cork-based photographers favourites. The presentation was made by his friend and photographer, Niall Duffy, in St Josephs Hospital in Castletownbere.

Mr Duffy said it was an honour and a privilege to make the presentation.

Mr Eagle pioneered lighthouse photography more than 30-years ago and was the first person to make a postcard of every Irish lighthouse, travelling by helicopter and high-speed boat to capture his images.

It took me 15 years to build up my collection of lighthouse photographs, numerous helicopter flights and boat trips. I think many photographers would take out a big bank loan and hire the helicopter to photograph them all in a couple of days.

Niall Duffy makes a special presentation to John Eagle on behalf of the Commissioners of Irish Lights.

While that might get the job done it wouldnt involve meeting so many interesting people. My way was more fun because I got to meet lots of interesting people and saw how difficult it was.

Now I have a greater understanding of how the lighthouses work and the people who work them, said Mr Eagle.

His famous aerial photograph of the Fastnet became one of his biggest selling postcards. He produced two lighthouse photo-essay books, published by Collins Press, several postcard gift sets, dozens of calendars and launched lighthouse tours more than a decade ago. He is also a gifted oil painter.

The famous Fastnet lighthouse, known the world over for the yacht race, and by emigrants heading to the States as the last light before the Brave New World. This picture was taken during the 2011 Southern Extreme Irish Lighthouse Tour. Picture: John Eagle

Ms Shields OConnor said: Through your wonderful photography and your lighthouse tours you have contributed in a very meaningful way to peoples understanding of lighthouses and the people who served in them.

You are known and respected throughout Irish Lights and you are in our thoughts and prayers.

Mr Eagle, who was raised in England, first visited Beara as a child in the 60s, before setting up home in Eyries almost 30 years ago.

The place is in my blood, he said in an interview once.
By Brion Hoban

A man previously jailed for damaging a 10m Monet painting has received a two-year sentence after he was convicted of handling an oil painting stolen from a stately home.

Andrew Shannon (aged 54) of Willians Way, Ongar, Clonsilla, Dublin, was convicted by a jury at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court for possession of a stolen painting valued at 5,000 at his home on January 31, 2014.

Today, Judge Patricia Ryan sentenced Shannon to two years imprisonment, which she backdated to February 20, 2018, the day he first went into custody on these matters.

Sergeant Eugene McCarthy told John Berry BL, prosecuting, that a desert scene oil painting by Frederick Goodall dating back to 1892 was stolen from Bantry House, Seafield, Bantry, Cork, in March of 2006.

Sgt McCarthy said that gardai obtained a warrant to search Shannon's home on an unrelated matter in 2014 and noticed various pieces of art hanging on the walls, one of which was the Goodall oil painting.

Shannon was charged with the offence in September 2016 and released on bail. He violated the terms of his bail by travelling to the United Kingdom and a European Arrest Warrant was issued to bring him back to this jurisdiction.

He was convicted by a jury on November 28, 2018, following a two-day trial.

Shannon has 51 previous convictions, 13 of which relate to matters in foreign jurisdictions, including convictions for theft, burglary, and handling stolen property. Many of these convictions relate to the theft of antiques and the burglarising of stately homes.

He received a six-year sentence of imprisonment after being convicted for damaging a Claude Monet painting entitled Argenteuil with a Single Sail Boat (1874) at the National Gallery of Ireland on Clare Street on June 29, 2012.

The damaged Claude Monet painting at the National Gallery of Ireland. Pic: Collins

The Monet painting is estimated to be worth 10m.

Justin McQuade BL, defending, said that his client was single and had no dependents. Shannon has ongoing health difficulties and underwent a quadruple bypass heart surgery in 2013.

Mr McQuade said that Shannon is a student in Mountjoy Education Centre and attends art classes on a regular basis.

Judge Ryan said the mitigating factors in the case were Shannon's ill health, his age, a favourable governor's report and the fact that he has been in custody since 2012 with the exception of seven months over that period.

Judge Ryan had been about to adjourn the matter for finalisation on Wednesday next, only for Shannon to say in court that he was already under enough stress and asked her to get it over with now.
Names, email addresses and passport numbers are among the details affected by a data breach at the Marriott hotel group, which owns Dublin's Westin Hotel.

The data breach occurred after the guest reservation database of the chain's Starwood division in the US was compromised. A staggering 500 million guests' data may have been exposed during the breach, which began in 2014 and was spotted on September 8 this year. Guests who made bookings before September 10 this year may be affected.

The database stored information including passport numbers, dates of births, names, addresses and phone numbers for 327 million guests. Marriott said some guests' credit card information may also be affected.

Work is continuing, but the firm said the breached database contains the information of up to half a billion guests who booked before September 10.

Payment card numbers and expiration dates were also stored for some.

The Data Protection Commissioner's Office hasn't received any official notification of Irish customers affected yet.

However, it'll be making contact with Marriott International to see if any have been affected.

Some of the hotels which were hit in the UK include:

Aloft London Excel

Aloft Liverpool

The Park Tower Knightsbridge, a Luxury Collection Hotel

The Wellesley, a Luxury Collection Hotel

Sheraton Heathrow Hotel

The breach was spotted in the Starwood guest reservation database in the US on September 8 and the company "discovered that an unauthorised party had copied and encrypted information, and took steps towards removing it", a statement said.

Security experts determined there "had been unauthorised access to the Starwood network since 2014", it added.

Researchers decrypted the information and determined its contents were from the Starwood reservation databases on November 19, Marriott said.

Marriott president and chief executive Arne Sorenson said: "We deeply regret this incident happened.

We fell short of what our guests deserve and what we expect of ourselves. We are doing everything we can to support our guests, and using lessons learned to be better moving forward.

The Maryland(US)-based firm, which has hotels across the globe, said law enforcement agencies are investigating.

Payment card numbers are encrypted using a method that requires two components to break it, a statement said.

"Marriott has not been able to rule out the possibility that both were taken," it added.

The US National Crime Agency said it is making inquiries, and the New York Attorney General has also opened an investigation.

The UK's Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) has begun making inquiries over the breach and has the power to impose large fines.

"We have received a data breach report from Marriott Hotels involving its Starwood hotels and will be making inquiries," a spokeswoman said. "If anyone has concerns about how their data has been handled they can report these concerns to us."
Water quality in Irish rivers is going in the wrong direction, the Environmental Protection Agency has warned.

While the quality of 197 river bodies has improved, 269 have deteriorated  a 3% reduction in river quality since 2015.

Some 56% of river bodies are at high or good quality with the remainder at moderate or worse.

The declines seen in our rivers indicators are an early warning signal that trends in water quality may be at a turning point and heading in the wrong direction, an EPA report warns.

Most pollution is caused by too much nitrogen and phosphorus entering waters.

There has been a long-term reduction in nitrogen and phosphorus but recent data indicates that levels are beginning to rise again.

The main sources of these nutrients are agriculture  slurry and chemical fertilisers, and sewage  waste water treatment plants.

If the pollution is not addressed there will be further declines in water quality in the future, the environmental watchdog has warned.

However, there has been some positive changes, with serious pollution continuing to decrease, according to the report Water Quality in 2017: An indicators Report for Ireland.

Only two river bodies were seriously polluted in the latest reporting period  Aughboy River, Co Wexford, and Ahavarraga, a stream that flows through Dromcollogher, Co Limerick.

Historically, there were 91 seriously polluted water bodies in the late 1980s.

Another positive finding is that fish kills are at an all-time low with only 14 reported last year, compared to 31 in 2016.

During the worst years  1987 and 1989, there were over 100 fish kills annually.

Good progress has been made in tackling serious pollution in the countrys rivers but some areas of the country need attention.

The decline of river quality in the north-west is worrying while rivers, such as the Tolka in Dublin are regularly affected by fish kills.

Of the 24 catchments surveyed over the last two years, only five showed an overall improvement in the number of river bodies classified as satisfactory.

The five water catchments rated as high or good based on their biological quality included Colligan-Mahon in Co Waterford; Lee, Cork Harbour and Youghal Bay in Co Cork; and Tralee Bay in Co Kerry.

Director of the EPAs Office of Evidence and Assessment, Matt Crowe, said the signals in the report were not good. Water quality was still getting worse in some areas despite improvements in others.
A woman is due in court this morning charged in connection with a series of theft from shop incidents in Cork city yesterday after nearly 3,000 worth of goods was recovered.

Gardai, who have stepped up patrols in the city centre, stopped and searched a woman in the city centre at around 2pm.

They recovered clothes, sunglasses and jewellery worth nearly 3,000 which had been reported stolen from six shops in the city earlier.

The woman was arrested, brought to Bridewell Garda Station and detained under Section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act 1984.

She has since been charged and is due to appear before Cork City District Court this morning.

Superintendent John Quilter said gardai have increased both uniform and plainclothes patrol in the city for the next few weeks.

Whilst we will be policing all aspects of crime in the city, we will have a particular focus on theft from shops, he said.

I would ask that all businesses log on to www.garda.ie and view the Garda Retail Security Guide to see how they can tackle shoplifting and other crimes that can affect them.

Garda Community Policing members mounted an Operation Thor day of action yesterday visiting shopping centres in Ballincollig, Little Island, Glanmire and Ballyvolane to offer advice to members of the public on how to stay safe this Christmas.
Robots are playing a greater role in Irish hospitals, delivering precision operations, with minimal blood loss and shorter recovery times for patients, says Ailin Quinlan.

THE surgeon who performed what is believed to have been Irelands first minimally-invasive heart bypass operation using robotics, says that within 10 to 15 years robots may be capable of independently carrying out certain elements of an operation  but only under supervision.

Currently, many members of the public assume robots can operate with some independence, somewhat like driverless cars  but not so, says cardiothoracic surgeon Vincent Young, of Blackrock Clinic, Dublin, who last summer carried out what is believed to have been this countrys first robotic coronary artery bypass graft using a da Vinci XI robot and surgical system.

Its not like that, says Young. Nothing happens without the surgeons input  at the moment its just a tool that allows us to work through small incisions.

The robot is a very clever machine that can translate actions outside the patient to inside the patient, he says, adding that a surgical robot can work on a patient through an incision as small as 8mm.

At the moment the robot does not do anything without your command. However, with the use of artificial intelligence, says Young, it is likely that in 10 or 15 years time, certain parts of an operation may be performed by a robot, albeit under close supervision.

Mr Vincent Young, cardiothoracic surgeon, who performed Irelands first, minimally invasive, robotic coronary artery bypass Graft (CABG) surgery in Blackrock Clinic. Picture : Marc OSullivan

Robots are good at standardised work  they will not be operating on people on their own. At the moment they are entirely a mechanical device, says Dr Young, adding that down the road, however, they may become capable of carrying out parts of an operation that are reproduce-able, for example joining together two parts of a blood vessel or parts of the bowel.

Robotic surgery is carried out in hospitals all over Ireland. Many patients are happy to have it (see case study opposite) because of a growing awareness that the pain and recovery period will be minimal.

Its eye-wateringly expensive, but the results are often very promising  research from the University of Limerick Hospitals Group which began to use state-of-the-art robotic surgical equipment two years ago demonstrates that post-operative recovery is twice as fast with robotic surgery than with standard keyhole surgery, with an average postoperative hospital stay of approximately four days. This research also showed there was also minimal blood loss and a reduction in post-operative pain with robotic surgery.

Its the gold standard of minimally invasive surgery at present, says Colin Peirce, of the award-winning dual console Da Vinci Xi robotics programme at the UL Hospitals Group. The hospital became the first public hospital in the country to have the sophisticated Da Vinci Xi dual console.

Valued at approximately 2. 6million, the Da Vinci Xi robot and equipment was donated by the Midwestern Hospitals Development Trust and funded by the JP McManus Benevolent Fund. The University of Limerick, which is the academic partner to the UL Hospitals Group, donated 135,000 to the project for audio visual and training equipment.

The da Vinci, manufactured by Intuitive Surgical based in Sunnyvale, California, is the only robot on the market, however, other platforms are due to be brought out soon, specifically by Medtronic and Google, this will increase the competition and likely drive costs down going forward.

Peirce, a colorectal and general surgeon at University Hospital Limerick, says that since the robotics programme was introduced at University Hospital Limerick in November 2016 doctors using the equipment have generally found that patients recover more quickly from robotic surgery than with either traditional open surgery, or keyhole procedures.

We get them home and out of hospital more quickly so were saving on bed days. It allows us to perform the most precise surgery available worldwide for colorectal surgery, says Peirce.

It provides a 3D view which is unsurpassed. The surgeon has complete control of both the camera and the instruments, says Peirce, who also acts as adjunct senior lecturer in surgery at the graduate entry medical school at University of Limerick.

He uses the robot for colorectal surgery with a specific interest in rectal cancer, after training in the use of robotic techniques in the Cleveland Clinic in Cleveland, Ohio.

The robotic approach is now regarded as the gold standard approach for operations such as a prostatectomy for prostate cancer and hysterectomy for uterine cancer by many surgeons. There is data supporting that patients undergoing robotic surgery for rectal cancer have better oncological (cancer) outcomes than patients undergoing traditional laparoscopic (keyhole) surgery for rectal cancer, he explains.

Potential improved oncological outcomes will add further to the already known benefits of reduced blood loss, reduced postoperative pain and reduced length of hospital stay which frees up hospital beds more quickly, which is essential in the under-pressure Irish health service.

The UL robot however, was the focus of some controversy recently after it emerged that national policy does not allow this cutting-edge technology to be used for the radical prostatectomy, which is one of the most common operations in urology.

Dr Barry McGuire, consultant urological and robotic surgeon at St Vincents Hospital Dublin (see cover picture) is equally enthusiastic about robotic surgery  as a urologist, he spent two years training in robotic surgery in the US and now uses the robot for kidney cancer surgery and prostate cancer surgery.

The technology is relatively new. Its really only 10-15 years old and has become more widespread in the last five years.

It has replaced the traditional keyhole surgery in some areas. The limits to keyhole surgery is that it is two-dimensional and you are watching a screen while using the instrument and it takes a long time to learn how to do that.

Robotics surgery is much more manageable. You can control it by hand  it moves as your fingers and thumb moves, in a way it is like a virtual reality headset, he says.

The image you get is three-dimensional, so you can appreciate depth as opposed to traditional keyhole surgery.

A big advantage, explains McGuire, is the surgeons ability to have depth of perception and microscopic movement.

It almost feels as if you are manipulating your own hands rather than an instrument. I find it very good for working in small places within the body.

Robotic surgery has allowed us to match what you would have been able to do with your hands with small instruments, so that a patient gets a high-quality operation but recovers much more quickly.

Robots are now used in every speciality throughout the world, explains Peirce, who adds that every surgeon using a robotics programme is, crucially, backed up by a team of highly trained colleagues.

Robotic surgery began with cardio-thoracic surgery and is now used to perform all the surgery we already perform.

For him, its best use lies in pelvic surgery, gynaecology and the colorectal field, where, he explains, it has had proven benefits.

We can potentially use the robot for anything but were very focused on using it in fields where the benefits to the patient has been shown compared to keyhole or traditional surgery.

Heres how they work  in traditional surgery, explains Peirce, a surgeon operating on a patient he or she is essentially making a big cut and handling the organs within the body.

In keyhole surgery, we use special ports that go through the wall of the abdomen, and we use a camera and instruments through the ports.

The surgeons hands are not on the patient, but on the instruments, he explains.

In robotic surgery, we take all of this a step further  we dock the robot up to the ports, and the robotic instruments are controlled by a surgeon sitting at a nearby console.

Robotics surgery has definite advantages over its predecessor, he says  there is less blood loss than in other surgeries, patients recover more quickly, and the length of hospital stay is significantly reduced.

The upside is that the patient recovers more quickly and is out of hospital more quickly, and as a result, there is less risk of infection and complications, says McGuire.

The length of hospital stay for patients who have undergone kidney and prostate surgery by robot has actually been halved at St Vincents, a huge saving for the health services,

Most patients after a kidney surgery will now get back to work after about three weeks, where previously it would have been six weeks or so.

However, there are some downsides, says McGuire. There is no sensation of touch, he says, adding that training can take a long time and the cost of a hospital robotics programme is high.

The robot itself costs around 2m and running costs and maintenance are also very expensive, he says, adding that it costs about 150,000 annually to have a qualified technician on call 24/7.

On top of that, the instruments used with the robot are very expensive, as they can only be used a certain number of times.

Also training takes a long time as surgeons need to be very highly skilled.

I spent two years training in the USA. Its extremely important to have people who are well trained to do operations in high numbers.

The skill and training of the surgeon are critical to the success of robotic surgery  a recent inquest in the UK was told that a music teacher who died after robotic heart surgery would have had a 98%-99% chance of survival had the procedure been done conventionally.

Robotic surgery is being carried out in Cork University Maternity Hospital, Limerick University Hospital, Galway University Hospital and St Vincents and it is also available in many of the private hospitals, says Dr McGuire.

Were well into a whole new wave of modern medicine now, though the US has led the way since hands-off surgery was first developed by the US military at the end of the last century.

Like everything else, however, robots have a finite life-span, CUMH, which pioneered robotic surgery in Ireland in 2008  the hospitals original Da Vinci robot, which was famously launched on RTEs The Late Late Show, has recently replaced its robot.

Cork University Maternity Hospital opened with an ambition to lead the development of clinical practice in maternity services; the use of robotic surgical systems is one example of this. We are thrilled that the HSE has funded a replacement robot  its a true vote of confidence in Cork University Maternity Hospital, says the hospitals clinical director of maternity services Prof John Higgins.

ROBOTIC surgery has been increasingly used since the 1990s when the Pentagon wanted to explore ways in which operations in field hospitals might be performed by robots controlled by surgeons at a safe distance from the battlefield. Are we getting to a point where robots will completely take over in Irish operating theatres?

Doubtful, says Peirce, who like Young, does not foresee robots being able to carry out surgery independently. I dont see the role of surgeons becoming redundant any time soon, he comments. Potentially robots could be programmed to perform an operation, but every operation, and every patient is unique, so I believe it will always need human input. I dont see a robot performing colorectal surgery on its own any time soon.

But does it ever go wrong? A recent study into the safety of surgical robots has linked the machines use to at least 144 deaths and more than 1,000 injuries over a 14-year period in the US. The study showed that when problems do occur, people were several times more likely to die if the surgery involves their heart, lungs, head and/or neck rather than gynaecological and urological procedures.

The authors of the report suggested it was because the former were more complex operations for which robots are less commonly used, so that less experience and expertise was available.

They indicated one way to tackle such problems would be to give surgical teams more troubleshooting training  to help them learn how to restart surgery more quickly after interruptions.

While training continues to be central in the successful use of robots in the operating theatre, its clear these finely-tuned machines are here to stay.

Robotic surgery was minimally invasive

Geraldine Waters at home in Sixmilebridge, Co Clare. Picture: Brian Arthur

FOR Geraldine Waters, robotic surgery meant less pain and a much faster recovery.

Waters, a mother-of-two daughters aged 16 and 27 from Sixmilebridge in Co Clare, was diagnosed with bowel cancer in November 2016.

It was a huge shock, she recalls, adding that she had gone for tests after experiencing fatigue and blood in her stool, she says.

The colonoscopy discovered a tumour in her bowel.

I had chemotherapy and radiotherapy, she recalls, adding that in April 2017 she underwent robotic surgery.

I knew robotic surgery was minimally invasive and has left severe effects on your than traditional surgery.

She had a colonoscopy bag fitted, which was removed three weeks ago.

After the operation, I was up and about the following morning. I was walking around.

She was out of hospital after a week, and returned home to take it easy for a few days.

In all, I was only off my feet for two weeks.

If it had been traditional surgery it would have taken much longer for me to heal.

I wasnt pain-free after the robotic surgery, but I was up and about the next day. Traditional surgery would have had much more impact on my system, she says, adding that her scars are barely visible.

I know a traditional operation would have left a big scar.
by Nirmala Carvalho

Msgr. Leo Cornelio, bishop of Bhopal, is among those who have not been able to cast their vote. Christians want to make an official complaint. The suspicions fall on the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party.

Mumbai (AsiaNews) - Hundreds of Christians in Madhya Pradesh were rejected at the polls last November 28, when seats for the renewal of the Assembly were open throughout the Indian state.

Among the voters who were prevented from voting, was also Msgr. Leo Cornelio, bishop of Bhopal, who tells AsiaNews: "I went to the polls. After waiting 45 minutes outside the seat, I was denied the right to vote, even though I showed my electoral card. I do not know if my name was deliberately deleted from the lists, but then I learned that even the names so many other members of minorities did not appear on the lists. I will report to the Electoral Commission ".

Christians are thinking of presenting an application for the opening of an official investigation into the affair. Last November 28 when, as the voters of all the other religions, they went to the polls to choose the 230 members of the State Assembly. However, their names were missing from electoral lists, so they were forced to return home without being able to express their preference.

Speaking to the local press, Msgr. Cornelio said: "It is not fair and it is not a good sign for democracy. It launches a hard message to the Christian community, namely that it is not even considered ".

According to Christian leaders, behind the story there would be a "disgusting plan" to prevent the faithful from voting. They suspect the direct involvement of the Hindu nationalist party Bjp (Bharatiya Janata Party) that has governed the state for 15 years, to avoid an electoral advancement of the rival Congress Party, which Christians usually prefer to vote.
Alienating traditional US partners while wooing Putin and the Saudis, Donald Trump is facing another difficult G20 summit this weekend, writes David A Andelman

Last years G20 is remembered for the moment when US president Donald Trump flew off in a huff, leaving differences on issues like climate change unresolved.

This year, few Western leaders are likely to have any grand illusions when they arrive in Buenos Aires for this weekends 2018 summit. For many, it seems, Trump is operating under one overriding world view: American foreign policy is for sale. The issue is finding just the right price.

Now, as Trump heads off for his second G20 conference  the premier gathering of world leaders, at least half of whom have been loyal friends and allies of the US for a century or longer  its time for him, and for much of the world that once counted America as a firm and true partner, to turn the corner.

So perhaps it would be worthwhile to give the US president a little cheat sheet he can take into each of his bilateral conferences  or even water-cooler encounters  that will help him work out where the nations most fundamental needs and desires really lie.

Among the G20 there is a core group of developed nations, then an outer ring of arrivistes. And finally, there are the hangers-on, observers who quite often need to be courted as assiduously as any of the primary groups.

Trump cares little for any of the countries in the core. He has already managed to create rifts with British prime minister Theresa May. Deeply wounded at home by a Brexit gone awry, she could use a friend.

She should not look for that from Trump, who fanned the flames on Monday by saying that her Brexit deal may make US-UK trade more difficult at the very moment Britain may be much in the market for a loyal ally.

Angela Merkel is equally wounded and widely seen as a lame duck after announcing she would not run for another term as German chancellor. But Germanys manufacturing and financial muscle are still key to any eventual trade deal between Europe and the US.

It would behoove Trump to put behind him that widely disseminated photo of Merkel staring down a truculent Trump at the G7 summit in Canada in June.

Finally, among the European triad, there is France. Trump may smell some blood in the waters around Emmanuel Macron, whose popularity is waning. But the French president still aspires to lead Europe and no longer hesitates to take Trump to task when he sees a moment, most recently at the 100th Armistice Day celebrations with a pointed denunciation of nationalism as a betrayal of patriotism.

Trumps key targets are in the second ring of the G20. China, Russia, and especially Saudi Arabia, whose delegation will be led by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

Already, Trump has thanked Riyadh for keeping oil prices low  and called for prices to go even lower. The heir-apparent to the Saudi throne also cant be anything but delighted by the White House whitewashing his role in the assassination of dissident Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

The world, not to mention at least a dozen potential Democratic candidates for president in 2020, will be watching for the breadth of any smile the two leaders might exchange.

The Saudi encounter, if there is one, could even take a back seat to the discussion between Trump and Chinas Xi Jinping. Xi faces a looming threat of another round of tariffs on $262bn worth of Chinese goods, with the rate jumping from 10% to 25%.

Hanging over Trumps head are the effects of a long-term trade freeze on the American stock markets and the broader economy. Xi has dug in; Trump no longer has the clear upper hand.

And then there is Russias Vladimir Putin. So far, every face-to-face meeting between the leaders has been viewed as a victory for Putin and a catastrophe for Trump. The best hope in Buenos Aires is that Trump somehow manages not to pay obeisance to this dictator.

He must also understand the Pandoras box hes on the verge of opening by threatening a withdrawal from the INF missile agreement that was a key restraint on Putins dash towards an all but unassailable weapon system.

Theres also everyone else wholl show up in Argentina  many with critical issues that Trump has dealt with in some fashion.

Trump is selling his new Nafta pact, rebranded as the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement and expected to be signed in Buenos Aires, as a win for US workers.

But Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau and outgoing Mexican president Enrique Pena Nieto, who will both be at the G20, still have to sell the treaty to their legislatures back home. They could use some understanding.

Trump should also find a way to restore some grace to Americas relations with Nato-member Turkey and President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, whos been determined to lay the blame for the Khashoggi murder at the feet of the Saudi crown prince. Nor should Trump ignore South Korean president Moon Jae-in, wholl likely be central to any accord with the North.

Finally, theres the outer circle  leaders of Papua New Guinea, Rwanda, South Africa, Senegal, Spain, Jamaica, Chile, the Netherlands, Brazil, and Italy, all key players in their regions, the latter two representing a kind of neo-con nationalism that should be in Trumps wheelhouse.

The weeks leading up to most G20 summits are generally occupied by teams of sherpas making careful preparations, setting the table for agreements to be signed and accords reached in carefully crafted language.

Now, however, they face the prospect of Donald Trump reloading the craps table with his own dice. The rest of the world needs to step up its game.

David A Andelman, a former foreign correspondent for the New York Times and CBS News, is visiting scholar at the Centre on National Security at Fordham Law School. @DavidAndelman
Though it is more than 170 years since our Great Famine  an Gorta Mor  began its evisceration, it persists as a powerful presence in our consciousness. That catastrophe, one that need not have been genocidal had government responded humanely, is not a regular feature in public discourse but it remains a brooding ghost nonetheless.

Like the pain endured by a victim of childhood sexual abuse, it festers until adulthood might bring the courage needed to confront the past. In the meantime, it is too painful for the everyday, so is locked away. Two of the ways we try to assuage that legacy are through a personal commitment to confront contemporary famine and through government programmes aimed at minimising that prospect. Last year our government spent 650 million towards that noble goal  hardly enough in our changing, deeply unequal world.
The parish of Srinagar includes 35 families, but is visited by Muslims, Sikhs and Hindus. Daily life is marked by uncertainty and the absence of peace. The parish helps the poor and the sick. Friendships go beyond religious affiliation.

Srinagar (AsiaNews)  The Holy Family Catholic Church, the only Catholic church in Srinagar and the second in the whole of the Kashmir Valley, tries to be a "beacon of hope and peace" in the midst of violence, this according to the parish priest, Fr Roy Mathew.

Speaking to AsiaNews, the clergyman talked about his congregation, marked by uncertainty and poverty. The Kashmir Valley has been torn by a long and never-ending struggle between India and Pakistan.

Its legacy has been a trail of "open wounds: poverty, unemployment, inadequate schools, impossible education, psychological traumas, people blinded by banned BB guns. Children are those who suffer the most. Nobody "knows what will become of us tomorrow. As a result of this there is no peace."

Recently, fighting resumed between separatists and the army. "Uncertainty rules everyday life and it is difficult to even just plan for the day," Fr Matthew said.

Lives have been marked by the confrontation. The local administration has often imposed curfews, whilst guerrillas tied to Islamic groups have organised protests, strikes, and blockades.

The "violence has also affected Catholics. Children go to school at most for 100 days a year. Still, the parish outreach is always active and we try to maintain a certain continuity."

In the middle of all this, "the Church does what it can, supporting peace meetings between groups. We organise meetings in 'peace clubs' in schools so as to plant seeds of peace and coexistence in the more receptive minds of young people. We also carry out peace initiatives in schools on the border between India and Pakistan."

Founded in 1896 by the Mill Hill missionaries as a chapel for British Army personnel stationed in India, the parish now includes 35 families with 115 members.

The latter belong to different ethnic groups (Kashmiri, Punjabi, Dalit, Adivasi, Bengali) and the liturgy is celebrated in three languages (Urdu, English and Hindi). "Every year two to three baptisms take place, all within the same community."

Three convents have ties with the church (Sisters of Mother Teresa, the Carmelites and of the Sisters of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary). Catechism lessons are offered. The poorest parishioners are helped in paying school fees and free drugs are provided to the needy, especially Muslims.

Members of other religions visit the parish as well. "Sikhs, Hindus, Buddhists come on Sundays and take part in the Mass. Hundreds of young Muslims stop at the church to pray."

Many people "ask to be baptised, because they believe that being part of the Church will make them richer, Fr Matthew said. We do not encourage this but maintain a fraternal friendship with them."

According to the clergyman, "The time is not ripe for organising meetings for interfaith dialogue, since radicalisation is growing in many sectors of the population.

Furthermore, only four Catholic families "own a house of their own, all the others live in rented houses owned by Muslims". The latter do not look favorably "if priests and nuns visit families dressed in a cassock, which" is a giveaway for their "religious beliefs. The owners could be offended and there is a risk that the Catholics will be evicted." So, the religious prefer to visit families in plainclothes.

Conversely, "we encourage good relations with the members of other religions; for example, by participating in each other's festivities. At Christmas, we invite them to come to church and usually they (Muslims and Sikhs) bring gifts and sweets."

A concrete example of interfaith coexistence occurred in October 2017. "After 50 years, the church bell rang again, Fr Matthew explained. It had been destroyed in 1967 in a fire set during the Arab-Israeli war. A Muslim imam, a Hindu priest, a Buddhist monk, a Baha'i leader and a Sikh attended the ceremony."
by Pierre Balanian

For days, the Al Qaeda splinter group has issued warnings that "all the goods of Christians are considered spoils of war and consequently will be seized". The expropriation does not concern the few Christians - all elderly - present in the city. The province is almost entirely in the hands of Islamic terrorist groups or fundamentalist groups. Only a small part is under the Free Syrian Army.

Idlib (AsiaNews) - Al Qaeda in Syria - which after evolving into Al Nusra, is now called Hayaat Tahrir Al Sham [1] - continues to seize the houses, land and property of Christians in the province of Idlib under its control. In a statement issued by Tahrir Al Sham and published four days ago, we read: "All the Christian goods are considered spoils of war and consequently they will be seized". Three days ago, the Armenian Catholic Patriarchate confirmed to AsiaNews that the Islamic terrorist groups of Idlib are confiscating the assets of the Christians who fled during the war after the occupation by Daesh.

An inhabitant of Gisr el Sheghur - who wanted to remain anonymous - is among those who have occupied an abandoned house. He himself declares that La Hayaat "has informed all the inhabitants who have occupied houses belonging to Christians who have fled, to leave or to agree to pay a monthly rent" to the Islamic terrorist organization.

There is also the expropriation of the homes of Christians left to their friends or neighbors. Al Hasyat does not recognize these legal powers of attorney. The most beautiful houses are assigned to Islamic leaders; other houses or shops are sold or rented. The seizures do not concern Christians still in the city, which are very few and composed mainly of old people.

Christians in the province of Idlib, composed mainly of Armenians and Greek Orthodox, had to flee in 2012. Known to be wealthy and owners of land and houses, the Christians abandoned everything, fleeing to areas controlled by the government. Many others have opted to emigrate abroad: some only temporarily to Turkey, Lebanon or Armenia; others have chosen never to return and have gone to Europe, America, Australia.

The Christians of the province were concentrated mainly in the city of Idlib, but also in the surrounding villages of the agricultural and industrial hinterland, as well as in the new urban centers of Gisr el Sheghur, Halluz, Yaacobibya and Al Ghassaniya. At the beginning of 2012, many Christians suffered ferocious persecution by Daesh. Many of them were beheaded, under the guise of being "the Damascus regime" supporters.

Since the Islamic armed groups of the Syrian Revolution have taken control, direct persecution and acts of terrorism towards Christians have increased. The faithful are urged to abjure or be condemned to death in case of refusal. Another way out is escape. Above all, Daesh and Al Nusra have abducted many priests and nuns and have demolished churches and monasteries and turned them into graveyards for mass graves. Among the many testimonies, there is that of the Greek Orthodox church of Al Ghassaniya (December 2013).

In 2015, in the city of Idlib, the church dedicated to Our Lady was ransacked and defiled by Gind El Aqsa, "The Soldiers of Al Aqsa".

Together with the allied fundamentalist factions, Hayaat Tahrir Al Sham controls almost 70% of the territories of the province of Idlib. It is made up of thousands of Syrian fighters, but also Arab and non-Arab jihadists. The remaining 30% of the territory is controlled by less fundamentalist groups, but always opposed to Christians.

This part is in fact controlled by groups left by Al Qaeda and Isis, such as the "Islamic Turkic Party", nostalgic for the Turkish Ottoman Empire; "Sekur Al Ghab" (Forest Falcons); Ansar Al Tawhid (Apostles of Unity); Haras Al Din (Guardians of Religion); Ajdad Al Caucaz (The Grandparents of the Caucasus), composed of Chechens and Turkish Azerbaijani; Jeysh Al Izza (The Army of Glory) and many others. Only a small group belongs to the free Syrian Army.

Photo 2: " Eviction Order", written in Arabic on the door of a Christian property in Idlib

Photo 3: A notification sent by Hayaat Tahrir El Sham, demanding occupation of a Christian house by the end of November.
Friday, November 30th, 2018 (12:28 pm) - Score 1,485

The UK telecoms regulator has fined business phone and broadband ISP Cloud M 50,000 for refusing to let one of its customers (a small business) take their phone number with them when they wanted to switch provider. A 5K fine was also imposed after they failed to provide accurate and complete info. by the deadline.

The case in question stems from a complaint raised by MF Telecom Services Ltd, which in January 2018 resulted in Ofcom opening an investigation to establish whether or not Cloud M was providing number portability in good time and on reasonable terms. The probe also considered whether the operator was meeting its other obligations, both in terms of compensating for delays and in responding to several of Ofcoms information requests.

Under the regulators General Condition 18 (GC18), consumers are entitled by law to keep their telephone numbers regardless of who they choose as their service provider and ISPs are expect to allow such ports in the shortest possible time, as well as on reasonable terms and conditions. If they fail to do so then consumers must be compensated. Sadly Cloud M appears to have struggled with all this.

Ofcoms Statement Following an investigation, Ofcom has found Cloud M refused to let one of its customers  a small business  take their phone number with them when they wanted to switch to another provider. Telecoms companies are required to compensate customers if they break porting rules. Cloud M did not do this, so in addition to the 50,000 fine we are also requiring the company to pay 1,000 in compensation to the customer. Ofcom has also fined Cloud M 5,000 for failing to provide accurate and complete information to us, by the deadline given, during the course of our investigation. Cloud M has still not provided all the information requested. Our information-gathering powers are important to our work in protecting consumers, so we are imposing a daily penalty of 100 (capped at 3,000) until Cloud M provides the information.

The company history for Cloud M is certainly quite interesting and highlights how a recent compulsory strike-off action was discontinued at the end of 2017, only for another one to emerge on 30th October 2018. The only seemingly related website that we could uncover for the operator (here) appears to suggest that theyve now become part of Comcast.

UPDATE 2:05pm

Ofcom has also just uploaded a useful information page about their fight to protect number porting (here).
Friday, November 30th, 2018 (9:28 am) - Score 2,286

The Scottish Borders Council has published a review examining the impact of the 8.4m in public investment that went into improving the local reach of superfast broadband (24Mbps+). This finds that the Openreach (BT) roll-out possibly delivered value for money, but there were major problems with the quality of the coverage.

The local investment ultimately went toward supporting the Scottish Governments wider 400m+ Digital Scotland (DSSB) project with BT (Openreach), which has so far reached an additional 900,000 premises via a mix of Fibre-to-the-Cabinet (FTTC / VDSL2) and a little Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) technology. But todays review focuses solely on its impact in the Scottish Border region.

The Scottish Borders covers some 4,732 square kilometres and is predominantly rural in nature, with the largest town being Hawick. Out of a total population figure of 114,040, some 50,633 (44.4%) live in a rural or very rural location. As a result it would inevitably take a major engineering project to spread superfast broadband, which back in 2012 only covered around 39.3% of premises in the region.

At this point we note that the original coverage target for the area was vague and merely pledge to provide access to Next Generation Access (NGA) to the greatest percentage possible beyond those premises which are delivered using the Scottish Ministers subsidy to achieve its objective of 75% NGA coverage in the Councils area (i.e. the Councils funding was only for use beyond the 75% objective and not to get coverage to that level).

At the Audit and Scrutiny Committee meeting on 5th November 2018, the DSSB team reported that coverage in the Scottish Borders had reached 93.7% (total homes passed), which is said to be just short of the 93.8% indicative target that had been highlighted in July 2013 when the Council signed the Minute of Agreement with the Scottish Government.

However, the figure of 93.7% only reflects raw coverage of the new fibre-based (mostly variable hybrid fibre FTTC services) network at any speed. The report noted that when the figures were filtered, such as to only look at premises able to access 24Mbps+ speeds, then the coverage drops to around 84%.

Review Extract There have been major problems with the quality of the coverage. Many customers in towns and villages have an excellent service and have seen a real improvement in their broadband service when they have signed up for superfast broadband. However, other customers have faced massive problems in relation to the quality of service they have received, with many still unable to enjoy the benefits of superfast broadband, although they are technically connected to the new network

On the subject of whether or not the project delivered value for money, the report says possibly, although it doesnt elaborate much on any measure other than coverage (no economic impacts are considered in any detail). Clearly the coverage has improved significantly since 2012 and in that sense it went well, although we get the impression from this review that the council expected more.

There will be some very satisfied end customers in the Scottish Borders and some who continue to be dissatisfied. The whole process was a project on a heroic scale and it has probably made a step change in Superfast Broadband services  but it has also exposed that many more steps are needed, said the report.

The report also touches on the issue of take-up. Originally, the supplier contract was based on a take-up rate target of 20% (like most Broadband Delivery UK contracts). The take-up of superfast broadband services is said to have been reasonable in the Scottish Borders, with the most recent figures showing 44.2% take-up (slightly behind the overall Rest of Scotland figure of 46.2%).

The gainshare clause in related contracts requires BT to return part of the public investment as take-up rises beyond 20%, some of which is said to have already been used to achieve the current level of coverage. The councils review appears to suggest that originally the gainshare was intended to go even further, although more may be returned for reinvestment in the future as take-up continues to rise.

Overall more than 130 new superfast broadband street cabinets and exchange upgrades have been delivered as part of the roll-out, connecting around 32,000 additional premises in the Scottish Borders. The review concludes by considering what changes could be made in order to help facilitate the future 600m Reaching 100% (R100) superfast broadband roll-out programme.

The R100 project raises the definition of superfast to 30Mbps+ and aims to achieve universal covered of that by the end of 2021 (here and here) or March 2022 as a financial year, although we have our doubts about whether that is achievable via fixed lines within the given time-scale (they might have to use some cheaper quick fixes, such as fixed wireless or inferior Satellite solutions).

Recommendation One

The Leader should write to the Scottish Government stressing the importance of the Scottish Borders getting a larger share of the Gainshare uplift in Broadband connections, as this was supposed to add to the coverage from the core funding. At present, Gainshare connections are merely helping get coverage to the expected 93.8%. Recommendation Two

To ensure transparency, there needs to be absolute clarity in any future programme of work on the definition of coverage, particularly as it applies in specific localities. It is not enough to identify national coverage percentages due to the wide variations within relatively small geographic areas. Coverage must be based on the actual service provided to the end user. Recommendation Three

Within the fast changing world of technological advances, it is important that future-proofing is included within a contract and that a break is built into a contract to cover any major change in technology. Recommendation Four

Progress in implementation must be communicated to all stakeholders at regular intervals during the contract period; with absolute clarity on any technical or logistical problems encountered or delays to previously advised timescales. Recommendation Five

Rurality, geography, topography, and existing networks must be accounted for within the parameters of any new contract. Recommendation Six

Simple, specific measurable outcomes must be built into any future contract to allow stakeholders to judge what success will look like. Recommendation Seven

Any third party investors to a new contract must have deliverables specified and a clawback clause included  to cover situations where these deliverables fail and a new deliverable cannot be agreed by either party.

It took a bit of digging but we did eventually manage to find a copy of the review online, see below.
Australian encryption technology firm Senetas has raised the possibility that it may be forced to manufacture its products outside the country if the Federal Government's encryption bill  which is officially known as the Telecommunications and Other Legislation Amendment (Assistance and Access) Bill 2018  is passed.

In a forceful presentation to the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security, Senetas chairman Francis Galbally said the bill was demonstrably and fundamentally flawed, adding that the laws of mathematics were not a plaything for politicians.

He pointed out that it was surprising that such a big Australian player in the encryption technology export space like his company had not been consulted at all in the drafting of the bill. It was surprising that the bill had been introduced at all, given the level of objection, he added.

Asked by Senator Jim Molan directly whether Senetas was consulted, Galbally responded, "No, and I am gobsmacked that we were not invited." He made reference to the fact that Australian technology exports are worth more than $3 billion a year; a good proportion of that is due to Senetas.

Appearing along with the Senetas team, the Consilium International Group's Michael Zarew pointed out that four weeks ago, Senetas has sent the submission it had made to the PJCIS to the Home Affairs department.

But, he said, there been no response from the department at all, adding that it looked very much like the government agencies were avoiding Senetas.

Asked many times about how he would define a system weakness  which the bill claims it is not asking anyone to create  Galbally pointed out what many others have failed to do at other PJCIS hearings: it was not possible to say what would create such a weakness until a change was made and then observed for many years.

In the last couple of days, news has emerged of the mass hijacking of routers, with the exploit used having been based on one that was stolen from the NSA and leaked on the Web in 2017.

Galbally pointed to this and said that if an organisation like the NSA, which was the most technologically advanced spy agency in the world, could not secure its exploits, then Australian organisations stood no chance.

Senetas chief executive Andrew Wilson told the committee that any change of hardware or software could introduce a systemic weakness.

Both he and Galbally emphasised that it was a question of trust which they said was paramount in their business.

Galbally pointed out that Australia was the most trustworthy country in the world when it came to cyber security and said that Senetas counted amongst its clients the Israeli Knesset, the US military, the Australian Signals Directorate and the Australian Federal Police.

He stressed that there was no need for an actual vulnerability to be introduced for Senetas' business to be affected; the moment the bill was passed, its competitors abroad would use that as a stick with which to run down the company's reputation.

Galbally obliquely referred to Chinese telecommunications company Huawei Technologies, which has been sidelined from playing a role in the 5G rollout in Australia, and said: "We will see the same impact on Australian industry following passage of this law."

He said Australian technology professionals faced the prospect of being locked out of international bodies because of the spectre that that bill would cast on them.

Also appearing before the PJCIS on Friday were Lizzie O'Shea of Human Rights Watch and Nathan White of the rights organisation Access Now.

The committee's final hearing is scheduled for 4 December. The last sitting date of Parliament for the year is 6 December.
The pressure placed on the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security to hurry up and finish its inquiry into the government's encryption bill manifested itself on Friday, with Labor Shadow Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus loudly objecting to a line of questioning adopted by Liberal Senator Jim Molan.

Molan was quizzing Senetas chairman Francis Galbally about the company's claims regarding the bill, attempting to pick apart the statements made by the technology company's chief.

He repeatedly tried to counter technical explanations offered by Galbally.

Thrice Senator Molan interrupted Galbally as he was attempting to answer a question.

In the course of it, he appeared to have annoyed Dreyfus who suddenly raised his voice and asked Senator Molan to stop badgering the witness.

Dreyfus said: "Chair, I ask you to intervene. We've now had four pieces of badgering of the witnesses. These are very difficult questions. They go to the absolute core of this bill. I'd ask the witness, who have tremendous expertise which far exceeds anything that we on the committee have, to be allowed to answer the questions."

To which Senator Molan shot back: "Certainly. I object to the fact that you're saying I'm badgering the witness."

Dreyfus responded: "I'll repeat it, for your benefit, Senator Molan. Senator Molan has badgered the witness now on three occasions. He has cut off both witnesses who have been attempting to answer.

The Liberal Senator was not put off; he came back with: "I thought we were having a discussion."

Dreyfus said: "And you should call on him to stop."

Senator Molan: "I thought we were having a discussion."

Dreyfus: "We are here to obtain information, Chair, and, through you to Senator Molan, Senator Molan needs to listen carefully to the answers to the questions, if there's more to come. We're not here in the process of badgering people. We've got Australian citizens who have volunteered their time before the committee, and they need to be allowed to answer.

Senator Molan: "Go for it, Mark."

Dreyfus: "I will. I'll keep at it. Since you've invited me, Senator Molan: the whole of this process has been attempted to be truncated, outrageously, by the government."

Senator Molan: "It has never been truncated."

Dreyfus: "There has been immense co-operation from the Labor members of this committee. Here we are, on the Friday morning after a sitting week, trying to obtain extraordinary useful evidence from extraordinarily knowledgeable witnesses, and you've cut them off four times.

Senator Molan: "We're having a discussion."

Andrew Hastie (chair): "Mr Dreyfus, thank you for your input. I didn't see Senator Molan's conduct as unparliamentary, as you suggest."

Dreyfus: "I did not say his conduct was unparliamentary."

Hastie: "No, but the implication is that it was."

Dreyfus: "Don't verbal me. I did not say his conduct was unparliamentary."

Hastie: "I didn't say you did. I said the implication was that it could be unparliamentary. I was happy with Senator Molan's line of questioning. If you would like to continue, Senator Molan?"

Senator Molan: "No. I would be very interested to hear what Mark has to say."

Dreyfus: "No, I'm waiting for Senator Molan to complete the line of questioning."

Senator Molan appeared to be somewhat subdued after the exchange and, after concluding his line of questioning, only asked one more question after that.
The reconnected railway is part of an agreement between the leaders of the Koreas, signed in April. The convoy left Dorasan (in the South) and in 18 days will cross 1,200 km of tracks. Mons. You: "We need to take these steps together".

Seoul (AsiaNews) - For the first time in 10 years, a train has left South Korea and will cross the most militarized border in the world. The train will face an 18-day trip to the North and will be part of a joint mission to modernize the dilapidated Pyongyang railway network and connect it to the southern one.

The train, consisting of six carriages with dozens of South Korean officers and experts on board, left Dorasan station, just south of the inter-Korean border, around 9.05am this morning. The South Korean Unification Minister said the train is going to the Panmun station in Kaesong, a northern border town: it will be used to inspect 1,200 kilometers of tracks.

The reconnected rail line is part of an agreement between the leaders of the Koreas, signed in April, to modernize and reconnect the railway systems in an attempt to promote reconciliation of the Korean peninsula. The railway inspection is the first of its kind since 2007, when the two Koreas controlled a 412 km stretch, which connected Kaesong to Sinuiju.

North and South have operated freight services between the Dorasan station and the Panmun station for about a year until 2008, when relations between the two countries cooled. Since the peninsula was divided after the 1950-53 war, it is the first time that a South Korean train travels from Mount Kumgang to the Tumen River.

Archbishop Lazzaro You Heung-sik, bishop of Daejeon tells AsiaNews that the inspection "should have started in September, but was postponed by the United States". "Washington - he continues - feared possible violations imposed by the UN on North Korea. The project has regained momentum thanks to the dialogues between the countries and their military apparatuses. Without the approval of the USA, UN, China, etc. ... it is not possible to launch such initiatives. I hope that from now on the Americans will assume softer positions, because at the moment they are asking North Korea to humiliate themselves. However, it is necessary to take steps together ".
The Australian Labor Party has said that it will be dissenting with the government members on the panel that is inquiring into the encryption bill. But the government says it will be pressing on and presenting the bill in Parliament next week, the last sitting week for the year.

Labor Shadow Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus said in a letter to Attorney-General Christian Porter that the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security had worked to pass more than 15 national security laws since 2014, with 300 amendments.

But, he said, this time the Labor Party had been pushed too far.

The content of Dreyfus' letter became public soon after the fourth hearing on the bill, officially known as the Telecommunications and Other Legislation Amendment (Assistance and Access) Bill 2018, was held in Canberra on Friday morning. On Thursday, Senate president Senator Scott Ryan made a submission to the PJCIS, saying that the powers in the bill could clash with the exercising of parliamentary privilege.

Under Prime Minister [Scott] Morrison, its processes appear to have broken down, thanks due to the interference with the committee by key ministers in your government, and ultimately, the subversion of the democratic parliamentary committee process, Dreyfus wrote.

Morrison and Home Affairs Peter Dutton held a media conference last week, pushing the PJCIS to finalise the bill so it could be passed before Parliament rises for the year on 6 December.

Encryption fight: Labors letter to Attorney-General confirming it will not pass all flawed laws by Christmas.

This is the first time in a decade that the Joint Standing Committee on Intelligence Matters could not reach bipartisan approach pic.twitter.com/cQC9PiZwdz  ???????? ?????? (@samanthamaiden) November 30, 2018

Labor listened to the evidence put forward by agencies regarding the urgency of the [bill] and we accepted it. Labors position is that an interim version of the Access bill should be passed, to give the agencies the powers they said were necessary now, on an interim basis, while the committee continued its scrutiny of the Access bill, Dreyfus wrote.

On Monday, Labor had raised the option of passing schedule one of the bill, the bit that gives new powers to the spy agencies, if it was only available to counter-terror agencies.

On Friday, Dreyfus clashed with Liberal Senator Jim Molan during the hearing, accusing him of badgering witnesses. The same day, the PJCIS heard what is arguably the most forceful testimony from anyone who has fronted the panel, with encryption technology firm Senetas' chairman Francis Galbally pulling no punches in outlining what he characterised as the negative impact the bill would have on the country as a whole.

In the letter, Dreyfus further said: "Your governments refusal to even work with this offer, despite written assurances of support, is extremely disappointing. To be clear, this would have clearly met the stated needs of the security agencies, while allowing the committee to identify deficiencies in this rushed legislation, which could only result in recommendations to strengthen it, not weaken it.

 The committee heard powerful testimony that the bill in its current form could weaken Australias national security by creating deficiencies that allow criminals or state actors access to encrypted systems, that it could result in the loss of jobs and see some Australian companies offshore, and that it lacks adequate safeguards to balance against the increase in intrusive powers.

The potential implications this has for weakening online security for all Australians conducting legitimate, everyday business are profound, and surely warrants further consideration.

But Porter and Dutton were unmoved and in a response said: "Labor has sought to render the Bill ineffective by taking serious criminals, front-line state police, and encrypted messaging services out of its scope. The government puts the security and prosperity of the Australian people at the top of its agenda.

"We will also present all reasonable amendments that have been proposed, including several by Labor, while rejecting those unreasonable propositions that would render the Bill ineffective.

"It is time for [Labor leader] Bill Shorten to intervene and overrule Mark Dreyfus to ensure the safety of the Australian community."
New Zealands competition enforcement agency, the Commerce Commission, has released a framework paper outlining its approach to implementing new provisions under the Telecommunications Act to improve retail service quality for consumers.

The paper, published on Friday, outlines how the Commission plans to gain a better understanding of the retail service quality being provided to consumers, prioritise what it should focus on and determine the appropriate tools to use, if intervention appears worthwhile.

Retail telecommunications is a Commission priority, in particular in the areas of billing, switching, contract terms, and marketing. Parliament has now given us more tools to improve retail service quality and safeguard consumers, Telecommunications Commissioner Dr Stephen Gale said.

The new provisions, contained in legislation passed by New Zealands Parliament on 7 November, require the Commission to monitor aspects of retail service quality including performance, speed and availability, customer service and billing and installation issues, as well as providing information for consumers to help them with their choices of technologies and providers.

The new provisions also allow the Commission to create retail service quality codes  if industry-led codes are inadequate  and require it to periodically review the Telecommunications Dispute Resolution scheme.

Along with the new consumer provisions, the legislstion establishes a price-quality regime for Chorus by setting the maximum price it can earn from its ultra-fast broadband network and the quality of service it must deliver. It also requires Chorus and local fibre companies (Northpower Fibre, Ultrafast Fibre, and Enable Networks) to publicly disclosure information around their revenue, performance, and quality.

We receive lots of consumer enquiries and complaints about telecommunications providers and have responded over the past few years through Fair Trading Act warnings and prosecutions. The new provisions will help us encourage telcos to compete more on retail service quality, not just on prices, Dr Gale said.

The Commission says it will publish a paper in early 2019 outlining how it plans to engage with consumers and industry stakeholders to set up the collection of retail service quality data, and will also provide initial thinking on what metrics could be good indicators of retail service quality.

To access a copy of the framework paper click here.
Francis sent the Ecumenical Patriarch a letter for the feast day of Saint Andrew. "Our Churches, he writes, have safeguarded the Apostolic tradition with great care, along with the teaching of the first Ecumenical Councils and the Church Fathers, despite the differences that developed in local traditions and in theological formulations, which need to be more deeply understood and clarified.

Vatican City (AsiaNews)  Pope Francis wrote a letter to the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew on the occasion of the feast day of Saint Andrew, patron saint of the Ecumenical Patriarchate.

In it, the pontiff said that "In a world wounded by conflict, the unity of Christians is a sign of hope that must radiate in an increasingly visible way". The Church of Rome and the Ecumenical Patriarchate have been pursuing this goal, creating a "profound bond" that has overcome centuries of "mutual misunderstanding, differences and silence".

Card Kurt Koch, president of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, brought the letter to Istanbul as part of the traditional exchange of delegations for the respective feast day of patron saints 29 June in Rome for the celebration of the Saints Peter and Paul and 20 November in Istanbul for the celebration of Saint Andrew.

Card Koch, accompanied by Bishop Brian Farrell, secretary of the Dicastery, and Mgr Andrea Palmieri, undersecretary, took part in the solemn divine liturgy presided by Bartolomeo in the patriarchal church of St George in the Fanar. Card Koch also met with the Patriarch and spoke with members of the Synodal Commission in charge of relations with the Catholic Church.

In his letter, Francis notes that The exchange of delegations between the Church of Rome and the Church of Constantinople, on the occasion of their respective feast days, has become a joyful custom over the years and expresses the profound bond that unites our two Sees. While centuries of mutual misunderstanding, differences and silence may seem to have compromised this relationship, the Holy Spirit, Spirit of unity, has enabled us to recommence a fraternal dialogue. This was definitively resumed by our venerable predecessors, Patriarch Athenagoras and Pope Saint Paul VI, and has enabled us to rediscover those bonds of communion that have always existed between us.

Our Churches have safeguarded the Apostolic tradition with great care, along with the teaching of the first Ecumenical Councils and the Church Fathers, despite the differences that developed in local traditions and in theological formulations, which need to be more deeply understood and clarified. At the same time both Churches, with a sense of responsibility towards the world, have sensed that urgent call, which involves each of us who have been baptized, to proclaim the Gospel to all men and women. For this reason, we can work together today in the search for peace among peoples, for the abolition of all forms of slavery, for the respect and dignity of every human being and for the care of creation. With Gods help, through encounter and dialogue on our journey together over the last fifty years, we already experience being in communion, even though it is not yet full and complete.

The search for the re-establishment of full communion is above all a response to the will of our Lord Jesus Christ, who on the eve of his Passion prayed that his disciples may all be one (Jn 17:21). United we give a more effective response to the needs of so many men and women of our own time, especially those who suffer from poverty, hunger, illness and war.

In a world wounded by conflict, the unity of Christians is a sign of hope that must radiate ever more visibly. With this in mind, I also assure Your Holiness of my prayer that God, fount of reconciliation and peace, may grant us Christians to be of one mind, sympathetic, loving toward one another (1 Pt 3:8). We have been called by God for this, so that we might inherit a blessing (1Pt 3:9).
by Vladimir Rozanskij

The Russian Orthodox churches in Europe are left free to join Russian Orthodoxy, after the tensions between Moscow and Constantinople linked to Ukrainian autocephaly. The Russian Churches in Europe were formed in the first decades of the 20th century, around the Russian exiles of the Revolution. They gathered great personalities like Berdjaev, Bulgakov, Losskij. The best known Russian theologians of the 1900, such as Florovskij, Afanasev, Schmemann, Evdokimov, Clement worked at the Institute of Orthodox Theology "St. Sergius" in Paris.

Moscow (AsiaNews) - The Patriarchate of Constantinople has dissolved the particular Russian ecclesiastical jurisdiction in Western Europe, which had formed after the 1917 revolution for Russian refugees and emigrants. The rather unexpected decision was communicated in a very essential form, creating perplexities among priests, faithful and observers.

The dissolution was carried out during the Synod of the Ecumenical Patriarchate held from 27 to 29 November in Istanbul, during which it was also decided to proceed for the autocephaly of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, drawing up a kind of Constitutional Charter of the new autocephalous Church.

According to the November 28 communique, signed by Metropolitan John of Charioupolis, patriarchal administrator, the dissolution wants "to respond to the pastoral and spiritual needs of our era, respecting canon law and the responsibility that derives from it". The details and consequences of this choice will be discussed at the next meeting of the Constantinopolitan Synod, and Metropolitan John invites the faithful and priests to "remain calm, awaiting the identification of the best forms of pastoral care" for the faithful interested in sudden decision.

This pastoral care of the Ecumenical Patriarchate dates back to the 1920s. Some Russian bishops and metropolitans had remained cut off from their homeland, where between 1918 and 1921 the Soviet regime took over, following the revolution and the civil war between "whites" and "reds". The defeat of the pro-Tsarist white armies, to which these bishops had given their blessing, imposed painful choices.

Most of the bishops met in the Serbian town of Sremski Carlovci, seat of the Serbian Patriarchate under the Habsburgs, and founded the "Russian Orthodox Church Abroad", which remained throughout the Soviet period custodian of Russia's traditions and the pre-revolutionary tsarist sentiments. This part of the Russian Church did not recognize the legitimacy of what remained under the Soviets, accusing it of collaborating with the atheist state.

This split was remedied by the reunification of 2004, achieved mainly thanks to the efforts of Metropolitan Kirill (Gundjaev), now Patriarch of Moscow, and the current Metropolitan of Pskov Tikhon (Shevkunov), then known as the "spiritual father" of the president Putin.

One of the most influential metropolitans of the group of exiles, Evlogy (Georgievsky), did not resign himself to the division from Moscow and moved to Paris, as a patriarchal delegate for the Russians in Western Europe. Once relations with the homeland became impossible, Evlogij agreed with the Ecumenical Patriarchate, founding the Exarchate for the Russians in Western Europe. Around him formed the most prestigious group of Russians abroad, including the intellectuals of the "ship of philosophers" expelled from Russia in 1922, with personalities such as Berdjaev, Bulgakov, Lossky and many others. They gave life to the Institute of Orthodox Theology "St. Sergius "of Paris, at the church of St. Aleksandr Nevsky in rue Daru, where later the most well-known Russian theologians of the 1900s worked, like Florovskij, Afanasev, Schmemann, Evdokimov, Clement and many others.

Evlogij always considered himself in communion with the Moscow Patriarchate, and this group of "Constantinopolitan" Russians always remained a bridge of mediation between "Soviet" Orthodox Russia and the rest of Orthodoxy, and of the Christian and Western world. In light of the rupture between Moscow and Constantinople, due to the announced Ukrainian autocephaly, the decision seems to affirm that the role of the "ecumenical" Russians, by right and by choice, is now exhausted.

The priests and faithful belonging to this group, which in 1999 had been restructured in a special archdiocese, will now probably have to make a choice between the return to the jurisdiction of Moscow, or "to become Greek" to stay with Constantinople. In fact, the decision prevents the formal "steps" from one jurisdiction to another, what was already beginning to take place in recent weeks, because of the mutual discomfort of those who refer to one side or the other. In recent days, for example, the Russian community of Florence decided to join Moscow and break with Constantinople. Similar fluctuations are taking place in different communities.

These passages, moreover, are not new: they also occurred during the Soviet Union, depending on the favorable or contrary positions of the Russians abroad against the regime. Today the alternative is no longer between red and white, but between patriots and ecumenists.




Rewind to several years ago, I was in Myeondong Innisfree store hoarding on their Apple-scented Cleansing Oils and a couple of makeup items (concealers, mascaras, etc...)





Those where the days my ever-supportive hubby would say: "Go lang! Purchase a lot because you need to stock up!"





Who would've thought after all the brands are starting to arrive in Manila, the most sought after brand Innisfree is finally here?





I literally had to pinch myself when I first laid my eyes on the First Innisfree store at SM Mall of Asia Level 1 Main Atrium. It was surreal as it looks almost the same as the big store I visited last year in Myeongdong.





I know! I know the feeling of panic so I've finally came up with a "guide" on how to keep yourself focused in picking the right Innisfree products for you!





First stop, check out the BESTSELLER section of the brand. The Super Volcanic Pore Clay Mask 2X which was sworn to be effective not only by women but also by men! This is a 10-in-1 clay mask is formulated with Jeju Volcanic Cluster SphereTM that features twice more powerful adherence to sebum for intensive pore care

If you are aiming for hydration, give their bestselling Green Tea line a try!





If like me, you are aiming for Anti-Aging, go for Black Green Tea line. This line contains powerful anti-oxidant effect of Jeju black green - tea that nourishes your skin for a clear and firm skin.





During the event, Innisfree highlighted the Jeju Orchid Skin Care line housed in a nice lilac colored packaging. This is the skincare line from the brand I am most inclined to because this set is formulated with the vitality of Jeju orchid for wrinkle correction which is a powerful anti-aging skin care line! Aside from that, not only girls who are older can use this set, instead, this line also helps correct skin tone, create skin elasticity, helps in hydration and pore care! Now that's multi-tasking!

Then, I saw the familiar display of Capsule Recipe Packs. I know facial mask sheets are the "in thing" as of the moment, but if you want complete facial regimen, adding mask pack is a great way to really target your skin issues. Capsule Recipe Packs are housed in a small tub for convenience. All you need to do is the open the mask, gently massage the product onto your face with circular motion, leave it for a couple of minutes and wash off!





This pack is also perfect for travel!

Innisfree Second Skin Masks and Skin Reset Peeling Masks

Innisfree My To Go Cushion and My To Go Foundations.

What I love about this brand is how "almost professional" they are in terms of shade variety and texture choices! They have various finishes for different skin issues - they offer matte foundations, semi matte and glow which caters dry, normal and oily skin users!





And there's the best part, for a Korean skincare and makeup line, I am amazed with their color choices and they actually have shades for Filipinas who has dark skin! That's a huge YAY!

And of course, if we talk about Innisfree makeup, you cannot pass by the No-Sebum Blur Line without picking an item or 2. The most sought after No Sebum Mineral Powder was on the basket of almost everyone during my shopping trip!

And just when you thought you're done shopping, they also have a Fragrance bar.





Moisturizing Line is what I went for and I'll share to you what I got soon after trying it out!

During the launch, this statement from Stephen Lee, Brand General Manager of Innisfree, Amorepacific Philippines struck me: "In todays culture, Filipinos are naturally drawn to Korean influences, especially the K-beauty skincare regimen. With our brand, we are excited to offer our Pinoy consumers skincare with quality selection of products and green sustainable practices. We are also committed to expanding and establishing a long-term presence here.





True enough, the product offerings are not only great for our body but with the Green Philosophy, the brand promises to preserve and protect nature by taking the time to give back to the Earth through collective activations and campaigns throughout the years.





Which particular Innisfree item is part of your Holiday wishlist?









Keep smilin'

Stay happy!

Thankfully, the Innisfree store is like a "museum" of skincare products. You can immediately see the products well-displayed and categorized based on the specific needs of your skin. And yes, that is how you purchase skincare products, you have to know your skin and its' needs before you start hoarding.Theis a must-try especially for our weather because this serum gets absorbed in 3 seconds and you can immediately apply makeup!Feel free to click photo to see the price points. I find that the price points locally isn't bad as compared to the price in Korea!Now, if like me, hydration AND anti-aging are non-negotiable, go forwhich includes Moisture-Volumizing products. These products does not only hydrate using skin-loving minerals, it also keeps your skin plump and youthful looking.I have been meaning to trywhich is a water-light serum that can help skin feels intensely hydrated with Jeju Volcanic Seawater. Lines and wrinkles are said to appear visibly reduced with constant use.I tested out the product and loved the scent and texture. It is highly hydrating and I believe this is the best product to use before makeup application especially if your skin tends to be dry and flaky.After you're done shopping for skincare products, feel free to drop by the makeup counters which isn't hard to spot because everything was displayed in a very organized manner.P.S. You all know my skin type, I took sunblock instead and can't wait to share you my thoughts about this.One makeup item that I really look forward to try is the. These are correctors, concealers, highlighter and contour product in a tube and don't you just love the packaging and the colors?Then I passed by the eyeliner area because I cannot go out without at least lining my eyes. From pen-typetoand a whole lot more!I know this area may be somewhat uninteresting for you since you could be all about makeup and skincare, but for a nail polish lover that I am, this is a dream collection for me! Check out the wonderful nude shades and a whole lot of colorful and glittery polishes!This is my favorite scent from the bunch ---while my mom would loveThen there's a whole bunch of Body Lotion to keep the rest of our body hydrated. Kudos Innisfree for the pump packaging!And just when you thought I'm done shopping, I saved the best for last. You all know how much of a "hair gal" I am so I actually took the longest time at their Hair section.I went crazy reading each product. From Shampoos to conditioners to hair treatment, hair treatment spray and even overnight treatment! Can you guess what I got?And lastly, it is the Holiday season, after shopping for yourself, don't you want to make other people happy too?Innisfree offers limited edition Christmas sets housed in a very cute box and you don't need to wrap them anymore!For more updates on events and promos, stay tuned to Innisfrees official Facebook page , Follow them on Instagram and website www.innisfree.com/ph/en/main/index.do
Vancouver, B.C. / TheNewswire / November 30 2018 - On Tuesday November 27th Mr. Keith Piggott, CEO and President of Core Gold Inc., (TSX.V:CGLD) had the unique privilege to meet with the Honorable Mr. Lenin Moreno President of the Republic of Ecuador and Mr. Fernando Benalcazar the Vice Minister of Mining. This meeting took place at the Presidential Palace of Carondelet in Quito, Ecuador.

President Mr. Lenin Moreno left, Mr. Keith Piggott right





During this meeting several subjects were discussed related to the Core Gold achievements over the last 2 years. This included the social harmony and local economic development that has been created as a result of Core Golds approach and on-going investment in Ecuador.

In addition, President Moreno stated how his Government is moving forward with the streamlining of administration processes and permitting procedures in the mining sector.

Mr. Fernando Benalcazar followed up on this topic by saying "responsible mining investors such as Core Gold that are committed to social and environmental best practices are extremely welcome in Ecuador".

Mr. Keith Piggott was quoted "I am honored to meet with President Moreno and Vice Minister Benalcazar. We firmly believe that a sustainable mining industry can be advanced in Ecuador for the benefit of all stakeholders."

About Core Gold Inc.

The company is a Canada-based mining company involved in the mining, exploration and development of mineral properties in Ecuador. The company is currently focused on gold production at its wholly owned Dynasty goldfield project. Minerals are treated at the company's wholly owned treatment plant located in Portovelo. The company also owns other significant gold exploration projects including the Copper Duke area and the Linderos area in southern Ecuador.

We seek Safe Harbor.

For further information, please contact: Keith Piggott, CEO

Tel: +1(520) 247-5753

Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Cautionary Notice:

This news release contains statements which are, or may be deemed to be, "forward-looking information" which are prospective in nature. Such information in this news release includes statements regarding the Company's interpretation of exploration results and the potential geological merits of the Company's Linderos project. Forward-looking information involves known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause Core Gold's actual results, revenues, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking information. Important risks that could cause Core Gold's actual results, revenues, performance or achievements to differ materially from Core Gold's expectations include, among other things, risks relating to the actual results of additional exploration activities; fluctuating prices in metals and other commodities; possibility of accidents, equipment breakdowns, labor disputes or other unanticipated difficulties with or interruptions in operations; exploration cost overruns; the geology, grade and continuity of mineral deposits; currency fluctuations; availability of capital and financing to maintain the Company's operations and plans; general economic, market or business conditions; regulatory changes; timeliness of government or regulatory approvals; and other risks detailed herein and as disclosed in the Company's filings as available on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. Other than in accordance with regulatory obligations, Core Gold is not under any obligation and Core Gold 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.

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.
VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Nov. 30, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Avrupa Minerals Ltd. (AVU:TSXV) is pleased to announce startup of drilling at the Sesmarias copper/zinc discovery located on its 100%-owned Alvalade Property in the Iberian Pyrite Belt (IPB) of south Portugal. The Company will drill approximately 2,500 meters in five to seven diamond drill holes to enlarge and upgrade at least two lenses of copper- and zinc-bearing massive sulfide mineralization discovered by Avrupa during previous exploration work in the target area.

Recent, ongoing geological review of Sesmarias area core, along with subsequent interpretation and three-dimensional (3D) modeling of the data, suggests a simplified deposition history of mineralization and surrounding rock units. Using the newly developed information, Company geologists see continued potential in the SES002 (2) Lens and in the SES010 (10) Lens. The new work indicates the possibility that a third lens may be located between widely-spaced drill holes SES008 and SES009 (the 8 Lens).

The 2 Lens is characterized by higher grade mineralization, including 10.85 meters @ 1.81% Cu; 75.27 ppm Ag; 2.57% Pb; 4.38% Zn; 0.13% Sn, although at this point, the extents of the mineralized envelope are undefined. The new 3D modeling suggests that the Lens is oriented in a non-parallel direction to the 10 Lens, which may explain why previous follow-up drilling did not significantly extend the discovery area. The Company is sending massive sulfide mineralization for analysis from previously-drilled hole SES003, which intersected the 2 Lens, but was never analyzed.

The 10 Lens, as defined by previous drilling, currently measures approximately 400 meters long, 30 meters wide, and tested to a depth of nearly 200 meters. It is open to the south, north, and to depth. The new drilling targets its extension to the north and potential for increasing copper and zinc grades.

The 8 Lens has been tentatively defined by the area between, and including, two drillholes: SES008 and SES009. Located 500 meters apart, SES008 and SES009 contained narrow zones of sulfide mineralization apparently truncated (from the previous interpretation) by faulting. The SES008 intercept included 5.0 meters @ 0.64% Cu; 36.8 ppm Ag; 0.94% Pb; 1.54% Zn. The SES009 drill hole contained 4.0 meters of pyrite mineralization. The new interpretation suggests that the 8 lens is dipping to the northwest, and that SES008 and SES009 intercepted the outer edge of the mineralized lens.

Drill plans for this program include enlargement/upgrade targets on all three lenses. The recent 3D modeling has given good support for placement of drill collars that will potentially upgrade the Sesmarias prospect. Taken together with the possibilities at the historic Lousal Mine, located six kilometers north of the Sesmarias prospect, and at the Monte da Bela Vista stockwork discovery, located two kilometers further north of the Lousal Mine, the Sesmarias area has the potential to become a significant copper and zinc district in the northern part of the Portuguese Pyrite Belt.

Funding for this drilling program is coming from the recently-announced $1.5 million private placement (October 22, 2018). The first tranche of the raise has been completed at $500,000 (November 9, 2018). The second and third tranches are underway. The Company will announce completion of the second tranche in short order.

The Company holds 100% of the Alvalade license. Previous partners have funded 7 million euros of exploration on the Project.

Avrupa Minerals Ltd. is a growth-oriented junior exploration and development company directed to discovery of mineral deposits, using a prospect generator model. The Company holds one 100%-owned, self-funded flagship project, the Alvalade VMS Project. Avrupa focuses its project generation work in politically stable and prospective regions of Europe, including Portugal, Kosovo, and Germany.

For additional information, contact Avrupa Minerals Ltd. at 1-604-687-3520 or visit our website at www.avrupaminerals.com.

On behalf of the Board,

Paul W. Kuhn



Paul W. Kuhn, President & Director

This news release was prepared by Company management, who take full responsibility for its content. Paul W. Kuhn, President and CEO of Avrupa Minerals, a Licensed Professional Geologist and a Registered Member of the Society of Mining Engineers, is a Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101 of the Canadian Securities Administrators. He has reviewed the technical disclosure in this release. Mr. Kuhn, the QP, has not only reviewed, but prepared and supervised the preparation or approval of the scientific and technical content in the news release.

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.
VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Nov. 30, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Mundoro Capital Inc. (TSXV: MUN, www.mundoro.com) ("Mundoro" or the "Company") is pleased to announce drilling results from the Saje lead-zinc-copper-silver project (Saje Project) on the Company's 100% owned Zvezda exploration license (Zvezda). Zvezda is one of two contiguous exploration licenses located in south-eastern Bulgaria in the Rhodopean Region which is part of the Tethyan Metallogenic belt. The Saje Project drill program and related work was sole-funded by a private mining company under an option agreement previously announced May, 2018 (Option Agreement). Mundoro has received notice from the private mining company to terminate the Option Agreement. The Zvezda license continues to be 100% owned by Mundoro through its Bulgarian subsidiary.

Teo Dechev, CEO & President of Mundoro commented, Mundoro has benefited from the model to seek partners to fund certain exploration licenses. The drilling and related work at the Saje Project paid for by the private mining company has met Mundoros property commitments and confirmed mineralization of a mineralized zone south of the old mine workings. New technical data was added without drawing down on Mundoros cash. The Saje Project is a non-core asset with no carrying value in the Companys balance sheet. As a result of having a partner fund exploration work, Mundoro conserves its cash and as of the end of Q3-2018, the cash and cash equivalents were approximately $3.5 million. Mundoro will continue to seek establishing joint venture partnerships to fund certain exploration programs.

Saje Project Drill Program Results

The aim of this drill program was to confirm the historically reported lead-zinc mineralisation from the Saje deposit which had not been exploited in the past. The drill results from the drill program at the Saje Project confirm the unmined mineralized zone south of the old underground mine workings. The drilling confirmed continuation of mineralisation along strike between holes SADD001 and SADD002 which are 150 meters apart and intercepted higher grade results than historical results in these sections.

The completed drill program included five inclined diamond drill holes totaling 1972 meters drilled from three drill pad locations (see Figure 1). Drill holes 18_SADD001, 18_SADD004 and 18_SADD_002, 18_SADD005 are scissor holes at approximately 180 degrees drilled sub-vertically from the same drill pads (see Figure 2). Drill hole 18_SADD003 is located 260m north-west of 18_SADD002 from the third drill pad location to northwest.

The orientation of the mineralized zone is interpreted to be northwest-southeast strike and dips to the southwest along the contact between the basement metamorphic unit and the volcanic units. First four drill holes confirmed the historical mineralisation while drill hole 18_SADD003 did not intersect significant mineralisation perhaps due to late faulting and shifting of the mineralised zone at this part of the deposit.



Table 1. Saje Project Summary of 2018 Drill Hole Assay Results

DDH# From

(m) To (m) Length

(m)1 Pb (%) Zn (%) Cu (%) Ag

(g/t) 18_SADD001 (Az 30; dip-75) 356.5 373 16.5 4.12 0.11 0.36 9.23 including 356.5 363 6.5 7.84 0.23 0.68 17.45 18_SADD002 (Az 20; dip-75) 285 298.1 13.1 8.60 3.34 0.98 15.57 including 293 298.1 5.1 16.26 4.44 1.77 27.97 18_SADD003 (Az 40; dip-70) No significant intersections. 18_SADD004 (Az 240; dip-85) 337 346 9 4.58 1.08 0.54 19.37 412 422 10 4.74 0.032 0.24 90.50 18_SADD005 (Az 200; dip-87) 316 318 2 4.84 0.39 0.50 7.80 329 330 1 8.46 0.18 3.53 17.00 405 407 2 2.31 0.96 0.24 13.55 450 460 10 1.33 0.94 0.22 17.16

Note 1: All thicknesses from intersections from drill holes are down-hole drilled thicknesses and not true widths. The current exploration model has not had sufficient drill testing to be able to determine true thickness of mineralization.

Geology and Mineralization

The deposit is hosted in Eocene-Oligocene andesitic volcanics intruded by monzonite pluton and subsequently intruded by micro-dioritic sub-volcanic dike-like intrusions. Northwest, dipping southwest normal faults appear to be the main structures related to the mineralisation. Northeast faults are also present and seem to cut the northwest faults however do not displace it significantly. The intersections between the north-west and north-east faults are interpreted to be localizing the mineralisation.

Quartz-sericite-pyrite hydrothermal alteration of the andesite is widespread in the central portion of the deposit. The sericitic alteration is overlain by argillic to advanced argillic at the upper levels while at depth transitions to quartz-epidote-chlorite-magnetite alteration related to the micro-diorite.

Saje Project mineralisation is hosted in hydrothermal breccia bodies controlled by structures and intrusion contacts. The mineralisation consists of galena-sphalerite-chalcopyrite and forms massive breccia bodies, disseminated mineralisation in breccia matrix or vein-disseminated in the host rock. Most significant mineralisation which constitutes the best intersections is massive hydrothermal breccia bodies intersected in drill holes 18_SADD001, 18_SADD002 and 18_SADD004.

For further information on the historical resource of the mine at Sage, please refer to the Company's press release May 8, 2018.

On behalf of the Company,

Teo Dechev, Chief Executive Officer, President and Director

About Mundoro Capital Inc.

Mundoro is a Canadian mineral exploration and development public company focused on building value for its shareholders through directly investing in mineral projects that have the ability to generate future returns for shareholders. The Company currently holds a diverse portfolio of projects in two European countries as well as an investment in a producing gold mine in Bulgaria and a feasibility stage gold project in China. The Company has earn-in agreements with: Japan Oil, Gas and Metals National Corporation for the Serbian Timok North Projects, and Freeport-McMoRan Exploration Corporation for the Serbian Freeport-Mundoro Projects. Mundoros common shares trade on the TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol MUN.

For further information please contact:

Teo Dechev, CEO, President and Director of Mundoro Capital Inc. at +1-604-669-8055

Qualified Person

Technical information contained in this Press Release has been reviewed and approved by Mr. G. Magaranov, P. Geo., Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101.

Sampling, Analysis and Quality Assurance and Control (QA/QC)

Drill hole orientations were surveyed at approximately 60 metre intervals. Company personnel monitored the drilling, with drill core delivered daily to the Companys core storage facility where it was logged, cut and sampled. Core recovery is recorded as 95-100% in most intervals. The samples were collected in accordance with the Companys protocols that are compatible with accepted industry procedures and best practice standards at one or two-meter lengths from mineralised intervals and three meter lengths from non-mineralised intervals.

The samples were submitted to ALS Laboratory in Izmir, Turkey, for sample preparation and analysis. In addition to the laboratorys internal QA/QC procedures, the Company conducted its own QA/QC with the systematic inclusion of certified reference materials every 20 samples, blank samples every 20 samples and field duplicates at every 25 samples. Drill core samples are assayed using 50-grams charge for Au-fire assay with atomic absorption finish and multi-element method ME-ICP 41 aqua regia with ICP-AES finish by ALS laboratory. Samples returned above 1% Pb, Zn, Cu were additionally analysed with methods OG-46 or OG-46h.

Caution Concerning Forward-Looking Statements

This News Release contains forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of forward-looking words such as "will", "expect", "intend", "plan", "estimate", "anticipate", "believe" or "continue" or similar words or the negative thereof, and include the following: completion of earn-in expenditures and options by any of the parties. The material assumptions that were applied in making the forward looking statements in this News Release include expectations as to the mineral potential of any property, project, license or asset, the Company's future strategy and business plan and execution of the Company's existing plans. We caution readers of this News Release not to place undue reliance on forward looking statements contained in this News Release, as there can be no assurance that they will occur and they are subject to a number of uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. These factors include general economic and market conditions, exploration results, commodity prices, changes in law, regulatory processes, the status of Mundoro's assets and financial condition, actions of competitors and the ability to implement business strategies and pursue business opportunities. The forward-looking statements contained in this News Release are expressly qualified in their entirety by this cautionary statement. The forward-looking statements included in this News Release are made as of the date of this News Release and the Board undertakes no obligation to publicly update such forward-looking statements, except as required by law. Shareholders are cautioned that all forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties and 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 the Company's filings with the Canadian securities regulators available on www.sedar.com.

Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
Former Bosnian military commander Naser Oric, hailed by supporters as the heroic defender of Srebrenica, was acquitted Friday by a local court of war crimes during the countrys 1990s conflict.

Naser Oric and his fellow fighter Sabahudin Muhic are acquitted of charges of having committed during the war  crimes against prisoners, judge Tihomir Lukes said.

The two men were tried for the killing of three Serb prisoners in the Srebrenica area at the start of the 1992-95 war, which pitted the countrys Serb, Muslim and Croat communities against each other.

The acquittal means that the case is closed.

Awaiting the verdict, hundreds of people gathered in front of the Sarajevo court carrying banners that read: Heroes, not criminals!

Oric, 51, is celebrated by fellow Bosnian Muslims  known as Bosniaks  for commanding the defence of Srebrenica, where some 8,000 Muslim men and boys were slaughtered in a 1995 massacre that was the worst atrocity on European soil since World War II.

Bosnian Muslim military figures have already been tried and condemned in Bosnia for crimes committed during the inter-ethnic conflict, but none of them had Orics aura or importance.

The proceedings against Oric are very sensitive, Erna Mackic, a journalist specialised in war crimes cases, warned ahead of the verdict.

Whatever the judgement is, it will be strongly criticised by one of the parties that will be unhappy, she told AFP.

The Balkan country remains deeply split along ethnic lines. Half of its population of 3.5 million are Muslims, while ethnic Serbs and Croats make about 30 and 15 percent respectively.

 Acquitted in The Hague 

For years, perpetrators in the most serious cases were tried by the Hague-based UN tribunal set up after the 1990s conflicts in former Yugoslavia. Those judges overwhelmingly convicted Serbs in the Bosnian war: 52 in total, compared to 17 Croats and six Bosnian Muslims, according to a count by local media.

But with the UN tribunal officially wound up in December 2017, local courts have been left to carry on the work.

In 2008 Oric was acquitted on appeal by the UN war crimes court on charges of not doing enough to protect Serb prisoners of war.

Unhappy with the verdict, Belgrade in 2014 launched an international warrant, which eventually saw him extradited to his home country to face the current charges against him.

His subsequent acquittal in October 2017 outraged Serb victims groups.

A retrial was ordered for procedural reasons.

Orics troops resisted a more than three-year-long the siege of Srebrenica by Bosnian Serb military chief Ratko Mladics soldiers.

But while Oric left the ill-fated town along with some of his officers for a meeting in Sarajevo, the UN-protected Muslim enclave was captured in July 1995.

Serb forces slaughtered more than 8,000 Muslim men and boys in the days that followed Srebrenicas fall.

The atrocity was deemed genocide by the international justice.

The UN court last year sentenced Mladic to life imprisonment including for the Srebrenica massacre while Bosnian Serb wartime political leader Radovan Karadzic was sentenced to 40 years in jail.

 Nearly 2,500 Serbs killed 

But many ethnic Serbs perceive Oric as a butcher responsible for crimes during attacks on their villages in the Srebrenica area to drive them out of their homes.

Victims groups estimate that nearly 2,500 Serb soldiers and civilians were killed in the area during the war.

Some see the condemnation of Oric as essential for reconciliation in Bosnia.

But for Bosnian Muslim mother Kada Hotic, from an association of Srebrenica women, such a verdict would be a shame and insult for (Muslim) victims.

Her son, husband and two brothers were killed in the 1995 massacre.

The Serbs want Naser Oric to be condemned, believing that his condemnation could alleviate (their guilt for) the genocide that they committed in Srebrenica, she said.

After the war Oric kept a low profile, while his name sometimes appeared in local media being linked with alleged criminal activities.

In 2009 he was sentenced to two years in jail for arms possession, but was granted a presidential pardon.

A passionate hunter and bodybuilder the 51-year-old is often presented as a businessman in the media.

In a rare television appearance in 2013 Oric said he was raising cattle in the mountains.
Faced with the Rohingya crisis and the apparent hard-line stance of the Myanmar government on accountability, the United Nations Human Rights Council decided this September to set up an independent mechanism to collect evidence of international crimes (genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes) committed in that country. This comes after UN evidence-gathering bodies were set up in 2016 for Syria and then in 2017 to help prosecute alleged crimes by the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL/Daesh), in Iraq. So what is behind this new trend, and do these bodies really serve a purpose?

Experts seem hesitant as to whether their emergence represents a failure or a new creativity of the international justice community. Perhaps it is both.

Second-best options

In a way they could be seen as a reflection of a larger failure because they are second-best options for these situations, says Harvard law professor Alex Whiting, a former prosecutor at the International Criminal Court and International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia. They are stop-gaps because there hasnt been a referral or a tribunal set up, or any other kind of accountability. So these are a replacement for that failure. On the other hand, I think you could look at it as a sign of growth and development of the international justice project. What they are addressing is the fact that the justice process moves slowly, evidence needs to be collected as quickly as possible, and so its a way to ensure that the slow wheels of justice dont mean that evidence gets missed and lost. They are intermediate organizations that collect the evidence for the future.

International justice expert and blogger Mark Kersten seems to hold a similar view. What is behind this trend, he says, is a mix of frustration and creativity. It is clear that the current international political climate is less conducive to propelling accountability for international crimes than it has been for a long time, he continues. But atrocities in Myanmar, Syria and elsewhere continue to be committed at terrifying levels. The demand for justice far outweighs its supply. Against this context, there has been thinking about how to get around a dithering and uninterested Security Council. The result is the creation of the IIIMs [international, impartial and independent mechanisms].

Adapting to circumstances

The mechanism for Syria was established under Resolution 71/248 adopted by the UN General Assembly on December 21, 2016, to assist in the investigation and prosecution of persons responsible for the most serious crimes under International Law committed in the Syrian Arab Republic since March 2011. Its mandate is to collect, consolidate, preserve and analyse evidence of such violations, and to prepare files in order to facilitate and expedite fair and independent criminal proceedings, in accordance with international law standards, in national, regional or international courts or tribunals that have or may in the future have jurisdiction over these crimes. The Syria IIIM says it is neither a prosecutors office nor a court. It is headed by Catherine Marchi-Uhel of France, who was appointed by the UN Secretary General on July 3, 2017.

The mechanism for Myanmar now being set up has a similar mandate. It is being established under a UN Human Rights Council Resolution of September 28, 2018, in the wake of a damning UN report that said Myanmars army chief and five other named members of the security forces should be prosecuted for international crimes in Rakhine and other states in the country where ethnic conflict continues.

The mandate of the UN Investigative Team supporting domestic efforts to hold ISIL accountable in Iraq is somewhat different. Established by UN Security Resolution 2379 of September 21, 2017, it is to work with the Iraqi authorities and include Iraqi investigative judges and other criminal experts alongside international experts and on an equal footing. Its purpose, according to the Resolution, is to support domestic efforts to hold ISIL (Daesh) accountable by collecting, preserving, and storing evidence in Iraq of acts that may amount to international crimes, to ensure the broadest possible use before national courts, and complementing investigations being carried out by the Iraqi authorities, or investigations carried out by authorities in third countries at their request. It is headed by Karim Khan of the UK.

In one way its different from the one for Syria and the one for Myanmar that are more independent and that are trying to collect evidence on all sides, says Alex Whiting. But were still in times of creation and experimentation of mechanisms that will vary depending on the circumstances, have different mandates, requirements and objectives depending on the political circumstances in each place, the willingness of the State and the interests of the international community.

Preserving evidence and putting pressure on political powers

One of the questions raised is how the evidence gathered by such mechanisms may be used. We dont yet have a full answer to this, says Mark Kersten, but the sense and hope is that the evidence that is collected can be shared wherever it is needed: in universal jurisdiction trials, in prosecutions in states where alleged perpetrators have sought refuge cloaked as refugees, and potentially in a hybrid tribunal if one is eventually set up. Kersten thinks the Syria mechanism is doing a good job so far. For the others it is too early to tell, both experts say.

So how useful are these mechanisms? First of all the process of collecting the evidence will put pressure on decision makers and policy makers to ensure some level of accountability in the future, says Whiting. For example in Syria, one day the war is going to end, and now that theres a mountain of evidence assembled its going to be harder for the decision makers, whether theyre in Syria or internationally, to just ignore that. The second thing is that aside from accountability, meaning criminal prosecutions, there are other purposes for documenting crimes. It can be useful for reconciliation purposes, for holding people to account in other ways, for historical purposes, for victims. And the third, obvious reason is that if ever there is some form of accountability mechanism, the fact that this evidence has been collected will be incredibly useful to making those mechanisms work.

Can we expect to see more?

Their creation should be welcome, says Kersten, although I believe that such bodies were useful even before the global justice project in Syria and Myanmar stalled. Unfortunately, such creativity in international law tends to only arise in crisis moments. Its important to stress that no coherent and predictable system of international criminal justice currently exists. What we have is just some prosecutions in some places, some of the time. Therefore, any effort to create bodies that enrich and fill gaps in the global justice realm should be welcomed.

There have been calls for such mechanisms to be established for other countries such as Sri Lanka. So can we expect to see more? Yes, say these experts.

I fully expect more such mechanisms to populate the realm of international criminal justice and become a go-to option for accountability efforts, says Kersten. The key will be to ensure that one mechanism isnt just mimicking another. Such bodies need to be designed with great care to the context in which they are to operate and the violence to which they are a response. Otherwise, they could suffer from the same critiques of Courts  being too divorced from local realities and communities. If they can be sensitively and smartly designed, I think they could prove an invaluable addition to efforts to build a coherent system of global justice that responds in an effective and timely manner to the demand for accountability.

There have already been some rumblings about whether there should be a permanent evidence gathering mechanism set up, says Whiting. Im not sure anyone has the appetite for that, because it feels like a mini-ICC, but the point is I think there will be more of these mechanisms, because theres a genuine need for it.
Scientists reveal substantial water loss in global landlocked regions

Friday, Nov. 30, 2018



This animation shows terrestrial water storage changes in global endorheic basins from GRACE satellite observations, April 2002 to March 2016. In the top image, terrestrial water storage trends  in millimeters of equivalent water thickness per year  for each endorheic unit are highlighted, followed by animated monthly terrestrial water storage anomalies, also in millimeters. The bottom image shows monthly net terrestrial water storage anomalies in gigatonnes, in global endorheic and exorheic systems  excluding Greenland, Antarctica and the oceans  and linkage to the El Nino-Southern Oscillation, right axis. Terrestrial water storage anomalies are relative to the time-mean baseline in each unit or system, with removal of seasonality. For comparison, 360 gigatonnes of terrestrial water storage equals 1 millimeter of sea level equivalent. Courtesy of Jida Wang. | View video.





MANHATTAN  Along with a warming climate and intensified human activities, recent water storage in global landlocked basins has undergone a widespread decline. A new study reveals this decline has aggravated local water stress and caused potential sea level rise.



The study, "Recent Global Decline in Endorheic Basin Water Storage," was carried out by a team of scientists from six countries and appears in the current issue of Nature Geoscience.



"Water resources are extremely limited in the continental hinterlands where streamflow does not reach the ocean. Scientifically, these regions are called endorheic basins," said Jida Wang, a Kansas State University geographer and the study's lead author.

"Over the past few decades, we have seen increasing evidence of perturbations to the endorheic water balance," said Wang, an assistant professor of geography. "This includes, for example, the desiccating Aral Sea, the depleting Arabian aquifer and the retreating Eurasian glaciers. This evidence motivated us to ask: Is the total water storage across the global endorheic system, about one-fifth of the continental surface, undergoing a net decline?"



Using gravity observations from NASA/German Aerospace Center's Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment, or GRACE, satellites, Wang and his colleagues quantified a net water loss in global endorheic basins of approximately 100 billion tons of water per year since the start of the current millennium. This means a water mass equivalent to five Great Salt Lakes or three Lake Meads is gone every year from the arid endorheic regions.



Surprisingly, this amount of endorheic water loss is double the rate of concurrent water changes across the remaining landmass except Greenland and Antarctica, Wang said. Opposite to endorheic basins, the remaining regions are exorheic, meaning streamflow originating from these basins drains to the ocean. Exorheic basins account for most of the continental surface and are home to many of the world's greatest rivers, such as the Nile, Amazon, Yangtze and Mississippi.



Wang noted that the signature of water storage changes in exorheic basins resembles some prominent oscillations of the climate system, such as El Nino and La Nina in multiyear cycles. However, the water loss in endorheic basins appears less responsive to such short-term natural variability. This contrast may suggest a profound impact of longer-term climate conditions and direct human water management, such as river diversion, damming and groundwater withdrawal, on the water balance in the dry hinterlands.



This endorheic water loss has dual ramifications, according to the researchers. Not only does it aggravate water stress in the arid endorheic regions, but it could also contribute to a significant factor of global environmental concern: sea level rise. Sea level rise is a result of two main causes: thermal expansion of sea water as a result of increased global temperature, and additional water mass to the ocean.



"The hydrosphere is mass conserved," said Chunqiao Song, researcher with the Nanjing Institute of Geography and Limnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, and a co-lead author of the study. "When water storage in endorheic basins is in deficit, the reduced water mass doesn't disappear. It was reallocated chiefly through vapor flux to the exorheic system. Once this water is no longer landlocked, it has the potential to affect the sea level budget."



Despite an observation period of 14 years, the endorheic water loss equals an additional sea level rise of 4 millimeters, the study found. The researchers said this impact is nontrivial. It accounts for approximately 10 percent of the observed sea level rise during the same period; compares to nearly half of the concurrent loss in mountain glaciers, excluding Greenland and Antarctica; and matches the entire contribution of global groundwater consumption.



"We are not saying the recent endorheic water loss has completely ended up in the ocean," said Yoshihide Wada, deputy director of the water program at the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis in Austria and a co-author of the study. "Instead, we are showing a perspective of how substantial the recent endorheic water loss has been. If it persists, such as beyond the decadal timescale, the water surplus added to the exorheic system may signify an important source of sea level rise."



By synergizing multi-mission satellite observations and hydrological modeling, Wang and his colleagues attributed this global endorheic water loss to comparable contributions from the surface  such as lakes, reservoirs and glaciers  as well as soil moisture and aquifers.



"Such comparable losses are, however, an aggregation of distinct regional variations," Wang said. "In endorheic Central Eurasia, for instance, about half of the water loss came from the surface, particularly large terminal lakes such as the Aral Sea, the Caspian Sea and Lake Urmia, and retreating glaciers in High Mountain Asia."



While glacial retreat was a response to warming temperature, water losses in the terminal lakes were a combined result of meteorological droughts and long-term water diversions from the feeding rivers.



The net water loss in endorheic Sahara and Arabia, on the other hand, was dominated by unsustainable groundwater withdrawal, according to the researchers. In endorheic North America, including the Great Basin of the U.S., a drought-induced soil moisture loss was likely responsible for most of the regional water loss. Despite a lesser extent, the surface water loss in the Great Salt Lake and the Salton Sea was at a substantial rate of 300 million tons per year, which was partially induced by mineral mining and diversion-based irrigation.



The water losses from the world's endorheic basins are yet another example of how climate change is further drying the already dry arid and semi-arid regions of the globe. Meanwhile, human activities such as groundwater depletion are significantly accelerating this drying," said Jay Famiglietti, director of the Global Institute of Water Security, Canada 150 research chair in hydrology and remote sensing at the University of Saskatchewan, Canada and co-author of the study.



Wang said the team wants to convey three takeaway messages from their research.



"First, water storage in the endorheic system, albeit limited in total mass, can dominate the water storage trend in the entire land surface during at least decadal timescales," Wang said. "Second, the recent endorheic water loss is less sensitive to natural variability of the climate system, suggesting a possible response to longer-term climate conditions and human water management.



"Third, such a water loss in the endorheic system has dual ramifications, both to regional water sustainability and to global sea level rise," he said. "These messages highlight the underrated importance of endorheic basins in the water cycle and the need for an improved understanding of water storage changes in the global hinterlands."



Along with Wang, Song, Wada and Famiglietti, the research team also includes John T. Reager from the Jet Propulsion Laboratory at the California Institute of Technology;Fangfang Yao, doctoral student in geography, and Richard Marston, university distinguished professor emeritus of geography, both from Kansas State University; Yongwei Sheng from the geography department, and Glen MacDonald, geography and the ecology and evolutionary biology departments, both at the University of California at Los Angeles; Fanny Brun from the University of Grenoble Alpes, Grenoble, France, and LEGOS in Toulouse, France; and Hannes Muller Schmied from the Institute of Physical Geography at Goethe University in Frankfurt,Germany, and Senckenberg Biodiversity and Climate Research Center in Germany.



This research was supported by Kansas State University faculty start-up fund, NASA Surface Water and Ocean Topography, or SWOT, Grant; China's Thousand Young Talents Program; and the NASA Sea Level Change team. A portion of this research was conducted at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, under contract with NASA.
(CNN)  President Donald Trump's ex-attorney Michael Cohen pleaded guilty Thursday to making false statements to Congress about the Russia investigation.

Cohen waived his right to an indictment when he appeared in a New York federal court.

According to the information read out in court, Cohen made a false statement regarding a proposed Trump Tower deal in Moscow that he was working on in 2015 and 2016. He had a discussion about the project at a later date. Cohen had previously said that the deal was stopped in January 2016.

Cohen left the courthouse without making a statement.

This story is breaking and will be updated.

This story was first published on CNN.com, "Michael Cohen pleads guilty to misleading Congress about Russia investigation."
Note: On July 15, 2018, dry thunderstorms across southern Oregon and northern California sparked hundreds of fires. Some of them were contained quickly, while others grew to consume thousands of acres, threatening lives and property. The story below is about the last of those fires, finally declared contained months later.

MEDFORD, Ore.  Of the many wildfires in Southern Oregon started by lightning strikes on July 15, the Klondike Fire at first appeared to be low-priority, but would grow to become one of the most threatening of those fires at 175,528 acres  encroaching on the communities of Selma and Agness. Now the fire is officially 100 percent contained, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).

We are pleased to report at this time that there is no Level 1 evacuation status and no closures in place for Taylor/Klondike. Southwest Oregon is enjoying clear skies with only occasional smoke impacts associated with our fall/winter prescribed burning program, said Fire Staff Officer Eric Hensel.

When the fire began in July, it was fairly small and remote compared to other wildfires that directly threatened homes in the area  namely the Hendrix, Garner Complex, and Taylor Creek and Miles fires, all of which prompted evacuation orders in the days immediately following the July 15 storm.

However, as firefighting operations continued in earnest on those other fires, the largely unimpeded Klondike Fire became the greatest remaining threat to lives and property in Southern Oregon as it expanded both to the east and west.

"Like the Silver Fire (1987) and Biscuit Fire (2002) which preceded it, the Klondike Fire was extremely difficult to suppress due to its location in the very steep and rugged terrain in and around the Kalmiopsis Wilderness," USDA said in a statement. "This, in combination with heavy fuel loading, limited road access and virtually no escape routes or safety zones for firefighters to retreat to when the fire became active, posed significant challenges to firefighters both on the ground and in the air."

RELATED: Visit our FireWatch section for stories on how the 2018 Fire Season has shaped preparations for this year.

USDA says that the rugged terrain proved a challenge for the larger air tankers to make "safe and effective approaches" for retardant drops on the fire. Moreover, particularly at its beginning, the fire's remote location in the Kalmiopsis Wilderness was near impossible for firefighters on the ground to reach.

Air resources have their limits and the terrain will dictate some of those limitations. The Kalmiopsis Wilderness is a very challenging location to fight fire, said Forest Aviation Officer Amanda Lucas-Rice.

Ultimately, the Klondike Fire cost more than $104 million for firefighting teams to suppress and contain. Comparatively, the nearby Taylor Creek Fire was declared contained in early October, burning 53,000 acres and costing $24 million.

Our biggest success this year is the fact that everyone who came to help us returned home to their families and no residents were hurt. Our thoughts and prayers are with those communities and families who werent so fortunate this year, said Forest Supervisor Merv George.

Despite the fire's containment, Burned Area Emergency Response (BAER) activities will continue within the Klondike Fire area to limit the ecological damage of the fire and reduce the chances for erosion and landslides.

USDA also reports "good progress" on road work, with an estimated 80 percent of the work completed in the Illinois River corridor out to the Josephine County Oak Flat residences. Some work was started in the Pearsoll Peak area but weather has been limiting access. Current work is occurring on Forest Road 2512 from Sam Brown Campground up to Flat Top.
SALEM, Ore.  In the face of Josephine County's recently ratified smart meter ordinance, the Oregon Public Utility Commission (PUC) said on Friday that it has asked a Marion County court to weigh in on the dispute.

"[The PUC] asked a Marion County court to confirm its exclusive authority to set customer rates for investor-owned electric utilities and to prevent a Josephine County ordinance from limiting Pacific Powers ability to charge PUC-approved fees related to advanced meter installation within the county," the Commission said in a statement.

The County adopted their ordinance at the end of October, stipulating that they would prohibit all opt-out fees leveled by Pacific Power on customers that refuse to receive the new smart meter and instead insist on keeping a hand-read meter.

Pacific Power argued that the County did not have the authority to set fees or to set them aside, appealing to the PUC for help. Since the PUC is typically in charge of approving rates and fees, they quickly threatened legal action against the County.

This is not our preferred course of action, said Megan Decker, PUC chair. But we need to be clear with customers and other jurisdictions that Oregons legal structure requires Pacific Power to charge rates set by the PUC. Our exclusive authority and obligation to set nondiscriminatory rates across a utilitys service territory prevents the ability of one jurisdiction from transferring the cost of its local priorities to other communities.

But earlier this month, Josephine County responded that they would stand by their ordinance.

Choice and local control are highly valued in Oregon. Local governments are free to raise revenues to fund local priorities, including expanding access to manually read meters. They can ask local residents to provide financial support to customers who cannot afford the opt-out charge, said Decker. What local governments cannot do is require Pacific Power to charge customers different rates for electric service in their jurisdictions.

In Southern Oregon, Pacific Power currently charges a $36 per-month opt-out fee for customers who refuse the upgrade to a smart reader. While Josephine County has argued that the opt-out fee method leaves their residents with no choice, the PUC disagrees.

The customers choice to have a manually read meter has a cost, said Decker. The questions are what is the cost and who pays for it?
CORVALLIS, Ore. (AP)  An Oregon State University student with ties to white nationalists in the Pacific Northwest was convicted Thursday on charges related to putting offensive stickers on the cars of members of a racial justice group.

Benton County Circuit Court Judge David Connell found Andrew Oswalt guilty of all five criminal counts stemming from the June 2017 incident that came to light while Oswalt served as a student government representative, The Oregonian reported .

Prosecutors had charged the Ph.D. candidate in chemistry with three counts of intimidation, a felony hate crime under Oregon statute. He was also charged with two counts of criminal mischief, a misdemeanor.

"The impact of his actions goes beyond the vehicles and individuals he targeted," said Ryan Joslin, Benton County prosecuting attorney. "His intent was to terrorize an entire community."

Corvallis police say Oswalt and an accomplice placed bumper stickers with a racist slur about black people on two cars at a Corvallis food co-op in June 2017.

The vehicles belonged to members of the Corvallis chapter of Showing Up For Racial Justice, which held a meeting at the co-op to discuss ways to combat white supremacy as well as those promoting racist or bigoted views in the area, prosecutors said in court.

A co-op employee also discovered anti-Semitic leaflets on the windshields of every car in the staff parking lot at the time.

Police said officers later searched Oswalt's residence and found matching bumper stickers and fliers. Oswalt was identified through surveillance footage from the scene, police said. Police never identified the second suspect.

Oswalt's attorney, Nicolas Ortiz, argued in court that prosecution had failed to conclusively prove whether Oswalt placed the stickers and that the state had not proved that Oswalt knew anything about the individual attendees of the meeting so he could not have been targeting them over their race or religion as required by the intimidation statute.

Oswalt declined to comment after the verdict was announced, according to the Gazette-Times. Ortiz suggested in comments to the judge that he was considering an appeal.

In January, Oswalt was ousted from his student government role following his arrest and after the student newspaper published an interview with him in which he shared inflammatory thoughts about minorities and women.

Oswalt affirmed those beliefs in a January email to The Oregonian, saying white people have greater intelligence than other racial or ethnic groups. He said he prefers to be known as an "ethno-nationalist."

He will be sentenced Dec. 12.
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I sadly read about another celebrity with significant wealth who died without a will. Aretha Franklin left behind an estate worth $80 million with significant future royalties and no instructions for who should receive her fortune. Over the next few years, we will hear about the fighting and legal battles over her estate.

Abraham Lincoln died without a will. Since he was an attorney, he could have written it himself, yet he didnt.

Picasso died without a will, and it took six years and $30 million in attorney fees to settle the family disputes over his estate. If he knew that it would cost his family $30 million of his hard earned money to settle his estate, do you think he might have considered making a will?

Many famous people have died without writing a will, but what about our family and friends? How many are living without a will? According to a survey done in 2015 by Rocket Lawyer, nearly 2/3 of Americans dont have a will. I can understand this for young people, who arent old enough to get married and dont have assets that family members will fight over, but 54% of those age 55-64 (my age group) dont have a will. 54%! This age group has about a 1% per year death rate. Ten out of every 100 people between age 55 and 64 will die in the next ten years, yet over half of them do not have a will.

So whats the big deal about not having a will?

People who die without a will are said to be intestate. This means the statutory laws of the state where the deceased resided will determine, based on an algorithm, how their property will be distributed upon death. This includes their assets, children and future income. Everything they own, except those assets that list a beneficiary, will be affected by not having a will. In Oregon, for example, everything will go to your spouse. But, if you have a child from a previous marriage, your current spouse will only get half of your estate. The other half will go to your children. State law may not distribute your property the way you wish it to be distributed. If you died tomorrow, what would happen if your spouse lost 50% of your estate?

Why should you have a will?

You have spent your entire life building an estate of some value. You should be the one who decides what happens to it, not the state. You should be the one who decides what happens to your minor children, not the state. And if you dont have any family, you should have your estate go to charity or a cause that you feel strongly about. You worked hard for those assets so you should control their distribution. It is also not fair to burden your family with the fighting that will ensue when there is no will to specify what happens to your belongings after your death.

Why dont Americans have a will?

I have heard many excuses as to why people dont have a will. Here are a few:

I dont know what to do with the kids.

I dont have enough money to pay an attorney to write a will.

I dont have enough of an estate to need a will.

I dont have anyone to leave it to.

I dont want to think about my death right now.

I dont think its that important. After all, I wont be here.

My spouse and I cant agree on what to do.

I dont know how to do it.

Ive got plenty of time. Ill do it later. Im very busy right now.

Some of the decisions needed in a will are difficult, and most people like to avoid difficulties. If you have several kids, you might not want to burden a friend or family member with their care. But do you really want the state to decide who will raise your kids? Is it fair to your children to just let them drift? You owe it to your kids to make these crucial decisions that will profoundly affect their future.

A basic will is fairly inexpensive and easy to write. A quick way to acquire a will is to write one online. All you have to do is fill in the blanks, print, and sign. Check your state requirements regarding signing the will. Most require two witnesses that are not named in the will. This could all be completed today. You can also make an appointment with an attorney to draw up a more thorough will. Unless you need a trust, it shouldnt cost very much to take this load off your back.

What problems will occur without a will?

If you die without a will, you will incur no problems, youll be dead. The problems will fall on the shoulders of those you leave behind. I suspect that is the real reason people dont have a will; there is no personal pain associated with not having one, but there is personal pain associated with making the decisions and the cost of acquiring a will. We all want to avoid pain, so this task gets postponed.

Without a will, families fight about what they think you would want done with your belongings. I watched one family fight over the inheritance from their grandmother. She died having outlived her two children. One of her sons had two kids and the other had four kids. Her grandchildren argued about how much of the inheritance each grandchild should get.

If the money was split as if her children were still alive, half would have gone to each of her sons. In this case, two of the grandkids would have eventually received 25% of her estate each. The son who had four children would have passed on 12.5% of her estate to each of his kids.

On the other hand, if you just counted all the grandchildren the same, they would each get 16.6% of the estate. The difference between getting 16.6% vs. 25% of an estate can cause, and did cause, great strife. Do you really want your descendants arguing over your money?

Another issue of dying without a will is time. It can take a long time for the state to settle an estate. Sometimes the fighting between family members can go on for years. If your spouse or children are depending on the assets in your estate to live on, the time the estate is in probate could become very painful.

Until the state decides, your spouse may not have enough to get by. Do you really want to leave your spouse with inadequate funds, simply because you didnt want to burden yourself to make out a will?

What does a will solve?

The big things you need to decide in your will are:

Who will be the executor of your estate? This is the person you give the power to carry out the terms of your will.

Who will get your stuff? You spent your entire life accumulating stuff, you should get to say where it goes. And you surely dont want it to go to your heirs attorneys. You might have a few special items you would like to go to a particular person. Make sure you have your say in the matter. If you told one child they can have their great-grandfathers pocket watch, but then they dont get it because you didnt write it in a will, how might that change their memory of you?

Who will raise your kids? My wife and I are Christians. It was important to us that if we died, our kids would be raised in a Christian home. Dont you want a say in who raises your children?

What should you do today if you dont have a will?

1. Make getting a will a high priority. Set a date to have it completed and get going. One month should be a reasonable length of time to complete this endeavor. If you need to set up a trust, allow three months for the added paperwork. Start right away, you never know how much time you have left.

2. Make an appointment with an attorney right after you finish reading this article. This appointment will get the wheels moving. Remember that starting is half done.

3. Sit down with your spouse and make the hard decisions about what will happen to your assets, who will raise your children, and who will be in charge of executing the terms of your will.

4. After you finish your will, tell those involved what your wishes are. It will be much easier on everyone if they know your wishes before you die. Also, tell them where to find your will so it can be retrieved easily upon your death. Michael Jackson was thought to have died without a will. Then, after much arguing among his heirs, an attorney produced his will. The family might have avoided feuding if they had known which attorney had a copy of his will.

5. When you have a significant change in your life, like the birth of another child, make sure you update your will. There have been many parents who have died with one of the kids left out of the will, only because the will was written before their birth.

I hope this article inspires you to move into the minority of Americans who have a will. There is no excuse for dying without one. Nowadays, with easy access to the internet, writing a will has become very easy. You can make your will a reality.

Cory Fawcett is a general surgeon and can be reached at his self-titled site, Dr. Cory S. Fawcett. He is the author of The Doctors Guide to Starting Your Practice Right, The Doctors Guide to Eliminating Debt, and The Doctors Guide to Smart Career Alternatives and Retirement.

Image credit: Shutterstock.com
The NYPD has launched an investigation into a possible hate crime after a Columbia University professor's office was vandalized with two spray-painted swastikas and a derogatory word aimed at Jewish people.

Professor Elizabeth Midlarsky, who is Jewish and has published various articles related to the Holocaust, told CNN, "I opened the outer door and almost passed out," when she saw the two swastikas spray-painted in red.

Midlarsky, who has worked at the university's Teachers College for 28 years, reported the incident to security and received support from staff before being brought home by a van.

"I was so shaky, I wasn't sure I was going to make it," she said.

Thomas Bailey, the president of Columbia's Teachers College said in a statement Wednesday, "We unequivocally condemn any expression of hatred, which has no place in our society. We are outraged and horrified by this act of aggression and use of this vile anti-Semitic symbol against a valued member of our community." Bailey added that they are working with police to find the perpetrator.

The incident, which was reported Wednesday, is not the first for Midlarsky who had a Swastika spray-painted on her office door in 2007.

Midlarsky told CNN that she had begun to receive hate mail both by letter and email in 2007, which she believed was connected to her lifetime of work as a Jewish activist. She then received a call from Teachers College not to come in as her office had been vandalized.

At the time, then Teachers College President Susan Fuhrman joined Midlarsky at a student-organized protest, saying, "We stand with our students, who have said 'enough' to hate crimes, and in this particular case, to a vicious swastika."

Midlarsky, who is 77 and in declining health, says she is baffled by the most recent vandalism.

"I haven't done anything, said anything," she said adding that she sees this incident as "connected to a trend and upsurge in anti-Semitism that we've seen in recent years."

Midlarsky referenced her 13-year-old grandson's Bar Mitzvah, held on the same day as the shooting at a Pittsburgh synagogue that killed 11 people.

"I feel very, very vulnerable," she said.
SPRINGFIELD, Ore. -- A Springfield boy's wish has come true thanks to Make-A-Wish Oregon and Rainbow Valley Design and Construction.

Daniel, 8, is battling Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy.

His biggest wish is to have his own Bowser-inspired playhouse on his family's Springfield property, and that's now a reality.

He was surprised with the playhouse when he came home from school Thursday afternoon.

His parents said they're so happy his wish could come true.

"After receiving diagnosis, things like that sort of split your life into before and after, and the after sometimes can be really hard," Daniel's mom Hannah Cain said. "It's filled with a lot of painful moments, and it's nice to have a hopeful, positive moment for Daniel because he deserves it more than anybody."

Rainbow Valley constructed the entire playhouse in their shop, disassembled it, and reassembled it in the family's backyard.

Their employees also made it a family affair.

When their lead carpenter's sister, who is a set designer, found out about what they were building, she and their parents stepped up and painted the entire playhouse in about seven hours.

Rainbow Valley will come back at a later date and create a concrete pathway for Daniel to use, so he can continue to play when he's eventually confined to a wheelchair.
The goodness and generosity of the people of Kilkenny was again to the fore, last Friday night, at the fundraising A Song for Alice concert.

Organised to raise much needed funds for a young Kilkenny woman suffering from cancer, the special musical night went really well and has raised almost 4,000.

The funds will be put to good use as Alice Taylor, from Ballycallan, has finally started on the drug Pembro in the last few days.

At Friday night's event in The Set theatre, the Aluna choir were joined by Bold As Brass and Trilogy.

Aluna choir director, Frances Ryan, thanked all those who supported the concert, especially band leader James Rice, Pat Ryan, Sylvie Knox, MC George Candler and all the performers. She said they couldn't have staged such a wonderful evening without the support of Langton's who allowed use of the venue, Frank Salmon and Essaness who provided all the electrical and musical equipment needed free of charge, and the generosity of the local businesses who provided prizes for the raffle. Good will is alive and well in Kilkenny, Frances said, thank you to everbody who supported us even in the smallest of ways.

Frances and her choir have also fundraised by singing at Sunday evening mass in the Black Abbey, and will sing at an evening mass in the Friary soon.

The Aluna choir will take part in the annual Christmas Carol Service, in the Black Abbey, on December 18.
ALBERT LEA, Minn.  A duo accused of stealing a safe is pleading not guilty.

Kassidy Jo Poole, 20 of Albert Lea, and Casey Alan Schultz, 22 of Albert Lea, are both charged with 1st degree burglary, felony theft, and criminal damage to property. Albert Lea police say Poole called a former boyfriend on November 8 and arranged to meet with him.

Police say while he was out of his home, Poole and Schultz entered and stole a safe containing a wallet with about $500.

Officers say they found the safe at a home where Poole and Schultz were staying with the door pried open.

Poole is scheduled to stand trial on February 26, 2019. A trial date for Schultz has not been set.
AUSTIN, Minn.  A Mower County woman is pleading not guilty to a bar assault.

Brittney Earline Anderley, 30 of Austin, was arrested on November 3 and charged with 2nd degree assault with a dangerous weapon. The Austin Police Department says Anderley got into an argument with another female at the Bakery Lounge and wound up throwing a bar glass, hitting the other female in the head.

Anderley entered a not guilty plea Thursday. Her trial is scheduled to begin on April 29, 2019.
NORTHWOOD, Iowa - It's a part of Iowa's history you may not be familiar with. Now, a Shell Rock author is set to release a book about the state's prisoner of war camps.

Linda McCann grew up near Waverly, the site of a POW camp during World War II. It was one of 17 branch camps scattered across the state, along with two main camps in Algona and Clarinda.

She soon took an interest in the history of the camps, and spoke with people who worked with the prisoners, had them work on their farms, or just got to know them, and is releasing a book titled "Prisoners of War in Iowa."

On Thursday morning, she took the time to talk with a crowd at the Northwood Public Library, and says what she discovered while doing research is quite interesting.

"I didn't know about the Clarinda camp. I knew about the Algona camp, and I knew about some of the branch camps, but I didn't realize we had two main camps here. And I didn't realize we had Japanese in Iowa at Clarinda, and I didn't realize they were in every state except three [North Dakota, Nevada and Vermont]."

Altogether, there were about 25,000 German, Italian and Japanese prisoners of war in Iowa during World War II. But despite information in newspapers about them, McCann says she discovered many people didn't know that the camps even existed in the state.

"I think when World War II ended, people didn't talk about it. They didn't think it was important, it wasn't something to tell their kids, that sorta thing, and it just got passed by."

Since McCann wrote the book, one of her interviewees for the story has died, and adds that it's important to hear their stories as they could be lost forever.

McCann is already researching for her next projects, including Iowa's version of Rosie the Riveter.
ALBERT LEA, Minn.  The former store manager is pleading not guilty to stealing from the Albert Lea Dairy Queen.

Jessica Ann Hayes, 35 of Waseca, entered a not guilty plea Thursday to one count of felony theft. Albert Lea police say she is seen on security video entering the Dairy Queen at 5:44 am on June 4, 2017, going to her office, and taking two bundles of cash out of the store safe. Company officials say $2,681 was stolen.

Police say Hayes admitted during an interview to taking the money and using it to pay her rent, credit card bill, cell phone bill, car insurance bill, electric bills, and about $100 in groceries.

Charges were filed against Hayes in October and her trial is now scheduled to begin on March 26, 2019.
ST. PAUL, Minn.  More steps are being taken to limit the spread of chronic wasting disease (CWD) in wild deer in southeastern Minnesota.

The states Department of Natural Resources says 11 new cases of infection were discovered this fall in or around the CWD management zone in Fillmore County. In response, two separate three-day deer hunts will be conducted in December, shooting permits will be provided to landowners interested in removing deer from their property in the zone, and targeted culling will be conducted in January.

The last thing people want is an established disease in their backyards, says Lou Cornicelli, the DNRs wildlife research manager. States that have CWD established in their wild deer populations have seen declines in both deer populations and deer hunter numbers. Well continue to do what we can to avoid that situation here.

The CWD management zone, an approximate 10-mile radius around Preston, was established after the disease was found in wild deer in 2016. There have been 28 cases of CWD detected within the zone so far.

Hunters and landowners throughout southeastern Minnesota are going to be surveyed by the DNR on their attitudes toward the disease and DNR management, and to measure support for potential management actions like providing incentives to hunters and landowners to help curb disease spread.

The DNR will also have a public meeting in Preston to provide information about CWD and the DNRs management response to its discovery. The meeting will be 7-8:30 p.m. Tuesday, December 18, in the Fillmore Central School Auditorium at 702 Chatfield St.
DES MOINES, Iowa  Flags in Iowa will be flying at half-staff Saturday to honor another Pearl Harbor casualty finally returning home.

Navy Fireman 1st Class Bert E. McKeeman of Council Bluffs was killed in action when Japanese aircraft attacked the USS Oklahoma on December 7, 1941. The remains of the 25-year-old were finally identified in August and returned to his family for burial in Council Bluffs with full military honors.



Bert McKeeman Bert McKeeman

Governor Kim Reynolds has ordered all flags to fly at half-staff from sunrise to sunset on Saturday, the day funeral services are set for McKeeman.

Gov. Kim Reynolds ordered all flags in Iowa to fly at half-staff from sunrise to sunset on Saturday, December 1, 2018, to honor a fallen U.S. sailor.
MASON CITY, Iowa - A shooting left one male injured Thursday on 9th St. NW near All Aboard Storage.

Mason City police said at around 4:30 p.m., officer responded to an incident that involved a railroad police officer.

Upon arrival, one male was located with a gunshot wound and was transported to Mercy Medical Center-North Iowa.

A railroad police officer was also present, and that person was evaluated for minor injuries, Mason City police said.

The Iowa DCI was notified to assist and is currently investigating the officer-involved shooting.

Mason City police were assisted by Union Pacific Railroad staff at the Mason City yard, the Mason City Fire Department, the Cerro Gordo County Sheriffs Office and the Iowa State Patrol. We will have more information as it becomes available.
UPDATE: William Harrison Jr. appeared before the Magistrate Friday. He remains in custody on a $25,000 cash bond.

Previous story below

DECORAH, Iowa  A man is arrested for threatening a northeast Iowa hospital.

The Winneshiek County Sheriffs Office says William Harrison Jr., 58 of rural Allamakee County, is facing a felony charge of threat of terrorism and two counts of aggravated misdemeanor harassment. Additional charges are pending.

The Winneshiek County Medical Center says it received a threatening phone call at around 1:30 pm on November 24. The call reportedly threatened multiple acts of violence against the hospital and its staff. A joint investigation by the Sheriffs Office and the Decorah Police Department began and, with the help of the Winneshiek County Attorneys Office, Harrison was arrested at his home on Thursday.

The Decorah/Winneshiek Joint Special Response Team served the warrant on Harrisons home, with the assistance of the Iowa State Patrol and the Allamakee County Sheriffs Office.
PRESTON, Minn. - Through fundraising and a $10 million match from the state, the budget for the Preston Veterans Home will be around $30 million. This budget has determined that the facility will be able to have 54 beds.

"We had hoped for 72, but we're quite content with 54," explains Ron Scheevel, Co-Chair of the Preston Veterans Home Committee and a Vietnam War Veteran. "We're happy it's finally moving forward and we'll finally get some care in Southeast Minnesota for our veterans."

On December 6, at 10:30 A.M. at the Preston Servicemen's Club, the public is invited to a meeting where the Minnesota Department of Affairs and the design firms Wold and Perkins-Eastman will present the updated concept plans. The goal is to break ground on the project in fall of 2019.

However, there's another hurdle the organizers of the home are looking ahead to. While the number of beds has dropped, the number of staff needed in the facility has only slightly decreased. "One of our biggest challenges will be getting healthcare workers to staff this facility. Healthcare workers are in a bit of a shortage now so we're getting the word out early that especially the younger people that want to get into healthcare, it'd be a great time," says Scheevel.
MASON CITY, Iowa  Police are reporting a railroad officer shot someone in Mason City Thursday afternoon.

It happened around 4:25 pm at the railroad tracks on 9th Street NW. Mason City Police Chief Jeff Brinkley says one person was taken to the hospital with a gunshot wound. The Union Pacific-employeed special officer is reported safe.

The Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation and Union Pacific are investigating this incident.
MASON CITY, Iowa  Trying to sell a stolen truck is sending a Worth County man to prison.

Christopher John Heyden, 34 of Manly, pleaded guilty to 2nd degree theft. He was arrested in September after law enforcement said he bought a truck for $300 and tried to sell it for $500, The vehicle was actually worth around $2,000 and authorities say Heyden not only didnt get the title when he supposedly bought it but should have known it was stolen in the first place.

Heyden has been sentenced to up to five years in prison, with credit for time served.
ROCHESTER, Minn. -- At St. James Coffee, Winona State Rochester Social Work students gathered for a Coffee and Cake social to raise money for an organization that helps refugees settle into life in America.

One student knows what it is like first hand.

Suada Cehic is from Bosnia and was only 9 years old when she came to America with her 8 siblings and parents. They fled their country from the Bosnian War.

"We saw people get killed literally a few feet away from us," Cehic said.

Cehic saw some absolutely horrific things.

"Women and teenage girls would get separated and raped," Cehic said. "Men and young boys separated and killed."

When her family moved in 1998, Catholic Charities of Southern Minnesota helped her family transition into a life in America by helping pay for her airfare, get an apartment and apply for assistance.

Now, Cehic still likes to donate her time to helping refugees journey to the States by helping translate, interpret and carpooling.

Her story is why Minnesotans like Alyson Hoeft came to discuss the plight of the refugee.

"People really underestimate the path they have to go to in order to get to a safe land and people need to open their minds more to why they are coming," Hoeft said.

And that opens the door for people like Cehic...whose journey is now full-circle.

"It was extremely hard but at the same time it was an opportunity of a lifetime," Cehic said.

St. James Coffee will continue hosting the fundraising event over the next two days.
ALBERT LEA, Minn.-Residents are creating the holiday spirit throughout the town.

Spruce Up Albert Lea for Christmas is a group looking to bring the spirit of a traditional Christmas downtown.

We look at pictures of downtown Albert Lea going back to the thirties, said group member Sarah Hensley.

Wreaths and garland are now on full display downtown.

The city hasn't invested in holiday downtown holiday decorations in the last 20 years.

They raised nearly $40,000 to bring the Christmas spirit to the city.

All been donations from community members individuals, businesses we have some grants which has been wonderful so very generous community, said Hensley.

The decorations aren't coming down anytime soon - some of them will be on display all winter.

The group is continuing to raise money to for more decorations throughout the city.

If you would like to donate, Click here.
NEW HAMPTON, Iowa  A trial date has been set for the mother of the child found dead in a baby swing, while the father is asking for a new trial.

Cheyanne Renae Harris, 21 of Riceville, is now scheduled to stand trial on 1st degree murder and child endangerment resulting in death in Plymouth County on January 29, 2019. Court documents say the trial is expected to last six or seven days.



Zachary Koehn and Cheyanne Harris are accused of murder in connection with the death of their son, Sterling Koehn. Zachary Koehn and Cheyanne Harris are accused of murder in connection with the death of their son, Sterling Koehn.

Harris and Zachary Paul Koehn, 29 of Riceville, were arrested for the death of their four-month-old son, Sterling Koehn. The baby was found dead in a swing in an Alta Vista Apartment on August 30, 2017. An autopsy found the baby died of malnutrition, dehydration, and an E. coli infection caused by being left in a maggot-infested diaper for up to two weeks.

Koehn was found guilty of 1st degree murder and child endangerment causing death on November 6, 2018. His trial was moved to Henry County because of publicity around this case.

His defense lawyers have now filed a motion seeking a new trial. They argue that to be convicted of murder, prosecutors had to prove Koehn caused or directly contributed to his infant sons death. The motion argues there is no evidence Koehn intentionally starved, dehydrated, or otherwise caused his sons death and at most, the evidence only proves Koehn allowed the baby to die.

The motion also argues the evidence at trial showed Koehn relied on Harris to feed their child and change his diapers and that Koehn was buying items to care for the baby until shortly before his death, demonstrating an interest in and concern for the life of his child.

Koehn is due to be sentenced on December 4 in Chickasaw County. No hearing date has been set on his motion for a new trial.
The Chinese zodiac tells us that 2019 is the year of the pig, but investors in initial public offerings may begin calling it the year of the unicorn. The mythical beast is also the nickname for privately held start-up companies valued at $1 billion or more, and a herd of them may be galloping to the public market this year. Analysts at Renaissance Capital, a provider of IPO-themed exchange-traded funds and research, say that companies on track for 2019 IPOs include ride-sharing companies Uber and Lyft, photo-sharing app Pinterest, popular workplace messaging app Slack and stationary bike seller Peloton. Renaissance says offerings are also possible from home-rental platform Airbnb, Elon Muskled aerospace firm SpaceX and Greek-yogurt maker Chobani. A huge year for IPOs in 2019 would represent a continuation of 2018s torrid tempo. Through the first three quarters, 156 companies had gone public50 more than the same period in 2017and the $39.8 billion those companies raised was 62% more than the take the year before. At that pace, 2018 will likely have been the biggest IPO year since 2014 and just the third year in the past decade to surpass 200 IPOs, says Renaissance. Market slides can disproportionately affect recent IPOs, and if they perform poorly, the pace of new issues could slow. These stocks tend to be more volatile than more-established names, says Renaissance principal Kathleen Smith. When theres a big market drop, investors tend to sell off or avoid recent IPOs to move to safer corners of the market.

But even persistent market choppiness in the year ahead probably wouldnt deter the likes of Uber and Lyft from going public, says Josef Schuster, founder of IPOX Schuster, an investment research firm and fund provider that specializes in IPOs. A full-fledged bear market, however, would likely force companies to lower their prospective offering prices significantly, which could sideline even the largest companies. Many of these firms with multi-billion-dollar valuations are already well funded. They can afford to wait things out so existing investors dont have to take a haircut on their shares, he says. How to play. From 1980 through 2017, IPO stocks rose an average of 18% from their offering price on the first day of trading, according to data from Jay Ritter, a finance professor and IPO expert at the University of Florida. But individual investors rarely receive offering-priced shares, which are typically reserved for institutional investors, prized clients of the issuing brokerage firms, and the companys friends and family, which include employees and their relatives. Clients at major online brokerages, such as Fidelity and TD Ameritrade, can apply to receive early IPO shares if they meet certain requirements, but there are no guarantees. That leaves most investors in the position of having to invest in IPOs after they hit the open marketa risky proposition, says Schuster. Due to their potential to shoot up or plummet in a single day, any investment in an IPO should have a very conservative weight in your portfolio, he says. Once shares hit the open market, there are few predictable patterns in IPOs behavior. Analysts tend to initiate ratings on a stock 25 days after an IPO, at which time positive sentiment might boost a stocks price, Ritter says. After 180 days, a stocks lock-up period expires, allowing pre-IPO investors to sell their shares. That can trigger a sell-off. Schuster says share prices tend to settle down after firms issue their first earnings reports, but the stocks still carry more volatility than more-established securities.

To help mitigate some of the risk of investing in IPOs, read the literature that companies must file with the Securities and Exchange Commission in advance of the offering. One measure to consider, says Schuster, is float, or the percentage of a firms stock made available to the public. Companies that drum up demand for a very small number of shares can build momentum and shoot up quickly, but the result is an extremely volatile stock. Any IPO that makes less than 15% of its shares available should give investors pause, he says. Once a stock begins trading, pay attention to its first-day return. Companies that post negative returns on the first day are likely to carry negative momentum in the market, while companies that immediately skyrocket may have trouble living up to the hype. Schuster looks for first-day returns that fall between 0% and 65%. Would-be IPOs must disclose information about their revenues, and those with a proven track record tend to do best. From 1980 through 2016, firms with less than $100 million in annual sales posted an average three-year return (after the close of the first trading day) of 11.9%; those with more than $100 million returned 38.4%, according to Ritter. Companies that have demonstrated that they have a product or service that people are willing to pay for have, on average, been fairly valued by the market, he says. What to consider in 2019. Among companies rumored to be going public in 2019, there are a few that investors should keep an eye on. Smith cites Slack, eyeglass seller Warby Parker and online sportswear retailer Fanatics as potential IPO successes. These companies all appear to be growing sustainably, which means there is less risk associated with them, she says.
Ross Colvin

BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) - G20 member nations were still struggling to reach agreement on major issues including trade, migration and climate change as world leaders began arriving in the Argentine capital ahead of a summit starting on Friday.

This is not a good year for multilateralism, said a German government source about talks on a final statement that the leaders are due to issue at the end of their meeting on Saturday. The negotiations are very, very difficult, the official told Reuters.

The official offered no details on the points of dispute, but global trade tensions, fueled by President Donald Trumps launch of a trade war against China, are expected to dominate this years gathering of the Group of 20, an unwieldy club of the worlds industrialized countries.

Trumps skepticism that global warming is caused by human activity also raised questions about what the statement will say on the issue.

This years G20 gathering is expected to be one of the most consequential summits since the groups leaders first met in 2008 to plan how to contain the economic crisis.

Financial and commodities markets are closely watching the outcome of the summit, especially the planned meeting between Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping on Saturday.

A slowdown in the global economy will worsen if Trump presses ahead with plans to further increase tariffs on some $200 billion of Chinese imports to 25 percent, OECD Secretary General Angel Gurria told Reuters.

Gurria said the impact of existing U.S. trade tariffs of 10 percent on Chinese goods amounted to a loss of 0.2 percent of global gross domestic product by 2020.

If you jack the tariffs up to 25 percent and then others retaliate, the impact could go all the way up to almost 1 percent, he said.

Argentina, this years G20 president, has stressed the importance of the summit as a consensus-building forum. But the divisions have only highlighted how fractured the grouping has become on key global issues.

After 2-1/2 days of talks and very short nights, some two-thirds of the paragraphs have been okayed, said a G20 official involved in drafting the statement.

Now, trade, climate, migrants, refugees, multilateralism, steel - which are really the thorny issues - remain without agreement.

An Asian delegate told Reuters the closed-door discussions were moving very very slowly - so slowly that I think we will have to stay in this room past midnight, again.

Financial markets though are less concerned about the ability of the leaders to present a united front and more anxious about the outcome of key bilateral meetings. Wall Street edged lower on Thursday amid jitters over Trumps meeting with Xi.

Trump said on Thursday he was open to a trade deal with China but was not sure he wanted one.

I think were very close to doing something with China but I dont know that I want to do it, Trump told reporters.

Trumps hardline trade adviser, Peter Navarro, will attend the meeting between Trump and Xi, a source familiar with the situation told Reuters.

China, for its part, is hoping for positive results in resolving the trade dispute with the United States, the commerce ministry said on Thursday.

The United States has levied additional duties of between 10 percent and 25 percent on $250 billion of Chinese goods this year as punishment for what it calls Chinas unfair trade practices, with the 10 percent tariffs set to climb to 25 percent next year. China has responded with its own tariffs.

NO PUTIN MEETING

One leader Trump will not be seeing in a one-to-one meeting is Russian President Vladimir Putin. Trump on Thursday abruptly canceled their planned bilateral talks, citing Russias seizure of Ukrainian vessels.

Based on the fact that the ships and sailors have not been returned to Ukraine from Russia, I have decided it would be best for all parties concerned to cancel my previously scheduled meeting in Argentina with President Vladimir Putin, he tweeted.

Roughly an hour earlier, he had told reporters he would probably meet with Putin at the summit and said it was a very good time to have the meeting.

White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders told reporters on Air Force One that Trump made the decision not to meet Putin after speaking with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, White House chief of staff John Kelly and national security adviser John Bolton.

A Russian diplomatic source said afterwards that Trump and Putin still needed to meet to discuss the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) treaty. Trumps administration has accused Russia of non-compliance with the 31-year-old missile accord and warned it will pull out of the deal as a result. The Kremlin denies violating the pact.

We still have to discuss the INF. This is important. We still need a full scale meeting, the source told Reuters.

This years G20 summit is also grappling with how to handle the presence of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. Saudi Arabias de facto ruler arrived in Buenos Aires on Wednesday under a cloud of controversy over the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi in a Saudi consulate in Istanbul in October.

Argentine President Mauricio Macri said the allegations against the prince may be discussed during the G20 summit. Saudi Arabia has said he had no prior knowledge of the murder.

As the leaders arrived, Argentine security forces began locking down the central business district in Buenos Aires on Thursday. Streets and shops were noticeably emptier.

The government has declared Friday a national holiday and urged the capitals residents to leave to avoid travel chaos caused by the security lockdown. Major protests are also due on Friday.

Reporting by Andreas Rinke in Berlin, Jeff Mason, Roberta Rampton and Makini Brice in Washington, and Yawen Chen and Ryan Woo in Beijing and Cassandra Garrison, Daniel Flynn and Pablo Garibian in Buenos Aires; Writing by Ross Colvin; Editing by Frances Kerry and Alistair Bell
Roberta Rampton

ABOARD AIR FORCE ONE (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday abruptly canceled a planned meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Argentina, registering his disapproval of Russias treatment of Ukraine and casting new uncertainty over U.S.-Russian ties.

Trump said he pulled out due to tensions over Russian forces opening fire on Ukrainian navy boats and then seizing them and their crew on Sunday near Crimea, which Russia annexed from Ukraine in 2014.

His decision also comes as a federal investigation into his 2016 election campaigns ties to Russia is intensifying. Trumps former lawyer Michael Cohen pleaded guilty on Thursday to lying to Congress about a proposed Trump real estate project in Russia.

Based on the fact that the ships and sailors have not been returned to Ukraine from Russia, I have decided it would be best for all parties concerned to cancel my previously scheduled meeting in Argentina with President Vladimir Putin. I look forward to a meaningful Summit again as soon as this situation is resolved! Trump tweeted.

Trumps tweet, from aboard Air Force One shortly after takeoff from Washington on the way to Buenos Aires for a Group of 20 summit, was a sudden turnaround.

Roughly an hour earlier, he had told reporters he would probably meet with Putin at the summit and said it was a very good time to have the meeting.

Trumps cancellation marked a dramatic change in tone. In the past he has repeatedly stressed his desire for a warm relationship with Putin. When the two leaders met in Helsinki in July, Trump refused to criticize Putin and drew fire at home.

His announcement appeared to catch Moscow by surprise, with Russian officials getting their first news of it from the media.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told RIA news agency that the Kremlin regretted Trumps decision and said Russia is ready for contact with him.

A cancellation means that the discussion on key international issues is being postponed indefinitely, Peskov said.

Trump based his move on advice from senior advisers who have taken a harsher tone toward Russia than he has. He was briefed on Air Force One by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, White House chief of staff John Kelly and national security adviser John Bolton, White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders said.

Bolton has pushed for Trump to withdraw the United States from the Cold War-era Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces treaty over what U.S. officials called Moscows violation of it.

U.S. officials are watching with alarm the crisis surrounding Ukraine.

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko on Thursday accused Putin of wanting to annex his entire country and called for NATO to deploy warships to a sea shared by the two nations.

Holding talks with Putin now could represent bad optics for the White House at a time when the president is under scrutiny over prior plans to build a Trump Tower in Moscow.

Cohen pleaded guilty on Thursday to lying to Congress about the proposed Trump Organization skyscraper in Moscow, prompting Trump to lash out at Cohen as a liar and weak person.

Differences over Ukraine, as well as Moscows role in the civil war in Syria, have been an irritant in U.S.-Russian relations for years.

Democratic U.S. Senator Bob Menendez of New Jersey said Trump was missing an opportunity to redeem himself, stand up for American values, stand up for international law, stand up for our own national security interests, and he had that opportunity and instead hes abdicating it.

It is ironic that this President cannot find his spine to confront Vladimir Putin but can challenge the closest allies the United States has across the globe, Menendez said.

The administration of former President Barack Obama imposed sanctions on Russia for its annexation of Crimea from Ukraine in 2014. That in part brought ties between Washington and Moscow to their lowest point since the end of the Cold War.

Since then, the United States has investigated Russias possible interference in the 2016 election that Trump won. Russia has denied meddling and Trump has repeatedly said there was no collusion.

Russia seized three Ukrainian navy ships and their crews on Sunday near Crimea over what it said was their illegal entry into Russian waters, which Ukraine denies.

Some of Ukraines Western allies have raised the possibility of imposing new sanctions on Russia over the episode, which could deliver a blow to the Russian economy.

Kiev is aiming to gain Western support for more economic sanctions against Moscow, secure tangible Western military help, and rally opposition to a Russian gas pipeline that threatens to deprive Ukraine of important transit revenue.

Reporting by Roberta Rampton, Makini Brice, Steve Holland and Jeff Mason in Washington and Denis Pinchuk in Moscow; Writing by Steve Holland and Lisa Lambert; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Alistair Bell
MOSCOW (Reuters) - President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin need to meet to discuss the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) treaty, a Russian diplomatic source said on Thursday, after Trump abruptly canceled bilateral talks with Putin at this weeks G20 summit in Argentina. We still have to discuss the INF. This is important. We still need a full scale meeting, like one in Helsinki, the source told Reuters.

Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and may not reflect those of Kitco Metals Inc. The author has made every effort to ensure accuracy of information provided; however, neither Kitco Metals Inc. nor the author can guarantee such accuracy. This article is strictly for informational purposes only. It is not a solicitation to make any exchange in commodities, securities or other financial instruments. Kitco Metals Inc. and the author of this article do not accept culpability for losses and/ or damages arising from the use of this publication.
GENEVA (Reuters) - U.S. trade restrictions have hit a total of $369 billion of Chinese exports this year, much higher than the $278 billion of goods impacted by tariffs alone, a regular monitoring report of G20 trade restrictions said on Thursday.

The Global Trade Alert report, produced by Simon Evenett and Johannes Fritz at the University of St Gallen in Switzerland, said most media reports of U.S. President Donald Trumps trade policies focused on $278 billion of tariff increases.

However, this year has also seen $47 billion of Chinese good shipments to the United States targeted by other U.S. trade distortions. Furthermore, over $43 billion of Chinese exports have been caught up in other U.S. trade distortions that affect multiple countries, the report said.

In fact a total of $369 billion of Chinese exports have faced new US trade distortions this year. Once the full range of U.S. trade distortions is taken into account, a third more Chinese exports are implicated in this years trade war.

At the same time, Chinese tariff retaliation affected $87.5 billion of U.S. goods exports this year.

Taking into account both sides, the scale of the trade war is 20 percent larger than commonly reported, the report said.

Global Trade Alert has cataloged global trade policies since 2009 to gauge trends in protectionism, following a pledge by the G20 group of countries in November 2008 not to resort to trade protectionism as a response to the financial crisis.

In 2017, 70 percent of Chinese exports to the United States and U.S. exports to China faced some kind of trade barrier. Following this years escalation, 87 percent of Chinese exports and 92 percent of U.S. exports are affected.

But still, the tension between Washington and Beijing accounted for only a small proportion of the total new trade restrictions imposed by G20 countries this year.

Trade hit by tariff hikes on Sino-U.S. commerce amounts to just 22 percent of global trade hit this year by import distortions, the report said.

Reporting by Tom Miles; Editing by Matthew Mpoke Bigg
(Updates with closing prices)* Zinc backwardation touches 20-year high* GRAPHIC-2018 asset returns: By Zandi Shabalala LONDON, Nov 30 (Reuters) - Copper prices steadied on Friday ahead of a meeting of global leaders at the G20 summit, where a long-standing trade dispute between China and the United States is expected to take centre stage. Tit-for-tat trade tariffs have rattled global markets and sapped demand for base metals, in some cases overriding supportive factors such as falling stocks. "The market is, to a great extent, discounting the chance of a breakthrough in talks between the U.S. and China over the weekend," said Commerzbank's head of commodities research Eugen Weinberg, adding that Chinese data added to the general lacklustre performance of metals on Friday. China's official Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) fell to a 2016 low of 50 in November, missing market expectations and down from 50.2 in October. Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange (LME) closed 0.2 percent down at $6,198 a tonne, ending barely changed on the week. Aluminium finished 0.9 percent up at $1,958.

TRADE DEAL: U.S. President Donald Trump, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Mexico President Enrique Pena Nieto signed a new trade agreement on Friday known as the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA). CHALCO SUPPLY CUTS: Aluminum Corp of China (Chalco) is cutting 470,000 tonnes of annual output, it said on Friday as Chinese aluminium prices sank to a two-year low. ALUMINIUM: Norwegian metals company Norsk Hydro expects global primary aluminium demand growth to slow next year and says it is being hit hard by a production slowdown at a key alumina plant in Brazil. ZINC SPREADS: Falling stocks pushed the premium for cash zinc over the three month price to $101 a tonne, its highest since 1998. STOCKS: Inventories of zinc in LME-monitored warehouses are close to a 10-year low of 88,600 tonnes. In warehouses monitored by ShFE, zinc stocks fell 25 percent from last Friday to 26,779 tonnes. CODELCO: Chile's Codelco, the world's largest copper producer, said mine output fell 3 percent in the first nine months of the year as ore grades fell sharply. STEEL: The United States is moving to moderate its steel trade tariffs but countries in Europe and beyond are wary of reducing protection for their steelmakers while U.S.-China trade tensions prevail. OTHER METALS: Zinc ended at a one-week high of $2,542 a tonne, up 2.9 percent, while lead finished 2.1 percent up at $1,970. Tin fell 0.7 percent to $18,400 and nickel gained 1.3 percent to $11,200. <^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Top Base and Precious Metals Analysis - GFMS ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^> (Additional reporting by Tom Daly Editing by Louise Heavens and David Goodman)

zandi.shabalala.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))LME price overview COMEX copper futures Base metals news All metals news All commodities news Metals diary Foreign exchange rates SPEED GUIDES ))
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, November 30)  President Rodrigo Duterte decided to skip the official commemoration of the 155th birth anniversary of revolutionary hero Andres Bonifacio on Friday.

He was scheduled to attend the flag-raising and wreath-laying ceremonies at the Bonifacio monument in Caloocan on Friday afternoon.

Presidential spokesperson Salvador Panelo said Duterte had to "fly to Mindanao to attend to the problem of insurgency." The government has claimed terrorism still lurks in Mindanao.

However, Armed Forces of the Philippines Chief Carlito Galvez said he was not aware of the said situation.

Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea, who attended on his behalf, said the President was in Davao City at the time. Medialdea said Duterte's absence was linked to recent incidents involving the group of former solon Satur Ocampo.

"Andoon lang siya sa area just to attend to it, see to it what's really happening," Medialdea told reporters Friday.

"Hindi naman dahil si Satur (Ocampo) ang involved, iba 'to eh. As I said, bata ang involved dito and it's something to look at."

[Translation: He (the President) is just in the area just to attend to it, see to it what's really happening. It's not because Satur was involved, this one's different. As I said, minors are involved here and it's something to look at.]

Satur Ocampo, former Bayan Muna House Representative, and 18 others were charged for illegally holding minors and transporting 14 children from Davao del Norte to an unknown location.

The country's chief executive was not able to attend the said ceremonies for the third consecutive year.

During the event, Medialdea was assisted by officials from the National Historical Commission of the Philippines and Caloocan City Representative Edgar Erice, Mayor Oscar Malapitan and Bonifacio family's representative, Ron Paulo Bonifacio.

CNN Philippines Correspondent Triciah Terada contributed to this report.
President Moon Jae-in and first lady Kim Jung-sook walk toward a car after arriving at the Vaclav Havel Airport Prague in the Czech Republic for a two-day visit, Wednesday (KST). Yonhap



By Kim Yoo-chul



PRAGUE  President Moon Jae-in asked the Czech Republic Prime Minister Andrej Babis to support a South Korean firm's bid to build a nuclear power plant in the European country, Wednesday (KST).

The nuclear project was a key topic at Moon's meeting with Babis, presidential aides said. Moon arrived here early Wednesday en route to Buenos Aires to participate in the G20 summit later this week.

"Moon delivered his hope for Korea Hydro and Nuclear Power Co's (KHNP) bid to win a nuclear reactor deal in the central European country," an aide said on condition of anonymity.

Moon previously promised to provide assistance to KHNP as the government has come under pressure to help domestic nuclear reactor suppliers remain internationally competitive in its plan to gradually phase out its nuclear reactors.













President Moon Jae-in, right, and first lady Kim Jung-sook pray at St. Vitus Cathedral in Prague, Czech Republic, Wednesday. Yonhap President Moon visits St. Vitus Cathedral in Prague, Czech Republic, Wednesday. Yonhap



The Czech Republic is considering lots of options on nuclear energy after the country's main nuclear reactors slowly approach the end of their lifespan. Whether and how to finance their replacement is being discussed by the Czech government and the country's state-owned energy group CEZ.

The aide said Moon remained "low-key" on the matter due to growing criticism about his "nuclear reactor sales diplomacy" from politicians in South Korea and the ongoing debate on the specifics of new nuclear reactor projects, here.





President Moon speaks to the Czech Republic Prime Minister Andrej Babis during the two countrires' summit at Hilton Prague Hotel, Nov, 28. Yonhap



"Once the details of new nuclear projects are fixed, then the Czech government will initiate its bidding process. South Korea is ready to help KHNP; however, it's too early to help the firm," the aide said.

Given the huge costs of building new reactors, CEZ's leadership has been reluctant to embark on such a project without state guarantees, as minority shareholders are opposed to the idea of CEZ building new nuclear plants on its own, as they fear it will hit their dividend payments. This will be one of the most expensive decisions facing Babis' government, according to foreign media reports.

Building new reactors would cost at least $6 billion. Currently there are six interested companies and consortia on including ones from China, Russia, France and the United States.





President Moon greets officials who accompanied the Czech Republic leader ahead of the summit. Yonhap



Cheong Wa Dae said Moon and Babis discussed new growth opportunities in emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence and the internet of things.

Babis was also briefed on the current status of the ongoing denuclearization process and appreciated the South's efforts to promote peace.

After the summit with Babis, Moon met with South Koreans living in the Czech Republic to urge them to continue being a bridge between the two countries.
A train bound from South Korea heads to Jejin Station in Goseong County in Gangwon Province in May 2007 after passing the military demarcation line that divides South and North Korea during a test of the connecting section between Gyeongui Line and Donghae Line. Yonhap



By Donald Kirk




Welcome Nature Republic: Coin Department Store celebrates Nature Republic's store opening on its website.



By Park Si-soo



Nature Republic has opened four pop-up stores in Italy, making it the first Korean cosmetics brand to enter the beauty/fashion-sensitive European country.



The stores are in the Coin Department Store in Rome, Milan, Turin and Bari. Coin is Italy's biggest department store chain. For Nature Republic to get into the network means that the Italian retail giant has recognized the quality of the company's products and its growth potential in Italy.



Italy is Nature Republic's 19th overseas market where it runs stores, after the United States, China, Indonesia and Saudi Arabia, just to name a few. Officials said the company is committed to expanding its overseas business continuously.



"We spent two years preparing for the European market," a Nature Republic official said. "Italians are known to have high loyalty to their own culture and products. Also, the competition is very intense in the cosmetic industry as global brands are jockeying for position in Italy, which is considered one of the major trend-setters in the European beauty market. So it took time for us to study the market and customers thoroughly."



Nature Republic has so far cleared 80 products through the European Union's strict pre-sale quality/safety checks and registered them at the Cosmetic Products Notification Portal (CPNP), an online notification system created for the implementation of Regulation (EC) No 1223/2009 on cosmetic products. When a product has been notified under the CPNP, there is no need for any further notification at a national level within the EU.



The registered items include the company's signature products such as Ginseng Royal Silk Watery Cream, Soothing & Moisture Aloe Vera 92% Soothing Gel, Super Aqua Max Watery Cream and Real Nature Hydrogel Mask.



"We are trying to get more products registered in the CPNP," the official said.





Customers at Nature Republic's store in Turin. Nature Republic stores are decorated with real plants, which symbolize the company's pursuit of being eco-friendly.





The front page of Nature Republic's Italian website.





VIPs and local reporters browse the Turin store in a pre-opening promotional event.



Coin Department Store has expressed high expectations for Nature Republic.



The retailer welcomed Nature Republic by flashing out its logo and products on its website 's front page under the title "NATURE REPUBLIC ARRIVA IN ITALIA."



Nature Republic recently invited local media and VIPs to the Turin store and received positive feedback.



"I have caught up with K-beauty with big interest by watching YouTube channels about Korean cosmetic products," said Carolina, 39, an Italian customer. "I was surprised when I first saw a Nature Republic store in Italy. I was able to apply products that I saw on YouTube and then was surprised again by their quality, which never falls behind that of other global brands."



Another customer, Alessandra, 35, echoed the view.



"I've heard Nature Republic is a marquee K-beauty brand," she said. "So when I heard that it had opened stores in Italy, my first thought was 'I should go there.' I tried some of the products on display and could understand why its products are beloved internationally."



Alessandra said Soothing & Moisture Aloe Vera 92% Soothing Gel and Ginseng Royal Silk Watery Cream are her "can't-miss" products.



Nature Republic will appeal to Italian customers with localized marketing campaigns. In the first step, it recently opened an Italian website offering information about the brand's philosophy and products.



"The Italian stores' opening will play an important role in promoting K-beauty in Europe," a Nature Republic official said. "We are posting a good performance in the overseas markets we are in and are trying to improve performance by diversifying business."





Nature Republic's "Journey to Nature" map is visible on the glass wall of the Milan store.




Kendallville, IN (46755)

Today

Snow this evening will give way to lingering snow showers late. Low near 25F. Winds NW at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of snow 90%. Snow accumulations less than one inch..

Tonight

Snow this evening will give way to lingering snow showers late. Low near 25F. Winds NW at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of snow 90%. Snow accumulations less than one inch.
Angola, IN (46703)

Today

Snow this evening will give way to lingering snow showers late. Low near 25F. Winds NW at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of snow 70%. Snow accumulations less than one inch..

Tonight

Snow this evening will give way to lingering snow showers late. Low near 25F. Winds NW at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of snow 70%. Snow accumulations less than one inch.
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Budapest, Nov 29 (AFP) The Hungarian government said Thursday it will spend 1.5 million euros (USD 1.7 million) every year on various projects to combat anti-Semitism.

Nationalist Prime Minister Viktor Orban's government has been accused of fostering anti-Semitic sentiment through a virulent campaign against Hungarian-born liberal US billionaire George Soros, who is Jewish.

Orban vehemently denies any anti-Semitism and has pointed to his close relationship with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu -- who has also criticised Soros -- as proof of his good relations with the Jewish community.

The money will go towards supporting a Hungarian Jewish organisation, the Action and Protection League of Europe (APLE), according to government spokesman Zoltan Kovacs.

It will help the organisation fund various projects across Europe, including education programmes and a hotline to report anti-Semitic incidents.

APLE will also open an office in Brussels "to make its voice heard" at European institutions, Kovacs said.

Orban says Soros' Jewish identity does not preclude him from criticism and accuses him of plotting to increase migration to Europe -- a charge which Soros denies.

Some of the huge billboards used by the government in its 2017 poster campaign against Soros were daubed with anti-Semitic graffiti.

Hungary's largest Jewish organisation Maszihisz branded that campaign "toxic" and called for it to be scrapped.

In a blog post on Thursday, Kovacs stressed the government's "zero tolerance" approach to anti-Semitism and pointed to several measures it had taken to foster Jewish life, including devoting resources to the reconstruction of synagogues and Jewish cemeteries.

According to a Europe-wide poll of anti-Semitic attitudes commissioned by broadcaster CNN and published earlier this week, 42 percent of Hungarians think Jews have too much influence in finance and business across the world and 19 percent admit to having an unfavourable opinion of Jews.

However, according to the World Jewish Congress, Hungary's Jewish community -- Central Europe's largest -- faces only "occasional anti-Semitic incidents" and has "every facility" to express its heritage and religious life.

Concerns have also been raised about the way the government has dealt with Hungary's history during the Holocaust.

Acclaimed Hungarian-born Holocaust historian Randolph L Braham -- who died last week -- returned a state honour in 2014, accusing Orban's government of minimising Hungary's role in the deportation of hundreds of thousands of Hungarian Jews to Nazi death camps. (AFP) KUN

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Male [Maldives], Nov 30 (ANI): The Maldives Government has strongly denied media reports which stated that India had offered USD 1 billion to Maldives in exchange for the deployment of Indian troops in the island nation.

The Minister for Foreign Affairs Abdulla Shahid said that the Maldivian territory would not be used for the establishment of any foreign military bases.

Taking to Twitter, Shahid said, "Categorically refute media reports alleging that government is planning to allow the establishment of an Indian military base in Maldives in exchange for financial assistance or other material benefits. It is baseless and aimed at discrediting the government as it starts to rebuild good relations with its neighbours and the rest of the international community."

"Government assures the people, that it will always act in the national interest of Maldives and will not undertake any international engagement that will compromise the sovereignty and independence of the country," he added.

Shahid was reacting to a news article published in a Japanese Daily, NIKKIE Asian Review, which stated that India offered Maldives USD 1 billion in exchange for stronger security ties.

Abdullah Shahid was recently on an official visit to New Delhi, where he met top leaders including his counterpart Sushma Swaraj and Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.

He described India as time-tested and a trusted partner. He showed commitment to strengthen bilateral trade ties between the two countries.

The Foreign Minister, however, mentioned that his country will closely work with all of its neighbours and the international community. He also called China as a friend and one of the largest economies of the world whose assistance had benefited Maldives.

New Maldives President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih is scheduled to visit India on December 17 in keeping with his 'India-First' policy. (ANI)

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Bratislava [Slovakia], Nov 30(ANI): Foreign Minister of Slovakia Miroslav Lajcak resigned from his post here on Thursday in response to the rejection of the United Nations Global Pact on migration by his country's Parliament.

According to Sputnik, the move came few days after Slovakia's parliament voted against the non-binding agreement outlining an international response to migration. Other countries such as Austria, the Czech Republic, Bulgaria, Hungary, and Poland also refused to sign the pact.

90 members of Parliament in the 150-seat National Council of Slovakia voted against the UN migration pact, as they were concerned about the limits it could result in for maintaining an independent migration policy, Sputnik reported.

The Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration is an "intergovernmental negotiated agreement, prepared under the auspices of the United Nations, [that covers] all dimensions of international migration in a holistic and comprehensive manner".

The pact does not allow any country with sovereign rights to decide whom to accept within its territory. It does not even distinguish between legal and illegal migration.

In a response to the 2015 European migration crisis, all members of the United Nations except for the United States this year in July approved the migration pact, aiming to secure the growing tide of international migration. (ANI)

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Dubai, Nov 30 (AFP) Yemen's Huthi rebels have said they will attend UN-brokered peace talks next week in Sweden if guarantees to ensure they can leave home and return back are maintained.

"I think that the national (Huthi) delegation will be in Sweden God willing on December 3 if guarantees remain to ensure they can depart and return," Mohammed Ali al-Huthi said on Twitter on Thursday.

Huthi, who heads the rebels' Higher Revolutionary Committee, said there should also be "positive indications on the importance of peace from the other side".

His remarks offered the first clear indication that the Iran-linked Huthis will attend the UN-brokered peace talks, although in past days they have said they supported the negotiations.

It was also the first time that a key player in the Yemen war specified a date for the talks which the United Nations has said it would begin in early December in Sweden.

In September, a previous round of UN-led peace talks failed when the Huthis refused to travel to Geneva, accusing the world body of failing to guarantee their delegation's return to Sanaa or secure the evacuation of wounded rebels to Oman.

Previous talks broke down in 2016, when 108 days of negotiations in Kuwait failed to yield a deal and left rebel delegates stranded in Oman for three months.

The Huthi's top political leader Mahdi al-Mashat confirmed in a statement published by the rebels' news agency later Thursday that their negotiating team was ready to head to Sweden.

He called for a reduction in hostilities ahead of the talks and said rebels were exercising "high levels of self-restraint".

Yemen's internationally recognised government, which is also backed by a Saudi-led military coalition, has already said it would attend the planned talks in Sweden.

President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi in a statement to mark Yemen's Independence Day insisted the government was committed to peace and not "calling for war".

Despite the latest calls for peace, both government and rebel media reported ongoing clashes across the country.

UN envoy Martin Griffiths has held talks separately in the past few days with officials from both sides as part of efforts to lay the ground work for the peace talks.

He met Huthi in the rebel-held Yemeni capital Sanaa and had talks with Yemeni officials in Saudi Arabia's capital Riyadh.

According to UN figures, nearly 10,000 people have been killed since the coalition joined the conflict in 2015 to bolster Hadi, triggering what the UN calls the world's worst humanitarian crisis.

Rights groups fear the actual toll is far higher. (AFP) GVS

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Mumbai, November 30: In a rare incident, a 22-year-old woman was arrested under the POCSO Act on charges of sexually assaulting a 17-year-old boy. According to a Times of India report, the accused claimed that they got married last year, and the relationship was consensual. They have a five-month-old daughter from the relationship. #MeToo in India: 9 Out of 10 Complaints of Sexual Harassment Are True, Why its Difficult to Frame False Cases.

A police complaint was filed by the boy's mother, who alleged that the woman had 'enticed' her son. Several charges have been slapped against her, from POCSO, kidnapping and criminal intimidation as well as the Child Marriage Act. The marriageable age for boys under the Marriage Act is 21 years of age and for girls, it is 18 years.

The mother of the boy claimed that his son's wife used to constantly abused all of them and threatened to harm herself. She even threatened to commit suicide if the boy at any point decided to end the relationship. The mother has further alleged that none of the family members approved the relationship, but the woman claimed that she had married her son, and would, therefore, reside in the house. In the bail plea submitted by the woman, she said that there was no criminal motive, they were only in a relationship. She further pointed out an anomaly in the age gap between her 'husband' and his 'older sister'.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Nov 30, 2018 10:27 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).
New Delhi, November 30: In an attempt to show their unity against the central government, various opposition leaders including Congress President Rahul Gandhi, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and National Conference chief Farooq Abdullah have joined the farmers protest at Jantar Mantar on Friday. Speaking at the protest, Gandhi hit out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The Congress chief said, Modi ji had promised MSP will be increased, PM promised bonus, but look at the situation right now, empty speeches are being given and nothing else.

He further added, If the loans of industrialists can be waived off, then the debt of farmers must be waived off as well. I assure the farmers of India, we are with you, don't feel afraid. Check here for live updates of farmer's protest:

Congress president Rahul Gandhi at farmers protest:

Earlier in the day, Communist Party of India - Marxist (CPI-M) Sitaram Yechury also slammed the Prime Minister for not been able to fulfil the demands of the farmers of the country. While speaking at the protest, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Modi and Rashtriya Sawamsewak Sangh (RSS) have only one weapon in hand that is Ram Temple. As the elections are approaching, they have started chanting Ram Ram.

Farmers' Protest at Jantar Mantar:

Yesterday, farmers from various states gathered at the Ramlila Maidan in New Delhi and started their march towards Sansad Marg (Parliament Street) on Friday morning. The two-day protest by the farmers is to make the Union government aware of the plight of ailing farmers in the nations. The protest march is organised by All India Kisan Sangharsh Coordination Committee (AIKSCC), All India Kisan Sabha (AIKS), Swaraj Abhiyan and various other organisations. The farmers are demanding a special 21-day session of the Parliament on the agrarian crisis.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Nov 30, 2018 04:56 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).
Mumbai, November 30: With the current decrease in the crude oil prices, the fuel rates recorded lowest in months on Friday. The price for petrol dipped by 33 paise in the national capital and in Mumbai it was decreased by 32 paise. Due to this, the current price of petrol in New Delhi on Friday reached to Rs 73.24 per litre, while for Mumbai it was being sold at Rs 78.80 per litre, according to the Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) data.

There was also reduction of prices in diesel as well in both the metros. In the national capital, the price of diesel was slashed by 41 paise and for Mumbai the price dipped by 44 paise. With this, the price for diesel in the national capital reached to Rs 67.72 per litre and for Mumbai it was Rs 70.89 per litre. '28% GST + VAT' if Petrol, Diesel Brought Under Goods & Services Tax Regime: Report

Not only in Delhi and Mumbai, the prices were slashed in Chennai and Kolkata as well. The price of petrol decreased by 39 paise in Chennai and is being sold at Rs 75.62 per litre. In Kolkata, the price dipped by 36 paise and it is being sold at Rs 74.88 per litre.

There was also a decrease in the price of diesel in these cities. In The price of diesel decreased by 43 paise, while for Kolkata it dipped by 41 paise. Due to the current reduction in price, the diesel being sold in Chennai at Rs 71.52 per litre and in Kolkata it is sold at Rs 69.57 per litre.

With these deductions, the prices of fuel reached to the lowest in months, giving respite to the consumers. Months ago, the petrol price in Mumbai had crossed Rs 90 per litre, while diesel almost touched Rs 80 per litre.

Intervening in the matter to bring down the prices, Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley had announced a reduction of Rs 2.50 per litre on both petrol and diesel prices a month ago and requested the state government to take adequate measures for peoples convenience.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Nov 30, 2018 09:19 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).
Hyderabad, November 30: Actor-turned politician Pawan Kalyan on Friday said that Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu will lose Assembly elections in 2019 and opined that it will be a hung Assembly. He also stated that his party will play a pivotal role in the polls.

Speaking with The Hindustan Times, Kalyan said, I am sure CBN (Chandrababu Naidu) will lose the assembly election in 2019. He has lost his grip over the administration and over his own Telugu Desam Party (TDP) MLAs, his popularity is fast shrinking, (his is) a government bogged down in corruption. Chandrababu Naidu Declares Assets Again, Properties Owned by '3-Year-Old Grandson' Rise Six Times

Expressing his views while before undertaking a bus journey to areas inhabited by tribespeople, he said, The period between 2019 and 2021 will witness a sea change in Indian polity, which includes Andhra Pradesh. The leaders in power, representing the kind of politics in the early 1980s, are failing to address the aspirations of todays young generation. They have become senile and people are craving the infusion of new blood in politics.

Adding more , he said that he will not make an alliance with any party in the state, whether it be YS Jaganmohan Reddys YSR Congress or Congress. Instead, he stated that to pursue a middle path, away from the ruling TDP and the YSR Congress.

Asked the reason for separating from TDP, he said that Naidu failed to fulfil the 2014 poll promise of corruption-free governance. He said, This is the reason why I got alienated from him after supporting him in the last election.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Nov 30, 2018 05:22 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).
Geneva, November 30: Two-thirds of all children in Central African Republic need emergency aid, the UN said Friday, sounding an alarm about the impoverished country's worsening "neglected" crisis.

Some 1.5 million children nationwide are in need of humanitarian assistance, an increase of 300,000 compared with 2016, the United Nations children's agency UNICEF said in a new report.

The agency's top representative in the country, Christine Muhigana, told reporters in Geneva that the situation in CAR is "probably even worse" than during the country's sectarian conflict of 2013. NRI from South Africa Gang Raped in Mathura, Two Arrested.

That year, longtime leader Francois Bozize, a Christian, was overthrown by a predominantly Muslim rebel alliance called the Seleka. Much of the country, roughly the size of France, is now controlled by rival militia groups. "What we are trying to do under these extraordinary circumstances is to keep children alive," Muhigana said.

Beyond those in need of aid, UNICEF said that one in four children are either internally displaced or have fled the country as refugees. Responding to those in need has also become increasingly difficult as attacks on aid workers in CAR have quadrupled this year.

CAR recorded 67 attacks targeting aid workers through all of 2017, compared with 294 such incidents in the first eight-and-a-half months of this year, according to UNICEF.

Muhigana called the emergency in CAR "one of the most neglected" in the world. UNICEF's warning follows a horrific spate of violence in the central region of Alindao.

The archbishop of the capital Bangui, Cardinal Dieudonne Nzapalainga, said this week that atrocities since November 15 have included the immolation of children and the elderly. An internal UN report last week put the death toll at at least 60 after clashes between Christian militiamen, known as anti-Balaka, and the Muslim militia Union for Peace in CAR (UPC).
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on his arrival to Buenos Aires for G20 Leaders' Summit 2018 | (Photo Credits: Getty Images)

Buenos Aires, November 29: Ahead of the G20 summit in Argentina, where world leaders will be gathering to take part in the event, Google search trends have thrown some interesting results. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is the second most searched leader on the search engine after US President Donald Trump. Also, South America region, which is hosting the event, is the region most interested in the G20 searches, show search results. PM Narendra Modi Reaches Argentina's Buenos Aires To Attend G20 Summit.

However, there is a huge gap in the percentage search for the leaders. While Donald Trump sits at the top of the search list with 61 percent people searching about him, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is second on the list with 18 percent searches. French President Emmanuel Macron is third with 12 percent votes, followed by Russian President Vladimir Putin. British Prime Minister Theresa May is fifth on the list, with 3 per cent searches. Donald Trump Heads for G20 Summit, Keen on Trade Talks With China.

The most searched leaders ahead of G20 Summit (Image credit: Twitter/GoogleTrends)

Meanwhile, there are several questions about the G20 Summit that people are searching on the internet. Here are some of the top searched questions and the answers to them:

Most searched G20 Summit questions (Image credit: Google Search)

When is the G20 Summit?

The G20 Summit 2018 will be taking place from November 30 to December 1.

What is G20 Summit 2018?

The G20 Summit 2018 is the 13th meeting of Group of Twenty (G20) countries where the leaders of these nations will come together to discuss important global issues. This year, leaders would be discussing - the future of work, infrastructure for development and a sustainable food future. There will also be a focus on the regulation of crypto-currencies at the Summit this year.

What does G20 stand for?

G20 stands for 'Group of 20'.

Where is the G20 meeting?

The G20 meeting this year is taking place at Buenos Aires in Argentina

Who are the G20 countries?

The G20 countries are - Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Republic of Korea, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Turkey, the United Kingdom, the United States and the European Union.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has reached Buenos Aires in Argentina to attend the 13th edition of G20 Summit. PM Modi is expected to meet the United States President Donald Trump, Japanese Prime Minister Abe Shinzo for a trilateral meet on the sidelines of the summit. The trilateral meet between India, the US and Japan is an expansion of the bilateral talks between Trump and Abe.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Nov 30, 2018 10:23 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).
he Singapore, November 30: A maid in Singapore committed the heinous crime of sexually assaulting her employer's underage son, and threatened the child that she had recorded a video of them engaging in sexual activities. According to a Straits Times report, the Indian-origin woman threatened to show the clip to the minor's parents whenever they argued. Mumbai Woman Who Married 17-Year-Old Boy Arrested for Sexual Assault.

The report mentions that at the time of the crime, the boy was aged between 11 and 12 years old. The accused was sentenced to one year and six months in jail. The maid, worked for the family between January 2015 and July 2016. According to the report, she would call him to the kitchen and asked him to kiss her lips. The boy complied out of curiosity.

However, soon things went out of control, and the woman used to blackmail him frequently. The minor finally decided to tell his father about the incident, when the maid was about to hit him. The woman is out on bail, and the Defence lawyers have claimed that the boy made up the story to hide his own acts.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Nov 30, 2018 02:26 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).
- A report by Global Witness has revealed how Nigeria was defrauded $6 billion from an oil deal that involved two oil companies, Shell and Eni

- The report also claimed that apart from the oil companies involved, former president Goodluck Jonathan, and a former minister of oil, Dan Etete, were not spared

- Pressure has been mounted on Nigeria to terminate the oil deal with the oil companies currently facing corruption trial in Italian court

A report from a foreign organisation, Global Witness, has revealed another big case of illegal oil deal worth $6 billion and perpetrated in Nigeria under the watch of the past administration, BBC reports.

Legit.ng gathers that the revelation of the illegal oil came to public consciousness following a move by a Milan court to place charges of corruption on Eni and Shell, the two oil companies allegedly involved in the deal in which Nigeria lost billion of dollar to fraud and corruption.

Earlier, Global Witness, a campaign organisation, said it has calculated the OPL 245 deal in 2011 and discovered that Nigeria was deprived double of its annual education and healthcare budget.

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The oil scandal, which is in the court of law, was reported to have involved a formal president of Nigeria, Goodluck Jonathan, former MI6 officers, former senior executives at Eni and Shell oil companies. The two companies have, however, denied any wrongdoing in their involvement.

The report also has it that the alleged scandal also involved a former minister of oil in Nigeria, Dan Etete, who is standing trial in a French court for awarding ownership of OPL 245 to a company he secretly controlled, using the illegal oil fund to buy himself speed a boat and chateau.

The court in Milan is weighing evidence of how a former Nigerian oil minister, Dan Etete, also allegedly bribed former president Goodluck Ebele Jonathan to cover the fraud.

Shedding light on the role of Global Witness in the uncovering, the report also indicated that the group has spent years investigating the oil deal which gave Shell and Eni the rights to explore OPL 245, an offshore oil field in the Niger Delta area of Nigeria, which contained billion barrels of oil.

It also noted that Global witness, after its investigative analysis, discovered that Nigeria might have lost, over the lifetime of the project, an amount estimated to be $5.86 billion, what was against the terms and agreement put in place before 2011.

Global Witness concluded that Nigeria has lost big share of what should have been her profit from the deal to the two reputable oil companies.

In a reaction, calls have been coming for Nigeria to terminate the deal, which was described as a sheer act of corruption and betray of trust.

Ava Lee, a campaigner at Global Witness, expressed shocked over the report, wondering why the large percentage of the Nigeria population is impoverished despite the available oil resources.

She said: "We discovered that Shell had constructed a deal that cut Nigeria out of their share of profit oil from the block.

"This amount of money would be enough to educate six million teachers in Nigeria.

"It really can't be underestimated just how big a deal this could be for a country that right now has the highest rates of extreme poverty in the world.

"Looking at the emails, it seems that Shell knew that the deal they were constructing was misleading but they went ahead with it anyway even though a number of Nigerian officials raised concerns about this scandalous, scandalous deal."

One of the campaigners against the deal, Olanrewaju Suraju from HEDA, urged President Buhari to terminate the oil deal.

He said: "President Buhari should reject any deal. The Italian government is discouraging Nigerian migrants trying to reach Italy by claiming that it will help them at home, but Italy's biggest multi-national, part owned by the state, is accused of scamming billions from the Nigerian people."

The case is regarded as one of the biggest corruption cases on global watch.

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Meanwhile, Legit.ng previously reported that former president Goodluck Jonathan had told President Buhari to take his fight to the Transparency International (IT), rather than him, following a statement made by the presidency refuting the ex-president's corruption claim.

GEJ's reaction to Garba Shehu's response dated Thursday, November 22, was contained in a long release from his media office and signed by Jonathan's media spokesperson, Reno Omokri.

Legit.ng earlier reported that the former president had boasted in his book, My Transition Hours, that corruption was not as rampant during his administration when compared to the administration. The claim was later refuted by the presidency.

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Top 5 the Richest People of Nigeria: The Luxury of Corruption | Legit TV

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- Soldiers have stormed Rivers state camp where recruits of the state neighbourhood watch undergo training

- The new recruits who are about 3,000 were dispersed by the soldiers

- Recruitment of the neighbourhood watch has been a subject of controversy between the APC and the PDP

The Joint Military Task Force on Thursday, November 29, stormed the training camp of about 3,000 new recruits of controversial Rivers state neighborhood and safety watch at Nonwa, Tai local government area of the state.

Legit.ng reporter in Port Harcourt, Tony Ihunwo, reports that eyewitness account said some soldiers who drove into the camp, which is also used by the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), asked the new recruits to vacate the camp immediately.

It would be recalled that the controversial civilian outfit though backed by the Rivers state House of Assembly has been a subject of litigation at court, debates, accusations and counter accusations between the members of the two major political parties - the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the state.

Soldiers reportedly storm camp, disperse recruits of Rivers neighborhood watch. Credit: Tony Ihunwo

Source: Depositphotos

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Reacting to the sacking of the trainees at Nonwa by the soldiers, Chizi Anyi, a lawyer and chieftain of APC and one of the litigants who dragged the state government to court challenging the setting up of the neighbourhood watch, thankedd security agencies for doing the needful.

He said: "It is contemptuous for the state government to go ahead with the recruitment and training of the controversial outfit even when the case challenging it existence and legality is still in court. The government should have waited for the court's decision before going. I thank the security agencies for doing what is needful," Chizi said.

It was gathered that a similar effort by the Cross River state government led by Prof. Ben Ayade, known as Green Police was also disbanded by the Inspector General of Police, Ibrahim Idris.

Our regional reporter Tony Ihunwo recalls that the Rivers neighbourhood watch had applied to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to be accredited to be part of security outfits to monitor future elections in state but was turned down because the INEC in the state said it lacked powers to grant that request and referred to INEC headquarters.

In a statement issued on Thursday, November 29, the deputy director Army public relations, Aminu Iliyasu, said: "Troops of 6 Division Nigerian Army (NA) today the 29th November 2018 while on a routine surveillance at Nonwa Gbam, (NYSC Orientation Camp) in Tai Local Government Area (LGA) of Rivers state, discovered an illegal militia training camp. The troops met over 100 recruits undergoing military type of training.

"Preliminary investigations into the discovery has commenced in conjunction with sister security agencies in the state to fish out the sponsors of the militia and the training camp.

"Recall that similar illegal militia training camps were discovered and disbanded in Benue and Taraba states earlier in the year and measures were promptly taken to forestall breach of security and safety of citizens."

Soldiers reportedly storm camp, disperse recruits of Rivers neighborhood watch. Tony Ihunwo

Source: Depositphotos

Meanwhile, Legit.ng had previously reported that a military source said that the Nigerian Army reportedly replaced Texas Chukwu as its spokesman.

READ ALSO: Breaking: Amosuns candidate, 3 other rep members defect to other parties

It was reported that Chukwus removal followed outcry from different quarters on his inability to manage information on the counter-insurgency campaign.

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Between Buharis Next Level And Atikulate - Nigerians React - on Legit TV

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President Muhammadu Buhari, on Thursday, November 29, arrived from NDjamena, Chad, where he reportedly renewed call for quick interventions and measures to curb the menace of Boko Haram insurgency in the Lake Chad Basin.

Femi Adesina, the spokesperson of the president, said in a statement in Abuja that Buhari made the appeal at a one-day consultation with heads of state and governments of the Lake Chad Basin Commission (LCBC).

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Adesina said the meeting was called to address the recent upsurge in terrorist activities in the region, and the Nigerian leader rallied his colleagues from Chad, Niger Republic and Republic of Cameroon to a fresh onslaught against insurgents, particularly the Boko Haram group.

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As you are aware and have witnessed in recent times, there are new developments of security concern in our sub-region.

The region in the recent past has witnessed increasing attacks, particularly on military formations by elements of the Boko Haram terrorists as well as the renewed kidnapping of people.

These activities are aimed at weakening our collective resolve to eradicate them from the region. We must not cave in.

The groups renewed strategy of increasingly mining the general area as well as its recent deployment of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) for surveillance activities have proved to be critical factors in the resurgence of attacks in the region, Adesina said in a statement.

Buhari reportedly noted that the efforts of those who strive to bring peace and stability to the region would never be forgotten.

We are committed to ensuring that the ideals of restoring peace, stability and viability of the Lake Chad region to its glorious state, for which some of you have paid the ultimate price is attained.

We must not relent and allow the enemies of the region to succeed in their quest to destabilise the area.

We must reinvigorate our collective will and commitment towards eradicating terrorism from our region. We must remain focused and true to ensuring sustainable development.

To this end, I have requested that bilateral and multilateral platforms of engagements by member countries affected by the conflict be revamped to ensure collective actions towards stamping out the remnants of the terrorists from the region.

There is no gainsaying that also fueling the crisis are the twin menaces of poverty and the continued shrinkage of the Lake Chad, which have rendered the people of the region vulnerable to terrorist activities.

Attention is drawn to the Lake and its resources, which have always been the source of livelihood for the millions of people that live within and around the basin, he quoted Buhari as saying.

The report said Buhari urged the leaders in attendance to make concerted efforts to ensure the actualisation of efforts to recharge the lake through inter-basin water transfer from the Congo Basin.

Buhari reportedly assured of his commitment to providing the required leadership and direction for the actualisation of peace and security in the area.

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The Nigerian president reiterated an earlier promise he had made to troops fighting terrorism, saying: We are committed to ensuring you have the requisite and enabling equipment to optimally function. Your welfare is and would continue to remain our priority.

Together, we shall restore the Lake Chad Region to its glorious days.

In attendance at the consultation, apart from the Nigerian President, were President Idris Deby Itno of Chad, Mahamadou Issoufou of Niger Republic, and prime minister of Cameroon, Philemon Yang, who represented President Paul Biya.

Legit.ng earlier reported that President Muhammadu Buhari on Thursday, November 29, departed Abuja for NDjamena, Chad, to preside over the summit of heads of states and governments of the Lake Chad Basin Commission (LCBC).

Buhari, in his capacity as chairman of the summit of heads of states and governments of the LCBC, summoned the meeting meant to find lasting solution to the menace of Boko Haram insurgency.

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Can Nigerian Soldiers really not deal with Boko Haram fighters?| Legit TV

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- Governor Nyesom Ezenwo Wike accuses the Nigerian Army of encouraging insecurity in the country to get more 'security votes'

- Wike wonders why the state's neighbourhood watch training camp was shut down when Kogi and Zamfara have such bodies

- The governor says his administration worked with the police, the DSS and other federal bodies in recruiting personnel into the neighbourhood watch

The governor of Rivers state, Nyesom Ezenwo Wike, in the evening of Thursday, November 29, accused the Nigerian Army of being transformed into a political weapon that has abandoned its primary responsibility of providing security for the nation.

Wike said this in a statement issued by his spokesperson, Simeon Nwakaudu, adding that the disruption of the Rivers state neighbourhood safety corps agency training programme by the Nigerian Army is the worst act of irresponsibility, aimed at instigating insecurity in the state.

The statement said the governor spoke at Odiokwu, Ahoada West local government area of Rivers state where he flagged off the construction of a model primary healthcare centre, Odiokwu internal roads, Odiokwu-Anwuigboko and Odiokwu-Oyigbo roads.

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The Army is not concerned about the killing of soldiers in Borno. They are only interested in creating insecurity in Rivers State.

If you don't want Rivers state to be safe, then Nigeria will not be safe. They want to use their guns against us, he said.

According to Wike, Zamfara and Kogi states have vigilante outfits which were commissioned by the Nigerian Army and the APC federal government.

He wondered why the Nigerian Army would stoop so low to disrupt a legal training exercise.

"Zamfara and Kogi states have vigilante groups. They commissioned them and the Chief of Army Staff did nothing. The House of Assembly passed a law approving the Rivers state Neighbourhood Safety Corps Agency.

The Chief of Army did not challenge the law in court, but today he sent troops to invade the training camp.

The Army is the agency causing insecurity mainly to attract more security votes. They collected $1 billion from our excess crude account, yet our soldiers were killed.

"All they are doing is to intimidate people for political reasons. When you fight a state blessed by God, you will crumble. Nobody can intimidate us in Rivers state, he said.

Explaining how the agency was formed in Rivers state, Governor Wike said the government worked with the police, the DSS and other federal bodies to ensure that only law-abiding citizens are recruited.

We did not hire boys for political reasons. This has been a transparent process and that is why the personnel are trained at the NYSC orientation camp at Nonwa.

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We involved the police and the DSS to ensure that the trainees are profiled for the good of the society. The main aim of this agency is to assist the security agencies with intelligence and information, since there is a lacuna in this regard.

No one man has been a Chief of Army Staff forever. Every job has an expiry date. When Buratai leaves office, he will be held to account for his illegal actions.

If they stop the training elsewhere, personnel of the Rivers state Neighbourhood Safety Corps Agency will be trained at the Government House Port Harcourt, the governor said.

Legit.ng reported earlier that the Joint Military Task Force on Thursday, November 29, stormed the training camp of about 3,000 new recruits of controversial Rivers state neighborhood and safety watch at Nonwa, Tai local government area of the state.

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My prison experience  James Brown (They didnt caught me) | Legit TV

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- The DSS and its DG says the agency cant be compelled by the Federal High Court to arrest and prosecute Femi Fani-Kayode, Senator Abaribe, others for Nnamdi Kanus escape from the country

- They insisted that not even the president could tell them how to contain threats to national security

- They said they must act within the latitude of available resources, and would only allocate resources to investigate matters based on the situation on ground

The Department of State Service (DSS) and its director-general, Yusuf Bichi, have stated that they cannot be compelled to prosecute those accused of aiding the escape of Nnamdi Kanu, leader of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) from Nigeria, by the Federal High Court.

According to Punch, the assertion was made in their notice of preliminary objection which was filed in response to a suit seeking an order of mandamus to compel them and the Nigeria Police Force to arrest and prosecute certain individuals for alleged culpability in Kanus escape.

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Legit.ng notes that the individuals proposed for arrest and prosecution include Senator Eyinnaya Abaribe, Tochukwu Uchendu and Emmanuel Shallom Ben, who stood as surety for Kanus bail in 2017. Also included is a former minister of aviation, Femi Fani-Kayode.

According to the plaintiff, one Isaiah Ayugu, the rest are all those who worked together to propagate and spread the inciting lies and falsehood that Nnamdi Kanu was abducted, arrested, kidnapped, detained, killed and assassinated by the Nigerian Army when indeed they were well aware of his whereabouts because they played roles in helping Nnamdi Kanu to disappear from Nigeria.

The DSS and its boss, however, insisted that not even the president could tell them how to contain threats to national security.

The presiding judge, Justice John Tsoho, had on November 9, 2018, granted the plaintiff leave to proceed with the suit and serve same on the respondents.

Tsoho, on November 22, fixed January 11 for the hearing of the various joinder applications.

The DSS and its DG, however, asked that the suit be struck out by the court, as they contended that the court lacked the power to mandate the doing of a discretionary act and the jurisdiction to hear the case.

They also contended that the plaintiff lacked the locus standi (the legal right) to initiate the suit.

They insisted that containing national security threats is a matter of discretion which the court and even the nations president cannot interfere with. They added that the DSS must act within the latitude of available resources and as such they would only allocate resources to investigate matters based on the situation on ground.

The case has been adjourned till January 9 for further hearing.

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Recall that Legit.ng previously reported that a Federal High Court in Abuja, led by Justice John Tsoho, approved the commencement of a suit seeking to compel the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) and the Department of State Service (DSS) to prosecute some people for allegedly aiding Nnamdi Kanu's escape from Nigeria.

The judge, in a ruling on an ex parte application, granted leave to the plaintiff, Isiah Ayugu, to commence the suit naming the DSS, its director-general, the police and the inspector-general of pas the defendants.

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THE SCOOP: IPOB proscribed, Nnamdi Kanu vanishes, 2600 rifles from Turkey - on Legit TV:

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- Governor Samuel Ortom of Benue has disclosed that he started out in life as a bus conductor

- He said the only thing that can hinder ones destiny is when one lives a wayward life and takes to drunkenness

- Tricycle operators who paid the governor a visit, endorsed his re-election bid and commended him for his achievements, despite starting out as an agbero

The governor of Benue state, Samuel Ortom, has disclosed that he started out in life as a bus conductor, after dropping out of school.

The governor made the disclosure to tricycle operators acting under the auspices of Benue Tricycles Association, who paid him a visit on Thursday, November 29, Punch reports.

Legit.ng gathers that the tricycle operators had visited Ortom to assure him of their support for his 2019 re-election bid.

READ ALSO: Police woman, three children die mysteriously in Osun

The governor stated: I started as a bus conductor when I dropped out of school in 1972. Later, I became a driver and I am proud to say this anywhere. Since God made it possible for me to be what I am today, be rest assured that hope is not lost.

The only thing that can hinder ones destiny is when one lives a wayward life and takes to drunkenness. So, I encourage you not to indulge in any drug like Tramadol, it is deadly.

The governor further commended the tricycle operators and noted that their visit had afforded him the opportunity to thank God and appreciate them for adding value to the states economic development.

He urged them to form a cooperative society so as to enable them access loans and purchase tricycles of their own, and also promised to initiate an empowerment scheme for them.

Speaking earlier, the state chairman of the association, Bernard Orban, said: As agberos, we have come to endorse our fellow agbero. We know the governor very well.

He thanked God for using Ortom to impact positively on the lives of the people of the state and described the governor as a sacrificial lamb who has volunteered to stake his life for the freedom of his people.

Orban added: You have demonstrated uncommon love for us and the entire people of the state. Wherever you go, you speak well of your people.

At the presidency, you never get intimidated to speak for the Benue people. When Fulani herdsmen were killing us in Benue, you brought solution by enactment of anti-open grazing law.

You started as an agbero at the motor park and today, you are a governor leading people. I want to tell you that you are leading well and you still remember where you are coming from.

God has elevated you among us. Therefore, we must support you to get re-elected and complete your eight years in office. Nobody can stop you because power comes from God.

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Meanwhile, Legit.ng previously reported that Governor Samuel Ortom disclosed that Senator George Akume told him not to assent to the Open Grazing Prohibition and Ranches Establishment law.

Ortom made the disclosure on Tuesday, November 27, at Government House, Makurdi during a joint courtesy call on him by some cultural groups and associations.

The governor explained that when he gathered Benue stakeholders in May 2017 to sign the ranching law in their presence, Senator George Akume called him aside and asked him not to assent to the law, without giving any convincing reason.

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- Rotimi Amaechi has been summoned by the House of Representatives committee on land transport

- Chairman of committee, Abdulmumin Jibrin, disclosed this on Thursday, November 29, after plenary in Abuja

- Jibrin alleged that the committee has received a lot of allegations from credible sources against Amaechi and wanted to investigate the issues

The minister of transport, Rotimi Amaechi, has been invited to appear before the House of Representatives committee on land transport over allegations of corruption and breach of process.

Channel TV reports that chairman of the committee, Abdulmumin Jibrin, made this known on Thursday, November 29, after plenary in Abuja.

Jibrin revealed that the committee has received a lot of allegations from credible sources against the minister and wants to investigate the issues raised.

READ ALSO: Police woman, 3 children die mysteriously in Osun

According to him, the lawmakers after a meeting of the committee believe that Nigerians should know about so much of the things being done behind the scenes.

Meanwhile, Legit.ng had reported that Rotimi Amaechi, the minister of transportation, said the National Assemblys refusal to allow government access to a $30bn foreign loan facility is responsible for delaying the complete overhaul of the countrys railway network.

The minister of transportation made the claim when he appeared before the Senate joint committees on land transport and foreign and local debts, which is investigating the alleged abandonment of the eastern rail lines in the rail revitalisation projects across the country.

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Amaechi noted that the federal government has no plan to exclude the southeast region from the rail project, noting that the region was already captured in the 2018 borrowing plans of the federal government.

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Rotimi Amaechi says he is busy on the streets | Legit TV:

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- Governor Fayemi has closed his defence at Ekiti state guber election tribunal

- The governors major opponent, Kolapo Olusola, is challenging the outcome of the July 14 governorship election

- The case has been adjourned until January 9, 2019

The Ekiti state governor, Kayode Fayemi, on Thursday, November 29, closed his defence at the Ekiti state governorship election petition tribunal, which sits at the premises of the high court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Apo, Abuja.

The tribunal, led by Justice Suleiman Belgore, has however, adjourned sitting until January 9, 2019, for the adoption of final written addresses of parties in the petition filed by the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Kolapo Olusola, Premium Times reports.

Legit.ng reports that Olusola is challenging the outcome of the July 14 governorship election which saw Fayemi emerge as the winner of the election.

READ ALSO: PDP reacts to FGs message to US concerning Atikus visa

The PDPs governorship candidate alleged that Fayemis victory was as a result of vote-buying, widespread rigging, malpractices and that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) officials favoured the governor during the election.

He prayed the tribunal to declare him as the winner of the election on the grounds that he scored the majority of the lawful votes cast at the election.

The Independent National Electoral Commission, APC and Governor Fayemi are the respondents in the petition.

At the hearing on November 29, the counsel to Fayemi, Lateef Fagbemi, informed the three-member tribunal that the third respondent was closing his case.

He said having reviewed the case, the third respondent found it unnecessary to call other witnesses to prove his case.

The Fayemi team called four witnesses, including Adumo Rufus Sunday, who was the deputy director-general of JKF Campaign Organisation, to testify for him before the tribunal, but did not tender any exhibits.

Meanwhile, following the closure of Fayemis defence, parties agreed that the three respondents shall have three days to file their respective final written addresses, while petitioners shall have five days to file theirs. It was further agreed that the respondents shall have another three days to reply on point of law.

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While adjourning the sitting, Belgore expressed appreciation to all parties involved in the petition for their cooperation.

The petitioner had earlier in November, closed their case before the tribunal, paving the way for the respondents to begin their defence.

He called 71 witnesses, among whom were Sunday Olowolafe, PDP legal adviser in Ekiti state; the state collation agent, and polling unit agents.

Meanwhile, Legit.ng previously reported that Fayemi, on Monday, November 26, clarified his stance on the fate of his immediate past predecessor, Ayodele Fayose, saying he never promised to probe the former when he eventually took over.

Governor Fayemi spoke with State House correspondents after a closed-door meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

He explained that there was never a time he said he would probe Fayose.

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Ekiti 2018: Residents reveal who will win the governorship election | Legit TV

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- The federal government of Nigeria is said to be making plans to sell electricity to Burkina Faso, a west African country

- This disclosure was made by the managing director and chief executive officer of Mainstream Energy Solutions Limited recently

- This is coming at a time when Nigerians all over the country are complaining about poor power supply

With wailings over poor power supply by Nigerias, the federal government is reportedly making plans to supply electricity to a West African nation Burkina Faso, The Guardian reports.

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The managing director and chief executive officer of Mainstream Energy Solutions Limited, operators of Kainji and Jebba Hydro power plants, Lamu Audu, said this at the annual power and utilities roundtable organised by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) in Lagos.

Audu condemned the extent of energy rejection by electricity distribution companies (DisCos), adding that the company was left with no choice than to find reliable buyers for the rejected power generated.

Of the two 922 megawatts (MW) generated on his firm, only 600 to 650 MW is taken by the DisCos in Nigeria. Audu further said that the development was affecting the establishments drive to get funds for the expansion of its capacity.

He said: We are left with no option than to sell the balance to other African countries that are willing to pay. In fact, they are willing to take up the whole electricity invoice at a higher price than what Nigerians are willing to pay.

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We are talking to Burkina Faso on this. We are aware that some Nigerian power firms sell electricity to Togo, Benin Republic, among others; we are not the first to do this.

Meanwhile, Legit.ng reported that it had been a battle for the electricity supply in Nigeria to stay above 3,000 megawatts recently because factors such as gas shortage and power grid collapse continue to limit generation.

Legit.ng gathered that low load demand by power Discos and gas issues were preventing the generation of over 3,000 megawatts of electricity.

The most current data obtained from the ministry of power, works and housing on Tuesday, October 2, indicated that not less than 12 out of Nigeria's 27 power plants were affected by low energy demand by the electricity distribution firms on Saturday, September 29, causing a generation capacity of 2,672.6 MW to lie fallow.

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Fashola EXCLUSIVE Interview: How Nigeria Can Have Uninterrupted Power Supply | Legit TV

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- The PDP made a ground-breaking appointment during its NEC meeting held on Thursday, November 29

- The opposition party appointed Senator Dino Melaye as its campaign spokesperson

- In reaction to the appointment, Melaye thanked the opposition party, promising to work for its victory in the 2019 polls

Senator Dino Melaye, representing Kogi west senatorial district, has been appointed as the director incharge of civil societies and Non-governmental Organisations (NGOs) and campaign spokesperson of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

The high-profile appointment was made by the National Executive Council of the opposition party on Thursday, November 29.

In response to the development, Melaye, on his official Twitter page, expressed gratitude to the party, assuring it of victory in the forthcoming 2019 general elections.

Read tweet below:

Meanwhile, Legit.ng reported that the Senate on Thursday, November 29, adjourned plenary to allow PDP lawmakers attend the National Executive Council (NEC) meeting of their party.

The lawmakers, who adjourned after an executive session that lasted about an hour, did not consider any item on the order paper.

Legit.ng gathered that details of the executive session was not made public by the president of the Senate, Bukola Saraki. However, votes and proceedings of Tuesday, November 27 sitting were adopted before adjournment.

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The Next President of Nigeria. Who Will Win the 2019 Elections? | Legit TV

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Queen Elizabeth II is a big part of Nigeria's history. When the country was still a colony under the administration of Britain, the queen was the highest monarchical authority who controlled governmental affairs. Even after Nigeria gained independence, she still retained that importance that comes with treading this red soil at any point in time.

Despite the importance attached to the person of Queen Elizabeth II, not many recognize her or know much about the activities she carried out while she was still the monarchical head of Nigeria.

Not only did the queen carry out ceremonial duties during her reign as head of state of the colonial Nigeria, she also was Queen of Nigeria from 1960-1963 when the country became a republic.

During her reign as head of state and Queen of Nigeria, she visited Nigeria twice. The first time was between January 28, to February 16, 1956. And the second time was when she needed to attend the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting held between December 3, to 6, 2003.

READ ALSO: Princess Shyngle shares wild throwback photo of herself

For old time's sake and in order to keep our cherished memories for those coming behind, Legit.ng has made a compilation of all the lovely throwback photos of Queen Elizabeth II during her first visit to Nigeria in 1956.

1. Queen Elizabeth II receiving flowers before going on to commission law courts

2. Nigerian students meeting with the queen

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3. Young Queen Elizabeth II was a celebrity

4. The beautiful queen also entertained guests from Cameroons during her visit to Nigeria

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5. Ah! You must be thinking - the first coloured photo, and the soldiers looking like Aladdins.

6. Queen Elizabeth II and her husband. They sure look good together

7. Love is grown on this soil.

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8. Ah! Another coloured photo. It was not all black and white.

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Nigerian is angry at queen Elizabeth | Legit TV

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- President Muhammadu Buhari expresses the belief that Nigerians from both Muslim and Christian faiths can live together in peace

- Buhari says Muslims and Christians must behave compassionate for each other in order to live peaceably in Nigeria

- The president dismisses the suggestion that the herdsmen and farmers clashes is as a result religious factors

President Muhammadu Buhari has dismissed allegations that he is trying to Islamise Nigeria as nonsense.

The president made the statement on Friday, November 30, in a write-up where he expressed the belief that Nigerians from both Muslim and Christian faiths could live together in peace, The news Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports.

Buhari said he along with the millions of Christians in Nigeria believes in lofty virtues such as peace, tolerance, reconciliation, honour, hope and compassion.

He said Muslims and Christians must behave compassionate for each other in order to live peaceably with each other. The president stated that he believes that there is far more that unites Muslims and Christians than divides them.

READ ALSO: Muslim/Muslim ticket: Group replies Kaduna Christians, calls for unity

He faulted accusations that he trying to Islamise Nigeria, noting that Vice President Osinbajo who is a devout Christian pastor is also being accused of selling out his religion because of his support for the current administration.

The president dismissed the suggestions that the herdsmen and farmers clashes had a religious undertone. He said the clashes were not religious or theological, but due to both climate change and population growth.

Part of the write-up from Buhari read: "I stand accused  paradoxically  of trying to Islamise Nigeria while also being accused by Boko Haram terrorists of being against Islam. My Vice-President is a devout man, a Christian pastor. He, too, is accused of selling out his religion, because of his support for me.

"This is not the first time that I  nor, indeed, my Christian-Muslim evenly split cabinet  have been the subject of such nonsense. Fortunately, the facts speak differently from the words of those who seek to divide us from one another.

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"Since my administration has been in power, Boko Haram has been significantly and fatally degraded; I have befriended church leaders and church groups both within and outside our country; my Vice-President has addressed and opened dialogue with Muslims up and down our land.

"In all things, we seek that which all well-meaning Christians and well-meaning Muslims must seek: to unite, respect, and never to divide. Does it not say There is no compulsion in religion (Quran 2.256)? Does it not say Forbid him not: for he that is not against us is for us (Luke 9.50)? This, surely, is the path that followers of both our two great religions must walk.

"Unfortunately, those who wish us all to walk apart have recently found another focus for their efforts: the tragic clashes between nomadic herdsmen and settled farmers in the central regions of Nigeria.

"For generations, herders have driven their cattle from the north to the centre of our country; they tend to be predominantly Muslim, although not exclusively. The farmers, in certain areas of central Nigeria, are predominantly Christian.

"The causes of this conflict are not religious or theological, but temporal. At the heart of this discord is access to rural land, exacerbated both by climate change and population growth.

"Sadly, there are some who seek to play fast and loose and so make others believe that these are not the facts. When religion is claimed as the cause  and by those who know that it is not  it only makes finding a resolution more difficult.

READ ALSO: The Army is the agency causing insecurity mainly to attract more security votes - Wike alleges

"The government has taken action to mediate, to bring the two groups together in peace and unity. But we also need all parties to follow the teachings of the scriptures, and encourage reconciliation rather than cause division. As it is said: Having eyes do you not see, and having ears do you not hear? (Mark 8.18).

"As our constitution codifies, politicising religion has no place in Nigeria; for it makes us turn away from one another; it makes us retreat into our communities and walk different paths.

"I believe that there is a better way. To those who seek to divide, I still hold my hand out in brotherhood and forgiveness. I ask only that they stop, and instead encourage us to turn towards one another in love and compassion. Nigeria belongs to all of us. This is what I believe."

Meanwhile, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has reacted to the federal governments message to the United States to be cautious of granting a visa to the presidential candidate of the opposition party, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar.

Speaking on the development, the partys national chairman, Uche Secondus, asked the federal government and the All Progressives Congress (APC) to brace up to accept defeat in 2019, Punch reports.

Legit.ng gathers that he faulted the APC for calling on the authorities of another country not to grant a private citizen.

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Atiku versus Buhari: Who will win? | Legit TV

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- An alleged terrorist group is believed to have taken control of a local government in Sokoto state

- The group reportedly operates with its own laws and punishes those believed to have defaulted

- The spokesperson of the Sokoto state government confirms the report, but does not give details

Reports claim that a new terrorist group, which members brandish sophisticated weapons, has taken control of Tangaza, a local government area located in Sokoto state applying its own laws on this supposed territory.

Premium Times reports a witness as suggesting that members of the militant group seem to be from Niger Republic. The witness claims that the group is in possession of assorted weapons and that its members preach Islamic teachings and forcefully collecting alms (zakat). According to the report, defaulters are flogged by the members.

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The report said the members of the group are allegedly yet to be identified by names, but they have operated in the local government area for two months.

The witness said the group allegedly recruits youths in a nearby bush and after training them, they are given motorcycle.

The report added that the witness said the group members were up to 200 adding that they looked strange, spoke Arabic and wore turbans over their heads.

They imposed compulsory levies on each household with cows and rams. Those with cows are paying N500 and those with ram are paying N200.

They are arresting and fining herdsmen who encroach on farmlands and are keeping the money.

They are operating freely, scaring residents, without being challenged. They are going from one community to another, the witness said.

The report said commissioner of police in Sokoto, Murtala Mani, said he was on his way to the area when he was contacted. He reportedly said he would call back.

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Abubakar Shekara, the spokesperson for the state government, reportedly confirmed the report but said he could not provide further comments.

The Gombe state police command said it had arrested a soldier attached to 301 Artillery Regiment Gombe for alleged armed robbery and 19 others for various offences.

Muhammad Mukaddas, the state commissioner of police, told newsmen in Gombe on Thursday, November 29, that the soldier was arrested on along Tabra Village via Gombe Bye-pass.

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Can Nigerian Soldiers really not deal with Boko Haram fighters?| Legit TV

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- Timi Frank, has responded to the comments of Lai Mohammed who recently talked about Atiku Abubakar's alleged US ban

- Frank, a political ally of Atiku challenged the APC government to provide just one evidence of corruption perpetrated by the PDP presidential candidate

- According to him, it is too late to stop America from granting Atiku entry visa

A former deputy national publicity secretary of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Comrade Timi Frank, has said that Nigerians will joyfully elect the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, in the forthcoming elections and not Americans.

Frank made the assertion in a statement sent to Legit.ng on Friday, November 30, in response to comments credited to the information and culture minister, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, that the US should not grant the former vice president visa to visit the country.

He, however, reminded the minister, that the American government does not believe in the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari which has since been described as "lifeless" by President Donald Trump.

According to Frank, the PDP presidential candidate has become a nightmare and a sleepless tablet for the government of APC.

READ ALSO: PDP reacts to FGs message to US concerning Atikus visa

While challenging APC government to provide just one evidence of corruption perpetrated by Atiku Abubakar, Frank said the same failed government that said the former vice president could not visit America is already jittery now that Atiku is poised to prove them wrong.

According to Frank, it was easier for Lai Mohammed to bring APC to power with lies and propaganda against President Goodluck Jonathan but it is now impossible to sustain the lies because of their obvious failures.

Part of the statement read: At this stage, it is too late to stop America from granting Atiku entry visa because the country has confirmed that it has nothing against the presidential candidate of the PDP.

Instead of this clueless government to seek for help from the American government in fighting the resurgent Boko Haram and fully liberate the people of the north-east from the hands of insurgents, what is more important to Lai Mohammad and the APCs government is the issuance of U.S. Visa to Atiku.

The American government will not fall for propaganda from a lifeless government like that of APC and President Muhammadu Buhari in granting visa to anybody because it is a place where rule of law is strictly adhered to.

Unlike a lawless APC government that attempts to disallow rain from dropping on the roof tops of political opponents, the American government is built on trust, fairness, justice and the fear of God.

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The federal government through the minister had told the US to be cautious of granting visa to Atiku, in order not to create the impression of endorsing him for the 2019 election.

Alhaji Mohammed made the government's position known at an interactive session with media executives in Abuja on Thursday, November 29.

He said the government was aware of the move by the former vice president to lobby the US to lift the visa ban imposed on him.

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We are honestly tired of Buhari and Atiku | Legit TV

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President Muhammadu Buhari will depart Abuja on Saturday, December 1, for Katowice, Poland, to attend the 24th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP24) under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) between December 2 and 4.

Buhari will be travelling with Governors Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, Yahaya Bello and Abubakar Sani Bello of Enugu, Kogi and Niger states, respectively.

Also on his entourage will include the minister of foreign sffairs, Geoffrey Onyeama, that pf water resources, Suleiman Adamu, and his colleague in the ministry of the environment, Ibrahim Jibrin.

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A statement from Femi Adesina, the presidents spokesperson, says the COP24 summit, which will be held at the International Conference Centre (MCK) and the adjacent Spodek Arena in Katowice, is being convened under the presidency of Poland.

The statement quoted the organisers of the conference as saying the event is expected to finalize the rules for implementation of the Paris agreement on climate change under the Paris Agreement Work Programme (PAWP) - the rule book for implementation.

During the leaders summit at COP24, President Buhari will deliver a national statement highlighting Nigeria's commitment to addressing climate change by implementing the goals set out in its national determined contributions.

He will also use the occasion to accentuate Nigerias willingness to work with international partners to reverse the negative effects of climate change in Africa and the world over, while expecting that developed nations scale up their emission reduction activities in order to limit the increase in average global temperatures to well below two degrees centigrade between now and 2020.

The leaders summit is expected to adopt a Declaration on Solidarity and Just Transition Silesia, - named after the region of Poland where this years climate conference is taking place.

As a member of the Committee of the African Heads of State on Climate Change - a group of 10 African countries that meets and takes positions concerning issues of climate change on behalf of the continent - Nigeria has been at the forefront of advancing policies and initiatives aimed at addressing significant challenges occasioned by climate change such as reviving the Lake Chad, halting and reversing desertification, flooding, ocean surge and oil spillage, the statement said.

The statement added that President Buhari will continue to reiterate Nigerias position on the need for African countries to access financial resources, especially the green climate fund.

This would be with the aim of drawing up climate change adaptation policies and actions for implementation.

The statement said the Nigerian delegation will also showcase the policy measures and actions of the federal government at ensuring environmental sustainability and effectively combating climate change through several side events within the Nigerian pavilion.

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It added that President Buhari would hold an interactive session with the Nigerian community in that country.

Aside the conference, President Buhari is scheduled to hold bilateral meetings with his counterpart from Poland, Andrzej Duda, and Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki.

Legit.ng earlier reported that President Muhammadu Buhari, on Thursday, November 29, arrived from NDjamena, Chad, where he reportedly renewed call for quick interventions and measures to curb the menace of Boko Haram insurgency in the Lake Chad Basin.

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Does Sowore really have what it takes to lead Nigeria in 2019? | Legit TV

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About a year ago, a story broke on the clandestine medium, Radio Biafra, that President Muhammadu Buhari was dead. The story was propagated by the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu.

Kanu claimed that there is an imposter, instead of President Buhari, in Aso Rock, and threatened to expose how a certain Jibril Aminu was transformed to replace dead Buhari in London.

He alleged that Jibril resembles Buhari except for a cleft ear, broad nose bridge and teenager fresh hands.

Weird as the story is, several Nigerians, including high-profile figures, have bought in Kanus claim that President Buhari has died and been replaced by a lookalike from Sudan.

The Nigerian social media space is awash with posts and videos with claims the man occupying the seat of power at the Aso Villa is not President Buhari but an imposter called Jubril.

How Kanu came about the story of Jibril

President Buhari, since he became president, has made several trips to the United Kingdom. The presidency initially said he had a persistent ear infection.

But his prolonged absence during one of the medical trips, coupled with lack of information about the exact nature of his illness led to speculations that his condition was more serious and might affect his ability to govern the most populous country in Africa.

About a month after the president eventually returned from London from another lengthy medical trip, speculations started filtering out about his identity.

READ ALSO: 2019: INEC raises alarm, says parties nominate underage for presidential election

According to AFP, the earliest online mention of the claim was in a video posted by Twitter user @sam_ezeh on September 3, 2017. The video has since been shared more than 5,000 times on Facebook and Twitter.

In the video, Kanu, speaks to his supporters and says Buhari had actually died.

The man you are looking at in the television is not Buhari His name is Jubril, hes from Sudan. After extensive surgery they brought him back, he says.

In separate broadcasts on the outlawed pirate radio station Radio Biafra, Kanu has called Buhari Jubril Al-Sudani.

Another incident that reportedly fuelled the claim was the death of a Nigerian diplomat, Habibu Almu. Almu was found dead in the Sudanese capital, Khartoum.

Nigerias foreign ministry said on May 14 that Almu had been stabbed to death and that a Sudanese woman of Nigerian origin had been arrested.

Sudanese police said the killing did not appear to be politically motivated but Kanu and others have claimed the death was linked to an apparent cover-up of Buharis death.

Subsequently, President Buharis appearance has come under scrutiny in many posts. One post compares the president apparently writing with his right hand in one photograph and his left in another.

But analysis indicates the image of the right-handed Buhari had been reversed, AFP confirms.

The global media reports that one video even speculates on how a dead Buhari could have been operated on to transfer his appearance to Jubril from Sudan, showing a scene from the 1997 film Face/Off.

Reactions from prominent Nigerians

Femi Fani-Kayode

On April 5, 2018, Femi Fani-Kayode, a former government special advisor and minister under ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo, backed Kanus claim, coming up with several alleged reasons for his position on Twitter.

He reportedly claimed in the tweet that a satanic ritual performed on Buharis dead body had resurrected him through the spirit of Jubril from Sudan.

Reno Omokri

Reno Omokri, a former aide to former president Goodluck Jonathan, also questioned Buharis identity. On September 29,2017, he posted three pictures of Buhari on Twitter and speculated on the differences in the images.

Former president Olusegun Obasanjo

At the installation of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)s presidential aspirant, Atiku Abubakar, as Turakin Adamawa, former president Obasanjo added his voice to the claim, asking President Buhari to publicly address the allegations.

His words: No matter how long we choose to feign ignorance, the news of a stranger running the affairs of Nigeria has gained international attention.

I have in the past few weeks received calls from different world leaders and some concerned global investors who sought for my response over this issue which is currently being talked about in almost every home in the country.

Fake news is real, but this story, whether false or true can only be put to rest by the accused who happens to be President Muhammadu Buhari. In 2010, many of you, I believe, still remember how it was rumoured that I was shot dead by assassins. The news understandably went viral immediately, and on learning about it, I came out and said I was alive and well.

Shehu Sanni

Weighing in on the story, Senator Shehu Sani, representing Kaduna Central reacting on his Twitter page, discarded the claim, saying Buhari has no double.

The Kaduna lawmaker urged Nigerians to see Jibrin as an imaginative character.

His tweet: Theres no one and nothing like Jibril El Sudan. Buhari Caesar is healthy and has no double. But you can literally refer to Jibrin as an imaginative and mythical character in Shakespearean Nigeria. It is natural to creatively invent characters and promote conjectures in our theatre of the absurd.

As the Buhari-Jubril imposter claim refuses to die down, the federal government, through the minister of communication, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, reacted on Thursday, November 29.

His words: It is idiotic to say the President is cloned. I dont see any serious government responding to that.

So, the same Jibrin that was cloned from Sudan or Chad is in Chad now? Isnt that stupid?

They even said he is from Chad. Yet, the same President is in Chad as we speak. The same Jibrin is remembering what the President did while in Petroleum Trust Fund and he is also remembering what he did when he was Head of State between 1983 and 1985.

All the ministers do not know who is before them when they attend the Federal Executive Council meeting? The President remembers the memos he had seen or heard about in 1985 and we say he is cloned.

So, Jibrin from Chad or Sudan will now remember all of these? It is too silly for the government to respond to this. It must be ignored.

President Buhari at the Paris Peace Forum recently held at the Grande Halle de la Villette, Paris. Credit: Facebook/Muhammadu Buhari

Source: Facebook

Fact

How true is this weird claim of Buhari being cloned or his lookalike being in the Aso Villa? The simple fact is that despite the resurgence of the Buhari-Jubril imposter claim, the peddlers of the story have not been able to come up with any solid evidence apart from verified doctored images and videos.

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What an expert says

Another senator representing Ondo North, Ajayi Boroffice, on Monday, November 26, wrote a weighty piece on the claim in his piece titled Buhari, the imaginative clone and human genetics.

Senator Borrofices opinion may be considered expert as he said that he bagged PhD degree in Human Genetics in congenital malformations arising from chromosomal aberrations in 1975 and had Post-Doctoral Research in mutagenesis and carcinogenesis.

The short piece is reproduced below:

Ordinarily, I wouldnt like to involve myself in the nauseating debate about the rumoured cloning of President Buhari and the imaginative Jibril Aminu of Sudan because it is rubbish in the face of scientific realities.

As a Nigerian who bagged Ph.D degree in Human Genetics in congenital malformations arising from chromosomal aberrations in 1975 and had Post-Doctoral Research in mutagenesis and carcinogenesis, I consider myself as competent to comment on the needless controversy. For a 75 years old adult to be cloned, a living cell must be obtained and subjected to some manipulations that will convert it to totipotent cell. The totipotent cell will now undergo embryological development that will produce a young human fetus.

Therefore, for the clone to look like the same man, it must be exposed to the exact environment for a period equivalent to 75 years. It is therefore ridiculous for anybody to think Mr President has been cloned and that the person who is the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria is a clone from Sudan.

Instructively, I have had opportunity to have one-on-one interactions with Mr President before he took ill and after his recovery, there is nothing to suggest that Nigeria is governed by a clone of President Muhammadu Buhari.

I will therefore appeal to Nigerians to stop making insinuations and statements that ridicule our beloved country in the global scientific world.

Conclusion: Baseless conspiracy theory

The baseless claim was fueled by three main factors: President Buharis illness (which saw him receive treatment in London for a significant part of 2017), the lack of information about the exact nature of his illness and the killing of a Nigerian diplomat in Khartoum earlier this year.

However, those pushing the claim, Kanu, Fani-Kayode, Reno Omokri and others are known critics of President Buhari and his government. So far, there is no concrete evidence to back up their claim.

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Election 2019: President Buhari Proves He is Fit to Run in 2019 | Legit TV

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- President Muhammadu Buhari has commended the Republic of Ireland for its support during the Nigerian civil war

- President Buhari also appreciates the country's effort to rebuild the devastation in the northeastern part of the country

- Buhari also notes the work of Irish doctors and priests in their humanitarian support for Nigerian communities at all times

President Muhammadu Buhari has expressed Nigerias appreciation to the Republic of Ireland and its people for standing by Nigeria during her difficult moments, citing their support during the civil war.

This was disclosed by the senior special assistant to the president on media and publicity, Garba Shehu, who said Buhari also cited Ireland's current efforts to rebuild the devastation in the northeastern part of the country.

Legit.ng gathers that the president spoke when he received the outgoing ambassador of the Republic of Ireland, Sean Hoy, who paid a farewell visit to the State House, Abuja, on Friday, November 30.

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President Buhari noted in particular, the work of Irish doctors and priests in their humanitarian support for Nigerian communities at all times.

President Muhammadu Buhari and Sean Hoy. Photo credit: Facebook, Femi Adesina.

Source: Depositphotos

Buhari said: Nigeria and the Irish Republic enjoy excellent bilateral relations marked especially by the work of Irish medical teams and missionaries during the civil war, and the ongoing efforts in dealing with the humanitarian situation in the northeast. We appreciate what your country is doing for us.

President Buhari appreciates Ireland's effort to rebuild the devastation in the northeastern part of the country. Photo credit: Facebook, Femi Adesina.

Source: Depositphotos

According to Shehu, Buhari also thanked the outgoing ambassador for enhancing the relationship between both countries.

The statement by Shehu read: "Mr Hoy said he was leaving Nigeria to his next post, Brazil, with mixed feelings considering the enormous goodwill he enjoyed in Nigeria, and the improvements in the relations between the two nations."

President Buhari received the outgoing ambassador of Ireland, Sean Hoy, in Aso Villa, on Friday, November 30. Photo credit: Facebook, Femi Adesina.

Source: Depositphotos

The outgoing ambassador promised the continued assistance of his country to the efforts in rebuilding the northeast, stressing that, It concerns all of us. We will continue to support you.

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Meanwhile, Legit.ng previously reported that President Muhammadu Buhari on Saturday, November 24, reassured Nigerians that the forthcoming general elections in 2019 would be free and fair.

Buhari gave the assurance in Jos at the graduation ceremony of Senior Executive Course 40, 2018 of the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS), Kuru.

The president said: We as a government also wish to reiterate our commitment to ensuring that the elections are free, fair and credible as part of measures to deepen our democracy.

As we prepare for the forthcoming elections in 2019, Nigerians are once again enjoined to exercise their civic obligation as stakeholders in our development project."

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Nigeria Latest News: Buhari vs Atiku - 2019 Elections | Legit.ng TV

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- The federal government's call to the United States over issuance of visa to Atiku Abubakar has been met with condemnation from Senator Shehu Sani

- The federal government had told the United States to be cautious in granting visa to Atiku

- Reacting to the federal government's call, Senator Sani says the call is not just an unpatriotic act but a condemnable act

The lawmaker representing Kaduna Central at the Senate, Shehu Sani, has condemned the federal government's call to the United States on the issuance of visa to the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, Atiku Abubakar.

Legit.ng recalls that the federal government told the United States to be cautious of granting visa to Atiku so as not to create the impression of endorsing the former vice president for the 2019 presidential election.

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The lawmaker, who reacted to the federal government's call on his Twitter page on Friday, November 30, said the advice was not just an unpatriotic act but a condemnable.

He tweeted: "Telling a foreign country not to grant visa to your fellow citizen on the ground that he is a candidate; and with no proven case of criminal offense or breach of national or international law, is not just an unpatriotic act but a condemnable act."

See tweet below:

Legit.ng previously reported that the federal government told the United States to be cautious of granting visa to the PDP presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, in order not to create the impression of endorsing him for the 2019 election.

The minister of information and culture, Lai Mohammed, gave the government's position at an interactive session with media executives in Abuja on Thursday, November 29.

Mohammed said that the government was aware of the move by the former vice president to lobby the United States to lift the visa ban imposed on him.

He said, while the US had the prerogative of whom to issue visa, it should be mindful of the timing, in order not to give the impression that Atiku had been endorsed by the US government.

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Mohammed said: We understand and appreciate the fact that it is the prerogative of the US to grant a visa to anyone who applies.

However, we want the US to be neutral and be wary of taking any decision that will give the impression that they are favouring or endorsing one candidate over the other."

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We are honestly tired of Buhari and Atiku | Legit TV

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A doting Nigerian mother has taken to social media to gush about her little daughter who she calls her twinnie. The Nigerian mother was blessed with a child that looks just like her and acts like her from the looks of the photos shared.

The fair skinned woman identified as Tomi Fay shared cute photos of herself and her daughter as she gushed about the little girl on Twitter.

On the Twitter post, the woman revealed that God had answered her prayers by blessing with a child that looks just like her. she noted that she had always wanted a twin.

She said: "God answered my prayer, He knew I wanted to be a twin so He sent me my twinnie Grateful for you Fara ."

READ ALSO: Cute family photos of newborn twin babies and their parents

The cute mother daughter photos left Twitter users gushing about the little girl. They all expressed how beautiful she is and described her as cute.

Read tweets below:

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Meanwhile, a young Nigerian lady has taken to social media to launch a search for her mother who left 21 years ago. She revealed that her mother would be 47 years old now.

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Faces of Nigeria: They killed my family but I have forgiven them - on Legit TV

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Editor's note: Blackouts have become synonymous with Nigerias power sector and many rural poor are suffocating under the yoke of poverty aided by darkness.

Inefficient transmission and distribution network has been a major concern and the little power on the grid is often rationed and distributed to favour rich neighbourhoods who are more disposed to pay. This is in spite of the provisions in the law for power consumption subsidization for the rural poor.

Olajide Adelana reports on how the recent blackout experienced in Mokwa, Niger state is a proof that the power sector privatization has brought little or no respite to the rural poor in Nigeria.

Rocks and dirt clods clanged against cars and trailers as they drove past the town. It had just rained and huffs of water soon took over the main road; the only tarred road that cuts through the town linking the southwestern part of the country to the north.

A woman in her mid-thirties struggle to save her wares from the ensuing flood that followed. She hurriedly beckoned at passersby to help her.

These days, rainfall has been a frequent occurrence in Mokwa but something else has assumed a more permanent residence the darkness that envelopes the town at night.

Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company, Mokwa station (IBEDC). Photo credit: Olajide Adelana

Source: Depositphotos

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Mokwa, a town in Niger state, arguably the most important route for heavy trucks, trailers and travelers connecting the north from the southwest has been in darkness for over 7 months and nothing seems to be changing.

This has negatively impacted on residents and traders with major businesses relocating to outskirts of the town and neighbouring villages where power supply is somewhat reliable.

It is close to dawn here and Mokwa is ready to become a ghost of itself. Photo credit: Olajide Adelana

Source: Depositphotos

For Abdullahi Kabiru nothing is more disheartening than this. Abdullahi who sells iced drinks had to relocate his business to Jebba, a neighbouring town where electricity supply is stable so as to keep up with requests from his customers.

I have to take my business to another place. All my customers were asking for cold drinks but I couldnt match up because of the light issue. Since I moved to Jebba, I have experienced more sales and my business is better for it, says Abdullahi with the help of an interpreter.

Another resident who feels the pain as much as others is Ndako Mohammed. Mohammed retired as director, information services, Mokwa local government area in 2012 and receives a paltry N13,000 monthly pension.

Members of Mokwa progressive forum after a meeting to find solution to the power problem in the community. Photo credit: Olajide Adelana

Source: Depositphotos

He lives from hand to mouth and could barely cater for his needs. But the poor power situation has only worsened his condition.

I am a retiree and I collect N13,000 as pension monthly. This is so unfortunate despite the promises made by our Pension Fund Administrator (PFA) that they will trade with our money and from there pay us well. But it is a sad experience for retirees in Mokwa.

See me, do I look happy? To make matters worse, we have been in darkness for months now. Apart from the security implications, it is gruesome and impalpable to cope with. The light issue has aggravated my fragile financial status. For example, how do I get water?

Mokwa is not close to any river and there is no pipe borne water. So we have to rely on borehole to get water and without generator it is very difficult. Besides that, you need to buy fuel for the generator and is it from the N13,000 that I will be buying fuel when I still have my last child in the university?, he asked.

The control station for the new transformers. Photo credit: Olajide Adelana

Source: Depositphotos

It was questions as this that members of Mokwa forum, a local association of community stakeholders, gathered to find answers to during the last Sallah celebration when this reporter visited.

The forum has been at the forefront of interfacing with government and Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company (IBEDC), the electricity distribution company in charge of the area. Whilst gathered, the chairman of the association, Mohammad Jubril addressed members on the latest developments in restoring power to the area. Before then, he gave a brief overview of the power situation in the area.

We have what we call step-down transformers and they are the ones giving us problem. The step down transformers help us to step down the light coming from Jebba for local use. But it is old and has been overloaded due to the population growth.

"The transformer was provided 33 years ago. We have written several letters for this transformer to be changed and felt that privatization would make things easy but this is not so.

Anytime we go to IBEDCs office in Ibadan they will refer us to their Ilorin office. Ilorin office will now direct us to Jebba and that is how we have been going back and forth. We have spent a fortune trying to resolve this problem, he submitted.

Although succor came to the community in May when the Niger state government intervened and awarded a contract of N156 million for the provision of two new step-down transformers and additional 10 new transformers, residents still had to wait for another 2 months before installation accessories were provided. Even then, residents complain about the slow pace of work at the project site.

We appreciate the government for intervening but we dont understand why the project is not given prompt attention. As we speak the transformers have not been energised, said Mohammad Hassan, the president, Federation of Mokwa Youth Association (FOMYA).

The new step down transformers bought by the Niger state government. Photo credit: Olajide Adelana

Source: Depositphotos

But in all of this, community sources say that IBEDC rarely showed concern.

After we pleaded to no avail that IBEDC should provide us with a new transformer and restore power. We finally have our own transformer and thanks to the state government. But then when power comes back fully they will come around to start billing us, Yemisi Adeoyi, a trader in the community said.

Efforts to speak with IBEDC zonal office in Jebba proved abortive as the communications manager, Ms. Zainab Galadima declined comments and insisted she would only talk when she has clearance from the head office. She then promised to get back to the reporter but didnt after several weeks. Subsequent calls made to her phone were not answered.

A staff of IBEDC, who is privy to the Mokwa power crisis, said there has been no prompt response by IBEDC to replace the necessary infrastructure needed to restore power because of the lack of resources to do so. Besides that, the staff added, Mokwa is not commercially viable and it is expected that other communities and areas that are commercially viable would first be given priority.

Power Consumer Assistance Fund (PCAF): The hope for the rural poor that never was

Kunle Kola Olubiyo is the president, Network for Energy Reforms. He believes IBEDC could afford to toy with Mokwa because the area is largely rural and might not be very profitable for the DisCo.

You know Mokwa is a rural area and the DisCo might not be getting much revenue from there and as such they can afford not to pay much attention to them. However, going by the law they (DisCo) are meant to cater for every infrastructure under their franchise area, he said.

Perhaps this was what the Electric Power Sector Reform Act (EPSRA) 2005 envisaged by making provision for a Power Consumer Assistance Fund (PCAF) where both government grant and cross subsidy from eligible customers are channeled to support electricity consumption by the poor and average Nigerians who otherwise would have been in darkness if they were to pay prevailing electricity tariff for electricity that is consumed.

Power sector infographics

Source: Depositphotos

But years later, the fund is yet to kick off and this sadly points to bigger problems bedeviling the Nigerian power sector since its privatization in 2005.

Following the unbundling of Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN), its assets and infrastructure were bought over by private investors who had shown capability in playing significant role and investing in the electricity value chain from generation (GenCos), to transmission (TCN) and then distribution (DisCos).

Thereafter 11 DisCos including the IBDEC were incorporated to take charge of different franchise areas also called distribution zones.

This was expected to tremendously improve the power sector but rather it seems to have complicated issues with DisCos claiming that they have never made profit since they took over the assets.

As a way out, experts have advocated for adequate metering arguing that appreciable improvement would only be recorded if more investment is made in tackling revenue losses and energy theft.

The DisCos somewhat concur but think otherwise. Despite continued increase in tariff from an average of N10 per kilo watts per hour in 2007 to N24.20 per kilo watts per hour in 2017, the DisCos would rather favour an upward review of electricity pricing citing the need to have a cost reflective tariff as provided for by Multi-Year Tariff Order (MYTO), a methodology for regulating electricity prices.

But this has only raised more doubts about the commitment of the DisCos with many accusing them of not wanting to do away with estimated billing, a billing system that has seen consumers outrageously billed.

As at August 31, 2018 about four million electricity users of the 7.4 million registered users are still without meters, says Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC). With the exception of Benin and Port Harcourt DisCos, no other DisCos have metered up to 50 per cent of its customers.

Mokwa at night. Residents ready to stew in darkness. Photo credit: Olajide Adelana

Source: Depositphotos

Ibadan DisCo where Mokwa falls under has the largest customer base of 1.474m from which over half -864,760 customers are still paying bills on estimation.

Overall, three in every five registered electricity consumers in Nigeria are unmetered, a recent report by NERC says.

PCAF and how the poor was sold a dummy

In all of this, thoughts of how the poor would cope with increase in electricity tariff seem elusive. Yemi Oke is an associate professor of electricity law at the University of Lagos (UNILAG). He says the PCAF ought to have been operational even before discussion about tariff increase was brought to fore.

If you are to go with the Electric Power Sector Reforms Act (EPSRA), the PCAF ought to have been in place even before we started discussion about increasing electricity tariff. Surprisingly, we have had MYTO reviewed and attention was never diverted to PCAF. Quite frankly, the fund has not been constituted.

"There is no manager, there is no fund to be utilized, and definitely no one is implementing it. In no way has that part of the law been given effect to and everyone is aware including the DisCos and the government, he said in an interview with this reporter.

Is the government aware and why have they not implemented PCAF?

Moses Arigu is an expert in the electricity, gas and petroleum industries and also the commissioner in charge of Consumer Affairs, NERC. He says there are no modalities for the operationalization of PCAF and this has stalled its implementation by the government.

According to him, there is no structure to identify the poorest of the poor who are the target beneficiaries and government would only kick start the PCAF when all necessary conditions to prevent the fund from being hijacked by the rich and corrupt minded persons are put in place.

Yes, PCAF is meant for the poor but in the western world one will need to identify the beneficiaries. No one is providing physical cash to the poor but all that is needed is to identify the poor.

"In developed climes they have the structure to really identify those that are truly poor but here we dont have it. In the past, steps have been taken to address this issue and that is the way to go because if not everybody will claim they are poor.

Oke, however, shares a different view. He believes the PCAF is not likely to work as presently constituted because the EPSRA of 2005 was not intended to operationalize the power sector.

At best, Oke stressed, the Act was only meant to midwife the privatization process as it didnt take into consideration the challenges and practicality of a whole lot of its provisions during and post-privatization of the sector.

As it stands, it is safe to say PCAF was a dummy sold to the poor for the purpose of privatization but is there a way out of this dilemma?

Critics say a good place to start from is to admit that not much progress seems to have been achieved since privatization of the power sector. Alex Okoh is the Director-General of the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE).

He believes that the power sector privatization has not met its objectives largely because of industry issues such as electricity pricing, efficiency of the DisCos, and infrastructural issues.

But for the Coalition for Affordable and Regular Electricity (CARE), the dismal state of the power sector would continue to linger until the privatization of the power sector is reversed.

In a recent statement, the group posits that many consumers were suffering black out despite the marginal improvement in electricity generation due to dilapidated transmission and distribution facilities.

The group puts the blame squarely on power companies lack of capacity to invest and bring about sustainable improvement and stability in the supply and distribution of electricity.

Wumi Iledare however disagrees. Iledera who is a professor of petroleum economic and policy research says a review instead of an outright cancellation of the privatization agreement would be a step in the right direction.

He also called for the review of the Electric Power Sector Reform Act adding that it will help to address structural issues in the sector.

READ ALSO: 2019: INEC raises alarm, says parties nominate underage for presidential election

I dont support the cancellation of privatization agreement. But I do not mind a review because we have not seen any tangible benefit of that exercise. Any distribution or generation company that is not performing on the basis of the key performance indicators given should be brought to book, Iledera says in a chat with a Nigerian newspaper.

Toughened up by the situation, this local eatery is one of the few still opened for business. Photo credit: Olajide Adelana

Source: Depositphotos

Regardless of whatever solution is employed, Mohammed and other residents of Mokwa would care less if it doesnt stop them from sleeping in darkness while they watch dusk crawl up the sky and across their bedroom windows.

This report was supported by Wole Soyinka Centre for Investigative Journalism (WSCIJ) Regulators Monitoring Programme (REMOP) for the energy sector.

Meanwhile, Legit.ng had previously reported on plans by the federal government to supply electricity to Burkina Faso, a West African nation despite poor power situation in Nigeria.

NAIJ.com (naija.ng) -> Legit.ng We have upgraded to serve you better.

Fashola EXCLUSIVE Interview: How Nigeria Can Have Uninterrupted Power Supply | - on Legit TV

Source: Legit
A hearing on developer Abe Atiyehs latest attempt to open a psychiatric hospital near Bethlehem Catholic High School was continued Thursday night without a decision.

The Thursday meeting of the Bethlehem Zoning Hearing Board was already a continuation of a September meeting on Atiyehs appeal of the zoning officers denial of a zoning permit for an 80-bed psychiatric hospital at 1838 Center Ave.

The board gave Atiyehs attorneys until Dec. 14 to file a brief laying out their case and another meeting has been scheduled for Wednesday, Dec. 19, where a vote is expected, city Zoning Officer Suzanne Borzak said in an email message.

In July, Borzak rejected a zoning permit application from Atiyehs Pennsylvania Venture Capital LLC for the hospital on a 5-acre lot because she determined that what Atiyeh wants to build is in fact a treatment center, not a hospital. Treatment centers are not legal uses in the citys institutional zoning district.

After trying to submit new plans to the city, Atiyeh is reverting back to his plan for a hospital, which was approved in 2013 by the city planning commission with the caveat it could not be a treatment center. The decision also required the exact hospital use be approved by zoning, Darlene Heller, city planning director, has explained.

In the filed appeal, Atiyehs company notes it applied for the permit to comply with the conditions of the 2013 approval. The appeal argues that Borzak erred in her decision and abused her discretion when she found the proposed hospital was in fact a treatment center.

Atiyeh contends that the proposed private psychiatric hospital is not a residential treatment facility and therefore allowed under the use approved by the planning commission in 2013.

Atiyehs morphing plans for the property at the corner of Dewberry Avenue and Center Street have long put him at odds with neighbors, Becahi officials and the city. The developer has proposed apartments, a drug and alcohol treatment center and various iterations of a hospital.

In September, the zoning hearing board heard testimony on the appeal for more than four hours and opted to continue the hearing to Thursday.

Sara K. Satullo may be reached at ssatullo@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow her on Twitter @sarasatullo and Facebook. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook.
Authorities in New Jersey announced a $500 reward in the investigation into an armed robbery at a gas station off Interstate 78.

The perpetrator brandished a silver handgun and demanded money from the clerk about 11:50 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 24, inside the Citgo Gas Station on Route 173 in Bloomsbury, according to the Hunterdon County Prosecutors Office.

The assailant fled on foot south on Main Street.

He is described as white or of Hispanic descent, standing about 5 feet 8 inches tall with a medium build and was wearing black pants, a black hooded jacket, black watch cap, black face mask and fluorescent yellow safety vest, Prosecutor Anthony Kearns III said in a news release announcing the reward Thursday.

Crime Stoppers of Hunterdon County has offered a cash reward of $500 for information that leads to the arrest of the armed robbery suspect," Kearns says in the release. I remind our residents, if you see anyone matching that description, do not approach the suspect rather, notify law enforcement immediately.

Anonymous, confidential tips may be submitted by calling Crime Stoppers at 800-321-0010, going online at CrimeStoppersHunterdon.com or through the free P3 Tips smartphone app. Tipsters may also call New Jersey State Police at Perryville at 908-730-7042.

Kurt Bresswein may be reached at kbresswein@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow him on Twitter @KurtBresswein and Facebook. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook.
Gregory Liccardi, 41, is wanted on an arrest warrant for vehicle theft, according to the Hunterdon County Prosecutors Office.

Liccardi, whose last known address was in Washington, is described as 6 feet 5 inches tall and 180 pounds with brown hair and hazel eyes.

The prosecutors office asks anyone with information about Liccardi to contact Detectives John Mulligan, Frank Modaffare, or Lamont Garnes of the Joint Hunterdon County Fugitive Task Force at 908-788-1129 or your local police department. Anonymous tips can be submitted by calling Crime Stoppers at 800-321-0010, going online at CrimeStoppersHunterdon.com, or through the free P3 Tips smartphone app. All tips are anonymous and kept confidential.
An appeal in which a jury verdict found a driver guilty of manslaughter after doctors agreed that he met the criteria to be found legally insane, is being watched by the Polish Embassy in Dublin, the Court of Appeal has been told.

Polish national Dariusz Alchimionek (44), with an address at Barrow Way, Spa Street, Portarlington, Co Laois, had denied the manslaughter of John Gorman (19) and assault causing harm to his brother, Adam, on December 29, 2015.

The brothers had been returning home from Tullamore when a vehicle driven by Alchimionek suddenly crossed the road into the path of their oncoming car at Ballycrystal, Geashill, Co Offaly.

Tullamore Circuit Criminal Court heard how Alchimionek had become convinced the Islamic State group, or Isis, were about to invade Europe and a third World War was about to begin.

Consultant psychiatrists for both the prosecution and the defence agreed that Alchimionek met the criteria to be found not guilty by reason of insanity. The jury had the option of returning three verdicts: guilty, not guilty or not guilty by reason of insanity.

After two hours and 50 minutes of deliberations, the jury returned majority guilty verdicts of 11-1 on both counts, which were met with applause in the courtroom.

The accused was then sentenced nine years imprisonment with the final three suspended by Judge Keenan Johnson in October 2017.

Alchimionek has lodged an appeal against his conviction on the sole ground that the jurys verdict was perverse and against the evidence.

His barrister, Kenneth Fogarty SC, asked the Court of Appeal today/yesterday(FRIDAY) for the earliest possible date for hearing.

Mr Fogarty said it was a case of finding the proper place for his treatment and care. He said he was currently serving a sentence in prison but undoubtedly he should be detained in the Central Mental Hospital (CMH), counsel said.

Counsel for the Director of Public Prosecutions, Michael Delaney SC, said on the last occasion that it was a case "on which the Director has been reflecting for some time" and it has caused "some difficulty".

Mr Delaney said the prosecutions consultant psychiatrist effectively agreed with the consultant psychiatrist hired by the defence that Alchimionek met the criteria for a verdict of not guilty by reason of insanity.

The prosecutions consultant psychiatrist had not been called to give evidence. However, the jury was told that the prosecutions doctor effectively agreed with the doctor for the defence.

Mr Delaney told the court on Friday, November 30 that certain lines of inquiry pursued by the DPP had not been completed.

He said the State were seeking to obtain medical records related to Alchimionek. He said there had been a previous hospitalisation and the state hoped to receive cooperation from the defence in receiving those records.

Mr Fogarty said the State was entitled at any time to obtain the information they were now retrospectively seeking. He said the State was trying to "justify a situation that is unjustifiable.

Mr Fogarty informed the court that representatives from the Polish Embassy in Dublin had become interested in the case as observers.

President of the Court of Appeal Mr Justice George Birmingham listed the matter for January 24 next.

On the last occasion, Mr Fogarty said the atmosphere in the Circuit Court had been "highly charged". There was an "outpouring of emotion" that was "humanly understandable" but not desirable in terms of how the law was to be applied".

Mr Fogarty said the prosecution had made a decision at one point to "change what the accused man was facing". What started out as a dangerous driving causing death charge later became a manslaughter charge.

He said it was explained to Alchimionek that the foregone conclusion of a not guilty verdict by reason of insanity, was a referral to the Central Mental Hospital (CMH).




The people of Portarlington have once again shown their generosity by supporting the Portarlington Credit Union shoebox collection for Team Hope.

Portarlington Credit Union is linked up with Team Hope again this year to help those less fortunate by taking part of the Christmas Shoebox Appeal.

Over 180 shoeboxes were collected containing items for men, women and children based on different age categories.

Items like toys, colouring books, toothbrushes, toiletries and chocolates have been placed into the boxes by local people so others in need will have a gift this Christmas.

They have been beautifully wrapped in festive paper and a donation of 4 has been given with each box.

The Credit Union has thanked Oakdale Nursing Home, Ar nOige Playschool, St Patricks BNS and each and every person for taking the time to put the boxes together.

Last year an incredible 5,430 shoeboxes were sent from Laois to Romania. Team Hope is an Irish, Christian development aid charity, working with children, and through them, into their families and communities mainly across Eastern Europe, former Soviet Union and Africa.
1. The rapping Offaly farmer...

In 2015, Kendrick Lamar met Marty Mone when Offaly's very own rapping farmer hit the screen. Fionn Dowling became a viral star and even released his own single after the show.

2. John Joe the horologist...

In 2009, a young boy from Roscommon, John Joe Brennan, became the biggest Late Late Toy Show star of the hashtag age. From his insightful musings on Roald Dahl to his ambition to fix clocks, John Joe certainly captured the hearts of the nation. He was even invited back to a regular Late Late Show in the months that followed to show off some of his beloved clocks.

3. Joseph McCaul baffled by 'technical' toys...

He would later rise to You're A Star and Eurovision fame on RTE, but before all that, Joseph McCaul appeared on the Late Late Toy Show as a young boy from Athlone baffled by the toys he was given. Asked about the electronic lab set he had played with, Joe admitted to not having the foggiest as to what it was all about. Having revealed the toy was designed for 10-year-olds, Joe gave the best reply when Pat asked, 'and what age are you then, Joe?' '12,' he replied and the crowd erupted in laughter.

4. The Toy Show's first Co-Host...

In 2013, Cavan youngster Fergal Smith became a star as he was given the privilege of co-presenting the famous Toy Show alongside Ryan Tubridy. He arguably landed the spot during the best segment of the show, the bikes and trikes. After a few early nerves, Fergal hit his stride as he introduced each demonstrator, and kept his cool even when poor Billy nearly clocked himself off his scooter.

5. Little Danielle listing every county...

In 2009, a four-year-old rolled onto the set and made us all feel very inadequate by rattling off all 32 counties without so much as a single flinch. Some adults would fumble trying this, be honest!

6. The Strypes get their start...

In 2010, a bunch of fresh-faced lads from Cavan transported us back to the 60s with a swinging rendition of I Saw Her Standing There by the Beatles. The band went on to huge success before announcing their split in 2018.

7. Toby singing his heart out...

Little Toby here got the shock of his life on the Toy Show back in 2003 when his powerful rendition of 'Jump' was rudely interrupted by Girls Aloud. Toby was far from impressed and after hitting every high note, he retreated into himself and refused kisses from the biggest girl band of the time.

8. The esteemed Junior Culchie of Ireland...

A distinguished title in our book and an award well worth winning. Mark McSharry once again put Cavan on the Toy Show map in 2009 as he announced himself as the Junior Culchie of Ireland as if he was the King of Tory Island. And wouldn't you too if you held such a position!?

9. A very Dublin U2 review...

In 1987, Gaybo was in his pomp and U2 fever was gripping the nation. So much so that Patricia Cullen was invited onto the Late Late Toy Show to give her very Dublin take on the band's gig in Croke Park in the summer of that year. "And Larry, I do be only rattling after that fella." Absolute Toy Show gold!

10. Noah and Leah melt our hearts...

In 2015, Louth siblings Leah and Noah literally brought a tear to our eyes as they performed Titanium on the Late Late Toy Show. Leah and Noah's original video on YouTube had originally garnered over two million views. On this night in 2015, Noah, who has Downs Syndrome, and his big sister Leah were absolute stars.

SEE ALSO: Kildare brother and sister duo set for big Late Late Toy Show performance
Willie Kelly, a beef farmer from Skreen, Co Sligo has been shortlisted for Bord Bias Origin Green Farmer Awards.

The biennial awards recognise and reward the exceptional performance being achieved by members of its Sustainable Quality Assurance schemes for beef, horticulture and dairy. These schemes are pivotal to differentiating Irish food products in the global marketplace.

Mr Kelly has been nominated in the Suckler to Beef category at the awards. His herd of suckler cows are predominantly Limousin and Simmental and he also keeps a flock of mid-season lambing ewes.

Willies farm, along with the 38 other participating farms, meets high standards around hygiene, farm safety, traceability, animal welfare, remedy use and commitment to their locality. The overall category winners will be announced at an awards ceremony at The Heritage Hotel, Killenard, Co. Laois on Wednesday 12th December.

With the Origin Green programme, Ireland is the first country in the world to audit and carbon footprint its livestock farms, currently at a rate of 650 a week, under what is in effect a national programme providing measurement and feedback to farmers for continuous improvement in how they farm sustainably. The results represent a unique selling point for Irish food exports, proving that farmers are operating with due care for the surrounding environment, resulting in a low *carbon footprint.

Chief Executive of Bord Bia Tara McCarthy paid tribute to the achievements of all the finalists, saying: The farmers chosen as finalists for these awards are already regarded by the industry as being among the very best. Their commitment to sustainable production through the Origin Green programme and willingness to have their achievements judged by a panel of experts shows their ambition to be the best and to make the Irish food and drink industry a world leader.

She added: These are the farmers Bord Bia will be looking to when we are demonstrating to food buyers the solid foundations on which the Irish food and drink industry has been built and why it is sustainable into the future.

The overall category winners will be announced at an awards ceremony on Wednesday, 12th December 2018.
Through the Eyes of Margaret Cousins - Irish & Indian Suffragette' written by Dr Keith Munro and published by Hive Studio Books, Derry, will be launched at 7pm on Tuesday, 4th December in King House in Boyle.

The audience will be welcomed by the Cathaoirleach, Cllr Ivan Connaughton. Dr Munro, author and grand-nephew of Margaret Cousins, will then address the meeting. Cllr. Orla Leyden BA M.Litt., special guest for the evening will then launch the book.

Dr Munro previously made a promise, at the Roscommon Commemorative Lecture Programme for Votail 100 in April of this year, to publish a book on the life of Margaret Cousins, who had been born in a house on the Crescent in Boyle on 7th November 1878. He is now fulfilling that promise.

Published during this historic year of the 100th Anniversary of Votes for Women, the book concerns the life of Margaret Cousins, known as Gretta and her husband James, an Irish poet of note. He was a contemporary and friend of such Irish poets during the Cultural Revival as WB Yeats, George Russel (), Padriac Colum. This book is seeing through her eyes from diaries and notes recorded by both of them and published in their seminal work: We Two Together Madras (1950).

Gretta and Jim, together with their friends Hanna and Frank Sheehy-Skeffington founded the Irish Womens Franchise League. In November 1922 Gretta was invited to become the first non-Indian Magistrate in the history of India. She worked tirelessly for the rest of her life for the education of the women of India. She passed away in Adyar in Chennai in 1954 at the age of seventy-five.

This book has been endorsed by past President of Ireland, Mary Robinson, who said: ..This is the story of a most remarkable Irish girl from Boyle in Roscommon, who, together with her husband James and the Sheehy-Skeffingtons, Frank and Hanna, founded the Irish Womens Franchise League in 1908. Driven by her passion for womens equality Margaret Cousins devoted the rest of her life to the education of women in India and the raising of their status. It is significant that this book is being released during this historic year of Votail 100.

Dr Keith Munro MB FMO was a General Practitioner (1970-2003), Retired Forensic Medical Officer (1970-2018) and a Founder Member of the Foyle Hospice in Derry (1983).

Members of the public are invited to attend the launch on Tuesday 4th December at 7pm.
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(CNN)  New Zealand blocked its top telecom firm from using Huawei equipment for its 5G mobile network, dealing another blow to the Chinese tech company's ambitions to become a leader in the next generation wireless technology.

Spark, the country's largest telecommunications company, said government officials told the company Wednesday that using Huawei's 5G equipment "would, if implemented, raise significant national security risks."

New Zealand's spy agency, the Government Communications Security Bureau (GCSB), confirmed the assessment in a statement to CNN.

"I have informed Spark that a significant network security risk was identified," said Andrew Hampton, the director general of GCSB.

Under the country's telecommunications security law, that means Spark can't use Huawei equipment to build its planned 5G network.

Huawei is China's biggest telecommunications and smartphone company. It has invested heavily in 5G technology, becoming one of the few companies, like Sweden's Ericsson (ERIC) and Finland-based Nokia (NOK), capable of making competitive equipment for global 5G networks.

Huawei said Wednesday that it is "looking into the situation" in New Zealand.

"We will actively address any concerns and work together [with the government] to find a way forward," the company said in a statement.

New Zealand's move comes just months after Australia blocked Huawei from providing 5G technology for the country's wireless networks. The United Kingdom has also warned of potential security risks from using Huawei products.

The most intense scrutiny on the Chinese company is coming from the United States, which has effectively banned Huawei products since 2012. It is now pushing allies to follow suit. US lawmakers have warned Canada to keep Huawei out of its 5G network plans, and American officials are reportedly pressuring Germany, Italy and Japan to stop using Huawei telecommunications equipment.

But several major carriers around the world are already deploying Huawei's 5G equipment.

The company said it has signed more than 20 commercial contracts for 5G equipment and technology, but didn't disclose the companies or countries involved in those deals.

This story was first published on CNN.com, "New Zealand prevents mobile carrier from buying Huawei 5G tech over security fears."
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LIMERICK City and County Council says it is pleased with the response it has received to its proposed Roundabout Sponsorship Scheme.

The local authority had invited businesses and organisations to sponsor a number of roundabouts in the city as part of a initiative which will run for three years.

Four companies have expressed an interest, a detailed examination of each of the expressions of interest is now underway.

Six roundabouts are to be included in the innovative scheme, which, its hoped, will enhance the citys environment.

The six roundabouts to be included are Clondrinagh Roundabout, Groody Roundabout, Tipperary Roundabout, Greenpark Roundabout, Shannon Bridge Roundabout and Parkway Roundabout.

In the each case the successful company or organisation will be responsible for the landscaping and maintaining of the roundabout. They will also be required to provide colourful displays of perennial plants at the roundabout.

A spokesperson for the local authority says details of the successful bidders will be announced in the coming weeks.
THERE was a new face on Limerick City and County Council this week, with Mary Cahillane taking the seat vacated by Cian Prendiville.

There was shock after Mr Prendiville, who came within 200 votes of unseating Jan OSullivan in the last General Election, decided to step away from local politics, citing personal reasons.

But this week, his replacement was formally co-opted onto the council.

Cllr Cahillane, a primary school teacher at Salesians in Fernbank, was born near Dingle, and used to study at Mary Immaculate College.

A member of the Irish National Teachers Organisation, she has played a key role in protests against pension cuts, sectarianism  from her time working in Belfast  and salary cuts.

She was proposed to join the council by her Solidarity party colleague Paul Keller, with her nomination seconded by Cllr John Gilligan, Independent.

Mary is determined to step up to the challenge, to continue Cians campaign work on the council, and work on behalf of all of those whose voices are seldom if ever heard, she said.

Cllr Cahillane acknowledged Mr Prendiville will be a hard act to follow.

But I will do my best in my own way, she pledged.

Upon her co-option, she was greeted with a warm round of applause.

Sinn Fein councillor Malachy McCreesh welcomed her, while Cllr Kevin Sheehan  who clashed with Mr Prendiville on numerous occasions during his mayoralty  had warm words for his old adversary.

I would like to extend my best wishes to him. While we did not get on, he made a strong contribution, and I sincerely wish him all the best, he said.

Fine Gael councillor John Sheahan said: Its always good when peole put their name forward. I hope we can work together. You do have a tough act to follow though! Cllr Michael Collins, Fianna Fail, Brigid Teefy, Independent, and Elena Secas, Labour, also welcomed the newcomer.
THE trial of a 60-year-old Limerick man accused of murdering a Romanian national has heard that a paramedic saw one injury to the deceased's chest when she arrived at the scene.

A statement from an attending paramedic was read into evidence by prosecution counsel in the Limerick mans murder trial at the Central Criminal Court on Thursday.

Desmond Coyle, with an address at Davis Street in Limerick, has pleaded not guilty to murdering Calo Carpaci, 58, at Roches Row in the city on May 24, 2017.

Paramedic Mary OBrien said she was in the ambulance when a call was dispatched from the control centre reporting a stabbing at Roches Row at 1.36pm on May 24. The ambulance arrived at the scene at 1.40pm and parked outside a funeral home on Roches Road. Ms OBrien said she grabbed her equipment and made her way to the patient.

A garda was already at the scene doing compressions on the patients chest as he lay unresponsive on the pavement, said Ms OBrien. The mans clothing was cut and a defibrillator pad was applied to his chest.

I could see one injury to his chest, which was slightly left of centre, she said.

Ms OBrien said she checked the patient for a pulse but there was none so they moved him onto a stretcher and into the back of the ambulance. There were no other visible injuries when a head-to-toe examination was carried out on him, she noted.

Prosecution counsel Anthony Sammon SC read out a second statement by Marie ODonnell, a clerk from An Post in Limerick city. Ms ODonnell said Mr Coyle was one of her regular customers and he came into the post office at 9am on May 24 to collect his disability benefit.

He was his usual quiet and polite self and I never had any issues with him, she said.

Fergus Maher's statement was also read into evidence and he said a general conversation took place between him and Mr Coyle for five or ten minutes sometime before 1pm on May 24.

I think he may have had a few drinks on him, said Mr Maher.

Earlier in his opening address, prosecuting counsel Mr Sammon said a very significant part of the case will be based on CCTV footage capturing the movements of people around Limerick city.

CCTV footage, the court heard, will show Mr Coyle leaving his flat at Davis Street on May 24 and going about his business.

Mr Sammon said this footage will also show the route taken by the accused from when he leaves his home and goes to Roches Row.

He doesnt take the most direct route he could have taken from Davis Street to get to Roches Row and that is a matter of importance, said counsel.

The court heard that CCTV footage will also show that Mr Coyle very briefly entered Mr Carpaci's residence at Roches Row.

The barrister said the accuseds life centered very much on alcohol and public houses at the time.

You will come to the view that Mr Coyle was under the influence of alcohol on the occasion, said Mr Sammon, adding that only in very rare situations can the degree of alcohol intoxication deprive a person of forming a conscious intent.

Counsel told the jury they will receive enough evidence in this case to show that Mr Coyles situation at the time of the killing was not excusatory.

There will also be evidence, Mr Sammon said, concerning Mr Coyles arrest and detention as well as interviews he gave gardai.

Mark Nicholas SC, defending Mr Coyle, made a series of admissions or concessions this afternoon under section 21 of the Criminal Justice Act 1984. Mr Nicholas told the jury that his client accepts the lawfulness of his arrest and detention which took place on May 24 as well as the preservation of the scene.

A doctor came to the garda station and noted Mr Coyle was intoxicated and unfit for questioning, said Mr Nicholas, adding that there was no need to bring a doctor to court to establish this.

The trial continues this Friday before Mr Justice Michael White and a jury of seven men and five women. It is expected to last two weeks.
A MOTORIST acquitted of dangerous driving causing the death of an oncoming driver must wait to hear whether his acquittal will be overturned by the Court of Appeal.

The man, who cannot be named for legal reasons as he is not technically before the courts, was previously charged with dangerous driving causing the death of another motorist in County Limerick in 2014.

He was acquitted by a jury, on the direction of the trial judge, following a trial earlier this year.

The Court of Appeal has heard the mans car crossed 1.7metres into the opposing lane of traffic before colliding with the deceaseds oncoming car on a straight stretch of road.

He had not been drinking or speeding. His mobile phone had not been used for 42 minutes prior to the incident. There was no evidence of any medical issue, no evidence of any infirmities in the vehicle, no evidence that any environmental factor contributed to the incident and no evidence that his vehicle went out of control.

The trial judge directed the jury to acquit the then accused on the basis that there was insufficient evidence to support the charge of dangerous driving causing death. There was no alternative charge such as careless driving causing death.

The Director of Public Prosecutions moved to appeal the mans acquittal on a point of law under Section 23 of the Criminal Procedure Act 2010.

Counsel for the DPP, Anne-Marie Lawlor SC, told the Court of Appeal that the act of driving dangerously had been defined by the courts as driving in a manner which a reasonably prudent person would recognise involved a direct, immediate and serious risk to the public.

Ms Lawlor said the jury ought to have been given the opportunity to assess whether driving 1.7m into oncoming traffic was a dangerous act. She said the jury could have assessed where on the spectrum of dangerous versus carelessness it lay.

Instead, she submitted that the trial judge engaged in a personal analysis on whether an alternative charge - careless driving causing death - was more appropriate.

That was not the test and the trial judge erred in applying legal principles set down in a case known as Galbraith, Ms Lawlor submitted.

When asked about a potential lapse in concentration, she said it was for the jury to assess whether that would have been careless or dangerous.

Counsel for the acquitted man, Dominic McGinn SC, said it was a matter of sufficiency, not quality of evidence, and there simply was not sufficient evidence to support the charge of dangerous driving causing death.

Mr McGinn said there were no inherently dangerous features on the facts. He said an element of the offence was not present. It was a legal assessment and the trial judge was obliged to make that assessment.

Every time there is a collision one could point to a driver in the wrong and conclude what they did must be dangerous.

If there hadn't been a tragic death, the most his client would have been charged with was careless driving, Mr McGinn said.

President of the Court of Appeal Mr Justice George Birmingham, who sat with Mr Justice John Edwards and Ms Justice Isobel Kennedy, said the court would reserve its judgment.
AFTER being vacant for years, a massive site on the edge of Limerick city looks set to be developed into an apartment complex.

Cloncara Investments Ltd have announced plans to build 100 apartments and small commercial units at the former garage at Punchs Cross near the junction of the Ballinacurra Road and the Rosbrien Road, with the multi-million euro development to be fast-tracked through the planning process due to the countrys housing crisis.

Talks have been ongoing with the councils planning department in recent weeks, with the move welcomed by Cllr Joe Leddin who said he is delighted the landmark, iconic site is finally being developed.

Im delighted its getting started. We have a chronic shortage of good quality apartments in the city. We are removing an eyesore, another derelict site from our citys landscape. It is on a main artery road, the main Ballinacurra Road, he said.

Its understood the 100 units will be divided between student accommodation and private accommodation, and will be supported by small scale business.

However, its unlikely this will comprise a general store, given the fact the Greenpark Shopping Centre, and the Inver gas station are in close proximity. More likely, it will be a laundrette facility.

Development of the site has been slow due to the fact until recently, there were three different owners which made securing any possible agreement to redevelop extremely difficult.

Metropolitan mayor Daniel Butler said: Its been challenging. It went to Nama, and there were a number of owners. I think the plans are very complementary to the area, and I think it will take huge pressure off our existing housing stock. It will be more amenable and affordable for the students at Mary Immaculate College.

As part of the proposed development, new road infrastructure will include new access roads and a widening of the existing Rosbrien Road to facilitate traffic turning right into the Ballinacurra Road.

The application is going straight to An Bord Pleanala, under new laws from Housing Minister Eoghan Murphy which allow large-scale housing projects to skip a step in the planning process.

Despite this, the public will still be able to have their say, with notices being erected around the site, Cllr Leddin said.

Previously, the site was home to a car dealership, a video shop, a take-away and a petrol filling station.
ONE of the longest-serving gardai in the Limerick division was honoured at the recent Annual General Meeting of the Limerick branch of the Garda Representative Association.

Gerard Keating, who is attached to the Juvenile Liaison Office (JLO) at Mayorstone garda station, is also one of the longest serving GRA representatives in the country.

Garda Keating, who joined the force forty years ago this month, was stationed in North Clare at the beginning of his career where he became a GRA rep in the Ennistymon district during the early 1980s.

Later in his career he transferred from Clare to the former Mary Street garda station in the Limerick division.

It wasnt long before he began representing his colleagues again. Gerry has served as both a District and divisional rep, also holding the role of secretary for a number of years, said Garda Cathal OGorman, secretary of the Limerick branch of the GRA.

Garda Keating, who is known as DAG by many of his colleagues, has been attached to the JLO office for some time and is due to retire from the force next May.

He is the current chairman of GRA in Limerick City North garda district.

Gerrys talent compassion and hard work is highly regarded by members of all rank in Limerick, said Garda OGorman following the presentation.

Speaking at the recent AGM at the Woodlands House Hotel in Adare, Garda Keating thanked his colleagues for their support over the years.

He spoke of the importance of the GRA and reiterated his one wish for the organisation is to ensure that there is adequate representation for members and in particular more junior members of An Garda Siochana.

Garda colleagues  present and retired  from across the Limerick division attended the AGM which was the last before Garda Keatings retirement next year.

The current chairman of the GRA in Limerick Garda Alan ODonnell and GRA Vice President Garda Frank Thornton were also among those who attended the event.

A small presentation was made to Garda Keating on the night in acknowledgement of his service as a GRA rep in Limerick and elsewhere.
AN INQUEST in Limerick has heard that the death of a man, caused by septicemia, could have been prevented if he had sought medical treatment.

Mayorstone garda Aidan Riordan discovered the body of Croatian national Igor Garapic, aged 38, on the floor of his apartment kitchen in Cluain Dara Court, Clonmacken, on March 14.

Gda Riordan, who was accompanied by the landlord, told Limerick Coroners Court that an alarm had been raised after Mr Garapic had not been seen for a week.

The deceased worked in asset management in the city centre.

Gda Riordan said that, during a search of the residence, he found 16 empty packets of Nurofen Plus in various locations of the apartment; two empty packets of Buscopan and two empty packets of Motilium.

During a post-mortem examination, pathologist Dr Terezia Laslo discovered a gastric ulcer and the presence of painkillers and anti-inflammatories.

Work colleagues, who appeared at last weeks inquest, said they had expressed concern over Mr Garapics palor.

Colleague Barry Kenehan said that Mr Garapic was a very quiet, private man who worked at home a lot.

Coroner John McNamara said: He was obviously a very private man and was suffering, adding that the cause of death was septicemia due to gastric perforation. Returning a verdict of natural causes, he said the perforated ulcer is what caused his death.

Mr McNamara said it was an unfortunate combination of Mr Garapic not receiving medical treatment and taking the medication.

He added that Mr Garapics death could have been prevented had he gone to a doctor for treatment. Delivering the verdict, he said: Im minded to exclude the amount of medication in the cause of death.

Also present at the inquest was Mr Garapics sister, who travelled from Croatia to hear the evidence at the HSE buildings on Catherine Street.

Commenting on Mr Garapics family receiving the news of his death, Mr McNamara said to his sister: I know getting that phone call is not easy.

Mr McNamara and Insp Helen Costelloe expressed condolences to the family and colleagues of Mr Garapic. His work colleagues thanked Gda Riordan before the inquest concluded.
'SkyDivas' Will Attempt to Set a Skydiving Record in PV

Puerto Vallarta, Mexico - Puerto Vallarta's renowned views are some of the world's most photographed, but a group of 30 women will take on this photo-friendly destination from high above the clouds as they attempt to set a record for "most Mexican women to jump in a skydiving formation" while participating in the Mextreme Skydiving parachute event to be held December 5-8. (The current record was set by 19 women skydivers back in 2014.)





Jose Ignacio Alvarez Blanco, of event organizer Mextreme Skydiving, notes Puerto Vallarta has all the necessary conditions and favorable logistics for skydives, including proximity of the jump preparation site to the airport, availability of small parachuting company airplanes and, of course, abundant natural beauty. Fans can witness and photograph jumps and landings from the beach at the mouth of the Pitillal River.

The activities will begin on Wednesday, Dec. 5, with the revision of equipment and recognition jumps for those who require it. That afternoon, at 5:30 pm, an event at the La Isla Shopping Village will feature a promotional video presentation and the introduction of skydive participants. Attendees will be receiving gift bags and have the opportunity to ask the skydivers for autographs.

On Thursday, Dec. 6, starting at 8:30 am, there will be five warm-up jumps for group preparation, immediately followed by attempts to break the record throughout the day until 5:00 pm, according to schedules posted at the local airport.

Friday, Dec. 7 will feature five more jumps. In case a new record for women in formation has already been established, the jumps will be made in an attempt to break other records with greater degree of difficulty, such as a sequential jump, which involves carrying out two formations in the air. At 9:00 am, there will be a jump exhibition at the airport to celebrate International Aviation Day. And in the afternoon, at 5:00 pm, there will be a celebration for the near-certain setting of the new record.

On Saturday, Dec. 8, starting at 10:00 am, there will be exhibition jumps that include one in the formation of the number "100" in the air, commemorating Puerto Vallarta's centennial as a municipality. In the afternoon, a closing party will bid the participants farewell.

Mextreme reports that judges from the Mexican Skydiving Federation, responsible for certifying that all requirements for the record to be valid are met, will be on-hand for the record-setting attempts. The Tourism Board congratulates organizers for what promises to be a spectacular event; Puerto Vallarta will undoubtedly be Mexico's Skydiving Capital during these 4 days.

For more information, visit the Facebook event page.
These Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered during a 1947 excavation of Qumran caves northwest of the Dead Sea.

Archaeologists have discovered two caves near Qumran, in the West Bank, that may hold Dead Sea Scrolls.

So far, the archaeologists excavating the caves have yet to find the remains of any biblical-era manuscripts. However, both caves, now called 53b and 53c, are near caves that held the already-discovered Dead Sea Scrolls, and the team is not done investigating the sites.

The Dead Sea Scrolls consist of the remains of 900 manuscripts found in 12 caves located near Qumran. Many scholars believe that a group called the Essenes lived at Qumran and wrote many of the Dead Sea Scrolls before abandoning the site around A.D. 70, when a revolt against the Romans started.

Caves 1 through 11 were discovered between 1946 and 1956; most of the Dead Sea Scrolls were found in these 11 caves. The 12th cavewas discovered in 2017 but has divulged just one, blank scroll. Inside the cave, archaeologists also found the remains of items used to store scrolls  jars, textiles, rope and string. This indicates that more scrolls existed in Cave 12 in the past but were looted some time ago. [Gallery of Dead Sea Scrolls: A Glimpse of the Past]

The two newfound caves are near the 12th cave, and they also hold evidence of having contained scrolls in the past.

Evidence for scrolls

While looters plundered cave 53b sometime in the past, archaeologists found a bronze cooking pot and "large amounts of pottery representing store jars, flasks, cups and cooking pots, and [the researchers also found] fragments of woven textiles, braided ropes and string," archaeologists Randall Price, of Liberty University in Virginia, and Oren Gutfeld, of Hebrew University of Jerusalem, wrote in the abstract of a paper they presented recently at the American Schools of Oriental Research annual meeting, held in Denver Nov. 14-17. Additionally, an oil lamp was found at the entrance to the cave, they said.

Archaeologists are excavating two newfound caves in Qumran (shown here), looking for the remains of Dead Sea Scrolls. (Image credit: Shutterstock)

"We have not analyzed all of the pottery from this cave [53b], so we do not know if a scroll jar was present," Price, a professor of divinity at Liberty University in Virginia, told Live Science. The textiles, rope and string found in 53b are similar to those found in cave 12, he said. This means that cave 53b may also have been used to store scrolls.

The bronze cooking pot found in cave 53b dates to sometime between 100 B.C. and 15 B.C., a time when people were living at Qumran. The design of the lamp is similar to those of lamps found at Qumran, Price said, suggesting that the people who lived at Qumran used the cave.

Inside cave 53c, the researchers found a fragment of a scroll jar, providing evidence that scrolls were once stored in that cave. Excavations are underway in cave 53c to determine if it still holds any scrolls.

Gutfeld is a researcher at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

Originally published on Live Science.
Ancient human relatives lived on the Arabian Peninsula for an astonishingly long time  from about 240,000 to 190,000 years ago  and spread into the heart of the region by following its blue rivers and lakes, a new study found.

These early human relatives persisted for so long that they could have run into some modern humans, or Homo sapiens, along the way, the researchers said in the study, published online yesterday (Nov. 29) in the journal Scientific Reports.

But the research team didn't make this discovery by studying piles of prehistoric bones. Rather, they traveled to Saudi Arabia to examine and date the stone hand axes that these ancient human relatives created. [In Photos: Hominin Skulls with Mixed Traits Discovered]

Ancient tool-wielders

In particular, the scientists looked at hand axes made by hominins, a group that includes humans, our ancestors and our close evolutionary cousins. "In other words, as a group, [hominins] postdate the split between the line that gave rise to our ancestors and the line that gave rise to the ancestors of chimps," said study lead researcher Eleanor Scerri, the Marie Skodowska-Curie Actions fellow at the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History in Germany.

"Early hominins had small brains and made crude tools," Scerri told Live Science. "However, later hominins had bigger brains and were more sophisticated. Instead of crudely banging rocks together to produce sharp-edged stone flakes, they created beautiful, symmetrical artifacts called hand axes."

Large, expertly shaped cutting tools (such as hand axes) made by hominins are known as Acheulean tools. These instruments  called the "the Swiss army knife of prehistory"  date to 1.5 million years ago; they come from the longest-lasting tool-making tradition in prehistory, Scerri said. Because it's rare to find hominin bones, Acheulean tools are a great stand-in for hominins when trying to figure out when and where they lived, the researchers said.

It's unclear which hominins made the hand axes in Saudi Arabia. "However, hominins that have been found with Acheulean tools include Homo erectus, who was probably a direct ancestor of humans," Scerri said.

Study lead researcher Eleanor Scerri with a giant Acheulean core, which was struck to create hand ax flakes. (Image credit: Palaeodeserts)

Little was known about the Acheulean-making groups in the Arabian Peninsula, the critical region between Africa (where early Acheulean tools are found) and Eurasia (where later Acheulean tools have been uncovered). So, the researchers in the new study convened at Saffaqah, a hominin archaeological site in Riyadh Province, Saudi Arabia. Archaeologists have known about Saffaqah since the 1980s, when they found 8,395 buried artifacts there. But these artifacts had never been dated.

To learn more, the researchers dove into the dirt at Saffaqah, discovering more than 500 additional stone artifacts during the excavation.

"Swiss army knife" dating

The dating revealed that hominins lived in Saffaqah as recently as 188,000 years ago, making it the youngest Acheulean site in southwest Asia, the researchers found. This finding is remarkable, because it shows that the Arabian Acheulean ended just before or at the same time as the earliest H. sapiens made it to the region, the researchers said.

The international team used luminescence dating to determine the age of the tools. This method measures how much light is emitted from energy stored in certain types of rock and soils, as certain minerals store energy from the sun at a known rate, Scerri said. [Photos: Aerial Views of Ancient Stone Structures in Saudi Arabia]

"When these minerals are buried, they can no longer store this energy," she said. "By heating the minerals, the stored energy becomes emptied, and the amount of energy that is emptied gives a measure of a point in time when that mineral was last exposed to daylight."

Archaeologists excavate the ancient hominin site in Saffaqah, Saudi Arabia. (Image credit: Palaeodeserts)

The research also revealed that these hominins spread throughout Saudi Arabia's landscape via its blue waterways. Although Arabia is a vast desert today, it was greener during several brief periods in the past.

"The hominins making the Acheulean tools at Saffaqah seemed to have made their way into the heart of Arabia when these now-dry river networks and channels were active," Scerri said.

But Saudi Arabia was turning dry again by about 188,000 years ago, she said. So, it's likely that "the hominins responsible for these stone tools were quite resilient in the face of environmental challenges," she said. "Although the site of Saffaqah was not a desert when these Acheulean hominins were there, it was probably still quite an arid environment."

Originally published on Live Science.
Among the most exciting moments during pregnancy is when a mother-to-be feels her baby move inside her. Now, research suggests that that kicking isn't just for kicks: With each kick and jab, your baby may be mapping out its brain and building an information superhighway.

These kicks, known as fetal movements, enable a baby to construct a basic brain network so that it can understand what part of the body is moving and how it is being touched, the researchers found.

This early spatial mapping lasts only until birth, when within just a few days, the very same types of movements no longer have the same effect on the brain. It is as if the movements in the womb are preparing the baby for life on the outside, providing the neural scaffolding upon which the brain will build layers of complexity with all the new kinds of sensory input in the world, the researchers suggested. [11 Facts Every Parent Should Know About Their Baby's Brain]

And the reward for feeling around within the womb is nearly instant.

"These fundamental aspects of touch are useful immediately from birth for skills like breastfeeding," said Kimberley Whitehead, a doctoral student at University College London (UCL), who co-led the study.

The study's findings may have implications for neonatal clinical care, such as how to wrap a very premature baby so that it can maintain that sense of being in the womb and further develop this basic brain network, said Whitehead and her dissertation adviser and study co-lead, Lorenzo Fabrizi, a senior research fellow at UCL.

The study is published today (Nov. 30) in the journal Scientific Reports.

Previous research conducted by others has found that spontaneous movements and consequent feedback seen just after birth are necessary for proper brain mapping in animals such as rats. Yet rodents are born in a premature state, less developed than newborn humans. For example, baby rats don't open their eyes until they are about 13 days old.

The question for Fabrizi was whether humans have the same early brain mapping before birth. And yet, researchers can't study the brain waves of babies still in the womb. [That's Incredible! 9 Brainy Baby Abilities]

So, Fabrizi's laboratory devised a study in collaboration with University College London Hospital to examine a variety of newborn humans, including those born premature. A total of 19 newborns, about 2 days old, on average, took part in the study; they were between 31 and 42 weeks in so-called corrected gestational age when studied. Corrected gestational age takes into account their age if they were still in the womb; a baby born at 35 weeks and being 1 week old, for instance, would have a corrected gestational age of 36 weeks.

Using noninvasive electroencephalography (EEG), the researchers measured brainwaves as these infants slept, focusing on the times when the newborns kicked their limbs during rapid eye movement (REM) sleep. And they found evidence for this building of brain networks, especially among the prematurely born babies.

For example, the movement of a baby's right hand caused brain waves to fire immediately afterward in the part of the left brain hemisphere that processes touch for the right hand. The size of these brain waves was larger (meaning a greater increase in activity) in premature babies, who at their age would otherwise still be in the womb, compared with the infants born full-term.

Whitehead said her team's most recent data, not yet published, suggests that other aspects of touch develop in the first several weeks after birth, such as combining information from both the left side and the right side of the body.

"These early patterns [developed in utero] lay out the pathways on which then experience after birth can work on to refine the initial map," Whitehead told Live Science.

For premature babies, the findings suggest that keeping a newborn swaddled or nested in a cot may be beneficial to allow the baby to feel a womb-like surface when he or she moves. Also, as these movements were observed during REM sleep, the results support the notion that sleep should be protected in newborns in hospitals with minimal disturbance for necessary medical procedures.

They are busy building their beautiful brains, after all.

Originally published on Live Science.

Follow Christopher Wanjek @wanjek for daily tweets on health and science with a humorous edge. Wanjek is the author of "Food at Work" and "Bad Medicine." His column, Bad Medicine, appears regularly on Live Science.
If you listen closely, you can hear little plants harnessing the sun's energy. All you have to do is dive underwater and listen for the faint but distinctive "ping!" that red algae make while carrying out photosynthesis, a new study finds.

Just like plants on land, algae photosynthesize  essentially using the sun's rays to turn molecules of carbon dioxide and water into sugar and oxygen gas. Underwater, those teeny tiny oxygen bubbles rush upward. As these bubbles detach from the plant, they make a short "ping" sound, the researchers found.

"Many such bubbles create a large, distributed sound source over the seafloor," the researchers wrote in the study, published online Oct. 3 in the journal PLOS ONE. These noteworthy pings may help researchers monitor the health of coral reefs covered by these algae, they said. [In Photos: Diving in a Twilight Coral Reef]

The researchers first noticed the pings in Hawaii, when they discerned that healthy, protected reefs were making low-frequency sounds, while damaged reefs seemed to call out in higher-pitched sounds, Hakai Magazine reported.

"We were told the sound was from snapping shrimp, end of story," Simon Freeman, who works with his wife and study co-researcher Lauren Freeman as an oceanographer at the U.S. Naval Undersea Warfare Center in Rhode Island, told Hakai Magazine. "[But] there seemed to be a correlation between the sound and the proportion of algae covering the seafloor."

To learn more, the Freemans and their research team transferred 22 lbs. (10 kilograms) of invasive red algae (Gracilaria salicornia) collected from Hawaii's Kaneohe Bay into a tank filled with seawater. This helped them analyze any sounds the algae made, away from the clamor of the noisy ocean.

The experiment worked; the scientists recorded high-frequency pings, which sounded like the dings they heard from the distressed reefs.

Part of the corals' distress comes from algae that are smothering them, the researchers said. People are to blame for some of these algae spikes, largely because of overfishing of the fish that keep the algae in check, pollution from nutrient runoff and climate-change effects, they said.

Given that high agal cover is a strong indicator that coral reefs are struggling to survive, it's possible that monitoring the sounds of these agal bubbles could be a fast and noninvasive way for scientists to keep tabs on coral reef health, the researchers said.

"Right now, reefs are evaluated visually by divers," Simon Freeman told Hakai Magazine. But this method is expensive and time intensive, so "in the future, it might be possible to quickly listen to a coral reef soundscape, perhaps by using an autonomous vehicle, and evaluate how it may have changed from the previous year."

Originally published on Live Science.
Our immune system is great at protecting us from the germs that surround us everyday  but every machine has its kinks.

One gene, which protects the body from autoimmune disorders (in which the body attacks itself), also helps secretly usher in viruses by making them undetectable. But how the story ends depends on how much virus is trying to get in, according to a new study published yesterday (Nov. 29) in the journal PLOS Biology.

This gene, called the adenosine deaminase acting on RNA 1, or ADAR1, protects the body from large amounts of the virus, but invites it in if only a small number of viruses knock on the door, the scientists found. [27 Devastating Infectious Diseases]

ADAR1 and the protein that it codes for, protects the body from attacking itself by finding and unzipping double-stranded RNA, a genetic relative of DNA, into single strands. RNA can come in both single and double-stranded forms, and plays multiple roles in the body.

It's unclear why double-stranded RNA activates the immune system in the first place, but it could go back to the origins of very early life on the planet, said senior author Roberto Cattaneo, a professor of biochemistry and molecular biology at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota.

One theory holds that primitive cells only held RNA as genetic material. Eventually, however, cells began using DNA, while viruses predominantly began encoding genetic information in RNA. (Not all viruses store their genetic information in RNA, some store them in DNA.) So "cells began to build up an innate immune system to defend themselves [and] to recognize double-stranded RNA as an intruder," Cattaneo told Live Science.

When the ADAR1 gene is defective, it can't transform some double-stranded RNA produced by the body into single-stranded RNA. The untouched double-strands then activate the immune system and can lead to an autoimmune disorder that affects infants called Aicardi-Goutieres syndrome. This severe disorder causes problems in the brain, the immune system and the skin, according to the National Institute of Health. But patients who have a defect in this protein...in fact combat viruses pretty well, Cattaneo said.

The team used the powerful gene editing tool CRISPR-CAS9 to delete ADAR1 in human cells in the lab, while leaving other cells intact. They then infected cells with either the functioning gene or the deleted gene with different amounts of a measles virus. (The measles virus stores its genetic information in RNA instead of DNA. And though the virus usually makes single-stranded RNA, it can make mistakes and form some double-stranded copies as well.) The team also infected the cells with a mutated measles virus that carried more double-stranded RNA and watched what happened.

They found in the cells without ADAR1, even a small amount of double-stranded viral RNA activated the immune system. Cells with a functioning ADAR1 edited the double-stranded RNA, as expected. In these cells, they found the threshold for activating the immune system's alarm bells is about 1,000 snippets of double-stranded viral RNA. More than this and the immune system notices the virus.

Hachung Chung, a postdoctoral fellow at Rockefeller University in New York City, who was not involved in the research, said its important to now figure out the mechanisms that different forms of the ADAR1 gene use to transform viral double-stranded DNA.

Measles is not the only virus that can hijack the immune system, and Cattaneo said he hopes to determine the activation thresholds for other viruses, such as the yellow fever virus and the Chikungunya virus (which are both spread by mosquitoes). Modifying the threshold could potentially lead to antiviral treatment options, Cattaneo said.

Originally published on Live Science.
Butte County officials ended their recovery efforts for human remains on Thursday, three weeks after the vicious Camp Fire tore through Paradise and surrounding communities.

But heavy rains this week brought new problems to the area: Flooding prompted evacuation orders and warnings on Thursday.

Butte County Sheriff Kory Honea said Wednesday that thousands of officials searched all locations where they believed human remains would be found and had a high degree of confidence that officials did their due diligence in the search for victims.

At its height, more than 500 people were scouring the ruins of thousands of buildings. Remains of 88 people were recovered, officials said.

Although active searches for remains have halted, Honea has said that its possible crews may have missed remains that would have been difficult to detect.

Residents returning to their properties as evacuation orders begin to lift  as early as next week  may discover bones or bone fragments, he said.

Honea advised residents to call the sheriffs office if they find remains so that officials can collect and analyze the material. He recently clarified an earlier statement in which he said remains may have been completely incinerated by the blaze, confirming that bone fragments would still remain, according to the Associated Press.

Some zones in Paradise may be open early next week, pending any weather setbacks.

On Thursday, heavy rains flooded roads near the Camp Fire burn zone, prompting evacuation warnings and orders by Butte County officials.

The Butte County Sheriffs Office called for the evacuations shortly before 1:30 p.m., from the 200 block of Honey Run Road to Skyway in Chico, near the Butte Creek Canyon. Highway 99 at Neal Road was also closed because of flooding.

Evacuation warnings were extended around 3 p.m. to include the Hamlin Canyon and Lower Neal zones due to flooding, sheriffs officials announced on Twitter.

Officials also issued evacuation warnings for the areas of Hagen Lane at the north, south to Highway 162 and the Sacramento River east to Highway 99.

Rick Carhart, a spokesman for the Butte County Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, said Cal Fire water rescue teams had saved people from cars stranded on flooded roads.

Some of the affected areas are definitely in the fire area, but this is more widespread than that, Carhart said. There are a number of roads closed in areas that werent affected by the burn just because of the amount of rain weve had.

The National Weather Service in Sacramento issued a flash flood warning Thursday at noon until 9:15 p.m. for areas affected by the Camp Fire.

Heavy rainfall at recently burned areas are especially prone to debris flow, Carhart said.

When you get a fire and then soon after it, before anything has a chance to regrow, you get heavy rainfall, it is more susceptible to flooding, because theres not ground cover to keep the hillside intact, he said.

Ashley McBride and Lauren Hernandez are San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: ashley.mcbride@sfchronicle.com and Lauren.Hernandez@sfchronicle.com
Dear Zealots: Letters from a Divided Land

By Amos Oz

Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. 160 pp. $23

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TEL AVIV - Amos Oz is one of Israel's most prolific, celebrated writers, capturing the past and exploring the present in more than 30 novels, dozens of essays and hundreds of articles. But his latest book, "Dear Zealots," may contain his most urgent message yet.

The book, published last month in English, is a collection of three short essays that examines the rise of zealotry in Israel - and around the world - not to mention the inflexible ideologies and opinions that can lead to hatred and violence. He also puts forward the case for defining Israel by its Jewish culture, not by religion or nationality, and highlights the need for Israelis and Palestinians to reach peace with a two-state solution.

Born in Jerusalem in 1939, Oz rebelled against his right-wing Zionist family by moving to a socialist kibbutz in his teens. He published his first book, a collection of short stories, in his early 20s, and a continuous flow of literary works has followed. His writing has been translated into more than 45 languages and won numerous international prizes and awards.

In Israel, Oz has faced criticism for his political views from both the far left-wing peace camp and the far right-wing nationalists, but he says being called a traitor puts him "in the best of companies in Jewish history and world history."

"Very often a traitor is promoting change to the very people who despise change, fear change, cannot even understand the meaning or reason for change," he said. "I'm not saying everyone who is called a traitor is ahead of his or her time, but very often this is the case."

The Washington Post met with Oz recently at his apartment in the suburbs of Tel Aviv. This interview has been edited for space and clarity.

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A: My previous book on the topic is based on a series of lectures from 2002; 16 years later, it has become very clear to me that fanaticism is the plague of the 21st century. Just like the previous century was devastated by world reformers and redeemers, by ideological movements with magical formulas, this one is dominated by various types of fanatics.

A: The more complex issues have become, the more people crave simple solutions, not just in Israel but everywhere. All people want to know is: Who are the bad guys? They want a blanket formula for all their troubles. So they blame everything on globalization or neocolonialism or militant feminism or sexism or Zionism.

A: There are people who are riding deliberately on its wave. I think maybe this is just a prominent syndrome of a deep crisis of democracy. Fanaticism is much older than democracy; it's older than Judaism, Christianity, Islam, but **democracy** once had a mechanism to expose crazy fanatics. Now it seems this mechanism is failing.

A: It is and it isn't. If you turn your eyes away from Jerusalem to Israel's coastal plain, where 70 to 75 percent of Israeli Jews live, this is not a country of mad extremists. The profile of Israelis is noisy, hedonistic, impatient, rude, warmhearted, materialistic, you name it, but the vast majority gave up the occupied territories years ago. The only reason they object to a far-reaching compromise with Palestinians is that they don't want to be suckers. The common myth here is that we handed them Gaza on a silver plate and got rockets in return. They don't want to see this mistake repeated on the West Bank.

A: This theory that the occupation of the West Bank is irrevocable is interesting. I hear it from the radical left and the radical right. It is as if they have conspired together to declare the two-state solution is dead. But I have lived a very long life and I have seen the irrevocable happen again and again, not always, but very often.

A: I don't regard this book as pessimistic. It contains some very useful information, which I tried to present in an accessible way. Politically speaking, I have been engaged and involved in writing articles, making speeches for 60 years. Now it is my time, not to retire but to provide my ammunition, my experience to the younger generation and let them take it from here.

I have tried to give them arguments on Judaism, on secular Judaism, humanistic Judaism, on the dangers of fanaticism, including the inner fanaticism inside every one of us. Many people carry that fanatic gene. It begins with the idealistic urge to change your kin, your neighbors, everyone around you, because they are blind and cannot see what is good for them.

Usually fanaticism is associated with religion, though that is not necessarily so. I have seen my share of fanatical vegetarians and peace activists. They are not equally dangerous, of course, but I can trace it left, right and center. I have developed quite a nose for detecting it.

A: I don't predict because the unpredictable is the most predictable, at least in this part of the world. The truth is I know what I would like to happen, but I don't know what will happen. What I do know is that the present course is dangerous for Israel, dangerous for the region and dangerous for the world.
Broken Ground

By Val McDermid

Atlantic Monthly Press. 419 pp. $26

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The heroine of Val McDermid's new novel is a wee bit of a crank. Detective Inspector Karen Pirie can be sarcastic and pushy; she has a casual disdain for her employer, the police department of Fife, Scotland. At one point in "Broken Ground," Pirie's verbal outburst in an Edinburgh cafe triggers an altogether unintended response, perhaps even a murder. Jessica Fletcher of Cabot Cove, Pirie isn't.

But Pirie's doggedness, braininess and moral clarity are just what's needed in her job as head of a cold-cases unit. In this fifth installment of the Pirie series, the feisty detective is called upon to find the killer of a young athlete who's been shot in the head; his body is discovered in a highlands peat bog where it's been preserved for nearly 25 years. Pirie works in Historic Cases, as it's called, "because I believe people deserve answers. There are few things harder to live with than not knowing the fate of people we love."

Mysteriously, the young man, Joey Sutherland, was found interred alongside two classic World War II-era motorbikes. Pirie's investigation takes her back not just to 1995 - a pair of unusual Nikes on the corpse helps her estimate the year of the murder - but all the way back to 1944. As the war was nearing its end, a couple of British soldiers filched and buried some military equipment destined for the scrap heap, unaware that an unscrupulous American GI had hidden ill-gotten riches inside one of the bikes. Over the decades, a treasure hunt involving several parties - some innocent, some malevolent - got really complicated before turning deadly.

Pirie is also on a search for a violent rapist who attacked women two decades earlier. There's renewed interest in the case after one of the rapist's permanently injured victims dies. Pirie believes the woman's family's grief might be lessened if justice is served. Though thanks to the cruel ineptitude of a malicious young constable Pirie's supervisor has sent to spy on her, the vengeance visited on the perpetrator is not what Pirie had in mind. (It's one of those twists the best mystery writers come up with that's a surprise but not really a surprise.)

McDermid - who hails from the Scottish town of Kirkcaldy - calls her work "Tartan Noir," and her new book is brimming with marvelous linguistic Scotticisms. "Right now, your coat is on a very shoogly peg," Pirie is warned by her borderline-corrupt boss. And then there's Hamish MacKenzie, a "magnificent" hunk in a kilt with flowing locks who, when she's around him, leaves Pirie alternately weak-kneed and suspicious. Still grieving after the death of her police colleague and lover Phil Parhatka a year earlier, Pirie isn't sure how to react to MacKenzie's obvious affectionate interest.

Both ultracompetent and physically a little dumpy, Pirie "was, she knew, the kind of woman men either dismissed or treated like the sister they were slightly intimidated by. Only Phil had ever seen past that." So she's pleased when MacKenzie ever so politely pursues her. But since he is the man who discovered the body of Joey Sutherland in MacKenzie's own peat bog, she wonders about his motives.

Another situation that brings out Pirie's tender side is the plight of a group of Syrian refugees. When she discovers them holding social get-togethers under a bridge, Pirie helps the group get a coffee shop going. One result is shelter and warmth for these distressed people and an endless supply of superior pastries for Pirie. It's time that mystery writers noticed Europe's newest arrivals, whose lives are filled with a degree of suspense none of them ever wanted or deserved. Almost in passing, "Broken Ground" is revelatory in that regard.

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Lipez writes the Don Strachey private eye novels under the name Richard Stevenson.
For months, Sinclair Broadcast Group fed a steady stream of news stories and commentaries favorable to conservatives and critical of liberal politicians to its many TV stations across the country, ordering them to air the segments on their local newscasts.

One piece in late October, for example, juxtaposed self-described democratic socialists Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and Rep.-elect Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., with marching Soviet soldiers. On the eve of the midterm election, Sinclair's Washington station, WJLA, aired back-to-back interviews with Eric Trump and President Donald Trump in which they promoted Republican candidates. Democrats weren't given a chance to reply.

But it wasn't until Wednesday night that Sinclair seemed to have some second thoughts about its journalistic output. In a tweet from its corporate account, Sinclair distanced itself from its chief political analyst, former Trump administration communications adviser Boris Epshteyn, an enthusiastic supporter of the president.

"The opinions expressed in this segment do not reflect the views of Sinclair Broadcast Group," the company tweeted.

The tweet was unusual for several reasons. First, Sinclair seldom shies away from frankly conservative opinions, even in the face of criticism that it is biased. Second, its tweet didn't spell out which of Epshteyn's commentaries it deemed unworthy of support. And third, Sinclair itself marks Epshteyn's segments as "must-runs," meaning stations owned by the company are required to air them during their local newscasts.

In essence, Sinclair disowned editorial material it insisted its stations had to broadcast.

People at Sinclair say the company's tweet referred to Epshteyn's segment on Monday supporting border agents' use of tear gas to disperse a crowd of migrants, including women and children, who were seeking to cross from Mexico into the U.S. The commentary received some criticism on social media and a smattering of media coverage after the liberal watchdog group Media Matters called attention to it.

Echoing Trump's description of the migrant caravan as "an invasion," Epshteyn said in his commentary, "The notion that a caravan of migrants can be allowed to break through our borders is ludicrous and dangerous. The United States of America should not and cannot be intimidated by those willing to use force to get into our country illegally."

By Thursday, Sinclair seemed to have second thoughts about its second thoughts.

Asked to clarify its position, a spokesman, Robert Ford, issued a statement seemingly supportive of Epshteyn's views. "The segment on the migrant crisis at the southern border has been drastically and intentionally mischaracterized by those set on criticizing Boris Epshteyn's commentary segments. We urge critics to review the actual segment, not the biased coverage of it."

Like Epshteyn's commentary, Sinclair's "must-run" directives to its 191 stations - the largest group in the country - have occasionally generated pushback.

Most notably, it drew widespread condemnation in April, when it required its many local anchors to read the same promotional script that decried "fake stories" and "the troubling trend of irresponsible, one-sided news stories plaguing our country" - phrases that echoed Trump's criticism of the news media. A video made by the website Deadspin of dozens of anchors reading the identical words went viral, raising concerns that local news - traditionally decentralized and independent - was being compromised by an agenda-driven company.

But Sinclair's must-runs in the lead-up to the midterm elections generated little criticism.

Among them were a package of stories reported by WJLA anchor Jonathan Elias about the dangers of socialism. Elias' series was set primarily in Brazil, whose economic troubles he said were the result of "an array of expensive social programs (that are) bloating the government." But he began with references to the political success of Sanders and Ocasio-Cortez, noting over an image of a military parade in Moscow's Red Square that "it wasn't long ago that socialism was considered a dirty word in American politics."

The last part of the series aired on election eve, the same day as Sinclair's interviews with the president and his son Eric.

Elias' reporting was also incorporated into Sinclair's Sunday public-affairs program, "Full Measure," and into a special program carried on Sinclair stations called "Inside Socialism" that was hosted by Sebastian Gorka, another former Trump administration official. The special aired on 41 Sinclair-owned stations in 27 states, according to Media Matters.

Another must-run piece highlighted long-ago Democratic objections to "birthright citizenship," in which children born in the United States are granted automatic citizenship. Trump has suggested revoking the citizenship of the children of undocumented immigrants.

Yet another story focused on young, conservative African-Americans who advocated that blacks withdraw their support for the Democratic Party in the midterms.

Epshteyn himself scored an interview with President Trump in September that was parceled out as a six-part must-run series. Sinclair's management distributed the interviews, in which Trump touted his successes as president, to its stations with a note advising that they "may run this interview/commentary as their top story."

Sinclair's top news executive, Scott Livingston, didn't respond to a request for comment. Epshteyn referred to Sinclair's statement when reached on Thursday.

Sinclair, based near Baltimore, has angered Democrats for years with its news and public-affairs programs, particularly during election seasons.

Just before the presidential election of 2012, Sinclair-owned stations in several battlegrounds states aired a corporate-produced half-hour news "special" that criticized President Barack Obama's handling of the economy, his signature health care law and the administration's management of the terrorist attack on the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi, Libya. The record of his Republican opponent, Mitt Romney, received less scrutiny.

In 2004, Sinclair heard objections when it announced that it would air a documentary attacking Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry's military record. Amid calls for an advertiser boycott, Sinclair backed down and ran a more balanced program.

During the 2016 campaign, Sinclair stations and programs carried far more interviews with Trump and his surrogates than with his Democratic opponent, Hillary Clinton. Jared Kushner, Trump's son-in-law, told a business group afterward that Trump's campaign had struck a deal with Sinclair to provide access and coverage. Sinclair, however, said it made no special arrangement with Trump and had offered equal time to Clinton. It said Clinton's aides were not as receptive as Trump's campaign to the offer.
Change is never easy. This is especially true when you are considering a career change - it can be a daunting task at any point of your work life. As the end of the year approaches, many professionals entertain the thought of changing jobs, roles or, lately, even changing professions.

Fadlah Hendricks, head of experience at PPS Financial Advisory

Changing jobs, learning new skills

Improving financial prospects, long-term stability

Weigh up all the options

Does the new employer offer pension savings, medical aid and group life cover benefits? How do these benefits differ from your current benefits?

Are the protection levels being offered like the ones you currently enjoy?

If there are differences, what is the financial impact on your disposable income and budget?

Have you factored in how your group benefits affect your financial planning and supplement your overall cover?

What are the best options for your accumulated retirement money: transfer it into the new companys pension or provident schemes, open a new preservation fund, or transfer the capital into a retirement annuity?

Professionals are no longer staying in the same career for a decade or more  they now job hop, change vocations or opt for new avenues of employment. According to the 2001 book Careers: An Organisational Perspective by AMG Schreuder and Melinde Coetzee, the average person will change careers five to seven times during their working life. The stats also reveal that 30% of the total workforce will now change jobs every 12 months, this means that by the time you are 42 years old, you might have changed jobs 10 times.Gone are the days when changing careers is frowned upon  in fact, as the world becomes more tech-savvy, its almost expected that professionals will look to gain new skills and explore new interests to infuse their passion while adjusting to the career trends of the future. At least one-third of the activities of 60% of occupations could be automated  meaning that globally up to 375-million people may need to change jobs or learn new skills, this is according to a McKinsey report called Jobs Lost, Jobs Gained: Workforce transitions in a time of automation.However, before you change your job, it is important to think about the reason why you are doing it. Is it to gain more exposure, a salary increase, for a more senior position or better benefits? Whatever the reason, you need to consider the financial impact on your life.In South Africa, the unemployment rate amongst graduate professionals sits at 7.3% of the total unemployment numbers, according to Stats SA. The importance of making calculated decisions about career changes must be weighed carefully in the context of financial health. Resigning without employment in place can impact a professionals career and their immediate family severely, as finding new employment has some spending months in the jobs market without success.Most professionals consider a change to improve their financial prospects and long-term stability - this means that things like company benefits and incentives become very important. According to a survey by Randstad US, 66% of professionals agree that a strong benefits and perks package is the largest determining factor when considering job offers, and 61% would be willing to accept a lower salary if a company offered a great benefits package.As such, employers are increasingly recognising the value of employee benefits and have been making strides to help professionals make better financial decisions. There has been a growing number of companies offering wellness or mental benefits and other forms of employee benefits in the hopes of boosting productivity, employee health and wellbeing, as well as attracting and retaining top talent.However, before finalising the decision to move, scrutinise the employee group benefits. Compare your potential new employers benefits against your current employer, the amount of life cover or disability cover that is provided. If the group benefits are lower, check whether the salary increase is higher and how this may impact on the amount of money required to attain the same level of cover that you currently enjoy.In order to make employee benefits possible, employment costs contributed 15% of total expenditure in the formal business sector, this includes salaries and wages, bonuses, medical aid, life insurance benefits, pension benefits, and other employee-related costs/benefits, according to Stats SA. So, it's vital that you weigh up all the options from the salary to company benefits and other obstacles or hidden gems.Consider the impact on your financial plan and your journey to attaining your financial goals and ask yourself these five key questions:While a new career and change in scenery may bring about new-found passion and excitement, its a step that shouldnt be taken lightly. You will need a significant amount of thought, consideration, time and investment in order to make this change smoothly - think about your long-term goal and, most importantly, plan for it financially.
The city of Liberty is without a police chief.

In just over 30 minutes, council members deliberated a separation agreement, agreed upon it, and acted in council chambers with a unanimous, 6-0 vote to accept the retirement and separation agreement with Liberty police chief Thomas Claunch.

The succinct meeting was followed with a brief bit of information from city attorney Brandon Davis.

After the city received the complaints, we hired an outside law firm, Olson and Olson, LLP with Brian J. Begle who performed the investigation, Davis said.

According to Davis, Begle interviewed a number of people and at the end of the investigation, the city was presented with the findings.

The city manager met with Chief Claunch and everybody decided it was time to part ways. The chief is retiring, and we have a separation agreement that was just approved, Davis said.

The details of the separation agreement were not readily available, and the Liberty County News Advocate has requested the document through the Freedom of Information Act.

Davis was unwilling to disclose the reasons for the complaints, but confirmed it was not criminal in nature.

It just turned out that this was not a good fit and it was time to move on, he said of the relationship with Claunch and the city.

The mayor said they had appointed Gary Martin as interim chief indefinitely until council has time to accept applications for a new chief.

Davis confirmed there were two complaints filed against Claunch.

When the city receives those complaints, we are obligated to investigate them and then make a good decision on what to do next, he said.

Claunch was hired on Mar. 10, 2015 to head the department and his official start date was April 1, 2015.

Claunch served as assistant police chief for Webster, Texas for 11 years before coming to Liberty to take the top job.

dtaylor@hcnonline.com
WASHINGTON - Another Democrat said Thursday he would vote against Rep. Nancy Pelosi in a decisive tally early next year for House speaker, underscoring that the longtime leader still has work to do to reclaim the gavel.

Pelosi, who previously served as speaker from 2007 to 2011, easily won her party's nomination Wednesday to serve as speaker in the next Congress. But 35 Democrats either voted against the California congresswoman or left their ballot blank in the secret-ballot vote.

Rep. Ron Kind, D-Wis., who voted against Pelosi in 2017 but had remained mum on how he plans to vote next year, said Thursday that he will not support her in January and is unlikely to change his mind.

"If she's interested in peeling off the 16 or 17 that she needs right now, she's probably better off burning up the phone lines with other members," Kind said. "We still have a month to go, and I still think she has a math problem."

Despite opposition from some members, Pelosi's allies remained confident that the math would work out in her favor Jan. 3. It is customary for lawmakers to respect the wishes of their party colleagues in the floor vote, especially when the rival is the leader of the opposition party, and Pelosi has a range of political goodies to trade for support over the coming weeks, including committee assignments and other legislative favors.

"Nancy Pelosi is going to be elected speaker," Rep. Steny Hoyer, D-Md., the incoming majority leader, said Thursday. Disaffected members, he added, should bring their concerns to leadership and try to find a resolution: "Every week brings a new group that says, 'Well, I've got an understanding on this, that or the other.' I hope that will happen, and I think it will."

Democrats are on track to win 234 or 235 seats. In the floor vote, Pelosi will need to win an absolute majority of members voting for an individual. Absences or abstentions could lower the victory threshold from 218.

Rep. Tim Ryan, D-Ohio, a leader of the faction opposing Pelosi, said he expected the "vast majority" of the 35 who voted against her Wednesday to oppose her on the floor. But he acknowledged that Pelosi has weeks to win support and that "nothing's certain."

"All we're saying now is everybody needs to vote their district, vote their conscience and let the chips fall where they may," he said.

According to a Washington Post review of lawmakers' statements, 23 Democrats have made firm statements saying they will oppose Pelosi. Another 32 have been equivocal or not made any statement at all.

Kind said that while he has "great admiration" for Pelosi, voters in his district, which Donald Trump won by five percentage points in the 2016 presidential election, are "looking for change in both parties."

He added that Democrats should also think about the message they are sending to the dozens of newly elected members of their caucus.

"Do they really have to stick around here for 30, 40 years before they have a chance at a gavel? That's really the message we're sending them today," he said.

Kind notably was not among the lawmakers who signed a letter this month vowing to oppose Pelosi, in a sign that she may face resistance from some members of her party who have not openly voiced their views.

House Democrats closed out their leadership elections Thursday, with Rep. Cheri Bustos of Illinois prevailing over two other candidates to become chair of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, the party's campaign arm.

The decision to elevate Bustos, a moderate lawmaker representing a district that voted for Trump, breaks with the traditional practice in both parties of choosing a member in a safe district to lead fundraising and strategy efforts. Bustos easily won reelection this month, but Republicans say that she could be vulnerable in a more favorable election cycle.

Among Pelosi's avowed opponents are roughly a dozen freshmen who pledged to oppose her during their campaigns. Speaking to reporters on Capitol Hill, Bustos said they should not renege - while also predicting a Pelosi victory.

"My advice to anybody, whatever the issue is, is to keep your word," she said. "Whatever you said at home, you keep your word. I'm confident that Nancy Pelosi will be the next speaker of the House, and I'm also confident that these new members are going to be honest and truthful with their constituents."

Bustos rose to prominence within the Democratic caucus in recent years by serving as a co-chair of the party's Policy and Communications Committee, which developed political messaging ahead of the midterms. She also emerged as an unofficial spokeswoman for Democratic efforts to reach out to Trump voters, particularly in Midwestern districts like her own.

Bustos beat out two challengers from Washington state, Reps. Suzan DelBene and Denny Heck, in the Thursday vote. Bustos won 117 votes to Heck's 83 and DelBene's 32, winning the necessary majority by a single vote. A fourth candidate, Rep. Sean Maloney, D-N.Y., dropped out of the race Wednesday due to illness.

Also Thursday, Democrats picked leaders for the Policy and Communications Committee. Rep. David N. Cicilline of Rhode Island won his unopposed race for the newly created position of chairman. Three others were selected for the role of co-chairmen, Reps. Matthew Cartwright of Pennsylvania, Debbie Dingell of Michigan and Ted Lieu of California.

Those picks represent a diverse mix reflecting a caucus that includes more women and minorities than ever. Cicilline is openly gay, and Lieu is Asian American, while Cartwright and Dingell are moderates who have called for Democrats to do more to win white working-class voters.

Cartwright, who won in a district Trump carried by 10 percentage points, said he would be focused on "incumbent protection" to make sure newly elected members return for the next Congress. He declined to comment on the freshmen who broke with Pelosi but said his general advice to candidates is, "Don't lose your nerve."

"There was not a day that went by that I didn't turn on the TV and saw an ad with myself and Nancy Pelosi and [Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif.] looking like we were best buddies," he said. "I didn't care. We kept message discipline in my campaign, and we ignored that stuff."

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The Washington Post's Elise Viebeck and J.M. Rieger contributed to this report.
Do you drench your tamales in ketchup?

While some argue pairing the condiment with the masa mainstay of the holiday season is about as sinful as pineapples on pizza, others defend ketchup as part of the tamal tradition.

Some members of Team Ketchup on Tamales even go a step further by adding another South Texas favorite -- Whataburger Spicy ketchup, according to responses from mySA.com readers who answered the question, "how do you eat your tamales?"

The fanciful foodies didn't stop there  some shared recipes which call for wrapping tamales in prosciutto.

RELATED: Everything you need to know about ordering tamales in San Antonio this holiday season

More recalled a no-fuss childhood classic: sandwiching a tamal in sliced bread.

However they dice, fry or pair 'em, most Texans agree the holidays would not taste the same without seeing a pile of wrapped up goodies on the table.

And because there is never a shortage of tamales in the city, South Texans have plenty of opportunities to try out all the suggestions from their fellow residents.

Unwrap some of the ideas in the gallery above.

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
Iceland is the world's most gender equal society. But this week, it was dragged into a sordid political scandal suggesting blatant sexism is rife inside the country's parliament.

An ex-prime minister and several other lawmakers were caught on tape using lurid, expletive-laced and sexually charged language to describe their female colleagues.

Sigmundur David Gunnlaugsson, an opposition lawmaker who was once prime minister until he was forced out for allegedly hiding his family's wealth from tax authorities, was the most prominent among those taped at a bar across the street from the parliament in Reykjavik on the evening of Nov. 20. He was in the company of a former foreign minister, Gunnar Bragi Sveinsson, among others.

The recording, which was made by a guest at the bar, includes lawmakers from the newly formed Center Party and the People's Party. The group can be heard making fun of the #MeToo movement and comparing a disabled former member of parliament to "an animal."

The tapes, which quickly went viral in Iceland, have sparked widespread condemnation across the country. On Saturday, the celebration of 100 years of independence from Denmark will be mixed with a protest march against the lawmakers at the center of the scandal.

The episode is a sobering reality check for a nation that has worked hard to eradicate sexism. But Stefania Oskarsdottir, a professor of politics at the University of Iceland, says the level of outrage across the country also shows that "the power of women has increased in society, not to mention in politics."

The politicians captured on tape -- all members of the opposition -- have come under pressure to resign.

Iceland has had a long history of leading the world in gender equality. It was first to elect a female head of state and recently approved one of the world's most ambitious laws aimed at eliminating the gender pay gap. Iceland's current prime minister, Katrin Jakobsdottir, took part in a recent protest against wage inequality and sexual harassment.

Gunnlaugsson had been working on restoring his reputation after resigning as a result of the Panama Papers scandal of 2016 (newspapers revealed that he had concealed his family assets in an offshore account). Sveinsson, for his part, had championed gender equality while in power.

The tape provides some "insight into the mindset of certain people," Oskarsdottir said. But there's "less tolerance" for such outbursts today, she said.
WASHINGTON - Former FBI director James Comey is asking a federal judge to quash a subpoena demanding he testify before the House Judiciary and Oversight committees next week and postpone the testimony until that request can be ruled on, court filings show.

In a strident court filing Thursday, lawyers for Comey wrote that the former FBI director was fighting the committee's bid to force him to testify "not to avoid giving testimony but to prevent the Joint Committee from using the pretext of a closed interview to peddle a distorted, partisan political narrative about the Clinton and Russian investigations."

Comey and former attorney general Loretta Lynch were given subpoenas last week to appear before the committees as part of the committees' investigation of two politically charged probes into Hillary Clinton's private email server and possible coordination between the Trump campaign and Russia. Comey said on Twitter that he was willing to testify publicly but would resist doing so behind closed doors.

"Let the American people watch," he said in a tweet announcing the court filings.

Comey was to testify on Dec. 3 and Lynch on Dec. 4. A spokesman for Lynch declined to comment.

In the court filing, Comey's lawyers alleged the committees were "leaking what suits them," and - aided by President Donald Trump's tweets - were trying to promote the public narrative that Clinton was given "unwarranted leniency" by federal law enforcement while Trump was hit with "unwarranted scrutiny."

"The broader purpose of these leaks and tweets appears to be to mislead the public and undermine public confidence in the FBI and DOJ during a time when President Trump and members of his administration and campaign team are reported to be under investigation by Special Counsel Robert Mueller and other law enforcement authorities," the lawyers wrote.

A spokeswoman for the Judiciary Committee, which issued the subpoena, did not immediately return a message seeking comment. A spokeswoman for the Oversight Committee referred questions to the Judiciary Committee.

Comey's lawyers cited several examples of apparent congressional leaks about closed-door hearings, and even referenced Oversight Committee Chairman Trey Gowdy's recent appearance on CBS' "Face the Nation" in which he agreed that leaks from Congress were a problem.

In the same appearance, Gowdy, R-S.C., had suggested videotaping the closed-door hearing as a way to ease concerns about selective disclosures.

Comey's lawyers noted the former FBI director had testified several times about both the Clinton and Russia probes when he was still in his job, but argued that since being fired by Trump, he had relinquished his security clearances. The lawyers said the committees' had indicated Comey could obtain a "provisional" clearance so he could testify about sensitive matters, but he would refuse to accept such a clearance if the interview were behind closed doors.

Even if a judge were to grant only Comey's request to postpone the hearing, that might undercut the subpoena entirely. Democrats are poised to take control of the House in January - and with it the power to issue subpoenas - and are unlikely to pursue the investigation that has been driven by their Republican colleagues.
California Democratic Party Chairman Eric Bauman resigned Thursday amid an investigation into allegations that he sexually harassed and assaulted several party staff members.

Party officials said that the investigation into Bauman's behavior will continue despite his resignation.

"I have made the realization that in order for those to whom I may have caused pain ... to heal, for my own health, and in the best interest of the Party that I love and to which I have dedicated myself for more than 25 years, it is in everyone's best interest for me to resign my position as chair of the California Democratic Party," Bauman said in a statement Thursday night.

Roger Salazar, a spokesman for the party, confirmed that Bauman had submitted his resignation. Alexandra Gallardo Rooker, who assumed the role of acting chair on Tuesday, will continue to lead the party until a new permanent chair is elected.

Bauman had been California Democratic Party chairman since May 2017. He was the first openly gay person to lead the party in the state.

A growing chorus of voices had called for Bauman's resignation in the days since Daraka Larimore-Hall, the state party's vice chairman, sent a letter to the party's secretary last week urging Bauman's removal.

In the letter, Larimore-Hall said he had been approached by several party staff members with "credible, corroborated and utterly heart-breaking" allegations that Bauman had sexually harassed and assaulted them. On Saturday, Bauman issued a statement saying that an independent probe had been launched by an outside investigator.

After the Los Angeles Times published a detailed report on Wednesday with accounts from several of the alleged victims, the drumbeat for Bauman's resignation grew louder. Ten party staffers and activists told the newspaper that for more than a decade, Bauman engaged in a range of inappropriate behavior, from making sexually explicit comments to unwanted touching.

Bauman also frequently consumed alcohol during the workday in violation of state party policy, several staff members told the Times.

On Thursday morning, California Gov.-elect Gavin Newsom, D, called for Bauman to step down. "The governor-elect believes the investigation should move forward and the victims should be heard," Newsom spokesman Nathan Click said. "But given the numerous detailed, severe and corroborated allegations reported by The Times, he believes the best course of action for the party is for the chair to resign."

In his statement, Bauman hailed what the party had achieved in the "18 short months" of his tenure.

Rooker, the acting chair, said in a statement that the party has retained attorney Debra Hinshaw Vierra to conduct an independent investigation into "any and all allegations" against Bauman.

"This investigation is currently underway and will continue despite Mr. Bauman's resignation," Rooker said. The final report will be provided to the party's outside employment counsel, she said, while a redacted version will be provided to the executive board and an executive summary will be released publicly.
The widow of a onetime Frenchman billionaire won a round of her fight against a criminal tax investigation linked to the Panama Papers leak that initially targeted her husband.

Two years ago, French financial prosecutors opened a probe into Pierre Papillaud after his name appeared in press reports based on the leak of lawyers' files. Investigators soon found that Papillaud, who became rich selling bottled water, hadn't declared some foreign accounts and life insurance policies. That prompted authorities in 2016 to freeze assets he and his wife, Yvette, held in French accounts worth about 1.2 million euros ($1.4 million).

The couple countered by suing before Pierre Papillaud's death in June last year. Their first lawsuit was tossed in a non-public ruling by the Paris court of appeals. But last week France's top court ruled that the lower judges had been hasty in dismissing the appeal lodged by Yvette Papillaud.

While the death of her husband doesn't necessarily mean the proceedings should be stopped and the asset freeze lifted, the lower court was still obliged to examine whether there is evidence that she may have been involved, the Cour de Cassation said. Since they didn't, the case should be re-examined by the lower court, according to the Nov. 21 ruling.

On Thursday, another investigation stemming from the Panama Papers took a dramatic turn as German authorities raided the offices of Deutsche Bank, including its downtown Frankfurt headquarters. The millions of documents leaked in 2016 revealed how lawyers from Panama's Mossack Fonseca worked with some of Europe's largest banks to create offshore shell companies for world leaders, athletes and other rich clients.

In France, Societe Generale quickly came under scrutiny for such offshore dealings. Police investigators conducted an evidence-gathering raid at SocGen's private banking headquarters in Paris days after the leak came out in April two years ago.

SocGen's chief executive officer also had to answer questions from senators because of the public uproar over the revelations. Frederic Oudea acknowledged that clients had set up offshore trusts with Mossack Fonseca and other Panama firms but said the activity was "totally marginal." During the senate hearing, the CEO also highlighted the bank's control mechanisms set up "to make sure it is totally legitimate from a tax point of view."

The French bank declined to provide an update on the status of any investigation related to the Panama Papers. Societe Generale has previously said it has a "proactive policy" to fight against tax avoidance and "strictly respects all the regulations of the countries in which the bank is present."

Eliane Houlette, who heads the Parquet National Financier in France, said last year that her financial prosecutors had identified 22 targets in their investigation into the Panama Papers leak but didn't disclose any names.

A representative for the PNF declined to comment on the investigation of the Papillauds, and lawyers for Yvette Papillaud didn't immediately respond to requests for comment. Forbes said Papillaud was worth $1.2 billion in early 2016 but he dropped off the billionaires' list a few months before he died.

SocGen is mentioned in the Papillaud case, but it remains unclear whether the bank is suspected of any wrongdoing.

Investigators appear to have quickly shifted their gaze from Panama to Luxembourg in the Papillaud case and in particular a holding company where the wealthy Frenchman held shares worth 240 million euros in mineral water bottle group, Alma.

According to official filings, the Papillaud holding company was domiciled at SocGen's Luxembourg unit, Societe Generale Bank & Trust, until October 2017. That very same month, Luxembourg authorities conducted a raid at the SocGen unit at the behest of French investigators as part of the Papillaud probe, French magazine L'Express reported earlier this year.

It's precisely the vast amount of assets hidden away in Luxembourg that justified the freezing of assets in France, according to details in the Cour de Cassation ruling. Authorities say suspect Papillaud may have dodged wealth taxes worth a total of 7.6 million euros between 2009 and 2014.

The lower court must consider Yvette Papillaud's level of involvement - if she was involved at all - in that alleged fraud. A hearing could take months to be scheduled and will be held in a non-public setting given that the investigation is ongoing.
WARREN, Ohio - Eight miles northwest of the General Motors assembly plant expected to close next year, two workers and a customer at an auto-parts store pointed fingers: Americans just don't want to drive small cars like those produced at the plant. Gas prices are low, making big vehicles even more attractive. And GM can get cheaper labor elsewhere.

But none of the three men pointed a finger at President Donald Trump, who had promised residents here and throughout the industrial Midwest that he would stop the closure of factories. At one political rally in the area last year, he even urged residents to stay put and not sell their homes.

"It's a company. Why should the president of the United States be allowed to tell a company what to do?" said Michael Hayda, 64, a former factory worker and a driver at the store who is registered as a Democrat and voted for Trump in 2016.

His co-worker Bill McKlveen, another Democrat who voted for Trump, agreed and noted that auto-industry workers have been getting pink slips for decades, long before Trump took office.

And even a customer who would like to see Trump impeached said he doesn't fully fault the president.

"There's only one law we all obey, and that's the law of supply and demand," said Paul Niemi, 68, who fixes wood pallets for a living and was motivated by Trump to vote for the first time earlier this month, selecting a straight Democratic ticket in the midterm election.

The economic struggles here in Trumbull County - even amid a booming national economy - pose a potential political challenge for Trump, who built much of his 2016 campaign around the idea that he alone could turn the tide on generations of decline across the Rust Belt. Yet interviews with residents here this week show that few tie their region's continuing troubles to the president, who often seems able to promise the world yet suffers little damage from supporters when he fails to deliver.

For decades, this longtime Democratic stronghold that voted for Trump in 2016 has watched its factories and steel mills close or dramatically downsize. Its population has decreased as younger people have moved away to bigger cities that offer more opportunities. Many towns in the county are filled with abandoned houses and potholed streets. It often feels as if there is more demolishing than building.

Even when the county seems to be getting ahead, attracting new employers and reviving downtown Warren, something like the GM closure in nearby Lordstown will happen to knock it back.

"I'm ready and willing to go. This is a great town to grow up in, the people are great, the community's great, but I don't feel like I have a choice, because it doesn't look good here," said Cheryl Jonesco, 40, who was laid off by GM in June and suspects that the corporation has planned this closure for years. "It's just empty buildings. It's sad. It's empty homes. Maybe something still can be done, but I don't know."

Trump's views on manufacturing and international trade were some of his strongest, clearest positions during the 2016 campaign. He promised to break with presidential norms and personally bully companies into keeping jobs in the United States. Just last year, Trump held a campaign rally in nearby Youngstown and told the crowd that more jobs were on their way.

"Let me tell you folks in Ohio and this area: Don't sell your house. Don't sell your house. Do not sell it. We're going to get those values up," Trump said at the rally. "We're going to get those jobs coming back. And we're going to fill up those factories, or rip them down and build brand-new ones. So, it's going to happen."

Trump's supporters and his critics say they would welcome any help the president could provide. Trump has said he is "very disappointed" with GM's decision and discussed it with GM chief executive Mary Barra. Trump threatened to cut subsidies to the company if it did not change course, proclaiming in a tweet: "I am here to protect America's Workers!"

"I told them, 'You're playing around with the wrong person,' " Trump said in an interview with the Wall Street Journal, referring to the impending Lordstown closure. "We will all together get the point across to General Motors. And they better damn well open up a new plant there very quickly."

The GM plant is Lordstown's largest employer and "the only real mainstay that we've had," said the village's mayor, Arno Hill. The plant opened in 1966 and, at its peak, employed 15,000 workers.

The day after Trump was elected in 2016, GM announced it was cutting one of its three shifts at the plant, affecting 1,200 workers. In June, it cut another shift, laying off 1,500. On Monday morning, GM announced that it was cutting 15 percent of its salaried workers and stopping production at five plants in North America, including the one in Lordstown that assembles the Chevrolet Cruze, a small sedan with lagging sales.

The news quickly spread through the county as friends, relatives and neighbors texted and called one another to estimate the impact on their communities. Local officials estimate that for every job at the GM plant there are seven jobs in the community that depend on the plant. In addition to the 1,500 GM employees who expect to lose their jobs in March, cuts are expected at local companies that support the plant, as well, including factories that make bumpers and car seats.

"When they said, 'We're pulling the plug,' it surprised me but it didn't shock me," said Hill, a conservative who voted for Trump and said that, overall, the president's policies and actions have been good for his village and the manufacturing industry. He said many presidents have broken their promises to voters in the area, including Bill Clinton, who once said he was going to open a Pentagon payroll processing center that would create 7,000 jobs but never did.

"People say a lot of stuff on the campaign trail," Hill said. "People say, 'Well, Trump's a liar.' If you take it that way, then a lot of people out there are liars."

There's also a general sentiment here that corporations have become so powerful that even the government can't keep them in check. Some locals say they have little faith that politicians from either party can influence a bottom-line-focused corporation.

"They know years in advance what they're going to do, what products are going where. It's not something that I think anybody can really make a difference on now. They already know what they're doing," said Tara Gress, 37, a mother of two teenagers who works the only shift left at the plant. "It's a big company. They don't care. . . . It's a business. We're numbers. It doesn't matter. All of the begs and pleads for this community, it's not going to make a difference."

Gress started with GM in 2000 at a plant in western Ohio. When that plant closed, she moved to a plant in Indiana and then, about five years ago, to the plant in Lordstown. Gress, who didn't vote in the last presidential election, hopes to transfer to yet another GM plant.

"I already have too much time invested that I'm just trying to get through" to retirement, she said. "If I would have known back in the day what I know now, I wouldn't have stayed."

Rep. Tim Ryan, a Democrat whose district includes the Lordstown area, said some of his constituents are slow to blame Trump because they have little faith that the government can positively influence their lives.

"It's been such a long time since workers have really seen the government work on their behalf," Ryan said. "There's no confidence right now that the government can do things."

He added, "We need a workers' revolution in the country where workers come together and get ahold of the government."

Ryan said that over the past 30 years, unions have lost their power and the working class has been divided. Meanwhile, he said major corporations such as GM have received massive tax cuts and other incentives. He noted that 80 percent of U.S. venture capital money is invested in California, New York or Massachusetts and said neither party has presented a national growth policy that extends beyond the coasts.

"It's like people don't give a damn if someone at General Motors Lordstown loses their job. You know? General Motors doesn't give a damn. Washington, D.C., doesn't give a damn. There's no long-term plan or vision in the country for these workers," Ryan said. "It's like these workers are completely ignored. It's like the Midwest is completely ignored."

Ryan said that Trump seized on these feelings during his campaign but is not following through now that he's president.

The Trump supporters working at the auto-parts store - Hayda and McKlveen - disagreed. Sure, the assembly plant in Lordstown will probably close, but they said that probably would have happened no matter who was in the White House.

Meanwhile, they say they like what Trump has done to impose tariffs on imported goods, slowly reduce the number of people receiving welfare and prevent immigrants from entering the country illegally. When they vent their frustrations, they talk a lot about how the country seems unfairly rigged against workers like them.

"I'm one of those deplorables from northeastern Ohio. I'm the one they just love more than anything. We're the ones that threw the surprise punch" and elected Trump, Hayda said. "Most of my friends, most people you talk to, they did the same thing. They might have been Democrats, but they were tired of all the politics and said, 'Let's vote for someone who's not a politician.' That's why Trump won."
WASHINGTON - Special counsel's office prosecutors are weighing additional charges against former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort for allegedly lying to investigators after pleading guilty to federal crimes, and a federal judge on Friday ordered them to disclose the basis of that accusation next week.

Prosecutor Andrew Weissmann told U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson at a hearing in Washington, District of Columbia, that the special counsel's office had not yet decided exactly how to handle what it said was a breach of Manafort's plea agreement by lying and was weighing options that might increase the sentence he will ultimately receive.

"With respect to whether there will be additional charges, we have not made that determination yet," Weissmann said.

What precisely Manafort is accused of lying about remains unclear. Jackson directed the government to file by Dec. 7 a document backing up its assertion.

Friday's hearing was the first in Manafort's case since special counsel prosecutors accused him Monday of repeatedly lying to investigators and breaking his plea agreement. Manafort, 69, denied being intentionally untruthful, but his defense attorneys and prosecutors with special counsel Robert Mueller III both asked the judge to immediately set a sentencing date in a blockbuster joint filing late Monday.

Manafort's plea in the District. would cap his sentence at 10 years in prison, though that could come in addition to his punishment for separate convictions in Virginia on tax and bank fraud charges. The charges there carry a possible maximum penalty of 85 years, though federal sentencing guidelines would probably call for a term somewhere between seven and 10 years, legal analysts have said.

Prosecutors said they would have to consider whether charging Manafort with additional crimes is worthwhile, given that he already faces more than a decade behind bars and they could note his alleged lies during the sentencing process.

Kevin Downing, Manafort's defense attorney, told Jackson there were "a lot of unknowns for us, but we do think it's going to take some time to respond to whatever it is they're going to file with respect to the breach agreement." Jackson set a tentative sentencing date of March 5, to permit probation officials to begin preparing a presentencing report.

Manafort would have time to respond to the government's filing, Jackson said, and she would set a hearing date over any disputes after the new year, if necessary. The judge will ultimately decide whether Manafort breached the agreement.

The lawyers did not discuss the substance of prosecutors' allegations against Manafort, and there was some dispute over how much Manafort's team had been told. Early in the hearing, Downing said he was not sure how long it would take to respond to prosecutors' allegations, "not knowing the details of what constitutes the breach." Weissmann said they had "lengthy discussions" on the issue.

Outside the courthouse, Downing again claimed Manafort's team did not know the details of what Manafort was accused of lying about. "We look forward to litigating this in court," he said. He did not respond when asked why Weissmann said they had discussed the facts of the dispute before this week's filing.

Manafort, who is jailed in Alexandria, Virginia, waived his right to appear in court and was not there Friday.

Under a plea agreement in September, Manafort pledged to tell the government about "his participation in and knowledge of all criminal activities," in exchange for prosecutors' recommendation of leniency after he admitted cheating the Internal Revenue Service, violating foreign-lobbying laws and attempting to obstruct justice.

In the joint filing this week, prosecutors alleged Manafort breached his agreement, committing "federal crimes by lying to the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Special Counsel's Office on a variety of subject matters" in their investigation of Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. election. They did not elaborate but said they would detail "the nature of the defendant's crimes and lies" in a future sentencing document. They added that Manafort's actions relieved the government of any obligation to seek less prison time.

Manafort denied lying or violating the deal.

Given their deadlock, the two sides jointly asked Jackson to set a sentencing date and schedule any other motions, which led to Friday's hearing.

The plea agreement states if prosecutors show in good faith that Manafort breached its terms, he may not seek to withdraw his guilty plea.

The agreement in the case in the District also states that if Manafort violated the deal, he could face prosecution for crimes to which he did not plead guilty and that all his statements could be used against him by other parties, including state prosecutors, in criminal or civil proceedings.

If Manafort is found to have broken the deal, he would lose any sentencing credits for acceptance of responsibility, prosecutors said.

Evidence of other crimes could also subject Manafort to an increase in his sentence for convictions in Virginia for tax and bank fraud. His sentencing in that case is set for Feb. 8 before U.S. District Judge T.S. Ellis III.

Manafort joined Trump's campaign in March 2016 and served as its chairman into August, making him a top campaign official present during discussions of events at the heart of Mueller's inquiry to determine if any Americans conspired with Russia's efforts to influence the election.

The terms of Manafort's cooperation were laid out in a 17-page agreement entered Sept. 14 in Washington when he pleaded guilty to conspiring to defraud the United States by hiding years of income and undisclosed lobbying work for a pro-Russian political party and politician in Ukraine. He also pleaded guilty to conspiring to obstruct justice by attempting to tamper with witnesses in the case.

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The Washington Post's Devlin Barrett contributed to this report.
The federal government has issued a new guidance for the political activity of federal government workers, warning that weighing in on impeachment or talking about "the Resistance" may constitute prohibited activity, in what some ethics advocates say could be an opening to limit dissent.

The Office of Special Counsel is charged with enforcing the Hatch Act, which prohibits federal employees from engaging in political activity in the course of their work. The office, not to be confused with special counsel Robert Mueller III's investigation, is run by Henry Kerner, whom President Donald Trump nominated to the post.

The unsigned "Guidance Regarding Political Activity," which was issued on Tuesday, takes the form of a question and answer and seeks to clarify the types of actions and rhetoric considered political activity and therefore prohibited at work.

In a nod to the current climate, it stipulated that advocating for or against impeachment of a candidate for federal office would be considered political because of its implications for future elections and that any use of terms like "resistance" and "#resist" would be construed as political activity.

But some government watchdogs said they feared the guidelines could have wide-ranging effects on the nearly 3 million federal government employees in the United States, as well as other state and local employees who work with federally funded programs. The ethics nonprofit American Oversight said the guidance raised "significant concerns" in a letter it sent to the office on Thursday, urging it to withdraw the memo.

"OSC's position on impeachment advocacy or opinions goes too far," the group's executive director, Austin Evers, wrote in the letter, adding that "certainly there is a difference between advocating that an official should (or should not) be elected and advocating that an official did (or did not) commit treason or high crimes and misdemeanors under the Constitution."

In particular, Evers expressed concern that the guidelines could constrain whistleblowers.

"As OSC knows well, it is critically important to ensure public employees are comfortable raising concerns about waste, fraud, or abuse in the government," he wrote. "Impeachment is primarily a remedy for severe misconduct. If public employees are aware of conduct that could be impeachable but fear civil or criminal liability under the Hatch Act for saying so, they may be reluctant to approach OSA, inspectors general, or Congress."

Nick Schwellenbach, the director of investigations at the Project on Government Oversight and an employee of the OSC from 2014 to 2017, said he felt the guidance likely crossed a legal line, saying the Hatch Act was meant to be narrowly focused on political activities around parties and candidates.

"The way OSC has traditionally balanced its enforcement of that statute with the First Amendment is [focused on] supporting a candidate or political party for election. I think once you start talking about more general political views, you're starting to infringe upon people's rights," he said. "This one, I think, goes too far for them. It runs the risk of turning the OSC into an Orwellian enforcer inside the federal workforce."

Schwellenbach said he believed the guidance could be successfully challenged in court on its constitutionality.

Evers also worried that the restrictions could be used to hem in employees abilities to weigh in on policy discussions.

"If resistance terminology can become inherently 'political activity,' so too could statements like 'Build the Wall' or 'Protect our Care,' which reflect policy positions that nonetheless are tied to the president's campaign positions," he wrote. "In addition, conflating resistance terminology with electoral advocacy opens the door to public employees being retaliated against for their policy positions or opinions. ... If using resistance terminology is categorically barred under OSC's Hatch Act interpretation, it could create new, insidious tools for appointees to target public employees."

The Office of Special Counsel did not return an immediate request for comment.
Schuylerville

State Police seized a pound of high grade cocaine, two pounds of marijuana, steroids and $4,000 in cash Friday after searching a home near the Schuylerville school campus.

Arrested were Peter D. Hockford, 49, of Schuylerville, Collin Morency, 19, of Greenwich and William Bullard, 30, of Hudson Falls, State Police said.

Hockford was charged with felony charges of criminal possession of a controlled substance and possession of a controlled substance with intent to sell, and felony criminal marijuana possession and several misdemeanor charges, police said. Both Morency and Bullard were charged with felony criminal sale of controlled substance.

After arraignment, bail was set for Morency and Bullard. Hockford is being held without bail in the Saratoga County Jail.

The investigation and arrests were carried out by the State Police, DEA Taskforce, Washington County Sheriff's Office and prosecutors in Saratoga and Washington counties

Anyone with information on this case is asked to call police at 518-692-3015.
Got a question or tip? Contact us at bizmojoidaho@gmail.com.
WASHINGTON - House Republicans are struggling to pass a tax package in their waning days of congressional control, as some of their members press to include more significant tax cuts in a package designed to fix errors in their 2017 tax law, among other changes.

GOP leaders will spend coming days scrambling to address a variety of concerns from lawmakers, some of whom are reluctant to fall in line on a piece of legislation that may be unlikely to pass the Senate.

"We have time to start working on this today, so we're going to continue to work on this," said House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Kevin Brady, R-Texas, who is spearheading the legislation.

The tax package would extend about 30 temporary tax breaks that are set to expire, as well as implement new retirement provisions that have earned bipartisan support.

The bill would also fix several drafting errors in the 2017 Republican tax law - including a provision that accidentally penalized the restaurant and retail industry - and includes a bipartisan overhaul of the Internal Revenue Service. It would cost about $54 billion over 10 years, according to Congress's non-partisan score-keeper.

Brady and other House Republicans expressed confidence they would find the votes to pass the tax package. Leaders will aim to bring the bill up next week, but Brady said there was no specific timetable. The legislation was expected to be on the House floor on Friday.

"I believe we have strong support," Brady said. He said time-consuming obligations related to selection of committee leaders for the next Congress had prevented him and others from focusing on the tax bill, but that would now change. "So this is really a chance to begin to focus on the goal."

But the bill faces an even steeper climb in the Senate, where it needs Democratic votes to pass. Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., the leading Democrat on the Senate finance committee, has pilloried Brady's legislation and criticized House Republicans for not consulting Senate Democrats. A spokeswoman for Wyden said Friday that there are no ongoing negotiations between the House and Senate about the bill.

Rep. Tom Reed, R-N.Y., a member of the House Ways and Means Committee, said some House Republicans have called for the legislation to do more to permanently cut taxes. House Republicans have pushed for the legislation to permanently repeal the medical device tax, an excise tax passed as part of the Affordable Care Act that has been widely attacked by conservatives, Reed said.

"There's always a desire to expand it even more," said Reed, who expressed confidence the bill would pass soon. "There's still some loose ends . . . but a lot of these extenders have to be addressed."

Rep. Leonard Lance, R-N.J.,also cited concern over medical device tax and said other members shared that concern. "I hope that the bill might include postponement of the medical device tax. As I understand it, it's not in the bill," Lance said. "It is a concern, and I might vote for the bill anyway but I expressed that as a concern."

Some conservative House members have also expressed opposition to some of the temporary extensions of tax breaks in the Brady package. The bill includes a tax incentive for biodiesel that would cost billions, as well as a $150 million annual extension for alternative fuel vehicles. The Brady package has other tax extensions for renewable power construction and energy efficient homes.

"Some of the conservative members believe that it's government picking winners and losers - there's a strong conservative view government should not be involved in energy industrial policy," said Brian Riedl, senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute who has talked with House Republicans about the bill. "Those policies have always been controversial among conservatives."

The Joint Committee on Taxation, Congress' official scorekeeper, found in a report released Thursday that the bill would add $54 billion to the federal deficit over the next 10 years. The Congressional Budget Office similarly found that the bill would cost $55 billion over the same time period.

The bulk of that money - about $30 billion of the $54 billion - comes from extensions of the roughly 30 temporary tax breaks. Many of those provisions are only extended in the package for one year alone, so the 10-year cost is likely to be much higher if lawmakers continue to renew the breaks in future years. That has elicited the concern of some deficit-hawks, who warn that America's deficit is already approaching historically high levels.

Rep. Richard Neal, D-Mass., the ranking Democratic member on the House Ways and Means Committee, said Brady did not consult with House Democrats before releasing the legislation. He also criticized House Republicans for not holding hearings on its various measures.

"It really would be very helpful if we had occasionally a hearing on some of these measures, or a conversation or notification," Neal said about the GOP decision to pull the bill. "I think that it really deserves an incomplete."

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The Washington Post's Erica Werner contributed to this report.
TOKYO - A South Korean train rolled across the heavily militarized frontier into North Korea for the first time in a decade on Friday, as Seoul pushed ahead with a plan to reunite the two railway networks despite heavy U.N. sanctions.

The train pulled six cars carrying dozens of South Korean officials and experts, who will undertake an 18-day, 750-mile survey of railway tracks in the North. The journey required special permission from the United Nations to carry equipment and fuel into the North despite the sanctions regime.

Seoul plans to hold a ground-breaking ceremony before the end of the year on a plan to establish road and rail links between the two Koreas, first agreed upon by the countries' two leaders at a summit in April. But the project can't go beyond symbolic gestures to become reality unless sanctions are lifted.

Nevertheless, with talks between the United States and North Korea stalling, the government in Seoul is keen to show progress in its own peace process with Pyongyang.

"The inter-Korean railway connection project is intended to overcome division and open a new future of the Korean Peninsula," Unification Minister Cho Myoung-gyon said at a ceremony at Dorasan Station near the border, according to pool reports.

"Through the one connected railway, the South and the North will prosper together and the ground for peace on the Korean Peninsula will be consolidated," he said. "The train crossing the Korean Peninsula will carry peace and prosperity to northeast Asia and the world."

Cho also promised to maintain close consultation "with related nations" - in other words, the United States - so that the project proceeds with international support.

After whistling twice, the South Korean train slowly traveled toward North Korea's Panmun Station, near the town of Kaesong, where the cars would be reconnected to a North Korean engine.

The survey will run in two stages. The first will go through central North Korea and along the northwestern coast to the city of Sinuiju near the Chinese border. The second phase will go from an area near the Mount Kumgang tourist region and along the east coast up to a riverside station near the border with Russia. The train will include passenger and sleeping cars as well as a power-generator car and a fuel-tank.

"You will visit train stations and cross hills and rivers in North Korea no outsiders have visited," Cho told the survey team.

Freight services ran between the two Koreas from December 2007 until November 2008 to support factories in a joint economic zone at Kaesong in North Korea. But the line was cut in 2008 and the Kaesong park eventually closed in 2016 as relations deteriorated.

The contrast between North Korea's slow and decrepit network and the South's gleaming bullet trains could hardly be greater. During his April meeting with South Korean President Moon Jae-in, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un admitted the railways in his country were in an "embarrassing" state.

Moon has since outlined ambitious plans to set up an East Asian Railway community, as a first step towards the sort of regional economic integration Europe established after World War II.

Seoul wanted the railway survey to take place earlier this year, but the plan was initially blocked by the U.S.-led United Nations Special Command in South Korea.

Strains have emerged in the relationship between Seoul and Washington over how to handle North Korea, with some members of the U.S. administration worried that South Korea is moving too fast down the path of rapprochement, and some South Koreans frustrated that the United States is making what they see as unreasonable demands of Pyongyang, while maintaining harsh sanctions.

- - -

The Washington Post's Min Joo Kim in Seoul contributed to this report.
President Donald Trump's trip to Argentina for the Group of 20 summit this weekend will be the first time he has visited Latin America as president.

His two immediate predecessors, Presidents Barack Obama and George W. Bush, had already visited Mexico multiple times by this point in their first terms, and Bush had visited Peru and El Salvador. But Latin America probably isn't feeling aggrieved, given Trump's broad unpopularity in the region.

According to a survey conducted by Pew Global Research in spring 2018, 91 percent of Mexicans said they had no confidence that the U.S. president would do the right thing when it comes to world affairs. The figure was not much better in Argentina, which will host Trump this weekend, or Brazil: 78 percent of respondents in each country said they had no confidence in Trump.

Though Pew's historical data has some gaps, the numbers clearly show that confidence in U.S. presidents has dropped significantly in all three countries - the largest economies in Latin America - since the Obama era.

Gallup polling data from last year also found declining approval of the U.S. presidency under Trump across a wider range of countries. Among almost 20 countries polled, Trump's approval was never above 40 percent. And in all but one - Venezuela - a majority of respondents said they disapproved of him.

Why is Trump unpopular in Latin America? The easiest answer is obvious: He's unpopular pretty much everywhere. Gallup's poll found that global approval of U.S. leadership, taken by polling 134 countries, dropped from 48 percent in 2016 to 30 percent in 2017.

But Latin America may also be a special case. Trump has been particularly harsh on immigration, sometimes insulting people from Latin American backgrounds. His business dealings with some Latin American countries, like Panama, also haven't been successes. And there are still many leftist leaders in Latin America who are - in theory, at least - major critics of Trump's brand of freewheeling capitalism.

Despite the Buenos Aires location, Latin American issues are unlikely to figure heavily into the G-20 summit. The most anticipated meeting for the U.S. leader is one with Chinese President Xi Jinping, focused on the worrisome trade war between the two countries. But Trump's troubled relationship with Latin America can hardly be ignored - even when it comes to China.

Brazil, for instance, has been one of the major beneficiaries of that trade war, with soybean farmers stepping in to fill China's demand after U.S. agriculture was barred from doing so. Indeed, Latin America is a key battleground for influence between Beijing and Washington. Pew's polling from earlier this year found considerable minorities in Argentina, Brazil and Mexico would prefer China to be the world's leading power.
WASHINGTON - Months after joining the advisory board of a Miami-based patent company in 2014, Matthew Whitaker began fielding angry complaints from customers that they were being defrauded, including from a client who showed up at his Iowa office to appeal to him personally for help, records show.

Yet Whitaker, now the acting attorney general, remained an active champion of World Patent Marketing for three years - even expressing willingness to star in national television ads promoting the firm, the records show.

Internal Federal Trade Commission documents released Friday in response to a public records request reveal the extent of Whitaker's support for World Patent Marketing, even amid a barrage of warnings about the company's behavior.

The FTC eventually filed a complaint against World Patent Marketing, accusing it of cheating customers and falsely promising that it would help them patent and profit from their inventions, according to court filings. Some clients lost their life savings, the agency alleged.

In May of this year, a federal court in Florida ordered World Patent Marketing to pay a settlement of more than $25 million and close up shop, records show. The company did not admit or deny wrongdoing.

Whitaker, a former U.S. attorney, did little to assist the investigation. When the FTC subpoenaed his records, he missed the deadline to reply. In a voice mail responding to two follow-up calls from investigators, Whitaker said he was happy to cooperate and stressed an important role he had just assumed in Washington.

"I didn't know that you had served a subpoena," Whitaker said in his October 2017 message, released by the FTC Friday. "I am now at the Department of Justice here in Washington DC, as the chief of staff to the Attorney General, so I want to be very helpful."

Whitaker never provided any of his records, according to two people familiar with the investigation. He had told the FTC most of his communications were privileged legal discussions because he provided legal advice to the company's founder. He also said he had a minimal role at the company and "wouldn't have personally ever said anything about the business," according to an investigator's notes.

Whitaker did not respond to a request for comment. In a previous statement, Justice Department spokeswoman Kerri Kupec said, "Acting Attorney General Matt Whitaker has said he was not aware of any fraudulent activity. Any stories suggesting otherwise are false."

Rep. Elijah E. Cummings, the ranking Democrat and future chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, said the records show Whitaker was alerted early to the alleged fraud and should have taken action.

"These new documents suggest that Mr. Whitaker was personally aware of allegations of fraud by World Patent Marketing and its CEO at the same time he was receiving payments as a member of the Advisory Board," Cummings said in a statement. "If true, this is extremely troubling and raises serious concerns about his fitness to serve as acting Attorney General and whether he was properly vetted for this critical position."

Sen. Tom Udall, D-N.M., called Whitaker's response to the FTC subpoena "beyond alarming." Udall said Whitaker's record was likely to have created serious hurdles if his nomination for the post of acting attorney general had been reviewed by Congress.

"The stains on Mr. Whitaker's resume and credibility likely would have caused serious problems for any nomination to serve in such a deeply consequential position," Udall said.

As the FTC was investigating the company, agency officials examined whether Whitaker played a role in trying to help the company silence critics by threatening legal action, as The Washington Post previously reported.

When investigators learned about Whitaker's new posting in Washington, they were stunned, the new records show.

"You're not going to believe this," James Evans, an investigator in the FTC's Bureau of Consumer Protection wrote in late October 2017, several weeks after the agency issued Whitaker a subpoena. "Matt Whitaker is now chief of staff to the Attorney General. Of the United States."

Whitaker joined the board of World Patent Marketing in October 2014 after a failed U.S. Senate run, eventually collecting about $10,000 in fees, according to court documents. "As a former U.S. Attorney, I would only align myself with a first class organization," Whitaker said in a company news release at the time.

A court receiver appointed to oversee the FTC settlement said that Whitaker was asked to return his fees so the money could be used to reimburse customers but that he never responded.

The records show Whitaker fielded angry complaints about World Patent Marketing, starting in April 2015. He appeared to forward them to company founder Scott Cooper without taking other action.

When a customer complained to Whitaker by voice mail on May 29, 2015, Whitaker forwarded the message to Cooper, writing: "Another WPM customer reaching out to me. FYI. I do not plan to call back unless you want me to. Thanks, MW."

One September 2016 email from someone who said she was a customer sought Whitaker's help.

"Dear Matthew, can you get a message to Scoot [sic] Cooper," she asked. "You are on his advisory board but what you don't know is how many people were scammed by him and how fraudulent they are and how much money they robbed from people. I am not happy and would love to meet him in person and show him how upset I am."

The writer ended by threatening physical violence against Cooper.

Whitaker passed the complaint along to Cooper, records show.

"Scott, Just forwarding this along," Whitaker wrote. "I hope all is well. MGW"

Cooper, at times, updated Whitaker on the status of complaints, the records show. In May 2015, he emailed Whitaker: "spoke to customer - we refunded him 995 - he was a decent guy - just is broke."

Whitaker told investigators in late October 2017 that he didn't write to or email with complaining consumers, but "one guy showed up at my office because they listed me on their board or advisers or whatever," according to investigators' notes of the conversation.

The documents reflect that Whitaker did at one point help Cooper push back against a complaint - not from a consumer but from a former Cooper business partner who claimed Cooper owed him money from a previous deal and threatened to expose World Patent Marketing as a fraud if Cooper did not pay up.

The newly released emails show that Cooper enlisted Whitaker's help, drafting an email he wanted Whitaker to send to the man. The email specifically referred to Whitaker's role as a former U.S. attorney and threatened "civil and criminal consequences" if the man persisted. Whitaker sent the email, as requested.

Days later, World Patent Marketing sued the man in New York State Court, alleging defamation. The suit was settled out of court.

Cooper viewed Whitaker's former role as a U.S. attorney in Iowa as a major asset and sought to use Whitaker's background to lend his company credibility, the records show.

In November 2014, Cooper wrote to a Web designer, "Let's build a Wikipedia page and use Whitaker to make it credible."

Cooper hoped to broadcast ads featuring Whitaker on CNN, the records show. It is unclear what happened to that plan, but Whitaker and Cooper discussed how much Whitaker should be paid for appearing in them.

"I do not have a dollar amount in mind," Whitaker wrote to Cooper in December 2014. "What does talent of my type usually demand?"

Cooper repeatedly cited Whitaker's prosecutor role in marketing material and in correspondence. In an Aug. 14, 2015, email sent to a complainant, for example, Cooper wrote:

"I have copied my corporate counsel, Bernie Egozi, and former US Attorney Matthew G. Whitaker, who happens to sit on my board, in this email as I am frankly confused by your behavior and it sounds as though you are trying to blackmail me for something."

In December 2015, Cooper wrote to another complainant, saying he was copying Whitaker and highlighting that he was "a board member and former U.S. attorney." Cooper advised the complainant to, in the future, "communicate directly with the two of us on this matter."

FTC officials were taken aback when they heard that Trump had named Whitaker acting attorney general four weeks ago and braced for media inquiries, internal records show.

At the same time, Justice Department and White House officials were surprised to learn of Whitaker's connection to a company accused of fraud, according to people familiar with their reaction.

Cummings on Friday vowed to conduct a deeper probe.

"Unfortunately, these documents are incomplete, and do not show what actions Mr. Whitaker took after learning about these concerns," he said. "Congress needs all of the documents to determine the full extent of Mr. Whitaker's involvement with this company that deceived consumers and suppressed complaints."

The Washington Post's Alice Crites and Anu Narayanswamy contributed to this report.
(CNN)  There's no slowing China's high-speed rail ambitions.

Beijing has just green lighted a project to build the first underwater bullet train route in China.

The line will connect Ningbo, a port city south of Shanghai, to Zhoushan, an archipelago off the east coast.

The proposed underwater tunnel will be a part of the 77-kilometer Yong-Zhou Railway plan (Yong is the nickname of Ningbo) to boost tourism and create a two-hour-commute zone within Zhejiang Province.

First mentioned in a government transportation plan in 2005, the feasibility study of the Yong-Zhou Railway plan was approved by Beijing in November.

Within the 77 km (47.8 miles) railway route, some 70.92 km of tracks will be newly built, including a 16.2 km undersea section.

Line to significantly shorten journey

When completed, the Yong-Zhou Railway will connect Ningbo East Station and Zhoushan (Baiquan) Station by high-speed trains that hit a maximum speed of 250 kilometers per hour.

The new route, connecting to the existing vast high-speed rail network in China, will transport travelers from Hangzhou -- capital city of Zhejiang -- to Zhoushan in 80 minutes.

The current journey takes about 4.5 hours by bus or a 2.5-hour drive by personal vehicle.

Seven stations are planned for the entire route, including four new stations and three redeveloped ones.

In addition to the undersea tunnel, a road-rail bridge will be built to link parts of the archipelago.

Easy access to Boeing's new China factory

With a price tag of RMB 25.2 billion (or $3.6 billion), the project is expected to begin next year and is due for completion in 2025.

Zhoushan, some three hours' drive south of Shanghai, is still relatively under-the-radar among international tourists.

But in terms of business, it's one of the most noteworthy new state-level areas (or special economic-development zones designated by the Beijing government) in China.

Ningbo-Zhoushan Port is the busiest in the world in terms of cargo throughput.

Zhoushan is also home to American aircraft maker Boeing's first overseas factory, which is due to begin operations in December 2018.

But what's there for regular tourists?

The Zhoushan Archipelago's Shengsi Islands, officially declared a National Scenic Area in China, have recently been making the rounds on the internet thanks to a series of wild photos of the eerie but stunning abandoned fisherman village of Houtouwan.

This story was first published on CNN.com, "China green lights first underwater high-speed railway."
Thanks to a donation of $815,000 from the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, a scholarship fundraiser for Palo Alto College this month netted $1 million  more than 14 times its goal of $70,000.

UTRGV donation covers five full-ride scholarships for current Palo Alto students, and scholarships and fee waivers for community college employees and their family members who are looking to pursue online masters degrees. It also funds five Presidential Graduate Research Assistant positions at the university.
A 'Texas 7' escapee scheduled for execution filed a lawsuit this week alleging that there are too many men and too many former law enforcement officials on the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles.

Joseph Garcia, who is slated to die Tuesday, currently has a plea for clemency in front of the seven-member board, asking them to recommend a commutation nearly two decades after he was sentenced to die for a prison break-out and crime spree that left a police officer dead.

The board would normally be expected to issue a recommendation Friday - two business days before the planned execution. But mid-day Thursday, Garcia's attorneys filed a federal lawsuit seeking to prevent the board from making a decision until a more representative set of members can be appointed. Currently, the suit notes, the board is "stacked with individuals whose background places them firmly on the side of the State and law enforcement."

A spokesman for the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles did not respond to a request for comment.

READ MORE: 'Texas 7' death row inmate asks for reprieve after media report on state's execution supplies

By law, the there's a limit on the number of former prison employees who can be on the parole board, though it hasn't always been that way. When the legislature first began regulating the board's membership in 1997, the only requirements were that members had to be representative of the "general public" and that they had to have lived in Texas for two years.

In the late 1990s, a number of inmates sued the parole board, including notorious Houston ax killer Karla Faye Tucker, who alleged that the whole clemency process was so "inadequate" as to violate her due process rights. She lost, but in another lawsuit that same year a federal court found that "a flip of the coin would be more merciful than [the Board's] votes."

On the heels of public criticism and media scrutiny, the legislature added a new requirement in 2003, limiting the number of former Texas Department of Criminal Justice employees who could be on the board at any time to three.

Even though the current board includes only two former TDCJ employees, attorneys allege, all but one of the seven voting members has a law enforcement background, including past jobs as police officers and county sheriffs.

"Eighty-five percent of the Board members, then, are either former employees of TDCJ, law-enforcement officers, or both," Garcia's lawyers wrote. "The failure of this Board to be 'representative of the general public' is highlighted by the fact that approximately 0.4% of the Texas population are law-enforcement officers and 0.15% are TDCJ employees."

The seventh board member is a former adviser to Gov. Greg Abbott.

READ MORE: 'Texas 7' death row inmate asks for reprieve after media report on state's execution supplies

On top of that, six of the board's members are men, a distribution that's also not representative of the general population.

Given all that, the lawsuit asks for an injunction to bar the parole board from making a decision on clemency until the governor appoints a more representative board.

The newly filed lawsuit came hours after Garcia's attorneys sent the governor a letter begging for a 30-day reprieve in light of media reporting regarding the source of the state's execution drugs.

Citing unidentified documents, a BuzzFeed News report on Wednesday identified the Houston compounding pharmacy believed to be one of two that mixes up the batches of pentobarbital used in the Huntsville death chamber.

Since the Braeswood-area business had a track record of safety violations documented by the state, Garcia's attorney's asked the governor for a reprieve to give them time to investigate.

The governor's office did not respond Thursday to the Chronicle's request for comment on the letter.

At the time of the notorious escape that eventually landed Garcia on death row, he was already in prison for a crime out of Bexar County, where he stabbed a man at least a dozen times. Since then, he's repeatedly framed the slaying as self-defense and not murder.

In December 2000, he was serving time at the Connally Unit when he teamed up with six fellow prisoners to plot the biggest break-out in Texas prison history.

In a carefully orchestrated plot months in the making, the seven inmates took hostages, busted into the prison armory, stole weapons and stormed out of the unit in a prison truck. After a crime spree across the state, on Christmas Eve the men held up an Oshman's sporting goods store and ended up killing Irving police officer Aubrey Hawkins.

Afterward, the crew fled and were captured a month later in Colorado, living in a trailer park and posing as Christian missionaries. Though one of the men killed himself rather than surrender, the other six were captured and sent to death row. Three have since been executed.

Though Garcia said he never fired a shot, he was convicted under the law of parties and sentenced to die. If his appeals, request for reprieve, and clemency plea all fail, he'll become the 12th Texas prisoner put to death this year.
Plenty of San Antonio residents and visitors celebrated their Halloween with alcohol, according to the Texas comptroller's office.

October saw a significant increase in alcohol sales, totaling $50,637,846. In September, sales totaled $44,061,012. The numbers indicate alcohol sales rose nearly 15 percent between September and October.
Desperation, bad policy, then tear gas

What happens when desperation meets fearmongering policies? We saw it this week with the tear gassing of Central Americans who rushed the U.S. border in Tijuana.

It was unwise to rush the border, and not only because it handed the Trump administration the ammo it sought in portraying this otherwise peaceful caravan of asylum seekers as tough criminals. Make no mistake, the dynamics behind this clash are mostly of the administrations making.

The administration telegraphed tough language that asylum-seekers petitions wouldnt be considered as broadly as the law specifies. A federal judge has blocked the presidential proclamation that would restrict asylum, but U.S. authorities essentially created a bottleneck for asylum seekers, processing as few as it could.

This created tent cities and squatting that have bred frustration and pose a crisis for the Mexican government as would-be asylum-seekers languish, now targets of drug cartels and other criminal elements and the kind of violence they are fleeing in their own countries. And their desperation grows by the minute.

While most of the migrants have been peaceful, several did attempt to circumvent Mexican authorities  some reportedly hurling projectiles  and rush the border.

The Border Patrol responded with a couple dozen tear gas cannisters lobbed at them across the border on Sunday. The president then attempted to convince Americans that women and children werent in this group when the evidence says otherwise. Yes, this has been done before, but not with a prelude of this magnitude  separation of families, indefinite detention of same. And now tear gas. These are not credible immigration policies for this or any other administration. And, despite the attempt of a small portion of the migrants to scale the border, their danger to the nation remains mostly imaginary. They remain refugees fleeing the lawless dysfunction of their own countries; they are not the criminals and terrorists that the presidents fearmongering rhetoric would have us believe.

Yes, the U.S. has an obligation to protect its borders. But there are smarter  more proactive  ways to do that, comprehensive immigration reform among them. The Mexican government has responded by deporting those who tried to breach the border and U.S. authorities arrested the 42 who managed to cross.

It didnt have to be this way. Instead of sending troops (mostly to Texas) and attempting to restrict what is a perfectly legal pursuit  seeking asylum  the Trump administration might have sent more immigration judges to process the influx. The presidents objection to this is based on a falsehood  his own. He has contended that only 3 percent of those who enter the U.S. ever show up for their own proceedings after being released.

But as fact-checking by the New York Times Linda Qiu showed, the Justice Departments own data reveal that most immigrants show up for their proceedings  in 2017, 28 percent failed to show up. Thats far from 97 percent. Moreover, only 11 percent of asylum seekers fail to show up.

She wrote, Of the asylum seekers who participated in a pilot program tested as an alternative to detention, 99 percent attended Immigration and Custom Enforcement check-ins and appointments. And 100 percent turned up for court hearings.

On top of that, a relatively small portion of asylum seekers are granted asylum.

Earlier, the president said troops who had things thrown at them should answer with bullets. Fortunately, that didnt happen in Tijuana, but imagine if it had.

Its long past time for the administration to cool its rhetoric and to continue negotiating with the Mexican government on more adequately sheltering migrants  in Mexico  awaiting asylum hearings. Then to more robustly attack the root problems causing the exodus  lawlessness in Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador.
Local authority officials are being urged to come to the aid of community groups looking to apply for around 6m in Leader funding which has to be allocated to organisations before the end of 2020.

Longford secured a total of 7.6m back in 2014 under the programme, which was designed by the EU to support community initiatives as part of the Common Agricultural Policy.

However, the scheme has been subject to a barrage of red tape with an estimated 20 per cent or around 1.5m distributed to groups across the county in the interim.

The issue was one which resurfaced at a recent meeting of Longford County Council where calls were again made for the local authority to assist groups looking to tap into the fund.

Cllr PJ Reilly said he believed some communities were being hamstrung in their efforts due to the time consuming nature and all-round bureaucratic nature of the process.

A lot of people out there just havent time with their day jobs and they are going to their local parish centres for meetings at 8 oclock in the evenings and it is just too strenuous and stressful for many of these groups, he said.

The long serving Fianna Fail local politician also alluded to the difficulties many communities face in raising enough resources of their own to qualify for the scheme.

The other issue is matched funding, he said.

It can be an issue to raise funds locally to make an application and I do think every support at all possible should be given to groups out there to help them with their application.

His party running mate Cllr Seamus Butler who serves as chairperson of Longford Community Development Committee (LCDC), the body charged with distributing the funding, said he remained upbeat as to the future rollout of the remaining monies.

A review is being done next year and if we dont step up to the plate and help these communities there is a danger that it (money) might have to be returned, he warned.

We dont want that and I have every confidence we will see a significant uptake of funds in 2019.

Cllr Colm Murray, who previously held the position now enjoyed by Cllr Butler, said there was an argument to be made for additional staff to be taken on to assist in those efforts.

Two issues surrounding Leader funding at the moment are the complexity of the process and matched funding, he said.

Micheal Rings (Minister for Rural Affairs) department have a number of different funding streams available that are easier to apply for.

And the reason they are easier to apply for is they have a team of dedicated staff in place.
Arrangements have been made to open a hotel at the centre of a High Court dispute, between a company that wants to buy it and its owner, as accommodation for asylum seekers in early January.



The 39-room Shannon Key West Hotel at Rooskey on the Co Leitrim/Roscommon border is the subject of proceedings between Paradub Ltd which wants to develop the property into a tourist hotel and its owner businessman James Kiernan.

Also read: North Longford village comes to standstill for funeral of late Danny McGee



Paradub claims it entered into an agreement to buy the hotel, which closed in 2011, from Mr Kiernan, which the company alleges he has failed to complete.



Earlier this month Paradub launched proceedings after it discovered from local media reports that a plan has been put in place to use the property to house refugees.

The company claims this breaches the purchase agreement and is an attempt to frustrate the sale of the property.

Paradub seeks orders including an injunction restraining the defendant from entering into any agreement to lease, transfer and dispose of the property to any other person other than the plaintiff.

Mr Kiernan denies the claims against him and opposes the injunction application.

Also read: Equestrian world saddened by death of successful Longford breeder Harold McGahern



The case was briefly mentioned before Ms Justice Leonie Reynolds on Thursday.



Padraic Lyons Bl for Mr Kiernan said his side had served the plaintiffs with a sworn statement in reply to the injunction application.

Counsel said that an agreement was in place between his client and another party in relation to the use of the hotel.



That third party, counsel said, had entered into an arrangement with the Department of Justice for the hotel to be used as accommodation for asylum seekers starting from January 7th next.



It was now a matter for the plaintiff if it wishes to join this third party to the proceedings, counsel said.



Counsel for the company Jack Tchrakian Bl said his side had only recently received the defendant's sworn and required time to consider its contents.



Ms Justice Reynolds, noting the urgency of the matter, adjourned the case to next week.



Previously the Judge granted the company permission to serve short notice of the injunction proceedings against Mr Kiernan.

It claims that in 2016 an option agreement for the sale of the hotel was entered into between the company and Mr Kiernan of Glenart Avenue Blackrock, Co Dublin for almost 600,000.

The allegedly agreed option was to be exercised by December 2017.

When the company decided to exercise the option in October 2017 it claims Mr Kiernan ignored their requests to issue draft contracts.

This resulted in the company initiating legal proceedings against Mr Kiernan in 2017, and it issued a Lis Pendens, an official notice to the public that a lawsuit involving a claim on a property has been filed, against the hotel.

Also read: 80-year-old man dies in Leitrim after his tractor struck a ditch
Local News, Health & Wellness, Press Releases, Politics

By Long Island News & PR Published: November 30 2018

Proposes New Regulations Expanding Access To Care For People With HIV.

New York, NY - November 30, 2018 - Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today announced New York State is on track to end the AIDS epidemic by the end of 2020 and proposed new regulations that will remove barriers and expand access to care for uninsured or underinsured people living with HIV. These regulations build on New York's reputation as a national leader in the fight against HIV. In New York, the number of people newly diagnosed with HIV continues to fall to historic lows, demonstrating that the State's efforts to end the epidemic are making a significant impact. World AIDS Day is December 1st, and World AIDS day activities in New York will be held Tuesday, December 4th, with the NYS Ending the Epidemic Summit on December 5th.

"New York State has made tremendous progress in the fight against HIV/AIDS, and this new data demonstrates we're on track to achieve our goal of ending the epidemic by 2020," Governor Cuomo said. "As our fight to end the epidemic continues, these new regulations will ensure more individuals living with HIV have access to the care they need and in the process help stop further transmissions."

"We are investing in patient care and treatment services for people with HIV/AIDS to ensure they lead healthy lives," said Lieutenant Governor Kathy Hochul. "In honor of World AIDS Day, New York is expanding access to health care for people diagnosed with HIV, and continuing to break down barriers for individuals who are underinsured and uninsured. We're leading the nation to break the stigma in the fight against HIV and make sure all New Yorkers have the resources and support they need and deserve."

To expand access to HIV care for uninsured and underinsured people, the New York State Department of Health will modify regulations governing the HIV Uninsured Care Programs (HUCP) to update income criteria and eliminate the assets test. Currently, to be eligible for the HUCP, an applicant's household income must be equal to or less than 435% of the Federal Poverty Level, and the applicant's liquid resources must be less than $25,000. These new regulations will increase eligible income to 500% of Federal Poverty Level and eliminate the cap on resources. The proposed regulations will be published in mid-December, with adoption anticipated in early 2019.

The Department of Health's HIV Uninsured Care Programs include five initiatives to provide health care services to uninsured and underinsured New Yorkers who are diagnosed with HIV. More information is available here

The new regulations build on the Governor's Ending the Epidemic initiative, launched in 2014, to significantly reduce HIV infections by the end of 2020 and achieve the first-ever decrease in HIV prevalence. The initiative features a three-point plan, which includes identifying people with HIV who remain undiagnosed and linking them to health care, linking and retaining people diagnosed with HIV to health care and getting them on treatment to maximize HIV virus suppression, and providing access to Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) for people who engage in high-risk behaviors to keep them HIV negative.

Thanks to the initiative, new diagnoses of HIV are falling, while rates of enrollment in treatment for those diagnosed continues to climb. New HIV diagnoses in New York declined for a third consecutive year, reaching an all-time low of 2,769 in 2017, down 20 percent since 2014.

Notably, last year's decrease in new HIV diagnoses was observable across nearly every demographic group, including sex, age group, race/ethnicity, transmission risk and region. While racial and ethnic disparities in HIV diagnoses are still present, new HIV diagnoses per 100,000 population are down 52 percent among non-Hispanic blacks and 42 percent among Hispanics since 2007. This is consistent with the gains realized among non-Hispanic whites, who have seen a 46 percent drop in their HIV case rate over this period.

New data shows great increases in the numbers of people who, though newly diagnosed and living with HIV, are receiving care. Further, as a result of increased access to care, the number of people living with diagnosed HIV who are virally suppressed has continued to climb.

The number of new HIV diagnoses in people with a history of injection drug use reached an all-time low of 110 during 2017, down 28 percent from 153 in 2014 when Governor Cuomo announced the three-point plan. At the height of the HIV epidemic in the early 1990s, several thousand diagnoses among persons with a history of injection drug use were made each year.

Over the past four years, New York State has committed more than $20 million to fund Health Department policies and programs designed to meet Ending the Epidemic goals. These policies include streamlining HIV testing; facilitating access to syringe exchanges; enabling minors to consent for HIV prevention and care services; expanding data sharing to enhance linkage to care; linkage and retention in care initiatives; and enhanced access to PrEP in clinical settings. In addition, harm reduction services are now a Medicaid benefit and New York State is the first state to offer such services.

The New York State Department of Health AIDS Institute is issuing a new policy on Rapid Initiation of Antiretroviral Treatment, stating that a new HIV diagnosis is an immediate call to action for every provider who engages with that individual, with the goal being rapid initiation. While same-day initiation of treatment may not always be possible, it is ideal that patients start treatment within three days. In the outpatient setting, in no instance should treatment initiation take longer than 30 days. The policy on rapid initiation supports the "Undetectable equals Untransmittable" (U=U) message that people with a sustained undetectable viral load cannot sexually transmit HIV.

Commissioner of Health Dr. Howard Zucker said, "Expanding access to care is crucial to ending the epidemic, and the new regulations announced today will ensure that people get the help they need. Treatment is only possible after a diagnosis, so I encourage everyone to get tested and know their status."
NYS Police: Four Arrested in Suffolk on Drug and Gun Charges, Large Sum of Money Seized

Local News, Crime, Press Releases

By Long Island News & PR Published: November 30 2018

Marihuana, cocaine, and heroin and several firearms were among the items recovered, cops say.

The NYS Police announced the arrests of (L to R) Tristan Mitchell, 28; Stefan Mitchell, 32; Daniel Williamson, 33; and Christina Ali, 37, on drug and weapon charges.

Suffolk County, NY - November 30, 2018 - On Thursday, November 29, 2018, the New York State Police Troop L Narcotics Enforcement Unit and Gun Investigation Unit, with the assistance of the Nassau County Police Department, the United State Postal Service, and the Nassau County District Attorneys Office, arrested four subjects following a long term narcotics investigation. Search warrants were executed at a residence in On Thursday, November 29, 2018, the New York State Police Troop L Narcotics Enforcement Unit and Gun Investigation Unit, with the assistance of the Nassau County Police Department, the United State Postal Service, and the Nassau County District Attorneys Office, arrested four subjects following a long term narcotics investigation. Search warrants were executed at a residence in Central Islip and two in Bay Shore . As a result of the search warrants, marihuana, cocaine, and heroin were seized along with 2 handguns (one reported stolen from North Carolina), 1 pistol grip shot gun and approximately $33,000 U.S. Currency.

The following subjects were arrested:

Tristan Mitchell, age 28, of Central Islip, NY and charged with Criminal Possession of a Controlled Substance 3rd, Criminal Possession of a Controlled Substance 7th, Unlawful Possession of Marijuana, and Violation of Probation.

Stefan Mitchell, age 32, of Central Islip, NY and charged with Criminal Possession of Marihuana 2nd.

Daniel Williamson, age 33, of Bay Shore, NY and charged with Criminal Sale of a Controlled Substance 1st, 2 counts of Criminal Possession of a Controlled Substance 3rd, Criminal Possession of a Weapon 2nd, Criminal Possession of a Weapon 3rd and Violation of Probation.

Christina Ali, age 37, of Bay Shore, NY and charged with Criminal Possession of Marihuana 4th.

Christina Ali was released on an appearance ticket returnable to Suffolk County First District Court on January 02, 2019. The other subjects are being held overnight awaiting arraignment at Suffolk County First District Court on 11/30/18.

From the New York State Police, Troop L Commander, Major David Candelaria

This investigation is another example of a successful, collaborated effort with our partner agencies that led to the removal of dangerous narcotics and firearms from our communities. The New York State Police will continue to work relentlessly with our federal, county, and local agencies to combat illicit drug trafficking on Long Island.

From the Nassau District Attorney Madeline Singas

This investigation revealed that these defendants allegedly sold large quantities of drugs, including heroin and crack cocaine, on Long Island and also possessed dangerous firearms. This joint investigation, with our partners in the New York State Police, is ongoing and we anticipate more arrests.

From Nassau Commissioner of Police Patrick Ryder

The combined interagency cooperation during this drug and weapons investigation is consistent with how law enforcement professionals continue to work cohesively to effect arrests of drug dealers which translates into making safer communities for our residents. With these arrests, we were able to confiscate a large amount of illegal and dangerous drugs, US Currency and numerous illegal weapons. I would like to congratulate all of the dedicated investigators and their respective agencies on a job well done.
Local News, Business & Finance, Press Releases, Politics

By Long Island News & PR Published: November 30 2018

RISE Act Prohibits Employers from Requiring Job Applicants to Provide Pay History.

Suffolk County, NY - November 30, 2018 - Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone today joined with New York State Department of Labor Commissioner Roberta Reardon to sign legislation that will prohibit any employer within the county from requesting or seeking the wage history of a prospective employee during the interview and hiring process. The RISE Act, which stands for Restricting Information on Salaries and Earnings, is intended to close the pay gap for women and people of color in the workforce.

I am proud to sign this legislation into law, which puts us one step closer to closing the pay gap once and for all, said Suffolk County Executive Bellone. Any pay gap, no matter how big or small, is an injustice, which not only affects todays job applicants, but also future generations.

New York State Department of Labor Commissioner Roberta Reardon said: "Equal pay for equal work.' Susan B. Anthonys words ring as clear and true today as they did when she first uttered them. Thanks to Governor Cuomo, NY has made immense progress moving the pay equity needle; but there is still work to be done. The RISE Act, County Executive Bellones groundbreaking local legislation, helps further move that needle for women and people of color on Long Island.

New York State Senator-elect Monica Martinez said: The passage of the RISE Act is a great way to protect all Suffolk County residents from wage discrimination and receive fair pay. This law permits all employees the opportunity to secure an equal and fair salary when navigating the job market. All Suffolk County residents will benefit from the positive impact of this new legislation.

According to a report issued by the New York State Department of Labor in April 2018, in Suffolk County, women earn only 78.1 percent of what their male counterparts earn, compared to the statewide percentage of 86.8 percent. Women of color in New York fare worse than women of other backgrounds; African American women earn 64.4 percent and Latino or Hispanic women earn 55.3 percent of what men earn. Women and minorities may be negatively impacted by employers who rely on salary and wage history when making an employment offer due to these statistically-proven lower wages.

The countywide ban on inquiring about salary history goes into effect on June 30, 2019, affects both public and private sector employers with four or more employees, and includes every stage of the hiring process. This new law would protect most job applicants in Suffolk County, and only exclude applicants who are seeking an internal transfer or promotion with their current employer and applicants who are seeking a position with public employers for which compensation is set pursuant to a collective bargaining agreement.

The law prohibits any employer or employment agency from inquiring about a job applicants current or previous wage, which includes benefits or other compensation or salary histories. The employer is prohibited from soliciting information from the job applicants former or current employer, from searching public records regarding the applicants current or prior earnings, and must not rely on the applicants current or prior earnings in determining the applicants new wage or salary. If an applicant is willing, they will be able to disclose salary history to an employer or employment agency. A job applicant may provide authorization to a prospective employer to confirm salary history and consider current or previous earnings during the interview process. Prospective employers can ask an applicant about competing offers and counter offers the applicant has received, along with the value of those offers.

Legislator Tom Cilmi, Minority Leader of the Republican caucus said: America is built on the premise of equal opportunity for all. It is in that spirit that I am pleased to support this initiative. While discrimination of any kind should not be tolerated, hopefully THIS law makes it clear that there is no room in the workplace for wage discrimination of any kind.

Suffolk County Legislator Bridget Fleming said: For decades there has been a persistent and significant gap in the pay for women performing comparable work to that of their male colleagues. The disparity is well known, and presents an obstacle to the success of women in the economy. It runs counter to the basic tenants of our nation, that we are all treated equally. It is a very real problem and this bill provides a good fix.

Suffolk County Legislator Sarah Anker said: The Suffolk County RISE Act symbolizes a major step forward in furthering equality in the workplace. The law will level the playing field and ensure that all employees are compensated equally based on their experience and qualifications, not on their salary history. It takes aim at the cycle of inequality and discrimination that so often prevents women, minorities, and senior citizens from advancing in their careers.

Suffolk County Legislator Susan A. Berland said: I am proud to be a cosponsor of the RISE Act, which unanimously passed the full Legislature. Every person in Suffolk County deserves to be paid based on their skills and qualifications, not their previous salary and this legislation is a vital tool in making that a reality. Women, particularly women of color are historically paid lower wages than men and this legislation goes a long way to help end that wage gap. It is our responsibility as elected officials to provide all of our constituents with opportunities to RISE and this legislation is an excellent step in that direction.

The enactment of this legislation works to prevent the perpetuation of the pay gap by ensuring the salary offered by the employer is not based upon the prior wages earned, but on responsibility and qualifications. Job applicants may report violations of the salary history law to the Suffolk County Human Rights commission and may be able to recover damages. Employers that violate the law may be required to pay damages or a fine, and may be subject to additional affirmative relief such as mandated training and posting requirements.

The Suffolk County Department of Economic Development and Planning estimates that closing the gender wage gap in Suffolk would result in a net increase of spending within the County of approximately $664 million annually, which could increase Suffolk Countys total economic output by an estimated $1.14 billion, or approximately 1.3 percent of Suffolks estimated Gross Domestic Product of $85.2 billion. Additionally, a 2016 analysis commissioned by the New York Womens Foundation, in partnership with the Institute for Womens Policy Research, found if New Yorks working women were paid the same as their male peers, men who are of the same age, have the same level of education, work the same number of hours, and have the same urban/rural status, it would reduce the poverty rate for the states women and their families by more than half, from 7.5 percent to 3.6 percent.
In a recent interview with Axios on HBO, Apple CEO Tim Cook was made to answer a very uncomfortable question. He was asked how he squares taking billions of dollars from Google to make it the default search engine for Safari (both on Mac and iOS) with his companys stance on privacy. Google is certainly not the only company that trades in monetizing your online activity, but its one of the biggest. And Googles search is far from achieving the level of data privacy that Apple demands of its products and services.

Tims answer was honest, if not satisfactory.

I think their search engine is the best. Look at what weve done with the controls weve built in. We have private web browsing. We have an intelligent tracker prevention. What weve tried to do is come up with ways to help our users through their course of the day. Its not a perfect thing. Id be the very first person to say that. But it goes a long way to helping.

While Cook was right to point out the benefits of Safaris intelligent tracker prevention, thats only been around since iOS 11 (and the more stringent tracking prevention was only introduced in iOS 12). Apple has been selling out to Google for years.

In short, Cook said that Apple it is willing to compromise on its privacy stance if it means a better user experience. You may or may not think thats okay, but it doesnt jibe with the way Apple runs any of its other products.

The problem is, theres no great alternative. Apple could make Bing or Yahoo its default search engine, but they dont meet Apples privacy stance, either. And theyre just objectively not as good as Google, so why bother?

For Apple to ensure that searching the webmaybe the most important and common part of the computing experiencemeets its own privacy values, it would need to build its own search engine to have full control over how data is and isnt collected, and how the web is crawled and indexed.

Apple should buy DuckDuckGo and make it into Apple Search

Theres another solution. DuckDuckGo is a search engine that does not collect, store, track, or share any personal information about you. It doesnt even log IP addresses or user agent strings. Its a search engine that, at its core, shares the same ideals about privacy as does Apple.

DuckDuckGo DuckDuckGo

And its pretty good! Complex search queries for advanced users arent quite up to par with Google, and it doesnt do as good a job of digging down into obscure forums to find answers to obtuse technical problems, but for the average search made by the average user, it meets a high quality standard.

You can try it yourself. Its easy to add to any browser, and you can change your Safari search in iOS to DuckDuckGo in Settings > Safari > Search Engine.

Apple should buy DuckDuckGo, invest heavily in scaling up capacity and improving its web crawling proficiency, and rebrand it as Apple Search. It should still be available to everyone (not just Apple users) at search.apple.com, but more importantly, it should be the new default search engine for Safari on macOS and iOS and for Siri web search results.

Yeah, Apple could start from scratch in building its own search engine, but why? Buying DuckDuckGo would give Apple several years head start on building core search technology and a huge index of the whole web along with a talented team of engineers that share Apples privacy priorities.

Whats in it for Apple?

Why should Apple bother? After all, it would take many millions of dollars to buy DuckDuckGo, and tens or hundreds of millions in ongoing costs to further develop and scale it. Not to mention giving up the billions a year that Google pays to be the default.

But the payoff could be huge. First and foremost, it puts Apple in control of one of the most critical user experiences on every device it sells: searching the web. Apple can ensure that its privacy and security goals are met for billions of daily searches made by hundreds of millions of users. For a company of Apples resources and ideals, that alone should be reason enough.

But there are other benefits. DuckDuckGo may not track user data, but it still makes money through advertising; its just not personalized advertising. If you search for vitamins, you get all the expected organic search results (including shopping links), as well as a couple of ads. Those ads are targeted to the search term, not the userDuckDuckGo still has no idea who you are or what other searches youve ever made.

At the scale of Apple default search engine, that kind of ad revenue can bring in serious money.

A web search engine is also a massive data treasure trove that could prove invaluable for training Apples many machine learning (ML) technologies. All search engines have to continuously crawl webpages and search, sort, and index their content. Otherwise it has no idea what to show users when they search. This isnt a privacy violationits not storing information about users, its storing information about public webpages.

Training machine learning algorithms requires tons of data, and it is the core function of all search engines to literally collect it from all over the web. Owning all that data, and the means by which it is collected, could be a huge boon to Siri, computational photography, augmented reality research, and many other AI and ML projects. Whats more, improving search results is the perfect problem to solve with machine learning, and we all know how keen Apple is to apply ML and AI to everything it does these days.

Let me put it this way. If owning the default Safari search engine wasnt enormously valuable, Google wouldnt pay Apple billions of dollars for that privilege. Apple owning its own search isnt giving up billions in free profit from Google, its gaining something worth billions of dollars to Google.

And buying DuckDuckGo is the fastest and likely most economical means of bootstrapping a hypothetical Apple Search. It would even be good for DuckDuckGo fans, as long as Apple keeps it available on the web and to other web browsers, not just to Apple device users. It would mean at least an order of magnitude more users and a huge boost in development resources (both money and talent), from a company that has the exact same privacy stance as DuckDuckGo. Its a win-win.
We all know the feel of being too hungry to wait until after we've paid to hoe into our snacks - you have every intention of paying, but you just want a few mouthfuls first. Happens to the best of us.

Well this lady did just that with a tube of Pringles and she ended up in jail for two months for it!

Kathleen McDonagh, 25, from Ireland has been sentenced to two months in prison for "damaging" a can of Pringles after opening them in the store before paying. The incident actually happened back in December 2016, in a Tesco supermarket in the city of Cork, but the jail sentence was only passed this week.

"It was not fit for resale with a loss of 1.50 [$2.49]...she had no permission to be in the store," a police officer told the court during the trial this week. The woman had allegedly been banned from the store, and had 14 prior convictions related to "theft or criminal damage".

Ok, that makes a little more sense if she had so many prior incidents. Still seems wild to get sent to jail over a packet of Pringles though!

Twitter weighed in on the sentence:
Amid growing pressure from internet-safety advocates, Starbucks said it will block customers from watching pornography over its in-store Wi-Fi beginning next year.

Viewing explicit content is already banned at Starbucks stores, but the coffee chain said it will put filters in place to actively block such content in all U.S. locations.

"While it rarely occurs, the use of Starbucks public Wi-Fi to view illegal or egregious content is not, nor has it ever been permitted," Starbucks said in a statement.

The company has been under pressure from internet safety group Enough is Enough, which has gathered nearly 27,000 signatures on an online petition calling on the chain to filter pornography.

"Apparently, Starbucks cares more about providing paper straws to protect the environment than protecting kids and patrons on its public WiFi!" the organization wrote.

Enough is Enough blasted Starbucks for not following through on a commitment it made in 2016 to block explicit websites. McDonald's began filtering explicit content from its in-store Wi-Fi that year.

Starbucks has not elaborated on what tools it will use to filter content.
James Taylor will join forces with his daughter, Sally Taylor for a concert at Mass MoCA in North Adams, MA.

The show is scheduled for Dec. 9 at 3 p.m.

Tickets are available through Mass MoCA at massmoca.org. The concert will be held in the Hunter Center for the Performing Arts and benefit arts education programs at Mass MoCA (The Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art).

Sally and her Colorado-based collaborators, The Larson Brothers, will open the show before the father-daughter team share the stage to perform some of James' classic catalog.
Boston-based blues harmonica player Professor Harp will come to Theodores' on Worthington Street in Springfield on Dec. 15 at 9 p.m.

The Undaunted Professor Harp (a.k.a. Hugh Holmes) began his career as a drummer in the late 1960s but converted to harmonica after seeing blues star George Smith.

Solomon Burke was the first to refer to Hughes as "Professor Harmonica."

A Boston native, Hughes has been a stalwart on the city's blues scene since the early 70s. He first joined Muddy Waters on stage at Paul's Mall in 1975 and became a regular call-up for the blues legend when he was in town.

Professor Harp last played the Theodores' in June.

For more information on the show at Theodores' call the venue at (413) 736-6000.
Cambridge Police arrested a second suspect, Joekeem Nelson, who was shot during a "moving gun battle" between two cars in Cambridgeport on Thursday.

Nelson, a 23-year-old Cambridge resident, was allegedly behind the wheel of a black sedan in the area of Chestnut Street and Sidney Street when the shootout took place around 2:30 p.m. Thursday. He was shot and sustained non-life-threatening injuries, police said. Twenty-year-old Ladjuan Guichard, of Roslindale, was a passenger in the car.

The driver of the other car that exchanged gunfire reversed out of the area and escaped, police say. That driver, and any other suspects who were in the vehicle, have evaded Cambridge Police. The department has offered no description of a suspect or vehicle as of Friday morning.

Following the shootout, described by Cambridge Police Commissioner Branville G. Bard Jr. "a moving gun battle," an off-duty police officer observed the black sedan heading in the direction of Central Square and relayed that information to responding officers.

In the area of Land Boulevard and Binney Street, Cambridge Police located Guichard and Nelson. Cambridge Police later recovered a firearm that was allegedly tossed out of the vehicle onto Memorial Drive.

Guichard was arrested on the scene, while Nelson was transported to a hospital. The two are in police custody and have not yet been charged with any crime. Cambridge Police say they plan to charge both Guichard and Nelson with armed assault to murder.

Nelson will also reportedly face charges of reckless operation of a motor vehicle and failure to stop for police. Guichard will face additional charges of discharging a firearm within 500 feet of a building and carrying a firearm without a license, according to Cambridge Police.

Anyone with information on the shootout is asked to contact Cambridge Police at 617-349-3300, or anonymously at 617-349-3359.
UPDATE: 2 suspects arrested, charged with assault to murder as Cambridge Police search for escaped car



Cambridge Police continue to search for a second car involved in a gunfire battle on Thursday afternoon after two suspects were taken into custody.

Around 2:30 p.m. Thursday, police responded to reports of gunshots in the area of Chesnut Street and Sidney Street in Cambridge.

At the scene, authorities arrested Ladjaun Guichard, 20, a former Cambridge resident now living in Roslindale. The second person taken into custody is a Cambridge resident who suffered non-life-threatening gunshot wounds. The victim was taken to a nearby hospital for treatment.

A firearm was recovered after the shootout, or what Cambridge Police Commissioner Branville G. Bard Jr. described as a "a moving gun battle" between two cars driving toward Central Square, according to Cambridge Day.

Police plan to charge Guichard with discharging a firearm within 500 feet of a building and carrying a firearm without a license. No charges had been filed as of Friday morning.

The second car involved in the gunfire exchange sped away and has not been located. Cambridge Police have not provided any description of what the suspected vehicle or driver may look like.

"Officers are still seeking additional information on that vehicle and the individual or individuals inside of it," Cambridge Police spokesman Jeremy Warnick said.
Massachusetts State Police said they are investigating after what appear to be "partial human remains" washed up on Revere beach Friday morning.

State police detectives assigned to the Suffolk County District Attorney's office initially reported that a dead body washed ashore around 11 a.m. Just before 12 p.m. Friday, state police clarified that the detectives found an "object on shoreline that appears potentially to be a partial human remain," state police wrote in a message on Twitter.

State police are seeking to confirm if the remains are from a human and whether there is a connection to remains found at Rumney Marsh last week.
The owners of Westford-based 110 Grill have bought another Massachusetts chain restaurant, adding an Italian-inspired eatery to its portfolio.

The company recently purchased Evviva Cucina, and is changing the name of its Westford and Marlborough locations to Evviva Trattoria. Chief Operating Officer Ryan Dion said Evviva's original owners are keeping its third location in Beverly and plan to change the name to something completely different.

"What's attractive about it is 110 Grill is upscale, polished American cuisine, and Evviva Trattoria is upscale, polished Italian cuisine," Dion said. "All it's going to do is attract more people to the area because one's American, one's Italian, so you're not directly competing against each other."

At just four years old, 110 Grill already has 16 locations throughout Massachusetts, New York and New Hampshire, with eight more set to open in the coming months.

Dion said the company hopes to grow the Evviva Trattoria brand, as well, and already has plans for a third location next to an existing 110 Grill in Wrentham.

The sale came about earlier this year when 110 Grill co-owner and developer Robert Walker - who was also a part-owner of Evviva Cucina - was offered an opportunity to buy the business.

"The majority owners in that business decided they didn't want to do it anymore, so they offered for him to buy them and out and he did," Dion said. "Here we are now, and it is owned and operated by 110 Grill Management - our sister company, essentially."

The company decided to change the restaurant's name to avoid confusion.

"We believe that 'trattoria' is more authentic Italian, whereas 'cucina' is perceived by the public as maybe a little bit more Mexican and Spanish, and people were getting confused. It almost had some identity challenges," Dion said. "We just wanted to be more approachable to people and more recognizable."

Several tweaks have also been made to Evviva Trattoria's menu, including the addition of items like sausage and kale soup and gnocchi Florentine.

Dion said the restaurant will also be allergy-friendly - 110 Grill is already known for its wide range of gluten-free options. And in the coming weeks, gift cards purchased at 110 Grill will be good at both chains and customers can collect loyalty points at each restaurant.
Nancy Hardy, a 72-year-old Amherst woman who had been living in Jamaica and was reported missing on Saturday, was found dead Wednesday, the Caribbean news website Loopjamaica.com reported.

The website, citing police, said Hardy's body was discovered in a shallow grave, wrapped in a towel.

News reports say the woman's body was discovered in a different parish, or county, Hanover, from the one where she was living, Westmoreland.

RJR News reported police are seeking a man they think killed Hardy.

Television Jamaica reported that blood stains were found at Hardy's home located in the Whitehall district in the city of Negril, part of Westmoreland parish.

Loopjamaica.com reported Hardy's body was found in bushes in the Fish River Road section of the Green Island police area. Green Island is located in the Havover parish.

The Jamaica Star, based in Kingston, reported Thursday that Green Island's municipal councilor, Marvel Sewell, said that according to information he received, Hardy was killed outside of Green Island and transported to his community.

"In our community on a whole, the tourists are always protected by the citizens, so they are upset because they believe that the person or persons who did this are tainting their community," Sewell said, according to the Jamaica Star.

The Republican has contacted the U.S. State Department for more information on Hardy's death, but did not immediately receive a response Friday afternoon.

Contact Jim Russell at newstips123@gmail.com
WORCESTER - After a day-long search for an armed suspect who is accused of carjacking a man at gunpoint and to escape from police after a multi-interstate chase, officers have taken Donald Foy into custody.

The 28-year-old was apprehended in Worcester Thursday night after he crashed into at least one police cruiser and led officers on a foot chase that ended on the roof of a building, said David Procopio, spokesman for the Massachusetts State Police.

Authorities told MassLive he was caught in Worcester on Chandler Street in the area of Newbury Street.

Foy was wanted on 21 charges including armed carjacking, assault with a dangerous weapon, possession of counterfeit cash, a firearms charge and multiple motor vehicle violations after he attempted to mow down police, drove up Interstate-290 and carjacked a driver by gunpoint to evade officers just after midnight Thursday.

The manhunt for Foy began when he was stopped by Webster police for driving an unregistered Dodge pickup truck shortly after midnight Thursday. Police were preparing to have the vehicle towed when Foy jumped into it and sped away, court records said.

Webster police officers had to jump out of the way of the truck to avoid being hit. One officer was grazed by the truck's mirror, according to Webster police.

The pursuit traveled through Oxford and eventually onto Interstate 395. With two women inside the car, Foy then headed north on the interstate, ran over stop sticks and then went up the ramp to Interstate 290 and drove the wrong way.

With at least two flat tires, Foy soon crashed on the highway. He then held a gun to the head of another driver and sped away with his Buick, which is registered in Connecticut, records said.

After searching for Foy all day, members of the State Police Violent Fugitive Apprehension Section learned he may be in Worcester. Troopers from the fugitive section with the State Police Special Tactical Operations Team, State Police Gang Unit, State Police Detective Unit for Worcester County, and Worcester Police set up surveillance to watch the location, Procopio said.

Police saw Foy leave a home and get into a vehicle. Officers pursued his car which crashed into at least one police cruiser. Foy then attempted to escape on foot and was apprehended after a chase with police, he said.

State police did not say if anyone was injured in the chase and crash with the cruiser.

MassLive reporter Scott J. Croteau contributed to this story.
Interest around recreational marijuana may be at an all-time high in the state, but it just became more difficult for several dispensaries to communicate with the public.

Six medical and recreational marijuana dispensaries recently had their Instagram accounts disabled, according to the Worcester Business Journal.

The social media company, which is owned by Facebook, does not allow content that promotes the sale of marijuana, though advocacy is allowed.

Robert Lally, chief operating officer at Cultivate in Leicester, said his business' Instagram and Facebook accounts were both deactivated. Cultivate was one of two dispensaries that opened for recreational sales last week.

"Communication has come up a lot. One thing about our industry that's unique is that our Facebook got shut down," he said during a public meeting Monday night. "We do try to communicate with customers the best we can, but that makes it more difficult."

The Worcester Business Journal reported that Northampton's New England Treatment Access, which also opened for recreational sales, had its Instagram account shut down, as well.

Other dispensaries that have had their accounts disabled over the past few months include Wakefield-based Curaleaf, Milford-based Sira Naturals, Medway-based CommCan and Boston-based Patriot Care.

Sira, Commcan and Patriot Care have since created new accounts.

Facebook pages for Sira, NETA, and Curaleaf were also deactivated, according to the Business Journal. Cultivate has not posted on its page since October.

Because marijuana is still prohibited federally, Instagram spokeswoman Stephanie Noon told Boston.com that the company bans content that promotes its sale.

"Our policy prohibits any marijuana seller, including dispensaries, from promoting their business by providing contact information like phone numbers or street addresses," Noon told Boston.com. "Because of the borderless nature of our respective communities, we try to enforce our policies as consistently as possible."

MassLive reporter Jackie Tempera contributed to this report.
Connecticut's Mohegan Sun gaming company has said it is willing to buy out Wynn Resorts $2.5 billion Everett casino project, as the Massachusetts Gaming Commission faces a lawsuit over its investigation into sexual misconduct allegations against the Wynn's founder and former CEO Steve Wynn.

"The Massachusetts Gaming Commission has stated that it will conduct adjudicatory hearings as part of the Wynn Resorts suitability review, and make a determination with regards to the Region A license to operate a resort casino in Everett. If that determination finds Wynn Resorts unsuitable to hold a gaming license in Massachusetts, Mohegan Sun is prepared to participate in a process that would assign that license to another operator - and enter into negotiations with the appropriate parties to acquire the facility under construction in Everett," Mohegan Sun said in a statement. "Mohegan Sun has always believed it is the best choice as gaming operator and license holder for a Region A resort casino, and will be committed to opening the Everett facility in a timely manner should it get the opportunity."

Mohegan's interest in buying the project was first reported by the Boston Herald.

Everett Mayor Carlo DeMaria expressed opposition to a sale to Mohegan, the Herald reported, saying the Connecticut company was "not welcome to operate a casino in Everett" and that the city had the right to veto any sale.

Mohegan Sun was a chief competitor to win a Boston-area casino license in 2014, but lost out when the Massachusetts Gaming Commission awarded the project to Wynn.

Wynn Resorts' $2.5 billion resort casino project in Everett was thrown into question following an explosive Wall Street Journal report in January that revealed allegations of sexual misconduct against Steve Wynn.

Wynn denied the allegations but stepped away from the company Feb. 6. Wynn Resorts later changed the name of the casino to Encore Boston Harbor.

For months, the Massachusetts Gaming Commission's investigative branch has been preparing a report on the company's continued suitability to hold one of Massachusetts' casino licenses. In October, the gaming commission said it expects to hold a hearing on the report in December.

But a new lawsuit by Steve Wynn appears likely to delay any action on the report. Wynn has sued the Massachusetts Gaming Commission to block the release of the report, saying its release would violate his privacy rights.

Mohegan has also sued the gaming commission, seeking to overturn its award of the Region A casino license to Wynn Resorts.

If Mohegan were to take over the Everett project, it would place the MGM Springfield casino between competing Mohegan properties to the east and south. The Mohegan and Mashantucket Pequot tribes, which operates Foxwoods, are currently engaged in a legal battle with the federal government as they seek to build a commercial casino on MGM Springfield's doorstep in East Windsor.
Boston's mayor is vetoing landmark status for the city's iconic Citgo sign, but don't worry, it isn't going anywhere soon.

Mayor Marty Walsh, the Venezuelan oil company, Boston University and developer Related Beal released a joint statement Thursday saying a deal has been reached to keep the sign at its current location "for years to come."

Its future has been in doubt since BU sold the building on which the 3,600-square-foot sign sits to developers.

The Boston Landmark Commission this month approved landmark status for the sign, meaning all changes had to be approved by the commission. But the mayor has veto power.

Thursday's agreement eases the concerns of nearby property owners.

The current sign, a red delta on a white background over the company's name in blue, dates to 1965.
PITTSFIELD - A 73-year-old Pittsfield man is in custody after he was arrested on Louisiana warrant naming him as a suspect in two reported rapes.

Jason V. Franklin was taken into custody on Thursday by members of the state police detective unit, Pittsfield Police and the Berkshire County Sheriff's Office.

At his arraignment Friday in Central Berkshire District Court, Franklin entered an innocent plea to the fugitive from justice charge. He agreed to waive his right to an extradition hearing and agreed to be returned to Louisiana to face two counts of aggravated rape.

Officers with the Jefferson Parish, Louisiana's Sheriff's Office also participated in the arrest.

He was ordered held without bail at the Berkshire House of Correction pending his transfer to Louisiana.

Information on the allegations against Franklin were not released.

Officials with the Jefferson County Sheriff's Department said Friday afternoon that they are not releasing any information on the case at this time.
SPRINGFIELD -- A murder defendant on Friday was ordered back to jail for 90 days after the prosecution said he violated the conditions of his release on $50,000 bail by going shopping on Black Friday rather than working.

Rafael Martinez, 36, of Springfield, is charged with murder for the 2016 fatal shooting of Eddie Olivo, 36, of Florida.

Despite opposition from Martinez's lawyer, Hampden Superior Court Judge Daniel Wrenn allowed a prosecution motion to revoke bail.

"Shopping on Black Friday is not evidence of any danger to the community," said defense attorney Nikolas Andreopoulos, who previously argued the shooting was self-defense.

Assistant District Attorney Matthew W. Green said conditions of release set by another judge last year said Martinez could be out of his home only to go to work and legal and medical appointments.

Judge David Ricciardone set bail at $50,000 cash for Martinez in December 2017. At the time, District Attorney Anthony Gulluni lashed out at the decision, calling it "a terrifying precedent and one that I don't want to see repeated." Springfield Mayor Domenic Sarno called the bail amount "a joke."

Murder defendants commonly are held without right to bail pending trial.

Martinez posted bail in March and was released but required to wear a GPS tracking device and obey a 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. curfew.

Court records show Ricciardone on June 21 allowed Andreopoulos' motion to modify the curfew because Martinez accepted a new job at Home Depot working from 3 p.m. to 1:30 a.m. The curfew was changed to 2:30 a.m. to 6 a.m.

On Friday, Green said Martinez was in line at Walmart in Springfield on Nov. 23 in violation of conditions of release. Martinez admitted to his probation officer that he no longer worked at Home Depot, Green said.

Andreopoulos said that although Martinez is not currently working, the conditions of probation Martinez signed do not say anything about working. He said the conditions only state the curfew, and Martinez's Black Friday shopping trip did not violate the conditions he signed.

At the bail hearing last year, Green said the prosecution's case against Martinez is strong.

The shooting happened about 10:30 a.m. Oct. 30, 2016. Police found Olivo, the victim, slumped over inside a 1999 Saab in Martinez's driveway at 30 Jardine St. in Liberty Heights.

Martinez had a white towel in his hand, which he put on the ground and which contained a gun, Green said.

Both Green and Andreopoulos referred to surveillance video of the shooting from Martinez's own security camera.

Andreopoulos said it was clear the shooting was self-defense. He said the video does show Martinez shooting into the car. It then shows Olivo getting out of the car, bleeding, but holding a shotgun, he said.

Earlier this month Judge John S. Ferrara issued an order allowing a defense motion to suppress Martinez's statements to police the day of the shooting.

Ferrara said police violated Martinez's rights in part by questioning him before he waived his right to remain silent.

Ferrara wrote that Detective Jose Canini questioned Martinez in a police department interview room without videotaping the exchange. It was only after that conversation that videotaped questioning of Martinez took place.

"The evidence suggests that prior to Martinez waiving his right to remain silent, Canini discussed the incident with him in an attempt to dissuade him from exercising that right," the judge wrote.
Springfield Mayor Domenic J. Sarno said he is troubled by the allegations made against Springfield Police Officer Jose Diaz in connection with the alleged attack of four men outside Nathan Bill's Bar and Restaurant in 2015.

Sarno issued a statement Thursday after the Massachusetts Attorney General's Office filed charges against Diaz in Springfield District Court, including four counts of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, one count of assault and battery with serious bodily injury and three counts of simple assault and battery.

The statement from Sarno reads:

"Again this is very troubling, as our police officers are sworn to enforce our laws, not break them. Any officer that breaches the public trust should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law - 'let the chips fall where they may'. From the beginning of this incident Commissioner Barbieri, City Solicitor Ed Pikula, Labor Relations Director Bill Mahoney and I have worked with all outside authorities to pursue this case, even bringing in independent counsel and retired Judge Bertha Josephson to hear this case before our citizens Community Police Hearing Board (CPHB). This reflects unfairly on the vast majority of our brave and dedicated police officers, who put their lives on the line protecting our citizens, day in and day out. Whether on-duty or off-duty our police officers must wear their badge not only with courage, but just as important with honor, integrity and professionalism. The reform efforts initiated by Commissioner Barbieri are ongoing and will continue in order to maintain the public's faith and trust."

Diaz, 54, was released on personal recognizance after his arraignment Thursday. He was ordered to stay away from all alleged victims in the case.

Diaz's lawyer told MassLive that Diaz maintains his innocence.

Diaz also faces an accusation from prosecutors that he conspired with "unnamed identified conspirators" to commit assault and battery with a dangerous weapon. The conspiracy charge suggests prosecutors from Attorney General Maura Healey's Office may have other suspects being eyed by investigators.

Diaz is the only officer to face charges in connection with the April 7, 2015, altercation outside Nathan Bill's Bar and Restaurant.

City Council President Orlando Ramos also issued a statement:

"Officer Diaz and any other officer who is found to have participated in this assault and alleged coverup should be fired and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law!" Ramos said. "Not only has this incident hurt the public's trust in our police department; but it has cost the taxpayers over 3/4 of a million dollars."

Healey's office had the Nathan Bill's case before a statewide grand jury in Worcester County, reviving the criminal case after Hampden District Attorney Anthony Gulluni declined to press charges in early 2017. The status of the grand jury hearing evidence is unclear.

The alleged victims in the attack, Herman Paul Cumby, Jozelle Ligon, Jackie Ligon and Michael Cintron, had inconsistent descriptions of their alleged attackers, Gulluni said.

According to the criminal complaint, Diaz is accused of assaulting Cumby with his foot and assaulting the Ligon brothers and Cintron with a weapon. The type of weapon is known to prosecutors but was not publicly released, according to the criminal complaint.

Diaz is now suspended without pay. The suspension will last for five days and after that, he will be on administrative leave, Springfield Police Spokesman Ryan Walsh said in a statement.

Cumby settled a lawsuit with the city filed in connection with the altercation. He settled last month for $775,000.
SPRINGFIELD -- The city is seeking bids for improved "intrusion alarm systems" for all public schools as part of ongoing efforts to make the buildings safer for students and staff, a top official said.

Installation of upgraded alarm systems is planned in the approximately 60 city schools serving 27,000 students.

"With all of the technological and equipment advances that have been made in security systems, we believe it's time to upgrade ours so that our buildings are outfitted with state-of-the-art systems to help ensure the safety and security of our students and staff," Superintendent of Schools Daniel Warwick said.

The project has an estimated cost of $500,000 that will include removal of the current systems and the provision and installation of the new equipment. The monitoring of the alarm system is under a separate contract.

Contractors have until Dec. 7, at 2 p.m., to submit bids for the project to the city's Office of Procurement at City Hall.

The School Department and city have invested millions of dollars in public safety measures in recent years in the schools including cameras, technology and locks, including locks on all interior doors, Warwick said.

"We continue to invest in safety and security very heavily," Warwick said.

The School Committee is committed to the investment in security because of the paramount importance of student and staff safety, Warwick said.

Among the measures, the School Department is evaluating a new visitor entry system that will be technology-based, Warwick said.

The School Department pays for a contingent of 19 police officers, known as the Quebec Unit, that provides security within the schools.

School safety has been a major national topic in recent years including concerns and outcry over mass shootings.

In February, a shooting rampage at the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, left 14 students and three staff members dead. Police have charged Nikolas Cruz in the mass shooting.

In December 2012, Adam Lanza fatally shot 20 children and six adults at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newton, Connecticut, before taking his own life.
SPRINGFIELD - The Springfield Police Department's C3 anti-gang and community policing program has received a $30,000 boost to help fund various youth initiatives within the city.

Sen. James Welch, D-West Springfield, who secured the funding through a state budget amendment, announced the funding to the New North Citizen's Council late Thursday morning.

The money will be shared between the C3 units in the North End, South End/Metro area, Mason Square area and the Forest Park neighborhood.

Those who attended the ceremonial check-passing praised Welch's efforts for the program, which was started in the North End as a joint effort between city and state police nearly 10 years ago. C3 stands for Counter Criminal Continuum.

Many drew correlations between the program and a 45 percent drop in reported crime the city has seen over the last five years.

"The C3 policing program has been incredibly effective in Springfield," Welch said. "This success stems from the collaboration between police and our community members. The program does not work without either. It's a good program that not only helps reduce crime and make neighborhoods safe, it really helps save lives."

Police Commissioner John Barbieri praised the hard work between residents, city and state police, elected officials and community representatives in making the program a success.

"Everybody in this room has absolutely gone above and beyond my expectations when we first started," Barbieri said. "I thank you all."

Barbieri also praised Michael Cutone, a state trooper who drew on his 25 years of service in the Army Special Forces to develop the program.

It adopts many of the same tactics used by the military during the occupation of Iraq, specifically forming friendships with law-abiding people in the neighborhoods and using those relations to identify the troublemakers.

"Mike Cutone brought his Green Beret sense of accomplishment to empower people to make their own decisions and affect their lives, and that is what we have done in this room," Barbieri said.

"This is really about the community," Cutone said. "That's the greatest resource of the C3 program."
AMHERST -- University of Massachusetts employees will get a promised pay hike after all, with retroactive payments due in their Dec. 14 checks.

Union contracts calling for 2 percent pay hikes over three years were ratified in 2017. Classified workers unions were expecting to see the raises Friday, and members of the Massachusetts Society of Professors were to get them Dec. 14.

But the unions said Wednesday they were told they would not receive the increases for now. In response, the unions organized a call-in to UMass President Marty Meehan's office Thursday. The president's office received hundreds of calls from union members from all the campuses in the university system, according to a message on one of the union's websites.

More than 5,000 UMass Amherst employees are part of the unions, with thousands more on the other UMass campuses, according to Eve Weinbaum, president of the Massachusetts Society of Professors.

In a message to members on its website posted Thursday night, the union said: "The president and chancellors decided today to authorize the FY18 and FY19 salary adjustments and retroactive payments for the fourteen approved state-funded units. In addition, campuses are authorized to process salary adjustments for non-units for the same period. Campus HR is making every effort to process the increases and retro payments for the December 14 pay check."

Weinbaum, in an email to union members, wrote that if the raises and back pay do not appear, "we are ready to make some noise at the Board of Trustees meeting on December 13 on the Amherst campus! People have been waiting far too long -- the state economy is booming and there's no reason to withhold raises for two years."

Weinbaum said the president's office told the unions that it "had not received enough money from the Governor's office in the supplemental budget, and that they could not afford to pay the retroactive pay and the raises."

Weinbaum said the unions don't know what happened to prompt Thursday's reversal.

"Our assumption is that they wanted the unions to put more pressure on the Governor's office to increase funding for UMass, and they thought that by not paying people, they could get us to do that."

Spokesman Jeff Cournoyer said UMass received the funding 10 days ago but it took time "to process two years' salary adjustments and retroactive payments for 7,000 faculty and staff." He also said the university had to determine how to honor the second year of the contract "without having received full funding for fiscal year 19."

"The misunderstanding was the belief by some that we were not implementing the raises at all due to the lack of full funding," Cournoyer said. "That was never accurate and was not communicated through any official channels."

Unions affected besides the professors union include the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees and the University Staff Association and Professional Staff Union, both of which are affiliated with the Massachusetts Teachers Association.
In the face of opposition from an abutting child care center, the Herbology Group will make another appearance before the Easthampton Planning Board on Tuesday.

The group plans a grow facility and dispensary at the former Cook Builders Supply at 195 Northampton Street, and has an option to lease 22,000 feet of cultivation space, and 6,000 feet of retail space at the vacant building. A Florida-based investor has an option to buy the property and lease it to Herbology, application materials show.

Karen Pilgrim, the owner of All About Children at 15 Industrial Parkway, has said the marijuana project should be disqualified because of its proximity to the childcare center.

However, the city's cannabis zoning ordinance, hammered out over seven months, contains no provision for a buffer zone around childcare centers. The ordinance does require a 350-foot buffer between cannabis establishments and existing K-12 schools.

Also Tuesday, the board will consider a special permit for The Verb is Herb, LLC. The company, headed by CEO William Hartley, wishes to open an adult-use cannabis dispensary at 74 Cottage Street.

Hartley, in his application, said he plans a "mom and pop store" at the downtown location. The company won't grow its own, but will buy from other licensed cultivators.

Easthampton has processed several permit applications for cannabis entrepreneurs. Green Life, which plans a cultivation center and dispensary at 19 Welmeco Way, gained a medical marijuana special permit from the board in March, but has yet to open. Holistic Industries plans its "Liberty" dispensary at 115 Northampton St., the former Hairy's Pet Supply.

INSA, the established medical marijuana facility at 122 Pleasant St., plans to launch adult-use sales before Christmas. The company has won recreational sales and cultivation permits from the Planning Board, and last week gained a final license from the Massachusetts Cannabis Control Commission. All that INSA needs is a final inspection by the state.

When the Herbology public hearing began on October 16, some objected to the proposal. Among other things, they said stoned customers could traipse by All About Children while publicly ingesting marijuana, and that pedestrians headed to a nearby PVTA bus stop could litter packaging or edibles.

In response to those concerns, City Councilor Owen Zaret recently proposed an "open container" ordinance that would impose fines upon those caught consuming cannabis in public.

Tuesday's continued hearing for Herbology Group was supposed to be held Nov. 13, but was tabled due to a lack of quorum. Herbology also plans a dispensary in Amherst at the former Rafters bar.

If you go:

What: Planning Board hearing for Herbology Group and The Verb is Herb

When: Dec. 4, 6 p.m.

Where: 50 Payson Ave. municipal building, Easthampton
Cultivate Holdings, the Leicester dispensary that was one of the first two marijuana shops to open for recreational sales in Massachusetts last week, could be opening a second location in Framingham.

The Framingham Planning Board at its Thursday night meeting is scheduled to have a public hearing about 250 Worcester Road based on an application from Commerce Framingham Real Estate LLC for a site plan review.

Commerce Framingham Real Estate lists its address as 1764 Main St. in Leicester in state records available online.

That address is the location of Cultivate's "seed to table" dispensary on Route 9 in Leicester, which opened for recreational sales on Nov. 20 after a year of selling medical marijuana.

Robert W. Lally Jr. is listed as a signatory of Commerce Framingham Real Estate. Lally is the chief operating officer of Cultivate.

Reached by phone Thursday, Lally referred all questions to a Cultivate spokeswoman. The spokeswoman did not immediately answer a call or email seeking more information.

Several calls to Cultivate's main phone line went unanswered and the line's voicemail box was full.

The Framingham site, which is also on Route 9, is the former location of Taqueria Mexico, according to the MetroWest Daily News. The newspaper reports that the building is currently vacant.

The newspaper also reported that the Planning Board would be taking up an application to transform the building into a new retail shop.

In addition to a site plan review, Commerce Framingham Real Estate seeks a special permit for a reduction in the required number of off-street parking spaces, and a special permit for dimensional relief to off-street parking design standards.
Craft beer and specialty doughnuts are both seeing a surge in popularity, so when the owners of Worcester's Paris Cafe decided to rebrand the Main Street eatery, they thought the two treats would be the perfect pairing.

Now, the cafe's new name says it all.

The shop, located at 261 Main St., is now called Doughnuts and Draughts and recently underwent a thorough renovation. The store serves house-made gourmet doughnuts, local beer and nitro cold brew coffee, in addition to its regular menu.

"The owners decided that they wanted to branch out a little bit more, do a facelift on this place and add the doughnuts, which are really big right now - the craft doughnuts, the specialty doughnuts," said general manager Leigh Dalton, who was brought on-board full-time in September to help implement the changes.

Co-owners Chris Besaw and Gina Migliozzi, who also own the Palladium next door, have renovated the inside of the cafe, repainting the walls and replacing the tables with bars. Paris Cafe opened in 2013.

"They just felt it was time for a change, it seems that Worcester is up and coming right now, so they wanted to go with the times, if you will," Dalton said.

The cozy cafe now has beer from Worcester's Greater Good Imperial Brewing Co. on tap, as well as cans from Greater Good, Clown Shoes, Castle Island, Wachusett Brewing Co., and a rotating selection from other local breweries.

Doughnuts and Draughts is open from 7:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Friday. Dalton said the business is getting plenty of customers who come in for brews on their lunch breaks.

Dalton comes in every morning at 6 a.m. to make fresh doughnuts. Options change daily, but always include glazed and frosted with sprinkles, as well as fun flavors like peanut butter M&M, Fruit Loops and s'mores.

She also recently started making vegan and gluten-free options.

So far, Dalton said the response has been great.

"Everybody is very excited, they're very happy to see the changes to the menu, they're loving it," she said.

The cafe also provides catering, and Dalton said the owners hope to keep the shop open later and on weekends in the future.
Good Chemistry of Massachusetts Inc. has been chosen by Worcester to be the city's first store to sell recreational marijuana, according to the Telegram.

The city's license committee Thursday approved the license uncontested 2-0, but the store still needs final approval from the Cannabis Control Commission.

Good Chemistry currently operates a medicinal marijuana store on Harrison Street.

The Telegram said the license approval came with conditions that are meant to minimize negative impacts to the community.

The town of Leicester recently held an emergency meeting to address traffic concerns following the opening of Cultivate as a recreational marijuana dispensary.

A lawyer representing Good Chemistry told the Gazette that he doesn't anticipate they will be the next licensed store in the state, but isn't sure what the Cannabis Control Commission will approve. The store plans to open in March.
Donald Trump has been called lots of names over the years. A few have been intended as compliments. Many others, obviously, much less so. But the latest -- "Individual 1" -- may proved ultimately to be the most damning.

When Michael Cohen, Trump's longtime personal attorney and "fixer" walked into a New York courtroom on Thursday and pleaded guilty to having lied to Congress, he said he'd done so because he didn't want to harm the candidacy of "Individual 1."

That's the legal parlance, of course. And it clearly refers to Trump.

Why did Cohen lie to Congress about the timing of a planned Trump Tower in Moscow, when and how many times he spoke with Trump about the project's details, whether he was in contact with people close to Russian president Vladimir Putin, and how much he told Trump family members about plans for the Moscow skyscraper?

To protect his patron, of course.

Because Trump, while seeking the presidency, was continuing with his efforts to expand his real-estate empire to Russia. And he clearly didn't want his connections to our longtime adversary, specifically to Putin, to taint his candidacy.

Well, those connections are now staining his presidency.

Yes, special counsel Bob Mueller, who'd effectively gone dark for the couple of months leading up to the midterm elections on Nov. 6, is back. Boy, howdy, is he back.

And what's becoming increasingly clear is this: He's been building a case against Trump. Though the myriad specific details are not yet known, there can be no doubt that Mueller is looking at people in Trump's orbit who worked with Russia during the 2016 presidential campaign. He's looking at links to WikiLeaks, too. And efforts to hide those contacts.

Time and again, Trump has said that there was no collusion. He's said it so often, and so vehemently, that one could be forgiven for believing that he's got something to hide.

Though there's so much that's still unknown, it's possible even now to say this: Russia worked to help get Trump into the White House, and it may be Russia that will ultimately end his time there.

Trump knows it, too. Why else would he be so obsessed with Mueller's probe?

Robert S. Mueller III was named special counsel on May 17, 2017. His appointment came soon after Trump fired then-FBI Director James Comey, a move he admitted he'd made because of "this Russia thing."

House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi, the presumptive next speaker once her party reassumes the majority on Jan 3, has shown little interest in bringing impeachment charges against the former reality TV star who is currently serving as our nation's president. That was her position while she worked to get candidates elected, and there's no reason to believe that she's ready to change course now. Though that could eventually change.

For now, though, it would make no sense. Because Republicans still hold the majority in the Senate, and because Trump has effectively taken over the Republican Party, there's no chance that an effort to remove the president from office would be successful. (Our Constitution gives the House the authority to bring charges, with the trial held in the Senate.)

But there's no hurry. Unless Trump does something completely out of bounds, that is. Like trying to remove Mueller.

For now, though, as the special counsel continues to build his case, assembling the pieces of the puzzle, the man once known as The Donald, who is now sometimes called Individual 1, can do little more than watch -- and rant and rave and tweet.
Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey's office has opened an investigation into a data breach of Marriott hotels that exposed personal information of more than 500 million people.

"We've opened an investigation into the data breach at Marriott. This breach may have compromised the information of millions and the public deserves to know how this happened," Healey wrote in a Facebook post.

On Friday, the hotel chain announced its Starwood reservation database was compromised, giving hackers "unauthorized access" to the system's data dating back to 2014. The company said it identified the issue last week. The Starwood reservation database is used for a group of hotel chains Marriott purchased in 2016 including the St. Regis, Westin, Sheraton and W Hotels.

For 327 million, the information copied includes names, addresses, phone numbers, email addresses, passport numbers, dates of birth, arrival and departure information, and reservation dates for millions of users, the company wrote on a website set up to process claims.

For some millions of people, credit card numbers and expiration dates may have been decrypted, the company others.
Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker was re-elected to the executive committee of the Republican Governors Association on Thursday.

Baker is in Scottsdale, Arizona, Wednesday through Friday for the RGA's annual conference.

The RGA spent around $6 million supporting Baker's re-election campaign in 2018.

Baker was first selected by RGA members to join the nine-member executive committee when he was a newly elected governor in 2015.

On Thursday, the RGA chose Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts as its chairman and Texas Gov. Greg Abbott as its vice chairman.

The Washington Post reported that Baker spoke as part of a panel discussion Wednesday with other Republican governors who were re-elected for a second term in Democratic-leaning states.
President Donald Trump joined the leaders of Mexico and Canada Friday in signing a new trilateral trade agreement, which seeks to update relations between the three countries under NAFTA.

Trump, a vocal critic of the 24-year-old North American Free Trade Agreement, endorsed the new United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and outgoing Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto at a morning ceremony in Buenos Aires.

The North American leaders, who were in Argentina for the Group of 20 summit, lauded the $1.2 trillion trade deal to replace NAFTA. It must receive approval from Congress and its foreign counterparts before it can take effect.

Trudeau praised the agreement for maintaining "stability for Canada's entire economy" and offered that it will modernize NAFTA.

"The new agreement lifts the risk of serious economic uncertainty that lingers throughout a trade renegotiation process. Uncertainty that would have only gotten worse and more damaging had we not reached a new NAFTA," he said.

Pena Nieto, who signed the trade deal on his last day in office, argued that it builds on progress toward more integration between the three countries.

"The agreement that we have signed today will allow each country to gain individually, but also North America will grow stronger and will grow to be more prosperous," he reportedly said.

Trump, meanwhile, cast the USMCA as a good deal for farmers, autoworkers and the middle-class.

"This is a model agreement that changes the trade landscape forever," he said. "And this is an agreement that, first and foremost, benefits working people -- something of great importance to all three of us here today."

The president later tweeted that USMCA is "one of the most important and largest trade deals in U.S. and world history."

"The United States, Mexico and Canada worked so well together in crafting this great document. The terrible NAFTA will soon be gone. The USMCA will be fantastic for all!" he tweeted.

Just signed one of the most important, and largest, Trade Deals in U.S. and World History. The United States, Mexico and Canada worked so well together in crafting this great document. The terrible NAFTA will soon be gone. The USMCA will be fantastic for all!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 30, 2018

Although the deal must still receive further approval before it can take effect, Trump offered that he doesn't "expect to have very much of a problem" moving the USMCA through Congress.

Some, however, have offered a different take on the new trilateral trade agreement.

U.S. Rep. Richard Neal, a Springfield Democrat who is expected to take over the House Ways and Means Committee, said while the USMCA marks "another milestone in the administration's efforts to renegotiate NAFTA ... many key questions remain unanswered."

Arguing that "the agreement must do more than make some improvements on the margins," Neal said it needs to establish economic conditions and incentives that will lead to good paying jobs for middle class families.

"As the administration unveils the final, scrubbed legal text of the USMCA for the first time today, I will continue to scrutinize the details of this deal to determine whether it will deliver on creating the American jobs that the this administration has promised, particularly in the towns and communities across our country that have borne the heaviest losses over the past two and a half decades," he said in a statement.

Neal said his assessment will look at whether the commitments put on paper are enforceable and "will translate into real world impacts for American workers and communities."

U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Massachusetts, meanwhile, cast the USMCA as "NAFTA 2.0" in a Thursday foreign policy speech at American University.

The senator, who is considering a 2020 White House run, argued that while the deal has better labor standards on paper, it falls short on enforcement tools.

Warren further contended that it's "stuffed with handouts" and "does little to reduce pollution or combat the dangers of climate change."

"For these reasons, I oppose NAFTA 2.0 and will vote against it in the Senate unless President Trump reopens the agreement and produces a better deal for America's working families," she said.

Trump announced in October that his administration has reached a trade agreement with Canada and Mexico to salvage NAFTA.

U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer said the deal is based on three main pillars: Fairness, ambitious intellectual property provisions and new provisions to eliminate unfair trade practices, like currency manipulation.

According to the White House, the USMCA will: "Help incentivize billions of dollars in additional vehicle and auto parts production in the United States," update rules of origin that require 75 percent of auto content to be produced in North America and incentivize the use of high-wage manufacturing labor in the auto sector.

It also includes "the strongest labor and environmental provisions of any trade agreement ever negotiated," more comprehensive intellectual property protections and enhanced digital trade and financial services provisions, among other things, administration officials said.
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The factors contributing to the growth of global liquid biopsy market include comparatively painless and non-invasive technique, early real time high precision detection of diseases, effective monitoring, designing treatment strategies, lifestyle changes, rising investment in research and development (R&D), collaborations between companies and public organizations, rise in geriatric population, and rising health expenditure. Other advantages of liquid biopsy over traditional tissue biopsy include potential applications to autoimmune diseases, cardiovascular diseases, etc.

The restraints that can harm the market growth during the forecast period include the prohibitive costs associated with liquid biopsy, and the differential awareness & availability between developing and the developed world. Also, early detection does not benefit all cancer patients as some cancers like brain cancer and prostate cancer may lie dormant for many years. Lastly, liquid biopsy is not all non-invasive. Use of spinal fluid as sample proves that.

The global liquid biopsy market has been segmented on the basis of application, biomarker type, end users, sample, and lastly region. Based on application, this market has been segmented into cancer therapeutic application, reproductive health, and other therapeutic application. During the forecast period, with regards to the therapeutic application, the Cancer segment will reflect the highest growth potential, with over 82.83% of the market share by revenues. By biomarker type, the market has been segmented into circulating tumor cells (CTCS), circulating tumor DNA (CTDNA), extracellular vesicles (EVS) and other biomarker. Not only CTCS segment dominates the market share, in terms of revenues, it contributes approx. 55.48% of the revenue share of the global liquid biopsy market.

On the basis of end users, the market has been segmented into academic & research centers, hospitals & laboratories, and others. The sample-based segmentation segments the market into blood, urine and others. The urine sample segment is expected to witness noticeable growth during the forecast period.

The regional segmentation of the global liquid biopsy market segments the market into continent-based regional markets namely The Americas, Europe, Asia Pacific, and Middle East & Africa (MEA). During the forecast period, the North America and Europe are expected to grow. The Americas is the largest regional market due to the availability of advanced medical technology, and increasing healthcare expenditures, especially in North America. North America alone holds the potential to be the largest regional market due to its strong economies that are as the United States of America (USA) and Canada. Many key market players are based in the USA. In this region, the availability of advanced medical facilities makes North America a bigger market than South America.

Europe is the second largest regional market. After North America, Europe has maximum technological advancement. The most important country-specific markets in this region are this region are France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and the United Kingdom (UK). According to the report, the Asia Pacific region is expected to emerge as the fastest growing regional market. In this region, the significant country-specific markets are Australia, China, India, Japan, and South Korea followed by the rest of Asia Pacific. During the forecast period, the Asia Pacific market is expected to grow at the 28.8% CAGR.

The MEA region shows limited market with slow and steady growth. The reasons for the slow market growth in this region are lack of awareness, lack of education, lack of technological development, political instability, poor access to treatment, poor healthcare facilities, and healthcare not considered a priority by most governments. The crucial country specific markets in this region are Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

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Key Players

The key players in the global liquid biopsy market include Admera Health (USA), Agena Bioscience Inc. (USA), Biocept Inc. (USA), Circulogene Theranostics (USA), Exosome Diagnostics (USA), Guardant Health Inc. (USA), Inivata Ltd. (USA), RainDance Technologies Inc. (USA), SAGA Diagnostics AB (Sweden), and Trovagene Inc. (USA).

Latest Industry News

Admera Health, is expanding its next generation sequencing (NGS) based LiquidGx test for solid tumor-targeted therapy selection from a blood sample. The new version is an extended version that increases the utility of the test subject. It raises the number of genes to 17 that includes detection of copy number variation and microsatellite instability. 23 OCT 2018

A research firm BioFluidica has developed a chip that is capable of finding a single abnormal cell afflicted with cancer or other diseases. This innovation is likely to not only eliminate the need for painful biopsies and but also greatly reduce the cost of the procedure. 7 NOV 2018

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Rise in the obese population globally is one of the major factors driving the growth of the market. Technological advancement in drug delivery devices coupled with growing global awareness towards the diabetic care fosters the market growth to an extent. The amount of the population diagnosed with diabetes is projected to increase at a tremendous rate; defining the potential market landscape. The higher increase is expected to be in the age group of diabetics patients above age 60.

With increasing diabetic patients, the demand for insulin devices is expected to substantiate hugely. Therefore, the consumption of insulin pumps is expected to increase globally, driving the global insulin pumps market

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Global Insulin Pump Market  Key Players

Some of the key players in this market are:

Braun Melsungen AG

Hoffmann-La Roche AG

Medtronics

Abbott Laboratories

Becton, Dickinson and Company

Sanofi

Insulet Corporation

Industry/ Innovation/ Related News:

July 03, 2018  Insulet Corporation (Canada), one of the leading companies involved in tubeless insulin pump technologies including Omnipod Insulin Management System, announced that its Omnipod System had been selected as the preferred insulin pump for diabetic patients in the province, under the expanded British Columbia PharmaCare insulin pump program.

June 25, 2018  Tandem Diabetes Care, a medical device company, and manufacturer of the only touch-screen insulin pumps available in the United States, announced receiving the approval from the U.S. FDA for its t: slim X2 Insulin Pump with Basal-IQ technology. Basal-IQ is predictive low glucose suspend (PLGS) feature designed to help reduce the frequency and duration of hypoglycemia.

June 22, 2018  Medtronic, (Ireland) a leading global prescribed insulin pump company announced that the U.S. FDA has approved its MiniMed 670G hybrid closed-loop insulin pump system to be used for children between the age group of 7 and 13 and have Type 1 diabetes, an incurable autoimmune condition that prevents the pancreas from producing insulin.

Key Findings

The Global Insulin Pump Market is expected to reach USD 8520.9 million by 2023.

By types, Traditional insulin pump segment holds the largest market share of Global Insulin Pump market and is expected to reach USD 4587.5 million by 2023.

By End User, Home Care segment is expected to grow at a fastest CAGR of 8.9%.

Global Insulin Pump Market  Segments

For the convenience of understanding, MRFR has segmented the report into three key dynamics.

By Types: Comprises Disposable insulin pump and Traditional insulin pump among others

By End-Users: Hospital & Clinics, Home Care, and Laboratories, among others.

By Regions: North America, Europe, APAC and Rest-of-the-World (RoW).

Global Insulin Pump Market  Regional Analysis

In 2016, the North America market accounted for the leading market globally, capturing the largest market share in 2016. Factors supporting the market growth include increasing technological advancements in the healthcare industry and growing diabetic population in the region.

The Europe Insulin Pump market is expected to reach USD 2,784.5 million by 2023, growing at a CAGR of 8.7% during the review period.

Asia Pacific Insulin Pump market emerging as one of the promising markets is expected to grow at 8.9% CAGR during the forecast period 2017-2023.

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Major Table of Content

Chapter 1. Report Prologue

Chapter 2. Market Introduction

2.1 Definition

2.2 Scope of the Study

2.2.1 Research Objective

2.2.2 Assumptions

2.2.3 Limitations

Chapter 3. Research Methodology

3.1 Introduction

3.2 Primary Research

3.3 Secondary Research

3.4 Market Size Estimation

Chapter 4. Market Dynamics

Continued.

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In order to stay updated with technology and work process of the industry, MRFR often plans & conducts meet with the industry experts and industrial visits for its research analyst members.

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Rhabdomyosarcoma Market  Overview

Rhabdomyosarcoma is anticipated to grow at a CAGR of ~4.8%. Rhabdomyosarcoma or RMS is a type of soft tissue cancer. It is rare cancer and affects the skeletal muscle tissue. Sometimes, it also affects the hollow organs like uterus or bladder. RMS can affect people of any age, but it mostly affects children. The increasing prevalence of rhabdomyosarcoma, rising research & development expenditure and useful molecules in the pipeline are expected to drive the growth of the market during the forecast period. Additionally, the increasing awareness among people is likely to boost the market growth. On the other hand, high treatment costs, side effects of the treatment, improper results of the drugs in the pipeline and strict government regulations may hinder the growth of the market during the forecast period.

The global rhabdomyosarcoma market is currently dominated by many market players. The key players in the market are engaging themselves in new product launches and strategic collaborations to strengthen its market position.

For instance, in December 2016, Pfizer USD 6 million in Bioinvent for Myeloid Cell Antibody partnership. Bioinvent has a few cancer drugs in the pipeline, like the TB-403, a monoclonal antibody which targets placental growth factor, as a possible treatment for alveolar rhabdomyosarcoma, medulloblastoma, etc. This drug is in its Phase 2 trials.

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Segmentation Overview:

The global rhabdomyosarcoma market has been segmented into type, treatment, and diagnosis.

The market, on the basis of type, has been segmented into Embryonal Rhabdomyosarcoma, and Alveolar Rhabdomyosarcoma. Alveolar rhabdomyosarcoma is expected to account for the largest market share in this segment owing to its rising prevalence. It is also anticipated to be the fastest growing market.

The market, by diagnosis, has been segmented into Imaging Tests and Biopsy.

According to diagnosis, imaging tests have been segmented into X-Ray, CT scan, MRI scan, PET scan, and Bone scan.

According to diagnosis, biopsy has been segmented into Needle Biopsy and Surgical Biopsy.

The market, by treatment, has been segmented into Surgery, Radiation Therapy, Chemotherapy and Stem Cell Therapy.

Noteworthy Players:

Some of the key players in the global rhabdomyosarcoma market are Eli Lilly & Company, Boehringer Ingelheim International GmbH, Pfizer Inc, Novartis AG, Bristol Myers Squibb Company, Oasmia, Bellicum Pharmaceuticals, Inc., CELGENE CORPORATION, Eisai Co., Ltd., MacroGenics, Inc., NantKwest, TAIHO ONCOLOGY, INC., Tarveda Therapeutics., Exelixis, Inc., and Ipsen Pharma.

Regional Wise Analysis:

The market in the Americas is expected to dominate the global rhabdomyosarcoma market during the forecast period owing to the high prevalence of rhabdomyosarcoma and well-established healthcare infrastructure. According to an article published by the American Society of Clinical Oncology in January 2018, about 350 children are diagnosed with rhabdomyosarcoma every year. The European market is expected to be the second-largest due to the well-developed healthcare infrastructure in the region. Moreover, the market in Asia-Pacific is anticipated to be the fastest-growing during the assessment period owing to favorable government initiatives for enhancing healthcare facilities. The market in the Middle East & Africa is likely to account for the smallest share of the global rhabdomyosarcoma market. The market growth in this region can be attributed to the increases cases of rhabdomyosarcoma.

Some Points from TOC of Rhabdomyosarcoma Market Research Report  Forecast to 2023:

Chapter 1. Report Prologue

Chapter 2. Market Introduction

2.1 Definition

2.2 Scope Of The Study

2.2.1 Research Objective

2.2.2 Assumptions

2.2.3 Limitations

Chapter 3. Research Methodology

3.1 Introduction

3.2 Primary Research

3.3 Secondary Research

3.4 Market Size Estimation

Chapter 4. Market Dynamics

4.1 Drivers

4.2 Restraints

4.3 Opportunities

4.4 Challenges

4.5 Macroeconomic Indicators

4.6 Technology Trends & Assessment

Chapter 5. Market Factor Analysis

TOC CONTINUED.

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Wound Care Biologics Market  Synopsis

The global wound care biologics is anticipated to have held a market value of USD 1.20 billion in the year 2017 and is expected to grow at a CAGR of 9.9% during the forecast period. Biologic wound care products involve assisting in wound healing. Biologic wound care products restore the tissue integrity by regeneration and scar formation. It is gaining popularity as a treatment modality for the management of chronic wounds and burns injuries.

Growing aging population, increasing prevalence of chronic diseases and burn injuries, and increasing healthcare expenditure are expected to drive the growth of the market. According to the American Diabetes Association, in 2015, about 30.3 million suffer from diabetes in the Americas.

Moreover, in the US, 486,000 were suffering from burn injuries from 2011 to 2015. On other hand, the high cost of treatment, lack of awareness, and poor education and training can restrain the market growth over the assessment period.

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Wound Care Biologics Market  Segmentation:

The global wound care biologics market has been segmented into product type, wound type, and end user.

Based on product type, the market is segmented into biological skin substitutes and topical agents. The biological skin substitutes segment is expected to account for the largest share and fastest growing segment of the global market in 2017. The market growth of the segment is attributed to increasing adoption and result oriented product.

Based on wound type, the market is segmented into ulcers, surgical & traumatic wounds, and burns. The ulcer segment has been further segmented into diabetic foot ulcer, pressure ulcer, venous leg ulcer, and others ulcer.

The global wound care biologics market, by end user, has been segmented into hospitals, clinics, and other end users.

Wound Care Biologics Market  Top Players:

Some of the prominent players in the global wound care biologics market are Integra LifeSciences Corporation (US), Smith & Nephew (UK), Wright Medical (US), Molnlycke Health Care AB (Sweden), MiMedx Group (US), Vericel Corporation (US), Anika Therapeutics (US), Osiris Therapeutics (US), Marine Polymer Technologies, Inc. (US), Kerecis (Iceland), Solsys Medical (US), ACell (US), and Organogenesis (US).

Wound Care Biologics Market  Regional Analysis:

Geographically, the Americas is expected to dominate the global market owing to the presence of well-developed healthcare sector, rising prevalence of diabetes, increasing rate of accidents and rising expenditure for the healthcare sector. Europe is expected to hold the second largest position in the global market owing to the growing prevalence of chronic diseases coupled with increasing occurrences of burn cases. Asia-Pacific is expected to be the fastest growing market owing to the large population base of the diabetic patients and increasing developments in the healthcare segment. Furthermore, the Middle East and Africa region is expected to account for the least market share in the global market.

Some Points from TOC of Wound Care Biologics Market Research Report  Forecast to 2023:

Chapter 1. Report Prologue

Chapter 2. Market Introduction

2.1 Definition

2.2 Scope Of The Study

2.2.1 Research Objective

2.2.2 Assumptions

2.2.3 Limitations

Chapter 3. Research Methodology

3.1 Introduction

3.2 Primary Research

3.3 Secondary Research

3.4 Market Size Estimation

Chapter 4. Market Dynamics

TOC CONTINUED.

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The Speech Wars, which will investigate the notions of free expression and public discourse in the U.S., stretches across The Atlantics platforms, including TheAtlantic.com, video and live events.

The kickoff event will focus on the debate about free speech on campuses, tech platforms and in politics, featuring Facebook vice president of public policy Elliot Schrage, University of Chicago president Robert Zimmer, CEO, PEN America Suzanne Nossel and former Reddit CEO Ellen Pao.

Expanding on the publications need to take on the topic of free speech, Jeffrey Goldberg, editor in chief of The Atlantic, stated: We need to understand why so many factions and individuals across America have traded dissent and useful argument for intolerance and illiberalism.

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Over the course of its year-long unfolding, The Speech Wars seeks to identify where and how free speech is endangered or abused. Reports and essays from staff writers and contributors will explore how ideological beliefs among liberals and conservatives have become more polarized over the past two decades and how this presents a danger to the public.

The project is support by the Charles Koch Foundation, the Reporters Committee on the Freedom of the Press and the Fetzer Institute. The company won't comment on individual numerical support, but says it maintains total editorial control.

The Atlantic is, and always has been, a marketplace for competing ideas, Goldberg stated.
by Laurie Sullivan @lauriesullivan, November 29, 2018

Scanning reviews before making a purchase, even for the least expensive items, seems commonplace these days. When researching where to shop, consumers often turn to customer online reviews for brick-and-mortar stores. Fifty-one percent of consumers tend to rely on Google Maps & Reviews, according to data released Thursday.

The survey of more than 1,000 U.S. consumers, commissioned by Uberall, found that Yelp comes in at No. 2 with 36%, followed by Facebook at 35%, the Better Business Bureau with 22%, and TripAdvisor at 15%.

The survey findings reveal how shoppers evaluate brick-and-mortar store reviews online.

Instagram, Angies List and Yahoo Local Listings tied for sixth place with 13% each. Yellowpages took seventh place at 10%, followed by Foursquare with 3% and Manta with 1%.

Some 45% of shoppers say they have left a review online, compared with the remainder who have not.

When asked why they left the review, 64% say they did so because they had a positive experience at the location. About 28% left a review because they had a negative experience. Only 8% left a response for another reason.

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Consumers want to hear from brands and retailers if they leave a review. They like to be recognized for the time they spend writing and leaving it.

One third of customers do not return to the companys website if someone doesnt respond to their review. About 66% said stores typically respond.

Uberall found that 66% of shoppers continued to shop at the store after leaving their online review, even if the store did not rely on the review. The remained did not shop at the store since.

Not all reviews are authentic. Amazon in September launched an investigation into negative and fake reviews. TripAdvisor also dealt with fake reviews after its fraud detection team identified the small business called PromoSalento, which offered to write fake reviews for hospitality businesses to boost their profile on TripAdvisor.

Fakespot recently surfaced to run data analysis on the reviews and the reviewers. The companys algorithm checks metrics such as verified purchase, grammar, style and purchasing patterns to tell if the review is real or fake.
After protests dating back to 2014 and a new petition that quickly gained 26,000 signatures, Starbucks now says it will install blocking mechanisms so patrons cant access pornography from its free WiFi.

Business Insider first reported that Starbucks will install the blocking software next year.

A statement from Starbucks to Marketing Daily confirmed that fact and aimed to defect any notion that Starbucks is a magnet for porn watchers.

While it rarely occurs, the use of Starbucks public WiFi to view illegal or egregious content is not, nor has it ever been permitted, the statement says. To ensure that its locations remain safe and welcoming to all, we have identified a solution to prevent this content from being viewed within our stores and we will begin introducing it to our U.S. locations in 2019.

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In 2014, a group called Enough is Enough, representing some 75 other groups, petitioned Starbucks to take steps to block porn sites from being accessed from its WiFi. In 2016, in a CNN report, the chain indicated the WiFi blocking was coming soon; Enough Is Enough publicly thanked Starbucks (photo above).

But the block never happened.

Led by its president and CEO Donna Rice Hughes, the group again put pressure on Starbucks on Monday after a new online petition, from a group called CitizenGo, quickly gained 26,000 signatures within a week.

"By breaking its commitment, Starbucks is keeping the doors wide open for convicted sex offenders and others to fly under the radar from law enforcement and use free, public WiFi services to access illegal child porn and hard-core pornography," Hughes wrote. "Having unfiltered hotspots also allows children and teens to easily bypass filters and other parental control tools set up by their parents on their smartphones, tablets and laptops."

The petition itself began, Starbucks cares more about providing paper straws to protect the environment than protecting kids and patrons on its public WiFi!

Though it may seem that using porn blockers has little down side, critics say the blockers inadvertently end up blocking material that has no naughty connotations.

McDonalds, Chick Fil-A and other restaurants have already responded to public pressure and block porn from their customer WiFi.

Enough Is Enough started in 1992, when anti-porn sentiment was particularly strong. Hughes, who became the groups leader in 2002, was first thrust into the public spotlight in 1987 when she was seemingly the other woman involved with then-presidential candidate Gary Hart. A photo of her sitting on Harts lap hastened the end of his candidacy.
Sheryl Sandberg was not as removed from Facebooks interest in billionaire financier George Soros as was previously understood.

In a carefully worded blog post, earlier this month, Facebooks Chief Operating Officer said she was unaware of the fact the company had hired Definers Public Affairs -- the Republican consultancy that sought to undermine Facebooks critics by linking them to Soros.

Immediately after that denial, Sandberg added: I have great respect for George Soros -- and the anti-Semitic conspiracy theories against him are abhorrent.

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Yet, in response to new reports in The New York Times and BuzzFeed, Facebook is admitting that Sandberg specifically requested research regarding Soros investment activity.

Sheryl sent an email asking if Mr. Soros had shorted Facebooks stock, a Facebook spokesperson told both news publications.

The spokesperson was careful to note that Definers had already begun its work on behalf of Facebook before Sandberg made the request. That research was already underway, the spokesperson said.

The shifting story raises new questions about Sandbergs involvement in Definerss opposition research, and whether her original statement on the matter was intentionally misleading.

Long considered to be the proverbial adult in the room among Facebooks top management, Sandbergs reputation remains key to the companys stability.

The whole saga stems from a report in The New York Times earlier this month, which suggested Sandberg and cofounder-CEO Mark Zuckerberg wavered over whether to tell the world about Facebooks Russian hacking problem.

In response to that original report, Facebook flatly denied the suggestion.

The story asserts that we knew about Russian activity as early as the spring of 2016, but were slow to investigate it at every turn, the company insisted at the time. This is not true.

The same story also revealed that Facebook had hired Definers. Despite defending its relationship with the Definers, Facebook immediately severed ties with the firm.

About a week later, Elliot Schrage, Facebooks departing head of public policy and communications, took responsibility for hiring Definers, and further defended the decision.

I believe it would be irresponsible and unprofessional for us not to understand the backgrounds and potential conflicts of interest of our critics, Schrage wrote in a memo.

In his memo, Schrage also said Facebook specifically asked Definers to look into Soros and negative comments he had been making about the company.

During a speech at Davos earlier this year, Soros characterized Facebook as a menace to society, Schrage recalled. We had not heard such criticism from him before and wanted to determine if he had any financial motivation, he added.

Since the original Times story broke, critics have accused Facebook of playing into an anti-Semitic narrative against Soros. Schrage, for his part, insisted that nothing could be further from the truth.

Being Jewish is a core part of who I am and our company stands firmly against hate, Schrage insisted in the memo. The idea that our work has been interpreted as anti-Semitic is abhorrent to me -- and deeply personal.

In his memo, Schrage -- who reports directly to Sandberg -- insisted that neither she nor Zuckerberg had any knowledge of Facebooks relationship with Definers.
Researchers find a higher risk of coronary events during the 3 months after an infection. The bodys immune response, they suggest, may explain why infections trigger heart attack and stroke. Share on Pinterest Scientists encourage everyone to have their flu shots this year, as simple influenza viruses may trigger cardiovascular events. The term cardiovascular disease (CVD) covers a range of conditions: from heart attack and heart disease to stroke, hypertension, and heart failure. As many as 84 million people in the United States are living with one of the conditions above, and 2,200 people die every day as a result. Several factors may raise the risk of cardiovascular conditions. Some of these factors are modifiable, such as smoking, high cholesterol, and high blood pressure. Other factors, such as sex, race, age, and family history, cannot be modified. However, there are also a number of acute risk factors, or triggers, that can lead to CVD. Some research has linked urinary infections and pneumonia, for instance, with the risk of having heart attacks and stroke. A new study , published in the Journal of the American Heart Association, zooms in on the link between infections and adverse cardiovascular events. Dr. Kamakshi Lakshminarayan, a neurologist and associate professor of epidemiology at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis, is the senior author of the study.

Studying infections and coronary events risk Dr. Lakshminarayan and colleagues examined 1,312 people who had had a coronary event such as a heart attack, or myocardial infarction, and compared them with 727 people who had had an ischemic stroke. The study included both outpatients and people who were hospitalized to receive treatment for their infection. The researchers looked for infections that these people developed up to 12 years before the cardiovascular event. The most commonly reported infections were urinary tract infections, pneumonia, and respiratory infections. Overall, the study found that approximately 37 percent of the participants with heart disease had developed an infection in the 3 months leading up to the coronary event. Among people with stroke, this number was almost 30 percent. In the first 2 weeks after having an infection, the risk of a stroke or a heart attack was the highest. Though the analysis found this link among both inpatients and outpatients, people who received care in the hospital were more likely to have a coronary event.
OWENDALE  Owendale Village officials are seeking guidance on what to do about a newly passed state law.

On Nov. 6, voters approved Proposal 1 that legalized recreational marijuana use by a record-setting turnout of 58 percent of the states eligible voters. The new law starts Dec. 6.

The state Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs (LARA) will govern the recreational-use market, but rules and regulations have not been developed yet so recreational marijuana wont be able to be sold commercially until regulations are developed. That could take about a year to do.

Although Michigan law allows for recreation use by those over age of 21, it is still against federal law.

On Dec. 6, residents over the age of 21 can grow up to 12 plants for personal use, and possess 2.5 ounces for personal use. And, the law outlines a 10-ounce limit at a residence, and amounts of more than 2.5 ounces have to be in locked containers.

What does that mean for municipalities? That is the issue facing the Owendale Village Council. During the last village meeting, council members discussed an opt-out ordinance for marijuana sellers in the village.

Under the states Medical Marijuana Act (MMA), if municipalities did nothing then the state would automatically exclude them; but under the recreational marijuana law, a municipality has to have a specific ordinance prohibiting a marijuana business in order to prohibit.

So while the state grapples with developing guidelines, it is up to municipalities to allow or prohibit marijuana businesses.

The council decided Clerk Randy Howard should get model ordinances to review and discuss at the 6:30 p.m. Dec. 11 meeting, according to village President Walter Howard.

In other matters, Santa will be in the village park 5 to 6 p.m. Saturday. Residents are asked to bring the kids for a visit with Santa, and enjoy a cup of hot chocolate. Trustee Richard Glidden approved underwriting the cost of the event up to $100.
Exxon Mobil Corp. will use renewable energy to produce oil in West Texas.

Under 12-year agreements with Denmark's Orsted A/S, Exxon will buy 500 megawatts of wind and solar power in the Permian Basin, the fastest growing U.S. oil field. It is the largest ever renewable power contract signed by an oil company, according to Bloomberg NEF. Terms weren't disclosed.

"It will be interesting to see how the other oil majors respond," Kyle Harrison, a BNEF analyst, said. "A purchase like this has historically been unprecedented."

Exxon, which was sued by investors who alleged the company downplayed risks of global warming, is turning to clean energy as it becomes cheap enough to compete with fossil fuels. The wind and solar farms are being built in a region where electricity demand is soaring as oil production grows.

"We frequently evaluate opportunities to diversify our power supply and ensure competitive costs," Julie King, a spokeswoman for the Irving, Texas-based oil producer, said in an email. The company denies misleading investors about climate change.

Booming production in the Permian Basin is helping Exxon offset declining output elsewhere in the world. But output in the region has grown so fast that infrastructure including pipelines and power plants have struggled to keep up.

One area of the Permian, called the Delaware Basin, consumed the equivalent of 350 megawatts this summer, tripling its load from 2015. That's enough to power about 280,000 U.S. homes. Providers say demand is likely to triple again by 2022.

Half the power Exxon will buy will come from the Sage Draw wind farm, which Orsted plans to finish building in 2020, according to a slide from an investor presentation Wednesday. The rest will be from the Permian Solar farm, scheduled to be finished in 2021.

Orsted, the world's largest developer of offshore wind farms, has deep roots in fossil fuel. It was previously called Danish Oil and Natural Gas, or Dong, before shifting toward renewables about a decade ago. The company divested its upstream oil and gas business last year and rechristened itself Orsted, borrowing the name of a scientist who discovered electromagnetism in the 1800s.

Texas already has the most wind power of any state, with more than 23 gigawatts. That's triple the next biggest market, Oklahoma. Texas is the fifth largest solar market, with about 2.6 gigawatts. That's forecast to double next year, according to Morningstar Inc.

In August, Exxon was said to be seeking renewable energy under long-term contracts from a group of potential developers.

- - -

Bloomberg's Brian Eckhouse contributed to this report.
BRIDGEPORT  A city man will serve five years in jail for his role in heroin trafficking in the Bridgeport and Stratford area, the Department of Justice announced Thursday.

Jonathan Zayas, 25, of Bridgeport, was sentenced to serve 60 months in prison, followed by four years of supervised release for trafficking heroin, the DOJ said.

The FBIs Bridgeport Safe Streets Task Force, Bridgeport Police Department and Connecticut State Police Statewide Narcotics Task Force launched an investigation into several heroin distributors operating in Bridgeport.

The investigation included court-authorized wiretaps, controlled heroin purchases and physical surveillance.

The investigators found that Kareem Swiss Roseboro was supplying heroin to other distributors. Roseboro and others used the Stylz Barbershop on State Street as a hub for their narcotics distribution, the DOJ said.

Roseboro supplied Harry O Blake with large quantities fo heroin. Zayas regularly purchased heroin from Blake and sold it to customers in the Bridgeport and Stratford area.

Investigators seized multiple bricks of heroin, items used in the processing and packaging of heroin and five firearms during the course of the investigation, the DOJ said. Each brick of heroin contins 100 individual dose bags.

A grand jury in Bridgeport returned an eight-count indictment charging Zayas, Roseboro, Blake and four other Bridgeport residents with heroin trafficking offenses on June 6, 2016. The seven defendants were arrested the following day.

Zayas has been detained since his arrest.

On Dec. 29, 2016, he pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute, and distribution of, 100 grams or more of heroin.

Roseboro and Blake were convicted on related offenses and await sentencing.
BRIDGEPORT - Park Cemeterys embattled manager, pushed into the courtroom Thursday morning in a wheelchair, promised a judge that she will no longer conduct any business there.

Ive stayed away, Ive been trying to get out of the cemetery for 10 years. Ive been ill, Dale LaPrade told Superior Court Judge Barbara Bellis.

The judge then ordered her to stay away from the cemetery.

We accomplished what we wanted, that she (LaPrade) not serve in any capacity at the cemetery, said Cheryl Jansen, who has generations of family buried at the Lindley Street cemetery and sued to remove LaPrade.

Later, Jensen surveyed the two junked cars, a truck and a boat inside the Lindley Street entrance to the cemetery.

Hopefully in two years, with help, this cemetery is going to look a lot better, she said.

LaPrade has been accused of burying new bodies over old graves and moving headstones to accommodate new graves at the 140-year-old cemetery.

During a previous court hearing, police detectives Jorge Cintron and Kimberly Biehn testified that dozens of headstones, some dating back to the 1800s, had been moved so that the newly dead could be buried in plots stacked on old graves.

New dirt was put over older graves and new graves were put there, Biehn testified.

There was fresh soil over old head stones and they were in the process of building an access road through the stones, Cintron testified. In the woods we found old head stones and human bones that had just been thrown around.

Cintron said a grave digger told him that he had been ordered by LaPrade to throw old bones and caskets away to make room for new graves.

But during Thursdays hearing before Judge Bellis, LaPrade, who had previous ignored two orders to come to court, said she had only buried families together with permission.

Bellis ordered LaPrade to stay away from Park Cemetery except to visit family members interned there.

This is a final order and believe me I will enforce it, the judge said.

The judge also ordered LaPrade to turn over the financial records of the cemetery to police who are investigating the situation there. When LaPrade responded that she would need to go back to the house on the cemetery grounds to get the records, the judge retorted that she could only do so with a police escort.

Initially LaPrade told the judge that she has been living in the house and would need two weeks to remove her personal property. But after a recess, and a reminder from Jensen that LaPrade actually lives in Stratford, LaPrade asked to change the record.

Im not known as a liar, LaPrade told the judge. I came to the cemetery in 1985 and I had been living in the house but now there are two homeless men living there.
Most violent offenders in state prisons spend less than three years behind bars, according to the federal Bureau of Justice Statistics.

Thats not true for convicted murderers. A report released this week by the U.S. Department of Justice agency looking at data from 2016 said that murderers convicted of a first offence spend, on average, 13 years in state prisons.

But most  57 percent  of prisoners convicted of violent offenses other than murder spent less than three years in state prisons, the report says. About seven out of every 10 violent offenders released in 2016 served less than five years in state prisons.

Not every state contributed data to the study, though Connecticut was among the 46 states that did.

Looking at all crimes, violent and non-violent, state prisoners released in 2016 had served an average of 2.6 years.

The study also showed a discrepancy in how much of a sentence prisoners serve based on crime. Those convicted of rape or sexual assault served an average of 62 percent of their total sentence.

Prisoners convicted of drug possession served an average of 38 percent of their total sentences.

Convicted murderers served 57 percent of their sentences in 2016, less than the 58.4 percent for negligent manslaughter convictions, though those sentences were significantly shorter.

More than 2,750 prisoners died in 2016 while awaiting initial release, about half of them prisoners serving time for murder or sexual assault.

Causes of death included suicide, homicide, legally imposed execution and injury resulting in death.
SHELTON  Sept. 10, 2013, started as a typical day in the life of Jaclyn Kalapos-Rios.

Kalapos-Rios, then 32 and a trial attorney, visited with her mom, had lunch with a friend, enjoyed a special dinner with family and even ran two miles.

But shortly before bed time came the moment that changed everything for her.

After taking a shower and putting on her pajamas, she sat on her bed, where her husband, Jim, was already asleep. Suddenly, something seemed wrong with her vision. She thought it was a migraine and took off her glasses. Then she collapsed on the floor. She couldnt talk. She could barely move.

Kalapos-Rios was having a stroke  one that almost took her life, and from which she is still recovering at age 37. The events of that night changed not just her life, but that of everyone in her family, including her mother, Stratford resident Felicia Zera Kalapos.

I think we had been blessed that no one in our family had a stroke before, Kalapos said, during an interview in her daughters Shelton home. We didnt know anything about strokes.

Hoping to provide a guide and support for other families, Kalapos wrote a book Stroke: Through a Mothers Eyes, self-published through Mill City Press. She will speak about the book, and her familys experience in the aftermath of her daughters stroke, at 1 p.m. Saturday at the Stratford Public Library, 2203 Main St.

After Kalapos-Rios had the stroke, her mother wanted to learn everything about the topic. But most of the literature she found was about strokes in older people.

I couldnt find anything that dealt with stroke in a mother with young children, Felicia Zera Kalapos said.

According to the National Institutes of Health, each year, about 795,000 people in the United States have strokes, and of these incidents, 137,000 of the people die. Though risk of stroke increases with age, it can happen at any point in a persons life. The NIH reports that a quarter of strokes occur in people younger that 65.

Fighting for life

Kalapos-Rioss journey was a long one, which began after she had the terrifying realization that something was wrong that September night five years ago.

She knew she had to alert her husband and tried to figure out how. My right side, I cant move, said Kalapos-Rios, whose speech is still careful and halting. My left side, I can move. I thought to pull the sheet on the bed (to get her husbands attention).

When she yanked on the sheet, it resulted in the nightstand and lamp falling, waking her husband.

Terrified, he call 9-1-1. Initially, Kalapos-Rios was taken to Bridgeport Hospital. She was given tissue plasminogen activator, a protein involved in the breakdown of blood clots.

It turned out the stroke was caused by a blood clot that had somehow been released three months after she delivered her youngest child, Juliana. The clot passed through a patent foramen ovale, a sort of hole in the heart that Kalapos-Rios didnt even know she had.

Eventually, she was transferred from Bridgeport to Yale New Haven Hospital. At some point, the family was told Kalapos-Rios wasnt a candidate for surgery, but she was eligible for a trial of a new medication. The only problem was we didnt know if she would get the drug, or the placebo, said George Kalapos, Kalapos-Rioss father.

Felicia asked the doctors the pros and cons of putting her daughter in the trial. They said There are no pros and cons. Were losing her. 

Kalapos-Rios was put in the trial, and the family later found out she did get the medication. After about a week at Yale New Haven, she was transferred to Gaylord Hospital in Wallingford, where she received physical, occupational and speech therapy for three weeks

Long road back

After she got out of Gaylord, Kalapos-Rios and her family went to live with her parents. Felicia Zera Kalapos said everything was organized with a giant white board that included all of her daughters medical appointments and her grandchildrens activities.

Kalapos-Rios and her family lived with her parents for about six months. During that time, Kalapos-Rios gained a lot of skills back, including the ability to drive. The hole in her heart that initially allowed the stroke to happen was fixed. But, even five years later, her recovery work isnt done.

One thing she has had to re-learn is spelling. Though she is an avid reader, Kalapoos-Rios said, she still has problems spelling words, even simple ones. She picked up her mothers book and pointed to the word stroke on the cover. How do you spell this word? she said. I dont know.

She also cant remember song lyrics, though she used to be hired to sing the National Anthem.

And Kalapos-Rios is only slowly starting to return to work, working on foreclosures with the help of a paralegal.

But she knows she will keep improving, and shes even set a goal. In 10 years, no one will know shes had a stroke, her mother said. Thats the goal.

Felicia Zera Kalapos said she hopes telling her familys story through the book will provide hope and insight for other families going through something similar.

Before, there was nothing (in the literature) that talked about our particular set of circumstances, she said. I felt, if this happens to somebody else, this could help.
BUENOS AIRES, Argentina - President Donald Trump kept his distance from Vladimir Putin at a global summit here Friday that was clouded by an escalating Russia investigation in Washington and sniping with the Kremlin over why Trump canceled a planned meeting with the Russian president.

As leaders gathered for the opening session of the Group of 20 summit, Trump appeared cool toward some of his counterparts and was not seen acknowledging Putin, the autocrat whose interference in the 2016 presidential election is the subject of the Justice Department's far-reaching special counsel investigation.

Trump began the day on a triumphant note, ceremonially signing a hard-fought trade agreement with Canada and Mexico. But the summit's themes of global financial stability, dialogue and sustainability were swamped by intrigue surrounding Trump's interactions with Putin and everyone else's with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who has been identified by U.S. intelligence as the almost certain hand behind the brutal murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in October.

Trump sounded an upbeat note about the other main theme of the two-day gathering - the trade fight between the United States and China.

The president said he sees "some good signs" ahead of a high-stakes dinner meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping, which is set for Saturday. "We've already spoken, and we're working very hard," he said. "If we can make a deal, that would be good."

Trump was one of the last leaders to enter the summit site for a group photo and walked past Putin and Mohammed without stopping to chat or shake hands. Trump, who has long shown an affinity for autocrats, had drawn criticism ahead of the summit for agreeing to meet Putin and for standing by Mohammed's denials of involvement in Khashoggi's killing.

Trump "exchanged pleasantries" with Mohammed on the sidelines of the summit, in the White House characterization. Trump insisted to reporters, "We had no discussion. We might, but we had none."

Putin, however, had a friendly exchange with Mohammed, high-fiving and laughing with the kingdom's de facto leader.

French President Emmanuel Macron and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi were among those seen talking with Mohammed amid international condemnation of his suspected role in Khashoggi's killing inside the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul on Oct. 2.

Trump appeared to speak amicably with Macron, who just three weeks ago delivered a forceful rebuke of Trump's nationalism at a ceremony in France with the U.S. president present. Meanwhile, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe tried to stroke Trump's ego, even if bending the truth.

"I would like to congratulate you on your historic victory in the midterm elections in the United States," Abe told Trump at the start of their bilateral meeting. Abe apparently was alluding to Republican gains in the Senate but ignoring the fact that Democrats seized control of the House in a national rebuke of the president.

But Trump appeared to snub South Korean President Moon Jae-in, whose brief meeting with Trump took place away from cameras. The session was downgraded from a larger, more formal meeting. White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said the two leaders discussed North Korea, but her summary made no mention of an apparent stall in progress toward nuclear weapons negotiations.

Thursday's admission in court by former Trump attorney Michael Cohen that he lied to Congress about Trump's real estate ventures in Russia cast a pall over the Buenos Aires gathering.

Trump scrapped a planned sit-down with Putin, which was to have been a centerpiece of his visit to Argentina, citing Russia's aggression in Ukraine. Last weekend, a Russian vessel rammed a Ukrainian naval tugboat in a confrontation in which Ukrainian vessels were fired on off the coast of Crimea. Russia seized three Ukrainian vessels and 23 sailors.

The Kremlin challenged Trump's excuse.

"Is the Kiev-orchestrated Kerch provocation the true reason for canceling the meeting?" Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said Friday in Moscow, referring to the Kerch Strait, where the clash occurred. "This is the explanation we hear in public, which we have taken note of. But I think one must look for answers in the domestic political situation in the United States."

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov also weighed in.

"I doubt that this move will be conducive to the resolution of a whole host of important international problems. But love can't be forced, of course," Lavrov said in an interview with Russian state TV, according to the Interfax news agency.

The White House quickly countered.

"The Russian Witch Hunt Hoax, which is hopefully now nearing an end, is doing very well," Sanders said in a statement. "Unfortunately, it probably does undermine our relationship with Russia. However, the reason for our canceled meeting is Ukraine. Hopefully, that will be resolved soon so that productive conversations can begin."

And Trump later said Russia's aggression against Ukraine was "the sole reason" for canceling the meeting.

"We are not happy about it," Trump told reporters. "Hopefully they'll be able to settle that soon, and we look forward to meeting with President Putin. But on the basis of what took place with respect to the ships and the sailors, that is the sole reason."

Sanders said that, contrary to some reports in Russia, there are no plans for even an informal pull-aside meeting between Trump and Putin. However, the two presidents are expected to cross paths frequently, including perhaps at a cultural event and dinner for leaders Friday evening at the Argentine capital's fabled Teatro Colon.

Trump's schedule here - packed to bursting as outlined by aides earlier in the week - has grown lighter with the cancellation of the meeting with Putin. He also limited the planned session with Moon and with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to brief chats on the margins of the gathering.

Trump rescheduled a sit-down with German Chancellor Angela Merkel for Saturday after the long-serving European leader's arrival in Argentina was delayed because of a problem with her government aircraft. Merkel instead flew to Buenos Aires aboard a commercial flight from Spain and missed the start of the summit.

Trump began his day on little sleep Friday, having tweeted after midnight local time about the G-20 and again a little more than six hours later with complaints about special counsel Robert Mueller III's investigation into Russian involvement in the 2016 presidential election.

But he seemed cheerful as he greeted Argentine President Mauricio Macri, whom he called an old friend, and ad-libbed a fond remembrance of his days as a Manhattan real estate developer.

"I've been friends with Mauricio for a long time," he said. "I actually did business with his family, with his father. Great father, friend of mine."

Trump said the elder Macri had been involved with Trump's purchase of the West Side Yard, a large chunk of developable land along the Hudson River in New York. Trump bought the former railroad property in 1985 for $115 million and planned to build a $4.5 billion complex called Television City. It never happened, and Trump defaulted on about $1 billion in loans in 1994. He sold a majority stake in the property and later took a profit when it was resold.

"It was a great job, successful job, very big job. One of the largest jobs in Manhattan," Trump mused Friday. "That was in my civilian days. And so I always had fond memories. Little did I know that his son would become El Presidente," Trump said. "And little did he know that I was going to become president."

But the bonhomie was interrupted later in the day when the Argentine government expressed exasperation with the White House's characterization of the Trump-Macri meeting. Sanders said in a statement that the two leaders had agreed on a "shared commitment to face regional challenges" including "predatory Chinese economic activity."

Surprised Argentine officials spent part of the afternoon reassuring journalists - particularly the Chinese media - that Sanders's claim of agreement on aggressive Chinese economic activity simply was not true.

"That is not the position of the Argentine government, and there was no agreement on that statement," said a senior Argentine official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue. "Those are the words of the U.S. government. We have a great relationship with the Chinese, and we want to build on it."

"I don't know where this came from," the official continued.

Also Friday, Trump was in the audience as Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto bestowed the Mexican Order of the Aztec Eagle, his country's highest award, on Trump's son-in-law and adviser Jared Kushner. Kushner was heavily involved in negotiations for a revamped North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). Kushner thanked the Mexican leader, whose last day in office is Friday.

In contrast with Trump, who arrived in Buenos Aires only hours before the first summit meetings began, Macron was emerging as the darling of the Argentines. He arrived a day and half early and made a broad run through a city often dubbed the "Paris of South America." He dined at a traditional Argentine steak house and visited the cultural institute of the renowned Argentine author Jorge Luis Borges. He took his morning coffee at El Ateneo Grand Splendid, a theater turned book store and cafe that is heralded as among the most glamorous in the world.

Crowds formed outside the bookstore and cheered Macron, leading the local newspaper Clarin to declare Macron "a rock star."

It was a visit that was organized very confidentially," the bookstore's manager, Andrea Stefanoni, told Clarin. "It was organized days ago and was very beautiful because he is a person who feels very much tied to literature."

Saudi Arabia's crown prince found a different reception here. His problems followed him all the way to the Southern Cone of South America. On Monday, Human Rights Watch filed a complaint with Argentine prosecutors asking them to examine Mohammed's alleged responsibility for the torture of Saudi citizens and for human rights violations in Yemen.

Universal jurisdiction applies in Argentina, allowing authorities here to investigate crimes alleged to have been committed abroad by a national of any country. And by Wednesday, a federal prosecutor - Ramiro Gonzalez - had begun making inquiries and forwarded the case to an investigating judge.

In the meantime, Mohammed, according to Human Rights Watch and local media reports, skipped plans to stay with his 400-person delegation at the luxurious Four Seasons Hotel in Buenos Aires. Instead, he mostly sheltered in the fortified Saudi Embassy here.

Argentine officials say his diplomatic immunity, plus the length of time required for any investigation, all but rule out any immediate action against him during the summit. But his apparent caution suggested possible concern, and that his future travel plans could be marred by similar legal maneuvers.

- - -

The Washington Post's Anton Troianovski in Moscow contributed to this report.
PORTSMOUTH, Va. -- Coast Guard crews returned four mariners to shore Wednesday, after their sailboat was demasted in a storm more than 100 miles off Cape Lookout, North Carolina.

Rescue Coordination Center Norfolk received a satellite emergency distress notification Monday night. Later that evening, an Air Station Elizabeth City HC-130 Hercules airplane crew located the 55-foot Beneteau Oceanis sailboat and contacted the crew by radio.

The men did not report any injuries, but the boat's mast was broken and the steering gear was damaged. The Coast Guard Cutter Escanaba reached them Tuesday and the cutter's crew assessed the damage and rendered assistance. They took the four men aboard and headed back toward North Carolina.

"I am extremely proud of the professionalism and performance of the entire crew of Escanaba, to safely locate and rescue these four mariners," said Capt. Michael Turdo, the commanding officer of the Escanaba. "With the on scene weather continuing to deteriorate throughout the day, this could have quickly taken a turn for the worse."

Wednesday morning, a Coast Guard Station Fort Macon 47-foot Motor Lifeboat crew headed out to meet the Escanaba and bring the four men back to shore.

The crew of the Beneteau sailboat had departed Annapolis, Maryland, on Saturday and were headed to Miami to deliver the boat when they encountered heavy wind and seas.

The owner of the boat is coordinating salvage of the vessel.
The Department of Veterans Affairs' chief benefits official gave assurances Thursday that the department would strive to make whole student veterans who were underpaid for housing stipends under the new Forever GI Bill but left open the possibility that some may never be fully reimbursed.

"There could be some we underpay out there" under the complicated formula for calculating the housing allowances, and the equally complicated fix the VA announced Wednesday, Rep. Phil Roe, R-Tennessee, told VA Undersecretary Paul Lawrence, head of the Veterans Benefits Administration.

At a hearing of the House Veterans Affairs Committee, Lawrence initially responded that all students veterans would get what they were owed -- "retroactively, if need be" -- and he blasted an NBC News report that suggested otherwise.

"Nothing could be further from the truth," Lawrence said, but he appeared to backtrack in additional rounds of questioning from Roe, the committee's chairman, and other members of the panel.

New rates for the housing stipends were supposed to go into effect Aug. 1 under the Forever GI Bill signed into law by President Donald Trump, but the VA botched the installation of IT systems that could handle the changes, resulting in backlogs for thousands of claims.

VA Secretary Robert Wilkie announced Wednesday that the new rates will now go into effect Dec. 1, 2019, when new systems are expected to be in place and operational.

Lawrence told the committee that it is the VA's intention to correct any underpayments, but he was unsure whether it is worth the VA's time and effort to repay all of them, which would involve validating millions of documents and hundreds of thousands of claims.

The result of such an effort could be retroactive payments that would be minimal, he said.

"Is all the processing going to end up with one person getting a check for a dollar? We don't know that yet," Lawrence said. "It's not our intention to harm veterans, but it's also our intention to process the GI Bill effectively and accurately going forward."

He added, "There could be no variation [in the payments], and going back would be energy that is better spent processing claims going forward. That's the unknown we have to figure out."

Late Thursday, Wilkie posted a statement on the VA's website that appeared to contradict Lawrence and re-affirmed the department's commitment to repay student veterans who were shorted.

Wilkie said the VA plans to make whole "each and every post-9/11 GI Bill beneficiary -- retroactively, if need be -- for their housing benefits for this academic year."

At the House hearing, Roe and others on the panel pointed out that what the VA is proposing, as outlined by Lawrence, would be against the law on the new rates that were supposed to go into effect Aug. 1.

"The law states what we must do on 1 August," Roe said. "Like you said, it's fairly clear what the law states. The question is, are we going to follow the law? And if we're not, then we have to change the law."

Rep. Scott Peters, D-California, told Lawrence, "It sounds to me like you're leaving yourself some flexibility as to whether to do that or not."

"Maybe you're assessing if it's worth the trouble to go back" and implement the law retroactively, he added, "but we'd like to know if these people are going to be made whole by that formula, and I'm having trouble getting that answer out of you, it sounds like."

Roe sought to sum up the problem. "Basically what we did was, just for clarity, we stood up a system that didn't work and paid people what we had paid them in the past, and we don't know what we should have paid them. Am I correct? That's pretty much what we did because our IT system didn't work."

"Essentially correct," Lawrence replied. "That's correct."

Veterans service organizations reflected the committee's frustration with the implementation of the law and the VA's vague commitment to making all student veterans whole on the new rates.

For many student veterans, the VA's message was that putting the new rates in place was "too hard" and "we're not going to pay you what we owe you," said Pat Murray, deputy director of national legislative services at the Veterans of Foreign Wars.

The new rates were written into law, and "you can't just dismiss that," Murray said.

"We don't even know how many students are affected by this," said Tanya Ang, vice president of Veterans Education Success. "There is a chance students may not get the housing allowance owed them."

She added, "We've been working with the VA on this issue," but "it is the law and they can't make a decision" to change the way it is implemented on their own.

Under new rules announced by the VA on Wednesday, student veterans will receive what they would have been paid in the way of housing stipends under the rules that were in effect in 2017 before the new law was passed.

According to the VA, that would roughly translate into about one percent more than the DoD's Basic Allowance for Housing for E-5s with dependents.

Those students who have been overpaid during the switchover to the new rules will be allowed to keep the money, according to the VA.

-- Richard Sisk can be reached at Richard.Sisk@Military.com.
China's Sub Force Is Growing More Powerful. This Is What the US Navy Needs to Do to Stay Ahead
The Navy rattled China this week with two operations in disputed waters ahead of President Donald Trump's meeting this weekend with Chinese President Xi Jinping at the G20 economic summit in Argentina.

On Monday, the Ticonderoga-class guided missile cruiser Chancellorsville conducted a freedom of navigation operation near the contested Paracel Islands in the South China Sea.

On Wednesday, the Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer James B. Stockdale and the USNS oiler Pecos from the Military Sealift Command passed through the Taiwan Strait in the third such show of support for Taiwan this year, following similar passages by Navy ships in October and July.

Beijing's "One China" policy regards Taiwan as a wayward province to be reunited with China. It routinely protests ship passing through the 110-mile strait separating Taiwan from the mainland.

"We have expressed our concerns to the U.S." over the Navy ships' passage through the strait, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said at a news briefing in Beijing on Thursday. He said Taiwan's status is the "most important and sensitive issue" in relations with the U.S.

The Chancellorsville's appearance in the South China Sea came after the cruiser joined the aircraft carrier Ronald Reagan and the guided-missile destroyer Curtis D. Wilbur on a port call to Hong Kong last week in what was seen as a possible conciliatory move by China ahead of Xi's meeting with Trump.

The Chancellorsville "sailed near the Paracel Islands to challenge excessive maritime claims and preserve access to the waterways as governed by international law," U.S. Pacific Fleet spokesman Nathan Christensen said in a statement.

On Thursday, Adm. Phil Davidson, head of U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, said the Navy will continue to challenge China's claims of sovereignty in the South China Sea and elsewhere in the region.

China is "ignoring international law" and "other legitimate claims of smaller countries" on the rim of the South China Sea through its military buildup on artificial islands, Davidson said from Hawaii in a video conference to the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, D.C.

He accused China of carrying out a "sustained campaign to intimidate other nations" in the region and called China's "Belt & Road" initiative to extend its political and economic power beyond the region "pernicious."

On Saturday, Trump is expected to have dinner with Xi on the sidelines of the G20 economic summit in Buenos Aires. At the top of their agenda is the trade war between the two countries, in which the U.S. has slapped more than $200 billion in tariffs on China and China has responded with similar measures against the U.S.

-- Richard Sisk can be reached at Richard.Sisk@Military.com.
Keep those toes pointed out for the deadlift, flex those knees for the medicine ball backwards throw, and don't ever just drop the kettlebells in the sprint-drag-carry -- gotta "place" them on the ground.

Those and other helpful hints for passing the Army's new Army Combat Fitness Test (ACFT) were featured in the launch Friday of a new microsite linked to the Army homepage that includes how-to videos and training plans for the test, which is set to go into effect as early as October 2019.

The Army currently is running pilot programs with 63 battalions on the six-event test to flesh out scoring standards and make any needed adjustments to the requirements.

In July, the Army announced its current three-event Army Physical Fitness Test -- push-ups, sit-ups and a two-mile run -- would be replaced by the more strenuous ACFT.

The six events for the ACFT are:

 Strength Deadlift. This is a three-repetition maximum deadlift to test muscular strength; it mimics movement to safety and effectively lifting and carrying heavy loads.

 Standing Power Throw. This event involves throwing a 10-pound medicine ball as far as possible over the head and to the rear. It measures upper and lower muscular power, balance and whole body flexibility.

 Hand-Raised Push-ups. This event forces the soldier to go all the way to the floor and raise his hands before coming back up again, measuring upper-body muscular endurance.

 A 250-Meter Sprint, Drag and Carry. This is five different events within one event -- a 50-meter sprint; a backward 50-meter drag of a 90-pound sled; a 50-meter movement; a 50-meter carry of two 40-pound kettle bells; and a final 50-meter sprint. It measures muscular strength, power, speed and reaction time.

 Leg Tuck. A soldier hangs perpendicular to the pull-up bar and brings his knees up to his elbows and back down again for one repetition. It measures muscular strength, endurance and grip.

 Two-Mile Run. The ACFT retains the two-mile run portion of the APFT, which is designed to measure aerobic and muscular endurance.

The Army has yet to determine what will happen to soldiers who fail the test, which won't go fully into effect Army-wide until October 2020. But Army Chief of Staff Gen. Mark Milley last month gave fair warning the new test is coming, and soldiers need to get ready.

"If you can't get in shape in 24 months, then maybe you should hit the road," Milley told defense reporters.

"We don't want to lose thousands of soldiers to [the ACFT]. This fitness test is hard. No one should be under any illusions about it," Milley said. "But we really don't want to lose soldiers on the battlefield. We don't want young men and women to get killed in action because they weren't fit," Milley said.

-- Richard Sisk can be reached at Richard.Sisk@Military.com.
ANN ARBOR, MI - There's a settlement offer on the table now in two lawsuits over the future of Ann Arbor's city-owned Library Lot, where voters said this month they want to see a downtown central park.

Tom Wieder, an attorney representing two sets of plaintiffs suing the city over a deal to sell the Fifth Avenue property to a developer, is offering to settle both cases on behalf of his clients.

If the city agrees to halt the $10 million sale, the lawsuits go away, according to the terms Wieder shared with City Attorney Stephen Postema on Thursday afternoon, Nov. 29.

No money damages are being sought.

Ann Arbor voters this month approved a city charter amendment, Proposal A, stipulating that the Library Lot can't be sold and must be transformed into a city park and civic center commons.

The ballot language referred to all city-owned property on the block, so it also includes Liberty Plaza.

The Library Lot is the surface of the city's underground parking garage on Fifth Avenue next to the downtown library.

Before voters approved Prop A, the city reached a tentative deal to sell the Library Lot to Chicago developer Core Spaces to make way for a 17-story high-rise and developer-funded plaza.

The Ann Arbor Central Park Ballot Committee and two City Council members, Sumi Kailasapathy and Anne Bannister, sued the city earlier this year, seeking to invalidate the Core Spaces deal since the final sale agreement never came back to council for approval.

The council approved the sale in April 2017, delegating authority to the mayor, clerk and administrator to execute the deal based on specified terms. They executed the deal this spring after more than a year of legal negotiations and now it's being challenged.

"As a result of the approved Charter Amendment, the City of Ann Arbor has no authority to enter into or to carry out the terms of any purported contract, or to take any other action which would permit ownership or use of the Library Lot for any purpose not specified in the Charter, as amended," states the proposed settlement order the plaintiffs in both cases are now asking the city to sign.

"The parties hereby stipulate to the entry of the attached Order of Judgment permanently enjoining the City of Ann Arbor from taking any action in furtherance of any purported contract between the City and Core Spaces, LLC or Core Spaces Ann Arbor Fifth LLC."

Postema said he'll be reviewing the settlement offer and discussing the matter with the City Council.

Will Hathaway, one of the leaders of the Central Park Ballot Committee, sent an email to the mayor and council on Thursday to share the proposed settlement offer with them.

"These are straightforward agreements that will bring the two lawsuits to conclusion based on the voters' approval of the Proposal A Charter Amendment," he wrote.

"We recognize that there is a lingering uncertainty about the city's agreement to sell to Core Spaces. When the city agrees to these settlement proposals, it will make clear that the city has terminated all plans to sell the Library Lot to Core Spaces."
Update: The Plain Dealer and Cleveland.com reported that Damus was released on Friday afternoon in Brooklyn Heights, Ohio. More here.

ANN ARBOR, MI - The federal government has agreed to release a Haitian asylum seeker who has been kept behind bars for two years without explanation.

A day after hearing arguments on his detention in Ann Arbor federal court, U.S. District Judge Judith Levy on Thursday issued an order approving an agreement to have Ansly Damus released from custody before 5 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 30 in Brooklyn Heights, Ohio.

Correction: an earlier version of this story reported the release would be in Cleveland Heights. The court made an error and attorneys noted it would be in Brooklyn Heights.

The agreement between Immigration and Customs Enforcement and lawyers for the Haiti native calls for Damus to wear an ankle monitor and live with his sponsors, Gary Benjamin and Melody Hart, as he awaits further proceedings in immigration court.

He can request removal of the monitor after 60 days and again after 90 days, Levy ordered.

The husband and father of two was granted asylum twice in immigration court in 2016 and 2017. The government appealed both decisions and kept him behind bars for more than two years without explanation, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) argued in its court filing seeking his release.

Damus' attorneys argued in court Wednesday that the extended detention violated his constitution due process rights.

Levy then pressed the government to provide a factual basis for his detention and the notion that he is a flight risk, asking for details within 24 hours. ICE instead reached an agreement with Damus' lawyers for his release.

ICE spokesman Khaalid Walls declined to comment on the case.

Damus had been lodged in a windowless room in Geauga County Safety Center in Chardon, Ohio, according to the ACLU.

The ACLU says Damus was a teacher in Haiti and was attacked by armed gang members after criticizing a local government official in class. After further threats against his life, Damus left for Brazil in 2014 and remained there for 18 months, according to the ACLU's petition for writ of habeas corpus.

He feared for his safety in Brazil due to Haitians being killed in hate crimes, the ACLU claims, and he left in July 2016 to Calexico, California, where he sought asylum and was detained.
MIDLAND, MI -- Midland County Sheriff Scott Stephenson has issued a public apology after being arrested in northern Michigan on a drunken driving charge.

In a prepared statement, Stephenson said he was at a deer camp in Kalkaska County the morning of Nov. 16. After having consumed alcohol, he drove away from the camp to get reception on his cellphone, he said.

"I felt the alcohol take an effect while driving," Stephenson said. "I pulled over to the side of the road to attempt to get service for the camp to pick me up. I received no answer and decided to wait."

A short while later, a Kalkaska County Sheriff's deputy arrived at the scene, having been summoned by a passerby. The deputy arrested Stephenson on a charge of operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated.

Stephenson said he plans to plead guilty to the charge.

"I am accepting responsibility for my poor choice and will comply with the court's orders and recommendations," he said. "I have also sought the advice of a counselor to determine if this was an isolated incident, or if there are other issues I need to address."

Stephenson said he is sorry and issued the statement to ensure there are no misunderstandings about what happened.

"I failed to hold myself to the standards to which I have set for myself," he continued. "I am embarrassed, ashamed and deeply regret the decision to consume alcohol and drive. My poor decision affects not only myself, but my family, the Midland County Sheriff's Office and my constituents. I will accept full responsibility for my decision that day. No one else is responsible."

Stephenson was elected sheriff in 2012 and took the oath of office in January 2013. He is on the Board of Directors of the Michigan Sheriffs' Association, serving as the organization's District III director.

Kalkaska County Sheriff Patrick J. Whiteford confirmed Stephenson was arrested, but said he has not yet been arraigned in court.
BURTON, MI - A free food giveaway is set for Friday outside a Burton school.

The giveaway is set to begin at 9 a.m. Nov 30 at Bentley High School, 1150 N. Belsay Road, with funds from the school's pantry used to purchase thousands of pounds of food from the Food Bank of Eastern Michigan.

Lisa Gaby, the district's student and community resource coordinator, said residents can pick up bread and bakery items, snacks, produce, and frozen food items (if available) at the third and final giveaway of 2018.

Volunteers from the Burton Kiwanis Club, Our Risen Lord Lutheran Church members, middle school student council members, high school National Honor Society members, and Boy Scouts from Barhitte Elementary School.

A scout group also raised hundreds of dollars through a penny drive, Gaby said. She previously noted the district has been working in some capacity with the food bank since 2010.

But it was trying to combat "food insecurity" five years before that when retired art teacher and former student government advisor Tammi Browning organized council members to hold fundraisers to purchase food.

"The students then packed brown paper lunch sacks with food and they were made available to students at the elementary school who could go grab a bag of food as they left school for the day," Gaby previously commented.

Gaby said the district had 76 percent of students receiving free lunch during the 2017-18 school year, as well as 79 percent in Atherton schools, and 93 percent in Bendle, according to myschooldata.org.

"I try to hold my monthly distributions at the end of the month as my families have indicated that that is when they run out of resources," she added. "I have had to look at things in a different light as I have listened to families over the years that I have worked with them."

Browning then began to head to the food bank as the program grew over the years which became the launching point for the Bentley Family Food Pantry managed by Joyce Dixon, a school counselor at Barhitte Elementary until her retirement.

Gaby took over the pantry in 2015.

At the time, she noted between 20-25 families were registered, with approximately 10 families coming in per month for a box of food.

The number has swelled to 78 families currently registered, with 25-30 families requesting food on a normal basis. Bentley is one of three districts - Richfield Public School Academy and Bendle being the other two -- with a school pantry directly affiliated with the food bank.

Kristy Spann, superintendent of Bentley Community Schools, previously said the district has entered into a federal program that offers free breakfast and lunch to all students and is looking to provide meals beginning in January 2019 for those attending after-schooltutoring sessions.

Nearly 43,000 pounds of food was distributed that way during the 2017-18 school year, according to Gaby.

"Bentley families will have access to supplemental food every month," she said.

Anyone looking to donate to the district's food pantry may call 810-591-9522 or the food bank at 810-239-4441 and make a deposit into Bentley's account.
ANN ARBOR, MI - A Grand Blanc man who pleaded guilty to embezzling from the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center and research facility in Ann Arbor received his sentenced Friday.

Shawn G. Clouthier, 48, was sentenced Friday, Nov. 30, to a year of probation and must pay $39,608 in restitution.

Investigators allege Clouthier took office supplies, computers and other equipment from the facility from July 2013 to June 2015.

University officials noticed irregularities regarding purchases at the cancer center and an audit revealed that it involved $39,606 worth of property, according to investigators.

"We are very pleased with the outcome of this matter," said Clouthier's attorney Nicholas R. Robinson. "Mr. Clouthier is happy to make full restitution in this matter and looks forward to putting this period of time behind him."

Clouthier was charged with a felony count of embezzlement of at least $20,000, but less than $50,000, and a felony count of embezzlement of more than $1,000, but less than $20,000.

He pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of embezzlement between $200 to $1,000 on Nov. 8 before Washtenaw District Judge Elizabeth Pollard Hines.

Clouthier worked as the administrative director of the cancer center's stem cell program and was a senior researcher for 15 years, Robinson said.

"Mr. Clouthier was fully compliant through the whole process," Robinson said. "This was a situation, to where in exchange for the charges being reduced, we reached an agreement that Mr. Clouthier would be making any restitution of property that was lost by the institution."

Robinson said Clouthier has paid $30,000 in restitution and still owes $9,608.

Clouthier no longer works for the facility, Robinson said.
GENESEE COUNTY, MI -- A dusting of snow and some freezing drizzle has led to slick roads across Genesee County Thursday night.

Genesee County 911 is reporting personal injury crashes in the 7000 block of Irish Road in Davison Township, Lippincott Boulevard and North Averill Avenue in Flint, 12000 block on North Bray Road in Thetford Township, and Bristol and VanSlyke roads in Flint Township.

The National Weather Service issued a special weather statement noting patchy freezing drizzle is possible for the drive home and in Genesee, Shiawassee, Lapeer, Oakland, and St. Clair counties.

"The combination of patchy freezing drizzle and light snow will lead to locally hazardous and slick travel conditions for the evening commute, especially along less traveled and untreated roadways," per the weather statement. "Motorists should exercise caution if traveling this afternoon and evening, and be aware of potentially slippery roads, bridges, and overpasses."

High temperatures are forecast to reach into the mid 30s on Friday and rising into the low-to-mid 40's over the weekend in mid-Michigan, according to the weather service.
FLINT, MI - City officials say Nestle Waters North America has committed to supply Flint with approximately 1.8 million bottles of water during the first four months of next year.

"We appreciate that Nestle Waters has offered to extend supplying bottled water through the three Food Bank of Eastern Michigan Help Centers into 2019," Mayor Karen Weaver said in a news release

"Since the spring of 2018, Nestle Waters has generously provided approximately 3.2 million bottles of water to Flint, and this extension will increase their donation to nearly 5 million bottles."

A spokesman for Nestle' did not immediately comment on the announcement but said last week that the company was working on a new bottled water commitment for Flint.

The company recently highlighted its past water donations here in audio and video advertisements.

The video ad shows cases of Ice Mountain water delivered to the city and unloaded while a narrator says, "Some people have forgotten about Flint, but Nestle' Waters never did."

Critics contend the company draws millions of gallons of water for bottling from Michigan, but pays just $200 per facility for the water.

The city's announcement says residents can continue to receive bottled water at distribution centers from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays.
GRAND BLANC TWP., MI - A middle school was put on lockdown after someone called police because two men with long guns were walking in the woods near the building. Police say it appears the men were out hunting.

Genesee County 911 received a call about 8:17 a.m. on Friday, Nov. 30 about the men, who were in a wooded area and walking toward Grand Blanc East Middle School, 6100 Perry Road, according to a statement from Grand Blanc Township police.

The school resource officer was notified and the school went into secure mode while local, county and state police set up a perimeter, the statement said.

A Grand Blanc Township police K-9 tracked the two men, who were found together in the woods. Police said the men appeared to be hunting.

The men were taken into custody without incident. Police did not say if the men were wearing blaze orange clothing, which is required when firearm hunting in Michigan.

Investigators also did not say if the men had hunting licenses in their possession when found by police.

Police said the men were never on school property and students were not in danger.
GRAND RAPIDS, MI -- Michigan's second-busiest airport is searching for a new CEO.

Gerald R. Ford International Airport's latest CEO, James Gill, resigned Friday, Nov. 30, exactly two years after he was chosen for the position.

A press release from Ford Airport states Gill is leaving to pursue other jobs in the private sector. He will serve as a consultant to airport leadership as he searches for a new job, officials said in a release.

The Airport Authority Board hopes to replace Gill sometime in 2019. A national search firm will aid in the process.

Brian Picardat, a longtime airport employee currently serving as vice president and CFO, was selected to take over for Gill in the interim. Picardat will lead operations with the support of a five-person leadership team

"I have appreciated the opportunity to play a key role in this exciting growth chapter in the history of the Ford Airport," Gill said in a statement. "Working together, we have achieved many good things, positioning the airport for continued expansion and growth."

Under Gill's tenure, Ford Airport has increased direct flights, passenger numbers, parking spaces and non-airline revenue, according to the press release.

"Under the leadership of Jim Gill, Ford Airport has enjoyed double-digit growth in both passengers and non-airline revenue," Airport Authority Board Chairman Dan Koorndyk said in a statement. "He has overseen the successful completion of the first phase of our Gateway Transformation project, which is designed to enhance the customer experience."

The first phase of the Gateway Transformation Project wrapped up in fall 2017. Phase two is billed at $18 million and designed to improve airline ticket counters and baggage service offices, as well as baggage claim, curbside and "front-of-house" areas, according to an airport statement.

Gill has worked in the airport industry for years. Before coming to Grand Rapids, he served as chief financial officer and chief operating officer at the Pittsburgh airport authority.

Gill was hired on at Ford Airport with $255,000 starting salary.

"Jim is respected throughout the aeronautics industry," Koorndyk said in a statement. "He brought tremendous airport operational knowledge to West Michigan, allowing us to undertake significant enhancements to Ford Airport. We are gratified he will continue to work with our team in a consulting role."
GRAND RAPIDS, MI -- Grand Rapids residents and community stakeholders will have an opportunity next month to learn about a violence-prevention model the city and police department are considering incorporating into its crime fighting.

Cure Violence, a Chicago-based public health anti-violence program contracted by Grand Rapids for $7,500, will have representatives in town next month to host a pair of workshops on the violence-prevention model.

The workshops are scheduled for 6 p.m. Monday, Dec. 10, at Neland Christian Reformed Church, 940 Neland Ave. SE, and 6 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 12, at Salvation Army Kroc Center, 2500 S. Division Ave.

The events are two hours each and free to attend. Each workshop will include a presentation on the violence-prevention model, the screening of a short documentary about Cure Violence, and a question-and-answer session.

"This is a great opportunity for us to learn together as we prioritize evaluating alternative policing strategies," said Police Chief David Rahinsky in a press release. "We hope residents and other partners join us for this important step in our journey to strengthening community-police relations."

Cure Violence's model uses the same three components as health professionals use to reverse disease outbreaks -- interrupt the transmission of the disease, reduce the risk and change community norms -- to reduce violence. The approach seeks to:

Detect and interrupt conflict; Identify and treat the highest risk individuals; Change social norms.

The Grand Rapids City Commission agreed to contract with Cure Violence at a meeting in June. Mayor Rosalynn Bliss and the commissioners have since expressed further interest in determining if such non-traditional responses to violence could be successful in Grand Rapids.

Included in Cure Violence's assessment of Grand Rapids is the pair of workshops and meetings with city and community leaders, clergy and members of the Grand Rapids Police Department, city hall and local "grassroots partners."

The Cure Violence representatives will also be given tours of the city during their Dec. 10-13 visit.

Following the visit, Cure Violence's assessment team will provide the city with a report that includes the level of violence in the community, potential target areas and partnerships, opportunities for and challenges to program implementation, a proposed program structure and estimated costs.
HOLLAND, MI -- Holland police are investigating a rash of vehicle thefts, with half of them Honda Civics.

Police issued an alert about the thefts Friday, Nov. 30 and asked the public to be vigilant about protecting their vehicles.

Officers have investigated 13 stolen vehicles reports in the last month. Of those, seven involved Honda Civics that were made in the late 1990s and early 2000s.

Police said other police departments between Ottawa and Van Buren counties also have handled stolen-vehicle reports. Some of the vehicles stolen in Holland were recovered by other departments.

Police advise the public to park vehicles in secured buildings if possible.

They believe the thefts are likely related.

Anyone with information about the thefts can call police at 616-355-1150, email investigators at policetips@cityofholland.com or call Silent Observer at 1-877-887-4536.
IONIA COUNTY, MI - A Saranac-based food processing company - where safety inspectors found unsanitary conditions, including listeria bacteria - is shutting down after federal attorneys requested that the company cease operations until it complies with food safety rules, according to court documents filed Thursday.

Attorneys representing Saranac Brand Foods, 60 South Bridge Street, which prepared and distributed more than 30 ready-to-eat foods, including salads, dips, sauces and other products, said in a legal filing that the company intends to "dissolve as a legal entity as soon as practicable."

The company says it discontinued operations in early August.

The filing came on the same day as attorneys representing the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services filed a complaint in federal court in Grand Rapids asking a judge to grant a permanent injunction prohibiting the company from operating until it fixed its compliance issues.

The complaint documented numerous issues discovered by food safety inspectors during a Nov. 29, 2017 inspection at the facility, including the presence of listeria bacteria, which can cause fever and diarrhea. It also stated that inspectors witnessed employees spaying off a soiled food cart, causing "spray to be deflected onto an uncovered food car containing coleslaw," as well as employees failing to wash their hands before handling food and food-contact equipment.

Saranac Brands Food, which employed 14 people prior to closing, is owned by Dennis and Daniel Nowak.

They could not be reached for comment. But through their attorney, they issued a statement saying they were unaware of any foodborne illnesses caused by their products.

"Saranac Brand Foods, Inc. is a locally-owned food processing company that manufactured deli-salads and dips and served customers in Michigan for almost 55 years," the company's statement said.

"We have always placed great importance on producing high-quality food and on food safety. We are well aware of the Complaint and Consent Decree that was recently filed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). We agreed to enter the Consent Decree to resolve outstanding compliance issues raised by the FDA rather than in response to any known health concerns. Saranac Brand Foods is not aware of ANY food-borne illnesses and/or other health issues caused by any food products manufactured by the Company. Saranac Brand Foods ceased production of any and all food products over three months ago."

The company, under its legal filing, agreed to a consent decree under which it cannot again operate at its facility until it develops a listeria monitoring program, creates a food safety employee training program, and meets other training and safety requirements.
GRAND RAPIDS, MI - For the second time this week, Kent County Clerk Lisa Posthumus Lyons is apologizing for an election mistake involving the Nov. 6 Grand Rapids Community College Board of Trustees race.

On Friday, Nov. 30, Lyons said Allegan County Clerk Bob Genetski notified her late Tuesday that the GRCC race was omitted from the ballots in two townships in Allegan County.

The omission affected 1,594 voters in one precinct in Leighton Township and 17 voters in a Wayland Township precinct for a total 1,611 registered voters, according to Lori Latham, communications and public relations director for Kent County.

Those eligible to vote in the race spanned all or parts of six counties, including Allegan, Barry, Kent, Ionia, Newaygo and Ottawa.

"We take our role in this very seriously, and we apologize to all who are affected by this error," Lyons said.

"As the coordinating county for this race, I acknowledge that my office played a role in this election and for our part we are very disappointed that this happened, and we are taking steps to ensure that it doesn't happen again."

Earlier this week, Lyons announced that a Kent County data entry error had prompted GRCC candidate Sheryl Siegel to file for a recount in the race, which had four candidates squaring off for two, six-year seats.

The county mistakenly entered 244 Barry County votes for Siegel instead of 2,404 votes increasing her vote tally to surge ahead in her tight battle with Carlos Sanchez for the second open seat.

However, the error was discovered after the county had already certified Kathy Crosby, the top vote-getter, and Sanchez as the winners. The race will be certified again after the recount to confirm Siegel's new vote totals. Troy Williams was the fourth candidate in the race.

The ballot omission has no impact on the requested Barry County recount, tentatively slated to begin Dec. 13. Officials have 30 days to complete the process.

Once the recount is complete, Lyons said the results of the recount will stand as the final tally unless a challenge is filed related to the ballot-omission issue. Sanchez said he will weigh the pros and cons of a challenge over the weekend.

Here are the GRCC election results the county certified with the state Nov. 20 before the errors were discovered:

Kathy S. Crosby - 112,17 - 31.44 percent

Carlos Sanchez - 87,643 - 24.56 percent

Sheryl Siegel - 87,011 - 24.39 percent

Troy Williams - 66,695 - 18.69 percent

Write - in - 3,393 - .92 percent

Total votes - 356,816

Under Michigan Election Law rules, each county prepares and proofs its ballots. The county that prepares the ballot must then send a proof copy to each candidate and to the state Bureau of Elections, which is responsible for reviewing ballots for technical errors, according to a press release.

When that review process is complete, and approval is received from the state, the county election commission or county election staff conducts a final inspection before sending ballots to print.

The state recommends that the city or township clerks also inspect the ballots once received from the county to ensure no errors or omissions.

In this case, the GRCC race and candidate names were omitted from ballots in the qualifying precincts in Leighton and Wayland Townships; therefore, Allegan County ballots were not sent to GRCC Trustee candidates for review.

"While my office is not required to proof the ballots from participating counties, we did receive a proof ballot from Allegan County for the Caledonia Public Schools election within one of the precincts," Lyons said.

"On that ballot, GRCC should have been on that proof along with Caledonia, so we could have and should have caught it at that time."

As the filing official in the GRCC Trustee race, the Kent County Clerk's Office was required to notify county clerks in all participating counties of the candidates' names and addresses within six days of the candidate filing deadline.

To meet this obligation, Lyons said county elections staff uploaded candidate information into an elections software database that all counties have access to review. She said their review will consider whether this is sufficient.

"It is not defined in statute how we notify but going forward we will review our best practices and make sure we are coordinating and communicating with all our participating counties in the most effective manner," she said.

She said other county clerk offices requested and were sent an email list of the candidates on the ballot but not Allegan. In hindsight, she said they should have sent an email to Allegan as well.

Genetski could not be reached for comment Friday about Allegan County's role but the Allegan clerk is quoted in a press release on the omission.

"This is an unfortunate situation. We take our role in working with other counties on election matters very seriously," he said, in the release. "We are working with Kent County officials to improve election coordination in the future."

Since learning of the omission, Lyons said they've explored every option available "to set this right."

But based on their research and on consultation with the Bureau of Elections, she said they determined there are no options available to her to address this issue.

Lyons said no one person was responsible for the ballot omission oversight.

"When it comes to a complex race like this when it is multiple counties, many individuals and agencies had a role in the production, printing and proofing of ballots, and notifying clerks of who's on the ballot and unfortunately it was missed at every single level," she said.

"However, my number one priority has always been to ensure the integrity of our elections, so I am already taking steps in my office to safeguard the process to make sure this never happens again."
GRAND RAPIDS, MI - A man who prepared nearly $2 million in fraudulent tax returns has been sentenced to 3 1/2 years in federal prison.

Faheem Olugbodi, 48, a.k.a. Faheem Abdul Nichols, was ordered to pay $1,827,450 in restitution. He will also spend two years on supervised release when his prison term ends.

His family said he is a good family man and owner of a small business who regrets his crimes.

Between 2011 and 2013 Olugbodi collected taxpayers' personal information and reported false income to get tax refunds based on the Earned Income Tax Credit, IRS-Criminal Investigation determined.

The defendant acknowledged he obtained the funds by filing about 320 fraudulent tax returns.

At his sentencing hearing before U.S. District Judge Gordon Quist in Grand Rapids, evidence showed he used multiple bank accounts to conceal the crime. He used one account in the name of a Grand Rapids mosque, Baitul Shukur.

Quist said that such schemes appear to be on the rise and carry "a social cost as well as financial cost."

U.S. Attorney Andrew Birge urged people to be wary of unregistered tax preparers who promise guaranteed refunds. He said taxpayers should get copies of returns prepared by others and make sure information is accurate.

"Tax preparers who abuse the Earned Income Tax Credit are just engaged in theft by another name," he said.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Raymond Beckering III wrote in a sentencing memorandum: "The defendant directed the refunds be payable to multiple bank accounts that he controlled, including an account in the name of a local mosque, allowing him to hide the actual amount of the refunds from his clients and keep a substantial portion of the fraudulent proceeds for himself.

"This conduct calls for serious consequences to punish the offender and deter others from engaging in an all-too-common fraud scheme that has infected this country and this community."

For example, he said, the defendant told a woman just out of a shelter that she could get a tax refund just because she had three children. After talking to her on the phone, he prepared a tax return that resulted in a $7,431 refund.

He deposited funds in the mosque bank account and sent the woman a $4,500 cashier's check. The next year, he used her information to obtain $4,415 that was deposited onto a prepaid debit card.

The woman did not receive any of those fraudulent returns, the prosecutor said.

"By repeatedly directing the deposit of refund checks into various bank accounts he controlled, the defendant was able to hide from his clients the actual amount of their refunds and keep a substantial portion for himself. Looking at just one account he controlled, the defendant directed the deposit of $197,685.34 in tax refunds in January 2011 and $136,098.39 in such refunds in February 2011," Beckering said.

Defense attorney Charles "Chip" Chamberlain Jr. said his client stopped the scheme on his own in January 2012.

He said his client never held himself out as a license tax preparer. He did not have a Preparer Tax Identification Number which is required to file returns for others.

He had the skills of any taxpayer.

Chamberlain said his client is a "proud" married father of six, with a close relationship with his mother. He was to pay $50,000 in restitution at sentencing.

Chamberlain provided 13 letters from Olugbodi's family and friends offering support.

"As the letters of support demonstrate, Mr. Nichols has led a good life and is a proud and loving father, husband and son. He is a dedicated member of his community who is concerned about those around him. He takes great pride in being a small business owner and lifting up those around him," Chamberlain wrote.

The defendant's wife, Fareeda Nichols, said he works hard to support his family. He also likes to help others, in particular, poor families in their religious community.

"I can say honestly as his wife, he really has a very beautiful, and kind heart. His true character is that of a loving father, and husband. He is a very spiritual man, and that is what I love most about him. His mistakes do not define him."

She said he has expressed "great regret" for his crimes.

"No amount of money is what the precious time that we will lose as a family," she said.

The defendant met his father for the first time six years ago. His mother believed someone else was his father.

Peter Nichols said he and his son, born in Vicksburg, Mississippi, quickly bonded. The son asked his father if he wanted to take a paternity test. He said no.

"Faheem had grown up without a father in his life, and he spent time in a boys home back when he was young. It was clear he felt the absence of a father in his life. I told him that no paternity test was necessary. Faheem needed a father, and I was going to be that to him. It was just that simple."

He said he blamed himself for his son's troubles.

"I am disappointed, but not in Faheem. I am disappointed with myself as a father. I failed because Faheem was brought up without a father to guide him. No matter what your children do, you always feel that you failed as a parent. That does not change if you met your child on the day or his birth or 42 years later," Nichols wrote.
Michiganders in November voted in a Democrat as Michigan's top cop, but a bill introduced in the state House Thursday would empower the GOP-held Legislature in the courtroom.

If passed, House Bill 6553 would authorize both houses of the Legislature "to intervene in any action commenced in any court of this state whenever the Legislature or a house of the Legislature deems such intervention necessary in order to protect any right or interest of this state, or of that body."

The bill is seen by Democrats as a way to weaken the attorney general's office, which has fallen out of GOP control for the first time since 2002.

"The Attorney General-elect strongly believes in a smooth transition of power and authority," said Kelly Rossman, a communications director for Attorney General-elect Dana Nessel's transition team, in a statement. "However, she is deeply concerned and troubled by the hasty legislative efforts to push through a proposal that has not been properly vetted and appears to be an intentional effort on the part of some legislators to undermine the role of the state's Attorney General."

Nessel stands in opposition to the legislation, according to Rossman.

The bill's sponsor, state Rep. Rob VerHeulen, R-Walker, could not be reached for comment, but he did speak with Gongwer, the Lansing-based legislative news service that first reported about the bill on Thursday.

"I don't view it as partisan, I view it as institutional," VerHeulen told Gongwer. "It is a voice for the Legislature independent of the executive to express its views in a court room."

The bill has been referred to the House Government Operations Committee. It would need to be approved by the full House, full Senate and signed by Gov. Rick Snyder to become law.

Governor-elect Gretchen Whitmer is keeping an eye on this bill and all lame duck legislation Republicans are working on in the state House and Senate, according to a spokeswomen.

"The transition team is aware of the proposed bill, and is monitoring all pending legislation during lame duck as part of an overall effort to ensure the Governor-elect is prepared to assume office on January 1," said Clare Liening, a representative of Whitmer's transition team, in a statement.

Other lame duck legislation includes bills that would gut marijuana tax revenue, take campaign finance oversight out of the Secretary of State office and postpone a hike in the minimum wage.

The GOP will still control both chambers of the Legislature come January but lost races for governor, attorney general and secretary of state on Election Day. For the first time in eight years, Michigan will have a divided government.
A bill proposed by outgoing Senate Majority Leader Arlan Meekhof, R-West Olive, would significantly change the voter-approved recreational marijuana program in Michigan, including by drastically lowering the tax revenue the state is set to receive.

Proposal 1 passed with 56 percent of the vote Nov. 6. It will take effect next week.

Meekhof, R-West Olive, introduced the bill Thursday.

In addition to lowering the tax rate from 10 percent to three percent, the bill cuts out Michigan's schools and roads from receiving tax revenue from legal marijuana. The state's six percent sales tax would still apply, said Amber McCann, Meekhof's spokeswoman.

"It's disrespectful to the political process and it's disrespectful to the voters of Michigan," said Josh Hovey, spokesman for the coalition behind the ballot proposal, of Meekhof's bill.

"The people of Michigan have spoken. They knew what they were voting on."

Tax revenue from marijuana sales could reach $287.9 million by the time the market matures in Michigan under the tax structure in Proposal 1, according to a Senate Fiscal Agency analysis. It's unclear how much revenue Meekhof's proposal would draw.

Under Proposal 1, Michigan has one of the lowest tax rates on adult-use marijuana in the country. Under Meekhof's proposed bill, Michigan would have the lowest tax rate in the country. The bill redirects the revenue to municipalities (25 percent), counties (30 percent) and county sheriffs (5 percent) that have marijuana facilities, and 30 percent for state police, police training and first responder disability benefits.

Meekhof's bill, Senate Bill 1243, proposes other major changes to the voter-approved Proposal 1; including eliminating the ability for individuals to grow marijuana at home and cutting out a micro-grower's license.

Proposal 1 allows for individuals to grow up to 12 plants at home, and up to 150 plants with a micro-grower's license.

"I personally have concerns with the home grow part of it, we've left that wide open on the back side there," Meekhof said to reporters before Thanksgiving. "I don't know that this state would hire folks or locals would hire folks to go around and see if everybody is only growing 12 plants."

Meekhof said he doesn't envision people lining up to pay taxes on marijuana when they can grow their own at home.

"I've just thought that was irresponsible from day one," said Scott Greenlee, president of the opposition campaign to Proposal 1, about home cultivation of cannabis.

He applauded Meekhof's efforts, and said: "Many real estate folks I've talked to have great concerns about what that will do to housing prices."

Of the 10 states and Washington D.C. where adult-use marijuana is legalized, just one state -- Washington -- does not allow for growing at home.

"We were trying to move forward in a fair way to allow small business to flourish," said Matt Abel, a cannabis lawyer and one of the authors of Proposal 1. "The Republicans will tell you they support small business; well that's not true. It's clear that the Republicans don't want us to have marijuana until they can sell it to us."

Meekhof's proposed bill mainly attempts to make recreational marijuana more similar to the medical marijuana program that's in place: large portions of Senate Bill 1243 have seemingly duplicate portions of the Michigan Medical Marihuana Facilities Licensing Act of 2016.

Namely, Meekhof wants to put the control of licensing recreational marijuana businesses under the control of an appointed board and subject applicants to the same stringent licensing application process. The Medical Marihuana Licensing Board has come under heavy scrutiny from industry operators, as the medical program has been slow to launch and is barely functioning.

The bill also proposes changes to the way municipalities decide whether to allow businesses to open up shop, and would remove the ability for citizens to challenge their local government's vote by placing an initiative on the ballot.

"I think it's a Hail Mary attempt to satisfy some big business interests and wealthy donors who want to get into the industry," Hovey said.

It will be a heavy lift for Meekhof to get the votes needed to change Proposal 1.

Once the people of Michigan vote to put a law in place the legislature needs a three-fourths vote to change it, instead of the simple majority that is usually required.

Republicans have majorities in both chambers but would need votes from Democrats to get to that number -- particularly in the House of Representatives.

"Those others who are starting new terms in January should think twice about tinkering with this without consulting those of us who wrote it," Abel said. "The sentiment in the community is no way in hell is [Meekhof] going to get the votes in the House."

That math is part of why the legislature earlier this year proposed adopting the measure themselves, making it easier to amend with a simple majority. But ultimately Republicans in the House didn't support the plan, and it fell apart.

-- Amy Biolchini is the marijuana beat reporter for MLive. Contact her with questions, tips or comments at abiolch1@mlive.com.

Read more from MLive about recreational marijuana.
Macomb County District Court Judge Catherine Steenland was sentenced to suspended jail sentences and probation for her role in a hit-and-run crash in Metro Detroit.

Steenland, of the 39th District Court in Roseville, was charged with failure to stop at the scene of a personal injury accident and failure to report an accident.

The 51-year-old judge was sentenced to a suspended year jail sentence upon completion of a year-long probation program, and a suspended 90-day sentence upon the contingent she attend substance abuse counseling. Steenland must also pay $1,000 in fines and serve 100 hours of community service.

The judge was arraigned on Friday, Nov. 30 in 72nd District Court in Marine City.

Back in 2008, Steenland was censured and suspended after being arrested for impaired driving while in Ogemaw County. At the time, she had a reported blood-alcohol level of 0.23 percent which was nearly three times the legal limit.

Her recent run-in with law occurred back on Sept. 25, 2017 when officers were called to a hit-and-run in Roseville. The Wayne County Prosecutor's Office reports that a 31-year-old man told police that a woman driving a red sedan hit his car and fled the scene.

A Michigan State Police investigation revealed that after receiving a vehicle description, license plate number and conducting witness interviews that the main suspect was indeed Steenland.

The Detroit Free Press reports through FOIA findings that the victim told police the suspect was driving "as if she was highly intoxicated." The newspaper reports the judge was first elected in 2002, and was recently granted another six years in 2016 by running unopposed.

Steenland's attorney tells the Free Press that the judge has accepted responsibility, and recently had back surgeries in recent years which has added to personal and professional stresses.

"The alleged actions of this judge are disturbing," Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy said in an emailed statement. "A judge is the ultimate example of one who should be held to the highest standards of the law."
Michigan State University's search for a new president will be kept confidential, closing the process to the public until the board releases the name of the person selected, according to a letter sent to MSU students and staff today.

The "closed" search process means that the public will not be informed on who is interviewing for the position, and there will be no public vetting of candidates.

"We have listened to the MSU community, and we understand and appreciate concerns raised about trust and transparency in the search process," said the letter, which is signed by Dianne Byrum and Melanie Foster, the search committee co-chairs and members of the MSU Board of Trustees.

The letter said the board and the 19-member search committee "have had extensive discussions about whether the search should be open or confidential."

The decision was made to keep the search confidential "to draw the strongest pool of candidates" -- a priority among those who participated in the community input sessions, the letter said

A closed search process also was recommended by Teresa Sullivan, the former president of University of Virginia whom MSU hired as a search consultant, and by Storbeck|Pimentel, the search firm hired by the MSU board.

"Both have advised that the majority of presidential searches at research-intensive universities during the past three years have been confidential, as most highly qualified candidates are not willing to be recruited for an open search," the ltter said.

"Additionally, MSU is competing for highly qualified presidential candidates at the same time as several other universities around the country, most of which are conducting confidential searches," the letter continued.

The decision to conduct a confidential search is "frustrating" to many in the MSU community, said Natalie Rogers, a spokeswoman for Reclaim MSU, a coalition of students, faculty, staff and alumni pushing for institutional reforms in the wake of the Larry Nassar controversy.

It was the Nassar scandal that forced out MSU President Lou Anna Simon amid calls for greater transparency and openness by MSU administration and board.

While it's "not surprising" that the search will be kept confidential, Rogers said, "it's another blow."

"After everything this university has gone through, having a closed process means that you're cutting off engagement from the beginning, and that could yield the opposite of what we want in a new president," Rogers said.

The 19-member search committee -- which includes faculty, staff and students -- will review candidates and participate in the interviewing and vetting of finalists.

That committee has begun to accept confidential nominations for the president's post, the letter said.

"The search committee members represent the stakeholders of the MSU community and have diverse backgrounds and experiences that embody the highest ethical standards. Their opinions are valued and respected, and they will be important partners in the interviewing and vetting of candidates," the letter said.

The committee will make a recommendation to the MSU Board of Trustees, which is expected to make a final decision in June 2019.

MSU has created a web page -- msu.edu/presidentialsearch -- to keep the public updated about the search process. The website includes notes from the 22 community input sessions. Also on the website are the position advertisement and the presidential prospectus.
DETROIT - There's hustling to meet curfew, then there's what state police in Detroit caught this teenager doing: Flying down I-75 at 138 mph in a 2012 Chevy.

The 17-year-old was busted last Friday night around 8:45 p.m. He was zipping down the left lane of the highway near Holly Road.

The teen was trying to get off on the exit, but was nabbed by a Michigan State Police trooper from the Metro North Post.

"The driver ... stated that he was traveling so fast and passing other cars and ducking in and out of lanes because he was late for his 9:30 p.m. curfew. The trooper gave the kid a break on the reckless driving charge, but he did earn a ticket for 138/70 and the SMH award," police said on Twitter.

People's responses on the police Twitter feed are pretty funny. One person said he was amazed a 2012 Chevy could go that fast.

While police did not say how much a speeding ticket for 68 mph over the limit will cost, online sites listing Michigan prices show tickets for 26+ miles over the limit start at $155, then add $4 per mile, so ... ouch. Going more than 16 mph over the limit can also net you four points on your driver's license, according to the Michigan Secretary of State.
BROOKLYN, MI - A Brooklyn business owner plans to host a meeting to gauge support for the idea of dissolving the village of Brooklyn into Columbia Township.

The meeting starts at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 4 at the Brooklyn Super 8, 419 S. Main St.

Tom Knutson - whose family owns Knutson's Sporting Goods and the Super 8 in the village - is organizing the meeting.

"The village council has not been listening to the people of Brooklyn for quite some time," Knutson said. "The system right now is not working. And the village is not willing to change, so there has to be some other outlet."

The village of 1,188 residents is in the southeast corner of Jackson County.

Knutson cites issues like the village ramping up strict ordinance enforcement and approving Public Works Department improvements that residents spoke out against. He anticipates savings on taxes, too, if the village is dissolved.

Knutson lives in Napoleon Township.

Disincorporation of a village under Michigan Law requires approval of a ballot measure by two-thirds of voters.

Supporters would have to collect signatures from 15 percent of registered voters in the village to get the issue on an election ballot.

In the 2018 general election, the village had 979 registered voters - meaning they'd need about 147 signatures.

"I could do that with my eyes closed," Knutson said. "That's the easy part."

The challenge, Knutson said, would be getting two-thirds of the voters to approve the disincorporation. Both village residents and township residents would vote in the election.

"Getting two-thirds of the people in this country to do anything right now is a steep, steep, steep hill to climb," Knutson said.

Village Manager Jae Guetschow said a lot of services and events would disappear if the village was dissolved.

Nine people work for the village, and there are seven board spots and nine planning commissioners who receive stipends for meeting attendance.

Some village council members plan to attend Tuesday's meeting, Guetschow said.

"It may just be one person's complaints against the village," he said.

While state law allows for a village to dissolve, it's never been done in Michigan history. The most recent attempt was when voters in the village of Richland - near Kalamazoo - handily voted down disincorporation in May 2016.

Knutson said it would be easier in Brooklyn than in some other villages, since it already doesn't offer police and fire services.

Brooklyn was founded in 1832 as Swainsville, before becoming Brooklyn in 1836 after a vote of the people. The area surrounding the village includes four large lakes and Michigan International Speedway.

"One thing that would disappear if the village were to dissolve is community identity," Guetschow said. "The name Brooklyn, essentially, in Michigan, would no longer exist."
KALAMAZOO, MI -- A Kalamazoo developer is receiving incentives to build offices and 18 market-rate apartments northwest of downtown.

Developer 615 Holdings LLC plans to redevelop a property formerly used as an auto body repair shop at 615 W. Kalamazoo Ave. The $4 million project would replace an existing structure with two three-story buildings, each totaling 12,000 square feet, and is expected to create 20-24 full-time jobs.

The project received support from city and Kalamazoo County brownfield redevelopment authorities. Planning Commission documents show the building has asbestos while petroleum and heavy metals contaminate the soil.

A brownfield plan was approved to reimburse the developer for $539,000 in environmental remediation costs with property and school taxes. The tax dollars would be collected over a 15-year period, expected to start in 2020 but no later than 2023.

Developers also requested the city's brownfield authority apply for a $265,000 grant with the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality. Environmental assessments were paid for earlier this year through the Kalamazoo County Brownfield Redevelopment Authority.

The city of Kalamazoo would pass up $7,898 in tax revenue annually in exchange for a guarantee that the development will hit job-creation goals. Almost $4,000 in state education tax dollars and $11,762 in local school taxes would be captured annually.

The project started when Kalamazoo Attorney William K. Murphy was looking for new office space. Murphy represented owners of Rorick Brothers Auto Body, which closed in 2006, and had struggled with them to find a use for the 6,800-square-foot building for years.

All their efforts failed because renovation costs would have been "tremendous," Murphy said.

Murphy partnered with Justin Gregory, a local financial planner, and New York developer Ron Fe on a new plan to demolish the blighted auto body repair building. The "Rorick Center" will be built by 2020, named in honor of Berrnie Rorick and his late brother Robert.

The land and an adjacent parcel were purchased for a total of $195,000 by 10th Street Enterprises LLC.

Murphy hopes to take advantage of growth on the west end of downtown Kalamazoo, particularly upcoming PlazaCorp developments near Arcadia Creek and a new county courthouse.

"We became aware that there will be a lot of building on that west side one way or another," Murphy said. "There are a lot of people who want to live close to downtown. We thought the west side of downtown will be expanded and it is. That's what spurred us on to do this."

Each building will have two commercial offices, one accessible single-bedroom apartment on the ground floor and eight single-bedroom apartments on the second and third floors. Murphy said monthly rental rates haven't been determined, but they will likely cost less than $1,500.

Rooms that cost around $1,500 per month are affordable for a person making around $57,840 a year, according to Michigan State Housing Development Authority figures.

Murphy plans to move his law practice into one of the offices. A real estate office and possibly a financial planner could be located in the other portions, he said.

The project is located at the eastern edge of the Stuart neighborhood, surrounded by a bed and breakfast, multi-family residential housing, commercial structures, an Amtrak railroad line and M-43.

Murphy said he's encouraged by support from residents in the historic Stuart neighborhood. A 2017 letter from the Stuart Area Restoration Association expressed support for the project among residents and city documents show the city's Historic District Commission approved tearing down the existing building.

However, the project took some heat when it came before the City Commission this summer. At the time, protesters who organized homeless encampment in Bronson Park dominated city meetings with demands for more low-income housing in Kalamazoo.

The project attracted criticism from several residents who said it would displace people in the Stuart neighborhood. At a July Planning Commission meeting, a resident expressed concern that the project feels like "gentrification at its worst," according to meeting minutes.

In September, Commissioner Shannon Sykes Nehring slammed the project for not including low-income units. She was the only commissioner who voted against rezoning the property to allow mixed-uses.

There needs to be 3,000 to 5,000 more quality affordable housing units to meet a shortage, based on city estimates.

During the September meeting, Commissioner Jack Urban said displacement is inevitable. Urban stated the City Commission was responsible for everyone in the city, including the homeless, but not every issue in the City should be viewed through the lens of homelessness.

Community Planning and Development Director Rebekah Kik said MSHDA does not grant affordable housing tax credits for projects within 300 feet of significant noise. Rail lines behind the property would most likely make it ineligible for MSHDA funding or tax credits, she said.

Murphy said Friday that the project was always intended to include market-rate apartments, but developers couldn't finance a low-income project without tax credits. He expects the development will raise property values in the area and clean up a blighted site.

Commissioner Anderson expressed support growing the city's tax base, which funds social services. City documents state the property's current taxable value is $79,540, which could rise to $737,730.

"Projects like ours, which will provide taxes, will help a lot of projects that assist homeless folks in town," Murphy said. "(Offering low-income units) wasn't considered because of where we are and the amount of space we could devote to it."

City Commissioners voted 6-1 to rezone the land from a manufacturing district to Zone CMU, which allows commercial and mixed-use developments.

From a purely zoning perspective, it made sense to open the site to mixed-use development, Mayor Bobby Hopewell said at the time. He also asked developers to consider the needs of the community and add affordable housing units to the project.
KALAMAZOO, MI -- Loyal Food Dance customers attended the popular downtown restaurant's "Grand Re-opening Party" Thursday.

After a late September fire left the business with two months' worth of cleanup and repairs, Food Dance patrons were left waiting for the restaurant's doors to reopen.

The reopening event drew hundreds to the restaurant Thursday, Nov. 29. Attendees were treated to signature Food Dance menu items and desserts and pastries made by the restaurant's new bakery and pastry chef.

"The outpouring from the community is phenomenal -- really amazing," Food Dance owner Julie Stanley said.

She said she missed speaking to customers during the nine weeks of restaurant repair and cleanup after the fire.

The restaurant will resume normal hours Friday, Nov. 30, opening at 7 a.m. for breakfast.

On the morning of Friday, Sept. 28, a fire started in the restaurant's kitchen hood and spread up through the exhaust ducts of the building at 401 E. Michigan Ave.

Stanley said the fire was the direct result of lack of cleaning by the company that cleans the hood and exhaust system.

Stanley said clear communication between the restaurant and its landlords contributed to the ability to reopen.

It was important to be reopened for the Christmas season, Stanley said.

"It was incredibly hard and stressful the last nine weeks," she said. "It was never a question if we would open, just when."

Employees of Food Dance continued being paid through the restaurant's insurance, Stanley said.

For those who would usually make some of their wage through tips, Stanley said other restaurants in the area reached out to offer temporary employment and help fill catering orders when the restaurant was closed. Hadaway Cleaning & Restoration also temporarily employed some of the business staff.

Food Dance was founded 24 years ago and has been at its current location since 2007. Stanley said the business strives to contribute to the community by sharing a love and excitement for food and the people who grow it.

Throughout the repair process, Stanley has thanked the community repeatedly for its support through letters on the Food Dance website.

Susan and Rollin Mettler drove an hour to attend the Food Dance reopening event.

"They're very welcoming, accepting, eclectic group of people," Rollin Mettler said.

Susan Mettler said she and her husband have been coming to the restaurant for almost 25 years because they are guaranteed quality food and service from a well trained staff.

"We just love this place," she said. "It's wonderful."
ROSS TOWNSHIP, MI - Applause and cheering erupted from Ross Township community members as the township's board of trustees passed an ordinance to ban recreational marijuana facilities in the township.

After a turbulent local election season for Ross Township, newly sworn in officials held their first meeting Thursday, Nov. 29.

The ordinance bans any growers, safety compliance facilities, micro businesses, retailers, processors, transporters or any other type of recreational marijuana businesses licensed through the Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs from opening in Ross Township.

The ordinance passed unanimously, and will go into effect Jan. 1, 2019.

Recreational marijuana will be legal in Michigan Dec. 6, allowing anyone 21 and older to purchase, possess and use marijuana and marijuana-infused edibles, and grow up to 12 marijuana plants per household for personal consumption. Ross Township's ordinance can't prohibit people from using marijuana.

Medical marijuana facilities cannot apply for licensing until LARA creates a regulatory structure to license businesses, Ross Township Attorney Rob Thall said. It could take up to a year for the state to establish these guidelines.

"We're just trying to get it in and on the books as soon as reasonably possible," Thall said.

This is not the first time marijuana facilities have been a popular agenda item for the Ross Township board.

Residents of Ross Township were outraged earlier this year after learning the former township board passed ordinances in late 2017 allowing medical marijuana facilities to open in residential zoning districts.

Residents formed the group "Ross Township for Sustainable Development," which gained hundreds of members. The group -- many of whom learned about the ordinances months after they passed -- called for further transparency from officials.

After hearing outrage from residents, the board later reversed its decision, opting to not allow any medical marijuana businesses in Ross Township.

Despite the reversal of the ordinances, many members of the group were inspired to seek seats on the board and filed recall petitions against sitting officials.

After the turmoil from earlier this year, many members of the group "Ross Township for Sustainable Development" were excited to see the board, largely made up of newly elected members, opt out of recreational marijuana at the Thursday meeting.

Board members started to discuss the possibility of banning recreational marijuana facilities as a precautionary measure before the November election.

Linda Waters spoke just before the board passed the opt-out ordinance.

"I just want to say, as members of the community, we were always told we were a small group and we couldn't change anything," Walters said. "I just want to say I'm proud to be here tonight to witness this."

This was the first meeting for four newly elected officials on the Ross Township Board of Trustees.

Swearing in of newly elected Ross Township officials 18 Gallery: Swearing in of newly elected Ross Township officials

In the November midterm election, voters elected Robert Baker to the Ross Township supervisor position and Lynn Harmon, Dave Senkewitz and Mike Sulka to the Board of

The four campaigned together through primaries into the November midterm election as members of the Ross Township group against marijuana facilities coming into the township.

Baker, Harmon and Senkewitz took seats formerly held by appointed board members who filled them after elected members resigned.

Sulka took the seat of Trustee Sidney Durham through a recall election. Durham was two years into a full four-year term on the board.

Through recall petitions drafted earlier this year, members of the opposition group collected enough signatures to trigger a November recall election against elected Trustees Durham and Diana Langshaw, and Treasurer Cynthia Genung.

Sulka challenged Durham, Christian Chojnowski challenged Genung and Michael Bekes challenged Langshaw.

Only Sulka managed to unseat a trustee through the recalls. The other recall challengers lost by narrow margins, according to unofficial election results.

Genung and Langshaw retained their seats for the remainder of their four-year terms. Formerly appointed Ross Township Clerk Norm Kellogg was elected to remain on the board.

The three former members of the board were joined by Baker, Harmon, Senkewitz and Sulka for the Thursday meeting.
KALAMAZOO, MI -- Police in Kalamazoo are investigating the robbery of a PNC Bank.

Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety officers responded to the bank at 4320 Stadium Drive around 10:30 a.m. Two African American men displayed small caliber hand guns and demanded money, according to KDPS.

Employees described the suspects to police as a taller man wearing a dark sweat suit and a shorter man wearing a white jacket. The taller man jumped behind the front counter, waved a gun and grabbed money from the open drawers. The shorter man stayed behind the counter and continued to demand money, according to police.

The men escaped with an unknown amount of cash.

Both suspects ran to the north, according to police. Police used a K-9 to track to the area of Debbie Lane, but police did not find the suspects.

No one was injured in the robbery.

KDPS is working with the Federal Bureau of Investigation to identify the suspects. Anyone with information about the robbery can call KDPS at (269) 337-8139 or Silent Observer at (269) 343-2100.
KALAMAZOO, MI -- A portion of Western Michigan University is getting a new look, and the designs were unveiled Thursday.

Designs of new apartments and a student center and dining facility revealed Thursday, Nov. 29, show a drastic change to the university's campus.

The South Neighborhood on campus, along Stadium Drive, will undergo construction in the coming years. The project will completely reimagine about a quarter of the campus, university spokesperson Paula Davis said.

The new student housing project is located on the site of the former Elmwood Apartments, which were demolished over the summer. The apartments are expected to be open for use by 2020.

"The overarching design goals of this new housing project are twofold: first, to provide the latest and greatest in student housing amenities, incorporating cutting-edge design elements geared toward the student of the future," the university website said. "As such, it will be used to strengthen the University's recruitment and retention goals."

A student center and dining facility will be another major project of the South Neighborhood Sub-Campus Master Plan.

The student center will include an information and welcome center, student support services, lounge space, retail and food options and meeting spaces, the website said.

It is expected to open in 2021.
MUSKEGON COUNTY, MI - A Norton Shores man will spend at least seven years in prison for repeatedly sexual abusing a child.

Steven Ray Miller, 52, was convicted by a jury of three counts of second-degree criminal sexual conduct involving a child under age 13.

The case involved the repeated sexual touching of a young girl, according to Muskegon County Chief Assistant Prosecutor Timothy Maat.

The child, a relative of Miller's, revealed the abuse to her mother who took the child to a hospital emergency room to be examined, Maat said.

Miller has no prior criminal history.

The verdict was announced on Oct. 18, and Miller was sentenced on Wednesday, Nov. 28, by Muskegon County Circuit Judge Timothy Hicks.

Hicks ordered Miller to serve a minimum of seven years and a maximum of 15 years in the Michigan Department of Corrections. He was given credit for 41 days he already served in the Muskegon County Jail.
SAGINAW, MI -- A homicide that occurred in July in Saginaw sparked a drug-related investigation that led to raids and arrests this week, with at least two people expected to face charges related to the death.

On Thursday, Nov. 29, federal agents along with Michigan State Police, BAYANET, Michigan Department of Corrections and other law enforcement agencies served five search warrants throughout Saginaw County.

The search warrants were executed in the 1900 and 2200 blocks of Glenwood, the 2200 block of Sheridan, 4700 block of Strathmore in Buena Vista Township and 4700 block of Colonial Drive in Saginaw Township, according to MSP Lt. David Kaiser.

Two people were taken into custody and police seized firearms, marijuana, scales, cellphones, three vehicles and currency.

One vehicle is suspected of being used in the homicide of Kossie Omar Williams and was sent to the crime lab for processing, Kaiser said.

Williams, 32, was found dead of multiple gunshot wounds on July 7 at 3236 Ruckle St. on Saginaw's East Side.

Kaiser said a narcotics investigation was launched shortly after William's death. The investigation led to Thursday's raids and homicide charges expected for at least two people in connection with William's death.

Names of those charged are being withheld pending further investigation.

Names of the two people arrested during the raids also were not released.
SAGINAW, MI - The day before their trial was to begin, a married couple accused of sexually abusing a minor and forcing her to eat and smoke cigarettes have pleaded to a reduced - and seldom used - charge.

Kyle D. Roy, 34, and Jennifer E. Roy, 47, on Tuesday, Nov. 27, appeared before Saginaw County Circuit Judge Janet M. Boes and both pleaded no contest a count of seduction. The statute, which dates to 1931, states "Any man who shall seduce and debauch any unmarried woman shall be guilty of a felony."

Seduction is punishable by up to five years in prison and a $2,500 fine.

Saginaw County Assistant Prosecutor Demond Tibbs said the charge was agreed to as a way to avoid trial and prevent two alleged victims - as Kyle Roy is accused of sexually assaulting a second minor - from having to testify.

"They wanted closure," Tibbs said.

He added the seduction conviction requires the defendants to be on the National Sex Offender Registry for 15 years.

The charge is often found on websites listing so-called "dumb laws" throughout the country, akin to other Michigan laws banning the sale of motor vehicles on Sundays and prohibiting drunkenness on trains.

In exchange for the Roys' pleas, the prosecution agreed to dismiss the following counts against them:

Kyle Roy -- two counts of third-degree child abuse and single counts of first- and second-degree criminal sexual conduct. In a separate file and involving a second victim, two more counts of second-degree criminal sexual conduct and one count of accosting a child for immoral purposes.

Jennifer Roy -- single counts of third-degree child abuse, first-degree criminal sexual conduct, and second-degree criminal sexual conduct.

By pleading no contest, the Roys did not verbally admit to having committed any crime. Judge Boes had to rely on police reports to enter convictions on the record.

According to court records, the Roys from November 2014 through October 2016 sexually and physically abused a teenage girl. The Roys were dating but not married at the time; they wed in October 2016.

The reports state the Roys made the girl "eat half a pack of cigarettes and smoke half a pack of cigarettes."

In his second case, Kyle Roy was accused of sexually assaulting another minor from May through December 2014.

Judge Boes is to sentence the Roys on Jan. 8.
BUENA VISTA, MI -- Police are asking residents to avoid the area of Whittier between 26th and 27th streets in Buena Vista Township.

Michigan State police were executing a search warrant on Whittier about 4 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 30, according to police.

Police said they are getting conflicting information, but the incident is being treated as a barricaded person.

An MLive photographer was asked to leave the area after being told he was in the line of fire.

The area is blocked off, however, M-46 (Holland) remains open.
NASA says that nine U.S.-based companies are now eligible to bid on delivery services to the Moon "as one of the first steps toward long-term scientific study and human exploration of the Moon and eventually Mars."

The space agency reports that these companies will now bid to help deliver science and technology payloads Earth to the surface of the moon. Selected companies include:

Astrobotic Technology, Inc.: Pittsburgh

Deep Space Systems: Littleton, Colorado

Draper: Cambridge, Massachusetts

Firefly Aerospace, Inc.: Cedar Park, Texas

Intuitive Machines, LLC: Houston

Lockheed Martin Space: Littleton, Colorado

Masten Space Systems, Inc.: Mojave, California

Moon Express: Cape Canaveral, Florida

Orbit Beyond: Edison, New Jersey

Meet the 9 US companies who we just revealed as partners in our endeavor to study the Moon in new ways. Learn about how well buy space on their robotic landers, along with other customers, to deliver our tools and instruments to the lunar surface: https://t.co/yvgsnHMkui pic.twitter.com/Gm0cPLLvIW  NASA (@NASA) November 29, 2018

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"Today's announcement marks tangible progress in America's return to the Moon's surface to stay," Jim Bridenstine, NASA administrator, said in a news release.

"The innovation of America's aerospace companies, wedded with our big goals in science and human exploration, are going to help us achieve amazing things on the Moon and feed forward to Mars."

NASA reports that these Commercial Lunar Payload Services contracts are "indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity contracts with a combined maximum contract value of $2.6 billion during the next 10 years."

These missions could launch as soon as next year as proposals are due in January.

This announcement comes on the heels of the Trump administration calling for NASA to open itself up to more commercial partnerships and less red tape. Back in February at the second meeting of the National Space Council, Vice President Mike Pence said that the convoluted maze of bureaucratic obstacles" and "outdated regulatory processes" are holding the space industry and our technological capabilities back.

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"These early missions will enable important technology demonstrations that will inform the development of future landers and other exploration systems needed for humans to return to the lunar surface, and help prepare the agency to send astronauts to explore Mars," the space agency writes in a news release.

"NASA will re-examine the private market periodically for new and emerging lunar delivery capabilities, and may offer additional companies an opportunity to join Commercial Lunar Payload Services through a contract process called on-ramping."
U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents fired tear gas canisters at migrants attempting to cross the border from Mexico. Some caught up in the tear gas were young children. Use of tear gas by law enforcement in the U.S. has long been debated. While the effects of most tear gas used in the U.S. are severe, they are not permanent. Many argue government agents should not be able to use chemical weapons, even non-lethal varieties, on citizens. Others say tear gas is a humane way to maintain order. What do you think?

PERSPECTIVES

Tear gas has been officially banned on battlefields since 1997. However, according to Slate, the ban does not extend to domestic clashes.

The Washington Post explains the uncontrollable nature of tear gas and the fact that there is very little research into its long-term effects, making tear gas a risky tool for law enforcement.



Vox reports that many scientists are concerned about the increased use of tear gas, given there is little research into long term effects.



Law enforcement and other proponents of using tear gas note that it is far less dangerous than alternative crowd control methods, which run a higher risk of long-lasting injury.



Politifact backs this assertion up. While many people would prefer an alternative to tear gas, in the heat of the moment, there are few better alternative.

Border Patrol agents, backed up by the president, have defended the decision to use tear gas at the border, saying they were facing an onslaught of migrants and attempted to use non-lethal means to push them back. Per the Associated Press:

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An internet imagery.

BEIJING (PTI): The militaries of China and India would hold a joint 14-day drill from December 10 in southwest China's Chengdu city to improve their capabilities in fighting terrorism and promote mutual understanding, the Defence Ministry has said.



Each side will send 100 troops to take part in the 7th India and China joint military exercises - 'Hand in Hand' - which will focuss on counter-terrorism operations, Defence Ministry spokesman Col Ren Guoqiang told a media briefing.



The exercises will be held after a gap of one year as both the sides were locked in a 73-day standoff in Doklam in the Sikkim sector of the border in 2017.



The strained relations between the two sides later improved resulting in an informal summit between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping in Chinese city of Wuhan in April this year.



"The two sides are preparing for the exercises now. The drill will promote understanding between the two militaries and improving their capabilities in fighting terrorism," Col Ren said.



The exercises, which will conclude on December 23, will include live shooting and adoptive and basic training, he said, adding that true to its name, 'Hand in Hand', China and Indian militaries should also work hand in hand for the benefit of people in both the nations.



Earlier at the 9th Defence dialogue held here on November 13 between Defence Secretary Sanjay Mitra and Lt Gen Shao Yuanming, Deputy Chief of Joint Staff Department of Central Military Commission, the two sides discussed bilateral relations, military ties, border control as well as regional and international issues.



The two sides agreed to follow the consensus reached by the top leaders of the two countries to promote military relationship under the principle of maintaining peace and tranquillity and enhancing the trust, friendship and cooperation, Col Ren said.



Top leaders from both the countries also met recently on November 24 at the 21st India-China border talks held at Dujiangyan near Chengdu in southwestern Sichuan province. National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and China's State Councillor and Foreign Minister, Wang Yi who are the designated Special Representatives took part in the talks.



Col Ren also said China and Pakistan will hold 7th joint air force exercises in Bholari air force base in Pakistan from November 30 to December 23.



China will send its fighter jets and bombers and early warning AWACS planes to the exercise, he said, adding the exercise will help improve combat capability of both sides.


DOYLESTOWN >> Bucks County on Nov. 24 released its preliminary 2022 operating budget of $474.1 million representing a 1.1 percent increase over 2021. With additional anticipated revenue sources, including funds from the American Rescue Plan Act, the Board of Commissioners expects to balance the coming years budget without raising taxes or dipping into the general fund. The county also will...
The admission by the Committee on Climate Change that hydrogen is a viable option for the decarbonisation of heat in the UK has been welcomed by an industry spokesperson.

Responding to the publication of Hydrogen in a low-carbon economy, Neil Schofield, Head of Government Affairs at Worcester Bosch, has welcomed the CCCs conclusion that hydrogen has potentially valuable roles in replacing natural gas.

He said: The CCC, for almost all of its existence, has been a very pro-electrification organisation, promoting the flawed idea that only heat pumps are the future for the UKs domestic heat market.

This report does little to counter that view, recommending that hybrid heat pumps powered by a hydrogen fuel electrical generation system are deployed at scale in the near-future.

Despite this, it is positive to see that the committee has relaxed its stance on electrification slightly and recognised the potential of hydrogen in the decarbonisation of the UK grid.

The report acknowledges the role of hydrogen in meeting the emissions reductions required by 2050 under the Climate Change Act and the way in which it can be used to heat buildings and provide back-up power generation to meet peak demands.

However, it presents a quotation to install 10 million heat pumps by 2035. That would be 625,000 heat pumps per year if the process began in January 2019, which Schofield called ludicrious.

He concluded: We are now on the cusp of change in the domestic heating market.

Instead of promoting the wholesale distribution of electrically powered heat pumps, we should be putting our efforts towards transitioning to a 100% hydrogen-powered gas network, beginning with blending a proportion of hydrogen gas into the existing grid.
Carlos Ghosn

Tokyo authorities extended the detention on November 30 of ousted Nissan Motor Co chairman Carlos Ghosn for 10 days, media said, amid signs of a brewing diplomatic feud over the balance of power at the troubled Renault-Nissan alliance.

The 19-year partnership between Renault SA and Nissan is facing its biggest test to date after the arrest this month of Ghosn, its larger-than-life leader, for suspected financial misconduct.

France said President Emmanuel Macron will meet Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on the sidelines of the G20 summit meeting that starts in Buenos Aires on November 30 but did not say whether Ghosn's arrest or the auto alliance would be discussed.

Ghosn, 64, has been detained in Tokyo since his Nov 19 arrest, and authorities on November 30 approved the maximum 10-day extension of his detention, Japanese media said. Authorities have to file charges by Dec. 10 or arrest him on suspicion of fresh crimes to keep him in custody.

Tokyo prosecutors declined to comment. Nissan did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Ghosn's detention in Tokyo has left the Franco-Japanese auto alliance without a leader and an advocate for the French government, which has said it wants to retain the current capital structure. Renault controls Nissan through its 43 percent stake, while Nissan holds a non-voting 15 percent stake in its partner.

After meeting in Paris last week, Japanese Industry Minister Hiroshige Seko and French Finance and Economy Minister Bruno Le Maire reaffirmed the two countries' support for the alliance.

A few days later, however, Le Maire said on French television that he and Seko agreed that keeping the alliance's current capital structure was desirable - an agreement the Japanese minister denied making.

The Mainichi Shimbun daily reported on November 30 that Seko had sent a rare letter of protest to Le Maire for the remarks.

Officials at Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry said they could not immediately comment on the reported letter. A French finance ministry official said Le Mairea's office had no comment.

Ghosn's arrest, including for allegedly under-reporting his income, has triggered new attempts by Nissan to shake off what it considers Renault's outsized control of it, adding to problems at Macron's Elysee.

As economy minister, Macron had masterminded the French government's surprise increase of its Renault stake in 2015, raising alarm bells inside Nissan that the Elysee was out to wield more influence over the Japanese company.

Macron has requested a meeting with Abe at the G20 summit starting on November 30, the Mainichi reported. A Japanese government spokesman said nothing had been decided.

The auto alliance, which also includes Japan's Mitsubishi Motors Corp, for its part "emphatically reiterated" its commitment to the partnership on Thursday after executives met in Amsterdam for the first time since Ghosn's arrest.

A review of the capital structure was not discussed at the meeting, Mitsubishi Motors' CEO Osamu Masuko said.
Zomato

Moneycontrol News

Restaurant search and delivery platform Zomato on November 30 said it received 21 million orders in October, a significant growth against 3.5 million during January, adding that the business currently contributes to about 65 percent of the overall revenue of the company.

The company also plans to further expand the food delivery business to 100 cities.

The company is currently associated with over 75,000 restaurants in India and has 1,50,000 delivery partners. It plans to hire 5,000 more delivery partners.

It is currently present in over 90 cities. The new cities will include Puducherry, Jamshedpur, Ambala, Meerut, Haridwar, Bhavnagar, Ujjain, Puri, among others.

The food delivery business was started by Zomato in 2015. It has grown phenomenally in the last few months. In January, it accounted for 35 percent of the company's revenue.

We have been surprised by the demand in Tier II Tier III cities and are therefore gung-ho on serving every last customer, in the smallest of towns in India. We will be the first to hit the 100 city mark and will continue to invest heavily to lead geographical penetration in the food delivery market in India. We have seen market share grow in our main markets through the festive season and have plans for growth in December as well, said Mohit Gupta, chief executive officer, food delivery, Zomato.

The company currently offers delivery between 11 am to 11 pm, and also plans to launch early morning and midnight deliveries soon.
Consumer durables major Haier India will invest Rs 3,069 crore over 4 years to set up an industrial park at Greater Noida in Uttar Pradesh, Haier India President Eric Braganza told Moneycontrol.

The company has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the UP government for the project and will invest the corpus in two phases, Braganza said.

"This expansion will serve as an opportunity for vendors and original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), bringing about an expanded business with increased local production and lesser imports of products," he said.

Make in India

Braganza explained that Haier India is focused on the Indian government's 'Make in India' initiative. The company started manufacturing refrigerators in India in 2007 at its factory in Ranjangaon, Pune, and later expanded the facility to make it its first industrial park in the country with an investment of Rs 600 crore.

Inaugurated in November 2017, the factory has a capacity to produce 1.8 million units of refrigerators a year, and 0.5 million units each of other consumer durables like washing machines, air conditioners, LED television sets and water heaters.

New products

To make the most of the festive season and winter, the company recently launched products across all categories, including refrigerators, washing machines, televisions and water heaters, Braganza said.

"To add to our customers' celebrations, we announced exciting consumer offers ranging from attractive assured gifts to easy finance options, from extended warranties to free installations across all categories," he said.

One of the new launches was that of a new range of water heaters. Braganza pointed out that these heaters come equipped with features like Haier's patented shockproof technology, and an 8-bar rated pressure system, among others.

In November, Haier India also inaugurated a smart home experience store in New Delhi that showcases some of its advanced Internet-of-Things (IoT)-based solutions.

"By introducing a wide range of innovation led products, we aim to meet the evolving choices and needs of our consumers," Braganza said.

That said, prevalent market conditions, like the rise in input costs and the depreciation of the rupee, have forced the company to increase prices of its products by 5-8 percent.

However, Haier India made sure that the price hike came into effect only after the festive season was over, since India tends to purchase consumer durables extensively during this period, Braganza said.
The economic growth for the quarter ended September 2018, which will be announced on November 30 after the market hours, is likely to be strong compared to a year-ago period, but lower than the previous quarter.

The year-on-year growth is expected to be driven by agriculture, manufacturing and construction segments, but sequentially, all major segments dragged except finance and insurance.

Public administration, defence and other services segment, which contributes 11.5 percent to GDP, is seen boosting growth year-on-year as well as quarter-on-quarter.

Nirmal Bang as well as ICICI Bank Research expect gross domestic product growth at around 7.6 percent for the second quarter of FY19, decelerating from 8.2 percent in first quarter but accelerating from 6.3 percent in the same period last year.

"The lead indicators have been robust in Q2FY19 despite a slight slowdown in September. Agricultural activity has been largely steady despite erratic spatial distribution of the monsoon, although it is likely to slow down from the previous quarter," Nirmal Bang said.

Industry (excluding construction) growth is expected to hold up, supported by the manufacturing sector, although it may slow down from the previous quarter due to high base on account of Goods and Services Tax or GST-related re-stocking, it added.

According to the research house, the services sector (including construction), on the other hand, is likely to witness acceleration supported by higher government spending.

Nirmal Bang expects Indias gross value added (GVA) growth to come in at 7.5 percent YoY in Q2FY19, while ICICI Bank Research expects GVA growth to moderate to around 7.4 percent (YoY) from around 8.0 percent (YoY) in Q1 led by slowdown in momentum for agriculture and industry.

GVA growth in Q2FY18 stood at 6.1 percent.

After the strong growth in the first two quarters of the year, the second half of FY19 is expected to see some slowdown, brokerages said.

ICICI Bank Research said impact of adverse base effect and tightening of financial conditions would be visible Q3 onwards, while Nirmal Bang said although Q2FY19 growth is likely to remain strong, it expects the growth to slow, going forward.

According to Nirmal Bang, capital spending by the government is likely to witness a reduction in second half of FY19 in a bid to meet the fiscal deficit target, while private sector capex is also likely to remain sluggish ahead of elections.

Going beyond FY19, the research house said the impact of the spending cut and a high base is likely to impact growth in the first half of FY20. Hence, it has consequently cut its GDP growth forecast for FY20 to 7.2 percent from 7.6 percent earlier.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman have decided to set up a mechanism at the leadership level to scale up the oil-rich kingdom's investments in energy, infrastructure and defence sectors in India as they met on the sidelines of the G-20 summit here.

During the meeting, the two leaders discussed ways to further boost economic, cultural and energy ties.

"It was a cordial and warm meeting," Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale said after the meeting in Argentina's capital.

Prince Salman spoke of India as an important partner.

There was specific discussion on How Saudi Arabia can enhance its investments across number of sector in two to three years, he said.

Prince Salman said that Saudi Arabia will be finalising an initial investment into the National Infrastructure Fund.

He also referred to the future prospects for investment in the technology sector, the agriculture sector and energy sectors, Gokhale said.

"Two leaders have agreed that we will now set up a mechanism at the leadership level which will go into the possibilities of concrete actions in terms of investment, in terms of technology, in terms of manufacturing across various sectors from energy to food security and to infrastructure to defence," he said.

"This mechanism will be worked out shortly and we will expect that in the next two to three years there will be significant scaling up in the Saudi investments in India," Gokhale said.

The prime minister stressed upon the importance of having stable and predictable energy prices and some discussion took place between the two leaders how Saudi Arabia can contribute and help in stabilising energy prices, particulary for India.

Saudi Arabia is India 4th largest trade partner and is a major source of energy as the country imports around 19 per cent of its crude oil requirement from the kingdom.

"Prince Salman was mindful of the contributions that Indians have made in the building of Saudi Arabia over the years and he specifically expressed appreciation for this," Gokhale said.

"Had a fruitful interaction with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud. We discussed multiple aspects of India-Saudi Arabia relations and ways to further boost economic, cultural and energy ties," the prime minister wrote on Twitter.

In recent years, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has been a valuable partner. The relationship has expanded beyond the Indian community to issues related to the economy, energy and security. All issues of bilateral and regional interest will be discussed, sources in the Prime Minister's Office said.

The G-20 summit is the first international forum attended by the Saudi Prince's since the crisis over the grisly murder of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on October 2.

The Saudi insider-turned-critic was killed in what Saudi Arabia said was a "rogue" operation and denied any involvement of Prince Salman in the murder.
Commerce and Industry Minister Suresh Prabhu has held a series of meetings this week with global sovereign wealth funds including those from Australia, Canada, Singapore, and Korea to attract investments in India, an official said.

"In the last two days, the minister separately met global pension funds, sovereign wealth funds and other large funds from Australia, Canada, Singapore, Korea, Japan, Norway and the European Union and the US. All are looking at India for good investment opportunities," the government official added.

Last month, the minister met the chairman of Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA), the largest sovereign wealth fund in the world, and sought investments in various sectors including infrastructure.

ADIA has shown interest in setting up an India desk, and the ministry is facilitating this initiative.

"On December 7, the ministry is also organising a meeting of global funds in Goa," the official added.

Over 350 delegates are expected to participate in the meeting in Goa.

According to the data of the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP), foreign direct investment in 2017-18 grew by 3 per cent to USD 44.85 billion.

Foreign direct investment (FDI) is important as India would require huge investments in the coming years to overhaul its infrastructure sector to boost growth.

Overseas inflows help maintain pressure on the country's balance of payments and value of the rupee.
The Ministry of External Affairs is investigating reports of seven Indian employees of Infrastructure Leasing and Financial Services (IL&FS) being detained by unpaid local staff in Ethiopia.



#SOS @rashtrapatibhvn @GRamnathkovind @narendramodi Sir we seven people are hostage by locals in Ethiopia, due to non payments of #ILFS What is employee's fault sir.even we didn't get salary from last 5 months all worked in Ethiopia for #ILFS help please b4 it's 2late #sos #Help

 neeraj raghuwanshi (@chota86) November 29, 2018

The employees, presumably in a hostage-like situation, have been detained since November 25 at three sites in the Oromia and Amhara states. One Neeraj Raghuwanshi identifying himself as an IL&FS employee in Ethiopia has tweeted to several officials, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Even IL&FS employees have not been paid in the past five months, he tweeted.

An official from the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) told Bloomberg that they are looking into the matter. IL&FS did not respond to the news agencys request for comment. Moneycontrol couldn't independently verify the report.

Concerns of project termination and absence of senior management from project camps might have triggered panic in local employees and led them to believe confining expat employees might force the organization to pay their salaries, the employees wrote in a letter addressed to the Indian and Spanish ambassadors, and a few Ethiopian ministries.

Indias external affairs ministry is looking into the claims, and an official at the Indian Embassy in Addis Ababa is following up with Ethiopian authorities, the report said.

IL&FSs default on debt payments triggered fears of a liquidity crisis in the NBFC space, causing the Indian stock market to crash on September 21.

Also read: IL&FS puts renewable energy assets on sale as part of resolution process

In their letter, the detained employees said the police and officials are siding with the local staffers. Oromias police commissioner general, and spokespersons for the both the states did not respond to the agency's calls and texts.

The employees added that local staff had panicked due to fears of closure of some road projects being built as Indian and Spanish joint ventures.

IL&FS Transportation Networks, a listed unit of IL&FS, and Spanish companies Elsamex and Ecoasfalt have formed joint ventures for road construction projects in Ethiopia.

The letter has been addressed to the ILF&FS management, Indian and Spanish ambassadors, several Ethiopian ministries and the local World Bank representative.

The IL&FS employees also said they tried assuring the local staff that their salaries would be paid on time.

The email adds that the IL&FS management has said it cannot send funds due to restrictions placed by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).

Ethiopian Revenue Ministry spokesman Addis Yirga and Attorney General Office spokesman Zinabu Tunu told Bloomberg that they couldnt comment on concerns expressed by the employees.
Vijay Mallya at an interview with FT

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A consortium of Indian banks led by the State Bank of India (SBI) has secured a UK High Court order as part of efforts to help them pursue some of the funds owed to them in unpaid debts by embattled Indian liquor tycoon Vijay Mallya.

In a ruling by Justice Phillips in the court's Business and Property division on Wednesday, the 13 Indian banks were given permission to use certain information disclosed in court as part of a worldwide freezing order (WFO) against the 62-year-old businessman in an unrelated case involving the sale of a luxury superyacht believed to be previously owned by Mallya before he abandoned it last year.

The 95-metre vessel named 'Indian Empress' was "arrested" in Malta in March as maritime professionals' union Nautilus made attempts to recover over USD 330,000 in unpaid wages and other costs on behalf of its members. It was successfully auctioned to Sea Beauty Yachting Limited for 35 million euros in September and renamed 'NEOM'.

The UK High Court order dated November 28 will assist the Indian banks to pursue any surplus money from that sale in Malta courts after all the creditors have been paid off.

Nautilus strategic organiser Danny McGowan said the maritime union has been collating members' claims and other details to ensure that the sums due are paid to them.

"The court has been completing the procedures to pay all the creditors  including suppliers, service providers and financiers  who were owed money by the former owner, multi-millionaire Vijay Mallya," Nautilus said.

In a ruling earlier this year, a UK High Court judge had refused to overturn a worldwide order freezing Mallya's assets and upheld an Indian court's ruling that the consortium of 13 Indian banks were entitled to recover funds amounting to nearly 1.145 billion pounds.

TLT LLP, the law firm which had won the landmark case for the banks in May, has been representing them in their efforts to recover their dues as part of the WFO.

The WFO contains an undertaking preventing the banks from using the information provided in response to the disclosure provisions in the case for any other civil or criminal proceedings without the court's prior permission.

However, under this week's latest ruling, the banks have been given permission to use certain information provided pursuant to the WFO in respect of arrest proceedings instigated in Malta by the maritime creditors of the 'Indian Empress' yacht.

Following the sale and the creditors being paid off, there is likely to be a surplus of money that would be due back to the yacht's owners.

The 13 banks comprise SBI, Bank of Baroda, Corporation bank, Federal Bank Ltd, IDBI Bank, Indian Overseas Bank, Jammu & Kashmir Bank, Punjab & Sind Bank, Punjab National Bank, State Bank of Mysore, UCO Bank, United Bank of India and JM Financial Asset Reconstruction Co Pvt Ltd.

The banks are seeking to secure that surplus in the Maltese courts rather than it being paid to the legal owner.

Meanwhile, Mallya remains on bail on an extradition warrant executed by the Scotland Yard last year on fraud and money laundering charges brought by the Indian government, amounting to nearly Rs 9,000 crores.

A ruling at the end of his extradition trial is expected at Westminster Magistrates' Court in London next month.

In separate legal proceedings, he is also fighting to save his posh London home from foreclosure by Swiss bank UBS.

Earlier this month, he suffered a setback in that case after the UK High Court rejected many of the arguments relied on by his legal team. The case is scheduled for trial in May 2019.
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Jindal Steel and Power Ltd (JSPL) on Friday said the company has supplied 1.32 lakh tonnes of rails for the Eastern Dedicated Freight Corridor's 194-km New Khurja to Bhadan of section, a top company official said.

The said section of the 1,856-km Eastern Dedicated Freight Corridor (EDFC) was inaugurated Thursday and the Dedicated Freight Corridor Corporation of India limited (DFCCIL) conducted a trial run of freight train Friday.

"Long Rails for the entire stretch of about 200 km that is being opened for the trial Friday have been manufactured at JSPL's rail mill at Raigarh. Over 1.32 lakh tonnes of rails, including 95,000 tonnes of 260 metre long rails have been supplied by JSPL," JSPL Steel Business CEO N A Ansari said.

The EDFC with a route length of 1,856 km consists of two distinct segments -- an electrified double-track segment of 1,409 km between Dankuni in West Bengal and Khurja in Uttar Pradesh and an electrified single-track segment of 447 km between Ludhiana-Khurja-Dadri in the states of Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh.

JSPL is also supplying rails to the Indian Railways.

In July, the company had bagged 20 per cent of Rs 2,500-crore global rail tender floated by the railways after anticipating that state-run SAIL would not be able to supply the 7,17,000 tonnes required for 2017-18 and 2018-19, as estimated at that time.

The order is to supply around 1 lakh tonnes of rails over a period of one year.

Anasri said, as on October 31, 2018, the company has supplied over 35 per cent of the said order.
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Steel prices, which have already contracted by 15 percent in one month, may fall by another $15 a ton as the China factor looms over the global steel industry, said a senior executive from the industry. "Prices will fall. China has led the fall, as demand in its domestic market is weak," Seshagiri Rao, Joint Managing Director and Group CFO, JSW Steel, told Moneycontrol.

He said the prices have already fallen to $500-520 a ton range, from $600 a ton. The fall in prices has been accentuated by a continued increase in rates of raw materials. "While iron ore prices had fallen marginally, it has picked up again. Coking coal rates have also gone up," said Rao.

Iron ore and coking coal are the two important raw materials used for making steel.

The combination of falling prices, and expensive raw materials, will hit margins, accepted Rao. "We will take a hit in one quarter. But it will largely depend on how much time it takes for the demand to recover, and for prices to start gaining," he added.

Rao said that he expected prices to bottom out in the next few weeks, when the demand should revive.

Capacity utilization

The global steel industry's capacity utilisation, which was 69.6 percent in December 2017, has picked up and the industry has added 68 million tons of steel in the first 10 months, as compared to last year. "Of this, 44 million tons is from China," said Rao.

But China, hit by sanctions led by the Donald Trump administration in the US, can't export. Experts expect Chinese exports to be lower this year, as compared to the 75 million tons in 2017.

Unfortunately, demand in the Chinese economy hasn't held on to consume the extra steel. Demand there has tapered off in the last two months, leading to excess supply. "There is a liquidity problem, and sectors such as real estate and auto, haven't been performing well," said Rao.

With China expected to end the year with about 5 percent higher production than last year, there will be pressure on steel prices.

Rao added that Chinese exports may land in India, as US and Europe have closed borders.

Among raw materials, coking coal prices have shot up due to a supply disturbance in Australia. The Blackwater railway line in Queensland was shut due to fire. The line moves about 55 million tons of coking coal and iron ore annually, and the disruption led to a price hike.

At present raw materials rates, and with steel prices falling, Chinese steel mills will struggle to make money, said the JSW Steel veteran.

Impact in India

Rao said a liquidity crunch had hit consumption and retail market in India. "OEMs (original equipment manufacturers) are holding on," he said.

But the liquidity position has improved in the last few days, said Rao, and added that this should improve demand in the coming weeks.

The crucial factor to look out for will be the supply-demand dynamics in China in the coming weeks.
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Allahabad Bank shares rose 1.8 percent intraday Friday ahead of board meeting next week to consider the proposal of raising equity capital.

The public sector lender informed exchanges that a meeting of board of directors is scheduled to be held on December 6 to consider and approve a proposal for raising equity capital of around Rs 3,054 crore.

The bank will raise funds through preferential allotment of new equity shares to the Government of India against their capital infusion of Rs 3,054 crore subject to requisite approval of shareholders and other statutory/ regulatory authorities.

The lender said the said capital infusion fund has already been remitted by the Government of India on November 12 and the same is being maintained by the bank as "Share Application Money, Pending Allotment".

At 14:12 hours IST, the stock was quoting at Rs 47.70, up Rs 0.40, or 0.85 percent on the BSE.
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Kesoram Industries shares climbed 9.5 percent intraday Friday after a media report indicated there could be demerger of company's tyre business.

The tyre-cement-to-rayon maker is considering demerger of its tyre business and the same announcement is likely in next two weeks, reports CNBC-TV18 quoting unnamed sources.

Report said Kesoram is looking to induct a strategic partner in its tyre business post demerger as it has been a loss-making unit for many years.

Kesoram told CNBC-TV18 that it cannot comment on market speculation.

The company had reported loss of Rs 96.25 crore for the quarter ended September 2018 due to its loss-making tyre business. However, the loss narrowed from Rs 139.59 crore reported in same quarter last year.

Revenue from operations grew by 10.2 percent year-on-year to Rs 926.15 crore in Q2 with tyre segment showing a 1.9 percent growth at Rs 356.13 crore and cement rising 16.10 percent to Rs 570 crore.

At operating level, tyre segment narrowed its EBIT loss to Rs 19.87 crore in the quarter ended September 2018 from Rs 48.49 crore in same period last year while cement EBIT declined 2.4 percent to Rs 32.65 crore YoY.

At 11:40 hours IST, the stock was quoting at Rs 86.50, up Rs 5.50, or 6.79 percent on the BSE.
| BY Ricki Green |

Last night, following its AGM, the Australian Association of National Advertisers (AANA) announced the appointment of three new board directors; Andrew Hicks (director of marketing, Woolworths Food Group & Supermarkets); Martin Brown (director eBusiness, dtrategy and marketing, Nestle Oceania); and Lisa Ronson (chief marketing officer, Tourism Australia).

Says Matt Tapper, chair of the AANA chair and managing director, Lion Global Markets: Andrew, Martin and Lisa bring a wealth of knowledge to the AANA Board with diverse backgrounds and expertise in retailing, the food and beverage sector and tourism. Along with my fellow Board members, I look forward to working with them as we continue to advocate for national advertisers.

Hicks has been with the Woolworths Group since 2008, starting out as the national marketing manager of Dan Murphys and moving on to become general manager, marketing of the Woolworths Liquor Group in 2012, before taking up his current role as director of marketing, Woolworths Food Group & Supermarkets in 2015.

Having worked in confectionery commercial roles across the globe, Brown brings more than 15 years of experience working with Nestle to the Board. Previously, Brown was the global brand director of Kit Kat based in in Switzerland; a regional manager for Kit Kat in the UK, US, Canada, Japan and Oceania; and the general manager of beverages, overseeing Nescafe and Milo, in Oceania. Brown became the general manager of confectionery and snacks in 2012 before moving to his current role as the director for eBusiness, strategy and marketing for Nestle Oceania in September.

Ronson is responsible for leading Tourism Australias global marketing strategy and implementation across 15 international markets. Lisa has held senior marketing roles at Westpac, David Jones, Visa International, Telstra and Carlton and United Breweries  and was recently named CMO of the year at the Australian Marketing Institutes Awards for Marketing Excellence.

Says John Broome, CEO, AANA: As the peak national advertising body, it is important the AANA Board continues to elect leading marketers from a variety of industries to help ensure we understand the full gamut of issues impacting the marketing profession.
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Here are stocks that are in the news today:

NBFCs: RBI provides liquidity relief to NBFCs, relaxing norms for securitisation transactions by NBFCs and minimum holding period for loans with 5-year maturity. (DHFL, Edelweiss Financial, PFC, REC, Bajaj Finance, Indiabulls Housing Finance, Bharat Financial, Shriram Transport Finance, M&M Financial etc may be in focus)

SpiceJet: Company gets shareholders' nod to re-appoint Ajay Singh as Managing Director.

Infosys enables Citizens Energy Group to navigate next phase of its customer service transformation

US Jury Finds in Favour of TCS in Discrimination Lawsuit

Asian Oilfield Services: Company has received a Letter of Award of contract from Oil and Natural Gas Corporation for 'Hiring of Services for 2D Seismic Data Acquisition in un-appraised on land areas of Sedimentary Basins of India Sector 11A (Himalayan Foreland area) valued at Rs 27.65 crore.'

ITI Limited: Cabinet Committee on Economic affairs (CCEA) approved measures for procurement quota to company in procurements made by BSNL, MTNL and BBNL.

Inox Leisure approved to issue 64 lakh equity shares at a price of Rs 250 each, aggregating to Rs 160 crores to Gujarat Fluorochemicals, the

Promoter of the company.

Bharat Financial Inclusion: Company completed the sixth securitisation transaction of Rs 289.14 crore in FY19. With this transaction, the company has completed six securitization transactions worth Rs 2,842.17 crore in FY19.

Monotype India: Board approved resignation of Harsh Jain as Director & CFO of the company and appointment of Naresh Jain as the CFO of the company.

Paul Merchants: Company increased its stake in Paul Merchants Finance Private Limited (PMFPL) from 96.87 percent to 100 percent by acquiring further 8,43,517 equity shares from its existing shareholder Sat Paul Bansal at a price of Rs 48.81 per share. PMFPL has now become wholly owned subsidiary of the company.

IVP: Crisil downgraded the credit of long term bank facilities from BBB/Stable to BBB-/Stable.

Asian Granito's board meeting on December 12 to consider and approve raising of funds of issue of equity shares on preferential basis

Responsive Industries' board meeting on December 4 to consider proposed program to buyback the equity shares of the company

Sambandam Spinning Mills: Company has disposed one of its non-core asset - very old Windmill and its surrounded vacant land situated at Udumalpet district.

Vodafone Idea - CRISIL downgraded its rating on non-convertible debentures of Rs 6,000 crore

HUL clarified on news 'Unilever nears deal to add Horlicks to its mix' that company keep evaluating proposals for merger and acquisition and

due to confidentiality it will not correct to provide any further detail at this stag

Bulk Deals

Equitas Holdings: Kotak Mahindra Mutual Fund A/C Kotak Standard Multicap Fund sold 25,82,205 shares of the company at Rs 106.2 per share on the NSE.

Monte Carlo Fashions: Rajasthan Global Securities Pvt Ltd bought 1,11,837 shares of the company at Rs 373.73 per share on the NSE.

Multi Commodity Exchange: East Bridge Capital Master Fund I Limited purchased 3,99,000 shares of the company at Rs 706.41 per share on the NSE.

Powerful Technologies: NS Sales & Distributors P Ltd sold 1,26,000 shares of the company at Rs 23 per share on the NSE.

Repco Home Finance: The Pabrai Investment Fund IV LP sold 5,63,208 shares of the company at Rs 336.15 per share on the NSE and 3,85,327 shares at Rs 335.59 per share on the BSE.

Alkem Laboratories: Prasid Uno Family Trust sold 12,90,000 shares of the company at Rs 1,828.32 per share on the BSE.

(For more bulk deals, click here)

Analyst or Board Meet/Briefings

Asian Granito India: Board meeting is scheduled on December 4 to consider the raising of funds by way of issue of equity shares on preferential basis for the company.

Brahmaputra Infrastructure: Board meeting is scheduled on December 7 to consider the un-audited financial results for the half year ended September 2018.

Mahindra Lifespace Developers: Board meeting is scheduled to be held on January 28, 2019 to consider the standalone and consolidated unaudited financial results of the company for the third quarter ending on December 2018.

Eicher Motors: Company's officials will be meeting Burgundy Asset Management Ltd and SBI MF on November 30.

Responsive Industries: Board meeting is scheduled to be held on December 4 to discuss the proposed program to buyback the equity shares of the company.

Sanghvi Movers: Board meeting is scheduled on December 7.

Dollar Industries: There will be Investors Meet organised by Batlivala & Karani Securities India Pvt. Ltd. and Systematix Group which will be held on December 3 and 7 respectively.
The Nifty50 ended rangebound session flat with a positive bias on Friday, the first day of December series, forming Doji kind of pattern on the daily charts and robust bullish candle on the weekly scale.

The index continued to hold 10,850 levels for the second consecutive session and maintained positive trend for fifth straight trading day.

A 'Doji' is formed when the index opens and then closes approximately around the same level but remain volatile throughout the day which is indicated by its long shadow on either side. It appears like a cross or a plus sign.

Experts advise traders to remain cautious as multiple events (including G-20 meet, polling in Rajasthan etc) are lined up in the coming week which can influence the market direction.

The 50-share NSE Nifty after opening strong hit an intraday high of 10,922.45 in morning itself followed by rangebound move. The index slipped into red in afternoon and hit day's low of 10,835.10, but managed to rebound in late trade and closed 18.10 points higher at 10,876.80. For the week, it gained 3.3 percent.

"It appears to be the day of consolidation on the bourses as Nifty50 registered an indecisive formation called Doji suggesting that traders are clueless about further direction of the market where as a robust bull candle is witnessed on weekly charts," Mazhar Mohammad, Chief Strategist  Technical Research & Trading Advisory, Chartviewindia.in told Moneycontrol.

He said however, despite this bullish structure traders are advised to remain cautious as multiple events are lined up next week which have the ability to influence the market direction in the near term.

Technically speaking, one can remain positively biased and look to buy dips as long as Nifty sustains above the bullish gap zone of 10,78210757 registered on last Thursday whereas neutral to negative stance should be maintained if Nifty closes below its 200-day moving average (10,744), according to him.

In case strength continues beyond Friday's high of 10,922 then upswing shall get extended upto 11,069 levels, Mazhar said.

The Nifty has been recovering on short covering before events. Nifty futures open interest at the start of December series is 10 percent lower than the open interest seen at the start of November series.

"This suggests the trend of closure of short positions, which may continue for a while. The immediate impact will be from the outcome of US-China discussion at the G-20 meeting," ICICI Direct said.

The options build-up at 10,500 Put is the highest in December series while Call writing positions are still not increasing, showing signs of resilience in the market, it added.

The Bank Nifty ended the November F&O expiry on an optimistic note and well above the previous hurdle of 26,700. Participation was seen in both private and PSU banks with HDFC Bank the major contributor to the gain followed by other heavyweights.

On first of December series, the index ended 76.65 points lower at 26,862.95.

"Future premiums declined at the start of the December series indicating shorts are still high, which may be forced to cover if the Bank Nifty holds 26,500," ICICI Direct said.
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Torrent Pharmaceuticals shares gained 3.6 percent in morning on Friday after the company redeemed non-convertible debentures on Thursday.

The Ahmedabad-based pharma firm informed exchanges that the unsecured redeemable non-convertible debentures (NCDs) of Rs 500 crore has been fully redeemed and repaid by the company on November 29, 2018.

The issued unsecured redeemable non-convertible debentures were worth Rs 500 crore.

At 11:30 hours IST, the stock was quoting at Rs 1,769.70, up Rs 62.00, or 3.63 percent on the BSE.

The share touched its 52-week high Rs 1,871.95 and 52-week low Rs 1,223.75 on September 7, 2018 and March 22, 2018, respectively. Currently, it is trading 5.46 percent below its 52-week high and 44.61 percent above its 52-week low.
File Photo: A security guard stands outside a closed Yes Bank branch in New Delhi

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Yes Bank shares rebound on Friday for the first time in last six consecutive sessions, rising nearly 7 percent in morning after the management clarified its stance on ownership in Morgan Credits, exposure to developers and current financial situation of the lender.

The stock seems to be oversold after falling nearly 19 percent in the last five straight sessions to hit the lowest level since March 2, 2016. It also seems to have priced in negatives related to downgrades by ICRA and its parent firm Moody's.

The scrip was quoting at Rs 170.65, up Rs 10.20, or 6.36 percent on the BSE, at 10:06 hours IST.

Rajat Monga, Senior Group President at Yes Bank told CNBC-TV18 that MD & CEO, Rana Kapoor doesn't have any ownership in Morgan Credits or Yes Capital.

Recently, a media report said Yes Bank chief Rana Kapoor's investment firms borrowed money from mutual funds and invested it as equity in a finance company. But in a clarification sought by stock exchanges, the bank said that it is not involved in any way with these companies.

Morgan Credits Pvt Ltd (MCPL) and Yes Capital (I) Pvt Ltd (YCPL) are holding companies owned 100 percent by Radha K Khanna, Raakhe K Tandon and Roshini Kapoor (Rana Kapoor's daughters). Both these promoter shareholders of Yes Bank said they had raised some funds to meet their growth objectives and have no commercial dealings with the private sector lender.

On the stake held by Rana Kapoor, Monga said he doesn't think there is any pressure on Kapoor to sell his stake.

Total promoter shareholding in the bank stands at 19.91 percent as per latest data available on the exchanges, of which Rana Kapoor holds 4.33 percent and Madhu Kapur 7.59 percent in the lender.

Yes Capital India, Morgan Credits and Mags Finvest combined have 7.99 percent shareholding in the bank.

Monga said overall bank's exposure to housing finance companies stood at 3.2 percent, of which 90 percent is rated A or better. "We have exposure to developers at 5.6 percent with no SMA-2 loans in this segment."

Reports about Rana Kapoor eyeing chairman seat has been taken out of context, he said, adding chairman post at all private banks is held by 'independent' individuals.

He said the board is looking to appoint a chairperson & finding a new CEO. So the issue of capital raising should be taken up after new CEO appointment.

Yes Bank's board of directors will be meeting on December 13 to recommend names for new chairman to be approved by the RBI as well as consider appointment of independent directors.

Total capital adequacy of the bank right now is at 17 percent and capital stood at Rs 51,000 crore against Rs 200 crore 15 years ago, Monga said.

Analysts raised concerned over bank's divergence reported for FY16 and FY17, which was higher at Rs 4,176.7 crore and Rs 6355.2 crore respectively.

"Divergence has not been a risk issue; it is more of a compliance issue," Monga said, adding divergence audit took place in Q2FY19 and it does not have the findings yet.

He said asset quality in second half of FY19 will be better than first half barring IL&FS exposure.

ICRA on Wednesday downgraded Yes Bank's long-term ratings after its parent company Moody's downgraded the bank citing poor corporate governance on Tuesday.

"The rating downgrade considers the series of resignations from the board of directors (Ashok Chawla, Vasant Gujarathi, and Rentala Chandrashekhar who quit in November), which raises concerns on corporate governance at the bank," ICRA said.

The agency also warned of further downgrades if there are adverse developments on any of the above factors and added stability in deposit base is a key monitorable. The capital cushion for the bank has been "weakening" vis-a-vis the regulatory requirements, it added.

The bank has been facing troubles since mid-September, when the RBI curtailed the term of its chief executive Rana Kapoor, who is also among the promoters. Since then, the stock lost more than 60 percent of its value.

On Tuesday, Moody's Investors Service downgraded the bank's ratings to non-investment grade and changed outlook to negative from stable.
Reliance Mutual Fund's Senior Fixed Income Fund Manager Prashant Pimple has resigned from the fund house, three industry sources told Moneycontrol.

According to a source, Pimple is serving his notice period at Reliance Mutual Fund. Where he is headed next is unknown.

An e-mail sent to the fund house remained unanswered.

Pimple was with Reliance Mutual Fund for over a decade, managing fixed income portfolios for the fund house.

He managed eight debt schemes -- Reliance ETF Long Term Gilt, Reliance Short Term Fund, Reliance Credit Risk Fund, Reliance Strategic Debt Fund, Reliance Income Fund, Reliance Dynamic Bond Fund, Reliance Gilt Securities Fund and Reliance Nivesh Lakshya Fund.

Before joining Reliance Mutual Fund, Pimple worked as a portfolio manager with Fidelity International Limited Asset Management Company and as Portfolio Manager in Investment Advisory Services (Debt Institutional) in ICICI Bank.

From 2000 to 2003, he was a fixed income trader with Bank of Bahrain and Kuwait, B.S.C. and The Saraswat Co-operative Bank. He also had a stint with SIDBI in the Project Finance Division.
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Share price of Tata Motors slipped 3 percent on Friday after foreign broking house UBS has maintained neutral call on the stock and cut target to Rs 200 from Rs 280 per share

According to UBS, the China has added to the uncertainty, while India trucks segment is peaking up.

The sharp deterioration in China volumes has clouded JLR outlook and estimates still have downside if situation in China does not improve, it added.

UBS turning cautious on India's truck market outlook and cut JLR global volume growth estimates from -2%/-1% in FY19/20 to -5%/-1%.

Tata Motors ended at Rs 171.95, down Rs 5.35, or 3.02 percent on the BSE.
US_China_Trade_Trade war_Tariff

The US is very close to a trade deal with China, President Donald Trump has said, but remained noncommittal to its final outcome ahead of his meeting with Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping in Argentina on the sidelines of the G-20 Summit.

Trump's remarks came as he prepared to depart for the summit.

Trade and tariffs have been topics of increasing tension between the US and China.

The Trump administration has imposed tariffs on more than $250 billion worth of Chinese imports. More than $50 billion of that total is subject to a 25 percent duty. Another $200 billion has been hit with a 10 percent tariff with plans to increase that to 25 percent on January 1. Trump has also repeatedly threatened to impose tariffs on all remaining imports from China.

China has retaliated with tariffs of its own on US imports.

"I think we're very close to doing something with China, but I don't know that I want to do it because what we have right now is billions and billions of dollars coming into the United States in the form of tariffs or taxes. So I really don't know," Trump told reporters at the White House.

The annual summit of leaders of the top 20 economies of the world is being attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. However, all eyes are on the Trump-Xi dinner meeting on Saturday, wherein the current trade tension is expected to dominate the proceedings.

The Wall Street Journal said the two countries are exploring a trade deal in which the US would hold off on further tariffs through the spring in exchange for new talks looking at big changes in Chinese economic policy. As of now there is no certainty on the deal, the daily said citing unnamed governmental sources.

Trump argues that the massive balance of trade in China's favour is not sustainable for the American economy. Trump has accused China of unfair trade practices, and stealing of intellectual properties. China has denied these allegations.
Overseas travel insurance policy  Apart from emergency medical care costs, this covers loss of passport, documents and baggage. It also covers fraudulent charges made on your credit/debit card. (Representative Image)

The number of Indians heading out of the country will double to 50 million in the next three years as per World Tourism Organization. Are online travel aggregators making it easier to plan holidays? Has visa processing become simpler than before? Where are the Indians headed to for the holiday season? Vinay Malhotra, Regional Group Chief Operating Officer  Middle East, South Asia and China at VFS Global chats with Moneycontrol on travel trends.

VFS Global is an outsourcing and technology services specialist for governments and diplomatic missions worldwide. The company manages visa and passport issuance-related administrative and non-discretionary tasks for its client.

Q) The number of Indians heading out of the country will double to 50 million in the next three years as per UNWTO. What are the reasons that would lead to this uptick in numbers?

In India, VFS Global recorded a rise of 14% in visa application in the first six months of 2018. This would be a good indication of the rise in foreign travel, since we serve 46 client governments in India, and as such, are the largest outsourced visa service provider here. Based on trends in visa application, I would say that the biggest growth in number of travellers keen to explore foreign shores is emerging from across the vast Indian landscape, primarily from the Tier 2 cities.

While visa application counts in the big cities remained largely consistent year-on year, we also observed a steep hike in growth rates from the smaller metros like, for instance, Chandigarh, Jalandhar, Pune, and Ahmedabad, which had an average growth of 40% y-o-y in H1 2018.

So yes, the Indian traveller is truly coming of age, aided by more disposable incomes, and a cultural shift when it comes to exploring foreign shores. Certainly, what cannot be underestimated is the explosion of anywhere-anytime information and services offered online, that make the process of planning a foreign trip easy and convenient.

Q) Tell us about your observations at VFS Global? What is your analysis on peoples travel plans outside India?

Interestingly, the world over, we have observed tourism has been fairly resilient to global factors, such as currency rates or geopolitical upheavals. India continues to be an important source market when it comes to foreign travel, recording a steady year-on-year growth in outbound travel. The increasing affordability of travelling abroad, and many countries recognising the value of tourism to their economic agendas, are also determining factors in the consistent growth in this space.

As far as visa application goes, today, there is less anxiety associated with the visa process than maybe a decade ago, and far greater awareness about the options and services available to ease the process. At VFS Global, we have leveraged on technology to streamline the visa process to a great extent, increased the accessibility of visa centres by expanding our network to more cities, and have introduced a range of optional services aimed at making the visa application process hassle-free and even more convenient.

Q) What are the facilities VFS Global provides to clients? How much value addition has been done over the years?

Innovations in many aspects of the visa process are introduced routinely for visa applicants, such as form-filling assistance, the ability to keep your passport while applying to multiple countries, priority visa services, etc. Apart from this, and of course the full gamut of the more traditional visa application services, we recognise the value of offering bespoke or tailor-made solutions for applicants, that offer greater personalisation, accessibility and flexibility in the visa process.

An immensely popular optional service is Visa at your Doorstep where, in essence, the visa centre travels to your home. VFS Global staff visit the applicants location of choice in any city in the country to accept visa applications and enrol biometric data. Film crews, corporates, celebrities, large groups of travellers, travel agencies, and high net-worth individuals, find this service very useful. Since its launch in 2016, this service has proven to be particularly attractive for applicants in smaller cities as it eliminates the need to travel to another city to submit the visa applications.

Besides this, applicants find that our newly designed Premium Lounges offer the next level in comfort and personal service during their visit to our Visa Application Centres. Our mobile app for UAE visas is also very popular among applicants the world over  it is the first-ever transactional visa application app that allows applicants to apply for a visa from anywhere, anytime, at the touch of a button.

We recently introduced the first-ever visa services chatbot, ViVA, for visitors to the Australia visa services website in India. Akin to any highly trained customer support executive, ViVA offers visa applicants round-the-clock support with queries related to the Australia visa application process, such as most-asked queries about visa categories, rules and regulations, contact information, payment procedures, and optional services.

Q) Has India changed the way it travels? If yes then how?

Even though the Indian market is fairly price-sensitive, the global trend towards personalisation is seen here too. Travellers are willing to spend more if it means the services offered will be more customized to their preferences. Consider the popularity of Premium Lounges at the Visa Application Centres, where applicants receive personalised services in form-filling, managing documentation, and biometric enrolment.

Of course, the use of mobile apps in travel is growing  right from the stage of the traveller getting inspired on where to visit, to the visa application process, to booking flights and hotels, to building daily itineraries or navigating in a foreign country  theres an app for virtually everything. The younger generation of Indians is extremely savvy about these changes, and is sophisticated enough to demand the next level of convenience in services.

Q) Give us the top 5 favoured destinations and also tell us if theres any new place thats suddenly found a place in the Indian travellers itinerary?

Even as things change, the popularity of some destinations stays evergreen! Popular destinations for which visas are processed are the US, the UK, the Schengen group of countries, Malaysia, Canada, and PR China, amongst others.
The Congress' Rajasthan unit has lodged a complaint with the Election Commission against Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath for his remark on Lord Hanuman.

During a poll rally in Malakheda of Alwar district on November 27, the chief minister had said, "Hanuman was a forest dweller, deprived and a Dalit. Bajrang Bali worked to connect all Indian communities together, from north to south and east to west".

"This was his resolve as it was Lord Ram's wish. Just like him, we should also not rest till we fulfill that wish," Adityanath, one of the BJP' star campaigners, had said.

Congress general secretary Sushil Sharma said in a statement November 29 that a complaint has been lodged against the Uttar Pradesh chief minister with the Election Commission and Rajasthan's Chief Electoral Office.

The Congress said it fears that Adityanath's statement to call Lord Hanuman a 'Dalit' can harm communal harmony.

Such a statement in the poll-bound state is against the model code of conduct and is a punishable offence as per law, the party said.

On Wednesday, a right-wing group had served a legal notice to the UP chief minister for his remarks yesterday.

Polls in Rajasthan are due on December 7.
Indian PM Narendra Modi (left) and Pakistani PM Imran Khan (right)

Amidst peace overtures from Islamabad, Army chief General Bipin Rawat said November 30 Pakistan cannot stay together with India as long as it is an Islamic state and if they are willing to become secular, then there is an opportunity.

While Rawat has expressed concerns over cross-border terror emanating from Pakistan, this is probably for the first time, he has talked about religious character of the neighbouring country apparently responsible for strained Indo-Pak ties.

"If they (Pakistan) have to stay together with India, then they have to develop as a secular state," Gen Rawat told reporters on the sidelines of the Passing Out Parade of the 135th course at the National Defence Academy here.

"See this staying together, staying separate, ispe Pakistan ko apni andruni halat dekhni hogi. Pakistan ne apne state ko Islamic state bana diya hai. Hum log secular state hai (Pakistan has to look at its internal situation. They are an Islamic state, we (India) are a secular state)," he said.

Gen Rawat said, "How can we stay together if you say I am an Islamic state and there is no role for anybody else," he said. "If they are willing to become secular like us, then they seem to have an opportunity. Pehle dekhe, karte hai ki nahi karte (Let us see if they do so or not)."

Rawat's comments come amidst Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan's efforts to resume dialogue with India.

During a press conference in Islamabad yesterday, Khan said he was "ready" to hold talks with his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi and for the first time admitted that it was not in the interest of his country to allow its territories to be used for terror activities in other countries. India has always maintained that Pakistan-sponsor terrorism was its "core concern" and unless Islamabad takes action to stop it, the dialogue process cannot be resumed.

Asked about Khan's statement that Islamabad would move two steps forward if New Delhi took one step, Rawat said the neighbouring nation should first take steps to stop terror activities.

"I would like to tell Pakistan to initiate that first step (of ending terror emanating from its soil). In the past, India has taken several steps. When we say terror is being harboured in your country, show some action by curtailing terror activities which are used against India," Rawat said.

On Khan's contention that why India and Pakistan could not be friends when Germany and France could be good neighbours, he said the neighbouring nation first needs to see its internal condition.
| BY Ricki Green |

CB Exclusive  Recently, over 33 million people watched a heart-stopping video, starring a runaway tyre tube narrowly missing a car that brakes just in time. Since then, Volkswagen has revealed that the viral video was actually a cheeky ad promoting the safety-packed Volkswagen Polo.

Says Rowena Kanna, marketing communications manager, Volkswagen Australia: The new Polo is teeming with intuitive safety technology. The challenge we had is that safety technology isnt a key driver for our younger Polo audience. We challenged DDB to find a way of making safety technology relevant to this demographic.

The idea was simple: tap into fail videos, a popular social media genre, and remove the fail in the same way the Polos safety technology does. In collaboration with Riot Content, the DDB team created a series of UNfail videos, utilising a viral seeding strategy that saw the first film get more than 33 million views worldwide. These views were followed up by targeting this audience with a cheeky reveal.

Says Vincent Osmond, creative partner, DDB Sydney: There are many brands talking about safety technology right now. We focused on why young buyers should care about it, and how that tech can have a meaningful impact in their lives.

Theres an entire series of unfail videos that will be infiltrating social feeds. Its all part of the More Polo. Less Drama. campaign for the Volkswagen Polo, launched earlier this year.

Adds Kanna: Each unfail video has an unexpected plot twist that showcases how the Polo could help you out of everyday dramas. Because, ultimately, thats all were trying to do; remove the drama from your drive.

Ben Welsh: Chief Creative Officer, DDB Sydney

Tara Ford: Executive Creative Director, DDB Sydney

Vincent Osmond: Creative Partner, DDB Sydney

Jade Manning: Creative Partner, DDB Sydney

Tommy Cehak: Senior Creative, DDB Sydney

Jared Wicker: Creative, DDB Sydney

Mandy Whatson: Managing Partner, DDB Sydney

Oliver Gould: Business Director, DDB Sydney

Alexandra Lawton: Senior Business Director, DDB Sydney

Sevda Cemo: Head of Integrated Content, DDB Sydney

Sam Harris: Producer, DDB Sydney

Ben Wilks: General Manager Marketing, Volkswagen Group Australia

Rowena Kana: Marketing Communications Manager, Volkswagen Group Australia

Hayley Phillips: Brand Communications Specialist, Volkswagen Group Australia

Matt Weston: Director, Riot

Dave Christison: Producer, Riot
Representative Image

An NRI octogenarian from Germany handed over her ancestral land in Gujarat for the Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train project, making it the first stretch of land to be acquired by the national transporter in the state for the project, an NHSRCL official said on Friday.

Savita Ben, who runs an Indian restaurant in Germany, is originally from Chansad village and she shifted abroad 33 years ago after getting married, the official told PTI.

She had around 71 acres of land in the Chansad area and gave 11.94 hectare to the National High Speed Rail Corporation Limited (NHSRCL) at a cost of Rs 30234.3.

"She flew down specially to hand over the land for the project and we are extremely grateful to her for having agreed to it. She returned to Germany where she lives with her son and runs a restaurant.

"This stretch of land is the first piece of land which we have acquired for the project in the state," NHSRCL spokesperson Dhananjay Kumar said.

The 508-kilometre corridor would require around 1,400 hectares of land in Gujarat and Maharashtra, of which 1,120 hectares is privately owned. Around 6,000 land owners will have to be compensated.

Currently, the NHSRCL has managed to acquire only 0.09 per cent of land in Mumbai for the project and has been dealing with protests across the two states over land acquisition issues.
Andaman-North-Sentinel-Island

MA Kalam

Reports of the death of John Allen Chau, a 27-year-old American missionary, who was killed by indigenous people as he entered a restricted island in the Andaman, is the latest in a series of attempts by the 'civilised' West to 'enlighten' the 'other' in the Orient.

Victorian notions of religion, etiquette and manners were propagated and spread wide through colonialism and missionary activities. The Whites believed that they had reached the pinnacle in each and every walk of life and their way of thinking and doing things was the ultimate in all respects. Hence anything different was conceived of as low, was derided, ridiculed, and categorised as satanic, demonic, savage, barbaric, and the like.

Wherever the colonialists or missionaries went they took upon themselves the task of civilising the natives. Even trained anthropologists fell into the colonial and missionary trap following the early anthropological writing which was mostly carried out by travellers, traders and missionaries, and used terms such as 'primitives' and 'uncivilised' when they came across practices that were different from those that they pursued.

So, if any religious observation was different and if it was not of a monotheistic kind, it was dubbed 'savage' or 'barbaric'. Going by that kind of thinking and belief the natives had to be civilised.

Similarly, each and every aspect of life of a native had to be reformed and brought in line with that of the Whites. Different pockets in India too have been witness to, and have been subjected to, colonial and missionary activities of this kind.

Today, we have the results of goings-on of this kind, particularly in the North East where many an ethnic group has been transformed completely from their erstwhile animistic and nature-worshipping religious followings.

Chau made his way with help from some fishermen to the North Sentinel Island, the abode of the reclusive Sentinelese, who for years have been avoiding outsiders and have been resisting attempts to enter their territory. The Sentinelese, along with the Great Andamanese, Jarawa and Onge belong to the Negrito stock and are reckoned to have been inhabiting the Andaman and Nicobar group of islands for about 60,000 years.

There is no exact estimate of the population of the Sentinelese. The official census figure of 2011 is just 15; other guesstimates go right up to a 100. Given their number they are clearly a highly threatened group. Besides, experience as regards the other groups on the island tells us that unbridled contact with outsiders has played havoc with the demography of the other tribes whose numbers have been reduced from thousands around the 1900s to a mere few today  as per the 2011 census, the Great Andamanese are just 44, the Jarawa 380, and the Onge 101. This is why the Andaman administration has placed strict restrictions as regards access of outsiders to the North Sentinel Island.

Chau breached these prohibitions and landed on the shores of the island apparently to civilise the natives who he believed were satanic in their lifeways and faith. What is ingrained in reformist attempts of this kind is the idea/thought that something that is different and does not fit into ones way of thinking or persuasion has to be changed and streamlined to fall in line with a dominant or mainstream way of doing things. Hence the bandying about of different and pluralistic practices as undeveloped, underdeveloped, primitive, or uncivilised.

The State also has been complicit in such practices as the policy of the Government of India hitherto had been to categorise some of the tribes as primitive tribal groups. Of late the moniker has been changed to particularly vulnerable tribal groups.

The State has indulged in the pursuit of bringing the tribes into the mainstream in myriad ways, including trying to change the food habits and economy of the tribes in the Andaman archipelago by dumping rice, flour, oil and refined sugar among them and trying to wean them away from their traditional food habits which undoubtedly were far more nutritious and healthier comprising of available game, seafood, honey, etc.

There indeed is no end to convoluted thinking of the so-called civilised, upper caste/class kind vis-a-vis groups of people who are different but all they do and practice makes sense in their own niches and habitats.

Let us leave them alone unless they show an inclination to be otherwise.

MA Kalam, an anthropologist, is dean  administration and regulatory affairs, Krea University, Sri City, Andhra Pradesh. Views are personal.
PDP president Mehbooba Mufti on November 29 welcomed Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan's offer on opening several shrines, including Sharada Peeth, to devotees from India, saying Prime Minister Narendra Modi should consider the offer.

"Great initiative of offering peace through these channels. PM Narendra Modi ji should consider the offer by Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan PTI for opening of Sharada Peeth in Kashmir, Katasraj & other shrines too this will certainly bridge the gap & usher peace in region," Mehbooba said in a tweet.

She was responding to Khan's interview to Indian English language daily "The Hindu", in which he reportedly said, "We can consider other proposals including opening up travel for the Sharada Peeth in Kashmir, Katasraj and other Hindu shrines too.
The United States said on November 30 that it welcomes efforts by India and Pakistan to increase people-to-people contact, days after the two neighbouring countries laid foundation stones for a corridor linking two revered gurdwaras on both sides of the border.

I'm aware of reports on this Kartarpur corridor. I understand that it's kind of a visa-free way for Indians to visit this important Sikh site. And of course, the United States would welcome efforts to increase people-to-people ties between India and Pakistan, State Department deputy spokesman Robert Palladino told reporters.

Palladino was responding to questions on the construction of the much-awaited corridor that will connect Darbar Sahib in Pakistan's Kartarpur  the final resting place of Sikh faith's founder Guru Nanak Dev  with Dera Baba Nanak shrine in Gurdaspur district and facilitate visa-free movement of pilgrims.

The Kartarpur corridor, which India had proposed to Pakistan around 20 years ago, is expected to be completed within six months.

Thousands of Sikh devotees from India visit Pakistan every year to celebrate the birth anniversary of Guru Nanak.

Replying to another question on President Donald Trump's tweets on stopping aid to Pakistan at a time when the US is seeking its cooperation on Afghanistan, the State Department Spokesperson stressed the need for Islamabad to build confidence in bilateral relations.
NEW DELHI, INDIA - APRIL 4: Delhi BJP President Manoj Tiwari (C) with other leader Rajeev Babbar (L) addresses media persons on the issue of Delhi MCD election at Delhi BJP Office on April 4, 2017 in New Delhi, India. (Photo by Sonu Mehta/Hindustan Times via Getty Images)

Delhi BJP chief Manoj Tiwari on November 29 lashed out at AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal over the sealing drives and challenged the chief minister to issue an order authorising him to break locks of properties sealed by municipal corporations.

The BJP leader's remark came after Kejriwal November 28 said Tiwari should stop doing "drama" and if he has the "guts, he should de-seal shops" in the national capital.

Tiwari advised the chief minister to focus on development of the city instead of indulging in "petty politics" and spreading "lies" on sealing issue.

Kejriwal addressing a "Mahapanchyat" on the sealing issue on Wednesday, had attacked Tiwari over his act of breaking the lock of a property sealed by a municipal corporation in East Delhi.

"Manoj Tiwari is doing just drama...If he has guts, he the should de-seal shops across Delhi. This is not the way. Even people know that he is doing drama...," Kejriwal had said.

The chief minister is "misleading" the people of Delhi by "fabricating lies" on the issue of sealing and has become a "habitual liar", Tiwari alleged at a press conference here.

"He should give me an official order in writing for breaking the seal of the properties in Delhi and I will get down to it from tomorrow," he said.

Earlier this month, the Supreme Court dropped a contempt case against Tiwari while chastising him for breaking seal of the property in east Delhi's Gokalpur.

Tiwari held the Kejriwal government responsible for paving the way for sealing drive in Delhi by filing an affidavit in the court.

"Sealing was started in Delhi after Kejriwal government filed an affidavit in the court. After this affidavit the court ordered its monitoring committee to start a sealing drive," the BJP leader claimed.

The BJP ruled municipal corporations in the city are undertaking sealing and demolition action against properties found in violation of the provisions of the Delhi Master Plant 2021 and Unified Building Bylaws-2016 on the instructions of Supreme court-mandated monitoring committee.
Goa CM Manohar Parrikar

Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar will meet state BJP MLAs, ministers and government officials at his private residence on Saturday, his office informed.

Parrikar, 62, is currently recuperating at his private residence in Dona Paula, near here, since his discharge from the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi on October 14.

"The CM will first meet officials and take stock of governance in the morning, followed by a meeting with BJP MLAs and ministers," a senior Chief Ministers Office functionary told PTI on November 30.

He added that Parrikar was feeling better now.

Parrikar had earlier held a cabinet meeting on October 31 and met party officials the next day.
KT Rama Rao (Image: Facebook/@KTRTRS)

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu made Nandamuri Suhasini who is contesting from Kukatpally constituency on a TDP ticket a 'scapegoat' by fielding her from a 'losing' segment, Telangana caretaker IT and Industries minister K T Rama Rao has alleged.

Speaking at a roadshow at Kukatpally on November 29, the TRS leader lashed out at Telugu Desam Party and its chief Naidu, questioning as to why Naidu's son and AP Minister N Lokesh was not asked to contest the seat.

Suhasini is the daughter of former Rajya Sabha MP N Hari Krishna and grand-daughter of TDP founder and former Chief Minister of undivided Andhra Pradesh NT Rama Rao.

"If Chandrababu Naidu really loves the Nandamuri family, why didn't he appoint Suhasini as a Minister in Andhra Pradesh, like he appointed Lokesh? If Chandrababu Naidu really wants to strengthen TDP in Telangana, he could have made Lokesh contest from Kukatpally. But he did not, because he knows Kukatpally is a losing seat," the TRS leader alleged.

In a dramatic turn of events, Naidu decided to field Suhasini from Kukatpally ignoring senior party leader E Peddireddy, who evinced interest in contesting from the constituency.

Rubbishing K T Rama Rao's remarks, Peddireddy said it was the party's decision to field Suhasini from Kukatpally and people in the constituency are accepting her.

He also said Lokesh is now a minister in the Andhra government and he chose Andhra Pradesh for his political career.

"Lokesh chose AP for his political career. He is a minister there. How will he contest from here. Suhasini belongs to the NTR family. People are accepting her in Kukatpally. KTR was talking in desperation," Peddireddy told PTI.

Naidu wants to make Suhasini a scapegoat and later prevent her brothers (Nandamuri Taraka Rama Rao and Nandamuri Kalyan Ram) from entering politics, the TRS leader alleged.

Talking about alliance between the Congress and TDP, Rama Rao said, NTR's soul would be 'troubled' seeing the alliance and sought to know on what basis did they form an alliance.

Justifying the TRS alliance with TDP in the 2009 elections, Rama Rao said they tied up with the TDP only after the latter assured to support separate Telangana statehood.

"Naidu today is asking why he is being criticised. Was he not the one who tried to poach TRS MLAs? Was he not the one who wrote letters to the Centre, creating hurdles in irrigation project works," the TRS leader asked.

The TRS leader the support of the people asking them to vote for the paryt and said, "development in Kukatpally will come to a halt if TRS doesn't come to power."

Elections to the 119-member Telangana assembly are scheduled to be held on December 7.
China said on November 30 said it had lodged "stern representations" with the United States after the U.S. Navy sailed a ship through the contested South China Sea, passing near islands claimed by China.

Tension between the two powers in disputed Asian waters comes as their relationship has between strained by a row over trade involving increasingly severe rounds of tariffs on billions of dollars worth of each other's imports.

The U.S. guided-missile cruiser USS Chancellorsville sailed near the Paracel Islands on Monday to challenge China's "excessive maritime claims", the U.S. Pacific fleet said in a statement.

China foreign ministry spokesman, Geng Shuang, told a daily news briefing the U.S. ship had entered Chinese waters without permission and China had made its position known with its "stern representations".

The Chinese army said it had sent ships and planes to watch the U.S. ship and to warn it to leave.

The Chancellorsville's voyage was the latest in what the United States calls freedom of navigation operations aimed at challenging what it sees as Chinese activity limiting freedom of movement in the strategic waters.

In particular, the United States has criticised China's construction of islands on tiny reefs and shoals and its installation of military facilities on them, including air strips and docks.

China claims "irrefutable" sovereignty over most of the South China Sea and the islands in it, and accuses the United States of raising military tension with its navy presence there.

Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam all claim parts of the waterway, through which about $5 trillion in ship-borne trade passes each year. Taiwan also claims the waters.
Amit Shah

BJP chief Amit Shah termed the Congress a private limited company of the Gandhi-Nehru family in which party workers are ashamed of chanting slogans for the country.

He targeted the opposition party at a series of public meetings in poll-bound Rajasthan, where he also talked tough on illegal migration from Bangladesh.

He said the BJP government will try to expel illegal migrants one by one and asked Congress chief Rahul Gandhi to clarify whether he wanted infiltrators to remain in the country.

The Congress is not a democratic party. It is a private limited firm of the Gandhi-Nehru family, he said addressing an election rally in Kotputli in Jaipur district.

The Bharatiya Janata Party president also addressed meetings in Karauli and Nadoti in Karauli district, and in Bassi near Jaipur.

Shah referred to a reported incident in Bikaner where Congress workers chanting Bharat mata ki jai' were interrupted by 'Sonia Gandhi ki jai' slogans.

They are ashamed of chanting slogans for the country. It is a matter of shame for the Congress, he said.

On illegal migration, Shah said, During the 10 years of the previous Congress government's rule at the Centre, there was no control on infiltration.

"Vote for Vasundhara Raje in 2018 in Rajasthan and for Narendra Modi in 2019, he said in Karauli.

I assure you that the BJP government will work to throw out each and every intruder from Kanyakumari to Kashmir and Assam to Gujarat, one by one," he added.

He highlighted the surgical strike conducted by the Army in Pakistan-held territory across the Line of Control.

Shah said the BJP governments at the Centre and in Rajasthan had implemented welfare schemes covering all sections of society.

He alleged it is in the character of the Congress to spread the poison of caste and religion-based politics while the BJP's motto is 'Sabka saath, sabka Vikas' (inclusive development).

Shah said Prime Minister Narendra Modi has worked to make the country proud across the globe.

Congress is daydreaming about coming back to power, he said, asking the party to look at its performance in elections since the BJP came to power at the Centre.

Assembly elections will be held in Rajasthan on December 7.
The rupee strengthened further by 27 paise to close at a four-month high of 69.58 against the US currency on Friday, extending gains for a fourth day in a row aided by easing crude oil prices and firm stock markets.

The rupee traded firm against the US currency despite a firm dollar overseas, signalling a change in sentiments of forex speculators, analysts said.

At the Interbank Foreign Exchange (Forex), the rupee opened higher at 69.68, and soon gathered momentum to touch a high of 69.57.

The domestic unit, however, pared some gains and settled the day up by 27 paise at 69.58 a dollar, a level not seen since August 1.

On Thursday the rupee had vaulted 77 paise to a three-month high of 69.85 per US dollar.

"The INR remained unchanged today despite dollar strength, signaling changing sentiments amongst forex speculators, a rise in FII inflows and crude stabilising below USD 60," said Sunil Sharma, Chief Investment Officer, Sanctum Wealth Management.

Sharma further noted that the key events this week will be the discussion on trade between China and the US at the G20, and agreements, if any, on crude supply cuts amongst OPEC nations.

Traders said sustained foreign fund inflows, easing crude oil prices and a smart recovery in domestic equity markets also aided the domestic currency.

Globally, Brent crude, the international benchmark, was trading 1.18 per cent down at USD 58.81 per barrel.

The 30-share Sensex settled 23.89 points, or 0.07 per cent, higher at 36,194.30, while the broader NSE Nifty gained 18.05 points, or 0.17 per cent, to 10,876.75.

Meanwhile, on net basis, foreign funds sold shares worth Rs 332.62 crore, while DIIs purchased share to the tune of Rs 1,489.65 crore Friday, provisional data showed.
Tens of thousands of farmers, some carrying skulls of those who committed suicide, had marched towards Parliament demanding loan waivers and better prices for their produce, NDTV reported. The protesters are being backed by opposition politicians, including Rahul Gandhi, Arvind Kejriwal, Sharad Pawar, HD Deve Gowda and others.

4.03 pm: Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal now addresses the farmers. "The Modi government has cheated the farmers. They are abandoned and forgotten. Farmers are not beggars, they are seeking what is rightfully theirs. The Jai Kisan slogan has been forgotten," he said.

3.57 pm: "If the loans of industrialists can be waived off, then the debt of farmers must be waived off as well. I assure the farmers of India, we are with you, don't feel afraid. Aapki shakti ne is desh ko banaya hai," said Gandhi at farmers protest in Delhi.

3.54 pm: "The Modi government has looted farmers to fill the pockets of his industrialist friends... This government favours the rich, not the kisan. The farmers are asking for their rights, and the Congress will stand beside all of them and will not rest till their demands and needs are fulfilled," the Congress President said.

3.50 pm: Rahul Gandhi addresses farmers at Parliament Street. "Farmers and youth are being ignored by the government, while loans of multi-millionaires are being waived off," he says.



Opposition leaders including Rahul Gandhi, Arvind Kejriwal and Farooq Abdullah at farmers protest in Delhi pic.twitter.com/ThHeMKGrpm  ANI (@ANI) November 30, 2018



3.24 pm: Congress President Rahul Gandhi to address protesting farmers in New Delhi

3.16 pm: Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal will be addressing the farmer's protest at New Delhi today at 4pm, CNN-News 18 has reported.

What has happened so far:

Earlier in the day, farmers were denied permission by the police to march to the Parliament house.

Around 35,000 farmers from across the country have converged near Parliament Street Police station in the national capital, where their leaders addressed the protesters.

The national secretary of the All India Kisan Sangharsh Coordination Committee (AIKSCC), Asish Mittal, said farmers from 24 states have also joined the protest to press for their demands, including debt relief and remunerative prices for their produce.

The farmers, who have been camping at the Ramlila ground here since November 29, began their march to Parliament Street around 10.30 am today, amid heavy policy deployment.

They were stopped near Parliament Street police station, after which they assembled there.

Over 3,500 police personnel have been deployed on the route of the march. According to a senior police officer, special arrangements have been made in Central and New Delhi police districts.

Farmers from different parts of the country, including Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal and Uttar Pradesh converged at the Ramlila ground on November 29.

Banded under the AIKSCC, which claims to be an umbrella body of 207 organisations of farmers and agricultural workers, many farmers arrived in the city on trains, buses and other modes of transport.

About 1,200 members of the National South Indian River Interlinking Agriculturalists Association reached the national capital in the early hours of November 29 carrying skulls of two of their colleagues who had committed suicide, their leader P Ayyakannu said.

The group from Tamil Nadu had threatened to march naked if they are not allowed to go to Parliament on Friday. They had last year staged protests at Jantar Mantar with the skulls of eight farmers who killed themselves owing to losses.

The AIKSCC has claimed that the two-day rally will be one of the largest congregations of farmers in Delhi.

Five Gurdwaras in the Delhi region have extended their help to the farmers. Also, students from various universities turned out in large numbers to lend support to the farmers. The protest also saw participation of a number of women farmers who travelled from various parts of the country.

Volunteers, including doctors, lawyers, professors and artists, all came out in large numbers to help the farmers. Around 600-700 volunteers of a solidarity group 'Nation For Farmers' marched with the protesters from the four assembly points.

The AIKSCC was formed under the aegis of All India Kisan Sabha and other Left-affiliated farmers' bodies in June, 2017, following protests by farmers in states such as Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh for debt relief and remunerative prices.
US President Donald Trump's decision to cancel talks with Russia's Vladimir Putin at the G20 summit was regrettable, the Kremlin said. "We regret the US administration's decision to cancel the meeting," Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov told Russian news agencies.

"This means that discussion of important issues on the international and bilateral agenda will be postponed indefinitely." Putin, he said, "is ready to have contacts with his American counterpart."

Trump on November 29 scrapped the meeting over Moscow's seizure at the weekend of three Ukrainian ships and continued detention of a group of Ukrainian sailors.

The two had been set for bilateral talks on Saturday at the G20 in Buenos Aires.
The NDA government has adopted an attitude of "bullying and threatening" towards opposition-ruled states, senior Congress leader M Mallikarjun Kharge alleged on Friday. He claimed that the government's attitude towards them has not been "correct."

"They threaten and bully everyone. Whether it is West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, whoever, where their party is not there, they threaten them. If you don't come with me, I will do this," the leader of Congress party in the Lok Sabha said at a press conference here.

The NDA government was interfering in the functioning of autonomous institutions like the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC), Kharge alleged, adding that democracy and the Constitution in the country need to be safeguarded.

"I know this because I, myself, am in CVC committee," Kharge said, pointing out that he was a member of different committees to select heads of organisations like CBI in his capacity as the leader of Congress in the Lok Sabha.,

Prime Minister Narendra Modi was not regular in coming to Parliament, he claimed.

The union ministers were not aware of what decisions were taken in their departments, Kharge alleged.

Asked about BJP's election promises in Telangana, including distribution of cows and subsidy to senior citizens to go to Kailash Mansarovar, Kharge alleged that the BJP promised to bring back black money and construct so many houses which turned out to be false.

"They (BJP) are duping the people," he said.

Even the advisers of the NDA government are now finding faults with the demonetisation move, he said.

Kharge expressed confidence that the Congress-led alliance, comprising the TDP, CPI and the Telangana Jana Samiti, would win the December 7 assembly polls in the state.

Attacking the ruling TRS in the state for allegedly not implementing its various election promises, Kharge said it was the "B party of the BJP.
Rajya Sabha member Narayan Rane claimed on November 29 that passage of a bill granting reservation to the Maratha community was his victory, even as he gave credit to Maratha outfits and chief minister Devendra Fadnavis.

The Maharashtra legislature passed a bill granting 16 percent quota to the Maratha community earlier in the day.

"I don't see any difference between the earlier bill or report I had prepared and the present bill. Therefore, your victory is my victory," said Rane, a former chief minister.

Rane, himself a Maratha leader, had headed a committee formed by the previous Congress-NCP government on the issue of Maratha reservation.

In his report, he had discussed how Marathas could be given separate reservation beyond the existing 52 per cent overall reservation in the state, he said.

The credit for the passage of the bill does not go to a single person, Rane said.

"Leaders of several Maratha organisations pursued the matter for the last three years. The credit for it doesn't go to any single person but to the entire Maratha community and Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, and therefore I am thanking him," he added.
Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje and Rajasthan Congress chief Sachin Pilot, in Jaipur

The Congress in Rajasthan, which had reportedly gained an edge over the ruling BJP at the start of the election campaign, is losing steam due to constant infighting and factionalism, according to a report in Mint.

The report suggests that party leaders and voters in Mewar, a bellwether region, have expressed discontent and confusion over Congress' fighting within the party ranks, as also its inability to project a chief ministerial face.

Sachin Pilot and Ashok Gehlot, two senior leaders of the party, have reportedly been at odds with each other even before campaigning for the state began. The differences also surfaced during candidate selection for the state, which goes to polls on December 7. Moreover, Gehlot's comment that there are over seven chief ministerial aspirants in the state has further confused voters.

"Congress has too many faces and it does not send a good message. Even if we vote for them, we do not know who will become the chief minister," Shankar Lal Payak, a compounder from Bhilwara, told the publication. "We want Congress to come back to power because we are unhappy with the current government but the problem is it cannot keep its (own) house in order. Its own leaders are fighting behind the scenes and one is trying to pull down another," he added.

According to the report, local party leadership has also expressed discontent over factionalism within the party. "We started our campaign early on a high note with (Congress president) Rahul Gandhis rallies in October, but there is a view that we have been unable to sustain it," a senior Congress leader involved in party's campaign told the newspaper.

"Almost all our senior leaders are contesting, and barring the two top leaders, none of the other big names are moving out of their constituencies to campaign. Candidate selection was the last straw where all factions were pitted against each other," the leader added.

Several factors  anti-incumbency against the Vasundhara Raje-led government, organisational strength of the Congress, farmer distress and the state's history of throwing the incumbent government out  had pointed towards an advantage for Congress. However, the report states that the local party leadership is no longer confident of gaining a comfortable lead.

BJP smells blood

The infighting within the Rajasthan unit of Congress has presented itself as an opportunity to the BJP, with the saffron party mulling over increasing Prime Minister Narendra Modi's rallies from six to eight, according to a report by Hindustan Times.

BJP president Amit Shah is also planning to camp in Rajasthan till the polling day to address meetings to fend off anti-incumbency, the report suggests.

The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), which had been indifferent to Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje, too is supporting her. "It is now a survival issue for them. The RSS cadre has now given up its indifference towards CM Raje and plunged headfirst into the election battle," a senior state BJP functionary told the news daily.

The report indicated that the BJP has regained its lost ground and is in a fighting position now.

On November 27, during the unveiling of the BJP manifesto for the state, Finance Minister and senior BJP leader Arun Jaitley had told the newspaper that the "division within the Congress leadership and suspicion among caste leaders will help the BJP".

"The party is all set to turn anti-incumbency to pro-incumbency with Congress not even declaring its chief ministerial candidate for a fear of caste backlash. The BJP has been able to control dissidence better with lesser number of rebels than the Congress," Jaitley had said.
Congress President Rahul Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi along with party leaders wave at the crowd at a poll rally in Medchal. (Image: PTI)

The BJP Friday alleged that Robert Vadra had put pressure on Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi for revocation of an Income Tax department order penalising a company that gave a loan to another entity to buy his land in Rajasthan.

Dubbing Vadra a "tained son-in-law", BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra claimed that in 2010, Vadra's Skylight Hospitality Pvt Ltd had bought 70 hectares of land for nearly Rs 70 lakh and sold it to another entity, Allegeny Finlease Pvt Ltd, in 2012 for Rs 5.15 crore, "seven times the original cost".

Bhushan Power and Steel Limited (BSPL) gave an unsecured loan of Rs 5.64 crore to Allegeny Finlease for buying the same land, he claimed.

During the same time, BSPL had got a tax notice that cited anomalies in its returns from 2004-2005 to 2011-12, and was asked to pay Rs 500 crore for the difference, Patra claimed.

"BSPL wrote to the Settlement Commission of the IT (Income Tax) department appealing against the order, which said the company has to pay Rs 500 crore. The commission also granted no immunity to BSPL against prosecution and penalty," the BJP spokesperson told reporters here.

The Settlement Commission reconstituted a bench that rescinded the earlier order and had asked the company to pay Rs 500 crore, he claimed.

"As Bhushan Steel had given money for buying a plot of land from Robert Vadra, he put pressure on Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi to ask the Income Tax department to waive the penalty and save BSPL from punishment. It is a clear case of corruption," Patra said.

"This is case of quid pro quo between Skylight Hospitality, Allegeny Finlease and Bhushan Steel," Patra said, alleging that unaccounted money has been by misusing the powers.

Patra also targeted former prime minister Manmohan Singh and dubbed him a "puppet PM" for overlooking the "corruption" during his time.

He also asked, "How much did the Gandhis benefit (from this deal)?"

Targeting Vadra, the BJP leader said his modus operandi is to buy land at a cheaper price, change the utility of the land and then sell it at a rate several times the original cost.

When asked what his party did as it was in power both in Rajasthan as well as the Centre, Patra said, the BJP governments investigated the case.

"We came to power in 2013-2014. We investigated it. The whole ball started moving since 2015. In early 2015, we had an FIR registered in Rajasthan against the Bikaner land allotment of Mr Robert Vadra.

"Thereafter, the whole thing is moving smoothly according to the law. The ED (Enforcement Directorate) had talked about the whole thing in 2016. In 2017, notices were issued and people were arrested in 2017. In 2018, the settlement commission issue had been taken up and yet again you see how the ED is moving ahead," Patra said.
The Maharashtra Assembly on November 29 unanimously passed a bill granting 16 percent reservation to the Maratha community under the socially and educationally backward category. The bill was tabled by Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, who also furbished an Action Taken Report (ATR) on Maharashtra State Backward Class Commissions (MSBCC) recommendations in the Assembly.

The total reservation in Maharashtra is currently at 52 percent, already higher than the 50 percent cap set by the Supreme Court. With the state assembly approving the bill for 16 percent quota, the total reservation in the state will increase to 68 percent.

The passage of the bill is bound to have serious ramifications on other communities which have been demanding reservations in their respective states. For instance, the Kapus in Andhra Pradesh, the Jats in Haryana and the Patidars in Gujarat.

But is the bill viable, or even constitutionally valid? Lets find out:

The Supreme Court, in its 1992 ruling in the Indra Sawhney Etc vs Union Of India And Others case, had set the cap for reservations at 50 percent. The apex court was of the view that, Just as every power must be exercised reasonably and fairly, the power conferred by Clause (4) of Article 16 should also be exercised in a fair manner and within reasonably limits - and what is more reasonable than to say that reservation under Clause (4) shall not exceed 50% of the appointments or posts, barring certain extraordinary situations as explained hereinafter.

According to Clause (4) of Article 16 of the Indian Constitution titled Equality of opportunity in matters of public employment: Nothing in this article shall prevent the State from making any provision for the reservation of appointments or posts in favour of any backward class of citizens which, in the opinion of the State, is not adequately represented in the services under the State.

However, the courts are of the view that the cap of 50 percent is reasonable; has been accepted by the states as well as the Union, and that any reservation beyond 50 percent is liable to be struck down.

Is the cap of 50 percent justified?

It was the Mandal Commission  the body which recommended OBC reservations in 1980  that had found out that 52 percent of the population was comprised by backward castes. This 52% figure was based on the 1931 Census, which was the last time a census was conducted according to castes. However, the number mustve increased due to population rise in the last eight decades.

Many media reports suggest that the 50 percent cap is not justified as it is not proportional to the rise in population of the people belonging to the backward communities. In fact, in 2011, a Socio-Economic and Caste Census was conducted in order to update the 1931 Census, especially in the aftermath of more and more communities coming forward to demand quota.

However, that data was not released. Many commentators are of the view that the data showed a rather small population of upper castes in India and hence it was concealed.

In fact, former Union minister Yashwant Sinha had voiced his discontent with the current cap of 50 percent, urging the Centre to form a committee to review the figure taking into account the increasing beneficiaries for reservations.

What is the future course of action for the Maratha quota bill?

Since the bill passed by the Maharashtra Assembly on November 29 increases the total reservations in the state to 68 percent, it is likely that activists will challenge the bill in courts.

The other course of action is that the ruling BJP government in Maharashtra can push the Centre to pass a constitutional amendment and park the bill in the Constitution's Ninth Schedule, which immunizes the bill from judicial scrutiny.

Laws mentioned in the Ninth Schedule cannot be annulled by the courts on the basis that they might violate Fundamental Rights. However, later it was ruled that they will warrant judicial review if and only if they change the basic structure of the Constitution of India as laid down in the Keshavananda Bharati vs State of Kerala of 1973.

However, many commentators believe that the Ninth Schedule has been misused over time for political expediency.

Instances where state governments have been rejected by the courts

There have been many state governments that have tried to increase the quota for reservation above the 50 percent cap. These include Rajasthan, which despite its repeated attempts, could not extend 5 percent additional quota to OBCs after the intervention from Rajasthan High Court.

In addition, other states rely heavily on the Ninth Schedule to increase reservations in order to appease minority communities. For instance, Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao passed a bill in 2017 to extend 12 percent additional quota to backward Muslims. Since this increased the total to 62 percent, KCR passed the buck on to the Centre for including it in the Ninth Schedule.

Exception to the rule

The only state government to have exercised the Ninth Schedule to its advantage is Tamil Nadu under the leadership of late J Jayalalithaa. The state enjoys 69 percent reservation, the highest in India. In 1993, Jayalalithaa passed the bill to implement the 69 percent reservations. Then she convinced the then prime minister PV Narasimha Rao to not only ensure Presidential assent for the bill but to also bring out a constitutional amendment to park it in the Ninth Schedule. Since then, the bill has been challenged in the apex court, but the final word on the matter is yet to be out.
Fighting the most keenly observed contest in Rajasthan polls, Congress candidate Manvendra Singh said on November 30 that it was an "uphill task" to beat Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje in her political fortress of Jhalrapatan, but he was here to "fight and win" the election.

With a battle cry of "Jhalawar azaad hoga (Jhalawar will be free)", Singh said he is determined to live up to the challenge of taking on his formidable opponent.

"I am here to fight and win the election and not to contest for the sake of contesting," the son of former BJP leader Jaswant Singh said.

Manvendra Singh, who crossed over from the BJP to the Congress just weeks before joining the electoral fray, said when he was asked to fight against the chief minister, it took him just a second to accept the challenge.

Asked if he was viewing it as a "David and Goliath" battle, Singh answered in the negative.

"It is an uphill task no doubt. I am not belittling the challenge. It is an uphill task and I don't see myself as David at all. Besides the three Vidhan Sabha victories, she (Raje) has been MP from here for five times," Singh told PTI in an interview.

"She has an advantage of 30 years and I have to cover that handicap of 30 years in 15 days. So it is a challenge but it is a challenge I am living up to," said Singh, who had contested and won from Sheo assembly seat in 2013.

Rejecting his rivals' claims of being seen as an outsider here, Singh said he has been accepted "very wholeheartedly, very warmly" by the people of Jhalrapatan.

It doesn't take people more than a day or two to know whether one belongs to them or not, Singh said.

On the kind of feedback he was getting after campaigning extensively in the Jhalrapatan constituency, Singh said: "I am being realistic. I am not pinning my hopes on a miracle, but it is not impossible. I am getting very positive feedback from the people and from the Congress workers who have been toiling on this seat for many years."

Despite the "very positive" feedback, Singh said, he keeps putting himself through a reality check and every time he gets a positive report, he keeps questioning that report to figure out where all it could go wrong.

Asked if the treatment meted out to his father by the BJP will have a bearing on the election, he said: "I don't think the BJP as such is answerable for this as Prime Minister (Narendra) Modi told me, it is some individual in Rajasthan and a couple of people in Delhi that are responsible for it."

He asserted that it will have a bearing on this election as it was a topic of discussion, not by him but by other speakers in some of the meetings.

On whether he would be in the running for the chief minister's post if he succeeds in the giant-killing act of defeating Raje, Singh said, "No, not at all."

What has made the Singh-Raje battle the most talked about is the tension between the two leaders that is well known.

Singh, 54, quit the BJP in September and joined the Congress in October after being sidelined within the ruling party, reportedly because of Raje's feud with his father Jaswant Singh, who was denied a BJP ticket in the last Lok Sabha polls.

Asked if it was also a "prestige battle" for him, Singh said, "I don't personally (take it as a prestige battle) and I don't link it to any kind of revenge that people talk about. I am just looking at it as an electoral contest and it should remain that way."

The contest should remain clean and fair, he added.

On Raje's statement that the Congress could not find a constituency for him and therefore fielded him against her from here, Singh said he didn't ask for a constituency.

"I was very clear from the time I joined the Congress party that I wasn't interested in a Vidhan Sabha election and I didn't ask for a seat for myself. So I think she is off the mark when she says that," he asserted.

He said the main issue in this constituency, on which he was taking on Raje, was farmers' distress.

"I was surprised by the distress among the farmers. Within the MLA constituency, there have been two farmer suicides in the last year or so," he said.

There is a seething anger about the garlic crop and how badly it has been handled in terms of the minimum support price issue, Singh said.

To resolve the MSP issue, the government came up with some kind of token system and those who have got a token would have their crop picked up, while others had their produce rotting in their house, he alleged.

Singh said the decision to switch to the Congress from the BJP evolved over a period of time and it was cemented by two factors his friendship and fondness for Rahul Gandhi and a senior member of the BJP family telling him that wherever former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee would be, he would be blessing him.
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has suggested that the company is valued at $2 trillion. Apples valued at less than half of that, at $943.53 billion and Alphabet Inc is valued at $838.55 billion.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi met with Saudi Arabia Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on the sidelines of the G20 summit on November 29 and they discussed ways to further boost economic, cultural and energy ties.

The two sides also held discussions on enhancing investment in technology, renewable energy and food security.

"Had a fruitful interaction with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud. We discussed multiple aspects of India-Saudi Arabia relations and ways to further boost economic, cultural and energy ties," the prime minister wrote on Twitter.

"Deepening strategic ties. PM @narendramodi met with Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud on sidelines of #G20Argentina. Discussed enhancing Saudi investment in technology, infrastructure, petroleum, renewable energy, food security, fintech & defence sectors," External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Raveesh Kumar tweeted.

"In recent years, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has been a valuable partner. The relationship has expanded beyond the Indian community to issues related to the economy, energy and security. All issues of bilateral and regional interest will be discussed," PMO sources said.

Later, the prime minister will meet UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres. According to the sources, the UN Secretary General has reached out to the PM for the second time in two months.

They said the meeting signifies the importance that both leaders attach to the issue of climate change. This outreach comes just a week before the COP24 meet in Katowice, Poland.

"It reflects the respect in which the prime minister and his initiatives are held globally to take the lead on issues of global importance," the sources said.

On the sidelines of the two-day 13th G-20 summit, Modi, Trump, and Japanese Premier Shinzo Abe will hold a trilateral meeting amidst China flexing its muscles in the strategic Indo-Pacific region.

The trilateral, which would be an expansion of the bilateral meeting between Trump and Abe, is part of the series of meetings the US president would have on the sidelines of the G-20 summit on November 30 and December 1.

White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said on Thursday the trilateral meeting with Prime Minister Modi will be held towards the end of the Trump-Abe talks.

"Looking forward to a wide range of interactions at the G-20 Summit, aimed at furthering sustainable development," Prime Minister Modi tweeted soon after he landed here.

Modi will also meet Chinese President Xi Jinping and German Chancellor Angela Merkel on the sidelines of the event, the Ministry of External Affairs had said on the eve of his departure.
Despite the Madras High Court directing 37 internet service providers (ISPs) to block over 12,000 websites that showcase pirated versions of Tamil films, Rajinikanth and Akshay Kumar-starrer 2.0 has been leaked online by TamilRockers.

In order to protect its film from piracy, Lyca Production -- the maker of 2.0 -- had filed a plea in Madras High Court to block such websites.

TamilRockers, which has been termed a bull that cannot be tamed, has given producers plenty of sleepless nights, going as far as openly posting links to watch new movies on the day they were released. 2.0 is its latest victim.

Major Tamil releases like Sarkar, Kaala, and Kabali have all suffered due to online piracy, particularly TamilRockers. The Tamil film industry is faced with a grave problem because multiple attempts to shut down the website in the past have failed.

Only last year, members of TamilRockers were booked and arrested by the anti-piracy cell for uploading pirated versions of Tamil, Telugu, English, Malayalam and other language films on their website. The site is said to have connections with international piracy rackets as well.

In fact, TamilRockers' URL(s) have been suspended time and again, but its members simply change the domain name and the site continues to operate in full swing. People now ask TamilRockers for its new domain name openly on social media platforms.

The anonymous group is not so unknown anymore after the Tamil Nadu Producers Council and production houses Studio Green and Vishal Film factory published an advertisement in which they released pictures of two men who they claim are part of three piracy websites.

Tamil movie buffs have a strong liking for TamilRockers. Before the release of Rajinikanth's Kabali, there was a sharp jump in demand for the film, especially due to the high ticket prices.

But the problem is not restricted to just Tamil films. The entire Indian film industry as a whole is fighting an unending battle against piracy.

Shortly after the release of Rajkumar Hirani's Sanju in June, the producers of the film had lodged a complaint with the cyber cell, stating the movie went viral via Facebook Live. This pushed the Maharashtra Cyber Cell to ban 11 websites that provided illegal weblinks for the film on Facebook Live.

Piracy is one of the major issues affecting the Indian film industry right now. According to an estimate by consultancy firm KPMG, it results in losses of revenue totalling around Rs 18,000 crore a year.

EY said in a report earlier this year that piracy has resulted in Indian films losing 10-30 percent of their overall revenue. The fast-paced adoption of internet across the country and affordable data plans have further enabled viewers to wait for the film and watch it on their mobile screen, it said.

According to a report titled 'The Irdeto Global Consumer Piracy Threat', India ranks fourth in the world for peer-to-peer downloading, with 965 million downloads between January 2017 and May 2018.

There have been several steps taken by the government to battle the piracy menace, and different industry associations have come together to work towards that end as well.

The Indian copyright law has provisions for digital rights management for protection of content on digital media. There have been multiple cases of high courts issuing John Doe orders to prevent websites suspected of engaging in piracy from accessing content.

The government has banned various websites that provide online streaming or torrent links to download pirated content. Even the warning on such websites has been updated to include viewing, downloading, exhibition and duplication of content as offences that are punishable under Section 63, 63-A, 65 and 65-A of the Copyright Act.

The law further states that these offences draw a punishment of up to three years in jail and a fine up to Rs 3 lakh. Also, the onus of committing the crime will be on the viewers if it can be proved that the infringement was done knowingly.

And yet, the Indian film industry is practically groping in the dark in its war against piracy. The entire value-chain, from producers to distributors to cinema owners, has been affected by instances of films being made available online within hours of their theatrical release. In some cases, films have even been leaked before their release dates.
Imports of Iranian crude oil by major buyers in Asia hit a five-year low in October, as China, Japan and South Korea sharply cut purchases ahead of U.S. sanctions on Tehran that took effect in early November, government and ship-tracking data showed.

China, India, Japan and South Korea last month imported about 762,000 barrels per day (bpd) from Iran, according to the data, down 56.4 percent from a year earlier.

This marks the lowest volume of shipments since October 2013, when an earlier round of tough U.S. and E.U. sanctions had slashed exports from the OPEC member starting from early 2012.

In reimposing sanctions on Nov. 5 on Iran's energy and shipping industries, however, Washington also granted exemptions to China, Japan, South Korea and five other countries, allowing them to continue buying some Iranian oil for at least another 180 days.

India's imports of Iranian oil dropped the least, falling just 0.2 percent from the same month last year to 466,400 bpd.

Most India refiners boosted purchases from Iran ahead of the U.S. sanctions as Iran was offering almost free shipping and extended credit periods, according to oil analysts.

South Korean oil imports from Iran, though, fell to zero for a second straight month in October.

Japan's oil imports from Iran plunged by 71 percent to a six-month low of 48,033 bpd last month, trade ministry data showed on Friday.

Japan's imports for November are set to fall to zero for the first time since July 2012, when the nation's buyers reined in its appetite to keep from falling afoul of European Union sanctions targeting insurance.

Japan has not imported any crude after the last cargo was shipped in early October, according to Refinitiv data.

South Korea is likely to hold its oil imports from Iran at zero until the end of the year and resume shipments from January, industry sources said in mid-November.

Japan's JXTG Nippon Oil & Energy is likely to load Iran crude around the end of December, two industry sources said. A company spokesman said, however, that the company is considering the purchase but nothing has been decided yet.

China's imports of Iranian crude tumbled 64 percent in October to 247,200 bpd.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi met with UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres on the sidelines of the G20 summit here on November 29 and the two discussed India's role in addressing climate change globally.

PMO sources said the meeting signifies the importance that both leaders attach to the issue of climate change. This outreach comes just a week before the COP24 meet in Katowice, Poland. "UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres met PM Narendra Modi in Buenos Aires on the sidelines of the G20Summit.



UN Secretary General @antonioguterres met PM @narendramodi in #BuenosAires on the sidelines of the #G20Summit. Discussed India's uniting role in addressing climate change globally, with specific reference to the forthcoming COP24 meeting in Katowice, Poland. pic.twitter.com/IxW9yRIsGR

 Raveesh Kumar (@MEAIndia) November 29, 2018

Discussed India's uniting role in addressing climate change globally, with specific reference to the forthcoming COP24 meeting in Katowice, Poland," External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Raveesh Kumar tweeted.

The UN Secretary General has reached out to the PM for a second time in two months, the PMO sources said.

"It reflects the respect in which the prime minister and his initiatives are held globally to take the lead on issues of global importance," the sources said.

Earlier, the prime minister met with Saudi Arabia Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on the sidelines of the G20 summit. They discussed ways to further boost economic, cultural and energy ties.

The two sides also held discussions on enhancing investment in technology, renewable energy and food security.

"Had a fruitful interaction with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud. We discussed multiple aspects of India-Saudi Arabia relations and ways to further boost economic, cultural and energy ties," the prime minister wrote on Twitter.

"Deepening strategic ties. PM Narendra Modi met with Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud on sidelines of G20 Argentina. Discussed enhancing Saudi investment in technology, infrastructure, petroleum, renewable energy, food security, fintech & defence sectors," the MEA spokesperson tweeted.

On the sidelines of the two-day 13th G-20 summit, Modi, Trump and Japanese Premier Shinzo Abe will hold a trilateral meeting amidst China flexing its muscles in the strategic Indo-Pacific region.

The trilateral, which would be an expansion of the bilateral meeting between Trump and Abe, is part of the series of meetings the US president would have on the sidelines of the G-20 summit on November 30 and December 1.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel will miss the opening of the G20 summit in Argentina after what she called a "serious malfunction" forced her government plane to make an unscheduled but safe landing.

Merkel and German Finance Minister Olaf Scholz will resume their travel to Buenos Aires early on November 30, but the long flight time means they will arrive after world leaders start their discussions.

The government's Airbus A340 aircraft carrying Merkel and her delegation to the Group of 20 summit of industrialised nations turned around after technical problems surfaced an hour into the 15-hour flight, and landed safely at the Cologne-Bonn airport.

"It was a serious malfunction," Merkel told reporters hours later, after the delegation was brought to a hotel in Bonn. "Luckily, we had an excellent crew and the most experienced pilot of the special air mission wing."

The airplane captain told passengers he had decided to land after the "malfunction of several electronic systems", but said there had been no security risk.

Merkel and other passengers initially remained on board the aircraft, called "Konrad Adenauer", as mechanics inspected its brakes and several fire engines waited nearby, according to a Reuters reporter on board.

Der Spiegel magazine said the entire communication system malfunctioned, constituting a serious emergency, with the crew forced to plan the landing using an on-board satellite phone.

Defence Minister Ursula von der Leyen was informed about the incident immediately, and tried for hours to organise an alternate aircraft to carry Merkel and her entourage.

The German military blog Augengeradeaus reported that the plane's transponder was transmitting the code 7600 which refers to a radio malfunction.

Later, the delegation travelled by bus to a hotel in Bonn. Delegation sources said a different government plane would fly Merkel and Scholz to Madrid, where they would switch to a commercial carrier for the final leg of the trip.

The delay will complicate Merkel's schedule at a meeting where the G20 members expect to face difficult negotiations on myriad issues.

Merkel, who had planned bilateral meetings with the presidents of the United States, China, Russia and India, was unlikely to arrive in Buenos Aires until Friday evening, German government sources said. It was not immediately clear which bilateral meetings would have to be rescheduled.

Scholz was grounded on the same A340 aircraft last month after an International Monetary Fund meeting in Indonesia, according to German media reports. They said the issue involved damage caused by rodents.
The German Air Force said on November 30 that there was no suspicion of criminal activity after a malfunction forced a plane carrying Chancellor Angela Merkel to the G20 summit in Argentina to make an unscheduled landing.

Earlier German daily Rheinische Post cited security sources as saying the government was checking whether the incident on November 29 had a "criminal background", though the sources added that investigators would typically look "in all directions" after such an incident.

But a spokesman for the German Air Force said there was no suspicion of any crime, adding: "It's a standard check of the radio equipment that failed."

Merkel was on her way from Germany to the summit when the government's Airbus A340 made an unscheduled but safe landing at Cologne-Bonn airport late on November 29.

Guido Henrich, commander of the German Air Force's government fleet, told reporters the pilots experienced the radio failure over the Netherlands and that other systems failed too, so they landed at Cologne-Bonn airport.

An electronic failure was the problem.

"The part concerned was an electronic distribution box, which we have changed," Henrich, adding that the Air Force was sending another plane to Argentina on Friday for Merkel's return journey from the G20.

Der Spiegel magazine said the government plane's entire communication system malfunctioned, constituting a serious emergency, with the crew forced to plan the landing using an on-board satellite phone.

The air force spokesman said the plane had not discharged jet fuel before landing in Cologne, contrary to earlier reports.

Merkel called the incident a "serious malfunction". She and German Finance Minister Olaf Scholz were due to resume their travel to Buenos Aires early on November 30, but they will arrive after G20 leaders start their discussions.
Sri Lanka's parliament passed a motion on November 30 cutting ministers' salaries and travel expenses in a move designed to hinder the administration of disputed Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa, whose supporters boycotted the vote.

The motion, which passed 122-0 in the 225-member parliament, followed a similar vote on November 29 to cut the budget to the prime minister's office.

It remained unclear how the move would be applied in practice, with Rajapaksa loyalists declaring it illegal.
Syrian air defences on November 29 targeted and downed a number of "hostile targets" close to the capital Damascus, state media said. "Our air defences fired on hostile targets over the Kisweh area and downed them," the official SANA news agency reported, citing a military source.

The area south of Damascus has been targeted by alleged Israeli strikes in the past, which a monitor said have killed members of Iran's elite Revolutionary Guards force and other pro-Iranian Shiite militias.

Head of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights Rami Abdel Rahman said there are "weapons depots belonging to the Lebanese Hezbollah (group) as well as Iranian forces" in Kisweh.

Israel has carried out hundreds of air strikes in neighbouring Syria against what it says are Iranian targets.

Syrian air defences in September opened fire to intercept alleged Israeli missiles targeting ammunition depots in the northwestern province of Latakia, but instead downed a Russian jet.

Abdel Rahman said on November 29 was the first time Syria's air defences had been called into action since the incident on September 17 in which 15 Russians were killed.

Moscow pinned responsibility for the downing of its jet on Israel, saying its plane used the larger Russian one for cover, an allegation Israel disputed. Following the incident, Russia sent advanced air defence missiles to Damascus.

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told Russia his country would continue to hit hostile targets in Syria to prevent Iran from establishing a military presence across the border.
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has suggested that the company is valued at $2 trillion. Apples valued at less than half of that, at $943.53 billion and Alphabet Inc is valued at $838.55 billion.

World leaders welcomed Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on Friday at the G20 summit, showing he was no pariah less than two months after the kingdom killed a dissident journalist.

The 33-year-old heir apparent was seen chatting with US President Donald Trump and his daughter Ivanka and shaking hands with French President Emmanuel Macron at the start of a two-day meeting of the world's top economies in Buenos Aires.

Prince Mohammed and Russian President Vladimir Putin both grinned broadly and shook hands robustly as leaders converged for a group photo.

British Prime Minister Theresa May also said she would meet Prince Mohammed.

She said she would press the crown prince both on the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi and the Saudi-led offensive in Yemen, where millions are on the brink of starvation in what the United Nations calls the world's worst humanitarian crisis.

"The Saudi Arabians need to ensure that their investigation is a full investigation, that it's credible, that it's transparent, and that people can have confidence in the outcome of it, and that those responsible are held to account," May told Sky News.

Macron told reporters before meeting the prince that he will "no doubt" mention the death of Khashoggi, a US-based contributor to The Washington Post who was killed when he visited the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.

The killing has sparked widespread outrage but Western powers have pledged to maintain close relations with Saudi Arabia, a top oil producer and buyer of US weapons.

Trump, in an exclamation-heavy statement before the summit, said it did not matter whether Prince Mohammed knew about Khashoggi's death and that Saudi Arabia was important for business and for its hostility to Iran.

The US Senate nonetheless moved this week to end support for the Saudi-led war against rebels in Yemen amid outrage over attacks on civilian sites including a school bus and hospitals.
Rank 1| Yemen | FSI Score - 113.5 (Image: Reuters)

Yemen's Huthi rebels have said they will attend UN-brokered peace talks next week in Sweden if guarantees to ensure they can leave home and return back are maintained.

"I think that the national (Huthi) delegation will be in Sweden God willing on December 3 if guarantees remain to ensure they can depart and return," Mohammed Ali al-Huthi said on Twitter on November 29.

Huthi, who heads the rebels' Higher Revolutionary Committee, said there should also be "positive indications on the importance of peace from the other side".

His remarks offered the first clear indication that the Iran-linked Huthis will attend the UN-brokered peace talks, although in past days they have said they supported the negotiations.

It was also the first time that a key player in the Yemen war specified a date for the talks which the United Nations has said it would begin in early December in Sweden.

In September, a previous round of UN-led peace talks failed when the Huthis refused to travel to Geneva, accusing the world body of failing to guarantee their delegation's return to Sanaa or secure the evacuation of wounded rebels to Oman.

Previous talks broke down in 2016, when 108 days of negotiations in Kuwait failed to yield a deal and left rebel delegates stranded in Oman for three months.

The Huthi's top political leader Mahdi al-Mashat confirmed in a statement published by the rebels' news agency later Thursday that their negotiating team was ready to head to Sweden.

He called for a reduction in hostilities ahead of the talks and said rebels were exercising "high levels of self-restraint".

Yemen's internationally recognised government, which is also backed by a Saudi-led military coalition, has already said it would attend the planned talks in Sweden.

President in a statement to mark Yemen's Independence Day insisted the government was committed to peace and not "calling for war".

Despite the latest calls for peace, both government and rebel media reported ongoing clashes across the country.

UN envoy Martin Griffiths has held talks separately in the past few days with officials from both sides as part of efforts to lay the ground work for the peace talks.

He met Huthi in the rebel-held Yemeni capital Sanaa and had talks with Yemeni officials in Saudi Arabia's capital Riyadh.

According to UN figures, nearly 10,000 people have been killed since the coalition joined the conflict in 2015 to bolster Hadi, triggering what the UN calls the world's worst humanitarian crisis.
US pharmaceutical giant Johnson & Johnson has been in the limelight recently for the wrong reasons. A jury in the US state of Missouri has recently awarded $4.7 billion in damages to 22 women, who alleged that its talc products caused them to develop ovarian cancer. What has been traditionally a name associated with excellence in medical products has been tarnished in the US by this landmark judgement.

This verdict came during a time when the company was battling over 9,000 cases involving its baby powder across US. During the trial, it came to light that several women and their families had developed ovarian cancer after using baby powder and other talc products for decades. Shockingly, of the 22 women represented in this case, six have died from ovarian cancer. The lawyers representing these women in the lawsuit, claimed that Johnson & Johnson was aware its talc was contaminated with asbestos since 1970s but had failed to warn consumers of the risks.

Talc is a mineral-based product, which in its natural form contains asbestos and causes cancer, however trials done with asbestos-free talc has given contradictory results. There have been studies linking the mineral to cancer, but there are also studies that have argued there is no link whatsoever.

Regardless, the fact that there is no conclusive evidence of talcum powders carcinogenic properties, should not be enough to rule it as safe. It should be obvious, that the Indian government should make efforts to further investigate the details of this case, in order to determine whether sanctions should be put against the product in India. But to date, it has yet to take any action.

This is not the only product offered by Johnson & Johnson that is under the scanner. The company is known to offer hip implants ASR and Pinnacle to patients in the country. In a massive investigation appropriately titled the Implant Files, the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) has exposed how medical devices are advertised, sold and surgically implanted across the world under regulatory systems that are riddled with holes.

In their report, records show that Johnson & Johnson subsidiary DePuy waived the US clearance for Pinnacle and ASR to push both products through. Furthermore, records also show that Indian regulators approved both products based on the US clearance without conducting any clinical trials of their own.

Both implants are metal-on-metal, comprising a metal ball in a metal socket implanted at the hip. The result of bypassing the requisite clinical trials in India has been disastrous. There have been reports of toxic fluid seepage of cobalt and chromium in both implants. In a case related to these defective implants, a federal jury in the US had ordered the company to pay $247 million in reparations to six patients. During the proceedings of this case, the patients claimed that after implantation the devices led to tissue death, bone erosion and several other negative side effects. Few months later, in another case the court awarded $245 million to six other complaints when the jury found Johnson & Johnson liable for defects and fraud.

In India, ASR has been in the centre of a series of investigations, including findings of a committee set up by the Union Health Ministry to probe complaints from hospitals and patients. The committee had indicted Johnson & Johnson and put forth recommendations that it be liable to pay Rs20 lakh to each affected patient.

However, this does not help those patients who have been implanted with defective Pinnacle units.

ASR was officially recalled from Indian markets in 2010 and the company commercially withdrew Pinnacle only three years later. The question still remains on why the implants were passed through in Indian markets without any clinical trials.

Maharashtras Food & Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner Mahesh Zagade, who was the first one to initiate investigations into the company for the faulty implants, has recently accused the office of Drug Controller General of India (DGI) of intentionally delaying taking any action against the company.

Whether these actions are a result of some sort of collusion between Indian regulators and the company remains to be seen. In any case, there is sufficient reason to scrutinise the business of Johnson & Johnson in India.
The past few years have seen a lot of discussion on the Ease of Doing Business in India and there has been a huge jump in Indias ranking. It is about time the same attention was given to the difficulty that an average citizen faces in dealing with the judiciary and government agencies.

In a situation where even affluent people find it challenging to deal with these institutions,...
Avand in vedere faptul ca zilnic Comisia Europeana primeste semnalari din partea autoritatilor nationale atat cele din Uniunea Europeana cat si din Spatiul Economic European cu privire la produsele periculoase identificate pe pietele lor, InfoCons - Asociatia Nationala de Protectia Consumatorilor avertizeaza, saptamanal, asupra riscurilor la care se supun cumparatorii achizitionand anumite produse catalogate ca fiind cu risc. Toate aceste informatii sunt colectate si sunt transmise prin Safety Gate - Sistemul de alerta rapida pentru produse nealimentare periculoase.

In cuprinsul ultimei avertizari, se regaseste un produs foarte dorit de copii si care nu este ieftin deloc. Este vorba despre hoverboard-ul Alpha Ride. Potrivit descrierii alertei emisa de Comisia Europeana, acest produs, cu autoechilibrare (pe perna de aer), model Alfa JY-420201 prezinta urmatoarele tipuri de risc: incendiu, leziuni, soc electric. Produsul are o rezistenta insuficienta la umiditate si apa poate intra in contact cu piesele sub tensiune (conectorul extern de incarcare din compartimentul bateriilor). Aceasta ar putea duce la un soc electric sau la foc. Tensiunea de evacuare a contactelor de conectare ale unitatii de alimentare cu energie electrica este prea mare si ar putea duce la un soc electric. Aparatul poate incepe brusc fara a utiliza dispozitivul de comanda prevazut in acest scop, ceea ce ar putea duce la raniri. Produsul nu respecta cerintele Directivei privind echipamentele tehnice si ale standardului european relevant EN 60335-1, drept pentru care s-a decis retragerea produsului de la utilizatorii finali pentru ca acest produs a fost catalogat ca avand un nivel de risc grav.
Transparency is how we protect the integrity of our work and keep empowering investors to achieve their goals and dreams. And we have unwavering standards for how we keep that integrity intact, from our research and data to our policies on content and your personal data.

Wed like to share more about how we work and what drives our day-to-day business.
Where theres yield, theres usually risk. Many of the highest-yielding stocks have poor growth and pay out a large share of their earnings as dividends, leaving a small buffer to cushion dividends if their earnings fall. So, aggressively chasing yield isnt prudent. However, income investors can keep risk in check through broad diversification or by screening out the riskiest names. Invesco S&P 500 High Dividend Low Volatility ETF (SPHD) relies primarily on the latter approach. It earns a Morningstar Analyst Rating of Bronze.

The fund prioritizes dividend yield over low volatility. It starts with the 75 highest-yielding stocks in the S&P 500. To limit risk, the fund ranks all stocks that pass its initial screen on their volatility over the past year and removes the most volatile 25. Volatility isn't a perfect measure of risk, but less-volatile stocks tend to have more-stable cash flows than their more-volatile counterparts and generally hold up better during market downturns.

Stocks that make the cut are weighted by dividend yield, although the fund caps these weightings at 3% to improve diversification. So, although the fund only includes 50 stocks, it has limited exposure to stock-specific risk. However, it does not limit its sector weightings, resulting in large tilts toward the real estate, utilities, and consumer defensive sectors. The portfolio lands in large-value territory. It has a higher dividend yield and smaller market-cap orientation than the Russell 1000 Value Index.

Despite its volatility screen, the fund has exhibited comparable volatility to the S&P 500. That's because its focus on dividend yield pulls it toward some of the riskier names in the index to begin with, which its volatility screen helps offset. That said, the fund exhibited low sensitivity to market fluctuations (market beta of 0.66) from November 2012 through October 2018. This suggests that the fund had considerable exposure to risk that is not highly correlated with the market. During that time, the fund outpaced the Russell 1000 Value Index by 71 basis points annualized. This was largely due to more-favorable exposure to consumer defensive stocks.

Fundamental View

Dividends can benefit investors by imposing greater discipline on managers in their capital-allocation decisions, leaving less money for lower-return investments. These payments can also help address some behavioral issues, including many investors' reluctance to realize capital gains to meet income needs, and may give them the fortitude to weather market volatility. But they can be less tax-efficient than capital gains because investors do not have the option of deferring the associated tax liabilities.

Like most strategies that focus on dividend yield, the fund has a value tilt. Mature, slow-growing firms tend to trade at lower valuations and pay out a larger share of their earnings as dividends than their faster-growing counterparts, which are investing more aggressively to expand. Both characteristics can lead to higher dividend yields.

Without any adjustments, the fund's aggressive pursuit of yield could give it an elevated risk profile, as some of the highest-yielding names have unattractive business prospects and may not be able to sustain their dividend payments. While the fund does not screen for dividend sustainability, its volatility filter helps reduce risk. Firms that have exhibited high volatility in the recent past tend to have more-volatile cash flows and more-uncertain prospects than their more-stable counterparts. And they generally don't do as well during market downturns. Removing these firms should cut the fund's downside risk.

This compact portfolio looks and performs quite differently than the Russell 1000 Value Index. In fact, its correlation to that index was only 0.74 from November 2012 through October 2018. Yield weighting gives the fund a smaller market-cap orientation than the Russell 1000 Value Index. Sector weightings here also look quite different from the benchmark's. For example, because utilities stocks generally offer high yields and exhibit low volatility, they carry more than three times the weighting in this portfolio than they do in the index, which is a source of risk. The fund also has greater exposure to real estate and consumer defensive stocks than the benchmark, and less exposure to the financial-services and healthcare sectors.

More on This Topic The Cheapest Dividend-Focused Fund Available

The portfolio's turnover was close to 50% in each year from fiscal 2013 through 2017. While relative yields and volatility tend to persist in the short term, they are not stable, which will create turnover. Yield weighting contributes to the fund's turnover because yields tend to move in the opposite direction of market prices, requiring rebalancing to reset the target weightings. This also deepens the fund's value tilt by forcing it to increase its exposure to stocks that haven't appreciated as much as their peers, and to trim its exposure to names that have become more expensive when it rebalances.

Portfolio Construction

The fund effectively offers diversified, risk-controlled exposure to high-dividend-paying stocks. But it can take large sector bets, which are sources of risk that limit the Process rating to Neutral.

The managers employ full replication to track the S&P 500 Low Volatility High Dividend Index. This index ranks all stocks in the S&P 500 by their 12-month-trailing dividend yields (excluding special dividends) and screens for the 75 highest-yielding names. It won't admit any more than 10 stocks from the same sector. It then ranks these stocks on their realized price return volatility over the prior 12 months and targets the 50 least-volatile names. Stocks that make the cut are weighted by dividend yield. However, the index limits individual stock weightings to 3% of the portfolio and sector weightings to 25% to better diversify risk. S&P refreshes the portfolio twice a year in January and July. There are no constraints on turnover or buffer rules in place to mitigate unnecessary turnover, which is a small drawback. That said, the fund's holdings are very liquid and should be cheap to trade.

Fees

Invesco charges a 0.30% annual fee for this offering, which is low relative to its actively managed counterparts in the large-value Morningstar Category and competitive with other dividend-oriented index funds. Therefore, it earns a Positive Price Pillar rating. However, there are considerably cheaper options available, such as Vanguard High Dividend Yield ETF (VYM), which charges a 0.08% expense ratio. Over the trailing three years through October 2018, the fund lagged its benchmark by 37 basis points annualized.

Alternatives

Legg Mason Low Volatility High Dividend ETF (LVHD) (0.27% expense ratio) is the closest alternative. It targets high-dividend-paying U.S. stocks across the entire market-cap spectrum, penalizing the more-volatile names with lower weightings. To promote dividend sustainability, qualifying stocks must have dividend payout ratios of less than 100%.

Silver-rated VYM is one of the lowest-cost and most compelling dividend-strategy funds available. It targets stocks representing the higher-yielding half of U.S. dividend-payers, excluding real estate investment trusts, and weights its holdings by market cap. This produces a well-diversified, low-turnover portfolio with a larger market-cap orientation than SPHD. The benchmark it tracks has been tough to beat over the long term.

Vanguard Equity-Income (VEIPX) is a competitively priced actively managed alternative. Its Investor shares charge a 0.26% expense ratio. Michael Reckmeyer of Wellington Management runs about two thirds of the portfolio, while Vanguard's in-house quantitative equity group manages the remainder. Reckmeyer looks for stocks with high yields and undervalued growth prospects. The quantitative group selects stocks from VYM's index that have attractive valuations, momentum, earnings sustainability, and payout policy. This is a reasonable hands-on strategy that has a low fee hurdle to overcome. It carries a Silver rating.
Mr. Mulvaney is dismantling the agency from the inside, hiring a group of political cronies and paying them enormous salaries to run the agency into the ground, the report said. While he has repeatedly claimed that he is simply doing what the law requires, contending he will execute the statutory mandate of the bureau to protect consumers and go no further, a closer look shows that Mr. Mulvaney has cherry-picked the law to promote his ideological agenda and do favors for special interests. At times, he seems to ignore the law altogether.

The report accused Mulvaney of stripping the CFPBs fair-lending office of its enforcement powers contrary to the instructions of Congress, politicizing the bureau by installing hand-picked cronies, and ignoring consumer concerns in required reports, among a host of other things. The report also accused Mulvaney of hiding the agencys activities from the public, even though, as a member of Congress, he had denounced the CFPB for a lack of transparency.

The report also said that Kathy Kraninger, President Donald Trumps nominee to succeed Mulvaney, is standing ready to be a rubber stamp for his disastrous policies, Browns office said.

President Trump should nominate a serious candidate, with real consumer protection experience and a genuine commitment to the Bureaus mission, to lead the CFPB, it said.
Two people are dead following a fatal crash that occurred early Friday morning in Northwest Odessa.

Odessa Police and Odessa Fire Rescue responded to University and Kermit Highway at about 12:10 a.m. in reference to a major crash, according to a press release from the Odessa Police Department.

RELATED: Odessa motorcyclist dies in 2-vehicle wreck

An investigation revealed that a black Dodge Ram was traveling westbound on University at a high rate of speed and the driver lost control before crashing into The Depot Pizza & Deli, located at 2701 Kermit Highway.

One of the pickups occupants died at the scene; two others were transported to Medical Center Hospital. One of them died at MCH and the other reportedly has non-life-threatening injuries.
The Midland Hospital District doesnt believe property owners should be solely responsible for taxpayer support of the district. State Rep. Tom Craddick has filed a bill to help change that.

House Bill 279 calls for the district to impose a sales-and-use tax, should voters approve it in an election. State law does not give hospital districts the authority to call such elections without approval from the Legislature. Craddick said, should this bill pass, the hospital district would have that authority if it chose.

It appears inspiration for the bill came from a discussion Craddick had with Midland Health CEO Russell Meyers and Mayor Jerry Morales. They talked about the possibility of a sales tax election that would call for one-eighth of a cent to be collected by the city, and another eighth to be collected by the hospital district. The sales tax in the city is 8 percent. The cap on sales tax for a city in Texas is 8.25 percent.

This legislation also allows the Hospital District to call for an election to levy taxes in the entire county, according to the bill language and hospital officials. Since the hospital districts boundaries extend past city limits, such language is necessary. The current county sales tax outside the city of Midland is 6.75 percent.

RELATED: Some of the most notable or unique bills filed in the Texas Legislature

City officials have been vocal about their interest in the available sales tax. In 2017, the mayor led an effort to dedicate that quarter-cent to generate revenue for park development. It was successful. Morales said this week the bill, as he sees it, is about providing options for moving forward. He said he has no issues sharing the remaining quarter-cent with the Hospital District -- should voters approve it -- but he hasnt talked with other council members about their feelings.

He said getting the bill filed early means it can move along quicker and keep that opportunity open for the community. Morales said he envisions the citys share of that tax income would be used for road and maintenance. Last year, a quarter-cent of city sales tax generated more than $12.5 million.

Morales also told the Reporter-Telegram that passage of an increased sales tax to pay for infrastructure would help take care of a critical need while the city starts generating royalty revenue for parks development. Morales said that anticipated drilling under Hogan Park, plus a split sales tax collection, would not only address parks and infrastructure but also help the hospital.

Hospital officials said sales tax collected would add to the districts general revenue and could cover any cost incurred while serving the communitys healthcare needs.

For almost 40 years, ad valorem taxes have been levied on the property owners in Midland County, representing the only local taxpayer support for our hospital district, according to a Midland Health statement about the bill. Rep. Tom Craddick has worked with Midland County Hospital District on an amendment to our enabling legislation that would allow us to ask our voters to approve a small sales tax to partially offset the increasing costs of health care now borne solely by property owners in Midland County.
At first, the white object in the sky looked like a cloud. A weather balloon, perhaps ?

The motionless, cigar-shaped object spotted last week near Fort Worth left the witness stumped. And a video of the sighting has since gone viral, opening the door to UFO theories online.

"It was the oddest thing I've ever seen," the unidentified witness said, according to their report to Texas UFOs, a website that tracks mysterious UFO sightings throughout the state. "I watched it for about 20 minutes. It didn't move. I don't think I've ever seen anything in the sky stay that still before, not even for a few seconds, let alone 20 minutes."

RELATED: UFO enthusiasts say Houston has seen lots of strange flying objects in 2017

Several people commented on the YouTube video guessing it could be a blimp. However, a Texas UFOs administrator said they couldn't find any information the Goodyear blimp was scheduled to be in Keller on Nov. 18, the day of the sighting.

Further, the witness said it sat motionless in the sky for about 20 minutes, and similar UFO sightings were reported in Brownsville in August 2016 and El Paso in August 2018.

A few people went along for the ride on YouTube, with one commenter comparing the footage to "the classic cigar-shaped UFO" he saw in the mid 90's over Reading, Pennsylvania.

View the gallery to see other UFO sightings in Texas last year.

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
Enemy of the People: Trump's War on the Press, the New McCarthyism, and the Threat to American Democracy

By Marvin Kalb

Brookings. 174 pp. $21.95

---

Some journalists are crusaders, firebrands, provocateurs. They show everyone where they stand and invite - sometimes demand - others to stand with them. Marvin Kalb, who entered the news business in 1957, was never that kind of journalist.

Whether working as a diplomatic correspondent for CBS and NBC, hosting "Meet the Press," or examining the news media from a variety of academic perches, Kalb projected an aura of cool, detached objectivity. Now, at age 88, as he says in his new book, "Enemy of the People," he has decided to "pull back the green curtain of journalistic ethics" and advocate his personal opinions in public.

The impetus, naturally, was President Trump. It was not Trump's policy positions that drove Kalb to speak out - he has voted for many Republicans, he says - but his authoritarian instincts. When Trump labeled news outlets "the enemy of the people," in Kalb's view, he "crossed a flashing red line." Trump was attacking the "very foundation of American democracy," as Kalb repeatedly reminds his readers.

Some might accuse Kalb of overreacting - inflating the danger of the president's Twitter bombast because it targets his own beloved profession. But Kalb argues that "enemy of the people" is not just another run-of-the-mill insult like "Crooked Hillary" or "Lyin' Ted" or even "you are fake news." There is a long and terrifying history of authoritarian leaders (Robespierre, Stalin, Goebbels, Mao) applying the phrase specifically to writers, intellectuals and reporters - often before murdering loads of them. Kalb knows this better than most. He was in Moscow in 1956 (as a State Department staffer) when Nikita Khrushchev delivered his famous speech repudiating Stalin and the phrase "enemy of the people."

But Kalb, wisely, does not compare Trump to Stalin or Hitler. For him, Trump's closest historical antecedent is Sen. Joseph McCarthy, who became a national sensation in the early 1950s by alleging (with little to no proof) that communist agents had infested the U.S. government. Kalb devotes nearly half of his book to chronicling McCarthy's rise and fall, focusing in particular on the role that the renowned broadcast journalist Edward R. Murrow - who hired Kalb at CBS - played in exposing the baselessness and viciousness of McCarthy's accusations.

Kalb provides an engaging recitation of the Murrow vs. McCarthy saga, but it is the standard telling that George Clooney canonized in his 2005 film, "Good Night, and Good Luck" (a telling that exaggerates Murrow's impact, given that McCarthy was already flailing by the time of Murrow's big broadcast in April 1954). And as Kalb concedes, the notion of Trump as a latter-day McCarthy "has become a fairly standard comparison."

Still, Kalb mines some fascinating nuggets from the Trump-McCarthy vein. Just as Trump has called CNN "disgusting," "sick" and "a disgrace," despite claiming that he does not watch it, McCarthy blasted the TV networks as "dishonest" and "unmoral" while saying he hadn't seen Murrow's program ("I never listen to the extreme left-wing, bleeding heart elements of radio and TV," McCarthy declared). And Never-Trump Republicans will surely nod along when they read that many GOP politicians disliked McCarthy and felt he had hijacked their party, but dared not speak out against him because "he was simply too popular with rank-and-file party members."

One key difference between Trump and McCarthy, of course, is in the titles that precede their names: president vs. senator. McCarthy had the power to wreck individual lives, but Trump has the power to wreck American democracy - and that's precisely what he's doing, in Kalb's view. If you accept Kalb's contention that Trump "must be challenged and either stopped or somehow persuaded to change his ways," it leads to an obvious question: What is to be done?

Kalb offers few specific prescriptions, but he identifies the two institutions needed to "save the nation" from "a presidential swing toward authoritarianism": the judiciary and the press (one wonders if, in the wake of the midterm elections, he would add the Democrat-controlled House of Representatives). It's no coincidence that these are the two institutions that Trump has tried hardest to undermine.

To Trump, the journalists, judges and bureaucrats who try to hold him accountable and preserve democratic norms are "fake news" and "the deep state." To Kalb, they are heroes. Reading this book may stiffen their resolve.

---

Pressman is an assistant professor of journalism at Seton Hall University and the author of "On Press: The Liberal Values That Shaped the News."
CARROLLTON  Authorities are trying to determine what caused the death of a 6-month-old boy whose body was found in a wooded area in rural Carrollton and whether charges are warranted.

The boys 22-year-old mother and her boyfriend were being held Thursday, although charges have not been filed.

The situation began this weekend, when a missing persons report was filed in Alton for the mother and child. That investigation led authorities into Greene County on Tuesday, where the mother was found.

Greene County Sheriff Rob McMillen said Alton police reached out to his office, asking for help in trying to find the missing woman. A Carrollton police officer made contact with the mother and reported back to Alton police that she had been found.

Alton police asked if the officer had seen the missing child and, when police tried to find the mother, she had disappeared again.

It was believed she went back down to Alton, where she was from, McMillen said. They began trying to locate her down in that area.  They located her acquaintance and they got a statement.

The acquaintance is not the father of the child, authorities said.

As the investigation progressed, police were led to a wooded area in the 100 block of East Cemetery Road, at which point police said they believed the infant to be dead.

Illinois State Police was brought into the investigation and a search warrant was obtained to search the East Cemetery Road property. Police found the boys body during the search Wednesday.

An autopsy was scheduled, but a cause of death has yet to be released.

Reports indicate Illinois State Police has reason to believe there were efforts made to conceal the boys body, although there were no obvious signs of trauma, police said.

Authorities were not releasing the names of those being held nor of the infant until a determination was made on whether charges would be filed.

States Attorney Caleb Briscoe said Thursday that he hadnt filed charges but his office is working to determine what charges might be warranted.

Nick Draper can be reached at 217-245-6121, ext. 1223, or on Twitter @nick_draper.
ALTON  A second man is facing charges of drug-induced homicide and controlled substance trafficking for allegedly selling fentanyl to a woman who died of an overdose.

Derek L. Day, 23, who is now serving time at Shawnee Correctional Center, is accused of selling the drug to a 20-year-old female. He is also accused of bringing less than a gram of the drug into Illinois from Missouri. Bail was set at $500,000.
NILWOOD  A strange theft has left a piece of the history of both Route 66 and Macoupin County missing, and law enforcement and tourism officials are concerned.

A sign depicting a turkey that pointed visitors to an unusual section of the Mother Road southwest of Nilwood went missing earlier this month.

The colorful, lighthearted sign  erected by neighboring farmers  marked the spot of turkey tracks set in the pavement, a site that has become a part of local lore and a favorite of tourists along Route 66.

Its sad that someone felt the need to take the sign, said Andrea Duncan, a member of the Carlinville Tourism Committee. It was very helpful for anyone looking for the tracks, which are unique to the area.

The tracks were created in the 1920s as turkeys crossed cement that was drying on the pavement during construction of the highway, which was labeled Route 4 at the time. The road was part of the old alignment of Route 66 that rolled through central Macoupin County from 1926 to 1930. The tracks are on Donaldson Road, just south of the current Illinois Route 4.

Whether the tracks were created by wild turkeys or an escaped domestic turkey from a nearby farm is unclear. But the 34 tracks scattered across the pavement have become an indelible part of the legend of Route 66 in Illinois.

The first time I heard of the turkey tracks, I went out in that direction to search for them, said Duncan, who includes the tracks in a presentation she delivers on county history. I kept looking until I saw the sign, and that showed me right where they were.

Those tracks are what travelers along Route 66 are looking for today, she continued. Theyre looking for fun, quirky things, that not every town has. And turkey tracks on Route 66 is something thats pretty amazing.

Macoupin County Sheriff Shawn Kahl said that no leads have been received on the theft.

Hopefully, someone will come forward and tell us who actually took the sign, or bring it back, said Kahl. That sign means a lot to a certain group of people, and its an important part of county history that should be preserved.

A reward is being offered for information.
Several young dancers from the area will help bring the timeless Christmas classic The Nutcracker to life on stage in December.

When the stage lights go up Dec. 8 in Sangamon Auditorium, joining the Springfield Ballet Companys performance will be Nora Wilson, Leah Hoffman, Meredith Gallo, Emma Wolters, Lily Hickox, Jacey Bates, Lily Brown and Payton Lowery.

It is the 44th year for SBCs performance of The Nutcracker, and the ballet company has invited young dancers to be cast members for a number of years.

The Nutcracker follows Clara and her Nutcracker Prince from a lavish Christmas party to a fierce battle with the evil Mouse King, then to a magical journey through the Land of Snow and the Kingdom of Sweets. The production features a cast of 124, including company dancers, local actors, young dancers from the community and professional guest artists.

This years production features three daughters of former Springfield Ballet Company dancers in lead roles: Amanda Little, daughter of Kim Leistner Root, as Dew Drop; Olivia Pennell, daughter of Carrie Cunningham Pennell, as the Snow Queen; and Analysse Vance, daughter of Mindy Western Vance, as the Sugar Plum Fairy.

It is amazing to see my friends daughters rising in the ranks of SBC in these roles. They are as beautiful as their mothers and we are all very proud, artistic director Julie Ratz said.

Company member Laura Sonnek will dance the role of Clara with Giordano Jazz Dance Chicago danseur Jacob Frazier as her Nutcracker Prince. Chris Collins will perform as the Cavalier and J. Wyatt Pendleton as the Snow King; both are from Rochester City Ballet in New York.

Performances will be at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. Dec. 8 and 2 p.m. Dec. 9. Advance tickets range from $17 to $37. Day-of-the-performance tickets are an additional $5. Tickets are available by calling the Sangamon Auditorium ticket office at 217-206-6160 or online at uispac.com.

The Springfield Ballet Company is a not-for-profit ballet company founded in 1975. The company offers three major productions each year at the University of Illinois Springfields Sangamon Auditorium and also performs at festivals, schools and nursing homes throughout central Illinois.
Tuolumne Utilities District flume at the Tuolumne Main Canal View Photos

Sonora, CA  A lot of literally, helping hands are now working to protect a Mother Lode water districts historic flume and canal system from wildfire damage.

Tuolumne Utilities District (TUD) is collaborating with the Tuolumne Rancheria Me-Wuk Fire Department on related activities within the Lyons-South Fork Watershed Resiliency Project. Slated work begins this week, utilizing Rancheria Fire Department Tribal Fuels Crews services to hand-thin trees along the Tuolumne Main Canal located off South Fork Road in Twain Harte.

The Tribe has made a commitment to ensuring that the Rancheria and surrounding communities are protected from fire, states Jon Otterson, executive director of the Tuolumne Band of Me-Wuk Indians, further commenting that the tribe considers the commitment as a true honor.

The project goal is to help protect the PG&E-owned main canal, reducing wildfire risk and damage while improving forest resiliency. The conveyance system is both historic and primary  used by TUD for delivering water to 90 percent of Tuolumne Countys residents.

In the event of wildfire destruction to a flume section, TUD officials predict it would halt for a significant amount of time drinking water delivery service to about 44,000 residents served by the system along with commercial and industrial businesses.

PG&E and Sierra Pacific Industries are the primary private landowners within the project, which initiated in June 2017, and have been busy removing dead and dying conifers and ladder fuels. Other partnering agencies include the USDA, Stanislaus National Forest, the Highway 108 FireSafe Council, and California Conservation Corps. TUD, the project applicant, received nearly a half-million dollars in state Prop 1 (Water Quality, Supply and Infrastructure Act of 2014) grant award funding through the auspices of the Sierra Nevada Conservancy (SNC).
A new coffee and pastry shop is coming to the Dignowity Hill neighborhood in a building that dates back to 1922.

Blum owner Liza Mireles is moving her business, which has been a retail pop-up coffee and tea operation since 2016, into a brick-and-mortar location at 910 Nolan St. She hopes to be up and running this spring, but for patrons who wish to get a sneak peek and tasting, Blum is having an event inside the space from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 1. More will be scheduled.
A 17-year-old student was arrested for allegedly bringing a gun to Milby High School Thursday.

Jovanny Villegas was apprehended by an assistant principal after arriving late to school Thursday, prosecutors said at his probable cause hearing Friday morning.

The assistant principal said that Villegas previously had been caught bringing drugs to school, and decided to conduct an administrative search of the high school senior and his belongings.

Prosecutors said the assistant principle found a pistol containing eight rounds. Villegas said he did not know the firearm was in his backpack.

"We are grateful that no one was injured and that alert administrators discovered the weapon and immediately notified Houston ISD police," the school stated in a press release.

Villegas was charged with carrying a prohibited weapon in a prohibited place, and was released on a $2,500 bail.

A court record search by the Chronicle found the teen has no prior criminal history.
Check out the slideshow above to see how we would make Luby's cool and profitable again...

For generations Luby's has been a dining institution in the state of Texas. But lately there has been some dire news out of Lubyville about the company's financial outlook.

This week the Houston Chronicle's Paul Takahashi wrote about an investors recommendation that the company should bring on new board members to turn around the struggling restaurant chain.

RELATED: Activist investor calls for "fresh faces" to turn around struggling Luby's

Luby's, in its latest annual financial report, said it had $365.2 million in sales over the year, down 3.7 percent from the previous year. Same-store sales fell a half percent.

Those of us who grew up going to Luby's with family have fond memories of the place. Famous for its LuAnn platters, "square" fish planks, rich macaroni and cheese, and easy-going dining experience, Luby's has become a Texas comfort food staple.

RELATED: The story of how Luby's became a Texas comfort food staple

Cafeteria-style food has a place in Texas culture. There is something about loading up a tray with a meat, sides, bread, and dessert that scratches an itch for the true-blue Texan. It's perhaps one why local places like Treebeards, Cleburne Cafeteria, and Harry's in Montrose have had such longevity.

In a world of Shake Shacks, Snooze, and others where can Luby's fit in? Let's figure out a way to make Luby's cooler than ever. It will just take some crazy thinking.

RELATED: Houston's best breakfast spots, served all day long

Houstonian Michael Bell thinks that a subtle name change is in order. That's the key to modern relevance.

'We should change the name from Luby's Cafeteria to Luby's Food Hall," Bell said this week.

A cafeteria has a connotation of boring old people food. A high class food hall, like the newly opened Finn Hall and Conservatory in downtown, screams excitement and sriracha-infused vodka to millennials.

"They want to walk into a 'food hall' that has ten different types of food available, counter-service instead of waiters, and line long enough to feel like they're in on the hashtag experience," bell added. "Guess what, y'all, that's called a Luby's and they've been doing it since the 1940s."

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
NASA's next lunar science experiments will arrive at the moon via a spacecraft built by one of nine private companies - a first for one of the agency's science missions.

In an announcement Thursday, the space agency named the organizations that are now eligible to bid on delivering science and technology payloads to the lunar surface. They include some longtime players in the aerospace industry, like Lockheed Martin, but are mostly newer names with start-up cultures, like Pittsburgh-based Astrobotic and Masten Space Systems in Mojave, California.

The Commercial Lunar Payload Services program is a priority of NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine, who said in May that leveraging commercial capabilities would allow for more frequent and affordable access to the lunar surface. "More missions, more science," a news release about the CLPS program promised.

It also continues a trend at NASA toward public-private partnerships for exploration. Under President George W. Bush, companies were awarded contracts to fly cargo to the International Space Station. The Commercial Crew Program, developed under President Barack Obama, will pay companies to transport human crews.

The CLPS missions would be the agency's first such partnership in deep space. The first could fly as early as next year, and NASA hopes to send 2 payloads every year for the next ten years. It's not yet clear what kind of instruments NASA hopes to send, though the first call for proposals should come out in the coming weeks or months.

Most of the companies involved have never flown a spacecraft of this complexity and scale, and Bridenstine acknowledged that some of the CLPS missions will likely fail to achieve a "soft" landing on the lunar surface.

"This is a venture capital kind of effort," he told reporters Thursday. "At the end of the day the risk is high, but the return is also very high for a low investment."

"It's a big experiment," Associate Administrator for Science Thomas Zurbuchen said.

The relatively small and inexpensive payloads delivered via the CLPS program would be followed by more traditional medium- and large-class missions, Bridenstine said, including an eventual crewed mission to the moon.

President Donald Trump has named sending American astronauts to the moon as a goal for his administration. His Space Policy Directive 1, signed last December, directs NASA to collaborate with the private sector in returning to the moon en route to a longer-term mission to Mars.

But no U.S. spacecraft has touched down on the moon since the last Apollo mission in 1972, and it's been exactly 50 years since NASA last sent a robotic mission to the lunar surface. Earlier this year, NASA shocked scientists by canceling the Resource Prospector mission, the only American lunar rover currently in development.

Still, Earth's only natural satellite is being explored by other nations; China's Chang'e 4 and 5 missions, which would deliver a rover to the moon, and return rock samples from the surface, is slated to launch next year. India and Israel also plan to launch lunar landers next year.

Notre Dame lunar geologist Clive Neal, who is emeritus chairman of the independent Lunar Exploration Analysis Group, was cautiously optimistic about the prospects for science under the CLPS program. Many moon researchers were disappointed by the cancellation of the Resource Prospector mission - "I still am," Neal said.

But he was cheered by the possibility that partnerships with the aerospace industry might make the moon more accessible. Zurbuchen said Thursday that a mobile lunar laboratory remains one of NASA's goals for moon exploration, though such a mission would likely be developed through a more traditional process.

He also said NASA hopes to be just one of several customers providing payloads for these commercial missions. Carpooling to the moon - perhaps with academics or another company - should reduce the cost, he said.

The CLPS announcement comes as NASA conducts safety reviews of two of its major private partners, SpaceX and Boeing. Both companies have been contracted to fly astronauts to the International Space Station but have suffered setbacks and delays as their work to develop their spacecraft. SpaceX in particular has drawn scrutiny after founder Elon Musk took a hit of marijuana and drank whiskey on a podcast. Neither company is among those selected for CLPS eligibility.
What lengths would you go to really, truly unplug?

In Hongcheon, South Korea, there is a facility called Prison Inside Me, which is essentially a faux prison where you can pay $90 to spend 24 hours in lockdown. Why? The goal of the project is to help give South Koreans, who work an average of 2,024 hours a month, a respite from stress.

The project was co-founded in 2013 by a woman named Noh Ji-Hyang who said she got the idea from her husband, a lawyer who worked upwards of 100 hours a week and told her that the idea of spending a week in solitary confinement to rest up sounded appealing.

Related: South Korea Is Turning Off PCs to Stop People Working Late

Working extreme hours is such a prevalent cultural practice that the South Korean government capped the work week at 52 hours this summer.

Nohs husband wasnt the only one craving some me time in lockdown.In five years, more than 2,000 people have participated in Prison Inside Me, leaving their work and devices behind for the promise of solitude.

According to a report from Reuters, when you step into Prison Inside Me, you must adhere to a strict set of rules that includes not speaking with any of the other clients and relinquishing any mobile devices and even clocks. You change into a blue prison uniform, you sleep on the floor of a cell that contains a yoga mat, pen and notebook, a tea set and toilet. Nothing else, not even a mirror.

After a stay in the prison, people say, This is not a prison, the real prison is where we return to, Noh told Reuters.

Its certainly one way to give yourself a break. Would you give something like this a try when you when you need to de-stress?

Related:

In South Korea, Stressed Out Workers Are Sending Themselves to Fake Prison

7 Proven Ways to Beat Burnout

The Hard Truth You Need to Know Before Becoming an Online Entrepreneur



Copyright 2018 Entrepreneur.com Inc., All rights reserved
Welcome to Green Entrepreneur's video recap of the cannabis news you might have missed this week, hosted by our cannabis correspondent Conrad Martin.

South Korea's National assembly approved an amendment to the country's Narcotics Control Act - allowing medical cannabis oil to be imported and sold. The move makes South Korea the first east asian country to legalize cannabis. Import and sale could begin in the first half of 2019

Related: South Koreans Can't Get High?! (Week in Weed 8/31)

Massachussetts stoners spend $2M during first week of rec sales

During the first week of legalized recreational cannabis sales in Massachusetts, consumers spent $2 million dollars on cannabis and cannabis products. Two dispensaries reported revenues of $480k on black friday alone. And I thought I spent too much money on bud.

Related: Massachusetts May Leap Ahead on Cannabis Cafes

Las Vegas may open pot lounges in 2019

Nevada state legislator, Tick Segerblom, is pushing to open up pot lounges in Las Vegas. Not that I would ever ask why, but Segerblom's goal in opening the lounges is to get cannabis out of Vegas hotels, casinos, and streets.

Related: You Can't Smoke Marijuana on the Las Vegas Strip Yet

Be sure to keep up with all things cannabiz by checking out the newly launched GreenEntrepreneur.com

If you missed the last episode, check it out here: Americans Vote on Cannabis

Related:

This Week in Weed: South Korea Legalizes Medical Pot!

This Week in Weed: Americans Vote on Cannabis!

This Week in Weed: You Can Get High At This Airport!



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Shelly Marie Reigel, a 39-year-old mother of four and recent Texas transplant, died Tuesday night after falling out of a vehicle near Bandera and sustaining a critical head injury, officials said.

She was sitting in the passenger seat of a 2006 Dodge traveling east on Northeast Drive, according to Jason Reyes, public information officer for the Texas Department of Public Safety. After her fall, she was taken to University Hospital in San Antonio where she later died.

The department is continuing to investigate the incident, Reyes said. Officials have not yet determined whether the vehicle was moving at the time, and were not able to say whether any doors or windows were open as the vehicle was moving.

Reigel worked at Boulderdash Cabin and RV Park as well as at TJ's at The Old Forge restaurant in Bandera, where she was cherished for her positive energy, TJ's General Manager and Executive Chef Zachary Poteat said.

"She was super positive," Poteat said. "Everybody has their problems in life, but unless you knew Shelly personally, you would never know that she was having a bad day. Words can't explain her personality. She definitely made every day the best she could, for herself and everybody around her."

RELATED: Man killed while inspecting car on Highway 90 identified by medical examiner

She had only been doing part-time work there as a server and bartender, but Poteat said her absence has been very pronounced since her death.

"Everybody's going to miss her," Poteat said. "The restaurant industry, it gets very hectic, but she was always smiling and laughing everything off."

Reigel had recently moved to Texas from Wisconsin and was loving her new job, her mother said in a GoFundMe. Her children "were her life," her mother said. The campaign was set up to raise funds for an upcoming memorial service.

"Shelly was a smart, funny, loving and caring person. She was always the life of the party and very witty" her mother wrote in the GoFundMe. She later added, "Any of your support would be very appreciated."

The Department of Public Safety reminded drivers to minimize distractions, avoid driving while fatigued, avoid driving after consuming alcohol, obey traffic control devices and always wear a seat belt.

S. M. Chavey is a breaking news and general assignment writer. Read her on our breaking news site, mySA.com and on our subscriber site, ExpressNews.com | sarah.chavey@express-news.net | @smchavey
Officials with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives determined that the fire at a San Marcos apartment complex in July that killed five people was intentionally set, they announced Friday.

Agents also announced a reward of up to $10,000 for any information leading to the arrest of the person responsible for the July 20 fire at the Iconic Village Apartments.
A man was hospitalized Thursday after he tried to cross a downtown San Antonio street on his bike and was struck by a vehicle.

The victim tried to cross a street near West Martin and North San Saba at about 10:45 p.m. when a small pickup truck hit him.
San Antonio police are searching for a gunman who they believe fired shots at a driver in a pickup truck shortly before the driver crashed and was later found dead.

Officers responded to a call for shots fired at about 1:20 a.m. on NW Crossroads. Shortly thereafter, another call for a crash at Culebra and Potranco was issued.
SALT LAKE CITY (AP)  The family of a Utah woman killed by her boyfriend's ex-wife while decorating a Christmas tree is warning about the devastating consequences of domestic violence that go beyond two people.

Police say 26-year-old Lisa Vilate Williams was making homemade ornaments with her boyfriend's twin 3-year-olds when 32-year-old Chelsea Watrous Cook burst in and shot her to death on Sunday.
The new History Channel documentary on the Watergate scandal may not be great art, but it is timely as heck. It describes the downward spiral of Richard Nixons administration into paranoia, criminal conspiracy, self-delusion and ruin.

Ken Burns it is not. But the problem is not the actors; it is the script. When Nixons words are placed in someone elses mouth, they seem like a bad writers version of a political villain. I want it implemented on a thievery basis, Nixon says. And: We are going to use any means. And: We have not used the power in this first four years.  We havent used the bureau and we havent used the Justice Department. But things are going to change now.

It is hard to repeat such dialogue without rubbing your hands together and letting out a cackle. But the Trump era offers many such examples of life imitating melodrama. Recently the New York Times reported that President Donald Trump pressured White House counsel Don McGahn to pressure the Justice Department to start a criminal investigation of Hillary Clinton and James Comey. (McGahn, to his credit, warned that such an action could lead to impeachment.) Other reports indicate that Trump repeatedly asked Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein and Matthew Whitaker, who was then chief of staff to then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions, how the Justice Department was progressing in its investigation of Clinton.

The examples pile up. Remember that Trump  knowing that his first national security adviser, Michael Flynn, had lied to the FBI  allegedly asked then-director of the FBI, Comey, not to prosecute Flynn. When Comey resisted, Trump fired him. Then the president asked Director of National Intelligence Daniel Coats and National Security Agency Director Admiral Michael Rogers to publicly affirm there was no evidence of collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia. (They, to their credit, did not comply.)

All this is Nixonian by any measure. Both Trump and Nixon share the same ideology of power  a belief that, since their enemies are ruthless, they must be more ruthless. Both men share an obsession with hidden enemies that actually produces more hidden enemies. And both men share a view of the executive branch involving the total subservience of every public official who reports to the president.

The last point is perhaps the most significant. America has generally been blessed by having a strong executive branch, which has been a necessary source of adaptation and leadership. In the normal course of events, however, a president appoints officials who will join him in the faithful application of the law and the defense of the Constitution. The goal is not to appoint men and women willing to serve him outside those boundaries. So, just as it is not appropriate for Trump to order his director of national intelligence to be his personal valet at the White House, it is not appropriate to ask his DNI to provide political cover during an ongoing FBI investigation. (This is exactly the kind of thing that brought Nixon to the verge of impeachment.)

The Justice Department is a case in point. The attorney general and the director of the FBI report to the president. But this does not mean the president can order investigations to start and stop for corrupt reasons. Federal law enforcement officials have public duties. They do not owe personal fealty.

How is this principle enforced? The integrity of our political system has always depended on principled public servants willing to say no to great power. During the Watergate scandal, Judge John Sirica did it. When Nixon fired the special prosecutor, Attorney General Elliot Richardson and his deputy William Ruckelshaus resigned. By one count, five senior officials in the Watergate-era FBI  for a variety of motives  leaked material damaging to the Nixon administration. Ultimately, the health of our republic depends, not only on political systems, but on flawed people who reach the limit of accommodation.

There are many reasons for pessimism about our fractured politics  including the general cowardice of elected Republicans in the face of presidential corruption and abuse of power. But will special counsel Robert Mueller  who spent a decade building the reputation and independence of the FBI  really be silenced or outwitted by the clownish caricature of Nixon who occupies the Oval Office and issues a fusillade of smoking guns? Not likely. Rosenstein has managed to give Mueller the time to put down on paper the strongest case against a president without ethics or honor. And it is beyond Trumps power to erase.

michaelgerson@washpost.com
Re: Use of tear gas on migrants intensifies border debate, front page, Tuesday:

This article was one-sided in several ways. As a picture is worth a thousand words, most noticeable is three of the four photographs. The two on the front page show children, as does one of the two on Page A8.

Are three-quarters of the migrants children? Or are they young men? Not only do the photos focus on children, the two quotes from Texas politicians state that (President Trump) and his party will do things like use tear gas on poor, hungry, exhausted little children and, The decision to gas asylum-seekers  including many women and children  was cruel, unnecessary.

We are a nation of immigrants. Entering the United States illegally is a criminal act. The vast majority of American citizens support legal immigration. Running through car lanes, attempting to climb border fences, and pelting the Border Patrol with rocks and bottles is consistent with a horde attempting to storm the border.

As usual, the Express-News presents an unbalanced article, showing bias and presenting fake news. Your readers deserve better.

Ronne Lippenholz

U.S. needs them

Re: U.S. short of workers, cant lose any more, Business, Chris Tomlinson, Monday:

This column deserved to be juxtaposed to the articles describing tear-gassing women and children, along with the deleterious lasting effects of tear gas, and women being impaled on rebar.

I am referring to Chris Tomlinsons observation: If were down a million workers, we cannot afford to start deporting workers, even if they did not enter the country legally.

If I did not live in this country and were not, along with my extensive family, going to be affected, I would seriously wish Donald Trump would get his wish to exclude all migrants and deport those already here or born here with undocumented parents  and then live to see the effects of these policies on the economy!

He is cruel and racist, because he expresses no regret at all for doing what he thinks is best for our country, just his own type of righteousness without acknowledging U.S. responsibility for the situation from which these people are fleeing, and while denouncing them for violence and suspected criminality with an understood undercurrent of not being white. (I guess being Russian doesnt count as an immigrant.)

If he is not ignorant, then, even worse, he is selfishly acquiring votes by false threats and promises to patriots. He does this while gaining power with executive decisions and trying to change the Constitution. He will do this until it is too late; his supporters will wake up and find they are not members of his elite club like they thought.

Heres hoping Julian and Joaquin Castro, and Beto ORourke can turn us back to our prior values b.t. (before Trump). This country was made by immigrants and can be saved by them.

Make America Great Again! Send Chris Tomlinsons column to the president (although it will probably be discarded as hazardous mail).

Virginia Castro, Blanco

Just stay home

I wish Democratic politicians and various U.S. religious groups would not encourage these Central Americans to seek entry into the U.S. The U.S. already has enough social and fiscal problems with its own inhabitants and does not need to import more people to feed, cloth and house.

These people need to remain in their own countries and solve their own problems.

Walter W. Cardwell
A ZIMBABWEAN woman based in Leicester, England reportedly shot and killed her Caribbean husband before turning the gun on herself on Wednesday night.

It is said that Lorraine Gugu Mbulawa killed her husband, only identified as Sanchez.

Media reports in the UK yesterday show police in the city have launched an investigation after the couple was found dead in a house they were staying in, at about 11.50PM.

In a statement, the police said the deaths were being treated as unexplained with investigations in progress.

They said scene preservation will remain in place at the house to allow for specialist officers to carry out inquiries into the circumstances surrounding their deaths.

Haalimah Foxie Chiniey indicated on Facebook that Mbulawa had a mental illness, adding that the condition was a reality that should be taken seriously.

Mental health is a really sad thing. Clearly she had mental issues and I wish she had gotten help. So sad.

Media in the UK said Mbulawa was once arrested years ago for physically assaulting her mother and injuring her but was cleared of attempted murder after a judge accepted that she believed she was acting on the instructions of evil spirits. A relative took to Facebook to dispel nasty rumours that Lorraine Gugu Mbulawa killed her husband, only identified as Sanchez.

Its unfortunate that until the police have finished their investigations, I cant say how they died. But she did not kill her husband, wrote Kudzai Kanyamaure Ncube.

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GRIEF is the real price men pay for sex!

With the festive season around the corner, some commercial sex workers in Bulawayo are literally running a promotion in which they are reportedly offering extra-sexual services to clients who would have paid for their services in foreign currency.

The seemingly shocking move which prostitutes say is to offset the free-falling bond, came hard in the wake of a number of companies and service providers who are now demanding foreign currency for their goods and services.

In a snap survey conducted by B-Metro, it emerged that a number of innovative sex workers have embraced the idea of offering extra-sexual services to clients who would have paid for their services in foreign currency.

In separate interviews the commercial sex workers said the move was also necessitated by the bond note that has continued to lose ground on the black market and continued to rise in plastic and mobile money transactions.

They said high demand for foreign currency has consequently resulted in unforeseen change in business deals and not even them (sex workers) have been spared as they now decry increased rentals.

We have devised new ways to adapt to these harsh economic conditions where everyone now demands foreign currency for their goods and services and as a result we are now running a promotion where we offer extra-sexual services to clients who pay in foreign currency.

You see, men go for women who look younger and I am using foreign currency to buy the make-up for me to keep looking good and younger hence we have opted to reward clients who are brave enough to buy our services in foreign currency.

But the major drawback is that the precious dollar is found on the parallel market, a sex worker, who identified herself as Prim, said.

She added: Lifes getting more expensive, and we cant work at a loss.

For a short time, the price stood at US$3 while rates for a night are adjusted to between US$6 and US$15 depending on the place and night spot which the commercial sex worker would be operating from.

Another commercial sex worker who also did not want her name mentioned and identified herself as Judy explained that things were no longer rosy for them as some landlords, especially for those who are staying in town are now demanding rentals in foreign currency.

She revealed that she lives in a flat that demands US$100 per room in rentals.

The life of women involved in prostitution is now at best unstable and at worst extremely dangerous. People think prostitution is about having consensual sex for money to buy food. Its not.

We are also running other projects that demand payment in foreign currency and some landlords are now demanding rentals in foreign currency.

We are acutely aware of the devastating poverty that is gripping the country because of the Governments austerity policies.

However, as a way to help us survive these problems we have suggested that we offer extra sexual services to clients who would have paid for our services in foreign currency, said Judy.

One disappointed buyer Admire Ncube noted that there was a significant decline in the demand of sex from commercial sex workers as most buyers (men) have little disposable incomes owing to stagnant earnings.

Now is the time we should party and drink responsibly and it is those that need the services of sex workers that are set to suffer, said Ncube.

Meanwhile, according to a recent UNAids report, Zimbabwe which has the fifth highest HIV prevalence rate in Africa is recording 250 new HIV infections weekly, a development which HIV and Aids activists said hinders progress towards ending Aids by 2030.

 BMetro

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Yves here. Weve continued to post on immigration in Australia since it is an important case study. First, in Brexit discussion, UK officials have repeatedly stated their desire to move to a skills-based immigration system like Australias. The rules may have changed since I was there (2002-2004), but Australia used a points-based system which gave points for being young, educated, language proficiency. One of the complaints was that young people could get in who might not necessarily get jobs because they didnt have local contacts and back then (when Australia was still pretty restrictive on the total number they allowed in per year, to the consternation of businesses; that changed shortly after I left), more people tended to be let in with techie skills than there were jobs. (Canadian readers might weigh in. Canada requires that you apply to a particular province, and from what I can tell, the provinces are very specific as to what kind of skilled migrants they want, like fry cooks and hospital administrators).

Second, Australia is instructive in having gone from a period of relatively low immigration (the population was barely growing when I was there) to having population increase by 20% in about 13 years, due pretty much entirely to liberalized immigration.

By Leith van Onselen. Originally published at Macrobusiness

Yesterday, a group of labour academics released a book, entitled The Wages Crisis in Australia, which bemoans Australias anaemic wages growth and offers policy prescriptions.

Locked away in chapters 13 and 14 are incendiary analyses on the great Australian migrant wage rort, which is unambiguously lowering employment standards and undercutting local workers.

Below are key excepts from Chapter 13 entitled Temporary migrant workers (TMWs), underpayment and predatory business models, written by Iain Campbell:

This chapter argues that the expansion of temporary labour migration is a significant development in Australia and that it has implications for wage stagnation Three main facts about their presence in Australia are relevant to the discussion of wage stagnation. First, there are large numbers of TMWs in Australia, currently around 1.2 million persons. Second, those numbers have increased strongly over the past 15 years. Third, when employed, many TMWs are subject to exploitation, including wage payments that fall below  sometimes well below  the minimum levels specified in employment regulation One link to slow wages growth, as highlighted by orthodox economics, stems from the simple fact of increased numbers, which add to labour supply and thereby help to moderate wages growth. This chapter argues, however, that the more salient point concerns the way many TMWs are mistreated within the workplace in industry sectors such as food services, horticulture, construction, personal services and cleaning. TMW underpayments, which appear both widespread in these sectors and systemic, offer insights into labour market dynamics that are also relevant to the general problem of slow wages growth Official stock data indicate that the visa programmes for international students, temporary skilled workers and working holiday makers have tripled in numbers since the late 1990s In all, the total number of TMWs in Australia is around 1.2 million persons. If we include New Zealand citizens and permanent residents, who can enter Australia under a special subclass 444 visa, without time limits on their stay and with unrestricted work rights (though without access to most social security payments), then the total is close to 2 million persons TMWs now make up around 6% of the total Australian workforce Decisions by the federal Coalition government under John Howard to introduce easier pathways to permanent residency for temporary visa holders, especially international students and temporary skilled workers, gave a major impetus to TMW visa programmes. Most international students and temporary skilled workers, together with many working holiday makers, see themselves as involved in a project of staggered or multi-step migration, whereby they hope to leap from their present status into a more long-term visa status, ideally permanent residency. One result, as temporary migration expands while the permanent stream remains effectively capped, is a lengthening queue of onshore applicants for permanent residency Though standard accounts describe Australian immigration as oriented to skilled labour, this characterisation stands at odds with the abundant evidence on expanding temporary migration and the character of TMW jobs. It is true that many TMWs, like their counterparts in the permanent stream, are highly qualified and in this sense skilled. However, the fact that their work is primarily in lower-skilled jobs suggests that it is more accurate, as several scholars point out, to speak of a shift in Australia towards a de facto low-skilled migration programme A focus on raw numbers of TMWs may miss the main link to slow wages growth. It is the third point concerning underpayments and predatory business models that seems richest in implications. This point suggests, first and most obviously, added drag on wages growth in sectors where such underpayments and predatory business models have become embedded. If they become more widely practised, underpayments pull down average hourly wages. If a substantial number of firms in a specific labour market intensify strategies of labour cost minimisation by pushing wage rates below the legal floor, it can unleash a dynamic of competition around wage rates that foreshadows wage decline rather than wage growth for employees Increases in labour supply allow employers in sectors already oriented to flexible and low-wage employment, such as horticulture and food services, to sustain and extend strategies of labour cost minimisation The arguments and evidence cited above suggest a spread of predatory business models within low-wage industries.37 They suggest an unfolding process of degradation in these labour markets

And below are extracts from Chapter 14, entitled Is there a wages crisis facing skilled temporary migrants?, by Joanna Howe:

Scarcely a day goes by without another headline of wage theft involving temporary migrant workers In this chapter we explore a largely untold story in relation to temporary migrant workers it exposes a very real wages crisis facing workers on the Temporary Skill Shortage (TSS) visa (formerly the 457 visa) in Australia. This crisis has been precipitated by the federal governments decision to freeze the salary floor for temporary skilled migrant workers since 2013 the government has chosen to put downward pressure on real wages for temporary skilled migrants, thereby surreptitiously allowing the TSS visa to be used in lower-paid jobs In Australia, these workers are employed via the TSS visa and they must be paid no less than a salary floor. This salary floor is called the Temporary Skilled Migration Income Threshold (TSMIT). TSMIT was introduced in 2009 in response to widespread concerns during the Howard Government years of migrant worker exploitation. This protection was considered important because an independent review found that many 457 visa workers were not receiving wages equivalent to those received by Australian workers In effect, TSMIT is intended to act as a proxy for the skill level of a particular occupation. It prevents unscrupulous employers misclassifying an occupation at a higher skill level in order to employ a TSS visa holder at a lower level TSMITs protective ability is only as strong as the level at which it is set. In its original iteration back in 2009, it was set at A$45 220. This level was determined by reference to average weekly earnings for Australians, with the intention that TSMIT would be pegged to this because the Australian government considered it important that TSMIT keep pace with wage growth across the Australian labour market. This indexation occurred like clockwork for five years. But since 1 July 2013, TSMIT has been frozen at a level of A$53 900. .. There is now a gap of more than A$26 000 between the salary floor for temporary skilled migrant workers and annual average salaries for Australian workers. This means that the TSS visa can increasingly be used to employ temporary migrant workers in occupations that attract a far lower salary than that earned by the average Australian worker. This begs the question  is the erosion of TSMIT allowing the TSS visa to morph into a general labour supply visa rather than a visa restricted to filling labour market gaps in skilled, high-wage occupations?.. But why would employers go to all the effort of hiring a temporary migrant worker on a TSS visa over an Australian worker? Renowned Australian demographer Graeme Hugo observed that employers will always have a demand for foreign workers if it results in a lowering of their costs.17 The simplistic notion that employers will only go to the trouble and expense of making a TSS visa application when they want to meet a skill shortage skims over a range of motives an employer may have for using the TSS visa. These could be a reluctance to invest in training for existing or prospective staff, or a desire to move towards a deunionised workforce. Additionally, for some employers, there could be a belief that, despite the requirement that TSS visa workers be employed on equivalent terms to locals, it is easier to avoid paying market salary rates and conditions for temporary migrant workers who have been recognised as being in a vulnerable labour market position. A recent example of this is the massive underpayments of chefs and cooks employed by Australias largest high-end restaurant business, Rockpool Dining Group, which found that visa holders were being paid at levels just above TSMIT but well below the award when taking into account the amount of overtime being done Put simply, temporary demand for migrant workers often creates a permanent need for them in the labour market. Research shows that in industries where employers have turned to temporary migrants en masse, it erodes wages and conditions in these industries over time, making them less attractive to locals A national survey of temporary migrant workers found that 24% of 457 visa holders who responded to the survey were paid less than A$18 an hour. Not only are these workers not being paid in according with TSMIT, but they are also receiving less than the minimum wage. A number of cases also expose creative attempts by employers to subvert TSMIT. Given the challenges many temporary migrants face in accessing legal remedies, these cases are likely only scratching the surface in terms of employer non-compliance with TSMIT Combined, then, with the problems with enforcement and compliance, it is not hard to conclude that the failure to index TSMIT is contributing to a wages crisis for skilled temporary migrant workers So the failure to index the salary floor for skilled migrant workers is likely to affect wages growth for these workers, as well as to have broader implications for all workers in the Australian labour market.

While the book has done an excellent job of dissecting the systemic rorting of temporary migrant workers, which is undermining broader wages growth, it unfortunately has not also addressed the rorting of Australias permanent skilled migrant program.

As noted previously, not one of the top five occupations granted permanent visas in the skilled stream in 2017-18 were in labour shortage over the past four years, according to the Department of Jobs and Small Business historical list of skills shortages in Australia.

Moreover, overall skilled migration  both permanent and temporary  continues to run at extreme levels despite actual skills shortages running near recessionary levels, according to the same Department of Jobs and Small Business data:

Remember, it is the permanent migrant intake that is primarily behind Australias population increase and therefore the choking of infrastructure and rising housing costs, in addition to dragging down wages. Many migrants also come to Australia initially on temporary visas with the hope of transitioning to one of the many permanent non-humanitarian visas handed out each year (numbering roughly 160,000 in 2017-18).

Therefore, if Australia was to remove the carrot of permanent residency by slashing the intake, it would also automatically reduce the flow of temporary migrants, since the two areas are intrinsically linked. In turn, workers bargaining power would be increased.

More broadly, ordinary workers cost of living would be reduced through lowering immigration, for example via cheaper housing (both prices and rents) and infrastructure, not to mention sinking the Australian dollar, thereby making trade exposed industries more competitive.

Ultimately, Australias so-called skilled immigration system is one giant rort thats all about lowering labour costs for employers by crushing wages and abrogating their responsibility for training, while also feeding the growth lobby more consumers.

It needs root-and-branch reform, starting with dramatically lowering the overall permanent migrant intake, as well as setting a wage floor for skilled migrants at the 80th to 90th percentile of earnings, thus ensuring the scheme is used sparingly by employers on only the highest skilled migrants, not as a general labour market tool for accessing cheap foreign labour.
On Monday, 3 December 2018, the NATO Deputy Secretary General, the Honourable Rose Gottemoeller, will meet the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan, H.E. Mr. Yerzhan Ashikbayev.

There will be no media opportunities.

Still images of the meeting with the Deputy Secretary General will be available on the NATO website after the event.

Follow the Deputy Secretary General on Twitter (@Gottemoeller). Also follow us at @NATOPress.
(Natural News) Have you been wondering what is causing the recent spate of earthquakes in Oklahoma and the rest of the United States? In an article on PBS NewsHour, researchers warned that these quakes are caused by underground injections of wastewater.

Fracking and other enhanced oil recovery methods create a lot of contaminated water as a byproduct. To prevent the contamination of drinking water supplies, the companies are pumping the dirty water back underground.

The University of California Santa Cruz (UCSC) recently conducted a study regarding deep wastewater injection. They knew that earthquakes coincide with these operations. The researchers wanted to know the distances from an injection well at which an earthquake will be triggered.

They found that injections could cause earthquakes as far as six miles (10 kilometers) in the distance. They also reported that the bigger and further earthquakes are caused by injecting water into soft sedimentary rock instead of the harder rock beneath.

Injected water can trigger earthquakes far from the well itself

This information is earthshaking because it can change the management and regulation of the fracking industry. Thats because earthquakes do not necessarily only take place at the site of an injection well.

For decades, experts have known that dumping water into a geologic fault can cause the crack to open up. When the fault slips, an earthquake occurs.

Water injections can cause the earth to shake in other ways. One way is called poroelasticity, where injected water puts pressure on the rock around it. The water deforms the material and forcing the fault to slip.

Poroelasticity allows earthquakes to take place a good distance away from the injection well that caused them. So a well might not hit a fault, but the pressure exerted by its water could set off a quake.

Injecting wastewater into sedimentary rock is not safe at all

In the UCSC study, the researchers investigated 20 injection sites that were very far from the others. They divided the sites based on the type of rock that the wastewater was pumped into: soft sedimentary rock that made up oil and gas basins, or basement rock that was older, harder, and deeper.

For wells set in sedimentary rock, an injection of water would spread the frequency of earthquakes away from the well. The spread would degrade over time but reach large distances.

If the disposal site had been dug into basement rock, the earthquakes would be concentrated within a kilometer of the well. Furthermore, the quakes were smaller than the ones caused by their sedimentary rock counterparts.

This goes against the vein of conventional earthquake mitigation strategies, which consider basement rock to be the more dangerous strata for injecting wastewater. The biggest faults are found in basement layers.

Dumping water into a fault in basement rock would easily trigger a quake. There is evidence that the massive earthquake that rocked Pohang, South Korea in 2017 was caused by such hydraulic injection.

There is no such thing as safe water injection

The UCSC researchers believe that the softer materials in sedimentary rock are more easily pressurized by water. Its effects can therefore reach further out from the well.

They have noted how many injection wells are set in sedimentary rock, far above basement rock. And yet the pressure of water injection crosses the distance to trigger fault lines within the deeper rock.

Their conclusion is that the common practice of injecting water into sedimentary rock is not any safer than doing so in basement rock. On the contrary, it is much more liable to cause an earthquake than expected.

Dont let an earthquake be your first and last warning. Get informed at FrackingWatch.com.

Sources include:

PBS.org

Science.ScienceMag.org
(Natural News) More than two years after POTUS Donald Trump won the 2016 election, the Deep States efforts to delegitimize his victory and undermine his presidency with the Russian collusion hoax has now come down to squeezing people whose only crime was supporting him.

Dr. Jerome Corsi, Ph.D., a conservative author and investigative journalist who has been critical of special counsel Robert Muellers never-ending investigation, has now become a target.

Earlier this month, Corsi, a longtime associate of Roger Stone, a personal friend of POTUS Donald Trump, posted a video in which he predicted that he would be indicted by Mueller. About 10 days later, reports said that Corsi was in plea negotiations with Mueller on a charge of lying to federal prosecutors.

But Corsi abruptly rejected Muellers plea deal earlier this week, saying, They can put me in jail for the rest of my life. I am not going to sign a lie.

He has since announced, via Twitter, that he has hired an additional legal counsel  Larry Klayman  and intends to instruct his legal team to file a criminal complaint with acting Attorney General Matthew Whittaker, claiming that Mueller and his team were engaged in prosecutorial misconduct.

I have retained attorney Larry Klayman to assist David Gray in my defense. In a memo to my attorneys, I have instructed Klayman and Gray to file with Acting AG Whitaker a criminal complaint against Mueller's Special Counsel and the DOJ for prosecutorial misconduct in my case.  Jerome R. Corsi, Ph.D. (@jerome_corsi) November 28, 2018

I have retained attorney Larry Klayman to assist David Gray in my defense. In a memo to my attorneys, I have instructed Klayman and Gray to file with Acting AG Whitaker a criminal complaint against Muellers Special Counsel and the DOJ for prosecutorial misconduct in my case, he wrote.

Much of what Corsi is alleging is contained in his new book, Silent No More: How I Became a Political Prisoner to Muellers Witch Hunt. The book reportedly details, in first-person, the special counsels inquisition of him involving more than 40 hours of intense questioning over a two-month period. (Related: Roger Stone produces text messages to support his claims that Randy Credico was his backchannel for Wikileaks 2016 Hillary email disclosures.)

Two systems of justice in the Trump era

As The Gateway Pundit noted, One America News Jack Posobiec tweeted a breaking story regarding Muellers questioning of Corsi, namely that the 72-year-old conservative author was coerced by the special counsel to undergo regressive memory therapy techniques so that he could remember a meeting with Russians that he does not believe ever happened.

BREAKING: FBI and Mueller team coerced 72-year-old Jerome Corsi to undergo regressive memory therapy techniques during interrogation to remember a meeting with Russians in Italy that Corsi was adamant never happened  Jack Posobiec  (@JackPosobiec) November 28, 2018

BREAKING: FBI and Mueller team coerced 72-year-old Jerome Corsi to undergo regressive memory therapy techniques during interrogation to remember a meeting with Russians in Italy that Corsi was adamant never happened, Posobiec tweeted.

Further, John Cardillo of Newsmax TVs America Talks Live interviewed Corsi on Wednesday, in which he assured the host that the president is spot-on to call the Mueller probe a witch hunt.

BREAKING: Earlier on my @newsmax show I asked @jerome_corsi if he believes that #Mueller and his team are coercing witnesses, including Corsi himself, into providing false testimony. Corsis answer, 100 percent YES pic.twitter.com/nSTHMkOefY  John Cardillo (@johncardillo) November 28, 2018

Earlier on my @newsmax show I asked @jerome_corsi if he believes that #Mueller and his team are coercing witnesses, including Corsi himself, into providing false testimony, Cardillo tweeted. Corsis answer, 100 percent YES

During his Newsmax interview, Corsi said he was threatened with jail time often during his 40-hour Q & A with Mueller and his team, which convinced him that much of the Justice Department is being run by criminals who are attempting to bring down POTUS Trump any way they can.

When it came to his plea deal, for instance, Mueller wouldnt write any of it down, preferring instead to just relay the conditions verbally to David Gray, his attorney. He also said that neither he nor his attorney were given access to the charging documents.

They didnt want anyone to know about it, he said. Its all supposed to be secret. In fact, when I did plead guilty, it was all going to be under seal.

Americans who still believe that ranking members of the Justice Department are not corrupt and not working in tandem to protect their fiefdoms of power from a president who has vowed to drain the swamp need to face reality. We have two systems of justice: One for the elite and one for the rest of us.

Read more about Robert Muellers corrupt witch hunt at RobertMueller.news.

Sources include:

FoxNews.com

TheNationalSentinel.com

TheGatewayPundit.com
(Natural News) If youre seeking relief from chronic back pain, consider natural remedies instead of prescription medication, which are often linked to negative side effects.

Below are seven such remedies for back pain.

Change your sleep position. If you have trouble sleeping because of back pain, try different sleep positions. Sleep in a reclining position or use wedge-shaped cushions to minimize stress on your lower back. If sleeping in a reclining position is too uncomfortable, consider buying an adjustable bed. Rent one from a medical supply company to see if it can help your condition before you commit to a purchase. Get regular massages. A massage can help promote circulation, relax the muscles, and relieve stress. Getting a massage can also boost endorphins, the pain relievers naturally produced by the body. If youre too busy to book a massage session, look for massage therapists that offer home services. According to research, massages can effectively reduce back pain. (Related: Non-invasive treatment for low back pain: Controlled core muscle release technique provides effective relief.) Sign up for laughter yoga sessions. Sign up for laughter yoga programs that are designed to help individuals manage pain by encouraging laughter. Laughter is good for your emotional health, but it also offers other benefits. Laughter yoga can increase oxygen intake, reduce stress, and it can promote the production of endorphins. These benefits can all help reduce pain naturally. Laughter yoga sessions include deep breathing exercises and laughter exercises, which can be a fun alternative to the other options in this list. Swim, or sign up for water exercise classes. Water is buoyant, which is perfect for chronic back pain sufferers. Floating in a pool lets you enjoy the benefits of exercise with less pain. If you want to swim in warmer pools, consider water exercise classes or hydrotherapy pools. Water therapy exercises often take place in water that is about 83 degrees to 88 degrees. Meanwhile, hydrotherapy pool temperatures are warmer than 90 degrees. Take a long, hot bath. Hot baths are more than just a relaxing way to end a tiring day. A hot bath can help ease various aches in the body, especially if you suffer from back pain. If you have a hard time falling asleep after you take a long bath, take one at least two or three hours before you go to bed. Use a bath cushion while youre soaking in the tub to maximize the relaxation and to provide back support. Talk to other people with chronic back pain. Once you find a method that works, share it with other people who might benefit from your discovery. You can write about it in a blog or talk to a friend who also has chronic back pain. Use heating pads. If you suffer from intense back pain the minute you wake up, put a heating pad under the painful part of your back before you get out of bed. The pad will warm up your muscles and this will help prevent muscle spasms when you move, relieve morning stiffness, and promote blood flow to the area.

Can hobbies ease back pain?

Relief from back pain can also come in the form of your favorite hobbies. Ongoing pain can affect your quality of life; taking part in activities that make you feel happy can help relieve back pain. Try doing three activities that make you smile, like reading your favorite book, drinking a warm cup of tea, or walking your dog to make your back pain easier to bear.

You may need to experiment before you finally discover a remedy that can effectively relieve your back pain, so try these natural cures until you find one that works best for you.

Find more natural ways to relieve back pain at BackPain.news.

Sources include:

Spine-Health.com 1

Spine-Health.com 2
(Natural News) The Lefts descent into madness and lunacy continues to set new milestones, as one head-shaking outrage begets another.

Nowhere is this insanity manifesting itself more than on the platforms of the social media giants, where traditional American values and culture go to die.

As reported by Breitbart News, a notable feminist, Meghan Murphy, was recently banned from Twitter because she dared to point out what used to be an obvious truism: Biological men are not biological women, and it doesnt matter how one identifies or what one claims as his/her sex.

Following the ban, Murphy wrote a piece for Quillette earlier this week to explain how banal facts have now, in the Lefts crazy mixed-up gender world, become heresy  akin to terrorist speech.

Murphy was permanently banished from the platform last week because she said, Women arent men, and, How are trans women not men? What is the difference between a man and a transwoman?

Heresy! Off with your account!

After Twitter forced Murphy to delete her posts, she then called out the social media platform and was subsequently banned.

The result led Murphy to accuse Twitter  correctly  of censoring basic facts and silencing people who do not share the warped version of biology and science currently espoused by the Leftist nerdy nerd speech Nazis combing the platform daily for dissenting views.

The statement that Men arent women would have been seen as banalindeed, tautologicaljust a few years ago. Today, its considered heresyakin to terrorist speech that seeks to deny the humanity of trans-identified people who very much wish they could change sex, but cannot, wrote Murphy in her Quillette piece.

These heretics are smeared as TERFa term of abuse that stands for Trans-Exclusionary Radical Feministand blacklisted. On many Twitter threads, the term is more or less synonymous with Nazi.

She also observed in her article that transgender identity is taken as a religious faith which means no one can question its doctrine or the motivation and ideology behind it. (Related: Twitter supports genital mutilation of little girls by banning anyone who opposes the barbaric practice.)

Time to abandon the social media giants

I was angry to have lost a Twitter account with tens of thousands of followers. I was angry to have lost a book deal. But I will recover, she wrote. I have countless supporters, and my career is far from over. Certainly, I dont plan on shutting up.

She noted further that her crusade  it seems like a crusade now  is not simply all about her.

Its about a cultish movement that is flexing its muscle on campuses, in civic organizations, at public events, and in the back offices of social-media companies, to strike down anyone who dares point out that the gender emperor wears no clothes, Murphy wrote.

It is about our ability to debate important issues and speak the truth in the public realm. Its time for all of usnot just women and feminists, who are now taking the worst of itto put their collective foot down and demand a return to sanity, she concluded.

Thats all well and fine  and necessary, as it happens. But in terms of being able to express long-proven scientific facts and biological truths on the platforms of the social media behemoths, thats simply not going to be permitted.

Once upon a time Twitter, YouTube, Facebook, and Google existed as platforms for genuine, unfettered, unfiltered human interactions. They epitomized the right of free speech and expression.

But somewhere along the line, they got too big and, as a result, too powerful. Their CEOs came to believe they were masters of the universe and that their real mission in life was to change cultures, change values and mores, and then impose their worldview on everyone  the antithesis of free expression.

These platforms have been lost to the tyrants. The best thing to do is simply abandon them for emerging free speech platforms.

Read more about the social media giants censorship efforts at Censorship.news.

Sources include:

Breitbart.com

Quillette.com

NaturalNews.com
(Natural News) When was the last time you had your ears checked? According to medical experts, the elderly often suffer from excessive earwax. If left unnoticed, excessive earwax may cause severe health concerns, especially among the 2.2 million individuals who reside in U.S. nursing homes and assisted living centers.

Jackie Clark, the president of the American Academy of Audiology, warns that an excessive amount of earwax may cause hearing loss or ringing in the ears. In some, an earwax buildup can cause vertigo, which increases the risk of falling. Clark, who is also a board-certified audiologist, added that based on data, there is a link between hearing loss and cognitive decline.

Earwax, which is technically not wax but cerumen, binds with dirt, dust, and debris. The human ear naturally produces cerumen to clean and protect the ears. Cerumen also helps protect ear canal skin from irritation due to water exposure. Excess earwax often finds its way out of the canal and into the ear opening naturally, where it can then be washed away, such as when youre bathing.

However, the self-cleaning process doesnt always work for everyone. At least 10 percent of young children, 20 percent of adults, and over 30 percent of the elderly and developmentally disabled people suffer from earwax impaction.

Impaction occurs when too much earwax collects and completely blocks the ear canal. Based on the 2017 guidelines for the removal of impacted earwax, which was issued by the American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery Foundation (AAO-HNS), about two-thirds of individuals in nursing homes may have an earwax impaction.

Impaction and hearing problems

Based on Kaiser Health News analysis of payment records, federal Medicare recipients required about 1.7 million earwax removal services in 2016. This amounted to over $51 million in costs.

Dr. Seth Schwartz, a Seattle otolaryngologist who spearheaded the most recent update of AAO-HNS guidelines, said that this is a common occurrence among elderly patients. While it may seem like a very basic thing, earwax buildups are one of the most common causes of hearing-related problems.

To remedy this concern, Janie York from Omaha, Nebraska, founded Hear Now mobile hearing solutions. Hear Now is a quickly-growing business that cleans hearing aids and checks the ears of older adults who are in residential care. (Related: New ear-cleaning device suctions the wax out.)

York, who caters to clients in 10 local centers, claims that this is an epidemic that occurs in at least three of the five clients she services. Most clients have some degree of impaction and most are completely impacted.

Julie Brown, assistant director of nursing in the memory support unit at SilverRidge Assisted Living in Gretna, Nebraska, warned that impacted earwax is often observed in individuals with dementia. She noted that impaction could aggravate hearing loss, which then hinders communication.

Brown added that hearing loss is also linked to aggression and other difficult behaviors in people with dementia. Thankfully, once excess earwax is cleared up, patients often calm down.

How to deal with excessive earwax

AAO-HNS reported that about 12 million consult health workers yearly with concerns about excessive earwax while eight million people need wax removal. The figures have yet to include those who use DIY treatments to eliminate earwax, a process most healthcare professionals warn against.

Schwartz suggested that the best way to control earwax is to leave it alone. However, this advice may fail if families or caregivers dont regularly inspect the ears of older adults in residential care.

Healthcare guidelines state that people who use hearing aids should have regular ear checks every three to six months while patients with dementia must also have earwax removed regularly.

In most cases, earwax can be safely removed by softening it with water, saline, or commercial ear drops and then gentle syringing or manually extracting the blockage with a curette. Sometimes, the services of a professional with an otoscope may be required. The otoscope can be used to check deep inside the ear to see if cerumen is blocking the ear canal.

In 2014, Japanese researchers spearheaded a small study on earwax impaction. Data from the study showed that clearing excess earwax had an immediate effect among older patients.

According to the study findings, there were significant improvements in hearing and cognitive performance in elderly patients with memory disorders when impacted cerumen was removed.

Browse other articles with tips on how to avoid age-related hearing loss at Longevity.news.

Sources include:

ScientificAmerican.com

Healthline.com
(Natural News) If you opened up your refrigerator or pantry right now, would you be able to identify where everything inside of them originated? If youre like many people, theres a good chance the answer to this question is no  and you could end up paying a very steep price for this ignorance.

Unfortunately, a lot of food sold throughout the world comes from China, where the standards leave a lot to be desired. In fact, the founder of a company called Inscatech that uncovers fraud and malpractice in the food industry, Mitchell Weinberg, said that while they uncover this type of fraud around 70 percent of the time overall, its close to 100 percent in China. Do you really want to eat anything that comes from the same country where baby formula was laced with melamine and rat meat was sold as lamb?

Here is a look at some of the foods that you should be particularly wary of if they come from China.

Fish

Water pollution is out of control in China, so it only makes sense to avoid consuming anything that once swam in its dirty waters. More than half of the tilapia and cod that are sold in the U.S. were grown on a Chinese fish farm, so its not uncommon to find heavy metals like lead or mercury in this fish.

Rice

The Chinese people have a reputation for loving their rice, and because so much of it is grown there, it isnt surprising that a lot of the rice sold in North America comes from the country. Thats unfortunate because China has been exporting whats known as a plastic rice that is little more than a mix of resin and potato.

Garlic

You might have heard about the health benefits of garlic, but if your garlic comes from China, it might have the opposite effect on your health as Chinese garlic has been found to be laced with methyl bromide and other pesticides. With as much as a third of the garlic sold in the U.S. originating there, you need to be vigilant to avoid this potential danger.

Apple juice

It may sound oddly specific, but Chinese apple juice was singled out by the Alternative Daily for several reasons. First, theres the fact that the government had restricted the import of apples from China for a time, a serious step that indicates major problems. A few years ago, health officials discovered that apple juice imported from China contained antifreeze. That might no longer be a problem, but any apple that was grown in toxin-laced Chinese soil is an apple that you definitely want to avoid.

Green peas

Rice isnt the only food that scammers are trying to fake in China. Counterfeit green peas have been found there that are made using sodium metabisulfite, soy, a green dye, and small amounts of real green peas.

Mushrooms

If you thought fake peas and rice sounded bad, you will definitely be turned off when you learn that Chinese mushrooms have prompted safety concerns around the world. The farmers there have been known to add formaldehyde and sulfur dioxide to make them appear fresher. Read labels carefully; a third of the processed mushrooms that are consumed in America originate in China.

Chinese food regulations are notoriously lax, and widespread government corruption means that the few regulations they do have are rarely upheld. When you buy food from China, you are taking a gamble on your health and possibly your life  is that worth saving a few bucks? This is why many experts recommend you buy locally, where you can be more confident in the processes and sources used.

Read CleanFoodWatch.com for daily coverage of food contamination.

Sources for this article include:

NaturalHealth365.com

Independent.co.uk

TheAlternativeDaily.com
(Natural News) Turmeric has many uses around the world. Whether its being used as a spice in curries, as a natural food-based coloring agent or in medicine, this golden-hued root is up to the task. In Ayurvedic medicine, turmeric is prescribed for a number of ailments, including pain and inflammation. As Western science has begun to look more closely at turmerics medicinal value, they have discovered one compound in particular may be responsible for turmerics amazing health benefits. Curcumin, the active compound found in turmeric, has piqued the interest of scientists, herbalists and natural health enthusiasts around the world.

A growing body of research indicates that curcumin may be especially useful in the prevention and treatment of many different types of cancer. In fact, some people are already finding success in treating cancers with curcumin, even in cases where conventional treatments have failed.

Curcumin curbs cancer

Multiple studies have shown curcumin to be successful in preventing and treating cancer. Current research indicates that curcumin is particularly effective against gastrointestinal cancers. This is largely due to its slow absorption rate, which means higher amounts of curcumin stay in the digestive tract for a longer period of time  and consequently, produce a more potent healing effect.

As reported by Natural Health 365:

Colorectal cancer patients receiving 1,080 mg of curcumin per day between biopsy and surgery (10 to 30 days) showed increased dying tumor cells, lowered inflammation, improved body weight, and higher gene expression indicating cancer suppression. Another colorectal cancer study series showed all of these benefits plus reduced DNA damage and improved protective intracellular scavenging of free radicals.

The compound also appears to be effective in the treatment of multiple myeloma. In 2017, a 67-year-old woman from the United Kingdom came forward about using turmeric to cure her cancer. Dieneke Ferguson was diagnosed with multiple myeloma in 2007. She underwent multiple rounds of chemotherapy and stem cell transplants, to no avail. Ferguson began taking eight grams of curcumin daily, as a last resort  and it worked. Five years after starting the curcumin regime, and Ferguson is virtually cancer-free. She continues to take her curcumin supplement and her cancer cell count is negligible.

Fergusons recovery is so remarkable, she was the subject of a paper published in the British Medical Journal.

Jamie Cavenagh, professor of blood diseases at Londons Barts Hospital and co-author of the report, told the U.K.s Daily Mail, When you review her chart, theres no alternative explanation [for her recovery] other than were seeing a response to curcumin.

How curcumin cures

While there is still much to learn about turmeric and its medicinal compounds like curcumin, science is already starting to hone in on how curcumin exacts its cancer-fighting effects. Studies have shown that the spice is effective against many other types of cancer, like breast and pancreatic cancer. More impressive, however, is curcumins ability to obliterate cancer cells without harming other, healthy cells or causing unwanted side effects.

Scientists recently uncovered one of the ways in which curcumin kills cancer is through its suppression of the DYRK2 enzyme, which stops protein complexes known as proteasomes that are involved in cancer development. This ultimately disrupts proliferation of cancer cells and slows the cancers growth.

And as sources report, curcumin also stops the blood vessels that give tumors life from growing and developing and turns off tumor-growth genes.

In addition to these cancer-fighting properties, turmeric also boasts a number of cancer-preventing attributes. Studies show that curcumin also helps to protect DNA against damage, while enhancing your immune systems ability to sniff out and kill off cancer cells.

You can learn more about turmeric and other herbal medicines at AlternativeMedicine.news.

Sources for this article include:

NaturalHealth365.com

MedicalNewsToday.com

DailyMail.co.uk
(Natural News) As millions of Americans were enjoying turkey, stuffing, and pumpkin pie with their friends and family during the recent Thanksgiving holiday, social media giant Twitter was busy axing the accounts of more users who hold politically incorrect views, including conservative commentator and reporter Laura Loomer.

For the simple crime of addressing the truths about Islam and Sharia Law, Loomer had her Twitter account permanently suspended, reports Michelle Malkin for Ammoland.com. Meanwhile, there hasnt been a single prominent, leftist Twitter user whos been removed from the platform  ever  which Malkin describes in chilling terms as Silicon Valley Sharia.

In essence, the entire tech cabal, which includes other big names like Facebook, Apple, and Amazon, is sending the message that free speech and the First Amendment have no place on their platforms. If you hold views that these corporations dont like, or state facts that upset them, then you will not be allowed to have a voice online.

Its apparently completely off-limits to talk about the fact that Islamic Sharia is diametrically opposed to many of the tenets of modern-day liberalism, including womens and LGBTQ rights. In her final tweet before getting banned from Twitter, Loomer addressed all of this with regards to the recent election of Ilhan Omar to the Minnesota House of Representative.

Isnt it ironic how the twitter moment used to celebrate women, LGBTQ, and minorities is a picture of Ilhan Omar? Loomer wrote in her tweet. Ilhan is pro Sharia(.) Ilhan is pro-FGM(.) Under Sharia, homosexuals are oppressed & killed. Women are abused & forced to wear the hijab. Ilhan is anti Jewish.

These are simple statements of fact. But because they contradict the official narrative endorsed and perpetrated by Twitter, they had to be removed, along with the person who made them.

Some smug elites will downplay Twitters disparate treatment of these users by arguing that private tech corporations can do whatever they want and that no First Amendment issues have been raised. But this battle is about much more than free speech rights, writes Malkin.

Its about whether the high-and-mighty progressives who monopolize global social media platforms truly believe in nurturing a free speech culture.

Hating white people, the police, and the nuclear family is acceptable speech on Twitter

If Twitter were to just come out of the closet and finally admit to the world that it proudly embraces totalitarianism, then none of this would really be an issue. Twitter could simply declare to the world that only leftist speech is permitted on the platform, that way everyone who signs up for and uses it would know in advance what they were getting themselves into  allowing Twitter to then openly become the leftist, echo chamber utopia that it daily strives to be.

But instead, Twitter and the rest of these evil tech companies are still pretending as though they support open dialogue, when in fact theyre part of the Lefts global ministry of propaganda. Anyone who isnt a diehard NPC (non-playable character) already knows that Twitter is a bastion of communism anyway, so why not just tell the truth for once?

Telling the truth, though, would out Twitter as just another deep state asset of censorship. Again, anyone with two working brain cells already knows this, but its the rest of brain-dead world that would finally see the light  or at least one would hope. Regardless, the prolific double standards that characterize Twitter in 2018 show that this social media platform is more closely aligned with Islamic Sharia Law than it is freedom, liberty, and patriotism.

By punishing politically incorrect speech and making punitive examples of free thinkers, tech titans are enforcing their own authoritarian version of Silicon Valley sharia  a set of both written and unwritten codes constricting expressions of acceptable thought in the name of safety and civility,' Malkin adds.

For more related news, check out PoliticalCorrectness.news.

Sources for this article include:

Ammoland.com

NaturalNews.com
(Natural News) Science has just proven that winning a contest can indeed boost a mans ego. In a study published in the journal Human Nature, researchers from the University of Cambridge discovered that emerging as the victor against other males can cause an increase in testosterone in men, as well as enhance how sexually attractive they perceive themselves to be.

In the study, the researchers pitted 38 men in their 20s against each other in one-on-one competitions on rowing machines. The participants hormone levels were then tested through their saliva samples. They were also asked to answer questionnaires that gauged their self-perceived sexual attractiveness, as well as their confidence in approaching women.

What the participants didnt know was that the machines were rigged. They declared winners regardless of who among the participants rowed the hardest. The outcomes showed that men didnt have to actually win to get an increase in testosterone. Merely believing they won caused the same outcome.

Danny Longman, the lead author of the study, says the result is caused by the bodys attempt to induce chemical and behavioral changes in response to shifts in ones environment. This process is called plasticity, in which the body goes through changes brought about by outside factors without undergoing any change in ones genetic code.

The goal of these changes in men is what Longman calls the short-term approach to reproductive success.

Much of evolution consists of trade-offs in energy investment. One reproductive approach is short-term, investing time and energy in attracting and pursuing many mates, and fighting off competition. Another approach is long-term, investing energy in raising offspring with a single mate, he explains.

We found that a perceived shift in social status can cause male physiology to adapt by preparing to shift mating strategies to optimize reproductive success, Longman adds.

Men who believed they won experienced a 4.92 percent increase in their testosterone levels. Conversely, those who believed they lost got a 7.24 percent drop in their testosterone. Overall, those who believed themselves to be winners had 14.46 percent higher testosterone levels than their losing opponents.

Longman explains that testosterone levels have an impact on a mans readiness to look for a mate. He cites past research that found that men experienced decreases in testosterone levels when they are in a committed relationship or are taking care of children. This change is attributed to long-term mating strategies.

Indeed, the results of the study prove that the change in status afforded by winning increased the mens mating value, thereby increasing their testosterone levels. This ability of the brain to change in response to environmental changes even when the genetic code remains the same, according to Longman, is a crucial factor that ensured the success of human evolution. (Related: FDA: Testosterone supplements can cause heart failure, stroke, depression, liver toxicity, insomnia and more.)

Very generally, the mind and the body are completely intertwined. Our mind senses changes in the environment and our body enacts physiological changes as a result of that, he says.

However, the scientist says that just because there is an increase in testosterone and perceived sexual attractiveness doesnt mean men also undergo a change in character. Although hormones have a tremendous impact on human behavior, they cannot change a human beings personality. Longman clarifies that, at the end of the day, although male physiology may take advantage of certain specific situations, the decision to act on ones impulses will depend on the man himself.

Learn more about the way hormones affect behavior at Brain.news.

Sources include:

News.Sky.com

ScienceDaily.com
(Natural News) Retiring RINO Sen. Jeff Flake of Arizona once again embarrassed many in his own party this week when he made the decision to hold up 21 of POTUS Donald Trumps constitutionalist federal court picks as hostages to a ridiculous piece of legislation aimed at protecting special counsel Robert Mueller.

As if Mueller didnt already have enough Deep State allies in the Justice Department to continue allowing him to harass the president and many of his associates with a hoax Russian collusion investigation.

Flakes legislation isnt going anywhere, but because hes a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee and his vote is needed to advance any judicial nominee, it looks like, for now, they arent going anywhere either. His disgusting, petty obstructionism isnt good for our constitutional system of justice, which was upended, politicized, and weaponized during Barack Obamas eight years in office. And right now, we as a nation could use a good justice system overhaul.

But Mueller doesnt seem to be in need of protecting. Hes been free to continue his bogus investigation no matter whose lives are destroyed. His latest target: Chicago Finance Committee Chairman Ed Burke, a lawyer who previously did some tax work for POTUS Trump.

The city hall reporter for the Chicago Sun-Times, Fran Spielman, tweeted out a picture of Burkes City Hall office; Muellers thugs taped brown paper over the windows so nobody could see what they are doing.

Because Mueller likes operating in the shadows.

Source says feds showed up this am, asked everyone to leave and put brown paper on the doors. pic.twitter.com/4qJBwzoKF4  Fran Spielman (@fspielman) November 29, 2018

Now we ask, just how important is this man to Muellers Russian collusion investigation? The Hill reports that Burke did some property tax work for the president for more than 10 years.

Doing what, you ask? What any self-respecting billionaire businessman would do: Finding ways to legally reduce his tax burden, The Hill noted:

Burkes law firm of Klafter & Burke has worked with Trumps companies repeatedly to reduce the property tax that Trump Tower and his other properties in Chicago have had to pay, according to the Sun-Times.

Over his 12 years working for Trump, Burke was allegedly able to cut the property taxes on the downtown tower by more than $14 million.

The Cohen factor

The paper noted that Burke ended his business relationship with the Trump organization earlier this year, citing irreconcilable differences in letters that were filed with Illinois state property tax officials.

And this is the guy  and the investigation  that Flake wants to protect, though by no means is he the only retiring #neverTrump RINO (were looking at you, Paul Ryan) who wants to ensure that Mueller is free to continue harassing the president long after they are gone.

The raid on Burkes office came the same day that another former Trump attorney, Michael Cohen, pleaded guilty to lying to Congress about a Trump Tower project in Moscow. ABC News reported:

According to court documents, Cohen admitted that he made the misstatements about the Moscow Project  the Trump Organizations efforts to pursue a branded property in Moscow in an August 2017 letter to the House and Senate intelligence committees, which were conducting inquiries into alleged collusion and Russian interference.

In court, Cohen admitted that he made the false statements to be consistent with Individual 1s political messaging and to be loyal to Individual 1, Cohen told the judge. Individual 1 was believed to be Trump, based on the description in court documents.

The president responded by calling Cohen weak and a liar. So, too, did POTUS attorney Rudy Giuliani, who added, With regard to the hotel proposal in Moscow, the President has been completely open and transparent. (Related: Fake News Central CNN is IGNORING its fake report regarding Michael Cohens bogus Trump Tower claims.)

The deal never did go through, by the way, because the Trump Organization deemed it economically unfeasible. Some collusion.

The fact is, Muellers rogue investigation will continue without end until someone with authority ends it. If the attorney general wont do it, only the occupant at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue can.

Read more about Robert Muellers corrupt mission to derail the Trump presidency at RobertMueller.news.

Sources include:

TheHill.com

ABCNews.com

NewsTarget.com
Baby Noah was dropped off at a Tustin fire station when he was only two days old. A year later, he and his adoptive parents met with the firefighters who received him as part of the Safe Surrender program.

The Safe Surrender program allows parents to legally leave their infant at any California hospital or fire station within 72 hours of birth. The Safely Surrendered Baby Law was signed into state law in 2006 and a total of 770 newborns have been saved from abandonment since then.

The program allowed Tim and Javier Salazar to adopt Noah.

"We just want them [biological parents] to know that he's safe and happy," Javier said. "They don't have to worry about if they did or did not make the right decision, because they did."

Baby Noahs first birthday is Dec. 19.
Video from a deputy's body camera shows a harrowing escape out of the Butte County Camp Fire.

The Butte County Sheriff's Office on Thursday released the video from Deputy Aaron Parmley, who was in Paradise on Nov. 8 and helping with evacuations.

The Sheriff's Office said Parmley was driving on Pentz Road and looking for nurses from Feather River Hospital who needed help evacuating. The deputy was forced to get out when vehicle became disabled.

"He activated his body-worn camera, in hopes of capturing what he thought were going to be the last moments of his life," the Sheriff's Office said.

The Camp Fire is California's deadliest and most destructive wildfire in the state's recorded history.

As of Thursday, at least 88 have been confirmed dead and the number of names on the daily list put out by the Butte County Sheriff's office was 197, down from a high of 1,300 two weeks ago.
Over two days  hovering over the burned out grounds of Paradise, California, site of states most destructive fire, a legion of drones began recording images of the devastation below. By the time they were done, they had collected 70,000 images over 17,000 acres resulting in 1.4 trillion pixels of data.

The 518 flights coordinated operation by 16 Northern California emergency responder agencies is believed to be the biggest drone response to a disaster scene in the nations history.

We have seen the technology used in some simulated environments to try and help people prepare, said Jono Millin, founder of the San Francisco-based Drone Deploy, but this is has been the first real full-scale deployment that weve been aware of.

Millins company created the software that helped the drone teams map 26 miles of the town of Paradise fire zone into sectors. The company then took the data and turned it into detailed maps which were released just days after the two days of filming was done.

So to be able to create this digital snapshot of the entire 26 miles of area that were affected in just two days is really remarkable, Millin said.

The fire started October 8th killing 88 people so far with another 158 missing  and destroying nearly 20,000 structures.

The mapping operation was lead by the Alameda County Sheriffs Department which boasts one of the most advanced drone teams in the country. Another 15 counties contributed drones and logistics for the mapping project.

We all worked together with a plan in mind and that plan in mind was to map the city of Paradise, said Sgt. Ray Kelly of the Alameda County Sheriffs Department. There was a lot of work and coordination  a lot of coordination that had never really been done like that before.

Kelly said his departments drone team had done some photographing over the fire zone of Santa Rosas Coffey Park which was devastated in the 2017 firestorm. But Kelly said the Paradise operation was the first time so many agencies had coordinated together.

When a fire like that, or devastation comes through a community, Kelly said, people want to go back to their home to see whats left.

Authorities in Butte County publicly released the maps and aerial photography even before many residents had been cleared to enter the fire zone to check the status of their homes. Officials said the detailed footage and maps would help people to determine the condition of their homes  and expedite insurance claims. The footage could also help victims secure FEMA funds.

Were hoping that one, it will help people understand the devastation that were dealing with, understand the very difficult task that we have, said Butte County Sheriff Kory Honea. Were hoping itll provide them information that will help them get their insurance claims started.

Millin said the drone operation highlights the possibilities of new technology which he said include the potential for fire prevention measures.

We have seen this technology used in a preemptive way as well, Millin said in his San Francisco headquarters, where people can go around and start creating maps ahead of time where there are areas that might be at risk.

Millin sat in front of his computer scrolling through the footage  hovering over the ghostly outlines where homes had stood, over swimming pools, chimney stacks and burned out cars. He revealed a map with colored touch points that when clicked on revealed images of the charred properties.

Wow thats terrible to see this entire neighborhood, he said zooming into the ashen landscape.

Kelly said the other value of the images is they were taken before recent rains, preserving what is essentially a crime scene as the search for victim remains continues. He hoped the images would help residents take stock of their neighborhoods and eventually even aid the rebuilding.

Youre providing a little bit of relief to those families so they can kind of see what theyre up against, Kelly said, and what theyre facing when they get back home.
Protesters on Thursday temporarily shut down a California Public Utilities Commission meeting in San Francisco, demanding the commission hold PG&E accountable for the wildfire in Butte County.

The Camp Fire, which killed at least 88 people, is the most destructive and deadliest wildfire in state history.

Thursday's meeting was the CPUCs first since the fire that a downed PG&E transmission line is suspected of sparking three weeks ago.

The commission ordered PG&E to follow new safety recommendations from a consulting group investigating the fire. Protesters want more.

"This is the mask that I wore for a week," protester J. Redwoods aid. "Its really hard to breathe through because its full of toxic air. I think its important to show the impact; not just the 88 dead and counting in Paradise, but the thousands, the millions that had to breathe in toxic air."

PG&E issued a statement Thursday, saying in part it has already implemented a majority of the safety recommendations and is on track to add the rest within the next year.
Dixie Singh is No. 158 on the official list of people missing after Northern California's catastrophic wildfire. That came as news to her.

"I am the only Dixie Singh I've ever heard of. And I am alive," the 86-year-old woman said Wednesday.

Singh's story illustrates the confusion and uncertainty that persist three weeks after the nation's deadliest wildfire in a century ripped through a string of communities with astonishing speed and destruction. But it also offers hope that others listed as unaccounted for will turn up and not be added to the already staggering death toll of 88,

As of Thursday, the number of names on the daily list put out by the Butte County Sheriff's office was 197, down from a high of 1,300 two weeks ago.

The Associated Press found Singh through a public records search that listed a cellphone number for her friend Allan Bates, 84, who was equally puzzled over why she was considered missing when he answered his phone.

"Huh? You're looking for Dixie? You want to talk to her? She's right next to me," he said.

The inferno Nov. 8 all but leveled the town of Paradise, home to 27,000, and ravaged neighboring communities, forcing thousands to flee. As authorities continue combing the charred ruins for human remains and collecting DNA samples from relatives, they are trying to determine who on the list is truly missing.

Many survivors have scattered to other towns or cities and did not think to tell authorities or relatives that they were safe. Many are elderly and may not have cellphones. Some, like Singh, had no idea they were on the ever-evolving roster posted nightly on the sheriff's website.

Singh and Bates fled their home in Paradise, driving down flaming roads as they heard explosions and got stuck in traffic.

"Hell could not have been any worse. It was terrible, terrible, terrible," said Singh, speaking from an apartment the couple is now renting in nearby Chico. Both said they had told friends and family members that they made it out safely, and Singh did not know why her name had been put on the list.

Another person not missing is Terumi Newton, No. 109.

Her former daughter-in-law, Marge Newton, lives 800 miles away in Birch Bay, Washington, and had been exchanging regular phone calls with investigators and law enforcement officials on the ground.

After weeks of searching, she got a call Wednesday saying her 82-year-old former mother-in-law was safe. The call was not from sheriff's authorities but from a Red Cross worker who told her the elderly woman had checked in at a shelter at a church in Chico on the day the fire started.

"She signed in on the 8th, on the same day of the evacuation, but nobody forwarded the list to the sheriff's office," said Newton, who expressed frustration at the oversight but also empathy for first responders dealing with a disaster of such magnitude. Overall, she felt relief, she said.

"Now, I can call off my search," she said. "In the end, people on that list are safe and well, and that's what matters."

Newton was not on the updated list released Thursday.

Sheriff's authorities have faced criticism over spotty communication with outside agencies aiding the relief effort but insist they are constantly cross-checking names of survivors.

"We've interfaced with the Red Cross," Butte County Sheriff Kory Honea said last week. "Not only are they checking it, we double-check with them. That's an ongoing process because people come in and they go out."

Honea has repeatedly called the list "fluid" and "dynamic," saying his office is adding names whenever someone is reported unaccounted for. If someone calls in and reports a friend or relative who lived in Paradise can't be reached, the person is added to the list until tracked down by authorities.

Sometimes a name is removed, only to be added again when someone else inquires about that person. Sometimes a name is misspelled and appears twice under different spellings.

That was the case with Mirella Harrison of Paradise, who first appeared on the list Nov. 15 as Marilla Harrison. Over the next 11 days, her name also appeared as Mallela and Marrcela. Sometimes she was listed twice with correct and incorrect spellings.

Her brother, Bill Engfelt, couldn't reach her and reported her missing.

Someone from the sheriff's office called him every day to check in but had no answers. Engfelt, who lives in San Diego, bought a plane ticket to Sacramento and planned to drive to Paradise and distribute flyers with her picture and give authorities a DNA swab on the chance his sister's remains were found.

But then on Monday, he learned she was safe. She was in a hotel room in Vacaville, 120 miles south of Paradise.

"She should have called me days ago," Engfelt said. The confirmation came not through official channels but from his sister's real estate agent, one of many people Engfelt called as he tried to locate her.

Confusion is common in the aftermath of disasters. In last year's Northern California wine country wildfires, Sonoma County authorities at one point listed more than 2,000 people as missing but slowly whittled down the number. In the end, 44 people died in the series of fires in several California counties.

The enormity of the disaster this time is far greater. The Camp Fire destroyed nearly 19,000 structures, compared with 5,600 in Napa and Sonoma Counties last year. It spread across 240 square miles, an area five times the size of San Francisco.

Many people searching for loved ones have found help through social media, like Delisa Gaeta, one of many who posted messages to a Facebook group called Camp Fire Missing Persons.

"I went to that Facebook page and yelled out, 'Is Dale Wingett still alive?' and people just grabbed on," said Gaeta, who also called the sheriff's office to report her foster father missing.

For weeks, she heard nothing and was starting to think the worst. On Monday, good news arrived via Facebook message from a friend who forwarded her a story in the Redding Record Searchlight newspaper. It had a photograph of a man named Dale Wingett, smiling as he filled his plate at a Thanksgiving buffet for survivors at a Holiday Inn in Redding.

"I couldn't believe it. There he was at the Holiday Inn eating turkey!" said Gaeta, 55, of Santa Clara.

Only the day before, Sunday, the sheriff's office called her to say officials still had no information on Wingett's whereabouts but could confirm that his house burned down.

Gaeta said her mind is now at ease, but she is still trying to find Wingett and talk with him.

"It's not over until I can speak to him and know if there is anything I can do to help," she said.
German authorities raided Deutsche Bank's headquarters Thursday amid suspicions that its employees helped clients set up offshore companies that were used to launder hundreds of millions of euros.

About 170 police officers, investigators and prosecutors swooped in on the bank's offices in Frankfurt and premises in nearby Eschborn and Gross-Umstadt at 10 a.m. (0900 GMT), seizing electronic and paper records.

The investigation emerged from an analysis of documents leaked from tax havens in recent years, including the 2016 "Panama Papers," said Frankfurt prosecutors' spokeswoman Nadja Niesen.

It is focused on two Deutsche Bank employees, aged 50 and 46, and possibly other still unidentified suspects, she said. At least one site raided was a suspect's home.

Analysis of the Panama Papers and other documents "gave rise to suspicion that Deutsche Bank was helping clients set up so-called offshore companies in tax havens and the proceeds of crimes were transferred there from Deutsche Bank accounts" without the bank reporting it, Niesen said.

In 2016 alone, more than 900 customers are alleged to have transferred some 311 million euros ($351 million) to one such company set up in the British Virgin Islands, she said.

The suspects, both German citizens, are accused of failing to report the suspicious transactions even though there was "sufficient evidence" to have been aware of it.

Deutsche Bank confirmed the search and said "the investigation has to do with the Panama Papers case."

"More details will be communicated as soon as these become known. We are cooperating fully with the authorities," the bank said.

Money laundering has become a growing problem in Europe, where a series of scandals has exposed lax regulation.

And it's not the first time Deutsche Bank has run into trouble over the flow of dirty money.

It was fined more than $600 million by U.S. and U.K. authorities in January 2017 for allowing customers to transfer $10 billion out of Russia in what regulators said was "highly suggestive of financial crime."

The Panama Papers are a trove of documents from a law firm that handled shell companies for thousands of rich and powerful clients around the world. While owning a shell company is not illegal, it is used to hide the beneficial owner of a company or transfer, making it important for the handling and laundering of dirty money.

Several other institutions besides Deutsche Bank have been fined by authorities in the U.S. and Europe for not properly checking up on the beneficial owners of shell companies that send money through their accounts.

Analysts say that because these transactions can be lucrative and punishments are lax, banks have few incentives to do more than the minimum required by law to check on the identity of a bank.

"Even in the most egregious cases, banks are often only required to pay a monetary penalty for engaging in criminal activity, which is merely the cost of doing business," said Jimmy Gurule, a former undersecretary for enforcement for the U.S. Treasury Department.

"The failure to hold banks accountable for money laundering encourages such criminal activity, including laundering hundreds of millions of dollars in Panama and other money laundering havens," said Gurule, now a professor at Notre Dame Law School.

Most recently, Denmark's biggest bank, Danske Bank, admitted that some 200 billion euros ($235 billion) in suspicious money had flown through its Estonian branch from 2007 to 2015. Whistleblower and former employee Howard Wilkinson has indicated that Danske Bank's management was aware of what was going on at the branch, which was among the bank's most profitable units. He has also alleged that family members of Russian President Vladimir Putin and Russia's spy agency were using the bank for money laundering. The bank's CEO has since stepped down over the scandal.

Another Baltic state, Latvia, has also emerged as a major hub of money laundering, with a 2014 leak showing that tens of billions of dollars were funneled from Russia in 2010-14. Some of the money reportedly went through Deutsche Bank and ended up in major capitals like London, according to The Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project.

There was no indication that Thursday's raid was linked to that scandal, though Deutsche Bank says that it has since stopped providing dollar transactions in some countries, including Latvia.
Now that the Chair of the Massachusetts Republican Party has announced she is stepping down from her position, potential leaders are emerging.

Kirsten Hughes, a Quincy city councilor, announced in an email Nov. 16 she would not be seeking a fourth term this January.

Since her announcement, it remains to be seen which direction the party will go.

Will Committee members choose an established, more moderate leader for the partyfrom what some call the Charlie Baker wing? Or will it choose a more conservative, Trump supporting chair?

The decision could have a lasting impact on the future success of the state party.

Candidates are already announcing their bids to run, including Brent Andersen, Treasurer of the State Republican Party for the past 15 years.

Ive been there during good times and bad so I understand the keys to what happens in terms of fundraising and operations end of the party, Anderson said.

At least one other candidate is officially in the race: Spencer State Representative Peter Durant. He says he has the track record and experience necessary to bring the party together.

Republican State Committeeman Dennis Galvin is behind a third possible candidate, state representative Geoff Diehl who just lost a U.S. Senate race to Elizabeth Warren. Diehl, cochair of the 2016 Trump campaign says he is still making a decision.

Galvin said the party, needs leadership, they need better messaging and they need organization. They dont have it right now.

Former state party chair Jennifer Nassour says most important for the new leader is a thorough understanding of the state committee. A Trump critic, Nassour says Diehl is not the right choice given Trumps unpopularity in the state.

The last thing that the Massachusetts Republican Party needs is to have the stigma of being the party of Trump.

Galvin says the party needs to speak to working people on state issues like transportation and the economy.

When asked if Republicans are on the same page on these issues, Galvin responded, Not at this time. All right, which is the challenge for the new chairman.

Andover State Representative Jim Lyons, who just lost his seat, has also expressed interest in running.

If Republicans agree on anything its that they need find common ground and unite in 2019.
Prosecutors charged a central Minnesota man with a gross misdemeanor Wednesday but not a hate crime for allegedly having his teenage son dump bloody deer carcasses on the hoods of two cars owned by Somali-American men.

The Stearns County Attorney's office charged 62-year-old Daniel Dorian Knowlen of St. Cloud with contributing to the delinquency of a child. The charge carries a maximum sentence of a year in jail and a $3,000 fine.

The complaint alleges that Knowlen watched as his 14-year-old dumped the skinned carcasses from their pickup on the cars parked outside a YMCA in St. Cloud, a city of about 65,000 people about 65 miles (104 kilometers) northwest of Minneapolis, on the night of Nov. 14. Surveillance video tracked down the pair.

Knowlen initially denied being at the YMCA the previous evening, but when told there was surveillance video he acknowledged being there with his son, the complaint said.

According to the complaint, Knowlen told police it was "just being funny" but acknowledged he "probably could have" stopped his son. Knowlen said he did not know who owned the cars and was not trying to target the drivers. Knowlen also acknowledged that he and his son had permits for the deer. The boy was asked if he had any explanation for the actions but said no, according to the complaint.

One of the Somali men told authorities he feared the deer was a message that he was not wanted in the community, and noted that the deer carcass was likely placed by a hunter and that hunters carry guns. The two Somali men said they had not experienced any harassment or other altercations while they were at the YMCA. Police said there were no identifying markings revealing who owned the cars, which were both parked legally and not encroaching on any other parking spaces.

"Yeah, I would definitely think that we were targeted for who we are," Ali Abdullahi told NBC affiliate KARE-TV after the incident. "I did feel threatened."

Authorities noted that placing deer carcasses on strangers' cars parked at the YMCA  to be found by others  constitutes disorderly conduct, and that the act also was motor vehicle tampering. Those actions contributed to the delinquency of Knowlen's son, the complaint said.

Executive director Jaylani Hussein of the Minnesota chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, a Muslim civil liberties and advocacy organization, said Wednesday his group welcomed the gross misdemeanor charge against the father but was disappointed that a hate crime was not added to the charges.

"I just think that this was not a simple practical joke. It appears to be something where they ... were trying to send some form of intimidation," Jaylani told The Associated Press. "A carcass is not something that is taken lightly. It's a symbol of death, violence."

Messages left with the prosecutor's office were not immediately returned Wednesday night. Court records do no list an attorney for Knowlen.

Minnesota has the nation's largest Somali population at an estimated 57,000. As many as 10,000 of them settled in and around St. Cloud.
Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan says her investigation in to priest sex abuse has discovered more names of abusers than were previously disclosed. Madigan asked for records from all the Illinois Catholic dioceses after the bombshell report from a Pennsylvania grand jury.

Late Wednesday night the Archdiocese issued a press release, identifying new names of priests or deacons with substantiated allegations of abuse not previously disclosed.

Cardinal Blase Cupich weighed in this week on the crisis and whether bishops should be investigated.

"No one can be exempt," he said.

In late August, Madigan initiated a new statewide investigation asking for all of the Illinois Catholic bishops to open their files.

"What we've seen are varying levels of cooperation with our investigation," she said. "I wouldn't characterize it as totally transparent because when we were reviewing the files of the Chicago Archdiocese, we did find individuals, members of the clergy where it appears there were substantiated claims of child sexual abuse but those individuals names had not been released."

Late Wednesday the Chicago Archdiocese disclosed 10 new names of priests or deacons -- not previously known -- all of them are dead. Rockford has 11 new names and Peoria three new names of priests with substantiated abuse claims.

Wednesday in Texas there was a law enforcement raid on the Galveston/Houston Archdiocese offices.

As Madigan investigates in Illinois -- might there be criminal charges?

"It will remain to be seen if charges will be filed, if we find that there are members of the clergy who are involved in criminal behavior that will be investigated, and there will be appropriate charges," he said.

Cupich is one of just four key leaders organizing Pope Francis' global summit on abuse in February.

"I think it's very important for the Catholic church to provide a complete and accurate accounting of all of their clergy that have been involved in abuse of minors," Madigan said.

The question still unknown -- will there be a new code of conduct for bishops -- who not only abuse -- but fail to report abuse.
You can go to Walmart to buy toothpaste and shampoo, order glasses or fulfill a drug prescription. Now, some customers can also get therapy, Today.com reported.

A new outpatient mental health clinic has opened inside a Walmart store in Carrollton, Texas, north of Dallas. People can walk in, call or make an appointment online to see a licensed mental health professional about problems such as anxiety, depression, grief, relationship troubles or the stresses of everyday living.

Beacon Health Options, a Boston-based behavioral health services company, is leasing space in the store and runs the clinic. Its the first such practice Beacon has opened in a retail setting, the company announced in a news release this week, noting the location was chosen for its convenience. More than 10 million Texans live in an area considered to have a shortage of mental health care professionals, the company added.

Executives said the goal is to offer mental health services to people in rural communities who might otherwise not get care.
The six people, including four children, who perished after a house fire in Logansport, Indiana, early Wednesday have been identified.

The victims included a three-month old boy, identified as Marshall Hite, and three other children, one-year-old Rhylie Hite, three-year-old Swayzee Hite, and 10-year-old Kadee Huddleston.

42-year-old Joseph Huddleston and 25-year-old Brandi Vail also died in the blaze.

The fire broke out just before 2 a.m. at a home on Pottawatamie Road along the Wabash River in Cass County on Wednesday morning, according to police.

Two people, 43-year-old Sheila Huddleston and 19-year-old Brandon Huddleston were able to escape the blaze, according to police. Sheila is Joseph Huddleston's wife, and Brandon is his son, authorities said.

Police say that there is no evidence that the fire was intentionally set, and that no major appliance, including the stove and water heater, caused the blaze.

Authorities have not ruled out an electrical fire, but due to the destruction caused by the fire, the cause remains undetermined.

Finally, police said that there were no working smoke detectors inside the home.

Without any nearby fire hydrants available, firefighters had to transport water in to battle the flames in below-freezing temperatures, officials said.

By 6 a.m., the fire had been struck out but the structure of the home had largely collapsed. A deputy at the scene said he did not hear smoke alarms upon arrival at the scene

"Its just devastating," Crispen said. "We want to try and help anyone that we possibly can - anyone thats involved in a fire service - and save everyone that we possibly can and it just didnt happen this morning."

Logansport is located roughly 80 miles north of Indianapolis, in Cass County.
Multiple fatalities were reported after a small plane headed for Chicago's Midway Airport crashed in southern Indiana, officials said.

According to authorities, the Cessna Citation C525 private jet crashed just before 11:30 a.m. under unknown circumstances Friday about 15 miles north of Louisville International Airport. Indiana State Police said there were "no survivors at the crash site."

The "corporate-style jet" was traveling from Clark Regional Airport in Clark County, Indiana to Midway Airport when it disappeared from the air traffic radar, the Federal Aviation Administration said. The plane crashed in a densely wooded area near Memphis, Indiana, local authorities said.

FAA investigators and the National Transportation Safety Board were headed to the scene.

Clark County Sheriff Jamey Noel said there were multiple fatalities in the crash. There were believed to be three people on board, including the pilot, police said in a statement.

Noel said the aircraft was designed to have less than 10 passengers.

The Clark County Airport confirmed a flight left their airport at 11:24 a.m. en route to Chicago.
Lu Guang, a photographer who won a 2004 World Press Photo Award for exposing "AIDS villages" in Henan province, China, has vanished in the country, NBC News reported.

Lu, who has a U.S. green card, was meeting with other photographers in the capital of China's remote Xinjiang province when he was last heard from on Nov. 3, according to his wife, Xu Xiaoli.

"The authorities haven't informed me of his whereabouts," she said in a phone interview from New York, adding that she was told by the wife of the photographer who invited Lu that state security took both into custody.

Lu's work has featured subjects Beijing may consider "sensitive," like pollution, AIDS patients and drug addicts. Foreign journalists in Xinjiang, where a network of detention centers houses masses of Chinese Muslims disappeared for "re-education," have routinely been detained or monitored by security agents.
Divisions among the world leading economies emerged from the moment their leaders gathered Friday in Argentina: Donald Trump struck his own deals and angered allies, and the leaders of Russia and Saudi Arabia bonded amid criticism from European powers.

U.S. negotiators blocked progress at the Group of 20 summit on managing migration, slowing climate change, and streamlining how world trade is governed, according to European officials involved in the discussions.

Security concerns also weighed on the two-day talks in Buenos Aires. Argentina's security minister said eight gasoline bombs were discovered in an area of the capital several miles from the summit venue where a protest in the afternoon drew thousands of demonstrators who held up banners with slogans like "Go away G-20" and "Go away Trump."

The whole point of the G-20  formed in the wake of the global financial crisis a decade ago  is finding ways to solve global problems together, but diplomats in Buenos Aires struggled to find enough things all the leaders agree on.

Trump sought to use the summit to make his own trade deals, and angered the Argentine hosts by misconstruing their position on China's trade practices.

Meanwhile, two men under heavy criticism from the West lately  Russian President Vladimir Putin and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman  appeared to seek refuge in each other, bonding with a tough-guy hand grab as the leaders sat down around a huge round table for talks.

After Saudi media reported that Mohammed and Trump had a "friendly meeting," the White House insisted that the two leaders simply "exchanged pleasantries at the leaders session as he did with nearly every leader in attendance."

When asked what he discussed with the crown prince, Trump told reporters, "We had no discussion. ... We might. But we had none."

Argentine President Mauricio Macri kicked off the summit by acknowledging divisions within the G-20 while urging world leaders to have a "sense of urgency" and take actions "based on shared interests."

Diplomats from the Group of 20 countries were haggling hard over a final summit statement, with deep divisions over what language to use on the Paris climate accord and the World Trade Organization.

Two European officials involved in the discussions said the U.S. was stymieing progress on both.

So an unorthodox solution emerged: An official in the French president's office said the statement may have language that sets the U.S. apart. For example, a draft says 19 of the participants agree on the importance of upholding the Paris climate accord, but the U.S. doesn't.

Asked about the European concerns, a U.S. official said progress was being made on the joint statement and the White House was "optimistic" about the document as a whole.

Later the Argentine official shepherding the G-20 finance talks, treasury official Laura Jaitman, said Trump was "very active and committed" in the dialogue and said progress was made in Friday's talks on finance and trade.

"There's a very positive message of how trade has been an engine of growth for the next decades and how it will continue in the future providing benefits for all citizens," Jaitman said.

Argentine Foreign Minister Jorge Faurie said trade talks were moving forward and nations were continuing to work on climate change wording.

Despite Trump's dismissal of concerns about global warming, China, France and the United Nations came together Friday to pledge their support for the Paris climate accord. Their declaration was meant to encourage other G-20 members to do the same, and to provide a boost for an upcoming U.N. climate summit.

Overall the G-20 summit is meant to focus on issues such as labor, infrastructure, development, financial stability, climate sustainability and international commerce.

But as the gathering got underway, those themes seemed like afterthoughts, overshadowed by contentious matters from the U.S.-China trade dispute to the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

Russia and Ukraine have traded blame over the weekend seizure of Ukrainian ships and their crew  which Trump cited in canceling a much-awaited meeting with Putin at the G-20. Russia's foreign minister regretted the cancellation, but said, "love can't be forced."

Also looming large amid dozens of bilateral meetings in Buenos Aires: The gruesome slaying of dissident Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi in Saudi Arabia's Istanbul Consulate and how the Saudi crown prince, who is alleged to have ordered the killing, is received by world leaders.

As soon as he arrived, the crown prince was confronted by French President Emmanuel Macron, who pressed him on the Khashoggi investigation and the Saudi-backed war in Yemen.

Bin Salman told Macron not to worry, but Macron countered, "I am worried."

Saudi Arabia has denied that bin Salman played a role, but some leaders were concerned about seeming to legitimize a man who U.S. intelligence agencies concluded ordered the killing. Trump's administration, however, has made clear it does not want to torpedo the longstanding U.S. relationship with Riyadh.

It is the prince's first significant appearance overseas since the killing. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who has been sharply critical of Saudi Arabia over the incident, is also in attendance.

Leaders of the United States, Canada and Mexico, meanwhile, met in the morning to sign a trade deal replacing the North American Free Trade Agreement that was struck following months of tough negotiations that analysts say left a bitter taste among the partners.

It must still be ratified by lawmakers in all three countries, and passage in the U.S. could face a tough road in the House of Representatives after Democrats won a majority in November midterm elections.

While Trump canceled his meeting with Putin, the U.S. president was still scheduled to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping, but analysts were not optimistic about prospects for a major breakthrough on the two countries' trade disputes a month before U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods are set to ramp up.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel arrived late after her plane suffered a technical problem.

British Prime Minister Theresa May's attendance at the summit marked the first time a U.K. prime minister has visited Argentina's capital. The only other prime minister to visit the country was Tony Blair, who went to Puerto Iguazu in 2001. The two countries have long been at odds over the South Atlantic islands known as the Falklands in Britain and the Malvinas in Argentina.

Faurie, the Argentine foreign minister, said the recent establishment of more flights to the disputed islands was a positive development.

"We are not withdrawing our historic claim," he added. "The focus of this opportunity is in the reestablishment of trust."

In downtown Buenos Aires, meanwhile, thousands of demonstrators flooded the 9 de Julio Avenue waving flags and holding up banners. Several marched topless with colorful national flags of summit countries painted on their chests."

About 22,000 police officers and other security forces are guarding the leaders during the summit.

Argentina is the first South American country to host the G-20, and officials have the added challenge of ensuring that chaos is better contained than it was at last year's meeting in Hamburg, Germany, where clashes broke out between police and protesters.

Argentine authorities have said they will not tolerate violence or allow the gathering to be disrupted.

Associated Press writers Almudena Calatrava, Debora Rey and Vladimir Isachenkov contributed to this report.
Hartford Police have confiscated a stun gun that looked like a smartphone after an 11-year-old student brought it to school on Thursday.

Officers were called to McDonough Middle School on Hillside Avenue around 9:25 a.m. after getting a report of a recovered stun gun.

Police said school security learned an 11-year-old child was in possession of a stun gun and recovered it in the child's locker.

According to police, the stun gun was created to look like a smartphone and could only be distinguished by manipulation. Officers conducted a spark test and determined that the stun gun was functional.

An officer met with the child's family and advised them of the violation. Police said the child was immediately suspended and was released to her guardian.

The replica cell phone stun gun was confiscated and tagged as evidence. Police said the stun gun falls within definition of Connecticut General Statute 53-206, which is carrying/possessing a dangerous weapon. The child and her guardian were issued a juvenile summons.
More than 20 men are suing the Roman Catholic Diocese of Norwich, alleging years of sexual abuse at the former Mount Saint John School in Deep River.

The 20 legal complaints, filed Wednesday at New London Superior Court, allege abuse by a number of clergy and staff members that the men say occurred repeatedly over a period of approximately 14 years in the mid-1980s through 2000.

All of the lawsuits are filed under pseudonyms to protect the identities of the complainants, who were between the ages of 10 and 15 when abuses began, according to the documents.

At the time, Mount Saint John School was a boarding school for at-risk children, and all of the plaintiffs said they were placed there by the state Department of Children and Families or through a court order, according the lawsuits.

The majority of the lawsuits claim abuse at the hands of Brother Paul McGlade, who served as the schools executive director, as well as Brother Donald Paschal Alford, who worked as McGlades assistant. Both have since died.

Several of the complaints allege abuse by other male and female members of the school staff.

A number of the incidents detailed in the complaints took place during the course of altar boy duties, or in private music lessons or meetings. Some complainants said they were offered gifts or privileges, such as food or field trips, in return for their compliance.

Patrick Tomasiewicz, the attorney representing the complainants, said the lawsuits are an effort by the men to shine light on avoidable abuse. A number of the of the complaints detailed efforts by the children to report incidents to staff, parents, and DCF, that were ignored.

The men come from diverse backgrounds, but have dysfunctional families in common, he said. Some had suffered sexual abuse prior to being placed at Mount Saint John, according to the complaints.

These were young boys that were placed there by the state, so they were fragile and already came from broken homes, Tomasiewicz said.

Tomasiewicz also represents three men who filed separate lawsuits in 2014 and 2017 alleging similar abuse at Mount Saint John in the same time period.

Theyre all broken wings and theyve suffered greatly, he said.

A spokesperson for DCF said the department no longer has a relationship with the school, which now operates as the Connecticut Transition Academy. The Diocese of Norwich continues to have a hand in operating the school. The academy serves children with special needs who are referred by their parents, guardians or local school districts, according to its website.

NBC Connecticut reached out to the school and the Diocese for comment but did not receive any response.

It may be years before there is a resolution to the lawsuits. Jury selection for the first lawsuit filed in 2014 is currently scheduled for September of next year.
Police are investigating the death of a 36-year-old Stamford mother of three and they have charged her husband with cruelty to persons. He is accused of withholding medical care from his wife, according to a post on the Stamford Police Instagram page.

Police said they were contacted about a medical call on Monday after a private ambulance was called and officers, firefighters and EMS responded to Pequot Lane, where they found 36-year-old Olga Iris Lopez.

She was unconscious and unresponsive, lying on the living room floor, according to police. First responders provided emergency care and transported Olga Lopez to Stamford Hospital.

Police said a witness attributed her condition to her tendency to trip and fall and her recent drinking.

As officers investigated, they learned that Olga Lopez had a significant brain bleed and extensive bruising, police said. She was transferred to the Intensive Care Unit and died the next morning, according to police.

The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner conducted an autopsy and the results are pending further study.

The Stamford Police Major Crimes Unit is investigating and arrested 42-year-old Hector Lopez after the preliminary investigation.

Hector Lopez, who is also known as Hector Collazzo, was charged with cruelty to persons. He is being held on $250,000 bond, according to the online court docket. He is due back in court on Jan. 10. Its not clear if he has an attorney. None is listed on the online docket.

Police said the couples three children are in the custody of the state Department of Children and Families.

Major crime investigators would like to speak with anyone who has information about the events that led to the death of Olga Lopez. Police said anyone with information should call Sgt. Chris Broems or Investigator Damien Rosa at 203-977-4420.
A vending machine offering emergency contraception is coming soon to the Yale University campus.

There will definitely be Plan B in there and there will definitely some sort of other over the counter medications and there will definitely be condoms available near the machine, said Ileana Valdez, a Yale College Council senator.

Valdez said the inspiration came from a similar health and wellness machine at Stanford University.

This idea took off on campus because most of the students dont have cars so the nearest pharmacy is a pretty long walk away, Valdez said, especially with the installation of the new colleges.

Yale student Grace Cheung proposed the idea last school year.

I proposed this vending machine because I saw it done at other universities and hoped it would solve the problems of access and stigma related to getting emergency contraception at Yale, Cheung wrote in an email. It is often difficult to get, both at Yale Health, and at nearby pharmacies, and it is often a very uncomfortable and humiliating process. Emergency contraception decreases in effectiveness the longer you wait to take it, so ease of access is especially important. In addition, I hoped this machine would not just help make it more of a private process for students, but to also open up the conversation around safe sex on campus.

The new machine is expected to be installed before students leave for winter break and it will be located in the Good Life Center at Silliman College, Valdez said.

I think it makes it a lot more accessible to students especially since this is much closer to where a lot of students, Yale junior Larissa Nguyen said.

Plan B, also known as the morning after pill, is already available to students for free at the Yale Health Center on Lock Street.

"Yale Health has made emergency contraception products, such as Plan B and My Way, available free of charge to Yale-affiliated members, including students who waive Yale Health coverage. Members of any gender may request emergency contraception at the pharmacy during regular hours, or from Acute Care after hours. The Paragard IUD is another emergency contraceptive option available in the Ob-Gyn department. Comprehensive counseling regarding contraception and reproductive health are available to all students in the Ob-Gyn department or in Student Health," Yale University Spokesperson Karen Peart said in a statement.

I definitely dont think enough students know its kind of not made clear on the websites I think because Yale doesnt want to be super public with it, but it would be great if there could be more communication about that, Yale junior Trina White told NBC Connecticut.

The College Council is working to spread the word about Plan Bs 24/7 availability at the health center, Valdez said, adding the benefit of the new machine gets rid of the fear that one might have going to the health center and having to talk someone especially if this is something thats happening late at night.

Valdez said they want to work with the Yale Health Center to subsidize the cost for Plan B in the machine. She said at first the prices will be similar to what you would find at a pharmacy.
Former Dallas police officer Amber Guyger is now facing a murder charge in the shooting death of unarmed neighbor Botham Jean, court records show.

Guyger, 30, who is white, was charged with manslaughter Sept. 9 following an investigation by the Texas Rangers into the Sept. 6 fatal shooting that killed her black neighbor, 26-year-old accountant Botham Jean. Upon hearing the evidence, the grand jury opted Friday to indict Guyger on the more serious murder charge and took no action on the manslaughter charge filed by the Texas Rangers.

Dallas County District Attorney Faith Johnson said Friday afternoon that even though the Texas Rangers were the lead investigative agency in the case, her office conducted their own investigtion and that she was confident once the grand jury heard the evidence presented by her office that they would "do the right thing."

Former Dallas police officer Amber Guyger is now facing a murder charge in the shooting death of unarmed neighbor Botham Jean, court records show.

Dallas County District Attorney Faith Johnson said Friday afternoon that even though the Texas Rangers were the lead investigative agency in the case, her office conducted their own investigation and that she was confident once the grand jury heard the evidence presented by her office that they would "do the right thing."

"Our office ... did a thorough job of presenting this case to the grand jury. Not only presenting the evidence but also explaining the law," Johnson said. "Once the grand jury heard this case, they did return an indictment for murder."

Guyger's attorney, Robert Rogers, said he disappointed in the indictment but not suprised.

"Although I am disappointed that the grand jury returned an indictment, in light of the political pressure and outpouring of vindictive emotion, I cant say that I am surprised. This is a terrible tragedy that resulted from a true mistake. We are confident that a dispassionate jury in a fair forum will objectively apply the law to the facts and find Amber not guilty," said Rogers.

Jean's family, who have filed a federal civil lawsuit against Guyger and the city of Dallas, stood beside Johnson Friday as she discussed the grand jury's decision.

Jean's mother, Allison Jean, told the media she was satisfied with the murder indictment and thanked the people of Dallas for rallying around her son.

"I'm truly grateful for that. I want to thank the DA's office, particularly DA Faith Johnson, for the work that her staff have put into gathering evidence and presenting to the grand jury in order to return such an indictment," Allison Jean said. "I look forward to the next step, which is a conviction of murder of Amber Guyger. And more so of a penalty, the proper penalty that will cause her to reflect on what she has done and the pain she has caused... So, I'm depending on you to continue to rally with us as we seek continued justice for him."

Former Dallas police officer Amber Guyger is now facing a murder charge in the shooting death of unarmed neighbor Botham Jean, court records show. Jean's Family reacts to the news.

Botham's father, Bertrum Jean, added, "It is such a hard thing to go through. We miss our boy dearly. He didn't deserve that. He was such a sweet boy, in his home. How can we move on without him? But we will try."

Botham Jean, a native of St. Lucia who attended college in Arkansas and had been working in Dallas for PwC, was in his own apartment Sept. 6 when Guyger shot and killed him. Following the shooting she told investigators she'd left work and was returning home to her apartment at the South Side Flats when she apparently got off on the wrong floor and entered the wrong apartment -- she said she shot Jean believing he was an intruder in her apartment.

Investigators would later confirm that Jean lived one floor directly above Guyger.

The case sparked protests and national debate over what charges she should face.

Jean's family, who have filed a lawsuit against Guyger and the city of Dallas, stood beside Johnson Friday as she discussed the grand jury's decision. Jean's mother, Allison Jean, told the media she was satisfied with the murder indictment and thanked the people of Dallas for rallying around her son.

Dallas Chief of Police U. Renee Hall said Friday, "Every person in the Dallas Police Department continues to feel anguish about this difficult and tragic event that occurred on Sept. 6, 2018 ... Please continue to pray for the Botham Jean family, the Dallas Police Department and the city of Dallas as a whole."

Hall also acknowledged some of the discord between communities and police and said her department supports restructuring the Citizen Review Board, pushed for more implicit bias training and continues to work with employee and community advisory boards.

Of the indictment, Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings said, "Botham Jean was an incredible young man who was tragically taken from us too soon. Our city will never forget him. Todays decision is another step on the long path toward justice for Botham. We appreciate the work of the Texas Rangers and the Dallas County District Attorneys Office. Please continue to pray for the Jean family."

Following the murder indictment, the Dallas chapter of the NAACP released the following statement:

"We are pleased with the decision of the grand jury to indict Amber Guyger for murder for the killing of Mr. Botham Shem Jean. This is the next step in securing a verdict that will be favorable to the evidence that will be presented by the District Attorneys Office. We would like to thank the District Attorneys Office for the thorough investigation that they have conducted in gathering evidence in the pursuit of justice. We call on the community to remain calm and let the criminal proceedings take its due course. However, we ask that you join us in continued prayer and support for the family and friends of Mr. Botham Shem Jean. The Dallas NAACP will remain vigilant in monitoring the proceedings of this case and look forward to justice being rendered."

Guyger turned herself in for a 'walk through' at the Mesquite Jail on Friday afternoon. She will not be re-arrested on the new charge and her bond of $300,000 carries over from the manslaughter charge. She faces between five years to life in prison on the murder charge; the manslaughter charge carries a sentence of two to 20 years in prison.

Johnson, whose term is up as Dallas County DA in January 2019, said she's hopeful the new DA can convince a jury to return a proper verdict in the case.



Experts say a jury could still consider a manslaughter charge if they can't agree to convict for murder.

NBC 5's Tim Ciesco, Scott Gordon, Ken Kalthoff, Alice Barr and Meredith Yeomans contributed to this report.
Photo: Castanet Staff

South Okanagan-West Kootenay MP Richard Cannings says the federal governments $4.5 billion it spent on the Trans Mountain pipeline would have been better spent on refineries and upgraders in Alberta.

Cannings made the comments Wednesday in the House of Commons during an emergency debate on the oil and gas sector, which has been getting hammered by a drop in commodity prices.

Alberta oil is sitting at about $10 a barrel, about $40 less than oil produced in the United States, primarily because of overproduction in Alberta and a lack of pipeline capacity to refineries that can handle the sticky black bitumen from the oil sands.

I think that building refineries and upgraders in Canada would solve several problems. It would create jobs. If we want to create jobs in Alberta, that is a great way to do it, Cannings said. If the government wanted to spend $4.5 billion helping the oil industry, if that is really what it wanted to do, then it might want to put government money into building an upgraded refinery.

He pointed to Suncor Energy, which has been weathering the downturn in Alberta oil prices with the help of its own refineries that are able to produce synthetic crude.

I spoke to a Suncor representative in my office just last week, Cannings said. She reported that her company was doing just fine and getting a very fair price for their product.

Cannings also pointed the Enbridge's Line 3 replacement project, which should free up some pipeline capacity next year, urging the federal government to look further into the future.

If we want to create good, stable jobs in the Canadian energy sector, we can do that. We can do that through investments in the clean energy sector, he said. A new study on the opportunities in energy efficiency, opportunities that include deep retrofits of large buildings across the country, shows that the energy efficiency economy alone is worth $54 billion every year in Canada. That is 3% of our GDP.
The holiday spirit has reached the Texas Capitol in the form of a 27-foot Virginia pine Christmas tree.

Workers on Wednesday installed the tree in the Texas Senate chamber.

The Austin American-Statesman reports more than 20 people from the State Preservation Board, the Senate and staff from a moving company helped set up the tree.

Officials plan to spend the next few days decorating the Christmas tree.

The 2019 Texas Legislature convenes Jan. 8.

<p>For the 23rd year, a Christmas ornament featuring the Texas Capitol is available for purchase. This year's ornament celebrates the 130th anniversary of the completion and dedication of the statehouse. Though snow is rare in Austin, the ornament turns the grounds into a winter wonderland framed by a wreath of Texas Yaupon Holly leaves and berries wrapped in red ribbon and topped with a gold Texas Lone Star. <a href="http://www.texascapitolgiftshop.com/802018/2018-texas-capitol-ornament.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Order the ornament here</a>.</p>
The Food and Drug Administration announced Monday it is now safe to eat some romaine lettuce, as long as it was not grown in a specific part of the country; Californias central coast. Health officials said lettuce entering the market will now also have labels informing consumers of when and where it was harvested.

The E. Coli contamination was announced just before Thanksgiving. Investigators said they were able to track the tainted lettuce that has so far sickened 43 people in 12 states, back to the region in California.

The FDA warning people not to consume any romaine lettuce until they could figure out where it came from.

Health officials said romaine lettuce production has shifted to winter growing regions outside of the affected area and that particular lettuce is safe to eat.

The six North Texas locations of Bread Zeppelin took romaine lettuce off their menu immediately following the warning, but the assistant manager Clay Cuckler said Thursday the absence of romaine really hasnt hurt their business.

I was actually really surprised by how many people came out to get salads. It didnt really hurt us that much, said Cuckler. "The CDC talks to all the suppliers and as soon as they find where the initial outbreak happened, they can nip that in the bud, thats when they let us know from the CDC when its safe to use again."

Even though the FDA knows the general origin of the contamination, investigators are still trying to pinpoint the exact cause.
What to Know Rep. Beto ORourke, who lost a surprisingly tight race against Texas GOP Sen. Ted Cruz, has been invited to New Hampshire

If O'Rourke were to visit the Granite State, he would speak with voters and meet experienced political operators in the key primary state

Former Clinton and Obama advisors have also engaged with ORourkes inner circle about whether he will make a run for the White House

Rep. Beto ORourke, who became a hero within the Democratic Party while losing a surprisingly tight race against Texas GOP Sen. Ted Cruz, has already been invited to New Hampshire to speak with voters and meet experienced political operators in the key primary state, CNBC has learned.

Since ORourkes loss earlier this month, Rob Friedlander, a senior advisor to the Texas Democrats campaign, has received calls from the New Hampshire Young Democrats requesting that ORourke come to the Granite State, according to people familiar with the matter. The goal would be to have ORourke tour parts of the state and interact with voters.

The New Hampshire Young Democrats extended an invitation via email. No further action has been taken at this time, Chris Evans, a spokesman for the ORourke campaign confirmed to CNBC. Friedlander was put on the email as the individual knew him from New Hampshire days, but Rob is not involved in working to set anything up, he added.

The group is a chapter of the Young Democrats of America, the official youth arm of the Democratic Party. According to NHYDs website, its mission is to help young Democrats seeking office, advocate for progressive issues, and train the next generation of progressive leaders. ORourke was lauded during the campaign for galvanizing young voters.

Friedlander, meanwhile, was a New Hampshire field organizer for the 2008 campaign of Barack Obama, who energized the youth vote on his way to eight years in the White House. ORourke has drawn comparisons to Obama  including from the former president himself.

The invitation is the first sign since the election that ORourke, a three-term congressman, is being courted by influential New Hampshire operatives as a potential 2020 nominee for president. The group has not received a response yet from either Friedlander or ORourke, according to people with knowledge of the invitation.

The development comes after CNBC previously reported that ORourkes donors and supporters have been privately prodding him to run in 2020 for either president or against Texas other GOP senator, John Cornyn.

New Hampshires young Democratic leadership is excited for the possibility of seeing ORourke come to visit.

When hes on the stump, its engaging, Lucas Meyer, the organizations president, said in an interview. When he speaks youre excited and you know he believes in it. You want to buy into that movement. Thats why people are excited.

Top former advisors for Clinton and Obama have also been in touch with associates of ORourke to see where he stands on a run for the White House, according to two people with direct knowledge of the conversations.

Clintons 2016 campaign manager, Robby Mook, has spoken with the congressmans close confidants about making a 2020 run and has said ORourke should if he wants to, these people said. Mook has also spoken with other 2020 hopefuls, but its unclear who else he has engaged with.

Jeremy Bird, who worked as a strategist for both Clinton and Obama, has also spoken with ORourkes inner circle about his future, these same people said.

Mook and Bird did not return requests for comment.

The potential 2020 field starts to emerge

Potential 2020 Democratic candidates who have already visited New Hampshire include Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey, Washington Gov. Jay Inslee, Oregon Sen. Jeff Merkley and Michael Avenatti, the attorney representing porn star Stormy Daniels in legal battles against President Donald Trump.

Booker has turned to Jim Demers, a veteran political advisor and former campaign chair for Obamas 2008 New Hampshire operation, as a tour guide within the state. He is scheduled to return to New Hampshire for a second time in December.

The New Hampshire primary is one of the early hurdles for any presidential candidate, although it isnt always a must-win. Obama lost the states 2008 primary to Hillary Clinton by just under 3 percentage points.

Clinton fell in the same primary in 2016 when she was in a surprisingly tough race for the nomination against Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt. Sanders trounced Clinton by more than 20 points in New Hampshire, but she went on to capture the Democratic Party nomination that year. Then-candidate Donald Trump won the states Republican primary and later defeated Clinton in the general election.

The New Hampshire Young Democrats arent the only ones in the state who have reached out to ORourke in the hope that he will visit.

Jay Surdukowski, former chairman of the state Democratic Party Platform Committee, told CNBC that leaders of New England College, a nonprofit school in Henniker, have also reached out to ORourkes team to see if he would be interested in visiting campus.

A spokesman for the college did not return a request for comment.

Surdukowski, a Concord-based attorney who has been involved with New Hampshire politics for almost a decade, has created a Facebook page calling for ORourke to run for president and visit key states beyond his own, including Iowa, South Carolina and Nevada.

This story first appeared on CNBC.com. More from CNBC:
A defrocked Roman Catholic priest who pleaded guilty to sexually abusing an altar boy in Massachusetts was convicted Thursday of abusing another boy in Maine in the 1980s.

Ronald Paquin, 76, was convicted of 11 of 24 counts against him following a three-day trial in Superior Court in Maine. He was originally charged with 31 counts, but seven were dropped on Wednesday.

Two men testified Paquin befriended them as boys at a parish in Haverhill, Massachusetts, and invited them on trips that included visits to Kennebunkport, Maine. They said he gave them alcohol, and let them drive his car without a license. One of them testified he was drugged.

Both said Paquin repeatedly assaulted them, but the jury returned guilty verdicts on counts involving only one of the victims.

The victim who said he was drugged told reporters after the verdicts that Paquin was "pure evil," adding jurors did the right thing.

Assistant District Attorney Nicholas Heimbach told jurors in her closing argument this case "is about a priest who planned, plied and perpetrated."

Defense attorney Roger Champagne said the graphic testimony from the two men was "fluff" aimed at distracting them from the lack of physical evidence or witness testimony placing the boys in Maine in the 1980s.

Paquin was a key figure in the clergy abuse scandal that started in the Boston Archdiocese and rocked the church globally, which was featured in the movie "Spotlight" about the Boston Globe team that uncovered the abuse. He spent more than a decade in a Massachusetts prison for sexually assaulting an altar boy. He was released in 2015, and was taken into custody in Maine last year.

During the trial, several people testified about seeing Paquin with boys at a campground in Kennebunkport.

None saw anything inappropriate but one said she wondered why the boys stayed inside a trailer on a hot day instead of going to a pool or to the beach. She was told the boys liked to play Monopoly.
A South Florida woman faces an aggravated assault charge after authorities say she passed gas in line at a Dania Beach dollar store and pulled a knife on a man who complained about it.

Citing a Broward Sheriff's Office report, the Miami Herald reports 37-year-old Shanetta Yvette Wilson passed gas while waiting in line at a Dollar General Sunday night and upset a nearby customer. The report says the offended customer and Wilson then got into an argument "in reference to the defendant farting loudly."

It says Wilson then pulled a small folding knife out of her purse and told the victim she was going to "gut" him while moving as if to attack him. She walked away from the area but was found by deputies a short time later, the report said.

Wilson was arrested and charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon without intent to kill and booked into jail. It's unclear if she has a lawyer.
A woman who was arrested on suspicion of murder in the stabbing death of a retired nurse at a Southern California mall has filed a lawsuit against the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department.

The federal civil rights lawsuit filed by Cherie Townsend names outgoing Sheriff Jim McDonnell, the department, LA County, the cities of Rancho Palos Verdes and Rolling Hills Estates, and other individuals.

Towsend told NBC4 in September that she planned to sue because she was desperate to clear her name after she was accused in the death of Susan Leeds, found dead in her car at a mall in Rolling Hills Estates.

"I was arrested for a murder I didn't commit," she said. "It's important for my story to be out, because I was wrongly accused."

Leeds' body was found May 3. Her throat had been slashed and she suffered about a dozen stab wounds. Items had been stolen from her car.

Deputies arrested a homeless man the following day, but quickly released him. McDonnell then announced Townsend's arrest on suspicion of murder.

Townsend confirmed she was at the mall that day, shopping and passing time after dropping her daughter off at a friend's house in nearby Lomita. She said she knows nothing about the murder, and didn't see anything unusual while walking through the parking garage.

Her car was recorded by a security camera as she left, but Townsend said she didn't realize she'd left her phone behind until later that day. Townsend said the phone, found later in the parking garage, is the only thing that connects her with the murder scene, and it's how detectives tracked her down.

Townsend was in jail for four days. Prosecutors reviewed the evidence and decided no murder charge would be filed before Townsend was released.

The Sheriff's Department detectives on the case declined to be interviewed. The department would not say if it still considers Townsend a suspect, but her name is not mentioned in a statement calling the case a "very complex, active investigation" that lacks witnesses.
Photo: The Canadian Press President Donald Trump speaks to reporters before leaving for G20 Summit in Buenos Aires.

President Donald Trump abruptly cancelled a planned meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin as he headed to the Group of 20 Nations summit Thursday, citing Russia's seizure of Ukrainian vessels as a source of tension in a relationship he has fostered in the face of criticism.

Trump tweeted his decision from Air Force One shortly after his former lawyer, Michael Cohen, revealed he had lied to Congress to cover up that he was negotiating a real estate deal in Moscow on Trump's behalf during the Republican presidential primary in 2016.

The news ensured any meeting with Putin would spotlight the special counsel's investigation into whether the Trump campaign colluded with Moscow during the campaign. Trump has denied any wrongdoing and on Thursday called Cohen a "weak person" looking for a reduced sentence.

The last-minute move kicked off a global economic meeting expected to be dominated by Trump's seat-of-his-pants diplomacy. The Putin meeting  a continuation of a controversial summit between the two in July  was just one of a series of high-stakes items on Trump's agenda, which also includes talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping on how to ease a rising trade war.

Although Trump had previously floated cancelling the meeting with Putin, White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders told reporters he did not make the final decision until boarding the plane for Argentina and speaking with national security adviser John Bolton and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. The Kremlin said it had not been formally notified of the decision, which came hours after Moscow said the meeting was on track.

"I look forward to a meaningful Summit again as soon as this situation is resolved!" Trump tweeted from Air Force One.

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko praised Trump on Twitter, saying, "This is how great leaders act!"

Sanders also said two of Trump's planned bilateral meetings  with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and South Korea's Moon Jae-in  had been cancelled. Trump will instead speak informally with those leaders at the conference. She did not offer any explanation for those changes to the schedule.

The stakes for the sit-down between Putin and Trump were raised this week by Russia's stepped-up aggression in the Kerch Strait, stemming from its years long occupation of Eastern Ukraine. Russia recently seized three Ukrainian vessels and crews. Russia said Ukraine didn't have permission to pass between Russia's mainland and the Crimean Peninsula. Ukraine insisted its vessels abided by maritime laws.

Tensions had already been high over the war in Syria and allegations of Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential race. Trump has sought to improve the relationship with Putin, but was roundly criticized after the July summit in Helsinki for failing to publicly denounce Russia's interference and appearing to accept Putin's denials of such activity.

While Trump's statement was strongly worded, he has made similarly dramatic moves before only to walk them back. In the spring he cancelled a planned summit with North Korea's Kim Jong Un, only to revive the meeting a week later.
U.S. Border Patrol agents near Tijuana, Mexico, faced a choice as they looked out over the chaos at a crowd of migrants that included rock-throwing men as well as barefoot children: Do they respond with force  and, if so, what kind?

The circumstances at the San Ysidro border crossing Sunday were exceptional, but the question facing the agents was not. It's a split-second choice more often made in the remote desert, far from cameras, where agents are likely working alone and encountering groups of people crossing illegally.

The agents' response  firing tear gas into the crowd  triggered widespread outrage and rekindled complaints that the Border Patrol, bolstered by President Donald Trump's tough talk, is too quick to use force, particularly when responding to people throwing rocks.

But use of force by Customs and Border Protection officers and agents is declining from a high during the 2013 budget year, government statistics show. There are high-profile exceptions, like the shooting death by agents of a 19-year-old Guatemalan woman who crossed the border near Laredo in May.

Still, experts say policies have improved following a major audit five years ago.

"There has been progress made  especially in getting officers better training and better equipment," said Josiah Heyman, a professor with University of Texas at El Paso and director of the Center for Inter-American and Border Studies. "When I first started studying this, most agents had a gun and a baton. They didn't have the choice to use anything else."

Firearms were used 45 times in budget year 2013 compared with 17 in 2017, according to data from Customs and Border Protection. For the first 11 months of the 2018 budget year, firearms were used 14 times. The data includes Border Patrol agents that patrol between the ports of entry, and officers who police border crossings.

Over those 11 months, there were 743 cases of agents and officers using less-lethal force, like batons, stun guns, tear gas and pepper spray. These included 29 cases in which tear gas was used and 43 incidents of pepper spray.

Though the final numbers are unavailable, those figures represent a drop from 2013, during the Obama administration, when there were 1,168 incidents of less-lethal force, including 27 instances of tear gas and 151 of pepper spray, according to the data. Less-lethal force has increased over the past two years but is still lower than 2013.

Complaints about excessive force prompted Customs and Border Protection to commission an investigation by the Police Executive Research Forum, a policing research and policy group. The 2013 audit highlighted problems that included foot-patrol agents without access to less-lethal options. It recommended law enforcement not be allowed to use deadly force when people throw rocks  a suggestion that was rejected.

Following those reviews, Customs and Border Protection revised policies and made major changes to training. Agents now undergo scenario-based drills at the academy and learn how to de-escalate tense situations. They get 64 hours of on-the-job training on use of force.

Some sectors, like El Paso, have a virtual reality simulator. The octagonal giant screens mounted on a platform mimic a desert encounter where agents must decide whether to fire their weapons. The scenario is designed to cause stress, and agents are forced to think quickly or face being shot, run over or hit with rocks. After the simulation, they discuss reactions with training officers and work on how to better respond in the future.

"The desert is a very difficult, dangerous unstructured environment," said Aaron Hull, Border Patrol chief for the El Paso Sector. "We're trying to keep our agents safe. We're trying to protect the safety of our communities, and all the people involved."

Chuck Wexler, head of the police research forum, credited the agency with taking the recommendations seriously. "Also when they do have an incident, they have a better review process," he said.

Trump defended the use of tear gas on children  claiming it was "very safe," a "very minor form" of irritant. But Customs and Border Protection officials still plan to conduct a review to determine whether it was justified and what  if anything  could be done better, according to Commissioner Kevin McAleenan.

Agents are authorized to use deadly force when there is reasonable belief that there is an imminent danger of serious physical injury or death to the officer or another person.

They have discretion on how to deploy less-than-lethal force: It must be both "objectively reasonable and necessary in order to carry out law enforcement duties"  and used when other "empty hand" techniques are not sufficient to control disorderly or violent subjects.

Officials say they deploy the lowest form of force necessary to take control of a situation  but critics of the Sunday clash say gas never should've been used near small children.

The chaos began after a peaceful protest by some of the thousands of migrants marooned in Mexico. It was unusual in part because of the large number trying to cross illegally  officials said it was between 500 and 1,000. U.S. authorities shut down the nation's busiest border crossing for several hours.

San Diego Border Patrol Sector chief Rodney Scott said 42 people were arrested and some children inhaled the tear gas, but they were not intended targets.

But images of crying children in diapers and bare feet running from plumes of gas struck a nerve again  not unlike the images of weeping, frightened children who had been separated from their parents over the summer.

"Any border security and immigration policy that results in mothers and children being gassed is not only cruel and morally reprehensible, but also an abject failure," said Rep. Bennie Thompson of Mississippi, the top Democrat on the House Committee on Homeland Security. "The administration should be preparing itself to finally face real oversight of its failed border and immigration policies."
What to Know The arrested suspect is 20-year-old Jaime Alejandro Delacruz.

The incident occurred 9 a.m. Monday, at the corner of Friendswood Avenue and Bodger Street.

Police urge anyone who believes they may have been a victim of Delacruz to call them at (626) 580-2135.

A 20-year-old man has been arrested for allegedly committing a lewd act in the view of two teenage girls as they walked to school in El Monte.

Jaime Alejandro Delacruz was arrested Wednesday at his home in El Monte, police said.

He allegedly drove his car and followed the two girls about 9 a.m. Monday then parked ahead of them at the corner of Friendswood Avenue and Bodger Street, according to El Monte police Lt. Ben Lowry.

As the victims walked by, Delacruz engaged in a lewd act within their view and asked if they wanted a ride, Lowry alleged. Delacruz then fled the location.

Information provided by the victims led detectives to identify and arrest Delacruz, Lowry said.

Detectives fear there are additional possible victims of the suspect, who is described as Hispanic, with an average build, brown eyes, black hair and a rose tattoo in black ink on his left forearm. He was driving a white 2003 Toyota Camry four-door with the California license tag 5AUX128.

Police urge anyone who believes they may have been a victim of Delacruz to call them at (626) 580-2135.
After repeated food poisoning outbreaks linked to romaine lettuce, the produce industry is confronting the failure of its own safety measures in preventing contaminations.

The E. coli outbreak announced just before Thanksgiving follows one in the spring that sickened more than 200 people and killed five, and another last year that sickened 25 and killed one. No deaths have been reported in the latest outbreak, but the dozens of illnesses highlight the challenge of eliminating risk for vegetables grown in open fields and eaten raw, the role of nearby cattle operations that produce huge volumes of manure and the delay of stricter federal food safety regulations.

A contested aspect of the regulation, for example, would require testing irrigation water for E. coli. The Food and Drug Administration put the measure on hold when the produce industry said such tests wouldn't necessarily help prevent outbreaks. Additional regulations on sanitation for workers and equipment  other potential sources of contamination  only recently started being implemented.

FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb said he thinks the combination of rules, once fully in place, will make vegetables safer to eat.

"I don't think any one element of this is going to be the magic bullet," Gottlieb said.

Health officials say improved detection may make outbreaks seem more frequent. Still, that is intensifying pressure on growers and regulators to prevent, catch and contain contamination.

PREVENTION

It's not yet known how romaine got contaminated in the latest outbreak.

The spring outbreak was traced to romaine from Yuma, Arizona. Irrigation water tainted with manure was identified as a likely culprit, and investigators noted the presence of a large animal feeding operation nearby.

Subsequently, an industry agreement in Arizona and California was adjusted to expand buffer zones between vegetable fields and livestock. The industry says the change was in place for lettuce now being grown in Yuma, which hasn't been implicated in the latest outbreak. But Trevor Suslow of the Produce Marketing Association said there isn't consensus about the exact distances that might effectively prevent contamination.

He noted specific buffer zones aren't required by the new federal rules on produce safety.

"They look to the industry to determine what is the appropriate distance," Suslow said.

Growers in Yuma also started treating irrigation water that would touch plant leaves with chlorine to kill potential contaminants, Suslow said. But he said such treatment raises concerns about soil and human health.

Meanwhile, the proximity of produce fields to cattle operations is likely to continue posing a problem. Travis Forgues of the milk producer Organic Valley noted consolidation in the dairy industry is leading to bigger livestock operations that produce massive volumes of manure.

TESTING

Already, the industry agreement in Arizona and California requires leafy green growers to test water for generic E. coli.

But James Rogers, director of food safety research at Consumer Reports, said it's important to make water testing a federal requirement. Since romaine is often chopped up and bagged, a single contaminated batch from one farm that skips testing could make a lot of people sick, he said.

Teressa Lopez of the Arizona Leafy Greens Marketing Agreement also said federal regulation can ensure greater compliance, even though the industry agreement has stricter measures.

Despite industry measures implemented after a spinach outbreak more than a decade ago, health officials noted this month there have been 28 E. coli outbreaks linked to leafy greens since 2009.

The produce industry says the failure to prevent the Yuma outbreak could also reflect the limitations of testing water for generic E. coli.

Elizabeth Bihn, a food science expert at Cornell University, said the tests look for the amount of fecal matter in water. The problem is, "some feces has pathogens in it, some feces doesn't," said Bihn, who is part of a federal program helping farmers comply with the new produce regulations.

Testing for specific E. coli strains that are harmful is more difficult, and it doesn't rule out the possibility of other harmful bacteria, Bihn said.

CONTAINING

Whole-genome sequencing is making it easier to detect outbreaks, which is pressuring the produce industry.

The FDA warned against all romaine last week because it said it was able to identify it as a likely source early enough. The agency narrowed its warning to romaine from California's Central Coast after the produce industry agreed to label romaine with harvest dates and regions, so people know what's OK to eat.

The labeling is voluntary, and the industry said it will evaluate whether to extend it to other leafy greens. Gottlieb said improving traceability would allow targeted health alerts that don't hurt the entire industry. The FDA recently hired a former Walmart executive who used blockchain technology to improve traceability in the retailer's supply chain.

Stephen Basore, director of food safety at a Florida romaine grower, said he expects more regulations and self-imposed industry guidelines.

"Anytime there is an issue, the immediate response is saying our protocols aren't enough," he said.

AP reporter Josh Replogle contributed.
They haven't spoken in days, not since President Donald Trump called to congratulate Nancy Pelosi on Democrats' election night win.

But they don't really need to. Trump and Pelosi go way back, from the time she first showed up at Trump Tower fundraising for the Democrats long before he would become president or she the House speaker. Two big-name heirs to big-city honchos  Trump and Pelosi each had fathers who were political power players in their home towns  they've rubbed elbows on the Manhattan social scene for years.

And despite daily barbs in Washington, he's always "Mr. President" to her, and she's one prominent politician he has not labeled with a derisive nickname.

Not quite friends, nor enemies, theirs is perhaps the most important relationship in Washington. If anything is to come of the new era of divided government, with a Republican president and Democratic control of the House, it will happen in the deal-making space between two of the country's most polarizing politicians.

The day after their election night phone call, Trump and Pelosi did speak again, indirectly, across Pennsylvania Avenue.

"I really respected what Nancy said last night about bipartisanship and getting together and uniting," Trump said in a press conference at the White House. "That's what we should be doing."

Pressed after his unusual public lobbying for Pelosi to become House speaker, Trump insisted he was sincere.

"A lot of people thought I was being sarcastic or I was kidding. I wasn't. I think she deserves it," he said. "I also believe that Nancy Pelosi and I could work together and get a lot of things done."

Pelosi sent word back a few minutes later from her own press conference at the Capitol, which she delayed for nearly an hour as the president conducted his.

"Last night, I had a conversation with President Trump about how we could work together," Pelosi said, noting that "building infrastructure" was one of the items they discussed.

"He talked about it during his campaign and really didn't come through with it in his first two years in office," she nudged. "I hope that we can do that because we want to create jobs from sea to shining sea."

Despite all the campaign trail trash talk, both Trump and Pelosi have incentive to make some deals.

The president could use a domestic policy win heading into his own re-election in 2020, alongside his regular railing against illegal immigration, the "witch hunt" of the Russia investigation or other issues that emerge from his tweets.

Democrats, too, need to show Americans they can do more than resist the Trump White House. It's no surprise that two of the top Democratic priorities in the new Congress, infrastructure investment and lowering health care costs, dovetail with promises Trump made to voters, but has not yet fulfilled.

"I do think there's opportunities to pass legislation," said former White House legislative director Marc Short.

Trump has long viewed Pelosi as both a foil and a possible partner, and she sees in him the one who can sign legislation into law.

The president has told confidants that he respects Pelosi's deal-making prowess and her ability to hang on to power in the face of a series of challenges from the left wing of the party, according to four White House officials and Republicans close to the White House. The officials were not authorized to publicly discuss private conversations and requested anonymity.

He told one ally this month that he respected Pelosi "as a fighter" and that he viewed her as someone with whom he could negotiate.

"The president respects her," said Short.

Short described the interaction between Pelosi and Trump during a 2017 meeting with other congressional leaders at the White House to prevent a government shutdown. "They were throwing pros and cons back at each other," he said.

"The question I can't answer is to what extent will Democrats give Pelosi political bandwidth" to strike deals, Short said. He pointed to potential areas of agreement like infrastructure, drug prices and prison reform.

But part of Trump's push for Pelosi to return to power was more nakedly political. Pelosi has long been a popular Republican target, spurring countless fundraising efforts and attack ads. And Trump has told advisers that, if needed, he would make her the face of the opposition in Democratic party until the 2020 presidential field sorts itself out.

Pelosi's name draws some of the biggest jeers at his rallies and he believes that "she could be Hillary" in terms of a Clinton-like figure to rally Republicans against, according to one of the advisers familiar with the president's private conversations.

At the same time, Trump has not publicly branded Pelosi with a mocking nickname. She's no "Cryin'" Chuck Schumer, as he calls the top Senate Democrat, or "Little" Adam Schiff at the Intelligence Committee or "Low IQ" Rep. Maxine Waters of California, who will chair the Financial Services Committee.

On whether Trump likes Pelosi as ally or adversary, Short said, "I don't think those are mutually exclusive."

Pelosi, perhaps more than her Republican counterparts  outgoing Speaker Paul Ryan or Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell  became an early observer, and adapter, to the Trump style of governing.

When Trump and Democrats were trying to broker an immigration deal in September 2017, she suggested he could tweet his assurances to the young Dreamers. And he did.

Around the same time when Trump and congressional leaders convened at the White House to avoid a federal government shutdown, Republicans and Trump's own Cabinet team pressed for their preferred solution. But Pelosi kept asking a simple question: How many Republican votes could they bring to the table? When it was clear they could not bring enough for passage, Trump intervened and agreed with Democrats "Chuck and Nancy," as he came to call them.

Votes, Pelosi explained later, were the "currency of the realm." Trump, as a businessman, she said, got it.

Pelosi is poised to become House speaker again if she wins her election in January. Asked this week how Trump might react to having a woman in power, Pelosi recalled the first time she held the office, when George W. Bush was president, in 2007.

Bush would call her "No. 3," she said, a reference to the speaker's spot in the presidential succession line, after the president and the vice president.

"He treated me and the office I hold with great respect," she said. "I would expect nothing less than that from this President of the United States."
What to Know 36-year-old Carla Stefaniak was scheduled to arrive home Wednesday but has not been heard from since Tuesday night.

The family of a South Florida woman are asking for help and answers after she hasnt returned from a vacation in Costa Rica.

Carla Stefaniak, 36, was scheduled to arrive home Wednesday but has not been heard from since Tuesday night.

Her brother, Mario Caidedo, told NBC 6 sister station Telemundo 51 from his Orlando home that she was in the country on vacation and that police and the U.S. embassy have been contacted.

Stefaniak is a Venezuelan native and U.S. citizen whose social media accounts say she lives in Miami Beach. Her last Instagram post was from Monday showing her in the country.

Family members are heading to Costa Rica to help search for Stefaniak. A GoFundMe account has been set up to help the family in the efforts.

Just one month ago, four men from Miami who were in Costa Rica for a bachelor party died in a rafting accident.
Broward County investigators targeted a community they said has been hit hard by unlicensed contractors taking advantage of people.

Investigators drove through a Deerfield Beach community to ask dozens of contractors if they hold the proper licenses to do the work being performed. If contractors didnt hold the proper licenses they faced hefty fines.

You are in violation so unfortunately we are going to have to cite you for these services, Broward County Investigator Delroy Aikens told one contractor.

Contractor Ricardo Barbosa was issued a ticket with a $500 fine. Our cameras were there as investigators stopped him when he was unloading equipment for what he described as a drywall installation job.

Investigators said Barbosa didnt hold any type of contracting license with the county or the state. Barbosa also acknowledged he had been advertising and the county said thats enough proof to ticket him.

When NBC 6 Responds asked Barbosa if he planned on getting a license he told us, Definitely yes. I just stopped and I am going to take care of this license.

The county also halted a window project at Amy Blumofes home.

Its very highly stressful for the Sheriff to come knocking at the door and say all of this work has to be stopped, Blumofe told us.

She told us she signed a contract with a licensed and insured window company and had no idea one of the subcontractors was unlicensed.

Theres no leak. There is no damage, she said about the work done so far. Highly professional and did their work.

Contractors can be ticketed for both contracting and/or advertising as a contractor without a license.

Also, commercial vehicles are required to display a business name and license number. These violations carry fines up to $1,000.

The workers who were ticketed can get a break if they apply for a license. The county said it will reduce the amount of fines for anyone who applies.

Its an incentive to get the license, Aikens said. Whatever they spend to get the license they reduce it from the ticket.

For homeowners, working with an unlicensed contractor comes with risks. For example, the work wont be inspected and that means no guarantee its been done correctly.

You can find out if a contractor is licensed by checking with your county or the Department of Business and Professional Regulation.
Photo: The Canadian Press

A 44-year-old officer suffered serious injuries Thursday in a shooting that Ontario's police watchdog said involved two members of the Niagara Regional Police Service.

The Special Investigations Unit said it was probing an "altercation" between two officers, one of whom sustained a gunshot wound at about noon in Pelham, Ont.

"The officer was transported to hospital for treatment, and then airlifted to Hamilton General Hospital," SIU spokeswoman Monica Hudon said.

"Understanding what transpired and the relationship between the officers is part of the SIU's investigation. I can only tell you that there was an altercation, and a firearm was discharged and one officer was struck."

Hudon added that the agency has assigned 11 investigators, including three forensic specialists, to the case. She said it's very early in the investigation and there have been no arrests.

She urged anyone with information  particularly anyone with video evidence  to contact the SIU.

Niagara regional police said in a statement Thursday evening that the officer was in stable condition. The officer has 28 years of service and his name "is not being released at this time," the force said.

"In the spirit of transparency, I have asked the Ontario Provincial Police to determine if there is any criminal culpability outside of the SIU's scope," Niagara regional police Chief Bryan MacCulloch said in the statement.
Control of Alaska state government, at least for the next two years, could hinge on a mystery ballot that an election worker found on a table in a Fairbanks voting precinct more than three weeks ago.

The uncounted ballot could break a tie in an Alaska state House race.

A decision on whether to count it is expected Friday. The elections office has said the ballot appeared to be marked for Democrat Kathryn Dodge.

If Republican Bart LeBon wins, the GOP would control the House, Senate and the governor's office. If Dodge wins, it would set off a mad dash between the parties to build a caucus of at least 21 members needed for a majority in the House.

Officials said the ballot was found by an election worker on a precinct table on Election Day in a gray secrecy sleeve. It was not counted at the time and was included among ballot materials that arrived in Juneau last Friday for an election review.

Officials were investigating the ballot before deciding whether to count it. Dodge was tied with LeBon with 2,661 votes apiece heading into a recount Friday.

Dodge attorney Patrick Munson, in a letter to elections director Josie Bahnke, said Alaska law sets a high threshold for disqualifying a ballot. He said there were 366 ballots issued at the precinct on Election Day but just 365 were run through the optical scanner.

He said it's likely this ballot was validly issued and voted and should be counted for Dodge.

He also wants the Division of Elections to count for Dodge a ballot with ovals marked for her and LeBon but with an "X'' over the oval next to LeBon's name. That ballot wasn't counted for either candidate.

"People kept calling it close," Dodge said of the race. "I just didn't know it was going to be squeaky."

If Dodge wins, the House would be split 20-20, between Republicans and the remnant of a coalition that is largely comprised of Democrats but includes two Republicans.

For the candidates, it's been a three-week rollercoaster ride marked by lead changes before the tie was declared and by the appearance of the mystery ballot.

Bahnke said she wants to ensure that every vote cast by an eligible voter is counted.

LeBon, a retired banker, said he has questions about the handling of the ballot and expects a legal challenge from whoever loses the recount. He said questions about other ballots also could be raised during the recount.

If the race remains tied after the recount and possible legal challenges, state law calls for a winner to be determined "by lot." A coin toss decided a tied House race in 2006.

"I've come too far to have a coin toss settle this," LeBon said.

The current House speaker, Democrat Bryce Edgmon, won the 2006 primary through the coin toss on his way to being elected to the chamber later that year.

He said he didn't recall the race being stressful, pointing out that he also had a good job in the fishing community of Dillingham to focus on if he had lost.

On the day of the coin toss, he said his son fell sick and had to be taken to the emergency room, which occupied his attention much of the day.

Remembering the coin toss is exciting, he said, but the experience is "not something I would wish for anybody to go through."
What to Know The bodies of four people, two of them children, were found at a burning mansion in the wealthy New Jersey community of Colts Neck

Prosecutors say the blaze was intentionally set; father Keith Caneiro was shot and his wife and two children were stabbed, sources say

Keith's brother Paul, is charged with murder in their deaths; he also is accused of setting fire to his own home, lawyers say he's innocent

The New Jersey man charged with killing his brother, sister-in-law and the couple's two young children, then torching their Colts Neck estate, pleaded not guilty to murder and other crimes at an initial court appearance Friday.

Paul Caneiro, 51, limped into court wearing a green jumpsuit; his hands were cuffed in front of him and he sat stone-faced as charges were read against him. Friends say Caneiro was seriously injured in a car accident several years ago that left him with back, leg and knee injuries.



His attorneys entered a plea of "not guilty" to all those charges, which include four counts of murder, arson and weapons charges in the Nov. 20 deaths of his brother Keith; Keith's wife, Jennifer; their 11-year-old son, Jesse; and their 8-year-old daughter, Sophia. Caneiro was ordered held in jail pending a late January hearing. He didn't speak other than to answer "yes" or "no" or "I do" to a series of procedural questions from the judge.

Prosecutors have called the motive for the slayings "financial." However, defense lawyers said they have no evidence Paul Caneiro was financially strapped. He owns a $550,000 suburban home with an in-ground pool and a white Porsche convertible parked in the driveway, and helped run two family businesses.

"Paul Caneiro loved his brother, loved his sister-in-law like a sister, loved those children, and would never do anything to harm them," attorney Mitchell Ansell said after Friday's hearing. "There's no reason on earth for him to have harmed them."

A friend said that the accident about five years ago left Paul Caneiro "immobilized" for a time, and that he'd had repeated surgeries, and taken painkillers, for injuries to his back, legs and knees.

"He was never, never the same person after he got in that accident," the friend, New York-based hairstylist Demetris Potamianos, said Thursday. "It was bad. It was bad for a very long time."

Paul Caniero moved out of his family's Ocean Township home for about six months this year but had recently moved back in, said Potamianos, 44, who has been friends with the extended Caneiro family for years. He called them smart, close-knit and unassuming.

"I know it looks very bad (for) Paul at this point, but knowing both of the families, I can't put it together why would he do this horrific crime," he said. "(Keith) was just a simple person. Why would somebody get jealous of him? ... He was never a show-off."

The killings have startled the affluent horse-country community of Colts Neck, home to Bruce Springsteen and where former "Daily Show" host Jon Stewart and his wife run an animal sanctuary.

Authorities say Paul Caneiro shot his brother, shot and stabbed his sister-in-law, and stabbed the children before dawn Nov. 20, then set the mansion on fire and returned home to set fire to his own home as his wife and two adult daughters slept upstairs. After his arrest in that fire the next day, his lawyers said his family believed he had rescued them.

They were not in court Friday, lawyer Robert Honecker said, because their testimony wasn't needed when Caneiro waived a detention hearing.

Caneiro sat stone-faced as Assistant Prosecutor Christopher Decker read the charges. A judge ordered him to remain at the Monmouth County jail at least until a hearing in late January.

The brothers had started a computer consulting business in Brooklyn that had grown to have 26 employees by 2001, with clients including Citibank. They had renamed it Square One, and moved to the quieter New Jersey suburbs. They married and started families - with each brother standing up for the other at their weddings - and added a pest control company along the way.

Paul Caneiro was lately a frequent presence at their small offices in Asbury Park, where Square One now had just a few employees, while Keith Caneiro more often worked from home.

In recent years, Keith Caneiro had earned undergraduate and graduate degrees through Columbia University; started working out with a trainer and lost weight; and spent time with his family on Greece's Aegina island, where his wife's father grew up and they hoped to retire.

Aspire Fitness owner Brian Bott said Keith was a fun-loving fixture in the mornings since joining the gym four years ago. He was excited about some job interviews he had lined up since getting his master's degree this year. Bott did not know if Keith hoped to move on or continue working with Paul on the side.

"Every once in a while, he'd talk about business, or having a stressful day at work. But nothing relative to something like this," said Bott, who posted an online video after the deaths of Keith doing push-ups with his young daughter Sophia on his back.

Jennifer Caneiro also worked out there, as did Paul's wife and daughters. But Paul was hampered by mobility issues. He hadn't been able to travel to Greece for the family excursions but hoped to be well enough to go soon, according to Potamianos, who's also from Aegina.

Prosecutors haven't elaborated on the alleged financial motives behind the crimes. They said Paul Caneiro set the fire at his own home to destroy evidence and to make it appear someone was targeting his extended family. He was at the police station being interviewed about that fire when the smoldering fire erupted at his brother's house just after noon, hours after investigators think it was set, and the bodies were discovered.

Funerals for the family, including 11-year-old Jesse and 8-year-old Sophia, are planned Sunday.

Jennifer Caneiro's father, Vlassis Karidis of New York City's Staten Island, told Potamianos in a text last week: "I lost everything I had in this life. And you lost friends that really, really loved you."

"I broke down in tears," Potamianos said.
What to Know A woman has been indicted in the September SUV death of anti-gang crusader Evelyn Rodriguez, whose teenage daughter was killed by MS-13

Rodriguez, 50, was struck and killed by an SUV on Sept. 14 after a heated confrontation with a driver over the placement of a memorial

The driver, Annmarie Drago, pleaded not guilty to charges of criminally negligent homicide, petit larceny and criminal mischief on Friday

A 58-year-old Long Island nurse has been indicted on charges of criminally negligent homicide, criminal mischief and petit larceny in connection with the September SUV death of Evelyn Rodriguez, the mother of an MS-13 victim who channeled her daughter's gruesome killing into an anti-gang crusade.



Annmarie Drago, whose mother owned a home less than 300 feet from where the mutilated body of Rodriguez's daughter Kayla Cuevas was found in 2016, pleaded not guilty to the charges at her arraignment Friday. The top charge carries a maximum penalty of four years in prison if convicted.



Rodriguez, 50, was struck and killed by Drago's SUV on Sept. 14 after she got into a heated argument with her over the placement of a memorial to Kayla. The grieving mother was insistent that her daughter's death not be forgotten, and she was readying for an annual memorial vigil on the Brentwood block where the teen died when prosecutors say Drago drove up and purposely destroyed it.



A television news crew on hand for the memorial was recording as Rodriguez and another person yelled at the SUV driver, who then sped forward and struck Rodriguez. The driver remained at the scene and called 911. Her name had not been made public until Friday.



According to prosecutors, Drago allegedly intentionally ruined the memorial and took some of the items with her because her mother was closing on the nearby home and Drago feared the memorial would impact the sale of the house. Drago ultimately received $19,000 in proceeds from the house sale, officials said.

"As she put up the memorial, Evelyn had no idea that she would be joining Kayla that day," Assistant District Attorney Marc Lindemann told Judge Fernando Camacho.

Lindemann said Kayla's father warned Drago twice that she would hit Rodriguez if she drove her car forward. Rodriguez was about a half step from the front tire when the vehicle lurched forward, and she grabbed onto the headlight before being thrown to the street.



In a prepared statement in court, Drago's lawyer, Stephen Kunken, called the matter a "tragic accident" and said his client extended her condolences to Rodriguez's family. After the hearing, Drago hid in the corner of an elevator, surrounded by court officers, as reporters shouted questions.

She was released on her own recognizance after Friday's hearing.

At a community vigil for Rodriguez Friday night, friend Amory Speulveda said of Drago, "When I think about the character of this woman, it's just disappointing. This person is not able to understand the pain that a mother is suffering at that moment."

"The woman is free, she is walking," added friend Liz Cordero. "Evelyn is not here with us."

Rodriguez's death in the neighborhood dispute came two years to the day after Kayla's beaten, slashed body was found. Kayla and her friend, 15-year-old Nisa Mickens, were walking when police say they were ambushed by MS-13 gang members and slaughtered.

The deaths brought sudden attention to a string of murders of teenagers in the Long Island suburbs that had largely gone unnoticed, and in some cases, uninvestigated by police.

After he became president, Donald Trump visited Brentwood and vowed a national crackdown on MS-13. He recognized Rodriguez, Cuevas and Mickens' parents at the State of the Union address in January.

Rodriguez spoke out against the gang and the local school district, saying in a $110 million lawsuit that it had ignored warnings that MS-13 members were threatening students. She sat alongside Trump at a gang violence forum in May on Long Island.

At her funeral, Suffolk County District Attorney Tim Sini called Rodriguez "our Batman and Robin" and one of the strongest people he's ever met.

"Her roar was deafening, from the streets of Brentwood to the halls of Congress to the ears of the president himself," Sini said.

New York Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul encouraged mourners to continue Rodriguez's crusade and offered a message to MS-13: "You will be stopped. Your evil will be thwarted at every step, because you have lit a fire under this community."

"That will be the enduring legacy of what Evelyn accomplished in the name of Kayla and other victims of gang violence," Hochul said.

The funeral was held at the same church where services were held for Kayla.

"It's maddening and saddening to know we're back here again two years later," said County Legislator Monica Martinez, who taught Cuevas in the sixth grade and remained close with the family.

The girls' alleged killers, who were arrested along with about a dozen other suspected MS-13 members, are facing murder charges that could result in the death penalty.

MS-13, or the Mara Salvatrucha, is blamed for dozens of killings on Long Island since 2016. A purported member of the gang, Freiry Martinez, pleaded guilty Friday to participating in the brutal massacre of four young men in nearby Central Islip. The victims were lured to a park and attacked with machetes, knives and clubs.
What to Know An NJ school district has apologized for a substitute teacher who told first-grade kids that Santa Claus wasn't real

Cedar Hill School Principal Michael Raj said in a letter he sent to parents that he understands the "sensitive nature" of the topic

Administrators haven't released the teacher's name or said if she would be allowed to work again in the district

A New Jersey school district has apologized for a substitute teacher who told first-grade students that Santa Claus wasn't real.

Cedar Hill School Principal Michael Raj sent a letter to parents following the incident Thursday at the school in Montville. Raj noted that as a parent himself, he understands the "sensitive nature" of the topic.

Montville Schools Superintendent Rene Rovtar said in a statement that she was "troubled and disheartened by this incident." Rovtar explained that "childhood wonder associated with all holidays and traditions" is special to her.

Raj says he has spoken with the teacher about her "poor judgment."



Administrators haven't released the teacher's name or said if she would be allowed to work again in the district.
Three people were killed and eight others were injured when a white pickup truck with passengers riding in the bed crashed while fleeing from San Diego border patrol agents on Thursday.

Agents were chasing the white Chevy Silverado truck on Interstate 8 near Crestwood Road in Boulevard, 40 miles east of San Diego, at around 4:30 p.m. when the truck crashed up a steep embankment and overturned, killing three occupants.

There were 11 people in the truck, one woman and 10 men. The crash injured all eight of the truck's other occupants, including the driver, identified as 21-year-old Luis Alberto Virgen, a U.S. citizen who has been living in Mexico, according to California Highway Patrol.

Virgen was taken to the hospital before being arrested on at least three counts of gross vehicular manslaughter. He was being held in San Diego County Jail on $50,000 bail.

U.S. Border Patrol says agents patrolling an unknown stretch of the U.S.-Mexico Border in East San Diego County noticed tire tracks headed north away from the divide. A piece of a vehicle was also found.

The agency believed these were signs of a human smuggling attempt and alerted other agents, one of which who spotted a truck that had a piece missing matching the description of the piece agents found.

Agents attempted to pull the truck over but the truck refused to stop and continued eastbound on I-8 before turning around to the opposite direction, leading BP agents on a chase that at times reached speeds above 100 mph.

BP agents deployed a spike strip that caused the driver to lose control and roll up an embankment, at which point the truck became airborne and multiple passengers were ejected.

Three people suffered major injuries and five others had minor injuries. CHP officials believe only two people were in the cabin of the truck at the time of the crash and the rest were lying down in the uncovered truck bed.

Cal Fire said that due to weather -- fog, wind and rain -- none of the patients could be airlifted to area hospitals.

Everyone except Virgen was unrestrained, CHP officials said.

Officials did not identify the three people killed in the crash but said one was a woman and two were men.

About an hour after the crash, border patrol agents discovered another vehicle in the same area believed to have crossed as part of the same smuggling operation. One man was arrested. No other details were provided.

A Sig Alert was issued for westbound I-8 and traffic was blocked at the site of the crash for several hours as CHP investigated the crash.
Donald Trump for decades dreamed of building a Trump Tower in the heart of Moscow, a plan that flared and fizzled several times over the years, most recently when his presidential campaign was gaining momentum.

That last plan led Trump's longtime lawyer Michael Cohen to plead guilty Thursday to a charge brought by the special prosecutor looking into possible Russian meddling in the 2016 election. Cohen admitted he lied to Congress about key details in the negotiations for the Moscow tower, most notably that those talks stretched much deeper into the presidential campaign than previously thought, to June of 2016.

Trump, speaking to reporters Thursday, disputed Cohen's timeline and suggested his former fixer was telling prosecutors what they wanted to hear to save his own skin. As for why the most recent deal failed, Trump said he made the decision himself for one main reason.

"It was very simple," he said. "I was very focused on running for president."

Trump's plans for a Trump Tower in Moscow went back as far as 1996 when the future president paid a visit to the Russian capital to check out building sites on land being developed by a U.S. company.

That idea fell through, along with plans to revamp the dilapidated Hotel Moskva next to the Kremlin, but the real estate mogul raised the prospect of a "super-luxury residential tower" bearing his name on other sites he visited on his three-day stay in the city.

"Moscow is going to be huge," Trump told Playboy magazine in a 1997 interview.

Trump revived the idea in 2013 during his visit to Moscow as owner of the Miss Universe pageant. Trump later said he had discussed the idea with Aras and Emin Agalarov, a father-and-son Russian development team close to Russian President Vladimir Putin. Trump reportedly scouted a potential site, but the idea again faded.

The tower idea came back yet again in October 2015, when Andrey Rozov, an obscure Russian real estate developer, signed a letter of intent sent by Cohen to advance the construction of a Trump World Tower that would feature 250 luxury condos, no fewer than 15 floors of hotel rooms, commercial and office space, a fitness center and an Ivanka Trump spa.

It was a potentially lucrative deal for Trump's company, handing it $4 million in upfront fees plus possibly millions more from a cut on everything from food and banquet fees to spa charges. His share on the first $100 million in condo sales alone would reach another $5 million.

Rozov's signed letter was sent back to Cohen by Felix Sater, another Trump world figure who had worked on and off for the Trump Organization and operated as a government informant following a 1998 conviction in a stock fraud case.

Sater sent Cohen an email expressing optimism: "Let's make this happen and build a Trump Moscow. And possibly fix relations between the countries by showing everyone that commerce and business are much better and more practical than politics."

Donald Trump Jr. and Ivanka Trump were copied in on emails about the project in late 2015, according to a person close to the Trump Organization. In one email, Ivanka Trump even suggested an architect for the building, the person said, noting the Trump Organization provided the emails to congressional committees. The company's email traffic about the project ends in January 2016, said the person, who wasn't authorized to speak publicly about the matter and spoke on condition of anonymity.

Like the previous failed projects, the Rozov-helmed effort soon ran aground. According to Cohen's testimony in 2017 and his plea agreement, negotiations with Rozov's group stalled, and the two Trump associates turned to aides to Russian President Vladimir Putin to move the project forward.

Cohen told congressional investigators last year that he had sent an email in January 2016 to Dmitry Peskov, Putin's spokesman. Cohen told the committee he never heard back from Peskov and the tower deal collapsed by the end of that month.

But according to Cohen's new statement to prosecutors, the tower deal remained viable as late as June 2016, after Trump had vanquished his Republican presidential rivals and was mounting his general election campaign against Hillary Clinton. Cohen said he kept Trump, named as "Individual 1" in the plea, updated about the deal's progress, and also "briefed family members of Individual 1 within the company about the project."

Cohen said in his plea that he also spoke by phone with an assistant to Peskov  identified in the plea as "Russian Official 1"  in January 2016 and outlined the project and "requested assistance in moving the project forward."

According to the plea, Cohen later discussed traveling to Moscow to jump-start the deal. In May 2016, a month after Trump had emerged the winner of the GOP primaries, Sater  identified as "Individual 2"  told Cohen that Peskov wanted to meet him in mid-June at an international business forum in St. Petersburg and "possibly introduce you" to Putin or Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev.

Trump, who is in Argentina for the G-20 summit, recalled Friday on Twitter "happily living my life" as a developer before running for president after seeing the "Country going in the wrong direction (to put it mildly)."

"Against all odds," he continued, "I decide to run for President & continue to run my business-very legal & very cool, talked about it on the campaign trail. ... Lightly looked at doing a building somewhere in Russia. Put up zero money, zero guarantees and didn't do the project. Witch Hunt!"

BuzzFeed News reported Thursday that Trump's company considered giving the Moscow tower's penthouse apartment to Putin. Sater told BuzzFeed: "My idea was to give a $50 million penthouse to Putin and charge $250 million more for the rest of the units. All the oligarchs would line up to live in the same building as Putin."

Sater and Cohen continued to email about the foundering project well into June 2016, soon after a much-scrutinized meeting at Trump Tower in New York between Trump's son Don Jr., son-in-law Jared Kushner, campaign chairman Paul Manafort and several Russian attendees, purportedly to discuss the possibility of "dirt" on Hillary Clinton.

On June 14, Cohen met Sater in the tower lobby and told him his potential trip to St. Petersburg was off.

Thursday, Trump suggested his consideration of a Moscow tower was all part of being a businessman who was also running for president.

"I decided ultimately not to do it," he said. "There would be nothing wrong if I did do it."

"There was a good chance that I wouldn't have won, in which case I would have gone back into the business, and why should I lose lots of opportunities?"

Associated Press writer Chad Day in Washington contributed to this report.
Two women were arrested after attacking a female customer inside a Wawa on Nov. 17 in Cherry Hill, New Jersey.

Destiny Davis, a 19-year-old from Camden, stirred trouble after starting a verbal argument with another shopper, according to a video shared on social media. As the two women argued, Diamond Howard, an 18-year-old from Camden, climbed onto the counter and spat on the victim.

Howard then joined in on the shouting match.

The incident soon turned physical as Davis shoved the victim to the ground and punched her numerous times until bystanders and employees separated the two, according to the video.

In the video, the victim can be heard asking for an ambulance. Police said she was rushed to a nearby hospital.

"Y'all some clowns for that," said the person who posted a video of the fight.

Police arrested both Davis and Howard for disorderly conduct. Davis was charged with aggravated assault and Howard for simple assault.
The body of a Pennsylvania airman who was killed by a roadside bomb in Afghanistan is back home in the U.S.

Air Force Staff Sgt. Dylan Elchin, of Hookstown in western Pennsylvania, was one of three service members who died Tuesday when their vehicle hit a roadside bomb in Ghazni province, an area where the Taliban is resurgent. It was the deadliest attack against U.S. forces in Afghanistan this year.

A highly decorated airman, 25-year-old Elchin had told his family he was preparing for a week-long mission. Aaron Elchin, his brother, Facetimed his brother the weekend after Thanksgiving, reports the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

"And I told him that I love him," said Mr. Elchin, 28, of Cincinnati. "And I didn't know that was going to be the last time I'd talk to him."

Sgt. Elchin had been embedded with a U.S. Army Special Operations Force Operational Detachment-Alpha team, and his role included advising the Ground Force commander, directing close air support aircraft, and delivering destructive ordinance on enemy targets in support of offensive operations, the Air Force said.

As a special tactics combat controller, Sgt. Elchin was trained for immediate deployment into combat operations such as precision strike and personnel recovery, according to the Air Force. He was skilled in reconnaissance operations, air traffic control and terminal attack control operations.

"Dylan had an unusual drive to succeed and contribute to the team. He displayed maturity and stoicism beyond his years, and was always level-headed, no matter the situation," Lt. Col. Gregory Walsh, 26th STS commander, said in a statement. "Our thoughts and prayers go out to Dylan's family, fiance and friends. He will be sorely missed, but never forgotten."

Sgt. Elchin's awards and decorations included the Bronze Star Medal for heroic or meritorious service in a combat zone, a Purple Heart for suffering a wound, the Army Commendation Medal with Valor and the Air Force Commendation Medal, among many others.

Mr. Elchin said his brother always had an interest in serving, and may have been inspired by his grandfather and other family members who were in the military.

"By the time he was a teenager he was reading up on it, and he was in the Boy Scouts prior to that," Mr. Elchin said. "He's just always had that mentality that that was something he was going to do."

Sgt. Elchin had a variety of interests, according to his brother. He liked to build, and participated in his school's shop program. He was a horn player in the high school band. He is remembered by school officials, the Post-Gazette reports, as being reserved and friendly, "a young man with a kind heart, who was studious, curious about life, and loved his family."

Sgt. Elchin planned on marrying Jordan Stigers after he returned to the United States in late January or early February. They had met while he was training in Las Vegas, where she is from, according to Mr. Elchin. He said the couple wanted to get married in Tahiti then return to the U.S. for another celebration.

The family is still coming to terms with the loss of someone who had so much ahead of him.

"We're all basically waiting to wake up," Mr. Elchin said to the Post-Gazette. "We feel like we're in a giant fog, and we just don't want to believe it."

His son was brought back to the U.S. early Friday, with a dignified transfer happening at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware. Vice President Mike Pence was among those in attendance.

The airman's grandfather, Ron Bogolea, told The Beaver County Times that the family is arranging a public memorial service to give friends and other family a chance to pay their respects. Elchin will eventually be buried in Arlington National Cemetery.

The U.S. and NATO formally concluded their combat mission in Afghanistan in 2014, but still provide close support to Afghan forces and carry out counter-terrorism operations. Some 15,000 American forces are currently serving in Afghanistan.
Photo: File photo

A rally opposing the federal government's move to force striking Canada Post workers back to work this week will take place in Kelowna Saturday, in co-ordination with people across the country.

The Canadian Union of Postal Workers began striking on Oct. 22, after contract negotiations failed to reach a new agreement.

Rotating postal strikes have been occurring throughout the country ever since, with several days of striking hitting different parts of the Okanagan.

On Monday, the federal government passed legislation ordering the postal workers back to work the following day, a move that outraged the union.

The Delivering Community Power coalition, a group that looks to revitalize Canada Post with renewable technology, has organized a national day of action in 25 cities across the country to protest the federal government's legislation.

Were calling on our allies in labour, environmental, Indigenous movements and affected community members to rally in solidarity with postal workers, the organization posted on their website. Well send a clear message: we support everyones right to strike for better working conditions, and a better world.

In Kelowna, the rally will take place on Saturday from 9 to 10 a.m. at the Parkinson Recreation Centre.

We are joining the many people across the country who want to oppose this violation of our constitutional right to freely bargain and to strike if needs be, said Scott Lovell of Amalgamated Transit Union 1722, who's no stranger to a strike.

All of us are affected and we want to support the postal workers in our communities.

Enough is enough. When workers want to fight for issues that affect us all, we need to support them and stop their rights from being violated, said Kelly Hutchinson of the British Columbia Government and Service Employees' Union.
Authorities have found the body of an 89-year-old woman who went missing after a fire ripped through several homes in Sea Isle City, New Jersey.

Family members and law enforcement sources confirmed to NBC10 that Marie Zielinski died in the fire that broke out shortly before noon Thursday at 54th Street and Landis Avenue. The blaze also left two people injured as it spread to other properties.

Zielinski's body was found inside her apartment, Cape May County Prosecutor Jeffrey H. Sutherland said. An autopsy was performed and her cause of death was tentatively listed as smoke inhalation.

The two injured people suffered burns and smoke inhalation. They were identified as a 56-year-old woman and a 60-year-old man.

The man has since been released from the hospital, but the woman was transferred to Cooper Medical Center for treatment.

When the fire erupted, responding firefighters could be seen dousing the flames as thick smoke poured into the air.

Three duplexes with a total of six units were destroyed or severely damaged. People working nearby ran to the scene, grabbed a ladder and helped rescue a man and woman from a first and second floor balcony. One of the rescuers then jumped to safety.

"We were able to get her to the ladder," Joseph Rice, one of the rescuers, told NBC10. "As soon as they got onto the ladder, started trying to come down, that's when the house kind of blew back with all the smoke and flames. The lady had to jump. We tried to catch her and the other gentleman jumped himself."

Firefighters eventually brought the flames under control.

Detectives from the Cape May County Prosecutor's Office; Sea Isle City Police Department; Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; and Cape May County and New Jersey State Fire Marshal's offices are all investigating the cause of the fire.

Anyone with information or photos or video of the fire is asked to call the prosecutor's office at 609-465-1135 or the SICPD at 609-2634311.

People can also submit anonymous tips through the Cape May County Sheriff's Tip Line at cmcsheriff.net.
What to Know Wawa and 2SP Brewing Company announced the release of their limited edition Winter Reserve Coffee Stout.

A Firkin Tapping event will take place on Dec. 6 from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. at Wawa's Chadds Ford location.

One thousand cases of the beer will be available the week of Dec. 10 at bars, bottle shops and distributors in the 5 Philly county areas.

Love beer, coffee and Wawa? Then Christmas is coming early for you. Wawa and 2SP Brewing Company, a brewery based in Aston, Pennsylvania, announced the release of their limited edition Winter Reserve Coffee Stout.

The oatmeal stout beer is steeped with Wawas new limited edition Winter Blend coffee and features flavors of sweet clove, dark chocolate and graham crackers.

So where can you get it? A Firkin Tapping event will take place on Dec. 6 from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. at the Wawa on 721 Naamans Creek Rd. in Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania. The location is the only Wawa in Pennsylvania to sell beer.

During the event, the first 50 cases of the beer will be available for purchase on a first come, first serve basis. It will be limited to two four packs per person. The event will also feature complimentary beer tastings.

If you miss the event, 1,000 cases of the beer will officially be available for purchase during the week of Dec. 10 through Origlio beverage at neighborhood bars, bottle shops and distributors in Philadelphia, Bucks, Chester, Delaware and Montgomery counties in Pennsylvania.

At Wawa, supporting our local neighbors is at the heart of everything we do, which makes our special partnership with 2SP so crucial at our Chadds Ford store, our only Pennsylvania store to sell beer, Mike Sherlock, Chief Product Marketing Officer for Wawa, Inc., wrote in a press release.

We are both happy to call Delaware County our hometown and were excited to team up to create a Winter Reserve Coffee Stout using our new limited-edition Wawa Reserve Winter Blend allowing us to add even more value to our customer experience just in time for the holidays.
A groom encountered a surprising snag when trying to get a marriage license in D.C. last week: A clerk told him his New Mexico identification wasn't acceptable because it was from outside the United States.

"She was so sincere. She said, 'I'm sorry, my supervisor says we can't accept international driver's licenses,'" recounted Gavin Clarkson, who went to get a license with his now-wife, Marina, at the D.C. Marriage Bureau on Nov. 20.

Clarkson said that when he first presented his license to the clerk, she looked at it, went to talk to the supervisor and then asked to see his "New Mexico passport," he told NBC Washington on a phone call Friday.

He said the clerk was embarrassed and apologetic once the matter was straightened out.

After he informed her that New Mexico was indeed a state, she again went to speak with her supervisor, then told Clarkson, "'My supervisor and I have verified that New Mexico is a state,'" he recounted.

"Basically, they went back and did a Google search," he said.

At one point, the clerk also complimented him on his English, he said, noting that his now-wife, who is an immigrant, thought it was hilarious.

Leah Gurowitz, spokeswoman for District of Columbia Courts, wrote in a statement, "We understand that a clerk in our Marriage Bureau made a mistake regarding New Mexico's 106-year history as a state. We very much regret the error and the slight delay it caused a New Mexico resident in applying for a DC marriage license."

Clarkson said he's heard of other New Mexico residents having difficulty with people who believe the state is not part of the U.S.

"I'd heard all those stories. It had just never happened to me," he said.

The couple was in a bit of a time crunch that day; they had made plans to get married that same day, which was the bride-to-be's birthday.

"We had our paperwork," he said. "We figured we'd be in there, we'd be out of there."

While that wasn't quite what happened, Clarkson said the process only took an extra 20 minutes. "It wasn't a massive delay," he said.

The couple was able to get married in D.C. that day as planned.

While the newlyweds are still working out where to live, Clarkson will be commuting between New Mexico and the D.C. area for the time being.

"But I do not have to go through customs," he joked.

Ironically, some D.C. residents have also had trouble getting their licenses seen as valid. In 2014, Cox Media Group television reporter Justin Gray was on his way back to D.C. when, he said, a Transportation Security Administration agent at Orlando International Airport didn't recognize his license. He realized the agent was not aware of what the District of Columbia was.

After that, security workers were shown copies of a D.C. driver's license to get them acquainted with it.

Months earlier, D.C. resident Ashley Brandt was trying to fly home from Arizona when she also was questioned about the validity of her D.C. driver's license. "I got a little nervous," she said at the time. "I just wasn't sure if the TSA didn't think it was a valid ID or it was because D.C. wasn't a state."

In 2017, the D.C. DMV discontinued use of "District of Columbia" at the top of its licenses and went back to using "Washington, D.C" to cut back on confusion.
Nearly 170 pounds of methamphetamine was seized at the San Ysidro border crossing Tuesday, Customs and Border Protection announced Thursday.

A permanent U.S. resident crossing the border from Tijuana was arrested and turned over to Homeland Security when agents found the drugs hidden in the doors, seats, quarter panels and bumper of the mans car, according to the CBP.

The arrest was the latest in a string of drug seizures since Friday.

From Friday through Tuesday, Border Patrol agents seized 625 pounds of drugs worth $2.7 million along the six land Port of Entries from San Ysidro to Calexico, CBP spokesman Shalene Thomas said.

In addition to dealing with the arrival of a large caravan of migrants and the processing of asylum claims, CBP officers within the San Diego Field Office continue to seize narcotics and arrest wanted individuals all while performing their traditional duties of processing lawful trade and travel, CBP San Diego director of field operations Pete Flores said.

Agents seized nearly 580 pounds of methamphetamine, five pounds of cocaine and approximately 26 pounds of heroin and 17 pounds of fentanyl in the five-day operation. The drugs were strapped to smugglers bodies and hidden in various areas of the vehicles such as the gas tank, trunk, seats and quarter panels, according to the CBP.

In total, 39 people were arrested, 10 for suspected smuggling attempts, 15 for suspected human smuggling and 14 for a variety of crimes, including auto theft, the CBP reported.
Two firefighters were injured when a wrong-way driver slammed head-on into their engine on Interstate 5 near downtown San Diego Thursday morning, according to California Highway Patrol.

San Diego Fire-Rescue engine 11 was responding to a pedestrian hit-and-run crash at about 2 a.m. when a Toyota Carolla, traveling the wrong way on I-5 at State Route 94, slammed into it, CHP said.

The driver of the Toyota, only identified as a man in his 30s, was killed in the crash.

CHP said four firefighters were taken to UC San Diego Medical Center and evaluated for their injuries. SDFD spokesperson Monica Munoz said, while two of their crew members suffered minor injuries, none required hospitalization.

The crew would return to duty for their next shift, Munoz said.

At the scene, the Toyota was crumpled from impact and debris was strewn across the freeway from the grisly crash.

Southbound I-5 was shut down as CHP officers investigated the crash. Lanes were reopened before 5:30 a.m.

CHP said the man may have been stopped in traffic due to the pedestrian crash on I-5 at Imperial Avenue and decided to turn around and drive the opposite direction on the I-5.

CHP Sgt. Brent Lowrey said a wrong-way crash is one of the worst types of accidents they see on freeways. He cautioned drivers to always heed emergency personnel warnings and signals even if it means having to wait.

"Dont be impatient. If theres an emergency in front of you and the freeway is shut down, its shut down for good reason," Lowrey said. "Ultimately, slow down, stop if you have to. If the roads blocked, the roads blocked. Just sit and wait."

No other information was available.

Please refresh this page for updates on this story. Details may change as more information becomes available.
Weeks after NBC 7 Investigates found massage parlors offering sex services for sale online, the District Attorney and a city councilmember are calling for immediate action.

NBC7 Investigates found a website called Rubmaps that offers subscribers a detailed review of sex services for sale at local massage parlors. Of the more than 300 parlors listed on the website in the San Diego County region, our team found 173 locations offering some form of sex to potential clients.

To read our original investigation, click here or watch below.

NBC 7 Investigates' Mari Payton details an investigation into massage parlors across San Diego offering lewd services.

San Diego County District Attorney Summer Stephan and San Diego City Councilmember Chris Cate have said our investigation clearly demonstrates the need for immediate action.

The story tells the truth about what we are seeing, right there, Stephan said.

Both politicians are proposing different approaches to tackling the problem. Stephan has proposed increased support for a task force charged with investigating parlors offering illegal services, Cate has proposed new security checks when approving a parlors business license.

They are everywhere, you see them everywhere, Stephan said. The harder issue is how you stop it.

Stephan confirmed the investigations findings: that many of the massage parlors in San Diego County generate big profits and involve labor and sex trafficking. Stephan is calling for a different law enforcement approach to the problem because she says these businesses operate much like organized crime.

In her experience, Stephan has found the people behind these kinds of crimes run sophisticated organizations that can be difficult to prosecute.

The DA told NBC7 investigates she has been on stake-outs observing the action outside of massage parlors that are suspected of prostitution and sex trafficking.

Its very very clear what's happening, you see the men going in, you see the time it takes, you just see what's going on.

While no official study has taken place, Stephan suspects the federal governments passage of the Stop Enabling Sex Traffickers Act, and the shutdown of the controversial website BackPage.com may have led to a rise in clients using RubMaps. Backpage was accused of knowingly allowing users to post ads related to prostitution and human trafficking.

The District Attorney says these parlors react quickly whenever they suspect law enforcement is watching them closely.

We've had situations, we have come very close and the next day, the women are gone, they're on a plane, wherever, Stephan said.

This is just one of the signs that Stephan said demonstrates a similarity to organized crime.

Other tell-tale signs Stephan said include multiple parlors operated by one organization and the organizations use of force and fear to coerce parlor workers to stay in line. The system is also designed to recruit and move workers from overseas to the United States, specifically to work in parlor locations.

For years, the San Diego Police Departments Vice Unit has responded to reported prostitution activities by wearing a wire and going into the parlors to see if a worker offers sex for sale. The officers would arrest the woman but the organizers insulate themselves from the women involved and often go untouched by any criminal investigation.

The DA says these undercover efforts are not effective anymore, as customers who come into the parlors are often checked for recording devices.

We have to think of it in a new way, Stephan said, adding that the workers are often victims, and the real target should be the business operators.

Stephan said federal, state and local law enforcement agencies need to team-up, in order to follow the money and identify the operators behind these businesses. To start the process, she told NBC7 investigates her office has added another investigator to the countys Human Trafficking Task Force with a specific focus on massage parlors.

Other cities, like San Jose, have begun a similar process and agencies in the community are focused on cleaning up the problem. A recent story in the Mercury News details a massive crackdown on illicit massage parlors.

Councilman Chris Cate, who is chairman of the Public Safety and Livable Neighborhoods Committee, agrees with the District Attorneys approach. To add to it, he thinks the problem could be addressed in the approval process for parlors looking to do business in San Diego.

Cate wants to change the current permit process for massage parlors by implementing a new system that would have SDPD closely monitoring each business activities.

It is really imperative for us, the DA and others to look at mechanisms to reduce this activity, Cate said.

Currently, a voluntary certification for workers, issued by the state of California, is required when parlors open their business. Owners can claim the workers are certified by signing a statement.

Its a big loophole, Cate said, adding that he would like to see the permitting process go through the police department.

Complaints or police actions can lead to parlors business permit being revoked and a formal investigation by the police.

Cate says his office has seen parlors open and close quickly under different names and ownership groups. So under his proposed system, if a permit is revoked, a new shop owner would not be able to go into the same location under a different name for a two-year period.

This new permitting process proposal will be presented before the citys Public Safety Committee for consideration in the near future.
Photo: The Canadian Press Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, right to left, participates in a signing ceremony for the new North American Free Trade Agreement with President of the United States Donald Trump and President of Mexico Enrique Pena Nieto in Buenos Aires, Argentina on Friday, Nov. 30, 2018.

After much anticipation, Canada signed the revamped NAFTA in Buenos Aires on the sidelines of the high-profile G20 summit Friday.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau joined U.S. President Donald Trump and outgoing Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto at a hotel to formally sign the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement.

"The new agreement lifts the risk of serious economic uncertainty that lingers throughout the trade renegotiation process  uncertainty that would have only gotten worse and more damaging had we not reached a new NAFTA," Trudeau said.

"There is much more work to do in lowering trade barriers and in fostering growth that benefits everyone, but reaching a new free trade agreement with the United States and Mexico is a major step for our economy."

Trump, standing in between his Canadian and Mexican counterparts, said the new deal was a model agreement that would stop auto jobs from going overseas, protect intellectual property rights and provide robust protections for digital trade and financial services.

U.S. tariffs on steel and aluminum remain in place, but a Canadian official said an advantage to signing onto the agreement now is an auto side letter exempting Canada of potential tariffs on exports of up to 2.6 million vehicles  well above current levels.

Friday marked an important deadline for the trade pact.

A new Mexican president takes over Saturday, who might not honour the tentative deal struck by his predecessor.

The signing of the trade agreement is largely ceremonial, because it will still need to be ratified by all three countries before it can formally take effect.

U.S. lawmakers have already indicated they don't expect to tackle the USMCA until after the new Congress is sworn in early next year.

The deal  32 chapters, 11 annexes and 12 side letters  sets new rules for the auto sector, including a higher threshold for North American content and rules requiring 40 per cent of car parts be made by workers paid at least $16 an hour.
Back-to-back earthquakes measuring 7.0 and 5.7 shattered highways and rocked buildings Friday in Anchorage and the surrounding area, sending people running into the streets and briefly triggering a tsunami warning for islands and coastal areas south of the city.

No tsunami arrived and there were no immediate reports of deaths or serious injuries.

The U.S. Geological Survey said the first and more powerful quake was centered about 7 miles (12 kilometers) north of Anchorage, Alaska's largest city, with a population of about 300,000. People ran from their offices or took cover under desks. The 5.7 aftershock arrived within minutes, followed by a series of smaller quakes.

"We just hung onto each other. You couldn't even stand," said Sheila Bailey, who was working at a high school cafeteria in Palmer when the quake struck. "It sounded and felt like the school was breaking apart."

A large section of an off-ramp near the Anchorage airport collapsed, marooning a car on a narrow island of pavement surrounded by deep chasms in the concrete. Several cars crashed at a major intersection in Wasilla, north of Anchorage, during the shaking.

Anchorage Police Chief Justin Doll said he had been told that parts of Glenn Highway, a scenic route that runs northeast out of the city past farms, mountains and glaciers, had "completely disappeared." Traffic in the three lanes heading out of the city was bumper-to-bumper and all but stopped Friday afternoon as emergency vehicles passed on the shoulder.

The quake broke store windows, opened cracks in a two-story building downtown, disrupted electrical service and disabled traffic lights, snarling traffic. It also threw a full-grown man out of his bathtub.

Midtown Anchorage resident Timothy Kirby, who has lived in the area since 1971, said he was asleep in bed with his bulldog when he was alarmed by strong back-to-back jolts.

"We had two big jolts and the bed started swaying like a boat on a turbulent river," Kirby told NBC Los Angeles. "It threw us out of bed, and we hit the wall."

Alaska Railroad reported "severe damage" at their Anchorage Operations Center according to a spokesperson. The center has lost power and is experiencing flooding.

The Trans Alaska oil pipeline was also shut down as a precaution. The pipeline is 800 miles long and is located east of Anchorage. It is the only pipeline that transports oil across Alaska.

Anchorage's school system canceled classes and asked parents to pick up their children while it examined buildings for gas leaks or other damage.

Fifteen-year-old Sadie Blake and other members of the Homer High School wrestling team were at an Anchorage school gymnasium waiting for a tournament to start when the bleachers started rocking "like crazy" and the lights went out. People started running down the bleachers in the dark, trying to get out.

"It was a gym full of screams," said team chaperone Ginny Grimes.

When it was over, Sadie said, there was only one thing she could do: "I started crying."

Jonathan Lettow was waiting with his 5-year-old daughter and other children for the school bus near their home in Wasilla when the quake struck. The children got on the ground while Lettow tried to keep them calm.

"It's one of those things where in your head, you think, 'OK, it's going to stop,' and you say that to yourself so many times in your head that finally you think, 'OK, maybe this isn't going to stop,'" he said.

Soon after the shaking stopped, the school bus pulled up and the children boarded, but the driver stopped at a bridge and refused to go across because of deep cracks in the road, Lettow said.

At Chugiak High School, acting principal Allison Susel said ceiling tiles came down, books and other items fell from shelves, and water line breaks caused damage.

Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin tweeted that her home was damaged: "Our family is intact  house is not. I imagine that's the case for many, many others." She posted a video of the inside of her parents' home, with broken dishes littering the kitchen floor. A large set of antlers appeared to have fallen off a wall of the living room.

President Donald Trump tweeted that the federal government "will spare no expense" helping Alaska.

The White House on Tuesday authorized FEMA to coordinate all disaster relief efforts after Gov. Bill Walker issued a disaster declaration.

He was in an elevator in a high-rise Anchorage office building and said it was a "rough ride" coming down. He described the quake as a 7.2, though it was unclear why his figure differed from that of the USGS.

Walker says it will take more than a week or two to repair roads damaged by the earthquake.

"This is much more significant than that," he told reporters at a news conference.

Walker leaves office on Monday, and he said members of Gov.-elect Mike Dunleavy's staff had been involved with the earthquake response to ensure a smooth transition.

"This isn't a time to do anything other than take care of Alaskans, and that's what we're doing," he said.

In Kenai, southwest of Anchorage, Brandon Slaton was home alone and soaking in his bathtub when the earthquake struck. Slaton, who weighs 209 pounds, said it created a powerful back-and-forth sloshing that threw him out of the tub.

His 120-pound mastiff panicked and tried to run down the stairs, but the house was swaying so much that the dog was thrown into a wall and tumbled down the stairs, Slaton said.

Slaton ran into his son's room after the shaking stopped. The boy's fish was on the floor, gasping, its tank shattered. Slaton put the fish in a bowl.

"It was anarchy," he said. "There's no pictures left on the walls, there's no power, there's no fish tank left. Everything that's not tied down is broke."

Kirby, the Anchorage resident, said the that his house "looks like somebody took it and shook it like a salt shaker. There's busted glass. Threw all the cans out of the pantry. Emptied my refrigerator. The power's out. ... But, thank God we're alive, because at a couple of moments I really thought we were going to die."

Anchorage lawyer Hank Graper was driving when the quake struck. He first thought his vehicle had a flat tire, then thought it was exploding. He realized it was an earthquake after he saw traffic poles swaying.

Graper called it the most "violent" earthquake he's experienced in his 20 years in Anchorage.

Alaska was the site of the most powerful earthquake ever recorded in the U.S. The 9.2-magnitude quake on March 27, 1964, was centered about 75 miles (120 kilometers) east of Anchorage. It and the tsunami it triggered claimed about 130 lives.

The state averages 40,000 earthquakes a year, with more large quakes than the 49 other states combined. Southern Alaska has a high risk of earthquakes because the Earth's plates slide past each other under the region.

Alaska has been hit by a number of powerful quakes over 7.0 in recent decades, including a 7.9 last January southeast of Kodiak Island. But it is rare for a quake this big to strike so close to such a heavily populated area.

David Harper was getting coffee at a store when the low rumble began and intensified into something that sounded "like the building was just going to fall apart." He ran for the exit with other patrons.

"People who were outside were actively hugging each other," he said. "You could tell that it was a bad one."

AP writers Mark Thiessen, Becky Bohrer, Gillian Flaccus and Gene Johnson contributed.
What to Know Migrant caravans have taken place regularly over the years, they've received attention this year after opposition from Trump

Many migrants rejected Mexico's offer to stay and receive shelter, medical attention, schooling and jobs, opting to continue on

On Friday, the Pentagon approved a request for additional troops at the southern border

Hundreds of Mexican federal officers carrying plastic shields blocked a Central American caravan from advancing toward the United States on Saturday, after a group of several thousand migrants turned down the chance to apply for refugee status and obtain a Mexican offer of benefits.

Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto has announced what he called the "You are at home" plan, offering shelter, medical attention, schooling and jobs to Central Americans in Chiapas and Oaxaca states if migrants apply, calling it a first step toward permanent refugee status. Authorities said more than 1,700 had already applied for refugee status.

But a standoff unfolded as federal police officers blocked the highway, saying there was an operation underway to stop the caravan. Thousands of migrants waited to advance, vowing to continue their long trek toward the U.S. border.

At a meeting brokered by Mexico's National Human Rights Commission, police said they would reopen the highway and only wanted an opportunity for federal authorities to explain the proposal to migrants who had rejected it the previous evening. Migrants countered that the middle of a highway was no place to negotiate and said they wanted to at least arrive safely to Mexico City to discuss the topic with authorities and Mexican lawmakers.

They agreed to relay information back to their respective sides and said they would reconvene.

Orbelina Orellana, a migrant from San Pedro Sula, Honduras, said she and her husband left three children behind and had decided to continue north one way or another.

"Our destiny is to get to the border," Orellana said.

She was suspicious of the government's proposal and said that some Hondurans who had applied for legal status had already been sent back. Her claims could not be verified, but migrants' representatives in the talks asked the Mexican government to provide a list of anyone who had been forced to return.

The standoff comes after one of the caravan's longest days of walking and hanging from passing trucks on a 60-mile (100 kilometer) journey to the city of Arriaga.

The bulk of the migrants were boisterous Friday evening in their refusal to accept anything less than safe passage to the U.S. border.

"Thank you!" they yelled as they voted to reject the offer in a show of hands. They then added: "No, we're heading north!"

Sitting at the edge of the edge of the town square, 58-year-old Oscar Sosa of San Pedro Sula, Honduras concurred.

"Our goal is not to remain in Mexico," Sosa said. "Our goal is to make it to the (U.S). We want passage, that's all."

Still 1,000 miles (1,600 kilometers) from the nearest U.S. border crossing at McAllen, Texas, the journey could be twice as long if the group of some 4,000 migrants heads for the Tijuana-San Diego frontier, as another caravan did earlier this year. Only about 200 in that group made it to the border.

While such migrant caravans have taken place regularly over the years, passing largely unnoticed, they have received widespread attention this year after fierce opposition from U.S. President Donald Trump.

On Friday, the Pentagon approved a request for additional troops at the southern border, likely to total several hundred, to help the U.S. Border Patrol as Trump seeks to transform concerns about immigration and the caravan into electoral gains in the Nov. 6 midterms.

Defense Secretary Jim Mattis signed off on the request for help from the Department of Homeland Security and authorized the military staff to work out details such as the size, composition and estimated cost of the deployments, according to a U.S. official who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss planning that has not yet been publicly announced.

Stoking fears about the caravan and illegal immigration to rally his Republican base, the president insinuated that gang members and "Middle Easterners" are mixed in with the group, though he later acknowledged there was no proof of that.

At a church in Arriaga that opened its grounds to women and children Friday, Ana Griselda Hernandez, 44, of Mapala, Honduras, said she and two friends traveling with children had decided to pay for a bus ride from Pijijiapan, because the 4-year-old and 5-year-old would have never covered the 60-mile distance.

"It's difficult because they walk very slowly," she said. She pointed out scabbed-over blisters on her feet, a testament to the fact they had walked or hitched rides since leaving their country.

The caravan is now trying to strike out for Tapanatepec, about 29 miles (46 kilometers) away.

Up until now, Mexico's government has allowed the migrants to make their way on foot, but has not provided them with food, shelter or bathrooms, reserving any aid for those who turn themselves in.

Police have also been ejecting paid migrant passengers off buses, enforcing an obscure road insurance regulation to make it tougher for them to travel that way.

On Friday, authorities were cracking down on smaller groups trying to catch up with the main caravan, detaining about 300 Hondurans and Guatemalans who crossed the Mexico border illegally, said an official with the national immigration authority.

Migrants, who enter Mexico illegally every day, usually ride in smugglers' trucks or buses, or walk at night to avoid detection. The fact that the group of about 300 stragglers was walking in broad daylight suggests they were adopting the tactics of the main caravan, which is large enough to be out in the open without fear of mass detention.

However, it now appears such smaller groups will be picked off by immigration authorities, keeping them from swelling the caravan's ranks.

On Friday evening, Irineo Mujica, whose organization People without Borders is supporting the caravan, accused Mexican immigration agents of harassment and urged migrants to travel closely together.

"They are terrorizing us," he said.

Associated Press writers Mark Stevenson and Peter Orsi contributed to this report.
A man whose image was captured in a dramatic photo as he was struck by a car during a white nationalist rally in Virginia has given emotional testimony at the trial of the man accused of deliberately plowing into the crowd.

Marcus Martin became tearful several times while testifying Thursday during the murder trial of James Alex Fields Jr., who is charged with killing 32-year-old Heather Heyer and injuring dozens of counterprotesters at a "Unite the Right" rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, on Aug. 12, 2017.

Martin said he heard a tire screech, then pushed his fiancee out of the way.

"The only thing I could think about was, get my wife out of the way," he said.

That's when he was hit by Fields' car. Martin suffered a broken leg and other injuries.

A photo of Martin and others being tossed into the air by the car won a Pulitzer Prize.

Heather Heyer, the young woman killed in Charlottesville Saturday, was remembered at a memorial service as an inspiration for justice.

Another woman struck that day was identified only as Lisa Q, because she wants to protect her identity to keep white supremacists from finding her. She was flipped upside down, caught on camera with her feet straight up in the air.

In the whole confusion of it, it felt like I was being swept into a tornado, she said. I had no idea that I was hit by a car at that time.

Jurors then saw photos of injuries that will mean lasting damage. Her wrist and both of her legs were broken.

Michael Webster testified he first saw the defendant driving slowly with no one around him but seconds later heard a roaring engine as the car sped past him.

"My immediate reaction was, Oh my God. He's going for the crowd," Webster testified.

During opening statements Thursday, jurors were given two sharply conflicting descriptions of Fields intent.

A prosecutor said Fields was angry and deliberately aimed his car at counterprotesters after the group clashed with white nationalists earlier.

Prosecutor Nina-Alice Antony said 21-year-old Fields had driven all night from his home in Maumee, Ohio, to attend the rally in support of white nationalists. A former teacher of Fields has said he was fascinated by Nazism and admired Adolf Hitler. Three months before the rally, Fields twice posted on Instagram an image of a crowd being struck by a car, Antony said, adding that the people in the crowd were described as protesters."

Prosecutors also presented a text message exchange between the defendant and his mother when she learned he was going to the rally. She texted, "Be careful." He replied, "We're not the ones who need to be careful."

Fields' defense argued that he was "scared to death" after witnessing violent street brawling between the two sides.

Defense attorney John Hill told jurors they will hear testimony from a police officer who pulled Fields over after the crash. "You'll hear James tell the officer that he feared for his safety, that he was scared to death," he said.

The defense also said Fields told police he saw a man with a gun.

Fields also expressed remorse about the people who were hurt, Hill said.

Jury selection was completed Thursday morning.

A jury of 12 regular jurors and four alternates is hearing the case.
A man police say fled a traffic stop, led officers on a high-speed chase, crashed, and then carjacked another vehicle at gunpoint earlier this week has been held without bail.

Donald Foy, 28, of Spencer, was arrested around 8 p.m. Thursday after he was wanted earlier that same morning. Foy, who police considered a "violent fugitive," allegedly led police on a pursuit from Webster to Worcester before he allegedly carjacked a vehicle at gunpoint and escaped officers.

Massachusetts State Police set up surveillance outside a Worcester home on Hudson Street later that evening after they learned Foy may be there. Troopers observed someone fitting Foys description exit the home and enter a Dodge vehicle with North Carolina license plates. Officials were aware Foy had ties to the state and began to follow the car.

During the encounter, Foy allegedly rammed into a state police cruiser and fled the area, initiating another pursuit. The suspect turned into the Worcester Auto Center where he left the vehicle on foot and ran toward the roof of the business with authorities in pursuit. He was later arrested.

Not guilty pleas to numerous charges including armed carjacking and assault with a dangerous weapon were entered on Foy's behalf at his arraignment on Friday.

His attorney said there are identification issues in the case.
Providence residents continue to push for a convicted child rapist to move out of their neighborhood.

Providence Public Safety Commissioner Steven Pare told residents Wednesday night at an emergency neighborhood association meeting that police were ensuring their safety.

Neighbors have protested Richard Gardner for weeks, trying to force him to move.

Gardner was convicted of multiple child rapes in the 1980s and 1990s in Rhode Island and Massachusetts. He served decades in prison and was released last month.

Gardner's wife, Patricia, has said they're staying put and that she's "1,000 percent'' certain he will not re-offend.

The American Civil Liberties Union has argued that Gardner is allowed to live in Providence and that loud protests violate a city ordinance.
Elementary school students in Rowley, Massachusetts were evacuated Friday after a blaze broke out on the structure's roof.

Crews responded to a fire at Pine Grove Elementary School on 191 Main Street. NBC10 Boston's Sky Ranger helicopter was over the scene, where multiple firefighters could be seen inspecting the roof.

The cause of the blaze is under investigation. No injuries were immediately reported.
A Massachusetts man has been arrested for sending four threatening packages containing white powder to federal agencies, one of which contained a handwritten note saying "Death to Trump."

Kevin A. Johnson, 47, of Southwick, is charged with two counts of conveying false information and hoaxes and two counts of mailing threatening communications, according to U.S. Attorney Andrew Lelling.

Authorities said Johnson was detained following an initial appearance Friday in federal court in Springfield.

According to court documents, the FBIs Springfield Office and the Springfield Social Security Administration Office collectively received three packages containing between July and November 2018 either threatening communications and/or suspicious substances.

At the Springfield Branch Office of the United States Attorneys Office, a letter was received from an individual claiming responsibility for sending the packages.

Authorities said each package contained a piece of white-lined paper with a hand-drawn logo that appeared to combine the "anarchist A" symbol and the symbol for ISIS. Two of the packages contained suspicious white powder.

Court documents stated that on July 23, an individual was captured by security cameras at the FBI Springfield Office throwing a manila envelope at the front door. That package contained a handwritten note saying, "Death to TRUMP."

Authorities said the Springfield Social Security Administration Office received a package on Oct. 23 containing white powder and a handwritten letter stating, "FOR ALLAH YOU DIE, ATHENA KNOWS YOUR LIES, DEATH TO YOU TRAITORS, AND THE FU----- FBI."

On Oct. 24, the FBI Springfield Office also received a package addressed to "AGENT UNCLE HAM." That package contained white powder and a handwritten note stating: "FOR ALLAH YOU DIE, ATHENA KNOWS YOUR LIES, DEATH TO THE N.O.R.A.D SPIES, AND THE FBI."

In a package sent to the Springfield Branch Office of the U.S. Attorneys Office for the District of Massachusetts on Nov. 13, authorities said the package included a handwritten letter and two newspaper articles. One of the articles was about the death of James "Whitey" Bulger with the phrase "5 finger Freddy" written in pen next to the name "Freddy Geas".

Authorities said laboratory testing of all the white powder in the packages did not contain hazardous material.

It's unclear when Johnson is due back in court or if he has an attorney.
A Massachusetts man is facing a number of charges after police say a skimming device and credit card were found in his vehicle during a traffic stop in North Reading.

Nicholas Jewett, 27, of Woburn was scheduled to be arraigned Friday afternoon in Woburn District Court on charges of possession of a credit card reader (skimming device) and operating with a suspended license.

Police said Jewett was taken into custody earlier in the day on Route 28 for a traffic violation. Authorities said when he was stopped, officers realized his vehicle registration had been queried dozens of times Thursday night by multiple law enforcement agencies in connection to the alleged involvement of a BB gun assault on Interstate-93 in Woburn.

While conducting an investigation of Jewett's vehicle, police said officers located a silver and black BB gun, dozens of credit cards, a credit card reader and fraudulent driver's licenses.

Authorities said the BB gun assault remains under investigation and additional charges could be forthcoming.

It's unclear if Jewett has an attorney.
Photo: Rodney Shupe

TransLink is investigating video that shows a Vancouver bus driver reading a newspaper in traffic.

Georgia Street traffic was at a near standstill Thursday when a pedestrian recorded the incident.

"There was a gap in front of him, and he put it down and drove up a little bit and started reading his newspaper again," Rodney Shupe told CTV News. "To me, it seemed a bit odd that you'd have somebody who's a professional bus driver with passengers on board that would decide to basically take the time to read a newspaper while he was stuck in traffic."

TransLink spokesperson Chris Bryan says the gridlock delayed some buses by more than an hour.

"It's important for us to take a closer look at it, and if distracted driving was involved, then definitely we'll be following up with this operator," he told CTV.

The incident could result in a $368 fine, and, according to the Ministry of Transportation, a further $175 ICBC penalty point premium.

Police say no one is exempt from the law.

"Personally, as a traffic enforcement officer, I would have taken action on that individual, if possible," said Cpl. Mike Halskov of the RCMP Traffic Services.

"Even though you're stopped in traffic, you're still considered to be driving."

 with files from CTV Vancouver
A second Republican senator, Tim Scott of South Carolina, has said he will vote against President Donald Trump's nominee to serve as a district judge in North Carolina, likely dooming the prospects of Thomas Farr filling the nation's longest court vacancy.

Civil rights groups such as the NAACP have heavily criticized Farr for his work defending state laws found to have discriminated against African-Americans. Farr is nominated to serve as a district court judge in North Carolina.

Scott announced Thursday that he would not vote for Farr, joining Sen. Jeff Flake of Arizona and 49 Democratic lawmakers in opposing the nominee.

Farr once served as a lawyer for the re-election campaign of Republican Sen. Jesse Helms in 1990. The Justice Department alleged that about 120,000 postcards sent mostly to black voters before that election was intended to intimidate them from voting.

The postcards targeting black voters said they could be prosecuted and imprisoned for up to five years if they tried to vote in a precinct in which they had lived for fewer than 30 days.

Farr told the Senate Judiciary Committee he was not consulted about the postcards and did not have any role in drafting or sending them. He said that after he had been asked to review the card, "I was appalled to read the incorrect language printed on the card and to then discover it had been sent to African Americans."

A 1991 Justice Department memo, first reported by The Washington Post, raised questions about Farr's claim that he was never consulted about the postcards. The memo said Farr had met with key campaign officials and had advised them "that a postcard mailing like the mailing conducted in 1984 would not be particularly useful" except as evidence in post-election challenges.

The 1984 mailing contained an endorsement of Helms from a black minister and included an address correction request so the card would be returned if undelivered, setting up a potential avenue to challenge the legitimacy of a voter.

Scott, who is African-American, cited the memo as to why he would vote against Farr.

"This week, a Department of Justice memo written under President George H.W. Bush came to light that shed new light on Mr. Farr's activities," Scott said. "This, in turn, creates more concerns. Weighing these important factors, this afternoon I concluded that I could not support Mr. Farr's nomination."

Scott has supported the overwhelming majority of Trump's judicial nominees, but in July, the nomination of Ryan Bounds to serve on the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals was withdrawn after Scott said he "had unanswered questions that led to me being unable to support him."

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer had repeatedly criticized Republicans in recent days for moving forward with the Farr vote. He said Scott "has done a courageous thing."

"Thomas Farr has been involved in the sordid practice of voter suppression for decades and never should have been nominated, let alone confirmed to the bench. Thankfully, he won't be," Schumer said.

Earlier Thursday, senators had agreed to postpone the vote on Farr until next week. That decision came less than 24 hours after Republicans needed Vice President Mike Pence to cast a tie-breaking vote Wednesday to move Farr's nomination forward for a final vote.

The history of the judicial opening has contributed to the acrimony. President Barack Obama nominated two African-American women to serve on the court, but neither got a hearing.

Republican Sens. Thom Tillis and Richard Burr of North Carolina both supported Farr's nomination. Tillis said earlier in the week he believed that Farr was being treated unfairly.

Scott is the lone black Republican in the Senate. The NAACP and the Congressional Black Caucus had been highly critical of Farr for his work defending stay laws they said suppressed the black vote.

GOP leaders in charge of the North Carolina Legislature hired Farr and others at his firm to defend congressional and legislative boundaries that the legislature approved in 2011. A federal court eventually struck some boundaries down as racial gerrymanders and the Supreme Court affirmed that decision.

Farr also helped defend a 2013 law that required photo identification to vote, reduced the number of early voting days and eliminated same-day registration during that period.

North Carolina Republicans said that requiring voter ID would increase the integrity of elections. But the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the state provided no evidence of the kind of in-person voter fraud the ID mandate would address. The Richmond, Virginia-based court said the law targeted black voters "with almost surgical precision."

Farr told lawmakers that, as an advocate, he vehemently disagreed with the argument that the state's legislature sought to curtail the voting rights of people of color or any other voter. But, said, "I am obligated to follow the decision by the 4th Circuit and pledge that I will do so."

North Carolina Republican Party Chairman Robin Hayes said Farr is "fundamentally an honest, decent and honorable man, who did nothing to deserve the assault on his character. We will continue to work to see him confirmed."
Opinion column





How should we cope with Brexit uncertainty?

Britains intended withdrawal from the EU has dominated recent news bulletins, but Mark Fairweather Tall explains how we can cope with all the uncertainties that spring up in our lives.

June 23, 2016 has gone down in history as the day the referendum was held, and the UK voted to leave the European Union. Following the trigger of Article 50, March 29, 2019 will be the day the UK leaves the EU probably or maybe even possibly! Negotiations have been far from easy and this has led to a high level of uncertainty.



Last weekend the negotiated deal was ratified by European leaders with the message, This is the best deal possible. However, the next stage, bringing the deal before Parliament, looks to be the most challenging yet! Amidst all the disagreements there appears to be one area of common consensus; the deal as it stands is unlikely to gain the support of enough MPs: Labour, the Liberal Democrats, the SNP and the DUP are against it; committed Brexiteers and Remainers are dismissive of it. Of course, as Harold Wilson famously said, A week is a long time in politics and so everything might change.



But what if it doesnt? What if the deal is voted down? Then we will be in for a further period of even greater uncertainty. Will Teresa May survive as Prime Minister? Will there be a vote of no confidence in the Conservative government precipitating a general election? Will the timing of the EU exit be postponed? Will we have a second referendum? Is there time to negotiate a new deal or will we crash out without a deal? Articles have been written warning us that leaving with no deal could lead to a shortage of clean drinking water, medical supplies and fast-emptying supermarket shelves; Cheese will be scarce and Mars Bars extinct! Is there any positive way through all of this?



For now, we do not know for sure what will happen but it is clear that we live in uncertain times. This lack of certainty can be most unsettling as we look to what the future might hold. Uncertainty and a lack of peace in looking to the future is something that can hit us not only on a national scale but also through other things that impact our individual lives: Our employment may not be secure; our health may give us great cause for concern; our finances insufficient for the bills we receive. All these things and more can lead to a lack of peace as we face the future and ask is there any positive way through this?



Perhaps it isnt surprising, therefore, that one of the most underlined and shared verses of Scripture on Bible Apps is Philippians 4:6-7: Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God which transcends all understanding will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. When we face uncertainty and are worried about what the future might hold, we want to seek peace amongst feelings of worry and helplessness.



As we look at the context of these verses, we discover that Paul is living in uncertain times  he is in prison, in chains, and this imprisonment carries a strong possibility that it will end in death. That sounds like a recipe for anxiety, frustration and depression rather than peace in looking to the future. However, a couple of verses earlier Paul writes, Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: rejoice. In the midst of uncertain times that threaten his future Paul says that we can rejoice and that it is possible to discover peace.



This sounds counter-intuitive. How does he get to this place, we might ask? Paul knew his identity before God was more important than his earthly circumstances. He rejoiced because the good news of salvation is that we are at peace with God because of Jesus Christ. When we are at peace with God, we know that are future is secure and certain. God is in control and one day all that is wrong with this world will be made right. I believe that is why Paul can say: I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or want. Philippians 4:12.



The world is an uncertain place, and this can cause us to look to the future and be concerned for what will be. This is only natural. But through uncertainty and through difficult times we can hold onto the saying: I dont know what the future holds, but I know who holds the future.
Its not necessarily easy to pick the coolest and wackiest tech stories of the year, especially when you have so much to choose from. Rather than trying to be all- inclusive as we have done in the past, see (here and here and here) we have tried to more exclusive. Have fun!

1. Coffee drones

Getty Images

First up is a cool story about IBM and coffee-delivering drones. Big Blue has filed a patent for a coffee-delivery drone with intricate sensors. IBM in the patent says they system works like this: A cup of coffee hangs from a small flying unmanned vehicle, and the drone flies to an area with people in it and can be flagged down by someone who desires the beverage.

The drone system isnt dumb. Rather it can collect data about your location and time of day. If it notices a trend, say you get tired at 3 p.m., it could do a fly-by-coffee at that time every day without you asking for it. Will it make it to the market? Dont bet against it.

2. Really bad airport security

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Our next story falls into the wacky category and comes from London. The story goes that a man on his way to a library found a random USB stick lying on the sidewalk. Upon booting it up he found that in contained all manner of security information about London Heathrow Airport, including security procedures for the Queen and other important travelers, the location of all closed circuit television camera at the airport, and maps of the Heathrow's tunnels and escape shafts for the Heathrow Express train station.

Englands Information Commissioners Office ended up fining Heathrow Airport Limited approximately $154,000 for failing to ensure that the personal data held on its network was properly secured. The Register reported that the ICO discovered that just 2 percent of the 6,500 workers at HAL had been trained in data protection.

The ICO also noted "widespread" use of removable storage media that flouted HAL's internal policies and guidance, and sloppy controls over preventing staff downloading personal data onto unauthorized or unencrypted media. Needless to say there have been security changes at Heathrow.

3. Fly-by attack risk

Sticking with security, there were multiple reports of potential vulnerabilities about the networks involved with supporting the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II, the next-generation joint strike fighter to the U.S. military.

Its a software-based aircraft, and any software-based platform is going to be susceptible to hacking, Brig. Gen. Stephen Jost, director of the Air Force F-35 Integration Office, told Defense News.

The problem isnt with the aircraft support networks. As Popular Mechanics puts it: Every F-35 squadron, no matter the country, has a 13-server Autonomic Logistics Information System (ATIS) that is connected to the worldwide ALIS network. Individual jets send logistical data back to their nations Central Point of Entry, which then passes it on to Lockheed's central server hub in Fort Worth, Texas. In fact, ALIS sends back so much data that some countries are worried it could give away too much information about their F-35 operations.

Another networked system is the Joint Reprogramming Enterprise, or JRE. The JRE maintains a shared library of potential adversary sensors and weapon systems that is distributed to the worldwide F-35 fleet, Popular Mechanics wrote. The services that use the F-35 are now trying to tighten the bolts around any potential vulnerabilities.

4. $12B email scam

This scam is just crazy, especially since it has been going on so long.

It's the business email compromise (BEC) scam that the FBI says has garnered over $12 billion in ill-gotten booty and netted nearly 80,000 victims between 2016 and now. The BEC scam continues to grow and evolve, targeting small, medium and large business and personal transactions.

Between December 2016 and May 2018, there was a 136 percent increase in identified global exposed losses, the FBI wrote. The scam has been reported in all 50 U.S. states and in 150 countries. Victim complaints filed with the Internet Crime Complaint Center, and financial sources indicate fraudulent transfers have been sent to 115 countries.

The FBI says the scam has evolved over the years but is frequently carried out when an attacker compromises legitimate business email accounts through social engineering or computer intrusion techniques to conduct unauthorized transfers of funds. A variation of the scam involves compromising legitimate business email accounts and requesting personally identifiable information (PII) or Wage and W-2 income tax forms for employees.

5. Quantum coolness

Microsoft

Its still a few years away but it was interesting to hear Gartner espouse the coming power of quantum computers at its Symposium/IT Expo this fall.

One of the top potential disruptive technologies in the next five years or so will be the use of quantum computing or quantum computing services to solve difficult problems and offer new applications, Gartner analysts said. The parallel execution and exponential scalability of quantum computers means they excel solving problems too complex for traditional approaches or where a traditional algorithms would take too long to find a solution.

Automotive, financial, insurance, pharmaceuticals, military and research industries have the most to gain from the advancements in quantum computing. Most organizations should learn about and monitor QC through 2022 and perhaps exploit it from 2023 or 2025, Gartner said. Gartner recommends getting ahead of the curve by leveraging QCaaS, GitHub tools and SDKs.

Meanwhile towards the end of the year Harvard announced its Harvard Quantum Initiative (HQI) which is intended to bring together a new scientific community, in concert with national efforts to accelerate progress in quantum technology. Thing are indeed heating up.

6. Mirror, mirror on the wall

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Am I pretty or am I pretty intelligent?

University of Melbourne researchers said they have built what they called a biometric mirror that uses artificial intelligence to detect and display people's personality traits and physical attractiveness based a photo of their face.

The mirror displays 14 characteristics, from gender, age and ethnicity to attractiveness, weirdness and emotional stability. The longer a person stands there, the more personal the traits become, researchers said.

"Our study aims to provoke challenging questions about the boundaries of AI. It shows users how easy it is to implement AI that discriminates in unethical or problematic ways which could have societal consequences. By encouraging debate on privacy and mass-surveillance, we hope to contribute to a better understanding of the ethics behind AI," said Dr Niels Wouters from the Centre for Social Natural User Interfaces (SocialNUI) and Science Gallery Melbourne.

7. Bluetooth commode

One rarely gets to combine the words toilet and Bluetooth or wireless, but this is 2018 after all.

Shown at CES early in the year, the Kohler Numi porcelain convenience offers personalized settings that let you fine-tune every option to your exact preferences, from ambient colored lighting to wireless Bluetooth music sync capability to the heated seat and foot warmer. Play your favorite music and podcasts  simply stream wirelessly with any device enabled with Bluetooth technology, store MP3 files to the SD card or plug in your device using the auxiliary cable."

Other upgrades include power-save mode for energy efficiency, emergency flush for power outages, and an intuitive touch-screen remote. From its striking form to its exceptional water efficiency, the Numi toilet marks a new standard of excellence in the bathroom. Enough said.

8. Artificial plus real intelligence

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When it comes to protecting network security it would be advantageous to somehow meld the expertise of human intelligence with the artificial intelligence of an advanced computer system.

Thats the notion at least behind a research project announced this year by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). DARPAs Computers and Humans Exploring Software Security (CHESS) program aims to move beyond the manual, human-driven security protection process to one that is based on advanced computer-human collaboration to fight emerging threats, DARPA says.

The basic idea is to infuse computer tools with the intelligence or as DARPA puts it, to create techniques for addressing classes of vulnerability that are currently hampered by information gaps and require human insight and/or contextually sensitive reasoning.

9. Elon Musk's broadband satellite constellation

Elon Musk has no shortage of cool, ambitious projects  from putting humans on Mars to building a hyperspeed train, among other endeavors  and recently got the green light for another grand plan: a low-cost satellite based broadband service called StarLink.

Specifically, in November he got the FCCs OK to put an additional 7,518 satellites into space to form a StarLink constellation of nearly 12,000 satellites he needs to launch into orbit over the next six years (4,425 satellites have already been authorized).

SpaceX intends the satellites to fly in low Earth orbit, about 215 miles high. SpaceX's interest in such a low orbit is to shorten the delay between the satellites and internet users on Earth and therefore speed up surfing speeds, according to a release. None of the satellites have launched yet.

10. Berners-Lee wants privacy on the Web he created

Its not every day that a start-up gets to have the inventor of the World Wide Web as its co-founder, but Inrupt debuted this fall with Sir Tim Berners-Lee as its chief technology officer. (John Bruce, previously of IBMs Resilient security firm, is the other co-founder and CEO.)

Inrupts goal is to give users the power to control their data and more importantly their own information. At the heart of Inrupt is Solid, an open-source software project that Berners-Lee has been working on.

Solid changes the current model where users have to hand over personal data to digital giants in exchange for perceived value. As weve all discovered, this hasnt been in our best interests, Berners-Lee wrote in the blog detailing his Inrupt plans. Solid is how we evolve the web in order to restore balance  by giving every one of us complete control over data, personal or not, in a revolutionary way.

The idea is that users would place all of their data from photos to phone numbers and music in a single personal online data store (POD). Berners-Lee says that from there Solid gives every user a choice about where data is stored, which specific people and groups can access select elements, and which apps you use. It allows you, your family and colleagues, to link and share data with anyone. It allows people to look at the same data with different apps at the same time.

Obviously, its going to take a lot of work  and making converts of customers of Google, Facebook and many other web-based services  to make Solid a broad success, but Berners-Lee says, "I think we have enough energy to take the world to a new tipping point."
Photo: CTV News

Victoria is eyeing larger cruise ships with a $1.9-million federal investment at the Ogden Point cruise terminal.

This is the busiest port of call in all of Canada. There are going to be 265 cruise ships that are going to make their home here at some point next year, with over 700,000 passengers," Marco Mendicino, parliamentary secretary to the Minister of Infrastructure and Communities, told CTV News.

The Greater Victoria Harbour Authority will add a further $4.9 million to the project, which will see the terminal's Pier B will be extended by 55 metres to accommodate larger vessels.

We look to have an increase of $160 million into the local economy," harbour authority Sonterra Ross told CTV.

Officials hope to complete the project by March 2019.

 with files from CTV Vancouver Island
There's still time to register for the family-fun event organised by Newbury Rotary Club

FESTIVE runners will lace up for Newbury Rotary Clubs Santa Fun Run on Sunday.

The family event, which will be held in conjunction with Newbury Business Improvement District (BID), involves runners completing a 5k race around the town to raise money for local causes.

There will be a 1k race for children aged under eight.

Registration for the event will begin at 10am, before the race starts at 11am.

The race will start in the Market Place, travelling through Northbrook Street, Parkway and Victoria Park, with the childrens route then returning to the Market Place.

Adults will continue along the route via Northcroft and Speen, before finishing in the Market Place.

All runners will receive a Santa suit, available in various sizes and styles, and those that complete the run will be presented with an engraved medal.

This is a fun run and not a timed race, which means runners can walk as much of the route as they wish.

Entry costs are 15 for adults, 10 for under 18s and 7 for under eights.

All entry fees, less nominal expenses, will be donated to Naomi House, West Berks Therapy Centre and other local charities.

Runners need to have signed up on Newbury Rotary website by Saturday lunchtime.

To register for the event, visit http://www.newburyrotary.org
University News

Achieving accreditation from the Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Management Education (CAHME) places the University in an elite group of 73 institutions in the United States. The University of New Haven is the only CAHME-accredited institution in the area encompassing New York City, Boston, and Syracuse and is one of just four such institutions in New England.

The University of New Havens graduate program in healthcare administration has become the only program in Connecticut presently accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Management Education (CAHME).

Program leaders have been pursuing this accreditation since 2014 and earned the accreditation on the first attempt. The University joins an elite group of CAHME-accredited institutions in the U.S.  including Boston University, Cornell University, Columbia University, and Johns Hopkins University, among others  that are committed to academic excellence, competency-based education, and continuous quality improvement in healthcare administration education.

Summer McGee, Ph.D.

The University of New Haven is the only CAHME-accredited institution in the area encompassing New York City, Boston, and Syracuse and is one of just four such institutions in New England.

"Earning this accreditation is a testament to our dedicated faculty, who work tirelessly to provide quality, competency-based education for our students," said Summer McGee, Ph.D., dean of the Universitys School of Health Sciences and director of its masters in healthcare administration program.

This accreditation will also provide enhanced opportunities for current students and alumni to be eligible for national scholarships, internship programs, and post-graduate fellowship programs that are only available to students in CAHME-accredited programs.

In achieving this internationally recognized accreditation, the University is now eligible for inclusion in the U.S. News & World Report rankings of the top 70 masters degree programs in healthcare management, a ranking that includes only CAHME-accredited programs.

"Earning this accreditation is a testament to our dedicated faculty, who work tirelessly to provide quality, competency-based education for our students." Summer McGee, Ph.D.

The M.S.H.A. program, created in 1994, offers convenient and flexible course offerings for more than 140 full-time and part-time students on campus and at its corporate location at the Yale New Haven Health System. The program serves early and mid-career professionals as well as international medical graduates across the healthcare industry. The program has more than 20 full-time and part-time faculty as well as relationships with multiple hospitals and health systems throughout the region.

"When you attend the University of New Haven for your masters in healthcare administration, you are receiving the gold standard in healthcare management education," says McGee. "As the program enters its 25th year in 2019, we look forward to taking this program and our students to the next level of national recognition and student success."
Photo: Contributed

Get your sunglasses out, Corey Hart is coming to town.

Canadian musical icon, Corey Hart will be at Prospera Place Saturday, June 22 for his first major arena tour since 1986. The Never Surrender Tour, Produced by Live Nation, kicks off in St. Johns, Newfoundland on May 31 and will follow the May 3, 2019 release of Harts new record Dreaming Time Again.



Tickets for The Never Surrender Tour go on sale to the general public on Friday, December 7 at 10 a.m.

Fans can visit Corey Harts Facebook page for exclusive presale details.



Dreaming Time Again, Harts first studio collection of songs in over 20 years was produced by the legendary Bob Ezrin and will feature the title track and first official single which will be available January 14, 2019.


RIDGEFIELD  A truck crash on Route 7 caused several hours of delays Friday afternoon.

A large flatbed truck carrying heavy equipment tipped onto its side at about 12:50 p.m. near the Days Inn on Route 7, blocking both lanes of traffic and striking at least one other vehicle. By 6 p.m., the area was completely reopened to traffic.

One person was treated for a head injury and two were evaluated but declined transport to the hospital, according to Ridgefield Police.

The Ridgefield Fire Department had called for ambulance help from Danbury  but then canceled the request.

The initial crash occurred after the truck apparently left the roadway while traveling northbound, its back end skidding into a ditch before tipping the entire truck over. The cab of the truck and the small excavator on its flatbed were heavily damaged by the crash.

Soon after, Florida Road was also closed  possibly as the result of a truck trying to circumvent the accident  eliminating the easiest route around the bottleneck.

Crews redirected traffic around both closures for the entire afternoon, causing lengthy delays for travelers while they attempted to flip the truck back upright. Delays continued into the Friday evening commute. At peak rush hour, one lane of alternating traffic was open in the crash zone.

Both roads opened to alternating one-way traffic just before the busy Friday evening commute.
DANBURY  Public school and city officials are making some minor changes to the way they communicate during their response to an active shooter after a suspected incident at Western Connecticut State University prompted lockdowns across the city last week.

No shots were fired and no one was hurt in the apparent false alarm, but the heavily armed police response and corresponding shelter-in-place notices to nearby public schools did reveal a series of issues administrators might not have considered otherwise, they said this week.

From now on, a police officer will be stationed with Superintendent Sal Pascarella during emergency situations to keep district staff in immediate contact with the police command on the scene.

Because of the timing of last weeks lockdowns  just before elementary and middle schools let out for the day  district and police officials also are coordinating plans for buses, non-staff at those schools and more precise parent notifications.

If you go to a building and your childs in that building, the board of ed, Sal, is not in charge, Pascarella said. The police are, in this case it was the state police, in charge. Weve got to communicate better and this is a better way of communicating in the future.

Overall, officials have said the emergency response to the reported active shooter at WCSUs westside campus went off without any major problems. When the WCSU campus went on lockdown, so too did the nearby Westside Middle School Academy and the Western CT Academy for International Studies located at the back of the WCSU westside campus.

Mayor Mark Boughton and Danbury Police Chief Patrick Ridenhour coordinated from the scene by cell phone with Pascarella, who was overseeing the districts response from their administrative offices across town. But that meant they were playing phone tag as updates unfolded, instead of staying in constant contact.

They have agreed that, should another similar situation occur, an officer will deploy to Pascarellas office so that he is in direct radio contact with the chief, mayor and other police officials on the scene  such as state police or the FBI, who responded last week.

God forbid we do it in the future, theres a different communication protocol so that were all getting informed, Pascarella told members of the school board. The way it was, we were all getting informed at different times.

The specific timing of the lockdowns also highlighted the need for a backup plan for what to do should students already be on buses dismissing when a situation occurs, district officials said.

Bus company, district and police leaders are planning for certain safe staging areas where buses with children could go instead of the school itself. The district could then push robocalls to parents relaying where specific buses would be so they could link up with their children, Director of Pupil Personnel Services Kelly Truchsess said.

The district also plans to apply for up to $800,000 in state grant funding next month for security upgrades to as many as 17 of its school buildings, from secure vestibules to camera upgrades, district Finance Director Joe Martino said.

All things considered, AIS staff did a phenomenal job during the WCSU incident last week, said Tricia Robinson, a parent and president of the schools parent-teacher organization.

I never imagined that twice in year Id have to have my kids in lock down and it is the scariest thing as a parent to have to even consider, Robinson said. Im so thankful that the staff and leadership of our school made every parent and every child feel as safe as they could in a really horrible situation.

zach.murdock@hearstmediact.com
Photo: The Canadian Press

After fleeing a wildfire that came dangerously close to his Northern California home earlier this month, Dale Word evacuated again when flash floods inundated roads and trapped motorists and residents.

Swift water teams used boats to make rescues at three homes and officials told people in about 100 vehicles to stay in place. The rain receded late Thursday afternoon, leaving a mess of sticky mud and debris. Downed trees and power poles littered the landscape.

Word, a firmware engineer, waded through thigh-high water to higher ground in his semi-rural Chico neighbourhood  stunned by the disasters that have hit Butte County. The recent fire came within several hundred feet of his home.

"Everywhere you go, you're talking to people who have lost everything, and it's just tragic," Word said. He jokingly added, "It feels like the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse are going to come riding over the hill any day."

Thursday's storm brought 1 1/2 inches of rain in an hour, said the National Weather Service.

The sheriff's department ordered evacuations but could not say how many people were affected. The water rescues were in Chico, where many of the fire evacuees from Paradise are staying.

Paradise has been under mandatory evacuation orders for nearly three weeks since the firestorm killed at least 88 people and destroyed nearly 14,000 homes.

Residents could begin returning early next week, but only if the wet weather doesn't hinder efforts to clear roads and restore power, Sheriff Kory Honea said Wednesday.

In Southern California, authorities ordered evacuations in a small Malibu community within a wildfire burn zone where a mudslide blocked streets amid the heavy rains. No major damage was reported by the time flood warnings and watches expired.

The storm knocked out power and flooded roadways across greater Los Angeles. Numerous traffic accidents occurred on slick freeways and most vehicles travelling in the mountains were ordered to put chains on their tires. Mud and rock slides also closed two mountain highways.

Residents were urged to voluntarily evacuate a string of neighbourhoods southeast of Los Angeles along a flank of the Santa Ana Mountains where a fire burned thousands of acres last summer. Mandatory evacuations were ordered for parts of the city of Lake Elsinore beneath charred hillsides where there were heavy debris flows but no significant damage.
New research suggests that curcumin, a main ingredient in curry, may improve exercise intolerance related to heart failure. The study is published ahead of print in the Journal of Applied Physiology.

Curcumin, a chemical that comes from the turmeric plant, has been used as a traditional Asian medicine for centuries, primarily to treat gastrointestinal ailments and skin wounds. Studies increasingly suggest that the compound may prevent or limit muscle wasting associated with a number of health conditions, including heart failure.

Heart failure affects more than 6 million people living in the U.S. People with heart failure have a reduced function of the left ventricle--the chamber of the heart that pumps blood out to the rest of the body--called reduced ejection fraction. A decreased ability to exercise (exercise intolerance) is another significant characteristic of heart failure. Previous research has found that higher than normal levels of oxidative stress--an imbalance of two different kinds of molecules that can result in cell damage--contribute to exercise intolerance in people with heart failure. Heart failure is also associated with lower than normal expression of antioxidant enzymes in the muscles, but the reason for this is unclear. Antioxidant enzymes both prevent and repair damage from oxidative stress. Boosting enzyme levels may improve exercise performance in people in heart failure.

Researchers from the University of Nebraska Medical Center theorized that a reduction in the normal signaling of Nrf2, a protein that regulates the expression of antioxidant enzymes, may play a role in the impaired expression of antioxidant enzymes. They examined the effects of curcumin, which is known to promote activation of Nrf2, on a mouse model of heart failure with reduced ejection fraction. One group of mice with heart failure received daily doses of curcumin for 12 weeks, and another group did not receive treatment. The heart failure groups were compared to a control group of healthy mice that received curcumin and an untreated control group.

The research team measured the exercise capacity of all the mice before and after curcumin treatment. The researchers also examined muscle fiber samples to assess enzyme expression levels. They found that expression of Nrf2 increased and levels of antioxidant enzymes improved in the animals with heart failure that were given curcumin. In addition, both groups that received curcumin--even the animals without heart failure--had improved exercise capacity when compared with the untreated groups, suggesting the effects of curcumin on skeletal muscle is not exclusive to heart failure.

"These data suggest that activation of Nrf2 in skeletal muscle may represent a novel therapeutic strategy to improve ... quality of life" in people with heart failure with reduced ejection fraction, the researchers wrote.
Photo: The Canadian Press

Ontario's police watchdog says a Niagara regional police officer injured during an altercation with a fellow officer on Thursday was shot multiple times.

The Special Investigations Unit is probing the shooting incident that took place around noon in Pelham, Ont.

In a news release today, the agency says the two officers were investigating a collision that had happened days earlier when they got involved in an argument.

The agency says one of the officers shot his firearm multiple times, badly injuring the other officer.

It says 12 other officers witnessed the incident, which is now also being investigated by the provincial police.

The injured officer  a 52-year-old man with 28 years on the force  was taken to hospital in critical condition, and has since stabilized.
Researchers from the Leibniz-Forschungsinstitut fur Molekulare Pharmakologie (FMP) have found a new method for obtaining high-quality images in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), that requires less contrast medium compared to current methods. It is made possible by using an "elastic" protein structure that can absorb dissolved xenon in a self-regulating way: The greater the amount of this noble gas, the higher the quality of the image, without the need to adjust the amount of contrast medium applied.

Nowadays, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is an indispensable method for diagnosing diseases and monitoring the course of treatment. It creates sectional images of the human body without the use of any harmful radiation. Typically, the water molecules in the tissue are exposed to a strong magnetic field. However, MRI is very insensitive and needs a high concentration of molecules in order to absorb a usable signal. Contrast media are often used to improve diagnostics in order to detect specific changes such as tumors more clearly. However, even with these contrast media, the sensitivity of MRI cannot be significantly increased, and many markers that are known from cell biology cannot be detected during imaging. Besides this, the safety of certain contrast media containing the element gadolinium is currently the subject of increasing discussion. "We need new, improved methods in which as little contrast medium as possible influences as much of the signal-transmitting substance as possible, which is typically water," says FMP researcher Dr. Leif Schroder. He and his team have now achieved an important breakthrough.

The researchers have been working for some time in developing contrast media based on xenon, a harmless noble gas. The group employs a process with powerful lasers in which the xenon is artificially magnetized and then - even in small quantities - generates measurable signals. To detect specific cellular disease markers, the xenon has to be bound to them for a short time. In a cooperation with scientists from the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) funded by the Human Frontiers Science Program (HFSP), Dr. Leif Schroder and his team have now looked into a new class of contrast media that binds the xenon reversibly. These are hollow protein structures produced by certain bacteria in order to regulate the depth at which they float in water, similar to a miniaturized swim bladder in fish but on a nanometer scale. The research group led by cooperation partner Mikhail Shapiro at Caltech introduced these so-called "gas vesicles" some time ago as MR contrast media. However, it was not yet known how well they could be "charged" with xenon.

In the study, which has been published in the "ACS Nano" journal, both groups now describe how these vesicles form an ideal contrast medium: They can "elastically" adjust their influence on the measured xenon. "The protein structures have a porous wall structure through which the xenon can flow in and out. Unlike conventional contrast media, the gas vesicles always absorb a fixed portion of the xenon that is provided by the environment, in other words also larger amounts if more Xe is provided," Dr. Leif Schroder reports. This characteristic can be employed in MRI diagnostics, because more xenon must be used in order to obtain better images. The concentration of a conventional contrast medium would also need to be adjusted in order to achieve a change in signal for all the xenon atoms. The gas vesicles, on the other hand, automatically fill up with more xenon when this is offered by the environment. "They act like a kind of balloon, to which an external pump is attached. If the balloon is 'inflated' by xenon atoms flowing into the gas vesicle, its size does not change, but the pressure does increase - similar to a bicycle tire tube," explains Dr. Leif Schroder. Because much more xenon passes into the vesicles than with conventional contrast media, the xenon atoms can then be read out much better after they have left the vesicle again and show a changed signal. This way, the image contrast is many times higher than the background noise while the quality of the image is significantly improved. These contrast media can thus also be used to identify disease markers that occur in relatively low concentrations. During the further course of the cooperation, the two groups intend to test these contrast media in initial animal studies. The newly discovered behavior will be a decisive advantage in order to use these very sensitive contrast media in living tissue as well. Dr. Leif Schroder and his team were able to make the first MRI images with particle concentrations one million times lower than those of the contrast media currently employed.
From January 1, 2019, the German Research Foundation (DFG) will be funding the new Collaborative Research Center (CRC) 1361 on Regulation of DNA Repair & Genome Stability. Professor Helle Ulrich of Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU) will assume the role of spokesperson of the group, which will also include the Institute of Molecular Biology gGmbH (IMB) in Mainz, Technische Universitat Darmstadt, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universitat Munchen, and Goethe University Frankfurt. This interdisciplinary alliance will bring together experts in structural biology, organic chemistry, biochemistry, cell and molecular biology as well as genetic toxicology. Initially, the CRC will receive about EUR 10 million over the first four-year funding period. Through its research, it will seek to extend our knowledge of how various DNA repair systems ensure the stability of the genome and the information it contains.

On average, the genetic information of every cell in our body is damaged approximately 10,000 times a day, and each of these injuries can, in principle, lead to a modification (mutation) that results in the development of cancer or in premature aging. To prevent this and also to cope with the huge amount of damage, cells can call on an array of repair mechanisms that protect our genes. It is these mechanisms that the newly-funded CRC will be aiming to unravel: how they are regulated and how they interact to repair damage.

DNA damage can be caused by exposure to environmental factors such as radiation and particular chemicals. However, it can also be the result of normal cellular metabolism, which continually produces reactive molecules that can be harmful to our DNA. Such damage can prevent genetic information from being stored, copied, and read. However, cells have a wide range of mechanisms that can protect and repair their DNA.

A cell's fate is largely determined by the interaction of these mechanisms that regulate the balance between cell death and cell survival, and also between error-free damage repair and development of a mutation. DNA repair can, therefore, both contribute to and prevent the development of cancer. It contributes both to the cytotoxic effects of cancer treatment, which kills cells, and at the same time to the unwanted ability of cancer cells to resist treatment. In the broader context, mechanisms of this kind that are supposed to maintain genome stability actually also play a role in evolution, as they in effect increase the genetic diversity on which natural selection is based. In addition, DNA repair not only protects our genes but also helps to regulate gene activity.

The aim of the new Mainz-based CRC is to determine the factors that can cause genomic instability and its biological effects, the signaling pathways that are involved in detecting DNA damage and the mechanisms used by cells to protect themselves against this damage. In addition, the CRC will investigate how the various DNA repair pathways are regulated and how the interactions between them are controlled. Such research will involve the use of state-of-the-art techniques in microscopy, proteomics, and genomics as well as the latest methods that enable recognition and quantification of DNA damage and DNA repair.

Helle Ulrich, Professor at the JGU Faculty of Biology, IMB Executive Director, and the CRC spokesperson, considers the formation of the collaborative research center to be a landmark event for both Mainz and Germany: "With its funding, the German Research Foundation is giving us the opportunity to establish a new research hub in this important biomedical field in Germany. Promotion of both innovative research projects and the structures that support them has provided Mainz with the opportunity to exploit synergies and catch up with the world's leading centers in this field."

The DFG's CRC funding line encourages long-term research partnerships lasting up to twelve years in which scientists cooperate in an interdisciplinary research program. The aim is to develop an institutional focus and structure by pursuing innovative, demanding, extensive, and long-term research projects involving the coordination and consolidation of staff and resources in the host universities.

Professor Helle Ulrich, who is the spokesperson of the CRC, is Executive Director of the Institute of Molecular Biology and a Professor in the Faculty of Biology at Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz.

Source: http://www.uni-mainz.de/eng/
A 'rule book' to guide precision combination immunotherapies and to speed up the development of new lung cancer treatments will be created as part of a collaboration between Cancer Research UK, the Francis Crick Institute and Bristol-Myers Squibb, announced today (Friday).

The new 2.4 million research project called RUBICON - a rule book and immune atlas for combination therapy - will map out the immunology of lung cancer in detail.

The study will be led by Cancer Research UK's chief clinician and Francis Crick Institute group leader, Professor Charles Swanton. He said: "Biological therapies, including immunotherapies are set to transform the way we treat patients and the RUBICON study will bring us a step closer to this vision.

"When we see patients with hard-to-treat cancers like lung, we struggle to keep up with the speed at which tumours evolve, become aggressive and resistant to treatment. Our research so far has uncovered many of cancer's evolutionary secrets, opening opportunities for us to develop new and targeted biological therapies, and understand how they can be combined to maximum effect.

"By learning more about immune suppressive cell types - the molecules they express and how stable they are during disease evolution - we hope researchers can start to develop molecularly targeted immunotherapy combination strategies."

The innovative project builds on Cancer Research UK's strategic investment in lung cancer, enhancing our understanding of cancer evolution through tumour samples and data prospectively gathered and analysed as part of the TRACERx* and PEACE** studies, led by Professor Swanton and his team at the Cancer Research UK-Lung Cancer Centre of Excellence at UCL.

Multidisciplinary researchers at the Francis Crick Institute will use state of the art technologies, including deep learning and artificial intelligence tools, to analyse tumour samples and data from TRACERx and PEACE. This will allow them to map an atlas of immune cell activity across distinct tumour regions, and to understand how the incredibly complex tumour immune microenvironment evolves and develops over time.

Veronique Birault, head of translation at the Francis Crick Institute, said: "This project is a fantastic example of the industry and charity sectors working together to support world-class discovery science for the benefit of patients. The project wouldn't be possible without Cancer Research UK's significant investment in research, amplified by the complementary expertise of three different cancer labs collaborating at the Crick. This new funding will allow our scientists to map out the immune landscape around lung tumours to develop better combination therapies for patients."

Dr Iain Foulkes, Cancer Research UK's executive director of research and innovation, said: "We're pleased to bring together these partners of industry and academia to advance this ambitious study. As we delve ever deeper into the tumour microenvironment, we can equip ourselves with the necessary knowledge to take the next steps toward truly personalised cancer treatments.

"Lung cancer is a disease for which there has been very little improvement in patient survival over the last 40 years. We look forward to seeing how new treatment combinations that arise from this study could make a real difference for these patients."

Bristol-Myers Squibb will provide 2.4 million in funding for the RUBICON project.

"Bristol-Myers Squibb is proud to be part of this innovative research initiative. We look for first-class science everywhere and we know that continued progress in cancer can only happen through strong collaboration with scientists, academic researchers, clinicians and patients who participated in clinical trials," said Tom Lynch, M.D., Executive Vice President and Chief Scientific Officer, Bristol-Myers Squibb.

"The UK has a strong heritage in cutting edge research and, through this RUBICON project, we believe further progress will be made for lung cancer patients across the world."
IIASA researchers have contributed to a major new report in The Lancet medical journal looking at the effects of climate change on human health, and the implications for society.

The 2018 Report of the research coalition The Lancet Countdown: Tracking Progress on Health and Climate Change shows that rising temperatures as a result of climate change are already exposing us to an unacceptably high health risk and warns, for the first time, that older people in Europe and the East Mediterranean are particularly vulnerable to extremes of heat, markedly higher than in Africa and SE Asia. The risk in Europe and the Eastern Mediterranean stems from aging populations living in cities, with 42% and 43% of over-65s respectively vulnerable to heat. In Africa, 38% are thought to be vulnerable, while in Asia it is 34%.

The report also states that ambient air pollution resulted in several million premature deaths from ambient fine particulate matter globally in 2015, a conclusion from IIASA researchers confirming earlier assessments. Since air pollution and greenhouse gases often share common sources, mitigating climate change constitutes a major opportunity for direct human health benefits.

Leading doctors, academics and policy professionals from 27 organizations have contributed analysis and jointly authored the report. Alongside IIASA, the partners behind the research include the World Bank, World Health Organization (WHO), University College London and Tsinghua University, among others.

IIASA researcher Gregor Kiesewetter led a team from the Air Pollution and Greenhouse Gases research program that estimated the dangers of air pollution to human health. A new and important finding this year was the global attribution of deaths to source. Kiesewetter and the team found that coal alone accounts for 16% of pollution-related premature deaths, around 460,000, which they state makes phasing out coal-use a "crucial no-regret intervention for public health".

Kiesewetter and the team used the GAINS Model, developed at IIASA, which calculates the emissions of precursors of particulate matter based on a detailed breakdown of economic sectors and fuels used.

Large contributions to ambient air pollution come from the residential sector, mostly from solid fuels like biomass and coal. Industry, electricity generation, transport, and agriculture are also important contributors. While coal should be a key target for early phase-out in households and electricity generation as it is highly polluting, it is not all that should be done.

"The attribution shows that unfortunately an approach targeting a single sector or fuel won't solve the problem - air pollution is a multi-faceted issue that needs integrated strategies cutting across many sectors, which will differ from country to country. This is what we typically do with the regional and local GAINS model: giving advice to policymakers on the most efficient approaches to tackle air pollution in their specific settings," says Kiesewetter.

The report contains a number of other headline findings: -

157m more vulnerable people were subjected to a heatwave in 2017 than in 2000, and 18m more than in 2016.

153bn hours of work were lost in 2017 due to extreme heat as a result of climate change. China alone lost 21bn hours, the equivalent of a year's work for 1.4% of their working population. India lost 75bn hours, equivalent to 7% of their total working population.

Heat greatly exacerbates urban air pollution, with 97% of cities in low- and middle- income countries not meeting WHO air quality guidelines.

Heat stress, an early and severe effect of climate change, is commonplace and we, and the health systems we rely on, are ill equipped to cope.

Rising temperatures and unseasonable warmth is responsible for cholera and dengue fever spreading, with vectorial capacity for their transmission increasing across many endemic areas.

The mean global temperature change to which humans are exposed is more than double the global average change, with temperatures rising 0.8C versus 0.3C.

Hugh Montgomery, co-chair of The Lancet Countdown on Health and Climate Change and director of the Institute for Human Health and Performance, University College London says: "Heat stress is hitting hard - particularly amongst the urban elderly, and those with underlying health conditions such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes or chronic kidney disease. In high temperatures, outdoor work, especially in agriculture, is hazardous. Areas from Northern England and California, to Australia are seeing savage fires with direct deaths, displacement and loss of housing as well as respiratory impacts from smoke inhalation."

The report, which looks at 41 separate indicators across a range of themes, says urgent steps are needed to protect people now from the impacts of climate change. In particular, stronger labor regulations are needed to protect workers from extremes of heat and hospitals and the health systems we rely on need to be better equipped for extreme heat so they are able to cope. But the report also stresses that there are limits to adapting to the temperature increases, and if left unabated, climate change and heat will overwhelm even the strongest of systems, so the need for reducing greenhouse gas emissions is critical.

2018 has been an even hotter year in many parts of the world and the World Weather Attribution Study for northern Europe showed this summer's heat wave was twice as likely to have happened as a result of man-made climate change. Of the 478 global cities surveyed in the report, 51% expect climate change to seriously compromise their public health infrastructure.

"The world has yet to effectively cut its emissions. The speed of climate change threatens our, and our children's lives. Following current trends we exhaust our carbon budget required to keep warming below two degrees, by 2032. The health impacts of climate change above this level above this level threaten to overwhelm our emergency and health services," says Anthony Costello, co-chair of The Lancet Countdown.

Other findings of the report include: a new indicator mapping extremes of precipitation that identifies South America and southeast Asia among the regions most exposed to flood and drought and, on food security, the report points to 30 countries experiencing downward trends in crop yields, reversing a decade-long trend that had previously seen global improvement. Yield potential is estimated to be declining in every region as extremes of weather become more frequent and more extreme.
Scientists have discovered the signals that determine the fate of immature cells in the pancreas. The research shows that they are very mobile and that their destiny is strongly influenced by their immediate environment. This breakthrough published in the journal 'Nature' will facilitate the manufacturing of pancreatic islet cells from stem cells and might help combating type 1 diabetes. Prof. Dr. Henrik Semb who led the study recently joined Helmholtz Zentrum Munchen. Follow the link to see Henrik Semb explaining the paper in a nutshell: vimeo.com/303012751

Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disease destroying the insulin-producing beta cells in the patient's pancreas. Current approaches for replacement therapies aim to generate insulin-producing beta cells from human pluripotent stem cells. Until now, the engineering of specialized cells from pluripotent stem cells has largely been based on empirical knowledge of what works. "We have now been able to map the signal that determines whether pancreatic progenitor cells will become endocrine, such as insulin-producing beta cells or duct cells", says Prof. Dr. Henrik Semb. He is the Director of the Institute of Translational Stem Cell Research at Helmholtz Zentrum Munchen as well as Professor and Executive Director of the Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Stem Cell Biology (DanStem) at the University of Copenhagen.

"The cells are analogous to pinballs, whose ultimate score is based on the sum of pin encounters. They are constantly moving around within the developing pancreas, leading to frequent environmental changes. We show that the exposure to specific extracellular matrix components determines the ultimate destiny of the cells", Semb explains.

The matrix determines the destiny

Progenitor cells are similar to stem cells since they can both self-renew and differentiate into mature cell types. However, their self-renewal capacity is generally limited compared with that of stem cells. The dynamic behavior of progenitors during organ formation makes them difficult to study. To overcome this obstacle, the scientist seeded human stem cell-derived progenitors on glass slides micropatterned with different matrix proteins. Using this approach, the researchers could study how each progenitor, without the influence of neighboring cells, reacts to its surroundings. "This enabled us to discover something very surprising. Our investigation revealed that interactions with different extracellular matrix components change the mechanical force state within the progenitor. These forces result from interactions between the extracellular matrix, which is outside the cell, and the actin cytoskeleton, which is within the cell."

Pancreatic endocrine cells include all hormone-producing cells, such as insulin-producing beta cells and glucagon-producing alpha cells, within the islet of Langerhans, whereas the duct cells are epithelial cells that line the ducts of the pancreas. "The experiments show that exposure to the extracellular matrix laminin instructs the progenitor cells towards an endocrine fate by reducing mechanical forces within the cells. Vice versa, exposure to fibronectin results in a duct fate because of increased mechanical forces."

Mechanism facilitates exploitation

Through the detailed analyses by the two first authors from DanStem Drs. Anant Mamidi and Christy Prawiro the researchers then uncovered the molecular details of the respective signaling pathway and were even able to validate the physiological relevance in vivo during pancreas development. "We can now replace significant numbers of empirically derived substances, whose mode of action in current state-of-the-art differentiation protocols is largely unknown, with small molecule inhibitors that target specific components of the newly identified mechanosignalling pathway", Henrik Semb explains.

With this new strategy, insulin-producing beta cells can now be more cost-effectively and robustly produced from human pluripotent stem cells for future treatments against diabetes. "Our discovery breaks new ground because it explains how multipotent progenitor cells mature into different cell types during organ formation", Semb says. "It also gives us the tools to recreate the processes in the laboratory, to more precisely engineer cells that are lost or damaged in severe diseases, such as type 1 diabetes and neurodegenerative diseases, for future cell replacement therapies."
Key insights into how the parasites behind sleeping sickness boost their ability to spread could aid efforts to beat the disease.

The finding resolves a decades-long puzzle about the behaviour of the parasites, which are spread by the bite of the tsetse fly, and cause disease in people and animals.

Researchers studied how parasites in the bloodstream send chemical signals to one another to undergo a physical change that is needed for them to spread disease.

Scientists have pinpointed details of the signal that enables parasites to change from a form in which they can quickly boost their numbers, to one that is more suited to aiding their transmission and survival in flies.

Scientists led by the University of Edinburgh found that the parasites release enzymes, called peptidases, which break down proteins in the blood into smaller molecules.

These small molecules, known as oligopeptides, are sensed by a protein - GPR89 - which is found on the surface of the parasite. This triggers the parasites' transition into a state in which they can be taken up and transmitted by flies.

Oligopeptides also act as nutrients for the parasites and are taken up by the same surface protein.

Disrupting this process by designing drugs that interfere with the GPR89 protein could offer a new way of tackling the disease, the team suggests.

The approach could limit drug resistance in two ways - by restricting the supply of nutrients and stopping transition to the state required for disease to spread, researchers say.

Researchers also suggest that the parasites could be disarmed by an artificial form of the signalling molecule. This would trick the parasites into prematurely arresting their growth.

The study, published in Cell, was carried out in collaboration with the University of St Andrews and was funded by Wellcome.

Professor Keith Matthews, of the School of Biological Sciences, who led the study, said: "Understanding how these parasites communicate with each other has been a mystery for decades. The mechanism we have discovered provides new opportunities to develop much-needed drugs for this devastating disease."

Mike Turner, Head of Infection and Immunobiology at Wellcome, said: "This study solves one of the most fundamental questions about the sleeping sickness parasite and will help researchers around the world look for new ways to limit the severity of the disease.

"This ability of the sleeping sickness parasite to regulate how they switch between states so that they can be transmitted by tsetse flies was first described in 1972 and since then many groups have failed to solve it until this beautiful study by Professor Matthews' group."
A leading expert in fetal medicine at the University of Birmingham has warned that there is 'little room for complacency' over a fall in twin stillbirth rates as the reason for this phenomenon are complex.

In a paper published in BJOG: An International Journal of Obstetrics & Gynaecology, Mark Kilby, Professor of Fetal Medicine at the University of Birmingham's Institute of Metabolism and Systems Research and Honorary Consultant in Fetal Medicine at Birmingham Women's and Children's NHS Foundation Trust, with collaborators explore the reasons as to why there has been a nearly 50 per cent fall in twin stillbirth rates from 11 to six per thousand total births between 2013 and 2016.

These figures were the findings of Mothers and Babies: Reducing Risk through Audits and Confidential Enquiries across the UK (MBRRACE-UK)'s perinatal surveillance report published in June 2018. The MBRACCE-UK report noted that, although there had been a significant reduction in stillbirth rate in twins, there had been no change in still birth rates in pregnancies involving a single fetus.

Approximately one in 60 pregnancies are twins; an incidence increasing in the UK because of the use of artificial reproductive techniques and a rising maternal age.

Professor Kilby believes the fall in stillbirths in twins is, in part, due to an increasing recognition by healthcare professionals of the increased fetal risks in "identical twins".

Identical twins either share a single placenta with a single outer membrane and two inner membranes (monochorionic diamniotic twins), or share both the inner and outer membranes (monochorionic monoamniotic twins). These twins are at higher risk due to complications such as twin-twin transfusion syndrome (TTTS), twin anaemia polycythaemia sequence (TAPS) and selective fetal growth restriction (sGR).

This recognition of the higher risks has led to the introduction of several clinical guidelines including The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists' Green Top Guideline on the Management of Monochorionic Twins and the generic NICE Guidelines on the Management of Twin and Triplet Pregnancy (currently under revision and to be republished in 2019).

A survey by the charity Twins and Multiple Births Association (Tamba) of 29 obstetric units has shown that hospitals following NICE guidance for management of twins have associated lower twin stillbirth, neonatal death rates and admissions to special care baby units. However, the data from Tamba through its Maternity Engagement Programme, indicates that "there is still considerable variation in implementation by NHS healthcare providers across the UK".

Professor Kilby said: "The UK has been innovative in recommending the establishment of twin multidisciplinary teams and clinics along with several national clinical guidelines to aid the management of twin and triplet pregnancies and high risk identical twin pregnancies.

"However, adequate resourcing and professional engagement is required to prevent the current considerable variation in implementation of guidelines by NHS healthcare providers across the UK."

Professor Kilby also states that refinements in in-utero treatments, along with new guidelines over the last 15 years on the monitoring of both identical and non-identical twins using ultrasound has also undoubtedly led to increased and earlier detection of complications .

Professor Kilby concluded: "The fall in twin stillbirth rates from 11 to six per thousand total births between 2013 and 2016 is welcome news, however, there is little room for complacency and more comprehensive uptake of clinical guidelines and close working with stakeholders such as Tamba and the Multiple Births Foundation will hopefully continue this trend into the future."

He estimated that it would take a minimum of two years for hospital trusts in the NHS to engage with the recommendations by establishing multidisciplinary teams, a multiple pregnancy service and an infrastructure to deliver care and urged that much more work still needed to be done.

Keith Reed, CEO of Tamba, said: "Hundreds of babies lives could be saved and potentially thousands prevented going into neonatal care, but progress is at risk because funding for TAMBA's successful Maternity Engagement Programme is due to end on March 2019 and there are another 124 obstetric units in England to engage with."
A research collaboration between three Montana State University faculty members recently received a grant to help fund their study on the connection between a rare genetic neurological disease and metabolism, the human gut microbiome and degeneration of the nervous system. The work could further the understanding of what causes more common neurodegenerative diseases and eventually pave the way for therapeutics to treat them.

The National Institutes of Health awarded $2.9 million to MSU professors Frances Lefcort, Seth Walk and Valerie Copie for their research into Familial dysautonomia, a disease that attacks and devastates the nervous system. The five-year grant will fund their research and student education, including the several undergraduates and two graduate students who are currently contributing research to the project.

Lefcort's lab has researched Familial dysautonomia, a disease that runs in her family, for eight years. She explained that the disease begins in utero, where parts of the nervous system don't develop properly. It grows progressively worse over the years as nerve cells die.

While rare, the genetic mutation that causes Familial dysautonomia has been identified, which makes it a useful model for research into other neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's, said Lefcort, who is the Letters and Science Distinguished Professor in MSU's Department of Cell Biology and Neuroscience.

She said one common problem among people with Familial dysautonomia is that they are very thin and have trouble putting on weight, which would suggest a metabolic problem. Another is that the gastrointestinal tract doesn't function normally, which leads to diarrhea, constipation, esophageal reflux or other gastrointestinal issues.

Lefcort sought out experts in both of those research areas from among her MSU colleagues: Walk's expertise is in gut microbiomes, and Copie studies metabolism. She learned that the nervous system is closely involved with the human gut microbiome and is affected by metabolism.

"There are more than 100 million neurons just in your gut, and it's well known that there's extensive communication between the brain and the gut through the gut-brain axis," Lefcort said.

Realizing the likely connection between their research, the interdisciplinary trio collaborated to further study the roles of the gut microbiome, nervous system and metabolism (also called "metabolome") in Familial dysautonomia. Using Walk's specially bred, germ-free laboratory mice as models, the scientists hope to selectively manipulate "each leg of the triangle to determine how these systems affect each other and contribute to neurodegenerative disease," Lefcort said.

"Nothing like this has ever been done in this disease, and it's only starting to be done in major disease like Alzheimer's and Parkinson's," Lefcort said. "We feel that work from this grant will not only inform our understanding of Familial dysautonomia, but also provide a great model for understanding how the gut microbiome, metabolome and nervous system are interacting in these major neurogenerative diseases."

The trio has already gathered promising preliminary data through a collaboration with New York University's Dysautonomia Center, which sees all North American patients with Familial dysautonomia.

"They have sent us stool and blood samples from their patients and their patients' relatives, and we've already shown that the microbiome of those patients is significantly different from that of their relatives," Lefcort said. "We have good data suggesting we have something here, and now using our mouse models, we can really tease apart the causality -- is there a metabolic problem that's affecting the microbiome, and/or is it the microbiome that's altering metabolism and contributing to the neurodegeneration?"

Lefcort will analyze the nervous system in the gastrointestinal tracts of the laboratory mice, seeking answers to questions such as whether altering the metabolism or microbiome helps prevent neurodegeneration.

Walk will direct the microbiome-focused aspects of the project, which will include a detailed investigation of bacteria living in the intestines of patients who have neurodegenerative disease. He will also lead research focused on the microbiome and whether bacteria in the gut produce compounds that trigger neurons to grow or to die. He'll do this using cutting-edge DNA sequencing coupled with germ-free and gnotobiotic mice.

"Germ-free mice are completely sterile and do not have any microorganisms living inside them or on them. These animals help us understand what aspects of our 'health' are missing when microbes are not around," said Walk, an associate professor in MSU's Department of Microbiology and Immunology in the College of Agriculture and the College of Letters and Science. "Gnotobiotic mice have a defined microbiome, whereby we can discover the specific benefits of a particular microbial community."

Copie, a professor in MSU's Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry and director of the Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Center, will lead the effort to identify the metabolic processes that are impaired by Familial dysautonomia and how those impairments in energy production affect the gut-brain axis and contribute to neurodegeneration.

"Our lab will be responsible for undertaking the global profiling and characterization of small molecule metabolites present in stool and serum samples of Familial dysautonomia patients and animal models," Copie said. "These studies will integrate nuclear magnetic spectroscopy and mass spectrometry techniques to identify the metabolic changes that take place in Familial dysautonomia. Our goal is to explore whether we can redress the metabolic deficits observed in Familial dysautonomia via microbiome intervention and whether restoring healthy metabolomes can help or either slow down neurodegeneration or help restore neuronal health."

The high-resolution metabolic data generated by the NMR Center will contribute to the field of biomedical research and "will help us better understand how the metabolome, microbiome and neuronal circuitry interact together and can lead to irreversible neurodegeneration when impaired," Copie said.

"It's clear that the triggers are different for Parkinson's, Alzheimer's and ALS, but they all converge on common downstream pathways," Lefcort said. "We have shown that Familial dysautonomia converges on the same pathways. Now, we're trying to find out if we can intervene at these common points.

"Whatever we discover here is going to be applicable to the major neurodegenerative disorders," she said.
Fish allergy is one of the most dangerous food allergies, as it is often associated with potentially life-threatening symptoms such as anaphylactic shock. People who are allergic to fish are not only exposed to risk through eating fish but also by accidentally inhaling fish fumes in markets or restaurants or through skin contact - especially in countries with a marine coastline, where fishing is important to the economy. However, there is now new hope for sufferers: an international research team has discovered that the parvalbumin protein that usually triggers the allergy is much less allergenic in cartilaginous fish than in bony fish.

The international research team from the Institute for Pathophysiology and Allergy Research at the Medical University of Vienna, Heimo Breiteneder and Tanja Kalic, as well as food allergy experts from Luxembourg, Annette Kuehn from the Luxembourg Institute of Health and Martine Morisset from Centre Hospitalier de Luxembourg, showed that parvalbumin is much less allergenic in the flesh of cartilaginous fish - various species of sharks and rays - than in the flesh of more commonly eaten bony fish. The thornback ray (Raja clavata), a cartilaginous fish, was clearly identified as a potential nutritional alternative for people with fish allergy. Despite having a proven allergy, 10 out of 11 test subjects were able to eat this fish without suffering any form of allergic reaction.

The main investigators Breiteneder, Kuehn and Morisset agree: "Provided that allergy sufferers first consult a suitable allergy specialist and are tested for potential tolerance to thornback ray, there might be an unexpected alternative for people who would still like to eat fish." These rays are very common and can be found in the Eastern Atlantic, around Norway, the North Sea and even Namibia - and are currently enjoying a resurgence as edible fish delicacies. The wing-like pectoral fins are cooked as a filet.

"This initial study has far-reaching potential. We are now planning to extend the study, which initially concentrated on the European population, to ultimately improve the quality-of-life of fish-allergy sufferers around the world," says Kalic. "In addition, we are working on widening the range of fish that fish-allergic people can safely eat."

Source: https://www.meduniwien.ac.at/web/en/about-us/news/detailsite/2018/news-november-2018/new-hope-for-fish-allergy-sufferers/
Despite extensive research efforts, schizophrenia remains one of the least understood brain disorders. One promising area of research is in receptors on the surfaces of brain cells that help sense growth factors. But there's been a problem: in previous schizophrenia studies, researchers have genetically manipulated brain cell receptors in very young mice. Schizophrenia usually affects adults.

In a recent issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Lin Mei, MD, PhD, asked, does all the tinkering in young mice hamper their brain development, causing schizophrenia-like symptoms? Or, do their brain cells develop normally, but in adulthood struggle to communicate? Researchers need to know whether to focus their efforts on brain cell development or communication, or both, because the answer to these questions implies different therapeutic approaches.

In the new study, Mei, professor and chair of neurosciences at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, led an international team of neuroscientists. The team included Mei's long-time collaborator, Wen-Cheng Xiong, PhD, professor of neurosciences, and first authors Hongsheng Wang and Wenbing Chen, graduate students, all of CWRU. Additional collaborators included researchers at Nanchang University and Guangzhou Medical University in China, and neuroscientists from the Medical College of Georgia at Augusta University.

Together, the researchers studied a brain cell receptor--ErbB4--whose level is altered in adults with schizophrenia. ErbB4 helps maintain an inhibitory neurotransmitter in the brain--GABA--that prevents brain cells from overreacting and keeps fear and anxiety in check. The researchers have shown previously that ErbB4 mutations change signals inside brain cells that lead to schizophrenic symptoms in mice.

"When ErbB4 is mutated early on in mice, it impairs brain circuit wiring. It also impairs GABA transmission in adult animals, causing schizophrenic symptoms," said Mei. "But previous models are unable to distinguish whether deficits are from abnormal development in young mice brains, or abnormal transmission developed later on." Mei's new study shows schizophrenic symptoms come from deficits in how brain cells communicate during adulthood, regardless of whether or not they fully developed.

To find their answers, Mei's team genetically engineered two new mouse models of schizophrenia. In the first, the researchers treated mice with a chemical that switches "off" the gene encoding ErbB4. "Using inducible knock-out mice, we depleted ErbB4 only in adult animals, and showed that this impairs behavior," said Mei. In mice missing ErbB4 only in adulthood, brain cell development and appearance were normal, but symptoms persisted. The experiment suggested schizophrenic symptoms in adult mice were unrelated to abnormal brain cell development.

In the second mouse model, the receptor was missing in mice from the beginning, hampering brain cell development. The researchers used the same genetic switch to turn ErbB4 "on" in adulthood--in essence, recovering it. "In recovery knock-out mice, ErbB4 is missing during development and thus the mice have crippled brain circuits. Yet, when ErbB4 is restored on a malformed circuit, mice scored better in behavioral tests," said Mei. Even with underdeveloped brain cells, schizophrenic symptoms could be alleviated simply by adding ErbB4.

Mei's team found restoring ErbB4 receptors reduced hyperactivity, and normalized fear responses in adult mice. "ErbB4 is a risk factor for schizophrenia," said Mei. "This study shows correcting ErbB4 signaling could be therapeutic in relevant patients."

The results in the two mouse models confirm that ErbB4 is critical to how brain cells communicate during adulthood. The nuanced distinction could lead to new therapeutics designed to improve brain cell signaling associated with the ErbB4 receptor. In particular, therapeutics that improve how GABA neurotransmitters regulate brain cell activity.

"Restoring ErbB4 could be beneficial to patients--even those with malformed brain circuitry," said Mei. "We are now looking into how restoring ErbB4 improves neurotransmitter signaling inside brain cells, including those relevant to other psychiatric disorders, such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and major depression."
Photo: Microsoft

Microsoft's big bet on cloud computing is paying off as the company has surpassed Apple as the world's most valuable publicly traded company.

The software maker's prospects looked bleak just a few years ago, as licenses for the company's Windows system fell with a sharp drop in the sales of personal computers.

But under CEO Satya Nadella, Microsoft has found stability by focusing on software and services over the internet, or the cloud, with long-term business contracts.

That 1990s personal-computing powerhouse is now having a renaissance moment, as it eclipses Facebook, Google, Amazon and the other tech darlings of the late decade.

Apple had been the world's most prosperous firm since claiming the top spot from Exxon Mobil earlier this decade. Microsoft surpassed Apple briefly a few times this week, but didn't close on top until Friday. Microsoft hasn't been at the top since the height of the dot-com boom in 2000.

Microsoft became a contender again in large part because Apple's stock has fallen sharply this month, while Microsoft hasn't done any worse than the rest of the stock market. But the fact that it hasn't done poorly is a reflection of its steady focus on business customers in recent years.

Microsoft lost its lustre as people were shunning PCs in favour of smartphones. In 2013, PC sales plunged 10 per cent to about 315 million, the worst year-to-year drop ever, according to research firms Gartner and IDC. It didn't help that Microsoft's effort to make PCs more like phones, Windows 8, was widely panned.

But a turnaround began when the Redmond, Washington, company promoted Nadella as CEO in 2014. He succeeded Microsoft's longtime CEO, Steve Ballmer, who initially scoffed at the notion that people would be willing to pay $500 or more for Apple's iPhones.

That bet paid off. Windows is now a dwindling fraction of Microsoft's business. While the company still runs consumer-focused businesses such as Bing search and Xbox gaming, it has prioritized business-oriented services such as its Office line of email and other workplace software, as well as newer additions such as LinkedIn and Skype. But its biggest growth has happened in the cloud, particularly the cloud platform it calls Azure. Cloud computing now accounts for more than a quarter of Microsoft's revenue, and Microsoft rivals Amazon as a leading provider of such services.

Wedbush analyst Dan Ives said Azure is still in its early days, meaning there's plenty of room for growth, especially considering the company's large customer base for Office and other products.

"While the tech carnage seen over the last month has been brutal, shares of (Microsoft) continue to hold up like the Rock of Gibraltar," he said.
Glioblastoma, a deadly brain cancer that has grabbed headlines for claiming the lives of Sens. Edward Kennedy and John McCain, could be "tricked" into sparing more of its victims.

A team of University of Arizona researchers who looked for genetic differences between glioblastoma cells from long- and short-term survivors discovered that those who survived longer had a protein that might be targeted to increase survival in all glioblastoma patients. The results were presented this month at the Society for Neuro-Oncology conference in New Orleans. This work is in its early stages, and the researchers say they are many years and millions of dollars away from potential translation into treatments for patients.

"Glioblastoma essentially is incurable," said Baldassarre "Dino" Stea, MD, PhD, head of the UA College of Medicine - Tucson Department of Radiation Oncology. "In the past 15 years, only one drug -- temozolomide -- has been invented, whereas the rest of the cancer field is zooming forward."

With surgery, followed by chemotherapy and radiation, adults with glioblastoma survive for an average of 11-15 months. Some succumb sooner, while others outlive their initial prognosis by months or even years.

"I was curious to know how genes are differentially expressed in patients who live longer," said Michael Hammer, PhD, co-director of the UA Cancer Center Genomics Shared Resource and research scientist with the UA BIO5 Institute. "If we can identify a pathway in the tumor that we might be able to target, we can try to make the short-lived patients look more like the long-lived patients."

Drs. Stea and Hammer helped discover that long-term survivors manufacture a protein called WIF-1 in relative abundance. The team first searched for "signaling pathways," a collection of genes that control cellular function under normal circumstances but can go awry to cause cancer.

"The Wnt signaling pathway popped up as the most important pathway to limit the survival chances of glioblastoma patients," Dr. Hammer said. This pathway normally is involved with tissue maintenance but can fuel tumor growth if it becomes overactive. Long-term survivors appeared to rely on genes that suppress the function of the Wnt signaling pathway.

"We had a pile of genes and looked for an overrepresentation of these genes compared to a random set of genes," Dr. Hammer said. "We found that, in patients who survived longer than average, certain genes were tamping down Wnt signaling."

After sifting through 800 genes in 23 glioblastoma samples, the team identified the WIF-1 gene, which manufactures the WIF-1 protein, as an important inhibitor of the Wnt pathway and a strong predictor of long-term survival.

"The Wnt pathway is deranged, and WIF-1 is the police. Cancer grows when there aren't enough police to keep the deranged person in check," Dr. Stea said. "Some people are endowed with more WIF-1 and survive longer."

While testing for the WIF-1 gene someday may help oncologists predict which patients will survive longer, a greater hope is that this work will lead to a drug that targets glioblastoma tumors with more precision than standard treatment.

"We hope to create a drug to suppress the Wnt pathway so that everybody survives longer," Dr. Stea said. "It would be the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow."

Dr. Stea believes new approaches are essential to extend survival for glioblastoma patients.

"I think we have reached the apex of what the surgeon can do, and have achieved the most we can with radiation," he said. "The cure will not come from more radiation or more surgery -- glioblastoma is a genetic problem that we have to solve genetically."

One way to enlist human genetics in the fight against glioblastoma is to enhance the effects of radiation, which kills cancer cells by damaging their DNA. Glioblastomas have a special ability to repair this DNA damage, diminishing radiation's effectiveness.

"I'm poking holes in the DNA of glioblastoma cells, and the Wnt pathway goes back and helps to repair the damage," Dr. Stea said, referring to his work as a radiation oncologist. "It's like I'm exploding a bridge so the enemy cannot cross, but overnight they rebuild the bridge."

By taking cues from WIF-1, scientists might be able to weaken glioblastoma's ability to repair radiation-damaged DNA.

"The Wnt pathway activates DNA repair. If we can suppress Wnt, we also suppress DNA repair. When we mimic that in the lab by adding WIF-1 protein to glioblastoma cells, they become more sensitive to radiation," said Eric Weterings, PhD, assistant professor at the UA College of Medicine - Tucson Department of Radiation Oncology, who also contributed to the study.

"Right now, I can only give so much radiation. If we exceed that threshold, we're more likely to damage the brain," Dr. Stea added. "We have a hint that WIF-1 can help radiation do a better job, compounding its cancer-killing effect."

This preliminary research was fueled in part by a gift from one of Dr. Stea's glioblastoma patients, who is a long-term survivor at three-and-a-half years. He hoped researchers could learn from long-lived patients like himself. Many times, grateful patients help fund UA Cancer Center research.

"He is happy to be alive and very generous, so he made a gift," Dr. Stea said. "That's how the program got going."

To expand upon their findings, the team currently is applying for grants to continue their research.

"We didn't have a huge sample population, so these results could be a fluke -- but they are statistically significant," Dr. Stea said. "The next step is to validate with hundreds of patients and then to perform further studies with inhibitors of the Wnt pathway."

"It's a step forward," Dr. Weterings added. "In the future, this work might give us a larger and yet more specific arsenal of options to treat this disease."

The team already is collaborating with Tech Launch Arizona, filing a provisional patent application on the gene signature for a companion diagnostic and possible radiation sensitizer.
Police Deployment on Delhi Roads | Over 3,500 police personnel have deployed on the route of the march. According to a senior police officer, special arrangements have been made in Central and New Delhi police districts. As many as 850 police personnel, up to the rank of sub-inspectors, have been deployed in the Central district. They have been augmented by the presence of 12 police companies, including two of women, each comprising 75-80 personnel, a police official said.

In New Delhi district, 346 police personnel, up to the rank of sub-inspectors, have been deployed and 600 personnel from other districts will also help them, the official said. Nine police companies, along with 71 officers, from the rank of inspectors up to additional DCPs, are also present. Farmers from different parts of the country, including Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal and Uttar Pradesh converged at the Ramlila ground on Thursday. Traffic was disrupted in many parts of the city on Thursday as the farmers marched to the Ramlila ground in the heart of the city on four different routes, starting from Anand Vihar, Nizamuddin and Bijwasan railway stations and Sabzi Mandi.

Delhi: Latest #visuals from near Jantar Mantar on the second day of 2-day protest by farmers from all across the nation, who are asking for debt relief, better MSP for crops, among other demands pic.twitter.com/SIccqj6DIo

Barakhamba Road, Others Blocked | Traffic in central Delhi has gone for a toss due to kisan rally in the national capital. Barakhamba Road and Kasturba Gandhi Marg have been blocked, while the procession is all over Leo Tolstoy Marg. Some farmer associations are raising slogans on the loudspeaker: "Rafale Chor, Gaddi Chhor" (Rafale Thief Must Leave).

Mobile toilets have been set up at Parliament Street for the farmers. Scores of Delhi University students are also providing essentials to the protesters.

Delhi: Farmers from all across the nation hold protest for the second day over their demands of debt relief, better MSP for crops, among others; latest #visuals from near Jantar Mantar pic.twitter.com/zwnHQHALkk

Farmers from all across the nation hold protest for the second day over their demands of debt relief, better MSP for crops, among others.

Tamil Nadu Farmers Bare it All for Their Demands | As the kisan rally arrived at the Parliament Street, Tamil Nadu farmers took off their clothes and used the skulls and bones of their "dead crop growers" to cover their private parts. About 1,200 members of the National South Indian River Interlinking Agriculturalists Association reached the national capital on Thursday carrying skulls of two of their colleagues who they claimed had committed suicide. Some were also spotted wearing a garland of dairy products.

Today, thousands of farmers are assembling in several parts of Delhi as part of a two-day #KisanMuktiMarch . Evidence of agrarian unrest has been growing and farmers have come to the conclusion that only agitation and not reasoning will lead to action on their problems.

MS Swaminathan on Kisan Rally Today | Veteran agriculturist MS Swaminathan, the architect of India's Green Revolution and the head of National Commission on Farmers (NCF), says that the two-day Kisan Mukti Morcha protest is an evidence of the growing agrarian unrest. "Farmers know only agitation and not reasoning will lead to action on their problems," he says.

Women participate in the farmers' protest with photographs of their dead husbands, who committed suicide due to farm distress.

Thousands of farmers from across the country converged Thursday at the historic Ramlila Ground after journeys that took some as long as 36 hours to complete to press for their demands, including debt relief and remunerative prices for their produce. They spent the night at the ground before marching to Parliament on Friday morning. Kartar Singh, 50, a sugarcane farmer from Sambal district, Uttar Pradesh, was anxious about the march and was sleepless, but he's not complaining. "We have not come here to sleep. Farmers have converged in Delhi to remind the Centre that the party leading it had made promises of waiving off loans in its manifesto. And, it has been four-and-a-half years since they came to power," he said, with an edge of anger in his voice. Singh, a father of two sons is from Fatehpur Sarai village and, his younger son (22 years) has taken the field work while he is away. "My wife and children have told me, that I should fight and stay even for a week in Delhi, if needed," he said. Inside the tents, farmers, both men and women, from all parts of India tried to sleep on a chilly night, while many sat huddled together, discussing the next strategy and family issues.

A group of 25-30 doctors also offered medical aid till about 11 pm. Some of them had taken off from work to volunteer. Rashid, a junior resident at AIIMS was among the doctor's volunteers who attended to people till Thursday night. "I took an off today from work, as I had to be here. They feed us, and we are not doing any favour by helping them, we are serving them," he told PTI. Doctors also came from Aligarh Muslim University and Rohtak and Chandigarh and other Delhi hospitals to assist farmers, many of whom complained of body ache as they had travelled long distance. "One person had fainted, so, after first aid, we sent him to LNJP Hospital," said Mahtab Alam, a doctor at a Delhi government hospital.

Traffic was affected on the Jawaharlal Nehru Marg, on the stretch near Guru Nanak Eye hospital, Maharaja Ranjit Singh flyover, Barakhamba Chowk and Janpath on Friday morning. Commuters were advised to avoid these routes. Around 1,000 traffic police personnel have been deployed between Ramlila maidan and Parliament to ensure that commuters do not face inconvenience. "Due to this march, Kasturba Gandhi Marg, Ferozshah Road, Janpath, Mandir Marg, Panchkuian Marg, Ashoka Road, Jai Singh Marg and inner and outer circles of Connaught Place will be effected. Our senior traffic officials, along with other traffic personnel, are managing traffic," a senior traffic police official said. Citizens were advised to follow the Delhi Traffic Police Facebook page, Twitter handle, WhatsApp and the traffic helpline for live updates. Over 3,500 police personnel have also been deployed on the route of the march and special arrangements have been made in Central and New Delhi police districts. As many as 850 police personnel, up to the rank of sub-inspectors, have been deployed in the Central district. They have been augmented by the presence of 12 police companies, including two of women, each comprising 75-80 personnel, a police official said. In New Delhi district, 346 police personnel, up to the rank of sub-inspectors, have been deployed and 600 personnel from other districts will also help them, the official said.

Denied permission by police to march to Parliament, around 35,000 farmers from across the country have converged near Parliament Street Police station in the national capital on Friday, where their leaders addressed the protesters. The national secretary of the All India Kisan Sangharsh Coordination Committee (AIKSCC), Asish Mittal, said farmers from 24 states have also joined the protest to press for their demands, including debt relief and remunerative prices for their produce. The farmers, who have been camping at the Ramlila ground here since Thursday, began their march to Parliament Street around 10.30 am amid heavy policy deployment. They were stopped near Parliament Street police station, after which they assembled there.

Over 3,500 police personnel have been deployed on the route of the march. According to a senior police officer, special arrangements have been made in Central and New Delhi police districts. Farmers from different parts of the country, including Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal and Uttar Pradesh converged at the Ramlila ground on Thursday. Banded under the AIKSCC, which claims to be an umbrella body of 207 organisations of farmers and agricultural workers, many farmers arrived in the city on Thursday, on trains, buses and other modes of transport. About 1,200 members of the National South Indian River Interlinking Agriculturalists Association reached the national capital in the early hours of Thursday carrying skulls of two of their colleagues who had committed suicide, their leader P Ayyakannu said. The group from Tamil Nadu had threatened to march naked if they are not allowed to go to Parliament on Friday.They had last year staged protests at Jantar Mantar with the skulls of eight farmers who killed themselves owing to losses.

Deputy commissioner of police (New Delhi) Madhur Verma on farmers' protest: Delhi Police held multiple rounds of talks with farmers' leaders & gave permission for rallying from Ramlila Maidan to Jantar Mantar, with conditions. We hope that they'll follow the conditions pic.twitter.com/xBh2MPSo8N

Rally at Jantar Mantar With 'Condition' | After traffic came to a halt in Lutyens' Delhi due to large-scale farmers' protest, Deputy commissioner of police Madhur Verma said that multiple rounds of talks with protesting leaders were held, following which they were given permission to move to Jantar Mantar with "conditions". "Proper arrangements have been made for security, traffic and law and order. We hope that farmers will follow the conditions," he said.

Delhi: Farmers from all across the nation hold protest for the second day over their demands of debt relief, better MSP for crops, among others; latest #visuals from near Barakhamba Road. pic.twitter.com/Po5aGAhuSk

Rahul Gandhi, Arvind Kejriwal to Meet Farmers | Congress president Rahul Gandhi and Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal will join the farmers' protest this evening. Senior JDU leader KC Tyagi, CPI national secretary D Raja and some Samajwadi party leaders are also likely to join the agitation.

Deve Gowda on Kisan Rally | Supporting the farmers' march in New Delhi, former prime minister H D Deve Gowda Friday said, along with "ease of doing business", India should also better itself in "ease of doing agriculture". Referring to the Karnataka government's farm loan waiver initiative, the JD(S) supremo urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi issue proper direction to banks who are issuing notices to farmers and creating uncertainties. "Modi Government and BJP are boasting about betterment of India's position in the 'Ease of Doing Business' index. But, with 'Ease of Doing Business', India should also better itself in 'Ease of Doing Agriculture'. This is very important @narendramodi avare (sic)," Deve Gowda tweeted. Noting that agriculture is still the backbone of Indian economy, the former prime minister, in another tweet, said, "Eradication of poverty, employment generation, rural development are all possible if India betters itself in 'Ease of Doing Agriculture' too."

CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP government at the Centre over the agrarian crisis in the country. "The only thing this government can do is to take Ram's name. The BJP and the RSS do this every five years," he said.

Yechury said the Left parties will raise the issues of farmers in Parliamet but blamed the government for not paying heed to the troubles of the common man. "We will continue to put pressure on the government but we all know what this government does. We will continue our fight for as long as we are required to do so," he said.

Rahul Gandhi joins protest, says farmers not asking for free gifts but their right

Rahul Gandhi Attacks Centre | Rahul Gandhi says PM Modi has duped the nation in the name of NPAs; adds that farmers and youth have been ignored by the government

Rahul Gandhi Repeats Rafale Jibe | Congress chief Rahul Gandhi repeats his Rafale attack at the government, says Prime Minister Narendra Modi only speaks for the industrialists. He says a government that disrespects the youth and farmers will be removed by the country.

'No One Person Runs the Country' | Gandhi says no one person or party runs the country. "India is made and run by farmers, youth and labourers and we stand by them," he says amid cheers from protesting farmers. Several other leaders such as Sharad Yadav, Arvind Kejriwal and Sitaram Yechury are also in attendance at the rally to show their support for the farmers.

Kejriwal Hits Out at PM Modi | Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal says if Prime Minister Narendra Modi had devoted even 10% of the attention he gives to industrialists, the farmers would not have taken to the streets. "Modi is harmful for Delhi and Delhiites," says Kejriwal.

"Five months are left, I demand that the central government implement the Swaminathan report or these farmers will wreak havoc in 2019," says Kejriwal.

Earlier, while addressing the protesters, Rahul Gandhi said, "If this government can waive Rs 3.5 lakh crore loans of 15 big industrialists, why can't the loans of crores of farmers in the country be waived?"

Denied permission by police to march to Parliament, around 35,000 farmers from across the country have converged near Parliament Street Police station in the national capital on Friday, where their leaders addressed the protesters.

Earlier, Deputy commissioner of police Madhur Verma said that multiple rounds of talks with protesting leaders were held, following which they were given permission to move to Jantar Mantar with conditions. Proper arrangements have been made for security, traffic and law and order. We hope that farmers will follow the conditions, he said.

Farmers Protest in Delhi LIVE Updates: Taking up the cause of farmers who have marched into Delhi demanding loan waiver and remunerative prices for their produce, Congress president Rahul Gandhi asked the BJP government at the Centre as to what was stopping it from helping the farmers. Gandhi said that if the loans of industrialists can be waived off, then the farmers too must be heard and provided relief. He further complained that other than empty promises nothing has come the farmers way. Rahul Gandhi was joined on the stage by other opposition leaders like Sharad Yadav, Sitaram Yechury, D Raja and Arvind Kejriwal too joined them.

The national secretary of the All India Kisan Sangharsh Coordination Committee (AIKSCC), Asish Mittal, said farmers from 24 states have also joined the protest to press for their demands, including debt relief and remunerative prices for their produce.

As the kisan rally arrived at the Parliament Street, Tamil Nadu farmers took off their clothes and used the skulls and bones of their dead crop growers to cover their private parts. Some protesters were also spotted wearing garlands of dairy products. Scores of women, who said that their husbands committed suicide due to farm distress, participated in the procession with photographs of their deceased partners.

Commuters faced inconvenience as traffic has been diverted in central Delhi due to farmers protest. The protesters have blocked Jawaharlal Nehru Marg and Barakhamba Road as they head to Parliament. Raising slogans against the Modi government, the protesters ask thieves of Rafale to vacate the seat of power in Delhi.

Thousands of farmers, including members of Kisan Mukti Morcha, from across the country have gathered on day two of the protest to press for their demands, including debt relief and remunerative prices for their produce. In view of the large-scale agitation, security has been beefed up in the area.

Over 3,500 police personnel have been deployed on the route of the march. According to a senior police officer, special arrangements have been made in Central and New Delhi police districts.

Farmers from different parts of the country, including Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal and Uttar Pradesh converged at the Ramlila ground on Thursday.

Branded under the AIKSCC, which claims to be an umbrella body of 207 organisations of farmers and agricultural workers, many farmers arrived in the city on Thursday, on trains, buses and other modes of transport.

About 1,200 members of the National South Indian River Interlinking Agriculturalists Association reached the national capital in the early hours of Thursday carrying skulls of two of their colleagues who had committed suicide, their leader P Ayyakannu said.

The group from Tamil Nadu had threatened to march naked if they are not allowed to go to Parliament on Friday.They had last year staged protests at Jantar Mantar with the skulls of eight farmers who killed themselves owing to losses. The AIKSCC has claimed that the two-day rally will be one of the largest congregations of farmers in Delhi.

Five Gurdwaras in the Delhi region have extended their help to the farmers. Also students from various universities turned out in large numbers to lend support to the farmers. The protest also saw participation of a number of women farmers who travelled from various parts of the country.

Volunteers, including doctors, lawyers, professors and artists, all came out in large numbers to help the farmers. Around 600-700 volunteers of a solidarity group Nation For Farmers marched with the protesters from the four assembly points.

The AIKSCC was formed under the aegis of All India Kisan Sabha and other Left-affiliated farmers bodies in June, 2017, following protests by farmers in states such as Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh for debt relief and remunerative prices.

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New Delhi:

BJP national president Amit Shah has urged the people of Rajasthan to vote for his party in the December 7 Assembly elections and in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, and promised that his government will expel illegal migrants from Bangladesh from the country one by one.

"Vote for Vasundhara Raje in 2018 in Rajasthan and for Narendra Modi in 2019I assure you that the BJP government will work to throw out each and every intruder from Kanyakumari to Kashmir and Assam to Gujarat, one by one," Shah said at a meeting in Rajasthans Karauli district on Thursday.

Lashing out at the Congress over illegal migrants from Bangladesh, Shah asked its president, Rahul Gandhi, to clarify whether infiltrators should be allowed to remain.

Also Read | Congress releases manifesto in Rajasthan ahead of Assembly elections

About six lakh people, out of the total 40 lakh, who were excluded in the draft NRC, have submitted applications for inclusion of their names in the list of Assam's citizens and have given relevant documents claiming that they are Indian citizens.

Following a directive of the Supreme Court, the process of filing claims and objections to the draft NRC began on September 25 and it will come to an end on December 15.

Shah alleged that the Congress cannot develop or secure the country as in the 10 years that the party was in power at the Centre, there had been no control on infiltration.

The BJP president said the BJP governments at the Centre and in Rajasthan had implemented welfare schemes covering all sections of society.

Also Read | Yogi Adityanath calls Hanuman a scheduled caste, gets legal notice

Shah had earlier alleged that the Congress had introduced the idea of the National Citizens' Register, but it failed show courage to see the project through.

He also said the Congress won't be able help the country because "it has neither a leader nor a policy". "Rahul Gandhi should deliver an account of what his own family has done for the country in the last four generations before asking the BJP to list out its achievements over the last four years" he said.

(With PTI inputs)
New Delhi:

Bollywood actor Rajpal Yadav has been arrested by Delhi Police for failing to repay a loan of Rs 5 crore which the actor with his wife Radha had taken in 2010 to make his directorial debut in Bollywood with aAta Pata Laapataa. Rajpal is sentenced to a 3-month civil jail and immediately taken into custody.

Delhi High Court: Actor Rajpal Yadav sentenced to 3-month civil prison & was immediately taken into custody by Delhi Police for failing to repay a loan of Rs. 5 crore which Yadav & his wife Radha had taken in 2010 to make his directorial debut with Hindi film 'Ata Pata Laapata'. pic.twitter.com/EOib0yAjJ0 a ANI (@ANI) November 30, 2018

In 2013, Yadav was sent to 10 days judicial custody for hiding facts about the case. The court also attached assets owned by the couple and his company. The court also issued a contempt of court notice against two lawyers who represented the couple.

Bollywood actor Rajpal Yadav has been convicted in Delhias Karkardooma court for failing to clear dues. His wife and a company were also convicted after a recovery suit was filed for failing to pay dues amounting to Rs 5 crore. The loan was taken in 2010 for the directorial debut of the actor.

Earlier in 2015, Yadav claimed that he had cleared dues amounting to Rs 1.58 crore and Rs 3.42 crore were left to be cleared.

Rajpal Yadav is known for his excellent comic timing and his roles in films like Bhoolbhulaiya, Chup Chup Ke and Partner.

For all the Latest Entertainment News, Bollywood News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
New Delhi:

Kangana Ranauts Manikarnika: The Queen of Jhansi, which had landed in another trouble pit recently, as it was reported that the makers are yet to clear payment of approximately Rs 1.5 crore to the workers and junior artists, stated by the Federation of Western India Cine Employees. However, producer Kamal Jain on Friday refuted the allegations. The movie is slated to release on January 20 in 2019 and is currently working with its post-production. The filmmakers are also shooting some portions of the epic drama at Filmcity in suburban Mumbai.

Also Read | SS Rajamouli's 'Baahubali: The Beginning' bring more pride to country, to be screened at Londons Alberta Hall in 2019

Owing to the issues in payments of workers, technicians and junior artists, the shoot was halted on Wednesday afternoon mid-way. It has been three months but they have not cleared dues of daily wage workers, which is about Rs 40 lakh. About Rs 90 lakh are to be paid to light vendor and Rs 25 lakh to junior artists. The producer (Kamal Jain) had promised to make the payment by October but he has not fulfilled his commitment, Ashok Dubey, General Secretary of Federation of Western India Cine Employees (FWICE) told PTI.

The work on the sets was stalled by the Film Studio Setting and Allied Mazdoor Union workers. The workers union had to later approach the FWICE to seek their help to resolve the matter.

The producers should understand the plight of these workers, technicians and junior artists, there is no safety and security on the sets, there is no insurance for them. Besides this, the quality of food on the sets is not always good and there is also an issue of hygiene. We are also planning to meet Kirit Somaiya, who is the chairman of Labour committee, he added. When contacted Jain, he remained unavailable for comments.

Also Read | Ranveer Singh and Deepika Padukone seek blessings from Siddhivinayak Lord Ganesha

The film producer said that they have filed a complaint with the Film & TV Producers Guild of India against Film and Allied Union over one disputed vendor. Jain further added that the films shoot was completed on October 13 and all the legitimate and due payments were cleared thereby.

"One disputed vendor, who has already been paid 70 percent of his dues, is illegitimately now using the union authority to arm twist us and disrupted our film shoot, which is completely illegal, untenable under the law and clearly is harassment to us and our team. This is one vendor whose payment is under dispute and is being tackled professionally and in a businesslike manner," Jain said in a statement to PTI.

He added, "As a production house we are absolutely clear on not holding back any ones payment which is legitimate and due, as we immensely respect everyone's hard work that has gone into this film. We are thankful to each vendor/individual who has helped us on making this film."

Also Read | Rajinikanth-Akshay Kumar starrer 2.0 enters 100-crore-club on Day 1, fails to beat Baahubali 2

Ever since the film went on floors, Manikarnika has been in the news for no good reasons. One of the most controversial films of the year, Manikarnika had to face a lot of backlash from its cast and crew. The budget of Manikarnika has reportedly escalated from Rs 60 crore to Rs 125 crore, Kangana taking over the reins from director Krish and co-star Sonu Sood abandoning the project due to differences with her.

The cast also includes Ankita Lokhande, Suresh Oberoi, and Bengali actor Jisshu Sengupta among others.

For all the Latest Entertainment News, Bollywood News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
New Delhi :

Former Union Coal Secretary HC Gupta and four others, including a firm Vikas Metal Power Ltd, have been convicted by a special court in the coal scam case. The court found them guilty of criminal conspiracy and under other sections of Prevention of Corruption Act and ordered to take them into custody. The court has fixed December 3 as next hearing for the argument on the quantum of sentence.

Gupta and four others were found guilty in the case of irregulates in the allocation of Moira and Madhujore (North and South) coal blocks in West Bengal to Vikas Metal Power Ltd. The former top bureaucrat, who was the Coal Secretary under the Congress-led UPA government before his retirement in 2008, was accused of not following a transparent system in auctioning the coal mines.

Also Read | Coal scam: Special Court pulls up CBI for not providing documents to accused

Gupta had headed the screening committee and cleared as many as 40 cases of coal mining rights. He was booked in at least 8 cases related to the massive coal scam that rocked the UPA government.

A massive swindle dubbed as the coal scam was unearthed in 2012 after the then CAG in its report claimed that the government sold as many as 200 coals fields at a very low price and didnt follow a transparent procedure. The CAG claimed that this cost the taxpayers about Rs 1.86 lakh crore.

The alleged scam soon became the talk of the town and the Opposition BJP used the scandal to build a perception of corruption against the Congress-led UPA government. Before the scam, Gupta had a reputation of an honest bureaucrat and when his name surfaced in the case, civil servants had given a call for a re-examination of the anti-corruption law.

Also Read | Rahul Gandhi says 'Demonetisation like Rafale was a crime against India and a huge scam'

For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
New Delhi:

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday while addressing the G-20 summit in Argentina's capital of Buenos Aires said terrorism and radicalism are threats to the world and those who commit financial crimes are also under the scanner. He further gave a clarion call to work together in a bid to curb black money from the world economy. Talking about the new industrial developments of coming decades, Modi said, "We BRICS countries are ready to participate in new industrial development".

The prime minister arrived in the capital city previous night where he is scheduled to discuss ways to meet the new and upcoming challenges of the coming decade with other world leaders, including US President Donald Trump.

Speaking at the BRICS informal meeting, Modi also said, "We have to talk in one voice for the interest of developing nations in the United Nations and other multilateral organizations. This is the reason we have come together for BRICS in Argentina G20".

PM Narendra Modi at BRICS informal meeting in Buenos Aires: We have to talk in one voice for the interest of developing nations in the United Nations and other multilateral organizations. This is the reason we have come together for BRICS #Argentina #G20 pic.twitter.com/Ew2bis1OOS  ANI (@ANI) November 30, 2018

Read | Donald Trump cancels meeting with Vladimir Putin at G-20 summit over Ukraine crisis

Post that, Modi met Chinese President Xi Jinping and held productive discussions on the sidelines of the two-day 13th G-20 summit in Buenos Aires. "This year has been very important for relations between our two nations, I am confident that coming year would be even better," Modi asserted.

Productive discussions between PM @narendramodi and President Xi Jinping in Buenos Aires. pic.twitter.com/DZKRQdLNPF  PMO India (@PMOIndia) November 30, 2018

Besides, Modi, Trump and Japanese Premier Shinzo Abe will hold a trilateral meeting amidst China flexing its muscles in the strategic Indo-Pacific region.

Read | Imran Khan explains his 'small men occupying big offices' tweet, says did not target Narendra Modi

The trilateral, which would be an expansion of the bilateral meeting between Trump and Abe, is part of the series of meetings the US president would have on the sidelines of the G-20 summit on November 30 and December 1.

For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
New Delhi :

Thousands of farmers from across the country, chanting 'Jai Jawan, Jai Kisan' beat the shivery Thursday night at Delhias Ramlila Maidan to march to Parliament today. Months before the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the farmers thronged the national capital as part of their two-day protest to press for demands, including loan waivers, better prices for their produce and a special three-week session of Parliament to discuss the prevailing agrarian crisis in the country. "Farmers have converged in Delhi to remind the Union government that the party leading it had made promises of waiving off loans in its manifesto. And,A it'sA been four and a half years since they came to power," said one of the farmers amid the chants of "Ayodhya nahi, karzi maaf chahiye (We don't need Ayodhya but debt waiver)".

Here are the Highlights from farmers march in Delhi:

16:44 pm:A Former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Farooq Abdullah speaks at farmers' protest at Jantar Mantar, New Delhi.

#WATCH Former J&K Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah speaking at farmers' protest at Jantar Mantar,New Delhi pic.twitter.com/JpdhBgea82 a ANI (@ANI) November 30, 2018

16:40 pm:A This is the strength of the voice of farmers. This cannot be stopped by anyone, says Gandhi.

This is the strength of the voice of farmers. This cannot be stopped by anyone: Congress President @RahulGandhi#CongressWithKisan pic.twitter.com/4UJX2uJv59 a Congress (@INCIndia) November 30, 2018

16:30 pm:A There are many political parties gathered here. We might have different ideologies but when it comes to farmers and youth, we stand united for their rights, says the Congress president.

There are many political parties gathered here. We might have different ideologies but when it comes to farmers and youth, we stand united for their rights: Congress President @RahulGandhi#CongressWithKisan pic.twitter.com/Hxtg4LobBA a Congress (@INCIndia) November 30, 2018

16:25 pm:A If PM Modi can waive off loans worth Rs 3,50,000 crore of India's richest then it is possible to waive off farm loans: Rahul Gandhi.

If PM Modi can waive off loans worth a3,50,000Cr of India's richest then it is possible to waive off farm loans: Congress President @RahulGandhi#CongressWithKisan pic.twitter.com/TO8NT9ITwH a Congress (@INCIndia) November 30, 2018

16:21 pm:A Ask Delhiites, all of them are saying that Modi ji is harmful for Delhi. He interferes in every damn thing of the national capital, Kejriwal told media after his address at farmers march.

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal: Saare Dilliwale aaj keh rahe hain ki Modi ji Dilli ke liye haanikarak hain, Dilliwalon se pooch ke dekho. Vo(PM Modi) Dilli ke har kaam mein taang adaate hain. pic.twitter.com/KmyIQGYcBb a ANI (@ANI) November 30, 2018

16:11 pm:A Opposition leaders including Rahul Gandhi, Arvind Kejriwal and Farooq Abdullah join Kisan Muskti March in Delhi, show opposition strength at farmers march.

Opposition leaders including Rahul Gandhi, Arvind Kejriwal and Farooq Abdullah at farmers protest in Delhi pic.twitter.com/ThHeMKGrpm a ANI (@ANI) November 30, 2018

16:07 pm:A Five months are left, I demand that the Central Govt implement Swaminathan report, says Kejriwal at farmers march in Delhi.

Arvind Kejriwal at farmersa protest in Delhi: Five months are left, I demand that the Central Govt implement Swaminathan report. Warna 2019 mein ye kisaan qayamat dha denge pic.twitter.com/wkTyPJgA1n a ANI (@ANI) November 30, 2018

16:05 pm: After Rahul Gandhi, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal takes on PM Narendra Modi.

15:57 pm:A Modi ji had promised MSP If the loans of industrialists can be waived off, then the debt of farmers must be waived off as well. I assure the farmers of India, we are with you, don't feel afraid, says Rahul Gandhi.

Rahul Gandhi at farmersa protest in Delhi: If the loans of industrialists can be waived off, then the debt of farmers must be waived off as well. I assure the farmers of India, we are with you, don't feel afraid. Aapki shakti ne is desh ko banaya hai pic.twitter.com/r8Lzew4Ay0 a ANI (@ANI) November 30, 2018

15:53 pm:A Modi ji had promised MSP will be increased, PM promised bonus, but look at the situation right now, empty speeches are being given and nothing else: Rahul Gandhi at farmers march in Delhi.

Rahul Gandhi at farmersa protest in Delhi: Modi ji had promised MSP will be increased, PM promised bonus, but look at the situation right now, empty speeches are being given and nothing else pic.twitter.com/JVYM1RJOpf a ANI (@ANI) November 30, 2018

15:50 pm: Rahul Gandhi addresses a gathering at Kisan Mukti March in Delhi.

15:39 pm:A Congress President Rahul Gandhi will be joining the Kisan Mukti March shortly to stand in support of India's farmers.

12:50 am: Video of farmers crossing an elevated road in the national capital. They reached the Parliament Street from Ramlila Maidan to hold a protest march to the Parliament.

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Farmers from ACROSS INDIA march demanding their Rights, Facilities and MSP for Crops.#FarmersMarch is a Sad Reality of India.



We, Citizens of India, Support our Farmers and Their Demands.#ModiJiHoshMainAao #DeshBachao pic.twitter.com/BbRR9dlTt9 a AAP Ka Mehta (@DaaruBaazMehta) November 30, 2018

12:10 am: The agitating farmers, under the banner of All India Kisan Sangharsh Coordination Committee (AIKSCC), have reached Parliament street: Delhi Traffic Police

Traffic Alert



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aaaa aaaaa (aaaaa aaaYaaa aa aaa ) aaaas aaa aa | aaaa aa aaaaaaa aaaaaaaa aa | a Delhi Traffic Police (@dtptraffic) November 30, 2018

11:30 am:A Farmers from all across the nation hold protest for the second day over their demands of debt relief, better MSP for crops, among others; latest visuals from near Jantar Mantar.

Delhi: Farmers from all across the nation hold protest for the second day over their demands of debt relief, better MSP for crops, among others; latest #visuals from near Jantar Mantar pic.twitter.com/zwnHQHALkk a ANI (@ANI) November 30, 2018

10:40 am:A Visuals from near Ramlila Maidan on the second day of 2-day protest by farmers from all across the nation, who are asking for debt relief, better MSP for crops, among other demands.

Delhi: #Visuals from near Ramlila Maidan on the second day of 2-day protest by farmers from all across the nation, who are asking for debt relief, better MSP for crops, among other demands pic.twitter.com/j145x5uhc7 a ANI (@ANI) November 30, 2018

10:20 am:A Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, NCP chief Sharad Pawar, National Conference leader Farooq Abdullah, Loktantrik Janata Dalas Sharad Yadav likely to attend the rally.

09:25 am: Delhi police has said that the farmers didn't seek permission to march to Parliament, therefore, they will not be allowed. The police said that over 3,000 personnel up to the rank of sub-inspectorA have been deployed in the central district.

09:00 am: Delhi police has issued a traffic advisoryA to commuters. The police advised people to keep out of the areas around Parliament until at least 6 pm when the farmers are expected to disperse.

08:45 am:A Ahead of the farmers' march, security around Parliament has been tightened. During their October 2 protest, the farmers were not allowed to go near the Parliament. They were 'welcomed' with barricades, water cannons and tear gas shells. However, this time, the leaders of the movement are hoping the authorities will cooperate and allowed them to gherao Parliament.

08:30 am: Farmers from Tamil Nadu carrying skulls ofA their colleagues who committed suicide. TheyA threatened to march naked if not allowed to go to Parliament.

Delhi: #Visuals from Ramlila Maidan on the second day of 2-day protest by farmers from all across the nation, who are asking for debt relief, better MSP for crops, among other demands pic.twitter.com/Awkh9uwIbh a ANI (@ANI) November 30, 2018

08:00 am: Farmers from across the country started gathering at Ramlila Maidan from Thursday morning to participate in a 2-day protest from over their demands, including debt relief better MSP for crops. (Early visuals)

Delhi: #Visuals of farmers' protest from near Ramlila Maidan area. Farmers from all across the nation have gathered in Delhi to participate in a 2-day protest from today over their demands, including debt relief & better MSP for crops pic.twitter.com/SB5pVkw2HT a ANI (@ANI) November 29, 2018

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New Delhi:

Amid oppositions relentless demand for his resignation, Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar will meet state BJP MLAs, ministers and government officials at his private residence on Saturday, according to reports. "The CM will first meet officials and take stock of governance in the morning, followed by a meeting with BJP MLAs and ministers," a senior Chief Ministers Office functionary told PTI on Friday. He added that Parrikar's health is better now.

The chief minister had earlier held a Cabinet meeting on October 31 and met party officials the next day.

Early on Friday, Goa Forward Party chief and Agriculture minister Vijai Sardesai confirmed their decision to not replace ailing Manohar Parrikar as the chief minister of the state.

Read | Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar wants to resign, but BJP won't let him, claims Vijay Sardesai

Parikkar, 62, is currently undergoing treatment for a pancreatic ailment at his residence since his discharge from the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in New Delhi. He returned to Goa on October 14.

Sardesai, however, on Friday told reporters that he met Parrikar on November 28.

I had met the CM while coming back from the closing ceremony function of IFFI (International Film Festival of India) (on November 28). He is fine. Where is the question of replacing him? Sardesai said.

Read | Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar has pancreatic cancer: State health minister

While the ruling BJP has maintained that Parrikar has been looking after the affairs of governance even as he undergoes treatment, the states opposition parties, and occasionally allies in the state government, have alleged that his health-related absence was bringing the administration to a standstill.

(With inputs from agencies)

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New Delhi:

The District Magistrate on Friday ordered to attach the properties of accused Brajesh Thakur's wife and six other members of Seva Sankalp Samiti in connection with the Muzaffarpur shelter home case, news agency ANI reported. Brajesh Thakur headed the NGO, which ran the shelter home where sexual abuse of a number of inmates has come to light.

Muzaffarpur shelter home case: District Magistrate releases order to attach property of accused Brajesh Thakur's wife and six other members of Seva Sankalp Samiti, the NGO that ran the shelter home  ANI (@ANI) November 30, 2018

ALSO READ | One of 14 girls rescued from Bihar's Muzaffarpur shelter home goes missing from Madhubani

Earlier, the Bihar Police attached the property of former social welfare minister Manju Verma. The former Bihar minister was on the run after registration of an FIR against her and husband Chandrasekhar Verma  a close aide of key accused Brajesh Thakur  under the Arms Act case.



Verma had stepped down as the minister for social welfare in August following reports that her husband had close connections with Brajesh Thakur, the prime accused in the Muzaffarpur sexual abuse case. Thakur is currently going through legal procedures in Muzaffarpur jail.



In July, over 30 girls, aged among seven to 14 years, were allegedly drugged, scalded with boiling water, raped and forced to sleep naked at the shelter home run by Brajesh Thakur, the chief of a state-funded NGO. The alleged sexual exploitation of the minor girls was first highlighted in an audit report submitted by the Tata Institute of Social Sciences to the state's social welfare department.



The CBI is currently investigating the case, which relates to the mental, physical and sexual exploitation of the girls residing at the Balika Grih of Bihar's Muzaffarpur. So far, 17 people have been arrested in connection with the same.

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Mumbai:

Amid Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khans fresh efforts to resume bilateral dialogue with India, Army Chief General Bipin Rawat on Friday said that Islamabad has to become a secular state to stay together with India. Pakistan has made its state an Islamic State. If they have to stay together with India, then they've to develop as a secular state. We are a secular state. If they're willing to become secular like us, then they seem to have an opportunity, ANI quoted General Rawat as saying.

Referring to Pakistani PM Imran Khans statement that if India takes one step, they will take two, the Army Chief asserted that India's policy of "terror and talks can't go together" will remain unchanged if Islamabads efforts show some positive effect on the ground.

Also Read | Imran Khan explains his 'small men occupying big offices' tweet, says did not target Narendra Modi

They (Pakistan) are saying you take one step, we will take two. There is a contradiction in what they're saying. One step from there should come in a positive manner, we will see if the step has an effect on the ground. Till then our nation has a clear policy- terror and talks can't go together, he said.

The Army Chief's remarks came a day after Imran Khan's statement that while Pakistan wants peaceful ties with India, the latter is holding on to the past and imposing preconditions on talks.

"How can you have preconditions in talks? Lets talk and then we will for sure find ways to bring peace," the Pakistani PM said.

Khan insisted that Pakistan has changed and wants peace with India to progress together but their efforts, he added, should not be understood as a desperate measure.

"In Pakistan, we are making agreements within all parties regarding peace with India. We are all on the same page. But our efforts at peace should not be understood as a desperate measure by us. We are not desperate. But we want peace so that both countries could progress".

Recently, India had rejected Pakistan's invitation to attend the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) summit, saying that dialogue at any level with Pakistan will not be possible until and unless it stops terror activities in India.

Also Read | India wont participate in SAARC, talks only if Pakistan stops terror: Sushma Swaraj

"We are not responding to it (Pakistan's invitation for SAARC summit) positively because as I said unless and until Pakistan stops terror activities in India, there will be no dialogue, so we will not participate in SAARC summit," External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj said.



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New Delhi :

Four suspected terrorists, dressed in Army fatigues, have been arrested by the police from Nangalpur village on Pathankot- Jalandhar national highway on Friday. Following the intelligence inputs of the presence of terrorists in the area, the police were checking the vehicles on a check post. On suspicion during the checking, the police took the four men, travelling in a Scorpio car (HP- 22B-8700), into custody. The police have been interrogating the suspects and trying to ascertain their identities. Their vehicle has been seized and more details were awaited.

Also Read | Punjab Police hunts for Zakir Moosa, begins massive search operation across state

Earlier this month, Punjab police had issued an alert across the state after reports of Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) terrorist Zakir Moosas presence in Amritsar. The police have released the posters of Moosa and requested people to stay alert and share any information related to the terrorist.

On November 14, a high alert was sounded in Pathankot and launched a manhunt after four men highjacked a taxi at the gunpoint near Madhopur. They had hired the taxi- a silver-coloured Innova from the Jammu railway station.

They suspected men had also introduced themselves as Army soldiers and refused to pay the toll. When they reached Madhopur, one of them pointed a gun towards the driver and pushed him outside.

Also Read | Amritsar Attack Updates: 3 dead, 20 injured; NIA team reaches blast site

At Lakhanpur toll post, the four occupants told the staff that they were from the Army and hence exempted from paying toll tax. When the car reached Madhopur, the four men whipped out their guns with one of the occupants saying that Kumar should be killed, the railway station taxi union vice-president Rajvinder Singh had said.

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New Delhi:

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday met with Saudi Arabia Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on sidelines of the G20 summit being held in Argentina. The two sides held discussions on enhancing investment in technology, renewable energy and food security.



"Crown Prince informed PM Modi that Saudi will be finalising an initial investment into national infrastructure fund. He referred to future prospects for investment in technology, agricultural and energy sectors. The Prime Minister, in particular stressed upon the importance of having stable energy prices, said Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale.

"Had a fruitful interaction with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud. We discussed multiple aspects of India-Saudi Arabia relations and ways to further boost economic, cultural and energy ties," PM Modi wrote on Twitter.

Had a fruitful interaction with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud. We discussed multiple aspects of India-Saudi Arabia relations and ways to further boost economic, cultural and energy ties. pic.twitter.com/KYeIiG2FET  Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) November 29, 2018

ALSO READ | Imran Khan explains his 'small men occupying big offices' tweet



"Deepening strategic ties. PM @narendramodi met with Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud on sidelines of #G20Argentina. Discussed enhancing Saudi investment in technology, infrastructure, petroleum, renewable energy, food security, fintech & defence sectors," External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Raveesh Kumar tweeted.

Deepening strategic ties.



PM @narendramodi met with Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud on sidelines of #G20Argentina. Discussed enhancing Saudi investment in technology, infrastructure, petroleum, renewable energy, food security, fintech & defence sectors. pic.twitter.com/dZt2K5JVbM  Raveesh Kumar (@MEAIndia) November 29, 2018

Later, PM Modi met with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi held bilateral meeting with Antonio Guterres, UN Secretary-General in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on the sidelines of the #G20Summit. pic.twitter.com/hEn7NFuEUz  ANI (@ANI) November 29, 2018

On the sidelines of the two-day 13th G-20 summit, PM Modi is expected to hold meetings with the US President Trump and Japanese Premier Shinzo Abe. White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said on Thursday the trilateral meeting with PM Modi will be held towards the end of the Trump-Abe talks.



The theme of the G20 summit is 'Building Consensus for a Fair and Sustainable Development.' The Prime Minister said on Tuesday that he would be discussing ways to meet the new and upcoming challenges of the coming decade with world leaders who will gather for the summit. In his departure statement issued in New Delhi, PM Modi said through the 10 years of its existence, the G-20 had strived to promote stable and sustainable global growth.

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New Delhi:

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who on Friday attended the 13th G-20 Summit in Argentina's capital of Buenos Aires, met Chinese President Xi Jinping to formulate strategies to strengthen the bilateral ties between both the countries. Modi told Xi that he was looking forward to hos him for an informal summit in 2019.

This was Modis third meeting with Jinping in recent times following their informal summit in the Chinese city of Wuhan in April. The two leaders have met at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit held in June in Chinas Qingdao and the second time at the BRICS summit in South Africa's Johannesburg in July.

"Today's meeting will be important in providing a direction in terms of strengthening our relations," Modi said.

Soon after the meeting, the PMO India tweeted that the two leaders held productive discussions, which include ways to strengthen relations and maintaining the momentum between India and China.

Productive discussions between PM @narendramodi and President Xi Jinping in Buenos Aires. pic.twitter.com/DZKRQdLNPF  PMO India (@PMOIndia) November 30, 2018

Read | G-20 Summit: PM Modi takes a jibe at Pakistan, says terrorism and radicalism are threats to world

"Such initiatives are helpful in maintaining the momentum," the prime minister said while speaking during his meeting with Jinping this afternoon. Last but not the least, Modi also thanked President Jinping for taking out his time for the bilateral talks.

Post that, Modi also interacted with several other world leaders, including Russian President Vladimir Putin, US President Donald Trump and British Prime Minister Theresa May in leaders lounge at G-20 Summit in Argentina.

PM @narendramodi interacts with various world leaders during the G-20 Summit in Argentina. @g20org pic.twitter.com/cH7T01Bcbu  PMO India (@PMOIndia) November 30, 2018

Buenos Aires, Argentina: #G20 leaders pose for a family photograph pic.twitter.com/5rfhiYjYsf  ANI (@ANI) November 30, 2018

Read | 21 parties on stage, farmers' march in Delhi turns into show of strength for Opposition against Modi

Later in the day, Modi also held the first trilateral meeting with US President Donald Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in order to voice India's firm commitment to make the Indo-Pacific a region for shared economic growth.

Buenos Aires, Argentina: PM Modi, US President Donald Trump and Japan PM Shinzo Abe meet on the sidelines of the #G20Summit pic.twitter.com/OlKlt3a1CC  ANI (@ANI) November 30, 2018

Speaking at the trilateral meeting Modi said, "Both countries are our strategic partners and both leaders are my good friends. Japan, USA, India acronym is JAI, so 'Jai' in Hindi means success. This sends a good message".

Briefing the media on their bilateral meeting, Trump, on the other hand, said, "We just had a great meeting. Our relationship is extremely great, strong. It is stronger than ever. We are doing very well together, a lot of defence and military purchases".

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Center News

Center for Health Security researchers in NEJM: DRC Ebola outbreak at risk of spiraling out of control without CDC personnel on the ground, more investments in WHO

By Nick Alexopulos | Nov. 28, 2018

Successful containment of the ongoing Ebola virus disease outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) hinges on the return to the region of US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) personnel and an immediate ramping up of international financial commitments to the World Health Organization (WHO), write two Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security researchers in an article in the New England Journal of Medicine.

The article, Ramping Up the Response to Ebola, by Jennifer Nuzzo, DrPH, and Tom Inglesby, MD, was published Nov. 28. Nuzzo is a senior scholar at the Center; Inglesby is the Centers director.

Though there are risks in sending additional personnel to the DRC, high risks would also be posed by an outbreak spiraling out of control, write the authors. Unchecked, it could threaten the health and stability of neighboring countries. . . . Such spread would lead to travel, trade, economic, and security implications reaching far beyond the region, which would exacerbate the toll of the outbreak and increase the cost of response.

CDCs director reiterated concerns about security in the region at a recent event hosted by the Center on Capitol Hill to provide congressional staffers an update on US response. Though CDC has the requisite experience in managing Ebola outbreaks, the agencys personnel were pulled back from the field by the US Department of State earlier this fall. More than 80 CDC personnel continue to help with the response, spread among the DRC Ministry of Health and the ministries of health in neighboring countries to work on preparedness and surveillance efforts. CDC also has personnel coordinating with the WHO in Geneva. But CDC staff still are not currently present in the areas where virus transmission is occurring.

Nuzzo and Inglesby say the US government ought to make security arrangements that would allow CDC staff to return to the field for as long as the WHO and fellow response agencies deem necessary. Circumstances are exigent: If we do not act now, write the authors, the outbreak may become far harder and more expensive to stop. If the virus spreads beyond the DRC, the United States would likely be forced to send personnel to the affected areas.

As of Nov. 24, the WHO reported 365 confirmed cases of Ebola virus disease and 189 confirmed deaths.

The outbreak is concentrated in the heavily populated provinces of North Kivu and Ituri, which are located along the DRCs border with Uganda, Rwanda, and South Sudan. The provinces are experiencing intense insecurity and a worsening humanitarian context, with over one million internally displaced people and continuous movement of refugees to neighboring countries, according to the latest WHO situation report. Containment is being hindered by the struggle to identify and monitor contacts of known Ebola cases and rapidly isolate anyone who develops symptoms. This full and complete contact tracing is also necessary to support Ebola vaccination efforts. Those and other challenges have this Ebola outbreak on track to become the DRCs largest in recorded history.

Thats why Nuzzo and Inglesby argue the international community should act now, despite the absence of a formal Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) declaration. The WHO declined to declare a PHEIC during its emergency committee meeting in October.

The United States and other countries [have] made investments to help reform the WHO to enable it to play a more operational and coordinating role during epidemics, write Nuzzo and Inglesby. But the WHO, the DRC, and local partners wont be able to succeed without sufficient human and financial resources.

They note that the WHO remains dependent on international support, both technical and financial. Its Contingency Fund for Emergenciesfunding for responses to disease and other criseshas received from member states less than a third of its $100 million annual target. The WHOs response to the DRC Ebola outbreak alone will cost an estimated $44 million.

Their full article is available nejm.org.

About the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security:

The Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security works to protect people from epidemics and disasters and build resilient communities through innovative scholarship, engagement, and research that strengthens the organizations, systems, policies, and programs essential to preventing and responding to public health crises. The Center is part of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and is located in Baltimore, MD.
New Delhi:

Congress president Rahul Gandhi and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal shared the same dais at a mega rally by agitated farmers at Jantar Mantar in the national capital on Friday. It was a landmark moment in the history of Indian politics as the two leaders used the same platform for the very first time this evening. Earlier, their imperative of taking on the ruling BJP impelled them to be on the same platform several times but they dodged each other to ensure that they don't share the stage together. However, Friday's Kisan Mukti March turned into a show of unity for the Opposition with leaders of over a dozen non-BJP parties, including Gandhi and Kejriwal closing ranks to protest against BJP's apathy towards the sufferings of farmers.

Congress president Rahul Gandhi, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Farooq Abdullah, CPI-M chief Sitaram Yechury and NCP supremo Sharad Pawar and other leaders shared the stage and backed the demands of the protesting farmers who started their march towards Parliament from Ramlila grounds around 10.30 am this morning.

While Gandhi appealed to the leaders of all opposition parties to stand united with farmers in ensuring their good future and called for a farm loan waiver, Kejriwal alleged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has "stabbed farmers in the back" by not fulfilling the promises made to them.

Read | 21 parties on stage, farmers' march in Delhi turns into show of strength for Opposition against Modi

Gandhi said no one can silence the voice of farmers and youth while asserting that if the government insults them, then they will ensure its removal.

"The farmers are not seeking a free gift from the government by asking for a farm loan waiver but are only asking for what is due to them," the Congress chief said, and asked, "If this government can waive Rs 3.5 lakh crore loans of 15 big industrialists, why can't the loans of crores of farmers in the country be waived."

Kejriwal said the government made a lot of promises to farmers in the 2014 elections, but it has not fulfilled them. And, by not implementing the Swaminathan Commission report, Modi Ji has stabbed the farmers in their back (kisano ke peeth mey chhura bhonka hai)."

"...the report should be implemented, otherwise, farmers would wreak havoc in 2019 elections ('kisan agle election mey qayamat dhah denge')," the AAP leader claimed.

The cold war between the AAP and the Congress came to light ever since the former had in August refused to back opposition candidate BK Hariprasad during the elections for the post of Rajya Sabha Chairman, saying Congress president Rahul Gandhi personally did not seek the partys support.

Read | PM Modi meets Chinese President Xi Jinping at G-20 Summit, formulates strategies to strengthen relation

"If they (the Congress) ask for our vote, we will oblige. It is meaningless to vote compulsively (for the Congress), if they do not need it," AAP MP Singh told reporters. "If Rahul Gandhi can hug Narendra Modi, why cannot he ask Arvind Kejriwal to support his party's candidate?" he added.

However, now time will tell if Friday's Kisan Mukti March is truly considered a success to resolve differences between the Congress and the AAP.

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New Delhi:

Varun Gandhi, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP and a cousin of Congress president Rahul Gandhi, on Friday said he supports Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MNREGA), a scheme from the UPA era which guarantees employment in rural areas, and said it was a "good policy".

"I actually support MNREGA. I think it is a good policy. It is a misconception to say that the scheme is a failure," Varun, addressing students of the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad (IIM-A) said.

Varuns statement contradicts the opinion of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who had once called the MNREGA scheme a "living monument of UPA's failure" to tackle poverty.

The Sultanpur MP was invited by the institute to speak on issues he had written about in his upcoming book 'A Rural Manifesto: Realising India's Future Through Her Villages'.

According to Varun, villagers should be given the power to decide what kind of work they wanted in the villages under the MNREGA.

The BJP leader also said looking at the backgrounds of the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) Officers, it was clear that privilege has played a major role in their success.

"As per the information I received through a query under the Right To Information, 69 per cent of serving IAS officers have been to private schools, 84 per cent of them have grown up in 25 big cities and 70 per cent have a post-graduate degree which is a luxury," he said.

He also spoke about non-performing assets of banks. He said the problem did not arise because farmers did not repay their loans.

"The total amount of money given to farmers in loan waiver is 23 per cent of the money given to 40 richest families (family-run business groups) in the last 40 years," he said.

He advocated investment in the textile sector to create jobs.

Earlier, speaking to News18, Varun said he broke his vow of donating his salary to families of debt-ridden farmers who committed suicide since he realised that very few people benefitted from it.

I donated my salary, which went on for a few years, but I realised that very few benefitted from it. I also read that subaltern movements are missing and questioned why the politics today is devoid of larger movements. We decided to sit down and draw up an economic model to understand why farmers commit suicide. We came across many reasons for it, he said.

(With PTI inputs)

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Mumbai:

Maharashtra legislature's passage of a bill granting 16 per cent quota to Marathas in jobs and education marked the culmination of a 36-year-long movement by the community that saw many ups and downs and loss of lives. The bill was passed Thursday unanimously, establishing wide political support for the measure and also reflecting the clout of the influential agrarian community.

Community leaders say their long-drawn struggle has finally paid off, but maintain they will continue their fight for withdrawal of cases against their members filed when their agitation turned violent and invited police action.

"The credit for the passage of the bills goes largely to those who laid their lives for the cause and also to those who have struggled for it," Ankush Mohite, state coordinator of the Maratha Kranti Morcha, said. The Morcha is among the outfits which spearheaded the Maratha quota agitation. Mohite said the next step of the protesters is to ensure that police cases filed against their colleagues at various places in the state are withdrawn. Rajendra Kondhare, general secretary, Akhil Bhartiya Maratha Mahasangh, agreed with him.

"Though the bill is cleared, our battle is still not over," he said.

According to him, the quota agitation claimed around 40 lives in nearly four decades. The demand for quota for Marathas -- who form 33 per cent of the state's around 13 crore population - came to the fore prominently in March 1982 when Annasaheb Patil (28), anative of Satara district, shot himself, Kondhare said.

"Annasaheb had led a march in Mumbai over the issue. The government ignored the demand, prompting Annasaheb to end his life," Kondhare said.

The issue remained on the back burner largely till the previous Congress-NCP government, ahead of the 2014 Assembly polls, came out with an ordinance granting reservation to the community. It was, however, stayed by the Bombay High Court. The campaign for the quota intensified after a 14-year-old Maratha girl from Kopardi village in Ahemadnagar district was raped and murdered in July 2016.

The rape-cum-murder incident triggered an outrage among the community whose members took to streets and vented their anger against the stringent SC/ST Atrocities Act (the accused were Dalits) and demanded justice for the victim. The demand for justice in the rape-murder case was coalesced with the large issue of Maratha reservation and the agitation attracted widespread attention.

Over 50 well-attended 'mook morchas' (silent marches)were held by Maratha organisations across the state in 2016 and 2017, sending a message to the BJP-led government about their demand and intention to continue their struggle. The agitation took a violent turn in July this year with protesters slamming the government over delay infulfilling the demand.

Amid restlessness among Marathas, started another phase which saw community members taking their own lives in support of the long-pending demand for quota. Kakasaheb Shinde, from Aurangabad district, the hotbed of the latest phase of quota stir, allegedly flung himself to death in Godavari river over the demand. Jagannath Sonavane, also hailing from Aurangabad, reportedly consumed poison and died to press for Marathaquota. Abhijit Deshmukh (35), who hailed from Beed, allegedly hanged himself for the cause August 31.

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New Delhi:

The United Arab Emirates is one of the forerunners in technological and infrastructural development, be it the Hyperloop or futuristic, driverless flying cars. However, the country is going one step further in advancing their technology with the proposal of an undersea rail link that could connect Indias financial capital, Mumbai.



According to reports, residents will soon be able to travel from Fujairah to Mumbai by undersea rail network. The National Advisor Bureau Limited Managing Director and chief consultant Abdulla Alshehhi, during the UAE-India Conclave in Abu Dhabi, said this will benefit not just passengers, but trade could also be enhanced.

Also Read | Breast cancer detection made easier, cheaper and 'acceptable' to women



"This is a concept. We plan to connect Indian city of Mumbai with Fujairah through ultra-speed floating trains. The project aims to boost bilateral trade. There will be export of oil to India from Fujairah port and import of excess water from Narmada River. In addition, other GCC partners can also improve export and import," he told a gathering of businessmen and industry experts.



Alshehhi, who is the founder of the National Advisor Bureau, added that the idea needs to have multiple facets which need to be considered before the go-ahead signal is given.



"We will do feasibility study of the project. This is concept but a cool project to look at," Alshehhi said. The total rail network will be close to 2,000km.

Also Read | DeepVeer reception: Hot red and handsome black go hand-in-hand

This concept of underwater network however is vastly proliferating and similar projects apart from the UAE and Mumbai are also underway. China has plans to connect Russia, Canada and the US. Indian cities of Mumbai and Ahmedabad will be connected by high-speed rail corridor including undersea by 2022.

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New Delhi:

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) on Thursday announced nine US companies including Lockheed Martin Corp. that are going to compete for funding NASAs long-term moon program. This space program is a private-public undertaking to develop a technology which will explore the lunar eclipse.

At a news briefing, NASA administrator Jim Bridenstine said, "When we go to the moon, we want to be one customer of many customers in a robust marketplace between the earth and the moon.

Also Read | Will verify American moon landings, says Russia space agency chief

In the past, NASA revealed, "Lunar payloads could fly on these contracted missions as early as 2019.

These nine companies will compete for a chunk of a $2.6 billion under the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's Commercial Lunar Payload Services program. These companies will be developing small launch vehicles and robotic rovers over the next 10 years.

NASA is expecting to begin construction of a new space station laboratory which will be orbiting out planets natural satellite and will also act as a pit stop for missions to deeper parts of our solar system.

Apart from Lockheed Martin, NASA has also chosen Draper, which will develop computers for the Apollo missions. And, for developing equipments for the program, NASA has selected Astrobotic Technology Inc, Firefly Aerospace Inc, Moon Express and four others.

Also Read | Moon rocks sold for $855,000 in US auction

Recently, NASAs Mars Odyssey spacecraft, that is currently orbiting the Red Planet, relayed the signals. InSight spacecraft, the first robotic lander designed to study the deep interior of the Red Planet, touched down safely on the surface of Mars on Monday.

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New Delhi :

Seven employees of the debt-ridden Infrastructure Leasing and Financial Services (IF&LS) have been held hostage by unpaid staff at three sites in Ethiopia's Oromia and Amhara states, according to reports. In an emailed letter, the employees said that the police and officials were taking the side of locals against them. So far, there was no response from Oromia and Amhara police but the Indian foreign ministry has initiated an investigation into the claims by the expatriates in Ethiopia.

In their letter to the ministry, the employees said that the possible termination of some projects by the Indian and Spanish joint venture triggered the local staffers to resort to the action. They said that they were caught in the "middle of corporate disagreements, blame games and bureaucratic issues."

Also Read | IL&FS Crisis: Fraud cannot be ruled out, group needs Rs 100 crore monthly to stay afloat

Concerns of project termination and absence of senior management from project camps might have triggered panic in local employees and led them to believe confining expat employees might force the organization to pay their salaries, the letter emailed by the employee read.

In an SOS tweet to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Ram Nath Kovind, one Neeraj Raghuwanshi who claimed to be one of the IL&FS employees in Ethiopia asked for immediate "help before its too late".

#SOS @rashtrapatibhvn @GRamnathkovind @narendramodi Sir we seven people are hostage by locals in Ethiopia, due to non payments of #ILFS What is employee's fault sir.even we didn't get salary from last 5 months all worked in Ethiopia for #ILFS help please b4 it's 2late #sos #Help  neeraj raghuwanshi (@chota86) November 29, 2018

The infrastructure financing firm IL&FS which began defaulting debt payments in August have reportedly not paid taxes and local employee pensions for nine months. The company told the employees that due to the Reserve Bank restrictions it is not able to send funds, the letter read.

Also Read | 'Lights, Camera, Scam': Rahul Gandhis mordacious attack on PM Modi over IL&FS bailout

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New Delhi:

Ten Central American women who are part of the migrant caravan camped on the US-Mexico border announced their hunger strike to pressure the Donald Trumps administration to allow migrants apply for asylum.

Since no one is listening to us, we've decided as a women's movement to launch a hunger strike," said Claudia Miranda of Honduras at an improvised press conference in the border city of Tijuana.

A group of migrant women who have announced to begin a hunger strike on Thursday for the United States to speed up the processing of asylum claims, however, did not say how long they planned to maintain their hunger strike, said sources.

Also Read | PM Modi meets Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on sidelines of G20 summit

According to reports, thousands of migrants were arrived in Tijuana, a border city in Mexico, in recent weeks, fleeing from poverty and violence in their home countries.

More than 6,000 migrants, who were part of the caravan, camped out on the US-Mexico border hoping to apply for asylum or sneak into the United States, said sources.

Earlier, police unleashed a tear gas to disperse members of a Honduran caravan migrant who charged the San Ysidro border crossing and attacked agents with rocks and bottles, said the sources.

Meanwhile, according to Tijuanas health department, one-third of migrants camped in shelters along the US-Mexico border have been diagnosed with respiratory infections, tuberculosis, chicken-box and other serious health issues raising concerns among Mexican health authorities and international humanitarian organisations.

(With inputs from agencies)

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Kathmandu:

Nepal was hailed a leader in LGBT rights when it became the first country in conservative South Asia to recognise a third gender and assure equality for its sexual minorities.

But more than a decade later, that trailblazing reputation has lost its lustre, with gay and transgender Nepalis still confronting obstacles to jobs and schools, and marriage equality a distant prospect.

More than 900,000 of Nepals roughly 26-million population identify as a sexual minority, according to LGBT rights group Blue Diamond Society.

On paper, they enjoy some of the most-progressive protections and rights guaranteed by law in the immediate region.

Also Read | Caravan migrants announce hunger strike to demand asylum in US

Landmark reforms in 2007 prohibited discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and recognised gay Nepalis at a time when homosexuality was still illegal in neighbouring India.

Transgender Nepalis identifying as neither male nor female were also granted the right to tick other when voting or applying for a passport or other official documents.

But gay and transgender Nepalis and rights activists say action has not matched rhetoric, and more than a decade on, the community still faces discrimination.

The government recognised our identity but has not been able to put forward a concrete policy or plan to give us rights that all citizens enjoy, said Blue Diamond Society president Pinky Gurung.

It is heartbreaking that to enjoy one right (citizenship), we have to be deprived of other opportunities. Rukshana Kapali, a transgender woman, has been allowed to study at university but not formally register as a student because her high school transcript identifies her as male under a former name.

The bureaucratic glitch means she may not be able to graduate. I feel like I am in limbo, the 19-year-old told AFP.

I want to be a linguist, but right now I am worried I wont be able to study here at all. Tribhuvan University, Nepals oldest, says it hopes to find a solution but until then, Kapali is off the books.

Read More | Section 377 abolished: History owes apology to LGBT people, says Supreme Court

We are optimistic, but it is not possible to register her under the current regulations, said Pushpa Raj Joshi, the universitys exam controller.

Every year, Nepals LGBT community take to the dusty streets of the capital Kathmandu for a vibrant gay pride parade to demand an end to all forms of discrimination.

Despite much-celebrated gains, there is still plenty to shout about. Nepal in August adopted a new civil code defining marriage as between a man and a woman, dashing hopes for same-sex unions to be legally recognised any time soon.

Other laws in the new statute have also been criticised for narrowly defining core rights in terms of male and femaleleaving no room for people of the other gender.

We were hoping for change so we could marry and maybe even start a family. But weve been disappointed so far, said Armand Rana, 23, a gay man who lives with his partner of six years.

Ranas family has accepted his partner but many in conservative and patriarchal Nepal still hide their sexuality and gender identity.

The amount of progress Nepal has experienced... is enormous, and yet implementation of the various pledges from government entities over the years continues to lag, said Kyle Knight of Human Rights Watch.

The government says it is working to make laws more inclusive. If any law discriminates, people can point it out so we can seek ways to improve, said Bharat Raj Sharma, who oversees LGBT issues at the Ministry of Women, Children and Senior Citizens.

But for transgender citizens like Kapali, the wheels of Nepals bureaucracy are turning too slowly. Being recognised as a third gender is important and I am proud of my identity, she said.

But I dont want it to limit what I can do in my life.

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For thousands of people who spent decades working at and investing in General Electric, the financial dependability they were promised for their retirement years is gradually being dismantled.

That harsh truth was made even clearer in October, when the company announced that it would drop its quarterly dividends to a penny per share next year, cutting a crucial source of income for thousands of people, including many GE retirees in southwestern Connecticut.

A lot of our people, our retirees and dependents are hurting, said John Phelps, who worked more than 40 years at GEs plant in Waterford, N.Y., which was sold in 2006.

Now, Phelps leads an advocacy group for his fellow retirees amid the growing issues that have developed over the years following the global conglomerates departure from its Fairfield headquarters for Boston in 2016.

Among those is GEs 2015 move to cut supplemental health care plans for retirees and instead offer access to a private exchange of insurance providers and a $1,000 annual reimbursement to cover expenses.

That move was the focus of a number of lawsuits against the company in recent years, none of which proved successful. Now, retirees are again facing trouble with new cuts to their income.

Long-term security

For decades, employees were trained to recognize GE not only for its global appeal, but also its financial security during and after their careers.

Often referred to as the three-legged stool, Phelps said employees had long believed their 401(k)s, health care and pensions with GE would keep them financially secure, but many are finding thats no longer the case.

If you have those youre all set, dont worry  thats what GE used to tell you, he said. Well, its all crashed. We got a lot to worry about.

At the end of his tenure with GE, Phelps said his 401(k) had roughly $250,000, but following the stock market dive in 2009, he said the amount was halved. Cutting the dividend nearly to nothing has a major impact on his income.

All of us retirees absolutely feel we earned these benefits, after years of service, commitment and dedication to GE  most of us for over half our lives  and for GE to start taking these benefits away, after we have already retired, we feel very betrayed by and angry at GE, and we feel GE broke its promises to us, Phelps said.

Cutting deep

Even for retirees whose quality of life has gone relatively unscathed, the dividend decision has dealt a blow to their portfolios.

Theres 400,000-plus retirees and their net worth has probably dropped to half in just the last three years alone, said John MacMonagle, who retired from GE in 2013 after a 33-year career.

For a time, he served on Fairfields economic development commission before moving to New Hampshire.

Though the value of his asset holdings took a hit, he said he understood the need for the company to try to recover from past mistakes. Cutting the dividend, he said, is a result of the stock plummeting in the past year, and it provides the company with some breathing room to be able to get through its financial woes.

Shareholders are being hurt by the cut, he said. However, had the dividend stayed in place, the companys inability to meet its debt obligations would have affected sustainability, he said.

For retirees like Bryan Fisher, who diversified his portfolio after retiring in 2009 after 39 years, the 2019 cuts wont sting much, but he empathized with many of his colleagues who will suffer.

It leaves them with less income and different quality and standard of living, for sure, but its no different than when any other stock goes bad, Fischer said.
BETHEL  A Nativity set and an atheist banner have thrown the town into a complicated debate over religious displays on public property.

A resident has proposed installing a banner wishing the community a happy holidays and signed your atheist neighbors. The sign would go on P.T. Barnum Square, where a manger has sat for decades.

But this year an atheist group criticized the selectmen for approving this Nativity set.

Some residents have derided the atheist sign, but it appears the town cannot legally reject it.

The hard part is: if you're going to allow a religious display, you cannot deny a non-religious display, First Selectman Matt Knickerbocker said. Nor can you edit it and say, I dont like the word atheist.

The selectmen will vote at its 7 p.m. Tuesday meeting on whether to allow the sign to be erected in P.T. Barnum Square.

The law is complex when it comes to determining whether religious displays are permitted in public spaces.

Towns are not allowed to sponsor or set up religious displays. Nor are religious displays permitted inside or at the entrance of government buildings.

But, these displays are allowed in public places as long as the town does not promote a particular religion over another.

New guidelines

The Board of Selectmen this week passed a temporary policy that is intended to be inclusive, while still preventing displays from defaming other religions, people or groups.

Knickerbocker said that was his best shot at creating fair guidelines, but he admitted it is difficult to decide what display demeans someone, adding the policy might not hold up in court.

Its going to be subjective, he said. Quite frankly, an attorney might have a problem with that. Were attempting to enforce community standards and Im going to admit we might not have the right to do so.

Nick Fish, president of American Atheists, agreed that part of the policy is constitutionally questionable.

The government getting into the business of deciding what is offense or an attack on anothers religion is a dangerous place to be in, he said.

There are people who are going to be offended by anything we put up, simply because it has the word atheist on there, Fish added. There are people who view the word atheist as an attack.

But he said Bethels latest policy is better than the non-existent one the town had before.

Its a good start having a neutral policy that is clearly spelled out well in advance with an application period that allows someone to apply and if something is wrong they can correct it, Fish said.

In a letter to the Board of Selectmen, the American Atheists had criticized the town for its lack of a written policy, arguing it made it harder for more inclusive displays to be approved.

This isnt about creating the impression that theres a war on Christmas here, Fish said. It's about ensuring that local towns and local government is following the law. If theyre not, we want to correct that.

The group has offered to help Bethel improve its guidelines.

We're happy to help them find that middle ground between ensuring the displays are positive and respectful, but that people have free speech rights, Fish said.

These guidelines are only meant to get Bethel through this holiday season. In the new year, a committee will be created to develop a permanent policy.

A dozen people have signed up to be on the committee. Knickerbocker said he is not yet sure how the selectmen will decide who to appoint.

We just want to make sure were going to have people be open-minded and look at all aspects of this, regardless of religious affiliation, he said.

Coming together

The Rev. John Parille, the pastor at Bethel United Methodist Church, said he sympathized with how complicated it is to create fair guidelines.

He said he knows some Christians find the atheist banner to be offensive.

But Parille said he thought about how Jesus would handle the situation. And Jesus would welcome everyone, even if he disagreed, Parille said.

(To be) the greatest witness (of Jesus) would be for us to show compassion and mercy and love and acceptance to any organization, as long as it not offensive, he said. That is the route the town is taking and thats the right route. To say everyone should have fair ground and a fair opportunity.

Parille said he was disappointed with some of the personal attacks directed toward residents on social media. He called on residents to be peacemakers, as Jesus was, and work together to come up with a solution.

My feeling is there is an opportunity here, Parille said. There is an opportunity, I think for everyone, for the town, for the Christians, for non-believers, to come together.

Thats already starting to happen.

This week, James Naddeo, the resident who wants to put up the atheist banner, and Tim Martin, one of the residents involved in raising money for and setting up the Nativity set, discussed the issue.

Naddeo said the conversation was productive.

It was neighborly and cordial and respectful, he said. I appreciated that (Martin) took the time to hear from me and I took the time to listen to him, as well.

Afterward, Naddeo decided to revise his sign. He said it will likely still include the word atheist, but will not have the American Atheists logo on it.

The original banner said This season, no matter what you celebrate or why, Happy Holidays!  your atheist neighbors.

Naddeo said he plans to tweak this wording.

Its going to be the same positive message, wishing the Bethel community happy holidays, no matter what you celebrate, he said.

Martin said he is pleased Naddeo is updating the design. But his main focus is on the manger he and other residents from local churches helped raise money for and set up.

Im happy the nativity set is there, Martin said. I want it to be there for many years. Thats what's important to me.

Pushing for inclusiveness

At a public hearing on Monday, many residents said they would support a menorah in the square, but a menorah has not been proposed.

Penny Kessler, the cantor at the United Jewish Center in Danbury and a longtime Bethel resident, said she has not considered putting up a menorah downtown. She has one at her home and there is one at the United Jewish Center.

Kessler said Bethel has always been inclusive to all beliefs.

People in this town really are welcoming to people that run the whole range of religious affiliations and faith affiliation, from no affiliation at all, to areligious, to extremely observant, she said. We all have a place here in Bethel.

Kessler praised town officials for their efforts to develop equitable guidelines.

They are really working hard to make a policy that is fair for everybody, she said. Theyre working on that and doing it without prejudice or favoritism toward any one particular community.

Parille suggested a committee also be in charge of deciding or recommending what displays are permitted. He said the group could be made up of cross sections of the community, such as Christians, Jews, atheists and other organizations.

If you have contenders who are vying for space, they shouldnt be competing for space, Parille said. They should say whats fair and equitable.

Knickerbocker said the goal is to encourage residents to spread positive holiday messages with their displays.

Were trying to support all members of the community and not bow to people whose aim is to poke peoples eye, he said.
Veterans who work for New Milford will now be able to have their first year of dues to the American Legion covered thanks to a residents donation.

Stephen Looney donated the money, Mayor Pete Bass announced this week.

The request came from New Milford American Legion Commander Jeff McBreairty at an earlier Town Council meeting as a way to introduce more veterans to the organizations benefits. At the time he said he believes he has a good chance of getting every town employee who is a veteran, especially if the town helps with the dues.

Dues are $35 per veteran. It will become the veterans responsibility to pay the dues after that first year and maintain their good standing with the organization.

McBreairty left 30 names with the mayors office.
STAMFORD  Rather than risk taking his case to trial, a city man who went on an armed robbery and shooting spree in Stamford and Norwalk last year pleaded guilty Wednesday to a dozen felonies and is now facing over 200 years behind bars.

Walking into the Stamford courtroom before making his pleas, Tyreik Gantt, 21, of Connecticut Avenue, spotted his mother and with a wide smile mouthed the words, I love you mom.

Over the next 20 minutes, Assistant States Attorney Michelle Manning read charge after charge into the court record while Gantt, standing next to his attorney John Thygerson, repeated the word guilty over and over again.

Gantts mother, Latricia Read, sitting with her elbows on her knees and hands under her chin in the second row, looked on in shock and disbelief with each new charge and her sons repeated single word response.

Gantt ended up copping a dozen open felony pleas to two counts each of armed robbery, conspiracy to commit armed robbery and attempted murder and single charges of arson, larceny and conspiracy to commit murder.

As rare as the crime spree Gantt went on with his alleged partner-in-crime, Onaje Smith, of Bridgeport, it is rarer still for a defendant to make open guilty pleas to so many serious felonies without a plea agreement, which would limit his time in prison. Judge Gary White tallied up the sentences and said Gannt risked being sentenced to 206 years behind bars.

Reflecting the severity of those crimes, Gantt has thrown himself on the mercy of the court when he returns for sentencing Feb. 27. Gantt also faces a murder charge in Bridgeport for his part in the shooting death of 18-year-old Stamford man, Shane Slinsky, in August 2016.

Stamford police at the time said the two had been wreaking holy hell on lower Fairfield County during their crime jag.

Before deciding to make the guilty pleas, Gantt had planned to go to a jury trial in early January with Smith, his co-defendant who faces identical charges. Jury selection went forward for Smith, but no jurors were picked Wednesday.

We have a very high expectation that (Gantt) will be sentenced to a term of imprisonment of significantly less than the 206 years that he is facing, had he gone to trial and was convicted of all counts, said Thygerson. We engaged in lengthy cost-benefit analysis meetings, and the inherent risk of paying a trial tax if he were to take this case to trial was the issue.

Thygerson declined to discuss how Gantts guilty pleas would impact Smith and his trial because he did not want to prejudice either the state or Smiths case.

But Smiths attorney, Miles Gerety, said he did not think that Gantts guilty pleas would present any problems for his client.

I dont find this particularly harmful to Onaje Smith, Gerety said. Im happy to try the case without Gantt. We were going to be put into an awkward position at trial to have to point blame at the co-defendant and that never looks good. But the evidence against Gantt was pretty overwhelming. I think the state has got it wrong in my case. They are assuming my kid is a villain. We will find out at trial.

Manning said Gantt and Smith robbed two Chinese food delivery drivers in Norwalk in January 2017, shooting one in the leg and arm and stealing his car. Minutes after one of those robberies, Gantt was seen on a surveillance camera at a Stamford gas station pumping gasoline into the back seat of the car, which moments later was found engulfed in flames on Oakwood Place in Stamford, the prosecutor said.

The two also shot at a rival gang member during a drive-by that same month, Manning said, and both were involved in following a rival 19-year-old man into a West Main convenience store and shooting him in the left temple and abdomen. The man survived.

At the end of the hearing on Wednesday, White asked Gantt whether the facts and claims made by the state were correct. Yes, Gantt replied.

As he was being led out of the courtroom, Gantt turned his head and nodded and smiled at his mother. Read declined to comment on her sons convictions.

jnickerson@stamfordadvocate.com
The Trump administration is stepping up efforts to convince European allies that its looming withdrawal from a landmark arms-control treaty on account of Russian violations is the right course of action.

Among other steps, the administration is assuring allies that none of the missiles the United States would contemplate deploying after withdrawing from the Cold War-era pact would be armed with nuclear warheads, according to a senior U.S. official.

That is one of the many points the United States has been making in consultations with foreign partners about its likely withdrawal from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty. Signed by President Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev in 1987, the agreement banned nuclear and nonnuclear missiles with ranges from 500 to 5,500 kilometers, or about 310 to 3,400 miles.

The INF Treaty represented a breakthrough in Cold War arms control, eliminating more than 2,600 missiles and ending a years-long standoff with nuclear missiles on the European continent that pitted the North Atlantic Treaty Organization against the Warsaw Pact nations.

President Donald Trump's announcement in October that the United States would leave the treaty raised fears among some in Europe of a return to the 1980s, when nuclear-tipped missiles across the continent threatened to strike their targets within minutes.

Since Trump's announcement, Russian officials have played on those fears and suggested to European nations that the U.S. withdrawal doesn't serve their interests and risks the further erosion of the Cold War-era arms-control framework.

The head of the foreign affairs committee in Russia's upper house of parliament, Konstantin Kosachev, warned last week that Russia would target any intermediate-range missiles the United States deploys in Europe after withdrawing from the treaty and would, if necessary, move its missiles closer to Europe.

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said this week that Russia wouldn't turn a blind eye to any U.S. missile deployments in Europe.

Meanwhile, the Trump administration has reminded European allies that Russia is the country violating the treaty, not the United States, and therefore bears responsibility for the pact's breakdown.

Director of National Intelligence Daniel Coats headed to Europe on Tuesday for consultations on the matter, after the administration faced criticism for not coordinating closely enough with European allies before Trump announced plans to withdrawal.

Some European nations, including Germany, have sought to persuade American officials not to withdraw from the treaty so quickly and take further efforts to save it. But so far the Trump administration doubts whether additional efforts to bring Russia back into compliance would bear fruit, given years of failed attempts. Trump's national security adviser, John Bolton, expressed a desire for the United States to pull out of the treaty years before Washington first flagged Moscow's violations.

U.S. officials suspect that Russia has long wanted to escape the constraints of the treaty, which bans missiles launched from land but not those that take off from naval vessels or aircraft. Those rules are particularly onerous to a land-based military power like Russia.

Moscow wants to obtain the military benefits of the cheap and hard-to-find missiles banned by the pact, but at the same time, it hopes to pin the blame on the United States for the treaty's breakdown, U.S. officials say.

"These relatively low-cost and survivable capabilities give Russia more options to strike allied military targets and populations without consuming Russia's inventory of strategic offensive weapons and theater strike resources such as sea-launched cruise missiles," Coats said in a call with reporters Tuesday. "We believe Russia's objective was to keep the United States constrained while it quietly built and deployed a force of illegal missiles that threaten Europe."

Already, the Trump administration has disclosed publicly that Russia's violations include the deployment of a missile known as the SSC-8, or the 9M729 under its Russian designation. The United States has declared Russia in violation of the treaty for five years in a row and, according to the State Department, has conducted more than 30 engagements with Russian officials at senior levels in failed attempts to bring Moscow into compliance. On Nov. 16, the State Department released a "myth busters" fact sheet replying to Russian claims regarding the pact.

Despite those efforts, Russia has continued to deny the U.S. allegations.

"It's hard to say what the U.S. accusations were based on," said Ryabkov, the Russian deputy foreign minister. "It's possible that intelligence data were eagerly tweaked to serve a political order, or it could be that intelligence structures just made wrong assessments."

Speaking on Oct. 20, Trump said the United States couldn't adhere to the treaty alone as Russia and China went ahead and deployed midrange missiles. The United States will pull out, Trump said, "unless Russia comes to us and China comes to us, and they all come to us and they say, 'Let's really get smart, and let's none of us develop those weapons.'"

Such an agreement seems improbable for now. More likely is that the treaty's demise will allow the United States and Russia to deploy intermediate-range missiles on land legally as China continues to operate a conventional arsenal of them without constraint.

The attraction of the missiles for Russia and China is the same as it is for the United States: They're cheaper to operate than sea and air variants and easier to conceal in the face of missile defenses, freeing up submarines and airplanes to conduct other missions, according to the official. They also impose costs on adversaries, which expend resources figuring out how to defend against them.

The rationale for deploying conventional midrange missiles in Europe would be to blunt any Russian attempt to prevent the U.S. military from resupplying European allies in a future conflict, according to the senior U.S. official.

In Asia, the United States could deploy conventional midrange missiles within proximity of Chinese ships and militarized artificial islands during a conflict to defend parts of the East China Sea or South China Sea.

It's unclear, however, which Asian allies would be willing to host the missiles and risk China's ire.

The senior U.S. official cautioned that any such deployments or decisions about where the missiles would be based remain years away.

The U.S. military could potentially achieve similar goals with other weapons under development or with sea- and air-launched missiles. Deployment in Europe risks dividing an already strained North Atlantic alliance caught between hawkish nations on the eastern flank, which might agree to host the weapons, and dovish Western European nations, which could view them as overly provocative.

Germany in particular has expressed concern about raising the risk of a new nuclear arms race in Europe.

"We're working to persuade the United States not to hastily withdraw from the INF Treaty," German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said last week. "We don't want Europe to become the scene of a debate on a nuclear arms buildup."

The Trump administration is considering whether to develop an entirely new weapons program for midrange missiles or modify existing missiles to increase their range, the senior official said. The Army has already started exploring both.

Still, a full-fledged effort to fund, develop and test such weapons can't start until the United States ceases being a party to the treaty.
TORONTO, Nov. 29, 2018 /CNW/ - Flower One Holdings Inc. (CSE: FONE) (OTCQB: FLOOF) ("Flower One" or the "Company") today reported its financial and operating results for the three and nine month periods ended September 30, 2018. All amounts are expressed in U.S. dollars unless indicated otherwise.

Third quarter highlights:

Fully acquired the greenhouse and production facility, which will be Nevada's largest such facility at 455,000 square feet when construction is completed;

largest such facility at 455,000 square feet when construction is completed; Raised gross proceeds of approximately $57.4 million Canadian through a non-brokered private placement with accredited investors;

Canadian through a non-brokered private placement with accredited investors; Completed the reverse takeover transaction with Theia Resources Ltd.;

Received cultivation and production licenses from the State of Nevada for both medical and recreational cannabis.

"This is a very exciting time for Flower One and its shareholders," said Ken Villazor, President and CEO of Flower One. "During the third quarter, we completed the acquisition of the largest commercial greenhouse in the State of Nevada, raised over $57 million Canadian, and obtained key licenses for the cultivation and production of both medical and recreational marijuana. Since then, we have become a publicly-traded company on the Canadian Securities Exchange, obtained our OTCQB listing in the United States, including DTC eligibility, acquired a unique property zoned for mixed use, including retail, and acquired the assets of NLV Organics  which included a fully operational 25,000-square-foot cultivation and production facility in North Las Vegas, a well-branded cannabis product line, and supply relationships with over 30 dispensaries in the state."

"We have made significant progress in a short amount of time, and we have many more exciting milestones on the near horizon," added Mr. Villazor. "We expect to complete the conversion of our greenhouse and begin onboarding cannabis plants in the first quarter of 2019, with our first harvest expected in the second quarter of 2019. With these milestones, we will be the largest cannabis cultivator and producer in the Nevada market."

Financial results

The Company's operational activities during the quarter were primarily focused on advancing the conversion of its 455,000 square foot greenhouse and production facility for cultivating high-quality cannabis at scale.

The Company was incorporated on December 18, 2017, and as such, no quarterly comparable information is available for the three month period ended September 30, 2017.

There was no revenue for the three months ended September 30, 2018.

For the quarter, the Company incurred a net loss of $5,581,651. The most significant costs during the quarter, included listing expenses of $3,803,581 attributable to the reverse takeover of Theia Resources Ltd., $455,377 in professional fees, $312,411 in share based compensation, $284,651 in greenhouse rental fees (prior to the acquisition of the greenhouse), and $209,129 in foreign exchange loss related to the Company's cash balances held in Canadian currency.

As at September 30, 2018, the Company had working capital of $7,162,463, which included $24,449,693 in cash and cash equivalents and $18,000,000 in promissory notes due March 2019.

Flower One's complete third quarter 2018 financial statements and management's discussion and analysis will be issued and filed on SEDAR at www.sedar.com on Thursday, November 29, 2018 and will be available on the same day on Flower One's website at www.flowerone.com/investors/financial-reports.

Notice of conference call

Management of Flower One will host a conference call at 8:30 a.m. ET on Friday, November 30, 2018 to review recent and upcoming milestones. You can join the call by dialing 647-427-7450 or 1-888-231-8191. A live audio webcast of the call will be available at https://event.on24.com/wcc/r/1888832/93D4A01B3A54D6273EC7E42EA12CB734. An archived replay of the webcast will be available for 90 days.

About Flower One Holdings Inc.

Flower One Holdings is sharply focused on quickly becoming the leading cannabis cultivator, producer and innovator in the highly lucrative Nevada market. Flower One owns and operates a 25,000 square foot cultivation and production facility in North Las Vegas, with nine grow rooms capable of cultivating a total of 4,500 plants per cycle, and owns the established NLV Organics consumer brand of cannabis products. The Company is also rapidly converting its 455,000 square foot greenhouse and production facility, which is the largest in the State, for cultivating and processing high-quality cannabis at scale. Combined, the flagship greenhouse facility and production facility (once fully operational) and the North Las Vegas facility provide Flower One 480,000 square feet of capacity for cultivation and processing, production and high-volume packaging of dry flower, cannabis oils, concentrates and infused products. The Company is licensed for medical marijuana cultivation and production, and recreational marijuana cultivation and production in the state of Nevada.

Leveraging the industry's leading agricultural technologies, combined with processing and high-volume packaging capabilities, Flower One is ideally positioned to support the needs of Nevada's cannabis retailers as well as those out-of-state cannabis brands looking to build important brand equity in this fast-growing market.

Flower One's common shares are traded on the Canadian Securities Exchange under the symbol "FONE" and in the United States on the OTCQB under the symbol "FLOOF."

Informational purposes only

This news release does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any of the Flower One's securities to, or for the account or benefit of, persons in any jurisdiction.

Cautionary note regarding forward-looking information

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 Flower One's public documents. When used in this news release, words such as "will, could, plan, estimate, expect, intend, may, potential, believe, should," and similar expressions, are forward- looking statements.

Forward-looking statements may include, without limitation, statements relating to the execution of the Company's strategy, new opportunities, future growth, future retail presence and potential benefits of retail strategy, potential capabilities of the cultivation and processing facility in Nevada, the ability of the Company to acquire further licenses, future demand for and pricing of cannabis, potential partnering opportunities with cannabis consumer brands and profitability of the cannabis market in the United States.

Although Flower One has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results, performance or achievements to differ materially from those contained in the forward-looking statements, there can be other factors that cause results, performance or achievements not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended, including, but not limited to: dependence on obtaining regulatory approvals; investing in target companies or projects that are engaged in activities currently considered illegal under United States federal law; changes in laws; limited operating history; reliance on management; requirements for additional financing; competition; hindering market growth and state adoption due to inconsistent public opinion and perception of the medical-use and adult-use marijuana industry and; regulatory or political change.

There can be no assurance that such information will prove to be accurate or that management's expectations or estimates of future developments, circumstances or results will materialize. As a result of these risks and uncertainties, the results or events predicted in these forward-looking statements may differ materially from actual results or events.

Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements in this news release are made as of the date of this release. Flower One Holdings disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise such information, except as required by applicable law.

NEITHER THE CANADIAN SECURITIES EXCHANGE NOR THEIR REGULATIONS SERVICES PROVIDER HAVE REVIEWED OR ACCEPT RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE ADEQUACY OR ACCURACY OF THIS RELEASE.

SOURCE Flower One Holdings Inc.

For further information: visit the Company's website at www.flowerone.com, or contact: Investor Relations & Media, NATIONAL Capital Markets, 416.848.9835, [email protected]; Flower One Holdings Inc., Ken Villazor, President and CEO, 416.913.9642, [email protected]
"Lift & Co. as a platform exists to foster and strengthen connections in our industry, and educate and inform Canadians about cannabis," said Matei Olaru, CEO, Lift & Co. "The CCAs underscore this strategy by providing a vital mark of distinction for both winners and nominees, allowing them to demonstrate value and quality back to Canadians, while emboldening essential trust in our burgeoning world-class industry. The almost 50 per cent increase in public votes this year is a testament to the level of public awareness and standard of excellence the CCAs represent today."

As voted by Canadians, CannTrust dominated the Flowers, Oils and Licensed Producers category with seven total wins including Licensed Producer of the Year and Top LP Customer Service, followed by Canopy Growth brands Tweed, Leafs by Snoop (LBS), and Spectrum Cannabis taking home a total of four awards in the same product category. See below for a full list of winners.

Reviews matter! Lift.co now hosts over 75,000 reviews of products and producers, providing Canadians a resource to explore and understand cannabis. This year, the Top Reviewed Product of the Year goes to Ruxton (3) Sour OG  Broken Coast Cannabis, and Top Reviewed Licensed Producer of the Year is awarded to Canna Farms.

For the first time this year, Lift & Co. licensed the Canadian Cannabis Awards brand, and entered an agreement with cannabis curators, AHLOT, for a special edition cannabis multi-pack featuring five winning strains from the 2018 Canadian Cannabis Awards. Distribution and additional details to be announced.

Full List of 2018 Canadian Cannabis Award Winners

The majority of product, producer and influencer awards are selected by the public, and this year saw a record-number of Canadians have their say with over 17,000 votes between September 28, and October 26, 2018. A committee of judges determine winners in 18 categories, and five select awards are determined by Lift & Co.

SPECIAL AWARDS

Special award categories each have their own methodology.

Licensed Producer of the Year

CannTrust

This prestigious award weighs votes from all licensed producer categories, including Top Customer Service, Employer of the Year, and all Top Strain awards to determine the licensed producer that rules them all.

*NEW in 2018* Top Reviewed Product of the Year

Ruxton (3) Sour OG  Broken Coast Cannabis

Chosen by Lift & Co. based on the overall volume and quality on the Lift.co website.

*NEW in 2018* Top Reviewed Licensed Producer of the Year

Canna Farms

Chosen by Lift & Co. based on the overall volume and quality of reviews on the Lift.co website.

Top Lift & Co. Reviewer

Shane (VapeTheBud)

Chosen by Lift & Co. based on the volume and quality of personal contributions to the Lift.co website.

Employer of the Year

James E. Wagner Cultivation

Selected by the Company's own employees. The winner is the top-rated employer as determined by an employer survey deployed and reviewed by Cannabis at Work.

JUDGING COMMITTEE-DRIVEN CATEGORIES

Lifetime Achievement

Bruce Linton, Founder, Chairman and Co-CEO, Canopy Growth

Start-up of the Year

MediPharm Labs Corp.

Cannabis Product of the Year

Hydropothecary  Elixir CBD Peppermint

Deal of the Year

Constellation Brands and Canopy Growth, for their landmark $5 billion investment

Innovator of the Year

Mike Gorenstein, CEO and Chairman of Cronos Group

*NEW in 2018* Woman in Weed - Trailblazer

Rosy Mondin, CEO of Quadron Cannatech Corporation

Innovation of the Year

Hydropothecary  Elixir CBD Peppermint

Top Non-Profit/Charity/Community Initiative

Canadians for Fair Access to Medical Marijuana

Most Progressive Public Office

The Province of New Brunswick

Most Progressive Researcher

Jonathan Page, Chief Science Officer, Aurora Cannabis Inc.

Writer of the Year

Jenna Valleriani , Post-Doctoral Fellow at BC Centre on Substance Use

Marketing Campaign of the Year

dosist for "Not Available in Canada"

Brand of the Year

7Acres

Top Testing Lab

RPC

Top Trimmer

Twister Trimmer

Top Extraction Equipment

Vitalis Extraction Technology

Top Nutrients Company

Remo Nutrients

Top Lighting

Fluence Bioengineering

VOTER-SELECTED CATEGORIES:

Top Sativa Flower

OG Kush  CannTrust

Top Indica Flower

Bakerstreet  Tweed

Top Hybrid Flower

Blueberry Kush  CannTrust

Top High CBD Flower

Cannatonic  CannTrust

Top High THC Flower

Sunset  Leafs by Snoop

*NEW in 2018* Top Balanced Flower (less than 1:2 or 2:1 ratio of THC to CBD)

Penelope  Tweed

*NEW in 2018* Top High CBD Oil

CBD Drops  CannTrust

Top High THC Oil

Red Cannabis Oil  Spectrum Cannabis

Top Balanced Oil (less than 1:2 or 2:1 ratio of THC to CBD)

1:1 Drops  CannTrust

Top LP Customer Service

CannTrust

Top Accessory Shop

Tokyo Smoke

Top Clinic

Canadian Cannabis Clinics

Top Desktop Vaporizer

Extreme Q  Arizer

Top Portable Vaporizer

Solo ll  Arizer

*NEW in 2018* Top Rolling Papers

Zenabis 2-in-1 rolling papers with tips

*NEW in 2018* Top Pipe

Red Eye Glass 'O Cannabis' Commemorative Sherlock Hand - West Coast Gifts

*NEW in 2018* Top Bong

My Bud Vase  My Bud Vase

Top Home Growing Box

The RoomMate - BC Northern Lights  Aurora Cannabis Inc.

Cannabis Crusader

Clinton Younge

Cannabis Influencer

Clinton Younge

Top Twitter Influencer

@CamBattley

*NEW in 2018* Top Cannabis YouTuber

The Cannabis Show

Top Cannabis Podcast

The Cannabis Show

About Lift & Co.

Lift & Co. (TSXV:LIFT) is a cannabis-focused technology and media company that monetizes a platform of advertising solutions, events, and data insights to enable cannabis businesses to better understand, target and ultimately monetize cannabis consumers. Lift & Co. operates a leading product-comparison resource of federally regulated cannabis products; provides customized marketing solutions and data-backed insights into consumer and product trends; and connects businesses and consumers through its digital platform, and at its leading events, the Retail Tradeshows, the Lift & Co. Expos and the Canadian Cannabis Awards. The Lift & Co. Cannabis Retail Training Certification, developed in an exclusive partnership with MADD Canada, is available to both government and private clients. Learn more at lift.co.

Forward-looking statements

Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Although the Company 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.

There can be no assurance that such forward-looking statements will prove to be accurate or that management's expectations or estimates of future developments, circumstances or results will materialize. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements in this news release are made as of the date of this release. The Company disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise such information, except as required by applicable law, and the Company does not assume any liability for disclosure relating to any other company mentioned herein.

Twitter, Facebook and Instagram: @liftandco

SOURCE Lift & Co. Corp.

For further information: Scott Campbell, 647-402-4957, [email protected]; Nikki Laoutaris, 647-464-0148, [email protected]
Paying more than $1 million in fines sounds like a bad scenario for any business.

But in New York state's case alleging illegal activity by Wegmans Food Markets and five affiliated liquor stores, it could get worse.

State Liquor Authority commissioners issued stern warnings to the big Rochester-based grocery chain and the five stores operated by various Wegmans family members during a Nov. 19 agency board meeting to assess the fines.

"Next time there will be licenses taken," SLA Chairman Vincent Bradley said at one point during the meeting held at SLA's New York City offices. He told the lawyer for Wegmans markets: "This only goes up from here, exponentially next time."

The state accuses Wegmans of illegally controlling the five liquor stores by managing operations like purchasing, dealing with wholesalers and setting prices. The stores are in the Syracuse suburb of DeWitt; Buffalo; Rochester; the Rochester suburb of Pittsford; and Johnson City near Binghamton. All are owned by members of the Wegmans family and are located near Wegmans food markets.

In a related case settled at the Nov. 19 meeting, a Westchester County liquor distributor paid a $225,000 fine for allowing Wegmans to "use the privilege" of its liquor license to "traffic in wine and spirits," the SLA said.

State law prohibits grocery stores from buying or selling wine and liquor, and also prohibits "chain" liquor and wine retailers, requiring that each store is licensed to a different individual or individuals and operates independently.

Wegmans and the five liquor stores did not contest the case, and paid the fines. Wegmans markets did issue a statement afterward in which it denied controlling the actions of the five liquor stores.

A key moment during the Nov. 19 hearing came when one lawyer, Laura Schwalbe of Buffalo, appeared before the commissioners. She told them she was there to represent all five "independent" liquor stores.

The commissioners were skeptical.

"I find it problematic that even at this stage these five (stores) are sort of being represented together and are being dealt with together in one batch," SLA Commissioner Lily Fan said. "It's hard for me to believe that moving forward that these five wine stores are not going to be working together."

Bradley said the same and added a warning.

"I agree with Commissioner Fan that this whole set up is begging for this to happen again," Bradley told Schwalbe. "I would suggest that ... you go back to all these companies and make sure it doesn't because next time there will be licenses taken."

The SLA has the power to suspend or revoke licenses to sell liquor.

Wegmans store at 3195 Monroe Ave., Pittsford, NY.

Wegmans markets were represented at the meeting by a different lawyer, Stephen Van Arsdale, the company's general counsel. He told the commissioners the company has developed a "compliance" plan to ensure it stays within the law. The company paid a $750,000 fine, but another $500,000 could be levied if Wegmans does not stay in compliance.

Bradley told Van Arsdale the SLA office receives more complaints about Wegmans than almost any other company in the state. This case involving Wegmans and the liquor stores started with a complaint lodged against the Amherst St. Wine & Liquors store in Buffalo.

Bradley told Van Arsdale that Wegmans is "on the hit list -- the one I get the most phone calls about. Because mostly every one of your competitors is watching you every day, like a hawk. And they call the (trade) associations and the associations call me. And it's now cost you a lot of money. I'm sure you're fully aware this only goes up from here, exponentially next time."

When Schwalbe later told Bradley that staff at the five liquor stores were undergoing compliance training, he appeared to cut her off.

"They're all related to Wegmans. Let's be honest," Bradley said. "The training -- they're doing what they were told, by Wegmans, I'm sure. They need to be a little more independent -- a lot more independent -- in the future and say no. Because next time we'll take all five of them (licenses). I'm not taking these phone calls anymore from people telling me that this is going on and then we find and confirm that it is going on and that it clearly had been going on for some time."

Bradley also had harsh words earlier the hearing for Milton's Distributing of Westchester County, the company accused of allowing Wegmans to make use of its license to sell wine and liquor.

"This is pretty bad," Bradley said. "They (Milton's) were basically being used as a pawn."

As with Wegmans, a further fine against Milton's is suspended as long as the company stays clear of trouble. Milton's lawyer told the commissioners it had agreed to a plan to comply with state law so there would be "no problem in the future."

"Good," Bradley said, "because if there is, there won't be a future."

Wegmans Food Markets paid $750,000 to settle eight charges. The five liquor stores paid fines of $75,000 each. The total paid was $1.125 million.

The five liquor stores involved in the case are:

-- Liquor City in DeWitt, licensed to Christopher O'Donnell, the husband of Wegmans president Colleen Wegmans and son-in-law of company chairman Danny Wegman.

-- Amherst St. Wines & Liquors in Buffalo. Danny Wegman's daughter Nicole is on the license there.

-- Pittsford Century Wines & Spirits in Rochester. Danny Wegman holds that license.

-- Whitehouse Liquor & Wine in Rochester. Danny Wegman's niece, Erin Brooks, owns that license.

-- Johnson City Liquor & Wine in Johnson City. Danny Wegman's son-in-law Jason Wehle is on that license.

The state did not find that the ownership of liquor stores by Wegmans family members violates the law by itself. The charges stem from accusations about the way that Wegmans managed or controlled the stores.

Wegmans disputed those accusations.

"What these stores have in common is that each is individually owned by a Wegman family member, and each owner is trying to run their store like we run Wegmans, with low prices, great selection and great service," the Wegmans statement about the case said. "It's unfortunate that the SLA chose to credit complaints from competitors of these liquor stores over the actual facts presented to them during the investigation."

Don Cazentre writes about craft beer, wine, spirits and beverages for NYup.com, syracuse.com and The Post-Standard. Reach him at dcazentre@nyup.com, or follow him at NYup.com, on Twitter or Facebook.
BYRON, N.Y. - The Amber Alert issued following the suspected abduction of a teenage girl in Genesee County earlier today has been canceled.

Kamerie Elliot, left, and Guillermo Torres-Acevedo, right.

The teen, 14-year-old Kamerie E. Elliot, and the man police believe abducted her, 22-year-old Guillermo Torres-Acevedo, of Batavia, were found safe in Pennsylvania, the Genesee County Sheriff's Office announced.

Police said that Torres-Acevedo took Kamerie around 8 a.m. from West Bergen Road in Byron, Genesee County.

A second photo of Guillermo Torres-Acevedo, believed to have abducted a teenager in Genesee County Thursday morning, was posted on the Genesee County Sheriff's Office's Facebook page.

Police said in the alert that Kamerie was in "imminent danger of serious harm and/or death."

Torres-Acevedo was arrested by state police Monday morning on charges of second-degree rape, second-degree criminal sex act--both felonies--as well as two counts of endangering the welfare of a child, a misdemeanor.

He was arraigned and released on cash bail, according to state police records.
The Lunar Gateway that NASA plans to build will end up costing about $40+ billion. It is being built to justify $60+ billion for the Space Launch System and the Orion capsule. The two together will be well over $100 billion. We have already spent about $30 billion on Space Launch System and the Orion manned vehicle.

Its the Logistics Stupid

Going to the Lunar Gateway adds 17% to the fuel cost for the trip to the moon.

Here is the analogy to explain the insanity of Space Launch System-Orion and the Lunar Gateway. Let us equate the exploration of the continent of Antarctica with exploring the moon.

We are taking two decades to build special one time use heavy cargo planes. The development has been costing $1 to 2 billion per year. It was based upon old 1970s and 1980s technology. It has still not been test flown for the first time. Costs have gone up to $4-5 billion per year.

Now we want to explore Antarctica so we create a plan to use about ten flights of this expensive and never flown cargo plane project to assemble a system of oil rig-like platforms off the coast of Madagascar. There will be landing pads at this floating platform. This will then be the base of operations to send drones and missions into Antarctica. You are going from America to something you make at great cost before flying over to Antarctica. You could go directly with a vehicle that has already flown successfully.

The claim is that the Lunar Gateway will only cost $2.7 billion up to 2023. However, that is for the first module or two. Space Launch System (SLS) will not have its first test flight until 2021. Each SLS launch is about $1 billion. The International Space Station cost $150 billion. Even at one fourth the scale, the Lunar Gateway will easily cost $40 billion.

You will spend $100+ billion to not add new capability and to make it harder and longer and more costly to do things on the moon. Lunar Gateway, SLS and Orion costs need to be added together because they are all justifying each other. Build SLS to launch and build Lunar Gateway. If we are building Lunar Gateway then we need the SLS.

Moon Direct Plan and Mining the Moon

Instead we should use the Zubrin Moon Direct plan. This involves using existing SpaceX Falcon Heavies.

Build moon mining operations on the moon. 2.5 acres of the best lunar ice areas can be mined every year for 2400 tons of water to make 1640 tons of fuel per year.

SpaceX Falcon Heavies can land 8-11 tons of equipment and materials on the moon. This is an 18-wheel moving truck full of gear.

A series of missions at $150 million each would build the moon mining facility and we could be making fuel that would replace 200 delivery missions.

It would be $2 billion to get the first things set up on the moon and about $10 billion for the first full moon mining operations. We would then start making back $2 billion on lower fuel costs for satellites and other space operations. The more we end up doing in space and farther we go then the more we get from moon water and moon fuel.

We can then use robots to convert lunar soil into lunar cement. We can use lunar caves.

We build multiple drone bases on the moon. How many drone bases does it take to cover Iraq, Afghanistan and Syria. It takes a couple dozen drone bases and airports.

We can build bases like McMurdo station and other science stations in Antarctica. McMurdo has up to 1000 staff.

There are dozens of bases in Antarctica. You need dozens of bases to explore and research a continent.

The moon is the eighth continent.
South Korean newspaper Hankyoreh estimates that North and South Korea have already fully implemented nine out of 25 agreement reached in a pair of summits between Koreas leaders in April and September.

36% of the two statements implemented, 52% being deliberated

There were also two agreements (8%) that failed (holding an inter-Korean event on June 15 and a performance by a Pyongyang art troupe in Seoul in October), while there is one agreement whose implementation is contingent on other factors (deliberating the questions of the Kaesong Industrial Complex, resuming tourism to Mt. Kumgang and creating a joint economic zone on the West Sea and a joint tourism zone on the East Sea).

The inter-Korean agreements generally fall into three categories, namely inter-Korean relations, easing military tensions on the Korean Peninsula, and building a peace regime on the Korean Peninsula. Of the three categories, inter-Korean relations by far represent the greatest number of the agreements, or 17 out of 25. For the same reason, more agreements in this category have been implemented (seven) than other categories, and more are also being deliberated (seven).

Groundbreaking for roads and railways and the end-of-war declaration within the year?

There is one-year deadline for a groundbreaking ceremony for connecting roads and railways and the end-of-war declaration. The US holds that South Korea must ask and receive approval from the UN Security Council Sanctions Committee on North Korea before it can hold the roads and railways survey and groundbreaking. Currently, the South Korean government is deliberating with the US to work out this issue.

Peace regime on the Korean Peninsula depends on North Korea-US negotiations

Unfortunately, no agreements have been implemented yet in the area of building a peace regime on the Korean Peninsula. This requires South and North Korea but also of Koreas neighbors and parties to the armistice agreement, including the US and China. North Koreas denuclearization is wholly dependent upon the results of North Korea-US dialogue.

The South Korean government is concentrating on helping the US gain a better understanding of North Koreas position.
Daily Galaxy and Physics-Astronomy are talking again about a September 2017 video that has an english title that says China is testing the controversial EMDrive in space. The video talks about China putting up a communication satellite. The English language title talks about EMdrive being tested and propellentless propulsion. EMdrive is a claimed propellentless propulsion system. One of the researchers in the video is Dr. Yue Chen who did make a claim about a successful lab test of an EMdrive system in 2016.

EMDrive is a truncated cone-shaped copper structure which reflects microwaves many times. The cone shape could also be made from superconductors. The claim is this object generates propulsive force without using any propellent.

However, as Nextbigfuture reported in 2017, the actual video does not make that claim. Listening to the Chinese that is spoken, we find the details of the EMdrive are NOT discussed. They do NOT ANY CLAIMS of having proven the controversial physics. The english language title is misleading and does not represent what is in the video. The video is mainly chinese propoganda that they have world-class regular communication satellite technology.

There is a brief section where Yue Chen discuss that they have done tests of propellentless electromagnetic propulsion but they do not discuss any new space-based tests.

They discuss 2000 kilogram payload and 120 transponder channels.

In December 2016, Yue Chen told a reporter at Chinas Science and Technology Daily that his team was testing an EmDrive in orbit, and that they had been funding research in the area for five years. Chen noted that their prototypes thrust was at the micronewton to millinewton level, which would have to be scaled up to at least 1001000 millinewtons for a chance of conclusive experimental results. Despite this, he said his goal was to complete validation of the drive, and then to make such technology available in the field of satellite engineering as quickly as possible.
I noticed a couple of days ago a video by Peter Zeihan that made predictions about the US withdrawing as the global cop which would trigger World disorder, wars of the frequency seen between 1800-1945 and collapse in global trade. It also predicted that from this disorder than Japan would emerge as the dominant power in Asia and that China would either break apart or remain unified but poor.

I will review older Zeihan predictions. I will review what is happening with Japan and China.

Zeihan has been predicting Chinas meltdown since 2005. He repeats the call for China meltdown and possible breakup or breakdown multiple times. In 2010, he said it would happen within 3-5 years.

In a recent video he says again that China will have major problems soon and that Japan emerges as a dominant power. He does not talk about India in that recent video. He is also positive about the ASEAN. Nextbigfuture is also positive about the ASEAN having 5-8% GDP growth on a fairly consistent level.

Nextbigfuture predicts that China will be dominant economically and militarily over Japan. India will pass Japan in nominal GDP in the 2024-2033 timeframe. The most likely passing time for India over Japan is 2026-2028.

Nextbigfuture predicts that China and USA will work out some trade deal in the 2019-2020 timeframe. China will likely cheat on whatever intellectual property arrangement is worked out. Nextbigfuture predicts the World trade system will not collapse. Nextbigfuture predicts that there will be a mostly maintained world order. Nextbigfuture predicts no major wars between China, USA, Japan, India, UK, France, Germany or Russia from now to 2040. The nuclear powers will not fight directly from now to 2040. There could be moderate skirmishes say NATO v Russia over Ukraine or something less than full Divisions engaging between China and India on borders.

Other than a possible even larger trade war, where the USA tariffs all Chinas goods and China retaliates and Trump picks trade fights with some other nations, there will not be the disorder or trade collapse that Zeihan described from now to 2040.

Nextbigfuture predicts that China could have recessions but China will not have negative GDP growth for more than three years in a row from now to 2030. Nextbigfuture predicts that China will have cumulative nominal GDP growth of at least 40% from 2019 to 2030. Nextbigfuture predicts that Japan will not get within ten percent of Chinas cumulative nominal GDP growth over the Jan 2019 to Dec 2030 period. If China gets to 40% then Japan does not get over 30%. If China gets to 50% then Japan does not get over 40%.

Reviewing Zeihan and STRATFOR

In 2010, Peter Zeihan was Vice President of Strategic Intelligence for STRATFOR.

STRATFOR is a geopolitical consultancy which was founded in 1996 by George Friedman. Friedman wrote the book The Coming War with Japan in 1991. For prediction accuracy, you may recall the terrible second war of the Pacific between the USA and JapanOh thats right it never happened in our reality.

The book claimed a military confrontation between the United States and Japan is likely within the next 20 years. According to the authors, the issues are the same as they were in 1941: Japan needs to control access to its mineral supplies in Southeast Asia and to have an export market it can dominate. In order to do this, Japan must force the United States out of the western Pacific. There is little effort to explore the substantial differences between the 1940s and the 1990s.

Those were Friedmans mistakes. Let us look at Zeihan.

Zeihan led the 2010 STRATFOR forecast for the decade. Zeihan was at STRATFOR from 2000 to 2012. He made their predictive models.

The 2005 prediction of Zeihan and STRATFOR:

In 2005, STRATFOR forecasted  China will suffer a meltdown like Japan and East and Southeast Asia before it. The staggering proportion of bad debt, enormous even in relation to official dollar reserves, represents a defining crisis for China. China will not disappear by any means, any more than Japan or South Korea has. However, extrapolating from the last 30 years is unreasonable.  At the same time that we see China shifting into a dramatically different mode.

In their 2010 Review of 2005, they claim that Chinas slowdown from 2005-2010 meant that they were somewhat right about China. Nothing remotely similar to a Japan-style crisis happened and the slowdown was similar to Chinas growth changes from 1993-2000.

Southeast Asia had the big recession in 1997. Malaysia and Thailand had a few more stumbles afterward. They are back to growth in the 4-8% per year range. So even if China has a full-blown recession, it does not follow that it would not return to 4-6% GDP growth. The US has recessions and then returns to 1 to 4% GDP growth. The US had -3 to2.5% GDP growth during the 2008-2016 Obama Presidency.

Japans growth has been -2% to 2% from 1989 onwards. With a -5% in 2009.



source:

China has not yet faced its Japan-style crisis but we continue to forecast that it will  and before 2015. [per Zeihan]

The ability of China to continue to supply cheap exports to the United States might come into danger. Not on the whole, because all of the Chinese regional cities will still have an interest in doing that, even once the Chinese system cracks. But youre going to have to pay very close attention to your supply chain there as the politics of China become unglued.

In 2010, Zeihan said we expect the economic collapse of China in this coming decade. Weve been talking for awhile about how the economic system there is remarkably unstable and we think that theyre going to reach a break point as all of the internal inconsistencies come to light and shatter. By the end of the decade, itll be pretty obvious to everybody that the China miracle is over.

Here is a Video of Zeihan Talking in 2011 in Calgary About China

The Whole talk is about why Chinas system will break. The predition at 10:10 is Chinas system  economic and unity will break in 3-5 years from 2011. So 2014-2016 was the prediction.

Around 7 minutes of the video, he talks about how the chinese provinces get messed up in the breakup.

Zeihan Hates Chinas Geography  China Used Three Gorges Dam to Increase River Cargo Capacity

China megaprojects allow it alter its geography significantly. Three Gorges and other dams deepen Chinas river networks. China ships down massive grand canal.

In 2014, the throughput of the five-tier ship lock of the Three Gorges Dam will hit 110 million tonnes.

One of the key benefits of the vast infrastructure project was an increase in shipping capacity, but now engineers are struggling with the challenge of how to provide more room for cargo on the Yangtze River.

The dam has made the river deeper and slower, allowing for easier navigation  especially upstream  for cargo and passenger vessels. The limiting factor for cargo, however, is the capacity of a five-step lock and a soon-to-be-completed ship lift to transport vessels across the 181-metre high dam.

The throughput at the ship locks of the Three Gorges hydropower project reached a record high of 138 million tonnes in 2017.

China has put a new container ship with a capacity of 1,140 standard containers into service on the countrys longest river, the Yangtze, as part of an upgrade of vessels on the waterway.

The ship was commissioned to go on route between the port of Wuhan, capital of central Chinas Hubei Province, to the Yangshan Deep Water Port in Shanghai on the rivers estuary, on Friday. The route is about 1,000 km long.

The Yangtze is the worlds busiest waterway. More than 2.3 billion tonnes of cargo are transported through ports on the main stream of the river every year, both imports and exports.

The new ship is 130 meters long, nearly 24 meters wide and has a maximum load of 13,600 tonnes.

China has megaprojects and ships in the 100 million ton range down the Grand Canal.

China ships about 6.5 billion tons by water, 34 billion tons by truck, 3 billions tons by rail, 750 million tons by pipeline and 7 million tons by air.

US Army Engineers Will Deepen the Mississippi to 50 Feet

The US is also doing some river enhancement.

The 230 miles of the meandering Mississippi River on either side of New Orleans are home to the worlds largest port system. Collectively, the five deep-water ports on the lower Mississippi River  New Orleans, South Louisiana, Baton Rouge, St. Bernard, and Plaquemines  handle more tonnage than any other port in the world, providing billions of dollars in annual economic impact and supporting hundreds of thousands of jobs.

Nearly 12,000 ships  including 6,000 oceangoing vessels  travel the lower river corridor annually, carrying 500 million tons of cargo and 700,000 cruise passengers. Those numbers may soon increase, as the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has a plan to increase the depth of the Mississippi River to accommodate larger cargo ships built in the wake of the Panama Canal expansion.

More 2010 Predictions from Zeihan

China faces a quadruple bind. [2010]

First, Chinas current economic model is not sustainable. That model favors employment over all other concerns, and can only be maintained by running on thin margins. Eventually, manufacturing margins turn negative as they did in Japan in 1991 and Indonesia in 1998. Second, the Chinese model is only possible so long as Western populations continue to consume Chinese goods in increasing volumes. European demographics alone will make that impossible in the next decade. Third, the Chinese model requires cheap labor as well as cheap capital to produce cheap goods. The bottom has fallen out of the Chinese birthrate; by 2020 the average Chinese will be nearly as old as the average American, but will have achieved nowhere near the level of education to add as much value. The result will be a labor shortage in both qualitative and quantitative terms.

Finally, internal tensions will break the current system. More than 1 billion Chinese live in households whose income is below $2,000 a year (with 600 million below $1,000 a year). The government knows this and is trying to shift resources to the vast interior comprising the bulk of China. But this region is so populous and so poor  and so vulnerable to minor shifts in Chinas economic fortunes  that China simply lacks the resources to cope.

Japan is the worlds second-largest economy. It has spent the time since 1990 in a holding pattern, focusing on full employment and social stability instead of growth. That process is drawing to an end and  in a manner that both reflects Chinas present situation and heralds Chinas future  will have to be dealt with in the 2010s. Japan will face an existential crisis in the next decade, deciding who it is and what kind of nation it is going to be. The culture of avoiding risk  foreign and domestic  can only be sustained when there are no threats. The threat to domestic well-being has grown. Its economic heft gives it options, of course, but not within the paradigm in which it operated in the past. Its demographic problem is particularly painful, and Japan has no tradition of allowing massive immigration. When it has needed labor it has established colonies in Korea and China. As China shifts its economic pattern, it will need outside investment badly. Japan will still have it to give, and will need labor badly. How this relationship evolves will define Asia in the 2010s.

In 2015, STRATFOR was saying  China has completed its cycle as a high-growth, low-wage country and has entered a new phase that is the new normal. This phase includes much slower growth and an increasingly powerful dictatorship to contain the divergent forces created by slow growth. China will continue to be a major economic force but will not be the dynamic engine of global growth it once was. That role will be taken by a new group of highly dispersed countries we call the Post-China 16, which includes much of Southeast Asia, East Africa and parts of Latin America. China will not be an aggressive military force either. Japan remains the most likely contender for the dominant position in East Asia, both because of its geography and because of its needs as a massive importer.

In 2015, STRATFOR reviewed 2010. STRATFOR said We predicted Chinas weakness too early, but we saw that weakness when others were seeing the emergence of an economy larger than that of the United States.

Nextbigfuture believes that is an overly generous review of their 2010 prediction.







China Nominal GDP Grew From $2 Trillion in 2005 to Over $12 trillion in 2017



source: tradingeconomics.com

Chinas Nominal GDP per Capita Went up Five Times from 2005 to 2017

Some Other Statistics

In 2017, FDI (foreign Direct Investment) into China rose 7.9 percent to reach 878 billion yuan (135 billion U.S. dollars), an all-time high. There was strong investment into high-tech services, which rose 93.2 percent year-on-year to reach 185 billion yuan (over $20 billion).

In 2017, there were 35,652 foreign-funded companies were set up in China, up 27.8 percent from a year before.

FDI into central China registered rapid growth in 2017, with total volume up 22.5 percent year on year to 56.1 billion yuan, faster than the other regions.

2017 Zeihan Talks About Japan Over China

Chinas geography is atrocious. Less than one-fifth of its land is habitable. Its flood- and drought-prone north is a flat security free-for-all that has suffered nearly three millennia of incessant internal warfare. Its south is a tropical disease belt. All but one of its rivers are too moody to help with commerce. Its interior is alternatively desert, mountain, tundra, jungle  or some brutal combination thereof. A line of archipelagos parallel its coast, all but preventing military or economic interaction with the wider world.

China as it exists today is only possible because of the global Bretton Woods economic order Washington has upheld since the end of World War II. Simply put, a land-based power with some of the longest supply chains in the world cannot exist as a manufacturing and export powerhouse unless someone with a global navy enables it. That someone has been the United States, who has guaranteed the safety and security of the goods flowing to, from, in and out of Chinese ports, and who has offered largely unfettered market access for decades.

Sure, Xi Jinping is disrupting and reshaping Chinese political corruption to better suit him, but why dont we talk about how Shinzo Abe was able to get his anti-war, Buddhist coalition partners to support his efforts to expand the role of Japans military forces? It is Japan, not China, that boasts the worlds second most capable navy. It is that navy that is second only to the United States in the number of aircraft carriers floated (Japan claims those carriers are only for helicopters but that is, if youll forgive the repeat, just some more PR bullshit).

China is still the worlds second largest economy, the biggest by population and its domestic (d)evolutions will certainly cause international ripples. But Beijing will remain constrained by its domestic concerns as its economy remains tied to a disappearing global order it cannot hope to replicate, not even  especially not even  in its own neighborhood. But while the world has eyes on China, mine (and I imagine many of those who attended the Chinese Communist Partys Congress) will be fixed squarely on Japan.

The Japanese Aircraft carriers that Zeihan refers to are the Izumo and the Hyuga.

In May 2018, Tokyo released portions of a study concluding the Izumo and Kaga could be used to carry U.S. Marine jets assisting in the defense of Japanese soil. Japan is looking to buy F-35Bs. They are appealing because their lift fans would allow them to operate from the shorter civilian airfields of remote Japanese islands, the Tokyo has also studied the cost of modifying the Izumo-class carriers to accommodate up to ten of them at a time. Such modifications would entail heat-resistant paint to the decks, as an F-35Bs vertical lift fans generate such intense heat they could threaten to damage the deck.

So twenty F-35Bs from two tiny carriers. Japan is talking about increasing its 42 F-35A to 142 F-35s with a mix of F-35A and F-35B. F-35B for its jump jet vertical takeoff.

China has two mid-sized carriers and plans to phase in four more by the mid-2020s.

Plus China has fortified islands with 2000 foot runways.

China is starting to mass produce the J-20 stealth fighter and should have at least 200 by 2025.

China has hundreds of dredging ships and can convert many more islands into stationary aircraft and missile staging areas. Two hundred converted islands with airstrips and planes and missiles is not impossible.

There are islands and reefs in the East China Sea off of China and near Okinawa. China could convert those islands easily.
Unlike the word great or even awesome, the word phenomenal is saved for people and events we consider extraordinary.

But theres also an experiential definition of phenomenal, too, having to do with whats perceptible by the senses or through immediate experience. And both of those ideas fit the Phenomenal Women being honored by the the Arts Council of Greater New Haven on Dec. 7 at the New Haven Lawn Club.

So arts and civic leaders will gather at 11 a.m. for the annual Arts Council reception and luncheon Friday with the theme of Phenomenal Women. They will honor six people, chosen by a nine-person jury that includes arts leader Helen Kauder and local media personality Jocelyn Mamina.

In spite of ongoing threats, women are rising as always, said juror Jules Larson in an Arts Council release. Across the cultural landscape, were seeing marginalized peoples take on power structures that have created inequitable social and economic standards for working class women, women of color, trans women, gay and queer women, neurodivergent women, young women and senior women. This December, well pay homage to them.

(In case youre wondering, as we were, what neurodivergent women means, it is defined as women with neurological differences, such as those with dyslexia, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and on the autistic spectrum.) The honorees are:

U.S. Rep. Rosa DeLauro, being given the C. Newton Schenck III Award for Lifetime Achievement in and Contribution to the Arts. DeLauro is hailed as a steadfast champion of arts, culture and community; she has been a member of the Congressional Arts Caucus for over two decades and been vocal in her support for the National Endowment of the Arts and arts education in schools.

Jackie Downing is director of grantmaking and nonprofit effectiveness at the Community Foundation for Greater New Haven, but her tradition of nurturing arts, culture, and community in Greater New Haven goes decades back, the council notes. Earlier in her career, she worked to promote the New Haven Symphony Orchestra, Dixwell Community Q House, Greater New Haven Community Loan Fund and the town of Hamden, among others. And shes been an actor, producer and stage manager with the Whitney Players.

Hanan Hameen, daughter of local jazz legend Jesse Hameen II, is an artist, activist and longtime arts leader in New Haven. She founded the Artsucation Academy Network in 2005 to provide youth with passion, drive and creative leadership skills. She founded and directs Ms. Hanans Dance and Beyond, shes director of Neighborhood Music Schools Premiere Dance Company, artistic director of the Healing Drum Society and a support group facilitator for the Lupus Foundation of America.

Ruby Melton, retired deputy general counsel for Louis Dreyfus Highbridge Energy, has been a steadfast supporter of the arts for decades, serving on the boards of Long Wharf Theatre, the Shubert Theatre, National Council for the American Theatre, International Festival of Arts & Ideas and others. She has taken a hands-on approach to the arts in New Haven, extending her expertise to mentorship initiatives with high school students in the city. She is, as Connecticut Womens Hall of Fame Director Sarah Lubarsky put it, a phenomenal calm in the storm.

Elinor Slomba, founder of Arts Interstices and Verge Arts Group, has made arts and culture a personal mission. After arriving in New Haven over a decade ago, she served as director for the citys Project Storefronts program, adding the Made In New Haven initiative to her wheelhouse in 2016. She has served as cultural point person and curator with The Future Project, The Grove, Artspace New Haven and the New Haven Museum, curating Old School Ink: New Haven Tattoos at the museum in 2017.

Hanifa Nayo Washington is a healer, truth-teller, producer and weaver of community stories, says the council release. An Inspiring Equity Arts Fellow with the William Casper Graustein Memorial Fund, she is the curator of a semi-monthly Lit Happy Hour series and program director of The Word. She began her work as a cultural activist early  first solving socio-politics conflicts with the Peace Corps in Russia, then with education and outreach at Solar Youth, Maines Preble Street Teen Center, food cooperatives and farm exchanges, Amistad America, and public schools in Austin, Texas. She also produced Toto Kisakus Requiem for an Electric Chair at Junes International Festival of Arts & Ideas.

The Arts Council also has announced two new commissions that will be presented at the luncheon, both sponsored by Metropolitan Interactive. The first is a design by modern quilter Sheri Cifaldi-Morrill and the other is a performance by choreographer and awardee Hameen and NMS Premiere Dance Company.
HAMDEN  The Board of Education Thursday voted to close and repurpose the Shepherd Glen and Church Street elementary schools , choosing a path forward for reconfiguration of the district.

The board also voted to shift sixth-grade students to Hamden Middle School, petition the Legislative Council to allow the district to take over the current Wintergreen Interdistrict Magnet School building, and direct Superintendent of Schools Jody Goeler to develop plans for intradistrict magnet and universal preschool programs.

The specifics of the plan are still undetermined, Chairman Chris Daur said.

He said renovation of the Alice Peck Learning Center is expected to begin in summer, shifting students there to Wintergreen, where the board intends to consolidate special education services.

They may be joined by students from West Woods Elementary, which the board intends to renovate in the imminent future. But state funding has not yet been secured for that effort, Daur said.

State funding also will need to be obtained to construct an addition to Hamden Middle School, which will allow the building to house sixth-grade students, Daur said. Construction there, if all goes as expected, likely will begin in 2020, he said.

Then, in September 2021, Shepherd Glen and Church Street would close, town sixth-graders would make the leap to the middle school, and a firm plan for the redistricting of the town elementary schools, to incorporate Goelers plans for universal pre-K and magnet schools, would be implemented.

New attendance zones likely will be crafted in the next two to three years, board member Myron Hul said.

The idea of constructing an addition to Dunbar Hill is under discussion, but not finalized, Daur said. The board previously sought funds to renovate Shepherd Glen from the Legislative Council, which it will seek to use at Dunbar instead.

Wintergreen parents urged the board to leave their school alone, noting that the financial impact of students returning to the Hamden schools might not be what the board expects, and the potential disruption to the lives of their children.

Renee Garbatini said her daughter, Amelia, had flourished at Wintergreen. The ability to have her attend classes there has kept them in their home, she said.

We are parents fighting for a school that we love. We are voters, informed and civically engaged. We expect our elected officials to do what is best for the members of our community who do not have a voice in the process, which are our children, said Garbatini. We will leave if our daughter is unable to attend this program in this community.

Board members described the difficulty of making such a decision, thanked the residents in attendance for sharing their thoughts and feelings in recent months, and expressed confidence in the plan at hand.

(This has been) an extremely difficult process for all of us. I personally have a difficult time with closing one of the schools  but I know its in the best interest of Hamden, our children, and thats what were looking at it, said Melinda Saller. Its not a win-lose, its not a them-against-us. We are one town; we are one big, happy family, and were just trying to make it more cohesive and work for everybody.

I care. This hurts. But we are doing a town-wide roadmap, said Lynn Campo, noting that she serves on the ACES governing board. We care about you and we care about everybody here. This is painful.

We have to look at the fiscal realities. We have to look at the student enrollment realities. And we have to lay a map going forward. Theres no way to stay still  we have to go forward, said Daur. I apologize profusely. We dont want to be here. We dont want to give you this news ... but please understand, we believe, after a year-and-a-half of looking at this, that this is the best way to go.

When the time came, the vote was unanimous.

We are proud of what were doing here. Its tough, but theyre tough decisions that have to be made, and we apologize if weve hurt anybodys feelings on this, said Daur.

The future of the Wintergreen  and, by extension, Shepherd Glen  is not yet written, though, Mayor Curt B. Leng said Thursday.

Leng said he planned to continue negotiations with ACES Executive Director Thomas Dannehy over the future of the building after the boards vote.

A potential sale could allow the town to pay for school construction and allow the magnet program to remain in place, he said.

If the desire is there from ACES, and I believe it is, I see a scenario where we could keep Wintergreen (Interdistrict) Magnet School open and save Shepherd Glen School, Leng said in a statement. There would be too many potential positives for so many Hamden families not to make every last effort to try and make this happen.

Evelyn Rossetti-Ryan, chief of marketing and outreach at ACES, said the organization respected the work done by the Hamden school board and the challenges faced by the districted, but remained committed to negotiating with Leng.

william.lambert@hearstmediact.com
WALLINGFORD  Residents opposed to two giant warehouses being built on the former Bristol Myers Squibb complex on Research Parkway have upped the ante in their efforts to get development scuttled.

About 50 residents showed up at Tuesdays Town Council meeting to urge councilors to oppose the project, which is currently before the Towns Planning and Zoning Commission.

The project needs a special permit from the PZC. And while the decision on whether to approve the project solely is the purview of the PZC, opponents urged council members to use what ever personal influence they might have with members of the zoning board.

Many who live in the residential neighborhood east of the proposed warehouse complex say they are troubled that Massachusetts-based Calare Properties, which bought the 180-acre corporate campus in February from Bristol Myers Squibb, isnt identifying who the tenants are for the two warehouses that are being proposed. Calares plan calls for tearing down the 915,000-square-foot pharmaceutical research and development center and replacing it with two warehouses with 1.1 million square feet between them.

What I find most disturbing ... is that developers have provided no numbers, no specifics, said Hillary Greene, who lives on Marie Lane.

Jack Arrigoni, who lives on Martin Trail, said he is skeptical of claims by Calare representatives that the company doesnt know which businesses will occupy the two warehouses.

For them to claim they dont know who is going in there is nothing short of obfuscation, Arrigoni said.

More News Proposed warehouses in Wallingford raise residents ire

Dennis A. Ceneviva, a Meriden-based attorney representing Calare, told PZC members during a hearing earlier this month that the proposed warehouse complex is not a tenant-driven project.

This is driven by e-commerce, and e-commerce is booming, Ceneviva said.

James Heilman, who lives on High Hill Road, said the Muddy River flows through the former Bristol Myers Squibb property into Spring Lake and is ultimately part of the watershed of the towns MacKenzie Reservior. Heilman said that when the companys corporate complex was built more than three decades ago, construction of the facility had an impact on the watershed.

It wasnt that long ago that the town spent a lot of money dredging its water resources, he said. The Bristol Myers complex hurt them terribly. Knowing that, you should be rattled by this.

Scott Gray, who lives on Oxford Trail next to Spring Lake, said the body of water has never fully recovered from when Bristol Myers was built.

The upper portion of the lake is only a few inches deep because of all the silt that came from the site, Gray said. That complex was built at a significant cost to the environment.

Ed Bradley, who lives on Hampton Trail, said the proposed warehouse complex might increase runoff from rainwater in the area.

We have a lot of flooding in that area already, Bradley said.

luther.turmelle@hearstmediact.com
BRIDGEPORT - A judge barred the secretary of the state from certifying a winner in Stratfords election for the state house of representatives.

Now the contestants for the seat will bring their arguments to the House  or the state Supreme Court  their representatives said.

This was a clear-cut win for us and a win for the voters of Stratford, Republican candidate James Feehan said after the judges ruling. The judge has ruled that we have a good chance of winning on the merits of our case and she did what was appropriate.

But William Bloss, lawyer for Democratic Incumbent candidate Phil Young, said the judges decision will have no effect on the outcome of the election, which Young won in a recount.

She agreed this case did not belong in court and this order stopping certification is fundamentally meaningless. This is still up to the House, which we said all along.

Superior Court Judge Barbara Bellis Friday afternoon granted a motion for an emergency injunction until the state house has a chance to decide who will represent the 120th assembly district.

The court is ensuring the House has the opportunity to exercise its authority, the judge ruled.

Feehan sued for a new election after a recount found he had lost to Young by 13 votes. He claimed an error by the election workers at the Bunnell High School polling place in which they gave ballots for the 122nd district to those voting in the 120th district cost him the election.

Under state law the secretary of the state has to the end of November to certify the winners of the recent election for state offices.

Bloss argued Friday that state courts dont have the jurisdiction to decide the outcomes of state elections. He said under the Connecticut Constitution, only the House can decide who is seated there and that there is a procedure in place to appoint a committee of two Republicans and two Democrats to decide election appeals.

But Feehans lawyer, Proloy Das, said leaving the outcome of the election to the House would be a violation of the U.S. Constitution. He cited the court case of George Bush versus Al Gore that resulted in a federal judge upholding Bushs presidential victory.

The voters of Stratford should decide who represents them in the House of Rrepresentatives, not the legislature, he told the judge.

After taking a brief recess following arguments, Bellis agreed that the House, not she, should decide the elections outcome.

The court is without jurisdiction, the court cannot and may not infringe on the Houses authority, she said.

However, the judge continued that Feehan has no other remedy of law and would suffer irreparable harm if the secretary of the state is allowed to certify a winner before Feehan has a chance to appeal to the House.

Speaker of the House Joe Aresimowicz of Berlin, a Democrat, said The separation of powers in our constitution makes the eventual outcome of this case pretty clear as the judge seems to indicate.

The law is clear, he said, And also reflected in other state constitutions as well as our federal constitution. Whats important now is that this process is completed soon so we can ensure Stratfords residents are fully represented when the legislature convenes in January.

House Republican Leader Themis Klarides said she and other pols will continue to pursue all efforts to make sure that none of the voters in the disputed House race in Stratford are disenfranchised. There are legal remedies available to accomplish that goal. As the vote count has yet to be certified, the outcome remains in dispute.

Voting for both the 120th district and the 122nd assembly district was held at Bunnell High School. But around midday Nov. 6, a voter for the 120th district noticed he had been handed a ballot for the 122nd. Young and Feehan were not on the ballot for the 122nd.

It was determined that a packet of ballots for the 122nd district had been given out to voters for the 120th.

After the election, the Registrar of Voters discovered that in the 120th district, 1,575 voter names had been crossed off the official checklist but only 1,499 ballots had been processed, a difference of 76 fewer ballots than voters, according to court papers. In the checklist of the 122nd, 952 names had been crossed off the official checklist, but 1,031 ballots were processed, a difference of 79 more ballots than voters.

The recanvas showed that, at Bunnell High School, a total of 859 votes were cast for Feehan, 608 votes for Young, 6 votes for Prez Palmer, and 27 ballots presented no votes in the race for the 120th Assembly District. The voter checklist for the 120th district showed that 1,575 voters at Bunnell High School received ballots. The recanvas showed that 75 voters at Bunnell High School were denied the right to vote in the 120th Assembly District.
As night falls in Akcakale, Turkish armored vehicles rumble into position behind walls of protective sandbags, diverting their guns from a town across the Syrian border controlled by U.S.-backed Kurdish fighters. The dust-churning maneuver ends another day of a tense truce between NATO's second-largest army and a militia it considers a mortal enemy.

The adversaries are separated only by untended fields of cotton, barbed wire and tracks of the Berlin to Baghdad railway that was conceived more than a century ago to further imperial claims on territory.

Turkey says its military is confronting another attempt to redraw the region's maps. It believes Syrian Kurds have been joined by their armed Turkish brethren to better pursue a long dreamed of Kurdish state that Ankara will not countenance. The standoff at the frontier could easily explode.

In his latest saber-rattling intervention, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Tuesday that Turkey can't stand by while it's menaced by the Kurds. The "days when we will crush terrorists are very near," he said. The president then chaired a five-hour meeting of the National Security Council.

Erdogan has sent troops into northern Syria to attack Kurdish positions before and is especially angered by a decision the U.S. says was intended to help keep the peace.

Last week, Defense Secretary James Mattis outlined plans to set up observation posts to warn Turkey of any dangers heading its way, perhaps redeploying some of the American troops who have been assisting the Kurdish YPG in the fight against Islamic State. Turkish leaders, however, see the plan as really designed to protect the Kurds by putting Americans in harm's way of an attack by Turkey.

Erdogan has been ramping up his nationalist rhetoric ahead of municipal elections in March, but that doesn't mean his threats are idle or that there's little at stake.

U.S. officials have warned that extending Turkish military action east along the Syrian frontier would raise the chances of a direct confrontation with American troops. It would also damage international efforts to prevent a jihadist resurgence by drawing Kurds from a battle they fought for years to win, they say. Erdogan rejects those claims as propaganda.

The YPG, or People's Protection Units, are affiliated with the Syrian Kurdish Democratic Union Party. Both deny they are enemies of Turkey and say they seek only to protect Syria's Kurds. They have controlled swaths of northern Syria since 2012, when the government in Damascus withdrew troops to bolster its heartlands. The militia temporarily lost some key towns to Islamic State's brutal advance before retaking them backed by U.S. air power.

Its sporadically hot border conflict with Turkey since then has made household names of a string of formerly obscure frontier towns. There's Afrin, seized from the Kurds by Turkey in March, and Manbij, which Erdogan has repeatedly vowed to take. From Akcakale, it's Tal Abyad that's in Turkish sights.

Turkey has been preparing to capture the town using allied Syrian Arab forces, according to two people familiar with the planning who asked not to be named due to the sensitivity of the issue.

An offensive would likely open new rifts between Ankara and Washington only weeks after a crisis over a jailed American pastor was resolved. Mattis nodded to those better relations in the Nov. 21 Pentagon briefing where he outlined the observer mission.

Sharing a border with Syria gives Turkey plenty of reasons to be concerned and "we don't dismiss any of their concerns," he said. "We are going to track any threat that we can spot going up into Turkey. That means we will be talking to Turkish military across the border."

At the moment, Turkey isn't buying it. Defense Minister Hulusi Akar said he'd told U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff General Joseph Dunford at a security forum in Canada last week that the U.S. plan would "negatively affect the perception in our country that American soldiers were protecting the YPG."

Hundreds of refugee Syrians including tribal leaders have demonstrated in Akcakale to demand an operation against Tal Abyad.

Their mood chimes with that of Erdogan and his nationalist political allies, who in election campaigning claim the YPG is now virtually indistinguishable from Turkey's Kurdish PKK separatist movement.

Turkey says that commanders of the PKK, which has battled the Turkish state for autonomy for much of its 40-year history, have taken over the YPG. The PKK is designated a terrorist organization by the U.S. and European Union.

'Killing One Another'

Nihat Ali Ozcan, an analyst at the Ankara-based Economic Policy Research Foundation of Turkey and author of several books on the PKK, said the group moved to aid their "ethnic cousins in Syria against Islamic State and quickly took over the command of the YPG."

Other analysts are more circumspect but point to links. In a 2016 Atlantic Council study, Aaron Stein said Turkish officials at first looked the other way as Kurds left to join the YPG and fight Islamic State "given that two entities hostile to Turkey were killing one another." That has since changed but YPG statements show Turkish Kurds accounted for nearly half of casualties over three years from January 2013, he said.

Top Turkish policymakers are urging the U.S. to change course in Syria. Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said last week that Washington must force the Kurds to fully withdraw from Manbij, a predominantly Arab town, by the end of the year and make sure the YPG has no presence west of the Euphrates River. Turkish and U.S. army units started joint patrols near Manbij on Nov. 1, but Turkey isn't satisfied. Turkey might move against Manbij early next year should Kurdish forces fail to withdraw to the east of the river, according to two officials who spoke on condition of anonymity due to sensitivity of the information.

Russia, Assad's main backer, and Turkey struck a deal in September to prevent a government offensive on Idlib that threatened to trigger a fresh wave of refugees. With Turkey under pressure from Moscow to deliver on its promise to remove Islamists from a demilitarized zone around Idlib, its scope for a new northern offensive may be limited.

That hasn't dampened speculation in Akcakale. "There are rumors that authorities will evacuate us from our houses just near the border," said Hasan, who refused to give his surname fearing reprisals. "There is calm now but we're worried.".
WEST HAVEN  Despite repeated assurances that work to renovate and rebuild West Haven High School is safe, some parents of high school students remain concerned about possible asbestos and other issues.

Several parents expressed those concerns this week at a meeting in City Hall that they called to air their concerns, get answers from school, city and project officials and call for additional cleaning and testing of the high school.

They received additional verbal assurances from officials who attended, but nothing was resolved.

Superintendent of Schools Neil Cavallaro, Board of Education Chairwoman Rosemary Russo and acting Principal Dana Paredes attended the meeting Thursday night, although most of the talking on the city side came from Ken Carney, chairman of the West Haven High School Building Committee, and two consultants working on the project.

The goal of everybody in this room is the safety of the kids and we have over 100 years of experience of special license people who say the high school and the project are safe, said Carney.

About 24 people attended the meeting, of which four were parents of current high school students. One was the parent of a recently graduated high school student and two were the children of one of the parents.

They were outnumbered by the 11 or so Board of Education and city officials and the six or seven employees of the architects and consultants for the $130 million high school project.

Parent Marilyn Wilkes said she organized the meeting because after speaking to fellow high school parent Christine Barrington, I just became aware of the issues at the high school and it extremely concerns me.

She said she received voicemail messages from the BOE along with all high school families assuring her that there was no danger, but she remains unconvinced that past asbestos issues and abatement that took place in recent months have left the school safe for students, faculty and staff.

Wilkes, Barrington and others believe that more aggressive testing  and a more detailed test than the one that primarily has been used  is necessary to assure that the school is safe.

They also think the school, which had an asbestos scare following installation of security cameras and underwent abatement in two areas last spring and summer prior to construction, should undergo a thorough cleaning to ensure no asbestos lingers.

My understanding is that the testing that was done at the high school was done because it was inexpensive and quick, Wilkes said, referring to whats known as PCM, or Phase Contrast Microscopy, testing.

There are two primary testing methods: PCM (Phase Contrast Microscopy) and TEM (Transmission Electron Microscopy), according to the websites of several testing companies.

Both methodologies analyze for fiber concentration through pumping the ambient air into filtered air cassettes. PCM is quicker and less expensive because samples can be analyzed on-site. TEM, which is considered the more comprehensive method, requires an expensive electronic microscope, can cost five times as much and generally takes longer.

Consultants Richard Dunn of Dunn Environmental Inspections and Jim Twitchell of Hygenix Inc. assured the crowd that the PCM testing done was more than adequate to assure safety.

Shes referring to the PCM as the cheap test. said Dunn.  Im going to call it the fast test.

Barrington, an attorney with two sons at the high school, said that much of what she has learned since she began looking into the issue concerns here.

We have a Connecticut law that says you cant abate asbestos when kids are in school unless you get a waiver from the Department of Health, she said, but said she was told that the state Department of Public Health has never not granted a waiver.

Her greatest concern, she said, is that there hasnt been enough of a barrier between workers abating asbestos and doing other demolition work and the general public.

The biggest thing that came out as a concern for me was that in January, I showed up on campus for a swim meet and with about 300 people there, I noticed the excavators on the roof and they were ripping things up.

She said she also has lingering concerns about asbestos management at the high school, and pointed out that every cinder block at the high school is coated with asbestos-containing paint.

Long story short: We dont have an indoor air-quality program at the high school, Barrington said, calling for dust and mold testing as well as asbestos testing.

She said it concerns her that her younger son began having nosebleeds for the first time just two weeks after he started at the high school.

Things grew testy at times on both sides.

I think were looking for something here thats not here, said Lou Esposito, executive assistant to Mayor Nancy Rossi. As a result of the renovation, I think that high school is going to be safer than it ever was, he said.

A little later, Russo said, I want the parents to know that the Board of Ed does not take this stuff lightly, but there has to come a point where you say, OK, the kids are safe.

She asked Barrington, If things were found in West Haven High School, dont you think we would take action to fix the problem.

Things have been found and youve done nothing! Barrington responded.

A little later, Dunn asked her, so you want to close the school for three or four months to do all the sampling she thinks is necessary.

Yes, Barrington responded. There are 1,500 kids in the school and two of them are my kids.
Officials said a fire severely damaged three duplexes, left two residents hurt and another person missing in Sea Isle City Thursday afternoon.

The injured were hospitalized with burns and smoke inhalation from the raging fire, which was reported on 54th Street around noon, according to officials. Their conditions were not released.

A woman, from the same family, was unaccounted for, the Cape May County Prosecutors Office said in a statement Thursday.

The fire apparently sparked in one structure and spread to duplexes on each side. One residence was reduced to charred rubble while the other two buildings had major damage.

Sea Isle City spokeswoman Katherine Custer said the blaze was largely contained as of 4 p.m. and the residences were uninhabitable. Fire and emergency medical crews from several surrounding communities helped in the response.

Detectives from the prosecutors office, city police and county fire marshal were working to determine what sparked the inferno.

Police Chief Thomas McQuillen said more information would likely be released Friday. Authorities asked the public to avoid the area as the investigation and response continued.

Noah Cohen may be reached at ncohen@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @noahyc. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
An 89-year-old woman has died in a roaring fire that tore through three homes in Sea Isle City, authorities said.

The body of Marie Zielinski was recovered Friday from what remained of her apartment, according to Cape May County Prosecutor Jeffrey H. Sutherland and Sea Isle City Police Chief Thomas McQuillen.

The victim was positively identified by (members of) the Southern Regional Medical Examiners Office who will be conducting an autopsy, the prosecutor and police chief said in a joint statement.

Two other residents  Elizabeth Coleman, 56, and Roy Lombardo, 60  were taken to Cape Regional Medical Center to be treated for burns and smoke inhalation.

Lombardo has been released but Coleman was transferred to Cooper Medical Center for additional treatment, authorities said.

The fire began about noon Thursday at 29 54th St., eventually spreading to duplexes on each side. One home was reduced to charred rubble while the other two buildings sustained severe damage.

Officials said the blaze was under control by about 4 p.m.

Local police, members of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms and state fire marshal investigators were at the scene.

The cause and origin of the fire were unknown Friday afternoon, officials said.

Authorities urged anyone with information and video or photos of the fire to contact the prosecutors office at 609-465-1135 or the Sea Isle City Police Department at 609-263-4311.

Anthony G. Attrino may be reached at tattrino@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @TonyAttrino. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
Authorities are remaining tight-lipped about a fatal shooting at a Deptford Township home on Wednesday night.

The shooting occurred shortly after 9 p.m. at a house on Andaloro Way and a man was whisked to Cooper University Hospital.

Officials confirmed he died, but no other details have been made public.

A spokesman for the Gloucester County Prosecutors Office indicated details would likely be released Friday, but stated that the public had no reason for concern that a shooter was on the loose.

The home remained surrounded by police tape on Thursday afternoon. Deptford Police SUVs were parked at the curb and toward the back of the property.

One neighbor reported hearing six to eight gunshots around 9 p.m. Wednesday, followed by a man yelling for help.

And then we called the cops, she said. They were quick. Theyve been here all night.

She has only lived on the street for a few months and didnt really know the people who lived in the house, but described them as friendly and an average family.

Another neighbor, who wasnt home when the shooting occurred, said a mother and son live in the house. The mom is cool. I dont know about the boy, he said.

A resident who lives down the street, Diane Broadley, also recalled hearing about eight shots.

I cant believe its in this neighborhood, she said, describing it as a peaceful area. The safest street youd ever want to live on.
A New Jersey man accused of helping his girlfriend bury her dad's body after she strangled him in 2013 pleaded guilty in the case three years ago, but skipped his sentencing date.

He remained a fugitive until his arrest in Delaware this week.

Norman J. Kacewich, 30, was charged with disturbing human remains and hindering after his girlfriend, Kandise G. Dixey, was charged with murder in the death of her father.

Michael Dixey, 61, of Fairfield Township was strangled and his body buried in a shallow grave not far from his home in September 2013. His family reported him missing to police and investigators found his remains in October of that year.

Delaware police learned Wednesday that Kacewich was staying at a motel on South Dupont Highway in New Castle. He was arrested without incident and allegedly lied to police about his identity during an interview, according to Delaware State Police.

When police verified he was Kacewich, he was arraigned on the out-of-state fugitive warrant and jailed pending extradition to New Jersey.

After Kandise Dixey killed her father, the couple used one of the victim's credit cards before fleeing to Elkton, Maryland, authorities previously said.

U.S. Marshals helped track them down in Maryland in October 2013 and they were extradited to New Jersey.

Dixey, now 37, was convicted of aggravated manslaughter and hindering, and sentenced to 21 years in prison in 2015.

Kacewich pleaded guilty to a charge of disturbing human remains in 2015, but he skipped his sentencing date and a warrant was issued for his arrest.

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.
"Black New Jersey: 1664 to the Present Day,"



By Graham Russell Gao Hodges



(Rutgers University Press, 380 pp., $34.95)

When I moved back East, after a decade in California, people I had just met offered advice on where to live in New Jersey, which towns had good school districts. It quickly became clear their evaluations depended, not on test scores or curricula, but on how white the student body was.

It was appalling, yet not shocking. Although I've encountered prejudice myself - as a woman, as a Jew - it's minor compared to what African-Americans live with. And while some Northern whites try to convince themselves racism is strictly a problem of the small-town South, intolerance is everywhere, as is the fight to overcome it.



Graham Russell Gao Hodges, who has written or edited 16 other book, including some about blacks in New Jersey, examines that long, slow struggle here.

African-Americans lived in New Jersey when it was still a part of the Dutch New Netherlands. Enslaved people from the West Indies labored on a Pavonia plantation and free men and women on small farms in Bergen County.

Graham Russell Geo Hodges is a professor of history and Africana and Latin American studies at Colgate University.

The evils of slavery spread quickly, though. By 1745 there were 4,600 blacks in bondage in the state, out of a total population of 61,383.

Most worked on farms, although in Cape May and Salem counties some labored in the whaling industry.

Freedom was nearly impossible to gain. If a master wanted to liberate his slaves, he had to pay $200 to the colony, and $20 a year to the newly emancipated person.

Slaves who fled were flogged when caught, and any white person who had helped them was fined.

Some blacks revolted. Two men in Trenton were accused of poisoning several whites in 1738; a man on a Rocky Hill farm, in 1739, was said to have taken an ax to the owner's son; and in 1750, another black man in Amboy was accused of shooting a white woman.

There were, not surprisingly, no trials. Once apprehended, the men were tied to a stake and burned alive.

When the American Revolution began, the English promised freedom to blacks willing to run away and join them. Eventually, over 3,000 blacks took up arms. Most fled the new country after its victory. Some went as far as Sierra Leone; at least 300 New Jerseyans settled in Nova Scotia.

All of this should serve as a harsh reminder that human bondage was not only an evil of the South. No, slavery had deep claws in New Jersey. When the legislature finally passed "gradual emancipation" in 1804 - applying only to children born after that date -- it was the last Northern state to do so.

A meticulously researched, albeit slow-moving, history of African-Americans in New Jersey.

"Black New Jersey" is at its best in these opening chapters, as the author, a professor at New York's Colgate University, marshals a variety of sources.

Naturally, history needs to be factual, and should never be dull, which much of this book is. Telling any story, especially one this rich requires artistry, and the last half of the book is drily unimaginative.

Decade follows decade, with events grouped under broad headings. Hodges is so intently focused on amassing details he never paints a larger picture.



If there is a through-line, though, it is the resilience of a people.

While the end of the Civil War brought no immediate peace - in 1866, Governor Joel Parker warned that giving black men the vote would only ensure a "mongrel" government - the state's African Americans stubbornly pushed forward.

And their numbers grew quickly, as blacks abandoned the South for factory work in Newark, hotel jobs in Atlantic City.

Real advancement, though, was much slower. Black soldiers returning from World War II found a state still filled with segregated movie theaters and whites-only restaurants. A series of state laws in 1949 outlawing discrimination didn't truly end it - the "good" school districts remained mostly closed to blacks -- but at least the long process of change began.



The pace of progress picked up during the Civil Rights Era, but the effects of prejudice, poverty and de facto segregation festered, leading directly to the 1967 Newark riots (perhaps revealing his own politics here, Hodges uses the word "rebellion"). They still linger.

The book races over the last 50 years of history. And while there's never a doubt this is flawlessly researched, a history worth reading needs more. It needs to make the readers feel the people along the way, not just cite facts.
Fans of Desus Nice and The Kid Mero won't have to wait much longer for the dynamic duo's return to late night.

"Desus & Mero," their late-night series for Showtime, will debut on Feb. 21, they announced Thursday. The half-hour series will air at 11 p.m. every Thursday.

Desus, aka Daniel Baker, and Mero, aka Joel Martinez, both hail from the Bronx and are considered MVPs of riffing, something they honed on Twitter and in their former Complex web series and podcast "Desus vs. Mero," where they took on topics ranging from rappers and celebrities to sports, politics and the news of the day.

They previously put those skills to use in "Desus & Mero," which was also the name of their former late-night show on Viceland, where they regularly interviewed celebrities. They now promise the big return of "the most illustrious late-night show ever in the history of mankind."

"What's up, America? I'm Ray Donovan and this is my friend Billions," Baker said in a video promo for the show, giving a nod to the cable network's other programming.

The nightly Viceland series that Martinez and Baker hosted starting in 2016 came to an abrupt end this past summer. They said that the network decided to let them loose before their contract was up after getting wind of their deal with Showtime.

In October, Martinez, 35, who now lives in Fair Lawn with his wife and their four young children, spoke to NJ Advance Media about the upcoming show and Desus and Mero's "Bodega Boys" podcast, which will continue after the series premieres this winter. ("Fat Joe the rapper told me, 'You live in the Bronx. When you get money, you're supposed to move to New Jersey,'" he said at the time.)

"They're giving us the resources, they're giving us the autonomy, they're giving us everything that we need to make a great show and now the ball is in our court," Martinez said in the interview. "And I like to shoot threes, so I'm going to drain it."

Amy Kuperinsky may be reached at akuperinsky@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @AmyKup or on Facebook.
Police are searching for a Montclair man accused of stabbing his girlfriend to death in the township earlier this month, authorities said Thursday.

The Essex County Prosecutors Office, in a statement, said Kenneth Jones, no age given, has been charged with murder and weapons offenses in the death of Tameeka Johnson, 41.

Johnson was found dead in the couples home on Greenwood Avenue on Nov. 12, the prosecutors office said. Investigators said Jones fled the scene before police arrived, and remained at large as of Thursday evening.

Authorities have asked anyone with information about Jones' whereabouts to call the county Homicide/Major Crimes Task Force tips line at 1-877-846-7432 or 1-877-TIPS-4EC.

Thomas Moriarty may be reached at tmoriarty@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter at @ThomasDMoriarty. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
Three Hudson County police departments are among the 30 law enforcement agencies with the highest use of force rates in the state, according to a database published Thursday by NJ Advance Media.

The database, compiled via public records ranging from 2012 through 2016, is part of an investigatory series produced by NJAM that details each of the state's 468 police departments' use of force, which includes pepper spray deployment, compliance holds, takedowns and any use of hand strikes.

The rankings were calculated using a percentage of the use-of-force reports per 1,000 arrests made. An officer is required to fill out a form every time he or she uses force during an arrest. The rate of force was calculated using the overall number of reports since multiple officers may have used force during a single arrest.

The police departments in Bayonne, West New York, and Hoboken are among the 30 departments with the highest rates of use of force, the database indicates. Maplewood has the state's highest rate with just over 110 incidents per 1,000 arrests.

NJAM found a system largely in disarray. State Attorney General Gurbir Grewal told NJAM the current system for tracking use of police force was broken and promised a major overhaul.

The current data doesn't appear to paint a complete picture.

James Shea, Jersey City's director of public safety, told NJAM that the city's police department failed to provide all use-of-force forms in response to requests because he said some reports were missing and possibly had been misfiled.

Not all are pleased with the report, however. New Jersey State PBA President Patrick Colligan said the report looks to "develop controversy and discontent" and said the data provides little context about the use of force officers are required to use in certain scenarios.

Here is a ranking of where each Hudson municipality falls on its use of force among the state's 468 police departments:

12. East Newark

396 out of 468

2 total uses of force

12 incidents per 1,000 arrests.

11. Jersey City*

357 out of 468

1,091 total uses of force

5.2 incidents per 1,000 arrests.

*New Jersey's second most populous city ranks relatively low on the list of departments' use-of-force. But the picture is admittedly incomplete.

From 2012 to 2016, the city police department had a total of 1,091 uses of force, or 15.2 incidents per 1,000 arrests -- an outlier, considering the city has one of the higher violent crime rates in the state.

Shea could not say how many reports were missing or if they still existed, and said an internal investigation has been filed.

10. Union City

264 out of 468

360 total uses of force

23.5 incidents per 1,000 arrests.

9. Kearny

256 out of 468

159 total uses of force

24.3 incidents per 1,000 arrests

8. Weehawken

241 out of 468

54 total uses of force

25.8 incidents per 1,000 arrests.

7. North Bergen

229 out of 468

216 total uses of force

26.8 incidents per 1,000 arrests.

6. Harrison

133 out of 468

102 total uses of force

37.8 incidents per 1,000 arrests.

5. Secaucus

116 out of 468

213 total uses of force

40.1 incidents per 1,000 arrests.

4. Guttenberg

113 out of 468

80 total uses of force

40.9 incidents per 1,000 arrests.

3. Hoboken

27 out of 468

569 total uses of force

59 incidents per 1,000 arrests.

2. West New York

22 out of 468

560 total uses of force

63.3 incidents per 1,000 arrests.

1. Bayonne

11 out of 468

769 total uses of force

73.8 incidents per 1,000 arrests.

Corey W. McDonald may be reached at cmcdonald@jjournal.com. Follow him on Twitter @coreymacc. Find The Jersey Journal on Facebook.
Advocates for Hudson County immigrants applauded the state Attorney General's new directive that limits when local police can ask someone's immigration status and turn undocumented immigrants over to federal officials for deportation.

During a press conference at Liberty State Park on Thursday, New Jersey Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal announced new rules, called the Immigrant Trust Directive, that draw a line between federal immigration officials and local authorities.

"The Immigrant Trust Directive is a much needed change to ensure that immigrant families and communities can no longer live in fear of the risk of deportation," said Sally Pillay, program director for the First Friends of NJ and NY, a Kearny-based nonprofit organization that works on behalf of detained immigrants and asylum seekers.

Pillay echoed reaction from a number of local groups that called the directive a step in the right direction.

Gurbir's order mandates that, except in limited circumstances, New Jersey's law enforcement officers cannot stop, question, arrest, search, or detain any individual based solely on their immigration status.

Local and state advocacy groups say the directive will go a long way toward alleviating "much of the fear that exists in immigrant communities," said Jersey City immigration attorney Eugene Squeo, a Catholic priest.

"I think it's really an excellent step forward in making our immigrant communities feel that much more safe and confident that they can cooperate with law enforcement," Squeo said. He added that another important step would be passing a bill to allow undocumented immigrants obtain drivers licenses.

Joshua Sotomayor Einstein, a Republican state committeeman representing Hudson County, called the administration's move "despicable distraction politics."

"This back-door statewide amnesty of illegal aliens is reminiscent of the anti-Civil Rights movements in which states attempted to usurp constitutionally defined federal authority," Sotomayor Einstein said.

Attorney Ariela Herzog of the nonprofit Center for Immigrant Representation in Jersey City.

Other groups say more should be done on behalf of immigrants. Ariela Herzog, the supervising attorney for the nonprofit Center for Immigrant Representation in Jersey City, called the directive "a positive development and a meaningful response to the vilification and victimization of immigrants being carried out by President Trump's administration."

But she said the directive does not go far enough, because it acknowledges agencies continue with active 287(g) agreements, which allow the Department of Homeland Security to deputize selected state and local law enforcement officers to enforce federal immigration law.

Hudson County opted out of its 287(g) contract in March, but drew criticism earlier this year when the county Board of Freeholders voted in July to renew a decades-old contract that allows ICE to house immigrant detainees at the county jail in Kearny. The contract is expected to bring the county about $20 million this year.

Freeholder Bill O'Dea said the new directive should not have a direct impact on the county's current contract with ICE, but said "we need to make sure that county corrections adheres to the new guidelines when it comes to anyone brought to the facility who may be here illegally."

Currently, inmates brought to the jail do not have their immigration status checked.

"It also reinforces the fact that we should get out of the ICE business as soon as possible."

Corey W. McDonald may be reached at cmcdonald@jjournal.com. Follow him on Twitter @coreymacc. Find The Jersey Journal on Facebook.
Jersey City cops received a reminder this week that pot is not legal yet.

In a memo sent Monday by Deputy Police Chief Mark Miller, all police personnel were told they must arrest anyone they suspect of possessing marijuana, even small amounts.

The warning comes five months after Mayor Steve Fulop announced on Twitter that his administration began deprioritizing marijuana arrests at the end of 2017, and as state lawmakers are on the cusp of legalizing recreational weed.

It's not clear what led Miller to issue the memo, but sources with knowledge of the decision said it came after an officer reported not arresting someone suspected of possessing pot.

"Regardless of what has been reported in the media, sworn personnel are mandated to arrest individuals violating the laws of the state of New Jersey, including simple possession of marijuana," reads the memo, a copy of which was obtained by The Jersey Journal.

Fulop, a Democrat, has publicly supported marijuana legalization, even during a failed attempt to get the City Council to preemptively ban legal marijuana sales citywide. Fulop said he wanted those banned before then deciding which areas of the city should be zoned for sales.

The mayor made a splash in July when he and the city's municipal prosecutor, Jake Hudnut, announced they would decriminalize pot. State Attorney General Gurbir Grewal told them two days later that they could not do so. Grewal then told prosecutors statewide they could use their discretion on pot charges, but that marijuana could not be decriminalized unless the state Legislature decriminalized it.

Asked about Miller's memo, city spokeswoman Ashley Manz said, "While the JCPD has not prioritized marijuana arrests per the mayor's direction, the chief was merely pointing out the law has not officially changed yet in Trenton."

The city has declined to answer when asked what it means that marijuana arrests have not been prioritized.

The state took a big step toward legalization on Monday when state senate and assembly committees advanced a bill that would legalize pot for adult use.

Amol Sinha, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of New Jersey, said he would not be surprised if some New Jersey cops don't know whether small amounts of pot are legal.

"There is a ton of confusion right now because we are seemingly on the precipice of legalizing marijuana, because of the attorney general's guidelines suggesting prosecutors should look into the collateral damage of pot prosecutions and because there are directives that say drug crimes are still crimes and law enforcement have to make arrests when they see someone making a drug crime," he said.

Sinha said he hopes if state lawmakers do pass legislation legalizing pot, marijuana arrests are immediately suspended, even if the bill includes a time period between passage and legalization.

Terrence T. McDonald may be reached at tmcdonald@jjournal.com. Follow him on Twitter @terrencemcd. Find The Jersey Journal on Facebook.
Katie Brennan, the state official who has accused an ex-aide to Gov. Phil Murphy of sexually assaulting her last year, said she is "deeply discouraged" by the state attorney general's recent statement clearing Hudson County Prosecutor Esther Suarez of wrongdoing in the matter.

Attorney General Gurbir Grewal's "swift conclusion" of his probe into Suarez's conduct only heightens Brennan's "grave concerns" about the treatment of sexual assault victims during investigations, Brennan said in a statement released Thursday night by her spokeswoman.

"The integrity of every government body involved in the attorney general's investigation has been called into question," Brennan said. "I am deeply discouraged that the attorney general's office could rush to its conclusion without the attorney general or office of public integrity and accountability [OPIA] ever even requesting to speak with me."

Brennan, 31, chief of staff of the New Jersey Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency, says the ex-Murphy aide, Al Alvarez, sexually assaulted her in April 2017. At the time, Brennan, of Jersey City, was a Murphy supporter. Alvarez, 44, who lives in Wood-Ridge, was then a campaign official and later became chief of staff of the New Jersey Schools Development Authority. He resigned in October shortly before Brennan went public with her allegations. He has denied the allegations through an attorney.

Suarez's office investigated the claim last year and closed it without charging Alvarez. That decision came under fire when Grewal's office reported that Suarez, a Democrat, had personal relationships with both Brennan and Alvarez.

Grewal, a Democrat, on Tuesday sent a letter to state lawmakers saying there is no evidence Suarez acted improperly. The letter says Grewal's office reviewed the Alvarez case file and interviewed Suarez and members of her staff before coming to that conclusion. The decision not to prosecute Alvarez was made by career prosecutors without Suarez's knowledge or involvement, he said.

Grewal spokeswoman Sharon Lauchaire said in an email Thursday that the investigation referenced in the attorney general's Tuesday letter was limited in scope to whether Suarez's familiarity with Brennan and Alvarez presented an inappropriate conflict of interest and whether Suarez was personally involved in her office's review of the sexual assault claim.

"The OPIA did not opine on any other aspect of the handling of this investigation or the substance of the underlying sexual assault allegations," Lauchaire said. "The Middlesex County Prosecutor's Office is reviewing those allegations and will make its own independent conclusion about whether criminal charges are appropriate."

A request for comment from Suarez was not returned. In a statement she released about the Brennan accusations in October, she said everyone in her office handled the claim professionally.

"The implication that I would have interfered in any case to bring forth an improper result is both offensive and irresponsible," Suarez said.

A Middlesex County Prosecutor's Office spokeswoman said she could provide no update on the Alvarez case.

State lawmakers are investigating how Alvarez was hired after Brennan says she told Murphy's inner circle about the sexual assault allegations. Brennan is expected to testify in front of a special investigatory committee on Tuesday.

In Grewal's letter, he says his office's clearing of Suarez "obviates the need for further legislative inquiry on this matter."

Brennan said in her Thursday statement that her relationship with Suarez amounts to meeting her once for dinner this August.

Terrence T. McDonald may be reached at tmcdonald@jjournal.com. Follow him on Twitter @terrencemcd. Find The Jersey Journal on Facebook.
100 Steps Supper Club + Raw Bar

215 Centennial Ave., Cranford

(908) 276-0153

100stepsrawbar.com

PRIME PLATE: Agnolotti, lobster toast, duck. Who can choose just one?

In 2015, Inside Jersey named Joe Beninato a top sous chef. Beninato, covered in tattoos, was featured on the cover of our magazine. He has that iconic, modern, badass look, straight from central casting.

Beninato is now chef at 100 Steps in Cranford.

Today, he is even more badass, but not thanks to his neck tattoo. Beninato may look the part of a brash television chef, but he also honors his craft in a far more classic way -- i.e., hard work. His cuisine at 100 Steps is complex, structured, clean and refined. It's a surprise discovery in such a casual spot, and the chef's discipline is evident in every dish.

The vegetable spring rolls ($11), for example, are such an anomaly that to order them is to hear a gasp of approval from the waitress. It's a warranted reaction. These spring rolls are elegant, cut at an angle and decorated with microgreens, which all might seem so much formal pretense if they weren't so damn good. These are crisp and light, and the earthy heat from the accompanying soy mustard sauce is just so much genius.

Hudson Valley steelhead trout, a special appetizer, was another gorgeously presented dish. This was the crudo ($14) for the evening, served with fennel and a yogurt-dill sauce, which itself offered a welcome reminder of the pleasures of fresh dill.

Alternatively, the lobster toast ($25) is a fine mess, not elegant in the least, yet this dish is glorious, so deeply rich, silky and velvety with lobster and saffron butter, and brightened with seasonal greens. Beninato's lobster toast has rightly built a cult following.

Agnolotti ($13), with carrot puree and an English pea cream sauce, is rich yet delicate, a sophisticate of a dish that immediately evokes the seductive complexity of a dinner at the former Ursino in Union, where chef Peter Turso recognized and promoted Beninato's talent. Turso is respected in the industry for his precision and his ability to coax intense flavors from each ingredient.

Long Island duck breast ($36) also evokes that refined, white-tablecloth Ursino experience. Duck is difficult to master. At 100 Steps, it's perfectly cooked, with a thin, crispy layer of fat, the meat medium-rare, with a gentle, balanced flavor.

Desserts keep pace. The black pepper cake ($12), with toasted pistachios and homemade buttermilk ice cream, is a delicate, structured, beautiful dessert. The cake's savory finish seems innovative, modern, and the strawberry curd is striking, intense. Affogatto ($6), with house-made ice cream, is bold, a welcomingly rich assertion of espresso against the decadently creamy ice cream.

The range at 100 Steps is remarkable; the restaurant is nimble in each menu category -- fun and casual appetizer, elegant and sophisticated dinner, structured, engaging, grown-up desserts.

The restaurant originally opened in 2013 as an offshoot of A Toute Heure across the street, 100 steps away, owned by Jim and Andrea Carbine. The Carbines sold 100 Steps to Jack Tagmouti, a longtime manager at The Frog and The Peach in New Brunswick.

Some signatures remain, including the restaurant's focus on its raw bar offerings, along with specific menu items such as the Parker House rolls and the mussel pots. On the wall, the photograph remains of Tillie, the fun-face amusement-park mural in Asbury Park.

Cranford has changed since 2013. Recently built luxury apartments have attracted a younger, more urbane demographic; at night, the town's south side bustles with new energy. It seems fitting that Beninato, now in his early 30s, is showing his muscle here.
Authorities in Pennsylvania unveiled a drug operation Thursday they say was based in Trenton, but sold mainly to addicts and drug resellers across the Delaware River in lower Bucks County.

Detectives from four lower Bucks police departments found the effort put 500 to 1,000 bags of heroin into customers' hand per day, the Bucks County District Attorneys Office announced.

Investigators started looking into an operation headed by Cornelius Bell, 28, in March, and made numerous controlled purchases of drugs from him and his alleged associates. The buys totaled four bricks of heroin - each containing approximately 50 bags - that were labeled Tom Brady.

Bell and his alleged partner, Jalmed P. Marks, 27, were arrested earlier this month in Falls Township. In arrest documents, Bell is listed as living in the 1000 block of North Olden Avenue in North Trenton, and Marks on Euclid Avenue in Trentons Wilbur neighborhood.

Bell and Marks, along with two others, Joshua White, 27, and Aaron Gyampo, 26, both of Trenton, worked together on heroin sales using a cell phone number they changed periodically, the office said. All the suspects face numerous drug dealing charges, and White and Gyampo remain at large

During the investigation, police also found heroin labeled with the brand names, Scorpion, Armani, Way to Go, Sick Call, Hellfire and White Castle, court papers show.

During the arrests, the Mercer County Narcotics Task Force executed search warrants at several residences in Trenton connected with the investigation, seizing more than 2,500 bags of heroin, the Bucks district attorneys office said.

The Bucks detectives had the backing of the Bucks County Detectives Drug Strike Force, and developed the case with information from the Bucks DAs Push Out the Pusher campaign, launched last year.

From its inception in 2017, our Drug Strike Force has been committed to taking down major drug organizations in Bucks County through collaborations with local, state and federal law enforcement agencies, District Attorney Matthew D. Weintraub said in a statement. This bust is but one great example of our concentrated, multi-agency approach to getting this poison off the streets.

Kevin Shea may be reached at kshea@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter@kevintshea. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
UPDATE: In court, Paul Caneiro agrees to be held in jail until his trial

An Ocean Township man charged with killing his younger brother, his sister-and-law and their two children after a dispute that prosecutors described as "financial in nature" is scheduled to face a judge on Friday for the first time since his arrest last week.

Paul Caneiro. (Police photo)

Paul Caneiro, 51, is facing four counts of first-degree murder, aggravated arson and weapons offenses in connection with the pre-dawn slaying of Keith Caneiro, 50, Keith's wife, Jennifer, 45, and their two young children, 8-year-old Sophia and 11-year-old Jesse, just days before Thanksgiving.

Monmouth County Prosecutor Christopher Gramiccioni told reporters Thursday that he believes the motive stems from the two businesses the brothers ran together in Asbury Park -- Square One, a technology firm, and a pest control business, EcoStar Pest Management.

The tech company had been struggling to stay afloat, a law enforcement source told NJ Advance Media. And a former classmate of Keith Caneiro's from Columbia University said Caneiro was actively seeking to walk away from Square One. The classmate, who did not want to be named, said Caneiro had recently sent him his resume and indicated he was willing to relocate to California for a new opportunity.

Authorities allege Paul Caneiro, armed with a handgun and a knife, shot his brother multiple times outside Keith Caneiro's million-dollar Colts Neck mansion. Paul Caneiro then shot and stabbed Jennifer before stabbing the two children, according to authorities.

Paul Caneiro lit a fire in the basement of the Willow Brook Road home in the early morning hours before heading back to his Ocean Township house and intentionally setting it ablaze to make it appear as if the entire Caneiro family had been targeted, Gramiccioni said.

Paul Caneiro was arrested the day after and charged with one count of aggravated arson for lighting his house on fire with his wife and two daughters inside, authorities announced.

The additional murder charges were filed Thursday morning, and Gramiccioni laid out additional details of the crime at a press conference packed with reporters from national news outlets.

Later in the day, Paul Caneiro's attorneys, Robert A. Honecker Jr. and Michell J. Ansell, issued a statement that said, in part, Caneiro "had absolutely nothing to do with these horrific crimes."

"There is absolutely no reason in the world for Paul Caneiro to have committed the crimes he is alleged to have committed," the statement said.

Alex Napoliello may be reached at anapoliello@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @alexnapoNJ. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

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During his first court appearance Friday, an Ocean Township man charged with killing his younger brother and his brother's family at their Colts Neck mansion last week pleaded not guilty and agreed to remain jailed until trial.

Paul Caneiro, 51, is facing four counts of first-degree murder, aggravated arson and weapons offenses in connection with the Nov. 20 pre-dawn slaying of Keith Caneiro, 50, Keith's wife, Jennifer, 45, and their two young children, 8-year-old Sophia and 11-year-old Jesse at their million-dollar estate.

Paul Caneiro's attorneys maintain he's innocent.

Paul Caneiro, 51, appears in Superior Court in Monmouth County Friday, Nov. 30, 2018 after being charged with murder in the killing of his brother and his brother's family. (Patti Sapone | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com)

Caneiro waived his right to contest the prosecutor's motion to detain him until his trial. He is being held in Monmouth County jail in Freehold.

New Jersey did away with a cash bail system in 2017 and now every defendant charged with an indictable offense has to appear before a judge to learn whether he or she will remain behind bars pending trial.

Caniero limped into the court in a green jail jumpsuit with his hands cuffed in front of him. His neighbors previously told NJ Advance Media he was in a bad car crash in Asbury Park a couple years ago.

He sat in the jury box and stared straight ahead as Assistant Monmouth County Prosecutor Christopher Decker presented him with the charges he's facing. Caneiro sat expressionlessly as Decker read aloud the accusations that he killed his brother, his sister-in-law and young niece and nephew.

The only talking he did was to answer "yes" to Superior Court Judge James McGann's questions about whether Caneiro understood his rights.

The courtroom was standing room only, mostly filled with reporters, but absent were any of Paul Caneiro's remaining family members.

The prosecutor's office contends that Paul Caneiro shot his brother multiple times outside Keith Caneiro's mansion in the early morning hours on Nov. 20. Paul Caneiro then went into the house where he allegedly shot and stabbed Jennifer Caneiro before stabbing their two young children multiple times, according to authorities.

They say he also lit a fire in the basement of their Willow Brook Road house that slowly spread through the $1.6 million home.

Paul Caneiro then went back to his Ocean Township house and set it on fire around 5 a.m., hoping to make it look like the entire Caneiro family had been targeted, Gramiccioni said. His wife and two daughters were home at the time but escaped unharmed.

Keith Caneiro, 50, Keith's wife, Jennifer, 45, and their two young children, 8-year-old Sophia and 11-year-old Jesse were all killed on Nov. 20, and their home set on fire. (Facebook).

Paul Caneiro was arrested the day after and charged with one count of aggravated arson for lighting his house on fire, authorities announced.

The additional murder charges were filed Thursday morning and the grisly details of the killing were described by Gramiccioni at a packed press conference later in the day.

He told reporters the motive was "financial in nature" and likely stemmed from the two businesses the brothers ran together in Asbury Park -- Square One, a technology firm, and a pest control business, EcoStar Pest Management.

A law enforcement source told NJ Advance Media that the tech company was struggling financially, and a former classmate of Keith Caneiro's from Columbia University said Caneiro was seeking new job opportunities and was looking to walk away from Square One.

Paul Caneiro, 51, sits in Superior Court in Monmouth County Friday, Nov. 30, 2018. (Patti Sapone | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com)

An attorney representing Caneiro, Mitchell Ansell, told reporters outside the Monmouth County courthouse that he has not received any evidence from prosecutors indicating his client had financial problems.

Ansell's partner, Robert A. Honecker Jr., said Paul Caneiro "will be vindicated" and that he loves his family.

"He has indicated that he would never engage in conduct that would cause harm to his brother or his brother's family," Honecker said. "He intends to challenge the evidence that has been gathered by the prosecutor's office in this case. The state has their view of what occurred in Colts Neck. Certainly, we will be presenting a different view and ultimately a decision will be made as to what happened in the early morning hours in Colts Neck."

Alex Napoliello may be reached at anapoliello@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @alexnapoNJ. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

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Honeywell International, Inc. confirmed Friday it is moving its corporate headquarters from Morris Plains to Charlotte, North Carolina, but that most jobs  at least for now  will remain in New Jersey.

The planned relocation comes just three years after the company received a $40 million tax credit to keep its headquarters in New Jersey, in a deal brokered and heralded by then-Gov. Chris Christie.

Morris Plans Mayor Frank Druetzler told NJ Advance Media the impending move, first reported on Thursday, caught him by surprise.

This one came out of left field," said Druetzler, who is ending his 32-year run as mayor at years end.

My preference is that they stay here, but obviously theyre not. Were going to miss them, Druetzler said of Honeywell.

The move to Charlotte hinges on a state and local tax incentive plan being approved in North Carolina, which Honeywell said it expected to be completed early next week.

About 150 to 200 New Jersey-based senior management positions and about 100 South Carolina-based positions will relocate to Charlotte between now and September 2019, Honeywell said.

Druetzler said there are about 1,000 Honeywell employees in Morris Plains.

I am pleased that we have 800 jobs staying here in Morris Plains, the mayor said.

The company said it plans to gradually move another 500 positions by the end of 2024, with the jobs coming from multiple locations and not just New Jersey.

Though were never happy when any jobs leave our state, we appreciate their continued commitment and confidence in New Jersey," Gov. Phil Murphy said in a statement. "By maintaining such a strong foothold here, Honeywell is reaffirming their commitment to being a part of New Jerseys future.

Honeywells chairman and chief executive officer, Darius Adamczyk, said the company wants the headquarters to be closer to its business hubs in Charlotte but also Atlanta, Ga., which is home to Honeywell Building Technologies and Honeywell Connected Enterprise.

Our decision does not reflect any issues with the quality of our experience in New Jersey, Adamczyk said. We value the strong relationship that we have built with the state of New Jersey and with Governor Murphy. New Jersey will remain a substantial employment center for us.

Some Republicans, though, were blaming Murphy and the Democratic-controlled N.J. Legislature.

Assemblywoman BettyLou DeCroce, R-26th District, said Honeywells decision should be a wake-up call to residents.

It is clear that Democrats do not have the ability to understand what their tax policies are doing to New Jersey, said DeCroce, whose district includes Morris Plains.

Honeywell develops systems for military aircraft, space satellites and automated office buildings, among other services.

The company was based a few miles away in Morris Township when, in 2010, it announced it was considering leaving the state.

Christie and state lawmakers developed an incentive plan to keep Honeywell. The company purchased the Morris Plains site, which previously was owned by Johnson & Johnson, in 2013.

Rob Jennings may be reached at rjennings@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @RobJenningsNJ. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
The owners of the Wanaque Nursing and Rehabilitation Center will be called to a state Senate hearing Monday to discuss how and why a viral outbreak inside the pediatric unit has raged for two months, claiming 11 childrens lives and infecting two dozen other patients, according to the committee chairman.

Senate Health Committee Chairman Joseph Vitale, D-Middlesex, said he also intends to invite John Kastanis, the CEO of University Hospital, to answer questions about the deaths of three babies who were exposed to a bacterial infection in the Newark hospitals neonatal intensive care unit.

The outbreaks at Wanaque and University Hospital are unrelated.

This is an investigative hearing to learn about how in some cases, the system failed to protect these children, Vitale said. Was it human or systems errors, or both? How did the facilities respond to the outbreak early on and later? And what can be done to improve quality and infection control measures? These are just some of the questions we will have.

Vitale called the hearing after NJ Advance Media reported numerous parents had complained Wanaque had delayed sending their children to the hospital after spiking fevers that lasted for days. Employees who spoke to the news outlet on condition of anonymity said they also questioned why severely ill children had not been transported. They pointed out the Medicaid funding from New Jersey stops as soon as children are removed from the facility.

State Health Commissioner Shereef Elnahal will be invited, as well, to discuss how his team has responded to the medical emergencies and offer an overview of the conditions at the facilities. Inspections at both Wanaque and University Hospital have revealed improper infection-control practices, such as inconsistent hand-washing.

Adenovirus is a respiratory virus usually seen in hospitals and other health care settings which can cause mild or serious illness, though serious illness is less common. Symptoms may include common cold, sore throat, bronchitis, pneumonia, diarrhea, pink eye, fever, bladder inflammation or infection, inflammation of the stomach and intestines and neurological disease.

The virus has been so lethal at Wanaque because the children who reside at the nursing home have compromised immune systems rely on devices to help them breathe and eat. The strain of the virus is also particularly strong.

From Sept. 26 and Nov. 12, 35 children have been exposed to the virus, according to the health department. An additional case was added Wednesday, but the child developed respiratory symptoms on Oct. 9 and has recovered, department spokeswoman Donna Leusner. The lab didnt confirm this was another adenovirus case until Wednesday, she said.

Other invitees include officials from the two labor unions who represent Wanaque and University Hospital employees, Health Professionals and Allied Employees and Service Employees International Union, and an infection control specialist recommended by the New Jersey Hospital Association, Vitale said.

Vitale said he will also invite the CEO of the Voorhees Pediatric Center, another nursing home where 13 children have tested positive for a weaker strain of the adenovirus. There have been no deaths.

Officials at University Hospital and Wanaque could not immediately be reached for comment.

Susan K. Livio may be reached at slivio@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @SusanKLivio. Find NJ.com Politics on Facebook.
A man was arrested Thursday and charged in connection with the Nov. 10 shooting death of a 43-year-old Neptune resident, officials said.

Mark Morrissey, 48 of Asbury Park was charged with murder, felony murder, robbery and weapons-related offenses, according to a release from the Monmouth County Prosecutors Office.

Neptune Township Police were called to 1030 Old Corlies Ave. at 9:21 p.m. after shots were fired in the area and found Randolph Goodman, 43, suffering from a gunshot to the abdomen near his apartment, officials said.

Goodman was taken to Jersey Shore University Medical Center where he later died.

An investigation was launched and federal, state and local police were eventually able to locate and arrest Morrisey.

A man who reached out to NJ Advance Media in the wake of the shooting, Ronald Mason, said Goodman had been his camp counselor in the mid-1990s at Asbury Parks West Side Community Center and also worked as a truck driver.

Two law enforcement sources with knowledge of the investigation also told NJ Advance Media that Goodman was possibly the target in a hit case, but the prosecutors office did not confirm that Thursday.

Anyone with information about the shooting was asked to call Det. Kevin Condon of the Monmouth County Prosecutors Office at 800-533-7443 or Neptune Township Police Det. Eric Chunn at 732-988-8000, ext. 410.

Chris Sheldon may be reached at csheldon@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @chrisrsheldon Find NJ.com on Facebook.
Former Gov. Chris Christie is one of a few people who remain on President Donald Trumps shortlist to be nominated to become the next U.S. attorney general, a source familiar with the situation confirmed to NJ Advance Media on Friday morning.

The list has whittled down in recent weeks, but Christie  a longtime friend and ally to Trump, a fellow Republican  is still a top contender" and checks all the boxes, according to the source.

The source is not authorized to speak publicly about the matter and spoke on the condition of anonymity.

The source added that Christie would be confirmed by the U.S. Senate easily, despite concern that the Bridgegate controversy and other issues might make him an uncertain choice.

Spokespeople for Christie could not immediately be reached for comment.

But longtime Christie adviser Bill Palatucci told NJ Advance Media its well known now that the governor and the president have known each other for a long, long time.

There is no reason for any new speculation, Palatucci said. They know where each other stand. I think rumors like this are just idle speculation.

Whomever is chosen would be nominated to replace Jeff Sessions, who resigned under pressure as attorney general Nov. 7. Trump picked Sessions former chief of staff, Matt Whitaker, to serve as acting A.G.

Christie, a former federal prosecutor, has reportedly been on the list of possible replacements since Sessions was ousted.

On Thursday, McClatchys Washington, D.C., bureau reported that U.S. Labor Secretary Alexander Acosta is out of the running for the job, according to two unidentified Trump advisers. That comes after a Miami Herald report saying Acosta oversaw a sweetheart deal for a wealthy financier accused of sexually abusing dozens of underage girls.

McClatchy also reported Christie is on a shortlist that also includes Republican U.S. Rep. John Ratcliffe of Texas and retiring Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi, according to the two advisers.

Jared Kushner, Trumps son-in-law and top adviser, must agree if Christie were chosen, the advisers told McClatchy.

Kushner and Christie have long had a strained relationship. In 2004, when he was New Jerseys U.S. attorney, Christie prosecuted Kushners father, top New Jersey Democratic donor Charles Kushner, who was sent to federal prison on charges of tax evasion, witness tampering, and illegal campaign donations.

The White House confirmed to NJ Advance Media earlier this month that Christie met with Kushner during a visit to Washington to discuss prison reform shortly after Sessions resigned.

Christie was long considered a contender for a top job in Trumps administration. But he was passed over for vice president and attorney general and said he turned down other positions.

The former governor has said attorney general is one job he would have taken.

Christie has opened a private law firm and worked as a political analyst for ABC News since his second and final term as New Jersey governor ended in January.

He told reporters in Atlantic City earlier this month the White House has not reached out to him about replacing Sessions.

Christie also was coy about whether hed accept such a nomination.

The only person I owe that answer to is the president of the Unite States, and he hasnt asked, he said. And, if he asks, Ill answer like I always do.

Christie added: I love my life that I have right now.
Students from West Orange High School thought they were just getting to visit the headquarters of Oprah Winfreys magazine O" in Manhattan, but didnt know that they would be leaving that day with a surprise they would never forget.

Oprah and former First Lady Michelle Obama actually showed up at Hearst Tower in New York City, much to the shock of the four students.

The girls were there in September along with 24 other female high school students to provide their perspective of politics following the midterm elections, according to a release from East Orange High School.

West Orange High School seniors, Student Council President Selam Woldai and Health Careers Club Vice-President Siddhi Modi, along with freshmen Marley Dias and Amina Anekwe, were there as part of Grassroots Community Foundation. Dias' mother helped form the non-profit organization and serves as its president.

WOW!! Four West Orange High School students had the experience of a lifetime when they met Michelle Obama and Oprah Winfrey at the Headquarters of O, The Oprah Magazine. Posted by West Orange Public Schools, NJ on Wednesday, November 28, 2018

According to an article about the visit that was published in O, the magazines video producer told the group that cameras would be filming the day for a special election season video and that the magazine wanted to hear their feedback on recently taped interview between Oprah and Obama.

What they didnt know was that the interview was actually taking place live a few floors above them and that they were watching a stream of it.

The author of the article then came down to the room where the students had just watched the video and asked them how they related to Obamas childhood. And then, Oprah and Obama walked in and the tears started flowing.

A video of the students' heartwarming reaction to meeting Obama and Oprah can be seen here.

Chris Sheldon may be reached at csheldon@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @chrisrsheldon Find NJ.com on Facebook.
People who commute on PATH are accustomed to the crowded platforms, the packed trains and the mad rush to get onboard.

In recent days, however, commuters say the commuter crush at PATH station platforms has become so bad it borders on being dangerous and unsafe.

Overcrowding was reported by commuters Thursday on social media at PATHs Grove Street, Exchange Place, Newark Penn Station and Newport stations. The crowding and movement of the mass of people surging toward and away from packed trains left riders concerned for their safety and questioning how the PATH is handling crowd control.

Some riders called it worse than the infamous crowding on the New York City subway.

I was almost pushed onto the tracks this morning at Exchange Place. The platform was so crowded it was seriously dangerous, said Natasha Markley in a tweet. Beyond the delays, the threat to safety is totally unacceptable.

This was easily one of the top five worst days in past 10 years. I could not even step foot onto the actual platform area, due to the amount of people already there, said Gary Toriello, who rides PATH from Grove Street. When a train finally enters the station, people surge forward. Then, when they find they cannot physically get onto the train, they then surge backward.

If there was a police or medical emergency and people had to disperse quickly, people could have ended up being pushed on the tracks, Toriello said. Because people are waiting for 33rd and World Trade Center trains at Grove Street, half the crowd is pushing, while the other half is waiting for their train, he said.

When asked, PATH officials issued a statement on the delays but did not address questions asked about crowd control or why PATH didnt authorize cross honoring on NJ Transit buses and light rail trains.

PATH service was delayed for a time this (Thursday) morning by a signal problem. In addition, a disabled train outside the Christopher Street station forced a brief closure of the Hoboken PATH station until the train was removed, which took about 5 minutes, PATH officials said in a statement. The two issues caused some trains to be held in station until the situation was resolved, and led to residual train delays and additional crowding for a short time afterward toward the end of the morning rush.

at Grove St. there was terrible overcrowding on the platform. a 33rd st train came but was already at capacity. a few brave souls pushed their way on. second train came about 10 minutes later, still crowded but some of us were able to get on. at that point it was at capacity.  DogtownNative (@DogtownNative) November 29, 2018

Someone is going to get hurt whether they are pushed/fall on to the tracks because the platform is so dangerously packed and everyone is standing at the very edge of the track in an attempt to get on any train they can, said Marie Bela Oldham of Jersey City on Twitter, who rides PATH to New York City from Grove Street.

She said she had to let five trains pass before she could squeeze on one.

Every train that arrived at Grove was packed, conductors telling people to wait for the next train but no trains arrived that you could actually get on, Oldham said. (It was) beyond dangerous. People were angry. This will lead to someone getting hurt.

Other riders said reported a crush at Newport station and Newark Penn Station.

It was the most packed PATH train Ive ever been on. The mass of humanity at Newport that got on an already packed 33rd St train made the journey from there to Christopher St feel like an eternity, said Nick Fernandez, of South Plainfield. People literally just pushed themselves onto the train. .

The MTA/Subway gets all the attention, but @PATHTrain has become a daily hellscape. Massive delays and overcrowding are the norm. And I feel like I've seen the degredation happen over the 3.5 years I've lived in JC. PATH used to be reliable, now it's a perpetual nightmare.  Jordan Rabinowitz (@JordanRab) November 29, 2018

The delays compounded record ridership on PATH trains fueled by new development and additional riders from those buildings. As of October, 68.6 million people have ridden PATH in 2018, according to agency statistics. The system hit a record 80 million rider mark in 2017.

(There were) massive crowds at Newark. There was almost no room to enter the platform from track 2 side. I had to wait for one train to go before being able to get on the next train, said Rasika Udugampola, who responded to NJ Advance Media questions on a Facebook PATH group. It was larger than normal because of the signal failures, but Ive been in situations where it was much worse than today.

Overcrowding has been a constant complaint of PATH riders and the system is being overwhelmed with record numbers of riders. More riders are being added from new developments in Hudson County, that advertise proximity to PATH and New York as a selling point.

People are frustrated, theyre angry. Ive seen people come close to fighting because of the overcrowding, Oldham said. Ive been riding the PATH since I was a teenager, it gets worse every year.
The Trump administration today approved key authorizations for seismic testing in the Atlantic, in a move seen as a major step forward for offshore drilling and in what environmentalists say is a threat to endangered species and other wildlife.

Seismic testing risks injuring and killing critically endangered species, severely disrupting economically important fisheries, and threatening the Jersey shore, said U.S. Rep. Frank Pallone (D-NJ 6th District.) An environmentally sound coast is critical to New Jerseys economy and it is very possible that seismic testing could lead to oil and gas drilling off our coast  threatening public health, coastal communities, and hundreds of thousands of jobs.

Seismic surveying for oil and gas has not been done in the Atlantic since the 1980s, according to Benjamin Laws, a NOAA Fisheries biologist. In a statement on Friday, the American Petroleum Institute said that technological advances since those last surveys have made the techniques more accurate and that new testing will give create a fuller understanding of oil and gas reserves in the Atlantic.

Seismic geophysical surveys are conducted to map the ocean floor and determine areas where deposits of oil and gas may be. The process uses seismic airguns towed by ships to shoot blasts of compressed air into the ocean: These blasts create sound waves that reach the ocean floor and bounce back to a receiver, where the sound waves are measured to determine what materials lie beneath that section of the Earths crust.

Seismic testing is an abomination and an outrage, said Cindy Zipf, the executive director of New Jersey-based Clean Ocean Action. The ocean is going to be filled with blasts from five different companies, with blasts that are around 250 decibels every 10 to 15 seconds for minute after minute, day after day, month after month.

Seismic testing is incredibly loud. The effects of the blasts on marine life is not fully understood, but scientists are increasingly worried about the impacts on endangered whales and other species according to an NPR report.

This is the first step towards drilling and scientists warn that seismic activity alone could drive the endangered North American right whale to extinction said Michael Jasny, the director of the Marine Mammal Protection Project for the Natural Resources Defense Council.

The Incidental Harm Authorizations (IHAs) for the seismic survey work were issued today by the National Marine Fisheries Service (also called NOAA Fisheries) under the Marine Mammal Protection Act. A total of five IHAs were issued for seismic testing planned in waters from the New Jersey-Delaware border to Florida.

According to NOAA Fisheries, the authorizations require monitoring, reporting, and mitigation measures to reduce the impacts of survey activities on marine mammals, including a requirement that testing be stopped if endangered species are spotted near the ship. Each survey ship will be required to carry a trained spotter that will look for whales and other marine mammals.

Now that the IHAs have be issued, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management will need to approve the final permits before seismic testing can begin.

The Trump administration began pushing for the approval of these five permits in June 2017.

The Obama administration in 2017 denied six permit applications for seismic testing in the Atlantic.

In June 2017, the entire New Jersey Congressional sent a bipartisan letter to NOAA Fisheries opposing any seismic testing in the Atlantic.

Listen to audio of seismic testing, provided by the Natural Resources Defense Council

Michael Sol Warren may be reached at mwarren@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @MSolDub. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
By Tom Kean Jr.

A proposed amendment to the New Jersey Constitution that is designed to impart a permanent electoral advantage to incumbents and legislative candidates from the Democratic Party is being advanced rapidly through the New Jersey Legislature.

Democrats have held majorities in both houses of the Legislature since 2002. They currently hold 25 of 40 seats in the Senate, and 54 of 80 seats in the General Assembly.

Theyve maintained uninterrupted control for nearly two decades despite receiving fewer votes than Republicans in several elections, largely due to legislative maps that were designed to their advantage.

Those maps are redrawn every 10 years following the U.S. Census, generally giving each party the opportunity to make the case for the adoption of a new map that it believes is fair.

The proposed amendment, however, would constitutionally mandate that future legislative districts be drawn in a way that is mathematically guaranteed to cement and even grow the Democratic Partys legislative majorities.

Our democratic society was built on the principle of equal representation, through which every citizen should have the opportunity in fair and truly competitive elections to choose the leaders who serve in their town halls, state capitals, and in Washington.

Their proposal upends that principle. Quite simply, its a blatant attempt to rig the electoral process in New Jersey forever. Its partisan gerrymandering to the extreme. Its the antithesis of democracy.

Those sentiments are not partisan hyperbole. Rather, they are the dire warnings expressed by a host of independent election experts, civil rights leaders, and academics from across the political spectrum who have been unified in their opposition to this extremely dangerous measure.

In fact, not a single witness testified in support of the proposed constitutional change when a legislative hearing was held several days ago. To the contrary, every single witness vehemently opposed the amendment.

Helen Kioukis of the League of Women Voters said, voters should be choosing their politicians  not the other way around, calling the proposal undemocratic.

Richard Smith of the New Jersey Chapter of the NAACP expressed concern that the proposed constitutional amendment is an unacceptable step backwards for New Jersey that will virtually ensure the voting power of communities of color will be diluted for decades to come.

Patrick Murray of the Monmouth University Polling Institute is Democrats being overly greedy for no good reason, warning that it just further erodes public trust in government for little actual gain. said the proposal is Democrats being overly greedy for no good reason, warning that it just further erodes public trust in government for little actual gain.

Brian Williams of the Princeton University Gerrymandering Project determined the amendment would create an artificial, evenly distributed advantage for the majority party that would drastically reduce the number of seats for the minority party in a way most New Jerseyans would consider unfair.

Ronald Chen of the Center for Law and Justice cautioned that requiring that districts be drawn on order to favor one political party, or even both major political parties, is contrary to sound redistricting practice, and enables partisan gerrymandering.

Ryan Haygood of the New Jersey Institute for Social Justice said the amendment would constitutionalize a redistricting process for New Jersey that elevates partisanship over people, while impacting the ability of communities of color to elect their candidates of choice.

David Pringle, a former Democratic candidate for Congress, said, It is very difficult to see this as anything but a naked power grab by Democrats, adding, this doesnt help create faith in government; it creates more distrust.

Those statements reflect a shared concern that the proposed amendment would disenfranchise millions of voters from across the political spectrum by limiting competition and prioritizing a partisan advantage for Democrats in the New Jersey Constitution over every other electoral concern or consideration.

In a democracy that holds true to its principles, citizens must have the power to hold individual legislators and political parties accountable at the polls.

Should the proposed constitutional amendment be enacted, however, New Jerseyans will be left with little more than an illusion of choice when they enter the voting booth in future legislative elections. The outcome will be assured before the first vote is cast.

The sponsors of the amendment should do the right thing. They should listen to the unanimous wisdom of the widely respected experts who oppose SCR-43/SCR-152. They should permanently table this undemocratic constitutional amendment.

Tom Kean Jr., R-Union, is the state Senate minority leader.

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Tucked away in a massive investigation of the use of force by New Jersey police officers are three paragraphs that should give everyone, and particularly Jersey City residents, cause for concern.

"Police use of force is self-reported, and some departments could be considered outliers for how little they report using it,'' the report released yesterday by NJ Advance Media says. "Jersey City, for example, reports its officers using force at a rate lower than 356 other police departments, despite having one of the higher violent crime rates in the state.

"James Shea, the city's director of public safety, acknowledged the department failed to provide all use-of-force forms in response to NJ Advance Media's public records request. Shea said some use-of-force reports had been misfiled during the department's shift from a paper system to a computerized one. ....

"But he was unable to say how many were missing, where they were or if they existed at all. He said the department had launched an internal investigation to find the missing forms."

This isn't just a little "oops." It's egregious for the second-largest city in the state to acknowledge it can't locate accurate records of all the situations in which its police officers used force.

Police officers are surely faced with tougher circumstances than just about any professionals, and we thank them for being there for us when we dial 911. Our pages routinely celebrate their acts of heroism. We are there for ceremonies that recognize their hiring, promotion and awards. We are also there when individual officers are accused of abusing their power -- and when the courts require local taxpayers to pay for damages, which sometimes amount to hundreds of thousands of dollars.

In recent years, we've reported on a video that shows officers kicking an innocent bystander who's on fire on the ground after a chase involving a different car; an unarmed suspect shot dead during a backyard struggle with police that resulted in no charges against the officer; and a former sergeant banned from ever holding public employment after admitting he hit a man with his police vehicle.

We hope that Director Shea and Police Chief Michael Kelly use the NJAM report as a wakeup call. They should make sure their internal investigation quickly finds any and all misfiled forms and makes them available to the public. They should then set about creating a rock-solid system for tracking and reporting the use of force.

It's shocking that it apparently isn't already someone job in Jersey City to receive, catalog and analyze the use of force by police officers. At the very least, a regular review would no doubt find opportunities for enhanced training for the department as a whole or for individual officers. It may raise red flags to deal with, but so be it. The days of the thin blue line should be long over.

Submit letters to the editor and guest columns to jjletters@jjournal.com.
Four men with Louisiana roots were named as black male writers of our time by T: The New York Times Style Magazine. Novelist Maurice Carlos Ruffin of New Orleans and poets Yusef Komunyakaa of Bogalusa, Jericho Brown of Shreveport and Rickey Laurentiis of New Orleans are joined by 28 others in the feature, published online on Nov. 30.

Contemporary African-American literature is formally sophisticated, irreducibly nuanced and highly individualized, Ayana Mathis wrote in the story. The writers in these pages may be a cohort of sorts, yet their work is distinguished by a great variety of voices and aesthetics. And certainly our conversations about the current literature by black men ought to include as much consideration of how writers say things as what theyre saying.

Ruffin has written for the Virginia Quarterly Review, Los Angeles Times, Literary Hub, The Bitter Southerner and Southern Foodways Alliances Gravy, and his novel, We Cast a Shadow, debuts in January 2019. Ruffin is a graduate of the MFA program at the University of New Orleans and a contributor to 64 Parishes magazine, as well as a member of Peauxdunque Writers Alliance and the Melanated Writers of New Orleans.

Komunyakaa is best known for poetry collections Dien Cai Dau (1988) about his experience with the Vietnam War; Neon Vernacular (1993), which contains imagery of Southern culture and jazz and blues and won the Pulitzer Prize; Warhorses (2008) and The Emperor of Water Clocks (2015). The awarded poet has taught at the University of New Orleans and other institutions. He is currently a Distinguished Senior Poet in New York Universitys graduate creative writing program.

Brown grew up in Shreveport and holds a BA from Dillard University, an MFA in creative writing from the University of New Orleans and a PhD in literature and creative writing from the University of Houston. He is known for writing poetry collections Please (2008) and The New Testament (2014), which fellow Louisiana-born poet Komunyakaa called a chronicle of life and death, personal rituals and blasphemies, race and nation, the good and the bad that illuminates scenarios of self-interrogation and near redemption. Published in The New Yorker, the New York Times, New Republic and other outlets, Brown is releasing The Tradition, another poetry collection, in April 2019.

Laurentiis, from New Orleans, holds an MFA in Writing from Washington University in St. Louis and Bachelors in Liberal Arts from Sarah Lawrence and is the recipient of several poetry fellowships. He is the author of Boy with Thorn (2015) which was awarded the Cave Canem Poetry Prize, the Levis Reading Prize and the Julie Suk Award.

As part of the feature, each writer selected a work by their favorite black female American authors. Various works by writer Toni Morrison were selected by many, including Ruffin, who chose Sula (1973): [It] taught me so much about patriarchy by the way Morrison basically had Sula seek the same kind of freedom that men have, he said.

Two Louisiana writers were mentioned here, as well: novelist Jesmyn Ward and writer and ceramicist Osa Atoe.

Ward, novelist and professor of English at Tulane, was selected by Dinaw Mengestu for Sing, Unburied, Sing (2017). The book is wiser, more attuned to the ways race and class, violence and poverty have shaped and continue to shape this country than just about anything else Ive encountered, novelist Megestu said. There is also this fierce, irrepressible dignity and all these complicated, fraught gestures of love and attempts at love that make it hard to let this book go.

Atoe was chosen by novelist Brontez Purnell for her black punk rockers zine called Shotgun Seamstress. Purnell is from Virginia, then moved to Portland, Oregon, where she met people displaced by Hurricane Katrina, she told DNO in October. She moved here in 2009: My first impression of New Orleans was that it was warm, cheap and pretty Theres a reason there are so many songs about New Orleans. Its just inspiring in that way. Its a city that feels alive and animated, like a person. Currently, Atoe lives in Baton Rouge to have more room for her ceramics, she told DNO.

This article was updated at 6:55 p.m. on November 30, 2018, to include poet Jericho Brown and at 8:00 p.m. to include Rickey Laurentiis. Maurice Carlos Ruffin is a contributor to 64 Parishes magazine, not Know Louisiana, which has been absorbed by 64 Parishes magazine since its creation in 2008. The Times-Picayune regrets the error.
A man accused in an April homicide at a self-storage facility in Algiers was indicted Thursday (Nov. 29) on second-degree murder and obstruction of justice charges.

David B. Collins, 38, is charged in the death of 38-year-old Kevin Dunkley, who was found fatally shot around 9:20 p.m. on April 18 in the driveway of the CubeSmart self-storage center at 3901 Behrman Highway, according to authorities.

According to District Attorney Leon Cannizzaros office, New Orleans Police officers reviewed surveillance video from the storage facility that showed three men arrive in a pickup truck, followed by a U-Haul. Dunkley was driving the U-Haul.

All four men were seen on the video unloading furniture from the rental truck.

The video also showed Dunkley and a man police later identified as Collins stepping behind the U-Haul out of the camera's view.

Moments later, Collins reappeared and was seen tucking an object into his waistband before fleeing in the pickup, according to Collins arrest warrant.

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The two other men drove away in the U-Haul, and Dunkley's body was seen on the ground, according to the warrant.

Detectives later released images from the video, and Collins called police to identify himself as the man who left in the pickup truck. Collins told police he was in the area when Dunkley was killed, but didnt know anything else, according to his warrant.

Police arrested him May 8 in Slidell.

Ad hoc Criminal District Judge Dennis Waldron increased Collins bond from $350,000 to $400,000 after the indictment was read.

Assistant District Attorney Abigail MacDonald presented the case to the grand jury. Court records show Collins was represented by private attorney Joseph Rome at his initial appearance in magistrate court. Rome previously declined to comment on the case.
Two people  including a former legal investigator for a New Orleans law firm  charged with participating in a conspiracy to smuggle drugs into the Orleans Justice Center pleaded guilty Friday (Nov. 30) and were sentenced to probation.

Earl Truvia, 60, pleaded guilty to 13 counts related to the conspiracy, including six counts of conspiracy to introduce contraband into a parish prison and several drug possession and possession with the intent to distribute charges.

Criminal District Judge Karen Herman sentenced Truvia to four years in prison, but deferred that sentence and placed him on three years of active probation.

She called Truvias situation disheartening and said she was disappointed in his actions.

In my opinion, you have violated the sanctity of the position you were placed in, Herman told Truvia during the hearing. You seem like a very nice gentleman with a lot of potential, and I hate to see you have allowed yourself to get to the point that you are now a convicted felon.

Orleans Parish Sheriffs Office investigators arrested Truvia in March, after they uncovered the conspiracy on recorded jailhouse phone calls between an inmate and his girlfriend. She arranged the transaction with Truvia outside the jail, authorities have said.

Truvia was working as a legal investigator for defense attorney Martin Regan at the time.

He previously spent 27 years in Angola, from 1976 to 2003, serving time for a life sentence he received for the second-degree murder of 15-year-old Eliot Porter.

He and Gregory Bright, his co-defendant who received the same sentence, had their convictions overturned in 2003, two years after the Innocence Project New Orleans took on their case.

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On Friday, Truvia pleaded guilty to the six conspiracy charges, two counts of possession of a legend drug, possession of tramadol and possession with the intent to distribute marijuana, hydrocodone, tramadol and synthetic marijuana.

Truvia pleaded guilty as charged in a bill of information filed Aug. 24. Assistant District Attorney David Pipes said in court Friday no plea bargain was in place.

He said the district attorneys office did not object to Truvia receiving probation, and the sheriffs office took no position on sentencing.

Truvia apologized to Herman for his poor judgment, and thanked the judge for her consideration in his sentence.

Cannizzaro praised sheriffs office investigators for thwarting Truvias efforts to introduce contraband into the jail, and also commended his staffs solid case.

It is hard enough to rehabilitate dangerous offenders without defense attorneys or their aides corrupting inmates further by trafficking illegal narcotics behind prison walls, he said. "This conduct should offend any officer of the court, and demonstrates why tight security protocols and real consequences are required.

Aleneisha Polite, 22, also pleaded guilty Friday to conspiracy to introduce contraband into the jail in the same case. The state dismissed five other charges she was facing per a plea agreement.

Herman sentenced Polite to two years of active probation and ordered her to pay felony court costs.

Charges still are pending against David Hester and Taivon Aples, the two inmates investigators allege were the intended recipients of the drugs.
A man is accused of possession of stolen vehicles in connection with earlier raids at two New Orleans East chop shops, Louisiana State Police said Thursday (Nov. 29).

Edwin Smith, 32, was booked last week with five counts of possession of stolen vehicles, charges stemming from an investigation by the state police Bureau of Investigations Auto Theft and Insurance Fraud Unit.

State police detectives began investigating the alleged chop shops in June, after receiving a tip about someone using a truck and trailer to steal vehicles in Orleans Parish.

Investigators then identified a suspected chop shop in the 8000 block of Bass Street, in the Little Woods area of New Orleans East, and conducted a search of the property, according to Trooper Melissa Matey, spokeswoman for Troop B.

According to Jefferson Parish court records, Smiths home address is also in the 8000 block of Bass Street.

During the search of the Bass Street chop shop, detectives found a stolen vehicle, a stolen all-terrain vehicle, a vehicle with an altered vehicle identification number (VIN) and other items related to auto thefts, Matey said in a news release.

State police did not indicate when the chop shop was searched but said Smith was booked in July with possession of stolen property after trying to sell a stolen vehicle. Orleans Parish court records show Smith was also booked with battery of a police officer and resisting a police officer. He was later indicted on a charge of resisting a police officer with force.

Following Smiths July 6 arrest, state police searched a second suspected chop shop in the 16000 block of Chef Menteur Highway. There, investigators found additional stolen vehicles.

State police did not indicate when the Chef Menteur property was searched, but Smith was arrested Nov. 21 with the five counts stolen-auto-related charges, as well on several outstanding warrants out of Orleans and Jefferson parishes.

The Jefferson Parish warrant was issued after Smith failed to appear for a Nov. 13 court hearing in connection with an alleged chop-shop operation. Smith is among four menincluding retired Orleans Parish Juvenile Court judge David Bell Jr.facing charges of racketeering and conspiracy to commit theft as part of a scheme that lasted at least six years and involved stealing four to five vehicles per month throughout the state, including in Orleans and Jefferson parishes.

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A 2016 indictment targeting the chop-shop operation states that the group was "responsible for a significant percentage of automotive thefts in Jefferson Parish, including an estimated 32 percent of vehicle thefts reported in Jefferson Parish during much of the schemes existence.

More than a dozen men were charged in the May 2016 indictment against the chop-shop scheme, and many of them have since pleaded guilty, according to Jefferson Parish court records. Smith was not charged in the original indictment, but was added in a subsequent indictment against the group.

The scheme involved at least three locations, including an auto-body shop at 3030 Peoples Street, an alleged chop shop at 16542 Chef Menteur Highway and a junkyard off Almonaster Avenue, all in New Orleans, Jefferson Parish court records show.

Orleans Criminal District Court judges had also issued warrants for Smiths arrest after he failed to make court appearances in two separate matters.

Earlier this month, the court issued a warrant for Smiths arrest after he missed a probation status hearing in connection with an August guilty plea to bail-jumping on a misdemeanor case. An earlier warrant, issued in September, stems from his failure to appear for arraignment on the charge of resisting a police officer with force, court records show. Smith on Wednesday entered a plea of not guilty to the charge.

He remained in the Orleans Justice Center jail Thursday night, his bond set at $15,000, jail records show.

The state police investigation is ongoing, and additional criminal charges may be forthcoming, Matey said.

Laura McKnight covers crime and breaking news for NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune.

Former politician conspired with major auto theft ring to target Jefferson Parish
A man accused of sexually assaulting three children during what Orleans Parish prosecutors called a nine-hour crime spree in May was charged Thursday (Nov. 29) in a 12-count indictment.

Denera Carter, 31, also is accused of kidnapping, attempting to kidnap and attempting to rape several children during the alleged May 13 crime spree, according to District Attorney Leon Cannizzaros office.

New Orleans police said Carter stole a vehicle from Salem Auto Nation in New Orleans East on May 11. He ditched it two days later, when police said he broke into a home in the 3000 block of Danneel Street in Central City around 5 a.m., taking valuables and a Lexus SUV.

After taking the Lexus, police said Carter forced his way into a home in the 3100 block of Morrice Duncan Drive in the Desire neighborhood. Four girls were inside, and their mom was at work, according to police.

According to authorities, Carter climbed into bed with two of the girls. He attempted to rape a 16-year-old girl, then attempted to rape and kidnap her 12-year-old sister, police said.

The girls screamed and resisted, and later told investigators the intruder had a large cross tattooed between his eyebrows.

Carter then went to a home in the 5100 block of Bundy Road, according to police. He forced his way inside, locked an 11-year-old boy in a closet and kidnapped a 9-year-old girl, authorities said. Their mom was at work at the time, according to police.

Cater drove the girl to a house in an unknown location and sexually assaulted her, police said. He dropped her off near a high school in New Orleans East around 2 p.m.

The girl described the mans tattoos to investigators, and said she was taken in a white SUV with large custom-wheel rims, authorities said.

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New Orleans police arrested Carter the next day in New Orleans East. He was driving the stolen white Lexus with 32-inch rims, according to police.

Charges listed in Carters indictment are:

aggravated kidnapping of a child;

Carter has a prior domestic abuse battery conviction in St. Bernard Parish and simple battery and criminal damage to property convictions in East Baton Rouge Parish, according to Cannizzaros office.

He was charged with forcible rape and false imprisonment in St. Bernard Parish in 2013, but that case was dismissed after the alleged victim stopped cooperating with prosecutors, Cannizzaros office said.

Ad hoc Criminal District Judge Dennis Waldron increased Carters bond from $105,000 to $1.65 million after the indictment was read Thursday.

Assistant District Attorney Naomi Jones presented the case to the grand jury.

Court records do not list an attorney for Carter.
A man was stabbed in the face, neck and back Thursday (Nov. 29) in the 7th Ward during a six-hour span that also saw a carjacking and armed robbery, according to New Orleans police.

Police discovered the 28-year-old man around 11 p.m. in the 2200 block of North Galvez Street with stab wounds to the face, neck and back. He was transported to a local hospital via EMS, police said.

Police also reported two other major incidents  a carjacking and an armed robbery  in the six hours surrounding the stabbing.

Around 8 p.m., someone hit a 29-year-old womans maroon 2009 Nissan Cube with Georgia plates in the 7000 block of Crowder Boulevard in the Little Woods neighborhood in New Orleans East. When the woman got out of her car to inspect the damage, an unknown woman hopped in the vehicle and sped off, according to NOPD.

Hours later, around 1:15 a.m., a 27-year-old woman was robbed at gunpoint outside her Broadmoor residence in the 3500 block of Upperline Street. The initial report did not specify what was stolen.

According to data kept by NOPD, there have been more than 1,600 motor vehicle thefts and more than 470 robberies reported in Orleans Parish in the past 180 days.
A man was jailed for attempted murder Thursday morning (Nov. 29) after police found his mother in a pool of blood with a skull fracture and a cement brick nearby.

Police discovered the semi-unconscious woman while responding to a call of domestic aggravated battery around 8:35 p.m. Wednesday (Nov. 28). She was laying in the driveway of a home in the 8600 block of Belfast Street in Hollygrove with copious amounts of blood coming from the left side of her head," police records show. There was a broken cement brick nearby.

Witnesses said James Mitchell, 31, hit his mother in the head with brick at least three times until he was pulled away from her. He then walked to the intersection of Belfast and Monroe streets, where police found him sitting near a corner store.

Mitchell told police he and his mother were arguing about the refrigerator door being loose. The argument continued outside the residence where Mitchell expressed that his mother had been ruining his life since he was a child. He then armed himself with a nearby brick, struck his mother with it and left to purchase cigarettes, police said.

Officers were unable to speak with Mitchells mother about the incident given her precarious condition at the scene. By the time she arrived to the hospital, she was unresponsive and labeled critical. New Orleans police did not immediately respond to inquiries Friday (Nov. 30) about her updated condition.

Mitchell was arrested at the corner store and booked into Orleans Justice Center on a charge of attempted second-degree murder. He appeared in court Thursday where Orleans Parish Magistrate Judge Harry Cantrell set his bond at $150,000 and issued a stay away order.
A southern Louisiana school became an internet sensation after multiple videos showing its underprivileged black students receiving acceptance letters to elite colleges went viral over the past two years.

The school is back in the spotlight after a report from The New York Times that says the schools founders fabricated applications and falsified transcripts, in addition to fostering a culture of fear with physical and emotional abuse."

Tracey and Michael Landry, the husband-and-wife founders of T.M. Landry College Preparatory School, a private K-12 school in Breaux Bridge, are accused of mining the worst stereotypes of black America to play up the students tales of hardship and academic accomplishments in order to appeal to Ivy League schools hunger for diversity, according to the report. The school touts its former students acceptance into Harvard, Yale, Brown, Princeton, Stanford and Columbia among others.

In addition to doctored college applications, students were also forced to kneel on rice, rocks and hot pavement, and were yelled at and choked, The New York Times reports. Several former students told the newspaper they were underprepared for the rigors of top-tier schools once they arrived.

After each viral video and media appearance, the school received money from donors, according to the report. Though it received more than $250,000 in donations this year, including a portion of which was specifically designated for tuition assistance. The report says the school has yet to offer any scholarships.

Read The New York Times' full report.

Watch this Breaux Bridge junior find out he's accepted to Princeton
Several Louisiana conservation groups are calling on Congress to revive a federal fund that helped create some of the states most popular parks and wildlife areas.

Congress allowed the Land and Water Conservation Fund to expire in late September, putting in doubt one of the countrys most effective means of preserving natural spaces. The fund has spent more than $215 million on 800 projects and property purchases in Louisiana. It paid for most of Jean Lafitte National Historic Park and expanded a dozen national wildlife refuges, including Bayou Sauvage in New Orleans East.

The fund has benefited the country a lot, and certainly Louisiana, said Doug Daigle, coordinator of the Louisiana Hypoxia Working Group. We certainly dont want it to go away.

Nine Louisiana organizations, including Americas Wetlands Foundation and Audubon Louisiana, issued a statement urging the states members of Congress to reauthorize the fund. The groups credit the fund for boosting outdoor recreation opportunities and protecting the states fragile coast, which has been disappearing at a rapid rate.

Come along for an airboat ride through the Barataria Preserve

The Louisiana Hypoxia Working Group, which works to reduce the Gulf of Mexicos low-oxygen dead zone, valued the funds contributions to wetland restoration.

Its one of the tools in the toolbox we have for wetlands, and that helps with water quality, Daigle said.

The fund had for more than 50 years used a portion of offshore oil and gas drilling royalties to buy and improve lands for public use. It covered 80 percent of the costs of the more than 17,000 acres that make up the Jean Lafitte parks six sites, including Barataria Preserve, Chalmette Battlefield and French Quarter Visitors Center. The fund also helped purchase the Cane River Creole National Historical Park and the Atchafalaya, Bogue Chitto, Bayou Cocodrie, and Grand Cote national wildlife refuges. In dozens of Louisiana communities, it has purchased boat ramps, hunting grounds, playgrounds and ball fields.

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Letting the fund expire means much of the money will go into the federal governments general fund.

The Land and Water Conservation Fund was established by Washington Senator Henry Scoop Jackson in 1964. Its purpose, he said then, was to provide Americans refreshment of body and spirit through wider access to open public spaces. The fund was set on a 25-year renewal schedule. It was renewed once but then allowed to expire for the first time in 2015. It was brought back to life a few months later, but for a much shorter term  three years. That three-year period expired in September.

Why Algiers rusting and rotting parks deserve better

The funds critics in Congress have said the money should benefit energy industry workers rather than parks and conservation projects. The fund has also come under fire for fostering the growth of federal lands in Western states while not putting an equal share of money into the hands of state and local parks managers.

Of the more than $18 billion appropriated since the funds founding, about 60 percent went toward federal land acquisition, including national parks, and a quarter went to state programs, according to the Congressional Research Service.

Complaints from Congress about how the fund is divvied up ring hollow, said Daigle. Because Congress is ultimately the one who controls how its spent.

A large share of the fund hasnt been spent on its intended purpose. Each year, up to $900 million from drilling royalties was deposited in the funds account, but the bulk of the money was then diverted by Congress for other purposes. According to the Land and Water Conservation Fund Coalition, more than $17 billion was channeled away from conservation and recreation purposes between 1965 and 2015.

The funds supporters want permanent reauthorization for the fund to avoid the repeated need for renewals.
The annual Algiers Bonfire was threatened by an unseasonably high river level in mid-November that swamped the spit of land where the fire takes place. But according to Derrick Martin, the executive director of the Algiers Economic Development Foundation, the ground is now dry enough for the fire to proceed as planned on Saturday (Dec. 1).

Sure, Martin said, the fire builders will find the area a bit muddy, but that wont stop them from beginning to erect the bonfire on Thursday evening. And the soggy ground, he said, helps insure that the fire can be easily extinguished afterwards.

Will high water affect the annual Algiers Bonfire on Dec. 1?

As usual the fire will be cordoned off with safety barricades. Onlookers may view the fire from behind the barricades or the levee. Asked if that area might be muddy, Martin said the viewing area is in fair condition as of Thursday.

The riverside bonfire is an age-old tradition that helps insure Santa can find his jolly way to New Orleans chimneys on Christmas Eve. Over the past three years it has also become an exhibit of flammable modern sculpture, something like a mini Burning Man (the legendary outdoor art festival in Nevada).

In the past, pyromaniacal artists Eric Arvidson and Brennan Steele have set fire to an angular space-age Christmas tree (see the video below), huge geometric stars and reindeer, and a gigantic map of Louisiana. For the 2018 party, Arvidson has designed a 25-ft.-tall Christmas-themed living room scene, with a decorated tree and fireplace hung with stockings, which Steele (a Mardi Gras float designer) has helped engineer.

Arvidson and Steele plan to complete the building of the fire structure on Friday (Nov. 30). If all goes as planned, the detailed diorama will be on view to the public during the day, before the burn on Saturday.

Algiers Bonfire 2018: The coolest (and hottest) holiday party takes place Dec. 1

Martin said that the free concert by the Soul Rebels Brass Band was never jeopardized by the flooding, since it takes place on a higher, partially paved area adjacent to the fire site. The music begins at 5:30 p.m. and the fire follows sometime between 7:30 and 8:30 p.m. For more information, visit the Algiers Bonfire website.

Doug MacCash has the best job in the world, covering art, music and culture in New Orleans. Contact him via email at dmaccash@nola.com. Follow him on Twitter at Doug MacCash and on Facebook at Douglas James MacCash. As always, please add your point of view to the comment stream.
An appeals court issued a ruling on Thursday (Nov. 29) in favor of Manuel Duran, a reporter from El Salvador who spent more than seven months in immigration detention at the LaSalle ICE Processing Center in Louisiana.

The ruling from the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals, grants Duran an indefinite stay of removal, which prevents the Department of Homeland Security from carrying out a deportation order while Duran appeals his immigration case.

Duran, runs a Spanish news website called Memphis Noticias and was arrested in April while covering a protest. He said in an interview with NOLA.com| The Times-Picayune in August that he believed he had been targeted by Memphis Police for his reporting on their possible collaboration with Immigration and Customs Enforcement in the arrests of undocumented immigrants.

Memphis police has said that they do not collaborate with immigration officials. Duran has fought his deportation order since April, arguing that as an investigative journalist covering cases of corruption his life would be at risk should he return to El Salvador where there have been cases of violence against reporters. He said during the August interview that this was the main reason he came to the United States with permission in 2006 seeking asylum.

In tiny Jena, immigration debate plays out at largest detention center in the Gulf South

He was issued a deportation order the following year when he failed to appear in immigration court.

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Appeals court judge Beverly Martin wrote in the decision that she was mindful of the likelihood Mr. Duran-Ortega would be physically harmed if he is removed to El Salvador while his appeal remains pending.

Duran was represented by the Southern Poverty Law Center.

We are grateful and pleased that the court acted to stay Mr. Durans deportation so that his appeal may be fully heard, Kristi Graunke, the senior supervising attorney for the SPLC said in a statement.

The SPLC did not say whether Duran would be released from LaSalle where he has been detained since April while his attorneys work on his asylum case. As of Friday (Nov. 30) he remained detained at the center.

The Department of Homeland Security could exercise its discretion to release him while his appeal is pending," said Graunke. "Detaining someone who has valid claims for immigration relief, is a valued community member, and presents no danger to the community or the public is not only cruel and senseless, it is a waste of money.
The Edgar P. Harney Spirit of Academic Excellence school board issued a statement Friday (Nov 30) describing as baseless allegations made by its former principal who was recently fired and is suing the school to be reinstated.

The school board, in a statement, said that its reputation has been tarnished by baseless allegations made by former principal Ashonta Wyatt, who was fired within three months of being on the job.

It didnt take long for us to understand why former Principal Wyatt was no longer employed at two other local schools, said Harney school board president Charles J. Southall III. Its truly shameful that Wyatts claims of being illegally fired and allegations of financial mis-management has taken the focus off of the hardworking staff and parents who are working diligently together to improve the educational experience of the nearly 300 students enrolled under our care.

Wyatt filed a lawsuit Nov. 21 in Orleans Parish Civil District Court against the Edgar P. Harney Spirit of Excellene Academy School Board in Central City, according to court document. Wyatt is asking for a temporary restraining order against the board to prevent them from accessing Harneys bank accounts. She also asked Civil District Court Judge Paulette R. Irons, to rescind the boards vote to suspend and fire her in order to reinstate her as school principal by Monday (Dec.3), according to court documents.

The board responded in its statement that Louisiana is an at-will employment state, which means that an employee can be dismissed by an employer for any reason and without warning, as long as the reason is not illegal.

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This former disgruntled principal did not have a contract with the school, said Southall in the statement. She could have easily moved on rather than attempting to defame the character of a voluntary board that was not going to give her the autonomy she sought to run the school without being accountable to the schools governing body.

Wyatt was fired Nov. 16 in a closed-door executive session although Wyatt had asked the session to be held in public. She was the fifth principal to serve at Harney over the last two years. An attorney representing Wyatt told NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune on Nov. 2 that she had been suspended with pay because she questioned the boards use of school funds to pay the boards secretary.

Harney is a "D"-rated school in Central City that has received more warnings in a short period of time for non-compliance issues than any other school in New Orleans. The Orleans Parish School Board has spoken out against Harney for disobeying charter school policies and alleged financial mismanagement. The school has been blocked from enrolling new students as the OPSB has begun proceedings to revoke its charter in order to directly manage it in 2019.

Education Reporter Wilborn P. Nobles III contributed to this report.
A major relic of the saint who is held up by Roman Catholics as the ideal of what a priest should be will be on display Saturday and Sunday (Dec. 1-2) in New Orleans, part of a national tour that has morphed into a counterpoint to the clergy sex abuse crisis the church currently faces.

The incorrupt heart of Frances St. John Vianney, who is regarded as the patron saint of parish priests, will be available for veneration from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday at St. Rita church, 2729 Lowerline St. It will also be available for viewing at Saturday Masses at 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. and on Sunday from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m.

The heart, normally kept at the Shrine of Ars in France, is considered by the church to be a first-class relic. The Knights of Columbus is sponsoring a relic tour of the U.S. from November through June of 2019. New Orleans in one of the first stops on the tour. The relic will be brought to Pensacola, Fla., after leaving New Orleans.

Knights of Columbus Supreme Knight Carl Anderson said the Heart of a Priest national tour was scheduled before the recent spate of clergy sex abuse stories rocked the Catholic church. However, he said the tour will focus on a call for sanctification, especially for priests, according to a news release from the KC, the worlds largest Catholic fraternal service organization.

In an Aug. 21 letter to the chaplains of the Knights of Columbus announcing the tour, published by the Catholic News Agency, Anderson said the clergy sex scandals outlined in an explosive Pennsylvania report and in allegations of misconduct against retired Cardinal Theodore McCarrick are cause for grave concerns among Catholics, many of whom are feeling betrayed by those they once held in high regard.

These sins of commission and omission have sent the church we love  into convulsions, Anderson said. Sadly, the disgrace not only is borne by the perpetrators, it hurts us all.

To be or not to be Catholic

Anderson said the Knights of Columbus and other lay Catholics should support bishops and priests as they embark on the challenging journey to restore trust in the church, which has about 1.3 billion worldwide followers. He stressed in his letter that St. John Vianney is the example needed to help the church to rebuild.

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The Knights of Columbus  laymen, priests and chaplains together  will have an important role to play in rebuilding the Church, Anderson said in a recent news release. We must commit the Knights of Columbus to work for repentance, reform and rebuilding of the Church.

St. John Vianny is revered among Catholics as a model of priestly generosity, purity and prayerfulness. Born in France in 1786, he grew up in a time of hostility towards the church in the wake of the French Revolution, when the faith was attacked, churches were destroyed, and clergy martyred.

As a priest assigned to the small community of Ars, St. John Vianny was famous for hearing confessions for up to 18 hours a day as people from across Europe came to see him. Several miracles were attributed to him, including healing of the sick, a supernatural knowledge of the past and future, and the procurance of money and food for the poor.

According to the Catholic Church, his body did not decay after his death in 1859. For more than a century, his body and his heart have been kept in separate glass reliquaries in the small town of Ars, France, about 20 miles north of Lyon. The heart became a first-class relic that has toured the world.

In the Catholic tradition, a relic is a physical object associated with a saint that is offered for veneration. A first-class relic refers to a part of a saints body, as opposed to something the saint touched or wore.

The term incorrupt refers to a human body that has avoided the normal process of decomposition after death. In the Catholic faith, it is viewed as a sign of the persons holiness.

In 1925, John Mary Vianney was canonized by Pope Pius XI, who in 1929 made him patron saint of parish priests.

The possibility of a tour was offered to us by the Shrine at Ars some months before the recent scandal, Anderson said. We now welcome as providential this opportunity to invoke the intercession of the patron of parish priests, whose holiness and integrity is a singular model for clergy.
An ugly fight over an audit that found the city of Zachary paid two vendors $3.5 million without having contracts in place has died down some, but the city councilman most upset about the matter has made clear he is not giving up on his quest for 
Huawei, in partnership with the New Zealand telecommunications company Spark, has had its proposal to provide 5G hardware for the country blocked. This action was taken by the NZ Government Communications Security Bureau (GCSB). The body stresses that this decision was not specifically related to any possible connection between Huawei and the Chinese government.

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New Zealand's Government Communications Security Bureau (GCSB) has rejected a bid from the company Spark to deploy a 5G network in the country. This is because the use of Huawei-brand equipment was involved in the proposal. However, GCSB representatives were quick to insist that the Chinese government, or any relationship Huawei may have with it, did not influence this decision.

The NZ Minister of Justice, Andrew Little, stressed that the proposal had been blocked as a result of "significant national security risks" in an interview. However, the minister would not go into further detail on these risks, categorizing them as "classified". On the other hand, Spark is now apparently invited to make amends to its bid in order to mitigate these risks. Should the company be successful in this, it may be able to submit a proposal, with or without Huawei hardware.

Mr. Little's only elaboration on the issue was that:

"It's not about the supplier necessarily it's about the technology they wish to introduce, the nature of it, which is different to technology currently used in our telecommunications networks."

However, the Chinese government representative Geng Shuang noted that the GCSB's decision was a cause for "serious concern". This may be related to the fact that this is not the first 5G network Huawei has been blocked from. In August 2018, it was announced that this company, along with another (ZTE), was barred from setting up next-gen mobile networks in Australia. The government of this nation, as with NZ, cited national security concerns in reaching a similar decision.
Nine people and two companies in South Korea have been charged with selling Samsung technology to a Chinese rival. It is believed bendable OLED technology, which is expected to be incorporated in the South Korean companys upcoming foldable smartphone, was included in the criminal exchange. The Chinese company that received the information has not been named.

4 Reviews , News , CPU , GPU , Articles , Columns , Other "or" search relation. 3D Printing , 5G , Accessory , AI , Alder Lake , AMD , Android , Apple , ARM , Audio , Business , Camera , Cannon Lake , Cezanne (Zen 3) , Charts , Chinese Tech , Chromebook , Coffee Lake , Comet Lake , Console , Convertible / 2-in-1 , Cryptocurrency , Cyberlaw , Deal , Desktop , E-Mobility , Education , Exclusive , Fail , Foldable , Gadget , Galaxy Note , Galaxy S , Gamecheck , Gaming , Geforce , Google Pixel , GPU , How To , Human 2.0 , Ice Lake , Intel Evo / Project Athena , Internet of Things (IoT) , iOS , iPad Pro , iPhone , Jasper Lake , Lakefield , Laptop , Launch , Linux / Unix , Lucienne (Zen 2) , MacBook , Mini PC , Monitor , MSI , OnePlus , Opinion , Phablet , Radeon , Renoir , Review Snippet , Rocket Lake , Rumor , Ryzen (Zen) , Science , Security , Single-Board Computer (SBC) , Smart Home , Smartphone , Smartwatch , Software , Storage , Tablet , ThinkPad , Thunderbolt , Tiger Lake , Touchscreen , Ultrabook , Virtual Reality (VR) / Augmented Reality (AR) , Wearable , Windows , Workstation , XPS , Zen 3 (Vermeer) Ticker

In a case of industrial espionage, South Korean lawmakers have charged nine individuals and two companies of selling Samsung technology to a company in China. The supplier in question broke a non-disclosure agreement by transferring the intellectual property without any prior knowledge or permission of the owner (Samsung).

The Chinese company, which is apparently involved in screen manufacturing according to a report from Bloomberg, paid around US$13.8 million to get hold of Samsungs tech knowledge. The information handed over includes details of bendable OLED technology and 3D lamination technology, and hardware was also exchanged.

The culprits were caught in the act as they were preparing another shipment to their Chinese contacts. The CEO of the law-breaking South Korean Samsung supplier apparently even went as far as to create a fake company to assist in the subterfuge. The technology business is prone to acts of industrial espionage and this is not the first time Samsung has had to deal with having its secrets illegally shared with competitors.
We have a lesson plan that uses Times reporting, videos, podcasts and photography to help students learn about the Rohingya crisis. The model also tackles universal questions about national identity, rights of minority groups and the responsibility of the global community.

Student Challenge: Look through The Times to find more news about human rights violations around the world, or simply scroll through the Times topic page for Human Rights and Human Rights Violations. For each violation they find, students can use our Problem-Solution Organizer (PDF) to detail what they read, as well as their own ideas about the issue.

_________

U.S. | Immigration

Whether its the the first colonists who arrived from England, the forced migration of millions of Africans as slaves, the waves of European immigrants from Europe in the 19th century or the new wave of immigrants from around the world today, one thing is clear: The study of United States history is the study of immigration. And, of course, the issue dominates the front pages today, including in the coverage of the migrant caravans trekking across Mexico and the thousands of United States troops stationed on the southwestern border.

We have done many lesson plans over the years on the topic, and we still like to recommend a classic New York Times interactive, The Immigration Explorer.

Student Challenge: Use the Times topics page for Immigration and Emigration, to find a wealth of articles about immigration to the United States. But since this issue is often seen through a partisan lens, students can also go to the Op-Ed page to select an opinion piece written by a contributor to The Times about the subject. They can either scroll through the articles to find the most recent Op-Eds, or they can plug in a search term below where it says contributors and change the way the results are sorted to newest.

Once they find a piece that interests them, they can identify what argument the writer is making and then decide if they agree or disagree. For balance, they can look for another opinion piece that argues a different position, either in The Times or elsewhere, and decide which point of view they agree with most and why. What issues that were still debating today were issues in the era they are studying? What images, quotes, data or other kinds of information can they find that might make interesting paired texts to link the two eras?
Care to join me in my courtside seats?

Nearly 16 months ago, a batch of emails between the mayor and two supporters was released by City Hall, depicting the mayors chummy relationship with the men.

But the courtside-seat email, sent to the mayor from one of the men, Jona S. Rechnitz, was not among them.

That correspondence, showing a particularly transactional relationship between Mr. Rechnitz and the mayor, as well as another previously undisclosed email, emerged this week during a police corruption trial in Federal District Court in Manhattan.

Mayor Bill de Blasio and his staff are required to keep records that are connected to his government work. That includes emails about public activities that are sent to private email accounts. If someone requests the mayor to do something in his capacity as an elected official, those emails would be subject to public review.
[What you need to know to start the day: Get New York Today in your inbox.]

The victims came to New York hospitals after being sexually assaulted. Then, against state law, they were billed for their own rape evidence kits. In some cases, they were hounded by bill collectors.

A yearlong investigation by the state attorney general, Barbara Underwood, found that seven hospitals in New York had illegally billed more than 200 sexual assault survivors for rape kits, with individual charges ranging from $46 to $2,892. Ms. Underwood said on Thursday that her office had reached civil settlements with the hospitals, who agreed to refund patients and to implement formal policies to ensure that it would not happen again.

Survivors of sexual assault have already gone through unfathomable trauma, Ms. Underwood said in a statement. To then subject them to illegal bills and collection calls is unconscionable.

The investigation started last November when advocates for sexual assault victims told the attorney generals office about a woman who had been billed seven times for her rape kit, first by Brooklyn Hospital Center then by debt collectors. That case led to a wider inquiry.
She always kept her mind open to the new, the Mexican chef Enrique Olvera said in a telephone interview. She was deeply in love with our cuisine, but also deeply in love with new things.

Ms. Quintana had been a mentor to generations of cooks since the 1980s, when she invited several prominent American chefs  Stephan Pyles, Mark Miller and John Sedlar among them  to her familys ranch in Veracruz. She greeted her guests with smoked pork tamales and mugs of hot champurrado, made from a base of corn and chocolate.

Then Ms. Quintana taught the fathers of the Southwestern movement the fundamentals: How to nixtamalize corn to make fresh masa for tortillas. How to toast the seeds and chiles for mole. How to steam fish inside the fragrant, heart-shaped leaves of the hoja santa plant.

Wed cook, but mostly wed observe, said Mr. Pyles, a Texas chef who visited Ms. Quintana several more times and traveled with her across the country. She wanted us to see what Mexico was like through her eyes. That was her gift to us.

Patricia Quintana Fernandez was born in Mexico City on Oct. 28, 1946, the daughter of cattle ranchers. She grew up in the city, spending summers with her siblings at her familys ranch in Veracruz. There she followed her curiosity about the laborers who worked the land, tended to animals and cooked the food, joining them to simmer clay pots of beans and heat tortillas.

I wanted to be like them, she told Food & Wine magazine.

It was unusual for a Mexican woman to travel to Europe for culinary school when Ms. Quintana went to LEcole Lenotre in Paris, in the 1970s, taking classes with the pioneers of nouvelle cuisine, including Paul Bocuse, Michel Guerard and the Troisgros brothers. And when she returned, she often wore a white chefs jacket, custom-embroidered with Mexican flowers, or with the Mexican flag around the collar. The choice was deliberate and defiant.
Trying to stop immigrants as the Trump administration is doing  unilaterally, at the border and with tear gas and troops  is a sign of only one thing: failure.

In fact, the administrations response to the migrant caravan from Central America that recently arrived at the border with Mexico highlights much of what is wrong with American politics and immigration policy today.

These migrants, regardless of their reasons for coming, are being exploited and victimized at both ends of their journey: at home by street gangs, human traffickers and major criminal organizations, and in the United States by politicians seeking political gain.

Given the situation at the border, there is an urgent need to deploy practical solutions to the challenges of migration with the clear goal of establishing safe, orderly and legal migration.
When all is said and done, the April raids by federal prosecutors targeting Michael Cohens office and other premises in Manhattan may be seen as a turning point for Donald Trumps presidency.

Those raids  and Mr. Cohens own malfeasance  opened the door for Robert Mueller, on Thursday, to convict President Trumps longtime loyalist and personal lawyer of lying to Congress. What the special counsel has gathered since the raids provides the clearest proof yet to the American public that Mr. Muellers inquiry  derided by the president and his allies as an aimless fishing expedition  is rooted in the law and facts. To those critics, this latest move was surely meant to send another message as well: Hes not about to back down.

Mr. Cohens guilty plea, filed in the same federal courthouse where he already faces a steep sentence for orchestrating campaign-finance and other crimes, brings Mr. Muellers operation to New York, the heart of the presidents business empire and the self-made myth that propels it. If theres anything that plea exposes, its that Mr. Trumps mind never strayed far from his business dealings and how to further enrich himself and his family, even as he was campaigning for the nations highest office.

The facts to which Mr. Cohen admitted on Thursday dont establish that Mr. Trump conspired with Russian efforts to win him the election, but they refute Mr. Trumps frequent, vehement claim that he had nothing to do with Russia as he sought the White House. It was that falsehood that Mr. Cohen sought to protect by lying himself. I made these statements to be consistent with Mr. Trumps political messaging, he said in court.
So we now know that Trump lied to the American people about at least one part of his business relationship with Russia, a geopolitical foe that interfered in our election process on his behalf.

In a Jan. 11, 2017, news conference, Trump said that the closest I came to Russia was in selling a Palm Beach mansion to a Russian oligarch in 2008. While were just learning precisely how dishonest this was, Putin has known it all along. That means that throughout Trumps campaign and presidency, Putin has had the power to plunge him into political crisis.

If the Russians are aware that senior American officials are publicly stating things that are not true, its a counterintelligence nightmare, Adam Schiff, the California Democrat in line to take over the House Intelligence Committee, told me.

As he points out, this issue contributed to former national security adviser Michael Flynns downfall. Flynn, you might remember, appeared to have lied to Vice President Mike Pence about his conversations with the Russian ambassador. This alarmed Sally Yates, then the acting attorney general, because the Russians would have known that Flynn was deceiving Pence, and could have used that knowledge against him. Logic would tell you that you dont want the national security adviser to be in a position where the Russians have leverage over him, Yates told the Senate last year.

The same, said Schiff, is true in spades for the president of the United States.

Speaking to reporters before flying to Argentina on Thursday, Trump justified his pursuit of a Moscow project this way: There was a good chance that I wouldnt have won, in which case I would have gotten back into the business, and why should I lose lots of opportunities? This could be read as a confession of motive. In the 2016 campaign, Russia wanted to humiliate Hillary Clinton and delegitimize Americas election. Trump wanted help building his brand.
BUDAPEST  It was 3 a.m. on Sunday and we were camping in Kossuth Square in front of the Hungarian Parliament. We were trying to keep dry in the freezing rain, and trying to save our university.

Im American, but I applied to Central European University because of the strength of its gender studies program and the faculty in my field of research (analyzing nationalist recruitment techniques from a feminist perspective). Now the far-right government of Prime Minister Viktor Orban has cut gender studies from the approved list of degrees in Hungary. (The Hungarian government is of the clear view that people are born either men or women, the prime ministers chief of staff said over the summer, and does not wish to spend public funds on education in this area). Worse, the university, which was founded by the Hungarian-American philanthropist George Soros, is being driven out of the country. If the two sides cant come to an agreement before Saturday, the university will move to Vienna.

I knew most of this before I decided to come in August. To my surprise, it was my nervous Jewish mother who encouraged me. After all, she said, its becoming harder to ident ify a place where academic freedom and free expression arent under attack.

The university doesnt look under attack. Its halls are full of students clutching their books and sunken-eyed Ph.D students standing in line for coffee. But Mr. Orbans party, Fidesz  which thrives by spreading propaganda and attacking civil society  sees the liberal university as a threat to its power . Last year, in a move that many argue deliberately targeted my university, Parliament passed a law dictating that foreign universities must have classes in their home countries in order to enroll students in Hungary. Central European University complied by opening a program in New York, and yet Mr. Orban still refuses to sign the necessary paperwork.
The Senate delivered a sharp rebuke to President Trump and his see-no-evil support for the rulers of Saudi Arabia on Wednesday by advancing a measure that would cut American military support for the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen. But unless Congress enacts and enforces the bill, which is unlikely, it will be just that, a rebuke, with little comfort for the starving Yemenis.

Still, the 63-to-37 vote was a signal of the exasperation of some Senate Republicans over being repeatedly made to fall in line behind Mr. Trumps disregard for elemental American values and traditions.

The president has treated the assassination of Jamal Khashoggi, a Saudi journalist and Virginia resident writing for The Washington Post, as a sideshow that shouldnt get in the way of his friendship with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the de facto ruler of the Saudi kingdom, and arms sales to Saudi Arabia. That callousness incensed even Senator Lindsey Graham, the South Carolina Republican who has mutated from Trump critic to loyalist. Senator Graham said he was originally against the measure but then switched, explaining, I changed my mind because Im pissed.

What most angered Senator Graham and other senators was the administrations rejection of their request to hear Gina Haspel, the director of the C.I.A., whom they wanted to question about the agencys reasons for concluding that Prince Mohammed was most likely behind the killing. Instead, the White House dispatched Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis to rehash arguments for doing nothing that might upset Saudi Arabia and to echo Mr. Trumps claim that the C.I.A. had no conclusive proof of the princes involvement  or, in the presidents infamous formulation, Maybe he did and maybe he didnt!
One of the titans of 20th-century physics, Richard Feynman deciphered the interplay of fundamental particles and forces. He wrote popular books in which he portrayed himself as a charming scientific rogue, and played a key role in the investigation of the loss of the space shuttle Challenger. While brilliant, he was not perfect. That becomes evident looking at some of his papers that go up for auction on Friday.

Feynman received the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1965 for key insights in understanding the quantum version of electromagnetism, and the medal and citation that came with it is the centerpiece of the auction, conducted by Sothebys in New York. But the assorted writings that are also for sale by his family reveal clues into how he worked and thought.

We tend to have this idea of genius being someone who just sprung out of the womb and had these magical capabilities, said Cassandra Hatton, the specialist at Sothebys in New York who is overseeing the auction. And Feynman himself denied that fact. He always said, Guys, theres nothing. Theres no magic here. Im just somebody whos very interested and worked very hard and was very curious.
Eddie Vale, a spokesman for Freedom from Facebook, said he was skeptical of the companys account.

In light of Sandbergs continuously changing story on the Soros research, theres no way their denials about attacking other critics can be taken at face value, Mr. Vale said. Facebook must immediately release any emails and any research about targeting the Freedom from Facebook coalition or any member organizations.

The revelation complicates Ms. Sandbergs shifting explanations of her role in Facebooks decisions to hire Definers and go on the offensive against the social networks growing legion of critics. Ms. Sandberg at first denied knowing that Facebook had hired Definers, before acknowledging in a post last week that some of the companys work for Facebook had crossed her desk.

Image Elliot J. Schrage, who oversaw Facebooks communications team and is leaving the company, previously took responsibility for hiring the firm that looked into Mr. Soros. Credit... James Lawler Duggan/Reuters

In that post, Ms. Sandberg did not explicitly deny that she had asked for research into Mr. Soros. Instead, a deputy who oversaw the communications team but is now leaving the company, Elliot J. Schrage, took responsibility for hiring Definers and initiating Definers investigation into Mr. Soros. It is unclear what, if any, involvement Ms. Sandberg had in that ultimate response to Mr. Soros.

We had not heard such criticism from him before and wanted to determine if he had any financial motivation, Mr. Schrage said of Mr. Soros. Definers researched this using public information.

Facebook has defended its inquiries into Mr. Soros as a prudent and necessary step for any public company under attack by a high-profile figure  particularly one like Mr. Soros, a onetime currency trader who made a fortune in the 1990s betting against the British pound.

But the revelations are likely to escalate pressure on Ms. Sandberg, an embattled Silicon Valley star and feminist author.
Why is there a perception that with every black man or every black woman, theres a gun, theyre going for it, like we just kill people to kill people.

APRIL PIPKINS, the mother of Emantic Fitzgerald Bradford Jr., a black licensed gun owner who was killed by a police officer after being mistaken for the gunman at a mall shooting in Alabama this month.
A Marriott spokeswoman, Connie Kim, wouldnt address whether bookings had been affected by the strike, but said that the hotels remain open, and that 32 other Marriott-managed properties in the San Francisco area were not involved in labor disputes.

The union members got a boost recently when the San Francisco Culinary Bartenders & Service Employees Welfare Fund said it would continue the strikers health care benefits for December and January, if necessary.

More than 100 San Francisco workers have been arrested and accused of blocking streets and other acts since the contract with Marriott ended there in August.

In Chicago, a citywide strike that started in September didnt focus on any particular employer, but at its peak affected 26 hotels in a dispute over health care coverage. There, workers at the Cambria Hotel Chicago Magnificent Mile, part of the Choice Hotels International chain, remain on strike, while United Here reached a deal with the other hotels.

Whats the dispute about?

In San Francisco, issues include health care coverage and wages, which the union said havent kept up with the cost of living in the Bay Area. When the previous contract expired, the median income for its employees was $44,000, the union said. The housekeepers also want better protection from sexual harassment, and more time to clean the rooms that arent serviced daily as part of Marriotts Make A Green Choice program, which offers incentives to guests who forgo daily housekeeping.

Marriott International has management or franchise agreements with about 6,700 hotels under 30 brands in 130 countries and territories.

What did the settlements include?

Details of the financial packages with Marriott wont be released until an agreement is reached in San Francisco. But deals have been reached covering 5,200 employees at 16 Marriott-operated properties, including seven in Boston, and one hotel each in Detroit, San Jose, Calif., Oakland, Calif., and San Diego.
HOOVER, Ala.  After gunshots rang out in a cavernous suburban shopping mall on Thanksgiving night, Ashlyn McMillan encountered a man she considered a hero. He directed frantic shoppers to safety, hand on his gun to defend against a looming threat. Get down, Ms. McMillan recalled him saying. Go in the store.

Yet to a police officer who raced to the scene in Hoover, Ala., the black man with the gun was not a hero in action, but a suspect brandishing a pistol, according to a police account. The officer fired at him, and the man, Emantic Fitzgerald Bradford Jr., died.

As it turned out, Mr. Bradford was not the gunman the police had been searching for. On Thursday, police arrested someone else  Erron Martez Dequan Brown, 20, and charged him with attempting to murder an 18-year-old man who was shot during the melee.

The correction was too late for Mr. Bradford, whom the police initially identified as the culprit, only to change their story a day later. Mr. Bradford had not shot anyone, the Hoover police said, but was a licensed gun owner at a chaotic scene in the crowded mall.
Wheres the righteous indignation for these young women? said State Senator Lauren Book, a South Florida Democrat and survivor of childhood sexual abuse. Is it because he has a private plane? Is it because he has the money to be able to circumvent the system? Well, then that means the system is unfortunately broken, and we have to fix it.

During their investigation, law enforcement officers found that Mr. Epstein  a former hedge fund manager who was friendly with the likes of Prince Andrew, the Duke of York; former President Bill Clinton; and Mr. Trump  paid dozens of girls cash to engage in the illicit sexual activity. The encounters took place from 1999 to 2005 in Mr. Epsteins mansions in Palm Beach, New York and the United States Virgin Islands. Some of the girls were runaways or foster children without permanent homes; in some cases, Mr. Epstein would ask them to recruit other girls, his victims told the police.

One girl told the F.B.I. in a 2007 interview that she began visiting Mr. Epstein when she was 15 to give him massages  first in her underwear, then in the nude  for $200 each, court records show. The massages turned increasingly sexual, and Mr. Epstein also had the victim, who was identified at the time only by her initials, C.W., because she was a minor, bring other girls who worked with her in a local strip club.

The authorities identified more than 30 victims. In its latest report, The Herald located about 60 and spoke to four of them on the record  including Courtney Wild, who is now 31.

Jeffrey preyed on girls who were in a bad way, girls who were basically homeless, Ms. Wild, who still wore braces when she first met Mr. Epstein, told The Herald. He went after girls who he thought no one would listen to and he was right.

Mr. Acostas office drafted a 53-page federal indictment against Mr. Epstein that carried a potential punishment of up to life in prison. The indictment, however, was ultimately shelved. Mr. Epstein pleaded guilty to state charges of soliciting a minor for prostitution. He registered as a sex offender, paid damages to victims and served 13 months in the Palm Beach County Stockade  the local jail  under an extraordinary arrangement that allowed him to leave and work out of his office six days a week.

There was nothing normal about this case, said retired Police Chief Michael Reiter of Palm Beach, who said he had turned the investigation over to federal prosecutors when state prosecutors waffled on filing serious charges. So many people, primarily the victims, paid so dearly for how this was handled from the government.
On Thursday, after Michael D. Cohen revealed new information about the Trump Organizations business dealings with Russia, President Trump called his former personal lawyer a liar.

He is a weak person, Mr. Trump told reporters at the White House. He added: Very simply, Michael Cohen is lying. He was referring to Mr. Cohen pleading guilty to lying to Congress about a real estate deal to build a tower in Moscow.

But Mr. Trump, who is identified as Individual 1 in court documents that accompanied Mr. Cohens admission, was himself less than forthcoming about the prospective real estate project during the 2016 campaign.

At no time did Mr. Trump disclose that the Trump Organization had entered negotiations for the property, known as the Moscow Project. And evidence presented in the documents filed on Thursday contradicts Mr. Trumps repeated denials of his financial interests in Russia and his playing down of campaign contacts with Russian officials .
WASHINGTON  At workplaces across the United States, it is routine for Americans conversations to turn to President Trump  whether his policies are good, whether he should be impeached, what to think about the resistance. Some drink from MAGA mugs; others tape cartoons to their cubicle walls portraying Mr. Trump as a Russian quisling.

But roughly two million people who work for the federal government have now been told that it may be illegal for them to participate in such discussions at work  a pronouncement that legal specialists say breaks new ground, and that some criticized as going too far.

Generally, federal employees have been free to express opinions about policies and legislative activity at work as long as they do not advocate voting for or against particular candidates in partisan elections. But in a guidance document distributed on Wednesday, the independent agency that enforces the Hatch Act, a law that bars federal employees from taking part in partisan political campaigns at work or in an official capacity, warned that making or displaying statements at work about impeaching or resisting Mr. Trump is likely to amount to illegal political activity.

[Read the new Hatch Act guidance.]

The guidance was issued by the Office of Special Counsel, an independent agency that enforces the Hatch Act, including by investigating complaints of improper political activity and recommending discipline  like a reprimand or firing  for violators. The agency also enforces the Hatch Act against state and local government officials whose salaries come from federal grants.
The American people just delivered an overwhelming verdict against Republicans cruel assault on families health care, said the House Democratic leader, Nancy Pelosi of California. But instead of heeding the will of the people or the requirements of the law, the Trump administration is still cynically working to make health insurance more expensive and to leave more Americans without dependable coverage.

Senator Ron Wyden of Oregon, the senior Democrat on the Finance Committee, said the administration was creating a fast lane for swift approval of junk insurance.

The Affordable Care Act prohibits insurers from denying coverage or charging higher premiums to people with pre-existing medical conditions. At campaign rallies this fall, Mr. Trump repeatedly promised: We will always protect Americans with pre-existing conditions. Always.

Ms. Verma said Thursday that the A.C.A.s pre-existing condition protections cannot be waived.

But states could use federal funds to subsidize short-term plans and association health plans, in which employers band together to provide coverage for employees. Such plans are free to limit or omit coverage of benefits required by the Affordable Care Act, such as mental health care, emergency services and prescription drugs.

A provision of the Affordable Care Act allows waivers for innovations in state health policy. The federal law stipulates that state programs must provide coverage that is at least as comprehensive as that available under the Affordable Care Act and must cover at least a comparable number of people.

Two powerful House Democrats said the new guidance issued by the Trump administration was illegal because it did not meet the standards for waivers set forth in the Affordable Care Act.

It is contrary to the plain language of the statute, and it appears to be part of the administrations ideologically motivated efforts to sabotage the Affordable Care Act, said a letter sent to Mr. Azar by Representatives Frank Pallone Jr. of New Jersey and Richard E. Neal of Massachusetts.
The Farr defeat comes just days after Representative Mia Love, the only female black Republican in the House, conceded her failed re-election campaign by blasting her party for ignoring the nations minorities.

Mr. Scott said on Thursday that he was ultimately too troubled by Mr. Farrs involvement in one of former Senator Jesse Helmss racially tinged campaigns. The senator cited a Justice Department memo published this week by The Washington Post detailing an investigation the department launched into the campaign in 1992. The department accused Mr. Helms of intimidating black voters by sending out postcards that suggested they were not eligible to vote and that they could be prosecuted for fraud if they tried.

Weighing these important factors, this afternoon I concluded that I could not support Mr. Farrs nomination, Mr. Scott said.

Mr. Farrs defeat is a win for Democrats who, emboldened by an unusual set of circumstances and infuriated by Mr. Farrs resume, had mounted an aggressive campaign against him.

Senator Tim Scott has done a courageous thing, and hes done the right thing, said Senator Chuck Schumer of New York, the Democratic leader. Thomas Farr has been involved in the sordid practice of voter suppression for decades and never should have been nominated, let alone confirmed to the bench. Thankfully, he wont be.
WASHINGTON  In late March 2016, steaming toward the Republican nomination and with his aides still secretly in talks for a real estate deal in Russia, Donald J. Trump made a lengthy case for giving President Vladimir V. Putin what he wanted most: relief from American-led sanctions for his annexation of Crimea.

It didnt seem to me like anyone else cared, other than us, Mr. Trump said in an interview then with The New York Times, his first lengthy description of what his foreign policy would look like if he was elected. The United States, he said, was the least affected by what happens with Ukraine because were the farthest away. And countries that were closer  Germany, for example  did not seem to care much.

His argument took on a new relevance on Thursday, after his former lawyer, Michael D. Cohen, pleaded guilty to lying to Congress about the state of the negotiations over the real estate projects fate. If Mr. Cohens latest version of events is proved true, Mr. Trump was publicly offering a conciliatory and possibly self-interested policy gesture to Moscow as he continued to seek a business deal that would require the Kremlins blessing.

There is little doubt that Mr. Putin was listening. The annexation of Crimea in 2014 was a land grab by Mr. Putin of Ukrainian territory that had once been part of the Soviet Union and before that part of pre-revolutionary Russia. And it was a power grab for the Russian leader, one that led to sanctions from Washington and most of the European allies.
Michael Cohens relationship with President Trump went from this: Ill do anything to protect Mr. Trump. They say Im Mr. Trumps pit bull. Ive stood by him, shoulder to shoulder. To this: Hes a weak person. So, why did Trumps former personal lawyer flip? Cohen was Trumps fixer and biggest defender for more than a decade. If theres an issue that relates to Mr. Trump that is of concern to him, its, of course, of concern to me. And I will use my legal skills within which to protect Mr. Trump to the best of my ability. In April, the F.B.I. raided Cohens office after he became a target in special counsel Robert Muellers investigation. Trump was quick to come to Cohens defense. But once the investigation zeroed in on Cohen, the lawyer began to change his tune. My wife, my daughter and my son have my first loyalty and always will. I put family and country first. In July, Cohen released audio from a conversation with Donald Trump that he secretly recorded two months before the 2016 election. The two appear to be discussing payments to a former Playboy model who said she had an affair with Trump. Cohen: When it comes time for the financing, which will be  Trump: What financing? Cohen: Well, I have to pay  No no, no, no. I got  no, no no. Heres when things between Trump and Cohen began to publicly fall apart. In a tweet he said: What kind of a lawyer would tape a client? So sad! I expected something like this from Cohen, hes been lying all week. I mean, for two  hes been lying for years. Theres nobody that I know that knows him that hasnt warned me that if his back is up against the wall, he will lie like crazy, because hes lied all his life. On Aug. 21, Cohen pleaded guilty to violating federal campaign finance laws. And then on Nov. 29, Cohen made a surprise appearance in a Manhattan courtroom where he confessed to lying to Congress. He admitted hed been negotiating to build a tower in Moscow for Trump well into the 2016 presidential campaign. Prosecutors in the special counsel investigation have interviewed Cohen repeatedly over the past several months. Mr. Cohen has cooperated. Mr. Cohen will continue to cooperate. Trump tried to minimize the admission. What hes trying to do is get a reduced sentence. So, hes lying about a project that everybody knew about. I mean, we were very open with it.
Three St. Louis police officers were charged on Thursday with beating up an apparent protester who turned out to be an undercover detective on their own team, the authorities said.

The officers were accused of attacking their own colleague during a September 2017 protest in response to the acquittal of Jason Stockley, a white police officer who killed a 24-year-old black man, Anthony Lamar Smith, after a high-speed chase. According to the federal grand jury indictment, the officers threw the detective to the ground, hitting and kicking him while using a riot baton.

Prosecutors obtained an indictment against a fourth officer on charges that she conspired to help the three cover up the beating.

The three officers accused of participating in the beating were charged with violating the constitutional rights of the detective, who the indictment identified only with the initials L.H. The indictment, submitted by the United States attorneys office for the Eastern District of Missouri, said the officers used unreasonable force on the detective while he was not posing any threat.
As a member of Cubas international medical mission, Dr. Ramona Matos Rodriguez received $400 a month while posted in Brazil, a small fortune in her home country.

It was not long before she figured out that physicians from other countries also working in Brazils More Doctors program were taking home 20 times as much. Even the Pan American Health Organization, an international agency affiliated with the United Nations that brokered the arrangement, received a percentage for the doctors work.

We realized that they fooled us Cuban doctors, said Dr. Matos, 56, who now lives in Miami. They tricked us.

PAHO, a division of the World Health Organization, made about $75 million off the work of up to 10,000 Cuban doctors who earned substandard wages in Brazil, according to the allegations in a lawsuit filed on Friday in the United States District Court in Miami.
There were 15 of them. Most arrived in the dead of night, laid their trap and waited for the target to arrive. That target was Jamal Khashoggi, a prominent Saudi critic of his countrys government and its young crown prince. Since his killing in Istanbul, Turkish media has released a steady drip feed of evidence implicating Saudi officials. Weeks of investigation by The Times builds on that evidence and reconstructs what unfolded, hour-by-hour. Our timeline shows the ruthless efficiency of a hit team of experts that seemed specially chosen from Saudi government ministries. Some had links to the crown prince himself. After a series of shifting explanations, Saudi Arabia now denies that this brazen hit job was premeditated. But this reconstruction of the killing, and the botched cover-up, calls their story into serious question. Its Friday morning, Sept. 28. Khashoggi and his fiancee, Hatice Cengiz, are at the local marriage office in Istanbul. In order to marry, hes told that he needs Saudi paperwork and goes straight to the consulate to arrange it. They tell him to return in a week. It all seems routine, but its not. Inside theres a Saudi spy, Ahmed al-Muzaini, whos working under diplomatic cover. That very day, he flies off to Riyadh and helps concoct a plan to intercept Khashoggi when he returns to the consulate. Fast-forward to Monday night into Tuesday morning. Saudi agents converge in Istanbul aboard separate flights. Muzaini, the spy, flies back from Riyadh. A commercial flight carries a three-man team that we believe flew from Cairo. Two of the men are security officers and theyve previously traveled with the crown prince. A private jet flying from Riyadh lands around 3:30 a.m. That plane is often used by the Saudi government, and its carrying nine Saudi officials, some who played key roles in Khashoggis death. Well get to Team 3 later on, and for now focus on these men from Team 2. This is Salah al-Tubaigy, a high-ranking forensics and autopsy expert in the Saudi interior ministry. Turkish officials will later say his role was to dismember Khashoggis body. Another is Mustafa al-Madani, a 57-year-old engineer. As well see, its no accident that he looks like Khashoggi. And this is Maher Mutreb, the leader of the operation. Our investigation into his past reveals a direct link between Mutreb and the Saudi crown prince. When bin Salman toured a Houston neighborhood earlier this year, we discovered that Mutreb was with him, a glowering figure in the background. We found him again in Boston, at a U.N. meeting in New York, in Madrid and Paris, too. This global tour was all part of a charm offensive by the prince to paint himself as a moderate reformer. Back then, Mutreb was in the royal guard. Now, he would orchestrate Khashoggis killing. And his close ties to the crown prince beg the question, just how high up the Saudi chain of command did the plot to kill go? Early Tuesday morning, Khashoggi flies back from a weekend trip to London. He and the Saudis nearly cross paths at the airport. The Saudi teams check into two hotels, which give quick access to the consulate. Khashoggi heads home with his fiancee. Hed just bought an apartment for their new life together. By mid-morning, the Saudis are on the move. Mutreb leaves his hotel three hours before Khashoggi is due at the consulate. The rest of the team isnt far behind. The building is only a few minutes away on foot, and soon, theyre spotted at this entrance. Mutreb arrives first. Next, we see al-Tubaigy, the autopsy expert. And now al-Madani, the lookalike. The stage is almost set. A diplomatic car pulls out of the consulate driveway and switches places with a van, which backs in. Turkish officials say this van would eventually carry away Khashoggis remains. From above, we can see the driveway is covered, hiding any activity around the van from public view. Meanwhile, Khashoggi and his fiancee set out for the consulate, walking hand-in-hand. In their final hour together, they chat about dinner plans and new furniture for their home. At 1:13 p.m., they arrive at the consulate. Khashoggi gives her his cellphones before he enters. He walks into the consulate. Its the last time we see him. Inside, Khashoggi is brought to the consul generals office on the second floor. The hit team is waiting in a nearby room. Sources briefed on the evidence, told us Khashoggi quickly comes under attack. Hes dragged to another room and is killed within minutes. Then al-Tubaigy, the autopsy expert, dismembers his body while listening to music. Maher Mutreb makes a phone call to a superior. He says, Tell your boss, and The deed was done. Outside, the van reportedly carrying Khashoggis body pulls out of the side entrance and drives away. At the same time, the Saudis begin trying to cover their tracks. While Khashoggis fiancee waits here where she left him, two figures leave from the opposite side. One of them is wearing his clothes. Later, the Saudis would claim that this was Khashoggi. But its al-Madani, the engineer, now a body double pretending that the missing journalist left the consulate alive. Yet theres one glaring flaw: The clothes are the same, but hes wearing his own sneakers, the ones he walked in with. Meanwhile, the van thats allegedly carrying Khashoggis body makes the two-minute drive from the consulate to the Saudi consuls residence. Theres several minutes of deliberations but the van eventually pulls into the buildings driveway. Again, its hidden from public view. Its now three hours since Khashoggi was last seen. The body double hails this taxi and continues weaving a false trail through the city. He heads to a popular tourist area and then changes back into his own clothes. Later, we see him joking around in surveillance footage. Over at the airport, more Saudi officials arrive on another flight from Riyadh. They spend just five hours in Istanbul, but were not sure where they go. Now we pick up Maher Mutreb again, exiting from the consuls house. Its time for them to go. Mutreb and others check out of their hotel and move through airport security. Al-Muzaini, the spy, heads to the airport too. But as theyre leaving Istanbul, Khashoggis fiancee is still outside the consulate, pacing in circles. Shell soon raise the alarm that Khashoggi is missing and shell wait for him until midnight. The alarm spreads around the world. Nine days later, the Saudis send another team to Istanbul. They say its to investigate what happened. But among them are a toxicologist and a chemist, who also has ties to the hit team. He and Tubaigy attended a forensics graduation days before Khashoggi was killed. Turkish officials later say that this teams mission was not to investigate, but to cover up the killing. Now the Saudi story has changed, and prosecutors are seeking the death penalty for several suspects in Khashoggis killing. But that doesnt include Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who many Western government officials are convinced authorized the killing. Khashoggis remains still havent been found.
Ongoing FEMA has closed some of its Disaster Recovery Centers (DRC), established last month to assist residents and businesses whose property was damaged by Tropical Storm Ida. However, face-to-face assistance is still available. Residents can find their nearest DRC online at fema.gov/drc,...
MEXICO CITY  A Honduran court on Thursday found seven men guilty of murder in the 2016 assassination of an Indigenous environmental leader whose opposition to a dam project brought her an international prominence that still failed to protect her life.

The verdict, delivered by a panel of judges after a six-week trial in the Honduran capital, Tegucigalpa, ended a proceeding bitterly denounced by the family of the environmentalist, Berta Caceres, and the organization that she led.

They criticized the prosecution for focusing its efforts on those believed to have carried out the crime, and disregarding evidence that could have implicated powerful business leaders in its planning.

This is undoubtedly a first step towards justice, said Marcia Aguiluz Soto, the director for Central America and Mexico at the Center for Justice and International Law, a human rights group that has worked closely with the family. But of course there are other people who are the ones who paid for the assassination of Berta Caceres and they should be here.
SEOUL, South Korea  A South Korean train on Friday crossed into North Korea for the first time in a decade, as the two countries began a joint study on renovating the Norths decrepit rail system and linking it to the Souths.

Over the next 18 days, dozens of officials and engineers from both Koreas will live and work on the six-car train, traveling more than 1,600 miles as they study the Norths rail network and consider what it would take to bring it up to international standards. The train rolled north across the countries heavily armed border on Friday morning.

The joint study signals that inter-Korean cooperation is reaching a new level, said Kim Eui-kyeom, the spokesman for President Moon Jae-in of South Korea.

The study is one of a number of collaborative projects that Mr. Moon has championed to develop closer ties with the North and demonstrate what economic benefits the country could gain from giving up nuclear weapons. When Mr. Moon and North Koreas leader, Kim Jong-un, met for the first time in April, the South agreed to help rebuild the Norths railroads and highways, which Mr. Kim said were in embarrassing shape.
SEOUL, South Korea  Fifty-eight young men who had been imprisoned for refusing to serve in South Koreas military were released from prisons across the country on Friday, after a landmark court ruling that supported the rights of conscientious objectors.

The ruling by South Koreas Supreme Court on Nov. 1 acquitted a conscientious objector for the first time in the countrys history. The court recognized conscience or religious beliefs as a justifiable reason to refuse to serve in the military.

For decades, South Korea has required all able-bodied men in South Korea to serve a minimum of 21 months in the armed forces under a conscription system seen as crucial to the countrys defense against North Korea. The punishment of those who cited their religious beliefs in refusing to serve has been both uniform and harsh.

Guided by the Nov. 1 ruling, lower courts are expected to dismiss cases against 930 men, most of them Jehovahs Witnesses, who are currently on trial for refusing to do mandatory service in the armed forces if they are determined to be conscientious objectors.
Initial responses from African officials to a report issued last week by France on the return of looted treasures from the continent reveal the path to restitution will be a thorny one.

The report, commissioned by President Emmanuel Macron of France, recommended that all objects removed without consent from Africa and sent to France be permanently returned if the countries of origin ask for them.

The first African official to react to the report, which has been met with trepidation by some museum directors in Europe, was Senegals culture minister, Abdou Latif Coulibaly. Speaking at a news conference on Tuesday, Mr. Coulibaly called for the return of all Senegalese artwork held in French museums and institutions.

We are ready to find solutions with France, Mr. Coulibaly said. But if 10,000 pieces are identified in the collections, we are asking for all 10,000.
A federal jury in New Hampshire said a former college professor and her son defrauded a Wall Street titan by selling him a series of fake paintings they claimed were by the modern artist Leon Golub.

After deliberating for about two hours, the civil court jury in Federal District Court in Concord on Thursday ordered Lorettann Gascard, 70, formerly of Franklin Pierce University in New Hampshire, and her son Nikolas Gascard, 36, to repay Andrew J. Hall, a trader and a prolific art collector, $465,000.

The lawyer for the Gascards, William B. Pribis, had no comment and said no decision had been made about an appeal. But the finding seemed to end a saga that began when Mr. Hall, who had amassed a fortune with canny trades in oil markets, started building a personal art collection, including many works by Golub, an American postwar painter whose art explored dire political conditions with expressionistic, heroic-scale figures. Mr. Hall believed Golubs work was undervalued and due to appreciate.

[Read more about the case.]

From 2009 to 2011, Mr. Hall bought 24 paintings from the Gascards, including several at Christies and Sothebys auction houses in New York, one on an online auction site, and 16 directly from the Gascards after Nikolas Gascard reached out and made contact with Mr. Hall.
Post-Modernist buildings, those teasing, colorful mash-ups of columns, pilasters and pediments, were both praised and reviled in the 1970s and 80s, their heyday. But by the end of the 80s they fell out of fashion, consigned with surprising abruptness to the dustbin of architectural history. In 1988, at the paradigm-shifting Deconstructivist Architecture show at the Museum of Modern Art, Michael Graves, one of Americas pre-eminent Post-Modernists, observed, Im toast.

Or so it seemed. In the fickle turn of architectures style wheel, some of the complex architectural collages that once challenged Modernisms cool, geometric simplicity are now enjoying a Lazarus moment, including works by Mr. Graves and Philip Johnson. Others, such as the 1996 addition to the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego, in La Jolla, by the postmodern pioneers Robert Venturi and Denise Scott Brown, are facing demolition rather than resurrection.

Heading into their fourth and fifth decades, deep into midlife architectural crises, needing face-lifts, theyre now vulnerable and back again in the public eye, eliciting concern and attracting a second look  and sympathy  even from people who never liked them. But will these loved-hated structures be saved, and should they?

The 15-story Portland Building of 1982 by Graves, which recently tiptoed past demolition, exemplifies a generation of Post-Modernist buildings now working its way through a twilight zone of ambivalence. When first finished, Portlands municipal services building was compared, unflatteringly, to a gift-wrapped box. Its facades were tiled or painted to represent classical fragments. Geometric garlands festooned the sides. A symbolic statue of a mythical Portlandia sporting a trident knelt below a Cyclopean keystone.
In the early 1980s, the American artist Judy Chicago teamed with more than 150 needleworkers to depict a subject matter that could not be more universal: childbirth. Through embroideries, textiles and one large-scale drawing, her Birth Project (1980-85) came to represent the process by which human beings entered the world.

I actually witnessed a birth as one of the first things I did: I educated myself, because there was so little art on the subject, at least that was visible at that time, Ms. Chicago said in a recent interview. To see the vulva giving birth is to see an absolutely essential challenge to the idea of female passivity. So I was focused on something that Ive even focused on throughout my career: Can the female experience be a pathway to the universal in the way male experience has been?

The Birth Project now takes pride of place in an exhibition at the Institute of Contemporary Art, Miami, that has opened at about the same time as Art Basel Miami Beach. Judy Chicago: A Reckoning is a survey of the first 30 years of the career of a woman who, like so many female artists of her generation and those before, was long shunned by her peers and who is receiving recognition late in life.

The exhibition starts in the 1960s and focuses on the period when Ms. Chicago moved from abstraction to figuration and developed a visual language of her own. It includes about 36 works as well as an ensemble of about 140 drawings, which ICA Miamis artistic director, Alex Gartenfeld, discovered in crates when he visited the artist in her studio in Belen, N.M., in 2014 (and got the idea for the show).
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.

Running Out of Friends?

The first half of this weeks news cycle was dominated by Paul Manafort, the former Trump campaign chairman whos accused of violating his plea deal  but whom President Trump said he would consider pardoning. Then on Thursday, another of Trumps longtime confidantes, Michael Cohen, pleaded guilty to lying to Congress about Trumps involvement in business discussions with Russians.

Jimmy Fallon said the president must be feeling the heat.
Some fiction writers try to capture reality, using stories to illuminate social conditions or plumb interior lives. Others just like to make up crazy things. (And also illuminate social conditions and interior lives, yes! Dont @ us.) We like both kinds of fiction around here, but our picks this week decidedly, and determinedly, range beyond the bounds of conventional realism. Theres an austere little fairy tale about the chaos of sexual desire, The Governesses. Theres a turbulent, myth-inflected debut that made its author the youngest-ever finalist for the Booker Prize, Everything Under. Theres a dystopian New York story about consumerism and immigration, Severance, and a surreal Japanese story collection, The Lonesome Bodybuilder, that shakes up narrative expectations right alongside social expectations about gender and marriage and body image. And while Louisa Halls Trinity would seem to be more traditional than any of those  its a biographical, historical novel about Robert Oppenheimer and his work on the atomic bomb  even that goes about it in a nontraditional way.

In nonfiction, we offer a prismatic history of Los Angeles, a life of Chopin and a memoir of hard-won success, along with three books rooted in war: a damning history of the Vietnam conflict, a biography of the combat journalist Marie Colvin and a study of the violent tensions over slavery that led America into the Civil War.

Gregory Cowles

Senior Editor, Books

DEAR LOS ANGELES: The City in Diaries and Letters, 1542 to 2018, edited by David Kipen. (The Modern Library, $26.) This kaleidoscopic view of Los Angeles through the centuries is composed of excerpts from the diaries and letters of people who lived and visited the city, including Simone de Beauvoir, Evelyn Waugh and Richard Burton. This is an ebullient and often moving way to organize history, our critic Dwight Garner writes. Major events (wars, public ceremonies, assassinations, elections) blend with private joys and griefs, and with offbeat assertions, wild boasts, intimate details and moments of unforced lyricism.

THE WAR BEFORE THE WAR: Fugitive Slaves and the Struggle for Americas Soul From the Revolution to the Civil War, by Andrew Delbanco. (Penguin Press, $30.) The latest book by Delbanco, a professor of American studies at Columbia, traces how the compromises of the Constitution, along with the long history of compromise in the century that followed, tried to paper over the violent reality of slavery and eventually brought the nation to war. This is a story about compromises  and a riveting, unsettling one at that, our critic Jennifer Szalai writes. Delbanco excavates the past in ways that illuminate the present. Some of the questions that preoccupied Americans in the 18th and 19th centuries continue to hold an eerie and urgent resonance in our own.
BEASTIE BOYS BOOK

By Michael Diamond and Adam Horovitz

Illustrated. 571 pp. Spiegel & Grau. $50.

There is a giant hydraulic penis that has, for the last 30 years, lived in a storage facility in New Jersey. Once, in its glory days, it was a phallic jack-in-the-box transported from arena to arena across America as part of the Beastie Boys 1987 License to Ill tour. The finale of each show was their hit (You Gotta) Fight for Your Right (to Party). When the song would start, writes Adam Horovitz, the co-author of a new book along with his bandmate Michael Diamond, someone would flip the switch and out, and up, the penis rose. In retrospect, of course, this was a really unfortunate move. But it seemed funny at the time.

The hydraulic penis is both a totem for the bands pranking badness at the height of their first fame, and a way to measure their subsequent remorse and enlightenment. A photo of the penis  out of the box  appears on Page 238 of Beastie Boys Book. About 150 pages later, Adam Yauch, the third member of the band (who died in 2012), is pictured with the Dalai Lama sharing a moment of warmth and good humor.

As with their records, the books structure is a lyrical three-man weave, except now its two voices covering the three parts. The chapters alternate between Diamond and Horovitz. Most are just a page or two and filled with captions, affirmations, interruptions, shout-outs, heckles and fact checks. Horovitzs account of Yauch blowing up his backyard fence at age 12 is augmented by a box of text in which we suddenly have Mrs. Yauch on hand to confirm that yes, her son set off a giant explosion in their Brooklyn Heights backyard, but no, contrary to legend, it did not destroy the fence. Horovitzs description of the Yauch residence is one of the most vivid passages of the book, especially the creaky wooden stairs of the ancient brownstone; after their shows they would have to carry all their equipment up to Yauchs room on the top floor, right above his parents, who either slept through it all or pretended to.

My enthusiasm for this passage is literary  its so vivid and, given Yauchs fate, moving as hell  but I also recognize this prelapsarian New York City as my own. I was classmates at Saint Anns, the Brooklyn private school, with Mike Diamond and Tom Cushman, the friend of the band who co-wrote (You Gotta) Fight for Your Right (to Party) among many other contributions to the Beastie Boys canon. I was in the bands orbit from approximately Cookie Puss in 1983 through Pauls Boutique, circa 1990. On any given night in the mid-1980s I would find myself rushing on their coattails into Danceteria or Pizza-a-Go Go, or some other nightclub. So take it with a grain of salt when I say I found the book fascinating.
As ravenmaster, a post he took up after more than two decades of military service, Skaife is responsible for more than just the birds. He serves as a tour guide, a ceremonial guard and an amateur historian, bridging the distance between Britains past and present. An earnest and exuberant custodian, hes enthralled by the mythologies of the ravens and the storied, haunted tower they inhabit.

His esoteric topic at times clashes with the clunky colloquialisms Skaife deploys when talking about himself. He identifies with the birds, drawing parallels between his identity as a soldier and the symbolism of the ravens, since both are associated with death. But to his readers the connection can feel like a bit of a stretch  personally meaningful but not particularly effective on the page.

Thankfully, the awkward analogizing is soon forgotten as Skaife plumbs the depths of his knowledge of raven lore, of their place in history and in literature. And he becomes more poetic in his recollections of his life as he shares memories from his time in the military and his love for his wife.

Ultimately, Skaifes enthusiasm is contagious. He is entirely likable, and even if the raison detre for his memoir isnt immediately clear, the corner of British history that he lives, breathes and embodies is illuminated by his efforts.

KING EDWARD VIII

An American Life

By Ted Powell

322 pp. Oxford University. $34.95.

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Before a media circus engulfed Princess Diana, her children and eventually their spouses, there was the first celebrity prince, who briefly became King Edward VIII. The media darling of the American and British press, Prince Edward was for a while considered the greatest hope for the monarchy. Of course, hes best known now for abdicating the throne in order to marry his divorced American mistress, Wallis Simpson. More recently, the prince was portrayed rather unflatteringly on the Netflix series The Crown.

The Prince Edward of Powells account is somewhat more sympathetic. Here hes seen as an enthusiast of all things American, the modernizing and democratic prince of the people, the celebrity and would-be king. Powell traces the influence of this American connection on Edwards personal identity, and on his ultimate, unprecedented decision. Edwards Americanization, Powell says, fundamentally altered his sense of himself, separated him from his family and sowed the seeds for his abdication. The argument is convincing and serves as a corrective for histories that have laid the blame for his action squarely at Wallis Simpsons feet.
At first glance, Lucian Freud might seem more a monument than a book. The most complete collection of Freuds works to date, it has been curated by the artists longtime assistant-turned-archivist, David Dawson, and the editor Mark Holborn, and includes text by the art critic Martin Gayford (whose 2013 book Man With a Blue Scarf detailed his experience sitting as Freuds portrait model for seven months). At more than 600 pages, divided into two volumes, this is the ne plus ultra of coffee-table tomes; just handling it verges on a sensory experience. Observed closely, the typeface reveals itself to be not black, but instead a more Freudian grisailles. The paintings, which were rephotographed with an almost religious devotion by the photographer John Riddy, crackle with the vivacity and grit that they impart in person. Here too we are ushered through a painters career chronologically  exploring how Freud, in Gayfords words, loathed the mystification of symbolism and had a self-described zoological interest in the human body  but the academic discipline that characterizes Bridget Riley is replaced in Lucian Freud by biographical verve.

A grandson of Sigmund, Lucian Freud once reflected that there were two things hed never been at all interested in. One was psychoanalysis. Born in Berlin and raised in Britain from the age of 10 after the burning of the Reichstag in 1933, he eventually became a pillar of the London literati. Gayford recounts anecdotes that are both illuminating and spiky: Evidently, Freud declined the opportunity to paint Princess Diana because, according to one of his models, he couldnt get past that sheen of glamour. The image was so strong that he couldnt get at the real person. (It was a contention Freud evidently didnt find with the queen, whose portrait he painted over 19 months in 2000 and 2001.) For Naked Man With a Rat, Freud was able to accomplish sittings by plying his rodent subject with a dog bowl filled with Veuve Clicquot spiked with a crushed sleeping pill. Its not surprising that in 1999 Freud quipped that one element every good picture has to have was a little bit of poison.

Perhaps the quality that most unites Riley and Freud is a fierce dedication to their individual visions.
CITY OF LIGHT

The Making of Modern Paris

By Rupert Christiansen

206 pp. Basic Books. $25.

Witty, learned and informative at lightning speed (the author does the Commune in about 16 pages), Rupert Christiansens City of Light: The Making of Modern Paris offers the fascinating story of a metamorphosis. The city of graceful spaciousness that we know today took shape during Frances glittering Second Empire (1852-70), an era of mind-boggling wealth and terrible destitution presided over by the man Karl Marx memorably called a grotesque mediocrity: the Emperor Louis Napoleon, Napoleon Bonapartes nephew. To keep his grasp on power, this second-grade dictator (in Christiansens words) needed to take control of his countrys politically volatile, physically decaying capital.

Enter Georges-Eugene Haussmann, prefect of the Seine: Louis Napoleons very own Robert Moses.

Like his 20th-century New York City counterpart, Haussmann was a razer. He wiped out whole (poor) neighborhoods to make room for roads and bridges. He knocked down and excavated old Paris and replaced its medieval crannies and narrow twisting streets  so handy for throwing up barricades in insurrectionary moments with broad rectilinear avenues arranged like the spokes of a wheel, to establish links between the Paris railway stations and promote the expansion of trade. His watchwords were commerce, efficiency and ventilation. Christiansen speculates that his choking asthma  might go some way toward explaining his subsequent obsession with clearing blockages and opening up airflow. But whatever the psychic roots of Haussmannization, its political aim was to make Paris a smoothly functioning machine that could be controlled and surveyed, generating the maximum of profit for a contented affluent citizenry controlled by a ruling elite.

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Along the sweeping new boulevards, five- and six-story apartment houses for the prosperous were built of dressed and polished limestone from the quarries of the Oise, their facades a filigree of ironwork. The architectural miracle of the Palais Garnier opera house rose like a souffle at one splendid end of the Avenue de lOpera. The citys cathedralesque department stores; its lovely public parks (the golden-gated Parc Monceau, the Buttes-Chaumont, the elaborately landscaped Bois de Boulogne); its new sewers, completed in 1867, whose spacious tunnels had gaslit galleries that became a major tourist attraction, notably visited by both the czar of Russia and the king of Portugal  all these marvels of the new Babylon were brought into being, in the emperors name, by Baron Haussmann. Whose career imploded, along with the whole Second Empire, in early 1870. That year, Louis Napoleon went seeking glory on the battlefield, only to be defeated and taken prisoner by the Prussians. There ensued political chaos, the siege of Paris, the Commune and the tragic massacre that ended it. For days, Paris burned.
One of the more rewarding parts of parenting has to be watching your kids take to something with the kind of ferocity you mightve forgotten was possible  whether its playing center midfield or mastering a sonata, or obsessing over every last variety of shark species. The most obvious step to igniting or sustaining that passion is, obviously, handing them a book  preferably a large, lovely, immersive book to get lost in over long vacation days.

You know the kid who can conjure an entire imaginary world by animating, say, the sugar packets she finds at the restaurant table? That one will thank you when you put any volume of MY BIG WIMMELBOOK (The Experiment, 16 pp. each, $12.95; ages 2 to 5), written and illustrated by Stefan Lohr and Max Walther, in front of her. Picture Richard Scarryesque, diorama-like spreads with a hint of Wheres Waldo junior detective. The combination should encourage long contemplative sit-downs that will make any parents heart sing. Similar to Scarrys famous village-wide cross-sections, Wimmelbook scenes are teeming with sub-scenes and silly minutiae. A beach-and-ocean spread in Animals Around the World, which presumably takes place near Australia, shows crabs scurrying up the sand, cartoonish whales and squid swimming through the bottom of the page, airplanes and blimps flying among sea gulls and messenger birds (holding envelopes in their beaks), and a few hapless characters we meet at the beginning with instructions to find them on every page. (Oh no! Poor Stuart getting bitten by a crab!) Based on a format popular in Germany  where Wimmelbooks are a standard part of young childhood  the first four of these large-format board-book volumes are Cars and Things That Go, On the Farm, At the Construction Site and Animals Around the World.
Six new paperbacks to check out this week.

DEAD ON ARRIVAL, by Matt Richtel. (William Morrow/HarperCollins, $7.99.) In this thriller by Richtel, a science and technology reporter for The Times, an infectious disease specialist receives wrenching news: While he was on a flight, everyone across the country appears to have died. Our reviewer, Marisha Pessl, praised the book as an intellectual thrill ride that tucks searing social critique into the Trojan horse of a save-the-world page-turner.

EASTERNIZATION: Asias Rise and Americas Decline: From Obama to Trump and Beyond, by Gideon Rachman. (Other Press, $17.95.) Rachman, The Financial Timess chief commentator on international affairs, sees Chinas rapid development as an indication of the transfer of power from the Western Hemisphere to the Eastern, even as he resists blaming Asia for stumbles in the United States and Europe.

THE INVENTION OF ANA, by Mikkel Rosengaard. Translated by Caroline Waight. (Custom House, $16.99.) A peculiar friendship ignites on a Brooklyn rooftop in this debut novel: The title character dazzles a young man with tales of mathematics and even time travel. Later, her stories turn dark, anchored by the horrors of Romania in the 1970s and 80s, leading the narrator to uncover the tragedy that has haunted her family for decades.

TALKING PICTURES: How to Watch Movies, by Ann Hornaday. (Basic Books, $16.99.) Hornaday, a movie critic for The Washington Post and a Pulitzer Prize finalist, offers a primer on everything about filmmaking, from casting to sound edits to production design. Along the way, she includes tidbits from her interviews with actors and directors, helpful questions to keep in mind when watching films and recommended viewing lists. The resulting book is a sensible, middle-of-the-road guide for amateurs and movie buffs alike.
1. President Trump is with world leaders in Buenos Aires for a two-day meeting of the Group of 20 industrialized countries. Above, the president with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe of Japan and Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India.

At the top of Mr. Trumps agenda: signing a new North American trade pact this morning with the leaders of Canada and Mexico, after 14 months of acrimonious negotiations. The president called it a victory, but back in Washington, newly empowered House Democrats  along with business leaders and free-trade Republicans  say the new deal faces long odds in Congress without significant changes.

Mr. Trump is scheduled to have dinner with President Xi Jinping of China on Saturday. Tensions over the trade war have made this a particularly fraught time, our reporters say as they assess whether the two nations are destined to enter a new era of Cold War-like confrontation.
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Type A Behavior and Your Heart, a 1970s best-selling book, claimed that heart disease was more likely among people who were involved in an aggressive and incessant struggle to achieve more and more in less and less time. The connection with cardiac health has been questioned. But many managers could do with a different title: Type A Behavior and Your Soul. Carlos Ghosn would be the prime exhibit.

The 64-year-old former multinational chief executive, now sitting in a Japanese jail, is the ultimate Type A personality. He hardly sleeps, pushed his way to the top of two large and troubled car companies  first Renault and then Nissan  and energetically broke a series of corporate and national industrial taboos to bring them to good health. He even acquired a nickname suited to a business action-movie superhero: Le Cost Killer.

It looks like Mr. Ghosn was too bold. Despite reported annual remuneration of close to $20 million, he stands accused of not disclosing his full Nissan pay. According to Japanese press reports, he also bought property in Lebanon and Brazil with company money, among other alleged transgressions.
German law enforcement authorities targeted offices of the Deutsche Bank management board Friday as they spent a second day gathering evidence in an investigation into whether the bank helped clients launder money in an offshore tax haven.

Searches at the top level of management significantly raised the stakes for Deutsche Bank, which was already reeling at the prospect of another scandal. The bank has been battered by accusations of financial wrongdoing during the last decade and has paid billions of euros in fines. So far no members at the top level of management have been convicted of criminal wrongdoing.

Nadja Niesen, a spokeswoman for prosecutors in Frankfurt, declined to say Friday which of the nine management board members offices were searched. But she said investigators were active on the floor reserved for the upper echelon of management, which is at the top of the twin tinted-glass towers in Frankfurt where the bank has its headquarters.

Prosecutors said Deutsche Bank had been cooperating fully with the investigation. Deutsche Bank is answering questions posed by investigators unconditionally, Albrecht Schreiber, lead state prosecutor in Frankfurt, said in a statement.
Holiday customers shopping at a pop-up store in Manhattan this week left without baubles or packages to give to their family and friends. Instead, they bought gifts that would be sent to refugees in faraway camps  sleeping bags, blankets, solar lamps and onesies.

The store, Choose Love, is a New York offshoot of a successful pop-up that was created by the nonprofit group Help Refugees and made its debut in London last winter. Help Refugees was founded in 2015 to deliver donations to refugees in Calais, France, where displaced people from Syria, Afghanistan, parts of Africa and other places struggling with violence were trying to make their way to Britain.

The charity now distributes items to and serves more than 80 projects in Croatia, France, Greece, Iraq and Turkey, among other places. We wanted to turn consumerism on its head, said Josie Naughton, the chief executive of Help Refugees. The news is so depressing. We want people to feel empowered.
Mr. Diaz, like Tesla itself, likened the plant to a small city  one in which experiences can vary, he said. You know, you can have something that happens in one part of the city that doesnt happen in another part, he said. But when his son encountered racial slurs and caricatures in a different part of the factory, Mr. Diaz concluded that the issue was not an isolated one.

One suit accusing Tesla of racial discrimination and harassment, filed last November in California Superior Court, seeks class-action status. The lawyers involved  Lawrence A. Organ and Bryan Schwartz, whose practices focus on workplace rights  say they have identified dozens of potential plaintiffs. Each lawyer has won multimillion-dollar judgments in other harassment or discrimination cases against major employers. Tesla is seeking to move the case into arbitration, which would require workers to bring individual lawsuits rather than a joint claim.

The states Department of Fair Employment and Housing says it has issued 10 right to sue letters  a precondition for a discrimination lawsuit  to employees complaining of racial bias at the Fremont plant. Dozens of other complaints against Tesla are pending, but the agency would not say how many involved race.

In an email to employees last year, which the company later released in response to one of the lawsuits, Elon Musk, Teslas chief executive, warned against being a huge jerk to members of a historically less represented group. At the same time, he wrote, if someone is a jerk to you, but sincerely apologizes, it is important to be thick-skinned and accept that apology.

But by many accounts, the issues at the Tesla factory go beyond the need for a thick skin.

High Hopes

When employees and contractors are counted together, there are more than 15,000 workers at the Fremont factory, but it is not clear how many are African-Americans. The company says more than two-thirds of the production leads  those directing work in different areas of the factory  are nonwhite. But it would not specify the share of jobs held by African-Americans, who have long been underrepresented in other Silicon Valley workplaces.

In any case, some African-American workers who expected to help build a future for the company and themselves, like Teshawna Stewart, say the reality proved to be a slap in the face.
The Hong Kong designer Dickson Yewn has been preparing for an exhibition and sale in what, until a few years ago, would have been considered an unusual setting. The group show, curated by Vogue Italia, is scheduled at Christies auction house in New York rather than a downtown gallery or glitzy boutique.

The Protagonist, scheduled Dec. 10 to 13, is to include Mr. Yewns bangles of reclaimed wood accented with diamonds as well as ceramic and diamond versions of his signature rectangular rings. Also on display: creations with emeralds and wild tagua seeds by Alexandra Mor of New York, the shows creative director; sustainably farmed pearls from the New York-based designer Ana-Katarina Vinkler-Petrovic and a white topaz ring with other gemstones by the Italian jeweler Alessio Boschi.

Auction houses have held such contemporary art jewelry exhibitions and sales since the late 1990s. But, as they mine new methods of reaching clients and scale their efforts to welcome larger groups of potential buyers, what previously might have been private appointments or intimate dinners now are being mounted as public events.

Sothebys, for example, has sold contemporary jewelry like Hemmerle earrings or diamond necklaces from Stephen Webster for more than 10 years. But Laurence Nicolas, the houses global managing director of jewelry and watches, wrote in an email that we had a number of high profile sales and exhibitions recently which put the emphasis on this aspect of our business, such as staging a sale in coordination with the houses design and contemporary art departments in January in Geneva. It also has scheduled one at the same time as its retail boutique, called Sothebys Diamonds, to begin Nov. 30 in London.
MONTREAL  Meghan Markle, now the Duchess of Sussex, spent the better part of seven years in Toronto while filming the TV series Suits,  and the Canadian jeweler Birks was one of her favorite shopping spots.

The result? Just a few of the times she has worn Birks: Plaisirs de Birks white opal earrings when her engagement to Prince Harry was announced in November 2017, its Snowflake round diamond jacket earrings to Christmas services with the royal family last year and its Petale gold and diamond stud earrings to the Royal Ascot races in June.

Weve been very lucky, said Jean-Christophe Bedos, president and chief executive of Birks Group Inc. Her impact on Birks can be measured on a global scale; she accelerated brand awareness, especially in the United States and the United Kingdom.
Every couple of weeks, Michael Maccari, creative director of the clothing brand Perry Ellis, takes an hourlong train ride from Manhattan to his parents house in Massapequa Park, N.Y. The visit frequently includes more than just catching up over a home-cooked dinner.

Often my mother will catch a glimpse of my necklace and say Gimme that and take it off and put it in soapy water, he said. Shes a bit fanatical about clean jewelry.

Like many jewelry lovers, his mother, Carmela Maccari, has a cleaning technique shes sworn by for decades. To remove any dullness or dirt that has accumulated on her sons necklace  a collection of several family heirlooms, including a diamond from his grandmothers engagement ring, all dangling from a 24-inch gold chain that he wears every day  she soaks it in a small dish of Palmolive dishwashing liquid and warm water. After sitting in the solution for about five minutes, the necklace is then rinsed and wiped off with a soft cloth.

It shines up really nicely, said Mr. Maccari, who remembers his mother cleaning her own jewelry the same way when he was a child.
There also were Grand Tour souvenirs from Venice: the baroque finials of the citys architecture depicted in earrings of pumice paste that, Ms. Kleins research disclosed, were passed off to unwitting visitors as the lava of Mount Vesuvius. And opposite on the table, London souvenir earrings in flashy mirrored glass from Vauxhall, one of the first 19th century factories to turn out affordable machine-made jewelry.

Ms. Klein, who is a native of Cologne, Germany, earned her doctorate in theater history, studying costumes and sets. Today she tracks the period and significance of jewels by studying paintings (I see an artwork and can say if its 1820 or if its 1825 because of the jewelry and the fashion) or investigating the jewelry entries in museum databases. And, she added, reading, reading, reading, including poring over favorite vintage titles like the 1934 Il Costume Popolare in Italia by Emma Calderini, which depicts regional dress and jewels around Italy.

And Ive been collecting since I was a child, so Ive had a lot of time to learn, she said, beaming as she uncovered a blue velvet jewelry box, its tufted rows holding 100 dainty little earrings without mates, which was her earliest collection. My little orphans, she called them, and a fat, silvery, one-eyed street cat who has adopted her home as his own slid smugly by her feet.
Both she and a brother studied metal smithing, though she switched to fine art before graduating. At one point they had a shop together in Nijmegen, but she wanted to offer a more eclectic selection and decided to go into business on her own.

In 1995, she moved into her current location, a four-floor former granary on the Waal River that she had restored, with brick walls, concrete floors and metal staircases befitting a big-city gallery. (Her daughter and one of her twin sons work in the gallery part-time.) She had flirted with moving to Amsterdam but, after settling into the roomy building (she lives on the top floor), she never wanted to leave.

Ms. Van den Hout is drawn to both jewelry and sculpture, and found a way to merge the two, though she eschews the term art jewelry.

You dont say art sculpture or art painting. I would say jewelry made by an artist, she said. Nowadays they say studio jewelry. I know why theyre looking for a new word  because its difficult to explain.
The pendant features a jadeite disc, translucent but with a saturated, rich green color. It is framed by pave diamonds in an octagonal shape similar to the fung shui talisman, the bat gua. It is a typical shape in Chinese jewelry design and is believed to bring good luck.

The pendant was gifted to me in 2006, said Ms. Ho, 40. It belonged to my late grandmother but was given to me by my aunt, Angela Ho, as a wedding gift. She wanted me to have something that not only my grandmother loved but also had worn often. Ms. Leitao Ho raised Ms. Ho after her parents, Robert Ho and Suki Potier, died in a car accident in 1981.

Ms. Leitao Ho, Mr. Hos first wife, came from a prominent Portuguese family in Macau and was known as a great beauty with exceptional style. My grandmother was probably one of the most fashionable women in Macau, Ms. Ho said. She had an amazing collection of jewelry which she wore every day. Depending on her outfit, she would match it with mesmerizing gems  definitely a trendsetter in her time.

Ms. Ho said the pendant changed her own design sense. When it was given to her, she said, I was working mainly with diamonds and my aunt thought the jade would be a great inspirational piece for me. Green was my grandmothers favorite color.

Now, as a designer with a shop on Duke Street in Mayfair, My mother and grandmother are my muses but their tastes varied, she said. My mother grew up in London in the Swinging 60s and 70s, in a world of changing fashion and trends. Her choice was much bolder.

The women also have helped to shape Ms. Hos thoughts about her business. As a jewelry designer, I understand that for collectors it has to have a lasting investment value, she said. But there has to also be a sentimental worth. DESIREE AU
Although originally the name luckenbooth referred specifically to heart brooches from Edinburgh, it has become a generic term for the pins, which rankled some purists.

And Other Changes

Until the 19th century, heart brooches were worn by ordinary people, as evidenced by their simple design and plain appearance. For example, they didnt appear in early Scottish portraits, as a catalog for a 1991 major exhibition of Scottish jewelry at the Scottish National Portrait Gallery noted, because such paintings were commissioned by the wealthy.

But by the late 19th century, the brooches had transformed into elaborate decorative pins, often enameled or set with gemstones. Although beautiful, these Victorian-era brooches were lacking the naive charm of the older forms, wrote G.R. Dalgleish, one of the catalogs editors.

But less expensive versions of luckenbooths continued to be available as the Industrial Revolution made mass production possible.

At Auction

Luckenbooths are often sold at auction in Scotland. Sometimes Lyon & Turnbull, the Edinburgh-based auction house, will have one to offer during its annual auction of Scottish silver, or at one of its five or six general silver and jewelry auctions throughout the year; Bonhams also holds silver auctions in the Scottish capital.

The good ones dont turn up often, but there is a plethora from the Victorian period and later, Colin Fraser, a silver consultant with R.L. Christie Works of Art in Edinburgh said. We like to have them, but many of them are locked away in collections. They have a real international appeal because they are so iconically Scottish.
Before reading the article:

Have you been taught civics in school? Do you feel like you are prepared to be an informed and active citizen in our democracy?

Watch this two-minute video, Meet The Parkland Educator Who Taught Many Student Activists, from NBC Nightly News.

Should everyone have a teacher like Jeff Foster and a class like his A.P. Government course to inspire them to be powerful citizens?



Now, read the article, Are Civics Lessons a Constitutional Right? These Students Are Suing for Them, and answer the following questions:

1. Aleita Cook, 17, said she never took a government, civics or economics class. What does Ms. Cook believe she is not prepared for because of this?
Merck announced changes within the leadership team of its Performance Materials business sector. Effective January 1, 2019, Dorothea Wenzel will lead the Surface Solutions business unit within Performance Materials. Benjamin Hein will succeed her as Head of Strategy & Transformation within Performance Materials; Stefan Kratzer will become Head of Controlling.

Dorothea Wenzel joined Performance Materials in April 2018, having transferred from the Healthcare business sector of Merck. She is currently Head of Controlling, Strategy & Transformation within Performance Materials. Previously, she served as the Head of the Fertility franchise within the Healthcare business sector and as Head of Controlling of the former Merck Serono division. Dorothea Wenzel succeeds Friedhelm Felten, who has decided to pursue new career opportunities outside Merck.

Im happy that Dorothea Wenzel will take over this business-critical role within Performance Materials, Kai Beckmann, CEO Performance Materials and member of the Executive Board, underscored. Within only half a year, she was instrumental in creating the new, convincing Performance Materials strategy. In addition, she built a strong structure for the Controlling function and laid the foundation for our five-year transformation by establishing the Bright Future program. Dorothea Wenzel successfully led the Fertility franchise of Merck to growth. I expect that she will apply this experience now to Surface Solutions. At the same time, I would like to thank Friedhelm Felten for his strong contributions during his long and successful tenure with Merck. I wish him every success, both professionally and personally.

Also effective January 1, 2019, Benjamin Hein will take over Dorothea Wenzels current role as Head of Strategy & Transformation within Performance Materials, and Stefan Kratzer will become Head of Controlling. Benjamin Hein is currently Head of Group Strategy and the CEO Office at Merck and Stefan Kratzer is Head of Controlling for the Consumer Health business, which is being acquired by Procter & Gamble. Dorothea Wenzel and Benjamin Hein will report to Kai Beckmann; Stefan Kratzer will report to Marcus Kuhnert, member of the Executive Board and Chief Financial Officer of Merck.

Im very happy to have these successors for Dorothea Wenzel: Benjamin Hein will contribute the Merck Group perspective very strongly. This is an excellent opportunity for him to support the implementation of the strategy that he already helped to develop in his current position, said Kai Beckmann.

We are pleased to have Stefan Kratzer taking over this position, a finance executive within Merck with more than 15 years of international and intercultural experience in Controlling and Finance management positions as well as strong business acumen, said Marcus Kuhnert. He has a proven track record in successfully leading some of our finance organizations through major reorganizations and driving teams to high performance.

Performance Materials comprises the specialty chemicals business of Merck and supplies solutions for displays, computer chips and surfaces of every kind. The business sector plays a leading role in the electronics market, and also operates in the attractive automotive and cosmetics markets.

Dorothea Wenzel has been working for Merck since 2004 and is currently responsible for Controlling, Strategy & Transformation in Performance Materials. Previously, she served as the Head of the Fertility franchise of Merck within the Healthcare business sector and as Head of Controlling of the former Merck Serono division. Before joining Merck, Dorothea Wenzel held various leadership positions on the Rurup Commission of the German Federal Ministry of Health, at the insurance firm Winterthur Versicherung, and at McKinsey. She studied Business and Computer Science and earned a doctorate in Health Economics at the Technical University of Darmstadt and at Harvard University.

Benjamin Hein joined Merck in 2011 and is currently responsible for Group Strategy and the CEO Office. Previously, he was a member of Inhouse Consulting and Head of CEO Office. Before joining Merck, he was employed by Dohler and HAHN Automation. Benjamin Hein studied Business Administration and holds a Master of Science in International Business from Maastricht University (the Netherlands) and a Master of Business from Queensland University of Technology (Australia).

Stefan Kratzer began his professional career at Axaron Biosience AG, a biotech affiliate of BASF. From there, he joined Merck in 2004 as a Licensing & Business Development Controller. After serving as CFO for Merck Generics in the United States and working in Divisional Controlling at Merck Serono headquarters in Geneva, he became CFO for the United Kingdom and Ireland and a Regional CFO in Europe with financial responsibility across all Merck business sectors and multiple countries. For the past 18 months, Stefan Kratzer has been a member of the Executive Committee of the Merck Consumer Health business. He holds a Master of Business Administration from the European Business School, Germany and University of Pittsburgh, USA.
The following reports compile all significant security incidents confirmed by New York Times reporters throughout Afghanistan. It is necessarily incomplete as many local officials refuse to confirm casualty information. The toll here does not generally include claims of insurgents killed by the government, because of the difficulty of verifying such claims. Similarly, the reports do not include attacks on the government claimed by the Taliban. Both sides routinely inflate casualties of their opponents.

The death toll greatly increased this week among pro-government forces, to 79, a figure that includes five security contractors killed in a brazen attack on their base in Kabul, and three American Special Forces soldiers killed by a roadside bomb, the worst loss of American life in a year. Civilian deaths were 54, many of them from airstrikes  including 22 members of one family in Helmand Province.

[Read the Afghan War Casualty Report for Nov. 16-22, 2018]

Nov. 29 Herat Province: one police officer killed

At least 40 members of two Taliban groups were killed in ckashes between the main Taliban group leaded by Mullah Haibatullah and a splinter group leaded by Mullah Rasul in Shindand District. Afghan forces were deployed to the area to suppress the fighting. One police officer was killed.
At War is a newsletter about the experiences and costs of war with stories from Times reporters and outside voices.

Earlier this month, Zachary Bell, a former Marine rifleman and infantry squad leader, received an unsolicited email from the head of Capstone, a publisher of childrens books in Minnesota.

The New York Times Magazine had just published Bells first article for the At War channel, in which he had detailed his reaction this summer to observing his two daughters, ages 8 and 10, reading War in Afghanistan: An Interactive Modern History Adventure, a book in Capstones You Choose series. The book included a chapter on an operation in 2010 in Marjah, a Taliban stronghold in Helmand Province, in which Bell participated. He watched and listened as they confronted the texts notional choices, including how to navigate the perilous landscape and whether to fire upon Afghan men who might be snipers  at risk of committing a war crime.

[Get a weekly roundup of Times coverage of war delivered to your inbox. Sign up here.]

Bells reaction was unsparing, reflecting his uneasy relationship with his own service in the Afghan war and his surprise upon seeing his children, after a visit to the local librarys childrens section, puzzle over the same bloody deployment that had defined a period of his life. It was not that he was opposed to discussions with his children about the war; he is preparing for the day when he will have these discussions firsthand. It was that the book seemed too light, and presented fictional scenarios where real facts would do.
[What you need to know to start the day: Get New York Today in your inbox.]

Four months ago, lawyers for Harvey Weinstein released dozens of emails shared between the Hollywood movie mogul and a woman who accused him of rape. The emails, they said, suggested the relationship was consensual and continued long after the alleged attack.

This week, the lawyers went further in their campaign to undermine the credibility of Mr. Weinsteins remaining accusers when they filed another motion in State Supreme Court in Manhattan seeking to dismiss the indictment against him.

The new court papers accused the woman who has said she was raped by Mr. Weinstein of trying to get a female friend to back up her story. Instead, the papers said, the friend informed the police that the woman never ever told her that she was assaulted or raped by Mr. Weinstein. The friend said she relayed this information to a detective who had traveled outside of the city to interview her.

The friends account raised questions about the accuser and the Manhattan district attorneys office. Mr. Weinsteins lawyer, Benjamin Brafman, said prosecutors did not share this highly exculpatory evidence and again called for the charges against Mr. Weinstein to be dismissed.
BLESSED The barbershop is about six blocks from my moms house, so Ill stop by because she usually has a million and one things for me to do around the house. Like, Lets fix this or that. Then Ill walk her dog, Blessing. Hes a bichon frise, and hes deaf. He knows Im coming and he gets excited to see me.

WIND-DOWN Sometimes Mom is being Mom and wants me to stay for dinner. If not, then I head home and either have dinner with friends or call it a night. Usually theres some element of catching up with friends, then its the wind-down period where Im on the couch, watching my favorite shows that I missed during the week. I love Foxs 9-1-1 because my friend Aisha Hinds is on it. We grew up together. I try to stay up for the 11 oclock news, but usually I last till nine or 10. Then Im out.
The stalking charge against Mr. Luthmann was also related to Ms. Maternas fake profile, Mr. Nelson said. Some of the information posted there, including a report that she parked in a disabled parking space, led to personal attacks and threats against her, the prosecutor said.

A year later, Mr. Luthmann created another fake social media account for City Councilwoman Debi Rose, a Democrat representing the islands northern neighborhoods, Mr. Nelson said. At the time, Ms. Rose was facing a primary-election challenge from Kamillah Hanks, a community organizer. That page, among other things, said Ms. Rose welcomes a welfare hotel for drug addicts and criminals.

Both Ms. Hanks and Mr. Castorina denied in interviews last year being involved in the fake Facebook pages. But records showed that Mr. Luthmann was paid $1,650 for petitioning expenses by Ms. Hankss campaign, and Facebook Messenger conversations reviewed by The Times suggested both politicians were tied to Mr. Luthmanns efforts.

Mr. Luthmann is currently in jail awaiting trial in an unrelated federal fraud case, in which he is accused of a string of bizarre crimes. When asked last year, he would neither confirm nor deny that he had created the false Facebook pages, but he said that there would be nothing wrong if he had. Its what is called a dirty trick, Mr. Luthmann said.

Mr. Luthmanns lawyer, Joseph Sorrentino, said on Friday that neither he nor his client have had a chance to fully review the charges. But Mr. Sorrentino added that he did not believe that New York law made it illegal to do some of the things that prosecutors have accused Mr. Luthmann of doing.

If you look at the indictment, my client is alleged to have falsified the business records of Twitter and Facebook, he said. And I dont believe that as a third party user of those sites, he can do that.

Last December, federal prosecutors accused Mr. Luthmann of working with two reputed mobsters and a blind man to pack shipping containers with cheap filler, which they then fraudulently sold as scrap metal to local businesses. Then, prosecutors said, he turned on one of his partners and had him held at gunpoint to collect a $7,000 debt.
Twenty years ago, Greg Boehm was drawn to a small, ornate book, Drinks: How to Mix and How to Serve, while visiting an antiquarian bookstore in London. It had a stamped burgundy leather cover with gold-foil printing, Mr. Boehm said. It was a really beautiful little book. He bought it for about $75 and it became the first in his collection of more than 3,000 vintage cocktail books. Now its worth about $750, he said.

Today, Mr. Boehm, 49, is often found on the fifth floor of a nondescript building in the Flatiron district, inside the new offices of Cocktail Kingdom, his company that manufactures and imports barware and reprints vintage cocktail books. He is also the co-owner of several bars, including Existing Conditions, Boilermaker, Katana Kitten, Mace, and the global Christmas-themed pop-up bar, Miracle.

Mr. Boehms cocktail book library, which is kept at the office, features first editions, cocktail recipe pamphlets and decades-old menus. Until recently, only those in the know could make an appointment to dig through Mr. Boehms ramshackle system.

But when Cocktail Kingdom relocated to a larger space last spring, Mr. Boehm decided to organize his collection for the public. Visitors can now easily access what he believes is a first edition of Jerry Thomass How to Mix Drinks and the 1927 edition of Barflies and Cocktails. There are also books in Japanese, Spanish, German and French. Appointments are still necessary, however, to visit (email library@cocktailkingdom.com for more information).
Ed Pastor, a lawyer and liberal Democrat who became Arizonas first Hispanic member of Congress when he was elected in 1991, beginning a 23-year career in the House of Representatives, has died in Phoenix. He was 75.

His family announced the death on Wednesday morning. Ronnie Lopez, a friend and former finance chairman of Mr. Pastors congressional campaigns, said Mr. Pastor had a heart attack on Tuesday night while dining at a Phoenix restaurant with his wife of 53 years, Verma Pastor. He was taken by ambulance to St. Josephs Hospital and Medical Center and died there.

Mr. Pastor went to Congress after winning a special election in 1991 to fill the House seat vacated by Morris K. Udall, a fellow Democrat who had retired after 15 terms, debilitated by Parkinsons disease. (He died at 76 in 1998.)

In a solidly Democratic and Hispanic-majority district, which includes downtown Phoenix, Mr. Pastor was re-elected 11 times. In 2012, he received 81.2 percent of the vote.
Gloria Katz, who went from a struggling screenwriter to a sought-after one when American Graffiti, a film she wrote with her husband, Willard Huyck, and the not-yet-famous director George Lucas became a surprise hit of 1973, died on Sunday in Los Angeles. She was 76.

Mr. Huyck said the cause was ovarian cancer.

Ms. Katz and Mr. Huyck had only a horror film, Messiah of Evil, to their credit when Mr. Lucas, who knew Mr. Huyck from college at the University of Southern California, asked them to help him write American Graffiti, a film about teenagers set in 1962. Mr. Huyck, in a telephone interview, said the studio was hesitant about the film at first.

Universal finally said, Well make American Graffiti if Francis  Francis Ford Coppola, who had just directed The Godfather   is listed as a producer of the movie. And you need a new draft. 

Mr. Coppola signed on, and an American classic was born.

The nostalgia boom has finally produced a lasting work of art, Stephen Farber wrote in an essay in The New York Times after the movie came out, adding, The stunning screenplay by Lucas, Gloria Katz and Willard Huyck is rich in characterizations, full of wit and surprise.
Nina Beilina, who emigrated from the Soviet Union in midlife when she was one of that countrys premier violinists and built a whole new following in the United States, playing top halls and founding her own ensemble, died on Nov. 25 in Manhattan. She was 81.

Her family said the cause was complications of a stroke, compounded by congestive heart failure.

Ms. Beilina had won prestigious competitions when she lived in the Soviet Union, but she was largely unknown to American audiences when she arrived in New York in 1977; under the authoritarian Soviet system, she had performed primarily in the Soviet bloc and South America. Her formal debut, in January 1978 at the 92nd Street Young Mens and Young Womens Hebrew Association (now known at the 92nd Street Y), brought her quick acclaim.

Miss Beilina did not make a false move anywhere, Harold Schonberg wrote in his review in The New York Times. She is an important instrumentalist, and a first-class musician to boot. Whatever she touched came out with incredible polish, assurance and, when needed, brilliance.

He added, presciently, A violinist of Miss Beilinas formidable powers will not be an unknown for long.
Whats key to the very bad results is, instead, the disruption that might come with a hard Brexit. Right now, goods flow into and out of Britain with minimal frictions. After Brexit, there would have to be customs inspections, and the UK doesnt have remotely enough customs infrastructure to do the job. The result would be huge delays at Dover and other ports, with queues of trucks backing up for many miles on motorways, just-in-time production massively disrupted, and more.

That disruption is whats driving the terrible scenarios. Notice that this analysis says that the costs of leaving the EU are much higher than the GDP that would have been foregone if Britain had never entered the EU, and therefore had the customs infrastructure to deal with trade flows in place.

OK, thats what I understand about the BoE analysis. What do I think about it?

2. Would it really be that bad?

So, about the BoEs purpose in issuing this report: if it wasnt intended to scare people, the Bank was extraordinarily naive in not realizing how it would be reported and read. They really led with their chin here.

On the substance: Im skeptical about the supposed effects of trade on productivity. I know that theres some evidence for such effects; trade seems to favor more productive firms. But relying a lot on effects we cant model seems dubious.

In particular, I have strong memories of the openness-growth debacle of the 1990s. At the time, there were many statistical studies purporting to find that open, outward oriented developing countries had much higher growth rates than inward-looking economies. This was interpreted to mean that countries that had tried to industrialize by protecting domestic markets could achieve Asian-type growth rates if they liberalized trade.

As it turned out, the supposed statistical evidence on openness and growth was quite suspect. And when massive trade liberalization happened in places like Mexico, the hoped-for growth miracles didnt materialize.
The potential for the chemical storage of renewable energy in the form of hydrogen is investigated around the world.



"The Australian Government is interested in developing a hydrogen export industry to export our abundant renewable energy," said Professor O'Mullane from QUT's Science and Engineering Faculty. "In principle, hydrogen offers a way to store clean energy at a scale that is required to make the rollout of large-scale solar and wind farms as well as the export of green energy viable. However, current methods that use carbon sources to produce hydrogen emit carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas that mitigates the benefits of using renewable energy from the sun and wind. Electrochemical water splitting driven by electricity sourced from renewable energy technology has been identified as one of the most sustainable methods of producing high-purity hydrogen."



The newly developed composite material enables electrochemical water splitting into hydrogen and oxygen using cheap and readily available elements as catalysts.



"Traditionally, catalysts for splitting water involve expensive precious metals such as iridium oxide, ruthenium oxide and platinum," he said. "An additional problem has been stability, especially for the oxygen evolution part of the process. What we have found is that we can use two earth-abundant cheaper alternatives - cobalt and nickel oxide with only a fraction of gold nanoparticles - to create a stable bi-functional catalyst to split water and produce hydrogen without emissions. From an industry point of view, it makes a lot of sense to use one catalyst material instead of two different catalysts to produce hydrogen from water."



The stored hydrogen could then be used in fuel cells.



"Fuel cells are a mature technology, already being rolled out in many makes of vehicle. They use hydrogen and oxygen as fuels to generate electricity - essentially the opposite of water splitting. With a lot of cheaply 'made' hydrogen we can feed fuel cell-generated electricity back into the grid when required during peak demand or power our transportation system and the only thing emitted is water."
This article is part of the Opinion Today newsletter. You can sign up here to receive the newsletter each weekday.

First, if youre looking for a gripping long read this weekend, I recommend I dont want to shoot you, brother, by ProPublicas Joe Sexton. Its a surprising and important tale about a police shooting.

The latest Russia plea. When I sat down this summer with Adam Schiff, the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, he wanted to make one overriding point: People werent paying enough attention to the suspicious ties between the Trump businesses and Russia.

People are starting to pay more attention now.

[Listen to The Argument podcast every Thursday morning, with Ross Douthat, Michelle Goldberg and David Leonhardt.]
To the Editor:

New Casualty as Fires Rage: Californias Air(front page, Nov. 17) highlights serious health risks posed by the apocalyptic fog blanketing much of the state, from lung damage to heart disease.

As we face the intersection of a worsening imbalance between rich and poor, climate change and environmental injustice, our leaders in Sacramento must protect the opportunity for all to thrive. Yet a spate of viral images shows California farm workers laboring intensively beneath noxious skies, without masks.

Disturbingly, if a worker exposed to unhealthy air gets sick, he or she may not be able to see a doctor. The federal government has excluded undocumented immigrants from critical health care programs, even though they contribute powerfully to our social and economic fabric and will play an important role in rebuilding from the devastation.

California should ensure that low-income undocumented Californians who meet the same criteria as their citizen neighbors are no longer barred from the Medi-Cal health care program. This is a simple step toward a more equitable health system for all.
To the Editor:

Re Sheryl Sandberg Cant Have It All (column, Nov. 25):

Thank you for Jennifer Seniors fair and balanced article about Sheryl Sandberg, chief operating officer at Facebook. She asked the operative question: Is it fair to ask Ms. Sandberg to behave more morally than men? No, it is not, but it is disappointing that she didnt.

The lesson for Ms. Sandberg is that, when we are in a position of power, Lean In is more than optics. It isnt about lobbying for yourself with unself-consciousness; it is about the greater good, about the people in the corporation who depend upon the integrity of your decisions, whether you are male or female.

Jewelle W. Bickford

New York
Ive thought a lot about whether I did good or evil'

Image Amy Peterson, foreground, on her mission in Southeast Asia in the early 2000s.

I worked as an English teacher and an undercover missionary in a country where proselytizing was forbidden. Over the last 15 years, Ive thought a lot about whether I did good or evil in sharing the Gospel with those women.

The missionary myth I grew up with originally developed alongside the frontier myth in America  in both, a rugged individual sets off to conquer a new world. In both, you can find white supremacy and western cultural imperialism. All of this leads to the kind of endeavor undertaken by John Allen Chau  one right in line with the way that missionary work has often been mythologized in the white American church.

 Amy Peterson, 37, Upland, Ind. Served as a missionary to women in Southeast Asia for two years in the early 2000s.

 The goal is to change hearts, not to change cultures

Image Grace Laurel Rogers on her mission trip to Romania.

The killing has made me really think about and define my opinions on being a missionary. Why I do it, how I do it, how to do it right.

The goal is to change hearts, not to change cultures.

 Grace Laurel Rogers, 22, Charleston, S.C. Served on mission trips to Romania and East Asia.

If someone is truly called by God to do something, they must do it

Image Mike Wilson in Haiti, where he lives and works with his family.

I believe if someone is truly called by God to do something, they must do it. Jesus broke with the traditions and taboos of His day to touch lepers. The world is not going to always look out for my safety; much of that responsibility is to me, and with my faith, I must go and do what Im called to do.

 Mike Wilson, 46, Leogone, Haiti. Served several short-term mission trips to Haiti since 2003; has lived there with his family full time since 2014.
It was a dangerous place to work. As many as one-third of the prison staff was executed, sometimes for torturing with too much enthusiasm and letting a prisoner die.

Duch, with his tiny eyes and prominent ears, came to symbolize for me the cold, impersonal cruelty of a movement that lived by the slogan, To keep you is no gain, to destroy you is no loss.

I had arrived in Cambodia in 1996, when the country was still ragged and panting from the ravages of four years of mass killing, followed by more than a decade of civil war as the Khmer Rouge returned to their jungle insurgency.

I had seen trauma before, but never an entire traumatized nation. I reminded myself regularly that all the adults I met were survivors or former killers, who now had to try to live with what they had seen or done. Almost everyone, survivor or killer, had lost family members. They carried around inside themselves millions of tiny worlds of suffering.

I visited land mine victims from the civil war in the military hospital, a dark and dreadful place without regular water or electricity, where men begged me for crutches.

Others, crippled and rejected by society, hopped around the central market seeking alms. Of all of them, it was one man whose stark words stay with me. Holding out his hat to me, he said simply, naming the region where he had lost his leg, Battambang  boom!
There is one group, however, that is slightly less anxious than the rest of us about this news: a small number of young professionals who are preparing homes away from the places where climate change is expected to strike the hardest. They are following in the footsteps of billionaires like Peter Thiel, who is investing in real estate in New Zealand in case a climate apocalypse occurs. Although they are doing it on a far more affordable scale.

They have studied maps and research that show the areas of the country that will be less affected by devastation, either because of geography or an ample supply of natural resources. And they are optimistically buying land and homes in these areas, many of them mentioned in an article published in Popular Science in December 2016 titled These will be the best places to live in America in 2100 A.D., which has amassed 28,000 views in the past six months and gets about 100 Google search hits a day.

Not quite survivalists, they are nonetheless teaching themselves essential life skills  like how to grow their own food and make their own electricity  just in case things spin out of control, and the government cant step in to help. They believe they are making sound real estate decisions by buying land on high ground that will appreciate in value, while at the same time developing a Plan B.

We are blatantly facing a catastrophe, and all were doing is getting rid of straws, Mr. Dalski said. There are things Im going to do for preservation.

That includes buying land on a wooded, undeveloped part of Plattekill, a 3,500-foot mountain in the Catskills, because the area is filled with natural resources. The land is at a high elevation but it is also in a bowl, so it collects precipitation. Also, there are creeks that run through the area year-round, and he has family nearby.

Michael Phelan, 26, a Ph.D. student in bioengineering in Philadelphia, is deeply concerned about life in a post-climate change world as well.

Ive been hearing people talk about moving north to places like Michigan or Maine, he said. Seeing how recent government reports have detailed the threats of mass migration or economic loss, I wonder if its even possible to move away from it.
Cephalopods behave in ways that certainly suggest theyre highly intelligent. An octopus named Inky, for example, made a notorious escape recently from the National Aquarium of New Zealand, exiting his enclosure and slithering into a floor drain and, apparently, out to sea.

Cuttlefish can scare off predators by forming eyespots on their bodies in order to look like giant fish. But they only use this trick against predators that rely on vision to find prey. If a predator that depends on smell shows up, the cuttlefish are smart enough just to flee.

Octopuses show the same flexibility when scientists bring them into labs. In one study, researchers at Hebrew University presented octopuses with an L-shaped box with food inside. The animals figured out how to push and pull the morsel through a tiny hole in the wall of their tank.

Another feature that cephalopods share with other smart animals is a relatively big brain. But thats where the similarities appear to end. Most of the neurons that do the computing, for example, are in the octopuss arms.

[Like the Science Times page on Facebook. | Sign up for the Science Times newsletter.]

Most strikingly, cephalopods die young. Some may live as long as two years, while others only last a few months. Nor do cephalopods form social bonds.

They get together to mate, but males and females dont stay together for long or care for their young. While chimpanzees and dolphins may live in societies of dozens of other animals, cephalopods seem to be loners.

Mr. Amodio and his colleagues think the evolutionary history of cephalopods may explain this intelligence paradox. About half a billion years ago, their snaillike ancestors evolved to use their shells as a buoyancy device. They could load chambers in the shell with gas to float up and down in the ocean.
I felt betrayed as a citizen, he said. Theyre polluting at our doorsteps and we know it and we can see it and we can smell it, and now we can measure it.

He has been building the network out this fall and hopes to use the data to push the government to crack down. Poor and minority communities are disproportionately affected by air pollution, and a revived environmental justice movement is rising.

One home that Mr. Dixon outfitted with a PurpleAir this summer is across the river from Edgar Thomson Steelworks and near a coke refinery that emits a rotted sulfur smell. Thats where Robin Kornides, 63, lives with her husband and makes her living selling sewn and knitted goods.

One recent November afternoon, she stood on her front porch in a sweatshirt and gloves, taking a break from caring for a troupe of pet pigeons to talk about the gadget.

But other days, she is not so lucky.

A third of the time its bad enough that I dont want to go outside, but it mostly depends how the wind is blowing, Ms. Kornides said. On the worst days, she added, Its like trying to breath Jell-O.

That day there was a cool crisp east wind  she thinks of it as the good wind.

It makes me feel justified to complain at least, and Im a visual person, so I like seeing the color on the app,  Ms. Kornides said. But I can always smell it first, that coke smell.
Ms. Jamil, who started the #iweigh movement on Instagram  which aims to illustrate that a persons worth should be measured in accomplishments, not in pounds  said she cares so much partly because she still grapples with health problems from similar products she used to buy and ingest.

I was the teenager who starved herself for years, who spent all her money on these miracle cures and laxatives and tips from celebrities on how to maintain a weight that was lower than what my body wanted it to be, she tweeted. I was sick.

On Tuesday, Ms. Jamil mocked these celebrities in a video thats been viewed three million times between Twitter and Instagram. In it, shes sitting on the toilet, sobbing through smeared makeup while sipping a shake.

Readers: Which beauty item would you be happy to never see again? Let me know at dearmaya@nytimes.com.

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By the numbers

$4.5 billion

Thats the net worth of Denise Coates, the richest woman youve probably never heard of. Ms. Coates, the British founder and chief executive officer of the online gambling company Bet365, is more than 10 times richer than Queen Elizabeth II, according to Bloomberg. She just joined the ranks of the worlds 500 richest people for the first time. Shes the only woman among the 17 billionaires in Britain .

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More from The Times

If Bobbie talks, Im finished. A trove of text messages details a plan by the former CBS mogul Les Moonves to silence an accuser. [The New York Times]

What is it about the word wife? I dont want to be introduced at all, as anything other than my name, I thought, but I did not say this out loud, writes Marcia Walker, for our Rites of Passage essay series. [The New York Times]

A global epidemic of femicide. More than half of all female homicide victims last year were killed by intimate partners or relatives. [The New York Times]

We are willing to die here. As war takes a toll on millions of women and girls in Yemen, gender-equality activists are pushing to be included in future peace negotiations. [The New York Times]

Help Wanted  Female. It has been 50 years since The New York Times classified job ads went unisex. So where are all the female C.E.O.s? [New York Times Opinion]

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From the archives: Remembering Harvey Milk
For our 2018 Holiday issue, out Dec. 2, T assembled 32 black male writers, who, with their peers, are producing literature that is essential to how we understand our country and its place in the world right now. When I was asked to consider the particularities of the current landscape, I wondered if a focus on male achievement might obscure the equally unprecedented successes of African-American women, writes Ayana Mathis in her accompanying essay. And does that question undermine this extraordinary moment for black male writers? She admits she hasnt found a sufficient answer to this question, but I do know that the work of black women writers presents a ferocious challenge to old sexist perceptions; as [the author and scholar Farah] Griffin says, the difference between this moment and others is that, in the past, to be a black writer was to be a man. Here, Nelson George, Samuel R. Delany, Major Jackson and more of the men featured in our pages tell us about their favorite works of literature by black female Americans.

Read more: Black Male Writers for Our Time

Image

Beloved  (1987) by Toni Morrison

Morrisons prose in Beloved (1987) is astounding, and the subject matter intense. She managed to elevate the experiences of enslaved Africans and their descendants into a different kind of consideration; one in which these characters were given flesh, love and spirit, operating as actual human beings rather than creations of the white imagination. And what a dilemma the book poses: Should you murder your own children to spare them the degradation, dehumanization, humiliation and violence of that which is antebellum slavery? Are you ready to bear the ghostly weight of that decision? And what happens if you think you are but you arent really? The book is pure brilliance and a razor-sharp indictment of the country.  Robert Jones Jr., author of the forthcoming novel The Prophets (2019 or 2020).
J.W. Anderson Meets Gilbert & George

The Irish designer Jonathan Anderson has deep roots in East London: He has called it home since 2005, when he moved there at age 21 to study at the London College of Fashion. The studio for his brand, J.W. Anderson, is also based in East London, in Dalston  a former slum once tormented by Jack the Ripper that is now undergoing huge gentrification. It still holds this authenticity and cultural clash of everything London is about, says Anderson. I realized as a student that this was where my place was.

Its fitting, then, that for his latest mens wear collaboration, Anderson partnered with the cult British artist duo Gilbert & George, who have lived and worked together in Spitalfields in East London since 1968  and whose entire catalog of work is inspired by the East End. What initially attracted me to Gilbert & George was that there was an anarchy to it, says Anderson of the artists work, which reverberates with anti-elitism and is often peppered with expletives. J.W. Anderson is about going against the grain and trying to question ideas, politics and gender. A collaboration, he adds, felt very natural.

For spring 2019, Anderson took three of Gilbert & Georges brightly colored and irreverent collaged artworks  Guard Plants (1980), Dog Boy (1980) and Heavy (1988)  and reinterpreted them across a 25-piece collection that includes oversize leather biker jackets, billowing silk shirts and parachute-style backpacks. We did some really fun pieces in latex, with a guy with an officers hat on, says Anderson. Its simultaneously seductive and political.

Anderson initially met Gilbert Proesch and George Passmore over lunch at their home, which has been artfully restored to its original 18th-century decor, and decided to photograph the collections advertising campaign there. The images, shot by Alasdair McLellan, and the collection, are provocative and colorful  much like the artists themselves, who starred in the campaign as special guests. j-w-anderson.com  GRACE COOK
Each week, technology reporters and columnists from The New York Times review the weeks news, offering analysis and maybe a joke or two about the most important developments in the tech industry. Want this newsletter in your inbox? Sign up here.

Hello, old friends! Its Kevin Roose, tech columnist and erstwhile newsletter writer.

I wanted to write an entire newsletter about the only news that mattered this past week: Knickers, the extremely large Australian cow (who is actually, as my colleague Daniel Victor reported, an extremely large Australian steer). But Ive been told by my editors that this is a tech newsletter and not the place for your livestock commentary, so Ill stick to talking about Silicon Valley.

Speaking of big overseas beefs (ha, sorry), Facebook had an exciting week in Europe. On Tuesday, officials from nine countries gathered in London to grill a Facebook policy executive, Richard Allan, about the companys data practices and its distribution of misinformation and false news. (The officials had wanted Mark Zuckerberg, Facebooks chief executive, to attend, but Mr. Zuckerberg apparently had other plans.)

Adding to the already dramatic proceedings was a trove of internal Facebook documents that were obtained by Damian Collins, the British lawmaker who convened the hearing. The documents stem from a California lawsuit against Facebook by the maker of an app called Six4Three, and they are under seal in the United States. (The bonkers story of how these documents were obtained  which involves a journalist, a hotel room raid and an app that let Facebook users search for photos of women in bikinis  might well be more interesting than the documents contents.)
If you follow theater, you probably already know about the Broadway bigfoots opening this month: Network starring Bryan Cranston, To Kill a Mockingbird, starring Jeff Daniels, and The Cher Show, starring three Chers. But its also a month, Off Broadway, for wider exploration, from Beverly Hills and Brooklyn to France, Iran and Iraq.

Clueless

Wait  there arent just three Chers in town this month. There are four. The one without Bob Mackie outfits is Cher Horowitz, the eternal optimist at the heart of Clueless, The Musical, adapted from the 1995 movie that was itself a riff on Jane Austens Emma.

The New Group production, directed by Kristin Hanggi, stars Dove Cameron in the role made famous by Alicia Silverstone. She and her Beverly Hills friends now sing and dance to a score of 80s and 90s hits including U Cant Touch This and Shes So High.

Some lyrics have been rewritten, but dont expect other major changes. The musical is by Amy Heckerling, who wrote and directed the movie. (Tickets: www.thenewgroup.org)
A former Dallas police officer was indicted on a murder charge on Friday for shooting an unarmed, 26-year-old African-American accountant who was watching TV in his apartment, a home that the officer says she mistook as her own.

A Dallas County grand jury charged Amber R. Guyger, 30, over the Sept. 6 killing of Botham Jean in his apartment, which was one floor above hers. If convicted, Ms. Guyger could receive five years to life in prison.

[Update: Amber Guyger testifies in her murder trial: I shot an innocent man.]

Ms. Guyger, a white officer who was returning from her shift but dressed in uniform at the time, said that she mistook Mr. Jeans apartment for her own, that his door was slightly ajar and that it opened when she tried to unlock it. She thought he was a burglar, she said.

Lawyers for Mr. Jeans family have said that the door was closed, and that neighbors heard someone banging on the door, demanding to be let in, before the gun was fired. Ms. Guyger fired her service weapon twice, striking Mr. Jean once in the torso, according to court documents. Mr. Jean, who worked at PricewaterhouseCoopers, died at a hospital.
Sometimes two campaign promises can conflict. This happened after the Trump administration poured more resources into prosecuting migrants for crossing the Southwest border earlier in the year. What followed was a significant slowdown in the pursuit of drug traffickers, another key administration priority.

The decline turned around after Trump aides dispatched more lawyers to the border.

But the drop in drug prosecutions was eye-popping. Such cases declined by 24 percent in the six months after the Justice Department imposed a zero tolerance policy on migrants in early April, compared to the same period last year.

While the number of cases along the border has been generally decreasing in recent years, the decline accelerated immediately after the new policy, and by June had led to the fewest prosecutions in two decades.

Criminal charges for immigration violations  mostly illegal border crossing, a misdemeanor on the first offense  soared between April and September of this year to 60,684 in the five federal judicial districts on the border from Texas to California, a 121 percent increase from the same period a year earlier.
Ever since the first laws requiring license plates were approved in the early 1900s, states have been vigilant over what they say.

Most, if not all, states keep a blacklist of words or acronyms that may embarrass or offend other motorists, like ASS, XXX or WTF. Mostly, these lists apply to vanity plate requests. But occasionally, the computers assigning the identification numbers are to blame.

In October, Kansas recalled 731 license plates with the letter combination JAP, after a group of Japanese-Americans pushed to remove them from the road.

The drive originated in California more than a year ago when Keith Kawamoto, a retired refinery mechanic, spotted a gray Nissan sedan from Kansas tagged 442 JAP while sputtering in stop-and-go traffic in Culver City, Calif., where he lives.
BURLINGTON, Vt.  When Jane Sanders introduced her events keynote speaker here on Thursday night, she called him my best friend but didnt say his name.

I wont tell you who that is because I dont want to give it away, she quipped from the stage.

Exactly no one was surprised when her husband, Bernie Sanders, marched to the podium.

As speculation grows about whether Mr. Sanders will mount another bid for the White House, the Vermont senator had returned with his wife to his home state for the inaugural Sanders Institute Gathering, a three-day symposium to discuss issues like Medicare for All that he had pushed to popularize.

The message of this weekend is were going to try to break through the silos that exist within the progressive community, Mr. Sanders told a devoted crowd of about 200 people at a small presentation hall on the shores of Lake Champlain.
And here you thought the midterms would be over after the special election in Mississippi on Tuesday.

No such luck. Twenty-four days after the polls closed on Nov. 6, three House races remain at least nominally unsettled (as do 210 state legislative seats, not that anyones counting). In two of the House races, the winner seems clear, but the margins of victory are small enough  less than 1 percentage point  that The Associated Press has not issued an official call. In the third, in North Carolina, The A.P. retracted its initial call after allegations of absentee ballot irregularities threw the result into question.

Heres a look at where the uncalled races stand.

Californias 21st District
But the very first order of business, Mr. Nadler said, must be protecting Mr. Mueller and the investigation into Mr. Trumps campaign and his actions in office. It is a goal shared by two fellow incoming chairmen, Representative Adam B. Schiff of the Intelligence Committee and Representative Elijah E. Cummings of the Oversight Committee, whom Mr. Nadler is likely to work closely with to investigate the president and his administration.

In recent days, Mr. Nadler has sent letters to the Justice Department, the F.B.I. and the Department of Homeland Security putting Trump-appointed officials on notice that come January, he expects prompt answers to the dozens of Democratic requests and other correspondence ignored when Republicans were in power. He plans to call Matthew G. Whitaker, the acting attorney general overseeing Mr. Muellers work, to be the committees first witness. And Judiciary Committee Democrats will quickly begin looking at Mr. Trumps attacks on federal law enforcement agencies.

Mr. Nadler has said explicitly that he will wait for Mr. Mueller to finish his work before seriously considering a remedy like impeachment. But he has begun poring over texts on the subject. The best synthesis of what is an impeachable offense, Mr. Nadler likes to say, was written by a young lawyer working on the Watergate case by the name of Hillary Rodham.

If I were Trump, Jerry Nadler as Judiciary chair is among his worst nightmares, said Scott M. Stringer, the New York City comptroller and Mr. Nadlers former chief of staff. He does not play to the crowd.

Then there are matters of personal history.

Long before they ever thought of facing off in Washington, Mr. Nadler and Mr. Trump tangled for years over a proposal by Mr. Trump to redevelop a large swath of the Upper West Side. Beginning in the 1980s when he was still a member of the New York State Assembly and until the mid-1990s, after he had been elected to Congress, Mr. Nadler vocally opposed the project. At one point, he succeeded in stripping it of federal funds.

Mr. Trump ultimately built a scaled-back development, but his response was bitter. In a book published a few years later, Mr. Trump singled out Mr. Nadler as one of the most egregious hacks in contemporary politics. Mr. Nadler insists his opposition was never personal, but there is little doubt that Mr. Trump, a New York tabloid hound who makes almost any confrontation personal, will do his best to make it so again.
WASHINGTON  The special counsels office and President Trump found themselves in rare agreement on Friday over Mr. Trumps former campaign chairman Paul Manafort: Nothing is off the table.

Prosecutors for the special counsel, Robert S. Mueller III, said in court that they have not decided whether to charge Mr. Manafort with additional crimes after accusing him this week of lying to investigators in violation of his plea agreement.

We are still debating what the consequences will be, said one of the prosecutors, Andrew Weissmann.

As for Mr. Trump, upon hearing that Mr. Manafort was facing more prison time, he had said earlier this week that while he had not specifically discussed pardoning Mr. Manafort, he wouldnt take it off the table.
By the summer of 2015, Mr. Cooper went further. He proposed that Mr. Whitaker get personally involved in a dispute with a man who was apparently a disgruntled former employee of Mr. Coopers at a different business. The man had threatened to complain about him and World Patent Marketing to the Better Business Bureau.

On the afternoon of Aug. 21, 2015, Mr. Cooper sent a proposed draft of a letter he had ghostwritten for Mr. Whitaker to send to the complainer, invoking his status as a former federal prosecutor and member of the firms advisory board and threatening the man with serious civil and criminal consequences for what he suggested was tantamount to blackmail or extortion.

Mr. Whitaker made a few minor changes to the draft and hit send. In all, he had spent about six minutes from receiving the proposed draft to inserting himself directly in the dispute, as Mr. Cooper had hoped he would do.

That email from Mr. Whitaker later became part of the litigation over World Patent Marketing, and was cited as a message he sent to one of the firms customers in news articles in recent weeks about how his activities with the now-defunct firm were dogging his appointment to be acting attorney general.

Federal Trade Commission investigators were immersed in such exchanges last fall when they subpoenaed Mr. Whitakers former law firm on Oct. 5, 2017, and tried to get in touch with him about why he was not responding to it  just as he was being hired as chief of staff to Mr. Sessions. But the agency was initially unaware of his turn of fortune.

Among the files released on Friday were an email and a voice mail message to Mr. Whitaker from Mr. Evans, in which he noted it was his second attempt to reach Mr. Whitaker. Mr. Evans said he needed four or five minutes of Mr. Whitakers time by phone to discuss his relationship with World Patent Marketing.

A second voice mail made public was Mr. Whitakers response to Mr. Evans. He said he had not been aware of the subpoena previously, and then he shared his news: I am now at the Department of the Justice here in Washington, D.C., as the chief of staff to the attorney general. So I want to be very helpful.
Good Friday morning. Here are some of the stories making news in Washington and politics today.

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 Michael Cohen, President Trumps former lawyer, admitted in court to making false statements to Congress about efforts to pursue a Trump Tower deal in Moscow during the 2016 presidential campaign. He pleaded guilty to the first charge brought against him by the special counsel, Robert Mueller.

 Soon after the news about Mr. Cohen broke, Mr. Trump canceled his planned meeting with President Vladimir Putin, citing Russias unresolved naval standoff with Ukraine.

 According to Mr. Trumps lawyers, Mr. Cohens new account of the abortive Trump project in Moscow essentially matches what the president said in written answers to the special counsel officers questions. Heres how the latest development might affect the Russia inquiry.
BUENOS AIRES  When President Trump sits down with President Xi Jinping for dinner here on Saturday, their meeting will be about more than salvaging a cordial personal relationship or trying to contain a trade dispute between the United States and China.

It could foretell whether these two giants  one an established but anxious superpower, the other an ambitious, impatient rising power  are destined to enter a new era of Cold War-like confrontation.

Remarkably, given the stakes involved, the two sides plan no other formal meetings during this gathering of the Group of 20 industrialized nations that begins on Friday. Nor do they appear to have much of an agenda, beyond the trade grievances that Mr. Trump has complained about for months.

That is a testament to how much trade and the personal chemistry between Mr. Trump and Mr. Xi have come to dominate the relations between the United States and China. While these are only subplots in a larger drama that also includes a military contest in the Pacific and nuclear negotiations with North Korea, they could also define the next chapter in that relationship.
WASHINGTON  In one corner was Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke, a swaggering cowboy type who once rode to work on a horse named Tonto and has faced at least a dozen ethics investigations.

In the other was Representative Raul M. Grijalva, an Arizona Democrat who has been accused of having ethical issues of his own  and who is itching to take on Mr. Zinke next year from his perch as the chairman of a committee on Capitol Hill.

Their tensions exploded on Friday into one of the more remarkable public feuds in recent Washington history  a brutal exchange that began with Mr. Grijalva calling on Mr. Zinke to resign, followed by Mr. Zinke calling Mr. Grijalva a drunkard who had used taxpayer hush money to cover up misbehavior, and Mr. Grijalva telling Mr. Zinke to, in effect, bring it on.

Its hard for him to think straight from the bottom of the bottle, Mr. Zinke wrote on Twitter, in a message that left many in the Capitol slack-jawed. This is coming from a man who used nearly $50,000 in tax dollars as hush money to cover up his drunken and hostile behavior. He should resign and pay back the taxpayer for the hush money and the tens of thousands of dollars he forced my department to spend investigating unfounded allegations.
Mr. Trump pushed hard behind the scenes to ensure that Fridays symbolic, flag-bedecked signing ceremony with the leaders of Canada and Mexico took place. His staff spent much of the preceding 48 hours coaxing Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of Canada to appear at the event so that three North American leaders, not just Mr. Trump and President Enrique Pena Nieto of Mexico, would appear onstage, according to people familiar with the planning.

But it was strictly ceremonial. Under the United States fast-track trade rules, the deal must pass the House, where all bills that affect federal revenue must originate, before moving to the Senate for final passage.

Technically, the deal that the three trading partners signed cannot be altered. But in reality, the administration is free to renegotiate with Canada and Mexico to make changes that could ultimately be included in final legislation. If nothing is passed, Mr. Trump could pull out of Nafta, as he has long threatened, or simply continue operating under the old rules.

The Democratic takeover of the House has created anxiety among business groups and legislators, who are urging Republican leaders to push for a vote on the proposal in the lame-duck session, before Democrats assume control.

Manufacturers need certainty now, not later, said Jay Timmons, president and chief executive of the National Association of Manufacturers. With two million American jobs dependent on exports to Canada and Mexico, Congress needs to move expeditiously.

Mr. Timmonss group, along with other trade associations and Republican Senators Lamar Alexander of Tennessee and Patrick J. Toomey of Pennsylvania, are pressing House and Senate leaders to quickly pass the deal.

Senator Sherrod Brown, a Democrat from Ohio, has been quietly pushing a revision to the trade agreement aimed at improving wages and working conditions in Mexico. The provision would require that Mexican imports to the United States be certified as having been produced in accordance with labor standards, according to American officials.
In Congress, where Democrats will take control of the House in January after sweeping victories in the midterms, party leaders have vowed to give electoral overhaul measures a top priority. Bills are planned to make voter registration automatic across the country and to revive provisions of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 that were gutted by the Supreme Court in 2013.

Democrats also thwarted a bid for governor by Kris Kobach, the Kansas secretary of state known for pushing restrictive voting policies that were often struck down in court.

But it was the Georgia governors race this year that most angered, and galvanized, the American left, which has portrayed Mr. Kemp, a businessman and ally of President Trump from Athens, Ga., as a vote-suppressing villain.

Mr. Kemp, 55, points to the introduction of an online voter registration system and the substantial growth in the number of registered voters on his watch as evidence that he has made it easier, not harder, for the states citizens to register and vote.

Those arguments have done little to stem liberal outrage. The outspoken actor Alec Baldwin recently urged people on Twitter to consider Mr. Kemps election illegitimate, and the musician Chance the Rapper encouraged his Twitter followers on Tuesday to get behind the Democratic candidate in the runoff for secretary of state, John Barrow.

Ms. Abrams, who emerged from the election as a liberal star, has also begun putting that star power to work for Mr. Barrow, though they come from opposite points of the party compass: She is 44, black, and unabashedly liberal; he is 63, white, and studiously centrist.

In TV ads, Mr. Barrow leans on a fence in front of a bucolic Georgia landscape and declares, Yeah, Im a Democrat, but I wont bite you.
I knew I was having a heart attack, Mr. Bulger said in his account, so I knocked back on the window. He said he asked for an electrocardiogram and oxygen and, when the medical worker saw the results, she said he needed to go to the hospital.

I told her I came in for a long-sleeve shirt and shell have a day of reckoning and Ill expose her for giving me a heart attack, Mr. Bulger said in his account. She gave me a heart attack due to yelling at me. It was all blown out of proportion. I didnt threaten her.

Mr. Bulger was sentenced to 30 days in segregated housing, sometimes called solitary confinement, but he languished there until October while the staff tried to get him transferred to another prison.

Due to his criminal history, he is clearly able to carry out these threats, a transfer request said.

At least one transfer request was denied in April. But, in October, the office approved a move for Mr. Bulger, according to documents obtained by The Times.

On Oct. 3, a staff member in the Office of Medical Designations and Transportation, which would generally deal with inmates with health problems or disabilities, wrote in an email to colleagues, I would like to transfer him to HAZ, using the abbreviation for Hazelton. She said he had also been cleared to go to three other penitentiaries, Terre Haute in Indiana, Thomson in Illinois and Victorville in California. Terre Haute, like Coleman, is known to be a safe haven of sorts for inmates who might need extra protection, like informants and former gang members.

Two managers, one in Grand Prairie and one in Washington, signed off.

But they failed to consult the Texas offices internal intelligence group, which would normally have reviewed the move of a high-profile inmate like Mr. Bulger, the official said.
What Is The List?

For the migrants seeking to apply for asylum in the United States at the San Ysidro border crossing, the first step is to get their names on The List, an informal numbering system that puts them in a virtual line for their appointment with the American immigration authorities.

It is a critical part of the American asylum application process, yet, strangely, its operation has nothing to do with the United States government. It is an entirely Mexican construct that begins and ends on the Mexican side of the border.

That said, its a direct result of American migration policy. For years, most migrants seeking asylum in the United States needed only to show up at a port of entry to begin the asylum process, and there was usually no delay.

But the Trump administration has used a system known as metering, which limits the number of asylum-seekers allowed to present their cases to the United States each day at certain ports of entry. The system was instituted by the Obama administration in 2016 to respond to the thousands of Haitian migrants who had ended up in Tijuana and the nearby city of Mexicali seeking to cross into the United States.

At the incredibly busy crossing in Tijuana, known as El Chaparral, the metering system caused severe backups and disorder.
The recent killing of an American missionary by members of an isolated tribe on a small island in the Indian Ocean has reignited questions about the fate of the last few groups of people living off the grid.

In an era when people across the globe are hyper-connected by technology and increasingly interlocked economies, the survival of a few dozen groups of hunter-gatherers living in complete isolation may seem extraordinary. But experts say they may not survive undisturbed for much longer.

Because most of these groups are small and highly vulnerable, anthropologists and indigenous activists have been debating whether it makes more sense to leave them alone  or try to establish contact with them to offer basic medical care, such as vaccines. Here are some basic facts about the worlds remaining isolated tribes.

How many are there, and where?

Anthropologists and activists who study the issue say its hard to know for certain. But based on satellite images and field research, experts believe there are more than 100 communities living in isolation.
BUENOS AIRES  He didnt sit down with two of his favorite strongmen. He downgraded a meeting with one ally and postponed one with another. He exchanged icy smiles with the prime minister of Canada, who had threatened to skip the signing of a new trade agreement with the United States and Mexico because of lingering bitterness over steel tariffs.

And President Trump was preoccupied by legal clouds back home, tweeting angrily that there was nothing illicit about his business ventures in Russia, a day after his former lawyer Michael D. Cohen pleaded guilty to lying to Congress about the extent and duration of those dealings.

For Mr. Trump, his first day at the summit meeting of the Group of 20 industrialized nations in Buenos Aires was a window into his idiosyncratic statecraft after nearly two years in office. His America First foreign policy has not become America Alone exactly, but it has left him with a strange patchwork of partners at these global gatherings.

Mr. Trump canceled a meeting with President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia, citing the countrys recent naval clash with Ukraine. Nor did he meet with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman of Saudi Arabia, though he did exchange pleasantries with the prince, whom he has pulled close despite charges that the prince had a role in the killing of the journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
BUENOS AIRES  President Trump and his Mexican and Canadian counterparts sought to put the acrimony of the past two years behind them on Friday as they signed a new trade agreement governing hundreds of billions of dollars in commerce that underpins their mutually dependent economies.

Meeting for the first time since the revised North American Free Trade Agreement was sealed, Mr. Trump, President Enrique Pena Nieto of Mexico and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of Canada hailed the results as a boon for workers, businesses and the environment, even as they alluded to the harsh talks that had preceded this day.

But Mr. Trump faces a daunting challenge at home, where Congress must approve the deal before it can take effect.

The complicated politics of trade would have made the task formidable enough even before the midterm elections, but it will grow only more so once Democrats assume control of the House in January.
He was born to farmers in one of the poorest parts of Hunan Province in southern China. As a high school student, he built a small laboratory at home, believing he could be Chinas Einstein, according to an article this week by Jiemian, a Chinese news website. He graduated from the University of Science and Technology of China with a physics degree.

But by the time he arrived in the United States on a Chinese government scholarship, Dr. He felt the golden age of physics was over, according to the article. He switched to biophysics and studied at Rice University in Houston, where he first worked with Crispr, the gene-editing technology he says he used to alter the babies genes.

After studying at Rice, Dr. He went on to postdoctoral research at Stanford University. In 2012, he returned to China, basing himself in the booming southern metropolis of Shenzhen, which gave him funding. Dr. He founded two genetic testing companies, Direct Genomics and Vienomics, which aimed to use gene sequencing for medical purposes.

Many scientists in China say the drive to succeed is so strong that they adopt a do first, debate later approach. Wang Yue, a professor at the institute of medical humanities of Peking University, said many scientists lacked awareness of medical ethics and of laws and regulations relevant to their fields.

It is true that many scientists are very bold and think of science as their independent kingdom, Dr. Wang said. So they are not willing to listen to the outside world, including ethics committees and administrative agencies that want to supervise and review them.

In China, clinical trials are vetted for ethical concerns just once, by a hospitals ethics review committee. Dr. He said his research was approved by the ethics board of the hospital Shenzhen Harmonicare. The hospital denied that, although one of its shareholders had appeared in an Associated Press video talking about Dr. Hes project.
MELBOURNE, Australia  As wildfires raged across the country, a heat wave again threatened the Great Barrier Reef and a mining giant announced it would push ahead with a huge coal project, thousands of students across Australia quit school for the day on Friday to protest government inaction on climate change.

The students  ranging in age from 5 to 18  came from more than 200 schools to demand that the federal government block construction of the Adani Carmichael coal mine, block any new coal or gas projects and require 100 percent renewable energy use by 2030.

I am here because I am terrified, Harriet OShea Carre, 14, told a crowd of thousands of student marchers outside the Old Treasury Building in Melbourne. Protesters spilled out onto the road with signs saying civil disobedience requires no permission slip and dont be a fossil fool.

Ms. OShea Carre, an organizer of the march and a student from Castlemaine Steiner School in Muckleford, about 70 miles northwest of Melbourne, predicted dire consequences if the government failed to act on climate change.
LONDON  He could have misspelled his address, or entered an incorrect age  something fairly harmless  but no, the error John Stevenson made in an online form for the United States Department of Homeland Security was clicking on the wrong answer to a question.

The question asked whether he was a terrorist.

Mr. Stevenson, a Scottish grandfather, said he had made an honest mistake, but it might ruin his plans to fly with his wife to New York City on Monday.

He ran into trouble filling out the automated online form on the Electronic System for Travel Authorization, known as ESTA, that allows people from selected countries to apply for travel to the United States without a visa.

One of the questions ask if you are a terrorist and it must have jumped from no to yes without me knowing, Mr. Stevenson was quoted as saying on the news site The Independent.
KIEV, Ukraine  With 24 of his sailors and three of his warships held captive by Russia after a confrontation on Sunday in waters near Crimea, the commander of Ukraines tiny navy declared that Russia under President Vladimir V. Putin was the plague of the 21st century and vowed that it must be stopped.

But the commander was not suggesting that Ukraine fight to the last man. Of course, we cant beat them, the commander, Vice Adm. Ihor Voronchenko, acknowledged.

Instead, Ukraine has proposed that Turkey, a member of NATO, seal off the Bosporus, one of the worlds busiest waterways, and that the alliance send a convoy into the Sea of Azov.

The chances of any of that happening are near zero, but the Ukrainian commanders Hail Mary proposal highlights the extent to which the country is dependent on outside help as it struggles to hold its own as a sovereign state in the face of a hostile Kremlin.
Weve taken a lot of barbs and a little abuse, he said.

Turning to Mr. Trudeau, whom he referred to as a great friend, he said, Its been a battle. But battles, he added, sometimes make great friendships.

Mr. Trudeau smiled politely.

Despite the smiling, disagreements remain between the two leaders.

In his remarks, Mr. Trudeau urged Mr. Trump to remove punishing tariffs on imports of steel and aluminum from Canada, saying they imposed a major obstacle on the Canadian economy.

As Mr. Trudeau spoke, Mr. Trump appeared stone-faced, but broke into a pensive smile at one point. When Mr. Trudeau ended his comments, the American president shook his hand with a brevity that contrasted with his usual vigorous greetings.

[Read more about the signing and the acrimonious talks that led to it.]

Some in the Canadian news media presented the deal as a sign that, at least for now, a full-on trade skirmish had ended.

 Battle over as Trudeau, Trump, Pena Nieto sign new Nafta, said a headline from the CBC, the national broadcaster.
The name of Pontius Pilate, the Roman official who ordered the killing of Jesus, according to the Gospel, is mentioned in thousands of sermons every year and is familiar to countless people, but little is known about his life and work.

To the very short list of clues about Pilate as a historical figure, archaeologists have added one more: a 2,000-year-old copper alloy ring bearing his name.

The ring was discovered in the late 1960s, one of thousands of artifacts found in the excavation of Herodium, an ancient fortress and palace south of Bethlehem, in the West Bank. But it was not until recently that researchers, analyzing those objects with advanced photography, were able to decipher the rings inscription.

It reads of Pilates, in Greek letters set around a picture of a wine vessel known as a krater, and is said by archaeologists to be only the second artifact from his time ever found with his name. Kraters are a common image in artifacts of that time and place.
How much does it cost to have a professional take over the decorations? That will vary by region, the size of your house and the dazzle of the display. Basic decor, like lights that outline your roof and front door, may cost $500 or less if you own a single-story home. But if you have a larger house with lots of gables or want more eye-catching decor, the price can stretch to thousands of dollars.

At Christmas Decor, a professional holiday decorator with locations across the country and in Canada, the average cost of a display in the United States is $1,650, said Brandon Stephens, the companys president. Pricing tends to be higher on the coasts, he said, and lower in the nations interior.

Id say theres a larger group of people more willing to spend on decorations, he said. The company said its sales last year rose by 14 percent, with a similar increase expected this year.

While classic white lights remain popular, consumers have choices far beyond the traditional. Homeowners may now select tubes of glowing lights that mimic falling snowflakes, giant ornament decorations or app-controlled light strips that blink in patterns synchronized with music.

People are looking for that showstopper, Mr. Stephens said. Specialty items include six-foot-tall, three-dimensional snowflakes.

Christmas Decors representatives take a photo of your house with a tablet, then superimpose lighting displays on the image. If the suggested display is too costly, the software can adjust the proposed lighting until the represented results fit your budget.

While professional installations are costlier than doing it yourself, the advent of LED lighting, which is much more energy-efficient than traditional incandescent bulbs, means powering the holiday decor doesnt have to be as wallet-draining as it once was. Some people still prefer the look of incandescent lights, but professionals say the quality of LED lighting has improved significantly in recent years. The bulbs no longer flicker and are available in a range of colors.
Philanthropy has long been a big part of business, with chief executives dictating where charitable dollars should go or how employees ought to volunteer their time. But some entrepreneurs are letting their customers drive the giving by how much they spend.

My research basically shows that companies give back for two primary reasons, said C. B. Bhattacharya, a marketing professor who holds the Zoffer Chair of Sustainability and Ethics at the University of Pittsburghs Katz Graduate School of Business. Its the right thing to do  corporations need to give back to society  and they believe its the smart thing to do, in terms of stakeholders taking notice of what youre doing.

Still, there isnt a road map to success, and the journey can be full of bumps. When Richard and Ashley Perkin started Gells four years ago to manufacture belts, they thought they had landed on a clever way to link sales to causes they believed in.

The couple, who live in Southport, Conn., selected five small charities that they wanted to help. They also had belts in five colors, each matched to a charity that took a share of 5 percent of sales. The only problem was, most customers bought navy blue belts, which Gells had linked to the Blue Ocean Society for Marine Conservation.

The Blue Ocean Society was getting a greater share of the 5 percent, and that didnt seem right to us, Mr. Perkin said. It also became an accounting headache as we went into stores.

The couple changed tack and decided to split the money earmarked for charities evenly.

Such logistical problems are not uncommon, particularly for a small entrepreneurial business. Pledgeling, an organization that works with companies on their corporate giving strategies, aims to help with this. As part of its give and grow program, it operates the charitable component of a companys business, vets the recipient groups and aims to make the accounting process smoother.
On Wednesday, Utomo said the plane had experienced technical problems on four of the six flights before it crashed. On its penultimate flight from the Balinese capital of Denpasar to Jakarta, as during the final one, pilots struggled to prevent an automatic safety feature from forcing the nose of the aircraft down due to problems with its sensors.
Currently, participation in Medicaid doesnt affect a persons ability to get a green card  but under a new Trump administration proposal, it might. A proposed change to the public charge rule would allow immigration officials to consider some immigrants likelihood of using Medicaid, food stamps and housing programs, among other things, when deciding whether they should be able to become legal permanent residents  also known as getting a green card. The use of those programs could also weigh against people looking to extend their visas to stay in the U.S. and those seeking to change the types of visas theyre using.
The company entered into a tax credit agreement with the state worth an estimated $41.5 million, with a requirement to add at least 1,000 new full-time jobs by the end of 2023. Salesforce expects the average annual salary of those employees will be $100,000. The agreement is through the EDGE program, short for Economic Development for a Growing Economy, which provides tax breaks for companies that promise to create jobs in Illinois. It also requires Salesforce to make $175 million in capital investments over the next 10 years.


Elizabeth Warren

Sen. Elizabeth Warren wrote letters to the heads of 23 PR/lobbying firms to determine the extent of their current and past business with Saudi Arabia in the aftermath of the Oct. 2 torture, murder and dismemberment of dissident and Washington Post contributor Jamal Khashoggi.

The Massachusetts Democrat noted that "lobbying for the Saudi government has been a profitable industry," and quoted a Bloomberg estimate that DC lobbyists "raked in $76.9M" over the past decade for Saudi Arabia advocacy work.

"This ongoing status as a representative of Saudi government interests raises questions about whether your firm prioritizes profit over basic human rights, and whether it is ethically and morally defensible for American lobbyists to be providing services to a repressive regime that does not share America's values," wrote Warren in her Nov. 28 letter.

Warren's letters went to Hill+Knowlton's Jack Martin, FleishmanHillard's John Saunders and MSLGroup Americas' Ron Guirguis, who stepped down from the helm last month.

They ask for full and unredacted contracts with the Saudis from Jan. 20, 2017 (Trump's inauguration day) to the present, list of specific issues, potential involvement with Trump administration officials and whether the firm expects to continue Saudi representation.

The Senator also penned missives to the heads of five firms, (Gladstone Place Partners' Steve Lipin, BGR's Lanny Griffith, Glover Park Group's Michael Feldman, Harbour Group's Richard Mintz and Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher's Ken Doran) commending them for their decision to ax Saudi Arabia from their client roster..

"It is a positive step toward reducing the corrosive influence of foreign governments and other special interests on our democracy," she wrote.. "But while your firm has dropped Saudi Arabia as a client, it remains in the public interest for your firm to provide a full, transparent accounting of its previous business ties to the Saudi government."

Warren wants the requested information by Dec. 5.
The construction and operation of West Offaly Power feature in a number of videos in the new ESB Film Archives.

To celebrate the 90th anniversary of the establishment of ESBs Public Relations Department, ESB has launched previously unseen film footage commissioned by the organisation dating back to the 1920s.

West Offaly Power is featured in a number of the nostalgic clips, including 'Power for Progress' and Forty light years from Parteen,' both of which can be seen here.

The film archive offers a unique insight into the social, cultural and economic development of Ireland at this time and up to the 1980s. The archive was launched yesterday at the 65th annual PRII conference in Dublin.

ESB first dipped its toes into the film world when they entered an agreement in April 1928 with the First National Pathe Film Company to record the construction of Irelands first hydroelectric station on the River Shannon at Ardnacrusha in Co Clare. The film was subsequently shown in cinemas, school and colleges nationwide to educate the country on the importance of the development.

From the 1950s to 1980s, ESB employed the services of acclaimed Austrian filmmaker George Fleischmann who incidentally crash landed in Ireland while on a surveillance mission during World War II. Interned at the Curragh Camp, he produced 15 films for ESB.

The first of his documentaries  Power for Progress  details the infrastructural work carried out by ESB up to 1955 including the development of hydro, peat and coal stations. Domestic and social scenes from the 1950s are also captured including the focus on promoting the all-electric house.

Outlining the importance of this archive to recording Irelands history, Pat ODoherty, Chief Executive of ESB, said: The films, preserved in ESB Archives, illustrate ESBs contribution in the evolution of a new and changing Ireland with many having cultural, educational, historical and social significance. The early documentaries were broadcast in cinemas or local screenings at a time before television arrived, opening Irish society to a brighter future through the electrification of the entire country. We are delighted to release the films online for everyone to enjoy from all corners of the world.

ESB employees were a regular feature in many of the documentaries, in particular, the 1972 documentary on Turlough Hill, Co Wicklow, Peak Power, dedicated entirely to the workers. It features interviews with the employees who contributed to the largest pumped storage civil engineering project of its time.

One of the most recent films in the archive is Tomorrows House Today which depicts the planning and construction of six houses in Kilcock, Co Kildare, each fitted with various different electrical and insulation systems. The results were monitored and analysed by ESB to ensure that the most efficient building and insulation techniques will be used in the future.

Offaly also features in a dramatised film about a fictional young local farmer fascinated by the new peat electricity generation station in Portarlington.

The film features exterior and interior footage of the station on the Laois Offaly border including the cooling tower, turbine halls and control panel. Local farmers are featured loading wagons with peat by hand ready for transportation to the station. You can view that clip here.

You can see more from the entire archive at www.esbarchives.ie/film/
An appeal in which a jury verdict found a driver guilty of manslaughter after doctors agreed that he met the criteria to be found legally insane, is being watched by the Polish Embassy in Dublin, the Court of Appeal has been told.

Polish national Dariusz Alchimionek (44), with an address at Barrow Way, Spa Street, Portarlington, Co Laois, had denied the manslaughter of John Gorman (19) and assault causing harm to his brother, Adam, in Offaly on December 29, 2015.

The brothers had been returning home from Tullamore when a vehicle driven by Alchimionek suddenly crossed the road into the path of their oncoming car at Ballycrystal, Geashill, Co Offaly.

Tullamore Circuit Criminal Court heard how Alchimionek had become convinced the Islamic State group, or Isis, were about to invade Europe and a third World War was about to begin.

Consultant psychiatrists for both the prosecution and the defence agreed that Alchimionek met the criteria to be found not guilty by reason of insanity. The jury had the option of returning three verdicts: guilty, not guilty or not guilty by reason of insanity.

After two hours and 50 minutes of deliberations, the jury returned majority guilty verdicts of 11-1 on both counts, which were met with applause in the courtroom.

The accused was then sentenced to nine years imprisonment with the final three suspended by Judge Keenan Johnson in October 2017.

Alchimionek has lodged an appeal against his conviction on the sole ground that the jurys verdict was perverse and against the evidence.

His barrister, Kenneth Fogarty SC, asked the Court of Appeal on Friday, November 30, for the earliest possible date for hearing.

Mr Fogarty said it was a case of finding the proper place for his treatment and care. He said he was currently serving a sentence in prison but undoubtedly he should be detained in the Central Mental Hospital (CMH), counsel said.

Counsel for the Director of Public Prosecutions, Michael Delaney SC, said on the last occasion that it was a case "on which the Director has been reflecting for some time" and it has caused "some difficulty".

Mr Delaney said the prosecutions consultant psychiatrist effectively agreed with the consultant psychiatrist hired by the defence that Alchimionek met the criteria for a verdict of not guilty by reason of insanity.

The prosecutions consultant psychiatrist had not been called to give evidence. However, the jury was told that the prosecutions doctor effectively agreed with the doctor for the defence.

Mr Delaney told the court on Friday, November 30 that certain lines of inquiry pursued by the DPP had not been completed.

He said the State were seeking to obtain medical records related to Alchimionek. He said there had been a previous hospitalisation and the state hoped to receive cooperation from the defence in receiving those records.

Mr Fogarty said the State was entitled at any time to obtain the information they were now retrospectively seeking. He said the State was trying to "justify a situation that is unjustifiable.

Mr Fogarty informed the court that representatives from the Polish Embassy in Dublin had become interested in the case as observers.

President of the Court of Appeal Mr Justice George Birmingham listed the matter for January 24 next.

On the last occasion, Mr Fogarty said the atmosphere in the Circuit Court had been "highly charged". There was an "outpouring of emotion" that was "humanly understandable" but not desirable in terms of how the law was to be applied".

Mr Fogarty said the prosecution had made a decision at one point to "change what the accused man was facing". What started out as a dangerous driving causing death charge later became a manslaughter charge.

He said it was explained to Alchimionek that the foregone conclusion of a not guilty verdict by reason of insanity, was a referral to the Central Mental Hospital (CMH).




Tipping restaurant servers a standard 15 to 20 percent is firmly embedded in the nations cultural fabric, in part because its widely known that most servers get paid a subminimum hourly wage  $6.25 in Chicago, $4.95 in Illinois and $2.13 under federal law. Worker advocates are pushing legislation in cities and states to require the restaurant industry to pay all its employees at least the full minimum wage. Meanwhile, some sit-down restaurants have tried to nix tipping and instead charge a fixed service fee or raise prices to accommodate higher base wages, but many reversed course amid backlash from employees and customers, who like the right to tip.
Security review in J&K is message to Pak not to use Taliban win in Kashmir

37, in November, 227 this year: Here is how many terrorists Indian Army killed in J&K

India

oi-Vicky Nanjappa

Srinagar, Nov 30: There have been six encounters in nine days in Jammu and Kashmir and 28 terrorists were killed during this period. The month of November was a largely successful one for the security forces.

In 29 days, the security forces in November have gunned down 37 terrorists of which 28 were from the terror infested South Kashmir. Statistics also reveal that the very troubled Shopian district witnessed the killing of 13 terrorists between November 1 and 29.

The over all number of terrorists to have been killed this year is 227. Last year the number of terrorists to have been killed by the security forces was 207.

Including Lashkar's Naveed Jatt, Army has gunned down 24 terrorists in 4 days

The most successful days of the month have been November 23 and 24. In these two days, the forces gunned down 12 terrorists. The first encounter of the month was at Budgam in Central Kashmir. Two local terrorists, Mukthar Ahmed Khan and Muhammad Amin Mir were killed in the encounter.

In the Bhijbehara encounter, six terrorists were killed. They included Lashkar-e-Tayiba commander Azad Ahmad Malik, Basir Mir, Unais, Shahid, Aqib and Umar Ghanie. In Shopian those to be gunned down on a single day were Azad Ahmad Malik, Basit Ahmad Mir, Unais, Atif Hassan Najar, Shahid and Firdous Ahmad Mir.

What is even more important is that out of the 37 terrorists to have been killed this month, nine were commanders. Earlier this week, a top terrorist of the Lashkar-e-Tayiba and the killer of noted journalist, Shujaat Bukhari was gunned down in an encounter with the security forces. This was probably one of the most successful operations of the year.

Most of the terrorists killed this week were involved in luring youth into terrorism. They were also the same ones who had indulged in the killings of civilians while accusing them of being informers, Director General of Police, Dilbag Singh said. The people must heave a sigh of relief as South Kashmir will see less of terrorism, Singh also added.

India lost 400 paramilitary men in action between 2015-17

He also said that the recruitment had come down to a large extent. In the past two months there has not been a single instance of a local youth joining terrorism, he also said.

He said that those local youth who have joined terrorism, must shun their weapons and return to the mainstream. We will sincerely help the locals to return and join their families, he also assured.

For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications

Story first published: Friday, November 30, 2018, 9:30 [IST]
7th Pay Commission: BSNL employees to go on strike

India

oi-Vicky Nanjappa

New Delhi, Nov 30: More news on the 7th Pay Commission suggests that the BSNL employees will be going on protest from December 3 onwards.

According to reports, BSNL employees union will hold a strike on December 3, for a list of demands. Among which is also a professional demand for the immediate allotment of 4G spectrum to BSNL! After 4G spectrum, the second most important demand is implementation of the government rule in respect of payment of pension contribution by BSNL. Additionally, BSNL has also demanded wage revision of the employees and pension revision of the retirees, from January 1, 2017.

7th Pay Commission: Good news, 200 per cent hike proposed for these CG employees

MTNL employees too are planning to join the strike. Convener, Joint Forum of Retirees, S S Nanda said in a PTI report earlier, that BSNL and MTNL pensioners, who were absorbed from Department of Telecom under the banner of Committee of BSNL and MTNL Pensioners'

Associations, observed a fast today throughout the country demanding pension revision from January 1, 2017 with 32 percent fitment factor hike, which was given to central government pensioners numbering more than 60 lakh from January, 2016.

Nanda reportedly added that, the pension of nearly 62 lakh central government pensioners were revised with effect from January 1, 2016 as per recommendation of the 7th pay commission.

7th Pay Commission: Three solid reasons, why CG employees will get a pay hike

Nanda reiterated that, "BSNL/MTNL retirees are also covered under the same rules of central government pensioners but not getting similar benefits."
Should home cooks really try making their own lardo, pancetta and prosciutto?

If you'd asked me this a few weeks ago  when I hadn't yet read "Salumi: The Craft of Italian Dry Curing"  I would have offered a three-word answer: "Are you crazy?"

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The idea of hanging raw, room-temperature meat at home for long stretches is not something I'd have recommended to any novice, especially not a home cook like me. But as I read Michael Ruhlman and Brian Polcyn's elegant, clear and inviting descriptions of home meat curing, I became increasingly convinced this might not only be doable, but advisable.

OK, a leg of prosciutto may never hang in my closet, but homemade lardo and pancetta? Sure. With Ruhlman and Polcyn's direction, curing meats sounds nearly foolproof.

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(Ruhlman, a food writer, and Polcyn, a chef and charcuterie professor, co-authored "Charcuterie," one of the first comprehensive English language texts on cured meats.)

The most appealing aspect for this sustainable food lover is being able to know that my charcuterie is made from the finest meat possible  in this case pork from a local farmer who lets her jolly black Berkshires frolic and root all over her farm until the last day of their lives.

So, before I devoted a chunk of change and months of curing time to the cause, I wanted to talk to the authors for some assurance that I wouldn't end up with a big rotten piece of flesh hanging in my kitchen. I caught up with them before a salumi-making demo at Floriole Cafe and Bakery in Lincoln Park with chef Rob Levitt of The Butcher & Larder. Here's an edited transcript of the conversation.

Q: Is it really safe for the average home cook to be hanging raw chunks of meat in their homes?

Polcyn:

If they read our book it is.

Ruhlman:

It's a whole muscle so the bacteria can't get into the center of the muscle. As long as it dries properly, nothing is going to happen except on the outside. So as long as the outside is taken care of with mold or held in the proper conditions, it's fine.

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Polcyn:

The center of the meat is sterile, and the surface area is treated with salt, which pulls the moisture out and creates an inhospitable environment for microbes to grow. And so the outside becomes sterile in itself. So when you hang it at the right temperature of about 60 degrees with the right humidity, then the dehydration continues. And then as you lower the water activity, the flavor intensifies and you also have preservation.

Q: So let's say someone already owns your famous book, "Charcuterie," do they really need "Salumi"?

Polcyn:

Yeah, if you wanna do the Italian version and dried meats, you need "Salumi." If you want to cook things more you need "Charcuterie."

Ruhlman:

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When we went to a salumeria in Italy, it was like a Willy Wonka's world of pork with case after case of all kinds of salami, lonza (loin), belly, spalla (ham made with the shoulder), prosciutto, and I said I don't even know what I am looking at here. When we got back, I said this can all be broken down in about eight parts of the pig, but it seems really complicated because they turn it into so many variations.

What I am most proud of is that the book breaks down what seems to be a complicated subject into its component parts. There are basically eight things you need to know and that is what I try to do with all my books, simplify things so people are not intimated by cooking.

The second thing we do is Brian describes how to break down the pig the way the Italians do, which is much different from the way they do in America. And we have illustrations of both the Italian (and American) breakdown because a lot more people ... are going in with friends and buying half hogs. And it's really not that hard ... if you know what you're doing.

Q: Lets say someone is a beginner. What salumi should they make?

Polcyn:

Coppa. Coppa is so easy. In "Charcuterie," the simplest recipe is corned beef. Like that, if you follow the directions and understand the concept you'll have success.

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Ruhlman:

You almost don't even need ideal drying conditions. It's hard to screw up. This has been going on for thousands of years, but we've gotten away from it so everybody is really scared of bacteria.

Polcyn:

We are a generation from losing a lot of this subject matter. Our parents may have been doing this kind of thing out of necessity. They weren't thinking of making artisanal coppa, they were thinking what is the cheapest best way to get food on the table and to preserve the meat.

But our kids think that all food comes on this white Styrofoam tray wrapped in plastic. This whole farm to table concept, this is the real deal.

Q: So honestly how good will my coppa be compared to stuff I can buy?

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Polcyn:

Here's what it comes down to. It's not the recipe that will make the difference, because the recipe is basically salt and pork. Chefs aren't the artists. Nature is the true artist. So if you start with a (breed like a) Berkshire, cut it properly and follow the book, you will have a great coppa. As good as you can get in Italy? I don't know.

meng@tribune.com
Ahmed Patel the most trusted man of Sonia Gandhi takes over command in Rajasthan

India

oi-Vinod Kumar Shukla

New Delhi, Nov 30: In the wake of some adverse report reaching to the Congress high command about the performance of the Congress in Rajasthan, Ahmed Patel, the most trusted person of United Progress Alliance (UPA) chairperson Sonia Gandhi has taken command of the Congress war room in the state. He has come here with a mandate to placate angry Congress workers of the state and asked them to work for the party with full vigour.

Patel had met Brij Kishor Sharma on Thursday by visiting his home who was one of the contenders of the Congress ticket from Hawamahal Assembly seat and suggested him to start campaigning for the official candidates of the party. He is also trying to contact such leaders on other seats who are either inactive or opposing official Congress candidates. He is trying to convince them to support the officials candidates of the party so the Congress is able to form the government in the state.

Ahmed Patel new treasurer of Congress, to replace Motilal Vora

Patel will be in touch with all the Congress candidate on all 200 seats on which elections are happening and if any candidate is facing any problem he will be provided every solution to the problem. Sources said that a team of two dozens of youths is working as an expert in the Congress War Room to assist Ahmed Patel. According to party sources, Brij Kishor Sharma is a former minister in the Congress government and is son of former minister and governor of Gujarat Pt Naval Kishor Sharma. Brij Kishor was seeking ticket from Hawa Mahal but party has fielded former MP Mahesh Sharma on this seat.

Have proof of Rs 25 lakh bribe amount reaching Ahmed Patel's residence says ED

Brij Kishor Sharma is angry and is sulking ever since he was denied ticket. He had openly expressed his anger with the media and said that he will work for the party everywhere except Hawa Mahal seat. Sources said that Patel has asked him to work for the party referring his personal relations with Naval Kishor Sharma.
Calcutta University BA BSc Part 1 exam results declared

India

oi-Madhuri Adnal

New Delhi, Nov 30: The Calcutta University BA BSc Part 1 exam results have been declared. The results are available on the official website.

University of Calcutta had announced the results for Bachelor of Commerce (B.Com) Part I (Honours, General and Major) Examination 2017 on the official results website of the varsity in July, 2018. The Calcutta University has hosted the provisional pre-publication status of marks for B.A./ B.Sc. Part-I (Honours/ Major) exam on its result portal, wbresults.nic.in.

How to download Calcutta University BA, BSc Part 1 exam results:

Go to wbresults.nic.in

Click on the link 'B.A./ B.Sc. Part-I (Honours/ Major) Examination, 2018'.

Enter roll number

Submit

View result

Take a printout

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Story first published: Friday, November 30, 2018, 7:53 [IST]
Coal block allocation scam: 5 including former coal secretary HC Gupta convicted

India

oi-Vikas SV

New Delhi, Nov 30: Former Union Coal Secretary HC Gupta and four other have been convicted in the coal block allocation case. The conviction is in connection with the allocation of Moira and Madhujore (North and South) coal blocks in West Bengal to Vikas Metal Power Ltd.

The CBI had registered an FIR in the case in September 2012. The Special court in Delhi held all of them guilty of criminal conspiracy and under other sections of Prevention of Corruption Act

The court has fixed December 3 for the argument on the quantum of sentence.

Coalgate: What is the scam all about

Gupta, was Coal Secretary for two years during the Congress-led United progressive Alliance (UPA) regime before he retired in 2008. He is facing trial in seven other cases of the coal scam.

In June 2017, Gupta was awarded jail term for irregularities in the allocation of Madhya Pradesh based Thesgora-B/Rudrapuri coal block to KSSPL. Then in December 2017, a special CBI court held the former coal secretary guilty in a coal allocation and mining scam from Jharkhand. Former Jharkhand Chief Minister Madhu Koda was also convicted in the case.

The IAS officers' association in 2016 came in support of Gupta after he broke down in the Court saying he did not have capacity to hire a lawyer to contest his case. The association then offered to pay his lawyers' fees, said reports.

What is Coal allocation scam?

The case is popularly known as Coalgate. There was a huge political row over this case with several bureaucrats and leaders under the UPA regime coming under the scanner. A report by the Comptroller and Auditor General of India showed inefficient and possibly illegal allocation of coal blocks between 2004 and 2009. It estimated loss to the exchequer to the tune of Rs 10.7 lakh crore. The amount was however toned down to Rs 1.86 lakh crore in the final report.

Coal scam case: CBI court holds ex-Jharkhand CM Madhu Koda, others guilty

The point made in the CAG report was that there was improper allocation. It was said that this was to be done through competitive bidding. The government however avoided the competitive bidding, the CAG report said. The revenue secured from the allottees for the allocation was lesser than what could have been if there was competitive bidding, the report further stated.

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Story first published: Friday, November 30, 2018, 11:20 [IST]
No one will be able to destroy Congress, leaders joining TMC 'drama', says Venugopal

Congress workers made to rub nose on ground after vehicle splashes mud

India

oi-Madhuri Adnal

Jaipur, Nov 30: Four men who had forced a Congress worker to rub his nose on the ground after his vehicle splashed mud on them were made to apologise after villagers intervened in the matter in Rajasthan's Dungarpur district.

The former Zila Pramukh Bhagwati Lal Roat was going to attend a rally of Congress state president Sachin Pilot on Tuesday when his vehicle in Jhosawa village of the district splashed mud on few men. The angry men chased the car and stopped him at the bus stand. Roat was purportedly forced to rub his nose on the ground and apologise to the youngsters.

Congress getting ready to woo middle class for 2019 polls with its alternative agenda

On Wednesday, seniors members of the Patidar community called the four men and Roat to Bhaimai village in the district where the men were asked to apologise to the Congress worker in the same manner.

"They misbehaved with Roat following which senior members of their own community made them apologise to him Wednesday," Dinesh Kumar, the president of Dungarpur district Congress told PTI on Thursday. No complaint was filed in this case, police said.

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Story first published: Friday, November 30, 2018, 6:52 [IST]
Congress's central leadership wanted me to go to Pakistan: Sidhu

India

oi-Vikas SV

Hyderabad, Nov 30: Under fire for going to Pakistan despite Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh asking him not to, Navjot Singh Sidhu on Friday said the central leadership of the Congress and at least 20 others from the party wanted him to go.

Amarinder Singh had advised Sidhu to reconsider his decision to attend the foundation stone ceremony of the Kartarpur Corridor on 28 November 2018, in Pakistan. Singh said that Sidhu did not get back to him on the matter.

"Ok, but atleast 20 Congress leaders asked me to go, Central leadership asked me to go. Punjab CM is like my father, I told him that I had already promised them(Pakistan) that I will go," Sidhu told ANI.

Sidhu will win if he contests election in Pakistan: Imran Khan

"When I first went to Pakistan and talked about them promising Kartarpur Corridor, the critics mocked and made fun of me, now the same people are licking their own spit and taking U-turns," he added.

Sidhu also exuded confidence that Congress would form the government at the Centre after 2019 Lok Sabha elections and said that Rahul Gandhi would hoist the tri colour from Red Fort.

Singh had said that Navjot Sidhu was campaigning in Madhya Pradesh when he told him to reconsider his decision.

"Sidhu told me he had already committed himself to going. When I informed him of the stand I had taken on the issue, he said it was his personal visit but he would get back to me. But I did not hear from him," Singh said.

He added the cabinet minister had sent him a request for going and he approved it. "I do not stop anyone from going anywhere on a private visit. It is not an official visit," the chief minister said.

On November 28, the Congress has tried to distance itself from Navjot Singh Sidhu after he attended the Kartarpur corridor groundbreaking ceremony. The official guests representing the Indian Government for the function were Union Ministers Harsimrat Kaur Badal and Hardeep Puri. External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj was invited, but she turned down the invitation.

Sidhu's border hopping, new found love for Pakistan leaves Amarinder Singh in a fix

"Navjot Singh Sidhu went there on personal invitation. He didn't go there in an official capacity as a Minister. This has also been clarified by the Punjab CM. The onus of whatever he says there in his personal capacity lies on him alone," Congress' Pratap Singh Bajwa had said on November 28.

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Story first published: Friday, November 30, 2018, 16:45 [IST]
Dilli Gupshup: Even the BJP leader feels Congress winning in Madhya Pradesh

India

oi-Vinod Kumar Shukla

New Delhi, Nov 30: The story is written on the wall in Madhya Pradesh where it has been realized even by the BJP leaders when he congratulated a Congress leader. The election is costing too much for the lawyer politicians with the money while it is costing bureaucrats with their sleep in Uttar Pradesh. Is arm twisting a reality for political rivals? Some interesting read...



Even the BJP leader believes Congress is winning in Madhya Pradesh

It seems to be written on the wall as even a senior BJP leader feels that the Congress is forming the government in Madhya Pradesh. One of the former chief ministers of Madhya Pradesh told one of the very senior Congress leaders that now you will be a minister in the government as the Congress is coming to power in the state. So the BJP appears to have conceded defeat in the state before results are declared with party workers failing to turn up on the day of voting. Though the result will be declared on December 11 but the BJP leaders keeping the Congress leaders in good humour so their work is done even if the government changes.

Non-resident Rajasthani workers of the BJP to take care of 10 households in Rajasthan polls

Lawyer-politicians want freedom from the election campaign

Lawyer-politicians had a tough time during the Assembly elections and even now they are having a tough time as they don't want to go for election campaigning in Rajasthan saying that not a single vote will improve by their going to Rajasthan. One of the senior Congress leaders was of the view that court dates have to be managed and the expenses of the office and salary of workers and many other things have to be taken care of. Moreover, not much difference will it make by his going to any state in terms of vote. But high commands orders have to be obeyed as they too have to go for electoral battle in the days to come.

Family man bureaucrats find it difficult to cope with godman CM of UP

After Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP president Amit Shah, Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath is the busiest person as he is addressing maximum rallies in states but this had made the life of bureaucrats difficult. Yogi does not stay back in any of the states in the night. He comes back to Lucknow and clears files, meets bureaucrats and takes care of day-to-day functioning but this has made a life of bureaucrats miserable. They have to stay back or wait till late to meetings get over. So bureaucrats want elections to get over fast so they get time to relax. Some of them quipped that the CM does not have the family but they do have.

Usual arm-twisting tactics of the ruling dispensation?

A former Uttar Pradesh minister is toeing the line of his rival political party against his own party which is saving him from hands of law so his detractors are saying that he is safe as longs as he behaves the way he is behaving but the moment he takes another route, he will be nabbed. The inquiry about Gomti Riverfront and the issue of Ram Briksha Yadav will be opened. At the moment only officials are only being implicated in the matter. So this will go on for now at least of time some change in the government happens.
Farmers march highlights: Representatives of 21 political parties come together for farmers

India

oi-Madhuri Adnal

New Delhi, Nov 30: Representatives of 21 political parties, including opposition leaders like Rahul Gandhi, Sharad Pawar, Sitaram Yechury, Farooq Abdullah and Sharad Yadav, stood together on the stage at the massive farmers gathering at Jantar Mantar on Friday.

Thousands of farmers are pressing for various demands that include debt relief and remunerative prices for their produce. In addition to this, they are also demanding that a special session of Parliament be convened to discuss issues relating to agrarian distress across the country.

Over 3,500 police personnel were deployed on the route of the march special medical arrangements were in place in Central and New Delhi police districts.

Here are the updates from the Farmers' March:
Google says it removed 71,132 content pieces in May, 83,613 items in June in India

Right to be forgotten: HC asks Centre, Google to reply to plea for removing verdict from search engine

Google dedicates Doodle to Maria Walanda Maramis

India

oi-Chennabasaveshwar P

Bengaluru, Dec 1: Search giant Google dedicated Doodle in honour of Maria Walanda Maramis, a National Hero of Indonesia who fought tirelessly for the advancement of women in her home country at the beginning of the 20th century.

Born in a small village in North Minahasa Regency on this day in 1872, Maramis was the youngest of three children. Orphaned at an early age, she was raised by an uncle along with her siblings. Maramis and her sister were offered only basic schooling because of their gender.

After moving to Manado, the capital city of North Sulawesi province, she began writing an op-ed column in a local newspaper, Tjahaja Siang. Her writings emphasized the importance of mothers as caretakers of their family's well-being, health care, and education.

Google dedicates doodle to 'Day of the Dead'

Based on these principles, she founded the organization PIKAT, an Indonesian acronym for "Percintaan Ibu Kepada Anak Turunannya," which translates as "The Love of a Mother Toward her Children." PIKAT members learned essential household skills like cooking and sewing and caring for their children's health. The organization expanded as far away as to Java where local women organized their own branches.

Turning her attention to politics, Maramis fought for women's right to vote in choosing their representatives. Her efforts paid off in 1921 when the government allowed women to participate in elections. PIKAT's work went on, aided by Maramis' daughter Anna Matuli Walanda.

In 1969, in appreciation of her accomplishments on behalf of Indonesian women, the government decreed Maramis a National Hero. Her work towards the emancipation of women is celebrated on her birthday and a statue stands in her honor in the village of Komo Luar.

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Story first published: Saturday, December 1, 2018, 0:44 [IST]
Hyderpora encounter: Bodies of two civilians exhumed, to be handed over to families

Jammu University prof suspended over allegations of calling Bhagat Singh a terrorist

India

oi-Vikas SV

Jammu, Nov 30: Jammu University has reportedly suspended professor Mohammad Tajuddin who has been accused of calling Bhagat Singh a terrorist in one of his lectures. A six-member inquiry committee has been constituted to probe entire matter.

Professor Tajuddin, however, said that he used the word terrorist in a different context and made a 25 seconds video clip from his 2-hour long lecture on Russian revolutionary Lenin.

"I was teaching about the Russian revolutionary Lenin and in that context, I said state calls any violence against it 'terrorism'. Someone took a 25-second video out of my two-hour lecture. The terrorist word came in that, it wasn't what I meant. Still, if anyone is hurt, I'm really sorry for it," the professor was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.

Shocking! DU book refers Shaheed Bhagat Singh a 'terrorist'

"I also consider Bhagat Singh a revolutionary. He is one of the people who sacrificed their lives for the country," he said.

A clipping of a part of lecture, in which he purportedly calls Bhagat Singh a terrorist, went viral on social media, sparking outrage.

"....this has happened in our country also during the independence struggle. We see Bhagat Singh as hero but they were also terrorist... for a political.." he can be heard as saying in the video. The 24 second long video ends abruptly.

Enraged at the remark, students of the university wrote a letter to Vice-Chancellor Manoj Dhar, demanding an action against Tajuddin.

"Some students came to me last evening and told me about this incident. They submitted a CD as proof. I have immediately formed an inquiry committee. We have disassociated him from teaching till inquiry committee submits the report," Prof Dhar, Vice Chancellor, Jammu University, told ANI.

"The 6-member committee will look into the entire incident. Let's wait for outcome of the inquiry committee and based on that, we will take further action," he said.

In 2016, there was an uproar after it came to fore that a Delhi University's (DU) text book refered to Bhagat Singh as a terrorist.

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Story first published: Friday, November 30, 2018, 12:49 [IST]
Kerala floods: Centre asks state government to pay up Rs 290 crore for rescue operations

India

oi-Madhuri Adnal

New Delhi, Nov 30: Four months after the Kerala floods, the Centre has approved an additional Rs 2,500 crore for relief and rehabilitation work for flood-ravaged Kerala, said reports on Friday. The Centre had earlier sanctioned Rs 600 crore for the same.

The Kerala government had submitted a memorandum demanding Rs 4,800 crore. However, the committee given the task, cleared Rs 3,100 crore including the Rs 600 crore earlier.

The Centre has also asked the state government to pay Rs 290.74 crore as aircraft charge for holding rescue operations during mid-August flood and for supplying ration materials. Making the statement in the Assembly, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said the State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) has a sum of Rs 987.73 crore, of which Rs 586.04 crore has been spent.

Central team to visit Kerala to assess flood damage

According to a preliminary estimate, the loss and damage due to the rain fury was Rs 20,000 crore, but Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has said it would be much more. The deluge in the state, the worst in a century, had claimed 483 lives since August 8 besides causing widespread destruction.

At least 488 people died in Kerala due to the rains and floods this monsoon. The large-scale devastation had affected 14 districts in the state.

CWC report says unprecedented rainfall in Kerala caused such a devastating flood

In September, the Centre had also enhanced its contribution in the State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) from 75 per cent to 90 per cent, with effect from April 1 that will also benefit Kerala. Under the Disaster Management Act 2005, a financial mechanism has been set up by way of National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF) at the national level and SDRF at the state level to meet the rescue and relief expenditure during any notified disasters.
Plainclothes would be infinitely improved if it were a 90-minute one-act: at this juncture, its too long to fully sustain dramatic interest. I found the production, staged at the Den Theatre, to be overplayed by a couple of notches on the right hand side of the dial. And Davis needs to cut away all of the clutter and really home in the complexity of what it means to be a loss-prevention person  you know, that surely agonizing pull between irritation at shoplifters who are so obvious as to get caught with ease (and then caught again), and the nagging sense that youre ruining the lives of struggling people who just wanted a particular pair of sneakers, as recommended by a celebrity.
Mega farmer rally today as thousands descend upon national capital

India

oi-Vicky Nanjappa

New Delhi, Nov 30: Thousands of farmers converged in the national capital ahead of the two day protest, which includes a march to Parliament.

The farmers are pressing for various demands that include debt relief and remunerative prices for their produce. In addition to this, they are also demanding that a special session of Parliament be convened to discuss issues relating to agrarian distress across the country.

Two-day farmers' protest in Delhi; demand for better MSP, loan waivers

The farmers under the banner of the All India Kisan Sangharsh Coordination Committee arrived at the national capital from various parts of the country. They marched to Ramlila Maidan from four corners of the city- Anand Vihar, Nizamuddin, Bijwasan Railway Station and Sabzi Mandi.

"Over 3L farmers have committed suicide in India in last 15 yrs, due to successive govts betraying them. Tomorrow 1 lakh farmers from across the country are marching to Delhi to ask for fair prices & freedom from debt. Let's stand in solidarity with them," advocate Prashant Bhushan said in a tweet.

The Delhi Police is yet to give permission for Friday's march, citing guidelines that only allow 1,000 people to protest at Parliament Street. However the farmer leaders insist that the march will go ahead.

Maharashtra: Thousands of farmers march towards Azad Maidan in Mumbai, demand land reforms

Apart from the Left, no political party has issued any statements as yet. This despite the agrarian crisis taking centre stage in the ongoing elections to the state assemblies. The NDA has failed to engage with the farmers or even respond to a letter sent to the Prime Minister regarding their demands.

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Story first published: Friday, November 30, 2018, 6:35 [IST]
In Pics: All you need to know about India's lethal destroyer ship INS Visakhapatnam

Mumbai: 21-year-old woman held for sexually assaulting her 17-year-old 'husband'

India

oi-Madhuri Adnal

Mumbai, Nov 30: In a rare instance, a 22-year-old mother was arrested for sexually assaulting her 17-year-old 'husband', even as she repeatedly claimed that their relationship was consensual and the couple has a five-month-old daughter from the relationship.

The woman, who was apprehended under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (Pocso) Act, has moved the court for bail. She was earlier allowed to keep her daughter with her in Byculla jail.

Mysuru police rejects media reports on sexual molestation during Dasara festival

According to a report in The Times of India, the complaint filed by the youth's mother alleged that the woman had "enticed" her son. IT is learnt that the "marriage" took place on November 8, 2017.

The mother, stated that the woman claimed that she had married her son and would now reside in the house. When she and her husband opposed this, the woman abused them and threatened to harm herself. She said after the woman left, her son too left home and refused to return. She claimed the woman was married twice and divorced.

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Story first published: Friday, November 30, 2018, 10:14 [IST]
Mystery or natural: Three judges recuse themselves from hearing judge Loya case

India

oi-Vicky Nanjappa

Mumbai, Nov 30: Three judges of the Bombay High Court have recused themselves from hearing a petition which alleged that special CBI Judge B H Loya was poisoned. The petitioners, a Nagpur based lawyer, Satish Uke alleged that Loya, the special CBI judge presiding over the trial in the alleged fake encounter of Sohrabbudin Sheikh was poisoned with a radioactive isotope.

The petition is before the Nagpur Bench of the Bombay High Court. On Monday, when the petition came up, a Bench of Justices S B Shukre and S M Modak recused themselves from hearing the case.

Who is Judge BH Loya? All you need to know about this case

The same petition came up on Wednesday before a Bench of Justices P N Deshmukh and Swapna Joshi. Not before the Bench of Justice Swapna Joshi, the Bench said. Justices Shukre, Modak and Joshi while recusing themselves from hearing the case, however did not assign any reason for the same.

Justice Shukre had told a newspaper last year that there was nothing suspicious behind judge Loya's death and the doctors had gone all out to save him. Justice Modak on the other hand was staying with Judge Loya at the Raj Bhavan guest house in Nagpur, when he had gone to attend the wedding of a colleague's daughter. Judge Loya is said to have died of a heart attack on December 1 2014.

While these could be the reasons for Justices Shukre and Modak to recuse themselves, the reason behind Justice Joshi's decision not to hear the case is still not known.

'Only politics and nothing else', Maharashtra tells SC on Judge Loya's death

The petitioner alleged that BJP president Amit Shah, who was discharged in the encounter case had met with Ratan Kumar Sinha, then chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission in March 2015. He also said that retired district judge Prakash Thombre and advocate Shrikant Khandalkar had told him that Loya had died due to poisoning from a radioactive isotope. Thombre and Khandalkar have died since in allegedly mysterious circumstances.

A petition had also been filed in the Supreme Court earlier this year on the same issue. The court however held that the death of Judge Loya was a natural one.
No regrets about Jan 12 presser, things changing: Former SC judge Kurian Joseph

India

pti-PTI

New Delhi, Nov 30: A day after he retired, former Supreme Court Judge Kurian Joseph on Friday said that he has no regrets over the controversial January 12 press conference in which he along with three other judges flagged various issues with regard to functioning of the top court, and noted that things are changing.

Joseph, who was part of the press conference in which the now Chief Justice of India, Ranjan Gogoi, Justice M B Lokur and former judge J Chelameswar had raised serious questions including over allocation of cases in the top court, said the systems and practices in the apex court would take time to change as they have been there for quite long.

He also asserted that there is no political pressure in exercise of judicial powers by a judge, but added that the manner in which appointments are "selectively delayed" or "withheld" is "in a way interference" in the administration of justice.

Mystery or natural: Three judges recuse themselves from hearing judge Loya case

Asked whether he regrets being part of the January 12 press conference, he replied, "What a strange question you are asking? I never regretted whatever I did, I did it very consciously for a cause and for a cause for which there was no other way left. That was the stage, when we did it".

When asked whether the crisis to which they had referred was now over in the apex court, Joseph said, "You can't say it fully that the crisis is over because it was an institutional crisis, so it takes a long time for the systems and the practices to change. Hopefully it would change".

Referring to CJI Gogoi, Justice Joseph said, "It's because one who was part of the clamour for change is also now the captain over there so things should change". He said that the systems and practices have been there in the apex court for quite a long, so it would take time for them to change, "though it is changing".

"The process of change will continue. Even the earlier chief justice made changes after the press conference," he said. When Joseph was asked whether the problem of roster is now over in the apex court, he replied, "Probably that is the one mistake. It is not a question of roster.

"It was question of some unhealthy practice and systems which were followed in the Supreme Court but in the matter of business actually. So it was against that although roster was one of the issues but there were other issues along with that," he added.

Elaborating on issues raised in the press conference, Justice Joseph said, "As I told that roster was one of the issue but not the only issue. There were certain systems and practices which we have been asking like instead of individual taking a decision without consulting anybody, let's have some systems and practices to be followed which would be healthy for the institutions". He said "it does not look nice particularly for an institutions like a court to have an individual exclusively or solely taking a decision".

"That's what we have been asking that let's have a consultative process. Some sort of consultative process," he said and added that such kind of process is at least happening now.

He also spoke on why the four judges of the top court chose to address a press conference, raising the problems on a public platform, and why they did not seek a full court meeting to sort out the problem in-house.

"No judge can convene a full court meeting on its own. Only the chief justice can convene a full court meeting. It was for the CJI to convene a full court meeting. There were many such requests made in this regard," he said.

On allegations of government "interference" in judiciary especially in the context of high profile cases like Ramjanmabhoomi-Babri masjid dispute, Justice Joseph said he would not like to answer the questions with regard to issues which are currently pending before the court.

Asked whether at any point of time he felt any government or political pressure, Joseph said, "There is no political pressure in the judicial exercise of a judge. I am very clear about it."

"No political party or a political system or a political authority have ever requested me to decide a particular case in a particular manner. To me, at least it has never happened. I don't know whether it has happened to anyone else but to me it has not happened. I do believe that there is no such interference in as far as judicial powers," he said.

However, he said there is "something connected with the administration of justice. It is not delivery of justice, what is said as Judge hearing the case and deciding the case. No, one has ever tried to influence a judge".

"But in the matter of appointment the manner in which appointment are being delayed and the appointments have been selectively delayed, the appointments have been withheld. All this are in a way interference," he said.

PTI
Non-resident Rajasthani workers of the BJP to take care of 10 households in Rajasthan polls

India

oi-Vinod Kumar Shukla

New Delhi, Nov 30: Organising secretaries of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), who are generally involved in backroom election management, have this time round been involved in all kind of activities. National organising secretary Ram Lal has gone to the extent of appealing people to vote for BJP on twitter in Madhya Pradesh. In one similar mover national joint-general secretary (organisations) V Satish has spoke to workers from other state involved in Rajasthan elections to ensure victory of BJP in the state.

The Rajasthan BJP is buoyant with the report coming in that party is very swiftly covering the lost ground in the state. V Satish spoke directly to workers from other state in Jhunjhunu, Churu, Bikaner and Suratgarh districts. He told them to identify weak points and told them infallible redresses for these elections. As per party tradition workers from any other state are in Rajasthan for the ongoing Assembly elections.

Congress is a company owned by Gandhi-Nehru family, says BJP Chief in Rajasthan

V Satish has reached Rajasthan to make the team more efficient and has emphasised on the old tactics of booth management. He told workers the importance of booth and said that "win booth, win elections" is party's time tasted strategy. Considering this theory, every non-resident worker of the BJP has been entrusted with the responsibility of 10 households. They have been clearly asked to contact those 10 households not only to placate angry workers but also tell those people about the achievement of the government and welfare schemes. They have also been told working etiquette and style.

Distributing slips to the voters has been undertaken by the district election office but non-resident Rajasthani workers of the BJP will also do the same by visiting every household. V Satish has made it clear to the workers to establish bonding with the workers and voters. This should be done at any cost without thinking that how much hard work it would require.

Political parties fighting a parallel battle on social media in Rajasthan Assembly polls

Rajasthan has non-resident workers from Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab and many other state for this election activities. Haryana state general secretary Sandeep Joshi is taking care of the responsibility of coordinator. V Satish is in Jaipur today and on December 1, he will go to Bikaner.

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Story first published: Friday, November 30, 2018, 10:12 [IST]
Not a difficult thing to handle Kartarpur corridor: Border Security Force

India

pti-PTI

New Delhi, Nov 30: The BSF on Friday said the proposed Kartarpur corridor between India and Pakistan was "not a difficult" thing for it to manage as it has been doing a similar task along the Attari-Wagah border front in Punjab for ages.

Border Security Force (BSF) chief Rajni Kant Mishra was asked by the reporters if the force had any security "concerns" including revival of Khalistani militancy once this border front is opened for the public? "We have been doing this task on a large scale along the Attari-Wagah border crossing in Punjab for ages. This (Kartarpur corridor) is not a difficult thing to handle," the DG said while interacting with reporters before the 54th raising day of the force Saturday.

The BSF provides an armed security cover to the Attari-Wagah front and it is responsible for allowing entry and exit of people on either side with the assistance of the Customs authorities and local administration.

Swamy demands Sidhu's arrest for allegedly meeting pro-Khalistani leader in Pak

A senior official later told PTI that the border guarding force is mulling to deploy a fresh battalion (about 1,000 personnel) in the area to manage the activities of the corridor and it will also require some smart surveillance and defence gadgetry to be deployed there. It would be like the Attari-Wagah thing.

"We have deployed a strong team of the force there to keep an eye on activities of the people crossing-over and those present on the other side," the official said. The same thing will be done for the Kartarpur corridor and "we will seek the manpower and other sanctions from the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) in due course," the official added.

The foundation stone for the Kartarpur corridor was laid at Dera Baba Nanak in Punjab's Gurdaspur district by Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu and Singh on Monday.

To ensure presence of Indian govt at Kartarpur, Imran Khan bowled a googly says Pak FM

On Wednesday, the foundation stone for the corridor was laid on the other side of the border by Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan in a grand ceremony that was attended by Indian minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal and Hardeep Puri.

The corridor, once operational, will connect Darbar Sahib in Pakistan's Kartarpur - the final resting place of Sikh faith's founder Guru Nanak Dev- with Dera Baba Nanak shrine in India's Gurdaspur district and facilitate visa-free movement of Indian Sikh pilgrims, who will have to just obtain a permit to visit Kartarpur Sahib, which was established in 1522 by Guru Nanak. The corridor is expected to be completed within six months.

Thousands of Sikh devotees from India visit Pakistan every year to celebrate the birth anniversary of Guru Nanak. Talking about the issue of Rohingya migrants that the BSF handled along the eastern borders with Bangladesh over the last year, Mishra said it was not a "big issue" now.

"We intercepted 54 Rohingyas at the border who were coming in towards India and also caught 176 who were going out of the country, in the last one year," he said. Not much development is being witnessed on this subject now, the DG added.

Asked about instances of cattle smuggling along the India-Bangladesh border, the DG said the force has seized an estimated 58,000 cattle and cows this year and 49 jawans have suffered injuries while preventing this illegal act.

The BSF was raised on December 1, 1965 and it is primarily tasked to guard the Indian borders with Pakistan (2,290-kms) and Bangladesh (4,096-kms) apart from rendering a variety of roles in the internal security domain.

PTI
Unless trust deficit is removed, we will be very weary says Army Chief

Peace possible only if Pakistan becomes secular like India: Army Chief

India

oi-Vikas SV

New Delhi, Nov 30: Coming down hard at Islamabad for its support to islamic extremism, Army Chief General Bipin Rawat on Friday said peace with India is possible only if Pakistan truly becomes 'a secular state'. He said Pakistan should strive to become a secular country like India.

"Pakistan has made its state an Islamic State. If they have to stay together with India, then they've to develop as a secular state. We are a secular state. If they're willing to become secular like us, then they seem to have an opportunity," General Rawat said.

General Rawat has been extremely critical about Pakistan and endorses Centre's stance that "terror and talks can't go together". He has time and again said that there is an external hand in the stone pelting incidents in the valley.

Kartarpur to be seen in isolation, shouldn't be linked to anything else: Army chief

Genral Rawat had in September welcomed government's decision to call off talks with Pakistan and said that it was time to give it back to Pakistan army and terrorists.

"Talks and terrorism can't go hand in hand," said General Bipin Rawat soon after Pakistan prime minister Imran Khan called India's decision "arrogant and negative".

"I think our government's policy has been quite clear and concise. We've made no bones about the fact that talks and terrorism can't go hand in hand. Pakistan needs to curb the menace of terrorism," Rawat told ANI.

He said that India needs to take stern action to avenge the barbarism carried out by terrorists and Pakistan army.

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Story first published: Friday, November 30, 2018, 10:36 [IST]
SC refuses to postpone Tripura municipal elections: 'If we do it then it will set a wrong precedent'

This is the national capital, what message are we sending: SC on Delhi air pollution

Plea by 750 Army men challenging CBI probe into encounter at Manipur rejected by SC

India

oi-Vicky Nanjappa

New Delhi, Nov 30: The Supreme Court has rejected a petition filed by 750 Army men who had questioned a decision to allow a CBI probe into the encounter deaths in the AFSPA invoked Manipur.

Earlier the Centre had backed the plea by the Army officers against the persecution by various agencies.

They had complained to the Supreme Court against the persecution by agencies like the CBI and said that they were only doing their duty in states of the North East and Jammu and Kashmir. The plea was filed in the backdrop of the Manipur alleged fake encounter case.

The Centre told the court that the fact that soldiers of our country have to make such a prayer in court itself is unfortunate. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta said that the Centre would like to be heard in the case as it is unfortunate that over 350 soldiers are seeking protection from litigation for engaging in encounters in AFSPA operating areas.

It may be recalled that the Supreme Court had last year directed a probe by the CBI into the alleged extra-judicial killings by the Army, the Assam Rifles and the Manipur Police in the insurgency-hit State.

The court was hearing a PIL seeking probe and compensation in the alleged 1,528 extra-judicial killings in Manipur from 2000 to 2012 by security forces and police.

"In every military operation, the Army cannot be disbelieved. Every judicial inquiry cannot be against the Army. The alleged extra-judicial killing cases in Manipur are not cases of massacre, rather these are cases of military operations," the Centre had told the court.
Rashtra Sevika Samiti providing self defence training to girls in Mumbai slums

India

oi-Vinod Kumar Shukla

New Delhi, Nov 30: In view of the increasing violence against women folks and to make these women aware about their rights and safety especially among the deprived section of society, Rashtra Sevika Samiti which is an affiliate organisation of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) is providing self defence training in the slum areas of Mumbai. The RSS too is working among deprived section of society especially Dalits and tribals.

Navi Mumbai Sanghchalak of Rashtra Sevika Samiti Gayatri Gohain told Oneindia, "Samiti is providing self defence training to girls of slum dwellers in Mumbai. One aspect of the training is without any weapon while the other is with weapon. Weapon does not mean fire weapon but use of Dand (Cane). I myself is a Shikshika so I too train them as per schedule."

Vijayan trains gun at Sangh Parivar, says won't let Sabarimala become Ayodhya

Gayatri Gohain said, "See our focus is more on mental endurance than physical endurance. We are also sure what we teach these girls and we don't mince any word to tell that by this training you will become a professional. This is also not right to say that no one will attack you as many people together can empower anyone be it a man or a woman in any bad day. But if you are mentally strong, you will be able to counter and will not be maimed easily."

It is also being said that this training will also help these girls for personality development and confidence building and also making them self aware. On being asked if these girls are being trained by professions or people from Samiti only, she said, "Every year Varg (Camp) of Samiti is organised in that Samity girls are trained and there are different level that is named as Pravesh (entry), Prabodh (middle) and Praveen (skilled). In this a Sevika is properly trained. So we train people that way."

Top brass of Sangh Pariwar pitch for construction of Ram Temple from different places

"So it is absolutely our teachers who teach these girls whatever is required to them. We teach them discipline, collaboration over competition and all women take care of every work. The work is done by women but not only for women if any welfare scheme is being worked upon it is for the society as such," she added.

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Story first published: Friday, November 30, 2018, 14:53 [IST]
Keep the faith, we are with her in this struggle: Subramanian Swamy to Kangana Ranaut

Swamy demands Sidhu's arrest for allegedly meeting pro-Khalistani leader in Pak

India

oi-Vikas SV

New Delhi, Nov 30: Amid raging controversy over a photo of Navjot Singh Sidhu with pro-Khalistan leader Gopal Chawla, BJP leader Subramanian Swamy has demanded that the Punjab Minister be arrested under the National Security Act.

Sidhu landed in a fresh controversy after Gopal Singh Chawla posted a photograph of himself with the Congress leader on Facebook. The photo was taken on the sidelines of the Kartarpur corridor groundbreaking ceremony which Sidhu had attended. Sidhu, in his defence, said that many people had taken photos with him and that he did not know all of them.

Khalistan-Pak link out in open again: Chawla's presence at Kartarpur says it all

"Then you say that I've nothing to do with Khalistan and condemn it. But he should be investigated by NIA(National Investigation Agency) and arrested under National Security Act," Swamy was quoted as saying by ANI.

Chawla is known as one of the main propagators of the Sikh movement seeking a separate homeland for the community. Sidhu's photograph with Chawla went viral early on Thursday morning, with people calling him out for having met a terrorist.

Sidhu Thursday outright denied recognising the pro-Khalistan separatist leader who was allegedly seen attending the Kartarpur Sahib stone laying foundation ceremony. Reacting to questions on him being seen in pictures with the Khalistani leader, Sidhu told ANI, "There were probably 5-10,000 pictures taken of and with me there(in Pakistan), I don't know who is Gopal Chawla."

I don't know who is Gopal Chawla: Navjot Sidhu on photo with Khalistani leader

The Akali Dal immediately attacked Sidhu in a scathing remark asking whether 'India is his priority or not'. SAD President Sukhbir Badal told PTI, "There was a link between Gopal Chawla and a terrorist attack that took place in Amritsar (on Nirankari Bhavan), which is his (Sidhu's) constituency. If he shakes hands with him or do something with him, then Sidhu has to answer in order to clear whether country is his priority or something else."

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Story first published: Friday, November 30, 2018, 9:59 [IST]
If a seizure somehow breaks through, a watch-like remote Duchac wears on his wrist at all times can be dragged across his chest, telling the device to send an extra jolt, stopping a seizure in its tracks. That device also records data that is shared with researchers, letting them know how Duchac's brain is doing. It can also be used to turn off the VNS temporarily if Duchac has to get an MRI or go through airport security.
US wants assurance from Pakistan that bailout money not to be used to redeem Chinese debt

India

oi-Vinod Kumar Shukla

New Delhi, Nov 30: With Pakistan being in a serious debt trap but it is still continuing with its foolhardy ways. This could have been one of the reasons for the country not getting financial help either from International Monetary Fund, the US or any other country in the world including Islamic nations. Now, the US has demanded Pakistan to show complete transparency on all debt it has taken from China.

Actually the demand by the Trump administration was made amid such concerns in which it is being said that Pakistan is seeking bailout package from the IMF to pay back debt of China. A team of the IMF recently visited Pakistan and the US is emphasised that there must be complete transparency in providing loan to Pakistan and on what terms it had got from China.

US welcomes India-Pak efforts on Kartarpur corridor

China has made huge investment in Pakistan which is roughly estimated at Rs 4.33 lakh crore and its is asking for Rs 84 thousand crore ($12 billion) bailout package from wherever possible. But the US and many other countries have been opposing it. It is being asked if the money given to Pakistan will be used to return money of China? Is this the right strategy for the economic development? Pakistan is demanding bailout package since October this year. However, experts in India said that it is helplessness of the world community to bailout Pakistan. They will have to do for regional peace.

The US has already stopped Rs 21 thousand crore add to Pakistan that was meant for the security concerns of the country. This has been done as Pakistan failed to nail terrorist organisations in the country. The add was originally estimated at Rs 9000 crore but information collected from various other sources provided the new figure about the funding stopped to Pakistan.

Trump recently said that despite Pakistan getting lakhs of dollars as add but it is not ready to take any action against terrorists. Strategic experts say, "This is part of the state policy of Pakistan but besides that there are many such elements that are out of its control. Pakistan can control Good Talibanis but it does not have any control over Bad Talibanis. There are many organisations also that are not in the control of even Pakistani military."

Words are not enough: Why Trump's warning to Pak means nothing to 26/11 case

Trump has made it clear that the US would not give any assistance to Pakistan as long as it takes action against terrorists in the country. But Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan responded by saying that Pakistan does not need to produce any data before the US. "We supported the US in the war against terrorism in which 75 thousand Pakistani got killed and Pakistan had to bear the losses to the tune of $123 billion," said Imran Khan.

But actually Pakistan is playing game with the US and it is not doing any satisfactory action against Hakkani Network, Taliban and Laskar e Taiba. The US law makers have been demanding stopping of funds to Pakistan right from the time of Barack Obama presidency.

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Story first published: Friday, November 30, 2018, 11:29 [IST]
Why a farm loan waiver and not a temple at Ayodhya matters to farmers

India

oi-Vicky Nanjappa

New Delhi, Nov 30: The farmers from across the country have decided to set the record straight. We need farm loan waiver and not a temple in Ayodhya.

Thousands of farmers have converged in the national capital ahead of the two day protest, which includes a march to Parliament.

Farmers' march updates: Thousands in Delhi, set to march to Parliament, security beefed up

Ayodhya nahi, karz maafi chahiye or not Ayodhya, we need loan waiver is one of the most popular slogans at the protest.

Meanwhile the protest is gathering momentum, with several organisations coming out in support of the farmers. Students from the Delhi university have reached the ground and were seen helping with the arrangements.

The farmers are pressing for various demands that include debt relief and remunerative prices for their produce. In addition to this, they are also demanding that a special session of Parliament be convened to discuss issues relating to agrarian distress across the country.

The farmers under the banner of the All India Kisan Sangharsh Coordination Committee arrived at the national capital from various parts of the country. They marched to Ramlila Maidan from four corners of the city- Anand Vihar, Nizamuddin, Bijwasan Railway Station and Sabzi Mandi.

Mega farmer rally today as thousands descend upon national capital

"Over 3L farmers have committed suicide in India in last 15 yrs, due to successive govts betraying them. Tomorrow 1 lakh farmers from across the country are marching to Delhi to ask for fair prices & freedom from debt. Let's stand in solidarity with them," advocate Prashant Bhushan said in a tweet.

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Story first published: Friday, November 30, 2018, 10:07 [IST]
World AIDS Vaccine Day: What is AIDS, how does it spread and why is it dreaded?

World AIDS Day 2018: Theme, Significance, AIDS Treatment, awareness

India

oi-Vikas SV

New Delhi, Dec 1: Today is the World AIDS Day 2018 and the theme of this year's AIDS Day is 'Know your status'. AIDS is one of the mosty feared diseases, mainly because it has no cure.

The purpose of Worlds AIDS Day is to educate people about HIV. Last year, the World AIDS Day theme was "My Health, My Right." The aim of this year's drive is to encourage people worldwide, to get them tested.

What is AIDS?

Human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immune deficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) is a spectrum of conditions caused by infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Following initial infection, a person may not notice any symptoms or may experience a brief period of influenza-like illness. Typically, this is followed by a prolonged period with no symptoms.

As the infection progresses, it interferes more with the immune system, increasing the risk of developing common infections such as tuberculosis, as well as other opportunistic infections, and tumors that rarely affect people who have working immune systems. These late symptoms of infection are referred to as acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS).

[HIV/AIDS Act, 2017 to be implemented from Sep 10]

Why is awareness about AIDS important?

Significant progress has been made in the AIDS response since 1988, and today three in four people living with HIV know their status. But still 9.4 million people aren't aware that they're HIV-positive as they haven't been tested. This also raises the risk of the illness spreading unknowingly on account of unprotected sex.

Unfortunately, many barriers to HIV testing remain. Stigma and discrimination still deters people from taking an HIV test. Access to confidential HIV testing is still an issue of concern. Many people still only get tested after becoming ill and symptomatic.

How does AIDS spread?

HIV is spread primarily by unprotected sex (including anal and oral sex), contaminated blood transfusions, hypodermic needles, and from mother to child during pregnancy, delivery, or breastfeeding. Some bodily fluids, such as saliva and tears, do not transmit HIV. Methods of prevention include safe sex, needle exchange programs, treating those who are infected, and male circumcision. Disease in a baby can often be prevented by giving both the mother and child antiretroviral medication. There is no cure or vaccine; however, antiretroviral treatment can slow the course of the disease and may lead to a near-normal life expectancy. Treatment is recommended as soon as the diagnosis is made. Without treatment, the average survival time after infection is 11 years.

Significance of World AIDS Day:

World AIDS Day originated at the 1988 World Summit of Ministers of Health on Programmes for AIDS Prevention. Since then, every year United Nations agencies, governments and civil society join together to campaign around specific themes related to AIDS. World AIDS Day is one of the eight official global public health campaigns marked by the World Health Organization (WHO), along with World Health Day, World Blood Donor Day, World Immunization Week, World Tuberculosis Day, World No Tobacco Day, World Malaria Day and World Hepatitis Day. (Content source - Wikipedia)
Abe, Trump and Modi meet for trilateral 'JAI' meet in Buenos Aires

International

oi-Chennabasaveshwar P

Buenos Aires, Nov 30: Japan PM Shinzo Abe, US President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Narendra Modi had their first Japan-America-India (JAI) trilateral meeting on the sidelines of the G20 Summit on Friday. The leaders discussed major issues of global and multilateral interests.

After the meeting, PM Narendra Modi, said, " Both countries are our strategic partners and both leaders are my good friends. Japan, USA, India acronym is JAI, so 'Jai' in Hindi means success. This sends a good message."

PM Modi meets Xi Jinping on the sidelines of G20 summit

'Both countries are our strategic partners and both leaders are my good friends. Japan, USA, India acronym is JAI, so Jai in India means success. This sends a good message," said PM Modi.

US President Donald Trump, said, "We just had a great meeting. Our relationship is extremely great, strong. It is stronger than ever. We are doing very well together, a lot of defence and military purchases."

The meeting assumed importance in the wake of China flexing its muscles in the strategic Indo-Pacific region, according to PTI.
Where is Peng Shuai? Missing Chinese tennis star safe, will appear in public soon: editor of Global Times

China for first time releases map depicting PoK as part of India in a stern message to Pakistan

International

oi-Vicky Nanjappa

New Delhi, Nov 30: China seems to have sent out a strong message to Pakistan following last Friday's terror attack on its consulate in Karachi.

China's state run CGTN television excluded Pakistan occupied Kashmir from Pakistan's map for the first time. The maps were shown during the reporting of the terror attack at Karachi.

China: 22 killed in blast near Chemical plant

It is still not known whether this was a deliberate move by China. However the television channel does not allow its staff to tinker as it uses fixed templates for maps. It appears as though this is a directive that has come from the higher authorities and was deliberate in nature.

While Islamabad is yet to react to the broadcast, it is to be seen if this was a move by China to gauge a response from Pakistan. The Chinese have very often used its state run media to test the waters.

Maps that have been officially released by China have never in the past shown PoK as part of India. Books and magazines that show maps which differ from Beijing's official view have been blocked. Hence this map that was shown by by CGTN appears to have the approval of the top authorities.

Trade war: India's aim of replacing China as industrial power is unrealistic, says Chinese media

This move comes just two weeks ahead of the joint drill to be conducted by the militaries of India and China on December 10. Further it could also have an implication on the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, which India has raised strong concerns about. China it may be recalled had heavily invested in infrastructure projects in Pakistan occupied Kashmir.
G20 Summit: Donald Trump to attend 8 meetings in 48 hours in Argentina

International

oi-Shubham Ghosh

Buenos Aires, Nov 30: US President Donald Trump will be among the world leaders who will be in the Argentine capital for the two-day G20 summit kicking off on Friday, November 30, and in a span of 48 hours, he is set to appear in eight high-level meetings with foreign leaders.

The programme is so tight this time that a scheduled one-on-one meeting between Trump and Japan Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has been turned into a trilateral talk featuring Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

G20 Summit: Not Modi, Trump or Xi but this leader has the most special visit to Argentina

The current American president is known to not prefer travelling too much. Earlier this year, Vice President Mike Pence replaced Trump to represent the US in a summit of Latin American countries in Lima, Peru. More recently, Pence was on a tour of Asia to attend regional summits as Trump skipped.

The president, deemed to be one who prefers an inward-looking America, has cut short his foreign trips, especially in the second year of his presidency. He also cancelled a planned trip to Colombia earlier this month. He though had undertaken a big journey from Canada where he went to attend the G8 summit to Singapore to meet North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in June.

Trump hates to travel

According to an Associated Press report, some White House officials - current and former - have confirmed Trump expressing frustration over travelling abroad and his scheduled were curtailed accordingly. It is also said that the American president likes to play the role of host to world leaders more than being a guest.

PM Modi to take part in yoga session in Buenos Aires on G20 Summit eve: Argentina media

Trump has so far made eight trips abroad (excluding Argentina), four in each of the two years. However, while he visited 13 nations in the first year, the number was down to seven in the second.

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Story first published: Friday, November 30, 2018, 9:46 [IST]
G20 Summit kicks off in Buenos Aires today: What is G20?

International

oi-Shubham Ghosh

Buenos Aires, Nov 30: The thirteenth edition of the G20 (Group of Twenty) summit will take place in Buenos Aires on November 30-December 1. Leaders of all the member nations have started assembling for the summit which completes 10 years (though it was set up in 1999). Here we take a look at what is the summit all about:

What is G20:

The G20 is an international platform that brings together 20 leading industrialised nations and emerging economies of the world. The group accounts for 85 per cent of the world's GDP and two-thirds of the population. The meetings on the sidelines of the summit are equally important as are the informal talks where key business decisions are taken.

G20 Summit: Putin-Trump talks are on, says Russia after US backed off over Ukraine crisis

Initially, the summits of the G20 were limited to the finance ministers and central bank governors after it as set up 19 years ago. It was in 2008, in the wake of the fall of the Lehmann Brothers and the recession around that time, that leaders of the member states started meeting every year (twice in the years 2009 and 2010) and it became an annual event. While the first-ever G20 summit took place in Berlin in December 1999 which was hosted by the finance ministers of Germany and Canada, the top leaders' summit was first held in Washington DC in 2008. The foreign ministers of the G20 countries had their first meeting in 2017.

The current summit is being held in South America for the first time and South of the Equator for the second time. Argentina holds the G20 presidency for a year starting November 2017.

After the last summit in China, Germany assumed the G20 presidency in December 2016. Although Berlin hosted ministerial-level G20 meetings in 1999 and 2004, the Hamburg event will be the first time Germany has hosted G20 heads of government. The last summit was held in Hamburg in Germany while the next will be held in Osaka, Japan, in June 2019.

Member countries of G20:

The 20 nations of the G20 are Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, Turkey, UK, US, China, South Africa and the European Union. Spain is a permanent non-member invitee which attends the leaders' summits. It has also become a custom for the Chair of ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) and representatives of the African Union and NEPAD (New Partnership for Africa's Development) to be represented at the leaders' summits.

G20 vs G8:

The G8 of Group of Eight is a club comprising eight major industrialised countries like Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, UK and US. Russia's membership was suspended after its invasion of Crimea in Ukraine and the group stands as G7 now. While G8 focuses more on the economic crisis plaguing the industrial economies, the G20 is about the interests of both the developed and emerging economies.

G20 Summit: Donald Trump to attend 8 meetings in 48 hours in Argentina

The chairmanship of the G20 rotates annually between countries divided into five different groups.

In the G20, there are no fixed voting shares or economic criteria. However, major power politics determines the lines of influence in the body.

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Story first published: Friday, November 30, 2018, 10:24 [IST]
Mute boy climbs on stage of Pope Francis and plays around; leaves pontiff delighted

International

oi-Shubham Ghosh

Vatican City, Nov 30: It's not always that we see a religious leader amid an ambience of smile and lightness for the occasions they are identified with are solemn mostly. But when a child interrupts, even the religious leader can't help to keep away the delight.

Why this Australian bull is a towering figure, literally

Something similar happened recently when Pope Francis was attending an audience in Vatican on Wednesday, November 28. A five-year-old Argentinian kid got rid of his mother's clutches and climbed the stage on which the pontiff was seated to play around. Though his act left the mother embarrassed and she apologised to the Pope and told him that his son was autistic, as per the Italian media, the latter did not have any problem with it. The pontiff told the audience at his weekly meeting that the kid was mute but he knew how to express himself. Pope Francis himself is also an Argentina-born.

Touching moment at today's General Audience when an Argentinean mother explains that her little boy who ran up on the stage is mute, leave him the Pope says, before telling the crowd that we should all be "free as little children" and to pray for the boy, that he may speak. pic.twitter.com/Vmv3z0mId2  Catholic Sat (@CatholicSat) November 28, 2018

The pope also said that the boy is "free in an unruly way but free".

Viral: ...And the fair play award goes to this laptop thief; know why

As the boy got onto the stage with his mother trying to bring him to discipline, the pope asked her to let him be. He said: "Let us ask for the grace for this child to speak," inviting a thunderous applause from 7,000 or so people present on the occasion.

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Story first published: Friday, November 30, 2018, 15:41 [IST]
PM Modi to open new campus of Ambedkar School of Economics University on Dec 6

PM Modi meets Xi Jinping on the sidelines of G20 summit

International

oi-Chennabasaveshwar P

Buenos Aires, Nov 30: PM Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping met on the sidelines of the G20 summit and discussed how to strengthen the bilateral ties between the two neighbours on Friday.

PM Narendra Modi during a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping, said, "This year has been very important for relations between our two nations, I am confident that coming year would be even better."

India to play 'responsible' role at climate negotiations: PM Modi to UN chief

The two leaders have met twice after their informal summit in the Chinese city of Wuhan in April -- once at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit held in June in China's Qingdao and the second time at the BRICS summit in South Africa's Johannesburg in July.

Earlier, PM Modi reaffirmed India's commitment to globalisation and reformed multilateralism at an informal meeting of the BRICS leaders on the sidelines of the G-20 summit.

"In his first of the many engagements today, PM @narendramodi participated at #BRICS Leaders' Informal Meeting on the margins of #G20Summit. Reaffirmed India's commitment to globalisation and reformed multilateralism," External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Ravish Kumar tweeted.

PM Modi said, "Terrorism and radicalism are a threat to the world, those who commit financial crimes are also a big threat. We have to work together against black money."

We have to talk in one voice for the interest of developing nations in the United Nations and other multilateral organizations. This is the reason we have come together for BRICS.

#WATCH PM Narendra Modi speaking during a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Buenos Aires says 'This year has been very important for relations between our two nations, I am confident that coming year would be even better' #G20 #Argentina pic.twitter.com/MZ7FVnHUbd  ANI (@ANI) November 30, 2018

(With PTI inputs)
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A territory was supposed to have 60,000 inhabitants before being bumped up, and Illinois was a thinly populated slice of the western frontier. There was a loophole: Congress could set a lower bar, and Pope persuaded his fellow legislators to grant Illinois that exemption. Pope seems to have claimed there were 40,000 Illinoisans, though a special census could only find 34,620 of them. And even that number might have been inflated by counting migrants who were just passing through Illinois on their way farther West.
The second agenda is transit-oriented development, which calls for placing high-density housing near rail and bus stops, enabling people to take transit and cut down on pollution. This philosophy, which is reshaping parts of Chicago and the downtowns of suburbs like Arlington Heights, is back in the news with just-announced plans for a 28-story apartment high-rise at 835 Lake St. in Oak Park. The tower would be built a short walk from the Chicago Transit Authoritys Green Line elevated station at Oak Park Avenue  and just down the road from Unity Temple at 875 Lake St.
As you are aware, there have previously been several other investigations such as this. In every instance we cooperated fully. And in every instance, nothing has been found, Burke said. So once again we will be cooperating fully, and I am completely confident that at the end of the day nothing will be found amiss in this instance either.
When access to abortion is politically restricted, those who have the means to travel will do so, and those without means are left most vulnerable, said Becca Lee, spokeswoman for Planned Parenthood of the Heartland. If someone can travel, they may be forced to take time from work, incur additional expenses, take time from family and make other sacrifices in order to access a safe, legal abortion procedure  and they shouldnt have to.
Before diving in, keep a few things in mind: Aim High scholarships depend upon the state legislature appropriating new dollars each year. The law established a pilot program only until 2024 and set aside money for the first year. It did not specify how much money is to refill the coffers after 2019. And all such funding is subject to availability. Also note deadlines for two of the programs have passed  though the outlines of the programs provide a window into the schools approach to financial aid  and many schools have not yet established tuition rates for fall 2019.
A clinical psychologist who evaluated convicted child killer Timothy Buss testified Tuesday that in addition to being rejected by his mother at an early age, Buss has "abnormal brain functions" and an "impaired ability to use judgment."

Defense attorneys are hoping the testimony of Dr. Randi Zoot and that of a woman who baby-sat for Buss when he was a child will persuade a Will County jury not to give Buss the death penalty for the murder August 1995 of 10-year-old Christopher Meyer of Aroma Park.

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But prosecutors argue that Buss lied to Zoot and that her 10-hour evaluation of Buss, 28, should not carry too much weight with the jury and might not be the same conclusion reached by another psychologist.

Defense testimony in the sentencing hearing is expected to end Wednesday at the Will County courthouse. Judge Gerald Kinney advised the eight men and four women who make up the jury that they may be ready to begin deliberations Wednesday, with Buss facing the death penalty or life in prison without parole.

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After the jurors found Buss guilty last week, they were made aware that he was convicted of the 1981 murder of 5-year-old Tara Sue Huffman of Bradley. The second conviction is one of the conditions that make him eligible to die for his crime.

But in an effort to sway the jury from giving Buss the death penalty, Assistant Public Defenders Edward Jaquays and Marilee Viola called 17 defense witnesses Monday and Tuesday in a bid to show that Buss did not have enough positive influences growing up and that he was not properly rehabilitated while in prison for Tara Sue's murder.

Buss was 13 years old when he was convicted of Tara Sue's killing. He was paroled in 1993 after serving half of his 25-year sentence.

During direct questioning, Jaquays asked Zoot to describe Buss at the time he was paroled.

"The person on the outside looked OK . . . but internally, nothing had really changed for him," Zoot testified. "You had the same person coming out that you had going in." Zoot said the treatment Buss received for readjusting to the world was "minimal."

Zoot was the last of 12 witnesses called to the stand Tuesday on Buss' behalf. Officials from the Illinois Youth Center in Joliet, including a counselor, teachers and a security employee, used words such as "downtrodden" and "depressed" to describe Buss. Buss began his sentence for Tara Sue's murder at the youth center facility.

Disturbing testimony about Buss' childhood came from Linda Pagano, who baby-sat for Buss for two to three years starting when she was 16 and he was 5.

Pagano testified that once when she was making a sandwich for Buss, he said about his mother: "That's the knife she used to chase us around with."

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But Pagano said under cross-examination by Assistant State's Atty. John McCabe that there was no evidence that Buss had been physically abused by his mother.

Buss' mother left the family when he was 5 years old, according to testimony. Zoot said Buss' father was more interested in his social life and work than he was in rearing his children.

Although Zoot said Buss was a victim of "parental neglect and abandonment," she acknowledged that other children who experience those hardships do not commit crimes.
Mika Moulton, the mother of 10-year-old murder victim Christopher Meyer, stood at the courtroom railing Friday and stared at Timothy Buss.

Minutes earlier, a Will County jury of nine men and three women had sentenced the 28-year-old Buss to death for abducting and murdering Moulton's blond-haired, blue-eyed son in August 1995.

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"Burn in hell, Buss, burn in hell," Moulton said quietly from the front row as Buss was led from the courtroom.

"This has been a long 11 months," she said later. "Right now, I feel like for the first time in 11 months I can exhale."

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Meyer was last seen Aug. 7 near the Kankakee River boat launch in Aroma Park. Eight days later, after a manhunt throughout Will and Kankakee Counties, his mutilated and decomposed body was found in a shallow grave in a hunting area of Kankakee River State Park.

"This puts a fitting end to a very, very tragic case," said Will County State's Atty. James Glasgow.

This was Buss' second murder conviction, and that fact was one condition that made him eligible for the death penalty.

Buss also had been convicted for the 1981 murder of 5-year-old Tara Sue Huffman and had served half of a 25-year sentence when he was paroled in 1993.

"We feel the judicial system has failed us for 15 years on the death of Tara Sue," said Randy Huffman, Tara Sue's oldest brother, who attended the sentencing Friday. "Today, we all feel we have been justified with the death penalty of Timothy Buss. If the judicial system would have done the right thing, Christopher would still have been alive today."

Joseph Claps of the Illinois attorney general's office, one of four prosecutors on the case, said Friday's verdict was a victory for the people of the state and for both the Huffman and Moulton families.

"Although there's really no joy in this type of case, at least there is justice for the atrocity that was done to a 10 1/2-year-old boy," said Claps, who called Buss a "coward" and a "predator" during his closing argument.

Lead defense attorney Edward Jaquays gave a 2-hour closing argument, asking for mercy from the jury in the form of a life sentence rather than the death penalty.

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"I don't believe he deserved to die," Jaquays said later. "He deserved to be punished for what happened, but he didn't deserve to die."

After Judge Gerald Kinney read the jury's decision, he told Buss he was responsible for the crime and that his acts were not the fault of his father or mother, who were divorced in 1973.

"I just felt some comments were appropriate," Kinney said afterward. "I know his family stood up there and took a lot of blame. And I really think the jury felt that (his family) wasn't to blame."

The defense had argued that Buss suffered from parental neglect and abuse as a youngster. His mother, Rose, left when he was 5 years old, and his father, David, who had custody of the four children, admitted he was a "terrible" father.

Jaquays said Buss never had a chance for a normal life. And he said a language-based learning disability and an attention deficit disorder were two reasons why Buss' punishment should be less than death.

"Timothy Buss suffered from a defective mind," Jaquays told the jury. "It was like building a house of cards. It was a matter of time before it collapsed. His problems were left undiagnosed and untreated."

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Jaquays asked several times for mercy for his client during his closing argument, and asked the jurors not to have revenge in their minds.

"It is always difficult to ask for mercy," Jaquays said. "The voice of revenge and outrage is always louder. But it's wrong. I ask that you not hesitate to base your decision on mercy."

In the prosecution rebuttal, Will County Assistant State's Atty. John McCabe discounted any calls for mercy, arguing that Buss already had been shown that after the Huffman murder. Jaquays, McCabe added, would have jurors believe that Buss' actions were someone else's fault.

"The only person he doesn't blame is Mr. Buss," McCabe said. "He's the only guiltless person here."

The jury left and returned 3 1/2 hours later with its verdict that Buss should die of lethal injection. The execution date is set for Oct. 1, though appeals are automatic.

With a smile on her face, Moulton described the four prosecutors in the trial as her "Dream Team."

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"I believe that Chris will be their guardian angel," Moulton said of the prosecutors, led by Claps and McCabe.

The decision brought tears of relief to her eyes.

"I've spent the last 11 months waiting to get to this point," Moulton said. "This was my future."
Barrett also contends in the lawsuit that she was a target of sexual harassment even before she worked with Lopez. She said she was propositioned for sexual favors by a supervisor shortly after she was hired in 2015. The supervisor also exposed himself, showed up at Barretts home and sent inappropriate texts to her, according to the lawsuit. Barrett reported these complaints, but the supervisor resigned before the investigation was completed, the suit says.
While the charge did not contain any more details, sources with knowledge of the investigation told the Chicago Tribune that Johnson is accused of stealing benefits intended for his mother. The charge also makes no mention of Johnsons former role with the Police Department. The 32-year department veteran retired in August.
Court records show Robinson was arrested in July 2016 after Chicago police officers saw a bulge in his waistband and chased him through an open field in the 6300 block of South Eberhart Avenue. During the pursuit, officers alleged they saw Robinson throw a handgun into the backyard of a residence. He was later charged in federal court with being a felon in possession of a firearm, records show.
There was no need to call 911 since police were already on the scene, Torres said. The officer who waved him away made it clear police wanted Torres to leave without having to say anything, he said, and since he was directed to leave he did not have the opportunity to give them his contact information. And he thought contacting IPRA would be enough to lodge his concerns.
Given the Supreme Courts decision, the defendants realized this was going to be a challenging case to defend, and that with 40-plus defendants and 20-plus law firms, it was going to be a long and expensive and uncertain litigation, Borders said. In any case, and this is no exception, the defendants pay more than they think they should and the plaintiffs get less that what they think theyre entitled to.
John Williams, 42, of the 1500 block of West Jonquil Terrace was standing on the sidewalk around 11:15 p.m. in the 1600 block of West Howard Street in the Far North Side neighborhood when he was shot in the back, police said.
Ramos, of South Elgin, has pleaded guilty and had agreed to testify against Jones, who had been scheduled to go on trial next week. Jones brother was charged as a juvenile and had been released from custody when he was shot to death in Elgin in 2016 by another teenager.
Im from Chicago. Maybe Im really old school, but to the victor go the spoils. You dont  now, a lot of people in our party, and if Beto ORourke wants to go and run for president, God bless him, he should put his hat in and make his case. But he lost. You dont usually promote a loser to the top of the party, and take a winner and say, Were going to cut your knees off,  Emanuel said.
We live in a country of laws. They havent even charged him, Emanuel said after a downtown jobs announcement. And so, all I would say is, the decision of what happens in the 14th Ward are to the voters of the 14th Ward. And I think thats where you should respect that process, in that basis. You dont need me to guess about what are the implications.
Geothermal Heat Pump Market Key Information By Top Key Player Robert Bosch, Kensa Heat Pumps, Viessmann, Finn Geotherm, Stiebel Eltron, Glen Dimplex, Trane, Ecoforest, Climate Master, MODINE, Danfoss, Carrier

Geothermal Heat Pump Market, Geothermal Heat Pump Market trends, Geothermal Heat Pump Market forecast

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Market Study Report adds 2017-2024 Global Geothermal Heat Pump market report that offers an exhaustive coverage of the industry with brief analysis, data charts, figures, statistics that help take business decisions, company profiles and more.Touted as one of the most rapidly progressing business verticals, Geothermal Heat Pump market has been forecast to accrue highly lucrative returns over the ensuing years of 2017  2024. This report has been specifically formulated keeping in mind the current requirements of industry players and the potential challenges they are expected to face. Comprising an all-inclusive summary of the Product landscape, incorporating its intricate details, the report also encompasses the competitive profiling of the leading industry contenders and the overall geographical spectrum that specifies the growth of Geothermal Heat Pump market across these regions.Request a sample of this premium report at:Growing demand for energy efficient space heating systems from cold climatic regions, especially in North America and Europe, will drive the geothermal heat pump market size. In the U.S., GHP installation in the Southern states accounted for 35%, the North East was 20%, Midwest at 34% and Western region stood at 11%.Major participants in geothermal heat pump market are NIBE, Robert Bosch, Kensa Heat Pumps, Finn Geotherm, Stiebel Eltron, Glen Dimplex, Trane, Ecoforest, Climate Master, MODINE, Danfoss, Carrier, Bryant Heating & Cooling Systems, Viessmann, WaterFurnace, Bard HVAC, Vaillant Group, and Green Planet Supply.The report commences with a meticulous extract about the key drivers fueling the commercialization graph of this industry. A succinct overview is provided about the market in terms of the factors that serve to power the growth spectrum of this business space, in addition to the base valuation of this industry in base year. Further on, the report encompasses the segregation of the market in terms of Application trends, that focus on the market intricacies of the Residential, Commercial. The sections traverse into extensive details about the market space captured by each of these segments and their future prospects.Request a discount on standard prices of this premium report at:Finland geothermal heat pump market size is set to exceed 3GWt by 2024. Increasing installation of renewable heating and cooling system owing to economic downturn will stimulate the business landscape. In 2015, over 8000 people were switched from electricity or oil driven heating and cooling system to GHP systems. It has been analyzed that installation of these products will help to reduce heating cost by USD 2.3 billion over next 20 years.South Korea geothermal heat pump market for 2016 accounted over 6% of Asia Pacific share. Introduction of various government subsidy program including Regional Deployment Program, Residential House Program and Building Deployment Program will augment the industry size. This program helps to provide 50% of the total installation cost.The geographical terrain of Geothermal Heat Pump market spans the major regions of North America, Europe, Asia Pacific and Rest of World. The report categorizes the regional spectrum into a slew of sub-domains, comprising the current market value, future valuation, and the forecast estimates, individually researched and analyzed in terms of the Product, Application, trends.The report enlists, in minute detail, the contribution of prominent companies toward Geothermal Heat Pump market expansion. An intensive company profiling has been provided about every leading contender, inclusive of their market presence, financials, strategic outlook, product landscape, and a SWOT analysis that serves to build a notion about the companys growth tactics, strengths, constraints, and plausible future opportunities.Table of Content:Chapter 1. Methodology and ScopeChapter 2. Executive SummaryChapter 3. Geothermal Heat Pump Industry InsightsChapter 4. Geothermal Heat Pump Market, By ProductChapter 5. Geothermal Heat Pump Market, By ApplicationChapter 6. Geothermal Heat Pump Market, By RegionChapter 7. Geothermal Heat Pump Market Company ProfilesRelated Report:United States Hybrid Geothermal Heat Pumps Market Report 2018In this report, the United States Hybrid Geothermal Heat Pumps market is valued at USD XX million in 2017 and is expected to reach USD XX million by the end of 2025, growing at a CAGR of XX% between 2017 and 2025.About Us:Marketstudyreport.com allows you to manage and control all corporate research purchases to consolidate billing and vendor management. You can eliminate duplicate purchases and customize your content and license management.Contact Us:Market Study Report4 North Main Street,Selbyville, Delaware 19975USAPhone: 1-302-273-0910US Toll Free: 1-866-764-2150Email: sales@marketstudyreport.comWebsite:Blog:
Phosphate Market Trends, company Profiles- Nestle, Univar, The Mosaic Company, Schreiber Foods, Aditya Birla Chemicals, Chemische Fabrik Budenheim, Agrium Advanced Technologies, Inc., Fosfa a.s.

Food phosphate Market

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High consumer awareness regarding the benefits of protein consumption along with rising preference for canned food will result in food phosphate market expansion. The demand for bakery items has been escalating in recent times subject to the rise in the number of retail stores and changing consumer preferences, which will fuel the market demand. A major factor complementing business growth is that food phosphates are also utilized as emulsifiers, pH stabilizers, yeast stimulators, flavor enhancers, and sequestering agents in the food & beverage and meat & seafood processing sectors. Global dairy sector, which was estimated at USD 330 billion in 2014, is forecast to hit USD 440 billion by 2024. This remarkable growth will continue to positively influence food phosphate industry trends, subject to the products intensive usage as an emulsifier in the dairy industry. According to Global Market Insights, Inc., Food Phosphate Market size is anticipated to surpass USD 2.4 billion by 2024, growing at a rate of 6% over 2016-2024.Request Sample Copy of this Report @Company Profiles1. Nestle2. Univar3. The Mosaic Company4. Schreiber Foods5. Aditya Birla Chemicals6. Chemische Fabrik Budenheim7. Agrium Advanced Technologies, Inc.8. Fosfa a.s.9. Kraft Foods Group10. Brewcraft USA11. Hawkins, Inc.12. Sulux Phosphates Ltd.13. ATP Group14. TKI Hrastnik d.d.15. Sichuan Zhituo Biochem Technology16. Natural Enrichment Industries17. NutriScience Innovations, LLC18. Prayon19. Innophos Nutrition, Inc.20. Quantum Chemical LLC (Chemsol)21. Haifa Chemicals Ltd.22. Saminchem Co., Ltd.23. Xingfa USA Corporation24. Potash Corp.25. FBC Industries, Inc.Strong growth indicators from dairy, bakery, beverages, and meat processing industries will drive food phosphate market size. Increased awareness about protein intake amongst the health-conscious consumers coupled with rise in packaged meal products demand should drive industry growth.Meat & seafood applications could surpass USD 1 billion in sales by 2024. Increasing focus on development of new products to match requirements of meal processing industry will drive the market demand. They are utilized to improve texture and flavour of stored seafood, moisture retention and preservation of nutrients.Shifting consumer trends toward healthy diet intake and extensive use of the food phosphates as a nutritive supplement in sports drinks is predicted to influence the business landscape of global food phosphates market. Rising global requirement for sodium rich diet is also expected to contribute substantially towards the industry share. Increase in production capacity coupled with high focus on product innovation is expected to help the business climb greater heights. Countries such as India, U.S., Germany, China, and France will create an impressive global demand for the product, driven by the escalated consumption of protein rich diet across these regions.India food phosphate market size from dairy application will witness gains at over 4% by 2024. Processed cheese accounts for a major share of application in dairy products. It is used to prevent butter oil from separating from protein, spread ability, easy slice and to get the desired viscosityChina sodium based food phosphate market size will witness steady gains to surpass USD 100 million by 2024. They are majorly used as thickening and leavening agent for baked goods. They are also utilized to control pH of processed foods.Focus on product development by manufacturers and expansion in production capacities along with increased food consumption especially in U.S., Germany, France, China and India should drive product demand.Bakery applications may witness gains at 4.5%. Bakery applications majorly utilizes these product for dough improvers, as leavening agent, and as flow conditioners.Inquiry before buying @ContinueAbout 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:Explore Our Blog @Connect with us: Facebook | Google+ | LinkedIn | Twitter
Biostimulants Market Forecast 2018-2024 Key Profiles Analysis- Bayer, BASF, Lallemand, Valagro, Biostadt India Limited, Arysta LifeScience, Agrinos, BioVert, Koppert B.V., Itallpollina, Valagro

Biostimulants Market

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The tag of the latest trend in the F&B sector can be rightly awarded to organic food consumption, a fad that is slated to drive Biostimulants market. Several parameters, including but not limited to health problems, awareness regarding unhealthy eating, green innovation, environmental safety, plant conservation, etc., will lead to the growth of biostimulants industry over the course of the coming years. The governments of various geographies have been setting up numerous initiatives and providing monetary support to promote the growth of biological agrochemicals. In addition, regulatory agencies have undertaken the mammoth task of convincing farmers to adopt biostimulants in agricultural processes. For instance, the EBIC (European Biostimulants Industry Consortium) was conceptualized in 2011 with an aim to bolster the role that biostimulants play in agriculture, viz., improving product yield with minimum resources. In addition, the institute aimed to promote green innovation and sustainable agricultural production. The humongous efforts by many such regulatory bodies will catapult biostimulants market, anticipated to cross a valuation of USD 4 billion in terms of revenue and 1,200 kilo tons in terms of volume, by 2024.Request Sample Copy of this Report @Company Profiles1. Bayer2. BASF3. Lallemand4. Valagro5. Biostadt India Limited6. Arysta LifeScience7. Agrinos8. Tradecorp International - Sapec Agrobusiness9. Penn State College of Agricultural Sciences10. Evergrow-11. Ag Concepts Corporation12. BioVert13. Koppert B.V.14. Itallpollina15. Valagro16. Cairochem17. MICROMIX PLANT HEALTH LIMITED18. Boilchim19. Laboratories Goemar20. Artal Agronutients21. DaymsaNecessity for sustainable farming practices along with resource scarcity including land and water supply will propel the biostimulants market growth. Positive outlook on rejuvenating degraded soil along with benefits including plant growth, improved nutrient uptake will facilitate product demand.Rise in consumer spending on organic food along with increase in consumer affordability are key trending factors driving biostimulants market growth. Global organic food spending was over USD 85 million in 2016, increasing at over 17% every year.Foliar treatment dominated the application segment and generated over USD 1.4 million in revenue for 2016. High efficiency and ease in applying will remain key factors driving product penetration in this segment.Extract based ingredients will see over 10% gains. Improving root growth and seed germination play vital role in fueling product demand. Other key ingredient includes and microbial, chitin & chitosan, and trace minerals.Biostimulants industry is still in the developmental stage of progress. Nonetheless, numerous companies have been eagerly partaking in this market, including Artal Agronutrients, Evergrow, Valagro, Cairochem, Tradecorp Nutri Performance, Mahafeed Specialty Fertilizers, Seipasa SA. These firms are actively engaged in periodic mergers and acquisitions to increase their valuation in biostimulants industry share. The 2016 acquisition of Sri Biotech Laboratories India Limited by Valagro is one such instance demonstrating the action undertaken by these companies to increase their production capacities.Companies operating in biostimulants market are required to comply with the rules and regulations defined by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). USDAs organic certification is a tangible proof that the farm facility in question complies with the delineated USDA norms. The USDA is governed by the National Organic program (NOP) as far as the production, handling, and labelling of its approved products are concerned. In addition, the NOP maintains a manual that enlists the guidelines, instructions, and memos related to the approved standards. This lengthy product approval process is likely to pose a major hindrance to global biostimulants industry. Another restraint is the extensive expenditure on research and development activities that are undertaken by companies to expand the product line. However, despite the constraints, global biostimulants market is likely to establish a positive growth graph over the years ahead, pertaining to the fierce competition and low white space availability for patents.Inquiry before buying @ContinueAbout 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:Explore Our Blog @Connect with us: Facebook | Google+ | LinkedIn | Twitter
Global LTE Equipment Market 2017 - 2025 : Ericsson AB, Fujitsu Limited, Huawei Technologies, Motorola, Nokia Corporation, NEC Corporation, AT&T Inc.

Global LTE Equipment Market

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Researchmoz added Most up-to-date research on "LTE Equipment Market - Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends and Forecast, 2017 - 2025" to its huge collection of research reports. An insight on the important factors and trends influencing the market.Global LTE Equipment Market: OverviewThe LTE equipment market report provides an in-depth analysis of the global LTE equipment market for the period 2017-2025, wherein 2016 is the base year and the years from 2017 to 2025 is the forecast period. Data for 2015 has been included as historical information. The report covers all the prevalent trends playing a major role in the growth of the LTE equipment market over the forecast period. It also highlights various drivers, restraints and opportunities expected to influence the markets growth during the forecast period.Get a Sample PDF at:The study provides a holistic perspective on market growth in terms of revenue estimates (in US$ Bn) across different geographies, which include North America, Europe, Asia Pacific (APAC), Middle East & Africa (MEA) and South America. The report provides cross-sectional analysis of the global LTE equipment market in terms of market estimates and projections for all the segments across different geographic regions. The report also covers profiles of major players, their growth strategies, their market positioning, and various recent developments, and includes market positioning analysis of key players operating in the LTE equipment market. The report provides in depth analysis of supply chain of LTE equipment market. It also describes Porters Five Forces analysis for the market.Global LTE Equipment Market: Scope of the ReportThis research study on the global LTE equipment market provides a detailed analysis of various component and applications of LTE equipment available in the market. Based on the component, the market is divided into LTE infrastructure and LTE testing equipment. The various types of application of the LTE equipment includes commercial and government sector. Based on technology, the market has been segmented into TD-LTE, FDD-LTE and hybrid. The report includes a comprehensive coverage of the underlying economic development factors under the key trends analysis section.The report aims to provide in-depth analysis of the global LTE equipment market across geographical regions, which are further segmented to country level analysis. North America region is segmented into the U.S., Canada and Rest of North America. Similarly, under Europe, analysis for UK, Germany, France and Rest of Europe LTE equipment market has been provided. Asia Pacific section includes analysis of the China, India and Rest of APAC LTE equipment market. Analysis of LTE equipment market for GCC countries, South Africa, and Rest of Middle East and Africa has been provided under MEA region, whereas under South America, LTE equipment markets across Brazil and Rest of South America have been analyzed. The revenue estimates for these regions and countries is also included in the report. The report also provides key trends analysis for all the regions and different policies and regulations implemented in countries across these regions.Get Complete TOC With Tables and Figures @Global LTE Equipment Market: Competitive DynamicsThe report also highlights the competition matrix of the LTE equipment market, positioning all the major players according to their geographic presence, market position, key recent developments, and segment growth. The report provides recommendations for various new entrants, small and medium and large market players in the global LTE equipment market.Under the company profiles section, the report provides an overview of the players operating in the market, the strategies deployed by them to gain competitive advantage, annual revenue generated by them in the historical years and their relevant business segment revenue. The key players profiled in this report include, Ericsson AB, Fujitsu Limited, Huawei Technologies, Motorola, Nokia Corporation, NEC Corporation, AT&T Inc., Sprint Corporation, Telrad Networks and ZTE CorporationThe Global LTE Equipment market has been segmented as follows:LTE Equipment Market: By Component- LTE infrastructure- LTE Testing EquipmentLTE Equipment Market: By Technology- LTE FDD- TD-LTE- HybridLTE Equipment Market: By Application- Commercial- GovernmentLTE Equipment Market: By RegionNorth America- The U.S.- Canada- Rest of North AmericaEurope- UK- France- Germany- Rest of EuropeMake an Enquiry of this report @Asia Pacific (APAC)- India- China- Rest of APACMiddle East and Africa (MEA)- South Africa- Rest of MEASouth America (SA)- Brazil- Rest of SAAbout ResearchMozResearchMoz is the one stop online destination to find and buy market research reports & Industry Analysis. We fulfill all your research needs spanning across industry verticals with our huge collection of market research reports. We provide our services to all sizes of organizations and across all industry verticals and markets. Our Research Coordinators have in-depth knowledge of reports as well as publishers and will assist you in making an informed decision by giving you unbiased and deep insights on which reports will satisfy your needs at the best price.ResearchMozState Tower,90 State Street,Suite 700,Albany NY - 12207United StatesEmail: sales@researchmoz.usWebsite @Tel: 866-997-4948 (Us-Canada Toll Free)Tel: +1-518-621-2074For More Reports Visit @
Water Treatment Chemicals Market 2018 Sharing Top Manufacture Players Like - BASF SE, GE Water & Process Technologies, Ashland Inc., Kemira Oyj's, Ecolab USA Inc., and etc

Water Treatment Chemicals, Water Treatment Chemicals Market

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Water Treatment Chemicals MarketWater Treatment Chemicals Market Overview:Water Treatment Chemicals Market where it has revealed that the market will grow at a CAGR of 5% for the next five years. The report also shows that the market will reach a valuation of USD 26 Billion by the end of 2023. The key drivers of the market growth are population explosion and dearth of clean drinking water. The estimated average increase in human population every year is around 83 Million.Water Treatment Chemicals Market is growing pervasively, mainly due to the increasing scarcity of the water. These chemicals are used in various water treatment processes to extrude unwanted chemicals, solids, gases, and biological contaminants from the contaminated water. The primary objective of these processes is to generate water fit for a specific purpose.Water Treatment Chemicals Market Key Players:Water Treatment Chemicals Market report include: BASF SE, GE Water & Process Technologies, Ashland Inc., Kemira Oyj's, Ecolab USA Inc., The Dow Chemical Company, Akzo Nobel N.V., Buckman Laboratories International Inc, Solvay S.A and Cortec Corporation.Get Sample Copy of This Report Now @The growing population has caused certain concerns, and, paucity of potable water is one of them. The supply of safe and clean water has not been able to match the rise in population which is fuelling the demand for water treatment chemicals. The increasing use of alternative water treatment technologies may hamper the growth of the product market to some extent during the forecast period.Water Treatment Chemicals Market Segmentation:Water Treatment Chemicals Market has been segmented by type, end-use industry, and region.On the basis of type, the global water treatment chemicals market has been segmented into coagulants and flocculants, corrosion inhibitors, scale inhibitors, chelating agents, biocides and disinfectants, pH adjusters and stabilizers, anti-foaming agents, oxidants, oxygen scavengers, algaecides, and others.On the basis of end-use industry, the global water treatment chemicals market has been segmented into municipal water treatment plants, chemical processing, paper and pulp, food & beverage, power generation, oil & gas, mining, and others.Water Treatment Chemicals Market Opportunities:Water Treatment involves both physical and chemical methods. Water treatment chemicals are used as coagulants and flocculants, corrosion inhibitors, scale inhibitors, chelating agents, biocides and disinfectants, pH adjusters and stabilizers, anti-foaming agents, oxidants, oxygen scavengers, and algaecides to improve the quality of water. Water treatment chemicals find application in boiler water treatment, cooling tower water treatment, water purification, and treatment of wastewater effluent. The major end-use industries of water treatment chemicals are municipal water treatment plants, chemical processing, pulp and paper, food & beverage, power generation, oil & gas, and mining.Water Treatment Chemicals Market Regional Analysis:Asia-Pacific is the fastest growing region, increasing awareness about water borne diseases and scarcity in the pure and clean drinking water. Asian countries, especially India and China accounting for the largest market share in the overall water treatment chemicals market.Water treatment chemicals market in India, corrosion and scale inhibitors accounted for significant share in revenue terms due to the huge demand from power utilities and oil refineries. Moreover, the decreasing water availability and rising environmental concerns are expected to increase the municipal water treatment in India during 2018  2023.For Enquiry Related Report Click @Water Treatment Chemicals Market Application:Water Treatment Chemicals Market are increasing consumption of water across the globe, increasing industrial activities and growth in world population. Water treatment chemicals are used for the treatment of water in boilers, cooling towers, and effluents from industries and sewage treatment plants. The restraining factors towards the growth of the market are increasing water treatment chemicals prices and presence of alternate treatment technologies. Municipal water treatment contributes highest to the overall growth. The increasing per capita consumption of power has increased the demand for the electricity across the globe, which in-turn increases the demand for the water treatment chemicals in the power industry.During the development of the 1993 WHO Guidelines for Drinking-water Quality, the subject of potentially hazardous chemicals in drinking-water derived directly from treatment chemicals or construction materials used in water supply systems was discussed. The conclusion reached by the experts was that such chemicals are best controlled by the application of national regulations governing the quality of the products themselves rather than the quality of the water.Raw water quality varies considerably from region to region. The advantages of applying a proper water treatment program are considerable, not only in protecting the boiler and wider steam system from corrosion and potentially high maintenance costs, but also improving energy efficiency, reducing carbon emissions, maximizing productivity, minimizing the use of treatment chemicals and lowering the total cost ownership of plant.Water Treatment Chemicals Market Competitive Landscape:The competitive market of water treatment chemicals appears to be fragmented owing to a huge number of companies operating in the market, churning the market competition. Increasing innovations and technologies will generate strong investment opportunities for the players. They strive to continue to commercialize other techniques that can lower the production.To gain the competitive advantage, these players try to attain expertise in developing techniques, managing supply chains and in-depth domain knowledge in a number of advanced materials in addition to the prevailing strategies such as acquisition, partnership, and expansion of manufacturing facilities.The competitive landscape of the market is determined by evaluating numerous market participants along with their production chain, production capacities, and the revenue generated by each manufacturer.Water Treatment Chemicals Market Table of Content:1 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 Landscape4.1 Five Forces Analysis4.1.1 Threat of New Entrants4.1.2 Bargaining Power of Buyers4.1.3 Threat of Substitutes4.1.4 Segment Rivalry4.2 Value Chain of Global Water Treatment Chemicals Market5 Industry Overview of Global Water Treatment Chemicals Market5.1 Introduction5.2 Growth Drivers5.3 Impact Analysis5.4 Market Challenges5.5 Impact AnalysisWater Treatment Chemicals Market Table of Content to be Continue.,Request Brochure of Report @About Market Research Future:At Market Research Future (MRFR), we enable our customers to unravel the complexity of various industries through our Cooked Research Report (CRR), Half-Cooked Research Reports (HCRR), Raw Research Reports (3R), Continuous-Feed Research (CFR), and Market Research & Consulting Services.MRFR team have supreme objective to provide the optimum quality market research and intelligence services to our clients. Our market research studies by products, services, technologies, applications, end users, and market players for global, regional, and country level market segments, enable our clients to see more, know more, and do more, which help to answer all their most important questions.In order to stay updated with technology and work process of the industry, MRFR often plans & conducts meet with the industry experts and industrial visits for its research analyst members.Market Research Future Office No. 528, Amanora Chambers Magarpatta Road, Hadapsar, Pune - 411028 Maharashtra, India
Starter Feed Market 2018 Flourishes with International Prestigious Players | Associated British Foods, Archer-Daniels-Midland Company, Purina Mills, Evonik Industries AG, Etc.

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Market Definition:Starter feed is a mixture of highly digestible protein products, acidifiers, probiotics, palatability agents and enzymes and is prepared commercially for livestock animals. These ingredients improve the feed performance when added to the available raw material. According to the report published by Market Research Future (MRFR), the global starter feed market is registered to expand at a significant rate during the forecast period of 2017-2023.Market Scenario:Starter feed offers additional nutrients to the animal feed and enhances the digestion process, immune system and feed intake in the livestock. High nutritional benefits that are obtained from starter feed as compared to conventional feed is inducing high demand for starter feed in the global market, which in turn is propelling the growth of the global starter feed market.Furthermore, starter feed also improves the health of livestock and aids in improving the yield quality and quantity. Hence, growing concerns regarding the health of livestock and increasing global demand for poultry, meat and dairy products is generating demand for high-quality feed, leading to the expansion of the global starter feed market. Rapid adoption of advanced technology for easy production and enhancement in the quality of feed are projected to be impacting positively on the growth of the global starter feed market.Get a Unique Sample of This Report @On the flip side, easy availability of alternatives such as conventional feed and high cost of manufacturing are some of the factors that are restraining the growth of the global starter feed market during the forecast period.Key Players:The major players that are profiled by MRFR in the report on the global starter feed market are Associated British Foods Plc (the U.K), Archer-Daniels-Midland Company (the U.S.), Cargill Inc. (the U.S.), Purina Mills, LLC (the U.S.), Evonik Industries AG (Germany), Roquette Freres S.A. (France), Godrej Agrovet Limited (India), Nutreco N.V. (the Netherlands), Alltech, Inc. (the U.S.), and Charoen Pokphand Foods PCL (Thailand).Industry Updates:In August 2018, the study carried out by the researchers from Osnabruck University of Applied Sciences (Germany) has concluded that inclusion of humic acids in starter feed leads to increased feed consumption in just-weaned piglets.In June 2018, Biomin, an international animal-nutrition company that markets phytogenic feed additives (PFAs) for cattle, swine and other animals, has recently completed a global survey and concluded that the phytogenic feed additives are gaining more attention in the global market due to their digestibility enhancement and antimicrobial effects.Market Segmentation:The global starter feed market has been segmented on the basis of type, form and livestock. Based on type, the starter feed market is segmented into medicated and non-medicated. The medicated segment in accounts for the major share in the global starter feed market as they provide multiple health supporting properties.Based on form, the starter feed market is segmented into mash, pellets and others. The pellets segment is dominating the global starter feed market owing to the ease of handling, storage and feeding of pellets as compared to other forms of feed. Based on livestock, the starter feed market is segmented into poultry, ruminants, swine, aquatic and others. The poultry segment is the largest segment in the global starter feed market due to the increased consumption of poultry products, globally.Access Report @Regional Analysis:Geographically, the global starter feed market is segmented into four major regions, namely, Europe, North America, Asia Pacific and the rest of the world. Among these, the North America region is projecting dominance over the global starter feed market owing to the high demand for good quality poultry and meat products in this region. The starter feed market in the Asia Pacific region is growing at a significant rate due to increasing consumption of poultry and meat products and growing awareness regarding the health of livestock in this region. Increasing demand for poultry products in the countries like Germany and the U.K. is boosting the starter feed market in the Europe region.About Market Research Future:At Market Research Future (MRFR), we enable our customers to unravel the complexity of various industries through our Cooked Research Report (CRR), Half-Cooked Research Reports (HCRR), Raw Research Reports (3R), Continuous-Feed Research (CFR), and Market Research & Consulting Services.ContactMarket Research FutureOffice No. 528, Amanora ChambersMagarpatta Road, Hadapsar,Pune - 411028Maharashtra, India+1 646 845 9312Email: sales@marketresearchfuture.com
Offshore Wind Energy Market - Modern technology prognosticated 2025 | Siemens AG, Vestas Wind Systems A/S

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Global Offshore Wind Energy Market: SnapshotThe global market for offshore wind energy technology is prognosticated to shoot up, driven by the increasing focus on environment-friendly energy generation coupled with innumerable offshore wind energy power projects. Every wind turbine works in nearly the same manner. When the wind blows, the airfoil-shaped turbine blades start spinning. These blades are attached to a drive shaft which turns on an electric generator in order to produce electricity.With considerable advancement of technology, mechanical and engineering innovations are being used to maximize the efficiency and productivity of electricity generation. The continual presence of powerful winds across the oceans is harnessed by an increasing number of developing and developed countries. The U.S. is slated to surface as one of the key contributors in the global market for offshore wind energy over the oncoming period. Almost 50% of the American population is housed in the coastal areas, including counties that are directly on the shoreline and those which drain to coastal watersheds.Request Sample Copy of the Report @Some of the key advantages of offshore wind energy are that offshore winds not only blow harder but are also more uniform when compared to those that blow on land. Consequently, higher wind speeds of even a few miles per hour have the potential of producing substantially greater amount of electricity. For example, a wind turbine at a certain site with a wind speed of approximately 16 mph can produce almost 50% more electricity when compared with another site with similar turbine with 14 mph. This has been one of the primary reasons for developers being interested in tapping the potential of offshore wind energy.Global Offshore Wind Energy Market: SynopsisOffshore wind energy refers to the use of wind farms constructed offshore to conserve wind energy and generate electricity. It utilizes the considerably higher wind speeds available offshore as compared to land. Since offshore wind energy provides several benefits over onshore wind energy, such as eco-friendliness and reduced dependency on dwindling availability of land, several developers are exploring the feasibility of harnessing the resource in an offshore environment. Wind energy is considered as the most mature renewable energy technology, which has come a long way since first offshore wind farm was made in Denmark nearly two decades ago. With vast untapped offshore wind potential available in most nations, coupled with new policy frameworks, the global offshore wind energy market is projected for a robust growth rate during the forecast period of 2017 to 2025.Request TOC of the Report @This report on global market for offshore wind energy is a comprehensive analysis of the current scenario, and presents a figurative estimation of the future based on several factors that are expected to influence the growth rate. The report also profiles some of the key companies currently operational in the market, including their market share and latest developments. The industry can be segmented on the basis of distance from shore, which will have implications on the size of the wind farm being installed. The wind power installations can be segmented on the basis of foundation used which is ultimately dependent on the distance of the farm from shore. The different type of foundations can be segmented as mono pile, multi pile, tripod, jackets, gravity base concrete and high-rise pillar cap foundation. On the end user basis, owing to the large scale of the installation, the segmentation will be done as commercial and industrial.Read Comprehensive Overview of Report @Global Offshore Wind Energy Market: Trends and ProspectsDespite the undeniable benefits such as larger turbine sizes and lower wind interference, which results in higher capacity and consequently lower per unit costs, offshore wind energy market faces hurdles such as expensive grid connections and costly maintenance and replacement components. However, with unending need for energy and growing awareness for renewable resources among the consumers, several major turbine manufacturers are actively investing in offshore turbine development. The report not only expects this factor to increase market revenues but also in the control systems and wire and foundation. Ongoing research and development of this technology is expected to lead to better prototypes of offshore wind turbines, which will increase the capacity and thereby decrease the cost curves. Several governments across the globe are also favoring the installments of offshore wind energy.Global Offshore Wind Energy Market: Regional OverviewCurrently, North America is the most lucrative region, owing to aggressive pursue by several companies based in the country of the U.S. who are involved in extensive research and project planning. European market is led by the U.K., Germany, Sweden, and Denmark, while China is marked as a wild card. Emerging economy of China has aggressively added to its capacity and the country may well emerge as the market leader towards the end of the forecast period.Siemens AG, Vestas Wind Systems A/S, Senvion SE, Sinovel Wind Group Company, and Alstom are some of the key players in the offshore wind energy market.About TMR ResearchTMR Research is a premier provider of customized market research and consulting services to business entities keen on succeeding in todays supercharged economic climate. Armed with an experienced, dedicated, and dynamic team of analysts, we are redefining the way our clients conduct business by providing them with authoritative and trusted research studies in tune with the latest methodologies and market trends.Our savvy custom-built reports span a gamut of industries such as pharmaceuticals, chemicals and metals, food and beverages, and technology and media, among others. With actionable insights uncovered through in-depth research of the market, we try to bring about game-changing success for our clients.Contact:TMR Research,3739 Balboa St # 1097,San Francisco, CA 94121United StatesTel: +1-415-520-1050Email: sales@tmrresearch.com
Agricultural Microbials Market Study Reveals Impressive Growth at a CAGR of 12.5% during 2018-2023 | Market key manufacturers - Syngenta AG, Bayer CropScience, Monsanto Company, Etc.

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Market Definition:Agricultural Microbials contain microbes which are essential for the plant growth. They are beneficial microbes formulated and applied to the soil or seed. They assist in inserting nutrients necessary for the plant growth and suppressing diseases, which helps in overall growth of the plant. The standard of agricultural Microbials have been changing and the rate of their usage is also on the rise. Increasing trend of organic farming practices owing to high demand for organic products among the rising population is driving the growth of the market.Market Scenario:Increasing awareness regarding agricultural Microbials has raised the bar for quality, which in turn, has increased the market share of agricultural Microbials globally. Mass market penetration is leading to the introduction of new products based out of agricultural Microbials and their retail across various regions. Additionally, the market is growing due to increasing population coupled with increasing demand for food. In addition to the increasing population, growing demand for food, increase in the crop production, soil efficiency, and high-quality yield is expected to drive the agricultural Microbials market.Various government initiatives, amplified funding, and grants for sustainable agriculture are supporting the growth of agricultural Microbials market. Various benefits associated with the application of agricultural Microbials such as improved soil quality, water holding capacity, crop productivity, and disease control is influencing the growth of the market.The global agricultural Microbials market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 12.5% during the forecast period, 2017-2023.Get a Sample Report @Key Players:Some of the key players profiled in the global agricultural Microbials market: Syngenta AG (Switzerland), BASF SE (Germany), Novozymes A/S (Denmark), Dow AgroSciences LLC (U.S.), Sumitomo Chemical Company, Ltd. (Japan), Nufarm Ltd. (Australia), Bayer CropScience AG (Germany), Koppert B.V. (the Netherlands), Certis U.S.A. LLC (U.S.), and Monsanto Company (U.S.)Key Findings:High demand for agricultural products has surged the global market for agricultural MicrobialsIncreasing agricultural practice is the reason for growing demand for agricultural MicrobialsApplication of agricultural Microbials is projected to witness highest growth rate in the fruits & vegetables segment followed by the cereals & pulses over the estimated periodAccess Report Deatails @Regional Analysis:The global agricultural Microbials market is segmented into North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, and rest of the world (RoW). The Asia Pacific region is dominating the agricultural Microbials market followed by North America owing to rising population followed by increasing consumption of agricultural products in the developing regions. Moreover, agriculture is the key business in India, which is anticipated to drive the agricultural Microbials market over the forecast period.Furthermore, the U.S. dominates the North American agricultural Microbials market owing to increasing consumer awareness and growing demand for fruits, vegetables, cereals, pulses, and other crops, which is anticipated to boost the growth of the agricultural Microbials market during the review period.About Market Research Future:At Market Research Future (MRFR), we enable our customers to unravel the complexity of various industries through our Cooked Research Report (CRR), Half-Cooked Research Reports (HCRR), Raw Research Reports (3R), Continuous-Feed Research (CFR), and Market Research & Consulting Services.ContactMarket Research FutureOffice No. 528, Amanora ChambersMagarpatta Road, Hadapsar,Pune - 411028Maharashtra, India+1 646 845 9312Email: sales@marketresearchfuture.com
The long-simmering conflict bubbled over Sunday when Russian border guards rammed into and opened fire on three Ukrainian boats near the Crimean Peninsula, which Moscow annexed in 2014. The vessels were trying to pass through the Kerch Strait on their way to the Sea of Azov, where Ukraine has two major ports. The Russians then seized the ships and have detained their 24 crew members.
Cancer Diagnostics Market Professional Scenario 2022 | Foremost Industry Players - Sklar Surgical Instruments, Fortimedix Surgical, Intuitive Surgical Inc., Levita Magnetics

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This Industry report Global Cancer Diagnostics Market Research Report 2018provides detailed insight covering all important parameters including Development Trends, Challenges, Opportunities, Key Manufacturers and Competitive Analysis.Cancer Diagnostics Market - HighlightsThere are several methods of diagnosing cancer today such as biopsy based, endoscopy based, imaging procedure, tumor cancer diagnostics and many more. Population affected with cancer are showing a tremendous growth during last few years, which create the requirement of advanced technology for diagnosis cancer on early stage.According to the American Cancer Society, in 2017, it is estimate that around 161,360 new cases of prostate cancer will be diagnosed and around 26,730 deaths occur owing to prostate cancer in the United States.GET FREE SAMPLE REPORT @Cancer Diagnostics Market - Key PlayersArquer Diagnostics Ltd (U.K)BioMark Diagnostics Inc. (Canada)Biotheranostics, Inc. (U.S.)Cancer Diagnostics, Inc. (U.S.)Agilent Technologies, Inc. (U.S.)Thermo Fisher Scientific, Inc. (U.S.)Illumina, Inc. (Denmark)Becton, Dickinson and Company (U.S.)And moreCancer Diagnostics Market  Growth and AnalysisMany companies are involve in collaboration in order to provide better technology for diagnosis the cancer. In this regards, in January, 2015, Roche and Qualcomm Incorporated entered into a strategic collaboration to improve remote monitoring and management of patients with chronic disease.Rising demand for better technology, increasing investment in biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries for R&D are driving the market for cancer diagnostics.Moreover, increasing government support for research & development, changing lifestyle, and rapidly developing technology are also expected to fuel the market during the forecast period. However, the high cost of the treatment may slow the market growth during the period 2017-2022.The Global Cancer Diagnostics Market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 11.8% during the forecast period 2017-2022.Cancer Diagnostics Market - SegmentationThe global cancer diagnostics market is segmented on the basis of types, application, and end user. On the basis of the type, it is segmented into biopsy based, endoscopy based, imaging procedure, tumor cancer diagnostics, and others.On the basis of the application, it is segmented into lung cancer, breast cancer, colorectal cancer, cervical cancer, prostate cancer, skin cancer, blood cancer, kidney cancer, liver cancer, pancreatic cancer, and others. On the basis of the end user, it is segmented into diagnostic center, clinic, hospital, research institutes, and others.Cancer Diagnostics Market - Regional AnalysisThe Americas dominate the global cancer diagnostics market owing to the presence of huge patient population with cancer, high healthcare spending, and increasing government support for research & development.According to a report published by the breast cancer information and awareness, in 2017, around 252,710 new cases of invasive breast cancer are expected to be diagnosed in women, along with 63,410 new cases of non-invasive breast cancer.Europe holds the second largest share of the global cancer diagnostics market as result of increasing focus of various government agencies on the treatment of diseases. Moreover, the growing public awareness is also likely to boost the European market.GET REPORT DETAILS WITH TECHNOLOGICAL ADVANCEMENT @Asia Pacific is the fastest growing market across the globe. Moreover, rapidly developing economy, increasing healthcare expenditure, and the government initiatives for research & development are projected to drive the market in China and India.The Middle East and Africa holds the least share of the global market due to limited availability of medical facilities. The UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Kuwait are expected to drive the Middle East & African market. Whereas, the African region is expected to witness a moderate growth.Major Points form TOC for Cancer Diagnostics Market Research Report  Forecast to 2022Chapter 1. Report PrologueChapter 2. Market IntroductionChapter 3. Research MethodologyChapter 4. Market DynamicsChapter 5. Market Factor AnalysisChapter 6. Global Cancer Diagnostics Market, By TypeChapter 7. Global Cancer Diagnostics Market, By TreatmentChapter 8 Global Cancer Diagnostics Market, By End UserChapter 9. Global Cancer Diagnostics Market, By RegionChapter 10 Company LandscapeChapter 11 Company ProfilesChapter 12 MRFR ConclusionChapter 13 AppendixAbout 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.Office No. 528, Amanora ChambersPune - 411028Maharashtra, India
Global Europe GDPR Assessment Tools Market Insights, Trends & Future Development Status Recorded during 2018-2028

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The EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), which has superseded the Data Protection Directive 95/46/EC, aims at harmonizing data privacy laws across Europe. With GDPR becoming the standard of reliability among consumers, with regard to their personal datas privacy, there has been a rise in number of service providers of GDPR assessment tools in Europe. GDPR assessment tools have gained high demand recently as, aiding the businesses in achieving 100% GDPR compliance.Request a Free Sample Report-GDPR assessment tools market is envisioned to witness a rapid rise, driven by the requirement for the regulation of data processing apropos of an individual, company, or organization. Mandates on compliance of GDPR to not only EU organizations, but also non-EU companies operating in Europe or handling clients in Europe, will further proliferate expansion of the Europe GDPR Assessment Tools Market. Growing cyber-crime prevalence and privacy concerns with regard to personal data, which have made enforcement of GDPR essential, will continue to be one of the key growth determinants for the GDPR assessment tools market.The GDPR assessment tools market is envisaged to record a spectacular 35.6% CAGR between the forecast period 2018 and 2028, according to a recent Fact.MR study. Albeit rising anxiousness across the IT and relevant business sectors is considered as a key concern, GDPR assessment tools market will be substantially underpinned by high penalties imposed on organizations that do not comply with GDPR.Exorbitant Emphasis on Data Protection Advocating Essentiality of GDPR Assessment ToolsProliferation of the internet across the globe has meant that concerns apropos of personal data, its protection and privacy have become exorbitant. Recent privacy issue crisis, such as that of Facebook, has led consumers to rethink on sharing their personal information with online portals. GDPR assessment tools are therefore gaining tremendous momentum in Europe, facilitating regulation of data privacy and protection.Growth of the GDPR assessment tools market will continue to be significantly driven by requirement of German businesses to gain intelligence on their customer datas location, which is an imperative need when customers demand deletion of their data. Organizations are continuously seeking GDPR assessment tools providers, as understanding data controllers & processors currently fall among their top priorities as well as is a key prerequisite of GDPR.Request Full Report with TOC:GDPR Assessment Tools Market: Expeditious Requirement of GDPR Assessment Tools among Non-compliant Organizations Creating Lucrative AvenuesNearly half of the organizations in Europe are not yet compliant to GDPR, although they have been preparing for the same since 2016  when the law was approved. These organizations are therefore rapidly seeking GDPR assessment tools on account of the complexity and extensive steps involved in the compliance process. With absolute data control being sought-after among the GDPR non-compliant organizations, for maintaining their market reputation and preventing the associated penalties, growth of the GDPR assessment tools market will witness significant momentum in the forthcoming years.Amid swelling expansion of modern businesses, there has been a dramatic evolution in the IT industry, which in turn has made data distribution rigorous and data mapping challenging. GDPR assessment tools are likely to witness robust adoption among these businesses, as they lack intelligence on data storage location, and data transmission, and therefore are vulnerable to threats of data breach. The need for identifying dishonest business processes, which result in contractual risk with suppliers of unsanctioned IT, will further continue to fuel growth of the GDPR assessment tools market in Europe.GDPR Assessment Tools Market: Adoption in Social Media & Digital Marketing and Penetration of Cloud-based Tools to Emerge as Key TrendsComplexity of the GDPR has intensified the cloud technology service platforms, leading the cloud-reliant businesses to comply with GDPR for ensuring their data practices. Lower percentile of identification of GDPRs impact on the cloud-based services among IT organizations is a major focus area for GDPR assessment tools providers. As personal data sharing is a default procedure for cloud-service providers assisting organizations, their services are required to be unique to comply with GDPR. GDPR assessment tools providers are therefore introduced cloud-based tools to tap the potential opportunities in the area, thereby supporting growth of the GDPR assessment tools market.High penalties associated with non-compliance of GDPR, organizations and businesses are seeking GDPR assessment tools to facilitate the compliance process and maintain their reputation and brand management. Digital and social media marketing platforms have been witnessing automation in recent years, which in turn has created the need for declaration of data management activities with consent. This has further driven demand for GDPR assessment tools in social media and digital marketing, wherein data management in the marketing processes is bound to adhere to GDPR. This, coupled with rapid rise of the digital and social media marketing, will substantially fuel growth of the GDPR assessment tools market in the near future.Ask Industry Expert about this Report -About FactMRFactMR is a fast-growing market research firm that offers the most comprehensive suite of syndicated and customized market insights reports. We believe transformative intelligence can educate and inspire businesses to make smarter decisions. We know the limitations of the one-size-fits-all approach; that's why we publish multi-industry global, regional, and country-specific research reports.Contact UsFactMR11140 Rockville PikeSuite 400Rockville, MD 20852United StatesEmail: sales@factmr.comWeb:Blog:Read Industry News at -
Atrial Fibrillation Market 2023 Competitive Analysis  by Medtronic Plc, AtriCure, Biosense Webster, and Abbott Laboratories, etc

Atrial Fibrillation Market

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The worldwide Atrial Fibrillation Market is categorized on the basis of devices, applications, and regions. Its devices consist of surgical and non-surgical. Among surgical devices, EP ablation catheters are predicted to be the most favorite and massively-growing sub-segment in the near future. By applications, the industry is split into cardiac centers, electrophysiology laboratories, high-tech medical centers, well-established hospitals, and ambulatory wards.Among these, well-established hospitals are likely to experience notable growth in the forecast period. Key healthcare organizations adopt catheter ablation techniques for AF treatment. These techniques are less invasive and enable faster recuperation. According to regions, the AF industry is divided into Europe, Americas, Asia Pacific, and the Middle East and Africa. Americas lead globally and should maintain their dominance till 2023.Asia Pacific will emerge as the fastest growing market in the near future. Key players investing in the market comprise Boston Scientific Corporation, Medtronic Plc, AtriCure, Biosense Webster, and Abbott Laboratories. Majority of these participants engage in product innovations and geographical expansion to capture more shares and stay ahead of each other.To Get Sample Report visitMarket InsightsThe Global AF (Atrial Fibrillation) Market is set to be driven by lifestyles diseases and cardiac incidences. Diabetes and obesity cases also contribute to market growth. Also; escalation in the number of patients with hypertension, rheumatic fever, and valvular cardiac issues are some of the common factors, leading to atrial fibrillation. AF is marked by anomalous cardiac rhythms & erratic atria beats.Quite frequently, AF begins as a short periods of anomalous beating, becoming continuous and longer with the passage of time. Chest ache, breathlessness, and cardiac palpitations may also result (on certain occasions) from AF. This illness makes patients susceptible to dementia, heart failure, and strokes. Hence, it is a kind of supraventricular tachycardia.Therapeutic advancements and the burgeoning aged populace also drive the industry. Supportive clinical outcomes and growing AF incidences add market revenues. The worldwide industry is predicted to observe huge expansion during 2017 to 2023 (forecast period). Unhealthy lifestyles and excessive consumption of junk food can result in cardiac problems, AF being one of them.AF is generally managed with the help of drugs to reduce the cardiac rate to nearly regular. Across Americas and Europe, atrial fibrillation affected about two to three percent of the overall populace in 2014. Both these regions are propelled by their high patient base and usage of AF therapies in various medical sectors. Despite having so many drivers, the industry faces obstacles in the form of shortage of skilled medical professionals and huge healthcare expenses.Key Players for Global AF (Atrial Fibrillation) MarketKey players investing in the market comprise Boston Scientific Corporation, Medtronic Plc, AtriCure, Biosense Webster, and Abbott Laboratories. Majority of these participants engage in product innovations and geographical expansion to capture more shares and stay ahead of each other.Advanced Products/NewsAn innovative technology, 3D catheter mapping has been developed to facilitate real-time instrument tracking in prerecorded fluoroscopy. Also, the advent of cutting-edge technologies; like watchman instruments, convergent techniques, and FIRM ablation has opened new horizons for this industry and lowered the risks of atrial fibrillation.Rising need for enhanced imaging and minimally invasive techniques is leading to producers and vendors spending heavily on research and developments. These research activities are resulting in the development of even modern catheter ablation techniques. These techniques are intended to be promising and aim at reducing patient-discomfort. As per a new study, black Americans are more prone to developing AF than the white.Recent lab experiments witnessed the enrollment of few African-Americans. More investigations revealed that blacks with AF were at a greater danger of suffering strokes. Thus, the study concluded that some blood thinning drugs should assist patients avoid strokes. This fact also comes in light with AF being detected earlier than usual. The company, AtriCure offers novel treatments for AF. Its AtriClip Left Atrial Appendage Exclusion devices are the most sold AF instruments across the world.ToBrowse Complete Report visitAbout 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 FutureHadapsar, Pune  411028Maharashtra, IndiaPhone: +1 646 845 9312Email: sales@marketresearchfuture.com
Enterprise WLAN Market Size, Trends and Forecast 2017 - 2025: Juniper Networks, Cisco Systems, Aruba Networks, Aerohive Networks, Allied Telesis, ZTE Corporation

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This report mainly introduces volume and value market share by players, by regions, by product type, by consumers and also their price change details. As a MarketResearchReports.Biz report, it covers all details inside analysis and opinion in Enterprise WLAN Market.Global Enterprise WLAN Market: SnapshotWireless LAN (WLAN) technology, also referred to as Wi-Fi, has been fast evolving to adapt to the highly dynamic market for mobile communication. With rise in practices such as Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) in the workplace, it is becoming increasingly necessary for companies to provide a safe and secure Wi-Fi network. This has upped the demand for enterprise-grade WLAN security.The primary task of an enterprise WLAN solution is to offer secure and solid wireless service to users. It is a known fact that WLANs provide lesser degree of security than their wired counterparts. This is because Wi-Fi use unlicensed bands that can be accessed by anyone, making them vulnerable to different interferences, which, in turn, can cause degradation in service. An enterprise WLAN solution helps to tackle the aforementioned problems with advanced functions and technologies.Realizing the advantages, companies are deploying more and more WLANs every year to encourage their employees to use smartphones and pads for work as well.An enterprise wireless network is typically comprised of the following basic components  access points (AP), AP controllers, and authentication servers. An additional component called WIPS sensor and server can also be included when required to prevent wireless intrusion.Request to Get Sample Copy of This Report @Key end users in the global market for WLAN can be categorized into IT and telecommunication, banking, financial service and insurance (BFSI), logistics, municipality and public infrastructure, education, healthcare, transport, retail, etc. At present, the segment of IT and telecommunication accounts for significant demand because of their ample use of software and hardware to transfer data in various ways.The enterprise WLAN market holds out strong promise for players operating in it. Most of the big shots in the market are registering gangbuster profits year after year and seem primed to repeat the feat in the future as well.With the advent of internet connectivity and growing user base for internet, enterprise wireless local area network (WLAN) market is expected to witness flourishing growth prospect during the forecast period.Rising internet penetration and growing investment made towards telecommunication network broadens the market prospect for enterprise WLAN market. Consumers spend larger proportion of their income on mobile devices such as laptops, smartphones and others. Though network facility has been greatly developed in the age of 3G, 4G network connection, Wi-Fi become a valid option for most of the organizations, The Wi-Fi is able to provide internet connection with higher speed, and also covers large area. With the help of Wi-Fi, internet facility can be provided in public areas such as restaurants, parks, metro stations and others and this factor drives the enterprise WLAN market during the forecast period.There are several disadvantages involved to the enterprise WLAN market. The installation of such system is very expensive and this require skilled personnel for the regular maintenance. Huge expense and frequent change in technology in this sector is a restraining factor for the enterprise WLAN market over the forecast period and this is a hindrance for the market as well.Request to Get Complete Report List Of Tables and Figures @On the basis of hardware, enterprise WLAN market is segmented into AP antennas, wireless access points, wireless LAN controller, wireless location appliance and multigigabit switching. Wireless LAN controller held the largest market share and this segment is expected to remain its market dominance during the forecast period. This segment is expected to attain considerable market share owing to large number of network operating centres and the segment is able to handle wireless access points. Large number of smartphone users and higher intensity of data usage among varied verticals such as hospitals, restaurants, homes and others facilitate the demand for enterprise WLAN market during the forecast period.In terms of verticals, enterprise WLAN market is classified into IT and telecommunication, logistics, banking, financial service and insurance (BFSI), municipality and public infrastructure, healthcare, education, retail, transport and other. IT and telecommunication held the largest market share in enterprise WLAN market. This segment utilizes lots of software and hardware to operationalise the transfer of data among varied number of ways. This segments large volume of data and installation of enterprise WLAN facilitates the transfer of data in this scenario. This kind of enterprise Wi-Fi actually broadens the scope of data transfer and enhances transmission thus projecting high growth trajectory for the market of enterprise WLAN market during the forecast period.According to regions, global enterprise WLAN market is classified into five regions such as North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Middle East & Africa (MEA) and Latin America. Asia Pacific is estimated to be the fastest growing region in enterprise WLAN market during the forecast period. Asia Pacific is the main hub information technology and telecommunication centre. Cloud based services is the most attractive investment destination in this region thus fostering the growth prospect of enterprise WLAN market over the forecast period. This region consists of large number of working population in comparison to other regions where number of dependent people are quite high. With the concentration of large number of emerging economies such as China, India and South Korea where there is substantial amount of growth opportunities, it is estimated that global enterprise WLAN market during the forecast period. North America and Europe are also promising market for enterprise WLAN. These regions have flourishing banking, healthcare and telecommunication sectors and with the rising investment opportunities these region witness stable growth rate over the forecast period.Some of the key market players include Juniper Networks, Cisco Systems, Aruba Networks, Aerohive Networks, Allied Telesis, ZTE Corporation, Extreme Networks, Ruckus Wireless, Wi-Fi Spark, Boingo Wireless, Avaya Corporation, Dell, Alcatel Lucent Enterprises, and others.The report offers a comprehensive evaluation of the market. It does so via in-depth qualitative insights, historical data, and verifiable projections about market size. The projections featured in the report have been derived using proven research methodologies and assumptions. By doing so, the research report serves as a repository of analysis and information for every facet of the market, including but not limited to: Regional markets, technology, types, and applications.The study is a source of reliable data on:Market segments and sub-segmentsMarket trends and dynamicsSupply and demandMarket sizeCurrent trends/opportunities/challengesCompetitive landscapeTechnological breakthroughsValue chain and stakeholder analysisThe regional analysis covers:North America (U.S. and Canada)Latin America (Mexico, Brazil, Peru, Chile, and others)Western Europe (Germany, U.K., France, Spain, Italy, Nordic countries, Belgium, Netherlands, and Luxembourg)Eastern Europe (Poland and Russia)Asia Pacific (China, India, Japan, ASEAN, Australia, and New Zealand)Middle East and Africa (GCC, Southern Africa, and North Africa)The report has been compiled through extensive primary research (through interviews, surveys, and observations of seasoned analysts) and secondary research (which entails reputable paid sources, trade journals, and industry body databases). The report also features a complete qualitative and quantitative assessment by analyzing data gathered from industry analysts and market participants across key points in the industrys value chain.A separate analysis of prevailing trends in the parent market, macro- and micro-economic indicators, and regulations and mandates is included under the purview of the study. By doing so, the report projects the attractiveness of each major segment over the forecast period.Request to Buy This Premium Report From Here @Highlights of the report:A complete backdrop analysis, which includes an assessment of the parent marketImportant changes in market dynamicsMarket segmentation up to the second or third levelHistorical, current, and projected size of the market from the standpoint of both value and volumeReporting and evaluation of recent industry developmentsMarket shares and strategies of key playersEmerging niche segments and regional marketsAn objective assessment of the trajectory of the marketRecommendations to companies for strengthening their foothold in the marketMarketResearchReports.biz is a seller of syndicated market studies, featuring an exhaustive collection of research reports from leading international publishers. Our repositoryis diverse, spanningvirtually every industrial sector and even more every category and sub-category within the industry. We also provide consulting services to enable our clients have adynamicbusiness perspective.State Tower90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207United StatesToll Free: 866-997-4948(USA-Canada)Tel: +1-518-621-2074E: sales@marketresearchreports.biz
CAS9 Technology Market 2022 Top Key Players are CRISPR Therapeutics, Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc., Lonza, Agilent Technologies, GenScript, Editas Medicine, Horizon Discovery Group plc

CAS9 Technology Market

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This study covers the market dynamics and trends in major countries that are expected to influence the current market scenario and future status of the global CAS9 Technology Market over the forecast period.CAS9 or CRISPR-Cas9 is a gene-editing technology that enables scientists to cut and paste snippets of genetic information in strands of DNA. The technology has huge potential for application in the biotech industry and is already making a huge difference across many scientific fields such as agriculture and healthcare.Get Exclusive Sample Copy @In pharmaceuticals it is used in developing new drugs and in agriculture, it is expanding research and development activities aimed at evaluating seed yield, oil content yield, and drought tolerance traits deployed in key agricultural crops and etc. Many research projects are going on deploying novel yield, oil content and drought tolerance traits using CAS 9 technology in plants such as Camelina, canola, soybean, rice and other agriculturally significant crops to increase yields.The CAS9 technology also helps the healthcare industry to treat patients with fatal diseases. The promising results delivered by this technology is a key driving factor acting as tailwind escalating the market growth. Also, substantial investments put into R&D activities are encouraging the market growth on the global platform.Acknowledging the accruals, the market is enjoying currently, demonstrating the potential to grow further in the years to come, Market Research Future (MRFR) in its recently published study report asserts that the global CAS9 technology market will be valued exponentially by 2022, registering a striking CAGR during the forecast period (2016  2022).Factors such as augmented adoption of CAS9 in precision medicine along with the increasing applications such as edit RNA and shorter snippets of DNA in small organisms, like bacteria, and etc. drive the market growth. Projects such as the human genome and the growing adoption of genetics for livestock and agriculture research are fostering the market growth. Improving economic conditions enabling access to the quality of life and improved healthcare supports the market growth.However, as the CAS9 Technology is still in its nascent stage, there are some challenges to the growth of the market. Factors such as insufficient funds for R&D high cost of development and maintenance, along with the data safety concerns, and ethical considerations among others inhibit the market growth. Nevertheless, private and public funding programs are rapidly increasing the funds for R&D.The year 2018 has been phenomenal for the CAS9 patents. Many patents filed since 2011 have been cleared this year.Key Players:Fervent players leading the global CAS9 technology market include CRISPR Therapeutics, Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc., Lonza, Agilent Technologies, GenScript, Editas Medicine, Horizon Discovery Group plc., New England Biolabs, Albany Molecular Research Inc., Transposagen, Inc., and CRISPR Therapeutics.CAS9 Technology Market - SegmentsThe MRFR analysis is segmented into five key dynamics for enhanced understanding.By Medium : Enzyme, and RNA, among othersBy Application: DNA sequencing, DNA repair, Gene Library Development, Cell Line Engineering, Genetic Engineering, Cancer, and Hepatitis B Gene Therapy among others.By Delivery : IV Infusion, Injection, and Inhalation among others.By End-user: Hospitals, Cardiac Care Centers, Ambulatory and others.By Region: Europe, North America, APAC, and the Rest-of-the-World (RoW).The subsegment Genetic engineering holds the largest market share by applications.Industry/Innovations/Related News:September 18, 2018  Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (US), a leading biotechnology product development company announced licensing intellectual property surrounding CRISPR technologies from the Broad Institute and ERS Genomics. The company already holds licenses to other genome editing technologies such as CRISPR-Cas9 and others. These licenses expand Thermo Fishers industry-leading genome editing capabilities.Browse Full Reports @CAS9 Technology Market - Regional AnalysisGlobally, the North American region dominates the CAS9 technology market with the largest market share. The presence of the global players is a key driving force acting as a tailwind to the market growth. Simultaneously, factors such as the encouraging research and development activities transpired in healthcare along with the increased uptake of advanced technologies and high healthcare expenditures are substantiating the market growth. Owing to the rising demands for CAS9 Technology procedures, the CAS9 technology market in North America is projected to create a larger revenue pocket by 2022. The US, backed by the increasing demand for DNA Sequencing, accounts for the major contributor to the market growth.Whereas Europe accounts for the second-largest market for CAS9 technology, globally, attributing to the recent technological advancements that took place in the field and the augmenting uptake of the technology in the region.Additionally, the presence of large medical facilities and rising per capita health care expenditures in the region support the market growth. Besides, factors such as government support and funding from the public & private sectors for research & development are estimated to accelerate the market growth in the region over the forecasted period.The Asia Pacific CAS9 technology market is emerging as one of the lucrative markets, growing rapidly. Backed by the rising demand for DNA sequencing and the increasing adoption of the technology in the procedures, APAC market is expected to register a phenomenal CAGR during the forecast period. The market is expected to perceive huge contributions from some of the APAC countries such as South Korea, Japan, India, and China.Global CAS9 Technology Market - Competitive LandscapeThe rapidly growing market for CAS9 technology is fiercely competitive and fragmented with many well-established as well as small & new entrants forming the competitive edge. Innovation, new technology launch and Brand reinforcement remain the popular trends for the key players in the market. The growth statistics of the Nerve market presage the probable heights the market can reach further.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 Structure2 Research Methodology2.1 Research Process:2.2 Primary Research2.3 Secondary Research3 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 Rivalry5 GLOBAL CAS9 TECHNOLOGY MARKET, BY MEDIUM5.1 ENZYME5.2 RNA5.3 OTHERS Continued!Price: $4450 (Single User)Pages: 80Buy now @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
Clinical Perinatal Software Market expected to grow at a CAGR of ~7.2 % By 2023

Clinical Perinatal Software Market

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Market Research Future Provide Premium Research Reports of every sector which is made by Professional Researcher with the fresh Content ever and this time Added Premium Research Reports on Global Clinical Perinatal Software Market 2023 Which is Belongs to the Healthcare IT Category so it helps to Organizations to take Major Decisions and it also Help to Analysis of Market Growth.The Global Clinical Perinatal Software Market is growing at a steady pace and is expected to grow at a CAGR of ~7.2 % during review period 2017-2023.Key Players in the Global Clinical Perinatal Software Market:General Electric, Edan Instruments, Inc., Huntleigh Healthcare Limited, KONINKLIJKE PHILIPS N.V, K2 Medical Systems, PeriGen, Inc, Cerner Corporation, Trium Analysis Online, and others.Get Sample Copy @Market Scenario:The clinical perinatal software monitor health of fetus and pregnant women. It provides information about any complexity that may arise during the prenatal period, which helps to minimize the problems during the pregnancy.Increasing awareness and a rising birth rate & post-date pregnancy drive the growth of the market. Moreover, increasing healthcare expenditure, continuous development in technology, and increasing government support for research & development likely to boost the demand for the software. On the other hand, complex user interface and high cost of the software may slow the market growth over the assessment period.Key Findings:The Global Clinical Perinatal Software Market and is expected to reach USD 60 million by 2023.Integrated software segment on the basis of products holds the largest share of 75.8% of the market.Americas holds the largest market share of 39.2% of clinical perinatal software market and is anticipated to reach USD 93 million by the end of the forecast period.Asia Pacific is the fastest growing region across the globe and expected to grow at a rate of CAGR 7.8% during the forecast period.The report gives a clear picture of the current market scenario which includes historical and projected market size in terms of value and volume, technological advancement, macro economical and governing factors in the market. The report provides details information and strategies of the top key players in the industry. The report also gives a broad study of the different market segments and regionsSegments:Clinical Perinatal Software Market has been segmented on the basis of products, which comprises of integrated software and standalone software.On the basic of services, the market is segmented into implementation services, support & maintenance services, training service, customization services, and online resources.On the basic of deployed models, the market is segmented on-premises and cloud-based.On the basis of applications, the market is segmented into fetal monitor data services, workflow management, and patient documentation.On the basis of end users, it is segmented into hospital & clinics and maternity clinics.Get Premium Discount @Regional Analysis of the Global Clinical Perinatal Software Market:The Americas region accounted for a lion share of USD 65.31 million in 2016, owing to the well-developed technology, high healthcare expenditure, and the presence of the leading players.Europe is the second largest market that holds a noticeable share of the global clinical perinatal software market. The European market is expected to grow significantly during the forecast period owing to well-developed healthcare infrastructure and increasing investment in healthcare. Germany, the UK, and France contribute significantly to the growth of the European market.In Asia Pacific, rising number of hospitals, increasing need for better diagnostic methods, and demand for cost-effective treatment & diagnostics services are the key factors for the market growth.The Middle East & Africa is expected to show steady growth in this market due to low technology penetration and less availability of innovative healthcare technologies.TABLE OF CONTENTS1 Report Prologue2 Introduction2.1 Scope of Study2.2 Research Objective2.3 Assumptions & Limitations2.3.1 Assumptions2.3.2 Limitations2.4 Market Structure3 Research Methodology3.1 Primary Research3.2 Secondary Research3.3 Market Size Estimation3.3.1 Market Share Analysis3.4 Market Pricing Approach4 Market Dynamics4.1 Introduction4.2 Drivers4.2.1 Technological Development in the Perinatal Software4.2.2 Increasing Birth Rates and Postdate Pregnancy4.2.3 Increasing Adoption of Healthcare It4.3 Restraints4.3.1 High Cost of the Software4.3.2 Complexity in Operating the Software4.4 Opportunities4.4.1 Positive Approach of Government towards Healthcare Sector4.5 Mega Trends4.5.1 Increasing Popularity of Cloud-Based Deployment Model4.6 Macroeconomic IndicatorsContinued!Enquiry about Reports @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
Automotive Biometrics Market Size, Share and Forecast 2018 - 2028 Breakdown Data by technology, sales channel, vehicle type, and region

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Automotive biometrics is a radical approach which has transformed driving experience, vehicle safety, and comfort features. Automotive Biometrics has already paved its way in the industry more than a decade. There has been significant increase in the sales of passenger cars in the last decade with developing countries generating significant demand of automotive biometrics installed in the vehicles. As cars have become an indispensable part of society, there has been a greater need to enhance the safety and security of cars. Automotive Biometrics are being used in various purpose notably the driver identification systems. For instance, through sensors, the biometric driver identification system detects various parts such as butt size and fingerprints, amongst others, to verify whether the person is allowed to start the car or not.Automotive OEMs and technology providers are together gearing up to power the automotive industry with innovative technologies. Automotive biometrics is an effective solution to personalize a vehicle according to ones specific requirements. With the use of automotive biometrics, the system/vehicle can be configured to provide better safety and protection for driver assistance and accident prevention. Automotive biometrics are compatible with existing security systems, and provide multi-level protection. These are classified as intelligent vehicle systems. Automotive biometrics coordinates various behavioral and physiological characteristics to automate the monitoring process. Various parameters are gauged through automotive biometrics, such as iris scan, facial recognition, microphone for voice identification, fingerprint recognition, eye movements and blinking, skin conductivity (sweating) and heart rate, brainwave monitoring, stress detection, facial monitoring, and infrared and ultrasound sensors, amongst others, to differentiate one individual from another.Request to Get Sample Copy of This Report @Global Automotive Biometrics Market DynamicsAutomotive Biometrics Market DriversThe growing focus on the development of autonomous vehicles is expected to drive the demand for advanced automotive biometrics. Due to the high accuracy of biometric systems, they are being widely adopted in automotive security systems. As biometric systems are based on biological confirmations such as fingerprints, voice recognition, and iris scan, amongst others, there is the least probability of breach of security. The password and other systems used previously can be hacked to gain unauthorized access. Automotive biometrics is relatively faster with respect to processing requests, and the tracking of unauthorized access is also relatively easier.Vehicle access control devices are being implemented with biometrics such as auto-alarming, anti-theft protection.With the growing demand for aesthetics and comfort features in cars, there has been a wider adoption of automotive biometrics. For instance, automotive biometrics enables the user to personalize the car. The automotive biometrics system is connected with an interior camera that can recognize the drivers face, and can automatically adjust the seat, mirror position, temperature, navigation, and other parameters as per the information stored in the database.Another major factor promoting the growth of automotive biometrics is the significant amount reduction offered by insurance companies for vehicles that have installed a biometrics system. Insurance companies can keep a track record and monitor the drivers in real time. Automotive biometrics has gained enormous popularity, and a number of OEMs and insurance companies are filing patents.Request to Get Complete Report List Of Tables and Figures @Automotive Biometrics Market RestraintsOne of the major challenges faced by the global automotive biometrics market is the high costs associated with the installation of this system, which confines its usage to only the premium/luxury category of vehicles. Another major challenge for automotive biometrics is that, the system being highly secure, makes it impossible for family or friends to take over the driving in case of an emergency.Automotive Biometrics Market TrendsA number of automakers have shown keen interest in the adoption of automotive biometrics to enhance the safety and security of vehicles. Automotive OEMs are collaborating into strategic partnerships with wearable companies. These wearable device can be connected via Bluetooth to get the biometrics data.Global Automotive Biometrics Market SegmentationThe global automotive biometrics market can be segmented on the basis of technology, sales channel, vehicle type, and region.On the basis of technology, the global automotive biometrics market can be segmented as:Vehicular Access Ignition Switches Vehicle Immobilizers Rationalization and Health MonitoringOn the basis of sales channel, the global automotive biometrics market can be segmented as:OEMs AftermarketOn the basis of vehicle type, the global automotive biometrics market can be segmented as:Passenger Cars Compact Sub-compact Mid-sized Sedans Luxury Vans Light Commercial VehiclesGlobal Automotive Biometrics Market: Regional OutlookIn terms of regional perspective, North America is anticipated to hold a relatively larger share in the global automotive biometrics system market. This is attributed to the increasing disposable income in the region, and increasing adaptability amongst consumers for such highly technologically advanced products, which is projected to drive the demand for automotive biometrics. Europe, predominantly Western Europe, is also projected to hold a significant share in the global automotive biometrics market. Regions such as the developing countries of Asia Pacific are anticipated to witness relatively higher growth percentages, with major growth in the latter half of the forecast period in the automotive biometrics market. China and India are projected to represent significant shares in the Asia Pacific automotive biometrics market. Other regions such as Latin America, predominantly Mexico, and the Middle East and Africa, with significant investments in the automotive sector, are projected to witness significant growth rates over the forecast period in the automotive biometrics market.Global Automotive Biometrics Market ParticipantsSome of the market participants identified across the value chain of the global automotive biometrics market are:The research report presents a comprehensive assessment of the market and contains thoughtful insights, facts, historical data, and statistically supported and industry-validated market data. It also contains projections using a suitable set of assumptions and methodologies. The research report provides analysis and information according to market segments such as geography, technology, sales channel, and vehicle type.The report covers exhaustive analysis on:Regional analysis includes:The report is a compilation of first-hand information, qualitative and quantitative assessment by industry analysts, and inputs from industry experts and industry participants across the value chain. The report provides in-depth analysis of parent market trends, macro-economic indicators, and governing factors, along with market attractiveness as per segment. The report also maps the qualitative impact of various market factors on market segments and geographies.Request to Buy This Premium Report From Here @Report Highlights:IriTech, Inc.ZKTECO CO., LTDSecuGen CorporationContinental AGBiomatiques Identification Solution Pvt. Ltd.Next BiometricsCMITech Company, Ltd.Crossmatch TechnologiesGreen Bit Biometric Systems S.p.A.Hitachi LtdFujitsu LtdFingerprint Cards AbIDEX BiometricsMarket SegmentsMarket DynamicsMarket SizeSupply & DemandCurrent Trends/Issues/ChallengesCompetition & Companies InvolvedTechnologyValue ChainNorth America (U.S., Canada)Latin America (Mexico, Brazil)Western Europe (Germany, Italy, France, U.K, Spain)Eastern Europe (Poland, Russia)Asia Pacific (China, India, ASEAN, Australia & New Zealand)JapanMiddle East and Africa (GCC Countries, S. Africa, Northern Africa)Detailed overview of parent marketChanging market dynamics in the industryIn-depth market segmentationHistorical, current, and projected market size in terms of volume and valueRecent industry trends and developmentsCompetitive landscapeStrategies of key players and products offeredPotential and niche segments, geographical regions exhibiting promising growthA neutral perspective on market performanceMust-have information for market players to sustain and enhance their market footprintarketResearchReports.biz is a seller of syndicated market studies, featuring an exhaustive collection of research reports from leading international publishers. Our repositoryis diverse, spanningvirtually every industrial sector and even more every category and sub-category within the industry. We also provide consulting services to enable our clients have adynamicbusiness perspective.State Tower90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207United StatesToll Free: 866-997-4948(USA-Canada)Tel: +1-518-621-2074E: sales@marketresearchreports.biz
Health Intelligent Virtual Assistant Market Analysis Focusing on Top Key Players  Next IT Corporation, Microsoft Corporation, Nuance Communications, Kognito, Medrespond, Welltok, Inc, CSS Corporation

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Market Study Report adds a new Health Intelligent Virtual Assistant Market Research Report for the period of 2017-2024 that shows the growth of the market is rising at a Steady CAGR to 2024.UK held considerable regional health intelligent virtual assistant market share in 2016 owing to adoption of advanced healthcare technologies. Rising penetration of the internet of things coupled with increasing regulation act related to communication and data should drive business growth in coming years.Request a sample of this premium report at:Health Intelligent Virtual Assistant Market size is set to exceed USD 1.5 billion by 2024; according to a new research study.Rising smartphone users worldwide coupled with increasing use of health apps and growing popularity of internet of things is set to drive health intelligent virtual assistant market growth. Mobile healthcare technology has gained immense popularity among populations all over the globe. The increased adoption of heath apps demonstrates the shift in trend in patient care; wherein service over mobile devices is being preferred over visiting the physicians.Growing popularity of internet of things is likely to further stimulate health intelligent virtual assistant business growth. The use of internet of things in healthcare has increased both the size as well as accuracy of medical data through variety of data collection, and expanded the reach of healthcare professionals beyond their limited facilities.Increasing lifestyle related disorders coupled with rising health consciousness should also drive the health intelligent virtual assistant market. Lifestyle diseases remain the leading cause of death worldwide. Intelligent virtual assistants respond to the voice or text queries through mobile devices or health apps, thus increasing patient engagement and improving self-management skills for chronic disease. Thus, rising global chronic disease burden across the globe in healthcare industry should further augment health intelligent virtual assistant market growth in coming years.Request a discount on standard prices of this premium report at:Growing need to reduce healthcare costs and improve quality of care will fuel health intelligent virtual assistant market growth. Promising improvements in healthcare infrastructure, patient experience will restructure the healthcare delivery over the coming years. To reduce the medical errors and improve the quality of healthcare has been the first preference of Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ).Japan health intelligent virtual assistant market attributed for over 30% of Asia-Pacific share in 2016, witnessing healthy growth over the forecast years. Increasing investment by market players for technological development and improved economic indicators should stimulate business growth. Growing aging population and rising uptake of intelligent virtual assistant solutions associated with healthcare should fuel the industry growth.Brazil held highest regional market share in 2016 witnessing lucrative growth over the forecast years. Rapidly growing economy and need for better healthcare should promote the adoption of health intelligent virtual assistant across different healthcare organizations.Some of the prominent industry players offering unique and advanced products include Next IT Corporation, Microsoft Corporation, Nuance Communications and eGain Communication. Other notable industry participants are True Image Interactive, CodeBaby, Kognito, Medrespond, Welltok and CSS Corporation.Table of Content:Chapter 1. MethodologyChapter 2. Executive SummaryChapter 3. Health Intelligent Virtual Assistant Industry InsightsChapter 4. Health Intelligent Virtual Assistant Market, By TechnologyChapter 5. Health Intelligent Virtual Assistant Market, By End-userChapter 6. Health Intelligent Virtual Assistant Market, By RegionChapter 7. Company ProfilesFor More Details about this Report:About Us:Marketstudyreport.com allows you to manage and control all corporate research purchases to consolidate billing and vendor management. You can eliminate duplicate purchases and customize your content and license management.Contact Us:Market Study Report4 North Main Street,Selbyville, Delaware 19975USAPhone: 1-302-273-0910US Toll Free: 1-866-764-2150Email: sales@marketstudyreport.comWeb site:Blog:
In Depth Analysis on Medical Marijuana Market| Top Players: Canopy Growth Corporation, Aphria, Aurora Cannabis Inc., GW Pharmaceuticals plc

Medical Marijuana Market

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Research on marijuana's potential for medicinal use is on an upsurge in various parts of the world. In February 2018, WeedMD, a licensed Canadian medical marijuana producer, announced its partnership with the cannabis database project controlled by the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology (TIT). The collaborative entity would research cannabinoid and terpenoid profiles of 25 of WeedMDs cannabis strains. Similarly, in 2017, Oxford University announced its partnership with private equity company, Kingsley Capital Partners, for developing novel cannabis treatments for pain, cancer and inflammatory diseases. These research studies will result in number of product approvals for various medical conditions and hence have a positive impact on the medical marijuana market growth.Request for a sample of this research report @Company profiled in this report based on Business overview, Financial data, Product landscape, Strategic outlook & SWOT analysis: Canopy Growth Corporation Aphria Aurora Cannabis Inc. GW Pharmaceuticals plc Medical Marijuana, Inc. United Cannabis Corporation MedReleaf The Supreme Cannabis Company CanniMed Ltd. Tilray Emerald Health Therapeutics Inc. Cannabis Sativa Inc Insys Therapeutics, Inc. Corbus Pharmaceuticals Namaste TechnologiesMedical marijuana pain management market held around 75% share of total application market valuation, accounting for a total value of USD 5,481.1 million 2017. Being one of the biggest health problems, Chronic pain management using marijuana happens to be its largest application area. According to past research studies, 1 in 10 adults are diagnosed with chronic pain each year; with increasing success from marijuana in pain management, the demand for the same should increase multi-folds during the forecast period. Neuropathic pain captured the largest market share in 2017 due to increased number of peripheral neuropathy cases. Also, marijuana being an effective treatment for neuropathic pain, its use will further rise over the forecast timeframe.The medical marijuana market for skin-related conditions such as eczema and psoriasis, is estimated to show lucrative growth in near future; in fact, is estimated to expand at 37.4% CAGR from 2018-2024. Various research studies have shown that cannabinoids, one of the active ingredients of marijuana, may help regulate inflammation and immune function, hence increasing their application in due course of time. Millions of people affected with serious skin diseases should prove to be a potentially massive target market in near future.Make an inquiry for purchasing this report @U.S. medical marijuana market valued USD 3,549.0 million in 2017 and will grow multi-folds in near future owing to increasing medical marijuana applications. As of 2018, 30 U.S. states and Washington DC have allowed the application of medical marijuana. Also, growing number of research studies in the US, supporting marijuana's use for medical purposes should supplement the North American medical marijuana market growth.Medical Marijuana Market by Application Pain Management Neuropathic Pain Cancer Pain Others Muscle Spasms Nausea Anorexia SeizuresMedical Marijuana Market by Route of Administration Inhalation Oral TopicalGlobal Market Insights Inc. is a global market research and management consulting company catering to leading corporations, non-profit organizations, universities and government institutions. Our main goal is to assist and partner organizations to make lasting strategic improvements and realize growth targets. Our industry research reports are designed to provide granular quantitative information, combined with key industry insights, aimed at assisting sustainable organizational development.Global Market Insights, Inc.4 North Main StreetSelbyville, Delaware 19975 USAPhone: 1-302-846-7766Toll Free: 1-888-689-0688Email:sales@gminsights.com
The decision from Scott, the Senate's sole black Republican, came after the publication of a Justice Department memo in The Washington Post that Scott said raised concerns about Farr's involvement in a controversial "ballot security" campaign. Farr was a lawyer for the campaign of Sen. Jesse Helms, R-N.C., in 1984 and in 1990, when it sent out postcards that the department later said were sent to intimidate black voters from heading to the polls.
Beacons Management Software Market 2025 - Global Analysis and Forecasts by Type, Company like Aruba, Beaconinside Gmbh, Bluecats, Estimote, Glimworm Beacons, Kontakt

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Beacons management software is deployed in a commercial space with existing beacons. The software helps in tracking the data output from several beacons and provides information about the last ping time, battery status, and alerts for visitor analytics. The rise in the penetration of IoT applications and increase in the developments of smart city projects has propelled the beacons management software market growth.The "Global Beacons Management Software Market Analysis to 2025" is a specialized and in-depth study of the beacons management software industry with a focus on the global beacons management software market trend. The report aims to provide an overview of the global beacons management software market with detailed market segmentation by type, application, and geography. The global beacons management software market is expected to witness high growth during the forecast period. The report provides key statistics on the market status of the leading market players and offers key trends and opportunities in the beacons management software market.For more information about this report:The report provides a detailed overview of the beacons management software industry including both qualitative and quantitative information. It provides overview and forecast of the global beacons management software market based on type and application. It also provides beacons management software market size and forecast till 2025 for overall Beacons management software market with respect to five major regions, namely; North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific (APAC), Middle East and Africa (MEA) and South America (SAM). The market by each region is later sub-segmented by respective countries and segments. The report covers analysis and forecast of 14 countries globally along with current trend and opportunities prevailing in the region.Besides this, the report analyzes factors affecting beacons management software market from both demand and supply side and further evaluates market dynamics effecting the market during the forecast period i.e., drivers, restraints, opportunities, and future trend. The report also provides exhaustive PEST analysis.Also, key market players influencing the beacons management software market are profiled in the study along with their SWOT analysis and market strategies. The report also focuses on leading industry players with information such as company profiles, products and services offered, financial information of last 3 years, key development in past five years.Some of the key players influencing the beacons management software market are Aruba, Beaconinside Gmbh, Bluecats, Estimote, Inc., Glimworm Beacons, Kontakt.io, Mobstac, Inc., Quuppa OY, Relution Inc., and Sensoro Co. Ltd. among others.Inquire for Report atThe List of Companies1. Aruba2. Beaconinside Gmbh3. Bluecats4. Estimote, Inc.5. Glimworm Beacons6. Kontakt.io7. Mobstac, Inc.8. Quuppa OY9. Relution Inc.10. Sensoro Co. Ltd.Table of Contents:1. INTRODUCTION2. KEY TAKEAWAYS3. BEACONS MANAGEMENT SOFTWARE MARKET LANDSCAPE4. BEACONS MANAGEMENT SOFTWARE MARKET - KEY INDUSTRY DYNAMICS5. BEACONS MANAGEMENT SOFTWARE MARKET - GLOBAL MARKET ANALYSIS6. BEACONS MANAGEMENT SOFTWARE MARKET REVENUE AND FORECASTS TO 2025 TYPE7. BEACONS MANAGEMENT SOFTWARE MARKET REVENUE AND FORECASTS TO 2025  APPLICATION8. BEACONS MANAGEMENT SOFTWARE MARKET REVENUE AND FORECASTS TO 2025 - GEOGRAPHICAL ANALYSIS9. INDUSTRY LANDSCAPE10. COMPETITIVE LANDSCAPE11. BEACONS MANAGEMENT SOFTWARE MARKET, KEY COMPANY PROFILES12. APPENDIXContact Us:Call: +1-646-491-9876Email: sales@reportsweb.comReportsWeb.com is a one stop shop of market research reports and solutions to various companies across the globe. We help our clients in their decision support system by helping them choose most relevant and cost effective research reports and solutions from various publishers. We provide best in class customer service and our customer support team is always available to help you on your research queries.USA
Companies Profiled in Insulin Delivery Devices Market are Insulet Corporation, Eli Lilly and Company, BD, Roche, Novo Nordisk, Wockhardt Ltd.

Insulin Delivery Devices Market

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The insulin delivery devices market faces some peculiar challenges which have been and will continue to be hindering growth during the forecast period. Factors such as high cost of insulin and insulin delivery devices, inconsistencies in adherence of insulin uptake and psychological resistances to self-injection due to needle-phobia are major roadblock in insulin delivery devices market growth. Low per capita diabetes expenditure, and lack of reimbursement and insurance coverage in emerging economies happen to be significant constraints in industry growth. During the forecast period, high cost of devices will result in slow and low adoption rates, especially in resource poor economies.Request for a sample of this research report @Insulin pumps market was valued more than USD 1.9 billion in 2017 and is forecast to grow at a CAGR of over 7.5% from 2018 to 2024. The need for better diabetes management will drive demand for the insulin pumps during the forecast period. Minimally invasive nature of pumps will increasingly attract more consumers over the coming years, especially in industrialized nation; however, their cost will prove to be a major restraining factor for the business growth.Insulin pen is most popular in insulin delivery devices gamut; in fact, its market valued at over USD 6.5 billion in 2017. Being available since late 1980s, its business has grown into a multi-billion-dollar market and is expected to lead the industry during the forecast period. Insulin pen adoption is most likely to grow in developing nations having more than average diabetes patient in low income group.Company profiled in this report based on Business overview, Financial data, Product landscape, Strategic outlook & SWOT analysis:1. Roche2. Eli Lilly and Company3. Medtronic4. Novo Nordisk5. Sanofi6. BD7. Wockhardt Ltd.8. Insulet Corporation9. Ypsomed AGThe demand for injection free minimally invasive systems will drive pumps market growth over the forecast timeframe. Factors such as, ease of use, needleless insulin delivery and portability will result in rapid adoption of the same in coming 5-7 years. The insulin pumps market is forecast to grow with CAGR of over 7% during projection years.UK insulin delivery devices market valued over USD 500 million in 2017 and is forecast to grow with a commanding CAGR during the projection years. Demand for insulin pens happens to be high across the nation; however, demand for pumps, which has been lesser popular devices, should rise significantly over the forecast timeframe.Make an inquiry for purchasing this report @U.S. insulin delivery devices market was valued at USD 5.0 billion in 2017 and accounted for regional share of more than 95% in 2017. Increasing diabetes prevalence coupled with rising disposable income level will drive market growth over the forecast period. Technological advances in insulin delivery devices along with favourable government initiatives to execute better diabetes management will further fuel industry growth.Insulin Delivery Devices Market by Producto Pumps Tubed Tubelesso Pens Reusable Disposableo Pen Needles Standard SafetyGlobal Market Insights Inc. is a global market research and management consulting company catering to leading corporations, non-profit organizations, universities and government institutions. Our main goal is to assist and partner organizations to make lasting strategic improvements and realize growth targets. Our industry research reports are designed to provide granular quantitative information, combined with key industry insights, aimed at assisting sustainable organizational development.Global Market Insights, Inc.BaneraGlobal Market Insights, Inc.4 North Main StreetSelbyville, Delaware 19975 USAPhone: 1-302-846-7766Toll Free: 1-888-689-0688Email:sales@gminsights.com
Perfume Packaging Market Opportunity Assessment, Market Challenges, Key vendor analysis, Vendor landscape by 2024

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Attractive packaging acts as a stimulating attribute for perfume industry. Perfumes are now available with low concentration of fragrance oils such as eau de cologne and eau fraiche, aiming to increase the number of consumers who use perfumes on a daily basis. Thus, there is an increase in frequency of perfume use, which in turn is expected to create huge demand for perfume packaging in the coming years. Nowadays, younger generation is more aware of personal grooming and are ready to experiment with new brands and products, which in turn makes them feel more confident. Additionally, there is a growing demand for beauty products that the market is flooded with different types of perfumes. Hence, this billion dollar industry is growing at an impressive speed in order to meet the consumer demand.Obtain Report Details @Perfume Packaging Market: Drivers & RestraintsOne of the major factor which is fueling the growth of perfume packaging market is e-retailing. E-retailing facilitates the availability of local and foreign brands through online portals. The key players of perfumes packaging are collaborating with leading e-commerce players or have their own e-commerce sites to seize maximum advantage of e-commerce potential. Changing lifestyle in developing countries brings tremendous opportunities for manufacturers of perfume packaging. Increase in per capita income coupled with consumer spending on luxury grooming products offers a momentum to the growth of overall cosmetics industry, which is further driving the perfume packaging market.Meanwhile, there are a few factors that can act as restraints in the perfume packaging market, like the increasing commercialization of perfume imitations is anticipated to hamper the growth of global perfumes packaging market during the forecast period. In addition, the counterfeit products are available in similar packaging as the original product making it difficult for the consumers to differentiate them from original products. These products are sold at a very low cost compared to the original products.Request a PDF Brochure with Future Analysis @On the basis of region, perfume packaging finds its market scope in North America, Latin America, Middle East & Africa, Europe and Asia-Pacific. Europe and North America dominates perfume packaging market, however, Latin America and Asia Pacific regions are expected to be the most promising regions for generating high revenue. Perfume Packaging market is highly controlled in Europe and North America. India and China are the key promising countries driving the perfume packaging market in Asia-Pacific region. Globally, Chinese consumers have maximum share in the growth of luxury goods markets.About TMRTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a global market intelligence company providing business information reports and services. The companys exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trend analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather and analyze information.Contact TMR90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:
Water Turbine Market to Reap Excessive Revenues 2026 By Top Vendors General Electric, Alterra Power Corporation, Energy Development Corporation, Canyon Industries inc., Gilbert Gikes & Gordon Ltd, and Sumitomo Corporation

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A turbine is an engine that captures energy from fluid flow. Turbines consist of a moving part also known as the rotor assembly, which is a drum or a shaft with blades attached to it. The rotors are powered by water coming in contact with the blades, thereby forming rotational energy. Water turbines help in the generation of hydroelectric power by converting the kinetic energy of flowing water into mechanical energy with the help of the attached blades.The growing population and urbanization have compelled the governments to increase the power generation capacity. The augmenting demand for power across the globe, increased carbon footprint, and global warming has encouraged the focus towards renewable sources of power generation. The shift towards unconventional sources of power generation is one of the major factors driving the growth of water turbines market. Moreover, the artic regions experience harsh winters and to cope up with their power requirement the power producers are compelled to resort to expensive sources of power generation making it necessary for these regions to shift towards renewable sources. Stringent government regulations to control emissions has further boosted the global market for water turbines.Download PDF Brochure of Research Report @Water turbine Market Outlook:Increasing rate of population in economies and the rapid industrialization are some of the major drivers of the growth of water turbine market in Asia Pacific. The need for renewable sources of energy is a major contributing factor in agriculture-driven economies of India and Bangladesh. As per the 12th Five Year plan, India is expecting to increase its capacity addition to 88.5 GW by the end of 2017, out of which 10.8 GW is expected to be added in hydrogenation. Renewable energy is emerging as a source of power generation in emerging economies of the region thereby propelling the demand for water turbines. The government of emerging economies in Asia Pacific are taking initiatives to shift to renewable energy. For instance, India has de-licensed the electrical machinery industry, thereby allowing 100% Foreign Direct Investment. India received US$ 1.77 billion In FDI from April 2014 to September 2016.Europe is expected to show considerable demand for water turbines over the forecast period. Growing population and awareness among population regarding increasing carbon footprint has resulted in the shift to un-conventional sources of power generation, in turn fuelling the demand for water turbines market. In 2015, the United Nations Sustainable Development goals and the United Nation Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) have agreed to reduce greenhouse emissions, in order to reduce global warming. This has further propelled the growth of hydropower sector in the Europe, thereby positively affecting the growth of water turbine market.Water Turbine Market Taxonomy:On the basis of type, the global water turbine market is segmented into:Reaction TurbinesGorglow turbineTyson turbineKaplan turbineFrancis turbineOthersImpulse turbineWater wheelPelton wheelTurgo turbineCross-flow turbineJonval turbineScrew turbineReverse turbineBarkh turbineRequest Customization Of Research Report @General Electric, Alterra Power Corporation, Energy Development Corporation, Canyon Industries inc., Gilbert Gikes & Gordon Ltd, and Sumitomo Corporation, are some of the major players operating in the global water turbine market.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.Mr. ShahCoherent Market Insights1001 4th Ave,#3200Seattle, WA 98154Tel: +1-206-701-6702Email: sales@coherentmarketinsights.com
Expansion in Global Motion capture software Market 2018 with +14.28% CAGR by top companies dot-Connect, OneSaas, Bedrock, Elastic Path, Mule Soft.

Motion capture

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Motion capture is the process of recording the movement of various objects. 3D motion capture can be applied to entertainment, military, healthcare, sports as well as verifying the vision of robots and computers. In the video game industry and the film production industry, 3D motion capture refers to the re-encoding action of human actors and uses this information for the animation of digital characters and models in 3D computer animation. In a motion capture session, the actor's movement is sampled multiple times per second. The main purpose of 3D motion capture is to record the motion of the subject, and usually does not focus on the visual properties of the subject. The 3D motion record is then mapped onto the 3D model such that the model performs the same actions as the theme. Some of the key advantages of using 3D motion capture are low latency, which will be close to real time. 3D motion capture applications offer lower cost in key frame-based animations. There is no difference in the length and complexity of workload and performance compared to using traditional methods.The Global Motion capture software Market Research Report is a valuable source of insightful data for business strategists. It provides the Motion capture software industry overview with growth analysis and historical & futuristic cost, revenue, demand and supply data (as applicable). The research analysts provide an elaborate description of the value chain and its distributor analysis. This Motion capture software n market study provides comprehensive data which enhances the understanding, scope and application of this report.For Sample Copy of this report:Major Key Players In This ReportCompany Profiled: dot-Connect, OneSaas, Bedrock, Elastic Path, Mule Soft, Talend, Adverity, OracleResearch N Reports has recently announced the addition of a new study, on the global market for Motion capture software The research report, titled Global Motion capture software Market Size, Status and Forecast 2025, evaluates the historical and the current performance of this market with an exceptional focus on the factors influencing the demand for cloud access security brokers in South East Asia, Europe, Japan, India, China, and the United States over the forthcoming years. This statistical surveying report presents a wide-ranging summary of the international market for Motion capture software and discusses about the pros and cons of investing in this market.Avail discount on this report:The outline of the global Motion capture software market has numerous provisions and descriptions and also covers all the applications of this market along with the regional outlook and industry policy. This report also scrutinizes the production indexes of the market in terms of 3 categories- regions, technology and applications. The topography that has been highlighted from an overall perspectives are the North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific (APAC), Middle East & Africa and Latin America. Each of these regions are surveyed on the basis of its capacity, cost of productions, price of raw materials and earned revenues.Report provides comprehensive analysis ofKey market segments and sub-segmentsEvolving market trends and dynamicsChanging supply and demand scenariosQuantifying market opportunities through market sizing and market forecastingTracking current trends/opportunities/challengesCompetitive insightsOpportunity mapping in terms of technological breakthroughsFor more enquiry:Reasons for Buying this ReportThis report provides pin-point analysis for changing competitive dynamicsIt provides a forward looking perspective on different factors driving or restraining market growthIt provides a six-year forecast assessed on the basis of how the market is predicted to growIt helps in understanding the key product segments and their futureIt provides pin point analysis of changing competition dynamics and keeps you ahead of competitorsIt helps in making informed business decisions by having complete insights of market and by making in-depth analysis of market segmentsTable of Contents:Global Motion capture software Market Research Report 2018-2025Chapter 1: Motion capture software Market OverviewChapter 2: Global Economic Impact on IndustryChapter 3: Motion capture software Market Competition by ManufacturersChapter 4: Global Production, Revenue (Value) by RegionChapter 5: Global Supply (Production), Consumption, Export, Import by RegionsChapter 6: Global Production, Revenue (Value), Price Trend by TypeChapter 7: Global Market Analysis by ApplicationChapter 8: Manufacturing Cost AnalysisChapter 9: Industrial Chain, Sourcing Strategy and Downstream BuyersChapter 10: Marketing Strategy Analysis, Distributors/TradersChapter 11: Motion capture software Market Effect Factors AnalysisChapter 12: Global Motion capture software Market ForecastAbout Research N ReportResearch N Reports is a new age market research firm where we focus on providing information that can be effectively applied. Today being a consumer driven market, companies require information to deal with the complex and dynamic world of choices. Where relying on a sound board firm for your decisions becomes crucial. Research N Reports specializes in industry analysis, market forecasts and as a result getting quality reports covering all verticals, whether be it gaining perspective on current market conditions or being ahead in the cut throat Global competition. Since we excel at business research to help businesses grow, we also offer consulting as an extended arm to our services which only helps us gain more insight into current trends and problems. Consequently we keep evolving as an all-rounder provider of viable information under one roof.(Research N Reports)10916, Gold Point Dr, Houston, TX, Pin - 77064,Sunny Denis(Sales Manager),+1-8886316977,sales@researchnreports.com
Drug Screening Market Analysis and Growth 2018  2025 By Mejor Key Players - Breg, Inc., Ceterix Orthopaedics, General Electric Company, KFx Medical LLC., Medtronic, MedShape, Inc., Osiris Therapeutics, Inc., and NuVasive

Drug Screening Market 2018-2025

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An exclusive Drug Screening market research report created through broad primary research (inputs from industry experts, companies, and stakeholders) and secondary research, the report aims to present the analysis of Global Drug Screening Market By Type, By Application, By Region - North America, Europe, South America, Asia-Pacific, Middle East and Africa. The report intends to provide cutting-edge market intelligence and help decision makers take sound investment evaluation. Besides, the report also identifies and analyses the emerging trends along with major drivers, challenges and opportunities in the global Drug Screening market. Additionally, the report also highlights market entry strategies for various companies across the globe.The report provides a detailed overview of the industry including both qualitative and quantitative information. It provides overview and forecast of the global Drug Screening market based on product and application. It also provides market size and forecast till 2025 for overall Drug Screening market with respect to five major regions, namely; North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific (APAC), Middle East and Africa (MEA) and South America (SAM), which is later sub-segmented by respective countries and segments. The report evaluates market dynamics effecting the market during the forecast period i.e., drivers, restraints, opportunities, and future trend and provides exhaustive PEST analysis for all five regions.GET SAMPLE COPY of This Report NOW With Detailed TOC and Charts & Tables @Drug Screening Market Players: Alere Dragerwerk AG & Co. KGAA Abbott Laboratories Hoffmann-La Roche AG Biorad Laboratories Siemens AG, Thermo Fisher Scientific Danaher Corporation Quest Diagnostics Incorporated Express Diagnostics InternationalMarket segment by Type, the product can be split into Urine Samples Breath Samples Oral Fluid Samples Hair SamplesMarket segment by Application, split into Analytical Instrumentso Immunoassay Analyzerso Chromatography Instrumentso Breathalyzers Rapid Testing Deviceso Urine Testing Deviceso Oral Fluid Testing Devices Consumableso Assay Kitso Sample Collection Deviceso Calibrators and Controlso Other Consumables Drug Screening ServicesMajor regions are as follows: United States Europe China Japan Southeast Asia India CanadaWorldwide Drug Screening Market Analysis to 2025 is a specialized and in-depth study of the Drug Screening industry with a focus on the global market trend. The report aims to provide an overview of global Drug Screening market with detailed market segmentation by product/application and geography. The global Drug Screening market is expected to witness high growth during the forecast period. The report provides key statistics on the market status of the Drug Screening players and offers key trends and opportunities in the market.GET Exclusive DISCOUNT @Also, key Drug Screening market players influencing the market are profiled in the study along with their SWOT analysis and market strategies. The report also focuses on leading industry players with information such as company profiles, products and services offered, financial information of last 3 years, key development in past five years.Table Of Content Introduction Of The Global Spend Analytics Executive Summary Research Methodology Of Verified Market Intelligence The Global Spend Analytics Outlook The Global Spend Analytics, By Systems The Global Spend Analytics, By Service The Global Spend Analytics, By Verticals The Global Spend Analytics, By Applications The Global Spend Analytics, By GeographyThe Global Spend Analytics Competitive LandscapeReason to Buy- Save and reduce time carrying out entry-level research by identifying the growth, size, leading players and segments in the global Drug Screening market- Highlights key business priorities in order to assist companies to realign their business strategies.- The key findings and recommendations highlight crucial progressive industry trends in the Drug Screening market, thereby allowing players to develop effective long term strategies.- Develop/modify business expansion plans by using substantial growth offering developed and emerging markets.- Scrutinize in-depth global market trends and outlook coupled with the factors driving the market, as well as those hindering it.- Enhance the decision-making process by understanding the strategies that underpin commercial interest with respect to products, segmentation and industry verticals.Read Full Report @The report is worth a buy because:This report on Drug Screening Market assists in analyzing the condition and situation of the market in primary regions of the world. Apart from rendering an overview of product manufacturing processes, the research report also renders impeded strategy of the industry, latest technological developments, cost structures, product specifications, etc. Future predictions based on the development of this industry are also covered. The report also reviews micro and macro factors vital for the new entrants along with the current market players.About Us:Verified Market Research' has been providing Research Reports, with up to date information, and in-depth analysis, for several years now, to individuals and companies alike that are looking for accurate Research Data. Our aim is to save your Time and Resources, providing you with the required Research Data, so you can only concentrate on Progress and Growth. Our Data includes research from various industries, along with all necessary statistics like Market Trends, or Forecasts from reliable sources.Contact Us:Mr. AnkushCall: +1 (650) 781 4080Email: sales@verifiedmarketresearch.com
United States and Japan Proton Therapy Market Analysis 2018 - Hitachi, Optivus, Ion Beam Applications(IBA), Varian Medical Systems, Mevion Medical Systems, Mitsubishi Electric, Sumitomo Heavy Industries Ltd.

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United States and Japan Proton Therapy Market Analysis2012 to 2017 and Forecast 2018 to 2025presents an in-depth assessment of the proton therapymarket dynamics,opportunities, future roadmap, competitive landscape and discusses major trends. The report offers the most up-to-date industry data on the actual and potential market situation and future outlook for proton therapy in United States and Japan. The research includes historic data from 2012 to 2017 and forecasts until 2025.The Major Companies Dominating this Market for its Products, Services and Continuous Product Developments are: Hitachi, Optivus, Ion Beam Applications(IBA), Varian Medical Systems, Mevion Medical Systems, Mitsubishi Electric, Sumitomo Heavy Industries Ltd.Get Free Sample Report@A comprehensive analysis has been done on market share of US proton therapy center (installed base) and treatment room by company. The report also provides information on the proton therapy current applications and comparative analysis with more focused on pros and cons of proton therapy and competitive analysis of eight companies. The report further sheds light on the number of treatment rooms, current and upcoming proton therapy centers. In addition, the report also provides essential insights on number of patients treated at US and Japan proton therapy centers. The report also includes assessment of US and Japan reimbursement scenario, proton therapy clinical trials and offers a clear view of the proton therapy center component analysis. Key trends in terms of venture capital investment, collaborations, partnerships, licensing and development agreements are analyzed with details. The report also explores detailed description of growth drivers and inhibitors of the US and Japan proton therapy market.The report concludes with the profiles of major players in the US and Japan proton therapy market. The key market players are evaluated on various parameters such as company overview, product portfolio, US proton therapy centers developed by the companies, recent development of the proton therapy market.Purchase Report@(Priced at US$ 1500)Key Findings: United States proton therapy marketwill exhibit growth by a CAGR of over 15% up to 2025 The potential United States and Japan proton therapy market is set to cross USD 10 Billion by 2025 In 2017, IBA accounted highest number of proton therapy centers in United States Hitachi has the second highest number of treatment rooms in United States and Japan Hitachi and Mitsubishi Electric Merged Proton Therapy System BusinessThis independent 160-page report has been analysed from 15 viewpoints: United States and Japan Proton Therapy Market Size & Analysis(2012  2025) United States and Japan Proton Therapy Market Opportunity Assessment(2012  2025) United States and Japan Number of Treatment Rooms and Forecast (2012  2025) United States and Japan Proton Therapy Center (Installed Base) and Treatment Room Market Share: By Company United States and Japan Proton Therapy Center Infrastructure Analysis: Treatment Rooms & Proton Therapy Accelerator Major Deals in Proton Therapy Market United States and Japan Number of Patients Treated at Proton Therapy Center United States and Japan Proton Therapy Reimbursement Scenario Proton Therapy Current Applications Pros and Cons of Proton Therapy, Radiotherapy and Carbon Ion Therapy Proton Therapy Competitive Analysis: By Company Proton Therapy Center Component Analysis Proton Therapy Clinical Trail Insight by Phase, Institute & Country Key Market Drivers and Inhibitors Major Companies AnalysisEnquiry about Report@About Us:Qurate Business Intelligence delivers unique market research solutions to its customers and help them to get equipped with refined information and market insights derived from reports. We are committed to providing best business services and easy processes to get the same. Qurate Business Intelligence considers themselves as strategic partners of their customers and always shows the keen level of interest to deliver quality.Runwal Platinum,Ramnagar Colony, Bavdhan,Pune, Maharashtra, India-411021IN +919881074592info@qurateresearch.com
CYBER SECURITY INSURANCE MARKET | WORLDWIDE OVERVIEW BY XL GROUP LTD., AMERICAN INTERNATIONAL GROUP INC., ZURICH INSURANCE CO. LTD, AON PLC AND OTHERS

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According to a new market report published by BlueWeave Consulting, The Global Cyber Security Insurance Market was valued at US$ 3,329.0 Mn in 2016 and is expected to expand at a CAGR of 25.3% from 2018 to 2026, reaching US$ 32,543.6 Mn by the end of the forecast period. According to the report, North America was the largest contributor in terms of revenue to the cyber security insurance market in 2016.Cyber insurance helps protect businesses against losses resulting from cyber-attacks or data breaches. Cyber insurance coverage can include data loss and restoration, extortion, legal fees, and more. Cyber security insurance increases and improves cyber security with the benefits of good security, and internalizing of the costs of poor security. There are many benefits that coincide with investing in insurance.Request for Sample of this Report@The growth of the US cyber insurance market is due to the introduction of legislation in most states to take appropriate security measures to protect against cyber risks and report serious breaches to national authorities. This led to an increase in demand for cyber insurance products covering personal data breach. The U.S. is the largest market for the cyber security insurance market. The U.S. economy loses US$57 billion-US$109 billion per year due to malicious cyber activity, according to White House Council of Economic Advisers.Cyber challenges in Asia Pacific region, such as low cyber security investments and long dwell times, can be attributed to the complex geopolitical tensions, exposed critical infrastructure, and the severe shortage of cyber security talents in the region. Brazil is undergoing a digital revolution with few parallels in the developing world. The rate of digital penetration and social media adoption has risen exponentially over the past decade. Over 50% of Brazilians are active Internet users, & Brazilian financial institutions were early adopters of online services. Cyber security and online fraud are major concerns, with annual losses reaching billions of dollars.Scope of the ReportThe global market for cyber security insurance is segmented on the basis of service type, enterprise size, industry vertical and geography. On the basis of service type, the market is segmented into risk management, integrity, forefront portfolio, third party liability, and others.]On the basis of enterprise size, the global cyber security insurance market is bisected into small & medium enterprises and large enterprise. On the basis of industry vertical, the market is divided into banking and financial services, telecom and IT, government, healthcare, education, manufacturing, travel and hospitality and others. Financial services, energy and utilities, and telecommunications are among the most investigated industries in APAC, highlighting the need for higher awareness levels, stronger mitigation measures, and improved cyber security postures.Geographically, the global cyber security insurance market is bifurcated into North America, Asia Pacific, Europe, Latin America, and Middle East & Africa. The North America holds the largest market share of cyber security insurance market in 2017.Competitive DynamicsMajor industry players in cyber security insurance market are adopting different strategic initiatives such as mergers and acquisitions, partnerships, and collaborations for technologies and new product development. For instance, In June 2017, Zurich Brasila, subsidiary of Zurich Insurance Group, has launched insurance coverage for cyber-related risks, amid the fast-growing use of internet among companies and individuals. The company will offers protection in nations more exposed to cyber-attacks, such as the US, the UK and China, will now offer this product in Brazil due to increasing demand. For instance, in June 2014, the UK Government launched a joint initiative with some major British insurers to increase the level of IT security in UK companies called the Cyber Essentials Scheme, it is based on certificates and will ensure that certified organizations have a certain amount of security measures in place. Cyber Essentials has been developed in close consultation with the insurance industry and is backed by AIG, Marsh, Swiss Re, the British Insurance Brokers Association (BIBA) and the International Underwriting Association (IUA). The global cyber security insurance market includes key players such as XL Group Ltd., American International Group Inc., Zurich Insurance Co. Ltd, AON PLC, Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty, Munich Re Group, Chubb, HSB, BCS financial corporation, Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc., Markel Corp, Travelers group, Hiscox, Beazely Insurance group and others.By Service Type Risk management Integrity Forefront Portfolio Third Party liability OthersBy Enterprise Size Small & Medium Enterprises (SMEs) Large EnterprisesBy Industry Vertical Banking, Financials Telecom and IT Government Healthcare Education Manufacturing Travel and hospitality OthersTABLE OF CONTENTSChapter One: PrefaceChapter Two: Executive Summary : Global Cyber Security Insurance MarketChapter Three: Market OverviewChapter Four: Global Cyber Security Insurance Market Analysis and Forecast, By Service TypeChapter Five: Global Cyber Security Insurance Market Analysis and Forecast, By Enterprise SizeChapter Six: Global Cyber Security Insurance Market Analysis and Forecast, By Industry VerticalChapter Seven: Global Cyber Security Insurance Market Analysis and Forecast, by RegionChapter Eight: North America Cyber Security Insurance Market Analysis and ForecastChapter Nine: Europe Cyber Security Insurance Market Analysis and ForecastList of figuresFigure 1 Global Cyber Security Insurance Market Share in 2018, By Service TypeFigure 2 Global Cyber Security Insurance Market Share in 2018, By Enterprise SizeFigure 3 Global Cyber Security Insurance Market Share in 2018, By Industry VerticalFigure 4 Global Cyber Security Insurance Market Share in 2018, By RegionFigure 5 Global Cyber Security Insurance Market Share in 2026, By Service TypeFigure 6 Global Cyber Security Insurance Market Share in 2026, By Enterprise SizeList of TablesTable 1 Global Cyber Security Insurance Market Size (US$ Mn) Forecast, by Service Type 2016(H)-2026(F)Table 2 Global Cyber Security Insurance Market Size (US$ Mn) Forecast, by Enterprise Size 2016(H)-2026(F)Table 3 Global Cyber Security Insurance Market Size (US$ Mn) Forecast, by Industry Vertical 2016(H)-2026(F)Table 4 Global Cyber Security Insurance Market Size (US$ Mn) Forecast, by Region 2016(H)-2026(F)Table 5 North America Cyber Security Insurance Market Size (US$ Mn) Forecast, by Service Type 2016(H)-2026(F)Table 6 North America Cyber Security Insurance Market Size (US$ Mn) Forecast, by Enterprise Size 2016(H)-2026(F)Browse full Research Report@Contact Us:info@blueweaveconsulting.comPhone Number: 18666586826About BlueWeave Consulting & Research Pvt Ltd. (BWC)BlueWeave Consulting provides a full scope of business intelligence solution for solving your toughest challenges. BWC is an emerging global expert & pioneer in the market research and provision of exclusive market INTEL. We optimize your decision making by equipping your industry with an accurate & better market research according to your industry demands through our professionally designed qualitative & quantitative research methods. Our trendy & efficient sample collection methods, integrated data solutions as well as methodologies certainly make us a better partner that you can rely on. With collective experience in the varied fields of retail, market research and reporting, we provide the business insight and business practices that would give the required impetus for your companys growth.GD-69, Sector G, East Kolkata Twp,
Carotenoids Market Overview and Forecast - Analysis of Top Industry Players Chr. Hansen A/S, BASF SE, Koninklijke DSM N.V., Cyanotech Corporation, FMC Corporation, DDW The Colour House, Kemin Industries Inc.

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The global carotenoids market garnered $1.57 billion in 2017 and is expected to reach $2.09 billion by 2025, growing at a CAGR of 3.6% from 2018 to 2025.Get Sample Report -Factors such as an upsurge in the health issues of the geriatric population such as vision damage and increase in adoption of carotenoids in emerging economies propel the growth of the global carotenoids industry. However, stringent standards and regulations on the usage of carotenoids in human food, high chances of adulteration, and the high cost of naturally occurring carotenoids as compared to synthetic counterparts would hinder the market growth. Furthermore, a rise in demand for natural colorants in beverages, food processing, and cosmetics is expected to open new opportunities for the industry.Astaxanthin segment to remain dominant by 2025The report bifurcates the product segment into astaxanthin, lutein, capsanthin, lycopene, beta-carotene, and others. The astaxanthin segment contributed nearly one-fourth share of the total market revenue in 2017, and is projected to maintain its dominance by 2025. However, the beta-carotene segment would grow at the fastest CAGR of 5.2% from 2018 to 2025.Natural carotenoids to grow at a CAGR of 4.2% from 2018 to 2025The study classifies the carotenoids sources into natural and synthetic. The latter contributed a nearly two-thirds share of the market revenue in 2017. However, the natural segment would grow at the fastest CAGR of 4.2% during the forecast period.Dietary supplements to witness substantial demand in futureThe applications areas analyzed in the research are animal feed, dietary supplement, human food, and others. The animal feed segment generated the highest revenue of $685.1 million in 2017, accounting for 43% of the total market share. However, the dietary supplement segment would register the highest CAGR of 4.5% from 2018 to 2025.For Purchase Enquiry -Asia-Pacific to grow the fastest by 2025Geographical regions analyzed in the research include North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and Latin America, the Middle East and Africa (LAMEA). The European region dominated the global carotenoids market in 2017, with a market share of about 42%. However, the Asia-Pacific region would become the fastest growing region, registering 4.3% CAGR from 2018 to 2025, owing to the significant increase in consumption of carotenoids in the Chinese, Indian, and Indonesian food and beverage sector.Dominant players in the industryChr. Hansen A/SBASF SEKoninklijke DSM N.V.Cyanotech CorporationFMC CorporationDDW The Colour HouseKemin Industries Inc.Allied Biotech CorporationDohler Group andExcelviteThe growth strategies adopted by market players include new product launches, partnerships, collaborations, mergers & acquisition, joint ventures, and others to strengthen their position in the industry.Request for Customization -About Us:Allied Market Research (AMR) is a full-service market research and business consulting wing of Allied Analytics LLP based in Portland, Oregon. Allied Market Research provides global enterprises as well as medium and small businesses with unmatched quality of "Market Research Reports" and "Business Intelligence Solutions." AMR has a targeted view to provide business insights and consulting to assist its clients to make strategic business decisions and achieve sustainable growth in their respective market domain.We are in professional corporate relations with various companies and this helps us in digging out market data that helps us generate accurate research data tables and confirms utmost accuracy in our market forecasting. Each and every data presented in the reports published by us is extracted through primary interviews with top officials from leading companies of domain concerned. Our secondary data procurement methodology includes deep online and offline research and discussion with knowledgeable professionals and analysts in the industry.Contact:David Correa5933 NE Win Sivers Drive#205, Portland, OR 97220United StatesToll Free (USA/Canada):+1-800-792-5285, +1-503-894-6022, +1-503-446-1141UK: +44-845-528-1300Hong Kong: +852-301-84916India (Pune): +91-20-66346060Fax: +1-855-550-5975help@alliedmarketresearch.comWeb:
Detergent Powder Market Research Report Global Forecast 2018-2025 Estimated with Top Key Players like: P&G, Unilever, Henkel, Colgate, Amway

Detergent Powder

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UpMarketResearch published an exclusive report on Detergent Powder market delivering key insights and providing a competitive advantage to clients through a detailed report. The report contains 128 pages which highly exhibits on current market analysis scenario, upcoming as well as future opportunities, revenue growth, pricing and profitability. This report focuses on the Detergent Powder 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, segments and application.Get Free Exclusive PDF Sample Copy of This Report @Detergent Powder 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 Detergent Powder global status and trend, market size, share, growth, trends analysis, segment and forecasts from 2018 - 2025.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.For more information on this report, please visit:The following manufacturers are covered in this report: P&G Unilever Church & Dwight Henkel Clorox ReckittBenckiser Kao Scjohnson Lion Colgate Amway Phoenix Brand LIBY Group Nice Group Blue Moon Shanghai White Cat Group Pangkam Nafine Lam Soon (Hong Kong) Limited Lonkey Reward Group Kaimi Baoding Qilijia Daily Chemical Beijing Lvsan ChemistryDetergent Powder Production by Region North America Asia-Pacific Europe Central & South America Middle East & AfricaGet Best Discount On This Report @Global Detergent Powder Market: Product Segment Analysis Conventional Detergent Powder Detergents OthersDetergent Powder Breakdown Data by Application Household CommercialGet Free Exclusive PDF Sample Copy of This Report @The report categorizes the market into segments by companies, end-use, type and potential regions. As an enterprise owner or a market entrant, the report offers you a comprehensive analysis beneficial for you to take a positive traction as and when needed. It offers a complete study of analytics necessary to decide on trending segments and potential market areas to operate.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.In this study, the years considered to estimate the market size of Detergent Powder are as follows: History Year: 2013-2017 Base Year: 2017 Estimated Year: 2018 Forecast Year 2018 to 2025To buy this report please visit:Key Reasons to Purchase: To gain insightful analyses of the market and have a comprehensive understanding of the Detergent Powder 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 Detergent Powder market analysis and forecast 2018-2025.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:UpMarketResearch () 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
Oxfam India condemns the brutal gang rapes of women in India and demands concrete, effective and long-term solutions to end the rising violence against women in the country. The NCRB Crime in India 2017 report states that more than 900 crimes against women take place every day. The shocking reality is that large number of such assaults go unreported. More than 90% of perpetrators are known to the survivor. Oxfam 
Being one of the best travel club in Mumbai, Mumbai Travellers is all set to unite like-minded travelers for exploring real zest of Tadoba Wildlife Safari. Mumbai Travellers Tadoba Tour Packages are designed keeping your dos & donts of holiday adventure in mind. The exclusive tour package will seek to facilitate you to enjoy amazing tiger expedition amidst the serene nature at the well-known Tadoba National Park in India. Tadoba 
Miriam Sontz started as a volunteer at a feminist book store in Portland, jumped around different companies, and finally settled at Powells Books.

Now, the chief executive officer for the quintessential Portland bookseller plans to retire at the end of the year after 34 years during which she went from a part-time employee to head of the company.

The Oregonian/OregonLive caught up with Sontz recently to talk with her about her career, her reading habits and the book industry. The conversation has been edited for brevity and clarity.

What draws you in to reading and the world of books?

Empathy. I think what books do for me  and what I think they do for a lot of people  is they extend our understanding of other peoples experiences. And books are for me an amazing vehicle to access a different culture, a different race, a different gender, a different time.

What does it mean to you to be able to be CEO and be a part of this company?

What I love about business is to take dry facts and figures and turn them into a story. To me, the story has power. If Im just trying to squeeze a penny out of every dollar, its not very much fun. But if I am continuing the tradition of extending an opportunity to the people of Portland to experience this incredible book store, well, thats something that I can get very passionate about.

Powell's Books CEO Miriam Sontz calls "Pride and Prejudice" her all-time favorite book. "It's a well-written romance, what's not to love about it?" she says. (Hannah Boufford)

Tell us about your reading habits.

I dont have a favorite book. Its always what have I read recently that I really enjoyed. If someone really pushes me, Ill say Pride and Prejudice is my all-time favorite book.

I read a lot of popular fiction, Im a spy thriller, mystery, suspense reader. The only thing I dont read much of is science fiction.

I read two to three books a week if Im going well. I came back from a vacation, I read a book a day. So, somewhere between 150 and 200 books a year.

Im absolutely a physical book reader. If Im travelling overseas, I load up my iPad. But I enjoy the physicality of holding a book, and there is something to me about comprehension and about relaxation that occurs for me when Im reading a physical book that does not occur for me when I am reading an e-book.

I love audiobooks. I will read a book and then often listen to it. And its a different experience.

The reason Powell's Books and other bookstores are still around is the experience of serendipity, says CEO Miriam Sontz. (Hannah Boufford)

What has it been like running an independent bookstore in an era of Amazon and online retailers?

I think you have to know what you want to have a successful interaction on the web. If you go on the web and just say, Gee, I think I want to read a book, youre probably going to have a hard time.

What bookstores offer is the experience of serendipity. You walk into our mysteries section and there are books that are highlighted, there are books on our displays that have Staff favorites on them or Staff recommends or little tidbits of information about the book. And its very serendipitous in the way that the web has not been able to replicate at all.

And the other thing the web has not been able to replicate is, what a cool community. When you shop here and youre mulling a particular book, I cant tell you how many times somebody will be standing next to you and theyll be saying, Oh yeah, thats really good.

PORTLAND, OREGON - APRIL 25, 2013 - Miriam Sontz (right) in 2013, when Powell's Books announced that Sontz would replace Emily Powell as CEO. Emily Powell, granddaughter of the store's founder, said at the time she wanted to focus on her role as owner. (Michael Lloyd/2013)LC-

What about Powells has made it successful?

I think its a combination of an entrepreneurial spirit combined with a passion for the product. We dont have fancy carpeting, we dont have fancy shelving, we have exposed ceilings. All of our time and energy goes into the books. Do we have the right books, do we have the right number of books, do we display them well? And that passion for the book is combined with an entrepreneurial spirit which says, We need to sell these in order to keep on doing what we do to. How can we maximize our profitability and our sales but all in the service of this passion for the book?

Why do you think customer service is important?

Nobody needs to walk into a bookstore to buy a book. Theres no reason that you need to come into the bookstore except for the experience that we offer. And if that experience is less than stellar, the next time you think of purchasing a book, you will go down a different route. What I tell all employees is that every person who walks through our doors is a gift. We need to treat them as a cherished gift.

Miriam Sontz, CEO of Powell's Books, says her favorite section of the store is the kids' section. "I love walking through with the little tables, with the little chairs, and watching parents and kids interact and watching little kids just tear through that section," she says. (Hannah Boufford)

Do you have a favorite story that you think highlights your time here?

Im at a dinner party and Im sitting next to a woman who I dont know, and she says, What do you do? and I say I work at Powells Books, and she said, Oh, have I got a story for you.

She had recently been divorced and was going through a particularly hard time, and it was Saturday night and she didnt know what to do with herself. So she decided to come to the bookstore. Shes just walking around and shes kind of in a daze. And shes in a part of the store that she normally doesnt walk through.

And this book falls at her feet. It was a book by the Dalai Lama called The Art of Happiness. She said, I took the book and I went down to the coffee shop. And I read it and it really was helpful. And then I thought, Well, maybe I should see if theres any Sunday morning Buddhist meditation or something I could go to. So she gets on her phone and she finds something. And she said, I fell into this community and found a lot of help during my time of crisis. And all of that came from this book falling at her feet.

That to me is very symbolic of what we do every day here, which is  in big ways or small ways  we are broadening peoples perspectives, getting them to think outside of their own experience, helping them become more empathetic to other peoples life experiences.
A judge ordered a Clackamas veterinarian to surrender his firearms weeks before officers seized nine guns from his property and arrested him for allegedly brandishing a handgun to an employee.

The court order stemmed from a restraining order filed in Multnomah County against Keith Bartholomew Sept. 4 by a former girlfriend, with whom he also worked at his Clackamas practice, Companion Pet Clinic.

The woman reported in her petition that he threatened to kill her and himself. She said Bartholomew got upset with her as they were working, swore at her and yelled at her to leave, then shoved her out of a surgery room and also across a treatment room.

She said she called police. At some point, she said, Bartholomew texted her saying he would end me in permanent ways and do the same to his self, the petition said. She also claimed hed admitted drug use to her.

Neither the woman nor Bartholomew returned messages left at numbers listed for them in court and state records.

A Multnomah County judge granted the woman's restraining order Sept. 5, along with a provision that Bartholomew not possess guns and turn in the firearms he owns. Court records show Bartholomew was served with a copy of the restraining order the next day at work, along with instructions on how to surrender and retrieve his firearms.

He was supposed to turn over all his firearms when deputies served him with the paperwork, according to documents. If he was unable to do so then, he then had two days to turn them over to the Portland Police Bureau or Multnomah County Sheriffs Office.

He was required to inform the court he no longer had any guns within three days of being served. It's not clear whether anyone checked up on him.

Not complying with the order could lead to a contempt of court charge.

Clackamas County deputies seized nine guns after they arrested Bartholomew on Oct. 31, according to Sgt. Brian Jensen, a county sheriffs office spokesman. The arrest was announced by the sheriffs office Tuesday.

He was arrested amid an investigation into claims that he displayed a gun to an employee in his clinic's parking lot in September and sent threatening texts to a former employee in October. Its not clear if the former girlfriend who obtained the restraining order is the victim in either case.

Bartholomew was booked into the Clackamas County Jail on suspicion of menacing and coercion, the sheriffs office said, and has since been released on bail. Formal charges have not been filed by the county district attorneys office, state court records show.

He remains under investigation after deputies also received allegations of animal abuse, animal neglect and drug records tampering, according to Jensen. He said officials with the Drug Enforcement Administration are assisting in the case.

Bartholomews clinic has since closed. He has been a licensed veterinarian in the state since 1995, according to records from the Oregon Veterinary Medical Examining Board. He has no restrictions or sanctions on his license, which expires Dec. 31.

The Clackamas County Sheriffs Office asks anyone with information regarding the case to contact the agencys tip line at 503-723-4949 or submit information online at http://web3.clackamas.us/contact/tip.jsp with a reference to case number 18-016138.

-- Everton Bailey Jr.

ebailey@oregonian.com | 503-221-8343 |@EvertonBailey
Portland police are investigating a Wilson High School student who brought a BB gun and a knife to school, according to the principal.

Acting Principal Maude Lamont sent a note to parents saying a parent notified school officials that a student had weapons on school grounds. Lamont said school officials called police, who came and started an investigation.

The BB gun and knife were confiscated. Police did not respond to an immediate request to comment on whether the student was arrested or if charges would be filed.

I want to express my deepest appreciation for the parents vigilance and willingness to come forward with the information, Lamont said. Keeping our school safe is our paramount responsibility and concern, and it takes all of us working together to do so.

A school district spokesman did not immediately return a request for comment.
A Vancouver woman who works as a registered nurse in Portland is accused of conspiring to sell drugs, according to federal prosecutors.

Rene Elene Griffin Nunn, 59, appeared in U.S. District Court Thursday afternoon, and entered a not guilty plea to a one count indictment charging her with conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute controlled substances.

Federal agents from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration arrested Rene Elene Griffin Nunn Thursday on a one-count indictment.

In February, she was found driving from Vancouver to Portland with about 93 grams of heroin in her purse, the indictment alleges. Shes also accused of talking with others by cellphone about the price and quantity of methamphetamine and heroin between September 2017 and January.

During her first appearance in court Thursday, she was identified as a registered nurse who worked at Adventist Medical Center in Portland.

Nunn is out of custody pending trial. A trial date was tentatively set for Jan. 29 before U.S. District Judge Marco A. Hernandez.

-- Maxine Bernstein

Email at mbernstein@oregonian.com

Follow on Twitter @maxoregonian
Stoller Middle School was under lockdown for most of Friday after an emailed threat. Police found nothing suspicious or dangerous after hours of searching the school room by room, according to the Washington County Sheriffs Office.

No one was reported injured, nor were any suspicious objects found, according to the Washington County Sheriffs Office. The students were given hot meals while waiting for pickup, according to the release. They were finally released after 4:45 p.m.

However, parents had to bring photo ID and enter the building to pick up their kids. A statement from Principal Veronica Galvan said that was because district protocol requires each child to be accounted for in a potentially dangerous situation.

This meant parents and guardians were queued up for hours to pick up their students. The last students left by 8:20 p.m., with 150 picked up in the last 45 minutes.

Only students who receive special door-to-door transportation were allowed to take the bus.

Washington County Sheriffs Office said in a statement that they searched the school methodically because the email suggested that someone might be already inside, waiting to attack.

The threat arrived by email Friday morning, and school officials immediately put the school on lockdown. Police said that they do not know where the email was sent from, but they will continue to investigate.

Galvan said that the school will have extra security on Monday. Students had to leave their belongings during the lockdown procedure and were not allowed back in the classrooms, so their belongings will also be able to be picked up Monday.
SALEM  Lawyers for a man sexually abused as a teen while jailed with a then 54-year-old man say jail staff allowed unspeakable acts of abuse to happen behind bars at the Marion County Correctional Facility.

The Statesman Journal reports attorney Chris Best filed a tort claims notice Wednesday announcing the intention to sue Marion County for damages.

Documents say his client was 16 when he was placed in a cell with Patrick Dale Deshaw, a registered sex offender deemed to be "predatory" by the State of Oregon.

The abuse happened in 2010, but came to light in September after Deshaw was convicted of the crime and sentenced to 10 years in prison. Records were never made public because the victim was a minor.

Marion County Sheriffs officials declined to comment on the tort claim notice.

-- The Associated Press
The state of Oregon has agreed to pay $1.25 million to the family of a 15-year-old Albany girl who died under the watch of child welfare workers.

Gloria Joya died while in foster care in 2016 from untreated gastrointestinal problems, a health condition that a 2017 lawsuit claimed was made worse because of the girls tumultuous life.

The lawsuit said child welfare workers with the Oregon Department of Human Services had been contacted 28 times with concerns about Joya, starting when she was 1 year old and continuing until she was 14. Callers repeatedly voiced fears that she faced abuse or neglect while living with one or both of her parents, yet the department didnt take custody of her until she was 14, the suit said.

According to the lawsuit and the states own investigation into Joyas death, the girl she missed an unusual amount school, her mother repeatedly used methamphetamine while living with her in a shelter and her parents fought and threw items in front of her and her siblings. Joya also said shed been choked.

Paul Galm, a lawyer who represented Joyas estate along with attorney Steve Milla, said the number of times people had contacted the department about Joya was startling.

I think thats one of the reasons that led to the settlement, Galm said.

Joya died days after shed been moved to a temporary emergency foster home in April 2016. The lawsuit claimed her health quickly deteriorated, but instead of rushing her to the hospital, a caseworker sent her to her aunts house. Her aunt brought her to the hospital the next morning, but the girl died the following day, the suit said.

Joyas death marked one of the last times the Department of Human Services disclosed its full history of involvement in a childs life by filing a required child fatality report. The state has subsequently withheld vital information about child deaths, making it difficult for survivors to pursue wrongful death lawsuits against it.

Terms of the $1.25 million settlement became public this week after attorneys filed settlement documents in Multnomah County Circuit Court.

After paying fees to lawyers and expenses generated by the lawsuit, $780,000 of the settlement will go to Joyas family. Of that, about $130,000 will go to each of her four surviving siblings, ages 4 to 14. Another $130,000 will go to her mother, Magan Michelle McDermott, and $130,000 will go to her father, Jerry Rivera Joya.

Erin Olson, an attorney for Joyas 12-year-old sister, urged a judge to prevent the parents from getting any money based on allegations that they failed to fulfill their parental duties: her mother by neglecting her and her father for leaving her life many years earlier.

But the legal threshold is high for excluding parents from such settlements.

Olson wrote in court papers that it would have been tough to prevail given that Joyas mother could have argued that she tried to be there as a parent for her daughter despite her drug addiction and Joyas father could have argued he struggled with severe mental illness in the years he remained out of contact with his daughter.

-- Aimee Green

agreen@oregonian.com

o_aimee
As legislators in April 2017 considered a bill broadening the Oregon Department of Human Services responsibility to review child-abuse deaths, Sen. Betsy Johnson, D-Scappoose, posed a blunt question:

What assurance do you have that this agency will actually discharge the responsibilities articulated in this bill? Johnson asked the bills chief sponsor, Sen. Sara Gelser, as she noted administrative lapses at the agency and its poor record on protecting child welfare. What will be the oversight provision to ensure that they are carrying through with this legislation?

Gelser, D-Corvallis, pointed to the transparency provisions built into the bill that require the agency to post versions of the reviews for the public. That, she said, is one key way people can see that the agency is doing what its required to do. Satisfied with Gelsers response, Johnson and her colleagues unanimously passed the bill.

Unfortunately, Johnsons skepticism proved prescient. As The Oregonian/OregonLives Molly Young reported, DHS has repeatedly failed to meet its obligations under the new law to promptly disclose reports reviewing cases when children die. Such reviews, which are conducted any time a child dies of abuse or neglect after their family came into contact with DHS in the previous year, are meant to assess whether any policies, interactions or procedures could be improved to avoid a future tragedy. Previous reports have already generated changes to better protect children.

But as Young documented, for every death since March 2017, the agency has significantly delayed releasing its report  if it even released one at all. Reviews are supposed to be completed within 70 days of DHS learning about a childs death by abuse. But public reports are taking as many as 21 months from the time of a childs death to be published. And strangely, at least two of the public reviews omitted information about agency interactions with the child or family  information that was included in the internal reports obtained by Young.

This lack of transparency is by design. Agency officials told Gelser that it does not plan to release the detailed reviews as it once did under previous director Clyde Saiki. In addition, DHS has proactively decided to limit what information is in the public sphere and argued that the information doesnt have value to the public or to those outside DHS, Gelser said in an email to The Oregonian/OregonLive Editorial Board. The agency also has no timeline for publishing other reviews in the works, Gelser said, voicing her disappointment and frustration. (DHS Child Welfare spokeswoman Laura McGinnis told The Oregonian/OregonLive Editorial Board that another 14 reviews have yet to be posted. She added that the decision to withhold certain details from the public report is to avoid overloading it with issues DHS considers irrelevant.) While Gelser has already drafted a bill to remove any shred of ambiguity in the current law, she said the agency doesnt need new legislation to exhibit transparency. It only needs the will to do so.

DHS stance reflects contempt for the public, disdain for accountability and a shocking disregard for the children who have died on its watch. While Oregonians recognize the incredibly difficult job child-welfare workers are asked to do, secrecy degrades the publics trust and sympathy. Posting the comprehensive reviews are among the only ways Oregonians can see the actions that the agency took, the lessons learned and the changes implemented to keep kids safe.

Contrary to the agencys beliefs, that information is of great importance to Oregonians, who mourn these children and find comfort in the hope that their deaths may help the state find ways to improve its care for the thousands entrusted to it.

Its hard to know where this position comes from. In an email, the governors office, which oversees the agency, said it expects DHS Director Fariborz Pakseresht to evaluate the content of the reports that are produced and focus on transparency for the public as well as the learning elements for DHS staff of the reviews.

Legislators have already said they plan to question DHS leaders about their failure to comply with SB 819. But lawmakers should delve deeper.

What  or who  is driving the decision to flout legislators directive to provide greater transparency? Are DHS and the Department of Justice looking to protect the state from lawsuits by keeping its mistakes hidden? And fundamentally, is this a reflection of department leadership or a sign of a dysfunctional agency with no hope of reform?

Ultimately, thats increasingly the picture that Oregonians are getting, as Sen. Johnsons comment last year reflects. For all the dedication from Gelser and other child-welfare advocates to fix the system, DHS looks increasingly like an institution irrevocably broken.

-Helen Jung for The Oregonian/OregonLive Editorial Board
His Washington hotel has profited from governments that patronize it. The establishment, in a building owned by the federal government, is one basis for a lawsuit that a federal judge allowed to proceed, saying, Plaintiffs have plausibly alleged that the president has been receiving or is potentially able to receive emoluments from foreign, the federal, and state governments in violation of the Constitution. Among the governments enriching him through the hotel is Saudi Arabia  another unsavory regime Trump has gone far to appease.
Jennifer Wynhausen walked into Pioneer Courthouse Square with a message emblazoned on her black t-shirt: 9/11 is a (expletive) lie.

Despite her controversial and outspoken stances on what she perceives as federal government conspiracies and lies, leaders at Oregons Department of Human Services have entrusted her for years to carry out a vital role of government transparency. She coordinates reviews of child abuse deaths.

State law compels officials to review abuse and neglect deaths of children who died within one year after case workers were called to check in on them. Officials must deftly and transparently carry out the reviews, with the ultimate goal of preventing more child deaths.

A story published Sunday by The Oregonian/OregonLive exposed the departments delays, omissions and failures to comply with state law since March 2017. The department continues to withhold at least two child fatality reports from the public.

Wynhausen has coordinated the fatality reviews since at least November 2014. She was no longer listed as coordinator in a September 2018 organizational chart. A department spokeswoman said Wynhausens new job title was erroneous, but did not specify why or say when, if ever, Wynhausen stopped coordinating fatality reviews.

Wynhausen is outspoken in public and on social media about her political views, which are at times extreme. Some of the topics she addresses, such as medical care, immigration and guns, may also come up during the child death review process. She has derided immigrants for failing to pay taxes and endorsed the idea of a parent shooting to death a daughters would-be suitor.

The Department of Human Services insists that the process is set up so that one person cant sway an outcome. Federal and state laws, along with department policies and procedures, protect the integrity of the important work we do on behalf of vulnerable Oregonians, especially children, said Laura McGinnis, an agency spokeswoman.

Director Fariborz Pakseresht ultimately decides when to launch a review, then a team of many people reviews facts and draws conclusions.

Pakseresht said Thursday, one day after The Oregonian/OregonLive brought Wynhausens views to the agencys attention, that the agency takes concerns about our employees seriously.

We started looking into these reports as soon as they were brought to our attention, he said in an email. The department cannot regulate personal statements made by employees outside of working hours, but we direct our staff to always maintain the decorum expected of public servants.

McGinnis said that employees must follow social media and political policies. The guidelines forbid workers from posting most political content during work hours and set standards for what they can say on the departments behalf.

But she also noted that employees have a Constitutional right to free speech. Employees are held accountable for their job performance.

The agency did not make Wynhausen available to comment for this story. A message left Thursday on her agency phone was not returned.

She earns $91,200 a year, not including benefits.

Wynhausen started working at the Department of Human Services in January 2001, nine months before the Sept. 11 attacks would claim more than 2,900 lives.

After that event, she vocalized her doubts about the governments version of what happened.

In an undated photo taken at Pioneer Courthouse Square in downtown Portland, she smiles while wearing a t-shirt that says, 9/11 is a (expletive) lie. The photograph is still available today on a t-shirt company website.

WARNING: EXPLICIT CONTENT

Jennifer Wynhausen, a Department of Human Services employee, poses in an undated photo taken in downtown Portland's Pioneer Courthouse Square.

Wynhausen met with outspoken 9/11 doubter Jon Gold, who traveled to Portland from Pennsylvania. Gold runs several social media pages dedicated to Sept. 11 truth and justice and believes the U.S. government has withheld evidence about its role in the attacks. The pair posed for a photo in downtown Portland that he shared to his public Facebook page in June 2012.

Gold also shared a second photo of him, Wynhausen and Cindy Sheehan, a prominent war critic whose son was killed in the Iraq War.

Im totally going to steal these pictures, Wynhausen wrote in a public comment under the photos. I got to meet two amazing people!!

Her Facebook account, which uses a pseudonym, includes identifying biographical details and interacts regularly with other Department of Human Services employees. The Oregonian/OregonLive reviewed hundreds of public interactions, such as comments and likes.

In them, Wynhausen expressed support for activists who questioned the attacks and opposed the military response to them. In one video shared in July 2009, Jesse Ventura criticized the federal government for spending so little investigating the attacks. Go Jesse!! Wynhausen wrote.

She liked another video, in January 2010, that explained how a governmental research program had supposedly caused the devastating earthquake in Haiti five days earlier.

She often questioned the political motives of both Republicans and Democrats, including then-President Barack Obama, whom she labeled a corporatist, lying, fascist in February 2010. She described the 2012 election between Obama and his Republican challenger Mitt Romney as a race pitting a Giant Douche v. Turd Sandwich.

McGinnis did not answer a question about how the department conducts background checks on employees who are promoted within the agency.

The September organizational chart said Wynhausen coordinates the states Families First programs, an apparent reference to federal child welfare reforms adopted this year.

McGinnis said that listing was incorrect, but did not respond to a questions regarding what job she holds instead and why she was listed as coordinating the departments rollout of federal legislation. Two other employees, Aimee Dickson and Molly Miller, are listed as fatality review coordinators.

Wynhausen posts comments using her personal account, presumably on her own time. But sometimes the topics she discussed relate to issues that child death reviews might confront.

In response to a story about the economic impact of immigration in September 2010, she wrote, If they are earning so much money, buying homes, etc, they should be paying taxes!!

She called modern medicine into question in May 2010. There are far too many uneducated people who listen to what the pharmaceuticals companies are saying  they believe the bs and ignorantly allow their children to be poisoned.

The intersection between personal beliefs and medical care is key issue in Oregon, a hub for congregations that refuse to seek medical care when believers, even children, fall ill. At least three children have died from faith-healing since 2011.

At least 48 Oregon children have died from gunshot wounds during the same time span. None of their deaths, including that of a 10-year-old shot and killed in foster care last year, have ever been subject to a public fatality review.

Wynhausen often supported posts advocating gun rights and follows public pages such as Prepper Inventory List and Girls with Guns Clothing on Facebook.

One shirt in particular caught her eye. Its message: I have a beautiful daughter. I also have a gun, a shovel and an alibi.

I need one of these, she wrote in September 2014.

Within weeks, she was managing the states child fatality reviews.

-- Molly Young
Lyft, the car ride-hailing giant, is now the largest bike-rental company in the United States.

Lyft on Thursday closed its deal to buy Motivate, the bike-rental company that operates Portlands Biketown system as well as other on-demand systems in Chicago, New York City and San Francisco. The financial terms were not disclosed, but previous reports valued the transaction at about $250 million.

The deal means users will be able to, in many cities, rent bikes from Lyft apps on a smartphone. Motivate accounted for 80 percent of the on-demand bike trips nationwide in 2017.

"With this acquisition, we are poised to help take bike share to the next level, Lyft said in a statement. Plans include adding thousands of bikes and stations in communities that haven't had access to transportation; making bike share membership more convenient and affordable than ever; and deploying new electric bikes, on a major scale," the company said.

This week, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said Lyft would pump $100 million into its Citi Bike system and add thousands of bikes.

So, do the companys grand plans include Portland?

Potentially, but we arent likely to know more details for many months. Portlands contract with Motivate expires in July.

That contract is still in effect, John Brady, a Portland Bureau of Transportation spokesman, said in an email, and so we dont anticipate any changes to how Biketown operates.

Next summer, Portland will request operational plans from Lyft and other companies vying to run the Biketown system, which has 1,000 bikes throughout Portland.

The city has already said it wants electric-assist bikes to be included in the next contract.

A Lyft spokesman declined to answer specific questions about the companys plans in Portland.

The company also released a rendering Thursday of its new Lyft Bikes. Its unclear if the ubiquitous orange Biketown bikes would also be set for a makeover.

-- Andrew Theen

atheen@oregonian.com

503-294-4026

@andrewtheen
Gov. Kate Brown released her proposed 2019-21 budget on Wednesday. At $23.6 billion, Browns general fund and lottery budget would be a 12.4 percent increase from the current two-year budget.

Here are some highlights of the governors proposal:

K-12 education: The governor wants lawmakers to pass a large tax increase  $2 billion primarily to pay for a longer K-12 school year, smaller class sizes in kindergarten through third grade and an expansion of career and technical education in high schools. The governor didnt address how elementary schools would find space for additional classes. Brown also wants the Legislature to give schools $200 million more than budget analysts said is needed for them to maintain the status quo; she would get some of that money by cutting higher education.

Higher education: The governors budget would essentially hold flat the amount of state general fund and lottery money going to community colleges and universities, but that would translate to an effective cut, since it would not cover the institutions cost increases. Although the Brown administration noted it would cost $220 million to hold tuition increases below 5 percent, the governor declined to support that funding unless lawmakers send her the $2 billion in new tax revenue.

Tax increases: Brown wants to raise $2 billion over the next two years for K-12 schools, covering higher educations costs increases and programs aimed at making college more affordable. The governor would not say anything about how she thinks lawmakers should raise the money. But she did call out in painstaking detail all the things she wont fund if the tax increase doesnt happen  and will if it does  creating a built-in cheering section of college students, outdoor school fans, teachers and others who would benefit from those expenditures.

Employee raises: The governor wants lawmakers to set aside $200 million to pay for state employee raises to be negotiated in future labor contracts plus health insurance cost increases. An additional $12 million would go to raises for home health care workers, who are represented by the Service Employees International Union Local 503. A $15 million fund would help state agencies cover the cost of correcting unequal pay identified during analyses required under a 2017 state law.

Higher pay for long-term care facilities: Brown wants lawmakers to spend $17.2 million to raise rates paid to memory care and other senior living facilities, in-home care agencies and Providence ElderPlace by 5 percent in July and another 5 percent a year later. The long-term care industry supported Browns re-election campaign and is now among a handful of businesses working with the governor and public employee unions on ideas to raise taxes. The governors proposal comes after an investigation by The Oregonian/OregonLive found rampant problems in Oregon memory care facilities, including high rates of abuse and inadequate staffing. The state would also spend $5 million to give adult foster care providers a 10 percent increase in January 2020, followed by a 4 percent increase in July 2020.

Outdoor School: The governor is calling for the Legislature to cut in half its yearly funding for the popular program that provides up to a week of outdoor and environmental education for Oregon fifth- and sixth-graders. The $24 million in Browns budget is just over half the amount voters directed to the program when they passed Measure 99 in 2016. Brown is hoping to enlist the support of Outdoor School advocates for big tax increases next year: shes promising to send $22.8 million more to the program, if lawmakers raise $2 billion in taxes.

PERS: With school districts required contributions to the pension system expected to go up by $375 million in the next two years, the governors budget would devote an additional $100 million to help schools cover the costs. However, the governor did not offer other solutions to the underlying problem: the $22 billion long-term pension shortfall eating into government budgets across Oregon.

Child welfare: The plan would add 224 new jobs aimed at keeping Oregons vulnerable children safe, including a team of caseworkers focused on recruiting and retaining foster families. The state has struggled to retain and hire caseworkers, even as the Legislature has dedicated more money to the program in recent years. Brown also supports expanding a program to help young people whove spent time in the foster care system live independently.

Health care: Browns proposed tax and fee increases would raise roughly $700 million over the next two years and even more in future biennia to fund Oregons Medicaid program, also known as the Oregon Health Plan, as the federal government gradually dials back the share it pays for.

Environment: At the center of Browns climate policy is her support for the carbon cap-and-spend program that supporters have dubbed the Clean Energy Jobs bill. With Democrats heading into 2019 with supermajorities in both chambers of the Legislature, the legislation has a good chance of passing.

This story has been updated to reflect the following correction: an earlier version of this story incorrectly reported the rate increases Gov. Kate Brown is seeking for adult foster care providers and long-term care companies, due to incorrect information supplied to The Oregonian/OregonLive.

 Hillary Borrud | hborrud@oregonian.com |503-294-4034 | @hborrud
Earlier this year, hundreds of women pooled their money, each giving $1,000 to make a difference in the Portland community.

Next week they'll give it away.

All $400,000.

And then they'll start again for next year.

Three nonprofit organizations each will get $100,000. Eight others will receive either $20,000 or $12,200.

The benefactors are Portland's Ninety-nine Girlfriends, a philanthropic volunteer organization that began three years ago with 100 members. It continues growing each year, all through word of mouth, said Deborah Edward, the group's co-founder.

The idea formed when Edward was at a party with other Portland women after moving here from Austin, Texas, where she worked with managers of nonprofits, to start a new job in an unrelated field.

She and another woman began talking about the need for nonprofits to have better financial plans. Edward suggested getting women together who would pledge money to help create a fund to help the groups.

"She agreed," Edward said. "We went into the other room of the house and told the other women at the party what we wanted to do. They all wanted to be a part of it."

When Edward learned that other such giving circles were operating across the United States, she turned for advice to the Women's Collective Giving Grantmakers Network, a group of 55 independent giving circles.

The local women eventually contacted Grantmakers of Oregon and Southwest Washington, which became the fiscal sponsor for Ninety-nine Girlfriends allowing it to get a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status.

"That first year, in 2016, we had 100 women," Edward said. "Last year, it was 253. This year, 401. Friends invited friends to join. The average grant from a foundation in Portland is about $5,000. It's not easy for a nonprofit to get a loan or build a cash reserve."

While attention is focused on foundations with hundreds of millions of dollars in investments to use for grants, small groups are an increasingly important model for raising money.

In Northeast Portland, for example, four nonprofits worked with residents of the Cully Neighborhood to raise $60,000  small dollar by small dollar  as part of a push to buy an abandoned strip club, an eyesore, that was for sale.

"We used that money as leverage," said Jess Faunt, communication and development coordinator for Verde, a non-profit focused on serving low-income communities of color. "The project received more funding from large foundations after we showed this was a project the community supported."

Earlier this year, 60 volunteers with Ninety-nine Girlfriends reviewed 142 applications from area nonprofits. In November, they chose 15 agencies proposals that were submitted to the entire group, which then decided the winners.

"We're a very flat organization," Edward said. "Everyone has an equal voice."

She said members range between ages 40 and 60, but every year they select three women under 35 who pledge to give $100, hoping to teach them about the group and the mission.

This year's winners are:

-- $100,000 to August Wilson Red Door Project's Evolve: Using Theatre to Impact Public Safety in Portland. The group has produced two plays that explore race relations between communities of color and police.

-- $100,000 to KairosPDX's Transformational Education for Tomorrow's Leaders. The group provides consulting and services to family to family, friends and others who service low-income youths and youths of color.

-- $100,000 to Red Lodge Transition Services' Healing the Sacred Hoop. The Native American group develops culturally focused programs to help women released from jail, prison or treatment facilities.

The $20,000 awards are going to Barks, Climate Change & Beavers: Worth a Dam, and the Cascade AIDS Project a LGBTQ+ Mental Health Program.

The $12,200 awards are going to Bravo Youth Orchestras, Adelante Mujeres, Friends of the Columbia Gorge, CASA for Children Inc. and Virginia Garcia Memorial Health Center.

--Tom Hallman Jr.

thallman@oregonian.com; 503 221-8224

@thallmanjr
What's new for home viewing on Video on Demand and Netflix, Amazon Prime, Hulu and other streaming services.

Top streams for the week

Free streams: Kanopy, which is available through most library systems, has added some of the most acclaimed independent movies of the last few years, from Academy Award winners Moonlight (2016, R) and Room (2015, R) to Oscar nominees Lady Bird (2017, R) and 20th Century Women (2016, R) to new releases Hereditary (2018, R), First Reformed (2018, R) and The Children Act (2018, R). Seventy-two films from distributor A24 are available for a limited time.

Lakeith Stanfield is a telemarketer whose sudden success sweeps him into the center of a ruthless corporate conspiracy in the inventive satirical comedy Sorry to Bother You (2018, R). The feature debut of hip-hop artist-turned-filmmaker Boots Riley takes on race, income inequality, art and commerce with a wild sense of humor. Tessa Thompson, Jermaine Fowler, Terry Crews, Danny Glover and Armie Hammer co-star. Now streaming on Hulu.

International pick: Alice Rohrwacher won the screenwriting prize at the Cannes Film Festival for Happy as Lazzaro (Italy, 2018, PG-13, with subtitles), a modern parable of a holy innocent (first-time actor Adriano Tardiolo) that combines earthy naturalism with miracles and morality. It debuts directly to Netflix.

Classic pick: Theres a populist bent to the comedy The Talk of the Town (1942) starring Ronald Colman as a stuffy legal scholar dragged out of his ivory tower of abstract judicial philosophy by his bubbly landlady (Jean Arthur) and a social activist (Cary Grant) on the run from a phony murder charge. This trio makes the debate dance with screwball flair. Streaming on Amazon Prime Video.

Pay-Per-View/Video on Demand

John Cho stars in the cyberthriller "Searching" (2018, PG-13). Ruth Wilson and Domhnall Gleeson star in "The Little Stranger" (2018, R), a Gothic thriller with a psychological edge.

Netflix

A Christmas Prince: The Royal Wedding (2018) is a sequel to the 2017 Netflix Original Christmas romance with Rose McIver and Ben Lamb. Also new for the holidays is the animated short Angelas Christmas (2017, not rated) based on the childrens book by Frank McCourt.

International affairs: Isabelle Adjani takes charge in the French crime comedy The World Is Yours (France, 2018, not rated, with subtitles) with Karim Leklou and Vincent Cassel. Also new:

 Family comedy "Rajma Chawal" (India, 2018, not rated, with subtitles) about a father who turns to social media to connect with his millennial son.

 Psychological thriller "Time Share" (Mexico, 2018, not rated, with subtitles) (aka Tiempo compartido), which won awards at both Sundance and Mexico's Ariel Awards.

Streaming TV: British magician Drummond Money-Coutts hosts the globetrotting reality series "Death by Magic." Also new:

 "Bumping Mics with Jeff Ross & Dave Attel."

 "F is for Family: Season 3," an animated comedy for adults featuring the voice of Vince Vaughn.

 Animated adventure "Spy Kids - Mission Critical: Season 2" for kids.

International TV: "1983: Season 1" (Poland, with subtitles) is a conspiracy thriller set in an alternate reality where Poland remained under totalitarian control. Call it Netflix's Euro-centric answer to "The Man in the High Castle." Also: "Baby: Season 1" (Italy, with subtitles) about a high school girl with a scandalous secret life.

True stories: "De Palma" (2015, R) surveys the career of the often-controversial filmmaker Brian De Palma (The Untouchables, Scarface, Carrie, Carlitos Way, The Bonfire of the Vanities). "Harold and Lillian: A Hollywood Love Story" (2015, not rated) is a lovely tribute to a personal and professional partnership.

Amazon Prime Video

Jamie Foxx stars in the crime thriller "Sleepless" (2017, R) as a cop searching the underworld for his kidnapped son.

The colorful fantasy "The 5,000 Fingers of Dr. T" (1953, G) was written by Dr. Seuss.

True stories: "McQueen" (2018, R) profiles fashion designer Lee Alexander McQueen.

Streaming TV: Reality series "Inside Jokes: Season 1" follows a group of young comedians competing for a spot at the Just For Laughs comedy festival. Also new:

 Drama "Mirzapur: Season 1" (India, with subtitles) about the struggle over control of a crime family legacy.

 British comedy "The Darling Buds of May: Complete Series" (1991-1993) with David Jason and Catherine Zeta-Jones.

Also new:

 "The Grand Seduction" (2013, not rated), a Canadian comedy starring Brendan Gleeson as a mayor trying to entice a young doctor (Taylor Kitsch) to move to his rural fishing village.

 Comic drama "Punchline" (1988, R) with Sally Field, Tom Hanks and John Goodman as aspiring comedians.

 Bill Forsyth's offbeat but touching drama "Housekeeping" (1987, PG).

 Ridley Scott's stylish crime drama "Someone to Watch Over Me" (1987, R).

 Comedy "Cactus Flower" (1969) with Walter Matthau and Ingrid Bergman.

 Wildlife drama "Born Free" (1965).

 Rita Hayworth in "Miss Sadie Thompson" (1954) and "The Loves of Carmen" (1948).

Prime Video and Hulu

Matt Damon gets small in Downsizing (2017, R), a comedy from Oscar-winning writer-director Alexander Payne that uses the shrinking-people gimmick for a satire of class, economic anxiety, conservation, personal responsibility and human nature. Prime Video and Hulu.

Michael Caine is "Harry Brown" (2009, R), giving a weary dignity to an otherwise improbable and very bloody senior citizen "Death Wish" crime thriller. Prime Video and Hulu.

Hulu

True stories: "Best of Enemies" (2015, R) revisits the landmark political TV debates between William F. Buckley and Gore Vidal in 1968.

HBO Now

Alicia Vikander plays Lara Croft in Tomb Raider (2018, PG-13), the big-screen reboot based on the hit video game about a fearless adventurer in the Indiana Jones mold.

The documentary The Truth About Killer Robots (2018, not rated) looks at the impact of new technologies on our lives.

Available Saturday night is "Rampage" (2018, PG-13), an action adventure with Dwayne Johnson battling genetically modified giant animals.

Acorn

"Line of Duty: Series 4," from "Bodyguard" creator Jed Mercurio, arrives from BBC. Also new is "Run" (2013), a four-part crime drama mini-series with Olivia Colman and Lennie James.

YouTube Premium

Rap satire Bodied, starring Calum Worthy as a graduate student-turned-unlikely Battle Rap champion, comes to YouTube Premium direct from theaters.

New on disc

"Searching," "The Little Stranger," "The Captain," "Sharp Objects," "Picnic at Hanging Rock"

Now at Redbox

Searching, Dog Days
James ODonnell Bennett set the scene of their encounter in a May 8, 1927, article: Such he is as he sits at his 30 square feet of glassed topped table in his marble and bronze bank in the heart of the black belt. There he sits, as quietly dressed as he is quietly spoken, with close to two million dollars worth of deposits on his mind.
Midland County Sheriff Scott Stephenson announced Thursday that he was arrested nearly two weeks ago for operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated in Kalkaska County.

He said the incident happened Nov. 16 while he was at deer camp, and it has left him feeling responsible and embarrassed.

"The reason for sharing this is to first say that I am sorry, to take responsibility for the mistake I made as well as to make sure there are no misunderstandings about the incident," he said in a prepared statement.

He told the Daily News it was his first offense.

Stephenson, who took office in January 2013, described the incident in his announcement:

"On the morning of Nov. 16, I was at a deer camp in Kalkaska County. While at deer camp, I consumed alcohol. I left deer camp in my car to get cell phone reception.

"I felt the alcohol take an effect while driving. I pulled over to the side of the road to attempt to get service for the camp to pick me up. I received no answer and decided to wait. A passerby called the Sheriff's Office and a deputy from Kalkaska County arrived at the scene. I was arrested for operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated."

He said he does not know what his blood alcohol level was at the time of the incident, because results were not immediately available. A blood test was taken and "I probably won't know the results for a month."

Stephenson said in the statement that he plans to plead guilty.

"It is my intention to go into court and plead guilty. I am accepting responsibility for my poor choice and will comply with the court's orders and recommendations. I have also sought the advice of a counselor to determine if this was an isolated incident, or if there are other issues I need to address," he said.

"I failed to hold myself to the standards to which I have set for myself. I am embarrassed, ashamed and deeply regret the decision to consume alcohol and drive. My poor decision affects not only myself, but my family, the Midland County Sheriff's Office and my constituents. I will accept full responsibility for my decision that day. No one else is responsible."

Stephenson is on the board of directors of the Michigan Sheriff's Association, serving as the District III director.
Saginaw Valley State University students' enthusiasm for international understanding helped them stand out from their collegiate peers during the 11th American Model United Nations Conference in Chicago last week.

The Saginaw Valley Model United Nations club captured two team honors and one individual award.

Model United Nations is an organization for students with an active interest in international affairs, policy and diplomacy. Through participation in simulations and regional/national conferences, members gain valuable skills in research, communication, and conflict resolution.

The SVSU club won as a group for the quality of writing on its pre-conference papers relating to the nations of Ghana and Kazakhstan.

As an individual, Josh Cianek, a political science major from Auburn, won an award for exceptional justice for his role on the International Court of Justice. He also was elected by his peers to act as the president of the International Court of Justice.

In Model United Nations, justices are responsible for reading the briefs and hearing arguments on each of the three assigned cases. Justices will then deliberate to analyze and discuss the cases and arguments in order to determine the appropriate applications of international law in each case. Justices are also responsible for writing opinions for each case.

Stewart French, SVSU associate professor of political science and team adviser, said the Saginaw Valley U.N. club has won more than 40 awards in 11 years at national and international conferences.

At the most recent conference, SVSU students competed against peers from schools including the University of Chicago, University of Minnesota, University of Notre Dame and University of Wisconsin.

The SVSU team will travel to Toronto in February to compete at the North American Model United Nations Conference.
Referring to opportunist Stormy Daniels as horse face or to often-erratic Rep. Adam Schiff as Little Adam Schitt is unnecessary to secure a base already appreciative of the fact that Trump has done what he said he would do while on the campaign. His gratuitous slurs of enemies turn off voters who otherwise appreciate the security, prosperity and confidence that Trump has returned to America.
Things are getting real, folks. This week, Paul Manafort had his plea deal nullified because Robert Mueller claims that he lied to him. Michael Cohen pleaded guilty to lying to congress about Trumps business deals, and from reporting, we have learned that Manafort shared information with Trump (meaning that some of Trumps own legal communications could potentially be accessed by Mueller), and this bombshell from BuzzFeed News ace reporting team of Anthony Cormier and Jason Leopold (who reported in May much of what Cohen admitted to in court yesterday). Per BuzzFeed News:

President Donald Trumps company planned to give a $50 million penthouse at Trump Tower Moscow to Russian President Vladimir Putin as the company negotiated the luxury real estate development during the 2016 campaign, according to four people, one of them the originator of the plan.

Two US law enforcement officials told BuzzFeed News that Michael Cohen, Trumps personal lawyer at the time, discussed the idea with a representative of Dmitry Peskov, Putins press secretary.

The Trump Tower Moscow plan is at the heart of a new plea agreement by Cohen, who led the negotiations to bring a gleaming, 100-story building to the Russian capital. Cohen acknowledged in court that he had lied to Congress about the plan in order to protect Trump and his presidential campaign.

Cormier and Leopold also obtained texts between Michael Cohen and Felix Sater, a man involved in the Ukraine peace deal that Mueller is probing. Per Felix Sater to Michael Cohen:

Peskov would like to invite you as his guest to the St. Petersburg Forum which is Russias Davos its June 16-19. He wants to meet there with you and possibly introduce you to either Putin or [Prime Minister Dmitry] Medvedev, as they are not sure if 1 or both will be there.

This is perfect. The entire business class of Russia will be there as well.

Remember this tweet?

Russia has never tried to use leverage over me. I HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH RUSSIA  NO DEALS, NO LOANS, NO NOTHING!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 11, 2017

Yeah, Im gonna go out on a limb and say thats not the case. Buckle up everyone, we are entering uncharted legal territory with a president who has been up at 2 am this week, retweeting images of his Deputy Attorney General in prison, and subsequently defending the sentiment that Rod Rosenstein belongs in prison because he should have never picked a special counsel.

I cant imagine why he feels this strongly.

Jacob Weindling is a staff writer for Paste politics. Follow him on Twitter at @Jakeweindling.
 The second excuse rested on a fiction: that women implicitly consented to be used for medical teaching when they accepted care at a teaching hospital. But how many people would know that Beth Israel Deaconess is a teaching hospital for Harvard University, or that Stamford Hospital, 40 miles from Manhattan, is a teaching hospital for Columbia University. Neither name nor proximity would tip off reasonable patients. Indeed, in one study, most elderly patients had no idea they were being treated in a teaching hospital.
Earlier today Patently Apple posted a report titled "Apple Music set to Launch on Amazon Echo Devices before Christmas with Alexa in Command." Now we're learning that Apple is also out to grow Apple Music in another way, via iHeartMedia and terrestrial radio. The news of this first began to surface on November first.

In a followup report The Financial Times adds that Apples discussions about a potential deal with US radio group iHeartMedia underscore how they're looking to nurture the close relationship with the music industry that Jobs fostered.

Music executives say that after a late entrance to music streaming in 2015, the tech group has been gaining confidence and ratcheting up its efforts to grow Apple Music. The number of subscribers has grown to 56m, up from 50m in May, and Apple recently overtook Spotify to become the top music streaming service in the US, the worlds biggest music market by revenues.

Apples talks to invest in iHeartMedia, the bankrupt company that dominates the US radio business, demonstrate how it is looking for new ways to broaden the audience for Beats 1.

Any deal could also help Apple close the gap with Spotify, which remains the global leader in music streaming, and industry executives say has been better at attracting customers.

According to one major music label executive: "Terrestrial radio is not the force it once was, but there are millions of people listening to the radio. These radio listeners will inevitably migrate to online services, and they could be herded towards Apple."

As Apple confronts a maturing market for smartphones, music and other media services are becoming a more important component of its overall revenue growth. Mr Cook has said that by 2020 he wants revenues generated from its online services, including Apple Music, the App Store, and Apple Pay, to hit $50bn  a doubling of 2016 levels. The companys revenues from services topped $10bn for the first time in the companys most recent quarter."

In July Google launched their support for next-gen smart speakers with a display that includes their own Home Hub, Lenovo's Smart Display and Samsung-Harman's JB Link View. The devices have built-in support for iHeartRadio. Apple may be trying to counter and limit Google's influence in the smart speaker market.




Over the past few days it's been reported by several news sources including Reuters today, that Fox News has continued its Twitter boycott. The last news report on Twitter was published on November 8th, the day Tucker Carlson's home came under attack by Intifada protesters. The Fox protest is about how Twitter handled tweets surrounding the incident.

Fox News hasnt released any official statement over its Twitter absence, and a spokesperson declined to comment.

Multiple outlets reported over the weekend that the Twitter break was to protest the social media companys slow response to requests to delete tweets that contained Carlsons home address.

Carlson later claimed that protesters had broken his front door and were threatening him and his family  something that has been disputed by observers and hasnt been corroborated by a police report about the incident.

The dispute with Twitter seems to center around another part of the incident: Protesters filmed a sign featuring Carlsons home address and posted the video online. Twitter has since removed the video in question, but reportedly didnt do so right away.

Reuters reported that "Conservatives in the past have complained about having their accounts unfairly closed by Twitter, and about alleged political bias in the California companys rules.

Twitter this week reinstated the account of conservative commentator Jesse Kelly after U.S. Senator-elect Josh Hawley said that Congress should investigate the company after it closed Kellys account, and the account of Canadian feminist Megan Murphy."

This afternoon Twitter's stock had fallen by 6% and ended the day down 4.3%. Whether it's a stock trend or just a shot across the bow for Twitter to act more responsibly is unknown at this time.

While Patently Apple (PA) has no intention of dropping Twitter in the foreseeable future, we hope to be able to offer conservative Apple fans an alternative social media site covering our reports in the future.

Many PA fans have sent in negative comments about Twitter, Facebook and Google over the last several quarters. They've expressed anger over major privacy breaches, the selling of data without penalty and political shenanigans.

On Tuesday Patently Apple posted a report titled "IBM's CEO Rometty Joins Tim Cook in Blasting Data use by Social Media Giants like Google and Facebook." If Wall Street did indeed send Twitter a message this afternoon, then there's probably more to follow if the backlash gains momentum.


Its been a couple of months since a major company unveiled a data breach that affected millions of people, so its time for a new one. The Marriot hotel chain has announced a major database breach that could affect anyone who stayed at its 6,700 worldwide Starwood hotel properties since 2014up to 500 million people in total.

Thats a lot of people an a long stretch of time, so check out our FAQ for all of the information:

What happened?

Marriott says it received an alert from an internal security tool on September 8 warning of an attempt to access the Starwood guest reservation database in the United States. In its investigation of the incident, Marriott learned that an unauthorized party gained access to the companys customer database and copied and encrypted information, and took steps toward removing it.

How did the hackers get in?

Marriott isnt being totally clear here, but it appears as though this wasnt the usual exploit of a vulnerability. Rather, someone without the proper credentials was able to access the Marriott reservation database to make a duplicate encrypted copy of customer information, which was then presumably taken outside the system.

How far back does the breach go?

Marriott says the unauthorized access goes back to 2014.

Why wasnt Marriott alerted sooner?

Also unclear, but perhaps the unauthorized party only recently started accessing the system. Or possibly Marriott recently installed new security software that was able to detect the access.

Why are we just hearing about now?

Marriott says it was only able to decrypt the files on November 19, and is still working to uncover the scope of the breach.

What was stolen?

Marriott is still sorting through the data it was able to recover, but for most customers, the following data may have been stolen: name, mailing address, phone number, email address, passport number, Starwood Preferred Guest (SPG) account information, date of birth, gender, and arrival and departure information, along with reservation dates and communication preferences.

Should I change my password?
But the proposal didnt move. Munoz had asked that it be assigned to a housing committee where it would get a hearing. Burke sidelined it by requesting it be moved to his Finance Committee. Thats where it stalled. And so Ald. Scott Waguespack, 32nd, asked the citys ethics board to investigate. Did Burke violate a city code that prohibits officials and employees from participating in any governmental decision with respect to any matter in which he has any financial interest?
During his first court appearance Friday, an Ocean Township man charged with killing his younger brother and his brother's family at their Colts Neck mansion last week agreed to remain jailed until trial.

Paul Caneiro, 51, is facing four counts of first-degree murder, aggravated arson and weapons offenses in connection with the Nov. 20 pre-dawn slaying of Keith Caneiro, 50, Keith's wife, Jennifer, 45, and their two young children, 8-year-old Sophia and 11-year-old Jesse at their million-dollar estate.

Paul Caneiro pleaded not guilty to the charges and his attorneys maintain he's innocent.

Monmouth County Prosecutor Christopher Gramiccioni told reporters at a press conference Thursday that the motive was "financial in nature" and related to the two businesses Paul Caneiro and his brother ran in Asbury Park.

Paul Caneiro, 51, appears in Superior Court in Monmouth County Friday, Nov. 30, 2018 after being charged with murder in the killing of his brother and his brother's family. (Patti Sapone | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com)

At his first hearing Friday, Caneiro waived his right to contest the prosecutor's motion to detain him until his trial. He is being held in Monmouth County jail in Freehold.

New Jersey did away with a cash bail system in 2017 and now every defendant charged with an indictable offense has to appear before a judge to learn whether he or she will remain behind bars pending trial.

Caniero entered into the court in a green jail jumpsuit with his hands cuffed in front of him. He sat in the jury box and stared straight ahead as Assistant Monmouth County Prosecutor Christopher Decker presented him with the charges he's facing. Even when Decker accused him of stabbing his young niece and nephew, Caneiro sat expressionlessly.

The only talking he did was to answer "yes" to Superior Court Judge James McGann's questions about whether Caneiro understood his rights.

The courtroom was standing room only, mostly filled with reporters, but absent were any of Paul Caneiro's remaining family members.

The prosecutor's office contends that Paul Caneiro shot his brother multiple times outside Keith Caneiro's mansion in the early morning hours on Nov. 20. Paul Caneiro then went into the house where he allegedly shot and stabbed Jennifer Caneiro before stabbing their two young children multiple times, according to authorities.

They say he also lit a fire in the basement of their Willow Brook Road home.

Paul Caneiro then went back to his Ocean Township house and set it on fire around 5 a.m., hoping to make it look like the entire Caneiro family had been targeted, Gramiccioni said. His wife and two daughters were home at the time but escaped unharmed.

Keith Caneiro, 50, Keith's wife, Jennifer, 45, and their two young children, 8-year-old Sophia and 11-year-old Jesse were all killed on Nov. 20, and their home set on fire. (Facebook).

Paul Caneiro was arrested the day after and charged with one count of aggravated arson for lighting his house on fire, authorities announced.

The additional murder charges were filed Thursday morning and the grisly details of the killing were described by Gramiccioni at a packed press conference later in the day.

He told reporters the motive likely stems from the two businesses the brothers ran together in Asbury Park -- Square One, a technology firm, and a pest control business, EcoStar Pest Management.

A law enforcement source told NJ Advance Media that the tech company was struggling financially, and a former classmate of Keith Caneiro's from Columbia University said Caneiro was seeking new job opportunities and was looking to walk away from Square One.

Paul Caneiro, 51, sits in Superior Court in Monmouth County Friday, Nov. 30, 2018. (Patti Sapone | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com)

Speaking to a gaggle of reporters outside the Monmouth County courthouse, Caneiro's attorneys, Robert A. Honecker Jr. and Mitchell Ansell, said their client "will be vindicated" and that he loves his family.

"He has indicated that he would never engage in conduct that would cause harm to his brother or his brother's family," Honecker said. "He intends to challenge the evidence that has been gathered by the prosecutor's office in this case. The state has their view in what occurred in Colts Neck. Certainly, we will be presenting a different view and ultimately a decision will be made as to what happened in the early morning hours in Colts Neck."

Alex Napoliello may be reached at anapoliello@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @alexnapoNJ. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
WASHINGTON (AP)  Former New York Mayor Michael Bloombergs charity has announced a $50 million donation to help fight the nations opioid epidemic.

Pennsylvania will be the first state to receive funding. Bloomberg Philanthropies will give at least $10 million in funding to Pennsylvania to reduce opioid deaths.

Pennsylvania had the highest number of drug overdose deaths in 2017 among all states and twice as many as in 2014. Nearly 5,400 Pennsylvania residents died of drug overdoses in 2017.

Pennsylvania's rate of 44.3 drug overdose deaths per 100,000 residents is more than double the national average.

Gov. Tom Wolf says he's confident the partnership will mark a turning point in the state's efforts.

Bloomberg Philanthropies said over the next three years it will help up to 10 states address the causes of opioid addiction and strengthen prevention and treatment programs. Its initiative involves a partnership with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, The Pew Charitable Trusts, Johns Hopkins University and Vital Strategies.

Bloomberg said on Friday during his keynote address at The Bloomberg American Health Summit in Washington that he believes "we can turn the tide on this epidemic."

And if we do, he said, we can begin reversing the decline in life expectancy that has been happening across the country, thanks largely to opioid overdoses.

Bloomberg has been considering a 2020 Democratic presidential bid, but a spokeswoman said there was "no stated link" between his political aspirations and the $50 million investment to fight opioids.

Bloombergs charity said CDC data shows there were more than 70,000 U.S. drug overdose deaths last year, including more than 47,000 from opioids, the highest numbers on record. It said those numbers are a leading factor in the decline of U.S. life expectancy over the past three years.
MIDDLETOWN - They may not know it yet, but Pennsylvania lawmakers are going to get a major research assignment thrown at them with the dawn of the 2019-20 legislative session

The topic?

Nuclear energy in Pennsylvania, and what, if anything, to do about it.

Nuclear plant operators, and those who rely upon them for their careers, say the state needs to provide new supports to guarantee this original zero-emissions energy can ride out short-term upheaval in the energy markets brought on by abundant natural gas supplies, to be a long-term piece of the energy supply puzzle.

Thousands of jobs are at stake, including about 675 at Three Mile Island near here.

But others, from rivals in the energy sector to advocates for those who are benefitting from Pennsylvanias competitive electric markets now, call this push undisguised corporate welfare that will likely have the effect of raising costs for everyone else.

An opening salvo was fired Thursday by members of the state legislatures pro-nuclear Nuclear Energy Caucus, who said they will work for implementation by summer 2019 of measures that could include:

The inclusion of nuclear energy into a list of 16 existing alternative energy sources - including wind and solar - that power companies are required to use for 14.7 percent of electricity sales, a market slice slated to grow to 18 percent of sales by 2021.

Zero-emissions credits that provide a direct subsidy to nuclear plants for every megawatt-hour of emissions-free electricity generated. The fee is set based on the avoided costs of carbon emissions and overall energy market conditions.

Creation of some form of carbon tax that would effectively impose costs on oil, gas and coal as for increased health care costs caused by the pollutants they create, or higher insurance premiums resulting from the effects of climate change. Collected fees could be refunded to retail electric customers to offset higher energy costs, or used to promote energy efficiency programs.

At present, Pennsylvania has nine operating commercial nuclear reactors at five plants, accounting for about 42 percent of the states total electricity production.

With closure plans already announced by operators of the Three MIle Island (2019) and Beaver Valley (2021) plants, supporters of state aid say its needed to avoid the permanent loss of a major power source because of what might prove to be short-term market conditions.

We make long-term energy policy decisions based only on what is cheap today. I think basing long-term energy decisions on the short-term price and not recognizing the importance of reliability and resiliency and fuel diversity, the environmental benefits - I think thats foolish," said Sen. Ryan Aument, a Lancaster County Republican who chairs the General Assemblys two-year-old Nuclear Energy Caucus.

We need to have an energy policy that takes into account these long-term benefits and the current market simply doesnt do that.

Because nuclear plants, in particular, cant just be turned on and off like a light switch, Aument added, doing nothing risks the loss of thousands of jobs - including contract employees working on long-term maintenance of the plants - across the state for what might be relatively short-term factors in an energy market that needs some government guidance.

The pro-nuke lawmakers' call to arms were received warmly Thursday at a campaign-style rally at the Londonderry Fire Company near here, filled with scores of employees from TMI and other Pennsylvania reactors.

Joe Gusler, president of the Central Pennsylvania Building and Construction Trades Council, argued saving those jobs should be at least as important to state leaders as the recent efforts to lure Amazons new corporate headquarters to Pennsylvania.

If we would go to the Legislature and say that we have a plan to bring 16,000 new jobs (the number of direct and indirect hires attributed to the plants) to Pennsylvania, they would be jumping over each other to see who was going to sponsor that legislation, Gusler said.

Others, however, have pushed back hard on the nuclear industrys offensive in recent months.

Current market regulators, including the PJM Interconnection that coordinates the movement of wholesale electricity in Pennsylvania and 12 other states, argue the status quo is working pretty well for most.

PJM spokesman Jeff Shields said Thursday that its generation mix is 30 percent less carbon-intensive than 10 years ago, and Pennsylvania consumers in particular have seen wholesale energy costs decline between 30 and 50 percent over that time.

The regional transmission organization also sees no problems with grid reliability even if the TMI and Beaver Valley nuclear plants go off line, Shields said.

Rod Williamson, executive director of a group known as the Industrial Energy Consumers of Pennsylvania, voiced concerns that state-mandated subsidies for nuclear operators would only create higher energy costs for all that would create new job risk for an even larger number of manufacturing workers.

And while environmental advocates have recognized nuclears place as a zero-emissions energy sources, some note that simply preserving existing power plants does not, in itself, do anything to reduce the actual greenhouse gas emissions that are currently building up in the atmosphere.

As Damon Moglen, an adviser to the Washington D.C.-based Friends of the Earth put it, "Debating whether or not to give billions of dollars in handouts to a few, decrepit 1970-era nuclear reactors for a few more years of operation is nothing but a distraction from the real task at hand  we need to transform our energy economy.

"We need the equivalent of an Apollo program in renewable energy, not a debate about whether the Edsel should come in a hatchback model.

Aument counters that the nuclear industry is simply seeking to level a playing field that, in his view, unfairly lumps nuclear with greenhouse gas producing energy sources when its actually the biggest single source of zero-emissions power.

Were not talking about a bail-out. Were not talking about a subsidy," Aument said. "Were talking about very specifically valuing each resource appropriately for the value they bring to the system.

The struggles of the nuclear power industry arent limited to Pennsylvania.

Nationally, nuclears share of the national energy market has plateaued at about 20 percent since 1990. Six reactors have shut down permanently since 2013 due to high maintenance costs and the competition from cheap natural gas. Eleven more retirements are planned through 2025.

Some states, including New York, New Jersey and Illinois, have already launched nuclear assistance programs.

Its hard to tell where this issue will settle out in Pennsylvania, though.

Gov. Tom Wolf, in a statement provided by his press office, sounded like someone who has not landed on a hard and fast position.

While expressing empathy for job-threatened nuclear workers, it said only that Wolf believes we need a robust conversation about our energy economy and looks forward to engaging with the General Assembly about what direction Pennsylvania will go in regards to its energy sector, including the future of nuclear power and the value of lower emission energy for Pennsylvanias economy and environment.

For Aument and his allies, however, its very clear that the clock is ticking.

Three Mile Islands owner, Exelon Corp., has announced plans to close the 44-year-old plant sitting about 12 miles south of Harrisburg in September.

Realistically speaking, if we are going to take steps because we believe that these assets should be preserved, we are going to have to do so this spring, Aument said.
LOCK HAVEN - The husband of a Clinton County woman who went missing 27 years ago has made it clear who he believes is to blame for her disappearance.

John Heckel, when asked Thursday why he keeps his wife's clothing in a closet, blurted out: "I won't get rid of it until Loyd tells me where she is."

The defense in the Clinton County trial of Loyd Groves immediately objected and Lycoming County Judge Kenneth D. Brown, who is specially assigned, told jurors to disregard the remark.

Heckel, who now lives in the Gettysburg area, was called as a prosecution rebuttal witness.

It was the second time in the seven-day he testified against Groves, 69, who is charged with first- and third-degree murder.

Loyd Groves

Groves is accused to killing Katherine Dolan Heckel, 40, and deposing her body in a way it could never be found.

Katherine Heckel was last seen leaving for lunch from the former International Paper Co. mill in Lock Haven on July 15, 1991. She worked in the human relations office and Groves was an industrial hygienist.

Jurors on Thursday heard testimony only from Heckel and retired state Trooper Michael Hutson because most of the day the attorneys were in conference with Brown.

Both sides have rested and closing arguments are scheduled for Friday morning. Groves chose not to testify.

Heckel, a command sergeant major with National Guard's 728th Maintenance Battalion headquartered at an armory in Lockport near Lock Haven, was at Fort Drum. New York, when his wife disappeared.

Senior Deputy General Daniel J. Dye recalled him to rebut testimony Wednesday by Chad Wolfe, who as a 12-year-old, along with other youngsters went through a large trash container outside the armory after the unit returned from camp.

Found during that Aug. 4, 1991, "dumpster dive" was a purse with a wallet inside that contained the missing woman's driver's license, credit cards and other personal items including a picture.

The items were turned over to a parent and then to state police. This was done with the stipulation that police did not keep or photograph them.

Heckel testified he had discarded the items in that trash container while at work after state police with a drug-sniffing dog searched his home.

"I felt I had to clean things up," he testified. Included in the items he discarded was a picture of his wife wearing a bra and putting on makeup that he said was taken on a trip she took with other women.

He stressed there was nothing current in what he threw out. "When we got new stuff, we didn't discard the old," he said.

Heckel revealed he was under psychological care, adding: "I wasn't thinking clearly at that point."

He knew his wife was dead because, he said fighting back tears, "she would have never left the kids."

The defense questioned how the items could have been found in the trash in early August when Heckel claimed not to have discarded them until after his home was searched with drug-sniffing dog that Sept. 11. In response, Heckel said he could have thrown out the items earlier that September because there were other searches of his home.

Heckel testified he never suspected his wife of using drugs. But a state police report stated he had told troopers she might be involved in drug activity because money was missing from an account while he was away.

It is the prosecution's theory Heckel was killed between noon and 3 p.m. on July 15, 1991.

Groves' former wife, also Katherine, testified Tuesday her husband came home in a rush about 12:45 p.m. that day, changed clothes and returned to work.

He had something in his hand, was wearing a T-shirt but not an outer shirt explaining there had been a mess at the mill, she said.

Groves has been held without bail since his arrest in January 2015 in Beaver where he was living.
A Whitehall man is facing several sexual abuse charges related to the abuse of an 11-year-old girl.

State Police charged Brian Lawrence Fisher, 53, with involuntary deviate sexual intercourse of a child, aggravated indecent assault, corruption of minors, indecent assault and indecent exposure, according to a news release.

Police said the incidents occurred with the 11-year-old in Bear Cat Cove, South Manheim Township, Schuylkill County, between January 2017 and July 16, 2018.

Fisher was taken into custody Thursday and is being held at Schuylkill County Prison on $50,000 bail.
Salad lovers can rejoice as officials from three local grocery store chains have confirmed that romaine lettuce will soon be restocked after it was removed earlier this month due to an E. coli scare.

Still, officials at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are warning that consuming lettuce grown in certain regions could lead to illness.

Lettuce grown in northern and central California still may pose a health risk, according to the CDC.

If you do not know where your romaine lettuce was harvested, do not eat it and throw it away, CDC officials said.

Outbreak Alert: Dont eat romaine lettuce from the Coastal Central growing regions of northern and central California. If you cant confirm where it was grown, dont eat it. https://t.co/NrFOIxG8hx pic.twitter.com/vErydFImny  CDC (@CDCgov) November 27, 2018

In a Friday announcement, officials at Giant Food Stores and Martins Food Markets said their stores will begin stocking romaine on Saturday. The lettuce sold in Giant and Martins stores will come from growing locations that have been verified as safe by the CDC and the U.S. Food & Drug Administration.

"In addition to this verification, we also encourage customers to review the growing area and harvest date information found on individual packages or in-store signage, the announcement reads.

In a pair of Twitter posts, Weis Markets spokesman Dennis Curtin said romaine also will be returning to his companys stores.

The romaine sold at Weis stores must have been harvested after Nov. 23, and it must have been grown in permitted areas, Curtin said.

P1 Here's the latest on the Romaine lettuce situation. Per last week's FDA Advisory, @weismarkets stores pulled 40 romaine lettuce items (leaf, bagged & salad bar). The FDA has cleared romaine sales for product grown in areas other than Central and Northern California. (more)  Dennis Curtin (@WMKSpokesman) November 30, 2018

P2 @WeisMarkets stores are restocking romaine lettuce and other products impacted by the advisory. The romaine must be harvested on or after Nov. 23. Permitted areas include the Imperial Valley & other desert growing regions of CA, Yuma, AZ and Florida. We meet these guidelines.  Dennis Curtin (@WMKSpokesman) November 30, 2018

In Wegmans Food Markets stores, romaine lettuce will be restocked over the next few days, said spokeswoman Jo Natale. Like at the other stores, Natale said Wegmans' lettuce will be purchased from safe growers and will have been harvested on approved dates.

We have to be confident that it is not coming from the areas that are still under an advisory, she said, adding that signs will be posted in stores to keep customers informed.

Earlier this month, officials at the CDC warned that romaine lettuce could be contaminated with the infectious bacteria E. coli.

All told, 43 people were infected, with illness dates beginning Oct. 8, according to the CDC. Of those who fell ill, 16 people had to be hospitalized, one with serious symptoms, CDC officials said.
State Rep. Vanessa Lowery Brown was sentenced Friday to 23 months probation and to make restitution of $4,000 to the state for breaking state influence-peddling laws.

Brown, a Philadelphia Democrat, was convicted last month of conflict-of-interest, bribery and other charges stemming from her acceptance of $4,000 in cash payments from an undercover agent posing as a lobbyist for the Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General in 2011.

Brown, by the terms of the state Constitution and recent tradition, is expected to give up her seat in the state House, but state House officials said they had received no formal notice of resignation as of mid-day Friday. She was elected to a sixth term from her Philadelphia district earlier this month.

The conviction may also, in time, jeopardize pension and health insurance benefits Brown would normally be able to claim as a former lawmaker.

Brown left Dauphin County Courthouse without commenting to reporters Friday, a black coat draped over her face to shield, she said, her young granddaughter - who Brown was clutching to her chest - from waiting cameras.

Brown did speak in open court minutes before, breaking down in tears as she apologized to her family, her political supporters and her West Philadelphia community for decisions that, she acknowledged, let them all down.

I take full responsibility for my actions, and I just wish that I had made better decisions, she said.

The courtroom scene was unusual, and at times took on overtones of a church revival meeting with Judge Scott Evans at one point quoting scripture in response to letters of support for Brown, and members of Browns church and family shouting Hallelujah when the no-jail time sentence was imposed.

Evans not only spurned prosecutors requests for some period of incarceration, but at times in his sentencing remarks he openly voiced his own discomfort with elements of the underlying sting investigation that ensnared Brown and a number of Philadelphia colleagues in the legislature.

This was a case that had implications of racial overtones, political advantage, unprecedented corruption by others that were ancillary to this matter, lingering aspects of Porngate... and (former attorney general) Kathleen Kanes own conviction, Evans said.

Evans' reference was to the legislative sting cases use as a weapon in a bitter and career-wrecking personal feud between former Attorney General Kathleen Kane and a cadre of career prosecutors who preceded her in a series of Republican OAG administrations.

It was not immediately clear if Brown will voluntarily resign her seat in the state House - which the state Constitution requires upon a members' final conviction and sentence on felony charges. Browns associates promised a later statement on that matter.

But her attorney Patrick Casey left no doubt Friday that the representatives legal fight is not over.

Casey said he will be appealing the conviction on Browns behalf, on grounds ranging from selective prosecution based on political party affiliation, that the investigations targets were mostly members of the state legislatures Black Caucus, and legal issues like entrapment.

Many of the same issues had been dismissed by Evans in pre-trial proceedings. But Casey said Friday he believed that more recent refinement of political corruption case law in recent decisions could give appellate courts fresh grounds to toss the case.

Evans let the Brown case proceed to trial after years of pre-trial wrangling.

But he was openly critical of aspects of the underlying investigation Friday, at one pojnt analogizing the crimes of undercover informant Tyron Ali and his targets to the FBI giving notorious criminal John Dillinger a pass on all of his crimes to help them nab the pickpocket from Charles Dickens story, Oliver Twist.

Prosecutors sought jail time for Brown, citing their view that she has never really taken responsibility for her actions, and the need to send a message to other lawmakers that taking cash payments for promises of official action is a violation of public trust that bring serious consequences.

Evans noted that all of the other lawmakers had received probation after cutting plea deals. He was not inclined, he said, to punish Brown for exercising her right to a trial.

Browns case was the last prosecution in a string of six cases that might have been buried with no charges filed had it not been for the blood feud between Kane and several of the career prosecutors who preceded her in the Attorney Generals office.

That fuse was lit when Kane launched internal reviews in 2013 into her predecessors' work on the Jerry Sandusky child sex abuse case under former Attorney General and Governor Tom Corbett.

In the midst of that look-back, Kane uncovered evidence of routine swapping of pornography and off-color jokes between agents, prosecutors and judges that ultimately led to the resignation of two state Supreme Court justices and a Corbett cabinet secretary.

The Philadelphia Inquirer meanwhile, in March 2014, published a story on Kanes decision to quash the legislative sting probe - also started by her predecessors - that through 2010 and 2011 had ensnared five different state House members from Philadelphia and a city traffic court judge.

That story triggered a response from Kane that ultimately led to her own conviction in 2016 of perjury and abuse of office charges stemming from illicit leaks of secret grand jury information in a scheme to embarrass the former prosecutors she believed had leaked the sting story to The Inquirer.

Kane started serving her own 10-month minimum prison term Thursday.

Philadelphia District Attorney Seth Williams, meanwhile, picked up the strands of the old Attorney General probe, bringing charges that were ultimately transferred to the Dauphin County District Attorneys office as Philadelphia District Attorney Seth Williams become embroiled in his own corruption case.
MANHATTAN -- Hundreds of politically powerful Pennsylvanians - and those aspiring to join them or to bask in their reflected glow -- return to Midtown Manhattan this weekend for the annual Pennsylvania Society gala, a whirlwind 48 hours of parties, receptions, and, perhaps most importantly of all, networking.

For years now, the weekend has served as the unofficial kick-off to campaign season. Last year, then-GOP gubernatorial candidate Scott Wagner hosted an event, for instance.

This year, newly elected Lt. Gov. John Fetterman, whos sworn off living in the official residence at Fort Indiantown Gap, will be in attendance. Fetterman made waves in 2015 when he showed up in a tuxedo tee-shirt, thumbing his nose a bit at the societys stuffy air.

For the second year in a row, the more than century-old weekend, which has its roots in Pennsylvanias industrial era past, is returning to its new home at the New York Hilton Midtown as its traditional digs at the Waldorf-Astoria on Park Avenue undergoes a transition to a hotel-condo hybrid.

Thats knocked more than a little of the Gilded Age glitz off the weekend, sparking renewed calls for the event to be held somewhere in Pennsylvania. But, like salmon returning upstream, the siren call of New York City at Christmas remains too powerful to ignore.

As ever, the anchoring event of the weekend is the annual $500-a-head dinner on Saturday night, where a Pennsylvania luminary is honored for his or her contributions to the Keystone States civic life.

But most of the action will take places at salons, restaurants and reception rooms across Midtown, where a variety of the states political figures will hold receptions. All, of course, are invitation-only.

For instance ...

House Appropriations Committee Chairman Stan Saylor, R-York, will hold a 1:30 p.m. reception at the Kimberly Hotel this afternoon, while Senate Majority Leader Jake Corman, R-Centre, throws his annual bash at 2 p.m. at the 40th Club on the lower West Side.

Mega-law firm Arent Fox hosts the states congressional delegation at 3 p.m. at its offices on Avenue of the Americas. With a host committee that includes former GOP U.S. Rep. Phil English of Erie and current U.S. Rep. Glenn GT Thompson, R-Pretty Much Everywhere, the assumption that it will feature the Republican members of the delegation is implicit.

State House Speaker Mike Turzai, R-Allegheny, holds a 6 p.m. reception at The Hilton on Friday evening.

And while events abound Saturday, one of the anchoring events of the day is the Pennsylvania Manufacturers Associations annual seminar and luncheon at the Metropolitan Club on the edge of Central Park. The event is a cattle-call of elected leaders who go in and sketch out their New Year priorities before an audience dominated by industry and business leaders.

After the dinner on Saturday night, The Energy Association of Pennsylvania holds its Premier Party. The 9:30 p.m. event tends to get a bit loud, fueled, as it is, by fracking-strength cocktails.

The train back to Harrisburg on Sunday, as you might imagine, tends to be quiet.
Gov. Tom Wolf is committed to seeking to have the state to pick up at least half of the cost county governments face in replacing their voting machines.

In an email distributed to the county commissioners on Thursday evening, the Wolf Administration indicated the governor will be asking the General Assembly to kick in money to help defray the approximate $110 million cost to replace voting machines statewide.

The administration in April ordered counties to transition to what is described as more secure, accessible and user friendly voting systems that create a paper trail for each vote cast by the 2020 primary election. The machines are to be ordered by the end of next year.

The governor is really committed to assisting the counties in this purchase but also do it in a way thats fiscally prudent for the commonwealth, said Kathy Boockvar, senior adviser to the governor on election modernization.

She said the administration has been having conversations with the county officials and the Legislature about the governors intention to seek the funding.

The first round of meetings was very positive, she said. The governor and Department of State are very confident that were going to be able to find common ground.

The message to commissioners from the Department of State said the department and County Commissioners Association of Pennsylvania plan to work with the PA General Assembly to develop specific proposals for state funding and financing that will support the counties as they procure new systems. We are jointly hopeful that we can build consensus from the General Assembly on time frames and amounts for funding reimbursement to the counties, so they bear as little financial burden as possible while also being financially prudent for the Commonwealth.

Boockvar estimated the governors request could be in the neighborhood of $75 million to cover the additional cost of financing the purchases over several years.

Whats more, she said that would be over and above the $14.1 million already secured from the federal government with hopes more federal aid may be forthcoming.

The driving force behind the directive to move to new machines initially was said to grow out of concerns raised nationally about election integrity and Russian-backed hacking attempts in the nations 2016 presidential election.

However, a settlement announced on Thursday of a federal vote-counting lawsuit stemming from the 2016 election leaves no room to turn back from that initiative now.

Terms in that agreement to end the lawsuit filed by Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein who sought recounts in Wisconsin, Pennsylvania and Michigan compels the states counties to buy voting systems that have a verifiable paper trail by 2020.

Doug Hill, executive director of the County Commissioners Association of Pennsylvania, said for counties, coming up with the money to pay for the machines is commissioners biggest concern about having to replace them but not their only one. Some question the necessity, the timeline, as well as other practical and legal issues surrounding this mandate.

Still, he said, We appreciate the governors recognition of our concern with the cost and putting forth commonwealth money for it, and doing it in a way that says the federal money we get is on top of that.

Hill also was pleased that the governor will ask the General Assembly for a minimum of half the cost and likely wouldnt oppose it if lawmakers wanted to go beyond that.

For our members, our clear preference would be full funding, he said.

Hill noted the governor and lawmakers need to remember that every dollar not covered by the state and federal government is a dollar we have to make up for in the local property tax.

U.S. Bob Casey, D-Pa., is fighting for more federal dollars for this initiative beyond the $380 million already appropriated for the states. He requested and voted for funding only to have Republicans block it, an aide said.

Americans should have total confidence that our elections are fair and accurate, and investing in election security is smart, necessary, and the right thing to do for our democracy, Casey said.

Toomeys office noted the federal government has put substantial effort and resources into election security already and said the core responsibility for the integrity of Pennsylvanias elections rests with the gubernatorially appointed Secretary of State.

Boockvar said the administration plans to continue working with Casey and now with the Democratic-controlled U.S. House of Representatives for more federal aid.

I do think between the governors commitment to a minimum of 50 percent and hopefully a little bit more federal dollars, well be in a good place, she said. A true cost share.
Dog missing for four months reunited with owners after being found by Charlevoix family

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Daleys not wrong about the need to improve city finances. We give him credit for confronting that reality at a time when several other candidates are dodging it. But we dont want the problem-solving of any candidate to begin with finding another creative way to lift money from peoples wallets. The primary emphasis should be on operating government services more efficiently, looking hard at budgets to reduce spending and making the city more attractive to employers and residents. That economic growth would translate to more tax dollars  without raising taxes.
Matas Cimbolas Wins the 2,200 High Roller in London (42,505)

November 29, 2018 Christian Zetzsche

The 2018 888poker LIVE Festival London has determined a champion in the 2,200 High Roller and it was Lithuania's Matas Cimbolas, who eventually posed for the winner shots. Cimbolas came out on top of a 74-entry strong field, which consisted of 59 unique players and 15 re-entries. The guaranteed prize pool was nearly tripled and the top nine spots took home a portion of the 146,520 prize pool.

On the way to crowning a champion in the most expensive tournament of the festival in the heart of London, two deals were cut. One emerged on the money bubble with nine players remaining, and 2,000 were put aside to the 9th place finisher, which happened to be Martin Donoghue. Furthermore, no hand of heads-up was played, as Paul Hizer departed in third place and Cimbolas then shook hands with Tom Hall at 2:30 a.m. local time.

"It was like a home game, everybody knew everyone," Cimbolas said in the interview with PokerNews after the winner shots were taken care of, referring to the final table lineup, and the relaxed and friendly atmosphere. Once Hizer had been eliminated in third place, Hall and Cimbolas agreed to ICM numbers.

The trophy was awarded to the chip leader at the time and that was Cimbolas, while Hall forfeited his chance to win another 888poker LIVE trophy, having won the 1,100 Main Event here at Aspers Casino in the previous year. Cimbolas just had another reason to celebrate as he got engaged two weeks ago, falling on his knees "right on the beach at the Bahamas" to ask the important question and his fiance was on the rail to watch the action from nearby.

888poker LIVE London 2,200 High Roller Official Results

Winner Place Country Prize (in GBP) Prize (in USD) 1 Matas Cimbolas Lithuania 42,505* $54,330 2 Tom Hall United Kingdom 37,515* $47,951 3 Paul Hizer United Kingdom 20,000 $25,560 4 Pascal Pflock Germany 15,000 $19,170 5 Gerald Ringe United Kingdom 11,000 $14,058 6 Thomas Muehloecker Austria 8,000 $10,224 7 Christopher Kyriacou United Kingdom 6,500 $8,307 8 Carlos Sanchez Diaz Spain 4,000 $5,114 9 Martin Donoghue United Kingdom 2,000 $2,557

*includes deal of the last two players

888poker LIVE London 2,200 High Roller Action of the Day

Day 1 had wrapped up with 61 entries and another 13 players joined the action before the cards went back in the air for the final day. Among them were also the 888poker ambassadors Parker Talbot and Dominik Nitsche, the former busted only four minutes into Day 2 while Nitsche's run came to an end just before the unofficial final table was set.

Other early casualties included Jack Sinclair, Orpen Kisacikoglu, Michael Mizrachi,Martin Jacobson and Ludovic Geilich. Jacobson ended up second-best with ace-seven suited against the ace-king of Pascal Pflock.

The rise of Matas Cimbolas started with four tables remaining when the Lithuanian had Ian Hunter and Philip Ward at risk. Hunter held pocket eights and Ward ace-queen suited, Cimbolas was miles ahead with pocket aces. Hunter spiked a set right in the window, but the case ace followed to give Cimbolas top set and the double knockout in dramatic fashion.

With 30-minute levels until the final table, the eliminations kept pouring in quickly and notables such as Manig Loeser, 888poker ambassador Chris Moorman, Conor Beresford, and Chris Da-Silva were left empty-handed without anything to show for. Martin Donoghue doubled into the lead when he flopped a full house against the trips of Vadim Cojocaru and Tom Hall doubled twice in quick succession, then sent Harry Lodge to the rail.

888poker ambassador Dominik Nitsche out just before the money

Jonathan Clark ran twice into pocket jacks to bow out and 888poker ambassador Dominik Nitsche made a move with eight-seven suited and a gutshot to bust against the ace-six of Thomas Muehloecker. Kalidou Sow got it in with queen-nine suited against the ace-nine of Gerald Ringe and the latter flopped top two pair to set up the unofficial final table.

Once the bubble deal was made, Tom Hall skyrocketed into the lead with pocket kings versus pocket tens. Martin Donoghue raised and called the three-bet by Hall, then check-shoved a nine-high flop to be left with crumbs. From there on, Hall remained at the top of the counts until the final three players remained and witnessed the departures of Donoghue, Carlos Sanchez Diaz, Christopher Kyriacou, Thomas Muehloecker, and Gerald Ringe.

Four-handed play lasted for quite some time and it was Pascal Pflock that had to settle for fourth place. Pflock doubled Paul Hizer with king-jack versus pocket fours and the very same hand haunted the German soon after when he couldn't beat the ace-queen of Hizer.

Cimbolas scored a crucial double with five-four suited against Hall, who only held ace-four and the nutflush blocker. Hall was left short after that hand and jammed king-five into the pocket jacks of fellow short stack Hizer. A king on the turn sent Hizer out in third and the ICM deal ended the tournament minutes later.

While the 2,200 High Roller has already determined a champion, the highlight of the festival just kicked off. Day 1a of the 1,100 Main Event attracted a field of 97 entries and 23 players survived the first of five starting days. The PokerNews team will be on the floor to provide all the action until the end.
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*The following is an opinion column by R Muse*

It would be important to define what a pathological liar is, including detailing their affliction and how it is manifested, but its all been done before. But if anyone needs to know what a pathological liar is, they can look at a picture of Donald Trump. Trump has spent the past months claiming he has no business in or with Russia, or the Russians, and repeated the claim at his recent press conference-turned-lie-fest. However, in 2008 his son told a different story.

During a real estate conference in 2008 Don Jr. boasted that the Russians make up a pretty disproportionate cross-section of a lot of our assets. We see a lot of money pouring in from Russia. As it turns out, Trump the younger likely made the greatest understatement of his rich privileged life and debunked daddy Dons enormous lies.

According to a fairly detailed and lengthy report, a human rights lawyer, Scott Horton, who has worked in the region for decades defending the likes of Andrei Sakharov and several other Soviet dissidents made some fact-based conclusions about Trump being saved from bankruptcy and total business collapses with funds from Russian crime lords; the conclusions are stark.

Mr. Horton studied a series of three comprehensive reports in the Financial Times that reveal not only Trumps abject failure at business, but that he was lying again on Thursday when he said he has no business connections to Russia.

First it is worth a couple of words explaining the state of the Trump Organization prior to the massive, and conspiratorial, influx of what is thought to be at least in the hundreds of millions of dollars to save Trumps failed business. Even though Trump has always touted his business acumen as worthy of deification, his organization was a hollow shell and Trump was bankrupt before being saved by Russian criminals.

It was that successful business genius farce that served as a screen behind which criminal activity between Trump and Russian mobsters could be carried out on a massive scale. It is noteworthy that Trump desperately needed the Russians to bail him out because his credit and access to funds was non-existent; its the product of six bankruptcies by an alleged brilliant business mind.

Thanks to Scott Hortons deep research into the Financial Times studies, including comparing them with a report by the Director of National Intelligence (DNI), there is a very clear picture of Trumps deep ties, and frightening financial dependence, on Russian oligarchs and crime bosses despite his claims to the contrary.

According to Mr. Horton:

Hortons evaluation of this material, in coordination with the declassified DNI report, is that despite Trumps persistent lies that he has no connections, business or otherwise, with the Russians, he did in fact actively work with and more importantly; he worked for the Russian interests in a massive money-laundering scheme.

This may well be part of the dirty secrets the Russians hold over the Trump to blackmail him with when Putin wants America to do his bidding. It is dirty laundry, by the way, that the intelligence community Trump assailed again on Thursday has ready to release now that Trumps war on the media has officially expanded to include the powerful intelligence community.

It is a war the lying Trump will live to regret ever starting because as this author has been told more than once by family in the intelligence community; it is a seriously stupid individual, president or not, that makes enemies of the IC and goes to war with them; a war he has already lost. It is not a revelation to state categorically that the IC has enough material on Trump to put an abrupt end to his administration and likely his freedom.

The three Financial Times reports are just too involved to copy and paste in an opinion column, but there is a pattern that emerges portraying the Trump-Russian mobster connection that is fairly easy to understand; money laundering. Apparently the way the Trump avoided completely being broke as an astute business operator is through the use of anonymous LLCs on both sides; the Trump side and the Russian crime bosses side. It goes something like this. One anonymous LLC (Russian mobsters) forks over a monumentally bloated wad of millions for another anonymous LLC (Trumps) property like an apartment worth considerably less than the selling price. As the FT notes, Trumps organization is an ideal means of laundering Russian criminals dirty money because:

Real estate has an arbitrary value. Is that apartment worth $1 million? Two million? Why not $3 million for a buyer who really wants it? When the whole transaction is just one LLC with undisclosed ownership paying another LLC with undisclosed ownership, its even neater than hiding the money in an offshore account. And while some businesses require due diligence in looking at the source of funds, real estate is a bit more  flexible.

As Mark Sumner reported at Daily Kos, American laws regulating real estate deals are nearly non-existent. Although it is true there are provisions within the Patriot Act obliging mortgage lenders to conduct know your customer research, criminals from Russia, like all money launderers, pay in dirty cash; it is precisely how Trump and the Russian criminals easily avoided prying eyes of regulators.

The idea of converting the Russian mobsters stolen cash from overseas into Trumps properties in the U.S., and Russian cash deposited into an account of a Trump LLC listed as anonymous, was a dirty win for both the criminal oligarchs and the criminal Trump. The only thing Trump was required to do was just ignore deal and never pay any attention whatsoever to its particulars; something he has brought to the Oval Office for all to see.

It is not a stretch to believe that Donald Trump would do anything to increase his wealth, but prior to the gross infusion of Russian mobsters and oligarchs cash, he was on the verge of losing what little wealth he claimed. As Mr. Sumner noted, when Trump started attaching his name to every phony scheme and con job in existence it wasnt a strategy, it was a fire sale on Trumps respectability. Its why there were Trump steaks, Trump water, Trump vodka, Trump airlines, and even a fake Trump university. The idea was that whomever was willing to pony up the cash would earn the right to slap Trumps name on it. Because by the 2000s Donald Trump wasnt just broke, he had absolutely no assets left to pawn. Even though he was no informed individuals idea of a successful businessman, he got to portray one on a television reality show making his [contrived] image more valuable than his real estate or business portfolio.

As calls for a comprehensive investigation into Trumps conspiring with Putin to award him the White House become deafening and lead to an all-inclusive independent investigation, all of this illegal money laundering for Russian criminals will become common knowledge. It is why Trump is attempting to sully the media as dishonest and that any reporting on his deep ties to the Russians is fake news in hopes the public will ignore the truth in reporting as it develops going forward; and it is going to develop going forward. The IC will see to that and a fed up at being labeled dishonest media will do its part.

Trumps terror at being exposed as a Russian collaborator is also why Trump continues to demean the intelligence community. He knows for a fact that the IC has mountains of devastatingly incriminating documentation that he does, in fact, have very deep ties to the Russians and is heavily indebted to them. The good news is that Trump has made very public claims, including on Thursday at his bizarre press conference, that in no possible way does he have now, or has ever had, any business relationships or ties to the Russians.

That latest rash of lies will be a damning piece of evidence that Trump lied on national television about something that is becoming such common knowledge that even congressional Republicans will have difficulty pretending there is no impeachable offense. They cant cover up Trumps lies any more without implicating themselves in a conspiracy involving the criminal in the White House and crime bosses and oligarchs in Russia. Those Russian mobsters saved Trumps businesses with dirty money he gladly aided them in laundering because like every common criminal on the planet, Trump will do anything for money; including jeopardize the security of the United States of America for the nation that earned his devotion and allegiance with dirty money, Russia.

**The above article contains links to studies with commentary by R Muse**
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Speaking on the Senate floor Thursday, Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT) defended press freedom and expressed grave concern over the threats facing journalists not just around the world, but also here in the U.S.

Sen. Leahy said on the Senate floor:

(I)n the 44 years I have served in the United States Senate I have never been more concerned about the state of press freedom around the world  including, I deeply regret to say, in our own country. Leahy cited both the pre-meditated murder and dismemberment of Jamal Khashoggi by Saudi authorities and Bulgarian journalist Viktoria Marinova, who was raped, beaten, and strangled.

Video:

Leahy cited a Committee to Protect Journalist report showing that at least 43 journalists have been killed for their work so far in 2018, with 66 in total killed with confirmed and unconfirmed motives.

According to data compiled by Freedom House, the muzzling of journalists and independent news media is at its worst point in 13 years. Similarly, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists, the number of reporters jailed for their work is at a level not seen since the 1990s. Strongmen around the world are cracking down with impunity. Perhaps we should not be surprised.

Leahy pointed out that here in the U.S., Trump regularly demonizes the news media as the enemy of the people, hoping that his acidic outbursts and threats will dissuade journalists from accurately reporting on his administration.

With the eyes of the world upon him, he makes a mockery of the entire notion of an independent press, branding all who challenge him as liars or worse, while holding hands with those willing to sing his praises. He even went so far as to rescind the credentials of one reporter who persisted in asking questions the President didnt like  something I dont recall ever witnessing before.

A few days ago he publicly denigrated the decorated, retired U.S. admiral who led the raid that killed Osama bin Laden, and who had criticized the Presidents attacks against the press as a grave threat to our democracy, which it is.

As Americans who cherish the First Amendment, and who rely on a free press for sustaining our democratic form of government, we should be appalled. The words of a President matter. They always have. This Presidents rhetoric gives comfort to autocrats the world over who are emboldened to clamp down on dissent, confident that they have a powerful defender in the White House.

We have seen despots quote our President about this. We have seen countries pass laws outlawing so-called fake news, which their leaders use to justify dismissing and castigating reporting with which they disagree, and to persecute political opponents.

We should fear the day when a free press is seen as unimportant, or a luxury  as something no longer synonymous with this country and our values. We must, all of us, recommit ourselves to defending press freedom and elevating and celebrating our free press as one of the cornerstones of our democracy.

We often speak out about the abuses of repressive governments around the world. We must also speak out against the increasing attempts to demean and intimidate the press here at home. The lives of these four brave individuals should remind us of what is at stake, of the slippery slope we are on, and to stand up for what is right even when our President will not.

Sen. Leahy was correct. The free press is an important democratic institution. When confronted with an attack on press freedom from the highest office in the land, it is up to the American people to stand for democracy. If Trump destroys the free press democracy, as Americans, we can never allow this to happen.
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Rachel Maddow said on Thursday that Michael Cohens jaw-dropping guilty plea should have Donald Trump Jr. worried that he could be Robert Muellers next criminal indictment.

As the MSNBC host noted, the presidents eldest son has been worried for weeks that he might be indicted for the same thing Cohen plead guilty to on Thursday  lying to Congress.

Maddow said, If you didnt take those prospects (of criminal indictments) seriously before, now that somebody just plead guilty to a felony for lying to Congress, you take that more seriously after today.

Video:

Maddow said:

What happened today with Michael Cohen tells us a few different things that are really interesting in terms of where we are as a country right now and where this presidency is and is going. Number one, it tells us that Muellers prosecutors are willing to bring felony charges against people who have lied to Congress in conjunction with this scandal. Vanity Fair reported weeks ago that the presidents eldest son, Don Jr., has been very concerned and there have been serious concerns in the White House that he would be indicted for having lied to Congress. I was never quite sure how seriously to take those kinds of reported worries, but if you didnt take the prospect of felony indictments for lying to Congress  if you didnt take those prospects seriously before, now that somebody just plead guilty to a felony for lying to Congress, you take that more seriously after today.

Robert Mueller is alive and well  and not messing around

What the recent flurry of activity in the Russia investigation shows is that Robert Mueller is alive and well after the election-season lull  and hes not messing around.

The post-election developments in Muellers probe indicate that this investigation has reached a whole new phase, which is why the presidents tweets and public comments have taken on an increasingly desperate and unhinged tone.

And the latest steps being taken by Mueller and others connected to this investigation have only confirmed the behind-the-scenes indictment concerns of Trumps eldest son.

If Donald Trump Jr. thinks hell get away with any potential lies he told under oath to Congress, Thursdays guilty plea from Michael Cohen should make him think again.

Follow Sean Colarossi on Facebook.
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According to The New York Times all federal workers received a memo this week telling them that they cannot discuss the possibility of Donald Trump being impeached at work. The Times said the memo went to over two million federal employees telling them that it was illegal for them to participate in such discussions at work.

This is the first time such a memo has been sent out, the paper reports, and critics say its overreaching.

Advocating for a candidate to be impeached, and thus potentially disqualified from holding federal office, is clearly directed at the failure of that candidates campaign for federal office, the memo said.

Because Trump is already running for re-election in 2020, the letter contends that arguments about his policies or impeachment prospects are effectively statements in support or opposition to his campaign, the Times reported.

The memo from the Office of Special Counsel also warned federal employees not to engage in strong criticism or praise of a presidential administrations policies and actions.

The memo also tells workers they cannot use the word resist, saying:

We understand that the resistance and #resist originally gained prominence shortly after President Trumps election in 2016 and generally related to efforts to oppose administration policies. However, resistance, #resist and similar terms have become inextricably linked with the electoral success (or failure) of the president.

The Office of Special Counsel, or OSC, enforces the Hatch Act, a 79-year-old law aimed at keeping partisan politics out of the federal bureaucracy. The act basically bars explicit partisan advocacy on office time.

A law professor at Washington University criticized the memo, saying:

This goes beyond past guidance about what partisan political activity is, and is more restrictive of speech of federal employees than past guidance that Ive been able to find. I think their legal analysis is wrong in this attempt to outlaw all discussion of impeachment of Trump in the federal workplace.

Ana Galindo-Marrone, chief of the OSC Hatch Act unit, said the guidance was written in response to questions from federal workers and agencies ethics officers, and wasnt intended to be sharply different from existing standards. To me, its no different from the language weve used before, she said.

American Oversight, a liberal watchdog group, wants OSC to revoke the new rules. Austin Evers, the groups director, said the agency should enforce the Hatch Act, but the memo opens a dangerous door for the Trump administration to crack down on dissent.
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Special counsel Robert Mueller is looking into Ivanka and Donald Trump Jr.s role in seeking to build a Trump Tower skyscraper in Moscow three years before their fathers presidential campaign, according to Yahoo News.

An investigation published Thursday said that the presidents elder daughter, now-White House adviser, and his eldest son worked several years on the project which attempted to build Trump Tower Moscow.

The news of Ivanka and Don. Jrs involvement in a possible Trump building in Russia deal was reported the same day that the presidents former personal attorney Michael Cohen pleaded guilty in court for lies he told Congress when he testified about Trumps attempts to build a Trump Tower in Moscow during the 2016 presidential campaign.

Muellers charging documents against Cohen mentioned that Trumps former fixer lied about having briefed [Trump] family members who worked at the Trump Organization about the possible Moscow project. Ivanka was an executive with the organization before she became a White House adviser and Trumps son is still an executive there.

Trumps childrens efforts to secure the Trump Tower deal were separate from Cohens, Yahoo News reported. Ivanka and Don Jr. reportedly knew about Cohens efforts in 2016.

Michael was looking at that deal, the source told Yahoo. Don and Ivanka knew about it and Don testified to the Senate Judiciary Committee that he was peripherally aware of it. 

Thats why were so perplexed Cohen would lie about briefing them because no ones ever disputed that they knew he was looking at it, the source added.

Trumps business relationships with Russians have been investigated by the special counsels probe into possible ties between Russia and the Trump campaign. The president was involved in real estate deals for decades before launching a bid for president. During that time, he had contacts with Russian business people, but he said numerous times during the campaign that he had no business interests in Russia and had not done business with Russians.

The news that Mueller has asked questions about Ivanka and Don Jr.s work on the Moscow real estate project is not a surprise, but the significance of it is not clear. It may simply be a way for the special counsel to corroborate information obtained from other sources. It also may indicate that the entire Trump family was involved with Russia for a very long time, and they had tried to keep this involvement a secret and had lied about it. If the truth had been disclosed during the 2016 presidential campaign it is possible that Donald Trump would never have been elected president.
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The author who wrote a Trump biography detailing the relationship between Donald Trump and the Russian mob is now saying that Russias financial ties to the United States extend far beyond the president. In fact, he said, Russias influence can be seen throughout Washington, especially among Republican leaders in the U.S. Congress.

Craig Unger, author of House of Trump, House of Putin: The Untold Story of Donald Trump and the Russian Mafia, published a piece online that goes into more detail about Trump and Putin, and Russian influence in American politics.

He said that one of the biggest surprises that came out when he published his book is how much Trump has been compromised by Russian money for decades.

Trump was first compromised by the Russians in the Eighties back in the days of the Soviet Union and the Cold War, Unger wrote. In 1984, my book shows, the Russian Mafia first began to use Trump real estate to launder money and it continued for decades and may have accounted for billions of dollars flowing to Trump.

In 1998, he added, Trump took out full-page ads in the New York Times and the Washington Post after his first trip to Russia that touted a foreign policy that was very anti-NATO.

In the 90s, Unger wrote, Russians began sending money to Rep. Tom DeLay (R-TX), a longtime congressman who later became House Majority Leader. He also suggested that the mafia was sending money to other Republicans as well.

I believe most of the GOP leadership has been compromised by Russian money, the author added. The Republican Senatorial Campaign Committee run by Mitch McConnell got millions from [Soviet-born businessman] Leonard Blavatnik.

As for the endgame, Unger concluded, I think it is already beginning to unravel.

Concerning what Vladimir Putins goals were in 2016, Unger wrote:

Theres no question Putin wanted Trump to win [in 2016] and I believe his overarching goal was to reduce American power and strike out against the Western Alliance. It was probably the most successful intelligence operation in recent historyhe put a Russian asset in the White House without firing a single shot!

And just look, in response to Russias attacks against Ukraine this week, what Trump does: He lashes out at NATO! In addition, Trumps assault on truth, on the media has been enormously effective. All our elections are suspect. I think this has been a spectacular victory for Putinwhich is why Muellers work and Democratic oversight is so essential.

Craig Unger is issuing a warning to all Americans. He has made clear that the influence of Russian money in the United States has compromised the very integrity of our democracy. He also has reinforced the importance of the Mueller investigation and of a new Democratically-controlled House.

Donald Trump and Republican leaders in Congress are still trying to sell out our country to foreign interests, and we must now make sure that Mueller is allowed to continue his work, and that justice is done.
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WASHINGTON (Reuters)  The Pentagon has received a request from within the Trump administration to extend the deployment of troops to the border with Mexico, which otherwise would have ended on Dec. 15, U.S. officials told Reuters on Friday, speaking on condition of anonymity.

The Pentagon declined to comment. U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, who would have to sign off, suggested earlier this week such a request was being developed as the U.S. Department of Homeland Security looked for military support hardening the U.S.-Mexico border to stem illegal immigration.

Critics, including Democrats in Congress, have derided the deployment as a political stunt.

(Reporting by Phil Stewart; editing by Jonathan Oatis)
Remember, Democrats in Illinois who will have veto-proof majorities in the House and Senate come January already are on record supporting pension reform. The 2013 legislation that curbed the growth of pensions and pushed up age requirements was shepherded through the legislature by House Speaker Michael Madigan and Senate President John Cullerton. The bill targeted those 3 percent compounded COLAs that are crushing taxpayers. So adjusting the constitution to permit those changes, which the high court rejected, doesnt have to be a knock-down, drag-out battle. Its a restatement of what they already are on record supporting. It should be enshrined as an amendment.
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According to the Washington Post, President Donald Trump is now a major subject of interest in the investigation of special counsel Robert Mueller.

As a subject of the investigation, Trump now has his own legal code name: Individual 1.

The term subject of an investigation has a well-defined meaning. According to the DOJ Handbook, a subject is: a person whose conduct is within the scope of a Grand Jurys investigation. A subject has engaged in conduct that may look suspicious or unethical, but the prosecutor isnt certain that a provable crime has been committed and wants to do more investigating.

By way of contrast, the term target of an investigation is used where the prosecutor or Grand Jury has substantial evidence linking him or her to the commission of a crime.

The presidents new status as a subject came about because of new evidence obtained by Mueller. This evidence relates to two different but equally important lines of investigation, which are:

Coordination and contacts between Russia and Trumps 2016 campaign, and Contacts between WikiLeaks and the Trump campaign.

Mueller now clearly believes that Trump is a key figure in his investigation into whether his presidential campaign conspired with the Russian government during the 2016 campaign.

The new evidence casts fresh doubts on Trumps version of key events involving Russia, signaling potential political and legal peril for the president, according to the Post.

Investigators now have evidence that Trump was in close contact with his campaign team as they contacted both Russia and WikiLeaks. They also have substantial evidence that they tried to conceal the extent of their contacts with Russia and WikiLeaks, and they continually lied about it.

On Thursday Michael Cohen admitted he lied to Congress when he said that Trump was not trying to build a Trump Tower in Moscow in 2016. This there is now evidence that Trump lied when he said that he had no business interests in Russia.

On Tuesday a special counsel document revealed that Mueller is investigating Trumps interactions with Roger Stone as he sought information about WikiLeaks plans to release stolen Democratic emails in order to harm Hillary Clinton.

According to the Post, its still unclear how much peril the president might face as a result of the new evidence Mueller has gathered about the Moscow project and WikiLeaks, but his prominence in the prosecutors papers puts the president in an awkward starring role.

Former federal prosecutor Glen Kopp said this about the presidents exposure:

Its deeply troubling. Its not a place that anybody wants to be, or where you would want your friends or family to be. And its certainly not a place that you would want your president to be.

Trumps personal lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, said Thursday that the presidents written answers to Mueller about the Moscow project are consistent with Cohens version of events. Giuliani said the questions discussed a Moscow project, starting in 2015, continuing into 2016, and it went nowhere, he said.

The president, as far as he knows, he remembers there was such a proposal for a hotel, Giuliani said. He talked it over with Cohen as Cohen said. There was a nonbinding letter of intent that was sent. As far as he knows it never came to fruition. That was kind of the end of it.

But Tim OBrien, a Trump biographer and frequent critic, said the developments are not good for the president, and may indicate he is facing new risks.

This is part of the fact pattern that gets to the heart of whether there was collusion between the Trump campaign and the Kremlin during the campaign, OBrien said.

It creates the potential for Trump to feel an obligation to pay back President Putin, or Russia in general that . . . do not put the best interests of American forward. Kopp added. You are creating a potential vulnerability for a future leader of America.

Rep. Adam B. Schiff (Calif.), the ranking Democrat in line to become chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, had this to say about the implications of the new evidence implicating the president:

This is obviously a significant plea and statement. It means that when the president was representing during the campaign that he had no business interests in Russia, that that wasnt true.

If the president and his associates were being untruthful in real time as they were pursuing this deal, what does it mean now about how much we can rely on what the president is saying about any continuing Russian financial interest?
Charleston, SC (29403)

Today

Mostly clear skies this evening will give way to occasional showers overnight. Low 52F. Winds SW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 60%..

Tonight

Mostly clear skies this evening will give way to occasional showers overnight. Low 52F. Winds SW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 60%.
I have to disagree with Monica Hesse that the role of the first lady is all about domesticity and homemaking. The role of the first lady is to craft a public image for the domestic side of the political life of the White House. She need not be a homemaker to do it. She needs only to decide what needs to be done and then direct someone to do it. She doesnt have to bake; she just has to direct a member of her staff to find a recipe that sends the right message about the first family.
Since revelations that a group of South Carolina prisoners and others used cellphones to extort more than half a million dollars from hundreds of military personnel, officials have renewed calls for control of contraband behind bars.

Four of the accused inmates  Wendell Bernard Wilkins, Antwine Lamar Matthews, Jimmy Dunbar Jr. and Rakeem Spivey  appeared in federal court in Charleston on Thursday for arraignment, a procedural hearing in which indictments are formally read and defendants enter pleas. All four pleaded not guilty.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Rhett DeHart used a portion of Thursday's proceedings to argue the inmates should be held in federal custody at local jails because the prevalence of cellphones in the state prison system poses too high of a risk.

"Cellphones in prison are a recipe for mischief," DeHart said.

The devices can be used to carry out any number of illegal or otherwise prohibited activities from behind bars, the prosecutor said. Prisoners can use smartphones to access pornography, harass victims, coordinate criminal activities and other nefarious purposes.

In all, five inmates and 10 other people were implicated in what authorities have called a "sextortion ring." Each faces charges of extortion, money laundering and conspiracy to commit wire fraud, according to court documents. They face a maximum sentence of 20 years if convicted.

According to authorities, the inmates created fake profiles on dating websites and posed as women who wanted to date military personnel. They sent nude photos found online and asked the victims to send nude photos in return.

Inmates would then contact each victim and pretend to be the father of a juvenile female instead of the 18- to 19-year-old women they pretended to be. The inmates demanded money to keep quiet.

Wilkins was identified as the ring leader, DeHart said.

The plot brought in more than $560,000 from 442 military service personnel, according to authorities.

"Wilkins claimed the money was needed for counseling and medical bills for the trauma that his 'underage daughter' suffered from the sexually explicit text messages," according to the indictment. "In some instances, other inmates ... who conspired with Wilkins called military members (while) posing as a police officer and threatened them with arrest unless they paid additional money."

Prisoners used family and friends to launder the money, according to the allegations.

Victims came from every military branch except the Coast Guard and all ranks, authorities said.

In the last year, the S.C. Department of Corrections has unveiled several security measures and other initiatives aimed at keeping cellphones and other contraband out of state prisons.

Officials installed tall netting around the perimeter of prisons to keep would-be smugglers from tossing packages over fences. Drone detention technology was deployed to help stop items from being flown in.

Department of Corrections Director Bryan Stirling has also lobbied state lawmakers and Gov. Henry McMaster to provide more funding to boost staffing levels and pay for the state's chronically underpaid correctional officers.

Stemming the flow of contraband, however, has been challenging.

A deadly riot at Lee Correctional in April, which left seven inmates dead and 22 others injured, has been at least partially blamed on cellphones. Stirling has said the illegal communication spread the violence to three separate housing units.

The past three years saw contraband-related cases increase from 54 in 2015 to 161 in 2017, according to data provided to The Post and Courier. Prison officials arrested dozens of Department of Corrections staff, civilians and hundreds of inmates involved in contraband-related plots during that time.

Stirling and others have lobbied federal officials for permission to jam cellphone signals in prisons, a proposal that has been blocked by opposition from cellphone companies.

The technology is in place at federal prisons but is not yet approved for use at the state level.

SCDC is testing a so-called "managed access" program at Lee Correctional Institution, technology that allows some cell signals to be blocked but does not offer total jamming capabilities.

The system can be set to block a specific radio frequency signal, but if a cellphone service provider changes the signal without telling prison officials, "the doors back open," Stirling told The Post and Courier in July.

"We need relief and we need it now," he said.

This story has been updated to correctly reflect the number of people implicated in the plot.
Now that she had lost re-election, she said in her concession speech in Salt Lake City, she is free to speak her mind and she did, particularly about Trump."The president's behavior toward me made me wonder: What did he have to gain by saying such a thing about a fellow Republican," Love questioned. "It was not really about asking him to do more, was it? Or was it something else? Well, Mr. President, we'll have to chat about that."
Early each December, a magical transformation takes place in Seneca Falls, N.Y., as the classic Christmas movie "Its a Wonderful Life" leaps off the screen.

The word "Bedford" replaces "Seneca" on signs marking the city limits.

The tavern at The Gould Hotel becomes "Martinis."

Along Fall Street, the main drag, George Bailey shouts, "Merry Christmas! Hello, Bedford Falls!"

Not far away, a cigar-chewing Mr. Potter gruffly grumbles, "Merry whatever. Someday, this will be Pottersville." And perhaps most poignantly, Zuzu exclaims, "Look, Daddy! Teacher says, Every time a bell rings, an angel gets his wings. "

Remarkable transformation

Seventy-two years following the films premiere 275 miles away in New York City, folks here celebrate Frank Capras crowning achievement, boasting that the famous director based the movies fictional Bedford Falls on this Finger Lakes community.

Whether Capra ever set eyes on Fall Street, or walked across the steel truss bridge thats a dead ringer for the one in the movie, remains up for debate. But that potential connection aside, the place certainly looks, feels and sounds like Bedford Falls each December, especially when snow is falling and the church bells are ringing. The lure is inescapable for the thousands of movie buffs who flock to town for a hefty dose of holiday cheer.

" Its a Wonderful Life is such a fabulous film; it needs to leave a footprint somewhere," said Karolyn Grimes, 78, who, as a 6-year-old, portrayed Zuzu, George and Mary Baileys youngest child, in the 1946 movie. She travels cross-country from Seattle every December to talk about her role in cinematic history and to recite her now-famous angel line "over and over and over."

Each year, other septuagenarians who were once child actors also share their memories during a wealth of presentations, meet-and-greets and autograph sessions. Another regular is Monica Capra Hodges, who bestows insights about her grandfather, Frank Capra.

"He just wanted to share a message of hope after going through World War II," she explained last December. "I just love that people here are still celebrating that message that was so important to him. In the end, theres the hopefulness that everybodys life has an impact that makes a difference."

Coming to a theater

The movie gets screened throughout the Its a Wonderful Life Festival, held Dec. 6-9 this year (Dec. 13-15 in 2019). There are wagon rides, train rides (on a real train), special meals and the "Dance by the Light of the Moon." Seemingly every business in town tries to capitalize on the event, including a downtown pizzeria. The sign outside reads: "Its A Wonderful Slice."

Throughout the weekend, people dressed as various characters from the movie can be spotted on the Fall Street sidewalks. They include actor Brian Rohan, a George Bailey lookalike who also presents a one-man show about the movies star, Jimmy Stewart.

On Saturday afternoon, Rohan and the others join in a parade that blends a celebration of the movie with hometown pride. (Think movie re-enactors followed by fire trucks.) Vendors hand out free roasted chestnuts as a small brass band plays Christmas carols.

A couple of blocks away is the bridge that many locals insist inspired Capra to model Bedford Falls after Seneca Falls. They say that if Capra came here, he could have walked across the bridge (on appropriately named Bridge Street) and spotted the plaque mounted there. The marker honors Antonio Varacalli, who in 1917 jumped from the span into the canal below to save a suicidal woman, losing his own life in the process.

In the film, which was adapted from a short story called "The Greatest Gift" by Philip Van Doren Stern, George Bailey jumps from a bridge into frigid waters to save Clarence, who turns out to be a guardian angel sent from heaven to save Bailey from his own self-destruction.

"What Capra and his scriptwriters put in was someone going in to save the person who had jumped, and we believe that could likely be inspired by the story of Antonio Varacalli," said Anwei Law, a co-founder of the Seneca Falls Its a Wonderful Life Museum. Aptly located in a building that once housed a movie theater, the museum is just a few blocks from downtown along Fall Street. Its open year-round, and admission is free.

"Its not just about a movie," Law said of the museum. "Its about something very much more important than just a movie. Its about a message. The movie gives us a tool to discuss many important issues related to human rights, related to caring about each other and valuing each other. Theyre all interconnected."

Law pointed out that its no coincidence Seneca Falls is where, at a gathering of delegates of the National Womans Party in 1923, feminist Alice Paul delivered the text of the original Equal Rights Amendment, which she had written. The town is home to the Womens Rights National Historical Park.

In addition to movie memorabilia, the museum shares stories of oppressed people. Karolyn Grimes donated a number of artifacts related to the film.

"I sent 200 items to be on display to start the museum," Grimes said. "I feel its one way to keep this movie alive for the generations to come, because, you know, Im going to get my wings," she said with a laugh.

The museums walls are lined with images from the movie accompanied by inspiring quotes from Frank Capra.

"People are increasingly taking photos of his quotes," Law said. "Theyre looking to have that hope rekindled through this movie."

Capras granddaughter, Monica, said her grandfather "just wanted that hopefulness to be out there."

"Everybodys George Bailey," she added. "Everybody has those down times. But we all can rally together, we can look to each other and be part of a bigger community."
Were done for today, said Associate Cook County Judge Domenica Stephenson with more than a hint of annoyance in her voice. I know there was supposed to be another witness, but I thought that witness was going to be called first and that we would have been done by around, I think, maybe it would have been 6, 7 oclock at the latest.
DOCOMO PACIFIC will launch its fifth-generation, or 5G, wireless broadband service test lab in early 2019 on Guam.

The company's parent NTT DOCOMO operates 5G open labs in Tokyo and Osaka and will open a third in Okinawa, Japan, this month.

Ahead of the 5G commercial service launch for business and residential customers, DOCOMO PACIFIC's sole shareholder, Tokyo-based NTT DOCOMO, will begin operating the DOCOMO 5G Open Lab Guam as a 5G verification center at its Tamuning headquarters in early 2019.

The company's 5G open lab on Guam will be the company's fourth verification center and its first lab outside of Japan.

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Fifth-generation wireless broadband service is the latest iteration of cellular technology engineered to greatly increase the speed and responsiveness of wireless networks.

Bringing ultra-high speeds, and the ability to connect a massive number of devices, 5G is an emerging technology that will transform "augmented and virtual reality" when it comes to gaming, education, manufacturing, telemedicine and beyond, the company stated.

"We are proud to be at the forefront of new technologies like 5G that help revolutionize the way we communicate and connect with our physical, virtual, and social worlds," stated Roderick Boss, president and CEO of DOCOMO PACIFIC. "While each new generation of wireless technology has offered great benefits to customers, 5G is the wave of the future and will offer higher speeds than ever before, shorter delays and increased connectivity. We're excited our parent company NTT DOCOMO wants Guam to experience the future of 5G first."

The 5G open lab will allow worldwide partners including Guam to access the lab and its 5G base/mobile stations and equipment, along with the latest 5G information, test environments, and opportunities for partner workshops through the DOCOMO 5G Open Partner Program with more than 1,900 partners. DOCOMO PACIFIC will continue collaborating with startups, enterprises and other partners from various industries to co-create innovative 5G services globally, the company stated.
Gov. Lou Leon Guerrero's administration is pursuing a plan  which has been talked about in the government of Guam for years  to somehow prov Read more
NORRISTOWN  A Pottstown man accused of fatally shooting a borough woman during an alleged home invasion robbery is indigent and needs the services of a court-appointed lawyer to represent him, according to documents filed in Montgomery County Court.

Defense lawyer Carrie L. Allman, chief homicide lawyer for the county Public Defenders Office, filed court papers on Thursday asking a judge to appoint her to represent accused killer Aaron Joseph Taylor.

Mr. Taylor is 18 years old, indigent, incarcerated, and qualifies for the services of the public defenders office, Allman wrote in court documents, indicating she met with Taylor on Nov. 28 and Mr. Taylor indicated his need for counsel.

The request will go to Judge Thomas C. Branca, who is responsible for appointing lawyers to represent defendants who cannot afford to hire private counsel.

Earlier this week, Taylor, of the first block of West Second Street, was arraigned on charges of second- and third-degree murder, robbery, conspiracy to commit robbery and possessing an instrument of crime in connection with the 6:40 p.m. Nov. 18 gunshot slaying of Sylvia Williams, 38, inside a residence in the 300 block of North Washington Street.

A 17-year-old juvenile also was charged with robbery and conspiracy for allegedly participating in the home invasion but does not face murder charges.

A preliminary hearing for Taylor tentatively is set for 10 a.m. Dec. 7 before District Court Judge Edward Kropp Sr.

Second-degree murder, a killing committed during the course of another felony, such as robbery, carries a mandatory sentence of life imprisonment upon conviction. Third-degree murder, a killing committed with malice, carries a possible maximum sentence of 20 to 40 years in prison.

An investigation began about 6:43 p.m. Nov. 18 when borough police responded to the residence to investigate the activation of a security alarm. As officers arrived at the scene, they observed a male jump from the second floor of the home and he told police that his girlfriend, Williams, was injured and still inside the residence.

When police entered the residence they found Williams, with a bleeding wound to her head, dead in a second-floor front bedroom.

At the time they arrived on the scene, police also observed a light-colored compact car leaving the area at a high rate of speed, according to the criminal complaint filed by county Detective John Wittenberger and Pottstown Detective Mark Wickersham.

An autopsy determined Williams died from a gunshot wound to the head and her death was ruled a homicide.

Williamss boyfriend told detectives he was on the second-floor of the residence when he heard yelling. As he started to descend the stairwell to the first-floor Williamss boyfriend observed a male, wearing a mask and armed with an automatic handgun, according to the arrest affidavit.

According to detectives, Williamss boyfriend said he ran to his bedroom, which also was occupied by Williams, and he closed the bedroom door, holding it closed with his feet while lying on the floor. Williams then handed her boyfriend an alarm remote and a panic alarm was activated, detectives alleged.

Williams then assisted her boyfriend in holding the door shut.

(The boyfriend) stated the suspect tried to get into the bedroom by striking the door before (the boyfriend) heard one gunshot, Wittenberger and Wickersham alleged in the arrest affidavit.

The boyfriend reported it got quiet, following the gunshot and he noticed Williams was not moving and was bleeding from her head, according to the arrest affidavit.

Three other people, including two juveniles, also were inside the home at the time of the shooting, court documents indicate. One of the witnesses, a repairman who was changing the front door lock, told detectives two armed males entered through the door while he was changing the lock.

One of the masked men pointed a gun at the repairman and stated, stay where you are, according to the criminal complaint. The repairman stated he heard a commotion upstairs and heard a pop, court papers indicate. The two armed males then fled the residence.

A witness told detectives he overhead one suspect utter, there aint nothing here as they left the residence.

Detectives learned Williamss boyfriend had a home surveillance system that captured the home invasion and shooting on videotape and photographs of the suspects were released to the public as authorities sought to identify the alleged culprits.

A review of surveillance footage from Pottstown street cameras revealed a light-colored Honda Civic was observed in the area at the time of the homicide. Detectives traced the vehicle to a Reading address and subsequently linked a 17-year-old boy to the vehicle.

When he was interviewed by detectives, the teenager admitted to participating in the home invasion robbery with Taylor. The teenager claimed he and Taylor targeted the residence because they believed the home was that of a big drug dealer, however, they left without any cash or property, according to court documents.

The teenager told detectives he was armed with a BB pistol and Taylor was armed with a Ruger .22-caliber pistol. A projectile retrieved from Williamss body was consistent with that of a .22-caliber, detectives alleged.

The teenager told detectives he remained on the first-floor of the residence while Taylor went upstairs. The teenager said he watched Taylor fire a single gunshot while on the second-floor stairway, according to the criminal complaint.
POTTSTOWN  State Police are investigating after a shooting victim was located on the 400 block of Evans Street Thursday afternoon.

According to reports from the scene, State Police from Embreeville and Pottstown Police were investigating on Evans Street near Oak Street at around 1 p.m. after locating a victim of a shooting that occurred in Warwick Township.

State police did not elaborate on how their investigation led them to the victim in Pottstown, but did confirm that the incident had occurred in Warwick. State troopers could be seen investigating a parked car at the scene.

Police said the victim was already inside the Goodwill Ambulance when they arrived on the scene. The victim was then transported to Reading Hospital Trauma Center in West Reading with unspecified injuries.

The victim was located about three blocks north of a shooting that was reported Wednesday evening in Pottstown in which a male in his 20s was shot in the leg. Pottstown Police are still investigating that incident.

State Police are expected to release more information on Thursdays shooting incident later in the day.
LANSDALE  Pennsylvania Agriculture Secretary Russell Redding and Maj. Gen. Tony Carelli, Pennsylvanias Adjutant General and head of the Department of Military and Veterans Affairs helped kick off the 2018 Trees for Troops weekend, encouraging Pennsylvanians to donate Christmas trees to active-duty military and their families.

We often talk about the importance of partnerships in building a coalition of support for Pennsylvanians; and forging relationships to inspire, and to grow, and to provide, Redding said. Today we invite our friends and neighbors to join us in this partnership and help us thank Pennsylvanias military service members. This simple act can help inspire hope and can provide our troops with a little piece of home, no matter where they are.

Trees for Troops is a national program that provides free, farm-grown Christmas trees to armed forces members and their families each holiday season. Pennsylvanians can participate in the program by visiting a farm or participating location from Nov. 30 through Dec. 2, and purchasing a tree for distribution to service members.

The Christmas tree is a symbol of the holiday spirit to many people across the globe. This outstanding program will send trees overseas to spread joy to service members deployed far away from their families, and also deliver trees stateside to brighten the hearts of our troops and their families who were fortunate to be home for the holidays, said Carrelli. By donating a tree, this program gives people a meaningful opportunity to say thank you to our troops and help ensure military families have the kind of joyful traditional Christmas memories that we would wish for Americas heroes.

Speakers at the event, held at Bustards Christmas Trees in Landsdale, encouraged Pennsylvanians to do their part by contributing one of the more than 17,000 trees heading to military installations throughout the country this month as a part of the annual program.

During the event, Redding and Carelli joined attendees to load a FedEx trailer with trees donated from the farm. FedEx partners to provide transportation services delivering the trees to more than 65 military bases in the U.S. and overseas, and has driven more than 573,000 ground miles for the program.

This is the 14th year of Trees for Troops, which since 2005 has provided more than 176,000 Christmas trees to military families and troops in the United States and overseas. Last year, more than 17,400 Christmas trees were delivered to 70 U.S. military bases and 250 trees delivered to four international bases.

The program is part of the Christmas SPIRIT Foundation, a non-profit branch of the National Christmas Tree Association, which represents more than 700 active member farms, 29 state and regional associations, and more than 4,000 affiliated businesses that grow and sell Christmas trees or provide related supplies and services.

For more information and participating locations, visit http://www.christmasspiritfoundation.org.
With a bit of sleuthing, we can figure out what was going on that caused airplanes to trigger snowfall. Observations from the airport at the time reveal a temperature of 22 degrees and a dew point of 17 degrees, both well below freezing. Additionally, the closeness of the temperature to the dew point meant the air was near saturation. There was 82 percent relative humidity at the time.
The Daily Callers Richard Pollock has an exclusive report on an FBI raid. When I say FBI raid, I mean FBI raid. It involved some 16 agents making a house call on whistleblower Dennis Nathan Cain. The problem here seems to be that Cain is blowing the whistle on federal law enforcement (or the nonfeasance thereof) in matters pertaining to the Clinton crime family. As if that werent enough, Robert Muellers past service as FBI Director is implicated as well.

Pollocks story is summarized in these bullet points:

 The FBI raided the home of a whistleblower who was in possession of documents regarding the Clinton Foundation and Uranium One, according to the whistleblowers lawyer, Michael Socarras.

 The whistleblower, Dennis Nathan Cain, had turned the documents over to the Department of Justices inspector general and both the House and Senate Intelligence committees, according to the lawyer.

 The FBI rummaged through Cains home for six hours, even after the whistleblower handed over the documents, according to Socarras.

Please read the whole thing. Full of what appears to be nightmarish governmental wrongdoing of the in terrorem variety, it is almost unbelievable. Pollock is a meticulous reporter. He has done everything possible to verify his story and touch base with the parties involved. The FBI isnt talking beyond this laconic statement: On Nov. 19, the FBI conducted court authorized law enforcement activity in the Union Bridge, Maryland area. At this time, we have no further comment.

Wanting to add something to Pollocks thorough report, I called Cain attorney Michael Socarras and the Department of Justice Inspector General media officer to seek further comment. I have come away empty-handed so far but will take another whack at it on Monday.

At this point I can add only that a Google search on Dennis Nathan Cain whistleblower turns up additional stories at the Daily Wire and a few other conservative sites as well as, yes, Sputnik International. Somewhere in orbit, Sputnik International was the first to follow up on Pollocks story.
In connection with Michael Cohens guilty plea to one count of making false statements to Congress yesterday (see Criminal Information below), I have a few notes. I want to keep these notes simple consistent with a low level of confidence in my understanding of what is happening here.

 The first stories previewing Michael Cohens guilty plea to making false statements to Congress were posted yesterday morning before the the Criminal Information became public and the misrepresentations identified. When the news first flashed, I wondered whether the false statements included the denial of Cohens alleged trip to Prague in 2016, confirming a key part of the so-called Steele Dossier.

 Peter Stone and Greg Gordon reported (or reported, in the fake news genre) that Mueller has evidence of the alleged trip earlier this year. If so, I thought, perhaps Mueller is approaching something like collusion that is supposed to bear on his investigation of Russian interference in the 2016 election.

 Cohen testified before both the Senate and the house that he never went to Prague. Like the dog that didnt bark that provides the key evidence in the Sherlock Holmes story, the Prague trip is the dog that doesnt bark in the Criminal Information. Cohens misrepresentations are not tied to Russian interference.

 Cohens testimonial misrepresentations are spelled out at pages 5-8 of the Criminal Information. They all involve the Trump companys interest in a Moscow real estate project. Contrary to Cohens testimony, the Moscow project was discussed several times from January to June 2016; Cohen agreed to travel to Russia and took steps in contemplation of of a possible trip by Individual 1 (i.e., Trump) to Russia; and Cohen actually recalled that in January 2016 he heard from a Russian official in the office of Putins press secretary and spoke to him about the project.

 The Criminal Information specifies evidence in Muellers possession documenting these misrepresentations. Andrew McCarthys NR column Trump Tower Meeting Silently Looms Over Cohens False Statements Plea provides the help needed to construe the Criminal Information.

 Jeffrey Toobin seeks the ominous turn here in the New Yorker column The legal perils that Michael Cohens guilty plea poses for Donald Trump. (The New Yorker used to be famous for its meticulous editing. I may be mistaken, but I think the plural subject of the headline [legal perils] disagrees with the singular form of the verb [poses]. See also my post Glenn Simpson: The New Yorker version.) Shocker: Trump was pursuing his business interests in the course of the campaign.

 Carol Leonnig and Josh Dawsey also seek the ominous turn in the Washington Post story Individual 1: Trump emerges as a central subject of the Mueller probe. This is news? Weve been on this development for a long time. Its the essence of the investigation that Mueller took over. We call it the Mueller Switch Project.

 Thanks to the work of Rep. Devin Nunes and his Republican colleagues on the House Intelligence Committee, we know of actual collusion by a presidential campaign with organs of Russian intelligence. I refer to the Clinton campaigns work with the friends of Vladimir Putin via the Perkins Coie, Glenn Simpson/Fusion GPS and Christopher Steele. Its on the face of the Steele Dossier.

 If one seeks false statements to Congress that bear on Russian interference and campaign collusion, look no further than Glenn Simpsons testimony to the congressional intelligence committees. John and I wrote about Simpsons testimony in several posts that can be accessed here.

 Republican counsel questioning Simpson focused mostly on Simpsons simultaneous work with the BakerHostetler law firm on behalf of the Russian company Prevezon in support of its defense of the money laundering/asset forfeiture case brought by the Untied States (in the case underlying the Magnitsky Act). Recall that Simpsons work with BakerHostetler brought him into contact with Russian attorney Natalia Veselnitskaya immediately before and after she met held the infamous meeting with Donald Trump, Jr. et al. at Trump Tower. In part Simpsons job was to provide research undermining the credibility of Bill Browder, the proponent of the Magnitsky Act in the United States and similar laws elsewhere.

 Incidentally, Trumps Jr.s meeting all by itself belies the collusion hysteria in the case of the Trump campaign.

 It is almost unbelievable that at the time Simpson was working on behalf of the Clinton campaign he was also working with the BakerHostetler law firm on behalf of the Russian oligarch Denis Katsyv and Prevezon Holdings in support of their defense in the asset forfeiture/money laundering case brought by the United States. Simpsons work required him to dog Bill Browder, the well-known proponent of the Magnitsky Act.

 Indeed, as I understand it, Magnitsky originally uncovered the facts underlying the governments case against Prevezon. In the interview counsel asked Simpson the obvious question whether he understood his work on the Prevezon case principally to have benefited the Russian government. Suffice it to say that Simpsons labored answer did not enhance his credibility as a witness. Simpson also claimed not to know anything about Veselnitskayas meeting with Trump Jr. A serious prosecutor investigation Russian interference might make something of it all.

 A serious prosecutor might also make something of the incredible governmental wrongdoing at the heart of the investigation that gave rise to the Mueller probe. It is the biggest political scandal in our history and Trump is a victim of it, not a perpetrator. See, e.g., Julie Kellys American Greatness column The incorrigible Mr. Comey. Touching on a point I make above, Kelly cites Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassleys press release Complaint: Firm behind Dossier & Former Russian Intel Officer Joined Lobbying Effort to Kill Pro-Whistleblower Sanctions for Kremlin.

 Its almost enough to make an observant bystander conclude that the Mueller probe is a pretext to support the removal of Trump from office and a diversion from the collusion of the Clinton campaign with Russian interference in the election.

Cohen False Statements Criminal Information by Scott Johnson on Scribd
PR-Inside.com: 2018-11-30 02:01:01

Global RPA Leader Building Relationships with Key Japanese Companies

GA-ASI Establishing Industrial Collaboration in Japan

Melissa Haynes

General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc.

+1 (858) 524-8108

ASI-MediaRelations@ga-asi.com

General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. (GA-ASI), the leading manufacturer of Remotely Piloted Aircraft (RPA) systems, is seeking to establish relationships with defense industry suppliers and related businesses in Japan. GA-ASIs commitment to providing the best available RPA technology means identifying and establishing relationships with companies across Japan who can assist in that effort.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20181129005

Were interested in working with Japanese industry to establish RPA capability that meets the unique defense and security needs of Japan, said Joseph Song, vice president of International Strategic Development for GA-ASI. This includes work related to the scientific research from the flight demonstrations we conducted earlier this year, as well as support in the areas of IT, infrastructure, engineering, manufacturing, modeling and simulation. (Photo: Business Wire)

GA-ASI is seeking Japanese partners for a host of services and capabilities, including:

Long-term data storage and machine learning

Fixed-base operation services, including airfield facilities, and ground support equipment

Support services for command and control systems integration

Support services for Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR)

Engineering, modeling and simulation capabilities

Continued data analysis from flight demonstrations conducted near Iki Island in May 2018

Were interested in working with Japanese industry to establish RPA capability that meets the unique defense and security needs of Japan, said Joseph Song, vice president of International Strategic Development for GA-ASI. This includes work related to the scientific research from the flight demonstrations we conducted earlier this year, as well as support in the areas of IT, infrastructure, engineering, manufacturing, modeling and simulation.

From 10-23 May, GA-ASI conducted a series of flight demonstrations near Iki Island, Japan, featuring its Guardian RPA. Amongst the goals of these flights was the collection of data that could be used for ongoing scientific research into areas such as changes in ocean temperature and maritime domain awareness. The sensors on the Guardian RPA included a long-range maritime surface-search radar and cameras for stabilized optical and infrared video.

High-resolution photos of the Guardian RPA are available to qualified media outlets from the listed GA-ASI media contact. For more information about GA-ASIs presence at Japan Aerospace, go to http://www.ga-asi.com/japan-aero-2018.

About GA-ASI

General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. (GA-ASI), an affiliate of General Atomics, is the leading designer and manufacturer of proven, reliable Remotely Piloted Aircraft (RPA) systems, radars, and electro-optic and related mission systems, including the Predator RPA series and the Lynx Multi-mode Radar. With more than five million flight hours, GA-ASI provides long-endurance, mission-capable aircraft with integrated sensor and data link systems required to deliver persistent flight that enables situational awareness and rapid strike. The company also produces a variety of ground control stations and sensor control/image analysis software, offers pilot training and support services, and develops meta-material antennas. For more information, visit www.ga-asi.com.

Reaper, Predator, and Lynx are registered trademarks of General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20181129005
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Fleas and ticks are quite harmful for the human environment, and are primarily transported through pet animals. In order to stay safe from their effects, there are several repellents as well as insect killers which are available in the market. This research report uploaded by Market Research Reports Search Engine (MRRSE) helps in cracking the various aspects of the flea and tick product sector. This assessment is titled Flea and Tick Product Market  Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends, and Forecast 2018  2026, which focuses on the geographical market share together with revenue projections for the period until 2026.For More Information Request Free Sample on Flea and Tick Product Market Research Report @ https://www.mrrse.com/sample/1850 According to research findings, the global flea and tick product market is likely to deliver growth at 9.7% CAGR during the period between 2018 and 2026. The target market is experiencing high-end demand due to enhanced focus towards companion pets and animal medication, which is expected to continue its impact in the coming years as well. The research report delivers knowledge associated to market dynamics which includes drivers, opportunities, restraints, trends, along with effective policy and regulations which are projected to sway the expansion of the flea and tick product market during the stated forecast period. In addition, the study offers a comprehensive analysis stressed at market growth in terms of value estimates (US$ Mn) covering different geographies.Geographically, the report bifurcates the global market for flea and tick product into North America, Asia Pacific (APAC), Europe, South America and Middle East & Africa (MEA). Among these, the Asia Pacific region showcases the fastest growth ratio during the forecast period as a result of increasing adoption of Western lifestyle which includes the trend of keeping dogs as pets. On the basis of product type, the flea and tick product market is split into chewable and spot on. Furthermore, on the basis of method, the target market is segmented into internal and external. Also, the primary pet types examined in the report are dog, cat and others.The final section talks about the competition landscape, which encloses factors such as competition matrix and market share analysis of key players in the global flea and tick product market. Some of the renowned companies assessed in this report are Merck Animal Health (Merck & Co., Inc.) (U.S), Ceva Sante Animale S.A. (Libourne, France), Virbac Corporation (Carros, France), Sergeants Pet Care Products, Inc. (Omaha NewYork, U.S), Bayer AG (Leverkusen, Germany) and The Hartz Mountain Corporation (New Jersey, U.S).Browse Complete Detail on Flea and Tick Product Market Research Report with TOC @ https://www.mrrse.com/flea-tick-products-market About (MRRSE)Market Research Reports Search Engine (MRRSE) is an industry-leading database of Market Research Reports. MRRSE is driven by a stellar team of research experts and advisors trained to offer objective advice. Our sophisticated search algorithm returns results based on the report title, geographical region, publisher, or other keywords. MRRSE partners exclusively with leading global publishers to provide clients single-point access to top-of-the-line market research. MRRSEs repository is updated every day to keep its clients ahead of the next new trend in market research, be it competitive intelligence, product or service trends or strategic consulting.
PR-Inside.com: 2018-11-30 09:00:46

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Future Market Insights 616 Corporate Way, Suite 2-9018, Valley Cottage, NY 10989, United States T: +1-347-918-3531 F: +1-845-579-5705 Email: sales@futuremarketinsights.com Website: www.futuremarketinsights.comAnalyst+1 03479183531

A snack is a portion of food that is generally consumed in casual occasions or in between meals. Snacks are smaller than regular meals and are available in variety of forms such as processed foods and packed snacks food, as well as snacks made from fresh ingredients at home. Kid snacks is a small category which cover the snacks consumed by the children. Processed snack foods which are available in the market is a type of convenience food, that are designed or prepared to be more durable, less perishable, and more portable than food that are prepared at home. Snacks often contain substantial amount of preservative, salt and sweeteners. Beverages, such as cold drinks, juices or dairy products are not generally considered as snacks though it may be consumed in lieu of snack foods. Kids generally love to have salty snacks such as potato chips or corn chips. A study done in 2010 showed that children in the U.S. snacked on average six times per day, which is approximately double as often as American children in the 1970s.This shows the increase in consumption of roughly 570 calories per day than the U.S. children consumed in the 1970s.Request Report Sample@ https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/sample/rep-gb-4357 Market Segmentation:Kid snacks marketis segmented on the basis of source, type, distribution channel and region. On the basis of source the kid snacks market is segmented into organic snacks and conventional snacks. On the basis of type the kid snacks market is segmented into salty, refrigerated or frozen, confectionary, bakery, vegetable and fruit snacks and nut based snacks.The bakery segment is most popular segment in kid snacks market as bakery segment includes delicious cakes, biscuits and chips.On the basis of distribution channel the market is segmented into supermarket/hypermarket, online stores, specialty stores, grocery stores, and convenience store.Grocery store and convenience store is expected to hold relatively higher revenue share in the kid snacks market, which is followed by the supermarket/hypermarketsegment.Market Regional Outlook:Regional segment for the market of kid snacks is segmented into five different regions: North America, Latin America, APAC, Europe and MEA. Among these region Asia Pacific is expected to have the major market share globally. Moreover, North America has also emerged as a prominent market for kid snacks, as the popularity of organic snacks is increasing to significant level in this region.Market Drivers:Parents these days are more concerned about their childrens health and are willing to buy healthy and nutritious snack products. Companies have become more competitive in terms of launching healthy snacks. Moreover, manufacturers also offers toys inside the snack in order to attract the kids. All these factors are fuelling the growth of kid snacks market globally.International evidence clearly shows that snack promotion influences the consumption of processed snack foodsby the kids. Various kid snack manufacturers are aggressively advertising to promote their products, which is higher traction and in turn bolsters the kid snacks demand all over the world.Moreover , in order to generate more sales, manufacturers across the globe are focusing on expanding product portfolio and production capacity which in turn will drive the market of kid snack in the forecast period. Manufacturers are now targeting both online and offline retailers with the objective to expand its distribution networks, thereby making products easily available to consumers. Through online sales, manufacturers are also providing various offers and coupons to attract more consumers, which could aid sustainable growth of the kid snacks market in the forecast period.Request For Table Of Content @ https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/toc/rep-gb-4357 Market Key Players:Some of the key players in kid snacks market includes Procter&Gamble, PepsiCo, Inc., The Kraft Heinz Company, Conagra Brands Inc., Calbee, Inc., General Mills, Inc., Intersnack, Lorenz Snack-World, and Mondelez International, Inc. among others.
PR-Inside.com: 2018-11-30 03:16:29

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Singapore Private Equity Firm Unity Group Launches New Agglomeration:tm: on German Stock Markets. Investors Given Unique Opportunity to Access Fast Growth, Small Businesses, from Around the World.SINGAPORE / ACCESSWIRE / November 29, 2018 / Singapore-based private equity firm, Unity Group, is pleased to announce that MBH Corporation PLC had its prospectus approved by the UK Listing Authority and consequently became the first International company to move from the Dusseldorf Market to the Primaermarkt. Unity Group is leading the effort to reinvent the way small businesses use the capital markets to scale up through a process called Agglomeration.The Agglomeration model allows good, profitable well run companies to come together and share a public holding company, whilst leaving the founders in operational control of their own business.Jeremy Harbour, founder of Unity Group and originator of the Agglomeration strategy explained; ''Small businesses typically make up 50% of global GDP and up to 90% of private sector employment in some countries, yet the risky and illiquid nature of small companies make them unattractive to sophisticated investors. By grouping them together under a Diversified Investment Holding Group (DIHG) like MBH Corporation PLC, we can once again connect investors with those who create the value in the world''Callum Laing who is Co-Founder and Chairman of MBH Corporation PLC said ''Moving up to the Primaermarkt allows us to cross list on to Frankfurt and Xetra. Now investors from all around the world can benefit from the Agglomeration strategy that brings together fantastic small, fast growing businesses from different countries and sectors.'' He added, ''We create massive shareholder value through a combination of highly accretive, script only acquisitions, and the the various cost and scale advantages that come from those companies being part of a bigger group''Unity Group only works with small businesses that are debt free, doing more than $1m in net profit and are still looking to expand. Harbour explained that they have dozens of such companies keen to join Agglomeration's like MBH and that Unity also works with the companies afterwards to help them grow in the the PLC environment.About Unity Group Private EquityUnity Group is based in Singapore with an office in England. It works with small businesses and investors around the world to successfully implement Agglomeration.Contact:Name: Charlotte FordhamOrganization: Unity GroupAddress: #17-06 Peninsula Plaza 111 North Bridge Road, Singapore, Singapore 179098, Singaporeinfo@ unity-group.com For more information, please visit https://www.unity-group.com/ SOURCE: Unity Group
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DENVER, CO / ACCESSWIRE / November 30, 2018 / Medicine Man Technologies Inc. (OTCQX: MDCL) ("Medicine Man Technologies" or "Company"), one of the United States' leading cannabis branding and consulting companies today announced that Brett Roper, Chief Executive Officer, and Andy Williams, Co-Founder and Chairperson of the Board, will be presenting at the LD Micro Conference on December 5, 2018 at 11:30 AM PST / 2:30 PM EST at the Luxe Sunset Bel Air Hotel in Los Angeles, California.The presentation will be webcast at http://wsw.com/webcast/ldmicro15/mdcl/ . An archive of the presentation will also be made available on the Companys investor relations website.The LD Micro Main Event is the largest independent conference for small/micro-cap companies and will feature 250 names presenting to an audience of over 1,000 attendees. In addition, there will be a variety of speakers/panelists discussing topics of interest to investors and issuers, along with coordinated evening events.Mr. Roper and Mr. Williams will be making their corporate presentation on Wednesday, December 5th at 11:30 (Track 3) and have several planned meetings planned throughout the day with various investors and investor groups to discuss the Companys current as well as future performance and financial needs.To learn more about the event, please visit: http://www.ldmicro.com/events To be added to the Medicine Man email distribution list, please email, MDCL@ kcsa.com with MDCL in the subject line.About Medicine Man Technologies, Inc.Established in March 2014, the Company secured its first client/licensee in April 2014. To date, the Company has provided guidance for several clients that have successfully secured licenses to operate cannabis businesses within their state. The Company currently has or has had active clients in California, Iowa, Oregon, Colorado, Nevada, Illinois, Michigan, Arkansas, Pennsylvania, Florida, Ohio, Maryland, New York, Oklahoma, Massachusetts, Puerto Rico, Canada, Australia, Germany, South Africa, and New Zealand. We continue to focus on working with clients to 1) utilize its experience, technology, and training to help secure a license in states with newly emerging regulations, 2) deploy the Company's highly effective variable capacity constant harvest cultivation practices through its deployment of Cultivation MAX, and eliminate the liability of single grower dependence, 3) avoid the costly mistakes generally made in start-up, 4) stay engaged with an ever expanding team of licensees and partners, all focused on quality and safety that will "share" the ever-improving experience and knowledge of the network, and 5) continuing the expansion of our Brands Warehouse concept through entry into industry based cooperative agreements and pursuing other acquisitions as they prove suitable to our overall business development strategy.Safe Harbor StatementThis press release may contain forward-looking statements which are based on current expectations, forecasts, and assumptions that involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual outcomes and results to differ materially from those anticipated or expected, including statements related to the amount and timing of expected revenues and any payment of dividends on our common and preferred stock, statements related to our financial performance, expected income, distributions, and future growth for upcoming quarterly and annual periods. These risks and uncertainties are further defined in filings and reports by the Company with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Actual results and the timing of certain events could differ materially from those projected in or contemplated by the forward-looking statements due to a number of factors detailed from time to time in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Among other matters, the Medicine Man Technologies may not be able to sustain growth or achieve profitability based on many factors including, but not limited to, general stock market conditions. Reference is hereby made to cautionary statements set forth in the Company's most recent SEC filings. We have incurred and will continue to incur significant expenses in the expansion of our existing and new service lines, noting there is no assurance that we will generate enough revenues to offset those costs in both the near and long-term. Additional service offerings may expose us to additional legal and regulatory costs and unknown exposure(s) based upon the various geopolitical locations where we will be providing services, the impact of which cannot be predicted at this time.To be added to the Medicine Man email distribution list, please email, MDCL@ kcsa.com with MDCL in the subject line.For more information, visit us at www.medicinemantechnologies.com; Contact Information:Brett Roper viainfo@ medicinemantechnologies.com Telephone (303) 371-0387SOURCE: Medicine Man Technologies Inc. via LD Micro
PR-Inside.com: 2018-11-30 12:11:58

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Oud & Partners  a leading supplier & distributor of high quality Oud Oil aims at presenting its finest grade of Thai, Indonesian, and Cambodian Oud Oil to international marketsLONDON, UK / ACCESSWIRE / November 30, 2018 / Sustainably produced, top quality Oud Oil has achieved legendary status in recent times across traditional and non traditional markets. Its known as "Liquid Gold" and is used in the world's most luxurious fragrances by Tom Ford, Gucci, Armani, Dior and more. Market pioneers, Oud & Partners at oudpartners.com , aims at presenting its exclusive range of the finest Thai, Cambodian, and Indonesian Oud Oils, now for sale to traditional and non traditional international markets. With its focus on letting the end users know about the potential health benefits and historic importance of the precious Oud Oil. Oud & Partners aims at upscaling its overall sales through selling there unique range of the finest quality Indonesian, Thai, and Cambodian Oud Oil by the tola (12grams) and by the kilo through a two year investor partnership program.Catherine Leon  Managing Director at Oud & Partners, says, "The world is now starting to realise the incredible health benefits of pure Oud oil, we have recently seen scientific proof that oud oil is a powerful cancer treatment, this along with many other health benefits makes this oil one of the most amazing natural substances on earth, our aim is to bring Oud oil to the traditional and non-traditional markets, in Europe for instance most have never even heard of Oud oil, we aim to change that." In the given pursuit of creating the highest-quality AAA-grade Oud Oil quite famous in the Middle East, China, Japan and Korea, Oud & Partners is also looking forward to soon launching the highest-quality Indian Oud Oil for global consumers. Indian and Cambodian Oud Oil is of the finest quality out there and is, therefore, always in high demand from users all over the world. Being so highly prized due to its wide range of health as well as spiritual benefits, the Oud Oil is a highly sought-after product in Ayurvedic and Chinese medicine. Many Oud Oil collectors around the world simply love the smell and its calming properties, in the Gulf states its known as "The Scent of Heaven". Once people understand the wide scope of uses and the great demand that exists for pure Oud Oil, its anticipated the market will increase from a current $8 billion to $10 billion within the next few years. Oud & Partners is looking forward to launching its personalised line up of the finest quality high-grade Oud Oil for its end users and traders.Oud & Partners takes pride in boasting a qualified team of highly experienced distillers, plantation managers, Oud sommeliers, and executives. The entire team at Oud & Partners is committed to managing the entire lifecycle of the precious Oud Oil  its gradually become one of the most in-demand commodities in the world. Having a net retail value of around $50,000 per liter, Oud & Partners aims at serving as a reliable source supplier, offering a direct ownership opportunity allowing the end customers to get access to the finest quality of Oud Oil presently available. Oud & Partners is known for marketing & supplying AAA-grade Oud Oil from multiple sources across Asia. At the same time, Oud & Partners also sells the aged Oud Oil (belonging to there trading partners) after 24 years of its maturity  this option helps in providing a net fixed return of 35.4 percent on all Oud Oil sold. This is achieved through selling bulk Oud Oil packages to traders , who can then resell to consumers by the tola two years after the Oud Oil has matured. Oud & Partners offer there trading packages with fully integrated entry and exit prices, providing direct ownership, high security storage and an inclusive fully managed resale option. With these limited private partnerships, Oud & Partners aims at presenting the perfect balance of unparalleled Oud Oil artisan in-depth knowledge and bespoke business acumen in the US$8 billion international Oud Oil market.For more information, please visit: https://www.oudpartners.com Contact Info: Name: Jamal Chraibi Email: Send Email Organization: Oud & Partners Ltd Address: 130 Old Street, London, EC1V 9BD Phone: +44 208 2421 869Source URL: https://marketersmedia.com/oud-partners-presents-the-finest-range-of-thai-indonesian-and-cambodian-oud-oil-to-the-international-markets/452695 For more information, please visit https://www.oudpartners.com/ SOURCE: Oud & Partners Ltd
PR-Inside.com: 2018-11-30 16:06:10

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BROOKLYN, NY / ACCESSWIRE / November 30, 2018 / As climate change and environmental issues are increasingly hot topics for discussion on both a global and domestic scale (Americans' concerns about global warming are at an all-time high as reported by a recent Gallup poll), the commercial and private construction sector is experiencing a marked shift in focus towards sustainable design and material practices. Accordingto the Environmental Protection Agency, the infrastructure of the United States as a whole accounts for an estimated 38% of carbon dioxide emissions, 68% of total electricity consumption and close to 39% of total energy consumption required for power, heating, and cooling. Given this resource-intensive footprint, the potential for the construction industry to contribute meaningful, positive impacts with respect to environmental burdens is considerable. The founders of Brooklyn-based Skyline Builders Group, Greg Coady and Nick Coady provide insights into their industry's approach to incorporating improved green building strategies, reducing carbon outputs and developing sustainable business methodologies.The primary objective of sustainable building is to reduce or completely eliminate consumption of crucial resources such as land, energy, water, and raw materials and to instead design structures that are safe, future-proofed, green and practical. To help achieve these objectives, the U.S. Green Building Council developed Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design(LEED)--the most widely-used and internationally-recognized green building certification program engineered to provide a third-party verification system ensuring that the most recent and relevant environmentally-conscious and sustainable construction metrics are implemented. Applied to both commercial and residential building types, LEED has been used in the planning and implementation of an estimated 94,000 projects, covering an area of over 3 billion square feet globally. In addition to ensuring fundamental environmental benefits, LEED's growing popularity can also be explained by its delivery of cost-efficient maintenance solutions for site owners and consequently, sustained increases in real estate value. The Washington Post reports that home buyers are willing to pay an average of 3.46-7.7% more for a property with integrated green technologies, based on their understanding of sustained value (in addition to ethical motivations).The sustainable building design is evident in a wide variety of technologies and materials including timber, bamboo, biodegradables, geothermal heating, cool roofs and the use of energy-efficient appliances. For commercial properties, SkylineBuilders Group describes incorporating cutting-edge, software-basedsensor technologies as a highly-efficient tactic towards reducing energy consumption. This feature has also paved the way for companies to save money by highlighting and reevaluating the more effective use of space based on employee movements. Another example of a trending material with vast potential as a disruptor is a specialized concrete designed by microbiologist Henk Jonkers and concrete specialist Eric Schlangen with a self-healing ability and extended life cycle that will lead to major carbon emission reductions. The longevity of the new material translates into a reduced need for infrastructure improvement which in turn benefits both the investor and mother nature.Established in 2005, Brooklyn, NY-based Skyline Builders Group is a leading construction company specializing in real estate development, consulting, and restoration services. Founded by Greg Coady and Nick Coady, the firm has been recognized for delivering high quality and complex projects, providing individualized concepts based on an intimate understanding of client needs and the continued cultivation of trust-based relationships with industry partners and customers alike.Skyline Builders Group - Co-Founded by Nick Coady and Greg Coady: http://www.skylinebuildersgroupnews.com Skyline Builders Group and Its Founders, Nick Coady and Greg Coady, Analyze Factors Driving the Restoration Industry: https://finance.yahoo.com/news/skyline-builders-group-founders-nick-195000522.html Skyline Builders Group Co-Founders Nick Coady and Greg Coady Discuss the Benefits of Technology for the Construction Industry: https://finance.yahoo.com/news/skyline-builders-group-co-founders-223000723.html CONTACT INFORMATION:admin@ skylinebuildersgroup.com SOURCE: Skyline Builders Group
PR-Inside.com: 2018-11-30 15:25:01

FinTech Growth and Collaboration in Africa to Receive a Boost from the New Mauritius Africa FinTech Hub

The Mauritius Africa FinTech Hub Due to Launch in December after Appointment of New CEO

Pooja Luchmun

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After two years of intensive development, the Mauritius Africa FinTech Hub (MAFH) will be launching on the 5th of December.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20181130005

Africa has immense potential for FinTech solutions, with 52% of all mobile transactions made to and from Africa, in spite of only 20% of the continents residents owning a bank account. Africas population is predicted to overtake China in 2025 with consumer spend reaching $1.3trn by 2030. In short, Africa is forecast to be one of the biggest growth stories over the next 20 years, yet less than 1% of FinTech investment has been made in Africa in recent years.

The Mauritius Africa FinTech Hub has a clear vision of changing the outlook for the whole continent by acting as a catalyst in the regulatory environment and the pan African FinTech ecosystem.

MAFH is supported by the Mauritian government, regulatory authorities and financial service providers, both big and small. After years of planning, they have appointed Michal Szymanski as CEO, a seasoned veteran in the business incubation space, whose team is now actively preparing a tech hub environment, ready to provide help to investors, corporations, academia and entrepreneurs to harness the growth potential of FinTech.

Relative to the rest of the world, the FinTech industry in Africa has the greatest reach potential to positively influence the lives of its populations, says Michal Szymanski, about the impact that he hopes the work of his organisation will have. Our purpose is to serve the pan African FinTech ecosystem, in the regulatory environment and capacity building, while making Mauritius one of the worlds great FinTech hubs.This cannot be done alone or in isolation from cross border stakeholders, hence collaboration is key to unlocking Fintech innovations in Africa.

Mike Reese, a board member of MAFH, says he has worked closely with the financial services community over the last 15 years as part of my early efforts in designing and supporting the implementation of the IFC (International Finance Centre) status for Mauritius. I understand deeply the opportunity that it has to act as an innovator in the future of finance for the sub-continent. Being the link to capture capital and investment while attracting global innovation to ready it for the progress and benefit of Africa is a natural step for Mauritius. It has the capacity, enthusiasm and creativity to serve and benefit all stakeholders including corporates and regulators. I personally look forward to seeing this island nation grow from strength the strength as catalyst to capture the worlds attention when it comes to FinTech in Africa. 

About Mauritius Africa FinTech Hub: The Mauritius Africa FinTech is based in Port Louis, Mauritius. It is a not-for-profit organisation that exists to propel Mauritius into becoming one of the worlds next big FinTech hubs, focussed on Africa. They bring together regulators, corporates, small businesses, academia and all stakeholders to engage in the Fintech space to empower African Fintech into the future.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20181130005

Proud to announce that after two years of intensive development, the Mauritius Africa FinTech Hub (MAFH) will be having a soft launch on the 5th of December. Learn more about future plans for the hub, FinTech & Africa.
PR-Inside.com: 2018-11-30 20:30:59

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TORONTO, ON / ACCESSWIRE / November 30, 2018 / West Red Lake Gold Mines Inc. ("West Red Lake Gold" or the "Company") (CSE: RLG) (OTCQB: RLGMF) (FSE: HYK) announces exploration drilling on its West Red Lake Project located in the prolific Red Lake Gold District, Northwestern Ontario, Canada.Eight drill holes are being drilled to target gold mineralization in the NT Zone which is located on the Rowan Mine Property portion of the West Red Lake Project. The NT Zone trends north-east from the south property boundary to where this regional scale structure intersects with the east-west trending Pipestone Bay St Paul Deformation Zone ("PBS Zone"). The portion of the NT Zone being drilled is located approximately 800 metres south of the former producing Rowan Mine.Mr. John Kontak, President of West Red Lake Gold stated "We are very pleased to be exploring our promising Red Lake property. We believe that the property holds significant potential and that the current drilling program on the gold bearing NT Zone provides a good opportunity for the expansion of gold mineralization on the property." The NT Zone is a largescale alteration/deformation zone. The scale and style of the iron-carbonate alteration within the NT Zone is considered to be associated with large multi-stage hydrothermal systems. Gold mineralization in the NT Zone is associated with silica/sulphide replacement within the iron-carbonate altered Felsic volcanic and intrusive rocks.The Company property is situated on the Red Lake Archean Greenstone Belt which hosts the high grade gold mines of the Red Lake Gold District. Twenty km to the east of the Company property is the geologically similar world class Red Lake Mine and Campbell Mine, illustrating the significant exploration potential for high grade gold zones on the Company's West Red Lake Project. Three former gold mines on the West Red Lake Project property are situated on the PBS Zone.The technical information presented in this news release has been reviewed and approved by Kenneth Guy, P.Geo., a consultant to West Red Lake Gold and the Qualified Person for exploration at the West Red Lake Project, as defined under NI 43-101 "Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects".West Red Lake Gold Mines is a Toronto-based minerals exploration company focused on gold exploration and development in the prolific Red Lake Gold District of Northwest Ontario, Canada. The Red Lake Gold District is host to some of the richest gold deposits in the world and has produced 30 million ounces of gold from high grade zones. The Company has assembled a significant property position totalling 3,100 hectares in west Red Lake (the "West Red Lake Project") which contains three former gold mines. The Mount Jamie Mine and Red Summit Mine properties are 100% owned by the Company and the Rowan Mine property is held in a 60%-owned joint venture with Red Lake Gold Mines, a partnership of Goldcorp Inc. and Goldcorp Canada Ltd. The West Red Lake Project property covers a 12 kilometre strike length along the Pipestone Bay St Paul Deformation Zone and the Company plans to continue to explore the property both along strike and to depth. To find out more about West Red Lake Gold, please visit our website at http://www.westredlakegold.com For more information, please contact: John Kontak, President Phone: 416-203-9181 Email: jkontak@ rlgold.ca The Canadian Securities Exchange has neither approved nor disapproved the contents of this news release. Certain statements contained in this news release constitute "forward looking statements". When used in this document, the words "anticipated", "expect", "estimated", "forecast", "planned", and similar expressions are intended to identify forward looking statements or information. These statements are based on current expectations of management, however, they are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from the forward-looking statements in this news release. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these statements. West Red Lake Gold does not undertake any obligation to revise or update any forward- looking statements as a result of new information, future events or otherwise after the date hereof, except as required by securities laws.SOURCE:West Red Lake Gold Mines Inc.
The Central Bank of Nigeria on Thursday said it plans to boost its dollar sales to exchange bureaus after the currency weakened sharply on the black market.

The apex bank in a statement said it would introduce a special forex intervention to meet demand from individuals with dollar expenses by increasing its auction days to four from three starting on December 6.

Prior to this time, the intervention days are Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.

With the approach of the yuletide season and the resultant increase in the demand for personal/business travel allowance, the CBN has in addition to the existing market days(Monday, Wednesday and Friday) introduced a special intervention every Thursday for $15,000 per BDC (bureau de change), the bank said in a statement Thursday.

Naira weakened by 1 percent on Thursday on the black market, slumping to 370 per dollar. It was the currencys weakest decline since August 2017.

Nigeria has been hit by dollar shortages since 2016. Traders say shortages could worsen towards year end as investors close their books, leaving the central bank as the main supplier of hard currency in the market.

The bank has been using up its dollar reserves to keep the naira stable. In October, it spent $2.2 billion to prop up the currency.

On Thursday, the naira also weakened on the over-the-counter market where it is traded by banks. It was traded for 306.80 on the official market, which represents the stable rate at which the central bank has kept it for over a year through frequent interventions.

The bank said in its statement Thursday that BDCs must note that cut-off time for receiving naira deposits into their bank accounts has been scheduled for 10:00am.

Apart from its frequent interventions, the apex bank has also been raising treasury yields to lure offshore funds. However, analysts say lower oil prices and the prospect of the 2019 campaign are deterring foreign investors.

Nigerias oil minister, Ibe Kachikwu, said on Wednesday that the nation is still indecisive about whether it would entertain production cuts ahead of OPEC meeting next week.
A Nigerian writer, Chinua Ezenwa-Ohaeto, has won the New Hampshire Institute of Arts 2018 Writing Award: Narratives in Prose, Poetry.

The NHIA writing programme is centred on the idea of deeply examining stories that effectively communicate an idea in any genre.

This year, NHIA requested submissions from new and emerging writers looking to network with the literary community.

The award committee included MFA writing director Monica Bilson, administrative director of graduate studies and writing faculty Beth Ann Miller and dean of graduate studies, Lucinda bliss.

They received submissions from all over the world and after a blind peer review, selected the winner and two finalists.

As the winner, Mr Ezenwa-Ohaeto wins a $100 prize money $5000 scholarship to study in New Hampshire.

Recently, he won the Castello di Duino Poesia Prize for an unpublished poem in 2018.

On the choice of winner, the organizers said, We picked Chinuas (Ezenwa-Ohaeto) poetry as the winner because of its distinct voice and idiosyncratic use of language.

Each stanza has a surprise in it, whether its an unusual metaphor or striking image. His poetry makes you see everyday life through new eyes. The committee also picked two finalists, Amber Burke for her short story, Whats Left and NHIA alumnus and Admissions Officer, Mathew Gile, for his poem, Make a Pincer.

We had no idea the winner lives in Nigeria and one of the finalists was in the building next door until the judging process was over, but we are very pleased with the results!, Bilson added.
Popular American romance writer, Nora Roberts, has responded to plagiarism allegations made by Nigerian author, Tomi Adeyemi, on social media.

Ms Roberts is the New York Times bestselling author of more than 190 novels while Ms Adeyemi is an award-winning Nigerian writer based in the U.S.

Ms Adeyemi, in a tweet on Wednesday, accused the American writer of stealing the book title Of Blood and Bone from her own fantasy novel Children of Blood and Bone and shamelessly profiting off it.

With pictures comparing Ms Adeyemis 25-week NY Times Bestseller Children of Blood and Bone and Nora Roberts upcoming sequel Of Blood and Bone, Adeyemi tweeted: It would be nice if an artist could create something special without another artist trying to shamelessly profit off it.

Some hours later, the author retracted her statement, saying that she now believes the titles were created in isolation.

Although Ms Adeyemi tweeted an apology, explaining that Roberts reached out to her to clarify, she did not take the accusation down, leaving fans to continue to criticise the writer.

Ms Roberts, writing on her blog, addressed the issue in a post titled Mob Rule on Social Media.

In the blog post, she called out the Nigerian-American author as reckless, foolish, unprofessional and emotional, lacking basis for the accusations.

The long post has an obviously upset Roberts revealing that her team reached out to Ms Adeyemis asking that the tweet be taken down, and no reply has been given.

Here is an excerpt of the statement:

I dont believe, and have never believed in taking personal issues onto public forums. I dont believe, and have never believedwill never believein a writer attacking another writing on a public forum. Its unprofessional, its tacky and the results are, always, just always, ugly.

Recently another writer used her social media forums to baselessly, recklessly accuse me of stealing the title of her bookwhich is bullshit right offto attempt to profit from this theft. She had no facts, just her emotions, and threw this out there for her followers.

First, lets address the particular title which happens to be similar. I titled this particular book, wrote this book, turned this book into my publisher nearly a year before her booka first novelwas published.

So, unless I conquered the time/space continuum, my book was actually titled before hers. Regardless, you cant copyright a title. And titles, like broad ideas, just float around in the creative clouds. Its whats inside that counts.

Its just a title.

By accusing me, in public, of attempting to shamelessly profit off of her creativity, she incited her readers into attacking meon her feed, then on my pages, then on the internet in general. She did nothing to stop this.

I have been accused of theft, of trying to use this first time writerwhose book has been well receivedfor my own profit. To ride her coattails as I have no originality. This after more than thirty years in the business, more than two hundred books.

I was accused of plagiarismfor a titleof stealing her ideasthough I had never heard of her book before this firestorm, have never read her book.

And trust me, I never will now.

The main reason for her public address was, though Ms Adeyemi had put out an apology, she has so far done nothing to put out the fires she had started.

She wrote: While this writer issued a kind of retraction after I reached out to her, it didnt stop some of her readers from calling me a liar, and worse. We reached out again, asking her to put out the fire. Weve had no response, not from her, not from her agent. Shame on them.

https://twitter.com/tomi_adeyemi/status/1067496955108978688
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has declared Reggae music a cultural treasure worth protecting.

The Paris-based UNESCO, the cultural agency of the United Nations, made its ruling at a meeting this week.

The popular genre which developed in the early 60s from the streets of Jamaica was added to the UNs collection of cultural treasures due to its intangible cultural heritage.

Reggae musics contribution to international discourse on issues of injustice, resistance, love and humanity underscores the dynamics of the element as being at once cerebral, socio-political, sensual and spiritual, UNESCO said.

The musical style joined a list of cultural traditions that includes the horsemanship of the Spanish Riding School in Vienna and Mongolian camel-coaxing ritual. Czech puppetry, and more than 300 other traditional practices that range from boat-building, pilgrimages and cooking also made it to the list.

Other cultural treasures to make this years list include traditional hand puppetry in Egypt, bobbin lace making in Slovenia, pottery skills in Tunisia, and Irelands hurling.

Reggae emerged in the late 1960s out of Jamaicas ska and rock steady genres, also drawing influence from American jazz and blues.

The style quickly became popular in the United States as well as in Britain, where many Jamaican immigrants had moved, in the post-WWII years.

Jamaica applied for reggaes inclusion on the list at a meeting of the UN agency on the island of Mauritius in 2018, where 40 proposals were under consideration.

Reggae is uniquely Jamaican, said Olivia Grange, the Caribbean island nations culture minister, before the vote.

It is a music that we have created that has penetrated all corners of the world.

The protected list began in 2008 and grew out of the UNs convention for the safeguarding of intangible cultural heritage in 2003.

Its aims are to ensure respect for communities, groups and individuals involved in the listed activity, to raise awareness and encourage appreciation of those activities nationally and internationally.

UNESCO is best known for its World Heritage List of outstanding cultural and natural sites, which include the Grand Canyon, the Great Wall of China and the Old City of Jerusalem.
MTN Rwanda, the biggest telecoms operator in the East African nation, has signed a 50 billion franc (56.20 million dollars) loan with eight local banks, whose proceeds will be used to expand and modernise its network.

The company, which had close to 4.5 million subscribers in September, is owned by South Africas MTN Group and Crystal Telecom, a local company under the ruling partys investment branch, Crystal Ventures.

The loan, with a seven-year term, was provided by a syndicate of eight banks comprising Ecobank Rwanda, Cogebanque, BPR Atlas Mara, I&M Bank, Bank of Kigali, KCB Bank , Equity Bank and GT Trust Bank, the bank said in a statement on Wednesday.

(Reuters/NAN)
A Northern Vietnamese Court on Friday sentenced nine people to death for heroin trafficking, authorities reported.

Following a five-day trial in Ha Nam Provincial Peoples Court, the six men and three women were found guilty of trafficking around 20kg of heroin throughout northern Vietnam, according to the Cong An Nhan Dan police-run gazette.

The court also sentenced three others to life imprisonment on the same drug charge, while 10 others received sentences ranging from 12 years to 20 years.

The conspiracy began in June 2016 when ringleader Le Van Manh, among those sentenced to death, began soliciting cash investments from other conspirators to buy heroin to resell.

Under Vietnamese law, trafficking more than 100g of heroin warrants the death penalty.

(dpa/NAN)
Thousands of Australian school children walked out of class in cities around the country on Friday in a coordinated protest demanding that the government take action on climate change.

According to a Melbourne-based spokeswoman for the protest, students from several hundred primary and secondary schools joined Strike IV Climate Action rallies in Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide, Perth, and Darwin, as well as several other regional towns.

Alex, who only wanted to be identified by her first name, said around 2,000 students, mostly in their school uniform, protested in front of the Victorian state parliament in Melbourne.

The rallies were inspired by the activism of 15-year-old Swedish school girl, Greta Thunberg, who skips class every Friday to protest outside her countrys parliament.

Over 1,000 children took part in a protest at Sydneys central square Martin Place, chanting climate action now and this is what democracy looks like.

Speaking to the rally in Brisbane, 14-year-old Samara Cosijn said young people should change and adapt for the future.

We must adapt not only for our sake.

Everything from the smallest animal in the world, the Etruscan shrew, to the largest, the blue whale, is at risk of extinction because of climate change.

This is our world, this is our future and this is our time. Lets not waste a moment, Ms Cosijn said.

Resources minister, Matt Canavan, criticised the rallies, telling radio station 2GB the only thing the children would learn from protesting was how to join the queue for unemployment benefits.

(dpa/NAN)
French President Emmanuel Macron on Friday told Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman Europeans will insist on international experts being part of the investigations into Jammal Khashoggi murder.

In a five minutes exchange on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Argentina, Mr Macron conveyed very firm messages to the prince over the murder of Mr Khashoggi, an Elysee official said.

According to the official, Mr Macron said that there was also the need to find a political solution for the situation in Yemen, the official added.

Mr Salman also met other world leaders on the sidelines of the summit.

Saudi foreign ministry posted pictures of Mr Salman talking to Mr Macron and other leaders on its Twitter account. (Reuters/NAN)
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Saudi Arabias Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman exchanged a high-five and laughed heartily together on Friday as they took seats next to each other at a plenary of the Group of 20 summit.

Mr Putins friendly behaviour toward the crown prince contrasted sharply with that of other leaders at the Buenos Aires summit.

This was because of suspicions of his possible involvement in the killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul in October.

Saudi Arabia has, however, said the prince had no prior knowledge of the murder, which has sorely tested the kingdoms relations with the U.S., other Western nations and Turkey.

Russia has refrained from criticising Saudi Arabia or the crown prince over the killing. Mr Putin said in October he lacked information about the matter and said Russia would not tear up its relations with Saudi Arabia because of it.

However, Moscow has also fostered strong ties with Saudi Arabias regional arch foe Iran. Russia and Iran back President Bashar al-Assad in Syrias civil war, while Saudi Arabia along with Western countries have backed some rebel groups.

Mr Putin and Mr Mohammed are due to hold bilateral talks on Saturday, according to Kremlin documents seen by Reuters.

Earlier, Mr Mohammed was sidelined during the official family photo of world leaders at Fridays gathering and was largely ignored.

He then quickly exited the stage without shaking hands or talking with the other leaders.

The Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries as well as Russia and other leading oil producers will meet in Vienna on December 6 to December 7, to discuss further steps on the oil market as prices have been declining due to oversupply.

Riyadh has suggested OPEC and its allies reduce output by one million barrels per day from January 2019 to stem the price falls. (Reuters/NAN)
To put an end to brain drain in the health sector, the Nigerian government has been advised to provide more funds, emoluments and incentives for medical practitioners.

Nigerian doctors were also advised to participate more in politics so as to change policies affecting them. They were also advised to take on entrepreneurship and more profitable businesses.

These are some of the solutions proffered by medical experts as ways to reduce the mass exodus of Nigerian doctors to other climes.

The experts spoke during the opening ceremony and scientific conference of the Association of Resident Doctors 2018 Annual Health Week held on Wednesday.

The movement of skilled workers internationally represents brain gain for the countries that reap their skills and experience and brain drain for their countries of origin.

There has been a reported massive brain drain in the Nigerian health sector in recent years as many medical doctors are leaving the country,daily.

Nigerian doctors have been migrating to U.S, Canada, Saudi Arabia, the UK and many other nations across the globe.

It is estimated that at least 12 Nigerian doctors leave the shores of this country to practice overseas, weekly.

Ekpe Phillips, the chairman of the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA), Abuja Branch, in his lecture at the event, advised the government to emulate the concept used by India to bring back their medical professionals who migrated to other countries.

India was able to conquer brain drain because they offered an interest free loan to all their medical professionals abroad, Mr Phillips who was the guest speaker of the event, explained.

The loan was for them to establish whatever facility of their dream in their country. The (Indian) government also provided incentives and conducive working condition and their doctors came home. Today, India has joined the list of countries in brain gain! They make a whole lot of money in medical tourism.

Health Sector Collapse

Mr Phillips warned that if brain drain continues unchecked, it will lead to the collapse of the nations health sector.

This exodus is continuously increasing. We produce 1600 doctors every year and 1200 are leaving the country. With the number of doctors getting old and retiring, you see there is no replacement which is a big problem that might lead to collapse of the Nigerian health system if not tackled.

The NMA official also raised alarm on internal brain drain currently ongoing in the country. Most doctors move from places such as Borno to the FCT, where they consider a more conducive environment. This is internal brain drain which should also be checked.

While brain gain represents migration of intellectuals from other countries, health experts say the return of Nigerian doctors practicing abroad should be considered a brain gain for the country.

In his lecture, Edward Ogundaye, a health entrepreneur and activist, said more attention should rather be paid on curbing the trend of health experts leaving the country.

A poll conducted in August 2017 by the Nigerian Polling Organisation, (NOI) in partnership with Nigeria Health Watch found that for over 90 per cent of medical doctors intend to seek employment opportunities abroad because of low job satisfaction, poor remuneration and high deductibles from their salaries.

Mr Ogundaye, the managing director of Supreme Med-tech, said the way out is for doctors to go into private practice and entrepreneurship.

The influence of the government is more or less irrelevant to the health sector. So the way out is for doctors to go into private practice and partnerships. When medical profession is practiced as a private business, you will see it will be managed with utmost attention, he explained.

Mr Ogundaye also urged medical professionals to go into politics so as to influence policies that affect them such as raising funds, incentives and good working conditions.

Change in Nigerias medical curriculum

The president of the Resident Doctors Abuja Chapter, Michael Olarewaju, while addressing journalists after the event, stressed the need for a change in the curriculum for students in the medical profession.

There is need for a whole paradigm shift to take place. The medical council has to design a curriculum for entrepreneurship for student doctors so when they leave school, they will have an idea of how to run the profession as a business venture.

When I was in school I was only taught of how to treat patients but nobody taught me how to do business with the profession or even make money off it. We have to design the curriculum in business management. The medical practice in Nigeria should be restructured.

The government is worried about this trend of mass exodus and brain drain in the health sector, the minister of health, Isaac Adebowale said during an interview on Wednesday evening with PREMIUM TIMES.

This is why President Muhammadu Buhari asked the national security adviser to chair an inter-ministerial panel on how to check brain drain and turn it into brain grain, the minister explained.

A previous Investigation by this newspaper showed that while relevant medical agencies in Nigeria could not provide official data on emigrant doctors, a statistics from General Medical Council (GMC) UK, as at July 2017 reveals that over 4,765 Nigerian doctors are working in the UK. This is 1.7 per cent of the total of the UKs medical workforce.

Official records reveal that Nigeria currently has one doctor to 3,500 patients in the country, which is a far cry to the WHO recommendation of one doctor to 600 patients.
A total of 73 of Nigerias 91 political political parties are set to take part in next years general elections having submitted details of their candidates to the electoral commission, INEC, before the deadlines, an official has said.

The Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Mahmood Yakubu, said this in his opening remarks at the two-day capacity building workshop by INEC and the European Center for Elelectoral Support (ECES) to train journalists on INEC beat.

He also said the commission has been joined as a respondent in about 396 suits in various courts across the nation.

He revealed that at the end of the period for the substitution and withdrawal of candidates for the presidential election, 73 political parties had filed their nominations.

He also said a few parties (which he did not name) among the 79 that listed presidential candidates, nominated candidates below the mandatory age of thirty-five (35) years for presidential and vice presidential candidates and the attention of the parties concerned had been drawn to it.

Noting the importance of the media, he said the commission sees the press as partners and is organising the workshop to carry the press along for the success of the general election.

According to Mr Yakubu, elections are not just about the right to vote but the knowledge of the voting process.

This includes information about political parties, candidates and their programmes, facilitating the full participation of the citizenry in the democratic elections, which is why the media plays an important role.

The media needs unfettered access to information, he said.

With the campaigns for governorship and state assembly elections beginning Saturday, December 1, the commission has successfully implemented seven out of the 14 activities on the commissions timetable, he said.

The chairman noted the commission will never tolerate any breach of the strict timelines provided for.

For National Assembly elections, he also revealed that 1,848 candidates: 1,615 males and 233 females are vying for 109 senatorial seats while 4,635 candidates: 4,066 male and 569 female are competing for the 360 seats in the House of Representatives.

For state elections, 1,068 candidates (980 males and 88 females) are contesting for 29 governorship positions with 805 males and 263 females for deputy governorship slots.

He said the commission was working on the list of candidates nominated by political parties for the 991 state assembly constituencies as well as the 68 area council chairpersons and councillorship positions.

He, however, assured the full list of candidates and their political parties will be published for public information in line with the commissions timetable and schedule of activities.

Challenges.

The chairman lamented the nature of primaries by parties in recent times, and their internal party democracy.

He also revealed the commission has been joined in 396 pending actions in various courts across the country arising from the conduct of party primaries and nomination of candidates by political parties.

He said the commission also received 302 requests for Certified True Copies (CTC) of documents, mainly from its monitoring of party primaries and copies of personal particulars of candidates.

These requests, he said, are obviously a prelude to more court actions.

He said they also received 52 petitions and protests from aggrieved party aspirants. He said this implies that ahead of the general elections, there will be pre-election litigations.

Parties that fail to respect the democratic process in selecting candidates during primary elections lose the moral right to complain about secondary elections. I wish to reassure the nation that we shall continue to maintain our neutrality as the umpire, registrar and regulator of political parties, he said.

In his goodwill message, the project director, ECES, Rudolf Ebling, said in view of the commissions commitment to conduct free and fair elections in 2019, it has become imperative to engage unique groups on emerging electoral issues.
The police in Sokoto State on Friday said a strange group sighted in a part of the state was not operating on Nigerian territory or carrying arms.

PREMIUM TIMES earlier Friday reported complaints by locals that a strange armed group from neighbouring Niger Republic was operating in parts of Tangaza Local Government Area of the Sokoto State, carrying arms and demaning levies from residents.

The police, however, downplayed the complaints by residents of the border community.

Speaking on Friday evening, police spokesperson in the state, Cordelia Nwawe, told PREMIUM TIMES that the state police commissioner, Murtala Mani, and his deputy in charge of operations, Baba Isa, went to Tangaza on Friday to attend to the situation.

Theres nothing like armed bandits, there is no need for people to be scared. The commissioner of police and his deputy in charge of operations went and saved the situation, Mrs Nwawe said.

Theres no need for people to be apprehensive because whatever happened to Niger Republic has nothing to do with Nigeria. Those people are not operating in Nigeria but Niger Republic. Tangaza is a boundary community, despite people alleged that they saw strange people in the area with their camels, donkeys and wives, it is not in Nigeria.

But were not taking anything lightly because we have mobilised more conventional policemen to make sure the people did not infiltrate into Nigeria, Mrs Nwawe said.

She said the police were doing their job in Sokoto State but cannot go into another country to arrest criminals.

If someone commits a crime and ran to Niger Republic, we liaise with the authorities to bring back the suspect here, especially when the crime was committed on Nigerian territory, said the police spokesperson.
Senior police officers have told PREMIUM TIMES that the ambush on a police team in Zamfara State on Thursday ended with the loss of dozens of police officers.

The account, which was also corroborated by civilian sources near the scene of the incident in Zurmi Local Government Area, contradicted an official account provided by the police on the attack Friday afternoon.

Police spokesperson Jimoh Moshood said in Abuja Friday afternoon that officers repelled the ambush, killing 104 bandits in the process. He also said 50 hideouts used by the bandits were razed by officers, and stolen cattle and sheep were recovered.

Birnin Mogaji, an agrarian community where Mr Moshood said the incident occurred at about 4:00 p.m., and surrounding communities, has become a regular target of bandits who have been undertaking a series of robberies in the state in recent years. The bandits often target herders for their livestock, farms for their produce and even kidnap persons for humongous ransom.

Mr Moshood, an acting deputy police commissioner, said normal activities have been restored to the communities as of Friday afternoon. He also said Habila Joshak, the deputy inspector-general in charge of operations, had been dispatched to oversee police operations in the troubled state.

Mr Moshood later sent the names of 16 suspects, who range from 18 to 59 years to PREMIUM TIMES Friday night, saying they had been paraded for their alleged involvement in the ambush and banditry in Zamfara. Arms and ammunition allegedly recovered from them were also shown to the media.

But that was not everything that happened, a senior police officer said. What was in the official statement is different from the reality being faced at the Force Headquarters.

The officer said a series of emergency meetings have been held over the matter, amidst concerted schemes to contain the aftermath of the large-scale losses.

The DIG Operations was hurriedly sent to supervise security over there. They would not do that if it was only a police officer that was killed, the senior police officer added.

The officer preferred not to be named because he was not authorised to speak to journalists.

Civilian sources close to the community also said the word had already circulated around the area that dozens of police officers were killed in the shootouts with bandits on Thursday.

We have heard of it, but because it is a security matter, we are being careful on what to say, a resident said under anonymity to avoid being traced and victimised by security agents.

It was not immediately learnt the specific number of officers killed by the bandits, or whether their bodies have been recovered. They were amongst the 1,000-strong police contingent sent to the state in a fresh redeployment on November 9, police said.

Apart from hundreds of civilians killed, the police and the Nigerian Army have suffered casualties in Zamfara since security agencies were deployed to regain control of the state from bandits.

As of August 2018, an estimated 3,000 people have been killed and thousands of homes destroyed in the attacks in recent years, according to the state government. Thousands fleeing the crisis have been settling in neighbouring states, triggering humanitarian emergency.

The Nigerian Air Force has carried out regular aerial bombardments of the bandits positions throughout 2018, a response that has helped impose normalcy in many troubled parts of the state.
The Federal Government of Nigeria has directed vice-chancellors of striking public universities across the country to enforce no-work-no-pay rule on the striking lecturers.

PREMIUM TIMES gathered on Friday that the directive to implement the no work, no pay policy was communicated to the universities in a memo sent by the Nigerian Universities Commission (NUC) to university vice-chancellors.

The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) had on November 4 declared indefinite, nationwide strike over non-implementation of previous agreements by the federal government and demand for increased university funding.

At least two meetings have been held between the lecturers and the government since the strike commenced. However, both parties are yet to reach an agreement.

In the memo signed by NUC Director of Research, Information and Technology S.B Ramon-Yusuf, the university regulator stated that payment of salaries from any other sources but government funding will be viewed as violation of extant rules and government directive.

The memo reads, In view of the current Industrial action by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), the federal government has directed that there shall be no payment of any form of salaries and allowances to the staff on strike in federal and inter-varsity centers.

Consequently, I am to direct Vice-Chancellors to apply the No-work-no-pay rule. However, Universities and inter-varsity centers are to pay salaries and allowances to Non-teaching staff.

All Vice Chancellors and Directors of centers should note that the salaries to staff on strike from whatever source of funds shall be viewed as violation of extant rules and directive of the federal government of Nigeria.

In a reaction to the memo, the Chairman of University of Ibadan chapter of ASUU, Deji Omole, described the federal government as shameless for owing lecturers seven years of unpaid, earned academic allowances. He said despite the debt, the government still wants lecturers to continue to work while the presidency and the National Assembly feed fat on the wealth of the nation.

Mr Omole in a statement made available to PREMIUM TIMES Friday evening said it is sad that a government that prides itself as having integrity has shown it lacks integrity by failing to honour agreements reached with the union. He said the government has resulted to harassment and intimidation of ASUU members on a patriotic struggle to save public education in Nigeria.

He said the no work, no pay directive will not deter the lecturers.

We have passed this road before. It is a familiar terrain which we can navigate with our eyes closed.

We shall triumph any attempt to destroy the common patrimony. The power of the people is stronger than the people in power,  the lecturer said.
Indications emerged on Thursday that Nigeria is preparing to sell its stranded electricity to Burkina Faso, as the nations power industry continues to battle challenges.

The planned energy export is being put in place by the concessionaire of Kainji and Jebba hydro power stations, Mainstream Energy Solutions Limited, MESL.

The company said it had been approached by the West African nation and it was ready for a deal.

I am complaining that I have energy that cannot be utilised, said the managing director of the company, Lamu Audu, on Thursday. And some of us are actually looking beyond the borders of Nigeria to sell our power if the Nigerian market cannot take it because we have to remain in business-we have responsibilities to our shareholders.

Investments have been made, and that is why we are looking into the West African market. Honestly, we are already talking to Burkina Faso. They approached us and we are willing to have deals with them to sell power to them. They are willing to buy.

Mr Audu said this at the PwCs Annual Power and Utilities Roundtable in Lagos.

The company acquired Kainji and Jebba power plants through a concession agreement in November 2013, following the privatisation of the power sector.

Speaking during a panel session at the event, Mr Audu said when the firm took over in 2013, it had not a single generating unit in operation although it had an installed capacity of 760 MW.

He explained that Jebba had an installed capacity of 578 .4 MW, with six generating units.

However, he said, the company took over five generating units that had not been overhauled in 30 years.

As we speak today, we generate 20 to 25 per cent of the energy going into the grid, Mr Audu said.

We have ramped up our capacity at Kainji from zero to 440 MW. At Jebba, what we concentrated on is the reliability of the existing units. We utilised the capacity of our staff to recover some of the units.

Currently, we have a capacity of 922 MW but, on the average, it is only 600 MW to 650 MW that is utilised. So, we have stranded energy, which is seriously impacting on our ability to attract more funding for capacity recovery and capacity expansion.

Issues of blackout and perennial power failure have impeded on the nations growth and development for decades. A number of public officials who promised to deliver when appointed into the power ministry end up failing to actualise their dreams.

The minister of Power, Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, has however said at different fora that the nations power situation has improved.

On Thursday, Mr Audu said some stakeholders are looking beyond the shores of Nigeria to attract investment and optimise underutilised power.

He also explained that the challenges in the Nigerian power industry are complex, adding that they nation may not experience uninterrupted power supply until the next two decades.
Abia and Edo states have emerged winners in the maiden edition of a long-term development plan pitching competition organised as part of events at the 7th Niger Delta Development Forum (NDDF). They defeated six other candidates in the region.

The forum which was held on Tuesday and Thursday, in Edo and Rivers states respectively, is a project of the Foundation for Partnership Initiatives in the Niger Delta (FPIND), supported by a range of other development partners.

According to the organisers, the competition was introduced to serve as a window for the nine states of the Niger Delta to share their expectations and plans for long-term developmental planning processes led by the state governments and for them to get expert recommendation on policy actions and strategies.

The winning states will be offered technical assistance and capacity support towards ensuring their aspirations are brought to reality, the organisers said at the commencement of the event on Tuesday.

Top government officials were invited to eloquently present their states economic roadmaps and development strategies, as well as how they intend to fund and implement the stated plans. They were also engaged by a panel of judges who provided feedback and quizzed them based on observations.

Commenting on the performances, Joe Abah, DAI Nigeria Country Director and the lead judge at the event, said they did well in covering their respective development needs and presenting plans on how they hope to further develop.

He said the key qualities that determined how well they performed included the workability of their proposals, likelihood of being able to resource plans, capacity to deliver results, the extent to which there is an implementation plan, and how they have been to involve a variety of stakeholders.

I believe by going through the exercise itself will be of benefit to them; and so whether or not a state emerges tops at the end of the exercise, we should have given them something with which to do more work, he observed.

Chichi Aniagolu-Okoye, Country Director of Water Aid and one of the judges at the event, congratulated all participants and said all the presentations were impressive and well-researched. She advised the various governments to prioritise their policies wisely, while also paying attention to how the civil service and civil society may help in executing noted plans.

Its important that the states pay attention to their comparative advantage, she said. I know that, if you are a state government, there are so many competing interests. Ask yourself what are the three things that if you do, you will be able to catalyse development; for instance, electricity.

A lot of the plans we heard were really quite external; they were not looking internally. We should ask: How do restructure the civil service to be able to deliver on the plans because part of the reasons our plans have not worked so far is because the structure to deliver them are very weak.

Other judges at the event were Toyosi Akerele, founder and Chief Executive Officer of Rise Networks; Seun Akinsanya, Lagos State Director of Economic Planning; Chichi Aniagolu-Okoye, Country Director of Water Aid; Abel Akeni, Head of Innovation at BudgIT; and Seun Ojo, Head of the Nigerian Economic Summit Groups Public Policy Intelligence and Reform Management Unit.

In his welcome address, Dara Akala, PINDs Executive Director, thanked the foundations development partners, and allies from the civil society sector and media for their support.

He also explained that the 2018 edition of the forum is focusing on development planning as a way of consolidating on the resolutions reached in the previous year.

The purpose really is for us to harmonise and discuss key development issues, and what we are always trying to achieve is to influence government policies of the region, to foster partnerships through this forum, and to attract investment into the region, he said.

We do know that there is a school of thought that believes that we dont need plans, that it is not plan that is our problem, it is execution. But we simply defer from that. We need execution no doubt; but we also need very clear, comprehensive and coherent plans that will underpin development efforts at the sub national level In Nigeria and, in particular, in the Niger Delta region.

There are several kinds of agenda in the states, but what is often missing is that long-term strategic plan that will transcend the life of any administration. That is where we want to get the states to be, Mr Akala said.

The Niger Delta Development Forum is an annual event organised by PIND and supported by other organisations such as Market Development in the Niger Delta (MADE), the European Union, Department for International Development (DFID), Faculty for Oil Sector Transformation (FOSTER), and Development Alternatives Inc. (DAI).
The Senate leader, Ahmed Lawan, has advised President Muhammadu Buhari to take his time to study the electoral bill sent to him for assent by the National Assembly.

Mr Buhari has declined assent to the electoral bill thrice, citing drafting issue.

There have calls for the president to sign the key bill ahead of general elections next year.

Mr Buharis main challenger in the polls, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, on Thursday urged the president to sign the bill if he truly wants the election to be free and fair.

The bill makes the use of card readers mandatory for the polls, providing the potential for curbing fraud.

The National Assembly sent another version to the president early November after working on the observations he made.

Former president of the Nigerian Bar Association, Olisa Agbakoba, had also asked Mr Buhari to assent to the latest version of the bill sent to him.

Speaking with State House correspondents on Friday, the Senate leader, Mr Lawan, said the fact that the bill has been sent back three times shows that  the president is willing to sign the bill provided it meets certain conditions that will make our electoral processes better and more sane.

Mr Lawan said the president was studying the bill and he should not be expected to just sign without studying it.

This is a sign that he is really interested in what we sent back to him. It is for him and his advisers to read through line by line and see how best the electoral process can be enhanced.

So, I dont think we have run out of time, in fact I think we should encourage the president and those helping him to complete going through the bill before he signs. What is the problem?

And I will advise, even though I am not one of his advisers, that he goes through what has been sent to him line by line, understand whatever his advisers will tell him and of what we have sent will make the elections in 2019 better, then he signs.

But if he discovers some provisions that will bring contradictions and controversies, he can withhold assent. Im not advocating that he withholds assent but if he does, that is his right.

I want to tell you that the APC caucus in the National Assembly stands with Mr. President on this, he said.

Mr Lawan also said President Muhammadu Buhari has signed more bills than previous presidents in the country.

Previous government of President Jonathan didnt sign much, they kept most of the bills sent by the National Assembly.

So I want to give kudos to the president for ensuring that he looks into the bills before signing. Some he said he wont sign because of this or that provisions which are either contradictory constitutionally or maybe it will cause more harm than good, so therefore the National Assembly should look into it again, he said.

The Senate leader also said if Mr Buhari fails to sign the new electoral bill, the country can still use 2006 Electoral Act as amended which was used in 2015 for an election that was adjudged to be free, fair and an improved process.

We dont necessarily put so much pressure and unneeded criticism of the president when he is yet to complete his analysis of what has been sent to him. He needs to take his time, he said.

On whether the National Assembly has taken care of the issues raised by Mr Buhari in the latest bill sent to him, Mr Lawan simply said I think we have taken into consideration the observations made by Mr. President and the comment.
The police in Jigawa State on Friday said they arrested a father and two of his sons over the death of another son in Jahun Local Government Area of the state.

Abdu Jinjiri, the police spokesman in the state, made this known to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Dutse.

Mr Jinjiri said that the police, on November 29, at about 1:25 p.m., received a report from Kamai village in Jahun town, that one Hayatu Mamman, 22, was found dead at about 1 a.m.

On Nov. 29 at about 1:25 pm, a report came to Jahun Division that at about 1 pm, one Hayatu Mamman Sanusi, aged 22, of Kamai Village, Jahun LG, was killed in cold blood inside his bedroom by unknown person or persons.

That they used a knife and slot the deceased on his neck, Mr Jinjiri said.

The police spokesman explained that upon receipt of the report, the police moved to the scene immediately.

He said that the police discovered that the father of the deceased and two of his sons was found to have dug a grave inside the room and were attempting to bury the corpse.

The spokesman added that both the father and the two sons were arrested, while the corpse was taken to Jahun General Hospital for medical examination.

On receipt of the report, the police proceeded to the scene, where the father of the deceased and his two other sons dug a grave inside the room, trying to bury the corpse without informing anybody.

Hence they were all suspected and arrested. Meanwhile, the corpse was conveyed to Jahun General Hospital for medical examination.

A knife and clothes were recovered from the deceaseds room, the spokesman added.

According to him, the corpse of the deceased was later released to his relatives for burial, while the case was under investigation. (NAN)
"With her role as a Chamber ambassador, Georgene is one of the friendly faces welcoming businesses to our town," Schielke said. "She's at all of the ribbon cuttings and I can also count on her to fill me in on historical facts of a building. Georgene is not only an ambassador for the chamber, but for the entire city of Batavia."
The International Organisation for Migration (IOM) and the federal government on Friday intensified their campaign against irregular migration at the Global Migration Film Festival (GMFF) in Lagos.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the festival featured films and documentaries that captured the challenges of migration and the unique contributions that migrants make to their new communities.

The GMFF which held at the Goethe Institute, Lagos, witnessed the screening of a short film Granma by Nigerian filmmaker, Alfie Nze.

It also displayed another documentary Bush fallers  A Journey of Chasing Dreams which was directed by Nils Keding.

IOM Nigeria Programme Support Officer, Alex Cole, said the GMFF used films as educational tools to change perceptions and attitudes toward migrants.

She explained that it is also a way of bringing attention to social issues and creating safe spaces for respectful debate and interaction.

Ms Cole said: The goal of the festival is to pave the way for greater discussion around one of the greatest phenomenon of our time.

Films have the power to show different facets of life, which can in turn help viewers to cultivate deeper empathy for migrants and a better understanding of their realities, needs, perspectives and capacities.

Furthermore, the festival is an innovative creative avenue for normalising discussions of migration through storytelling.

It is an advocacy tool that can also draw attention to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), thus helping all nations as they work to meet them, she said.

According to her, IOM Nigeria is aware of the benefits of enabling an open dialogue between migrants and communities of origin and destination.

We have initiatives in Nigeria to that effect including the Migrants as Messengers project, the Abroad Mata radio series and the Aware Migrants campaign.

With this first edition of the festival in Nigeria we hope to encourage candid discussions around this very relevant topic today, she added.

Ms Cole said the IOM would continue to sensitise Nigerians on the dangers of irregular migration and create awareness centres to provide adequate information on the prospect and opportunities available in their destination countries.

Also speaking, Sadiya Farouq, Federal Commissioner, National Commission for Refugees, Migrants and Internally Displaced Persons (NCFRMI), commended IOM for facilitating the voluntary return of over 10,000 Nigerians from Libya since 2017.

Ms Farouq, represented by Margaret Ukaegbu, Zonal Coordinator, South West, NCFRMI, said the IOM in collaboration with the commission and other stakeholders had been in the forefront of migrant issues in Nigeria.

We are delighted that this years edition is holding in Nigeria and the fact that Nigeria is the first country in West and Central Africa to host the festival.

It is hoped that the various lessons to be learned today will be passed across to the various departments of our organisations and the public.

We hope it will also provide durable and efficient solutions to the imminent problems and challenges of irregular migration, she said. (NAN)
The trial of a Benue State lecturer, Andrew Ogbujah, who allegedly raped 13-year-old Ochanya Ogbanje was stalled on Friday, following the absence of the magistrate, Isaac Ajim.

Mr Ogbuja and his son, Victor, were brought before the Magistrate Court by the State Police Command, for their alleged involvement in a series of rape that resulted in the death of Miss Ogbanje.

The victim contacted Vesico-Vaginal Fistula (VVF) from the series of rape that lasted over five years.

While the lecturer has denied culpability, his son is still missing. The young Ogbuja disappeared when investigations began.

The matter had been adjourned till November 29 but was stalled again by the absence of the judge in court on Thursday.

Speaking with PREMIUM TIMES about the current development in a telephone interview, a guardian of the deceased, Enuwa Soo, who had catered for Miss Ogbanje shortly before her death, said the case was adjourned after the court clerk informed parties that the magistrate was away in Abuja, for a program.

The case could not continue today because the judge was said to have gone to Abuja for a conference, Ms Soo told PREMIUM TIMES.

The trial was later adjourned till December 14 for further hearing.

Mr Ogbujas wife has also been arrested in connection with the matter.

Thursdays hearing was reportedly attended by the Benue State Commissioner of Justice, Mike Gusa, who pledged the state governments commitment towards ensuring justice for the late Ms Ogbanje.

Ms Ogbanjes death has drawn widespread criticism on Nigerias efforts towards the protection of its vulnerable groups, especially young girls and children.

While individuals and groups have demanded justice for Ms Ochanya, others have called for the implementation of structures that will help avoid a recurrence.
The Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) has denied allegations that it failed to remit N177 billion of its 2017 revenue into the Consolidated Revenue Fund, as required by law.

A statement made available to PREMIUM TIMES by the NPA said the Senates allegation was without foundation.

The Nigerian Senate had on Wednesday, given its committee on Marine Transport three days to determine if the alleged N177 billion unremitted fund was in the custody of the NPA.

A member of the committee, Mohammed Hassan, had called the attention of his colleagues to the issue while raising a point of order. Mr Hassan said the agency in 2017 made a gross revenue of N303 billion, out of which N125 billion was spent but the remaining N177 billion was not remitted to the federal government.

The lawmaker said the management of the agency has rebuffed every move by the Senate to ascertain the whereabouts of the fund.

The NPA in its statement Thursday said total revenue generated by the Authority in the Year 2017 stood at N303.9 billion while total expenditure (inclusive of recurrent and capital) amounted to N205.8 billion.

Of the N303.9bn generated revenue, the sum of N60.12 billion represents uncollectable revenue from concessionaires attributed to clauses in the concession agreements, which the authority said it is currently reviewing.

Consequently, the statement said, the operating surplus for the authority in 2017 was N38 billion.

Therefore, the sum of N30.4 billion, which represents 80% of the operating surplus that the Authority is required to remit to the CRF in line with the Fiscal Responsibility Act, 2007, has been duly paid into the Consolidated Revenue Fund by the Authority with receipt of payment already issued by the office of the Accountant-General of the Federation, the NPA said.

These computations arise from the Authoritys management account pending the conclusion of the audit of the 2017 financial statement, which is ongoing.

It is pertinent to also note that the Authority has already remitted the sum of N11.3bn for 2018 CRF contribution into the Consolidated Revenue Fund with the use of Authoritys management account ahead of auditing for 2018.

The NPA said it is ready to present all documents needed to provide clarification to the Senate committee on marine transport and the Senate.

On a final note, while we appreciate the constitutional oversight role of distinguished senators on the operations of the NPA, we suggest greater restraint on issues that deal with the integrity of national institutions even as we assure of our respect for the Senate, the statement highlighted.
President Muhammadu Buhari has warned against politicising religion, saying Christians and Muslims in Nigeria can flourish together.

Mr Buhari said this in an opinion article published by the News Agency of Nigeria.

The article earlier appeared on the UK-based Christian Times on Friday.

In the article, the president referenced a Biblical verse and argued that Christians and Muslims share the same root, although their believes differ.

Read the op-ed below:

In 1844, the Revd Samuel Ajayi Crowther returned home to Yoruba land (now part of modern-day Nigeria). Twenty years earlier, he had been kidnapped and sold to European slave traders who were bound for the Americas. He was freed by an abolitionist naval patrol, and received by the Church Missionary Society. There, he found his calling.

Crowther made his voyage home to establish the first Anglican mission in Yoruba land. He came with the first Bibles translated into Yoruba and Hausa languages. He opened dialogue and discussion with those of other faiths. And his mission was a success: Crowther later became the first African Anglican bishop in Africa.

Today, Nigeria has the largest Christian population on the continent. The messages and teachings of Christianity are part of the fabric of each persons life.

Along with the millions of Christians in Nigeria today, I believe in peace, tolerance, and reconciliation; in the institution of the family, the sanctity of marriage, and the honour of fidelity; in hope, compassion, and divine revelation.

Like Bishop Crowther, I am a descendant of Abraham; unlike him, I am a Muslim. I believe our two great religions can not only peacefully coexist but also flourish together. But Muslims and Christians must first turn to one another in compassion. For, as it says in Amos 3.3: Do two walk together, unless they have agreed to meet?

As they are People of the Book, I believe that there is far more that unites Muslims and Christians than divides them. In fact, I believe that the messages of the Bible are universal: available for anyone to exercise, and instructive to all.

We must resist the temptation to retreat into our communities, because, if we do, we can only look inwards. It is only when we mix that we can reach new and greater possibilities.

Whichever religion or religious denomination they choose to follow, Nigerians are devout. Anything that Nigerians believe will place impositions on their practice, and belief is therefore sure to cause widespread alarm.

And, unfortunately, there are those who seek to divide Nigerians  and our two great religions  and to do so for their own advantage.

I stand accused  paradoxically  of trying to Islamise Nigeria while also being accused by Boko Haram terrorists of being against Islam. My Vice-President is a devout man, a Christian pastor. He, too, is accused of selling out his religion, because of his support for me.

This is not the first time that I  nor, indeed, my Christian-Muslim evenly split cabinet  have been the subject of such nonsense. Fortunately, the facts speak differently from the words of those who seek to divide us from one another.

Since my administration has been in power, Boko Haram has been significantly and fatally degraded; I have befriended church leaders and church groups both within and outside our country; my Vice-President has addressed and opened dialogue with Muslims up and down our land.

In all things, we seek that which all well-meaning Christians and well-meaning Muslims must seek: to unite, respect, and never to divide. Does it not say There is no compulsion in religion (Quran 2.256)? Does it not say Forbid him not: for he that is not against us is for us (Luke 9.50)? This, surely, is the path that followers of both our two great religions must walk.

UNFORTUNATELY, those who wish us all to walk apart have recently found another focus for their efforts: the tragic clashes between nomadic herdsmen and settled farmers in the central regions of Nigeria.

For generations, herders have driven their cattle from the north to the centre of our country; they tend to be predominantly Muslim, although not exclusively. The farmers, in certain areas of central Nigeria, are predominantly Christian.

The causes of this conflict are not religious or theological, but temporal. At the heart of this discord is access to rural land, exacerbated both by climate change and population growth.

Sadly, there are some who seek to play fast and loose and so make others believe that these are not the facts. When religion is claimed as the cause  and by those who know that it is not  it only makes finding a resolution more difficult.

The government has taken action to mediate, to bring the two groups together in peace and unity. But we also need all parties to follow the teachings of the scriptures, and encourage reconciliation rather than cause division. As it is said: Having eyes do you not see, and having ears do you not hear? (Mark 8.18).

As our constitution codifies, politicising religion has no place in Nigeria; for it makes us turn away from one another; it makes us retreat into our communities and walk different paths.

I believe that there is a better way. To those who seek to divide, I still hold my hand out in brotherhood and forgiveness. I ask only that they stop, and instead encourage us to turn towards one another in love and compassion. Nigeria belongs to all of us. This is what I believe.
The police said on Friday that 104 bandits have been killed in a special anti-rustling operation conducted in Zamfara State on Thursday.

The police said 50 hideouts of the bandits were also destroyed and hundreds of stolen cattle and sheep recovered and handed to the owners.

One police officer was killed during the operation in Birnin Mogaji, Zurmi Local Government Area, police spokesperson Jimoh Moshood said in a statement.

Birnin Mogaji and surrounding communities have become a regular target of bandits who have been undertaking a series of robberies in the state in recent years. The bandits often target herders for their livestock, farms for their produce and even kidnap persons for humongous ransom.

Mr Moshood, an acting deputy police commissioner, said police officers on a patrol in Zurmi LGA were ambushed by the bandits, but sharply repelled the attacks.

Normal activities have been restored to the communities as of Friday afternoon, the police said.

The attack comes as Inspector-General Ibrahim Idris sent Habila Joshak, the deputy inspector-general in charge of operations, to oversee police operations in Zamfara State, all largely aimed at checking worsening banditry.

Mr Idris dispatched a contingent of 1,000 police officers to the state on November 9, under Police Joint Intervention Team. The team included seven units of Police Mobile Force (PMF) headed by an assistant police commissioner, Counter Terrorism Unit (CTU), Federal Special Anti-Robbery Squad (FSARS), Police Anti-Bomb (EOD) Squad, and conventional police officers

The police said the operation has so far led to the arrest of 85 suspects, recovery of 27 AK-47 rifles and 52 locally made, amongst other weapons used by the criminals.

Two hundred and sixty-nine cattle, 109 sheep were recovered and handed over to their owners.

Plans to parade the suspects arrested within the period are already underway, police said.
President Muhammadu Buhari will depart Abuja Saturday for Katowice, Poland, to attend the 24th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP24) under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

The COP24 Summit, which will be held at the International Conference Centre (MCK) and the adjacent Spodek Arena in Katowice, is being convened under the Presidency of Poland and will end on December 4.

According to the organisers, the conference is expected to finalise the rules for the implementation of the Paris Agreement on Climate Change under the Paris Agreement Work Programme (PAWP)  the rule book for implementation.

Mr Buharis spokesperson, Femi Adesina, in a statement on Friday, said the president will deliver a national statement highlighting Nigerias commitment to addressing climate change by implementing the goals set out in its National Determined Contributions during the Leaders Summit at COP24.

He will also use the occasion to accentuate Nigerias willingness to work with international partners to reverse the negative effects of climate change in Africa and the world over, while expecting that developed nations scale up their emission reduction activities in order to limit the increase in average global temperatures to well below 2 degrees centigrade between now and 2020, the statement said.

It also said the Leaders Summit is expected to adopt a Declaration on Solidarity and Just Transition Silesia,  named after the region of Poland where this years climate conference is taking place.

As a member of the Committee of the African Heads of State on Climate Change  a group of 10 African countries that meets and takes positions concerning issues of climate change on behalf of the continent  Nigeria has been at the forefront of advancing policies and initiatives aimed at addressing significant challenges occasioned by climate change such as reviving the Lake Chad, halting and reversing desertification, flooding, ocean surge and oil spillage.

President Buhari will continue to champion these pressing issues at COP24 in Katowice, among others, as well as reiterate Nigerias position on the need for African countries to access financial resources, especially the Green Climate Fund to draw up climate change adaptation policies and actions for implementation, Mr Adesina said.

He said the Nigerian delegation will also showcase the policy measures and actions of the Federal Government at ensuring environmental sustainability and effectively combating climate change through several side events within the Nigerian pavilion.

While in Poland, Mr Buhari will hold an interactive session with the Nigerian community in that country.

The Nigerian leader is also scheduled to hold bilateral meetings with the President of Poland, Andrzej Duda, and Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki.

The president will be accompanied by Governors Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, Yahaya Bello and Abubakar Bello of Enugu, Kogi and Niger states respectively.

Others on his entourage include the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama, the Minister of Water Resources, Suleiman Adamu, and the Minister of State for Environment, Ibrahim Jibrin.
The House of Representatives Committee on Telecommunications on Wednesday told the Nigeria Communications Commission (NCC) to stop Teleology from claiming ownership of 9mobile.

The committee gave the directive after the Executive Vice-Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the NCC, Umar Danbatta, appeared before it to explain issues surrounding the sale of 9mobile.

The committee accused the commission of selling the telecoms company to Teleology without the knowledge of the lawmakers. But the NCC denied being part of the sale of 9mobile to Teleology.

According to the commission, the transaction was between the consortium of banks who took over the company from Etisalat and the new operator. It explained further that it had yet to issue an operational licence to Teleology.

PREMIUM TIMES reported how Teleology announced its takeover of the troubled telecom firm on November 12. The company also announced the constitution of a new Board of Directors for 9mobile.

A statement by the company said the decision followed a successful completion of the tenure of the former Board appointed by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and in fulfilment of the consequential transfer of final ownership to the new investors, Teleology Nigeria Limited.

We thank all out-going members of the Board for helping to shepherd 9mobile through the critical transition phase it has passed through since July 2017 and wish them the very best in their future assignments, the statement, signed by Mohammed Edewor, said.

But Punch reports Friday that on Wednesday evening, the House of Representatives committee expressed worry over the purported take-over.

The last time we met, our decision was for everybody to go back and that anything that was happening on the sale, take-over or transfer of licence, the committee should know about it, said Saheed Akinade-Fijabi, chairman of the committee. Unfortunately, the committee read on the pages of newspapers that Teleology had taken over 9mobile.

We as a committee do not know anybody called Teleology because they have never appeared before this committee. I believe that NCC should know whoever Teleology is and be able to help us to call them. Unfortunately, they are not here again today.

In his response, Mr Danbatta claimed that NCC had yet to issue a new operational licence to Teleology apart from the one issued to the former owners.

Let me say again that no license has been transferred, he said. The licence in the possession of EMTS which traded in the past as Etisalat and later with the approval of the NCC, as 9mobile, is still with EMTS.

I want to assure this House that the operational licence of EMTS as well as the spectrum, these two licences are still with EMTS. No requests have been made by any new owners.

It is a marketing gimmick, Mr Chairman.

Following Mr Danbattas presentation, Mr Akinade-Fijabi said Teleology should stop parading itself as having taken over the troubled firm.

With what NCC is saying now, they should stop parading themselves as someone who has taken over 9mobile, he said.

The proposed sale of the telecoms firm has been characterised by controversies for many months.

Earlier in August, confusion hit the bid for the company after several months of negotiations as the NCC said it had ordered fresh due diligence on the preferred bidder selected for the telecom firm.

Mr Danbatta had said that the fresh due diligence ordered by the commission would help determine whether Teleology Holdings has the requisite technical competence and financial capacity to successfully operate the troubled telecommunications firm.
The mobile communication industry created nearly half a million jobs in Nigeria in 2017 and contributed $21 billion to the countrys GDP, or 5.5 per cent of the total GDP, a report has stated.

The report, Spotlight on Nigeria: Delivering a digital future, emanated from a research by the Global System of Mobile Communications Association (GSMA).

It was presented at an event held by the association in conjunction with the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) at the commissions headquarters in Abuja on Thursday.

The event brought together leaders from the mobile industry and policymakers to discuss future regulation and how to enable the next generation of 5G connectivity.

According to the report, the digital economy also contributed $1.8 billion in tax, equivalent to 16 per cent of the Nigerian government tax revenue.

The report said mobile technology is having a direct and positive impact on the daily lives of Nigerians, by fostering inclusive growth and enhancing the productivity and efficiency of the economy.

Mobile connectivity has already improved the welfare of millions of Nigerians, opening the door to new digital possibilities and powering the countrys economic development, said Akinwale Goodluck, Head of Sub-Saharan Africa, GSMA.

Mr Akinwale said collaboration between industry and government would enable the right policy environment for millions more to benefit from ultra-fast mobile broadband so that Nigeria can take full advantage of the next phase of its digital transformation.

If policies dont keep pace with the need of society and technological innovation, there is a risk that citizens will be left behind and productivity and competitiveness will suffer, he said.

The report shows the growth in the adoption of digital services by government, businesses and consumers is having a positive impact on daily life in Nigeria.

It further stated that mobile technology is playing an increasingly central role in the countrys economy and for the majority of Nigerians, mobile broadband is the first and only technology for accessing the internet, opening the door to a whole new world.

Smartphone adoption has already risen to over 53 million connections, and 49 per cent of the population are currently connected by mobile technology, compared to less than one per cent who have a fixed-line connection.

However, the report concluded that there is still a broad scope for Nigeria to increase its mobile penetration.

Although more Nigerians are getting access to mobile broadband, it stated that the country lags behind regional peers in 4G adoption. Helping to accelerate adoption would enable more advanced services and create bigger societal impacts, it stated.

In his keynote address, Umar Danbatta, the executive vice chairman of NCC, said in our present world, telecommunication is a cardinal tool of economic development, growth and integration.

The telecom industry is a key enabler of productivity across economies and societies, not only is it a significant contributor to economic activities of a nation, but also towards the growth of other sectors of the economy, he said.

Mr Danbatta said the event was held to provide an avenue for regulators, operators, investors and other relevant stakeholders to share, examine and constructively exchange ideas on the main demand areas for next generation of services, spectrum licensing reforms, and to also discuss the requirements for 5G and other emerging technologies.
Deji Adeyanju, a Nigerian political activist who was arrested during a protest on Wednesday, will spend the third night in custody, his close associate has told PREMIUM TIMES.

Mr Adeyanju was arrested while leading a protest against police bias in Abuja on Wednesday morning. He was subsequently arraigned before a Chief Magistrates Court on Wednesday afternoon.

The presiding magistrate, Aliyu Kagargo, admitted Mr Adeyanju, Daniel Abobama and Boma Williams, the two other activists arrested with him, to bail.

They were to each provide sureties that included a level-14 civil servant, a businessman with N20 million bond.

But failure to immediately meet the bail terms allowed correctional officers to keep the three at the Keffi Prisons, about 40 minutes drive from Abuja.

Ariyo-Dare Atoye, a long-time associate of Mr Adeyanju, told PREMIUM TIMES the leader of Concerned Nigerians and his comrades met their bail conditions as of Thursday afternoon, but the magistrate was unavailable to sign the papers for their release from jail.

Mr Atoye said since the bail conditions had been perfected as of Thursday afternoon, he was upbeat Mr Adeyanju and two others would be released by midday Friday.

We are shocked to learn today that there was an attempt to coerce the judge not to sign the papers for their release, Mr Atoye said. We have made it clear to them that this would not be tolerated in a democracy and the court is already working on ensuring that the right thing is done.

Police spokesperson Jimoh Moshood said in a statement that the activists actions were criminally defamatory, and also capable of incitement and breach of public peace.

He strongly denied all allegations of bias raised by Mr Adeyanju and others, saying the police remain a professional institution before which the interest of Nigerians takes priority of political officeholders, including the president.

Screenshots of Mr Adeyanjus social media posts were attached to the statement, and Mr Moshood indicated they would form a key part of police evidence during the activists trial.

While expressing concerns that Mr Adeyanju might be kept in jail through the weekend, Mr Atoye accused the police of being behind the delay. He accused the police of a fresh plot to arrest Mr Adeyanju on separate false charges.

We are now aware that the police wanted to secure a fresh warrant to arrest Deji Adeyanju when he is released from prison, but the judges are blocking such moves because he has already been charged and now in custody of the court, Mr Atoye said. This was one of the major reasons for the delay.

Mr Adeyanju has been a major torn on the side of the police, and many of his critics and admirers had long predicted his incarceration.

The political activist was once a formidable operative of the Peoples Democratic Party on social media. But he abandoned the main opposition party shortly after his controversial removal as its social media director in early 2017, becoming a full-time activist in the Nigerian capital.

He soon formed Concerned Nigerians, a political action think-tank which he has used to demand equity and social justice.

His activism, often characterised by potentially defamatory allegations against public officials and regular picketing of public institutions, has led to his arrest several times, including at least three times this year alone.

Mr Adeyanjus latest arrest comes as he intensified agitations for the international community to prevail on security agencies not to give preferential treatment to President Muhammadu Buhari ahead of 2019 elections.

He accused the Inspector-General Ibrahim Idris of being biased and said the police chief appeared desperate to compromise election security operations in favour of the president.

Calls for Mr Adeyanjus release have inundated the police since his arrest, with many seeing it as an attempt by Mr Buhari to shut down critical voices ahead of the 2019 elections.

Giving the length Mr Adeyanju had gone to irritate top Buhari administration officials, Mr Atoye said the police are determined to inflict maximum damage possible on his friend before they release him.

We would like to let them know that Deji Adeyanju is not someone who could be manipulated, Mr Atoye said. He has been fearless before he was unjustly arrested and will remain fearless when he eventually regains his freedom.
The Borno State Urban Planning and Development Board (BOSUPDB) on Thursday, announced a full-scale war on all unauthorised commercial billboards, signposts and campaign posters mounted on the streets of Maiduguri, the state capital.

The board said the recent destruction of such illegally mounted posters, billboards on structures and spaces, which generated negative reaction from some politicians, was done in accordance with laws of the state.

The board said it will sustain the exercise and possibly prosecute violators of the law concerning mounting of bill boards and signposts in public places.

A statement issued by the board on Thursday and made available to the media indicated that the exercise had already commenced.

This is coming days after the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Borno State accused the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) of destroying its campaign posters and billboards using members of the government established Borno Youth Empowerment Scheme (BOYES), otherwise known as Civilian-JTF.

This allegation was however denied by the Borno State Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Kaka-Shehu Lawan.

The official was accused of supervising the destruction of the opposition parties billboards. In defence, he said the demolition exercise was carried out by the BSUPDB and not the Civilian-JTF that operates under his office.

The General Manager of BSUPDB, Umar Bulamami, said the pulling down of unauthorised billboards had nothing to do with politics of political parties.

Hee said the board had given enough notice for all advertisers  both commercial and political  to comply.

This has nothing to do with political party or government, Mr Bulamai told PREMIUM TIMES.

By law that established the Borno State Urban Planning and Development Board, the Section 43 subsection 3 requires that one must obtain approval from the board before erecting of billboards or sign posts.

He said such approval can only be given after such person or organisation has presented a receipt for the payment of fee charged to the state revenue board.

Mr Bulamami said it was on that note that the board on September 24 issued a statement warning residents against mounting billboards and campaign posters without following the due process.

BSUPDB is an independent government agency and our mandate is not only to plan for the development of the township, but also to generate revenue for the state, he said.

When we saw that the political activities have started we had to quickly remind those concerned with mounting billboards and posters for campaign of what is expected of them. We did write to all of them, including even the APC that they must comply by our rules.

He said the APC in Borno State complied and paid N700,000 which covers for all the spaces they would incur by mounting their posters and billboards within and around Maiduguri.

And on 9th October, 2018 we granted them the approval via a letter referenced BSUPDB/TP85/VOL.I/223 in which we specified all the terms of reference and warned against going beyond all the spaces for which they applied. We have all the records and copies of the document we can share with you, he added.

The GM said the law is only applied to places and structures that belong to the public and not private properties.

He said the exercise is not restricted to political parties alone.

Just recently, on the 27th November we had to write to a private advertising company, Gams Advertising Agency, that is responsible for the mounting of billboards for commercial companies to remove some of the billboards mounted around Post Office area, and we gave the company 7 days which will expire by the next week, he explained.

It was on that note that we issued a circular dated 29th November, 2018 reminding them of our earlier warning and that we have resolved to commence the removal of all billboards and signposts which had not obtained our approval, he added.

He said all relevant government and security agencies had been put on notice and issued copies of the statement.
They were detained Wednesday after police were made aware of a Snapchat conversation in which one made a threat against the school and then, via the social media site, asked the other female if she wanted her to bring an extra gun for you, prosecutors said.
A suspected terrorist group carrying sophisticated weapons is currently in control of Tangaza Local Government Area of Sokoto State, applying strange laws and punishing defaulters.

A witness told PREMIUM TIMES that members of the group, believed to be from Niger Republic, are in possession of assorted weapons, preaching Islamic teachings, forcefully collecting alms (zakat) and flogging defaulters.

He stated that though members of the terror group are yet to be identified by name, and have been in the area for than two months, they are allegedly recruiting youth in a nearby bush. After training them, they give them a motorcycle, he said.

The witness, who pleaded anonymity, said members of the group are more than 200.

He said they looked strange, spoke Arabic and wore turbans over their heads.

They imposed compulsory levies on each household with cows and rams. Those with cows are paying N500 and those with ram are paying N200, he said.

They are arresting and fining herdsmen who encroach on farmlands and are keeping the money.

They are operating freely, scaring residents, without being challenged. They are going from one community to another, the witness said.

Tangaza Local Government in Sokoto State borders Niger Republic.

The border communities of the two countries inter-marry and are identical and speak the same dialect.

The Sokoto State police commissioner, Murtala Mani, told PREMIUM TIMES on Friday that he was on his way to the area and would call back later in the day.

Also Sokoto police spokesperson, Cordelia Nwawe, told PREMIUM TIMES that the police would address journalists as soon as her boss returned from the affected area.

The spokesperson for the state government, Abubakar Shekara, confirmed the report but said he could not provide further comments.
The Zamfara State Government said on Friday it will soon prosecute seven traditional rulers over their complicity in the killing of innocent citizens in the state.

The state Commissioner for Local Governments and Chieftaincy Affairs, Bello Dankande, disclosed this while briefing journalists in Gusau.

He said those to be prosecuted include the district heads of Ruwan Gora, Isa Balarabe, Ruwan Rana, Altine Magaji and that of Ruwan Jema, Mohammed Sani.

Others are Bala Magaji, village head of Gurbin Bore; Marafa Zubairu, village head of Baichin Birane; Danjeka Gyado, village head of Gyado; and Hassan Mohammed, the village head of Tungar Dutsi.

The commissioner said the dethroned traditional rulers were found guilty of harbouring and feeding bandits in their royal homes while getting and disseminating information on the movement of security personnel to the bandits as well as bailing those arrested.

He explained that their removal was in the exercise of the governors powers under section 15 (1,2 & 3) of the states local government law.

The dethronement of all the affected natural rulers took immediate effect from today, (Friday, Nov. 30, 2018).

(NAN)
Nse Ntuen, a lawmaker who leads a five-member faction at the Akwa Ibom State House of Assembly, has been admitted in hospital for injuries sustained during a violent clash at the assembly on Tuesday.

Mr Ntuen (Essien Udim State Constituency), and four other lawmakers formed a faction after they were all sacked under controversial circumstances from the assembly, for defecting from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC).

The other four lawmakers are Gabriel Toby (Etim Ekpo/Ika); Otobong Ndem (Mkpat Enin); Victor Udofia (Ikono); and Idongesit Ituen (Itu).

On Tuesday morning, the five had occupied the assembly chambers to hold their sitting, before they were violently chased away from the premises when the state governor, Udom Emmanuel, arrived with a number of security officials and youth loyal to the state government and the PDP.

The speaker, Onofiok Luke, later took control of the House and went on to preside over the days proceedings.

Hours after the incident, photos showing Mr Ntuen on a hospital bed began flying around Facebook and WhatsApp groups.

One of the photos showed a blood-stained cloth on a floor near Mr Ntuens bed.

A spokesperson for Mr Ntuen, Amanam Hilary, told PREMIUM TIMES, the cloth was that of the lawmaker.

He was injured during the invasion of the House, when the governor came with some thugs and security officials, Mr Hilary told PREMIUM TIMES, Thursday.

He was attacked with dangerous weapons, some of those guys came in with guns, machetes, sticks, and irons.

Mr Hilary said the lawmaker sustained serious injuries on his left hand and on the abdomen.

He said Mr Ntuen would be able to identify fellow lawmakers and other state government officials whom he said attacked him, alongside some thugs.

Mr Hilary narrated what happened on the day of the incident.

I was with him at the assembly complex when the invasion took place.

After plenary, we got information that the governor was coming to the complex, and out of respect for the office of the governor, he (Mr Ntuen) came out with other members of the House to receive the governor.

Unknown to us, the governor came in with Senator Bassey Albert, he came in with the commissioner for special duties, commissioner for works, Ephraim Inyang. The special assistant to the governor on youth matters, Mr Iwadudofia, and the special assistant to the governor on security matters, Mr Fubara, were also there with the governor.

Nse Ntuen was attacked in front of the governor.

The state director of SSS was also there with the governor at the House of assembly.

Mr Hilary said he could not tell when the lawmaker would leave the hospital.

Kufre Okon, the spokesperson for the speaker, Mr Luke, was also allegedly assaulted on the day of the incident, ironically by people from Mr Ntuens faction.

When they (Mr Ntuen and the other four lawmakers) came they drove people out, but I refused to move. I was like ah, whats happening. I pulled out my phone and took the first shot and was about taking another shot when Idongesit Ituen saw me and shouted yes, that is the guy! That is the guy! Immediately he said it, thugs who were with him, I am calling them thugs because they were unknown faces, they started slapping me, Mr Okon told PREMIUM TIMES.

Mr Okon said apart from Mr Ituen, Mr Udofia (Ikono State Constituency) also joined the thugs in assaulting him.

His cell phone, he said, was taken away, while he was being beaten.

Meanwhile, a high court in Uyo has issued an interim order, restraining Mr Ntuen from parading himself as the speaker, Akwa Ibom State House of Assembly.

The judge, F. F. Obot, gave the order on Wednesday, following a motion ex-parte filed Ekemini Udim, counsel to the speaker, Mr Luke, and the Akwa Ibom State House of Assembly.

The court adjourned the case to December 7 for the hearing of the motion on notice.

The crisis in the state assembly has deepened tension between the APC and the PDP in the state.

It has also pitched Governor Emmanuel against the Commissioner of Police, Musa Kimo, accused by the governor of taking side with the sacked lawmakers and the APC.
Five persons lost their lives in an auto-crash in Enugu in the late hours of Thursday, the Police Command in Enugu State has said.

The Police Public Relations Officer for the Command, Ebere Amaraizu, who disclosed this in a statement in Enugu on Friday, explained how the crash occurred.

He said the accident, which involved two vehicles, took place on Enugu-Abakiliki Expressway, opposite Promise-land in Emene, outskirt of Enugu, the state capital.

The fatal accident occurred when one Sienna vehicle was attempting to overtake another vehicle and in the process collided with tipper lorry carrying sand from the opposite direction.

The collision left five of the occupants of the Sienna car, believed to be traveling home for the burial of their loved ones, fatally injured and unconscious due to the impact of the accident.

They were promptly rushed to Annunciation Hospital, Emene for medical attention and later they were confirmed dead by the doctor on duty. Their corpses have been deposited at the same hospital mortuary for further necessary action, he said.

Mr Amaraizu , who said police operatives were trying to contact the relations of the deceased, advised members of the public to be safety conscious while driving.

(NAN)
The National Chairman of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), Victor Oye, has expressed dismay at a verbal attack on him by Bianca Ojukwu.

Addressing journalists in Awka on Friday on the issue, Mr Oye said that he deserved an apology for the misplaced and unwarranted attacks on him by the wife of the late Chukwuemeka Ojukwu.

The chairman said Mr Ojukwus widow had not been fair to him or the party in spite of all the support and privileges she enjoyed.

Mr Oye also said that Mrs Ojukwu should apologise to him and the party for the allegations against them.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recalls that Mrs Ojukwu on November 26 advised the national leadership of APGA, to immediately refund all monies collected from political office aspirants for the partys alleged botched primaries and honourably resign thereafter.

Mrs Ojukwu, who spoke in Owerri at the 7th memorial anniversary of her husband accused APGA leadership of fleecing aspirants.

She also said that for APGA to survive as a party, Mr Oye must resign.

Mr Oye explained that though Mrs Ojukwu joined the Anambra South senatorial contest for APGA ticket a bit late, she got a lot of assistance from the party to enable her to clinch the nomination, and wondered why she lost.

The APGA chairman said he did not offend Mrs Ojukwu in any way and expressed surprise at her invectives on him and the party.

He said rather than castigate the national chairman and the party, Mrs Ojukwu should have been explaining her loss after receiving so much logistics to enable her to win.

Mr Oye said Mrs Ojukwus media swipe on APGA did not befit her status as the mother of the party, but smacked more of anti-party activity.

Bianca is my personal friend and there is no way I could have done any wrong against her.

I must tell you that I was surprised when she started attacking me in the media. I think that was a very serious mistake on her part because she is fighting the wrong person.

I did not do any wrong against Bianca. People were sent to conduct the primary election and they returned the result to me and that was all I cared for.

APGA gave her support, I would not want to announce it openly, but we gave her all the support she needed to win but she did not win.

She calls herself Mother General of APGA, but as a mother, she should not be castigating the party like that.

Her action is anti-party, but we dont want to go into all that, because I know that very soon she will know the truth as truth is immutable, he said.

Mr Oye said the report available to the party showed that primary election for Anambra South Senatorial District ticket which Mrs Ojukwu participated in held and ended well with a clear winner announced to the public.

The chairman, who recalled the partys insistence on fair and open primary elections, said Mrs Ojukwu could have been awarded the ticket if she had indicated interest much earlier.

Mr Oye said it was wrong for Mrs Ojukwu to blackmail him or APGA, because of her marital status, adding that such emotions and sentiments were not accommodated by the constitution of the party or any other in the country.

The report I got is that it went well and that a winner emerged. The report said she was there, she participated and the votes were counted and (the) result declared, including her own and the man won.

They said we gave Senator Victor Umeh ticket unopposed. Yes, because he indicated interest early enough and he deserved it too. If Bianca had shown interest much earlier, I would have announced that she should not be opposed.

But she joined the fray after Nicholas Ukachukwu and Ifeanyi Ubah had declared and was already running.

That she is a widow does not confer on her a special status. It is not in APGA constitution that once you are a widow we give you ticket.

I dont think it is in the constitution of any party in Nigeria that once you are a widow you get automatic ticket.

Remember we said that it was going to be contested openly, and it was contested. I hold her in high esteem; I respect her as the wife of Ojukwu.

But she has been castigating me in the media, she owes me an apology, a serious apology, because I have done nothing against her, he added.

(NAN)
The Ekiti State Governor, Kayode Fayemi, on Thursday closed his defence at the Ekiti State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal, which sits at the premises of the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Apo, Abuja.

The tribunal, led by Justice Suleiman Belgore, has however adjourned sitting until January 9, 2019 for adoption of final written addresses of parties in the petition filed by the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, Kolapo Olusola.

Mr Olusola is challenging the outcome of the July 14 governorship election which saw Mr Fayemi emerge as the winner of the election.

He had alleged that Mr Fayemis victory was as a result of vote buying, wide spread rigging, malpractices and that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) officials favoured the governor during the election.

He prayed the tribunal to declare him as the winner of the election on the grounds that he scored majority of the lawful votes cast as the election.

The Independent National Electoral Commission, APC and Mr Fayemi are the respondents in the petition.

At the hearing on Thursday, the counsel to Mr Fayemi, Lateef Fagbemi, informed the three-member tribunal that the third respondent was closing his case.

He said having reviewed the case, the third respondent found it unnecessary to call other witnesses to prove his case.

The Fayemi team called four witnesses, including Adumo Rufus Sunday, who was the deputy director-general of JKF Campaign Organisation, to testify for him before the tribunal, but did not tender any exhibits.

Meanwhile, following the closure of the third respondents defence, parties agreed that the three respondents shall have three days to file their respective final written addresses, while petitioners shall have five days to file theirs. It was further agreed that the respondents shall have another three days to reply on point of law.

While adjourning the sitting, Mr Belgore expressed appreciation to all parties involved in the petition for their cooperation.

The petitioner had earlier in November, closed their case before the tribunal, paving the way for the respondents to begin their defence.

He called 71 witnesses, among whom were Sunday Olowolafe, PDP legal adviser in Ekiti State; the state collation agent, and polling unit agents.
I know there are limitations on what references can and cant say, but I filled out a bunch of those reference things for former interns here and they always ask questions like, Would you hire this person again? he said. I cant imagine getting through all those questions and that someone with this type of ongoing case would pass that.
Students and staff members from Shepard High School continued a decades-long tradition recently with the Jerry Lemon Needy Family Food Drive. For weeks teachers and students had been accumulating food at Shepard. Eventually, with a huge assist from the Jewel Food Store in Palos Heights, they collected enough to feed more than 50 families. After Shepard students and staff loaded a mini-bus with food at school, they stopped at Jewel. Employees brought out carts of turkey dinners  50 of them  funded with donations from shoppers. Jewel donated more dinners to Operation Blessing. Shepard students and teachers delivered food last week to families unable to pick up at school. Other families came to Shepard to pick up boxes of donated food. The food drive, named for former Shepard teacher Jerry Lemon, has operated since the early 1980s. After Lemon retired, Shepard teacher Glenn Simms managed the food drive for 20 years. Today, Jim Benes, Esther Roth, Kris LaRocco and Erin McLean handle the organization.
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.




BALTIMORE, Nov. 30, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Today Murphy, Falcon & Murphy, with their co-counsel Morgan & Morgan, filed a national class action lawsuit against Marriott International, Inc. ("Marriott") on behalf of over 500 million consumers whose personal information, including their names, birthdates, addresses, locations, gender information, email addresses, payment card information, and passport information were stolen. Marriott is one of the largest hotel chains in the world and its brands include W Hotels, St. Regis, Sheraton Hotels, and Westin Hotels.

In what is one of the largest data breaches to ever occur, cybercriminals broke into Marriott's servers in 2014, obtaining the personal information of approximately 500 million Marriott customers. These nefarious actors then roamed freely throughout Marriott's system, with unfettered and undetected access, for four years. Marriott did not discover the breach until September 8, 2018. For some inexplicable reason, Marriott refused to notify its consumers until todaynearly three months after its discoveryand still has not provided customers with complete information regarding the extent of the breach. In fact, Marriott does not actually know the origin or identity of the hackers and has not fully assessed the scope of the attack.

The lawsuit alleges that Marriott failed to ensure the integrity of its servers and to properly safeguard consumers' highly sensitive and confidential information. Marriott knew that that it had an obligation to protect the personal and financial data of its guests and customers, and it was also aware of the significant repercussions to its customers if it failed to do so. It knew that this data, if hacked, would result in extensive injury to millions of Marriott guests. Despite this knowledge, Marriott failed to take appropriate measures to protect and secure its customers' personal information. Its conduct violates consumer protection statutes, constitutes a breach of confidence, and was reckless and grossly negligent.

Hassan Murphy, Managing Partner at Murphy, Falcon & Murphy, said today, "Marriott is one of the largest hotel chains in the world. That such a corporation would fail to properly safeguard the highly personal and sensitive information of its guests and customers is inexplicable. Even more egregious is the fact that Marriott did not discover this breach for nearly four years, and then for months after that discovery failed to tell its customers what had occurred. This conduct constitutes a significant breach of trust and confidence unparalleled in the hospitality industry."

Murphy added, "Marriott's conduct has compromised every aspect of its customers' personal identities, exposing them to identity theft, fraud, and harm for years to come. We will continue working until Marriott fixes this problem and appropriately compensates its victims for their losses."

Hassan Murphy is currently a member of the Plaintiffs' Steering Committee in In Re: Equifax, Inc., which is responsible for prosecuting the nationwide consumer data breach litigation against Equifax, Inc.

About Murphy, Falcon & Murphy, P.A.

Murphy, Falcon & Murphy, P.A. is a Baltimore-based law firm which specializes in complex civil, criminal and civil rights litigation. Our powerhouse legal team has a history of unrelenting dedication to its clients in Baltimore and across the country. Our team of seasoned trial lawyers have extensive experience in a wide variety of cases with success rates that dwarf national averages and are dedicated to providing smart strategies and creative approaches to complex litigation. Our team is driven and strategy-focused characteristics that have helped us secure more than $700 million in verdicts and settlements, and our attorneys have won some of the largest verdicts in high-profile, high-stakes cases in some of the toughest jurisdictions around the country. Learn more at www.murphyfalcon.com

*Each case is different. Past success does not guarantee a favorable result in any future case.

Contact: Hassan Murphy

[email protected]

(410) 539-6500

SOURCE Murphy, Falcon & Murphy

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BOSTON, Nov. 30, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- DeleteMe today announced that anyone who had their personal information hacked in the Marriott Starwood data breach is eligible for a free month of DeleteMe  the #1 privacy protection and information removal service in the world  when subscribing to any DeleteMe plan .

Why DeleteMe is more effective than credit freezes and credit monitoring

DeleteMe works by finding and removing your personal information from dozens of data brokers. Data broker websites make your personal info public when others search for it, and sell in-depth profiles of you and your family to buyers at prices ranging from $0.99 to $50. By removing this info, DeleteMe stops hackers from easily finding more information about you for identity theft purposes including your:

Home address / home value

Age, sex, political affiliation

Email addresses

Phone number and mobile phone number

Family members', ages, addresses, phone numbers, email addresses

Credit monitoring and credit freezes simply do not stop many cases of identity theft where hackers use all the information they can buy from data brokers to falsely prove they are you.

How identity thieves use info from data breaches like Marriott

Credit Line Fraud  Scammers open new credit cards in a victim's name, impacting chances of receiving future credit

Tax Return Fraud  Scammers can file for a fake tax return using a name and stolen Social Security Number

Healthcare Fraud  With increasing costs, medical identity theft is on the rise

Committing Crimes in your name  When in contact with law enforcement, victims of identity theft can be arrested for crimes they didn't commit

Social Engineering  Hackers take over social media accounts of friends and family, targeting other individuals to get them to send money or other personal information

About DeleteMe

DeleteMe is the #1 service for 8-years running for removing information made public about you online  it cleans up personal information from dozens of sources all year long and has completed over 10 million opt-outs successfully.

Get DeleteMe here: https://joindeleteme.com/privacy-protection-plans/

Media Contact:

Will Simonds

+1 833-335-3836

[email protected]

SOURCE DeleteMe

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NEW YORK, Nov. 29, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Epilepsy Therapeutics in Asia-Pacific Markets to 2024 - Uptake of Novel Therapies and Rising Awareness is Expected to Drive the Market Growth



Read the full report: https://www.reportlinker.com/p05634185



Summary

Epilepsy is a chronic medical disorder or condition in which the brain is overactive, sending too many signals, usually resulting in unpredictable, unprovoked recurrent seizures that affect a variety of mental and physical functions. Epilepsy is the fourth most common neurological disorder, affecting more than 65 million individuals worldwide. Epilepsy can start at any age, but is most commonly diagnosed in people under 20 and people over 65. This is because some causes are more common in young people (such as difficulties at birth, childhood infections or accidents) and in older people (such as strokes that lead to epilepsy).



Epilepsy treatment has historically been dominated by gamma aminobutyric acid (GABA) modulators and sodium channel blockers, leaving a wide unmet need intact in a sizeable section of patients who do not respond to the existing treatment options. Historically there is a lack of potent disease modifying or curative drugs in the epilepsy therapeutic space. The dominant older generation AEDs had poor safety and tolerability profiles. Second generation AEDs with newer mechanisms of action; signaled a shift in this trend in the last decade with improved tolerability and efficacy.



Epilepsy market in the five major geographies in the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region (Australia, China, India, Japan and South Korea) is expected to increase at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 3.5% to reach $1.75 billion in 2024. The value of the market is expected to grow more rapidly in India and China compared with the more developed markets, Japan and Australia. With a high prevalence, these two regions have large treatment populations, which are expected to grow further due to better healthcare access and improvements in treatment gaps.



The late-stage pipeline contains promising therapies that have the potential to achieve approval and launch during the forecast period. These drugs are under development with novel mechanisms of actions that are not conventional in the epilepsy market and are expected to provide greater efficacy and safety than previous AEDs. The launch and uptake of these new pipeline therapies with better efficacy are expected to drive APAC market growth.



Scope

- The APAC epilepsy market will be valued at $1.7 billion in 2024, growing from $1.4 billion in 2017 at a CAGR of 3.5%.

- How will the approval of Cenobamate for treatment-resistant epilepsy affect the competitive landscape, with no therapy currently available to address this patient subset?

- The epilepsy market is crowded with cheap, generic, "me-too" drugs. What are the main barriers a new therapy faces when entering the epilepsy market?

- The pipeline for epilepsy therapy is not diverse in terms of molecule type and molecular targets.

- How have the late-stage therapies performed in clinical trials?

- The level of unmet need in the epilepsy market is high. Will the pipeline drugs fulfill these unmet needs?

- The market forecasts indicate that India and China will contribute the most to the APAC market.

- How will the annual cost of therapy and market size vary between the five assessed APAC markets?

- How will the growing population affect the market?

- How will the various drivers and barriers influence the market over the forecast period?

- Licensing deals are the most common form of strategic alliance in epilepsy, with total deal values ranging from under $0.1m to over $820m.

- How do deal frequency and value compare between target families and molecule types?



Reasons to buy

This report will enable you to:

- Understand the current clinical and commercial landscape by considering disease pathogenesis, diagnosis, prognosis, and the treatment options available at each stage of diagnosis, including a clinical comparison of marketed therapies.

- Visualize the composition of the epilepsy market in terms of the dominant therapies for each patient subset, along with their clinical and commercial standing. Unmet needs are highlighted to allow a competitive understanding of gaps in the market.

- Analyze the epilepsy pipeline and stratify pipeline therapies by stage of development, molecule type and molecular target.

- Understand the potential of late-stage therapies with extensive profiles of products that could enter the market over the forecast period, highlighting clinical performance, potential commercial positioning, and how they will compete with other therapies.

- Predict epilepsy market growth in the five assessed APAC markets, with epidemiological and annual cost of therapy forecasts across India, China, Australia, South Korea and Japan, as well as the individual contributions of promising late-stage molecules to market growth.

- Identify commercial opportunities in the epilepsy deals landscape by analyzing trends in licensing and co-development deals.



Read the full report: https://www.reportlinker.com/p05634185



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.



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Contact Clare: [email protected]

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Intl: +1 339-368-6001

SOURCE Reportlinker

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China is fully committed to the construction of a natural gas production, supply, storage and marketing system

The tighter availability of natural gas faced by a large part of China last winter and this spring has fully revealed the country's lack of natural gas storage ability, and the problem will become even worse owing to China's rising demand for natural gas. So far, the escalating conflict between supply and demand has greatly restrained sustainable development of the domestic natural gas industry.

China has seen an explosive growth of natural gas consumption over the years, and it is challenging to meet the country's demand for natural gas, especially in the heating season. Amidst the widening supply-demand gap, LNG has become a major method for natural gas.

According to Wood Mackenzie, China's LNG imports are forecast at nearly 50 million metric tons in 2018, an increase of 12 million tons over 2017.

The International Energy Agency (IEA) indicated in Gas 2018- the latest IEA annual market report that by 2019, China will become the world's largest importer of natural gas, and by 2023, it will import 171 billion cubic meters of natural gas, with LNG accounting for more than 50 percent of the total imports.

In recent years, the Chinese government has been accelerating construction of the natural gas production, supply, storage and marketing system to meet its rising demands for natural gas and alleviate growing natural gas shortages.

In April 2018, the NDRC and the NEA jointly issued the "Opinion on Accelerating the Construction of Gas Storage Facilities" and "Improving the Market Mechanism on the Supportive Services of Gas Storage and Peak Load Adjustment", stating that the improvement of gas storage and peak shaving ability is an important part of promoting the construction of the natural gas production, supply, storage and marketing system, and calling for the construction of a multi-tiered gas storage and peak shaving system based on interlinked pipe networks, with underground gas storage reservoir and coastal LNG terminals serving as the major part, centralized and large-size LNG storage tanks in key inland areas as the minor part, and gas field peak load adjustment, interruptible provision, alternative energy and other adjustment means as the supportive part.

"Previously, LNG was merely used for the purpose of peak load adjustment in China; today, it is considered as one of major gas sources due to the tighter natural gas supply. And this is good. However, most of the LNG infrastructure with terminal stations as the core is distributed in the southern part of China, such as Hainan Province, Shenzhen Municipality and Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. This can only help a little in alleviating natural gas shortages in the heating season in the country's northern part. Therefore, the south-to-north natural gas transportation means a lot for China and it is a strategically important link in building the natural gas production, supply, storage and marketing system," said Yongsheng Xu, General Manager of Nantong CIMC Energy Equipment CO., LTD.

CIMC's ship tank container proves be the best match for LNG transportation

To transport natural gas from south-to-north, there are two options: the commonly used pipelines and the popular non-pipeline model from the central and western parts of China.

"Though the existing pipelines and tank cars have played important roles in south-to-north natural gas transportation, they cannot yet fully handle the surplus capacity of terminals in the southern part of China. In this case, persistent efforts must be done to innovate natural gas transportation models and further promote the building of the natural gas production, supply, storage and marketing system," said Yongsheng Xu of CIMC ENRIC. "The transportation of LNG via tank containers is an innovative way and effective supplement to natural gas transportation. It is flexible, quick and a low-cost investment with short-term gains. Once the rail-sea-road-rail transport achieves significant breakthroughs, it will have more potential."

Well-suited for storage and transportation, the 130 LNG tank containers produced by CIMC ENRIC have successfully transported the large volume of surplus natural gas from south-to-north via ships, with the gasification capacity of a single tank container reaching 25,000 cubic meters.

As a standardized carrier, the LNG tank container enjoys unique advantages in the whole industrial chain of natural gas, which is an optimization and supplement of the traditional industrial chain and becomes a new measure for securing winter gas supply in China. Large-scale LNG transportation is characterized by large volume, extensive coverage, flexibility, safety, low-cost investment, short-term gains, etc. Once such intermodal transport works on a large scale and gets widely commercialized, it will extend to inland markets and exert far-reaching influence on the LNG industry.

"In terms of safety, multiple tests by professional testing agencies have proved that our LNG tank containers have a solid and reliable structure. They will not damage liquid commodities inside and will prolong the storage life of the commodities. At the same time, CIMC ENRIC has specially installed intelligent monitoring devices in each tank container, so as to ensure the real-time monitoring of liquid level, temperature and location of the tank container during stacking, loading and unloading and transporting. By doing so, the safety through the entire transportation process has been tremendously improved," stated Yongsheng Xu.

In addition, with its larger application scope and stronger adaptability performance, the new LNG tank container transportation model can be further extended to railway, road and water transportation; achieve the door-to-door supply from terminals to users and deliver natural gas to areas not covered by existing pipe networks; further improve the country's natural gas storage and supply capacity; and become a method vital for national well-being, the people's livelihood and the country's energy security.

CIMC is proud of its best-of the-class LNG tank container technology and optimistic about the market prospects

"There is no doubt that the south-to-north natural gas transportation and intermodal transportation via tank containers will create a new business operating model in the LNG supply chain for the whole market, as our clients and we both believe that China is taking steps to make the transportation of LNG via tank containers as one of important approaches to ensure the successful supply of natural gas in the heating season," said Yongsheng Xu, "it is the great confidence in the forthcoming market boom that drives China LNG Group to place bulk orders on LNG tank containers with us."

"The first-ever successful transportation of LNG via ship tank containers has demonstrated CIMC ENRIC's exceptional competence in product R&D and service provision, and it will make great contributions toward having a sufficient natural gas supply in northern China," said Yongsheng Xu. "As China continues to speed up constructing the natural gas production, supply, storage and marketing system and deepening the natural gas transmission models, CIMC's LNG tank container business will have bright development prospects."

SOURCE CIMC
NORTH CHICAGO, Ill., Nov. 30, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- AbbVie (NYSE: ABBV) announced today patent license agreements with Pfizer over its proposed biosimilar adalimumab product. Under the terms of the agreements, AbbVie will grant Pfizer a non-exclusive license on specified dates to AbbVie's intellectual property relating to HUMIRA in the United States and in various other countries around the world in which AbbVie has intellectual property:

Pfizer's U.S. license will begin on November 20, 2023 , and will not be accelerated by the entry of companies who have already taken a license.

, and will not be accelerated by the entry of companies who have already taken a license. In the European Union, Pfizer can launch upon approval from the European Medicines Agency.

Pfizer will pay royalties to AbbVie for licensing its HUMIRA patents and acknowledges the validity of the licensed patents. AbbVie will make no payments to Pfizer. The precise terms are confidential between the parties.

About AbbVie

AbbVie is a global, research and development-based biopharmaceutical company committed to developing innovative advanced therapies for some of the world's most complex and critical conditions. The company's mission is to use its expertise, dedicated people and unique approach to innovation to markedly improve treatments across four primary therapeutic areas: immunology, oncology, virology and neuroscience. In more than 75 countries, AbbVie employees are working every day to advance health solutions for people around the world. For more information about AbbVie, please visit us at www.abbvie.com. Follow @abbvie on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn or Instagram.

Forward-Looking Statements

Some statements in this news release are, or may be considered, forward-looking statements for purposes of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The words "believe," "expect," "anticipate," "project" and similar expressions, among others, generally identify forward-looking statements. AbbVie cautions that these forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated in the forward-looking statements. Such risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, challenges to intellectual property, competition from other products, difficulties inherent in the research and development process, adverse litigation or government action, and changes to laws and regulations applicable to our industry. Additional information about the economic, competitive, governmental, technological and other factors that may affect AbbVie's operations is set forth in Item 1A, "Risk Factors," of AbbVie's 2017 Annual Report on Form 10-K, which has been filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. AbbVie undertakes no obligation to release publicly any revisions to forward-looking statements as a result of subsequent events or developments, except as required by law.

SOURCE AbbVie

Related Links

abbvie.com


ZURICH, November 30, 2018 /PRNewswire/ --

The Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM), in partnership with Balluun, officially unveiled CONEXPO Connect, an online B2B marketplace serving the global construction industry, at AEM's Annual Conference in Rancho Palos Verdes, CA.

AEM is the leading international trade group enabling off-road equipment manufacturers to be successful globally. With over 1,000 members representing over 200 product lines, AEM manages one of the largest B2B events in North America, CONEXPO-CON/AGG.

CONEXPO Connect, powered by Balluun's digital market network solution, is an online destination for the construction industry where equipment manufacturers and contractors connect and engage 24/7/365. Bringing the most valuable parts of the CONEXPO-CON/AGG event online, CONEXPO Connect provides unrivaled access to product information and industry connections, giving brands, buyers, producers, and operators a platform to work together and grow together as an industry.

Nicole Hallada, VP of marketing and communications for AEM , stated: "After extensive review, we determined that Balluun had a feature-rich software platform that met all of our key criteria. Our goal is to extend everything that happens at our events, including networking, content-sharing, relationship-building, etc., throughout the year to bridge the gap between shows. Equally as important, we found that the Balluun team has the expertise, services, and high-quality standards to build, support, and rapidly grow our marketplace."

Balluun is a one-stop solution provider for digital market network and marketplace platforms. Its cloud-based technology and full-suite of services - marketing, sales and customer success - enable trade associations and trade event organizers such as AEM to launch a new digital B2B platform quickly, and grow it successfully as a digital line of business within their organization.

Roland Kumin, CEO of Balluun, commented: "Our teams are highly impressed by AEM's mission and people, the size of the CONEXPO-CON/AGG show, and the range of products AEM's members produce and trade. We are proud to partner with AEM and excited to launch CONEXPO Connect as it leverages new growth opportunities for our partner as well as obtaining new competitive advantage based on data and technology." Kumin continued "We have dedicated a team of skilled specialists in product development, domain management, marketing, sales, and customer success, working closely with AEM to successfully launch this new domain."

To the CONEXPO Connect platform: https://www.conexpoconnect.com/

Watch the video: https://youtu.be/5CkBVs4a3M8

Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM)

About AEM

The Association of Equipment Manufacturers is the North American-based international trade group representing more than 1,000 companies and more than 200 product lines in the agriculture, construction, forestry, mining, and utility sectors worldwide. The equipment manufacturing industry in the United States supports 1.3 million jobs and contributes roughly $159 billion to the economy every year.

About CONEXPO Connect

Owned and operated by the Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM), the organization that manages CONEXPO-CON/AGG, CONEXPO Connect helps engage and connect contractors and other off-road equipment buyers with producers and manufacturers around the latest construction equipment and the jobsite of tomorrow.

About CONEXPO-CON/AGG

CONEXPO-CON/AGG is the international gathering place every three years for the construction industries, owned and produced by the Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM). Go online to learn more about the next edition of the show, to be held March 10-14, 2020 in Las Vegas - https://www.conexpoconagg.com.

Balluun - Powering the future of business networks

The leading provider of B2B social e-commerce worldwide. Since 2012 Balluun has been promoting B2B marketplaces and market networks around the world by launching industry-specific platforms connecting wholesalers, retailers, suppliers, brands, products and buyers 24/7/365. The Balluun365 platform allows trade-show organizers and trade associations to easily and cost-effectively create and scale their own online marketplaces, whereby expanding their business and engaging their industry audiences digitally. Our partnership model allows these organizations to build a competitive advantage with a low-cost investment and a high revenue opportunity.

More about Balluun: http://www.balluun.com

Contacts:

Laura Mattiucci

Domain Director

Balluun

[email protected]

Sandra Mason

Public Relations Director

[email protected]

SOURCE Balluun AG
DENVER, Nov. 30, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Air Methods, the leading air medical service, announced today that David Richardson, senior vice president customer experience, and Martin Delaney, regional vice president, Midwest region, were both honored with Patriot Awards, a U.S. Department of Defense honor that recognizes employers who demonstrate outstanding support and flexibility for employees who proudly serve their country in the National Guard and Reserve.

"Receiving the Patriot Award is a tremendous honor," Richardson said. "Our employees who serve in the National Guard and Reserve are an inspiration to all of us at Air Methods and it is a privilege to do whatever we can to support their service to our country."

Richardson and Delaney were nominated by Major General Michael Navrkal of the Nebraska Army National Guard, who is also a Nebraska Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve (ESGR) volunteer. The Air Methods leaders received the award on Nov. 30 for their support of their employees who serve in the Reserves and National Guard.

"Working day and night with medical emergencies, Dave and Marty know how important it is to have skilled and experienced crew members they can rely on for their missions," Navrkal said. "That is why I was proud to nominate them for their steadfast support of our Guard and Reserve service men and women who stand ready and able to respond immediately to emergencies in the communities in which we live and for missions while deployed overseas."

The Patriot Award recognizes employers who go above and beyond the minimum scheduling and compensation accommodations for employees enlisted in the National Guard or Reserve. Just a few of these exemplary actions may include:

Maintaining contact with Guard and Reserve employees during training or mobilizations

Public and/or company-wide recognition of employees' Guard or Reserve service

Publishing military leave and mobilization policies

Awarding differential pay and insurance benefits during training and mobilizations

Support of Guard and Reserve employee families

"Air Methods is committed to hiring active and former members of our military," said Heather Dumas, Air Methods' senior vice president of human resources. "This award is a recognition of that commitment and hopefully encourages other employers to actively recruit and hire these skilled, hard-working and valuable contributors to company-wide success."

The award is a prerequisite for nomination for other U.S. Department of Defense awards, including the Freedom Award, which is presented by the Secretary of Defense at the Pentagon.

"The Patriot Award is a Department of Defense Certificate of Appreciation to distinguish employers who provide outstanding patriotic support and cooperation to their employees who serve in the National Guard or Reserve components, wholike the citizen warriors before themhave answered their nation's call to serve," said Darrel Williamson, chairman, Colorado State Committee of ESGR, who presented the award to Richardson and Delaney. "Supportive supervisors are critical to maintaining the readiness of the nation's Guard and Reserve units, and it's a pleasure for me to recognize Dave and Marty, as well as Air Methods, for their unwavering support of their employees' patriotic duties."

About Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve

ESGR, a Department of Defense program, seeks to foster a culture in which all employers support and value the employment and military service of members of the National Guard and Reserve in the United States. For more information about ESGR outreach programs or volunteer opportunities, call 800-336-4590 or visit www.ESGR.mil.

About Air Methods

Air Methods (www.airmethods.com) is the leading air medical service, delivering lifesaving care to more than 70,000 people every year. With nearly 40 years of air medical experience, Air Methods is the preferred partner for hospitals and one of the largest community-based providers of air medical services. United Rotorcraft is the Company's products division specializing in the design and manufacture of aeromedical and aerospace technology. Air Methods' fleet of owned, leased or maintained aircraft features more than 450 helicopters and fixed wing aircraft.

Media Contact:

Megan Smith

Amendola Communications

(404) 408-3379

[email protected]

SOURCE Air Methods

Related Links

https://www.airmethods.com/


NEW YORK, Nov. 30, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- American Jewish Committee (AJC) has launched #8Nights4ReligiousRights, the global Jewish advocacy organization's Hanukkah initiative in support of religious freedom around the world.

The eight-day Hanukah holiday, which begins Sunday evening with the lighting of the first candle in the menorah, celebrates the restoration of Jewish religious freedom in ancient Israel.

"Hanukkah has two universal messages," said AJC CEO David Harris. "First, never take religious freedom for granted. We're blessed in America, but we should always recall that our freedom also entails mutual respect and the principle of live and let live.

"Second, not everyone is as lucky as we are. In too many countries, freedom of religion is either non-existent or severely restricted. And in some places, being a religious minority can be downright dangerous."

This year, AJC is highlighting the situation of eight religious communities under threat across the globe and encouraging people of all faiths to join in shining a light on the areas of the world where darkness remains, and the freedoms of religious communities are suppressed.

Details on each of the eight endangered communities and AJC's support for them are at https://www.ajc.org/8nights4religiousrights. They include the Yazidis in Iraq, the Ecumenical Patriarch and Greek Orthodox Christians in Turkey, North Koreans, Baha'is in Iran, Coptic Christians in Egypt, Rohingya in Myanmar, religious minority groups in Pakistan, and Jews in Europe.

AJC, a longstanding leader in efforts to end discrimination, hatred, and the oppression of religious minorities, urges sharing #8Nights4ReligiousRights to show support for these communities and for religious freedom around the world.

SOURCE American Jewish Committee

Related Links

http://www.ajc.org


BEIJING, Nov. 30, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Ambow Education Holding Ltd. ("Ambow" or the "Company") (NYSE American: AMBO), a leading national provider of educational and career enhancement services in China, today announced the launch of a new Cross-Border College Program (the "Program") between Chinese and U.S. colleges. The new five-year Program is designed to satisfy the desire of Chinese students seeking to earn a Bachelor of Science degree acceptable to employers both in China and the United States. At the same time, the Program will enable many small U.S. colleges that may be experiencing financially challenging times, to increase their enrollments with well-qualified, full-paying Chinese students.

Ambow is currently assembling a group of U.S. and Chinese colleges that will participate in the Program, which is based on a model currently being instituted at Boston's Bay State College (acquired by Ambow in November 2017). The Program will allow Chinese students to receive a three-year diploma from a Chinese college - equivalent to an associate degree from a U.S. college - and continue with a two-year advanced education program at Bay State College or another U.S. college. During the first three years of study in China, Ambow will provide curricula and faculties for some general education courses, such as American history and English literature, as well as some technical-related courses. After finishing the first three-years of study and earning the requisite academic requirements, students will receive 60 qualifying credit hours that Bay State College or other U.S. college participating in the Program will recognize with full credit toward a bachelor degree.

The new Program will provide thousands of Chinese students with cross-border learning experiences and the opportunity to receive a U.S. bachelor's degree upon graduation. For those students who complete the Program and return to China to seek employment, Ambow will provide job placement services by leveraging the Company's partnerships with more than 4,000 China corporations.

More than half of China's college graduates in 2017 received a three-year diploma rather than a four-or-five-year baccalaureate degree. Studies have shown that students with three-year diploma degrees in China, generally oriented to non-technical vocations, do not command the same job and salary opportunities as those available to graduates with a four-or-five-year baccalaureate degree. Most colleges in China are authorized to offer four-or-five-year bachelor programs, but commonly face challenges offering up-to-date quality training to prepare students for desirable high-paying technical positions in fields such as integrated circuit design, software development, artificial intelligence (AI), database management, that require high-tech skills necessary to meet the goals of China's growing high-tech economy.

"Ambow's ability to create a technology-based curriculum that closely follows dynamic industry demand, provide seasoned faculty, offer international study opportunities, and place graduates in high-paying, high-tech jobs assists Chinese colleges in recruiting highly motivated students," commented Dr. Jin Huang, Ambow's President and Chief Executive Officer. "At the same time, we are creating added value for U.S. colleges to meet their financial goals and promote campus diversity by increasing enrollment of well-qualified, full-paying Chinese students. Achieving this mutually beneficial outcome for both students and colleges will require close cooperation among Chinese and U.S. colleges, various regulatory and U.S. accreditation agencies, and a capable coordinating partner such as Ambow."

Dr. Huang noted that Ambow currently has partnerships with hundreds of China's colleges, with 46 of them offering technical programs jointly developed with Ambow and serving more than 30,000 students.

"We expect more colleges in China to partner with Ambow in this new Cross-Border College Program. Looking forward, with the cross-border model in place at Bay State College, we have a strong stateside foundation to begin executing this program as we further expand our U.S. partnership base," Dr. Huang concluded.

About Ambow Education Holding Ltd.

Ambow Education Holding Ltd. is a leading national provider of educational and career enhancement services in China, offering high-quality, individualized services and products. With its extensive network of regional service hubs complemented by a dynamic proprietary learning platform and distributors, Ambow provides its services and products to students in 30 out of the 31 provinces and autonomous regions within China.

Follow us on Twitter: @Ambow_Education

Safe Harbor Statement

This announcement contains forward-looking statements. These statements are made under the "safe harbor" provisions of 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" and similar statements. Among other things, the outlook and quotations from management in this announcement, as well as Ambow's strategic and operational plans, contain forward-looking statements. Ambow may also make written or oral forward-looking statements in its reports filed or furnished to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, in its annual reports to shareholders, in press releases and other written materials and in oral statements made by its officers, directors or employees to third parties. Forward-looking statements involve inherent risks and uncertainties. A number of factors could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statements, including but not limited to the following: the Company's goals and strategies, expansion plans, the expected growth of the content and application delivery services market, the Company's expectations regarding keeping and strengthening its relationships with its customers, and the general economic and business conditions in the regions where the Company provides its solutions and services. Further information regarding these and other risks is included in the Company's filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. All information provided in this press release is as of the date of this press release, and Ambow undertakes no duty to update such information, except as required under applicable law.

For investor and media inquiries please contact:

Ambow Education Holding Ltd.

Tel: +86 10-6206-8000

The Piacente Group | Investor Relations

Tel: +1 212-481-2050 or +86 10-5730-6200

Email: [email protected]

SOURCE Ambow Education Holding Ltd.
EMERYVILLE, Calif., Nov. 30, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Much is written about veterinarians and their student loan debt. Some consider the student loans that vets take out while earning advanced degrees to be some of the most challenging to pay off. The average student loan debt for 2016 veterinary school graduates was $167,534.89, and more than one-fifth have at least $200,000 in debt. Unfortunately, the mean salary for veterinarians was $88,770 for the same year. Sadly, veterinary technicians are just as underwater. The average pay for a vet tech is $14.26 per hour, well under $30,000 per year. According to College Calculator, it costs an average of $28,070 to earn a veterinary technician certificate, and students borrow an average of $6,642. According to dvm360, many vet techs are feeling overwhelmed by student loan debt. As thousands of American Financial Benefit Company (AFBC) clients know, borrowers overburdened by student loan debt sometimes need help navigating the many repayment programs, such as income-driven repayment plans (IDRs).

"Most people who go into veterinary work love animals, and it's too bad that love and dedication to caring for animals make them susceptible to challenging financial outcomes," said Sara Molina, manager at AFBC. "Our goal is to help clients navigate applying for and maintaining enrollment in IDRs. We can make sure they are staying up to date with recertification and that they are maximizing the benefit available to them, hopefully keeping that payment low and giving them some breathing room."

To become credentialed, vet techs must attend accredited schools. Previously, vet techs in the U.S. could earn their credentials by working a certain number of supervised hours, but that path has mostly been scrapped. Vet tech schools can cost from $4,000 to $15,000 per year and are available as both two-year and four-year programs. School has become increasingly necessary as non-credentialed vet techs are not allowed to work at veterinary hospitals in many states.

As credentialed vet techs have become the industry standard, it has become harder for aspiring techs to skip college. Regrettably, the student loan debt associated with their credentials has also become unavoidable. An unscientific sampling suggested that vet techs suffer from many of the same poor outcomes associated with all borrowers overloaded by their debt and underfunded by their salaries. Borrowers employed in the field often have to move back home or live with roommates, skip luxuries and hope their older car doesn't break down. Bills are an unrelenting and unwelcome reality for these student loan borrowers.

"We feel good about continuing to help thousands of clients. Going to college shouldn't be a life sentence," said Molina. "We remain focused on making sure our clients understand programs which may be available to them for their benefit and assist them in taking care of their paperwork and making sure all the i's are dotted and the t's are crossed."

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

vet-tech-caring-for-injured-puppy.jpg

Vet Tech Caring for Injured Puppy

Credit: Ilike/Bigstock

image2.png

Related Links

AFBC home page

SOURCE American Financial Benefits Center
ROHNERT PARK, Calif., Nov. 30, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Recent articles suggest that more and more colleges are doing away with loans. Though there is a focus on reducing student loan debt, few schools are actually committed to eliminating student loans. Most of the now 80 colleges that have "no loan" programs are making efforts to reduce student loan debt, especially for students who are from lower income brackets. These institutions have witnessed the rising student loan debt crisis  44 million borrowers owe more than $1.5 trillion  and know the negative effects it is having on graduates. Ameritech Financial, a document preparation company, understands the difficulty that overwhelmed borrowers face when trying to make ends meet each month. Ameritech Financial works closely with borrowers to help them determine the best options available to them from federal programs, such as income-driven repayment plans (IDRs), that can possibly lower payments based on income and family size.

"We appreciate that colleges are taking steps to reduce and sometimes even eliminate student loan debt," said Tom Knickerbocker, executive vice president of Ameritech Financial. "For many students, that was not an option and some inevitably find themselves struggling to keep up with payments. We can help them apply for and maintain enrollment in IDRs, and make sure they are maximizing the benefit available to them."

There are a handful of schools that give enough aid that no students are expected to have any student loan debt when they graduate. Amherst, Brown, Pomona, Stanford, Harvard and Yale all have scholarships and grants that pay for any gaps in student resources. Amherst, for example, provides more than $50 million in scholarship aid and has replaced all loans with scholarships and grants. The other colleges on this short list similarly replace financial aid loan offers with scholarship funds.

Other colleges, such as Haverford, Northwestern, Rice and Swarthmore, for example, offer 45-60 percent of their students scholarships that replace loans. Indeed, Rice offers all students with family incomes of less than $80,000 full support with financial packages that do not include loans. Approximately 45 percent of Northwestern students were awarded $144 million in grants to eliminate loans for those students.

Other schools on "no loan" lists are participating in a Department of Education study with a goal of reducing student loan debt and increasing the chances of better financial outcomes for students. Select students at Arizona State, for example, will receive "enhanced" loan counseling each year before receiving loans. This counseling will include learning about borrowing, repayment and budgeting. This program does not eliminate loans. In fact, only students who are borrowing can participate, though it does seek to lower total student loan debt.

"Efforts to reduce or eliminate student loan debt are to be applauded," said Knickerbocker. "Often, by the time borrowers call us, they are at the end of their financial rope. We act as their trusted advocate as they deal with their loan servicer, filing all the paperwork for IDRs and even helping with recertification year after year so that a borrower can get back to living their life."

About Ameritech Financial

Ameritech Financial is a private company located in Rohnert Park, California. Ameritech Financial has already helped thousands of consumers with financial analysis and student loan document preparation to apply for federal student loan repayment programs offered through the Department of Education.

Each Ameritech Financial telephone representative has received the Certified Student Loan Professional certification through the International Association of Professional Debt Arbitrators (IAPDA).

Ameritech Financial prides itself on its exceptional customer service.

Ameritech Financial Newsroom

Contact

To learn more about Ameritech Financial, please contact:

Ameritech Financial

5789 State Farm Drive #265

Rohnert Park, CA 94928

1-800-792-8621

[email protected]

Related Images

brown-university.jpg

Brown University

Credit: jiawangkun/bigstock

image2.png

Related Links

Ameritech Financial home page

Related Video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WRza8MbLvuM

SOURCE Ameritech Financial
CHICAGO, Nov. 30, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- The lawsuit, known as: Lori Cowen, et al. v. Lenny & Larry's, Inc. asserts claims against Lenny & Larry's, Inc. ("Lenny & Larry's") related to the advertising, packaging, and labeling of its products. Among other things, the lawsuit claims that Lenny & Larry's misstated the nutritional content of a Lenny & Larry's Baked Goods Product, The Complete Cookie. Lenny & Larry's denies any wrongdoing, and the Court has not decided who is right.

Who is included? The Settlement Class includes: All United States resident consumers who purchased one or more of Lenny & Larry's The Complete Cookie or other Lenny & Larry's Baked Goods Products at a retail establishment or online any time up to March 19, 2019.

What are the Settlement Benefits? Each Settlement Class Member, is entitled to a cash distribution not exceeding the greater of (i) the amount reflected by their proof of purchase up to $50.00 or (ii) $20.00. Alternatively, Settlement Class Members may elect to receive free Complete Cookies with a retail value of up to $30.00, including shipping charges and applicable costs. If Settlement Class Members made their purchase online at the Lenny & Larry's website they do not need to provide proof or purchase, but still need to file a claim to get a payment. Settlement Class Members who do not have valid proof of purchase may elect to submit a completed claim form and affidavit and receive $10.00 in cash or Complete Cookies with a retail value of up to $15.00, including shipping charges and applicable costs. Depending on the number of valid claims, final payments may be reduced on a pro rata basis.

How can Settlement Class Members get money or product? Settlement Class Members must submit a valid claim by January 29, 2019 to receive money or free product from this Settlement. Settlement Class Members can find and submit a Claim Form at www.LLCookieSettlement.com, or can print out a Claim Form and mail it to the Claims Administrator.

What are the options? Settlement Class Members who do not want to be legally bound by the Settlement, must exclude themselves by January 29, 2019. Settlement Class Members who do not exclude themselves will give up any claims against Lenny & Larry's covered by the Settlement, and will not be able to sue Lenny & Larry's for these types of claims in the future. Settlement Class Members may object to any aspect of the Settlement, but must do so by January 29, 2019. The Long Form Notice of Settlement found on the settlement website explains how to exclude or object. The Court will hold a Hearing on March 19, 2019 to consider whether to approve the Settlement and requests for attorneys' fees and costs of up to $1,200,000 and Incentive Awards of $1,500 to each of the five Plaintiffs. If a Class Member files and serves an objection, they and/or their attorney (if they choose to hire one at their own cost) may appear at this hearing (but are not required to).

This is only a summary. For detailed information including the full notice, the Settlement Agreement, and claim forms information, visit www.LLCookieSettlement.com.

URL: www.LLCookieSettlement.com

SOURCE The United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, Eastern Division

Related Links

http://www.LLCookieSettlement.com


AUBURN, Ala., Nov. 29, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Auburn University researchers have discovered that soldiers who consume two protein shakes per day gain more lean muscle mass, lose more fat mass, perform more push-ups and improve their 2-mile run time.

Following the study from the School of Kinesiology in Auburn's College of Education recently published in the journal Nutrients, a group of doctoral students provided recommendations to the United States Army's Human Performance group at Fort Benning, Georgia, on how to implement the findings to improve soldier fueling.

"Injury prevention and long-term health is a key focus of our research," said Professor JoEllen Sefton, director of the Auburn University Warrior Research Center. "In addition to looking at these fitness measures and body composition, we are also investigating other benefits of protein supplementation, such as reductions in injury rates."

According to their research, twice daily supplementation with whey protein improves push-up performance and reduces fat mass during Initial Entry Training in comparison to a carbohydrate supplementation group.

Their recommendations, combined with other research, anecdotal evidence and Army recommendations, led to new nutrition policies implemented in all One Station Unit Training units. Soldiers now receive an additional Meal Ready-to-Eat in the field supplied by and paid for by the Army.

In addition, when the soldiers are not in the field, but are in garrison, they are allowed to purchase up to two protein shakes per day on their own. The shakes will be stocked by the unit and distributed by their drill sergeants, demonstrating the Army's commitment to improving soldier fueling.

"The soldiers also see the value in this nutritional supplementation and are taking advantage of it," Sefton said.

Auburn's Warrior Research Center is helping the men and women of the U.S. Armed Forcesas well as firefighters, police and first respondersto maximize readiness and prevent injury through improved health and wellness, physical and technical performance, and vehicle and equipment design.

"We want our retired veterans to enjoy quality of life in the years following their service to our country and communities," said Sefton.

Additional soldier fueling studies are under way between the Warrior Research Center and the military.

For more information about the Warrior Research Center, go to www.auwarriorresearch.com.

SOURCE Auburn University

Related Links

http://www.auburn.edu


VERNON HILLS, Ill., Nov. 30, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- The American craft beer bar franchise, Beerhead Bar & Eatery, is continuing its nationwide growth to bring an extensive list of craft beers and dining to both new and existing markets. Plans include a three-store expansion in Northern Ohio, a three-store expansion in Frisco, Texas and a two-store expansion in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. In addition, Beerhead is preparing to open its Novi, Michigan location in January, 2019, a new location adjacent to Wrigley Field in Chicago in March, 2019, and the first of the three Ohio stores in Avon, Ohio.

Beerhead aims to add to this growing portfolio in 2019, seeking to sign 10 new franchisees. Unlike other franchise concepts, Beerhead does not seek to sell beyond its growth plan in order to ensure each franchisee gets direct attention from its co-founders and is fully committed to exemplifying the Beerhead brand.

As a thank you to the loyal guests that continue to propel the brand's growth, Beerhead is teaming up with Grenada Boutique Resorts in its first ever storewide luxury vacation giveaway. Together the companies will give one lucky customer a five-day/four-night stay for four at an Oceanfront Cliffside two-bedroom Villa at the West Indies Grenadine Resort. The winner will be be randomly chosen and announced on December 31, 2018 on Beerhead's Instagram to bring in the New Year.

"We cannot think of a better way to enter 2019 than to reward a loyal customer with a trip of a lifetime," said Beerhead Bar and Eatery Co-Founder, Greg Goodrich. "From our first store in Vernon Hills, Illinois, Beerhead's steady franchise growth and devoted customer base has propelled us forward. Partnering with 474 Grenada Boutique Resorts is a meaningful tribute to our guests in order to celebrate the New Year and our successes."

In a relaxed, fun atmosphere, Beerhead aims to expose guests to a seemingly infinite world of American craft beers and spirits, including selections from around the world, served by a highly trained and knowledgeable staff. Beerhead will feature hundreds of local and American craft beer choices in its wide selection, as well as lunch and dinner casual dining.

Additional information regarding Beerhead Bar & Eatery, the Grenada giveaway and franchising can be found at https://www.facebook.com/BeerheadbarandEatery/http://beerheadbar.com/.

About Beerhead Bar & Eatery

Founded in 2012 under the original name of The Beer Market, Beerhead is an emerging American craft beer bar that marries the appeal of offering a rotating selection of more than 400 brands of locally and regionally brewed beer, wine, and other locally sourced beverages and food offerings in a contemporary, yet timeless atmosphere complete with live music and communal tables. Beerhead began franchising in 2015 in an effort to expand its favorite local beer bar vibe to other communities, breweries and distilleries. For more information, visit http://beerheadbar.com. To learn more about franchising opportunities, visit http://beerheadbar.com/franchising.

Media Contact: Rachel Shaykin, Fishman Public Relations, [email protected] or 847-945-1300

SOURCE Beerhead Bar & Eatery

Related Links

http://beerheadbar.com/


BEIJING, Nov. 30, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- China New Borun Corporation (NYSE: BORN) ("Borun" or the "Company"), a leading producer and distributor of corn-based edible alcohol in China, announces today that it will hold its annual general meeting of shareholders at 10:00 a.m. Beijing/Hong Kong time on December 28, 2018 at the Company's corporate office located at Bohai Industrial Park (Yangkou Town), Shouguang, Shandong province, People's Republic of China.

Record holders of ordinary shares as of the close of business on November 30, 2018, New York time, are entitled to notice of, and to vote at, the annual general meeting or any adjournment or postponement thereof. Holders 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, The Bank of New York Mellon.

The purpose of the annual general meeting will be to re-elect Mr. Hengxiu Song, Mr. Jinmiao Wang, Mr. Binbin Jiang, and Mr. Xisheng Lu and elect Mrs. Shufeng Jia to the Company's board of directors and ratify the appointment of its auditors, WWC, P.C. Certified Accountants for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2018.

The notice of the annual general meeting, which sets forth the resolutions to be submitted to shareholder approval at the meeting, is available on the Investor Relations section of the Company's website at http://ir.chinanewborun.com. A copy of the Company's proxy statement has been filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC").

Additionally, a copy of China New Borun Corporation's 2017 Annual report on Form 20-F, including its audited financial statements, for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2017, has been posted on the Investor Relations section of the Company's website for download at the following link: http://ir.chinanewborun.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=236223&p=irol-sec, and can be also accessed on the SEC's website at http://www.sec.gov.

About China New Borun Corporation

China New Borun Corporation (NYSE: BORN) is a leading producer and distributor of corn-based edible alcohol sold as an ingredient to producers of baijiu, a popular grain-based alcoholic beverage in China. The Company also produces DDGS Feed, liquid carbon dioxide and crude corn oil as by-products of edible alcohol production, and chlorinated polyethylene (CPE) that are widely used in chemical industries. China New Borun is based in Shouguang, Shandong Province. Additional information about the company can be found at http://www.chinanewborun.com and in documents filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, which are available on the SEC's website at http://www.sec.gov.

SOURCE China New Borun Corporation

Related Links

http://www.chinanewborun.com


WASHINGTON, Nov. 30, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- The International Dairy Foods Association issued the following statement by Michael Dykes, D.V.M., IDFA president and CEO, regarding the signing today of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) during the G20 Summit Meeting in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

"Although we're pleased that the three countries have taken the next step in moving the USMCA forward, the agreement is a hollow victory unless the Section 232 tariffs on steel and aluminum imports are lifted.

"Mexico's retaliatory tariffs of 25 percent on American cheeses continue to have a negative impact on dairy exports, and U.S. dairy's access to the Mexican market remains at serious risk. We're increasingly concerned that the benefits won't be realized as long as the tariffs on steel and aluminum imports remain in place.

"Once those tariffs are lifted, we will welcome the progress on USMCA, because it achieved three important priorities for the U.S. dairy industry.

"First and foremost, we preserved the duty-free market access to Mexico, our number 1 market for U.S. dairy exports accounting for 25 percent of our total dairy exports. We are also pleased to see some progress on protecting our market access for certain cheese names with additional geographical indications provisions.

"Second, we eliminated the Canadian Class 7 pricing program. Third, we obtained increased market access to the Canadian market.

"A signed USMCA is a positive step forward for the U.S. dairy industry across the board. Free trade agreements like the USMCA that open markets and lower trade barriers are crucial to continuing the trend of growing U.S. dairy exports. Maintaining and expanding access to international markets is essential for the future success of the U.S. dairy industry.

"We recognize that, given the political changes in the recent midterm elections and the uncertainty over the resolution of the steel and aluminum tariffs, it is very difficult to predict the timing of the final approval of the USMCA by the United States and implementation of the agreement by both Mexico and Canada. We will advocate for expeditious congressional approval so the agreed-to changes can be implemented as soon as possible."

The International Dairy Foods Association (IDFA), Washington, D.C., represents the nation's dairy manufacturing and marketing industry, which supports nearly 3 million jobs that generate more than $161 billion in wages and has an overall economic impact of more than $628 billion. IDFA members range from multinational organizations to single-plant companies. Together they represent approximately 90 percent of the milk, cultured products, cheese, ice cream and frozen desserts produced and marketed in the United States and sold throughout the world. The diverse membership includes numerous food retailers, suppliers, cooperatives and companies that offer a wide variety of nutritional dairy products and dairy-derived ingredients. Visit IDFA at www.idfa.org.

SOURCE International Dairy Foods Association

Related Links

http://www.idfa.org/


GUANGZHOU, China, Nov. 30, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- The East Tech West event, a tech conference organized by CNBC and the Administrative Committee of Nansha District, was held in the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou, an important hub within the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, from November 27 to 29. The event attracted more than 200 global leaders in business and technology, including senior executives or founders of Alibaba, JP Morgan, Pony.ai, Didi Chuxing, Ctrip.com, Ernst & Young, Telenor, Microsoft and WM Motor. By sharing insights on artificial intelligence, fin-tech, smart manufacturing and other much-debated topics, they discussed ways to seize on opportunities from the technological and industrial revolution and to unleash the potential for innovation.

Amid a new round of industrial and technological revolution, the world is seeing a convergence of technological revolution in some critical areas with China's economic growth. And the inner force driving innovation and technological advancement is among the topics discussed at the event in Guangzhou, a frontier of global scientific and technological innovation.

Scientific and technological innovation is essential to driving the economic growth of the Bay Areas, and more importantly, developing the area at large. The world's three major Bay Areas of New York, Tokyo and San Francisco are fine examples. Globally, China's Greater Bay Area aims at morphing into a center for shipping, trade, financial services, technological innovation and advanced manufacturing, and will hopefully become a new engine for China's technological innovation.

AI, for example, is an eye-catching area at the event. Nansha has now housed technological projects of more than 130 industrial leaders in this field, including Tencent, AsiaInfo, CloudWalk, iFlytek and Pony.ai. The Guangzhou International Institute of Artificial Intelligence has been established here, and the two-square-kilometer Nansha Artificial Intelligence Industrial Park, will be built in Qingsheng, a hub within Nansha Area of Guangzhou, China (Guangdong) Pilot Free Trade Zone.

As Nansha opens up its public services of education, healthcare and transportation, the AI firms are offered more space to apply their innovative products and services. "Nansha is on track to become an exemplary AI-based smart city," said Cai Chaolin, party secretary of Nansha.

To establish as a hub city of the Greater Bay Area, Guangzhou is pooling quality resources from all over the world. As incubators of technologies, such as AI, big data and biotechnology, Nansha Institute of Artificial Intelligence, Pazhou Mobile Payment Smart Island and GE Biological Park demonstrate how Guangzhou shares its orientation and values with the world in pursuing innovation. This has changed the way people live, work and think.

"China has been making major progress on the technological front in recent years. The growth of its AI industry, heavily relying on massive data, has been rapid. China is indeed 'the Saudi Arabia of data' with strong computing power," said Li Jing, managing director and vice chairman of Asia Pacific at JP Morgan.

"In a world of ever-changing technology, China has gained a sound momentum for scientific and technological development in the future. CNBC is willing to embark on a path toward shared development with China," said KC Sullivan, president and managing director of CNBC International. In his view, Nansha will be a significant contributor to China's technological scenario.

Scientific and technological innovation in fact rests upon sound market and policy environments. With strong and enabling environment for technological development, Nansha has continued to roll out favorable policies and forge a future-oriented climate. A report by KPMG shows that the district ranks 51st in the world by the business environment, above the world's average.

As a host of innovative firms and incubators is growing strong, their influence on the globe is also increasing. In this connection, Guangzhou has consolidated its position among the international cities.

Guangzhou has made it into the alpha category of first-tier global cities, according to the latest world city ranking issued by Globalization and World Cities Research Network (GaWC). Sources from the GaWC said that compared to the cities within the Yangtze River Delta (Shanghai excluded), the Pearl River Delta cities are more connected to the world.

The world-wide connectivity has greatly channeled the global quality resources into Guangzhou. Data shows that Guangzhou housed 40,000 new tech companies in 2017, meaning an average of 11 were established per day.

Nansha is just a testimony to Guangzhou's capacity to pool innovative firms. Over the past three years since the establishment of Nansha Area, its business community has experienced a nearly nine-fold increase, from 8400 to 83,000 businesses, and 127 projects invested by Fortune Global 500 companies settled here.

A basic pattern of innovation has been formed as an innovation-oriented ecosystem that consists of policies, capital, talents and institution is maturing. Third-party estimates show that Nansha ranks third in China by institutional innovation and first by trade facilitation for two consecutive years. "Nansha is set to become an international innovative center within the Greater Bay Area," said Cai.

The Bay Area economy has been viewed as a main driver of the global economic growth. The guests at the East Tech West 2018 agreed that with a free flow of quality innovative resources and factors from across the world and its resulting synergy created within the Greater Bay Area, Guangzhou is expected to be an influential and competitive global innovator of technology.

SOURCE The Administrative Committee of Nansha District of Guangzhou
STOCKHOLM, Nov. 30, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- According to Essity's articles of association, owners of Class A shares have the right to have such shares converted to Class B shares. Conversion reduces the total number of votes in the company. When such a conversion has occurred, the company is obligated by law to disclose any such changes in this manner.

In November, at the request of shareholders 90,000 Class A shares were converted to Class B shares. The total number of votes in the company thereafter amounts to 1,278,277,806.

The total number of registered shares in the company amounts to 702,342,489 of which 63,992,813 are Class A shares and 638,349,676 are Class B shares.

NB: This information is such that Essity must disclose in accordance with the Financial Instruments Trading Act. The information was submitted for publication on November 30, 2018, at 08:00 CET.

For further information, please contact:

Karl Stoltz,

Media Relations Manager,

+46-8-788-51-55

This information was brought to you by Cision http://news.cision.com

The following files are available for download:

http://mb.cision.com/Main/15798/2684392/953322.pdf Conversion of shares

SOURCE Essity
Truth about Saudi Arabia: I know it doesnt sound right to say we arent going to do anything to the prince in Saudi Arabia. But the truth of the matter is hes going to buy weapons wherever, either from Russia or China, just like Trump said. They also have tons of our planes and other equipment that require parts that we can deliver, so the billions of dollars worth of weaponry and spare parts they are buying have a lot to do with our economy. By the way, Turkey is no saint, and we all know China doesnt give a damn about human rights, so lets not get too high on the high perch about it.
"This moment has been a long time coming," said EWTN Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Michael P. Warsaw. "Almost seven years and two presidential administrations later, the government and the courts have now realized what EWTN has been saying all along, that the HHS Mandate was an unconstitutional attempt to coerce us into violating our strongly held beliefs. This is the right outcome for EWTN and for all those who value religious liberty in America."

EWTN's original lawsuit was filed Feb. 9, 2012 in Federal District Court in Birmingham, Alabama against the Department of Health and Human Services, its Secretary Kathleen Sebelius and other related government agencies. That lawsuit sought an injunction against the imposition of the mandate as well as a declaratory judgement that it was unconstitutional. On March 22, 2012, the Attorney General of the State of Alabama filed a motion to join EWTN as a plaintiff in that suit.

EWTN's first lawsuit was dismissed March 25, 2013 by Judge Sharon Lovelace Blackburn of the U.S. District Court in Birmingham, Alabama after the Obama administration promised it would amend the regulations.

On Oct. 28, 2013, EWTN filed a new lawsuit against the mandate after the promised revisions failed to address the Network's objections. The State of Alabama and its then-Attorney General Luther Strange joined as co-plaintiffs. However, in June 2014, U.S. District Court Judge Callie Granade of Mobile, Alabama ruled against the Network. EWTN was immediately granted an injunction preventing the mandate from being imposed while it appealed the decision.

The Network appealed Judge Granade's decision to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit, which held oral arguments on the case Feb. 4, 2015. A year later, on Feb. 18, 2016, a panel of judges voted 2-1 against EWTN. The court suspended that decision pending the outcome of the Zubik v. Burwell case, which was then pending before the U.S. Supreme Court.

Following the lead of the Supreme Court in its Zubik decision, the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals vacated its negative order against EWTN on May 31, 2016. In doing so, the court asked for further briefing on the matter while the parties worked toward a settlement.

Attorneys for EWTN and the Department of Justice negotiated terms and the government agreed that it would not enforce the HHS Mandate against EWTN. The government agreed that EWTN could ask the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals to vacate the lower court's decision. That settlement paved the way for the appellate court's Nov. 29th order.

"I am grateful to our team of attorneys from Becket who have represented us from the beginning," said Warsaw. "They have been a tremendous partner in this fight for religious liberty." In reacting to the resolution of the case, Becket Senior Counsel Lori Windham stated: "EWTN has fought long and hard to ensure that its basic freedoms would be protected, and this victory ensures that EWTN can continue to serve as a voice for religious liberty for many years to come."

EWTN Global Catholic Network, in its 38th year, is the largest religious media network in the world. EWTN's 11 TV channels are broadcast in multiple languages 24 hours a day, seven days a week to over 300 million television households in more than 145 countries and territories. EWTN platforms also include radio services transmitted through SIRIUS/XM, iHeart Radio, and over 500 domestic and international AM & FM radio affiliates; a worldwide shortwave radio service; the largest Catholic website in the U.S.; electronic and print news services, including Catholic News Agency, "The National Catholic Register" newspaper, and several global news wire services; as well as EWTN Publishing, its book publishing division.

SOURCE EWTN Global Catholic Network

Related Links

http://ewtn.com


MORRIS PLAINS, N.J., Nov. 30, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Honeywell (NYSE: HON) today announced it will relocate its global corporate headquarters to Charlotte, North Carolina, a business- and family-friendly city close to several of Honeywell's businesses in the Southeast United States. Honeywell also announced it will relocate the headquarters of its Safety and Productivity Solutions (SPS) business group from Fort Mill, South Carolina, to Charlotte. The final decision is subject to the recently passed North Carolina Job Development Investment Grant (JDIG) legislation becoming law and the final award of state and local incentives, which the company expects to be completed early next week.

As part of the move, about 150 to 200 New Jersey-based senior management positions and about 100 South Carolina-based positions will relocate to Charlotte between now and September 2019. The company envisions gradually adding about 500 Honeywell corporate and SPS positions to the Charlotte location over the next five years, bringing total employment there to about 750 by the end of 2024. Any corporate roles that will be added in Charlotte will come from multiple locations, not just New Jersey.

"Today's announcement reflects our commitment to locate our corporate headquarters close to our large centers in Charlotte alongside Safety and Productivity Solutions, and Atlanta, where our Honeywell Building Technologies and Honeywell Connected Enterprise businesses are located. Charlotte is a top-10 destination city in the U.S. that will readily enable us to recruit and retain the world-class talent we will need over the long term to support Honeywell's strategic focus on leading technology and software solutions within our end markets," said Darius Adamczyk, Honeywell chairman and chief executive officer. "We also are strong believers in supporting our communities, and we look forward to bringing Honeywell Hometown Solutions  our award-winning corporate citizenship initiative  to the Charlotte area.

"Our decision does not reflect any issues with the quality of our experience in New Jersey," Adamczyk added. "We value the strong relationship that we have built with the state of New Jersey and with Governor Murphy. New Jersey will remain a substantial employment center for us."

Approximately 1,000 Honeywell employees will remain in New Jersey across the company's six locations in the state, including about 800 employees at Honeywell's offices in Morris Plains. Fort Mill will also continue to be a significant employment center for Honeywell.

Honeywell ( www.honeywell.com ) is a Fortune 100 technology company that delivers industry specific solutions that include aerospace products and services; control technologies for buildings and industry; and performance materials globally. Our technologies help everything from aircraft, buildings, manufacturing plants, supply chains, and workers become more connected to make our world smarter, safer, and more sustainable. For more news and information on Honeywell, please visit www.honeywell.com/newsroom .

This release contains certain statements that may be deemed "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, that address activities, events or developments that we or our management intends, expects, projects, believes or anticipates will or may occur in the future are forward-looking statements. Such statements are based upon certain assumptions and assessments made by our management in light of their experience and their perception of historical trends, current economic and industry conditions, expected future developments and other factors they believe to be appropriate. The forward-looking statements included in this release are also subject to a number of material risks and uncertainties, including but not limited to economic, competitive, governmental, and technological factors affecting our operations, markets, products, services and prices. Such forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance, and actual results, developments and business decisions may differ from those envisaged by such forward-looking statements. We identify the principal risks and uncertainties that affect our performance in our Form 10-K and other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Contacts:

Media Investor Relations Scott Sayres Mark Macaluso (480) 257-8921 (973) 455-2222 [email protected] [email protected]

SOURCE Honeywell

Related Links

http://www.honeywell.com


CHICAGO, Nov. 30, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Huiyihuiying, a Chinese hi-tech company that uses big data, artificial intelligence (AI), and radiomics to help radiologists improve diagnostic efficiency and accuracy, announced on November 26 at the Radiological Society of North America's Annual Meeting (RSNA 2018) the release of two full-cycle AI products worldwide. "Breast Cancer Artificial Intelligence Full Cycle Health Management Platform" and "AORTIST2.0 Aorta Artificial Intelligence Cloud Platform" are different from other AI products in that they extend AI from screening to treatment support and prognosis prediction.

"AORTIST2.0 Aorta Artificial Intelligence Cloud Platform" is a smart stent placement solution for type B aortic dissection, jointly developed by the Chinese PLA General Hospital and Huiyihuiying. According to Guo Wei, Director of Vascular Surgery of the Chinese PLA General Hospital, this is the first automatic segmentation method for type B aortic dissection artificial intelligence on a global scale. The other product, "Breast Cancer Artificial Intelligence Full Cycle Health Management Platform", is dedicated to providing breast cancer artificial intelligence full-cycle medical treatment solutions, with comprehensive data of mammography, nuclear magnetic and pathology, to quantify diagnosis results. When combined with neoadjuvant chemotherapy, the platform reduces tumor clinical stage tumors, improves the rate of breast-conservation and the success rate of breast-conservation surgery. In addition, combined with radioomics, accurate prognosis prediction and personalized follow-up plans can be achieved.

"Some of the operations performed in many top hospitals are prosthetic operations, and the proportion of postoperative recurrence is high. To cure this complex disease, prognosis prediction and follow-up management are equally important. Our goal is to design a product that covers the entire medical cycle of patients, from prevention and screening, diagnosis and treatment, prognosis prediction and follow-up management. In addition to improving surgical accuracy, the AORTIST system integrates the radiomics cloud platform we developed, embedding the prognostic prediction model, which determines whether postoperatively adverse events will occur in type B dissection patients," said Chai Xiangfei, founder and CEO of Huiyihuiying.

"In addition, our big data intelligent analysis platform based on radiomics collected more than 500 different projects from different hospitals. Currently, there is a lot of well-labeled image data, combined with massive clinical data, test data and pathological data, constructing a full data center. This is the basis for real-time artificial intelligence medical treatment," Chai Xiangfei said.

"Patient-centric, data-driven" are the two developing concepts from Huiyihuiying that coincide with the spirit of the RSNA 2018 annual meeting. In the keynote address of "How Emerging Technology Will Empower Tomorrow's Radiologists to Provide Better Patient Care", the chairman of RSNA 2018, Vijay M. Rao said that the benefits of future AI and machine learning methods for radiology will be enormous, and these technologies will make radiologists' work more efficient, allowing more time to be transferred to the patients' care. Technological innovation will enable imaging technology to move toward "faster, safer, quantitative, precise and affordable". With important imaging files, clinical information, genetic characteristics and risk factors on the information hub, it will greatly help patients achieve individualized treatment .

Huiyihuiying also launched a new product at RSNA: intelligent screening of tuberculosis, which can be screened via X-ray to detect whether patients have tuberculosis. In combination with CT analysis, location and shape of tuberculosis texture can be quantified. Radiologists and clinicians can make a diagnosis and treatment plan based on these features.

Previously, Huiyihuiying signed a commercial cooperation agreement with Nuance, the world's largest professional R&D and sales company for speech recognition software, and the back supporter of Apple Siri's voice recognition technology. The four mature AI algorithms of Huiyihuiying have been successfully launched on Nuance's AI algorithm store platform. Huiyihuiying and Nuance attended RSNA 2018 together to further introduce the products.

Recently, Huiyihuiying's AI products have received investment from Intel and Core Kinetic Energy. The products include lung nodule screening, bone fracture screening, chest X-ray screening, and tuberculosis screening, as well as two full-cycle products. They have been utilized in more than 800 hospitals in China, and there applications are in use in more than 50 hospitals in Japan, the United States, Kazakhstan, and Brazil.

SOURCE Huiyihuiying
MARTINEZ, Calif., Nov. 30, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- IFPTE Local 21, a union representing 11,000 public sector professionals in the Bay Area, announced that members have ratified a three-year contract that would provide healthcare relief and the ability to recruit and retain critical Contra Costa County workers.

In April Local 21 and 8 other unions formed a Healthcare Coalition to protest the unreasonable healthcare premiums that employees were paying for coverage. Contra Costa County workers are paying more than double what their counterparts in San Francisco pay for family coverage, and triple that of city workers in Oakland, with key family plan premiums approaching $1,000 per month for employees. Because of these prohibitive costs, County Departments are suffering from major retention and recruitment issues. There is significant turnover and short staffing throughout the Library system, in Animal Services, among social workers, doctors, public health professionals, IT workers, and more.

The 9 Union Healthcare Coalition won an agreement that will set the County on a better path. The County will pay a fairer percentage of health premiums moving forward, increasing each year of the Agreement. The County will also cover 100% of the scheduled premium increases for 2019, and workers have won a new healthcare structure that will level the playing field and allow for new providers to enter the market in 2020.

The deal comes after thousands of county workers rose up and engaged in solidarity pickets at a dozen County worksites, rallied and made public comments at the monthly Board meetings, placed hundreds of phone calls to the Board of Supervisors' offices, collected more than 2,000 employee petition signatures, and shared hundreds of stories of hardship, all of which created the pressure and leverage needed to come to an Agreement with the County.

Marc Miyashiro, an IT worker for Contra Costa County Health Services, says "This is what unions are all about - workers coming together to make positive, just change. We came to public service because we wanted meaningful jobs that serve our communities. But we can't hold onto workers who are charged with providing those services, because workers can't afford to work here and pay for healthcare for our families. That was unacceptable, for workers and for the public. So we said with one voice: enough is enough! This contract will strengthen our ability to serve the public and live in our community."

SOURCE IFPTE Local 21
HOUSTON, Nov. 29, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Intuitive Machines LLC has its sights set on a mid-2021 launch for the autonomous delivery of scientific and commercial payloads to the surface of the moon.

Houston-based Intuitive Machines has been developing the Nova-C class moon lander as a component of the company's Lunar Payloads and Data Service (LPDS) program. A 3,300-pound Nova-C lander delivers payloads in seven berths to the lunar surface on a single flight and provides power, computation, and data relay services in support of each payload.

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration has awarded Intuitive Machines a Commercial Lunar Payload Services contract and is an anchor customer to the LPDS program.

The Nova-C landers are launched on available rockets outfitted with fairings three or five meters in diameter and can also release small satellites into lunar orbit prior to landing.

The Nova-C lander design provides a technology platform that scales to mid- and large-scale lander classes, capable of accommodating much larger payloads. The Nova-C design also supports positioning communication satellites in cis-lunar orbit and functions as a payload cycler between the lunar surface and a human-occupied orbiting platform.

"We are extremely excited to be developing the Nova-C spacecraft/lunar lander line and look forward to landing payloads on the moon in 2021," Steve Altemus, Intuitive Machines president and chief executive, said.

Altemus said researchers and agencies have voiced substantial interest in placing scientific instruments, communication assets, and other equipment on the lunar surface, an aspiration met by the Nova-C line of landers.

Prior to cofounding Intuitive Machines in July 2013, Altemus, an aerospace engineer, served as the deputy director of NASA's Johnson Space Center. Formerly, he was the space center's director of engineering, guiding 2,800 employees through the conceptualization, design, development, testing and evaluation of aerospace systems for use in human, robotic, and automated space flight for low earth orbit and deep-space missions.

The Intuitive Machines team includes many former veterans of NASA's advanced development and autonomous systems efforts, including Project M and Project Morpheus, which were involved in demonstrating system autonomy, rapid development, hazard detection, and methane propulsion technologies for lunar-exploration missions.

"We have put together a world-class team specifically designed to develop and execute the end-to-end mission of landing and supporting payloads on the moon commercially," Altemus said.

Intuitive Machines is developing Nova-C landers at a company facility at the Houston Spaceport at Ellington Airport and currently has private investor commitments of more than $45 million dedicated to the LPDS program.

"Each of the Nova-C systems are already at a very high technology readiness level, and many of them are complete or off the shelf," Dr. Tim Crain, the Lunar Payloads and Data Service program's engineering director, said.

Potential payload customers are invited to contact Intuitive Machines at 281-520-3703 or to visit intuitivemachines.com.

About the company:

Intuitive Machines was founded by former NASA aerospace engineers Steve Altemus and Tim Crain and entrepreneur and investor Kam Ghaffarian.

Intuitive Machines invents hardware and software solutions for businesses that can benefit from varying degrees of autonomy in their systems, processes and operations. Intuitive Machines has been solving significant challenges across multiple industries, including aerospace and energy, providing solutions in intelligent autonomous systems, including complex computational modeling, simulations and digital analytics. Nearly 70 percent of Intuitive Machines' business is in the aerospace industry, supporting NASA and major aerospace companies.

To find out more about Intuitive Machines, visit intuitivemachines.com/contact-us.

Contact: Steve Altemus, 281-377-3254, [email protected]

SOURCE Intuitive Machines LLC
BEIJING, Nov. 30, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- JA Solar Holdings Co., Ltd., a world-leading manufacturer of high-performance solar power products, announced that it entered into an agreement with Shanxi Electric Power Engineering Co. Ltd (SEPEC), a subsidiary of China Energy Engineering Group, to supply high-efficiency mono PERC modules for a 257MW project in Phu Yen, Vietnam.

The project is contracted by SEPEC and developed by B. GRIMM, a multi-business corporation actively engaged in the field of energy. The project is of great importance for the development of the renewable energy market in Vietnam as well as other Southeast Asian countries.

In the signing ceremony, Mr. Jiping Chen, President of SEPEC, showed his appreciation for JA Solar, "JA Solar takes a leading position in the R&D and production of high-performance PV products. We are confident that JA's high-efficiency modules and well-established global sales network will enable project success. In addition, we look forward to the opportunity to further strengthen our partnership with JA Solar and cooperate on future projects."

With growing energy demand, limited domestic fossil fuel reserves and abundant solar sources, Vietnam is well-positioned to develop and grow its PV industry. However, the country is located in a region under extreme environmental conditions of year-round high temperature and high humidity. This poses stringent requirements for solar module performance, in which only PV products with superior quality can perform well. JA Solar's modules pass rigorous long-term reliability and environmental adaptability tests, and maintain a high-efficiency and stable power output on a long-term basis. As a result, the JA Solar brand is well recognized in the marketplace, and over time, the Company has significantly grown its business across the country.

Mr. Baofang Jin, President and CEO of JA Solar, commented, "The cooperation between the two companies demonstrates SEPEC's recognition of JA's products and services. We look forward to cooperating on more projects in the future, further developing the solar market within the 'Belt and Road' countries, and delivering benefits to more people from solar energy development."

For media inquiries:

JA Solar Holdings Co., Ltd

http://www.jasolar.com/html/en/

Xiaorui Sun

+86-10-6361-1888 x1698

[email protected]

SOURCE JA Solar Holdings Co., Ltd.

Related Links

http://www.jasolar.com/html/en


"Jenny made the list because she is breaking down barriers in the broker-dealer ecosystem and opening doors for other women along the way," said Theresa Gralinski, Director of Marketing at InvestmentNews. "She has devoted her career to helping other financial advisersmany of whom are womento grow their businesses and help their clients live financially prepared and fulfilling lives."

"I am so humbled to have been chosen for this year's 'Women to Watch' recognition," Jennifer says. "In a male-dominated industry, it's up to us women to mentor and empower other women interested in this field."

Michelle Harm, National President-Elect of the Women in Financial Services (WIFS) organization, recommended Jennifer for this honor. "Jennifer works tirelessly to advocate for women in the financial services industry," Michelle says. "She is committed to making an impact in the industry through the recruitment and retention of women. She is a great role model as she has successfully navigated the struggle with work-life balance and is giving of her time as a resource to others," Michelle continues.

In addition to this year's InvestmentNews "Women to Watch" honor, Jennifer was also named among Crain's Detroit "Notable Women in Finance" in their May 7, 2018 issue. She also shared her wisdom and advice as a moderator and panelist in the InvestmentNews Women Adviser Summit, held in Chicago and Boston this year. She plans to tour again next year with the Women Advisor Summit, visiting four cities throughout the United States. Furthermore, Jennifer continues to build her company's Women's Forum to help empower female advisors of Sigma Financial Corporation/Parkland Securities, LLC to grow their financial practices and hopefully be mentors to other women advancing in the industry.

To learn more about Jennifer Bacarella, or to discuss getting involved with Sigma Financial Corporation/Parkland Securities, LLC, call Kristi Delongchamp at (888) 744-6264 or email at [email protected].

Related Link

https://www.investmentnews.com/section/women-to-watch/2018/about

About Sigma Financial Corporation/Parkland Securities, LLC

With a caring staff empowered to deliver personal, innovative support, Sigma Financial Corporation/Parkland Securities, LLC partner with independent financial advisors committed to enhancing their clients' experience in an ethical, trustworthy manner. They provide comprehensive financial planning tools, solutions, and services supporting their representatives' efforts in guiding their clients toward financial success.

SOURCE Sigma Financial Corporation/Parkland Securities, LLC
Mayor Eric Garcetti , Los Angeles World Airports, Southwest Airlines Employees and Customers jointly celebrate unveiling of new Terminal 1 at LAX.

, Los Angeles World Airports, Southwest Airlines Employees and Customers jointly celebrate unveiling of new Terminal 1 at LAX. $516.7 million redevelopment by Southwest introduces larger seating areas in gates, a larger and more efficient centralized Customer screening checkpoint and all-new dining and retail options.

redevelopment by Southwest introduces larger seating areas in gates, a larger and more efficient centralized Customer screening checkpoint and all-new dining and retail options. Redevelopment created 3,475 construction jobs.

Partnership with Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield's airports group, URW Airports, increases dining and retail options, including local L.A. favorites Urth Caffe, Trejo's Tacos and Cassell's Hamburgers.

Mayor Eric Garcetti joined Los Angeles World Airports (LAWA) and Southwest Airlines to unveil the new Los Angeles International Airport Terminal 1. This follows a half-billion-dollar, curb-to-gate redevelopment that showcases a new check-in area featuring all-new self-service ticket kiosks, an efficient nine-lane security checkpoint, new area for baggage claim, and exciting new dining and retail destinations with state-of-the-art design.

Completion of the Terminal 1 redevelopment comes as part of LAWA's multibillion-dollar Capital Improvement Program, considered the largest public works program in history for the City of Los Angeles. The Terminal 1 renovation is part of an overall LAX modernization program, which includes an Automated People Mover  an elevated train expected to be completed by 2023  and is expected ultimately to create more than 121,000 construction-related jobs.

"Los Angeles is a city of dreamers and doers, and the reimagined Terminal 1 reflects the creativity at the heart of our city," said Mayor Eric Garcetti. "Working together with Southwest Airlines and our partners, what we have created is more than a terminal that connects passengers to flights  it's a destination in its own right."

"Today the City of Los Angeles and Los Angeles World Airports are celebrating a momentous occasion: The completion of a half a billion dollar investment into our airport by Southwest Airlines," said Councilmember Joe Buscaino. "As investment and partnerships continue to take flight, travelers can get a sneak peek of the future of LAX by visiting Southwest's Terminal 1  a new first-class experience for every traveler, visitor and Angeleno."

"The work happening to modernize LAX is focused on making our airport a more convenient and inviting place to travel through for Angelenos and visitors," said Councilmember Mike Bonin. "From the improved security screening facilities, new restrooms and concessions that feature local eateries, LAX is rapidly becoming the world-class airport this city deserves. The renovations to Terminal 1 will make this part of LAX more secure and more environmentally-friendly, and I applaud Southwest and LAWA on their progress so far."

The four-year, $516.7 million project created 3,475 construction jobs and completely refreshed the aging terminal, which was initially constructed in the early 1980s in advance of the 1984 Olympic Games. The project was completed with minimal impact to customer service and flight operations, keeping approximately 10 million customers moving through the facility each year of the redevelopment.

"The new Terminal 1 reflects Los Angeles World Airports' commitment to creating exceptional facilities and experiences for our guests," said Deborah Flint, CEO, LAWA. "The T1 modernization has been a phenomenal effort by all partners at LAWA, Southwest, and URW Airports, and the results raise the bar for what guests can expect when they come to LAX."

"Today's reveal of Terminal 1 marks a significant milestone in our continued improvement and modernization of LAX," said Board of Airport Commissioners Vice President Val Velasco. "Not only are we transforming LAX into the airport for the future, but we're doing so with a local workforce and businesses to ensure that our community is involved in and benefits from all that we do."

A major goal of the T1 project was to eliminate lines that crowded the approaches to ticketing, security and at shops and restaurants in previously cramped gate areas. Now the terminal runs efficiently with a fleet of new self-service check-in stations, the repositioned security checkpoint and additional retail and dining offerings post-security.

The new 13-gate terminal is a true transformation: curb-to-gate, wall-to-wall. It now boasts an efficient nine-lane security checkpoint; a fully automated checked-baggage inspection and sortation system; refurbished arrival/baggage claim area; updated and expanded restrooms; and replaced Customer boarding bridges.

"Southwest carries more California travelers to, from and within the Golden State every day than any other airline and is scheduled to offer a record 800 departures a day from California next summer," said Southwest CEO Gary Kelly. "This redeveloped Terminal 1 facility at LAX will host many of those Customers and is the perfect venue for our award-winning People to showcase their world-famous Hospitality."

Southwest worked with LAX partner URW Airports, the terminal commercial manager, on a new and expanded dining and retail approach that includes celebrated local brands Urth Caffe, Trejo's Tacos and Cassell's Hamburgers, among others. With 22 dining and retail destinations comprising 23,543 square feet, the new offerings introduce 13 brands new to LAX and eight that are making their airport debut.

Southwest, construction manager Hensel-Phelps and architects from PGAL worked closely with URW to integrate shopping and dining destinations throughout the terminal, giving airport guests greater options and more visibility to their gate.

As part of the Terminal 1 unveiling ceremony, Mayor Garcetti also opened the first long-term LA Original store, operated by Marshall Retail Group. LA Original will be the first-year occupant of a retail space at the front of the terminal that will rotate regularly to introduce guests to trending brands and new products. LA Original, a pilot program of the Mayor's Fund for Los Angeles and the Mayor's Office of Economic Development, provides a platform to showcase diverse makers and promote locally designed, assembled, or manufactured goods through a line of LA-branded products from across Los Angeles. Proceeds support creative entrepreneur programs.

"The Southwest brand is all about customer service and little surprise-and-delight moments, and today you can feel that energy pulsing in the new terminal," said Dominic Lowe, Executive Vice President and Group Director for URW Airports. "Terminal 1 is true testament to the results we can achieve in airports when we all come together with a shared vision."

Here's a closer look at the full dining and retail lineup:

Learn to live Beaming at this ultimate organic superfood cafe, offering plant-based food, unique cleansing programs and a menu of other delicious delights;

at this ultimate organic superfood cafe, offering plant-based food, unique cleansing programs and a menu of other delicious delights; Get pampered with on-demand massage, nail and facial services at LAX-first Be Relax ;

; Discover unique gifts for men, women and children at Brookstone ;

; California Pizza Kitchen serves Cali-style cuisine from quality ingredients including hearth-baked pizzas, distinctive pastas, and fresh salads;

serves Cali-style cuisine from quality ingredients including hearth-baked pizzas, distinctive pastas, and fresh salads; Cassell's Hamburgers is a local crown jewel of LA's culinary realm with a reputation for quality ingredients and pitch perfect plates that have made it the darling of food critics across the nation;

is a local crown jewel of LA's culinary realm with a reputation for quality ingredients and pitch perfect plates that have made it the darling of food critics across the nation; Made from fresh, simple ingredients, Chick-fil-A serves up chicken with no added fillers or hormones;

serves up chicken with no added fillers or hormones; The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf was born and brewed in Southern California , delivering the taste and aroma of the world's best coffees and teas;

was born and brewed in , delivering the taste and aroma of the world's best coffees and teas; Deli & Co puts the "delicatessen" back in deli with fresh, quality ingredients that satisfy cravings morning, noon and night;

puts the "delicatessen" back in deli with fresh, quality ingredients that satisfy cravings morning, noon and night; Taste the consistently perfect bagels, specialty sandwiches, gourmet salads and handcrafted drinks at Einstein's Bagels ;

; I Love L.A., a go-to spot to pick up must-have travel essentials, souvenirs and news and gift items;

a go-to spot to pick up must-have travel essentials, souvenirs and news and gift items; Explore unique, natural skincare solutions at Kiehl's Since 1851 ;

; LA Original showcases locally designed, assembled, or manufactured goods through a line of LA-branded products from across Los Angeles ;

showcases locally designed, assembled, or manufactured goods through a line of LA-branded products from across ; From lipsticks and blush to mascara and eye shadow, MAC Cosmetics is like a cosmetic candy store;

is like a cosmetic candy store; Designed to help travelers on their way, the New Stand store and kiosk carry a rotating mix of travel essentials, gifts and accessories while its free mobile app serves up entertaining articles, music, deals and a digital wallet.

store and kiosk carry a rotating mix of travel essentials, gifts and accessories while its free mobile app serves up entertaining articles, music, deals and a digital wallet. Pei Wei Asian Diner delivers a veritable nod to the new American trifecta: make it delicious, make it fresh and make it fast;

delivers a veritable nod to the new American trifecta: make it delicious, make it fresh and make it fast; Good food, good drinks, and good fun at Reilly's Irish Pub , a West Hollywood original boasting the largest selection of whiskey in Los Angeles ;

, a original boasting the largest selection of whiskey in ; Sample world-class craft beers and quality American comfort food in a vibrant environment at Rock & Brews , a partnership with KISS front men Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley ;

, a partnership with KISS front men and ; Shop quality surf wear and lifestyle items from the Southern California brand Sol Surf , an airport first anywhere;

, an airport first anywhere; Indulge in confections and candies at Treat Me Sweet ;

; Danny Trejo brings an uber-hip, on-trend brand shining bright with star quality appeal in Trejo's Tacos ;

brings an uber-hip, on-trend brand shining bright with star quality appeal in ; Urth Caffe offers its organic coffee and fine teas as well as a fresh, healthy and sustainable menu.

Additional improvements at Terminal 1 include renovation of airline support office space; modernized aircraft parking/apron pavement and modernized hydrant fueling system; improvements to the building facade; a new roof; and relocation of the main terminal entrances to ease traffic congestion.

Construction by the same project team is well underway on Terminal 1.5, a connecting structure between Terminals 1 and 2 that will further expand baggage claim areas and offer Southwest Customers connectivity to the new LAX automated people mover.

For more information about the new offerings and amenities in LAX Terminal 1, visit flyLAX.org and urwairports.com/LAX.

Media Kit: http://bit.ly/LAXT1MediaKit

SOURCE Los Angeles World Airports; Southwest Airlines

Related Links

http://www.flyLAX.org


NEW YORK, Nov. 30, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, Le Bernardin was named the number one restaurant in the world by La Liste, the global restaurant guide and ranking system of the world's top 1,000 restaurants.

Joined in a tie with Guy Savoy, Le Bernardin was previously ranked the number one restaurant in the United States and number two in the world. Le Bernardin is one of only three New York City restaurants within the top 10 restaurants in the world and one of only nine United States-based restaurants in the top 100, in addition to its new number one ranking.

Of the win, chef and co-owner Eric Ripert said, "We are delighted to be recognized by La Liste. It's a great motivation for the team, who work so hard throughout the year to deliver a special experience to our guests time and time again."

La Liste debuted in 2015, providing an objective and democratic ranking of the world's most outstanding restaurants powered by a proprietary algorithm that gathers information from over 600 leading food guides, user-generated review sites and global publications such as The New York Times, Michelin Guide, TripAdvisor and more. Commentary directly from restaurant guests is also weighed within the algorithm. Based in Paris, La Liste reviews nearly 16,000 restaurants, with the resulting restaurants located in 180+ countries, on five continents.

Le Bernardin was also awarded three stars from the 2019 Michelin Guide this year for the 14th consecutive year and has continued to maintain a four-star rating from The New York Times, receiving four stars in each of its five reviews since its opening. Le Bernardin is also ranked number 26 on the annual World's 50 Best Restaurants list.

About Le Bernardin

Le Bernardin is the internationally acclaimed seafood restaurant from chef Eric Ripert and co-owner Maguy Le Coze. Originally opened in 1986 in New York by Maguy and her brother Gilbert after a successful location in Paris, the restaurant has held three stars from the Michelin Guide since its 2005 New York launch, five consecutive four-star reviews from The New York Times, and is currently ranked number 26 on World's 50 Best Restaurants list. More info available at le-bernardin.com.

About La Liste

La Liste is an international restaurant ranking system in guide, originally launched in 2015 by president and founder, Philippe Faure. La Liste provides a one-of-a-kind objective ranking of the world's most outstanding restaurants powered by a proprietary algorithm that reviews restaurants based on over 600 leading food guides, user-generated review sites and global publications. The list reviews nearly 16,000 restaurants, with the resulting restaurants located in 180+ countries, on five continents. More info available at laliste.com.

SOURCE Le Bernardin

Related Links

http://le-bernardin.com


VANCOUVER, Nov. 30, 2018 /PRNewswire/ - Mason Resources Corp. (TSX:MNR;OTCQB: MSSNF  "Mason" or the "Company") announces that the Company is making an amendment to its management information circular dated November 19, 2018 (the "Circular") to clarify the minority approval requirements for the previously announced plan of arrangement (the "Arrangement") with Hudbay Minerals Inc. ("Hudbay"), whereby Hudbay will acquire all of the issued and outstanding shares of the Company ("Company Shares") it does not currently own.

To be effective, the Arrangement must be approved by a special resolution passed by (i) at least two-thirds of the votes cast by shareholders who are present in person or represented by proxy at the Meeting; and (ii) a majority of the votes cast by shareholders (excluding Hudbay, its affiliates and any other persons required to be excluded in accordance with Multilateral Instrument 61-101 Protection of Minority Security Holders in Special Transactions ("MI 61-101")) who are present in person or represented by proxy at the Meeting (the "Minority Approval").

Upon a recalculation of the number of Company Shares beneficially owned by each of the directors and executive officers of the Company for the purposes of MI 61-101 (including vested convertible securities), the Company has determined that the statement on page 48 of the Circular under the heading "Securities Laws Considerations  Canadian Securities Laws  Related Party Transactions  Minority Approval", that "none of the related parties entitled to receive "collateral benefits" exercised control or direction over, or beneficially owned, more than one percent (1%) of the outstanding Company Shares, as calculated in accordance with MI 61-101", is incorrect.

The Company has determined that each of Alan Edwards, James Harris, Duane Lo, Susan McLeod and Stephen Scott (together with Hudbay, the "Excluded Persons") exercise control or direction over, or beneficially own, more than one percent (1%) of the outstanding Company Shares as calculated in accordance with MI 61-101 and will receive a "collateral benefit" (as defined in MI 61-101) in connection with the Arrangement.

In accordance with MI 61-101, a total of 12,457,055 Company Shares held by the Excluded Persons at the record date for the Meeting (the "Record Date"), representing approximately 15.9% of the issued and outstanding Company Shares, will be excluded for the purposes of determining the Minority Approval.

As at the Record Date, to the knowledge of the Company, the Excluded Persons beneficially owned or exercised control or direction over the following number of Company Shares (excluding vested convertible securities): (i) Hudbay - 10,854,170; (ii) Alan Edwards  400,569; (iii) James Harris  293,877; (iv) Duane Lo  332,735; (v) Susan McLeod  357,803; and (vi) Stephen Scott  217,901.

About Mason Resources Corp.

Mason's key asset is its 100% owned Ann Mason project  an extensive, prospective land package located in the Yerington District of Nevada. The Ann Mason project hosts two copper-molybdenum porphyry deposits, Ann Mason and Blue Hill, as well as numerous earlier-stage or untested priority targets. The Ann Mason deposit is currently at a PEA level and is among the largest undeveloped copper porphyry resources in Canada/U.S.A. The excellent infrastructure, year-round access, strong community support and clear permitting process are all factors that contribute to making Yerington, Nevada one of the best mining jurisdictions in the world. Mason also holds a 100% interest in the Lordsburg property, an exciting earlier-stage copper-gold porphyry project, located within an historic mining district in New Mexico.

Forward-Looking Information

This news release contains 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 applicable Canadian securities laws. Forward looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements regarding the anticipated Arrangement and the conditions for closing thereof. Such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause Mason's actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. Such factors include, among others, the risk that the Arrangement does not close on a timely basis or at all or that some or all of the anticipated benefits thereof are not achieved; unanticipated costs, expenses or liabilities; discrepancies between actual and anticipated production, mineral resources and metallurgical recoveries; the size, grade and continuity of deposits not being interpreted correctly from exploration results; the results of preliminary test work not being indicative of the results of future test work; risks related to international operations, including legal and political risk; risks associated with changes in the attitudes of governments to foreign investment; changes in project parameters as plans continue to be refined; inability to upgrade Inferred mineral resources to Indicated or Measured mineral resources; inability to convert mineral resources to mineral reserves; conclusions of economic evaluations; fluctuations in commodity prices and demand; changing foreign exchange rates; actions by government authorities; the availability of funding on reasonable terms; the impact of changes in interpretation to or changes in enforcement of, laws, regulations and government practices, including laws, regulations and government practices with respect to mining, foreign investment, royalties and taxation; the terms and timing of obtaining necessary environmental and other government approvals, consents and permits; title disputes; limitations on insurance coverage; the availability and cost of necessary items such as power, water, skilled labour, transportation and appropriate smelting and refining arrangements; as well as other uncertainties and risk factors set out in filings made from time to time with Canadian securities regulators, including, without limitation, Mason's Annual Information Form for the financial year ended December 31, 2017, which is filed on SEDAR; and any misjudgements in the course of preparing forward-looking statements. Actual results, developments and timetables could vary significantly from the estimates presented. Readers are cautioned not to put undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Mason disclaims any intent or obligation to update publicly such forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Additionally, Mason undertakes no obligation to comment on analyses, expectations or statements made by third parties in respect of Mason, its financial or operating results or its securities.

SOURCE Mason Resources

Related Links

www.masonresources.com


LOS ANGELES, Nov. 30, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Marriott International's massive data breach in which the personal information of up to 500 million guests could have been stolen shows the value of the recently enacted California Consumer Privacy Act, Consumer Watchdog said today.

Businesses are already working to weaken the law, the strongest privacy law in the nation which takes effect in 2020. California Legislators must resist those efforts, the nonprofit nonpartisan public interest group said.

At the federal level, Congress should not bow to pressure by business and tech companies to enact a weak national law to preempt stronger state protections, Consumer Watchdog said.

If the law were in effect, the California Consumer Privacy Act would hold Marriott responsible and the company would face fines if the breach occurred because the hotel giant had mishandled its customers' data. Victims would also be able to sue the company under the law.

"Currently many companies opt for inadequate data security because it's cheaper than the consequences of a data breach," said John M. Simpson, Consumer Watchdog's Privacy and Technology Project Director. "The Consumer Privacy Act fixes that and would hold companies accountable. That's why big business and big tech are fighting to weaken it."

Another important provision on the Consumer Privacy Act is that consumers have the right to ask what data about them a company is holding.

"I doubt many Marriott guests even realized that the hotel giant was storing their passport numbers. The Consumer Privacy Act would give us the right to ask what they have about us so we could do something about it," said Simpson.

The California Consumer Protection Act is the strongest privacy law in the nation. It would, for instance allow a private right of action  though with some limits -- in data breach cases. No such right currently exists. The law ensures:

The right of Californians to know what personal information is being collected about them.

The right of Californians to know whether their personal information is sold or disclosed and to whom.

The right of Californians to say no to the sale of personal information.

The right of Californians to access their personal information.

The right of Californians to equal service and price, even if they exercise their privacy rights.

Currently, the California attorney general is drafting implement regulations to implement the CCPA.

Visit our website at www.consumerwatchdog.org

SOURCE Consumer Watchdog

Related Links

http://www.consumerwatchdog.org


SAN DIEGO, Nov. 30, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Medical Marijuana, Inc. (OTC: MJNA), the first-ever publicly traded cannabis company in the United States, is scheduled to hold its Annual Meeting of Shareholders on Friday, November 30, 2018 at 10:00 a.m. PT on the Internet through a virtual webcast. The matters to be voted on at the meeting are set forth in the Notice of Meeting and Proxy Statement previously sent to its shareholders.

MJNA shareholders of record at the close of business as of November 12, 2018 will be entitled to attend and vote at the virtual meeting. Any MJNA shareholder who received a Notice of Meeting and Proxy Statement or a proxy voting card will be able to enter the virtual conference by using the dedicated access proxy control number included in the proxy materials they received. Once in the virtual shareholder meeting, MJNA shareholders can hear the live webcast, cast their vote, and submit questions online during the meeting.

Please allow at least 10 minutes, prior to the event, to visit the site and gain access to listen to the Internet broadcast. Attendance is limited to shareholders of record only.

Shareholders of record that have not received notice of the annual meeting are encouraged to contact Investor Relations at [email protected] with the following information so that the company can attempt to verify your eligibility: holder name, number of shares held, address of record and name of brokerage firm in which your shares are held (if applicable).

About Medical Marijuana, Inc.

We are a company of firsts. Our mission is to be the premier cannabis and hemp industry innovators, leveraging our team of professionals to source, evaluate and purchase value-added companies and products, while allowing them to keep their integrity and entrepreneurial spirit. We strive to create awareness within our industry, develop environmentally-friendly, economically sustainable businesses, while increasing shareholder value. For details on Medical Marijuana, Inc.'s portfolio and investment companies, visit www.medicalmarijuanainc.com .

To see Medical Marijuana, Inc.'s corporate video, click here .

Shareholders and consumers are also encouraged to buy CBD oil and other products at Medical Marijuana, Inc.'s shop .

FORWARD-LOOKING DISCLAIMER

This press release may contain certain forward-looking statements and information, as defined within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, and is subject to the Safe Harbor created by those sections. This material contains statements about expected future events and/or financial results that are forward-looking in nature and subject to risks and uncertainties. Such forward-looking statements by definition involve risks, uncertainties and other factors, which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of Medical Marijuana, Inc. to be materially different from the statements made herein.

FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION (FDA) DISCLOSURE

These statements have not been evaluated by the FDA and are not intended to diagnose, treat or cure any disease.

LEGAL DISCLOSURE

Medical Marijuana, Inc. does not sell or distribute any products that are in violation of the United States Controlled Substances Act (US.CSA). These companies do grow, sell, and distribute hemp-based products and are involved with the federally legal distribution of medical marijuana-based products within certain international markets. Cannabidiol is a natural constituent of hemp oil.

CONTACT:

Public Relations Contact:

Andrew Hard

Chief Executive Officer CMW Media

P. 888-829- 0070

[email protected]

www.cmwmedia.com

SOURCE Medical Marijuana, Inc.

Related Links

http://www.cmwmedia.com


"Transformation: Sculpture and Reimagined Planes" premieres Friday, November 30 at the Michael Hertrich Gallery, 2008 East Carson Street, with a reception from 6-9:30 p.m. and will be on view through the end of December. To accommodate the size of the pieces, Hertrich has rented additional space adjacent to his gallery. Droz's large-scale, freestanding metal pieces are single sheet constructions of aluminum, either painted or powder coated. Many of these sculptures evoke origami, in the complex way that Droz has worked and folded the metal.

Michael Hertrich, owner of his namesake gallery, first discovered Droz's work when he visited 201 North Braddock Ave, an industrial building in Point Breeze that has served as studio space for Droz, along with other artists. Upon seeing some 60 sculptures and wall pieces on display in the building, he set out to find the artist and was surprised to learn that Droz, well known as the founder and president of his own design firm, was the sculptor.

"Combining threads of Minimalism, mobility, and Constructivism, this is an amazing body of work," says Hertrich. "It is so rare to see the work of a mature artist for the first time  and one whose works have not been seen  simply extraordinary."

About the Art:

Although the design and fine art work of Dan Droz has spanned many forms, materials and media, there are a number of common themes, including transformation, interaction, geometry and repetition.

Transformation is an important aspect to almost all Droz works, including graphic design. His paper constructions and wall pieces are perhaps the best examples, where moveable elements allow viewers to change the shape, configuration or color of a composition. Some of his wall sculptures feature large moveable panels that rotate on their centers of gravity. Because pieces are connected to each other, moving one piece moves others with it, without disrupting the integrity of the piece.

Other themes are Interaction, made possible through the transformative properties of his work, creates an active role on the part of the viewer. The wall pieces invite participation and therefore, the viewer is involved. Geometry is one of the important elements that make both transformation and interaction possible. Droz' thoughtful consideration of how elements are related to or connect with each other is intrinsic to pleasure of changing the elements. The last theme is repetition which occurs in Droz pieces on a number of levels.

Notes art critic Kurt Shaw, "Droz has become a master of formal articulation. He is an artist, who, in the face of flat composition, has not felt constricted by two dimensions, but has achieved a dimension of infinity, of wealth of form and volume which we can define as a true entering into possession of space."

About the Artist:

For more than 40 years, Dan has been a hallmark of the local, national and international design scenes. He began his design career after graduating cum laude from Harvard and served as guest design director for Mademoiselle Magazine in New York before returning to Pittsburgh to begin his consulting and teaching career. For 18 years, he taught design at Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) where he co-founded the first multi-disciplinary university program in the US to bring together engineers, marketers and designers in a single program. As an internationally known furniture and product designer, Droz received many awards, including Industrial Design Magazine's Designer's Choice Award, an unprecedented 7 Daphne Awards (considered as the 'Oscar of Furniture Design'), and Best of U.S. by Abitari Magazine (Italy). In 2001, Dan left teaching to devote more time to design and product development, specializing in design strategy while continuing his fine art work, largely for private clients and corporations.

His consulting firm, Droz and Associates, has been recognized as a "Marketer of the Year" an unprecedented 31 times, including Grand Marketer of the Year and Agency of the Year in Western Pennsylvania. In 1996, he was recognized as one of six distinguished design alumni of Harvard College at the 30th anniversary of Carpenter Center for the Visual Arts.

He recently retired from the firm to concentrate full time on his sculpture and wall pieces.

"For most of my career, I was more of a 'closet artist,' in the sense that, although I made art on a regular basis, probably every day, I didn't think to make a living from it," explains Droz. "In my business, there is enormous pressure in design to accommodate the client so my art was for a personal creative release. I think I am the 'oldest, new artist'," Droz adds.

Contact: Lynn Rubenson, 858 922 9201

[email protected]

SOURCE Dan Droz
TORONTO, Nov. 30, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Mindshare Canada, the global media agency that is part of WPP, has released a new report uncovering what Canadians say to their smart speakers.

Voice search is touted as a valuable tool for consumers to access information and to shop but the report findings suggest that Canadians are only scratching the surface of the capabilities  and holding back over fears around the privacy and safety of the devices from Amazon, Google and Apple.

"There are articles emerging everyday telling marketers how to make the most of voice search but our research clearly shows there are some basics that consumers need before we start getting too ambitious with the platform  clearly Canadians have questions that they ask to their iPhone, Alexa and Google Home, but they have big concerns on the value of the experience and the protection of their data," said Sarah Thompson, CSO, Mindshare Canada.

The proprietary research identified voice technology trends amongst Canadians and differences between voice technology users, segmented across English Canadians and French Canadians. Here are some of the key findings:

English and French Canadians use voice technology very differently:

French Canadians mainly ask Google whereas English Canadians ask Siri.



French Canadians have fun with the voice search but English Canadians are very practical  setting alarms for example.



About 40% of English Canadians use voice tech regularly or occasionally, compared to only a third of French Canadians.



Nearly a quarter of French Canadians have no interest in using voice technology in the future.



English Canadians utilize voice technology significantly more while driving and at home, compared to French Canadians who utilize it with friends or in the bedroom.



English Canadians are more curious to find a local business utilizing search than French Canadians, who prefer to use their technology to gain more information on a product that they're interested in.

"This probably has more to do with planning and building for French Canada is typically an added expense or an afterthought," said Thompson. "It is important for brands to consider all Canadians and what content and experience they need. Those marketers that consider French Canada will get early adopters of voice search and consider their love of understanding products and having fun have an opportunity to win hearts and minds."

Other findings include the fact that Amazon is everywhere but Alexa isn't, yet. Amazon's Alexa has low adoption compared to other voice options in Canada, with only 10.4% of English Canadians and 3.5% of French Canadians having adopted Alexa.

As well as local differences, Canadians' use of voice technology differs from the rest of the world. We love tasks and questions whereas globally, the world is doing more online searches and checking travel information. Canadians use their voice technology to ask questions and to support activities in managing their home more than the global average and Canadians use their voice technology for an assortment of tasks, most commonly for asking questions, setting alarms, and making calls.

"Voice search is coming. Brands that are considering their audiences first and how they can use this service to answer questions and be helpful will benefit first. It is time to organize your content, frequently asked questions and product information for voice search," said Thompson.

Methodology

This study was done as a local extension of the Mindshare Global Speak Easy study that was conducted in 8 markets through a JWT + Mindshare collaboration research piece. Mindshare Canada released its research as a local extension of the Mindshare Global Speak Easy study that was conducted in 8 markets through a JWT + Mindshare collaboration research piece. Mindshare Canada surveyed 1,001 Canadians over the course of 1 week in November 2018. This survey was conducted in both English and French and met quotas for both languages. Additional parameters were in place for gender, age, and province to exemplify a nationally representative survey.

About Mindshare:

We were born in Asia in 1997, a start up with a desire to change the media world. Now we are a global agency with 116 offices in 86 countries and billings of $35bn (source: RECMA). We aim to be our clients' lead business partner, to grow their business and drive profitability through adaptive and inventive marketing. We do this through speed, teamwork, and provocation because in today's world everything begins and ends in media. We create new things and have fun doing it. Mindshare is part of GroupM, the media investment management arm of WPP, the world's leading communications services group. Visit us at Mindshareworld.com or MindshareInTheLoop.com and follow us on Twitter @MindshareCanada and Facebook.com/MindshareCanada.

About GroupM:

GroupM is the leading global media investment management company for WPP's media agencies including Mindshare, MediaCom, Wavemaker, Essence and m/SIX, and the outcomes-driven programmatic audience company, Xaxis. Responsible for more than US $108B in annual media investment by some of the world's largest advertisers, GroupM agencies deliver an advantage to clients with unrivaled insights into media marketplaces and consumer audiences. GroupM enables its agencies and clients with trading expertise, data, technology and an array of specialty services including addressable TV, content and sports. GroupM works closely with WPP's data investment management group, Kantar, and together they account for almost 50% of WPP's group revenues of more than US $19B. GroupM delivers unrivaled marketplace advantage to its clients, stakeholders and people.

SOURCE Mindshare Canada

Related Links

https://www.mindshareworld.com


The Mopar Parts Distribution Center (PDC) in Winchester, Virginia, recently received notification that the facility has earned Bronze status in the prestigious World Class Logistics (WCL) program, which recognizes facilities that achieve set technical and managerial pillars in reducing waste and improving quality.

The Mopar Winchester PDC is the second FCA distribution unit in North America to receive WCL Bronze status honors, and just the third worldwide to earn the prestigious honor. Earlier this year, the Center Line PDC, located in Metro Detroit, earned WCL Bronze level recognition.

The WCL methodology provides a blueprint, using 10 technical and 10 managerial key metrics, for FCA distribution operations to follow in order to function more efficiently and cost effectively.

"At Mopar, we hold ourselves to the highest standards and we are extremely proud of the employees at the Winchester PDC who contributed to reaching WCL Bronze status," said Steve Beahm, Head of Parts & Service (Mopar) and Passenger Car Brands, FCA - North America. "Including our Center Line facility in Michigan, this is the second Mopar PDC in six months to earn WCL Bronze recognition, which is proof of our commitment to delivering the most productive parts distribution processes to better serve our dealers and customers."

The Winchester, Virginia, PDC received the WCL Bronze Award following a two-day audit conducted by Thomasz Gebka, Lead Auditor and Plant Manager at Belvidere (Indiana) Assembly, along with co-auditor May-Leng Yau-Patterson, Head of Mexico World Class Manufacturing (WCM) Operations.

The Winchester facility has been able to reduce operating costs through continuous improvement projects and effectively expand its systematic pillars of Safety, Workplace Organization, Autonomous Maintenance, Professional Maintenance and Logistics & Customer Service, far exceeding the WCL Bronze level criteria of 30 percent extension. The Winchester PDC was also ranked high in benchmarking metrics in regards to the quality of warehouse parts "picking."

The Winchester PDC, which opened in 2017, demonstrated rapid progression in earning WCL Bronze status. The quick recognition was thanks in the large parts to efforts undertaken during the construction and development phase of the PDC to ensure it was designed to meet WCL technical and managerial pillars.

The 400,000-plus-square-foot Winchester PDC represents more than 70 jobs over two shifts. The facility handled 386,951 inbound tasks and 2,066,681 outbound tasks last year alone. The Winchester location was one of two new Parts Distribution Centers opened in the U.S. in 2017, encompassing a combined investment of $22.6 million by FCA US.

The Mopar global network includes more than 50 PDCs around the world. The historic Fiat plant in Rivalta, located near Turin in Italy, was recently announced as the planned site of a Mopar PDC serving Europe, the Middle East, Africa (EMEA) and additional world markets.

About Mopar

Mopar (a simple contraction of the words MOtor and PARts) is the service, parts and customer-care brand for FCA vehicles around the globe. Born in 1937 as the name of a line of antifreeze products, the Mopar brand has evolved over more than 80 years to represent both complete care and authentic performance for owners and enthusiasts worldwide.

Mopar made its mark in the 1960s during the muscle-car era, with Mopar Performance Parts to enhance speed and handling for both road and racing use, and expanded to include technical service and customer support. Today, the Mopar brand's global reach distributes more than 500,000 parts and accessories in over 150 markets around the world. With more than 50 parts distribution centers and 25 customer contact centers globally, Mopar integrates service, parts and customer-care operations in order to enhance customer and dealer support worldwide.

Mopar is the source for genuine parts and accessories for all FCA US LLC vehicle brands. Mopar parts are engineered together with the same teams that create factory-authorized specifications for FCA vehicles, offering a direct connection that no other aftermarket parts company can provide. Complete information on the Mopar brand is available at www.mopar.com.

For more information, please visit the FCA US LLC media site at http://media.fcanorthamerica.com.

SOURCE FCA US LLC

Related Links

http://www.fcanorthamerica.com


The Scrip Awards are the leading global awards for the pharmaceutical sector and recognize excellence and responsibility.

Mr. Singh's win further enhances Mundipharma's status as a global healthcare leader

SINGAPORE, Nov. 30, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Mundipharma CEO, Raman Singh, has won Executive of the Year -- For Small Cap & Private Pharma Companies at the annual Scrip Awards, which were held in London on 28 November.

Logo - http://photos.prnasia.com/prnh/20150302/8521501264LOGO

The pre-eminent global healthcare awards recognise and celebrate responsible people and companies in the pharmaceutical industry that help improve healthcare for people around the world.

With Mr Singh at the helm, Mundipharma has become a global leader in developing medical solutions that have improved the quality of life for millions of people around the world, and achieved extraordinary growth, which has enabled the organisation to touch the lives of an ever-increasing number of patients and their families.

In relentlessly pursuing this objective, Mr. Singh has, this year alone, been recognised for his work numerous times. As well as the Scrip award, he has won: CEO of the Year 2018 -- Influential Brands; Executive of the Year, Pharmaceuticals, 2018 -- SBR; Top 100 Global CEOs 2018 -- CEO Magazine; and been named the 3rd Most Powerful Person in Healthcare 2018 -- Medicine Maker.

Acknowledging the latest accolade, Mr. Singh said, "I am humbled and delighted on behalf of Mundipharma to win this award -- it's a reflection of the quality of our people and their exceptional hard work."

"Success in business requires building high-performing, ambitious teams and I'm privileged to lead a fantastic group of people. It's nice to be recognized in so many ways, but what drives everybody at Mundipharma is the number-one value underpinning our culture -- putting people and patients at the heart of everything we do. For me winning this award is a testament to the culture we've created and the people who embody it," he said.

"We're also well aware of, and motivated by, the many serious healthcare challenges the world faces and will continue our hard work to develop new and innovative solutions and strategies to combat them," added Mr Singh.

About Mundipharma

Mundipharma is a network of independent associated companies which are privately owned entities. Mundipharma is a prime example of an organization that consistently delivers high-quality medicines while standing by the values it represents. Its mission is to alleviate the suffering of patients and to substantially improve their quality of life. Mundipharma is dedicated to bringing to patients the benefit of novel treatment options in fields such as pain, oncology, oncology supportive care, ophthalmology, respiratory disease and consumer healthcare.

For more information please visit: www.mundipharma.com.sg

SOURCE Mundipharma

Related Links

http://www.mundipharma.com.sg


"The Company's new CBD Product Agreement with Puration is game-changing. GNBT will be introducing NuGenerex CBD HydroHealth High Alkaline Water to its patient population and ever-growing pharmacy network. This high value new offering will be infused with custom CBD extracts as therapies for symptoms of specific health issues."

Goldman concluded, "The aforementioned business development events projects affirm our favorable outlook on these shares and we continue to expect a higher overall valuation ahead for GNBT."

Further Goldman Small Cap Research Report Highlights

In the Opportunity Research update, analyst Rob Goldman discusses Generex's recent events and exciting upcoming opportunities that lie ahead.

Goldman noted, "Since our coverage initiation earlier this month, GNBT has announced a series of deals that should serve as a precursor to revenue and valuations gains in 2019. The Company continues to execute on its strategy to become a nationwide, integrated, end-to-end health care firm. GNBT has signed a LOI with 2 firms, in which the Company will own 51%. Both deals should close this quarter and a tender for the remaining 49% could occur next year. These transactions will give GNBT exposure to the $23B wound care market via a platform device that is cleared for 17 indications, including diabetic ulcers, and the multi-billion-dollar ulcerative colitis market via a pending 510(k) De Novo submission and trial. Each of these categories represents favorable valuations, which could be unlocked, beginning next year."

To view the update report, along with disclosures and disclaimers, visit http://www.GoldmanResearch.com.

About Goldman Small Cap Research: Founded in 2009 by former Piper Jaffray analyst and mutual fund manager Rob Goldman, Goldman Small Cap Research produces sponsored and non-sponsored small cap and microcap stock research reports, articles, stock market blogs, and popular investment newsletters.

Goldman Small Cap Research is not in any way affiliated with Goldman Sachs & Co.

This press release contains excerpts of our most recently published non-sponsored company research report on Generex Biotechnology Corp. which carries a rating and a price target. The information used and statements of fact made have been obtained from sources considered reliable but we neither guarantee nor represent the completeness or accuracy. Goldman Small Cap Research relied solely upon information derived from Generex Biotechnology Corp. ("the Company") authorized press releases or legal disclosures made in its filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission http://www.sec.gov.

Separate from the factual content of our report about the Company, we may from time to time include our own opinions about the Company, its business, markets and opportunities. Any opinions we may offer about the Company are solely our own, and are made in reliance upon our rights under the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, and are provided solely for the general opinionated discussion of our readers. Our opinions should not be considered to be complete, precise, accurate, or current investment advice. Statements herein may contain forward-looking statements and are subject to significant risks and uncertainties affecting results.

A Goldman Small Cap Research report, update, newsletter, article, trading alert, corporate profile, or press release is not intended as an offering, recommendation, or a solicitation of an offer to buy or sell the securities mentioned or discussed is to be used for informational purposes only. Please read all associated full disclosures, disclaimers, and analyst background on our website before investing. Neither Goldman Small Cap Research nor its parent is a registered investment adviser or broker-dealer with FINRA or any other regulatory agency. To download this research report or any of our research, view our disclosures and disclaimers, or for more information, visit www.goldmanresearch.com. Goldman Small Cap Research was not compensated for the production or distribution of this update or press release by any company mentioned in this update or press release. On a year-to-date basis, Goldman Small Cap Research was compensated $5500 by Puration, Inc. the Company for research and distribution services.

About Generex Biotechnology Corp. (OTC - GNBT) Generex Biotechnology Corp. is a strategic, diversified healthcare holdings company with offerings in a variety of services, diagnostics, medical devices, and pharmaceutical development. The Company's direct-to-patient services support its strategy of all-inclusive access to doctors, diagnostics, therapeutics, and additional health-related services to greatly improve the patient experience in receiving care. Generex's management services remove administrative burdens in multiple provider settings, including private practice and hospital, allowing doctors to devote more time to patient care. The Company also is engaged in clinical advancement of its wholly owned therapeutic products with a focus in immunotherapeutics and its proprietary buccal administration of insulin.

Puration, Inc. is a leading Texas-based, CBD-infused beverage provider.

For more information, please visit: www.Generex.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.

Goldman Small Cap Research

Rob Goldman, Analyst

410-609-7100

[email protected]

Puration, Inc.

Brian Shibley,

[email protected]

(800) 861-1350

SOURCE Puration, Inc.

Related Links

http://www.goldmanresearch.com


ALEXANDRIA, Va., Nov. 30, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- In light of the recent announcement by Paychex that it has entered into an agreement to acquire Oasis Outsourcing, the nation's largest privately owned professional employer organization, the National Association of Professional Employer Organizations (NAPEO) is highlighting its September 2018 study on the PEO industry's economic footprint. The study, by noted economists Laurie Bassi and Dan McMurrer, showed that employment growth in the PEO industry is 14 times higher than the growth rate in the U.S. economy overall.

An Economic Analysis: The PEO Industry Footprint in 2018 also shows that:

There are 907 PEOs in the United States employing 3.7 million worksite employees (WSEs)

employing 3.7 million worksite employees (WSEs) Annual wages in the PEO industry are $176 billion .

. 175,000 businesses partner with a PEO.

Total employment in the PEO industry is the same as the combined number of employees for Walmart (U.S. only), Amazon, Google, Apple, IBM, FedEx, Starbucks, AT&T and Wells Fargo.

The study, by noted economists Laurie Bassi and Dan McMurrer of McBassi and Associates, is the sixth in a series. Research conducted last year by Bassi and McMurrer showed higher revenue growth, increased profitability, and higher employee satisfaction for companies that use a PEO. Previous studies conducted by Bassi and McMurrer have shown that businesses in PEO arrangements grow faster, have lower employee turnover, and have a significantly higher rate of business survival than businesses that don't use PEOs.

"The numbers in this study reinforce the growing footprint of the dynamic PEO industry. The outlook for continued growth and vibrancy is extremely bright for PEOs given the significant value proposition we offer to small and mid-size businesses: Faster growth, higher profitability, and happier employees," said NAPEO President & CEO Pat Cleary.

A copy of the full study is available here. Links to earlier studies can be found here.

About NAPEO

The National Association of Professional Employer Organizations (NAPEO) is The Voice of the PEO IndustryTM. NAPEO has some 250 PEO members that provide payroll, benefits, and other HR services to 175,000 businesses employing 3.7 million people. An additional 250 companies that provide services to PEOs are associate members of NAPEO. For more information, please visit www.napeo.org.

SOURCE National Association of Professional Employer Organizations (NAPEO)

Related Links

http://www.napeo.org


NEW BEDFORD, Mass., Nov. 29, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- The 722 registered nurses of St. Luke's Hospital voted on Thursday, Nov. 29 to form a union and join the Massachusetts Nurses Association in an election overseen by the National Labor Relations Board.

"We're thrilled to be coming together as a union," said Deb Falk, a nurse in the emergency department at St. Luke's. "Those of us in the Emergency Department always felt kind of separated from the nurses on other floors, and I've loved getting to know so many great nurses throughout the hospital during our organizing. I really feel like we're a close family now. It's been amazing seeing so many of our co-workers coming together to improve conditions for our patients and our community."

"St. Luke's nurses are united!" said St. Luke's RN Kate Hughes. "We hope to work with everyone at St. Luke's in a positive way to create excellent outcomes. Our top concern has been the safety of our patients. As unionized nurses we will work together to make sure every St. Luke's patient has the safest possible care environment."

MNA president and registered nurse Donna Kelly-Williams congratulated the St. Luke's nurses for their brave effort to form a union.

"When nurses are organized, patients are the biggest beneficiaries," Kelly-Williams said. "Nurses at St. Luke's now have a legally protected seat at the table with management to define their nursing practice and address issues impacting patients under their care."

The MNA is the largest union and professional organization of nurses and healthcare professionals in Massachusetts. It represents 23,000 members in healthcare facilities across the state, including nurses at 70 percent of the Commonwealth's acute care hospitals. The MNA is led by a board of directors that is directly elected by its membership and consists of front-line nurses and other healthcare professionals.

St. Luke's nurses are planning to move quickly to negotiate their first contract. They were supported in their effort to unionize by MNA members at hospitals in Southeastern Massachusetts and throughout the state.

St. Luke's owner SouthCoast Health, a highly profitable corporation, responded to their nurses filing for an NLRB election on November 2 by hiring a consultant internationally known for intimidating employees seeking to exercise their legal right to unionize. In Fall River, another union has been organizing employees at St. Anne's Hospital under much more democratic conditions.

More information about the St. Luke's nurses' efforts and SouthCoast's response can be found at http://massnurses.org/news-and-events/p/openItem/11108.

MassNurses.org  Facebook.com/MassNurses  Twitter.com/MassNurses

Instagram.com/MassNurses

Founded in 1903, the Massachusetts Nurses Association is the largest union of registered nurses in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Its 23,000 members advance the nursing profession by fostering high standards of nursing practice, promoting the economic and general welfare of nurses in the workplace, projecting a positive and realistic view of nursing, and by lobbying the Legislature and regulatory agencies on health care issues affecting nurses and the public.

SOURCE Massachusetts Nurses Association

Related Links

http://www.massnurses.org


DUBLIN, Ohio, Nov. 30, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Oncologists are growing more confident in their ability to meet the requirements of the Medicare Access & CHIP Reauthorization Act (MACRA), according to new research from Cardinal Health Specialty Solutions. These findings were released today in the fourth edition of Oncology Insights, a research-based report series summarizing the views of more than 160 U.S. oncologists about the key trends impacting today's oncology practices.

The report is released in advance of the 2018 American Society of Hematology Annual Meeting and Exposition in San Diego. Request a copy of the Oncology Insights report at www.cardinalhealth.com/oncologyinsights.

The report compares current views about MACRA to responses collected in early 2017, shortly after MACRA went into effect. The number of participating oncologists who said they have some level of confidence in their practices' ability to meet MACRA requirements while achieving financial success increased from 53 percent to 77 percent. In addition, compared to 2017, more oncologists report having the resources and staff needed to manage MACRA (24 percent compared to 10 percent). However, one in four participating physicians (24 percent) still do not have a strategy in place.

Other key findings on issues impacting the evolution of oncology practices:

Nearly half of participating oncologists report experiencing significant amounts of stress at work (46 percent) and more than a third (35 percent) would need seven or more hours of extra time each week to complete their work responsibilities.

The top factors contributing significant or excessive stress were electronic health records (36 percent); changing reimbursement and payment models (33 percent); and interactions with payers (31 percent).

Hiring Advanced Practice Providers (APPs), including nurse practitioners and physician assistants, was the most common strategy for making workloads more manageable (46 percent).

Three-quarters of oncologists (74 percent) already use APPs in their practices and 57 percent predict the number of employed APPs will increase over the next three years.

"Faced with growing clinical workloads and decreasing margins, oncologists are under a growing amount of pressure at work," said Joe DePinto, president of Cardinal Health Specialty Solutions. "But, as our research shows, many oncologists are meeting their challenges head-on by proactively investing in tools, technology and additional clinical support staff. And today they are feeling more confident in their ability to adapt to changing trends, such as value-based care."

The findings in Oncology Insights are based on written surveys conducted in advance of three Cardinal Health Summits conducted in September, October and November 2018. In total, the summits brought together more than 160 U.S oncologists, representing a diverse mix of community and hospital-based practices. The report also includes viewpoints from Chief Medical Officers: Chadi Nabhan, MD, MBA, FACP, and Bruce Feinberg, DO.

For media: to request a copy of the report, please contact Courtney Tobin at (614) 553-3539 or [email protected].

About Cardinal Health

Cardinal Health, Inc. is a global, integrated healthcare services and products company, providing customized solutions for hospitals, healthcare systems, pharmacies, ambulatory surgery centers, clinical laboratories and physician offices worldwide. The company provides clinically proven medical products, pharmaceuticals and cost-effective solutions that enhance supply chain efficiency from hospital to home. Cardinal Health connects patients, providers, payers, pharmacists and manufacturers for integrated care coordination and better patient management. To help combat prescription drug abuse, the company and its education partners created Generation Rx, a national drug education and awareness program. Backed by nearly 100 years of experience, with approximately 50,000 employees in nearly 60 countries, Cardinal Health ranks #14 on the Fortune 500. For more information, visit cardinalhealth.com, follow @CardinalHealth on Twitter, Cardinal Health on Facebook and connect on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/ company/cardinal-health.

SOURCE Cardinal Health

Related Links

http://www.cardinalhealth.com


WINNIPEG, Nov. 29, 2018 /PRNewswire/ - DELTA 9 CANNABIS INC. (TSXV:NINE) ("Delta 9" or the "Company") today announced its financial and operational results for the third quarter of fiscal 2018, ended September 30, 2018.

Highlights for Q3, 2018

Strong cash position at September 30, 2018 of $23,211,764 up from $13,908,610 at June 30, 2018 . The Company is also reporting working capital of $28,212,041 at September 30, 2018 .





of up from at . The Company is also reporting working capital of at . The Company closed a $16,250,000 strategic equity investment from Auxly Cannabis Group Inc. ("Auxly") and executed a long-term cannabis supply agreement with Auxly during the quarter.





strategic equity investment from Auxly Cannabis Group Inc. ("Auxly") and executed a long-term cannabis supply agreement with Auxly during the quarter. Revenue from the sale of cannabis products and services for the three-month and nine-month periods ending September 30, 2018 , was $1,251,213 , and $2,229,066 respectively, versus revenues of $303,877 and $641,830 , for the three-month and nine-month periods ending September 30, 2017 . These increases are reflective of a percentage increase for the three-month and nine-month periods of 312% and 258% respectively, compared to the previous year.





, was , and respectively, versus revenues of and , for the three-month and nine-month periods ending . These increases are reflective of a percentage increase for the three-month and nine-month periods of 312% and 258% respectively, compared to the previous year. Gross profit, after accounting for the unrealized gain from changes in the fair value of biological assets, for the three-month and nine-month periods ending September 30, 2018 , was $1,530,737 and $2,396,872 respectively.





, was and respectively. The Company secured retail licenses for its first two Delta 9 Cannabis Store locations in Manitoba on September 17, 2018 . The Company plans to roll out a chain of Delta 9 branded retail stores over the coming months.





on . The Company plans to roll out a chain of Delta 9 branded retail stores over the coming months. The Company signed a letter of intent with US biotech firm Nanosphere Health Sciences Inc. ("Nanosphere") which provides that Delta 9 and Nanosphere intend to negotiate and enter into an agreement pursuant to which Nanosphere will grant a master license for Nanosphere's patented delivery system for cannabis to the Company.





The Company is currently completing work necessary to acquire the European Union "Good Manufacturing Practices" (GMP) certification in order to initiate exports of medical cannabis to Germany .





. The Company completed its first wholesale sale of recreational use cannabis during the period, supplying the Province of Manitoba in advance of the October 17, 2018 legalization of recreational cannabis. The Company plans to deliver a minimum of 2,300,000 grams in the Province of Manitoba over the first twelve months of legalization.

Update on Highlights which occurred Subsequent to the End of Q3, 2018:

On October 11, 2018 , the Company completed the acquisition from 6599362 Manitoba Ltd. of the land and 80,000 square foot building containing the Company's current cannabis production facility for a purchase price of $6.25 million , plus applicable taxes. The Company also acquired 27 cannabis grow pods from 6599362 Manitoba Ltd. for a purchase price of $952,000 , plus applicable taxes





, the Company completed the acquisition from 6599362 Manitoba Ltd. of the land and 80,000 square foot building containing the Company's current cannabis production facility for a purchase price of , plus applicable taxes. The Company also acquired 27 cannabis grow pods from 6599362 Manitoba Ltd. for a purchase price of , plus applicable taxes On October 11, 2018 , the Company closed a $12,000,000 loan and credit facility with the Canadian Western Bank.





, the Company closed a loan and credit facility with the Canadian Western Bank. From legalization of recreational cannabis on October 17, 2018 to November 28, 2018 , Delta 9 has recorded more than $1,600,000 in revenue from wholesale recreational cannabis sales. It has also recorded more than $2,350,000 in revenue from its first Delta 9 Cannabis Store outlet as well as through online deliveries in the Province of Manitoba . To date the average price of cannabis sold by Delta 9 in retail stores and online is approximately $11.47 per gram, with an average cost to of $8.64 per gram.

Management Commentary

"Our Q3 reporting period was dominated by Delta 9's focus on preparing for the Canadian cannabis market in the post-legalization era," said CEO John Arbuthnot. "We have said before and believe even more strongly today that the real race for primacy in the Canadian cannabis market began on October 17, and our focus has been to position our Company for rapid growth within that recreational market. We feel that events have shown that our efforts were successful, as we have managed to avoid serious supply chain issues, kept our retail customers supplied continuously and had higher than expected wholesale and retail sales."

During the preparation for legalized recreational cannabis, the Company did not neglect its existing market in medical cannabis and services. In fact, that sector of the Company's business saw record growth over the quarter. Revenues soared by 312 per cent over the same period last year, while growth over the nine month period ending September 30, 2018 reached 258 per cent over the same period in 2017.

"Even while preparing for the retail market, Delta 9 has managed to expand its offerings in ways that are attractive to the consumer and the industry," Arbuthnot said. "This is reflected in the strong growth we are showing in all sectors of our business."

Arbuthnot also said the Company is positioning itself for continued growth in Canada and globally by transforming Delta 9 into a vertically and horizontally integrated cannabis company. The Company is opening retail cannabis outlets; building one of the largest extract labs in the world at its co-owned Delta West facility in Calgary; has established export partners in Germany and is completing the European Union "Good Manufacturing Practices" (GMP) certification in order to initiate exports of medical cannabis to Germany.

Subsequent to the end of the quarter, Delta 9 closed transactions to enable the Company to continue expanding its production facility in Winnipeg over the long term. On October 11, 2018 Delta 9 acquired the land building containing its current 80,000 square foot production facility, and also closed a $12 million loan and credit facility with the Canadian Western Bank. These agreements clear the path for continued expansion by the Company, including the creation of the Delta 9 Cannabis Campus, with room for up to 2 million square feet of additional production space.

"We are not just looking at the Canadian market, but at the global market," said Arbuthnot. "Canada is the first country in the G7 to legalize cannabis, but we believe more countries will legalize over the coming decade. Delta 9 must be ready to grow our exports and expand our production into these other countries."

Among the positive aspects of the growth in Q3 is that the Company was able to report gross profit of $1,211,821 for Q3 and $2,077,956 for the first nine months of the fiscal year.

"We have not only been able to foster growth in revenue and production, but we have also run one of the leanest companies in the Canadian cannabis industry," Arbuthnot said. "We believe it's not just about how much money you earn; it's about how much money you keep. Our focus has been to create a Company with a low cost of goods sold, some of the lowest capital expenditure costs in the business, and much lower than average operating costs. This will help us maximize profits for investors going forward."

About Delta 9 Cannabis Inc.

Delta 9 Cannabis was the fourth producer in Canada licensed to produce legal cannabis. Delta 9 now operates its wholly-owned subsidiary, Delta 9 Bio-Tech Inc., as a licensed producer of medical marijuana pursuant to the ACMPR and operates an 80,000 square foot production facility in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. Delta 9 also owns 50 per cent of the 70,000 square foot Delta West facility in Alberta, and co-owns the Delta Nine Cannabis Store retail network. Delta 9's shares trade on the TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol "NINE" and on the OTC under the symbol VRNDF.

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 for Forward-Looking Information

Certain statements in this release are forward-looking statements, which reflect the expectations of management regarding the Company's future business plans and other matters. Forward-looking statements consist of statements that are not purely historical, including any statements regarding beliefs, plans, expectations or intentions regarding the future. Forward looking statements in this news release include statements relating to: (i) Delta 9's expansion plans; and (ii) Delta 9's anticipated production of cannabis. Such statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results, performance or developments to differ materially from those contained in the statements, including that Delta 9's currently contemplated expansion and development plans may cease or otherwise change, Delta 9's production of cannabis may be lower than expected, Delta 9 may not obtain the required approvals from Health Canada, demand for Delta 9's products may be lower than anticipated and all other risk factors set forth in the annual information form of Delta 9 dated May 31, 2018 which has been filed on SEDAR. No assurance can be given that any of the events anticipated by the forward-looking statements will occur or, if they do occur, what benefits the Company will obtain from them. Readers are urged to consider these factors carefully in evaluating the forward-looking statements contained in this news release and are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such forward-looking statements, which are qualified in their entirety by these cautionary statements. These forward-looking statements are made as of the date hereof and the Company disclaims any intent or obligation to update publicly any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or results or otherwise, except as required by applicable securities laws.

SOURCE Delta 9 Cannabis Inc.

Related Links

www.delta9.ca


KYIV, Ukraine, November 30, 2018 /PRNewswire/ --

Rozetka, the leading online e-commerce retailer in Ukraine and EVO, the internet company behind the country's largest marketplace Prom.ua, have completed a merger, cementing their top position in Ukraine's fast-growing e-commerce segment of the retail market. The combined Rozetka-EVO platform has 2 billion site visits and facilitates 30 million e-commerce transactions per year over four geographies. Rozetka and Prom consistently rank among the top 10 most-visited websites in Ukraine, reaching over 40% of Ukraine's internet audience. Ukraine's e-commerce segment, growing at 26% compound annual growth rate in dollar terms for the past 3 years, is poised for further growth, with online accounting for circa 7% share of total retail in 2018 vs 15-20% share in mature markets. Their merger enables the united platform to expand its product offering, rapidly introduce innovative products and services and provide local SMEs with a superior internet marketplace experience in selling their goods and services online to a national audience.

"The synergies that this merger enables in logistics, IT infrastructure and cooperation with tens of thousands of entrepreneurs, will ensure we continue to be the platform-of-choice for Ukrainian consumers. Internet marketplace is an important growth driver for Rozetka and the merger with EVO provides strong momentum for further expansion of marketplace sales. Ukrainian consumers are the clear winners with this merger, we look forward to continuing to delight our customers in the years ahead," commented Vladyslav Chechotkin, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Rozetka.

"We have been working for over a decade on products and services that enable entrepreneurs to launch and develop their business easily on the Internet, while also giving buyers an opportunity to purchase a wide selection of goods at competitive prices. With this merger, we intend to bring even greater benefits by building a full-fledged ecosystem of online and offline services around the consumer," said Mykola Paliienko, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of EVO.

"We are pleased to conclude this landmark merger in Ukraine. Our team has worked very closely with Rozetka founders, supporting major strategic projects including the acquisition of a 50,000 sqm state-of-the-art warehouse, an extensive automation project and now this unprecedented merger. We are proud to be at the forefront of Ukraine's economic transformation, building new champions in the region," said Lenna Koszarny, Horizon Capital's Founding Partner and CEO.

Rozetka (http://www.rozetka.ua) - the leader of e-commerce in Ukraine. The Company was founded in 2005 in Kyiv by Vladyslav and Iryna Chechotkin as an online retailer of electronics and household appliances. Rozetka has grown into a leading e-commerce company with the widest product assortment, exceeding 2.5 million SKUs. Rozetka is regarded for top quality service and high customer satisfaction. Rozetka is ranked in the Top 3 most valuable brands in Ukraine and has one of the highest NPS levels among retailers in Ukraine.

EVO (http://www.evo.company) is a Ukrainian IT company that has launched leading Ukrainian marketplaces and online services where hundreds of thousands of entrepreneurs sell goods and services to millions of consumers. EVO combines Prom.ua, Satu.kz, Deal.by, Bigl.ua, Zakupki.Prom.ua, Crafta.ua, Kabanchik.ua, Vchasno.com.ua, Shafa.ua and others.

Horizon Capital (http://www.horizoncapital.com.ua) Horizon Capital is the leading private equity firm in Ukraine, backed by over 40 institutional investors, with assets under management of over $800 million in four funds with a tenure of 25 years in the region. Horizon Capital is a value-added investor, backing visionary entrepreneurs leading transformational businesses in Ukraine and the region.

SOURCE Horizon Capital, Rozetka and EVO
TEL AVIV, Israel, Nov. 30, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- SafeRide Technologies , provider of industry-leading multi-layer cybersecurity solutions for connected and autonomous vehicles, today announced that it has joined the GENIVI Alliance , a non-profit alliance focused on delivering open source, in-vehicle infotainment (IVI) and connected vehicle software.

SafeRide's vSentry cybersecurity software will be available on the GENIVI platform, joining over 140 companies in the alliance. All members will now be able to easily implement and use SafeRide's technology in order to secure connected and autonomous cars from both known and unknown cybersecurity threats.

"We are honored to join the GENIVI Alliance," said Hilik Stein, CTO of SafeRide Technologies. "With access to the GENIVI ecosystem, our solution will be more readily available to members of the alliance, allowing us to further develop our product and continue to give back to the automotive cybersecurity community."

"GENIVI welcomes SafeRide Technologies to the alliance and we invite them to further enhance our automotive security offerings with their knowledge and solutions," said Steve Crumb, Executive Director of the GENIVI Alliance. "SafeRide's security approaches and solutions will help GENIVI members, and others, protect their current and future connected vehicles from increasingly sophisticated cyberattacks."

"The GENIVI Security Team is excited to have SafeRide bring their cybersecurity capabilities and machine learning expertise to GENIVI," said Stacy Janes, GENIVI's Security Team Lead. "We are looking forward to engaging with SafeRide to bring more security knowledge to GENIVI members."

About SafeRide Technologies

SafeRide Technologies is the provider of vSentry, the industry-leading multi-layer cybersecurity solution for connected and autonomous vehicles that combines state-of-the-art deterministic security solution with a groundbreaking AI profiling and anomaly detection technology to provide future-proof security. SafeRide provides OEMs, fleet operators and automotive suppliers early detection and prevention of cyberattacks, and helps to avoid financial damage, prevent reputation loss, and save lives. For more information, visit www.saferide.io .

Media Contact:

Rachel Glaser

GK for SafeRide

[email protected]

+972 54-250-9439

SOURCE SafeRide Technologies

Related Links

https://saferide.io/


CHICAGO, Nov. 30, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Salesforce (NYSE:CRM), the global leader in CRM, today announced Salesforce Tower Chicago, significantly expanding the company's regional headquarters in Chicago. As part of the expansion, Salesforce plans to add 1,000 new jobs locally, over the next five years, helping fuel the city's economic development.

Salesforce employees will start moving into the Salesforce Tower Chicago upon completion which is slated for 2023. Plans for the Tower include an immersive lobby experience and top " Ohana Floor "  an open hospitality space for Salesforce employees, customers and partners, which will also be available for nonprofits and local education groups to use on weeknights and weekends at no cost.

The future Salesforce Tower Chicago will be located on the Chicago riverfront, on the site formerly known as Wolf Point South. Designed by award-winning architects Pelli Clarke Pelli, and developed by the Kennedy Family and Hines, Salesforce Tower Chicago will rise 57 stories above the Chicago River, in the heart of the city's River North neighborhood.

Salesforce Tower Chicago is one of six Tower investments the company has announced in key markets including its headquarters in San Francisco, New York, London, Indianapolis, and Atlanta.

Comments on the News

"We are thrilled to keep growing and investing in Chicago and proud to share this announcement of Salesforce Tower Chicago. At Salesforce, our real estate is a tangible expression of our culture and values," said Elizabeth Pinkham, EVP, Real Estate, Salesforce. "We are deeply committed to the communities where we live and work, and we show that through employee volunteerism, investment in education and workforce development, and opening our doors to non-profits here in Chicago."

"Chicago is the midwest's largest city with a global and economic force that attracts a wealth of talent and international business," said Tyler Prince, Executive Vice President - Industries & Partners, Salesforce. "Salesforce is committed to continued growth in the region and supporting our thousands of Chicago-based customers and partners as they transform their businesses and connect with their customers in new ways."

"From small start-ups to international industry leaders like Salesforce, technology remains Chicago's fastest growing industry area," said Mayor Emanuel. "The City is home to one of the largest tech talent pools in the United States, and we are thrilled that Salesforce has made the commitment to further that growth. As a strong civic minded business, I look forward to partnering with Salesforce in our joint effort to build on Chicago's reputation as a premier global city for technology, innovation and entrepreneurship."

New Tower Supports Salesforce's Continued Growth in Chicago

Salesforce has been named one of Fortune's Best Places to Work for the past 10 years and was recently ranked #1 on Chicago Tribune's Top Workplaces list for 2018 .

Salesforce Tower Chicago will be a hub for world-class, diverse talent, enabling the company to deliver new innovations to its more than 150,000 customers around the world. Salesforce has more than 1,400 employees in the Chicago area and more than 32,000 employees worldwide. Chicago is home to many Salesforce customers including the City of Chicago, United Airlines and Groupon.

Salesforce Tower Chicago will be one of the company's most sustainable buildings to date pursuing LEED v4 Commercial Interiors Platinum certification and ILFI Net Zero Carbon Certification. On the heels of announcing Salesforce's largest renewable energy agreement in Illinois that will create hundreds of full-time jobs during construction and several permanent jobs during the life of the project, the company plans to utilize the renewable energy to meet its sustainability milestones.

Giving Back through Education and Workforce Development

Salesforce and Salesforce.org are committed to investing in young people from the classroom to the boardroom. Through its work with Chicago Public Schools, i.c. Stars and Year Up , Salesforce.org has granted more than $1M in funds to support Future Ready initiatives in Chicago. Additionally, Salesforce has hosted interns from Year Up and Genesys Works in Chicago, providing opportunities for untapped talent to gain skills, earn relevant work experience, and build networks in the tech industry.

Salesforce.org's Future Ready initiatives for education and workforce development work closely with schools to provide the best learning environment for students; promotes learning experiences that give students needed skills for future success; and helps young adults enter and thrive in the workforce.

Chicago Employees Commit to 40,000 Volunteer Hours Next Year

Today, Salesforce employees in Chicago are committing to deliver 40,000 total employee volunteer hours towards local schools and nonprofits in 2019. Salesforce employees in Chicago have delivered more than 125,000 volunteer hours to the local community to date.

To date, Salesforce technology has powered more than 39,000 nonprofit and higher education institutions; Salesforce.org has provided more than $240 million in grants; and Salesforce employees have logged more than 3.5 million volunteer hours throughout the world.

More than 8,500 companies from 100 countries have committed to Pledge 1%. Local Chicago companies that have joined Pledge 1% include DonorPath, Piqued, Guggenheim Partners and Sidekick.

SalesforceFastest-Growing Top 5 Software Company

Salesforce is the global leader in customer relationship management (CRM), helping companies connect with their customers in a whole new way. Founded in 1999, Salesforce enables companies of every size and industry to take advantage of powerful Fourth Industrial Revolution technologiescloud, mobile, social, internet of things, and artificial intelligenceto get closer to their customers. The Salesforce Customer Success Platform includes industry-leading services spanning sales, service, marketing, commerce, communities, collaboration and industries, all on a single trusted cloud platform.

Additional Information

We're hiring! Visit www.salesforce.com/careers for a list of openings.

Follow @Salesforce on Twitter

on Twitter Like Salesforce.com on Facebook: http://facebook.com/salesforce

ABOUT SALESFORCE

Salesforce, the global CRM leader, empowers companies to connect with their customers in a whole new way. For more information about Salesforce (NYSE: CRM), visit: www.salesforce.com .

Any unreleased services or features referenced in this or other press releases or public statements are not currently available and may not be delivered on time or at all. Customers who purchase Salesforce applications should make their purchase decisions based upon features that are currently available. Salesforce has headquarters in San Francisco, with offices in Europe and Asia, and trades on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol "CRM." For more information please visit http://www.salesforce.com , or call 1-800-NO-SOFTWARE.

SOURCE Salesforce

Related Links

http://www.salesforce.com


TSX.V: SCZ

FSE: 1SZ

VANCOUVER, Nov. 30, 2018 /PRNewswire/ - Santacruz Silver Mining Ltd. (TSX.V:SCZ) (the "Company" or "Santacruz") reports on the operating and financial results from the Veta Grande Project in Zacatecas, Mexico and the Rosario Project in San Luis Potosi, Mexico for the third quarter of 2018. The full version of the financial statements and accompanying management's discussion and analysis can be viewed on the Company's website at www.santacruzsilver.com or on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. All amounts are in thousands of US dollars unless otherwise indicated.

"During the third quarter we saw the beginning of the turnaround in our mining operations, as our quarter over quarter revenues from mining operations and improved production costs demonstrate." stated Arturo Prestamo, Chief Executive Officer of Santacruz. "Although the positive changes to our production volumes and operating costs were modest, as a result of our significant mine development this year and continued focus on such at both Veta Grande and Rosario, we firmly believe that we are now positioned to see improved production volumes and increased grade of mineralized material being milled at both projects leading to lower unit costs of production."

Selected operating and financial information for the three-month periods ended September 30, 2018, June 30, 2018 and June 30, 2017 is presented below:



2018 Q3 2018 Q2 2017 Q3 Financial





Revenue  Mining Operations 1,657 1,466 1,798 Revenue  Mining Services 569 3,569 - Gross (Loss) Profit (4) (2,157) 1,287 (1,819) Debt Forgiveness - 2,590 - Impairment - - (4,350) Net (Loss) Income (2,888) 3,297 (5,899) Net Income (Loss) Per Share  Basic ($/share) (0.02) 0.02 (0.04) Adjusted EBITDA (4) (2,739) 1,048 (1,628) Operating





Material Processed (tonnes milled) 57,976 52,025 46,940 Silver Equivalent Produced (ounces) (1) 249,431 174,175 231,162 Silver Equivalent Sold (payable ounces) (2) 137,834 116,314 166,880 Production Cost per Tonne (3) ($/t) 58.32 66.12 62.91 Cash Cost per Silver Equivalent ($/oz.) (3) 27.40 32.54 23.65 All-in Sustaining Cost per Silver Equivalent ($/oz.) (3) 31.07 35.48 28.14 Average Realized Silver Price per Ounce ($/oz.) (2) (5) 14.31 16.55 16.85

(1) Silver equivalent ounces produced in 2018 have been calculated using prices of US$17.00/oz., US$1,295/oz., US$1.00/lb. and US$1.35/lb. for silver, gold, lead and zinc respectively applied to the metal content of the lead and zinc concentrates produced by the Company. Silver equivalent ounces produced in 2017 have been calculated using prices of US$16.00/oz., US$1,150/oz., US$1.00/lb. and US$1.15/lb. for silver, gold, lead and zinc respectively applied to the metal content of the lead and zinc concentrates produced by the Company. (2) Silver equivalent sold ounces have been calculated using the realized silver prices stated in the table above, applied to the payable metal content of the lead and zinc concentrates sold by the Company. (3) The Company reports non-IFRS measures which include Production Cost per Tonne, Cash Cost per Silver Equivalent, All-in Sustaining Cost per Silver Equivalent and Average Realized Silver Price per Ounce. These measures are widely used in the mining industry as a benchmark for performance, but do not have a standardized meaning and may differ from methods used by other companies with similar descriptions. (4) The Company reports additional non-IFRS measures which include Gross Profit (Loss) and Adjusted EBITDA. These additional financial disclosure measures are intended to provide additional information. (5) Average realized silver price per ounce is prior to all treatment, smelting and refining charges.

Financial Results

The Company realized an average silver price of $14.31 per ounce during Q3 2018 which represents an approximate 15% decrease from Q2 and Q1 2018 as well as from Q3 2017.

The Company recorded a net loss of $2,888 in Q3 2018 compared to net income of $3,297 in Q2 2018 and a net loss of $5,899 in Q3 2017. The Q2 2018 net income was positively impacted by a one-time adjustment of $2,590 relating to the forgiveness of certain trade debt by Carrizal while mine services revenue decreased in Q3 2018 leading to a gross margin of $28. Management expects that mining services revenues will increase in Q4 2018 and generate a more significant gross margin than in Q3. The net loss for Q3 2017 was negatively impacted by an impairment charge of $4,350.

Revenues in Q3 2018 of $2,156 include mining operations of $1,657 (Q3 2017 - $1,798; Q2 2018 - $1,466) and mining services of $569 (Q3 2017 - $nil; Q2 2018 - $3,569). The decreased mining services revenues recorded in Q3 2018 reflect decreased service requirements from Carrizal during the quarter. Management anticipates that increased service requirements will occur during Q4.

The Company recorded a gross loss of $2,157 during Q3 2018 (Q3 2017  loss of $1,819; Q2 2018  profit of $1,287). The gross loss recorded in Q3 2018 and gross profit reported in Q2 2018 reflect the combined results of the Company's mining operations and mining services activities. During these periods the mining operations resulted in gross losses of $2,185 and $2,225 for Q3 2018 and Q2 2018 respectively while mining services resulted in gross profits of $28 and $3,452 for the same periods.

Operational Results and Costs

Cash cost per ounce in Q3 2018 was $27.40 per payable ounce of silver sold, an increase of 16% from $23.65 per ounce in Q3 2017 and a decrease of 16% from $32.54 per ounce in Q2 2018. Cash cost per ounce was higher in Q3 2018 as compared to Q3 2017 primarily due to lower head grades in the quarter arising from management's decision to focus on mine development at both the Veta Grande and Rosario Projects. Conversely cash cost per ounce was lower in Q3 2018 as compared to Q2 2018 due to higher grade mineralized material being mined and processed in Q3 2018 at the Veta Grande Project.

All-in Sustaining Cost per ounce in Q3 2018 was $31.07 per payable ounce of silver sold, an increase of 14% from $27.14 per ounce in Q3 2017 and a decrease of 12% from $35.48 per ounce per ounce in Q2 2018. The changes occurred for the same reasons as those relating to the cash cost per ounce changes referenced above.

About Santacruz Silver Mining Ltd.

Santacruz is a Mexican focused silver company with two producing silver projects (Veta Grande Project and Rosario Project) and two exploration properties (Minillas Property and Zacatecas Properties). The Company is managed by a technical team of professionals with proven track records in developing, operating and discovering silver mines in Mexico. Our corporate objective is to become a mid-tier silver producer.

'signed'

Arturo Prestamo Elizondo,

President and CEO

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 information

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. In making the forward-looking statements included in this news release, the Company has applied several material assumptions, that the Company's financial condition and development plans do not change as a result of unforeseen events, that third party mineralized material to be milled by the Company will have properties consistent with management's expectations, that the Company will receive all required regulatory approvals, and that future metal prices and the demand and market outlook for metals will remain stable or improve. 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 lower revenue, higher cost, or lower production levels; delays and/or cessation in planned work; changes in the Company's financial condition and development plans; delays in regulatory approval; risks associated with the interpretation of data (including in respect of the third party mineralized material) regarding 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 continuous disclosure filings 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.

Rosario Project

The decisions to commence production at the Rosario Mine, Cinco Estrellas Property and Membrillo Prospect were not based on a feasibility study of mineral reserves demonstrating economic and technical viability, but rather on a more preliminary estimate of inferred mineral resources. Accordingly, there is increased uncertainty and economic and technical risks of failure associated with this production decision. Production and economic variables may vary considerably, due to the absence of a complete and detailed site analysis according to and in accordance with NI 43-101.

Veta Grande Project

The decision to commence production at Veta Grande Project was not based on a feasibility study on mineral reserves demonstrating economic and technical viability. Accordingly, there is increased uncertainty and economic and technical risks of failure associated with this production decision. Production and economic variables may vary considerably due to the absence of a complete and detailed site analysis according to and in accordance with NI 43-101.

SOURCE Santacruz Silver Mining Ltd.

Related Links

www.santacruzsilver.com


NEW YORK, Nov. 30, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Pomerantz LLP is investigating claims on behalf of investors of Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft ("Deutsche Bank" or the "Company") (NYSE: DB). Such investors are advised to contact Robert S. Willoughby at [email protected] or 888-476-6529, ext. 9980.

The investigation concerns whether Deutsche Bank and certain of its officers and/or directors have engaged in securities fraud or other unlawful business practices.

[Click here to join a class action]

On November 29, 2018, German authorities raided six Deutsche Bank offices in and around Frankfurt in connection with an investigation into an alleged money laundering scheme carried out within the Company's wealth management division. The raid involved more than 170 police officers, prosecutors, and tax inspectors, and focused on the activities of two Deutsche Bank employees who allegedly helped clients establish offshore companies in order to launder money.

Following news of the raids, Deutsche Bank's stock price fell $0.47, or 4.75%, to close at $9.42 on November 29, 2018.

The Pomerantz Firm, with offices in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, and Paris, is acknowledged as one of the premier firms in the areas of corporate, securities, and antitrust class litigation. Founded by the late Abraham L. Pomerantz, known as the dean of the class action bar, the Pomerantz Firm pioneered the field of securities class actions. Today, more than 80 years later, the Pomerantz Firm continues in the tradition he established, fighting for the rights of the victims of securities fraud, breaches of fiduciary duty, and corporate misconduct. The Firm has recovered numerous multimillion-dollar damages awards on behalf of class members. See www.pomerantzlaw.com.

CONTACT:

Robert S. Willoughby

Pomerantz LLP

[email protected]

888-476-6529 ext. 9980

SOURCE Pomerantz LLP

Related Links

http://www.pomerantzlaw.com


NEW YORK, Nov. 29, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Bernstein Liebhard LLP, a nationally acclaimed investor rights law firm, announces that a securities class action lawsuit has been filed on behalf of those who purchased or acquired the securities of Ternium S.A. ("Ternium" or the "Company") (NYSE: TX) between May 1, 2014 and November 27, 2018, both dates inclusive (the "Class Period"). The lawsuit seeks to recover Ternium shareholders' investment losses.

If you purchased Ternium securities, and/or would like to discuss your legal rights and options, please visit Ternium Shareholder Class Action Lawsuit or contact Daniel Sadeh toll free at (877) 779-1414 or [email protected].

According to the lawsuit, throughout the Class Period Defendants made false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose that: (1) Defendant Rocca, Ternium's Chairman, knew that one of his company's executives paid cash to government officials from 2009 to 2012 to expedite compensation payments for the sale of Ternium's Sidor unit; (2) this conduct would lead Rocca to be charged in a graft scheme and subject Ternium, its affiliates, and/or its executives to heightened governmental scrutiny; and (3) as a result, Ternium's public statements were materially false and/or misleading at all relevant times. When the true details entered the market, the lawsuit claims that investors suffered damages.

On November 27, 2018, Bloomberg reported that Ternium's Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Paolo Rocca was indicted for his role in a graft scheme. According to the article, "[t]he judge charged Rocca after the Argentine billionaire testified that one of his company's executives paid an undisclosed amount of cash to government officials in monthly installments from 2009 to 2012." The article stated that "[t]he officials were allegedly working for then-President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner's administration to speed up a compensation payment from Venezuela[]for the nationalization of Sidor, a unit thatRocca's group was [ultimately paid] $1.95 billion for[.]" The judge set a $103 million bond and banned Rocca from leaving the country.

On this news, Ternium's stock fell $1.42 per share or nearly 5% to close at $28.02 per share on November 27, 2018, damaging investors.

If you wish to serve as lead plaintiff, you must move the Court no later than January 28, 2019. A lead plaintiff is a representative party acting on behalf of other class members in directing the litigation. Your ability to share in any recovery doesn't require that you serve as lead plaintiff. If you choose to take no action, you may remain an absent class member.

If you purchased Ternium securities, and/or would like to discuss your legal rights and options, please visit https://www.bernlieb.com/cases/ternium-sa-tx-lawsuit-class-action-fraud-stock-95/ or contact Daniel Sadeh toll free at (877) 779-1414 or [email protected].

Since 1993, Bernstein Liebhard LLP has recovered over $3.5 billion for its clients. In addition to representing individual investors, the Firm has been retained by some of the largest public and private pension funds in the country to monitor their assets and pursue litigation on their behalf. As a result of its success litigating hundreds of lawsuits and class actions, the Firm has been named to The National Law Journal's "Plaintiffs' Hot List" thirteen times and listed in The Legal 500 for ten consecutive years.

ATTORNEY ADVERTISING.  2018 Bernstein Liebhard LLP. The law firm responsible for this advertisement is Bernstein Liebhard LLP, 10 East 40th Street, New York, New York 10016, (212) 779-1414. The lawyer responsible for this advertisement in the State of Connecticut is Michael S. Bigin. Prior results do not guarantee or predict a similar outcome with respect to any future matter.

Contact Information

Daniel Sadeh

Bernstein Liebhard LLP

http://www.bernlieb.com

(877) 779-1414

[email protected]

SOURCE Bernstein Liebhard LLP

Related Links

http://www.bernlieb.com


NEW YORK, Nov. 29, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- After the previous collaboration with Microsoft Accelerator established back in August, Ultrain, as a public chain project, is honored to be selected as a partner for the "AWS Activate China" program.

"AWS Active China" is an entrepreneurship support & acceleration program created by the internet giant Amazon. Designed to provide start-ups with free cloud resources and technical services, AWS Active help startups through select accelerators, incubators, Seed/VC Funds, and startup-enabling organizations. It also helps startup by delivering easy-to-use infrastructure that they need to scale and grow their business at any size.

For startups, the technical resources they need to get up and start sprinting are critical. AWS Activate allows startups not to be constrained by their resources, using pay-as-you-go cloud services to meet their rapidly growing business needs, while allowing these startups to focus on what matters  service customers and innovation. The AWS active Program meets the requirements of startups for technology, support, knowledge sharing, and other resources, making it easier to leverage the cloud to scale their business.

As AWS continues to invest in the Chinese market and helps to launch international entrepreneurial projects locally, it achieved its ultimate goal of helping entrepreneurs to expand their international horizons, strengthening globalization, and cultivating exceptional global scaled enterprises, as well as "unicorns"! Entrepreneurial projects that join the activate initiative benefit through the global entrepreneurial ecosystem created by AWS. Thousands of Chinese companies have received their support services through the AWS Activate China program and have accomplished great success, companies such as APUS, Avazu, camera 360, Globalegrow, Liulishuo (LAIX), Meiqia, Myou, Patsnap, Pingwest, Tuya, Xiaohongshu (RED), etc.

Ultrain is a technology company dedicated to the development of next-generation public chain blockchain, which positioned itself as a decentralized full-stack engine. Established in 2017, by former Technical Director of Alibaba security group Guo Rui, former Managing Director of Golden Brick Capital, head of Qihoo 360's IOT investment Emma Liao Zhiyu, former Technical Leader/Chief Architect of Ant Financial's blockchain team Li Ning, formal Core Architect from Alibaba's Cloud OS team Shen Yufeng, former Cryptologist expert from Ant Financials' blockchain team Wang Husen. Together they form a dream team that syndicates cutting-edge innovation theory, robust engineering implementation experience, and top-notch global capital and business operations capabilities. Furthermore, Ultrain has signed the world-renowned economist, a tenured professor at LSE and a board member of the Richemont Group, Professor Jin Qiuyu, and the co-founder of the famous short-video APP Musical.ly, Louis Luyu as consultants to further discuss how they could successfully build an innovative economy model and launch "killer apps" on blockchain.

Ultrain released their public testnet, permitted mainnet, as well as the three middleware components; customizable zero-knowledge proof, random number generator, quantum resistant wallet, and some other on-chain DApp demonstration. Ultrain proclaimed that its smart contract developer framework is now available open-sourced. As of now, there are over dozens of DApp being built on top of the existing Ultrain ecosystem. Since the testnet is now online, nearly a hundred developers have already deployed their smart contract on the development framework. Also, Ultrain was successfully selected by the Microsoft accelerator as an incubator project, receiving leading resources supported by Microsoft's Azure cloud computing platform & services.

Besides, Ultrain has established 16 international community hubs and poses a strong presence online around the world. The kind of globalization that attracted the AWA in the first place, Ultrain is in the process of building a global community that connects international + local, online + offline, technology + application communities, representing a comprehensive development pattern for Ultrain's global community.

Ultrain successfully joined the Amazon AWS Activate China Initiation, which symbolizes the Amazon AWS has official recognizes the past achievements and performance of Ultrain project. Since then, Ultrain will leverage Amazon AWS, the world's top cloud computing service, to capture the resources needed to expand its international business better and create a right full-stack blockchain engine.

Media Contact : [email protected]

SOURCE Ultrain
'A common vision for Arab Digital Economy' is the bold plan driven by the Council of Arab Economic Unity (CAEU) at the League of Arab States to boost political and social stability in the Arab World through Digital Economy.

(Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/791970/CAEU_Logo.jpg )

(Photo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/791969/CAEU_UN_DESA_officials.jpg )

(Photo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/791972/HH_Sheikh_Mohammed_bin_Zayed_Al_Nahyan.jpg )



Dr. Ali Mohammed Al Khouri, Advisor to the Council of Arab Economic Unity, said that the initiative received the support of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE's Armed Forces. The plan aims at digital inclusion, knowledge-based legislative and technology infrastructure, and public and private frameworks that will boost security, welfare and prosperity for the Arab societies.

The UAE's support for the common Arab vision will promote a joint Arab action. Al-Khouri stressed on the importance of the role of technology as a tool to achieve the objectives of sustainable development and economic growth rates through creation of investments opportunities, employment and opening of new markets.

The UAE is renowned for its knowledge-based approach and youth empowerment. The UAE has been fostering a number of initiatives for skills development like the one million Arab coders project and the e-learning platform offering over 50 million Arab students across the world access to education among other projects that support sustainable development for the Arab societies.

The Council of Arab Economic Unity (CAEU) is the execution arm for the plan and for boosting cooperation with international organizations working in the field. CAEU delegation met with Mourad Wahba, Assistant Secretary-General, Assistant Administration and Regional Director for Arab States at UNDP and with senior officials from the United Nation's Division for public institutions & Digital Government. Al-Khouri noted that the investments directed towards the Arab regions by UNDP is one Billion US Dollars.

"This initiative will be the foundation to promote the social and economic security for the Arab societies. That is why it is important to cooperate with international organizations and bring together Arab and International thinkers and practitioners for the development of the strategy. Such involvement will ensure global influence and introduction," stated Al-Khouri.

"This is a new model for developing Arab world's economies to tackle global challenges. The UAE is putting its expertise to use to boost sustainable development in the Arab states," Al-Khouri concluded.

The strategy will be presented in an international conference that will be hosted in Abu Dhabi on 16 and 17 December 2018. The strategy is expected to produce digital economy and transformation projects. The outputs will be presented to the Arab Leaders at the Arab Summit scheduled in March 2019 in Tunisia.

The World Bank noted the importance of the strategy in paving the way for inclusive economic development opportunities in the Arab world. UN, UNDP and the World Bank support the initiative and CAEU for its work for comprehensive development and enhancement of cooperation between the Arab states.

SOURCE Council of Arab Economic Unity (CAEU)
SEOUL, South Korea, Nov. 30, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- The Gyeonggi Tourism Corporation, which serves as a tourist information center for Gyeonggi Province, announced on November 28 the recommended travel spots for December with the theme of 'Alley'. The alleyway is a narrow lane that is connected with other places including main roads and markets.The five 'hot' spots announced by the Gyeonggi Tourism Corporation are places visitors should visit in December.

King Sejong's Hangul Alley 'Yeoju Hangul Market Mural Alley'

There is a special principle in the Hangul market in Yeoju, Gyeonggi Province. Along with name of the 'Hangul Market', every single sign of all shops are in Hangul. Unlike other places, the franchise ice cream shop and cosmetic shops that people are familiar with also have signs in Hangul, which is invented by King Sejong.

The Hangul market is constantly open, and on the 5th and 10th day of every month, visitors can have more active experiences. King Sejong's tomb is located in Yeoju. He invented Hangul because of his love for the people. Therefore, the market is based on 'Hangul' and it is impressive that such a small market is operated so actively.

'Suwon Haenglidangil', the Cultural Street Next to the Castle

Haenglidangil is the hottest spot in Suwon. It is located in Haeng-gungdong, nearby Hwaseong Haenggung, Hwaseomun (West Gate) and Janganmun (North Gate) of Suwon Hwaseong Fortress. As there are many unique new cafes in this area, people started calling this place Haenglidangil or Haeng-gungdong Cafe Street.

From the beginning of 2018, as some cafes were featured on SNS, young people started to come to this alley that used to be quiet. This is how the area began to attract attention. Since then, plenty of cafes opened and now about 90 cafes are operating. Some people are worried about gentrification due to the opening of too many cafes.

However, new restaurants with brilliant ideas also opened in Haenglidangi, where there were mainly cafes. Now, this area has emerged as a lively cultural street in Suwon.

One thing to note about Haenglidangil is that it is not a gorgeous mall but an alley leading to Suwon Hwaseong Fortress. The alley is a place where memories of many people have been dissolved, but traditional aspects and modernity coexist. Visitors can see old walls and houses built with red bricks. While watching Hwaseong -- the world cultural heritage in the alleyway -- with a coffee aroma, visitors can listen to the story of Haenggung-dong.

Feel the Kindness of Neighbors at 'Yangpyeong Market Road'

The most interesting alley of all is the market alley. There are so many things to see, buy and eat. A place full of people's kindness and joy even during noisy bargaining. The market alley, where visitors can hear a great deal of stories from everyone they meet, is splendidly beautiful in the winter.

The Yangpyeong Market Alley in Yangpyeong is also an alleyway full of people. Especially, on the 3rd and 8th of every month, when the Yangpyeong Oil Market is held, it is a festival where all villagers and the merchants come together. To get to the Yangpyeong market, after exiting Yangpyeong Station and walking over, the Market is on the left side.

The first scenery that stands out is the people preparing for the winter. Wearing thick coats, they are busy choosing warm gloves and hats. Passing by the markets of radishes and cabbages, visitors can smell the fragrant of deodeok and bellflower for kimchi and the spicy fragrance of buckwheat pancakes.

A piece of buckwheat pancake with cabbage is only KRW 1,000, which visitors cannot miss. The Yangpyeong Market, which has a long history and large scale, is the place where environment-friendly agricultural products are actively traded. Yangpyeong City announced it has become an 'eco-friendly agricultural area' for the first time in the nation. Now, the metropolitan subway is available and the city has emerged as a travel spot.

Enjoy Gourmet Food at the 'Ansan Multicultural Food Street'

Won-gong-dong, on the other side of Ansan Station, is called a 'village without borders'. It is a unique village where foreigners and naturalized Koreans from all over the world live together. About 60% of people walking on the streets and alleys are foreigners.

Foreign workers working in the industrial complex around here are extremely busy on weekdays. Therefore, banks and hospitals are open on weekends, which only happens in this area.

70% of the 400 foreign businesses in the area are restaurants. Along the street, visitors can see delicious food from all over the world including China, Vietnam, Uzbekistan, etc. Ansan City has referred to this area as a 'special place for multicultural food'. It is a food street that appeals to foreigners who came to Ansan in search of a dream and who will enjoy the feeling of a nostalgia. Also, this place is developing into a global food town where local Koreans taste foreign food.

Recently, the Indonesian restaurant located in the inner alley has been attracting attention due to the travel program on TV. Especially mi goreng (stir-fried rice noodles) and nasi-goreng (fried rice noodles) are popular. At the shops in the alley, visitors can easily buy food ingredients from China and Southeast Asian countries.

'Pyeongtaek International Central Market Shopping Street' - the Itaewon of Gyeonggi Province

The Pyeongtaek International Central Market has developed into a unique shape due to the influence of US troops stationed nearby. Foreigners are enjoying holidays on the streets where the flags of Korea and the US are raised. It looks just like a shopping complex in a foreign resort.

In recent years, restaurants that sell food from various countries such as Turkey, Thailand and Vietnam have opened on alleys connected to 'Shopping Street', the main street market. It is also called the Itaewon of Gyeonggi Province, because many foreign tourists and Koreans visit this place. If visitors take a look at the alley slowly during a walk, visitors may discover unexpected treasures such as unusual patterns of clothing or military accessories.

Songtan, where the International Central Market in located, is famous for its special food culture. It is a combination of Western and Korean food under the influence of the US military.

Typical examples are the Songtan sausage stew and the Songtan hamburger. The sausage stew is very rich and spicy, and the 'Songtan hamburger,' a Korean-style hamburger, is Songtan's special food that has been loved for many years. Between the thick pieces of bread, the Songtan hamburger is made with a meat patty, ham, fried egg, and plenty of fresh vegetables to create a rich taste, also comes with common sauces such as ketchup and mayonnaise. It tastes familiar but with a strong taste that's distinctly different from other franchise hamburgers.

SOURCE Gyeonggi Tourism Organization
The first results of this trial, to be announced Sunday and Monday at the 60 th American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting and Exposition in San Diego, validate the feasibility of using genomic sequencing to identify the patients' specific type of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and give them a targeted treatment within seven days, a first-ever approach to this disease, which, until recently, had not seen treatment advances in 40 years.

As the world's largest nonprofit dedicated to fighting blood cancers, LLS is uniquely qualified to drive the Beat AML Master Clinical Trial, an unprecedented collaboration that aims to change the paradigm of treatment through a precision medicine approach. LLS has united prominent scientists at top cancer centers, multiple pharmaceutical companies, several technology companies and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to bring new and better treatments to AML patients in urgent need. LLS is the first nonprofit health organization to sponsor a cancer clinical trial.

Five Beat AML Master Clinical Trial abstracts to be presented at 60th Annual ASH Meeting: "Initial Report of the Beat AML Umbrella Study for Previously Untreated AML: Evidence of Feasibility and Early Success in Molecularly Driven Phase 1 and 2 Studies [Abstract #559], at press briefing Sunday, December 2 at 8 a.m. PT, and in an oral scientific session on Monday, December 3 at 7 a.m. Additional progress on Beat AML will be presented in abstracts 287, 1489, 2773, and 4053

According to Brian Druker, MD, director of OHSU Knight Cancer Institute, and a co-lead investigator for LLS's Beat AML Master Clinical Trial, "For four decades, AML patients have been treated with a one-size-fits all approach, with most receiving a standard chemotherapy combination almost immediately upon diagnosis. But many older adults cannot tolerate the toxicity. With LLS's vision and support, we've been able to bring a cutting edge medical approach to developing better treatments faster and helping more patients. With the Beat AML trial we're doing a better job of matching patients to therapies."

More than 20,000 Americans are diagnosed with AML and 10,000 die from the cancer annually. The five-year-survival rate for older adults remains dismal at less than 20 percent.

The study, two years underway, has already shown that patients diagnosed with AML, a complex disease with multiple subtypes, benefit from having their specific genetic subtype identified quickly before receiving traditional treatment, so they can receive a targeted therapy that matches their individual cancer-driving genetic mutations. The trial has now screened more than 400 patients at 13 clinical centers across the U.S., with patients entering the trial receiving one of seven investigational therapies.

The impact of the Beat AML initiative and progress in AML in general was addressed last night at an LLS roundtable event, Innovation in Research: Blood Cancers and Beyond, moderated by NBC News Medical Correspondent John Torres, MD, and veteran healthcare journalist Ron Winslow. Advancements in immunotherapy, genomics and personalized medicine and how they are transforming cancer treatment were all part of the discussion.

LLS president and chief executive officer, Louis J. DeGennaro, PhD, set the stage for the roomful of attending researchers, treating physicians, industry executives and regulators at the Hilton Bayfront San Diego.

"AML is a formidable adversary in the medical and scientific community; this rapidly progressing disease remains one of the most lethal blood cancers," DeGennaro said. "LLS, along with our partners and the FDA, are changing the paradigm for cancer clinical trials, so we can get the right drug to the right patient at the right time."

LLS's commitment to fighting AML will be among the news headlines of the ASH conference, highlighted through the significant data being presented in five Beat AML abstracts. Further, LLS's impact on AML extends beyond the clinical trial. LLS and its collaborators at Johns Hopkins University are also releasing data at the ASH meeting through several abstracts on AML patient preferences for treatment outcomes, their worries, and their reported side effects from treatment.

According to Amy Burd, PhD, LLS vice president of research strategy and the organization's lead for the Beat AML initiative, "Taken together, these five Beat AML abstracts tell a story of how, through collaboration, we have put in motion a dynamic trial model that is already having an impact on patients and how doctors approach treatment of AML."

More Progress in AML

Breakthroughs in AML have occurred rapidly over the past two years after a 40-year drought. From the start of 2017 to date, nine AML therapies have received approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). All have been advanced with LLS support.

Three just received approval this month:

gilteritinib ( XOSPATA ) , developed by Astellas Pharma, received FDA approval on November 28 , to treat relapsed and refractory AML patients with a genetic mutation called FLT3, which are seen in approximately one-third of patients with AML. It is the second FLT3 inhibitor to receive FDA approval since 2017; the other, midostaurin (Rydapt ), was approved in April 2017 , for newly diagnosed FLT3 AML patients. Gilteritinib is also part of the Beat AML Master Clinical Trial. While this recent approval is for patients who have failed previous treatments, it is being tested in Beat AML as a frontline treatment. Another FLT3 inhibitor, quizartinib is under review with a decision anticipated by Spring.

XOSPATA , developed by Astellas Pharma, received FDA approval on , to treat relapsed and refractory AML patients with a genetic mutation called FLT3, which are seen in approximately one-third of patients with AML. It is the second FLT3 inhibitor to receive FDA approval since 2017; the other, midostaurin (Rydapt ), was approved in , for diagnosed FLT3 AML patients. Gilteritinib is also part of the Beat AML Master Clinical Trial. While this recent approval is for patients who have failed previous treatments, it is being tested in Beat AML as a frontline treatment. Another FLT3 inhibitor, quizartinib is under review with a decision anticipated by Spring. venetoclax (Venclexta ), developed by Abbvie and Genentech, received approval on November 21 , in combination with a chemotherapy  azacitidine, decitabine or low-dose cytarabine (LDAC), in newly diagnosed patients who are aged 75 years and older or are ineligible for intensive chemotherapy due to coexisting medical conditions. This therapy targets the cellular pathway that regulates natural cell death. When this process goes awry as it often does in cancer the body is unable to rid itself of unhealthy cells.

developed by Abbvie and Genentech, received approval on , in combination with a chemotherapy  azacitidine, decitabine or low-dose cytarabine (LDAC), in newly diagnosed patients who are aged 75 years and older or are ineligible for intensive chemotherapy due to coexisting medical conditions. This therapy targets the cellular pathway that regulates natural cell death. When this process goes awry as it often does in cancer the body is unable to rid itself of unhealthy cells. glasdegib (Daurismo ), was also FDA approved on Nov. 21 . Pfizer's AML drug targets a cell signaling pathway called Hedgehog, which is critical for the development of immature cells into cells with more specialized functions. It is approved for patients who are age 75 or older, or who have other chronic health conditions or diseases that might preclude the use of intensive chemotherapy.

One of last night's panelists, Erkut Bahceci, M.D., vice president, medical sciences-hematology, Astellas Pharma, discussed the approval of gilteritinib.

"We have learned from past failures of prior drugs targeting this same mutation and designed this drug to help overcome those weaknesses," Bahceci said. "In collaboration with the FDA, we were able to speed innovation and achieve this approval quickly. It only took five years since the first patient was treated with gilteritinib."

Other AML therapies approved in 2017 and 2018 are: midostaurin (Rydapt ); enasidenib (Idhifa);(CPX-351) (Vyxeos ); gentuzumab ozogamicin (Mylotarg); arsenic trioxide (Trisenox ); ivosedinib (Tibsovo). LLS supported research for each of these therapies.

LLS's Commitment to AML

LLS has long been committed to leading the offensive on AML, with more than one-quarter of our research budget dedicated to finding new and better treatments. And we continue to provide lifesaving support and advocacy for AML patients and their caregivers. Among our most recent round of grants are multiple projects targeting AML, including a Specialized Center of Research grant led by Craig Jordan, Ph.D., University of Colorado, and his colleagues who are taking a multi-pronged approach to eradicate cancer stem cells in AML patients. The team was pivotal in demonstrating that the aforementioned, recently approved venetoclax can produce long-term disease control in patients with AML, and appears to be a game-changer for the future therapy of this and other diseases.

John Byrd, M.D., of The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center, and a co-lead investigator of the Beat AML trial, commented that with so many new options now for AML the key will be finding the right combinations.

"If you think of a cake and you only have flour and maybe a little sugar you won't be able to make a very good cake," Byrd said. "I think now for subsets of AML we probably have the right ingredients to completely change the natural history of this disease. We just need to come up with the recipe for how to combine things."

Media Contact:



Andrea Greif



[email protected]



914-772-3027

SOURCE The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society

Related Links

http://www.LLS.org


SAN FRANCISCO and MANDEVILLE, La., Nov. 30, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Thoma Bravo, a leading private equity investment firm focused on software and technology-enabled services, announced that it has agreed to acquire PEC Safety, a rapidly growing contractor management software and safety learning content provider that helps both hiring clients and contractors manage risk, safety, and compliance. The investment recognizes PEC's strong momentum and is expected to help the company broaden its software and content offerings. As part of the agreement, the company's management team and founders will retain a minority stake in the business.

Founded in 1993, PEC Safety is one of the largest contractor management networks in the world, enabling clients to hire and manage safe and qualified contractors through a centralized cloud-based software system. In addition, PEC provides licensed proprietary safety learning content to a network of more than 3,000 authorized instructors who conduct over 235,000 training sessions per year. PEC, with its unique combination of a contractor management software platform and proprietary training content, has distinguished itself as a rapidly growing, market leader within the energy industry. PEC currently serves over 110 operators and 15,000 contractors in its mission to bring workers home safely from high-hazard jobs through prioritizing training and contractor management.

"PEC Safety's partnership with Thoma Bravo will enable us to deepen our core capabilities and expand into other verticals, advancing PEC's mission to reduce risks and increase safety for workers in hazardous jobs," said Colby Lane, CEO of PEC Safety. "PEC Safety will benefit enormously from Thoma Bravo's expertise at implementing operating best practices and investing in new product functionality and features that will continue to scale the network."

Contractor risk exposure is increasingly being recognized as a top concern in PEC's core market, the energy industry, as well as other verticals such as construction, manufacturing, transportation and facilities management. PEC is positioned to capitalize on the compelling industry tailwinds by offering mission-critical software and learning solutions that help companies save time, hire confidently, and most importantly improve safety conditions for their workers.

"Thoma Bravo believes there is tremendous growth potential for the innovative risk, compliance and safety solutions developed by the talented team at PEC, led by Colby Lane," said Hudson Smith, a Partner at Thoma Bravo. "Operators are increasingly realizing that they cannot simply outsource risk management to their contractors and instead need to put in place robust technology and learning solutions that provide assurance they are working with highly-trained, well-qualified and responsible contractors."

Thoma Bravo has provided equity and strategic support to experienced management teams of growing companies for nearly thirty-five years. The firm has extensive expertise investing in risk, compliance, safety and supply chain management software companies, including Riskonnect, Sparta Systems, Global Healthcare Exchange and iPipeline, as well as energy-focused software companies such as Quorum Software.

PEC Safety was advised by William Blair & Company and Goodwin Procter LLP. Thoma Bravo was advised by Raymond James & Associates and Kirkland & Ellis LLP.

About Thoma Bravo, LLC

Thoma Bravo is a leading private equity firm focused on the software and technology-enabled services sectors. With a series of funds representing more than $30 billion in capital commitments, Thoma Bravo partners with a company's management team to implement operating best practices, invest in growth initiatives and make accretive acquisitions intended to accelerate revenue and earnings, with the goal of increasing the value of the business. Representative past and present portfolio companies include industry leaders such as ABC Financial, Blue Coat Systems, Deltek, Digital Insight, Frontline Education, Global Healthcare Exchange, Hyland Software, Imprivata, iPipeline, PowerPlan, Qlik, Riverbed, SailPoint, SolarWinds, SonicWall, Sparta Systems and TravelClick. The firm has offices in San Francisco and Chicago. For more information, visit www.thomabravo.com.

About PEC Safety

PEC Safety is an industry leading, risk-management company that provides a technology-enabled contractor management service for reporting and measuring contractor risk, safety and compliance information to owner clients (operators). Over 110 owner clients manage over 15,000 contractors in PEC's total contractor management solution. PEC also develops and offers standardized safety learning programs for workers in high-risk industries. Over 2 million workers have been trained with PEC programs by a network of 3000+ PEC Authorized Instructors. For more information, visit www.pecsafety.com.

Media Contacts:

Matthew Gorton, Hiltzik Strategies

212-776-1161

[email protected]

SOURCE Thoma Bravo

Related Links

http://www.thomabravo.com


"John started his 12-volt career in the sound-off competition lanes of the mid-1990s and worked his way up in marketing, sales and product development before joining the Tint World family in 2014," said Charles J. Bonfiglio, president and CEO of Tint World. "He's been an invaluable asset and inspiration for many of our store owners, and in his new position, he will be able to provide an even higher level understanding of profitability for our franchisees."

As vice president of store operations, Marsh will be responsible for closely managing the Tint World home office operations team and supporting the company's more than 60 global franchise locations.

"We have such a fantastic group of store owners, and my goal has always been  and will continue to be  making sure they have all the tools needed to be as successful and profitable as possible," Marsh said. "I look forward to spending more time with each of our franchisees individually to ensure leads are turning into sales and to support their overall growth."

Tint World Automotive Styling Centers offer sales and installation of auto accessories, mobile electronics, audio video equipment, security systems, custom wheels and tire packages, window tinting, vehicle wraps, paint protection films, detailing services, nano ceramic coatings, maintenance and repair services, and more. Tint World is also the leading provider of residential, commercial and marine computerized window tinting and security film services with locations throughout the U.S. and abroad, with franchise opportunities available worldwide.

About Tint World

Founded in 1982, Tint World has grown to become an award-winning franchised provider of automotive styling, residential, commercial and marine window tinting and security film services. With Automotive Styling Centers in the U.S. and abroad, each franchise location houses approximately 20 profit centers, ranging from in-store accessory installations to off-site sales and installation of residential, commercial and marine window tinting and security films. To find out more, please visit www.tintworld.com and tintworldfranchise.com.

Tint World Contact:

Charles J. Bonfiglio, CEO

(800) 767-8468

[email protected]

MEDIA CONTACT:

Heather Ripley

Ripley PR

865-977-1973

[email protected]

SOURCE Tint World

Related Links

http://www.tintworld.com


Washington, Nov 30 : A 78-year-old inmate sentenced to life behind bars for the murders of three women in the US, recently confessed to 90 homicides between 1970 and 2005, the FBI has said.

If confirmed, this number of murders would make Samuel Little one of the most prolific serial killers in US history, Efe reported on Thursday.

Little was arrested in September 2012 at a homeless shelter in Kentucky and extradited to California, where he was wanted for drug crimes.

Once in Los Angeles, authorities linked his DNA to that found in the murders of three women between 1987 and 1989. In all three cases, the victims were beaten, strangled and then their bodies dumped in an alley, a dumpster and a garage.

Little was sentenced to three terms of life imprisonment for those three crimes, but police wanted to share his DNA and details of his modus operandi with the FBI so that a deeper investigation could be undertaken.

What the FBI found was an "alarming pattern and compelling links to many more murders," mostly "marginalized and vulnerable women who were often involved in prostitution and addicted to drugs."

"Their bodies sometimes went unidentified and their deaths uninvestigated," the FBI statement added.

A lead on a case then took the FBI to Texas: "We found a case out of Odessa, Texas, that sounded very much like him, and we could place him passing through the area around the same time," said ViCAP Crime Analyst Christina Palazzolo in the statement.

Accompanied by the Texas Rangers, the FBI decided to question Little last spring in a California prison, where he agreed to cooperate in exchange for a prison transfer.

"He went through city and state and gave Ranger Holland the number of people he killed in each place. Jackson, Mississippi - one; Cincinnati, Ohio - one; Phoenix, Arizona - three; Las Vegas, Nevada - one," Palazzolo explained.

Little remembered his victims and the murders with great detail and he was even able to draw the faces of some of his victims.

In total, Little confessed to 90 murders over a 35-year period, with the killings being committed all over the country. Of those 90, 34 have already been confirmed.
Damascus, Nov 30 : Syrian air defences responded on Thursday evening to a suspected Israeli missile attack on military targets in southern Syria, media reported.

State TV reported that Syrian air force fired anti-air missiles in response to the strike, adding that all enemy targets were destroyed and that the foreign attack failed to achieve its intended goals, reports Xinhua news agency.

It said the attack took place over the town of Kisweh in the southern countryside of the Syrian capital Damascus.

While the official Syrian media outlets hinted that Israel is behind the attack, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a war monitoring group based in Britain, explicitly stated that Israel carried out the attack in the southern and southwestern countryside of Damascus near the administrative border with the southern province of Quneitra.

The watchdog said the Syrian air defences were firing a number of missiles to intercept the Israeli missiles.

Meanwhile, the pro-government Sham FM radio said two explosions were heard in the vicinity of the town of Al-Dimass in the western countryside of Damascus in tandem with the missile attack in southern Damascus.

Israel has repeatedly targeted military positions in Syria, including Kisweh.

If Israel is proved to be behind the attack, it would be the its first attack on Syrian targets since September, when it attacked military sites in Syria and led to the downing of a Russian surveillance aircraft by missiles mistakenly fired by Syrian air force in response to the Israeli attack.

After the September attack, during which 15 Russian servicemen were killed, Russia and the Syrian government blamed Israel for the crash, and Moscow was quick to equip Damascus with the advanced S-300 air defence system.

Syria's Deputy Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad told Xinhua in September that the arrival of Russia's S-300 to Syria would push Israel to reconsider before striking Syria again.

Israeli usually claims that its strikes target Iranian positions or weapons in Syria that could end up in the hands of the Hezbollah group in Lebanon.
Moscow, Nov 30 : US President Donald Trump would miss an opportunity to discuss controversial topics and demonstrate the independence of his foreign policy by cancelling a meeting with Russian leader Vladimir Putin, a Russian senior lawmaker said on Thursday.

"It is wrong to assume that the Russian side needs this meeting more," Konstantin Kosachev, head of the Russian Federation Council's International Affairs Committee, said on Facebook.

To clarify controversial issues, including acute incidents at sea, it is necessary to hold personal talks between the two presidents, he wrote, adding that Trump's decision to call off the meeting with Putin is regretful, reports Xinhua news agency.

"Based on the fact that the ships and sailors have not been returned to Ukraine from Russia, I have decided it would be best for all parties concerned to cancel my previously scheduled meeting in Argentina with President Vladimir Putin," Trump tweeted earlier in the day.

The Kremlin said hours ago that Putin and Trump would meet on Saturday on the sidelines of the G20 summit to discuss bilateral relations, strategic security, disarmament and regional conflicts.
New Delhi : Buenos Aires, Nov 30 (IANS/AKI) By rescuing hundreds of thousands of people in the Mediterranean in recent years, Italy has saved Europes honour, Italys populist premier Giuseppe Conte said on Thursday, urging nations to jointly shoulder the burden of migration.

"An approach involving shared responsibility is needed at political and security level before the economic level," Conte said in a lecture at the University of Buenos Aires on Thursday.

"We have urged this and have tackled a complex challenge, that of migration, after having rescued thousands of people in the Mediterranean," he said.

"We have saved Europe's honour, as European Union institutions have recognised," Conte went on.

Conte is in Buenos Aires for the G20 summit taking place on Friday and Saturday.
Eventually, two of the advisory panels will have less authority than the commission now has under city code. The Natural Resources Commission (NRC) has reviewed petitions from lakefront homeowners wishing to construct onshore and offshore protections for properties on Lake Michigan and made recommendations to the city council. Most of the projects already have obtained permits from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Illinois Department of Natural Resources.
Washington, Nov 30 : Despite Moscow's olive branch for a summit, US President Donald Trump has said that considering the unsolved Russia-Ukraine confrontation, it would be "best" to cancel his scheduled meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Trump tweeted during his flight to Argentina that "based on the fact that the ships and sailors have not been returned to Ukraine from Russia, I have decided it would be best for all parties concerned to cancel my previously scheduled meeting ... in Argentina with President Vladimir Putin."

"I look forward to a meaningful Summit again as soon as this situation is resolved!" he added, Xinhua news agency reported.

The statement marked a dramatic U-turn of his attitude hours ago, before leaving for Argentina to attend the Group of 20 (G20) summit, when Trump said he "probably" would meet with Putin.

"I think it's a very good time to have the meeting," he said.

He added that he would get a final report on the Ukraine-Russia tension during the upcoming flight.

"I'm getting a full report on the plane as to what happened with respect to that and that will determine what I'm going to be doing," Trump said.

The ongoing probe of Trump's alleged links with Russia inside the US, together with Russia's strained relations with Ukraine, has made the high-profile scheduled meeting a subject of uncertainty and sensitivity on the US side, ever since Moscow and Washington announced it before Trump's trip to France earlier this year.

Trump on Tuesday threatened to cancel the meeting due to his displeasure with Russia's alleged "aggression" of Ukraine near the Kerch Strait that separates the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed on Thursday that Putin and Trump would have a brief one-on-one meeting on the sidelines of the G20 summit, and that Russian-US negotiations with a larger number of participants would take place and might last about an hour.

"We don't have to agree on all these issues since it is probably impossible, but we will have to talk as this is in the interests of not only our two countries but of the whole world," the spokesman said.

The Ukrainian Navy on Sunday said that Russian forces opened fire and seized three Ukrainian ships near the Kerch Strait, wounding six Ukrainian military sailors, two of them in serious condition.

Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) said the three Ukrainian ships breached the Russian border and conducted dangerous maneuvers in spite of orders of accompanying vessels from the FSB and Russia's Black Sea Fleet.

The Ukrainian Navy said that it had informed Russia in advance about the passage of Ukrainian vessels from the Black Sea to the Sea of Azov through the Kerch Strait.

The Ukrainian parliament on Monday supported a bill imposing a martial law in certain regions for 30 days starting from Wednesday due to the tensions with Russia in the Sea of Azov.
New York, Nov 30 : The only documented moon rocks still in private hands sold at an auction house here for $850,000.

Thursday's sale - including all sorts of objects and items pertaining to outer space - took place a month before the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 8 mission to send men around the Moon for the first time, and Sotheby's took advantage of the anniversary to offer about 300 collectors' items related to assorted space missions, reports Efe news.

The moon rocks - tiny fragments, actually, had been valued between $700,000 and $1 million, and ultimately went for $855,000 after adding taxes and commissions.

The three tiny lunar stones were obtained during the unmanned Russian Luna-16 mission to the Moon in 1970.

The rocks were initially the property of Nina Ivanovna Koroleva, the video of the director of the Soviet Union's space programme, Sergei Pavlovich Korolev, who received them as a gift from the USSR in recognition of the contribution of her deceased husband.

They were previously sold at a Sotheby's auction in 1993, the first time in history that any extraterrestrial item had been offered to the public.

Also going on the auction block at the unusual sale on Thursday was a Gemini space suit prepared for NASA between 1963 and 1965 for US astronaut Pete Conrad, which sold for $162,500.

Sotheby's also auctioned off was the painting "The Final Impossibility: Man's Tracks on the Moon", painted in 1969 by US artist Norman Rockwell and sold for $87,500.

Numerous models of spacecraft, clocks and maps were also sold, along with the autographs of well-known astronauts and cosmonauts - including the Soviet Union's Yuri Gagarin, the first man in space - as well as photographs taken of the Moon during space missions and the flags of various nations taken on those missions.
The Hague, Nov 30 : A church in the Netherlands is holding an around-the-clock service that has lasted more than 800 hours, to shield an Armenian family from deportation.

Under Dutch law, police officers are not permitted to enter a church while a religious service is taking place, CNN reported on Thursday.

For more than a month, hundreds of pastors and volunteers from across the country have been meeting to maintain the 24/7 service in support of the family whose asylum claim has been rejected.

Theo Hettema, chairman of the General Council of Protestant Ministers in the Netherlands, told CNN the service will continue "as long as it's necessary".

"We want to love God and our neighbour. And we thought that this was a clear opportunity to put the love for our neighbour into reality," he said.

The family, including three children, fled Armenia and have been living in the Netherlands since April 2010 while their claim for political asylum was being decided.

But their case was rejected and were asked to leave the country.

The initial plan to thwart the deportation order was hatched in secret.

Axel Wicke from the Bethal church and community centre in The Hague, where the service is taking place, told CNN that only a handful of people knew about the idea beforehand so that the family -- who are staying in church accommodation -- wasn't put in danger.

He says while the police were not waiting outside the church, the building was being monitored "more closely than usual".
Canberra, Nov 30 : Thousands of Australian school students skipped school on Friday to stage mass protests across the country to urged for greater action on climate change.

"School Strike 4 Climate Action" protests are being held in every state capital and 20 regional towns, the BBC reported.

The protests come after Prime Minister Scott Morrison on Monday rebuked the students' plans for "activism" during school hours and insisted his government was tackling climate change.

Many students said his remarks had bolstered their resolve to protest.

"We will be the ones suffering the consequences of the decisions they [politicians] make today," protester Jagveer Singh, 17, told the BBC.

Organisers said the students were inspired by Greta Thunberg, a 15-year-old girl in Sweden who has undertaken similar protests.

Australia has committed to reducing its emissions by 26-28 per cent on 2005 levels by 2030, under the Paris climate agreement.

Earlier this week, the UN said that Australia and many other nations were falling short of their emission commitments.
Mathura, Nov 30 : A two-day stir by seers and temple managements here in Uttar Pradesh that was triggered by a green tribunal ordered demolition in which a portion of the Daan-Ghati temple was razed, has been called off, an official said on Friday.

A meeting between district officials and protesting priests late on Thursday broke the deadlock and it was decided that all the temples would be opened on Friday, an official informed IANS.

Angered by the National Green Tribunal (NGT) ordered clearance exercise of major roads that brought down a portion of the prayer hall of Daan-Ghati in Govardhan, all temples in this pilgrim town were shut since Tuesday.

Hindu leaders and godmen had taken to streets after downing shutters on the temples and even targeted Mathura MP Hema Malini and BJP legislator and state Power Minister Srikant Sharma for failing to stop the sacrilege.

Anti-government slogans were raised forcing the district administration to stop the demolition drive.

District Magistrate Sarvagya Ram Mishra had to allay fears that no further temple structures would be razed.

"We have only demolished illegal structures in front of the Daan-Ghati temple, as was ordered by the NGT"," he added.

A priest at the Daan-Ghati temple, Rameshwar Purohit, said the decision to reopen was taken as hundreds of pilgrims and devotees had been returning without paying obeisance at one of the two main temples in Govardhan.

Daan-Ghati is one of the two main temple structures in Govardhan, near here. The other temple structure is called Dasvisa. Daan-Ghati's deity is in the form of a rock, which is said to be going down into earth by a few millimeters every year.

The other temples which had remained closed for the past two days included Laxmi Narayan temple, Mansi Ganga's Mukharvind temple, Hargokul temple.
New Delhi, Nov 30 : Thousands of farmers from across the country on Friday reached Parliament street in the heart of the city following due permission from the Delhi Police for a mega protest march demanding higher crop prices and farm loan waiver.

The All India Kisan Sangharsh Coordination Committee (AIKSCC), which has organised the Kisan Mukti march, got the required permission around midnight.

Social activist Medha Patkar confirmed to reporters here that the permission was received at 12 a.m.

The march from central Delhi's Ramlila Maidan started at 10 a.m. and reached the Parliament street at 11.30 a.m.

Patkar led the protest march as farmers raised slogans against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and and the Bharatiya Janata Party government at the Centre.

Many political leaders, including Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar, have confirmed their participation in the rally, she said.

National Conference's Farooq Abdullah, Trinamool Congress' Dinesh Trivedi, Loktantrik Janata Dal's Sharad Yadav were among the others who were expected to address the farmers.

Many women farmers and students, particularly from the Delhi University, were seen in the rallies raising slogans for the cause of farmers.

On Thursday, several groups of farmers held 'Chalo Dilli' marches from Delhi's Nizamuddin, Sabzi Mandi Station, Anand Vihar Terminal and Majnu Ka Tila under the banner of the AIKSCC.

Yogendra Yadav of Swaraj India led a 26-km protest rally from Bijwasan to Ramlila Maidan, which was joined by farmers from Odisha, Haryana and Rajasthan.

Many daughters, whose farmer fathers committed suicide, hung pictiures of their dead around the neck as they marched along with the rally.

The Friday's rally is the fourth major farmers rally being held by the AIKSCC, which represents over 200 farm outfits.

It has been protesting against "anti-farmer" policies of the BJP government following the Mandsaur firing episode in Madhya Pradesh in 2017, which led to death of six farmers.

Swabhimani Shetkari Sanghatana leader and Member of Parliament from Hatkanangle in Kolhapur (Maharashtra) Raju Shetti has introduced two private member's Bills in the Lok Sabha in 2017, seeking a loan waiver and a guaranteed remunerative prices for agricultural commodities based on the recommendations of the Swaminathan Commission.

The AIKSCC has demanded a special session of Parliament so that these Bills are discussed and passed.

It said 21 political parties have extended their support to the Bills. It has also written to Modi, inviting him to join the protest march.

On Monday, a book authored by Yogendra Yadav detailing how the Modi government's policies have led to a drop in farmers' income and caused rural distress across the country was launched in the capital.
Beijing, Nov 30 : China on Friday extradited a Chinese national suspected of corruption from Bulgaria.

It was the first time a former civil servant has been extradited from a European Union (EU) member state to China, reports Efe news.

The suspect, Yao Yinqi, who fled the country in December 2005, is a former deputy head of Xinchang county in Zhejiang province.

Yao is suspected of bribery during his tenure in office when he may have received large sums of money as well as property.

Interpol issued an alert against Yao on October 3 which led to his arrest by Bulgarian police two weeks later.

At its last Congress in October 2017, the Chinese Communist Party pledged to intensify the fight against corruption after having punished more than one and a half million members in the last five years.
Moscow, Nov 30 : US President Donald Trump's decision to cancel a meeting with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin is regrettable, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said on Friday.

"We regret the US administration's decision to cancel the planned meeting. This means that a discussion on important issues on the bilateral and international agenda is being postponed indefinitely," Peskov was quoted as saying by TASS news agency.

On Thursday, the US President abruptly cancelled the meeting with Putin on the sidelines of the G20 summit in the Argentine capital, Buenos Aires, in protest over Russia's seizure of Ukrainian naval boats in waters off Crimea.

Moscow captured three Ukrainian naval vessels and 24 personnel near the Kerch Strait that separates the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov earlier this week after accusing them of trespassing.

Trump said he would not meet the Russian leader "based on the fact that the ships and sailors have not been returned".

His announcement was contrary to his own statement made earlier when he told reporters that the talks were not terminated and "it's a very good time to have a meeting".

Earlier, Trump said his final decision would depend on a report from his advisers on national security and foreign policy regarding the incident in the Kerch Strait.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel blamed the naval crisis "entirely" on Russia and said she would raise the issue with Putin.
Mumbai, Nov 30 : LIC Chairman V.K. Sharma on Friday handed over a cheque of Rs 2,430 crore as dividend for financial year 2017-18 to Finance Minister Arun Jaitley.

Speaking to reporters here after meeting the Finance Minister, Sharma said that state-owned Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) recorded a surplus of Rs 48,444 crore during the the last fiscal 2017-18.

He said that LIC would also infuse Rs 15,000-20,000 crore into the loss-making IDBI Bank struggling with accumulated bad loans.

LIC received cabinet approval earlier this year to buy 51 per cent stake in state-run IDBI, which will make the government a minority shareholder in the bank.
Beijing, Nov 30 : Chinese Foreign Ministry on Friday denounced a US warship sailing in the South China Sea earlier this week and said it undermined the country's sovereignty.

"The incursion violated Chinese laws as well as international laws, infringed China's sovereignty and undermined the peace, stability and order of the relevant water space," the Ministry's spokesperson Geng Shuang said at a press conference in Beijing.

"We oppose such actions and urge the US to stop such actions that undermine China's sovereignty and security interests," he was cited as saying by Efe news.

On Thursday, the US Pacific Fleet confirmed that guided-missile cruiser USS Chancellorsville had sailed near the Paracel Islands during a freedom of navigation operation on Monday.

China has disputes with other Asian countries over the sovereignty of several islands in the South China Sea, including parts of the Spratly archipelago (Nansha in Chinese) and the Paracel Islands (which China calls Xisha).
According to published reports, Mr. Ron Rogers, owner of Lake County Towing and whose primary residence is that of Racine, Wis., as recently as 2016 invested in opening a roller skating rink in Wisconsin, which is quite commendable, a positive investment toward the youth and against violence in Racine. Im all for it anywhere we can provide peace and prevention for our youth. However, I would welcome the same report in seeing the investment of such towing dollars in Waukegan and Lake County for our youth as well.
New Delhi, Nov 30 : In the presence of prominent opposition leaders, Congress President Rahul Gandhi on Friday pledged the entire opposition's solidarity with farmers and declared that "farm loans will be waived off even if it required changing the Prime Minister".

"We all are with you. Be it changing laws or changing the Prime Minister, we will do everything that is required to ensure your loans are waived off. If any government insults the farmers, then it has to be uprooted and that is going to happen," Gandhi said.

Led by the All India Kisan Sangharsh Coordination Committee (AIKSCC), thousands of farmers reached Parliament Street in the heart of the city demanding a special session of Parliament to clear bills to waive off farm loans and a guarantee for remunerative prices for farm commodities based on the recommendations of the M.S. Swaminathan Commission.

Addressing the rally, Gandhi said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had turned out to be the voice of only his "industrialist cronies".

"When 3.5 lakh crore of loans of the biggest industrialists of the nation can be waived off by the Modi government, then the loans of millions of farmers will also have to be waived off," thundered Gandhi.

A host of opposition leaders including Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar, National Conference's Farooq Abdullah, CPI-M General Secretary Sitaram Yechury, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, Trinamool Congress' Dinesh Trivedi and Loktantrik Janata Dal's Sharad Yadav participated in the rally and extended their support to the farmers.

"All the leaders present here have different political ideology, but when it comes to the farmers and youths, we all stand united.

"The voice that is reverberating now across the country is of the farmers who are in deep distress and crisis.

Gandhi attacked Modi for crony capitalism, particularity in the Rafale fighter jet deal with France.

Sharad Yadav held the Modi government responsible for "over three lakh farmer suicides" in the country in the last four and a half years. He called upon the people to dethrone the "anti-farmer government" led by Modi.

Flaying the BJP government for the acute agrarian crisis in the country, Yechury likened Modi to a "pocketmaar" (pickpocket) and accused him of "looting the poor".
New Delhi, Nov 30 : The government mopped up around Rs 17,000 crore through the CPSE Exchange Traded Fund (ETF) follow-on offer which closed on Friday.

The offer got subscription worth Rs 25,000 crore against the total issue size of Rs 14,000 crore, sources said.

The base issue size of the third follow-on fund offer (FFO) was Rs 8,000 crore, with green shoe option of Rs 6,000 crore making the total issue size Rs 14,000 crore.

"But the government, under the alternate mechanism, raised it to Rs 17,000 crore," an official said.

The CPSE ETF was first launched in March 2014 to help the government manage its divestment in Central Public Sector Enterprises (CPSE).
Lucknow, Nov 30 : Independent legislator from Kunda Raguraj Pratap Singh aka Raja Bhaiyya on Friday launched his political party 'Jansatta' and vowed to fight for the rights of farmers, youths and the poor.

Addressing a large gathering of supporters at the Rama Bai Ambedkar ground here, Raja Bhaiyya said he has formed the party based on a survey done among his supporters who decided that the time had come to form a political outfit.

Celebrating his 25th year as legislator, Raja Bhaiyya, who has been a Minister in successive Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Samajwadi Party (SP) governments in the state, hit out at the SC/ST Atrocities Act.

He said it was being sued as a weapon against the upper castes. Clearly throwing his weight behind the upper castes, he said that his party would fight for equal rights for all, irrespective of caste and creed.

He clarified that he and his party were not against Dalits and the oppressed. "We are not anti anybody. All we want is that there should be same rules and regulations for all," he said to cheering by his supporters.

He demanded that families of Army or paramilitary personnel who die in action should get a compensation of not less than Rs 1 crore.

The Kunda MLA is feared in his constituency for very many reasons but his writ runs large in Pratapgarh and nearby areas.

Being a Thakur leader, he is much sought after by all parties barring the Congress and the Bahujan Samaj Party.
New York, Nov 30 : Owing to a significant societal gender discrimination, women CEOs are much more likely than male CEOs to be fired, even if they perform well, according to the researchers including one of an Indian origin.

The study showed that female CEOs are about 45 per cent more vulnerable than male CEOs to be dismissed from their respective firms.

In addition, while performance improvements protect male CEOs from dismissal, they do not protect female CEOs.

"Dismissing the CEO is usually viewed as evidence of good corporate governance as it suggests that the board is taking its monitoring role seriously," said Sandra Mortal, Associate Professor from the University of Alabama in the US.

However, findings, published in the Journal of Management, showed that there are invisible but serious gender biases in how the board evaluates CEOs and its decision to retain or fire particular CEOs.

"The results of this study point to the extra pressure and scrutiny directed at women in senior leadership positions relative to their male counterparts," added Vishal K Gupta, Associate Professor from the varsity.

This is problematic because women face difficult barriers and obstacles in breaking through the proverbial glass ceiling, but they also seem to continue to face additional challenges even after reaching the top of the corporate hierarchy, Gupta said.

Importantly, the research started because consulting companies, along with the popular and business press, have raised concerns about the higher incidence of dismissals among women CEOs compared to men.

The team wanted to determine through rigorous statistical research and cutting-edge econometrics tools if dismissals are more common among women CEOs, Gupta noted.
New Delhi, Nov 30 : Accusing the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of "weaponising fear", the Congress on Friday said liberty under the Narendra Modi regime has got significantly eroded with people of all classes living in fear.

Participating in an interactive programme "Is India Being Redefined" here, former Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram claimed people in the country were apprehensive of talking over phones fearing they might be tapped.

"People are afraid of talking over phone, everyone fears that their phone has been or could be tapped. Liberty has been eroded significantly in the country," he said.

Lamenting that anti-government stories were not carried by the media, Chidambaram said that "dozens of media persons cited fear of job loss and danger to their family" for not carrying stories against the BJP or the Modi regime.

"Which are the four-year period when editors are sacked, news anchors are pulled out, interviews are blacked out at the last minute? When editorials in online edition disappear from print edition?

"Fear is being instilled in everyone... Dalits living in fear, minorities, women, academics, all are living in fear. When private citizens are living in fear, then we are way down and it will take huge efforts to rescue the country. Which mind is without fear today?" he said.

Speaking on the occasion, senior Congress leader Manish Tewari said anyone raising their voice against the establishment was a target.

"If you question the BJP, you are anti-national, if you question the government, you are seditious, and if you question the establishment, you are downright treacherous.

"They have weaponised fear, and when you do that it becomes easy to intimidate and change the narrative and impose your idea on the people," said the former Union Minister.

Party leader Kapil Sibal said even businessmen were living under apprehension and leaving the country out of fear.
Kolkata, Nov 30 : Known for his vitriolic speeches, BJP's West Bengal unit president Dilip Ghosh on Friday threatened Trinamool Congress activists "indulging in atrocities" that once his party came to power in the state, there would be "revenge" and that they would have to spend the rest of their lives in jail.

"We don't believe in violence. But the way atrocities are being perpetrated on people, they (Trinamool activists) are murdering democracy, we have to say certain things. Otherwise people won't forgive us.

"So I say Bodol noi, lal kali te likhe rakhchi, sob badla nebo (I tell you, I am not only talking of change, i am writing down everything in red ink. We will take revenge for everything)," Ghosh told a public meeting at Mohula of Purulia district.

Ghosh said once the political situation changed, the police would teach a lesson or two to the Trinamool activists.

"One day the situation will change. It may happen tomorrow or in 2021 (when the state assembly elections are scheduled to be held). Then police will bring them from the house by tying them up with ropes.

Ghosh, who has a propensity for shooting off his mouth, has triggered controversies one after another since taking over as the state Bharatiya Janata Party president in December, 2015.
A two bedroom one bathroom unit in Cairns North, Qld has been listed by its mortgagee.

Situated at 2/323 McLeod Street, Cairns North the home is set for auction December 12.

Set on 86 sqm the property contains one parking space.

According to the listing the home has an estimated rental income of $300 - $330 per week.

Located inside of a gated complex the apartment features an in-ground pool.

The home last sold in 2004 for $169,000.

The median sale price for a home in Cairns North is $435,000 , according to CoreLogic data.
A four bedroom one bathroom Salisbury East, SA house has been listed by its mortgagee.

Situated at 2 Emma Court, Salisbury East the home is set for auction with an asking price of $319,000.

Featuring three carports the house also comes with a large tool shed.

Set on 599 sqm the home was built in 1984.

Located 19 km from Adelaide the listing notes that the home requires some work done.

Last sold in 2017 the home went for $310,000.

The median price for a home in Salisbury East is $307,500, according to CoreLogic Data.
EXPERT OBSERVER

Actual investment was quite flat over the third quarter of the calendar year at a seasonally adjusted $29.4 billion, while fortunes have diverged significantly around the traps, according to the latest data from CapEx.

In the economic powerhouse state of New South Wales the quarterly trend investment for private capital investment tore 12 per cent higher over the year to September 2018 to a record high of $8.22 billion.

No wonder Greater Sydney has created almost 120,000 new jobs on a net basis over the past year, with plenty more coming down the pipe!

Building and structures investment exploded 20 per cent higher over the year in NSW, while plant and equipment investment was up by a pretty solid 5 per cent.

Huge investment numbers for the Premier State.

There was also steadier trend growth in Victoria, South Australia, and Queensland, while Tassie was off the charts with capital investment up by a ripping 33 per cent over the year to September, albeit from a low base in this cycle.

Unfortunately this was offset by shrinking investment in Western Australia - the quarterly trend now a walloping 62 per cent below the heady 2012 peaks - while Ichthys LNG investment has now dropped off the charts for the struggling Northern Territory.

On the plus side a number of iron ore and other resources projects are now hoving into view for WA, so from a sentiment perspective the bottom is now likely to be in out west.

Brighter times ahead

Despite the modest actuals the Reserve Bank will surely be well pleased with this release, with the fourth estimate for 2018-19 capital investment rising all the way up to $114 billion, a substantial double-digit lift from the third estimate of $102 billion.

We haven't seen a quarterly upgrade in expectations of this magnitude for just shy of two decades.

The additional investment is planned and expected largely for the services industries, although investment in both mining and manufacturing also appears set to rise.

Overall, it was a sluggish result for actuals due to the seemingly endless drag from the resources jurisdictions, but Sydney is firing and the expectations for investment recorded a solid improvement.
Hair Transplant Mexico The cost of an ARTAS or other type of hair transplant in Mexico might only seem to be cheaper.

Silicon Valley Hair Institute, a professional hair transplant clinic offering the ARTAS robotic hair restoration system and lead by Dr. Miguel Canales, is proud to announce a new informational blog post on the pros and cons of travel to Mexico for an ARTAS hair transplant in Mexico. Bay Area residents searching for a cheap hair transplant option might be keen to consider travel to Mexico due to lower costs. However, the new post discusses not only the pros but the cons of travel out of the USA for hair transplantations.

"The cost of an ARTAS or other type of hair transplant in Mexico might only seem to be cheaper," explained Miguel Canales, surgeon, and founder of Silicon Valley Hair Institute. "Our new post explains why and provides some things to consider before purchasing that plane ticket South of the Border for one's hair restoration journey."

Bay Area residents can read the new blog post on the pros and cons of an "ARTAS hair transplant in Mexico" at http://siliconvalleyhairinstitute.com/mexico/. Persons searching for an in-depth look at hair transplant procedures can go to http://siliconvalleyhairinstitute.com/hair-transplant/, and those specifically interested in ARTAS availability in the San Francisco Bay Area can visit http://siliconvalleyhairinstitute.com/artas/.

BAY AREA RESIDENTS MAY LEARN HAIR TRANSPLANT MEXICO IS NOT THE BEST DEAL

Here is background on this release. Northern California residents might consider "medical tourism" to Mexico for hair transplant surgery. The new post cautions residents to look at all the costs and risks associated with travel to Mexico before scheduling a surgical procedure.

An entire industry has evolved due to Americans searching for less expensive options for surgery and medicine. U.S. citizens may drive up north to Canada for affordable medical supplies to support health problems. California locals might fly down to Mexico for cheaper hair transplant surgery or facelifts. The cost of travel and effort could be considered a deal compared to the price of an operation back home. Mexican hair transplant clinics have created travel packages and special deals to entice Americans to opt for serious surgery across the border. Even the ARTAS hair transplant system is available in Mexico. Budget-minded patients may not be aware of the key difference between hair transplant surgery in Mexico and the United States.

For these reasons Silicon Valley Hair Institute has announced an educational blog post for Bay Area residents seeking cheap hair transplant surgery in Mexico. It can be helpful to compare US vs. Mexico surgical procedures. Differences can include the following:

1. Regulations for hair transplant surgery in Mexico may be more lenient than in the USA. Regulatory transparency might be opaque to English-speaking Americans in Mexico.

2. Because surgeons in Mexico can receive less in pay than counterparts in America and Europe, the reality may be that the most skilled professional migrate to the USA leaving less trained or more novice counterpoints "training" in Mexico.

3. If a hair transplant surgery goes seriously wrong in Mexico, there may be no legal recourse, or legal recourse may be difficult for an English-speaking USA resident.

None of the content of the post is meant to denigrate the hard-working, skilled, and conscientious medical personnel in Mexico. Rather, the point of the post is to encourage US residents to ask questions and "do their homework" on any hair transplant, including all potential costs and risks, whether that is to be done in the United States, Mexico, Turkey or other country.

ABOUT SILICON VALLEY HAIR INSTITUTE

Silicon Valley Hair Institute (http://siliconvalleyhairinstitute.com/), under the leadership of top-rated California hair transplant surgeon Miguel Canales MD, is one of the best facilities offering San Francisco Bay Area hair transplants. Dr. Canales provides the full range of advanced hair transplant and hair restoration procedures for Bay Area residents, from San Francisco to San Jose and Foster City. Services include robotic hair transplant systems, San Jose ARTAS hair transplant, and San Jose hair transplant programs. If one needs a hair transplant specialist, look no further than this Bay Area hair transplant center. Dr. Canales also performs female hair transplants for women and eyebrow restoration, thus offering the best hair transplant and robotic hair replacement options. Call today to 650-551-1100 for a no-cost consultation, or more information visit the website.


Day and other neighbors said the most disturbing aspect of the plan is that the Grand Avenue entrance to the store, as well as the bank building, would only feature right-turn-in and right-turn-out access, leaving eastbound traffic to turn left onto Hutchins and left onto Woodland to access the store, increasing traffic in the residential area.
Accident lawyers in Brownsville, Texas In any business, there is a big difference between a general service and a specialist.

The Villarreal Law Firm, leaders in personal injury cases for Cameron County and the Rio Grande Valley in South Texas, is proud to announce key success metrics for an innovative post on choosing the best attorney should one be the aggrieved party in a car accident. The new post provides details for finding the best car accident lawyers in Brownsville.

"In any business, there is a big difference between a general service and a specialist," explained attorney Javier Villarreal, managing partner at the law firm. "If someone's been in a car crash, it can save time and stress to go directly to an expert. Our post is ranking well on Google, Bing, and Yahoo, and generating intense client interest as measured by inbound inquiries and phone calls."

The new blog post for Villarreal Law Firm has ranked high on search engines, for example, garnering Page One position on Google for 'best car wreck lawyers Cameroun County Texas.' To review the popular post, please go to https://www.jvlawfirm.net/the-best-personal-injury-lawyers-in-cameron-county-give-us-a-try/. Second, as measured by inbound calls, consumers have shown interest in finding details about the difference between general attorneys vs. car accident specialists. The best car accident lawyers in Brownsville, Texas could be the right team to contact first. Interested persons can also visit the firm's website and learn how to schedule a consultation in Brownsville at https://www.jvlawfirm.net/. Those looking for in-depth information relevant to Cameron County attorney issues can also visit the WordPress archive at https://www.jvlawfirm.net/tag/cameron-county/.

LOCALS LEARN THE BEST CAR ACCIDENT LAWYERS IN BROWNSVILLE, TEXAS GIVE LOCALS SPECIAL ATTENTION

Here is the background for this release. The general public may not be aware of the difference between a general service attorney and a specialist attorney until a critical moment arises. Compare the situation with that of a homeowner in Brownsville, Harlingen, or other Cameron County city. If a pipe breaks and the homeowner contacts a general handyman service, the result might not turn out perfect. A homeowner could search for a specialist to help fix the mistake and solve the problem for good. Contacting a general attorney for a personal injury case may not be the right choice. It can save time and money to contact an expert the first time around. The best car accident lawyers in Brownsville can bring a professional edge to a crucial personal injury case.

Choosing a specialist for any problem the first time could provide a more successful outcome. If a Texas local has experienced a car crash with a car or commercial truck, a personal injury case could be next. General attorneys may not have the experience to understand the fine details of winning a claim with an insurance company. The best are accident lawyers in Brownsville have the skills to provide special attention to an important case. For these reasons, Villarreal Law Firm has announced key performance metrics and successes for a new blog post for the Cameron County community.

ABOUT THE VILLARREAL LAW FIRM

The law firm of Javier Villarreal offers a team of attorneys, considered among the best personal injury attorneys in Brownsville, Texas, and surrounding cities in Cameron County. Whether a person is looking for an auto or car accident attorney, a lawyer with broad experience in trucking accidents and litigation (including 18 wheelers), or a lawyer for injuries that resulted from motorcycles, boating, or other forms of accidents (including slip and fall), the Villarreal team of attorneys can help. The attorneys fight for client rights throughout Cameron County - and are known as the top personal injury lawyers in Brownsville and Harlingen, from Los Fresnos to San Benito, and in all of South Padre Island.

Web. https://www.jvlawfirm.net/

Tel. 956-544-4444.
San Jose Apartments Business travel can wear on a VIP, especially during the holidays.

Key Housing, Northern California's top-rated housing service to locate short term, corporate, and even serviced apartments in San Jose, Milpitas, Sunnyvale, is proud to announce its December, 2018, finalist as Northern California housing choice as well as new blog posts on Silicon Valley. The reality is that the booming Silicon Valley economy brings an avalanche of both business and tourist travelers, all desperately searching for short term housing, during the busy December and Holiday seasons.

"Business travel can wear on a VIP, especially during the holidays. That's why many executives take their families along during that time of year, thus doing what's good for them but not-so-good for the overwhelmed Bay Area short term housing market," explained Robert Lee, President of Key Housing. "Fido could be considered the fur baby' that a family doesn't want to leave back in a kennel. This is why we chose Bella Villagio as our feature apartment for Winter this year as well as identified some key blog posts."

Interested persons can review details about Bella Villagio at http://www.keyhousing.com/rightside.asp?action=form3&ID=868, while those seeking more in-depth information are pointed to new blog posts on Silicon Valley and San Jose housing issues at http://blog.keyhousing.com/tag/san-jose-corporate-housing/.

SAN JOSE CORPORATE APARTMENTS BRING HOLIDAY CHEER TO VIP FAMILIES AND PETS

Here is the background on this release. Business travel around the winter season can add an extra component of stress to a VIPs life. Leaving loved ones behind for weeks at a time during the holidays might not be an option. For many executives, a family pet may be just as essential as the children. Companies might provide a travel policy to include family members, including dogs, during holiday breaks. Finding a top San Jose corporate apartment with a pet-friendly policy could be a challenge. Short-term housing ready to provide business amenities and accommodate a family dog can be the right solution.

Busy executives could plan to take the family along to celebrate the holidays during a Silicon Valley business trip. Leaving a beloved pet back home in a kennel might not be an option. Long-term VIP housing for families and including children pets may not be easy to secure. Bella Villagio has a pet-friendly policy to help solve the problem for HR leaders. A simple deposit for two pets can keep a working family together for the holiday season. Outdoor spaces within walking distance including nearby parks can provide a puppy the chance to run around. It might calm a VIP to find out a beloved dog can join the family during holiday business travel at a top San Jose corporate apartment. For these reasons, Key Housing has announced Bella Villagio - a "pet friendly" apartment complex - as the featured San Jose Corporate Apartments for Winter 2018.

ABOUT KEY HOUSING

Key Housing Connections Inc. (http://www.keyhousing.com/) specializes in serviced apartments, corporate housing and corporate rentals in large Southern California cities like Los Angeles and Orange County as well as Beverly Hills, Burbank, and Anaheim. Whether the need is for a Los Angeles serviced apartment or short-term rental in Hollywood, interested parties should browse listings on the website to find the rental that fits one's short-term corporate housing needs. The service is competitive with extended stay hotels in cities such as Huntington Beach, La Jolla, and Lake Foresta. Many Europeans on holiday and people seeking pet-friendly short-term rentals or vacation rental apartment services depend on Key Housing for their serviced apartment or other temporary housing needs. Whether a person is after a Los Angeles serviced apartment, short term rentals in Hollywood, or a serviced apartment near Encino, Key Housing can aid the search for the right apartment in the Golden State.

Key Housing

Tel. (800) 989-0410


Sheffield Care Center, Sheffield, Iowa They have such a wealth of knowledge and they remind you of times when life was so much simpler," says Katie Watters, Administrator. "They truly do make coming to work fun, and at the end of the day, rewarding."

When Katie Watters is asked why she loves Sheffield Care Center she is quick to answer "It is like one Big Family! Ruth stills plays the piano for church on Thursdays, Meta still leads the Bible Study. The longevity of the staff, the passion that they bring to their jobThey care so much about the residents, their families & the well-being of The Sheffield Care Center. I hope the community sees that to. And feels welcomed every time they step foot in the door."

Sheffield Care Center welcomed Katie as the Administrator starting in October and she has been busy getting acquainted with the residents and staff. A Holiday Soup Supper will be hosted by Sheffield Care Center on December 5th from 6:00 to 7:00 pm for Katie to meet the community members. Everyone is invited to stop by for a great assortments of soups and meet Katie.

Residing in Rockwell with her husband Jake and two children, Bryer and Rilyn, she laughs as she tells others that she grew up in Allison and has not moved far. They live on an acreage where they share the rural life with 5 horses, 3 dogs, 16 chickens, a lonesome donkey and plenty of barn cats to go around.

Katie is a graduate of Des Moines Area Community College (DMACC) where she earned her associates and then transferred to Iowa State University earning a Bachelor's in Child, Adult and Family Services, with an emphasis on Aging. She will begin her practicum in January and will then sit for her Long-Term Care Administrator boards in May.

"Some ask why did you chose Long-Term Care. I say Why Not? I have always had a strong passion for caring for older adults. They have such a wealth of knowledge and they remind you of times when life was so much simpler," says Katie. "They truly do make coming to work fun, and at the end of the day, rewarding."

When not at Sheffield Care Center or helping Jake with the farming and cattle, you can find the family enjoying time outdoors, at the lake, or with their families.

Sheffield Care Center is located at 100 Bennett Drive, Sheffield, Iowa 50475. Additional information on the services and programs provided can be found at http://www.sheffieldcc.com or by calling 641-892-4691. Everyone is invited to follow along with the residents and activities on Facebook and LinkedIn.
I love giving this to patients to use every day along with the AuraSilk Essential Oil blend we developed for an added dose of restorative healing, says Dr. Ben Talei

Dr. Ben Talei, one of the most respected facial plastic surgeons in the country, was featured in a November online Hollywood Reporter article entitled New Anti-Aging Protocols and Products. Author Elycia Rubin describes Dr. Talei as one of the industrys most revered rejuvenation experts. Dr. Talei offers an expansive line of plastic surgery procedures for the face and neck plus top quality, renowned skin care products to help patients defy the effects of aging. These include his own propriety blend AuraSilk, which he mentions in the Hollywood Reporter article.

In the article, Dr. Talei also offers expert commentary and feedback on DefenAge 8-In-1 BioSerum. He recognizes that this topical anti-aging product works from the inside out, producing results in as little as six weeks with a milder experience than Retin-A. Dr. Talei is quoted in the article as saying, I love giving this to patients to use every day along with the AuraSilk Essential Oil blend we developed for an added dose of restorative healing.

The AuraSilk Essential Oil product that Dr. Talei references is one that he personally developed and recently launched for all skin types. AuraSilk is a specially crafted blend of over 20 essential oils that can protect the skin and promote healing after surgery or from environmental factors like sun damage or old scars. Dr. Talei has recently made AuraSilk Essential Oil available at a special holiday offer of buy one and get the second for 50% off.

Dr. Benjamin Talei is a double board certified facial plastic surgeon, known for excellence in facelift surgery. He is the owner and founder of the Beverly Hills Center for Plastic & Laser Surgery, a state-of-the-art facility located at 465 N. Roxbury Drive in Beverly Hills, CA 90210. Beyond his strong commitment to philanthropy and charitable works, Dr. Talei carries a reputation for using the most advanced, minimally-invasive techniques to produce natural and sustainable results.

About Dr. Ben Talei:

A native of California, Dr. Benjamin Talei graduated from the University of California, Los Angeles with a degree in Physiological Sciences. He received his medical degree at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine. Dr. Talei then went on to complete his residency training in Head and Neck Surgery at Columbia University and Cornell University Medical Centers, New York Presbyterian Hospital. Following his residency program, Dr. Talei became one of the only surgeons in the country to complete two separate fellowships in Facial & Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery including a fellowship at the Vascular Birthmark Institute of New York. In addition, Dr. Talei is a respected author, speaker and humanitarian.

If you would like to get more information about Dr. Ben Talei, his plastic and reconstructive surgery services or his top-ranked skincare products, please visit his website at http://www.beverlyhillscenter.com or call (310) 288-0641.


For more than a decade, Sean has played a key role in Blue Oceans ability to deliver best-in-class customer experiences for our clients." - Patty Isnor, SVP, Corporate Services.

Blue Ocean, an award-winning provider of customer care solutions, announces that Sean Miller has been promoted to Director of Workforce Management. In his new role, Miller has senior responsibility for the companys workforce strategy and driving innovative workforce solutions that support Blue Oceans growth.

Sean has more than 25 years of experience in workforce management and has been with Blue Ocean for the past 12 years. His proven expertise, leadership, and strategic vision continue to deliver value to Blue Ocean and, more particularly, to the companys clients as Sean builds bold workforce solutions to support even the most complex customer care programs.

Blue Ocean supports clients across a wide range of industries including eComm, grocery/CPG, technology, insurance, and fintech. Solutions range from consumer issue resolution to Tier 1 and Tier 2 tech support to emergency roadside assistance. Their roster of clients includes Fortune 100 companies, brand category leaders, and change-makers.

With artificial intelligence and other technologies producing an unprecedented pace of change in the customer care industry, Sean will play a key role in delivering thought leadership to Blue Ocean clients and ensure that the companys workforce solutions deliver efficiency while driving cost out of the business and improving the customer experience.

Im looking forward to continuing to provide leadership to our workforce team, to our clients, and to prospective clients as we navigate the changing landscape, says Miller. Frankly, its pretty exciting to be tackling these new challenges while striving to be the best in the business. Blue Ocean isnt the biggest player in the global industry by a long shot, but we consistently punch above our weight class and theres nothing I like better than showing the world what the underdog can do.

For more than a decade, Sean has played a key role in Blue Oceans ability to deliver best-in-class customer experiences for our clients. Seans promotion is an important part of Blue Oceans strategic growth plan and commitment to operational excellence supporting world-class clients. His innovative thinking and keen understanding of the industry will continue to be a critical asset to our company, said Patty Isnor, SVP, Corporate Services of Blue Ocean.

For more information, please contact Amy Bennet Roach, Director of Sales and Marketing at 902.722.3312 or abennet(at)blueocean.ca.

About Blue Ocean

Blue Ocean is an award-winning provider of innovative customer care solutions. They are creators of practical solutions to real problems that enhance the relationships clients have with their customers. Headquartered in Atlantic Canada, the company has been supporting brands that are leaders in their categories from education to insurance, from CPG to technology since 1994.
Patriot Launches VIPER STEEL DDR4 16GB 4400MHz Extreme Performance Memory key image

PATRIOT, a global leader in performance memory, SSDs, gaming peripherals, and flash storage solutions, has announced the release of their fastest kit ever of DDR4 memory today, VIPER STEEL SERIES DDR4 16GB (2x8GB) 4400MHz. Built for the latest Intel and AMD platforms, the VIPER STEEL SERIES provides extreme performance and stability for the most demanding computer environments. The VIPER STEEL SERIES DDR4 memory kit brings Intel XMP 2.0 performance to new heights and is able to achieve up to 4400MHz with a simple setting on supporting Intels latest processors and motherboards.

The VIPER STEEL SERIES utilizes a custom designed high-performance aluminum heatshield for providing optimal heat dissipation when overclocking and foregoing high-performance tasks. These hand-tested memory modules feature the highest quality memory chips and are running performance timings of CL19-19-19-39 at 1.45V. VIPER STEEL SERIES DDR4 4400MHz is optimized for PC enthusiasts, overclockers, or those who want to push their systems performance to the limit through the use of extremely fast components.

VIPER STEEL SERIES offers hardcore overclockers and budget-gamers a wide range of speeds and options as well as an outstanding performance from 3000MHz up to the highest, 4400MHz. The VIPER STEEL SERIES DDR4 is backed by a limited lifetime warranty and global technical support. Lead the way to extreme DDR4 performance with VIPER STEEL.

Model Part Numbers Timings

VIPER STEEL SERIES DDR4 8GB (1X8GB) 3000MHz PVS48G300C5 15-19-19-39

VIPER STEEL SERIES DDR4 16GB (2X8GB) 3200MHz PVS416G320C6K 16-18-18-16

VIPER STEEL SERIES DDR4 16GB (2X8GB) 3866MHz PVS416G386C8K 18-22-22-40

VIPER STEEL SERIES DDR4 16GB (2X8GB) 4000MHz PVS416G400C9K 19-19-19-39

VIPER STEEL SERIES DDR4 16GB (2X8GB) 4133MHz PVS416G413C9k 19-21-21-41

VIPER STEEL SERIES DDR4 16GB (2X8GB) 4400MHz PVS416G440C9K 19-19-19-39

For more product information:



Availability: December 2018



Patriot Store: TBA

Amazon: TBA

Newegg: TBA

And more select retailers

Product images and data sheet download:



Product Images: https://bit.ly/2Qrm3Su

Product Data Sheet: https://bit.ly/2BFI2Ne

About Patriot

Patriot is the leading manufacturer of high performance, enthusiast memory modules, SSDs, flash storage, gaming peripherals and mobile accessories. Founded in 1985 and headquartered in Fremont, CA, USA, Patriot is committed to technology innovation, customer satisfaction, and providing the best price-to-performance on the market. Patriot products have become world renown for their extreme performance, reliability, and innovation. Patriot sells its products through original equipment manufacturers, retailers, e-tailers, and distributors throughout the world with operations in North America, South America, Asia and Europe. All company and/or product names may be trade names, trademarks and/or registered trademarks of the respective owners with which they are associated. Features, pricing, availability, and specifications are subject to change without notice.

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We're excited to host our friends from the world's most popular coffee publication, Sprudge, and celebrate their first book. We invite local coffee lovers to come witness these rules come alive in our Application Lab, Cupping Lab, Classroom and Cafe.

The New Rules of Coffee book tour heads to the Crimson Cup Innovation Lab in Columbus, Ohio on Sunday, December 2. Sprudge Founders Zachary Carlsen and Jordan Michelman will be chatting about their book, signing copies available for sale and drinking delicious coffee with fans between 12 p.m. and 3 p.m. at the Innovation Lab, 700 Alum Creek Drive just south of Bexley.

Free and open to the public, the event will feature demonstrations of coffee brewing, tasting and sourcing as well as food for purchase from Broke Johnny Food Truck. Attendees will have an opportunity to sample Crimson Cups award-winning coffees. Representatives from Third Wave Water, Modbar and Bunn will also demonstrate their coffee products and equipment.

"We're excited to host our friends from the world's most popular coffee publication, Sprudge, and celebrate their first book, said Innovation Lab Manager Nate Bell. This event will provide educational opportunities for our community to taste all the special characteristics of specialty coffee."

The Crimson Cup Innovation Lab is the only Premier Training Campus in Ohio certified by the Specialty Coffee Association. It contains classrooms and laboratories designed to teach coffee professionals and consumers about the finer elements of roasting, brewing, tasting and preparing coffee.

Divided into three sections (At Home, At the Cafe, and Around the World), The New Rules of Coffee covers the basics of brewing and storage, cafe etiquette and essential information about coffee production and coffee culture around the world.

We invite local coffee lovers to come witness these rules come alive in our Application Lab, Cupping Lab, Classroom and Cafe, Bell said.

From 12 p.m. to 2 p.m., Carlsen and Michelman will be available for book signings while the Crimson Cup team illustrates various rules from their book as outlined below. Demonstrations and educational discussions will occur throughout the Lab during these two hours, allowing visitors to freely attend all four sessions. During the final hour between 2 and 3 p.m., the authors will read from their book and take questions from the audience.

Innovation Lab demonstrations illustrating The New Rules of Coffee include:

(1) In the Application Lab: Demonstration of Brewing Methods

Rule 11: You dont need fancy gear to brew great coffee at home. (Coffee, Grinder, Apparatus and Water)

Rule 24: Manual brewing at home is a matter of devotion.

Rule 25: Always consider the Chemex.

(2) In the Cupping Lab: Coffee Tasting, Exploring Processing and Taste Profiles

Rule 1: Coffee is a fruit.

Rule 7: Processing matters.

Rule 10: Acidity is a good thing.

Rule 15: Pick a style of coffee you like.

Rule 16: Roast profiles matter.

(3) In the Cafe: Artisan chocolate mocha

Rule 51: A good mocha is a beautiful thing.

(4) In the Classroom: Learn about Coffee Sourcing

Rule 2: Coffee is a global product.

Rule 4: All coffee is grown by a human.

Rule 5: Coffee growers are artisans.

Rule 55: Coffee can save the world.

About Crimson Cup Coffee & Tea

Columbus, Ohio coffee roaster Crimson Cup Coffee & Tea is Roast magazines 2016 Macro Roaster of the Year. Since 1991, Crimson Cup has roasted sustainably sourced specialty and craft coffee in small batches, which it sells directly to consumers and as wholesale coffee beans. The company also teaches entrepreneurs to run successful coffee houses through its coffee franchise alternative program, which includes a coffee shop business plan. Crimson Cup coffee is available through a community of more than 350 independent coffee houses, grocers, college and universities, restaurants and food service operations across 37 states, Guam and Bangladesh, as well as the companys own Crimson Cup Coffee Houses. To learn more, visit crimsoncup.com.
Over time, the holes in traditional belts will stretch and look worn out, even with the best leather. This leads to buckles potentially scratching or harming the leather coat. No one wants that. No one particularly likes dealing with the belt strap overhang either. Thats why its time for something new, something magnetic, to eliminate these old problems, such as the CLAC Belt.

No matter what the occasion, just CLAC it! Equipped with a magnetic closure system to avoid holes and excessive wear out, CLAC Belts patented technology keeps your leather belt looking good for a very long time. Plus, its easy to adjust for the perfect fit! No buckle is required for a CLAC Belt. However, if thats your style preference, they offer a variety of buckles as well.

Its no secret that traditional belts arent very comfortable says Luis Popoca, CEO of CLAC Belt. Our goal with CLAC Belt is to offer long-lasting, comfortable belts, that you can adjust easily! Were happy to be working with AsSeenOnTV.pro and expanding our audience.

What I love the most about CLAC Belt is that the magnetic closure system lasts forever, says Doug Scott, Executive Producer at AsSeenOnTV.pro. These magnets dont lose their power, which means my CLAC Belts will last me for life  I never have to go shopping for belts ever again!

As part of its DRTV campaign with AsSeenOnTV.pro, CLAC Belt will be appearing in 60 second spots set to air nationwide and feature the original Shark himself, Kevin Harrington. AsSeenOnTV.pro is comprised of an award-winning team of producers, writers, videographers, and editors as well as industry veterans dedicated to finding the latest, most innovative products and ideas, and putting them on the DRTV map.

About AsSeenOnTV.pro

Headquartered in South Florida, AsSeenOnTV.pro is a full-service production, branding, and marketing company that specializes in direct response television, short- and long-form commercials, and brand building. Based out of a 25,000+ sq ft, state-of-the-art studio, the companys creative team handles every aspect of production from script to screen to airing. For nearly two decades, AsSeenOnTV.pros veteran staff of writers, producers, videographers, and editors has amassed more than 50 Telly Awards, thousands of prestigious clients, and over $20 million in television placements.

About Kevin Harrington

As the inventor of the infomercial, founder of As Seen on TV, and one of the original Sharks on Shark Tank, Kevin Harrington has worked with some of the worlds biggest celebrities and launched some of the best-selling DRTV campaigns in history. Since producing his first 30-minute infomercial in 1984, Harrington has been involved in over 500 product launches that have resulted in over $4 billion in sales. Now, in his latest venture with AsSeenOnTV.pro, Harrington is on the hunt for the best new products and ideas, bringing them to homes everywhere through personalized DRTV campaigns featuring the Shark.

For more information on CLAC Belt, please visit http://www.ClacBelt.com.
Nirmal Patel, MD joins Babyscripts as Chief Clinical Transformation Officer Digital health applications have the capacity to profoundly change the clinical paradigm and to impact patients in the most meaningful ways." - Dr. Patel

Babyscripts, the leading prenatal app and the first mobile clinical tool to allow OB/GYNs to remotely monitor their pregnant patients progress and health, today announced that Nirmal Patel, M.D., M.P.H., is joining the Babyscripts leadership team as Chief Clinical Transformation Officer. In this role, Patel will lead the overall clinical vision and impact at Babyscripts, helping current Babyscripts customers best leverage technology to transition into value based agreements with payers and also lead the companys managed care (MCO) strategy.

Dr. Patel joins Babyscripts with more than two decades of experience in developing high-performing primary care delivery systems and digital health solutions, which are outcomes focused.

We are very excited to bring on Dr. Patel, says Juan Pablo Segura, President of Babyscripts. Her experience and knowledge will be critical as Babyscripts continues to work with both providers and managed care to improve the delivery of prenatal and postnatal care.

Patel joins Babyscripts from UnitedHealthcare, where she served as vice president in population health. Previously, she served as chief medical information officer at Teledoc, Inc. She also held executive positions with Morgan Stanley, Cisco, and the Norwalk Hospital Corporation, among others. A respected thought leader and spokesperson for the businesses she represents, Patel is also an accomplished researcher and public speaker. She has participated in numerous nationally renowned boards and leadership councils, and is often in the media sharing her expertise.

Digital health applications have the capacity to profoundly change the clinical paradigm and to impact patients in the most meaningful ways, says Dr. Patel. This opportunity did not exist prior to IOT and remote patient monitoring, and the time is now to engage patients and providers early with improved connectedness to drive improved outcomes. Low birth weight and maternal morbidity are some of the leading areas of concern in healthcare today and it is my pleasure to be working with Babyscripts to have this opportunity to disrupt US healthcare.

About Babyscripts

Babyscripts is a new model for prenatal care that is transforming the way expectant mothers use technology to work with their OBGYN practice. Its the first mobile, clinical solution to provide remote monitoring of an obstetricians patient population while directly improving patient satisfaction and practice reimbursement.


Benzer Pharmacys journey toward its 30th franchise introduction has now reached a suitable destination in the form of a long-established storefront in Wadesboro, North Carolina.

The latest tally introduces the brand to a small town emblematic of Tar Heel pride and spirita community that Franchise President Vinesh Darji says fits perfectly into the Benzer Pharmacy mission of preserving the old-fashioned, neighborhood pharmacy feelone that sacrifices nothing in terms of modern convenience and quality service at competitive prices.

At this point in the growth of Benzer Pharmacy, every new store opening represents another milestone for the chain. But here in Wadesboro, you can really see the impact when an independent is able to continue doing what theyve always done by joining forces with us, Vinesh said. Economic factors being what they are, it only stands to reason that traditional pharmacies are able to stand taller when they stand together under the Benzer banner.

The customers will continue to be served by the people theyve come to know over the years, but they likely will see significant savings they havent seen in years. Its all a matter of discovering the difference Benzer Pharmacy can make. We believe theyll be pleased with the changes as everything settles into place, says Vinesh.

Specifically, that place, in terms of the store itself, will be open weekdays from 8 am to 5:30 pm and Saturdays from 8 am to 12:30 pm. The address is 806 Camden Road in Wadesboro with plans for a grand opening to commence on Monday, December 3, 2018.

For details, feel free to ring up the pharmacy at 704-694-9358.

To find the closest Benzer Pharmacy near you, visit http://www.benzerpharmacy.com/locations.

About Benzer Pharmacy.

Founded in 2009, Benzer Pharmacy is a chain of independent retail pharmacies specializing in compounding and specialty medication. Currently, there are 66 corporate-owned and 30 franchise locations situated throughout 33 states, including Florida, Michigan, Virginia, West Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Georgia, Nevada, Louisiana, New York, Missouri, Mississippi, Maryland, Indiana, and Idaho. Projections call for continued rapid growth as the organization seeks to substantially increase its customer base while ensuring experiences match expectations at every touchpoint.

Benzer made four straight appearances on Inc. 5,000 list of the fastest growing private companies in America from 2015-2018; correspondingly, the company earned a 49th place among the Top Work Places in Tampa 2018 by TBBJ, while concurrently placing 25th on the 2018 TBBJ Fast 50 list of Tampa Bays fastest-growing private companies. Benzer also achieved a 72nd position on the 2018 list compiled by Business Observer, the self-described leading weekly newspaper for business leaders on the Gulf Coast of Florida. It also earned a position of independent pharmacy of the year by APPA. It also achieved the highest accreditations in the industry of ACHC and URAC for specialty pharmacy and mail-order pharmacy, for achieving high-quality standards.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BenzerPharmacy

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/benzerpharmacy

Instagram: https://instagram.com/benzer_pharmacy

SOURCE: Benzer Pharmacy
The EPA needs to take all appropriate and necessary actions to protect our communities from the threat of ethylene oxide  a known carcinogen, Schneider said in a statement. Our bill would give the EPA 180 days to update its ethylene oxide emission standards based on the science because we cannot delay when it comes to the health of our families.
Were excited to have Randy join us. His experience in the industry and proven leadership skills are a rare combination. We are very optimistic about our future and Randys role in it, says Anthony P. Solazzo, CEO of e-TeleQuote

e-TeleQuote Insurance, Inc. (https://www.etelequote.com) is pleased to announce Randy Birchfield has been named its Chief Operating Officer (COO). Birchfield brings 20 years of executive experience in the insurance industry to the company focused on helping people with their Medicare needs.

Before joining e-TeleQuote as COO, Birchfield served as President, CEO, and COO of Protective Insurance. His long history in the insurance industry also includes senior leadership roles at Allstate Insurance Company, Farmers Insurance Company, American International Group, Progressive Insurance Company and others. He has also exercised his leadership skills to perform crisis management consulting with Deloitte & Touche and to serve as CEO for two troubled manufacturing businesses.

Birchfield is a United States Military Academy (West Point) graduate with more than 5 years of service in the United States Army. In addition, he has an MA in Managerial Economics from University of Oklahoma, as well as an MBA from Harvard Business School.

Of his move to e-TeleQuote, Birchfield says, Im excited to move into the distribution side of the insurance business. The Medicare market is uniquely attractive to me. With the changing demographics, more and more people need help with Medicare and I am eager to take on that challenge. Moving back to my hometown is a nice bonus as well.

Were excited to have Randy join us. His experience in the industry and proven leadership skills are a rare combination. They are key attributes that will be needed as our business continues to grow. We are very optimistic about our future and Randys role in it, says Anthony P. Solazzo, CEO of e-TeleQuote.

e-TeleQuotes growth includes more than doubling the number of employees in the last three years. In addition, it recently expanded into Texas, with a new office in New Braunfels.

About e-TeleQuote

e-TeleQuote Insurance, Inc., the owner and operator of easyMedicare.com, is an independent digital insurance agency providing individuals the ability to purchase Medicare insurance from the comfort of their homes. The company diligently researches available plan options from multiple insurance carriers, helping people choose a plan that best suits their needs. e-TeleQuote provides personal consultation through experienced licensed insurance agents who suggest plan coverage options based on an individuals particular needs. The company has proudly served tens of thousands of people across the United States.
Goostree Law Group To maintain their Accreditation, a business must be transparent, honor their promises, be responsive to their customers, and safeguard their privacy - Steve J. Bernas, president and CEO of the BBB of Chicago and Northern Illinois.

Goostree Law Group, P.C., is proud to announce that the Better Business Bureau of Chicago and Northern Illinois has awarded the firm an A+ Accreditation rating, the highest rating that the BBB gives.

An A+ score on the BBB Accreditation test reflects that Goostree Law Group, P.C., has demonstrated the highest level of transparency and responsiveness with its clients.

Accreditation in the BBB is by invitation only, said Steve J. Bernas, president and CEO of the BBB of Chicago and Northern Illinois. Only those businesses that meet our high standards and pass the review process are approved by our Board of Directors.

Goostree Law Group, P.C., is a St. Charles, Illinois, divorce and family law firm founded by attorney Tricia D. Goostree. The firm is experienced in helping clients in all areas of family law, including divorce, property division, the allocation of parental responsibilities, child support, paternity, adoption, and domestic violence.

The attorneys at Goostree Law Group, P.C., regularly receive honors for their legal accomplishments and client satisfaction. The American Institute of Family Law Attorneys named the firm as one of the 10 Best Law Firms in Illinois in 2018 for exceptional and outstanding client service.

As with all businesses that are Accredited by the BBB, Goostree Law Group, P.C., has committed to the BBB Code of Business Practices, a comprehensive set of policies, procedures and best practices on how businesses should treat consumers. These standards call for building trust, embodying integrity, advertising honestly and being truthful.

To maintain their Accreditation, a business must be transparent, honor their promises, be responsive to their customers, and safeguard their privacy, Bernas said.

About Goostree Law Group, P.C.:

Goostree Law Group, P.C., provides family law representation for clients in Kane County and throughout Northern Illinois. Founded more than a 15 years ago, the firm handles divorce and family law issues, such as property division, allocation of parental responsibilities, child support, spousal maintenance, legal separation, adoptions, relocation, prenuptial agreements, and post-divorce modifications. Goostree Law Group, P.C. has offices in St. Charles and Wheaton, Illinois. To schedule a free initial consultation, contact us online or call 630-584-4800.
To be able to engage with these accomplished professionals in the field at one time and in one place is an extraordinary opportunity, said Bonnie Harken, Managing Director at the iaedp Foundation.

The International Association of Eating Disorders Professionals (iaedp) Foundations 2019 Symposium will once again feature ground-breaking research and the latest learning in eating disorders treatment when keynote and other program presentations are delivered during the four days of the annual conference. The 2019 iaedp Symposium is slated for February 7  10 in Palm Desert, California at the JW Marriott Desert Springs Resort. Go to early registration at iaedp.com.

To be able to engage with these accomplished professionals in the field at one time and in one place is an extraordinary opportunity, said Bonnie Harken, Managing Director at the iaedp Foundation. Their collective mission is not only to discuss their latest research, but also to share their wealth of experiences.

The five keynote presentations will feature seven speakers covering newly addressed topics in the eating disorders field.

The keynote presentations are:

Keynote: Managing Patients with Severe and Enduring Anorexia Nervosa: When is Enough, Enough? -- Presenter: Joel Yager, MD, Professor, Department of Psychiatry, School of Medicine at the University of Colorado -- Date and time: Friday, February 8, 2019 from 2  3:30 p.m. -- The keynote session will focus on managing patients with severe and enduring anorexia nervosa. Dr. Yager will invite participants to present cases of patients they're seeing or have seen and to struggle with their management complexities faced by the presenters in the context of their different settings and available resources.

Keynote: Anorexia Nervosa as a Passion -- Presenter: Louis Charland, PhD, International Partner Investigator at Western University, Ontario, Canada -- Date and time: Friday, February 8, 2019 from 10:30 a.m.  12:00 p.m. -- More than 100 years ago people spoke of anorexia as a passion - a term that has since fallen into disuse. Passions are more complex and stable than feelings, and they could last for years and become the organizing principle of a life. They were neither feelings nor beliefs, but something else. They resisted reason or rational analysis. They could overwhelm a life. An individual was powerless. The anorexic person who develops serious anorexia has been engulfed in their passion.

Keynote: Emotion-Focused Family Therapy for Eating Disorders -- Presenter: Adele Lafrance, PhD -- Date and Time: Saturday, February 9, 2019 from 10:30 a.m. -12:00 p.m. -- Based on the science of emotion and interpersonal neurobiology, EFFT offers a structure to support caregivers to increase their role in their loved ones recovery from an eating disorder in specific ways. Throughout treatment, the clinician also seeks to transform any caregiver emotion blocks that could lead to problematic patterns of support such as criticism or accommodating and enabling of symptoms. This presentation will begin with an overview of the model with a focus on research and practical skills for take-away.

Keynote: The Amuse System: How to prevent hardening of the attitude and utilize laughter in therapy to counter stress induced dysfunctional eating behaviors -- Presenters: Ralph Carson, LD, RD, PhD; Cassy Taverna, MSW, LCSW-A; Brian Kohatsu -- Date and time: Saturday, February 9, 2019 from 2 - 3:30 p.m. -- The use of humor and laughter in psychotherapy has great potential in a treatment setting for eating disorders. Laughter provides levity in broaching sensitive topics, stimulating insights, diffusing anger, and relating to patients in a more intimate way. The intension of this presentation is to communicate the value of bringing humor into the therapy session, to provide an assortment of skills and tools to implement humor and to promote humor as a technique for achieving recovery in the eating disorder population.

Keynote: Still Crazy After All These Years  Presenter: Carolyn Costin  Date and time: Sunday, February 10, 2019 from 8  9:30 a.m. Eating disorders are known for being difficult to treat; recovery can be long and exhausting, resulting in frustration and a high level of dropout and burnout. Costin discusses what ignites, fuels and sustains motivation and passion, for both client and clinician, even after many years. Crazy about her work, she shares critical philosophical concepts, treatment techniques and insights on resistance, collaboration and the therapeutic relationship, that instill enthusiasm, increase satisfaction and enhance success for both patient and provider throughout the years and the recovery process. Audience members get hands on tools and a re-charge for continuing their eating disorder career.

About the iaedp Foundation: Since 1985, the International Association of Eating Disorders Professionals has provided education and training standards to an international and multidisciplinary group of various healthcare treatment providers and helping professions. MemberSHARE.iaedp.com is an iaedp business journal and online member resource to learn about noteworthy member achievements, continuing education webinars and U.S. and international chapter activity and events; for more information, visit MemberSHARE.

The iaedp Foundations Presidents Council, which provides organization support, includes: Center for Change; Center for Hope of the Sierras; Center For Discovery; Eating Recovery Center; KellerLife Center for Eating Disorders; Laureate Eating Disorders Program; McCallum Place Eating Disorder Centers; The Meadows Ranch; Rogers Behavioral Health; Rosewood Centers for Eating Disorders; Selah House; The Renfrew Center; Timberline Knolls; Turning Tides Eating Disorder Treatment Center; and Veritas Collaborative.

More information about all aspects iaedp and its 2019 Symposium can be found at http://iaedp.com.
Intellitec Solutions has announced a webinar around year-end best practices for Microsoft Dynamics GP software. Previously, Intellitec held these events in person, but in response to demands to make these sessions more accessible to end users around the country, Intellitec will deliver these critical sessions via the internet. Interest in these webinars is expected to be high.

The agenda for these events will feature ways users of Dynamics GP can close the year in modules such as general ledger, payroll, and other critical areas. Best practices, short cuts, and new requirements will be discussed as well. Attendees will learn important steps on making sure their books are closed properly, and in an efficient manner. Businesses interested in attending these webinars can sign up by contacting Intellitec Solutions at 866-504-4357, or visiting the registration page.

About Intellitec Solutions

Intellitec Solutions is a leading ERP and CRM provider strategically located along the influential business corridor between Washington and Philadelphia. Specializing in Microsoft Dynamics GP, Dynamics SL, Dynamics 365 and Sage Intacct, they have conducted thousands of engagements helping companies in diverse industries choose and implement software solutions to improve financial or customer relationship management. Using a proven system designed to maximize efficiency and business insight, Intellitec Solutions team of seasoned professionals provides value-added expertise to their clients. For more information or to schedule a demo of our solutions, please visit http://www.intellitecsolutions.com or call 866-504-4357

All products mentioned in this release are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders.
Events such as the Jacksonville Leadership Luncheon, stress the importance of HBCUs, said Dr. Michael L. Lomax, president and CEO of UNCF.

UNCF will host its 13th annual leaders luncheon Dec. 6 at the Hyatt Regency Jacksonville, beginning at 12 p.m. Benefiting HBCUs (historically black colleges and universities) and their students, UNCF is changing the narrative of HBCUs across the nation by equipping African American and other students of color with the resources necessary to successfully navigate college, and ultimately, the workforce. More than 400 people will attend the luncheon, including; civil rights icon and Peabody award-winning journalist, Charlyne Hunter-Gault; Champion of Education honoree, Drayton Florence; president of UNCF-member HBCU Edward Waters College, Dr. A. Zachary Faison, Jr.; Jacksonvilles community and international affairs director, Dr. Charles Moreland, and many more.

With the help of the Jacksonville community, $5,776,352 was awarded last year in scholarships and programs for UNCFs Florida member institutions and area students. And with the release of UNCFs landmark study, HBCUs Make America Strong: The Positive Economic Impact of Historically Black Colleges and Universities, HBCUs such as Edward Waters College contributed $833 million to the total economic impact and more than 7,817 jobs to the state of Florida.

Events such as the Jacksonville Leadership Luncheon, stress the importance of HBCUs, said Dr. Michael L. Lomax, president and CEO of UNCF. HBCUs not only provide a college education for 300,000 students every year, but they are a powerful economic engine: locally, through the jobs they create and the expenditures they make in the cities where they are located; and nationally, through the students they educate and prepare for an information-age workforce.

The Leaders Luncheon program will include performances by the Edward Waters College Jazz Combo and a student testimonial from Jacksonville native and Wells Fargo/UNCF scholarship recipient Alexis Lawrence, a junior at Stetson University.

The Jacksonville Leadership Luncheon is chaired by Walette Sanford, who is also the chair of the Jacksonville Leadership Council. Luncheon sponsors include AT&T, Wells Fargo, Publix and many others.

For more information or to purchase a ticket, which are $100, please contact Jazmine Barnes at 407.896.6940 or go to our website UNCF.org/JacksonvilleLuncheon.

Follow this event @UNCF #UNCFJacksonville

About UNCF

UNCF (the United Negro College Fund) is the nations largest and most effective minority education organization. To serve youth, the community and the nation, UNCF supports students education and development through scholarships and other programs, supports and strengthens its 37 member colleges and universities and advocates for the importance of minority education and college readiness. UNCF institutions and other historically black colleges and universities are highly effective, awarding 17 percent of African American baccalaureate degrees. UNCF administers more than 400 programs, including scholarship, internship and fellowship, mentoring, summer enrichment and curriculum and faculty development programs. Today, UNCF supports more than 60,000 students at over 1,100 colleges and universities across the country. Its logo features the UNCF torch of leadership in education and its widely recognized motto, A mind is a terrible thing to waste. Learn more at UNCF.org or for continuous updates and news, follow UNCF on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram at @UNCF.
Dr. David Nash founded the Jefferson College of Population Health 10 years ago. "Shut off the faucet, instead of mopping up the floor, David Nash, MD, MBA

David B. Nash, MD, MBA is the founding dean of the Jefferson College of Population Health (JCPH), the nations first institution dedicated to population health management and research. Nash founded JCPH 10 years ago as one of the first in the world offering graduate programs in population health.

In his BOH interview, Nash explores the value of population health graduate and continuing education programs and the impact he hopes his cadre of graduates will have on improving U.S. healthcare. Still a practicing primary care physician, Nash advocates population health interventions to keep people healthy and avoid chronic disease, such as diabetes, heart disease and obesity, or, as he likes to say, Shut off the faucet, instead of mopping up the floor.

If I were a current operational leader of an integrated delivery system, shares Nash about his vision, I sure would want to have a core group of emerging leaders in my organization who understood the road from volume to value, who had these new skills to bring us from health care to health.

Nash helped create the program in part because population health and comparative effectiveness are not currently part of medical, nursing or pharmacy school curriculum.

JCPH grants Master and Doctoral degrees in Population Health, Population Health Intelligence, Health Economics Outcome Research, Health Policy, Public Health, Healthcare Quality & Safety and Operational Excellence. The college also offers continuing education and professional development programs including a 5-day Population Health Academy bootcamp and annual Population Health Colloquium.

His illustrious career is overwhelming to summarize: board and oversight roles with health systems, influential organizations such as the National Quality Foundation, and for-profit enterprises such as Humana and Arsenal Capital Partners. Nash has authored over 100 peer reviewed articles and edited 23 books. He earned his undergraduate degree from Vassar College, medical degree from the University of Rochester, MBA in Health Administration from the Wharton School and was a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Clinical Scholar.

We had this incredible opportunity to create the nation's first such college devoted to what we called then and continue to call population health. Remember this was two years before Obamacare became law in 2010, shares Nash about why the school was founded. Our country still ranked below the top 10 globally in the health of the population. Medical error was still the third or fourth leading cause of death. When you think about cost and inefficiency, waste, error, even the stock market crash - it all looked pretty grim. That was the crucible for the creation of our college of population health.

Through the leadership of faculty member and adult learning expert Dr. Juan Leon, JCPH was also an early innovator in online and hybrid learning modalities. Most of JCPHs students pursue their graduate degree almost entirely online, asynchronously.

Nash describes their typical student as working professionals already equipped with an advanced clinical or management science degree. While its not a requirement, many of our Master and Ph.D. students already have a clinical degree such as PharmD or MD or they come to us with an MHA, MBA, or MPH. They come to advance their careers in pharma or working for payers, health system and even large non-healthcare employers.

After Uncle Sam, employers are the number two payers in our country, points out Nash. Given that people are the number one cost and healthcare is a big chunk of that, large employers are looking for ways to omit the middleman and deal directly with the provider organizations. We see that with Boeing, General Motors, and others at the national level who are connected to various healthcare delivery systems. Employers are getting on the population health bandwagon and they need leaders trained to move from a world of volume to one of value.

We're headed to a world of no outcome, no income from a provider perspective. Employers are saying, That's how I treat my suppliers and my subsidiaries. We want to see providers paid appropriately for good outcomes. Our students are helping drive that change. says Nash.

Among the first graduates of our doctoral program were some young leaders from Johnson and Johnson. They're in their early 40s, maxed out in a division within J&J and they're looking at the 180+ companies that make up Johnson & Johnson and they're thinking this is the right investment to advance to the next level, he shared.

Given the breadth of his experience and influence, we asked Nash, What one policy would most dramatically improve the effectiveness of our health care system? His answer, while not surprising, brought it all together.

I've been on this for nearly 30 years along with lots of smart people out there. What I do know is when you change economic incentives, you change clinical decision-making. This is the key issue, answered Nash.

Bundled payment, global fee, capitation whatever you want to call it, I'm all in support of aligning economic incentives to use evidence-based ways to achieve better, safer, lower cost outcomes. Thats why we began our programs in health economics outcome research (HEOR) and in population health intelligence.

HEOR is the science of cost-benefit analysis also called cost-effectiveness analysis or comparative effectiveness. In this science, drug development and deployment trends are studied to advise on what should be put on a drug formulary and why.

In a global scholarly field, JCPHs HEOR program is one of the largest and most well-regarded. Nash reports that theirs is a leading online asynchronous HEOR master's degree rivaled only by some overseas programs and their graduates are in virtually every major pharma company worldwide.

Why does this matter? Nash points out, 25 years ago, drug costs were 35 cents of every healthcare dollar spent. Today, thats become 20 cents of every dollar spent. Thats only going to increase with precision medicine, with genetic therapy. With various medications costing $400,000 per dose, HEOR is more important than ever.

Recently, JCPH introduced another degree program called population health intelligence. Describing the program, Nash shared, Weve got all this data but what's the information we're gleaning? Pop health intelligence enables us to show your zip code is more important than your genetic code to predict your lifespan. In fact, using pop health intelligence with your zip code and your credit score, I probably can predict more about your health than by knowing your blood pressure, your cholesterol and your hemoglobin a1c. Pop health intelligence draws on data from different sectors, not all clinical, and makes inferences backed by evidence about the clinical conditions.

When describing the experience and the students in the program, Nash shares, We're not teaching people how to code. We're teaching folks how to glean information from the overwhelming amount of data that's available now in the system. You're not going to become a head of information technology with this degree. You'll be a vital key emerging leader making sense out of all of the incoming data and glean information.

These graduates make inferences about who might be readmitted, about who might need intensive case management or what are the social factors that are influencing these patients from six zip codes and why do we keep seeing them in the emergency room. That's population health intelligence, describes Nash.

Were a major academic medical center delivery system with bundled payment programs for sepsis and congestive heart failure, explains Nash. So, what do I need to know? Well holy mackerel, I'm gonna need to know, What are my true costs? What are the social determinants that are driving people in heart failure? What are the predictors of people who might get sepsis? What's the clinical course all about? Where are they going to go when they're out of the hospital? We need better information hence HEOR, population health intelligence, bundled payment and better aligned incentives. It all fits together beautifully.

Students coming into these programs often have a doctorate in pharmacy or a master's degree in pharmaceutical science and medicinal chemistry shares Nash. But they don't get the HEOR piece in pharmacy school. They come to us working in pharma information technology, biotech development and they want to have the skillset to compare and contrast outcomes and to create the evidence to support good decisions.

Jefferson College of Population Health is located in Philadelphia, PA and part of the recently merged Philadelphia and Thomas Jefferson Universities.

To watch, listen or read other BOH interviews, visit BOHSeries.com or search Business of Healthcare and our red logo wherever you listen to podcasts.
Julian Gibson Serrette, a native of Trinidad and Tobago and former professional bodybuilder, has completed his new book A Beautiful Man: an emotional and cathartic collection of poems about one mans search for authenticity. Serrette explores the idea of being perceived as an abomination by society as he sought to find meaning in his existence throughout his transitioning.

Whether about his days in Trinidad as a female body-builder, his pursuit of an education, or ultimately, his gender transition from female to male, which started after he retired from competitive body-building in 1999; Serrettes life is chronicled through his poetry. A painful and often arduous journey, Serrette details the personal angst and physical hardships he endured to manifest his destiny.

Serrette shares, These poems examine moments in my life as I navigated my way through my transition from female to male gender identified. The poems explore my relationship with myself, others, and this planet in deeply intimate ways, which allows the readers to take an in-depth look into the delicate, intricate, and passionate musings of a unique mind seeking freedom, purpose, and enlightenment.

Published by New York City-based Page Publishing, Julian Gibson Serrettes stirring collection of poems is thought provoking and timely. All sentient beings seek the same things in life: dignity, peace and fulfillment, regardless of gender, race, creed or species. Serrettes poems express the longing and urgency to seek peace throughout his life, as well as the perpetual search for truth that is shared universally.

Readers who wish to experience this inspiring work can purchase A Beautiful Man 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.
Our scientists are studying five different types of wearable robots, explained Rodger DeRose, president and CEO of Kessler Foundation, looking at how they can best be used to help people participate more fully in family life, their communities and the workforce.

Each year, the United Nations commemorates the International Day of Persons with Disabilities (UNIDPD) on December 3. This year, Kessler Foundation joins the IDPD program to demonstrate the contributions of rehabilitation research toward empowering people with disabilities and ensuring inclusiveness and equality across all nations. The application of new technologies, such as robotics, virtual reality, and smart devices, is a major strategy scientists are using for finding new ways to help people recover from disabling injuries and illnesses.

A special IDPD afternoon program, The Art of the Possible, sponsored by the UN Department of Management, showcases ways to develop a smart inclusive environment through the application of technologies, within the framework of the UNs 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development Goals, and in accordance with the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

During The Art of the Possible, the Foundation presents a live demonstration of how wearable robotic devices are restoring mobility for people with disabilities. The demonstration features the EksoGT, a robotic exoskeleton from Ekso Bionics, worn by Natalie B., a young woman with paralysis caused by traumatic spinal cord injury. Accompanying Natalie are two specially trained Kessler physical therapists, and Dr. Gail Forrest, the associate director of Human Performance and Engineering Research at Kessler Foundation. Dr. Forrest oversees the investigation of robotic applications for use in rehabilitation settings and the community. Her research extends beyond the restoration of mobility to the impact of wearable robot exoskeletons on the long-term health, community participation, and quality of life of individuals with spinal cord injury.

Our scientists are studying five different types of wearable robots, explained Rodger DeRose, president and CEO of Kessler Foundation, looking at how they can best be used to help people participate more fully in family life, their communities and the workforce. This research illustrates how technology supports empowerment, and extends the legacy of our founder, Dr. Henry Kessler, who worked closely with the UN in the aftermath of the World Wars to raise awareness of the pressing need for rehabilitative services around the world.

Other exhibitors of technology and design solutions for promoting greater accessibility by individuals with disabilities include the UN Office of Human Resources Management, the UN Office of Information Communication Technology, Open Style Lab and User 1st.

Following opening remarks by Forbes contributor Xian Horn, DeRose moderates a candid discussion on How opportunities and technology are improving the lives of people with disabilities, including panelists with different perspectives on maximizing inclusiveness - Susan Robinson, global business advisor and TED resident, Jim Sinocchi, Office of Disability Inclusion at JP Morgan Chase & Co, and Christina Mallon, digital marketing expert at Open Style Lab.

Featured speaker for The Art of the Possible is actor Daryl Chill Mitchell, paralyzed after a spinal cord injury, who maintains a successful career in film and television. Because employment is fundamental to independence, this is a major focus of Kessler Foundations disability research, according to DeRose. Mitchells personal presentation, Living your dream with a disability highlights the value of rehabilitation research that aims to maximize function and helps ensure inclusiveness and equality in the workplace.

About International Day of Persons with Disabilities

The annual observance of the International Day of Disabled Persons (December 3) was proclaimed in 1992, by the United Nations General Assembly resolution 47/3. The observance of the Day aims to promote an understanding of disability issues and mobilize support for the dignity, rights and well-being of persons with disabilities. It also seeks to increase awareness of gains to be derived from the integration of persons with disabilities in every aspect of political, social, economic and cultural life.

About Kessler Foundation

Kessler Foundation, a major nonprofit organization in the field of disability, is a global leader in rehabilitation research that seeks to improve cognition, mobility and long-term outcomes, including employment, for people with neurological disabilities caused by diseases and injuries of the brain and spinal cord. Kessler Foundation leads the nation in funding innovative programs that expand opportunities for employment for people with disabilities. For more information, visit KesslerFoundation.org.

Carolann Murphy, PA; 973.324.8382; cmurphy@KesslerFoundation.org

Facebook.com/KesslerFoundation

On Twitter: @KesslerFdn
Research site at Indio, CA What we're doing is simple, we're simply changing the future

Sumer Aroma Global Marketing Director Robert Ramirez announced that Sumer Aroma CEO Hazim Abdulzahra was sentenced to 16 months incarceration in federal court Central District of California on October 3, 2018 (Case # CR 14-00634 SJO: U.S.A. v. (1) Hazim Abdulzahra)

Mr. Abdulzahra would like to announce that he's interested in opening up his patent to agricultural research companies and Universities domestically and internationally. What brought this about started with his doing research in the US and his recent immigration case.

On January 29, 2018, according to court documents, Abdulzahra filed an ex parte application to extend his removal date from the United States. In support of this request, Abdulzahra noted that in August of 2017, Abdulzahra submitted a patent application to the United States Patent and Trademark Office. In September 2017, a request for prioritized examination was granted. Abdulzahra added that when the examination occurs, Abdulzahras personal involvement was the patenting process since the inventor often has to respond to technical arguments made by the examiner. On February 2, 2018, the Court held a hearing and denied Abdulzahras application. Abdulzahra was ordered to return on February 5, 2018, to discuss a removal date and surrender his green card. That hearing was subsequently continued to February 8, 2018. At a hearing held on February 8, 2018, the Court ordered Abdulzahra to remove himself from the United States consistent with the plea agreement by March 8, 2018. Mr. Abdulzahra failed to comply with this order.

Mr. Abdulzahra has been conducting research on a date farm located in Indio, CA utilizing his patented clay pot irrigation/water retention system (US Patent #US 9,986,695) while facing a federal indictment for committing immigration fraud. His US Patent was officially granted on June 5th, 2018 while he was being detained at MDC Los Angeles which is a Federal Holding Facility for mainly presentencing inmates.

Judgment day for Abdulzahra was October 3rd of this year. He provided the Court with the "allowing" for his U.S. Patent as well as an accompanying video of the entire process. The process his judge, public defender, and U.S. attorney said wasn't possible to obtain. He apologized for breaking his word to the Court but said it was more important to keep his word to the Quran. In the end, Judge Otero didn't acknowledge his U.S. Patent, the video, or Abdulzahra's apology and sentenced him to the maximum under the law. Abdulzahra, when asked how he felt in hindsight about the outcome, said, "It was worth it. There is always a price to pay for the things you believe in. A man must only be willing to pay it."

Mr. Abdulzahra is currently serving the remainder of his sentence at Taft CI with a release date of June 2, 2019. Inmate Register # 68240-112 For more information please feel free to contact Robert Ramirez at robram818@gmail.com or 310-922-4400.
Team Lake Trust knows behind everything we do are people. This great response is another demonstration our team consistently takes action for those in need, said Brandalynn Winchester-Middlebrook, Lake Trust Senior Vice President of Culture and Community Engagement.

The Lake Trust Foundation received 2,796 donated personal care packs of needed toiletries including deodorant, toothbrush, toothpaste, body wash and a razor for distribution to eight Michigan homeless shelters. Lake Trust Credit Union will also donate 1,250 pairs of Bombas socks and an additional $1,500 to one or more of the organizations to be selected by the internal Lake Trust Credit Union team providing the most care packs.

Thanks to the response from Credit Union team members and the community, the Foundation extended its drive for an additional week. Receiving the personal care packs are the Coalition on Temporary Shelter in Detroit; Shelter Association of Washtenaw County; Isabella County Restoration House in Mt. Pleasant; City Rescue Mission of Lansing; Holland Rescue Mission; Love in Action in Grand Haven; Lewis House Shelter in Hastings; and LACASA serving Livingston County.

The following organizations made in-kind donations or financial contributions: Johnson and Johnson; area Walmart, Costco, Meijer, Target, and Walgreens stores; McLaren Health Care; Delta Dental and community dentists and dental care organizations; Holiday Inn and Residence Inn Marriott Michigan locations; and more.

Last year, more than 63,000 people throughout Michigan experienced homelessness and more than 10,200 households with children were homeless, said Brandalynn Winchester-Middlebrook, Lake Trust Senior Vice President of Culture and Community Engagement. Team Lake Trust knows behind everything we do are people. This great response is another demonstration our team consistently takes action for those in need.

Throughout its history, the Lake Trust Foundation has helped provide many thousands of meals to local food banks and committed volunteer time, grants and aid to causes involving health and wellness, education, the environment, and more. With funds raised from donations and community events, the Foundation directs its efforts for a greater social purpose in Michigan.

Because this is part of our core identity to reach out to the underserved, were optimistic that the Foundation can extend its reach, even beyond the many locations where Lake Trust operates currently, added Ms. Winchester-Middlebrook.

The Lake Trust Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization with a mission to make a difference in the 35 Michigan counties Lake Trust Credit Union serves. Foundation contributors are people who help fund support for local non-profit causes. For more information, visit https://laketrust.org/foundation.aspx.

Lake Trust Credit Union has more than $1.7 billion in assets to rank fifth-largest in Michigan and has more than 176,000 members. With federally NCUA-insured branches in 35 Michigan counties, Lake Trust is committed to creating stronger Michigan communities. Membership is open to anyone who lives, works, worships, or attends school in its service area. For more information, visit laketrust.org and follow @LakeTrustCreditUnion on Facebook and @laketrust on Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest. Follow its Moved By Good initiative at https://laketrust.org/moved-by-good/ and @movedbygood on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn.


It hit me hard, Squires said. I realized as somebody coming from a church in Gurnee  and I live in Gurnee, because we live in the parsonage  (it) did look like I was swooping in and saying, Waukegan, you need to deal with this problem, and thats never what I meant it to sound like.
The LockOut SmartBoot System combines physical deterrents with technology to create a comprehensive building safety system. Were honored to even be a part of receiving these funds from the state.

Over 150 Michigan public and private schools have been awarded $25 million in grant money by the state to install safety systems on their campuses through the Michigan Competitive School Safety Grant. Over $2 million of these funds have already been allocated for installation of The LockOut SmartBoot System in more than a dozen school districts that will receive grant funding.

The LockOut System, developed in Michigan, pairs physical room entry deterrent devices with Bluetooth technology to create a comprehensive building safety system. The system is designed to keep students and staff safe in the event of a school lockdown.

Were honored these districts have chosen to use this grant money to install the SmartBoot System, said LockOut Company CEO, Rob Couturier, Weve been working with the schools for quite a while helping them find and allocate funds, and this grant will really assist them financially.

The LockOut Company also had the opportunity to work with each school and learn more about their safety needs during the grant process. We were happy to help, said Couturier, We always openly state that we wish our system didnt have to exist, but it does, and its important that schools have the the tools to keep their students and staff safe. This grant will go a long way toward making that happen. We want to thank the schools for working with us and trusting us to provide them with those tools, and we want to thank the state of Michigan for putting student safety at the forefront of their agenda.

The schools awarded funding that have chosen to use it for the LockOut System were not required to match the funding in any way, which was an important factor for Couturier, The schools we work with often dont have a great deal of funding available, so we try to make the system as accessible as possible for them financially. With the installation of LED lights to reduce operating costs, financing programs, and now this grant, were able to install the SmartBoot System with little to no cost for the schools, and that means a lot to us.

The LockOut Company is a leading provider of school safety systems in the United States and developer of The LockOut SmartBoot System. For more information contact us at info@lockoutusa.com or visit lockoutusa.com.
NAPCO, Ltd. (North American Polymer Company), a national home refinishing and refinishing training company, has announced its renewed partnership with Habitat for Humanity. This marks the second year that NAPCO and the global nonprofit housing organization have joined forces. In 2019, NAPCO will continue to dedicate volunteer time and provide product donations to help build and renovate safe and affordable homes for families across America.

As a proud partner, NAPCO has supported Habitat for Humanity through a variety of initiatives. In addition to donating $5000 in building materials to the organization in 2018, employees of NAPCO devoted 60 volunteer hours along with their construction abilities to help build homes within the community. NAPCO plans to renew those hours in the coming year, as well as continue to donate products and materials.

At NAPCO, bringing new life into homes through safe, sustainable and innovative solutions has been the heart of what we do, said Steve Coven, owner and creative director at NAPCO. This is why we are so passionate about our partnership with Habitat for Humanity, He continued. NAPCO is proud to continue supporting this organization in their mission to help families and communities receive decent and affordable housing.

Every day, more and more families find themselves in a struggle to keep a roof over their heads. NAPCO supports Habitat for Humanitys efforts to help millions of families build strength, stability and self-reliance through shelter.

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About NAPCO

Since 1979, NAPCO, Ltd. (North American Polymer Company) has provided products, supplies, and training to professional bathroom and kitchen refinishers. NAPCO is headquartered just outside of Chicago, in Skokie, IL and services all 50 states and 5 foreign countries. If you need help locating a refinisher in your area, fill out the form here: https://www.napcoltd.com/find-a-refinisher

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About Habitat for Humanity International

Driven by the vision that everyone needs a decent place to live, Habitat for Humanity has grown from a grassroots effort that began on a community farm in southern Georgia in 1976 to a global nonprofit housing organization in nearly 1,400 communities across the U.S. and in over 70 countries. People partner with Habitat for Humanity to build or improve a place they can call home. Habitat homeowners help build their own homes alongside volunteers and pay an affordable mortgage. Through financial support, volunteering, or adding a voice to support affordable housing, everyone can help families achieve the strength, stability and self-reliance they need to build better lives for themselves. Through shelter, we empower. To learn more, visit habitat.org.
Top Single Family Home Property Management Company Serving Plano During the holiday season property owners may want to focus on their families and put aside the stress of managing their rentals.

North Texas Property Management, is proud to announce a new blog post in time for the holiday season. Texas homeowners in Plano, McKinney and Richardson, Texas may be anxious about choosing a single family home property management company.

"During the holiday season property owners may want to focus on their families and put aside the stress of managing their rentals," explained Jason Marascio, CEO of North Texas Property Management. "Not all management companies will take on a single home rental, but we will. We talk about this in our new post."

Texas homeowners searching for information about finding a top property manager to care for a single-family home can review the following link at http://www.ntxpm.com/2018/10/23/the-single-family-home-is-the-american-dream-and-a-property-management-company-that-manages-it-is-a-dream-come-true/. The new post focuses on the three nearby communities of Plano, McKinney, and Richardson, Texas. Residents might need to find the right solution for managing only one or two rental properties. Persons interested in learning more about Richardson, Texas, property management, can visit http://www.ntxpm.com/richardson/.

PLANO, McKINNEY, AND RICHARDSON FIND THE BEST SINGLE FAMILY HOME PROPERTY MANAGEMENT COMPANY CAN BRING COMFORT AND JOY IN TEXAS

Here is background on this release. Texas residents might desire to work less during the holiday season. Unwinding around family and leaving responsibilities on the shelf for December could be the dream of a Plano resident. Spending time preparing for family gatherings and might be the desire of a McKinney grandparent. Managing one or two rental properties during Christmas could get in the way of a McKinney locals vacation time. Searching for a top property management company to care for a single-family home could be a challenge.

For these reasons, North Texas Property Management has announced a new blog post in time for winter celebrations. Residents of Plano, McKinney, and Richardson may dream of enjoying the holidays without personal investment responsibilities. Small investors might own one or two single-family homes and could be considered a waste of time to larger management firms. Citizens of North Texas may appreciate not all property management companies are alike. A professional property management company can manage single-family homes and other properties for the holidays.

ABOUT NORTH TEXAS PROPERTY MANAGEMENT

North Texas Property Management Company is a top-rated property management company servicing the needs of rental property owners in the North Dallas area of North Texas. The company's property managers manage residential rental properties in Plano & McKinney and Richardson & Allen, as well as other communities in the North Dallas area, for real estate investors and rental property owners who want a property management company that will take the burden off of them of physically and financially caring for, maintaining, and managing their rental homes.

Web. http://www.ntxpm.com/

Tel. 214-227-7669
"Enamigo Reciprokataj," debut CD by pianist-composer Brittany Anjou. The title is a double entendre about improvisation and the push/pull of relationships. It represents the enigma improvisers face to spontaneously fall in love with their instrument/the sound/the situation/each other. And additionally, to convince an audience to fall in love with their love.

Pianist-composer Brittany Anjou blends the influences of a wide range of jazz and classical piano, and a fascination with the Esperanto language, on her stunning debut "Enamigo Reciprokataj," set for a February 15 release on Origin Records. A trio album featuring bassist Greg Chudzik and drummer Nicholas Anderson (as well as two tracks with special guests, bassist Ari Folman-Cohen and drummer Ben Perowsky), it also includes 10 original compositions, highlighted by an eponymous five-part suite that showcases both Anjous ambition and her originality.

"Enamigo Reciprokataj" (pronounced En-ah-mee-joh Reh-sih-pro-kah-tye) translates into English as "Reciprocal Love"or, alternately, as "Mutual Breakdown." [Its] a double entendre about improvisation and the push/pull of relationships, Anjou writes. She also refers to multiple levels of relationships: It represents the enigma improvisers face to spontaneously fall in love with their instrument/the sound/the situation/each other, she says. And additionally, to convince an audience to fall in love with their love.

If the concept sounds somewhat esoteric, the music itself is anything but. The albums bookend tracks, Starlight and its reprise Reciproka Elektra, alternate instantly compelling, electronically processed washes with warm and confidently swinging piano-trio melodies. Each of the suites five parts comprises an expressive, hook-filled tune and improvisation set to a joyful dance of a rhythm, from the whirlwind Reciprokataj I: Cyrene (Flight of the Butterfly) to the 5/4 bounce of Reciprokataj IV: Olive You. Even the grim determination Anjou presents on Reciprokataj V: Flowery Distress is offset by Folman-Cohen and Perowskys irrepressibility.

The album also honors Anjous most important pianistic influences. Her phrasing and chord voicings channel the respective spirits of Oscar Peterson and Red Garland; in addition, she separates the parts of the suite with songs that directly pay tribute to favorites Ahmad Jamal (Snuffaluffagas) and McCoy Tyner (Hard Boiled Soup). All of the music celebrates my love affair with great jazz pianists, she says.

Anjous use of Esperanto is not incidental: With "Enamigo Reciprokataj," she begins a planned trilogy of albums based on the concepts and structures of world languages. (The next two installments will center on Dagara and Arabic, respectively.) To me, Esperanto is a romance, she says. The language mirrors jazz improvisation . . . . Jazz and Esperanto are both contemporary languages of the last century, and both promote intercultural dialogue, democracy, and self-expression.

Brittany Anjou was born in 1984 in Minot, North Dakota, moving to Seattle as a very young child. Her mother was a pianist, flutist, and music teacher, and Brittany began playing piano herself at age five. Her mother also played a lot of jazz recordings around the house, and at 12, hearing a solo by the Panamanian pianist Danilo Perez, Brittany was inspired to begin studying jazz.

As a high school student, she joined and toured with Seattles Roosevelt High School Jazz Band, meeting and performing with Wynton Marsalis in New York. Attending the Stanford Jazz Workshop at 16, she worked with Clark Terry, who became her idol. It was around that same time that Anjou began composingincluding much of the material that eventually became "Enamigo Reciprokataj."

Arriving in New York to study music at NYU, Anjou studied with Stefon Harris, Tony Moreno, and Sherrie Maricle, as well as with Jason Moran and Vijay Iyer at School for Improvised Music. She also studied classical music in Prague with composer Milan Slavicky, and West African gyil music in Ghana with master player Bernard Woma and his protegees. She has since performed in 13 countries on three continents with a number of ensembles including the New York Arabic Orchestra, the Shaggs, Bi TYRANT, and the LARCENY Chamber Orchestra (founding and leading the latter two).

Anjou began performing selections from "Enamigo Reciprokataj" while living in Prague in 2005 and continued honing it thereafter, including in a well-received performance with Bi TYRANT at New Yorks Zinc Bar during the 2018 Winter Jazz Festival. In the fall of 2018, she returned to Kuwait to teach piano and jazz ensembles as part of a nine-month residency at the Sheikh Jaber Al-Ahmad Cultural Center opera house, in an experimental music program, the first of its kind in the country.

Brittany Anjou will perform CD release concerts at the Royal Room, 5000 Rainier Ave S, Seattle, on Sat. 12/29, with Evan Flory-Barnes, b, and Matt Jorgensen, d, plus special guests Rose Rutledge, ss/fl, and Johnny Butler, ts, among others; at Threes Brewing, 333 Douglass Street, Brooklyn, on Mon. 1/7, with Greg Chudzik, b. and Shirazette Tinnin, d.; and at Le Poisson Rouge, 158 Bleecker Street, NYC, on Mon. 2/25, with Chudzik and Tinnin. Anjou will also be playing with the Women in Jazz Organization collective at Jazzahead (Schwankhalle), Bremen, Germany on Sat. 4/27. -
At a young age I learned the importance of the Aina (land) with attention to detail in each and every step of the process," Coleman said. "The Blu Room UV-B process is the latest in future technologies for all coffee lovers to enjoy now."

Premium Hawaiian Kona coffee Buddhas Sanctuary LLC, with five farm single estate high mountain brands, earned the highest honors at the recent International Cupping Competition in Paris.

The prestigious contest was hosted by The Agency for the Valorization of Agricultural Products (AVPA), a non-governmental, non-profit organization in Paris. Buddhas Sanctuary beat out competitors from around the world. In the estate division, one first-place gold medal was awarded to Imagine 100% Kona Coffee while two second-place silver medals were recognized for Kona Gold and Buddhas Cup estates.

Buddhas Sanctuary is a family owned and operated business located on Hawaiis Big Island in the world-renowned Kona coffee district. Owner Christine Coleman built a Blu Room for her employees wellness program and then began experimenting with giving her coffee beans a Blu Room session. The winning coffee beans were infused in the Blu Room before roasting. The Blu Room is a patent-pending technology utilizing UV-B light, music and a unique octagon-shaped room to promote optimal healing and relaxation.

Coleman has seen growing interest in infused coffee products and began to experiment within her coffee beans. Some coffee producers are big on infusing coffee with marijuana right now and there is also wine infused with coffee like Apothic brand, she said. Our three medal-winning coffees are the first UV-B infused coffees in the world.

There are more than a thousand farmers and over 300 labels in the Kona District, said Coleman. Over the last 16 years, our family has achieved the highest award-winning coffees statewide so we decided to enter internationally.

Driven by the Barista movements and the intensive promotional campaigns by major brands, consumers are now willing to pay more for a cup of coffee. They also expect a rich gastronomic experience. Unlike specialty coffee events where all the attention is given to the Baristas, the AVPA distinguishes the roasters directly from their countries of origin.

Cupping contests at the regional and international level have raised the standards for coffee production. Certifications and awards now grace package labels to help both retailers and consumers distinguish quality offerings. For the 2018 AVPA international competition in Paris, 117 entries were submitted by competitors from 25 countries all over the world on four continents  South America, Central America, Africa and Asia.

Coffee judges (cuppers) use 800 terms to describe coffee compared to an enologists (winemakers) who use 400 terms to describe wine. Coleman is the eldest Grandchild of the late Julio Gallo of E&J Gallo Winery and has been in agriculture all of her life. At a young age I learned the importance of the Aina (land) with attention to detail in each and every step of the process," Coleman said. "The Blu Room UV-B process is the latest in future technologies for all coffee lovers to enjoy now."

There is still time to order Buddhas Sanctuary coffee for the holidays at https://buddhascup.com/. Buddhas Sanctuary offers coffee, tea, honey and a vacation retreat at their scenic location at Lelekaae Waterfalls in the lush forests of Hilo.

About Buddhas Sanctuary LLC

Buddhas Sanctuary is committed to a healthy bio-diverse ecosystem from seed to cup and represents ve single Estate Kona coee labels. Each estate has a unique avor and micro lots are roasted with great care. The unique terroir (Aina), high elevation and rainfall and either shade grown under Macadamia Nut or Ohia trees, or in full sun produce a variety of the highest quality Kona Coffee.

About the Blu Room

The Blu Room is a patented technology that creates an atmosphere to insulate users from the outside world. It provides the user with a mind/body/spirit consciousness-lifting environment that can augment ones state of personal wellbeing and creative focus. Users have reported a wide range of benefits including: deep relaxation, relief from mental stress and anxiety, relief from physical pain, faster healing processes, increased creativity, greater self-awareness. For more information, please visit: http://www.bluroom.com
QualityIP CEO Ryan Markham and COO Sarah Markham attend 2018 Weatherhead 100 Gala We cant wait to see where the path were on takes us next year.

QualityIP, a leader in Managed IT Services, has been selected as one of the 100 fastest growing companies in Northeast Ohio for the second consecutive year. The Case Western Reserve University Weatherhead School of Management started the Weatherhead 100 thirty-one years ago to celebrate entrepreneurship and the success of the regions rapidly growing business environment. The annual gala and awards ceremony highlight the impact of these companies on the local economy, their respective communities, and all Northeast Ohio.

Each year the ceremony honors the fastest growing companies in three categories:



Upstarts employ fewer than 15 employees and have less than $5 million net sales in the last year.

Centurions have had net sales of $100 million or more in the last year.

The Weatherhead 100 honorees, like QualityIP, employ a minimum of 16 people fulltime and have net sales of at least $100,000 in year one and over $1 million in year five.

QualityIP placed 38th on the list this year jumping up twelve spots from last year.

CEO Ryan Markham and COO Sarah Markham represented the company at the celebration last night. Ryan noted, We are incredibly excited to be here for the second year in a row. Our employees truly are dedicated to serving our clients and making our company better every day. This award is for them and our loyal customers. They all make coming to work a pleasure. We cant wait to see where the path were on takes us next year. For now, though, were going to enjoy this success and celebrate how far weve come.
The Brown family with their new playhouse We are filled with gratitude to those who have served our country and protect our freedom, so giving back in some small way through Operation Playhouse was an absolute honor.

On November 28, 2018, Security Engineered Machinery Co., Inc. (SEM), global leader in high security information end-of-life solutions, participated in Operation Playhouse, a unique program offered through Habitat for Humanity Metrowest/Greater Worcester. Operation Playhouse enables local businesses and organizations to build and donate a custom playhouse to benefit the children of local veterans and military personnel. The one-day event culminated with the presentation of the firetruck-themed playhouse to United States Marine Corps Operation Iraqi Freedom combat veteran Richard Brown and his family.

The event started at 9am onsite at SEM corporate headquarters in Westboro. SEM employees volunteered to participate in various tasks including painting, constructing, roofing, and decorating the playhouse as well as building accessories. Several authentic firetruck items were donated by the Boston and Dunstable fire departments for use in the playhouse. The construction was overseen by David Hamilton, Community Program Manager for Habitat for Humanity. Veteran Richard Brown and his family, from Dunstable, MA, arrived at 3:30pm to receive the playhouse. Nicholas Cakounes, Executive Vice President of SEM, made the presentation.

Veterans have a special place in our heart here at SEM, said Mr. Cakounes. We are filled with gratitude to those who have served our country and protect our freedom, so giving back in some small way through Operation Playhouse was an absolute honor.

This event was incredibly special to me personally, added Korean War Veteran Leonard Rosen, who is SEMs founder and Chairman of the Board. Mr. Brown selflessly served his country, ensuring our rights and freedom. That is a debt we can never repay, so we were thrilled to be able to do something to bring joy to him and his family.

SEM is a veteran-owned company whose primary client base is the United States Federal Government and its entities, including all branches of the United States Military.

About SEM

Security Engineered Machinery Co., Inc. (SEM) provides comprehensive end-of-life solutions for the protection of sensitive information in government and commercial markets. SEMs reputation as the authority in high security information sanitization was earned through over 50 years of technical innovation, intellectual curiosity, and unrelenting integrity. By fostering a supportive, team-centric environment focused on talent retention and client satisfaction, SEM is recognized as the undisputed leader in depth of expertise, industry excellence, and reliability. SEM data destruction devices are the premier high security choice available on the market today. For more information, please visit http://www.semshred.com.
Downtown Spokane Tree Lighting

For the past two years, Senske Services of Spokane has donated the lighting for the enormous fir tree and it is quite the undertaking. According to Timm Turnbough, Branch Manager, installing the lights requires an 85 foot lift and takes 27 man hours. It will take another 18 hours to remove the lights at the end of this holiday season.

The Christmas tree is covered in 2,500 LED, C-9 bulbs stretching over 3,125 feet in length. The giant red bow is 10 feet tall and there are 6 large light bursts that top the tree.

Turnbough went on to say that Senske is delighted to be part of the annual celebration. On the day of the event, Senske team members were on hand distributing 3-D glasses that display fun holograms within the Christmas lights. The festive tree will remain lit throughout the holiday season for all of Spokane to enjoy.

About Senske Services:

Senske Services is a leading lawn, tree and pest control service provider that is locally owned and operated, with its corporate office based in Kennewick, Washington. It has been a trusted source of lawn, tree and pest control services since 1947 across Washington, Idaho, and Utah, as well as pest control in Las Vegas, Nevada. To see what Senske can do for you, visit http://www.senske.com.
Did we make you smile today?

Most people don't realize that the average person spends about one-third of their entire life lounging in the bedroom, which is precisely why Shayna and her devoted team have been hard at work on the exciting new Rose Gold Line.

The Rose Gold Line is made to order, with comfort and serenity in mind. Items are custom-made and available in bundles, which include platform beds, headboards, pillows/cushions, duvets, custom window treatments AND draperies, but the best part? Everything is delivered within just 1-3 weeks!

Shayna Rose Interiors is now partnered with both Interior Designers and Real Estate Stagers to offer the QUICK SHIP program, which offers accelerated delivery times and top notch service with all semi-custom designs.

Need a custom approach? No problem; Shayna Rose Interior's COM program provides all clients with high quality signature styles within a reasonable cost and delivery time frame.

Shayna has built her business from the ground up, honoring one core principle - EVERYONE WINS! She cant wait to introduce her new line:

Boozy Bed Bonanza - LAUNCH EVENT

Tuesday, December 4th, 2018 @ 6 pm - 10 pm

Printers Alley / 215 West 40th Street / New York, NY

Register Here: http://www.shaynaroseinteriors.com/events

Happiness is a priority to Shayna and a goal she continues to strive for daily in her personal life, its also the principal upon which her company is built. Your comfort is important to Shayna and her team in creating a dream living space. Her overall question remains "Did we make you smile today?".

Shayna and her superior staff are eager to assist with all signature custom and semi-custom interior design needs.

Still need more info? Reach out on Facebook and Instagram @shaynaroseinteriors today.
Bahama House Hotel, Oceanfront Resort in Daytona Beach, FL Our daily cocktail hour was a huge success, its one of our many complimentary amenities that guests always appreciate.

The Bahama House Hotel welcomed guests arriving to attend the 2018 open house at the Daytona International Speedway. The open house took place on Sunday, November 4, 2018 from 1pm to 6pm. The open house offered tours to visit various areas of the facility, photo opportunities, prize giveaways, and more all free of charge.

Blaine Lansberry, Vice-President of Sales and Marketing for the Bahama House Hotel, stated, This was a wonderful opportunity for our guests to have an inside peek at the Daytona International Speedway. There were many activities planned during the open house. After their visit, guests were able to come back to the Bahama House Hotel and relax by the pool or take a leisurely walk on the beach.

The Bahama House Hotel never charged a resort fee. This oceanfront resort provided amenities such as high- speed Wi-Fi internet access, a daily continental breakfast, a daily cocktail hour, parking, and fresh baked cookies in their affordable rate. The continental breakfast was served daily from 7:30am until 9:30am in the Grand Bahama Room. The breakfast offered a wide variety of menu choices including plain and cinnamon raisin bagels, jellies, peanut butter, cream cheese, assorted cold cereal, oatmeal, grits, bananas, assorted yogurt, hard boiled eggs, sausage, donut holes, assorted Danish, assorted breads, English muffins, make your own pancakes, orange juice, milk, coffee and tea with condiments. On Wednesday, Saturday, and Sunday, biscuits and gravy were also served. Lansberry added, Our guests raved about our daily breakfast. The make your pancake machine was a hit with both children and adults.

The daily complimentary cocktail hour was offered from 5:30pm until 6:30pm in the Grand Bahama Room. This daily get together featured a variety of beverages ranging from beer, mixed drinks, wine, and Coca-Cola products. Popcorn and light snacks were also served. Lansberry stated, Our daily cocktail hour was a huge success, its one of our many complimentary amenities that guests always appreciate.

The Bahama House Hotel offered a variety of room choices for this event. Guest rooms had either two queen beds or one king bed. Rooms that had a kitchenette also had a 2-burner glass cook top, a full-sized refrigerator, a microwave oven, a coffee maker with starter pack of coffee, toaster, cookware and dinnerware for four. Standard guest rooms featured a mini-refrigerator, a microwave, and a coffee maker. All guest rooms have a private balcony and are 400 plus square feet. Rooms can be booked with either an ocean view or an ocean front view. The Bahama House hotel is a totally smoke-free hotel. No smoking is permitted inside the building, on guest room balconies, or on the pool and sundeck area.

This resort is located at 2001 South Atlantic Avenue in Daytona Beach, Florida. The Bahama House Hotel is situated directly on the beach. Ease of beach access is a high priority with guests, especially those traveling with children. To book a room for future travel, travelers are asked to call 1-800-571-2001 or visit the website at https://daytonabahamahouse.com/. Booking direct allows greater flexibility, and the largest selection of room types.

Lansberry stated, When consumers book direct, they are speaking with our hotel staff who are on our property. They are able to answer questions and explain the different types of rooms and views all while providing the best customer service. We look forward to seeing travelers in the coming months for holiday events and events that the speedway!
Cruise Planners, the greatest show in travel, kick-started its 25th anniversary celebration and launched new marketing and technology at its annual convention. Our difference is we dont wait for opportunity, we create it, said Michelle Fee, CEO and Founder of Cruise Planners. It is never enough for Cruise Planners."

This year, Cruise Planners, an American Express Travel Representative, kick-started its 25th anniversary celebration at its annual conference, which was themed The Greatest Show, a play off of the popular movie The Greatest Showman, but with the brands signature Cruisitude carried throughout.

In front of 600 travel advisors and hundreds of travel partners, Cruise Planners founder and CEO, Michelle Fee highlighted how the company got started well before being a home-based travel agent was en vogue and even celebrated one of the agents who was the first-ever Cruise Planners travel agent nearly 25 years ago. Its clear that Cruise Planners has a leg over the competition on a variety of points, and the driving visionary behind it all is Fee.

Our difference is we dont wait for opportunity, we create it, Fee said, donning a CP Green dress. It is never enough for Cruise Planners. Our 25th anniversary lets us reflect on where we came from, but more importantly, celebrate the passionate, dedicated group of travel advisors that make up the Cruise Planners family who are truly the heart of what makes Cruise Planners the greatest show in travel.

The Never Enough Mantra was echoed throughout the Convention as the company stressed its dedication to continued innovation of the tools needed to drive travel advisor success which are working, as evident by the following sales growth numbers for 2018 over 2017:



Total sales growth for 2018 over 2017: 20%

River cruise sales growth: 55%

Luxury travel sales growth: 19%

Land travel sales growth: 21%

Cruise Planners is already seeing a strong growth of 28% in total sales for 2019 departures versus same time last year. Travel partners praised Cruise Planners throughout the convention, citing this sales growth coupled with the commitment of Cruise Planners travel advisors and executive team for their eagerness to continue growing their partnerships.

The company even proudly played a new custom anthem with lyrics such as; We are proud to be different. We are proud to be green. We are CP.

For 25 years, Cruise Planners has been leading the pack in marketing, technology and training in the travel industry. Launches and advancements announced at the convention by Fee, Vicky Garcia, COO and co-owner and Brian Shultz, CIO include:

More Automation for its Network of Travel Advisors:

1. Triggered Emails: Consistent refresh of Triggered Emails, a proactive series of automatic emails, which allow agents to stay in contact with their clients after booking and is completely automated for them with additional Post-Voyage offers sent through automated Triggered Emails reminding clients of exclusive past-guest, limited-time offers they can take advantage of.

2. Hot Lists: A list of hot sales opportunities which identifies clients who have milestone birthdays, anniversaries, clients who havent make a booking in the last 12 months and clients who have an open onboard future cruise deposit, will now be automated.



CP Marketing Hub: A better way to track and set goals through an enhanced CP Marketing Hub  all things marketing. With data being a bigger trend and Cruise Planners leading the way in leveraging consumer data to track and market to their clients, its now even easier for advisors to measure their goals and increase sales.

New Websites for Travel Advisors: New travel agent sites with options for customization for land or luxury specialty  two areas that the brand continues to grow in.

Focus on Additional Video Content: CP Video Network already offers 20 different modern, fresh videos focusing on popular destinations, travel styles such as family, solo travelers, adults-only travel, luxury, land and much more. Cruise Planners announced adding new customization as video marketing continues to be an impactful way for travel advisors to drive sales.

Data-Driven Travel Insight to Drive Marketing: Through the brands Travel Styles advisors are able to find out more about what their customers desires are for upcoming travel and better market to them. By focusing on top-performing niches including foodies, millennials, adventure travelers and solo travelers, the brand will help agents close more sales.

Our agents are the envy of the travel industry and we give them the tools they need to be the Greatest Show, Garcia said. After 25 years in business supporting travel advisors, we are always delivering the best tools designed for travel advisors to increase their sales and positively change the travel world.

The group is among the first travel advisors to sail on the edgiest ship at sea, the Celebrity Edge, as travel advisors take part on the ships inaugural sailing out of Port Everglades.

About Cruise Planners, an American Express Travel Representative:

Cruise Planners, an American Express Travel Representative, is the nations largest home-based travel agent franchise network in the travel industry. Cruise Planners operates a network of more than 2,000 franchise owners who independently book vacation and travel experiences for their clients. Headquartered in Coral Springs, Fla. since 1994, Cruise Planners supports its network of franchise owners with innovative marketing, booking and technology tools, professional development and training with the industrys top executives. Cruise Planners and has been named the No.1 travel franchise by Entrepreneur magazine for 15 consecutive years and was recently featured in Entrepreneur as one of the top 30 franchise innovators in technology. Consistently named as one of the Top Women-Owned Businesses by the South Florida Business Journal, Cruise Planners is on the Inc. 5000 list as one of the fastest-growing private companies in America, has been ranked as the #1 travel franchise by Franchise Business Review for 6 years and is recognized as one of the Top Workplaces by the Sun Sentinel.

Cruise Planners has achieved top producer status with every major cruise line including Royal Caribbean International, Norwegian Cruise Line, Princess Cruises, Carnival Cruise Line, Celebrity Cruises, Holland America Line, MSC Cruises, Viking Cruises, Uniworld Boutique River Cruise Collection and Regent Seven Seas Cruises, as well as many land vendors such as Travel Impressions and Sandals and Beaches Resorts. As an American Express Travel Representative, Cruise Planners maintains a reputation for quality and offers exclusive American Express Travel benefits such as Pay with Points. Cruise Planners has earned the American Express Travel Representative Excellence Award since 2004, as well as numerous marketing, technology, franchise and philanthropy awards including an International Franchise Association FranTech award for innovation, Magellan Awards from Travel Weekly and Travvy Awards from travAlliance media. Cruise Planners celebrates diversity and supports are troops as one of the Top 50 franchises for Veterans according to GI magazine, the Top Franchise Brand for Veterans according to Franchise Business Review, one of the Top 25 franchises for African-Americans by Black Enterprise magazine and a member of the International Gay & Lesbian Travel Association. Visit our website, http://www.cruiseplanners.com, for more information or to view the complete list of awards and honors.

Stay in Touch: Media can stay up-to-date with Cruise Planners by visiting our media room or Socially Yours page for social media updates and handles. For additional information or to make reservations, vacationers should locate a travel advisor near them. For those interested in becoming a franchise owner, please visit the Cruise Planners franchise website.
The Village at RockvilleA National Lutheran Community has received bond financing on the Glenmere project. The bonds were issued by Montgomery County, Md. in a face amount of $87.5 million. The bonds will fund construction costs related to The Village at Rockville and utilize a draw down feature that will limit negative arbitrage as related to the current economic environment. This financing, through partnerships with Hamlin Capital Management, LLC and Cross Point Capital, LLC, will feature four series of tax-exempt bonds providing a blend of variable and fixed-rate debt for the project.

National Lutheran Communities & Services (NLCS) President & CEO Larry Bradshaw stated, The issuance of these bonds will launch construction on a new phase of resident opportunities at The Village at Rockville and will complement our continuing commitment to excellence in a variety of services to our residents and guests.

In celebration, The Village at Rockville held a groundbreaking ceremony and reception on Monday, November 12, 2018. Over 200 guests, including Rockville City Council members Mark Pierzchala and Virginia D. Onley attended the event.

The Glenmere project represents a major commitment to our community and the larger Rockville community, enabling us to continue to serve and deliver on our mission and ministry. Building on our heritage and nearly 130 years of service, we will maintain a vibrant and innovative experience for all those we serve, stated The Village at Rockvilles Executive Director Kyle Hreben.

Seventy-five percent of the apartment homes have been pre-sold prior to groundbreaking. Construction is expected to be completed in late 2020.

About The Village at Rockville

The Village at RockvilleA National Lutheran Community in Rockville, Md., is a CCRC (Continuing Care Retirement Community) that offers independent living, myPotential short-term and outpatient rehabilitation, respite, long-term nursing care, hospice, assisted living and memory support. To learn more about the campus expansion featuring independent living apartments, visit http://www.glenmereapartments.org

About National Lutheran Communities & Services (NLCS)

With 128-years experience, NLCS honors, inspires and supports choice and opportunity in service to seniors. Based in Rockville, Md., NLCS is a faith-based, not-for-profit ministry of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Americas (ELCA) Delaware-Maryland, Metropolitan Washington, D.C. and Virginia Synods, serving people of all beliefs.

Entities sponsored by National Lutheran include myPotential at Home in Winchester Va., and Rockville, Md., The Village at Rockville in Rockville, Md., The Legacy at North Augusta in Staunton, Va., The Village at Orchard Ridge in Winchester, Va., Impact1890, and The Village at Providence Point in Annapolis, Md., subject to Maryland Department of Aging approval. For more information, visit http://www.nationallutheran.org
The Arc Westchester and The Arc Westchester Foundation celebrate Executive Director and CEO Tibisay (Tibi) Guzman at 914INC.s 2018 Women in Business luncheon. She is a role model for other women both internally and externally, and an excellent example of how a mission-driven leader can make an impact on the community, an organization and all of its stakeholders.

The Arc Westchester, the largest nonprofit organization supporting people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD) in Westchester County, is pleased to announce that Executive Director and CEO Tibisay (Tibi) Guzman was recently named one of 914INC.s 2018 Women in Business. The annual list highlights the most accomplished, influential and inspirational female executives, entrepreneurs and government and nonprofit leaders in Westchester County. Selected from a competitive pool of nominees, she and 18 other female leaders were honored at the magazines annual awards luncheon on November 15.

Tibi has been a driving force in the success of our organization and the expansion of our programs and services, said Nancy Patota, executive director of The Arc Westchester Foundation. She is a role model for other women both internally and externally, and an excellent example of how a mission-driven leader can make an impact on the community, an organization and all of its stakeholders."

Before being appointed Executive Director and CEO of The Arc Westchester in June 2018, Ms. Guzman served as the Associate Executive Director and Chief Operating Officer for 13 years. During her tenure, she has been responsible for different areas of the organization, including the Wellness Center for Diagnostic and Therapeutic Services, programs to enhance life skills and Career Supports services. She was integral in redesigning prevocational services to better prepare individuals for employment in the community. As COO, she oversaw an operating budget of $56 million with services ranging from Early Intervention/Preschool, programs for students transitioning from High School to supports for adults residing in 44 homes. She has also played a key role in building relationships with new organizations, allowing The Arc Westchester to attract new job hosts for its employment program and expand its inclusionary preschool program.

During her leadership of the recent strategic planning process, Ms. Guzman engaged staff at all levels across the organization, encouraging them to contribute their ideas and recommendations for how the organization can achieve the goals outlined in its next strategic plan. This not only allowed staff to be actively involved in planning the organizations future, but motivated them to become more engaged and accountable in the work that they do. By engaging staff at all levels across the organization in goal setting and evaluation of outcomes, she is helping the team to understand that every person plays a critical role in the success of the organization.

Ms. Guzman took the helm at The Arc Westchester with her own unique style, experience and confidence, replacing a beloved executive director who held the position for over 35 years. While her professional background is in Health Care Administration, Ms. Guzman has personal experience with I/DD as a parent of a son with Autism. She came from the Healthcare field as an Executive Vice President of Riverside Health Care Inc., a multi-healthcare system in Yonkers NY. Additionally, she was recently a board member of the New York State APSE chapter and participated in local I/DD, mental health, behavioral services, education and fund raising boards. Ms. Guzman sat on the Westchester County Department of Community Mental Health, Community Service Board for more than 12 years, and certified as a Fellow of the American College of Health Care Executives. Her community participations also include serving on the Board of Education for Bronxville Schools and Heartsong, Inc., an art and music therapy program for children with developmental disabilities.

I am truly humbled by this recognition and share it with all of my colleagues and friends at The Arc Westchester who work so diligently to better the lives of those we serve, said Guzman. I am honored to be included in such a talented and passionate group of women who are making a true impact on our community.

About The Arc Westchester

The Arc Westchester, founded in 1949, is the largest agency in Westchester County supporting children, teens and adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities, including individuals on the autism spectrum, and their families. The organizations 850 employees provide more than 2,000 individuals throughout the county with a broad range of innovative and effective programs and services designed to foster independence, productivity and participation in community life.

The mission of The Arc Westchester is to empower children, teens and adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities, including individuals on the autism spectrum, to achieve their potential by strengthening families and encouraging personal choices, abilities and interests.

The Arc Westchester is a chapter of The Arc USA and The Arc New York.
Her experience in the industry makes us confident that she has the knowledge and tools to be successful as an internal auditor.

Title Alliance, Ltd, a RESPA-compliant ESOP leader in joint ventured title insurance agencies, announced today it has appointed Norma Eichinger as an Internal Auditor. Her appointment comes after the announcement of their first joint venture in New Mexico.

Eichingers career in the title industry began in 1985 when she worked as an administrative assistant for a real estate company. In 1989 her responsibilities evolved to a title company, Settlement Services, Inc. which was managed by Title Alliance. In 2001, Eichinger found her home with T.A. Town and Country Land Transfer. As manager, Eichinger was responsible for ordering the title search, clearing title, closing, issuing policies, reconciling and recording documents, as well as attending to customers needs, concerns, and questions. As an Internal Auditor, Eichinger will be in charge of auditing files to maintain compliance with our ALTA Best Practice Certification and SOC Attestation Report Ratings.

Norma brings us a long history of working in the industry and we are excited to have someone with her leadership and passion to fulfill this role, says Jim Campbell, CEO of Title Alliance. Her experiences in the industry makes us confident that she has the knowledge and tools to be successful as an internal auditor.

Eichinger will work hand in hand with the Compliance Department to assure that all team members in their various JVs continue to be educated on the requirements to help them remain in compliance with all state, federal and local laws. She will be headquartered in their Media, PA Corporate Office.

Im looking forward to working with my colleagues in the Compliance Department in Media, said Eichinger. Im bringing with me the experience and knowledge Ive acquired over the years handling settlements and remaining a part of the family first culture that T.A. has developed.

About Title Alliance:

Title Alliance, Ltd, an ESOP Company is located in Media, PA and has been creating RESPA compliant title joint ventures since 1983 with lenders, mortgage bankers, realtors, builders and credit unions. Their roots date back to 1948 when their first agency, which is still in existence today, was formed. For more information or to find out how a Title Alliance's partnership or title management skills could benefit you visit them online or contact Lindsay Smith at 800-220-3901 x 165.
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Author Megan McDonald hit the road this fall in celebration of the release of Judy Moody and the Right Royal Tea Party, illustrated by Peter H. Reynolds, book #14 in her popular chapter book series. The authors travels took her to a number of schools, stores, and festivals from California to Florida, in five trips from September through November. Over the course of the tour, McDonald spoke with approximately 8,000 kids and adults. Her presentation included costumes, readings, and a game of What does the Queen keep in her purse? Weve gathered a selection of highlights from the events.

McDonald presenting at the Library of Congress Young Readers Center, in an event co-sponsored by First Book. Photo: Shawn Miller.

A full house greeted McDonald at Politics & Prose in Washington, D.C.

The author with some rabid readers at St. Theresas School in Oakland, Calif., during a visit arranged through Mrs. Dalloways bookstore in Berkeley.

Signing books at St. Theresas.

McDonald with Dara LaPorte (r.), founder of An Open Book, who was sporting an original Judy Moody tote bag. McDonald was carrying the 2018 version, which was given away during a local school visit arranged by AOB.

McDonald and staffers at Once Upon a Time in Canoga Park, Calif.

The costume-clad crowd at Once Upon a Time.

Students at the New Academy in Canoga Park, Calif., dressed in royal purple and donned crowns in honor of McDonalds visit.

McDonald signed tote bags at Andersons in Downers Grove, Ill.

For her next tour stop, McDonald will visit Australia in spring 2019.
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At a brief pre-motion hearing in Manhattan on Thursday, Judge John G. Koeltl threw cold water on Demos Parneros plan to seek a dismissal of Barnes & Nobles countersuit against him, and gave Parneros until December 21 to decide whether or not to move ahead with the motion.

Though the judge stressed that Parneros was free to make such a move, he reiterated concerns first expressed at the parties initial court appearance on November 13 that the motion was a waste of time and effort.

Questioned by Koeltl, Parneros attorney Anne L. Clark conceded that any motion to dismiss the retailers counterclaim would have no impact on the discovery schedule in Parneros defamation and breach of contract suit, but told the judge that Parneros simply didnt want the claims hanging over his head. Clark said Parneros is confident he will prevail in his suit, but said knocking out B&Ns counterclaimwhich includes the prospect of the company clawing back more than $1 million in previous compensationwould be meaningful.

Koeltl responded that counterclaims are common in this kind of litigation, and stressed that if the counterclaim is without merit, either in the law or the facts, that would surely come out in the course of Parneros suit. Further, while he acknowledged that filing the motion may well be a strategic decision for Parneros, he warned that he would not rule on the motion quickly. Since the counterclaim has admittedly no bearing on discovery in Parneros's suit, he noted, there is no urgency.

In its October 30 counterclaim, B&N accused Parneros of sabotaging the sale of the company in the spring, and is seeking damages from Parneros for his disloyal conduct and alleged breach of his fiduciary duties. But in a letter filed just before Thanksgiving, attorneys for Parneros told the court B&N's counterclaim has no legal or factual merit, and that they would therefore move to dismiss the claims.

B&N lawyers were present, but did not argue in court on Thursday. In a letter filed with the court on November 27, however, B&N attorneys said their countersuit has merit, and that a motion to dismiss was ill-advised.

The contemplated motion would be a waste of both the Courts and the parties time and resources because the counterclaims, which assert that Plaintiff undermined a potential change of control transaction because of his desire to retain his position as the CEO of Barnes & Noble, are well pleaded and, as observed by the Court at the November 13, 2018 initial conference, turn on issues of fact that are not susceptible to resolution on a motion to dismiss, the letter reads.

In addition, attorneys for Parneros told the court that they have asked B&N to pay Parneross legal bills in advance for defending the counterclaim, citing a very broad indemnification provision in Parneros employment contract. Koeltl said that claim could be included as part of the motion to dismiss shouldor almost certainly, whenB&N declines to pay.

In its letter this week, B&N attorneys told the court that they are currently "reviewing" that request and have asked for "additional information related thereto.
On November 20, James Billington, the 13th U.S. Librarian of Congress, died at the age of 89. And though Billington received his share of criticism toward the end of his tenure, the tributes that have poured in since his death are a reminder that he was a giant among scholars and researchers, who had a major impact on the Library of Congress. In a statement, Billington's successor, Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden, said Billington "left an indelible legacy" on the institution he led for nearly three decades.

"With his vigor for philanthropy and tireless efforts to expand the reach and impact of the Library, he achieved so much to advance the Library of Congress as an enduring place for scholars and learners," Hayden said. "He will be remembered as a visionary leader, distinguished academic and, most of all, a great American. On behalf of the Library of Congress staff and its many users, we salute this great public servant."

Under Billington's leadership, The Library of Congress doubled the size of its traditional collections, and created the Library of Congress online. He also acquired numerous treasures, including the only copy of the 1507 Waldseemuller world map (Americas birth certificate) as well as "hundreds of other collections of great Americans ranging from Thurgood Marshall to Irving Berlin and Jackie Robinson." He was also a skilled fundraiser, raising more half a billion dollars in private support for the library.

The New York Times pointed out Billington's remarkable academic achievements at the time he took over the LC. "He was 58 at the time and had studied, written and taught Russian history for most of his life, notably at Harvard and Princeton. He was fluent in Russian and skilled in Polish, German, Italian, French, Yiddish and Dutch. He had also led the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars at the Smithsonian Institution for 14 years and advised President Reagan on Soviet Russia."

And The Washington Post offers some of Billington's own cogent observations:

Reflecting on the era in which he led the library, Dr. Billington remarked that its significant that we call it the Information Age rather than the Knowledge Age... Our society is basically motion without memory, he told The Post, which, of course, is one of the clinical definitions of insanity. In books, he saw a remedy. We treasure books because they are the individuals portable, affordable link with the memory, mind and imagination of the rest of humanity, he once said in a speech, a moral antidote, if you like, to the creeping passivity, parochialism and shortened attention spans of our video culture.

And the Library of Congress has also created lists of Billington's achievements. Including a "Complete Biography and Overview of Achievements" page.

How Library E-Books Can Create Awareness and Drive Sales: Project Panorama Releases First Report

Representatives from the American Library Association will be in town next week to meet with publishers and other groupsand just in time, comes a new report that shows library e-books can indeed generate reader awareness, and spark retail sales. The "Community Reading Event Impact Report" is the first from Project Panorama, the OverDrive sponsored initiative that seeks to measure the impact libraries have on book discovery, author brand development, and sales.

The report summarizes the effect of a 2018 OverDrive Big Library Read e-book club selection, Flat Broke With Two Goats: A Memoir, by Jennifer McGaha. The takeaway? The report concludes that the library promotion aligns with" significant increases in associated social media activity and retail print/e-book sales.

This is the first of several library impact research projects that the Panorama Project is working on, said Cliff Guren, the projects lead, in a release. The report demonstrates how we are using library and retail data to develop a better understanding the impact of the countrys public libraries on book discovery, author/brand development, and retail sales.

Among the findings from the campaign:

5.6 million page views globally of the e-book title details page in public library digital catalogs.

An increase in the titles Amazon Kindle sales rankfrom below 200,000 prior to the library e-book club campaign to 7,833 at the close of the event.

Over 13,000 Goodreads additions for the title during the campaign.

818% growth in e-book sales from March to April, 2018.

201% growth in print sales from March to April, 2018.

Sustained retail sales above pre-campaign (JanuaryMarch 2018) volumes

The report comes as Macmillan is testing a four month emargo new e-book titles in libraries, and as other publishers are reconsidering their e-book terms of sale.

ALA, Google Announce New Grants, Expanded Partnership

In a major announcement, the American Library Associations Libraries Ready to Code initiative, sponsored by Google, announced 250 new "micro grants" for school and public libraries. The $500 awards are designed to "help plan and implement coding activities during Computer Science Education (CS Ed) Week 2018 (Dec. 3-9). And that's not all: the awards come as part of expansion of ALA and Googles gropwing partnership, which includes an additional $1 million investment in funding to libraries.

"We are thrilled by todays announcement of Grow with Googles new initiative to enhance the role of libraries as digital community centers," said ALA president Loida Garcia-Febo, in a statement. "It is exciting to see what started three years ago as a collaborative exploration has grown into a broad range of investments in Americas libraries that promote computational thinking, fuel innovation and advance our nations workforce.

Reserve Reading

Fast Company says the ALA's expanding work with Google will help make libraries "even cooler."

Also in the news from the ALA: Next Tuesday, the Register of Copyrights Selection and Accountability Act (S. 1010), a Senate companion to House bill (H.R. 1695) will be voted on by the Senate Rules and Administration Committee. ALA is urging librarians to let their Senators know they oppose the bill. If passed, the law would politicize the Register of Copyrights position, making it a presidential appointee. "While the Senate Rules and Administration Committee might not vote in our favor on Tuesday, we must make sure they hear from us," ALA officials say. "Please send an email today."

The New York Times has a piece on one of the Library of Congress's latest acquisitions: Billy Strayhorn's personal archive, which includes an original manuscript of Take the A Train, as well as "compositional sketches that were never completed and a revealing look at the royalty earnings of one of the 20th centurys most revered composers."

Also from The New York Times, a piece on New York's new "Cocktail Library." I mean, it is happy hour after all.

Her book has only been out for two weeks, but PW reports that former First Lady Michelle Obama already has the bestselling book of 2018.

In a sign of the times, USA Today reports that a a vandal struck a Little Free Library named for former first lady Michelle Obama in the Washington D.C.'s Dupont Circle neighborhood, crossing out her name and scrawling "Trump's" on the box. It was at least the fourth time the book-sharing box has been struck this year, the Washington Post reported Monday.

From the New Scientist, an editorial in support of open access Plan S. "The academic publishing business model is indefensible," the piece argues. "Practically everybodyeven the companies that profit from itacknowledges that it has to change. And yet the status quo has proven extremely resilient."

Cambridge University Press has announced a major open access deal with higher education and research institutions in Sweden. The three-year read and publish deal has been agreed with Bibsam, a consortium of 85 higher education and research institutions, led by the National Library of Sweden, "means authors from institutions affiliated to Bibsam can publish their publicly-financed research articles in the Presss hybrid and fully Open Access journals, and can access the Press full collection of nearly 400 journals.

Cengage, reports that its Cengage Unlimited digital subscription plan is doing well since its launch this past August. CEO Michael Hansen reports more than 500,000 subscribers so far.

The Des Moines Register asks: where have Iowa's teacher-librarians gone? The state reportedly has 40% fewer librarians than 20 years ago.

And on the EFF blog, Cindy Cohn weighs in on recent revelations that the company used so-called smear merchants to attack organizations critical of the platform. "Facebooks smear campaign should spur policymakers and the rest of us to ask serious questions about Facebooks power as our information supplier," Cohn writes. "And once those questions are answered, we should take the steps necessary to restore a healthy information ecosystem online."

Meanwhile, the AP reports that Germanys antitrust agency has begun an investigation of online retailer Amazon over complaints its abusing its position to the detriment of sellers who use its marketplace platform.
While a person can walk into any dealership and drive off with a gas-powered car the same day, Giese said customers considering electric must think about where the vehicle will be charged and what hardware and electrical upgrades are necessary to do so.
The four-day International Childrens Content Rights Fair (ICCRF)which is taking place in Chiang Mai, Thailand, and ended its run on December 2is focused on childrens content from ASEAN publishers while facilitating rights trading within the region and with overseas exhibitors.

ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations), established 51 years ago to collaborate on economic growth, social progress, and cultural development, is made up of 10 countries (with 10 different official languages) namely Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam. A fast-growing region, this bloc uses English as the working language and has 651 million people, of which around 30% (or nearly 200 million) are below 18 years old.

Unlike other fairs in the region, ICCRF is not government-driven and therefore not tied to politics or specific policies, said Trasvin Jittidecharak, chair of the fairs organizing committee. It is led by N.C.C. Management and Development Ltd., an investment company that is passionate about advocating for reading and promoting great content for children, and we are looking into the long-term potential of bringing ASEAN publishers together to uncover new content, promote different cultures, and exchange industry ideas. For Jittidecharak, the regions fast-expanding middle class and economic strength is a big draw for fair participants regional and global.

The business matching session, which many participants deemed the best feature of last years inaugural event, is back. We want to make sure that the exhibitors meet one another, discover their similarities and differences, and sit down to talk business, said Jittidecharak, adding that many of the exhibitors meet at international events such as Bologna, Frankfurt, or Shanghai, but are often too busy conducting international business to talk to, and connect with, their regional counterparts. ICCRF serves as a platform to address these missed opportunities. The choice of Chiang Mai, she said, is no accident. This city is about 30% cheaper than Bangkokwhich already has a lot of things going onand is served by an international airport that provides easy access from anywhere within the region.

For overseas exhibitors such as Clavis (from Belgium) and Find Your Team (Italy), ICCRF provides a gateway to a new market with hidden talents and sales potential, and not just a platform to sell rights. As for India-based Tara Books, the fairs special art exhibition allows it to showcase its collection of folk/indigenous art illustrations and award-winning hand-made books.

The ASEAN Illustrator Award, on the other hand, is about highlighting works by professional and amateur illustrators, and giving them a shot at international level recognition. This years top prize of $5,000 went to Mohd Khairul Azman Ismail from Malaysia for his unpublished work A Big Good Wolf. Seven other awardsone each for best illustrator in fiction and nonfiction, and five more for emerging talentsbring the cumulative prize monies to $12,500.

This edition of ICCRF also sees the participation of Big Bad Wolf Books, a Malaysian book fair started by remainder company BookXcess. Co-founder Jacqueline Ng is in town with director Surachet Worawongwasu to oversee BBWs fifth event in Thailand since 2016. We have witnessed the Thai market demand for English language books and publishers efforts in meeting that need. We are herewith one million books, of which 70%, or about 12,000 titles, are childrens booksto create the hype, boost the market, and help publishers with the distribution end of their creative content process, said Ng, who has set up a product demo area just to educate and guide parents on the usage of selected unique titles.

For Jittidecharak, the second edition of ICCRF is as much about the continual promotion of trade within the region as it is about presenting a bloc of unique and diverse culture, content, and talent to the rest of the world.
The German government has given the Ghana government $11367250 which is expected to benefit a total of 200,000 Ghanaian farmers.

The project will span for 3 years.

The Ghanaian farmers will be provided certified seeds at a subsidized price, technical and infrastructural support to boost the production of rice.

At the launch in Accra, the Minister of Food and Agriculture, Dr Owusu Afriyie Akoto, said this project fits perfectly into the governments Planting for Food and Job program.

He added that the production and value addition of rice locally will ensure that Ghana does not continue to spend huge sums of monies annually on the importation of rice.

He described as scary the statistics which show that Ghana imports $1 billion worth of rice annually. Meanwhile, the country has the potential to produce the crop locally and feed its people.

It was a mournful crop now it has become the kid on the block to the great disadvantage of the country.
This follows a reform the banking sector has implemented during the year and the GIPC boss sees the reform as a move that will attract investors into the country.

The bank of Ghana which is the central bank of the country brought about a reform named the recapitalisation policy to help restructure the banking sector in the country.

Although this policy has brought a lot of reforms in the banking sector, it has as well lead to the collapse of some banks in the country.

Nonetheless, Mr Yofi Grant has revealed that the banking sector has attracted a lot of investors since the central bank made the reforms.

Interestingly a lot of investors that I meet think that it is the best thing that could have happened to Ghanas financial sector, then it proves that the Rule of Law works and that things are done properly, he said.

He added that We have seen a number of investors come in and ask about how they can go about it when they want to invest in the banking sector and we give them the plan to do that.

He further disclosed that the latest ease in doing business ranking has pushed Ghana up by some four points; from 120th to 116th position.
The World Bank has cautioned Ghana over the continuous wanton degradation of lands, forest and other natural resources.

The Bank says the menace is likely to deprive the country from reaching the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 15(which is protecting the ecosystem to promote biodiversity), if the high rate of land degradation was not halted.

At a two-day workshop organised by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Senior Environmental Specialist of the World Bank, Mr Asferachew Abate revealed that the countrys rate of land degradation, which currently stood at about 135,000 hectares per annum, was worrying.

He further disclosed that 40 per cent of the total land area of Ghana is degraded, stressing that the countrys deforestation rate of 3.2 per cent per annum, which is mainly responsible for land degradation, was considered one of the highest in the world.

Mr Abate said, Majority of the Ghanaian populace depended directly on the land for survival and, therefore, all hands must be on deck in support of programmes to restore the degraded lands adding that, the World Bank would continue to provide the technical expertise and needed incentives in assisting the country to enhance its ecology and biodiversity.

The workshop was sponsored by the World Bank and the World Resources Institute, an international NGO.

It aimed at sharing knowledge amongst the participants on the African Forest Landscape Restoration Initiative (AFR 100) and develop a cross-sector strategies for scaling up restoration activities in priority landscapes.
Although this experience should serve as a lesson to other thieves, no human being should be put through such torture. A viral video online shows a distressed thief as he fought against two wild dogs for his life.

According to the source, the owner of the house set his dogs on the poor man after he discovered him uninvited in his compound. This video would have you on gripping the sides of your seat until your knuckles turn white with fear.

READ ALSO: Girl runs mad after alighting from a Lexus

Unfortunately, the fate of the thief was not documented but we hope he is alive and receiving medical treatment. Lets all respect each others boundaries to prevent incidences such as this.
He said government has resolved the legal challenges around the vehicles and it is ready to dispose it off.

He said, "We have gone to look at the vehicles. There were issues in court relating to those vehicles that in the past made it difficult for not just Customs Service, but the government to proceed to dispose of those vehicles."

The vehicles have been abandoned at the Institute of Local Government Studies at Madina in Accra since 2001.

The Minister also disclosed that, "We are looking to do that before the year closes. All of us feel concerned that the mere presence of those vehicles suggest to taxpayers that their monies will not be put to good use".

Mr Kwarteng said although the vehicles are yet to be cleared by the Customs Division of the Ghana Revenue Authority, a valuation has been done and the government may go through Customs for them to be auctioned.

We feel extremely concerned about it, and it is the reason we are taking steps to ensure that those vehicles are disposed of as soon as possible. The valuation is finished, Im yet to see the report, but once we know how much the vehicle cost, we may do it through auction or to the extent that those vehicles have not been cleared, so, technically, duties on them have not been paid", he revealed.

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He said equity-laced policies will inure to the benefit of the all stakeholders in the industry.

Mr. Mensah bemoaned the lack of a level playing field among Ghanaian telcos, and how if not checked, it will lead to a virtual monopoly of the market.

Its dangerous for the regulator to sell a spectrum to the highest bidder as with the telecommunication industry, access to spectrum is the bedrock of the industry", he said.

"It has trickling effect on other sectors including health and education which also impacts on the economy. It is reason why special policies must be enacted to offer a level playing field for players".

Speaking at a media soiree with pressmen in Accra, the External Affairs Director also lamented on some the challenges telcos are facing in Ghana.

If in the UK, a telco makes 32 pounds (GHc203.21) on one user and in Ghana a telco using the same technology and infrastructure makes GHc18.00, it shows the disadvantage the Ghanaian telco faces, he clarified

Touching on Vodafone's resolve to join the 4g spectrum, Mr. Mensah disclosed that the company has made a bid at the second opening of bids and are awaiting the regulators approval.

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However, despite some of these challenges, Mr. Mensah chronicled some of the inroads Vodafone Ghana has achieved in various sectors of the Ghanaian economy.

He trumpeted Vodafone's contribution in healthcare, education and in the protection of the environment.
He said, "Let me assure you that we remain committed to passing a sunshine legislation that helps you the media to fight corruption to combat economic crime and to hold us responsible for our excess and abuse. I have cautioned against watering down the impact of an RTI in the name of exemption and that is where we are."

He added that, "There is absolute and unwavering commitment by Parliament and its leadership to ensure that the right to Information bill becomes law we will work more diligently and assiduously to get it passed."

The Tamale South MP said these when he met journalists in Parliament today.

Haruna Iddrisu emphasized that: We need to be diligent about this. Lets have a good law passed and not a law that exempt groups of information. We should get it passed before the end of the year".

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This implies that there are about 23.8 million infected persons on the continent. This is why a popular company is introducing cheap condoms for Nigeria, South Africa, Botswana and other African countries.

Bloomberg reports that Reckitt Benckiser Group Plc's Durex is making a new condom label named Feels, which started selling in November 2018.

Manufactured in South Africa, it is priced a lot less than other products. Durex's Featherlite, for instance, goes for 39.99 Rand (N1,057) per pack while the new product is sold at 9.99 Rand (N264) per pack of three.

In an interview in Johannesburg, Chief Executive Officer Rakesh Kapoor further explained the need for Feels.

He said that the company also intends to use the new product to normalize the conversation about condom use in Africa.

"This special pack is priced for this market, with the same quality you would expect from any of our other brands," Kapoor said.

ALSO READ: Zimbabwean men complain condoms imported from China are too small and want local manufacturers to make a bigger size

In a different statement, the company announced its plans to donate some money to help fight the spread of the disease in Africa.

Reckitt Benckiser said Durex, as well as the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, will each donate $5 million to the Global Fund.

Global Fund is an international financing organization that aims to "attract, leverage and invest additional resources to end the epidemics of HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria to support attainment of the Sustainable Development Goals established by the United Nations."

HIV/AIDS in Nigeria

The first two AIDS cases in Nigeria was diagnosed in 1985, according to the Saudi Journal of Biological Sciences.

It quickly spread as a total of 220,0000 new HIV infections were reported in 2014.

Now, an estimated 3, 229, 757 Nigerians are said to have HIV making the nation the second largest country with the disease after South Africa which has 6.8 million infected people.

Avert also reports that the country has one of the highest rates of new infection in sub-Saharan Africa.

80% of these new HIV infections are attributed to unprotected heterosexual sex while sex workers account for the majority of remaining HIV infections occurring in Nigeria.

Meanwhile, the federal government has vowed to end the HIV/AIDs epidemic by 2030.
Australia's northeastern Queensland region is experiencing unprecedented heat waves and record-breaking wildfires.

For the first time in history, the fire danger in

Related content

According to Axios, the threat level remains dire, as nearly 140 wildfires ripped through the area on Thursday.

Queensland Fire and Emergency Services commissioner Katarina Carrolltold AP Wednesday that extreme weather was "uncharted waters" for the region.

"We have never, ever, in this state, been in this situation before," she said.

Northern areas of Queensland, like popular tourist spot Cairns, hit record temperatures upwards of 40 Celsius (104 Fahrenheit) on Friday, for the third day in a row. A

Queensland's Bureau od Meterology said Friday afternoon that the heatwave would

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Authorities and scientists are warning that much of the Great Barrier Reef, the largest living ecosystem on earth, could be significantly damaged due to the region's extreme weather.

Thousands of people have been forced to leave their homes over the last few days, as fires continue to spread. Residents of Gracemere were told to evacuate on Wednesday, the Guardian reported, while communities near Mackay were alerted of the fire dangers on Thursday. Many people have sought shelter in nearby Rockhampton.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison has pledged f

Extreme heat has become more frequent across the globe, shattering records and causing devastating fires across major cities. In July, a state of emergency
Basic healthcare services are also lacking because primary health care facilities are short of the minimum healthcare package stipulated by the National Primary Healthcare Agency. Where Private clinics are available, they are not affordable, since about 70% of Nigerians live below $1/day.

With this dismal state of healthcare across the country, it seems the fate of the most vulnerable, often times forgotten people in our local communities where healthcare is concerned is quite dire.

That is the motivation behind The Shonowo Hospital Foundations free surgery program. For two years running, Shonowo Hospital has self-funded free hernia removal surgeries for underserved communities in Lagos state. In 2016, one hundred hernia patients in benefitted from free surgery program, while in 2017, over 200 patients with hernias, lipomas and fibroids were operated on for free. Patients are screened and selected from some of the most populated local communities and are treated at no charge. This December, over 100 hernia patients in Orile Agege and Alimosho local government area have been screened and scheduled to be operated for free.

The mission of the foundation is to establish long-term healthcare and social welfare relationship with the community.

Recently, Shonowo Hospital Foundation, launched a community health education program to support Traditional Birth Attendants by providing free birthing kits and free treated mosquito nets for pregnant women and nursing mothers.

Speaking the the event, the Medical Director of Shonowo Hospital, Dr Samson Shonowo, said "the continued sensitization of healthcare providers, women and their families about basic health care practices is important to achieve a healthy community."

Dr Samson Shonowo says while Shonowo Hospital has taken on the challenge of providing regular free healthcare and surgical services to low income communities, government needs to step up to their responsibility and create healthcare policies that are sustainable and put primary health care at the center of its plan.

The Shonowo Hospital Free Hernia Surgery program will last throughout December.
Human parts are being made subjects of open market sales and bidding. This time, on Thursday, November 29, 2018, a certain 35-year-old Shuaibu Ibrahim of Safiu village in Toto Local Government Area of Nasarawa State has been arrested by The Niger State Police Command for trying to sell a human eyeball in Niger State like it were a loaf of bread of okrika cloth.

According to Northern City News, he was arrested by the Gawu Babangida Division in Gurara Local Government Area. The eyeball, removed by one Ojo, reportedly belongs to a fallen victim of a communal clash between the Igbira and Bassa people in Nasarawa State.

Ibrahim told Punch Metro correspondents that Ojo gave him the eyeball to sell at N250k.

ALSO READ: Yahoo boy reportedly runs mad after using his dad for rituals in Benin (Video)

Investigations have however since revealed that Ibrahim is a five-year veteran merchant of human parts sales - selling various human parts over that period. When he was finally arrested, Police operated on a tip-off from a member of the public.

Ibrahim tells Punch Metro that, My duty is to deliver human parts given to me by Ojo to his clients across the northern states. We make quick money in this business but I cannot tell what the buyers are using the parts for.

A lot of people are interested in buying human parts but I dont know what they use them for. My duty is to deliver as and when due to our clients and collect the money.

I dont even ask clients what they are using the human eyeballs for, but I guess it must be something serious.

Confirming Ibrahims arrest, Niger State Police Public Relations Officer, Muhammad Abubakar said police operatives arrested Ibrahim upon credible information from a member of the public. He has confirmed that the suspect will be charged to court after investigations are completed.
The incident happened in Accra, Ghana, on Tuesday, November 27, 2018.

According to many reports, the police have arrested the woman Aisha Tetteh and her accomplice Godson Ablor.

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More reports confirm that the pair ignored the victim's call for help and went on force her hand in a coal pot until the skin peeled off.

The victim had been the one accused after an investigation to find a person responsible for stealing meat from two pots of stews.
Calabar is the capital city of Cross River state, Nigeria and the tourism capital of Nigeria.

The city was originally named Akwa Akpa, in Efik, but was renamed during the Atlantic slave trade era. The area had some of the first interactions with Europeans as it was a major international seaport in the transportation of palm oil and African slaves. It was named Calabar by the Spanish.

On September 10, 1884, England signed a Treaty of Protection with the King and Chiefs of Akwa Akpa, known to Europeans as Old Calabar, taking control over the entire territory of Calabar.

Calabar is considered as the first capital of Nigeria because it served as the first capital of the Southern Protectorate, the Oil River Protectorate, and Niger Coast Protectorate. This was until the late nineteenth century, when the administrative centre of the Southern protectorate was moved to Lagos in 1906.

After Lagos served as the capital of Nigeria for many years, even after amalgamation and independence, religious and ethnic divisions caused the Nigerian government to begin searching for a capital that seemed neutral to all major ethnic parties and in close proximity to the regions of Nigeria. Lagos was also becoming very overcrowded.

Abuja, then Suleja, was chosen as Nigeria's capital in the early 1970s as it signified national unity. In 1991, after basic structures had been put up, Abuja was declared as the capital of Nigeria.

Other unofficial capitals

Calabar as the first capital of Nigeria is however very controversial. Asaba and Lokoja are also claimed to be unofficial capitals of Nigeria.

ALSO READ: See how all the 36 states got their names

Asaba, the current capital of Delta state, is believed to have been where the British colonial masters started their administration. It was also where the British Royal Niger Company preferred to hold its treaties before incorporation.
President Muhammadu Buhari had controversially withdrawn $496 million from the excess crude account, without the initial approval of the National Assembly, for the procurement of the jets which the government hopes will improve national security and help in its fight against terrorist group, Boko Haram.

Even though the delivery date was reported to be set for 2020, the United States Department of Defence has revealed that the fighter jets won't be ready for delivery till 2024.

BusinessInsider

The Defence Department announced on Wednessday, November 28 that the contract for the jets has been awarded to Sierra Nevada Corporation. The contract, worth $329 million, includes Forward Looking Infrared (FLIR) systems installed in six of the aircrafts.

The propeller-driven aircrafts can be used for training, surveillance or attack, and can be armed with two wing-mounted machine guns and can carry up to 1,550 kg (3,417 pounds) of weapons.

The contract also provides for ground training equipment, mission planning systems, mission debrief systems, spares, ground support equipment and support services for personnel of the Nigeria Air Force.

The manufacturing of the fighter jets will take place in Jacksonville, Florida, according to the Department of Defence.

The late delivery date of the jets had previously nearly stalled the deal and the new date is expected to create further friction, especially with a resurgence in Boko Haram's activities in the northeast region.

Boko Haram's troubling resurgence

12 days ago, terrorists belonging to Boko Haram faction, the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), overran the 157 Task Force Battalion in Metele village in Guzamala local government area of Borno during an attack on November 18.

Even though many reports indicated that over 100 soldiers were killed in the attack with many others missing, the Army disclosed in a statement on Wednesday, November 28, that 23 soldiers were killed with 31 others injured.

The statement also revealed that terrorists staged a series of attacks on Nigerian troops between November 2 and November 17. The attacks took place in Kukawa, Ngoshe, Kareto and Gajiram, all in Borno, but were 'successfully repelled' by troops who killed 'several members' of the terrorist group. However, 16 soldiers were killed in the attacks while 12 were injured.

The Army also noted that despite systematically degrading Boko Haram in the past three years, the terrorists are staging a resurgence with daring moves that include the increased use of drones against troops' defensive positions and infusion of foreign fighters in their ranks.

Eliminate Boko Haram 'from face of the earth'

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President Buhari was in Maiduguri, Borno State on Wednesday to declare open the Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Annual Conference as the guest of honour.

While delivering his speech, the president charged the military's leadership to ensure that their plans and programmes meet the nation's security challenges. He also urged the Army to remain committed to defeating Boko Haram.

"I want to encourage our troops not to be distracted by whatever speculations but remain focused and committed to the task of eliminating Boko Haram from the face of the earth," he said.

He said security remains one of the cardinal objectives of his administration and promised that no effort will be spared to support troops, including reviewing their welfare package.

"I want to assure you that, as your commander in chief, I will do everything within my powers to continue empowering you by providing all the necessary equipment for you to prevail on the field.
While speaking during an interview on Arise News Television on Friday, November 30, 2018, President Buhari's Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, said the military has to compete for funding with other problems facing the nation.

Despite the challenge, he said President Buhari's administration has funded the military's operations more than any other leader in Nigeria's democratic history.

He said, "I make this statement, on my honour, to the best of my knowledge, that there's not been one administration under this constitution that has funded the military as much as President Muhammadu Buhari has done.

"They will never get enough because the Nigerian military will have to go into the budget process. They'll go before the National Assembly and have to compete for money with the unemployment, education, health and all of that.

"They cannot have everything, but the beauty of the Commander-in-Chief is to ensure that they have as much as they need in order to confront the situation.

"When there are new challenges, then you have to come together and rise to the challenge ."

Shehu's comment is similar to that of the Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant-General Tukur Buratai, who recently said no Army in the world can possibly have enough equipment to conduct its operations.

He said, "I must also add that no Army can ever have enough equipment to conduct its operations; hence, it is incumbent on all commanders and senior leaders of the Nigerian Army to recognise that we're involved in asymmetry warfare which calls for dynamism and flexibility if we're to succeed with minimal casualties."

Their statements come nearly two weeks after terrorists belonging to Boko Haram faction, the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), overran the 157 Task Force Battalion in Metele village in Guzamala local government area of Borno Stateduring an attack on November 18.

Even though many reports indicated that over 100 soldiers were killed in the attack with many others missing, the Army disclosed in a statement on Wednesday, November 28, that 23 soldiers were killed with 31 others injured.

The statement also revealed that terrorists staged a series of attacks on Nigerian troops between November 2 and November 17. The attacks took place in Kukawa, Ngoshe, Kareto and Gajiram, all in Borno, but were 'successfully repelled' by troops who killed 'several members' of the terrorist group. However, 16 soldiers were killed in the attacks while 12 were injured.

The Army also noted that despite systematically degrading Boko Haram in the past three years, the terrorists are staging a resurgence with daring moves that include the increased use of drones against troops' defensive positions and infusion of foreign fighters in their ranks.

In the wake of the Metele attack, several soldiers complained about the lack of proper equipment to fight the terrorists who have made several attempts to overrun army bases.

The attack has also fueled speculations about the nation's defence spending as the opposition accused the Minister of Defence, Mansur Dan-Ali, of diverting the funds meant to arm the military to President Buhari's re-election campaign.

Eliminate Boko Haram 'from face of the earth'

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President Buhari was in Maiduguri, Borno on Wednesday to declare open the Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Annual Conference as the guest of honour.

While delivering his speech, the president charged the military's leadership to ensure that their plans and programmes meet the nation's security challenges. He also urged the Army to remain committed to defeating Boko Haram.

"I want to encourage our troops not to be distracted by whatever speculations but remain focused and committed to the task of eliminating Boko Haram from the face of the earth," he said.

He said security remains one of the cardinal objectives of his administration and promised that no effort will be spared to support troops, including reviewing their welfare package.

"I want to assure you that, as your commander in chief, I will do everything within my powers to continue empowering you by providing all the necessary equipment for you to prevail on the field.
The president made the plea in an op-ed published in Church Times, the United Kingdom's leading Anglican newspaper, on Friday, November 30, 2018.

The president noted that the country's mix of Christians and Muslims can reach 'new and greater possibilities' if they decide to unite.

He said, "I believe that there is far more that unites Muslims and Christians than divides them. In fact, I believe that the messages of the Bible are universal: available for anyone to exercise, and instructive to all.

"We must resist the temptation to retreat into our communities, because, if we do, we can only look inwards. It is only when we mix that we can reach new and greater possibilities.

"Whichever religion or religious denomination they choose to follow, Nigerians are devout. Anything that Nigerians believe will place impositions on their practice, and belief is therefore sure to cause widespread alarm.

"And, unfortunately, there are those who seek to divide Nigerians - and our two great religions - and to do so for their own advantage."

Rubbishing claims that he's trying to Islamise Nigeria, the president said he's a great believer in peace, tolerance, and reconciliation.

He said, "I stand accused - paradoxically - of trying to Islamise Nigeria while also being accused by Boko Haram terrorists of being against Islam. My Vice-President is a devout man, a Christian pastor. He, too, is accused of selling out his religion, because of his support for me.

"This is not the first time that I - nor, indeed, my Christian-Muslim evenly split cabinet - have been the subject of such nonsense. Fortunately, the facts speak differently from the words of those who seek to divide us from one another.

"Since my administration has been in power, Boko Haram has been significantly and fatally degraded; I have befriended church leaders and church groups both within and outside our country; my Vice-President has addressed and opened dialogue with Muslims up and down our land.

"In all things, we seek that which all well-meaning Christians and well-meaning Muslims must seek: to unite, respect, and never to divide."

The president concluded the article by extending his 'hand out in brotherhood and forgiveness' to those who seek to divide the country by politicising.
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ECES Project Coordinator for Nigeria Mr. Rudolf Elbling made this known at a two-day workshop organised for INEC officials in the North-West zone in Kaduna.

Elbling, who was represented by Mr. Samson Fadare, Consultant, Election Monitoring and Support Center (EMSC), said that the Election Monitoring and Support Center (EMSC) was working to integrate the Election Project Plan (EPP) and the Election Management System (EMS) for effective monitoring of the 2019 elections.

ECES is proud to support this laudable initiative which among other functions seeks to ensure a seamless logistical and operational deployment plan that will further the objective of delivering a free and fair election, come 2019.

Todays workshop is one of the zonal Implementers workshops to be organized across the six geo-political Zones, having conducted that of North-Central Zone in Minna, Niger State, South-West in Lagos, North-East in Yola, Adamawa State and South-South in Benin, Edo State is the last in this series.

The workshop is taking place simultaneously with that of the South-East zone holding at Enugu and has been put together to familiarize functionaries of the commission across the nation with the structure and operational frameworks of the EMSC ahead of the 2019 general elections, Elbling said.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recalls that the centre supported the conduct of the EMS Implementers workshops for the off-cycle governorship elections in Anambra in 2017 and that of Ekiti and Osun in 2018.

It also supported the conduct of the EMSC Implementers workshop and retreat for the INEC Chairman, National Commissioners, Resident Electoral Commissioners as well as Directors of the electoral commission.

NAN further recalls that the centre also supported the activation of the EMSC dashboard within the framework of the European Union Support to Democratic Governance in Nigerian (EU-SDGN) programme.

According to the official, EMSC will continue to provide the tool that INEC requires to effectively manage its field assets, resources, constituencies and chains of electoral activities within the electoral cycle.

It is also an innovative way to monitor electoral plans and implementation of electoral activities that could assist INEC in evaluating its readiness for an election, he said.

Elbling expressed delight that INEC had taken a giant stride in integrating its Election Management System (EMS), Election Risk Management (ERM) and Electoral Operations Support Centre (EOSC) to ensure effective implementation and monitoring of election activities in 2019.

We are also happy that steps toward the operationalization, institutionalization and activation of EMSC at headquarters and state levels have been taken through the inauguration of the EMSC committee, development of reporting templates and manuals and capacity building for key electoral staff.

It is my hope that the conduct of EMSC zonal Implementers workshops will provide participants with requisite knowledge and as well sensitize them on their expected roles before, during and after elections, thereby laying a solid foundation in this journey towards the conduct of the elections in 2019.

As INEC prepares for the 2019 general election, ECES looks forward to forging enduring partnership, mutual collaboration and strategic engagements in order to strengthen democratic governance in Nigeria, the official said.

Earlier, the Kaduna State Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), Alhaji Abdullahi Kaugama, had said that the workshop would consolidate the integration of ERM, EOSC and EMSC, which operated independently in the 2015 General Elections.

This integration has a framework to effectively assist in planning as well as identifying areas needing timely interventions, swift actions and adequate preparations across the election cycle.

The importance of this workshop cannot be over emphasized at this critical time with barely 77 days to the conduct of the 2019 General elections.
Leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu, started the theory in 2017 that the real Buhari that was elected in 2015 had died during one of his medical trips to London and been replaced by a clone named Jubril with the help of surgery.

Kanu's claim has enjoyed more mainstream prominence in recent weeks after a former minister, Femi Fani-Kayode, claimed on his Twitter account that the man in the Presidential Villa is not the same that was elected.

While addressing the media in Abuja on Thursday, November 29, 2018, Mohammed said the theory is idiotic and doesn't deserve a response from a serious government.

He said, "It is idiotic to say the President is cloned. I don't see any serious government responding to that. So, the same Jubril that was cloned from Sudan or Chad is in Chad now? Isn't that stupid?

"They even said he is from Chad. Yet, the same President is in Chad as we speak. The same Jubril is remembering what the President did while in Petroleum Trust Fund and he is also remembering what he did when he was head of state between 1983 and 1985.

"All the ministers do not know who is before them when they attend the Federal Executive Council meeting? The President remembers memos he had seen or heard about in 1985 and we say he is cloned.

"So, Jubril from Chad or Sudan will now remember all of these? It is too silly for the government to respond to this. It must be ignored."

The theory has been fueled by a few dubious pieces of evidence that have attempted to authenticate it. One of such is a comparism of two pictures where Buhari was using different hands to sign before and after the periods he's rumoured to have died. However, this 'evidence' was achieved by simply reversing an image from right to left or vice versa.
The chairman of the Orlu branch of the Nigerian Bar Association, Mr Chuzzy Attama, read the position of the lawyers while addressing newsmen in Owerri shortly before the protest began.

Attama said that the courts in the state lacked adequate security adding, that the alleged killing of the magistrate was designed to intimidate the judiciary in the state.

We will march to the state government house, police headquarters, office of the chief judge, the state House of Assembly and the office of the director of state security service to register our protest over the gruesome murder of the legal advocate.

We call on the Inspector- General of Police to expedite action to bring the killers of the chief magistrate of Uburu magistrates court in Oru West Local Government Area to book.

We demand that the police and other relevant security Agencies carry out a thorough and unfettered investigation into the murder of senior magistrate Remmy Ogu and unmask the killers and bring them to justice, he said.

Attama also called for armed police orderlies for all the judges and magistrates in Imo.
He revealed this when President Buhari paid him a courtesy visit at his palace in Maiduguri on Wednesday, November 28.

The monarch revealed that residents and farmers in the state capital cannot move beyond 10 kilometers without being killed or kidnapped.

He said, "On behalf of the traditional institution in Borno, I want to commend Your Excellency for the commitment you have given towards ending the lingering crisis of Boko Haram.

"It is unfortunate that despite all efforts put in place to restore peace in our land and the North East, we the people of Borno State are still under Boko Haram siege.

"Nobody can dare move out of Maiduguri by 10 kilometres without being confronted/attacked by Boko Haram."

The monarch also revealed that communities in Konduga, Damboa, Mafa and other local government areas have been razed down in the last two weeks.

He pleaded to the federal government to review the strategy to tackle the activities of the insurgents in the region.

President Buhari urged troops to show more commitment in fighting Boko Haram despite scores of losses in a recent assault during his visit to the northeastern state.
While speaking at the Annual Power and Utilities Roundtable organised by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) in Lagos on Thursday, Lamu revealed that out of the two 922 megawatts generated on his company's network, only 600 to 650MW are taken by distribution companies in Nigeria.

The MD of the company that operates Kainji and Jebba Hydropower plants said the company is left with no choice than to find reliable buyers for the rejected power generated.

"We are left with no option than to sell the balance to other African countries that are willing to pay. In fact, they are willing to take up the whole electricity invoice at a higher price than what Nigerians are willing to pay. We are talking to Burkina Faso on this," he said.

He noted that his company is not the first to take such an action as Nigerian power firms have been known to sell electricity to Togo, Benin Republic, and other African countries.

Nigeria's power problem has posed a challenge to the nation for many years and identified as one of the biggest obstacles to its growth and development.

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Despite the ever-present sense of failure of the power sector, the Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, has,onseveral occasions, insisted that the situation has improved with the current government.
Nine police officers and 24 others lost their lives when a group of at least 10 armed robbers attacked Union Bank, Eco Bank, Guaranty Trust Bank, First Bank, Zenith Bank and Ibolo Micro Finance Bank, as well as the Owode Police Station in Offa on April 5, 2018.

The robbers made away with stashes of cash afterwards.

The suspects who were arraigned at the Ilorin, Kwara court, were charged with criminal conspiracy to rob the banks, robbery of the banks, conspiracy to murder; murder of nine policemen and other innocent citizens, and illegal possession of firearms.

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Counsel to the accused persons, Mathias Emeribe pleaded with the court not to take their pleas because he had not interacted with the suspects.

Police yet to provide evidence

The prosecuting counsel and Kwara State Attorney General, Barrister Kamaldeen Ajibade (SAN) told the court that the Police headquarters is yet to provide evidence needed for the trial.

Presiding Judge, Justice Halima Saliman adjourned the trial till the 7th of January, 2019 for definite hearing, in order to allow the prosecution counsel produce the recording of the confessional statements of the accused persons.

Justice Salman had earlier granted that the charge sheet be amended to exclude the name of the prime suspect, Micheal Adikwuwho died in police custody
While speaking at the Government House in Owerri, Imo State capital, on Thursday, November 29, 2018, the governor said the recent loss of soldiers to the terrorist group in Borno State is worrisome to the nation.

He said, "A nation has to be in a serious war to lose 10 soldiers, not to talk about 40 soldiers. So Nigeria must declare itself as a nation at war.

"What I think is happening in the North-East is what was happening here in Imo State when I came in 2011. Owerri was notorious for kidnapping and we were number one state for kidnapping when I came in to the extent that by 5:30 or 6pm everybody had gone home for fear of being kidnapped. But we tackled it and overcame."

Okorocha's comment comes 12 days after terrorists belonging to Boko Haram faction, the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), overran the 157 Task Force Battalion in Metele village in Guzamala local government area of Borno during an attack on November 18.

Even though many reports indicated that over 100 soldiers were killed in the attack with many others missing, the Army disclosed in a statement on Wednesday, November 28, that 23 soldiers were killed with 31 others injured.

The statement also revealed that terrorists staged a series of attacks on Nigerian troops between November 2 and November 17. The attacks took place in Kukawa, Ngoshe, Kareto and Gajiram, all in Borno, but were 'successfully repelled' by troops who killed 'several members' of the terrorist group. However, 16 soldiers were killed in the attacks while 12 were injured.

The Army also noted that despite systematically degrading Boko Haram in the past three years, the terrorists are staging a resurgence with daring moves that include the increased use of drones against troops' defensive positions and infusion of foreign fighters in their ranks.

Eliminate Boko Haram 'from face of the earth'

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President Muhammadu Buhari was in Maiduguri, Borno on Wednesday to declare open the Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Annual Conference as the guest of honour.

While delivering his speech, the president charged the military's leadership to ensure that their plans and programmes meet the nation's security challenges. He also urged the Army to remain committed to defeating Boko Haram.

"I want to encourage our troops not to be distracted by whatever speculations but remain focused and committed to the task of eliminating Boko Haram from the face of the earth," he said.

He said security remains one of the cardinal objectives of his administration and promised that no effort will be spared to support troops, including reviewing their welfare package.

"I want to assure you that, as your commander in chief, I will do everything within my powers to continue empowering you by providing all the necessary equipment for you to prevail on the field.
The Nigerian Army had announced on Thursday, November 29, 2018, that it had discovered an illegal militia training camp at Nonwa Gbam in Tai local government area of the state.

The Army reported that the camp, an orientation camp for the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), was used to train over 100 recruits who were undergoing a military type of training.

In a statement signed by Governor Wike's Special Assistant on Electronic Media, Simeon Nwakaudu, the governor described the Army's disruption of the camp as 'the worst act of irresponsibility' aimed at instigating insecurity in the state.

According to the governor, the training that was shut down was that of the Rivers State Neighbourhood Safety Corps Agency Training programme which he said was approved by the state's House of Assembly and was being operated in partnership with some security agencies.

He accused the Army of high-handedness in the shutting down of the camp, alleging that the Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant-General Tukur Buratai, has allowed vigilante groups in other states controlled by the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).

He said, "The Army is not concerned about the killing of soldiers in Borno. They are only interested in creating insecurity in Rivers State.

"If you don't want Rivers State to be safe, then Nigeria will not be safe. They want to use their guns against us.

"Zamfara and Kogi States have vigilante groups. They commissioned them and the Chief of Army Staff did nothing. The House of Assembly passed a law approving the Rivers State Neighbourhood Safety Corps Agency. The Chief of Army did not challenge the law in court, but today he sent troops to invade the training camp."

Governor Wike further said that the trainees who were recruited for the training were properly vetted by the Nigeria Police Force and the Department of State Services (DSS) to eliminate any criminal threat.

He said, "We did not hire boys for political reasons. This has been a transparent process and that is why the personnel are trained at the NYSC Orientation Camp at Nonwa. We involved the Police and the DSS to ensure that the trainees are profiled for the good of the society."

While stating that the vigilante group's creation is an attempt to fill a security vacuum in the state, Wike said the training will continue regardless of the Army's intrusion.
This was disclosed by the Director-General of the PDP's Presidential Campaign Council, Bukola Saraki, during a press conference on Friday, November 30, 2018.

"We are commencing our campaigns on Monday in Sokoto. Thereafter, we are going to take our message to all the 36 States and the FCT, the 774 LGAs and all the wards in the federation," the Senate President said.

He disclosed that the former vice president and his running mate, Peter Obi, a former Anambra State governor, will participate in road shows, town hall meetings as well as special interactive sessions.

These activities will involve the party's candidate interacting with traditional institutions, business communities, professional groups, trade unions, market men and women as well as other interest groups and stakeholders across the country.

Saraki said the PDP will ensure that its campaign reaches all the nooks and crannies of every village in the country as part of its grassroots campaign plan.

2019 presidential election

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While next year's election, scheduled for February 16, 2019, is expected to be keenly-contested between Atiku and President Muhammadu Buhari of the All Progressives Congress (APC), they both face competition from other candidates including Donald Duke of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), Kingsley Moghalu of the Young Progressive Party (YPP), Obiageli Ezekwesili of the Allied Congress Party of Nigeria (ACPN), Fela Durotoye of the Alliance for New Nigeria (ANN), and Omoyele Sowore of the African Action Congress (AAC).

Others are Tope Fasua of the Abundance Nigeria Renewal Party (ANRP), Eunice Atuejide of the National Interest Party (NIP), Adesina Fagbenro-Byron of the Kowa Party (KP), Chike Ukaegbu of the Advanced Allied Party (AAP), Hamza Al-Mustapha of the People's Party of Nigeria (PPN), Obadiah Mailafia of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), and many more.
Atuejide is one of only five women who are contesting for the presidency in the 2019 presidential election. 79 candidates in total will contest in the election, the highest number ever in Nigeria's electoral history.

While speaking during an interview on RootsTV Nigeria, the lawyer and businesswoman said Nigerian youths are not burdened with the biases that prove to be barriers against female politicians in Nigeria.

"There are 84 million registered voters in Nigeria. 60% of them are under 30 and they don't have these biases that you're thinking. They're young and that's my power base. Those are the people that are taking me to the presidency," she said.

The candidate assured that she's running to win the election but that if she loses, she would never entertain the thought of working with the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) who is fielding 75-year-old President Muhammadu Buhari as its candidate. She however expressed a willingness to work with other parties.

She said, "If it is APC, never; I'm not going to work with them. Forget it. However, if it is PDP, AAC or absolutely any of the other parties, I'm willing to go in there and see what I can do to help us create a better Nigeria."

The lawyer said her candidacy is about changing the face of leadership in the country and ensuring that the people benefit from governance.

2019 presidential election

The 2019 presidential election, scheduled for February 16, 2019, is billed to be closely-fought between President Buhari and former vice president, Atiku Abubakar of the People's Democratic Party (PDP).

Alongside Atuejide in the chasing pack is Donald Duke of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), Kingsley Moghalu of the Young Progressive Party (YPP), Oby Ezekwesili of the Allied Congress Party of Nigeria (ACPN), Fela Durotoye of the Alliance for New Nigeria (ANN), and Omoyele Sowore of the African Action Congress (AAC).
The lawmaker was appointed during the inauguration of the party's presidential campaign council in Abuja on Thursday, November 29.

Melaye, representing the Kogi West Senatorial district, thanked PDP for the appointment on his Twitter account (@dinomelaye) on Friday, November 30.

He wrote, "Thank you, PDP for my appointment as Director in charge of Civil Societies/ NGOS and Campaign Spokesperson in the PDP Presidential Campaign. We shall usually overcome. Light will always rejoice over darkness. Power to the People."
This medical cannabis, in the past, the board did not want to tax it because it was medical, Abu-Taleb said. But now we have a governor who looks like hes going to make it recreational. Im thinking [staff] can come back to us with a proposal [to] vote on that allows us to protect our rights to collect tax on this cannabis in the event it becomes recreational.
Trader Moni is one of the government's initiative under the Government Enterprise and Empowerment Programme (GEEP), a programme targeted towards awarding collateral-free loans to two million petty traders across the country.

Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo, has become the face of the programme as he's launched it in several markets in many states in the country over the past few months.

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While speaking during a press briefing in Abuja on Friday, November 30, 2018, Saraki said the present government has been using the programme to induce voters ahead of the 2019 presidential election.

He accused the government of sidelining the opposition from the launching of the programme across the country like it's not a programme for all Nigerians and not just the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).

He said, "This programme has been going on for the last three years. In 2015, 2016 and 2017, I didn't see the vice president going anywhere to give anybody Trader Moni, but all of a sudden in 2018.

"The worst part about it is that he goes with the women leader of his party, governor of his party. At least, if you're going, and it's Nigeria's money, you should have women leader of all the parties because the money belongs to Nigeria. But all I see is APC women leaders.

"It is wrong, we have said it. It equates in a way to sophisticated vote-buying. Because if it's not vote-buying, you should've beeen doing this since 2015.

"All of a sudden in 2018, that's the biggest program. And when you go, you carry APC governors beside you, women leader from the APC beside you. You're collecting PVC. Nigerians will not be fooled by that.To us, it's sophisticated vote-buying."

The Senate President said the government either puts a stop to the programme or open it up to enure that it represents all Nigerians.

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Vote-buying is the practice of paying voters to compel them to vote for particular candidates during an election, and has become a hot-button issue ahead of the 2019 general elections.

Despite Saraki's claim that the Trader Moni programme has been going on since 2015, it was not actually launched by the Federal Government until this year.

The former Kwara governor was speaking in his capacity as the Director-General of the Presidential Campaign Council of the People's Democratic Party (PDP) who's fielding former vice president, Atiku Abubakar, as its candidate.

2019 presidential election

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While next year's election, scheduled for February 16, 2019, is expected to be keenly-contested between Atiku and President Buhari, they both face competition from other candidates including Donald Duke of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), Kingsley Moghalu of the Young Progressive Party (YPP), Obiageli Ezekwesili of the Allied Congress Party of Nigeria (ACPN), Fela Durotoye of the Alliance for New Nigeria (ANN), and Omoyele Sowore of the African Action Congress (AAC).

Others are Tope Fasua of the Abundance Nigeria Renewal Party (ANRP), Eunice Atuejide of the National Interest Party (NIP), Adesina Fagbenro-Byron of the Kowa Party (KP), Chike Ukaegbu of the Advanced Allied Party (AAP), Hamza Al-Mustapha of the People's Party of Nigeria (PPN), Obadiah Mailafia of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), and many more.
Sowore set up the account on March 13, 2018 to raise $2 million for his presidential campaign on the platform of his new party. Even though the account was suspended a day later, he regained control of it and has now raised the sum of $103,045 (as at November 30, 2018).

While speaking during an interview on Arise News Television on Thursday, November 29, the candidate said his campaign has raised N73 million in total.

When quizzed on what he would do if he runs out of money, he said he has more than just monetary support from Nigerians.

He said, "Running short of money is not the same as running out of support. To break it down, apart from the cash, people are also making kind donations; they're donating apartments, cars for branding for us. People are taking over.

"We have a process where individuals can also support ward chairmen, campaigners and people who are canvassers directly without getting through us.

"We had someone who donated over 15 megaphones to us from New York and these are ways through which you can support."

The candidate also disclosed that he needs around N400 million to run a successful campaign and get elected as Nigeria's next president.

"We hope that more Nigerians will come out because we need about N400 million more," he said.

The fundraising campaign of the Sahara Reporters founder is one of the most well-publicised this election season, especially in a climate where election funding is usually shrouded in mystery.

Even though parties are required to submit their audit reports on campaign funds to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) six months after an election, the two leading parties, the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), didn't submit their reports for the 2015 elections until May 2018. The reports revealed that both parties spent a combined N7.7 billion on the elections.

If this means anything, it's that Sowore, and other candidates like him, still has some way to go match the financial muscle of the country's two leading parties who are both fielding veterans as their candidates.

The activist has vowed to defeat President Muhammadu Buhari (APC) and former vice president, Atiku Abubakar (PDP), and lead Nigeria into a brighter more productive future.

2019 presidential election

The 2019 presidential election, scheduled for February 16, 2019, is billed to be closely-fought between President Buhari and Atiku.

Alongside Sowore in the chasing pack is Donald Duke of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), Kingsley Moghalu of the Young Progressive Party (YPP), Fela Durotoye of the Alliance for New Nigeria (ANN), and Oby Ezekwesili of the Allied Congress Party of Nigeria (ACPN).

Others are Tope Fasua of the Abundance Nigeria Renewal Party (ANRP), Eunice Atuejide of the National Interest Party (NIP), Adesina Fagbenro-Byron of the Kowa Party (KP), Chike Ukaegbu of the Advanced Allied Party (AAP), Hamza Al-Mustapha of the People's Party of Nigeria (PPN), Obadiah Mailafia of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), and many more.
He warned that the president would not be stampeded into signing the bill without studying the document to avoid errors.

He said: The electoral bill you are talking about has been sent back twice or thrice, that is to tell you that the president is willing to sign he bill provided it meets certain conditions that will make our electoral processes better and more sane.

So, the President is studying this bill. Its not like you will send it to him and he will immediately sign. This is a sign that he is really interested in what we sent back to him.

It is for him and his advisers to read through line by line and see how best the electoral process can be enhanced.

So, I think we should encourage the president and those helping him to complete going through the bill before he signs.

According to him, the 2006 Electoral Act as amended which was used to conduct the 2015 general elections is still valid and can be used for the conduct of 2019 general elections.

He said the 2006 Electoral Act if properly implemented could even deliver a more transparent, free and fair elections in 2019 than what was experienced in 2015.

We still have the 2006 Electoral Act as amended that we used in 2015 for an election that was adjudged to be free, fair and an improved process.

We dont necessarily put so much pressure and unneeded criticism of the president when he is yet to complete his analysis of what has been sent to him. He needs to take his time, he said.
The Syrian foreign ministry on Friday said it had complained to the United Nations about "the Israeli aggression yesterday on the area of Kisweh south of Damascus".

According to the Syria Observatory for Human Rights, the strikes hit two positions in the south of Damascus province, one an area where there are Iranian weapons depots in Kisweh.

"Israeli forces bombarded for an hour," Observatory chief Rami Abdel Rahman said.

Two missiles hit "weapons depots belonging to the Lebanese Hezbollah (militant group) as well as Iranian forces" in Kisweh.

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Another missile hit the area of Harfa, where there is a Syrian military base, the Britain-based monitor said.

In Kisweh, "the depots that were targeted are used to temporarily store rockets until they are taken somewhere else," Abdel Rahman said.

"It appears the Israelis had intelligence that weapons had arrived there recently," he said.

The state news agency said the attack was foiled and did not admit to any losses.

"Our air defences fired on hostile targets over the Kisweh area and downed them," SANA said, citing a military source.

The pro-government Al-Watan daily, quoting a military source, said "the aggression, despite its intensity, was not able to implement any of its goals and all enemy bodies were downed".

Initial reports by the Observatory suggested there were no casualties.

The Israeli military denied any of its assets were hit but stopped short of denying it had conducted strikes at all.

Air defence upgrade

"Reports regarding an IDF (Israel Defence Forces) aircraft or an airborne IDF target having been hit are false," it said in an English-language statement.

It said a Syrian surface-to-air missile was fired in the direction of an open area of the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights but it was unclear if it had hit Israeli-held territory.

Israel has carried out hundreds of air strikes in neighbouring Syria against what it says are Iranian targets, many of them in the area south of Damascus.

Iran and Russia are the government's key allies in the civil war that has raged Syria since 2011, and Moscow's intervention in 2015 dramatically turned the tables against the rebels.

The accidental downing of a Russian transport aircraft by Syrian ground batteries during an Israel air strike on September 17 killed 15 service personnel.

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Moscow pinned responsibility for the downing on Israel, saying its fighter jet used the larger Russian one for cover, an allegation Israel disputed.

Russia subsequently upgraded Syrian air defences with the delivery of the advanced S-300 system, which Damascus had said last month would make Israel "think carefully" before carrying out further air raids.

The move raised fears in Israel that its ability to rein in its arch foe Iran's military presence in its northeastern neighbour would be sharply reduced.

There was no evidence however that the S-300 batteries were used to intercept Israeli missiles overnight.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had told Moscow his government would continue to hit hostile targets in Syria to prevent Iran from establishing a military presence across the border.

He added that Israel would "continue security coordination" with Russia.
Ndayizera now faces a maximum 20-year jail term if found guilty under Rwanda's anti-terrorism laws.

"He was arrested red-handed as he received explosives, including dynamite," said RIB spokesman Modeste Mbabazi when the arrest was made public on Thursday.

"We had investigated him and linked him to terrorist groups intending to do harm to Rwanda," he added.

The RIB was established earlier this year to take over investigative functions from the police.

Paraded before the media on Thursday, Ndayizera said, "I am, up to now, not aware of the reasons why I was arrested, or the charges they have against me."

The Rwanda Journalists Association said it would not involve itself in the case since the charges do not relate to Ndayizera's work as a journalist but said it hoped he would get a fair trial.

"We are deeply concerned, given the gravity of the alleged charges, we hope he gets a fair, just and quick judicial process," it said in a statement.

The BBC's Kinyarwanda radio broadcasts were suspended in 2014 after the broadcaster ran a television documentary airing long-standing allegations that President Paul Kagame may have had a role in the shooting down of a presidential jet in 1994.

That event triggered the genocide in which at least 800,000 mostly Tutsi people were killed.

Kagame is more often praised for ending the genocide and bringing peace, stability and economic growth to his tiny East African country.
Controversy has continued even with what to call the new deal. Washington calls it the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, although the other two parties have their own names putting their countries first.

The revised accord now goes for ratification by the legislatures of the three countries. Here's what it contains:

Autos: higher pay, local content

Ending NAFTA would have meant tearing up the continent's closely-integrated auto supply chain. But Ottawa, Mexico City and Washington have now agreed to sweeping changes to manufacturing and labor requirements that US officials say should boost wages and discourage moving production offshore.

The deal will require that 75 percent of auto content be made in the region, increased from 62.5 percent, and that 40-45 percent be made by workers earning at least $16 an hour.

Mexico also agreed to continue to recognize US auto safety standards, unless Mexican regulators conclude they are inferior to their own standards.

Auto tariff relief

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Trump has threatened to use a national security justification to impose steep tariffs on the hundreds of billions of dollars in autos the US imports annually. But the USMCA includes side letters that agree to exempt Mexico and Canada up to a threshold of 2.6 million vehicles a year, as well as an unspecified amount of light trucks, and tens of billions of dollars in auto parts.

However, the new deal does not resolve the punishing steel and aluminum tariffs imposed worldwide earlier this year, and on Mexico and Canada since May.

Dairy: Canada makes concessions

Canada, which guarantees prices for its dairy producers through its managed supply system, agreed to open its borders a little wider to American milk, cheese, cream, butter and other goods.

The concession from Ottawa removed a major sticking point that Trump said was a deal breaker.

Canada will also eliminate categories of low-cost dairy goods, and will allow greater imports of US chicken, eggs and turkey.

Settling disputes

The US agreed to Canada's insistence that the dispute settlement system -- formerly known as Chapter 19 -- remain in the deal. Canadian officials resolutely rejected Trump's demand to scrap provisions to resolve disagreements through international arbitration, something Ottawa has successfully used to challenge US tariffs.

However, the agreement does make some changes to the more controversial "Investor-State Dispute Settlement" powers, which critics said had allowed powerful companies and wealthy investors to invalidate local laws and court decisions through unaccountable arbitration.

Intellectual property

The new agreement requires that signatories allow equal copyright treatment for writers, composers and others from member countries, requiring a minimum term of the author's life plus 70 years for copyrighted works.

Digital trade

When NAFTA took effect in 1994, e-commerce hardly existed in its current form and modernizing its provisions was a key premise of the talks. The new agreement prohibits customs duties for digitally distributed goods like software and games, e-books, music and movies.

It would also limit local governments' powers to force companies to disclose propriety source code or place restrictions on where data may be stored.

The no-China-deals clause

Tucked in the agreement is a provision that appears designed to stop either Canada or Mexico from seeking a better deal with Beijing. If any signatory seeks to enter into a free-trade agreement with a "non-market-economy" -- read China -- the other parties will then be allowed to cancel the three-country deal and replace it with a bilateral agreement.

US ties with China have grown increasingly contentious, and Washington has slapped tariffs on more than $250 billion in imports from that country.

An alternative 'sunset clause'

The new trade pact will remain in force for 16 years, but will be reviewed every six years. If the parties decide to renew the agreement, it will be in effect for another 16 years. But if there is a problem, officials would have 10 years to negotiate to resolve their differences before the treaty would expire. Canadian and Mexican negotiators, as well as US industry, had outright rejected US demands that any new NAFTA contain a "sunset clause" requiring the parties to re-authorize the agreement every five years.

Labor rights

US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer says the labor protections in the deal -- which had been part of a side agreement to NAFTA -- are the strongest ever negotiated, and are enforceable. Under the agreement, "Mexico commits to specific legislative actions to provide for the effective recognition of the right to collective bargaining," according to the USTR office.
The event, held with police approval, was organised by the main opposition MDC party, which says it was cheated of victory in the July 30 election, eight months after long-time leader Robert Mugabe was ousted.

In a demonstration just days after the election, six people died when security forces opened fire on protesters, undermining Mnangagwa's efforts to present the vote as a fresh start for the nation after years of repression under Mugabe.

"Mnangagwa must go," read one banner at Thursday's protest alongside others reading "You stole my vote, please give it back" as well as slogans demanding justice over the election shootings.

Much of the marchers' anger was focused on Zimbabwe's renewed economic problems, with people struggling to cope with dramatic price rises and severe shortages of essentials like bread, cooking oil and petrol.

The protesters chanted praise for MDC leader Nelson Chamisa, who claims he was the rightful winner of the election.

"Zimbabweans are suffering. The country has no fuel," he told the crowds.

"When we united against Mugabe. We did not expect this (crisis). Our lives are worse off.

"We are not going to fight Mr Mnangagwa with guns because we do not believe in guns," Chamisa added, with the event passing off peacefully.

Ruined economy

Mnangagwa, who took power after Mugabe was forced to resign by the military in November 2017, promised to revive the ruined economy after he won the disputed election.

The latest bout of economic strife erupted last month when the government introduced a two-percent tax on all electronic transactions to increase revenue.

Many Zimbabweans rely on electronic payments as US dollars, which function as the country's main currency, are scarce, with hardly anyone trusting the local "bond note" currency.

"We are here to demonstrate against the economic crisis and the election that was stolen," said Donald Bango, a 25-year-old security guard.

"There are no jobs. The current government is not doing anything to fix our problems," he told AFP.

"Prices of basic commodities are going up and we cannot access drugs from pharmacies," said Rachel Chakanetsa, a 53-year-old widow who was at the demonstration.

"We are in dire poverty. The situation must be addressed urgently."

'An unending crisis'

The marchers delivered a petition to parliament saying Zimbabwe was in "an unending crisis of legitimacy".

It called for both the electronic transfer tax and the bond note currency to be scrapped.

Mnangagwa recently revealed that Mugabe, 94, was in Singapore for extended medical treatment and was unable to walk due to ill health and old age.

Mugabe was ousted when the military, fearing that his wife Grace was being lined up to succeed him, seized control and forced him to resign.

His 37-year reign was marked by corruption and mismanagement that led to an exodus of investors, mass emigration and collapse of many public services.
"We will be in Moscow at some point."

But his pursuit of the Trump Tower logo gleaming over the Russian capital now threatens his presidency.

On Thursday, his former lawyer Michael Cohen admitted in a court filing that they pursued the project throughout the first half of 2016 via contacts with Russian President Vladimir Putin's office, even after the real estate tycoon had captured the Republican nomination for the US presidency.

Felix Sater, another Trump associate who worked with Cohen on the project, told Buzzfeed and other media that they even planned to gift the $50 million penthouse to Putin -- who is now accused by US intelligence of helping Trump win the 2016 election.

"All the oligarchs would line up to live in the same building as Putin," Sater said.

Cohen's admission contradicted previous claims he, Trump and Trump's family made that they had no business relations with Russia at the time.

Trump on Thursday branded his onetime top assistant an outright liar. Still, the billionaire added, pursuing a deal with Russians during the 2016 presidential race wasn't illegal.

"There was a good chance that I wouldn't have won, in which case I would have gotten back into the business, and why should I lose lots of opportunities?" Trump said.

30-year Moscow dream

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Trump was already one of the titans of New York real estate, known for his gold-trimmed flagship Trump Tower on Fifth Avenue, when he got the Moscow bug in 1986 in a lunch with Soviet ambassador Yuri Dubinin.

"Dubinin's daughter, it turned out, had read about Trump Tower and knew all about it," Trump recalled in his book "The Art of the Deal."

"One thing led to another and now I'm talking about building a large luxury hotel, across the street from the Kremlin."

He traveled with then-wife Ivana to view potential sites the following year.

"It was an extraordinary experience," he wrote. "I was impressed with the ambition of the Soviet officials to make a deal."

The tycoon was bogged down over the next decade by multiple bankruptcies in his Atlantic City casinos.

By 1997, he was back at the idea, discussing a possible casino project with rising political star General Alexander Lebed.

He knew there was money and appreciation of his name: he was already selling Trump-branded condominiums in Florida to rich Russians.

'I really like Putin'

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In the mid-2000s, Trump's son Donald Jr. made a half-dozen trips to Russia. One idea was to renovate an old Moscow hotel and rebrand it in the name of Trump's daughter Ivanka, who was creating her own line of jewelry.

Yet Russia was hard, Donald Jr. said in a 2008 speech.

"As much as we want to take our business over there, Russia is just a different world ... It is a question of who knows who, whose brother is paying off who. ... It really is a scary place."

Still, with the help of Russia-born Sater, they kept pushing, and Trump was enamored with Russia's strongman leader.

"I really like Vladimir Putin. I respect him. He does his work well. Much better than our Bush," he told Russian journalists.

The US financial crisis then intervened. But by 2013 Trump was back, taking his Miss Universe pageant to Moscow where he would try to advance new property projects.

His partner in the pageant was Moscow mall developer Aras Agalarov, then launching into the massive riverside Crocus City development.

TRUMP TOWER-MOSCOW is next," Trump tweeted after the show.

By then Trump was already seriously mulling a White House run. He didn't put his Russia plans on hold for it.

"The Russian market is attracted to me," he told the US magazine Real Estate weekly about his 2013 visit.

"I have a great relationship with many Russians, and almost all of the oligarchs were in the room."

Former spy was Moscow intermediary

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Court filings Thursday show that Cohen and Sater avidly pursued a new project through early 2016, with their eyes on well-connected partners and Russian bankers. Their main intermediary for contacts, according to Buzzfeed, was a former senior Russian military intelligence officer.

The court filings said Cohen kept Trump and his children up-to-date on the project.

In May 2016 Sater passed on to Cohen an invitation to attend a Russian economic forum the next month from a top Putin aide.

"The entire business class of Russia will be there as well," Sater wrote.

But Cohen never went.

On Friday Trump continued to play it all down, saying the Cohen admission was part of a political "witch hunt" against him.

"Against all odds, I decide to run for President & continue to run my business-very legal & very cool, talked about it on the campaign trail," he tweeted.
Trump said negotiating the deal known in Washington as the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement, or USMCA, had seen the leaders take "a lot of barbs and a little abuse."

But he insisted that the "incredible milestone" would aid US workers, especially in the auto industry, while putting in place "intellectual property protection that will be the envy of nations all around the world."

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was less effusive about the renegotiated pact, but said the USMCA would resolve the threat of "serious economic uncertainty" that "would have gotten more damaging."

While praising the "historic" nature of the deal, Trudeau also told Trump that the progress gave "all the more reason why we need to keep working to remove the tariffs on steel and aluminum between our countries."

Mexican President Pena Nieto, on his last day in office, called the revamped version of NAFTA important in shoring up "the view of an integrated North America with the firm belief that together we are stronger and more competitive."

For Trump -- whose G20 diplomacy is overshadowed by legal troubles back home and his abrupt cancellation of a bilateral meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin -- the signing was a victory.

He said he did not foresee a problem in getting congressional approval. "It's been so well reviewed I dont expect to have very much of a problem," Trump said.

On Saturday, he will meet with Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping to address the trade war triggered by Trump's insistence on China ending what he says have been decades of unfair trade practices.

'Polluting legacy'

While the leaders presented a united front, Trump's tearing up of the old NAFTA, which he has repeatedly ridiculed, was a shock to the system that prompted months of severe tensions between the long-peaceful neighbors.

Trump himself acknowledged that it hadn't been easy, but said "battles sometimes make great friendships."

Even at the signing ceremony, there were echoes of the uncomfortable background to the USMCA, which Trump has made exhibit number one in his case to voters that he is putting "America first."

All three leaders stood at lecturns adorned with the US presidential seal, with Trump taking the middle position.

But while Trump proudly refers to the USMCA -- a title that again puts the United States in the leading position -- Trudeau pointedly called the deal being signed the "new North American Free Trade Agreement" and the "modernizing NAFTA."

Mexico has its own version in Spanish, accentuating its name first.

For the Sierra Club, a US environmentalist group, the "hastily sealed" deal will promote Trump's "polluting legacy for years after he leaves office (via) special handouts to corporate polluters like Chevron and ExxonMobil."

But in a statement, US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said the updated pact "marks a critical step in modernizing and rebalancing North American trade."
The ECHR ruled Demirtas' imprisonment had been aimed at "stifling pluralism and limiting freedom of political debate", calling for his release from the pre-trial detention.

Demirtas rose to prominence with a charismatic performance in 2014 elections won by now President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Demirtas ran again in the last elections in June 2018 from his prison cell.

Analysts see the politician as one of the few figures in Turkey who can match Erdogan's rhetoric and potentially become a dangerous rival for the president.

'Violation of constitution'

Erdogan had rejected the November 20 ruling from the European court saying "the decisions delivered by the ECHR do not bind us."

The HDP said in a statement that the Ankara court's latest decision was taken for "political reasons" and under "pressure from President Erdogan and the executive".

"This is clearly a violation of the constitution and the European Convention on Human Rights," its co-leaders Pervin Buldan and Sezai Temelli said in a statement.

Turkey's apparent defiance of the ruling is likely to add to tensions between Ankara and the Council of Europe, the pan-European rights body that oversees the ECHR and of which Turkey has been a member since 1950.

The rulings of the ECHR, which enforces the European Convention on Human Rights, of which Turkey is a signatory, are binding on member states.

"Under Article 46 of the convention, all member states are bound by the rulings of the court," a spokesman for the 47-nation council said after the ECHR ruling was issued.

In February, the council's chief Thorbjorn Jagland warned Turkey against "casting the net too widely" in a mass crackdown that followed a failed 2016 coup, saying it had resulted in a backlog of rights complaints at the ECHR.
The 2017 Christmas tree in the Great Hall of the Purdue Memorial Union in West Lafayette. (Purdue University photo)

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. The Purdue Memorial Union will send the holiday season into high gear on Monday (Dec. 3) as a freshly cut 25-foot-tall Christmas tree arrives in the Great Hall around 12:30 p.m.

The tree, an approximately 25-year-old blue spruce, which is 14 feet wide at the bottom of its branches, is being donated by Rich and Ruth Stoll. The Stolls have lived in West Lafayette for more than a year. While the history of the tree is unknown and the Stolls have no ties to Purdue, their neighbor suggested donating the tree to Purdue for the annual holiday event.

The 2018 tree lighting ceremony will be held on Tuesday (Dec. 4) at 6 p.m. Purdue President Mitch Daniels will officially light the Christmas tree for the holiday season as part of the Holidays at the Union celebration.

From 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. each day from Dec. 5-7, the celebration in the Great Hall will include periodic holiday performances featuring local music groups and student performances.

Holidays Around the World, organized by the Purdue Student Union Board, returns again this year on Wednesday (Dec. 5) from 4-7 p.m. in the Unions North Ballroom. As not all cultures celebrate Christmas, the event allows students and visitors to experience different customs and celebrations from around the world. Throughout the event, there will be food items as well as crafts from different global holidays.

A Guess the Lights contest will run from Dec. 4-19. Visitors can try their best to guess how many lights are on the tree, with the top three receiving gifts donated by local businesses.

Breakfast with Santa will be held from 8-10:30 a.m. Dec. 8 in the Great Hall, South Ballroom, main lounges and Room 118. A meal of pancakes, sausage links, fruit and juice or milk is $4, with coffee and hot chocolate also available for purchase. Pappys Sweet Shop will provide the meal.

Children also can visit with Santa, share story time with Mrs. Claus and build holiday crafts for free.

The Christmas tree will be taken down on Dec. 20, so the last day to see it fully decorated is Dec. 19. The tree will be tested daily for compliance with the Indiana fire code. If it does not meet the requirements, the tree will be removed from the building.

Writer: Matthew Oates, 765-496-2571, oatesw@purdue.edu

Source: Marjorie Jones, 765-494-8907, mctucker@purdue.edu
The Government has proposed changes to its medicinal cannabis legislation to improve how eligible Kiwis can access the products.

The changes were proposed in the second reading of the Misuse of Drugs (Medicinal Cannabis) Amendment Bill on Thursday.

Health Minister Dr David Clark, who was the one who proposed the changes, told RadioLIVE hes delighted that Parliament has backed the bill.

The proposed legislation has expanded medicinal cannabis access to people in palliation (people with life-limiting illnesses), rather than limiting it to the terminally ill in their last 12 months.

Dr Clark says it will be up to a clinician to determine if a person is eligible for palliative care.

In addition, regulations for the Medicinal Cannabis Scheme must be completed no later than a year after the law comes into effect.

This bill is the most progressive one on medicinal products thats ever been before the Parliament, said Dr Clark.

Listen to the full interview with Dr David Clark above.



The Long Lunch with Lynda Hallinan, 12pm - 3pm on RadioLIVE and streaming live to the rova app on Android and iPhone.

RadioLIVE.
Eric Roy, New Zealand Pork Industry Board chair, discusses the Country of Origin label that will now be compulsory on bacon in this country, what it means for New Zealand farmers, and why around 85 percent of the bacon we are currently consuming in this country comes from overseas.
Today's cocktail from MermaidMary is the Christmas Breeze Cocktail, concocted by the team at the team at The Queens Head Bar & Eatery, one of Aucklands oldest licensed pubs, to celebrate their refurbishment.

Queens Head Christmas Breeze cocktail:

Ingredients:

Bacardi 30ml

Malibu 30ml

Organic coconut water 100ml

Coconut syrup 15ml

Method:

Add all of the ingredients into a cocktail shaker with ice and shake.

Pour into a cocktail glass (Poco Grande if you have one).

Garnish with the whipped cream, mint leaves, strawberry and a cherry on top (in that order).

For more on MermaidMary, visit her website or follow her on Instagram or Facebook.

MermaidMary is a wine writer & enthusiast who contributes every Friday on The Long Lunch. Never one to be described as an Oenophile her true passion is to spread the word of great wines, while making wine accessible & never using alienating wine speak that confuses people - like Oenophile!

The Long Lunch with Lynda Hallinan, 12pm - 3pm on RadioLIVE and streaming live to the rova app on Android and iPhone.

RadioLIVE.
By Rodney Hide, former ACT Party leader.

OPINION: Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has promised a kind government. I would settle for honest government.

Last month the Prime Minister told us to read between the lines for why Immigration Minister Iain Lees-Galloway had granted drug-dealing criminal Karel Sroubek residency.

I had no idea what she meant. I couldnt understand why she couldn't just tell us  and I still dont. We were told the secrecy was to protect privacy.

It appeared more like a convenient device to cover up a Ministerial screw-up.

Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters declared privacy critical. He told RadioLIVEs Mark Sainsbury that he had the full details and was confident the Minister has made the correct decision.

It isnt just Immigration Minister Iain Lees-Galloway who screwed up.

Winston Peters said he had reviewed the Ministers decision to grant Sroubek residency and was satisfied with it.

But Minister Iain Lees-Galloway has now reversed his decision. The correct decision is no longer correct. The latest decision is the correct one. Sroubek is now liable for deportation.

The between-the-lines reading proved nothing. It was just Prime Ministerial flim-flam.

We now know the Minister didnt read the file. He didnt agonise over his decision as we were told. He made his decision to grant Sroubek residency astonishingly quickly on just a cursory review.

In answers to questions in Parliament on Thursday, Winston Peters, answering on behalf of the Prime Minister, said Iain Lees-Galloway was, setting out, having made only one mistake in a year, to fix it up."

The original decision to grant Sroubek residency was a mistake. It was an error. We all knew that a month ago.
USA: The state of Florida has chosen to accept a proposal from inter-city passenger company Brightline to develop a route between Orlando and Tampa, largely following trunk roads.
POLAND: Lubuskie voivodship has awarded Newag a 43m zoty contract to supply two three-car diesel multiple-units by the end of 2020.
The 2019 event will mark the fourth iteration of the Indielab Accelerator and the organisers say that the next edition will comes with a future-focus underpinned by a wider nationwide perspective mirroring the nationwide impetus for a more distributed production network across the UK.Indielab Accelerator offers 15 early and mid-stage content companies a tailored programme to grow their businesses, consisting of growth masterclasses, global market insight and investment-readiness designed by the sector for the sector.The 2019 event will also see the social enterprise develop a series of new strands and diversifications under the Indielab brand with a sharpened focus on investment readiness in the programme agenda and a separate pitching for investment event. As in previous years, Indielab Accelerator has pledged that half of the events participants will be operating in the UKs nations and regions alongside London based indies, in line with its mission to help nurture sustainable production hubs outside of the UK capital.Given the programmes commitment to supporting out-of-London production in 2019, the BBC has increased its support to become a full sponsor and will also be looking to the programme to help increase diversity across the broadcast industry. Channel 4 has also renewed its commitment to the 2019 programme, investing specifically from its Growth Fund and Nations and Regions . Indielab Accelerator 2019 is also being supported  as it has been since its inception  by the Mayor of Londons office through Film London , the UK capitals screen industries agency.Now more than ever the content market is changing rapidly, with domestic spending generally accepted as flat and marked increases in global spend expected, commented Indielab CEO and founder Victoria Powell. The UK sector continues to look like a very good place for indies to do business, albeit under a somewhat changing set of rules. No matter which corner of the UK you are based in, there are significant opportunities out the for indies who want to grow. At Indielab we aim to give UK indies the edge by connecting them to the right insight, intel and network to achieve these successes.Entries for the 2019 programme are open from now until 7 February 2019. Production companies can apply via the Indielab website: www.weareindielab.co.uk
A recent New York Times article has drawn much criticism from the U.S. intelligence community for depicting North Koreas continued missile development as a Great Deception.

Analysts have responded by proclaiming that North Korea has never agreed to cease its missile and nuclear development program, or offered to declare the existence of the missile facilities during the June summit. Pyongyang has so far only complied with its missile moratorium, blown up its guard posts near the Demilitarized Zone, and pledged to take further steps if the U.S. eases sanctions.

The fact that these missile facilities exist is an open secret and constitutes nothing new in the context of North Koreas pursuit of a survivable nuclear arsenal.

As North Koreas nuclear strategy is taking shape, it is using the threat of resumed nuclear and missile testing to blackmail South Korea and the U.S. to make concessions.

Notably, the outcry at the New York Times article implies that there is a misperception between how the public and pundits view progress with North Korea. The publicity and expectation both before and after the Kim-Trump summit in Singapore in June, as well as South Koreas exaggerated statements about the incoming peace with North Korea, have persuaded the public that Pyongyang is denuclearising.

Kims low-cost concessions, reducing the number of troops along the demilitarised zone and stopping missile tests, make good front-page stories and can easily distract non-experts from Pyongyangs low-profile missile production activities. The current negotiation deadlock with North Korea, coupled with the fear of a return to North Koreas missile testing activities and the publics high expectation, puts a great pressure on South Korea and the United States to strike a nuclear deal with Pyongyang.

After a year looking for a functional missile design, it is logical for Pyongyang to switch to mass production to maximise the survivability of its arsenal. Such a move is a part of North Koreas plan to disperse a great number of missile launchers from its bases at the onset of a conflict and conduct multiple launches from various pre-designated or surveyed sites throughout the process. North Koreas dispersal of missiles reduces the likelihood that the next Korean War would be limited and Washington might have to go to great lengths to destroy all of North Koreas missiles.

Also, Kim Jong-un has reasons to delegate his nuclear launch authority to field commanders if his safety is at risk or threaten to strike the U.S. Pacific bases and the mainland by raising military alert level and diffusing launchers to force Washington to abort its invasion plan. Both of these measures are highly escalatory in nature and constitute too much of a risk for any sober leaders to accept.

As North Koreas nuclear strategy is taking shape, it is using the threat of resumed nuclear and missile testing to blackmail South Korea and the U.S. to make concessions. South Koreas Moon Jae-in has invested much of his political capital into the Korea detente and he is struggling with domestic economic reforms. At the beginning of the peace process, his administration has regarded inter-Korean economic cooperation as a growth engine for the South Korean economy. Since Moons approval rating depends on economic reform and inter-Korean relations, North Koreas return to its parallel development of its nuclear weapons and economy may shatter his agenda.

The Blue Houses recent rejection of the New York Times articles portrayal of North Korea as a deceiver reflects Moons fear that the United States and North Korea may abandon the negotiation at South Koreas expense. What South Korea wants at the moment is Washington to ease the sanctions in order to advance the dialogue with North Korea, which is also what North Korea has been looking for.

The U.S. is also frustrated at the mismatch in progress between U.S.-North Korea negotiations and inter-Korean relations and wants to find a quick solution to the deadlock. Vice President Mike Pence recently announced that the U.S. would not require North Korea to submit its complete list of nuclear weapons and missile sites before the second Trump-Kim summit. Pence also added that the second summit must result in a concrete plan to disclose those sites and weapons in order to be considered a success.

Pences statement indicates that the U.S. is determined to make real progress with North Korea. Unfortunately, Pyongyangs declaration dilemma  giving the U.S. a full list of its sites will be too dangerous, while only disclosing a fraction of those sites will make Washington question Pyongyangs sincerity  is liable to hamper the next round of negotiation. Pyongyang will gain prestige for its second meeting with the U.S. President. Yet only if Washington is willing to lift some of its sanctions first, which is unlikely at the moment, can North Korea respond with its concessions.

North Koreas nuclear program has reached a stage that it is cheaper for it to preserve the program rather than giving it up in exchange for U.S. concessions. Pyongyangs burgeoning nuclear strategy and its ability to resume nuclear and missile testing at any moments constitute the countrys blackmail strategy.

If Pyongyang does not see any progress forthcoming, it will ramp up its pressure in the coming months. South Korea and the U.S. have to reconcile their differences over sanction lifting measures before they can overcome the present deadlock.

Khang X. Vu is a Master's candidate at Dartmouth College, where he focuses on East Asian politics and U.S. East Asia policy.

This article appeared originally at Lowy Institute's the interpreter.
Four empires collapsed during World War I  the German Empire, the Russian Empire, the Austria-Hungary Empire, and the Ottoman Empire. After the armistice of Nov. 11, 1918, the victorious Allies redrew the maps of Europe, Africa, Asia and the Middle East to replace these fallen empires.

The United States entered World War I in April 1917. Nine months later, in January 1918, President Wilson articulated Fourteen Points as the basis for negotiating a peace settlement. This speech detailed his concept of a fair and equitable peace to all parties. The British and French were concerned about the Fourteen Points. Having incurred several million casualties and severe financial hardship, they were not that interested in a generous settlement for Germany. Prime Minister of France, Georges Clemenceau was reported to have commented that God was satisfied with Ten Commandments. Wilson gives us fourteen. Wilson felt that a harsh treaty would risk future war, stating in his Peace Without Victory speech: Victory would mean peace forced upon a loser, a victors terms imposed upon the vanquished It would be accepted in humiliation, under duress, at an intolerable sacrifice, and would leave a sting, a resentment, a bitter memory upon which term of peace would rest, not permanently, but only as upon quicksand. Time would prove him correct as many historians believe that the harsh Treaty of Versailles was one cause of World War II.

Several of Wilsons points dealt with territorial issues including the provision of independent countries for each of the main ethnic groups in Europe. These concepts were accepted by the Allies and included in the Treaty of Versailles with Germany; the Treaty of Trianon with Hungary and the Treaty of Saint-Germain with Austria.

Europe

Much changed in Europe after World War I.

Austria-Hungary was divided into several countries:

Austria

Hungary

Czechoslovakia

Yugoslavia (Originally called the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes)  this country included Serbia and Montenegro along with the Croatian areas of Austria-Hungary

The boundaries of Romania were expanded based on ethnic considerations to include as many Romanians as possible within its borders.

Poland was created from portions of Germany, Austria-Hungary and Russia. The Polish corridor was provided to grant Poland access to the Baltic Sea. As a result, the German province of East Prussia was divided from the rest of the country.

Three Baltic countries, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia came into existence after World War I. However, these were not part of the post-war treaties. Instead, each country used the chaos following the Russian Revolution and end of World War I to declare independence. Stalin annexed these countries in 1940 following the outbreak of World War II. They remained part of the Soviet Union until its collapse in 1991, when the Baltic nations once again became independent.

Several of these border changes were issues leading up to World War II. Many ethnic Germans ended up within Czechoslovakia in an area called the Sudetenland. Hitler used this as an excuse in 1938 to precipitate a crisis which eventually led to appeasement by Neville Chamberlain in the Munich Agreement of that year. The Polish corridor provided Poland access to the sea and separated East Prussia from the rest of Germany. Many Germans lived there also. Hitler used this as a pretense to invade Poland in 1939, starting World War II.

Africa

German colonies in Africa were forfeited at the end of the War.

These colonies were converted into League of Nations Mandates and split between the United Kingdom, France, Belgium and South Africa. The mandate system was intended to provide temporary supervision until the countries were ready to govern themselves as independent nations. Most did not achieve independence until after World War II.

Asia

Germany had a sphere of influence on the eastern coast of China, the Shandong province. Both China and Japan were members of the Allies opposing the Germans. The Treaty of Versailles awarded Shandong to the Japanese even though it was part of mainland China. As a result, China refused to sign the Treaty of Versailles. This clause was one reason the U.S. Senate opposed and ultimately did not approve the Treaty.

German colonies in the Pacific, including Samoa and New Guinea, became League of Nations Mandates administered by the United Kingdom, New Zealand and Australia. They achieved independence after World War II.

Middle East / Ottoman Empire

The Ottoman Empire was broken up into several pieces including modern day Turkey. The secret SykesPicot Agreement of 1916 between England and France split the remaining Ottoman Empire between them. The French were granted a mandate over an area that eventually became Lebanon and Syria. The British were granted mandates over land that later became Iraq, Jordan and Israel.

These borders still cause trouble to this day. They did not always account for religious, tribal and ethnic differences. Iraq is unstable with Shia and Sunni Muslims mixed with Kurds, who themselves are split up into several countries. The boundaries of Israel have been the subject of several wars and ongoing negotiations. The Syrian Civil War is a multi-sided conflict between several different groups. Lebanon also experienced a lengthy Civil War between different ethnic and religious groups contained within its boundaries including Christians, Druze, Shia Muslims and Sunni Muslims.

Break up of the Soviet Union

After the fall of the Iron Curtain and the breakup of the Soviet Union in the 1990s several other border changes occurred. Czechoslovakia split peaceably into two countries, the Czech Republic and the Slovak Republic. Yugoslavia underwent a violent breakup becoming Serbia, Macedonia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Montenegro. Finally, Moldova, to the east of Romania, was formed out of the former Romanian territory.

Conclusion

The cataclysm of World War I greatly shaped the borders of the world today. Our hope is that any future border changes are the result of peaceful negotiations not armed conflict. There are examples of recent peaceful border modifications such as the transfer of Hong Kong from Great Britain to China or the return of the Panama Canal zone to Panama. Unfortunately, violent border changes are also occurring such as the annexation of Crimea by Russia or the war in the Sudan resulting in the creation of South Sudan. We hope that diplomacy can resolve future disputes without resorting to force to keep the world from experiencing another cataclysm.
The EPA says parts of the old smelter are still buried there, Oliver said, and the cleanup plan would leave that debris in place. Oliver said years from now, people will come back and question why that was done.
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By Elizabeth Kwiatkowski, 11/30/2018



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Elizabeth Kwiatkowski is Associate Editor of Reality TV World and has been covering the reality TV genre for more than a decade.

couple Nicole Nafziger and Azan Tefou are reportedly returning for TLC's new season of Happily Ever After? and have already begun filming."They started filming a couple of weeks before Thanksgiving," a source told RadarOnline."It's all about her next trip to Morocco and what her family thinks about it."The insider added how Nicole's family is concerned about her upcoming trip given her four-year-old daughter May, who typically accompanies her on her travels, will be starting school soon."She's still with Azan. They still talk," the insider said. "They're still planning on getting married. She's planning on going to Morocco before Christmas."As fans last saw on Season 3 of : Happily Ever After?, Nicole and Azan decided to delay their wedding in Morocco in June 2018 due to financial constraints.Azan also appeared to talk Nicole into investing their wedding money into a beauty-store business instead."Azan is living off her... He's milking her for all he can ," Nicole's stepfather Joe Fouraker told RadarOnline in August.Nafziger gave Tefou $6,000 to open the alleged beauty store in Morocco, while he only contributed $500 to the company.Azan also refused to show Nicole's mother a photo of the store, sparking speculation it was all a scam."I am surprised the purchasing of the store takes precedence over the wedding," Nicole's mom said during an episode of the series."That looks suspicious. Maybe this whole store thing is Azan's get-rich-quick scheme."Since Azan refused to file marriage paperwork while Nicole was in Morocco on her tourist visa, Nicole returned to Florida under the assumption she would reunite with Azan in Morocco again and they could wed within a few months.Nicole, however, reportedly ran out of money and was unable to return to Morocco as she had anticipated -- until now.Earlier in the Happily Ever After? season, the couple called off their wedding for the first time because Nicole only had copies of the official documents she needed to obtain their marriage license and visa.Prior to starring on the : Happily Ever After? spinoff, Nicole and Azan appeared on Season 4 of as well as Season 5 of the original TLC reality series.
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The incidents in the FBIs report are broken down into categories of religion, sexual orientation, disability, gender, gender identity and race/ethnicity/ancestry. The most common was race/ethnicity/ancestry, at 59.6 percent, followed by religion at 20.6 percent and sexual orientation at 15.8 percent, according to the FBI.
Sarah, left, and Kayla Randolph check in with their online school's website Thursday, Nov. 29 at the Randolph residence in Lindsay. The Randolph twins are planning to graduate from California Connections Academy at Central, an online-based public school.
Athens, GA (30605)

Today

Showers this evening becoming less numerous overnight. Low 42F. Winds W at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 50%..

Tonight

Showers this evening becoming less numerous overnight. Low 42F. Winds W at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 50%.
The decision to do away with Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes accelerated the slowdown in economic activity with growth averaging 6.8 per cent in the seven quarters after it, as against an average of 8 per cent in the six quarters preceding it, says former chief economic advisor Arvind Subramanian.

A few months after announcing his resignation from the post of chief economic advisor, Arvind Subramanian is now candid on controversial issues such as demonetisation, which he had eschewed during his stint.

Demonetisation was a massive, draconian, monetary shock. It was an unprecedented move that no country in recent history had made in normal times, he notes in his new book.

The decision to do away with Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes accelerated the slowdown in economic activity with growth averaging 6.8 per cent in the seven quarters after it, as against an average of 8 per cent in the six quarters preceding it, Subramanian notes.

Though the move severely impacted the informal sector, it was puzzling on two counts - first, that it did not have a bigger impact on growth and second, that the move turned out to be an electoral winner in the Uttar Pradesh elections in 2017, says the former CEA.

In addition to demonetisation, Subramanian addresses a range of issues such the implementation of the goods and services tax (GST), the twin balance sheet problem, the problems facing the Indian agriculture in his new book titled Of Counsel: The Challenges of the Modi-Jaitley Economy, published by Penguin.

The former CEA also wades into the ongoing rift between the central government and the Reserve bank of India (RBI).

Subramanian, who was one of the first to propose a transfer from the RBI to the central government, notes that the central bank has excess capital of Rs 4.5 trillion if one was to apply a risk tolerance of 1 per cent over time.

His own estimate was that the bank is holding excess capital to the tune of Rs 4.5-7 trillion, which he argues could be used to recapitalise public sector banks.

On the surge in non-performing assets (NPAs) over the past few years, Subramanian notes that the RBI had also been aware of the mounting problem in the early 2010s.

To a certain extent this situation occurred because a series of RBI initiatives allowed a form of extend and pretend, postponing repayments to a day of reckoning far in the future, he adds.

He chastises the RBI for not being able to grasp the seriousness of the loan repayment problems or identify the prolonged frauds of Nirav Modi, and says, That it has a good reputation, however, does not mean it is always right.

Though of the flip side, he sides with the RBI on issues of Prompt Corrective Action framework (PCA) and the power of the RBI to deal with public sector banks.

RBI deserves credit for maintaining the integrity of the Prompt Corrective Action (PCA) process amidst pressures from the government to dilute it he notes, adding that when dealing with errant public-sector banks, the RBI needs additional powers so that it can meaningfully sanction the banks.

"For example, the RBI should be able to remove board members, convene a meeting of the board, or supersede the board of public sector banks, just as it can with private-sector banks.

Subramanian believes that the governments cautious approach to the problem of NPAs in the initial years was due to a combination of reasons.

With economic growth accelerating, it created the impression that the problem would solve itself.

It also provoked the question of how serious can the problem be if growth is so good'?

Moreover, being in fiscal consolidation mode, the government felt it did not have the resources to fill the gap that would have been left in the banks if the problem of the NPAs had been fully recognized and tackled.

The accusation of suit-boot ki sarkar is also likely to have compounded the problem.

The perceived differential treatment of indebted fat cats (corporates) versus debt-burdened poor farmers, and the fear that decisions by public-sector bank managers would be the object of investigation by the 4Cs made the writing down or writing off of loans - absolutely vital to any solution - virtually impossible.

And while he hails the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) as a potentially transformational reform, Subramanian is skeptical about its effectiveness.

At the current rate of disposal of cases by the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT), it could take another five to six years for the most important cases to be settled, he says.

He also calls on the RBI to modify the February 2018 circular to allow for departures from the IBC process in the case of power-sector assets and smaller loans.

On GST, Subramanian notes that Hasmukh Adhia and state finance ministers such as Manish Sisodia wanted to include land and real estate in the GST system.

But the reform effort was soon buried by vehement opposition, including from some of the large, BJP-led states such as Gujarat and Maharashtra, he notes.

Photograph: Adnan Abidi/Reuters
The $8.1 million was the total of funds that was transferred without council approval to other parts of the city budget dating from 2015 to March of this year, with 55 percent of that going toward various parts of the city payroll and some $3 million being used for expenses related to demolishing decrepit buildings.
'The controversy created by a Gujarat minister was totally unnecessary and unwanted.'

'It is a disgrace that a person who happened to be Gujarat's finance minister, spoke this kind of rubbish.'

Economist and RTI activist G Krishnan began his career at the National Dairy Development Board in Anand, Gujarat, in 1973.

The NDDB was founded by Dr Verghese Kurien in 1965 to fulfil the desire of then prime minister Lal Bahadur Shastri to extend the success of Amul to other parts of India.

The Anand Milk Producers Union Limited, or Amul, as a dairy cooperative was started by Tribhuvandas Patel under the guidance of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel and Dr Kurien in 1948, sowing the first drop of India's White Revolution.

Recently, when a minister in the Gujarat government, Dileep Sanghani, alleged that Dr Kurien diverted Amul's profits to fund religious conversions in Gujarat, it shocked and angered a nation that looks at Dr Kurien as a legend in the history of independent India.

In a conversation with Rediff.com's Shobha Warrier, Krishnan, who worked at NDDB for seven years, rubbishes Sanghani's allegation.

My first job was in NDDB's planning department under Dr Kurien. I worked with him from 1973 to 1980. I considered it an honour to work in an organisation headed by a legend and I was very keen to see him at work.

I saw his single-minded commitment to work, farmers's welfare and the development of Amul and his sincerity. He was truly committed to spreading the Amul model throughout the country. In fact, NDDB was set up purely with that intention. I also saw his hatred for the bureaucracy although there was an IAS officer also working at NDDB.

His motto was hard work and no play! The only relaxation for him was going home at 5.30 in the evening and be with his family.

Though I had the opportunity to observe him closely, I can never claim that I was close to him. For a period of two months, when his executive secretary was on leave, I had to work as his substitute which gave me the opportunity to directly interact with him.

He knew that I was a fresher and was there as a substitute. So, he was very sympathetic and understanding in his interactions and demands from me. He was basically a matter-of-fact person who concentrated only on his work and nothing else.

I found him not very friendly or expressive, but not rude also. In my seven years at NDDB, I never saw him overly friendly with anybody; he preferred only official dealings with people. Hardly anyone went to his home or socialised with him.

I have seen many people describing themselves as close friends and associates of Dr Kurien, but I never saw any close friends with him.

After I left NDDB, I was curious about his personal interactions with others, so I used to ask those who worked for 15 years or 20 years with him. They also used to say he had very few close friends.

His life was his work around Amul, the welfare of the people connected with Amul and there was no place for anything else.

I can describe Dileep Sanghani's allegation in one word: Absurd. Nobody who worked at Amul or NDDB would believe him.

Everybody who worked at Amul knew that Dr Kurien was an atheist and never went to church. The only thing that was Christian about him was his name.

I had gone to his house one day to hand over some photographs and I could not spot any pictures or symbols connected to Christianity in his living room.

He never showed any inclination towards people belonging to any one particular religion. He was beyond caste, creed and religion.

During the time I was with NDDB, there were many missionaries and nuns, mainly from Kerala, working in some of the tribal districts of Gujarat. Most of them initially engaged themselves with the welfare work of tribals through education, medical facilities and rural development activities.

They generally started the conversion process only later, that is after they established a rapport with the tribal people.

It is quite possible that when they were doing these welfare activities, they might have approached Dr Kurien for some contribution and he might have given some money for their welfare work.

I am not saying they approached him or he gave them money. It is quite possible that because they were Malayalis, they could have gone to him and told him about the kind of good work they were doing for the tribals.

Then, they might have asked Amul to make a contribution and sometimes, it is quite possible that Amul could have made a contribution.

Since these missionaries were involved in conversion, you can perhaps say this money might have been used for conversion also.

But I can say with 100% confidence that consciously, Dr Kurien would never have given a single penny for conversion activities.

After I left NDDB, I had an opportunity to meet a young Malayali priest in Chotta Udaipur, which was 65 km away from Baroda. During the conversation, he said he would not consider Dr Kurien a Christian at all. Why I mention this incident was because this was the kind of impression even a Christian priest had of him.

I feel the controversy created by the Gujarat minister was totally unnecessary and unwanted. It was blown out of proportion by the media that is after sensationalism.

It is a disgrace that a person who happened to be the finance minister of Gujarat once upon a time spoke this kind of rubbish. I am sure nobody takes it seriously, even those who are close to the minister.

It is true that the BJP leadership in Gujarat after Narendra Damodardas Modi took over did not have a good relationship with Dr Kurien. It was not because Dr Kurien was anti-BJP or anything like that. He was one person who wanted to keep politicians and civil servants at a distance.

Of course, he had good relations with politicians of the earlier generation like Sardar Patel, Tribuvandas Patel, Lal Bahadur Shastri and Indira Gandhi. When he wanted to leave Amul at an early stage, it was Tribuvandas Patel who made him stay.

But he never got along with the politicians who came later and kept them at an arm's length and naturally, they didn't like it. He never allowed politics to creep into the working of the co-operatives.

So, I feel the comment by the minister was totally unwanted and far from the truth.

Photograph: Kind courtesy Drkurien.com
'The government must covertly eliminate the leaders of terrorist organisations abroad so as to eliminate the problem at its roots,' recommends Brigadier Gurmeet Kanwal (retd).

Photograph: Uttam Ghosh/ Rediff.com IMAGE: November 26, 2008, after midnight: After terrorist Ajmal Kasab's capture, a team of policemen check the Skoda Laura that he and his accomplice commandeered at Nariman Point and drove down Marine Drive.

On the occasion of the tenth anniversary of the Mumbai terror attacks, many column inches of commentary have appeared in print and numerous discussions have been telecast by the news channels. The broad consensus that has emerged is that the response was slow and laborious and poorly coordinated among the central and the state governments and their various agencies.

Coastal security was virtually non-existent; the marine police were too few in number to effectively patrol the vast area entrusted to them; they were ill-equipped and inadequately trained; and, there was poor coordination between the coast guard and the marine Police. It took far too long to begin flushing out operations and then eliminate the nine terrorists who were holed up at three separate locations.

Photograph: Uttam Ghosh/ Rediff.com IMAGE: November 26, 2008, Fire erupts from the Taj as terrorists set fire to parts of the hotel.

However, the question that needs to asked is whether anything much has changed materially to inspire national confidence that the next such terror strike will be nipped in the bud and if it does unfold, whether it will be quickly brought to an end.

Even though recent terrorist strikes have been sporadic and have been spaced out in time, the overall impression that prevails is that of an unstable internal security environment in which the initiative lies with the terrorist organisations and they are able to strike at will.

The government needs to review its largely reactive policies and adopt pro-active measures to fight terrorism, particularly the variety that emanates from the soil of inimical neighbouring countries.

The government must formulate a comprehensive approach to fight terrorism, and all organs of the State must come together to implement a national-level counter-terrorism strategy.

The government must draw up a strategy that is inter-ministerial, inter-agency and inter-departmental in character. Such a strategy must also balance the interests of the central and state governments.

Photograph: Rajesh Karkera/ Rediff.com IMAGE: NSG commandos take positions during the operation to evict Nariman House of Pakistani terrorists, November 28, 2008.

It must be ensured that the counter-terrorism policy is based on strong but egalitarian laws. India's experiments with POTA, TADA and UAPA have failed to deliver the desired results.

Laws must be just and humane and must not be designed to either be vindictive towards or shield any particular community or religious denomination. The experience of many other countries has proved that it is possible to formulate strong yet egalitarian counter-terrorism laws.

The US established a powerful department of homeland security following the 9/11 strikes and there has not been a major terrorist attack since then.

One major lacuna in India's approach to counter-terrorism is the gross disconnect between how the central and state governments view counter-terrorism. There are glaring disparities in the views held in Delhi and the state capitals.

The Constitution must be amended to move 'law and order' from the State List to the Concurrent List so that the central government can act on its own initiative when necessary, particularly in the case of externally sponsored terrorism.

And it is time the government bifurcated the internal security function of the ministry of home affairs into a separate ministry headed by a Cabinet minister.

Besides prevention through accurate 'humint' and 'techint' intelligence gathering, successful counter-terrorism requires effective intelligence penetration of terrorist groups so that their leadership can be systematically neutralised by an empowered anti-terrorism agency.

Comprehensive planning and better stage management are necessary for the real-time elimination of a group of terrorists during a strike while the terrorists are still on a killing spree.

Though the Cabinet Committee on Security gave its approval for the establishment of a National Counter-Terrorism Centre following the Mumbai terror strikes, seven chief ministers virtually vetoed the NCTC on the grounds that its functioning would undermine the federal structure of India's Constitution and that it must not be placed under the Intelligence Bureau.

The strong opposition came despite the then prime minister's assurance that 'It is not our government's intention to alter distribution of power between states and Centre. The NCTC is to coordinate counter terror measures, and not to infringe on state powers.'

The opposition was strong despite the fact that the structure of the NCTC approved by the CCS was a watered down version of the form in which the NCTC had been originally conceived by then home minister P Chidambaram.

In an address to Intelligence Bureau officers on December 23, 2009, then home minister Chidambaram had said the NCTC had been envisioned as an organisation capable of 'preventing a terrorist attack, containing a terrorist attack should one take place, and responding to a terrorist attack by inflicting pain upon the perpetrators.'

Photograph: Uttam Ghosh/ Rediff.com IMAGE: Policemen prepare to capture terrorists Ajmal Kasab and Ismail Khan, November 26, 2008.

The NCTC had been envisaged as an umbrella organisation which would exercise control over agencies like the National Technical Research Organisation, the Joint Intelligence Committee, the National Crime Records Bureau and the National Security Guard.

According to the proposal, the NCTC was proposed to be placed under the IB and the existing Multi-Agency Centre was to be subsumed in it.

The NCTC was to be tasked to draw up and coordinate counter-terrorism plans, integrate intelligence gathering and coordinate with all existing investigating and intelligence agencies.

The NATGRID (National Intelligence Grid), which was approved by the CCS in June 2011, was expected to provide a data bank of 20 database like travel records, immigration details and income tax records as inputs to the NCTC.

Photograph: Rediff.com IMAGE: Soldiers arrive to tackle the terrorists, November 26, 2008.

Though it was never established, the concept had some major lacunae. Unless the NCTC is empowered to conduct counter-terrorism operations like its US counterpart, on which the Indian version was expected to be based, urban terrorism will continue to remain a cause for concern.

Without an effective NCTC or a similar organisation, the planning and execution of India's counter-terrorism policies will remain mired in systemic weaknesses.

Post-incident investigation is aimed at unravelling the identities of the planners and the plotters and bringing to justice the perpetrators of the incident of terrorism.

The National Investigation Agency, which was set up and which has now had several years of experience, must be reconstituted as it lacks teeth in its present form. It should be re-modelled on the US FBI to give it both preventive and investigative powers.

While there is no need to blindly ape any country, there is no harm in learning from the best practices abroad and incorporating them into Indian policies.

Photograph: Vaihayasi Daniel/ Rediff.com IMAGE: The boat the terrorists used to arrive on Mmbai's shore on November 26, 2008.

India's intelligence coordination and assessment apparatus at the national level and counter-terrorism policies remain mired in the days of innocence. We are now living in the age of 'new terrorism' that is far more violent and diabolical than before and policies must keep pace with the emerging developments.

The government must enlarge the scope of its counter-terrorism policy to covertly eliminate the leaders of terrorist organisations abroad who are actively engaged in sponsoring terrorism in India so as to eliminate the problem at its roots, especially as the neighbouring countries have not been willing to bring them to justice.

Brigadier Gurmeet Kanwal (retd) is former Director, Centre for Land Warfare Studies (CLAWS), New Delhi.
'Valmiki has not written anything about Hanuman's caste.'

'I want to clarify that Hanuman was not a Vanar, but an Adivasi.'

IMAGE: An artiste dressed as Lord Hanuman performs during Hanuman Jayanti festival in Allahabad. Photograph: Jitendra Prakash/Reuters

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Ajay Singh Bisht plunged into controversy when he reportedly called Lord Hanuman a Dalit.

At a poll rally in Malakheda, Alwar, Rajasthan on Tuesday, November 27, Bisht said, 'Hanuman was a forest dweller, deprived and a Dalit. Bajrang Bali worked to connect all Indian communities together, from north to south and east to west.'

Rajasthan Sarv Brahmin Mahasabha President Suresh Mishra sent Bisht a legal notice, accusing him of dragging Lord Hanuman's caste for political gains for the Bharatiya Janata Party in the state ahead of the December 7 assembly election.

Social media users sympathetic to Bisht tried to explain that his comments were misconstrued and he 'took a long pause between Hanuman and Dalit'.

Even as the controversy rages on, Acharya Kishore Kunal, a former Indian Police Service officer who took voluntary retirement to conduct do research on the deity, tells Rediff.com's Syed Firdaus Ashraf, "In the Valmiki Ramayana, it is only mentioned that he was born in South India, but nothing about his caste."

What is the origin of Lord Hanuman? Was he a Dalit as portrayed by the UP chief minister?

Lord Hanuman was not a monkey, but he was from the Adivasi community.

(Belgian scholar) Camille Bulcke, who is considered to be one of the greatest writers on Ram Katha, has written that Hanumanji was an Adivasi.

Now we (Hindus) do not consider Dalit as a caste but as people from the lower strata of society who are (socially) inferior and not very rich.

(16th century poet and saint) Tulsidas, (who wrote the Ramcharitmanas in the Awadhi language) has also written that he considered Hanuman from the weaker section of society.

So it is wrong to call Hanuman a Dalit?

In terms of caste, it is wrong to do so.

The word Dalit did not exist then (ancient times). His Gotra was Vanar.

Is there any version of the Ramayana by any author in which Lord Hanuman is shown as a Dalit?

In the Valmiki Ramayana he is called Vanar. At many places he is also depicted in human form, wearing a dhoti and kurta.

Valmiki has not written anything about Hanuman's caste.

I want to clarify that Hanuman was not a Vanar, but an Adivasi and not from an affluent community.

A Brahmin organisation in Rajasthan has sent the UP CM a legal notice for calling Hanuman a Dalit. What have the Brahmins got to do with Hanuman?

In one of the Puranas, it is written that Anjana, Hanuman's mother, was the sister of a Brahmin rishi.

This is a claim from the Brahmin side, but it is a later development.

All the earlier books say that Hanuman was from the weaker sections of society.

Moreover, the janaeu (sacred thread) that the Brahmins wear is made of cotton.

But Hanuman wears a janeu made of moonj (Saccharum munja, a type of sharp grass), as written in the Anand Ramayana, Hanumat Kavacham and Hanuman Chalisa by Tulsidas. It is a material from which ropes are made.

It means that Hanuman has no right to wear (cotton) janeu.

But that does not matter today as Hanumanji is the most popular deity of Hindu dharma.

What about Lord Hanuman's parents?

Hanuman's father was Kesari.

However, there is a concept in Hindu dharma that if a child is born as result of prayers to a particular god, then very often the child is named after that deity or the name which is closely associated with that deity.

So though Hanumanji's father is Kesari, he was born with the blessings of Pavan Dev, or the Wind God. Therefore, he is called Pavan Putra Hanuman.

Is there a Brahmin connection to Pavan Dev?

No, there is no Brahmin connection to Pavan Dev.

As I told you, Valmiki did not go into caste (details).

If you read the Valmiki Ramayana, you will find out that Lord Ram has not performed any miracles, only Hanumanji did.

He flew to Lanka, destroyed it and performed miracles over there.

In the Valmiki Ramayana, it is only mentioned that he was born in South India, but nothing about his caste.

Is any particular place mentioned where Lord Hanuman was born?

Hanuman was born in Kishkindha, which is in present day Karnataka. It is 378 kilometres from Bengaluru.

There is also a place near Ranchi, Jharkhand, called Anjandham. People claim that Hanuman was born there.

In Uttarakhand too there is a place where some people claim he was born.

I also read in a granth that Hanumanji was born in Saurashtra.

Most people believe he was born in Kishkindha.

Who were the ancestors of Lord Hanuman?

Kesari was his father and he was more of a sardar, like a general in the army.

We do not know who was Kesari's father. He was like King Sugreeva.

We do not have any information as to who Kesari's father was.
In a humanitarian gesture, Arunachal Pradesh Governor Brigadier B D Mishra (retired) took a woman, who was in urgent need of medical attention, in his helicopter from Tawang to a hospital in Itanagar, Raj Bhawan sources said.

IMAGE: Arunachal Pradesh Governor Brigadier B D Mishra (retired) also arranged for an ambulance with a lady gynaecologist at the Raj Bhawan helipad at Itanagar. Photograph: @PemaKhanduBJP/Twitter

When the chopper developed a snag after refuelling at Tezpur, the governor requisitioned an Indian Air Force helicopter and let the woman and her husband leave first for the Arunachal Pradesh capital. He returned later in another chopper.

Not stopping at that, Mishra also arranged for an ambulance with a lady gynaecologist at the Raj Bhawan helipad at Itanagar to take the pregnant patient to hospital without losing time, the sources said Thursday.

At the Heema Hospital, the patient underwent a successful emergency caesarean delivery.

The distance between Tawang and Itanagar is over 200 kilometre by road in the hilly terrain and it takes around 15 hours. But by air, it is around two hours.

The chain of events started at an official programme in Tawang on Wednesday after the Governor overheard a conversation between Chief Minister Pema Khandu and the local MLA.

The MLA was informing Khandu that a patient was in a critical condition, but there was no helicopter service between Guwahati and Tawang for the next three days, the sources said.

Mishra offered to take the patient and her husband with him to Itanagar in his helicopter and the two officers, who had travelled with him, would stay back at Tawang to accommodate the couple.

The helicopter had to land at Tezpur in Assam for refuelling, but after that, the pilot noticed a technical snag in the chopper and the flight had to be aborted.

Concerned over the condition of the patient, the governor made a requisition bid to the Air Officer Commanding of the Air Force Station, Tezpur, for another helicopter. The patient and her husband were taken to Itanagar, the sources said.

He followed them in another chopper later.

After coming to know about the womans successful surgery, Mishra conveyed his best wishes to her and her baby, they added.
A Delhi court on Friday convicted ex-coal secretary H C Gupta in a corruption case relating to allotment of coal blocks in West Bengal during the previous United Progressive Alliance regime at the Centre.

Five others, including one retired and another serving public servant -- K S Kropha and K C Samria -- were held guilty for various offences under the Prevention of Corruption Act and Indian Penal Code.

Gupta, who was the coal secretary from December 31, 2005 to November 2008, has already been convicted before this in two other cases of coal block allocation in which he has been sentenced to jail for two and three years respectively.

He is out on bail in both the cases.

Kropha, who was then the joint secretary, ministry of coal, retired in December 2017 as the chief secretary of Meghalaya. He has also been convicted and sentenced to two years in another coal block allocation scam and has been on bail.

Samria then held the rank of director in the ministry of coal and is now working as a joint secretary in the ministry of minority affairs. He has already been convicted and sentenced to two years jail term in another case and has been out on bail.

All the convicted persons were taken into the custody on the order of the court and were sent to judicial custody till December 3 when special Central Bureau of Investigation Judge Bharat Parashar will hear the arguments on sentence which entails maximum punishment of seven years in jail.

The case pertains to alleged irregularities in allocation of Moira and Madhujore (North and South) coal blocks in West Bengal to Vikash Metals and Power Limited. An FIR was lodged by the CBI in September 2012.

The VMPL, its managing director Vikash Patni and authorised signatory Anand Mallick were also convicted.

All have been held guilty for the offences under Prevention of Corruption Act and IPC, including sections 420 (cheating) and 120-B (criminal conspiracy).

Prosecutors said Gupta has been accused in 12 cases of alleged irregularities in coal block allocation scam.

The CBI has filed charge sheets in connection with alleged irregularities in 40 cases of coal block allocations during the UPA-1 and UPA-2 regime.

On July 25, 2014, the Supreme Court had approved appointment of additional sessions judge Parashar as special judge to exclusively deal with all coal scam cases.

Till now the special court has decided six such cases.

Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is accused in one case relating to the allocation of the Talabira II/III coal blocks in Odisha, in 2005 to Aditya Birla Group company -- M/s Hindalco.

On March 11, 2015, the special court had summoned Singh and five others as accused.

Besides Singh, former coal secretary PC Parakh, Aditya Birla Group Chairman Kumar Mangalam Birla and two others were also summoned.

The trial court order, however, was stayed by the Supreme Court on April 1, 2015, after Singh approached the top court for the relief.

His plea is still pending before the apex court.

In the present case, the court had on August 19, 2016 framed charges, including cheating and criminal conspiracy against Gupta, the two public servants, the firm and its two officials. They all had pleaded not guilty and claimed trial. All the accused are out on bail.

It had said, "Charge for the offences under sections 120-B (criminal conspiracy), 409 (criminal breach of trust by public servants), 420 (cheating) of IPC and also under sections 13(1)(c) and 13(1) (d) (criminal misconduct by public servants) of the PC Act has been framed against all the accused..."

The court had put on trial all the accused in the case in which the CBI's closure report was earlier rejected by the court, asking the probe agency to further investigate the matter.

The other two coal scam cases in which Gupta was earlier convicted related to Kamal Sponge Steel and Power Ltd and Vini Iron and Steel Udyog Ltd. Kropha and Samria were also convicted in the KSSPL case.
Promises made by political leaders at a farmers' protest in New Delhi on Friday were met with scepticism from several participants, who said they will believe them once they see a change on the ground.

IMAGE: Family members carry photos of their relatives who allegedly committed suicide during a rally to press for their demands, including debt relief and remunerative prices for their produce in New Delhi. Photograph: Ravi Choudhary/PTI Photo

Dubbed as the largest farmers' congregation in Delhi, around 35,000 farmers, from across India, converged at the Parliament Street police station Thursday after their march was stopped by the administration.

Congress president Rahul Gandhi, Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, Samajwadi Party leader Dharmendra Yadav, Communist party of India-Marxist leader Sitaram Yechury, CPI leader S Sudhakar Reddy, Aam Aadmi Party MP Sanjay Singh and former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Farooq Abdullah were among the leaders who joined the farmers at Jantar Mantar.

Kumud, a farmer from West Bengal's Sunderbans, demanded middlemen be removed and loans waived, and said all her life she has heard promises of opposition parties, but she will believe them only if they stay true to their word.

She was among the farmers, who marched to the Ramlila Ground on Thursday, took out a rally to Parliament Street Friday morning to press for their demands, including debt relief and remunerative prices for their produce.

The carrot and tomato farmer undertook a 48-hour journey from the Sunderbans -- a mangrove area in the delta formed by the confluence of the Ganges, Brahmaputra and Meghna Rivers -- to reach Delhi.

"I want them to remove the middlemen, they eat most of our profits and leave us nowhere. Their commission at times is 200 per cent," the 50-year-old farmer said.

She alleged that even this year, the middlemen bought tomatoes from her at Rs 5 and sold it for Rs 30 per kilogram to consumers.

"I know a number of leaders here who promised us many things, but I will believe their promise only when they fulfil it," she said.

Ram Kumar from Bihar's Sigori village said they are in New Delhi to demand their rights and not ask for alms.

"I have seen all leaders who are not in power make tall promises but as soon as they come to power they have memory loss," he said.

"The protest was held to make people realise of our plight which has brought us on the brink of starvation. Even if a fraction of the promises made to us are fulfilled then we would not return back to Delhi to protest," the framer said.

Srinivas, who came from Telangana with his 15 family members to participate in the rally, said it is their warning to not only the Bharatiya Janata Party but to all political parties that they should not be considered weak.

"We can topple the government if needed. We must be taken seriously," he said.

IMAGE: All India Kisan Sangharsh Coordination Committee members and farmers march in New Delhi. Photograph: Ravi Choudhary/PTI Photo

Another farmer from Punjab said he is hopeful by the promises but time and again they have been cheated so till their loans are waived and they get remunerative prices for their produce they would not be sitting at peace.

The farmers' march in the morning through the streets of the national capital with their respective outfit flags and chanted slogans, only to be stopped at the police station.

The farmers, social activists and political leaders slammed the Union government alleging that it has not implemented a "single major initiative" for farmers int he past four and half years.

Congress chief Rahul Gandhi said leaders of all opposition parties stand united with farmers in ensuring their good future and called for a farm loan waiver.

He also asserted that no one will be able to silence the voice of farmers and youth and said if the Indian government insults them, then they will will ensure its removal.

Farmers are not seeking a "free gift" from the government by asking for a farm loan waiver. They are only asking for what's due to them, Gandhi said.

Delhi chief minister Kejriwal claimed that the Centre had filed an affidavit in the Supreme Court, saying it would not implement the M S Swaminathan Commission report.

"The government had also made lot of promises to farmers in last elections (2014), but it has not fulfilled those promises.

"By not implementing the Swaminathan Commission report, Modi ji has stabbed the farmers in their back," he alleged.

Kejriwal alleged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has "stabbed farmers in the back" by not fulfilling the promises made to them and warned him that they would "wreak havoc" in 2019 general elections if those promises are not kept.

The farmers began their march to Parliament Street around 10.30 am amid heavy policy deployment. Over 3,500 police personnel have been deployed on the route of the march.
Leaders of about a dozen non-BJP parties closed ranks on Friday at a mega rally in New Delhi by protesting farmers in a show of unity, as thousands of farmers marched through the streets chanting slogans to press for their demands like debt relief and remunerative prices for their produce.

IMAGE: A farmer marches towards Parliament during the march in which farmers are asking for debt relief and remunerative prices for their produce. Photograph: Atul Yadav/PTI Photo

As Congress chief Rahul Gandhi, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, Communist Party of India-Marxist chief Sitaram Yechury and Nationalist Congress Party supremo Sharad Pawar and other leaders shared the stage and backed the demands, the farmers started their march towards Parliament from Ramlila grounds around 10.30 am amid heavy policy deployment, only to be stopped at the Parliament Street police station.

"The farmers are not seeking a free gift from the government," Gandhi thundered at the rally in Jantar Mantar. The farmers had gathered from various states and camped at the Ramlila grounds overnight.

Traffic in many parts of the capital was affected due to the march.

National secretary of All India Kisan Sangharsh Coordination Committee Asish Mittal said farmers from 24 states joined the protest.

Banded under the AIKSCC, which claims to be an umbrella body of 207 organisations of farmers and agricultural workers, many protesters arrived in New Delhi on Thursday, on trains, buses and other modes of transport.

A group of farmers from Tamil Nadu staged a 'nude protest' by lying in front of the stage after placing bones and human skulls on their bodies.

WATCH: 'During polls, Modi made big promises'

About 1,300 members of the National South Indian River Interlinking Farmers Association reached the national capital in the early hours of Thursday and were carrying seven skulls and bones, said their leader P Ayyakannu.

He said the skulls and bones were of the farmers who committed suicide.

Samajwadi Party leader Dharmendra Yadav, CPI leader S Sudhakar Reddy, AAP MP Sanjay Singh and former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Farooq Abdullah were among other leaders who joined the farmers at Jantar Mantar, which is less than a kilometre from Parliament.

While Gandhi said leaders of all opposition parties stand united with farmers in ensuring their good future and called for a farm loan waiver, Kejriwal alleged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has "stabbed farmers in the back" by not fulfilling the promises made to them.

Gandhi said no one can silence the voice of farmers and youth while asserting that if the government insults them, then they will ensure its removal.

IMAGE: All India Kisan Sangharsh Coordination Committee members and farmers march at Ranjit Singh flyover. Photograph:Ravi Choudhary/PTI Photo

"The farmers are not seeking a free gift from the government by asking for a farm loan waiver but are only asking for what is due to them," he said, and asked, "If this government can waive Rs 3.5 lakh crore loans of 15 big industrialists, why can't the loans of crores of farmers in the country be waived."

Kejriwal said the government made lot of promises to farmers in the 2014 elections, but it has not fulfilled them. "And, by not implementing the Swaminathan Commission report, Modi ji has stabbed the farmers in their back (kisano ke peeth mey chhura bhonka hai)."

"...the report should be implemented, otherwise, farmers would wreak havoc in 2019 elections ('kisan agle election mey qayamat dhah denge')," he said.

The report is aimed at working out a system for food and nutrition security, sustainability in farming system, enhancing quality and cost competitiveness of farm commodities.

IMAGE: The AIKSCC has claimed that the two-day rally will be one of the largest congregations of farmers in Delhi. Photograph: Atul Yadav/PTI Photo

Yechury reminded the gathering that this was the "same police station (Parliament Street police station) where Bhagat Singh was taken into custody for throwing a bomb (in the Legislative Assembly)".

Swaraj India leader Yogendra Yadav said the protest is a historic development as not only farmers across the nation have assembled under one platform but also it has enjoyed support from all sections of society.

Pawar said the condition of farmers in the country needs to be changed but the government is "not sympathetic" towards their plight. Narmada Bachao Andolan activist Medha Patkar alleged that the government from the "very beginning has been adopting pro-corporate policies and not a single major initiative for farmers has been launched by it".

Abdullah said the farmers' protests Delhi is a "wake up call" for the government, as he urged people to join hands to overthrow the BJP government in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.

The AIKSCC claimed the two-day rally is one of the largest congregation of farmers in Delhi.

IMAGE: A farmer from Tamil Nadu display human skulls and bones during a protest. Photograph: Atul Yadav/PTI Photo

Five gurdwaras in the Delhi regionextended their help to the farmers. Also, students from various universities turned out in large numbers to lend support to the farmers.

The protest also saw participation of a number of women farmers who travelled from various parts of the country.

Atul Anjaan, national secretary of All India Kisan Sabha, alleged that the "apathetic attitude" of the Modi government towards farmers has led to the distress in the agriculture sector and the situation is worsening.

IMAGE: A sed of red flags could be seen marching towards Parliament as farmers banded under the All India Kisan Sangharsh Coordination Committee began their protest on Friday. Photograph: Anushree Fadnavis/Reuters

Volunteers, including doctors, lawyers, professors and artists, came out to help the farmers. Around 600-700 volunteers of a solidarity group 'Nation For Farmers' marched with the protesters from the four assembly points.

The AIKSCC was formed under the aegis of All India Kisan Sabha and other Left-affiliated farmers bodies in June, 2017, following protests by farmers in states such as Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh for debt relief and remunerative prices.
Leaders of opposition parties on Friday came together to support thousands of farmers from across the country who have gathered to press for their demands, including debt relief and remunerative prices for their produce.

IMAGE: Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, CPI-M general secretary Sitaram Yechury, National Conference president Farooq Abdullah, Congress president Rahul Gandhi, Loktantrik Janata Dal president Sharad Yadav and CPI leader D Raja attend the Kisan Mukti March in New Delhi. Photograph: Ravi Choudhary/PTI Photo

Congress president Rahul Gandhi, Aam Aadmi Party chief Arvind Kejriwal, Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar, Communist Party of India-Marxist general secretary Sitaram Yechury, National Conference chief Farooq Abdullah, Loktantrik Janata Dal mentor Sharad Yadav and CPI leader D Raja at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi.

Gandhi said the leaders of opposition parties stand united with farmers in ensuring their good future and called for a farm loan waiver, asserting that peasants are asking for what is due to them and not a "free gift".

"The farmers of India are not asking for a free gift, they are only asking for their rights and what is due to them. The prime minister said he will provide remunerative prices to farmers, bonus and increased MSP, but the situation today is you pay for insurance and it goes into the pocket of Anil Ambani. Farmers cannot even decide which company's insurance to buy," he said.

"The country has been divided between Ambani and Adani. But your farm loan waiver does not happen, you don't get the right prices and hollow speeches are made," he went on to add.

He trained his guns at Prime Minister Narendra Modi alleging that if Rs 30,000 crore can be given to Anil Ambani, an apparent reference to the Rafale fighter jet deal, why can't loans of farmers be waived.

"Farmers are not asking Anil Ambani's aircraft from Modi ji, but India's farmers are saying that if Anil Ambani can be given Air Force's money of Rs 30,000 crore, if you can give 3.5 lakh crore to your 15 friends, then for our hard work, sweat and blood, why cannot our farm loans be waived," he said.

Trying to project the event as a show of strength of the opposition parties, he said, "We may have different ideologies, but for the future of the farmers and the youth, we are all standing together on one stage. We want to tell Modi ji and the BJP that if we need to change the laws, change the chief ministers or even the prime minister, we do that for the sake of future of farmers. We will not budge even an inch, you may do whatever you want."

He said the "voice being raised here will go across to every state -- Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Telanagana, Rajasthan and in every state this voice will be raised. This is the voice of India's farmers, youth and this cannot be silenced".

Gandhi said there are two big issues before the country now, one of farmers' future and the other employment of youth.

Kejriwal alleged that Modi has "stabbed farmers in the back" by not fulfilling the promises made to them and warned him that they would "wreak havoc" in 2019 general elections if those promises are not kept.

In his address at the venue, Kejriwal claimed that the Centre had filed an affidavit in the Supreme Court saying it would not implement the M S Swaminathan Commission report.

"The government had made a number of promises to farmers in the last election (2014), but it has not fulfilled those promises. By not implementing the Swaminathan Commission report, Modi ji has stabbed the farmers in the back," he alleged.

IMAGE: Rahul Gandhi said the leaders of opposition parties stand united with farmers in ensuring their good future and called for a farm loan waiver. Photograph: Ravi Choudhary/PTI Photo

He said the Union government should implement the report in five months.

"The affidavit filed in the court should be withdrawn and the report should be implemented, kisan agle election mey qayamat dhah denge (otherwise, farmers would wreak havoc in 2019 elections)," he said.

"The debt of farmers should be waived and they should get the full price for their produce. Farmers are not asking for alms, they are demanding their right. If farmers get the full price of their produce, they would not come back to ask for waiving their loans," he said.

Kejriwal said though the government assigns a Minimum Support Price, no one actually buys their produce at that rate.

"The Fasal Beema Yojna is fraud and is cheating farmers. The insurance companies withdraw money from farmers without their permission and thousands of crores have been withdrawn in this manner. When farmers lose their produce, these companies impose condition that compensation would be given only if 70 per cent of the produce has been destroyed," he claimed.

"This insurance scheme should be stopped as it is BJP's daka (dacoity) yojana and instead kisan muawza yojna (farmers compensation scheme) must be brought in to give them the right compensation. A country whose farmers are starving can never witness development," he said.

Kejriwal demanded that farmers be compensated within two months if their produce is destroyed.

He alleged that the prime minister was showing concern only for corporates and was not worried about the agrarian distress. "If you do not address their (farmers') concerns, then next time ask for votes also from Adani and Ambani, do not ask farmers to vote for you," Kejriwal said.

Modi has said he was not afraid of being seen with industrialists who are playing a key role in the nation's development as his "intentions" are clear.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is in Buenos Aires, Argentina for the G-20 summit and as a 'custom' the PM met all the leaders with his trademark hand shakes and hugs.

From United States President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin, Modi met them all.

Argentina's President Mauricio Macri welcomes Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the summit at Centro Costa Salguero. Photograph: @MEAIndia/Twitter

Earlier, Modi participated in an informal meeting of the leaders of BRICS countries. Addressing the meeting, he said terrorism and radicalisation was the biggest challenges the world was facing and underlined the need for the BRICS and G-20 countries to work together to strengthen the UN counter terrorism framework to stop terrorist networks, their financing and movement. Apart from Modi, Chinese President Xi Jinping, Russian President Vladimir Putin, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa and Brazil President Michel Temer were also present in the meeting. Photograph: @MEAIndia/Twitter

Modi also met the Chinese president separately. This is their fourth meeting this year. "Discussed joint efforts to further enhance mutual trust and friendship across all aspects of our ties," the MEA said after the meeting. Photograph: @MEAIndia/Twitter

Modi shakes hands with United States President Donald Trump ahead of the first-ever trilateral meeting between Japan, America. The trilateral meeting between Trump, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Modi is taking place in the backdrop of China engaged in hotly contested territorial disputes in the South China Sea, and with Japan in the East China Sea. Photograph: @MEAIndia/Twitter

The PM also met his British counterpart Theresa May ahead of the summit. Photograph: @MEAIndia/Twitter

Apart from Japan, America and India trilateral meet, Modi will also participate in the 2nd Russia, India, China trilateral meet. Photograph: @MEAIndia/Twitter

Modi and Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan at the summit. Photograph: @MEAIndia/Twitter

Modi gave a tight hug to Duth prime minister Mark Rutte. Photograph: @MEAIndia/Twitter

Even Mexico's President Enrique Pena Neto couldn't resist but to give a hug to Modi. Photograph: @MEAIndia/Twitter
Banded under the All India Kisan Sangharsh Coordination Committee, which claims to be an umbrella body of 207 organisations of farmers and agricultural workers, thousands of farmers arrived in Delhi on Thursday, on trains, buses and other modes of transport.

The AIKSCC was formed under the aegis of All India Kisan Sabha and other Left-affiliated farmers bodies in June 2017, following protests by farmers in states such as Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh for debt relief and remunerative prices.

On Friday, they marched to Parliament demanding for loan waivers and increased remuneration.

Adnan Abidi/Reuters and Ravi Choudhary/PTI Photo were able to photograph different farmers participating in the rally.

The one takeaway: They may all look very different, but their woes are all the same.

Thousands of farmer have gathered at Ramlila Maidan from different parts of the country after completing a long journey of as long as 36 hours. Photograph: Ravi Choudhary/PTI Photo

Farmer are demanding to remove middlemen and want loans to be waived. Photograph: Ravi Choudhary/PTI Photo

The protest also sees the participation of a number of women who say their sufferings are worse than men. Photograph: Ravi Choudhary/PTI Photo

A farmer from Tamil Nadu stages a protest by carrying skulls of two of his colleagues who had committed suicide. Photograph: Ravi Choudhary/PTI Photo

A farmer reads a book during a rally to protest soaring farm operating costs and plunging prices of their produce in New Delhi. Photograph: Adnan Abidi/Reuters

A daughter of a farmer with her face painted attends the rally. Farmers from all across the country gathered at Ramlila and camped out in the cold on Thursday night before they began their march on Friday. Photograph: Adnan Abidi/Reuters

A farmer from Punjab said he is hopeful by the promises but time and again they have been cheated so till their loans are waived and they get remunerative prices for their produce they would not be sitting at peace. Photograph: Ravi Choudhary/PTI Photo

Young, old, poor... It didn't matter. Farmers from everywhere who had gathered for the rally said they just wanted to be heard and needed their demands to be met. Photograph: Adnan Abidi/Reuters

A young boy with a painted face participates in the protest. Photograph: Adnan Abidi/Reuters
The proposed tolling plan would have added a 7-cent charge to motorists traveling on I-94 and I-65, according to documents sent to the Legislature. That would have meant going from Illinois to Michigan on I-94 would cost $3.15, according to the proposal, and a trip from Gary to Indianapolis would cost $10.57 one way.
Congress candidate Manvendra Singh, who recently crossed over from the BJP, will be facing off the Rajasthan chief minister in her political fortress of Jhalrapatan.

Asim Kamal/PTI reports

All photographs: @ManvendraJasol/Twitter

Fighting the most keenly observed contest in Rajasthan polls, Congress candidate Manvendra Singh said on Friday it was an uphill task to beat Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje in her political fortress of Jhalrapatan, but he was here to fight and win the election.

With a battle cry of Jhalawar azaad hoga (Jhalawar will be free), Singh said he is determined to live up to the challenge of taking on his formidable opponent.

I am here to fight and win the election and not to contest for the sake of contesting, the son of former Bharatiya Janata Party leader Jaswant Singh said.

Manvendra Singh, who crossed over from the BJP to the Congress just weeks before joining the electoral fray, said when he was asked to fight against the chief minister, it took him just a second to accept the challenge.

Asked if he was viewing it as a David and Goliath battle, Singh answered in the negative.

It is an uphill task no doubt. I am not belittling the challenge. It is an uphill task and I dont see myself as David at all. Besides the three Vidhan Sabha victories, she (Raje) has been MP from here for five times, Singh said.

She has an advantage of 30 years and I have to cover that handicap of 30 years in 15 days. So it is a challenge... but it is a challenge I am living up to, said Singh, who had contested and won from Sheo assembly seat in 2013.

Rejecting his rivals claims of being seen as an outsider here, Singh said he has been accepted very wholeheartedly, very warmly by the people of Jhalrapatan.

It doesnt take people more than a day or two to know whether one belongs to them or not, Singh said.

On the kind of feedback he was getting after campaigning extensively in the Jhalrapatan constituency, Singh said: I am being realistic. I am not pinning my hopes on a miracle, but it is not impossible. I am getting very positive feedback from the people and from the Congress workers who have been toiling on this seat for many years.

Despite the very positive feedback, Singh said, he keeps putting himself through a reality check and every time he gets a positive report, he keeps questioning that report to figure out where all it could go wrong.

Asked if the treatment meted out to his father by the BJP will have a bearing on the election, he said: I dont think the BJP as such is answerable for this as Prime Minister (Narendra) Modi told me, it is some individual in Rajasthan and a couple of people in Delhi that are responsible for it.

He asserted that it will have a bearing on this election as it was a topic of discussion, not by him but by other speakers in some of the meetings.

On whether he would be in the running for the chief ministers post if he succeeds in the giant-killing act of defeating Raje, Singh said, No, not at all.

What has made the Singh-Raje battle the most talked about is the tension between the two leaders that is well known.

Singh, 54, quit the BJP in September and joined the Congress in October after being sidelined within the ruling party, reportedly because of Rajes feud with his father Jaswant Singh, who was denied a BJP ticket in the last Lok Sabha polls.

Asked if it was also a prestige battle for him, Singh said, I dont personally (take it as a prestige battle) and I dont link it to any kind of revenge that people talk about. I am just looking at it as an electoral contest and it should remain that way.

The contest should remain clean and fair, he added.

On Rajes statement that the Congress could not find a constituency for him and therefore fielded him against her from here, Singh said he didnt ask for a constituency.

I was very clear from the time I joined the Congress party that I wasnt interested in a Vidhan Sabha election and I didnt ask for a seat for myself. So I think she is off the mark when she says that, he asserted.

He said the main issue in this constituency, on which he was taking on Raje, was farmers distress.

I was surprised by the distress among the farmers. Within the MLA constituency, there have been two farmer suicides in the last year or so, he said.

There is a seething anger about the garlic crop and how badly it has been handled in terms of the minimum support price issue, Singh said.

To resolve the minimum support price issue, the government came up with some kind of token system and those who have got a token would have their crop picked up, while others had their produce rotting in their house, he alleged.

Singh said the decision to switch to the Congress from the BJP evolved over a period of time and it was cemented by two factors -- his friendship and fondness for Rahul Gandhi and a senior member of the BJP family telling him that wherever former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee would be, he would be blessing him.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi met with Saudi Arabia Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Buenos Aires in Argentina on Thursday and they discussed ways to further boost economic, cultural and energy ties.

IMAGE: Prime Minister Narendra Modi with Saudi Arabia Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in Argentina. Photograph: @PIB_India/Twitter

The two sides also held discussions on enhancing investment in technology, renewable energy and food security.

Had a fruitful interaction with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud. We discussed multiple aspects of India-Saudi Arabia relations and ways to further boost economic, cultural and energy ties, the prime minister wrote on Twitter.

Deepening strategic ties. PM @narendramodi met with Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud on sidelines of #G20Argentina. Discussed enhancing Saudi investment in technology, infrastructure, petroleum, renewable energy, food security, fintech & defence sectors, external affairs ministry spokesperson Raveesh Kumar tweeted.

In recent years, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has been a valuable partner. The relationship has expanded beyond the Indian community to issues related to the economy, energy and security. All issues of bilateral and regional interest will be discussed, PMO sources said.

IMAGE: The two discussed ways to further boost economic, cultural and energy ties. Photograph: @MEAIndia/Twitter

Later, the prime minister met UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres. According to the sources, the UN Secretary General has reached out to the PM for the second time in two months.

They said the meeting signifies the importance that both leaders attach to the issue of climate change. This outreach comes just a week before the COP24 meet in Katowice, Poland.

It reflects the respect in which the prime minister and his initiatives are held globally to take the lead on issues of global importance, the sources said.

On the sidelines of the two-day 13th G-20 summit, Modi, Trump and Japanese Premier Shinzo Abe will hold a trilateral meeting amidst China flexing its muscles in the strategic Indo-Pacific region.

The trilateral, which would be an expansion of the bilateral meeting between Trump and Abe, is part of the series of meetings the US president would have on the sidelines of the G-20 summit on November 30 and December 1.

White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said on Thursday the trilateral meeting with Prime Minister Modi will be held towards the end of the Trump-Abe talks.

Looking forward to a wide range of interactions at the G-20 Summit, aimed at furthering sustainable development, Prime Minister Modi tweeted soon after he landed here.

He will be in Buenos Aires from November 29 to December 1.
Larry Rogers, who helped represent former Lake County Sheriff John Buncich in his 2017 public corruption trial, will begin a 90-day suspension of his law license on Dec. 14 because he committed attorney misconduct by neglecting an appeal and then failing to refund the unearned fee, according to a state supreme court opinion issued earlier this month. Rogers was ordered to repay $8,000 in restitution to the client and his reinstatement is conditional on that repayment.
The organizers of the inaugural Greenwich Economic Forum investment conference wanted to create an event that would rival Davos, Switzerlands World Economic Forum. They have already made major progress toward that goal.

Held Nov. 15-16 at the Delamar Greenwich Harbor hotel, the summit attracted several hundred professionals from around the world and leaders of some of the top Connecticut hedge funds, including Bridgewater Associates founder Ray Dalio and Tudor Investment founder Paul Tudor Jones II.

The conferences strong debut reinforced lower Fairfield Countys standing as one of the worlds most prominent hedge fund enclaves. But uncertainty clouds the industrys future in the area. Hedge fund growth has stalled in recent years, and other states want to recruit Connecticut firms. And even after allotting tens of millions of dollars in subsidies in recent years, the state might need to do even more to bolster the sectors long-term prospects.

For the most part, the hedge fund industry is facing the same challenges everywhere, Connecticut Hedge Fund Association President Bruce McGuire, one of the conference organizers, said in an interview last week. Connecticut is a microcosm of whats going on throughout the industry.

Large but stagnant presence

Connecticut has amassed the third largest number of active hedge fund managers, 211, according to financial-services data firm Preqin. Only New York and California have more hedge funds, which invest in a broad range of assets including stocks, bonds, currencies, derivatives and real estate.

After New York, the state ranks No. 2 in assets under management, with a total of about $384 billion. Westport-based Bridgewater Associates is the worlds largest hedge fund, with holdings of approximately $162 billion. Greenwich-based AQR Capital Management follows as the second biggest in the state, with assets totaling about $118 billion.

Combined, Bridgewater and AQR employ about 2,400 in the state, according to the state Department of Economic and Community Development.

Those employees are highly paid. Average wages for financial-services positions in lower Fairfield County last year ran at about $266,000, compared with an overall regional average of around $85,000, according to the state Department of Labor.

Other major hedge funds in the state include Greenwich-based Viking Global Investors and Stamford-based Point72 Asset Management.

The state may be a little more expensive than some parts of the country, but relative to big financial markets in New York  and, to a lesser extent, in Boston and San Francisco  we look like a bargain, Catherine Smith, the states economic development commissioner, said in an interview earlier this year. And these firms are staying because they like the location, the talent we have and because their employees like living in the state.

But the number of active hedge funds in the state has shrunk by 9 percent in the past three years, to about 700, according to Preqin. In five of the past six years, fund liquidations have exceeded fund launches in Connecticut.

Rising skepticism of hedge fund managers effectiveness, and a growing preference among those who still invest with those firms to do so with heavyweights like Bridgewater rather than newcomers, have contributed to the diminishing number of funds.

That skepticism is entering into the areas of public pension funds and university endowments, which are major investors with hedge funds, said Lawrence J. White, a professor of economics in New York Universitys business school. The rise of index funds is another manifestation of that skepticism. The question is asked, Can I expect an active fund manager to do better than the overall market?

On the move?

At the same time, Connecticut faces increasing competition from other states such as Florida that have pitched their lower tax rates to Nutmeg State companies.

My pitch is you should go ahead and give up ... capitulate and come to Florida and make it easier on yourselves, Florida Gov. Rick Scott, a Republican who is now a U.S. senator-elect, said during a visit last year to Norwalk.

In recent years, some marquee fund managers, including Jones, have followed that advice, moving to a state that has no income tax. Jones firm, Tudor Investment, now has an office in Palm Beach, Fla. In Connecticut, the company has downsized. It announced earlier this year it would relocate its main offices from backcountry Greenwich to downtown Stamford.

Compared with Connecticut, Floridas hedge fund industry is still small. It counts about 370 active funds, a total that has not changed much in the past five years.

But its finance profile continues to grow. The Miami-Palm Beach area has cemented itself as a hub for private wealth management, boosted by international business that comprises many large Latin American clients.

When I moved here in 2009, there werent many hedge funds in Florida, said Brian Gendreau, a clinical professor of finance in the University of Floridas business school. The biggest problem they ran into was infrastructure. Finding the right law firms for them was always a bit of a problem. Today, the barriers to those firms doing business here are lower. I hear a lot about hedge funds and private equity funds and mainline asset-management funds moving to Florida.

McGuire is more concerned about relocations to other Northeastern states.

Boston and New York are bigger threats to us than Miami or Dallas, he said. How hard would it be to go to New York, where it would be easier to attract the next group of employees? That could happen if we did not take any action.

To help reduce the risk of high-profile exits, Connecticut has given eight-figure subsidies to Bridgewater and AQR through the First Five Plus program launched by Democratic Gov. Dannel P. Malloys administration.

Bridgewater has qualified for up to $52 million in grants, loans and tax credits. AQR could receive up to $35 million in grants and loans. The companies allocations are based on targets for retaining and creating positions.

Those deals have sparked criticism from some watchdogs in a state plagued by chronic budget deficits and some of the starkest income-inequality gaps in the country. At the same time, those agreements have garnered bipartisan support in the state Legislature.

These are very high-value outfits that employ hundreds of highly paid employees, said outgoing state Sen. L. Scott Frantz, R-Greenwich, who served as a co-chairman of the Legislatures Commerce Committee. Regardless of the need for cash, it was smart for DECD to retain them.

Looking ahead

In January, the industry will face a new governor in Democrat Ned Lamont and Democratic majorities again in both the state House and state Senate.

Frantz, who runs Greenwich-based private equity and venture capital firm Haebler Capital, suggested that Lamont visit every asset-management group and private equity firm of significance in the state. Lamont is connected to the finance sector through his wife, Annie Lamont, who is co-founder of the Greenwich-based venture capital firm Oak HC/FT. Annie Lamont spoke at the Greenwich Economic Forum.

The new governor needs to sit down with industry leadership immediately to demonstrate the appreciation for one of the most valuable businesses in Connecticut, Frantz said.

While state lawmakers have weighed proposals in recent years to hike tax rates on investment firms, McGuire suggested they take the opposite approach in the 2019 session. He wants them to consider creating a financial-services enterprise zone, supported by tax incentives, that would stretch from Greenwich to Bridgeport.

We should promote hedge funds and other finance firms as much as California loves Silicon Valley, McGuire said. We should stop treating hedge funds as a dirty word and embrace brilliant people such as Ray Dalio and Paul Tudor Jones who have started amazing companies and all the smart people who want to go to work for those types of firms.

While Jones has moved, longtime Greenwich resident Dalio appears content to stay. At the Greenwich Economic Forum, he touted the towns location and diversity.

Theres a reason its the center of hedge funds; theres a reason its such a great community, Dalio said during a panel discussion on Nov. 15. I have friends here that are neighbors and then friends from China, friends from Abu Dhabi, friends from Singapore. And thats the essence of the place. Its right next to New York City.  Its just a wonderful town.

pschott@scni.com; 203-964-2236; Twitter: @paulschott
BRIDGEPORT  Connecticuts Beardsley Zoos fundraising efforts to create a new habitat for its family of Amur tigers received a huge boost with a $1,000,000 donation from longtime zoo supporter, Pamela Hope Kochiss-Werth, said zoo director Gregg Dancho.

After the birth of four endangered Amur tiger cubs in November, 2017, two of which survived, the zoo began a campaign to create a new, more spacious home for its valuable tigers. Kochiss-Werth stepped forward with a birthday check for the two female tigers, Reka and Zeya, earmarked for a new tiger habitat. The zoo celebrated the cubs first birthday on Sunday.

The existing tiger habitat was built several decades ago and has been on our wish list to expand and renovate. Our intention is to create a habitat more in keeping with 21st century accredited zoo standards, said Dancho in a news release. We are overwhelmed with gratitude at Pams extreme generosity.

The Zoo is asking for matching donations, Dancho added.

Everyone has an opportunity now to help. Theres no donation too small, he said.

The birthday celebration included the sale of Team Reka, Team Zeya, or Team Tiger Cubs t-shirts, cake and hot chocolate for zoo guests, free tiger bookmarks for the first 500 people through the gate, and two encore presentations of Fostering Felines, a presentation from Animal Care Specialist Bethany Thatcher. Tiger Talks, highlighting the plight of Amur tigers in the wild, took place in front of the habitat throughout the day.

This is the first grant made by Kochiss-Werths new foundation, and reflects her individual philanthropy. As a Bridgeport native, I have many fond memories as far back as 1958, of enjoying wonderful times with my family at Beardsley Park and the Zoo, she said in the release. I feel honored and blessed to be able to contribute to the Zoos growth, important programs, and life-enriching contributions to Bridgeport and all Connecticut communities.

When the tiger cubs were born, they had only a 25 percent chance of survival, and were the only two Amur cubs added to the Association of Zoos and Aquariums Amur tiger population in 2017. According to the AZAs statistics, tigers are thought to occupy less than 7 percent of their original range. Threatened by habitat loss and degradation, poaching, tiger-human conflict, and loss of prey, four of nine subspecies have disappeared from the wild. T
The psychology professor pulled open the heavy oak doors of Horace Mann Hall, which boasts 16-foot ceilings and varnished wood floors, and headed to her fourth-floor office. Filing in behind her were students preparing for a 1:30 p.m. lab meeting on Wednesday. As they entered her workspace, they passed a mezuzah, a small box containing Hebrew religious texts, affixed to her doorpost.

But the sight that met them next made the professor and her students stop in their tracks.

Anti-Semitic graffiti had been spray-painted on the office walls of Elizabeth Midlarsky, a clinical psychologist and Holocaust scholar at Columbia's Teachers College on the Upper West Side of New York. The vandalism included swastikas and an anti-Semitic slur, "Yid," painted in bright red on the white walls of her office foyer. The outer door had been closed but not locked, one student said.

"I was shocked. I couldn't believe it," she said in an interview with The Washington Post. "I'm usually not a fearful person, but they got me. I'm afraid."

Midlarsky notified security, and she said the New York Police Department was investigating the incident. The professor said she had "no idea who was behind it."

The episode comes amid mounting concerns about anti-Semitism, rebooted for the 21st century as memory of the Holocaust begins to fade. In February, the Anti-Defamation League reported that the number of anti-Semitic incidents was nearly 60 percent higher in 2017 than in 2016, marking the largest single-year increase on record and the second-highest number reported since the organization began collecting incident data. Meanwhile, many Americans lack basic knowledge about the Holocaust, such as the name of a single concentration camp, according to a survey released in April.

The problem is not limited to the sort of symbolism that marred the professor's office walls. It's been just over a month since 11 congregants were massacred in a Pittsburgh synagogue, the deadliest anti-Semitic attack in the nation's history.

Nor is prejudice limited to the United States. One in three Europeans believe that Jews use the Holocaust to "advance their own positions or goals," according to a CNN poll released this week.

Documenting the true legacy of the Holocaust in Jewish life has been a focus of Midlarsky's academic work. She has applied clinical psychology to the meaning of rescue during the 20th-century genocide of European Jews and the response by survivors and their descendants. In a 2005 article, "Personality Correlates of Heroic Rescue During the Holocaust," she asked whether certain personality traits, such as tolerance and empathy, could help explain why some people became "non-Jewish heroes" during the Holocaust and others stood by as the Nazis pursued the Final Solution.

The vandalism uncovered Wednesday didn't mark the first time that her office has been defaced by anti-Semitic iconography. In 2007, she became the target of repeated harassment. A swastika was painted on her office door about a week after she found two anti-Semitic fliers in her mailbox at work. The same flier had appeared for the first time earlier that month.

"I think there's a very hate-filled person who is an extreme coward," she told the New York Sun at the time. "It makes my blood run cold."

Around the same time, a noose was found on the office door of a black professor at the Teachers College. These incidents were condemned by leaders of the college, the nation's first and largest graduate school of education, as hate crimes.

On Wednesday, as Midlarsky again found herself the target of anti-Semitic animus, the president of the Teachers College, Thomas Bailey, issued a statement pledging to work with police "to discover the perpetrator of this hateful act."

"We unequivocally condemn any expression of hatred, which has no place in our society," he said. "We are outraged and horrified by this act of aggression and use of this vile anti-Semitic symbol against a valued member of our community."

Midlarsky attributed the graffiti to a "tremendous upsurge in anti-Semitism" but said she couldn't understand why she had been singled out.

The experience, she said, differed from a decade ago, when she was "shocked but not surprised" to face anti-Semitic abuse. At that time, she was active in campus debates about Zionism, religious strife and the conflict in the Middle East. In particular, she was involved in protests against Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's speech in September 2007 at the Ivy League university.

"Back then, I was doing things that anti-Semites would hate me for, but I've not been so visible recently," she said Wednesday evening.

That fact, she said, made her feel all the more vulnerable, as if her Jewish identity alone were enough to make her a target.

"I'm a Jew at this college - one of the only ones who acts like a Jew," she added, suggesting that she doesn't shy away from her religious identity. "My writing has to do with Jewish topics."

After Midlarsky discovered the vandalism and called security, she waited with her students, who snapped photos and checked to see how extensive the vandalism was.

"I was afraid to be alone," she said. "I was afraid to be in my office alone."
It has largely been a seller's market locally and nationally over the last few years, with the low number of houses for sale resulting in higher prices and in some areas, a drop in the number of closings as potential buyers either didn't find what they were looking for or were priced out of the market.
A number of frustrated Hartford parents want to know why their children cant attend one of the many high-performing magnet schools the state has opened in the region.

The network of 40-plus themed magnet schools was designed to lure white, middle-class children to voluntarily enroll with minority city youth in schools that were opened after the Connecticut Supreme Court ruled 22 years ago in the landmark Sheff vs. ONeill case that Hartfords minority students suffer daily from inequities caused by severe racial and economic isolation.

It hasnt worked out for us, LaShawn Robinson, a lifelong city resident and mother of five, told a crowd during a recent event at The Hartford Public Library titled, The True Cost of Integration.

She and a group of parents are suing the state to end the way the state awards seats at the magnet schools.

As the debate heats up, the future of school desegregation efforts in Connecticut remains uncertain. Controversy and misunderstanding continue to surround how the enrollment lottery works for magnet schools, how the schools are funded, and whether the success of the schools depends on the diversity of the students.

Does research show integration improves student outcomes in Connecticut?

There is general agreement that the regional magnet schools are out-performing neighborhood city schools, as 20 percent of Hartfords students from low-income homes reached grade-level on the states standardized English test last year compared to 35 percent in the magnet schools operated by CREC. Statewide, 35 percent of students were at grade level in reading and writing.

More than half of the students in Hartford Public Schools are multiple grades behind.

The state each year sets growth targets that students must achieve if they are to reach grade level in a few years. In Hartford, 30 percent of students from poor homes reached their target for reading and writing, compared to 36 percent in the magnet schools.

The agreement ends when various groups try to explain why magnet school students are doing better.

Some say its the racial diversity that improves overall student performance.

Barriers to research

Others say the schools dont need white students to be great. This is an important distinction because there is debate as to whether more minority students should be allowed to enroll in these schools if not enough white students apply.

Despite the billions the state has spent to open and operate the magnet schools, research has been extremely limited on the impact they have had. Instead, Connecticut is left to rely on research from elsewhere around the country, which often shows school integration is beneficial.

Academic researchers in Connecticut have faced barriers to conducting such research.

There should be more research and there should be efforts to publicize the good news, because you dont see that here, said Dennis Parker, director of the American Civil Liberty Unions Racial Justice Program and one of the attorneys pushing for more integrated schools to open in Connecticut.

Its frustrating for us because we know from the limited research that has been done that the outcomes in these schools are among the best in the state, and often in the country, and create opportunities that particularly students of color in Hartford dont have, Parker said during an event in Hartford titled, Integration Matters.

Two academic studies have been done on how student growth was affected by enrollment in a diverse school in the Hartford region.

The first was by Casey Cobb at the University of Connecticuts Neag School of Education in 2009 and published in the Education Evaluation and Policy Analysis Journal.

Cobb said that his best estimates of the effects of inter-district magnet schools on student achievement indicate that attendance at an inter-district magnet high school has positive effects on mathematics and reading. He drew a similar conclusion for reading achievement for middle school students.

However, it can be difficult to draw conclusions from that report. Because of limitations in the data the state education department collects, Cobb only compared test scores over two years for city students who attended two regional magnet schools and for city students who entered the School Choice lottery for the same two schools but didnt win a seat.

The other study was commissioned by the State Department of Education and released in 2015.

That study looked at the testing outcomes for students in third and sixth grades in magnet and neighborhood schools in Bridgeport, Hartford, New Haven and Waterbury during the 2010 school year. These students were compared to the proficiency rates of similar students in suburban and rural schools.

The results found that by 2012, the achievement gap among the third grade cohort of magnet students and their non-urban peers had narrowed by 3.5 percent. The gap for the sixth grade cohort increased by 1.8 percent.

Compared to those who continued to attend urban schools, however, magnet students from the city fared better in reaching proficiency standards.

The report concluded that the regional magnet schools performed best at closing the gap at both the proficient level and the goal level compared with the other [school] choice programs.

Draining resources?

Robert Cotto Jr., a former member of the Hartford Board of Education and lecturer and director of Urban Educational Initiatives at Trinity College, said the resistance to this effort to desegregate schools is coming from a lack of understanding of the impact these schools have had.

We need a better way of explaining what the accomplishments are and whats going on in these schools, he said.

Do magnet schools drain money from neighborhood schools?

The same help they are giving the other schools, they can give to the elementary school out here in Hartford, observed Juan Tirado, the father of two elementary school students at a neighborhood school in Hartford. He is among those suing the state along with Robinson. There should be no excuses. These [kids] are the future.

The state is expected to spend about $325 million to operate magnet schools this school year. Billions have been spent to renovate and build them.

In the same way that the money spent by the state on daycare subsidies for low-income families is therefore not going to neighborhood schools, the money being spent on magnet schools is not going to neighborhood schools.

But in practice, when students leave their local neighborhood schools to attend a magnet, the city continues to receive the full Education Cost Sharing grant from the state as if those students still attend their neighborhood schools.

Cotto cautions that without the motivation of the Sheff desegregation order, he does not believe more money is headed for the schools that city students attend. The Connecticut Supreme Court earlier this year ruled that the state is already meeting its minimal constitutional obligation to fund public schools.

As for providing more money for magnets or neighborhood schools, What the state of Connecticut is saying is, Lets get rid of the magnet thing. Lets get rid of the racial balance thing. And, you know, on this side, we are not going to make sure that everybody has [the funding] they need, Cotto said. There is currently no mechanism to push the state of Connecticut  Without Sheff, what is going to be the thing that does?

Robinson said she hopes the state will spend the money. Its the right thing to do, she said. Why wouldnt they? These are our kids.

But shes been disappointed before.

I know we cant have too much hope in the state of Connecticut, she said.

Magnet schools can charge tuition to the district where a student comes from, with permission from the state education department. Although magnet schools cannot charge Hartford tuition, the city is responsible for paying special education costs for city students attending magnet schools that require special supports.

During the 2016-17 school year, Hartford spent $19,140 per student on average compared to $16,397 for CREC. Hartfords figures are an approximation since the district still gets the state aid when a student leaves.

In Bridgeport, where there is no court order mandating the state to desegregate, spending was $14,164 per student.

How does the lottery work?

Confusion surrounding who wins the magnet school lottery - or doesnt - has fueled distrust that the vast network of magnet schools has created a two-tiered system that leaves thousands of struggling city students in under-performing neighborhood schools.

It is impossible for families to improve their odds in the lottery because the state does not show lottery results from previous school years. And the state does not give families the formula that determines who wins enrollment.

Information provided to CT Mirror by the state education department provides some insight into which schools were almost sure bets in the last school years lottery and which schools were long shots. The department did not provide the formula it uses to run the lottery, however.

Last school year, 19,148 children sought a seat in a regional magnet school and 7,589 were offered enrollment - a 40 percent rate. The chances are better for Hartford students. Forty-nine percent of the 5,900 city youth vying for a seat won one, compared with 36 percent of the 13,248 suburban students who entered the lottery.

While Hartford residents accounted for only 30 percent of lottery applicants, 38 percent of the available seats were offered to children from the city. (See school-by-school results here.)

Even though Hartford residents fare statistically better in the lottery, Robinson and the parents of 14 other city youth are suing because the lottery is race-conscious. This means that for the seats the state awards to suburban students, the lottery factors in which town they are from and gives priority to students from towns where its more likely the student will be white or Asian.

The state does this to increase the odds of creating school populations that are no more than three-quarters black or Hispanic. Under the rules worked out for implementing the Sheff decision, 75 percent minority enrollment has been the upper limit for a school to be deemed desegregated.

The parents who brought the case in federal court take issue with seats being left empty in some high-performing magnet schools when not enough white students apply. Before the judge heard the case in Bridgeport last month, students and parents staged a demonstration by having children sit at school desks surrounded by empty seats.

Our children are not getting into those seats that are available, City Councilwoman Jo Winch said at the True Cost of Integration event.

Seats are also left empty when the state puts limits on how many seats it will pay for.

Whats next?

With state lawmakers and the incoming governor reluctant to spend more on opening new integrated magnet schools, parents and education officials are likely headed back to court in February. With less than half of city youth attending integrated schools, attorneys representing parents in the desegregation case are asking the courts to force the state to offer more students an integrated education.

But first a federal judge will determine if the way the state awards seats through the lottery is discriminatory, and whether the state can run a race-conscious lottery. A ruling that the state cant factor in race would be a critical blow to desegregating schools, advocates say.

Parker said such a move would kill the goose that laid that golden educational egg.
Only a total of 11,620 new units across 60 purpose-built rental buildings have been added to Toronto from 2005 to 2018, according to Altus Group Ltd.

Also, the rate at which new units are added to the market is hovering close to a 5-year low of around 10,000 units.

When taking into account that the city is predicted to attract 17,000 new renter households a year, these attempts to remedy Torontos condo scarcity remain insufficient. The citys rental segment currently has a vacancy rate of around 0.5%.

Homelessness is growing, couch-surfing is growing and this will have a lot of pressure on families and on the city itself, ACORN (Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now Canada) Toronto member Alejandra Ruiz Vargas told Bloomberg.

Read more: Flip rates in Vancouver, Toronto are much less than one would expect

Data from Urbanation indicated that price points saw a commensurate increase. Average rental rates grew by 7.6% to reach $2,385 in Q3 2018, and by 17% for newly available purpose-built units.

Weve reached a point now where given the amount of people, industries were attracting, we are already becoming terribly unaffordable for everyone, University of Toronto professor Richard Florida said. Were at a crisis and we dont even realize it: Our transit, traffic problem and housing problem are urgent matters.

Everyones getting priced out, he added. My students at the Rotman School of Management in the University of Toronto, who are going to be some of the most successful students in Canadian business, are now saying its doubtful they could ever afford a single-family home.
Days later, on Oct. 27, the ballots of more than 100 voters cast at an early voting site in Portage were not properly initialed by two poll workers. While the number of ballots fluctuated over time, the snafu generated an emergency meeting by the election board and a preliminary decision to reach out to as many of those voters as possible and ask them to recast their ballots during early voting.
Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen voiced regret on Thursday that he hadnt had leaders of protests against his ruling Cambodian Peoples Party in 2013 and 2014 killed, saying only that he hadnt wanted to do this at the time.



Speaking to a gathering of hundreds of workers, Hun Sen said that protest leaders had been lucky to escape Cambodia after the protests, which saw opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party members attacked and dispersed by security forces, with at least one shot dead and several others wounded by gunfire in 2013.



I want to let you know that if you hadnt fled Cambodia, you would already have had your funeral, Hun Sen said in remarks apparently addressed to former opposition leader Sam Rainsy, now living in exile in France after fleeing a string of convictions in Cambodian courts widely seen as politically motivated.



We didnt pursue you because we didnt want to kill you at the time, Hun Sen said.



Speaking to RFAs Khmer Service from France, Sam Rainsy said that Hun Sens comments show he is a dictator who is not afraid to kill to maintain his hold on power.



Please dont forget that Hun Sen is a former soldier, Sam Rainsy said. He is not afraid to kill people.



'Quite shocking'



Also speaking to RFA, Richard Rogersa London-based lawyer who filed an international complaint in 2014 on behalf of Cambodian victims of land grabsvoiced shock at Hun Sens remarks.



Threatening to kill someone, threatening to kill someone without lawful excuse, is illegal in itself, Rogers said. So Hun Sen has effectively threatened to kill someone simply for demonstrating, and thats in fact a crime.



So its quite shocking, and its a shame that instead of listening to the people and trying to address their frustrations, he will simply threaten them, he said.



Cambodian security forces had in fact fired into unarmed crowds in anti-government protests in the past, so hes proven that hes certainly accepting of his security forces doing that, Rogers said.



And maybe he even suggested to them that they do that. So thats quite shocking.



Deadly violence



On Sept. 15, 2013, deadly violence broke out in Phnom Penh as tens of thousands of Cambodians protested for the second weekend in a row to back calls for an independent probe into charges of election fraud, which the opposition said had robbed them of victory in July 28 polls.



Security forces shot dead one protester and wounded several others when they opened fire and used tear gas and water cannon in clashes with protesters in the tension-filled capital.



Four top CNRP lawmakers were detained and at least 30 protesters injured the following year as CNRP members moved to end a government blockade of Freedom Park, the countrys main protest grounds in Phnom Penh.



Reported by RFAs Khmer Service. Translated by Samean Yun. Written in English by Richard Finney.
Authorities in the southern Chinese province of Guangdong have formally arrested two witnesses to the beating and stripping of a human rights lawyer who pursued a complaint about her treatment at the hands of local police.



Rights lawyer Shihua is pursuing a complaint against police after being beaten, illegally strip-searched, drug-tested and detained at Hualin police station in Liwan district of Guangdong's provincial capital Guangzhou for seven hours on Sept. 20.



Rights activists Zhang Wuzhou and Liang Songji were present at the time, and Zhang shot video footage of the incident on her cell phone.



Police deleted the footage and detained Zhang and Liang on suspicion of "picking quarrels and stirring up trouble." Zhang is being held at the Guangzhou No. 1 Detention Center, while Liang is in the Guangzhou No. 3 Detention Center.



Liangs sister, Liang Yiming said she had received a notice of formal arrest issued by the Liwan District Procuratorate, but was too intimidated by threats to family members to intervene in the case.



"We don't have a lawyer right now," Liang Yiming said. "Liang was already separated from his wife, so it's difficult to have her hire an attorney for him."



"[Also,] she is worried about bringing down further trouble on herself; that's why the authorities have been putting the frighteners on her."



Another relative, Liang Yankui, called on the authorities to release the footage.



"They should give some kind of public explanation for this, but they haven't released the video footage publicly," Liang Yankui said. "The police have their own version of the story, and it seems [the rest of the family] is going along with it."



Zhang's sister Zhang Weichu said she had also received a notice of formal arrest from the Liwan prosecutor's office, and that a lawyer appointed by the family had managed to visit her briefly in the detention center.



However, Zhang now appeared to be using a lawyer appointed by the police, she said.



"Of course any lawyer appointed by the authorities is going to be on the government's side, and try to get their client to plead guilty to secure a lighter sentence," Zhang Weichu said. "I have no trust in the authorities whatsoever."



Degrading treatment in detention

She said Zhang has developed bronchitis since her detention in the facility, and had been subjected to degrading treatment.



"It's usual for them not to allow you to lock the door in toilets at a detention center, but she has a male police officer watching her go to the toilet," Zhang Weichu said. "They are deliberately humiliating her."



Former rights lawyer Tan Yongpei said the formal arrests of Zhang and Liang make it more likely that further action will be taken against herself.



"Now that charges have been brought in these cases, the next step will be to take further action against Shihua," he said, adding that she runs the risk of being detained at any time, if she doesn't withdraw her complaint against the police.



According to her husband, rights lawyer Sui Muqing, was left traumatized by the incident, which included a strip search, ostensibly for "hidden weapons."



China's legal profession has been subjected to a nationwide program of detentions, travel bans and other restrictions since .



Sui lost his license in January after he ignored official warnings not to take on politically sensitive cases.



Reported by Gao Feng for RFA's Mandarin Service, and by Wong Lok-to for the Cantonese Service. Translated and edited by Luisetta Mudie.


Authorities in the southern Chinese province of Guangdong have detained a lawyer who had been representing former workers and labor activists linked to a unionization campaign at the Jasic Technology factory, a supporters group said on Friday.



"Guangzhou lawyer Huang Sha was taken away from his home in Putian, Shenzhen," the Jasic Workers' Solidarity Group (JWSG) said via its Twitter account on Friday. "Huang Sha was the human rights lawyer for the Jasic workers right from the start."



"We condemn these shameless acts of violence against those who supported the Jasic workers," the group said.



Huang's detention comes after a nationwide police operation targeting both former Jasic workers and JWSG activists, many of whom are recent graduates of some of China's top universities who became involved with the labor movement through Marxist and Maoist study groups on campus.



The JWSG listed a total of 18 people detained in a string of coordinated nationwide arrests on Nov. 9, including former Jasic worker Tang Xiangwei and 12 university graduates.



The JWSG listed several alumni of the prestigious Peking University (Beida), where the authorities recently shut down a student Marxist study group.



Similar crackdowns on Marxist groups and student supporters of the labor movement have been reported on the campuses of Renmin University in Beijing and Nanjing University.



'Great deal of concern'



A Beida graduate who asked to remain anonymous said he had been questioned by police in Beijing's Changping district on Thursday over his connections with detained Beida activists Shen Mengyu and Wang Xiangyi.



In an audio recording of his interview by a state security police officer, the officer can be heard commenting: "There is a great deal of concern over this situation at every level of government, including the central leadership. Otherwise, there's no way it would have escalated this far."



"All labor unions must be led by the [ruling Chinese Communist] Party," the police officer says. "Now that this has happened, there's going to be a huge change in the way grassroots organizations are run. We can't underestimate movements and changes at the grassroots level."



According to the Beida alumnus, Wang Xiangyi graduated from the Chinese department of Beida in the class of 2009. She had also spent two years in France on an exchange program, and had served as a department director of the Beida Shanying mountaineering club.



"She went to Shenzhen after graduating," he said. "A lot of alumni sent out posts and messages supporting her when she was detained."



Police have since been following up on messages sent by alumni and supporters of Wang on the social media platform WeChat, the source said.



Call for release



Meanwhile, the Hong Kong-based China Labour Bulletin (CLB) called on the Shenzhen authorities to release two community officials from the All China Federation of Trade Unions (ACFTU) who were detained during the Nov. 9 crackdown for helping the Jasic workers apply to set up their own union.



"Union officials like Zou Liping and Li Ao, who help #jasic workers unionise according to law, should be role models within the #ACFTU, they should in fact be commended for properly doing their job, not detained," CLB said via its Twitter account.



"[Zou and Li] were helping #Jasic workers set up a union according to law. Release them immediately," the group said.



According to the JSWG, a total of 32 workers and supporters remain behind bars following coordinated nationwide police raids on July 27, Aug. 24, Sept. 9, and Nov. 9.



Many also remain incommunicado,including Beida graduate and former #MeToo campaigner Yue Xin, Shang Kai, editor of the Maoist website Red Reference, and Maoist youth campaigner Yang Shaoqiang.



Reported by Qiao Long for RFA's Mandarin Service. Translated and edited by Luisetta Mudie.
A group of top international scholars has called on the U.S. government to put measures in place to counter and limit growing Chinese interference in American government and society.



"In light of growing evidence of Chinas interference in various sectors of American government and society, we propose three broad principles that should serve as the basis for protecting the integrity of American institutions [and] core American values, norms, and laws," a report authored by dozens of scholars under the aegis of the Hoover Institution said.



"We are less aware of the myriad ways Beijing has more recently been seeking cultural and informational influence, some of which could undermine our democratic processes," according to a statement accompanying the report on the think-tank's website.



"These include efforts to penetrate and sway ... a range of groups and institutions, including the Chinese American community, Chinese students in the United States, and American civil society organizations, academic institutions, think tanks, and media," the statement said.



While China hasn't sought to interfere in a national election in the United States or to sow confusion or inflame polarization in U.S. democratic discourse the way Russia has done, there is "a growing body of evidence" that the ruling Chinese Communist Party views democratic values including freedom of speech, assembly, religion and association as a threat, it said.



It said the Communist Party's international outreach activities, under the United Front Work Department, now target areas from "think tanks, universities, and media to state, local, and national government institutions."



In doing so, Beijing seeks to promote views sympathetic to its own, suppress alternative views; and win U.S.-based supporters for its political and economic goals, the report found.



"In recent years, it has significantly accelerated both its investment and the intensity of these efforts," it said, adding that China also uses its companies to advance its economic interests overseas.



One of the report's authors, Minxin Pei, professor of government at Claremont McKenna College said that while China has sought to boost its overseas influence for decades, the scale of the latest effort is unprecedented.



"The difference now is that China has more funds to invest in these behaviors, and Chinas overseas influence activities have become a top priority for the Chinese government," Pei told a news conference as the report was published.



"The turning point was around 2008. Prior to that, there may have been activities in some sectors, but they weren't as active, nor did they have so much money," he said. "Since 2008, we have seen more organized and coordinated activities."



Transparency and reciprocity

Senior Hoover Institution researcher and report co-author Larry Diamond cited non-disclosure agreements and secrecy surrounding contracts signed with organizations that are directly controlled by the Chinese Communist Party.



"A U.S. university professor studying China told us that his university only allowed him to view in secret the contract signed by the university with the Confucius Institute," Diamond said, in a reference to the official Chinese language and cultural teaching institutions now embedded on campuses around the world.



"Just like the activities of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), you have to enter a room and can't take notes, only read," he said, calling on U.S. universities and think-tanks to stick to total transparency in their dealings with Confucius Institutes.



The report called for greater transparency in dealings with Beijing-backed initiatives, integrity in maintaining the independence of American institutions, and reciprocity, suggesting Washington should push to be allowed to act similarly within China's own borders.



Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said globalization has meant that all countries now inhabit a "global village."



He said the U.S. should aim to strengthen its own "self-confidence" in a world of closely integrated interests.



Meanwhile, the Trump administration is considering new background checks and other restrictions on Chinese students in the United States over growing espionage concerns, following visa restrictions on Chinese graduates in aviation, robotics and advanced manufacturing earlier this year, Reuters reported on .



Sources told the news agency that Washington is mulling additional vetting for Chinese students, including student phone records and social media accounts, before allowing them to attend a school or college in the U.S.



The move comes amid growing official concern at the use of illicit methods such as hacking and cyberattacks to acquire new technology and industrial secrets, although China has repeatedly dismissed such concerns as fabrication.



Reported by Lin Ping for RFA's Mandarin Service, and by Wong Lok-to for the Cantonese Service. Translated and edited by Luisetta Mudie.
This picture taken on January 17, 2013 shows a cement factory releasing heavy smoke in Binzhou, in eastern China's Shandong province.

Two Chinese-owned cement factories in the Vang Vieng district of Laos Vientiane Province are covering approximately 900 local families in at least four villages with dust and smog, threatening their health, local sources say.

The affected villages of the northwestern province include Khanmark, Houa Ngam, Phonesoung and Markkham.

Villagers say that trucks hauling stones to the factories throughout the day are kicking up dust, which has a negative effect on the air quality in and around houses along the roads. This is compounded by other kinds of dust created during the cement production process.

Pollution from the factories themselves is also a serious problem.

[The two cement plants] are always in operation, so the impact of their smog is unavoidable, a villager told RFAs Lao Service.

High ranking officials once came to investigate the impact of the smog blown through our villages, but so far, nothing has been done to address the problem, he said.

The latest update is that 900 families are affected by the dust and smog spewed from these cement plants, the villager added.

The government has said it would take measures to suspend cement production if the plant owners are unable to find a solution.

An official of Vang Viengs Urban Development Agency told RFA, The terrible road dust and [factory] smoke are outstanding problems that negatively impact villagers health.

On Nov 26, Sommad Pholsena, Laos minister of natural resources and environment said during a session of the National Assembly, The cement plant owners [are responsible for] exposing the mountains stones and I think we must press these Chinese developers to guarantee that the smog these factories release be at a standard level.

If they cant do this, they must be stopped so that we can protect the beautiful nature [of Laos], he added.

The Chinese firms operating the plants were not identified.

Meanwhile the villagers have simultaneously been suffering from the stench of a nearby trash dump, which has been a problem since 2016.

We would like the government to find a solution for the dump. It should be removed because it is too close to the villages, another villager said.

Minister Pholsena agrees.

The military [in the area] made complaints about the dump and all its flies, and I have reported the issue to members of the National Assembly. I said that Vang Vieng district has no land, so I think the best solution is to create another dump [elsewhere], he said

The 3.5 hectare dump lies near Khanmark village, and must accommodate 25 tons of garbage each day, according to the Urban Development Agency official.

Local media reported that on Apr 27, Deputy Prime Minister Sonexay Siphandone traveled to Vang Vieng district to document the extent of the pollution and to try to find a solution, as the district is a popular tourist destination.

Reported by Ounkeo Souksavanh for RFAs Lao Service. Translated by RFAs Lao Service. Written in English by Eugene Whong.
Dead fish taken from the Ton river in Vientiane are shown in a November 2018 photo.

Chemicals released into a river by a Chinese-owned banana farm near the Lao capital Vientiane killed over 300 kg of fish in November, prompting warnings by authorities to local villagers not to bathe or fish in the polluted stream, sources in the country say.

The release, which occurred between Nov. 7 and 9, has affected the villages of Taohai, Yai-nachalern, and Kua, which lie near the Ton river in the Sangthong district of Vientiane, sources said.

Speaking to RFAs Lao Service, a district agriculture and forest department officer called the ban on use of water from the river a temporary measure pending an official investigation.

Samples of the water and the dead fish have been taken for examination, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

A temporary warning notice has been issued to the local people, telling them not to use the water or eat fish taken from the river. We will issue another notice once we know the results of the examination, he said.

A large Chinese banana farm located between the capital Vientiane and neighboring Vientiane province has accepted responsibility for the damage and has signed an agreement with Sangthong district to restore the Ton by releasing nearly 100,000 baby fish into the river during the next three to five years, he said.

However, if the company again violates the law, this may void their government concession to operate the farm, he added.

The use of chemicals is clearly regulated by the law, he said.

Companies don't follow laws

Also speaking to RFA on condition she not be named, a Lao expert on foreign investments in Laos said the countrys government should consider as a priority the impact of foreign-owned concessions on local people, and that if a business is found to have broken the law, its permit should immediately be canceled.

Foreign business owners who invest in our country often do not follow our laws or protect our environment, she said. And even if we give them two or three chances [to do better], they will often make the same mistakes.

The authorities should find more qualified investors, she said.

Illnesses and deaths have long been reported among Lao workers exposed to chemicals on foreign-owned farms, with many suffering open sores, headaches, and dizzy spells, sources told RFA in earlier reports.

Chemical run-off from farms has also polluted many of the countrys water sources, killing fish and other animals and leaving water from local rivers and streams unfit to drink, sources say.

Lao government orders began closing down the environmentally destructive farms in the countrys northern provinces in January 2017, with the ban shuttering the commercial operations when their contracts expire and forbidding new contracts from being signed.

Reported and translated for RFAs Lao Service by Phouvong. Written in English by Richard Finney.
Bangladesh Rapid Action Battalion officers rescued these six Rohingya women in Coxs Bazar from an alleged trafficker, Nov. 30, 2018.

Bangladeshi police rescued 10 Rohingya refugees, including six women, and arrested a suspected human trafficker who was about to take them by boat to Malaysia, officials said Friday.

Maj. Mehedi Hasan, chief of the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) in Coxs Bazar district, told BenarNews, an RFA-affiliated online news service, the rescue operation occurred Thursday night in the southernmost border of Bangladesh within Teknaf sub-district.

The police operations took place days after authorities in southern Myanmars Tanintharyi region returned 93 Rohingya Muslims to their displacement camps in Rakhine state after allegedly paying traffickers 500,000 Myanmar kyats (U.S. $312) each to take them by boat to Malaysia in hopes of a better life.

We conducted an operation in the late hours of Thursday and rescued 10 Rohingya, Hasan told BenarNews, adding that a man has been arrested on suspicion of human trafficking.

Myanmar considers the Rohingya illegal immigrants from Bangladesh and systematically discriminates against them, denying them citizenship although many of their families have been in the country for generations. They also do not get access to basic services, such as education and health care.

At least 64 Malaysia-bound Rohingya Muslims, mostly women, were rescued during the past two months and five suspected traffickers have been detained, officials said.

Six women who were rescued Thursday night were lured by the suspect who allegedly promised them they could marry prosperous Malaysians, officials said.

The Bay of Bengal is generally calm during winter and traffickers take that opportunity to smuggle Rohingya to Southeast Asian countries where the refugees could find employment.

Mass graves

But trafficking became less frequent after Thai authorities in May 2015 discovered mass graves containing the bodies of 32 Rohingya and Bangladeshi victims of human trafficking in the jungle along Thailands southern border with Malaysia.

After the discovery, Thai authorities launched a crackdown on illegal migration, arresting a three-star army general, police and government officials who were implicated as part of a transnational smuggling ring.

In July 2017, former Army Lt. Gen. Manas Kongpaen was sentenced to 27 years in prison, when he and 61 other defendants were convicted in Thailands largest human trafficking case.

The widespread media coverage generated by the sentencings spurred Bangladesh to launch a crackdown on human smugglers in 2015.

Two weeks ago on Nov. 16, naval authorities rescued a group of 106 Rohingya who paid traffickers to take them to Malaysia when their boats engine failed, leaving them stranded in the Andaman Sea off Yangon region.

In recent years, tens of thousands of Rohingya have fled or attempted to flee persecution in Buddhist-majority Myanmar on boats organized by human traffickers and bound for other Southeast Asian nations.

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.

Reported by BenarNews, an RFA-affiliated online news service.
Nearly 100 Rohingya Muslims who tried to flee Myanmar by boat have been sent back to their home villages and displacement camps in Rakhine state and issued identification documents, local authorities said Friday.



The 93 Rohingya had left their villages near Sittwe township and the Darpaing displacement camp on Nov. 18 after paying traffickers 500,000 kyats (U.S. $312) each to take them to Malaysia in hopes of a better life, but were picked up by a naval vessel a week later off the coast of Tanintharyis Dawei district in southern Myanmar and held at sea until Nov. 27.



They began their return by boat on Nov. 27 and arrived at the township [Friday] afternoon, before returning to their villages and displacement camps with the assistance of village heads and camp leaders, a police officer from Sittwe told RFAs Myanmar Service, speaking on condition of anonymity.



The members of the group were originally thought to have all left from the Darpaing displacement camp, but an investigation determined that most of them came from the villages of Thaechaung, Darpaing, Thetkepyin, Say Sayagyi and Basayar, while only a few had been living at the camp, the officer said.



Authorities provided all Rohingya in the group over the age of 10 with national verification cards (NVCs)the first step for any foreigner interested in getting Myanmar citizenshipbefore returning them to their villages and displacement camps, he added.



Myanmar considers the Rohingya illegal immigrants from Bangladesh and systematically discriminates against them, denying them citizenshipthough many have lived in the country for generationsand access to basic services such as education and health care.



Rohingya have balked on accepting NVCs, saying they prefer the restoration of their citizenship.



The Nov. 18 boat attempt marked the third time in recent weeks that Rohingya from displacement camps in Rakhine state have tried to reach Malaysia by boat.



On Nov. 16, naval authorities rescued a group of 106 Rohingya who paid traffickers to take them to Malaysia when their boats engine failed, leaving them stranded in the Andaman Sea off Yangon region.



Police have detained two people suspected of trafficking that group of Rohingya and are still investigating them, Kyi Lin said.



Also last week, another vessel with dozens of Rohingya from the Darpaing displacement camp who left Sittwe on Nov. 18 was detained shortly after setting sail.



Communal violence between Muslims and Buddhists in Rakhine state in 2012 left more than 200 people dead and displaced about 140,000 others, mostly Rohingya who ended up in displacement camps.



In recent years, tens of thousands of them have fled or attempted to flee persecution in Buddhist-majority Myanmar on boats organized by human traffickers and bound for other Southeast Asian nations.



Instances of Rohingya leaving displacement camps also occurred under the previous government, with some who were caught and returned sentenced to between five and seven years in prison. But authorities say that those who have left since 2016 have been returned to their places of origin after they were intercepted at sea.



Escape attempts from displacement camps in Rakhine state are common, and some speculate that corrupt officials are also involved in trafficking activities.



The factors that push these internal refugees to leave Myanmar are the same ones that have caused the 720,000 or more Rohingya sheltering in Bangladesh after being driven out by army campaigns in 2016 and 2017 to resist efforts to repatriate them.



Bangladeshi police arrested 10 Rohingya refugees on the night of Nov. 29 as they were about to board a boat to travel to Malaysia after having paid traffickers to set up the journey, an officer told Agence France-Presse on Friday.



Rakhine protests



Meanwhile, a group of residents of Sittwe have been charged with violating the Peaceful Assembly and Peaceful Procession Law after holding a Nov. 25 protest against the repatriation of Rohingyas and providing them with National Registration Cards (NRCs), which are issued to those who had been considered full citizens under Myanmar's 1982 Citizenship Law.



One of the protesters, Aye Thida, told RFA Friday that she was notified on Nov. 29 by the chief of Sittwes No. 2 Police Station that she had been charged under Article 20 of the law for using a loudspeaker during the gathering.



Divisions between ethnic Rakhine Buddhistsa recognized minority who make up the majority of residents in Rakhine stateand Muslim Rohingyas have led to communal violence in recent years, and many Rakhine have rejected assessments from the United Nations, rights groups, and Western nations that the Rohingyas have been subjected to ethnic cleansing or have a right to citizenship.



Ethnic Rakhine are also calling for more autonomy from Myanmars central government, and earlier this week more than 1,000 activists from 17 townships in Rakhine state demanded the right to control the impoverished regions natural resourcesmost notably oil and gasduring a protest in Kyaukphyu township.



Rakhine residents have long complained about the alleged exploitation of their land and natural resources and the uneven division of spoils from large-scale projects that have yielded little or no benefit to poor communities in need of infrastructure, health care, and education.



Reported by Min Thein Aung and Nandar Chann for RFAs Myanmar Service. Translated by Khet Mar. Written in English by Joshua Lipes.
Huynh Thuc Vy is shown next to a search warrant served by police on Aug. 9, 2018.

Vietnamese blogger and human rights advocate Huynh Thuc Vy was sentenced on Friday by a court in Vietnam to a two-year and seven-month prison term for "affronting the national flag or national emblem under Article 276 of the countrys 1999 Penal Code.

Huynh, 33, was charged for having posted a photo of herself online next to a national flag defaced with paint, and was taken away on Aug. 9 by police in Dak Lak provinces Buon Ho town after refusing previous summons to come in to their offices for questioning.

Speaking to RFAs Vietnamese Service following her half-day trial, Huynh said that the sentencing court had failed to prove the prosecutions case against her, saying that the judges simply took out their ready-made sentence and read it out.

Huynhs lawyer Dang Dinh Manh had made three specific points at her trial which were not addressed by the court, Huynh said.

First, not just any red flag with a gold star can be considered to be the national flag, because the size of the countrys flag is specified by Vietnams constitution, and the flags that I sprayed paint on were of different sizes.

Second, Huynh said, Manh had asserted that Huynh had acted from a political motivation rather than from any wish to insult the national honor. And third, she said, Article 276 of the Penal Code of Vietnam does not conform to the rights of political expression guaranteed by the U.N. International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

House arrest, for now

Huynh, now pregnant with her second child, will remain under house arrest until her child stops nursing at age 3, and will then be sent to prison to serve her full term, media sources said on Friday.

In a statement Friday, Phil RobertsonDeputy Asia Director of the international rights group Human Rights Watchslammed Huynhs sentence, saying the young mother will now be separated for years from her child simply for expressing views the government doesnt like.

Vietnams decision to imprison Huynh Thuc Vy for splattering the national flag with white paint shows just how extreme Vietnams rights abusing attacks have become against activists and bloggers.

Vietnam has really become the bottom of the barrel in Southeast Asia when it comes to human rights, Robertson said.

Huynh, a founder of the advocacy group Vietnamese Women for Human Rights, is the oldest child of former political prisoner Huynh Ngoc Tuan, who spent ten years in prison in 1992-2002 for sending a political book he had written out of the country.

Reported by RFAs Vietnamese Service. Translated by An Nguyen. Written in English by Richard Finney.
A woman charged with working secretly for the Russian government to sway politicians in Washington appears to be moving toward a settlement of her case with U.S. prosecutors, according to her family and court documents.

Lawyers for Maria Butina and prosecutors said that they "remain optimistic about a pretrial resolution" in a court filing this week, while the Russian news agency TASS reported on November 29 that Butina's family expects her lawyers to make a pretrial deal to settle the case.

Prosecutors allege that Butina, 30, gathered intelligence on American officials and political organizations and worked to develop relationships with mostly conservative U.S. politicians, including President Donald Trump, through her contacts with the powerful gun lobby group, the National Rifle Association.

Butina is a gun rights advocate who established a gun lobby group in Russia before traveling to Washington to study at the American University and get involved in U.S. politics.

The U.S. indictment charges that Butina's work in Washington was directed by a former Russian lawmaker and central bank official, Aleksandr Torshin, who was sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury Department this year because of his alleged ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Butina is also charged with conspiracy and acting as an unregistered foreign agent for Russia. She has pleaded not guilty. Her lawyer says Butina was merely a student interested in American politics and seeking better U.S.-Russian relations.

Butina has mounted an aggressive defense since she was jailed in July. Her legal team tried to have the case thrown out earlier this month.

But a court filing on November 28 indicated that her lawyers are continuing to negotiate with U.S. prosecutors on a possible settlement and may be nearing a plea agreement. A hearing on the case is scheduled for next month.

Maria's father Valery Butin told TASS that he expects the negotiations to result in a pretrial settlement of the case.

"I would very much like them to make a deal because if they fail to do it, the prison term may turn out to be so long that we will lose our daughter," he told TASS in an interview.

The charges against Butina are unrelated to Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into alleged Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election.

However, the charges are part of a larger push by the Justice Department to aggressively enforce U.S. laws governing foreign agents, including those accused of working for Russia, who seek to operate within the U.S. political system.

With reporting by TASS, AP, and Reuters


Since then, the South Shore has worked with a regional organization that encourages people to open bank accounts so they can get credit or debit cards. Those cards can be used to buy tickets from vending machines at South Shore stations.
Supporters of wartime Bosnian Muslim commander Naser Oric gathered in Sarajevo as the high court acquitted him and another soldier of war crimes charges on November 30. Oric had been accused of killing three Serb prisoners of war in the Srebrenica area at the beginning of the 1992-95 Bosnian War. Oric is seen as a hero by many Bosnian Muslims for his role in defending Srebrenica.
Naser Oric, the Bosnian Muslim commander who defended Srebrenica during the 1990s war, has been acquitted of war crimes charges.

The Court of Bosnia-Herzegovina in Sarajevo delivered the ruling on November 30.

"Naser Oric and" his fellow fighter "Sabahudin Muhic are acquitted of charges of having committed during the war ... crimes against prisoners," Judge Tihomir Lukes said.

The two men were tried again for the killing of three Serb prisoners in the Srebrenica area at the start of the 1992-95 war, which pitted the country's Serb, Muslim and Croat communities against each other.

A Bosnian court in October 2017 acquitted Oric and Muhic of killing three Serb prisoners of war in the Bratunac and Srebrenica area during the conflict, in which more than 100,000 people were killed.

Oric is seen as a hero by many Bosnian Muslims for his role in defending Srebrenica, which fell in July 1995 to Bosnian Serb troops who killed more than 8,000 Muslim men and boys in what is considered Europe's worst atrocity since World War II.

In a separate case in 2006, the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) in The Hague convicted Oric of failing to prevent men under his command from killing and mistreating Bosnian Serb prisoners in 1992-93.

But he was immediately released because he had already served time in pretrial detention.

In 2008, the UN court's appeals chamber overturned the verdict, ruling that prosecutors had not proved that Oric had control over the men in his command.

Unhappy with the acquittal, Belgrade in 2014 launched an international warrant over the killing of Serb civilians near Srebrenica in 1992, leading to his arrest in Switzerland in 2015.

Belgrade demanded that Oric be sent to Serbia for trial, but Swiss authorities extradited him to Bosnia, citing the fact that Oric is a Bosnian citizen.

Oric and Muhic were acquitted of the charges in October 2017 when the judge ruled that the testimony of a protected witness lacked credibility and was contradictory.

With reporting by AFP
BISHKEK/ALMATY -- A committee to protect ethnic Kyrgyz in China has been established in Kyrgyzstan amid fresh reports of further repression by Beijing of the multiethnic indigenous community in Chinas northwestern region of Xinjiang.

The Committee To Protect Kyrgyz People In China was created by activists and a group of Kyrgyz men and women who moved to Kyrgyzstan and obtained either Kyrgyz residence or citizenship.



At their initial meeting in Bishkek on November 29, they said relatives who either stayed in Xinjiang or visited the Chinese region after moving to Kyrgyzstan had been detained and kept incommunicado in so-called "reeducation camps" for months or even years.



Meanwhile, in neighboring Kazakhstan, a group of ethnic Kazakhs, who left Xinjiang for Kazakhstan, held a gathering at the Atazhurt Young Volunteers center in Almaty on November 30 to urge Kazakh authorities and the international community to secure the release of relatives being held at such camps in China.



After Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan gained independence following the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, many ethnic Kazakhs and Kyrgyz from Xinjiang resettled in the two Central Asian nations, taking advantage of state resettlement programs.



In recent months, Kazakhs originally from Xinjiang have held protests in Almaty and Astana, demanding Kazakh authorities and Western governments do more to free relatives held in camps in Xinjiang.



United Nations human rights officials said in August that an estimated 1 million Muslims from Xinjiang, mainly Uyghurs, were being held in "counterextremism centers" in China and millions more have been forced into reeducation camps.



China has denied the facilities are internment camps. Uyghurs are the largest indigenous community in Xinjiang, followed by Kazakhs, and the region is also home to ethnic Kyrgyz, Tajiks, and Hui, also known as Dungans.



Han, China's largest ethnicity, are the second largest community in Xinjiang.


European leaders and NATO have reacted coolly to calls by Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko for new measures to strengthen defenses and penalize Russia over its capture of Ukrainian ships and crew off Crimea.

A NATO spokeswoman said on November 29 that the military alliance already has a strong presence in the Black Sea region where the incident occurred, and it has no plans to send warships into the Sea of Azov, which lies between Ukrainian and Russian territory, as requested by Poroshenko on November 28.

Oana Lungescu said NATO ships routinely patrol and conduct exercises in the Black Sea, with NATO ships already present in the region for 120 days this year as compared with 80 days last year.

She said several NATO members routinely conduct air policing and reconnaissance flights in the region, and that members of the alliance which border the Black Sea -- Bulgaria, Romania, and Turkey -- have staged their own military deployments in the area.

"There is already a lot of NATO in the Black Sea, and we will continue to assess our presence in the region," Lungescu said.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel rebuffed Poroshenko's call for increasing military pressure on Russia, saying "we can only resolve this in talks with one another because there is no military solution to all of these conflicts."

Speaking at a business forum in Berlin on November 29, Merkel said she will urge Russian President Vladimir Putin at a meeting on the sidelines of a Group of 20 (G20) meeting this weekend to immediately release the 24 Ukrainian sailors detained by Russian forces last weekend, and will demand that Russia keep the Kerch Strait between the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov open to normal commercial traffic.

"We will take care of it. Nevertheless, we ask Ukraine as well to be sensible. We know that we can only solve things by being reasonable and holding dialogue," Merkel said.

Addressing Poroshenko's demand that the European Union impose more sanctions on Russia or increase enforcement of existing sanctions against Russia and businesses and individuals in Russia-annexed Crimea, Merkel took a non-committal approach like that adopted by the EU on November 28 when it said it would "act appropriately" as it continues to monitor the situation.

"We do not impose sanctions for the sake of sanctions, but we use sanctions to make it simply clear that countries must have the right to develop on their own, even when they are territorially close to Russia," Merkel said.

The United States and EU have imposed sanctions on Russia since it illegally annexed Crimea in 2014 and started backing Ukrainian separatists in a war against the government that has killed more than 10,300 people.

'Cavalier Use Of Force'

Merkel also dismissed a U.S. and Ukrainian suggestion that the EU increase pressure on Russia by canceling the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline project to funnel Russian gas directly to Germany through the Baltic Sea, bypassing a pipeline running through Ukraine.

She said the pipeline would go ahead, but that Germany would "ensure Ukraine remains an important transit country" for Russian gas in the future.

Even as she spoke, Ukrainian officials raised new alarms, claiming Russia was preventing Ukrainian ships from crossing through the Kerch Strait and that NATO should adopt a tit-for-tat response.

Ukraine's Infrastructure Minister Volodymyr Omelyan said on Facebook that two Ukrainian ports on the Sea of Azov, Berdyansk and Mariupol, were effectively blockaded by Russia and that 35 vessels were prevented from carrying out normal operations there.

"As long as Russia blocks free navigation, the whole civilized world should take mirror measures against Russia," Ukrainian Prime Minister Volodymyr Hroysman told reporters on the sidelines of the Berlin business conference.

Ukrainian Navy Vice Admiral Ihor Voronchenko, the commander in chief of the Ukrainian Navy, said Kyiv would ask Turkey to close the Bosphorus Strait between the Black Sea and the Aegean and Mediterranean Seas, "so that the Russians pay the price for violating the norms of international law."

The Kremlin denied that Russia was blocking traffic through the Kerch Strait.

"I don't know of any restrictions at the moment. On the contrary, as far as we know the Kerch Strait is operating normally," Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.

Peskov said delays did sometimes occur in the area as a result of bad weather. The Kerch authority said a weather advisory was posted in the area on November 29.

Meanwhile, Poroshenko praised U.S. President Donald Trump's decision not to meet with Putin at the G20 meeting in Argentina this weekend out of concern that Moscow has not returned Ukraine's ships and sailors.

"This is how great leaders act!" Poroshenko said in an English comment on Twitter.

U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis voiced his support for Ukraine for the first time in remarks to reporters at the Pentagon on November 29, saying Russia's actions were "a flagrant violation of international law"and "a cavalier use of force," and provided evidence that "Russia cannot be counted on right now to keep its word."

With reporting by AP, AFP, dpa, and Reuters


World leaders are meeting in Argentina for their annual Group of 20 (G20) summit amid new tensions between Russia and Ukraine.

U.S. President Donald Trump announced ahead of the summit that he was canceling his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin over Russia's recent seizure of Ukrainian vessels.

Argentina's President Mauricio Macri opened the summit on November 30 with a call for member states to support international cooperation and multilateralism.

Macri said that the gathering of major economic powers will focus on issues such as labor, infrastructure, development, financial stability, climate sustainability, and international commerce. He added that it will be an agenda "centered on people."

Meanwhile, Putin and Saudi Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman shared an enthusiastic greeting at the opening of the summit in Argentina's capital, Buenos Aires. The two men beamed widely and clasped hands.

U.S. intelligence agencies have concluded that the 33-year-old crown prince ordered the killing of Jamal Khashoggi, a U.S.-based Washington Post columnist and critic of Saudi Arabia's establishment, at the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul on October 2.

Saudi officials have blamed the killing on rogue agents and denied the crown prince had knowledge of the operation.

Trump said he might have a discussion with the Saudi leader during the summit, but so far they hadn't talked.

A White House official said that so far Trump had only exchanged pleasantries with the crown prince at the leaders' opening session, just as he did with nearly every leader in attendance.

Based on reporting by AP, Reuters, and dpa
The Group of Seven (G7) leading industrialized countries have called Russia's seizure of three Ukrainian vessels unjustified and demanded the release of the 24 captured Ukrainian sailors, saying the standoff had "dangerously raised tensions."

In a November 30 statement, the foreign ministers of Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, and the United States, as well as the EU's high representative, called on Russia "to release the detained crew and vessels and refrain from impeding lawful passage through the Kerch Strait."

"There is no justification for Russia's use of military force against Ukrainian ships and naval personnel," the statement said.

The G7 urged "restraint, due respect for international law, and the prevention of any further escalation."

The group reiterated that it "does not, and will never, recognize Russia's illegal annexation of the Crimean Peninsula" while reaffirming its "unwavering support for Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity."

Ukraine imposed martial law in 10 regions that mostly border Russia or the Sea of Azov after the recent sea confrontation. The decision marked the first time Kyiv has taken such a step since Russia seized Crimea in March 2014.

Western leaders have criticized Russia and called for the release of the Ukrainian servicemen.

Based on reporting by Reuters and AFP
A Russian opposition activist serving a prison term after being found guilty of assaulting police during a protest is facing fresh charges four days before his scheduled release.

The Federal Penitentiary Service said on November 29 that Sergei Mokhnatkin, who was scheduled to be released from prison in the northwestern Arkhangelsk region on December 2, was ordered to remain in custody for two months.

He is now being investigated on charges of causing disruption at the penitentiary.

Mokhnatkin, 64, was sentenced to 4 1/2 years in prison in 2014 after being found guilty of assaulting two police officers during a December 2013 antigovernment protest in Moscow.

While in prison, Mokhnatkin held several hunger strikes protesting conditions he faced in the penitentiary, including what he said were regular beatings by prison guards.

In 2017, he was handed a further two-year sentence after being found guilty of insulting a guard and other charges. That sentence was to be served concurrently with his previous term.

Mokhnatkin first came to prominence in 2009 when he was sentenced to 2 1/2 years in prison after being convicted of attacking a police officer during another opposition rally.

He was pardoned by then-President Dmitry Medvedev in April 2012, one month before Vladimir Putin returned to the presidency.

Based on reporting by TASS and Interfax
ALMATY -- A Kazakh opposition activist has been sentenced to four years in prison on charges of supporting activities of the banned Democratic Choice of Kazakhstan (DVK) movement.

The Almaly district court on November 30 sentenced Aset Abishev after finding him guilty of participating in activities of a banned organization and financially supporting a criminal group.

Abishev rejected the verdict, calling the trial politically motivated. He said he would appeal.

During the trial that started on October 2, Abishev denied the DVK movement or its founder -- fugitive former banker and a vocal critic of President Nursultan Nazarbaev, Mukhtar Ablyazov -- were extremist.

Kazakhstan banned the DVK in March after deeming it an extremist organization.

Ablyazov has been living in self-imposed exile since 2009, residing in several EU countries, including France and Britain. He is wanted by Kazakhstan, Russia, and Ukraine on suspicion of embezzling some $5 billion.

On November 27, a Kazakh court sentenced him in absentia to life in prison for murder, a charge he denied and labeled politically motivated.

Another Kazakh court earlier sentenced Ablyazov to 20 years in prison in absentia after convicting him of organizing and leading a criminal group, as well as abuse of office, embezzlement, and financial mismanagement.

Opponents and rights groups say that Nazarbaev, who has held power in the Central Asian nation since before the 1991 Soviet breakup, has taken systematic steps to suppress dissent and sideline potential opponents.
Kosovo has spurned calls from the United States and European Union to eliminate a new 100 percent tariff on Serbian imports, saying the levy will stay until Serbia recognizes Kosovo's sovereignty and reaches a normalization agreement with its neighbor.

Kosovar Prime Minister Ramush Haradinaj said on November 29 that his government imposed the tariff to send a "message" to Serbia that it must not only accept the former republic's declaration of independence but it must stop blocking Pristina's efforts to join the United Nations, Interpol, and other international organizations.

"Some people may think this decision will only last a few days, but they shouldn't assume that. It can stay in place for a very long time," Haradinaj said, "for as long as it takes for Serbia to recognize Kosovo, for us to get a comprehensive agreement that contains everything -- recognition, UN membership, agreement on debts, pensions, and missing persons, and the removal of tariffs."

Haradinaj said Kosovo is "serious" about keeping the tariff in place until Serbia negotiates "a final package, a final agreement for mutual recognition between Kosovo and Serbia."

Washington has called on Kosovo to lift the tariff, saying it is blocking efforts by both Pristina and Belgrade to normalize relations and join the EU, while the EU has warned that the customs tax violates the Central European Free Trade agreement.

"This is a measure that does not help to build good neighborly relations and needs to be revoked," EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini told Kosovo President Hashim Thaci during a phone call on November 28.

But Haradinaj rejected those overtures, saying the tax will stay in force for as long as it takes until Kosovo stops being "denied a place at the table."

Kosovo seceded from Serbia in 2008 in a move recognized by more than 110 nations but not recognized by Belgrade, which has worked with its ally Russia to block Kosovo from joining the UN and an array of international organizations.

Still, the two Balkan neighbors have been engaged in EU-sponsored talks aimed at normalizing relations and resolving their differences. The EU has made clear that such normalization is needed for either nation to succeed in their bids to join the Western bloc.

Angry Reactions

Kosovo instituted the 100 percent tariff on Serbian and Bosnian imports on November 21 in retaliation for what it said were Belgrade's efforts to undermine it on the international stage.

The move drew angry reactions from Belgrade and Sarajevo, and also prompted the mayors of four predominantly ethnic Serb municipalities in northern Kosovo to resign.

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic on November 29 urged ethnic Serbs in Kosovo to keep up their peaceful protests against the tariff, which he said "destroys regional stability and peace" and has "horrible economic consequences."

Serbia is Kosovo's top trade partner in the Balkans, with Serbian imports -- mostly food products -- topping more than 400 million euros a year. Still, the tariffs have as yet to trigger any significant food shortages or price surges.

German government spokesman Steffen Seibert on November 28 criticized both Serbia's campaign to keep Kosovo out of Interpol and Pristina's subsequent decision to impose the tariffs, and said both sides should "avoid escalation."

The U.S. State Department has also urged the two neighbors to stop feuding, saying that "normalizing relations between Kosovo and Serbia is the only way to clear the path to both countries' future integration into the Western community of nations."

With reporting by AP, RFE/RL's Balkan Service, and AFP


A lawyer for one of the Ukrainian sailors detained by Russia on November 25 off the Russia-occupied Ukrainian region of Crimea has said the case against the seamen was "a political trial."

"We understand that this is a political case and not just some random person or ship that supposedly violated the claimed territorial waters of the Russian Federation," lawyer Edem Semdelyayev told RFE/RL on November 29. "It is precisely a political trial involving these sailors and ships. Why this has been done -- what the purpose is -- of course, we will find out eventually."

Semdelyayev is representing Oleh Melnychuk, captain of the military tug Yani Kapu and one of 24 Ukrainian seamen detained by Russia in the incident, which ratcheted up tensions in the Sea of Azov region as an ongoing conflict simmers between Ukraine and Russia-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine.

Russia has charged the men with illegal border crossing by a group of individuals acting in collusion, or by an organized group, or with the use of or the threat to use violence.

Russian courts in the occupied Black Sea region of Crimea have reportedly ordered them all to be held pending trial for two months.

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has demanded the handover of all three Ukrainian military vessels and their crew, and martial law has been imposed in 10 Ukrainian regions that mostly border Russia or the Sea of Azov to allow increased security measures that so far include a ban on entry to Ukraine for Russian men aged 16-60.

Semdelyayev told RFE/RL his client plans to appeal both the charges filed against him and the order to hold the sailor in custody.

"He considers himself completely innocent and is ready to prove that," Semdelyayev said. "He insists upon his innocence. He understands that they have ended up in this situation merely because of a confluence of circumstances."

'Like In Hollywood Films'

The lawyer said that Melnychuk told him the Ukrainian vessels reached a staging point where the Russian Coast Guard promised to send them a pilot to guide them through the Kerch Strait passage en route to the Ukrainian port city of Mariupol.

"Having waited at the rendezvous point for nearly seven hours, they concluded that they were not going to be allowed to proceed and no pilot was coming, they were ordered to return to Odesa," Semdelyayev said. "When they had already begun to return and had traveled a certain distance, the pursuit and all the other events began, including the ramming and the capture of the ships."

Semdelyayev added that Melnychuk told him the Ukrainians were detained "very roughly, like in Hollywood films."

Russia and Ukraine concluded a treaty in 2003 that calls for sharing the Sea of Azov, but Russia has built up its naval forces in the region since occupying Crimea in 2014 and this year stepped up its harassment of Ukrainian shipping in the area.

Semdelyayev confirmed that three injured Ukrainian sailors were being held in the Crimean city of Kerch. The other 21 were in the Crimean capital, Simferopol, where they had been examined by doctors and were said to be in "normal physical and emotional condition."

He added that the detainees have had minimal contact with their relatives.

"My client was allowed to say literally two or three words to his father after he was detained to tell him that he was OK," Semdelyayev said. "There have been no other [direct] contacts with relatives. They have been able to exchange some information through lawyers."

U.S. President Donald Trump has canceled a planned meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, due to take place during this weekend's summit for the Group of 20 industrialized nations in Argentina, over Russias seizure of the Ukrainian vessels.
Avitia worked GRIT for three years and then went to the drug enforcement section as a detective for two years, according to Fifield. He was assigned back to the Lowell District where he again worked Lake and Porter counties until his promotion to corporal, the release states.
Three rock fragments retrieved from the moon by an unmanned Soviet space mission in 1970 were sold for $855,000 at a New York auction on November 29.

Sotheby's auction house said the moon rocks are the only documented lunar material in private hands. They were offered for sale by an unidentified private American collector who purchased them at auction in 1993 for $442,500.

Sotheby's said the latest buyer was another private American collector, but did not disclose the name.

The lunar samples originally belonged to Nina Korolyova, the widow of former Soviet space program director Sergei Korolyov. They were presented to her as a gift by the Soviet government in recognition of her husbands contributions to the program, Sotheby's said.

Korolyov was a rocket engineer, aircraft and spacecraft designer, and mastermind behind the Soviet space program during the 1950s and 1960s.

The fragments were retrieved in September 1970 by the unmanned Luna-16 mission, which drilled a hole in the moon's surface to a depth of 35 centimeters and extracted a core sample, the auction house said.

Most other known samples taken from the moon remain with the two governments that collected them: the United States during the Apollo missions and the Soviet Union -- now Russia -- via the unmanned Luna missions.

Collectors pay large sums for space artifacts. Last year Sotheby's fetched $1.8 million for a zippered bag used by U.S. astronaut Neil Armstrong to bring back rock samples taken during the first manned mission to the moon in 1969.

"Space exploration is something that's universal," Sotheby's expert Cassandra Hatton told AFP.

"Anybody can look up at the sky and get excited about it. So we have a lot of interest from around the world."

Based on reporting by AFP and Reuters
Moscow has rejected a fresh report co-authored by the World Health Organization (WHO) that shows Russia registered the highest number of fresh HIV cases in Europe last year.

Russian Health Minister Veronika Skvortsova told reporters on November 29 that, according to the Russian state statistics, the number of new HIV diagnoses in the country was 85,802, not 104,000 as the report stated.

The Russian Health Ministry and the countrys consumer protection agency, Rospotrebnadzor, said the findings were distorted because more people are tested for HIV in Russia than elsewhere in Europe.

In a joint statement on November 29, the two said more than 30 percent of Russia's population is tested for HIV each year, while in other European countries, that figure is just 10 percent.

"If the same number of people as in the Russian Federation were tested [in European countries], the level of the illness' spread in some European countries would be higher than in Russia," the statement said.

Almost 160,000 people were newly diagnosed with HIV in Europe last year, with three-quarters of the new cases arising in Ukraine and Russia, the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control and the World Health Organization's European office said on November 28.

In Ukraine, Russia, and other countries in Eastern Europe, the high proportion of new cases was mainly attributed to transmission through heterosexual sex and intravenous drug use, the report said.

The overall trend suggested the European region would not achieve the UN target of eliminating HIV/AIDS by 2030.
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After an unprecedented burst of violence near a key choke point off Crimea, Russia added 24 sailors and security officers to the dozens of Ukrainians it is holding in custody nearly five years after Moscow seized the Black Sea peninsula.

Ukraine announced it is barring Russian men from the country, and President Vladimir Putin saw a major meeting with his U.S. counterpart slip away again when President Donald Trump, citing the maritime clash, canceled what could have been two hours of talks in Buenos Aires.

But will the West let Russia take the Sea of Azov anyway?

Here are some of the key developments in Russia over the past week, and some of the takeaways going forward.

Hostage Crisis

Russia is holding dozens of Ukrainians behind bars for what rights groups and the inmates themselves say are political reasons  among them activists, journalists, and the film director Oleh Sentsov, who staged a 145-day hunger strike in a remote Far Northern prison to demand the release of what he said were 64 of his countrymen in the custody of Moscow.

The exact current number of these detainees -- some say hostages  may be unclear. But it just increased by 24: After Russian Coast Guard craft rammed and fired on three Ukrainian Navy vessels near the tension-choked Kerch Strait on November 25, courts in Russian-controlled Crimea swiftly sent their crew members to pretrial detention  a euphemism for jail  for two months.

Having two dozen new captives may have been one of Russias motives for the actions of its coast guard, which is run by the Federal Security Service (FSB).

Holding Ukrainians and even its own citizens behind bars has repeatedly proved useful for Moscow in the past, such as when it swapped military aviator Nadia Savchenko for two Russians captured amid the conflict in eastern Ukraine or when it released a pair of Pussy Riot punk protesters in what many called a public-relations move ahead of the Sochi Olympics in February 2014.

This time, the move, if thats what it was, may have backfired. At least for the time being, that is, and in the context of President Vladimir Putins hopes  both stated and seemingly evident  for a closer, more productive relationship with U.S. President Donald Trump. Or at least for a meeting less fleeting than their brief encounters earlier this month in Paris.

On And Off

Substantive talks that had initially been expected in Paris were postponed until the two presidents would both be in Buenos Aires for a G20 summit on November 30-December 1.

A day before that gathering, the meeting was off again -- canceled by Trump in an abrupt announcement on Twitter that came shortly after he had said he would probably meet with Putin. And also after Russian state news agency RIA Novosti reported that two hours had been set aside for the presidents to meet at a Hyatt hotel in Buenos Aires on December 1.

"Based on the fact that the ships and sailors have not been returned to Ukraine from Russia, I have decided it would be best for all parties concerned to cancel the meeting, Trump tweeted.

I look forward to a meaningful Summit again as soon as this situation is resolved! Trump tweeted, challenging Putin to free the sailors and return them to Ukraine.

That seems unlikely to happen soon, for at least two reasons.

It would be hard for Putin to do it so quickly without looking weak, for one thing. And it would puncture the narrative  constructed carefully by the Kremlin but widely disbelieved and derided in both Russia and the West  that the detained seamen are suspects in a straightforward, not-at-all-political border violation case and await fair hearings in an independent justice system.

Bowing to Trump's "ultimatum" and freeing the crewmen now would mean "a loss of face and sovereignty" for Putin and Russia, Moscow-based analyst Vladimir Frolov wrote in the media outlet Republic.

"After some time they will probably be freed or exchanged, but certainly not now," Frolov wrote. He predicted that Putin's response would be to "strengthen pressure on Ukraine."

Who Benefits?

Trooping the Ukrainians into courtrooms where they were ordered held in custody for two months with the possibility of extension allows Russia, pulling its patented straight face, to cast the matter as a strictly legal issue rather than what Kyiv calls it -- a blatant act of aggression and a sign that Moscow has widened the war between Ukraine and the separatists Moscow backs in the Donbas.

With more than 10,300 people dead since April 2014 in that conflict, which Russia insists it is not fighting despite ample evidence of deep involvement, the clash off Crimea marked the first time Moscow has acknowledged that its military or security forces have fired on Ukrainians on land or at sea.

Putin sought to separate the maritime confrontation from the Donbas war in his first public comments on the clash, telling an audience of foreign executives on November 28 that it was no more than a border incident. In addition to blaming it on Kyiv, he accused Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko of staging the confrontation to boost his seemingly slim chances of reelection in March.

Some observers said the clash at sea was more likely the result of political calculus by Putin, not Poroshenko. Its still early in the Russian presidents six-year term, which could be his last  though he stressed in comments at the same financial forum that hes not planning on going anywhere yet.

But his approval rating has fallen in recent months, with public dismay at an imminent increase in the retirement age denting his popularity and more Russians holding him responsible for the countrys problems, making him look more vulnerable.

Meanwhile, there were plenty of other potential motives for Russia to do what it did, regardless of whether it was provoked.

Facts On The Ground  And At Sea

Among them: Leveraging what Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov likes to call new realities  in this case, Russian control over Crimea  to put military, political, and economic pressure on Kyiv, hem in Ukraines Sea of Azov coast, and challenge the West.

Moscow likely intended to escalate things in order to force Ukraine to accept the new situation on the ground, so that Ukraine would no longer seek passage through the Kerch Strait without approval by Russia, according to Aleksandr Gabuev, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Moscow Center.

The strait between Russia and Crimea -- now spanned by a bridge Putin opened in May  is the only way in and out of the Sea of Azov, whose northern shore is dotted with Ukrainian ports including Henichesk, Berdyansk, and Mariupol  a front-line Donetsk Province city just a few kilometers west of territory held by the Russia-backed separatists.

While Putin is portraying the naval clash as an isolated incident, Kyiv rejects that  and pointed to evidence to the contrary on November 29, accusing Russia of barring ships from entering and leaving the Sea of Azov in a de facto blockade of its ports there  despite the fact that Ukraine and Russia share both the Kerch Strait and the Sea of Azov.

In the wake of the incident at sea, Kyiv has taken highly visible, unprecedented steps in response. The government imposed martial law for a monthlong period in 10 regions, including all of those that border Russia or have coastlines.

And on November 30, the Ukrainian border guard chief said Russian males aged 16 to 60 are prohibited from entering the country.

'Ominous' Steps

Putins nothing-to-see-here claim is also gaining little traction in the West.

One problem with the argument is that there is something to see, literally: A video released by Ukrainian authorities that appears to show the view from the bridge of the Russian Coast Guard craft ramming the Ukrainian tugboat after a stream of expletives from a person on board who cannot be seen. Another is the fact that six Ukrainians were reportedly wounded in the confrontation.

Russias illegal blockade and closure of the Kerch Strait on Sunday and its violent seizure of three Ukrainian ships are clear violations of international law and of bilateral Ukrainian-Russian agreements, Alexander Vershbow, a former U.S. ambassador to Moscow and deputy chief of NATO, wrote in an opinion article in The Washington Post on November 28.

According to Vershbow, now a fellow at the Atlantic Councils Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security, the Russian actions were far from a one-off event.

He sees it in the context of other actions that look ominous in retrospect, citing persistent artillery and rocket attacks in the Donbas, sanctions Russia imposed on Ukrainian companies and business leaders on November 1, and elections held by the Russia-backed Donbas separatists on November 11  in violation, according to Kyiv and Western governments, of a European-brokered cease-fire and peace deal known as Minsk II.

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Russia has been intensifying the pressure on Ukraine over the past three to four months in small steps, similar to what we saw in Moscows creeping aggression against Georgia in the spring and summer of 2008," he wrote. This may be based on the hope that each small step will be met with nothing more than political protests by the West.

'Deeply Concerned'

The Russian actions have drawn widespread criticism in the West, but so far no promises of action.

Driving that fact home in withering form, a Twitter user called Soviet Sergei posted a series from Western officials, many of them including the term deeply concerned or something close to it.

Some leaders called for action: Estonian President Kersti Kaljulaid accused Russia of waging "war in Europe" and beseeched the international community to act, saying that "silent acknowledgement means de facto recognition of the occupation of the Crimean Peninsula" and adding that Moscows actions "will not, shall not, and cannot ever again be accepted as business as usual."

Carnegies Gabuev suggested that Russia went too far, writing that ramming, shelling, and seizing Ukrainian ships and sailors was a clear overreaction  a suggestion that the moves created a risk for Putin.

Trumps cancellation  which was preceded by a November 27 warning that he might not meet with Putin because I don't want that aggression at all"  seemed to support that reading.

Spin Cycle

The Kremlin set the dial on spin shortly after Trumps tweet, with spokesman Dmitry Peskov trying two almost opposite tacks: The Kremlin regrets that a serious discussion of international and bilateral issues will be put off indefinitely, he said, but the cancellation would give Putin more time to talk to other leaders.

As it has done repeatedly, Russia may point to U.S. political infighting as the root cause of troubles in ties between Washington and Moscow. The cancellation came not long after Trump had said the meeting would probably go ahead  and on the same day that his former lawyer Michael Cohen pleaded guilty to lying to Congress about a proposed Trump real estate project in Russia.

Nonetheless, there is little doubt that Putin wanted the talks with Trump to go ahead.

But some believe its less about the meeting itself than about what, if anything, the United States and other Western countries do to thwart Putins perceived aims in waters off Ukraine.

Trump has promised to be tougher on Russia than his predecessor, Vershbow wrote, noting that Trump has accused former President Barack Obama of letting Moscow seize Crimea on his watch. The question today is: Will Trump let Russia take the Azov Sea as well?
U.S. President Donald Trump has defended his decision to seek a business deal in Russia in 2016 even as he pursued the Republican presidential nomination.

In a series of tweets from Buenos Aires, where he is attending the G20 summit, Trump called his business deal very legal and very cool, while adding that he had abandoned his project in Russia.

"Oh, I get it! I am a very good developer, happily living my life, when I see our Country going in the wrong direction (to put it mildly). Against all odds, I decide to run for President & continue to run my business-very legal & very cool, talked about it on the campaign trail... Lightly looked at doing a building somewhere in Russia. Put up zero money, zero guarantees and didnt do the project. Witch Hunt! Trump said on Twitter.

Trump posted the tweets a day after his longtime personal lawyer, Michael Cohen, admitted that he had lied to Congress about the timing and extent of his discussions with unnamed Russian officials about a proposed Trump-branded development in Moscow.

Cohen had previously said that talks about the deal stopped in January 2016, but, according to Muellers court filing, those discussions were ongoing as late as June 2016, as Trump was closing in on securing the Republican party's nomination to be U.S. president.

Cohen admitted that he had misled the Senate Intelligence Committee about that and other details in testimony he provided to the committee in August 2017.

Trump lashed out at Cohen after a plea deal was announced on November 29, calling him "a weak person" and a not very smart person.

The U.S. Special Counsel's Office is investigating Russias interference in the 2016 election and possible collusion with Trump's campaign.

Trump has repeatedly called the investigation a witch hunt.

The White House said on November 30 that ties between Russia and the United States are likely being damaged by the investigation into whether Trump colluded with Moscow during his campaign.

"Unfortunately, it probably does undermine our relationship with Russia," spokeswoman Sarah Sanders said in a statement. She referred to the probe as "the Russian Witch Hunt Hoax."

"However, the reason for our canceled meeting is Ukraine. Hopefully, that will be resolved soon so that productive conversations can begin, Sanders added.

Trump had said on Twitter that he canceled the meeting with Putin over Russia's seizure of Ukrainian ships and sailors.

He announced the cancellation shortly after Cohen pleaded guilty to lying to Congress.

Special Counsel Robert Mueller's team has brought charges or secured convictions against more than two dozen Russian nationals and entities, as well as a number of Trump's associates, including his former campaign chairman, Paul Manafort, who will tentatively face sentencing on March 5, according to a November 30 ruling by a federal judge.

With reporting by Reuters, AFP, and the BBC
President Donald Trump spoke to VOA contributor Greta Van Susteren in Buenos Aires, Argentina, where he is taking part in the G20 Summit. Asked about his cancellation of a planned meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Trump said it wouldn't be right to meet in the wake of Russia's recent seizure of Ukrainian vessels, but he said the meeting would go ahead at another time.
U.S. President Donald Trump, speaking to the Voice of America after canceling talks with Vladimir Putin following a clash in which the Russian coast guard fired on Ukrainian vessels and jailed their crews, said he has a "very good relationship" with the Russian president and will meet with him when the time is right.



In a wide-ranging November 30 interview with VOA on the sidelines of a G20 summit in Buenos Aires, Trump also talked up a new trade deal with U.S. neighbors Mexico and Canada and suggested he is not very concerned about China's growing global reach. He indicated that he wants more beneficial trade ties with the European Union and others, saying that the United States has been "ripped off" by many countries for many years.



Trump had been scheduled to meet with Putin on December 1 for talks that the Kremlin had said could last two hours -- the first major meeting between the two since a summit in Helsinki in July, after which he faced criticism for seeming to accept Putin's assertion that Moscow did not meddle in the election that he won in 2016.



But Trump abruptly called off the meeting, tweeting on November 29 that "it would be best for all parties concerned" to cancel because the naval craft and sailors seized by the Russian coast guard off Crimea four days earlier had not been returned to Ukraine.



In the VOA interview, Trump said that "in light of what happened with Ukraine with the ships and the sailors, it just wouldnt be the right time, but I will meet with him. I think we have a very good relationship, and I think were going to have a very good relationship with Russia, and China, and everyone else. I mean, I think its important. So Ill meet with him at the appropriate time."

Asked about Putin's possible motives and intentions regarding Ukraine, Trump said: I cant read his mind, and nobody can, and he knows what he wants to do, but we cant allow certain things to happen, and you know, it happened, and I just cant be a part of it.

In the confrontation on November 25, Russian vessels first rammed a Ukrainian navy tugboat and later opened fire before boarding three naval boats and taking all 24 crewmembers into custody, including six who were wounded -- three apparently seriously.



The crewmembers were taken to Crimea, the Black Sea peninsula that Russia seized from Ukraine in March 2014 after sending in troops, and Russian courts there ordered them held in custody for two months pending possible trial on border violation charges punishable by up to six years in prison. Lawyers, officials, and media reports later said that the Ukrainians were taken to Moscow, where 21 were confined to the Lefortovo jail and the other three were in a hospital at another jail.



The incident near the Kerch Strait, the only passage from the Black Sea to the Sea of Azov -- where Ukraine has major ports -- ratcheted up tensions between Kyiv and Moscow. It prompted fears of a new front opening up after more than four years of war between Ukrainian forces and Russia-backed separatists in the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine, where more than 10,300 people have been killed since April 2014.



Ukraine has imposed martial law for a monthlong period in 10 regions, including all those that border Russia. On November 30 the government barred male Russian nationals aged 16 to 60 from entering the country, with President Petro Poroshenko saying the measure was designed to prevent the formation of "private armies."



Ukraine has also imposed restrictions on entry for foreigners into Crimea, and the European Court of Human Rights said that Kyiv has filed a complaint against Russia over the maritime confrontation. Ukraine has called for a stronger NATO presence in the Black Sea region and for further Western sanctions against Russia.



Edem Semdelyayev, a lawyer for jailed tugboat captain Oleh Melnychuk, told RFE/RL on November 29 that Russia's prosecution of the Ukrainians was a "political case." He said his client told him the sailors were detained "very roughly, like in Hollywood films."



Western leaders have vocally criticized Russia and called for the release of the Ukrainian sailors. On November 30, the Group of Seven (G7) leading industrialized countries and the European Union called the seizure of the vessels unjustified and demanded Russia free the Ukrainians, saying that the standoff had "dangerously raised tensions."



The foreign ministers of G7 members Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, and the United States, as well as the EU's high representative, called on Russia "to release the detained crew and vessels and refrain from impeding lawful passage through the Kerch Strait."



Poroshenko praised Trump for cancelling the meeting with Putin, but several U.S. lawmakers from the Democratic Party criticized the Republican, saying he should have used the talks to take the Russian leader to task over Moscow actions in Ukraine and elsewhere.



"What I think he should have done was confront" Putin over "the escalating conflict in Ukraine" as well as other issues including Russia's alleged election meddling and cyberattacks, Senator Robert Menendez, a Democrat from the state of New Jersey, said on CNN.



Critics of Trump also said they suspect he canceled in part because of concerns that it would look bad to meet with Putin after a longtime personal lawyer for Trump, Michael Cohen, pleaded guilty to lying to the U.S. Congress about a proposed Trump-branded development in Moscow.



Cohen had previously said that talks about the deal stopped in January 2016, but has now said the discussions continued as late as June 2016, after Trump had secured enough support in the primaries to win the Republican Party's nomination to be U.S. president.



Russian officials, meanwhile, suggested that domestic problems and opponents of closer ties with Russia had pushed Trump o cancel the meeting. "If the domestic situation and the pressure from Russophobes like Ukraine and its sponsors prevents the U.S. president from developing normal ties with the Russian president...we will wait for another chance," Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said, adding that "love can't be forced."



Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Putin is "ready to continue dialogue" with Trump, dryly adding "We are quite a patient country and we will, of course, wait for the necessary conditions to ripen for the next change in the president's decision." He said that it the interests of "the whole world" for Moscow and Washington to discuss pressing issues and that "the longer these questions are not discussed, the more it leads to tension."



Peskov said that Putin and Trump greeted each other at some point on November 30, but there was no sign of anything but brief contact. News reports said they did not greet one another when leaders gathered at the start, and they stood far apart when leaders and their spouses posed for a photograph later in the day.



By contrast, Putin exchanged a happy grin and an elaborate, highly visible handshake with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who has faced widespread outrage over the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul in October. The Kremlin said that Putin would use the time that had been set aside for talks with Trump to meet with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.



With reporting by VOA, Reuters, AFP, CNN, RIA Novosti, RBC, Interfax, and TASS
Ukraine has barred Russian male nationals between 16 and 60 from traveling to the country, President Petro Poroshenko announced on November 30.

The move comes amid escalation tensions between the two countries after Russian border guards on November 25 opened fire and captured three Ukrainian naval vessels and their 24-member crew off Crimea, which Russia forcibly annexed from Ukraine in 2014.

The Ukrainian leader has called for a stronger NATO presence in the Black Sea region and for further Western sanctions against Russia.

Poroshenko tweeted on November 30 that the restrictions on Russian travelers have been taken to prevent Russia from forming "private armies" fighting on Ukrainian soil.

Russia has backed separatists in eastern Ukraine in a conflict that has killed more than 10,300 people since April 2014.

Petro Tsygykal, head of Ukraine's border guard service, said border checkpoints were being bolstered, according to a statement on the presidential website.

Border Guard Service spokesman Andriy Demchenko told Ukraine's Hromadske TV on November 30 that Russian male nationals would be barred from entering Ukraine during the period of martial law, which is now due to continue until December 26.

Russia said it had no plans to mirror the Ukrainian move. Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova blamed the Ukrainian government for implementing a policy that hurts ordinary people.

On November 29, Poroshenko said that Kyiv will impose "restrictions" on Russian citizens in Ukraine and the country's border guard said only Ukrainian nationals would be allowed to travel to Crimea in connection with the imposition of martial law for 30 days in parts of the country.

Ukrainian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Kateryna Zelenko confirmed to RFE/RL by phone that foreign journalists are among those excluded from entering Crimea from Ukraine but said her ministry was discussing whether to grant them an exception.

The official confirmation came hours after Anna-Lena Lauren, a Moscow-based foreign correspondent for the Swedish newspaper Dagens Nyheter, was barred by Ukrainian border guards from entering Crimea through the what Ukraine deems the only legal route.

Meanwhile, the European Court of Human Rights said Ukraine has filed a complaint against Russia in the court for firing on three of its ships and boarding them.

A court statement on November 30 said Ukraine had asked it to intervene to ensure the well-being of its sailors. Moscow accuses them of illegally crossing the Russian border and failing to comply with orders to stop.

"The Ukrainian government has asked in particular that Russia provide medical care to the wounded sailors and provide information on the state of health of the crew members. It also asks that the sailors be treated as prisoners of war," the statement said.



The court said it had asked the Russian government for information about the condition of the sailors' detention. The complaint is the fifth filed by Ukraine against Russia since Moscow forcibly annexed Crimea in 2014.

A Russian government-appointed ombudswoman in Crimea said the captured Ukrainian naval personnel are being transferred to Moscow, Russian state media reported on November 30.

Russia says the Ukrainians had violated its border while Ukraine says its ships were acting in line with international maritime rules.

A Crimean court earlier this week ruled to keep the Ukrainian seamen behind bars for two months pending the investigation.

Earlier on November 30, the Kremlin said it regrets U.S. President Donald Trumps decision to cancel a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin at an upcoming Group of 20 (G20) summit.

"This means that discussion of important issues on the international and bilateral agenda will be postponed indefinitely, Putins spokesman Dmitry Peskov told Russian state media.

Putin, he said, "is ready to have contacts with his American counterpart."

Trump said he was cancelling the meeting scheduled for this weekend at the G20 summit in Argentina over Russias recent seizure of the Ukrainian vessels.

Based on the fact that the ships and sailors have not been returned to Ukraine from Russia, I have decided it would be best for all parties concerned to cancel my previously scheduled meetingin Argentina with President Vladimir Putin," Trump said in a tweet posted on November 29.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said on November 30 that Budapest stands by Ukraine in the latest escalation of tensions with Russia.

Orban, who is one of the few EU leaders to have good relations with Putin, said Hungary's position was clear despite the "anti-Hungarian government" in Kyiv.

Hungary and Ukraine are at odds over the rights of the Hungarian minority in Ukraine.

'No Military Solution'

In an interview with the German tabloid Bild published early on November 29, Poroshenko said he hopes European states will take active steps, including increasing sanctions and military protection against Russia, to help Ukraine after providing verbal support in the wake of Russia's capture of 24 Ukrainian crew members over the weekend.

"We hope that NATO states are prepared to send naval ships to the Sea of Azov to support Ukraine and provide security," Poroshenko said. He claimed Russian President Vladimir Putin sees himself as a "Russian emperor" and Ukraine as a Russian "colony."

"The only language he [Putin] understands is the solidarity of the Western world," Poroshenko said. "We can't accept Russia's aggressive policies. First it was Crimea, then eastern Ukraine, now he wants the Sea of Azov."

Speaking at a German-Ukrainian economic forum in Berlin later on November 29, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said she planned to press Putin at the G20 summit on November 30-December 1 this week to urge the release of the ships and crews.

"We can only resolve this in talks with one another because there is no military solution to all of these conflicts," she added.

While blaming Russia for tensions, Merkel showed no signs of being ready to back military support.

"We ask the Ukrainian side, too, to be sensible because we know that we can only solve things through being reasonable and through dialogue because there is no military solution to these disputes," she said.

Peskov on November 29 criticized Poroshenkos request for NATO to deploy naval ships to the Sea of Azov, alleging it was "aimed at provoking further tensions" and driven by Poroshenkos "electoral and domestic policy motives."

Putin has claimed that the naval confrontation was a ploy to boost his Ukrainian counterpart's popularity ahead of an election in March.

A NATO spokeswoman said the alliance already has a strong presence in the region, with vessels routinely patrolling and exercising in the Black Sea.

"There is already a lot of NATO in the Black Sea, and we will continue to assess our presence in the region," Oana Lungescu said.

The Sea of Azov is the body of water that separates the Crimean Peninsula, which Russia illegally annexed in 2014, from the Ukrainian and Russian mainlands. Russia opened a bridge over the Kerch Strait connecting Crimea with Russia in May and has asserted control over the strait.

The Kerch Strait is the only route for ships traveling between the Sea of Azov, where Ukraine has several ports, and the Black Sea, which is an arena usually patrolled by NATO.

With reporting by RFE/RL correspondent Christopher Miller, AP, Reuters, Interfax, TASS, and Hromadske TV
Ukraine's intelligence service says its officers have searched the home of the father superior of Kyiv's biggest and oldest monastery, which is affiliated with the Russian Orthodox Church.

Ihor Huskov, chief of staff of the SBU intelligence agency, told reporters on November 30 that Metropolitan Pavlo, who oversees the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra monastery, was suspected of "inciting hatred."

The SBU was investigating him under an article in the Criminal Code covering "violations of citizens' equality depending on racial ethnicity, religious convictions, incitement of interconfessional hostility," Huskov said.

Metropolitan Pavlo confirmed the raid.

"Today there are many questions about whether the actions of our state authority in relation to the church are legitimate. To a certain extent they are illegal," Pavlo said in a statement.

"There is a pressure on me personally, threats are being heard, all sorts of attacks not only on me, but also on other bishops and priests. For what reason I do not know."

The Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra, or Monastery of the Caves, is one of Ukraine's most famous monasteries and a tourist site where mummified monks rest in labyrinthine underground caves.

The raid came a day after President Petro Poroshenko announced Ukraine was close to setting up an independent church under a charter from the Ecumenical Patriarch in Istanbul, the global spiritual head of Orthodox Christians.

There are currently three Orthodox communities in Ukraine, including two breakaway churches.

The Ukrainian church, which has been part of the Russian Orthodox Church for centuries, moved close to forming an independent church earlier this year.

The Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Kyiv Patriarchate broke away from Moscow in 1992 after the fall of the Soviet Union.

Its bid for recognition as a self-governing or autocephalous institution intensified after Russia's 2014 annexation of the Crimean Peninsula from Ukraine and its support for separatists in eastern Ukraine.

Tensions between Ukraine and Russia have escalated since last weekend, when Russian border guards opened fire on three Ukrainian naval vessels near Crimea and captured their crews.

Based on reporting by AP and UNIAN
UN human rights experts have called on Iran to release human rights defenders and lawyers who have been jailed for publicly supporting protests against the compulsory hijab in Iran.

We urge the government to immediately release all those who have been imprisoned for promoting and protecting the rights of women, the experts said in a November 29 statement.

The experts said theyre particularly alarmed at the critical health of Farhad Meysami, a medical doctor who was detained in July for supporting women protesting against the hijab law that forces them to cover their hair and body in public.

Meysami has been reportedly on a hunger strike since August to protest the charges he faces and also the lack of access to a lawyer of his choosing.

Hes being reportedly held in a medical clinic at Tehran's Evin prison, where he is being force-fed intravenously.

The best way to end Meysamis hunger strike would be to address the violations which are the basis of his protest, including through good faith dialogue about his grievances, and to respect his wishes to use this form of protest, the UN experts said.

They also expressed concern at the in absentia conviction and subsequent imprisonment of leading human rights lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh who represented several of the women detained for removing their head scarves in public to protest the Islamic dress code.

In September, Sotoudehs husband, Reza Khandan, was arrested and accused of promoting the practice of appearing in public without a veil.

The UN experts called on Iran to guarantee the rights of Meysami, Sotoudeh, and Khandan to fair proceedings before an independent and impartial tribunal.

Earlier this year, Iranian authorities announced they had detained 29 women who removed their head scarves as part of a campaign against the country's mandatory Islamic dress code.

Women's dress has been heavily scrutinized in Iran since the 1979 revolution, when adherence to an Islamic dress code became compulsory.

The dress code dictates that a woman's hair and body must be covered in public.

Morality police launch regular crackdowns on those who are not fully respecting rules relating to the hijab.
If he wants to talk with me about any issues on his mind or projects he was working on, Im available, Chyung said. Just like for all of my other 65,000 constituents.
So we're supposed to believe there are no other construction projects in the state of Indiana other than Buffington Harbor? Why doesn't your employer bid on one of these? If, as you say, the Illinois firm is charging the same rate for the job, then wages weren't the issue. As for the one works, one watches rule, this fable has been told so many times that it's worn out.
Heads of state arrive for Mexicos presidential hand over

Mexico City, Mexico  More than 120 heads of states have begun to arrive in Mexico City for the change of presidential hands on December 1.

On December 1, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador will be sworn in as the new president of Mexico. International visitors from around the globe have begun to arrive for the event. On the list include heads of states of nearly every Latin American country as well as European friends of Mexico.

The presidents of Cuba, Bolivia, Ecuador, Venezuela, Honduras, Dominican Republic as well as the Prime Minister of Curacao and the president of the of the Supreme Peoples Assembly of Korea are only some who will attend the ceremony.

Photo: Secretaria de Relaciones Exteriores Photo: Secretaria de Relaciones Exteriores

On the list are also Michael R. Pence, Vice President of the United States of America, Ivanka Trump, adviser to the White House and Kirstjen Nielsen, secretary of the US Department of Homeland Security.

Within hours of handing over power, Pena Nieto says goodbye to Mexicans with a farewell message. I want to express to you in this farewell message my gratitude for six years accompanied by many Mexicans I worked with to promote the great transformations that the country required, said Pena Nieto in an address to the country.

According to Reforma, Pena Nieto left the presidential office with the lowest approval rating in recent years with only 28 percent. He was Mexicos president from 2012 to 2018.

On December 1, Pena Nieto will hand over the presidency to Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador in a ceremony that will take place at the Congress of the Union of Mexico City.
Channing Tatum insists his stage show "Magic Mike Live" is suitable for both men and women.







Speaking at the opening night in London Wednesday (28 NOV. 2018), Tatum, who is the director and creator of the 90-minute stage show featuring male dancers, promised that watching the show would be a "rewarding" experience.





"I have a lot of guy friends that, you know, they like women. And every single one of them loved the show, they want to come back. I think every man should come and bring their significant other and just experience it. Let your wife get a dance".





Tatum, who was also the star of the two "Magic Mike" films - which were inspired by his own experiences - said so far the London audiences have been more subdued than the Vegas ones, where the show has a residency.





"Vegas is a little different. The audience here is, I think they are so used to seeing West End shows, like plays that are up on the stage, that they don't exactly have permission to stand up and have a full party and a full experience. But we're slowly cracking that and trying to communicate that you can fully have a party at this show."





In the first hour of sales, "Magic Mike Live" sold over a million dollars worth of tickets.




China, the European Union (EU) and other World Trade Organization (WTO) members have submitted joint proposals on the reform of the WTO's dispute settlement mechanism, known as the Appellate Body, the Ministry of Commerce (MOC) said Thursday.



The move is to safeguard and strengthen the independence and impartiality of the Appellate Body and push for the early start of the selection process to fill the vacancies of the Appellate Body, said MOC spokesperson Gao Feng at a press conference.

He said China, the EU and other WTO members submitted two joint proposals to the WTO on the reform of WTO's dispute settlement mechanism on Nov. 22, and plan to release a joint statement during the meeting of WTO General Council on Dec. 12.

The first proposal gives proper solutions to transitional rules of outgoing Appellate Body members and the second strengthens the independence of the Appellate Body, increases its efficiency and capability and proposes to automatically launch its selection process, said the spokesperson.

The proposals aimed to respond to and resolve the concerns of some members over the complaint-filing process, maintain and strengthen the independence and impartiality of the Appellate Body and push for launching the process of selecting Appellate Body members as soon as possible, Gao said.

So far, the joint proposals have been signed by more than 40 WTO members, including those from both developed and developing countries.

The dispute settlement mechanism is the central pillar of the WTO and plays an important role in maintaining the organization's reliability and predictability, solving trade disputes between members in a short period of time and ensuring its effective functioning, Gao said.

The Appellate Body is an important part of the WTO dispute settlement mechanism, Gao said.

Obstruction from certain members for selecting members on the Appellate Body "severely threatens the normal operation of the dispute settlement mechanism, posing institutional risks for the normal functioning of the multilateral trade system," Gao said.

"China is willing to work together with all other WTO members by holding active discussions to launch the process of selecting Appellate Body members as soon as possible, jointly safeguarding the normal operation of the dispute settlement mechanism and protecting the authoritativeness and effectiveness of the multilateral trade system," Gao added.
A celebration event was held at New York Stadium for the schools that were awarded the Rotherham Anti-Bullying Award.

PUPILS who have vowed to beat bullying grabbed gold at a ceremony honouring their efforts.

Youngsters from Bramley Sunnyside Junior School and Treeton C of E Primary were among those presented with a gold Anti-Bullying Award, recognising their commitment to supporting their classmates.

A total of 22 schools were presented with bronze, silver and gold awards at the New York Stadium as part of Anti-Bullying Week.

The annual awards ceremony also tied in for the second time with Odd Socks Day, which gives children the opportunity to express their individuality in a fun way.

Ann Foxley-Johnson from The Anti-Bullying Company has been working in partnership with Rotherham schools for the last four years, providing anti-bullying training, support and education.

The awards ceremony went really well, and we predominately had primary schools involved this year, she said.

But all of the schools have been making great progress in raising awareness against bullying.

Schools in the area were encouraged to apply for the awards and were presented with their certificates on the day by Rotherham Borough Council deputy leader, Cllr Gordon Watson, and the Department for Educations anti-bullying policy representative, Karen Goodchild.

Canklow Woods Primary School, Thurcroft Infant School, Wath Victoria Primary School and The Rowan Centre took home gold, there were silvers for Blackburn Primary School, Laughton Junior and Infant School and Our Lady and St Josephs RC School and Kiveton Park Meadows Junior School received bronze awards.

Performing arts students from Rotherham College wrote and performed an original drama which focused around the theme of the week, Choose Respect.
Victim Jill Hibberd

NEIGHBOURS of a massage parlour boss who was found dead at her home with multiple stab wounds have described the moment they found her body.

Jill Hibberd (73) was found dead at her home on Roy Kilner Road, Wombwell, on the morning of Thursday, May 31, by neighbours Anthony OConnell and Susan Spencer.

Lee Fueloep (40), of Willow Garth, Wombwell, is on trial at Sheffield Crown Court where he denies her murder.

The prosecution say Fueloep stabbed Ms Hibberd savagely and repeatedly before stealing her Audi TT and selling it to buy drugs. Fueloep claims he had found her dead when he attended at her home and was too scared to contact police because he was a known burglar.

Ms Hibberd, who managed massage parlour Fantasia in Attercliffe, suffered 70 stab wounds.

Giving evidence yesterday (Thursday), the neighbours said Ms Hibberds door had been unlocked and as they entered her home they noticed a plant strewn across the floor and coasters knocked off the coffee table.

Mr OConnell said as he had entered the living room he couldnt see Ms Hibberd straight away.

Her body was pressed up against the sofa in that recess in the wall, he said.

She had shorts on and she had like a vest top which had ridden up a little bit at the bottom.

Prosecutor Ms Kama Melly asked: Were you able to see that she had obvious signs of injury?

Mr OConnell replied: I knew by looking at the amount of blood she was dead and had been dead for a while.

Giving evidence Mrs Spencer said: As Tony was saying; Ring 999, thats when I saw Jills body.

Mrs Spencer said it was clear she was dead.

Her husband Peter Spencer told jurors he remembered Ms Hibberds Audi being driven away at speed at 9pm on May 30.

It was a bit erratic and it drove off particularly quickly, Mr Spencer said

Mr Spencer said he had told his wife about what he had seen when he got up for work at 5am the following morning.

Mrs Spencer told jurors she and her husband had noticed that Ms Hibberds lights were still on and her car had not returned.

Mrs Spencer said. She [Ms Hibberd] was a bit of a creature of habit and the lights were never on overnight.

I had an instinctive feeling that something wasnt right.

Mrs Spencer said this had prompted her to check on her neighbour with Mr OConnell, who had been putting his bins out when she went outside.

Sgt Rebecca Fleming, who was one of the first police officers on the scene, said in a statement there had clearly been a disturbance in the property.

The coffee table looked like it had been moved and it was at an angle in the middle of the room, said Sgt Fleming.

I noticed blood stains on the rug and I noticed the rug had also been moved.

Sgt Fleming said Ms Hibberds body was lying on its side with a large pool of blood near her head and neck.

Fueloep denies murder. The trial continues.
Jim Brogan (centre) with lifesaver, Dave Hogan and PC Nicole Palmowski

A RUNNER who almost died whilst out jogging this week met up with the two lifesavers who came to his aid.

Jim Brogan (68) of Broom Court, was running along Wickersley Road in April when he suddenly collapsed with a cardiac arrest.

PC Nicole Palmowski (23) and now-retired PC Dave Hogan (55), who came to his rescue by giving him CPR and calling an ambulance.

Seven months on, Mr Brogan was renuited with the pair on Tuesday at Maltby Police Station and congratulated them on the news they will receive a Royal Humane Society Award next year.

I cannot thank Nicole and Dave enough, Mr Brogan said.

They came to my rescue when I needed it most.

I am certain that it was the prompt action of these officers that saved my life.

PC Palmowski from Maltby Police, was only ten months into the job when she saw Mr Brogan slumped up against a wall whilst on duty and pulled over to help.

When I got to Jim his breathing was very shallow, and within seconds his ears went blue and he stopped breathing, PC Palmowski said.

She immediately called an ambulance and began CPR.

Retired PC Hogan, said he had seen Mr Brogan running just minutes before the incident and rushed over to help PC Palmoski when he saw what had happened.

It is very distressing to see anyone in that situation, and even though it felt like a long time, it wasnt long until the ambulance arrived, he said.

Mr Brogan, who is membership secretary for the Rotherham Harriers Running Club has been pounding the pavements for over 40 years, but said there were no big warning signs that led to his collapse.

I didnt really have any symptoms running up to what happpened, nothing that was any cause for concern, Mr Brogan added.

He revealed that he could not remember anything from up to three days before the incident, and doctors had told him his aortic value in his heart failed, which was the cause of his cardiac arrest.

I had to have major heart surgery, and I ended up being in hospital for a month but now I am feeling good., Mr Brogan said.

Mr Brogan revealed the incident had not scared him off from going out running as his consultant,reassured him he was fit enough.

Asked about the award, Mr Hogan said the real reward was seeing Mr Brogan sat beside him looking wellm while PC Palmoski said she was very proud and honoured to be receiving the award, but felt like she was just doing her job like any other.

She said all the PCs at Maltby deserved an award and she wished everyone could get one.

Chief Supt Rob Odell said he couldnt be more proud of the actions officers carry out on a daily basis.

PC Palmowskis actions on that day saved a mans life, and we cannot underestimate how important her reaction was in that short space of time, he said.

Both PC Palmowski and Mr Hogan are great examples of the committment and dedications our officers have, even though they say they were just doing their job.


You are here: Business

Shanghai-based state-owned hospitality giant Jinjiang International announced on Wednesday that it has launched a new hotel booking platform, WeHotel, with more than 10,000 hotels available.

The platform has incorporated about 1 million rooms from over 10,000 hotels in more than 120 countries. The hotel giant has more than 130 million members, among whom nearly 70 percent are born after 1980. The platform covers a variety of types of hotels from budget to high-end.

On the agenda will be developing cross-border businesses and innovating hotel industry business with intelligent Internet technologies, it announced.

Insiders said the move will enhance Jinjiang's competence against online travel operators in terms of hotel booking business.

Jinjiang International has become the second biggest hotel group in the world, following Marriott International, after its recent acquisition of Radisson hotels.
The first TIR truck from China to Europe arrived in Poland on Monday, unlocking a critical Belt and Road route and offering development opportunities across Eurasia.

The truck started its 7,000 km journey at the Khorgos border in Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, entering Kazakhstan and travelling through Russia and Belarus to Poland in 13 days  with a door-to-door cost and delivery time that is competitive with both air and rail.

This TIR transport initiative is a joint effort launched by International Road Transport Union and global leading logistics companies, including CEVA Logistics, Shanghai Jet-rail International Transportation, and Alblas International Logistics as the operator.

TIR, or Transports Internationaux Routiers, is the only global customs transit system for moving goods across international borders. Supporting trade and development for more than 60 years, TIR has 75 contracting parties and is governed by the United Nations TIR Convention and managed by IRU. China has been a member since 2016.

Umberto de Pretto, secretary-general of IRU, said the milestone will be a game changer for cross-border transport in China. "This first TIR journey by road from China to Europe is a win-win-win model for business, trade and governments."

He said the journey showed that the system is secure and also highly competitive in terms of cost and time relative to other modes of transport on similar routes.

"It will boost trade between China and Europe, which will help China and the countries involved in the Belt and Road Initiative to reap the economic and development rewards of international road transport. It is also a wakeup call to European hauliers  who can seize the opportunity to benefit from round-trip operations."

Torben Bengtsson, executive vice-president of CEVA Logistics Greater China, said the company has foreseen a great future for road transport from China to Europe as the pilot proves that it could save up to 50 percent door-to-door cost compared to air, and at least 10 days delivery time compared with rail.

"The market is eager for the new product; we have a lot of customers waiting for the start of a regular service. During the coming weeks we will prepare to start regular operations as early as possible in 2019," he said.

Jan Alblas, CEO of Netherlands-based Alblas, said the historical event took years of preparation.

"Being the only European transport company in China with an international transport license, we are able to execute the entire transport door-to-door with own transport equipment and own drivers," he said. "We are pleased with the results from the test and still see room for further optimizations in order to achieve the ideal transport time of 10 days from China to Europe."

In September 2018, China and Kazakhstan opened the new border crossing at Khorgos to boost transport and trade along the new western China to western Europe 8,445 km expressway.
Interactions with netizens on the short-video app Kuaishou have helped a 5-year-old boy with chronic kidney disease in Changchun, Jilin province, fight loneliness and regain his smile.

Little Pebble sits in a Buddha-like pose. [Photo by Ma Xiaoma/Provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

In a clip posted on Wednesday, the boy, known as Xiaoshitou or "Little Pebble" to his 980,000 followers, is seen reading at home, holding a pencil and saying that it was his time to study.

He was diagnosed at 14 months old with nephrotic syndrome, a condition that damages the kidneys and wears down the immune system, according to Chu Bin, 38, the boy's father. "He doesn't understand the disease, but he knows that he goes to the hospital very often and takes a large number of pills," Chu said.

"He also can't enroll in kindergarten and play with his peers for fear of infection," Chu added.

Before going online, Xiaoshitou occupied himself at home with toys and a mobile phone. "We noticed that he barely smiled and hid when strangers-showed up," Chu said.

The boy began taking videos of himself and, with his parents' help, uploading some to Kuaishou in 2017. Netizens' greetings and encouragement flowed.

Xiaoshitou, who stands only 1 meter tall, has seen his weight balloon to nearly 35 kilograms from hormone treatments. His figure and casual chitchats with netizens have become popular on the short-video app.

"At the beginning, we tried to persuade him not to record and share videos because it seems inappropriate for his age," Chu said. "But seeing that Xiaoshitou quite enjoyed himself and gradually became more extroverted, we decided to work on the videos together."

Chu now livestreams together with his son and helps write captions for videos that feature Xiaoshitou having meals, exercising, studying and traveling.

Chu said it costs about 8,000 yuan ($1,150) a month for the boy's medical treatment. The family covers the cost with revenue from Chu's e-commerce venture, selling dried dates and instant hot pot kits, and his wife's income working for a property management company.

Donations from netizens also are helping. Kuaishou users have been sending gifts to Xiaoshitou's account, which can be exchanged for currency, while the app also pays cash rewards to high-traffic account holderswhich the boy is nowfor every view, like and comment.

While some netizens have accused Chu of using his son to make money, he said he chooses to disregard those comments as long as Xiaoshitou can gain happiness from filming short videos.

"Xiaoshitou's disease is hard to cure and he needs plenty of rest, to take medications and do follow-up checks regularly," said Han Yunkun, deputy director of the nephrology department at Children's Hospital of Changchun.
University of Wisconsin-Madison researchers have made a material that can transition from an electricity-transmitting metal to a nonconducting insulating material without changing its atomic structure.

"This is quite an exciting discovery," says Chang-Beom Eom, professor of materials science and engineering. "We've found a new method of electronic switching."

The new material could lay the groundwork for ultrafast electronic devices. Eom and his international team of collaborators published details of their advance today (Nov. 30, 2018) in the journal Science.

Metals like copper or silver conduct electricity, whereas insulators like rubber or glass do not allow current to flow. Some materials, however, can transition from insulating to conducting.

This transition usually means that the arrangement of a material's atoms and its conducting electrons must change in a coordinated way, but the atomic transition typically proceeds much more slowly than the smaller, lighter electrons that conduct electricity.

A material that can switch to conducting electricity like a metal without moving its atoms could dramatically advance switching speeds of advanced devices, says Eom.

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"The metal-to-insulator transition is very important for switches and for logic devices with a one or a zero state," he says. "We have the potential to use this concept to make very fast switches."

In their research, Eom and his collaborators answered a fundamental question that has bothered scientists for years: Can the electronic and structural transition be decoupled -- essentially, can the quickly changing electrons break out on their own and leave the atoms behind?

They used a material called vanadium dioxide, which is a metal when it's heated and an insulator when it's at room temperature. At high temperatures, the atoms that make up vanadium dioxide are arranged in a regularly repeating pattern that scientists refer to as the rutile phase. When vanadium dioxide cools down to become an insulator, its atoms adopt a different pattern, called monoclinic.

No naturally occurring substances conduct electricity when their atoms are in the monoclinic conformation. And it takes time for the atoms to rearrange when a material reaches the insulator-to-metal transition temperature.

Crucially, vanadium dioxide transitions between a metal and an insulator at different temperatures depending upon the amount of oxygen present in the material. The researchers leveraged that fact to create two thin layers of vanadium dioxide -- one with a slightly lower transition temperature than the other -- sandwiched on top of each other, with a sharp interface between.

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When they heated the thin vanadium dioxide sandwich, one layer made the structural switch to become a metal. Atoms in the other layer remained locked into the insulating monoclinic phase. Surprisingly, however, that part of the material conducted electricity.

Most importantly, the material remained stable and retained its unique characteristics.

Although other research groups have attempted to create electrically conductive insulators, those materials lost their properties almost instantly -- persisting for mere femtoseconds, or a few thousandths of one trillionth of a second.

The Eom team's material, however, is here to stay.

"We were able to stabilize it, making it useful for real devices," says Eom.

Key to their approach was the dual-layer, sandwich structure. Each layer was so thin that the interface between the two materials dominated how the entire stack behaved. It's a notion that Eom and colleagues plan to pursue further.

"Designing interfaces could open up new materials," says Eom.

The Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation is assisting the researchers with patent filing.
A supernova discovered by an international group of astronomers including Carnegie's Tom Holoien and Maria Drout, and led by University of Hawaii's Ben Shappee, provides an unprecedented look at the first moments of a violent stellar explosion. The light from the explosion's first hours showed an unexpected pattern, which Carnegie's Anthony Piro analyzed to reveal that the genesis of these phenomena is even more mysterious than previously thought.

Their findings are published in a trio of papers in The Astrophysical Journal and The Astrophysical Journal Letters.

Type Ia supernovae are fundamental to our understanding of the cosmos. Their nuclear furnaces are crucial for generating many of the elements around us, and they are used as cosmic rulers to measure distances across the universe. Despite their importance, the actual mechanism that triggers a Type Ia supernova explosion has remained elusive for decades.

That's why catching them in the act is crucial.

Astronomers have long tried to get detailed data at the initial moments of these explosions, with the hope of figuring out how these phenomena are triggered. This finally happened in February of this year with the discovery of a Type Ia supernova called ASASSN-18bt (also known as SN 2018oh).

ASASSN-18bt was discovered by the All-Sky Automated Survey for Supernovae (ASAS-SN), an international network of telescopes headquartered at the Ohio State University that routinely scans the sky for supernovae and other cosmic explosions. NASA's Kepler space telescope was simultaneously able to take complementary data of this event. Kepler was designed to be incredibly sensitive to small changes in light for its mission of detecting extrasolar planets, so it was able to obtain especially detailed information about the explosion's genesis.

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"ASASSN-18bt is the nearest and brightest supernova yet observed by Kepler, so it offered an excellent opportunity to test the predominant theories of supernova formation," said Shappee, who is lead author on the on the discovery and early time light curve paperand one of our Carnegie alumni.

Combining data from ASAS-SN, Kepler, and telescopes around the world, the astronomers realized that ASASSN-18bt looked unusual during its first couple of days.

"Many supernovae show a gradual increase in the light they put out," said Drout, who is jointly appointed at the University of Toronto. "But for this event, you could clearly see there's something unusual and exciting happening in the early times -- an unexpected additional emission."

Type Ia supernovae originate from the thermonuclear explosion of a white dwarf star -- the dead core left over by a Sun-like star after it exhausts its nuclear fuel. Material must be added to the white dwarf from a companion star to trigger the explosion, but the nature of the companion star and how the fuel is transferred has long been debated.

One possibility is that this additional light seen during the supernova's early times could be from the exploding white dwarf colliding with the companion star. Although this was the initial hypothesis, detailed comparisons with Piro's theoretical modeling work demonstrated that this additional light may have a different, unexplained origin.

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"While the steep increase in ASASSN-18bt's early brightness could indicate that the explosion collides with another star, our follow-up data don't fit predictions for how this should look," Holoien said. "Other possibilities, such as an unusual distribution of radioactive material in the exploded star, are a better explanation for what we saw. More observations of ASASSN-18bt and more early discoveries like this one will hopefully help us differentiate between different models and better understand the origins of these explosions."

"Nature is always finding new ways to surprise us, and unique observations like this are great for motivating creative new approaches to how we think about these explosions, "added Piro. "As a theorist at the Carnegie Observatories, it's so helpful and inspiring to be right near the observers who are making these key measurements."

This supports a hypothesis put forward in recent work from the Carnegie Supernova Project, led by Maximilian Stritzinger ofAarhus University and co-led by Shappee and Piro, that there may be two distinct populations of Type Ia supernovae -- those that show early emission and those that do not.

Thanks to ASAS-SN and the next generation of surveys that are now monitoring the sky every night, astronomers will find even more new supernovae and catch them at the moment of explosion. As more of these events are found and studied, they will hopefully home in on the solution to the longstanding mystery of how these stellar explosions originate.

The researchers were supported by a NASA Hubble Fellowship, the Villum Foundation, the U.S. National Science Foundation, the NSFC, the Research Corporation, NASA, the David G. Price Fellowship for Astronomical Instrumentation, the Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for All Sky Astrophysics in 3 Dimensions, a sabbatical grant from Aarhus University's Faculty of Science & Technology, the Gordon & Betty Moore Fation, the Heising-Simons Foundation, the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, and the David and Lucile Packard Foundation.
Hundreds of people from around the country visit Jinggangshan, in eastern China's Jiangxi province, each day to retrace the revolutionary generation's footsteps.

They have made walking a section of the city's Red Army trail one of the most popular "red education" courses in Jinggangshan.

Red education, which is related to understanding the history and theories of the Communist Party of China, has become a new economic engine for Jinggangshan, accounting for about half of its GDP growth in recent years.

Jinggangshan, in a remote, hilly location near the border with Hunan province, was an ideal base for the CPC and the Red Army in the 1920s, but its topography and isolation also meant it was an impoverished part of the country.

The city was officially removed from the poverty list in February last year, becoming one of the first taken off it since 2015, when President Xi Jinping set the goal of eradicating poverty by 2020.

On a visit to Jinggangshan before Spring Festival in 2016, Xi said the most valuable wealth left there from the revolutionary period is the spirit of Jinggangshan across time and space.

In recent years, the city has made use of its historical resources - 100 ruins of sites where the revolutionary generation lived and fought - to design various training courses to strengthen the development of the red education industry and raise people's living standards.

Last year, about 460,000 people took training courses in Jinggangshan, a year-on-year increase of about 50 percent. In the first eight months of this year, about 320,000 people took courses.

There are about 200 training agencies in Jinggangshan, providing job opportunities for about 10,000 villagers from 21 townships, including hiring them as receptionists or guides. Last year, the average annual income of about 500 formerly impoverished families grew by 23,000 yuan ($3,305), according to the local government.

Some land and houses left vacant by farmers are being turned into activity centers for tourists.

"The renovation project involves 40 families, and each family is expected to get about 5,000 yuan a year for providing their land or house," said Zhou Haobo, manager of Jinggangshan Pioneer Spirit Training Center, a training agency. "As more tourists visit the place, there will be a better market for their farm products."

The city's Party secretary, Liu Hong, said red education also boosts the development of tourism-related industries, including hotels, catering and souvenirs.

Chen Qiuhui, a university teacher from Jiangsu province who visited Jinggangshan in May, said the teaching activities there are more interactive and experiential than traditional forms of red education like attending lectures.

"When you are dressed in the Army's uniform and present a bunch of flowers to the revolutionary martyrs, the respect in the heart arises spontaneously, which cannot be experienced in classrooms," Chen said.
Discussions between Defense Minister Wei Fenghe and his U.S. counterpart James Mattis have been "positive and constructive," the Ministry of National Defense announced on Thursday, after a fruitful visit to the United States by the defense minister.



Defense Ministry spokesman Ren Guoqiang stated at a press briefing that the two defense ministers have met three times in the past five months, and indicated that military-to-military relations between the two countries remain generally positive.

Earlier this month, Wei and Mattis held talks at the second China-U.S. Diplomatic and Security Dialogue in Washington. During the dialogue, the two sides agreed to maintain military communications at various levels, and strengthen dialogue in a bid to deepen communication and reduce the risks.

The two sides will remain in close communication to develop a Crisis Deconfliction and Communication Framework, and remain committed to implementing existing Confidence Building Measures.

"Military-to-military ties are a major component of China-U.S. relations," said Ren. "A healthy and stable military relationship is in the interest of both sides and meets the expectations of the international community."

Ren reiterated hopes that the two countries can work together to implement the major consensus reached by the two heads of state, maintain strategic communication, increase institutional dialogue, promote practical cooperation, enhance mutual trust, and manage conflicts. Ultimately, it is hoped that the military-to-military relationship can realize its potential as a stabilizer for the overall bilateral relationship between the U.S. and China.
Chinese Premier Li Keqiang has called for improving the prevention and treatment of HIV/AIDS ahead of the 31st World AIDS Day that falls on Dec. 1.

Li, also a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, said in an instruction that China still faces tough tasks in prevention and treatment of HIV/AIDS although its has managed to keep the disease at a low prevalence rate.

Li urged relevant parties to improve the comprehensive prevention and control system, continue focusing on the situation among susceptible population or in key areas at important stages, and enhance the capabilities of monitoring, early warning and intervention.

He also stressed the importance of implementing policies on drug supply, medical insurance and medical assistance, improving public education, and increasing scientific research and international cooperation.

China has 820,756 people living with HIV/AIDS, and 253,031 people had died of AIDS-related diseases as of the end of June, according to a report released at the fifth National Conference on HIV/AIDS in September.
ASIA

Afghanistan

Expected Council Action

In December, the Council will hold its quarterly debate on Afghanistan and will consider the latest Secretary-Generals report on the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA). Tadamichi Yamamoto, the Special Representative for Afghanistan and head of UNAMA, is expected to brief. A civil society representative might also brief.

The mandate of UNAMA expires on 17 March 2019.

Key Recent Developments

Parliamentary and district council elections were held on 20 October in 32 out of 34 provinces. In Kandahar, elections were postponed for a week after an attack by the Taliban, two days before the election date, in which local police chief Abdul Raziq was killed. In Ghazni, elections did not take place due to several irregularities. The Council issued a press statement welcoming the holding of the elections while noting the difficult security environment. According to a UNAMA report on election violence, 56 Afghans died and 379 were injured on days when polling took place (20 October and the following days for postponed polling), constituting the highest level of casualties in any Afghan election since 2004. As of the publication of the report in November, UNAMA had attributed all but 59 casualties (mostly the result of the Afghan National Army defending election sites against anti-government forces) to anti-government forces, mainly the Taliban. UNAMA described this, together with violence perpetrated by the Taliban leading up to and related to the elections, as a deliberate campaign intended to disrupt and undermine the electoral process. Preliminary results of the elections from all provinces were initially to be announced by the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) on 20 November. However, the IEC has postponed the announcement.

On 9 November, Russia hosted an international meeting on Afghanistan in Moscow; participants included five members of the Taliban, all of whom are on the 1988 Sanctions Committee list of individuals for targeted sanctions. Also attending was a delegation from the Afghan High Peace Council, a body appointed by the Afghan government to work on reconciliation with the Taliban. The Afghan government did not send a delegation, however.

Following the first round of talks in seven years between representatives of the US and the Taliban in late July, another meeting was held in Qatar from 16 to 19 November. The Taliban continue to say that they will hold direct talks not with the Afghan government, whose legitimacy they do not recognise, but rather with the US government as they seek the withdrawal of US and international troops from Afghanistan. The latest quarterly report by the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction, an oversight body reporting to the US Congress, puts Afghan government control or influence at 56 percent of Afghan territory and Taliban control at 18 percent, with the remaining 26 percent contested.

Afghan President Ashraf Ghanis wide-ranging offer to the Taliban, extended during the second meeting of the Kabul Process for Peace and Security Cooperation in Afghanistan in February, still stands. It includes a prisoner exchange, a review of the constitution, and the removal of sanctions against insurgents. The Taliban do not respond formally to offers by the Afghan government. Following a three-day ceasefire between the Afghan government and the Taliban over Eid-al-Fitr in June, a conditional ceasefireas announced by President Ghani on 20 August, the holiday of Eid al-Adhastarted, but was not reciprocated by the Taliban. During his most recent Security Council briefing on 17 September, Yamamoto said that despite setbacks we are in a better position now than at any time in the past 17 years to commence a process leading to talks for a negotiated end to the conflict.

According to OCHA, 275,000 people were uprooted because of this years unusually severe drought, 52,000 more than the number of Afghans displaced due to conflict during the same period.

The drought also had an effect on opium poppy cultivation. The Afghanistan Opium Survey 2018 conducted annually by the Afghanistan Ministry of Counter Narcotics together with the UN Office on Drugs and Crime found that opium poppy cultivation decreased by 20 percent compared to 2017, but that the level of cultivation still represented the second-highest since systematic recording began in 1994. The biggest decreases were recorded in the western and northern regions and were attributed mainly to the drought.

Sanctions-Related Developments During its 12 November meeting, the 1988 Afghanistan Sanctions Committee was briefed by its Chair, Ambassador Kairat Umarov of Kazakhstan, and by Yamamoto.

Key Issues and Options

Afghan civilians still bear the heaviest burden of the security situation, which is further complicated by the presence of the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) and other terrorist groups. Insurgency in Afghanistan continues to be closely interlinked with illicit drug production and trafficking, activities that reached record levels during 2017, when opium cultivation was up 63 percent over 2016.

Council priorities include following closely the next steps in the framework of the Kabul process, awaiting the final results of the parliamentary and district council elections and a timetable for the 2019 presidential elections, and assessing the results of the 27-28 November ministerial Geneva Conference on Afghanistan, co-chaired by the Afghan government and the UN. A press statement by the Council in relation to all of these developments may be a possibility, considering that there have been Council products on these issues in the past.

Council Dynamics

Council members are generally supportive of UNAMAs work, and remain concerned about the progressively more volatile security environment and its implications for the civilian population, specifically in the context of elections. Among permanent members, Russia in particular continues to emphasise the threat ISIL poses in Afghanistan and to question the utility of the NATO and US presence in the country, which it maintains does not help the situation and even increases casualties. The issue of attributing responsibility for civilian casualties remains a sensitive matter among the permanent members.

The Netherlands is the penholder on Afghanistan, and Kazakhstan chairs the 1988 Afghanistan Sanctions Committee.

UN DOCUMENTS ON AFGHANISTAN
THE SECURITY COUNCIL

Briefing by the Outgoing Chairs of the Security Council Subsidiary Bodies

Expected Council Action

Every December since 2002, the outgoing chairs of subsidiary bodies have provided a briefing on their experience. The five Permanent Representatives completing their countries two-year terms on the Council at the end of 2018, and their respective chairmanships, are:

Ambassador Sacha Sergio Llorenty Soliz (Bolivia)the 1540 Non-Proliferation Committee;

Ambassador Taye Atske Selassie Amde (Ethiopia)the Ad Hoc Working Group on Conflict Prevention and Resolution in Africa;

Ambassador Kairat Umarov (Kazakhstan)the 751 Somalia Sanctions Committee; the 1988 Taliban Sanctions Committee and the 1267,1989 and 2253 Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL)/Al-Qaida Sanctions Committee;

Ambassador Karel J. G. van Oosterom (Netherlands)the Committee on the Implementation of Security Council Resolution 2231 Concerning Iran and the 1718 Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea (DPRK) Sanctions Committee; and

Ambassador Olof Skoog (Sweden)the 1970 Libya Sanctions Committee, the 2374 Mali Sanctions Committee, and the Working Group on Children and Armed Conflict.

Background

When Colombia initiated the practice of briefings by the outgoing chairs of the subsidiary bodies during its December 2002 presidency, it was an important step towards providing a degree of transparency in the work of these bodies. Since then, there have been considerable improvements in the subsidiary bodies transparency. The area of the Security Councils website dedicated to subsidiary bodies has been revamped to include key factual information, documentation, updates on activities, and, since September 2014, their tentative monthly programme of work. Most subsidiary bodies chairs now give periodic public briefings to the Council, and some also provide briefings for the UN general membership.

The practice of the December briefings has continued, and affords the departing chairs an opportunity to share lessons learned from the experience and advice to their successors. Since not all subsidiary bodies produce an annual report, this annual briefing has also served over the years as a means of creating a public record of a bodys activities.

Key Recent Developments

In February 2016, the Council held a debate at the initiative of Venezuela on the working methods of Security Council subsidiary organs. As an outcome, a Note by the President was issued on 22 February addressing, among other matters, the need for improvements in the chairs selection process and in the interaction and coordination among the subsidiary organs and between the subsidiary organs and the Council as a whole. That same year, prompted by the change in the date of elections to the Security Council from October to June, Japanwhich was then chairing the Informal Working Group on Documentation and Other Procedural Questions (IWG)drafted a note addressing various aspects of new members preparation during the period between the election and the beginning of their term, including the selection and preparation of chairs of subsidiary bodies. Following intense negotiations with some of the P5 who were reluctant to move to a more participatory and transparent process, the formulation ultimately agreed called for an informal consultation process on appointments, undertaken in a balanced, transparent, efficient and inclusive way and facilitated jointly by two members of the Security Council working in full cooperation. It also said that members of the Security Council should make every effort to agree provisionally on the appointment of the Chairs of the subsidiary bodies for the following year no later than 1 October.

Building on those discussions, members agreed in 2017 on a set of measures aimed at enhancing the transparency of subsidiary organs, improving the selection process and the preparation of chairs, and increasing the interaction and coordination among subsidiary organs and between these bodies and the Council. This occurred in the context of compiling and negotiating a new comprehensive edition of Council working methods, the so-called Note 507. Furthermore, the document restated the agreements about the process for and the timing of the appointment of chairs.

The new selection procedures had been tested in 2016. That year, the Council missed the intended deadline of 1 October for the selection of chairs by almost a month. Nevertheless, the incoming chairs were able to benefit from a much longer preparatory period than any of their predecessors. In 2017, agreement was reached in early October and the list was put under silence on 9 October. In 2018, a number of factors, including differences between the incoming members interests and the current members vision of how the posts should be distributed, resulted in the process taking much longer, and the final chairmanships list was put under silence on 20 November with a deadline of noon the next day. The silence was not broken and the list, still considered provisional, will become formal in January and will be published in document S/2019/2. The vacated chairs will be distributed as follows:

Belgiumthe Committee on the Implementation of Security Council Resolution 2231 Concerning Iran, the 751 Somalia Sanctions Committee, and Working Group on Children and Armed Conflict;

Dominican Republicthe 2374 Mali Sanctions Committee;

Germanythe 1718 DPRK Sanctions Committee and the 1970 Libya Sanctions Committee;

Indonesiathe 1540 Non-Proliferation Committee, the 1988 Taliban Sanctions Committee, and the 1267,1989 and 2253 ISIL/Al-Qaida Sanctions Committee; and

South Africathe Ad Hoc Working Group on Conflict Prevention and Resolution in Africa.

Council Dynamics

The process of appointing chairs of the Council subsidiary bodies in effect from the 1990s through 2015, whereby the P5 assigned chairmanships to elected members, had been a source of controversy and deep dissatisfaction on the part of the appointees. Efforts within the IWG to establish an inclusive and more transparent method resulted in several Notes by the President, but no change in the practice. Back in 2016, during the negotiations over the Note that would address a range of modalities related to the longer transitional period for the incoming members, such as extending the period during which incoming members are allowed to attend Council consultations and other non-public meetings, the handover of duties between the outgoing and incoming chairs, and the appointment of the chairs., the last topic proved difficult to agree. After many weeks of negotiations, including bilaterally between certain permanent representatives, the formulation that the process would be facilitated jointly by two members of the Security Council working in full cooperation was reached, with the understanding that the two facilitators would be one of the P5 and the chair of the IWG.

This worked reasonably well in 2016 and 2017 but hit snags in 2018, including calls by some elected members for the P5 to share the burden of chairing the subsidiary bodies. During the protracted consultations, the ten elected members and the five incoming delegations addressed a joint letter to the president of the Security Council that was critical of the process and of the current arrangement. The 13 November letter, signed by those 15 permanent representatives, emphasised the need for fair burden sharing and an equal distribution of work amongst all members of the Security Council, including its permanent members. The letter also proposed making better use within the Council of its members expertise by making the chairs of the sanctions committees co-penholders on the relevant files.

UN Documents on Subsidiary Bodies
AFRICA

Cooperation between the UN and Regional and Sub-Regional Organisations

Expected Council Action

In December, the Security Council will hold a ministerial-level open debate on cooperation between the UN and regional and sub-regional organisations in the prevention and resolution of conflicts. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is expected to brief.

Key Recent Developments

In 2018, the Council has continued to engage regularly with regional and sub-regional organisations on peace and security issues. In particular, there have been several meetings this year focusing on the EU-UN and AU-UN relationships.

On 18 May, UN Security Council members held their sixth annual informal meeting with members of the EU Political and Security Committee, composed of the Brussels-based ambassadors of EU member states dealing with the EUs common foreign, security and defence policy. The meeting focused on the following issues: Syria, Iraq, peacekeeping in Africa, and cooperation on sanctions.

The Council held a briefing on 18 July on the Secretary-Generals annual report on strengthening the partnership between the UN and the AU. The then-Special Representative to the AU and head of the UN Office to the AU (UNOAU) Sahle-Work Zewde and AU Commissioner for Peace and Security Smail Chergui briefed. Zewde noted that the UN Secretary-General and the AU Commission Chairperson continue to emphasise the importance of conflict prevention and that, in this regard, the two organisations need to conduct more joint analyses and assessments and alignearly warning indicators, where appropriate. Chergui recalled that the AU has consistently advocated for more predictable and sustainable funding for AU peace operations through UN assessed contributions.

On 19 July, members of the UN Security Council and the AU Peace and Security Council held their 12th annual joint consultative meeting, at which they discussed a range of matters, including the situations in South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The informal consultations preceding the meeting focused on thematic issues concerning the partnership between the two bodies, as well as how their cooperation can be strengthened. A joint communique was issued following the meeting, which was held in New York.

The Declaration of Shared Commitments on UN Peacekeeping Operations, initiated earlier this year, has been endorsed by 151 member states as at 28 November. In the declaration, member states commit to enhance collaboration and planning between the UN and relevant international, regional and sub-regional organizations and arrangements, including the African Union (AU) and the European Union (EU), which have deployed several mandated operations in the past years. They further reaffirm the need to enhance the predictability, sustainability and flexibility of financing for AU-led peace support operations authorized by the Security Council.

On 20 November, the Security Council held an open debate on strengthening peacekeeping operations in Africa. A key theme of the meeting was the strategic partnership between the AU and the UN, particularly on peacekeeping. Guterres and Chergui briefed.

Key Issues and Options

The overarching theme of the debate is how cooperation between the UN and states, regional organisations, and sub-regional organisations can be enhanced with regard to the prevention, management and resolution of conflicts.

Issues that may be addressed include:

how to strengthen coordination and coherence between the UN and regional and sub-regional organisations regarding peace and security matters;

how to develop a joint analysis, planning and decision-making framework to make joint action between the UN and the AU more effective;

how to work towards securing sustainable and predictable financing for AU peace support operations, including potentially through joint financing of a jointly-developed UN-AU budget; and

how to strengthen the role of women in peace operations through cooperation among the UN and regional and sub-regional organisations.

One option for the open debate would be to adopt the resolution that was circulated by the African members of the Council in November and that aims to advance the issue of using UN assessed contributions, on a case-by-case basis, to finance Security Council-authorised AU peace support missions.

Over the longer term, another option would be to consider joint fact-finding missions that include members of the Security Council and regional bodies, such as the AU Peace and Security Council and the EU Political and Security Committee, to situations on the UN Security Councils agenda where the relevant regional organisations have a peace operations presence.

Council Dynamics

Although there has been increasing appreciation of the importance of working with regional organisations in the area of peace and security, divergent views on specific issues have at times complicated these relationships. Perhaps this tension has been most noticeable in disagreements between some major financial contributors on the Council, especially the US, and African Council members over the issue of financing for AU peace support operations. Of the permanent members, China has been particularly supportive of the need to strengthen the capacity of the AU in peace and security, as evidenced by its decision to host an open debate during its November presidency on strengthening peacekeeping operations in Africa, which explored the AU-UN relationship in this regard.

UN Documents on Cooperation with Regional and Sub-Regional Organisations
Guinea-Bissau

Expected Council Action

In December, the Council is expected to receive a briefing and hold consultations on Guinea-Bissau.

The mandate of the UN Integrated Peacebuilding Office in Guinea-Bissau (UNIOGBIS) expires on 28 February 2019.

Key Recent Developments

For the second time this year, Guinea-Bissau failed to hold legislative elections in accordance with its electoral calendar. The elections had been scheduled for 18 November, the date set when they were postponed in April.

On 30 August, Special Representative Jose Viegas Filho briefed the Council, focusing on preparations for the elections. Guinea-Bissaus Prime Minister Aristides Gomes participated, stating that the government was sparing no effort to hold legislative elections as scheduled for 18 November. A week later, a Council press statement encouraged national stakeholders to work together for the November 2018 legislative elections, stressing that inclusive and credible elections were essential for reform efforts spelled out in the Conakry Agreement and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) six-point road map, which were brokered by ECOWAS in 2016 to resolve the continuing political crisis.

The updating of the voter census was originally slated to start on 23 August and run until 23 September. The process did not get underway until 20 September, however, because of delays in the delivery of biometric voter registration kits to Guinea-Bissau, a large number of which had still not been received by November. On 22 October, the government announced that the voter census would be extended until 20 November, two days after the scheduled date of the legislative elections. ECOWAS, the AU and the UN subsequently issued a joint communique on 25 October calling for renewed efforts to ensure that the 18 November legislative elections would be held on time and under the requisite conditions of transparency, regularity and credibility. President Jose Mario Vaz has so far said that he would decide on a new date for the elections only once the registration process was complete.

On 20 November, the government announced an additional 15-day extension of the voter census until 5 December. Two days later, the government indicated that the process could extend beyond this date. It said that the 20 November announcement referred to the extension of voter registration officials contracts, and that the process would continue until it reached as many voters as possible.

Earlier in the month, on 5 November, an ECOWAS delegation travelled to Guinea-Bissau, led by Nigerian Foreign Minister Geoffrey Onyeama in Nigerias capacity as the chair of ECOWAS. The delegation met leaders of Guinea-Bissaus political parties, election officials, Prime Minister Gomes and President Vaz, as well as representatives in Bissau from ECOWAS, the AU, the Community of Portuguese Language Countries (CPLP), the UN and the EU, collectively referred to as the P5 in Guinea-Bissau. According to Onyeama, it was agreed that legislative elections must be held this year. On 15 November, Vaz met with Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari in Abuja to further discuss preparations for the elections.

By 11 November, 57.5 percent of the estimated 886,292 voters had been registered, according to UNIOGBIS, which also said donors had disbursed over $8 million to a fund for the elections managed by the UN Development Programme, exceeding the projected election budget. A total of $1.23 million in pledged funds had still not been disbursed. On 21 November, Gomes announced that 74 percent of estimated voters had been registered. These figures do not include diaspora voters.

Sanctions-related Developments

The 2048 Guinea-Bissau Sanctions Committee met on 31 August to consider the Secretary-Generals annual report on progress made with regard to the stabilisation and restoration of constitutional order in Guinea-Bissau. Kelvin Ong, Chief of the Security Council Subsidiary Bodies Branch in the Security Council Affairs Division, gave an overview of the findings and recommendations. David McLachlan-Karr, Deputy Special Representative for Guinea-Bissau, joined the meeting via video teleconference from Bissau to provide an update on the situation in the country. A press release with a factual summary of the meeting was issued on 11 October.

Key Issues and Options

The organisation of the legislative elections is a key focus of the upcoming Council briefing and consultations. If they are not held by the end of the year, this could violate the countrys constitutional provisions regarding the tenure of the current legislature and might deepen its political crisis. In addition to the logistical delays in updating the voter census, there are concerns about the governments commitment to timely elections, especially on the part of Vaz, who according to the Secretary-Generals August report on Guinea-Bissau is believed to want to conduct the legislative elections simultaneously with the presidential election in May 2019. Other processes that should occur before the presidential elections, according to the Conakry Agreement, include concluding a stability pact and undertaking a review of the constitution.

How the Council can support ECOWAS mediation efforts to implement the Conakry Agreement remains a key issue. In this regard, one option is adopting a presidential statement reiterating the Councils support for ECOWAS and the need for legislative elections to be organised without further delay. Such a statement could note that the Council looks forward to the decisions on Guinea-Bissau during the 22 December summit of ECOWAS heads of state and government, or, if adopted following the summit, support any decisions that are taken.

Other issues include initial discussions on an assessment from the Secretary-General on UNIOGBIS, with options for a possible reconfiguration of the UN presence in Guinea-Bissau and reprioritisation of tasks. This report is due to the Council by 28 November and is likely to set off early thinking around the forthcoming mandate renewal of UNIOGBIS in February.

Drug trafficking remains an ongoing issue of concern. Over the course of the political crisis, Council members concerns have included the possibility that a deterioration in the situation could lead to an increase in transnational crime, such as drug trafficking and piracy, or be exploited by terrorist groups in the region. Despite the militarys having refrained from interfering in the political situation over the past three years, members remain attentive to this risk given Guinea-Bissaus history, including a military coup after the 2012 presidential elections.

Council and Wider Dynamics

On Guinea-Bissau, the Council tends to follow the lead of ECOWAS, seeking to support its decisions or agreements. ECOWAS maintains the ECOWAS Mission in Guinea-Bissau, a 600-person military contingent that has been credited with deterring interference by the armed forces in the political crisis. Earlier this year the regional body sanctioned 19 individuals close to Vaz, including his son, which seemed to trigger several positive breakthroughs in the political crisis, and then lifted the sanctions in July. In Bissau, representatives from ECOWAS, the AU, the CPLP, the UN and the EU often act together to defuse tensions.

The Secretary-Generals assessment is expected to provide options for continuing UNIOGBIS, and other possibilities for a UN presence. The US has questioned the usefulness of the mission.

Cote dIvoire is the penholder on Guinea-Bissau. It has collaborated with the Netherlands on Council products. Equatorial Guinea, chair of the 2048 Guinea-Bissau Sanctions Committee, has said that after the presidential elections it plans to revisit the question of whether to maintain the sanctions regime imposed in 2012 following the coup.

UN DOCUMENTS ON GUINEA-BISSAU
AMERICAS

Haiti

Expected Council Action

In December, the Council is expected to hold a briefing on the situation in Haiti and consider the most recent report on the implementation of resolution 2410, adopted on 10 April, which extended under Chapter VII of the UN Charter the mandate of the UN Mission for Justice Support in Haiti (MINUJUSTH).

The mandate of MINUJUSTH expires on 15 April 2019.

Key Recent Developments

The Council held its most recent meeting on Haiti in September, when Assistant Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations Bintou Keita briefed the Council on progress towards the imminent transition to a non-peacekeeping UN presence. Keita presented the latest Secretary-Generals report, which outlined the 46 separate indicators for the benchmarked exit strategy. In addition, Keita presented infographics that contained more detailed information on the indicators. Although the mission remained active in assisting the local authorities, Keita noted that there has been a lack of progress on crucial aspects of the rule of law, including legislation on the penal code and the draft code of criminal procedure.

Resolution 2410 mandated the withdrawal of two formed police units (of the initial seven) in the period from 15 October to 15 April 2019. Keita informed Council members that the mission has developed an integrated security transition plan that will guide this transition. In concluding remarks, Keita emphasised the importance of the timely implementation of the 11 benchmarks for the exit strategy and said that all actors involved would have to increase their efforts to this end.

The security situation in Haiti has remained fragile. In June, a series of violent protests erupted after the government announced an increase in fuel prices. The demonstrations ended with the government suspending its decision and the resignation of Prime Minister Jack Guy Lafontant. Thousands of Haitians took to the streets again in October in country-wide anti-corruption demonstrations. The protesters demanded a transparent investigation into the governments alleged mismanagement of over $3 billion in oil loans from Venezuela. At least six people were killed and dozens injured in clashes between protesters and police. Several inquiries by the Haitian legislature have concluded that a number of government officials were engaged in the misuse of funds. While the demonstrators also called for the resignation of Haitian President Jovenel Moise, he assured them that those responsible would be brought to account.

Violence erupted again on 18 November, a national holiday marking the anniversary of a victory over French forces in 1803. In addition to demanding accountability in the oil corruption scandal, the protesters reiterated calls for Moise to step down. Moise responded by calling for unity and an end to the fighting. According to media reports, at least five people were killed and dozens injured in clashes with the police.

In other developments, over 15 people were killed and over 300 injured in an earthquake on 9 October that affected the northern part of Haiti. The earthquake

resulted in significant material damage, leaving tens of thousands in need of humanitarian assistance.

The new Special Representative and head of MINUJUSTH, Helen Meagher La Lime, formally took office on 3 September. She succeeded Susan D. Page, who spent a little over six months in the position before being appointed on 4 May as the Secretary-Generals Special Advisor on Rule of Law.

Key Issues and Options

The Council faces several interrelated issues in Haiti. Chief among them is achieving the missions benchmarked exit strategy within the projected timeframe, that is, by October 2019. Given the lack of progress, the Council will have to consider the possibility that Haiti will not advance sufficiently against the benchmarks in time. In that case, the Council will have to decide whether to revise the current exit strategy or consider extending the mission. Remaining issues for the Council include the need for the mission to develop further the capacity of the national police and to continue to encourage progress across all rule-of-law sectors, in particular regarding reforms related to human rights and criminal justice, before the projected closure of MINUJUSTH.

The recent tensions in Haiti have exposed some of the underlying socio-economic issues that could potentially threaten the overall security situation. Should these persist, the Council could issue a statement calling for calm and dialogue and supporting the work of the mission. It could also, in due time, reassess the plans for the drawdown of the mission.

Council Dynamics

Council members have recognised Haitis notable progress over the past several years. The Council has welcomed as a major milestone the restoration of constitutional order and the successful holding of general and presidential elections in 2017. This led to the Councils decision to initiate the gradual drawdown and devise the current exit strategy.

Negotiations on the last two mandate renewal resolutions have exposed some diverging views about the scope and the mandate of the UN mission in Haiti. In April 2017, the Council voted unanimously for resolution 2350renewing the mandate of MINUSTAH until 15 October 2017, to be followed by the start of MINUJUSTH the next daybut China, Russia, and to some extent Bolivia raised concerns regarding the inclusion of human rights in the MINUJUSTH mandate and its establishment under Chapter VII, which authorises enforcement action to restore international peace and security. During the last mandate renewal, in April, Russia and China abstained on resolution 2410, citing similar concerns. During the meeting in September, Council members raised concerns over the delicate security situation and questioned the readiness of Haitian authorities to take over security responsibilities from the mission in this environment.

The US is the penholder on Haiti.

UN DOCUMENTS ON HAITI
SECURITY COUNCIL AND WIDER UN STRUCTURE

International Criminal Tribunals

Expected Council Action

In December, the Security Council expects to hold its semi-annual debate on the International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals (IRMCT), which was established in 2010 to carry out the remaining essential functions of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) and the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) after their respective closures. The IRMCTs president, Judge Theodor Meron, is expected to brief the Council during the debate on the IRMCTs semi-annual progress report and to meet with the Informal Working Group on International Tribunals prior to the debate. The IRMCTs prosecutor, Serge Brammertz, may also brief the Council. Council members expect to receive the IRMCTs most recent semi-annual progress report by 3 December.

Key Recent Developments

The IRMCT, with branches in The Hague and Arusha, Tanzania, focuses on the completion of trials and appeals from the ICTY (which closed in December 2017) and the ICTR (which closed in December 2015); locating and arresting the eight remaining fugitives indicted by the ICTR; and assisting national jurisdictions in handling requests related to prosecuting international crimes committed in the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda. It was established in 2010 by resolution 1966, which says the Mechanism shall continue the jurisdiction, rights and obligations and essential functions of the ICTY and the ICTR and should be a small, temporary and efficient structure, whose functions and size will diminish over time, with a small number of staff commensurate with its reduced functions. According to the resolution, the IRMCT was mandated to operate for an initial period of four years and for subsequent periods of two years thereafter unless the Security Council decides otherwise.

Before the 30 June end of the Mechanisms most recent two-year operating period, the Council adopted resolution 2422 on 27 June, extending Brammertzs term until 30 June 2020, with 14 votes in favour and Russia abstaining. The resolution requested the IRMCT to continue to take steps further to enhance efficiency and effective and transparent management, including more focused projections of completion timelines and disciplined adherence thereto; enhancement of the geographic diversity and gender balance of staff, while ensuring continued professional expertise; and further reduction of costs, including through, but not limited to, flexible staff engagement. It requested that the IRMCT update the Council in its semi-annual reports on progress achieved in implementing the resolution.

On 29 June, the Secretary-General re-appointed 23 judges to the roster of the IRMCT for two-year terms commencing on 1 July and expiring on 30 June 2020. He also reappointed Meron as president of the IRMCT from 1 July to 18 January 2019 and appointed Judge Carmel Agius as president from 19 January 2019 to 30 June 2020. Since then, one of the judges has died. As the IRMCT is to have a roster of 25 judges, according to Article 8 of its statute, a further three judges still need to be appointed.

On 17 October, Meron briefed the General Assembly on the sixth annual report of the IRMCT and highlighted progress made in carrying out the core responsibilities inherited from the ICTR and the ICTY, including support for victims and protection of witnesses; enforcement of sentences of those convicted; and managing the Tribunals archives.

The last semi-annual debate on the IRMCT was held on 6 June, with briefings by Meron and Brammertz. Meron told the Council that the IRMCT has begun to stand on its own without the support of its two predecessor tribunals and has taken on the full ambit of the residual functions entrusted to it. He added that it has done so while facing unprecedented and unexpected challenges with regard to resource constraints and as a result of the rapid implementation of expenditure reductions, the deployment of staff-downsizing measures and the deterioration in staff morale.

Key Issues and Options

A key issue is for members to continue monitoring the work of the IRMCT and the implementation of its mandate, including the areas specified in resolution 2422.

Council Dynamics

Following the closure of the ICTY in December 2017, the debate on 6 June was the first public Council meeting focused solely on the IRMCT. All 15 Council members made statements at the debate. With the exception of Russia, all other Council members generally assessed the IRMCT positively and commended the progress it had made so far. Russia, which had been consistently critical of the ICTY, said in its statement that based on its analysis of specific cases, the IRMCT has inherited the ICTYs flawed working methods. It also emphasised the temporary nature of the IRMCT, seeking that its residual functionsincluding legal proceedings, whose delay on the pretext of reduced funding is unacceptablebe completed as quickly as possible and called for reliable projections, maximum efficiency and transparency. In explaining its abstention on resolution 2422 on 27 June, Russia expressed its opposition to the reappointment of the same officials from the ICTY (Brammertz had previously served as the ICTYs prosecutor) and reiterated its view of the IRMCTs problems with its approaches to justice and its internal administration and staffing policies. Russia also abstained on the adoption of resolution 2269 on 29 February 2016, which previously extended Brammertzs term until 30 June 2018.

Peru is the chair of the Informal Working Group on International Tribunals.

UN Documents on International Criminal Tribunals
MIDDLE EAST

Iran

Expected Council Action

In December, the Secretary-General will report on the implementation of resolution 2231, which endorsed the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) on Irans nuclear programme. The Council is also expected to receive reports from the Joint Commission, established by the parties to the JCPOA to oversee its implementation, and from the Councils 2231 facilitator, Ambassador Karel van Oosterom (the Netherlands). Briefings are expected from Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs Rosemary DiCarlo, van Oosterom, and a representative of the EU in its capacity as coordinator of the Joint Commission.

Key Recent Developments

The uncertainty about the future of the JCPOA has persisted since May when the US formally withdrew from the agreement. Iran has continued to implement its nuclear-related commitments under the agreement, however, as verified by the International Atomic Energy Agency.

At the June briefing on the implementation of resolution 2231, the US reiterated its view that Iran continues to destabilise the Middle East region through its support for terrorist groups and proxy forces. Most other Council members expressed regret over the US withdrawal from the agreement, and some have also raised concerns about reports of Irans ballistic missile activity. DiCarlo emphasised the uncertain outlook for the future of the JCPOA and said that all issues that are not directly related to the agreement should be addressed without jeopardising it.

The US has been reimposing sanctions on Iran gradually since May. The first round of sanctions targeting specific sectors of the economy took effect in August. On 5 November, the US imposed the remaining sanctions, targeting Irans oil exports, which represent one of the main revenue sources for the country. The US has, however, granted temporary waivers to eight countries, allowing them to buy Iranian petroleum products.

During the high-level week at the UN General Assembly, EU High Representative Federica Mogherini chaired a ministerial meeting of participants in the JCPOA on 24 September. In a joint statement issued after the meeting, the foreign ministers of JCPOA participants reaffirmed their commitment to full and effective implementation of the agreement. They expressed their determination to protect the freedom to pursue legitimate business with Iran in accordance with resolution 2231. To that end, they also welcomed the initiative to establish a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) to facilitate payments linked to legitimate economic activity with Iran.

In a press conference that day with Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif, Mogherini said that the EU has decided to establish the SPV as a legal entity that would facilitate legitimate financial transactions with Iran and therefore allow European companies to continue doing business with Iran. The SPV is aimed at circumventing and minimising the impact of the US sanctions. Although EU officials planned to have the SPV

operational before the US imposed the latest round of sanctions in November, there are still several technical issues to be resolved. The media have reported that one of the more contentious issues is which EU country would host the SPV. It appears that prospective host countries fear that the US could penalise their banking sectors. At press time no decision had been made.

During its presidency in September, the US devoted significant attention to issues related to non-proliferation. In addition to holding a ministerial meeting on denuclearisation efforts in the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea, on 26 September US President Donald Trump chaired a summit-level meeting on countering the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. Among other issues, Trump criticised the JCPOA and said that the agreement provided Iran with financial resources that it used to support terrorism, develop ballistic missiles, and destabilise the region. On the other hand, French President Emmanuel Macron emphasised that although the US had withdrawn from the agreement, all members are united around the objective of keeping Iran free of nuclear weapons. While noting its imperfections, he stressed that the JCPOA was a step in the right direction towards ensuring a nuclear-weapons-free Iran.

In a 3 October ruling, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ordered the US to ease sanctions that it reinstated on Iran after withdrawing from the JCPOA. Iran argued that the sanctions violated the 1955 Treaty of Amity, which regulates trade and commerce between the two countries. The Court ordered the US to remove any impediments arising from sanctions on Iran announced in May that would affect humanitarian aid and civilian aviation. The US has rejected the ICJs ruling, and US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced the same day that the US would withdraw from the 1955 treaty.

Human Rights-Related Developments

On 15 November, the Third Committee adopted a resolution on the human rights situation in Iran with 85 votes in favour; 30 votes against, including Council members Bolivia, China, Kazakhstan and Russia; and 68 abstentions, including Cote dIvoire, Ethiopia, Equatorial Guinea and Kuwait (A/C.3/73/L.42). Among other things, the resolution urges Iran to cease the widespread and systematic use of arbitrary detention; release persons detained for the exercise of their human rights; and address the poor conditions of prisons. It also expresses serious concern about the ongoing severe limitations and restrictions on the right to freedom of thought, conscience, religion or belief and calls upon Iran to launch a comprehensive accountability process in response to all cases of serious human rights violations, including allegations of excessive use of force against peaceful protesters and cases of suspicious deaths in custody. On 24 October, the special rapporteur on human rights in Iran, Javaid Rehman, presented his report (A/73/398) to the Third Committee of the General Assembly at its 73rd session, as requested in Human Rights Council (HRC) resolution 37/30. The report highlights a number of consistently documented issues, including violations of the right to life, in particular the execution of juvenile offenders; violations of the prohibition of torture and other ill-treatment; violations of the right to freedom of assembly, opinion and expression; and violations of the rights of women and girls, as well as those of religious and ethnic minorities. The report also identifies several areas that the special rapporteur intends to address further in the future, including violations of economic, social and cultural rights; the situation of human rights defenders; and the rights of specific groups, in particular those based on disability, sexual orientation and gender identity. The special rapporteur will submit a written report to the HRC at its 40th session in March.

Key Issues and Options

An underlying issue for the Council remains ensuring full compliance with resolution 2231 by parties to the JCPOA and the wider UN membership.

The Council will have to assess the implications of the US withdrawal from the JCPOA on the implementation of resolution 2231, which endorsed the agreement. To address this and other related issues, the Council could consider holding an informal meeting or meeting in consultations with the 2231 facilitator. This meeting could afford members an opportunity to respond to US criticism and further express concern about the undermining of the agreement.

Given that Iran has not yet taken part in the semi-annual briefings on the implementation of resolution 2231, an option for the Council is to encourage its participation in the public discussion.

Council Dynamics

The current US administration has all along been critical of the JCPOA. Its formal withdrawal from the agreement has not changed Council dynamics drastically, given that most Council members anticipated the US move. Most Council membersamong them, China, France, the UK and Russia, which are parties to the agreementmaintain their position that the JCPOA remains valid and that they will continue to adhere to its provisions. Iran has also affirmed its commitment to the implementation of the JCPOA and resolution 2231. JCPOA parties France, Germany and the UK expressed regret and concern over the US withdrawal, while Iran was highly critical of the unilateral US action.

The remaining signatories of the JCPOA, particularly the European countries, seem committed to preserving the agreement and easing economic pressure on Iran amid renewed US sanctions. The US has threatened to sanction all entities that engage in business with Iran. The development of the SPV by the EU could further affect Council dynamics, deepening the rift between the European members and the US.

Looking ahead, should the US pursue Council action on Iran by initiating the process of reinstating UN sanctions via a new resolution, this could further exacerbate the divide between the US and other permanent members, most notably France and the UK, which contend that Iran has been in compliance with the JCPOA.

UN DOCUMENTS ON IRAN
Overview

Cote dIvoire will have the presidency in December. It is planning two high-level meetings. The first is a briefing, chaired by Ivorian President Alassane Ouattara, will focus on the importance of economic recovery for successful post-conflict transitions. The second is a ministerial-level open debate on cooperation between the UN and regional and sub-regional organisations in the prevention and resolution of conflicts.

A meeting on drug trafficking in west and central Africa is also planned.

Other African issues include:

Central African Republic, renewal of mandate following one-month technical rollover in November;

Guinea-Bissau, an update on developments;

South Sudan, on the activities of UNMISS;

Sudan, the quarterly briefing by the sanctions chair and semi-annual briefing on the ICCs work; and

UNOCA/LRA, an update on the activities of the UN Office in Central Africa and the regional strategy to combat the Lords Resistance Army.

With regard to Syria, there will be the regular briefings on the political and humanitarian situation and on chemical weapons. In addition, Council members are expected to negotiate and put to a vote a draft resolution renewing the authorisation for cross-border and cross-line humanitarian access, which expires on 10 January 2019. Other Middle East issues include the renewal of UNDOF and the regular monthly briefing and consultations on Israel/Palestine.

Regarding other regional issues, there will be the quarterly debate on Afghanistan and a briefing on the situation in Haiti.

The Secretary-General is expected to report on the implementation of resolution 2231, which endorsed the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action on Irans nuclear programme.

Council members will receive their first briefing by the Special Adviser and head of the UN Investigative Team for Accountability of Daesh in early December.

In December, the Council will hold its semi-annual debate on the International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals.

There will also be the annual briefing by outgoing subsidiary body chairs, reviewing their experience and developments during their term as chairs of committees or working groups.

A meeting on the human rights situation in the DPRK is also possible in December.

Members will be following developments in Ukraine and Yemen closely over the month, and meetings may be scheduled if necessary.
PEACEMAKING, PEACEKEEPING AND PEACEBUILDING

Peacebuilding and Sustaining Peace

Expected Council Action

In December, the Council will hold a high-level briefing, chaired by Ivorian President Alassane Ouattara, on post-conflict economic recovery. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is expected to brief.

Background

The briefing is one of the signature events during Cote dIvoires December presidency of the Council. The session seeks to consider the importance of economic recovery for successful post-conflict transitions, having been central to Cote dIvoires recent experience. On 30 June 2017, the UN Operation in Cote dIvoire (UNOCI) concluded its mandate, 13 years after it was established and six years after resurgent post-electoral violence in 2011 led to the deaths of approximately 3,000 people. UNOCI made a significant contribution to the countrys stabilisation, and its ability to withdraw within six years of the post-electoral crisis, Cote dIvoire often notes, was also tied to the countrys successful economic recovery.

Since 2012, Cote dIvoire has experienced strong economic performance, marked by a rapid increase in gross domestic product (GDP). In the five-year period from 2012 to 2016, the economy grew by more than 8 percent every year. Last year, GDP growth was a still-strong 7.8 percent, according to data from the International Monetary Fund. The Secretary-Generals report to the Security Council on Cote dIvoire in January 2017 ahead of UNOCIs closure noted that the government had placed specific emphasis on improving the business environment. It flagged that in November 2012, the government enacted an investment code that four years later resulted in businesses being given a total exemption from the value-added tax, a 40 percent reduction in customs duties and tax exemption on profits, and that it continues to create a window for investment and foreign trade. The report further highlighted that Cote dIvoire continues to assist private-sector development by promoting business opportunities in agriculture, industry, mining and services. Despite this progress, the Secretary-General noted that economic growth still needs to become more inclusive, with continued efforts to combat inequality.

Post-conflict economic recovery is often described as being overlooked by the UN. However, it is recognised as an important element among the range of interventions required for building and sustaining peace. The Advisory Group of Experts, which drafted the 2015 report for the ten-year review of the UNs peacebuilding architecture, said that the failure to develop economically poses a risk of relapse in the first place, and that relapse into conflict can be significantly mitigated when economies are reactivated. It further affirmed that overcoming economic and social grievances, offering populations the means to earn livelihoods and creating the foundations for inclusive, broad-based economic growth are integral to any transition from conflict to normalcy. Accordingly, the experts wrote, citing the research of Paul Collier, economic development may be the true exit strategy for international peacekeeping. The Advisory Group of Experts noted, however, that when it comes to post-conflict economic recovery, there is not yet a clear consensus on how to proceed.

The issue was touched on subsequently in resolution 2282, which the Council adopted in April 2016 for the peacebuilding architecture review. Resolution 2282 and the twin General Assembly version (A/RES/70/262) recognised that sustaining peace includes moving towards recovery, reconstruction and development, and that advancing economic development in conflict-affected countries should be part of an integrated and coherent approach for sustaining peace. The resolution highlighted the importance of UN-World Bank collaboration in conflict-affected countries, requesting, among other things, that the Secretary-General explore options for strengthening this partnership, including by assisting such countries, upon their request, in creating an enabling environment for economic growth, foreign investment and job creation, and in mobilising domestic resources and using them effectively, in line with national priorities and underscored by the principle of national ownership.

Among current situations facing the Council where it has considered the importance of economic recovery has been the Lake Chad basin. During its 2017 visiting mission, members discussed with interlocutorsincluding national and local government authorities, UN country teams and civil societythe need to promote economic development and create jobs to address root causes of the Boko Haram crisis. Resolution 2349 on the Lake Chad Basin and some of the Councils subsequent presidential statements have recognised the importance of promoting economic growth and supporting livelihood opportunities to contribute to the regions stabilisation and recovery. While Yemen is not a post-conflict situation, here too the Council has needed to consider measures to address the collapse of the economy, including to offset famine and provide more favourable conditions for implementing any future peace agreement.

Key Issues and Options

Considering the experience of Cote dIvoires economic recovery during its transition and lessons that it may offer for other situations on the Councils agenda, or what could have been done differently, is a key issue. Related to this is identifying economic policies or measures that may be crucial for consolidating peace.

Ways that the Council can support or encourage the economic recovery of countries on its agenda and how the UN, regional and sub-regional organisations and international financial institutions can better cooperate on this objective are other important issues. The experiences of other countries that have concluded transitions and the factors that have facilitated or limited their economic recovery are likely to be considered for drawing lessons.

As the organiser of this debate, Cote dIvoire may prepare a summary of the main ideas raised or lessons identified to be circulated in a Council letter, which could provide a basis for further Council discussion of this issue over the coming year.

Council Dynamics

Cote dIvoire frequently highlights its strong economic recovery following the crisis of 2011, and the issue has been a priority of President Ouattara, a former IMF official. Economic recovery is widely recognised as important to consolidating peace in post-conflict countries, but it seems that the Council has not previously held a dedicated meeting on the subject. Instead, the subject has come up under the umbrella of general discussions about peacebuilding or in the context of different country situations. Some members could view the topic as encroaching on the responsibilities of other UN organs, though the relevance of the issue to Cote dIvoires own post-conflict transition is likely to dispel such concerns.

UN DOCUMENTS ON PEACEBUILDING AND SUSTAINING PEACE
AFRICA

South Sudan

Expected Council Action

In December, the Council will receive a briefing on the Secretary-Generals 90-day report on South Sudan, as requested in resolution 2406, and a briefing on South Sudan sanctions. Council members expect to receive the Secretary-Generals report by 10 December and will also receive his monthly report on violations of the Status of Forces Agreement or obstructions to the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS).

The mandate of UNMISS expires on 15 March 2019.

Key Recent Developments

Some reduction in fighting has been reported since the signing of the Revitalized Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in South Sudan (R-ARCSS) on 12 September in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. However, clashes have continued in parts of the country despite the cessation of hostilities declared in December 2017 and the permanent ceasefire agreed in June. The human rights, humanitarian, food security and economic conditions in the country remain dire, with an enormous impact on civilians.

On 31 October, thousands of South Sudanese gathered in Juba for a ceremony to celebrate the signing the previous month of the R-ARCSS, which coincided with the return of opposition leader Riek Machar to the country. The ceremony was attended by Machar, South Sudanese President Salva Kiir, leaders from various opposition groups, and high-level representatives, including the presidents of Ethiopia, Sudan and Uganda. Prior to and following the ceremony, several political detainees and prisoners of war were released, including James Gatdet, former spokesman for Machar, and William John Endley, a former military adviser to Machar.

According to the Joint Monitoring and Evaluation Commissions third and most recent progress report available at press time on the implementation of the R-ARCSS, some progress was made, but several of the benchmarks set out in the agreements implementation matrix were missed. The 5 November report said that tasks implemented included inaugural meetings of the National Pre-Transitional Committee and the National Constitution Amendment Committee, and ratification of the R-ARCSS by the Transitional National Legislative Assembly. Outstanding tasks included compliance with the permanent ceasefire, establishment of the Independent Boundaries Commission and the Technical Boundaries Commission, release of all prisoners of war and political detainees, establishment of the Joint Transitional Security Committee and disengagement and separation of forces in close proximity.

On 16 November, the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) Council of Ministers held an extraordinary session on South Sudan, at which it adopted a communique directing the IGAD Special Envoy for South Sudan to reach out to the South Sudanese stakeholders and any warring groups who are not signatories to the R-ARCSS to join in its implementation; otherwise, they shall be labelled spoilers of the peace process. It also called for the submission of a report by the Chairperson of the IGAD Council of Ministers to the AU Peace and Security Council and the UN Security Council on concrete proposals to revise the mandate and structure of [UNMISS Regional Protection Force] the (RPF) to allow the participation of all IGAD Member States.

The Working Group on Children and Armed Conflict conducted a mission to South Sudan from 4 to 7 November, led by the chair, Ambassador Olof Skoog (Sweden). The mission followed the September publication of the Secretary-Generals report on children and armed conflict in South Sudan, covering October 2014 to June. The report documents alarming levels of all six grave violations against children committed by all parties to conflict, including recruitment and use, killing and maiming, rape and other forms of sexual violence and abductions, numerous incidents of attacks against schools and hospitals, and high levels of denial of humanitarian access to children.

The Council was last briefed on South Sudan on 16 November. Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations Jean-Pierre Lacroix, AU Commissioner for Peace and Security Smail Chergui (via video teleconference) and Executive Director of UN Women Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka reported on their joint visit to South Sudan from 7 to 9 October. (For more details, see our Whats In Blue story of 15 November.)

Sanctions-Related Developments

On 15 November, the 2206 South Sudan Sanctions Committee was briefed by the Coordinator of the Panel of Experts on its interim report, which said that while it is too early to assess the full impact of the arms embargo, imposed by resolution 2428 on 13 July, a number of violations have been noted. The report also noted that Sudan had deployed troops to protect oil fields in Unity State, while Uganda had sent forces to Central and Eastern Equatoria. The report refers to alarming levels of sexual and gender-based violence, food insecurity and grave human rights abuses, including against children.

Human Rights-Related Developments

On 17 September, during its 39th session, the Human Rights Council received an oral update from, and held an interactive dialogue with, the Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan. This followed the commissions field mission to South Sudan, Uganda, Kenya, Sudan and Ethiopia in August. Commission Chairperson Yasmin Sooka presented the oral update, saying that the commission had heard testimonies of wanton killings and numerous accounts of brutal sexual violence, adding that women and girls urgently deserve justice and compensation as well as access to medical and trauma support services. Sooka said that while the commission welcomed the signing of the R-ARCSS, it is concerned that violence continues to contribute to increased levels of insecurity. The need to establish the Hybrid Court for South Sudan was also highlighted, among other issues. On 18 October, UNMISS and OHCHR jointly published a report on violations and abuses of international human rights law and international humanitarian law reportedly committed against civilians in the states of Gbudue and Tambura, in Western Equatoria, between April and August. The report documented attacks by the Sudan Peoples Liberation Army-In-Opposition (SPLA-IO) on at least 28 villages, a settlement of internally displaced persons and a refugee camp, including killings, abduction, rape, sexual slavery, forced recruitment, and destruction of property. During these attacks, at least 887 civilians were abducted, mostly women (505) and girls (63), and 24,000 were forced to flee their homes. According to the report, UNMISS Human Rights Division has identified three SPLA-IO commanders who allegedly had effective command and control of the forces committing these abuses, which may amount to war crimes. At the same time, Sudan Peoples Liberation Army (SPLA) forces carried out their own military operations, which were characterised by serious violations of international human rights and humanitarian law, such as unlawful destruction of civilian property and forced displacement, as detailed in the report. Among the reports recommendations were calls for accountability and access to basic services, particularly medical and psychosocial support for survivors of conflict-related sexual violence, and for the provision of economic alternatives for young fighters.

Key Issues and Options

A key issue is how the Council can support the parties in South Sudan as well as IGAD and other regional actors in the implementation of the R-ARCSS. An option would be to adopt a presidential statement or press statement calling for full implementation of the agreement and expressing the Councils support in this regard, as well as calling for unhindered humanitarian access and adherence to the permanent ceasefire agreed in June. Council members could also consider imposing, or threatening to impose, further targeted sanctions against those who undermine the process.

Another key issue for the Council is the implementation of the arms embargo and targeted sanctions imposed by resolution 2428. An option would be to use the various ways in which the Council can receive relevant information as set out in the resolution 2428 to inform the Councils response in this regard.

The Council could also revisit the idea of holding an Arria-formula meeting with the Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan.

Council Dynamics

Council members share deep concern about the crisis in South Sudanwhich is about to enter its sixth yearand its devastating impact on civilians and, in this context, are supportive of the R-ARCSS and the roles played by IGAD and the region towards a political resolution of the conflict. While some Council members may be optimistic about progress made by the parties, other members are more critical about the need for this to translate into an improved situation on the ground.

At the 16 November briefing, the Netherlands, Sweden and the US said perpetrators or spoilers of South Sudans peace process should be targeted with sanctions. Regarding proposals for IGAD member states to participate in the RPF, the US emphasised that any efforts to restructure UNMISS is the Councils prerogative, but Russia welcomed the initiative, saying that it stood ready to consider all reasonable proposals. Several members expressed concern about reports of civilians being targeted, human rights abuses, sexual and gender-based violence, child recruitment, food insecurity and impediments to humanitarian assistance. Bolivia and Peru called for the establishment of the Hybrid Court for South Sudan.

The US is the penholder on South Sudan. Poland chairs the 2206 South Sudan Sanctions Committee.

UN Documents on South Sudan
Status Update since our November Forecast

Libya

On 2 November, ICC Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda delivered the semi-annual briefing on recent developments concerning cases in Libya (S/PV.8388). On 5 November, the Council adopted resolution 2441, extending the mandate of the Panel of Experts assisting the 1970 Libya Sanctions Committee and renewing measures related to the illicit export of petroleum products from Libya, with 13 votes in favour and China and Russia abstaining (S/PV.8389). On 8 November, the Council was briefed by Ghassan Salame, Special Representative and head of UNSMIL (S/PV.8394). In his remarks, Salame focused on a new comprehensive security plan for Tripoli, the conditions in prisons around the country, the parallel existence of two central banks, the upcoming elections, and the situation in the south of Libya.

Somalia and Eritrea

On 6 November, the Council adopted resolution 2442, renewing for 12 months authorisations allowing international naval forces to fight piracy in the waters off the coast of Somalia (S/PV.8391). On 10 November, Council members issued a press statement condemning a terrorist attack in Mogadishu the day before resulting in several civilian casualties (SC/13572). On 14 November, the Council adopted resolution 2444, lifting sanctions on Eritrea and extending various elements of the Somalia sanctions regime until 15 November 2019 (S/PV.8398).

Bosnia and Herzegovina

On 6 November, the Council held its semi-annual debate on Bosnia and Herzegovina and unanimously adopted resolution 2443, renewing the authorisation of EUFOR ALTHEA for an additional year (S/PV.8392). High Representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina Valentin Inzko briefed the Council on his latest report (S/2018/974).

UN Policing

On 6 November, the Council received a briefing on UN policing (S/PV.8393) from Alexander Zouev, Assistant Secretary-General for Rule of Law and Security Institutions in the DPKO, and the heads of police components of three UN peacekeeping operations: Unaisi Lutu Vuniwaqa (UNMISS); Awale Abdounasir (MONUSCO); and Serge Therriault (MINUJUSTH). A civil society briefer, Tuesday Reitano, the Deputy Director of the Global Initiative against Transnational Organized Crime, also participated in the meeting.

Peacekeeping

On 7 November, the Working Group on Peacekeeping Operations held a meeting on peacekeeping safety, security and performance in asymmetric environments. On 20 November, the Council held an open debate on strengthening peacekeeping operations in Africa (S/PV.8407). Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and Smail Chergui, the AU Commissioner for Peace and Security, briefed the Council.

Protection of Environment Arria-Formula Meeting

On 7 November, current Council member Kuwait convened an Arria-formula meeting, co-sponsored with incoming member Germany, on the Protection of the Environment during Armed Conflict. Panelists included Satya Tripathi, Assistant Secretary-General and head of the New York Office of the UN Environment Program, and Carl Bruch, Director of International Programs at the Environmental Law Institute and co-founder of the Environmental Peacebuilding Association.

Mali

From 11-16 November, the Military Staff Committee conducted a field trip to Mali. On 21 November, the 2374 Mali Sanctions Committee held a meeting.

Central African Republic

On 12 November, the Chair of the 2127 CAR Sanctions Committee, Ambassador Leon Houadja Kacou Adom (Cote dIvoire), briefed on his recent visit to the country. On 15 November, the Council adopted resolution 2446, extending the mandate of MINUSCA until 15 December, in a technical rollover. On 18 November, Council members issued a press statement condemning an attack by suspected members of an armed group, which resulted in the death of one MINUSCA Tanzanian peacekeeper (SC/13588).

Iraq

On 13 November, the outgoing Secretary-Generals Special Representative and head of UNAMI, Jan Kubis, briefed on the latest Secretary-Generals report on UNAMI (S/2018/975), the Secretary-Generals 20th report on the issue of missing Kuwaiti and third-country nationals and missing Kuwaiti property, including the national archives, and the most recent developments in the country (S/PV.8396). Kubis focused his remarks on the ongoing Iraqi government formation, the elections in Kurdistan and the activities of the UN Investigative Team for Accountability of Daesh. He also reported the return of some Kuwaiti property from Iraq to Kuwait.

Israel/Palestine

At the request of Bolivia and Kuwait, Council members received a briefing on 13 November under any other business on the recent violence between the parties. Assistant Secretary-General for Political Affairs Miroslav Jenca briefed. He recounted the developments of the previous three days, culminating in the 13 November ceasefire. He further emphasised the need for the parties to maintain this ceasefire, spoke about the dire economic and humanitarian situation in Gaza, and reiterated the need to promote political dialogue between the parties based on a two-state solution. On 19 November, the Council held its monthly meeting on the Middle East (Israel/Palestine) (S/PV.8405). Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process Nickolay Mladenov provided the briefing (via video teleconference from Jerusalem), which was followed by statements from Council members. Mladenov called for calm in light of the escalation of violence that had occurred between Israel and Palestinians in Gaza from 11 to 13 November. He further observed that continued settlement-building undermined the prospects for peace.

Democratic Republic of the Congo

On 13 November, Special Representative and head of MONUSCO Leila Zerrougui briefed the Council (S/PV.8397). Josephine Mbela of the Congolese Association for Access to Justice, a non-governmental human rights and rule of law organization, also briefed. On 15 November, Council members issued a press statement condemning the killing of seven MONUSCO peacekeepers in North Kivu (SC/13583). The meeting was followed by consultations. Council members issued a press statement on 21 November on the electoral process in the DRC (SC/13599).

Kosovo

On 14 November, Special Representative and the head of UNMIK Zahir Tanin briefed the Council on the most recent Secretary-Generals report and latest developments (S/PV.8399). While Tanin described the situation on the ground as hostile, he said that prospects for meaningful progress in the EU-facilitated dialogue have improved amid ongoing talks between Belgrade and Pristina on, among other issues, the possibility of territorial exchanges. Addressing the Council, Serbian Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic emphasised the importance of the continued presence of UNMIK and regular consideration by the Council of the Kosovo issue. Russia also reiterated the need for regular meetings on Kosovo amid ethnic tensions and lack of progress on the implementation of agreements between Belgrade and Pristina. The US and EU members of the Council called for lengthening the reporting cycle and reducing the frequency of meetings on Kosovo.

Sudan/South Sudan

On 15 November, the Council unanimously adopted resolution 2445, extending until 15 May 2019 the mandate of UNISFA (S/PV.8400). The resolution reduced the authorised troop ceiling of the mission from 4,500 to 4,140 and decided to reduce the troop ceiling by a further 295 troops following the start of the deployment of increased police personnel. As of 15 April 2019, the authorised troop ceiling will decrease by a further 557 troops, unless the Council decides to extend the missions support to the Joint Border Verification and Monitoring Mechanism.

Group of Five for the Sahel

On 15 November, the Council held a briefing on the Group of Five for the Sahel (G5-Sahel) joint force or FC-G5S that Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania and Niger established last year to combat terrorist and criminal groups in the region (S/PV.8402). Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations Jean-Pierre Lacroix briefed on the Secretary-Generals latest report on the FC-G5S (S/2018/1006). Other briefers included G5 Sahel Permanent Secretary Maman Sidikou and AU High Representative for Mali and the Sahel Pierre Buyoya. Pedro Serrano, the EU Deputy Secretary General for Common Security and Defence Policy and Crisis Response, briefed via video teleconference from Brussels. Later that same day, Council members issued a press statement encouraging the G-5 Sahel states to take appropriate measures in order for the FC-G5S to conduct new operations and to be fully operational as soon as possible; calling on donors who have not yet honoured their commitments to the joint force to do so urgently; and encouraging the G-5 Sahel States to take appropriate action in order for MINUSMA to be in a position to deliver its specified operational and logistical support (SC/13584). The press statement also covered aspects related to human rights and broader political and development issues.

Yemen

On 16 November, the Council held a briefing, followed by consultations, on Yemen (S/PV.8404). UN Special Envoy for Yemen Martin Griffiths informed the Council that he intended to convene the parties shortly for consultations in Sweden. Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Mark Lowcock provided an update on the five areas that he had asked the Council to support at a 23 October briefing, in order to avert famine. World Food Programme Executive Director David Beasleys briefing focused on his first-hand observations of the food insecurity and economic conditions that he witnessed during a recent three-day visit to Yemen. Civil society representative, Rasha Jarhum, who is the founder and Director of the Peace Track Initiative in Yemen, also briefed via video teleconference, making a number of recommendations for Council action. During the meeting the UK, as penholder on Yemen, announced that it would soon circulate a draft resolution that it had been preparing in support of Lowcocks five asks. At press time, Council members were still negotiating the draft resolution.

Children and Armed Conflict

The Working Group on Children and Armed Conflict met on 16 November to negotiate its conclusions on South Sudan (S/2018/865).

Counter-Terrorism

On 20 November, the CTC held an open briefing for member states to discuss the Madrid Guiding Principles. On 24 November, Council members issued a press statement, condemning an attack the previous day against the Consulate-General of China in Karachi, Pakistan, which resulted in the deaths of two Pakistani police officers and two civilians (SC/13600). On 28 November, there were joint informal consultations of the 1267/1989/2253 and 1988 Committees. On 29 November, the 1373 Counter-Terrorism Committee held a formal meeting to discuss visits by the Committee to Australia, Mali, New Zealand and Saudi Arabia.

Burundi

On 21 November, Michel Kafando, the Secretary-Generals Special Envoy for Burundi, briefed the Council (S/PV.8408) on the latest report (S/2018/1028). Ambassador Jurg Lauber (Switzerland), Chair of the Peacebuilding Commissions Burundi configuration, also briefed.

Lebanon

On 21 November, Council members held a meeting in consultations on implementation of resolution 1701 with briefings from UN Acting Special Coordinator for Lebanon Pernille Dahler Kardel and Assistant Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Bintou Keita. Council members were updated on recent developments and the latest Secretary-Generals report on the implementation of resolution 1701 (S/2018/1029).

DPRK (North Korea)

On 21 November, Chair of the 1718 Committee, Ambassador Karel van Oosterom (the Netherlands) briefed Council members in consultations on the work of the committee during the past three months. The Chair updated Council members on his outreach activities and the pending requests for the humanitarian exemptions from sanctions. Some Council members expressed their concern over the humanitarian situation in the DPRK. Most members emphasised, however, that the sanctions should remain in place until the DPRK takes concrete steps towards complete denuclearisation.

Ukraine

On 26 November, the Council held an emergency meeting, requested by Ukraine, on the situation in Ukraine after Russia captured three Ukranian vessels in the Kerch Strait (S/PV.8409). The Council first held a procedural vote on the provisional agenda item put forward by Russia Maintenance of international peace and security: Violation of the borders of the Russian Federation. The agenda item was rejected by a vote of seven against, four abstentions and four in favor. Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs Rosemary DiCarlo briefed on the events of 25 November. Although she said that the UN could not independently verify the circumstances surrounding the incident, she expressed concern over rising tensions. The US and the EU members of the Council strongly condemned the escalation of tensions and violation of international law by Russia in the Sea of Azov. Russia accused Ukraine of provoking the incident for political reasons.
AFRICA

Sudan (Darfur)

Expected Council Action

In December, the Security Council expects to receive the semi-annual briefing of the ICC Prosecutor related to the courts work on Darfur. Also in December, Ambassador Joanna Wronecka (Poland), chair of the 1591 Sudan Sanctions Committee, is expected to provide the quarterly briefing to Council members on the committees work. The mandate of the UN/AU Hybrid Operation in Darfur (UNAMID) expires on 30 June 2019.

Key Recent Developments

According to the Secretary-Generals most recent report, the security situation in Darfur has remained relatively stable except for intermittent clashes in the Jebel Marra area between government forces and the Sudan Liberation Army-Abdul Wahid and the persistence of intercommunal conflict and disputes over land and resources. While there was a decrease in human rights incidents, attacks against civiliansparticularly internally displaced personshave continued with impunity, and sexual and gender-based violence remains a serious concern, the report said.

The Secretary-Generals report contains proposed benchmarks and indicators of achievement for the eventual exit of UNAMID with a view towards this exit taking place in 2020, provided that there is no significant change in the security situation in Darfur and key indicators are fulfilled, as stated in resolution 2429, which reduced UNAMIDs troop ceiling from 8,735 to 4,050 military personnel. (The mission is set to decrease by 3,265 personnel by December and by another 1,420 personnel by 30 June 2019.) The benchmarks contained in the Secretary-Generals report are categorised into three main areas:

the protection of civilians; monitoring and reporting on human rights, sexual and gender-based violence, and grave violations against children; the facilitation of humanitarian assistance; and the safety and security of humanitarian personnel;

support for the mediation of intercommunal or other local conflict that could undermine the security situation, including through measures to address its root causes; and

mediation between the government and non-signatory armed groups on the basis of the Doha Document for Peace in Darfur.

A total of 53 individual indicators are categorised under these three benchmarks. Among others, individual indicators include the following: no increase in conflict-related displacement; the governments providing a suitable environment for the return of internally displaced persons and refugees; the cessation of conflict-related sexual violence; the governments engaging with OHCHR on the establishment of a country office; and the governments demonstrating its commitment to participate in direct negotiations on the basis of the Doha Document for Peace in Darfur and to conclude a comprehensive ceasefire. Several of the indicators are associated with set periods of time, and the Secretary-Generals report recommends that a May 2019 strategic review of UNAMID include an assessment of their implementation. In addition, UNAMID should report on progress in implementation every 90 days, as part of its periodic reporting to the Security Council. According to the report, the indicators are intended to focus on action taken by the government of Sudan and to be measurable and realistic in terms of time frame.

ICC Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda last briefed the Council on 20 June, providing the semi-annual briefing on the ICCs work with regard to Darfura situation the Council referred to the ICC more than 13 years ago. She again urged the Council to play a more active role in supporting the arrest and transfer of the five suspects at large accused of multiple crimes against humanity and war crimes in Darfur, including Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir. On 22 October, Joint Special Representative and head of UNAMID Jeremiah Mamabolo briefed the Council on the Secretary-Generals report, saying UNAMID had begun its reconfiguration and drawdown while monitoring the impact on security and the protection of civilians. He also emphasised the importance of meeting the benchmarks for the missions exit set out in the Secretary-Generals report.

Sanctions-Related Developments

On 3 October, Wronecka provided Council members with the quarterly briefing on the committees work. She highlighted aspects of the interim report of the Panel of Experts presented to the committee on 17 August (which, unlike the final report, is not made public). She said the report noted that the Sudanese government continued to transfer weapons to Darfur without the required approval of the committee; that the panel is investigating instances of potential violations of the arms embargo by rebel groups; and that there is a growing presence of Darfuri armed groups in Libya.

Human Rights-Related Developments

On 31 October, the Human Rights Committee, the body of independent experts that monitors implementation of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights by state parties, published its concluding observations on the fifth periodic report of Sudan (CCPR/C/SDN/CO/5). Recommendations made by the Committee include that Sudan should take all necessary measures to end impunity for perpetrators of human rights violations; amend the Criminal Act to revoke stoning and crucifixion as officially sanctioned punishment; adopt comprehensive anti-torture legislation and establish a national mechanism for the prevention of torture; resolve all cases of enforced disappearance and conduct investigations without delay; launch effective and thorough investigations, and prosecute those responsible for attacks against civilians, including the attacks committed in Kalma (South Darfur) and Jebel Marra, as well as cases of sexual and gender-based violence.

Key Issues and Options

A key issue that Council members will want to follow closely is the effect of further troop reductions on the security situation as well as implementation of the missions revised priorities as set out in resolution 2429, including on human rights reporting and intercommunal mediation efforts. An option would be to invite the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights to provide an update on the human rights situation.

Another key issue is to consider reviewing the sanctions measures on Darfur in light of the interim report of the Panel of Experts. One option is for such considerations to be further informed by the final report of the Panel of Experts due by 12 January 2019.

Council Dynamics

Council members continue to differ in their assessment of the situation in Darfur. Some members seem to view more guarded recognition of progress as appropriate, while others are generally more positive in their assessment, as reflected during the 22 October briefing in statements made by Ethiopia and Kuwait in particular. Ethiopia also called for changes to the sanctions regime, including lifting the arms embargo. Bolivia, Ethiopia, Equatorial Guinea, Kazakhstan, Kuwait and Peru emphasised the need for additional funding to support the peacebuilding process.

At the 20 June briefing by Bensouda, Council membersincluding France, the Netherlands, Peru, Poland, Sweden and the UKreiterated their support for the work of the ICC in relation to Darfur and emphasised the need for the Council to do more to enable the Court to carry out its mandate in Darfur. Ethiopia and Equatorial Guinea, supporting the AUs position on the issue, called for the suspension of proceedings against Bashir and urged the Council to withdraw the referral of the situation in Darfur to the ICC.

The UK is the penholder on Darfur; Poland chairs the 1591 Sudan Sanctions Committee.

UN Documents on Darfur
MIDDLE EAST

Syria

Expected Council Action

In December, the Council will receive the monthly Syria briefings on the humanitarian situation, political developments, and the use of chemical weapons.

Council members are expected to negotiate the renewal of the authorisation for cross-border and cross-line humanitarian access, which was most recently extended through resolution 2393 and expires on 10 January 2019.

Key Recent Developments

Despite occasional violations, the relative calm has continued in the north-western province of Idlib after Turkey and Russia agreed to establish a demilitarised zone 15 to 20 kilometres wide along the contact line between armed groups and government troops. However, questions persist about the sustainability of the arrangement, the degree of compliance by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (a Council-designated terrorist organisation) and other groups, and the continuously precarious situation of civilians. While Syria considers this measure temporary, OCHA has stressed repeatedly the need to prevent an all-out military offensive with disastrous humanitarian consequences. At press time, the guarantors of the Astana processIran, Russia and Turkeywere expected to hold a senior-level meeting on 28-29 November.

Despite the military impasse, the political process has remained dormant, including the failure to establish the constitutional committee. The committee is expected to comprise 150 people (one-third each from the government, the opposition, and civil society). Special Envoy Staffan de Mistura has repeatedly told the Council that the main reason for the delay in convening the first session of a credible and inclusive constitutional committee is the governments refusal to accept the current list of civil society participants, which was prepared by the UN. Briefing the Council on 19 November, de Mistura said that the UN welcomes constructive and moderate suggestions, as long as they maintain the same spirit of credibility, balance and international legitimacy of the UN-proposed civil society list. He warned against this list becoming a vehicle for political representatives of either side. In addition to civil society, according to the January Sochi Final Declaration, the list is to include Syrian experts, independents, tribal leaders and women, with adequate representation of Syrias ethnic and religious components.

A source of tension among member states has been the timing of the first meeting of the constitutional committee. While the members of the Small Group (Egypt, Germany, Jordan, Saudi Arabia and the P3) had encouraged de Mistura and the Secretary-General to convene the constitutional committee as quickly as possible (before the end of October at first, and then before the end of November), Russia warned against pursuing artificial deadlines. A joint statement by the presidents of France, Russia and Turkey and the Chancellor of Germany after a summit held on 27 October in Istanbul called for the establishing and early convening, considering the circumstances, by the end of the year of the constitutional committee in Geneva. The Secretary-General, who had directed de Mistura actively to verify once and for all the feasibility of forming a credible and inclusive constitutional committee before the end of his tenure in November, extended his mandate until the end of the year, given the emergence of a new deadline. On 31 October, Geir O. Pedersen was appointed new Special Envoy for Syria, although the date on which he will assume this function has yet to be announced.

At press time, Council members had just started negotiating a resolution to reauthorise the delivery of cross-border aid into Syria. According to OCHA, cross-border deliveries of humanitarian aid continue to provide an indispensable lifeline for hundreds of thousands of people across Syria. In the first nine months of 2018, food aid reached over 750,000 people on average each month through UN cross-border activities. A 19 June report of the Secretary-General, which had been requested by Russia in the negotiations for resolution 2393 in December 2017, explained the processes in place to ensure accountable, effective and transparent cross-border operations, based on assessments of needs and with prior notification to the Syrian government. In October, the Secretary-General recommended the renewal of this authorisation for 12 more months.

On 16 November, Elizabeth Hoff, the representative of the World Health Organization in Syria, briefed Council members in consultations. The meeting was held at the initiative of Russia, which requested that it focus on the sanitary situation and problems with obtaining medical care in Syria.

The High Representative for Disarmament Affairs, Izumi Nakamitsu, briefed the Council on 5 November. On 19 November, the Conference of States Parties (CSP) to the Chemical Weapons Convention approved a 2019 budget allocating two million euros to a team of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) in charge of identifying the perpetrators of chemical weapons use in Syria in line with a 27 June CSP decision. Russia, which has opposed this decision, voted against the budget, as did Council members Bolivia, China, Kazakhstan and incoming Council member South Africa.

The situation in north-eastern Syria, particularly between Turkey and the YPG, a Kurdish militia that is part of the US-allied Syrian Democratic Forces, continues to be tense, despite joint patrolling by the US and Turkey near Manbij. However, there has been little attention in the Council to this aspect of the Syrian conflict.

Human Rights-Related Developments On 16 November, the Third Committee of the General Assembly adopted a resolution drafted by Saudi Arabia on the human rights situation in Syria with 106 votes in favour; 16 votes against, including Council members Bolivia, China, and Russia; and 58 abstentions, including Ethiopia, Equatorial Guinea and Kazakhstan (A/C.3/73/L.50). Among other things, the resolution demands that the Syrian authorities immediately put an end to all attacks on their own people; [u]rges all Member States, especially the members of the International Syria Support Group, to create conditions for continued negotiations for a political solution; [d]emands that the Syrian authorities cooperate fully with the Commission of Inquiry, including by granting it immediate, full and unhindered access throughout the Syrian Arab Republic; and [d]emands that the Syrian authorities and all other parties to the conflict ensure the full, immediate, unimpeded and sustained access of the United Nations and humanitarian actors. On 28 November, Council members participated in an Arria-formula meeting with the Commission of Inquiry on Syria. This was the first such meeting in more than a year and a half.

Key Issues and Options

Given the crucial role of Russia, Turkey and Iran on both the political and humanitarian fronts, Council members could seek an informal interactive dialogue with their representatives to have a more action-oriented discussion regarding current and future efforts to avert a full-fledged military offensive in Idlib.

Some Council members question whether any effort on the political process is likely to yield results, given the Syrian governments emphasis on regaining territory and consolidating control. Before the end of de Misturas tenure, Council members could hold an informal and frank discussion about the challenges that he encountered in facilitating the political process and how Council members, individually and collectively, could best support the work of his successor.

The issue of detainees, abductees and missing persons has not attracted much attention in the Council and is mostly considered under the rubric of confidence-building measures being discussed by the Astana guarantors. With little progress on this front and the Syrian governments release of thousands of death notices for prisoners, the Council could hold a meeting on this matter.

Council and Wider Dynamics

Council dynamics on Syria continue to be characterised by polarisation on the three files through which the conflict is discussed: political, humanitarian, and chemical weapons.

In December 2017, the adoption of resolution 2393, drafted by Egypt, Japan and Sweden, renewed the authorisation for cross-border humanitarian access to Syria. It was adopted with abstentions by Bolivia, China and Russia. In explaining their vote, China and Russia highlighted the importance of working through the government and eventually rolling back a provision originally devised as a temporary measure. In 2017, Turkey played a key role in convincing those critical of the authorisation to renew it. As Council members negotiate it again, the role of Turkey, from whose territory most of the cross-border aid is delivered, is expected to be equally critical.

Russia and Syria continue to link the return of refugees to Syria with the need for international donors to contribute to the reconstruction of the country. However, other Council members argue that there can be no international support for funding for development and long-term reconstruction until irreversible progress has been made in the political process.

Kuwait and Sweden are the penholders on humanitarian issues in Syria.

UN DOCUMENTS ON SYRIA
MIDDLE EAST

UNDOF (Golan Heights)

Expected Council Action

In December, the Council is expected to extend for six months the mandate of the UN Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF), which expires on 31 December. The Department of Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO) is expected to brief Council members in consultations on the latest 90-day report of the Secretary-General on UNDOF and the most recent developments. A meeting of Council members and UNDOF troop-contributing countries ahead of the mandate renewal is also expected to take place, in line with usual practice.

Key Recent Developments

UNDOF was established following the conclusion of the 1974 Disengagement of Forces Agreement between Israel and Syria, which ended the Yom Kippur war, and is mandated to maintain the ceasefire between the parties and supervise the disengagement of Israeli and Syrian forces as well as the so-called areas of separation and limitation.

The Secretary-Generals 26 September report, covering the period from 24 May to 14 September, said that the ceasefire between Israel and Syria was being maintained, notwithstanding the volatile environment due to the conflict in Syria. Violations of the Disengagement of Forces Agreement of 1974 occurred, however. These included fighting in the areas of separation and limitation on the Bravo (Syrian) side between the Syrian armed forces and non-state armed opposition groups and others, including Council-listed terrorist groups Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (formerly Jabhat Fath al-Sham and the Nusrah Front) and the Khalid Ibn al-Walid Army, both of which have pledged allegiance to the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL). Additionally, Russian military police were noted by UNDOF as being occasionally present in the area of separation. No military forces other than those of UNDOF are allowed in that area. Israel Defense Forces (IDF) continued to fire across the ceasefire line and into the area of separation. UNDOF personnel also continued to observe crossings by unidentified individuals between Lebanon and the Bravo side and from the Bravo side to the Alpha (Israeli) side on a daily basis. UNDOF has protested the violations of the 1974 Agreement and called upon both sides to exercise restraint, in line with its mandate to observe violations, report them and liaise with both sides. The Syrian government regained full control over the area of separation at the beginning of August, bringing an end to all fighting in that area, which was previously controlled by armed groups.

UNDOF made further progress towards a limited return to operations on the Bravo side in accordance with a phased UNDOF plan. Phase one was completed on 14 November 2016 with the re-establishment of the UNDOF presence at Camp Faouar. Phase two involved preparations for the reoccupation of observation posts. UNDOFs mechanised infantry company has conducted more than 50 protected patrols since such patrols resumed on the Bravo side in February 2018. Patrols to more observation posts are expected soon. The Force Reserve Company completed its re-deployment to the Bravo side on 4 September. UNDOFs positions on Mount Hermon and at Camp Faouar are still being supplied from Damascus. DPKO continues to engage the parties in order to seek the deployment of appropriate technologies for UNDOF, which it considers critical. The UN Truce Supervision Organization (UNTSO) in Observer Group Golan continues to provide UNDOF with military observers.

On 15 October, the Qunaytirah crossing point, which had been closed since 2014, was reopened, enabling UNDOF to utilise it again.

A team led by Lieutenant General Paolo Serra has conducted an independent review of UNDOF. Selected recommendations drawn from the conclusions of the review may be shared with Council members by the DPKO representative during consultations.

Key Issues and Options

Ongoing issues for the Council are the numerous violations of the Disengagement of Forces Agreement of 1974 and UNDOFs ability to implement its mandate, including the deployment of appropriate technologies. The operating environment of UNDOF experienced changes over the last several months due to Syrias regaining control over areas formerly held by different armed actors. This will have implications for the ability of UNDOF to implement its mandate, including the eventual full return of UNDOF to the Bravo side. In that regard, the re-opening of the Qunaytirah crossing point indicates the parties conviction that the security situation has improved. The closure of the Qunaytirah crossing point used to be a recurring issue in the Secretary-Generals reports as a factor inhibiting UNDOF from implementing its mandate. The Council at some point could consider requesting the Secretary-General to go back to a six-month reporting cycle instead of 90 days, which was the practice until December 2012. Regarding the mandate renewal, the Council is rather restricted in its options: how UNDOF operates is subject solely to the Disengagement of Forces Agreement of 1974. Any changes in the mandate would require agreement by Israel and Syria, which is unlikely.

Council and Wider Dynamics

There is general agreement within the Council that UNDOFs mandate, including its liaison function, contributes to stability in the region, given the absence of a peace agreement between Israel and Syria. The missions observation role has been limited since its September 2014 relocation to the Alpha side in response to the extremely unstable operating environment due to the armed conflict in Syria. Israel and Syria still value UNDOFs presence and want to see the mission return to the Bravo side. Council members support its eventual complete return, mindful of the fact that this would require a continuously favourable security environment, which is also crucial for maintaining the confidence of troop-contributing countries.

Russia and the US are the co-penholders on UNDOF. Despite the deep divisions between the co-penholders regarding the Syria file, both countries are expected to continue to consider UNDOF as a separate issue and not to politicise it.

UN DOCUMENTS ON THE GOLAN HEIGHTS
UNOCA/LRA

Expected Council Action

In December, Francois Lounceny Fall, Special Representative and head of the UN Regional Office for Central Africa (UNOCA), is expected to brief the Security Council on the Secretary-Generals semi-annual report on UNOCA and the implementation of the UN regional strategy to combat the Lords Resistance Army (LRA).

The mandate of UNOCA expires on 31 August 2021.

Key Recent Developments

The region covered by UNOCA continues to present multiple challenges, including several security and political hotspots that are situations on the Councils agenda. Following a 10 August exchange of letters with the Secretary-General renewing UNOCAs mandate until 31 August 2021, the Council adopted a presidential statement welcoming the renewal and expressing concern about the persistent violence perpetrated by armed groups in the Central African Republic (CAR), the ongoing violence in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), and an increase in violence in parts of Cameroon. The statement furthermore recognised the adverse effects of climate change, ecological changes and natural disasters as factors affecting the stability of the region. The Council asked the Secretary-General to conduct a strategic review of the scope of UNOCAs mandate and activities and to present recommendations to the Council by 1 August 2019 about new or refocused priorities as well as areas that could be improved. The Council expressed its intention to consider these recommendations, including any proposed changes to the mandate, by 31 August 2019.

The CAR situation is marked by lawlessness, lack of state authority, and fighting among the predominantly Muslim ex-Seleka factions, between the ex-Seleka and the Christian anti-Balaka groups, and between the ex-Seleka and other rebel groups, resulting in attacks against civilians, peacekeepers and humanitarian actors. On 15 November, the mandate of the UN Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the CAR (MINUSCA) was extended in a technical rollover until 15 December.

In the DRC, numerous armed groups continue to wreak havoc on civilians in the east, accompanied by intercommunal violence in other regions. The political situation is marked by preparations for the long-overdue elections, scheduled for 23 December 2018. Focusing on the electoral period, the Council visited the DRC on 5-7 October and met with several stakeholders, including President Joseph Kabila, who has announced that he will not run for re-election after a long period of uncertainty.

The Security Council has been following the Ebola outbreak in North Kivu and Ituri. According to the World Health Organisation, as at 24 November there have been 412 confirmed cases and 47 probable cases of Ebola, with 236 confirmed Ebola-related deaths and 47 probable Ebola-related deaths. On 30 October, the Council adopted resolution 2439, emphasising the importance of continued international support, including financial assistance, in bringing the Ebola outbreak under control.

The political situation in Burundi is also of concern to the Council following the adoption of amendments that changed important provisions and safeguards in the constitution, which implemented the 2000 Arusha Accord that ended the civil war in Burundi. Special Advisor on Burundi Michel Kafando briefed the Council on the latest developments on 21 November.

The LRA has remained active over recent months and poses a serious threat to civilians in parts of the DRC and the CAR. Reports indicate that it continues to abduct children and to loot in these countries. On 15 October, for example, a suspected LRA group raided Mangbungulu in Bas Uele in the DRC, looting drugs and food from the local health centre and reportedly abducting 16 people, including 12 children.

UNOCA also continues to pay close attention to the situation in Cameroon, a country not on the Councils agenda. Since late 2016, there has been unrest in Cameroons anglophone regions, rooted in claims of long-standing political and economic discrimination by the francophone authorities against the minority anglophone population. The violence has resulted in over 400 deaths. On 5 November, 82 people, mostly children, were kidnapped from a boarding school in Bafut, near Bamenda. All were released by 12 November. The government has blamed anglophone rebels for the kidnapping, but they have denied responsibility. On 13 November, at least 15 people were killed in fighting between Cameroon army troops and separatist rebels.

Key Issues and Options

Central issues are the deteriorating security situations in the CAR and eastern DRC. The political crises in the DRC and Burundi and their potential regional implications will continue to concern the Council.

While Cameroon is not on the Councils agenda, the Council included the country in its 2017 visit to the Lake Chad region. Council members may use the UNOCA briefing to call attention to the deteriorating situation in the country and suggest ways to increase the Councils engagement, including by adding it to the Councils agenda or by discussing it in informal settings.

Council Dynamics

Council members have been supportive of UNOCAs continued shift to focus its efforts on the region, rather than on the LRA alone, as its main objective. Council members are concerned about the political turmoil in several countries and the effect it could have on security and stability in the region.

Although some Council members have expressed interest in the situation in Cameroon, at this point it seems there is no appetite to add new country-specific situations in the region to the Councils agenda.

The UK is the penholder on this issue.

UN Documents on UNOCA
The independent monitor overseeing reforms in the Oakland Police Department found additional evidence that officers pointed their guns at suspects or used force on them without reporting their actions as required.

Court-appointed monitor Robert Warshaw said that in a sampling of cases he reviewed, all uses of force by police officers were warranted and in line with department policy. It was the lack of reporting their actions that violated the rules, he wrote in a court filing this week.

His findings could ultimately call into question Oaklands celebrated drop in police use-of-force. According to the department, incidents fell 75 percent from 2012 to 2017. Warshaws probe into the numbers is ongoing.

Skeptical of the unexplained reduction, Warshaw several months ago embarked on a review of arrest reports that includes watching body-camera footage to see if interactions happened as police officers said they did.

Warshaw, a former police chief of Rochester, New York, and deputy drug czar under President Bill Clinton, said he watched videos from 38 cases, chosen because they were likely to have involved tangling with suspects, even though no force was reportedly used.

In 14 cases  more than a third  officers did, in fact, get physical with people they were trying to arrest, Warshaw said. Videos showed six officers pointing their guns at suspects  considered a use of force that should be reported under department policy. In six cases, officers also failed to activate their cameras during the actual arrest, according to the review.

The Oakland Police Department is committed to fair and constitutional policing and will continue to work with the federal court and the monitoring team to implement sustainable reforms, police spokeswoman Felicia Aisthorpe said in an email.

Its not the first time in recent weeks that Warshaw has found inconsistencies and omissions.

His first audit, in September, turned up six out of 29 cases in which officers pointed firearms or got physical with suspects but did not report their actions. The next one, earlier this month, found 11 in 40.

The monitor called his latest findings troubling. The accompanying arrest reports said no force was used or witnessed, which Warshaw called inaccurate, boilerplate language and a serious misrepresentation.

It is not clear whether these deficiencies result from supervisory direction or a lack thereof, a misinterpretation of OPD policy, or other reasons, Warshaw wrote. However, OPD must definitively determine this to assure confidence in the accuracy of its force data.

Drought Map Track water shortages and restrictions across Bay Area Check the water shortage status of your area, plus see reservoir levels and a list of restrictions for the Bay Areas largest water districts.

The departments inspector general opened its own review, but Warshaw had problems with that, too. He said the internal watchdog attributed part of the drop in force reporting to a lack of clarity on whats considered intentionally pointing a firearm at someone.

Warshaw disagreed. He said the policy appears clear on this issue. Pointing a gun above a 45-degree angle, he notes, is a reportable use of force, according to department rules.

Our review suggests the need for a more broadly based inquiry and consideration of corrective measures to include policy revisions, training, and intervention where appropriate, Warshaw said in the report.

The probe has added another complication to the citys 15-year-old reform program that stemmed from the Riders scandal, in which a group of officers in West Oakland were accused of beating residents and planting evidence. A civil settlement in the case laid out dozens of tasks that had to be completed before the Police Department could emerge from federal court oversight.

Kimberly Veklerov is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: kveklerov@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @kveklerov
San Franciscos biggest private employer has major expansion plans in Chicago, even as it grows more in its hometown.

Salesforce will pay $475 million over 17 years to rent an office in a deal struck this month, with plans to take occupancy in 2022, the company revealed in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing. While the filing did not state the square footage rented or location of the building, Salesforce chief Marc Benioff said in a tweet Thursday that the company would open Salesforce Tower Chicago in 2023, and a source with direct knowledge of the deal said the building referenced in the filing was in that city.

In an additional indication of Salesforces plans, a business partner of the company, Galacticos, posted a tweet Thursday that announced our newest tower, Salesforce Tower Chicago! The tweet included a rendering of a riverfront tower in Chicago and a link to a nonworking page on Salesforces corporate blog. Galacticos Twitter account appears to post links to Salesforce announcements frequently using an automated tool. Benioffs tweet, posted later, included the same rendering.

Salesforce is still growing in its San Francisco headquarters, where it already has a 8,500-person workforce and plans to reach at least 10,000 employees. The filing revealed it would pay $500 million over 16 years in its Parcel F tower deal in San Francisco. The Chronicle reported this month that Salesforce leased a third of the Transbay tower, which will be the citys fourth-tallest if it gets the required approvals.

Salesforce did not comment. Benioff and Elizabeth Pinkham, the companys head of real estate, have spoken about plans to plant Salesforce Towers in other cities where they have significant numbers of workers. Already, Indianapolis, New York and London have such buildings, and a tower in Atlanta will open next year. The edifices are typically high rises and have space for local nonprofits.

The Chicago deal is a massive economic boost for a growing hub for the tech sector where real estate costs half what it does in the Bay Area. In July, Facebook signed a deal for a downtown office building for 2,000 employees, according to the Chicago Tribune. Google expanded its Chicago offices last month.

Bay Area tech companies have vast resources to expand  Salesforce recorded more than $3 billion in revenue in the third quarter  but are competing fiercely at home for both employees and office space, prompting them to consider expansions elsewhere.

Chicago was also a finalist for Amazons second headquarters, but ultimately lost out to New York and Northern Virginia. The Bay Area bid for Amazon, which didnt offer any tax subsidies, wasnt named as a finalist.

Crains Chicago reported in August that Salesforce was in talks for a lease at the Wolf Point South Tower project. A potential deal would reportedly encompass 500,000 square feet, space for around 2,500 to 3,000 employees.

Wolf Point, where three branches of the Chicago River meet, includes a trio of towers: one residential building completed in 2016, one residential tower under construction, and a 950-foot planned office tower. The image in the tweets posted Thursday matches other renderings of the project.

Cloud Galacticos

A Salesforce spokeswoman declined to comment. The company has over 100 active job listings in Chicago.

Hines and Joseph P. Kennedy Enterprises are the developers of the Wolf Point South Tower, which requires city approval. Hines is also an owner of Salesforce Tower and Parcel F. The company did not respond to requests for comment.

Salesforce would be working with a familiar architecture firm at Wolf Point: Pelli Clarke Pelli, which also designed Salesforce Tower, the Transbay transit center named after Salesforce, and the future Parcel F tower.

Air Quality Tracker Check levels down to the neighborhood Ratings for the Bay Area and California, updated every 10 minutes

Downtown Chicago Class A office asking rents were $44.68 per square foot in the third quarter, just over half of San Franciscos record-setting $81.25 per square foot, according to brokerage Cushman & Wakefield.

Housing costs are also vastly lower. Chicagos average rent is $1,808 per month, just over half of San Franciscos average of $3,442 per month, according to housing site RentCafe.

The Chicago Tribune reported in September that the city was seeking to loosen its restrictions on signs on buildings. A large Trump sign on Chicagos second-tallest building caused backlash and led to the restrictions.

The adjustments will also better accommodate the needs of large anchor tenants, strengthening Chicagos attractiveness to large companies that create large numbers of jobs. The adjustment would accommodate a Fortune 500 company that will soon create thousands of jobs in Chicago, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuels office said in a statement, according to the Tribune.

In San Francisco and around the country, Salesforce places its blue cloud logo on the towers it occupies.

Roland Li is a Chronicle staff writer. Email: roland.li@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @rolandlisf
Next week, grain bowls and salads will go on sale in a new San Francisco tower leased by Facebook.

Organic food and juice company Urban Remedy is opening on Wednesday on the ground floor of 181 Fremont, the citys third-tallest tower.

A short elevator ride away, Andytown Coffee is slated to open on the towers seventh floor, according to a building permit filed in October.

The tower at 181 Fremont has almost four times as much retail space on the seventh floor as on the ground floor. Thats unusually high up: Most retailers in San Francisco are in the first two floors of a building, with a few exceptions like Nordstrom in the upper floors of the Westfield San Francisco Centre.

A few bars or restaurants occupy top-floor locations. But having a coffee shop in the higher floors of an office building is a rarity. Andytowns owners did not respond to a request for comment.

The location has another challenge, albeit a temporary one: Salesforce Park, the public green space atop the Transbay Transit Center, which has been closed after the discovery of two cracked steel beams.

Paul Coletta, CEO of Urban Remedy, said the building was an opportunity.

When we made the decision, we thought that the park would be open, said Coletta. Were confident that therell be more than enough street-level and residential traffic.

The store will be Urban Remedys fifth in San Francisco and 17th overall. The company also sells its products in the Ferry Building and at the new Amazon Go store in the Financial District.

Coletta declined to say what his company would pay. Facebook and its subsidiary Instagram lease all of the office space in the 802-foot tower, which is owned by developer Jay Paul Co. There are 55 high-end condos on the upper floors of the building. One $15 million unit sold for a record-breaking $4,509 per square foot earlier this year. A penthouse is listed for $42 million.

Facebook also has a corporate cafeteria at 181 Fremont, according to the Department of Health.

Air Quality Tracker Check levels down to the neighborhood Ratings for the Bay Area and California, updated every 10 minutes

We wanted to offer a unique, high-quality food option that was missing from the neighborhood, said Anthony Harrison, a Facebook spokesman, in a statement.

The store will be 400 square feet, about 200 square feet smaller than a typical store, and will have four to five employees. It will also have a 14-foot neon sign to draw in customers.

We love nontraditional and small spaces, said Coletta. Youll see us in shipping containers. Youll see we have brick and mortar stores inside Whole Foods stores.

The store will offer 75 products, including bowls, protein bars and matcha bars, with an average price of about $8. Items are ready to eat and prepared off-site.

It speaks to the needs of convenience, Coletta said. People are pressed for time but they dont want to trade off quality.

Roland Li is a Chronicle staff writer. Email: roland.li@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @rolandlisf
Butte Countys Camp Fire not only claimed a staggering amount of lives and property, it spewed out a whole lot of greenhouse gases - about as much as all of Californias cars and trucks produce in a week, according to new state estimates.

This blast of emissions contributes negligibly to the planets overall warming, but taken together with other wildfires, big blazes like the Camp Fire are posing an increasing threat to the climate, scientists say.

Last year, the cumulative amount of greenhouse gases released by California fires was equal to about 9 percent of the total generated by human activity statewide. And the problem doesnt end there. These fires are burning down forests that, when healthy, absorb heat-trapping gas and help stabilize the Earths temperature. That absorption is being lost.

Whether Californias forests are now taking in more greenhouse gases, or giving off more, remains in dispute. But climate scientists agree that the balance is heading in a bad direction.

In general, theres been an observed decline in carbon storage, said Dick Cameron, director of science for land programs at the California chapter of the Nature Conservancy. Its kind of a double whammy. Fires are causing emissions in the short term and youre losing sequestration over the long run.

Cameron estimates that the storage capacity of forests and other natural lands in the state, including farms, could drop 10 percent by the end of the century if the situation doesnt change.

The role of wildlands in regulating greenhouse gases, notably atmospheric carbon, has long been pivotal. As plants and trees grow, they take in carbon dioxide, resulting in the gas being expelled from the air and cached in the vegetation and soil.

A report last year by the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection found that Californias forests soaked up more carbon than they gave off as recently as 2006 to 2015. But because of fires that are releasing more carbon dioxide, on top of rising tree mortality and pest infestation that reduce carbon absorption, the report warned that the states woodlands were teetering on becoming a carbon liability.

This months 153,000-acre Camp Fire is estimated to have discharged about 3.6 million metric tons of carbon dioxide and equivalent greenhouse gases, according to the California Air Resources Board. Southern Californias recent 97,000-acre Woolsey Fire, meanwhile, generated an estimated 2 million metric tons of greenhouse gases.

By comparison, last years deadly wildfires in Napa and Sonoma counties emitted about 4.1 million metric tons, while the 282,000-acre Thomas Fire in Santa Barbara and Ventura counties put out 5.9 million metric tons. The 257,000-acre Rim Fire in and around Yosemite in 2013 is believed to have produced more than 10 million tons of greenhouse gases.

Todd Trumbull

The Air Resources Board calculates wildfire emissions by determining how hot a fire has burned and what vegetation was consumed. Lots of heat and old, thick stands of trees, both of which were present in the Rim Fire, generally result in more carbon dioxide.

Officials at the Air Resources Board acknowledge that measuring wildfire emissions is an imperfect science. Their calculations are not included in the agencys annual inventory of greenhouse gases, a tally that helps the state track its contribution to global warming, though this could change.

Wildfires have become very intense, more intense than they have been in the past, said Dave Clegern, spokesman for the Air Resources Board. As that intensity has grown, we have found ourselves needing to pay more attention to the impacts of these fires on greenhouse gases.

California wildfires in 2017 generated a combined 37.1 million metric tons of carbon dioxide and equivalent heat-trapping gases, according to state estimates. Its the most emissions of any year this century, except for 2008, which produced an estimated 39.4 million metric tons of emissions.

Such discharges amount to less than 10 percent of the states total human-generated greenhouse gases, which measured 429 million metric tons in 2016, the latest year recorded.

Fire Tracker Follow wildfires across the state Latest updates on wildfires burning across Northern and Southern California

Still, the amount of carbon dioxide produced by wildfires is undermining the states hard-won greenhouse gas reductions. In 2016, owing largely to Californias ambitious climate regulations, the state slashed emissions by 12 million metric tons, according to the Air Resources Board. In the prior two years, 1.5 million metric tons and 3.3 million metric tons were cut.

While California has met its goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions to 1990 levels, a lot more has to be done to hit the next target: an additional 40 percent cut by 2030.

A report this month by the Nature Conservancy and San Francisco nonprofit Next 10 suggests that substantial progress on emissions can be made with strategic land-use practices, including restoration of forests so that they take in more carbon.

The report urges more forest thinning and more prescribed burning, which may initially reduce carbon storage and boost greenhouse gas discharges but ultimately strengthens the wildlands and limits the devastating fires that pump out pollutants. As much as 181 million metric tons of carbon dioxide could be spared by the end of the century with such policies, the report says.

Severin Borenstein, an energy economist at UC Berkeley, said the amount of greenhouse gases released into the air by big blazes like the Camp Fire are not insignificant but hard to get too worked up about, considering the tragedy on the ground.

The Camp Fire, which ignited Nov. 8, killed at least 88 people and destroyed 14,500 homes and businesses, according to Cal Fire.

The emissions are a big number, Borenstein said. But compared to the loss of buildings and the loss of lives, its pretty small.

Kurtis Alexander is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: kalexander@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @kurtisalexander
Thirty-five families who suffered losses in the Camp Fire this month filed suit against PG&E on Thursday, alleging that inadequate maintenance of power equipment was responsible for the blaze.

The lawsuit, filed in Butte County Superior Court, comes before state fire investigators have even named an official cause of the 153,000-acre blaze. Its not the first suit filed against the power company since the fire, nor is it likely to be the last.

Speculation that Pacific Gas and Electric Co. is to blame for the fire has circulated since the company reported that a high-voltage line malfunctioned near the origin of the blaze and at the time of ignition. Utility equipment was also found to be responsible for more than a dozen of last years Wine Country fires, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.

Thursdays lawsuit claims that PG&E failed to safely design, construct and maintain power lines and power poles in Butte County, and did not properly clear flammable vegetation around the equipment. It says these types of failures have resulted in several deadly and catastrophic power line fires in recent years.

Most of the plaintiffs in the case are from Paradise, which was almost completely wiped out by the Camp Fire. Theyre asking PG&E to cover unspecified losses. The fire victims are represented by San Diego law firm Casey Gerry.

PG&E did not comment on the details of Thursdays suit, but acknowledged the recent legal action.

We are aware of lawsuits regarding the Camp Fire, the company wrote in an email. Right now, our primary focus is on supporting first responders and positioning our employees to assess damage, restore service and rebuild infrastructure, and helping our communities.

Fire Tracker Follow wildfires across the state Latest updates on wildfires burning across Northern and Southern California

The Camp Fire, which ignited Nov. 8, killed 88 people and destroyed 14,500 homes and businesses, authorities say.

On Nov. 13, a lawsuit was filed in San Francisco Superior Court on behalf of fire victims who similarly alleged that the fire was the result of inadequate PG&E maintenance.

Kurtis Alexander is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: kalexander@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @kurtisalexander
California Democrats took advantage of seemingly minor changes in a 2016 law to score their stunningly successful midterm election results, providing a target for GOP unhappiness that is tinged with a bit of admiration.

Some Republicans have cast a skeptical eye on Democrats use of ballot harvesting to boost their support. The ideas backers say its just one of several steps California has taken to enable more people to vote.

Few people noticed when Gov. Jerry Brown signed the changes in AB1921 into law two years ago. In the past, California allowed only relatives or people living in the same household to drop off mail ballots for another voter. The new law allowed anyone, even a paid political campaign worker, to collect and return ballots  harvesting them, in political slang.

The change was strictly a public service, said Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez, D-San Diego, author of the bill. The old rules, she said, simply provide yet another obstacle for individuals attempting to vote.

Republicans didnt agree, and the measure passed the Legislature on a largely party-line vote.

They felt the hit on Nov. 6  and in the days after, as late-arriving Democratic votes were tabulated and one Republican candidate after another saw leads shrink and then evaporate. This week, a seventh GOP-held congressional seat flipped to the Democrats, leaving Republicans controlling a mere seven of Californias 53 House districts.

In Orange County alone, where every House seat went Democratic, the number of Election Day vote-by-mail dropoffs was unprecedented  over 250,000, Fred Whitaker, chairman of the county Republican Party, said in a note to supporters. This is a direct result of ballot harvesting allowed under California law for the first time. That directly caused the switch from being ahead on election night to losing two weeks later.

Some national Republicans expressed befuddlement with what was happening to their party in California. In an interview with the Washington Post, House Speaker Paul Ryan of Wisconsin called Californias election system really bizarre and said he couldnt even begin to understand what ballot harvesting is.

We were only down 26 seats (nationally) the night of the election and three weeks later, we lost basically every California race, he said. Point being, when you have candidates that win the absentee ballot vote, win the day of the vote, and then lose three weeks later because of provisionals, thats really bizarre.

However, this was no spur-of-the-moment effort by the Democrats, said Shawn Steel, the California GOPs delegate to the Republican National Committee.

This was not done at the last minute, he said. It started the day after Jerry signed the bill.

Rep. Jeff Denham of Turlock (Stanislaus County), one of the House Republicans who saw victory slowly turn to defeat after election day, agreed with Ryan Thursday that Californias count should go more quickly. Counting ballots two weeks after the vote is something that Californians shouldnt have to put up with, he said.

But in an earlier interview after it was clear hed lost, Denham said the GOP had been slow to adapt to changes in Californias election system.

One of the lessons that the GOP needs to learn out of this election cycle is how to work within all of the new rules, same-day voter registration, motor voters, Denham said. There have been a lot of changes in laws that I think have caught many in the Republican Party by surprise. You cant just run a traditional campaign as you did before.

He added, If one partys harvesting ballots, both parties need to do it.

Across the state there were reports of groups collecting ballots and dropping them off at polling places and election offices.

We certainly had that going on here, with people dropping off maybe 100 or 200 ballots, said Neal Kelley, Orange Countys registrar of voters. We also had voters calling and asking if it was legitimate for someone to come to their door and ask if they could take their ballot and deliver it to the polls.

For Democrats, the ballot harvesting was all part of a greater effort to get out the vote from their supporters, particularly from occasional voters.

We beat Republicans on the ground, fair and square, said Katie Merrill, a Democratic consultant deeply involved in November campaigns. Many of the field plans included (ballot harvesting) as an option to deliver voters or their ballots to the polls.

Those efforts involved identifying voters who might support Democratic candidates and ignoring those who wouldnt.

In one Orange County household, for example, both the husband and wife were longtime Republicans, said Dale Neugebauer, a veteran Republican consultant. Democratic volunteers came by the house four times, each time asking to speak only with their 18-year-old daughter, a no-party-preference voter, and asking if she wanted them to pick up her signed and completed ballot.

Thats a perfect example of the thorough and disciplined ground game the Democrats used, said Merrill.

We were not wasting time talking to people who werent going to vote for Democrats, she said.

Many of those harvested ballots arrived in the waning days of the election, adding to the flood of votes that couldnt be counted on election day. And those late ballots broke heavily for the Democrats.

Absolutely, ballot harvesting played a very significant role, said Neugebauer, who worked most recently for Orange County Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, another Republican who lost his seat. Democrats had a huge advantage by executing a plan to gather ballots from voters.

I have a little bit of professional admiration for how well the Democrats executed their plan, Neugebauer admitted.

While the late vote tally typically favors Democrats, the partisan advantage this year was staggering.

In the Central Valleys 10th Congressional District, for example, Denham led Democrat Josh Harder by 1,287 votes the morning after the election. As of Thursday, with almost all of the late ballots counted, Harder was ahead by 7,416 votes.

In Orange County, Republican Rep. Mimi Walters of Irvine saw her 6,074-vote lead over Democrat Katie Porter turn into an 11,866-vote deficit.

Speaker Ryan was among the Republicans who couldnt explain what happened.

When you win the absentee ballots and you win the in-person vote, where I come from, you win the election, Ryan said. Im not saying theres anything nefarious about it, because I just dont know, but we believed we were up about six seats in California the night of the election, now I think we lost just about every single one of those.

For Democrats, Ryans comments were little more than sour grapes from a GOP leader who is retiring after his party was mauled in the midterms.

Unlike other places in the country, in California we believe in actually counting every vote, said Rep. Pete Aguilar, D-Redlands (San Bernardino County). That is sometimes confounding to some of my colleagues, but I think thats whats at play here.

Badly outnumbered in the Legislature, California Republicans have no hope of undoing the new rules. Instead, theyre going to have to adapt.

The Democrats are creating a new, highly efficient tool to turn out voters, said Neugebauer, the GOP consultant. If Republicans cant find a way to match it, were going to lose more elections all over the country.

John Wildermuth is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer; Tal Kopan is The San Francisco Chronicles Washington correspondent. Email: jwildermuth@sfchronicle.com, tal.kopan@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @jfwildermuth @TalKopan
Before you order at Kendejah  before you even ask questions about the dishes on the menu, in fact  Dougie Uso will distribute a laminated card to you and your fellow diners and ask you to read it. A short history of Liberia & Kendejah, it is titled: four paragraphs describing how free black Americans emigrated to West Africa starting in 1821 and, in 1847, created a political state.

After 18 months in business, Uso, a 44-year-old with shoulder-length dreads and the slimmest shadow of West Africa in his speech, has condensed his introduction to Liberian food into a well-rehearsed patter, but its a critical one for first-timers to absorb so the dishes they see flipping through the menu make sense.

Kendejah is a mission-driven business, as the corporate giants like to say. Theres a lot for Uso to fit into his introduction: a slice of history most Americans dont know, personal pride, a definition of the countrys food, a branding opportunity. The recent MBA grad is growth-minded, too, with a new food truck about to hit the streets. If you cant make it to downtown San Leandro to take in a little Liberian culture, Kendejah will soon drive to you.

In 1990, at the age of 15, Uso came to Oakland from Monrovia, Liberias capital city, to visit his father, who had already moved to California. He never went back. During his stay, civil war broke out in Liberia  and lasted until he was 30. The conflict ended more than 150 years of relative peace in Liberia, killing as many as 200,000 and eviscerating the countrys finances and educational system.

In the East Bay, where his entire family found refuge, Uso says that he found the dislocation between the two cultures less dramatic than an outsider might expect. Monrovia was so entranced by New York hip-hop in the late 1980s that Uso entered Oakland High School writing his own raps and dancing East Coast moves that hadnt yet made it to the West Coast. He graduated from high school and UC Berkeley, where he earned his bachelors in political science in the 1990s.

After 20 years in the car industry, first as a salesman and then in financing  watch him chat up newcomers, and an ease that comes from years on the sales floor is evident  Uso went back to school for his MBA.

Gabrielle Lurie / The Chronicle

Opening a Liberian restaurant, he says, was one plan of many he nursed during his studies. Im a walking idea machine, he says. But it was the one he pursued first. The mother of his current chef, Miemie Johnson, spotted a vacant storefront in San Leandros Pelton Center. It took Uso a year to build a full kitchen and install plumbing and flooring. He hired a Liberian artist to paint portraits of the first eight Liberian presidents on the walls, and mounted a television on the wall that would play West African hip-hop videos.

Kendejah finally opened in March 2017. That first month, Uso says, Liberian immigrants made up 35 percent of his customers. But he knew that wouldnt last. Liberians know how to cook their own food, he said. Youre not cooking for 100 (out of 100) Liberians. Youre cooking for six Liberians, or on a good day, 10.

How should a child of Monrovia and Oakland, fluent in two cultures, teach Californians about Liberian cuisine, especially given how rare West African food is in the Bay Area? How should the food welcome them in and draw them back? What, in short, would Liberian American food look like?

Uso decided to emphasize the familiar, given West Africas influence on the cooking of the South and the larger lessons of Liberias history  of freedom and self-direction, of men and women who made it out of slavery and founded a country  that Uso wanted Americans to know. Half of the foods we eat are traditional, as far as the cassava leaf, the palm butter stew, the palaver sauce, he says. Then the other half are fusion dishes that most Americans have had, maybe a different variation  for example, collard greens, fried okra, oxtails, eggplant and spinach. We just cook it with a little twist.

Gabrielle Lurie / The Chronicle

He picked three dishes to build the menu around: braised oxtail, fried red snapper with tomato-pepper gravy, and jollof rice (Uso describes it as a stir-fried jambalaya; its rice cooked with peppers and spices) with chicken or vegetarian gravy. Then he had the cooks remove the spice  an auntie makes a habanero-and-smoked-herring paste if you want to add it back in  and, in some cases, meat and smoked fish.

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Its fascinating to see Usos effort to consciously create a Liberian American cuisine. In the Bay Area, where we make the decision to eat Vietnamese for lunch and German for dinner, what we so often mean are the totemic foods that these cuisines have been reduced to  tea salad for Burmese cuisine, say, or pupusas for Salvadoran. These dishes have become so familiar to outsiders that every cook and restaurateur has to make their peace with them. You can tell 1,000 tables that meals in Mexico dont begin with chips and salsa, or you can put a basket of chips on the menu and charge them for their own ignorance.

By taking control of that abstraction process, Uso sees it as a business opportunity. People say the food business is too hard, he says. Yes it is, if youve got a Vietnamese restaurant and there are 20 others. Youve got a one-of-a-kind cuisine (like Liberian), it has to work out if the food is great.

Gabrielle Lurie / The Chronicle

In a few weeks, the 26-foot food truck he just refitted  complete with fryers, ovens and an external TV screen to play music  will undergo its final health inspections. Uso is looking for a spot in Berkeley to park it and is telling all his customers to follow Kendejah on Instagram. Given his background in finance, hes done the math, and figures the best way to get his Liberian cuisine out there is to set up a fleet of trucks. Kendejah in Berkeley. Kendejah in San Francisco. Kendejah in San Jose.

He recounts a story he heard from an Ethiopian restaurant owner in the store where he picks up his supplies. She told me there was a guy who came here 40 years ago, and he was the first guy to open an Ethiopian restaurant. Now every American knows what Ethiopian food tastes like because of that one guy. Thats who I want to be.

Three things to know about Kendejah Where and when: 197 Pelton Center Way, San Leandro, 510-756-6049, kendejahrestaurant.com. Open 11:30 a.m.-10:00 p.m. Tuesday-Sunday. What to get: The oxtail ($17.99) with rice and beans is a runaway favorite, although the jollof rice, flavored with peppers and onions, is a close second. Every day brings a new special, and any of the greens (potato, spinach, taro), slowly cooked down in oil, are exceptional. Tip: Ask Uso for some of the hot sauce, though dab the pepper-fish paste onto the food cautiously. The tiny smoked herring slip in underneath the heat of the peppers and give anything they touch a burst of flavor. See More Collapse

Jonathan Kauffman writes about dining culture in the Bay Area. Email: jkauffman@sfchronicle.com Twitter/Instagram: @jonkauffman
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Twinkle, twinkle little star ...  From childhood, we humans are drawn to the night sky. But these days, particularly in light-blasted places like the Bay Area, its tough to see much more than a handful of half-hearted flickers after dark.

Fortunately, four officially designated International Dark Sky locations in the California desert let you see a head-spinning number of stars, planets, constellations and other celestial dazzlers. To become an official Dark Sky site, locations go through an extensive review and approval process with the nonprofit International Dark Sky Association. Founded in 1988, the association works around the world to reduce light pollution and its harmful impacts. It has chapters in more than 50 countries.

Light pollution can be very confusing for wildlife, such as bats and owls, which require darkness to hunt and survive, says Amanda Gormley, the associations communications director. Even our own circadian rhythms can be negatively impacted by too much light pollution.

The associations efforts include offering public programs and working with city planners, legislators, lighting manufacturers, and parks and other protected areas to implement smart lighting choices. The group also has a Seal of Approval program, which has certified thousands of outdoor lighting fixtures and other products that minimize glare, reduce light trespass and protect the night sky. There are more than 65 Dark Sky Places worldwide across six continents, comprising more than 21,200 square miles.

Marc Adamus / Getty Images / Aurora Creative

Applicants for Dark Sky designation range from local astronomy groups or other community organizations, to experts at local, state or national parks who want to help protect their regions dark skies as a valuable resource.

According to Gormley, the process for designation as a Dark Sky Place can take more than a year, requiring detailed studies of existing light sources and their brightness. The association then works closely with the location to determine best ways to reduce light pollution and protect night skies. That might include installing new outdoor fixtures that shield light, or turning off or even removing polluting light sources altogether.

Some of our U.S. chapters partner with local Audubon chapters to work to shield lights or turn them down to help birds from getting confused during their migrations, Gormley says.

Certification also requires sites to educate the public about night skies. Californias four locations, three desert parks and one desert community, offer programs like night-sky photography workshops, and sky parties where people can spy on other galaxies through powerful telescopes and learn why dark skies are important for wildlife, including sea turtles and migratory birds.

Heres what to see and do at each location.

Anza-Borrego Desert State Park

Californias largest state park earned its International Dark Sky designation in January 2018. Though some of the states densest urban areas are a couple of freeway hours west, soaring mountains block the urban glow, making Anza-Borrego an oasis of darkness in eastern San Diego County.

Its important that we protect our dark skies, says park interpreter Sally Theriault. Its an important resource, just like our bighorn sheep and our water.

If you visit the park in late fall or early winter, Theriault says youre likely to see astro-photographers, with camera equipment attached to large telescopes, at work in the desert. (They like clear skies and mild temperatures this time of year.)

Year-round, you can join night-sky talks at the Borrego Palm Canyon Campground amphitheater. While some events are listed on the park website, call ahead to check for new additions and dates.

200 Palm Canyon Drive, Borrego Springs, 760-767-4205, www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=638

Borrego Springs

The only designated International Dark Sky Community in California, this laid-back desert town is completely surrounded by Anza-Borrego Desert State Park. The towns biggest event is the annual Borrego Springs Dark Sky Weekend (Feb. 1-2, 2019), with guided night walks and expert talks on a wide range of sky-high topics (check the website for details).

Its hosted by the Anza-Borrego Natural History Association, which also offers dark sky activities year-round, including free stargazing events with telescopes and experts on hand (next event is Dec.8).

For more intimate stargazing experiences, join professional astronomer Dennis Mammana on a private stargazing tour in the region (www.borregonightskytours.com). Or join an overnight camping trip with California Overland, with astronomers, telescopes, camping gear and gourmet food (www.californiaoverland.com).

652 Palm Canyon Drive, Borrego Springs, 760-767-3908, www.abdnha.org

Eric Lowenbach / Getty Images

Death Valley National Park

This massive park, the largest International Dark Sky Park in the country, has done a lot to improve and protect its pristine night skies.

Take the bustling Stovepipe Wells area in the middle of the 3.4 million-acre park. Before lighting was modified, it was so bright at night that it looked like an alien mother ship had landed in the desert, says park Public Information Officer Abby Wines. Now, Stovepipe Wells almost disappears at night, she says.

Interpretive talks, walks and other events show you just how important  and beautiful  those night skies are. Check the park website for details. And if youre feeling adventurous, take a DIY stargazing tour on Death Valleys secondary routes, such as Badwater Road, where few headlight-blaring cars travel after dark. (For tips, visit www.nps.gov/deva/learn/nature/lightscape.htm.)

Furnace Creek Visitor Center (east side of park), 760-786-3200, www.nps.gov/deva

Joshua Tree National Park

With its russet-colored, hulking rock formations, this bizarre park already feels a bit like Mars. So, its especially fitting that the park, designated as an International Dark Sky location in 2017, is an outstanding place to spy the real Red Planet and other night-sky spectacles.

The Desert Institute, run by the Joshua Tree National Park Association, offers night-sky photography classes and other events in the park. In late fall, the parks annual Night Sky Festival includes family-friendly activities, plus expert talks and guided stargazing.

Just outside the parks entrance in Twentynine Palms (San Bernardino County), Skys the Limit Observatory and Nature Center invites the public to peer through its assortment of telescopes on moonless Saturday nights.

Park: 74485 National Park Drive, Twentynine Palms, 760-367-5500, www.nps.gov/jotr; festival: www.jtnparts.org/night-sky-festival; observatory: www.skysthelimit29.org; institute: www.joshuatree.org
Paso Robles in summertime: hot. Sticky, heavy, close heat. The kind of heat where its uncomfortable to wear a hat, but you cant not wear a hat.

Such are the conditions in Paso during a visit over the summer. We have the air conditioning on full blast, winemaker Jeremy Weintraub and I, as we drive up to see the Hoffman Mountain Ranch (HMR) Vineyard, 400 steep and sprawling acres in Pasos west side owned by Weintraubs employer, Adelaida Vineyards & Winery.

So, is this Syrah? I ask as the truck climbs into the vineyard. If not Syrah, I assume, maybe Grenache or Tannat, Tempranillo or Cabernet  grapes that can thrive in hot conditions.

The last thing Im expecting to see here is Pinot Noir, that famous lover of cooler climes. But thats exactly what were looking at as we pull up to HMR.

It was a surprise to me, too, Weintraub laughs. Pinot is not what you think of when you think of Paso.

Granted, HMRs Pinot isnt just any Pinot. These 22 acres of vines were planted in 1964, likely making them the oldest Pinot Noir in Californias Central Coast, and some of the only Pinot in California thats planted on its own roots, not grafted onto rootstock. Reaching 1,725 feet above sea level, the vineyard is rich in calcium carbonate, Pinot Noirs ideal bed. (Limestone, the predominant soil in Frances Burgundy region, is composed of calcium carbonate.)

Weve found whale bones in the soil, Weintraub says as we step down from the truck. As the crow flies, the Pacific Ocean is 12 miles away, and here on this peak theres a pleasant breeze  a startling reprieve from the sticky heat we felt in the valley below. The leaves on the vines are quivering. It doesnt feel so hot anymore.

When Weintraub first visited HMR, while interviewing for the Adelaida job in 2012, he had trouble squaring this Pinot planting with his perception of Pasos climate. I was dismissive, he says. I was one of the conventional-thinking majority, that Pinot Noir grows best in cold climates. Hed made Pinot in New Zealands Central Otago, where it sometimes snows during harvest. How could sweltering Paso Robles come close to that?

Thats whats so confounding about the HMR Pinot Noir: It produces a wine of structure and restraint, high in acid and relatively low in alcohol. Every year. Im struck, when I taste the 2016 rendition later, by how earthy it is, as if full of cumin and sage  nothing like the candied, cough syrup-laden Pinots that can sometimes result in warmer climates.

When I first tried the wines I was just stunned, Weintraub says. So pronounced was the acidity, he says, that he assumed the previous winemaking team must have been pouring acid into tanks by the bucketload.

They werent. Due to some unknowable confluence of vine age, elevation, that cooling ocean breeze and that calcareous soil, these grapes stop producing sugar every year before they reach 14 percent alcohol. Why is a mystery. The surrounding vines at HMR  Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay  get plenty sugary. The Pinot is literally smack-dab in the middle of that ranch, and everything around it behaves as you would expect a Paso Robles vineyard to behave in terms of sugar accumulations, Weintraub says.

Even if I wanted to make an exuberant Russian River-style Pinot, he continues, I just couldnt do it here.

Patrick Tehan / Special to the Chronicle

This is not to say that Paso Robles growers ought to be ripping out all their vineyards to plant Pinot Noir. (They definitely should not do that.) Its rather to say that Paso Robles as a wine region is more nuanced and varied than it often gets credit for.

And thats why its a very, very good thing the region has never been saddled with the burden of having a signature grape variety.

Think about it: Napa has Cabernet, an emulation of Bordeaux. Sonoma has Burgundys twin varieties, Pinot and Chardonnay. But Paso Robles is a free-for-all. Here, Rhone-inspired vineyards are planted alongside Italian ones. If Paso is known for anything, its for kitchen-sink red blends that throw historical precedent out the window: Tempranillo with Zinfandel, Mourvedre with Petit Verdot.

Is this a limitation or a freedom?

On one hand, the fact that Paso doesnt have an old-world corollary has probably made it harder for some drinkers to take its wines seriously. After all, a region like Oregons Willamette Valley has staked its entire claim to growing fine Pinot Noir in its climactic similarities to Burgundy, the grapes ancestral home. The fact that so many Burgundy wine companies have now set up shop in Oregon  Drouhin, Meo-Camuzet, Jadot, Lafon  gives the claim even more credibility.

Why are American wine regions obsessed with this idea of being just like some place in Europe? Weintraub recalls his early career in Long Island, N.Y., where everyone was trying to draw similarities to Bordeaux in order to justify growing Cabernet Sauvignon. The argument, as he recalls it: Theres two bodies of water surrounding Bordeaux  just like the North Fork!

Weintraub cites Napas lack of grape diversity as one of the main reasons he left his previous job, at Napas Seavey Vineyard, to join Adelaida. If Id wanted to make Cab my whole life, I probably would have retired at Seavey, he says. (Seavey is one of Napa Valleys greatest and most distinctive estates. I can see why it would be a hard job to leave.) But Weintraub began to feel shackled by Cabernet Sauvignons iron-fisted hold on Napa.

Napa prides itself on its soil diversity, he says. The valley contains half of the worlds recognized soil orders, as its marketers love to point out. And yet theres very little crop diversity.

Patrick Tehan / Special to the Chronicle

He gets it: Napa Valley Cabernet grapes sell on average for more than $7,500 a ton, whereas Napa Syrah commands $3,700, and Zinfandel just $3,600. In other words, if you own land in Napa, youre taking a major financial risk if you plant anything other than Cab. The Napa wine industry operates more like a commercial bank, Weintraub says, and less like a hedge fund.

Its not that Paso hasnt tried to promote a signature grape variety. Its just that groups like the Paso Robles Cab Collective, Zinfandel Advocates and Producers, and the Rhone Rangers have never quite succeeded in doing so.

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The whole question of finding a signature grape variety just doesnt really interest Weintraub. Its a marketing question. And a political question. And a financial question, he says. Ultimately, to him, it is not a viticultural question. What I love and what I embrace about Paso is the willingness here to try new things, he says. (Weintraub also owns his own small  and very good  wine label, Site Wines, featuring Rhone varieties from Santa Barbara County.)

Indeed, when cardiologist Stanley Hoffman and his vineyard manager John Whitener planted Pinot Noir vines at HMR in 1964, the prospect of planting Pinot in Paso Robles didnt sound any more outlandish than planting any other type of wine grape. At that time, the area was mostly barley fields and nut trees.

No records have survived that would point to the source of the plant material. Even Whiteners son Mike, who has lived in the HMR Vineyard since he was a child and still farms the site, doesnt know what clone of Pinot Noir these vines are.

What has survived are the records kept by Andre Tchelistcheff, who was Hoffmans consulting winemaker in the 1970s. Color  deep, elegant with little orangey pele donion reaction, read Tchelistcheffs notes on the 1976 HMR Pinot Noir. Artistically built in palate with beautiful equilibrium in alcohol, acidity and glycerol extract. Long lasting elegant aftertaste.

Patrick Tehan / Special to the Chronicle

Adelaida Vineyards & Winery bought the HMR Vineyard in 1994. (Hoffmans original winery is now owned by Daou Vineyards.) Five years later its owners, the Van Steenwyk family, bought out their longtime partner John Munch, who now makes wine down the road at Le Cuvier Winery. Despite some very impressive land holdings, HMR among them, for many years Adelaida Vineyards & Winery was not producing wine to match the vineyards potential. Weintraubs work was cut out for him when he came on board in 2012. In addition to changing the wine labels, which still featured a drawing of John Munchs wife, Weintraub convinced the Van Steenwyks to cut Adelaidas production volume nearly in half and introduce organic farming techniques at the estate vineyards.

Unsurprisingly, this has led to some price increases, but Weintraub insists its necessary in order to honor the extraordinary gift the winery has in HMR.

You cant plant a 50-year-old vineyard, he says. He likes to imagine the blissful sense of experimentation that must have possessed Stanley Hoffman when he planted his vineyard in 1964, with a smattering of Zinfandel, Cabernet, Chardonnay, Chenin Blanc, Riesling.

Like all the California vineyardists before him, back to the Franciscan missionaries, Hoffman was trying to see what worked best.

People have been making wine for a long time, Weintraub says. People tried stuff, tasted it, said this is crap or this is fantastic. Whatever the grape happens to be.

Esther Mobley is The Chronicles wine, beer and spirits writer. Email: emobley@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @Esther_mobley

Adelaida Vineyards, 5805 Adelaida Rd., Paso Robles. 800-676-1232 www.adelaida.com. Tasting room open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily.
People are clucking about a new billboard off Highway 101 in San Jose that claims feminism and egg consumption are incompatible. The message isn't sitting well with vegans or feminists (or vegan feminists).

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals are behind the new sign, which went up last week at 1221 Oakland Road, near the Burger King and Carl's Jr.

Featuring a blonde woman with an egg in place of her face, the billboard reads: "Face it  you can't claim to be a feminist and still eat eggs." In smaller print, it says, "Eggs and dairy are a product of the abuse of females."

PETA is not referring to abuses of women workers in the agriculture and farming industries, but the abuse of female animals. It should be noted here that the widely accepted definition of "feminism" is "the advocacy of women's rights on the basis of the equality of the sexes." Though "female" can be used to describe the sexes of animals, "woman" applies only to humans.

A new video PETA released alongside the billboard claims that consuming eggs and dairy products exploit "females' reproductive systems and therefore must be rejected by feminists." The video explains that dairy farmers keep their cows "almost constantly" pregnant by forcibly inseminating them, before separating them from their calves and harvesting their milk. It also claims that hens are slaughtered when they can no longer produce eggs. In 2016, PETA espoused a similarly controversial message in a video that compared animal food production to rape.

PETA spokesperson Marissa Price explained that San Jose is an ideal target for the billboard's message because it is a city full of "strong women" and students with the highest median income for women of all U.S. cities.

Price said the campaign was created on the heels of the #MeToo Movement.

"In this ad, we're asking people to go vegan in solidarity with female animals who are being sexually abused," she said. Price claims the billboard was in-part informed by intersectional feminism, which she defined as a "rallying cry to stand up to all kinds of systemic abuse."

The phrase "intersectional feminism" was first used by scholar and civil rights activist Kimberle Crenshaw in 1989 to call for a more comprehensive feminist movement that took into greater account the experiences of women of color. Intersectionality has since evolved to encompass the interplay of many kinds of discrimination, not just gender and race.

The billboard - like other PETA campaigns before it - has caused a splash on social media. Many people called the ad an attention-getting scheme with a muddled message.

"As a feminist and a vegan I hate this," wrote @julialovesbirds on a Reddit thread about the billboard with nearly 1,000 comments. "This makes veganism seem like a cult instead of a choice based on our personal ethics," she continued. "This just turns off people who are considering veganism/vegetarianism."

"You can be a vegan AND a feminist without linking the two. You shouldn't HAVE to be vegan to be a feminist," wrote @ihatenewaccts.

@sistersiren found the billboard compelling. "As a person who is vegan, I am fully on board with this sign," she wrote. "I think it needs a bit more explanation, but it could get some people thinking and curious, which is the point."

According to @PossiblyExcellent, the billboard accomplishes its goal of convincing folks to stop consuming egg and dairy products. "It's not an advertisement for PETA or feminism or even for veganism  it's an advertisement to convert people to veganism/vegetarianism," he wrote. "It's brilliantly utilitarian, like PETA has been for years  they are experts at getting maximum exposure for minimum cost."

Let us know what you think of the billboard in the comments.

Read Michelle Robertson's latest stories and send her news tips at mrobertson@sfchronicle.com.

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CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla.  Americas next moon landing will be made by private companies  not NASA.

NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine announced Thursday that nine U.S. companies will compete to deliver experiments to the lunar surface. The space agency will buy the service and let private industry work out the details on getting there, he said.

The goal is to get small science and technology experiments to the surface of the moon as soon as possible. The first flight could be next year; 2019 marks the 50th anniversary of the first manned moon landing.

Were going at high speed, said Thomas Zurbuchen, head of NASAs science mission directorate, which will lead the effort.

NASA officials said the research will help get astronauts back to the moon more quickly and keep them safer once theyre there. The initial deliveries likely will include radiation monitors, as well as laser reflectors for gravity and other types of measurements, according to Zurbuchen.

Bridenstine said it will be up to the companies to arrange their own rocket rides. NASA will be one of multiple customers using these lunar services.

The announcement came just three days after NASA landed a spacecraft on Mars. NASA wants to see how it goes at the moon before committing to commercial delivery services at Mars.

This new partnership is loosely modeled after NASAs successful commercial cargo deliveries to the International Space Station, as well as the still-unproven commercial crew effort. SpaceX and Northrop Grumman, formerly Orbital ATK, have been making space station shipments since 2012. SpaceX expects to start transporting astronauts to the orbiting lab next year; so does Boeing.

Altogether, these Commercial Lunar Payload Services contracts have a combined value of $2.6 billion over the next 10 years.

NASA wants lots of companies involved to encourage competition and get to the moon fast, so astronauts can benefit once an orbiting outpost is running near the moon.

Bridenstine expects to have humans working intermittently on the moon, along with robots and rovers, within a decade.

The nine companies include one from California: Masten Space Systems in Mojave (Kern County). The others are: Astrobiotic Technology, Pittsburgh; Deep Space Systems, Littleton, Colo.; Draper, Cambridge, Mass.; Firefly Aerospace Inc., Cedar Park, Texas; Intuitive Machines, Houston; Lockheed Martin, Littleton, Colo.; Moon Express, Cape Canaveral; and Orbit Beyond, Edison, N.J.

Lockheed Martin already has a moon lander in the works modeled after the Mars InSight lander, which the company built for NASA. Insight arrived at Mars on Monday.

The McCandless Lunar Lander is named after the late astronaut and former Lockheed Martin employee Bruce McCandless, who in 1984 performed the first free-flying spacewalk without a lifeline to the orbiting shuttle, using a jetpack built by the company. The picture of McCandless floating by himself in the blackness of space, with the blue Earth in the background, is one of NASAs most famous.

Bridenstine said while NASA wants the companies to succeed, the space agency is certain some of the efforts will fail. Expectations should not exceed 50 percent, Zurbuchen stressed.

These are not expensive missions, Bridenstine told reporters before the announcement in Washington. This is like a venture capital kind of effort where at the end of the day, the risk is high but the return is also very high for a low investment.

Marcia Dunn is an Associated Press writer.
A burglar stole property from the car of a special agent for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, an ATF spokesperson confirmed Thursday.

ATF is aware of the theft and is aggressively pursuing all leads and working closely with our local partners to quickly find the individuals responsible and return the property, ATF spokesperson Ginger Colbrun said. We take this very seriously. Were working ... to make sure whoever is responsible for the theft is found and prosecuted.

Colbrun said she couldnt provide further details about the ongoing investigation, including what property was stolen or whether it included firearms.

The burglary took place Tuesday evening near the Oakland federal courthouse at 1301 Clay St.

ATF vehicles are unmarked, and the agent was on-duty.

An Oakland police spokeswoman said the department is aware of the investigation but referred all questions to ATF.

Depending on their specific duties, ATF agents could have a number of weapons issued to them, including a shotgun, an M4 or a Glock 9MM, according to an ATF source who is not a part of the investigation.

ATF policy requires agents to secure any firearm that isnt accompanying them at that moment, the source said. Some ATF vehicles come equipped with a welded box that has a combination lock or key and hardened drawers where agents can store their weapons.

The burglary comes after a series of Bay Area incidents in which law enforcement officials have had firearms stolen after leaving them in in their vehicles.

A gun stolen from a San Francisco police officers personal car, while it was parked in the city, was used in the killing of Abel Esquivel Jr. in the Mission District in September 2017, authorities said.

In September 2015, Antonio Ramos was shot while painting a mural in Oakland, by an attacker who used a gun stolen from a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents rented car in San Francisco.

A gun stolen from a car belonging to a U.S. Bureau of Land Management ranger in San Francisco was used in the high-profile killing of Kate Steinle on Pier 14 in July 2015.

And in January 2017, a thief stole a submachine gun and a bulletproof vest from an FBI special agents vehicle somewhere in either Concord, Orinda or Lafayette.

State law requires that anyone transporting a firearm in a vehicle lock it in the trunk, or in a locked container separate from the vehicles glove compartment, if there is no trunk. A violation is punishable by a fine up to $1,000.

Megan Cassidy is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: megan.cassidy@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @meganrcassidy
NEW YORK  Michael Cohen, President Trumps former lawyer, made a surprise appearance before a federal judge in New York on Thursday and pleaded guilty to lying to Congress about work he did on an aborted project to build a Trump Tower in Russia.

Trump, in turn, called Cohen a weak person who is lying to get a lighter sentence.

Flanked by his lawyers, Cohen admitted making false statements about the project in 2017 to Senate and House intelligence committees, which at the time were investigating possible connections between the Trump campaign and Russia.

Cohen told the judge he lied about the timing of the negotiations and other details to be consistent with Trumps political message. Cohen and prosecutors referred to Trump as Individual One throughout Thursdays proceedings and said he lied to be loyal to Individual One.

Among other lies, Cohen said he told Congress that all discussions about building a Trump Tower in Moscow had ended by January 2016, when they had actually continued until June of that year. He said he also lied about his contacts with Russian officials and lied when he said he never agreed to travel to Russia in connection with the project and never considered asking Trump to travel to support the project.

Prosecutors said in a court complaint that Cohen had misled Congress to give a false impression that the Moscow project had ended before the Iowa caucus and first Republican presidential primary in 2016.

As he left the White House shortly after the court proceeding concluded, Trump called Cohen a weak person

Michael Cohen is lying and hes trying to get a reduced sentence, Trump said.

Nothing said in court, or in associated court filings, addressed whether Trump or his aides had directed Cohen to mislead Congress.

The charges were brought by Special Counsel Robert Mueller, who is investigating Russian interference in the presidential election, not the prosecutors in New York who handled Cohens previous guilty plea in August to other federal charges involving his taxi businesses, bank fraud and his campaign work for Trump

Cohens lawyer, Guy Petrillo, said he would give the court a letter outlining how his client has cooperated with Muellers investigation.

Cohen declined to comment as he left the courthouse.

Cohen gave a statement to congressional committees last year saying the presidents company pursued a project in Moscow during the Republican primary but that the plan was abandoned for a variety of business reasons.

He said that he worked on the real estate proposal with Felix Sater, a Russia-born associate who he said claimed to have deep connections in Moscow.

Larry Neumeister is an Associated Press writer.
Liz Hafalia / The Chronicle

The Giants and the San Francisco chapter of the NAACP have pledged to explore efforts locally and nationally to promote justice and equal harmony for all, the organization said in a news release Friday, a day after its local president and a civil-rights attorney spoke with team investor Charles B. Johnson by phone.

It was not immediately clear if that support would include a financial donation from the Giants or Johnson.
Know any great artists? The city of San Francisco wants to hear from them.

The city and its Arts Commission is seeking a sculptor to design what will likely be an important monument in the city's Civic Center at the San Francisco Public Library's main branch.

The structure, which will honor Dr. Maya Angelou, is the result of an ordinance passed by city supervisors in October calling for "at least 30 percent of nonfiction figures depicted in works of art on City-owned property, public building names, and street names (to) be women." Dr. Angelou, who died in 2014, was not just a famed poet, but was also San Francisco's first African American female cable car conductor.

Of the 87 public sculptures in San Francisco, only two  one of nurse and social reformer Florence Nightingale and another of Senator Dianne Feinstein  represent nonfictional women. But that will change when the city finds an artist to commission for the Angelou project.

"We'd love to see a contemporary presentation of a sculpture honoring Maya Angelou," says Susan Pontious, Civic Art Collection and Public Art Program Director. "We don't have a huge space for the work, but it will probably be on the library plaza facing City Hall."

Pontious says the Commission is hoping to ultimately erect a structure that's "forward-looking"  and that doesn't mean it needs to be a traditional sort of sculpture.

"We leave it up to them," she adds. "We want artists to be artists. We don't want to tell them what it should look like."

The Commission is still in the initial "recruitment" stage of planning the sculpture. The call for artists, which has a deadline of January 11, 2019, asks for interested creators to submit their resume and letter of interest along with 10 examples of past work. From there, the Commission will select three finalists, to whom they will pay $2,000 (plus another $1,000 for out-of-town artists) for a design of their Maya Angelou sculpture.

The chosen artist will receive a contract of $180,000, to cover artist fees and expenses related to the "design, structural engineering, fabrication, insurance, transportation and consultation during installation." (An additional $20,000 is reserved for the installation itself.)

Pontious doesn't know how many artists have already applied, but says there's been substantial attention given to the project already.

"Even before we posted it, there was a lot of interest," she adds. "I'm imagining we'll get a good turnout."

Alyssa Pereira is an SFGATE staff writer. Email her at apereira@sfchronicle.com or find her on Twitter at @alyspereira.


Editor's note: This story was originally published on SFGATE in February. We are republishing it on Nov. 30 after a magnitude-7.0 earthquake shook Anchorage, Alaska. Read more about that earthquake here.

What would happen if a major earthquake hit one of the Bay Area's main fault lines? Researchers at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory used new technology to simulate a 7.0-magnitude quake on the northern section of the Hayward Fault.

They created the video above, which shows a map of the Bay Area rotated on its side.

In the simulation, the earthquake starts at the very northern section of the fault near Richmond and ends near Hayward. A 7.0 earthquake would be felt across the entire Bay Area, with the video showing the ripples of shaking spreading to the South Bay within about 15 seconds.

The map is color-coded to show how strong the shaking would be in different areas. Blue means the earthquake would be felt, but not cause significant damage. A reddish-orange color indicates a ground velocity of one meter per second, which researchers say would damage buildings.

What sets this simulation apart from previous ones is that it factors in three-dimensional geological structure and topography, according to the laboratory. The structure of the ground can affect the intensity of the shaking.

"For residents of the East Bay, the simulations specifically show stronger ground motions on the eastern side of the fault (Orinda, Moraga) compared to the western side (Berkeley, Oakland)," reads a summary of the study.

Ground composition can also affect the duration of the shaking.

"For example, low seismic wave speeds of softer sedimentary rocks amplify shaking, compared to harder rocks. That means that sedimentary basins like the San Pablo Bay, San Leandro Basin, Santa Clara Valley, Dublin-Pleasanton-Livermore Valley, and the Delta experience longer durations of shaking because their geologic structure can trap seismic waves," explains the video.

The study predicts that even if an earthquake of such a magnitude was 10 seconds long, it would be felt for 90 seconds around the Bay Area.

This simulation was done on a supercomputer at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, where it "ran on over 86,000 processors for 18 hours," according to the video. It shows what would happen if a major earthquake hit just the northern part of the Hayward fault, but researchers say they plan to simulate similar scenarios in other areas.

The last quake of a similar size (between 6.8 and 7.0) on the Hayward fault was in 1868.

The study cites the U.S. Geological Survey in estimating there is a one in three chance a 6.7-magnitude earthquake or greater will shake the Hayward fault in the next 30 years.

Read Alix Martichoux's latest stories and send her news tips at amartichoux@sfchronicle.com.
WASHINGTON  Former New York Mayor Michael Bloombergs charity has announced a $50 million donation to help fight the nations opioid epidemic.

Bloomberg Philanthropies said over the next three years it will help up to 10 states address the causes of opioid addiction and strengthen prevention and treatment programs. Its initiative involves a partnership with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, The Pew Charitable Trusts, Johns Hopkins University and Vital Strategies.

Bloomberg said Friday during his keynote address at the Bloomberg American Health Summit in Washington that he believes we can turn the tide on this epidemic.

And if we do, he said, we can begin reversing the decline in life expectancy that has been happening across the country, thanks largely to opioid overdoses.

Pennsylvania will be the first state to receive funding and will get at least $10 million. Pennsylvania had the highest number of drug overdose deaths in 2017 among all states and twice as many as in 2014. Nearly 5,400 Pennsylvania residents died of drug overdoses in 2017.

Pennsylvanias rate of 44.3 drug overdose deaths per 100,000 residents is more than double the national average.

Bloomberg has been considering a 2020 Democratic presidential bid, but a spokeswoman said there was no stated link between his political aspirations and the $50 million investment to fight opioids.

Bloombergs charity said CDC data shows there were more than 70,000 U.S. drug overdose deaths last year, including more than 47,000 from opioids, the highest numbers on record. It said those numbers are a leading factor in the decline of U.S. life expectancy over the past three years.

Bloomberg called the sobering numbers part of a national crisis.

For the first time since World War I, life expectancy in the U.S. has declined over the past three years  and opioids are a big reason why, he said. We cannot sit by and allow this alarming trend to continue  not when so many Americans are being killed in what should be the prime of their lives.

He said in a statement he hoped his charitys work in Pennsylvania, one of the states hardest hit by the opioids crisis, would lay the groundwork for more effective action across the country.

The partnership focuses on identifying new approaches to tackle opioids and plugging gaps in current treatment and prevention programs. Staff members from partner organizations will support state and local programs to reduce opioid-related deaths, and successful initiatives and guidelines will be replicated elsewhere, with the goal of creating a model for the rest of the nation.

Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf said he was deeply grateful for the financial and technical resources his state will receive through the partnership with Bloomberg Philanthropies.

The Drug Enforcement Administration said this month in its National Drug Threat Assessment that heroin, fentanyl and other opioids continue to be the highest drug threat in the nation.

Dino Hazell is an Associated Press writer.
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China's first arts center to be built in a forest will open to the public in September 2019 when it co-hosts the Shanghai International Arts Festival.





The Nine Tree Art Center will complete its construction ahead of hosting the annual arts festival, the Fengxian district government announced.





Covering a total area of 67,000 square meters in Shanghai's southern suburb, the center comprises three theaters with a combined seating capacity of 2,000, alongside a further two outdoor theaters.





Designed by French architect Frederic Rolland, it is hoped the center will not only stand as a cultural landmark for the city, but will also bring humans and nature together, thanks to its unique location inside a 4.78-square-kilometer forest, which is about 1.5 times the size of Central Park in New York City.





The main theater, which will seat an audience of 1,200, is shaped like a budding seed when seen from a bird's eye view. The venue's sound system has been devised to adapt to different types of performance, including musicals, plays and pop concerts.





Zhuang Mudi, Party secretary of Fengxian, said that the art center is part of the district's plan to "go boundless":





"The geographical size of Fengxian is 720 square kilometers, but we don't limit our development just within the area. The art center, for example, should become a cultural hub for the entire Yangtze river delta region," he said at a media briefing on November 28.




President Trump and the leaders of Canada and Mexico signed a revision of the quarter-century-old North American Free Trade Agreement on Friday, but the ceremony did not disguise the tensions remaining or lessen the doubts of whether a new Congress would approve the pact.

At the event on the sidelines of an international economic summit opening in Buenos Aires, Trump touted the hard-fought deal as a truly groundbreaking achievement and proudly held up the signed agreement for the cameras at the conclusion of a short ceremony. With Democrats taking control of the House in January, its passage through Congress remains uncertain, but the president professed confidently that he didnt expect much of a problem.

Democrats have signaled they wont support the deal without additional protections for workers, though it calls for more safeguards than the agreement it would replace. The revised pact, which comes after a long, difficult negotiation, wont replace NAFTA until its been approved by the legislatures of all three countries.

Battles sometimes make great friendships, Trump said, looking to put a positive gloss on his fraught relationship with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

But Trudeau, who considered not attending the ceremony that Trump was so eager for, refused to play along. He opted not to hold up the agreement to showcase the leaders signatures. Most notably, he refused during his brief remarks to refer to the agreement by the name that the brand-conscious Trump had given it  the United States-Mexico-Canada agreement, or USMCA, an acronym that Trump says recalls the title of a catchy hit of 40 years ago, YMCA.

The new North American Free Trade Agreement maintains stability for Canadas entire economy, Trudeau said, using the name that dates to the 1990s for the three nations accord, which Trump has been intent on repackaging.

Thats why I am here today, Trudeau continued, saying the agreement lifts the risk of serious economic uncertainty that lingers throughout a trade renegotiation process.

Trump had called NAFTA the worst trade deal in history, though much of it is carried over in the new version. The president falsely claimed the new deal was the largest trade deal ever made (the Trans-Pacific Partnership, from which he withdrew the United States, was larger), and asserted that it will lead to high wages and higher wages in the auto industry and bring back jobs that have been moved overseas.

Trump did not refer to General Motors recently announced plans to cut jobs at five American factories, four in the United States and one in Canada, but Trudeau did, calling it a heavy blow.

Eli Stokols and Don Lee are Los Angeles Times writers.
WASHINGTON  Federal food aid recipients wont be faced with major new work requirements. And changes in forestry policy that made environmentalists furious are gone.

House Republicans gave up Thursday on trying to include those provisions in a massive farm policy bill, clearing the way for a vote in Congress next week.

The concessions will likely help draw Democratic votes to the bill in the House. Democrats indicated support would be more bipartisan and follow similar numbers on past farm bills, which tend to pass comfortably.

The farm bill will reauthorize the nations nearly $900 billion in food and agriculture programs for another five years. That includes the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, formerly known as food stamps, which helps low-income families pay for food. The bill also deals with crop insurance, a program that protects farmers against financial losses due to disasters and droughts.

Out is the House Republicans plan, which aimed to expand work requirements for SNAP beneficiaries. The GOP wanted the work rules to apply to able-bodied adults up to age 59 and to people with young dependent children, an unpopular prospect to Democrats. Leaving that out will mean more support from House Democrats but will alienate some Republicans.

House Republicans lacked enough clout to push for the stricter work requirements after Democratic victories in this months House elections.

Sen. Pat Roberts, R-Kan., the lead negotiator for the Senate, was vague about the specific provisions in the compromise. But when asked if the bill would be closer to the Senates plan for SNAP, Roberts replied, I would say, yes.

The Senate plan included incentives for states to expand work-training programs and added new accountability measures to the program.

Its more comprehensive and focuses on program integrity, Roberts said.

A senior Democratic staff member said while SNAP provisions did mostly reflect the Senate version, there were certain concessions given to House Republicans. But those concessions will be tweaks and tightening to work requirements, not big sweeping increases, the staff member said.

Bryan Lowry and Kate Irby McClatchy News writers.
ANCHORAGE, Alaska  Back-to-back earthquakes measuring 7.0 and 5.7 rocked buildings and shattered roads Friday in Anchorage, sending people running into streets and briefly triggering a warning to residents in Kodiak to flee to higher ground for fear of a tsunami.

The warning was lifted without incident a short time later. There were no immediate reports of any deaths or serious injuries.

The U.S. Geological Survey said the first and more powerful quake struck around 8:30 a.m. and was centered about 7 miles north of Anchorage, Alaskas largest city, with a population of about 300,000. People ran from their offices or took cover under desks.

A large section of road near the Anchorage airport collapsed, marooning a car on a narrow island of pavement surrounded by deep chasms in the concrete. Several cars crashed at a major intersection in Wasilla, north of Anchorage, during the shaking.

Anchorage Police Chief Justin Doll said he had been told that parts of the Glenn Highway, a scenic route that runs northeast out of the city past farms, mountains and glaciers, had completely disappeared.

The quake broke store windows, opened cracks in a two-story building downtown, disrupted electrical service and disabled traffic lights, snarling traffic. It also threw a grown man out of his bathtub.

All flights were temporarily halted at the airport after the quake knocked out telephones and forced the evacuation of the control tower, and the 800-mile Alaska oil pipeline was shut down while crews were sent to inspect it for damage.

Anchorages school system canceled classes and asked parents to pick up their children while it examined buildings for gas leaks or other damage.

Jonathan Lettow was waiting with his 5-year-old daughter and other children for the school bus near their home in Wasilla when the quake hit. The kids got on the ground while Lettow tried to keep them calm.

Its one of those things where in your head, you think, OK, its going to stop, and you say that to yourself so many times in your head that finally you think, OK, maybe this isnt going to stop, he said.

Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin tweeted that her home was damaged: Our family is intact  house is not. I imagine thats the case for many, many others.

Officials opened an Anchorage convention center as an emergency shelter. Gov. Bill Walker issued a disaster declaration.

Rachel DOro and Dan Joling are Associated Press writers.
WASHINGTON  Former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort may face additional charges after lawyers in the special counsels Russia investigation said he lied to them and broke his plea agreement, prosecutors said Friday.

The latest development in Manaforts case comes at a time of increased public activity in Special Counsel Robert Muellers investigation. Prosecutors obtained a guilty plea from Michael Cohen, President Trumps longtime legal fixer, on Thursday and appear to be lining up charges against another Trump supporter.

The prospect of new charges adds to the legal peril of Manafort, the onetime political consultant who already faces years in prison after being convicted of financial fraud crimes in Virginia and pleading guilty to conspiracy counts in Washington.

U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson set a tentative sentencing date of March 5 as prosecutors plan to disclose next week what they believe are the lies Manafort told since pleading guilty in September and agreeing to cooperate with the investigation.

Manaforts lawyers, who deny that Manafort lied, will have an opportunity to respond and a judge is expected to hear arguments before deciding whether he breached his plea deal.

Prosecutor Andrew Weissmann told the judge that prosecutors had not yet decided whether to file new charges against Manafort for the alleged lies, saying, That determination has not been made. The same is true of whether theyll pursue charges they planned to dismiss as part of the plea deal, Weissmann said.

Trump is facing continued questions about whether he might pardon Manafort. At the same time, he is playing down the significance of the guilty plea of his former lawyer, Michael Cohen, for lying to Congress.

None of the recent moves by Mueller has definitively answered the question of whether Trump or his associates coordinated with Russian interference in the 2016 presidential campaign. And they dont directly accuse the president of any criminal wrongdoing or indicate that the president faces legal jeopardy.

But Trump has continually surfaced in Muellers investigation, with references to him in Cohens plea on Thursday and in a draft plea offer extended to conservative writer and conspiracy theorist Jerome Corsi and made public this week.

Trump has expressed sympathy for Manafort, Corsi and his longtime confidant Roger Stone, telling the New York Post this week that they were very brave for resisting the Mueller investigation. He said a pardon for Manafort, who has denied lying to investigators, wasnt off the table.

That prospect of a pardon has drawn criticism, including from Mark Warner, the top Democrat on the Senate intelligence committee, who said it would be a complete abuse of power and could prompt congressional action against the president.

Trump has spent recent weeks casting Muellers team as hell-bent on destroying the lives of those in the presidents orbit. Armed with information passed along by Manaforts attorneys to the presidents legal team, Trump has accused prosecutors of dirty tactics and pressuring witnesses to lie.

Trumps lawyers arrangement with Manaforts lawyers was unusual because it continued after he pleaded guilty to two felony charges and agreed to cooperate with the prosecutors. Trumps legal team also has received help from Corsi. He told the Associated Press that while in contact with Muellers team, he directed his lawyer to informally share information with Trumps attorneys, including Jay Sekulow.

Chad Day and Eric Tucker are Associated Press writers.
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Chinese President Xi Jinping's upcoming state visit has evoked high expectations among the Argentine public for deeper friendship and increased win-win cooperation between the two countries.

In a signed article titled "Opening up a New Era in China-Argentina Relations" and published Wednesday in Argentine daily Clarin, Xi said the bilateral friendship has overcome geographical distance and grown even closer.

"Our bilateral relations have stood the test of changing international circumstances and set an example of solidarity and cooperation for common development between the two emerging economies and developing countries," he said.

That struck a chord with many Argentines, including Gonzalo Tordini, an expert in international economic cooperation who once studied at University of International Business and Economics in China.

The friendship between the two peoples, said Tordini, is the biggest success of China-Argentina relations, which allows the two nations to work in the right direction and get to know each other more and understand each other better.

Xi's visit will reinforce the Argentina-China relationship, he added, expressing his hope for the South American country to step up long-term cooperation with China.

He suggested that Argentina officially become part of the Belt and Road Initiative for global development. "It will be an opportunity to improve our connectivity, in a wider sense," he said.

"Improving infrastructure, people-to-people exchange, increasing trade and cultural knowledge are necessary to continue to deepen our ties with China," said Tordini, who is also president and co-founder of the Argentina-China Association of Former Scholarship Recipients.

In the eyes of law clerk and University of Belgrano student Maria Perez Salvadores, Xi's article underscores that China-Argentina interaction still has great potential to tap and the two countries "are working on it."

"At the cultural level, we see it in courses and classes for learning the Chinese language, or in the increasingly popular Chinese celebrations in Argentina, like the Spring Festival," she added.

Martin Kerchner, minister of economy, energy and infrastructure in Argentina's Mendoza province, pointed to Xi's message of economic cooperation. "We have a lot to do and to grow together with China," said Kerchner.

"China firmly supports Argentina in exploring a development path suited to its national conditions and has every confidence about its future," Xi said in the article.

Journalist Leandro Boye said that Xi's words reflect his vision of a shared future and joint development, which will benefit both sides.

During his stay in Argentina, the second leg of his ongoing Europe and Latin America tour, Xi will also attend the 13th Group of 20 (G20) summit in Buenos Aires.

"China's fundamental contribution to international cooperation is something the world certainly needs," said Patricio Giusto, head of the China-Argentina Observatory and professor at the Catholic University of Argentina.

"As long as China remains strong on the international stage and bets on multilateralism, we can expect forums like the G20 to continue to strengthen," added the public policy expert.

Gustavo Ng, editor of Chinese-Argentine cultural exchange magazine Dang Dai and member of China Culture Translation and Studies Support, highlighted China's development success and what it means for the world.

"It's not about the world following China's example. It's that China, with its social and economic success, is showing that things can be done in another way, and they can work out well," he said.
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The ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine may cause the international community to react and affect the expected meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his US counterpart during the G20 summit in Argentina, experts said.

Three Ukrainian naval ships attempted to force passage through the Kerch Strait in Crimea, between the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov, on Sunday, before they were intercepted and captured by the Russian coast guard.

Crimea was incorporated into Russia in March 2014 following a local referendum. Ukraine said the peninsula was annexed.

Moscow has condemned Ukraine for violating Russian territorial waters but Kiev has declared a state of emergency over the incident, saying a "Russian invasion" was impending.

A court in Simferopol, in Crimea, will decide on a pretrial restriction for nine detained Ukrainian sailors, Crimea's Human Rights Commissioner Lyudmila Lubina said on Wednesday.

The court on Tuesday placed 12 Ukrainian sailors under a two-month arrest on charges of an illegal border crossing organized by a group of persons with prior agreement, by an organized group, or with use of violence or threat of violence.

Russia's Tass News Agency said these charges are punishable by up to six years in prison. The rest of the detained sailors were also expected to face court on Wednesday.

Bogdan Bezpalko, an expert of the Russian Presidential Council on Interethnic Relations, said the conflict was "planned" and "Russia was provoked to use force".

"The provocation with the warships had been planned in advance and was carried out according to a previously drafted plan, that much is obvious," Bezpalko said.

Bezpalko predicts a series of reactions from Western countries will follow, including sanctions against Russia.

Indeed, a few senior European politicians raised the possibility of new measures against Moscow on Tuesday, Reuters reported.

Karin Kneissl, foreign minister of Austria, which holds the European Union's rotating presidency, said the EU would consider sanctions depending "on the exposition of facts and the further conduct of both parties".

Poland and Estonia expressed support for further sanctions.

However, German media Die Welt reported on Tuesday that French and German diplomats spoke out against stepping up existing EU sanctions against Russia.

"Without a doubt, this situation (Ukrainian warships entering Russian territorial waters) will be used as an excuse for punishment, but it is unlikely to lead to real sanctions," said Bezpalko.

Putin was scheduled to meet with US President Donald Trump on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Buenos Aires, which starts on Friday.

In an interview with The Washington Post, Trump said he might cancel the meeting due to the Kerch Strait incident.

He said he was awaiting a "full report" on the incident from his national security team.

But, speaking with reporters earlier in the day, Trump's national security adviser John Bolton did not mention any possibility of canceling the presidents' meeting.

And Putin said on Wednesday he hoped to meet Trump at the G20 summit to talk about trade barriers.

"I hope I can talk to Trump in Argentina," Putin told a financial forum in Moscow.

"I hope we can discuss trade barriers. Trump in general has a positive attitude."

Clifford Kupchan, an expert with the Valdai International Discussion Club, said: "(Even if they meet) it is unlikely that the two presidents will walk out of the meeting with major agreements in hand."

But there is some benefit in just having the conversation, Kupchan said earlier.

"Amid the lack of high-level dialogue between Washington and Moscow over key areas of tension, a summit such as this could facilitate future substantive negotiations," he said.
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President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin sent congratulatory letters to the China-Russia energy business forum that opened in Beijing on Thursday.

Xi said in the letter that the China-Russia comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination has been showing a strong momentum and constant advances in all fields. In recent years, substantial achievements have been scored in bilateral energy cooperation, which has played an active role in facilitating both countries' economic and social development.

"China is willing to work with Russia to take bilateral energy cooperation to a higher level," Xi said.

"Holding China-Russia energy business forum is an important consensus reached between President Putin and myself, with a goal to facilitate direct dialogue between companies from both sides, extensively explore cooperation opportunities and accurately synergize cooperation demand," Xi stressed.

Xi hoped that participants could share in-depth communication, cement consensus, consolidate existing cooperations and explore new opportunities for cooperation in the spheres of energy trade, investment and finance.

Putin said in his letter that the Russia-China comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination has been steadily strengthening and that energy cooperation, as a significant part of bilateral ties, has seen considerable development in recent years.

He said that the forum had a very rich agenda, with topics covering cooperation in fields including oil and gas, coal, electricity, investment, science and research and environmental protection, which fully reflected the extensive common interests of the energy enterprises of both countries.

Putin said he believed that participants from governments, energy corporations, financial institutions and think tanks could conduct informative and constructive dialogues at the forum and explore new types of cooperation for mutual benefits.
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U.S. President Donald Trump said on Thursday that considering the unsolved confrontation between Russia and Ukraine, he has decided it would be "best" to cancel his scheduled meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin.





Trump tweeted during his flight to Argentina that "based on the fact that the ships and sailors have not been returned to Ukraine from Russia, I have decided it would be best for all parties concerned to cancel my previously scheduled meeting... in Argentina with President Vladimir Putin."





"I look forward to a meaningful Summit again as soon as this situation is resolved!" he added.





The remarks marked a U-turn of Trump's previous notes hours ago before leaving for the trip that it is "very good time" to meet with Putin in Argentina.





While speaking to the media before leaving for Buenos Aires, Trump said he "probably" would meet with Putin, although he threatened earlier on Tuesday to cancel the scheduled meeting due to his displeasure of the ongoing Ukraine-Russia confrontation near the Kerch Strait that separates the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov.





"I probably will be meeting with President Putin. We haven't terminated that meeting," he said. "They would like to have it. I think it's a very good time to have the meeting."





He added that he would get a final report on the Ukraine-Russia tension during the upcoming flight.





"I'm getting a full report on the plane as to what happened with respect to that and that will determine what I'm going to be doing," Trump said.





Trump also told the media that he would have been willing to meet with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Argentina, but there was no time in his schedule.





The Ukrainian Navy said Sunday that Russian forces opened fire and seized three Ukrainian ships near the Kerch Strait, adding that six Ukrainian military sailors were wounded, two of them in serious condition, in the attack.





Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) said the three Ukrainian ships, namely Berdyansk, Nikopol and Yany Kapu, breached the Russian border and conducted dangerous maneuvers in spite of orders of accompanying vessels from the FSB and Russia's Black Sea Fleet.





The Ukrainian Navy said in response that it has informed Russia in advance about the passage of Ukrainian vessels from the Black Sea to the Sea of Azov through the Kerch Strait, calling Russia's actions an "act of aggression."
SEASIDE (BCN)



Three suspects have been arrested in connection with the 2014 homicide of a young Monterey man, police in Monterey said today.



Andre Jacobs, 28, was killed in an alleged gang-related stabbing on July 3, 2014, while walking in the 1000 block of Elm Avenue. Police said Jacobs was a decorated athlete at Monterey High School and not in a gang.



Enrique Velazco, 28, and Arcadio Perez, 22, have since been arrested on suspicion of his murder and participation in a criminal street gang, according to police.



The third suspect, 19-year-old Samuel Fabian Molina, was a Seaside resident at the time of the homicide and later moved to Oregon.



He was arrested by police in Gresham, Oregon and booked into Multnomah County jail pending extradition to California. He was arrested on suspicion of murder and is being held without bail.



Police said the investigation into Jacobs' murder is ongoing.





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Households and businesses at 80 locations in the west Marin County village of Nicasio are enjoying fiber-optic access to the internet for the first time thanks to a public-private partnership.



Inyo Networks Inc., a private carrier created the Nicasio network and turned on the gigabit-level service in May, and the Marin County Information Services and Technology Department provided technical assistance and consultation on the project that gradually will reach 150 customers.



Four households that met low-income criteria started receiving the service at a reduced rate on Nov. 15.



"That was one of the goals of the Marin County Board of Supervisors and the state, to help eliminate the pockets of Marin that are excluded from the digital world," Peter Pratt, a county-hired consultant, said.



More lower-income customers will soon receive the service after they are identified by Inyo Networks and the Nicasio Land Owners Association.



Standard full gigabit connections cost $89 a month, and qualifying lower-income households will receive it for $29.95 a month.



Nicasio School, the Nicasio Fire Department, a Druids hall, a church, farms and ranches and other small businesses will receive the broadband service.



The effort to establish the network in west Marin County by the Marin Broadband Task Force comprised of county departments and agencies took many years, and further expansions are coming.



The Bolinas Gigabit Network Project has received a $1.89 million grant from the California Public Utilities Commission. When that service starts, Inyo Networks expects to exceed 800 fiber-to-home connections in west Marin County locations that did not have a state-defined level of broadband available.



When that happens, the number of remaining underserved locations in the county will be down to about 700. In 2014, there were nearly 4,000 locations in Marin County that had inadequate broadband as defined by state law.



The cost of the Nicasio project was about $2.5 million and the CPUC paid 60 percent of the capital costs from public funds. No county or local government funds contributed to the capital investment.





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Oakland High School students will get to hear from the Rev. Jesse Jackson when the civil rights activist visits the school this morning, officials with the Oakland Unified School District said.



Jackson will start his visit at 9:30 a.m. at 1023 MacArthur Blvd. where he will meet with leadership students and then students at a school assembly.



At the assembly, Jackson will talk about voting rights, improving diversity in the technology industry and preventing gun violence.



His plans also include registering some students to vote.







The California Public Utilities Commission at a meeting in San Francisco ordered PG&E Co. to implement 60 safety recommendations outlined by an outside consulting firm.



The meeting was held Thursday.



The recommendations for management, field operations, budgeting and training were prepared in connection with a commission investigation of whether the utility's organizational culture prioritizes safety in its electricity and natural gas operations.



That investigation, begun in 2015, stemmed from the 2010 rupture and explosion of a PG&E natural gas transmission line in San Bruno that killed eight people and injured 66 others. The pipe was found to have been defectively welded, incorrectly listed as seamless in PG&E records and not properly inspected and repaired.



The report by NorthStar Consulting Group said while PG&E has made efforts to reduce damaging events and increase its focus on safety, it still has a need for a "comprehensive enterprise-wide approach to addressing safety."







A person is in custody and evacuations have been lifted at San Francisco's Hall of Justice after an incendiary device went off in the lobby of the building, a police spokeswoman said.



The explosion occurred Thursday morning.



The small explosion was reported at about 11:10 a.m. on the ground floor of the building at 850 Bryant St.



No injuries were reported but the building was evacuated, San Francisco police Officer Grace Gatpandan said.



A person is in custody in connection with the case but Gatpandan did not have any other information about their identity.



The all-clear was given at 1:38 p.m. and people were allowed back inside, she said.







A former hotel in San Francisco's Tenderloin neighborhood will be turned into housing for formerly homeless individuals thanks to a partnership between the city and Salesforce Chairman and co-CEO Marc Benioff.



Mayor London Breed made the announcement Thursday morning alongside Benioff at the Bristol Hotel at 56 Mason St., where 58 units have been renovated into Single Room Occupancy housing.



According to Breed, while seeking money to renovate the hotel as the site for new permanent SRO housing for formerly homeless, she was able to persuade Benioff and his wife, Lynne Benioff, to donate $6.1 million to the project. Their donation will be used to pay for the first five years of the building's 20-year lease.







Property was stolen from the car of a special agent for the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives while it was parked near the federal courthouse in Oakland earlier this week, an ATF spokeswoman said.



Spokeswoman Ginger Colbrun announced the theft Thursday.



Colbrun said, "We are aggressively pursuing all leads and working closely with our local partners to quickly identify the individuals responsible and return the property."



Colbrun said she couldn't provide further details about the ongoing investigation, such as what property was stolen or whether it included firearms.



The burglary occurred Tuesday evening near the U.S. District Court building at 1301 Clay St. in Oakland.







A man died and the suspect was taken to a hospital after a homicide in San Jose's Vendome neighborhood, police said.



The killing occurred Thursday morning.



Officers responded to a call reporting a disturbance shortly after 8 a.m. and taped off the surrounding area at the intersection of Losse Court and Ayer Avenue. A woman who lives at the residence called 911, according to police.



The call was upgraded to a stabbing after one victim was found suffering stab wounds and another had a gunshot wound, according to police spokesman Sgt. Enrique Garcia.



The stabbing victim died at the scene and the suspect with the gunshot wound was taken to the hospital with life-threatening injuries.







Households and businesses at 80 locations in the west Marin County village of Nicasio are enjoying fiber-optic access to the internet for the first time thanks to a public-private partnership.



Inyo Networks Inc., a private carrier created the Nicasio network and turned on the gigabit-level service in May, and the Marin County Information Services and Technology Department provided technical assistance and consultation on the project that gradually will reach 150 customers.



Four households that met low-income criteria started receiving the service at a reduced rate on Nov. 15.





























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 Flash

Syrian air defenses responded Thursday evening to a suspected Israeli missile attack on military targets in southern Syria, local media reported.





State TV reported that Syrian air force fired anti-air missiles in response to the strike, adding that all enemy targets were destroyed and that the foreign attack failed to achieve its intended goals.





It said the attack took place over the town of Kisweh in the southern countryside of the Syrian capital Damascus.





While the official Syrian media outlets hinted that Israel is behind the attack, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a war monitoring group based in Britain, explicitly stated that Israel carried out the attack in the southern and southwestern countryside of Damascus near the administrative border with the southern province of Quneitra.





The watchdog said the Syrian air defenses were firing a number of missiles to intercept the Israeli missiles.





Meanwhile, the pro-government Sham FM radio said two explosions were heard in the vicinity of the town of Al-Dimass in the western countryside of Damascus in tandem with the missile attack in southern Damascus.





Israel has repeatedly targeted military positions in Syria, including Kisweh.





If Israel is proved to be behind the attack, it would be the its first attack on Syrian targets since September, when it attacked military sites in Syria and led to the downing of a Russian surveillance aircraft by missiles mistakenly fired by Syrian air force in response to the Israeli attack.





After the September attack, during which 15 Russian servicemen were killed, Russia and the Syrian government blamed Israel for the crash, and Moscow was quick to equip Damascus with the advanced S-300 air defense system.





Syria's Deputy Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad told Xinhua in September that the arrival of Russia's S-300 to Syria would push Israel to reconsider before striking Syria again.





Israeli usually claims that its strikes target Iranian positions or weapons in Syria that could end up in the hands of the Hezbollah group in Lebanon.
SAN FRANCISCO (BCN)



A Dublin man has been sentenced to more than 14 years in prison for several armed robberies of San Francisco pharmacies, United States Attorney Alex G. Tse announced Thursday.



Adam Herrick, 36, was sentenced to 171 months in prison after pleading guilty on Aug. 23 to six counts of interference with commerce by robbery and one count of brandishing a firearm during a robbery, prosecutors said.



Herrick admitted to committing six robberies between March 15, 2015 and April 17, 2017.



The robberies occurred at multiple Walgreens and CVS locations and one independent pharmacy.



Prosecutors said Herrick brandished a black semi-automatic pistol in several of the robberies.



In all, Herrick stole approximately $32,360 in prescription drugs during the two-year robbery spree.



Herrick was indicted on March 1.



In additional to the prison sentence, Herrick will serve a five-year period of supervised release, and he was ordered to compensate each victim pharmacy for its monetary losses resulting from the robberies.





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OAKLAND (BCN)



Oakland High School students will get to hear from the Rev. Jesse Jackson when the civil rights activist visits the school this morning, officials with the Oakland Unified School District said.



Jackson will start his visit at 9:30 a.m. at 1023 MacArthur Blvd. where he will meet with leadership students and then students at a school assembly.



At the assembly, Jackson will talk about voting rights, improving diversity in the technology industry and preventing gun violence.



His plans also include registering some students to vote.





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 former hotel in San Francisco's Tenderloin neighborhood will be turned into housing for formerly homeless individuals thanks to a partnership between the city and Salesforce Chairman and co-CEO Marc Benioff.



Mayor London Breed made the announcement this morning alongside Benioff at the Bristol Hotel at 56 Mason St., where 58 units have been renovated into Single Room Occupancy housing.



According to Breed, while seeking money to renovate the hotel as the site for new permanent SRO housing for formerly homeless, she was able to persuade Benioff and his wife, Lynne Benioff, to donate $6.1 million to the project. Their donation will be used to pay for the first five years of the building's 20-year lease.



"This doesn't come along every single day. I started making the phone calls and not everyone said yes, but Marc Benioff said yes as soon as I asked him," Breed said.



"My top priority as mayor has been addressing this and we know that not one size fits all," Breed said. "Many people who are struggling with homelessness are struggling with mental illness and substance abuse disorders and those are challenges that we have to address in addition to providing safe and affordable places for people to call home."



The units will be rented as Step-Up Housing--housing for formerly homeless people who no longer need services and are able to live independently. Those residents' exit from supportive housing would then free-up space at Navigation Centers and shelters, making room for people who are just getting off the streets, according to Breed.



The building will be managed by the Tenderloin Housing Clinic, which will rent out the units monthly for $500 to $650, depending on their size. Each unit has a private bathroom.



Benioff said, "When it comes to ending homelessness, it doesn't take miracles, it takes money--and it takes a lot of money... That's why with the passage of Proposition C, the city will start collecting that money on Jan. 1.



"Bristol Hotel is a preview of what will come because the city will have the money to do it. Not just to do this but to do so many other things that are on our lists. It's the beginning of a parade of new investments to end homelessness in our city," he said.



Proposition C--a business tax for homeless funding--was approved by 61 percent of the city's voters earlier this month. Although Breed endorsed the No on Prop. C campaign while Benioff supported the measure, Breed has since commited to putting the funds to good use.



According to Breed, in addition to the Bristol Hotel project, she's also planning on opening 1,000 shelter beds by 2020, as well as opening a new Navigation Center by the end of this year. The new Navigation Center would be the third center opened since Breed took office.





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You are here: World

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The death toll soared to 15 in the car bomb attack in Kabul that targeted London-based Security contractor company G4S on Wednesday night, Afghanistan's Interior Ministry spokesman Najib Danish confirmed Thursday.





The dead included the five attackers, and 29 others were injured.





Danish confirmed in his twitter account that the attack on G4S company claimed 15 lives including five attackers and injured 29 others.





Taliban militants have claimed responsibility for the deadly bombing.





Zabihullah Majahid who claims to speak for the Taliban outfit, in contact with media claimed that first a militant blew up his explosive-laden car next to the company, opening the way for others to enter the company's compound and began targeting anyone inside.





Earlier reports put the number of casualties at one dead and 11 injured.





G4S has yet to make any comment about the situation following the deadly attack on its branch.
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A signed article by Chinese President Xi Jinping titled "Working Together for a Shared Future" was published Friday on Panamanian newspaper La Estrella de Panama ahead of his state visit to the Central American country.

The full text of the article is as follows:

Working Together for a Shared Future

Xi Jinping

President of the People's Republic of China

I will soon pay a state visit to the Republic of Panama at the kind invitation of President Juan Carlos Varela. It will be my first visit to the country, and the very first by a Chinese president. I look forward to this trip with great expectations.

Like many of my countrymen, I am no stranger to Panama even though I have never been to this country before: the grand Panama Canal, the highly regarded Geisha coffee, as well as Panamanian bananas and other tropical fruits are well-recognized throughout the world. In recent years, under the leadership of President Varela, Panama has enjoyed rapid growth, vibrant markets and improving living standards. It has become a most habitable place in the Americas to live in and a promising land of opportunities for investors. Seeing such progress, I am truly happy for Panama and wish Panama new and still greater accomplishments in its future development.

Friendly interactions between the people of our countries could date back more than 160 years, when the first group of Chinese arrived in Panama to help with canal- and railway-building. On this hospitable land, they eventually stayed, became part of the local communities and joined the Panamanian people in pursuit of a better life. To mark their dedication, a special day has been designated for ethnic Chinese in Panama. Back in the 1960s, in a gesture of solidarity with the Panamanian people in their just cause for sovereignty over the Canal, sixteen million Chinese staged rallies across China, which became a special memory of the Chinese people for a generation. All these attest to the fraternal bonds connecting the people of our two countries.

In June last year, President Varela and I came to a significant political decision: China and Panama would formally establish diplomatic relations. For both our countries, this landmark decision will benefit not only this generation, but many more generations to come. For the wider international community, it could not show more clearly the trend of our times and the will of the people. It is a strong declaration to the world of Panama's commitment to the one-China policy and an expression of unanimous support among our two peoples for China-Panama relations.

Over the past one and half years, China-Panama relations have gotten off to a good start: cooperation programs have mushroomed and thrived across the board, delivering tangible benefits to the people of the two countries. During his first state visit to China, President Varela and I drew a blueprint for the future of our bilateral ties. China has been Panama's second largest trading partner, the largest supplier to the Colon Free Trade Zone and the second biggest user of the Panama Canal. Under the framework of the Belt and Road cooperation, the two sides have signed quite a number of agreements in areas such as trade, finance, maritime affairs, civil aviation, tourism, culture and education. Chinese businesses and financial institutions have taken an active part in bilateral cooperation, helping to create thousands of local jobs. The China-assisted Colon Secure City project will provide effective protection to the residents of Colon. The Amador Convention Center, which will soon be completed, will serve as the new venue for EXPOCOMER. And Panama's specialty agro-products such as beef, pineapple and seafood are undergoing inspection and quarantine procedures for export to China and will soon find their way to the dinner tables of the Chinese people.

As proposed by Panama, China is looking into the "City of Hope" education center project to be developed in Western Panama. The project aims to provide educational services to over 2,000 local students and will contribute significantly to local education conditions and quality. China is also implementing the project of mobile clinics (Amor Sobre Ruedas), which provides free medical services for women in far-flung areas in Panama. The first Confucius Institute in Panama is up and running; the first direct flight connecting China and Central America has been launched; and Panama is designated as an approved destination for Chinese group tourists. By the end of this year, China will have trained about 6,000 Panamanian officials and professionals in various fields, and close to 1,000 Panamanian students are now studying in China. Scholars, think tanks and media organizations from both sides have engaged in frequent interactions, contributing their ideas and suggestions in support of bilateral relations. As the "China fever" in Panama and the "Panama fever" in China are heating up, people in both countries are eager to know each other better through more exchanges.

Panama, a nation strong on connectivity, is actively advancing its National Logistics Strategy 2030 in an effort to build itself into a world-class logistics center. This strategy dovetails with my initiative of the Belt and Road cooperation, making China and Panama natural partners for Belt and Road cooperation. During President Varela's visit to China last year, Panama became the first country in Latin America and the Caribbean to sign a Belt and Road cooperation MOU with China. Going forward, we will work tirelessly with Panama to enhance synergy between our development strategies and deliver greater benefits to the people of our countries.

First, let us be sincere partners that value equality and mutual trust. We should always approach our bilateral ties from a strategic and long-term perspective, appreciate and support each other's core interests and major concerns, and build a solid political foundation for the sustained, sound and steady growth of our bilateral relations.

Second, let us be development partners, come rain or shine. Both being developing countries, China and Panama have similar historical experiences and face common development tasks. We need to work together to promote a new type of international relations featuring mutual respect, fairness, justice and win-win cooperation and build a community with a shared future for mankind. We also need to strengthen coordination in multilateral organizations such as the UN and the WTO, jointly uphold the multilateral trading system and contribute to an open world economy.

Third, let us be cooperation partners in pursuit of mutual benefit. We need to respect each other's aspirations, accommodate each other's concerns and draw upon our respective strengths. We need to build on this basis to deepen our cooperation in such key areas as infrastructure, logistics, production capacity, e-commerce and finance under the broad framework of Belt and Road cooperation. We need to step up our efforts to quickly secure early harvests in practical cooperation as it will contribute to development in both countries. China welcomes Panama's continued participation in the China International Import Expo and hopes to see more exports of quality Panamanian goods and services to China.

Fourth, let us be close partners with strong people-to-people ties. To build heart-to-heart connections between our peoples, we need to engage in exchanges in a broad range of areas such as culture, education, health, tourism and media. This will greatly boost our friendship across the sectors. Now that we have opened a direct flight between China and Panama, we expect more and more Chinese and Panamanians to visit each other's countries to enhance mutual understanding and friendship. Today 280,000 Panamanians are of Chinese origin. We could well build on such blood ties to deepen friendship between the two countries.

The trend of the times keeps moving forward, bringing new and constant changes to the world. Although our two countries are geographically far apart and are quite different in many of our national conditions, both the Chinese and Panamanians are hard-working, enterprising and aspiring peoples. We won't be able to grow our relations without the commitment of our peoples. Let us seize the moment, give play to our late starter's advantage, speed up the growth of our bilateral ties, put our cooperation on a steady and sustained course, and jointly contribute to a brighter future and a more prosperous world.
I first noticed the fringe on my friend Audrey. Where her bare forehead once was, there were thick, wispy chunks of face-framing bangs. Her hair, previously stick-straight and flat, looked nothing short of Farrah Fawcett.

"The shag is taking over America," she proclaimed when I asked about her new hairdo.

I was not convinced.

And then I saw the cut again, on another friend's Instagram feed. Jackie's long, black curls were puffed into a bang-y bob reminiscent of Jennifer Beals in "Flashdance," but classier.

I noticed it on Nuala, too. Her waist-length blonde tresses had morphed into piece-y locks that outlined her wide-set eyes and strong cheekbones. I had never perceived those cheekbones as I was perceiving them now.

After years of seeing the same flat bobs and lobs and ombres, I wasn't sure what was happening on the heads of my female friends. When did they mutually toss their flat irons and embrace a more carefree look? When did the blowout give way to the wake-up-and-go 'do?

In a two-minute Instagram search, I uncovered the thread linking Audrey, Jackie and Nuala's hairdos: Edo Salon and Gallery, an eco-friendly salon that set up shop in a former Baptist church off Haight Street more than two decades ago.

Edo's cuts are what many women described as "an investment." They range in price from $90, for barbering, to $300 to work with a pro like Matthews. That's not including tip or coloring.

Their Instagram is full of the sorts of transformations I observed on my friends' feeds: side-by-side composite photos showing clients before-and-after their cuts.

I found myself scrolling the page for 20 minutes, the experience generating a sense of satisfaction akin to watching a transformation scene in a movie. If "Miss Congeniality," "She's All That" and "The Princess Diaries" taught me anything, it's that everybody loves a makeover (and most makeovers involve removing one's glasses and brushing one's hair).

Edo began posting the before-and-after photos about two years ago, according to hair guru Jayne Matthews, who co-owns the salon with Chri Longstreet. In that time, the salon's Instagram "blew up." It now has close to 35,000 followers.

Instagram has become an increasingly popular medium for creatives looking to sell their wares, be it vintage clothing or tattoos or pottery. But many hair salons are behind-the-times, Matthews told me recently.

"At one point, I was looking through salons' Instagrams, and it was like, why are we showing the backs of everyone's heads? That's not what anyone looks at," she said. A quick social media search of popular San Francisco salons confirms Matthews' observation.

So she bought a ring light and started taking cell phone photos of her clients before she cut their hair and after. Her followers devoured the "transformations." Now the mini-photoshoots  Matthews says they take about 30 seconds  are standard practice for all Edo stylists, many of whom have Instagram followers in the tens of thousands.

Matthews estimates about 80 percent of new clients find the salon from the social media site, and 99 percent of her individual clients discover her services from her personal Instagram account.

The medium is well-suited to Edo's clientele, whom Matthews describes as "maker types." Many Edo-ites have sizable social media followings themselves. Their feeds feature objects, furniture and art one would also find decorating Edo (or any coffee shop in San Francisco): lots of viney plants, clean textiles and exposed wood.

A few years ago, Matthews said she noticed that this group of creatives were on-trend when it came to their clothing  natural linens, flowing pants and blouses, woven textiles, and so on  but their hair "did not match."

The stylist recalled a visit to West Coast Craft Fair, a massive annual gathering of makers held at Fort Mason in November, about five years ago. Most of the women selling wares wore outfits reminiscent of the chic SoCal hippies of the 60s and 70s  a clothing trend popular among twentysomething Californians. Their hair, however, seemed stuck in the early-2000s: lots of blow-outs and shoulder-grazing mops and stringy, over-straightened locks.

Matthews offered to do artists' trades with some of the craftswomen, hoping to upgrade their ironed tresses to "something more organic, loose and free" that better matched their contemporary aesthetics. Many of these women are now Edo's regular clients. Some of their artwork hangs on the walls of the salon's in-house gallery.

Matthews describes her salon's signature shag as a "hippie, French New Wave slash beachy, seventies kind of thing." Think Brigitte Bardot meets Topanga Canyon. The rugged, natural cut seems to have caught on in San Francisco, where style to take a backseat to comfort and convenience (see: our obsession with puffy jackets, clogs and boyfriend jeans). It makes sense that this ethos would eventually make its way to our heads.

My friend Audrey thinks the cut is a reflection of the social moment.

"The cultural shift we are experiencing in 2018 is very reminiscent of the countercultural revolution of the late 60s and 70s when the shag was first introduced," she told me recently. "The way I see it, the resurgence of the shag is a sign of the times, and it makes sense that a salon in the Haight would be so influential to its rebirth."

Of course, the hairstyle doesn't work the same for all textures. A quick scroll through Edo's Instagram feed shows nearly all their clients are white. Several had curly hair, but there were just a couple women of color featured, even fewer with coarse hair texture and tighter curls.

What drew the six women I interviewed to Edo was the promise of a low-maintenance, flattering cut. Something you could sleep on, tousle and then wear to work.

Each of these women described a similar experience at the salon. The hourlong appointment begins with a consultation, in which the stylist assesses the client's face shape and hair texture. After the hair is wetted, it's cut using what Matthews calls a "carving" method, almost like "forming individual petals around the face." This is generally done with a razor, rather than scissors. Then comes a quick blow-dry and a light application of organic product. Photos are snapped against the designated backdrop, and you're off.

The price of a cut is certainly on the higher end of the spectrum for hair services in the city  the average cost of a woman's haircut in San Francisco is about $71, according to a 2014 survey from Square Inc.  but relatively standard for high-end salons in the region.

Jackie, the friend with the "Flashdance" look, paid $120 for her recent haircut, "more than double" anything she'd paid previously. Before Edo, she hadn't set foot in a salon for three years. Her previous haircut involved some shears, a trash can, and her roommate's fairly steady hand.

She plans to return to Edo for her next cut.

"It's a huge thing for self esteem to present yourself to the world exactly how you feel that you are," she said. "I will pay for it."

Edo currently has one location, 601 Haight St., San Francisco. The owners plan to open an additional outpost in Oakland over the next year.

Read Michelle Robertson's latest stories and send her news tips at mrobertson@sfchronicle.com.

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The Peruvian Amazon, Cairo, Greenland, French Polynesia, Perth, and  Oakland, California.

National Geographic released its 28 best travel destinations for 2019 and the "East Bay star" made the cut, alongside exotic and far-flung locales all over the world. Three other American locations  Kansas City in Missouri, Florida's South Walton County and the Bisti/De-Na-Zin Wilderness in New Mexico  were also chosen.

The editors of Nat Geo's "Traveler" Magazine selected its 2019 picks in four categories: cities, nature, culture and adventure. Oakland fell under the culture category.

"Oakland was selected for its vibrant and diverse culture," said Mark Everton, CEO of Visit Oakland in a press release, "and we welcome visitors to experience our culture by immersing themselves into our community and exploring our many neighborhoods."

National Geographic hailed Oakland for its multicultural food scene, LGBTQ history and its "revitalized Jack London Square and Temescal Alley," but also noted the widespread concern about the city's gentrification struggles.

"The tragedy of Oakland getting gentrified is that Oakland's 'there there' is in its diversity, its distinction, its sense of place, its people," as Tommy Orange, an author from Oakland, is quoted in the issue.

Last summer was Oakland's busiest for travel on record, according to the Oakland International Airport, following a 4.1 percent increase over the previous year. September travel yielded the same percent increase, with more than 1.1 million people traveling through the airport that month.

Visit Oakland echoes those findings, telling KPIX that in 2017, 3.7 million visited the city, up 10 percent from the year prior.

Alyssa Pereira is an SFGATE staff writer. Email her at apereira@sfchronicle.com or find her on Twitter at @alyspereira.


BUENOS AIRES  The U.S. has been blocking progress at the Group of 20 summit on fixing world trade rules, fighting climate change and tackling migration, according to European officials involved in the discussions.

The divisions among the worlds leading economies were evident from the moment the Argentine president opened the summit Friday with a call for international cooperation to solve the planets problems.

President Trump sought to use the summit to make his own trade deals. Meanwhile, two men under heavy criticism from the West lately  Russian President Vladimir Putin and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman  appeared to seek refuge in each other, bonding with a tough-guy hand grab as the leaders sat down for talks.

Security concerns also weighed on the two-day talks in Buenos Aires. Argentinas security minister said eight gasoline bombs were discovered in an area of the capital where a protest against the G-20 summit began in the afternoon.

Diplomats from the Group of 20 countries were haggling hard over a final summit statement, with deep differences over what language to use on the Paris climate accord and the World Trade Organization.

Two European officials involved in the discussions said the U.S. was preventing progress on both. And an unorthodox solution emerged: Because of resistance from the Trump administration, an official in the French presidents office said the statement may have language that sets the U.S. apart. For example, a draft says 19 of the participants agree on the importance of upholding the Paris climate accord, but the U.S. does not.

The officials said the U.S. was also blocking any mention of immigration in the final statement. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity.

Argentine President Mauricio Macri kicked off the summit by acknowledging tensions within the G-20 while urging world leaders to have a sense of urgency and take actions based on shared interests.

The summit is meant to focus on issues such as labor, infrastructure, development, financial stability, climate sustainability and international commerce.

But as the gathering got under way, those themes seemed like afterthoughts, overshadowed by contentious matters from the U.S.-China trade dispute to the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

European Council President Donald Tusk urged G-20 leaders to discuss trade wars, the tragic situation in Syria and Yemen, and Russian aggression in Ukraine. He said the European Union is expected to extend sanctions on Moscow over its totally unacceptable seizure of Ukrainian ships and their crews near the Crimean Peninsula.

Also looming large amid dozens of bilateral meetings in Buenos Aires: the gruesome slaying of dissident Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi in Saudi Arabias Istanbul consulate and how the Saudi crown prince, who is alleged to have ordered the killing, is received by world leaders.

As soon as he arrived, the crown prince was confronted by French President Emmanuel Macron, who pressed him on the Khashoggi investigation and the Saudi-backed war in Yemen.

Bin Salman told Macron not to worry, but Macron countered, I am worried.

Angela Charlton is an Associated Press writer.
Pavlo Pakhomenko / Associated Press

KIEV, Ukraine  Ukrainian officials on Friday raised the stakes in their nations growing confrontation with Russia, announcing a travel ban for most Russian men and searching the home of an influential cleric of the Russian Orthodox Church.

The long-simmering conflict bubbled over Sunday when Russian border guards rammed into and opened fire on three Ukrainian boats near the Crimean Peninsula, which Moscow annexed in 2014. The vessels were trying to pass through the Kerch Strait on their way to the Sea of Azov, where Ukraine has two major ports. The Russians then seized the ships and have detained their 24 crew members.
BUENOS AIRES  President Trump abruptly canceled a planned meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin as he headed to the Group of 20 Nations summit Thursday, citing Russias seizure of Ukrainian vessels as a source of tension in a relationship he has fostered in the face of criticism.

Trump tweeted his decision from Air Force One shortly after his former lawyer, Michael Cohen, revealed he had lied to Congress to cover up that he was negotiating a real estate deal in Moscow on Trumps behalf during the Republican presidential primary in 2016.

The news ensured any meeting with Putin would spotlight the special counsels investigation into whether the Trump campaign colluded with Moscow during the campaign. Trump has denied any wrongdoing and on Thursday called Cohen a weak person looking for a reduced sentence.

The last-minute move kicked off a global economic meeting expected to be dominated by Trumps seat-of-his-pants diplomacy. The Putin meeting  a continuation of a controversial summit between the two in July  was just one of a series of high-stakes items on Trumps agenda, which also includes talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping on how to ease a rising trade war.

Although Trump had previously floated canceling the meeting with Putin, White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders told reporters he did not make the final decision until boarding the plane for Argentina and speaking with national security adviser John Bolton and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. The Kremlin said it had not been formally notified of the decision, which came hours after Moscow said the meeting was on track.

I look forward to a meaningful Summit again as soon as this situation is resolved! Trump tweeted from Air Force One.

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko praised Trump on Twitter, saying, This is how great leaders act!

Sanders also said two of Trumps planned bilateral meetings  with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and South Koreas Moon Jae-in  had been canceled. Trump will instead speak informally with those leaders at the conference. She did not offer any explanation for those changes to the schedule.

The stakes for the sit-down between Putin and Trump were raised this week by Russias stepped-up aggression in the Kerch Strait, stemming from its years long occupation of Eastern Ukraine. Russia recently seized three Ukrainian vessels and crews. Russia said Ukraine didnt have permission to pass between Russias mainland and the Crimean Peninsula. Ukraine insisted its vessels abided by maritime laws.

Tensions had already been high over the war in Syria and allegations of Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential race. Trump has sought to improve the relationship with Putin, but was roundly criticized after the July summit in Helsinki for failing to publicly denounce Russias interference and appearing to accept Putins denials of such activity.

While Trumps statement was strongly worded, he has made similarly dramatic moves before only to walk them back. In the spring he canceled a planned summit with North Koreas Kim Jong Un, only to revive the meeting a week later.

Zeke Miller and Catherine Lucey are Associated Press writers.
DAKAR, Senegal  Children are bearing the brunt of five years of fighting in Central African Republic as thousands are trapped in armed groups, many suffer sexual violence, tens of thousands go hungry and one in four have fled their homes, the United Nations childrens agency said Friday.

The new report pleads for millions in funding for one of the worlds most neglected crises.

Deeply impoverished Central African Republic has faced interreligious and intercommunal fighting since 2013, when predominantly Muslim Seleka rebels seized power in the capital, Bangui. Mostly Christian anti-Balaka militias fought back, resulting in thousands of people killed and hundreds of thousands displaced.

Violence has intensified and spread in the past year after a period of relative peace as armed groups battle over lands rich in gold, diamonds and uranium.

Fighters often target civilians rather than each other, attacking health facilities and schools, mosques and churches and camps for displaced people, the UNICEF report said. At least half of the more than 640,000 people displaced are children.

This crisis is taking place in one of the poorest and least developed countries in the world, and one of the most dangerous for humanitarian workers, said Christine Muhigana, UNICEFs Representative in Central African Republic. Conditions for children are desperate.

Children are often separated from their parents amid the violence, becoming vulnerable to armed groups who now control four-fifths of the country, UNICEF said. Thousands of children, mostly boys, are thought to be in armed groups. Thousands more, most of them girls, are sexually exploited and abused.

One former child soldier told the U.N. agency that you are given a weapon and you use it. If told to kill or attack, you do it. Other former child soldiers, freed from the armed groups, later returned so they could make money, he said.

Whether by the ex-Seleka or the anti-Balaka, childrens rights are trampled on, said Olivier Mirindi-Chiza, chief of UNICEFs field office in the city of Bambari.

Carley Petesch is an Associated Press writer.
Several fire departments were called to a mansion fire in a gated community in Chandler, Arizona, on early Thursday morning.



The fire was reeported at 3 am when resident Julie Khalaj went downstairs to let the family's dogso ut, and noticeed she was having a hard time breathing. She, her husband, mother and son evacuated safely before the entire home was engulfed.



Firefighters went on the defensive, fighting the massive blaze from the outside as it was too dangerous to be inside the house. Two ladder trucks streamed hundreds of gallons of water.



The house was unable to be saved due to the strength of the fire. Local authorities report that nobody was injured.
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California employers may be required to provide seating for all workerseven customer-facing employees, such as cashiers, greeters and tellersbut the standard for suitable seating depends on the particular workplace's circumstances.

Employers generally want workers to look approachable and may feel that someone who is standing appears more attentive than someone who is sitting, said John Kuenstler, an attorney with Barnes & Thornburg in Los Angeles. But California employers may need to adjust their mindset on this aspect of the customer relationship, he said.

Under California wages orders, all employees must be provided with "suitable seats when the nature of the work reasonably permits a seat." Furthermore, even when the nature of the work requires standing, an adequate number of seats must be "placed in reasonable proximity to the work area," and employees must be allowed to use those seats at times when it doesn't interfere with their job duties.

It's important to note that the regulations apply to two sets of circumstances, explained Christopher Olmsted, an attorney with Ogletree Deakins in San Diego. First, employers should consider whether seating should be provided for use while the employee is performing work. Second, the employer should consider whether seating should be provided for use while employees are idle.

Conduct an Assessment

Every employer should evaluate its workforce and determine which employees are assigned job duties that require standing at a post or in a particular work area, Olmsted said. Perhaps, for example, a machine operator is not able to perform tasks while seated.

In the retail setting, the focus is commonly on cashiers, he added. "However, because the nature of work as a cashier varies from position to position, there is no standard rule dictating whether cashiers must be provided with seating."

He noted that the amount of time spent standing is not necessarily a determining factor. Consider the work environment, the nature of the duties performed, efficiency and safety concerns, he said.

Maybe the cashiers or greeters at a retail store aren't required to move around much and can be offered a seat, said Karin Cogbill, an attorney with Littler in San Jose. "Maybe the employer doesn't really care if workers are seated and can just update the policy."

But if employers continue to require employees to stand, they should perform an evaluation, document the reasons why and explain those reasons to employees, she added. The burden is on the employer to prove that there is no suitable seating available.

"Look at the employee's job in components as opposed to the entire day," Kuenstler said. If employees can perform one function while seated, such as working the checkout counter, then they should be able to have a seat for that task even if another task, such as stocking shelves, requires employees to stand.

Even if the job primarily requires workers to stand, employers should make seating available nearby for employees to use during downtime. For example, Kuenstler said, an employee who is stocking shelves may have a few minutes of downtime while waiting for someone to drop off more product. There should be seating available for that worker to use while waiting.

It may not be necessary to provide one seat for every scheduled worker, Olmsted said. "In some circumstances, providing a few seats in the vicinity of the work area may suffice if it is anticipated that somebut not allworkers may be idle at any given moment."

Multiple Standards

Employers should keep in mind that complying with suitable-seating requirements doesn't relieve them of their obligations under other federal and state laws. Kuenstler noted, for example, that providing a seat near the work area for an employee to use during idle time wouldn't satisfy California's rest-break requirements.

Nonexempt employees in the state are generally entitled to take an uninterrupted and paid 10-minute rest break for every four hours worked (or major fraction thereof). Suitable resting facilities must be provided in an area that is separate from bathrooms and available to employees during their work hours.



[SHRM members-only HR Q&A: What are the meal and rest break requirements for California employees?]

Employers may also need to provide seating as a reasonable accommodation for workers with disabilities under the Americans with Disabilities Act or the California Fair Employment and Housing Act. These laws require employers to make an individual assessment and engage in an interactive process with the worker.

Employers should take a look at their job descriptions to determine if they need to be revised to comply with federal and state laws, Kuenstler said.

Multistate employers in particular may need to make adjustments to account for the suitable-seating standard. "A job description that requires workers to stand for eight hours a day might be fine in some states but might not work in California," he said.

It's also critical for employers to ensure that job descriptions match what workers are actually doing, he said.


STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- The NYPDs Law Enforcement Explorers program award ceremony was held Wednesday night at the Jewish Community Center in Sea View, where the borough commander, commanding officers from all four precincts, families, community officers and police officers gathered to honor the graduates.

The program provides young men and women between the ages of 14-20 a first-hand experience into the field of law enforcement or a career in criminal justice where they can learn youth leadership and positive involvement in their community.

We have all kinds of structured activities we do with them and in addition to that they do actually learn a bit of police work. They do some drilling, handcuffing and theres a huge competition that they have in the spring, right out here at Camp Pouch, where explorers from all over the region come out here and posts actually compete against one another, Assistant Chief Kenneth Corey, the NYPDs borough commander, said.

Explorers have to become proficient in everything, including crime scene investigation, accident reconstruction and will have the ability to develop real-world skills that can help them down their path into the field.

Also important, they are learning life skills, things like leadership, teamwork, citizenship, being a part of a community. They do a tremendous amount of community service hours and volunteer work, cleaning up graffiti, vacant lots, filling bags of food for the less fortunate during the food drive," Corey said. They really do contribute quite a bit to them and its helpful for our officers because they get to engage with these young people in a very positive way."

Graduates posed for a picture with their awards as families and police officials applauded the explorers for performing over 4,000 hours of community service.

For additional information on how to join, please call the Community Affairs Bureaus Youth Strategies Division at 718-312-4471 or visit https://www1.nyc.gov/site/nypd/services/law-enforcement/youth-programs/explorers.page.
CITY HALL -- As Lyme disease and infected ticks continue to plague Staten Islanders, Councilman Joe Borelli (R-South Shore) has introduced legislation that would create a standardized protocol for New York City schools, outlining how to respond to potential tick bites.

The South Shore councilmans bill, co-sponsored by the chairman of the City Councils Health Committee Councilman Mark Levine (D-Manhattan), would direct the citys Department of Mental Health and Hygiene to design the protocol and share it with all school nurses.

Weve all seen the rise of tick-related illnesses over the past few years and its critically important that New York City develop and implement the systems necessary to ensure an appropriate and standardized response to tick bites reported during school hours, Borelli said. Staten Island schools are especially vulnerable because we have so many playgrounds and green spaces adjacent to school campuses that we know deer visit, but the issue really goes beyond what occurs on school campuses.

Borelli said in recent months, a number of students have gone to school nurses with suspected tick bites. He said response from school nurses have varied, highlighting the need for a standardized response to be put in place at schools.

What if a student was outdoors with their family over the weekend and approaches the school nurse on Monday with a bullseye rash? We need systems in place, and this legislation is going to make sure each and every school is provided with the tools and the information they need to keep our kids safe, Borelli continued.

RECORD RISE IN LYME DISEASE

From 2012 to 2017, Staten Island saw a 250 percent rise in cases of Lyme disease -- the sharpest jump in the disease of the five boroughs over the last five years, according to recent Health Department data.

A recent rise in cases of Lyme disease around Staten Island come as the boroughs deer population has surged around the same time period.

After a tick sweep conducted by researchers in 2017 found all of the borough's parks had ticks infected with the Lyme disease bacteria, researchers launched a tick app and decided to come to the borough this past summer to conduct additional fieldwork.

This summer the team surveyed hundreds of homes and found thousands of ticks in Island Parks and homes combined.

Researchers say one of the things they hear the most from Island residents with ticks in their backyards is that they report seeing deer almost every day.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more tick-borne illnesses have been reported in New York since 2004 than almost any other state.

In 2017, state and local health departments throughout the United States reported a record number of tick-borne disease, 59,349 cases, up from 48,610 in 2016.

That same year, 42,743 cases of Lyme Disease were reported, and the CDC believes their data underestimates the rate of occurrence.

Tick-borne illnesses spread in New York at an alarming rate, increasing the risk of Lyme disease for New Yorkers, Levine said. The development of such illnesses can be easily prevented through protective measures aimed at standardizing school nurses responses to tick bites in public schools. This new legislation need would establish a much-needed protocol for nurses to follow to ensure our children are kept healthy.

Over the summer, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced the city would spend $600,000 annually to tackle the problem by stepping up tick surveillance at city parks and conduct more detailed case investigations of the disease.

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STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Converse is the latest retailer to sign on to open in Empire Outlets, according to an announcement made on Twitter.

The tweet from Joseph Ferrara, principal in BFC Partners -- Empire Outlets developer -- says Converse will open in the citys first outlet mall on the St. George waterfront. The opening date of the shopping center, which has been delayed several times, is now set for April 17, 2019, according to Empire Outlets.

Exciting news friends and neighbors Converse is coming to @EmpireOutlets Spring of 2019 ! Yay! Great  work @prendamano  pic.twitter.com/v3gYogcex8  Joseph Ferrara (@GioNYC1) November 29, 2018

The popular sneaker brand touts itself as worn by rebels, rockers, rappers, artists, dreamers, thinkers and originals, on its website.

Located adjacent to the St. George Ferry Terminal, Empire Outlets will feature more than 100 designer retailers and a 1,250-space parking garage, along with future plans for a boutique hotel.

OTHER RETAILERS

Other retailers signed on to be part of Empire Outlets include: Nordstrom Rack, Nike, H&M, Ghirardelli Chocolate, Levis, True Religion, Cotton On, Francescas, Starbucks, U.S. Polo, Crocs, White House Black Market, Columbia Sportswear Company, Guess Factory Store, Wilsons Leather, G.H. Bass & Co., Lids, Obey Your Body, Innovation Luggage, Walgreens, Haagen Dazs and Krispy Kreme.

Restaurants set to be part of Empire Outlets' diverse group of dining options include: Mamoun's Falafel, Wasabi Steak & Sushi, Shake Shack, Mighty Quinn's Barbeque, Artichoke Basille's Pizza, Nathan's Famous and MRKTPL -- a 12,723-square-foot artisanal food hall with a 3,000-square-foot outdoor dining space.

The majority of Empire Outlets' retail and restaurant spaces are already leased.

Designed by SHoP Architects, Empire Outlets will feature expansive open corridors to the water, contemporary materials reflective of the industrial waterfront, and a sweeping sustainable green roof visible from the harbor.
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- The fires that ripped through two Staten Island homes on Thanksgiving Day are still under investigation, according to the FDNY.

The infernos sent five people to the hospital and decimated the homes in Tottenville and Grymes Hill.

The blaze at 154 Hillside Ave. broke out at approximately 5:20 p.m., and was under control about an hour later, according to the FDNY on Twitter.

More than 100 firefighters and 25 units were summoned to battle the two-alarm blaze, which residents feared would spread to other homes on the block.

A civilian suffered serious but non-life-threatening injuries. A firefighter also suffered minor injuries. Both were taken to Staten Island University Hospital in Ocean Breeze.

More than 12 hours before the Hillside Avenue fire, the FDNY responded to a three-alarm blaze at a home at 21 Sprague Ave. in Tottenville.

The fire broke out around 2 a.m., and the FDNY announced on Twitter that it was under control 3:25 a.m. The rear of the home suffered extensive burn damage.

More than 135 firefighters and 33 units were needed to contain the blaze.

Three firefighters went to Staten Island University Hospital on Princes Bay with minor injuries, an FDNY spokesman said.
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- The former Tottenville man accused of murdering his younger brother, sister-in-law, niece and nephew in their New Jersey home just a couple of days before Thanksgiving was held without bail Friday, authorities said.

Paul Caneiro, 51, of Ocean Township, N.J., garbed in dark blue-green jumpsuit, pleaded not guilty to the four murder charges during an appearance in Superior Court in Monmouth County, according to NJ.com.

The suspect, sitting in the jury box, pleaded not guilty to the charges. His attorneys maintain his innocence.

Keith Caneiro, 50, suffered several gunshot wounds and was discovered outside his million-dollar Colts Neck home on the morning of Nov. 20. His wife, Jennifer, 45, was shot and stabbed, and their two kids, Jesse, 11, and Sophia, 8, were repeatedly stabbed with a knife inside the home, said Monmouth County Prosecutor Christopher Gramiccioni at a recent press conference.

The suspect then set fire to the Colts Neck mansion to conceal his crimes, said the prosecutor.

Hours before authorities responded to the Colts Neck blaze, authorities allege Paul Caneiro set fire to his own Tilton Drive house in the Wayside section of Ocean Township while his wife and two daughters were inside. Paul Caneiros family was able to escape unharmed.

He set the fire as a ruse to make it appear the entire family was targeted,  Gramiccioni said of the Ocean Township fire.

Authorities believe the motive is likely tied to the two Asbury Park businesses -- Square One, a technology firm, and a pest control business, EcoStar Pest Management -- the two brothers co-own, said the NJ.com report.

A law enforcement source told the site the tech company was struggling financially, and a former Columbia University classmate of Keith Caneiros said he was looking for another job and thinking about walking away from Square One.

The Caneiro brothers, and Jennifer, whose maiden name is Karidis, all have ties to Staten Island. Public records indicate they all have previous addresses in the boroughs South Shore before moving to New Jersey, and family that still lives on the Island.
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- The lawyers for a former Staten Islander accused of killing four family members claim he had no motive to commit the horrific crime.

The statement released by Robert Honecker and Richard Ansell describes their client, Paul Caneiro, 51, as a loving family man who would never commit the acts of which hes accused.

There is absolutely no reason in the world for Paul Caneiro to have committed the crimes he is alleged to have committed, the statement reads. He would never hurt his family.

However, prosecutors charged Caneiro Thursday in the killing of his brother, Keith Caneiro, 50, Jennifer Caneiro, 45, and their two young children.

The family was discovered dead on Nov. 20, when authorities responded to a fire at their luxury home in Colts Neck, N.J.

Caneiro was also charged with possession of a firearm and possession of a weapon for unlawful purpose, according to NJ.com.

Hours before authorities responded to the Colts Neck blaze, authorities allege Paul Caneiro set fire to his own Tilton Drive house in the Wayside section of Ocean Township while his wife and two daughters were inside. The Paul Caneiro family was able to escape unharmed.

The Caneiro brothers, and Jennifer, whose maiden name is Karidis, all have ties to Staten Island. Public records indicate they all have previous addresses on the boroughs South Shore before moving to New Jersey, and family still living on the Island.

Attempts to contact those family members have been unsuccessful.

Keith Caniero served as the best man in his brothers wedding, according to Advance records.
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- New York Attorney General Barbara D. Underwood announced Thursday that seven hospitals -- including Richmond University Medical Center -- settled cases related to their illegal billing of rape survivors.

At least 200 forensic rape examinations were illegally billed to patients at the hospitals across the state, with bill totals ranging from $46 to $3,000 each, according to the statement.

Survivors of sexual assault have already gone through unfathomable trauma; to then subject them to illegal bills and collection calls is unconscionable, Underwood said.

The hospitals violated a section of New York law that requires bills for rape kits to be sent to the Office of Victim Services, or allow the victim to voluntarily opt to assign the costs to private insurance, according to the statement.

As a result of the settlements, the hospitals were required to pay full restitution to the victims, and implement new policies designed to prevent any more victims from being billed. The statement did not specify the amount RUMC paid, or how many survivors were billed.

A request for comment was not returned Thursday night.

The other six hospitals that settled are Brookdale University Hospital Medical Center, Columbia University, Montefiore Nyack Hospital, New York Presbyterian/Brooklyn Methodist Hospital and New York-Presbyterian/Columbia University Irving Medical Center, according to the statement.

A spokesman for RUMC emailed a statement saying the West Brighton hospital reviewed its policies as a result of the attorney generals suit, and that they are now in compliance with state law.

The professional and compassionate treatment of our patents has been, and always will be, our highest priority, the statement read.

These settlements are part of an ongoing investigation that started after a woman in Brooklyn was illegally billed seven times for her forensic examination. The investigation has found hospitals across the state fail to notify victims of their billing options and illegally bill them, according to the attorney generals office.
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- When the London Eye was built in 2000 it was initially supposed to be a temporary attraction.

But 18 years later, its one of Englands biggest tourist venues that regularly has long lines and a constant flow of visiting tourists.

The London Eye was only ever meant to be a temporary installation to celebrate the arrival of the new millennium, said Marino Katschmaryk, a U.K. resident who invested in the Challenger investment group for the development of the NY Wheel.

Its [The London Eye] success with tourists is the principle reason for its license being extended -- now into the next decade, he added.

At 135 meters high, the Coca-Cola London Eye is touted as the worlds largest cantilevered observation wheel, on its website.

The London Eye has been honored with 85 awards for national and international tourism, outstanding architectural quality and engineering achievement, says the website. In fact, it has become the UKs most popular paid-for visitor attraction," the website says.

So what did the London Eye do right that the failed New York Wheel did wrong?

The London Eye had real logistical difficulties....Not the same like what happened with the contractor and the parts for the NY Wheel. But certainly there were difficulties that could have stymied the project, said Abraham Unger, who holds a doctorate degree, and is an associate professor and director of urban programs at Wagner College, Grymes Hill.

A picture of the London Eye. Through the smog, you can see the London Eye as well as Big Ben. (Photo Courtesy: Alicia Platt)

The answer to why the London Eye succeeded and the NY Wheel did not is political will, specifically on the mayors level, he added.

Unger noted that the London mayor at the time, Ken Livingstone, backed the project. However, Mayor Bill de Blasio said on several occasions that he didnt see the NY Wheel project as economically viable.

Livingstone and the city of London threw public and political support behind the London Eye, said Unger, who is also author of several books, including The Death and Life of the American Middle Class: A Policy Agenda for American Jobs Creation.

The city of New York was reticent in that respect, he added.

LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION

Another reason the NY Wheel failed is its location, some experts believe.

The one very obvious difference between the London Eye and the failed NY Wheel is location. The eye sits on the very edge of the River Thames and faces both the houses of Parliament and Big Ben, said Katschmaryk.

The London Eye had its own critics at the time... at least one U.K. minister thought it was entirely inappropriate in its location. Of course, hindsight is a wonderful thing, he added.

Katschmaryk said he believes the Wheel could have been successful in another location.

Im not sure why Staten Island was ever selected, except as a driver for regeneration. But does Staten Island really need tourist attractions to bring redevelopment? Doesnt it need industry more? At least Empire Outlets will bring jobs, as well as tourists, he said.

COST OVERRUNS

Construction project cost overruns are not unusual with projects of this size. However, the estimated cost of NY Wheel ballooned from $250 million to nearly $1 billion over a seven-year period.

These types of projects historically have overruns. The one in London had overruns....So Im sure they factored in some cost overruns for this kind of project. With any investment, theres always unexpected costs, said Unger.

Said Katschmaryk: The second reason [the NY Wheel] failed is the extraordinary amount of money sought for completion. I dont recall seeing any serious breakdown of the budget at any point or where the increased costs were needed and, more to the point, why?

In the end, the Wheel didnt have the capital to get the project built. And in a last effort, made a plea to the city to issue tax-exempt bonds to pay the cost overrun.

The city made a choice to not issue bonds. Its just there are other ways of doing it that would have worked. But the city decided not to throw its weight behind the project, said Unger.

NY WHEEL HISTORY

The investors of the NY Wheel officially gave up on the project on Oct. 23.

After years of planning, the developers of The New York Wheel announce, with great disappointment, that the dream of building a world class attraction in Staten Island will unfortunately not come to fruition," said Cristyne Nicholas, spokesperson for the New York Wheel last month.

Since the project was halted in May 2017, the NY Wheel -- a privately-funded project that has been in the works for more than five years -- had been battling in court with its former contractor Mammoet-Starneth.

On Sept. 7, the embattled Wheel filed a motion for an order approving an amendment in Delaware Bankruptcy Court that -- among other things -- gave the developer a final standstill deadline of Jan. 7, 2019.

The amendment stated that no party would be allowed to seek additional extensions beyond that January deadline.

In exchange for the new standstill deadline, the amendment provided, among other things, that if the NY Wheel had not terminated the agreement by Oct. 23, the developer would relinquish rights to the Wheel parts.

Once the developers of the NY Wheel terminated their request for an extension to get the failed project back on track, they obtained the right to auction the parts of the ill-fated tourist attraction, according to court papers.

However, the NY Wheel has yet to give details of the auction -- especially since the parts are scattered in different places across the globe.

MORE RECENT STORIES ABOUT THE NY WHEEL:

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National Australia Bank's board has vowed to put more weight on customers' interests when making strategic decisions, after the bank admitted it too often failed to put clients first, took too long to fix problems, and didn't sufficiently hold people to account for poor behaviour.

The bank's critical "self-assessment," which all major banks were made to carry out after a scathing prudential report into Commonwealth Bank, also said NAB's board had failed to ask enough tough questions of management, and the lender's approach to compliance was not up to scratch.

NAB chairman Ken Henry says the customers' voice was too often "missing" when the bank made decisions. Credit:Chris Hopkins

As the banking royal commission wrapped up its final public hearing on Friday, the NAB report said it would set up a new board committee focused on "customer outcomes", a move the lender says is a first among Australian banks.

It also flagged a range of changes to its risk management framework, including creating a new chief compliance officer role, reporting to chief risk officer David Gall, and the bank revealed it had spent $456 million on risk and compliance in the past year.
National Australia Banks self-assessment report on governance, accountability and culture, released on the final day of the royal commission, was a forthright piece of introspection on where things had gone wrong industry-wide.

Being a self-assessment, it provided the bank with the opportunity to highlight some commentary on where and how it had improved, or was going to improve.

That said, it was gritty enough.

But it leads one to ponder how different its internal evaluation report card would have looked had it been undertaken - say - two years ago.

My guess is it would have looked very different indeed. Not a lot of read marks and plenty of A pluses.
Demand for retail strata properties is very strong as indicated by the recent record sale of the Bulgari flagship store at 64-68 Castlereagh Street, Sydney, for in excess of $50 million.

The first record for retail strata was clinched in December 2015, when a Spanish private investor purchased the luxury Bulgari flagship store for $28.7 million.

Then in December 2017, Opera Retail located at 71 Macquarie Street, Sydney, was sold for more than $40 million to a local investor by Knight Franks Andy Hu, Dominic Ong and Alex Alamsyah, which made it the largest CBD retail strata transaction in history and represented a net yield of sub 4 per cent.

The luxury Bulgari flagship store, Sydney has been sold to the Germany fund DEKA Immobilien

But the Bulgari sale has topped the lot, with the German fund DEKA Immobilien the buyer.
Luxury retailers are locked in a battle for new locations in Australia's capital cities as they jostle for prominent positions to attract the tourist dollar.

To cement their presence, they are now buying up the buildings in which to open flagship stores with eye-catching window displays to lure in buyers.

It has been suggested, but not confirmed, that the French-based luxury brand, Louis Vuitton Moet Hennessy (LVMH) paid $37.1 million for the head office of the Victorian Liberal Party at 104 Exhibition Street, Melbourne.

Leather goods sit on display at the Louis Vuitton "maison" flagship store, a unit of LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton SA. Credit:Brendon Thorne/Bloomberg

There has also been a battle among luxury retailers for premium space in Melbourne's upmarkt Collins Street, which has seen global brand Balenciaga negotiate an off-market deal to take over rival Ralph Laurens prime Melbourne store.
There was something missing at the luxury jeweller Tiffany & Co in recent months: Chinese tourists.

For the second time in as many months, a big seller of high-end goods noticed that a particularly crucial demographic of its shopping base had made itself sparse, damaging sales and stoking fears of worse to come.

On Wednesday, shares of Tiffany & Co plunged 12 per cent after reporting weaker- than-expected sales in its third quarter. Chief executive Alessandro Bogliolo said that Chinese tourists have failed to show up, and open wallets up, with the same vigour they had in the past.

Tiffany & Co said it continued to experience softness in the US, Hong Kong and Macau as it believed some Chinese tourists had been travelling to and shopping in other regions. Credit:Bloomberg

Last month, the owner of Louis Vuitton noted the same phenomenon of dwindling Chinese tourists. Shares in that company were hit hard as well.
Adani may have to spend more than half of the $2 billion slated for its Queensland mega-coal mine on rail lines alone if it is to get its shipments to ports.

On Thursday, Adani announced it would self-finance a $2 billion scaled down Carmichael mine in after it failed to receive funding from Australian banks or government sources.

Adani's project hinges on a scaled down mine and reduced rail line connecting it to Aurizon's coal haulage network. Credit:Dan Himbrechts

It had originally priced the project at $US16 billion, with funding into a rail line connecting it to the Abbot Point Coal Terminal, to ensure the project did not remain stranded in Queenslands underdeveloped Surat Basin.

Its new proposal now allows it to fund the mine from the global parent business, with a rail line connecting to heavy haulage firm Aurizon's rail network.
The worlds largest onshore wind turbines are slated to hit Australia first but the company behind the giant machines has warned that inadequate electricity infrastructure means new renewable power could be going to waste.

International conglomerate GE has planned to launch its mega-wind turbine in Australia but its global head of renewables Jerome Pecresse said the countrys electricity network is out of step with the boom in renewable generation and investment.

GE's global head of renewables sees a bright future for wind and solar in Australia but believes the sector is moving faster than the infrastructure can handle. Credit:Janie Barrett

One of the challenges for Australia is how to connect these renewables to the grid, he told Fairfax Media. We need investment in the grid to accommodate these higher renewable levels.

Australia is forecast to see a massive renewable energy boom, backed by new technology like GE's planned mega-wind turbines, but there are concerns that this power could be going to waste unless action is taken by all levels of government.
AGL has announced a slight reduction in Victorians power and gas bills from 2019, as EnergyAustralia and Origin cut prices for households under pressure.

AGL customers' household electricity prices will drop by 1.6 per cent from 1 January, shaving around $23 a year off the average power bill of $1636.

Gas prices will fall by around 1 per cent for Victorian households and businesses. Credit:Michelle Lowings

Small businesses will also receive a 1.6 per cent cut, saving them about $60 a year.

Gas prices will also drop, albeit only slightly, by 0.9 per cent for households and 1.2 per cent for small businesses. This will result in savings of around $11 for households and $56 for small business using gas.
Surrounded by dignitaries that included the Italian ambassador and the Lord Mayor it would have been easy for nine-year-old Tom Yates to have been overawed by the occasion.

But the Sydney schoolboy acquitted himself perfectly on that rainy day in December 1968.

Pig deal: Tom Yates recreates the moment in 1968 when, as a schoolboy, he was the first person to make a wish with Il Porcellino. Credit:Louise Kennerley

His symbolic task was to pitch the first coins into the wishing well at the feet of Il Porcellino, the larger-than-life bronze boar who has stood guard outside Sydney Hospital on Macquarie Street ever since. Now, 50 years later, Yates is back.

"I do remember it well," says Yates, whose great aunt Marchesa Clarissa Torrigiani donated the genial-faced Il Porcellino (The Little Pig) to the city in memory of her father Dr Thomas Fiaschi and brother Dr Piero Fiaschi. "It was a big event for Sydney and also a big event for the Italian community here. I had a small amount of special coins in my bag with the Italian flag on one side and the Australian flag on the other."
For exquisite writing about love, desire and obsession, read Enigma Variations by Andre Aciman (FABER & FABER, $28). Aciman is best known here for Call Me By Your Name, which was made into a successful movie last year. A terrific writer. SUMMER The True Colour of the Sea (HAMISH HAMILTON, $30), master storyteller Robert Drewe's latest collection of short stories  all connected to the sea  is the perfect book to ease you into the summer break. Some stories are about forbidden love  between a mother-in-law and her son-in-law, and a man and his best mate's wife. Others are about ageing and death, family and the beauty of art. Witty, insightful and sometimes surprisingly dark (cannibalism, anyone?). If you're short of ideas on where to spend the long summer days, look no further than Places We Swim by Dillon Seitchik-Reardon and Caroline Clements (HARDIE GRANT TRAVEL, $40). The authors travelled around Australia in search of the best waterholes, beaches and public pools and selected 60, some well-known, others less so. For each location they provide tips on how to get there, places to eat and inviting photographs. Dive in. For those who love thrillers, summer and creativity. Credit:Jennifer Soo

THRILLERS Thanks to Jane Harper, whose The Dry has gone gangbusters here and internationally, Australia's very own crime genre, rural noir, is on a roll. Two new ones, Harper's own The Lost Man (PAN MACMILLAN, $33), her third book, and Chris Hammer's Scrublands (ALLEN & UNWIN, $33), his first, both set in the drought-stricken outback, are excellent summer reads. Harper's book is about the mysterious death of one of three brothers from a rural family. It is as much a family saga and love story as a thriller. Hammer's book opens with the priest in a small country town shooting dead five of his parishioners. Martin Scarsden, a journalist battling his own demons, is sent to cover the story. Gripping, with a fiendishly clever denouement. For those who prefer non-fiction, bestselling English author Ben Macintyre's The Spy and the Traitor (VIKING, $35), about a senior KGB agent who became a British spy during the Cold War, will have you reading into the small hours. It's a riveting, truth-is-stranger-than-fiction espionage story, with all the intrigue, suspense and subterfuge you'd expect. Brilliant. BIOGRAPHIES Australian journalist Damon Kitney's new biography of James Packer, The Price of Fortune (HARPERCOLLINS, $45), is the best book yet about the troubled magnate. Drawing on extensive interviews with Packer, his friends and associates, Kitney describes his business dealings, personal crises (Mariah Carey; a battle with sister Gretel over their father's estate) and mental health challenges. A reminder that, in Packer's words, "wealth and fortune don't guarantee happiness".

Professor Andrew Roberts is the first Churchill biographer to have had access to the war diaries of King George VI. His Churchill (ALLEN LANE, $70) is a rich, nuanced examination of Churchill's strengths as well as his weaknesses, with emphasis on his leadership during World War II. A compelling account of an extraordinary man, whose father once told him he was destined to live a "shabby, unhappy and futile existence". CREATIVITY Writer and photographer Robyn Lea interviewed 20 artists from around the world for Bohemian Living (THAMES & HUDSON, $65), in which she explores the relationship between creative people and their homes. These apartments, lofts and cottages are filled with beautiful objects which reflect the eclectic tastes of their owners. Look out for the wallpaper made from old poetry books and the snake in formaldehyde. Stunning photography. Mirka and Georges Mora were the heart and soul of Melbourne's food and art scene from the 1950s  and Mirka & Georges: A Culinary Affair by Lesley Harding and Kendrah Morgan (THE MIEGUNYAH PRESS, $55) is a joyful celebration of their lives. The charismatic couple mixed with Heide founders John and Sunday Reed, hosted Mick Jagger and hired artist Charles Blackman to cook in their restaurant. Beautifully illustrated with Mirka's artwork and with recipes for bouillabaisse and other French delights. MEMOIRS

Unfettered and Alive Like memoirs, history or maths? These books should be on your summer list. Credit:Jennifer Soo (ALLEN & UNWIN, $40) is Anne Summers' chronicle of a life lived at the vanguard of feminism. She writes with passion and insight of her work as a journalist, as head of the Office of the Status of Women for the Hawke Labor government, as editor-in-chief of Ms. magazine in the US and with PM Paul Keating. A brilliant career indeed. It's great social history, too  what a shock to be reminded that in the late 1970s a single woman could not get a bank loan. Michelle Obama's long-awaited memoir, Becoming (VIKING, $50), is frank, authentic and deeply personal. She writes of how hard work and determination propelled her from a working-class background in Chicago, to Princeton, Harvard, and a top-tier law firm, and how her life changed after she met Barack Obama. She's honest about the pressures political life placed on their (strong) marriage, and her own distaste for politics, vowing never to run for office. MATHS

Woo's Wonderful World of Maths (MACMILLAN AUSTRALIA, $30) will have even the most reluctant mathematician reaching for the pencil and ruler. If you've ever wondered why blood vessels look like lightning flashes, this book by acclaimed Australian maths teacher Eddie Woo is for you. Woo explains a whole host of mathematical principles in a simple, clear and interesting way. He's funny, too. HISTORY Australian historian Clare Wright's You Daughters of Freedom (TEXT, $50) tells the story of the feisty women who won the right to vote for (white) Australian women federally in 1902, then helped their sisters in Britain do the same. They were up against it: it was suggested only "a mere handful of ladies with masculine ambition" wanted the vote. Wright's last book, The Forgotten Rebels of Eureka, won the Stella Prize. An exciting history of a trailblazing campaign. French journalist Agnes Poirier's wonderful Left Bank (BLOOMSBURY, $40) will transport you to the Left Bank of Paris, the hub of artistic and intellectual life, between 1940 and 1950. Poirier paints a fascinating portrait of the complicated personal and political lives of artists, writers and philosophers such as Sartre, de Beauvoir, Camus and Picasso during the Occupation, then in the euphoric post-war years. A vivid reconstruction of an exciting time. John Curtin's War: Triumph and Decline (VIKING, $50), the second volume of John Edwards's Curtin biography, opens in 1942 with the PM preparing for a Japanese invasion of Australia and ends with his death in mid-1945. An excellent account of how he successfully steered the nation through the Pacific War.
HISTORY

New Jerusalem

Paul Ham

William Heinemann, $45 In New Jerusalem, Paul Ham gives us a ringside seat at one of the strangest and most dramatic events in European history. The German town of Munster was the site of a hopeful religious experiment that went horribly wrong in the years 1534 and 1535. It ended with a siege, starvation and brutality, and the violent deaths of many in a community of about 2000 men, 5000 women and 2000 children. Paul Ham. These people were Anabaptists, a radical sect that emerged in German and Dutch lands in the 1520s. This was a period in which fiery preachers moved from town to town, gathering supporters and fomenting change. Their words were urgent, because the Last Days described in the Book of Revelation were coming. War, disease, and fiery signs in the sky all portended these End Times. Radical preachers convinced their followers that Munster would be a community of the chosen when the prophesied Apocalypse hit in Easter 1534. They also persuaded the community to stay as disappointment and then renewal played out over the following year, until their final defeat in June 1535 as a brutal siege came to an end. There was, of course, a much larger context to the events. In 1517 Martin Luther had challenged the church in Rome  and especially its entwinement of finance and faith  with his "95 Theses", supposedly nailed to a church door in Wittenberg.

New Jerusalem by Paul Ham. Paul Ham makes clear that Anabaptists were in many ways unlike Lutherans, who formed the core of mainstream Protestantism. Anabaptists believed in adult, not infant baptism, stressed free will, and "good works". Luther's riveting core idea that Christians would be saved by "faith alone" was conceptually more extreme. But Lutheranism had become a socially conservative movement that stressed incremental change and was under the protection of princes. Anabaptists had no such elite patronage, and pursued a transformative social agenda that was also fuelled by the struggles of the Peasants' War in the 1520s. As Anabaptists in Munster lived through the Last Days, they radically restructured society. Property was held in common, men married multiple wives, books were burned, churches and their contents were destroyed in iconoclastic attacks, and there were summary executions for minor crimes. New Jerusalem focuses on the men who led Munster into this maelstrom, with the town's women appearing in minor but still compelling roles. The book is filled with the voices of wandering preachers, Anabaptist supporters and dissenters within Munster, and retaliating Catholic and Lutheran elites beyond the city's walls. The most prominent included Jan Matthys, a huge Dutchman from Haarlem who electrified the German city with his mood-swings, rages, and apocalyptic words. In a doomed stand against the mercenary soldiers employed by the exiled Catholic Prince-Bishop of Munster to besiege the town, Matthys rode out, was killed and torn limb from limb. His replacement  also a Dutchman  was a much wilier character, the young, blond Jan of Leiden. He was a master manipulator whose prophecies always suited his own agenda. By the end of the siege he presided as King of Munster over a luxurious court  while most in the city starved  and had more than a dozen wives. New Jerusalem could give us a stronger sense, at times, of what radical activities were common in other towns  the iconoclastic destruction of religious imagery, for example, and processions mocking external rulers and religious elites  and which were distinctive to Munster. Ham's references to newspapers could be nuanced, as there were single broadsheets and pamphlets that reported "news" in the early 16th century, but not the periodical press that we refer to as newspapers. But he rightly notes the larger political, social and religious interest in events in Munster, and its ongoing role in justifying more widespread persecution of other Anabaptists. And he offers powerful descriptions of the ill-treatment of women, children and men outside the circle of power as Munster's violent, manipulative and self-interested religious leaders spiralled out of control.
In part two, Cromwell recovers his "evangelical convictions". As councillor, a role taken on at the beginning of 1531, he juggles "open-ended responsibilities which never cease expanding until the moment of his arrest" in 1540. MacCulloch argues that 1531 was the year the "traditionalist/ evangelic divide" began to have impact across Britain. Cromwell was firmly on the side of the evangelicals. Between 1531 and 1534 we watch him "tinkering with and steadily expanding and refining" the bill of "Augmentation of Treasons", his jottings reflecting the rise in tension as Anne Boleyn's coronation drew closer.

Cromwell's grief is compounded by his failure to save Wolsey after the Cardinal failed to facilitate Henry's divorce from Catherine of Aragon. MacCulloch suggests he became royal secretary not only for his own betterment, but so that he could still manage the affairs of the beleaguered Wolsey. He also posits that the fact Cromwell fathered an illegitimate daughter in the months after Wolsey died in November 1530 signals the inner turmoil and crisis of faith he experienced in those difficult years.

Henceforth, Cromwell worked discreetly but effectively to subvert "traditional religion", ensuring that Wolsey's foundation of Cardinal College, Oxford in 1528 contained "leading clerical converts to evangelical religion". In pinpointing the one "serious jolt" to what he sees as Cromwell's clear commitment to religious reform, MacCulloch provides a rare glimpse of "the true Thomas Cromwell" who lost his wife and daughters to "sweating sickness" in 1529.

By the mid 1520s, Cromwell, "Citizen and Merchant Taylor of London", was "an exceptionally cosmopolitan Englishman, with a web of connections to northern Italy, the Low Countries and the ports of London and Southampton". In constructing Cromwell's web of contacts, MacCulloch reveals a hitherto overlooked close relationship with the family Lady Jane Grey was born into. This enabled him to become a Member of Parliament in 1523 and enter the service of Cardinal Thomas Wolsey in 1524.

As the title Part Three: Touching Pitch suggests, once the break with Rome is confirmed and Cromwell's Treason Act passed, the "tally of suffering" mounts. Although MacCulloch does not try to disassociate Cromwell from the executions that define the period, he suggests the documents show "him doing his best to rein it in while conscientiously doing the King's ruthless will". This grates somewhat with the observation that he can also be seen "grafting his own evangelical religious enthusiasm on to Henry's break with Rome". Thomas More was beheaded in 1535 and Boleyn in 1536. Between these two executions there were many others, including the coordinated burning of 23 Anabaptists.

In deftly taking the reader through this extraordinary period, MacCulloch decisively quashes a number of commonly held assumptions: that More was a saintly character; Cromwell and Boleyn were in cahoots; and Cromwell was instrumental in the humiliation of the King's estranged daughter, Mary. Showing us their words, he demonstrates More's "positive relish for burning heretics", Cromwell's responsibility for Boleyn's demise (having never forgiven her treatment of Wolsey), and Mary's confirmation that she saw Cromwell "as a firm source of support" in regaining her father's favour.

In part four we see how the revolts of the Pilgrimage of Grace (the popular revolt against Henry and his break with Rome) nearly destroyed Cromwell and that his ability to "improvise and thrive" had been compromised in the wake of Boleyn's fall as formal honours and promotion increasingly "crystallised" his position.

He survived and what happened next has barely featured in many studies but, as MacCulloch suggests, if Cromwell had not fallen from royal favour, its legacy would have been significant. In the summer of 1537 Cromwell's son Gregory married Elizabeth Seymour, the sister of the King's then wife. This meant that when the future Edward VI was born that autumn, Gregory was the prince's uncle. Had he survived, Cromwell would have surely benefited from that relationship. As it was, Jane Seymour's untimely death upped the strain on Cromwell as he dealt with a grief-stricken king and pushed forward his agenda  closing friaries and halting pilgrimages to shrines.

The final part, Nemesis, opens to the "blood-soaked autumn" of 1538. MacCulloch paints a picture of an increasingly apprehensive Cromwell who, while others celebrated Henry's marriage to Anne of Cleves "as another triumph for his campaign of reformation", found outlet in bouts of "manic supervision". On learning that Henry found Anne repulsive, Cromwell recognised that his diplomatic feat in finalising the match could trigger "the King's sexual humiliation". Yet, as MacCulloch demonstrates, until his arrest on June 10, 1540, Cromwell "showed a new self-confidence in what amounted to a slow-moving coup against his opponents". It was those close to Cromwell who sealed his fate, intimating to the King his indiscretions regarding the non-consummation of the royal marriage. Cromwell was beheaded on July 28, 1540.
The Rolling Stones Project featuring Tim Ries and Bernard Fowler.

MUSIC

THE ROLLING STONES PROJECT 

Birds Basement, until December 2

If anyone has the authority to recast Rolling Stones hits as 21st century jazz standards, its Tim Ries. The band's saxophonist for almost two decades, he is not only a compelling performer but an ingenious arranger whose love of soul, blues, funk and Motown is evident as he dresses classic Stones tunes in fresh jazz clothes.

Bernard Fowlers association with the Stones goes back even further  30 years now. With the Rolling Stones Project, the backing vocalist steps forward as an intensely charismatic frontman, his rich, grain-flecked voice digging deep into each phrase to hit soul paydirt. No Mick Jagger imitations here; Fowler is his own man, and makes you believe that each lyric is a snapshot from his own life story.
The old adage is true: the more things change, the more they stay the same.

Nick "Honey Badger" Cummins is returning to television screens just a few months after refusing to pick a winner on this year's season of The Bachelor Australia.

But the Honey Badger isn't looking for love this time - nor will he be flogging cars, beers, GoPros or men's underwear. Instead, he'll be fronting a new show for pay television due out next month.

Speaking on Brisbane's Hit105 breakfast show, the former rugby union player revealed filming for his new show on National Geographic had wrapped up just last month.
Is it any wonder thousands and thousands of students turned out in force across Australia on Friday for the School Strike 4 Climate? Australias kids are willing to sacrifice their education to stop Adani because they know it is their future at stake, it is their generation who will be forced to clean up the policy mess that ministers like Matt Canavan have left them.

But of course, it should not be up to Australias schoolchildren to stop Adani. The Labor party, Australias likely future government, should give voters a real choice at the next election and commit to stop Adanis mine by any means available to it.

Adanis mine is a dud project for any one of a dozen reasons. No bank would touch it, Adani has had to finance the mine itself. There wont be many jobs in it, Adani boasts "When we ramp up the mine, everything will be autonomous from mine to port". Traditional owners do not consent to the mine on their land and are challenging Adani before a full federal court bench next year. Adani is still under investigation for potential environmental breaches in Australia and it has an appalling record of environmental destruction and prosecutions overseas, including allegations of corruption, fraud and money laundering.

The federal Environment Department found Adani probably broke the law in its environmental application by giving false evidence. Federal and Queensland governments are yet to sign off on key water plans which water scientists say are grossly inadequate to protect precious water. As Queensland burns and suffers through drought, it seems grossly unfair that Adani has been granted a license to extract 12.5 billion litres of water every year for 60 years, nearly as much as all local farmers combined, without a full environmental impact assessment, as documents obtained by Lock The Gate Alliance under Queensland's Right To Information laws showed. And the Queensland government is still offering Adani a secret royalty subsidy.

Frankly Australias next government should not only stop Adani, it should put a moratorium on all new coal mines. Even with a ban on new mines, Australia Institute research shows Australia's coal production would decline only gradually as existing mines reached the end of their economic lives. If Adanis coal mine goes ahead, with flat world demand for coal, every new coal mine opened in new coal regions like the Galilee simply reduces production in existing coal regions like the Hunter Valley, Bowen Basin and Surat Basin. This will lead to the closure of some mines and layoffs in others. A moratorium on new coal mines would protect existing coal jobs. It is impossible to limit global warming while building new coal mines.
I'm a 16-year old Australian student and I believe a school strike was the wrong way to approach the problem of climate change. Don't get me wrong. Climate change is an extremely important issue that needs to be acted upon, but a student strike is not an effective way of "protesting" against the government. (I know this is how Prime Minister Scott Morrison started his spiel in Parliament, but please hear me out.)

These climate-change protests were declared by young people passionate about their future, but their agenda is misguided. From what I have researched, their main motive is to persuade the government to do more. But what does "doing more" mean? The demand is so vague and unspecific that the government has nothing to act upon.

The climate is changing ... is a school strike the way to address it?

Some people will argue that protest is an effective way to create change, as seen throughout history. But those protests were in reaction to specific cases of injustice. In the United States, the 1955 arrest of Rosa Parks led to a mass boycott of buses that resulted in a Supreme Court finding that racial segregation on buses was unconstitutional. In Australia, people rallied for the specific cause marriage equality  not the broad issue of discrimination  and to good effect.

These climate-change protesters can't stir change without articulating the specific change they have in mind. The government is not going to listen to an unclear demand, or fob it off with an empty assurance that it will "do more".
When Darling Harbour was in the planning stages of redevelopment we realised we would have an additional 3000 people at our doorstep, Mr Yam said. High-rise developments attract Asian buyers used to vertical living and we saw an opportunity for those new residents to eat dinner with us. We already had a 14-store food court that was going gangbusters but we wanted to evolve with the market. The third level food court at Market City was transformed into the deluxe 1909 Dining Precinct in April and new restaurants (theres eight with two more set to open) must adhere to a strict set of guidelines to convey a professional appearance - you wont see any handwritten signs for daily specials taped to windows, for instance. 1909s glitzy Chinese hot pot restaurant, The Dolar Shop, is rumoured to have a fit-out that cost more than $2 million and may be the only shopping centre restaurant in the country with a Penfolds 1979 Grange on the wine list. Chinatowns borders are also expanding. When I moved here from United States in 2001, Chinatown more or less stopped at Goulburn Street, Mr Yam said. Now it has pushed all the way up to Liverpool [Street]. Marking the western border is Darling Squares new Steam Mill Lane, sandwiched between the Convention Centre and Paddy's Markets. The precinct features Millennial-targeting fried chicken and burger restaurants interspersed with Vietnamese pork roll, sushi and noodle shops. New venues at Market City and Steam Mill Lane have been hand-picked to complement each other in terms of cuisine and price point. The pan-Asian offerings echo larger food trends in Chinatown.

Chinatown obviously is a reflection of society and immigration, says chief Herald food critic Terry Durack. In the last 20 years it has gone from being a Cantonese Chinatown to a more general pan-Chinatown with northern and western regional influences. Now, its a broader, border-crossing Asiatown, with Korean, Vietnamese, Japanese, Thai and Cambodian influences. Weve sadly lost a lot of the great fresh food shops and grocers and said farewell to many of the vast, old-school yum cha palaces. But, in the great cycle of life, Chinatown is witnessing the growth of small, interesting, independent restaurants such as the Malaysian Ho Jiak and the south-western Chinese Spring Yunnan. Now its next-gen Asian moving in with noodle shops, start-ups, fusion food bars and coffee shops. With any luck, it will keep evolving and introducing us to new flavours and cultures that become absorbed into the Australian psyche. FANCY A FANCY NIP? Chinatowns $2500 whisky nip - Hibiki 35 Year Old Arita With Banchos price for one pour of this whisky far exceeding the cost of return flight to Tokyo, this is not spirit designed for shooting. With notes of vanilla and spice, Hibikis rare blend of grain whiskies (some of which are the oldest left in Japan) was released in a handmade ceramic decanter to celebrate 400 years of Japanese porcelain in 2017. Only 150 were made and a few bottles are still available at $54,000. Shop around on the secondary market, however, and you might be able to snare one for a cheeky $30k instead.

FIVE NEW VENUES TO TRY Bancho, 10 Thomas Lane Theres more to Chinatowns first laneway small bar than cocktails an high-roller whisky. Bar snacks include kushikatsu (panko-crumbed skewers of meat and vegetables) and theres a smart offering of natural wine and Japanese craft beer if youre not fussed on pushing the boat out with spirits. Bang Bang Izakaya Bar, 14 Steam Mill Lane An izakaya is pretty much the Japanese version of a knees-up pub where beer is knocked back with gusto and theres no shortage of kitschy design. Steam Mills izakaya is loud with colour and noise, and slings top notch sashimi, sushi and robata-grilled chook.

Myeong Rang Hot Dog, 1 Dixon Street This hole-in-the-wall next door to fried chicken temple Arisun is a branch of a Korean franchise with more than 800 outposts worldwide. This the first M.R. Hotdog in Sydney although a better local name might be M.R. Pluto Pup as it trades solely in sausages threaded on sticks and deep fried in glutinous rice batter. The Dolar Shop, 1909 Dining Precinct Market City, 9-13 Hay Street Theres at least 15 hotpot restaurants in Chinatown waiting for you to dip raw ingredients into hot broth, but none of them have the sleek glamour of this 200-seater with its gold trim and gourmet menu. Founded in Shanghai in 2014 and boasting 54 international venues, if youre jonesing for Penfolds Grange with abalone, The Dolar can deliver. Yomie's Rice X Yogurt, Citymark Building, 683 George Street
He has led special operations, professional standards and AFP operations in the Northern Territory and New South Wales, and now, he said, hes back home. It's quite comfortable in many ways, something I'm familiar with, he said. It's fundamental that the people who are doing policing here are the same community-spirited group that I remember. But he said there would plenty of challenges ahead for him and his team, including an ever-increasing workload and a move towards a preventative, rather than just a responsive, model of policing. I don't like to categorise it as keeping me up at night, because I'm confident in the skills and capabilities of the police officers we have here to do the job they do, with all the support staff and professional staff that we have, he said.

And he disagreed with the notion that - attitudes to cannabis notwithstanding - Canberra is perceived as a type of safe haven for organised crime. I know some very dedicated people working quite hard on issues around organised crime generally, the gangs particularly, he said. We've got a reasonably good range now of laws that allow us to take the profit out of crime, which I think is an important thing. "At the end of the day, all organised crime is designed around making a profit. So if you can take the profit out of it, it makes it less attractive as an option. Trying to divert people from going into that in the first place - thats where we interact with education. I wouldn't suggest that the ACT is a safe haven by any stretch. He said that violence, in all its iterations, remained a priority when it came to preventative policing.

People should be able to feel safe from violence against the person in their community as much as possible, he said. Every one of those statistics is a person's experience. It's only when you hear those individual experiences [that] you get through those statistics and you get to the lived emotional experience of someone who's been through it. He said he occasionally missed the individual human interactions that came with being a policeman on the beat, back in the first third of his career. And he said it would be probably take another 10 years before he could point to his own influence on the ACT police force. At the end of the day, probably, it's the people I lead who are going to make a difference, he said.

My job is to make sure that they've got what they need to make that difference. I think you'll see that over the next two or three years. Any organisations internal change programs take quite a long time to embed themselves. In any case, he maintained that he was in it for the long haul, although he had already weathered his fair share of quips about the short tenure of his predecessor, Justine Saunders, who left her post after just two years to take up a post with the Australian Border Force. I've said this to a couple of people - this is the best job in the AFP, he said. Whilst there was no grand plan to get here, the fact that circumstances have conspired to allow me to be here is an honour.
A Canberra woman died after her own dog Simba turned on her while she was trying to protect a friend.

A coroner's findings published Thursday found Tania Louise Klemke knew Simba was dangerous and used him in a protective and deterrent way.

Police on the scene at Molesworth Street at Watson. Credit:Jamila Toderas

Once Simba was agitated and aggressive it was very difficult to deter or redirect his attack, the coroner found.

Simba was acting aggressively when Ms Klemke let her friend into her Watson house early in the morning on October 25, 2017.
Comanchero bikie boss Hasan Topal has been jailed for helping bash another man unconscious during a wild strip club brawl.

Comanchero Victorian commander Hasan Topal. Credit:Instagram

The Victorian Comanchero commander, and alleged acting national president while Mick Murray was in jail, was on Friday sentenced in to 10 months for his part in melee at the Canberra Mens Club last year.

Topal, 28, is the fourth Comanchero  along with Paea Talakai, 27, Nuulua Sooa Levi, 55, and Peniamina Elia, 34 - serving time at Canberra jail over the brawl.

Comanchero members from across the country travelled to Canberra in August for the club's 2017 memorial run.
At the same time, livelihoods and incomes are being lost because of the bushfires, politicians who are advocates for the Adani mine are going on about regional employment benefits from the mine. When will the light shine through? Robyn Vincent, McKellar Noble but tough The school climate change strike is interesting, but while pursuing 50 or 100 per cent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions is noble and necessary, it may require the end of global aviation and shipping, plus beef farming and mechanised agriculture, seriously damaging living standards and survival, especially that of future generations. Rod Matthews, Fairfield Vic

Global population If young Canberra schoolchildren are going to "skip class" and protest in front of Parliament House to put pressure on politicians for action on climate change causing extinction of species, then it is incumbent on their parents and teachers to provide them with the whole story. Extinction of certain species is caused in part by:  Foxes and feral cats preying on birds, small mammals and reptiles. Rapid expansion of cities and towns requiring destruction of habitat to allow the building of houses, apartment blocks, hospitals, schools, shopping centres, roads, freeways, etc.

The most important issue for us to consider today is that global population is too high. Katina Dale, Red Hill Send your opinions to letters.editor@canberratimes.com.au Credit:Fairfax Media Hope for 'Skippy' Great to read the ACT government is finally taking its macropods seriously for a change, "the ACT government will move to establish the southern brush-tailed rock wallaby as the territory's newest emblem" ('And the winner is ... Rhonda the wallaby new emblem', November 29, p2).

Does this mean there is hope for "Skippy" when it too becomes a critically endangered species in the ACT? Rock on! Philip Machin, Wamboin NSW Climate change When will our tin-eared Prime Minister and his frontbench realise their predictable patter of words of concern for those facing or fighting catastrophic fires in Queensland, or enduring the costly onslaught of extreme weather elsewhere, would be far more credible and convincing if accompanied by some acknowledgement that the Coalition government accepts and will address climate change, actively and positively?

If the current policy drought on these critical matters continues, many more will have to cope somehow with increasing havoc, damage and spiralling financial costs, as extreme weather events become the norm. Sue Dyer, Downer Act of courage Charles Smith (Letters, November 29) has a point in expressing his frustration as an MP (I assume Julia Banks) expresses her right to resign from the party and continue as an unaffiliated independent representative in the electorate to which she was elected. Her decision to resign from a political party that lauds broad church tolerance in public but in the close contact internal battles for policy control happily resorts to personal bullying and isolation of those members with an alternate view, I see it as an act of courage that publicly states her convictions.

Compare it to those MPs who refuse to accept having a party consensus policy position and threaten instability unless they are given a conscience vote. The forthcoming election will allow the electorate to decide who deserves to remain our representative. Ronald Hawke, Watson The devils we know As flawed as the major parties can be at times, they at least have gone through processes of attempting to seek a consensus of opinions and policies amongst their membership  both the broader party membership and the narrower parliamentary membership. We the electorate then decide whether or not to accept those consensus-based policies.

What happens if every member of parliament were independent of parties? No ability as a nation to cast a veto over decisions of the independents. No control as a nation over the parliament as a whole and no clear idea of what we might get from one election to the next. Better the devils we know. Keith Hill, Isaacs Photo says it all The photo of Julia Banks resigning says it all. (p4 Nov 28). The Liberal men scatter in multiple directions away from reality  just like they scatter from the reality of climate change. The 200 fires burning in politically volatile Queensland will probably destroy their environmentally irresponsible government. Julia Banks referred to better Liberal values  values swept aside by the Murdoch press and the shock jocks. PM Morrison's mantra of helping those who help themselves implies homeless people just haven't put enough effort in.

Liberal voters are intelligent enough to recognise that arrangements like negative gearing are set up so that the wealth of some creates the misery of many. Governments should protect the community from such inhumane outcomes, not engineer them. No wonder many Liberal voters are embarrassed to vote for this government. Rosemary Walters, Palmerston Walking away Julie Banks has resigned from the Liberal Party at least in part because of its treatment of, and lack of support for, women. Alex Ellingshausen's photo ("Banks bombshell throws PM's plans into turmoil", November 28, p4) shows Banks delivering her speech, and four male colleagues turning their backs and walking away.

And Liberal Party men wonder why she left! Beth Gibson, Page Talk about bank robbers Why have people at all on traffic signs? (Letters, November 29). Texas  as seen in Robert Redford's current movie Old Man and the Gun  has a big red hand on their "stop walk" signs.

Texas also has all-in flat rate electricity at 11.8 c/kWh, compared with the $2/kWh Origin charges me. Talk about bank robbers. David Z Hughes, South Melbourne Bec Cody Plant Bec Cody reminds me of the bard: "The evil men do lives after them, the good is oft interred with their bones". In the case of Bill Slim, we just have allegations. The matter has never been tested and noting proved. As for Haig, he should be tested against the standards of his time, noting the technology of war at that time meant weapons of defence were more effective than weapons of attack, which yielded the bloodbath that World War I was. We could take it further.

Queen Victoria was a bad-tempered and bossy woman who treated her children badly and probably had psychiatric problems. Edward VII was more famous for his affairs than anything else. Let us rename the terraces named after them. We could probably celebrate Bec Cody in perpetuity by renaming the sewerage works near Uriarra Crossing the "Bec Cody Memorial Treatment Plant" given her desire to find the dirt and muck to tip on people. Stan Marks, Hawker Take a left, then a right With the focus on Bec Cody, it seems everyone has forgotten that it was Andrew Wall who started whining about lefty street names shortly after the last election. And it wasn't because any of the names had skeletons in their pasts which might make them unfit to remember. He seemed to be claiming that the rancor caused by driving down streets named after lefties was insufficiently offset by streets named after righties. S W Davey, Torrens

Clear alarm bells Jon Stanhope and Khalid Ahmed's article 'Far from rosy, ACT budget at its weakest in a long time' (November 29, p18) should ring clear alarm bells for the ACT populace. In particular of concern, the comment that public private partnership contracts, totalling $1.605b, primarily for light rail stage 1, will not impact on the territory's budget until after 2022. If that is the case, what will be the future budgetary impact of similar public private partnerships contracts for the proposed light rail stage 2 if it proceeds? This impact will last well into the next decade. The ACT government is already presiding over a clearly marked deterioration in service delivery outcomes in the core service areas of health, education, public and low income housing, And this against the background of the massive year-on-year increases in rates, taxes, fees and charges which the Barr government is continuing to implement and which is impacting increasingly on all ACT citizens. In contrast to those core service delivery areas listed above, light rail is very much a discretionary budgetary expenditure item, particularly when other much cheaper, more efficient and future-proof transport mode options exist. On the basis of these arguments alone the ACT clearly cannot afford light rail stage 2.

It is also politically naive for the Chief Minister to think that a potential future federal Labor government will blindly approve the ACT government's preferred parliamentary triangle route for light rail stage 2. My previous experiences with the various federal parliamentary committees on the National Capital and parliamentary triangle suggest these committees take very seriously their responsibilities to preserve intact the integrity of these areas. Ron Edgecombe, Evatt Drone answers With respect to drone deliveries, Shane Carmody, CEO and director of Aviation Safety, Civil Aviation Safety Authority, says CASA's key role is the safety of air navigation and it is not responsible for the privacy or aviation impacts on general amenity (Letters, November 30). Other authorities are apparently responsible for these aspects. Would these other authorities identify who they are? My understanding is that Airservices Australia is not involved. What noise standards apply to drones flying over suburbs in Canberra and do these differ from the noise standards generally applicable for community noise?

If so, why? Murray May, Cook Petrol prices A couple of weeks ago we went to the South Coast. Petrol at our local servo was $1.66/litre so we filled up at Fyshwick at $1.58. When we drove through small-town Mogo on Friday afternoon it was $1.49, and when we came back on the Monday it was $1.35.

Over the same period the price at our local servo has plummeted by around 1 cent to just over $1.65. Do others find the "small market, limited competition" argument underpinning Canberra prices less than convincing, or is it just me? Christine Fuso, Curtin 32.5c a litre I had a surreal experience in Sydney this week. Filled my petrol tank with 95 octane fuel at 32.5 cents per litre!

It was still 13 cents dearer than 91 octane standard fuel, but what the heck. It was a shame that I could only get 30 litres in the tank. Brian Bell, Isabella Plains Transport idea Professor Barbara Norman, chairwoman of the ACT Climate Change Council, identified reducing emissions from transport as the next major challenge in combating climate change ('Transport emissions the next big challenge', November 26, p6). Increasing the use of public transport is a key element of any strategy to reduce transport emissions. In this context the comment from Damien Haas, chairman of the Public Transport Association of Canberra, that he does not know where the government should get the revenue to fund better infrastructure and services necessary to get more people to travel on public transport ('ACT government rejects call for road tolls in Canberra, November 27', p6), is concerning. I have a suggestion  don't extend the light rail to Woden and use the savings of $1.3 to $1.6 billion to identify and fund the most cost-effective strategies to reduce car dependency. These could include increasing the attractiveness of public transport by improving its comfort, frequency and coverage; facilitating a land use distribution that supports its use; parking strategies that discourage car use; bus priority measures and the provision of busways including the investigation of technologies including the trackless tram. The latter could be much cheaper than light rail, provide similar functionality and city development benefits. Mike Quirk, Garran

Decision-making It was not altogether surprising to read of "reports from public servants to a major review into the bureaucracy that decision-making is being taken from less senior bureaucrats and concentrated in the top ranks" ('Lack of incentives for risk takers: survey', November 28, p6). Would this have anything to do with the boom in "governance"? Use of this term has been a godsend to consultants who write ex-post reviews and audits of government failings, as these can always be, and usually are, attributed to a "failure of governance". Everyone is satisfied, nobody is really at fault, and the authors can submit their invoices. However, few people, myself included, have much grasp of what "governance" precisely entails. In practice, it is generally taken to mean that decisions should have been taken by a person, or better still, several people, at a higher level in the organisation. After all, a more senior manager would not have made the bad decision(s).
State-level corruption inquiries have sapped faith in the integrity of some tender operations for major government projects, with widespread suspicions of favouritism, cronyism and, unequal access to power. Just recently, an annual Australian public service survey of staff has shown that many public servants are cynical about corruption in the service. This week saw lower house independents combine to put forward legislation for a National Integrity Commission. Just before the bill was read for a first time, the House had adopted, on the voices, a resolution pressed on it by the senate for just such a measure. It was the first time that the Morrison government had seemed to commit itself to such a goal; hitherto its approach had been to say that it was open-minded about such a matter, and certainly willing to consider improvement to existing protections against corruption, though unaware that any substantial corruption was slipping between the existing cracks. But the decision to let the vote go by default may not have represented a conversion so much as a fear of demonstrating coalition disunity had the matter gone to a division. Some politicians are flatly opposed, particularly if such legislation restricts the absolute discretion of ministers to spend infrastructure money where it will achieve maximum political benefit, without regard to whether it makes economic or equitable sense. The bill, proposed by Cathy McGowan, recognised existing checks and balances, though effectively making all subject to the overall powers of the NIC. There was theological argument about whether it had adopted NSW ICAC definitions of corruption  NSW is said to have the most expansive legislation  but in fact the definition was borrowed from the Australian Commissioner for Law Enforcement Integrity, the mysterious and deeply secretive body which is supposed to prevent corruption among law enforcement bodies, including the Australian Federal Police and Border Force.

The general structure and authorised workings of ACLEI may be fine, as well as being adapted to Commonwealth, rather than state or territorial level problems. But the ordinary public has very little idea of what it does, whether it does it well, and how we are better off as a result. Former Australian Border Force commissioner Roman Quaedvlieg. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen It certainly costs a lot of money without much in the way of results by way of public identification of corruption, or corrupt cops. It is authorised to hold public hearings but has never done so. It occasionally issues very brief reports  some on matters of very little account  but neither these, nor its annual reports do much in the way of explaining what they are doing. I suppose ACLEIs biggest catch, if catch it was, was in preparing the brief which, after a game of pass the parcel, led to the dismissal of Roman Quaedvlieg from his position as head of Border Force after he was accused of trying to secure favourable treatment of a girlfriend, a junior Border Force officer. Mr Quaedvlieg has denied any wrongdoing and has previously refused to comment on ACLEIs handling of the matter, saying, Others can be the judge of that.

Perhaps any sense of ACLEI triumph was reduced by the extraordinary delay in anyone doing anything about the report, as the matter passed from secretary to secretary and ultimately to minister. But some of the delay could have been puzzlement. After all, on earlier occasions ACLEI is said to have found no problems with similar sorts of workplaces relationships, even when there has been great disparity of rank involved. I say said to have because ACLEI has never officially made a ruling on the matter; my authority for ACLEIs attitude is one of those who told me he had been investigated and cleared on such a matter. One expects that a body focused on police corruption might have to use sophisticated methods of extracting information, but I have heard reports of coercive interrogations that have raised eyebrows, and which would not, I expect, find much approval were they ever to come before the courts. Loading One involved a person already in jail for corruption, if not corruption that seems to have been detected by ACLEI. But with or without official authority, ACLEI officers seemed to have control over the jail in which the man was placed, and confinement conditions (solitary confinement, access to visitors, communications etc) as well as over the question of whether the disgraced officer, or his family, was to have access to his pensions.

All of these matters, I have been told, depended on his cooperation, especially whether he named names. Other disgraced officers are said to have had much more sympathetic treatment. I have never known ACLEI to manifest any curiosity about the mysterious incapacity of the AFP to bring to any sort of head inquiries with the capacity to embarrass politicians, the practice of giving ministers a heads-up if anything, such as a raid, was planned that had the power to attract headlines, or past histories of politicians in trying to secure promotions, or positions, for their favourites by refusing to deal with AFP correspondence. Such behaviour could, on occasion, be corrupt or corrupting, but even when, or if, innocuous, have the capacity to undermine perceptions that the AFP or Border Force carry out their functions independent of political directions, and not as public servants in a department. Some of the other accountability agencies, in and out of law enforcement, include folk such as Inspectors-General, ombudsmen, and some of the regulatory agencies. Some of these do a good job, but few report directly to the public, or will answer questions about cases. There are, of course, matters touching the privacy of accusers or the accused, or matters that must be secret on national security grounds. The public understands that, but will not necessarily readily accept that one should simply trust the guardians, or assume that some superficial parliamentary scrutiny, by members chosen for already being in the club, is a substitute for accountability.

All the more so when the state is vesting secretive agencies with more and more power, under more and more centralised control. That some ministers, or top bureaucrats, are themselves hostile to ideas of accountability only increases the fear and distrust. Attorney-General Christian Porter did the deed on the McGowan bill. It simply would not do, even as a starting point, he said. The legislation had to do more to deal with the existing agencies. The definition of corruption was impossibly wide. It might, he said, very unconvincingly, even sweep up journalists ultimately on a public payroll (such as the ABC or SBS), or some public servant merely guilty of some slight deviation from the routine. He was massively overstating the problem, but he was also effectively closing the door. By his model, a cooperative effort on a top anti-corruption body, if we are to have one, begins when cabinet adopts a proposal and then circulates it for comment. He has been working on ideas since he became attorney, for about 11 months, but it is plain that nothing will be emerging from cabinet soon. Anyway, the prime minister said, it was not a priority concern, for him at least. Former Liberal MP Julia Banks quit the party to sit on the crossbench as an Independent. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen With very restricted parliamentary sittings before (and, at least until August, after) the election next year, and with all the focus on the budget and political grandstanding, it seems like the time for an integrity body before the election has passed. With that has gone perhaps the best opportunity the independents, now bolstered by one with the defection from the Liberals of Julia Banks, to have a place in the sun, a lasting achievement, and, perhaps an enhanced profile to help them at the election if they are standing.

If the Labor victory is on the scale the polls suggest, Labor wont need support from the independents to get the sort of integrity body it wants. (I wouldnt expect that it would be hyperactive.) Although each of the independents (bar Banks, who has said she is not standing) has a good chance of selection, their best hope for maintaining public attention now is by keeping the government on constant tenterhooks about defeat on some procedural motion, or non-confidence matter such as over the health of refugees in our Nauruan and Manus concentration camps. That is a matter they could be agitating even more loudly, given the shameful silence of the major parties, and the prospect that Labor, under Shorten, will be as mean and consciously cruel, if only to disprove Peter Duttons accusation that they will be wimps. A day will come when there will not only be parliamentary and royal commission hearings  along the lines of the inquiry into sexual abuse of children  into what ministers and officials did to people who sought our help and protection, in part from wars of our making. It will be a narrative still searching for heroes with the strength to maintain their humanity. The children, and grandchildren of about 140 of 150 of our present representatives will wonder why we couldnt rely on them  ostensibly decent people  to do the right thing. If we cant expect that on a matter of simple humanity, how, or why, should we be expecting it with common honesty, sense of public duty or good stewardship? We need a tough integrity body, not a soft one. Jack Waterford is a former editor of The Canberra Times.
Save Log in , register or subscribe to save articles for later. Normal text size Larger text size Very large text size Christine Manfield blows through the door on the first hot day of spring like the breeze that's been missing. It's a sweltering 35C Sydney day, but she looks fresh as a daisy in a baby-doll dress (black, Flintstones hem), dark blonde hair still wet from a quick shower, a smile as wide as a Tiki's beneath kohled eyes. You'd never know she got off the red-eye two hours earlier from Santiago; a 17-hour flight that marked the end of three weeks spent leading a group around the food haunts of her latest frontier, South America. You certainly wouldn't guess she'd stared down her 65th birthday six months earlier. The snake tattoo on her left arm may have faded slightly after two decades, but not the canvas. For the next three hours, the woman who was Australia's spice queen, until she became Australia's dessert queen, sits at my dining-room table, unpacking the half-century since she left her strict Christian home in suburban Brisbane to start fending for herself, learning to cook in order to eat. She is focused and precise as she runs through the incarnations. Hairdresser. Primary school teacher. Acolyte chef as a new Australian cuisine took off in the 1980s. Gastro pub pioneer as the decade turned. Her first restaurant, Paramount, and a meteoric rise to become the only woman in a rat pack of young chefs (Neil Perry, David Thompson, Steve Manfredi) that ran Sydney fine dining in the 1990s. The fateful stage at the first truly global restaurant, Spain's elBulli, that followed Paramount's closure in 2000, and that inspired not only her first international foray, London's groundbreaking East @West, but her final and most acclaimed restaurant, Sydney's Universal. We're talking because Manfield has a book to promote, Tasting India, her third on the country that's been the second greatest love affair of her life. But really, we're talking because it's time to pause for her close-up at a particularly interesting moment in her 35-year career; one that illuminates a particularly interesting moment in the culinary scene of which she is, as Sydney Morning Herald food critic Jill Dupleix puts it, "one of the mothers". Because, as her friend Nigella Lawson points out, "Christine Manfield's influence on the way we eat now cannot be overestimated. In Australia, she woke people up to flavours and influences from around the world, and her influence has fanned out by stealth, you could say, through the food editors, food writers, and enthusiastic eaters whose writing and cooking has carried her culinary voice out into the world." And because what Manfield is doing now  popping up across cities, continents, disciplines, genres; wandering the world in her Prada boots, shiny black Rimowa suitcase (tagline: "No one builds a legacy by standing still") in tow  is navigating a whole new culinary horizon. As Dupleix, who first clocked Manfield at Sydney's Paragon and Phoenix pubs in the early 1990s, says: "Chris has always had the most fantastic radar for where things are headed, for where the sun is setting; where it's rising." For Manfield, where it's rising is over the wide horizon of the global-nomad chef; a post-bricks-and-mortar incarnation that allows you  if you have the brand, network, stamina  to curate a career beyond the arse-busting heartache of restaurants. It's five years since she closed Universal  at its zenith, as she'd always intended, when you couldn't get a table for love nor money after her 2012 appearances on MasterChef. "I thought everything would just peter out," she recalls. "Once you take your foot off the pedal in this business, you're forgotten pretty quickly." Instead, "the momentum just kept building. Everything started falling out of the sky. It was the post-Universal boom. I think it came down to the way it finished. It showed you could exit your business on top, without hating it, or any negativity. And because it ended on a high, and because I was suddenly a free agent, people just wanted more and more." A woman whose incarnations have tended to encapsulate eras has found herself riding a new wave, working full-time but untethered from the kitchen that has traditionally anchored a reputation and kept it relevant.

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"She's a beacon because those of us who feel we have made some kind of change in the industry don't want to go quietly into that dark night," says another food-world pioneer, Alla Wolf-Tasker, who opened her two-hatted Lakehouse in regional Victoria's Daylesford in 1984. "It's inspiring that she's doing such interesting things at such an interesting time." Manfield at Paramount, which closed in 2000. Credit:Steve Baccon It is not a life for the faint-hearted, or the only mortally organised. Manfield often finds herself working the sort of 16- or 17-hour days she was doing at Universal, particularly for the pop-ups, where she basically enters someone else's kitchen as head chef. "The difference is, now it's only for a few days and then I can have a nana nap," she says with a laugh. She negotiates all her own deals and does her own admin, with military precision: the window for our chat is identified weeks ahead, from across the world, like a looming hole in space-time. After we finish, she heads home to her harbourside Sydney apartment to perch for a moment with her alter ego, partner in crime over 41 years  and the true love of her life  Margie Harris, a personal trainer who's already halfway through Manfield's laundry. The next day, a Sunday, Manfield cooks and hosts a Tasting India tour lunch with her old friend Martin Boetz, founding chef of Sydney's Longrain, at his Cooks Co-op on the Hawkesbury River, north of the city. The morning after is the photo shoot for this article  "They've said, 'Bring an apron'. I've sent Margie out to find something in black leather"  after which she'll head to O Tama Carey's Lankan Filling Station in Surry Hills to take over the kitchen and work with the staff for a second, one-night Tasting India pop-up. Over the following month, she'll do at least a dozen more pop-ups from an India book she's perfected over 10 trips, two editions and seven years, feeding several hundred punters at some of the country's coolest restaurants: Sydney's Nomad; Melbourne's Anchovy; Tasmania's Agrarian Kitchen; Brisbane's The Golden Pig; Adelaide's The Pot and Canberra's Eightysix. Next March, she launches the book in Delhi and Kolkata, followed by London in April, where she's popping up at The Providores and Tapa Room, home to the "godfather of fusion" and another old mate, Peter Gordon. In June, she and friend and former publisher Julie Gibbs kick off the third and final series of their successful Cooking the Books pop-ups, which honour the great female food writers who "have informed how we cook today", Manfield says, from Elizabeth David, Marcella Hazan and Alice Waters to Jane Grigson and Nigella Lawson. Then there are the private group tours to India, Mexico, Italy, Spain, Portugal and Morocco. In between she's mentoring young female trainee chefs, teaching classes at the Sydney Seafood School and Tasmania's Agrarian Kitchen's school, consulting to Pearl Catering as its food director, all the while working on another book, her 14th, due out in 2020.

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Of course there's nothing intrinsically new about these activities  or the "slash" careers of contemporary celebrities. It's the scale on which Manfield is working and her breadth of operation that's notable, and that all are "so Chris Manfield", as Dupleix puts it. "She was one of the first to really look at herself as a brand. I think she wanted a face to the world that was as strong as she was." In a sense, Manfield has been working towards this moment for years. She's always operated across not only countries but platforms: nicking off to India even as she helmed Universal ("It was built into the business plan from the get-go," she says); publishing not only books but on Instagram and Facebook. Her latest incarnation has taken that to a whole new level. Her website is now the Manfield mothership  and about the closest she comes to a permanent home  hosting her posts, podcasts, tour and pop-up schedules, selling everything from her books to the range of products she started 20 years ago with old friend Simon Johnson. Digital hasn't just facilitated supply; it's also driven demand, specifically the appetite for the ephemeral events that are now Manfield's stock-in-trade, whether they're pop-ups or tours. "Everyone wants the latest, the limited edition, a moment they can capture," she says. "I was in the right place at the right time. I wouldn't have had the experience or the clout behind my name 20 years ago. It couldn't have happened earlier." As her old friend (and Good Weekend contributor) Neil Perry observes: "Because the food world is getting so much bigger and more multifaceted, you can now be in it and make a good living without having a restaurant." Perry has, of course, surfed the waves of that evolving food industry into much more corporate waters than Manfield, from his deals with Qantas and Lexus to his current role as chief brand and culinary officer of Rockpool Dining Group, bought by a private equity firm for a reported $65 million in 2016. Does he ever cast an envious glance in his mate's direction? "No, I'm pleased for Chris  but I'm the Rupert Murdoch of the restaurant industry," he quips. "I truly love what I do." Meanwhile, the traditional restaurant game only seems to get more crowded and pressured: from food and labour costs to rent and low single-digit profit margins that have been a fraction of their northern-hemisphere equivalents for owner-operators, as Manfield was for most of her career. "A lot of chefs have pulled out of the kitchen full-time because it's just not sustainable," says Jessica Muir, Manfield's former head chef across Paramount, East @West and Universal. "You get to a certain age and you can't do the hours. When they get to 40 or 50, chefs are looking for a different way to do things." Young guns in 1991 (clockwise from top) Tony Bilson, Steve Manfredi, Christine Manfield and Neil Perry. Credit:Elizabeth Dobbie Muir points to the likes of Luke Burgess, co-founder of Hobart's acclaimed Garagistes and former Gourmet Traveller young talent of the year, last seen  online at least  teaching at Agrarian Kitchen and appearing  "One night only. Bookings essential"  at Hobart's Henry Jones Art Hotel. Or Mark Best, who closed his celebrated Sydney restaurant, Marque, two years ago. Or his former head chef, Pasi Petanen, whose recent career has been a series of star turns, including a Sydney Cafe Paci pop-up that endured for two years. Or Martin Boetz, who quit Longrain about the same time Manfield closed Universal. "I was monetarily very happy at Longrain," Boetz, says. "But wages and food costs were beginning to really affect things. I was lucky I'd bought this property [on the Hawkesbury River] with a view to building a holiday house and could turn it into a business."

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Dupleix has observed the changing scene. "The whole industry is disrupting itself and it's probably time for that to happen. You can't expect things to continue when people simply can't make any money, or work those hours. They need to find new ways of being cooks, which is part of Chris's story. She's always been one step ahead." Once you take your foot off the pedal in this business, youre forgotten pretty quickly. Instead, the momentum just kept building. Everything started falling out of the sky." Credit:Peter Brew-Bevan Staying a step ahead has been the work of a lifetime for Manfield. The snake tattoo that slithers around her left arm is, like everything about her, anything but accidental. She was born in 1953, the year of the water snake in the Chinese horoscope. And over the years, she's shed more skins than a lake full of serpents. Because she started out as a hairdresser, those incarnations have tended to be chronicled in haircuts. Margie Harris sneaks me an envelope of snaps and the variety is startling. There's the seven-year-old Chris in a tutu, with a cloud of white locks, in her Brisbane backyard. Next comes Chris the girl guide ("She got every badge," Harris says, "sewing, cooking, knots, the lot"), followed by Christine, the mohawk-wearing, motorbike-riding, primary-school teacher in the Adelaide suburb of Elizabeth. A brief New Romantic period  think Aimee Mann circa 1985's Voices Carry  segues into the elegant white crop of the early Paramount years, before the signature modified mohawk of the early 2000s. Manfield aged seven, in her Brisbane backyard. Credit:Courtesy of Christine Manfield The major incarnations have tended to follow a time cycle: hairdresser and schoolteacher for seven years each; Paramount from 1993 to 2000, and just under seven at Universal. "I wasn't even conscious of it, but I was 40 when we started Paramount," Manfield says. "I'd just turned 50 when I went to London and when I started Universal, I thought, 'I'm not doing this when I turn 60.' That was the only really long-term, conscious decision I've made in my working life." As remarkable as her changes, however, is what remains the same: the intense blue gaze that only relaxes into the now-familiar smile with time, success.

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"The first time I met Chris I found her a bit scary," Peter Gordon admits down the line from London. "I'm a bit fluffy and hippie-trippy and she's so focused and direct. She knows exactly what she wants and what she's doing. But as I got to know her, I realised she has this beautiful temperament. What I'd found intimidating wasn't the personality  she's a total softie  it was the hair. And over time that's got softer, too." As for what's driven Manfield's shape-shifting: "She was always fiercely ambitious, always questioning, always looking for more," says Harris, who first met Manfield in Adelaide in 1978, coming over for dinner and staying for four decades. ("I'm still her personal chef," Manfield says of Harris, who's known to sit up in bed first thing in the morning and ask: "What's on today's menu, chef?") "She was never going to get stuck," Harris continues. "Not in Brisbane or Adelaide or Sydney  the only thing she ever got stuck with was me!" Or as Manfield herself says: "I never went into this to be mediocre. I think it has to do with my background. You could just plod on and get by being mediocre, but what's the point of that? What I always fought against was that first reaction of 'No, no, you can't.' My reaction was always: 'Just watch me!'" Her family life in suburban Brisbane in the 1950s and '60s was governed by "strict Christian values" and the cardinal rule, "Don't rock the boat". Until, that is, her father upended the whole vessel when Manfield was 14, leaving for another woman and, eventually, family. Her mother became a cook at Ansett Airlines to support her four children, of which Manfield was the eldest, and only girl. While they ate meat and three veg at home given the times and circumstances, there was a definite maternal-line cooking gene. "My grandmother was a very good cook; classic, hearty Country Women's Association fare," Manfield says. "She would cook Sunday lunch for us and there was always a batch of scones on when we'd visit her in Brisbane." In the mid-'60s, Manfield, obsessed with rock 'n' roll, took a weekend job in a hair salon to buy records. School bored her. "I was a ratbag. There was too much going on to concentrate," she says. "It must've have been a nightmare for my mother. Her life had just fallen apart and she had this very rebellious daughter. She was trying to impose her values and she just didn't understand the monumental change that was taking place." At 16, she left home for good. "I remember feeling seriously disenfranchised," she says of 1960s Queensland. "It was dominated by Joh Bjelke-Petersen conservatives. The night Gough Whitlam was elected in 1972, we went around spray-painting buildings, 'Under new management'. It was Vietnam; a lot of friends had been conscripted and come back and we still couldn't vote. Queensland was the last state to lower the voting age to 18." She married at 19  "It was a way out"  and at 20 moved with her husband, an academic, to Adelaide, where he had a job at Flinders University. Don Dunstan-era South Australia was her coming of age, with its progressive politics, burgeoning women's movement and food scene. In quick succession, she left her husband of three years and hairdressing and went to university to study teaching. Manfield, during her years as a primary school teacher in Adelaide. Credit:Courtesy of Christine Manfield She became active in student politics and on the fringes of a bunch of self-taught cooks that included Cheong Liew, a Malaysian-born pioneer of fusion cooking in Australia; and Phillip Searle, then about to found the 1980s Sydney fusion restaurant Oasis Seros, where Manfield would serve her real apprenticeship; and Michael Symons, author of the classic One Continuous Picnic.

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Sydney judge Lucy McCallum, who presides over the defamation list in the NSW Supreme Court, has already applied the serious harm test in this state but media lawyers are pushing for the test to be codified in the Defamation Act. Loading "It should not be a huge leap to give it statutory force," says Sydney barrister Matthew Lewis. As media law expert and University of Sydney Professor David Rolph points out, the mere fact a publication is online does not necessarily make it trivial. The law needs to distinguish between genuinely trivial claims that should not be dealt with in the courts, and small claims involving real damage to reputation in online social circles. "Drawing those distinctions in a way that's reflected in substantive or procedural law involves a fine balancing of interests," Rolph says.

Any review should also consider whether new procedures or tribunals are required to deal with lower-level claims in a less costly way. Associate Professor Jason Bosland, deputy director of the Centre for Media and Communications Law at Melbourne Law School, says that "because defamation is so easy to argue, to make out as a plaintiff, you have these cases going to the Supreme Court that really shouldn't be in the Supreme Court". Consideration needs to be given to whether cases could be "determined in a more efficient way, in a more cost-efficient way, in a specialist tribunal or something like that", Bosland says. As for big media outlets fighting over public interest journalism, the range of fixes are technical and may not lie in reforming the Defamation Act but in changing the way cases are managed in court, including confronting recent issues about whether journalists can rely on a truth defence in cases where they need to use legal processes to obtain further evidence from the other side to bolster their case. Sydney barrister Sandy Dawson, SC, who appears regularly for media outlets, says a reporter might rely on a "high-level, reliable source" who shows them documentary evidence in support of a particular allegation and "leaves [them] in no doubt" that it is true, without handing over physical copies of all those documents.

A journalist might prefer to have all that material in their possession when writing the story, but Dawson says it should not preclude a media outlet from relying on a truth defence if they need to make further legal investigations before filing a truth defence in court. Media lawyers have also questioned whether Australia needs a broad public interest defence, similar to that introduced in the UK, to replace the existing defence of qualified privilege relating to publications in the public interest where publishers have acted reasonably. It is well-known that the defence rarely succeeds in Australia when pleaded by media defendants, because courts find the reasonableness requirement has not been met. Dawson says it would be desirable for there to be "some investigation made as to whether the standard of reasonableness imposed by courts [in Australia] is too high", or whether the low success rate of the defence is attributable to the fact that "a fair standard has not been met" in the types of matters that come before the courts. "I am not sure that you can reconcile the fact that the defence almost never succeeds with the fact that we enjoy a pretty high standard of journalism in this country," Dawson says.
"I won't be called to the headmaster's office," Banks told the emissaries. She reminded them of her office number. Morrison was welcome to visit. In the interim, Frydenberg offered to negotiate a package of government infrastructure spending and other sweeteners for her seat of Chisholm in return for her support in the House. He called it a "Katter deal" after the $220 million that the government promised Bob Katter last month in irrigation and dam projects in return for his support for the government on votes of confidence and supply. Illustration: Jim Pavlidis Credit: "Josh, no deals," Banks replied, though she later quipped that she should have asked for a dam in her Melbourne electorate. She was going to give the government support on votes of confidence and supply. She couldn't be part of the government but she wasn't about to bring it down. "I want the government to go full term." There was still the little matter of the Prime Minister. Morrison wouldn't risk being caught by photographers walking the couple of hundred metres through the building to her office.

Peak farce was achieved when an exasperated Frydenberg called Banks and said: "Julia, he's the Prime Minister!"

Banks: "I know who he is, Josh. Since he's the Prime Minister, how about he rings me?"

Frydenberg: "So you'll talk to him if he calls you?" "Let's give it a try and let's see." Eventually they connect by phone. Morrison tells Banks that he hopes to have a professional relationship with her as a crossbench Member of Parliament. Then he gets to the sensitive bit: "I just want to go to your speech" in the House. Banks had said that the coup against Turnbull had been led by the "reactionary right of the party" in pursuit of "their power, their personal ambition". She decried the way that both major parties run destructive point-scoring. She called for better respect for women across both main parties and equal representation for women and men as "an urgent imperative which will create a culture change". Morrison now wanted to know: "You don't have a problem with me, do you?" She replied only that everything she had to say had been said in her statement. Banks added: "It really shouldn't be a surprise." During her Liberal Party preselection for the Victorian seat of Chisholm, one female preselector had asked Banks, a mother of two, who would mind her children while she was in Canberra when Parliament sat. When she explained that they were adults in their late teens, the Liberal preselector then wanted to know how old she was. Implication: if you're a woman with kids, you're either too young or too old to be a Member of Parliament. Banks is 56.

But she didn't have too much trouble winning preselection to contest the 2016 election. Chisholm was a hopeless case. Labor had held it for the previous 18 years. No important Liberal wanted it.

At the first fundraising event of her campaign, she was told who would be making speeches. There were two male officials listed, state president Michael Kroger and an obscure local branch official. She wasn't on the list. "I'm the candidate; shouldn't I make a speech?" "Don't you worry about that darling," said the local official. "We'll give you the raffle." The party gave Banks scant support for her campaign, but the seat was a long shot. She shouldn't have expected too much. Tony Abbott did offer to campaign for her. Banks declined. Abbott wasn't a crowd pleaser, she decided. After that, the party actively discouraged other top Liberals like Julie Bishop and Marise Payne from campaigning for Banks. That seemed to be less about gender than faction, however. Banks was not in the dominant conservative faction, nor any faction for that matter. Sexism and faction are not separate matters in the Liberal Party, however, Banks says. "There is a real culture of backwardness on women and it's definitely entrenched in the conservative faction" of the Liberals, she tells me. During the leadership strike on Malcolm Turnbull in August, Banks found herself being confronted by another MP. On the Thursday night before the decisive vote that installed Morrison, Banks was hosting quite a few of her colleagues in her Parliament House office. Late in the evening, in a doorway connecting the two halves of her office, she found herself face to face with Steve Irons, a West Australian MP. Not a conservative but a Morrison supporter. Banks was loyal to Turnbull.

Banks later recounted to colleagues that Irons forcefully argued: You have to vote for Scott. Dont be an idiot. Turnbulls gone. Well have Scott as PM. We cant let Dutton win.

Irons has a different memory. He says while he was in her office and asked her to vote for Morrison, he was not confrontational and did not raise his voice: Its not in my nature. After Turnbull had been removed, Banks announced that she would not be contesting her seat at the next election. There'd been a lot of intimidation. At one point she'd even called the Federal Police to complain of harassment by some Victorian members of the conservative faction. But the political assassination of another prime minister was "the last straw", as she put it.

The new Prime Minister tried to mollify Banks. "Julia, we can get you away from all this, we're going to send you to New York" on a three-month, all-expenses paid parliamentary fellowship at the UN, said Morrison. She declined, sensing an effort to buy her silence. Morrison then offered to organise a parliamentary "pair" so she could take leave. "I'm not sick," was her blunt rejoinder. But at no point, after her August public outburst at bullying and intimidation, did anyone in the party or the government ask her about her experience. After the Liberal rout in the Victorian state election last weekend, Frydenberg as the senior Victorian Liberal convened a meeting between Morrison and all the Victorian MPs and senators. Word leaked out that O'Dwyer had given a damningly blunt assessment - the public sees the Liberal Party as "homophobic, anti-women, climate change deniers". When Labor gleefully pursued O'Dwyer over this in question time, O'Dwyer put on a brave face and declared that the Liberals were the "natural party for women". There were hoots of derision from across the chamber. Loading O'Dwyer knew it was a hollow claim. Women make up a quarter of the Liberal parliamentarians, only about half the proportion of women in Labor. Despite her success in bringing down an economic security policy for women, O'Dwyer has had her own encounters with sexist bullying at the hands of Liberal colleagues. And the Morrison inquiry? Two former party officials, Brian Loughnane and Chris McDiven, have been appointed to study the various state divisions of the party and review their processes for handling complaints with a view to coming up with a better overall system. No one is looking into any individual complaints. Lucy Gichuhi will be waiting a long time, it seems, for any real action in her case. Gichuhi says she's attracted to the Liberals as the party of enterprise, individuality and economic growth. "But it's like a rich family. What's the point of having a lot of income if everyone in the family is living in misery? We have to have economic success but social success is just as important. The Liberals have not made the effort to bring women to the table. It's an idea whose time has come." It really shouldn't be a surprise.
A man has been given two life sentences for brutally killing a mother and daughter, dumping one in a NSW forest and the other in a suitcase on the side of the road in South Australia.

Daniel James Holdom, 44, killed Karlie Pearce-Stevenson, 20, and her daughter Khandalyce, 2, four days apart in December 2008.

He had been in a short-term relationship with Ms Pearce-Stevenson when he led her into Belanglo State Forest in south-eastern NSW on December 15, 2008, and killed her by stepping on her throat, crushing her windpipe.

Holdom used foreign objects to sexually assault her at the time of her death and took "trophy photographs" of the body, which were later found on an SD memory card.
French cake maker and mother-of-two Anais Deirolle has pleaded guilty to her role in a failed attempt to smuggle 30 kilograms of cocaine into Sydney on a cruise liner.

Ms Deirolle, 33, was arrested in November last year when the ship docked in Sydney after a six-week voyage from Britain.

Anais Deirolle has been charged with attempting to import 30 kilograms of cocaine into Australia. Credit:Facebook

Australian Border Force officials allegedly found 15 kilograms of the drug in a bag hidden in a stairwell and another 15 kilograms concealed in deck chair cushions.

Ms Deirolle did not appear during a brief mention before Acting Judge Gregory Hosking in the District Court on Friday, when she was committed for judgment and sentence in February.
NSW high school principals want religious education to be scrapped, saying it is taking up valuable time that should be spent on learning.

Principals also want the HSC syllabus to begin a term earlier, mathematics to remain optional rather than become mandatory in year 12, and compulsory languages to be dropped from high school.

The principals also warned against making maths compulsory in the HSC, despite growing calls for greater emphasis on the subject. Credit:Janie Barrett

The Secondary Principals' Council has called for a raft of reforms in their submission to the NSW Curriculum Review, which was announced by the NSW government in May and has been described as a once-in-a-generation overhaul.

The review will look at de-cluttering the curriculum, so the council said Special Religious Education should be one of the first things cut from the high school timetable.
More than 400 students as young as seven skipped school and took to Brisbane's streets on Friday, demanding action on climate change.

A hoard of teenagers converged on Queensland Parliament House with passion and posters to send a clear message to the country's decision makers - take climate change more seriously.

Kodie Witte and Reuben Collett travelled from Cleavland to have their say. Credit:Lydia Lynch

Parliament House security kept a close eye on the students as they marched past the building chanting "stop Adani".

Kodie Witte,15, travelled more than an hour from Cleveland to protest.
A former hospital orderly has been charged over the fatal stabbing of a young nurse in her North Ringwood home in 1986.

Bairnsdale man Colin Earl Graham was on Friday charged with the murder of Ina-Doris Warrick, more than three decades after the alleged crime.

Mr Graham, 63, fronted the Bairnsdale Magistrates Court where he was remanded to reappear in February.

He was arrested at a property in Lucknow Street on Friday morning.
A WA Police officer has been stood down from duty and is due to face court over several sexual assault charges after an incident earlier this year.

The 44-year-old Sergeant with the Mandurah Police District was charged with seven counts of aggravated sexual penetration without consent, alleged to have to taken place at a private residence on September 24.

Sex Assault Squad detectives laid charges this week, with the Sergeant due to face Rockingham Magistrates Court on Friday.
The shake up of the media landscape in Perth continued on Friday with senior figures from two organisations leaving their key positions.

Nine News Perths news director Shaun Menegola stepped down from his role, effective immediately.

Nine Perth director Clive Bingwa thanked Mr Menegola for his energy and effort in producing a quality news product.

Key Perth media figures are leaving their jobs. Credit:Dominic Lorrimer

Nine Network director of regional news, Michael Dalton, will take over as news director.
Residents in Perth's south-east have been advised that the alert level of a bushfire burning in Oldbury has been downgraded to an Advice.

People in the area bounded by King Road to the west, Gossage Road to the north and Boomerang Road to the south-east were warned earlier on Friday to leave their properties or prepare to defend them.

Aerial support dumps water on the fire on Friday. Credit:Hamish Hastie

Aerial support was sent to help fire crews on the ground battle the blaze which was reported just before 10.30am.

The alert level was downgraded on Friday evening as there was no longer a 'running' fire.
A teenage girl remains in hospital in Perth after being thrown from the tray of an allegedly stolen ute in WAs north, with a 12-year-old girl accused of being behind the wheel of the car.

Major Crash is investigating the incident, which took place in the early hours of Tuesday morning at the Bayulu community in Fitzroy Crossing.

Police claim about 2am on November 27 a stolen white Toyota Landruiser ute was being driven around the community with unrestrained passengers in the tray.

It is alleged the car was driven dangerously and one of the passengers  a 13-year-old girl  was thrown from the tray.

The teen received serious injuries and was flown to Perth for treatment and is currently in a stable condition at Perth Childrens Hospital.
Donald Mackay, who was murdered on the orders of the Mafia in Griffith in 1977. Enter Giulio Guercino*, a former plumber with political ambitions who wanted to become the next president of the Italo-Australian Club. To do so he cultivated friendships with several Mafia marijuana cultivators who were powerbrokers in the club. He had even discussed growing a crop with them, but was wary of being caught. Somehow he ended up going up the AFP food chain until, in October 1980, he had a meeting with Winchester in Canberra. Seven years later he told me: The project [Seville] was my idea. Mr Winchester wanted to solve the murder of Donald Mackay. Project Seville did not come out of the mind of Colin Winchester but out of the ambitions of Sir Colin Woods. He wanted to show the need for the federal authorities to increase their role by solving something very important. It began when Guercino offered his own land in Bungendore to the Mafia men for a giant cannabis plantation, telling them 10 per cent of the sales would be given to corrupt police to protect the crop.

The aim was to trap and compromise those involved in the Mackay murder and also identify the major cannabis buyers connected with the syndicate, culminating in chopping the heads of the leaders of the Mafia families in NSW, Victoria and South Australia. The secret operation, run jointly by AFP and NSW Police, ran for nearly four years and included crops at Bungendore (1981, worth $6 million) Tallaganda State Forest (1982, worth $24 million and known as Bungendore II) and Armidale (1984, worth $50 million). Sir Colin Woods, the first commissioner of the Australian Federal Police, in September 1979. Credit:Fairfax Archive During the operation, police: selected one of the crop sites;

warned Guercino to hide his workers when the army were conducting war games nearby;

lost control of the job, allowing large quantities of cannabis to be harvested and sold in Sydney.

The operation also cost a life. When Mafia man Giuseppe Monteleone reneged on a promise to buy the bulk of the crop, coupled with a false rumour he was talking to police, he was put up against the wall and shot. It was a forced redundancy, Calabrian-style. But there was one incredibly lucky result that almost justified the risk. Almost. In March 1982 Gianfranco Tizzoni and Robert Lawson met to make plans to sell some of the harvested crop. They hired a van and headed off with just under 100 kilos of dried product, with police believing they would head to Sydney  the same route taken with an earlier shipment. But they turned off and headed towards Melbourne, Tizzoni in a gold Mercedes and Lawson in the van. It was scramble time. Winchester rang an old contact, Detective Sergeant John Weel of the Melbourne Drug Squad, to tell him of the two-vehicle convoy, urging him to follow and not make arrests. It was only because Victoria Police were too cheap to do the job properly that a sliding door to the Mackay case opened. The head of the Bureau of Criminal Intelligence, Detective Superintendent Jim Williams, wanted to use a helicopter to track the two vehicles, but was knocked back on cost.

Almost certainly the crooks were heading to a country property owned by Tizzoni, but Lawson missed the turn. Heading into Melbourne around peak hour, Weel felt they may lose them and made a decision to intercept. Police found bales of marijuana in the van and the boot of the Mercedes. There must be a reason, not immediately apparent, why all the cannabis was not in the van. Facing serious drug charges, Tizzoni eventually said he had something bigger to offer  he knew what had happened to Donald Mackay. He was secretly taken to his asparagus farm at Koo Wee Rup (five new tractors on the property indicated he was growing more than just the tasty spring vegetable).

Eventually he became the star witness, telling police he helped facilitate the murder of Mackay and of drug couriers Isabel and Douglas Wilson on behalf of Griffith-linked Mafia bosses. The Mackay case was clearly a NSW crime but as the planning was done in Melbourne the hitman, James Frederick Bazley, was charged in Victoria with conspiracy to murder. Bazley was convicted in 1986 and sentenced to nine years' jail. He died earlier this year, still protesting his innocence and feigning ignorance over the location of Mackays body. Contract killer James Frederick Bazley. To allow Tizzoni to be bailed would have raised suspicions to the Mafia that he had changed sides, and so the story was circulated that the gun barrel-straight Weel had copped a bribe to let him out.

If Seville had been closed then it would have been judged a success, but Guercino convinced Winchester they should continue growing crops. It was a disaster. The crops were in such remote locations that they couldnt be kept under surveillance and they were ripped off. The whole job was jeopardised when there was a gunfight between Sydney crooks and Mafia workers. Guercino was shot in the leg and about 10 workers tied up during one raid. One of the properties, with a sophisticated irrigation system, was split into two camps, each with 15,000 plants, its own supervisor and separate workers who were kept in slave-like conditions. The drug rip-offs were not conducted by opportunistic locals. These remote properties could not be found by fluke and Sydney criminals arrived in a fleet of vehicles, knowing exactly where to go along tiny back roads that were little more than tracks. They left with 5000 plants, worth a small fortune.

They had been directed there by corrupt NSW detectives who had been alerted by those inside Seville. The job finally collapsed when honest local police raided the Armidale property, unaware it was a sanctioned plantation. Much later, 11 men were arrested over Operation Seville, including many from infamous crime families. But the case collapsed when Guercino refused to give evidence.

I was told by police it was an intelligence-gathering operation. I was assured I would never have to give evidence in court. The coppers tried to break that agreement, he said. After Winchester was murdered, the finger was pointed at Guercino, who immediately denied any involvement. Colin Winchester was the best of every gentleman put together - he was number one. I had no grudge. The people in the project know I did my job. I did not double-cross anyone. My work was dangerous. I could have been killed. There are many people I have known who have accepted bribes. Mr Winchester was not one of them. He was less complimentary towards others. I was betrayed by some police who were protecting the racketeers we were trying to expose. Now David Eastman has been acquitted, leaving Colin Winchesters family devastated.
Well before Jamal Khashoggi was murdered and dismembered in the basement of the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, and before Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia were found dosed with a nerve agent in a park in Salisbury, England, Sergei Magnitsky died from torture and denial of medical care in the Russian prison where he had been held without charge for almost a year.

Magnitsky is far from the only critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin who has died in violent and mysterious circumstances over the years, but his death has had a profound effect on parts of the world, and reached as far as the Australian parliament this week.

Sergei Magnitsky was tortured and killed in a Moscow prison after he uncovered a web of corruption allegedly involving senior Russian officials. Credit:AP

In one of his final parliamentary acts, Michael Danby, the Victorian Labor MP set to retire at the end of this term, has given notice that he will introduce to the house the Australian version of what have become known globally as Magnitsky acts: laws designed to allow governments to sanction murderers and torturers acting on behalf of states.

Explaining his bill in a comment piece for the Herald and The Age this week, Danby argued that since the murder of 38 Australians aboard a civilian airliner shot down by a Russian missile, Australia has a significant and immediate interest in seeing an Australian Magnitsky act passed.
Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has expressed scepticism about Adani's announcement that construction on its Carmichael coal mine would begin.

Adani Australia mining chief executive Lucas Dow on Thursday announced the scaled-back project would be "100 per cent financed" from within the Adani conglomerate.

Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk says she will believe the Adani project is going ahead when she sees it. Credit:AAP Image/ Darren England

Ms Palaszczuk said the announcement was "very different to what we have been seeing" and she wanted more details.

"There is no taxpayers' money going into the building of that railway line, they have to have agreements with Aurizon, we haven't seen any of that evidence as of yet," she told the ABC on Friday morning.
Trump, identified as "Individual 1" in Cohen's guilty plea, was said to have received direct updates from Cohen as he pursued a Moscow Trump Tower project with the Kremlin, up until June 14, 2016. The President also appears in the draft charging document for Trump ally Jerome Corsi, who allegedly told Stone about WikiLeaks' plans to release damaging Democratic emails in October of that year because he knew Stone was in "regular contact" with Trump. The Washington Post reported this week that Trump spoke with Stone the day after he got the alert from Corsi. Conservative author and conspiracy theorist Jerome Corsi said he is in plea negotiations with Special Counsel Robert Mueller. In the draft documents, prosecutors sought to have Corsi plead guilty to lying when he said he didn't know about WikiLeaks' plans and urging others to visit WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange to obtain emails damaging to Democrats. Trouble: Donald Trump, Michael Cohen, Vladimir Putin. Credit:Composite Trump has given slightly differing accounts of his Moscow business ties over time. In July 2016, he tweeted: "For the record, I have ZERO investments in Russia." A day later he claimed, "I have nothing to do with Russia."

In January 2017, he told a reporter: "I have no deals that could happen in Russia, because we've stayed away." Trump's personal lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, said on Thursday that the President's written answers to Mueller about the Moscow project, which he submitted just before Thanksgiving, conforms with Cohen's version of events. They discussed a project, starting in 2015, continuing into 2016, and it went nowhere, he said. Rudy Giuliani, President Donald Trump' lawyer. Credit:AP "The President, as far as he knows, he remembers there was such a proposal for a hotel," Giuliani said. "He talked it over with Cohen as Cohen said. There was a non-binding letter of intent that was sent. As far as he knows it never came to fruition. That was kind of the end of it." Alan Dershowitz, a Trump ally and constitutional lawyer, said Cohen's confessions don't suggest Trump committed any crime but could suggest that Trump wasn't telling the public the whole truth about the Moscow deal.

"This is politically damaging, but I'm not sure how legally damaging it is," Dershowitz said. "This is all about questionable political behaviour. It's a good reason for people voting against Trump. But I don't see a crime yet." Cruise boats sail along the Moscow river near the Kotelnicheskaya embankment building. Trump has always wanted to have his name in lights in Moscow. Credit:Bloomberg But Tim O'Brien, a Trump biographer and frequent critic, said the developments pose significant new challenges for the President. "This is part of the fact pattern that gets to the heart of whether there was collusion between the Trump campaign and the Kremlin during the campaign," O'Brien said. "I think the unforgiving grinding force of the US justice system, which he has tried to undermine since he became president, is encircling him. I don't think we know where he will land. But he is certainly mired in something that he is ill-equipped, legally and personally, to handle." Some legal experts argued Mueller appears to be drawing a picture of a candidate who was beholden to the Kremlin. Emails released in the Cohen plea show Trump seeking a financial endorsement from the Russian government on a private project while Russian President Vladimir Putin was offering to say flattering things about Trump.

"It creates the potential for Trump to feel an obligation to pay back President Putin, or Russia in general that . . . do not put the best interests of American forward." Kopp said. "You are creating a potential vulnerability for a future leader of America." Trump privately stewed as he followed news coverage of Cohen's plea early Thursday morning, a White House official said. Loading A Justice official called the White House Counsel's Office on Wednesday evening to let personnel know that Cohen would be pleading guilty in a case the following day, according to one person with direct knowledge of the notice. They were not told the details, however, which they learned about shortly before Cohen's plea on Thursday morning. Giuliani said the President believed the news development was a gratuitous slap from the Mueller team just as he was about to depart the White House for a trip to the G20 summit in Argentina.

In public, Trump was defiant, telling reporters that Cohen was a liar and a "weak person" who would do anything to save himself from fraud charges he faces related to his taxi business. Speaking before he stepped onto the Marine One helicopter for his trip, he also denigrated Cohen's intelligence, calling him "not very smart." "He was convicted of various things unrelated to us," Trump said. "He's a weak person, and what he's trying to do is get a reduced sentence. So he's lying about a project that everybody knew about. I mean, we were very open with it." He questioned the scrutiny of the Moscow project. "There would have been nothing wrong if I did do it," Trump said. "When I'm running for president, that doesn't mean I'm not allowed to do business."

Trump often grows aggrieved seeing Cohen on TV, aides say. Among White House advisers, Cohen is seen as an existential threat - as much or more so than the Mueller investigation itself due to his longtime role as Trump's fixer. Trump's legal team did not learn until Thursday that Cohen had sat for dozens of hours of interviews with Mueller's office, according to a senior administration official. Trump was infuriated earlier this year when Cohen released tapes of him and asked his lawyers and advisers if anything could be done to stop him from releasing any more. The Trump legal team cast Cohen as a flawed character whose word is meaningless, as it had when he pleaded guilty in August to eight felony counts, including paying women for their silence about alleged affairs with Trump. Legal experts said prosecutors were not likely to build a guilty plea - a brick in the overall case - on the word of one person. The prosecutors' filings show they have corroborated and buttressed Cohen's account with contemporaneous emails, and people familiar with the probe say they have also obtained corroborating testimony from other witnesses. "This is obviously a significant plea and statement. It means that when the president was representing during the campaign that he had no business interests in Russia, that that wasn't true," said Adam Schiff, the ranking Democrat in line to become chairman of the House Intelligence Committee. " If the president and his associates were being untruthful in real time as they were pursuing this deal, what does it mean now about how much we can rely on what the president is saying about any continuing Russian financial interest?"
PHILIPSBURG:--- On November 27th, suspect R.E. was rearrested by the KPSM investigating team in connection with the murder of J.C.

J.C. was discovered in his car on August 6th, 2018 in the St. Peters/ Marigot Hill area. The victim was found in a grey colored Hyundai SUV with license plate P1554 on the premises of a home shot to death.

This investigation is still currently ongoing, and the investigating team is still looking for witnesses who may have seen or heard anything that could shed more light on the investigation. Anyone who has information in connection with this case should immediately contact the investigating team by calling 542-2222 ext. 223, 556-7498, the anonymous tip line 9300 or the emergency number 911.

KPSM Press Release.
Management Board of SMA Solar Technology AG Lowers Sales and Earnings Guidance for 2018

Posted by Publisher Internet

Contrary to expectations, the decline in business recorded since September of this year at SMA Solar Technology AG (SMA/FWB: S92) continued in November. The SMA Managing Board therefore expects sales of only ?760 million to ?780 million for 2018 (previously ?800 million to ?850 million). The increasing necessary restructuring measures and additional one-off effects will have a further impact on earnings in 2018. The Managing Board expects negative EBITDA in the medium to upper double-digit million euro range (previously: break-even to slightly negative EBITDA). The SMA Managing Board continues to expect sales growth and positive EBITDA for 2019.

?The SMA Managing Board has decided early on to adapt the company?s structures to the changed conditions that are characterized by continued strong price pressure,? explained SMA CEO Dr. Jurgen Reinert. ?We expect to close the discussions with the works council on the planned restructuring measures soon. We will then start with the implementation at the beginning of next year. In addition, we have already started to introduce new products and solutions in the international markets and have enhanced our sales initiatives in order to increase sales and achieve positive EBITDA in the following year.?

Disclaimer:

This press release serves only as information and does not constitute an offer or invitation to subscribe for, acquire, hold or sell any securities of SMA Solar Technology AG (the ?Company?) or any present or future subsidiary of the Company (together with the Company, the ?SMA Group?) nor should it form the basis of, or be relied upon in connection with, any contract to purchase or subscribe for any securities in the Company or any member of the SMA Group or commitment whatsoever. Securities may not be offered or sold in the United States of America absent registration or an exemption from registration under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended.

This press release can contain future-oriented statements. Future-oriented statements are statements which do not describe facts of the past. They also include statements about our assumptions and expectations. These statements are based on plans, estimations and forecasts which the Managing Board of SMA Solar Technology AG (SMA or company) has available at this time. Future-oriented statements are therefore only valid on the day on which they are made. Future-oriented statements by nature contain risks and elements of uncertainty. Various known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors can lead to considerable differences between the actual results, the financial position, the development or the performance of the corporation and the estimates given here. These factors include those which SMA has discussed in published reports. These reports are available on the SMA website at www.SMA.de. The company accepts no obligation whatsoever to update these future-oriented statements or to adjust them to future events or developments.

The SMA Group with sales of around ?900 million in 2017 is a global leader for solar inverters, a key component of all PV plants. SMA offers a wide range of products and solutions that allow for high energy yields for residential and commercial PV systems and large-scale PV power plants. To increase PV self-consumption efficiently, SMA system technology can easily be combined with different battery technologies. Intelligent energy management and digital energy solutions, comprehensive services and operational management of PV power plants round off SMA\-\-s range. The company is headquartered in Niestetal, near Kassel, Germany, is represented in 19 countries and has more than 3,000 employees worldwide, including 500 working in Development. SMA\-\-s multi-award-winning technology is protected by more than 1,200 patents and utility models. Since 2008, the Group\-\-s parent company, SMA Solar Technology AG, has been listed on the Prime Standard of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange (S92) and is listed in the SDAX index.
Georgetown, SC (29440)

Today

Clear this evening then becoming cloudy with periods of light rain after midnight. Low 49F. Winds SW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 80%..

Tonight

Clear this evening then becoming cloudy with periods of light rain after midnight. Low 49F. Winds SW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 80%.
Four months ago, people in a small Madagascar town caught sight of a fireball shooting across the early-evening sky. Its boom was so loud, the ground shook.

A search for pieces of this celestial visitor soon followed. Researchers stitched together eyewitness accounts to help them understand what came down from the heavens on July 27.

What people saw crashing down, according to this detective work, was an ancient, 4.5 billion-year-old meteor from the early solar system. [Traces of 'Sonic Boom' Meteorites Found in the Ocean]

A fragment of the Benenitra meteorite showing the black fusion crust and thumbprint-like depressions (called regmaglypts) that offered early evidence that this rock came from space. These features formed by melting during its entry into the atmosphere. (Image credit: Wits University)

This space rock is now called Benenitra, named after the small town in southwestern Madagascar where it landed. Fortunately, Benenitra rock fragments appear to have missed any people or buildings, according to a Nov. 26 statement about the findings.

"The Benenitra meteorite is a new space rock, but it is also a witnessed fall, which makes it part of [a] special group of meteorites," Roger Gibson, a researcher at Wits University in South Africa, said in the statement. "It is part of our collective heritage as a species, planet and Solar System. It fell in a remote area that will henceforth be recognised internationally for the event on the evening of 27 July."

Researchers from the University of Antananarivo in Madagascar and international colleagues began investigating when they first heard about the fall. After news reached Wits graduate student Tim Marais, he collected preliminary eyewitness accounts to confirm the meteor crash. Marais happened to be traveling in the area days after it occurred.

Madagascar is featured in this Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) image taken by the Terra satellite on Sept. 10, 2003.The narrow strip of green along the east coast of the island is a rainforest. (Image credit: Jacques Descloitres, MODIS Rapid Response Team, NASA/GSFC)

Marais also retrieved rock fragments thought to have separated from the meteorite.

A thin section of one fragment went through microscopic analysis, enabling Gibson and Lewis Ashwal at Wits University to confirm its space origin. Other supporting evidence for the meteorite's provenance came from work done by Matthias Laubenstein at the National Institute for Nuclear Physics in Italy, who found evidence of recent cosmic ray exposure  meaning the fragment was outside Earth's protective atmosphere as recently as a few months ago.

The Benenitra meteorite comes from the early solar system, according to Wits University officials. Known as a chondrite, this common meteorite contains millimeter-size grains of silicate material preserved from the cloud of dust and gas that surrounded the sun billions of years ago, when the solar system formed.

So the fragments belonged to an ancient meteor. But how does one corroborate testimonies describing the crashing sound?

To find supporting evidence of a significant explosion in the atmosphere above Madagascar on July 27, Andry Ramanantsoa of the Laboratory of Seismology and Infrasound at the University of Antananarivo used infrasound data from seismometers to confirm an "upper atmosphere energy release event" over the town of Benenitra at 7:16 p.m. local time (1716 GMT). The explosion, according to officials, was large enough to cause vibrations in the ground.

Follow Doris Elin Salazar on Twitter@salazar_elin. Follow us @Spacedotcom, Facebook and Google+. Original article on Space.com.
An enormous cosmic neighborhood that's home to more than 1,000 gravitationally bound galactic neighbors is bursting with thousands of stray star clusters, images from the Hubble Space Telescope have revealed.

While conducting a comprehensive survey of the Coma Cluster of galaxies, astronomers using the Hubble Space Telescope counted 22,426 globular star clusters scattered throughout the space between those galaxies. Each of those dense, spherical groups contains hundreds of thousands of ancient stars that huddle together because of their mutual gravitational attraction, much like the larger galaxies that make up the Coma Cluster.

Located more than 300 million light-years from Earth in the constellation Coma Berenices, the Coma Cluster is one of the first places where scientists found evidence of dark matter, an invisible form of mass that can only be detected by the gravitational effects it has on its visible surroundings. [Gallery: Dark Matter Throughout the Universe]

"Because globular clusters are much smaller than entire galaxies  and much more abundant  they are a much better tracer of how the fabric of space is distorted by the Coma Cluster's gravity," NASA officials said in a statement.

Astronomers think that the wandering star clusters once belonged to galaxies in the Coma Cluster but were "orphaned from their home galaxy due to galaxy near-collisions inside the traffic-jammed cluster," NASA officials said. Hubble imagery has revealed that some of these outcast star clusters line up in "bridge-like patterns," which NASA officials said is "telltale evidence for interactions between galaxies where they gravitationally tug on each other like pulling taffy."

Astronomers have been investigating the galaxies and star clusters in the Coma Cluster since 2006, when the Hubble Space Telescope started collecting data for the Coma Cluster Treasury Survey using an instrument called the Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS). But that project was put on hold when the ACS suffered an electronics failure and went into safe mode later that year. Astronauts ended up repairing the camera during the STS-125 Hubble servicing mission in 2009.

In lieu of the ACS data they had initially counted on, a team of astronomers led by Juan Madrid of the Australian Telescope National Facility in Sydney came up with a workaround to fill in the gaps. Madrid and his colleagues, along with a crew of undergraduate student researchers, "painstakingly pulled numerous Hubble images of the galaxy cluster taken from different Hubble observing programs" to stitch together a mosaic of the Coma Cluster's central region, NASA officials said.

"One of the cool aspects of our research is that it showcases the amazing science that will be possible with NASA's planned Wide Field Infrared Survey Telescope (WFIRST) that will have a much larger field of view than Hubble," Madrid said in the statement. "We will be able to image entire galaxy clusters at once."

Their entire census of the Coma Cluster was published Nov. 9 in The Astrophysical Journal.

Email Hanneke Weitering at hweitering@space.com or follow her @hannekescience. Follow us on Twitter @Spacedotcom and on Facebook. Original article on Space.com.
NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine himself ordered the upcoming safety review of SpaceX and Boeing, which was reportedly prompted by Elon Musk's behavior on comedian Joe Rogan's podcast this past September, according to The Atlantic.

The Washington Post's Christian Davenport first reported the existence of that review, which is scheduled to begin next year and take months to complete. Davenport cited three unnamed officials, who said that top NASA brass were upset with Musk, who had sipped whiskey and smoked weed on The Joe Rogan Experience.

Davenport talked to Bridenstine, who said he supported the review but did not mention who ordered it.

But at a gathering with reporters at NASA headquarters in Washington, D.C., yesterday (Nov. 29), Bridenstine said he himself got the wheels turning, according to The Atlantic's Marina Koren, who was there.

"I will tell you that was not helpful, and that did not inspire confidence, and the leaders of these organizations need to take that as an example of what to do when you lead an organization thats going to launch American astronauts," Bridenstine said at the meeting yesterday, referring to Musk's behavior, Koren reported.

Both SpaceX and Boeing hold multibillion-dollar contracts to fly NASA astronauts to and from the International Space Station. SpaceX will use its Falcon 9 rocket and Crew Dragon capsule for this work, and Boeing will employ United Launch Alliance Atlas V rockets (at least initially) and a capsule called the CST-100 Starliner.

The first orbital test flights of Crew Dragon and Starliner are currently targeted for early next year, with crewed demo missions to follow in mid-2019.

Bridenstine also stressed that Musk's behavior wasn't the sole instigator of the upcoming assessments. He said at yesterday's meeting that he had wanted to initiate workplace-safety reviews of both companies even before the SpaceX founder and CEO partook with Rogan (which was not a crime, by the way; recreational marijuana use is legal in California, where the podcast was recorded). Such reviews are a "necessary and appropriate step when youre launching humans on rockets," Bridenstine said, according to Koren.

There's a lot more detail in Koren's story; you can read the whole thing here.

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.




Title: Into the Woods



Happy Holidays all. Thanksgiving brought family to my house, hence a double review.



Both The False Bride and Common Ground moved between the eighteenth and twentieth centuries. (I almost got my Mom hooked on the show, but the time switch frustrated her. lol )



Jamie and Claire left Jocastas estate for North Carolina while Roger and Brianna got to know each other better.





Jocasta doesnt hold a grudge after the kerfuffle that happened in. Not only does she make sure the Frasers have all the supplies theyll need for their journey, she gives Jamie a bag of coins and silver candlesticks that belonged to his mother.Jamie told Jocasta that he and Claire were heading west to find a town with a number of Scottish settlers, Woolams Creek, where he would return to his respectable printing work.Jocastas farewell to Claire was a tad cold. Perhaps formal is a better word. She made it clear that while she disagreed with Claires beliefs she respects her. I had the impression that, when it comes to Jocasta, it is extremely difficult to earn her respect.Jocasta made it clear to Claire that she felt that forcing Jamie to be a printer does a great disservice to Jamies innate talents. Claire basically told her to butt out.I really want to see Jocasta again and cant help but hope that she and Claire can develop a more friendly familial relationship.Jamies attempts to return Ian to Scotland are met with proof that Ian is just as stubborn as the rest of the Fraser clan. Ian mounted a hardcore campaign to be allowed to stay with his aunt and uncle.Jamie acquiesced to Ians contention that his experiences over the last few months had caused him to mature enough to make his own decisions about his life.Ian proved his maturity by writing the letter, informing his mother that he was staying in The Colonies, himself.I loved the moment when Ian informs Jamie and Claire that hes going to ride on to the trading house with Myers. Jamie, having been a young man once, did nothing to give Myers the impression that he was giving Ian his permission.Their journey was uneventful until they rode into a storm and Clarence the Mule took off. Claire took off after the mule and was thrown by her horse. She found shelter from the rain, took her shoes off and settled in to wait out the storm.I couldnt help but wonder if any of the servants on Jocastas estate noticed the zippers. I had to look up the year of the zippers invention. The initial patent that led to what we know as a zipper was granted in 1851.Claire found a skull half buried in the leaves and began to examine it. The sudden howling of wolves startled her and moved us out of a pioneers adventure and into a ghost story.In a flash of lightening she saw, what she initially thought, was Jamie walking toward her. It was actually the owner of the skull, complete with the wound that killed him.The Cherokee man just stared at her. His intensity was a bit disconcerting for me. I cant imagine how Claire remained so calm.After a moment he just turned and walked away. It was a pretty creepy sequence. I loved the way the sequence was edited. Very cool and effective.The next morning Claire realizes her boots are gone. But there are boot prints in the mud, made with her shoes. She follows them back to Jamie who found them beside a river and decided to sit and wait for her to return.Claire realizes the ghost used her boots to lead them back to each other. Jamie, who is a Highlander married to a woman living two centuries before she was born, takes the news of a ghost orchestrating their reunion in stride. I mean the man didnt even raise an eyebrow. LOLClaire actually took Jocastas advice about squandering Jamies natural talents behind a printing press.Claire made it clear that she wants him to be happy and not make decisions simply to make her happy.They decided to take Governor Tryon up on his offer of 10,000 acres of land.They met their neighbors, the Cherokee, while marking the boundaries of their land.It looked like things were going well until the hunting party tossed several of their land markers at their feet and yelled at them in Tsalagi, despite at least one of the hunting party being fluent in English.Jamie, as usual was very strategic in how he approached the situation. He spoke with Meyers about approaching the Cherokee and opening a dialog in an effort to find a way to live together.Meyers explained that The Cherokee had been on edge recently because of a Tskili Yona. Yona means bear. Meyers thinks Tskili has something to do with an evil spirit.Because of the unrest in the Cherokee community Meyers offered to make the initial approach in Jamies behalf, but, before that could happen, Meyers was attacked by the Tskili Yona, that attacked Jamies horse the night before.Later, a badly injured Meyers stumbled into the Fraser camp in the middle of the night. While Claire tries to save Meyers life, Jamie goes after the bear.He finds himself fighting a man wearing a bearskin and claws. Jamie manages to kill him and return his body to the Cherokee.He learns that the man was banished by the Cherokee and had been harassing them for about a year. Because he was already dead to them, they could do nothing to stop him.Stopping this monster was the action that broke the ice between the Frasers and, as Jamie refers to the Cherokee, their neighbors. Jamie learns his new Cherokee name, Yona Dahi.Jamie invites the Cherokee party to join them at their fire, and Claire meets Adawehi. Shes an important elder in the Cherokee community, but I wasnt certain if shes the healer, the grandmother of the chief, or their spiritual leader.Adawehi tells Claire about a dream she had about her. In the years to come, Claire will become a much stronger healer as she grows older.Also, it seemed, Adawehi had a premonition about Claires future. The only thing we know is that people will die, and, though Claire will blame herself, it will not be her fault.The Cherokee culture is, as expected, being treated with respect. However, I, as a viewer, would like to learn more about them as a people.For example, while Jamie was fighting the Tskili Yona, we saw Adawehi leading a ceremony. We were left to guess the purpose of the ceremony and I found that disappointing. Im not really sure how it could have been managed within the episode, but still I was disappointed.We got several sweet small scenes in this episode. I especially liked the scene between Marsali and Claire. Marsali confessed to missing her mother. Claires response was compassionate and highlighted how close the two women have become.My other favorite scene was the knitting discussion between Claire and Ian. Ians shock that anyone wouldnt know how to clicket was priceless.Roger was invited to North Carolina to sing at a Scottish festival. Fiona pushed him to tell Briana how he felt about her.I really wish we could have seen the scene when Roger explained to Fiona how his declaration of love to Brianna went. I know it was one of those moments when a woman looks at a man and realizes how much of an idiot he is.Brianna and Rogers trip to North Carolina got off to a nice start. Brianna and Roger hung out and enjoyed their time together.Brianna sat, listening to Roger sing and seemed to step over the line of being smitten with a guy to falling in love with him. So much so that she decided that he would be the first man she made love to.Roger spontaneously decided to convert the bracelet he bought as a gift for Brianna into an engagement present.When Brianna told him it was too soon, and she wasnt ready to think about marriage, Rogers feelings were hurt, which caused him to turn into an a**h*le.After some fairly nasty, hurtful words, he melodramatically declared that he would have all of her or none.The next night, at the Calling of the Clans, Brianna approached him to talk things out, I thought he would apologize for being such an idiot.But, nope, he decided it was more prudent to make it clear that he wanted nothing more to do with her if she wasnt going to accept his proposal. I cannot use the word idiot enough.I try to avoid comparing the show to the book, but there were a couple of elements in the book that I was disappointed were omitted in the episode.In the book, Briana begins to connect with her Scottish heritage. She makes a passing I guess Im a Fraser. comment in the episode, but otherwise is untouched by whats happening around her.Brianna only recently learned about her Scottish heritage, why wouldnt she be interested in learning more about her roots.The other omission left me a little stumped. Why were the Frasers left out of the Calling of the Clans? Especially after they made a point of noting that Frasers Ridge was so connected to the Scottish presence in the area. The inclusion of the Fraser clan in that ceremony wouldnt give Brianna any undo hints.Weeks after the disastrous trip to the festival, Roger finds a mention of Frasers Ridge in the book Brianna purchased for him.He asks the author for more information and learns that Jamie and Claire settled Frasers Ridge. He even receives a copy of the land grant that Jamie signed.Roger calls to let Brianna know that her parents found each other and have moved to North Carolina. Shes thrilled to get the news and thanks Roger.Beyond conveying her gratitude Brianna, cant think of a way to start a real conversation. The call ends without any change to their relationship.Fiona lets Roger know that she found an obituary, among her grandmothers papers that indicates that Jamie and Claire died in a house fire in 177?. The final digit is illegible. They could have died two years after settling Frasers Ridge or twelve.After a bit of hesitation Roger finally decides to tell Brianna the bad news. Briannas roommate informs him that Brianna headed for Scotland two weeks earlier.I really enjoyed both of these episodes. Claire and Jamies story was primarily a transitional story, which I didnt mind. Im a sucker for the quiet character scenes and the episode included some awesome ones.The two storylines worked well to prevent the episodes pacing to slow down. Im still annoyed with Roger, which is to say, well done. The only thing I was missing was the Frasers presence at the Scottish festival.Did anyone else think the footprint of the cabin Jamies building cant fit all the stuff hes planning on putting in there? What did you think of the episode?




This article was written by Donna Cromeans, Sam Dinsmoor, and Zandarl. Article edited by Donna Cromeans (@DJRiter). Article prepared for publication by Aimee Hicks.





It has been nearly four years since a young actress was announced as the lead in a new series based on the comic book hero, Supergirl. It was a much sought-after role and Melissa Benoist was given the task of making the character of Kara (Zor-El) Danvers/Supergirl a believable and likable person without turning her into a caricature. Many wondered if she was up to the task. Since that time, Benoist has proven herself more than capable and has garnered worldwide praise for her take on the Girl of Steel. For the past three seasons, to the delight of fans and critics, she has grown and matured into the role. She has taken the role of Supergirl and made it her own, much like another young actor did when asked in the late '70s to portray the iconic role of Clark Kent/Superman. Following and perhaps due to a successful run on Broadway, Benoist has given Supergirl even greater growth and polish with deeper, richer acting. Never has that been truer, than in(4x2). In this episode, Benoist gives a stellar performance, at times seeming to channel the awkward comedic charm of a young Christopher Reeve. Performances such as this continue to add to her near-iconic status as the definitive Supergirl. For these reasons and others to follow in this article are why Melissa Benoist was named SpoilerTV's Readers' Choice Performer of the Month for October. ***Note, that in an unprecedented first she shares the title this month with's Katie Cassidy after a historic tie in the voting.An alien on this planet herself, and as it is just in her nature, Supergirl is nothing but sympathy for the president's plight and treatment. When she goes to see her, Benoist brings out that purity and goodness of Supergirl so well, as she's always done, when facing the president. As Supergirl goes on and on to the president about the great things she's done for the country and how she deserves better, Benoist's display of total distress and desperation shines through. She shows you just how much Supergirl truly believes in her. As she goes on to talk about Mercy Graves and what she's done, you can sense the shift in tone in Benoist's voice from distress over Marsdin (Lynda Carter) to fear of Mercy Graves (Rhona Mitra) and what she's doing to this country. She is worried about the state of the country and its treatment over aliens and how Mercy is influencing them. But it is Marsdin becomes the comforter to Supergirl as she encourages her to be the beacon of hope the world needs. As Supergirl listens to her, soaking in every word, Benoist's eyes go from sadness, to hopeful, and finally to resolve. Benoist as Supergirl takes you on this emotional rollercoaster that you never want to get off.As Marsdin and Supergirl have this peaceful, loving conversation inside, the feelings of the crowd outside the White House is far from that. Both sides of protestors are violently angry and yelling and it's up to Supergirl to stop this before it goes too far, and she knows it, and Benoist does not take that responsibility lightly. But when she gets to them, she doesn't want to fight with them, her concern is just with getting everyone else to stop fighting. As she stands in her classic Supergirl pose (inspired perhaps by an iconic Christopher Reeve pose in Superman II) and speaks as the confident beacon of hope Marsdin wants her to be, Benoist makes it clear that most of Supergirl's strength does not lay within her arms but within her heart.Despite her encounter with the angry mob at the White House, Supergirl returns to the DEO, ready to move forward following the exposure of the president as an alien, yet she still has faith in people. She affirms her faith in people, despite Alexs warnings that things could get worse.. She only wavers slightly when the pragmatic Alex gives her visual proof of the growth of the hate groups on the internet virtually overnight. Once again Benoit shows a light to her character even when things seem bleak as you expect from the Girl of Steel.One aspect of Kara's life that the show has done well in portraying is her friendship with business mogul, Lena Luthor. This episode has several examples of how this is a true friendship with the two women confiding in one another, having sympathy for the other and at times trying to protect the other. Benoist and Katie McGrath have a nice chemistry together as these two friends. It is interesting watching Benoist portray both sides of interactions her character has with McGrath's Lena. Kara and Lena's friendship has been a constant despite Lena not being a fan of Supergirl at present. With Big Belly burgers in hand, she asks Lena about Mercy Graves and it seems they were close. Once again Benoist shines as a concerned friend as Lena confides in her that Mercy had been more like a sister to her, she conveys a warmth and empathy for her friend. Yet, she realizes and feels uncomfortable about deceiving her friend as shown by the discomfort she portrays when Lena mentions Superman, knowing she, herself is lying to her.However, it is the next sequence of scenes that Benoist shines best in this episode. One of the things that endeared fans to Reeves' portrayal of Clark Kent/Superman was a charming, geeky awkwardness he embodied in the Clark Kent character. Benoist pays homage to that awkwardness but gives us something not seen much with Reeves portrayal and thats the frustration of not being able to slip away to become Supergirl to protect her friends. Benoist is masterful, showing impeccable comedic timing during these scenes. Just another indication of how much Benoist has grown into this role since being cast.Mercy Graves has attacked LCorp and Kara is trapped in the executive suite with Lena and Eve (Andrea Brooks). At the first sonic attack, as she tries to slip away to change into Supergirl in the guise of looking for a place to hide, she is thwarted at every turn by Lena who has gone into protective mode. When Lena hands her the sonic earplugs she moves as though to put them in until Lena turns away. Her exasperation shows on her face as she gives a huff and shoves the plugs into her pocket when Lena and Eve aren't looking. Then through sheer body language, her growing frustration is evident when she faces Lena and acts afraid but the fisted hands on her hips are all frustrated Supergirl.Next, all three actresses are to be commended on running through the atrium in high heels to get away Mercy's goons. How no one turned or broke an ankle is a mystery. But then, as though she's ducking from the bullets being fired at them, Benoist's Kara skillfully catches the bullets and throws them back at their attackers. Then, again deftly deflects Lena's concern saying they were terrible shots. Again, with her expressive face, Benoist shows her growing exasperation of the situation, when in the elevator with Lena. While the camera is on Lena, one can't help but notice Kara all but rolling her eyes at being thwarted again.Then, after the subtle super move of stopping the door from closing with her foot and feigning innocence saying the door must have malfunctioned, she almost gives herself away by immediately answering Alex who calls her on her comm. She covers nicely by acting surprised and flustered when she pulls her phone from her pocket to talk to her sister. Her voice conveys just the slightest edge to it, telling Alex she can't get away to become Supergirl.Her conversation with Alex is peppered with subtle hints to get her out of there. She bites her bottom lip before she says something that gives her away. Then, when they're out of time and the goons breakthrough, as Lena and Eve run away, out of the line of sight, she gives a super sneeze to knock them henchmen off their feet. And again, Benoist uses that near comedic geeky awkwardness by saying she forgot her allergy medicine.Her irritation is almost at its peak when she again tries to convince Lena to leave her behind, but Lena refuses to leave her. She reluctantly follows Lena to her secret lab. As she and Lena move through the lab Benoist subtly looks around as though searching for a place for Kara to go change. One can almost see the wheels turning in her head as she keeps looking for an escape.Then when they are confronted by Mercy, she reluctantly moves behind Lena at Lena's urging. Her discomfort at being in that position is clearly illustrated by Benoist's body language. Her voice and actions still showing Lena her fear, while the body language is tense and on-guard ready to spring into action. That telling crinkle is evident as she stands behind Lena as Mercy advances. Then she gives Kara a bit of false bravado when she pops out from behind Lena to declare that at least Lena wasn't a murderer.When Lena grabs the Lexo suit arm and prepares to do battle with Mercy, it's evident that for a moment Kara considers exposing herself to protect her friend. She adjusts her glasses as though she's made a decision, then throws her hands out when Mercy fires, only to have Lena's weapon stop the blast. Kara finally makes her escape and shortly after rushes back in as Supergirl. Benoist truly becomes Supergirl at that moment, her confidence firmly in place as she captures Mercy, and momentarily the tension between Lena and the superhero is eased. These scenes were Benoist at her best in this episode, switching from Kara feigning fear, to Kara showing her frustration at not being able to become Supergirl in an instant, often when other characters in the scene are not looking at her. All these moments were brilliance and showed Benoist in firm command of her character.With Mercy captured and, in a cell, back at the DEO, Benoist has a brief but solid scene with her favorite on-screen partner, Chyler Leigh as Alex. The timing of their dialogue when sparring with Mercy and Otis is impeccable, as always. It was also a wonderful display of the contrast of the sibling's dynamics between the Danvers Sisters and the Graves siblings. Though a short scene, it was another clear example of how good these two actresses are when in a scene together. Thankfully, the writers seem to have recognized this fact and have used such scenes more during Season 4.Later, Supergirl addresses the nation from Catco. Her heartfelt delivery shows her hope for humanity in her speech. Benoists words are conveyed with a convincing power and conviction. They are very relatable today, a steely resolve resonating in her eyes. At this moment she is the personification of that symbol of hope that former President Marsdin had encouraged her to be. She clearly shows that her heart aches for what is happening around her and the hate that is spreading, sharing her hope for patience and tolerance. It was very reminiscent of her powerful speech about hope that she delivered in the season one finale. Throughout the dark times, this season is illustrating Benoist continues to shine as that beacon of hope, showing great growth from the darkness that plagued her last season.With the Graves' firmly behind bars, Supergirl returns to the White House where new President Baker (Bruce Boxleitner) is about to take office. He expresses concern that she was loyal to Olivia Marsdin, yet Benoist turns on her Supergirl charm and humility and reassures him that her loyalty lay with the office of the President and with the country that took her in as a refuge. Marking her first interactions with him with strength and a smile. Then there is a nicely added, human touch as she reaches up to straighten his tie.While Melissa Benoist has excelled in dramatic and action scenes as Supergirl, it is this slightly comedic turn as Kara Danvers in Fallout, that she has elevated her portrayal to the near iconic status. This episode shows how much she has grown as an actress in creating her vision of Supergirl/Kara Danvers. And, the exciting thing is that one suspects she's barely scratched the surface on the layers of her character, showing her ease in handling whatever the show's writers put before her. The sky is the limit for Melissa Benoist and whatever comes next is sure to delight viewers as she takes Supergirl/Kara to new heights.For all the reasons noted in this article, Melissa Benoist is one of SpoilerTV's Readers' Choice Performers of the Month. Please use the comments to discuss her performance in this episode and regarding her portrayal of Supergirl/Kara Danvers.
STAMFORD  A 21-year-old and a juvenile have been charged in connection with a recent robbery.

Deandre Parsons, 21, of Stamford, and an unidentified juvenile were each charged with first-degree robbery and conspiracy to commit second-degree robbery.

Parsons is on parole and remains in custody, according to a news release from Stamford Police Lt. Thomas Scanlon.

Stamford police officers responded to the 100 block of Ludlow Street for a report of a street robbery around 6 p.m. Nov. 14.

The victim, a 31-year-old Stamford resident, said he was beaten by two suspects and hit on the head with a hard object, Scanlon said. The victim told police the suspects took what he had in his wallet and his cellphone before taking off in different directions.

The victim chased one suspect and a fight later ensued where the suspect displayed a firearm, Scanlon said.

The victim, who was assaulted but not shot, was treated at Stamford Hospital for minor injuries.

Scanlon said police did not find the suspects that night.

Stamford Police Major Crimes continued to investigate the incident and identified the two suspects as Parsons and the juvenile.

On Nov. 21, Stamford police served search warrants at the residences of each suspect. The juvenile was arrested that day. Parsons was taken into custody on Thursday.
On a sunny day in April 2004, Tom Gaynor put on a brand-new pinstripe suit and studied like mad for his upcoming interview at a Washington, D.C., law firm.

He had planned a move to the city with his partner, and this round of interviews meant meeting with 15 different lawyers over the span of about eight hours. He prepared by going over the names and job descriptions of the people he was about to meet, thinking about where his experience overlapped with theirs and what they had in common.

Gaynor walked into the office in his new suit looking like Joe Wannabe Lawyer, he recalled, but by lunchtime, after hed made it through about half of the meetings, he received a call from his recruiter with great news. Shed just spoken with the HR coordinator, and the firm planned to give him an offer as soon as he got through the rest of the afternoon -- the perfunctory stuff.

Around 5 p.m., after interviews had wrapped up, Gaynor remembered the firms managing partner returning to tell him that the feedback was terrific -- they wanted him to start immediately.

Gaynor told the managing partner he was excited and that hed check with his partner to see exactly what day he may be able to start.

Partner? What do you mean? Im not hiring you as a team -- Im just hiring you, Gaynor remembered hearing. He clarified that he meant his life partner, not a law firm partner, and watched as the executives face seemed to change before he told him theyd suspend the conversation until Monday, then left abruptly. Gaynor dialed up his recruiter.

What happened? he remembered her asking. All of a sudden, the HR person called me back and said theyre not going to extend an offer. Something happened in the last discussion.

Gaynor explained the final conversation, and he recalls his recruiter telling him, You need to determine what you want to do because they basically just withdrew the offer because youre gay.

I may be gay, but Im also a corporate lawyer who intends to continue to be a corporate lawyer, Gaynor thought. He didnt want to risk destroying his career by suing the firm, so he went on to accept a different role working under one of the first openly gay heads of a major law firm in the U.S. He was for me a beacon of the future and what could be on the horizon, Gaynor said.

Gaynor resolved to be that kind of beacon for someone else, and in April 2017, he helped turn what he calls the nations first standalone LGBTQ+ growth lab accelerator into a reality.

In 2015, after Gaynor accepted a position with global law firm Nixon Peabody, he felt it was a sign -- the law profession on the whole had become exponentially more open-minded over the past decade. He decided to use that as fuel for a new idea: Work with StartOut, the largest U.S. nonprofit organization dedicated to fostering leadership in LGBTQ+ entrepreneurs. Less than five minutes after he presented the potential partnership, the law firm jumped at it. It was one of the most exciting moments of Gaynors career.

When the nonprofit hired a new executive director, Andres Wydler, in the fall of 2016, Gaynor set a meeting with him at an izakaya-style Japanese restaurant in San Francisco. They both ordered tea to help fight off their respective colds -- Gaynor does some of his best work on chamomile -- and the get-to-know-you nature of the conversation soon morphed into something entirely different. After 45 minutes, they had sketched out the idea for a new accelerator for LGBTQ+ entrepreneurs -- a growth lab -- on the back of a napkin. There were precedents -- LGBTQ+ entrepreneur initiatives that were part of larger, not-LGBTQ+-exclusive accelerators; programs offered by financial institutions to help LGBTQ+ entrepreneurs win capital grants; a LGBTQ+-focused venture capital fund -- but the two imagined that StartOut Growth Lab would be the first standalone, brick-and-mortar startup growth accelerator for LGBTQ+ entrepreneurs.

Their happy hour idea was made a reality in April 2017, and since then, its grown into StartOut Growth Lab, an accelerator that offers both office space and mentoring, education and networking opportunities for any startup founded or co-founded by LGBTQ+ entrepreneurs. So far, its graduated 20 companies, and it hosts a new cohort of up to seven different startups every six months. The growth lab provides access to other founders, angel investors and other potential funding outlets, as well as lunch-and-learns and panel discussions.

Those young companies innovate in a variety of different industries -- cybersecurity insurance, virtual reality, medical technology and more. Alumni range from Goodly, a student loan repayment service that allows employers to make contributions as an employee benefit, to Reflect, a mental health platform that aims to connect individuals to therapists best-suited to their needs.

The key here, Gaynor said, is giving LGBTQ+ entrepreneurs -- who may not always be taken seriously in the bro finance world -- the opportunity to pitch their product or service to the company of their dreams.

That sends chills down my spine, he said.

Theres no way to know exactly how many small businesses in the U.S. are owned or operated by LGBTQ+ individuals, but research from the National LGBT Chamber of Commerce (NGLCC) -- a nonprofit advocacy group billed as the business voice of the LGBTQ+ community -- can serve as one gauge. Senior vice president Jonathan Lovitz said that out of nearly 28 million small businesses across the country, close to 1,200 of them -- or just 0.004 percent -- are officially certified as LGBT Business Enterprises, meaning theyre majority owned, operated, managed and controlled by an LGBT person or group.

But LGBTQ+ entrepreneurs are paving the way for more to follow in their footsteps. Though the number of certified small businesses in the community may be small, according to a 2016 report, they are mighty in other areas: resilience (averaging 12 years in business), revenue (averaging close to $2.5 million per year) and, when used in conjunction with the NGLCCs estimate of 1.4 million total LGBTQ+ small-business owners in the U.S., projected economic contribution ($1.7 trillion per year).

Currently, certified LGBTQ+ businesses are concentrated in California, New York, Texas, Florida and Georgia, according to NGLCC data, but in the coming years, Lovitz predicted that the number of corporations engaging LGBTQ+-owned companies as suppliers -- particularly in historically under-inclusive industries such as construction and law -- will increase exponentially.

Were keeping an eye on those companies that are investing in this community, Lovitz said. Were in this time of unprecedented public sector growth for the inclusion of our businesses.

Accelerators such as StartOut Growth Lab help drive those contributions, and over the next five years, Gaynor foresees LGBTQ+-focused entrepreneurship programs replicating.

We want to even the playing field sufficiently [so] that any entrepreneur, regardless of their background, their sexual orientation, their race, their gender, will have equal opportunity for their shot at economic liberty and economic freedom, he said.

Related:

The Story Behind the Nation's First Standalone LGBTQ+ Accelerator, Which Graduates Its 20th Startup Today

A Brief History of 'Investability DNA' in Incubation and Acceleration

Are Corporate Accelerators Better for Startups than Traditional Ones?



Copyright 2018 Entrepreneur.com Inc., All rights reserved
O ne of the UKs most feted tech entrepreneurs, Mike Lynch, faced 20 years behind bars on Friday as the US Department of Justice accused him of fraud over his $11 billion (8.6 billion) sale of the Autonomy software business he founded.

Lynch struck a deal to sell the business to US giant Hewlett Packard in 2011 in a deal which netted him more than $800 million personally from his own stake in Autonomy.

But HPs chief executive Meg Whitman wrote off more than three-quarters of the value of the company just a year later, making it one of the most disastrous acquisitions in corporate history.

The 14 counts of conspiracy and fraud against Lynch  who founded Autonomy in 1996 and sits on the Governments science and technology advisory committee  carry a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.

The DoJs indictment against the former chief executive, pictured, accused him of a fraudulent scheme to deceive about the true performance of its business, financial performance and condition revenue and expenses and prospects for growth from 2009 until October 2011.

The DoJ, which began its investigation in 2012, goes on to accuse him of artificially inflating revenues, and falsely claiming it was a pure software business, as well as misleading regulators and intimidating and pressuring analysts. It also claims Lynch fired a finance officer in the US who questioned whether Autonomys financial statements were accurately stated.

The seven-year saga has also seen the Serious Fraud Office open and close an investigation into the case, and HP has also had to settle a class action by its own shareholders stung by the disastrous takeover.

In 2015, HP launched a civil claim against Lynch and allegations over Autonomy improperly booking revenues  such as a deal to digitise the Vatican library, which fell through  emerged in court documents earlier this year. Lynch promptly counter-sued over smears to his reputation after the deal. This trial was due to begin in March but is likely to be delayed by the DoJs criminal trial. Former Autonomy chief finance officer Sushovan Hussain was convicted for fraud in April and has yet to be sentenced, but is appealing.

Lynchs lawyers called the indictment a travesty of justice, adding: This case is unsupportable. It targets a British citizen with rehashed allegations about a British company regarding events that occurred in Britain a decade ago. It has no place in a US court. There was no conspiracy at Autonomy and no fraud against HP. HP has a long history of failed acquisitions. Autonomy was merely the latest successful company it destroyed.
H ospitality bosses on Friday sounded the alarm over a tourist tax being considered by Westminster and Camden councils, warning it could damage UK businesses.

Concerns arose after the chief executive of Conservative-led Westminster city council, Stuart Love, this week said the borough is in the embryonic stages of looking at a new levy on guests at hotels.

Loves comments to members of the Westminster Property Association had no details of how much visitors would be charged. But Labour councillors reckon 25 million a year could be raised.

Travelodges chief executive Peter Gowers said: It is vital that we dont do anything to damage one of the capitals most critical industries, especially with all the uncertainties facing the economy.

Nick Varney, the boss of Madame Tussauds-owner Merlin and chairman of trade body UK Hospitality, said: We are only just recovering from the terrorist impact and before that the strong pound in 2015/early 2016.

Add to that Brexit, double the VAT of other EU countries and Byzantine visa requirements for Chinese tourists, and we are not exactly welcoming.

UK Hospitalitys chief executive Kate Nicholls said the move would only damage businesses already crippled by rising costs.

Restaurateur David Page, who runs the Franco Manca chain, said: Scrap this idea.

Westminster Labour councillors recently said a tax from the boroughs 450 hotels could help pay for facilities visitors can enjoy.

Last year Mayor of London Sadiq Khan backed the idea of a tax which would cost visitors 2.50 a night on all hotel stays in the capital. It would bring in 100 million a year across London. Camden council at the time also signalled support.

Camden today said discussions for a tax are at an early stage and there are no firm proposals as yet.

David Harvey, Westminster city councils deputy leader, said no taxes would be implemented imminently because of Brexit uncertainty.

However, he refused to rule out the move and said: We want this idea to be on the table and part of a discussion about how we create a fair playing field, which balances the needs of businesses, residents and visitors across London."
J ust as you thought politicians couldnt do any more to shoot our country in the foot, Westminster council kicks off potential plans to start a new tax on tourists.

Its hard to imagine a more blinkered, short-sighted and petty idea. The 20 million visitors who come here are a mainstay of our economy, spending 40 billion a year in our city. The hospitality industry employs hundreds of thousands.

Westminster councillors seem to think London is so great, visitors should pay extra for the privilege of enjoying it.

Well, London is great, but its also already one of the most expensive cities in the world to visit. We must not take our visitors for granted.

The fear of terrorism has been putting some holidaymakers off coming here, as repeated warnings from hoteliers and attractions companies testify.

And all the while, Brexit gives us an unwelcoming face to outsiders.

Slapping on an extra 2.50 per night on visitors may not sound much, but when you multiply it up to a typical family of four staying six nights, it adds a further 60 to the holiday cost.

Besides, once a new tax is created, it very rarely shrinks. The revenue-raising wheeze of Air Passenger Duty was dreamed up on spurious environmental grounds in 1994. It started at 10 for long haul but is now 78 on economy, 150 on business.

Londons hotels, restaurants and tourist attractions are already facing spiralling rates bills and nightmarish worries about retaining and hiring EU workers after next March.

If anything, we should be giving them tax relief, not adding more duties on their customers.

Lets put this daft idea to bed once and for all.

Sandberg should now be leaning out

After all the criticism Facebook has received this year for untrustworthy behaviour, youd have thought its management would have learned to end its evasive instincts.

Yet Sheryl Sandberg has been caught out twice in little over a week being slippery over orders to investigate and attack the companys critics.

Her target on this occasion was George Soros, because he criticised Facebook at Davos last year for threatening the integrity of elections.

The audacity of the man.
S hares drifted mostly lower on Friday morning, the FTSE 100 falling below 7000 as traders sat on their hands, wittering about Donald Trump.

This was low-level malaise rather than true caution.

Panic-selling was not in evidence; neither was buying of almost any sort. With the worlds leaders arriving in Argentina for the G20, the City was waiting to see what the President does next.

Dealers dont want to trade on the back of what he says, but they know too many others will, so find temptation hard to resist.

Trader Steve said he was waiting to see whether that loony Trump manages to agree anything with China on trade, before he makes a move.

Whether he does could set the tone for markets for the rest of the year. There is no reason whatever to trade before we know how that plays out, added Steve. So the FTSE 100, one of the best-performing indexes yesterday, gave up those gains. It was down 53.40 points at 6985.55.

Most of that fall was down to the miners. Buyers were on strike in Antofagasta, off 20p at 817p, and Rio Tinto, down 38p at 3581p. That followed news that Chinas manufacturing sector was on the slide in November.

Connor Campbell at SpreadEx said those figures came unexpectedly, but, you know, not that unexpectedly given the countrys trade war with the USthat puts even more pressure on President Xi Jinping to try and move in the right direction with Trump.

One day after at least three brokers advised clients to pile into big UK banks, the second-tier lenders were feeling the pressure: CYBG lost 7.6p to 203.2p and Metro Bank followed, off 66p at 2111p.

At some point, shares in Thomas Cook will surely look cheap. Not yet though  they fell 1.46p to 32.24, another 4% down.

Also looking weak of late is Fevertree, the seller of fancy mixers.

Today shares rose 63p to 2405p after a note from Morgan Stanley where Richard Felton said although UK growth has slowed, the business remains strong and shares are now priced reasonably for anyone who wants to apply a tonic to their portfolio.

There were signs of life at least at Babcock, which won a 10-year contract for aerial firefighting from Canada. Thats its first fire-fighting contract outside Europe. Shares fell 7p to 575p.

Small-cap spotlight

Is Avanti Communications risen from the near dead? The satellite operator shares were well above 200p just three years ago. Today they moved up slightly to 3p, giving it a market cap of 64 million.
W hile on a walking tour of England in 1782, the German, Carl Philip Moritz, wandered through the British Museum and was astonished  by the exhibits but also the clientele. It was humming with people, of all classes and both sexes, including some of the lowest classes; for, since the Museum is the property of the nation, everyone must be allowed the right of entry, he exclaimed.

The British Museum had been established in 1753 by an Act of Parliament, in an act of intellectual and political radicalism. The founders were inspired by the Enlightenment conviction that through the examination of objects and specimens they could investigate the truth of things for themselves. Such knowledge, they believed, should be free to all men and women. Anyone could visit, so long as they applied in writing and had clean shoes. Visitors, used to the European princely royal collections, where the sovereign granted entry only to the right class of person, had seen nothing like it.

The early collection was a jumble of books, insects, scientific instruments and plants. Over the following decades, artefacts from ancient Rome, Egypt  including a huge granite head of the Pharaoh Ramesses II  and the Parthenon Marbles, carved in fifth century BC Athens, were acquired. They towered near the feathered and intricately carved artefacts collected by members of Captain Cooks expeditions from the islands of the Pacific. The jostling of objects from different cultures encouraged comparisons, as well as fierce arguments over who did it best.

In the 19th century, the Parthenon Marbles were considered the greatest artefact of all time. They competed for attention with the winged lions and their human heads from the ancient Assyrian empire. One member of a parliamentary select committee set up to discuss their value asserted that the Nineveh marbles were not art and fretted that they may deteriorate public taste.

Then, in the early years of the 20th century, after a violent battle during the carve-up of Africa by the British Empire, in which British troops exiled the king of Benin, the Benin Bronzes arrived: narrative ivory and bronze plaques and sculptures that display scenes from court life.

Tiffany Jenkins is the author of Keeping Their Marbles: How the Treasures of the Past Ended Up in Museums  and Why They Should Stay There / Getty Images

They transformed the way Europeans saw Africa. People were surprised that Africans, whom they assumed to be backward, could make such refined artwork. Picassos artwork never looked the same.

In contrast to national museums, which display artefacts from the national culture, encyclopaedic collections such as the British Museum draw out the relationships between civilisations, illustrating the uniqueness of cultures and their commonalities. But that universal ideal, the understanding that the whole world in its complexity is aided by bringing artefacts from all over the world together, is under threat from the idea that one culture owns their culture.

"Many of the demands for the return of artefacts are made in the limiting language of nationalism"

Last week, the governor of Easter Island visited Bloomsbury and asked the British Museum to return one of its eight-foot basalt statues to their island. The governments and officials of Greece, Egypt, China, Africa and others with artefacts in foreign museums argue that they should be returned because they contain vital components of their identity, that the Parthenon Marbles are Greek and the Benin Bronzes African.

Its an argument that is having some effect. The British Museum has agreed to loan some of its Benin Bronzes collection to Nigeria; President Emmanuel Macron of France, a nation that has long held tight to artefacts from other countries, has gone further. He has pledged to return 26 Benin Bronzes, with more to follow. The pressure to send the Parthenon Marbles back to Greece continues to build. Jeremy Corbyn has vowed to return them if he is ever elected Prime Minister.

Its understandable that people feel an attachment to objects crafted from within their lands but many of the demands for return are made in the limiting language of nationalism. Nobody in this world, except the people of Benin, can imagine the intrinsic value of the works or understand their relevance and meaning, no matter how much they may admire the aesthetics, the brilliance, or the magnificence of these works, argued the Benin Prince Edun Akenzua, in 2010, when he pleaded for the return of the Benin Bronzes.

The idea that there is only one home for an object, that the Parthenon or the Benin Bronzes belong exclusively to the modern people of Greece or Nigeria, is flawed. Many of the states claiming the artefacts were created long after the objects. Ancient Greece was a series of city states; Athenians  not Greeks  built the Parthenon. The concept of a continued and unique Greekness that ties together the ancient past and the people of the present ignores centuries of invasions, changing borders and the mixing of peoples.

As for the Benin Bronzes, many were created in the 16th century, long before the modern state of Nigeria existed. They were made by the Benin craftsman for the king, not modern Nigerians. And no matter where you are from, you can look upon them with understanding and admiration.

Art objects have always changed hands and travelled across borders, whether as trade goods or loot, or as an influence. They aid the understanding of other peoples and places. Thats why the Benin Bronzes, and all the other marvellous treasures, belong in the worlds great encyclopaedic museums, far from where they were created.
Although Melania Trump's schedule has been filled with fun festivities in recent weeks, owing to Thanksgiving and the unveiling of the White House Christmas decorations, it was back to work as usual on Thursday.

Melania left the White House with her husband President Donald Trump to board Marine One, ahead of a flight to Argentina to attend the G20 summit in Buenos Aires.

And in leaving for the event, FLOTUS opted for a most eye-catching leather ensemble.

Keeping things luxury, as per usual, she donned a brown leather coat by Ralph Lauren, an item of outerwear estimated to be worth 4,600.

Melania Trump and President Donald Trump walk to Marine One at the White House / AFP/Getty Images

She paired the outfit with matching chocolate toned jumper and Manolo Blahnik heels, as well as a contrasting lilac skirt by New York-based designer, Derek Lam - one which boasted the same leather finish as her jacket.

Leather on leather - quite the sartorial statement!

It was a look Melania obviously liked, because after the long-haul flight she arrived at Ezeiza International Airport in almost the exact same outfit, with just a few tweaks.

She had switched the purple leather midi skirt for another of the same style, but toned down the colourway opting for a sleek white hue.

Melania Trump arrives in Argentina on the eve of the G20 Leaders' Summit / AFP/Getty Images

And she had added a quirky twist: a pair of cow print heels, again by Manolo Blahnik.

This is the second time in a week Melania's outfit has captured the world's attention. Last week she caused controversy for wearing Dolce & Gabbana to a Thanksgiving dinner at a time when D&G were experiencing major backlash over a racist advertising campaign they had produced.
H anukkah is here, which means spending time with family and eating copious amounts of really good food.

This year, the annual Jewish holiday begins on December 2 and runs for eight days until 10 December.

The Standard spoke to Dr Maria Diemling, Reader in Jewish-Christian Relations, based at Canterbury Christ Church University who explained: The historical context [of Hanukkah] is the struggle between tradition and assimilation, a recurrent theme in Jewish history.

According to Jewish tradition, it celebrates a miracle: inside the Temple, the Maccabees found enough consecrated oil to light the eternal flame in the Temple for a single day but miraculously the oil lasted for eight days, long enough to produce new oil.

This is the reason why Hanukkah is celebrated over eight days.

Fried foods are an integral part of Hanukkah celebrations as it refers to the oil of the miracle.

Here, cook Ali Alt shares her top three recipes for Hanukkah: Sufganiyot, Challah and Latkes.

Ricotta Doughnuts (Sufganiyot) by Ali Alt

Ali Alt

Ingredients

250g ricotta cheese

2 eggs

1/2 cups flour

1 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

1 tsp vanilla

3 cups sunflower oil, for deep frying

icing sugar, for dusting

Cranberry Jam

200g light muscovado sugar

100ml orange juice

250g cranberries (fresh or frozen)

Method

1. In a large mixing bowl, whisk ricotta, vanilla, sugar and eggs until all incorporated.

2. Add flour, baking soda and salt. Fold with a rubber spatula until completely mixed through (cover with cling film and refrigerate if making beforehand).

3. Heat about 5 cups of oil in a medium sauce pot, over medium to medium high-heat. Heat oil to about 315*F (190*C).

4. Meanwhile, make the cranberry jam. Tip the sugar and orange juice into a pan, then bring to the boil. Stir in cranberries, then simmer until tender but still holding their shape - this will take about 5 minutes if using frozen cranberries or 8-10 minutes if using fresh. The sauce will thicken as it cools. This will keep in the fridge for 1 week. On the day, bring to room temperature before serving.

5. Back to the doughnuts, set out a wire rack and cover it with a paper towel or two.

6. Grease your hands or a scooper with some sunflower oil.

7. Scoop out some dough and make about 1-inch balls. Lay them on the parchment paper while waiting to be fried.

8. Fry doughnut balls in batches for 5-7 minutes, until golden brown.

9. To serve, take out the cooked doughnut balls and place them on a paper towel. After they are cooled for a couple of minutes, dust them with powder sugar.

Chocolate Bread and Butter Pudding (Challah) by Ali Alt

Holy Challah: Chocolate Bread and Butter Pudding by Ali Alt

Ingredients

500g challah (1 loaf), in chunks

170g evaporated milk (1 small can)

300ml whole milk

5 eggs, lightly beaten

1 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened

2 tsp. vanilla extract

1 tsp. ground cinnamon

1.5 tsp. baking powder

pinch table salt, to taste

80g dark chocolate, cubed

80g milk chocolate, cubed

1 tbsp. icing sugar, for dusting

Brandy Cream

200ml whipping cream

100g mascarpone

1 cup icing sugar

1/4 tsp. nutmeg

2 tsp. vanilla extract

2 tbsp. brandy (if you like)

Ali Alt

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180C/355/Gas 4

2. Lightly grease an oven-proof dish

3. Tear the bread into chunks and place in a large mixing bowl

4. In another bowl, mix together the evaporated milk, half and half, eggs, sugar, butter, vanilla, cinnamon, baking powder and salt

5. Pour the mixture over the bread chunks and let stand for 10mins

6. Fold in the chocolate, then spoon the mixture into the prepared dish. Bake for 35-45 minutes, or until lightly golden.

7. Meanwhile, make the brandy cream, by whisking all the ingredients together

8. To serve, cool for about 5mins, dollop on the brandy cream and away you go. Heaven.

Sweet Potato Latkes & Turkey Hash by Ali Alt

Turkey and Sweet Potato Latkes by Ali Alt

Ingredients

Turkey Hash:

1.5kg turkey, minced

2 tbsp. olive oil

2 red onions, finely chopped

2 garlic gloves, crushed

2 tbsp. cumin

1 tbsp. child powder

1 tbsp. tatar

1 preserved lemon, roughly chopped

60g coriander, roughly chopped

20g parsley, roughly chopped

1 tbsp. pomegranate molasses

sea salt (to taste)

ground pepper (to taste)

Sweet Potato Latkes:

4 large sweet potatoes, peeled

4 white onions, grated

3 eggs, beaten

3 tbsp. ras al hanout

60g coriander, finely chopped

1 cup matzo meal (or corn flower)

3 tbsp. olive oil, for frying

sea salt (to taste)

ground black pepper (to taste)

yoghurt (to serve)

Ali Alt

Method

1. First, the turkey harsh. Heat the olive oil in the pan over medium-heat and add the onions and garlic. Cook gently for 5 minutes until the onions soften.

2. Add the minced turkey to the pan and season with salt & pepper. Use a wooden spoon to break up the mince and remove and lumps. Cook for 3-5 minutes until the turkey begins to brown.

3. Stir in the cumin, chill powder, zatar, and pomegranate molasses. Raise the heat to medium-high and continue to stir. Cook for a further 2 minutes.

4. Add the chopped preserved lemons and coriander, taste and add salt or pepper if required. Cook for a further minute.

5. Leave to one side in the pan, ready to reheat, whilst you crack on with the latkes.

6. Preheat the oven to 200*c.

7. Line baking sheets with paper towels.

8. Grate the peeled sweet potatoes and onions (separately) by hand or with a food processor.

9. Bundle the grated sweet potato in the centre of a clean towel or cheese cloth; wrap the shreds up with the cloth, to form a ball, twisting the cloth to secure the bundle. Squeeze to remove excess liquid. Then place in a clean bowl.

10. Add the grated onion to the shredded potato, and stir in the matzo meal, ras al hanout, eggs and coriander (leaving a tbsp to garnish). Mix thoroughly and season.

11. If you are making ahead, now is the time to cover with cling film and refrigerate. Alternatively, leave to rest for 10-15 minutes.

12. Heat the oil in the pan (to come half-way up the latke). Heat slowly over a medium heat until it simmers.

13. Spoon about 1 heaped tablespoon of the potato mixture (per patty) into the hot oil and flatten each patty with a fork.

14. Remove the cooked latkes from the oil, place on the lined baking sheets and leave in the preheated oven to keep warm while you cook the rest.

15. To serve, place all the latkes on a platter, top with piles of hash, garnish with coriander and dollops of yoghurt.
 When I joined the rail industry eight years ago as a train driver, it was a career that really didnt have many women in the role, says Polly McGillivray, operations learning manager for Southern Rail.

[But] the number of women working in it has grown, slowly but surely. On Southern in 2017, only 17 per cent of the train driver intake was female  in 2018, itll be 30 per cent, which is a huge rise, she explains.

McGillivray has been a part of Southern Rail since 2010. She previously worked in recruitment and marketing, but after she was made redundant during the recession, she decided it was time for a career change.

"I was shown an ad for Train Drivers at LOROL (London Overground Rail Operations) and I said I wonder if women can apply? It wasnt that long ago and even I was thinking like that. The assessment process was hard and stressful, and they expect high pass rates to get through, but I did it. I cant explain how glad I am I took the leap," she recalls.

McGillivray became a full-time train driver for the Overground, a role she described as 'incredibly rewarding'. After two years on the London Overground and three years driving freight trains across the Australian outback, she was ready to take the next step.

She hung up her full-time driver's hat and took up the role of operation's leading manager for Southern at the Selhurst Training Centre, based in Croydon. She still drives the London Victoria to Brighton mainline for four hours each month though.

"In my new role, I get to teach the next generation of train drivers and inspire those that I come across to become something that they might never have thought they could be, she says.

In the UK, just five per cent of Britains 19,000 train drivers are women, and bringing more into the rail industry is now a large part of McGillivrays role.

So successful is she at it, she was recently nominated 'Rail Person of the Year' at the Rail Staff Awards.

Polly McGillivray

I have been working hard with Southern to encourage more women to consider the role of Train Driver," she explains. "Diversity and inclusion is so important in the workforce.

One woman McGillivray has inspired is Laura McDonald. Formerly a nurse, McDonald made the career switch at the beginning of 2017 and, after 18 months of training, became a fully-qualified driver last June.

When I first started out as a nurse, I loved the job and thought it was something I would do for the rest of my life, McDonald explains.

After six years of working 12-13 hour days, I was becoming physically, emotionally and mentally exhausted, she continues. "I realised that I needed a change. Driving trains was never a career choice that had crossed my mind but I know that nursing prepared me well to be able to cope with stress and keep a cool head under pressure.

McDonald found that with her new job came a different kind of responsibility. Instead of looking after stroke patients, she was driving trains of up to 1,000 passengers during peak travel times.

Train-driving is a safety-critical role, McDonald explains. No matter what, while youre on the clock you need to be 100 per cent focused at all times and there are many, many rules and regulations that we have to adhere to, to keep ourselves and the public safe. But the nature of the job means that when your shift ends you can switch off and not take any work home with you.

Laura McDonald

Of the 15 people who joined Southern alongside McDonald, just three of them were women.

I have a few female colleagues who are train drivers, but the majority are men. The blokes are all great though; theres a real family feeling and not a laddy culture at all. Thats not to say theres no good, old-fashioned banter though and we all give as much as we get, she says.

Although its historically male-dominated, Ive never been treated differently," she adds. "Theres a real sense of equality  we all work really hard, receive the same pay and all muck in together.

There are a number of perks to the role too. McDonald works four-day weeks, with five days off every three weeks, and also receives free train travel for herself and her family on Southern.

But for McGillivray, the greatest reward is seeing more women find their feet in the industry. The feeling of seeing the people  both men and women  I teach grow and get more confident is incredibly rewarding. I end every day feeling like Im really making a difference.
H anukkah is one of the most joyous occasions in the Jewish calendar, during which time Jews all over the world celebrate the eight-day festival of lights.

Also known as Chanukkah, it's a time to enjoy food and time with family.

But what is the story behind the Jewish holiday and why is it celebrated and observed? Here's everything you need to know:

When is Hanukkah?

The date for Hanukkah changes every year, with the Jewish calendar being lunisolar. It does however always fall between late November and December, four days before the new moon. The Hebrew calendar date is 25 Kislev.

This year it will begin on the evening of Sunday December 2 and conclude on Monday December 10.

What is the story behind Hanukkah?

Hanukkah commemorates the victory of a Jewish rebel army, the Maccabees, over the Seleucids (an ancient Hellenistic empire that ruled much of the Middle East) in 165 BCE and the subsequent re-dedication of the Temple in Jerusalem that had been desecrated.

Dr Maria Diemling, Reader in Jewish-Christian Relations, based at Canterbury Christ Church University told the Standard: The historical context is the struggle between tradition and assimilation, a recurrent theme in Jewish history.

According to Jewish tradition, it celebrates a miracle: inside the Temple, the Maccabees found enough consecrated oil to light the eternal flame in the Temple for a single day but miraculously the oil lasted for eight days, long enough to produce new oil.

This is the reason why Hanukkah is celebrated over eight days.

How is Hanukkah observed?

Mainly observed at home with the family, it involves lighting candles on the Hanukkiah' (or 'Hanukkah menorah') which is a special nine-branched candleholder. The ninth candle is the servant who is used to light the other eight candles.

Celebrations also include eating food fried in oil  referring to the oil of the miracle  playing games and giving little gifts to children.

Dr Diemling added: Children often make candleholders in Jewish settings (nursery, schools) and take them home. The lit Hanukkiah is often placed close to a window to announce the miracle of Hanukkah to the outside world.

A driedel / AFP/Getty Images

How do families celebrate Hanukkah?

The candles on the menorah will be lit each day in order (one candle on the first day, two on the second and so on), and the family will sing traditional songs, eat and spin the dreidel.

A driedel, Dr Diemling explained, is a four-sided spinning top that has different Hebrew letters on each side, forming the first letters of the Hebrew sentence for A great miracle happened there. Players play for money or sweets and lose or gain depending on which letter turns up when they spin the dreidel. Inviting others for the candle-lighting and food is also common.

What food is traditionally eaten over Hanukkah?

Dr Diemling explained: Food is always an important part of Jewish holidays and celebrations! Traditionally, food fried in oil (referencing the oil miracle) is eaten. These depend on the ethnic origin of the family but common are latkes' (potato pancakes) served with applesauce and sour cream and doughnuts (sufganyot) filled with jam, dulce de leche etc.

Sufganyot / Getty Images

The tradition is to eat food fried in oil but in different Jewish cultures different foods are being eaten: Italian Jewish families, for example, prepare dishes like fried chicken (marinated in olive oil, lemon juice, nutmeg and garlic, then covered in flour and egg before frying), mashed potato pancakes (unlike the latkes mentioned before covered in breadcrumbs), olive oil fried aubergines and honey-soaked dough fritters.

Sufganiyot Ricotta Doughnuts by Ali Alt

Does Hanukkah involve gifting presents?

Children were traditionally gifted money (gelt in Yiddish) and now chocolate coins are traditionally given.

It has become quite common to give presents on each of the eight days. Some Jewish parents feel that they dont want to their children to miss out compared to children who celebrate Christmas, particularly in countries like the UK or US where there is such a long general build-up towards Christmas and where presents play such an important role, Dr Diemling said.

Many Jewish families give to charity on Hanukkah and also encourage their children to give some of their Hanukkah money to charity.

How widely celebrated is Hanukkah in the UK?
L ondon's highest-security prison is underprepared for dealing with gang conflict amid a huge rise in the number of gangsters entering the jail, a watchdog has warned.

The Independent Monitoring Board for Belmarsh Prison, Thamesmead, said that it is proving almost impossible to keep gang members apart and that there needs to be a greater focus and a robust strategy to cope.

It warned that staff shortages are undermining efforts to control gangs, and the sole specialist gang worker employed at the jail has often been unable to meet those groups who have wanted to discuss their situation.

The report also revealed that assaults on staff have doubled during the first half of this year, with 38 attacks in which a prison guard was hospitalised.

Attacks on fellow inmates were also up, as was self-harm.

The report added that a continued flow of drugs and mobile phones into the prison  which is occurring despite the use of sniffer dogs and a sophisticated body scanner  is fuelling the violence, which is often caused by debt as well as gang affiliation.

The most stark findings, however, were on the growing gang problem within Belmarsh. The number of prisoners entering the prison who declare an affiliation with gangs has increased dramatically and it is almost impossible to ensure that gang members are kept apart, the report stated.

The prison is under-prepared for escalating gang issues and there needs to be a greater focus and a robust strategy for tackling this issue.

The monitoring board praised ministers for starting a staff recruitment campaign and commended the existing guards for diligently performing their difficult role.
A 16-year-old accused of assaulting a Syrian refugee in a school bullying incident has left the country with his mum, according to reports.

The incident in question relates to a video which appeared to show a 15-year-old boy being pushed to the ground with water thrown over him at a school in Huddersfield.

The alleged bully has since been summoned to youth court over the allegation of common assault, though a date for his first appearance has not been set.

The teen, who the Standard is not naming for legal reasons, is said to have gone abroad to stay with family members.

His brother told the Daily Mail: Theyve left Huddersfield and theyve left the UK for the time being.

My brother doesnt have any bail conditions so its not been a problem.

He also dismissed the allegations the attack was racially fuelled.

There are rumours that hes been beaten up in revenge attacks but I think thats nonsense," he said.

There have threats though but weve got a good group - a big army - around us so theres no reason to worry."

In the footage, which spread widely online, the boy is dragged by his neck to the ground while his assailant says Ill drown you.

West Yorkshire Police said: This incident has been treated very seriously by all those involved and has been swiftly investigated.

It has confirmed a teen has been interviewed and summoned to youth court, though a date has not been stated as yet.

The force would not comment upon whether any teenager involved had left the country.

Superintendent Steve Dodds, of West Yorkshire Police Kirklees District, previously said officers were investigating a racially-aggravated assault, however the summons has been for common assault.

An incident involving the Syrian boys sister being abused is also being looked into.
A woman who married the son of a hell-raising lord has been left living on a boat after losing a divorce battle.

Shop assistant Ellen Wodehouse, 66, married Henry Wodehouse, 62, the son of six-times married Lord Wodehouse, 4th Earl of Kimberley, in 1992.

Although her husband had been born into a wealthy family, he was not good with his money and was twice made bankrupt. They separated in 2011.

Following their divorce, a judge ordered Mr Wodehouse to pay his ex-wife 90,000 and split his 8,000-a-year pension from his time as a policeman with her.

Yesterday the Court of Appeal stripped Mrs Wodehouse of the 90,000 lump sum, after hearing that her ex-husband might not have access to funds in a family trust set up by his father.

Much of the family fortune was frittered away by the late 4th Earl, dubbed Britains most married peer.

Mrs Wodehouse told the court she has now been left with a small pension and saddled with 97,000 of debt left over from the marriage.

Her barrister Nicholas Barnes described Mr Wodehouse as a financial sinkhole and said his client has been reduced to sofa surfing with friends and spending much of her time on a boat with her brother and his dog.
A man has been jailed for more than four years after committing a fraud of nearly 90,000 by pretending to be a victim of the Grenfell Tower tragedy.

Abdelkarim Rekaya enjoyed 209 nights in a four-star hotel, before being provided with a flat in Chelsea in the year after the fire.

The Tunisian 28-year-old was also granted 12 months leave to remain in the UK in November last year through the Grenfell Tower survivors policy.

Rekaya kept his head bowed as he was jailed for four years and six months at Isleworth Crown Court on Friday.

He pleaded guilty at the same court in September to fraud by false representation and obtaining leave to remain by deception

A top police officer told the inquiry on Monday: 'I don't know how that building is still standing' / Daniel Leal-Olivas/AFP/Getty Images

Rekaya, who came to the UK in 2008, listened to his sentence through an Arabic interpreter.

Judge Giles Curtis-Raleigh said: "You decided to use the situation to your personal advantage, to enrich yourself dishonestly, by plundering the public funds put aside to assist the genuine victims of that disaster in their hour of need.

"You chose to exploit a national tragedy to improve your position."

Rekaya is the latest in a string of fraudsters to be sentenced in relation to the disaster.

After Grenfell, London needs a tenants czar / AFP/Getty Images

So far, 13 people have been convicted in separate cases, with a total of more than 630,000 in bogus claims for money that was meant for those whose lives had been devastated.

Prosecutor Catherine Farrelly told the court that Rekaya had claimed to be sleeping rough in the tower on the night of the blaze and had said he managed to escape through the front door.

Ms Farrelly said: "This was a complete and utter lie, but, as a result of attending the Westway (sports centre), he was provided with emergency accommodation in the Park Plaza County Hall Hotel."

Hotel costs came to more than 60,000, while the cost to cover the studio flat in Lots Road, Chelsea, between January this year and his arrest in June amounted to almost 3,000, she said.

Police said the total cost for the flat including furniture, electrical goods and bills was almost 16,000.

Smoke billows from the fire that as engulfed the 24-storey Grenfell Tower / Rick Findler/PA

After taking into account utilities and other allowances including travel costs, the total cost to the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea was over 88,000.

He had refused to answer specific questions about the night of the fire, claiming he did not want to relive such a traumatic event.

Despite concerns raised by a housing officer of the borough after a meeting with Rekaya in October last year, it was decided that his accommodation and allowances should continue until the fraud investigation had concluded.

Mitigating, Anthony Metzer QC said his client had had a difficult life and fled Tunisia after being kidnapped and beaten up there.

He said Rekaya had had issues with alcohol and drugs and had previously slept rough in the tower block but not in the night of the fire.

He said: "This is not an easy case in which to offer mitigation.

"There is anger and there is resentment about persons like this defendant."

David Davies, from the Crown Prosecution Service, said: "Abdelkarim Rekaya falsely claimed he had been sleeping rough in Grenfell Tower so he could personally benefit from this tragedy.

"He made up an account of waking up and fleeing the building, but the CPS was able to disprove his lies, leading to this conviction."
A t least two moped-riding thieves suffered broken bones after they were rammed by police cars, the Metropolitan Police commissioner has admitted.

The Met's tough new approach to moped gangs was unveiled this month with dramatic footage of officers ramming fleeing thieves off their scooters in London.

The tactic has received a lot of praise from the community and former officers but some have criticised it as dangerous.

Commissioner Cressida Dick said pursuit drivers are "supremely well trained" and the ramming method has resulted in only a "very small" number of injuries.

She said the tactic has been brought in because the Met has had to "put the fear back into the criminal".

Tactical contact: dashcam footage shows a thug sent tumbling over the bonnet of a police car

"At least one person who broke their arm and another who had some sort of break," she told Channel 5 on Friday.

"My officers make life-and-death decisions every day of the week, they're very accountable. They make the best possible decisions. We are in a risk business."

Ms Dick said the freedom to ram scooters was brought in to deter moped crime.

Cressida Dick pictured at Scotland Yard / Lucy Young

"We've had to put the fear back into the criminal," she said.

"These are people who have been repeatedly left in no doubt whatsoever that there's a police car right behind them.

"If you look over your shoulder and drive on as fast as possible, putting the public in danger, you should expect we will come after you."

It comes after Labours shadow home secretary Diane Abbott angered local officers when she hit out at the tactic.

Ms Dick weighed in on another debate around the potential use of armed officers to patrol streets on foot when gang violence is imminent.

Scotland Yard is considering allowing the tactic in "extreme circumstances" to support the force's largely unarmed officers.

Tottenham MP David Lammy criticised the idea as "an attempt to put out fire with fire" that risks turning streets "into armed battlegrounds".

Ms Dick said there had been a "huge misunderstanding" around the proposal.

"I have no intention of causing armed officers to be routinely walking around the suburbs, except when it might be really necessary," she said.

"Rest assured I'm not going to ask firearm officers to do more unless there's a reason to do it. Huge misunderstanding."

Ms Dick also said she was concerned for police safety around firework attacks after footage emerged of Durham officers being pelted with crackers.

"(It) absolutely looks like it's getting worse. Things are so visual now," she said.

"No officer comes to work to be assaulted. It's a crime. We should reduce the possibility of it."

She feared such incidents could be getting worse because of the internet.

"There are times in your career you will end up assaulted in some way," she said.
A man in his 40s has been arrested after an attempted rape in north London.

Police were called in the early hours of the morning to reports of an attempted rape in York Way, Camden.

Officers arrived and arrested a man in his 40s on suspicion of attempted rape and possession of a Class A drug.

He remains in custody at midday on Friday, Scotland Yard told the Standard.

A picture taken at the scene shows a crime scene and police cordon still in place in York Way as an investigation into the incident continues.
S cotland Yard has denied it is considering routine deployments of armed foot patrols in London's crime hot spots to stop gang violence.

Met Commissioner Cressida Dick earlier said armed officers could take a short foot patrol in extreme circumstances in response to outbreaks of violence.

She told the London Assemblys police and crime committee that armed officers were already getting out of their vehicles to support unarmed colleagues at violent incidents.

Ms Dick said a limited consultation had started around the possible use of armed support to patrol on foot amongst local communities in the capital.

Met Commissioner Cressida Dick and London mayor Sadiq Khan / PA

The force has since clarified that this option, if used, would not be routine but rather only deployed when the threat of gang violence is imminent.

In a statement on Thursday night, Assistant Commissioner Sir Stephen House, said: We are not considering routine deployments of armed officers in our communities.

As part of our response to the increase in violent crime in London we are examining how our armed officers can provide extra support and augment other units, either in response to a serious assault, or to be deployed to areas where we have intelligence that serious violence is imminent.

He said deployments would be for a limited time and only after a community impact assessment, adding that consultation on the move was at an early stage.

Of the proposal, Ms Dick said it was only half a step on from what armed officers already do.

"If something truly ghastly has just happened or is about to happen, those officers who at the moment would stand next to their vehicles might take a very short foot patrol," she told the police and crime committee.

"It is a small change potentially in tactic in extreme circumstances."

She said the idea is about trying to get "even more effect" out of the city's armed officers, who already patrol London's streets.

"Rather than just driving around. What else can they do to help?" she said.

"Of course if something happens, they're usually the first to arrive. They're usually the ones who are doing the emergency lifesaving effort.

"But is there anything else?"

Gang violence has been a serious concern for police recently with a spate of stabbings in south London. And there have been more than 120 homicides in the capital so far this year, greater than all of 2017.
T he Port of London Authority and a tugboat captain are facing criminal charges seven years after the vessel sank in the Thames leaving one of the crew dead.

Darren Lacey, 40, drowned when the Chiefton tug collided with the crane barge it was towing and capsized off Greenwich Pier on August 12, 2011.

Two of his colleagues were rescued. The body of Mr Lacey, an engineer and deckhand from Gravesend, was found three days later.

Now the Maritime and Coastguard Agency has charged the Port of London Authority, which manages navigation on the river, with a health and safety breach.

It is said the public trust, which was established in 1908 to govern the Port of London, failed to discharge the duty imposed upon it to ensure the health and safety of workers, including Darren Lacey.

The owner of the tugboat, Palmers Marine Services Limited, faces two health and safety charges  and the Chieftons master, Roy Goatham, 63, is accused of misconduct amounting to a breach or neglect of duty.

A fourth defendant is Ravestein BV, which owned the 60-metre-long Skyline 19 crane barge. The company is accused of failure to ensure that a ship was operated in a safe manner.

The Chiefton tug, which had been pulling the crane while another boat pushed at the rear, capsized just before 11am after unsuccessfully trying to dodge a buoy and then colliding with the much larger crane.

Mr Goatham was one of the two men pulled from the water in the wake of the incident. Following a post-mortem examination in 2011, the cause of Mr Laceys death was given as drowning.
C ity lawyers should sell their services to emerging economic powers such as Nigeria and Kazakhstan to generate vital earnings for the UK after Brexit, the Justice Secretary has told legal chiefs.

In a speech in London, David Gauke said the legal industry was a world leader that already generated about 26 billion a year.

It also provided further inestimable value underpinning trade and business dealings in Britain and abroad.

In his speech to the organisation CityUK, Mr Gauke called on lawyers in the capital and elsewhere to expand their activities in developing economies  where the use of English law could assist growth both here and there.

The Government wants to inspire law firms and chambers to export their services overseas, connect UK legal professionals to new markets by harnessing our international networks, and encourage overseas buyers to choose the UK for legal advice, he said.

Through the campaign we are able to publicise the benefits of English law so that we can maximise our potential within more international markets, like Kazakhstan and Nigeria.

Mr Gauke, who was speaking at the offices of law firm Herbert Smith, warned that UK lawyers could not rest on our laurels and rely on English law already being the envy of the world, reinforced by world class talent in law firms and the judiciary.
A n ethical fashion brand that hires womens groups in London to create its designs is hosting a pop-up as an antidote to the consumerism frenzy of Black Friday and Cyber Monday.

Birdsong was established four years ago by ex-charity workers Sophie Slater and Sarah Neville.

Their chief designer Susanna Wen creates collections and then hires groups such as Mohila, formed of low-income migrant mothers based in Tower Hamlets who are fabric painters, and Heba, migrant women seamstresses based in Brick Lane, to create them, paying them above the London Living Wage for their work.

From today Birdsong will be hosting a pop-up store at Beyond Retro in Dalston in collaboration with the vintage store and female hygiene company THINX for two weeks. Prints, illustrations, homeware and jewellery from Tatty Devine will be sold.

There will also be a series of events such as comedy sets from Sara Pascoe , craft workshops and fundraisers for THINX and the groups supported by Birdsong.

Ms Slater said: Each item comes with a tag with a picture and a signature of the person who made it so people know the love and care that went into each item. We are about making items that are built to last and not throw-away. Its the opposite to Black Friday. A real antidote to that.
A police investigation has been launched into a fake London paramedic who is believed to have treated more than 100 patients.

The Standard understands his unauthorised actions included responding to 999 calls and discharging patients at the scene rather than having them taken to hospital.

Ambulance chiefs and police have tried to contact as many patients as possible to inform them of the potential safety breach and to check on their welfare.

The man, who was a trainee member of staff at London Ambulance Service, has been sacked and the case has been referred to Scotland Yard.

Today the Metropolitan Police revealed it had questioned a 21-year-old man on suspicion of fraud and other offences, including assault and burglary, which relate to potentially unlawful physical contact with patients and entering homes under false pretences.

He is also being quizzed over possible offences relating to the use of blue-light emergency vehicles.

The employee is alleged to have gone rogue after failing his paramedic exams. He was dispatched to emergencies, some alone in a fast car, but mostly in an ambulance alongside a fully-trained paramedic, it is claimed.

The incidents centre on a two-week period in July in north-east London. Details came to light only this week when LAS published details of its latest serious incidents. No evidence has emerged of patients being harmed.

Scotland Yard said an investigation was launched after the matter was reported in July. A man was arrested two months later in Hornchurch.

The 21-year-old was arrested on suspicion of fraud, burglary, theft by employee, assault by beating, dangerous driving, driving otherwise in accordance of license, and driving without insurance, the Met said in a statement.

He was taken into custody at a south London police station and later released under investigation. Inquiries are ongoing.

The Care Quality Commission, the official NHS watchdog, last week carried out a two-day investigation at LAS headquarters after being alerted.

The London Ambulance Patients Forum said it was shocked. Chairman Malcolm Alexander said: If these allegations are true, a fake paramedic could easily have been responsible for serious harm to a patient. It is now essential that the LAS demonstrates that it is 100 per cent certain that it can never happen again.

LAS said it has now tightened its systems. A spokeswoman said: As soon as we became aware of the activities of this individual, we initiated a full internal investigation, informed the police and contacted patients affected. The individuals employment with us was also immediately ended.

Following our investigation, we have improved, and will continue to improve, our security, systems and processes.
A man has been arrested following an assault on the Central line platform at Queensway Tube station.

Police, including firearms officers, rushed to the scene shortly after 1.10pm on Friday.

A man was arrested on suspicion of grievous bodily harm after the incident on an eastbound Central line platform.

He is being treated by paramedics, police said.

A second man is also being treated by paramedics at the scene.

There was briefly no service on the Central line between Liverpool Street and White City and Queensway station was closed.

A British Transport Police spokesman said: "An investigation to understand the circumstances leading to the men being injured is underway.
A surgeon has created a life-sized diagram of the human body based on Londons Tube network.

Jonathan Simmonds, a head and neck expert, mapped hundreds of connections and junctions between nerve endings and arteries. He named the zones, colour-coded lines, stations and interchanges with medical terms.

The map stands at almost 6ft when printed out. Fellow medics have praised it as incredible.

Dr Simmonds, 29, from Hertfordshire, emigrated to the US where he practises otolaryngology  concerned with diseases and disorders of the ear, nose and throat  at Tufts Medical Centre in Boston.

Innovative: medical terms replace stations and line names

He spent two years creating the map as a hobby during his time off from his hospital work, and took a year perfecting the head after teaching himself how to use Adobe Illustrator.

Now it has proved so popular that Dr Simmonds opened an online shop called Medillustrations on Etsy, where download copies cost about 8 and printed posters sell for up to 80.

Detailed: The map stands at almost 6ft tall when printed out

He said: When the human body is normally represented in an anatomy textbook its done by region, such as muscles and arteries.

But no textbook necessarily shows you that the same artery that starts in the arms can trace its lineage back to the aorta.
T he crew of Angela Merkels plane heading to Argentina had to use a satellite phone to plan an emergency landing after a major communications failure, it was claimed today.

The German Chancellors trip to the G20 was aborted as her Airbus A340 government aircraft made an un-scheduled landing at Cologne-Bonn airport.

The planes entire communication system malfunctioned, with the crew forced to use an on-board satellite phone to contact air traffic controllers, according to Der Spiegel magazine.

Ms Merkel called the incident a serious malfunction and the fire brigade was deployed for the planes landing, reportedly because of concerns that the braking system could overheat as it was still heavily laden with fuel.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel plane to the G20 summit was forced to make an emergency landing (file image) / EPA

Mrs Merkel said: Luckily, we had an excellent crew and the most experienced pilot of the special air mission wing.

Investigators were said to have probed whether the plane, which had taken off from Berlin, could have been sabotaged.

Security sources had said the authorities were checking whether the incident late yesterday had a criminal background, according to the German daily Rheinische Post.

But a spokesman for the German Air Force said there was no suspicion of any crime.
A ngela Merkel will miss the opening of the G20 summit after her plane to the event was forced to make an emergency landing.

The German Chancellor was travelling to Argentina for the leaders meeting before it was diverted back to Cologne, it was reported.

A "serious malfunction" forced her jet to make an unscheduled but safe landing on Thursday night.

German news agency dpa said the government Airbus turned around over the Netherlands about an hour into the 15-hour flight.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel plane to the G20 summit was forced to make an emergency landing (file image) / EPA

Mrs Merkel and German Finance Minister Olaf Scholz will resume their travel to Buenos Aires early on Friday, but the long flight time means they will arrive after leaders start their discussions.

She is set to meet with nineteen leaders of the worlds biggest economies at the summit in Buenos Aires, Argentinas capital.

Among leaders attending the meeting, which starts on Friday, is US President Donald Trump.

A monitor shows the route of the Chancellor Airbus 'Konrad Adenauer' as it is diverted / EPA

Mr Trump confirmed earlier that he has cancelled his meeting with Vladimir Putin on the side lines of the event.
T heresa May has refused to rule out a second Commons vote on her Brexit deal if it is rejected by MPs on December 11.

In a testy interview with the BBC, the Prime Minister twice refused to say whether she would pursue a second vote on the divorce deal, which was given a first seal of approval by EU leaders at the weekend.

In addition, Mrs May, who continues to face a fierce backlash from Brexiteers and Remainers alike in the Commons over her plans, twice refused to rule out resigning if the Brexit deal is rejected by MPs.

If the deal is rejected, the Prime Minister would have to change it in order to call a second vote.

Theresa May twice refused to say whether she would pursue a second vote on the Brexit deal if it's rejected the first time round / BBC

Asked if this could happen on Friday, Mrs May said: I am focused on the vote that is taking place on December 11 and I want everybody who is going to participate, all the MPs, to focus on what this vote does.

Asked for a second time if she was ruling out a second vote, Mrs May again swerved the question.

Theresa May arrives at the opening day of G20 summit in Argentina on Friday / Daniel Jayo/Getty Images

Stumbling on her words, Mrs May repeated: I am focusing on the vote inn two weeks time, to ensure MPs actually recognise the importance. This is a vote that will deliver Brexit for the British people. Its our duty to deliver Brexit.

Mrs May, who was speaking in Buenos Aires, Argentina, for the G20 summit, was then asked if she would resign if the deal falls in the Commons in a fortnight.

TODO: define component type apester

The Prime Minister, who has consistently refused to deny the prospect of resigning in recent weeks, again avoided answering the question.

What Im doing, she said, is focusing on that vote, because this is not about me or any MP.

Theresa May is welcomed by Argentina's president Mauricio Macri at the G20 / AFP/Getty Images

Asked if the public had the right to know what her future plans are if the deal is rejected, Mrs May countered: What I think the public want to know is that every MP is going to put the national interest first and interests of their constituents at the forefront of their thinking.

This is the moment when we can vote and show people that we understood.

They want us to leave the EU and the deal on the table does that in a way that honours that referendum vote  but also protect peoples jobs and futures and ensures we are able to take the opportunities of that bright future outside the EU.

Mrs Mays latest comments come as European Council President Donald Tusk said there will be a no-deal, or no Brexit at all, if Parliament rejects the Brexit agreement on December 11.

Meanwhile, a growing coalition of senior Conservatives were opposed to Mrs Mays claim that there is no alternative to her Brexit deal.
T heresa May today faced a growing coalition of senior Conservatives opposed to her claim that there is no alternative to her Brexit deal.

The challenge emerged as MPs united behind a cross-party amendment calling for Parliament to stage votes on different options in the New Year  including a softer Brexit, a free trade deal and a second referendum.

It came as Brexit-backing Cabinet minister Liam Fox indicated he would be relaxed about leaving on no-deal terms.

Playing down Treasury and Bank of England warnings that crashing out would cause house prices to fall and badly damage growth, he said: I think, as Roberto Azevedo, director-general of the World Trade Organisation, said, it wouldnt be a disaster, but it wouldnt be a walk in the park either.

International Trade Secretary Liam Fox indicated he would be relaxed about no-deal / PA

Mrs May ruled out any Plan B this morning as she flew to the G20 summit in Argentina, saying MPs pushing for a Norway-style deal  seen as the softest form of Brexit  ran the risk of causing Britain to crash out on no-deal terms.

You talk about if a Norway-style strategy would bring Labour along with it, she told reporters on board her RAF Voyager.

Actually what they are doing is advocating rejecting the deal weve negotiated with the EU without having any proper alternative to it.

She insisted her own agreement was the best of all worlds and a more ambitious free trade agreement than Canada which would also end free movement  which Norway doesnt do.

TODO: define component type apester

Two influential Tory MPs indicated they were keen to explore different approaches, amid reports from Brussels that the EU was willing to delay Brexit if the Commons came out for a new Plan B.

Ex-minister Robert Halfon, MP for Harlow, tweeted he was more and more attracted to the idea being pressed by Tory MP Nicholas Boles of a temporary Norway-style membership while negotiating a Canada-plus trade deal.

Mrs Mays former policy adviser, MP George Freeman, said he could foresee a coalition of MPs who backed soft and hard Brexit options forming to demand fresh negotiations.

He tweeted: Important development as Europe signals we can have more time to get a better Brexit. Could well be a majority in the House to extend Article 50.

Former Labour minister Hilary Benn, who put down the cross-party amendment, said: There simply isnt a majority in the House of Commons for leaving the EU with no deal  it would be disastrous for the country  so this amendment would give MPs the chance to make this absolutely clear.
T heresa May will raise the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi if she meets the Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman at the G20 summit, officials have said.

The official said the Prime Minister will press the crown prince over the killing, and the bloodshed in Yemen, if they meet at the leaders gathering this weekend.

Mrs May would take any opportunity to get across Britains message on the need for full accountability and transparency over the issues, they added.

Both Mrs May and the crown prince will be in Argentinas capital Buenos Aires this weekend for the two day meeting of world leaders but are not scheduled to meet one-on-one.

The Prime Minister will press the crown prince over the murder if they meet at the summit / AFP/Getty Images

Mrs May is keen not to alienate allies as Britain prepares to leaves the European Union next year in its biggest foreign and trade policy shift in more than 40 years.

But the killing of journalist Mr Khashoggi, a critic of the Crown Prince, in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul in October has put a spotlight on London's ties with Riyadh.

Britain has also come under pressure to cease arms sales to Saudi Arabia because of the high death toll in air raids by the Western-backed Saudi-led coalition in Yemen.

The G20 summit in Buenos Aires will be the first major international event Prince Mohammed has attended since Khashoggi's murder.

"We have been engaging with the Saudi government in recent weeks in the wake of the murder of Mr Khashoggi and we have been doing so in order to deliver a message that we want full accountability and full transparency," the senior British official said, when asked if May would shake the crown prince's hand.

"If that opportunity arises for the prime minister to repeat that message and also to deliver important messages, in relation to Yemen for instance, then I'm sure she will take the opportunity to do so ... Engagement is important if we are to address these issues."

The killing of Khashoggi has strained Saudi Arabias ties with the West and battered Prince Mohammed's image abroad. Saudi Arabia has said he had no prior knowledge of the murder.

Murdered journalist Jamal Khashoggi / REUTERS

Western nations are also calling for an end to the Saudi-led military campaign in neighbouring Yemen, which was launched by Prince Mohammed, as a humanitarian crisis there worsens.

At the summit, which begins on Friday, Mrs May will also urge that the UKs exit from the EU will have positive consequences globally and boost the world economy.

Jamal Khashoggi's fiancee on Saudi columnist's murder

Mrs May will tell fellow leaders: Our relationship with the EU will remain close. A free trade area, with no tariffs, fees, charges, quantitative restrictions or rules of origin checks, will protect jobs, including those that rely on integrated supply chains.
F our senior Tories today backed a Commons move by Labour backbencher Tulip Siddiq to limit immigration detention to 28 days.

Former attorney general Dominic Grieve, former international development secretary Andrew Mitchell and former environment secretary Dame Caroline Spelman are supporting the fresh bid to ban indefinite detention.

Former Brexit secretary David Davis has also signalled his support.

They are co-sponsoring a Ten Minute Rule Bill which would impose a statutory time limit of 28 days on detention for immigration and asylum purposes.

Former Brexit minister David Davis was among those to signal his support / EPA

Hampstead and Kilburn MP Ms Siddiq, below, said: It should shame our nation that Britain is the only EU country to detain immigrants without a time-limit.

About 25,000 people each year are held under immigration powers and Ms Siddiq stressed that many of them suffered serious trauma as a result.

Home Secretary Sajid Javid has said he wants a detention policy based on not only what works to tackle illegal migration, but what is humane.

The Home Office stressed that the law does not allow indefinite detention.

A spokesman added: [This year] two thirds of those in detention were detained for less than 29 days ... We will always demand the highest standards from those we entrust with the safety and welfare of those in detention.
T heresa May has confronted the Saudi crown prince over the murder of Jamal Khashoggi.

The Prime Minister held a meeting with Mohammed bin Salman at the G20 summit in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on Friday.

Mrs May told the crown prince to "co-operate fully" with the Turkish authorities as they investigate the murder.

She also demanded Saudi Arabia "takes action" to ensure "such a deplorable incident could not happen again".

Theresa May's meeting with the crown prince came after a tense exchange between him and Emmanuel Macron / Getty Images

Journalist Mr Khashoggi, a critic of the crown prince's regime, was killed at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on October 2.

Theresa May (front, fourth left) and the crown prince (back, far right) at the G20 summit on Friday / Daniel Jayo/Getty Images

After Mrs May's meeting, a Downing Street spokesman said: "The Prime Minister stressed the importance of ensuring that those responsible for the appalling murder of Jamal Khashoggi are held to account, and that Saudi Arabia takes action to build confidence that such a deplorable incident could not happen again.

"Noting the steps taken by the Saudi investigation since the foreign secretary had met with the crown prince and King Salman on 12 November, she encouraged the crown prince to ensure that Saudi Arabia co-operated fully with the Turkish authorities and worked to bring both investigations to an acceptable close.

Theresa May arrives at the opening day of G20 summit in Argentina on Friday / Daniel Jayo/Getty Images

"To ensure full accountability, there needed to be full transparency about exactly what had happened and who was responsible, in line with the commitments made by King Salman when she spoke to him on October 24."

Mrs May had been forced to defend the meeting earlier on Friday, stressing she would tell him there needed to be a full and transparent investigation into the murder.
T heresa May today defended her decision to meet Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman at the G20 summit in Argentina despite lingering questions over whether he ordered the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

The Prime Minister stressed she would tell him that there needed to be a full and transparent investigation into the brutal killing at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul last month.

She was also due to reinforce calls for a political solution to end the civil war in Yemen.

The meeting of world leaders in Buenos Aires was due to push for progress on key global issues, including development and investment, although it threatened to be overshadowed by tensions between global powers.

Mrs May will meet with the crown prince at 8pm on Friday, her spokesman has said.

Theresa May arrives in Argentina for the summit / EPA

Donald Trump was expected to have a working dinner with Chinese President Xi Jinping tomorrow, raising hopes that the trade war between their nations, which has rattled financial markets, could be eased.

But ahead of the meeting it emerged that US and Chinese warships had been engaged in a tense stand-off. China this morning revealed that it had lodged stern representations after the US Navy sailed a ship through the contested South China Sea, passing near islands claimed by China.

Donald Trump is expected to have a working dinner with Chinese President Xi Jinping / EPA

The guided-missile cruiser USS Chancellorsville sailed near the Paracel Islands on Monday to challenge Chinas excessive maritime claims, the US Pacific fleet said. Beijing said the US ship had entered Chinese waters without permission and it had sent ships and planes to warn it to leave.

The US President was also due to meet Russias Vladimir Putin but he cancelled shortly after his former lawyer, Michael Cohen, revealed he had lied to Congress to cover up that he was negotiating a property deal in Moscow on Mr Trumps behalf during the Republican presidential primaries in 2016.

The move comes despite questions over the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi / AP

The news ensured any meeting with President Putin would have put a spotlight on the special counsels inquiry into whether the Trump campaign colluded with Moscow during the campaign.

Mr Trump has denied any wrongdoing and insisted he was pulling out of the summit meeting after Russia seized three Ukrainian ships and more than 20 sailors off the coast of Crimea.

Russian ship ordered to 'squash' Ukrainian boat in Crimea clash

But a Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman said: We heard that as an official version and we accepted that. Is it a real one? I believe we should look for answers in the US domestic political situation.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi met the Saudi Crown Prince in Buenos Aires and other world leaders, including French President Emmanuel Macron, were due to hold talks with him.

TODO: define component type apester

Mr Trump is not expected to have formal talks with him but they may meet on the sidelines of the gathering. The summit is the Saudi Crown Princes first appearance on the global stage since the murder of dissident Mr Khashoggi, over which several of his close aides have been arrested.

Speaking to reporters on her flight to Argentina, Mrs May confirmed that she was due to speak to him. However, she emphasised: The message I give will be very clear. In relation to Mr Khashoggi, we want to see a full and transparent investigation of what happened and those responsible being held to account.

With the issue of Yemen, we continue to be deeply concerned about the humanitarian situation. The long-term solution for Yemen is a political solution, and we will be encouraging the parties to work for that political solution.

America, Britain and other western nations are seeking to put pressure on Riyadh to join negotiations to end the civil war in Yemen, where a Saudi-led coalition is seeking to defeat Iranian-backed rebels.

Mrs May was today also holding talks with Argentine President Mauricio Macri, with the focus on trade but also expected to cover the Falkland Islands.

Mrs May was not expected to have bilateral talks with Mr Putin in Buenos Aires, as relations between the UK and Russia remain in the deep-freeze following the Salisbury poisonings and the annexation of Crimea.
T heresa May vowed to be robust when she meets with the Saudi Crown Prince to discuss the Jamal Khashoggi murder and war in Yemen at the G20 summit.

The Prime Minister is set for a meeting with Mohammed bin Salman in Argentina on Friday.

She has faced calls to halt arm sales to Saudi Arabia following outrage over the humanitarian crisis in Yemen.

Speaking to Sky News ahead of the meeting, Mrs May said: "I am going to speak to the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia but it is the relationship we have with Saudi Arabia that enables me to sit down with him and be robust on our views on two issues.

She said: "First of all the terrible killing of Jamal Khashoggi, and the message I will be giving and the message we have given from the UK from the time it happened is that the Saudi Arabians need to ensure that their investigation is a full investigation, that it is credible, that it is transparent and that people can have confidence in the outcome of it and that those responsible are held to account.

"But I will also be raising the situation in the Yemen where the humanitarian crisis is getting worse, we are very concerned about that.

The PM commented on the UK being a major donor to Yemen and the desire to find a political solution to the situation there. She expressed her encouragement for UN-led talks.

A Saudi-led coalition is fighting Houthi rebels in the territory.

In regards to Mr Khashoggi, the UK has issued demands for a transparent and credible investigation into his death in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, though the country has denied any involvement by the royal family.

Ahead of meeting with the Crown Prince, Mrs May will hold talks with the summit's host, President Mauricio Macri.

Jamal Khashoggi was killed in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul / AP

At this, the long-standing argument over the sovereignty of the Falklands is likely to be overshadowed by discussions on trade.

She has also mentioned the ongoing conflict between Ukraine and Russia, following the latter detaining three of the formers ships and their crews last weekend.

Regarding the dispute, sparked by the Ukrainian boats entering the Kerch Strait, Mrs May said: Our message to Russia is very clear.

"They should release the ships and sailors and de-escalate the situation.

However, she is not expected to have one-on-one talks with Russian president Vladimir Putin at the summit.

Mrs May is the first Conservative Prime Minister to visit Argentina since the 1982 war.
T heresa May will tell world leaders at the G20 summit that her Brexit deal will be good for the global economy.

The Prime Minister will take the opportunity to voice her determination for the UK to play a full and active role on trade on the global stage after Brexit.

Mrs May is joining leaders including US President Donald Trump, who was among the first pictured arriving, and Chinas Xi Jinping at the gathering in Argentina.

She will tell fellow leaders: Our relationship with the EU will remain close. A free trade area, with no tariffs, fees, charges, quantitative restrictions or rules of origin checks, will protect jobs, including those that rely on integrated supply chains.

Donald Trump arrives in Buenos Aires ahead of the G20 leaders summit / REUTERS

International firms that have invested in UK production or use European bases to supply the UK market will benefit from these arrangements.

"For the first time in more than four decades, the UK will have an independent trade policy.

We will play a full and active role on trade on the global stage, working with friends new and old, at a time of unprecedented global inter-connectedness."

China's President Xi Jinping and first lady Peng Liyuan arrive at the Ministro Pistarini international airport in Buenos Aires / AP

It marks a brief respite for Mrs May from bitter wrangling in Westminster over the EU divorce plans she agreed with the bloc

She will become the first serving UK Prime Minister to visit Argentine capital Buenos Aires  where the summit is being held- and only the second to travel to the country following Tony Blairs trip over the border from Brazil in 2001.

The long-running dispute over the Falkland Islands - still claimed as Las Malvinas by Argentina, 36 years after the 1982 war - is likely to be discussed in a one-on-one meeting with President Mauricio Macri.

This is not thought likely to dominate the talks, though, which will focus on trade.

This week's announcement of a new air link between the islands and Latin America via Argentina has been hailed by Downing Street as a sign of "strengthening" relations, but officials insist there is no change in the UK's stance on sovereignty.

More awkward for Mrs May could be a potential encounter with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, after the UK's condemnation of the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in October.

The Saudi Crown Prince could meet Theresa May at the summit / REUTERS

Asked whether Mrs May would be willing to shake the Crown Prince's hand, a senior UK official said the PM believed it was important to "engage" with Saudi Arabia.

They said she would take any opportunity to get across Britain's message on the need for "full accountability and full transparency" over the Khashoggi killing and an end to bloodshed in Yemen.

The two-day G20 gathering marks a brief respite for Mrs May from bitter wrangling in Westminster over the Brexit plan she agreed with EU leaders in Brussels on Sunday.

European Council president Donald Tusk and Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker will be in Buenos Aires, along with France's Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel, but the EU side has made clear there will be no more negotiation on the UK's Withdrawal Agreement.

Mrs May will make clear that once the UK regains its individual seat on the World Trade Organisation next April, it will push for urgent reform of the body to open up digital trade and e-commerce and introduce greater transparency.
A call for the top civil servant at the Home Office to resign over the Windrush scandal was made today by the Tory mayoral candidate for London.

Shaun Bailey said permanent secretary Sir Philip Rutnam should carry the can for failures which led to scores of people being wrongly deported.

While I appreciate the daily efforts of our non-partisan civil service, it is clear the work of the Home Office bureaucracy on the Windrush scandal has been deeply flawed and far below the required standard, said Mr Bailey, a member of the London Assembly.

Our nations Windrush heroes, including members of my family, deserve better than this serial incompetence.

Mr Baileys grandfather was part of the Windrush generation, thousands invited to Britain from 1947 to the Seventies to help rebuild the nation after the war.

A scandal erupted this year when it emerged that, since 2002, 83 people had been deported or blocked from returning to the UK after holidays. They had been caught up in a clampdown meant to target only illegal immigrants.

A report by Sir Alex Allan, a senior adviser to the Prime Minister, criticised two senior civil servants for failing to give ministers the right information. It did not blame Sir Philip, who later told staff there were lessons to be learnt but said: I remain very proud of the way the department responded to Windrush.

Mr Bailey said Sir Philip should go as the Home Office did not have a grip on the scandal at key moments, and failed to recognise the magnitude of the failures.

He highlighted two other controversies to hit the department: delays to an Emergency Services Network deal that will cost 1 billion and DNA testing of immigration claimants which critics say was illegal.

A Home Office spokesman said its top priority is to right the wrongs experienced by the Windrush generation, adding: A taskforce is supporting all those who arrived in the UK many years ago to demonstrate their right to be here.
T he British citizen killed in a Taliban attack on a G4S compound in Afghanistan has been named as Luke Griffin.

Charlie Burbridge, the managing director of G4S Risk Management Group, said five of their employees died in the "unprovoked, criminal attack" - including one Briton and four Afghans.

It said 32 others were also injured in the attack.

On Wednesday, a Taliban suicide bomber rammed an explosive-packed truck into the gate of the G4S compound in eastern Kabul.

Insurgents armed with grenades and automatic rifles then proceeded to storm the building, engaging in a drawn out battle with Afghan forces.

Luke Griffin died in the attack on Wednesday / Facebook/Luke Griffin

The suicide blast left a giant crater in its wake and blew out windows in nearby buildings. Six people were killed in the attack, as well as four insurgents, Afghan officials said.

A G4S spokesman has since confirmed that the British citizen killed in the attack on one of their compounds was Mr Griffin, who lived in the Merseyside area.

He said the 33-year-old had been working for the company for the past eight years.

Security forces walk next to a crater caused by suicide bomb attack in Kabul / AP

It is understood that G4S have been providing security in Afghanistan to a number of bodies including non-governmental organisations and corporate clients since 2003.

The secure compound which was attacked is called Camp Anjuman and is where the security firm runs its security operations from in the country.

Zabihullah Mujahid, a spokesman for the Taliban, claimed responsibility for the attack in a statement posted on Twitter.

The group has since said it was launched in revenge for a US airstrike which was carried out hours before in southern Afghanistan that killed 30 people - including civilians, as well as children.
A British teenager is being held in an Egyptian prison accused of spying, his family claim.

A-level student Muhammed Fathi Abulkasem, 19, was reportedly travelling to visit friends in Egypt when he was arrested at the airport in Alexandria last week.

His family have had little opportunity to contact him but understand through a lawyer he is currently being held in a jail cell accused of collecting information of a military facility.

It came after Mr Adulkasem, from Manchester, took a photo which included a military helicopter from his plane as it landed.

The family are now appealing for Foreign Minister Jeremy Hunt to step in, the Manchester Evening News reported.

"My baby Muhammed would not even hurt a fly, he is a big soft teddy," Muhammeds mum, Imaan Rafiq, said.

"He is a soft and compassionate person.

We just want to stop this before a kids life is ruined.

In a statement, the Foreign Office said: We are seeking more information from the Egyptian authorities following the arrest of a British person in Alexandria, as well as permission for consular access.
C artoons from the pages of the Evening Standard will be auctioned off to help pay for a gravestone for the founding father of political caricature.

Organisers are hoping to raise thousand of pounds to replace the damaged stone at St Jamess Church in Piccadilly where artist James Gillray is buried.

Work by Gerald Scarfe, Steve Bell and current Standard cartoonist Christian Adams, pictured, are among the lots being offered at next weeks sale, alongside famous cartoon strips such as Andy Capp.

Tim Benson, from the Political Cartoon Society, which is organising the sale, said: His grave suffered a direct hit in the Second World War.

Classic Evening Standard cartoons 1 /7 Classic Evening Standard cartoons The Evening Standard has launched a competition to find London's greatest new cartoon talent. Here are some classic cartoons from the paper: <br></br>Sir David Low produced "Impregnable target" for the Standard in 1940 The Evening Standard has launched a competition to find London's greatest new cartoon talent. Here are some classic cartoons from the paper:



Sir David Low produced "Impregnable target" for the Standard in 1940 Anticipating Britain's entry into the Common Market, Vicky here offers another new design for the re-building of Piccadilly Circus Anticipating Britain's entry into the Common Market, Vicky here offers another new design for the re-building of Piccadilly Circus London laughs: A Jak cartoon from 1997 with the caption: "I see Peter Mandelson's got the job he wanted" London laughs: A Jak cartoon from 1997 with the caption: "I see Peter Mandelson's got the job he wanted" Incisive: Jak drew the 1990 battle between Michael Heseltine and Margaret Thatcher, with one policeman saying: "I hear they're suspending the Queensberry rules for this one!" Incisive: Jak drew the 1990 battle between Michael Heseltine and Margaret Thatcher, with one policeman saying: "I hear they're suspending the Queensberry rules for this one!" Satirical supermen: A Jak cartoon from 1990 Satirical supermen: A Jak cartoon from 1990 Biting wit: A Sir David Low cartoon from 1940 Biting wit: A Sir David Low cartoon from 1940 winstonL310506_350x293.jpg

Years later an American cartoonist Draper Hill rediscovered him and got all the cartoonists to put a new stone down in 1961.

But obviously they didnt put a very good stone down as it is cracked and the inscription has rubbed away, so I thought we should get the cartoonists together again and get a stone that will last more than 60 years.

Gillray, who died in 1815, was famous for his cutting portrayals of the royal family and politicians of his time.
T ommy Robinson has confessed to spreading fake news about five Muslims attacking a boy at the school where a Syrian refugee was filmed being bullied.

The former EDL leader said in a Facebook video post on Friday he had been completely mugged off by some leftie.



On Thursday, he had made claims that the 15-year-old who was filmed being bullied in Huddersfield had been involved in a separate attack on a girl at the school.

However, just hours after spreading the claims during two Facebook live broadcasts, Mr Robinson admitted to his followers that he had helped spread fake news.

Explaining he had been duped, the far-right activist said: I have been completely had, how embarrassing man."

Tommy Robinson has admitted spreading fake news about a Syrian refugee / Facebook/Tommy Robinson

He added: I had a woman, and Ill show you our screenshots, messaging me all morning about what had happened to her son.

"It turns out some leftie is sitting somewhere absolutely mugging me completely off and laughing about it. Fake news central.

It turns out the 13-year-old boy who had been jumped by five Muslims wasnt her son.

The bully holds a water bottle over his victim's head before 'waterboarding him' in the grounds of the school

The familys lawyer on Thursday strongly dismissed the claims made by the former EDL leader and said they were actively considering legal action against Mr Robinson.

A letter addressed to Mr Robinson from Farooq Bajwa & Co solicitors read: We have been aware of two videos posted to your Facebook page. These videos contain a number of false and defamatory allegations in respect of our client.

Asking for the videos to be removed immediately, it continues: We wish to place you on notice that our client intends to pursue legal action against you in respect of these contents of these publications and you will shortly be receiving formal pre-action correspondence in this respect.

Although it is uncertain whether he will still face legal action, in a further Facebook live posted on Friday Mr Robinson said: If youre solicitor watching this thats suing me, I dont give a s***.

The comments came after footage of the 15-year-old Syrian refugee being "waterboarded" while at school in Huddersfield was widely shared on social media.

The videos emergence this week was followed by further footage of what was said to be the boy's sister being physically abused at the same school.

A video still of a girl, said to be the boy's sister, being attacked

A 16-year-old boy has been interviewed over the attack on the boy and reported for summons for an offence of assault ahead of a youth court appearance.

The boy, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was questioned by police over the footage in which the 15-year-old victim, with his arm in a cast, is thrown to the ground.

He is dragged to the floor by his neck before his attacker says, "I'll drown you", while forcing water from a bottle into his mouth.

The Syrian teenager told ITV News on Tuesday: "I woke up at night and just started crying about this problem. They think I'm different, different from them.
L ast winter was the worst for excess deaths in England and Wales for more than four decades, figures show.

There were an estimated 50,100 in the winter months of 2017/18 according to the Office for National Statistics, the highest figure since 1975/76.

The numbers show that during the most recent period, between last December and March, the number of daily deaths exceeded the five-year daily average for all dates except March 25.

Plummeting temperatures, such as those brought by the catastrophic 'Beast from the East', and a prevalent strain of flu have been attributed as likely causes for the increased statistic.

UK Weather: Beast from the East freeze - In pictures 1 /64 UK Weather: Beast from the East freeze - In pictures Snow storm over London NPASLondon/Twitter The frozen canal at Little Venice, London Jeremy Selwyn A multi-car collision on the M66 NEAR Ramsbottom and Bury Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service (GMFRS) Ice climbers at Kinder Downfall, High Peak in Derbyshire PA RFA Tidespring battles powerful weather conditions sparked by the Beast from the East EPA/Ministry of Defence Members of 1st Battalion Welsh Guards take part in a snow ball fight prior to the combined St David's Day celebration and pre-deployment service at Elizabeth Barracks, Pirbright, Surrey PA A police car on fire on the M62 near Huddersfield. PA Andrea Geile skies along Princes Street in Edinburgh PA Heavy snowfall hits St Paul's Cathedral Zuma / Splash News Storm clouds over Dublin Bay PA Paddington Station today Jeremy Selwyn The M876 to Glasgow is closed PA A man walks in the snowy conditions in Larbert PA Edinburgh Castle in the snow PA Members of the public make their way through snow the streets in Alexandria, Scotland Getty Images Jock the Shih Tzu plays in the snow Getty Images Waterloo Station tracks covered in snow Jeremy Selwyn A man clears snow in Alexandria, Scotland Getty Images Snow-covered members of the public walk through heavy snow in Westminster Getty Images A stranded car covered in snow in Whitley Bay in Tyne and Wear PA Police push a car on the on the M80 Haggs in Glasgow PA A blizzard hit Trafalgar Square School children from Wearhead Primary School, in County Durham, which stands more than 1,100 feet (335m) above sea level and which remained open despite blizzards thanks to teachers battling through the elements and a parent with a digger PA Snow continues to fall in Westminster Jeremy Selwyn A man clears snow from a car in Larbert PA Fabio Fodaro cycles during a blizzard at Helix Park in Falkirk PA The scene on the M80 Haggs in Glasgow PA Police push a car on the on the M80 Haggs in Glasgow PA Huge crowds outside Oxford Circus Tube station @_kathyharvey People walk in the snow on Horse Guards Parade Reuters Whiteout: Londoners brave the snow in Piccadilly Circus Tony Villalon Three-year-old Wilfred Martin, enjoys sledding in the snow in Richmond Park, Londo PA Victor the polar bear enjoys the snow at the Yorkshire Wildlife Park in Doncaster PA Giant waves crash over Seaham lighthouse near Durham as the "Beast from the East" brings heavy snow and freezing temperatures to much of the country PA Spectacular sunrise over Canary Wharf James Burns/London from the Rooftops Vehicles get stuck on a hill on the A30 near Land's End in Cornwall following heavy snow that made driving conditions difficult PA Battersea looking beautiful in the snow Hatty Collier People walk their dogs on Blyth Beach in Northumberland PA A swimmer braves the snowy conditions at King Edwards bay near Tynemouth PA Frozen foutains at Trafalgar Square Jeremy Selwyn Stationary traffic on the M20 near Ashford, Kent PA Pedestrians cross Whitehall as snow falls AP Pedestrians walk across millennium bridge in front of St Paul's as heavy snowfall hits London AFP/Getty Images A snow-covered Tube train early today Londoners woke to wintry scenes Jeremy Selwyn A lorry shed its load on the M20 overnight Kent Police RPU Snow falls on Wimbledon Common Alex Lentati A London bus travels through the snow in Oxford street EPA Snow surrounds the Angel of the North in Gateshead PA People walk past Buckingham Palac PA People walk along Bankside, London in the snow PA Snow at Horse guards in London Jeremy Selwyn Rare snow seen at Brighton Beach James Mayes Toby Stanton walks to school in Ashford, Kent, as heavy snowfall is affecting roads across the UK PA Highways England/Twitter Cars travel through Great Chart in Ashford, Kent PA A Eurostar train passes through Ashford, Kent PA Vehicles on the M20 between Junctions 8 and 9, as heavy snowfall is affecting roads across the UK PA A double decker bus carefully makes it way through the snowfall in London Jeremy Selwyn Cars drive through falling snow on the A41 in Hemel Hempstead Jeremy Selwyn Parents walk their children to school in Ashford, Kent PA Newcastle Quayside following heavy overnight snowfall PA Walkers in the snow near to Another Place by Anthony Gormley, on Crosby Beech near LiverpooL PA Fishing boats moored in Scarborough harbour PA Commuters battle the snoiw across London Bridge Jeremy Selwyn

Nick Stripe, head of health analysis and life events at the Office of National Statistics, said: "The number of excess winter deaths in England and Wales in 2017-2018 was the highest recorded since the winter of 1975-1976.

"However, peaks like these are not unusual - we have seen more than eight peaks during the last 40 years.

"It is likely that last winter's increase was due to the predominant strain of flu, the effectiveness of the influenza vaccine and below-average winter temperatures."

The so-called 'Beast from the East' hit the UK early this year which combined with Storm Emma saw long-lasting periods of freezing temperatures.

A man walks through the snow earlier in 2018 / PA

At the time, excess strains on A&E departments and a waiting times crisis were blamed in part on the freeze.

NHS chiefs described this alongside flu and norovirus prevalence as a "perfect storm" of problems.

Excess winter mortality is calculated by taking the number of deaths in winter months and deducting the average mortality rate for the rest of the year.

Death rates in winter continued to be highest in females and people aged 85 and over.

It also doubled among males aged 0-64 years between the 2016-2017 winter and 2017-2018.

More than a third, 34.7 per cent, of all excess winter deaths were caused by respiratory diseases.

Nick Stripe, head of health analysis and life events at the Office of National Statistics, said: "The number of excess winter deaths in England and Wales in 2017-2018 was the highest recorded since the winter of 1975-1976.

"However, peaks like these are not unusual - we have seen more than eight peaks during the last 40 years.
A laska's largest city has been rocked by back-to-back earthquakes.

The tremors, measuring 7.0 and 5.8, hit on Friday from about 8.45am local time. They shook buildings and shattered roads in Anchorage.

The quake sent people running into the streets and briefly triggered a warning to flee to higher ground for fear of a tsunami. This warning was lifted shortly after.

There have been no reports of deaths or serious injuries. US president Donald Trump called it a "big one".

A crack in the road near the airport after the Anchorage earthquake / Nathaniel Wilder/Reuters

He tweeted: "To the Great people of Alaska. You have been hit hard by a big one.

"Please follow the directions of the highly trained professionals who are there to help you. Your Federal Government will spare no expense. God Bless you ALL!"

One image showed a car stranded on a sunken island of tarmac, surrounded by cavernous cracks where the earthquake split the road.

Cracks could be seen in a two-story Anchorage building, and photographs posted on social media showed fractured roads and collapsed ceiling tiles at a high school.

A stranded vehicle is surrounded by cavernous cracks in the road in Anchorage / Nathaniel Wilder/Reuters

Cereal boxes and packages of batteries littered the floor of a grocery store, and picture frames and mirrors were knocked from living room walls.

People went back inside after the first earthquake struck, but the 5.8 aftershock about five minutes later sent them running back into the streets.

Dennis Keeling measures a broken window at a car parts store in Anchorage after the earthquakes / Mike Dinneen/AP

David Harper was getting some coffee at a store when the low rumble intensified into something that sounded "like the building was just going to fall apart". Mr Harper ran to the exit with other customers.

He said: The main thought that was going through my head as I was trying to get out the door was: I want this to stop.

Books and ceiling tiles litter the floor at the Mat-Su College library in Anchorage / Holly Bell/AFP/Getty Images

In Kenai, north of Anchorage, Brandon Slaton was alone at home and soaking in the bathtub when the earthquake struck. Mr Slaton, who weighs 209 pounds, said it created a powerful back-and-forth sloshing in the bath. Before he knew it, he was thrown out of the tub by the waves.

Mr Slaton ran into his son's room after the shaking stopped, finding his fish tank shattered and the fish on the floor, gasping for breath. He grabbed it and put it in another bowl.

Staff begin the clean-up process after an earthquake caused damage at the Alaska Institute of Oriental Medicine in Anchorage / Mike Dinneen/AP

"It was anarchy," he said. "There's no pictures left on the walls, there's no power, there's no fish tank left. Everything that's not tied down is broke."

Alaska averages 40,000 earthquakes per year, with more large quakes than the 49 other states combined.

Southern Alaska, where Anchorage is, has a high risk of earthquakes because of tectonic plates sliding past each other under the region.
A riana Grande opened up about the Manchester Arena bombing in a letter shared in her new docuseries.

The popstar had just finished performing in the city in May 2017 when a suicide bomber detonated an explosive device in the arena foyer, killing 22 people.

In the fourth episode of her series, named Ariana Grande: Dangerous Woman Diaries, the popstar shares a letter about the attack.

She described the atrocity, which left hundreds injured, as something "that seems impossible to fully recover from".

The letter said: "I'm writing to you this February 22, 2018. It's been eight months since the attack at our show at the Manchester Arena. It's impossible to know where to start or to know what to say about this part. May 22, 2017, will leave me speechless and filled with questions for the rest of my life.

"Music is an escape. Music is the safest thing I've ever known. Music - pop music, stan culture - is something that brings people together, introduces them to some of their best friends, and makes them feel like they can be themselves.

It is comfort. It is fun. It is expression. It is happiness. It is the last thing that would ever harm someone. It is safe.

Ariana Grande reflects on Manchester attack

"When something so opposite and so poisonous takes place in your world that is supposed to be everything but that... it is shocking and heartbreaking in a way that seems impossible to fully recover from."

The docuseries gives fans a behind-the-scenes look at her life on the Dangerous Woman world tour.

It does not include any footage from the Manchester Arena bombing, but does give viewers a look at the One Love Manchester benefit concert Grande organised to raise money for victims and their families.

The letter adds: "The spirit of the people of Manchester, the families affected by this horrendous tragedy, and my fans around the world have permanently impacted all of us for the rest of our lives.

Their love, strength, and unity showed me, my team, my dancers, band, and entire crew not to be defeated.

"To continue during the scariest and saddest of times. To not let hate win. But instead, love as loudly as possible, and to appreciate every moment. The people of Manchester were able to change an event that portrayed the worst of humanity into one that portrayed the most beautiful of humanity.

Like a handprint on my heart, I think of Manchester constantly and will carry this with me every day for the rest of my life."

Grande, 25, was physically unharmed in the attack but suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder afterwards.
A Canadian farmer claims he has an even bigger steer than the 6ft 4in Australian one named Knickers.

Farmer Karl Schoenrock, who runs Kismet Creek Farm, an animal sanctuary 50 miles south of Winnipeg claims the steer, Dozer, is one inch taller than Knickers.

When he saw news of Knickers, it prompted him to measure Dozer, who at last count a few years ago stood at 6ft 3ins.

Mr Schoenrock said Dozer loves to meet people and is very gentle."

Dozer the very large steer from Kismet Creek Farm , Manitoba, Canada / Kismet Creek Farm/Facebook

But, Dozers size does not make life easy for him.

His legs struggle to hold up his weight, creating issues in his tendons.

As a result, Mr Schoenrock and his wife Raelle, have to rub pain-relief cream into his legs.

Australia's giant steer named Knickers / 7 News

His owner, Rebecca Hanuschuk, told local news outlet Steinbach he doesnt stop growing, the tendons in his back legs are beginning to break down a bit as a result of his size.

Dozer, like Knickers, was saved from a beef farm and he is also the same breed - a Holstein Friesian.

Knickers is reported to weigh 1.4 tonnes - more than a small car - and, he it had made it to the abattoir, could make as many as 4,000 hamburgers.
S audi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman told French president Emmanuel Macron dont worry during a tense private conversation that was caught on film at the G20 summit.

Mr Macron took a cool, confrontational stance when he came face-to-face with the Saudi crown prince at the summit in Bueno Aires in Argentina on Friday.

In a seemingly awkward and tense exchange, Mr Macron pressed Crown Prince Mohammed on the investigation into the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi and the Saudi-backed war in Yemen.

The crown prince told Mr Macron not to worry, but Mr Macron replied, "I am worried."

An official in Mr Macron's office said the exchange captured on video and transcripts circulating on social media "show well the president's firm stance."

She did not question the authenticity of the transcripts, which included Mr Macron saying to the prince, "You never listen to me," "Because I told you ..." and "I am a man of my word."

Saudi crown prince high-fives Vladimir Putin at G20

Another French official said Mr Macron confronted the crown prince as soon as he saw him enter, calculating that it was better to address his concerns than to ignore them or shun the prince.

They are among the two most controversial figures at the summit in Buenos Aires, having both come under international criticism recently, and they seemed to bond over the shared experience. #
H orrifying bodycam footage shows a sheriff's deputy fleeing a fatal wildfire in Paradise after his patrol car broke down in the killer inferno.

Aaron Parmley, who was out seeking a group of nurses caught up in the tragedy, had to set out on foot as the deadly Camp Fire blazed around him.

In the video, capturing what he thought "were going to be the last moments of his life", he began by saying "okay, okay" to himself.

He then heard screaming, during the dire scenario on November 8, and said: "Oh, it's not good."

The footage shows the group escape the area as flames rage around them / REUTERS

The officer headed further down a road, with flames either side, as wind battered embers across him.

Using his torch to guide his way through the smoke, he came across a group of people, said to be the lost nurses, fleeing the flames in California.

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

Hearing an engine in the distance, he guided the group in that direction, before bright white lights appear ahead.

Coming across the vehicle, a bulldozer, he asked the driver: "Can we get in?"

They quickly responded: "Yeah, come on."

After this, Mr Parmley himself runs around to another vehicle, to escape the blaze

The footage was released by the Butte County Sheriff's Office.

The deadly California Camp Fire, which killed at least 88 people, was 100 per cent contained as of Sunday.

It destroyed more than 150,000 acres of land, with some 14,000 homes in and around Paradise decimated.

As of Thursday, there were 197 recorded as missing.
S audi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Russian President Vladimir Putin shared a high-five in extraordinary scenes as they greeted each other at the G20 summit in Argentina.

Prince Salman, who is under the spotlight after the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, was sat alone at the summit on Friday when Mr Putin approached him with a broad smile on his face.

Before sitting down in the seat next to the crown prince, the Russian President held up his hand for a warm greeting.

The world leaders then shared an animated high five.

Putin and Prince Mohammed greet each other at the G20 summit / AFP/Getty Images

Both leaders have lately been facing international criticism, with President Donald Trump yesterday cancelling a meeting with Mr Putin following Russias seizure of Ukrainian vessels.

The Russian President has been under pressure after the long-simmering tensions between Ukraine and Russia escalated on Sunday when Russia was accused of opening fire on Ukrainian ships in the Black Sea.

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has shown images what he claims to be tanks amassing close to his country, with a base for the armoured vehicles just 18km from the border.

Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Russia's President Vladimir Putin / AP

The G20 summit is also clouded by concerns about the gruesome killing of Saudi journalist Mr Khashoggi.

Intelligence agencies in the United States have concluded the crown prince ordered Mr Khashoggi's killing, although Saudi Arabia has repeatedly denied that.

The summit is the first major international event Prince Mohammed has attended since the murder. The killing of Mr Khashoggi has strained Saudi Arabias ties with the West and battered Prince Mohammed's image abroad.

Russia's President and Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince meet at G20 summit / AFP/Getty Images

Prince Mohammed spoke with world leaders at the summit, with journalists seeing the crown prince speaking with French President Emmanuel Macron and others in Buenos Aires.

Mr Macron's office would not comment on what was discussed.

EU leaders urged G20 participants to address concerns about journalist safety and the war in Yemen.

Prime Minister Theresa May is prepared to raise the murder of the Washington Post columnist if she meets the Middle Eastern leader at the summit, officials have said.

The spokesman said the Prime Minister will press the crown prince over the killing, and the bloodshed in Yemen, if they meet at the leaders gathering this weekend.
U kraine's president has warned Russian tanks are lining up along the border between the two countries amid growing tensions.

It comes after three Ukrainian boats were seized in the Kerch Strait by Russia earlier this week.

President Petro Poroshenko has shown images what he claims to be tanks amassing close to his country, with a base for the armoured vehicles just 18km from the border.

He told Sky News: "This is the tank base just 18km from our border, this was happening in September, October, and now.

"This is 18km from my border, this is the same warehouse where they have their ammunition, the same where they have multi-rocket launch systems, we should be prepared to protect my country.

"If the whole world has no reason to trust Putin, Ukraine definitely doesn't have a reason to go with him."

Russia seizes Ukrainian Ships - In Pictures 1 /35 Russia seizes Ukrainian Ships - In Pictures Ukrainian Nationalists burn flares and smoke grenades during their rally in front of Parliament building in Kiev, Ukraine EPA In this image taken from video released by the Russia's Federal Security Service taken from a Russian Coast Guard vessel purporting to show an incident between the Russian coast guard and a Ukrainian tugboat, in the Kerch Strait on Sunday Nov. 25, 2018. AP Ukrainian border guard boats are docked in the Black Sea port of Odessa, Ukraine Reuters Ukrainian Nationalists attend a rally in front of Presidential office in Kiev, Ukraine EPA Regarding the incident where a Russian coast guard fired on three Ukrainian boats Sunday and then seized them along with the crews Lavrov said Monday that Ukraine has violated international law and provoked Russia by sending its navy vessels through the Kerch Strait without permission. AP Ukrainian navy vessels are docked in the Black Sea port of Odessa, Ukraine Reuters Ukrainian border guard boats are docked in the Black Sea port of Odessa, Ukraine Reuters Volunteers with the right-wing paramilitary Azov National Corps light flares during a rally on the snowy streets in front of the Ukrainian parliament in Kiev, Ukraine AP Ukrainian Nationalists burn flares and smoke grenades during their rally in front of Parliament building in Kiev, Ukraine EPA Volunteers with the right-wing paramilitary Azov National Corps hold flares during a rally on the snowy streets in front of the Ukrainian parliament in Kiev, Ukraine AP Ukrainian Nationalists attend their rally in front of Parliament building in Kiev, Ukraine EPA An activist sets a Ukrainian flag to the fence of Russian consulate during a protest action in Black Sea Ukrainian city of Odessa AFP/Getty Images Volunteers with the right-wing paramilitary Azov National Corps during a rally on the snowy streets in front of the Ukrainian parliament in Kiev, Ukraine AP Volunteers with the right-wing paramilitary Azov National Corps during a rally on the snowy streets in front of the Ukrainian parliament in Kiev, Ukraine AP Ukrainian Nationalists sign a banner with a slogan reading like 'Not retreat and not surrendering!' during their rally in front of Parliament building in Kiev, Ukraine EPA Ukrainian Nationalists attend a rally in front of Presidential office in Kiev, Ukraine EPA People attend a rally to support the Ukrainian navy after Russia seized two Ukrainian armored artillery vessels and a tug boat in the Kerch Strait , in the Black Sea port of Odessa Reuters Policemen guard at Russian consulate during a protest action in the Black Sea Ukrainian city of Odessa AFP/Getty Images Activists glue Ukrainian flag on the fence of Russian consulate in the Black Sea Ukrainian city of Odessa AFP/Getty Images Seized Ukrainian ships, small armoured artillery ships and a tug boat, are seen anchored in a port of Kerch, Ukraine REUTERS Russian jet fighters fly over a bridge connecting the Russian mainland with the Crimean Peninsula after three Ukrainian navy vessels were stopped by Russia from entering the Sea of Azov via the Kerch Strait in the Black Sea, Crimea REUTERS Russian jet fighters fly over a bridge connecting the Russian mainland with the Crimean Peninsula after three Ukrainian navy vessels were stopped by Russia from entering the Sea of Azov via the Kerch Strait in the Black Sea, Crimea REUTERS President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko (C) leading a session of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine in Kiev AFP/Getty Images Birds fly past a road-and-rail bridge, which is constructed to connect the Russian mainland with the Crimean peninsula, at sunrise in the Kerch Strait, Crimea November 26, 2018. REUTERS Ukrainian forces navy ships are seen near Crimea. The Ukrainian navy says a Russian coast guard vessel rammed a Ukrainian navy tugboat near Crimea, damaging the ship's engines and hull. AP A protestor throws a smoke grenade at the building during their rally near the Russian embassy in Kiev, Ukraine EPA Firefighters extinguish a burning car of the embassy of Russia after a protest against the seizure by Russian special forces of three Ukrainian naval ships, REUTERS A National Guard serviceman extinguishes a torch thrown by a protester during a rally against the seizure by Russian special forces of three of the Ukrainian navy ships REUTERS A National Guard serviceman extinguishes a torch thrown by a protester during a rally against the seizure by Russian special forces of three of the Ukrainian navy ships REUTERS Protestors set up paper ships on the tires during their rally near of Russian embassy building in Kiev, Ukraine EPA Russian jet fighters fly over a bridge connecting the Russian mainland with the Crimean Peninsula with a cargo ship beneath it after three Ukrainian navy vessels were stopped by Russia from entering the Sea of Azov via the Kerch Strait in the Black Sea, Crimea REUTERS Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko leads the National Security and Defence Council meeting in Kiev, Ukraine EPA Ukrainian policemen guard the Russian embassy building with smoke behind during Ukrainian activists rally in Kiev, Ukraine EPA A man extinguishes a burning car of the embassy of Russia after a protest against the seizure by Russian special forces of three Ukrainian naval ships REUTERS A protester throws a smoke grenade during a rally in front of the embassy of Russia in Kiev, Ukraine AP

The latest conflict between the two nations began on Sunday and Kiev has since introduced martial law in parts of the country, saying it fears a possible Russian invasion.

Footage suggested a Russian military ship was ordered to squash one of the Ukrainian boats, with one of vessel ploughing into the much smaller Ukrainian vessel.

In the video a man can be heard shouting: Squash him, well done, squeeze him from the right..."

Russian ship ordered to 'squash' Ukrainian boat in Crimea clash

Six Ukrainian crew members were wounded and 24 were detained, according to sources in the country.

However, Russia has alleged Ukraine orchestrated the incident to boost the poll ratings of president Poroshenko in coming elections.

Speaking at a financial forum in Moscow of the incident, Russian President Vladimir Putin said: It was without doubt a provocation. It was organised by the president ahead of the elections.

President Putin believes the boat incident was orchestrated for political reasons / EPA

On Wednesday, a court in Crimea's capital Simferopol ordered nine of the 24 captured Ukrainian sailors be held for a period of two months.

It was also ordered that other 15 sailors be detained for two months pending a possible trial.

Russia released footage of some of them confessing to the accusations, however it is unclear if they were talking under duress or not.

Russia releases footage of crew members from seized Ukrainian vessel

All face jail terms of up to six years if found guilty of what Russia claims to have been an illegal plot to enter its territory.

Ukraine says its ships did nothing wrong and can use the Kerch Strait.

Both sides have been urged to de-escalate the conflict by Western leaders and diplomats.

US President Donald Trump also announced he had cancelled a scheduled meeting with President Putin at the G20 summit due to the ongoing situation.
T housands of children have skipped classes today to attend rallies demanding government action on climate change.

The co-ordinated protests were held in nearly 30 cities and towns.

They were inspired by Swedish schoolgirl Greta Thunberg, 15, who protests every Friday outside parliament in Stockholm urging leaders to do more.

In Sydney, pictured, more than 1,000 children chanted slogans, while similar numbers blocked streets outside the Victoria state parliament in Melbourne.

Resources minister Matt Canavan said the pupils should be in school learning about science and mining, rather than discovering how to get on welfare.

Sydney student Siniva Esera told the Sydney rally that Australia needs to be the big brother to the low-lying Pacific islands, including her relatives on the Tokelau atolls.

"Our prime minister thinks we should be in school right now, and maybe we should," the Chifley College Senior Campus student told protesters.

"But how can I just sit by and not do anything to protect the future of this planet, and as my family on the islands worry about the rising sea level?"

Forest Lodge Primary school captain Lucie Atkin Bolton said she'd learned in class that leaders need to look after everybody and take responsibility when things go wrong.

"I wish I lived in a country where our adults, especially our politicians, actually cared about my future," the 11-year-old said.

Mr Canavan, the resources minister, said he is on the side of science and wants Australia to develop all energy sources, including solar and coal.

"These are the type of things that excite young children and we should be great at as a nation," he told Sydney radio station 2GB.

TODO: define component type apester
A train has travelled from South Korea into the North for the first time in more than ten years.

A team of rail experts are visiting the heavily-guarded state to find ways to help North Korea modernise its rail network, which Kim Jong-un once said was in an embarrassing state.

The two Koreas have made significant progress in improving their relationship over the past year, and he asked for help during a landmark summit in April.

The hope is that the infrastructure, which dates back to the early 20th Century, can be given a full overhaul, making it easier to travel and trade across the border.

A South Korean soldier stands next to a train to travel across the border into North Korea on Dorasan station in Paju / Jeon Heon-Kyun/AFP/Getty Images

The engineers, who are only inspecting the railways and not starting work, boarded the train in Dorasan, on Friday morning for the 2.5-hour journey to the Demilitarised Zone, which has divided the Korean peninsula since the Korean War in the 1950s.

At Panmun Station across the border, a North Korean engine took over to take them further north.

To comply with sanctions, the team were forced to carry their own fuel and supplies, and any spare fuel will have to be taken home with them.

The 28 experts will live on the train for the next 18 days while inspecting 745 miles of track and railway infrastructure.

North Korea is thought to have over 3,247 miles of railway, compared to 2,423 miles in the South.

A South Korean train trainsporting dozens of South Korean officials travels on the rails which leads to North Korea, inside the demilitarized zone separating the two Koreas / Kim Hong-Ji/AFP/Getty Images

However, most of the North Korean routes operate as single track lines with an average speed of 24-31 mph.

Cho Myoung-gyon, who heads the Unification Ministry which oversees relations with North Korea, said the project was "intended to overcome division and open a new future of the Korean Peninsula.

He added: Through the one connected railway, the South and the North will prosper together and the ground for peace on the Korean Peninsula will be consolidated.
U kraine has banned Russian men aged between 16 and 60 from entering the country, the head of border service has said.

The move comes amid rising tensions between the two nations after the seizure of three Ukrainian naval ships and their 24-member crew in the Black Sea by Russia.

Announcing the ban, head of the border service Petro Tsygykal said in a televised meeting on Friday: "Today, the entry of foreigners is limited - primarily citizens of the Russian Federation - non-admission of citizens of the Russian Federation aged from 16 to 60, male."

Ukraine imposed martial law this week, citing fears that Russia was planning a full scale invasion.

Russian ship ordered to 'squash' Ukrainian boat in Crimea clash

Ukrainian president Petro Poroshenko tweeted on Friday that the restrictions on Russian travellers have been taken in order to prevent the Russians from forming "private armies" fighting on Ukrainian soil.

The president showed the broadcaster images of what he claims are tanks lining up along the border, close to where Russia stores its ammunition.

The long-simmering conflict between the two nations bubbled over on Sunday when Russian border guards opened fired on three Ukrainian vessels in the Black Sea.

The Russians then captured the crew.
I m A Celebrity star Noel Edmonds has been hailed an inspiration after he revealed he bought a Routemaster bus to avoid traffic.

The Deal Or No Deal presenter also appeared to confirm reports that he used to drive around Bristol in a black cab to cut time off of his journey.

Edmonds said: Bristols traffic is chaotic and so Liz bought me a black cab and I got to work in 20 minutes rather than an hour and 20 minutes.

I used to have a mannequin in the back called Candice. Because when it was wet and I pulled up at the lights people tried to get in. I reckoned I saved five months of my life when I added up the hours in the morning and evening.

Clever camper: Noel Edmonds dodged the traffic in Bristol with his chosen method of transport / ITV

But Edmonds was stopped in his tracks when he got a ticket for driving in a bus lane, although legal in a cab, causing Bristol council to put cameras on all lanes.

Undeterred, Edmonds decided to buy a Routemaster bus and made sure he never had more than nine people on board his unlicensed vehicle.

Viewers branded the move a brilliant idea with one joking Edmonds is the kind of rich I'm aiming for.

One wrote: Noel Edmonds driving a black cab then a bus!!! Cant stop laughing #imaceleb.

Another said: Noel Edmonds finding loopholes in the rules by buying himself a taxi and then a bus just to dodge traffic is a 100 per cent something my husband would do! #ImACeleb (sic).

Edmonds may have won over a legion of fans with his genius traffic hack - but if he wins I'm A Celebrity he has vowed to step away from the spotlight as he owes it to the British public to turn his back on TV.

He said: I am going to win because I promise the British public if they vote for me, I will retire from television and I will never appear again.

Theres a deal that I am striking with the great British public who have supported me over the years  they make me King of the Jungle and I will retire and never appear again!

I'm a Celebrity .. Get Me Out of Here! 2018 - In pictures 1 /19 I'm a Celebrity .. Get Me Out of Here! 2018 - In pictures ITV/REX Harry Redknapp and wife Sandra ITV/REX Top trio: Malique Thompson-Dwyer, Fleur East and Harry Redknapp ITV/Rex/Shutterstock Emily Atack strips off to take her first jungle shower Rex Features John Barrowman celebrates getting 10 stars for camp with Harry Redknapp and John Barrowman Rex Features Anne Hegerty takes on Monstrous Monoliths - but only manages to secure two stars ITV/Rex Emily Atack provides comfort for Anne Hegerty on day one ITV/Rex/Shutterstock Emily Atack takes a dip in the jungle creek ITV/Rex John Barrowman takes on the Scary Rose ITV Anne Hegerty tells her campmates about her Monstrous Monoliths trial ITV/Rex Yellow team sank as they attempted to beat Red Team on the epic race to camp ITV/Rex/Shutterstock Emily Atack and Nick Knowles take on the Class of 2018 Dingo Dollar Challenge ITV Nick Knowles and Anne Hegerty wake up in the hut ITV Giggles: Holly Willoughby and Declan Donnelly were in hysterics as they watched Harry Redknapp ITV Rule enforcement: Nick Knowles and Noel Edmonds ITV/REX Harry Redknapp shares an awkward anecdote about an intimate moment with wife Sandra ITV/REX Fleur East takes part in a messy Bushtucker Trial ITV/REX The girls take turns popping each other's spots ITV/REX ITV/REX
A computer genius dubbed the robot whisperer is teaching her machines to be more human so they can work better alongside us.

Madeline Gannon says this includes her one-tonne droids learning to be cheeky, friendly or even bored.

This will make robots more able to collaborate and communicate, helping us become better, faster and stronger without taking our jobs, she argues.

Dr Gannon, 32, works with large, powerful 250,000 machines normally seen on production lines.

One, Mimus  an arm-like metal contraption  captivated 48,000 people at the Design Museum, Kensington, last year when it acted like a curious and easily distracted puppy.

Dr Gannon said: These machines are designed to do what you tell them. So I help them misbehave to make them feel more lifelike, more rebellious. We dont want to be replaced by machines, and the future I want is where their unique abilities are coordinated to empower me to be better, faster, stronger.

Im working on ways of unlocking their abilities as they are mostly locked away in factories, replacing human labour. Ive learned to talk to these machines and have an affectionate place in my heart for them. I think of them as companions sharing my lab space.

Dr Gannon wowed a World Economic Forum event in Tianjin, China, in September as 10 robots, linked by ethernet to share a brain, peered at visitors.

At her Atonaton lab in Pittsburgh, the scientist and artist teaches robots with depth-sensing cameras in their tentacles micro-cues for body language.

Her software tells them to scan heads and hands and exhibit emotions such as impatience, curiosity and indifference. They approach cautiously. If a person looks away, they vye for their gaze by chirping their motors, or try to befriend someone else.
H uman trafficking is unequivocally one of the worst crimes imaginable.

There are an expected 40.3 million people trapped in modern-day slavery around the world, in a myriad of different forms whether it be labour exploitation or sex trafficking.

Yet, given the nature of the crime, its almost impossible to quantify. These figures could, in fact, be far greater.

UK-based charity Stop the Traffik (STT) has been fighting to prevent trafficking since it launched in 2005. And it is using everything in it's arsenal, most recently, technology.

Using tech to prevent human trafficking

Tech has always been a part of how we reach the world, create resources, share them and empower people we are never going to meet, STTs CEO Ruth Dearnley, tells the Standard.

STT has been stepping up its focus on tech, and over the past few years, has been working alongside the likes of IBM, Edelman, Facebook, Barclays Bank and Western Union to use intelligence that identifies human trafficking trends and hotspots, to develop ways to prevent traffickers from operating.

Lots of people had information and data around trafficking, but it was in silos and they were frightened to share it for a range of reasons, explains STTs director of the centre of intelligence-led prevention, Neil Giles. There wasnt one central repository of understanding that people could draw on.

STT decided to unlock these barriers.

The breaking of this was to find ways to use relationships between key people and technology to build the richest understanding of trafficking globally, he says. To put this into a sense of hotspots and trends, understanding the information that works for key actors, and then find ways of giving that material to people who can use it.

This project has since evolved to become the International Data Hub, unveiled by STT and IBM earlier this year. The hub brings together data from all the aforementioned organisations and analyses it to develop problem-solving techniques.

Learning from the data

STT and its partners are already starting to see results.

Take Barclays, for instance. Barclays has used the data collated through the partnership to hold human trafficking awareness campaigns in regional branches where trafficking has been known to be rife, for instance, in Peterborough, Wisbech in Norfolk, and Croydon. And it was during the Croydon campaign that a man identified himself as a victim of trafficking after seeing a leaflet in the branch - as Barclay's global head of financial crime Geraldine Lawlor explained.

In that instance, it was branch staff who raised the alarm. The customer had been accompanied by a female and when he went to leave, had placed the modern slavery leaflet (displayed in the branch) on the staff members desk - signalling he was being trafficked. Staff then called the modern slavery helpline to report the case, and law enforcement followed up.

Its about data and how we leverage that data using technology in a different way to what weve done in the past. It actually seems to unlock whats out there in a way we had never seen before, says Lawlor.

Ruth Dearnley, CEO of Stop the Traffik, talking about the global collaboration to prevent trafficking / Stop the Traffik

Within STT, the charity is using the data to carry out targeted campaigns on social media, thanks to the donation of free ads from Facebook and Instagram.

As Giles explains, social media is particularly effective. Its a game-changer," he says. "It gives you access to extraordinary numbers of people in vulnerable populations, anywhere in the world.

For instance, STT recently carried out a campaign targeting Lithuanian residents in Wisbech, as Lithuania is one of the most common countries of origin of potential victims of trafficking in the UK.

The ads focused on workers' rights, to empower the Lithuanian workforce in Wisbech and raise awareness of the risks of trafficking.

Dearnley says it was important to lead with an empowerment message and not to scare people. Theres no point telling people to be careful not to be trafficked because people dont know theyre being trafficked or what that means, she says. [Instead] it was: do you know your rights? An empowerment message that would be good news to someone that read it, and shared it.

The ads then pointed the viewer to STTs app, which contains more information about what trafficking is and how to spot it.

Giles says the results were extraordinary. The charity knows that 35,000 people who spoke Lithuanian opened up the posts, which equals 80 per cent of the Lithuanian population in the area. Calls to Crimestoppers increased during the period. The messages were shared back in Lithuania too, and the Lithuanian ambassador-at-large wants to work with STT on a similar campaign in the country.

We also know that that just under half of those people would make different decisions when faced with those 'streets paved with gold' opportunities like they were offered back in Lithuania, if they were given them again, adds Giles.

Schemes like this break the traffickers model meaning they cannot operate in specific areas, and eventually have no choice but to shut down their operation.

Tech is central to the fight against trafficking

Dearnley, Giles and Lawlor all agree that their work wouldnt be possible without technology. Tech is offering us the predictive power. Traffickers are predictive, they know how their profits can rise, looking at areas of vulnerability, migration routes, climate, disaster, whatever it is there is a global-led network of predictions, says Dearnley. And weve got to capture it.

Wed always be chasing. Without the technology wed be too slow, adds Lawlor. It allows us to get there faster without a shadow of a doubt.

Their work doesnt stop there. Giles hopes to eventually create a data network that can use machine learning to predict where problem areas are going to arise to disrupt traffickers before they even start.

To be able to get in front of the problem, with the right kind of messaging and interventions, seems to me an extraordinary opportunity and one we shouldnt miss, he says.

Beyond trafficking, Lawlor thinks the combination of technology and partnerships could be used in other areas of crime prevention.
F irst, it was Zoella. Then it was a Gay Times editor. A few days later, Stormzy followed suit.

What do these three individuals have in common? They were all subjected to backlash after offensive tweets were discovered on their timelines, made in the early years of social media.

If you havent yet considered how your own digital footprint could have an impact on your future, particularly your employability, then its about time you did.

And luckily a new social media tool has arrived to save the day. Named Vanilla, the tool was created by developer Samuel Wood as a way to help people clean up their previous social media posts.

The idea for Vanilla came about when I saw a young musician who had overcome the odds by breaking through racial and gender glass ceilings, being characterised by a silly tweet he posted years ago while he was still a teen. It seemed like an attack on an individual whose work to date and personality represented something much more important and positive than that singular tweet. I knew there must be a way to help people in such experiences, Wood told the Standard.

Woods project will allow people to deal with the mistakes theyve made, without being dragged through the court of public opinion.

Vanilla will flag and remove any problem tweets on your timeline / Vanilla

Every social media user should be able to review and manage their past posts just as easily as they are able to post new ones. Let's be honest, we've all said silly things. People grow. People get wiser. People change their minds. Vanilla helps people to ensure their timelines represent their characters accurately, he said.

Vanilla started as a project when Wood was learning how to code. It uses Twitters API to plug into your profile to review your tweets, but it doesnt have access to your password or email. Functionality for Instagram is coming soon.

The tool searches posts in two ways. Firstly, it searches across over 1000 keywords for profanity and harmful language. Then, it accesses a machine learning algorithm that calculates a toxicity score for each of your posts, flagging up posts with questionable content.

Like with all machine learning algorithms, the more data the model is fed, the more accurate the predictions will get. So the more people use Vanilla, the better it will become.

You can run a sample scan to see if theres anything you need to worry about, but youll need to pay between 49 and 99 to see whats really hiding in your Twitter timeline.

Given the media attention surrounding social media posts in the past, its interesting that this is one of the first tools to really solve it. Previously, you could use the advanced search tool to check your username with certain keywords, but this is time-consuming and you may miss things you didnt realise you needed to look for.

Or you can use a tool like TweetDelete to automatically delete tweets over a certain age, but this only works for 3,200 tweets - if you have more than that then its back to the manual way.

Wood thinks recent events have shown that some people need to reckon with their early internet-user selves. [Its] a perfect storm where: consumers want to own their data, people have been reminded that they will be held accountable in the court of public opinion where the zeitgeist is judge, jury, and executioner, and there have been constant reminders that what you post online matters offline and can be incredibly costly, he explained.

Vanilla has only been live for a few weeks but after one of Woods friends tweeted about the tool, its been picking up traction. It has now scanned over one million tweets, pointing to its potential.

I want Vanilla to be used worldwide as a tool that helps people become more conscientious and self-aware online. I see Vanilla preventing individuals past social media posts from jeopardising their careers, businesses, reputations, and relationships, said Wood.

Finally, where did the name Vanilla come from?
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President Klaus Iohannis said on Friday that the nation's great victories are possible if the Romanians stay united and not divided.

"The great victories of the nation are possible if we are united, not divided, if we have high aspirations, not personal goals, if we hold close to the democratic and civilised nations, instead of isolating ourselves from them," the head of state said at the reception held at the Cotroceni Presidential Palace on the occasion of the National Day of Romania.

He spoke about the achievement of the Greater Union.

"Those who have made possible the major historical event of the past century have left us a rich heritage of ideals, values and vision. Of all, the most beautiful spiritual legacy that I would like to rediscover these days is that the Greater Union was, in fact, a great and profound union of all Romanians, around a common desire, for which no sacrifice was too great," Iohannis said.

He stressed that the Centennial of Romania is not only about remembrance of the past, but also about the present and the future.

"The good functioning of the state and the establishment of long-term national goals are indissolubly linked to the good understanding and correct understanding of the lessons of the past. The path to the Greater Union was difficult and challenging, but our forefathers succeeded due to their desire to belong to the same set of values and principles. Among the values that paved the way for the achievement of the Union and those values that we strongly believe in today, there is unquestionable continuity. In this sense, December 1 is not only a national celebration, but also a European celebration. Solidarity, respect for the law, for the citizens' rights and freedoms, give the European project consistency and have been fully adopted by the Romanian people. These are the values for which our country joined the European Union, out of a desire to consolidate our democracy, regained with great sacrifices in December 1989, in an area of peace, prosperity and freedom. It is the bridge over time that connects Romania of today with the vision of the political figures who made possible a century ago the national ideal of the Great Union," the head of state said.

He showed that despite the dramatic circumstances that marked the course of our nation over the last century, Romania managed to translate into reality a large part of the goals of its predecessors.

"Romania could not have overcome the attempts of the last century, if it wasn't not a unitary state." The Romanians could not have surpassed the tragedies of the recent past if the Greater Union did not give us confidence in the future. In only a half of these 100 years that we celebrate our nation was able to freely express its creative capacity, to walk on the path started in Alba Iulia on December 1918. And it wasn't a day or an hour when those who have received the gift of the Greater Union stopped loving Romania," Iohannis said.

He stressed that Romania has continued to be loved within its borders and beyond.

"Romania was loved in Marasesti, on the bloody fields of the Second World War, in the provinces that because of the troubled history of the past century remained outside the country, as well as in Sighet, Pitesti, Aiud, and on the barricades of the Revolution of December 1989. Romania is loved today for the achievements of the forefathers, for what is now, as it is loved for what it is not yet, but we want it to be for future generations. Romania is respected today in Europe and in the world for this love for the country also manifested itself in the creative works of the Romanians who contributed to the civilisation of the world," Iohannis said.

The reception was attended by about 800 people. Among those who participated were Prime Minister Viorica Dancila and members of her Cabinet, former presidents of Romania Emil Constantinescu and Traian Basescu, heads of the Romanian Intelligence Service (SRI), Eduard Hellvig, and Foreign Intelligence Service (SIE), Gabriel Vlase, representatives of religious cults, diplomats.

AGERPRES
The Romanian Embassy will send all the official proclamations and messages dedicated to the Greater Union Centennial issued by the American states' governors, as part of a project initiated by Romania's diplomatic mission in Washington, to the National Union Museum in Alba Iulia, reads a release of the Embassy remitted to AGERPRES.

The Romanian Ambassador, George Cristian Maior, in the first half of this year sent an official letter to the governors of the American stated informing them about the historical signification of the national union Centennial for the Romanian nation. In his message, the Romanian Ambassador described the enormous sacrifices made by the Romanian citizens in achieving the Greater Union, the exceptional mobilization of the American Romanians communities 100 years ago to support the union, as well as the unique contribution of the American President Woodrow Wilson who, through "The 14 Points" inspire the road to freedom and unity of the Romanians. In this context, the Romanian Ambassador made an appeal to the governors of the American states to issue official proclamations in celebrating the Centennial of the national union of the Romanians, in sign of friendship between Romania and the United States of America.

In response to the initiative of the Romanian Embassy, the governors of the American states issued Proclamations or official message through which they recognize the Greater Union document of 100 years ago. These documents can be seen on the Internet page: https:&&celebrating-romanias-centennial.home.blog/.

The proclamations were presented for the first time to the public during an official reception on Romania's National Day, organised especially to celebrate the Centennial. The Romanian Embassy will send all these proclamations, issued by the American states' governors, to the National Union Museum in Alba Iulia, to be exposed as part of the permanent exhibition here.

The speech delivered on the occasion of the celebration of the Centennial, the Ambassador of Romania, Cristian Maior appreciated that the issuance of the official proclamations by the governors of the American states "represents maybe the strongest sign of friendship between Romanians and Americans, proving the favourable perception of Romania not only at the level of the federal administration, but also in all of America's corners, at the level of each community. We received the respect that the entire American national showed to Romania and their sacrifices that made the Greater Union of 100 years ago possible."

The Romanian Ambassador showed that "like, 100 years ago, the creation of modern Romania benefited from the important support represented by the relation of friendship with the United Stated, the partnership that we share today is marked by them closeness between the two nations and the proclamations materialize this of the most impressive manner, including for the next generations."

AGERPRES
By Haze Fan, Jinshan Hong, Bloomberg News | Nov. 29, 2018

HNA Group Co. is putting more of its aviation and property assets on the block, marketing more than US$40 billion of domestic and international holdings as the Chinese conglomerate races to reduce its debt load.

Updated lists sent to potential buyers and seen by Bloomberg News included more than 90 assets in China, the U.S. and U.K. Among the additions: The airline leasing business purchased from CIT Group Inc. for more than US$10 billion, and a 459-hectare artificial island project in Hainan, southern China, valued by HNA at 21.2 billion yuan (US$3.1 billion).

HNA, which started in 1989 as an airline based in Hainan island, expanded rapidly through acquisitions around the world before the government started reining deals in last year amid concern that debt levels were unsustainable. Under rising pressure to shed holdings, the group has increasingly turned to marketing aviation-related assets, part of its core business, and has even resorted to using air tickets in lieu of cash to repay obligations.

The conglomerate didn't immediately respond to phone calls seeking comment.

HNA is seeking buyers for all its overseas aviation and logistic holdings -- purchased with more than US$33 billion since 2010 -- a person familiar with the group's sales pitch said. The firm's management hasn't decided if it will attempt to sell those assets as a single package, or negotiate with bidders separately on each one, the person said, asking not to be named because the information is private.

Top aviation and logistics assets for sale:

Company Stake Purchase Price Listed by HNA CIT Aircraft Leasing 100% US$10 billion Avolon Holdings Ltd. 70% US$7.6 billion for entire company Ingram Micro Inc 100% US$6 billion Dufry AG 16.2% US$1.4 billion CWT Pte 100% US$1 billion

Top properties for sale:

Property City Price Valued by HNA Pearl Island Hainan 21.1 billion yuan (US$3 billion) HNA Plaza Shanghai 4.92 billion yuan (US$708 million) Tianjin Center complex Tianjin 3.5 billion yuan (US$503 million) Sanya Sheraton Hotel Sanya 3.09 billion yuan (US$445 billion) 245 Park Ave New York US$2.21 billion 181 West Madison St Chicago US$359 million 30 S Colonnade London 235 million pounds (US$299 million) 17 Columbus Courtyard London 131 million pounds (US$166 million)

As one of the world's biggest asset sales sprees widens, estimates of the total vary widely, partly depending on which already agreed transactions are included as done deals and which assets overlap.

While HNA Group agreed to pay US$10 billion for the CIT leasing business, the transaction was undertaken with HNA's Avolon Holdings and another unit, which could affect the value of either asset if sold separately. Both companies are included on HNA's list of assets for sale.

Though one of the lists described CIT's aircraft leasing business as separate from Avolon, Sam Moore, a spokesperson for Avolon, said that it's now fully integrated into the company. Avolon is 70 percent owned by Bohai Leasing Co., whose majority shareholder is HNA, according to Moore.

The company has already agreed to sell more than US$22 billion of assets this year, according to a Bloomberg tally, including stakes in Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. Chairman Chen Feng told China's Caijing media earlier this month the company has sold some 300 billion yuan (US$43 billion) of assets in 2018.
The G20 summits are nominally about how the worlds biggest national economies can cooperate to boost global growth. This years gathering  more than ever  shows, however, that rivalry between the US and China is center stage.

Zeroing in further still, the rivalry is an expression of a washed-up American empire desperately trying to reclaim its former power. There is much sound, fury and pretense from the outgoing hegemon  the US  but the ineluctable reality is an empire whose halcyon days are a bygone era.

Ahead of the summit taking place this weekend in Argentina, the Trump administration has been issuing furious ultimatums to China to change its behavior. Washington is threatening an escalating trade war if Beijing does not conform to American demands over economic policies.

President Trump has taken long-simmering US complaints about China to boiling point, castigating Beijing for unfair trade, currency manipulation, and theft of intellectual property rights. China rejects this pejorative American characterization of its economic practices.

Nevertheless, if Beijing does not comply with US diktats then the Trump administration says it will slap increasing tariffs on Chinese exports.

The gravity of the situation was highlighted by the comments this week of Chinas ambassador to the US, Cui Tiankai, who warned that the lessons of history show trade wars can lead to catastrophic shooting wars. He urged the Trump administration to be reasonable and to seek a negotiated settlement of disputes.

The problem is that Washington is demanding the impossible. Its like as if the US wants China to turn the clock back to some imagined former era of robust American capitalism. But it is not in Chinas power to do that. The global economy has shifted structurally away from US dominance. The wheels of production and growth are in Chinas domain of Eurasia.

For decades, China functioned as a giant market for cheap production of basic consumer goods. Now under President Xi Jinping, the nation is moving to a new phase of development involving sophisticated technologies, high-quality manufacture, and investment.

Its an economic evolution that the world has seen before, in Europe, the US and now Eurasia. In the decades after the Second World War, up to the 197os, it was US capitalism that was the undisputed world leader. Combined with its military power, the postwar global order was defined and shaped by Washington. Sometimes misleading called Pax Americana, there was nothing peaceful about the US-led global order. It was more often an order of relative stability purchased by massive acts of violence and repressive regimes under Washingtons tutelage.

In American mythology, it does not have an empire. The US was supposed to be different from the old European colonial powers, leading the rest of the world through its exceptional virtues of freedom, democracy and rule of law. In truth, US global dominance relied on the application of ruthless imperial power.

The curious thing about capitalism is it always outgrows its national base. Markets eventually become too small and the search for profits is insatiable. American capital soon found more lucrative opportunities in the emerging market of China. From the 1980s on, US corporations bailed out of America and set up shop in China, exploiting cheap labor and exporting their goods back to increasingly underemployed America consumers. The arrangement was propped up partly because of seemingly endless consumer debt.

Thats not the whole picture of course. China has innovated and developed independently from American capital. It is debatable whether China is an example of state-led capitalism or socialism. The Chinese authorities would claim to subscribe to the latter. In any case, Chinas economic development has transformed the entire Eurasian hemisphere. Whether you like it or not, Beijing is the dynamo for the global economy. One indicator is how nations across Asia-Pacific are deferring to China for their future growth.

Washington likes to huff and puff about alleged Chinese expansionism threatening US allies in Asia-Pacific. But the reality is that Washington is living in the past of former glory. Trading blocs like the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) realize their bread is buttered by China, no longer America. Washingtons rhetoric about standing up to China is just that  empty rhetoric. It doesnt mean much to countries led by their interests of economic development and the benefits of Chinese investment.

One example is Taiwan. In contrast to Washingtons shibboleths about free Taiwan, more and more Asian countries are dialing down their bilateral links with Taiwan in deference to Chinas position, which views the island as a renegade province. The US position is one of rhetoric, whereas the relations of other countries are based on material economic exigencies. And respecting Beijings sensibilities is for them a prudent option.

A recent report by the New York Times starkly illustrated the changing contours of the global economic order. It confirmed what many others have observed, that China is on the way to surpass the US as the worlds top economy. During the 1980s, some 75 per cent of Chinas population were living in extreme poverty, according to the NY Times. Today, less than 1 per cent of the population is in that dire category. For the US, the trajectory has been in reverse with greater numbers of its people subject to deprivation.

Chinas strategic economic plans  the One Belt One Road initiative  of integrating regional development under its leadership and finance have already created a world order analogous to what American capital achieved in the postwar decades.

American pundits and politicians like Vice President Mike Pence may disparage Chinas economic policies as creating debt traps for other countries. But the reality is that other countries are gravitating to Chinas dynamic leadership.

Arguably, Beijings vision for economic development is more enlightened and sustainable than what was provided by the Americans and Europeans before. The leitmotif for China, along with Russia, is very much one of multipolar development and mutual partnership. The global economy is not simply moving from one hegemon  the US  to another imperial taskmaster  China.

One thing seems inescapable. The days of American empire are over. Its capitalist vigor has dissipated decades ago. What the upheaval and rancor in relations between Washington and Beijing is all about is the American ruling class trying to recreate some fantasy of former vitality. Washington wants China to sacrifice its own development in order to somehow rejuvenate American society. Its not going to happen.

Thats not to say that American society can never be rejuvenated. It could, as it could also in Europe. But that would entail a restructuring of the economic system involving democratic regeneration. The good old days of capitalism are gone. The American empire, as with the European empires, is obsolete.

Thats the unspoken Number One agenda item at the G20 summit. Bye-bye US empire.

What America needs to do is regenerate through a reinvented social economic order, one that is driven by democratic development and not the capitalist private profit of an elite few.

If not, the futile alternative is US failing political leaders trying to coerce China, and others, to pay for their future. That way leads to war.

Photo: Flickr
US President Trump has belatedly announced that he wont meet Russias Vladimir Putin at the G20 summit this weekend. The abrupt cancellation is said to be due to the naval incident between Ukraine and Russia last week.

It is reprehensible that the urgent need for diplomacy between Washington and Moscow is being relegated  yet again  this time by an incident which bears the hallmarks of a deliberate provocation stunt orchestrated by the Kiev regime.

The cancelled meeting between Trump and Putin follows a pattern of on-off hesitancy between the two leaders, primarily from the American side.

This zigzagging in even limited diplomacy between the two biggest nuclear powers is lamentable, especially given the mounting tensions in their bilateral relations, which have appalling implications for world peace.

Nearly two years into Donald Trumps presidency, the American leader has only met Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in one full meeting. That was in Helsinki in July earlier this year, when the two men appeared to form a cordial rapport and agreed to work together on several global issues, including arms control.

Notably, following the Helsinki meeting, Trump was assailed by American politicians and media for being a traitor for daring to extend the basic courtesy of talking with Putin. The Soviet Union may have disappeared nearly three decades ago, but red-baiting in American politics is an enduring ideology.

Three other brief meetings have previously been held on the sidelines of multilateral gatherings. Those occasions were at the last G20 summit held in Hamburg in July 2017, then at the APEC conference in Vietnam later the same year, and also during the recent World War One commemoration in Paris earlier this month. Such glancing encounters are astoundingly inappropriate given the imperative need for earnest dialogue. Meanwhile Trump has received several other world leaders at the White House over the past two years.

The pair were to hold a bilateral meeting this weekend during the G20 summit in Argentinas capital Buenos Aires. Only this week, Trumps national security advisor John Bolton was telling media that the two leaders were due to discuss a range of issues, including arms controls.

On the eve of the G20 conference, Trump reneged. He said his decision was based on a briefing by his intelligence agencies on the Kerch incident last weekend, when three Ukrainian naval vessels were detained by Russian security forces. Russia claims that it interdicted the Ukrainian warships because they violated its maritime territory with menacing intent.

Trump has however backed the dubious Ukrainian version of events, claiming that Russian forces acted aggressively.

There is reliable evidence that the Kiev regime orchestrated the incident by dispatching its armed vessels to the Kerch Strait between Crimea and Russias mainland in order to provoke a Russian security response.

It is unseemly that Washington has rushed to back the Ukrainian narrative. President Putin has dismissed the incident as an electoral ploy ordered by the Kiev regime aimed at boosting President Poroshenko flagging support among Ukrainian voters. Poroshenkos rapid imposition of martial law in Ukraine suggests a scripted attempt to escalate tensions. So too were his dramatic calls to sundry Western media outlets for NATO intervention to defend Ukraine.

European leaders and NATO have also sided with the Ukrainian claims accusing Russia of aggression.

The Western response is a typical knee-jerk reaction to blame Russia instead of assessing the facts.

Immediately following the naval clash in the Kerch Strait, US politicians and media have been pressuring Trump to stand up to Putin over alleged Russian aggression. Republican and Democrat lawmakers urged the president to call off his meeting with Putin in Buenos Aires. Now, it seems, Trump has caved in under the pressure.

This is deplorable. US-Russian relations are being held hostage by an anti-Russia agenda that has been virulent ever since Trumps election in 2016 and in spite of his vows to normalize bilateral relations.

The Kerch incident falls into a long-running litany of provocative claims made against Moscow, from allegations of meddling in US elections, to alleged violations by Russian military in Syria, to allegations of a poison assassination plot in England, to alleged breaches of the Intermediate-range Nuclear Forces treaty. It is evident that Russia is being abused by Trumps domestic political opponents to undermine his presidency and thwart any normalization of bilateral relations.

This is all the more deplorable because there is a paramount need for comprehensive dialogue between Washington and Moscow on a host of vitally important issues, from arms control to establishing an understanding on preventing security conflicts.

The obligation for diplomacy between the US and Russia is more urgent than at any time since the Cold War. Moscow has repeatedly signaled that it wants to rectify misunderstandings and pursue open negotiations for the sake of international security. There is an acknowledgement from the Trump White House that it also realizes the urgency of such dialogue. Yet continually, the chance for dialogue is being scuppered by an anti-Russia political agenda.

By not meeting Putin in Buenos Aires, another essential opportunity to restore bilateral US-Russia relations is being scotched. The diversion from diplomacy is dangerously fueling tensions.

But what is all the more reprehensible is that Trump is in effect giving a green light to the Kiev regime to pursue its reckless efforts to provoke more conflict with Russia.

President Trump is evidently not in control of his own ship of state. He is being buffeted off course by Russophobia among his political opponents at home and is being towed along by a rogue regime in Kiev. The implications for world peace could not be more perilous.
Ever since Ukraines 2014 Maidan revolution, which resulted in a usurpation of power micromanaged directly from Washington, nothing happens in Kiev without the Western powers knowing about it. And that would certainly include playing a reckless game of chicken with Moscow.

Last Sunday, Kiev pulled off a stunt against Russia that was so utterly stupid and reckless it could only have been carefully planned.

Three Ukrainian naval vessels deliberately crossed into Russias maritime border in the Black Sea without first obtaining permission from Russian authorities. Ignoring calls from the Russian Coast Guard to stop, the vessels continued towards Russias Kerch Strait, where Moscow just put the finishing touches on the 11-mile Kerch Strait Bridge that connects the Russian mainland and Crimea. Given the heightened tensions of late, the Russians had every reason to believe they were dealing with a potential case of terrorism on the high seas. Six Ukrainian crew members were wounded in the ensuing melee.

If Kiev, not to mention Western powers, were looking for any sign of the so-called Russian aggression theyve been clamoring about ever since Crimea voted to join the Russian Federation, they finally got their wish. Never mind, however, that Kiev appears to have deliberately staged the provocation.

Russias Federal Security Service (FSB) released footage of three of the sailors admitting on publicly released footage that they were following orders by willfully entering Russian territorial waters without permission. At the same time, two members of the Ukrainian Security Service, or SBU, were also apprehended aboard the boats. The FSB concluded that the event was a provocative act of the Ukrainian Navy executed upon direct orders by the government in Kiev.

Kievs response to the border incident could best be described as odd. Although the naval showdown was isolated in scope, with no indication whatsoever that Russia would use the opportunity to retaliate with military force, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko imposed martial law for 30 days in 10 Ukrainian regions, five of them in the separatist-held east. Even during the worst moments of the four-year civil war, Kiev never resorted to the imposition of martial law (The declaration of martial law does not appear to be, as many have suggested, an effort on the part of Poroshenko, whose popularity ratings are in the basement, to cancel March elections, given the time frame). Not only does Kievs over-the-top move further dash hopes for the Minsk Protocol, it risks triggering renewed hostilities between Kiev and Donbass. This much was suggested by Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Dmitry Peskov, spokesman for the Russian President, warned that Poroshenkos order for martial law has the potential of triggering renewed hostilities in the countrys east.

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Grigory Karasin noted that Kievs choice of location for provoking Russia was no coincidence since the Sea of Azov carries significant strategic importance and "provocative activities by Ukraine can bring rapid and required results for an international scandal."

Unfortunately our worst fears have been confirmed," Karasin told RIA Novosti.

Indeed, Ukraine will now appear justified to intensify a crackdown on Donbass should the separatists be accused of violating the conditions of martial law, whatever Kiev determines those to be.

Meanwhile, the Western media and assorted think tanks were out in full force, not missing an opportunity to portray an obvious Ukrainian provocation as yet another case of Russian aggression.

Ian Brzezinski, for example, Senior Fellow at the Atlantic Council's Scowcroft Center on International Security, commented nonsensically and very bombastically via Twitter: This is not a provocation but military aggression by Russia against Ukraine. Putin is testing the West's resolve. The West's response should include sectoral economic sanctions and transfer of more lethal assistance to Ukraine, including anti-ship missiles.

Nothing like cool heads prevailing, even before the evidence is presented.

Whatever the case may be, Ukraine seemed primed to repeat history with the outbreak of another Saakashvili scenario, in which Kiev is motivated  much like Tbilisi was motivated in August 2008 when it unwisely attacked South Ossetia, killing Russian peacekeepers in the process  through a false sense of tactical superiority to believe that it can bend Russia to its will.

On that score, it is interesting to note that US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo held a meeting with his Ukrainian counterpart, Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin, on November 16 in Washington, D.C. in a plenary session of the U.S.-Ukraine Strategic Partnership Commission.

In the brief, one-page statement that was released following the meeting, Russian aggression was sited six times.

More specifically, it stated that The United States condemned Russias aggressive actions against international shipping transiting the Black Sea, the Sea of Azov and the Kerch Strait to Ukrainian ports. Both sides underscored that Russias aggressive activities in the Sea of Azov have brought new security, economic, social, and environmental threats to the entire Azov-Black Sea region.

Was Kiev moved to conduct some sort of provocation against Russia around the Sea of Azov based on the grim assessment of the situation by such a high-ranking US official? Or was something more sinister at play?

While it is difficult to say, it is beyond doubt that American influence in Kiev was arguably what touched off the Maidan revolution against the government of then President Viktor Yanukovych. And it is no secret that a number of US non-governmental organizations had been long operating inside of the country, where they cultivated a special relationship with a large portion of the Western Ukrainian population.

Former US intelligence officer Scott Rickard, speaking about the violence that broke out in Kiev, pointed the finger at US NGOs. He told RTs Sophie Shevardnadze that , There are individuals who are very well-trained. These NGOs operate on every level. They operate on this peaceful side and they also operate on the violence side. Its pretty clear that Americans have been wildly successful around militarizing jihad and violence and any kind of operations.

Meanwhile, who could forget the site of the late Senator John McCain, standing beside the leader of the far-right Svoboda party, emboldening a rally in Kiev that "America is with you." This was happening around the same time the US ambassador to Ukraine was discussing with Victoria Nuland, former Assistant Secretary of State, who would make up the new Ukrainian government.

Considering that the US spent $5.1 billion dollars since 1992 in Ukraine to support democracy, I guess it believed it was entitled to at least choose who would run the country.

But is Kiev really seeking want war with Russia? Of course not. Kievs motives for provoking Russia at this particular juncture range from putting NATO membership on the fast track, to wrecking the atmosphere of the upcoming G20 Summit in Buenos Aires where Trump and Putin are expected to meet. There is even the possibility that Poroshenko, the puppet king, is aiming to portray himself as the rightful defender of his country in the face of Russian aggression.

Whatever the case may be, it is a terrible gamble, and one that is pushing Russias patience to the limits.
Politically aware Americans, especially self-proclaimed tough neo-liberals and neo-conservatives have had a hate obsession with the Crimea for 73 years since proclaiming the myth of an evil sell-out of Eastern Europe that supposedly took place at the Yalta summit conference in February 1945 between Josef Stalin, Winston Churchill and a dying US President Franklin Roosevelt.

Instead, as is often the case in the age of George Orwells big lie in modern America and Britain, the opposite was the case. The Yalta conference was a triumph of realpolitik that kept the global peace between the superpowers almost three quarter s of a century so far.

It is, therefore enormously ironic that the peace of the world should now be threatened over US and UK outrage in particular over Russia asserting its legal and sovereign rights after a blatant breach of agreements and sovereignty by the Ukrainian vessels in Kerch Strait separating Crimea from mainland Russia.

The kneejerk US and UK reactions, based on mindlessly swallowing generations of dangerous mythmaking by both Republicans and Democrats in the United States and by the revered demigod Winston Churchill in Britain is that at Yalta Roosevelt cynically  and possibly in full senility  sold out all the countries of Eastern Europe to Stalin and thereby threatened the survival of the West.

This myth was created by Churchill in Volume 6 of his enormous war memoirs, The Second World War. (Most of it was in fact written for him by an enormous team of British historians and bureaucratic researchers. This did not stop Churchill from happily accepting the Nobel Prize for Literature on the entirely false grounds that he had written all of it.)

Churchill blamed Roosevelt for selling out Eastern Europe at Yalta in his discussions with Stalin. By then FDR was long since dead and so were Harry Hopkins, his de facto national security adviser at Yalta and Major General Edwin Pa Watson, his closest personal aide.

The next US president, Harry Truman made no secret in later years of his deep, abiding jealousy for President Roosevelt and was happy to scapegoat his dead predecessor for the outcome of Yalta..

Trumans successor, President Dwight Eisenhower as Supreme Allied Commander actually worked sympathetically and closely with the Soviet Union to prevent any clash between the Western and Soviet armies knowing that only the Nazis could benefit from such a disaster.

But by 1952, running for president himself, Eisenhower did not dare to acknowledge his own key role in accepting Soviet control of half of Europe, so it made perfect sense for him to slander the late FDR as well.

In fact, Yalta was a triumph for FDR in everything that really mattered: The division of Europe agreed to there by the Big Three was based on realities of power and could therefore be upheld and maintained for many decades and it was. By contrast, the hyped, gargantuan Versailles Peace Conference in 1919 led to the rise of Adolf Hitler within 14 years and another, even worse world war only 20 years later. Versailles was a catastrophe. Yalta, where it really mattered, was a lasting triumph.

Because of the great Soviet victory in June 1944 in the Battle of Belorussia, it was inevitable that all of Central Europe from Stettin in the Baltic to the borders of Greece would fall under Soviet control before the Anglo-American armies driving in on the Third Reich from the West could get there. That was why the American Republican criticisms of the dying Franklin Roosevelt for "selling out" Central Europe at the 1945 Yalta conference were so unfair. There was nothing in practical terms FDR could have done otherwise.

And in any case, FDR did not make the key concessions to Stalin on Central Europe at all. It was Churchill, the British statesman who has become the icon-hero of American internationalist conservatives, who made them.

Churchill, at his meeting in Moscow with Stalin in October 1944 initialed the famous agreement on the back of a napkin that acknowledged the Soviet dominant role in all of the Balkans, except for Greece. Roosevelt was outraged when he learned about it. By then, Churchill knew that Poland, Hungary and most of the rest of Central Europe would fall to the Soviet armies too. The Battle of Belorussia had ensured that.

As US senators and pundits vie with each other now to push US President Donald Trump towards a potentially enormously dangerous confrontation with Russia over the Kerch Straits clash, it is more important than ever to recover and teach the true lessons of Yalta.

In February 1945 a dying but clear-headed Franklin Roosevelt opted for continued respect and dialogue with the Soviet Union to prevent world wars and preserve the peace of the world. His wisdom lasted almost 70 years.

Yalta was never a naive sellout and Roosevelt gave away nothing. After he died Winston Churchill and the US Republicans successfully slandered his good name for their own glory and lying gain.

To restore US-Russian trust, dialogue and respect, it is vital Americans are educated at last to the true story.
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Britain has ordered 16 more CH-47 Chinook transport helicopters. These will be modified MH-47G special operations models to be used by British special operations forces. The British 47Gs will lack the aerial refueling probe but will still have the internal aerial refueling plumbing so aerial refueling capability can be added later with the installation of the long probe. The British MH-47Gs will still have the larger fuel tanks (providing max range of 1,380 kilometers), electronic countermeasures and more navigation equipment the MH-47Gs have missile detection and jamming systems to enable them to better defend themselves. Several additional navigation systems allow the MH-47s to operate in all weather and visibility conditions. That includes a terrain following radar and a receiver for the transponder downed pilots are equipped with. This model is also modified to enable up to eight troops to be lowered or brought up via a powered hoist at one time. There are bubble windows and a gunners port on the left side (on the other side is the winch). Britain will be the first export customer for the MH-47G and these will cost $219 million each (including special maintenance equipment, spares, technical assistance and training). This order may still be canceled or modified depending on political or budget changes in Britain. Since 2001 British special operations have been heavily involved overseas and British operators often got to ride on American MH-47s and were impressed with the capabilities of these helicopters. The requests for Britain to obtain MH-47s have been persistent so it is likely this deal will go ahead.

In mid-2017 Britain began upgrading its 38 older CH-47 to the latest (CH-47F) standard. This will involve replacing the older analog cockpit displays with digital ones and upgrading other electronic systems. Since Britain carries out upgrades like this with British made electronics they use British nomenclature for the different models. The latest American CH-47 is the F model and the British upgrade with change older HC4 models (similar to the American CH-47D/E) to the HC6A (American CH-47F). Britain also refers to the helicopter officially as the Chinook, which is the official nickname for what the Americans call the CH-47. What the U.S. and Britain agree on is that the CH-47 continues to be one of the most useful and reliable transport helicopters available. Since 2001 this has been demonstrated repeatedly in Iraq and Afghanistan where more recent designs proved less effective than a CH-47, even ones that had not been upgraded regularly.

Britain currently operates sixty CH-47s (out of 72 procured over the years.) Only 41 are actually in service because of those undergoing or awaiting upgrades or replacement. At the end of 2015, Britain received the last of fourteen CH-47F Chinook helicopters ordered in 2009. Actually, Britain wanted to buy another 22 American CH-47Fs back then in order to provide the army with 70 of these transport aircraft. That order was reduced to 14 in 2011 as a result of budget cuts. Because of the long waiting list for Ch-47Fs Britain was initially told it would not receive all 22 until 2017. Because of the reduced order, all of them arrived by the end of 2015. These cost nearly $40 million each but Britain now has 60 CH-47s, all equipped slightly differently depending on how long ago they arrived.

In 2009 the original CH-47F order was justified by the fact that Britain was then losing about a hundred troops in Afghanistan each year, most of them because of roadside and suicide bombs. Many of these casualties could be avoided if more helicopters were available. Back in 2009 media reports pointed out that British troops in Afghanistan had one helicopter for every 700 troops while the Americans had one for every 200. British commanders admitted that they needed (based on American experience) about fifty helicopters. The British government promised more, and the order for 22 Chinooks was part of an effort to make it so, at least in the future. Britain has been using CH-47s since 1980 and these have served in the Falkland Islands, Sierra Leone, Iraq and Afghanistan.

The CH-47 is the best helicopter for use in Afghanistan, having proved itself able to deal with the dust and high altitude operations better than other transport choppers. The CH-47 has been engineered, over the years, to deal with the dust. The first CH-47s entered service in 1962, able to carry only five tons. Current models carry more than twice that. Some 750 CH-47s saw service in Vietnam, and 200 were lost in action.

During 1982-94, 500 CH-47s were rebuilt to the CH-47D standard. The new CH-47F is more durable and easier to maintain than the CH-47D, and most D models will be upgraded to the F standard eventually. Right now, everyone still wants more CH-47s (used, refurbs, new, whatever), and there are never enough to go around.
China Aviation Daily | Nov. 30, 2018

Etihad Airways has launched its first ever scheduled flights linking Abu Dhabi and Barcelona. The inaugural flight, EY49, departed Abu Dhabi this morning carrying a special delegation including dignitaries, media representatives, influencers and senior members of Etihad Airways' management team.

The UAE national airline is celebrating the occasion in style by hosting a special event held at the historic Capella dels Angels, a sixteenth-century Gothic building which is now part of the Museu d'Art Contemporani de Barcelona (MACBA), attended by leading figures from the local government, diplomats, media, corporate partners and travel trade.

Tony Douglas, Group Chief Executive Officer Etihad Aviation Group, said: "We have been tremendously excited about the launch of this service and what better time to arrive here than the month Etihad celebrates its 15th anniversary.

"Commercial and cultural links between the UAE and the Catalonia region are flourishing and Etihad is honoured to play a pivotal role in facilitating and enhancing the growth of trade and the strong demand for tourism. This is a breathtakingly beautiful part of the world, with something to offer the most discerning of travellers, and now for the first time, Abu Dhabi, our amazing home, is accessible from Barcelona with regular non-stop flights, featuring Etihad's acclaimed inflight hospitality.

"On behalf of the Etihad Aviation Group, I extend our sincere thanks to the Barcelona Air Route Development Committee for their invaluable support with the new service, the launch event, and for their genuine welcome."

The number of visitors from the UAE to Spain has been rising rapidly, thanks in part to a successful Schengen visa waiver programme introduced for UAE nationals in 2015.

The new route will initially be operated five times a week by a two-class Airbus A330-200 before becoming a daily operation from 31 March 2019.

Barcelona is the second city in Spain served by Etihad Airways, complementing the airline's existing daily service to Madrid. The new link will provide business and leisure travellers with convenient timings to travel between Abu Dhabi and Barcelona, also providing seamless onward connections through Abu Dhabi to major cities in the Indian Subcontinent, Southeast Asia, China, Japan, and Australia.

Etihad Airways operates an extensive codeshare partnership with Air Europa (UX) allowing guests a seamless transfer with the Spanish airline's services between Barcelona and Madrid. Etihad also codeshares with Air Europa beyond Madrid to 19 cities in Europe, South America, Mexico and the Caribbean.

Flight schedule: Abu Dhabi - Barcelona, effective 28 November 2018:

Flight No. Origin Departs Destination Arrives Frequency Aircraft EY 49 Abu Dhabi 02:20 Barcelona 07:15 Mon, Wed, Fri, Sat, Sun Airbus A330-200 EY 50 Barcelona 10:10 Abu Dhabi 20:00 Mon, Wed, Fri, Sat, Sun Airbus A330-200

Note: All departures and arrivals are listed in local time.

Contributed by Etihad Airways
The Bay of Plenty Mens and Womens teams have been named to play in Saturdays Northern Region Sevens Qualification Tournament in Cambridge.



The Bay of Plenty Mens Sevens team this weekend will be playing for pool position for the upcoming TECT National Sevens.

Head Coach Sean Horan says his team have prepared well over the past few weeks and has challenged the coaching group ahead of this weekends selection.



Our camp was a great platform for this group and the preseason tournaments have taught us a lot about our thoughts as a team, what style would suit us and what the opposition will bring. All the players have brought us a lot to think about regarding selection and who will best fit those roles. They have really put their hands up."



Horan highlighted it is a privilege for those selected to represent Bay of Plenty this weekend.



This weekend provides an opportunity for the team to represent the Union and another opportunity for individuals to put their hands up. We want to see the players taking that ownership but also enjoying themselves out there on the field.



The Bay of Plenty Womens Sevens side captained by Rebecca Kersten is a youthful side who will thrive off the challenge presented this weekend.



Head Coach Rodney Gibbs is aware of the challenge his side is presented with this weekend.



We have a youthful group of girls who have continued to develop and have demonstrated consider talent over the last few weeks.

"But this weekend they will be tested by a number of talented and experienced opponents. They will need to step up to the challenge and deliver a consistent performance.



Gibbs finishes by highlighting the importance of holding their focus regardless of the score board.



The game of sevens can change instantly, we need to ensure as a team we are ready for that, maintaining our focus, completing the basics and playing with intent and purpose. If we do this right the result will take care of itself.



Bay of Plenty Mens Sevens Side:

Carlos Price

Elijah Nicholas

Etonia Waqa

Hunter Mokomoko

Isaac Te Aute  Captain

Jayjay Seumai

Jordy Stone

Josh Honey

Rewita Biddle

Taniela Filemone

Te Wahi Wright

William Ngatai



Management:

Head Coach: Sean Horan

Assistant Coach: Steve Miln

Assistant Coach: Euan Mackintosh

Manager: Courtney Barrow-Fraser

Trainer: Slade King

Physio: Brandon Olsen



Bay of Plenty Womens Sevens Team:

Autumn-Rain Stephens-Daly

Hope Garner

Kiani Tahere

Kendra Reynolds

Kororia Heyblom

Mahina Paul

Mererangi Paul

Rebecca Kersten  Captain

Sapphire Tapsell

Sequoia Autumn Te Aonui

Tania-Rose Raharuhi

Tynealle Fitzgerald



Management:

Head Coach: Rodney Gibbs

Assistant Coach: Kyle McLean

Assistant Coach: Damian Karauna

Manager: Belinda Muller

Trainer: Tim Wilson

Physio: Anna Ness



Northern Regional Sevens:

Memorial Park, Cambridge

Saturday 1 December 2018

Facebook live stream: Click here



Northern Regional Sevens Draw:

Womens:

10.00am F2 Auckland v Bay of Plenty

11.20am F1 Bay of Plenty v North Harbour

12.20pm F1 Counties Manukau v Bay of Plenty

1.40pm F1 Waikato v Bay of Plenty

3.20pm F1 Bay of Plenty v Northland

4.30pm F1 Womens Presentation Women



Mens:

10.40am F2 Auckland v Bay of Plenty

11.40am F2 Bay of Plenty v North Harbour

1.20pm F1 Northland v Bay of Plenty

2.20pm F1 Counties Manukau v Bay of Plenty

4.40pm F1 Waikato v Bay of Plenty

5.50pm F1 Mens Presentation






Bay of Plenty

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The Anglican Church will make the last of its formal apologies this weekend, for relinquishing land gifted by local iwi to the crown.

On November 30 1838, local iwi transferred the land known as Te Papa to the Church Missionary Society.

After the battle of Gate Pa, the Battle of Te Ranga and the Bush campaign, the crown put pressure on the church to sell the land to the Crown for European settlement.

Last month, a statement provided to SunLive by Priority One said the Anglican Synod recently agreed to make a formal apology to Tauranga Moana iwi for this situation, providing a step towards the social, spiritual and economic recovery that Tangata Whenua have waited patiently for.

Two events have been organised to recognise the outcome.

The first was held earlier this month at Baycourt and involved Archbishop Emeritus Sir David Moxon, Puhirake Ihaha of Ngati Tapu, Peri Khu of Ngai Tamarawaho and Dr Alistair Reese of Te Kohinga explaining the background for the benefit of the Tauranga Moana community.

The next event is set to take place today from 9am to 2pm at the Cliff Road site which has been considered as a potential site for a museum.

Anglican Church leaders have been invited by Ngai Tamarawaho and Ngati Tapu leaders to make their formal apology.

Tangata Whenua and Tauranga Moana civic and church leaders and community will be present as witness and in support.
A large low in the Tasman is slowly falling apart today but as it pushes into a large high to New Zealand's east it's making for occasionally blustery conditions around the upper North Island.

The winds have been described as being below gale force but some gusts are pushing closer to the gale mark out in marine areas for a time this morning. Peak winds should have also passed with north easterly winds slowly easing back across.

The rain band this morning moved through faster than expected with WeatherWatch.co.nz updating Auckland at 6am to say mainly dry.

The same patchy rain band is now clearing Waikato and soon western Bay of Plenty - in some cases this front is running quite a few hours earlier than expected, as is sometimes the case with these very large lows.

More cloud, showers and drizzle patches linger behind the front with the same windy north easterly for much of Saturday.

Wind speed.

Unlike the big low last weekend, the low this weekend is quickly falling apart and so too are some of the rain bands, making it a bit tricky to precisely track some of them.

By Sunday showers will be heavier but also more isolated in the upper North Island but there are thunderstorm risks on Sunday afternoon inland through both main islands.

Some of the downpours will again be particularly intense and slow moving around Southland and Otago and the Southern Alps - extreme care is needed in these conditions especially if the thunderstorms again turn 'severe'.

Sunday looks warmer than average for more parts of New Zealand too with less cloud cover expected than today.

- WeatherWatch.co.nz
Bay of Plenty

Our client has plenty of work in the pipeline and as such they are in need of qualified or experienced carpenters for an...



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LINCOLN  Nebraska Extension and Nebraska 4-H will use virtual reality and telepresence robotics to bring an Hour of Code event, 9 a.m. to noon Dec. 8 at Nebraska Innovation Campus in Lincoln, to participants at the Sidney Public Library in Sidney.

Hour of Code is an introduction to computer science designed to demystify code and show that anyone can learn the basics to be a creator.

Two matching robots will be used to bridge the nearly 350 miles between Nebraska Innovation Campus and the Sidney Public Library. The robots

live stream a feed of the activity in each location. Partici...
Syracuse, NY -- A coalition of people critical of the Syracuse police's use-of-force policy will hold a public discussion Saturday on its impact on the community.

The group, calling itself the Syracuse Police Accountability and Reform Coalition, will meet from noon to 2 p.m. Saturday at the Central Public Library, 447 S. Salina St.

The use of force policy has long been criticized by outside watchdog groups, including the city's Citizens Review Board and the local chapter of the New York Civil Liberties Union.

It was highlighted in a recent police brutality trial that is poised to cost the city $1.5 million. City lawyers defended the policy during trial, but the former CRB administrator called it "vague and outdated."

That's the position of the reform group, which called the policy "vague and lacking specific guidance."

In effect, the policy states that an officer may use only the force necessary to achieve a lawful objective.

The coalition cites the case of a 14-year-old who was placed in a chokehold during a chaotic incident outside Corcoran High School. That September 2016 arrest is currently the subject of a lawsuit.

Those speaking at the event will be:

Kevin Jason, Staff Attorney, New York Civil Liberties Union

Talina Jones, Chair, New York State Early Intervention Coordinating Council

Hasan Stephens, Executive Director, Good Life Youth Foundation

Peter McCarthy, Chair, City of Syracuse Citizen Review Board

Coran Klaver, Associate Professor, Syracuse University

Andrew Croom (moderator), Staff Attorney, Legal Services of Central New York
Syracuse, NY -- A Syracuse man went on a crime spree in 2017 that included barging into unoccupied homes and robbing gas stations, sometimes armed with a crowbar.

Gary Bixler's targets extended from Route 31 in Clay to the town of Manlius. Crimes were committed in Van Buren, Solvay and town of Onondaga, as well.

In surveillance footage from two gas stations, Bixler is seen in a white ski mask robbing clerks. In one case, he has the crowbar, in another, he threatens one. Unpublicized were four burglaries at homes when owners were not present.

Gary B. Bixler

Bixler, now 32, could have faced up to 40 years in prison for all the carnage, including robberies, burglaries and possessing stolen property. He will instead spend five years behind bars.

But Bixler isn't your typical criminal: He's an Iraq war vet who returned home traumatized by the worst of war, said his lawyer, Louis Mannara.

Couple that with a back injury that led to a dependence on painkillers, and Bixler became a hopeless addict, Mannara said.

The crime spree was to feed his drug addiction.

Bixler himself said at sentencing today that he used to think addiction was a choice that plagued weaker people. That was before Bixler said he disintegrated to little more than a shell of his former self.

It got so bad Bixler would burglarize a house and then stop to snort heroin before leaving, Mannara said.

The lawyer took the unusual step today of detailing some of Bixler's scars from war.

Bixler was 19 years old when he was sent to Iraq for his first of two tours in combat in the mid-2000s. Bixler was tasked with surveillance.

Bixler ordered up the shelling of an enemy target. He gave the right coordinates. But the cannons misfired, leveling three buildings and killing 47 non-combatant citizens, his lawyer said.

"The military cleared him of any fault and blame. But that didn't clear his conscience," Mannara said today.

Bixler also watched through binoculars while a woman loyal to the Americans was gang-raped, his lawyer said. And he watched a man skinned alive, he said.

"If there's ever a case when the price of freedom is not free," Mannara said of Bixler. "PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) is not past, it's present. This is the collateral consequence of war."

All of Bixler's history was contained in a report presented to County Court Judge Stephen Dougherty.

Prosecutor Anthony Copani also considered Bixler's past. So did fellow prosecutor Michael Mordue, a combat veteran himself who screens veterans for a special court.

What could have been decades in prison for Bixler was reduced substantially. Negotiations started at a 15 year prison sentence, Mannara said, and went down from there as the investigation continued.

The multiple victims were consulted, Copani said. They all signed off on the lower sentence.

None of the victims were injured, the prosecutor said.

Today, Bixler apologized repeatedly to those he'd harmed. He promised to focus on addiction awareness as a new focus of his life.

"This message of hope will be my penance for the pain I've caused," Bixler promised. "To the victims of my crimes, I once again beg forgiveness."

Dougherty, the judge, noted it was difficult to send a combat veteran to state prison. But all of Bixler's own trauma did not lessen the trauma of his victims.

"It doesn't help the victims," the judge said. "They're lives are probably going to be changed."

With that, Dougherty sent Bixler to prison for five years. He'll get credit for the 1 1/2 years he spent in jail as the investigation commenced. And he could get out in six-sevenths of the time -- or roughly 4 1/2 years -- if he behaves.

Editor's note: A previous version of this story overstated the number of individual crimes committed by Gary Bixler. In total, there were two gas station robberies and four burglaries of unoccupied homes, a prosecutor said.
Upstate milk for Swiss chocolate

"Ask anyone who lived in Fulton, New York, during the one hundred years Nestle operated a factory there and they'll surely mention this: the whole city smelled like chocolate." Jim Farfaglia opens the introduction to his latest book, "Nestle in Fulton, New York: How Sweet It Was" with this reminiscence of the confectionary scent that Fulton was once famous for.

The origins of the city that smelled like chocolate began with Switzerland's Nestle Company searching for a a location to build its first milk processing plant in the United States and the bountiful dairy farms of Upstate New York sealed the deal for a factory in Fulton. As the popularity of the milk chocolate bar grew across Europe, another Swiss company, Peter's, also requested space, which led to the bar's popularity in the states as well.

Farfaglia's books is full of images, and interesting facts from the century of chocolate making, including information about Nestle sending milk products and chocolate to soldiers during both of the world wars, the introduction of the famous semi-sweet morsels for Toll House cookies, and the seven thousand pound Nestle Crunch Bar that was made in Fulton and included in The Guinness Book of World Records.

Farfaglia ends his introduction in the book with a reflection about his time standing in front of the remnants of the former plant on an autumn day in 2016, saying, "Heading back to my car, thinking about how to write this book, I imagined the time it took for each of the Nestle's demolished buildings to be constructed, laborers laying them brick by brick. Now those bricks have fallen away, and each one represents a trace - a fragrant reminder, if you well - of the chocolate history that took place in our city. The time has come to hear the stories of those who made at Nestle's century in Fulton a success."

"Nestle in Fulton, New York: How Sweet It Was" is available from Arcadia Publishing and The History Press, and through online retailers, and some local sellers, including the River's End Bookstore. For more information about all of Farfaglia's books, and his upcoming events, visit his website.

A new look at the Cold War



Le Moyne professors Edward Judge and John Langdon recently published three books that revisit the history of the Cold War era and seek to look at the history in a new way. "Traditionally that era has mainly been viewed in terms of the global struggle between the Communist East, led by the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR), and the capitalist West, led by the United States. As that era recedes into history, however, it has become increasingly clear to historians that this East-West Cold War conflict was inextricably interconnected with the struggle against imperialism by peoples in Africa, the Middle East. southern Asia, and Latin America, often marginalized in that era collectively as the 'Third World' and depicted mainly for the roles they played in Cold War crises and conflicts," the authors explain.

In a newly-revised edition of "A Hard and Bitter Peace: A Global History of the Cold War," Judge and Langdon include a greater coverage of these "Third World peoples" within in the context of "portraying their struggles and endeavors not only as elements of the Cold War but also as nationalist movements seeking first to free themselves from imperial domination and then to exploit the East-West Cold War rivalry to gain the resources they needed to improve their economies and strengthen their nations."

The Two historians explore similar themes in "The Cold War Through Documents: A Global History," which offers new documents providing the perspectives of these "Third World peoples." And in "The Struggle Against Imperialism: Anti-Colonialism and the Cold War," Judge and Langdon say they, "portray the entire Cold War era in terms of the anti-imperialist efforts of Third World peoples to free themselves from colonial rule by European powers such as Britain, France, Portugal, Belgium, and The Netherlands, and then to exploit the Soviet-U.S. rivalry while also seeking to avoid domination by either of these superpowers."

All three books are available through Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. The authors will be giving a presentation and offering a book signing at the Dewitt Barnes & Noble on Wednesday, Dec. 5, from 6:30 to 7:30 pm.

Distant dreams



Recently retired Syracuse University professor, Antonio Casale, featured previously for his book "Winds of Love," has authored six books, four in English, one in Italian, and the most recent, in Spanish. Casale says that retirement, and the additional free time that comes with it doesn't necessarily create improved writing conditions, saying, "It all depends from inspiration. When I feel inspired, the time element is very relative. In fact, I can write a novel in a month. Conversely, when inspiration hides from me, it creates a vacuum around me and I fall in hibernation."

"Yo Presidenta" is the story of Coqui, a Mexican girl who dreams of immigrating to the United States and becoming the president of the country. Her desire to leave her country is fueled by both her family's poverty and the violent attentions of a young rich local, Riqui. In Guanajuato, Coqui briefly meets an American journalist and future politician, Tonito, who saves her from Riqui during a fight, but does not see her long enough to recognize her later.

Coqui is eventually able to pass the border, and ends up in Syracuse, where she attends the university and gets involved in politics helped by the invisible hand of Tonito, who has already gained national recognition as a political manager. The two continue on their individual paths until an important moment brings them back together.

When asked about how he addressed the idea of an immigrant becoming the President of the United States, Casale says, " I was able to circumvent it by 'supposing' that the Mexicans, whose territory was annexed, were considered born American citizens until the third generation. It was the same course of action which the Spanish government applied to the Naples' citizens."

"Yo Presidenta" is available from Amazon.

Have a book to share?

Are you a local author or have you come across a book set in Central New York? Tell us about it. Send a brief description of the book and the author and we'll add it as a candidate for coverage. Write us at features@syracuse.com.
SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- Jewish people in Central New York and around the world will begin celebrating Hanukkah this weekend.



This year Hanukkah begins Sunday night and lasts through Monday, Dec. 10.

On the first night of Hanukkah special prayers are recited, and one candle is lit on the menorah. Each night another candle is lit.



The eight-day commemoration of Hannukkah is based on the lunar calendar and therefore can fall anytime from late November to late December.

The Chabad Lubavitch of Central New York sets up public menorahs in downtown Syracuse, Hancock International Airport, Destiny, DeWitt and Fayetteville.

Organizers are encouraging people of all faiths to join them as a sign of support for the 11 people murdered in a synagogue in Pittsburgh on Oct. 27.

Here is the schedule for the lighting of community menorahs, sponsored by Chabad Lubavitch of Central New York:

Sunday, 5 p.m.: Clinton Square, downtown Syracuse. Syracuse Mayor Ben Walch will join Rabbi Yaakov T. Rapoport in the lighting of the menorah. Hot cider and chanukah gelt (chocolate coins) will be available

Monday, 4 p.m.: Clinton Square, downtown Syracuse.

Tuesday, 4 p.m.: Clinton Square, downtown Syracuse.

Wednesday, 4 p.m.: Clinton Square, downtown Syracuse.

Thursday, 4 p.m.: Clinton Square, downtown Syracuse

Friday, Dec. 7, 3:37 p.m.: Clinton Square, downtown Syracuse

Saturday, Dec. 8, 6:30 p.m.: Clinton Square, downtown Syracuse. Hot cider and donuts will be available.

Sunday, Dec. 9, 5 p.m.: Clinton Square, downtown Syracuse.



Historically, Hanukkah marks the victory of the Jews, led by the Maccabees, against the Syrian persecution and religious oppression more than 2,000 years ago. When the Maccabees came to rededicate their temple, they found only a small amount of oil - enough for only one day - to light the menorah. But the oil is said to have lasted eight days.








Roger Misso, of Red Creek, is a husband, father and veteran. He is founder and co-host of the podcast "2 Vets Upstate," and member of the Truman National Security Project Defense Council. The views here are his own.



By Roger Misso | Special to Syracuse.com



In his 1986 song, Billy Joel laments "the cold remains of what began with a passionate start." For military veterans of America, accessing benefits after their wartime service is, like the title of the song, "a matter of trust."

Today, that trust between veterans and the government is as broken as it has been in a generation.

One of the most sacred charges of government is the care of those who serve in its defense. Yet inevitably, politicians in the United States have proven time and again their inability to keep this charge. Promises of payment, whether in cash or land, were notoriously difficult to redeem for Americans in uniform from the Revolution to the Civil War. In 1932, the Bonus Army marched on Washington, D.C., to demand full payment for their service in World War I. It took the government decades to allow veterans exposed to Agent Orange access to sufficient treatment.



The United States government is again signaling a massive breach in veterans' trust. Just in the Trump administration alone, veterans have faced the following decisions:



* The perplexing rollback of GI Bill benefits for those who have served the longest;

* Mixed signals sent about the status of benefits for LGBTQ+ veterans;

* The rocky rollout of VA Choice, requiring many veterans to pay staggering medical costs out-of-pocket while waiting weeks or months for reimbursement;

* The specter of a president who still has not met with troops overseas serving in the longest conflict in our country's history.



Earlier this week, veterans woke up to news that their government purposefully broke its promise. In the wake of the recent IT failure that has resulted in missing GI Bill housing payments for tens of thousands of veterans, the Department of Veterans Affairs said it would not retroactively pay many of the affected veterans after the problem is fixed. These are veterans who planned their personal and family finances around a promise of payment from the government. It was a shocking abdication of responsibility.



The purported rationale was that retroactively paying veterans would simply be too hard. VA staff cited the burden that they "would potentially have to inspect 2 million claims." This came on the heels of a recent congressional subcommittee hearing where Veterans Benefit Administration leaders issued only a tepid claim of responsibility, refused to issue a deadline for a fix to their massive IT failure, and chose instead to blame the media for reporting the issue.



It was only after feeling pressure from Congress that the VA reversed itself and said it would pay what it owes to veterans.



As Americans, we can disagree on the size of government, the type and tenor of its policies, and those who serve in it as our representatives. But surely the one thing we can all agree on is that government must do its job. If mistakes are made, they should be corrected. If they continue to be made, we must have accountability. But no one in government should shirk their responsibilities because it is too hard.



"After you've heard lie upon lie," as the song goes, "there can hardly be a question of why." Government leaders and politicians must do their jobs or, for the sake of the country, step aside and allow more capable individuals to get to work and lead. All veterans -- and all citizens -- deserve better from their government.
Roy S. Gutterman is an associate professor and director of the Tully Center for Free Speech at the Newhouse School at Syracuse University.



The recent expulsion and reinstatement of CNN's White House reporter Jim Acosta might have been of major interest to those in the journalism world, but its message went beyond Washington.





Acosta's reinstatement was ordered by a federal judge after CNN went to court to challenge the ad hoc revocation of the reporter's press credentials to the White House. The White House said it was because the reporter was disruptive, but it was obvious that the root cause was deeper - President Donald Trump did not like the reporter, his questions or his employer. Thus, he was banished, but not without some good televised histrionics (perhaps another part of the problem).



Meanwhile, as CNN went to federal court with the backing and support of dozens of other networks, journalism and press advocacy groups (including the Tully Center for Free Speech, which signed onto an amicus brief supporting Acosta), the world was watching the unfolding of the story behind the death of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi.



As different as these two incidents are, there are also too many similarities. Khashoggi, as we now know, was lured to the Saudi Arabian embassy in Istanbul, Turkey, and murdered there in gruesome fashion, according to news and intelligence reports. Though the world may never truly know what happened to Khashoggi or why, we know that this brazen attack on a journalist reflects our current political climate. Though the president sort of condemned the attack, there really was little more than lip service coming out of the White House on this.



This is where the road leads with the president's constant cry of fake news and calling reporters enemies of the state. And, it has a contagious effect with dictators and strongmen around the world.



The United States has forfeited its moral high ground to criticize other leaders who routinely imprison, torture and sometimes kill journalists who tell the truth and question authority. Let's be clear: Revocation of a TV reporter's press pass is a far cry from jail, torture and murder. But this is the slippery slope that begins, as leaders in other countries feel emboldened when the United States leadership continues to make toxic statements about the press and then test the boundaries of the law and our First Amendment.



Though the United States has lost some of its international leadership on a range of global public policy issues over the past two years, our First Amendment is still an international model for press-government interactions. Perhaps the Acosta Affair can stand as symbol of the value of our First Amendment as well as the value of an independent judiciary.



U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly, a Trump appointee, ruled that Acosta's due process rights were violated by his expulsion. Though he did not find an explicit First Amendment right for reporters to go to the White House, once reporters are let in, there is "some kind of First Amendment liberty interest" at stake, he said from the bench, according to a lawyer involved in the case.



Though Kelly and the media lawyers played with legal nuance in both the arguments and the decision, there is nothing subtle about this case. The message is clear -- and others are hearing it.



A couple days before Thanksgiving, the Committee to Protect Journalists held its annual awards dinner in New York City, honoring journalists from around the world who have been imprisoned, tortured and killed. One honoree, Maria Ressa, a journalist from the Philippines, drew parallels between her country's anti-press strongman who seems inspired by American leadership. Much like CNN here, her news website, the Rappler, was declared "fake news," and she and other reporters were banned from the presidential palace. She has faced numerous legal challenges and repeated harassment.



"Because I am a journalist, I am labeled a criminal," she said. She went on, "Autocrats are learning from each other."



Not so long ago, free press and other human rights issues were a major area of American pride and exceptionalism. Though our government institutions are still strong enough -- so far -- to protect these rights, it seems as though these rights are slowly being chipped away. And, that is the wrong message to send to the rest of the world.



More from our guest columnists
The reported number of deer killed during opening weekend of the Southern Zone regular firearms season this fall (Nov. 17-18) was nearly identical to last year, according to the state Department of Environmental Conservation.

In many areas, snow that arrived two days before opening day provided ideal conditions. In other isolated areas, hunters found themselves trudging through a foot or more of the white stuff.

"Deer harvest reports through Nov. 18, are within 1 percent of reports through the same period in 2017, in both the Northern and Southern zones," DEC said. "The early snow has slowed bear harvests in the Northern Zone, while in the Southern Zone reports are nearly identical to 2017."

In addition, opening weekend in the Southern Zone was relatively accident-free, with no hunter fatalities - and it's stayed that way through today (Nov. 30).

Since the Southern Zone big game season opener, however, there have been nine hunting-related shooting incidents (HRSIs) that conservation officers have investigated as of Nov. 22. There was one personal injury and eight property damage incidents.

There has only been one hunting-related, shooting death during 2018 - a fatality that resulted from an Aug. 31 incident in Otsego County during a woodchuck hunt. No further information on the incident was released by the DEC.

"Several HRSIs are still under investigation, and details of each incident will be made available when the report is finalized early in 2019," DEC said.

During opening weekend, the DEC is reportedly investigating five, hunting-related shooting incidents, according to New York Outdoors News. They include:

*"A hunter in Alfred (Allegany County) shot two dogs he believed were coyotes. One was killed, the other survived;

*"A house was reportedly struck by a hunter's bullet in Wheeler (Steuben County);

*"A house was reportedly struck by a hunter's shot on Mount Morris (Livingston County);

*"An errant bullet from a hunter struck a home in Rush (Monroe County);

*A "hunter's shot struck a house in Coxsackie (Greene County);"

The majority of hunter's take of deer each year comes in the Southern Zone. Last year, a total of 203, 427 deer were taken -- 178, 076 in the Southern Zone, DEC reported.

https://www.syracuse.com/expo/sports/erry-2018/11/0a8d5db54d4f4/big-buck-bonanza-upstate-ny-fi.html
SYRACUSE, N.Y -- The owner of an Adirondack paper mill was fined $125,000 today in U.S. federal court for negligently dumping illegal waste water into a popular river.

APC Paper Group of New York, which operates a paper mill in Norfork, N.Y. in St. Lawrence County, pleaded guilty to "negligently discharging wastewater into the Raquette River between 2013 and 2015 in violation of the Clean Water Act." The signed plea agreement submitted and accepted by U.S. Magistrate Judge David E Peebles resulted in the fine and the company agreeing to an "environmental compliance plan requiring specific actions until Jan. 1, 2020.

According to a press release from the U.S. Attorney's office, "in pleading guilty, APC admitted to repeatedly violating the daily maximum and monthly average limits of bio-chemical oxygen demand (BOD) in its waste water in its discharges into the river."

The bio-chemical oxygen demand is the amount of dissolved oxygen in the water necessary for microorganisms in the water to break down organic material. BOD levels also provide an index for measuring the effect discharged wastewater will have on a body of fresh water receiving it.

In this case, the paper mill's Clean Water Act permit restricted the amount of BOD the company could discharge on a daily and monthly basis.

In addition, the company admitted in court that a former employee, Michael Ward, who pleaded guilty to similar criminal charges was aware of the bad discharges, failed to report them to his superiors and prepared "false and fraudulent monthly reports that were submitted to the DEC." The company stated, as part of its plea, that it failed to "meaningfully" supervise Ward to verify the accuracy of his reports.

The case was investigated by the United States Attorney's office (North District) and the DEC. It was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael F. Perry.

Gabriel M. Nugent, counsel for APC, emailed the following statement:

"APC immediately notified authorities when it learned of improper actions by a single former employee in early 2016, and has assisted and cooperated fully with the EPA and DEC investigations at all times. In addition, the company is fully committed to environmental compliance and is making a substantial investment in equipment to bring state-of-the art water treatment technologies to its plant. The former employee's malfeasance had no adverse effect on water quality or the local ecosystem."

Stretching from Piercefield to its confluence with the St Lawrence River east of Massena, the lower Raquette River, according to the DEC, "offers a pleasurable as well as varied outdoor experience for both the most ardent and the novice outdoor enthusiast. From white water canoeing to paddling and fishing on any number of reservoirs, the Raquette has something for everyone."

"With the exception of the last 2.2 miles of river near Massena, which lies in Franklin County, the lower Raquette is located entirely within St Lawrence County."
WASHINGTON -- The week before Thanksgiving, Rep.-elect Anthony Brindisi delivered the news to Nancy Pelosi: He won't support her historic bid to regain the House Speaker's post, and there's nothing that will change his mind.

Brindisi, D-Utica, told Pelosi in a private meeting in her Capitol office that he made a pledge to voters in the 22nd Congressional District, and he wasn't about to break a campaign promise in his first vote in Congress.

"We had a very cordial conversation," Brindisi said of the brief meeting with Pelosi. "I reiterated what I said on the campaign trail: I think it's time for change and new leadership."

Brindisi said he kept that promise Wednesday when he was among 32 members of the House Democratic Caucus who voted to oppose Pelosi's nomination to serve as the party's leader and Speaker of the House next year.

Pelosi won the secret-ballot vote 203-32, with three blank ballots and one absentee vote, enough to win the nomination in the closed-door caucus meeting.

But Pelosi will need to convince at least at least 15 more Democrats to support her in time for a planned Jan. 3 floor vote of the full House. At least 218 votes will be needed in the 435-member House to elect a speaker if all members cast votes and none vote "present."

Pelosi will spend the next month trying to persuade holdout Democrats - including new members like Brindisi - to help her become the first person to win back the House Speaker's job in 63 years. In 2007 she made history as the first woman to serve in the post.

Brindisi, in an interview Thursday during a break in orientation sessions for new members of Congress, said there's nothing Pelosi can do to convince him to support her on Jan. 3. And he's prepared to pay the price for opposing her.

That's one reason Brindisi didn't hesitate to reveal his secret-ballot vote on Wednesday. He said he checked "no" next to Pelosi's name on the paper ballot that he deposited in a wooden box in the caucus room.

On Jan. 3, House members will have to state their vote publicly in a recorded floor vote. Brindisi said he hasn't decided yet who he will support for speaker, a difficult task since no other Democrat has formally declared their candidacy.

With so much at stake, Brindisi said, he expects that Pelosi and other top Democrats will continue to lobby him up until the January vote.

About a half dozen senior Democrats, some in leadership positions, talked with Brindisi before Wednesday's vote and asked him to support Pelosi, 78, who has served more than 30 years in the House.

Brindisi declined to disclose the names of those who contacted him. He said none of the Democratic House members made threats or suggested there would be consequences if he didn't support Pelosi.

"There was no message," Brindisi said. "They were just asking me about my vote for speaker. I said that I made a pledge during the campaign that I was not going to vote for Leader Pelosi, and I intend to follow through with that commitment.

"Honestly, there was really no pressure," he added. "They just wanted to know where I stood."

Brindisi said he is aware his position could cost him an assignment to a top House committee, but he said it's not worth breaking a campaign promise.

Brindisi said he also knows those who oppose Pelosi could be frozen out if earmarks are restored next year. Democrats have discussed bringing back the appropriations, often viewed as pork-barrel spending, that benefit the districts of individual members of Congress. Republicans banned earmarks after winning the majority in 2010.

"No one has raised any kind of retribution issue with me," Brindisi said. "But I'd be lying if I didn't say I was concerned. I want to be on an equal footing with all of the other members. I would hope my decision not to support her doesn't hurt our district."

Brindisi has good reason to be worried. Pelosi has a history of seeking revenge against Democrats whom she does not consider loyal.

In 2002 Pelosi backed a Democratic challenger to Rep. John Dingell, a long-serving Michigan congressman, after Dingell did not vote for Pelosi to serve as the party's whip in 2001, the New York Times Magazine reported this month.

Jane Harman, a Democrat from California, lost a 2007 bid to chair the House Intelligence Committee after a "mysterious falling out with Pelosi," the Times reported.

But Pelosi may be reluctant to punish Brindisi because he represents a traditionally Republican district that Democrats will seek to hold in 2020.

Brindisi became the first Democrat in at least 60 years to unseat a Republican in the Utica-based congressional district when he defeated Rep. Claudia Tenney R-New Hartford, by about 4,000 votes this month.

Only one other Democrat, Michael Arcuri of Utica, has represented the region over the past 60 years. He won an open seat in 2006 after former Rep. Sherwood Boehlert, R-New Hartford, retired.

Republicans have an enrollment advantage of almost 30,000 voters in the 22nd District, which Donald Trump carried by about 15 percentage points in the 2016 presidential election.

After Brindisi told syracuse.com in May that he wouldn't support Pelosi to lead the party, he continued to receive financial support from her and Democratic House leaders during the campaign.

House Majority PAC, a super PAC aligned with Pelosi, spent more than $2.5 million on the 22nd District campaign, according to disclosure reports filed with the Federal Election Commission.

Pelosi's congressional campaign and her leadership PAC, PAC to the Future, also donated at least $14,000 directly to Brindisi's campaign, FEC records show.

Contact Mark Weiner: Email | Twitter | Facebook | 571-970-3751
WASHINGTON -- Reps. John Katko and Claudia Tenney are both moving out of their offices on Capitol Hill in an election-year rite that rewards senior members of Congress and underscores the price paid by those who go down to defeat.

Tenney, R-New Hartford, who conceded defeat this week to Rep.-elect Anthony Brindisi, quickly cleared out of her fifth-floor suite in the Cannon House Office Building.

By Thursday afternoon, Tenney's name plate had been ripped off the wall and papers had piled up outside the office door.

Her office has been assigned a single cubicle in what staffers refer to as the basement -- a converted banquet room on the ground floor of the Rayburn House Office building that will be shared by some 65 outgoing members of Congress for the next month until the end of their term.

Each cubicle has one computer work station and one phone. Staffers usually take turns occupying the cubicle during the work day.

Katko, R-Camillus, who was elected to a third term in November, had a very different week. He's enjoying some of the perks that come with seniority.

When it came time to hold an office lottery for his class of lawmakers, he picked No. 3 out of almost 40. That gave Katko a choice of prime office space, allowing him to score a larger office with a view of the Washington Monument in the Rayburn building.

Katko's existing office in the Longworth House Office building has a generic view of an interior courtyard.

Brindisi, D-Utica, was not as fortunate Friday when it came time for the office lottery for incoming House freshmen. Brindisi picked No. 79 out of 85 numbered chips that determine the order in which members can choose an office. That means he will likely end up with one of the least desirable offices on Capitol Hill.

Tenney plans to continue serving 22nd Congressional District residents through her existing office phone lines and email, said Hannah Andrews, her chief of staff.

Papers pile up Thursday, Nov. 29, 2018 at Rep. Claudia Tenney's former office on Capitol Hill in Washington ,D.C.

Andrews said the office is still scheduling meetings and coordinating tours of the Capitol and White House.

"Nothing has changed with our constituent service," Andrews said via email. "We will continue to operate in the same way despite not having office space."

Contact Mark Weiner: Email | Twitter | Facebook | 571-970-3751
SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- As Miles Bottrill, the newest Onondaga County legislator, was sworn in this morning, he vowed to fight poverty.

County Executive Ryan McMahon today appointed Bottrill to the seat left vacant when McMahon took over his role earlier this month. McMahon was selected by his colleagues on the legislature to take over as county executive after Joanie Mahoney's departure for a job with the state.

Botrrill, 57, of Syracuse, will serve as the representative for the county's 15th District, which covers a large swath of the city of Syracuse as well as Geddes and Onondaga.

Bottrill, a Republican, was sworn into office by New York Supreme Court Associate Justice Edward Carni at the Bob Cecile Community Center in Syracuse's Valley neighborhood. Bottrill is a former Key Bank executive and currently works in fundraising at Syracuse University's law school.

Several other county legislators attended the event, as well as county Republican Party chairman Tom Dadey.

In his remarks, Bottrill said poverty was a top issue.

Bottrill and McMahon discussed the importance of economic development in tackling poverty in the region.

McMahon talked about his efforts to revamp the county's economic development office and take advantage of Central New York's existing businesses and assets.

McMahon said he wanted the county to help the city and other local municipalities revive business districts, such as the Salina Street corridor around the corner from the community center where the swearing-in was held.

Bottrill said living in the city and serving as a city councilor for eight years ending in 2001 made the area and city residents dear to him.

Bottrill said he would be focused on ensuring that economic development did not overlook small businesses and people struggling to find jobs.

He said he believed in offering smart incentives to bring businesses to the area.

"In turn, that provides opportunities for those who might not have jobs, to help lift them out of poverty and give them a sense of self-worth," Bottrill said. "Economic development initiatives and the incentives we can provide helps business -- and helps folks in the community."

McMahon emphasized Bottrill's city roots and service to the city council in describing why he selected Bottrill for the post.

"The voice of city residents will be heard," McMahon said. "That's very important to me."

Public Affairs Reporter Julie McMahon covers courts, government and other issues affecting taxpayers. She can be reached anytime: Email | Twitter | 315-412-1992
NEW YORK (AP) -- Six New York hospitals have agreed to repay sexual assault victims who were illegally charged as much as $3,000 for rape examinations that should've been billed to the state or their insurers, Attorney General Barbara Underwood said Thursday.

The hospitals -- five in New York City and the other in suburban Rockland County -- wrongly billed victims for at least 200 forensic rape exams in recent years and had collections agencies go after some women who failed to pay, Underwood said.

"Survivors of sexual assault have already gone through unfathomable trauma," Underwood, a Democrat, said in a statement. "To then subject them to illegal bills and collection calls is unconscionable."

The hospitals have agreed to enact new billing policies to ensure that going forward victims don't get charged. Each hospital will pay a fine of up to $15,000.

The federal Violence Against Women Act prohibits hospitals from charging assault survivors for rape kits. New York law mandates that hospitals instead bill the state's Office of Victim Services unless a victim decides to have the cost covered by insurance.

Columbia University Medical Center in Manhattan, which billed at least 24 victims for rape exams between January 2016 and November 2017 and sent 19 to collections, said that under its new policy it won't charge the state or insurance companies, either.

"Our patients are our top priority," the hospital said in a statement. "We are committed to providing sexual assault survivors, and everyone who comes to our hospital, high quality care with the sensitivity they deserve."

Under state law, the Office of Victim Services covers the cost of the forensic examiner, facilities, laboratory testing and pharmaceuticals. It doesn't pay for treatment of cuts, broken limbs or counseling.

Underwood said having the Office of Victim Services pick up the tab helps ensure privacy and confidentiality and increases the likelihood that a victim will allow for an examination, which increases the ability of law enforcement to identify offenders.

Sonia Ossorio, president of the New York chapter of the National Organization for Women, commended Underwood for "taking this critical step in ending the unlawful practice of billing rape survivors" for the exams.

"It is of the utmost importance that survivors are given every tool and support possible to come forward, report the crime if that is what they wish to do, and to lower any barriers to reporting," Ossorio said.

The attorney general's office started looking into rape kit billing after it received a complaint that a sex assault victim was billed seven separate times for a forensic rape exam at Brooklyn Hospital Center.

It said it found pervasive failures to advise patients of their payment options and widespread unlawful billing of victims, with bills issued by the six hospitals ranging from approximately $46 to $3,000 each.

A settlement with Brooklyn Hospital reached about a year ago served as a model for the ones announced Thursday. The hospitals covered by those agreements are: Brookdale University Hospital Medical Center and New York-Presbyterian/Brooklyn Methodist Hospital in Brooklyn, St. Barnabas Hospital in the Bronx, Richmond University Medical Center in Staten Island and Montefiore Nyack Hospital in Rockland County.

Montefiore Nyack spokeswoman Lauren Malone said the hospital has "worked very closely with the attorney general's office to ensure that proper protocols were implemented to avoid any further occurrences."

"We regret the error and acted immediately to provide reparations to any individual affected," Malone said.
BYRON, N.Y. - A man police believe abducted a teenager Thursday morning in Western New York, prompting an Amber Alert, was arrested Monday and charged with rape and other crimes.

Guillermo Torres-Acevedo, 22, of Batavia, was arrested by state police Monday morning on charges of second-degree rape, second-degree criminal sex act--both felonies--as well as two counts of endangering the welfare of a child, a misdemeanor.

He was arraigned and released on cash bail, according to state police records.

Torres-Acevedo is accused of taking 14-year-old Kamerie E. Elliot around 8 a.m. from West Bergen Road in Byron, Genesee County.

Kamerie Elliot, left, and Guillermo Torres-Acevedo, right.

Kamerie is described as white, with hazel eyes and brown hair that was recently dyed blue. She is about 4 feet 11 inches tall and weighs approximately 140 pounds.

Torres-Acevedo is described as Hispanic, with black hair and brown eyes. He is about 5 feet 6 inches tall and weighs approximately 180 pounds.

According to an Amber Alert, a vehicle similar to the blue Dodge Journey pictured in this photo was used in the abduction of Kamerie Elliot.

The Dodge Journey SUV police believe Torres-Acevedo used in the abduction was last spotted traveling north on West Bergen Road, with New York license plate number HHP5458.

Troopers asked anyone who wants to report a sighting or share information to call (866) NYS-AMBER or 911.
CNN fired Marc Lamont Hill on Thursday after the longtime contributor made comments about Israel during a United Nations speech.

Hill, a media studies professor at Temple University, had drawn scrutiny for calling for a "free Palestine from the river to the sea." The words drew criticism from some conservatives and staunch Israel advocates, who said such remarks echoed language used by Hamas and other groups that seek to eliminate Israel.

"Marc Lamont Hill is no longer under contract with CNN," spokeswoman Barbara Levin told The Washington Post. The company did not answer questions about why he was dismissed. The firing was first reported by Mediaite.

Some mainstream Jewish groups, including the Anti-Defamation League, expressed frustration with Hill's remarks, which also included endorsing the boycott, divestment and sanctions movement against Israel. Fox News also fanned the flames.

Hill has been pushing back against the criticism, arguing that the detractors were ascribing to his statements meaning that wasn't there.

"At no point did I endorse, support, or even mention Hamas. This is dishonest," he said Wednesday on Twitter. "I was very clear in my comments about desiring freedom, justice, and self-determination for EVERYONE."

On Thursday, he issued a lengthier explanation for his statements. "I support Palestinian freedom. I support Palestinian self-determination. I am deeply critical of Israeli policy and practice," Hill wrote. "I do not support anti-Semitism, killing Jewish people, or any of the other things attributed to my speech. I have spent my life fighting these things."

He said that the "river to the sea" phrase dates to the early 20th century and "has never been the exclusive province of a particular ideological camp."

"This means that all areas of historic Palestine - e.g., West Bank, Gaza, Israel - must be spaces of freedom, safety, and peace for Palestinians," he wrote. "The idea that this is a Hamas phrase is simply untrue."

Some used the news of Lamont's firing to attack CNN.

"FINALLY FIRED," wrote Sebastian Gorka, a former aide to President Donald Trump. "Now for the rest of the Anti-Semites @CNN and the rest of the Left embrace."
ECJ Rules French Dividend Tax Rules Breach EU Law

by Ulrika Lomas, Tax-News.com, Brussels

30 November 2018

The European Court of Justice has ruled in favor of three Belgian companies that had challenged the legality of France's decision to refuse a refund of withholding tax collected on dividends paid by a resident company to a loss-making non-resident company.

Between 2008 and 2011, Belgian companies Sofina, Rebelco, and Sidro received dividends as shareholders in French companies, it said.

A French resident company receiving dividend income would include such income in its corporate income tax taxable income but that income would effectively be exempt from tax, due to tax relief provisions for loss-making companies, temporarily if the company is not profitable, and permanently if that company never returns to profitability and/or ceases trading.

However, Belgian companies receiving income from a French resident are liable to French withholding tax, reduced under the Belgian-French DTA to 15 percent. The Belgian recipient was likewise loss-making and never returned to being profitable. The Belgian companies' request for a refund of that tax, owing to the disparity in treatment, was rejected.

That difference in treatment of companies in different member states in the same circumstances was said to constitute a restriction from the free movement of capital under Article 63 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU).

The French Council of State referred questions to the ECJ, asking whether Articles 63 and 65 of the TFEU must be interpreted as meaning that the cash-flow disadvantage resulting from the application of withholding tax to dividends paid to loss-making non-resident companies, while loss-making resident companies are not taxed on the amount of the dividends they receive until the year when, if at all, they return to profitability, constitutes in itself a difference in treatment characterizing a restriction on the free movement of capital?

The ECJ found in favor of the Belgian companies, agreeing that the difference in treatment between a loss-making resident company and a loss-making non-resident company created an advantage for the resident company.

It ruled: "The national legislation at issue in the main proceedings is liable to procure an advantage for loss-making resident companies, since it gives rise, at the very least, to a cash-flow advantage, or even an exemption in the event of that company ceasing trading, whereas non-resident companies are subject to immediate and definitive taxation irrespective of their results."

Such a difference in tax treatment of dividends dependent on the place of residence of the companies receiving those dividends is liable to deter non-resident companies from investing in companies established in France, and investors residing in France from purchasing holdings in non-resident companies.

The Court said it follows that the national legislation at issue in the main proceedings constitutes a restriction on the free movement of capital, which is, in principle, prohibited by Article 63(1) of the TFEU.

The Court also said that the restriction cannot be justified against the tests in established EU case-law; that any difference in treatment must concern situations which are not objectively comparable or be justified by an overriding reason in the public interest.

The ECJ ruled: "Articles 63 and 65 TFEU must be interpreted as precluding the legislation of a member state, such as that at issue in the main proceedings, pursuant to which the dividends paid by a resident company are subject to a withholding tax when they are received by a non-resident company, whereas, when such dividends are received by a resident company, under the general corporation tax rules they are subject to taxation at the end of the financial year in which they were received only if the latter company was profitable in that financial year, and such taxation may, where applicable, never be levied if that company ceases trading without becoming profitable after receiving those dividends."
Netherlands Announces Stricter Rules For Tax Rulings

by Ulrika Lomas, Tax-News.com, Brussels

30 November 2018

On November 22, 2018, the Dutch Ministry of Finance announced changes to the country's tax ruling regime intended to ensure that only taxpayers meeting certain substance requirements are granted tax rulings.

According to the announcement, tax rulings will not be issued to taxpayers if the sole purpose of the ruling is to avoid either Dutch or foreign tax. This restriction includes rulings on transactions with low-tax jurisdictions having a corporate tax rate of less than nine percent and with jurisdictions included on the European Union's tax blacklist.

Substance tests must already be met in some cases of companies seeking a tax ruling in the Netherlands, but not all. Such tests include that at least half of the company's board reside in the Netherlands. Under the new rules taxpayers will have to meet stricter economic nexus requirements in order to obtain a tax ruling. These include that the company has a sufficient number of employees to carry out its tasks, that staffing levels are in proportion to the rest of the group, and that the level of the company's costs are in proportion to its activities. The company's activities must also relate to those carried out by the group as a whole.

The Government also plans to increase the transparency of the tax ruling process, and will publish an anonymous summary of international rulings immediately after they are issued, in addition to an annual tax ruling report. A panel of independent experts will also examine whether the rulings have been issued within the law on an annual basis, the Ministry said.

In another key change, tax rulings will have a maximum validity of five years. This can be extended to 10 years under "exceptional circumstances," the Ministry explained.

The Government intends that these new rules will be effective from July 1, 2019.
Swiss Government Signs Off On Tax, Trade Issues

by Ulrika Lomas, Tax-News.com, Brussels

30 November 2018

Switzerland's Government has recently decided on a number of trade matters and reviewed its plans for changes to how it administers vehicle taxes.

Approval of trade deals with Ecuador and Turkey

On November 21, the Swiss Federal Council approved two trade deals signed on June 25: a new trade deal between the European Free Trade Association (EFTA, which comprises Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Norway, and Iceland) and Ecuador and a modernized trade deal with Turkey. The deals will now be submitted to the Federal Assembly for approval.

The EFTA-Ecuador FTA will lead to repeal of all customs duties on imports of industrial products, including fish and other marine products, originating in Ecuador. Ecuador will gradually eliminate or reduce customs duties on these products. The agreement also provides for tariff concessions on both basic and processed agricultural products.

The Turkish FTA already provides for full exemption from Turkish customs duty on industrial products but new provisions have been added on mutual recognition of conformity assessment, rules of origin, the protection of intellectual property, trade in services, and trade in sustainable development. It will also introduce additional concessions on processed agricultural products.

Restructuring of customs investigations units

The Government has also announced that the Swiss Federal Customs Administration is to be reorganized to improve its customs investigation remit. The Customs Investigation sections currently under the individual directorates of customs will be merged with the Central Customs Investigation section and the Criminal Matters and Appeals Division. Together they will form a new Main Customs Investigation Division. The Swiss Federal Council said that the reorganization is necessary in order to make the fight against smuggling and financial fraud more effective.

The FCA is the prosecuting authority and the authority that passes judgment in cases of violations of the Customs Act and 16 other federal acts. Its prosecuting powers are currently exercised by four district directorates of customs and the Directorate General of Customs.

Vehicle tax system reforms

Finally, the Swiss Federal Council has confirmed that it has decided not to fully do away with the motorway tax sticker and to instead supplement it with an electronic alternative that can be used on a voluntary basis. The adhesive motorway tax sticker was introduced in 1985.

The Council has proposed that, rather than completely replacing the adhesive motorway tax sticker system, vehicle owners should be free to decide whether they wish to continue to affix an adhesive tax sticker to their vehicle for the use of motorways subject to a toll or prefer to use an online system.

Those who opt to use the electronic version will be required to register their vehicle's number plate in the system via an online application. As before, checks will be carried out by the police and the Federal Customs Administration.

The Council has asked the Federal Department of Finance to prepare a corresponding dispatch by mid-2019.
The UK Parliament's Economic Affairs Finance Bill Sub-Committee has proposed that provisions should be stripped from the Finance Bill that would extend the time limit on assessing offshore tax to 12 years.

Currently the limit is four years. This can be extended to six years where a taxpayer has failed to take reasonable care, and to 20 years in cases where there is deliberately non-compliant behavior amounting to fraud.

In a letter to the Chancellor on November 6, 2018, the chair of the Committee, Lord Forsyth of Drumlean, outlined the Finance Bill Sub-Committee's interim conclusions on the draft Finance Bill 2018. It is due to table a report for parliamentary consideration shortly.

In its letter to the Government, the Sub-Committee said: "There was deep and consistent opposition to this measure from witnesses to our inquiry, primarily because the impact would extend beyond the high net worth individuals at whom one might expect it was targeted. The Low Incomes Tax Reform Group were concerned that many individuals affected by clauses 33 and 34 would be elderly people on low incomes. They, together with several other witnesses, suggested the measure be withdrawn, or at least replaced by something more proportionate and targeted."

It noted that: "The only reason given for the extension in the consultation document was that offshore matters are complex and take a long time to resolve. Witnesses disagreed with this assertion."

"Pinsent Masons LLP noted that while a 'complex offshore structure' may cause delay, the powers would also apply where there was no complexity, or where only a small amount of tax is at stake." It said: "'Offshore' does not equal complexity in the drafting of this measure: having a holiday home, shares in an overseas listed company, an overseas bank account, or small pension would be enough to bring a taxpayer within its scope."

"This could affect many thousands of taxpayers. Now that the Common Reporting Standard has been adopted by over 100 countries it should be more straightforward for HMRC to obtain any information it needs from overseas tax authorities. It is therefore difficult to understand why this proposal has been brought forward now."

"It is also unclear how the period of 12 years was arrived at. There was no consideration in the consultation of alternative time periods. [...] The evidence we received emphasized that [existing] time limits should be sufficient in relation to both offshore and onshore matters."

"The draft proposals would treble the normal time limit for compliant taxpayers and double the limit for those who fail to take reasonable care. In doing so it would remove the distinction between fully compliant and careless taxpayers, which makes the existing time limits proportionate. Compliant and non-compliant would be treated alike. This would disregard an important design principle in the tax system: that honest taxpayers have a fundamental right to certainty and closure after a reasonable time. This risks the removal of an important safeguard for compliant taxpayers."

"Under the proposal, all those with offshore elements to their tax affairs would have to wait a lengthy period before they could achieve certainty and settle matters finally. In the meantime, they would have to retain records to deal with any questions HMRC may raise. The longer after the event a question is raised, the more difficult this would be. We consider this unreasonable onerous and disproportionate to the risk."

"Some witnesses suggested that this proposal could have been necessitated by resource problems in HMRC and that without the appropriately trained staff needed to work cases with an offshore element, HMRC cannot complete them in a reasonable timescale."

"It would certainly be wrong for the Government to choose to place disproportionate burdens on taxpayers and erode important taxpayer safeguards instead of funding HMRC sufficiently to conduct offshore inquiries in a timely manner."

"The Association of Taxation Technicians suggested the legislation be amended to exclude from the extended time limits those taxpayers who have made all the necessary information available to HMRC at the appropriate time. Subsection 7 of Clause 33 contains an exclusion for situations where HMRC has received the information it needs from an overseas tax authority within the normal time limits and could make an assessment within those time limits. Inexplicably, there is no parallel provision for the situation where the information has been provided by the taxpayer."

The Committee concluded: "We see no logic in the application of this exclusion to situations where information has been supplied by overseas tax authorities, but not where the same information has been supplied by the taxpayer."

It said: "On the whole, this measure is unnecessary and undesirable. We recommend that it is withdrawn from the Bill."

The Committee instead recommended that the Government should start a fresh dialogue with representatives of tax professionals to consider how offshore tax matters can be managed more effectively.
Arlo plans to launch a 4K security camera in 2019, potentially stealing a lead on competitors and kicking off a new race in the smart home security market.

The Arlo Ultra camera looks similar to the company's existing battery-powered smart home security cameras and will stream 4K video to users and record it. That's a step beyond the IQ Outdoor camera from Nest, which uses a 4K image sensor but is only capable of streaming in high definition. Compared to HD, a 4K image has four times the resolution and that should mean extra clarity and more detail when users zoom in on images.

It will cost $400.

The camera also supports HDR (high-dynamic range), which attempts to even out differences in dark and bright areas of an image, as well as color night vision, the company said.

4K video requires more bandwidth and more storage space than HD, although Arlo didn't immediately say what speed of home Internet line would be required. An HD camera typically needs an upload speed of around 1Mbps so the Ultra will likely be in the 3-5Mbps range.

Arlo The Arlo Ultra camera, base station and accessories.

Users will be able to watch 4K video streamed live from the camera. A basic Arlo Smart Premier subscription ($120/year) will cover 30 days of cloud recording in high-definition but you'll have to pay an as-yet-undisclosed premium for cloud 4K storage. Users will also be able to pop an SD card into the Arlo base station for free local 4K recording and storage.

One of the reasons Arlo has scored so highly in TechHive's reviews and testing is a generous 1-week of free cloud storage, well beyond what major competitors offer. Arlo wasn't willing to commit to continuing the offer for 4K footage.

The Arlo Ultra also comes with a built-in LED light, but the company declined to say how bright it is or whether it compares to the company's recently launched a set of stand-alone home security lights

Arlo The Arlo Ultra camera.

A new base station will be supplied with the camera, which will be compatible with existing cameras. So current owners will be able to swap it out without affecting their existing setup, according to the company.

Like current Arlo cameras, the Ultra runs on batteries and connects to the base station over a wireless link. That means no cables are required, offering ultimate flexibility in where the camera can be mounted. Arlo uses a magnetic mount to attach cameras to a wall. For the new Ultra, Arlo says the microphones and batteries have been upgraded.

Arlo The Arlo Ultra camera.

The Arlo Ultra is promised for the first quarter of 2019 and will be on display at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas in January.
Did you know that Microsoft doesn't back up your 365 data? Avoid data loss. Back up your company's Office 365 mailboxes, Teams, and files stored within OneDrive and Sharepoint. Get your free trial of Altaro Office 365 Backup.

Facebook at one time considered charging companies for access to its user data, according to a Wall Street Journal report based on three pages of unredacted material from an 18-page document showing portions of some internal Facebook emails, mainly from about 2012 to 2014.

The documents are linked to a lawsuit, Six4Three LLC v. Facebook Inc., filed in California Superior Court, San Mateo County (Redwood City).

Six4Three, the developer of Pikini, a now-defunct app for locating photos of users friends in swimsuits, filed a complaint in 2015 alleging that Facebooks data policies were anticompetitive and favored certain companies over others.

The app failed because Facebook restricted developers access to friends data in 2015, a move that doomed Six4Threes business plan, according to the complaint. Facebook has denied the allegations and accused Six4Three of making sensational claims and mischaracterizing its internal records to get attention from the media.

When the app came out, the press [reports] noted it was quite creepy, Facebook spokesperson Katy Dormer pointed out.

The whole objective of this lawsuit is to get Facebook to reverse platform changes we made in 2014 and 2015 giving access to all developers to information about friends and friends of friends information, Dormer told TechNewsWorld. [Six4Three] want us to enable those same sharing abilities that Cambridge Analytica exploited, and thats not something were going to do.

The Documents Circuitous Path

The sensitive documents were supposed to remain sealed in the California court case.

However, Ted Kramer, one of Six4Threes principals, apparently handed them over to Damian Collins, head of the UK Parliaments Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee when Kramer made a business trip to London.

Kramer reportedly had refused to provide the documents at first, but acceded after Collins suggested he could go to prison for defying an order from the UK parliament. Kramer then found some files in his laptop that he claimed not to have read, and copied them onto a flash drive for Collins.

Collins said over the weekend that he was free under UK law to disclose the Facebook documents.

What the Emails Reveal

The emails Collins released show that Facebook discussed ways to monetize its user data the way some other tech firms have done. One Facebook employee suggested shutting down data access across the board to all apps that did not spend at least US$250,000 a year to maintain access to that data.

In one email exchange, Facebook employees reportedly offered to extend the Tinder dating apps access to user data at no charge, in return for the use of Tinders Moments trademark.

The trademark dispute with Facebook over Moments was resolved years ago, Tinder said, adding that it did not receive special treatment, data or access related to the dispute or its resolution.

Another set of emails dealt with Facebook negotiating a special agreement with Amazon in 2013. One Facebook employee said it would result in Amazon getting less access to data, and another responded that Facebook either would have a disappointing conversation with Amazon or a strategic conversation in the context of the broader deal discussions, the Journal reported.

Another set of emails dealt with the Royal Bank of Canadas access to Facebook user data. One Facebook employee asked whether the bank had an agreement requiring it to spend a certain amount on advertising each year. Another responded that the bank would run one of the biggest mobile app-install ad campaigns ever run in Canada.

The bank maintained that it never had a minimum marketing spend or target agreement with Facebook.

Taking Care of Business

The documents at the center of the WSJ story reflect internal conversations where we were trying to build a sustainable business with the developers of apps, Facebooks Dormer pointed out.

Like any organization, we were discussing what we should do and, instead of charging developers, we ultimately decided to give them APIs for free.

Facebook had just emerged from its IPO in May 2012  then the largest technology IPO in United States history. The company offered more than 421 million shares at $38 each and raised more than $16 billion.

The companys performance immediately following the IPO was disappointing, however. Facebook had not yet developed a strategy to generate revenue from its mobile product, and it was struggling with a data sharing policy that gave tens of thousands of outside app developers access to private information about its users through its developer platform, while the company got nothing back in return.

The emails Wall Street Journal reporters saw lacked context and in some cases were truncated, the paper reported.

Facebook had said in other court filings that the excerpts subsequently were redacted because they contained sensitive discussions of its internal strategic analysis of third-party applications, releasing information that could damage Facebooks relationships with developers.

Further, the documents are only part of the story, and the way they were presented was misleading, Facebooks Dormer maintained.

San Mateo County Superior Judge V. Raymond Swope, who is hearing the Six4Three suit, apparently thinks so as well. He has written that the company has not convinced him that the documents in question are relevant to the case. He reportedly said that Six4Threes lawyers were engaging in brute litigation overkill.

Groping for an Identity

Facebook has been conflicted since its founding, noted Michael Jude, program manager at Stratecast/Frost & Sullivan.

Is it a common carrier, or is it a service provider that delivers a service in exchange for access to subscriber data? he asked.

If its a common carrier, it has to abide by common carriage rules with equal access, and must provide protections for subscriber personal data, Jude told TechNewsWorld.

If, on the other hand, Facebook is a service provider, then it can do anything it wants as long as it has the explicit agreement from its subscribers that it can, he said.

Six4Threes Chances

Facebook wants the best of both worlds, so it has to monetize access somehow, and this involves selling access to subscriber data for fun and profit, Jude noted.

This generates dissonance in what it does over time, he said. Currently the argument is between the privacy hawks and Facebooks business customers. I suspect theyll weigh the penalties of offending each and pick the least painful financially.

Given that, said Jude, I think Six4Three is out of luck.
The big picture: Rumors surfaced earlier this year that Amazon was considering offering branded checking accounts but in a surprise move, it's T-Mobile that's first to the table with such an offering.

T-Mobile has quietly introduced a mobile banking service that looks to compete with traditional banks for customers financial needs.

T-Mobile Money is a checking account service offered in partnership with BankMobile, a division of Customers Bank. There are no maintenance fees, no account fees, no overdraft fees and no minimum balances and youll have access to over 55,000 fee-free ATMs worldwide. Tap to pay works with Apple Pay, Google Pay and Samsung Pay, were told, and theres even mobile check depositing.

Like a traditional checking account, youll also get a debit card. Accounts carry the typical FDIC insurance on balances up to $250,000.

You dont have to be a T-Mobile customer to sign up although if you are, youll get extra perks like 4.00 percent APY on balances up to $3,000 (so long as you deposit at least $200 into your account each month). The standard APY is 1.00 percent.

As a digital bank, theres no easy way to deposit cash into your account. To do so, youll have to get a money order or cashiers check made out to yourself then deposit that using the mobile check deposit feature. Alternately, you could deposit cash into another bank account then transfer that over but that kind of defeats the purpose. Its also not possible to link an international bank account to your T-Mobile Money account.

T-Mobile Money is available on a limited basis. Head over to the T-Mobile Money website if youre interested in learning more or signing up.

Lead image courtesy r.classen, Shutterstock
What just happened? Apple has once again removed hundreds of apps from its Chinese App Store. This time, however, the purge was reportedly for violating company policy, rather than coming at the behest of Chinas government.

According to the Telegraph, the apps were banned for ignoring Apple rules that require updates be performed through the App Store. The system allows Apple to approve any updates, thereby making sure that they dont contain security issues or anything the company disallows.

It seems the 718 Chinese applications that were removed had been pushing updates directly to the apps and not via the store. Its a restriction that Apple has been enforcing for over a year, so its unlikely the developers didnt know about it.

Some of the affected apps are quite popular, such as ones from Sogou, which has been called Chinas answer to Google, and online retailer Pinduodo.

Exactly why the removal took place now is unclear. Back in August, Apple pulled 25,000 apps from its store in China following criticism from the state-run media, which accused it of allowing banned content on the platform. At least 4000 of these were illegal gambling apps.

Back in 2017, Apple removed several popular virtual private network (VPN) apps from the Chinese App Store, which are a popular way of circumventing the countrys Great Firewall.

With China reportedly responsible for 40 percent of Apples app store revenue, its not surprising to see the company kowtowing to the government and its strict restrictions on content. With the latest apps being removed for failing to adhere to Apples rules, however, a route back onto the store might be available if the developers start following policy.

Image Credit: Shutterstock
In context: US lawmakers have issued another letter to Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos demanding details on the companys facial recognition software called Rekognition. This is the third attempt by Congress to get sufficient answers regarding the program and its sale to law enforcement agencies.

Rekognition came under scrutiny when it was reported that it misidentified 28 Congressmen as criminals back in July. It is worth mentioning that the ACLU performed the test and did not publish its methodology. However, those on Capitol Hill took note and immediately drafted two letters  one from the House of Representatives and one from the Senate.

Both letters asked Amazon for more information regarding the facial recognition software. While Amazon did respond to the inquiries, Congress was apparently not satisfied with some of its answers.

On Thursday, Senator Ed Markey and Representatives Luis Gutierrez, Jimmy Gomez, Jan Schakowsky, Pramila Jayapal, Ro Khanna, Judy Chu, and John Lewis penned a third letter to Bezos reiterating questions that they felt were being avoided.

"Regrettably, despite asking you a series of questions on this subject and requesting specific information in letters sent to you on July 26, 2018 and July 27, 2018, your company has failed to provide sufficient answers."

Specifically, the lawmakers want to know if Amazon has conducted any bias assessments of the software and the results of those tests. They seek to learn whether the system seems to give more positive results based on race, gender, ethnicity, or age.

Congress is also concerned if the system is collecting and storing biometric information. It asks if Rekognition has any built-in algorithms that automatically delete unused bio-data.

They would like Amazon to account for any audits that it may perform to ensure that the software is not being misused by law enforcement. The representatives are particularly concerned about whether it is being used in violation of citizens civil rights. In other words, is it being used in violation of the Fourth Amendment?

Finally, the lawmakers ask if Rekognition is currently being integrated into LEO body cams or other continual, real-time, public-facing surveillance measures and if so, what agencies are performing such monitoring. Again, this could violate citizens Fourth Amendment protections.

Congress requests Amazon responds by December 13 giving Bezo two weeks to draft a reply.
Merlin Burrows, a British search company, claims it has found Atlantis, the fictional island from Plato's writings thousands of years ago.

The company said that the ruins of Atlantis were near the coast of Spain. However, this should be taken with a grain of salt because numerous experts previously pinpointed the area where the city supposedly was, but they were proven wrong.

To be specific, the team insisted that the lost city is located at Donana National Park after it had analyzed data from Landsat 5 and 8, which also gives data to Google Earth, and the Greek philosopher's writings. They then found the place a fit to Plato's vivid descriptions.

CEO Bruce Blackburn revealed the quest in the area had been ongoing for years as his staff continuously searched for clues. Later on, their hard work bore fruit when they discovered what they said were remains of the towers and temples of Atlantis.

The materials used for these structures were man-made concrete that allegedly dates back to 10,000 to 12,000 years ago. Atlantis was believed to have come into existence roughly around that time.

Mixed Reactions On Finding Atlantis

Merlin Burrows, which, according to the website is all about finding anything "lost, forgotten, or hidden," is also set to release in an unspecified date a documentary discussing what they deemed to be proof to support their claims. Blackburn said they already anticipated the hordes of people who will be skeptical about this.

"Everybody is going to have [one of] two opinions. One is that 'This is great. Let's have a look at it,' and one will be 'That's a load of rubbish,'" Blackburn said.

Unconvincing Claim

Meanwhile, this new claim had raised quite a few eyebrows of archeologists and scientists. One said that the ruins found were probably of another culture, while others simply brushed off this age-old idea. Other teams claimed Atlantis was in Bolivia, Turkey, Germany, Malta, and Antarctica among many others.

Atlantis was portrayed to be a prosperous city that had advanced technologies before a tragedy happened that had caused its sinking, never to be found again. Whether the lost city is legendary or not remains a hot-debated topic among scientists and experts.

Plato's works of art are used to be seen as an allegory, but this changed when Ignatius Donnelly released his book Atlantis: The Antediluvian World that said Atlantis is real.

 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) warns of potential health hazards as a result of the ongoing spread of the Asian longhorned tick (Haemaphysalis longicornis).

Since its first discovery in the United States in 2017, it has since spread in states such as North Carolina, Arkansas, Pennsylvania, and New York.

Multistate Tick Infestation

In its recent Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, the CDC warned the public regarding the potential health hazards that may arise as a result of the ongoing multistate infestation of the Asian longhorned tick.

Since the species was first observed in a sheep in New Jersey in 2017, it has since been detected in various animal species, both domestic and wild, and in two humans. Before then, it was intercepted on at least 15 occasions on imported animals and materials.

States so far affected by the infestation are Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, North Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia, Arkansas, Maryland, and Connecticut. It is believed to likely be established in the United States and is now considered an invasive pest.

Public Health Concerns

As a result of the infestation, the agency now warns that its presence in the United States may represent emerging diseases as well as new threats to public health. In China and Japan, the Asian longhorned tick transmits severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome virus (SFTSV), which causes hemorrhagic fever, as well as Rickettsia japonica, which causes Japanese spotted fever.

Furthermore, in some regions of Australia and New Zealand where the tick was introduced and has since been established, its presence can decrease dairy cattle production by 25 percent. The species is a potential vector for animal and human diseases such as Rickettsia, Borrelia, Ehrlichia, and other viral agents, but the specific potential impacts of the presence of H. longicornis in the United States is still unknown.

As such, authorities are conducting vector and animal surveillance efforts, which has so far resulted in 53 reports.

The recently documented occurrence of H. longicornis in the United States presents an opportunity for collaboration among governmental, agricultural, public health agencies and partners in academic public health, veterinary sciences, and agricultural sciences to prevent diseases of potential national importance before onset in humans and other animal species, the agency notes.

 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
The Chinese government has stopped a controversial project that helped produce the world's first gene-edited babies, declaring the work of scientist He Jiankui as unlawful and unethical.

Gene-Edited Twins Resistant To HIV

He, an associate professor at the Southern University of Science and Technology in Shenzhen, China, claimed that he used the gene-editing tool CRISPR/Cas9 to modify human embryos.

The resulting gene-edited babies, twins who were born earlier this month, have altered DNA that makes them resistant to HIV.

He's work was condemned by ethicists and the scientific community. He was accused of experimenting on humans with an unproven and potentially dangerous technology, as the changes made on the babies could be passed on to future generations.

Despite this, He made no apologies and even said that he is proud of his work.

China's Response

Amid the backlash, universities and government groups conducted an investigation. On Thursday, the Chinese government ordered to stop the work.

Chinese Vice Minister of Science and Technology Xu Nanping said that his ministry strongly opposes the work and called the actions of the medical team behind the project as illegal and unacceptable.

Xu said that the experiment has crossed the line of morality and ethics that the academic community adheres to and described the work as shocking and unacceptable. He also said that a probe into the work had been ordered but did not discuss the specific actions taken.

Statement From The Scientific Community

China's response to the controversy came the same week scientists convened in Hong Kong for an international summit on gene editing.

The summit organizers issued a statement after He announced his work on Monday. They called for an independent assessment to verify that the claimed DNA modifications have indeed occurred.

"If the modifications are verified, the procedure was irresponsible and failed to conform with international norms," the statement reads.

"Its flaws include an inadequate medical indication, a poorly designed study protocol, a failure to meet ethical standards for protecting the welfare of research subjects, and a lack of transparency in the development, review, and conduct of the clinical procedures."

 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
The search for Baton Rouges recreation and parks systems next superintendent has narrowed to four finalists, one of whom the commission that oversees the system hopes to hire before the end of the month.

The list of finalists looking to replace BRECs current Superintendent Carolyn McKnight includes two who are directors of park systems in Texas and California; a former BREC commissioner who is currently the schools superintendent of East Feliciana Parish and BREC's current chief of management and business service.

McKnight announced in August that she plans to retire when her contract expires in January. She has headed BREC since 2012.

+11 BREC Superintendent Carolyn McKnight to leave agency when contract ends in early 2019 The head of Baton Rouges recreation and parks system said Monday she will leave the agency by early 2019, ending a tenure that saw her praise

BREC announced the four finalists for the top post in a news release Friday. They were chosen by a search committee from among the top nine presented to them by the recruiting firm that spearheaded the search for someone.

The search committee is made up of executive committee members of BREC's governing board.

"As a committee, we are excited about the caliber of candidates interested in leading BREC during this pivotal time in its history, Larry Selders, chairman of the search committee, said in a news release Friday. We have a significant number of major projects on the drawing board and are looking for someone who can continue the visionary leadership of Carolyn McKnight."

Emergent Method, the local management consulting firm that conducted the search, received 27 applications from individuals vying for BRECs top spot, some of whom the firm actively recruited.

John Snow, a partner at Emergent, said they didnt have to twist many peoples arms to apply.

BREC is extremely well-regarded in the industry, he said Friday.

Leslie Austin, Emergents director of human resources, said the finalists formal interviews with commissioners will be open to the public, with a final section either at is next regular meeting on Dec. 19 or at a special meeting, if necessary, on Dec. 28.

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In its advertising, Emergent said it wanted candidates with at least a four-year college degree in areas of park and recreation management/administration, leisure services or a closely related field.

The candidates also had to be certified through the national Recreation and Parks Association and have at least 10 years of related work experience in executive management and six years of experience in municipal recreation and parks administration.

The four finalists are Chris Nunes, director of parks and recreation for The Woodlands master planned community outside Houston, Texas; Carlos Sam, current superintendent of schools for East Feliciana Parish and former BREC commissioner; Nicholas Williams, director of parks and recreation for the city of Oakland, California; and Corey Wilson, BREC's current chief of management and business service.

Nunes has headed The Woodlands parks and recreation system since 2006, according to his resume. He said he oversees 100 full-time employees and 350 part-time staff members across the systems eight divisions, which boasts a $22.1 million operational budget and $6 million capital improvement budget.

Nunes resume says he holds a doctorate degree from the University of New Mexico and that his previous work experience included serving as the director of community services for the city of Fort Morgan in Colorado for five years and assistant professor of recreation/program coordinator for Ashland University.

Sam, who has been East Feliciana Parishs schools superintendent since July 2015, has previous work experience in various roles within the East Baton Rouge Parish School System, which have included associate superintendent, director of innovative and specialized programs and principal at Park Forest Middle School.

Sams resume says hes earned a masters degree in administration and supervision from Southern University and he became a certified park and recreation professional this year.

Wilson has served in BRECs no. 2 spot under McKnight since 2012 overseeing administrative functions for the city-parishs park and recreations. He said in his resume that he played a key role in the system earning national reaccreditation, and was involved in overseeing the implementation of the systems $95.2 million budget.

Wilson, who graduated from Harvard Law School in 2001, served as a managing member and principal for The Moreward Group in New Orleans from 2002-2012.

Williams has been the director of Oakland Californias parks and recreations system since 2016, assistant superintendent for Minneapolis parks and recreation system for three years before that was an operations manager for Atlantas Office of Parks from 2007 to 2012.

Williams holds a masters degree in educational leadership from California State University.
MORGANZA  The eagle hasn't flown its nest yet, and residents in this Pointe Coupee Parish village took a step Thursday in hopes it never will.

The bald eagle's current nesting place atop a cypress tree in the Morganza Spillway has become something of a tourist attraction, but the tree is dying after years of flooding and is no longer stable.

So, a work crew erected a 65-foot-tall utility pole and nesting structure on private land within the spillway on Thursday  a preventive measure by leaders of the Morganza Cultural District to keep the bald eagle from leaving town.

"So many people have grown attached to him," Rene Thibodeaux, president of the cultural district, said of the eagle that has maintained its home in the cypress tree since it's release by state wildlife officials 20 years ago.

Thibodeaux and other members of the cultural district didn't want to see the eagle eventually relocate from a highly visible spot along La. 1 once the tree withers like every other one has in the area.

+4 Relocation of bald eagle may threaten tourism to Pointe Coupee village; 'he's our mascot' MORGANZA  Twenty years ago, a newcomer took up residence in this Pointe Coupee Parish village and quickly became one of its most popular residents.

The Morganza Spillway, part of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' flood-control system, is designed to divert water from the Mississippi River to the Atchafalaya Basin during major floods.

The Morganza Cultural District is in the midst of an ambitious revitalization effort to bring more people and commerce into the village. Losing the eagle would hinder that effort given how many outside visitors travel to Morganza each year to gander at the nest.

"We've been working for the past couple years on looking for a way to keep the eagle nest here," Thibodeaux said. "And one of the things we've researched was how to build an artificial nest."

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One option they discovered that had proven to be successful in other parts of the country was using giant poles with nesting structure built on them to encourage eagles to nest in certain areas.

It was an expensive solution, but one that the cultural district was able to pursue when the landowner where the current nest is located and a local electric company stepped up to help.

Because Jacques LaCour was open to having a pole installed on his land near the current nest, the cultural district didn't have to obtain the necessary permits to install a nesting pole some place else.

And PC Electric in New Roads agreed to outfit one of its utility poles with a nesting platform and donate some of its crew on Thursday to install it on LaCour's land after Thibodeaux reached out to them.

"If this was important to the community, it's important to us," said Myron Lambert, general manger of PC Electric. "Our employees were very excited to be a part of that."

The pole was installed approximately 300 feet from where the current nest sits, still making it highly visible from the nearby highway.

Now residents have their fingers crossed the eagle will hop on over and get comfortable on the sturdier foundation provided for it, although state wildlife officials have previously said it's not guaranteed.

"We have some hope," Thibodeaux said. "This has worked in other places."
In her 12 years on the East Baton Rouge Parish School Board, Vereta Lee has engaged many political fights, but she is in perhaps her toughest yet as she battles for re-election to the district representing much of the northern part of the parish.

Lee, 60, is facing challenger Dadrius Lanus, 30, in the Dec. 8 runoff. Early voting ends Saturday.

Lanus, who like Lee is a Democrat, garnered 47 percent of the vote in Nov. 6 general election, nearly winning outright. Lee, by contrast, earned only 32 percent of the vote.

Lee has long been a target of charter school-friendly business and education reform groups, but those groups have upped the ante this time. Theyve reported spending more than $125,000 on Lanuss behalf to defeat the outspoken Lee, who is often critical of charter schools. Thats more than six times what Lee reported raising on her own.

+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

Many of these same groups spent heavily on behalf of Lanus friend and fellow educator, Tramelle Howard, in his narrow defeat on Nov. 6 of another targeted incumbent, Kenyetta Nelson-Smith.

The parish School Board oversees the second-largest public school district in Louisiana. Seven of its nine members have already been re-elected.

District 2 is centered in north Baton Rouge, mostly west of Plank Road, snaking between Baker and Central, and taking up the northeast corner of the parish. Seventy percent the district's voters are Democrats, and almost 80 percent are black.

Lanus, a teacher in local charter schools who now works as an educational consultant, said hes not influenced by the outside help hes receiving. He said 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.

As far as charter schools, Lanus is critical of schools run by groups from outside Baton Rouge that dont take the time to gain cultural competence. But he said he is a big fan of home-grown charter schools such as Madison Prep and Mentorship Academy.

Lanus has been a visible presence in recent school debates.

In September 2017, he criticized the School Boards unanimous decision to renew Superintendent Warren Drakes contract for two more years before school performance scores for the previous year were released; most of those scores were later waived because of the impact from the August 2016 floods.

Its time to prove that you can perform and make a significant impact as promised, or its time to find someone that is suited for the job, Lanus said at the time.

+2 Supporters, opponents spread word ahead of Saturday's vote on 1-cent sales tax renewal for education With just days to go before election day , supporters and opponents of propositions to renew a 1-cent sales tax for public education in East B

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Lanus made a splash the following spring when he organized alumni of his alma mater, Glen Oaks High, in an unsuccessful effort to derail a portion of a 1-cent sales tax that voters renewed by wide margins on April 28. The school system is in the midst of $25 million worth of repairs and upgrades to the high school, which flooded in 2016, but Lanus and others were seeking a new high school facility of the caliber of recently rebuilt Baton Rouge and Lee high schools.

Lee describes Lanus opposition to the tax renewal as a reckless move that if successful could have resulted in a steep pay cut for school employees.

If elected to the School Board, Lanus is promising to forgo the $800-a-month salary and use the money on scholarships for District 2 high school graduates; Lee said the pay is so little that it barely pays enough to put gas in my car.

Lanus has relentlessly criticized Lee for not doing enough to turn around the low-performing schools in District 2. He promises to hold regular town halls to zero in on the problem, and convene a community advisory panel to guide his decisions.

Lanus said both his upbringing in the Glen Oaks area and the years he taught in inner city classrooms give him a greater understanding of students today.

Ive worked in some of the lowest performing schools with some of our lowest performing students, he said. Those are the students who are most commonly impacted by our school system.

+5 Sparks fly in District 2 School Board debate; Baton Rouge constable candidates refrain from attacks Incumbent Vereta Lee and challenger Dadrius Lanus traded jabs at a forum Tuesday over whos backing their campaigns and about their respective

Lee grew up in St. Helena Parish but has lived in Baton Rouge most of her life. Her four children all went to public schools in Baton Rouge. Lee said the grades and negative labels the state attaches to many north Baton Rouge schools miss many good things.

They are calling this district a failing district with failing schools. I get tired of hearing that, Lee said. Were making great progress in our schools.

Lee said there are lots public meetings in District 2 where public schools are discussed, and many schools hold their own meetings: What does (Lanus) think open houses are?

Lee, who spent decades in the classroom, is currently supervisor of child welfare and attendance for City of Baker public schools.

Ive been in this 39 years. So Ive touched the lives of thousands of students. I didnt just start this, Lee said. This is something I had to have a love for.

Lee has little time to regain the favor of District 2 voters who overwhelmingly re-elected her in 2014 with 66 percent of the vote. In that election, she received 7,672 votes. Thats nearly 4,000 more than she received Nov. 6.

Lanus likely would have won but the third candidate in the race, Joycelyn Hall, proved the spoiler. She earned 21 percent of the vote despite spending only $55 and barely campaigning. Hall, a third-grade teacher at La Belle Aire Elementary, has since endorsed Lee.
WASHINGTON  Congress pushed back its deadline to deal with the National Flood Insurance Program by at least a week, passing yet another short-term extension of the program late Thursday.

A deadline to avoid a lapse in the federal program, which underwrites most flood insurance coverage in the country and covers a half-million Louisiana homes, had been looming at midnight on Friday. The short-term deal is the eighth temporary extension for the program since it first came up for periodic renewal more than a year ago.

Louisiana Sens. Bill Cassidy and John Kennedy had pushed for a six-month extension of the program, putting off a deadline until the spring and giving new incoming leadership in the House of Representatives time to get to work on a comprehensive overhaul of the program.

Both the House and Senate passed a week-long extension on Thursday evening. The Senate also passed the six-month deal, meaning the House could come back Friday or next week and pass the longer extension as well.

No long-term deal over the beleaguered flood insurance program  which is mired in billions of debt from payouts for past hurricanes  is expected in the coming weeks. But lawmakers will need to strike an agreement on just how long to extend it.

After flood insurance gridlock, Louisianans see hope in coming leadership change in Congress WASHINGTON  The National Flood Insurance Program has lurched along for more than a year as lawmakers on Capitol Hill have deadlocked over how

Lawmakers have remained deadlocked for more than a year over long-term reforms to the program.

Politicians from flood-prone areas like Louisiana have insisted on measures that keep premiums affordable for homeowners while critics of the program have targeted what they see as overly generous subsidies that encourage development  and repeated payouts  in high-risk areas.

For the past week, Ive been working hard to convince my colleagues in the Senate that a lapse in the NFIP would be a disservice to families across this country, not just in the coastal states. Im glad my colleagues came around, Kennedy said in a statement. I am frustrated with the inefficiency in Washington that is causing us to extend the program again without long-term reforms, but families deserve to be protected.

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"A short-term extension is frustrating but necessary to achieve our longer goal," said Cassidy. "We must create a more accountable, affordable and sustainable system that is good for Louisiana and good for taxpayers."

All six of Louisianas congressmen voted in favor of the week-long extension, which passed the House overwhelmingly Thursday evening. Most previously told The Advocate theyd prefer the six-month extension Kennedy and Cassidy pushed through the Senate, though the House hasnt yet considered that bill.

Louisiana lawmakers press for Flood Insurance Program extension with new deadline looming WASHINGTON  With an end-of-the-month deadline looming to avoid a lapse in the National Flood Insurance Program, Louisiana lawmakers are once 

If the week-long extension remains the agreement, then Congress would face its next decision on flood insurance at the same time it's facing a showdown over spending bills essential to keeping the federal government operating.

President Donald Trump has threatened to shut down the government if Senate Democrats don't agree to include billions in funding for his proposed wall along the U.S.-Mexico border.

Flood insurances fate in the near-term could then likely be tied to the outcome of that fight since the bills would likely be wrapped together.

Homeowners with NFIP policies would remain covered during a lapse in the program, and destruction from any floods that occur during a lapse would be paid by NFIP. Policies that expire during a lapse can't be renewed, though Congress could  and in the past has  made coverage retroactive for any policyholder caught in a lapse.

But a lapse would cause chaos in the real estate markets. No new flood insurance policies could be issued during a lapse. Since federally backed mortgages  which most homebuyers rely on  require NFIP coverage for any property in high-risk flood zones, would-be homebuyers wouldn't be able to close on sales during a lapse.
A group that helped kill the 2017 push for a higher gas tax is launching an unusual ad campaign to derail any similar effort in 2019, officials said Thursday.

The organization is the state branch of the Virginia-based Americans for Prosperity.

The campaign will consist, in part, with airing Christmas-themed videos shown on the screens of gas pumps at heavily-used stations in metropolitan areas across the state.

AFP backers are contacting residents and urging them to reach out to elected officials to convey opposition to any gas tax hike.

Digital ads are also planned.

A bid to increase the gas tax next year is considered unlikely because 2019 is an election year.

However, supporters of more road and bridge money are trying to launch another campaign to raise the gas tax, and possibly have the issue debated in the Legislature next year.

Last year's drive was led by Gov. John Bel Edwards' administration, mostly through his state Department and Transportation Secretary Shawn Wilson.

It would have raised the gas tax by 17 cents per gallon  $510 million per year  but died without a vote on the House or Senate floors.

Backers blamed the defeat in part on Americans for Prosperity, which waged a door-to-door campaign aimed at killing the proposal.

The governor will be on the 2019 ballot in his bid for a second term.

Former state Rep. Erich Ponti is leading a group called the Louisiana Coalition to Fix our Roads, which includes trade groups, the Baton Rouge Area Chamber and others.

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Ponti said the 20-month effort is meant to "educate" voters and elected officials on the need for more road and bridge money.

Legislation next year to increase the gas tax, even if it is not seriously pushed, could be part of that effort to gradually generate support for the idea, officials said.

Draft legislation to do just that has been circulating.

It includes an initial six-cent increase in the gas tax  $180 million per year  followed by two-cent hikes in alternate years for several years later.

However, no lawmaker has attached his name to the proposal.

Tax hike measures require two-thirds approval in the state House and Senate, always a daunting task.

The regular session begins on April 8.

Louisiana has a $14 billion backlog of road and bridge needs.

Push to let East Baton Rouge, others enact own gas tax fails in House panel A bid to let voters in East Baton Rouge and four other parishes enact their own gas tax narrowly failed Tuesday in a Louisiana House committee.

Wilson has repeatedly said officials are having to rely on innovative methods to finance major new projects, including the governor's $600 million plan to widen Interstate 10 in Baton Rouge between the "new" Mississippi River bridge and the I-10/12 split and other work.

That work is being financed with federal bonds.

Motorists pay 38.4 cents per gallon, including 20 cents in state taxes.

The Edwards' administration appears to be taking a wait-and-see stance on any 2019 gas tax debate, especially since the governor has said teacher pay raises of $1,000 are his top priority.

Wilson said Thursday that, unless the state can come up with $72 million matching funds next year, and more in subsequent years, Louisiana stands to lose a chunk of its roughly $600 million per year in federal transportation aid.
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In his most recent column, Jeff Sadow continues to blame Medicaid expansion for almost all of the states ills. This time, he suggests Medicaid paid for coverage for people who earned too much to qualify.

As Sadow continues his long-standing criticism of Medicaid expansion, he leaves out crucial facts, including that Louisiana was following proper eligibility procedures, no improper payments were made, and that the same week the audit was released, we introduced a new system that will address the recommendations made in the audit.

This new eligibility system allows for significant upgrades that will help ensure that those who qualify for Medicaid truly need Medicaid. Those facts unfortunately get in the way of the story that Sadow and other opponents of Gov. John Bel Edwards want to tell.

Sadow is a member of a small but vocal cadre of critics who make recurring false claims about Medicaid expansion. My favorite was one year ago when U.S. Sen. John Kennedy accused the Medicaid expansion of causing Baton Rouges traffic problems.

The reality is that Gov. Edwards Medicaid expansion has real and lasting benefits for hundreds of thousands of people throughout our state. More people are employed in the health care sector than at any time in our states history. Local and state governments have benefited from these new jobs, resulting in more people with the ability to earn a living wage. A recent study by LSU found that by leveraging $1.85 billion in federal funds, Louisiana generated $3.57 billion in economic activity and created or retained 19,195 jobs.

Doctors, hospitals, and other health care professionals have welcomed expansion as they now are reimbursed for the care they provide to people who were once uninsured. In states where Medicaid has not been expanded rural hospitals are closing, yet they are thriving in Louisiana.

Most importantly, nearly 480,000 citizens now have health care coverage. Coverage allows individuals and families better health and peace of mind because they now have access to primary care, cancer screenings and lifesaving treatments for diabetes, mental health conditions, and high blood pressure. For the first time in generations, our state has the opportunity to improve our overall health.

The critics of Medicaid expansion are loud, but they are few. I encourage critics to listen to patients, doctors, hospital administrators, rural health providers and economists. Alternatively, I invite them to come with me to my clinic and hear my patients share their stories of gratitude for finally being able to get mammograms or mental health treatment. Critics would be well served to listen to the thousands of people who now have coverage and whose lives have improved because they are now getting care and treatment.

Dr. Rebekah Gee

secretary, Louisiana Department of Health

Baton Rouge
Kyle Ardoin, current secretary of state of Louisiana, at lectern center, one of five major candidates seeking the office of Louisiana Secretary of State speaks to the Baton Rouge Press Club Oct. 8 in Baton Rouge, La. Watching are, from left at tables, Renee Fontenot Free, Heather Cloud, Julie Stokes and Rick Edmonds.
Since the day John Bel Edwards took his oath as governor, Louisiana Republicans have systematically sought to tear him down and replace him with one of their own next year. It's what political parties do. The only question has been: Who will carry the GOP mantle against Edwards?

Clancy DuBos: Recent developments at S&WB couldn't have come at worse time for New Orleans, Mayor Cantrell A little more than six months into the job, Mayor LaToya Cantrell is getting a taste of what life is like for the mayor of a major city. Next 

We'll know soon if it will be U.S. Sen. John Neely Kennedy, aka "Senator Soundbite." In recent weeks, several high-profile Republicans announced they were not running for governor, thus clearing a path for Kennedy to be the GOP's lead dog against Edwards. Those not running include state Attorney General Jeff Landry, who will seek re-election, and U.S. House Majority Whip Steve Scalise, who prefers Congress to the state Capitol.

Other Republicans with lower statewide profiles continue to show interest in the race, including U.S. Rep. Ralph Abraham of Alto and Baton Rouge businessman Eddie Rispone, who has formally declared his candidacy  and his intention to put up $5 million of his own money.

Kennedy promised a decision by Dec. 1, then extended his deadline to Dec. 3. If nothing else, Kennedy is masterful at taking  and keeping  center stage.

If Kennedy has an Achilles' heel (and what politician doesn't?), it may be that he's constantly running for something, and he's been something of a political chameleon for the past 15 years (during which he ran seven times). He won his U.S. Senate seat just two years ago  after three attempts, once as a Democrat in 2004 and twice as a Republican in 2008 and 2016. Then, barely a year into his current job, he started posturing to run for governor.

That said, Kennedy maintains a high profile and has at least $3 million in his federal kitty. Under current campaign finance laws, he could transfer that money to a nominally "independent" Super PAC to use on his behalf.

Clancy DuBos: AG Landry staying in his lane Will the 2019 gubernatorial race come down to U.S. Sen. John Neely Kennedy vs. Gov. John Bel Edwards? With Landry's exit, it's looking more likely.

If Kennedy needs any encouragement to run, a recent poll by Baton Rouge pollster Bernie Pinsonat shows him narrowly leading Edwards by a margin of 49 to 45 percent in a head-to-head race. The poll of 500 "chronic" voters was taken Nov. 16-21. A deeper dive into the poll's cross-tabs shows Kennedy getting 20 percent of the black vote, which is unlikely on Election Day. That means the two men begin the race in a virtual tie  assuming Kennedy runs.

"Should Kennedy decide to run for governor, given his popularity and Louisiana's strong tilt towards electing Republicans, as of today, he could be considered the favorite," Pinsonat said.

Then again, that's what pollsters said about David Vitter's poll numbers four years ago, and we saw how that turned out.

As for Edwards, he too has a large war chest, is a very good campaigner, and has been resilient in the face of the GOP's blistering attacks. His Achilles' heel: his low numbers among white voters, according to Pinsonat.

"Based on party affiliation, most Republican candidates have a sizeable numerical advantage over any Democrat," Pinsonat says. "Yet Republicans are certainly capable of re-electing Edwards to a second term."

Whatever Kennedy decides, the next governor's race is both a long way off and just around the corner.
David Plessy's wife of 14 years was killed Tuesday night, run over by her own car after a stranger carjacked her in Gentilly.

Two days later, Plessy stood in front of the house he and Jeannot Plessy, 49, had been renovating, and pleaded for her killer to come forward.

"Only truth has freedom in it," said Plessy, a Christian pastor who said the carjacker's best chance at finding peace is to surrender to authorities and face the consequences of his acts.

"There's only one way out, and it begins with making a courageous choice to step outside the false comfort ... with whoever's harboring (you)," he said.

Wife of New Orleans-area pastor killed during carjacking in Gentilly The wife of a New Orleans-area pastor was killed when someone who carjacked her ran her over with her vehicle in Gentilly on Tuesday night, ac

Meanwhile, New Orleans police continued to search for the man  or possibly boy  responsible for the deadly attack on Jeannot Plessy, which occurred as she picked up her preteen children who were being babysat by their adult sister.

A devout Christian herself, Jeannot Plessy had just returned from a preaching tour in American Samoa, and she had gone on a date with her husband earlier in the evening, David Plessy said.

The couple had taken separate cars, and Jeannot Plessy had gone to pick up two of their children in the 2400 block of Prentiss Avenue. She was carrying a package into the house when someone approached the car.

According to police, there was some sort of struggle. Jeannot Plessy was thrown to the ground, and her son-in-law tried to pull the attacker out of the car. However, the attacker put the car in reverse and ran over Plessy, mortally wounding her.

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Police said they have recovered the car and are processing it for evidence. But they havent publicly identified anyone as a suspect.

David Plessy, 53, said he suspects his wifes killer is exactly the kind of person the couple spent their marriage trying to guide in their faith.

He also believes she would forgive her killer. Thats what she did with anyone who hurt her, he said.

But Plessy said the only choice for his wifes killer is to turn himself in to the police and face justice.

It was an act of selfishness, desperation  and that cost us a great deal, said Plessy, a pastor at Crossover Christian Fellowship.

He then looked toward the front of the home he and Jeannot were fixing up.

She always joked that thats the porch where our rocking chairs are going to go, are going to be as we grow old together and look out on all the goodness that God gave us, he said.

Anyone with information on Jeannot Plessy's killer is asked to call Crimestoppers at (504) 822-1111. Tipsters may be eligible for a cash reward.
And we are over an out folks.

Here is Commissioner Kenneth Haynes final comments from the hearings.

"Thank you, Ms Orr. I, of course, have a further and more formal opportunity in my final report to acknowledge and thank those who have worked so hard to bring us to this point in the work of the Commission, but it's right that I should say something publicly and say it now."

Commissioner Kenneth Hayne: "We will adjourn." Credit:Internet

"I am, of course, especially grateful to you, Ms Orr and all of the Counsel Assisting, Mr Hodge, Mr Dinelli, Ms Dias, Mr Costello, Ms Slider, Mr Hosking, Ms Zeleznikow... your work has been and dare I say will continue to be of immense help.

Mr Hayne goes on to acknowledge the work of the Australian Government Solicitor's team and "the intensity of work that has been required of those acting for the entities whose conduct has been the subject of examination" and recognise that, " much more often than not, those acting for the entities and agencies concerned have sought to cooperate with the Commission and with solicitors assisting in seeking to deal with the requirements that the Commission has made."

He thanks the people behind the scenes such as the document system providers, the transcript of proceedings suppliers and Helen Lubke, the stenographer. "Her skill remains for me a cause of continuing wonder, her calm attention to her tasks is a continuing cause of admiration, but I rather suspect that this passage of the transcript will read inaudible on tape," the Commissioner quipped.

"Last, may I say something to those who ordinarily sit in the back row of the hearing room, and to those in the media room. This has been a public inquiry. The proceedings have been open to the public and they've been streamed. They've been the subject of reports and comment in all forms of the media. And so they should have been.

"The Commission has sought to do what it can to assist the media in performance of their job but we've done that by making information available generally to the public.

"The Commission has not sought to influence how the media has reported. We've not backgrounded, we've not provided the media or anyone with any information about what witnesses are to be called or subjects covered except by posting what we have on the website. We've not commented on what has occurred in the course of evidence. It has been for the media and for the media alone to decide what will be the subjects of their reports, and what, if any, comments they may choose to make about what the Commission has done. And that, again, is as it should be.

"But it is also right that I recognise the role that the media has played in this being a public inquiry by reporting on the work of the Commission."

With that, he closed the hearing with the usual words: "We will adjourn."

Only this time, adjournement is indefinitely, the transcript reads.
Coca-Cola Amatil will look to sell its loss-making SPC fruit and tomato business in Victoria, four years after winning a taxpayer funded lifeline to keep open its factory in Shepparton.

The soft-drink giant said the decision followed a "strategic review" of the business which posted a $10 million loss last year.

The move coincides with the end of a four-year investment of $78 million by CCA and $22 million from the Victorian government designed save the jobs of around 500 people who work for the manufacturer, mostly from the Goulburn Valley.

SPC's Shepparton factory employs around 500 workers. Credit:Vince Caligirui

It also came as investors smashed the company as it revealed it was struggling with a number of issues including poor performance in its Indonesian arm and rising costs. Its share price sank 14.55 per cent on Friday to close at $8.63.
Save Log in , register or subscribe to save articles for later. Normal text size Larger text size Very large text size The agricultural township of Cadoux, 180 kilometres north- east of Perth, has a noticeboard that changes every month to notify townsfolk and visitors of residents birthdays. The town is so small there are many months in which the board is left blank. During winter the town is sleepy but when Fairfax visited last week there was a flurry of activity with harvest in full swing and trucks dropping grain off at terminals. In two years time those trucks will be joined by trucks carrying crumbly white kaolin clay that is currently lying beneath two sheep paddocks. Against the grain Kaolin has been used for centuries in medicine, fine china and paper but has found some futuristic usages in its processed form of high purity alumina (HPA). Junior miner FYI Resources (ASX: FYI) is progressing plans to dig the clay out of a $15 million mine and transport it to a $165 million refinery in Kwinana where they will produce 8000 tonnes of HPA per annum.

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FYI managing director Roland Hill said electric vehicles had opened up a paradigm shift in the economics that has made the Cadoux project viable. Historically the pricing has been very flat but theres been a strategic shift in technology using HPA, he said. Battery safety is paramount, particularly for what theyre being used for now, lives depend on safe batteries. HPA is an extremely heat resistant and durable material that lends itself to electronics. It has found a role in LED lighting and is one of the most important components in next generation scratch-resistant mobile phone screens. But it is HPAs ability to safely separate anodes and cathodes in batteries that has the world taking notice.

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Analysts predict the global market will hit US $4.4 billion by 2022. This will mean jump from 25,000 tonnes per annum in 2016 to 87,000 tonnes by 2024. Mr Hill said future heavy duty batteries will be three to 11 per cent HPA. HPA is perfect for heavier duty batteries those increasingly being used in electric vehicles and new smartphones because it is a very competent and robust material and doesnt shrink, he said. It really is a matter of timing otherwise the (Cadoux) deposit would probably be sitting there for another decade without those key drivers. HPA can also be derived from alumina itself but the kaolin acid leaching method is far cheaper and more energy efficient. The unique geology of the Cadoux deposit meant it had been refined naturally over millions of years and so Mr Hill said they could get to the coveted 4N (99.99 per cent) and 5N (99.999 per cent) purity without too much trouble. Mr Hill expected to have the Bankable Feasibility Study done by June 2019. This would allow the company to lock in finance, likely to be a mixture of equity, debt and customer financing, between July and December 2019.

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He said the company wants to start digging Cadoux in September 2019. The mine will have a life of more than 50 years. About 50,000 tonnes will be mined per annum, half of that will be silica and the remaining kaolin will end up at the Kwinana refinery. Construction will start on the refinery in December 2019, with the build expected to take 18 months. Clay day to pay day After decades of pulling out iron ore and other minerals and sending them overseas, value adding is something Australias mining sector is still coming to grips with. But with refined products fetching tens of thousands of dollars more than their raw counterparts, there are plenty of companies in Australias battery material sector happy to take the plunge. FYI is one of those companies.

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In a quantum factor refining kaolin to HPA would get nearly 100 times more, he said. From a raw product of kaolin, which doesnt really receive a great price, we will lift that from roughly $300 a tonne to roughly $30,000 or more. Beyond the financial gain, FYIs intention to build a refinery in Kwinana will curry favour with the WA state government who want to capture as much value as possible from the global battery boom. The Cadoux mine will be a low intensity operation employing about 10 people but the refinery will create about 50 jobs. Mr Hill said the refinery would also raise more royalties for the government and would fit well in the push for a lithium valley. It will put us on the map participating in an innovative market segment that is growing, its very synergistic with the other things the state is trying to do with lithium, cobalt and nickel, he said.

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One of the founders of national vacuum cleaner retailer Godfreys, John Johnston, has passed away.

Mr Johnston turned 100 in July, just weeks after he and his family completed the successful takeover of the then publicly listed Godfreys, paying $13.7 million to return it to private ownership.

John Johnston opening a new Godfreys store in Adelaide in October. Credit:Simon Evans

Mr Johnston joined Godfrey Cohen as a partner in 1936 when the vacuum chain had just one store in Melbourne.

At its peak, Godfreys was snapped up by private equity investors CCMP Capital Asia and Pacific Equity Partners (PEP) for about $300 million in 2006.
Artist Joy Hester is considered one of Australia's underappreciated artists, neglected during her lifetime unlike her male counterparts. Credit:Australian Broadcasting Corporation "In Patricia's work, there's the merging of human and animal forms, but for this show we've chosen works where there's a relationship between two entities  mother and child, and child and animal," she says. "And the 24 works from Joy in the show are mainly focused on the idea of the couple, with a couple of works looking at mother and child. The show is really about intermingled figures." Hester's works were a huge influence on Piccinini's early practice; she describes the modernist artist as "a part of my DNA". The Young Family, 2002, by Patricia Piccinini, explores biotechnology as well as maternal love. Credit:Photographer: Peter Hennessey "I think she is for a lot of women artists," she says. "There are some really literal connections that you can make  for example, where two bodies connect and you don't know where one body ends and the other begins ... that's a very direct reference."

Hester's portrayals of "intimacy without borders" spoke to her own interests in exploring identity and sense of self. Piccinini, with two Hester works at Tolarno Galleries, says she loves how Hester made 'work about everyday life, and everyday life is interactions between people'. She first encountered Hester's work through art historian Janine Burke's 1981 biography of the late artist, and was immediately struck by their beauty and hopefulness. "I'd been studying the Angry Penguins and Hester was really the only female presence there  and what a presence. She was so different," Piccinini says. Patricia Piccinini Doubting Thomas Silicone fiberglass, human hair, clothing, chair 100.0 x 83.0 x 90.0 cm McClelland Gallery+Sculpture Park. Purchased 2010. The Elisabeth Murdoch Sculpture Foundation Credit:gmccoll@theage.com.au

"I couldn't identify with all the Tucker stuff very well but with her work I could. I loved this ... blending (of figures) that she did. I take what Hester did and go on to take it into a sort of commentary on the technological impact of the work on our everyday lives. One of the things I loved about her is that she makes work about everyday life, and everyday life is interactions between people, between lovers, between mother and child." Hester was also a poet  although she received only negative reviews of her written work  and some of these also appear in the exhibition. Hester portrayed intimate scenes between couples, such as Love, c.1949. Credit:Joy Hester "There's one poem where she talks about 'when heart penetrates heart'  it's wonderful," says Piccinini. "How often in life do you experience that?" Works of Hester's in the show (drawn from the NGV, Heide and private collectors) include pieces from her series Love 1949 and Lovers 1955-56. Among Piccinini's are some of her most well known sculptures, including The Young Family, which explores biotechnology as well as maternal love, The Lovers, in which two motor scooters embrace, and Doubting Thomas, which features a small boy curiously putting his hand into the mouth of a fantastical, hairless creature.

The Lovers, 2011, by Piccinini features in Patricia Piccinini & Joy Hester: Through love at TarraWarra Museum of Art. Credit:Patricia Piccinini Her rarely-seen, 34-metre-long hot air balloon, Skywhale, whose maternal presence is unmistakable with five breasts hanging either side of the balloon, will also make an outing, expected to be tethered outside the museum. "Like Joy Hester, Skywhale wasn't initially well received," says Piccinini, "But now I think people are waiting for her to come out! She has a very strong maternal presence." Piccinini has also created a new work in response to Lynn's theme for the exhibition. Sanctuary 2018  comprised of a sculpture, a wall print and a graphite drawing on paper  is inspired by the life of endangered African bonobo chimpanzees, the closest living relative to humans.

The sculpture has two elderly bonobo-like creatures locked in a loving embrace. "When Victoria came to me and talked about love, I immediately thought about bonobos," she says, explaining that she was drawn to the fact they are a peaceful species with a matriarchal society. Most people know about their sexual behaviour (they have inordinate amounts of sex and very rarely fight), but it's the species' tenderness that fascinates Piccinini. "The mothers have a very strong connection with their sons, all throughout their lives, and a strong connection to each other as well, looking after each other's children," she says. "I know I'm simplifying it, and perhaps even anthropomorphising it a bit, but at a simple level, they have a very different way of being. They're incredibly sensual creatures and are very peaceful and calm. They don't tear each other to bits. I'm quite enamoured by them." The work, which directly references many of the couples in Hester's paintings, with the cheeks of the chimeras touching, also references Piccinini's view on ageing.

"Because I'm ageing, I've been thinking about how sexuality is expressed as a thing of youth, especially with the whole porn industry, it really is a youth thing. We rarely see depictions of intimacy in older people and ... our sexuality doesn't diminish  it just changes. And whatever that change can be, it can be really beautiful. To see this connection between two older creatures, for me, is really beautiful, and very Hester." Lynn hopes the show will bring Hester's work to a new audience and "provoke conversation about the two artists and the relationship between contemporary practice and modernism". Piccinini believes the show will be emotional. "As a viewer we mirror what we see and we're ... empathetic to what we're witnessing and that can be positive and hopeful. How many things do you read or experience that are really about love, other than romantic comedies, which are not really about life," she says. "That's what our job is [as artists]. We make a space for people to come in and think about these concepts. You don't think about them watching The Bachelor."
The movie: Taxi Driver

The line: Are you talking to me?

How it came to be: Playing trouble cab driver Travis Bickle, Robert DeNiro was given the job of showing how the films anti-hero might prepare for his one-man war against corruption. The script simply read: Travis speaks to himself in the mirror, and DeNiros Are you talking to me? You must be talking to me? flowed out to become one of the most-quoted lines ever.

Check out Taxi Driver here: https://www.stan.com.au/watch/taxi-driver-1976

Dustin Hoffman and Jon Voight in Midnight Cowboy.

The movie: Midnight Cowboy

The line: Hey! Im walkin here!

How it came to be: Filming on the streets of New York is never easy, so when Dustin Hoffman and Jon Voight walked down a busy street saying their lines while traffic and crowds moved around them it was already tough enough. When one cab tried to cut through, Hoffman just snapped, hit the taxi and yelled the first thing that popped into his head. And the line fit.

Check out Midnight Cowboy here: https://www.stan.com.au/watch/midnight-cowboy-1969

The movie: Zoolander

The line: But why male models?

How it came to be: In the comedy about male models being targeted, Ben Stillers Derek Zoolander was intended to be handsome, but not particularly clever. And that fit perfectly in a scene when co-star David Duchovny explained just what was happening to the fashion icons. Stiller completely forgot his next line, so he just repeated his last one, just as Derek would have.

Check out Zoolander here: https://www.stan.com.au/watch/zoolander-2001

Anthony Hopkins as Hannibal Lecter.

The movie: Silence of the Lambs

The line: Sluuuuuuurp!

How it came to be: Undeniably one of the worlds best actors, Sir Anthony Hopkins brought cannibal killer Hannibal Lector to chilling life. When he told FBI agent Starling (Jodie Foster) how he had eaten a census takers liver with fava beans and a nice chianti he added a sinister sucking Slurp! noise with a grin. It wasnt in the script and stunned her  exactly as it should have.

Check out Silence of the Lambs here: https://www.stan.com.au/watch/the-silence-of-the-lambs-1991

The movie: Good Will Hunting

The line: My wife farts in her sleep

How it came to be: Notorious for improvising entire scenes just to amuse his co-stars, Robin Williams went off on a complete tangent in the scene where he tries to explain love to a young Will (Matt Damon). The result was so genuinely funny Damon collapsed into a fit of laughter that showed just how much he enjoyed his friends company.

Check out Good Will Hunting here: https://www.stan.com.au/watch/good-will-hunting-1997

And to take a look at the improv brilliance that is No Activity, check out the Australian version here and the American version here.

Stan is Australias leading local SVoD service, providing unlimited access to thousands of hours of entertainment for the whole family. Get access to the biggest Hollywood shows, blockbuster movies, cult classics and popular kids content on your favourite device. Start your free 30-day trial at Stan.com.au.
Young people care hugely about political issues, not political parties. The many thousands of school students who took to the streets across the land on Friday to implore our politicians to act on climate change is striking evidence of their engagement.

They have been criticised at the highest levels. Prime Minister Scott Morrison was scathing in Parliament as the community became aware of the students civil disobedience intentions: We do not support our schools being turned into parliaments ...What we want is more learning in schools and less activism in schools.

As it became clear just how many young people were democratically defying the nations leader, Resources Minister Matt Canavan said he wants children learning how to build mines, do geology and drill for oil and gas. These are the type of things that excite young children ...The best thing youll learn about going to a protest is how to join the dole queue.

The protest in Spring Street. Credit:Luis Enrique Ascui

Rather than berate the students, the Coalition would be better to take note of why they are protesting.
Authorities were also forced to fence off Sydney's Wedding Cake Rock after it became Insta-famous and resulted in visitors taking photos on the unstable rock ledge. One visitor died. In Hong Kong, public housing developments have become popular backdrops for photographers, much to the ire of residents. A Canadian sunflower farmer recently barred visitors after they damaged his field. People have been spotted in Yellowstone taking photographs with bison. And visitors to the Louvre spend more time photographing themselves in front of the Mona Lisa than looking at it. Now, conservationists are concerned that photographers who geotag their precise locations are putting fragile ecosystems and wild animals at risk. As a defence, they are asking tourists to stop.

Loading In parts of South Africa, signs are attached to fences along safari routes, requesting photographers not share the location of rhinos, which are the target of poachers. Six months ago, Colorado-based Leave No Trace, an organisation that promotes ethical use of public lands, published new social media guidelines that discourage geotagging. In Jackson Hole, the tourism board has suggested that visitors use the generic location tag, "Tag Responsibly, Keep Jackson Hole Wild". Some Instagram users, too, have adopted the hashtag #nogeotag. "There is a debate right now among photographers," in part, because they don't want to give up favourite spots, said Brent Knepper, who publishes nature photography on Instagram. A spokeswoman for Instagram, which is owned by Facebook, declined to comment or make executives available. But Dana Watts, executive director of Leave No Trace, said: "There are a lot of reasons why people want to showcase where they have been. Bragging rights. It's an unusual place." But, she said, "We just want people to stop and think before they share a location."

"While tagging can seem innocent," she added, "it can lead to significant impact." Of particular concern, she said, are Instagram influencers hired by brands to promote a particular place or product. For example, Emily Breeze Ross Watson, a personal trainer from Charlotte, North Carolina, recently visited the Four Seasons Resort and Residences in Jackson Hole with a friend. There, she posted photographs of herself on Instagram: with a herd of bison, taking a walk with the Grand Tetons looming behind her. Watson, an influencer with more than 63,100 followers on Instagram, tagged her location in posts on her account in exchange for the hotel paying for her visit.

"I definitely think it is cool to bring awareness to the area," she said in an interview. One of the places she and her friend, Brittany Turner, visited was Jenny Lake, an alpine spot Modena said saw an overwhelming increase in traffic after it was discovered on social media. Turner tagged a photograph of herself there, wearing snake-print boots and modeling a sweater that was for sale in her online boutique. She said she would not have known about Jenny Lake if not for Instagram. "I was in awe of it," Turner said. "I can't imagine them getting mad." A representative for the Four Seasons said the hotel promotes responsible tagging. And, to be clear, Modena and the tourism board are not asking people to stop taking photographs altogether. Tourism in Yellowstone and the Grand Teton national parks drive the local economy. Besides, the mountains are certainly majestic. The T.A. Moulton barn in the Antelope Flats region is one of the most photographed areas in the country. "On any given day people are standing in line to take a picture," Modena said.

Some people wonder, though, whether asking people not to geotag will have much impact in the long run. Loading "This is a little alarmist," said Cathy Dean, chief executive of Save the Rhino International, a conservation group based in London. "If you go to any park or reserve's website, they often proudly tell you that they've got white and, or, black rhinos." That information attracts the curious, she said. And often watering holes are lit up at night when rhinos and other animals come to drink. "It doesn't take a geotag to work out where these rhinos are," she said. That said, there are exceptions. "The Kunene Region of Namibia, a vast area that is not formally protected, has an important population of black rhinos that could be vulnerable to poaching," Dean said. Her organisation supports Save the Rhino Trust in Namibia, which asks people not to publish rhino sightings or document vehicle tracks.
The ACT government is refusing to confirm whether delays to the new bus network rollout mean the light rail will not go live until late April.

The uncertainty comes as Radford College says it would be forced to run its own dedicated user-paid bus service for students if the new network goes ahead.

All of Canberra's light rail vehicles arrived in the capital earlier this year.

Principal Fiona Godfrey blasted the ACT government over the lack of communication on the delays and said she only learned of the April rollout through The Canberra Times.

On Friday, The Canberra Times reported the government would begin the controversial, revised bus network on April 27, at the start of the second school term in 2019.
A 65-year-old woman was arrested on Thursday and charged with operating a commercial brothel in a Kingston apartment block, police said.

In a media release published Friday, ACT Policing also said the Australian Border Force was looking into the immigration status of two other women following the raid.

Detective Superintendent Scott Moller said the operation followed information received from the public.

The result of this operation demonstrates how important information from the public can be, Superintendent Moller said.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank the community for information about this illegal brothel and emphasise that information such as this assists police greatly, allowing us to shape investigations and target criminal activity in our community.
A Sydney teenager admits he was a "dumb, immature kid" who sympathised with Islamic State when he bought fixed-blade knives from a gun shop, but denies any plan to use the weapons in a terror attack.

The 18-year-old, who can't be named for legal reasons, has told a court he was a "victim of extremism" who held radical views when he bought the knives on two occasions in October 2016.

The 18-year-old, who can't be named for legal reasons, still protests his innocence after a jury found him guilty. Credit:Louise Douvis

But he still protests his innocence after a jury found him guilty in September of preparing for a terrorist act - claiming that while he sympathised with ISIS, he didn't support them.

"My intention was purely recreational activities ... going hunting, going camping et cetera," the teenager told his NSW Supreme Court pre-sentence hearing on Friday.
More than half the real estate agencies in Sydney's east targeted in a NSW Fair Trading blitz were found to have breached the law, prompting them to cop fines totalling more than $51,000.

About 20 real estate agencies were fined for non-compliance after investigators swooped on 32 businesses across Botany, Mascot, Bondi, Bondi Junction, Kingsford and Maroubra.

NSW Better Regulation Minister Matt Kean said the blitz was triggered by intelligence that suggested numerous real estate agents were not complying with the law.

Mr Kean said the bulk of the breaches related to agents "not properly understanding the responsibilities of their position". That included agents who weren't familiar with trust accounting requirements.

Mr Kean said the penalties highlighted gaps in training and professional development in the industry.
Police are appealing for witnesses to a horror crash that killed a Brisbane nurse at Chermside last Saturday.

Solita Honorio, 52, was leaving The Prince Charles Hospital about 3.45pm when an allegedly speeding drink-driver and crashed into her.

A memorial service for Solita Honorio was held in Aspley on Thursday night. Credit:Facebook

Police allege Ms Honorios car was struck by a black BMW sedan travelling westbound at high speed along Hamilton Road.

A 24-year-old woman, who was initially believed to be a driver in the crash, has had a charge of dangerous operation of a motor vehicle withdrawn.
A child's body has been found by Sunshine Coast road workers after it was left on the side of the road by a funeral home employee.

The infant's body was being transferred from Rockhampton to Brisbane in a funeral car.

During a driver change, the infant's body was put on the car's roof and was reportedly forgotten so when the car drove off once again, the body fell off and was left behind.

The body was not discovered missing until the vehicle arrived at the morgue.

The child's family have been informed of the incident and do not wish to release any more information.
Megachurch Hillsong has taken over Brisbane's historical Lyceum Theatre, also known as the Tribal Theatre.

The church, which has campuses in Mt Gravatt, Springfield and central Brisbane, announced the plan in April after years of speculation.

Hillsong has taken over Brisbane's old Tribal Theatre, painting the bright red exterior black. Credit:Lucy Stone/Fairfax Media

Recent renovations at the old theatre on George Street included signage installed outside, and black paint replacing the old bright red and orange Tribal themes.

The Lyceum has a long and colourful history, opening in 1909 as the city's first silent movie theatre, before changing hands - and names - several times. The theatre was previously owned by Mel Gibson.
A man is fighting for his life after a two-vehicle crash at Kedron, which blocked the northbound access to the Airport Link tunnel for about an hour.

The man, believed to be in his 30s, was taken to Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital in a critical condition after suffering multiple limb fractures in a collision between a motorbike and a car just before 4.30pm.

The crash briefly blocked the Airport Link tunnel. Credit:Harrison Saragossi

Traffic cleared by 6.15pm on Friday following the crash, which happened on the corner of Gympie and Kedron Park roads at Kedron before 5pm.

A police spokesman said three lanes outbound and one lane inbound remained open after the crash.
An 11-year-old boy has been charged after a 12-kilogram rock was thrown from an overpass onto oncoming traffic on a highway west of Melbourne.

Dash-cam footage captured the moment the large rock, which truck driver Andrew Martin said was the size of a melon, was thrown from a Western Highway overpass near Melton and shattered his windscreen.

A truck driving along Melbournes Western Highway has been attacked by rock throwers. Credit:Nine News

Mr Martin, 28, was driving his truck which was carrying foam about 2.20pm on Sunday when the incident occurred.

On Friday afternoon police said they had charged an 11-year-old boy from Melton West with reckless conduct endangering life, criminal damage and discharging a missile.
Students on the move. Credit:Luis Enrique Ascui

Several thousand Victorian students marched out of the classroom and took to the streets of Melbourne on Friday to demand action on climate change.

With chants ranging from elaborate anti-Adani slogans to the more concise do something, do something and ScoMos got to go! students from private, public and both primary and high schools converged outside the Old Treasury building.

The Melbourne protest. Credit:Luis Enrique Ascui

More than 200 students came from Castlemaine alone, where the nationwide strike started several weeks ago with just three students.
A 43-year-old man is in critical condition at Royal Perth Hospital after jumping on to power lines at East Perth's McIVer train station, suffering an electric shock and falling five metres to the ground.

Police were called to Northbridge around 8.40am following reports a man was walking around with a knife, a spokeswoman said.

The man can be seen climbing from the bridge towards the live wires. Credit:9 News Perth.

They followed the man to the train station and saw him walk up an up an embankment to the East Perth Bridge on Lord Street.

Officers tried to coax him back to safety, warning him of the electrical dangers, but 9 News footage shows him coming into contact with live wires, being jolted forward and falling to the ground 4-5 metres below.
Hundreds of school students from across WA gathered at Parliament House on Friday afternoon as part of a national protest against government climate change policies which have young people anxious for the future.

Accompanied by parents and teachers, students defied Prime Minister Scott Morrisons comments earlier this week that called for "more learning and less activism in schools" to take part in the mass strike, and many protest placards played to the theme, jeering the Liberal leader.

Many placards were aimed squarely at Prime Minister Scott Morrison after he condemned the rally plans earlier this week. Credit:Cameron Myles

Amid music and speeches, the rally was led in chants including "we want change". Organisers also handed out pens and paper for students to write letters planned to be sent in a package to Mr Morrison  "or whoever is prime minister when it gets there".

Bella Burgemeister, from Bunbury, read statements from fellow young people detailing their worry at the future of a warming world and dismay at a perceived inaction by those in leadership positions.
A briefing for West Australian government MPs on a report into the economics of fracking from think-tank The Australia Institute was cancelled at the last minute this week, after the report's authors had already flown to Perth.

The Australia Institute says two of the reports three authors were to brief MPs in Parliament House on Thursday, but the state government cancelled the meeting late on Wednesday.

The state government announced its long-awaited decision on fracking in WA on Wednesday. Credit:Nathan Hondros.

Premier Mark McGowan had announced on Wednesday the government would open up roughly five million hectares of WA to fracking, and on Thursday published an opinion piece saying more gas would pave the way for lower gas prices.

But the Canberra-based research institutes report, Economic impacts of unconventional gas in Western Australia, found fracking in WA would bring few jobs, little revenue and could instead increase gas prices.
The future of landmark national security legislation is uncertain after negotiations between the Coalition and Labor broke down, with shadow attorney-general Mark Dreyfus accusing government ministers of blowing up the deliberations of a historically bipartisan parliamentary committee.

Attorney-General Christian Porter and Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton countered, saying it was Labor abandoning bipartisanship on national security and undermining the Assistance and Access Bill, which would give intelligence and law enforcement agencies greater powers to obtain the encrypted communications of criminal suspects.

The intelligence and security committee is scrutinising the legislation and has been considering fast-tracking their work following a surprise demand by the Morrison government  after the Bourke Street terrorist attack  that the bill be passed before Parliament winds up for the year on December 6.

"Significant issues with this bill have not yet been properly dealt with": Shadow attorney-general Mark Dreyfus. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen

In a letter to Mr Porter, Mr Dreyfus said the committee had worked in a bipartisan way since 2014 under successive Coalition governments but under Prime Minister Scott Morrison "its processes appear to have broken down due to the interference with the committee by key ministers".
The federal bureaucracy will have to combat Australia's growing vulnerability to populist decision-making by offering a strong voice for good policy, a business leader reviewing it says.

Coca-Cola Amatil managing director Alison Watkins warned the nation was becoming more susceptible to populism, and in a statement this week upped the stakes for a major review of the 150,000-strong Australian Public Service called by former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull.

Ms Watkins, a panel member of the review led by former Telstra chief executive David Thodey, framed the bureaucracy as a bulwark against populism in Australian politics.

Coca-Cola Amatil managing director Alison Watkins is on a panel reviewing the Australian Public Service. Credit:Peter Braig

"As Australia becomes more susceptible to populist decision-making, the need for a strong independent voice and a consistent way of thinking about good policy will become even more important," she said.
Buenos Aires: President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Scott Morrison will hold a meeting on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Argentina this weekend after earlier doubts the pair would have a chance to talk.

The leaders will hold a "pull-aside" meeting in Buenos Aires, the White House confirmed on Friday, amid heightened global tensions around trade, the economy and security.

The confirmation of the talks, to be held at about 5am on Saturday AEDT, came after Mr Trump issued a surprise decision, while travelling to Argentina on Air Force One, to cancel a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin at the G20 because of the Russian seizure of Ukrainian ships and crew in the Black Sea.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison exits his plane after landing in Buenos Aires for the G20 Summit in Argentina. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen

The move, hours after the meeting with Mr Putin had been confirmed, highlighted the challenge of securing any meeting with the US President but created an opportunity for the Australian talks.
Jakarta: It may seem like time is running out and the obstacles are piling on, but one of the most influential members of Indonesia's government says the Australia-Indonesia free trade deal will still be signed this year.

Luhut Pandjaitan, who is the Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and a former chief of staff to the President Joko Widodo, told Fairfax Media on Friday that "there is no thought of cancelling it" [the free trade deal] and he predicted that it would still be signed this year.

Small groups have gathered outside the Australian embassy in Jakarta this week, holding Palestinian flags and protesting against Australia's plan to recognise Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. Credit:Rudi Aliyafi

The comments come amid small protests outside the Australian embassy in Jakarta earlier this week, with a larger protest due to be held on Friday afternoon.

The terms of the free trade deal were finalised by Widodo and and Prime Minister Scott Morrison in Jakarta in August, but the signing of the deal - which was due to take place in Singapore earlier this month - was delayed because of ongoing disquiet over Australa's possible move of its embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.
Regional Trial Court Presiding Judge Rodolfo Azucena Jnr ruled the officers murdered the teenager during a raid in Caloocan city's slums in Manila last year. It rejected the policemen's claim that Santos fired back while resisting arrest.

Now, 15 months after Santos was murdered, a Philippine court has found three police officers guilty, in the first known such conviction under the President Rodrigo Duterte's deadly crackdown on drugs.

Activists light candles in front of the picture of 17-year-old student Kian Loyd delos Santos in Caloocan, metropolitan Manila on Thursday. Credit:AP

But CCTV footage showed 17-year-old Kian Loyd Delos Santos was dragged past a basketball court into a dead-end screaming "Please can I go home. I have school tomorrow".

The court sentenced the officers, Arnel Oares, Jeremias Pereda and Jerwin Cruz, to be imprisoned for up to 40 years without parole, although they can appeal. Aside from the prison term, the policemen, who appeared in court in handcuffs and yellow detainee shirts, were ordered to pay damages to Santos's impoverished family.

Philippine police officers Jeremias Pereda, Jerwin Cruz and Arnel Oares talk during a senate hearing on the killing last year. Credit:AP

Duterte's crackdown, which has left thousands of suspects dead, reportedly in clashes with the police, has alarmed Western governments and UN rights experts and horrified human rights watchdogs. The volatile President has stressed he does not condone extrajudicial killings, although he has repeatedly threatened drug suspects with death and has assured police he would back them up in ways that human rights watchdogs say have encouraged law enforcers to act with impunity.

"A shoot first, think later attitude can never be countenanced in a civilised society. Never has homicide or murder been a function of law enforcement," Azucena said in his ruling. "The public peace is never predicated on the cost of human life."

Duterte's government called the ruling "a triumph of justice" which disproved critics' assertion that the judiciary was a rubberstamp.
Beijing: Lu Guang's photos exposed the everyday realities of people on the margins of Chinese society: coal miners, drug addicts, HIV patients.

Now, the award-winning photographer is at the centre of his own stark story. He was taken away by state security agents three weeks ago for unknown reasons, Lu's wife, Xu Xiaoli, told The Associated Press.

Lu Guang in New York in July. Credit:Xu Xiaoli/AP

Xu said Lu was traveling in Xinjiang on November 3 when she lost contact with him. He had connected with photographers in Urumqi, the capital, one week before and was scheduled to meet a friend in Sichuan province on November 5, but he never showed up.

A stifling security apparatus has been imposed on the region in recent years as the government combats what it calls terrorist threats from Xinjiang's predominantly Muslim ethnic Uighur and Kazakh populations.
Jakarta: Indonesian rent-a-crowd 'protesters' were paid less than $3.50 each to attend a rally opposing any move by the Australian government of its Israeli embassy from Tel Aviv and Jerusalem.

About 250 people attended the rally on Friday, the fourth rally in the last five days, outside Australia's sprawling embassy compound in Kuningan, south Jakarta and which was organised by the Indonesian Muslim League, a little-known group.

Protesters, some of whom were paid to attend, sit around bored at a rally outside the Australian embassy in Jakarta. Credit:James Massola

But while some attending the protest appeared to be genuinely fired-up by the prospect of Australia shifting its embassy to Jerusalem, perhaps half the crowd appeared largely disinterested and showed little enthusiasm for the speaker imploring them to agree to "occupy" the embassy.

Fairfax Media confirmed with three of the 'protesters' hanging around on the fringes of the rally that many had been paid to attend.
New York: Of all the people likely to cause Donald Trump political pain, Michael Cohen would until recently have been at the very bottom of the list.

The lawyer from Long Island joined the Trump Organisation in 2006 and quickly became known as Trump's "pit bull" because of his total devotion to his boss.

He even once wrote a letter to the publishers of the satirical website The Onion demanding they remove an article poking fun at Trump.

"If somebody does something Mr Trump doesn't like, I do everything in my power to resolve it to Mr Trump's benefit," he said in 2011. "If you do something wrong, I'm going to come at you, grab you by the neck and I'm not going to let you go until I'm finished."
The American midterm election results are still being parsed, weeks after the event: was it a blue ripple, or more like a blue tsunami for the Democrats? But one thing's for sure. Despite record attendance at the polls, still less than half the eligible population voted.

Illustration: Simon Letch. Credit:

Why do so few Americans exercise their fundamental civic duty? An easy answer would be that a lot of them are lazy, or are disengaged from politics, but I don't think it's that simple. For a start, voting in the US is not pleasant. Like anything involving public infrastructure there, it doesn't work very well. There are always long lines  which, ironically, are often trumpeted on social media as proof of democracy at work, rather than its opposite.

Compounding things is that elections are held on a Tuesday. When you consider that nearly 59 per cent of the US workforce are paid by the hour, the decision of whether to stand in a queue when you could be making money to secure your child's healthcare becomes a complicated one.

Unlike in Australia, where you can vote anywhere within your electorate  and voting outside of it isn't difficult  Americans are limited to voting in a particular polling location. Anecdotally, many are confused about where that is. And 45 per cent of Americans have no access to public transportation, so getting there isn't straightforward either.
Wellington: A NSW police officer has been killed in an avalanche while hiking in New Zealand's South Island.

The off-duty 40-year-old officer was buried after he and a companion triggered a small avalanche while climbing down the Eugenie Glacier at Mount Cook National Park about 1.30pm on Thursday, police said.

A view of Mount Cook. Credit:Leigh Henningham

While he has not been named publicly by New Zealand authorities, NSW Police said he was a leading senior constable attached to the Blue Mountains Police Area Command.

"NSW Police have offered support and condolences to the officer's wife and family," a spokeswoman said. "The officers family and colleagues have requested privacy at this time."
AUTO LAB RADIO Saturday November 30, 2018; WNYM Radio AM 970 7-9 AM - Helping You Enjoy The Drive







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Car Question or Concern? Automotive Career Opportunity, Call Toll Free 888-692-7234 To Speak With An Auto Lab Expert











Auto Lab is a 28 year old interactive automotive-focused New York City radio call-in show hosted by Professor Harold Wolchok. Featuring an in-studio panel of experienced hands-on automotive experts sharing accurate, honest, practical and street-smart car repair, automotive career opportunities and vehicle and repair buying advice.

Auto Lab is also about the automotive industry, its history, and its culture, presenting the ideas and advice of leading college faculty, authors, and automotive practitioners in a relaxed, conversational interactive format.

Listeners can find audio recordings of the past 20 years of archived Auto Lab shows as simulcast on The Auto Channel; The Auto Lab Index Page includes; Audio-on-Demand Archives, Community College Auto Program Database, Guests Pictures

This Weeks Show: November 24, 2018

In - Studio

Harold Bendell- Major Auto

Tim Cacace- Master Mechanix

Libby Demarco- Broadway Sunoco

Audra Fordin- Great Bear Auto Repairs & What Women AUTO Know

Jerry Pastore- D & J Diagnostics

Johanna Pastore- D & J Diagnostics

Joanne Porcelli, Esq.

Michael Porcelli- Bronx Community College Automotive Technology Department, City University of New York

Nicholas Prague- MTA

Interviews

Robert Erskine, Senir European Correspondent , Suffolk England

"END OF THE STEERING WHEEL"

John Russell, Senior correspondent

"CHEVY VOLT"

Russ Rader , Senior Vice Preside Insurance Institute for Highway Safety

"HEAD LIGHTS IMPROVE , BUT BASE MODELS LEAVE DRIVERS IN THE DARK"

Robert Sinclair AAA NORTHEAST

"TAKING MULTIPLE MEDICATIONS CAN INCREASE CRASH RISKS FOR OLDER Drivers"

Karren Torress

"INFORMATION ON THE COST OF DISTRACTED DRIVING"
Photo: RYA INMAN / Columbia Daily Spectator

Amid a nationwide uptick in anti-Semitic violence and hate speech, the Columbia Spectator reports that a Jewish professor arrived at work yesterday to find her office vandalized in an apparent anti-Semitic hate crime.

Seventy-seven-year-old Dr. Elizabeth Midlarsky is a professor of psychology and education at Columbia Teachers College, where much of her work focuses on the Holocaust. When she arrived at her office around 1 p.m., she observed the graffiti in her office entranceway, which featured swastikas and the term Yid emblazoned on the wall in red spray-paint.

This is not the first time Midlarsky has been the victim of an anti-Semitic hate crime; in 2007, she had a swastika painted on her office door, which she believed was connected to her public protest against Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad giving a speech at Columbia. This time, however, she attributes the violence to the rising climate of anti-Semitism in the United States, which has led to an increase in hate crimes against Jewish communities, including the murder of ten worshipers at a Pittsburgh synagogue last month. According to the NYPD, anti-Semitic attacks in New York City specifically have also increased while other crimes have declined.

Anti-Semitism is really in the wind now, she told the Post. I didnt expect to be a personal target right now. Im not standing up there waving banners. Im not out there making announcements publicly.

The Columbias Teachers College released a statement saying they are outraged and horrified by the incident, and the NYPD is currently investigating possible suspects.
Banker Phares is a John and Karen Mast Professor at SFA, director of Financial Planning Programs in the Department of Economics and Finance and board certified in estate planning and probate law. He teaches risk management and insurance, a part of which is devoted to the health care act.
The world's best beaches have been named by travel website Flight Network, with Greece's Shipwreck Beach coming out on top.



As Newshub's Dan Luke writes, The website says it used the knowledge of over 600 travel experts and bloggers to create the list of 100 beaches.

Flight Network calls it "the most comprehensive and definitive list of the best beaches on the planet ever assembled".

Sadly, no New Zealand beaches made the list, but here's the top five:

Shipwreck Beach



Flight Network's number one beach is located in Zakynthos, Greece. It's located in a secluded cove surrounded by towering golden cliffs and it's isolation is said to add to its beauty. Shipwreck Beach is only accessible by boat and, as the name suggests, it's also home to an old shipwreck - the MV Panagiotis.
A missing 4-year-old boy who disappeared from his home in Charlotte, North Carolina, was found on Nov. 30, according to the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department. (Charlotte Police)

4-Year-Old N. Carolina Boy Reported Missing at Midnight Found Safe Inside Neighbors Apartment

A missing 4-year-old boy who disappeared from his home in Charlotte, North Carolina, was found on Nov. 30, according to the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department.

Justin Idiarte left his familys Charlotte apartment on the night of Nov. 29, said police, as reported by WCNC.

A WCNC reporter said Justin had walked to another apartment about 300 feet from his home to a neighbors residence. Investigators believe the boy had woken up and believed his parents were not home.

The boys mother told police that he and her two other kids were inside the apartment on the night of his disappearance. She then went to sleep, and when she got up, she reported hearing other child crying before realizing he was missing. At one point, she heard him wake up, but she thought he was going to the bathroom, not outside, according to the report.

Officials said he disappeared from the apartment in the 6600 block of Montcrest Drive and was last seen at around 12:50 a.m., the Charlotte Observer reported.

Police said he was found at 9 a.m. inside the neighbors apartment, WSOC reported.

This is wonderful news and a good day, police spokesman Mike Smathers said.

Officers had gone door-to-door knocking in the search for the boy.

The boy was found when officers knocked on a door for a second time, WSOC reported.

Smathers said family members looked for the boy for about 30 minutes before telling the police.

He said Justin doesnt speak English, but he does recognize his name when he hears it.

Missing Kids

In recent days, there have been several high-profile cases involving missing children in North Carolina.

Earlier this week, 13-year-old Hania Aguilars body was found about one month after she had reportedly been abducted outside of her family home in Lumberton.

This is heart-wrenching; we are absolutely devastated, Lumberton Police Chief Michael McNeill told WMBF News of the discovery.

He added: I wish we had a different outcome for Hanias family, for the community that she lived in, and for the hundreds of law enforcement officers and searchers who put everything, everything they had in to finding her and bringing her back alive. We believe we have found the body of 13-year-old Hania Aguilar. The body was found in a body of water off Wire Grass Road in Robeson County about 4:45 p.m. yesterday afternoon.

The FBI stated that her body was discovered during a search for the girl, saying her family was notified.

And meanwhile, another 13-year-old North Carolina girl was found alive in Oklahoma, and the FBI arrested a man who allegedly abducted her.

Aubrey Joelle Acree, 13, was reported missing by her mother on Nov. 26, prompting a nationwide search this week.

Law enforcement is grateful to a keen eyewitness who helped begin our investigative process with a strong lead that brought us to this joyful outcome, the FBI said in a statement, reported Fox 8. Theyre now working to take the girl home.

There were about 464,324 missing children reported in the FBIs National Crime Information Center last year, according to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. Under federal law, when a child is reported missing to law enforcement they must be entered into the database.
Kayla Riler, of the California Highway Patrols Stockton Communications Center, has been commended for helping to peacefully end a six-hour standoff. (CHP  Stockton)

911 Dispatcher Praised for Ending 6-Hour Standoff With Suicidal Man

A 911 dispatcher in Stockton, California, has been commended on Nov. 28 for helping to calm a suicidal man during a six-hour standoff.

The California Highway Patrol (CHP) Stockton Communications Center received a call from the Jackson Rancheria RV Park along Dalton Road on Nov. 27.

Officials said the call came in around 3:00 p.m. from a man who was alone inside his camper trailer. While on the call, the man started making threats against himself and his neighbors, reported CBS13.

Dispatcher Kayla Riler spoke with the caller, who said he was heavily armed and would kill himself and anyone who came to his door, CHP said in a Facebook post.

As Riler talked with him, the Amador County Sheriffs Department responded to the call and tried to make contact with the man who was reportedly a week-long guest at the RV park.

As Riler had already gained the mans trust, he refused to speak with anyone else.

Meanwhile, officers evacuated about 30 people from the park, blocked off the area, and a SWAT team was called in.

With the support of other dispatchers and members of local crisis negotiation teams, Riler spoke with the distraught man for six hours.

He had some health issues, he was claiming, and he had been drinking. He made some threats to load up his guns and start shooting, and so thats what triggered our response. Weve been up here ever since with pretty much everything we had and all the people we could muster, Amador County Sheriff Martin Ryan told CBS13 of the standoff.

Finally just before 9 p.m., Riler convinced the man to exit his RV and surrender himself to the deputies waiting outside.

At one point, the deputies said they were forced to shoot rubber bullets when the man did not comply with commands. However, no one was injured.

Very proud of our dispatcher! wrote the CHP. Special thanks to all of our law enforcement partners that worked flawlessly together during this successful incident!

The man is now in police custody and is identified as 58-year-old Frank Russell Davenport from La Mesa, reported Fox40.

Police found a shotgun and two handguns in the mans fifth wheel RV. All three guns were loaded. He was accused of making terrorist threats and resisting arrest.

I chose this profession because I wanted to help people and save lives; tonight was a good night, I got to do both! Riler said to the CHP after the incident.

Very proud of our dispatcher! On November 27, 2018, Public Safety Dispatcher (PSD) Kayla Riler, of the California    CHP  Stockton     

Due to PSD Rilers superior efforts and the teamwork of the dispatch center along with multiple Law Enforcement Agencies, this incident concluded favorably, the CHP said.

Unfortunately that is not always the case. If you, or someone you know, is in need of support or intervention please contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255, to speak with a trained professional. If your situation is potentially life-threatening, call 9-1-1 or go to a hospital emergency room.
Arizona Man Allegedly Shoots, Kills His Neighbors Pit Bull: What I Did Was Worth It

An Arizona man was arrested for allegedly shooting and killing a neighbors pit bull while it was caged, according to local news reports this week.

Andrew Evans, 63, was arrested on Nov. 25 in Mesa, Arizona, reported AZFamily.com. He is facing charges of killing an animal, burglary, and disorderly conduct.

Police said that on Nov. 25, there was a conflict between Evans and his neighbor when his dog, a Chihuahua, was attacked by the pit bull, the report said.

The Mesa Police Department said the larger pit bull went after his dog, biting it, and causing severe injuries to the dog. Evans also claimed he was bitten by the animal, but police said he didnt appear to have serious injuries.

Evans said that when he took his dog to the veterinarian, saying the bill was $8,000 for the dogs treatment, the report stated.

While he took his dog to the vet, Evans said the owner of the pit bull agreed to watch his garage sale that Evans was holding. Mesa Police said when he came back from the vet, he went inside the pit bull owners home before shooting and killing the dog.

Evans, police said, shot the victims dog twice in the head while the dog was secured in a cage within the residence, AZFamily reported. Evans then buried the dog somewhere in the desert.

Police said Evans admitted to entering the victims residence with the intent to shoot, kill the victims dog, due to the victims larger dog attacking the defendants small dog, the report said.

In a statement to police, he was quoted as saying: I took my 9 mm Glock and put 2 bullets into the pit bulls brain. The pit bull was in a cage. I then took the pit bull and cage and buried it in the desert.

Evans also said he double tapped the pit bull while it was in his neighbors residence, without elaborating, according to police. And, meanwhile, what he did was worth it, police quoted him as saying.

The neighbor was identified as Joe Cruz. A friend of his, Jamie Connors, said the incident was distressing.

She was laying in a puddle of blood in her kennel. Thats not something for somebody to see, Connors told the News and Tribune. This was my childs best friend. For someone to do something like this? Theres no justification.

Whether your dog got hurt or not, it gives you no right to walk into somebodys home and shoot somebodys dog dead, Connors said of Evans reasoning to shoot the animal.

And even if your dog died, does that give you any justification to kill somebody elses? I dont believe so, she continued.

Cruz told the paper that he and Evans had a friendly relationship until the shooting on Sunday.

Most Abused Dogs on Earth

Animal rights group PETA has said that pit bulls are the most abused dogs on Earth.

Pit bulls are left at shelters in record numbersand since they are difficult to adopt out, reputable shelters (that dont slam the door in the dogs faces) are finding that they must euthanize more pit bulls and pit bull mixes than all other dogs combined, the group said.

Karen Delise, research director for the National Canine Research Council and author of The Pitbull Placebo, has investigated hundreds of dog bite incidents.

She wrote in a now-taken down article: My study of dog bite-related fatalities occurring over the past five decades has identified the poor ownership/management practices involved in the overwhelming majority of these incidents: owners obtaining dogs, and maintaining them as resident dogs outside of regular, positive human interaction, often for negative functions (i.e. guarding/protection, fighting, intimidation/status).
Australian Politician Hails Remote Tribes Border Policy After Missionarys Killing

An Australian politician known for her firm anti-immigration stance has praised a remote Indian island tribe for defending their way of life after reportedly killing an American missionary earlier this month with bows and arrows.

Sen. Pauline Hanson of Australias One Nation Party filed a motion on Nov. 27 calling for the Senate to support the desire of the Sentinelese people to protect their culture and way of life, Australias ABC reported.

Hanson petitioned the Australian Senate in a formal motion to support the desire of the Sentinelese people to protect their culture and way of life through the enforcement of their strict zero-gross immigration policy.

Culture Cherished and Protected

I for one will not be condemning the Sentinelese as racist for keeping their borders closed, nor will I condemn them for their lack of diversity, Hanson said.

In the motion, Hanson identified the Sentinelese as likely the last pre-Neolithic tribe in the world and said their unique culture and way of life should be cherished and protected.

Will the Senate support the proud Sentinelese people in their desire to protect their way of life through the enforcement of strong border protections? Or will the Senate condemn them for their "intolerant immigration policies" & "lack of diversity"? We'll have to wait & see! -PH pic.twitter.com/nb8Qk0jPsN  Pauline Hanson ?? (@PaulineHansonOz) November 26, 2018

Ive Been Shot

Members of the Sentinelese tribe, who live on the remote North Sentinel Island and have a history of hostility toward outsiders, reportedly killed 26-year-old John Allen Chau of Vancouver, Washington, and buried his body on the beach.

Chau tried to make contact with the indigenous people out of a desire to bring Christianity to the island dwellers.

Well, Ive been shot by the Sentinelese.  By a kid probably about 10 or so years old, maybe a teenager, short compared to those who looked like adults, Chau said, reported the Daily Mail, which posted a photo of a journal the missionary kept.

I DONT WANT TO DIE, wrote Chau in his notes, CBS News reported. Would it be wiser to leave and let someone else to continue. No, I dont think so.

Chau made his way onto North Sentinel Island despite a travel ban.

The Indian government has imposed stringent travel restrictions to the island and contact with the Sentinelese tribe is illegal. This is done to protect their way of life and prevent them from contracting diseases that they have no immunity to and that could easily prove fatal.

You would be hard pressed to find a single expert who would argue against protecting the Sentinelese peoples culture and way of life through limiting migration to their island, Hanson said, according to the ABC.

But Hansons fellow politicians didnt support the senators motion. Some argued that her apparent support of indigenous rights was a hypocritical attempt to exploit the tribe for her own base political purposes, according to the ABC.

Hanson had previously sought to drastically reduce the number of Asian and then Muslim immigrants coming to Australia, criticised the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission (ATSIC) for the lack of accountability and effectiveness in welfare programs for indigenous peoples, and publicly challenged a 9-year-old school girl who refused to stand for the national anthem.

Pauline Hanson rejects 9 year old who refuses to stand for National anthem 9 YEAR OLD REFUSES TO STAND FOR NATIONAL ANTHEMYour responses to this story this morning say it all.It's disgraceful that any parent would suggest to their child that our National anthem doesn't represent the whole of our nation.We spend over $30 billion dollars each year on Aboriginal programs, health, housing, and education in order to 'Close the Gap', but it's this type of brainwashing from do-gooder parents that actually keep the divide alive and well.If it's good enough for Cathy Freeman, Johnathon Thurston, and Warren Mundine to stand for the National anthem, it should be good enough for this 9-year-old brat.#Auspol #CloseTheGap #PaulineHanson #OneNation #Brat #Kenmore    Pauline Hanson's Please Explain     

Recovery Troubles

Officials have recently said they are struggling with the retrieval of Chaus body.

Its a difficult proposition, said Dependera Pathak, who is the director-general of police on Indias Andaman and Nicobar Islands, AP reported. We have to see what is possible, taking utmost care of the sensitivity of the group and the legal requirements.

Tribal rights groups have urged the Indian government to leave Chaus body on the island out of fear its recovery could lead to further danger.

P.C. Joshi, an anthropology professor at Delhi University, said the islanders are at risk of contracting infectious diseases. They are not immune to anything, he said. A simple thing like flu can kill them.
An image from a video taken on Sunday, Dec. 27, 2015, shows the central square is illuminated to mark the upcoming New Year and Orthodox Christmas celebrations in Donetsk, eastern Ukraine. (AP video via AP)

Baby Its Cold Outside Banned From Cleveland Radio Station Amid Me Too

A radio station in Cleveland, Ohio, stopped playing Baby Its Cold Outside, a song from the 1940s, amid the Me Too movement.

WDOK Christmas 102.1 said it pulled the song from its around-the-clock rotation of Christmas music this week after a listener complained, Fox8 reported.

The song includes a woman singing about leaving a mans house as he implores her to stay.

The woman sings, I really cant stay and he responds with but baby, its cold outside.

Say, whats in this drink? she sings and I simply must go the answer is no.

WDOK midday host Desiray told WJW: It wasnt really our decision. Its the decision of our listeners. He said the stations lineup of music is decided by the listeners.

The station posted a poll about the song on its website, and a majority of people said it should be pulled from the stations rotation.

People might say, Oh, enough with that #MeToo, but if you really put that aside and listen to the lyrics, its not something I would want my daughter to be in that kind of a situation, Desiray explained. The tune might be catchy, but lets maybe not promote that sort of an idea.

On the stations website, however, the results of the poll arent available. It can be accessed here.

PC Gone Amok?

The move drew backlash online from commenters around the United States and in Cleveland, accusing the station of giving into rampant political correctness.

THIS IS NUTS! If we start ignoring or banning anything that is currently politically misaligned we will be doing our history a huge injustice. This is GOING TOO FAR!! Not only that but this is my FAVORITE Xmas song  and yes, I AM A WOMAN!! wrote one woman in the USA Today comments section.

Said another, These PC nuts have had their way for too long.

Added another woman, Its a stupid song that was written 75 years ago when men were gentlemen.

A woman in the comments section for WDOK 102 Cleveland also wrote: If you guys start giving into this BS, Im done. Tired of a bunch of snowflakes that get offended about EVERYTHING ruining EVERYTHING for everyone else. If you dont like it  Turn. The. Channel. Obviously, these sensitive people keep on listening to pick the playlist apart.

Said another: Do we really have to make ourselves a victim at every turn? People need to stop teaching our future generations that every little thing is bullying or politically incorrect and that they are always a victim in some way. this is an innocent song about a gentleman that wants to snuggle his ladyfriend. NO ONE THAT LISTENS TO THIS IS A VICTIM. Come on 102 Cant anything be taken for what it really is anymore?

Here are the full lyrics to the song:

I really cant stay (but baby, its cold outside)

Ive got to go away (but baby, its cold outside)

This evening has been (been hoping that youd drop in)

So very nice (Ill hold your hands, theyre just like ice)

My mother will start to worry (beautiful whats your hurry?)

My father will be pacing the floor (listen to the fireplace roar)

So really Id better scurry (beautiful please dont hurry)

But maybe just a half a drink more (put some records on while I pour)

The neighbors might think (baby, its bad out there)

Say whats in this drink? (no cabs to be had out there)

I wish I knew how (your eyes are like starlight now)

To break this spell (Ill take your hat, your hair looks swell)

I ought to say, no, no, no sir (mind if I move in closer?)

At least Im gonna say that I tried (whats the sense in hurtin my pride?)

I really cant stay (oh baby dont hold out)

But baby, its cold outside

I simply must go (but baby, its cold outside)

The answer is no (but baby, its cold outside)

Your welcome has been(how lucky that you dropped in)

So nice and warm (look out the window at this dawn)

My sister will be suspicious (gosh your lips look delicious)

My brother will be there at the door (waves upon the tropical shore)

My maiden aunts mind is vicious (gosh your lips are delicious)

But maybe just a cigarette more (never such a blizzard before)

Ive gotta get home(but baby, youd freeze out there)

Say lend me a coat(its up to your knees out there)

Youve really been grand (i thrill when you touch my hand)

But dont you see? (how can you do this thing to me?)

Theres bound to be talk tomorrow (think of my lifelong sorrow)

At least there will be plenty implied (if you got pneumonia and died)

I really cant stay (get over that old out)

Baby, its cold

Baby, its cold outside
A 100 percent match has been found for Susie Rabaca, right, who has a type of leukemia. (Susie Rabaca/Facebook)

California Leukemia Patient Expecting Twins Finds Perfect Donor Match

A leukemia patient who is expecting twins found a perfect donor match after tens of thousands of people registered to donate bone marrow to her.

Susie Rabaca, 36, who is due to give birth by Dec. 6, needed a bone-marrow transplant to help treat her leukemia and found the match just weeks after her story went viral.

For me to find one and for it to be 10 out of 10 at that is amazing. Nothing better in the world right now, Rabaca, already a mother of three, told ABC 7.

She hasnt met the donor yet but sent a message to him or her.

Whoever you are out therethank you so much. Youre saving my life. Youre an angel, and I hope one day to meet you, she said.

Doctors said previously that her sister was only a 50 percent match and that because of the aggressiveness of the leukemia, she needed a complete match. Also rejected was the tens of millions of people already registered on Be The Match.

Susie, a woman battling leukemia while pregnant with twins, has found a bone marrow donor that is a 100 percent match! More than 40,000 people joined the Be the Match registry in a mission to help Susie. Congrats, Susie! For info on the registry, visit https://t.co/syeHpuU5aa pic.twitter.com/B76legxb7g  LifeStream (@lifestreamblood) November 29, 2018

The difficulty stemmed from Rabacas heritage, a combination of Caucasian and Latino.

After Rabacas story aired locally on television stations and in print, nearly 40,000 people registered on a registry on Be The Match, offering to donate bone marrow to her.

Only 3 percent of our registry is mixed ethnicity and so it can be really difficult to find a matching donor. The fact that we have identified a potential match for her is really exciting, said Julie Kornike, with Be The Match, after the match was announced.

Rabaca said she couldnt believe when she was called and told she had a match.

Its truly a miracle, she told the Daily Breeze, recounting the phone call.

I had no idea how I was going to find a match, she said. It was scary.

A celebration was held with family and friends at Sorrentos restaurant in San Pedro.

Its a blessing, added Al Gomez, a community outreach specialist at Be The Match. Its crazy this happened so fast. It was a tremendous outpouring of love and support.

The transplant is tentatively scheduled for Jan. 9 at the City of New Hope in Duarte. The donor is still undergoing testing.

AML

Rabaca has acute myeloid leukemia (AML), a type of cancer estimated to crop up in about 19,500 people in 2018 and kill about 10,600. AML accounts for about 1 percent of all cancers.

According to the American Cancer Society, AML often progresses quickly if its not treated, making the treatment imperative.

Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) starts in the bone marrow (the soft inner part of certain bones, where new blood cells are made), but most often it quickly moves into the blood, as well. It can sometimes spread to other parts of the body including the lymph nodes, liver, spleen, central nervous system (brain and spinal cord), and testicles, the society stated.

The organization also highlighted the connection to bone marrow.

Bone marrow is the soft inner part of certain bones. It is made up of blood-forming cells, fat cells, and supporting tissues. A small fraction of the blood-forming cells are blood stem cells, it stated.

Inside the bone marrow, blood stem cells develop into new blood cells. During this process, the cells become either lymphocytes (a kind of white blood cell) or other blood-forming cells, which are types of myeloid cells. Myeloid cells can develop into red blood cells, white blood cells (other than lymphocytes), or platelets. These myeloid cells are the ones that are abnormal in AML.

From NTD News
Calls for Democrat Rep. to Resign After She Says Republicans Family Should Die

Calls for an Illinois state representative to resign were circulating after she shocked colleagues by stating that the family of a Republican state Representative should die.

To the representative from Lombard, I would like to make him a broth of Legionella and pump it into the water system of his loved one so that they can be infected, they can be mistreated, they can sit and suffer by getting aspirin instead of being properly treated and ultimately die, State Rep. Stephanie Kifowit, a Democrat, said on the House Floor on Nov. 27.

Her comments were aimed at Rep. Peter Breen after he questioned how much the bill would cost.

Breen, the House Republican floor leader, leaves office at the end of the year after losing his election.

The remark came as the Illinois House prepared to vote on whether to override Gov. Bruce Rauners amendatory veto of a bill to increase the cap the state pays in civil litigation cases from $100,000 to $2 million, according to the Chicago Sun-Times.

The legislation, which passed in May, was aimed at helping families of patients with the deadly Legionnaires disease following an outbreak in the state.

Illinois Democratic Rep. Stephanie Kifowit calls for the deaths of GOP Rep. Peter Breen's family: "I would like to make him a broth of Legionella and pump it into the water system of his loved ones so that they can be infectedthey can sit and sufferand ultimately die" pic.twitter.com/zdQmhhrJsh  Ryan Saavedra (@RealSaavedra) November 30, 2018

Shortly after Kifowits comments, State Rep. Jeanne Ives lashed out at her.

How dare you. How dare you concoct up some sort of story about brewing up some batch of Legionella and having him feed it to his family. How dare you take the discussion and the debate about a very serious bill that has a huge cost consequence on both sides, both for the victim and the state taxpayers, Ives said.

How dare you take an honest debate about an issue and then wish death on my colleague Peter Breen, his wife, and his two adopted kids.

Kifowit claimed that she was speaking hypothetically and said later on Nov. 27 that her words were misinterpreted but lied about what she said, a local reporter noted.

Quite clearly what I said was imagine if it was your family, she said, though she didnt use those words [in her original comments], noted Chicago Tribune reporter Rick Pearson. So if it was misheard, Ill apologize for the misheard, but my words were clearly, Imagine if it was your family.

She expanded further on Wednesday in a statement, saying: My attempt to illustrate empathy for the families that were affected by the loss of their loved ones was not conveyed properly.

I would never wish any harm or mortality on anyones family, including the Breen family, she added, reported the Daily Herald. The House voted unanimously to expunge her comments.

As the Illinois Republican Party called for Kifowit to resign, Breen was among those who said the apology didnt cut it.

If the representative had made her statement to me in the parking lot or left it as a phone message at my office, she would be in custody right now, he said. But because she made her statement on the House floor, her remarks were met with applause instead of handcuffs.

There certainly needs to be accountability for the conduct we saw yesterday. Otherwise, this sort of despicable behavior will become the new standard of what we allow in this chamber. And it will set the bar for acceptable conduct very low for the people of our state, Breen added.

From NTD News
Immigrant rights activist Elvira Arellano (L) of Mexico stands with her U.S.-born son Saul at a press conference inside the Adalberto United Methodist Church on Aug. 15, 2007, in Chicago, Illinois, where she had taken refuge for a year because she faced deportation. She became the poster child for those who argue that illegal aliens with U.S.-born children should never face deportation. (JEFF HAYNES/AFP/Getty Images)

Can Birthright Citizenship Be Stopped Without Constitutional Amendment?

Commentary

President Donald Trump announced plans on Oct. 30 to issue an executive order that would end the practice of giving U.S. citizenship to children of illegal aliens.

By taking this bold action, the president is poised to make history by forcing the U.S. Supreme Court to issue its first clarification on whether U.S.-born children of illegal aliens are entitled to birthright citizenship. Following the presidents lead, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) expressed his support by stating his plans to file legislation addressing the matter.

Birthright citizenship comes from the 14th Amendments citizenship clause, which states, All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. Although some scholars argue it would take a constitutional amendment to end the practice, others point to statutory language and the text of the 14th Amendment to argue that Congress has the authority to address the matter.

Congresss authority, they argue, is found in the language that implies anyone not subject to the jurisdiction of the United States is excluded from automatic citizenship. The subject to the jurisdiction thereof clause is understood to mean Native Americans, foreign diplomats, and soldiers.

Historical Context

Contextually and historically, the 14th Amendment was never meant to be a loophole entitling individuals from other countries to automatic citizenship. Adopted in 1868, the amendment was a correction to an injustice against African slaves and their U.S-born children who found themselves stripped of citizenship after the 1857 Dred Scott v. Sandford decision. It ruled that African slaves and their descendants were notand could neverbecome U.S. citizens.

Writing for the Tennessee Star, constitutional amendments expert Gregory Watson cites the 1952 Immigration and Nationality Act as a legal basis for clarifying the issue. Watson refers to Section 202, Pub. L. No. 82-414, which, in part, reads (3) an alien born in the United States shall be considered as having been born in the country of which he is a citizen or subject.

Watsons reference to Public Law 82-414 and the arguments of lawyers and scholars who believe a proper congressional clarification of the subject to the jurisdiction thereof clause provide a legal basis for ending birthright citizenship. This issue is important, has real-life consequences, and needs to be clarified by the Supreme Court.

The Pew Research Center estimates that about 250,000 babies were born in the United States in 2016 to parents residing in the country illegally. An estimated 36,000 additional babies are born to parents from around the world who come legally as part of the birth tourism trade. It is perfectly legal for pregnant women to travel to the United States for medical reasons, including childbirth. Note, though, that children subsequently raised in their parents home country become status symbols who can sponsor other members of their families for citizenship once they reach age 18.

Millions of Americans first learned about birthright citizenship and mixed-status families when Elvira Arellano, a twice-deported Mexican mother with an American-born son, defied the second deportation orders by seeking sanctuary in Adalberto United Methodist Church in South Side Chicago. Between August 2006 and August 2007, Arellano held press conferences and garnered headlines before she was eventually arrested and deported after she left the church for a speaking engagement.

She returned to the United States in 2014 and asked for asylum. In 2017, she was granted another year of U.S. residency. How Arellanos case is resolved will have political implications because she is the poster child for those who argue that illegal aliens with U.S.-born children should never face deportation.

Partisan Battle

Whether the president is successful or not at unilaterally ending the practice of birthright citizenship, he is certain to force a showdown over the matter. Public Law 82-414 and the legal analysis of professors Peter Schuck and Rogers Smith in their 1985 book Citizens Without Consent: Illegal Aliens and the American Polity suggest the issue can be resolved without a constitutional amendment.

Schuck and Smith wrote: The Fourteenth Amendments Citizenship Clause makes birthright citizenship for the children of illegal and temporary visitor aliens a matter of congressional choice rather than constitutional prescription.

If Trump or Congress acts to eliminate birthright citizenship, we can expect a ferocious partisan battle. Eventually, the U.S. Supreme Court will be forced to clarify the matter. The legitimacy of birthright citizenship for the children of illegal aliens will finally be resolved. We will soon see if Congress or the president has the courage to advance the matter.

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.
This picture taken on March 22, 2018 shows the Shanghai Gaoqiao Company Refinery in Shanghai.(JOHANNES EISELE/AFP/Getty Images)

Fujian Chemical Spill Was 10 Times Greater Than Initially Disclosed

An investigation found that the amount of a toxic petrochemical that spilled into a harbor earlier this month in eastern Chinas Fujian province was 10 times greater than initially reported.

Meanwhile, residents of Quangang, where the incident occurred, say that local authorities and the company involved in the spill of C9 aromatic hydrocarbon have refused to compensate them for losses incurred by the local fishing industry. Fishermen fear for their business prospects over the next two years.

Following an investigation, the Quanzhou municipal government said Nov. 25 in a press conference that the actual size of the C9 leak at the Donggang Petrochemical Industry Co. terminal was 69.1 tons, and resulted from human error, Chinas state-run Xinhua News Agency reported. Initial reports had put the amount of the Nov. 4 spill in the port district of Quangang at about seven tons of the chemical.

The spill occurred during the transfer of the chemical from the factory to a tanker ship. Because a crane on the dock was out of order, an operator manually dragged the oil hose, in violation of regulations, to connect it between the dock and a tanker. A falling tide led to a puncture in the hose, which caused the spill.

C9 aromatic hydrocarbon solvents are a skin, eye, and respiratory irritant that can hamper breathing; damage to the liver and kidneys may occur with prolonged exposure.

Official Indifference

A villager surnamed Xiao from Xiaocuo Village, which is located a few miles away from the incident, told the Chinese-language Epoch Times on Nov. 28 that immediate losses to the fishermen will run between 70,000 and 80,000 yuan ($10,000 to $11,500) a month. But the government hasnt made good on its promises of compensation.

The government said they will buy the [contaminated fish], Xiao said. But they wont pay the money all at once. They offered to pay us half of it, then 20 percent of the remaining half, then 20 percent of the remainder, and then the final 10 percent at a later date. However, this was only a verbal promise. There is no real contract.

Xiao said that the incident was caused by the companys violation of regulations, so it should be held responsible for the fishermens future losses, but the government doesnt agree.

Its estimated that fishermen cant fish for two years because of the chemical pollution, Xiao said. The fishermen make a living by fishing. What can they do if they cant earn a living in the future? Who will take responsibility?

Mr. Xiao said that the Quangang District authorities havent offered any specific aid for the fishermen. Instead, officials keep putting off the matter while asking for residents patience.

How can we be patient when we dont have food? Xiao said.

From Oasis of Longevity to Cancer Village

Quangang District was once known as an oasis of longevity, due to its favorable natural environment and the hereditary health of the locals.

Before the refineries moved here, even ordinary dogs could live for 18 years, Xiao said.

The Chinese regime established Xiaocuo Town in the Quanzhou District in July 1991. In 1992, a refinery that processed 2.5 million tonnes of crude oil per year was completed and put into operation.

In 1996, another refinery with an annual processing capacity of 8 million tonnes and a large thermal power plant were built.

After 2000, the first refinery expanded its annual processing capacity to 12 million tonnes. In 2008, after the port was established, Quangang District became a center of a petrochemical industry that Xiao calls a district of cancer, with locals being diagnosed with the disease as early as their 20s or 30s.

Eight out of the 10 cancer patients in the Fuzhou Cancer Hospital are from Quangang District, Xiao said. In recent years, basically all families I know in Quangang District have someone diagnosed with cancer.

Yi Ru contributed to this report.
Flags fly outside the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) at EPA headquarters in Washington, U.S., July 11, 2018. (Ting Shen/Reuters)

Creating a Crisis: Fear Surrounding Toxic Air Pollution in Chicago

Commentary

On one level, the following is a local story, because it was big news only in the Chicago metropolitan area (where I was born and still reside). On another level, its more than that. Its the kind of story that could be written a hundred times over, all around the country.

The particulars change, but the themes are the same: misrepresented data taken out of context; public confusion, fear, and ultimately fury; irresponsible journalism; and politicians eager to exploit fear and anger to their advantage.

I am convinced the word toxic is misused far more often than it is properly used. No compound is inherently toxic, just as no compound is inherently safe. Toxicity is about dose, exposure route, and the vulnerability of the person exposed.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulates certain air pollutants that are often called toxic. But, the EPA does not use that word. Rather, it calls the 187 compounds that Congress decided deserve special attention under the Clean Air Act hazardous air pollutants, or HAPs.

The EPA administers a vast national program to ensure that HAP emissions are controlled using the best technology available, and that these controls are properly operated and periodically checked to make sure HAP emissions that do occur do not present any unacceptable risk to the public.

The program, National Emissions Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAP), not only set the criteria for control of those 187 compounds, it also established best practices for many industries who use them.

The public does not realize how much time, money, and effort goes into ensuring that no one is exposed to toxic levels of HAP emissions. I dont blame the public for that lack of knowledge; there are only so many hours in the day to stay informed in an increasingly complex world.

I do blame agencies who mishandle data. I do blame organizations and journalists who whip up fear whenever the next toxic scare occurs. And I do blame public figures who cant wait to turn fear-mongering into votes.

Latest Scare

The last toxic scare in Chicagoland erupted in a suburb called Willowbrook earlier this year, and it had all of the aforementioned classic elements.

The incident that triggered the terror was when the EPA released a report summarizing the results of ambient air sampling conducted in Willowbrook near a facility owned and operated by Sterigenics. Sterigenics, as the name implies, sterilizes things. In the case of the Willowbrook facility, it sterilizes medical equipment (most doctors agree that sterile medical equipment is a good thing).

Like many similar facilities, Sterigenics uses an effective chemical called ethylene oxide to achieve sterilization. Ethylene oxide is also a HAP.

The EPA has set control standards, practices, and emission limits to ensure that ethylene oxide emissions from sterilization facilities are reduced sufficiently to prevent harm to humans and the environment, just as it has set control standards, practices, and emission limits for every other HAP it regulates.

Sterigenics was, and is, meeting all of the standards related to ethylene oxide emissions from its Willowbrook facility.

But, when the EPA reported that 18 ambient air samples taken in Willowbrook were determined to contain concentrations of ethylene oxide that exceeded their target one-in-a-million cancer-risk level, the press, environmental NGOs, and political types went nuts. And naturally, the public was swept along in the wave of terror.

The EPA screwed up handling this issue in a number of ways.

First, they didnt offer any context. They didnt explain how extensive and thorough the NESHAP program is. They didnt note that people are exposed to equally minute concentrations of ethylene oxide generated by natural sources all the time.

Second, they didnt emphasize how they threw out the majority (21 of 39) of samples taken because the ethylene oxide concentrations were too low (we call that cherry picking).

Third, they didnt properly explain that you cant draw long-term conclusions about health risks from short-term sampling.

And finally, they didnt explain that the supposed unacceptable cancer risk presented by the reported ethylene oxide analyses only applied if a resident stood in the same spot where the sample was taken and remained there for 33 years.

Stoking Panic

The EPAs mishandling of the data created a vacuum of uncertainty that was quickly filled by panic. Leading the charge was a familiar figure in Chicagoland panic-attack tales: Chicago Tribune environmental reporter Michael Hawthorne.

Hawthorne operated in accordance with a personal playbook that gave top billing to the environmental NGOs that were predictably shocked to find that the innocent residents of Willowbrook had supposedly been exposed to such awful dangers.

A more rational voice or two might get a couple of sentences worth of quotes in a Hawthorne story, three or four paragraphs or so from the end. But, as is typical of crusading journalists waving the green flag, Hawthorne crafts his stories so as to minimize the legitimacy of any dissenting points of view.

It was election season and politicians of every stripe hoped to cash in on the delirium. Using Hawthornes inflammatory stories as a jumping off point, they piled on, accusing incumbents of falling asleep at the wheel while the ethylene oxide iceberg loomed ahead.

The Democratic Illinois Attorney General, Lisa Madigan, filed a lawsuit against Sterigenics on her own accord after the Illinois EPA (IEPA) refused to ask her do so, for the very good reason that the IEPA chose to respond rationally and professionally to the purported crisis, recognizing that Sterigenics was clearly fulfilling all their regulatory obligations.

The incumbent Republican governor, Bruce Rauner, who was engaged in a bloody re-election battle in a decidedly blue state, called for Sterigenics to shut down their Willowbrook operation in the hope that it would get him a few more votes.

The wheels were already starting to come off the story, for the reasons I noted, when a bombshell hit last week. The EPA acknowledged that it might have misidentified another more innocuous compound as ethylene oxide in the lab work.

That was, one hopes, the final nail in the coffin of another supposed crisis that has been about symbolism, not science. Sadly, the Great Willowbrook Scare of 2018 will surely not be the last time that baseless fear and those willing to exploit it create a crisis where none exists.

When science takes a back seat to messaging, everyone loses.

Richard Trzupek is a chemist and environmental consultant as well as an analyst at The Heartland Institute. He is also the author of Regulators Gone Wild: How the EPA Is Ruining American Industry.

Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
Venus Walker, of Warren, Ohio and a GM employee with 12 years at the Lordstown plant, prays during a vigil outside the Lordstown GM plant, on Nov. 29, 2018. (William D. Lewis/The Vindicator via AP)

Devastated General Motors Workers Gather in Prayer Over the Closure of Their Ohio Plant

Hundreds of General Motors workers gathered in prayer after the announcement that the firm would close a plant in Lordstown.

The workers appeared outside the GM plant on Nov. 29. It is among five plants across the United States and Canada that are slated to close in 2019 as the company moves to lay off about 14,500 workers.

On Monday, GM announced that its assembly plants in Lordstown, Detroit, and Ontario will be shut down. Propulsion plants in White Marsh, Maryland, and Warren, Michigan, will also be unallocated next year.

Fox8 reported that GM union members spoke at the prayer vigil on Thursday in the hopes the plant would be saved as well as workers jobs. They believe there will be an adverse economic impact if the plant shuts down.

A prayer vigil is held outside the General Motors plant in Lordstown Ohio. General Motors has announced it will close the plant in the end of 2019 affecting 1500 employees. #10tv #gm #lordstown pic.twitter.com/3FiCQyTDF6  Kevin Landers (@Kevin10TV) November 29, 2018

Venus Walker, who joined the Lordstown vigil, told The Youngstown Vindicator: Its so cold. But theres nothing to block usrain or cold  We have to fight for our plight.

Walker added: Hopefully, the government will hear us.

The plant in Lordstown will be officially shuttered on March 1.

Ken Smith, 54, said he worked in the plant for about six years before he was laid off. Its awful, he said. Its hard to describe just how terrible I feel for the thousands of people its going to affect.

Over 100 workers and their families gathered outside the GM Lordstown complex Thursday afternoon to pray for the future of the plant.    Fox 8 News     

People dont know all of their options right now, theyre afraid, said union member Sandy Hrabowy, WFMJ-TV reported.

I just turned 49. So yeah, going back to school, I thought Id be done with school, but when we got this news on Monday Im like this aint going to be good, added Michelle Ripple.

My dad worked here and this was a family business, said David Green, president of union UAW Local 1112, the Business Journal Daily reported. His union represents about 1,500 workers at the facility.

He added: I knew I had an opportunity to come to work out here and I was very grateful. I want to make sure that kids that are in school now have an opportunity to come out and work here one day too.

Earlier in the week, sobbing GM workers were seen wiping away tears in Ontario following the announcement their plant would be closed.

I dont know how Im going to feed my family, Matt Smith, a worker at an Ontario factory, said outside the plant, News.com.au reported. Its hard. Its horrible.

Cut Subsidies?

President Donald Trump criticized the automaker for the closures and layoffs, saying the United States would cut all subsidies. Very disappointed with General Motors and their CEO, Mary Barra, for closing plants in Ohio, Michigan and Maryland, Trump tweeted on Nov. 27. We are now looking at cutting all @GM subsidies, including for electric cars. Nothing being closed in Mexico & China. The U.S. saved General Motors, and this is the THANKS we get, he also wrote. GM, in a statement, claimed it is committed to maintaining a strong manufacturing presence in the U.S. and said that many of the U.S. workers impacted by [plant closures] will have the opportunity to shift to other GM plants, CNBC reported. We appreciate the actions this administration has taken on behalf of industry to improve the overall competitiveness of U.S. manufacturing, the firm said.
Disgruntled Customer Torches Shop Items Using Hairspray and Lighter

Police in Philadelphia are searching for a woman who tried to torch parts of a store with a makeshift flamethrower using hairspray and a lighter.

The unidentified woman was inside a deli in the morning hours of Nov. 20, according to an NBC report, when she became disgruntled when she tried to obtain alcohol.

The owner of the deli, Yang Lin, told NBC the woman had requested a beer but didnt have any money to pay for it. Lin said that when he refused to give the woman the alcohol for free, she lost her temper and threw glass at him.

I said, You need to get out of here. You know? She was more angry. She saw me go out so she wanted to fight me, Lin said, according to the report.

Police said that at one point during the encounter, the woman took out a can of hairspray from her purse and ignited it with a lighter.

A surveillance video shows the woman, with bright-red hair, leaning through an opening in the counter partition and striking the hairspray can against an object on the other side of the divider.

The woman then holds up the lighter in front of the can and aims the burning spray like a torch for about 20 seconds.

Lin told NBC that he had to move away from the counter to avoid being burned.

The woman eventually left the store.

Thankfully the fire didnt spread, Philadelphia Police Capt. Sekou Kinebrew said, according to the report. The building didnt burn down but it could have had catastrophic results.

Surveillance video showed several customers standing in the background as the woman directed the flames at the counter.

No injuries were reported.

Lin told NBC he had seen the woman in his store before but added that she was not a regular customer.

Police have called on the public for help locating the suspect.

The publics assistance is requested in identifying the following individual who is seen in the following video spraying hairspray through an opening in the front counter and then igniting it with a lighter causing a fire.

The suspect is described as a black female in her mid-30s to early-40s, standing 5 feet 5 inches tall with short, red hair and a thin to medium build. She was last seen wearing flower-designed gray pants with a white stripe down the outer leg, a black jacket, black boots, and round earrings.

Philadelphia police said the woman will be charged with arson if she is caught, according to CNN.

The incident occurred at Wyncote Beer Deli, which is located on the 2100 block of West 65th Avenue in Philadelphias Oak Lane neighborhood.

Police urged anyone with information to contact 911 immediately, but warned that the suspect should not be approached.
Dog the Bounty Hunter Says His Wife, Beth Chapman, Is Not Doing Good

Duane Dog the Bounty Hunter Chapman said his wife isnt doing well after she had emergency surgery this week

Listen, I appreciate the question and please say a prayer, he told TMZ on Nov. 29. Shes not doing good.

His daughter, Lyssa, also issued a statement on her mothers condition.

We really appreciate the prayers of our fans and we appreciate the support of our fans. Were all so devastated, we love our mommy so much. We got such an amazing outpour from our fans and we just really appreciate it. Poor daddy, she said, according to the Daily Mail.

On Tuesday, Beth Chapman was rushed to the hospital to deal with a life-threatening mass in her throat.

Their family attorney, Andrew Brettler, told Fox that she underwent surgery because doctors discovered her throat cancer had returned. Unfortunately, Beths cancer has come back. Its serious and her doctors are evaluating her treatment options, Brettler said.

Duane Chapman said the newly discovered cancerous lump is twice the size of the mass she previously had.

She had a lump in her throat twice the size of last time, and they performed an emergency surgery yesterday, he told the Mail. They cut a hole in her throat so she can breathe; she can still talk, he added.

Beth was diagnosed with throat cancer in 2017, after which she issued a lengthy statement to fans.

Ive been dealt my share of unexpected blows over the course of my almost fifty years but nothing as serious as the one I heard from my doctors two weeks ago when they uttered those dreaded three words, You have cancer,' she wrote.

After months of a nagging cough, a routine checkup resulted in a diagnosis of stage II throat cancer, Beth added. I have what is referred to as a T2 Tumor in my throat that is blocking my breathing. My doctors are suggesting immediate treatment and surgery before the disease progresses.

Duane credited the familys faith for helping her survive.

Faith is probably the number one thing in our lives, no matter what were faced with Through this cancer episode, we had to drum up as much faith as we could. And the bible talks about having faith as small as a mustard seed. And thats not much And I thank God that we had at least that much faith to get her through that, he said.

Duane and Beth both rose to fame in the mid-2000s on their A&E series Dog the Bounty Hunter, which stopped airing in 2012. They had another show that aired from 2013 to 2015.

Hunting Man Who Threatened Trump?

Several months ago, Dog, whose real name is Duane Chapman, said he would join the search for an elusive fugitive who made posts on Facebook that he would shoot President Donald Trump and a local district attorney in Pennsylvania.

Dog was hired by a friend of the then-fugitive, Shawn Christy.

I have a very hot lead, Chapman told the Mansfield News Journal. I have delivered messages to him. My goal is not to shoot him but get him to surrender.

Christy was arrested after spending three months on the lam in Ohio in September, federal marshals said, according to the Allentown Morning Call. He was actively hiding, U.S. Marshal Anne Murphy told the paper. And he was hiding from the time that he heard our guys moving. He eventually surrendered, yes, but he hid from our team on the ground.
Earthquake Strikes Just North of Anchorage in Alaska, Rocks Buildings

A 7.0 magnitude earthquake struck just north of Anchorage, Alaska, on Nov. 30.

The quake hit at 5:29 p.m., UTC, at a depth of 40.9 kilometers (around 25 miles), the United States Geological Surveys (USGS) Alaska Earthquake Center said.

The quake hit just 13 kilometers (8 miles) north of the city, which has a population of nearly 300,000 people.

The quake also hit 2.4 miles northwest of Port MacKenzie, 12.2 miles east of Eagle River, and about 500 miles east of Whitehorse, according to USGS.

We will be tweeting regularly about the earthquake near Anchorage as information comes in. The automatic location puts it at M6.6, about 10 miles NNW of Anchorage. Again, that is a preliminary, automatic location, the Alaska Earthquake Center stated.

The websites will take a bit to catch up, but for now were going with a magnitude of 7.0 and a location about 10 miles north of Anchorage. The website is overwhelmed with traffic currently, so watch here for updates.

According to an alert posted by one Twitter user, and echoed by others, there was tsunami alert on the coast. The alert told people to move to high ground or inland.

But the U.S. National Tsunami Warning Center, based in Palmer, Alaska, said that a tsunami was not expected along the coast.

Getting ready to fly home here in Alaska and just felt an earthquake with at least one after shock. Everyone seems to be doing well as we wait outside. pic.twitter.com/hTYfKlrDAX  Scott H. Stalker, United States Marine Corps (@combatathlete75) November 30, 2018

Felt the Quake

A number of people in Anchorage said they felt the quake.

Getting ready to fly home here in Alaska and just felt an earthquake with at least one after shock, wrote U.S. Marine Scott Stalker on Twitter. Everyone seems to be doing well as we wait outside.

Aftershock happening right now. Heres my laptop on the floor  next  its really strong Im scared still going over 30 seconds again the first one was a minute, another user said. Smaller aftershocks now. Ive yet to be able to leave my bedroom safely.

Sean Adams, an Anchorage resident, said he was still a bit anxious from it, but we just had a very large Earthquake hit my cityI think they said a 7.2. Me and my roommates are fine, but my gut is still full of butterflies

That was terrifying!! added journalist Alexis Fernandez, broadcasting a vide of her apartment. Several items appeared to be damaged or thrown off, including a tilted painting and a hanging head that had fallen to the floor.

The biggest earthquake Ive felt my entire life just now. Cracked ceilings. Broken chandeliers. Holy [expletive], added another user.

Just got notified on my phone of #tsunami danger on the coast from the #Alaska #earthquake. The aftershocks from this are as big as any earthquake Ive ever felt before! said another user.

We just experienced the [worst] earthquake in Alaska Ive ever felt. Everything flew off my shelved and theyre evacuating the schools, said another.

Ive been in Alaska for a long time & that might be the biggest earthquake Ive ever felt, wrote Margot Wiegele.

Rocked with huge earthquake in Alaska. Never felt one that bad. Huge 2 story school was rocked. Wish i had video but i was already calling my wife. Computer, monitor, mirrors everything fell to the floor at home. Tsunami warning issued. Aftershocks happening, said another user.

From NTD News
This undated photo provided by Ablikim Abliz, shows his uncle's family posing with an unknown Han Chinese man, second from the right, in Istanbul, Turkey. Abliz heard the Han Chinese man was part of a government homestay program meant to monitor his relatives, part of a broader crackdown on religious expression in China's far western region of Xinjiang. More than a million Chinese civil servants have been assigned to move into the homes of Uyghurs and other ethnic minorities, spending weeks as uninvited guests. While government notices about the "Pair Up and Become Family" program portray it as an affectionate cultural exchange, exiled Uyghurs living in Turkey said their loved ones saw the campaign as a chilling intrusion, aimed at coercing Uyghurs into living secular lives like the Han majority. (Ablikim Abliz via AP)

Enemy or Mother? Chinese Party Members Occupy Homes

ISTANBULThe two women in the photograph were smiling, but Halmurat Idris knew something was terribly wrong.

One was his 39-year-old sister; standing at her side was an elderly woman Idris did not know. Their grins were tight-lipped, mirthless. Her sister had posted the picture on a social media account along with a caption punctuated by a smiley-face.

Look, I have a Han Chinese mother now! his sister wrote.

Idris knew instantly: The old woman was a spy, sent by the Chinese government to infiltrate his family.

There are many like her. According to the ruling Communist Partys official newspaper, as of the end of September, 1.1 million local government workers have been deployed to ethnic minorities living rooms, dining areas and Muslim prayer spaces, not to mention at weddings, funerals and other occasions once considered intimate and private.

All this is taking place in Chinas far west region of Xinjiang, home to the predominantly Muslim, Turkic-speaking Uyghurs, who have long reported discrimination at the hands of the countrys majority Han Chinese.

While government notices about the Pair Up and Become Family program portray it as an affectionate cultural exchange, Uyghurs living in exile in Turkey said their loved ones saw the campaign as a chilling intrusion into the only place that they once felt safe.

They believe the program is aimed at coercing Uyghurs into living secular lives like the Han majority. Anything diverging from the partys prescribed lifestyle can be viewed by authorities as a sign of potential extremismfrom suddenly giving up smoking or alcohol, to having an abnormal beard or an overly religious name.

Under Chinese leader Xi Jinping, the Uyghur homeland has been blanketed with stifling surveillance, from armed checkpoints on street corners to facial-recognition-equipped CCTV cameras steadily surveying passers-by. Now, Uyghurs say, they must live under the watchful eye of the ruling Communist Party even inside their own homes.

The government is trying to destroy that last protected space in which Uyghurs have been able to maintain their identity, said Joanne Smith Finley, an ethnographer at Englands Newcastle University.

The Associated Press spoke to five Uyghurs living in Istanbul who shared the experiences of their family members in Xinjiang who have had to host Han Chinese civil servants. These accounts are based on prior communications with their family members, the majority of whom have since cut off contact because Uyghurs can be punished for speaking to people abroad.

The Uyghurs abroad said their loved ones were constantly on edge in their own homes, knowing that any misstepa misplaced Quran, a carelessly spoken wordcould lead to detention or worse. In the presence of these faux relatives, their family members could not pray or wear religious garbs, and the cadres were privy to their every move.

The thought of itand the sight of his sister, the old woman and their false smilesmade Idris queasy.

I wanted to throw up, said the 49-year-old petroleum engineer, shaking his head in disgust.

The moment I saw the old woman, I thought, Ugh, this person is our enemy. If your enemy became your mother, think about ithow would you feel?

The Chinese regime has used the excuse that Xinjiang faces a serious threat from Islamist militants and separatists who plot attacks and stir up tensions with the ethnic Han Chinese majority to crack down on the local population in Xinjiang.

In August, a United Nations human rights panel said it had received many credible reports that a million or more Uyghurs in China are being held in what resembles a massive internment camp that is shrouded in secrecy.

Uyghurs say the omnipresent threat of being sent to one of these centers, which are described as political indoctrination camps by former detainees, looms large in their relatives minds when they are forced to welcome party members into their homes.

Last December, Xinjiang authorities organized a Becoming Family Week which placed more than 1 million cadres in minority households. Government reports on the program gushed about the warm family reunions, as public servants and Uyghurs shared meals and even beds.

Another notice showed photos of visitors helping Uyghur children with their homework and cooking meals for their families. The caption beneath a photo of three women lying in bed, clad in pajamas, said the cadre was sleeping with her relatives in their cozy room.

A different photo showed two women studying the 19th Party Congress and walking together into the new eraa nod to when Xis name was enshrined in the party constitution alongside the likes of Deng Xiaoping and Mao Zedong.

Becoming Family Week turned out to be a test run for a standardized homestay program. The Xinjiang United Front Work Department said in February that government workers should live with their assigned families every two months, for five days at a time.

The United Front, a Communist Party agency, indicates in the notice that the program is mandatory for cadres. Likewise, Idris and other interviewees said their families understood that they would be deemed extremists if they refused to take part.

Cadres, who are generally civilians working in the public sector, are directed to attend important family events such as the naming of newborns, circumcisions, weddings and funerals of close relatives. They must have a firm grasp of each family members ideological state, social activities, religion, income, their challenges and needs, as well as basic details on immediate relatives, the notice said.

Families were to be paid a daily rate of 20 to 50 yuan ($2.80 to $7.80) to cover the cost of meals shared with their newfound relatives. Some families might be paired with two or three cadres at a time, according to the notice, and the regularly mandated house calls could be supplanted with trips to the local party office.

A February piece on the Communist Partys official news site said: The vast majority of party cadres are not only living inside villagers homes, but also living inside the hearts of the masses.

Overseas Uyghurs said the visits to their relatives homes often lasted longer than five days, and they were closely monitored the whole time. The cadres would ask their family members where they were going and who they were meeting whenever they wanted to leave the house.

They couldnt pray, said Abduzahir Yunus, a 23-year-old Uyghur originally from Urumqi, Xinjiangs capital. Praying or even having a Quran at home could endanger the whole family.

Yunus, who now lives in Istanbul, said his father used to lament to him about being visited three to four times a week by the administrator of his neighborhood committee, a middle-aged Han Chinese man. The surprise house calls began in 2016, and it was impossible to say no, Yunus said. They often coincided with times traditionally designated for prayer.

Their aim is to assimilate us, Yunus said. They want us to eat like them, sleep like them and dress like them.

After Yunuss parents and older brother were detained, only Yunuss sister-in-law and 5-year-old brother remained in the house. Around the beginning of 2018, the Han Chinese man started staying with them full-time.

Uyghurs said they were particularly repulsed by the thought of male visitors living under the same roof as their female relatives and children a practice contrary to their faith. Women and kids are sometimes the only ones left at home after male family members are sent to internment camps.

In recent years, the government has even encouraged Uyghurs and Han Chinese to tie the knot.

Starting in 2014, Han-Uyghur spouses in one county were eligible to receive 10,000 yuan ($1,442) annually for up to five years following the registration of their marriage license.

Such marriages are highly publicized. The party committee in Luopu county celebrated the marriage of a Uyghur woman and a young lad from Henan in an official social media account in October 2017. The man, Wang Linkai, had been recruited through a program that brought university graduates to work in the southern Xinjiang city of Hotan.

They will let ethnic unity forever bloom in their hearts, the party committees post said. Let ethnic unity become ones own flesh and blood.

Not all Become Family pairings involve Han Chinese visitors. A Uyghur cadre named Gu Li said she regularly pays visits to a Uyghur household, staying three to five days at a time.

Weve already started calling each other family, she said in a telephone interview from Xinjiang. Chinas 56 ethnic groups are all one family.

Gu said civil servants of many ethnicitiesUyghur, Han and Kazakhparticipate in the program.

All government employees in the region are required to conduct such visits in order to better understand villagers needs, according to Gu: Because were always sitting in our offices, we dont know what they really need. Only through penetrating the masses can we truly serve them.

As with many of the governments other initiatives in Xinjiang, the Pair Up and Become Family program is presented as a way to rescue Muslim minorities from poverty. Public servants show up at homes bearing bags of rice and gallons of cooking oil, and their duties include helping with chores and farm work.

Xu Jing, an employee at Turpan citys environmental bureau, recounted her shock after entering her assigned relatives home. Xu said the only light in the residence came from a small window, and she realized that Xasiyet Hoshur wasnt lying when she said she lived on 3,000 yuan ($433) a year.

But its OK, everything is getting better, Xu wrote in her reflection, published on Turpans government site. Hoshurs daughter was attending university on a 5,000 yuan ($722) national scholarship.

On the one hand, China maintains that employment and living standards are key to warding off the temptations of religious extremism. On the other hand, official descriptions of the visitation and homestay program are laden with suggestions that the ethnic minority families are uncivilized and that their way of life needs to be corrected.

One notice, first highlighted by University of Washington ethnographer Darren Byler, focused on a Uyghur familys use of a raised, cloth-covered platform for eating and working. In traditional Uyghur culture, this setup is preferable to a table, but the testimonial published by the Xinjiang Communist Youth League said frequent use of the platform was inconvenient and unhealthy.

Uyghurs must also conform culturally. Over the Lunar New Year, an important Chinese holiday not traditionally celebrated by Uyghurs, cadres encouraged households to hang lanterns and sing red songs, ballads honoring the partys revolutionary history. Byler said families could not ask whether the meat was halal and acceptable to Muslims when they had to make or eat dumplings for the festival.

Thousands of miles away, in Turkey, Uyghur relatives in exile watch what is happening with dread.

Earlier this year, Ablikim Abliz studied a photo of his uncles family gathered around a table. Clad in thick winter jackets, his uncle and the smiling Han Chinese man beside him both held chubby-faced children in their laps.

His uncle had posted the photo to his WeChat page along with the caption Han Chinese brother.

The 58-year-old Abliz said his entire extended family in China has been sent to internment camps. When he saw his uncles photo, his first reaction was relief. If his uncle had been assigned a Han family member, Abliz thought, that meant he was safe.

But the consolation was short-lived. A friend who tried to visit his uncle in Turpan this summer told Abliz that his uncles front door was boarded up and sealed with police tape. Abliz has not been able to reach any of his family members since.

As for Idris, he fears that his sister is living under immense pressure with her Han Chinese mother. Shortly after her sisters first post about her new relatives, a friend responded on WeChat: I also have one! You guys better be careful!

The same friend later posted photos of herself and a Han Chinese woman doing a Chinese fan dance, playing the drums and wearing traditional Han clothing.

His sister would never have volunteered for such a program, Idris said. She and his younger sister had been trying to get passports to bring their children to Turkey and reunite with Idris, but their applications were not accepted.

Last summer, both of his sisters deleted him on WeChat. A few months later, his aunt deleted him, too. For more than a year, Idris has not been able to communicate with his relatives. He wonders, with growing unease, how theyre getting along with their new family.

By Dake Kang & Yanan Wang. The Epoch Times contributed to this report.
EU Ministers to Finalize Watered-Down Euro Zone Reform Plans

BRUSSELSEuropean Union finance ministers will seek final agreement on Dec. 3 on deeper euro zone integration which, after a year of negotiations, is likely to turn out much less ambitious than initially planned.

Championed by French President Emmanuel Macron, the reforms were meant to prepare the 19 euro countries for the next financial crisis and unite the EU around the single currency at a time of growing euroskeptic sentiment across the bloc.

But the talks ran into many difficulties: Germany did not have a proper government for almost six months, Italy elected a euroskeptic administration, and the talks exposed fault lines between the north and the south and even between institutions.

Even though the integration plans concern only the euro zone, all of the EUs finance ministers except Britains will discuss them on Dec. 3 because all might adopt the euro at some point in the future.

It will be long, it will be intense, one senior euro zone official involved in the preparations of the ministerial discussions said. It wont be as high level [in terms of ambition] as some people expected a year ago, but we may exceed a little bit the low expectations right now, he added.

The package agreed will then have to be endorsed by EU leaders on Dec. 14.

Starting Point

The initial ideas included the creation of a large euro zone budget financed by dedicated taxes and national contributions, a euro zone finance minister in charge of it, and a euro zone assembly in the European Parliament for democratic control.

The ESM euro zone bailout fund was to be transformed into a European Monetary Fund with wider powers of monitoring euro zone economies and a key role in a sovereign insolvency mechanism that would manage potential debt restructuring.

To break the doom-loop between governments and banks that buy large amounts of a single sovereigns debt and then collapse as the sovereign becomes insolvent, there were to be limits on the concentration one countrys bonds in a banks portfolio.

The banking system was to be strengthened with a European Deposit Insurance Scheme (EDIS) that would guarantee deposits of up to 100,000 euros ($113,000) in any bank in any euro zone country.

Finally a euro zone bank resolution fund, created in 2014, was to get emergency loans from the ESM if ran out of money during a major banking crisis.

Likely Outcome

Only some of these ideas survived and many of those that did are a shadow of what they were when proposed in 2017.

There will be no euro zone caucus in the European Parliament and no finance minister. The euro zone budget, which France initially saw in the hundreds of billions of euros, may not have a set size at all.

Its gone from an elephant to a mouse. And the mouse is in a cage, Dutch finance minister Wopke Hoekstra said about the budget, according to the Financieele Dagblad newspaper.

The ESM will not be transformed into a European Monetary Fund, the very name of which raised objections from the European Central Bank. After months of haggling with the European Commission over the division of responsibilities, the ESM will get some monitoring duties for euro zone economies focused on debt sustainability, market access, and borrowing costs.

It will likely be able to lend with fewer conditions to fundamentally sound euro zone economies so they can avoid the market stigma of a bailout and in this way help prevent crises.

The reform that is likely to be announced with great fanfare will be providing the bank resolution fund with emergency ESM loans of up to around 55 billion euros. But even there, such a backstop would only be provided from 2024.

By Jan Strupczewski
Expat Chinese Shun Protests Due to Fear of Chinese Regime, Says NZ Deputy PM

Winston Peters says Falun Gong and select other persecuted groups don't give in to fear

New Zealands Chinese expatriate community is so afraid of communist Chinas reach that many of its members shy away from joining protests that criticize the communist regime, New Zealands deputy prime minister has said.

Winston Peters, who is also New Zealands foreign affairs minister, said that very few Chinese expats can be seen joining peaceful protests in New Zealand that hope to address the concerning human rights situation in China.

As for the Chinese people, the reason they do not protest is they fear the reach from their homeland should they do that, Peters said on Radio Live. This is all around the Western world that you see this. The only exceptions to that rule are Falun Gong [practitioners] and others [persecuted groups]. Otherwise, it is a view that is well left alone. They just do not want to be out there protesting.

Falun Gong, also known as Falun Dafa, is an ancient meditation practice that consists of a set of gentle exercises and follows the moral principles of truthfulness, compassion, and tolerance.

Fearing the immense popularity of the practice, with between 70 to 100 million practitioners by the late 1990s, then-Chinese Communist Party (CCP) leader Jiang Zemin launched a brutal campaign of persecution against its adherents. The persecution has claimed an unknown number of lives, often due to torture, and left hundreds of thousands of families shattered.

According to Levi Browde, executive director of the Falun Dafa Information Center, despite the two-decade campaign of persecution, Falun Dafa adherents continue to peacefully defy the CCPs persecution policies.

Something few observers would have foreseen in 1999 has  occurredFalun Gong has survived, some would say is thriving, and now some Chinese officials are on the defensive, Browde wrote in an op-ed in The Diplomat.

Chinas Espionage Efforts

Peters also raised concerns about espionage efforts of China in New Zealand, and said he is worried about the case of Jian Yang, a New Zealand member of Parliament who has admitted he taught English to spies in China.

If you define those cadets or students as spies, yes, then I was teaching spies, Yang told The Associated Press in 2017 after reports about his past became public. I can understand that people can be concerned because they do not understand the Chinese system.

Peters said he finds it strange that the widespread media coverage alleging Yangs direct links to the CCP didnt prompt Yang to launch defamation lawsuits.

We are being asked to believe that someone, who was part of the Chinese secret service, has no longer any loyalty to that service, and I do not hear enough denials, Peters said.

Those allegations are massively defamatory, but no one is suing them, are they? If they are not true, they are awfully defamatory so why has there not been a lawsuit on that matter?

Chinese Peoples Hard Work, Family-Oriented Values Admirable

Peters added that he admires the work ethics and family-oriented values of many Chinese expatriates who he describes to be very industrious no matter which corner of the world they live in.

Wherever they have been in Africa or in Asia or America, the Chinese work hard. They save hard, they are family-oriented, and more importantly, they have a long-range focus like great cultures always do, he said.

They do not just live like Queenyou know how the song goes: I want it all and I want it now.

Thats not Chinese. Chinese work for decades and generations to achieve their long-term goals, which is very admirable.

Watch Next:

Communist Chinas Secret Blueprint to Destroy America

Communist China is quietly waging a war against the United States
Former FBI Director James Comey speaks about his book "A Higher Loyalty" during a discussion at the Brookings Institution May 11, 2018 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Brendan Smialowski / AFP) (Photo credit should read BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP/Getty Images)

Former FBI Director Comey Sues to Quash House Subpoena

Former FBI Director James Comey asked a federal court in Washington on Nov. 29 to block a subpoena compelling him to appear for a closed-door interview with House lawmakers.

Comey filed a motion with the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia with three days left before his scheduled appearance before two House committees on the morning of Dec. 3. Attorneys for the former FBI director told the court that the subpoena exceeds a proper legislative purpose, is issued in violation of House rules, and unduly prejudices and harasses the witness, according to the court documents (pdf).

The House judiciary and government oversight committees are conducting an inquiry into a pair of major FBI investigations conducted under Comey: the Hillary Clinton email probe and the investigation of alleged collusion between the Trump 2016 presidential campaign and Russia.

The judiciary committee issued a subpoena to Comey and former Attorney General Loretta Lynch on Nov. 21. Comey indicated at the time that he plans to challenge the subpoena.

The former FBI director said on Nov. 22 that he is open to appearing for a public hearing, but will resist a closed-door deposition because of selective leaking and distortion.

Less than two months prior to the issuance of the subpoena, Comey declined to voluntarily appear for a closed-door interview with the committees, citing the same reasons.

It appears Mr. Comey believes he deserves special treatment, as he is the only witness refusing to either appear voluntarily or comply with a subpoena. He needs to appear before the Committees, as all other witnesses have done. Let the facts come to light, Rep. Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.) wrote on Twitter on Nov. 29.

The joint committees have interviewed several key current and former FBI and DOJ officials involved in either one or both of the Clinton and Trump investigations, including former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe, former FBI officials Peter Strzok, Lisa Page, Jonathan Moffa, and James Baker, and Justice Department official Bruce Ohr.

According to Comey, each testimony resulted in selective leaks designed to peddle a distorted, partisan political narrative. Comeys court filing points out that the issue of leaks was not lost on one of the Republican chairs of the committees.

I dont get a chance to say this often, but I do think Jim Comey is right, Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-S.C.), the chairman of the House government oversight committee told CBS in an interview which aired on Nov. 25. Leaks are counterproductive whether Jim Comey is doing it, whether the FBI is doing it, or whether Congress is doing it.

I am sensitive to leaks, he added. I hate leaks. I think they undercut the authenticity of the investigation.

Gowdy pointed out in a separate interview that Comey used the public setting as an excuse to not answer nearly 100 questions during his prior public appearances.

So why in the world would he want to go back to a setting where he knows he cant answer all the questions, Gowdy told Fox News on Nov. 19.

Strzok was a lead agent in both the Clinton and Trump investigations. A Justice Department watchdog released a report earlier this year detailing Strzoks bias against Trump and in favor of Clinton. Strzok was part of special counsel Robert Muellers Russia probe, but was removed from the investigation after Mueller learned of Strzoks biased text messages.

Judge Trevor McFadden scheduled a 2 p.m. hearing on the motion for Nov. 30.
GM President Ammann Will Take Over Cruise Self-Driving Car Unit

DETROITGeneral Motors Co. President Dan Ammann will take over as chief executive of the automakers majority-owned Cruise self-driving car subsidiary, trading in the No. 2 job at one of the worlds largest automakers for a front-row position in the race to render traditional cars obsolete.

Ammanns move, announced by GM and Cruise on Nov. 29 and effective Jan. 1, underscores the challenges for legacy automakers as they compete for capital and talent with transport companies born from the digital technology and artificial intelligence industries, such as rival Waymo, the self-driving car unit of Alphabet Inc., or Tesla Inc.

Cruise co-founder Kyle Vogt, who has been the companys chief executive, will become president and chief technology officer, GM and Cruise said.

The CEO title is not the most important thing to me or to the mission of developing safe, self-driving vehicles, Vogt said in an interview Nov. 29.

Cruise has a value of about $14.6 billionequivalent to about 28 percent of GMs market capitalization despite no significant revenue and a product not ready for commercial launch. Japanese technology investment fund SoftBank Group Corp. and Japanese automaker Honda Motor Co. invested a total of $5 billion for separate minority stakes in Cruise.

Ammann joined GM in 2010 from Morgan Stanley, where he was an adviser to GMs government-led bankruptcy restructuring in 2009. He became GMs president in 2014 and led a wide-ranging restructuring of global operations that included the sale of GMs European Opel unit, an overhaul of the money-losing GM Korea business and, in 2016, the acquisition of Cruise.

Unusual Move

Bringing in an executive with experience managing large organizations and dealing with Wall Street to replace entrepreneurial founders is a common move in the technology industry.

However, it is unusual for a top executive at a global automaker to move to a small technology startup, even one as well-funded as Cruise.

The scaling of this business is going to be a massive undertaking, Ammann told Reuters.

Analysts have speculated that GM eventually will sell shares in Cruise or spin it off. Ammann said Cruise has the capital it needs for now. Well have a lot of flexibility and different opportunities to raise capital, he said.

Ammann, 46, will take over an operation that is growing rapidly and faces technical and regulatory hurdles to achieve its goal of launching a robo-taxi service by the end of 2019.

Vogt, 33, and Ammann reaffirmed the goal of launching an automated ride service next year.

From a technical standpoint  we have line of sight to where we need to be for our initial launch in 2019, Vogt said. Theres plenty of work to be done.

Since GMs acquisition, San Francisco-based Cruise has grown to 1,000 employees from 40, and recently announced plans to expand operations to Seattle. Vogt and Ammann said they expect Cruise to grow substantially as it launches a robo-taxi service and other ventures built around its autonomous driving technology.

Today no one has a car that can be driven by itself, better than a human and is producible at large scale, Ammann said. Once that exists  were going to be in a very interesting position in terms of how we turn that into a business.

Cruise has focused on developing automated taxis for cities. GM has not said where Cruise will launch its robo-taxi service, but Ammann and other executives have noted that Cruise is doing most of its testing in San Francisco.

GM Chief Executive Mary Barra, in a statement, described Ammanns move as the next step towards commercial deployment.

With Ammann moving to Cruise, GM said that executives running GMs global auto operations and its GM Financial unit will report to Barra. GM earlier this week announced plans to cut 15,000 employees in North America, including a 25-percent cut in executive ranks.

By Joseph White
A Google sign is seen during the WAIC (World Artificial Intelligence Conference) in Shanghai, China, on Sept. 17, 2018. (Aly Song/Reuters)

Google Employees Debated Burying Conservative Media in Search Results After 2016 Election

Google employees debated demoting conservative media outlets in its search results after President Donald Trump won the 2016 election over Hillary Clinton, according to internal chats.

The chats were obtained by The Daily Caller News Foundation and acknowledged as real by a Google spokeswoman.

A Google engineer named Scott Byer appears to have started the discussion, lamenting that Clinton lost.

This was an election of false equivalencies, and Google, sadly, had a hand in it, he wrote in a Nov. 9, 2016 post. How many times did you see the Election now card with items from opinion blogs (Breitbart, Daily Caller) elevated next to legitimate news organizations? Thats something that can and should be fixed.

He later claimed that if Google took certain steps, they could make sure the Democratic candidate would win the 2020 election.

Lets make sure that we reverse things in four yearsdemographics will be on our side, he said.

Even some of Byers self-described liberal colleagues were concerned about his missive.

Uri Dekel, another engineer, said he was a Clinton supporter but argued manipulating search results wouldnt be the right step to take.

Thinking that Breitbart, Drudge, etc. are not legitimate news sources is contrary to the beliefs of a major portion of our user base is partially what got us to this mess. MSNBC is not more legit than Drudge just because Rachel Maddow may be more educated / less deplorable / closer to our views, than, say Sean Hannity, Dekel wrote in a reply to Byer.

Im a Hillary supporter and lets admit it, the media avoided dealing with the hard questions and issues, which didnt pay off. By ranking legitimacy, youll just introduce more conspiracy theories.

Other employees said Google could add context to stories to help educate users.

A Google spokeswoman told the foundation the post was real but argued Google never took any action.

This post shows that far from suppressing Breitbart and Daily Caller, we surfaced these sites regularly in our products. Furthermore, it shows that we value providing people with the full view on stories from a variety of sources, the spokeswoman said in an email.

Leaks Continue

The chat was the latest in a string of leaks coming out of Google.

For instance, in September, a leaked video published by Breitbart showed top leadership openly bemoaning Clintons loss and discussing how President Donald Trumps election conflicts with many of the companys values.

At one point, CFO Ruth Porat said they have an obligation to fight for whats right and to never stop fighting for whats right.

Dr. Robert Epstein, senior research psychologist at the American Institute for Behavioral Research and Technology, told The Epoch Times that the video was extremely disturbing.

When a top executive at Google says this, thats very frightening, Dr. Epstein said. They are basically saying, We will use the tools that we have to promote our values. To me, that means [Google] will interfere in elections. Its extremely problematic.

Research from Harvard University found that search results were not objective, as the company had claimed. In 2017, Google was also fined $2.7 billion by the European Union for biased search results.

And Google employees discussed how to adjust search results after the Trump administration passed a travel ban affecting multiple Muslim-majority countries of concern that were labeled as such by the Obama administration for terrorist activity, according to leaked communications. Employees proposed ways to counter what they considered islamophobic, algorithmically biased results from search terms Islam, Muslim, Iran, etc. and prejudiced, algorithmically biased search results from search terms Mexico, Hispanic, Latino, etc. The Wall Street Journal reported.

The company has also been dealing with the fallout after a secret partnership with China in development of a censored search engine in the communist-run country was leaked, sparking outrage from the public, lawmakers, and even Google employees.

In another development, Google CEO Sundar Pichai is scheduled to testify before Congress on Dec. 5 as officials examine reported bias by the search engine giant.

From NTD News
A grizzly bear roams through the Hayden Valley in Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming, on May 18, 2014. (Jim Urquhart/Reuters/File Photo)

Grizzly Bear Attacks, Kills Mother and Baby Daughter; Experts Say Its Rare

Experts have weighed in after a grizzly bear killed a mother and her child in Yukon, Canada, saying such attacks are quite rare.

Valerie Theoret, 37, and her 10-month-old daughter Adele Roesholt were found dead by Theorets husband, Gjermund Roesholt, near Einarson Lake, said the Yukon Coroners Service.

Valerie Theoret was on maternity leave from her teaching job at Whitehorse Elementary School when the grizzly bear killed her and her daughter.    CBC News     

He discovered the bodies of his wife and child outside after coming home from trapping in the area. About 500 feet from the familys home, he shot and killed a grizzly bear that charged at him.

Mike Baldry with the British Columbia Conservation Officer Service said the last recorded fatal grizzly attack in British Columbia was about 15 years ago, Global News reported on Nov. 28.

One bear near Kitimat was found consuming human remains recently, but it couldnt be determined if the bear killed the person or not, he said.

Meanwhile, in the United States, there have been eight recorded grizzly-related deaths in the past 11 years or so.

Its only in extreme cases that grizzly bears turn predatory toward humans, as most attacks occur during surprise encounters. For example, a hiker might stumble across a mother bear and her cubs.

Chris Servheen, a professor with the University of Montana, said food stress in the late fall might lead adult males to delay hibernation. A necropsy needs to be done to see if this particular bear was food-stressed, or had some sort of injury, he told Global News.

Maybe it had broken teeth or a broken jaw that prevented it from eating this summer, he added.

Grizzly bear killed woman and her 10-month-old baby in Canada's remote Yukon region, coroner confirms. https://t.co/JOvwgZw6Bu pic.twitter.com/dErwPGWDym  ABC News (@ABC) November 29, 2018

More Details of the Attack

After the husband found their bodies, he made an emergency call to the closest village, Mayo, which is home to around 200 residents, reported the CBC. It appears they had been out for a walk when the incident occurred, sometime between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m., the coroners news release noted.

When a tragedy happens in a small community. All the community feels it, its a shock, Isabelle Salesse, the executive director of the Association Franco-Yukonnaise, told CTV. The coroner, Heather Jones, said the family had been living in the area for about three months.

Einarson Lake is located more than 200 miles northeast of Whitehorse and is near the border of the Northwest Territories and Yukon.

Its a big, big blow. Everybody is totally devastated right now, said friend Remy Beaupre, according to the CBC. Lots of our friends are gathering tonight to mourn a little bit and support each other a little bit, he said.

Beaupre said the couple bought a remote trapline about three years ago, adding that they had quite a lot of experience in the outdoors.

It was the plan all along to go there and spend a lot of time there, but Valerie couldnt really take a lot of time off because she was a teacher, he said. They were, Im 100 percent sure, well-prepared for anything that could have happened. But, you never know.

Brian Melanson, a trapper in the area who knew the couple, said they were competent bush people.

The bear attack is not from a lack of experience, he added.

Its going to be devastating to the community because its going to hit home to everybody. You know, we go out there, all of us, we take our wives and our children, and we live out there, he said to the CBC.

Video: Kodiak bear reacts to the camera
File photo showing a U.S. Border Patrol agent patting down a man who crossed the Rio Grande illegally, in Hidalgo County, Texas, May 26, 2017. (Benjamin Chasteen/The Epoch Times)

Illegal Alien Pulls Gun on Border Patrol Agent

A Mexican national who allegedly pointed a loaded firearm at a border patrol agent was arrested and faces charges, including assault on a federal officera felony.

Hector Rodriguez-Chavez, 57, allegedly pointed a loaded pistol at a U.S. Border Patrol agent and fought to maintain control of the weapon until he was subdued with a Taser.

He has been charged with assault on a federal officer, a felony offense that carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine, according to charging documents released by the U.S. Attorneys Office of the Southern District of California.

Rodriguez also faces the charge of an alien in possession of a firearm, which carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

According to the criminal complaint, a U.S. Border Patrol agent responded to a call-out at about 4:30 a.m. on Nov. 26 regarding a person crossing on foot from Mexico to the United States. The agent searched the area, which was about half a mile north of the United States/Mexico border, and 2 miles east of the Otay Mesa port of entry, and found Rodriguez-Chavez lying facedown in tall grass.

As the agent drew near, Rodriguez turned and pointed a loaded pistol at the agent, the complaint reads.

The agent and Rodriguez struggled for the gun, and even the help of two other agents was not enough to disarm the suspect, court documents said.

The agent placed his body on Rodriguezs right arm in an attempt to gain control of the pistol. Rodriguez resisted and the two wrestled for about a minute before two more agents arrived on the scene. Rodriguez ignored several verbal commands to relinquish the pistol and stop resisting. The second agent to arrive deployed a Taser to subdue Rodriguez and gain control over the pistol.

Criminal Record

Court records show Rodriguez has a criminal record that includes felony convictions for violent drug, immigration, and firearms crimes.

Agents later found that hed been deported back to Mexico at least five times before, dating back more than 20 years, according to the Washington Times.

Assault on federal officers is one of the Department of Justices top priorities, said U.S. Attorney Adam L. Braverman. Our office is committed to vigorously prosecuting these cases.

Our agents vigilance prevented this dangerous person from illegally re-entering our communities, said Rodney S. Scott, Chief Patrol Agent for San Diego Sector Border Control.

Other Violence

Border Patrol agents faced two other documented instances of violence this week, with ABC affiliate WXYZ Detroit reporting that in one case an agent was hospitalized after suffering an assault.

Both incidents occurred in Arizona, near the border, west of Tucson, on Nov. 27.

In one case, agents were trying to stop a human smuggling operation involving four male suspects, according to the report, citing the Border Patrol. At some point during the arrest, a 25-year-old Guatemalan national allegedly threw dirt at an agents face and used a belt with a large buckle attached to swing at the agent.

In the second incident, an agent and a canine partner tracked and confronted a 36-year-old illegal alien from Guatemalan. Border Patrol told the station that the suspect became combative and struck the agent several times.

The suspect was then subdued and arrested.

Border Patrol officials told the station in one of the two incidents, the agent was hospitalized with unspecified injuries and has since been released.

The agency did not specify which of the two cases required medical attention.
Illegal Aliens, Including Chinese Nationals, Arrested After Landing on California Beach

Seven illegal aliens were apprehended on Nov. 29 after landing on a beach in California on a small boat.

Video footage showed 13 people leaping from the boat and running away, trying to escape detection.

After a search, authorities said at least seven had been caught, along with two smugglers.

Customs and Border Protection said that four of the men apprehended were Mexican nationals and three were Chinese nationals. The other two who were apprehended were the smugglers, Border Patrol agent Vincent Pirro told the Orange County Register.

One of them was a United States citizen and one was on a non-immigrant visa but had overstayed the visa.

The Laguna Beach Police Department had at least four vehicles at the scene, with officers assisted by Border Patrol agents, Laguna Beach Fire officials, and lifeguards.

The boat landing was reported to the Laguna Beach Police Department at 7 a.m. by residents who witnessed the landing.

They saw two men running for the cliffs, said Jordan Villwock, emergency-operations coordinator for the city. Officers were on scene in five minutes and immediately detained the two men who had ditched their life vests on the sand.

The number of gas cans on the boat indicated that the boat came a long way, Pirro said.

We see them leave from Ensenada a lot. They go around the Coronado Islands and north. Theyve gone as far as Half Moon Bay, he said, noting a ticket on such a boat can run from $13,000 to $17,000.

One of the aliens told authorities the boat originated in Baja California, reported NBC. One of the men said hed been on board for at least 10 hours. Officials said there was no connection with the migrant caravan currently in Tijuana and Mexicali in Baja.

The police said that the two smugglers were waiting for the panga boat passengers in so-called take-away vehicles. Its not clear if the illegal aliens who werent caught hopped in a third vehicle or if they fled on foot.

Hundreds of People Land

During the fiscal year between Nov. 1, 2017, and Oct. 31, 2018, 433 people were arrested trying to illegally enter the San Diego Border Patrol sector.

California and Florida regularly deal with illegal boat landings. On Oct. 7, for instance, a wooden boat carrying dozens of illegal aliens landed near Miami.

Authorities arrested 15 but some got away.

The last incident before that involving Cuban immigrants happened in July, according to a search of Border Patrol press releases.

In a July release, the office said the U.S. Coast Guard, in conjunction with the Border Patrol and other agencies, intercepted a rustic vessel with 28 Cubans, and repatriated them to Cuba.

U.S. immigration policies have not changed and we urge people not to take to the ocean in unseaworthy vessels, said Capt. Jason Ryan, the chief of enforcement for the Coast Guards 7th District, in a statement.

From NTD News
Londons Metropolitan Police Force Considers Arming Its Patrolling Officers

LONDONLondons police force is considering arming officers on foot patrols in response to a rise in violent crime, a move that some think could be seen as provocative.

In all areas of the UK, apart from Northern Ireland, police officers dont carry guns.

The suggestion to arm some of Londons Metropolitan Police was made by Commissioner Cressida Dick in an email seen by the BBC. She said they would only be used in areas where gang activity is likely, and just for short periods of time.

The idea of armed police on foot patrol was part of a recent internal discussion on measures to reduce the spate of violent deaths in London, according to the email.

So far in 2018, the number of violent deaths in London has surpassed those from the whole of 2017.

The email stressed that armed police would only be deployed based on an informed and reliable intelligence picture of where gang activity is likely and in full consultation with the local policing borough.

At a Q&A session for the London Assembly, an organization that exists to hold the London mayor to account, Dick said arming patrolling police would just be half a step on from the current situation, and would be a small change in tactic in extreme circumstances.

At the same session, Assistant Commissioner Stephen House said police were attempting to get ahead of the violence and that the consultation was at the very early stages.

Later, he released a statement, saying: We are not considering routine deployments of armed officers in our communities.

As part of our response to the increase in violent crime in London, we are examining how our armed officers can provide extra support and augment other units, either in response to a serious assault or to be deployed to areas where we have intelligence that serious violence is imminent.

Any deployments would be for a limited time only and done in consultation with local policing commanders, and after a community impact assessment had been carried out.

It Would Be Seen As Provocative

However, Lord Philip Harris told a parliamentary debate on the rise of violent crime that he isnt convinced arming patrolling officers would be helpful.

It would be seen as provocative, he said. It will inspire fear rather than reassurance. It will hinder community confidence and do little in itself to reduce the number of violent incidents.

Harris emphasized that violent crime had risen at the same time as funding for Britains police had been cut.

The number of police officers in England and Wales has fallen by 20,000 since March 2010 and is now at its lowest recorded level since the early 1980s, he said.

These cuts and pressures are not surprisingly leading to a purely reactive service  so gangs feel they can operate on our streets with impunity, he added.

Interior Minister Sajid Javid recently said he was deeply worried about the surge in violence and said hes in talks with the British chancellor to allocate the police more funding.

The routine arming of police has long been a controversial issue in the UK, with a 2017 survey by the Police Federation showing that two-thirds of police are against it. Just over 40 percent instead called for more training on the issue.

However, the Met Police do have about 7,000 specialist firearms officers, but they are deployed only to specific situations and not routinely.

The Police Federations firearms lead, Che Donald, said in a 2017 blog piece that, We are currently insufficiently financed, equipped, and resourced.  Now is the time we should be having a mature conversation about how we continue to police in the face of an ever-evolving threat.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel delivers a speech during the German Ukrainian Economy Forum in Berlin, Germany, on Nov. 29, 2018. (AP Photo/Michael Sohn)

Merkels Plane Makes Emergency Stop, Tech Issues Reported

BERLINA German news agency says a plane carrying German Chancellor Angela Merkel to the Group of 20 meeting in Argentina has been forced to make an unscheduled landing after developing technical problems.

The German news agency DPA reported on Nov. 29, that the government Airbus, which was en route to Buenos Aires, turned around over the Netherlands about an hour into the flight.

It says the aircraft landed safely in Cologne in western Germany. It says a replacement German air force plane is being prepared to carry Merkel and her entourage to the G-20 meeting that starts Friday.

According to German military blog Augengeradeaus.net, the aircraft was transmitting a 7600 transponder code, indicating a radio failure.

The G-20 meeting in Buenos Aires comes amid growing economic anxiety and global upheaval as a result of President Donald Trumps trade policy.
A nurse had her job at Mercy South Hospital in St. Louis, Missouri, terminated after she requested to be exempted from getting a flu vaccine for religious reasons on Nov. 26, 2018. A protest took place outside the hospital on Nov. 27, 2018. (Nalia Aubuchon)

Nurse Fired For Refusing Flu Shot Over Religious Beliefs, Sparking Protests

Fury has erupted over a nurse being fired from a hospital after asking not to receive the flu vaccine for religious reasons. Mercy South Hospital in St. Louis, Missouri, confirmed at least one employee has been dismissed for violating a policy requiring staff to have mandatory flu shots, according to the Associated Press.

The unidentified nurse finished work at the hospital on Nov. 26, sparking a protest outside the very next day, protest coordinator and friend of the nurse Nelia Aubuchon told NTD on Nov. 29.

Religious Exemption Granted Before

The nurse had worked at the hospital for five years and had already been granted a religious exemption in the past when the hospital was formerly known as St. Anthonys Medical Center, Aubuchon told Fox 2.

However, this changed after Mercy and St. Anthonys Medical Center officially became affiliated on June 1, 2017. The facilitys name changed to Mercy Hospital South on Oct. 1, 2018.

According to Aubuchon, the nurse had applied for a religious exemption from having a flu vaccine but the hospital refused. The nurse appealed and her appeal was then denied.

Mercy South Hospital told the nurse she had to have the flu vaccine or face termination, Aubuchon said. Because the nurse did not have the vaccine, her employment was terminated on Nov. 26.

Bethany Pope, a spokesperson for Mercy South Hospital, said in a media statement: the point of our flu vaccination policy is simple: protection against the flu virus saves lives, especially those of our most vulnerable patients. Requiring health care co-workers to be vaccinated for the flu is a best practice across the U.S. to ensure the safety of patients, co-workers, and community members.

Mercy revised our flu vaccination policy several years ago and requires compliance with the policy by all Mercy co-workers as a condition of employment. Those co-workers whose exemption requests were not accepted will be notified this week and, in accordance with our policy, will not be permitted to remain employed without receiving a vaccination.

Pope said that that the hospitals policy is the same as most hospitals across the country.

This is an important step in protecting our patients, visitors, and co-workers, she said.

There are about 44,000 people employed under the Mercy Health system, which spans Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri, and Oklahoma.

This year, the hospital had approved the majority out of a total of 170 exemption requests for meeting valid medical or religious exemption criteria, Pope told Fox News.

Unanswered Questions Remain

Aubuchon said there are still many unknown factors involved in the nurses firing and the resulting protest.

Mercy Hospital has a policy that allows for valid religious and medical exemptions, Aubuchon told NTD. The policy states further that Mercy employees who do not obtain an accepted religious or medical exemption will be terminated.

The entire problem is that Mercy has yet to explain how they determine what is a valid religious or medical exemption, she explained.

They should provide a more detailed accounting on the locations of the accepted medical and religious exemptions, as well as a more detailed explanation of how they determine what constitutes a valid religious or medical exemption.

Aubuchon said the Mercy Health System has not revealed the exact number of the medical and religious exemption requests that have been accepted in total and at Mercy South Hospital.

NTD has contacted Mercy South Hospital for comment.

From NTD News

Watch Next:

People Are Being Killed for Organs in Chinas Hospitals

Before the year 2000, organ transplantation in China was a relatively niche medical treatment.
Two persons pass the logo of the Organization of the Petroleoum Exporting Countries (OPEC) in front of OPEC's headquarters in Vienna, Austria June 19, 2018. (Leonhard Foeger/Reuters)

Oil Rises After Russia Leans Towards Output Cut

NEW YORKOil reversed course and rose as much as 3 percent on Nov. 29, after industry sources said Russia had accepted the need to cut production, together with OPEC ahead of its meeting next week.

Prices, however, were still set for its biggest one-month fall in November since the depths of the financial crisis in 2008, having lost about 22 percent so far.

A seemingly relentless rise in crude supply from the United States, now the worlds top producer, together with Saudi Arabias insistence that it will not cut output on its own to stabilize the market, earlier sent Brent crude to another 2018 low below $58 a barrel.

Prices rebounded after sources said Russia would consider join an effort to cut alongside Saudi Arabia and other members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries.

The Russian Energy Ministry held a meeting with the heads of domestic oil producers on Nov. 27, before a gathering in Vienna of OPEC and its allies on Dec. 6-7.

The idea at the meeting was that Russia needs to reduce. The key question is how quickly and by how much, said one source familiar with the talks between Russian oil firms and the ministry.

The market now expects that a cut of 1 million barrels per day would be possible from OPEC and its allies, said John Kilduff, partner at Again Capital in New York.

Brent crude futures traded up $1.24, or 2.1 percent, at $60.02 a barrel by 11:43 a.m. EST (1643 GMT), off an earlier session low of $57.50. U.S. crude futures rose $1.64, or 3.3 percent, to $51.94 a barrel.

Russian President Vladimir Putin, whose country is the worlds second-biggest oil producer, said on Nov. 28 he was in touch with OPEC and ready to continue cooperation on supply if needed, but he was satisfied with an oil price of $60.

U.S. crude inventories hit their highest in a year, and are now only 80 million barrels below March 2017s record 535 million barrels, according to the Energy Information Administration.

U.S. stockpiles were expected to build again in the latest week, traders said, citing data from energy information service Genscape. Crude stockpiles at the Cushing, Oklahoma hub rose 771,924 barrels since Nov. 23, traders said on Nov. 29, citing a weekly Genscape report.

U.S. oil reserves in 2017 exceeded a 47-year-old record when they increased 6.4 billion barrels, or 19.5 percent, to 39.2 billion barrels, the government said.

Investors in commodity markets are looking ahead to the meeting of leaders of the Group of 20 nations (G20), the worlds biggest economies, on Nov. 30 and Dec. 1, with the U.S.-China trade war a key focus.

We have seen huge increases in supply and the demand picture is in question. However, we might see some movement on global trade issues at the G20 meeting which starts on Nov. 30, said Michael McCarthy, chief strategist at CMC Markets and Stockbroking.

Anticipation of the meeting may also be driving prices higher, said Kilduff of Again Capital, adding that traders are wary of being short ahead of the meeting.

By Jessica Resnick-Ault
Medical workers and police treat a woman who has overdosed on heroin, the second case in a matter of minutes in Warren, Ohio, on July 14, 2017. (Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

Opioid Epidemic Behind Decline in US Life Expectancy in 2017

The life expectancy for Americans born in 2017 slightly decreased from the year before, prominently reflecting the increase in deaths from opioid overdoses, according to data released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Nov. 28.

An average American born in 2017 could expect to live 78.6 years, a 0.1 year less than those born 2016 (pdf).

The leading factor is the rising death rate for unintentional injuries, which includes unintentional drug overdoses. The overdose death rate has skyrocketed in recent decades, tripling since 2000, and largely prompted by the proliferation of prescription opioids. Over 70,000 people died of drug overdoses in 2017, according to the CDC. The numbers, however, have started to taper off in 2018, provisional data shows.

Death rates also increased for several other leading causes of death, including influenza and pneumonia, Alzheimers disease, diabetes, stroke, some chronic respiratory diseases, and suicide.

On the other hand, the rates decreased for the two top causes of death: cancer and heart disease.

The life expectancy of Americans have been improving for decades, and for older folks, it still is. An average 65-year-old could expect to still live for 19.5 years in 2017about 7 weeks more than the year before and about 19 months more than in 2000.

In fact, death rates have declined for all age groups since 2000except one. For people between 25 and 34, the death rate has increased nearly 23 percent. It has also been the age group with the steepest increase in drug overdose rates.

Opioid Scourge

The explosion of opioid abuse behind the overdose epidemic is commonly linked to the 1995 release of OxyContin by Purdue Pharma. The company marketed the drug as a low-risk pain pill that wont make patients develop an addiction, because it releases the opioid, oxycodone, gradually.

It didnt take long for people to figure out that it only took crushing the pill to release all its euphoric effect at once. Many people who were initially prescribed oxycodone or other opioid painkillers like hydrocodone or oxymorphone kept using the drugs even after their pain disappeared and developing an addiction. Aside from the psychological addiction, opioids also induce a physical one, making withdrawal all the more difficult when they try to quit.

In 2007, Purdue pleaded guilty to illegally misleading physicians about the risks of OxyContin and agreed to pay a $600 million settlement. Several Purdue executives paid settlements too, but none went to prison.

It may be too simplistic to blame the start of the epidemic solely on Purdue though. The increase in opioid prescriptions began in the 1980s, when some medical professionals argued for a more liberal use of opioids to manage pain (pdf).

It 2010, Purdue released a version of the pill that is hard to crush, making it unattractive for abuse. By then, however, the millions addicted to the drug (pdf) already appeared to have switched to heroin, which was flooding in through the southern border. On the black market, heroin was actually cheaper than the prescription pills.

By around 2013, synthetic opioids, prominently fentanyl, took off. Fentanyl poses a high risk of overdose due to its potencyits about 50-100 times stronger than morphine, according to CDC. Much of it originates from China and is smuggled to the United States either directly by mail or through Mexico, where it could be mixed with heroin. While heroin and prescription opioid overdoses appear to have declined in recent months, fentanyl-related overdoses continue to climb, albeit at a slower pace.

Battling Opioids

The opioid epidemic has prompted nationwide efforts to improve addiction prevention and treatment and overdose prevention as well as overhaul the approach to managing pain.

President Donald Trump declared the opioid crisis a national public health emergency in 2017 and directed all federal agencies to find ways to counter it.

In October, Congress nearly unanimously passed a $6 billion bill to fight the crisis. The bill authorizes, among other things, increased education and awareness campaigns, setting up recovery centers, assistance to hospitals on using painkiller alternatives to opioids, and training doctors on how to administer medication like methadone that can help people overcome opioid addiction.

The bill also seeks to prevent doctor shopping by requiring prescriptions for some controlled substances to go through electronic programs and includes a measure that will make it easier for law enforcement to crack down on kickbacks in the addiction-recovery business.

Together we are going to end the scourge of drug addiction in America, Trump said before signing the bill on Oct. 25. We are going to end it, or we are going to at least going to make an extremely big dent in this terrible, terrible problem.

In addition, Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar announced a new initiative in October to help addicted mothers and their babies on Medicaid. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services will distribute some $65 million in grants to up to 12 states to pay for health services including medication-assisted treatment for opioid use disorder, maternity care, and certain primary care services.

Azar also called for a more holistic approach to managing pain, such as using alternative treatments like physical therapy and nutrition. To this end, Medicare Advantage plans will be allowed to pay for therapeutic massage starting next year.
Police Release More Details in Crash That Killed Family of Four in Montana

The Montana Highway Patrol said roads were clear on the day a family of four died in a car crash along Interstate 94 near Billings, Montana.

Air Force Staff Sgt. Anthony James Dean, his wife, Chelsi Dean, and their two young daughters perished in a car crash on Thanksgiving Day. They were reported missing the same day, according to reports.

Missing Air Force family of 4 found dead in post-Thanksgiving SUV crash https://t.co/uXo5KXz0AZ pic.twitter.com/AjdUUzrSIp  Covensure Brokerage (@CovensureLLC) November 25, 2018

The crash scene wasnt discovered until the next day. Their SUV reportedly strayed off I-94 and hit the median, went off a bridge, and then plunged into a creek, officials said.

Montana Highway Patrol Cpt. Keith Edgell told ABC Fox Montana that he suspects the driver of the vehicle fell asleep at the wheel before crashing. He said that weather or road conditions were likely not a factor in the accident.

There was no ice, theres no snow, theres nothing, Edgell told the news outlet. Matter of fact, we had a sergeant who had traversed that road earlier that day going to Miles City for the holiday, and he said there were no issues with the roads when he left.

All four people inside the car died at the scene, the Montana Highway Patrol said. They added that they believe speed may have also been a factor in the crash, reported the Montana Standard publication.

Antony Dean was assigned to the 69th Maintenance Squadron at Grand Forks Air Force Base in North Dakota. And Chelsi Dean was a member of the Manvel Fire Department in North Dakota, according to reports.

Words are not enough during a time like this, Maj. Eric Inkenbrandt, 69th Maintenance Squadron commander, told Fox News. AJs family brought a light to our maintenance community, and this loss strikes each of us deeply. May their friends and family be granted the strength and serenity to get through this sorrowful time.

The Dean family was driving from a relatives home in Caldwell, Idaho, to Ekalaka, Montana, when they went missing. The two towns are about 260 miles apart.

Mom and Grandma heart is broken into a billion pieces, Anthony Deans mother wrote on Facebook, the Pioneer Press reported. My poor babies, she wrote. I hope they didnt suffer.

The family is originally from Caldwell, Idaho, and they moved to the Manvel base when Anthony Dean was reassigned there. He worked as an RQ-4 Global Hawk crew chief, the Herald reported.

A GoFundMe was set up for the familys funeral. We lost a wonderful family for beautiful souls hearts were soaking from our families way too soon, a family member wrote.

Traffic Deaths Down Across US

U.S. traffic deaths fell 3.1 percent in the first six months of 2018, according to preliminary figures released in October 2018, Reuters reported.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said that 2017 traffic deaths fell by 1.8 percent to 37,133 after traffic deaths rose sharply in the previous two years, according to final figures.

The U.S. traffic fatality rate fell to 1.08 deaths per 100 million miles traveled for the first half of 2018.

The fatality rate in 2017 was 1.16 million deaths per 100 million miles traveledthe second highest rate since 2008.

Reuters contributed to this article.
Gavin McInnes speaks at the "March Against Sharia" in New York on June 10, 2017. (Eduardo Munoz Alvarez/Getty Images)

Proud Boys Founder Gavin McInnes Denied Visa to Australia Over Character Test

The founder of the conservative Proud Boys group has been denied a visa to Australia after he planned a speaking tour of the country that was slated to start on Dec. 5.

Gavin McInnes, a Canadian writer and comedian who founded the Proud Boys and co-founded Vice Media and Vice magazine, planned a speaking tour called The Deplorables across the country, but may not be able to conduct it after Australias Home Affairs Department determined he failed the character test to get a visa.

Section 501 of the Migration Act states that visa applicants fail the character test if the applicant has a substantial criminal record, if the applicant is part of a group that has been or is involved in criminal conduct, or there is a risk the person would engage in criminal conduct, vilify a segment of the Australian community, or incite discord in the community.

McInness visa application was blocked with the department, he confirmed on Nov. 30.

Good. Getting screamed at by a bunch of delusional SJWs [social justice warriors] isnt exactly the best environment for comedy. I find it interesting that the media found out before our lawyers did, he told News.com.au in a text message. Fake news truly trumps the justice system in Australiaand in America for that matter.

The Australian government didnt confirm that he was blocked but a number of news outlets there, including the Australian, cited sources saying he was.

In a statement, a Home Affairs spokeswoman said all non-citizens entering the country had to pass the character test before getting a visa.

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, she said.

Damien Costas, who organized The Deplorables tour, told News.com.au that he hadnt been informed by the government that the application was blocked.

Former Australian Border Force chief Roman Quaedvlieg was among those celebrating the move, telling Fairfax Media he believed that McInnes would incite violence if he were allowed into the country.

Free speech is fine but not when it crosses the threshold to the incitement of violence. I dont think he passes the character test based on what is publicly available, Quaedvlieg said.

Proud Boys

The Proud Boys have been mired in controversy in the United States, with media often focusing on their clashes with the far-left extremist group, Antifa. In a recent case in New York City, it was alleged that Antifa members assault of a man prompted the group to intervene, and they handily beat down the Antifa assailants. Antifa members were also captured on video throwing bottles at the Proud Boys before the brawl.

Criminal charges were filed in that case against both Antifa and Proud Boys members. McInnes arranged for all his members who were charged to turn themselves in.

McInnes stressed in a video he made recently that hes only promoted self-defense, not unprovoked violence, as Antifa has. In the video, McInnes said he was leaving the Proud Boys.

I am officially disassociating myself from the Proud Boys in all capacities, forever. I quit, McInnes said. I was never the leader, only the founder.

Referencing the pending charges in New York City, he added, I am told by my legal team and law enforcement that this gesture could help alleviate their sentencing.

The Proud Boys describe themselves as a pro-Western values group composed of men of all different races. Many of them support President Donald Trump.

From NTD News
Sarah Palin Says Her House Was Damaged During Anchorage Earthquake

Video shows earthquake-damaged road with car stranded in the middle

Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin tweeted that her house was apparently damaged or destroyed during the 7.0 magnitude earthquake that hit Anchorage on Nov. 30.

She called on people to [pray] for Alaska, saying, Our family is intact  house is not.

I imagine thats the case for many, many others. So thankful to be safe; praying for our state following the earthquake, Palin, the former GOP vice-presidential nominee in 2008, wrote on the social media website.

 for Alaska. Our family is intact  house is not I imagine thats the case for many, many others. So thankful to be safe; praying for our state following the earthquake.  Sarah Palin (@SarahPalinUSA) November 30, 2018

Palin, who is from Wasilla, did not elaborate on the extent of the damage. However, photos and videos posted online showed damaged buildings and buckled roads.

In Anchorage, several significant aftershocks hit the area, with one measuring 5.8.

Video footage uploaded online shows the damage done to an Anchorage-area high school, posted by a student (video below):

It prompted people to reportedly flee their offices or to take cover under desks. Tsunami warnings were also sent out to people on Kodiak Island and nearby.

Its not clear whether there were injuries or deaths in connection to the quake.

The U.S. Geological Survey said the first and more powerful quake was centered about 7 miles north of Anchorage, Alaskas largest city, with a population of about 300,000.

People ran from their offices or took cover under desks. Cracks could be seen in a two-story downtown Anchorage building, and photographs posted to social media showed fractured roads, as well as fallen ceiling tiles at an Anchorage high school. A large section of an overpass near the Anchorage airport collapsed, marooning a car on a narrow island of pavement next to where the road gave way. The quake also disrupted electrical service and knocked out traffic lights in Anchorage, snarling traffic.

Alaska station KTUU reported that a possible landslide was triggered on the Seward Highway by McHugh Creek.

The Anchorage Police Department told the public to call 911 only during emergencies.

Our officers have been dispatched throughout the area and are handling multiple situations. We are working with our public safety partners to keep you safe. For parents, we are working with our partners at the Anchorage School District to check on your children and make sure they are safe, the department said in a statement.

There is major infrastructure damage across Anchorage. Many homes and buildings are damaged. Many roads and bridges are closed. Stay off the roads if you dont need to drive. Seek a safe shelter. Check on your surroundings and loved ones, it added.

It was anarchy, said one local man to AP of the quake. Theres no pictures left on the walls, theres no power, theres no fish tank left. Everything thats not tied down is broke.

Southern Alaska has a high risk of quakes due to tectonic plates under the region, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. The area is also located on the earthquake-prone Pacific Ring of Fire.

A massive 9.2 earthquake struck the area on March 27, 1964, and is considered the most powerful recorded earthquake in U.S. history, the agency says. It is also the second largest earthquake ever recorded, next to the M9.5 earthquake in Chile in 1960.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Senate Judiciary Chair Cancels Judicial Nomination Hearing

Senate Judiciary Chairman Charles Grassley (R-Iowa) canceled a Nov. 29 hearing on judicial nominees, putting more than two dozen Trump-nominated judges on hold with just two weeks before Congress adjourns for the year.

Confirming federal judges has been a top priority of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.). But outgoing GOP Sen. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) appears to be making good on an earlier threat to block judicial nominations unless the Senate passes his legislation to protect special counsel Robert Mueller.

Grassley canceled the Nov. 29 hearing the previous evening after Senate Republicans refused to allow the special counsel protection bill sponsored by Flake and Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.) to receive a floor vote.

Flake is an outspoken critic of President Donald Trump, and fears the presidents recent appointment of Acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker as an existential challenge to Muellers Russia investigation that increasingly appears to have Trump in its sights.

The Attorney General has been fired and somebody has been placed, like I said, with hostility toward the Mueller probe. We ought to be more concerned here and I just cant understand why we arent, Flake said in Nov. 28 evening CNN interview.

The narrow distribution of power in the Senate gives Flake unusual leverage not just from his seat on the Senate Judiciary Committee, but in the chamber as a whole.

Republicans enjoy only a one-seat advantage on the Judiciary Committee. Flakes defection to the block-voting Democratic minority, or even an abstention from voting, would sink any chance of a Trump-nominated judge from receiving a favorable committee vote.

In the full Senate, Republicans maintain control with a slim 51-49 majority. If Flake voted with the unified Democratic opposition, then the 50-50 tie would require Vice President Mike Pence to cast a deciding vote.

That already happened on Nov. 28, when Pence was forced to break a tie on a procedural vote to advance the nomination of Thomas Farr. Trump nominated Farr to fill a federal judgeship in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina. The seat has been vacant longer than any other current opening across the country.

Flake joined all 49 members of the Democratic caucus to block Farr, not just as a consequence of his stance on protecting the Mueller probe, but in observance with Democratic allegations of racism.

In 2011, Farrs law firm was hired by Republicans in the North Carolina General Assembly to defend redistricting boundaries drawn by the state legislature. In 2016, a federal court ruled the boundaries were gerrymandered.

Farr also helped defend a North Carolina voter ID law that required identification to be submitted before would-be voters could cast a ballot. The same law prohibited the controversial practice of same-day registration and voting, as well as voting outside of ones assigned geographic precinct. Both measures were designed to prevent voter fraud, but have been tagged as racially discriminatory.

With Thomas Farrs nomination, were being asked to confirm the go-to guy in North Carolina if you need a lawyer to defend voter suppression, said Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, the Senates highest-ranking Democrat, on Nov. 29.

Hours later, Flake wrote on Twitter, Ill vote no on final passage next week.

Farrs nomination was sunk Thursday evening when South Carolina GOP Sen. Tim Scott, an African American, said he would also vote against Farr, thereby changing the balance to 50-51 in favor of Democrats. Scott previously voted with Pence and Senate Republicans to advance Farrs procedural nomination.

Senator Tim Scott has done a courageous thing, and hes done the right thing, Schumer wrote on Twitter. Thomas Farr has been involved in the sordid practice of voter suppression for decades and never should have been nominated, let alone confirmed to the bench. Thankfully, he wont be.

According to the U.S. Constitution, presidential nominations are subject to the advise and consent of the Senate before they can be confirmed.

Nominations that fall under the jurisdiction of the Judiciary Committee include the U.S. Supreme Court, the U.S. Courts of Appeals, the U.S. District Courts, and the Court of International Trade, as well as those relating to the Department of Justice and the Department of Homeland Security, among others.

Thursdays hearing slated six Circuit Court judges and 15 District Court judges for approval, in addition to other federal court nominees. But for the cancellation, they would have been prepared for a confirmation floor vote either within the next two weeks or early next month.

Currently, there are 137 federal judicial vacancies, with 69 pending nominations.

Grassley has not rescheduled another nomination hearing as of the morning of Nov. 30. The Epoch Times contacted Grassleys office for comment but has not yet received a response.

Majority Leader McConnell said he remains committed to the confirmation process despite a rapidly closing window this year. McConnell could still bring the Trump nominees to the floor for an up-or-down chamber vote even with a Judiciary Committee unfavorable recommendation. But GOP leaders seem eager to avoid it.

The Senate is focused on wrapping up this years remaining priorities: getting more of the presidents team in place, confirming well-qualified nominees to our federal courts, and attending to the pressing legislative business the American people expect us to handle, McConnell tweeted Nov. 28.
At least three people were shot at the University of Mississippi Medical Center on Nov. 29, according to Jackson Police. (Google Street)

Shooting Reported at University of Mississippi Medical Center, 2 Children Injured

At least three people were shot in front of the University of Mississippi Medical Center on Nov. 29, according to Jackson Police.

Early reports indicated it was an active shooter situation, but Jackson Police Chief James Davis told the Clarion-Ledger that that does not appear to be the case.

Active shooter reported at UMMC in garage! We are here with multiple police units! Employees and students told to shelter in place! pic.twitter.com/EO4PMQCfeg  Maggie Wade (@MaggieWade) November 29, 2018

Davis said someone fired shots at a grey Honda with a female and two kids inside. The children, ages 1 and 3, were shot. The woman in the car grabbed the children and ran into UMMC for treatment, the Clarion-Ledger reported.

Both children are alive, Davis said, adding he doesnt know their condition. One was shot in the leg and the other was shot in the body.

The shooter is on the run, and police are actively searching for the suspect, WLBT reported.

A text message sent to medical center students and staff, saying a shooting occurred at Parking Garage B, WLBT reported. The text reads: This is not a drill. RUN to safety. HIDE in a locked room. FIGHT as a last resort All individuals on campus are to stay away. Campus police are responding.

It is no longer an active shooter situation, according to local news reports.

Jackson Mississippi: *UpDate PD is investigating reports of an active shooter at the University of Mississippi Medical Center. Early report is 3 victims down *Emergency Message From UMMC. pic.twitter.com/cETEG8cD3u  First Responder (@911__ICE) November 29, 2018

Other details about the shooting are not clear.

Violent Crime Down in 2018

The FBI says in 2017, violent crime has dropped by 0.2 percent, according to a release, but aggravated and rape offenses increased by a respective 1.0 percent and 2.5 percent. The murder rate dropped by 0.7 percent, the agency said.

In 2017, there were an estimated 1,247,321 violent crimes. The estimated number of robbery offenses decreased 4.0 percent, and the estimated number of murder and nonnegligent manslaughter offenses decreased 0.7 percent when compared with estimates from 2016. The estimated volume of aggravated assault and rape (revised definition) offenses increased 1.0 percent and 2.5 percent, respectively, says the FBI.
Paramilitary policemen patrol at the Tiananmen Square outside the Forbidden City, which was the Chinese imperial palace from the mid-Ming Dynasty to the end of the Qing Dynasty, in Beijing, China, in this file photo. (Feng Li/Getty Images)

The Fragile Chinese Empire

China wants to be the next global superpower; it won't succeed

Lets call China what it really isnot a Peoples Republic or an ordinary country, no. It is an empire.

Its a regional empire, true; but it still rules over many nationalities and ethnicities, with dozens of languages spoken as well as ongoing tensions in regions such as Xinjiang Province and Tibet, which bristle at the Han Chinese rule over them.

Xis Big Plan

Of course, China has big ideas about becoming a global empire. To do so, it must replace the United States, which it is certainly trying to do. But bilateral currency agreements, global partnerships with multinational corporations, and a huge domestic market aside, Chinese leader Xi Jinping and the Communist Party of China (CCP) might find the global empire business tougher than they imagined.

There are several reasons for this. For one, few really wish to live in a world where China calls the shotsleast of all the average Chinese citizen. Russia may be the exception but this is hardly a prime endorsement. China envisions an empire built on economic if not military conquest and fealty, not cooperation and mutually beneficial relationships. Ask Chinas regional trading partners about that, or, just look at how the CCP treats their own people.

In contrast, the American Empire generally isnt one of repression or conquest. Rather, in broad strokes, its one of the willing trading partners sharing in the economic and security benefits that the United States provides. There are exceptions, of course, but the U.S.-dominated global system is unlike any empire the world has ever seen.

Of course, not everyone loves the current arrangements, but who would want to give them up to be dominated by the CCP?

Evil Empire 2.0

Domestically, the CCP has already created an evil empire.

Originally patterned after the Soviet Union, Chinawith great assistance from the Westhas shifted from a brutal totalitarian purist communist state to a brutal totalitarian fascist state with the Communist Party in control. Business is heavily controlled and often state-owned, although private property is allowed by the sanction of the state. All media are controlled, citizens are surveilled, dissent is met with violence, imprisonment, and torture, and human expression in forms other than what the CCP approves of is suppressed.

In the Western province of Xinjiang, for example, 2 million or more Muslim Uyghurs are currently detained in camps, separated from families, tortured, denied religious expression, suffering experimentation, and enduring re-education. Being a Uyghur is literally a crime against the state. But then, practicing the spiritual discipline Falun Gong, following the Buddha and any form of Christianity other than the Party-approved brand are also met with persecution.

Thats not to say that the people who live in China are inherently bad or not smart enough to build a global empire. China is a world leader in artificial intelligence, hypersonic aeronautics, and bio-engineering, to name just a few areas. Chinas ancient culture has much to offer the world, but decades under CCP rule has coarsened Chinese sensibilities, with the tempering influence of Confucianism expunged by the Cultural Revolution. That said, the image of one young man standing in front of a tank in 1989 in Tiananmen Square should remind us all of the many good people in China.

More repression: A Demonstration of Poweror Fear?

As a result of the above-named brutalities, the challenge that Xi and the CCP face in turning China into the next global superpower is the ever-increasing dissatisfaction with the CCP from the Chinese people themselves. This is manifesting in several ways.

For instance, Xis response to U.S. tariffs has been to take more control over the economy, which means turning healthy, private enterprises into corrupt and inefficient state-owned enterprises. Bankruptcy is the end game there. This gets Xi more party loyalty in the short term, but destroys it in the business sector and productivity.

To put it bluntly, a failing economy means illegitimacy for the CCP. Economic growth is what the CCP has hung its political hat on since 1989. But with an economy that is feeling the pain of Trumps trade policiesas well as its own wasteful spending, the anti-corruption campaign and a debt crisisXi must know that hes facing the real prospect of rejection by the people and rising separatist impulses in various regions.

Elusive Political Stability

Although Xis first priority is political stability, without economic growth, absorbing more productive private businesses into the state gains him only a temporary benefit. As state theft grows and the economy stalls or even shrinks, social disruptions are likely to increase.

Xi must also know this. That would explain why hes heightened the levels of repression and punishment for dissenters, is moving ethnic Chinese into Xinjiang Province and Tibet, and continues to raise the internal security budget.

The truth is that the CCP has much to answer for and, right now, Xi is the man at the helm, although he can hardly be made responsible for decades of brutality, pollution, and economic mismanagement.

Ungodly levels of air, water, and land pollution are at crisis levels throughout China. Tens of millions of displaced workers shut out from social benefits, an aging workforce without a much-needed social safety net, endemic corruption and failing state-owned enterprises all point to political dissatisfaction and instability.

Add in the Trump tariffs and the possibility that China may soon lose much of its trading relationships with the United States, along with the European Union and Japan, and the situation could get dire quickly. China could soon face a full-blown economic crisis like it hasnt seen since the 1970s. That is likely one purpose behind Trumps policies.

One Belt, One Road, but Many Headaches

Meanwhile, Chinas big, global empire move is the One Belt, One Road (OBOR) initiative. Its an intercontinental trade and infrastructure scheme to link China, both physically and financially, to nations in Asia, Europe, Africa, and Oceania. But problems abound. The massive scale of the project involves runaway costs and, in many cases, negative or neutral returns on investment. Many of the participating countries just dont have the economic heft to deliver the financial returns that China is hoping for.

But with or without OBOR, the CCP cant possibly deliver the economic development it has to the 300 million or so Chinese who are by now the middle class, to the remaining 1 billion-plus Chinese who live in poverty. Indeed, GDP growth is already falling well below the double-digit growth of the recent past. And even though internal investment is among the highest in the world, the return on investment is much lower than that of the United States and other developed countries.

The Next USSR in 1980 or Japan in 1938?

The reason for Xis focus on more control may be the Glasnost policies that dissolved the Soviet Union. Gorbachev loosened restrictions and the Party never recovered. Xi wants to avoid that fate.

But China also resembles the Empire of Japan just before the start of World War II. Like Japan, China is a rapidly growing economic force in Asia with highly educated and brilliant people. Both nations learned technological, financial and military prowess from the West very quickly. Both nations are resource poor, and both rely (or relied) upon a transcendent figure (Emperor Hirohito in Japan, Xi Jinping in China) to drive them forward. Finally, as with Imperial Japan of the 1930s, China engages in aggressive colonialism and adversarial trade.

We all know how the USSRs and Japans empire-building efforts turned out and it doesnt look like China will be an exception.

James Gorrie is a writer based in Texas. He is the author of The China Crisis.

Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping attend a welcome ceremony at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Nov. 9, 2017. (Nicolas Asfouri/AFP/Getty Images)

Trump-Xi Meeting Wont Stop the Trade War

President Donald Trump is scheduled to meet with Chinas leader Xi Jinping on Dec. 1 in Buenos Aires at the G-20 summit. Both have indicated that they are ready to talk about trade. Despite China being hard pressed to negotiate a trade deal with the United States, the possibility that the two countries make a truce on trade, I believe, is slim.

Latest economic data from China show its economy slowing down due to U.S. tariffs and the trade dispute. In the third quarter of 2018 China recorded its most sluggish growth in ten years.

In October, the deceleration sped up, and consumer confidence plummeted. Consumption of durable goods, such as automobiles, smart phones, and home appliances dropped significantly. The once red-hot real estate market also showed signs of cooling.

If the United States and China fail to reach a deal before 2019, the impact of the trade dispute on China will get worse. On Jan. 1, the 10 percent tariff on $200 billion worth of Chinese imports imposed by the Trump administration will rise to 25 percent, with the possibility of new tariffs on the remaining Chinese imports. These measures could dent the real GDP growth of China by 0.5 to 0.7 percent in 2019, according to some analyses.

Such an enormous economic risk would be sufficient to force reasonable parties to come to the negotiation table. But China is anything but reasonable.

China responded with a list of old promises, including buying more U.S. merchandise and helping reducing the U.S. trade deficit. As for the structural issues in China-U.S. trade, such as intellectual property theft, illegal subsidies, and non-tariff barriers for U.S. businesses, China showed zero interest.

They are not close to a favorable deal on trade. Not in the same universe, a U.S. government source told Reuters on Nov. 15.

One of the primary reasons that China has overplayed its hand in the trade dispute is that it underestimated the determination of the Trump administration to reset the Sino-U.S. trade relationship.

In the past, China repeatedly used the tactic of buying more U.S. goods in exchange for maintaining the status quo and almost succeeded every time. It must have thought Trump could be bought, too. But China sized up Trump completely wrong.

China probably hoped that the anticipated Democratic takeover after the 2018 midterm election would help rein in Trump, so that it could be off the hook on trade issues. Yet the takeover didnt happen, as the Democrats failed to capture the Senate. Their performance in gaining seats in the House was historically average. If Chinas trade negotiation strategy hinges on Trump being impeached and removed from the office by the Democrats in 2019, it badly needs a new one.

Additionally, China overestimated its economys strength. China has been the worlds factory for cheap products for decades. But due to rising costs, labor-intensive industries, such as shoe and apparel making, are moving to Southeast Asia. TV and gaming device makers are following suit. The tariffs create more incentives for the exodus.

In high-end manufacturing, such as computer equipment and electronics, China is heavily reliant on foreign imports. The most prominent example is chips (integrated circuits). Nearly 90 percent of the chips the country consumed in 2017 were sourced from overseas. Early this year, Chinese telecom giant ZTE had to cease operation following a sales ban imposed by the Department of Commerce. Without a lifeline from the Trump administration, ZTE would have been put out of business.

Finally, Some of the demands of the United States, such as knocking down the Great Firewall of China, are perceived as directly undermining the Communist Partys rule in China. To cling to their power, the leaders of the Communist Party cant afford to be perceived as weak, even when this means wrecking Chinas economy.

The Chinese Communist Party is a totalitarian group. The interests of the top echelon are aligned with the party, not the country, certainly not its people. That the trade war may create hardship for Chinese people doesnt mean much for the party leaders. They are not elected and cant be held responsible by the Chinese people. As a result, Xi has no choice but to play hard ball with Trump. If he doesnt, he wont be at the helm for long.

Looking ahead, I seriously doubt the Trump-Xi meeting will produce any meaningful results. Short of economic catastrophe, China will not take the United States seriously.

Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
Two Chinese Trade Union Officials Arrested After Helping Workers

BEIJINGChinese police have arrested two trade union officials after they helped workers try to set up a union, a source told Reuters on Nov. 30, the latest detentions in a nationwide crackdown on labor activists.

Chinas latest round of labor activism began this year when a company called Jasic International, a welding machinery manufacturer in the southern city of Huizhou, fired some workers for attempting to set up a union.

The sacked workers staged weeks of protests, drawing in support from activists.

The protests sparked detentions by the authorities, first of the protest organizers, then of student activists and most recently of supporters on top university campuses.

The stability-obsessed Chinese Communist Party is suspicious of all forms of grassroots organization that operate beyond its control, especially any that might lead to large-scale protests.

On Nov. 9, police detained two community officials from the All China Federation of Trade Unions in the southern city of Shenzhen, said a source with knowledge of the situation.

Police told their families that they were suspected of picking quarrels and provoking trouble, a crime in China, said the source, who declined to be identified due to the sensitivity of the matter.

The Shenzhen Public Security Bureau did not respond to a faxed request for comment.

The All China Federation of Trade Unions also did not immediately respond to a faxed request for comment.

All unions in China have to register with the official federation. But workers are not allowed to organize freely.

Labor rights groups say that the federation remains more responsive to the demands of management than workers.

One of the detained officials is a woman, Zou Liping, who helped Jasic workers apply to set up a union led by members they had elected, and she also advised them about the law, according to a former worker.

If she wasnt there, then maybe we wouldnt have been able to do it . She told us how to legally set up a labor union, said the worker, who also declined to be identified.

Even those within the system, if they have empathy for the workers, then they can be detained too, the worker said.

The first source identified the second detained union official as Li Ao.

The plight of factory workers at companies like Jasic has become a focus for students and recent graduate activists who have eschewed normal career paths in favor of working to address inequality and other social issues.

More than 30 people are in detention as part of the crackdown on the protests, according to a support group.

Reuters was unable to independently verify the groups tally of the detained.

By Christian Shepherd
Ukraine Bars Russian Men From Entering Country

Ukraine has barred Russian males between the ages of 16 and 60 from entering the country in the latest escalation of tensions.

Some Russian men would exceptionally be allowed to travel to Ukraine in humanitarian cases, according to the BBC, such as to attend funerals.

Petro Tsygykal, chief of the Ukrainian Border Guard Service, announced at a security meeting on Nov. 30 that the ban would be in effect while martial law is in place.

President Petro Poroshenko tweeted (in Ukrainian) that the ban was designed to prevent the formation of private armies in Ukraine.

    '       16  60,        "" ,       .         ,      2014 . pic.twitter.com/upJyp1JLrO    (@poroshenko) November 30, 2018

Ukraine has imposed a restriction on the entry of citizens of the Russian Federation aged 16 to 60, so that the Russian Federation would not form detachments of private armies in Ukraine, which are actually representatives of the Russian armed forces, Poroshenko wrote.

The Ukrainian president added that the move comes in order not to allow the Russians to carry out the operations they had planned back in 2014.

Poroshenko was referring to Russian-backed separatists who formed units in April 2014 to fight Ukrainian government forces in eastern Ukraine.

He accused Putin on Nov. 29 of wanting to annex all of Ukraine and called for NATO to deploy warships to a sea shared by the two nations.

Putin, meanwhile, has accused Poroshenko of manufacturing the crisis to boost his flagging ratings ahead of next years elections in Ukraine.

Martial Law

Ukrainian lawmakers approved on Nov. 26 the imposition of a 30-day period of martial law after Poroshenko warned of the extremely serious threat of a Russia-led land invasion.

Russia has been waging a hybrid war against our country for a fifth year. But with an attack on Ukrainian military boats it moved to a new stage of aggression, Poroshenko said.

Martial law is now in effect in 10 regions of Ukraine, including those bordering Russia.

The move came after Russian forces seized three Ukrainian vessels and 24 sailors in the Black Sea over the weekend, sparking an international crisis.

Ukraine accused Russia of violating international law, while Russia argued the vessels violated its territorial waters.

It is the most dangerous clash at sea off Crimea since Russia annexed the Ukrainian peninsula in March 2014.

International Response

President Donald Trump said he was working with European leaders to remedy the situation.

We do not like whats happening either way and, hopefully, it will get straightened out, Trump said, according to ABC news.

Trump also recently canceled a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin that was scheduled to take place during the G-20 summit in Argentina, citing Russias ongoing detention of Ukrainian ships and sailors.

Based on the fact that the ships and sailors have not been returned to Ukraine from Russia, I have decided it would be best for all parties concerned to cancel my previously scheduled meeting in Argentina with President Vladimir Putin, Trump tweeted on Nov. 29. I look forward to a meaningful Summit again as soon as this situation is resolved!

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo called Russias seizure of the Ukrainian vessels a dangerous escalation and a violation of international law and called for restraint from both countries.

The United States condemns this aggressive Russian action. We call on Russia to return to Ukraine its vessels and detained crew members, and to respect Ukraines sovereignty and territorial integrity, Pompeo said in a statement.

Warships

Poroshenko told the German news service Bild he wanted NATO to deploy warships to the Sea of Azov. Ukraine isnt a member of the United States-led military alliance.

NATO, which has condemned Russias seizure of the Ukrainian ships, said that the alliances ships routinely patrol and conduct exercises in the Black Sea, that allies engage in regular air policing and reconnaissance flights there, and that the alliance has stepped up its activities since Moscow annexed Crimea.

Three NATO membersBulgaria, Romania, and Turkeyare littoral states with their own national capabilities deployed in the Black Sea region, NATO spokeswoman Oana Lungescu said. So there is already a lot of NATO in the Black Sea, and we will continue to assess our presence in the region.

The prospect of NATO warships heading to the Sea of Azov, which is separated from the Black Sea by the Kerch Strait, seems unlikelyits shallow, access to it is controlled by Russia, and the Kremlin would likely view any attempt by the Atlantic alliance to deploy there as a hostile act.

There has been growing hostility between Ukraine and Russia since Moscows annexation of the Crimean Peninsula from Ukraine in 2014. Russia has also supported separatists in Ukraines east with clandestine dispatches of troops and weapons. Fighting there has killed at least 10,000 people since 2014 but eased somewhat after a 2015 truce.

Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
This picture taken on September 21, 2018 shows students in their dormitory after a training session at the Guangzhou Football Academy in Meizhou in southern China's Guangdong province. (JOHANNES EISELE/AFP/Getty Images)

University in Northwestern China Concealed Tuberculosis Outbreak for a Month

Shangluo University, in northwestern Chinas Shaanxi Province, suffered an outbreak of tuberculosis starting early last month, but the school and local government concealed the epidemic until a student shared the information with a news agency.

On Nov. 29, a sophomore student at Shangluo University told The Paper, a Shanghai-based state-run outlet, that students at the school had contracted tuberculosis earlier in the month. Most patients were seniors who lived in the same dormitory complex.

The school has not told us how many people are sick, or how the outbreak happened. We only know that the infected dormitory and the corridor have been decontaminated, the student told The Paper.

He said that on Nov. 20, the school administration arranged for everyone at the university to have X-ray examinations on their lungs in an epidemic-prevention vehicle, but didnt tell them why. Many people posted messages on the schools bulletin board to express concern about the outbreak and anger with the university for concealing the information.

Responding to inquiries about the outbreak, the head of Shangluo Universitys medical operations only said that the school had disinfected the campus and the dormitory, and had arranged for students to receive epidemic-prevention exams.

A local government official of the Shangzhou District, where Shangluo University is located, said that the outbreak was controlled and that there had been no large-scale infection. But since the university and the local government only acknowledged the outbreak after it was reported by news media almost a month later, the public has questioned whether the epidemic is actually under control.

Schools in China often cover up outbreaks of disease and other health-related scandals.

The Taojiang No. 4 Middle School in Hunan Province concealed a tuberculosis outbreak for almost a year, beginning in 2016.

In 2016, Class 364 at the school had a few students dismissed due to illness, but it wasnt until August 2017 that the school arranged for students to take blood tests, which found seven students were infected with tuberculosis. The school kept Class 364 in operation until Aug. 18. While 89 students went on sick leave, students in other classes were unaware of the situation.

By Aug. 19, most parents had their children checked, with dozens being diagnosed with tuberculosis. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention in Taojiang County, over the next few weeks, tested all students at the school. More than 30 students were found to have been infected and more than 20 were diagnosed with tuberculosis. In November, an additional 14 students were diagnosed with the disease. In total, at least 50 students were found to have tuberculosis, including 42 from Class 364.

Chinese media finally reported the epidemic on Nov. 15, but the Taojiang County CDC refused to disclose details.
US, Canada, Mexico Sign the New Trade Deal at G20

The new agreement is 'a truly groundbreaking achievement,' says Trump

BUENOS AIRESThe United States, Canada, and Mexico begin a new chapter by replacing the 24-year-old North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).

President Donald Trump, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, and Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto signed on Nov. 30 the new trade deal, U.S.MexicoCanada Agreement (USMCA), on the sidelines of G20 Summit in Argentina.

The new treaty will now be sent to congresses of each country for approval.

Speaking at the signing ceremony, Trump called the agreement a truly groundbreaking achievement.

The USMCA is the largest, most significant, modern, and balanced trade agreement in history, Trump said. All of our countries will benefit greatly.

The new trade pact would bring to the United States high-paying manufacturing jobs and boost exports in various sectors, including farming, manufacturing, and service industries, he said.

This is an amazing deal for our farmers, and also allows them to use cutting-edge biotechnology, and eliminates non-scientific barriers.

Trump added that the treaty would promote high wages, citing autoworkers as primary beneficiaries.

Under the new deal, 75 percent of automobiles content must come from North America, up from the original threshold of 62.5 percent. The higher threshold will keep more parts from other regions out, while boosting production and jobs in the region.

The rules also incentivize the use of high-wage manufacturing labor in the auto sector. Nearly 40 to 45 percent of automobile content must be manufactured by North American high-wage labor in order to gain preferential access to these three markets.

This will help stop auto jobs from going overseas, and it will bring back auto jobs that have already left, Trump said. Many companies are coming back, and were very excited about that.

The USMCA also contains new provisions on digital trade and financial services.

A Model Agreement

After months of talks, the United States, Canada, and Mexico agreed on Sept. 30 to sign the USMCA. With its strong provisions, the new pact has become a playbook for future trade deals, according to the White House.

The new deal has ambitious standards on fighting unfair trade practices, confronting massive state subsidies, and currency manipulation.

It also has a so-called poison pill, which is a clause that aims to contain Beijing. The provision, which has attracted a lot of attention and praise, essentially blocks any trade flirtation with China.

According to the agreement, if any party enters into a free-trade agreement with a non-market country, the other parties have the right to terminate the USMCA on six-month notice.

The use of the phrase non-market country is a clear reference to China, since the United States last year reaffirmed that China was a non-market economy. The European Union also opposes Chinas recognition as a market economy.

U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross earlier said that this provision could be replicated in other trade agreements.

This is a model agreement that changes the trade landscape forever, Trump said. And this is an agreement that, first and foremost, benefits working peoplesomething of great importance to all three of us here today.

Trump has a high confidence that the U.S. Congress will approve the deal.

Its been so well reviewed, I dont expect to have very much of a problem, he said.

Incredible way to end a presidency

During the signing ceremony, Trump praised outgoing Mexican President Nieto for signing the deal on the last day of his presidency.

It is really an incredible way to end a presidency. You dont see that happen very often, he said.

Prime Minister Trudeau called the agreement the new North American Free Trade Agreement and said it maintained stability for Canadas entire economy.

The new agreement lifts the risk of serious economic uncertainty that lingers throughout a trade renegotiation process, he added. Uncertainty that would have only gotten worse and more damaging had we not reached a new NAFTA.

President Nieto said the trilateral partners were beginning a new chapter in their shared history.

The agreement that we have signed today will allow each country to gain individually, but also North America will grow stronger and will grow to be more prosperous, he said.
U.S. military forces fire a High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) rocket during the annual Philippines-U.S. live fire amphibious landing exercise (PHIBLEX) at Crow Valley in Capas, Tarlac province, north of Manila, Philippines, on Oct. 10, 2016. (Romeo Ranoco/Reuters)

US State Department Approves Sale of New Artillery Rocket System to Poland

WARSAWThe U.S. State Department approved the sale of 20 High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) launchers to Poland to strengthen security in the region and modernize the countrys military, the U.S. Defense Security Cooperation Agency said.

Poland asked to buy the HIMARS system, produced by Lockheed Martin, last year.

This proposed sale will support the foreign policy and national security of the United States by improving the security of a NATO ally which is an important force for political stability and economic progress in Europe, the DSCA said in a statement released late on Nov. 29.

The DSCA leads U.S. efforts to train and equip allies.

Polands Defence Minister Mariusz Blaszczak signed off on a new program to update the countrys military on Wednesday, including strengthened cybersecurity and new air defense and long-range missile systems.

The purchase of the HIMARS launchers and related equipment, estimated to cost around $655 million, is part of this upgrade. This is a big step toward finalizing this breakthrough contract for the Polish army, Blaszczak tweeted on Friday.

Polands armed forces have suffered from decades of under-investment and some two-thirds of their equipment dates from the Soviet era.

The country has long vowed to increase defense spending, in part to deter what it sees as Russian aggression in the region, and wants to increase the presence of American troops on its territory.

In a meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump in September, Polands President Andrzej Duda said Poland was ready to invest $2 billion to facilitate the development of a permanent base.

Duda also said he wants government plans to increase defense spending to 2.5 percent of GDP by 2030 to be speeded up to 2024 if the economy permits.

NATO has requested member countries spend at least 2 percent of their GDP on defense.

By Joanna Plucinska
Fu Yuxia, 59, lies on the sidewalk outside the Chinese Consulate in New York after being assaulted by security guard Samuel Parkinson on July 1, 2014. (NTD Television)

Woman Assaulted by NYC Chinese Consular Security Rejects $3.5 Million Settlement Offer

Fu Yuxia, a Chinese woman who was assaulted and injured three times by security guard Samuel Parkinson while she protested in front of the Chinese consulate in New York, has turned down a $3.5 million settlement offer by the defendants in a lawsuit she filed against Parkinson and his employer, Epic Security Inc.

Fu, 59, emigrated to the United States with her family in 2012 after her home in Shanghai was forcibly demolished in 1997 and her demands for justice were stonewalled. After moving abroad, she continued to protest the Chinese authorities by demonstrating outside the consulate in New York. Forced demolitions have been a common plight for many Chinese property owners, as real estate developers with political connections can seize land without providing proper compensation.

She had fought an uphill legal battle in China that saw her lawyers harassed and detained, before she fled the country to continue her petitioning oversees.

In May and July 2014, Fu, who applied for and received political asylum while in the United States, was assaulted by Parkinson while demonstrating outside the Chinese consulate. After recovering from her injuries, she went back to the consulate in 2016 and was beaten by Parkinson again, this time sustaining permanent damage to her neck and shoulder.

Fu filed suit in June 2016 after undergoing surgery. Shes unable to sue the Chinese consular authorities since they have diplomatic immunity. Since filing the lawsuit against Parkinson and his employer, Fu says that her lawyer has received incrementally higher settlement offersfirst $5,000, then $70,000, $170,000, $1.5 million, and now $3.5 million.

On Oct. 18, my lawyer told me that the defendants will give me $3.5 million if I withdraw the case, Fu told The Epoch Times on Oct. 25.

Fu has refused each of the offers, saying that she had to stand up for other petitioners who have been assaulted by security staff at the consulate.

My position is very clear. I am determined not to give in. I must go to court, she said.

There are 15 other petitioners who will appear in court and testify for me. Some of them are witnesses; the others are petitioners that have also been beaten by consulate security.

On Nov. 27, Fu said that the defendants have tried to delay her lawsuit and are still putting pressure on her lawyer to accept the settlement.

Forced Demolition in Shanghai

Fus activism began in October 1997, when her and her fathers houses were forcibly demolished by the Luwan District authorities in Shanghai. Fu and her family were forced to find temporary housing as they sought redress for their case.

My fathers house and my house were on opposite sides of the road. The government promised us that we could move back [at an affordable price] after the construction of the new buildings had been completed, Fu said.

But the government didnt fulfill the agreement, fetching handsome profits by selling the new condos to wealthy buyers. Fu began petitioning officials at all levels of government and sued the Luwan district authorities. She didnt get far, as her attorney, Zheng Enchong, received tremendous pressure that obstructed the case. Zheng, a well-known human rights lawyer in Shanghai, has represented many local petitioners whose houses have been demolished.

In 2001, Zheng had his practicing license confiscated by the Shanghai authorities because he persisted in investigating businessman Zhou Zhengyis collusion with municipal and district authorities in Shanghai, in the demolition of homes and land seizures. In 2003, Zheng was arrested and sentenced to three years in prison.

Beaten Before the Chinese Consulate

Following Zhengs arrest, Fu contacted the U.S. Consulate General in Shanghai to report the dangers she and fellow petitioners faced in their efforts for justice.

In February 2006, Fu and another petitioner, Chen Xiaoming, were arrested by the Shanghai police. Fu was detained for 50 days, and Chen received a two-year sentence. Chen died several days after her release, shocking Fu.

In 2012, Fu emigrated to the United States with her family and settled in New York, where she received political asylum.

She continued to speak out on behalf of herself and other Chinese who have been disenfranchised because of collusion between the Chinese regime and business interests. To protest, Fu petitioned in front of the New York Chinese consulate, where she has been harassed and beaten multiple times.

Footage from July 2014 taken by reporters from NTD, part of the Epoch Media Group, showed the security guard, Parkinson, beating Fu. Parkinson, who stands more seven inches taller than Fu, walked out of the consulate building on July 1, after Fu and other petitioners had finished their demonstration for the day and were walking on the sidewalk next to the consulate. Brandishing a baton, Parkinson first pushed a male petitioner out of the way, then shoved Fu in the neck and pushed her to the ground.

Fu said she felt a sharp pain in her spine, then lost control and feeling in her arms, which flailed about as she lay on the ground. The police and an ambulance arrived, and Parkinson was arrested on assault charges.

Fu Yuxia being moved to an ambulance after being assaulted outside the Chinese Consulate in New York on July 1, 2014. (television)

Fu had surgery to repair her neck and shoulder injuries and was unable to work for a year and a half following the incident, according to a doctors testimony.

Parkinson was released and has resumed his security work at the consulate. Other demonstrators have told NTD that Parkinson has used force against other petitioners from China.

On March 7, 2016, Fu was beaten by Parkinson for a third time when she went to protest at the consulate. Parkinson grabbed Fus previously injured arm, dragged her to the ground, and twisted her other arm while both were on the sidewalk.

Fu was injured again and received further surgery. This time, her shoulder and neck suffered permanent damage. In May, Judge Diccia T. Pineda-Kirwan of the Queens County Supreme Court registered her case. It is still in the pre-hearing stage.
John Arthur Getreu, 74, of Hayward, was arrested on Nov. 20, 2018, for allegedly killing 21-year-old Leslie Perlov in Palo Alto, Calif., in February 1973. (Santa Clara County Sheriff's Office)

Woman Found Shot to Death, Wrapped in Sleeping Bag in Utah Identified After 20 Years

A cold case in Utah was solved, authorities announced this week.

A female was found with a fatal gunshot wound to her head off a road near Ticaboo, Utah in 1998. The body was covered with plastic bags, wrapped in duct tape, tied with a rope, wrapped in a sleeping bag, and then wrapped in carpet, authorities said.

Authorities didnt know who she was until they were able to identify her just recently. She had been known as the Maidenwater victim.

The Garfield County Sheriffs Office said on Nov. 28 that she was identified as Lena Reyes-Geddes, an Ohio resident.

The Garfield County Sheriffs Office is very grateful to give our victim a name and peace to her family. We are also grateful for the State Bureau of Investigation for their help, the office stated.

NEW: In 1998, this woman was found shot to death and her body wrapped in a sleeping bag and dumped near Lake Powell. @sheriffdperkins says they have now been able to ID her as Lena Reyes-Geddes of Ohio. The suspect in her murder committed suicide in the early 2000s. @fox13 #Utah pic.twitter.com/F7xyNke4tM  Ben Winslow (@BenWinslow) November 28, 2018

According to the Charley Project, an organization that helps track missing persons, Reyes-Geddes went missing from Austintown, Ohio, on April 8, 1998. She was 37 years old at the time.

She was supposed to travel to Dallas, Texas, and then to Laredo, Texas, but its not clear if she ever arrived there, the project stated. She has never been heard from again. On October 14, six months later, her husband reported her missing to the Youngstown, Ohio Police Department.

A suspect in the murder hasnt been named, but authorities indicated they know who murdered Reyes-Geddes.

The suspect of this murder committed suicide in Nevada in the early 2000s, the sheriffs office said in a statement sent to Fox 13.

Another Cold Case Solved

Another cold case appeared to be solved as police officers in California arrested John Arthur Getreu, 74, on Nov. 20 for the murder of Leslie Perlov, 21. Perlov, a Stanford University graduate, was strangled to death with a scarf in 1973.

He faced charges of first-degree murder and attempted rape.

Getreu was identified after investigators submitted the suspects DNA to a public genealogical website and the results led them to him, reported the San Francisco Chronicle. Investigators ultimately obtained some of Getreus DNA and it matched with the suspects DNA.

The chance of the DNA belonging to another person is around 1 in 65 septillion, or 65 followed by 24 zeros, according to investigators. Investigators have increasingly turned to DNA in recent years to help solve cold cases.

In just the past few months, DNA has helped officials crack a number of cases, including the so-called Golden State Killer, who has been charged with 13 murders committed decades ago.

Joseph DeAngelo, 72, was arrested in April of this year after being identified as the infamous serial killer by authorities. Among his alleged murders was a college professor in 1975 after the man tried to stop DeAngelo from kidnapping his 16-year-old daughter.

DNA has also helped solve cases in Louisiana, Colorado, and Florida.

Perlovs sister described the impact of the killing in court on Monday.

Murder does not just affect the deceased. It takes many lives. It changes many lives forever, Diane Perlov said, looking directly at Getreu, reported the Palo Alto Weekly. Bringing her sisters alleged killer to trial is the least we can do, Diane Perlov told the court.

From NTD News
Frontier Communications will be allowed to cease blanket distribution of the white pages in Connecticut, where the first-ever telephone directory was set on cardboard in the 19th century.

Frontier is based in Norwalk and runs its eastern operations from New Haven, with the company among the larger telecommunications providers in the country. As the incumbent telephone company owning the historic Southern New England Telephone, Frontier is subject to oversight of the Connecticut Public Utilities Regulatory Authority.

PURA signaled this week its readiness to accept a Frontier request last June to end its annual mailing of the white pages, noting the increased use of online directories and the amount of paper waste and expense created in producing the directories. Frontier entered 2018 with just over 470,000 telephone accounts in Connecticut, with the company recording a $404 million loss on its operations in the state last year.

Under a publishing agreement with Vivial, Frontier has maintained three directories covering southwestern Connecticut and the Hartford and New London regions. Frontier subscribers can still order directories online at no cost or through a toll-free number, though PURA faulted the company for furnishing customers and other telephone providers an apparently inaccurate website address for customers to order directories, with the working website online at http://directory.frontierlocalguide.com.

In May, Frontier asked PURA for permission to cease automatic distribution of the New London directory. Frontier stated that Connecticut residents opt out of receiving the directories at a rate 15 times higher than the average in other states, and cited a 2014 study that suggested just six in every 100 households or businesses use the white pages regularly to find telephone numbers. Frontier had applied to New York regulators in April 2017 for a similar OK.

In its PURA negotiations, Frontier indicated the white pages amount to digital-era dinosaurs today, with wireless, cable and internet-telephone providers not furnishing numbers for their subscribers for inclusion in the books.

Stamford-based Charter Communications had interceded in the PURA deliberations to ensure, among other points, that it could still forward its Spectrum telephone listings to Frontier for inclusion in the white pages.

New Haven was home to the first telephone directory in U.S. history, published on a cardboard sheet on Feb. 21, 1878, and listing about 50 households and businesses that had installed telephones.

Alex.Soule@scni.com; 203-842-2545; @casoulman
Adolescence subjects you to many forms of torture: hormones, high school, and standardized testing, to name a few.

More than 7 million students took the SAT or PSAT last year, according to the College Board. The test has been around since 1926 so chances are you once took it, too. And it may be harder than you remember.

Many high school students aiming to get into competitive colleges and universities opt to study for the SAT, sometimes with the help of prep courses or tutors. Berkeley-based test prep site Magoosh shared with SFGATE some of the questions that stump nearly all of their students. One of the math problems is so tough, 95 percent of people get it wrong.

Think you're smarter than an 11th grader? Take a stab at some of the hardest SAT prep questions in the slideshow above.

The questions were created by Magoosh to match real SAT prompts as closely as possible since the College Board doesn't allow prep companies to repurpose questions from real SAT tests. However, they do have a few old tests online for free.

"In my 15 plus years of helping students prep for standardized tests, the number one tip I have to get better at solving difficult questions like these is to learn how to learn from your mistakes," says Magoosh's in-house SAT expert, Chris Lele.

Lele suggests students pause to analyze why they get a questions wrong and create a strategy to apply that knowledge to future tests. He shares more tips on tackling the SAT on the website's blog.

By the way, the average SAT score of students admitted into Stanford University is 1520 out of 1600. The calculation of the score isn't super straightforward, but to earn that score you can only get about six questions wrong out of about 150.

Read Alix Martichoux's latest stories and send her news tips at amartichoux@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.
French President Emmanuel Macron said he will have a talk with Saudi Arabia Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman on the sidelines of the Group of 20 meeting in Argentina and reiterated his call for a full probe of the death of Jamal Khashoggi, a critic of the kingdom.

"I have always been very clear about the Saudi Arabia case -- and I will surely have the occasion to discuss this with the Crown Prince on the sidelines of the G-20," Macron said during a joint press conference with his Argentinian counterpart Mauricio Macri in Buenos Aires. "The death of Mr. Khashoggi is a serious matter on which I want the entire truth to be made," he said.
Norwalk Police Dept.

NORWALK  A Stamford man could face up to five years in prison after he allegedly robbed a grocery store for less than $100 and a pack of cigarettes, police said.

Police responded to the Stop & Shop at 385 Connecticut Ave. around 8:40 p.m. Thursday on reports of an armed robbery.
NEW CANAAN  After unsuccessful negotiations to acquire a piece of property on Valley Road, the town may have to exhaust a long alluded to threat.

The Planning and Zoning Commission unanimously voted to issue a positive report for the acquisition of a contentious piece of property. The decision, made at its meeting on Nov. 27, could help the town acquire the red house on 1124 Valley Road through eminent domain.

First Selectman Kevin Moynihan said once the process of using eminent domain begins, the town will not be able to back out.

We thought we would start the process with the Planning and Zoning Commission because you have to give a positive report on any property acquisition in town, he said.

Several town organizations, including the New Canaan Preservation Alliance and the New Canaan Historical Society, have pushed to preserve and protect the historic structure, according to Moynihan. The New Canaan Land Trust has urged the acquisition of the property because it is adjacent to the 10.3 acre Browne Wildlife Sanctuary owned by the Land Trust.

We dont take this action lightly, Moynihan said. We strongly believe they will not protect this house.

The house and the four-acre terrain it is located on are the property of the 1st Taxing District of Norwalk. Previously, town officials had offered to pay $250,000 to the taxing district for the antique house and the 0.83-acre parcel on which it stands.

Frank Murphy, counsel for the Taxing District, attended the meeting to oppose the use of eminent domain.

We believe as part of our watershed property. there is no reason the town should approve an acquisition of an existing public use for a different public use, Murphy said. We are the property owner.

He added the taxing district would go tn court if the town proceeded with eminent domain. There are also plans for the district to place a caretaker in the house, Murphy said.

Were not interested in subdividing the property, he said. Were interested in keeping it for our own public supply purposes.

Eminent domain can only be exercised by a town for a public purpose, not a private purpose, Murphy said.

John Goodwin, chairman of the Planning and Zoning Commission, said the decision is based on whether the acquisition is consistent with the towns planning and conservation development for historic properties.

dj.simmons@hearst mediact.com, 203-842-2568
ALTON  During its Wednesday meeting, the Alton City Council approved the first reading of a crime-free housing resolution that would amend the citys code in its ongoing attempt to crack down on crime at Alton rental dwellings.

However, several local landlords in attendance would rather evict the proposed amendment.

Gary Cranmer, director of code enforcement for the city, recommended amending the code to align with a national, Crime-Free Housing Program that began in 1988. The amendment would also tighten the codes wording  for example, instead of anyone engaged in criminal activity, it would become, anyone who commits a felony under the Illinois Criminal Code.

During public forum, landlord Rick Lauschke addressed Mayor Brant Walker and the council.

I think youre going to have some unintended consequences if you get too zealous pursuing this policy, Lauschke said. We need to better educate people on how to better operate the rental properties they own.

He told the mayor and council that when he finds code violations he reports them to the citys building and zoning department. He said that sometimes, his neighbors alert him to possible violations.

Lauschke admitted that as of Wednesday he had not had an opportunity to read what he can and cannot do under the changes, or review the resolution with his attorney.

I still have to go through Madison County to get a tenant evicted, he reminded the mayor and council, even with the current legislation.

Lauschke added that he thinks the change will drive landlords away and, combined with rising utility and repair costs, some landlords may be forced to sell properties, leading to fewer landlords and tenants.

Third Ward Alderman Michael Velloff had questions before the entire council voted.

Why wouldnt this be a city responsibility instead of the landlords responsibility? Velloff asked. Youre putting the whole burden on them. If one person commits a crime at that unit, would the entire family be evicted?

Cranmer replied, not necessarily.

It would be on a case-by-case basis, Walker interjected.

What if the tenant knew about (the felony)? Velloff asked, citing a hypothetical example of a mother who knew her son dealt drugs but hoped he would stop.

The occupants could be evicted, said Assistant City Attorney Allan Napp. This doesnt change the requirement. It has to go through the court system.

A landlord must convince a judge that those who did not know about the felony should be allowed to remain, he said of the process. He added that, in his experience, most Madison County judges do the right thing in these cases and let the tenant stay in the rental unit.

Napp added that it should be the landlords responsibility to take care of their properties.

If a landlord discovers a felony, he or she should be entitled to evict that tenant, he said. There are no stop signs if everyone pays attention at four-way intersections. There are no speed limits if people drive sensibly.

Then you just take care of the bad ones and leave the good ones alone! snapped Bev Carter from the gallery, causing Walker to pound his gavel in protest.

Cranmer said he believes the city council will give the ordinance final approval next month. In other City Council business:

 Walker announced the city will freeze its property tax levy for the second consecutive year; the rate for FY 2019-20 will remain at $2.5966 per $100 of assessed valuation. Altons fiscal year begins April 1.

 The Alton Fire, Police and Public Works departments will be able to purchase new Kenwood portable radios. The equipment will cost about $68,000 after a $9,000 rebate if an order is placed before March 2019. Comptroller Kirby Ontis said a previously approved line of credit for the citys public safety radio system will fund the purchase.

 Resident Jason Philippe wants to create a code variance for auto enthusiasts who restore classic vehicles at residences without garages. Walker instructed him to outline his plan then schedule an appointment with building and zoning to review it.

 The city granted a special use permit for roof-mounted solar panels to be installed at 2960 Shady Place.

Reach Charles Bolinger at 618-208-6450.
Jacksonville Police

ARRESTS, CITATIONS

 Nicole S. Trumbo, 34, of 814 W. College Ave. was arrested on a charge of driving while license is revoked or suspended after being stopped in the 1800 block of West Morton Avenue at 2:58 a.m. Thursday

ACCIDENTS

 Nicholas L. Langley, 28, of Jacksonville was cited on a charge of failure to yield after an accident about 7:42 p.m. Wednesday at South Church Street and West College Avenue.

According to a police report, Langley was going west on West College Avenue and collided with a car being driven by Krisinda K. Ogle, 45, of Murrayville.



Pike County

State police

ACCIDENTS

 Thomas A. Lobb, 38, of Montgomery City, Missouri, was cited on charges of failing to wear a seat belt and improper lane use after the semi-trailer he was driving went off eastbound Interstate 72 about 5 a.m. Thursday and overturned in the westbound lanes of the interstate.

Lobb was taken to Hannibal (Missouri) Regional Hospital for treatment of minor injuries, according to an Illinois State Police report.

Compiled by David C.L. Bauer
China-Philippine technology cooperation boosts digital transformation Updated: 2018-11-30 06:20 By Pamela Lin in Manila(HK Edition)

Cooperation in digital technology between China and the Philippines has further deepened their bilateral ties and accelerated digital transformation in the Southeast-Asian nation, industry gurus told the China-Philippines Business Forum in Manila on Monday.

At the forum's second panel discussion themed "How Business Can Transform in the Digital Era", Anthony Thomas, president and chief executive officer of Philippine mobile payment operator Mynt, and Jubert Daniel Alberto, country head of operations at Italpinas Development Corp Philippines, shared their insights on the challenges and prospects in the digital transformation and innovation trend.

Partially owned by Ant Financial Services Group - the financial arm of Chinese e-commerce titan Alibaba Group, and formerly known as Alipay - Mynt started off with its mobile phone top-up service and has expanded to cover remittance and loan services, business solutions and platforms.

"We look at digital transformation as something that really solves the problem," Thomas said, describing Mynt's partnership with Alipay as a strategic move that has brought value to both sides.

"Alipay has brought more elements to the platform and also the capital. As we may know, the payment service is a very low margin business. If you really want to make it to the millions among the public, you have to make it more affordable first," he said.

"Beyond that, Alipay, as a leading global digital platform providing financial services, also provides expertise in customer experience and risk management to Mynt, which allows the investment we're making to go further," Thomas said.

Chinese travelers - the second-largest group of foreign tourists in the Philippines - enjoy more convenience through the partnership between Mynt and Alipay. It helps cross-border payments by tourists through Mynt's payment platform Gcash. "Tourists just need to scan a common Gcash or Alipay QR code to pay from their Alipay wallet," Thomas explained.

"We also launched a remittance flow between AlipayHK and Gcash, adopting blockchain technology," he added.

Besides Alibaba Group, Chinese tech behemoth Tencent teamed up with Philippine technology enterprise Voyager Innovations in an investment worth $175 million last month.

Thomas said he was excited to see several fintech giants tapping into the Philippines. "More capital coming in will help the business grow," he said.

According to Thomas, two out of three Filipinos don't have access to bank accounts as the country is spread across more than 7,000 islands, and a third of the districts don't have physical bank branches. "So the other side of it is that mobile devices are ubiquitous - everyone has a mobile phone."

Under such circumstances, Mynt plans to introduce various digital financial services to the public not just for convenience, but also variety.

"When we define our own business, we work with lots of other businesses which are also looking at transformation. And, we embed digital transformation into their businesses which, ultimately, will benefit customers and ourselves," Thomas said.

Addressing concerns arising from digital payment platforms, Thomas said the transparency and constant flow of data recorded actually could enhance security. Besides, part of Alipay's investment is used to strengthen such security.

"We have the expertise from China. Moreover, regarding fraud losses from payments through Alipay, more data flowing into the digital world can be captured, leading to better detection and monitoring of potential fraud," he said.

Traditional brick-and-mortar banks in the Philippines have also partnered with digital financial services providers, such as Mynt's Gcash. "We're not competing with the banks, but cooperating with them, providing them access to the platform," Thomas said.

However, both Thomas and Alberto admitted it will still take some time for Filipinos to fully embrace the era of digital transformation.

According to Alberto, less than 3 percent of the Philippine GDP came from digital products and services last year. "It's already there with little digital products and services, but not that much," he said.

However, starting this year, three out of five organizations in the Philippines are considering embracing digital transformation.

"We're saying that, by 2021, the immense use of all technology, business objects of organizations will contribute heavily to the country's GDP - to about 40 percent," Alberto said.

He saw a promising future for the two countries by cooperating in digital services and technology.

"The technologies coming from China could give the Philippines more options and alternatives," he said. "And, it's obvious that the technologies benefit us and help local SMEs and other enterprises in the long run."

pamelalin@chinadailyhk.com

(HK Edition 11/30/2018 page24)
Mt. Pleasant, Union Township and the Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe have received results from the state of recent testing for PFAS in the water in Isabella County.

Mt. Pleasants and the Tribes tests show no detectable levels of the two most dangerous PFAS, while Union Township had one of its three sites come back with detectable levels.

The testing threshold is 2 parts per trillion. Anything below that is considered undetectable.

In Union Township, two testing sites were reported as undetectable, and one came back at 6 parts per trillium (ppt). The EPA has a lifetime health advisory of 70 ppt.

Based on the 6 ppt results, local officials will be working in tandem with the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality to conduct follow-up sampling and evaluation, according to a press release from the city.

The state is testing municipal water supplies statewide, amid growing concerns about chemical contamination from substances known as PFAS per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances

On Oct. 18, the DEQ tested water from 20 locations in Isabella County, including the city, Union Township and Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe sites.

Mt. Pleasant was notified Nov. 20 that water checked in the city meets acceptable standards, according to City Manager Nancy Ridley. The township and Tribe received their results this week.

Results for the citys municipal water show that for PFOA and PFOS testing, a non-detect level was found in the water. That means that they are below the EPAs lifetime health advisory of 70 parts per trillion.

They test for I think 24 compounds, but there are two of them (PFOA and PFOS) that have the current concerns and the lifetime health advisory levels. On both of those, we came back as non-detect, which means that our numbers were somewhere less than 2 parts per trillion, Ridley said.

We were under 2, which is great news, she added. It means our water supply as of right now does have any detectable levels of the ones the state is concerned about.

Of the other compounds  ones that dont have a health advisory level  two came back as 2 and one came back as 3. Ridley said the state is not concerned about those.

According to the DEQ, PFAS can be found in firefighting foams, stain repellants, nonstick cookware, waterproof clothing, food wrappers, and many other household products. They do not break down in the environment and move easily into water.

They were widely used decades ago, when they were thought to be safe.

Last summer, the DEQ said the former Roosevelt Refinery property on Pickard Street in Mt. Pleasant reflects known PFAS levels and the state is working on cleanup plans.

The property has been a DEQ remediation site for other contaminants for decades.

According to the DEQ website, staff was contacted by the Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe to request quarterly meetings about the refinery site and other sites within the Reservation. The most recent meeting was Sept. 18.

Concerns about PFAS statewide have gained attention in the last two years, as Rockford and Algona Township deal with contamination in their water supply, suspected to come from Wolverine World Wide tannery sludge chemicals. MLive reported in August that Rockford may have the highest levels of PFAS in the nation.

There also are concerns about the water near Wurtsmith Air Force Base in Oscoda Township.

The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry says that PFAS leads to an increased risk of cancer and learning defects among children.
ANCHORAGE, Alaska >> A seasoned dogsled racer will not be able to run in next years Iditarod race after officials denied his application based on concerns about how he treated his dogs.

The races Qualifying Review Board has denied longtime musher Hugh Neffs application to compete in the 1,000-mile (1,610 kilometer) Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race, the Anchorage Daily News reported.

Musher Hugh Neffs entry application to compete in the 2019 race has been denied by the QRB due to concerns over his lack of dog care during the 2018 Yukon Quest International Sled Dog Race, the Iditarod Trail Committee said. The Iditarod Trail Committee believes that the highest level of dog care must be achieved not only in its event but throughout the year.

The newspaper couldnt reach Neff for comment.

Yukon Quest officials banned the two-time champion from competing in the 2019 race after his dog Boppy died this year near the races halfway point between Fairbanks and Whitehorse, Yukon.

A necropsy found the dog died from aspiration pneumonia caused by inhaling vomited stomach contents. Race veterinarians said the dog also had other health problems believed to be preventable, including stomach ulcers, a whipworm infestation and severe weight loss. The examination suggested that the dog was not given proper deworming medication nor medicine to prevent stomach ulcers.

Neff appealed the Yukon Quest ban, but a third-party review board upheld it. He has competed in 14 Iditarod races and 18 Yukon Quests.

Neff, 50, was born in Tennessee, grew up in Chicago and attended Loyola Academy and the University of Illinois before moving to Alaska in 1995. He took up mushing that year, and has been a long-distance sled dog competitor since the year 2000.

Now living in Tok, about 300 miles northeast of Anchorage, he cares for his dogs at Laughing Eyes Kennel and lists his occupation as dog musher. He also has a blog, The Gypsy Musher, that has not been updated since February 2015.

Dogs are my life, he says in his biography at iditarod.com. We participate in the Iditarod to have fun. Our goal is to get to Nome and enjoy life as much as possible  Alaskan Huskies are #1s!
Foreigners to get visa text alerts

BANGKOK: To make sure that foreigners do not overstay their visas, immigration police will send out text reminders to foreigners before their visa is due to expire.

tourismimmigrationcrime

By Bangkok Post

Friday 30 November 2018, 09:46AM

Police Immigration Bureau offices in Chon Buri are set to roll out text-message reminders to foreign residents that their visas are expiring and need attention. Daily News newspaper reported that Hua Hin immigration offices already have started the service (inset). Photos: Bangkok Post

Immigration Bureau chief Lt Gen Surachate Hakparn said yesterday the texting service will be first rolled out in Chon Buri, and he had assigned the provincial immigration police chief Col Songprode Sirisukha to implement the measure.

This will prevent foreigners from forgetting their visa expiry dates, so if they continue to overstay, we will take harsh measures, he said.

He said Chon Buri was chosen because it has a lot of tourists and expats.

Col Songprode said alerts will only be sent to those who have registered their phone numbers with Chon Buri immigration police when they applied for a visa or an extension.

They include tourists and expats who have work permits. The length of their permitted stay varies, he said.

The immigration police chief also said this measure will help save the polices budget as it will replace letters, which cost more than text alerts.

Lt Gen Surachate said earlier this month the number of foreigners overstaying their visas has come down to zero, following a series of raids on aliens and criminal suspects over the past year.

Phuket Immigration Deputy Chief Lt Col Archeep Jaroensuntisuk explained to The Phuket News last Thursday (Nov 22) that Phuket Immigration are looking into ways to devise a system that will send notices to foreigners, reminding them that their visa is about to expire.

The move follows the Immigration office in Prachuap Khiri Khan starting to send such reminders as SMS messages to phones of foreigners register at that office.

We are looking into this, Col Archeep said. But we need to come up with a system that suits everyone.

The problem is that some foreigners want reminders sent to their phone, and others want the reminders by email, he said.

When we do come up with a system that suits everyone, we will announce it so the public will know, he added. (See story here.)

Read original Bangkok Post story here.
Phuket lifeguards to hold water safety training for kids ahead of annual Patong lifesaving carnival

PHUKET: The Phuket Lifeguard Club will hold a Water Safety Training event for children at Patong Beach tomorrow (Dec 1), ahead of the Phuket Surf Life Saving Competition 2018 at Patong this Sunday (Dec 2).

patongmarineSafety

By Tanyaluk Sakoot

Friday 30 November 2018, 01:15PM

The Phuket Lifeguard Club will hold a Water Safety Training event for children at Patong Beach tomorrow (Dec 1). Photo: Tanyaluk Sakoot

The Phuket Lifeguard Club will hold a Water Safety Training event for children at Patong Beach tomorrow (Dec 1). Photo: Tanyaluk Sakoot

The Phuket Lifeguard Club will hold a Water Safety Training event for children at Patong Beach tomorrow (Dec 1). Photo: Tanyaluk Sakoot

The Phuket Lifeguard Club will hold a Water Safety Training event for children at Patong Beach tomorrow (Dec 1). Photo: Tanyaluk Sakoot

The Phuket Lifeguard Club will hold a Water Safety Training event for children at Patong Beach tomorrow (Dec 1). Photo: Tanyaluk Sakoot

The Phuket Lifeguard Club will hold a Water Safety Training event for children at Patong Beach tomorrow (Dec 1). Photo: Patong Municipality

The Phuket Lifeguard Club will hold a Water Safety Training event for children at Patong Beach tomorrow (Dec 1). Photo: Tanyaluk Sakoot

The Phuket Lifeguard Club will hold a Water Safety Training event for children at Patong Beach tomorrow (Dec 1). Photo: Tanyaluk Sakoot

Phuket Lifeguard Club Chief Prathaiyut Chuayuan told The Phuket News, We will hold the kids training in front of Loma Park on Patong Beach. The training for children 15 years old or younger.

The training will start at 9am. The activities include life-saving in water, the basics of swimming and floating, basic identification of swimmers in danger as well as paddle board skills, CPR training and other things.

Mr Prathaiyut encouraged all children to join the event.

These are fundamental skills for the children themselves, and they can learn how to save other peoples lives, he said.

To be join the event, call Mr Prathaiyut at 081-7974775 or email thailifeguard@gmail.com.

Children can also be registered at Loma Park at 8am tomorrow.

On Sunday, the Phuket Surf Lifesaving Competition 2018 will be held on Patong Beach in front of Loma Park.

The day-long event will see local lifeguards compete in essential lifesaving skills used in rescuing tourists from the deadly surf each year during the southwest monsoon, from May through October.

A total of 74 gold, silver and bronze medals as well as 24 trophies are up for grabs, in competitive events for men, women and youths.

The competitive individual and team events include Iron Man (Swim/run/board /run), Beach Sprint, Board Race, Beach Flags Surf Race, Rescue Tube Rescue, Board Rescue and Phuket Rescue Relay.
Watertown stores are ready for Black Friday shoppers

Here are the hours stores will be open in Watertown for Thanksgiving and Black Friday for shopping
OHCHR Moldova: Apel deschis pentru aplicatii din partea OSC-urilor de a aplica pentru a beneficia de suport in desfasurarea activitatilor de advocacy la nivel international in contextul celui de-al treilea ciclu de Evaluare Periodica Universala (EPU) a Re
This marks his second time stealing spotlight from a musician. Earlier this year, he appeared on Shania Twain's stage, grabbing her mic to hype the crowd.

As for this wrestling challenge, it would be highly unlikely for John to accept but you'd never know. Alice Cooper and Ozzy Osbourne had previously participated in WWE events (not wrestling but albeit managing). Not to mention, Sir John still needs to recover from his ear infection.

Seeing John's brilliant fight in multi-coloured feathers in 'Kingsman: The Golden Circle'... CGI or not, the challenge would be a fabulous way to end the year.
I last spoke with the political scientist Jennifer Piscopo, an expert in Latin American politics at Occidental College, right before the Mexican elections this summer. The president-elect, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, will take office on Saturday, so I went back to Piscopo to see how things have changed in the intervening months.

The following has been lightly edited for clarity.

Jonathan Bernstein: What do we know now about how Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador intends to govern that we didnt know when he was elected in July?

Jennifer Piscopo: We have gotten to see AMLO  as he is known  in action. He has followed through on his campaign promises to subject major decisions to popular referendum, but with troubling results.

His transition team organized a referendum to determine what should be done about the half-built international airport. The project is clearly a boondoggle: it is massively overbudget, the environmental impact is severe and the outgoing administration likely acquired the land through some dodgy deals. Even so, polls showed that most Mexicans favoured completion, until AMLOs referendum. The vote was plagued by numerous reports of mismanagement, but AMLO received what he wanted: a mandate to halt construction.

His team recently organized a second referendum, this time on 10 projects, from constructing a tourist train through the Yucatan to increasing senior pensions. The results delivered yes votes across the board  like the airport, the outcomes line up with AMLOs preferences.

Asking citizens to participate in referendums improves democratic participation. But when the referendums seem less concerned with process, and more designed to manufacture agreement on controversial policies, they look less democratic and more populist. In expressing (what seems to be) the popular will, the votes reduce Congresss ability to block the presidents agenda. Not even inaugurated yet, AMLO is putting his administrations legitimacy at risk.

JB: What about the new Congress, which was seated back in September? What have we learned about it so far?

JP: Even without the referendums, Congress is not well-positioned to check AMLOs agenda because his party holds a majority in both houses. His coalition is already making waves. For example, lawmakers are reviewing AMLOs draft austerity plan, which includes limits on public officials salaries and perks, as well as the incorporation of public officials into the state-run social security system. Changes to the public administration alone cannot make up for budget shortfalls, but might restore confidence in a public employment system many Mexicans see as corrupt. And last week, AMLOs party submitted legislation that would legalize the possession, public use, growth and sale of marijuana. This bill follows AMLOs promise to change course in the war on drugs, signalling that the incoming government sees legalization as necessary for reducing crime and violence. The new Congress is moving quickly to enact his agenda.

JB: From the American perspective, the big new issue since the election is the migrant caravans moving through Mexico on their way to the U.S. How should we expect AMLO to handle them  and to handle Donald Trump on border questions?

JP: The situation on the U.S.-Mexico border is a humanitarian disaster, and AMLO has few good options. Mexico long has insisted that the U.S. respect migrants rights and offer migrants fair treatment, as this stance protects Mexican and Mexican-American immigrants as well as refugee seekers from Central America. Despite the impression given by the Trump administration, arriving to the U.S. border as a migrant and claiming asylum is not illegal under U.S. law  and Mexico has interest in allowing these migrants to pass, else they remain stuck within Mexicos own borders. AMLO, as a champion of the poor, will likely continue insisting on humanitarian approaches, but what can he offer the U.S. in return? The Trump administrations tough approach puts AMLO in a bind: to maintain cordial relations with the U.S., he cannot take a hard stand against the U.S. mistreatment of asylum seekers  but he cannot back down from his insistence on humanitarian approaches to migration without sacrificing much of his ideological commitments. His team has floated the possibility of offering Central American migrants visas and support to remain in Mexico, but much remains unclear, such as whether this policy has support and how many migrants the country could realistically absorb. Surely, Mexico cannot take all the migrants, and so begins AMLOs tightrope walk: attempting to protect his own citizens interests while a bullish Trump administration stirs anti-immigrant sentiment throughout the region.

JB: Its still not clear whether the new trade treaty will clear the U.S. Congress as negotiated, but how will the new Mexican government deal with it, and with trade issues more broadly?

JP: The G-20 is meeting right now, and outgoing Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau reportedly will sign the agreement while in Argentina (with no word on whether or not Trump will participate). AMLO would view this signing as good news: The new U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement contains many elements that he dislikes, but the costs of opposing the treaty are too high. Having the agreement handed to him as a done deal is his best case scenario. He will not tamper with the agreement once signed.

Another advantage of having the North America trade treaty settled is that AMLO can turn his attention to other matters  his ambitious domestic policy agenda, but also other international priorities, such as Mexicos trade deficit with China, and better relationships with other European and Asian countries. Insofar as AMLO has an international agenda (his focus is mainly domestic), he will look to attract more foreign investment from Asia, especially China. This investment could provide critical boosts for Mexican infrastructure. AMLOs intention to court foreign investors outside the United States should further caution the Trump administration about alienating Mexico; the administrations bluster at the border could come at the price of an increased Chinese presence in the U.Ss closest neighbour.

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The Group of 20 Summit is on, as world leaders gathered in Argentina to discuss the global economy and security, shadowed by increased tensions stoked by U.S. President Donald Trumps trade war. The highlight promises to be a highly anticipated dinner between Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping on Saturday, when the two men will discuss de-escalating their battle over trade.

The two-day meeting in Buenos Aires is being closely watched for its unscripted moments, particularly how leaders interact with Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman amid the global outcry over the murder of Saudi critic Jamal Khashoggi.

Heres a running recap of the days highlights:

Putin, Trump shake hands despite cancelled meeting

After cancelling their much-anticipated meeting, U.S. President Donald Trump and Russias Vladimir Putin crossed paths and shook hands at the G-20. It fell short of a formal meeting. Russia is open to a meeting and willing to be patient, the Kremlins spokesman said.

But the lack of a meeting in Buenos Aires increases the likelihood of increased global tensions, according to the Kremlin. Even so, Russia stands ready to talk, the spokesman said. To fill the time, Putin will meet with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan at the hour he was to have met Trump.

Xi talks up globalization before Trump dinner

Ahead of his dinner Saturday with U.S. President Donald Trump, Chinas Xi Jinping spoke in support of the global rules-based order at a G-20 session. Evoking the history of the G-20, he said we should stay committed to openness and co-operation and uphold the multilateral trading system.

The task, he added, had become more urgent amid risks to global growth. Trumps burgeoning trade war with China has seen Xi become an unlikely champion of the international order, even as the Chinese leader deflects criticism for shielding certain parts of his economy from competition.

Putin sketches Black Sea skirmish with Ukraine

Russian President Vladimir Putin took one of his first steps on Friday to explain his capture of Ukrainian ships and sailors, pulling out pen and paper during a meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron to render a sketch of the Black Sea skirmish, a person familiar with the matter said.

Europe has been highly critical of Putins actions toward Ukraine  tensions have been high since Russia annexed Crimea in 2014. On Friday, Putin spent about 10 minutes trying to ease Macrons concerns by drawing a map of the Kerch Strait that connects the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov, a crucial economic route where the military conflict took place Sunday.

Putin drew the Ukrainian boats moving from neutral waters into Russian waters, according to the person, who described the meeting on condition of anonymity. Macron asked the Russian leader to make gestures toward de-escalation and told him that if he has evidence to back up his drawings, he should share it. A Russian spokesman didnt immediately respond to a request for comment.

Sherpas talking into the night

Negotiators are still working on a statement for leaders to sign from the summit, with the talks expected to last into the night. Despite five days of drafting, differences remain, particularly on trade. In order to get a deal, officials expect the wording to be watered down so that leaders can claim at least to have something. For the latest on the talks:

May says Saudi Arabia must build confidence

During a meeting between U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May and Prince Mohammed, May stressed the importance of those responsible for the murder of Jammal Khashoggi are held to account, and that Saudi Arabia takes action to build confidence that such deplorable incident could not happen again.

Putin and Macron talk about Ukraine

French President Emmanuel Macron and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin have held their meeting in Argentina, where they appeared relaxed and chatty. Macron said the two would talk about Syria, where there is a fresh push for a political solution, and also about Ukraine after what has happened in the past days. Thats a reference to Putins resurgent provocations where his navy recently fired on Ukrainian vessels and then seized some of them. Putin in turn praised Macrons recent hosting of World War 1 commemorations.

Trump exchanges pleasantries with MBS

U.S. President Donald Trump met briefly with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, with the two men exchanging pleasantries during a leaders session, a White House official said. Trump later said we had no discussion, though he held out the prospect of spending more time with the crown prince. The White House said the meeting took place as the president meets with nearly every other leader present.

Family fights begin at the G-20

The summit is officially underway, with the traditional family photo and initial plenary session. Behind the scenes, negotiators continue to beaver away to try and get agreement on a communique that all members  including China and the U.S.  can sign up to.

The global political fault-lines were on full display as the leaders came together, with all eyes on Prince Mohammed amid a backlash over the killing of critic Jamal Khashoggi last month. Studiously avoiding each other were U.S. President Donald Trump and Russias Vladimir Putin, after Trump ditched plans for them to meet formally in Argentina.

MBS gets some G-20 meetings

French President Emmanuel Macron chatted briefly with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. The two discussed the Saudi-led war in Yemen and the global furor over the killing last month of columnist Jamal Khashoggi at Saudi Arabias consulate in Istanbul.

Footage of the interaction carried by Saudi media showed the two standing close together and Macron looking serious and speaking intently, with Prince Mohammed nodding and smiling. At one point he reached out and touched Macron on the arm. A French official said later that Macron had sought firm and frank talks with Prince Mohammed.

U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May is set to have a bilateral meeting with Prince Mohammed later Friday. He met yesterday with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and could yet get time with U.S. President Donald Trump as well as Russian President Vladimir Putin. Thats despite the backlash over the killing and subsequent coverup of Khashoggi, who had criticized the princes policies.

Russia faulted by G-7 over Ukrainian crisis

Russia wasnt justified in its use of recent military force against Ukrainian ships, the foreign ministers of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the U.K. and U.S. said Friday in joint statement. The nations called on Russia to respect international law, and added they would never recognize Russias annexation of the 2014 Crimean peninsula.

The resurfacing of tensions over Ukraine was cited by U.S. President Trump for his decision to nix a formal meeting with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin at the G-20. Still, Russian media is now citing the Kremlin as saying Putin and Trump may yet chat briefly and informally on the sidelines.

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A number of researchers due to attend a prestigious conference on artificial intelligence in Canada next week have been unable to obtain visas in time, leading some executives to question the governments stated goal of becoming a world-leading destination for academics and companies developing the technology.

Its unclear how many people have been affected by visa issues, but at least a dozen researchers circulated their stories on social media about having visas denied or applications held up. Timnit Gebru, a Google AI researcher and a founder of the group Black in AI thats holding a workshop at the event, said on Twitter that almost half of the 60-some academics it had asked to attend the workshop had visa applications turned down.

Its Africans living everywhere that are getting denied, she said.

Several prominent AI researchers complained of the situation on Twitter in the hopes of getting the Canadian government to take action.

Jeff Dean, a computer scientist who leads AI research for Alphabet Inc.s Google, used Twitter to appeal directly to Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to help remove the roadblocks.

I believe that its important that researchers from populations that are under-represented in the field of machine learning be given the opportunity to participate in the conference and to present their research to the community, Dean said in an emailed response to questions. I hope that any outstanding visa issues can be resolved in a timely manner.

The organizers of the weeklong conference, which starts in Montreal on Sunday, said they were aware of the problems, but werent able to do much to help attendees secure visas.

While it is up to government agencies to decide on visa applications, we hope officials will appreciate the importance of facilitating the free flow of open science, something very important for AI and key to making sure the technologies that evolve from this research are beneficial for all, Terrence Sejnowski, president of the foundation that runs the annual conference on Neural Information Processing Systems, said in a statement.

Mathieu Genest, a spokesman for Canadas immigration minister, said the government had been working with the conference organizers to provide guidance on visa applications and has processed them in as timely a manner as possible.

While we understand the disappointment of those whose visa applications were refused, he said in an email, all visitors to Canada must meet the requirement for temporary residence in Canada and are assessed equally.

The NeurIPS organizers, as well as Black in AI, sent the Canadian government lists of participants to help speed up the visa processing, but in one case the original list contained insufficient information while in another case, the list was only received this week, according to a government official with knowledge of the situation.

The conference has already courted controversy. It was better known by the acronym NIPS, but changed this moniker to NeurIPS earlier this month following complaints that the original acronym could have sexual connotations and was symbolic of an environment that was unfriendly to women. The organizers have said theyre working to make the event more inclusive.

NeurIPS is one of the top annual gatherings for people working on the cutting edge of artificial intelligence and machine learning, drawing thousands of attendees. As large technology companies, from Amazon.com Inc. and Alphabet Inc.s Google to Chinas Baidu Inc. and Tencent Holdings Ltd., have played a bigger role in this research, it has become an important stage for showcasing their latest work as well as recruiting employees for their research labs.

Trudeau has been seeking to burnish his countrys reputation as an AI hot spot. While the U.S. has built many more large technology companies, lots of the ideas underpinning current machine learning technologies were developed by academics working in Canada and Trudeau has sought to capitalize on this background to create more tech economy jobs.

The country has also tried to lure entrepreneurs and technology workers to Canada from the U.S., where the immigration reforms introduced by President Donald Trump have made it harder for foreign nationals, especially those from the Middle Eastern and African nations, to remain. Trudeau has introduced a new, streamlined visa process under which technology companies can bring in foreign employees.

In addition, Canada currently holds the presidency of the Group of Seven industrialized nations and it has organized a G7 event on the future of AI, including its effect on jobs and issues surrounding regulation of AI, in Montreal to coincide with the NeurIPS conference.

Some AI researchers said that the visa issues undercut Trudeaus salesmanship. This is not how you attract world-class AI talent to Canada, Caleb Del Begio, the co-founder of Advize, a tech startup in Vancouver, wrote on Twitter.

Yoshua Bengio, a world renowned machine learning researcher at the University of Montreal, said in a recent magazine interview that a different machine learning conference, the International Conference on Learning Representations (ICLR), would move to an African nation in 2020, after participants experienced problems getting visas to attend the event in the U.S. and Canada, where it has been held in the past. Bengio is a member of the board that runs that conference.

We could make it easier for people from developing countries to come here, he said. In Europe or the U.S. or Canada it is very difficult for an African researcher to get a visa. Bengio said this situation was unfair, especially given that African computer scientists were already struggling with less access to computing power and IT infrastructure.
The trade agreement that replaces NAFTA was signed Friday in Buenos Aires, host of the latest annual G-20 summit. And one of Canadas longest national nightmares has finally ended.

If only.

The United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) is to replace the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). But following the 13 months of fraught negotiations among the USMCAs three amigos now there will be the start of yet another long USMCA negotiating process, with no assurance the treaty will ever be ratified.

The new deal remains a work in progress and will not come to the floor of the U.S. Congress for ratification until next fall, at the earliest.

Between now and then, the proposed deal will be fought over clause by innumerable clause.

Both the Democrats, who will take control of the House of Representatives in January, and the fellow Republicans of U.S. President Donald Trump will try to change the wording and intent of the supposedly agreed-upon USMCA.

Read more:

Canada, U.S., Mexico sign revised NAFTA deal Trump says changes the trade landscape forever

GMs decision to cut jobs right after new NAFTA deal infuriates Trump

In NAFTA rewrite, Canada took cue from Mexico: Make a big concession

The current deal is underwhelming. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau described its initial signing, in September, as a good day for Canada, not a great one. By contrast, Donald Trump, the U.S. president, equated the USMCA with the Battle of Midway. Its the most important trade deal weve ever made by far, Trump said Oct. 1.

A tough reality for the Trump administration is that even U.S. experts regard the proposed deal as a mere rebranding of NAFTA, and a somewhat inferior trade pact to the one it is meant to replace.

NAFTA has been a tremendous net benefit to its partners. A failure of the USMCA would simply mean reverting to the existing NAFTA, which only the U.S. Congress, not Trump, can revoke.

That strengthens the hand of the USMCAs many opponents. They know that if their efforts to change the deal fail, they have a quite satisfactory NAFTA to fall back on.

The Trudeau government is so keen to get this debacle behind it that it will try for parliamentary ratification of the new deal as soon as possible.

The forces jeopardizing the new trade pact are in the U.S. and Mexico. The American skeptics are already making their objections plain. In Mexico, discontent with the agreement is latent, but is a wild card that could kill it.

A look first at the U.S. political circus:

As a matter of craven politics, the Democrats who will take control of the House in January have no incentive to hand Trump the political victory he has claimed with the proposed USMCA ahead of the fast-approaching 2020 presidential elections. At the very least, Democrats are expected to use the trade deal to extract Trump concessions on everything from immigration reform to restored social-services spending.

The Democratic leadership of the next U.S. Congress is unhappy about key provisions of the proposed pact.

To pick a major example, the Democrats demand stronger organized labour protections for Mexican workers.

The deal was not a deal, Congressman Bill Pascrell says of the USMCA. Youre going to see a lot of changes. The New Jersey Democrat will be one of the most powerful voices on trade in the new Congress.

The Democrats are determined to reclaim the role as labours biggest champion that they lost to Trump in the 2016 presidential campaign.

To win back rust-belt swing-states in the 2020 presidential contest that were lost to Trump, Democrats will demand the USMCA be reopened to force Mexico to upgrade its labour, environmental, gender-equity and workplace safety standards.

Democrats will claim those upgrades will restore U.S. jobs in American workplaces already in compliance with the higher standards.

Trump is also taking fire from fellow Republicans who demand that USMCA language protecting LGBTQ rights in Mexican workplaces be removed. And a powerful coalition of U.S. manufacturers has told Trump that his steel and aluminum tariffs must be scrapped as a precondition of USMCA ratification.

Now to Mexico:

Obviously, U.S.-demanded changes in the way Mexico manages its economy will infuriate Mexico City. Worse, the USMCA carries the taint of being negotiated by the deeply unpopular predecessor to Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, the incoming Mexican president.

While not an opponent of the USMCA, Lopez Obrador has been no fan of it, either. As a matter of political viability, he will have to threaten to walk away from the deal and its anti-Mexican provisions, rather than meekly accept them as his predecessor was repeatedly accused to doing.

After all, those changes would weaken Mexicos competitive advantage. They would also be seen as yet another U.S. attack on the countrys sovereignty.

Lopez Obrador plans to reinvent a Mexican agriculture sector devastated by cheap, post-Nafta U.S. imported produce; to impose sweeping social-justice reforms; to negotiate peace with the countrys druglords; and to boost a robust Mexican manufacturing sector largely created by NAFTA by diversifying into higher-value exports.

While Lopez Obrador is expected to make progress on his ambitious agenda, his popularity will fade as his government inevitably falls short of the high expectations Mexicans have of it.

Lopez Obrador is a populist, if not starry-eyed one. It will be tempting for him to deflect attention away setbacks in his intended Mexican renaissance by scapegoating a Trump who has called Mexican emigres rapists and accused Democrats soft on immigration of welcoming infestation.

The more debilitating to Mexico a renegotiated USMCA is seen to be, the more sense it would make for Mexico City to hold ratification of it hostage to Mexicos long-standing campaign for better U.S. treatment of Mexican emigres in the U.S. illegally.

Mexico is also a proxy for Latin Americas enduring distaste for the U.S. While it is unfair to put the estimable Lopez Obrador in bad company, he could seek to become a pan-Latin America leader, in the mold of regional influence-seekers Gamal Nasser and Saddam Hussein.

A high-profile USMCA would be an inviting early casualty of that campaign.

It wouldnt take much to turn Lopez Obrador against the USMCA. Lopez Obrador had no role in creating it. And it is one of the few tangible accomplishments  such as it is  of a Trump who has suggested that many among the 124 million Mexicans are rapists and insects.

All to say that the two years of uncertainty over Canadian and Mexican trade and business investment will continue for at least another year and almost certainly longer.

There are some ordeals one can equate with a visit to the dentist. But a visit to the dentist ends. No such luck with the proposed USMCA, which appears to be root-canal surgery without end.

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As you ponder the plight of 2,500 or so Oshawa autoworkers, spare a moment too, as you go about your merry shopping this first weekend in December, for 12,000 former Sears employees.

Spare a moment, this first Christmas in the city without a Sears presence, to ponder the Armageddon in retail that erased not just Sears, but Eatons, from the shopping landscape. (Many have forgotten how the two were once entwined.)

Spare a moment for the Sears Canada pensioners who have taken a 30-per-cent haircut on their earned pension and who wonder why politicians, preoccupied now with General Motors, havent done more to protect them.

Do not spare a moment for Eddie Lampert.

On Monday, in Ontario Superior Court, two motions will be heard seeking permission to bring further claims against Lampert, his hedge fund, ESL Investments Inc., and former directors. The claims target: a $509-million dividend paid by Sears Canada to shareholders on Dec. 9, 2013. That would have made for a jolly Christmas for some.

Theres a great deal still going on in this case, from the court-appointed monitors motion that the half-a-billion dollars should be deemed a transfer under value (giving away assets, in other words, when bankruptcy looms) to the court-appointed litigation investigators motion to allow claims against Lampert et al., to proceed on the grounds that Sears Canadas board of directors failed to conduct even a minimum degree of due diligence before authorizing the 2013 Dividend, despite the fact that Sears Canada was facing obvious and severe financial difficulties at the time.

That motion, filed in late November, holds that the dividend crippled Sears Canadas ability to remain in business as a going concern. The court will additionally be asked to appoint former associate chief justice Douglas Cunningham as litigation trustee.

So what we have here, as opposed to the General Motors trauma, is an unceasing attempt to determine when, where and by what means assets were hived up when, possibly, they should not have been. A great many rocks have been overturned.

In a responding filing in Superior Court, Lamperts lawyers state that after the dividend was paid, Sears Canada had $513.8 million cash on hand, and criticize these causes of action for being at best, dubious. The litigation investigator, the factum states, has not offered this Court a single reason why a claim can be commenced now, five years after the declaration of the dividend. In support of a contrary view of the financial health of Sears Canada, ESL and Lampert paid roughly $168.5 million (U.S) for an additional equity interest in Sears Canada in October 2014.

As to those former Sears directors, their tart response to the court calls the two motions a misguided attempt to lay blame for Sears Canadas demise at the feet of the wrong parties.

So here we are.

My final encounter with Sears Canada dates to the winter of 2014, when the company, in an attempt to keep the chain alive, shuttered some stores, including the one at the Eaton Centre. The top-loading washing machine I purchased that day has proved a gem. Sears was exceptional when it came to white goods, in my experience.

I mention this only because it brought back memories of the high-priced attempt by Sears to revive the Eatons brand. In December 1999, Sears acquired the Eatons name and 19 stores, 12 of which relaunched as Sears outlets. The other seven were to continue carrying the Eatons banner in high-traffic downtown locales. Shoppers who visited the anchor store at Dundas and Yonge during the Christmas 2000 season may remember the 10-foot bears in crimson nutcracker uniforms standing sentry at the shops doorways. Or the way in which the winter woodland nutcracker theme played charmingly throughout the store. The store was suddenly very luxe, very New York.

Sears couldnt save Eatons.

Sears couldnt be high end.

But it had a hold on the mid-market customer with the Sears brand. And loyal workers who devoted their careers to the company.

Thats not to discount the turmoil in the retail world, the assault of big box stores, the growth of on-line shopping. Eddie Lampert took control in 2005. Sure, he already had Kmart, but no one saw the hedge fund billionaire as a hands-on retailer. The Canadian operations suffered a staged decline, filing for creditor protector in June 2017. This time last year shoppers were anticipating the final liquidation sales from the final stores remaining in the chain. By January of this year it was over.

Ten months later, Sears Holdings Corp. in the U.S. filed for bankruptcy. Stunning, really. A nineteeth-century giant, with 90,000 employees and retirees, potentially headed for the dustbin. Senator Bernie Sanders tweeted this: Once again, vulture capitalists have hollowed out a company to line their own pockets.

Eddie Lampert stepped down as CEO of Sears Holdings. He remains chairman. In an interview with the New York Times after the bankruptcy filing he said that while he wasnt fine with the outcome, he was fine with the effort he had put in to steering the chain.

Sears Canada pensioners would disagree. Mondays court proceedings serve as a reminder that they havent given up yet.

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Some 106 years after he took a dunk off the Titanic, John Jacob Astor IV finally has a pad in Toronto.

The great-grandson of a man who made a fortune in beaver pelts and opium  and whose familial boom led to him being the richest man by far on the storied sinking ship  was, as it happens, also the man who sired the St. Regis Hotel in New York City. This week, the world-travelled brand officially opened an outpost in Canada and, with it, a penthouse named in Astors honour.

Thats right. Its out with the Trumps, in with the Astors.

Consider, if you recall, that the new gussied-up hotel, at the corner of Bay and Adelaide Sts., was where T-R-U-M-P once loomed and  like a pimple popping atop the skyline  where the sign came down more than a year ago. With one now-notorious family brand being vanquished, and the vestiges of another being summoned, I thought it would be fun to investigate the latter.

The Astors, or what is left of them, have nothing to do with the hotel brand now. Vincent Astor, the son of John Jacob IV, sold the original hotel and name rights decades ago, and his grandmother, Caroline Astor  the grande dame of the gilded age  would have bristled at the very use of the word brand, lets be real. And yet the history of the family is fully imbued into the DNA of any St. Regis, complete with rituals that they began still going.

To New York! To 55th St., near Madison Ave., to be exact. Making a quick trip to the American metropolis earlier this month, I got a further grip on the St. Regis story.

That is a functioning mailbox, my guide beamed, as we stopped at the beginning of a tour, in the hotel lobby, and I gaped at the most ornamental gold chute I have ever seen. There since the opening of the hotel in 1904, it sits on a wall, topped with an open-winged, equally gold eagle. Gimme, gimme: snail mail.

It is not the only thing that has been meticulously maintained. The lobby, with its frescoed ceilings and its intimate, salon-like feel, is a time-capsule unto itself: a model of Beaux-Arts inspiration. See, too: the thousands of leather-bound books that Mr. Astor collected, which have been preserved on the original bookshelves in the hotel.

The ghosts of all the fabulousities who passed through the place still flock: everyone from Salvador Dali (who lived in the hotel every fall and winter for a seven-year stretch) to Marilyn Monroe and Joe DiMaggio (who once had the stormiest of fights in one of its suites). From Vidal Sassoon to Alfred Hitchcock: welcome, all.

And this is the famous King Cole bar, the guide announced, as we went further into the entrails of the hotel, arriving at the bolt that is most famous for two things: one, the place where the Bloody Mary was invented; two, the home of a world famous, kind of naughty Maxfield Parrish mural.

Taking in the mesmerizing mural  the backdrop for any number of high-stakes trysts, over the decades, no doubt  I was as impressed to be reminded that, in the reels of recent movie history, this is also where Andy in The Devil Wears Prada goes to meet her friend, Christian, to pick up a copy of the not-out-yet Harry Potter manuscript, after being commanded to do so by her lady-boss, Miranda Priestley.

Good times.

But back to Astor: despite opening a hotel once seen as an exemplar of opulence, with a cost estimated at $5.5 million (unheard of then), a height that made it the tallest in town (18 storeys) and game-changing features that were nothing if not unusual for the time (telephones in every room), his death would be his ultimate defining legacy. Funny how that happens.

Having boarded the Titanic in 1912 with his new 19-year-old bride, Madeleine  shocking New York when John Jacob IV abandoned his wife for her  they settled into a first-class room with a manservant, maid, nurse and their dog, Kitty. The last time he was spotted? Seen smoking a cigar on the deck, having sent off his wife (who was pregnant at the time) in a lifeboat. In the end, when Astor was pulled from the seas  one of only 333 bodies ever recovered, IDed by the initials sewn into his jacket  the infamy was complete.

You can toast the poor chap at the champagne sabring that is an evening ritual in any St. Regis hotel (now part of the Marriott International group since its acquisition of Starwood hotel group in 2016) in any part of the world and will unfold in Toronto each night.

While you are it, you can also toast the daughter-in-law he never met, Brooke Astor, who rescued the Astor name from ignominy and, in her signature white gloves, made it purr again. Before dying in 2007 at age 105 she had, for decades, raised more money for New York City charities than any single person.

Add to that, a proper afternoon tea, set to happen Saturdays and Sundays at the new hotel (an Astor hand-me-down). Also, intriguingly, a Midnight Supper: a St. Regis tradition that takes place once or twice a year and is an homage to original matriarch Caroline Astor, who was the gatekeeper to the elite back in the day and whose own hand-picked late-night gatherings (often following nights at the opera) were known then as the Astor 400.

The Toronto hotel will have its first version of the party on Dec 11, this one hosted by celebrated fashion designer Jason Wu.

Caroline, by the way, has a suite named after her, too, at the new hotel, not far from the equally one grand one named after her son. Yet another nod to the past and a way of sending the one message that counted when the Toronto tower made its makeover official: Make Astor Great Again.

Correction - November 30, 2018: This article was edited from a previous version that mistakenly said the St. Regis hotel is now part of the Starwood hotel group. In fact, Starwood Hotel group was acquired by Marriott International in 2016.
HALIFAXA Senate committee is recommending mandatory use of radio beacons on fishing vessels in an effort to curb fatalities in Canadas deadliest sector.

A report released Thursday from the Senate Committee on Fisheries and Oceans said equipping fishing vessels with emergency position-indicating radio beacons  known as EPIRBs  would help improve response times for search and rescue operations.

The report, which focused on Maritime search and rescue operations, said the commercial fishing industry has the highest fatality rate of any Canadian job  an average of one death per month.

We strongly believe that EPIRBs will cut down the search time, but most importantly, save lives, said Sen. Fabian Manning during a news conference in Ottawa.

If we could narrow the time of the search, well be able to then move into the rescue part much quicker. Certainly off the coast of Newfoundland and Labrador, as an example, on a very thick foggy day, it might be very difficult even for a helicopter to find someone.

The report said beacons not only transmit an emergency signal to search and rescue authorities, they also have a built-in GPS that allows rescuers to accurately locate ships in distress.

Manning said the committee recognizes that the beacons come with a cost  between $250 and $1,000  and so theyre also recommending that the device becomes mandatory in two years.

The report recommends that the Canadian Coast Guard become a separate statutory agency, making it accountable to the federal transport minister and allowing for more long-term capital planning with predictable funding.

The coast guard should have a 20-year capital plan to reflect the need for the fleets renewal, update and modernization, the report said.

As well, the report makes a number of recommendations aimed at bolstering search and rescue resources in the Canadian Arctic, where marine traffic is forecast to increase.

Manning said there is a major void of search and rescue operations in Canadas North, including a lack of facilities and training.

We understand that we cant have a helicopter in every community. We understand we cant have search and rescue resources everywhere, but we certainly need to be able to address the concerns brought to us by the North, said Manning.

Sen. Marc Gold added that climate change is having a dramatic impact on search and rescue challenges in the North.

The ice is changing, and climate change has the effect for hunters, trappers, harvesters to have to travel further from their homes to harvest for their familys well-being, and that puts them at greater risk if things go awry, said Gold.

The communications network in the North is very different from what were experiencing in the south, and so the challenges are enormous.

Some of the Canadian Arctic-related recommendations include establishing primary search and rescue stations in the North, expanding training operations in that region and focusing recruitment efforts on retaining Indigenous employees, especially those proficient in Inuktitut.

A press secretary for the office of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard thanked the Senate committee for the report.

The safety of those at sea is our top priority and we will be reviewing the recommendations carefully, said Jocelyn Lubczuk in an email statement.

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CLIFTON PARK, N.Y.  Ask any non-profit organization or government service agency how they accomplish as much as they do and the answer is usually one word, volunteers.

To make the process of volunteering as easy as possible the Clifton Park-Halfmoon Library recently held its 2019 Volunteer Fair in the large second floor program room.

The Nov. 17 Fair was an opportunity for anyone in the southern Saratoga County community with the slightest thought about volunteering to speak with representatives from 17 area organizations that could use their help.

As much as this is for the public, it also gives these organizations a chance to speak to one another, said the library representative Alison Starkey.

Organizations represented at the event covered a range of interests from animal help groups, emergency responders, tax aid, youth helping youth, the Girl Scouts, and substance abuse recovery services.

Healing Springs Recovery Community & Outreach Center is a Saratoga Springs-based organization for people in recovery from substance abuse. As part of the Prevention Council Recovery Advocacy in Saratoga (RAIS) program, it offers support for the individual as well as for the families.

There are so many [people] who are impacted directly either by a friend or a family member and Healing Springs is there to help them, said volunteer Barbara Murray. Everybodys affected by it. People are just starting to talk about it. You can see it in their eyes. You can see the pain. They are going through it or know someone who is. I know many people who have been affected.

The organization has a few paid staff and many volunteers. Its Saratoga Springs recovery center is on High Rock Avenue next door to the substance abuse treatment center, SPARK.

Its a place much like home, said Healing Springs office manager Megan Himmel. We hold events like parties, or we have places to go that are free where they can be without fear of relapsing and its all done by volunteers. We hold meetings every day.

Another organization, manning an information table at the Fair was Make-A-Wish of Northeast New York. Most people are aware of the organization, but were unaware its office has so few paid staff.

Its about a dozen, but we have between 500 and 1,000 volunteers in the 518 area code, said Ray Gawlak, the organizations manager of volunteer engagement. There are a lot of people who have some kind of connection to us in one way or another. Its not necessarily a physical connection but an emotional one.

Gawlak said volunteers with Make-A-Wish help as wish grantors, with fundraising, reveal parities, Adopt-A-Wish events, or simply at the office.

Today was a huge success, we had 20 people sign up, he said. We need people of all ages, especially with our Adopt-A-Wish campaign, the one you see in the malls. The money for that campaign helps give someone their wish.

One of the more unique organizations at the Volunteer Fair was Youth  Youth Helping Youth, another Saratoga Springs-based organization that covers all of Saratoga County.

This group works with young people by helping them connect their ideas to a funding source under the guidance of the Community Foundation for the Greater Capital Region. The organization awards grants to individuals who wish to turn a community service idea into reality.

Cara LeCoz, 17, and her sister Nicolette LeCoz, 11, were at the event looking into volunteer opportunities. Nicolette signed up with Youth to play games with residents of the communitys memory care facility. Cara signed up with Make-A-Wish.

We knew this was a whole fair of different places to volunteer so we came out to see, Nicolette said.

I really like this organization, Cara said of Make-A-Wish. One of my friends was a recipient.

One of the busiest tables was that for AARP Foundation Tax Aide. With the tax season starting in a just over a month, Ron Streeter and Bill Weir answered a continuous stream of questions about getting free tax help and how one becomes a volunteer tax preparer.

The AARP tax assistance program is free at the Clifton Park-Halfmoon Library on Saturdays and Mondays by appointment starting in February. The organization has additional sites in Halfmoon, Malta, and Ballston Spa as well as several in Saratoga Springs.

We do the taxes for them, Weir said. Its for anyone who makes money, even a teenager with a lawn mowing business. Its work, but its fun work. It keeps us older people occupied.

Raji Sundar spoke to the men for some time before deciding to sign up to be a volunteer tax preparer.

By becoming a volunteer it gives me a lot of awareness on tax benefits, she said. I can help a lot of people who I know. Its always good to get trained. Training makes you perfect.
HALIFAXA handful of protesters briefly blocked the entrances to Canada Posts main facility in Halifax early today in a show of solidarity for employees who were legislated back to work this week.

The group left about two hours later at 10 a.m., after police told them they were not allowed to block vehicles coming in and out of the plant.

Canada Post said on Twitter that the protests amounted to the illegal obstruction of the movement of mail, adding that it would take appropriate action to address illegal activity affecting operations.

The gesture comes after the Canadian Union of Postal Workers held 37 days of rotating strikes across the country before back-to-work legislation was officially passed Monday.

Canada Post indicated this week that Canadians can continue to expect delivery delays for the next several weeks.

Danny Cavanaugh, president of the Nova Scotia Federation of Labour, says people want to take a stand for collective rights because theyre unhappy with the imposed legislation.

Were here to make sure that were doing something to protect our rights under the Canadian Charter for fair and free bargaining, he said.

Were out in solidarity. Of course, Nova Scotia isnt immune to getting legislative pieces by our provincial government and of course the federal legislation will have detrimental effects on everybody right across the country.

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VANCOUVERThe job is like being an executioner, says the voice on the other end of the phone. Its just what hes paid to do.

The man with a light English accent says hes speaking from an India-based call centre where he and other scam artists work through the night, phoning Canadians and claiming to work for the Canada Revenue Agency. They tell people they owe tax money and will be arrested if they dont pay. Some panicked victims send thousands of dollars.

Its like somebody in Texas. Hes an executioner; he has to execute people, he has to kill people. Its his job. Thats what hes doing, isnt it? he said. Its like that. Im just doing a job right now.

On Oct. 29, following news of raids against call centres in India, StarMetro received a call to a newsroom phone from someone claiming to be from the CRA. They said we had to contact them immediately to remedy a tax issue.

We called back to see if anyone would share their story. They did.

The resulting conversation with a man claiming to be a CRA scammer provides some insight into why they continue to target Canadians and why the recent busts will not deter them.

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Are you being scammed? Heres a quick guide to find out

I should be a smart guy. I wasnt. How the CRA tax scam keeps duping us

A scam artist tried to con her mom. So Sharron Matthews and her friends put their acting skills to use

The Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre (CAFC) reports that it has received about 74,000 complaints about the calls since 2014, with 4,000 victims reporting more than $15.2 million in losses to the scammers.

In late October, Canadian police announced that a joint effort with American and Indian police agencies had shut down three such call centres. Officers arrested several people and seized information related to about 600 Canadians who had fallen for the scam.

In the week following similar arrests in 2016, complaints to the CAFC about the scam dropped by 93 per cent  but they picked up again in the following months.

On Nov. 6, police told the Parliament Hill press gallery they will continue working to root out and shut down the call centres in India.

The man we spoke to gave a name and later provided a photo of an Indian ID, but StarMetro has chosen not to publish the name because of remaining concerns about its veracity. The man would not prove the ID was in his possession.

A LinkedIn page says a man with that name is employed by a company called Sonark Outsourcing Solutions. The companys Facebook page  which has since been taken down  said it is located in Phoenix, Ariz., but the page was full of photos labelled as being taken in Ludhiana, Punjab, India. The city is in the countrys north, near its border with Pakistan.

StarMetro could not find a phone number for Sonark Outsourcing Solutions. An email address for Sonark found on an Indian company listing site also appears online as the email for a number of different companies. StarMetro sent a message to the email address but did not initially receive a response.

After this story was first published, the scammer sent an email saying Sonark is an unrelated, legitimate business and that he hadnt worked there for months.

A man identifying himself as Harry Singh, a manager for Sonark, also reached out to StarMetro after publication. Singh said the company has nothing to do with the CRA scam calls. Instead, he asserted, Sonark is a licensed company that runs call centres for booking travel.

We have nothing to do with Canada. We have nothing to do with the CRA, Singh said.

He said he took down the companys Facebook page because he feared it had been hacked.

In the initial interview, the scammer said he works until 4 a.m., 21 days per month, at a sh-thole of a job.

He insists theres no other option for him. The scam earns him $400 a month  $300 more than hed make at a legitimate call centre, he said.

Theres inadequate medical coverage in India and life costs money, he said, arguing he must provide for his family. Those who fall for the scam and lose their savings are of no concern to him.

Right now, theyre in a better situation than I am. Theyre in a better country than I am, he said. Their government is not going to see them in the street, but my government will see me in the street.

The man speaks with an English accent and said he was educated in the United Kingdom, though he never went to university there. Despite his background, he said, finding a job that pays enough to support his family hasnt been easy.

After overstaying his visa, he said going back to the U.K. isnt an option and that hes tried many times to get a good job without success. Initially, he worked in legitimate call centres but he said they did not provide enough to live on.

If I had a genuine job in a genuine call centre, Id only get paid $100 a month, he suggested. Id have to survive on $100 a month; could you do that?

Later in the call he says hed make $150 a month at such a call centre.

Its the big money that keeps such scammers in operation, said Ryan Duquette, the founder of Hexigent, a cybersecurity firm based in the Greater Toronto Area.

The phone scams are not new, but callers are changing their tactics, Duquette said. In past years, the scams usually relied on greed and promised people fortunes for completing a task, like the now-infamous Nigerian prince scam. But scammers are finding that fear is a better motivator, he said, especially for those new to Canada.

Here in Canada at least, the victims that Ive seen, a lot of them are immigrants to the country who dont know how our policing system works, Duquette said. They may come from countries where the police will come to your house over an unpaid debt and drag you out.

Such scams have been running in one way or another for decades, he said. Because they make money and are inexpensive to carry out, they arent likely to end any time soon.

Duquette said scammers have existed as long as people but became more frequent as the internet became more popular.

The caller reached by StarMetro said the CRA scam is not his first breadwinner. He was doing the Windows scam more than five years ago, telling Canadians there was a problem with their computer and asking them to send money to fix it.

Though the elderly and immigrants tend to be the most common targets, according to Duquette, the scammer reached by StarMetro insisted hes mainly taking money from Canadians in their 30s and 40s.

Older people watch television and see news reports, so they know not to fall for the scam, he said.

Despite the arrests made by Indian authorities earlier this month, the con artist says he isnt concerned about police raiding the office where he works and throwing him in jail. The police only bust up operations in big cities, he said, so theres nothing for him to worry about.

Most call centres that get raided are like in Mumbai, Delhi, Ahmedabad, he said. Places like that, you know? Proper call-centre locations.

Back in Ottawa, authorities acknowledged the difficulties with rooting out centres as their operations change. Supt. Peter Payne, director of financial crime with the RCMP, said such call centres have been getting smaller, spread across more locations.

Theres probably more call centres in place. All I can tell you right now is that we have a good collaboration with Indian authorities, Payne said during the Nov. 6 press conference. Were not stopping at this point. We will do what we can to dismantle and disrupt this process to protect Canadians, and the government is serious about this.

But the resolve of Canadian authorities doesnt trouble the man on the other side of the world.

Where were based, no one is ever going to guess that there is a call centre here, he said.

Update  Nov. 30, 2018: This article was updated from a previous version to include comments on Sonark Outsourcing Solutions from Harry Singh and the subject of the initial interview.

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FREDERICTONThe potential for New Brunswick's new Tory government to partially lift a provincewide moratorium on fracking for natural gas should be known within days.

The issue has been a contentious one, with much political jousting as the new Tory minority tries to lift the moratorium in the Sussex area, where Corridor Resources has been in gas production for 20 years.

The Tories have introduced an amendment to their throne speech to urge the government to move ahead with gas development just in that region. The amendment says that communities in and around the town of Sussex have demonstrated their desire to proceed with shale gas development.

Sussex Mayor Marc Thone said his council, and most people he has spoken with, are supportive.

"In our community I'm sure that not 100 per cent of our citizens are going to be supportive of hydraulic fracturing, but we do believe that the majority of our region are supportive of it," he said Wednesday.

"We're not dependent on that moratorium being lifted, but we see a brighter future for our region and all of New Brunswick if that moratorium is lifted," he said.

Thorne said a number of companies have said they'd locate in Sussex or expand operations if there was a secure supply of natural gas.

The decision of the former Tory government of premier David Alward to embrace the shale gas industry was polarizing  a series of public protests culminated in a violent demonstration in the fall of 2013 in Rexton that saw 40 people arrested and six police vehicles burned.

Many people are concerned that fracking  which involves pumping water and chemicals deep underground at high pressure to fracture layers of shale and release pockets of gas  could have an impact on ground water supplies.

While some People's Alliance legislators say they're against fracking, they will stick to their pledge to support the government on confidence votes, including the throne speech vote on Friday.

People's Alliance MLA Rick DeSaulniers has been very vocal about his opposition to fracking, but says he'll have to put his opinion aside for the vote.

"The last thing New Brunswickers want for Christmas is an election. I'm not going to cause an election over that issue. I will support the government on the throne speech because we gave our word to the lieutenant-governor that we would support the government on confidence votes. My opinion on fracking right now is irrelevant," he said.

People's Alliance Leader Kris Austin said any attempt to allow fracking on a wider basis would be opposed.

Meanwhile, the Liberals have introduced a bill, that if passed, would require any changes to a moratorium to go to a full vote of the legislature.

Liberal Leader Brian Gallant, whose previous government imposed the moratorium in 2014, said any changes should go to a vote.

Corridor Resources currently has 32 producing wells in the Sussex area and operates a 50 kilometre pipeline, a gathering system comprising 15 kilometres of pipe, and a natural gas processing facility.

In a corporate presentation released this month, the company said if the moratorium is lifted, they would drill five vertical evaluation wells, complete three existing wells, identify "sweet spots," and drill a second round of up to five horizontal wells.

However, when reached Wednesday, Corridor CEO Steve Moran was sticking to a prepared one-line comment.

"We are encouraged by the actions of the government, but we are going to respond in greater detail at a later date," Moran said by phone from his office in Calgary.

Premier Blaine Higgs said with dwindling gas supplies off Sable Island, gas prices will increase dramatically if new supplies aren't developed in the region.

"The majority of the gas supply is now coming from the Midwest and the pipeline costs are dramatic in the sense of what it means to consumers here in New Brunswick," Higgs said.

"Lets manage this through a manageable-sized development. Let's look at what has been learned throughout Canada and the U.S. on the safe development of gas supplies," he said.

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Every nation has its own obsessions, its own story. Canada is still getting to know its young self while its provinces quarrel like children. Americans think their story is the American Dream  it died decades ago  but their obsession with race born of slavery belies that. And Britain has what it has always had, a class war.

These things can paralyze a country.

Alan Rusbridger, former editor of the Guardian, ran an immensely influential left-wing newspaper in a nation that was cut into slices of social cake with every wingism catered to. There are papers for the posh right and left, tabloid right and left, hard right proletariat, Communist, Labour, and the Financial Times for the rich and their hopefuls.

What they have in common is an obsession with class, whether openly stated or coded. No remark, no headline, no photo even of an anodyne living room in the Guardians House and Garden pages can escape class-ridden comment. From dish placement (what an absolute load of clutter) to a chair (mass-produced individualism) to a couch (nice for those who can afford it), the paper is slated for getting too good for the likes of its readers and too patronizing. It never pleases.

The Guardian always makes strenuous efforts at inclusion and fairness though its not clear that it helps. This might though. Rusbridger is working on a fascinating new concept, the Foundation Year at Lady Margaret Hall, a college in Oxford University, for working-class students rather than the offspring of the rich.

The idea was suggested to him in an Irish pub by the provost at Trinity College Dublin, where it has long been on offer.

It gives students a year of breathing space to get used to perceived walls of class, money, accent and attitude rather than being plunged right in. I am profoundly interested in the Foundation Year and talked to Rusbridger about it this week for one main reason. British students get 13 years of schooling before university. For some reason Canada only gives them 12.

That means that the year in which Canadian teenagers prepare for independent life, intensive learning and growing up has been hacked off. Its bad for everyone but particularly so for low-income students who need one more year of help.

Rusbridger and LMH choose particular students. Their grades are not great but when I look at their life and what theyve overcome, actually their grades are rather miraculous. If somebody has been living in a hostel because of something in their family background and they havent had internet in the evenings and still gets an AAB (average) grade, thats a miracle.

He describes another student: One had no formal education until he was 10 because he was an Afghan Sikh who arrived in England at 15  having come through 17 different countries to escape, taught himself English, again got AAB, what an astonishing achievement. That guy is going to be brilliant.

There is no chance that Oxford, one of the worlds best universities, would accept a student with average grades. But the Foundation Year students take a core course in writing, study skills and communication. That means learning about academic writing, original thought and constructing arguments, then research skills, working in groups and managing time well, followed by learning persuasive speech, debating and writing for different audiences.

These are things that more fortunate students already knew years before. The Foundation Year offers 32 hours of teaching each week plus individual study. They have free run of the university and, crucially, will be able to socialize with regular students.

It goes unsaid that they will come to feel the social confidence that is the hallmark of students who were set from birth to study at Oxford, Cambridge and elsewhere. What the theorist Lynsey Hanley calls the silent symbols of class will matter less. In residence, a students family home is not judged. The style is casual so their clothing will fit in. They are fully funded; money will not be a constant ache.

I think of Hillbilly Elegy by JD Vance, a poor kid who went to Ohio State and then to Yale law, who attended a dinner with law firm recruiters. Somethings wrong with that water, he told a server as he spat it out. He had not known what San Pellegrino sparkling water was.

The Foundation Year will prepare them for the best education possible. Rusbridger says there were 60 applicants in the first year in 2016 but 600 this year. Cambridge too is planning a Transition Year. If this sounds minor, imagine if it were applied generally. Perhaps a more socially mobile and fair-minded Conservative cabinet would not have served up a Brexit referendum or imposed a cruel and disastrous austerity that whipped up hatred in the nation.

I think change is in the air, says Rusbridger. He has concluded that the world, hitherto run vertically from the top, has become a horizontal one where digital communication has given everyone a voice.

Eventually, if theyre educated voices, the world may wish to listen to something new.
EDMONTONLawyers for a man convicted of killing two missing Alberta seniors have asked the Alberta Court of Appeal to throw out his manslaughter conviction or order a new trial.

Travis Vader was sentenced in January 2017 to life in prison for the deaths of Lyle and Marie McCann, who were in their 70s when they vanished after leaving their Edmonton-area home in July 2010.

Defence lawyers asked the Appeal Court on Friday to order a stay of proceedings or a new trial on the grounds that there were a number of errors in the original one.

The case took way too long. It should have been stayed, Brian Beresh said outside court. That, of course, if successful, would mean no trial.

Alternatively, a trial simply on manslaughter.

The defence argued in court that the RCMP was negligent in the handling of disclosure in the trial, which added two years of delay to the prosecution.

They also noted the judge mistakenly used an outdated section of the Criminal Code and later substituted manslaughter for the original verdict of second-degree murder.

The extraordinary errors committed by the police and the trial judge in this case deprived the public and the appellant of any hope of a prosecution conducted in accordance with the fundamental rights protected by the charter, said a written brief filed by the defence.

This is one of the rare cases where a stay of proceedings is required.

Crown prosecutor Jason Russell argued there were exceptional circumstances that justified the time it took to complete the trial.

In assessing the reasonableness of the delay, the court must consider the exceptionally complicated nature of this case, he said in a written brief.

Vader was charged with first-degree murder in April 2012, almost two years after the McCannss burned-out motorhome and a vehicle they had been towing were discovered in the days after they disappeared. Their bodies have never been found.

The charges against Vader were stayed in March 2014 before being reinstated in December 2014.

During the trial in 2016, Vader was described as a desperate drug addict who came across the McCanns and killed them during a robbery.

The Crown had asked for a life sentence. Prosecutors argued Vader showed no remorse after the killings, used the McCannss cellphone the same day to call an ex-girlfriend and took their money to buy beer and a phone card.

The defence suggested Vader should receive four to six years, but get at least six years of credit for pre-trial custody.

Vader, whos in custody, has maintained his innocence.

Should a new trial be ordered, it should only be on Vaders manslaughter convictions, the defence suggested Friday.

The law is pretty clear, explained Beresh. If you are acquitted of murder, you cant be retried on that. Your exposure is limited to the conviction, which we say in this case was manslaughter only.

The Court of Appeal  made up of Justice Peter Martin, Justice Marina Paperny and Justice Jack Watson  challenged the defence on a number of its legal arguments.

Beresh said he expected tough questions from the bench.

This is a serious issue, he said. As everyone knows, this is not the last station on the railway track. This case could go to the Supreme Court of Canada.

The Court of Appeal reserved its decision.

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OTTAWAFormer prime minister Stephen Harper could be dragged into the criminal case against Vice-Admiral Mark Norman, as the suspended military officers lawyers seek access to thousands of secret government documents.

Last month, Normans lawyers gave the court a list of records they say are needed to ensure their client receives a fair trial, even as they accused the government of having cherry-picked the disclosure of information.

The Opposition Conservatives subsequently picked up on the demand for more information by repeatedly calling on Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to provide the documents, which government lawyers have said includes about 135,000 files.

But many of the records that Normans lawyers requested  including many deemed cabinet secrets or confidences  were created while Harper was prime minister, and federal officials say he is the only one who can authorize their release.

In a document filed with the court, Paul Shuttle, an adviser to the clerk of the Privy Council, the governments top bureaucrat, stated: For documents from the Harper ministry, PM Harper would have to approve of their disclosure. The Privy Council Office reiterated that position in an email to The Canadian Press this week.

While the disclosure of evidence is a key tenet of Canadas legal system, and courts can normally compel the release of such information, the Canada Evidence Act lets the government refuse requests for cabinet confidences. Usually prepared for ministers to aid government deliberations and decision-making, documents marked as cabinet confidences hold closely guarded political secrets and are legally protected from unauthorized release.

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Because of their extremely sensitive nature and the potential for using them as political weapons, cabinet confidences are not passed from one government to another. Rather, those produced by previous governments are held under lock and key by the clerk of the Privy Council.

A government, by convention, can only authorize disclosure of its own cabinet confidences, said University of Ottawa professor Yan Campagnolo, who has studied the rules around cabinet secrecy.

The current government does not have access to the cabinet confidences created under the previous government.

Officials would not say whether Harper had been asked to authorize the release of documents requested by Normans lawyers. Repeated emails to one of the former prime ministers representatives were not answered.

Trudeau has sidestepped questions about whether he will approve the release of any cabinet confidences if the court determines they are relevant to Normans case.

The issue will come up again next week when the Crown files a formal response to the request for documents from Normans lawyers. Five days have been set aside starting Dec. 12 for the court to hear arguments about why the records are relevant.

Norman was charged in March with one count of breach of trust for allegedly leaking government secrets to Davie Shipyards after the Liberals decided to delay awarding the Quebec shipyard a $700-million contract.

The contract, which involved converting a civilian container ship into a temporary support vessel for the navy, was first negotiated by the Harper government but not finalized before the Liberals took office in October 2015.

The former navy commander and vice-chief of defence staff, who remains suspended with pay, has denied any wrongdoing and his trial is currently set to begin in August 2019 and run through much of next years federal election.

The documents requested by Normans lawyers include numerous records related to the Trudeau governments decision in November 2015 to delay the Davie contract, which the Liberals later decided to approve.

Normans lawyers have also requested records of meetings, briefing notes and presentations prepared for cabinet while Harpers government was considering the project.

Campagnolos research uncovered two instances where a government voluntarily released cabinet confidences for a criminal trial, both involving ministers accused of illegal activity. There have also been several inquiries where such records were released.

While such instances are rare, Campagnolo maintained the prime minister  Harper or Trudeau  should authorize the release of cabinet secrets if a judge determines they are relevant to Normans case. Otherwise, he said, the charges should be dropped.

If cabinet documents are relevant in the context of a criminal prosecution, they should be made available to the court and to the accused because theres a fundamental issue of liberty at stake, he said.

Its about the innocence of an individual whose reputation may very well be destroyed or he may lose his liberty as a result of the process. In that context, the public interest requires that the documents be disclosed for the purpose of the prosecution to enable the court to find the truth.

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WINNIPEGWhen the first big snow dump covered Winnipeg this week, the developers of a new phone app put their technology to the test.

You can think of it as Uber for snow removal, said OnTheStep founder Buhle Mwanza, referring to the ride-hailing app.

Mwanza spent months developing the on-demand snow clearing app, which connects homeowners with shovellers  called steppers  to get their driveways and walkways cleared.

Looking around at snow-covered driveways on Thursday, the University of Manitoba computer science student said he was inspired by Winnipegs nickname of Winterpeg.

I was just thinking why not make a problem all of us have to go through as innovative and fun as possible and really embrace that Winterpeg identity?

Homeowners can download the app for free and set up a profile, including location, size of driveway and how many cars park there. When the snow starts to fall, as it always does in large quantities in Winnipeg, they can request shovelling services from their phone.

Once a price is set, a shovelling notification goes out to all the steppers in the area and one  or a team, depending on the size of the job  will get to work.

Homeowners get notifications of each aspect of the job: when the stepper arrives, when the work is done, and when the money goes through.

The app launched earlier this month, but the city had yet to see much snow. As Environment Canada put out a special weather statement for the incoming winter storm on Wednesday, Mwanza became excited to see if people would want the service and how it would all work.

He went to the first shovel request himself and the homeowner was so excited, they took photos together. But soon after, more and more requests started to come in.

Have your say

OnTheStep recently partnered with Hire-A-Refugee, a local organization that connects refugees with jobs, but the demand for services was outpacing the supply of shovellers.

So Mwanza, along with the other OnTheStep team members  Tyrel Praymayer, Alex Shao and Tristen Wong  pulled out their shovels and got to work. From the first request Wednesday afternoon until around 3 a.m. Thursday, the group trudged up and down driveways with shovels.

I feel like snow and Winnipeg is sort of like a bonding experience. We all have to deal with it, said Praymayer, OnTheSteps marketing manager and student at the Asper School of Business at the University of Manitoba.

Winnipeg is great inspiration for this app. Its a beautiful way of incorporating Winnipeg into innovation.

Despite a night and morning of shovelling, team members said they are excited by the demand of the first big snowfall.

Snow definitely has a different identity in our mindsets now, Mwanza said.

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A Vice Media reporter must provide the RCMP with copies of on-the-record communications with an accused terrorist, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled Friday in a decision experts say does little to change the status quo for instances when journalists are forced to turn over material to the police.

In its 9-0 ruling the court acknowledged the potential chilling effects of such a production order on both journalists and sources, but said, in this particular case involving a deliberately non-confidential source, the states interest in the investigation and prosecution of crime outweighed the medias right to privacy in gathering and disseminating the news.

The case stemmed from a 2015 production order obtained by the RCMP demanding reporter Ben Makuch and Vice Media produce screen captures of messages Makuch exchanged with Farah Mohamed Shirdon, a Canadian who allegedly left Calgary to join Daesh in Syria.

Makuch wrote three articles about Shirdon in 2014 based on interviews conducted over the messaging service Kik. The RCMP said the messages were needed to investigate Shirdon, who may now be dead, for terrorism offences.

Vice Media and Makuch fought the production order, but their application was dismissed, a decision upheld by the Ontario Court of Appeal.

Makuch argued that all the relevant information had been published and an order requiring him to provide his interview material for the purposes of a criminal investigation would inhibit his ability to gather news and build relationships with sources, especially in a network of militants.

Read more:

Reporters should be able to protect sources, Trudeau says

No time for apathy on press freedom: Public Editor

Dark days for press freedom at home: Fahmy

However, in upholding the production order, the court found the requested material would not reveal a confidential source or communications that were off the record or not for attribution. Rather, Shirdon used the media to publicize his activities with a terrorist organization as a sort of spokesperson. The decision also noted there was no alternative source to obtain the material.

The Toronto Star will continue to absolutely protect confidential sources and will not disclose them, said Bert Bruser, the Stars newsroom lawyer.

The decision did not consider the Journalistic Sources Protection Act, which came into effect last year and provides safeguards against the disclosure of confidential sources.

The court more or less held the line on the law governing how and when journalists will be forced to turn over material to police, said lawyer Justin Safayeni who made submissions in the case on behalf of a media coalition including Canadian Journalists for Free Expression and Postmedia.

The judges were not convinced that the very act of a journalist being seen to turn over records to the police to use to prosecute their own source is sufficiently serious that it is going to hurt the ability of the media to gather news and report stories in the public interest, he said.

Lawyer Cara Zwibel, who represented Canadian Civil Liberties Association in the case, said that, while the decision was not what she hoped, it leaves her cautiously optimistic that future lower court decisions may be less likely to tip in favour of the police.

The court did try to push the needle a little bit on the balance and the need of the press to do their jobs, she said.

Makuch, who is based in New York, was not at the court for the decisions release. Tunley had no comment, and it was not immediately clear when, or, even, if the materials would be given to the RCMP.

This is a dark day for press freedom, which is a basic tenet of democracy, Vice Media said in a statement. While weve lost this battle, nothing can shake our belief that a free press is instrumental to a truthful understanding of the world in which we live.

with files from The Canadian Press
Doctors from eight medical specialty groups  who are among the highest paid in the province and are facing the prospect of fee cuts  have voted to break away from the Ontario Medical Association.

The Ontario Specialists Association or OSA  as the collective of groups is calling itself  is unhappy with the way the OMA has been representing its members in contract deliberations with the province and wants to negotiate its own deal.

The breakaway specialists also dont like that many doctors want high-billing specialty groups  such as those in the OSA  to be hit with fee cuts. Lower paid specialties  including psychiatrists, geriatricians, infectious disease doctors and pediatricians  argue that the $12 billion the province pays doctors should be more fairly divvied up.

The $12-billion physician services budget represents 10 per cent of the entire provincial budget.

Whether the province will recognize the OSA is still to be determined.

The OSA issued a news release Wednesday evening with the headline: Ontario Specialist Groups Vote Overwhelmingly to Leave the OMA. The release states that a significant group of Ontario specialists participated in a referendum to withdraw from the OMA.

Read more:

Appeal court ends secrecy of payments to Ontarios top-billing doctors

Ford government, OMA fail to reach negotiated settlement

OMA to tackle thorny issue of pay gaps between medical specialties

It is unclear exactly how many of the provinces approximately 31,000 active physicians voted in favour of seceding, but its believed to be a small number, relative to the size of the profession.

The news release states: Voting results by specialty in favour of seceding from the OMA include the following:

Cardiac Surgery: 78.6 per cent;

Cardiology: 84.7 per cent;

Diagnostic Imaging: 90.5 per cent;

Otolaryngology: 67.2 per cent;

Ophthalmology: 90.0 per cent;

Gastroenterology: 78.1 per cent;

Nephrology: 63.4 per cent;

Neuroradiology: 95.9 per cent;

Nuclear Medicine: 76.7 per cent.

But the actual number of doctors represented by these percentages is not clear.

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Adding to the confusion is that the release states eight major specialist groups want to separate, but the above breakdown refers to nine. There are a total of 38.

The physician spearheading the split, radiologist Dr. David Jacobs, did not respond to emails seeking clarification.

There was much discussion among doctors on Twitter about this Thursday, with many contending the total number that voted to separate is quite small.

However, in an earlier telephone interview, Jacobs said: We were very happy with the high level of participation.

One physician tweeted only 5 per cent of all of the provinces doctors voted to secede. The OMA estimates the same.

A source close to the talks, who spoke on the condition of anonymity saying some Ontario doctors have a history of attacking people on social media, estimates only 10 per cent of all specialists (non-family doctors and non-general practitioners) voted yes:

That is not exactly impressive. Even Donald Trump has a higher favourable rating.

The doctors and province have been without a contract for more than four years. The contract dispute is now in binding arbitration.

Under a binding arbitration framework that OMA members endorsed, the arbitration panel must consider the issue of relativity. That refers to the big pay gaps between the highest and lowest paid specialty groups.

That would not bode well for the OSA. The government is seeking fee cuts as high as 15 per cent for the top paid specialists. Asked if this is why they want to separate and negotiate their own contract, Jacobs responded:

The whole organization, if you look at the governments mandate, is facing the prospect of fee cuts.

Pressed further on the issue, Jacobs said: You have my comment.

One major outstanding question is whether the province will recognize the new association. Currently the province recognizes the OMA as the professions sole bargaining agent, essentially its union.

The OSAs news release said the organizations next step is to meet with government representatives and persuade them, based on the voting results, to recognize the organization.

Hayley Chazan, press secretary for Health Minister Christine Elliott, said the government plans to seek legal advice on how to proceed:

As a result of the Ontario Medical Associations recent referendum outcome, our government will evaluate the impact with respect to the existing legal framework for bargaining agents and will consult with legal counsel to confirm next steps.

OMA president Dr. Nadia Alam pointed out it was not the OMA that carried out the vote and noted questions have been raised about the results:

The OMA did not conduct this poll, and we cannot verify its validity. A number of members have raised concerns about voting irregularities. This survey is not legally binding because the OMAs representational rights are baked into our provincial laws and our Representational Rights Agreement.

So, we will continue to argue for a good deal for all sections at the arbitration table. This remains our top priority.

The infighting within the profession is heating up at the same time that the OMA is asking the Supreme Court to hear an appeal of a lower court ruling that would make the names of top-paid physicians public. The Ontario Court of Appeal ruled in favour of the Star earlier this year in a decision that would allow for the release of names.

The Star has been trying to get the names released for almost five years in a quest that started with an access-to-information request to the provinces health ministry. The provinces privacy commissioner and Ontario Divisional Court have also ruled in the Stars favour.

It looks as if you appreciate our journalism. Our reporting changes lives, connects communities and effects change. But good journalism is expensive to produce, and advertiser revenue throughout the media industry is falling and unable to carry the cost. That means we need you, our readers. We need your help. If you appreciate deep local reporting, powerful investigations and reliable, responsible information, we hope you will support us through a subscription. Please click here to subscribe.
The trial of alleged serial killer Bruce McArthur, who is accused in the deaths of eight men over the span of seven years, has been set for Jan. 6, 2020.

McArthur, 67, made a brief in-person appearance at an Ontario Superior Court in Toronto Friday. He last month waived his right to a preliminary hearing, a move that sent his case directly to trial.

A judicial pretrial  where the judge, Crown prosecutor and lawyer for the accused meet behind closed doors  took place immediately before McArthurs appearance Friday.

McArthur appeared in a grey cable-knit sweater, plaid shirt and jeans. He was straight-faced as the judge explained when the trial would be held.

The self-employed landscaper is facing eight counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of men between 2010 and 2017. All of the alleged victims had ties to Torontos Church and Wellesley community  the citys Gay Village.

The alleged victims are: Andrew Kinsman, 49; Selim Esen, 44; Majeed Kayhan, 58; Soroush Mahmudi, 50; Dean Lisowick, 47; Skandaraj (Skanda) Navaratnam, 40, Abdulbasir Faizi, 42, and Kirushnakumar Kanagaratnam, 37.

McArthur was arrested in January at his Thorncliffe Park apartment complex and has been in custody ever since. The arrest  initially on two counts of first-degree murder  marked the expansion of a sprawling probe that continues today.

Read more:

Family angry, tearful at visitation for alleged Bruce McArthur victim

A timeline of the Bruce McArthur case and the police investigation into the Gay Village killings

Alleged serial killer Bruce McArthur could head to trial as early as September

As police fanned out across the GTA, searching properties linked to McArthur through his landscaping business, investigators homed in on one property, a Leaside residence at 53 Mallory Cres. There they discovered dismembered, skeletal human remains, which were later forensically tested and linked  through fingerprint, dental and DNA records  to seven of McArthurs alleged victims.

The remains of the eighth alleged victim were later located during an extensive excavation behind the Leaside home, in a steep, forested ravine.

This fall, the victims remains were released to families and friends, allowing for funeral or remembrance ceremonies. The most recent took place on Sunday, where Kanagaratnams family, who had travelled from Europe and Sri Lanka, said a tearful and angry goodbye.

Toronto police are continuing to probe historic homicides, looking for possible links to McArthur, but investigators have recently said none had been found. The lead homicide detective on the McArthur case, acting Insp. Hank Idsinga, said in July that police had nothing to indicate there are more than eight alleged victims.
Residents living in the Halfmoon-Waterford Fire District rejected the fire departments plans to build a new, $12.3 million, station at the 315 Middletown Road site by a vote of 366 to 312 on Tuesday. After the ballots were counted Fire Commissioner John DAlessandro said the building committee will reform and meet with the architect to consider other options. He added that doing nothing is not an option because the station continues to have problems.
Toronto police have charged a Milton man with human trafficking and related charges after he allegedly forced two women to work in the sex trade in the GTA and throughout Ontario and Quebec.

Police allege he forced the women, whom they say he sexually assaulted on multiple occasions, to follow his rules and hand over all theirs earnings.

Police also allege the man used deception, false promises, intimidation and fear to control the women.

On Wednesday, police with the Sex Crimes and Human Trafficking Enforcement Team raided three locations in Toronto, Milton and Chamberlain Township, Ont., with the assistance of Halton Regional Police and the OPP.

Kalib James Rahi, 31, of Milton, has been charged with four counts of sexual assault; two counts each of procuring to provide sexual services; advertising another person for sexual services; trafficking in persons by recruiting, transporting, and harbouring; exercising control by directing and influence ones movements; financial and material benefit from trafficking in persons; and trafficking in a controlled substance schedule.

Rahi was also charged with one count each of threatening bodily harm, threatening harm to an animal, extortion and possession of the proceeds of crime.

He was scheduled to appear in court Thursday morning.

In a Friday news release, police said they encourage anyone affected by human trafficking come forward, adding that everyone will have access to support services and an exit strategy, regardless of their decision to proceed criminally.

Marjan Asadullah is a breaking news reporter, working out of the Stars radio room in Toronto. Follow her on Twitter: @marjanasadullah

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Innes, a youthful German shepherd, was trying to make his way across a frenetic Manhattan intersection near Central Park and found himself facing down all sorts of projectiles  yellow cabs, bike messengers, pedicabs  as a deafening truck horn blasted and the traffic light changed against him.

But Innes was not negotiating this chaotic scene while out for an afternoon stroll. He was safeguarding his new master, Kathy Faul, 73, a blind woman from Swarthmore, Pennsylvania.

Both were relative strangers to New York City, but they had ventured into Manhattan expressly for moments like this, to experience its particular brand of street-level chaos, as the culmination of a thorough course of training by the Seeing Eye, a guide dog school in Morristown, New Jersey. Founded in 1929, it is the nations oldest training school for dogs and one of the largest of its kind. It even holds the trademark for the phrase seeing eye.

The schools training is done in a suburban setting far calmer than Midtown Manhattan, an hours drive away. But for its ultimate challenge, and to assess a dogs focus, trainers take the student-dog pairs into Manhattan as something of a proving ground.

Theres no more intense place than New York City to train the dogs  its the craziest environment theyve ever been in, said Brian ONeal, a Seeing Eye trainer. At the end of the training, the idea is, OK, they know the basics. Now can they handle the grind of the city? 

To find out, Faul and another blind woman, Val Gee, 26, had arrived in a van to experience these extreme urban conditions, along with their dogs.

Im half scared, half so excited, said Faul, gripping the stiff leather handle strapped to Innes. But I figure, like the song says, if I can make it here, I can make it anywhere.

They had begun the route in a rooftop parking lot above the Port Authority Bus Terminal, the starting point of a loop plotted specifically to get them the best distractions, said Fauls trainer, Kristen DeMarco.

After squeezing into a packed elevator, they were soon slipping through subway turnstiles and being led by their dogs through crowds of commuters. They braved a packed stairway to the train platform, while being jostled by crowds.

The dogs remained calm on the subway platform, despite the clatter of passing trains and the blare of announcements.

She keeps her focus really well, Gee said, patting Ozma, a retriever mix.

For Gee, a psychotherapist from Dayton, Ohio, this was only her second time in New York City, after visiting as a 19-year-old when being paired with her first guide dog, which she recently retired.

This is quite different from Dayton, said Gee who, with her instructor, Kristen Oplinger, boarded an uptown C train and sat next to a sleeping passenger, while Ozma curled up under the seat.

At Columbus Circle, they headed up the escalator to the street. The first test was neither traffic- nor pedestrian-related, but rather a tiny dog that was being walked nearby and intrigued Innes.

It would be the first of many tests of the dogs concentration. There would also be countless new smells, from well-visited fire hydrants to aromatic street vendors.

The sidewalks themselves were obstacle courses, with open basement doors creating gaping shaftways. There were gridlocked intersections, fluttering pigeons and jackhammers loud enough to interfere with dog-owner communication.

Columbus Circle was flooded with lunchtime crowds. The first challenge was the traffic rotary. The dogs stopped at the curb, as they were trained, and both Faul and Gee listened to the flow of traffic, to detect if the cars had stopped for the light. Then each gave her dog a forward command and proceeded to cross.

The dogs receive four months of training at the Seeing Eye, learning to guide around obstacles and obey commands, as well as street-crossing skills, including how to watch for traffic and keep their handlers safe from vehicles that might be turning or running lights.

Officials with the Seeing Eye said they pair roughly 260 dogs each year with blind people living in the United States and Canada. Most live in some urban environment  largely because of public transportation, walkability and other services  and a handful live in New York City.

Dogs who do not do well in an urban setting can be paired with owners who tend not to be city-goers. Owners train alongside their dogs while boarding at the school for several weeks. Their stay culminates with the trip to Manhattan.

While not exactly a test, Manhattans conditions present the dogs with intense conditions that can help reveal training aspects to work on.

Its a training experience that offers more than anywhere else we can take them, said Dave Johnson, director of instruction and training at the Seeing Eye. Almost anything can happen in one day in New York  its a culmination of sensory overload, even for humans.

The dogs partnered with Faul and Gee were handling it all pretty well. They wove through pedestrians like a slalom course. Like harried New Yorkers, the dogs seemed stymied by slow-walking tourists. They nudged up to them and waited for a narrow opening to lead their owners past.

Shes so smooth about it, said Gee, who began losing her vision in early childhood because of a genetic disorder.

Faul said she was happy with Innes confidence.

You need to have that gumption, said Faul, a retired computer programmer who lost her sight in a car accident while in college. When I felt him go through those people, I knew he was a New Yorker.

Even for dogs and owners who do not visit cities, urban training can help prepare them for chaotic situations, such as shopping malls or carnivals, he added.

As Faul and Gee headed along Seventh Avenue, the dogs guided them around scaffolding supports that partially blocked sidewalks and around a work zone. The dogs looped around a Coca-Cola truck blocking a crosswalk and later avoided a yellow cab that swooped around a corner toward them.

There were moments for instruction, too, as when Innes suddenly made a sharp right  toward the open door of a perfume store. The dogs would soon get used to such distractions, DeMarco said. For now, Faul pulled him back on course.

They walked by the TKTS booth selling theatre tickets and headed past Broadway theatres. Gee praised the way Ozma ignored the blaring sirens and kept her away from creeping tour buses and rumbling dump trucks.

She seems to focus even better in the chaos, she said, adding that there was only one problem.

Shes going to be disappointed when we go home.
The ailments listed on Nikki Carruthers medical chart read as follows: blackouts, memory loss, fainting, vomiting, thyroid problems, angina, hypertension, heart palpitations, high-blood pressure, migraines, chest pain, ulcers, depression, anxiety and exhaustion that keeps her in bed for at least 18 hours a day.

Carruthers, 29, had barely seen the inside of a doctors office until 2013 when she decided to get breast implants. The cascading health issues that followed have triggered dozens of hospital and doctor visits.

My entire body was shutting down, says the Winnipeger, who has been unable to work since July. My throat is burning and hurts to swallow. It feels like someone is sitting on my chest when I try to breathe.

The promotional machine driving the $1-billion international breast implant industry runs on tastefully lit, aspirational images of perfect bodies, glowing testimonials and inspirations from celebrities  but provides little mention of the potential risks, a Toronto Star/CBC Marketplace investigation, in partnership with the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, has found.

Carruthers is among the increasing number of women across Canada who suffer health complications they believe are associated with their breast implants. They also believe they were misled by surgeons who reassured them that the health concerns of the 1990s were addressed more than a decade ago.

Breast implants are the most popular cosmetic surgery in the world with 10 million women opting for the devices during the past decade. Most have not reported adverse health issues and some studies point to high satisfaction rates.

There remains no straight line, cause-and-effect linking breast implants directly to auto-immune illness, known as breast implant illness. Recent research, published in respected medical journals and conducted over the past decade, is raising concerns that information about autoimmune illnesses is often not communicated to women considering the procedure.

The Star has interviewed nearly two dozen women who have health issues they attribute to their breast implants, including three with a rare cancer known as BIA-ALCL. All of them said their surgeons provided few warnings about the known risks.

Read More from The Implant Files:

Breast implant complications, including cancer, kept secret thanks to broken reporting system

This company has paid millions to settle claims it defrauded U.S. government health programs. Now its partnering with Canadian public hospitals

Biocell breast implants at centre of biggest controversy in plastic surgery

Faulty and unproven medical devices implanted in Canadian patients despite known risks

A review of 25 websites belonging to plastic surgeons in the Toronto area show plenty of alluring images but little detail on the adverse outcomes proven to be associated with breast augmentation.

Undercover visits to three Toronto plastic surgeons by a CBC Marketplace researcher who posed as a prospective patient revealed sales techniques, some of which a leading medical ethicist called very problematic.

Since Monday, the ICIJ has heard from more than 540 women responding to an online callout for responses to the global series of stories on breast implant health issues. Among the 45 Canadians are women complaining of infections, hair loss, body inflammation, muscle weakness, trouble breathing, neurological issues, suicidal thoughts, autommune symptoms and implant rupture.

A recent Penn State survey of 824 North American plastic surgeons found that while 87 per cent discussed BIA-ALCL with their patients, 30 per cent did not include it as a risk on consent forms.

Its really disappointing, said Dr. Donald Mackay, associate chair of surgery at Penn State Hershey. There are clear guidelines as to the potential risks. Maybe you could write it off to lack of knowledge. But by now they really should know. The warnings are out there.

At age 23, unhappy with her body image, Carruthers came up with $6,300  financed through a line of credit  for breast augmentation.

It seemed safe and easy. Her doctors said little about medical risks beyond the standard warnings associated with any surgery.

It was made to seem like getting a haircut, she said. He told me there were only very minor cosmetic risks which he would fix in a touch up procedure should something go wrong. He told me the new implants were lifetime devices, you could cut them in half with a knife, and the silicone material would not spill out and these implants rarely ever rupture.

The message on the plastic surgery websites she visited were full of promises of confidence and perfection.

I was like, okay...I just need the confidence.You have to look like that or youre nothing...Most plastic surgeons, theyre feeding on our insecurities. Theyre feeding on our vulnerabilities, she said.

Any excitement about her new body was soon undermined by health problems, said Carruthers.

She had the implant surgery in 2013 and just more than a year later she had a second surgery to relieve the severe pain in her chest. The implants had bottomed out and dropped too low on her chest.

I was completely convinced that it was the best thing that I could have done for myself, she says. I thought, I am fixing a problem thats fixable. Safe. Everybody whos famous is doing it...They have everything in the world they could possibly want. They have every guy wanting them.

There is no standard script plastic surgeons use to inform patients of the risks. And each physician has their own approach.

They can vary widely.

The researcher sent by CBC Marketplace, who posed as a prospective patient, asked about recovery time at the three clinics she visited and the answers ranged from 24 hours to six weeks.

We can get you out to dinner the night after surgery, we can get you to the beach the next day, Dr. Mahmood Kara told the journalist who recorded with a hidden camera.

How? You dont have to understand, just need to know that I can deliver, and Ive done it on thousands of patients.

University of Toronto bioethicist Kerry Bowman says that response fails to provide the understanding necessary for the patient to have informed consent.

That would worry me, because you do need to understand, said Bowman. Ethically and legallyyou have to have a capable patient and she needs to fully understand and appreciate all of the risks.

The presentation of medical risks associated with breast implants are also a matter of concern.

During the consultation, Kara gave a detailed explanation of known health risks associated with the procedure, including rupture and potential hardening of the implants.

On his website, Kara calls it a myth that implants leak into the body if they are ruptured.

In the unlikely event that the implant breaks, the silicone would not in fact leak into your body. The silicone would remain together in a mass, it reads. Despite some reports of illness resulting from implants, the science has proven that these are anecdotal at best and that there is no link between implants and autoimmune diseases and no increase in breast cancer as a result of breast augmentation.

Dr. Jan Willem Cohen Tervaert, director of the rheumatology at the University of Albertas medical school and a co-author of several studies detailing connections between breast implants and autoimmune illnesses, says that advice is challenged by research.

There are plenty publications demonstrating leaking of silicone with new implants, he says. Patients have a specific pattern of complaints and complications not dissimilar from fibromyalgia (commonly described as feeling pain throughout the body)...We demonstrated that fibromyalgia-like symptoms disappeared or ameliorated after explantation.

Kara declined repeated interview requests.

At the clinic of plastic surgeon Dr. Martin Jugenburg  known as Dr.6ix on his website  the journalist asked for a copy of the consent form she had to sign before making the decision and providing a $2,000 deposit to book the surgery.

I dont think Im allowed to do that for some reason, a clinic nurse said who later provided the consent form.

Im amazed that theres so much push back on getting the consent forms, Bowman said after reviewing the footage. I think asking to pay in advance is very problematic from an ethical point of view.

In a written response, Jugenburg said his clinic does not require patients to pay in order to view or receive consent forms.

This was not clear during your researchers visit, and as a result of your feedback, I made sure in the future there will be no confusion.

The overwhelming majority of plastic surgeons websites contain testimonials and before and after images that appear to breach provincial legislation and Ontario College of Physicians and Surgeons policies.

Where we have been alerted to the use of before and after photos in the past, we have held that they constitute testimonials in contravention of the regulation, said college spokesperson Shae Greenfield.

Among the physicians cited by the college for advertising breaches are Kara and Jugenburg.

Last year, the college cautioned Kara for using before-and-after photos in a magazine advertisement.

Given his repeated breaches of advertising policy and regulation, the (college complaints) committee was not satisfied that he would change his behaviour without further guidance, the decision reads.

But prominently featured on his website today are more than 260 before-and-after photos of plastic surgery procedures.

Jugenburg is currently facing a disciplinary hearing before the college which alleges he committed professional misconduct for advertising methods, including permitting a film crew into a surgical procedure without the patients consent, making improper use of her images and posting pre and post-operative images of her on his social media accounts without her consent, along with pressuring her to follow and contribute to his social media accounts.

In a written response, Jugenburg said the allegations are denied and being defended.

The use of before-and-after photos is widespread in medicine, he wrote, adding the images provide, pertinent information to the public, as patients increasingly perform their own research on the Internet, demand more transparency ... and more self-directed decision-making ability.

Jugenburgs website currently has more than 250 before-and-after images for a variety of plastic surgery procedures.

Some plastic surgeons shun the practice of posting before-and-after images.

Toronto plastic surgeon Dr. Leila Kasrai explains on her website why she does doesnt: Due to the advertising regulations of the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario imposed on all doctors in Ontario, we cannot display photos and testimonials of our patients, it reads.

At a third Toronto clinic, Dr. Sean Rice provided a detailed explanation of health risks and cited medical evidence.

Later, his assistant offered the journalist a surgical date for the next day.

Next week is fine, you can also do tomorrow if you want, the woman said.

Bowman, who reviewed the exchange, called that way too fast.

You percolate as we all do as human beings with any major decision in our life, he says. A patient (is) thinking through these types of things and I found it interesting that  just emerged out of nowhere  theres an opening tomorrow.

In a written response, Rice said the journalist requested breast implant surgery the next day. I did not pro-actively offer surgery the next day.

I want to ensure all patients fully understand risks associated with their surgical procedure. I offer an opportunity to discuss the consent form after review to allow any follow-up questions before surgery. Patients deserve time to evaluate and question a consent from before endorsing.

Worsening symptoms eventually led Nikki Carruthers to undergo a third breast surgery in September: This time, to have them removed  against the advice of her surgeon.

(He) said theres no proof implants can make you sick as he chuckled in his office, Carruthers said. I feel like I have been through World War Three with my own body, fighting with these professionals to believe me.

When they came out, a discovery: The right implant had ruptured and both implants showed capsular contracture  the formation of hard, often painful scar tissue around the implants, according to an analysis of the removed implants by Pierre Blais, a former Health Canada senior advisor and chemist who runs an Ottawa company that tests the devices.

This type of rupture is common and indicatesmaterial fatigue, the report reads. It is not the outcome of trauma or accidentaldamage.

While the left implant was not ruptured, it showed errors in fabrication and/or formulation of the shell material.

In an interview, Blais said Carruthers right implant rupture (which broke into four parts) is hardly unique.

When you look at the instructions for use for a product like this, and all the competitors, it says a rupture may happen, says Blais. Its not really right. They should say a rupture will happen. It depends how long you have it.

Carruthers said the findings were a vindication.

My instincts were correct. I was not going insane.

A liver tumour has shrunk since the explant. But she has yet to return to work due to pain and fatigue, cognitive impairment, tremors and auto-immune illnesses.

I can only imagine how many women are out there right nowhaving no idea whats wrong, feeling hopeless and crazyThe whole thing makes me sick to my stomach every time I think about it.

With files from Makda Ghebreslassie, Sylvene Gilchrist and Caitlin Taylor, CBC Marketplace and Sasha Chavkin, ICIJ

It looks as if you appreciate our journalism. Our reporting changes lives, connects communities and effects change. But good journalism is expensive to produce, and advertiser revenue throughout the media industry is falling and unable to carry the cost. That means we need you, our readers. We need your help. If you appreciate deep local reporting, powerful investigations and reliable, responsible information, we hope you will support us through a subscription. Please click here to subscribe.
Sheryl Sandberg asked Facebooks communications staff to research George Soross financial interests in the wake of his high-profile attacks on tech companies, according to three people with knowledge of her request, indicating that Facebooks second in command was directly involved in the social networks response to the liberal billionaire.

Sandberg, Facebooks chief operating officer, asked for the information in an email in January to senior communications and policy executives. The email came within days of a blistering speech Soros delivered that month at the World Economic Forum, attacking Facebook and Google as a menace to society and calling for the companies to be regulated.

Sandberg, who was at the forum  but was not present for Soross speech, according to a person who attended it  told subordinates to examine why Soros had criticized the tech companies and whether he stood to gain financially from the attacks. At the time, Facebook was under growing scrutiny for the role its platform had played in disseminating Russian propaganda and fomenting campaigns of hatred in Myanmar and other countries.

Facebook later commissioned a campaign-style opposition research effort by Definers Public Affairs, a Republican-linked firm, which gathered and circulated to reporters public information about Soross funding of several American advocacy groups critical of Facebook.

Those efforts, revealed this month in a New York Times investigation, set off a public relations debacle for Sandberg and for Facebook, which was accused of trafficking in anti-Semitic attacks against the billionaire. Facebook quickly fired Definers.

The people with knowledge of Sandbergs email asked for anonymity because they werent authorized to discuss the message and feared retribution.

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In a statement, Facebook said that the company had already begun researching Soros when Sandberg made her request.

Mr. Soros is a prominent investor and we looked into his investments and trading activity related to Facebook, the company said. That research was already underway when Sheryl sent an email asking if Mr. Soros had shorted Facebooks stock. The company said that while Sandberg takes full responsibility for any activity that happened on her watch, she did not personally direct any research on Freedom from Facebook, an anti-Facebook coalition whose members were among the subjects of Definers later work.

The revelation complicates Sandbergs shifting explanations of her role in Facebooks decisions to hire Definers and go on the offensive against the social networks growing legion of critics. Sandberg at first denied knowing that Facebook had hired Definers, before acknowledging in a post last week that some of the companys work for Facebook had crossed her desk.

In that post, Sandberg did not explicitly deny that she had asked for research into Soros. Instead, a deputy who oversaw the communications team but is now leaving the company, Elliot J. Schrage, took responsibility for hiring Definers and initiating Definers investigation into Soros. It is unclear what, if any, involvement Sandberg had in that ultimate response to Soros.

We had not heard such criticism from him before and wanted to determine if he had any financial motivation, Schrage said of Soros. Definers researched this using public information.

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BUENOS AIRESWhen U.S. President Donald Trump sits down with President Xi Jinping for dinner here Saturday, their meeting will be about more than salvaging a cordial personal relationship or trying to contain a trade dispute between the United States and China.

It could foretell whether these two giants  one an established but anxious superpower, the other an ambitious, impatient rising power  are destined to enter a new era of Cold War-like confrontation.

Remarkably, given the stakes involved, the two sides plan no other formal meetings during this gathering of the Group of 20 industrialized nations that begins Friday. Nor do they appear to have much of an agenda, beyond the trade grievances Trump has complained about for months.

That is a testament to how much trade and the personal chemistry between Trump and Xi have come to dominate the relations between the United States and China. While these are only subplots in a larger drama that also includes a military contest in the Pacific and nuclear negotiations with North Korea, they could also define the next chapter in that relationship.

In particular, the Saturday dinner  Trumps first face-to-face encounter with Xi in more than a year  will be the biggest test yet of whether the presidents assiduous cultivation of the Chinese leader can survive his escalating tariffs against Chinese exports.

What were about to see in Buenos Aires is the collision of the personal and the structural, said Kurt M. Campbell, who devised President Barack Obamas Asia Pivot policy as an assistant secretary at the State Department. Trump is almost desperate to impress and get Xi to like him. But the structural forces are driving them in different directions.

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Administration officials said they had briefed Trump on the full range of issues between the United States and China. Some inside the White House compare his relationship with Xi to a shock absorber. Even if the matters on the table are unpleasant, Trump is likely to avoid a bruising exchange with the Chinese president.

Im sure theyll be very respectful of each other, Larry Kudlow, Trumps chief economic adviser, told reporters Tuesday. He expressed confidence in Trumps negotiating skills, noting that both sides will arm their leaders with talking points.

How they play it, he added, I dont know.

Much of the uncertainty stems from Trumps mercurial personality. In the days leading up to the meeting, he has vowed to press ahead with a plan to raise tariffs on Chinese goods to 25 per cent from 10 per cent. Yet he has also expressed optimism that he and Xi could strike a deal, which would almost certainly require him to relent on tariffs.

Leaving for Buenos Aires on Thursday, Trump managed to sound hopeful and wary at the same time. I think were very close to doing something with China, he said, but I dont know that I want to do it.

Xi has also voiced confidence about the meeting. But if Trump embarrasses him by pushing too hard  even after repeatedly calling him a good friend  such treatment could sour the Communist leaders view of the United States for years to come. Xi has already been criticized at home for what some see as his misjudgment of Trump.

Xi understands the meeting will be crucial in shaping the future, said Zhang Baohui, an international relations expert at Lingnan University in Hong Kong. A successful meeting will at least slow down the momentum of a new Cold War. A bad meeting will make that irreversible.

There are plenty of other potential landmines: China continues to build military installations in the South China Sea, risking clashes with U.S. warships. Trump accused the Chinese of interfering in the midterm elections, though he provided little evidence. Vice President Mike Pence charged Beijing with predatory lending to vulnerable neighbours and with waging an influence campaign on U.S. think tanks and universities.

Only two weeks ago, an economic summit meeting in Papua New Guinea ended in rancour after Pence and Xi gave dueling speeches on trade and left the other countries unable to agree on the wording of even a routine communique.

Xi also announced plans to visit North Korea next year, which could complicate an issue where he and Trump have generally found common ground. When the North Korean leader, Kim Jong Un, visited Xi in China in May, Trump complained that it slowed down the momentum for his own diplomacy with Kim.

This is one of those rare moments in history where a geopolitical turning point is upon us, and it is clear to the entire world at the very moment, said Evan S. Medeiros, a former China adviser to Obama who now teaches at Georgetown University.

Trump has framed the relationship with China solely in terms of competition, with trade at the top of the agenda, he said. If they cannot find a way forward on trade, then the relationship may be imperiled, as the forces of acrimony and entropy take over.

Adding to the uncertainty is the cacophony of voices surrounding Trump.

His staff is divided between mainstream Republicans like Kudlow and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, who are counselling him to compromise with Xi; hard-liners like Robert Lighthizer, the U.S. trade representative, who is pushing for China to undertake sweeping changes; and nationalists like Peter Navarro, the director of the White House trade office, who would like to see Trump impose ever higher tariffs, even if it leads to a divorce between the worlds two largest economies.

These aides feud publicly on television and privately over issues like whether Navarro should be allowed to attend the Group of 20 meeting. After initially being excluded, he wrangled a seat after intense lobbying, and will now be on hand to offer his views to Trump.

Xis advisers may not be as splintered as the quarrelsome Trump team, but they, too, seem to represent disparate ideas. Wang Huning, a member of the powerful seven-man Politburo Standing Committee and one of Xis closest confidants, is a staunch advocate of authoritarian rule. But Liu He, Chinas point man on the trade negotiations, is a Harvard-educated technocrat who many believe has the heart of a reformer.

Xi, who went to school with Liu, has shown little of his friends inclinations; in fact, he has shown the opposite. A former U.S. official who recently met with Liu said it was difficult to decipher whether Liu actually met with Xi frequently.

If you believe Liu is a real reformer, then the evidence suggests Xi isnt listening to him, said another American, Matthew P. Goodman, an economist specializing in Asia at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

Instead, the stage is set for what one Chinese commentator calls a new bipolar world. Yan Xuetong, a professor at Tsinghua University, said in an essay in the coming issue of Foreign Affairs that Xi was already competing for new friends among Americas allies and that there were few common threats that could force the countries to co-operate.

The global fallout of Trumpism has already pushed some countries toward China in ways that would have seemed inconceivable a few years ago, Yan wrote.

Though Trump and Xi come from very different systems, they bear similarities: both are strongmen, both are ardent nationalists, and both are taking their countries in different directions from their predecessors. With his tariffs, Trump has shown a willingness to upend decades of Republican Party allegiance to free trade.

Equally, both leaders are facing economic headwinds, which could be exacerbated by a prolonged trade war. Trump repeatedly asks his aides about the state of the economy, officials said, and some are warning him that he could be blamed for market turbulence and job losses from tariffs.

In China, where the economy is softening, Xi has faced grumbling among some liberals who have criticized him for the way he has handled the United States. Long Yongtu, a former vice commerce minister, said it was unwise for Xi to place retaliatory tariffs on U.S. soybeans.

Trump has emerged from previous meetings with Xi, in Palm Beach, Florida, and Beijing, with fulsome praise for his good friend. Most people expect to hear those sentiments again  and they may even be tied to some kind of compromise on trade. The question is, will that be enough to patch up all the other conflicts?

The president has quite artfully kept his friendship with Xi in public view, said Orville H. Schell, the director of the Center on U.S.-China Relations at the Asia Society. But I doubt it will dissolve the myriad other forms of competitive, even adversarial, sentiment that have been arising in other sectors of the relationship.

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WASHINGTONFormer New York Mayor Michael Bloombergs charity has announced a $50 million (U.S.) donation to help fight the nations opioid epidemic.

Bloomberg Philanthropies said over the next three years it will help up to ten states address the causes of opioid addiction and strengthen prevention and treatment programs. Its initiative involves a partnership with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, The Pew Charitable Trusts, Johns Hopkins University and Vital Strategies.

Bloomberg said on Friday during his keynote address at The Bloomberg American Health Summit in Washington that he believes we can turn the tide on this epidemic.

And if we do, he said, we can begin reversing the decline in life expectancy that has been happening across the country, thanks largely to opioid overdoses.

Pennsylvania will be the first state to get funding and will receive at least $10 million. Pennsylvania had the highest number of drug overdose deaths in 2017 among all states and twice as many as in 2014. Nearly 5,400 Pennsylvania residents died of drug overdoses in 2017.

Pennsylvanias rate of 44.3 drug overdose deaths per 100,000 residents is more than double the national average.

Bloomberg has been considering a 2020 Democratic presidential bid, but a spokeswoman said there was no stated link between his political aspirations and the $50 million investment to fight opioids.

Bloombergs charity said CDC data shows there were more than 70,000 U.S. drug overdose deaths last year, including more than 47,000 from opioids, the highest numbers on record. It said those numbers are a leading factor in the decline of U.S. life expectancy over the past three years.

Bloomberg called the sobering numbers part of a national crisis.

For the first time since World War I, life expectancy in the U.S. has declined over the past three years  and opioids are a big reason why, he said. We cannot sit by and allow this alarming trend to continue  not when so many Americans are being killed in what should be the prime of their lives.

He said in a statement he hoped his charitys work in Pennsylvania, one of the states hardest hit by the opioids crisis, would lay the groundwork for more effective action across the country.

The partnership focuses on identifying new approaches to tackle opioids and plugging gaps in current treatment and prevention programs. Staff members from partner organizations will support state and local programs to reduce opioid-related deaths, and successful initiatives and guidelines will be replicated elsewhere, with the goal of creating a model for the rest of the nation.

Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf said he was deeply grateful for the financial and technical resources his state will receive through the partnership with Bloomberg Philanthropies.

From our first responders and health care professionals to teachers and social service providers, heroes across our commonwealth are saving lives and protecting residents in our communities every day from this awful scourge, Wolf, a Democrat, said in a statement issued by the Bloomberg charity. We are doing everything we can to help them, and I am confident that this partnership will mark a turning point in our efforts.

The Drug Enforcement Administration said this month in its National Drug Threat Assessment that heroin, fentanyl and other opioids continue to be the highest drug threat in the nation.

Bloomberg, who has been an independent, a Republican and a Democrat, declared lifetime allegiance to the Democratic Party and outlined an aggressive timeline for deciding whether to run for president in an interview with The Associated Press this month. He has regularly criticized U.S. President Donald Trump and spent a fortune to help elect Democrats in the midterm elections.
ISTANBULThe two women in the photograph were smiling, but Halmurat Idris knew something was terribly wrong.

One was his 39-year-old sister; standing at her side was an elderly woman Idris did not know. Their grins were tight-lipped, mirthless. Her sister had posted the picture on a social media account along with a caption punctuated by a smiley-face.

Look, I have a Han Chinese mother now! his sister wrote.

Idris knew instantly: The old woman was a spy, sent by the Chinese government to infiltrate his family.

There are many like her. According to the ruling Communist Partys official newspaper, as of the end of September, 1.1 million local government workers have been deployed to ethnic minorities living rooms, dining areas and Muslim prayer spaces, not to mention at weddings, funerals and other occasions once considered intimate and private.

All this is taking place in Chinas far west region of Xinjiang, home to the predominantly Muslim, Turkic-speaking Uyghurs, who have long reported discrimination at the hands of the countrys majority Han Chinese.

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While government notices about the Pair Up and Become Family program portray it as an affectionate cultural exchange, Uyghurs living in exile in Turkey said their loved ones saw the campaign as a chilling intrusion into the only place that they once felt safe.

They believe the program is aimed at coercing Chinas 10 million Uyghurs into living secular lives like the Han majority. Anything diverging from the partys prescribed lifestyle can be viewed by authorities as a sign of potential extremism  from suddenly giving up smoking or alcohol, to having an abnormal beard or an overly religious name.

Under Chinese President Xi Jinping, the Uyghur homeland has been blanketed with stifling surveillance, from armed checkpoints on street corners to facial-recognition-equipped CCTV cameras steadily surveying passers-by. Now, Uyghurs say, they must live under the watchful eye of the ruling Communist Party even inside their own homes.

The government is trying to destroy that last protected space in which Uyghurs have been able to maintain their identity, said Joanne Smith Finley, an ethnographer at Englands Newcastle University.

The Associated Press spoke to five Uyghurs living in Istanbul who shared the experiences of their family members in Xinjiang who have had to host Han Chinese civil servants. These accounts are based on prior communications with their family members, the majority of whom have since cut off contact because Uyghurs can be punished for speaking to people abroad.

The Uyghurs abroad said their loved ones were constantly on edge in their own homes, knowing that any misstep  a misplaced Quran, a carelessly spoken word  could lead to detention or worse. In the presence of these faux relatives, their family members could not pray or wear religious garbs, and the cadres were privy to their every move.

The thought of it  and the sight of his sister, the old woman and their false smiles  made Idris queasy.

I wanted to throw up, said the 49-year-old petroleum engineer, shaking his head in disgust.

The moment I saw the old woman, I thought, Ugh, this person is our enemy. If your enemy became your mother, think about it  how would you feel?

Tensions between Muslim minorities and Han Chinese have bubbled over in recent years, resulting in violent attacks pegged to Uyghur separatists and a fierce government crackdown on broadly defined extremism that has placed as many as 1 million Muslims in internment camps, according to estimates by experts and a human rights group.

Uyghurs say the omnipresent threat of being sent to one of these centres, which are described as political indoctrination camps by former detainees, looms large in their relatives minds when they are forced to welcome party members into their homes.

Last December, Xinjiang authorities organized a Becoming Family Week which placed more than 1 million cadres in minority households. Government reports on the program gushed about the warm family reunions, as public servants and Uyghurs shared meals and even beds.

Another notice showed photos of visitors helping Uyghur children with their homework and cooking meals for their families. The caption beneath a photo of three women lying in bed, clad in pyjamas, said the cadre was sleeping with her relatives in their cozy room.

A different photo showed two women studying the 19th Party Congress and walking together into the new era  a nod to when Xis name was enshrined in the party constitution alongside the likes of Deng Xiaoping and Mao Zedong.

Becoming Family Week turned out to be a test run for a standardized homestay program. The Xinjiang United Front Work Department said in February that government workers should live with their assigned families every two months, for five days at a time.

The United Front, a Communist Party agency, indicates in the notice that the program is mandatory for cadres. Likewise, Idris and other interviewees said their families understood that they would be deemed extremists if they refused to take part.

Cadres, who are generally civilians working in the public sector, are directed to attend important family events such as the naming of newborns, circumcisions, weddings and funerals of close relatives. They must have a firm grasp of each family members ideological state, social activities, religion, income, their challenges and needs, as well as basic details on immediate relatives, the notice said.

Families were to be paid a daily rate of 20 to 50 yuan ($2.80 to $7.80 U.S.) to cover the cost of meals shared with their new-found relatives. Some families might be paired with two or three cadres at a time, according to the notice, and the regularly mandated house calls could be supplanted with trips to the local party office.

A February piece on the Communist Partys official news site said: The vast majority of party cadres are not only living inside villagers homes, but also living inside the hearts of the masses.

Overseas Uyghurs said the visits to their relatives homes often lasted longer than five days, and they were closely monitored the whole time. The cadres would ask their family members where they were going and who they were meeting whenever they wanted to leave the house.

They couldnt pray, said Abduzahir Yunus, a 23-year-old Uyghur originally from Urumqi, Xinjiangs capital. Praying or even having a Quran at home could endanger the whole family.

Yunus, who now lives in Istanbul, said his father used to lament to him about being visited three to four times a week by the administrator of his neighbourhood committee, a middle-aged Han Chinese man. The surprise house calls began in 2016, and it was impossible to say no, Yunus said. They often coincided with times traditionally designated for prayer.

Their aim is to assimilate us, Yunus said. They want us to eat like them, sleep like them and dress like them.

After Yunuss parents and older brother were detained, only Yunuss sister-in-law and 5-year-old brother remained in the house. Around the beginning of 2018, the Han Chinese man started staying with them full-time.

Uyghurs said they were particularly repulsed by the thought of male visitors living under the same roof as their female relatives and children  a practice contrary to their faith. Women and kids are sometimes the only ones left at home after male family members are sent to internment camps.

In recent years, the government has even encouraged Uyghurs and Han Chinese to tie the knot.

Starting in 2014, Han-Uyghur spouses in one county were eligible to receive 10,000 yuan ($1,442) annually for up to five years following the registration of their marriage license.

Such marriages are highly publicized. The party committee in Luopu county celebrated the marriage of a Uyghur woman and a young lad from Henan in an official social media account in October 2017. The man, Wang Linkai, had been recruited through a program that brought university graduates to work in the southern Xinjiang city of Hotan.

They will let ethnic unity forever bloom in their hearts, the party committees post said. Let ethnic unity become ones own flesh and blood.

Not all Become Family pairings involve Han Chinese visitors. A Uyghur cadre named Gu Li said she regularly pays visits to a Uyghur household, staying three to five days at a time.

Weve already started calling each other family, she said in a telephone interview from Xinjiang. Chinas 56 ethnic groups are all one family.

Gu said civil servants of many ethnicities  Uyghur, Han and Kazakh  participate in the program.

All government employees in the region are required to conduct such visits in order to better understand villagers needs, according to Gu: Because were always sitting in our offices, we dont know what they really need. Only through penetrating the masses can we truly serve them.

As with many of the governments other initiatives in Xinjiang, the Pair Up and Become Family program is presented as a way to rescue Muslim minorities from poverty. Public servants show up at homes bearing bags of rice and gallons of cooking oil, and their duties include helping with chores and farm work.

Xu Jing, an employee at Turpan citys environmental bureau, recounted her shock after entering her assigned relatives home. Xu said the only light in the residence came from a small window, and she realized that Xasiyet Hoshur wasnt lying when she said she lived on 3,000 yuan ($433) a year.

But its OK, everything is getting better, Xu wrote in her reflection, published on Turpans government site. Hoshurs daughter was attending university on a 5,000 yuan ($722) national scholarship.

On the one hand, China maintains that employment and living standards are key to warding off the temptations of religious extremism. On the other hand, official descriptions of the visitation and homestay program are laden with suggestions that the ethnic minority families are uncivilized and that their way of life needs to be corrected.

One notice, first highlighted by University of Washington ethnographer Darren Byler, focused on a Uyghur familys use of a raised, cloth-covered platform for eating and working. In traditional Uyghur culture, this setup is preferable to a table, but the testimonial published by the Xinjiang Communist Youth League said frequent use of the platform was inconvenient and unhealthy.

The post quoted a cadre saying: Even though we already purchased a TV and rice oil for our relatives, after living with our relatives for a few days, we still insisted on using our own money to buy our relatives a table and lamp.

In the Peoples Daily, a Uyghur baker in Kashgar named Ablimit Ablipiz was quoted praising the party for improving his habits. Ever since these cadres started living in my home, weve picked up a lot of know-how about food safety and hygiene, Ablipiz said.

Uyghurs must also conform culturally. Over the Lunar New Year, an important Chinese holiday not traditionally celebrated by Uyghurs, cadres encouraged households to hang lanterns and sing red songs, ballads honouring the partys revolutionary history. Byler said families could not ask whether the meat was halal and acceptable to Muslims when they had to make or eat dumplings for the festival.

Thousands of miles away, in Turkey, Uyghur relatives in exile watch what is happening with dread.

Earlier this year, Ablikim Abliz studied a photo of his uncles family gathered around a table. Clad in thick winter jackets, his uncle and the smiling Han Chinese man beside him both held chubby-faced children in their laps.

His uncle had posted the photo to his WeChat page along with the caption Han Chinese brother.

The 58-year-old Abliz said his entire extended family in China has been sent to internment camps. When he saw his uncles photo, his first reaction was relief. If his uncle had been assigned a Han family member, Abliz thought, that meant he was safe.

But the consolation was short-lived. A friend who tried to visit his uncle in Turpan this summer told Abliz that his uncles front door was boarded up and sealed with police tape. Abliz has not been able to reach any of his family members since.

As for Idris, he fears that his sister is living under immense pressure with her Han Chinese mother. Shortly after her sisters first post about her new relatives, a friend responded on WeChat: I also have one! You guys better be careful!

The same friend later posted photos of herself and a Han Chinese woman doing a Chinese fan dance, playing the drums and wearing traditional Han clothing.

His sister would never have volunteered for such a program, Idris said. She and his younger sister had been trying to get passports to bring their children to Turkey and reunite with Idris, but their applications were not accepted.

Last summer, both of his sisters deleted him on WeChat. A few months later, his aunt deleted him, too. For more than a year, Idris has not been able to communicate with his relatives. He wonders, with growing unease, how theyre getting along with their new family.

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DALLASA white former Dallas police officer was indicted on a murder charge Friday, nearly three months after she fatally shot an unarmed Black neighbour whose apartment she said she entered by mistake, believing it to be her own.

Amber Guyger told fellow officers that she opened fire when Botham Jean appeared in the darkness.

Jeans relatives joined the district attorney for the announcement of the charge. Jean, a 26-year-old native of the Caribbean island nation of St. Lucia, attended college in Arkansas and had been working in Dallas for accounting and consulting firm PwC.

I truly believe that she inflicted tremendous evil on my son, Jeans mother, Allison said after the announcement. He didnt deserve it. He was seated in his own apartment.

Guyger was arrested on a manslaughter charge three days after the Sept. 6 shooting, prompting criticism that the original charge was too lenient. But Johnson said at the time that the grand jury could upgrade the charge, which it did Friday.

When you look at the facts of this case, we thought that it was murder all along, Dallas County District Attorney Faith Johnson said.

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After finishing her shift, Guyger told investigators , she returned home in uniform and parked on the fourth floor of her apartment complexs garage, rather than the third floor, where her unit was located, according to an affidavit prepared by the Texas Rangers.

She said she got to what she thought was her apartment  Jeans was directly above hers  and found the door ajar. She opened it to find a figure standing in the darkness. She said she pulled her gun and fired twice after the person ignored her commands.

Guyger, 30, has since been fired from the department, and Jeans family has filed a lawsuit against Guyger and the city of Dallas. The federal suit argues that Guyger used excessive force in the shooting and contends the department did not give her adequate training.

The circumstances of the shooting sparked outrage and led many to question Guygers account. Critics, including Jeans family, also wondered why it took three days for Guyger to be charged, why she was not taken into custody immediately after the shooting and whether race played a factor in her decision to use deadly force.

After the indictment was issued, Guyger turned herself in and posted bond a second time. She had been free on bond since her arrest.

With the murder charge, she faces up to life in prison if convicted. A manslaughter charge would have brought a sentence of up to 20 years.

Her attorney, Robert Rogers, said he was not surprised by the indictment, citing the political pressure surrounding the case and a wave of vindictive emotion targeting his client. He said Jeans mother testified before the grand jury, which he described as highly unusual.

During a news conference Friday, Jean family attorney Lee Merritt thanked the grand jury and said murder was the appropriate charge.

This is groundbreaking, but it is also just a start, Merritt said. We are focused on seeing this case through (to) a proper conviction and through an appropriate sentencing.

Dallas Police Chief Renee Hall said her department continues to feel anguish over the shooting. She described it as a tragic event and asked people to pray for Jeans family.

Jeans killing thrust Dallas into the national conversation about the intersection of race and law enforcement, a dialogue revived by the high-profile trials of officers charged with murder in police shootings.

In October, white Chicago officer Jason Van Dyke was found guilty of second-degree murder in the 2014 on-duty shooting of Black teenager Laquan McDonald. Van Dyke shot McDonald 16 times.

And in August, white former Dallas-area officer Roy Oliver was convicted of murder for firing into a car filled with Black teenagers leaving a house party in 2017. Fifteen-year-old Jordan Edwards was fatally shot.
LONDONA Japan Airlines copilot was sentenced to 10 months in prison at a London court on Thursday for exceeding Britains legal alcohol limit as he was preparing to take off from the citys Heathrow Airport.

The judge at the Isleworth Crown Court said that the defendant endangered the lives of all the passengers and crew on board when he got drunk.

A bus driver ferrying Katsutoshi Jitsukawa, the 42-year-old copilot, and other crew members to JAL Flight 44 flying from London to Tokyos Haneda Airport on Oct. 28 noticed the smell of alcohol on the copilot and notified airport officials.

Police arrived at the scene and conducted a breath test. Authorities detained the copilot and the plane left London about an hour later than its scheduled departure.

Jitsukawas blood was found to have levels of alcohol nine times over the legal limit for pilots. According to JAL, the defendant drank about two bottles of wine and more than 1.8 liters of beer the night before the scheduled departure.

The copilot pleaded guilty in related proceedings at another court on Nov. 1.

Japan Airlines commented on the sentence on Friday, saying: We have recognized once again the gravity of the situation and will take all the necessary measures to prevent it from happening again.

In response to a series of alcohol-related problems at Japanese carriers, the Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism Ministry on Thursday told 25 domestic airlines to implement necessary measures to prevent similar recurrences, such as through stricter management and pilot training.

Transport minister Keiichi Ishii said at a press conference after a Cabinet meeting on Friday, Based on the sentence and other facts, the ministry will examine necessary measures, including administrative punishment against those concerned in the case.
AMMAN, JORDANHundreds of protesters have called on the Jordanian prime minister to resign over his tax policies and perceived failure to improve the countrys economy.

Fridays protests in Jordans capital of Amman came several months after Omar Razzaz predecessor was toppled in large-scale protests against a tax reform plan. Critics at the time said the reforms disproportionately hit the poor and middle class.

Razzaz promised to be more inclusive in coming up with reforms, but is also under pressure from international lenders to cut the governments large deficit.

On Friday, protesters chanted, Leave, leave Razzaz and called for the latest version of the tax bill to be annulled. Police kept them from the prime ministers office.

Protests over the summer had been larger, mainly because of organized union backing.
WASHINGTONLawyers for former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort are set to return to federal court Friday morning for the first time since special counsel prosecutors accused him Monday of repeatedly lying to investigators and breaking his plea agreement.

Manafort, 69, denied being intentionally untruthful, but his defence attorneys and prosecutors with special counsel Robert Mueller both asked U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson to immediately set a sentencing date in a blockbuster joint filing late Monday.

Manafort, who is jailed in Alexandria, waived his right to appear in court in Washington and is not expected to be there.

Under a plea agreement in September, Manafort pledged to tell the government about his participation in and knowledge of all criminal activities, in exchange for prosecutors recommendation of leniency after he admitted cheating the Internal Revenue Service, violating foreign-lobbying laws and attempting to obstruct justice.

The plea deal on the eve of his federal trial in Washington called for Manafort to face a maximum of 10 years  or less if prosecutors asked and a judge agreed to lower it in return for his co-operation in the case  and does not count a sentence for his August conviction in Virginia on charges of bank and tax fraud.

In the joint filing this week, prosecutors alleged Manafort breached his agreement, committing federal crimes by lying to the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Special Counsels Office on a variety of subject matters in their investigation of Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. election. They did not elaborate, but said they would detail the nature of the defendants crimes and lies in a future sentencing document. They added that Manaforts actions relieved the government of any obligation to seek less prison time.

Manafort denied lying or violating the deal.

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Given their deadlock, the two sides jointly asked Jackson to set a sentencing date and schedule any other motions, which led to Fridays hearing.

The plea agreement states that if prosecutors show in good faith that Manafort breached its terms, he may not seek to withdraw his guilty plea.

The agreement in the case in Washington also states that if Manafort violated the deal, he could face prosecution for crimes to which he did not plead guilty, and that all his statements could be used against him by other parties, including state prosecutors, in criminal or civil proceedings.

If Manafort is found to have broken the deal, he would lose any sentencing credits for acceptance of responsibility, prosecutors said.

Evidence of other crimes could also subject Manafort to an increase in his sentence for convictions in Virginia for tax and bank fraud. His sentencing in that case is set for Feb. 8 before U.S. District Judge T.S. Ellis III.

In Mondays filing, Manaforts attorneys wrote that he believed he had been truthful and has provided information to the government in an effort to live up to his co-operation obligations.

Manafort joined Trumps campaign in March 2016 and served as its chairman into August, making him a top campaign official present during discussions of events at the heart of Muellers inquiry to determine if any Americans conspired with Russias efforts to influence the election.

The terms of Manaforts co-operation were laid out in a 17-page agreement entered Sept. 14 in Washington when he pleaded guilty to conspiring to defraud the United States by hiding years of income and undisclosed lobbying work for a pro-Russian political party and politician in Ukraine. He also pleaded guilty to conspiring to obstruct justice by attempting to tamper with witnesses in the case.

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LONDONHe could have misspelled his address, or entered an incorrect age  something fairly harmless  but no, the error John Stevenson made in an online form for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security was clicking on the wrong answer to a question. The question that asked whether he was a terrorist.

Stevenson, a Scottish grandfather, said he made an honest mistake, but it might ruin his plans to fly with his wife to New York City on Monday.

He ran into trouble filling out the automated online form on the Electronic System for Travel Authorization, known as ESTA, that allows people from selected countries to apply for travel to the United States without a visa.

One of the questions ask if you are a terrorist and it must have jumped from no to yes without me knowing, Stevenson was quoted as saying on the news site The Independent.

When he noticed the error, he said, he called U.S. Customs and Border Protection. They looked up my ESTA number and said, Youre a terrorist. I told them that I was 70 years old and I dont even recognize what that means, he said.

He was not the first to have trouble with ESTA, but the system seems blind to mitigating circumstances. Last year, a baby whose grandfather made a similar mistake as Stevenson was told to apply for a visa. This summer, Javier Solana, a former secretary-general of NATO, had his application refused because he had travelled to Iran in 2013.

Some version of the phrase Do you seek to engage in or have you ever engaged in terrorist activities, espionage, sabotage, or genocide? is among the eligibility questions on the form, though it is not clear why any terrorist, spy, saboteur or mass murderer would answer yes. Doing so, whether or not by mistake, does not mean that the person will be banned from the United States, but it doesnt help.

It usually means having to go through the lengthier and more expensive process of applying for a visa. For the family of the baby, whose grandfather, Paul Kenyon, made the mistake, the trip cost an extra 3,000 pounds (about $5,000), including new flights, The Guardian reported.

An unsuccessful ESTA application may mean people can no longer apply for a visa waiver. But they can still apply for a visa.

Its terrible, its shocking and so stupid. I dont know why that question is on the form in the first place, Stevenson said.

The Department of Homeland Security did not respond Friday to questions about the form.

Uncomfortable questions asked of travellers at the U.S. border are at least as old as Ellis Island, the former gateway for millions arriving in New York Harbor by sea. In the hall of the inspection centre, opened in 1892, officials asked new arrivals about disabilities, infectious diseases and whether they had been in a prison, almshouse or institution for care of the insane.

The questions asked by ESTA and other immigration procedures have evolved alongside security concerns in the United States. The Immigration and Nationality Act, which sets out the eligibility of people to enter the country, was amended after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks to expand the grounds for denying entry to people who the government said had ties to terrorist activities or groups  and, in some cases, for denying entry to their families.

In 2016, the Obama administration tightened the rules to prevent citizens of 38 countries who had travelled to Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria or Yemen after March 1, 2011, from entering the United States under ESTA. It also required visa applications of people from the 38 countries who were also citizens of Iran, Iraq, Sudan or Syria. Other requirements have been relaxed, such as the 22-year ban on HIV-positive foreigners entering the United States, which was scrapped in 2010.

These rules were less restrictive than President Donald Trumps executive order sharply limiting entry from seven countries, which prevents some people from applying for visas and requires others to obtain waivers before applying for them.

Stevenson might still have time to rectify the error at the U.S. Embassy before his flight, but if not, airlines do not generally refund tickets for missing travel documents.
WASHINGTONAt workplaces across the United States, it is routine for Americans conversations to turn to U.S. President Donald Trump  whether his policies are good, whether he should be impeached, what to think about the resistance. Some drink from MAGA mugs; others tape cartoons to their cubicle walls portraying Trump as a Russian quisling.

But roughly 2 million people who work for the federal government have now been told that it may be illegal for them to participate in such discussions at work  a pronouncement that legal specialists say breaks new ground, and that some criticized as going too far.

Generally, federal employees have been free to express opinions about policies and legislative activity at work as long as they do not advocate voting for or against particular candidates in partisan elections. But in a guidance document distributed Wednesday, the independent agency that enforces the Hatch Act, a law that bars federal employees from taking part in partisan political campaigns at work or in an official capacity, warned that making or displaying statements at work about impeaching or resisting Trump is likely to amount to illegal political activity.

The guidance was issued by the Office of Special Counsel, an independent agency that enforces the Hatch Act, including by investigating complaints of improper political activity and recommending discipline  like a reprimand or firing  for violators. The agency also enforces the Hatch Act against state and local government officials whose salaries come from federal grants.

(The agency, led by Henry Kerner, is not related to Robert Mueller, the special counsel appointed by the Justice Department to investigate whether the Trump campaign conspired with Russia during its interference in the 2016 election.)

The reasoning behind the guidance centres on the fact that Trump is already running for re-election in 2020. It contends that arguments about his policies or impeachment prospects are effectively statements in support or opposition to his campaign.

Read more: I am part of the resistance inside Donald Trumps administration

We understand that the resistance and #resist originally gained prominence shortly after President Trumps election in 2016 and generally related to efforts to oppose administration policies, the guidance said. However, resistance, #resist and similar terms have become inextricably linked with the electoral success (or failure) of the president.

And while impeachment is primarily about removing a president from office, the agency said that because a removed president would also apparently become disqualified from holding federal office in the future, supporting or opposing Trumps impeachment amounts to taking a stand on his potential re-election.

Advocating for a candidate to be impeached, and thus potentially disqualified from holding federal office, is clearly directed at the failure of that candidates campaign for federal office, the guidance said. Similarly, advocating against a candidates impeachment is activity directed at maintaining that candidates eligibility for federal office and therefore also considered political activity.

Several legal specialists raised concerns about the new guidance, warning it would intimidate people into avoiding even casual discussions with colleagues that should not be deemed banned by the statute.

A large number of federal employees voted for Trump, but even they may disagree with him on specific policies and want to express that, said J. Ward Morrow, assistant general counsel for the American Federation of Government Employees, a union that represents about 700,000 such workers. He added, If they are going to go after anyone who mentions the word impeachment in emails to co-workers, that will be overreach.

Daniel Jacobson, who fielded Hatch Act questions as a White House lawyer in the Obama administration, called the new interpretation overly broad, collapsing expressions of opposition or support for Trumps actions into campaign activity, even when the speaker is not thinking about the 2020 campaign.

People who use the term resist could be expressing views about any number of matters, and the presumption that they are specifically advocating for the defeat of a candidate in 2020 strikes me as crazy and raises significant First Amendment concerns, he said.

Still, Jeff Ruch, executive director of Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, which works to protect environmental officials amid shifting political winds, noted that the Supreme Court has limited the First Amendment protections for speech by government workers while they are on duty. And he said he thought the warning was a fair interpretation of what the law means, although he said he was not happy about the state of the law.

Ana Galindo-Marrone, chief of the Office of Special Counsels Hatch Act unit since 2000, said she and her deputy came up with the interpretation after receiving numerous questions about the rules. She argued that the guidance fit within the offices past interpretations, while noting that Trumps presidency has raised new wrinkles: The two presidents subjected to impeachment proceedings since the Hatch Act became law, Richard M. Nixon and Bill Clinton, were in their second terms and so ineligible to run for president again anyway.

Galindo-Marrone also said the Hatch Act often raises grey area situations, in which investigators have to carefully consider all the facts and circumstances before deciding whether a line has been crossed. She contrasted what she deemed the clear case of someone who displays a sign or button that says Impeach Trump at work with the murkier case of someone who says that while discussing the news with a colleague over lunch in a federal building.

Still, Kathleen Clark, a law professor at Washington University in St. Louis who specializes in government ethics issues, criticized the idea of bootstrapping the notion of impeachment to the 2020 election at all.

This goes beyond past guidance about what partisan political activity is, and is more restrictive of speech of federal employees than past guidance that Ive been able to find, she said, adding: I think their legal analysis is wrong in this attempt to outlaw all discussion of impeachment of Trump in the federal workplace. Maybe that is a good idea, maybe that is a bad idea, but I dont think that is what the Hatch Act requires.

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OTTAWAA week after he announced he would resign for personal and medical reasons, Liberal MP Raj Grewal still hasnt stepped down as the representative for Brampton East.

His continued membership in the House of Commons in the wake of revelations about his gambling problems, personal debts and police investigations has opposition parties demanding an explanation from the Liberal government.

Mark Holland, the Liberal MP for Ajax who is the chief government whip in the House, said he has not spoken with Grewal since last week, but that he understood the MPs resignation was going to be imminent after he posted his intention to resign on Facebook Nov. 22. The Prime Ministers Office (PMO) announced the next day that Grewal informed them he has a gambling problem that drove him into significant debt.

An official from the PMO who spoke to the Star on background Thursday said that, like Holland, the office has not been in touch with Grewal since last week, and that ultimately it is up to the Brampton MP to decide when to leave his seat.

In order to officially resign, Grewal needs to submit resignation paperwork to the Speaker of the House of Commons. Once that happens, the speaker forwards a warrant to Elections Canada, which can then declare the seat vacant. Elections Canada spokesperson Natasha Gauthier said the agency had not received that warrant as of Thursday evening.

Were going to let him follow through on what he said he was going to do, and thats our expectation, Holland said.

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I expect thats something he will be doing in the very short term.

Grewal has not responded to interview requests from the Star over the past week, including two Thursday asking why he has not resigned. Since announcing his intention to step down, media reports from the Globe and Mail quoted unnamed sources who said that Grewal spent millions of dollars gambling including at the casino across the Ottawa River from Parliament  and that the MPs activity prompted Fintrac, the federal agency responsible for tracking potential money laundering, to pass information to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.

The Canadian Press, citing an unnamed source, reported this week that Ontario Provincial Police learned of Grewals debts during a broader investigation into money laundering and possible financing of an extremist group in the Middle East. The report said police overheard talk of the MPs gambling debt on a wiretap.

While the RCMP would not confirm whether it is investigating Grewal, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Wednesday that the police force is trying to gain answers to a lot of questions that continue to surround Grewal.

OPP Staff Sgt. Carolle Dionne said the police force would neither confirm, nor deny, The Canadian Press report.

NDP MP Nathan Cullen called Grewals continued membership in the House particularly worrisome. He said MPs may want to hold their own investigation into Grewals conduct, particularly after he questioned officials about how law enforcement track and investigate money laundering when he was on the House of Commons finance committee. In mid-September, Grewal was shuffled off that committee, though Holland has said the move was not made out of concern over Grewals questions about money laundering.

Cullen said the situation brings up many questions, but that Grewals status as an MP means it would be nearly impossible to force him to testify before a political committee because of parliamentary privilege, a collection of rights and immunities afforded to elected members under Canadas parliamentary system.

He used that privilege, actually, to gain access to senior law enforcement officials, to ask those questions that he asked, which are now seeming to be condemning, he said. He needs to resign.

During question period, Conservative MP Mark Strahl demanded to know when the government first learned of reported police investigations into Grewals conduct. The Conservatives have already called for Grewal to immediately resign his seat.

With an investigation touching on drugs, money laundering and international terrorism, it is simply not believable that no one in the government was made aware of this serious investigation, Strahl said. When did the prime minister or his office first learn about this serious crimes investigation involving a Liberal MP?

Government House Leader Bardish Chagger repeated that the Liberals only found out about Grewals situation last week.
With a provincial election to be held on or before May 31 of next year and her provinces energy industry in crisis, Alberta premier Rachel Notley is essentially on her own.

The fact of her political isolation was made clear when she travelled to the federal capital this week to personally sound the alarm about the crippling toll an oil glut it taking on her province and on Canadas economy.

The situation has become so dire, she argued, that it justifies the buying, by governments, of 7,000 extra rail cars to make up for a dearth of pipeline capacity to get the oil to markets. She wants Justin Trudeaus government to pitch in.

But if Notley hoped that delivering her message within shouting distance of Parliament Hill would make a significant difference, she was wrong.

In the House of Commons, her oil-by-rail solution found no champion on the opposition benches.

In a boilerplate statement the Liberals responded that a committee was considering all options. No meeting was scheduled between Notley and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

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The lack of resonance of Notleys message on Parliament Hill was made even more striking by the fact that MPs did spend a lot of time this week debating the crisis that has caused Alberta oil prices to go into free fall.

At the initiative of the Conservative official opposition the House sat until midnight to debate the issue on Wednesday. The exchanges featured a lot of the usual reciprocal finger pointing about the stalled pipeline agenda but elicited little support for Notleys latest pitch.

On the contrary, Edmonton-Strathcona MP Linda Duncan, the NDPs sole Alberta member, encouraged the Liberals to decline the premiers request. She called the notion of shipping more oil by train an absolutely reprehensible proposition. She also said she understood that Notley was desperate.

Those comments speak volume about how estranged the premier is from her own political family. These days no provincial relationship is more strained than that of the NDP premiers of Alberta and British Columbia. As he plans for next weeks first ministers meeting, Trudeau needs not worry about John Horgan and Notley ganging up on him.

As for Notleys pro-pipeline Conservative counterparts in Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario and New Brunswick, they, like Andrew Scheers CPC, are content to wait her out in the expectation that they will be dealing with a fellow Conservative Alberta premier before July 1.

On the day Notley travelled to Ottawa to pitch her oil-by-train proposal, Alberta opposition leader Jason Kenney was stealing a page from the NDP playbook and arguing for a government-imposed cut to the provinces oil production. He believes the premiers proposal fails to meet the need for immediate relief on the glut front.

There was a time when Notley could make up for the lack of solidarity of her fellow New-Democrats and dispense with more like-minded provincial allies because she had the ear of the prime minister.

But in the wake of the Trans Mountain travails her association with Trudeau has become a political liability. Many of the Alberta voters who want to vote the NDP out next spring are often as keen to send the prime minister a message by doing so as they are to secure a change in provincial government.

The days when Notley and Trudeau could hope to score points by showcasing their alliance are well behind them and even if he is still willing to meet the premier part of the way on some of her demands, few believe it will make a real difference to her standing in Alberta.

On Parliament Hill, more than a few Liberals feel they have already expended too much political capital on the pipeline issue for their own electoral good.

They believe Trudeau has already gone more than the extra mile by nationalizing the Trans Mountain pipeline.

From a strictly partisan perspective, the path of least resistance for the ruling Liberals would have been to take a pass at keeping the pipeline expansion project on life support on the public dime.

That move stands to make Trudeaus left flank more vulnerable in next years federal election. The Liberals can probably thank the NDPs uncertain performance under Jagmeet Singh for the limited damage to their brand of the Trans Mountain acquisition.

At the same the prime ministers pipeline play has clearly failed to earn him any credit in Alberta.

An impressive politician in her own right, Notley will not be giving up the premiers office without a fight between now and next spring. On that score, her visit to Ottawa probably made for good domestic politics. But it also highlighted the fact that in the possibly jaded eyes of former friends and foes alike on Parliament Hill her government is living on little more than borrowed time.

Chantal Hebert is a columnist based in Ottawa covering politics. Follow her on Twitter: @ChantalHbert

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VANCOUVERTenant advocates are urging renters in Metro Vancouver to think twice before accepting a buyout offer from a landlord who is trying to renovict tenants.

The tactic has become increasingly popular in the regions extremely tight rental market, where rents have risen by 13 per cent since 2016 and landlords can charge hundreds more when tenants move out.

Building owners who plan to demolish or renovate buildings typically offer tenants between $2,000 to $5,000 to leave voluntarily  and before getting an eviction notice. Landlords who use buyouts say the offers are voluntary and give tenants extra time to search for a new place.

But while eviction notices are stressful and scary for tenants, David Hendry, an organizer with the Vancouver Tenants Union, said buyout offers are almost more difficult because its a lot of pressure put on (tenants). Jean Swanson, a Vancouver city councillor, has also drawn attention to the buyout issue with a motion that drew dozens of speakers to council this week, and will be debated on Dec. 4.

Some landlords who present buyout offers portray the offer as an alternative to an inevitable eviction. But advocates say tenants who refuse the offer and fight an eviction notice actually have a decent chance of winning the right to stay in their home. A recent Supreme Court judgment has affirmed that landlords cannot end tenancies to renovate if tenants are willing to accommodate the work.

For the tenants in six apartment buildings in New Westminster and Vancouver, it started with hearing their building had been sold to a new owner, and a new management company called VS Rentals would be taking over.

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Then came the buyout offers: a one-time payout of $2,500, plus $500 moving expenses if they left immediately. If the tenants didnt take the buyout offer, an eviction notice was the next step, because the new owner planned to renovate all the apartments. The tenants were offered the right to return after renovations were complete  but at nearly double the rent.

The stress sent 74-year-old Ida Bartha to the hospital with an attack of vertigo, while Ruth Thompson, also 74, described through tears how I hardly sleep anymore since the rumours about renoviction and the pressure to move out started a few months ago.

Robert Webster, 68, currently pays $950 a month and has a fixed income of $2,500 a month. The new owners of his building have told him that if he ends his current tenancy, he could move back when the building is renovated and pay $1,700 a month  representing 68 per cent of his income. The cheapest apartment he was able to find listed for rent in New Westminster was $1,400.

Meanwhile, Thompson makes just $1,600 a month, not enough to cover the new rent amount.

Can they just throw me out? I dont want to be evicted. Im scared, confessed Thompson, adding she doesnt have a clear idea of what her landlord is allowed to do.

The New Westminster rental buildings Bartha, Webster and Thompson live in are part of a large-scale eviction attempt the Vancouver Tenants Union has been helping tenants to fight. All the buildings are managed by VS Rentals, which corporate records show shares a business address with a property developer called Coltric Properties. Through a holding company, Coltric owns both the buildings Webster, Bartha and Thompson live in, according to land title and corporate records.

Reached by telephone at VS Rentals business address, an employee confirmed the company had received StarMetros detailed list of questions, but declined to comment for this story.

The company has since told Postmedia it will change its business practices and allow tenants to stay while the building is being renovated, or move back in. But tenants StarMetro spoke to said they had not heard from the company about that, and new buyout offers had been put through their doors earlier in the week. Reached by telephone on Thursday, the company would not confirm the information published by Postmedia.

VTU organizers and tenants rallied outside of VS Rentals offices on Nov. 9; around the same time, the company removed its website from the internet. A list of buildings collected from that website by the VTU before it disappeared includes six in Vancouver, eight in New Westminster and one in Coquitlam.

The plight of vulnerable renters like Thompson, Bartha and Webster in Metro Vancouvers tight rental market has spurred a provincial government review, while several municipal governments are also looking to step up protections for renters.

Meanwhile, a recent Supreme Court ruling found that a landlord should not necessarily have to end a tenancy in order to renovate when the tenant is willing to accommodate the renovation. That decision, which is now under appeal, resulted in a provincial government guidance in May to the Residential Tenancy Branch. Since May, RTB arbitrators have frequently cited the guidance in decisions that have denied landlords attempts to end tenancies in order to renovate.

Lorna Allen and Sarah Mayer are two of just three tenants who remain in their West End building on Burnaby St. After refusing a $2,000 buyout from VS Rentals, Allen and Mayer got an eviction notice, which they disputed at the Residential Tenancy Branch. The arbitrator ruled in their favour, and cited the Supreme Court guidance, saying that the landlord has failed to provide sufficient evidence that the (renovation) work, although extensive, cannot be achieved through proper planning and scheduling.

Allen and Mayers elation was short-lived, however, because they have now received a second eviction notice from VS Rentals.

The mayors of New Westminster and Vancouver say they are both planning to step up efforts to help support tenants. Jonathan Cote, Mayor of New Westminster, said city staff try to reach out to tenants when they hear a building has changed hands to let tenants know what their rights are. Cote said his council will be doing more work on tenant protection in the coming months.

While Vancouvers previous city council had already approved hiring a social planner position to assist renters, Mayor Kennedy Stewart would like to explore whether the city could also hire a legal expert.

Ive seen folks, theyre given documents to sign that actually extinguishes their rights, but its not explained to them in that way  and thats really the problem, Stewart said.

Kevin Love, the lawyer who argued the Supreme Court case, said the ruling was a reminder to landlords: The criteria in the act have been there for a long time, and this is not the first case that has said when ending the tenancy isnt necessary, you shouldnt end the tenancy.

Its also a reminder to tenants, Love added: They do have rights and they dont have to give up.

LandlordBC is hoping the Supreme Court ruling will be reversed; the industry group said many apartment buildings in B.C. are aging and need extensive renovations.

LandlordBC is of the view that tenants shouldnt be able to make offers (to accommodate renovations) after being served a notice, David Hutniak, CEO of LandlordBC, wrote in an email, because just as a tenant who is served with an eviction for nonpayment of rent cannot offer to pay rent at the dispute resolution hearing, similarly, tenants shouldnt be able to offer to vacate.

Thompson is hopeful that with the help of the Vancouver Tenants Union, she and her neighbours will be able to stay. But shes still terrified of losing her home, and as Allen and Mayers experience shows, tenants who fight renoviction attempts may still have a long fight ahead of them.

I hope I dont get stuck at the end and have them say, You have to get out, Thompson said.

Where do I go from there?

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VANCOUVERIt takes about eight years to raise an orangutan to adulthood  one of the longest parenting requirements in the animal kingdom  but primatologist and Vancouver resident Jacqueline Sunderland-Groves has accepted the challenge.

She helped run a jungle school for orphaned orangutans in Indonesia, one of the only places in the world where critically endangered orangutans still live in the wild.

There, the Borneo Orangutan Survival Foundation teaches hundreds of baby orangutans how to survive in the jungle. The infants start with baby school, which is like a preschool where babysitters encourage youngsters to play in the trees and take naps.

Orangutans share 97 per cent of the same DNA as humans.

We have a real moral and ethical responsibility to make sure they survive as such incredible beings, said Sunderland-Groves, a researcher at the University of British Columbias forestry department and its Wildlife Co-existence Lab.

They share a lot of the same feelings as we do. They share love, they experience fear, they have long-term care, long-term memories, and they are incredible problem solvers.

Sunderland-Groves is hosting a talk on her experience at the Beaty Biodiversity Museum on Sunday.

When the youngsters turn three, they go to forest school. There are three grades in total, and the orangutans learn from human teachers how to make tree nests, avoid predators and forage for food. The teachers lead by example, building nests on the ground and using plastic snakes to teach the impressionable orangutans to avoid real snakes in the wild.

As the young orangutans grow up, their individual personalities become evident, said Sunderland-Groves, who worked at the jungle school for almost a decade.

Some of them are happy-go-lucky individuals; other ones can be quite grumpy. Theyre all so different.

By the time the orangutans graduate from forest school, they are seven to eight years old and too rambunctious to keep at the rehab centre.

We would just have chaos on our hands if we had 500 teenagers running around, said Sunderland-Groves.

Thats when its time to move them to the last leg of their rehab journey: a pre-release island. The island acts as a final practice run for the orangutans prior to their actual release into the wild.

The Borneo Orangutan Survival Foundation has successfully released 378 orangutans into three protected areas since it started its re-wilding program in 2012.

Those three protected areas do not have an existing wild population because the human-raised orangutans would not stand a chance against their cousins raised in the wilderness, said Sunderland-Groves.

Those wild cousins are constantly threatened by human activity.

Hunters sometimes kill orangutans for food  people traditionally eat orangutan meat in Borneo and Sumatra  and farmers burn swaths of jungle in order to cultivate palm oil. Those farmers then kill hungry orangutans who wander onto agricultural land to look for food.

The pattern of habitat degradation resulting in human-wildlife conflict happens all around the world, including British Columbia, said Sunderland-Groves. Worsening forest fires and ongoing resource extraction like mining and forestry destroy the habitats of cougars, caribou, bears and others.

Both countries (Indonesia and Canada) are struggling to deal with economic needs and balancing development with their whole human population, poverty and wildlife issues, said Sunderland-Groves.

The Borneo Orangutan Survival Foundation currently has 550 orangutans at its rehab centre, and many were orphaned when humans killed their mothers, said Sunderland-Groves.

There are a little over 100,000 orangutans left in the world, according to the World Wildlife Fund, but their low birth rate  one baby every one to six years  means they are extremely vulnerable to these threats, said Sunderland-Groves.

Conservationists hope the newly released human-raised orangutans will eventually raise their own young  young who are raised in the wild.

Theres a glimmer of hope out there, said Sunderland-Groves. It can be done.

The Orangutan Jungle School is the subject of a 10-part docuseries airing on Love Nature starting Dec. 2.

Correction  Nov. 30, 2018: This article was edited from a previous version that incorrectly stated Jacqueline Sunderland-Groves helped create a jungle school for orphaned orangutans in Indonesia. In fact, Sunderland-Groves did not create the jungle school but helped run it.

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VANCOUVERAfter seven months in a Malaysian airport, Hassan Al Kontars first few days living in Whistler, B.C., have been spent in a dreamlike state.

He arrived at the Vancouver airport with only thin clothes and a pair of slippers. Al Kontar was immediately welcomed by his sponsor and the rest of the community with open arms.

Im here now and Im safe. I have to keep reminding myself, he said in an interview from his new Whistler home. Theres a moment where you realize real life is more beautiful than a dream.

Al Kontar left his home country of Syria in 2012 for work in the United Arab Emirates. He then refused to return home to face required military service in the brutal, ongoing war in the country. After unsuccessful attempts at gaining visas in other countries, he ended up stuck in the arrivals area of the Kuala Lumpur airport, tweeting about his struggle, before the B.C. Muslim Association (BCMA) and a group of sponsors took action to bring him to Canada.

But after only a few days in his new home, Al Kontar has not stopped thinking about the people he left behind in Syria.

I am a victim myself, but I got lucky and am trying to share the story of others to remind people theres millions of stories that need to be told, he said.

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In the meantime he has been catching up on some much-needed rest in the home of his sponsor, Laurie Cooper.

Cooper only met Al Kontar in person a few days ago, but her concern for refugees was what forged their connection and brought them together.

In 2015, a photo appeared in the news showing the body of a small boy  later identified as Alan Kurdi  that had washed up on the shore of the Mediterranean Sea. As a mother, Cooper couldnt get his story out of her mind.

At the time I was living in Deep Cove and I read that the boys aunt lived just across the water in Coquitlam and that this little boy and his family wanted to come to Canada, she said.

Since that year, she has regularly made trips to Greece to volunteer with refugees waiting in limbo. She has also helped to privately sponsor several others to come to Canada with the help of funding from the BCMA and private donors.

Shawkat Hasan, vice-president of social services at the BCMA, said the growing numbers of refugees has resulted in their office being inundated with requests for sponsorship.

There is lots of demand  The number of applications we get has been between 15,000 and 20,000 people, he said. I can only sponsor about 20 to 30 people per year.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees reports the highest levels of displacement in history, with roughly 25.4 million refugees fleeing conflict and disasters internationally.

Over the past three years, the BCMA has helped to sponsor approximately 75 refugees. In the first week of December, they expect to receive two more families to add to their growing number.

Due to the large number of requests, Hasan has to choose the ones most in need. Al Kontar, who had been living in an airport for several months, was a clear choice, but there are many others in difficult situations.

We look at humanitarian conditions they are in, he said, adding that the BCMA hopes to sponsor a widow with seven children in the next few months.

Saleem Spindari, who manages refugee and migrant worker programs at MOSAIC in Vancouver, said that refugee applications have been taking longer to process in Canada due to a backlog.

Theres a certain number of applications they can process in one year, and theyve reached that number, so the rest of the applications are delayed for the next year, he said.

But while there is a great number of refugees needing support, Spindari, who was a refugee himself, said he is thankful that Canadas private sponsorship system allows individuals to help support refugees themselves.

Cooper said she hopes Canada will be able to support more refugees in the future, as long as the country is prepared to receive them, because the numbers are growing worldwide. There were 2.9 million more refugees in 2017 than in the previous year.

Its not a question of if we should  because we have to, she said. We should take on the responsibility for those people who are fleeing a terrible situation.

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VANCOUVERGraeme Johnston isnt contesting that BC Ferries workers, who operate routes departing from Prince Rupert, Victoria and many remote places in between, perform an essential service.

As he sees it, its crucial that ferries operate to get British Columbians where they need to go, quickly and safely. But he thinks workers providing ancillary services, food services and premium lounge access should be able to walk off the job if BC Ferries doesnt play fair at negotiating a collective agreement with the union.

Johnston, president of the B.C. Ferry & Marine Workers Union (BCFMWU), was in court this week trying to make that possible.

We want to make sure that your grandma can get to her doctors appointment, Johnston said. But she might not be able to get a burger aboard the ferry.

As it stands, BCFMWU members arent allowed to strike because of a decision made by a labour board arbitrator in 2007 and reasserted by another arbitrator in 2015.

The union was in B.C. Supreme Court this week petitioning to get that decision thrown out.

What we can accomplish (in collective bargaining) changes fundamentally depending on whether or not we have the right to strike, Johnston said. Having that tool in the tool kit, he said, would give the union leverage to demand higher wages to keep pace with the rising costs of housing.

BC Ferries, a corporation at arms length with the provincial government, wrote in a statement to StarMetro that the company does not discus labour issues publicly.

BC Ferries and the BC Ferry & Marine Workers Union are addressing a disagreement regarding an article in the collective agreement that refers to a dispute resolution mechanism that ... has resulted in no service interruptions to our customers for the past 17 years, the statement reads. We respect the legal process and will let it take its course.

Union members right to strike has been a hot issue this week, as postal workers and their allies gear up to fight a federal government decision to legislate them back to work after a month-long rotating strike.

The Canadian Union of Postal Workers, labour leaders across the country and NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh are among the critics calling the Liberals back-to-work legislation unconstitutional.

One law professor at UBC earlier this week said the legislation was like putting the Charter on hold for Christmas because it restricts workers freedom of association and expression, ostensibly in an effort to ease pressure on Canada Post and its customers in time for the holiday season.

Federal Minister of Labour Patty Hajdu and the Liberal government maintain the legislation is lawful because it prescribes a 90-day period of mediation/arbitration, where both parties will be able to choose the arbitrator.

Johnston said the ferry workers see arbitration much the same way the postal workers do: an option that looms over union members who would rather bargain directly with employers.

The counsel for BCFMWU said the B.C. Supreme Court judge would deliver a decision on the petition in the coming months.

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Why Religion?: A Personal Story

By Elaine Pagels

Ecco. 235 pp. $27.99

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A few months ago, I went rafting down the Colorado River in the Grand Canyon. Coursing through the vast buttes and peaks of orange and gold, black and red, I was intrigued to learn that the canyon's oldest rock layers are named after Hindu deities. Vishnu schist, Brahma schist and Rama schist - some 2 billion years old - form the base of the canyon, as if the mile-high walls that lay bare the Earth's geologic history are held up by the gods themselves.

These Hindu names can be traced to geologist Clarence Dutton, who, in documenting the physical features of the Grand Canyon in the late 1800s, concluded that "the most sublime of all earthly spectacles" demanded an appropriately majestic nomenclature, one that denotes the holy Himalayas and the East.

Of course, the Grand Canyon has been sacred to Native Americans for thousands of years, a land imbued with spirituality long before Dutton's naming. But I was struck by this explicit convergence of geology and religion. It suggests a recognition that no matter how much we codify this place, no matter how far our scientific understanding progresses, it will always hold a kind of underlying mystery, an ineffability that is truer than certainty.

The mystery undergirding lived reality - why we die, why we suffer, why we love - is at the heart of acclaimed historian Elaine Pagels' new book, "Why Religion?: A Personal Story." Pagels is a professor at Princeton; winner of the Rockefeller, Guggenheim and MacArthur fellowships; and author of several books, including the National Book Award-winning "The Gnostic Gospels," about secret texts that support a multifarious and mystical understanding of Christianity, and "Adam, Eve, and the Serpent," about the creation myth's effect on Western sexual attitudes. In "Why Religion?," an intimate, evocative memoir, Pagels turns her tools of analysis inward. She threads her own story of spiritual discovery, love and staggering loss with the subject of her life's work: how we create religion and how religion, in turn, creates us.

Pagels grew up in mid-20th-century Palo Alto, Calif., a place that "was like living inside a giant marshmallow, the hard edges - race, poverty crime - covered with soft, sugary pillows." At 15, she stumbles upon the famous evangelical preacher Billy Graham, whose passionate, politically charged sermons shake her to her core. "After living in a world that felt flat, where emotional intensity was suppressed," she writes, Graham's potent language "opened up worlds of possibility." Thus begins a lifelong fascination with the spiritual dimension of human existence.

"Why Religion?" traces Pagels' journey through graduate school and into the world of academia, where she delves into ancient "heretical" texts that upset Christian orthodoxy and celebrate personal exploration and agency. The sexism she experiences as she succeeds professionally leads her to examine how women in early Christianity pushed back against gender inequality thousands of years ago. Along the way, she marries a charming quantum physicist who was also "hoping to understand something fundamental." Love, work, the big questions of humanity: It all seems so elegantly intertwined.

But then, her life takes a biblical turn. Her son Mark is born with a fatal heart condition, a reality that shatters normalcy with "dark currents of terror." As he grows, Mark seems precociously aware of his fate. He dreams of being left at a cemetery. He tells his mother, "I'll love you all my life, and all my death." A day later, at age 6, he dies. Pagels recounts this period with clarity and slight detachment, moving swiftly over marital strife and her tendencies toward alcoholism and depression. "I can tell only the husk of the story," she admits, comparing it to "being burned alive."

The next year, her husband, an avid hiker, falls to his death from a mountaintop. What follows is bewildering confusion, memory lapses, sleeplessness, friends appearing out of nowhere, hallucinatory encounters with her dead husband and the constant intervening force of reality: At this point she has two small children to raise. Her struggle to climb out of interminable darkness is harrowingly palpable. Eventually, she channels her experience into her work. She probes how grief is often shadowed by guilt and how ancient folk tales have instilled the notion that suffering is a punishment for sin (consider the familiar refrain "What have we done to deserve (BEGIN ITAL)this(END ITAL)?"). Filled with anger and rage at her situation, she examines how Satan was invented as a figure on which to place blame. Religion, she comes to realize, is about engaging the imagination - which, regardless of one's beliefs, is essential for confronting the starkest of realities.

Pagels briefly acknowledges how religion is used to justify violence, noting, for example, how President George W. Bush's intelligence briefings would begin with a quote from the Bible to suggest that God had sanctioned the Iraq War. But that isn't her focus. The title "Why Religion?" may be a misnomer, because the book neither endorses nor indicts spirituality. It's not even about religion as a set of beliefs or traditions. Rather, it is about how a spiritual sensibility can create space for vital ambiguity, contemplation and gnosis - knowledge of the heart - particularly in the face of that omnipresent human experience, suffering.

In that way, the book is also about community. Pagels returns repeatedly to the ancient Christian texts that speak of God not as a remote, overarching entity but something deep inside us all. As goes a saying in the Gospel of Thomas: "Within a person of light, there is light. If illuminated, it lights up the whole world; if not, everything is dark." In the bleakest of moments, such words helped Pagels "dispel isolation and turn me from despair, suggesting that every one of us is woven into the mysterious fabric of the universe, and into connection with each other, with all being, and with God." This web was made manifest, too, in the many friends who held her through loss, the people who cared for her children, the colleagues who understood her needs. Pagels' life is lived in communion, and this is what saves her.

Religion as a tool for openness and interconnection: This may sound absurdly naive, given how politicized religion is today, how it seems to be the root of endless bloodshed. But in a sense, Pagels invites a reframing. Perhaps the fundamentals of religion - searching, questioning and reflecting in service of something larger - are precisely what we need now. Because we don't know all the answers. Fixed assumptions, entrenched opinions: These are getting us nowhere in politics, in policy, in social life. Perhaps, as the Gnostic Gospels suggest, the first step is clear-eyed humility. "Recognize what is before your eyes, and the mysteries will be revealed to you."

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Sharma writes about culture and the environment. She is also a radio producer and a senior editor for Guernica, a magazine of global arts and politics.
LOS ANGELES - Wayne Shorter says he doesn't really believe in beginnings or endings, so let's just parachute into 1985, when the garrulous jazz sage felt the need to explain himself to an interviewer who couldn't keep up with his oratorical playtime: "I'm the kind of person who jumps around when he talks because everything is connected."

That ability to connect the most disparate of dots has helped Shorter become one of the finest composers in the history of American jazz - and when he receives the Kennedy Center Honors on Sunday night, he'll be recognized for all of that, and then some. Because when you listen to the sweep of his music - whether he made it with Miles Davis, or in Weather Report, or on his own - you can practically hear Shorter's concept of "everything" growing wide enough to include what lies beyond our perception.

"There are colors we can't see, but they're connected to the ones we can," he says, gesturing toward an open window on a breezy October afternoon in his California living room. "There's a connection between everything."

As a conversationalist, Shorter still likes to jump around, but he's easier to follow than he used to be. At 85, he's been struggling with respiratory issues, and he doesn't speak as briskly. But his mind still zips. That much becomes evident the moment he starts talking about "Dolores," a dashing, venturesome tune he recorded with Davis in 1966. Shorter had once said that writing the song was more like writing DNA - he wasn't creating the organism, just the code for it to exist.

What an idea. Could he say a little more about it? Sure he could, but what follows isn't an answer so much as a daisy chain of axioms that seem to have animated his life's work:

"DNA is, like, not to be finished. So I wrote a piece called 'Dolores,' right? It's not finished yet. I think beginnings and endings are consensual. There's no such thing as a short story. ... The DNA, some people say, is the signature - and every composer has a signature. A lot of people don't know that Beethoven, when he wrote the Fifth Symphony, that second movement" - and here, Shorter begins humming in a happy rasp, then resumes - "He took eight years to figure that out! But to suffer is not right, either. There just has to be something in the music that knocks at the door, that challenges the gatekeepers. Art induces a kind of funniness. Or a tickle, or jingle bells - laughing all the way. ... And without ever giving up. Never giving up: That means playing for a long time? No! (laughs) ... 'Potential' is another way of saying 'mystery.' "

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You could almost plot out the vast totality of Shorter's life as a three-dimensional thing - a multidirectional creative expanse marked with monumental artistic triumphs and fathomless personal tragedies (Shorter lost his a daughter, Iska, to a grand mal seizure when she was 14; he later lost a wife, Ana Maria, in the crash of TWA Flight 800). But these days, Shorter's legacy is secure, and his life appears peaceful and calm. He lives with his wife of nearly 20 years, Carolina, in a house high in the Hollywood Hills, where the maestro awakes each day around 5:30 a.m. to compose on a Nord synthesizer the color of an Atomic Fireball.

He's always been tenacious with his music. Raised in Newark, New Jersey, he took up clarinet at 15, and by the time he switched over the saxophone a year later, his skills were surging. But in his mind, Shorter couldn't improve fast enough.

"I knew that people start on instruments when they're 5 years old, so I did think I had a lot of catching up to do," he says. "But when things started to move, opportunities came at a pace I hadn't seen."

He spent his teenage years playing in groups with his older brother, Alan, and the two proudly carried themselves around Newark as outcasts. Wayne had his nickname, "Mr. Weird," painted on his saxophone case, and he developed an outsize musical reputation to match. He turned down a tour with Sonny Stitt so that he could graduate from high school in 1951, and while studying music education at New York University and working the clubs of Manhattan and its vicinity, he earned himself a new nickname: the Newark Flash.

After a stint in the Army, he landed a spot in Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers - a group in which Shorter says he learned to think of musical narrative as an act of collective storytelling. "Art Blakey would sit behind the drum-kit and say, "Tell me that story!," Shorter says, transporting himself into a nightclub, holding an invisible saxophone in his hands. "So the narrative spreads throughout the group."

Around that time, Shorter was developing a friendship with John Coltrane, who would eventually bequeath Shorter his place in trumpeter Miles Davis' group - a new quintet that would feature drummer Tony Williams, bassist Ron Carter and Shorter's soon-to-be best friend, the pianist Herbie Hancock. Almost instantly, the quintet became one of the most elastic and exploratory groups jazz had ever seen.

"The first day I played with Miles, he called me to the Hollywood Bowl," Shorter says of his high-wire audition. "I walked into the dressing room and Miles said, 'You know my music?' I said, 'Yeah.' He said, 'Uh-oh.' "

But Shorter managed to ace his onstage tryout, allowing him to spend the next five years alongside the deep and unknowable Davis. Together, they generated some of the most well-known jazz of the 20th century, with Shorter composing many of the group's sturdiest songs - "E.S.P.," "Footprints," "Nefertiti" and others. Up on the bandstand, the players embraced an improvisational approach they called "anti-music" - a refusal to do whatever might be expected of them at any given moment. Reminiscing about it in "Footprints," an illuminating 2004 biography of Shorter written by Michelle Mercer, Shorter said, "This is what freedom means."

The quintet dissolved in 1968, but Shorter stuck with Davis long enough to toss a few clean ideas into the psychedelic muck of Davis's big crossover album, 1970's "Bitches Brew." That same year, Shorter co-founded Weather Report, a wildly successful fusion group in which the anti-music veteran converted himself into a sort of anti-bandleader, taking up the role of a benevolent, centering presence rather than the group's guiding force. Critics complained that Shorter was becoming tentative. He thought he was simply cultivating his own awareness.

The years that followed were Shorter's starriest, dotted with recording sessions with Steely Dan (1977's "Aja"), the Rolling Stones (1997's "Bridges to Babylon") and Joni Mitchell (every album she released between 1977 and 2002). At first, Shorter was leery of being seen as a legitimizer-for-hire, but he ultimately remembers those studio hours as little exercises in empathy - especially when it comes to the delicate magic he made with Mitchell.

"I believe in everyone staying as they are, and when you meld together, you get something more accurate and democratic," Shorter says, evoking the sanctity of the republic before pivoting to a sci-fi idea: "That's where the portal is."

Jumping into those pop-portals might not have resulted in Shorter's most cosmic playing, but strangely, his rock 'n' roll dalliances only support his reputation in the greater jazz consciousness as an empath whose preternatural sense of economy sets him apart from the busy heroism of Coltrane, Sonny Rollins and other saxophone colossi. His simpatico approach seems to permeate our 21st-century ego-stripped jazz ecosystem, where so many of today's most astonishing players value cooperation over command.

Mark Turner is one of them, a saxophonist of sublime clarity who explains Shorter's influence in terms of altruism and equanimity. "It's less about the self and more about things like, 'What can we make together?'," Turner says. "If he only needs to play one note, that's what he does. He's not a checklist player. He's not one of those people who needs to do this and do that."

That aura of necessity radiates from Shorter's greatest compositions, with durable lines of melody often bending into irregular shapes. "I'm working on something right now, and I'm in a spot where I'm asking, 'Should I make this regular?' " Shorter says, pointing at an unruly stack of sheet music (an opera he's currently writing with the bassist Esperanza Spalding). "But if you make something irregular for the sake of irregularity, that's not cool, either. Sometimes when you get to something irregular, you have to start sculpting it, shaping it. It depends what's out there. The notes are hanging around each other the way we're hanging around each other."

That sculpted quality is something many musicians cherish in Shorter's songbook, including the flutist Nicole Mitchell, a visionary composer whose visions are much different from Shorter's, but who still finds the architecture of his music to be deeply instructive.

"I really admire his ability to look at a song as a shape," Mitchell says. "It's almost like fractalism. There's a seed that exists in the whole piece, but in different ways, different permutations of that idea."

So yes, everything is connected, but "everything" can also be a vast network of indivisible somethings. Here's how Shorter once put it to the critic Greg Tate: "I like this phrase: A million dollars does not exist without one penny, but one penny can exist without a million dollars. I like that, brother!"

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In September, Shorter released "Emanon," a triple-disc packaged inside a graphic novel that may or may not be named after a tune that Shorter once saw Dizzy Gillespie introduce from the bandstand in a cryptic shout: " 'Emanon' is 'no name' backwards!"

The recording itself features Shorter's acolyte-band of the past decade, the drummer Brian Blade, the bassist John Patitucci and the pianist Danilo Perez, often working in grand gestures without ever really stepping over the line into grandeur. Some of the music correlates to the comic book, which depicts Shorter's titular superhero leaping across different sectors of the multiverse, shaking societies free from their received knowledge. "I made sure he didn't get his power from outside of himself," Shorter says of his protagonist. "No profound, omnipotent force came and gave it to him. It emerged from within."

It's a full-circle gesture. Shorter grew up reading comics voraciously. He even drew one when he was 15 - an interplanetary romance titled "Other Worlds." But once bebop took over his teen brain, he stopped idolizing Captain Marvel and started worshiping Charlie Parker.

Still, as the decades wore on, Shorter began to spot resemblances between the guys with the trumpets and the guys with the capes. In a 1992 interview with Jazz Forum, he compared Miles Davis to Batman, describing Davis as "a crusader for justice and for value" who "had to be a dual personality, too, like he knew the criminal mind."

So what about Wayne Shorter? What about that kid who transformed from Mr. Weird into the Newark Flash into one of the greatest composers American music has ever known? He was an outsider whose extraordinary abilities never stopped him from cultivating an abiding sensitivity to how human beings think, listen and feel. That makes him Superman, right?

Upon hearing this proposition, Shorter clamps his mouth shut and bends it into a half smile. His 85-year-old eyes do a little twinkle. Then he starts talking about something else entirely.
ALTON  A 30-year-old Alton man was charged Friday in the stabbing death of a man Thursday night in the 3400 block of Bolivar Street.

Brian L. Edelen, 30, 600 block of Rozier Street, Alton, was charged Friday with two counts of first-degree murder for allegedly stabbing a man in the neck, causing his death. Early scanner traffic reports indicated a mans throat had been slashed, but police were quick to clarify the incident was not a throat-slashing.

Charges identify the victim as 41-year-old Alton man John C. Jackson. Jackson was pronounced dead on the scene by a member of the Madison County Coroners Office.

Alton police received a call for help just before 6 p.m. Thursday. The incident was being treated as a homicide by Alton police, but few details were available regarding the investigation late Thursday.

Bail was set at $10 million. Edelen was not in police custody as of Friday morning.

Alton police are asking for the publics help in locating Edelen. He is described as a white male, approximately five feet, nine inches tall, weighing approximately 200 pounds with brown hair and green eyes.

My detectives, many of whom have worked 80-90 hours each in the last week, are the best in the business, Alton Police Chief Jason Jake Simmons said in a news release Friday. They go without sleep, they stay away from their families, and they work so hard to solve the worst crimes quickly. I hope the community will help us find Edelen to bring him to justice for such a heinous crime.

Edelen should be considered armed and dangerous, police said, and individuals should not attempt to contact, or apprehend, him directly. If anyone has any information regarding the whereabouts of Edelen, they should contact the Alton Police Department at 618-463-3505 or by dialing 911. Tips may also be submitted via social media on the Alton Police Departments Facebook or Twitter pages.

Edelen has a long history of criminal activity. Most recently, in September, Edelen was charged with unlawful possession of a weapon by a felon. In that incident, he allegedly possessed a handgun Sept. 22 after having been convicted of aggravated battery to a police officer in 2010.

Reach reporter Sanford Schmidt at 618-208-6449.
EDWARDSVILLE  Five students from St. Boniface Catholic School look to the possibility of state competition after being recently selected to perform in the All-District Honors Junior Chorus and Junior Orchestra, which took place Nov. 17 at Belleville West High School.

Callie Barks (eighth grade), Grace Deakos (seventh grade), and Claire Hamann (seventh grade) received honors of All-District for Junior Chorus while seventh graders Maggie Pifer and Maya Lueking received honors of All-District for Junior Orchestra.
GLEN CARBON  Seven Father McGivney Catholic High School seniors were recently named Illinois State Scholars.

In November of each year, the Illinois State Assistance Commission (ISAC) announces the State Scholar Finalists. This year, Father McGivney seniors Aaron Boulanger, Nathan Dammerich, Katherine Deakos, Emma Deist, Zachary Hellickson, Jacob McCreary, and Agnes Pointer were named.

Im very proud of these young men and women for their dedication to hard work throughout their academic career at Father McGivney Catholic High School, Joseph Lombardi, Father McGivney Catholic High School principal, said. It is wonderful to see them earn this recognition.

Students from nearly every high school in Illinois compete in the program, and being named an Illinois State Scholar shows as an accomplishment on the recipients academic record.

The Illinois State Scholar program is awarded to high school seniors based on ACT or SAT test scores and the students sixth semester. Class size, unweighted class rank and Grade Point Average (GPA) are all considered.

ISAC gathers student data during one academic year that is used in making student awards for the following academic year. Test scores are gathered from the testing companies for the ACT and SAT exams taken during the students third and fourth semester prior to graduation.

These students are more than deserving of this honor, Bobbie Madura, FMCHS student services director, added. They have put their academics at the forefront of their high school careers and are now reaping the benefits of such focus. No doubt, they will be rewarded by various universities as they go forward in their academic careers.
CARROLLTON  Two individuals have been taken into custody in connection to the death of a six-month-old infant boy that was found buried in a shallow grave behind a Carrollton residence.

The result of a week-long investigation, an Alton woman and her acquaintance from Carrollton have been taken into custody, with charges pending from the Greene County States Attorney. Alton Police became aware of the incident when a missing persons report was filed for the infant and his 22-year-old mother.

Greene County Sheriff Rob McMillen said that the Alton Police Department reached out to them and asked them to attempt to locate the missing woman. A Carrollton City Police officer made contact with the female and reported back to Alton that they had located her.

Alton police asked if they had seen the missing child and when Carrollton police returned to find the woman, she was gone.

It was believed she went back down to Alton where she was from, McMillen explained. They began trying to locate her down in that area They located her acquaintance and they got a statement.

The acquaintance is not the father of the child and while he is believed to have been living at the residence where the body was found, he is not the owner of the home.

After a couple of days of investigation, police were led to a residence in the 100 block of East Cemetery Road Tuesday. The investigation continued and police believed the infant to be dead.

Illinois State Police were brought into the investigation and a search warrant was obtained to search the property on East Cemetery Road. After some time, police discovered the body of the infant buried in a shallow grave in a portion of the woods located on the property.

The body was recovered by the Greene County Coroners office. An autopsy is currently underway, although no cause of death has been determined yet.

Reports indicate that the Illinois State Police have reason to believe that there were efforts made to conceal the body of the infant. There were no obvious signs of trauma, according to police.

Both the boys mother and her boyfriend are in custody in Alton and will most likely be transferred to the Carrollton jail after charges are filed.

Names of the individuals in custody will not be released until charges are filed. As of Thursday evening, the Greene County States Attorney Caleb Briscoe hadnt filed charges but noted that they were doing everything they can to ensure that the appropriate charges are filed.

Illinois State Police are asking for anyone who might have information on this incident to contact Illinois State Police Sargeant Jamie Brunnworth at 618-484-7384.

Nick Draper can be reached at 217-245-6121, ext. 1223, or on Twitter @nick_draper.
EDWARDSVILLE  Flying an American flag in the front yard of their homes landed a handful of extra-patriotic area residents a special honor Thursday.

The 22nd annual Flag Ceremony, put on by the General George Rogers Clark Chapter of the Sons of the American Revolution (SAR), took place Thursday morning at the Madison County Courthouse in Edwardsville.

Recipients of the SAR Flag Award are awarded the honor because they properly display and faithfully fly the American flag in their front yards at their homes.

Evelyn Schrage, who lives in Edwardsville, was among those who received recognition Thursday.

It is a great honor to receive this award, Schrage said. When we moved into our home, the first thing my husband wanted to do was put up the flagpole.

Schrage went on to say that her husband served abroad in the military for 27 months while she took care of her young children at home, and that she has flown her American flag continuously on her flagpole ever since.

Other recipient of the award included Phillip and Marlyss Biason, Ron and Jerry Lentz, Larry and Cherly Hutchison, Todd and Susan Cange, Charles and Heather Stirling, Matt and Leigh Schwenk, Al and Anne Lagerda, Mark and Jeanne Bohnenstiehl, F.H. Buddy and Ethel Poettker, Derek and Trisha Ashoff, and Carl and Sarah Stratton.

David File, the General George Rogers Clark Chapter Flag Award Chairman, led audience members in the recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance and singing of God Bless America and America the Beautiful at the start of the program.

This summer, while I was singing the second verse of America the Beautiful, I was thinking about how in addition to thanking our veterans and community service members, we should also be giving thanks to judicial members, File said.

Judges David Dugan, Philip Alfeld, William Mudge, Stephen Stobbs and Chief Judge David Hylla were all in attendance, and were asked to stand and be recognized.

Judicial members help to maintain our liberty, File said.

The annual SAR Flag Awards ceremony occurs once a year, alternating between recognizing those who reside in the northern townships of Madison County in odd-numbered years and those who reside in the southern townships of Madison County in even-numbered years. Normally, the ceremony is held in November, close to Veterans Day.

I have been thanked many times by people who receive this award, but we really should be thanking you for your patriotism and for proudly displaying the American flag, File said.

Currently, the SAR is searching for new members. To be eligible, men must be 18 years or older and must be able to prove direct lineage by documentation to a patriot of the American Revolution.
EDWARDSVILLE  Increased clientele and the popularity of handmade gifts have led a pair of entrepreneurs to expand their quilting business.

Located in Columbia, Warm N Cozy Quilting is owned by mother-daughter pair, Debbie Chitty and Danielle Cyvas. Their recently expanded shop located on 816 S. Main St. #2 now allows them to offer more fabrics, classes, additional services like sew days, and an area for their Quilts of Valor group to create quilts for veterans.

The Illinois Small Business Development Center (SBDC) for the Metro East at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville (SIUE) is proud to have assisted Warm N Cozy since it opened in 2015.

SBDC Director Jo Ann Di Maggio May initially provided Chitty with business plan assistance and continues to offer resources for financing and referrals.

The SBDC and I are ecstatic to see Warm N Cozy grow and flourish, says Di Maggio May. The ladies work so hard and always have their customers at the heart of every decision they make. I wish them even more success moving forward and am always here to assist and offer advice as needed.

Jo Ann has always been our cheerleader, Chitty said. She has kept in contact with us and is always there for emotional support whenever we need help.

Chittys grandmother, Carol, started a tradition when she made a quilt for each grandchild when they got married. When Carol passed away, Chitty took it upon herself to learn how to quilt and keep her grandmothers tradition alive.

The first step in Chittys quilting journey was purchasing the book Quilt in a Day, by Eleanor Burns. She was determined give her daughter, Danielle, a quilt as a wedding gift, just as Grandma Carol would have.

Chitty had ignited a passion she never knew existed: a love for quilting.

She turned her hobby into a small family-owned business with the support of her business partner and daughter, who has over 20 years of experience in retail management. Cyvas expertise and passion for quilting fit right in with her mothers values.

Chittys daughter, Sarah Neuman, works at the shop part-time, providing help with information technology, marketing and social media. Cyvas mother-in-law, Trish Cyvas, works part-time and plays an integral role in helping customers as well as keeping the store stocked with pre-cut fabrics.

Chitty also knows that they would not be able to run as smoothly and efficiently without the help of full-time employee, Julie Yeager. She sends monthly newsletters, organizes classes and more.

Warm N Cozy Quilting can be contacted at 618-719-2565. For more information, visit https://www.warmncozyquilting.com/. You can also find Warm N Cozy Quilting on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.

The Illinois SBDC for the Metro East assists start-up ventures like Warm N Cozy Quilting as well as existing businesses headquartered in the nine-county region of Calhoun, Jersey, Madison, Bond, Clinton, St. Clair, Washington, Monroe and Randolph. It is funded in part through a cooperative agreement with the U.S. Small Business Administration, Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity, and SIUE as a service to Illinois small businesses.

By aiding entrepreneurs and companies in defining their path to success, the SBDC network positively impacts the Metro East by strengthening the business community, creating and retaining new jobs and encouraging new investment. It enhances the regions economic interests by providing one-stop assistance to individuals by means of counseling, training, research and advocacy for new ventures and existing small businesses. When appropriate, the SBDC strives to affiliate its ties to the region to support the goals and objectives of both the SIUE School of Business and the University at large.

To learn about the SBDC, contact the IL SBDC for the Metro East at SIUE at (618) 650-2929.
ALTON  The Alton Police Department on Friday were continuing to investigate a shooting Thursday night on Ridge Street.

The incident took place inside a residence in the 800 block of Ridge Street. Alton police, fire and rescue responded to the shots fired at the residence at 9:50 p.m. Thursday.

The victim, a white adult male, was conscious and alert at the scene before while being transported to the hospital. His injuries did not appear to be life-threatening.

Alton Police Department spokesperson Pfc. Emily Hejna said that police on Friday had identified a person of interest. Hejna also said the shooting occurred during an argument inside the home, and is being investigated as aggravated battery.

Aggravated battery is a felony with a maximum penalty of 5 years in an Illinois state prison.

Anyone with possible information regarding the incident is encouraged to contact the Alton Police Department (618) 463-3505.

Reach reporter Riley Newton at (618) 208-6460.
EDWARDSVILLE  Viviano Heating and Air Conditioning announced they will be once again sponsoring Junior Service Clubs Holiday House Tour is taking place in the Glen Carbon and Edwardsville area Sunday.

Homeowners in the area graciously open their beautifully decorated homes and invite the public to take a tour for the holidays in a biennial event.

By sponsoring a home, Viviano HVAC is helping to support the Junior Service Club which relies on donations to help support projects in the community to include Meals-on-Wheels, scholarships, grant funds and more. This year, they will also be encouraging house tour guests to drop off personal care items and canned goods at one of the homes on the tour in support of the Glen/Ed Food Pantry.

The Barn, located at 7126 Goshen Road in Edwardsville, will be accepting these donations. To learn more about Junior Service Club and the tours schedule, visit their website at http://www.edglenjuniorservice.org/.

Viviano Heating and Air Conditioning supports many community initiatives in their hometown of Collinsville, a news release said. This is the second time they have sponsored a house on the holiday house tour and enjoy showing their support for an event that kicks off the holiday season.

The Junior Service Club does a lot in the community and we are happy to sponsor a house on the tour. Its a festive event that people always seem to enjoy and we like being a part of the fun, said Don Viviano, owner of Viviano Heating and Air Conditioning.

Viviano Heating & Air Conditioning is family owned and operated and has been serving residential and commercial customers throughout the Metro-East for 30 years. Offering a wide variety of services to include installation, maintenance and repair, Viviano Heating & Air Conditioning is a qualified Trane Comfort Specialist dealer. For more information or to book an appointment for service, please visit http://www.vivianoair.com or call (618) 345-7498.
Political discourse in the era of Donald Trump has plunged to new lows.

And when you think youve seen the bottom, someone in government manages to take it lower.

But theres a difference between hyperbole and wishing death on a political opponent and his loved one  and its a line that should never be crossed.

During public debate Tuesday on the Illinois House floor, with cameras rolling to record it for posterity, that line, sadly, was crossed.

To the representative from Lombard, I would like to make him a broth of legionella and pump it into the water system of his loved one so that they can be infected, they can be mistreated, they can sit and suffer by getting aspirin instead of getting properly treated and ultimately die.

Broth of leigionella? Loved one? Ultimately die?

State Rep. Stephanie Kifowit, D-Oswego, directed those despicable comments toward Rep. Peter Breen, R-Lombard.

Had Breen just committed a crime so egregious, or made comments so heinous, that he deserved to have his and his loved ones lives threatened so callously?

Of course not.

Breen was merely defending Gov. Bruce Rauners amendatory veto of Senate Bill 2481, legislation that sought to increase the monetary cap on claims the state can be forced to pay out to those wronged by Illinois government.

The current cap on claims against state government in the Illinois Court of Claims is $100,000. Senate Bill 2481, filed in the wake of dozens of cases of legionnaires disease at the Quincy Veterans Home, leading to 12 deaths, sought to lift that cap to $2 million. Rauners amendatory veto moved the cap to $300,000.

During debate on an override attempt, Breen, an attorney, questioned how much a $2 million cap would cost taxpayers.

We will now spend more money that could have been spent on education, that could have been spent on actually building the roads, instead of paying off trial lawyers, Breen said. Instead, were going to send the money to them instead of using it for good purposes.

What is a reasonable amount of money at which to cap claims against Illinois state government? I dont know that I can answer that finitely.

Perhaps $100,000 is too low. Perhaps even $300,000 is too low. But Breens questioning of what a $2 million cap will mean long-term for taxpayers isnt just reasonable, its absolutely necessary. Its the kind of scrutiny that all lawmakers should be giving to any legislation that will cost taxpayers more money, especially in near-bankrupt Illinois.

What happened with the spread of legionnaires disease at the Quincy Veterans Home is tragic. How the Rauner administration responded to the outbreak has been criticized and is under investigation  as it should be.

But sympathy for the victims and victims families shouldnt lead to unvetted legislation whose long-term impact on taxpayers is unknown.

Questioning that impact certainly shouldnt result in a death wish to a colleague from across the aisle.

After the backlash, Kifowit made a half-hearted attempt to clarify her comments by saying they were hypothetical and taken out of context. She didnt apologize.

She should have. However, were in an era of American politics in which elected officials can say whatever theyd like  seemingly without repercussion  and when called out, can simply say they were taken out of context, misquoted or misunderstood by lesser minds.

Her words are her words. Read them again if you have any doubt about what she said. Watch her speak and listen to them on tape.

Ive seen and heard some nasty stuff from under the Dome in Springfield. This is a new low.

House Speaker Michael Madigan should condemn Kifowits comments and sanction her to send a message to other lawmakers that theres no place for this kind of toxic discourse in state government.

Dan McCaleb is editor of Illinois News Network and the digital hub ILNews.org. He welcomes your comments. Contact Dan at dmccaleb@ilnews.org.
DanChurchAid (DCA)is a faith-based, non-missionary relief and development organization based inCopenhagen, Denmark and founded in 1922. DCA has supported development andhumanitarian programs in Uganda for over 35 years, working in partnership withlocal partners. DCA is a member of the ACT Alliance. Our key competencies inUganda are livelihoods and food security, humanitarian response, and civilsociety development.
The BJP, which has been spearheading the agitation against the entry of young women at Sabarimala on Thursday announced its decision to shift its protest from the temple complex to the state capital to intensify its stir.

The announcement comes two days after the Kerala High Court ordered that no protests or demonstrations should be held at Sabarimala, holding that it was not a place for such activities.

Reacting to the saffron party's move, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said the decision to "stop" the protest in Sabarimala was because the BJP had got an inkling of the

secular minds of the people in the state. Talking to reporters here, he said, "We can see that the measures adopted by the government in Sabarimala have been

welcomed by everyone. Now, BJP has stopped their protest in Sabarimala.. change

can be seen there.."

BJP state president P.S. Sreedharan Pillai said its leaders would launch an indefinite hunger strike before the secretariat, to press various demands, including the lifting

of prohibitory orders and providing basic amenities to pilgrims in and around the Lord Ayyappa temple.

The saffron party also wanted the scrapping of alleged 'fake' cases against its state general secretary K Surendran, who is now behind the bars after being arrested en route to Sabarimala earlier this month.

Rejecting reports that BJPwas ending its Sabarimala agitation, he said, "The party will launch indefinite hunger strike before the Secretariat from December 3."

Senior leader and state General secretary A.N. Radhakrishnan will kick start the agitation," he told reporters in Kochi.

At present, we are planning a 15-day-stir, he said adding that the party would decide on further course of the agitation after taking into consideration the CPI(M)-led LDF

government's stand on their demands.

Besides this, the party has also plans to start a state-wide signature campaign to collect one crore signatures demanding protection of rituals and traditions of the shrine.

However, the Chief Minister rejected BJP's claim that his office had masterminded the cases against Surendran. "My office already has enough files to take care of other

than that of Surendran's.. its not my office's duty," he said.

"And, how can they (BJP) protest seeking to withdraw cases charged for violating the law?We cannot help it..," Vijayan said. Meanwhile, Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) president Mullappally Ramachandran alleged that the BJP's decision to shift their agitation here was part of the "adjustment" between the saffron party and the chief minister.

Congress-led UDF opposition disrupted the proceedings of the state assembly for the second day today over the issues related to Sabarimala, which had witnessed intense protests by devotees and right wing activist against the LDF government's decision to implement the Apex court verdict permitting women of all age groups into the shrine.


The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has issued notice to the Uttar Pradesh government over the reported mob lynching of a man after pulling him out of a police van in Shamli district, noting that it appeared that the victim was not protected by policemen from the clutches of hooligans.

The notice was issued to the state chief secretary and director general of police (DGP), calling for a detailed report in the matter within four weeks, a press release from the NHRC said Friday.

"There cannot be any denial that it was the solemn duty of the police personnel to keep the arrested man in safe custody so that he could not be denied his infallible right to get justice in accordance with law," the commission said.

In the instant reported incident, it appeared that not protecting the victim from the clutches of hooligans or an inciting mob resulted in his death, it noted.

The commission took suo motu cognisance of media reports that Rajendra alias Manu (28) was pulled out of a police van and beaten to death by a mob in the presence of constables in Hathchoya Village of Shamli district on November 26.

It observed that the contents of the media reports, if true, amounted to violation of the human rights of the victim.

The NHRC release mentioned a video clip of the purported incident circulated on the social media showing the victim sitting in a police vehicle. A man in a blue shirt opened the door of the van and slapped the victim repeatedly. A policeman seated next to the victim held him by the arm. The man was then seen pulling Rajendra out of the vehicle.

The victim's family has alleged that six villagers, with whom he had quarrelled the previous day, beat him to death with lathis.

The Shamli superintendent of police (SP) was reported as saying that the victim did not die in police custody as he had escaped from the police van and was beaten up by the crowd later. The SP had also reportedly said that after about two hours, the victim suffered a fall from the roof of his house and died due to head injuries, the release noted.

However, on the basis of a complaint filed by the victim's brother, an FIR under various Indian Penal Code (IPC) sections, including 302 (murder) and 148 (rioting with armed weapons), was lodged at the Jhinjhana police station against six persons and one of them, identified as the "main accused", was arrested, the NHRC said.

Meanwhile, the opposition Samajwadi Party (SP) and the Congress took potshots at the Yogi Adityanath-led Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in the state, accusing it of "carrying out fake encounters".

"This government is carrying out fake encounters and we have been highlighting this. There is no law and order in the state and the police are using encounters to pat their own back. All encounters in the present regime should be thoroughly probed," SP MLC Rajpal Kashyap said.

Similar was the refrain of the Congress.

"The state government has failed on all fronts. Police encounters are done with a political agenda and these tantamount to violation of human rights, which need in-depth probes," Congress spokesperson Mukesh Singh Chauhan said.
Touched by the compassion of the nurses who tended to her...
Philippines finds interest in jackfruits of Jharkhand

Ranchi, Nov 30 (PTI) Philippines on Friday evinced

interest in collaborating with Jharkhand in the trade of

jackfruit, which the state produces in abundance.

Philippines is famous for producing coconut,

pineapple, banana, rice and sugar cane and also developing

cocoa and coffee, Deputy Chief of the country's embassy, Arvin

R D Leon, said.

"Jharkhand produces jackfruit in huge quantity.

Jackfruit is very popular in Philippines also. The supply

falls short of demand. This could be one area of collaboration

and cooperation," Leon said.

Leon is speaking on the concluding day of the two-day

Global Agriculture & Food Summit.

Philippines is one of the five partner countries of

the summit.

Mongolian Aambassador Gonchig Gambold stressed on

cooperation with India in the sectors of information and

communication technology.

"Mongolia is a small country but it is surrounded by

big markets and it has short route to both Europe and Asia, so

it also has a huge market for agriculture and food industry,"

Gambold said.

The ambassador said Prime Minster Narendra Modi had

visited Mongolia in 2015 and gave one billion dollar line of

credit to the country which was decided to be used in refinery

and food processing.

Li Baijun, the Economic & Commercial Consular of

Chinese Embassy, said "Sino-Indian trade cooperation continues

to march ahead and during January to October this year,

bilateral business stood at 80 billion US dollars. China

continues to be a leading partner of India."

"Jharkhand is not only rich in minerals but also

agriculture and forestry. Agriculture growth is significant.

We are in the initial stages of cooperation in agriculture but

there is ample room and scope of taking part in this Summit,

he said. PTI PVR

NN NN
New Delhi, Nov 30 (PTI) Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh Friday attacked Congress party for ignoring farmers during its rule and asserted that his government has taken number of steps to boost their income.

The minister also said the Congress government did not take any step to implement the recommendations made in the 2006 Swaminathan report.

"Today, Congress party has realised that our country is agriculture-based economy. The Congress party should give an answer why its government was apathetic towards farmers for many years," Singh said in a statement amid farmers' protest in the national capital where thousands of farmers from across the country have gathered to press for their demands.

The minister said that the Modi government, in the last four and half years, has taken number of steps for the growth of farmers and the overall agriculture sector.

He highlighted that the government has announced e-NAM programme to electronically link all 545 wholesale mandies across the country, besides launching new crop insurance scheme, sharp rise in MSPs, soil-health card, 100 per cent neem coating of urea and completion of 99 stuck irrigation projects, among others.

Meanwhile, Congress president Rahul Gandhi said the farmers are not seeking gift from the government on farm loan waiver, they are asking for what is due to them.

Singh said the government has also made changes in rules to provide higher compensation to farmers in case of natural calamities.

The minister said the Congress ruled government did not pay attention to allied sectors like animal husbandry, while the current government has made positive efforts for the development of dairy, poultry, fisheries and other sectors to achieve the target of doubling farmers income by 2022. PTI MJH MJH BAL

BAL
Buenos Aires, Nov 30 (AP) Diplomats from the Group of 20 countries were haggling hard over a final summit statement Friday, with deep divisions over what language to use on the Paris climate accord and the World Trade Organisation, according to two European officials involved in the discussions.

Facing the prospect of a no-statement summit, European delegations were trying to create a common front and may come out with their own separate declaration if they can't get the US or others on board.

European leaders were meeting in the morning at the summit venue in the Argentine capital to stake out common positions on trade, climate and the killing of dissident Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

France is seeking to build coalitions on certain issues or "ad hoc partnerships" to try to salvage the spirit of the G-20 even if all countries can't agree, according to a French official.

The officials weren't authorised to be named speaking about the closed-door discussions and spoke on condition of anonymity.

The G-20 was supposed to focus on issues like development, infrastructure and investment, but as the gathering officially kicked off, those themes seem like afterthoughts, overshadowed by contentious matters from the US-China trade dispute to the conflict over Ukraine.

European Council President Donald Tusk urged G-20 leaders to discuss "trade wars, the tragic situation in Syria and Yemen and Russian aggression in Ukraine."

He said the European Union is expected to extend sanctions on Moscow over its "totally unacceptable" seizure of Ukrainian ships and their crews near Crimea.

"Europe is united in its support for Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity," Tusk said, calling the standoff "a cause of great concern."

Russian President Vladimir Putin, who arrived in Buenos Aires on Friday morning, is among the leaders involved.

Russia and Ukraine have traded blame over the ship incident.

Also expected to loom large amid dozens of bilateral meetings in Buenos Aires: the gruesome slaying of Khashoggi in Saudi Arabia's Istanbul consulate and how the Saudi crown prince, who is alleged to have ordered the killing, is received by world leaders.

He didn't mention the killing itself, but stressed the importance of the "basic safety of journalists" and said "it's our obligation to press our partners to respect these basic principles."

Saudi Arabia has denied that Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman played a role, but some leaders may be cool toward him to avoid seeming to legitimize a man who US intelligence agencies concluded ordered the killing.

US President Donald Trump's administration has made clear it does not want to torpedo the longstanding US relationship with Riyadh, however.

It is the prince's first significant appearance overseas since the killing.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who has been sharply critical of Saudi Arabia over the incident, is also in attendance.

Leaders of the United States, Canada and Mexico met in the morning to sign a trade deal replacing the North American Free Trade Agreement that was struck following months of tough negotiations that analysts say left a bitter taste among the partners.

Trump called the pact known the USMCA a "model agreement that changes the trade landscape forever."

It must still be ratified by lawmakers in all three countries, and passage in the US could face a tough road in the House of Representatives after Democrats won a majority in November midterm elections.

Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto, whose six-year term ends Saturday, said the deal modernises the trade framework, highlights a need for economic integration in North America and protects labour rights and the environment.

Trade agreements should "move along with the economy," Pena Nieto said.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called on Trump to remove tariffs on steel and aluminum, saying they remain a major economic obstacle.

Trump met in the morning with summit host and Argentine President Mauricio Macri at the presidential palace known as the Casa Rosada, or Pink House.

Posing for photos in a gilded salon, Trump spoke about their longtime personal relationship and said they would discuss trade, military purchases and other issues.

An expected high-profile bilateral meeting between Trump and Russia's Vladimir Putin planned for Saturday was abruptly cancelled by Trump the previous day in a tweet citing Russia's seizure of Ukrainian vessels over the weekend.

Russian news agencies quoted Putin spokesman Dmitry Peskov as saying the cancellation means Putin will have more time for "useful meetings."

Trump was still scheduled to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping, but analysts were not optimistic about prospects for a major breakthrough on the two countries' trade disputes a month before US tariffs on Chinese goods are set to ramp up.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel was supposed to get in to Buenos Aires early Friday, but her arrival was delayed when her plane suffered a technical problem and returned to Germany on Thursday night.

Merkel's office said Friday that she and a small delegation, including the finance minister, took a different government plane to Madrid and then boarded a commercial flight to Buenos Aires.

The British Embassy in Argentina said Prime Minister Theresa May's visit would be the first by a UK prime minister to Argentina's capital. (AP)

RUP

RUP

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Signs knowledge partnership with former executives of New York Life to strengthen Max Lifes agency business. Max Life and New York Life to launch a co-branded knowledge and leadership programme



New Delhi, Delhi, India(NewsVoir)



Max Life Insurance Co. Ltd. (Max Life/Company), one of Indias leading life insurers, has announced a knowledge partnership to help further strengthen its agency channel in India. As part of this partnership, Max Life is partnering with former executives of New York Life to share insights and best practices to help Max Life drive efficiency in agency distribution. The team comprises three recently retired, highly experienced stalwarts who were leading agency business officers for New York Life.



New York Life is well known for its deep expertise and experience in managing and driving agency business. New York Life had a long association with Max Group, first as the founder joint venture partner in Max Life from 2000 to 2012 and recently, as a strategic investor in Max Ventures.



This collaboration with the former executives of New York Life will help drive Max Lifes core strategy to further strengthen its agency channel, as part of its overall strategy to significantly enhance the share of business via its proprietary business channels. This consultancy team will work alongside Max Life management and will also create a co-branded knowledge and leadership programme that will help drive efficiency and productivity in the Max Life agency distribution channel. The programme will be jointly developed by Max Life and the consultancy team to provide global best practices through online and offline manuals.



As part of the knowledge partnership, the former executives of New York Life will lend their expertise gained from successfully working in the worlds largest insurance market on smart recruitment strategies, agent/office productivity enhancements, improvement in agent advisor management, sharper target segmentation, specialized techniques towards enhanced performance and leadership training development in order to drive scale, throughput, profitability and quality. The individuals will also help Max Life drive leadership development (office heads, regional managers and Zonal Vice Presidents) in order to groom and retain the best-in-class talent and support the expansion of the business.



Max Life also announced a separate agreement with New York Life for New York Life to provide certain offshore support services to its former executives and to assist Max Life in the promotion of the knowledge partnership.



Max Life Insurance has 289 office units across the country, and as per the Company strategy, its agency office footprint is expected to expand to 350 offices by next financial year. To further strengthen its agency distribution channel, the Company also plans to hire more than one lakh agent advisors over the next three years. By partnering with the consultancy team on global best practices, Max Life will establish the gold standard for the industry in India by grooming best in class talent to create a smart, efficient, and productive agency force.



Besides expanding and enhancing its traditional agency distribution, Max Life also plans to reach out to its prospective customers through significant ramp-up in specialised initiatives such as Insurance Marketing Firm, new agency partnerships etc.



Speaking on the knowledge partnership, Rahul Khosla, Chairman Max Life Insurance said, It is with the greatest pleasure that we welcome the consultancy team as our knowledge partners. Agency distribution has always been a strong hallmark of Max Life since its inception and this partnership will go a long way in refreshing and renewing our agency practices to world standards of performance, thus fulfilling our strategy to enhance the share of business via our proprietary channels.



Prashant Tripathy, Sr. Director and Chief Financial Officer (Designate Managing Director and CEO) said, Max Lifes strategy is focused on an accelerated build-up of its proprietary channel. By FY21, we expect proprietary channels to contribute to around 40% of our sales. The association with the former executives of New York Life will support this accelerated growth of agency, and more specifically in the areas of agent recruitment, training and leadership development.



Ted Mathas, Chairman and CEO of New York Life, said, We are proud of the company we built together and pleased to now support our former executives as they share their agency distribution insights and skills to assist Max Life in this next exciting phase of their growth.



Commending the partnership, Analjit Singh, Founder and Chairman Emeritus, Max Group said, I am excited about the refresher and boost our agency and proprietary channels will get. Further, this engagement is testimony to the Max Groups long-standing relationship with New York Life.



About Max Life Insurance Co. Ltd. (www.maxlifeinsurance.com)



Max Life Insurance, one of the leading life insurers in India, is a joint venture between Max Financial Services Ltd. and Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Co. Ltd. Max Financial Services Ltd. is a part of the Max group, which is a leading Indian multi-business corporation, while Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance is a member of MS&AD Insurance group, which is amongst the leading insurers in the world. Max Life Insurance has a vision to be the most admired life insurance company by securing the financial future of its customers. Max Life Insurance offers comprehensive long-term savings, protection and retirement solutions through its high-quality agency distribution and multi-channel distribution partners. A financially stable company with a strong track record over the last 18 years, Max Life Insurance offers superior investment expertise. The company has a strong customer-centric approach focused on need-based sales and quality service delivered through its superior human capital.



During the financial year 2017-18, Max Life Insurance achieved gross written premium of Rs. 12,501 crore and had sum assured in force of Rs. 5,11,541 Crore. As on 31st March 2018, the Company had Rs. 52,237 crore of assets under management (AUM) and a share capital including reserves and surplus of Rs. 2,689 crore. The Company has more than 32 lakh customers serviced by its 10,226 employees and 54,791 agent advisors through 210 offices across the country. PWR

PWR
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New Delhi, Delhi, India  Business Wire India







Photo Caption: Spirit of Manufacturing Awards - Winners Power2SME



Power2SME in collaboration with TiE Delhi NCR concluded the 5th Season of the Spirit of Manufacturing Awards at New Delhi, on the sidelines of TiE Global Summit 2018. Conceptualised in 2014, the Spirit of Manufacturing Awards are dedicated to encourage and applaud innovation in the manufacturing sector. The purpose of the award is to encourage young innovators in the manufacturing space and hone their skills with the right resources under the right leadership so they can be positioned on a fast growth trajectory. The Spirit of Manufacturing awards work as a platform to showcase some of the most promising start-ups in the manufacturing domain across the country.



This year over 1,000 nominations were received for the Spirit of Manufacturing awards, with nominations from women owned enterprises jumping over 20% as compared to last year. Of the 1,000+ nominations received top 25 entries were invited to present their business plan in front of a grand jury comprising of industry luminaries. The jury evaluated each presentation on the basis of their execution strategy, competitive advantage, management depth, sales & marketing strategy and the financial viability. Towards the end of the presentations, the scores were tabulated and winners from each category were announced.



Speaking on the occasion, Mr. R Narayan, Founder and CEO, Power2SME said, Through pioneering innovations, India, over the years, has emerged to be one of the leading hubs for nurturing successful start-ups and entrepreneurs. The Governments flagship initiatives like Make in India and Skill India have been instrumental in supporting manufacturers and SMEs in the Indian Start-up landscape. Recognising unique ideas, products, business models and entrepreneurs at the fifth season of Spirit of Manufacturing awards is a reiteration of the potential and promise that the Indian manufacturing space exudes. With each passing year, the SOM initiative will aim to showcase and applaud inspiring business ideas in the manufacturing space.



Ms. LathikaPai, Country Head  Microsoft for Startups, graced the opulent ceremony as the keynote speaker and shared valuable insights on how India is emerging as a startup hub and a centre for entrepreneurship. Further, she stressed on how SMEs in the manufacturing sector have a crucial role to play in driving growth of the countrys economy.



GeetikaDayal, Executive Director, TiE Delhi NCR opined, The start-up ecosystem is bustling with opportunities. TiE Delhi-NCR is glad to partner with Power2SME for the Spirit of Manufacturing Awards thereby helping enterprising businesses get felicitated &recognised. Now in its fifth year, the response has been overwhelming with a record number of entries. Through these awards, we aim to empower innovative business ideas by providing them with a platform to present their exceptional business propositions.



Winners



Jury members



Young Entrepreneur - CEO & Co-Founder, Abhimanyu Singh, Hexpressions





R Narayan, Founder & CEO, Power2SME



Woman Entrepreneur - RashiNarang, Founder  Heads Up for Tails



Narendra Bansal, Managing Director , Intex



IT Adoption and Innovation  Pramod M, Manager Product Development - Cyclops MedTech





Snehashish Bhattacharjee, CEO & Co-Founder, Denave



Social Impact  Navneet Garg, CEO & Co- Founder - CAYA Constructs





Parminder Singh Sandhu, Founder & CEO, EssentiumPhygen



Special Jury Award  Nishant Singh Rana, Founder  Vyorius











The winners were awarded across 5 categories based on the innovative skills and the tangible impact showcased. The categories included Social Impact, Young Entrepreneur, IT Adoption & Innovation, Woman Entrepreneur of the Year and Special Jury Award.



About Power2SME



The first Buying Club for SMEs in India, Power2SME, financially backed by NandanNilekani, Inventus Capital Partners, Kalaari Capital, the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and Accel Partners, began operations in 2012. Committed to empowering SMEs by increasing their profits, Power2SME focuses on reducing purchase prices for SMEs and enhancing productivity. Power2SME enables SME clients to focus on their core business of driving growth and expansion, while taking on the role of sourcing input raw materials at the most competitive price points across multiple products in categories such as Chemicals, Additives, Inks, Paints, Metals, Polymer Commodity, Polymer Engineering, etc. The company, today, has 16 offices spread across Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, Ahmedabad, Gurgaon, Bangalore, Pune, amongst other, operating in 23 states and Union Territories with a team of 300+ employees across India.



Power2SME works with established and trusted suppliers such as SAIL, TATA Steel, ESSAR Steel, Allied Strips, JSW, Rathi Steel, Victor Exim, Balaji Enterprise, POSCO Steel, Apollo Pipes, JSL, and many more.



Company website: http://www.power2sme.com



About TiE



Founded in 1992, TiE is a global non-profit organization dedicated to fostering entrepreneurship. It is currently the worlds largest organization for entrepreneurs .TiE Delhi-NCR is among the most active and vibrant chapters across the vast TiE network. In the last 18 years, it has continuously taken the lead in creating an increasingly positive ecosystem for entrepreneurs and investors. With a strong mentor support base, marquee events and focused workshops throughout the year it has emerged as one of the most valuable platforms supporting entrepreneurship, nationally. TiE has a wide range of programs including TiE Global Summit http://tieglobalsummit.org, TiE Global Summit, Startup Expo, Special Interest Groups (SIGs) across sectors, TiE Institute &TiE Young Entrepreneurs.



For more details, visit www.delhi.tie.org PWR

PWR
Mumbai, Nov 30 (PTI) Actor Amyra Dastur says it is incredibly tough, especially for outsiders, to get good scripts in the Hindi film industry.

The actor, who has worked in films like "Issaq", "Mr X" and "Kung Fu Yoga", said she came on board Leena Yadav's "Rajma Chawal" because it is a content-driven story.

"Good scripts are difficult to come by in the industry, especially if you are an outsider. For me, it has always been about acting and I will do films which are content- driven," Amyra told PTI.

The actor, however, believes audience has started driving the demand for good content as they are rejecting even a big ticket film like Aamir Khan's "Thugs of Hindostan" if the story is not appealing.

"That's when you realise, especially in this industry, that a good script with good content is so scarce. Even our audience now, they don't want a 'Thugs..', we saw that. They want an 'Andhadhun' or a 'Bhadhaai Ho'. Our audience is craving content."

Amyra, whose film "Rajma Chawal" will release on streaming giant Netflix Friday, and Amyra, 25, digital platform is also changing the way stories are presented.

"With platforms like Netflix, things are evolving as they are making content-driven films and series."

In "Rajma Chawal" she will be seen sharing screen space with veteran actor Rishi Kapoor. Amyra says since she was the last actor to be cast for the comedy-drama, she was aware she had to act alongside Kapoor.

"I was acting in front of him after doing a few movies so it was a little easy for me. I wasn't that nervous. In the film, the equation we share... we are constantly just fighting with each other and have this wicked, sarcastic sense of humour. It is what I share with my father as well. So it wasn't difficult at all," she said.

"Rajma Chawal" chronicles the story of a father who attempts to reconnect with his estranged son through social media, a new world for him.

Post her debut with "Isaaq" in 2013, the actor went in to work in Tamil and Telugu films and credits her experience there for making her a confident actor today.

"There is always a new experience on every set, a new mistake you make. It is a learning experience. I don't think without my South films or my time spent over there, I would've been able to bag a role in 'Rajma Chawal' or do the films I am currently doing. That was my foundation in two years. Now I feel I can do anything," she said.

Her upcoming film is "Mental Hai Kya" with Rajkummar Rao and Kangana Ranaut. PTI JUR KKP SHD BK

BK
Colombo, Nov 30 (PTI) Sri Lanka's Parliament on Friday barred ministers and their private staff from using state funds amid a political standoff in the country after President Maithripala Sirisena in a controversial move sacked Prime Minister Ranil Wickeremesinghe.

The move comes a day after Sri Lankan Parliament overwhelmingly passed a motion to suspend the expenditure of the Prime Minister's Office.

Lanka is witnessing a political crisis since October 26 when President Sirisena sacked Wickeremesinghe and replaced him with former strongman Mahinda Rajapaksa.

Sirisena later dissolved Parliament, almost 20 months before its term was to end, and ordered snap election. The Supreme Court overturned Sirisena's decision to dissolve Parliament and halted the preparations for snap polls.

Friday's motion, submitted by Wickeremesinghe's United National Front (UNF) to curtail funds to the Cabinet ministers, deputy ministers and state ministers, was passed in Parliament with 122 MPs voting in favour of it.

No vote was cast against the motion as lawmakers of the controversially-appointed government boycotted the Parliament session.

Both Wickremesinghe and Rajapaksa claim to be the prime ministers. Wickremesinghe says his dismissal is invalid because he still holds a majority in the 225-member Parliament.

Speaker Karu Jayasuriya has officially conveyed that the House does not recognise Rajapaksa as the legal prime minister until he proved his majority in the House.

The United National Front led by Wickeremesinghe has moved three motions of no trust against Rajapaksa. However, he refused to step down.

The parliamentarians  comprising members of the UNF, JVP and TNA  filed a petition in the Supreme Court against the former president, challenging him to prove on what authority he is holding office as the prime minister after the Parliament voted twice to defeat him on November 14 and November 16.

The November 16 session witnessed unprecedented violence as lawmakers threw furniture and chilli powder at each other.

Jayasuriya had called the police into the House as lawmakers were seen breaking furniture to attack the police, while there were video images of some MPs carrying sharp objects and an MP was seen throwing chilli powder mixed with water at the policemen. The violence had left some lawmakers injured.

The Speaker Thursday announced he has appointed a committee to probe the violence in the Parliament.

The final verdict on Sirisenas sacking of parliament is expected to be delivered next week. PTI Corr NSA AKJ NSA
New Delhi, Nov 30 (PTI) Following are the top stories at 1700 hours:



FGN16 G20-PM-LD BUENOSGUTERRES

India to play responsible role at climate negotiations in Poland: PM Modi to UN chief

Buenos Aires: India will play its "due and responsible" role at the climate change negotiations in Poland next week, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has assured UN chief Antonio Guterres during a meeting on the sidelines of the G20 Summit here.



FGN15 G20-PM-LD SAUDI

Modi, Prince Salman agree to set up mechanism to scale up Saudi Arabia's investments in India

Buenos Aires: Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman have decided to set up a mechanism at the leadership level to scale up the oil-rich kingdom's investments in energy, infrastructure and defence sectors in India as they met on the sidelines of the G-20 summit here.



FGN14 US-GABBARD-PRESIDENCY

Gabbard to hear from Indian-Americans on possibility of a Hindu running for US presidency in 2020

Washington: Tulsi Gabbard, the first Hindu lawmaker in the US Congress, is seeking views from eminent Indian-Americans from across the country on the possibility of a Hindu running for American presidency amid reports that she is considering to run for the White House in 2020.

By Lalit K Jha.



FGN8 US-INDOPAK

US welcomes efforts by India, Pak to increase people-to-people contact

Washington: The United States said on Friday that it welcomes efforts by India and Pakistan to increase people-to-people contact, days after the two neighbouring countries laid foundation stones for a corridor linking two revered gurdwaras on both sides of the border.By Lalit K Jha



FGN17 G20-PM-2NDLD YOGA

Yoga is India's gift to the world: PM Modi

Buenos Aires: Yoga is India's gift to the world for health and peace, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Thursday as he highlighted the benefits of the ancient Indian practice for overall wellbeing.



FGN13 PAK-INDIAN-FISHERMEN

Pakistan arrests 22 Indian fishermen

Karachi: Twenty two Indian fishermen have been arrested by Pakistani authorities for allegedly straying into the country's territorial waters, a security official said Friday.



FGN12 LANKA-PARLIAMENT-MINISTERS

Sri Lanka Parliament bars ministers from using state funds

Colombo: Sri Lanka's Parliament on Friday barred ministers and their private staff from using state funds amid a political standoff in the country after President Maithripala Sirisena in a controversial move sacked Prime Minister Ranil Wickeremesinghe.



FGN10 US-TRUMP-CHINA-TRADE

Trump says very close to China trade deal

Washington: The US is very close to a trade deal with China, President Donald Trump has said, but remained noncommittal to its final outcome ahead of his meeting with Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping in Argentina on the sidelines of the G-20 Summit. By Lalit K Jha



FGN18 G20-OPEN-TRUMP

High tension G20 opens, dominated by Trump quarrels

Buenos Aires: G20 powers open two days of summit talks on Friday after a stormy buildup dominated by tensions with Russia and US President Donald Trump's combative stance on trade and climate fears.(AFP)

FGN19 G20-MERKEL 3RDLD PLANE

Merkel set for late G20 arrival after 'serious' plane malfunction

Berlin: Germany's air force on Friday was investigating a serious technical mishap on Chancellor Angela Merkel's plane that forced an emergency landing and delayed her arrival at the G20 summit by more than 12 hours. (AFP)





RUP

RUP
Buenos Aires, Nov 30 (PTI) Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday reaffirmed India's commitment to globalisation and reformed multilateralism at an informal meeting of the BRICS leaders on the sidelines of the G-20 summit here.

Modi arrived Argentina's capital of Buenos Aires on Thursday to attend the G-20 summit where he will discuss ways to meet the new and upcoming challenges of the coming decade with other world leaders, including US President Donald Trump.

"In his first of the many engagements today, PM @narendramodi participated at #BRICS Leaders Informal Meeting on the margins of #G20Summit. Reaffirmed India's commitment to globalisation and reformed multilateralism," External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Ravish Kumar tweeted.

In his departure statement Thursday, Modi said through the 10 years of its existence, the G-20 has strived to promote stable and sustainable global growth.

"This objective is of particular significance for developing countries and emerging economies such as India, which is today the fastest growing large economy in the world," he said.

Modi said India's contribution to global economic growth and prosperity underlined its commitment to 'Building Consensus for Fair and Sustainable Development', which is the theme of the summit.

"I look forward to meeting leaders from other G-20 countries to review the work of G-20 in the last 10 years of its existence and chart the ways and means to meet the new and upcoming challenges of the coming decade," he said.

The timing of the meetings are directly related to period of major global developments, PMO sources said.

They said it is indicative of India's growing diplomatic and economic profile in the world. PTI SCY AKJ SCY
Buenos Aires, Nov 30 (AFP) G20 leaders, including the presidents of the United States, Russia and China, opened summit talks on Friday stalked by the deepest divisions in the group's 10-year history.

Argentine President Mauricio Macri convened the two-day summit in Buenos Aires, which was attended also by Saudi Arabia's beleaguered crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman.

As the leaders sat down for the summit plenary, Russian President Vladimir Putin and bin Salman -- both arriving at the meeting under a cloud -- greeted each other with an enthusiastic, thumping handshake that resembled a high-five, and hearty laughter.

Several leaders including French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Theresa May said they would raise the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi during talks with the crown prince on the sidelines of the summit.

Putin arrived in Argentina earlier Friday denouncing the "vicious" use of sanctions and trade protectionism in a veiled swipe at US President Donald Trump.

Trump on Thursday cancelled a planned bilateral with Putin over Russia's naval skirmish with Ukraine in waters near Moscow-annexed Crimea. (AFP) SCY

SCY
Buenos Aires, Nov 30 (PTI) India and four other BRICS nations on Friday called for rules-based multilateral trading system, as embodied in the WTO, to ensure transparent, non-discriminatory, open and inclusive international trade, amidst growing protectionism.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Russian President Vladimir Putin, Chinese President Xi Jinping, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa and Brazil President Michel Temer met here on the sidelines of the G-20 Summit and exchanged views on international political, security and global economic-financial issues, as well as challenges facing sustainable development.

In a joint press statement after the meeting, the five leaders said reiterate our commitment to working together to strengthen multi-lateralism and promote a fair, just, equitable, democratic and representative international order.

"We exchanged views on international political, security and global economic-financial issues, as well as challenges facing sustainable development," the statement said.

They also deplore continued terrorist attacks, including against some BRICS countries and condemned terrorism in all forms and manifestations.

"We urge concerted efforts to counter terrorism under the UN auspices on a firm international legal basis. We call upon all nations to adopt a comprehensive approach in combating terrorism, including all the elements identified in the Johannesburg Declaration," they said.

They expressed their commitment to the full implementation of the Paris Agreement adopted under the principles of the UNFCCC including the principles of common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities, it said.

"We call upon all countries to reach a balanced outcome under the Paris Agreement Work Programme during COP-24 that enables operationalisation and implementation of the Paris Agreement. We stress the importance and urgency of conducting a successful and ambitious first replenishment process of the Green Climate Fund," the statement said.

They urged the developed countries to provide financial, technological and capacity-building support to developing countries to enhance their capability in mitigation and adaptation, it added.

Amid the ongoing trade war between the US and China, the leaders also underlined the need for a dispute settlement mechanism of the WTO for its proper and effective functioning and to give members the required confidence to engage in future negotiating in the WTO.

"We reaffirm our full support for the rules-based multilateral trading system, as embodied in the WTO, to ensure transparent, non-discriminatory, open and inclusive international trade. We express our common readiness to engage in frank and result-oriented discussions with other WTO members with a view to improving the functioning of the WTO," they said.

"The spirit and rules of the WTO run counter to unilateral and protectionist measures. We call on all members to oppose such WTO inconsistent measures, stand by their commitments undertaken in the WTO and rollback such measures of a discriminatory and restrictive nature," they said in the statement.

The leaders urged that the appellate body selection process be initiated immediately, as an essential prerequisite for the stable and effective functioning of the WTO dispute settlement system.

Welcoming the G-20 Argentine Presidency's theme of building consensus for fair and sustainable development and its focus on the future of work, infrastructure for development and food security for sustainable future, the leaders said that infrastructure for development and commitment to contribute to bridging the global infrastructure gap was important.

"We advocate for a strong global financial safety met with an adequately resourced, quota-based International Monetary Fund (IMF) at its centre. To this effect, we reaffirm our commitment to the conclusion of the IMF's 15th General Review of Quotas, including a new quota formula so as to ensure the increased voice of the dynamic emerging and developing economies to reflect their relative contributions to the world economy while protecting the voices of the least developed counties, by the 2019 Spring Meetings and no later than the 2019 Annual Meetings," the statement said.

They underlined their commitment to the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Sustainable Development Goals that would provide equitable, inclusive, open, all-round innovation-driven and sustainable development, in its three dimensions  economic, social and environmental - in a balanced and integrated manner, towards the ultimate goal of eradicating poverty by 2030.

"We urge developed countries to honour their ODA commitments fully, in time and to provide additional development resources to developing countries in accordance with the Addis Ababa Action Agenda," the statement said.

"We call on all economies to strengthen their policy dialogue and coordination in the spirit of partnership at the G-20 and other fora to prevent potential risks from spreading," they said. PTI SMJ AKJ SMJ

SMJ
Washington, Nov 30 (AFP) A US District Court judge on Friday tentatively set a sentencing date of March 5 for Paul Manafort, the former campaign manager of President Donald Trump.

Manafort, 69, pleaded guilty in September to one count of conspiracy and another of obstruction of justice and agreed to cooperate with Special Counsel Robert Mueller's probe of possible collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia.

But the special counsel's office said this week that Manafort had violated the plea agreement by lying to investigators.

In court on Friday, prosecutors did not disclose what Manafort had allegedly lied about but were told by the judge to do so by December 7 to give his defense team time to respond.

They did not rule out out the possibility of filing additional charges against the veteran Republican political operative.

"Whether there will be additional charges, that determination has not been made," said Andrew Weissmann, an attorney with the special counsel's office.

US District Court Judge Amy Berman Jackson set March 5 as a tentative date for sentencing on the conspiracy and obstruction charges but said "we may have to put it off."

Manafort, who worked for the Trump campaign for nearly six months in the middle of 2016, was convicted in August in a separate jury trial in Virginia of eight counts of financial fraud that were unrelated to the campaign.

They stemmed from his work for former Ukrainian president Viktor Yanukovych and his pro-Moscow political party between about 2005 and 2014.

Sentencing in that case has been set for February.

Trump has denied any collusion between his 2016 White House campaign and Russia. and frequently denounces the Mueller probe as a "political witch hunt." (AFP) SMJ

SMJ
Berlin, Nov 30 (AFP) German Chancellor Angela Merkel will miss the opening of the G20 summit in Argentina after her plane was forced to make an emergency landing in Cologne on Thursday due to a technical problem, her spokeswoman said.

"We will not be proceeding today," she told AFP.

According to tweets by German journalists on board the Airbus A340, named Konrad Adenauer after Germany's first post-war chancellor, Merkel will leave for Madrid on Friday and head on a commercial flight for Buenos Aires with a slimmed down delegation.

The Chancellery did not confirm these reports.

A senior journalist with the public national television ZDF said Merkel would spend Thursday night in Bonn.

The plane turned back from the Netherlands and landed in Cologne because it was the only base with a replacement aircraft, the DPA news agency said.

It was met on the tarmac by fire engines, DPA said, adding that the captain told the passengers the plane would have to turn back as a technical problem was disrupting several electrical systems. (AFP) GVS
Tender process of Balasaheb insurance plan in final stage:Govt

Mumbai, Nov 30 (PTI) The tender process related to the

Balasaheb Thackeray Accidental Insurance Scheme in Maharashtra

is in its final stage and its implementation will happen soon,

the Legislative Council was informed Friday.

Health Minister Deepak Sawant said once this scheme,

which seeks to ensure no accident victim is denied immediate

treatment in hospital, comes into force, the state will have

three government-sponsored health plans for citizens.

Sawant was replying to a calling attention motion over

the accident insurance scheme moved by Prasad Lad (BJP).

He said this scheme was approved on June 7, 2016 by

the state cabinet.

"However, the central government came up with the

Ayushman Bharat health scheme. We have now got clarity about

this (Balasaheb Thackeray) scheme which is in the final stage

of implementation," Sawant said.

He informed the Upper House that once this scheme is

implemented, the state will have three health plans - the

other two being Ayushman Bharat and the Mahatma Jyotiba Phule

Jan Arogya Yojana.

Under the Balasaheb Thackeray Accidental Insurance

Scheme, an accident victim will get a maximum benefit of Rs

30,000 or free treatment for 72 hours in hospital, he said.

The scheme's objective is to ensure no accident victim

is denied treatment by any hospital in the state, Sawant said.

The government had announced this scheme in 2015.

Lad said despite getting the Cabinet's approval, the

accidental insurance scheme had not been implemented till

date.

"The result of this is that many accident victims have

not been given treatment, leading to threat to their lives,"

the BJP legislator said.

He said as accidents are increasing day by day, the

government should implement this scheme without any delay.

According to the health department, the aim of this

scheme is to provide treatment in the `golden hour' to

accident victims on any road in the state. PTI MM

RSY RSY
Mumbai, Nov 30 (PTI) In a story under file name LGB5, slugged MH-HC-RBI-CIC-ROW moved on November 29, 2018, PTI erroneously reported that the CIC has asked RBI to release the names of "wilful defaulters". It had in fact asked for information of "foreign donors." A corrected story is attached below.

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HC seeks govt view on RBI plea against CIC order on naming foreign donors

Mumbai, Nov 30 (PTI) The Bombay High Court Thursday directed the Union government to file its affidavit in response to a petition filed by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) challenging an order of the Central Information Commission (CIC) seeking disclosure of foreign donors list.

The CIC had on July 4 this year, while hearing an application filed by Delhi resident Ajay Gupta, directed RBI to disclose its list of foreign donors placed by the ministry of Home Affairs on the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act.

The RBI was directed to provide the information within four weeks.

When it failed to do so, the CIC earlier this month issued a show-cause notice to RBI Governor Urjit Patel.

The CIC had asked Patel to explain why a penalty should not be imposed on him.

The RBI then approached the high court challenging the July 4 order of the CIC and also the show-cause notice issued to Patel.

The petition came up for hearing on Thursday before a division bench of Justices B P Dharmadhikari and S V Kotwal.

Advocate D P Singh, appearing for the Union government, sought time to file affidavit in response to the petition.

The bench then posted the petition for further hearing on December 18.

An interim stay granted earlier by HC on implementation of the CIC order and notice shall continue till then, HC said.

RBI in its petition said the Union Ministry of Home Affairs gives such information to it on a confidential basis and has asked RBI to not disclose the same.

"RBI is only maintaining and respecting this confidentiality. In August, the RBI addressed a letter to the Ministry apprising it of the CIC order. The Ministry replied and said that the information was confidential and ought not to be disclosed," the petition said.

It added that the CIC order was arbitrary and bad in law as the RBI was not the proprietor of the information.

The RBI further claimed that it only passes on information received from the ministry to the concerned banks and does not maintain a data base of the said information.

The petition further claimed that disclosure of such information would have an impact on the security of the country.

"The disclosure of said information may have a serious impact on the national security and hence cannot be made public as it involves far reaching consequences, " the plea said. PTI SP BNM VJ

VJ
Pune, Nov 30 (PTI) Army chief General Bipin Rawat Friday said Pakistan must curtail terror activities on its soil and develop itself as a secular state if it wanted cordial relations with India.

He also said the Indian Army was not yet ready to have women in combat roles.

Rawat was speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the Passing Out Parade of the 135th course at the National Defence Academy (NDA) here.

Asked about a recent statement of Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan about his country willing to take two steps for every step forward by India, he said the neighbouring nation should first take steps to curtail terror activities on its soil.

"I would like to tell Pakistan to initiate that first step (curtailing terror). In the past, India has taken several steps. When we say terror is being harboured in your country, show some action by curtailing terror activities which are used against India," Rawat advised Pakistan.

On Khan's statement as to why India and Pakistan could not be friends when Germany and France could be good neighbours, he said the neighbouring country first needed to see its internal condition.

"They have turned Pakistan into an Islamic country. If they want cordial relations with India, they will have to develop themselves as a secular state," Rawat said.

"How can you say that we can stay together when you are an Islamic state? India is a secular state and for us to stay together, both of us will have to be secular. If they are willing to become secular like us, I think they have an opportunity," he added.

Speaking about assigning combat roles to women in the armed forces, Rawat said, "We are not yet ready for that as facilities have to be created within the armed forces and women also need to be prepared for that kind of hardships. It is not easy. Let us not compare ourselves with western nations. The western nations are more open," he said.

"Yes, we may be more open in our big cities, but our Army personnel are not coming from big cities only. They are coming from rural areas too, where the intermingling, which is expected, is still not there," the Army chief added.

"Women officers are being inducted in all the three services. But what we have to decide is whether some of them can be given permanent commission. The Army too has taken a call that there are some aspects, some fields, where we need some kind of continuity and permanency.

"In a command-oriented Army, male officers do not fit the bill everywhere. The Army needs language interpreters as military diplomacy is gaining ground. The basic requirement is understanding the language while talking to other nations, military to military. So we are looking for women as interpreters," he said.

Rawat added that there were several other fields where the Army was thinking of inducting women. PTI SPK BNM RC
Nagaland signs MoU with Estonian academy on e-governance

Kohima, Nov 30 (PTI) The Nagaland government on Friday

inked an MoU with Estonian academy to enlighten the state

people on the e-governance models prevailing in the world.

The main objective of the five-year agreement with the

e-Governance Academy of Estonia is to work together to develop

and expand scientific collaboration on setting up e-Governance

Academy in Nagaland, officials said.

The agreement was signed during the current edition of

the e-Naga Summit, held with a vision to embark on a process

to instill the spirit of innovation and use of technology for

impacting positive change in the society, they said.

Inaugurating the summit, Governor P B Acharya said the

world today is depending on Information Technology for easier

access to information and services.

The e-Naga Summit can be the right platform in

bringing together experts in the IT field from different

countries, industries, central and state governments

officials, he said.

"We must invest in skill development of youths in

order to realize their full potential," he said.

"India's IT industry is playing a major role not only

in India but all over the world's economic growth, he said.

He cited the success of software business in

Bangalore, Hyderabad and Chennai which, he said, are

indication of how the economy can grow fast by employing the

latest IT technology.

the time has come for Nagaland to harness the benefits

of IT, the governor said.

The day long e-Naga Summit was held on the theme,

"Building IT infrastructure to make the state of Nagaland the

next IT hub of South-East Asia". PTI NBS

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(Eds: Updating with more quotes of Kejriwal)

New Delhi, Nov 30 (PTI) Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal alleged Friday that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has "stabbed farmers in the back" by not fulfilling the promises made to them and warned him that they would "wreak havoc" in 2019 general elections if those promises are not kept.

The AAP chief joined several leaders from opposition parties at Jantar Mantar in Delhi, where thousands of farmers from across the country have gathered to press for their demands, including debt relief and remunerative prices for their produce.

In his address at the venue, Kejriwal claimed that the Centre had filed an affidavit in the Supreme Court saying it would not implement the M S Swaminathan Commission report.

"The government had made a number of promises to farmers in the last election (2014), but it has not fulfilled those promises. By not implementing the Swaminathan Commission report, Modi ji has stabbed the farmers in the back ('kisano ke peeth mey chhura bhonka hai')," he alleged.

He said the Union government should implement the report in five months.

"The affidavit filed in the court should be withdrawn and the report should be implemented, otherwise, farmers would wreak havoc in 2019 elections ('kisan agle election mey qayamat dhah denge')," he said.

"The debt of farmers should be waived and they should get the full price for their produce. Farmers are not asking for alms, they are demanding their right. If farmers get the full price of their produce, they would not come back to ask for waiving their loans," he said.

Kejriwal said though the government assigns a Minimum Support Price, no one actually buys their produce at that rate.

"The Fasal Beema Yojna is fraud and is cheating farmers. The insurance companies withdraw money from farmers without their permission and thousands of crores have been withdrawn in this manner. When farmers lose their produce, these companies impose condition that compensation would be given only if 70 per cent of the produce has been destroyed," he claimed.

"This insurance scheme should be stopped as it is BJP's daka (dacoity) yojana and instead kisan muawza yojna (farmers compensation scheme) must be brought in to give them the right compensation. A country whose farmers are starving can never witness development," he said.

Kejriwal demanded that farmers be compensated within two months if their produce is destroyed.

He alleged that the prime minister was showing concern only for corporates and was not worried about the agrarian distress. "If you do not address their (farmers') concerns, then next time ask for votes also from Adani and Ambani, do not ask farmers to vote for you," Kejriwal said.

Modi has said he was not afraid of being seen with industrialists who are playing a key role in the nation's development as his his "intentions" are clear. PTI UZM DMB KND UZM ABH

ABH
New Delhi, Nov 30(PTI) RSS-affiliate Swadeshi Jagaran Manch (SJM) Friday urged the Prime Minister Narendra Modi to ensure level playing field for domestic investors in insurance brokerage firms.

In a letter to Modi, SJM national convener Ashwani Mahajan has accused Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority(IRDA) of "favouring" foreign investors.

The IRDA (Insurance Brokers) Regulations, 2018, is "completely unfair" and is "tilted in favour" of the multinational brokerage houses, Mahajan alleged in his letter.

"We are seeking your direct intervention in this and a level playing field for the domestic and indigenous players," said the letter by Mahajan. PTI VIT



VIT ANB

ANB
New Delhi, Nov 30 (PTI) External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj Friday met with Regis Immongault, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Gabon during which the two discussed ways to strengthen the bilateral ties, an official statement said.

During the meeting, both the sides discussed issues of bilateral and regional interest including combating terrorism and development partnership, the statement by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said.

The importance of enhancement of bilateral trade and investment was also emphasised in the meeting. The two sides agreed to identify priority projects in the areas of mutual cooperation to be undertaken with the support of Government of India's concessional lines of credit, it said.

The total value of bilateral trade in 2017-18 stood at USD 440.47 million.

Oil India Limited, a public sector undertaking, is the operator of an onshore exploration block in Gabon.

Immongault, who arrived in India on Wednesday, also met Commerce and Industry and Civil Aviation Minister Suresh Prabhu, Minister of Steel Chaudhary Birender Singh and Minister of State for Chemicals and Fertilizers Rao Inderjit Singh.

The president of Gabon had visited India in October 2015 to attend the India-Africa Forum Summit (IAFS) and later in March 2018 to participate in the Founding Conference of International Solar Alliance (ISA).

PTI PR SRY
Kolkata, Nov 28 (PTI) The Calcutta High Court Friday refused to stay the scheduled election of West Bengal minister Firhad Hakim as the mayor of the city.

Hakim has been chosen as the mayor designate of the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) by councillors of the ruling Trinamool Congress following Sovan Chatterjee's resignation from the post on a direction by party supremo and Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.

An opposition CPI(M) councillor had moved the high court, challenging Hakim's scheduled election on the ground that he was not an elected councillor from any of the wards of the KMC.

Refusing to pass any interim stay, Justice Debangshu Basak directed the state and the KMC to file affidavits in opposition to the petition of CPI(M) councillor Bilkis Begum.

The petitioner was directed to file her affidavit in reply within another week.

The matter would be taken up for further hearing on December 17, the court directed.

The petitioner challenged the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (Second Amendment) Bill, 2018, which was passed by the West Bengal Assembly recently.

The amended act, to which the governor has given his assent, enables a person, who is not an elected councillor, to be made a mayor of the KMC. The person would have to be elected within six months to continue in the post.

The amendment facilitated the taking over of Firhad Hakim, who is not a councillor, as the mayor of KMC. Hakim is a minister in the West Bengal cabinet.

The councillor prayed for the nullification of the amendment, claiming that the amended act is unconstitutional.

Appearing for the petitioner, senior counsel Bikash Bhattacharya submitted that a mayor of the city is elected from among the elected representatives.

The Constitution does not provide for a non-elected person to head a local or municipal body, Bhattacharya, himself a former mayor of the city from the CPI(M), submitted.

He claimed that the Assembly did not have the authority to change the laws governing the election of a mayor to a civic body.

Appearing for the state, Advocate General Kishore Dutta submitted that since the Constitution did not expressly prohibit the election of a non-member of the municipal body to the post of mayor, it could not be termed unconstitutional.

While the AG claimed that "a prohibition cannot be assumed", Bhattacharya submitted that "it cannot be done unless there is an enabling provision."

Senior counsel Saktinath Mukherjee, appearing for the KMC, submitted that the Constitution provided that a state legislature will legislate on all matters relating to election in a municipal body.

Stating that there is no bar on the legislature in legislating on matters related to the election in a municipal body, Mukherjee submitted that prohibition is to be expressed and cannot be inferred.

Justice Basak asked whether a mayor, who is not an elected representative, could vote on any issue in the House, to which Mukherjee said the right could be exercised only after he was elected from one of the wards in the municipal corporation.

The Trinamool Congress, which has a huge majority in the KMC with 122 seats out of a total 144, has elected Firhad Hakim as its leader in the municipal body.

The Left Front has 14, BJP 5 and the Congress 2 seats, while one seat is vacant.

While Hakim has filed his nomination for the mayor's post from the TMC, councillor Meena Devi Purohit, a former deputy mayor of the KMC, has filed as a BJP candidate.

Election for the post of mayor to KMC is scheduled to be held on December 3. PTI AMR NN IJT
New Delhi, Nov 30 (PTI) The Supreme Court Friday agreed to hear the pleas of Bihar and Punjab seeking modification of an earlier order directing states to mandatorily take the assistance of UPSC in short listing the names for appointing Director General of Police (DGP).

The top court, on July 3 this year, passed a slew of directions on police reforms in the country and chronicled the steps for appointment of regular DGPs.

It stated that the states will have to send a list of senior police officers to Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) at least three months prior to the retirement of the incumbent. The commission will then prepare a panel and intimate to the states, which in turn will immediately appoint one of the persons from that list.

A bench comprising Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi and Justice S K Kaul was on Friday told by the governments of Bihar and Punjab that the July 3 order needed to be modified as they have already come out with the state laws to deal with the issue of appointment of DGP.

Lawyer Shoeb Alam, appearing for Bihar, said the state has already framed a comprehensive law, dealing with various aspects including the procedures to appoint the DGP, in pursuance of the 2006 apex court verdict on police reforms.

He said the apex court's direction on appointment of the DGP needed to be modified.

Senior lawyer P Chidambaram appeared for the Punjab government. The apex court has now fixed the pleas of both states for hearing on December 7.

The West Bengal government has also filed a similar plea. Earlier, the apex court had passed a slew of directions on police reforms in the country and had restrained all states and union territories from appointing any police officer as acting DGPs.

The top court's direction had come on an application filed by the Centre in which it claimed that certain states have been appointing acting DGPs and then making them permanent just before the date of their superannuation to enable them get the benefit of an additional two-year tenure till the age of 62 years.

The bench had ordered keeping in abeyance any rule or legislation framed by any of the states or the Centre running counter to the earlier direction of the court.

The court, however, had said that if any state has a grievance with regard to the directions, then they may approach it for modification of the order.

The apex court, on September 8 last year, had agreed to hear a clutch of pleas observing that its historic 2006 verdict on police reforms, recommending steps like fixed tenures for DGPs and SPs, has not yet been implemented by states and union territories.

The apex court, while deciding the PIL filed by two former DGPs Prakash Singh and N K Singh in 2006, had issued several directions, including setting up of a state security commission, to ensure that the government does not exercise unwarranted influence on the police.

It had said the appointment of DGPs and police officers should be merit-based and transparent and officers like DGPs and Superintendents of Police (SPs) should have a minimum fixed tenure of two years. PTI SJK ABA MNL RKS SA
Chennai, Nov 30 (PTI) The Madras High Court Friday quashed a Tamil Nadu government order transferring the investigation of idol theft cases to the CBI, holding that it was unreasonable, mala fide and transgression of judicial orders.

A special bench of justices R Mahadevan and P D Audikesavulu, set up to hear petitions related to idol thefts, criticised the government for "hurriedly" taking the decision to transfer the cases to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI)by its August 1 order, when the court entrusted the job to a team appointed by it.

It had ordered appointment of Inspector General Pon Manickavel, who superannuated Friday as the Idol Wing chief, as a special officer to investigate present and future cases for one year.

Reposing its faith in the IPS officer, the court said he was instrumental in recovering many stolen idols.

The court came down on the government for issuing an order Thursday upgrading the post of IG Idol Wing to additional director general of police and appointing ADGP Abhay Kumar Singh to succeed Manickavel after it reserved orders on the petitions challenging the CBI probe.

"The entire process followed in the issuance of the (August 1) government order is illegal. The decision seems to have been taken by four officials, and not by the government, within a day, for reasons which would not require an investigation by the CBI or any central agency," it said.

Strangely and illegally, the genesis of the so-called policy decision had come from the office of the then Commissioner of Hindu and Religious Charitable Endowments Department, Jaya, who seems to be unjustifiably unhappy because of the action taken by the team appointed by the court and who was pulled up by this court for non-cooperation, it said.

The court on August 8 stayed the government order on petitions filed by advocate Elephant Rajendran and social activist Traffic Ramaswamy, seeking to quash the order transferring the cases to the CBI.

Taking a serious view of the theft of antique idols, the court had in July last year directed transfer of all pending cases in the state to a court in Kumbakonam, Thanjavur district for their effective and speedy disposal.

Several idols had been stolen from the district.

It had also quashed Manickavel transfer order from the wing and directed him to constitute a team to continue investigation.

The state government had contended it was a policy decision and there were enough and sufficient grounds for transferring the investigation to the CBI as in some cases, there were international and inter-state ramifications.

It had said the probe needed the cooperation of central agencies, embassies and foreign governments. In some cases, the accused might need to be extradited from foreign nations, the government said.

Rejecting the government's stand, the court in its order said neither concurrence of this court nor of the CBI was obtained before issuing the government order, which has not only resulted in transgression of the judicial order but led to the refusal of the agency to take up the probe.

The bench said it was of the view that the action of the officials involved warranted initiation of contempt action, but it was refraining from taking such action for the present.

It noted that Manickavel had arrested many officers who had either aided in the theft or in concealing the theft. The arrested include officers from his own police department, high ranked officers from the HR & CE department and politically influential people.

Refusing the arguments of the government that Manickavel was not revealing his course of action to his superior officers, the bench said as an officer appointed by this court, he is liable to submit the report only to this court.

"Needless to say that an investigating officer or his team is not expected to reveal their course of action to any one until the task is completed. If such a procedure is adopted, it would not only defeat free, fair and impartial investigation but also defeats the very purpose of probe in sensitive cases," the bench said in its order.

Therefore, the demand of the state and the superior officers to disclose the names of the suspects or alleged offenders was not only unwarranted but also untenable, it said, adding such information would affect the probe and may facilitate offenders to flee.

Backing the IG, the bench said the officer was fair and impartial, and it was satisfied with the procedure followed by him in securing the accused.

"...Even recently more than 250 idols were unearthed by him based on information received from credible sources. Some idols were also recovered during transit. He has been able to keep the informants intact and show tremendous progress," the court said.

It said members of the special team shall continue to be part of it and any personnel as requested by Manickavel, shall be spared by the state government.

Ordering that he would continue to draw the same pay and benefits available to him at the time of retirement, it directed him to periodically submit reports on the probe before the appropriate court, and also the high court in a sealed cover for monitoring investigations.

The CBI and other agencies of the Centre shall continue to give appropriate support to the Special officer and his team.

No action or enquiry against the Special officer or any member of his team shall be initiated except with the concurrence of this court, it said.

The bench posted the matter after six weeks for compliance of its directions. PTI CORR VS ANB

ANB
Bengaluru, Nov 30 (PTI) Karnataka Minister Ramesh Jarkiholi Friday denied reports that some disgruntled Congress MLAs loyal to him had planned to shift to Mumbai ahead of the December 10 assembly session.

He alleged that attempts were being made by some "self proclaimed influential party leaders" to damage his image.

"I have been here at my home since the last two days, there is a propaganda going on about Mumbai, you (media) think about it," Jarkiholi told reporters here.

"I won't say much. I feel that this is the work of self proclaimed influential Congress leaders to damage my name," he added.

Conceding that he had some differences with the party, Jarkiholi clarified that the issues were resolved after mediation by former chief minister Siddaramaiah and senior Congress leader Mallikarjuna Kharge.

"I don't know why leaving everything, the media friends are doing this in the name of Ramesh Jarkiholi... Kindly close this (matter)... Everything is resolved. You can see whether I'm in Mumbai or Bengaluru," he added.

The reports about shifting the lawmakers to Mumbai have come amidst a growing clamour among Congress MLAs to expand the coalition cabinet at the earliest and their alleged discomfort regarding the functioning of the government.

Though Jarkiholi did not name the "self proclaimed influential Congress leaders," speculations were rife that it was directed towards Water Resources Minister D K Shivakumar.

Reacting to the reports, Shivakumar asked the media to refrain from spoiling Jarkiholi's image, calling him a "friend".

"Why are you spoiling his (Jarkiholi) image? He is a loyal Congressman. He has grown in the party from the youth Congress. He won't do such a thing. You (media) are creating it," he said.

In September, the Congress was rocked by an internal dissent that was triggered by a faction of MLAs led by Jarkiholi, locked in a turf war with Shivakumar.

The siblings were apparently upset over Shivakumar allegedly trying to challenge their authority in Belagavi district through MLA Laxmi Hebbalkar.

It was also alleged that the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was in touch with the Jarkiholi brothers' (Ramesh and MLA Satish) in a bid to dislodge the Congress-Janata Dal(Secular) coalition government. PTI KSU RA APR RHL
Agra (UP), Nov 30 (PTI) An Indian Flapshell turtle who was in danger of being attacked by wild dogs was rescued from a residential area here, a wildlife NGO said Friday.

The turtle was kept under observation for a few hours and later released in Keetham Lake, once deemed fit by veterinarians, the Wildlife SOS said.

The reptile, seen by a local who was out for a walk at a neighbourhood park, was in danger of being attacked by wild dogs. A two-member team of the NGO intervened and rescued the turtle.

The Indian flapshell turtle is a freshwater species found in South Asia. It is listed under Schedule I of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972 and thereby is granted the same level of protection as the tiger.

Poaching or the possession of any protected wildlife species and the illegal trade of their body parts is a criminal offence leading to imprisonment for three to seven years.



PTI CORR

























An Indian Flapshell Turtle was rescued by Wildlife SOS

after it was spotted in a park near a residential colony in Vijay Vihar located

in Shahganj, Agra.

The turtle was kept under observation for a few hours and later released in Keetham Lake, once deemed fit by the Wildlife

SOS veterinarians.







While out for a walk in the neighbourhood

park, a concerned resident chanced upon a rather unexpected animal. A turtle,

later identified as a Flapshell turtle was in danger of being attacked by feral

dogs. A two-member team rescued it.







The Indian Flapshell

Turtle (Lissemys punctata) is a freshwater species found in South Asia.

It is

listed under Schedule I of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972 and thereby is

granted the same level of protection as the tiger. Poaching or the possession of any protected

wildlife species and the illegal trade of their body parts is a criminal

offence leading to imprisonment for between three to seven years.







Suraj Sahani,

the person who called Wildlife SOS said, I spotted the turtle in the park and intervened when I

heard some neighbourhood dogs barking at it. I am glad the Wildlife SOS team

responded quickly and that the turtle was in their safe hands.







Kartick

Satyanarayan, co-founder & CEO Wildlife SOS said, We believe that the tortoise was kept

illegally and had been abandoned in the park. Flap shell turtles are poached

extensively for meat, considered a delicacy in some parts of Southeast

Asia. The body parts of these reptiles are also sold illegally due

to their supposed aphrodisiacal properties and for use in traditional Chinese

medicine. It is a commonly misguided belief that turtle shells possess

medicinal and healing properties and that consuming the shell can cure

tuberculosis and various skin diseases. However, there is no scientific and

medical proof to support such claims.







Baiju Raj

M.V., Director Conservation Projects, Wildlife SOS, said We are glad to see that more and more

people are making a conscious decision to help out animals in distress. Turtles

are essential to the ecosystem as they clean the water bodies by mainly feeding

on plants that grow in water, small insects and even dead marine animals and

fish.

























http://ptinews.com/images/pti.jpg



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Pithoragarh, Nov 30 (PTI) All technical issues related to the long-awaited Pancheshwar dam in Uttarakhand have been resolved between India and Nepal, Chairman of the Central Water Commission, S Masood Hussaini, said Friday.

Pancheshwar dam on river Mahakali in Champawat district of the state is likely to address the power and irrigation needs of the two neighbours. The multi-purpose project has been hanging fire for the last 35 years.

"Only non-technical matters like sharing of water, cost of project as well as some provisions of the Indo-Nepal water treaty are to be resolved between the two countries now, he told reporters here.

Hussaini was addressing the media in Champawat following the first site survey by the team of experts after WAPCOS submitted the second Detailed Project Report (DPR) last year.

"There were over 250 objections on the DPR prepared by WAPCOS. The objections were on things like height of the dam, hydrological design and other technical details. However, they have been sorted out by experts of both the countries," he said.

The CWC chairman also heads the high powered technical committee of experts on the Pancheshwar project. It was constituted by the Union water resources ministry and has over 35 members including 3 experts from Nepal.

Water and Power Consultancy Services (WAPCOS) Limited is a public sector organisation under the ministry of water resources, river development and Ganga rejuvenation. PTI Corr ALM RCJ

RCJ
Schadenfreude: Hedge Funder Crispin is the big winner from Brookfield's collapsed takeover of Intu

Buffoonish hedge funder Crispin Odey is a winner from the collapsed takeover of Intu.

He staked a 40million bet against the shopping centre owners shares, which yesterday fell 40 per cent.

Back-from-the-dead Odey, whose heart soars at the first sign of crisis, once gleefully declared: Bad days tend to be good for us.

City grandees including Michael Spencer, Roland Rudd and Paul Drechsler were out in force this week for the Sunday Times Business party at Claridges.

No sign of Topshop tycoon Sir Philip Green, once the life and soul of the well-attended shindig until BHSs collapse was first uncovered by the newspaper.

His narrow-eyed public relations man Neil Bennett, however, was more willing to accept a flute of the Murdoch fizz.

Jacob Rees-Moggs description of Bank of England governor Mark Carney as a failed second-tier politician is an escalation in tensions.

The pair sparred regularly during Treasury select committee hearings but this breaks new ground.

Two years ago, Jacob opened proceedings by thanking Carney for his invite to the Banks Christmas party. I doubt theres a seasonal stiffy in the post to Castle Mogg this year.

A peculiar postscript to Donald Trumps sacking of matronly Federal Reserve chairman Janet Yellen, whom he replaced earlier this year with hawkish silver fox Jerome Powell.

The Washington Post reports the President was very impressed when he interviewed her about serving a second term but took issue with her physical stature.

He reportedly told aides on the National Economic Council that, at 5ft 3in, the old dear simply wasnt tall enough to lead the central bank. Barmy, but the Donald appears riddled with petty prejudices.

Chancellor Philip Hammond attended a reception on Wednesday for the Abraham Fund Initiatives, where he was guest of honour.

Despite his Eeyorish public persona, Im told that Hammond was witty and engaging company.

Aides practically had to drag him away from guests to catch his flight to Buenos Aires for todays G20 summit.

Certainly a more dignified spectacle than the one his Cabinet colleagues put on across town at the Spectators backslapping Parliamentarian awards.
Brexit has given UK investors a lot of food for thought. While the pound dropped after the referendum, as traders tried to digest what leaving the EU would mean for the economy, the effect on the stock market has been more subtle.

The FTSE 100 index fell sharply in the aftermath of the 2016 vote, but recovered to hit a record high in May.

Although it has fallen 10 per cent since then, it is still 12 per cent above where it was before the referendum.

Likewise the FTSE 250 has slumped 13 per cent since its high in June this year as Brexit crept closer, but is 9 per cent higher than it was before the vote.

Yet the generally positive performance masks differences between the sectors.

Whole industries have seen their shares depressed amid fears that any type of Brexit could shake the UK economy.

Cutting ties with continental Europe could stunt economic growth, so the argument goes, making consumers less willing to spend.

Big High Street banks have also struggled to buck up their shares for similar reasons, as they are largely at the whim of consumers and businesses.

With political turmoil gripping Westminster, as MPs debate whether to back Theresa Mays withdrawal deal, many investors are wondering what to do.

In the event of a no-deal Brexit, when all economic fears would be amplified and the pound could plunge, big international companies which make chunks of their earnings in other currencies are buffered on two counts.

Firstly, they are less dependent on the UK consumer, and secondly, if the pound falls, this would make their foreign earnings more valuable when converted back into sterling.

Danny Cox, of Hargreaves Lansdown, says stocks such as drugs giant Glaxosmithkline, oil firm BP and Marmite-maker Unilever should be reliable in the event of a no-deal Brexit.

Patrick Thomas, investment manager at Canaccord Genuity Wealth Management, recommends funds such as Scottish Mortgage Trust or Polar Capital Healthcare.

Both have international exposure and are focused on tech and healthcare respectively  areas which are likely to keep growing regardless of Brexit.

Steve Davies, manager of the Jupiter UK Growth Fund, has also been reducing exposure to domestically focused stocks and ploughing it back into international businesses.

Davies emphasises that he hasnt sold any of his bread-and-butter UK companies entirely. In fact, he believes their fundamentals to be strong, but that adding diversity is prudent.

Poll Are UK shares a value opportunity? Yes No Are UK shares a value opportunity? Yes 267 votes

No 73 votes Now share your opinion





James Klempster, head of investment management at Momentum, is wary of trying to predict politics. But though he too has been weighting towards overseas-focused companies, he believes many UK firms are looking strong beneath the sterling risks.

Indeed if a Brexit deal is agreed, the same companies which have taken a battering could see shares shoot up.

Firms such as Lloyds Bank, Taylor Wimpey and brick maker Ibstock could be good bets for investors confident of a more orderly Brexit, Cox says.

For anyone who is completely negative on their outlook, Thomas suggests the so-called absolute return sector of investment funds.

Options such as the Personal Assets Trust and Ruffer Total Return can hold assets like gold and currencies, and though they tend to be on the back foot when markets are rising, volatility and uncertainty is often their friend.
Platinum producer Lonmin made 53m in the year to the end of September

MINING PROFIT Platinum producer Lonmin has made an annual pre-tax profit for the first time since 2013.

It made 53million in the year to the end of September, up from a loss of 939million last year.

It is being bought by South Africas Sibanye-Stillwater in a 285million deal.

OIL DIVI Explorer Tullow Oil will start paying investors a dividend again from 2019, handing out at least 78million for a yield of around 3 per cent.

IRON WORK Miner Rio Tinto will spend more than 2billion on building its most technologically advanced mine in Western Australia, with work due to start next year.

SOLDIER DEAL Tech firm Microsoft has won a 375million contract from the US military to supply 2,500 augmented reality headsets to soldiers.

APPLE SALES Top Apple executive Greg Joswiak says the new iPhone XR is its best seller ever, denying rumours of a slump after reports that parts suppliers are expecting lower demand.

ALLIANCE PLEDGE Car makers Renault, Mitsubishi and Nissan have reaffirmed their commitment to their 1999 alliance, despite the arrest of boss Carlos Ghosn.

AIR BOOST Passenger numbers at Gatwick Airport grew 0.5 per cent to 26.5m in the six months to September 30, compared with a year earlier. Revenue increased 5.4 per cent to 512.5million while profits fell 1 per cent to 139.1million.

ASIA START Toy seller Hamleys has opened its first store in Japan and plans 30 more in east Asia.

AMAZON PROBE Germanys competition watchdog is probing Amazon after complaints that the online shopping giant is piling unfair charges on companies which sell their goods through its website.

JOBS AXE Pharma group Bayer is axing 12,000 jobs and selling some businesses after its 49billion takeover of seed company Monsanto went disastrously wrong.

It will divest its animal health division, seek a buyer for its 60 per cent stake in German group Currenta and is looking at options for its consumer health unit.

DRINKS FIZZ Pepsi maker Britvic posted higher than expected profits as its low and no-sugar drinks proved a hit.

Revenues climbed 5.1 per cent to 5.2billion in the year to November 29. Profits rose 5 per cent to 146million.
Donald Trump has threatened to raise tariffs on cars imported to the US

Donald Trump has threatened to raise tariffs on cars imported to the US after General Motors announced more than 14,000 job cuts and five factory closures.

The US President has criticised the car maker and said it should have shut facilities in other countries instead.

And he pointed to the US's 25 per cent tariffs on imported pick-up trucks and vans, tweeting: 'If we did that with cars coming in, many more cars would be built here.'

The US has a 2.5 per cent import tariff on cars and SUVs but the White House is said to now be considering raising it to 25 per cent.

The proposals have spooked European car makers, with shares in BMW falling yesterday.
One of the big fallers this week on AIM was oil explorer Petro Matad, which sank 57 per cent to 2.50p after its Wild Horse well in Mongolia failed to find any oil.

The dry well, a second disappointment following Matads Snow Leopard well news in September, will now be plugged and abandoned as the company pauses production for the winter.

Meanwhile, oil & gas explorer Lekoil was also on the slide, dropping 5 per cent over the week to 8.30p after it requested an extension to its OPL 310 offshore licence in Nigeria.

Oil explorers: Petro Matad and Lekoil have seen shares plunge this week

The firm is hoping to extend the license in an effort to recover the three years and one month that it said it had lost due to regulatory delays.

Elsewhere, investment fund Amedeo Resources lost around two-thirds of its value as its shares crashed 67 per cent lower to 3p after it proposed the cancellation of its shares on AIM.

The company cited the costs of maintaining trading and the limited liquidity of the shares as key reasons for the cancellation.

Concierge services provider Ten Lifestyle Group was another hefty plunger, falling 55 per cent to 28.20p after reporting a wider annual loss and net revenues that missed expectations.

The company said the launch of its enhanced proprietary digital platform took place later than planned, affecting its revenue expectations, while its loss widened to 8.1million compared to 1.6million in 2017.

Back with resource stocks, Altona Energy shares slumped by 18 per cent over the week to 102.50p as it temporarily halting activities at its Westfield Tenement in Australia.

The specialist coal miner said the suspension would allow it explore ways to exploit its exclusive license for the use of pyrolysis, a method of making coke and charcoal from coal, in China and Australia.

But a coal player seeing better fortunes was GCM Resources as its shares soared 70 per cent higher to 20.50p on the back of a memorandum of understanding with the Power Construction Corporation of China.

The MoU is based on plans for both firms to develop GCMs proposed coal mine in Bangladesh as well as power plants generating up to 4,000 megawatts at the mine site.

Elsewhere in the mining sector, gold explorer Oriole Resources jumped 25 per cent higher to 0.41p after hitting bonanza grade gold at its Bibemi project in Cameroon.

Over the week, the AIM All-Share moved slightly higher, up 0.2 per cent to 933 points, while the FTSE 100 was less lucky falling 0.7 per cent to 6,989.

Back with the AIM risers, forex trading platform TechFinancials was also raking it in, adding 8 per cent in the week to 7.0p as it launched the beta version of its Cedex blockchain diamond exchange.

Cedex allows investors to securely and easily trade in digitized diamonds while enabling diamond holders to liquidate their assets.

GCM Resources shares soared 70 per cent on the back of a memorandum of understanding with the Power Construction Corporation of China

Meanwhile, Quadrise Fuels jumped 23 per cent to 3p over the week after it signed a memorandum of understanding with an unnamed European multinational integrated oil and gas company.

Quadrise said under the deal the two companies would seek to identify potential clients for its MSAR emulsion fuel, a substitute for heavy fuel oil used in diesel engines and power generation.

Also on the up, shares in smoke alarm maker FireAngel were heating up, rising 15 per cent to 41p after it clinched a supply contract with a housing association in Glasgow.

Under the deal the firm will supply the Queens Cross Housing Association with more than 12,000 battery-powered smoke and heat alarms for more than 3,500 properties.

And pawnbroker Ramsdens added 8 per cent to 165.50p after hiking its interim dividend by over 9 per cent to 2.4p per share.

The move came despite a fall in the groups profits for the first half caused by higher administrative expenses.
A tycoon once dubbed the 'British Bill Gates' is clinging on to a string of tech jobs despite facing criminal charges in the US.

Mike Lynch has been accused by American prosecutors of overseeing a massive fraud at his former software company Autonomy before it was sold to Hewlett Packard (HP) for 8.5 billion.

The 53-year-old denies the charges. But the crisis has plunged the future of his 780m investment fund, Invoke Capital, into doubt  and rocked some of Britain's most promising start-ups.

Allegations: Mike Lynch has been accused by American prosecutors of overseeing a massive fraud

Invoke is a significant backer of several technology stars, including cyber-security firm Darktrace, legal tech specialist Luminance, machine learning company Neurence and data analytics firm Featurespace.

Lynch remains a director at Darktrace, Luminance and Featurespace. But he has resigned from Prime Minister Theresa May's council for science and technology and from committees at the prestigious Royal Society, where he is a fellow.

The Cambridge University graduate has dismissed the allegations against him as a 'travesty of justice' but faces the prospect of being extradited to the US to face trial if he does not go voluntarily.

Lynch is one of Britain's best-known tech entrepreneurs, having built Autonomy from a Cambridge-based start-up into a software giant. He made hundreds of millions of pounds from its sale to HP in 2011. But just a year after the deal he was sacked and three-quarters of Autonomy's value written off.

HP later made fraud allegations against Lynch and other former executives, saying they cooked the books to make it appear more valuable than it was.

Lynch's lawyers said: 'There was no conspiracy at Autonomy and no fraud against HP. HP has sought to blame Autonomy for its own crippling errors, and has falsely accused Mike Lynch to cover its own tracks. Mike Lynch will not be a scapegoat for their failures. He has done nothing wrong and will vigorously defend the charges.'

Earlier this year, Autonomy's former finance director, Sushovan Hussain, was convicted in the US of fraud. He appealed against the ruling and has had his passport taken away while on bail.

Now Lynch and former Autonomy vice-president Stephen Chamberlain also face fraud charges brought by the US Department of Justice. If found guilty they could be jailed for up to 20 years. Along with Hussain, Lynch is grappling with a separate 3.7 billion damages claim in the UK's High Court over the alleged fraud, brought by Hewlett Packard Enterprises (HPE). Proceedings could be delayed by those happening abroad.

Yesterday, Lynch was understood to be in the UK and had not been arrested. But he could be extradited to the US under an agreement between British and American authorities. His lawyers said: 'The claims amount to a business dispute over the application of UK accounting standards, which is the subject of a civil case with HP in the courts of England, where it belongs.'

A spokesman for British Virgin Islands-registered Invoke Capital declined to comment when asked what impact the charges against Lynch would have. The company has made more than 390m of investments to date. Its offshore legal base means its accounts are not publicly available. It is the majority-owner of Luminance and Neurence, and owns nearly 42 per cent of Darktrace, according to Companies House. Invoke also has a host of other investments.

The US Department of Justice said: 'Allegedly, the defendants, and their co-conspirators, made false and misleading statements about the nature of Autonomy's products, concealed Autonomy's non-appliance hardware sales, and made other false and misleading statements during HP's 'due diligence' of Autonomy.'

Lynch and Chamberlain have been charged by a grand jury with one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and 13 counts of wire fraud. No dates for when court hearings will take place have been announced yet.

A Darktrace spokesman declined to comment, while Luminance and Featurespace referred inquiries to Lynch's spokesman.
Competition bosses in Brussels are preparing to probe Vodafone's 16 billion takeover of a European cables network.

A deal would see the world's second-largest mobile operator absorb Liberty Global assets in Germany, the Czech Republic, Hungary and Romania, strengthening its hand in a battle with rival Deutsche Telekom.

Investigation: A European Commission probe could ratchet up pressure on Vodafone to offer concessions unless it can show the deal is no risk to competition

But a European Commission probe could ratchet up pressure on Vodafone to offer concessions unless it can show the deal is no risk to competition.

A combined Vodafone-Liberty business would be Europe's biggest provider of broadband, cable and mobile services, with 54m customers. It would have about 30 per cent of the German consumer broadband market.

Deutsche Telekom would still be ahead with 40 per cent but it has criticised the deal, urging regulators to block it. The Commission is due to wrap up a preliminary review by December 11.

Vodafone declined to comment. Liberty Global said: 'We are in constructive discussions and are confident of a positive outcome in due course.'
Today marks Small Business Saturday - a grassroots campaign aimed at getting people to support their local independent stores by shopping in them.

Now in its sixth year in the UK, the initiative - backed by big business in the form of credit card company American Express - falls on what is claimed to be the busiest shopping day of the year.

And it could be viewed as the antithesis to US cultural imports Black Friday and Cyber Monday, which typically benefit larger retailers.

Last year shoppers spent 743million in small shops on Small Business Saturday, an increase of 4.3 per cent on 2016 spending.

Small Business Saturday is a grassroots campaign aimed at encouraging consumers to 'shop local' and to support businesses in their communities

It has been a particularly challenging year for high street shop owners, many of whom have been buffeted with a hike in business rates and ongoing uncertainty over what Brexit will mean for business.

The campaign aims to offer SMEs some form of reprieve with Amex fronting a big marketing push and incentivising Amex customers with a 5 credit when they spend 10 or more at a participating 'shop small' retailer between 1 and 16 December 2017.

The reward is limited to one credit per retailer and you can find a participating store near you here.

Michelle Ovens, director of small business Saturday, said: 'Small Business Saturday is a day to recognise the priceless contribution of the small business sector  not just to the UK economy  but to their communities as well; whether through support for schools and hospitals, mentoring or training for other businesses and for the long-term unemployed, and so much more.'

As part of the campaign, some 100 small business have been championed in the 100 days leading up to the annual event. We spoke to the owners of two firms taking part.

Tylers Department Store and Cafe

Helen Tyler of Tylers Department Store and Cafe: Small Business Saturday has helped customers connect with the businesses in their local area

Helen Tyler heads up family-run independent department store Tylers Department Store and Cafe in Loughborough, founded in 1922.

This year mark the firm's maiden involvement in the campaign, which Tyler heralds as a good initiative which shines a light on high street SMEs - many of which have struggled with the increasing popularity of online shopping.

She said: 'It's hard for bricks and mortar retailers like us to compete with the likes of Amazon, and I think that Small Business Saturday has helped customers connect with the businesses in their local area and understand that if you do not use them, you'll lose them.

'We are very much a family-run business. Some of our customers have shopped with us for over 40 years. One employee has been with us for 50 years. People know our family and we know theirs. We would not exist without their support.'

All for Dance

Cathy Colwell of All for Dance said the initiative is a good marketing opportunity for the firm

All for Dance is a 20-year old dancewear retailer providing young ballerinas and ballroom dancers in Hampshire with apparel and footwear.

Cathy Colwell, who runs the store, said she applied to be among the small business 100 firms for marketing purposes.

'We don't have the same marketing budget as larger retailers so it is harder for us to get our name out there, but the campaign has helped to put us in the public eye without the need to spend a small fortune on advertising.'

What about the slight incongruity of a small business day sponsored by a large card firm that has a reputation for being more expensive?

Cathy said: 'Some of our customers wanted us to accept Amex payments so we listened. We've been accepting them for the past 10 years now. Admittedly, it was very expensive to take these payment at first, but the cost has since dropped thankfully.'
My husband took redundancy 12 months ago and is looking for a new role.

We hope he will be working again within the next 12 months. I am a stay-at-home mum with two school-age children.

We are currently in a rental property (paying 2,000 per month) and our total monthly outgoings including rent is approx 4,500.

If you have regular monthly outgoings to fund, how can you turn investments into income

We own a house overseas worth approx 300,000 and have joint savings of 250,000.

My husband also has US$525,000 in a UK-based account. We have no income other than child benefit and a very very small amount of saving interest but no stocks, shares, bonds etc.

How are we best investing our money, as our foreseeable future does not include a salary/income and we would like to make the most of what we have in savings? NK, via email

Simon Lambert, of This is Money, replies: You say that you need 4,500 per month to cover your outgoings, depending on how your savings are currently held you would are likely to need to generate more than this due to tax being due on investment income.

Even disregarding tax, a monthly income of 4,500 is 54,000 a year. If you use the multiply by 25 rule, which is used by those in the Financial Independence Retire Early movement, known as FIRE, then you could work out a rough amount of investable wealth you might need to supply that indefinitely.

In your case, multiplying 54,000 by 25 delivers a 1,350,000 total (although bear in mind this is a rule of thumb not a precise method).

You have 250,000 in savings, an overseas property worth 300,000 and $525,000, which amounts to 410,000 at today's exchange rate), so a total of 960,000.

But as mentioned above, those hoping to achieve FIRE status are looking to have enough to provide for them indefinitely, whereas you appear to be filling a gap.

You don't mention how long you expect your husband to not be working for, or your nationalities.

Your question indicates that at least one of you may originally be from overseas, perhaps the US, and there may be a reason why your husband imagines he will not be earning for some time. That could be due to a decision to change careers, take on training or education, for health reasons, or to take time out.

Drawing on family finances to cover a gap in earned income can be a tricky task and in such a situation most people say that they do not want to run down their savings.

It may be that to match your 4,500 target, you need to do this, as you would struggle to find investments that will deliver a high enough income without taking too much risk.

You say that you are receiving child benefit, which is means tested but that is on earnings and neither of you are earning. If you did manage to bring in an income above 50,000 per year, you would have to start paying back child benefit through tax staggered up to 60,000, at which point all will be removed.

While you are renting a home in the UK and incurring living costs here, you do have substantial assets. These include your savings, your husband's large US dollar denominated sum in a UK account, and also an overseas property worth 300,000.

The latter could prove to be a reliable source of income if you let it and may manage to cover at least some of your monthly rental bill here in the UK.

One option could be to try to make up some of the shortfall between your desired income and what you can achieve with some paid work - this need not be full-time or employment, it could be freelance or consultant work.

As for whether investing for your desired income is achievable, we asked a wealth manager for their thoughts.

Sophie Kilvert, private client manager, Seven Investment Management, replies: This is a tricky one  finding 54,000 per year is no easy task.

Firstly, I suggest keeping around two years worth of annual expenditure, so around 100,000, in cash.

This will provide a cushion should it take time for your husband to get back into work.

You should consider investing the rest, according to your risk profile. So you and your husband need to talk about your attitude to risk and potential reward, and it might be worth talking to an adviser to help you assess this.

Ive spoken to plenty of investors who think they are at the higher risk end of the spectrum, but when asked if they would be prepared for at least a 50 per cent loss, they quickly change their mind. So this needs careful thought.

If you think you are a high risk investor, do you have the courage of your high risk convictions.

And if you are a very low risk investor, given your goals, does it look more like reckless caution? An adviser can help you with all these issues.

Wealth Check Wealth Check is This is Money's new series focusing on those with larger sums of money to manage or invest. It will look at what people need to consider for lifetime savings and investment pots, inheritances, business sales and other big money life events. As part of it, we will get professionals to answer your questions. If you have a question that you want answering send it to editor@thisismoney.co.uk with Wealth Check in the subject field.

What puzzles me the most is why are you holding so much in US dollars? I have two points to raise on this score.

Are you US citizens living in the UK? I cannot tell this by your email, it is simply your currency exposure which makes me question this. If so, you need specialist advice before investing in the stock market.

The US Passive Foreign Investment Company tax regime makes it really difficult for Americans in the UK to invest tax efficiently, due to the UKs taxation of non-UK funds.

If you are not planning a move overseas, I struggle to see why you are holding so many dollars.

If you want to convert them to sterling, I would consider doing so over a period of time to help iron out currency fluctuations.Bear in mind also that March and into April may have extreme fluctuations in the price of sterling, when Britain leaves the EU.

The information provided by our experts is for the purposes of this article and is not personal financial advice. If you are at all unsure of the suitability of an investment for your circumstances please seek advice.

Nothing in this response constitutes regulated financial advice. Published questions are sometimes edited for brevity or other reasons.
PetroChina Company Limited, together with its subsidiaries, engages in a range of petroleum related products, services, and activities in Mainland China and internationally. It operates through Exploration and Production, Refining and Chemicals, Marketing, and Natural Gas and Pipeline segments. The Exploration and Production segment engages in the exploration, development, production, and marketing of crude oil and natural gas. The Refining and Chemicals segment refines crude oil and petroleum products; and produces and markets primary petrochemical products, derivative petrochemical products, and other chemical products. The Marketing segment is involved in marketing of refined products and trading business. The Natural Gas and Pipeline segment engages in the transmission of natural gas, crude oil, and refined products; and sale of natural gas. As of December 31, 2020, the company had a total length of 31,151 km, including 22,555 km of natural gas pipelines, 7,190 km of crude oil pipelines, and 1,406 km of refined product pipelines. The company is also involved in the exploration, development, and production of oil sands and coalbed methane; trading of crude oil and petrochemical products; storage, chemical engineering, storage facilities, service station, and transportation facilities and related businesses; and production and sales of basic and derivative chemical, and other chemical products. The company was founded in 1999 and is headquartered in Beijing, the People's Republic of China. PetroChina Company Limited is a subsidiary of China National Petroleum Corporation.

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NORRISTOWN  Its been 24 years since Sacred Heart Hospital closed its doors, but Thursday marked the opening of a new chapter for the venerable, renovated building.

The grand opening for Mercy LIFE-Norristown celebrating the first Montgomery County Program for All-Inclusive Care (PACE) Adult Day Center included a dedication and blessing, open house, and facility tours, in addition to the seventh annual Mercy LIFE Devoted Caregiver Award presentation.

Mercy Health Care administrators have describe the new facility at 1430 DeKalb St., which began operations Oct. 1, as a welcoming place for seniors 55 and over to receive medical, nutritional, social and spiritual services, while being transported safely to and from their own homes.

With Mercy Health having formerly operated Mercy Suburban Hospital in East Norriton until 2015, when it was sold to Prime Healthcare Services and became Suburban Community Hospital, taking over the former Sacred Heart Hospital marks a homecoming of sorts for the health network that was founded by the Sisters of Mercy in 1986.

We really never wanted to leave the Norristown area and we wanted to get back there to serve that community, Dan Drake, senior vice president of continuing care, Mercy Health System, said back in June.

On Thursday, Drake added, Mercy LIFE-Norristown marks our first Adult Day Center in Montgomery County. Now, we are able to ensure Montgomery County seniors remain as independent as possible and have the best overall quality of life right in their own neighborhood.

In addition to the grand opening ceremony, emceed by Telemundo 62 Breaking News Anchor and NBC 10 Morning News Anchor Lucy Bustamante, Mercy LIFE recognized the seventh edition of its annual Devoted Caregiver Award program. The award, established in 2012 to recognize an outstanding Mercy LIFE family caregiver, was presented to the Norristown Fire Department and the Norristown Police Department.

Honoring the first responders who care for and protect all of us, but especially for the frail and elderly of Norristown, is a fitting way to commemorate the opening of our sixth Adult Day Center in Southeastern Pennsylvania, said Drake. We are moved by their service and look forward to emulating the care and compassion with which they serve the Norristown community.

Norristown Fire Department Fire Chief Tom ODonnell said the department was humbled by this designation. We appreciate the opportunity to connect with a new community partner that aligns with our vision and values of caring for Norristown.

Norristown Police Department Police Chief Mark Talbot added, Part of our mission is to understand and serve the needs of the boroughs neighborhoods. Mercy LIFE will enrich Norristown with their all-encompassing approach to senior care. We are honored to be chosen as one of their Devoted Caregivers.

In an earlier interview, Drake explained that Mercy LIFE is part of Mercy Healths Continuing Care system, which also includes Mercy Home Health, covering in-home visits in Montgomery, Bucks, Chester, Delaware and Philadelphia counties.

Established in 1998, Mercy LIFE is a nationally recognized program providing these services to older adults without co-payments.

Not everybody in the Mercy LIFE program is elderly, but the concept is to serve the frail elderly in the community where they live instead of them going to a nursing home. There are a lot of people who lack these services, so were really happy to be pretty much in the center of Norristown with this new center, Drake said.

The nonprofit Mercy organization, which is part of Michigan-based Trinity Health, noted that it is investing $6 million into a program of All-inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE) model of care for more than 3,000 Medicare and Medicaid eligible seniors in the region.

In addition to Medicare and Medicaid, there is also a private pay component, allowed Drake, who said that Mercy LIFE clients will benefit from immediate assistance from an on-site team without the typical waiting period for a medical appointment or prescription refill, or the costly co-pays that often accompany these services.

The facility, which will be similar to Mercy LIFE operations in

Philadelphia, Elwyn and Sharon Hill, will offer primary care and physician specialist services; nursing care; rehabilitation therapy; dental, vision, hearing and foot care; medical equipment; home care; home-delivered meals; mental health and social work services; caregiver support; personal emergency response systems, plus transportation, recreational and social programs.

Well have adult day services for medical management and for socialization Monday through Friday, Drake said. Were pretty much a morning to 5 p.m. operation, so the great thing for Norristown is that were not clogging up the streets night and day, but then we provide home care for the participants. Its a great thing for them and their families, who are used to taking mom and dad to a cardiologist one day, a general practitioner the next day. We have all our practitioners go to that location. So you could see your physicians, have lunch and then go home.

Similar facilities elsewhere have shown to be an extremely effective model of care, Drake noted.

Politicians on both sides support it because it saves money over people going to a nursing home, plus theyre getting quality care while staying in their homes, where they want to be. Its the best of both worlds. Youre getting the medical management and socialization in one place, but at the end of the day youre sleeping in your own home. Most of the people in our program have lived in their neighborhoods for 30-plus years. The other good thing, Drake added,  is that were bringing a lot of opportunity to Montgomery County for jobs. In most of our centers employees live within 10 miles of the centers, and weve hired some people who live close to the Norristown center. So this will be a real positive thing for Montgomery County.

For more information, visit www.mercylife.org.
WASHINGTON  U.S. Reps. Elise Stefanik and John Faso have both styled themselves as independent-minded Republicans, but they diverged Thursday on the extent to which President Donald Trumps negatives affected their races and others - and what the message is for the GOP looking toward 2020.

He was a decidedly negative factor in my race and races across the country where we lost the House, said Faso. I think its fair to say his prospects in 2020 are very uncertain.

Stefanik is more circumspect. Even though 2020 seems around the corner  its is a long way off, she said. Voters in her North Country district expressed varying degrees of upset with Trump, but they say Im voting for you because I know youre focused on issues that matter to the district and youll work with the president."

Faso, 66, lost his bid for a second term to Democrat Antonio Delgado. He returns to Kinderhook to consider the next chapter of his life.

Stefanik, 34, easily defeated her Democratic opponent, Tedra Cobb, to win a third term representing the area north of Albany encompassing the Adirondacks and much of the U.S.-Canada border. Her life will change too.

With Democrats flipping 39 Republican seats and one race still undecided, Republicans will shift to minority status.

Many viewed Stefanik as a rising star in the Republican-controlled Congress, and she flourished in a close working relationship with retiring House Speaker Paul Ryan. Stefanik brushed aside any suggestion her role would be significantly diminished with Democrats in control.

Im very well positioned (because) I have very, very strong relationships across the aisle, she said. Republicans who didnt develop those relationships are more likely to have problems.

Although Faso faced strong opposition for his vote last year to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act - Obamacare - he said his loss this month was a simple factor of Trump generating Democratic voter enthusiasm and campaign-donation dollars.

Republicans may have netted two seats in the Senate, but the blue wave that delivered the House to the Democrats washed over the small towns, rolling hills and dairy farms of Faso's 19th Congressional District

Between the Trump-Russia investigation of special counsel Robert Mueller, Trumps tweets, misstatements and efforts to choke off illegal immigration, the New York real-estate mogul-turned-president was an outsized presence in an election in which his name was not on the ballot.

Two days after the election, he called out Faso by name among other defeated Republicans for not sufficiently backing his agenda.

Those are some of the people that, you know, decided for their own reason not to embrace, whether it's me or what we stand for, Trump said Nov. 7 at the White House.

Faso on Thursday said Trump had made a singularly an ungracious statement.

He defended his position on health care, saying the Republicans American Health Care Act, which passed the House last year, was mischaracterized as essentially destroying the achievements of Obamacare without an adequate replacement.

In fact, the Congressional Budget Office estimated 23 million would be uninsured under the Republican plan compared to keeping the Affordable Care Act in place.

Faso offered a detailed but complicated explanation of how the Republican bill would have shifted Obamacare subsidies around by equalizing tax treatment of employer-provided plans vs. non-employer individual market plans.

But try to reduce it to 30 second ad and you see what the problem is, he said.

Stefaniks North Country district is more solidly Republican than Fasos Hudson Valley district, so it was easier for her to ward off negative fallout from the repeal-and-replace vote.

With Democrats in control, Stefanik said she would support what she calls fix and replace  efforts to widen coverage and make it more affordable. But it is an open question whether Democrats in the House who support some form of expanding Medicare can agree with Republicans who still dominate the Senate and oppose what they term government-run health care  a term Stefanik embraces.

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Stefanik was careful not to go negative on Trump, noting that Im in a Trump district.

Three of her fellow female Republicans who were also first elected to the House in 2014 did not win. And another one, Martha McSally, lost her Senate bid in Arizona.

Stefanik headed recruitment for the National Republican Congressional Committee in 2018 and prides herself for recruiting 100 or more women. About half made it past the primary.

It wasnt a recruitment failure, she said. It was a failure to provide the early support necessary to get these non-traditional women candidates through the primaries.

Her PAC, E-PAC (E for Elise), will be expanded and rebranded to help women early on gain sufficient traction to increase their odds of winning future primaries, she said.

Trumps record with women includes multiple charges of groping and forced kissing. So is he a deterrent to efforts to get women to vote Republican?

It depends, district by district, Stefanik said, again sidestepping condemning Trumps behavior. Obviously we have a challenge with suburban voters nationally. Im pleased with wining all 12 counties in my district, suburban and rural.

Republicans can win in this tough environment by being independent, delivering results and showing a willingness to challenge your own party, she said. Thats good advice for Democrats too.

Faso is not so sanguine. To him, Republicans are in danger of having their party dragged down by Trump.

Swing states he won in 2016  Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Michigan and others  could easily go for Democrats in 2020, he said.

Although the party in power in the White House typically loses seats during its first midterm election, the losses this year were alarming , Faso said.

A lot of Republican leaders have their heads in the sand about those warning signs, he said.
It was another record-breaking Black Friday weekend as shoppers turned out nationwide to support local businesses, as well as online retailers.

Shoppers spent $17.8 billion on Small Business Saturday at independently owned restaurants and retailers across the country  a record for the retail holiday that was launched in 2010 by American Express.

Total sales over the nine Small Businesses Saturdays since 2010 have exceeded $100 billion, according to the 2018 Small Business Saturday Consumer Insights Survey conducted by American Express.

In the Capital Region, separate events throughout the area brought consumers to major shopping hubs, including River street in downtown Troy, the Stockade Historic District in Schenectady, and downtown Albany.

"I think that current shoppers, while they enjoy the online experience, they also really understand the importance and impact of shopping locally," said Georgette Steffens, executive director of the Downtown Albany Business Improvement District. "I think that people want an experience, so shopping locally is an experience. They are getting products that they won't find online or at a (chain) retail store."

A separate survey by American Express of small business owners found that 70 percent of respondents said Small Business Saturday had improved their sales. Three-quarters said the day also brought in new and more customers.

And those independent businesses said they expect nearly 30 percent of all annual sales to take place during the holiday shopping season, while 59 percent of business owners said Small Business Saturday contributes significantly to their yearly holiday sales, according to American Express.

Younger consumers are drawn more to an experience than to a product, which local businesses can provide through social media and planned events, Steffens said.

She said millennial consumers often will go somewhere they can sample a product, meet the maker or the business owner, and purchase higher quality, locally made products.

"People have a love of place, the community that they're from," Steffens said. "You want to share and brag about the community that you live in. I think that connection to your community continues to really be important and I think there's a more conscious consumer these days."

Ted Potrikus, president and CEO of the Retail Council of New York State, did caution against consumers only focusing on small businesses during the one Saturday each year.

"It's like 'OK this is Small Business Saturday so this is the one day that I'm obliged to go out and and support small business. And the danger can be that we do it and check it off our to-do list," Potrikus said. "You can't do that. If you don't see them next week, they're not going to be in business."

On the online side of retail, sales from Thanksgiving Thursday through Cyber Monday outpaced projections, according to Adobe's 2018 Retail Shopping Insights report.

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Online Black Friday sales topped $6.2 billion, ahead of the retail holiday's sales projection of $5.9 billion, according to Adobe.

On Thanksgiving, online shoppers spent $3.7 billion, up from the $3.35 billion estimate.

From Nov. 1 to Nov. 26, Adobe found that online consumers spent over $58 billion, with 30 percent of those purchases made from a smartphone.

Apple's U.S. App Store saw more users download retail applications onto their iPhones, as well.

On Black Friday, Walmart's app was downloaded by 95,000 first time users, while Target's app installs topped 62,000 that same day, according to data from Sensor Tower, a mobile measurement firm that helps developers boost their audience.

And this year, the top 10 brick-and-mortar chain apps  including Macy's, Forever 21 and Best Buy  saw new mobile app downloads up 24 percent over Black Friday in 2017.

The key for local businesses moving forward is integrating a robust online presence to gain another avenue to reach consumers, according to Potrikus.

"There are a lot of small retailers that have great multi-functional websites where you can go and buy this stuff or buy the thing that you're looking for that might be completely unique," Potrikus said. "That's a real key component of a small business' ability in the 2018 world of retail to survive and to thrive up against the competition of Amazon and the Walmart and Target crowds of the world."
Berlin

German authorities raided Deutsche Bank's headquarters Thursday amid suspicions that its employees helped clients set up offshore companies that were used to launder hundreds of millions of euros.

About 170 police officers, investigators and prosecutors swooped in on the bank's offices in Frankfurt and premises in nearby Eschborn and Gross-Umstadt at 10 a.m., seizing electronic and paper records.

The investigation emerged from an analysis of documents leaked from tax havens in recent years, including the 2016 "Panama Papers," said Frankfurt prosecutors' spokeswoman Nadja Niesen.

It is focused on two Deutsche Bank employees, aged 50 and 46, and possibly other still unidentified suspects, she said. At least one site raided was a suspect's home.

Analysis of the Panama Papers and other documents "gave rise to suspicion that Deutsche Bank was helping clients set up so-called offshore companies in tax havens and the proceeds of crimes were transferred there from Deutsche Bank accounts" without the bank reporting it, Niesen said.

In 2016 alone, more than 900 customers are alleged to have transferred some 311 million euros ($351 million) to one such company set up in the British Virgin Islands, she said.

The suspects, both German citizens, are accused of failing to report the suspicious transactions even though there was "sufficient evidence" to have been aware of it.

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Deutsche Bank confirmed the search and said "the investigation has to do with the Panama Papers case."

"More details will be communicated as soon as these become known. We are cooperating fully with the authorities," the bank said.

Money laundering has become a growing problem in Europe, where a series of scandals has exposed lax regulation.

And it's not the first time Deutsche Bank has run into trouble over the flow of dirty money.

It was fined more than $600 million by U.S. and U.K. authorities in January 2017 for allowing customers to transfer $10 billion out of Russia in what regulators said was "highly suggestive of financial crime."

The Panama Papers are a trove of documents from a law firm that handled shell companies for thousands of rich and powerful clients around the world. While owning a shell company is not illegal, it is used to hide the beneficial owner of a company or transfer, making it important for the handling and laundering of dirty money.
New York

After repeated food poisoning outbreaks linked to romaine lettuce, the produce industry is confronting the failure of its own safety measures in preventing contaminations.

The E. coli outbreak announced just before Thanksgiving follows one in the spring that sickened more than 200 people and killed five, and another last year that sickened 25 and killed one. No deaths have been reported in the latest outbreak, but the dozens of illnesses highlight the challenge of eliminating risk for vegetables grown in open fields and eaten raw, the role of nearby cattle operations that produce huge volumes of manure and the delay of stricter federal food safety regulations.

A contested aspect of the regulation, for example, would require testing irrigation water for E. coli. The Food and Drug Administration put the measure on hold when the produce industry said such tests wouldn't necessarily help prevent outbreaks. Additional regulations on sanitation for workers and equipment  other potential sources of contamination  only recently started being implemented.

FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb said he thinks the combination of rules, once fully in place, will make vegetables safer to eat.

"I don't think any one element of this is going to be the magic bullet," Gottlieb said.

Health officials say improved detection may make outbreaks seem more frequent. Still, that is intensifying pressure on growers and regulators to prevent, catch and contain contamination.

Prevention

It's not yet known how romaine got contaminated in the latest outbreak.

The spring outbreak was traced to romaine from Yuma, Ariz. Irrigation water tainted with manure was identified as a likely culprit, and investigators noted the presence of a large animal feeding operation nearby.

Subsequently, growers in Arizona and California adjusted an industry agreement to expand buffer zones between vegetable fields and livestock. The industry says the change was in place for lettuce now being grown in Yuma, which hasn't been implicated in the latest outbreak. But Trevor Suslow of the Produce Marketing Association said there isn't consensus about the exact distances that might effectively prevent contamination.

He noted specific buffer zones aren't required by the new federal rules on produce safety.

"They look to the industry to determine what is the appropriate distance," Suslow said.

Growers in Yuma also started treating irrigation water that would touch plant leaves with chlorine to kill potential contaminants, Suslow said. But he said such treatment raises concerns about soil and human health.

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Meanwhile, the proximity of produce fields to cattle operations is likely to continue posing a problem. Travis Forgues of the milk producer Organic Valley noted consolidation in the dairy industry is leading to bigger livestock operations that produce massive volumes of manure.

Testing

Already, the industry agreement in Arizona and California requires leafy green growers to test water for generic E. coli.

But James Rogers, director of food safety research at Consumer Reports, said it's important to make water testing a federal requirement. Since romaine is often chopped up and bagged, a single contaminated batch from one farm that skips testing could make a lot of people sick, he said.

Teressa Lopez of the Arizona Leafy Greens Marketing Agreement also said federal regulation can ensure greater compliance, even though the industry agreement has stricter measures.

Despite industry measures implemented after a spinach outbreak more than a decade ago, health officials noted this month there have been 28 E. coli outbreaks linked to leafy greens since 2009.

The produce industry says the failure to prevent the Yuma outbreak could also reflect the limitations of testing water for generic E. coli.

Elizabeth Binh, a food science expert at Cornell University, said the tests look for the amount of fecal matter in water. The problem is, "some feces has pathogens in it, some feces doesn't," said Binh, who is part of a federal program helping farmers comply with the new produce regulations.

Testing for specific E. coli strains that are harmful is more difficult, and it doesn't rule out the possibility of other harmful bacteria, Binh said.
New York

Michael Cohen, President Donald Trump's former lawyer and fixer, admitted in court Thursday that he engaged in negotiations to build a tower in Moscow for Trump well into the 2016 presidential campaign, far later than previously known.

Cohen said he discussed the status of the project with Trump on more than three occasions and briefed Trump's family members about it. He also admitted he agreed to travel to Russia for meetings on the project.

Shortly after Cohen's guilty plea in U.S. District Court, Trump said his former fixer was once again lying in order to get a reduced sentence for the crimes he pleaded guilty to earlier this year. Under the earlier plea agreement, Cohen faced four or five years in prison.

"He was convicted of various things unrelated to us," Trump said, adding, "He's a weak person and what he's trying to do is get a reduced sentence."

Trump made his comments to reporters as he left Washington for the Group of 20 meeting in Buenos Aires.

At a surprise federal court hearing in Manhattan, Cohen admitted that he had minimized Trump's role in efforts to build a Trump Tower in Moscow and gave the false impression to Congress that the negotiations had ended in January 2016, just before the Iowa caucuses.

In fact, Cohen admitted, the negotiations continued for at least another five months, until June, which was just after Trump had clinched the Republican nomination. Cohen also admitted he agreed in early May to travel to Russia for meetings on the project and that he spoke to Trump about it despite telling congressional investigators that he had not done so. The trips never happened.

Cohen concluded his statement in court, saying: "I made these misstatements to be consistent with Individual 1's political messaging and out of loyalty to Individual 1."

"Individual 1" is Trump, officials said.

Cohen's new guilty plea in U.S. District Court marks the first time the office of the special counsel, Robert Mueller, has charged Cohen, 52.

He had already pleaded guilty to eight charges, including campaign finance, bank and tax crimes, brought by federal prosecutors in Manhattan. He is to be sentenced for those crimes in two weeks.

It was just three months ago that Cohen, pleading guilty for the first time, stood up in a different Manhattan courtroom and accused Trump of directing hush-money payments during the 2016 campaign to conceal potential sex scandals. Those payments formed the basis of the campaign finance charges against Cohen.

Although Cohen's first plea agreement did not include a formal cooperation deal, he had sat for repeated interviews with Mueller's investigators.

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He also offered assistance to the office prosecuting him, the U.S. attorney's office for the Southern District of New York, according to a person briefed on the matter.

The Southern District said last month in a court filing that it was continuing to investigate "Michael Cohen and others." While the filing did not identify other suspects, the prosecutors are expected to examine whether people in Trump's circle were aware of Cohen's criminal conduct.

In the Southern District case, Cohen already faced a potential prison sentence of about four to five years under the nonbinding federal sentencing guidelines, according to his plea agreement. It is unclear what additional time he could face with the new plea.

The special counsel identified Cohen's false statements to Congress in testimony Cohen provided to the House and Senate Intelligence committees, which have been conducting their own investigations into possible coordination between the Trump campaign and Russia.

Sen. Mark Warner of Virginia, the top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, said Thursday the committee had made additional criminal referrals to Mueller, but he did not offer specifics.

Rep. Adam B. Schiff of California, the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, said Cohen's plea only added urgency for congressional investigators who plan to begin an inquiry into Trump's foreign business dealings when Democrats take control of the House in January.

"If the president and his associates were being untruthful in real time as they were pursuing this deal, what does it mean now on how much we can rely on what the president is saying about any continuing Russian financial interest?" Schiff told reporters Thursday.

He said the committee would seek to interview Cohen again, along with other witnesses Democrats on the committee think were also "untruthful" in their testimonies.
SCHENECTADY  Tarchand Lall sat quietly in Schenectady County Court on Friday as a prosecutor described him as a greedy killer who arranged one associate's murder and plotted to get another man to fatally overdose on heroin  all for life insurance proceeds.

Assistant District Attorney Peter Willis told jurors that Lall orchestrated the Nov. 19, 2016 murder of 49-year-old Charles "Chuck" Dembrosky, who was gunned down outside his Campbell Avenue home in the city's Bellevue neighborhood, shot in the neck.

Two Delaware-based hitmen, Joevany "Moon" Luna, 43, and Kyshaan Moore, 28, were convicted in May of carrying out the murder. Willis said Lall paid the killers $10,000. Evidence included cell phone records, which showed that on the night of the murder their phone pinged off towers from Wilmington, Del. to Schenectady.

"This was a murder for hire. There is no doubt," Willis told jurors before Judge Matthew Sypniewski. "And there will be no doubt when you see all of the evidence in this case."

The prosecutor later added: "Charles Dembrosky paid the ultimate price in this case -- with his life."

Six months before the slaying, Lall, a contractor, convinced Dembrosky, his part-time construction employee, to make him a beneficiary on his life insurance policy. They were listed as domestic partners, Willis said, which was untrue. He said in the months leading to the killing, Lall repeatedly contacted the insurer to make sure the policy was in effect.

He said Lall later approached Chad Raymond, a friend of Dembrosky, and got him to make Lall a beneficiary on another insurance policy. When Lall was later arrested and in the Schenectady County jail, the prosecutor said, Lall approached an inmate and tried to get him to kill Raymond.

According to Willis, Lall told the inmate, "I'll pay your bail. I'll get you out of jail if go find Chad and get him to overdose on heroin."

Willis said the inmate was not interested. He said Lall later offered a Schenectady County jail inmate $1,500 to get Luna to write a statement exonerating Lall of the murder, but it fell through.

Lall, a native of Guyana who was once active in the Schenectady Premier Softball Cricket League, is charged with first-degree murder, conspiracy, weapons charges, life settlement fraud and criminal solicitation.

Cheryl Coleman, the attorney for Lall, told jurors they would not see a single eyewitness to the crime, DNA nor ballistics evidence.

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"As to the allegation Mr. Willis was discussing about the domestic partnership," Coleman told jurors, "I'm going to simply say that in this case the evidence falls squarely into the 'don't ask- don't tell.' You're not going to know one way or the other what was or wasn't the relationship."

Evidence at prosecutors' disposal includes street surveillance video outside Lall's home in Mont Pleasant. It captured images of a red 2015 Mazda car outside Lall's home matching the one used by Luna and Moore.

In his opening statement, Willis explained Dembrosky left behind a critical piece of evidence  his cell phone. It contained the numbers of past callers, the last three of which came from a cell phone in the 484 area code in Philadelphia. Dembrosky had never received a call from that number previously, Willis said.

Willis said police tracked the records of the 484 area code phone and learned that Lall had called the number repeatedly -- before and after Dembrosky was murdered  in lengthy conversations. Willis said police questioned Lall in January 2017. He told them he did not know the number or the identity of the caller.

The prosecutor said police learned that on the night of the murder, the 484 cell phone pinged off cell phone towers from the Wilmington, Del. area to Schenectady, corresponding to the time period of the murder.

The trial continues Monday.
ALBANY - A security breach going back as long as four years inside the Marriott hotel empire compromised the information of as many as 500 million guests worldwide, exposing their credit card numbers, passport numbers and birth dates.

The compromised system, which customers began receiving notifications about on Friday, is one of the largest data breaches of the digital era, easily dwarfing the Equifax hack last year. Exposed information could include credit card numbers and expiration dates, mailing addresses, phone numbers, email addresses and passport numbers.

The security failure is drawing the scrutiny of government watchdogs all over the country, including an investigation by state Attorney General Barbara Underwood.

"Under New York law, Marriott was required to provide notification to our office upon discovering the breach; they have not done so as of yet," said an office spokesperson.

The estimated reach of the breach includes guests who made a reservation at one of the affected hotels as well as those who booked multiple stays, according to Marriott.

The company says that unauthorized access to data at former Starwood hotels, which the company acquired two years ago, has been taking place since 2014.

"We fell short of what our guests deserve and what we expect of ourselves," CEO Arne Sorenson said in a statement. "We are doing everything we can to support our guests, and using lessons learned to be better moving forward."

None of the Marriott-branded chains were threatened. The affected hotel brands include W Hotels, St. Regis, Sheraton, Westin, Element, Aloft, The Luxury Collection, Le Meridien and Four Points. Starwood branded timeshare properties are also included.

Marriott has had a rocky process of merging its computer system with Starwood computers. Members of both loyalty programs have complained about missing points, glitches with stays crediting to their accounts and problems with free nights earned from credit cards not appearing.

An internal security tool signaled a potential breach in early September, but the company was unable to decrypt the information that would define what data had possibly been exposed until last week.

Under New York law, a company is required to report a data breach to consumers "in the most expedient time possible." The attorney general's office is allowed to pursue damages to consumers and civil penalties if the company "knowingly" violated the law or acted recklessly.

State Sen. David Carlucci, a Rockland County Democrat, cited this breach as the latest sign for New York to beef up and modernize its cybersecurity laws. He is pushing legislation that would expand reporting requirements for companies.

In response to the Equifax hack, New York passed legislation prohibiting consumer-credit agencies from charging any fees relating to freezing or unfreezing credit, which is a common step for preventing stolen data from being used. The federal government took similar steps relating to credit freezing fees.

U.S. Sen. Mark Warner, a Virginia Democrat and co-founder of the Senate cybersecurity caucus, said the country needs laws that will limit the data companies can collect on its customers.

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"It is past time we enact data security laws that ensure companies account for security costs rather than making their consumers shoulder the burden and harms resulting from these lapses," Warner said in a prepared statement.

While the first impulse for those potentially affected by the breach could be to check credit cards, security experts say other information in the database could be more damaging.

"The names, addresses, passport numbers and other sensitive personal information that was exposed is of greater concern than the payment info, which was encrypted," said analyst Ted Rossman of CreditCards.com. "People should be concerned that criminals could use this info to open fraudulent accounts in their names."

It isn't common for passport numbers to be part of a hack, but it is not unheard of. Hong Kong-based airline Cathay Pacific Airways said in October that 9.4 million passengers' information had been breached, including passport numbers.

Passport numbers can be added to full sets of data about a person that bad actors sell on the black market, leading to identity theft. And while the credit card industry can cancel accounts and issue new cards within days, it is a much more difficult process, often steeped in government bureaucracy, to get a new passport.

But one redeeming factor about passports is that they are often required to be seen in person, said Ryan Wilk of NuData Security. "It's a highly secure document with a lot of security features," he said.

Marriott has setup a website to address any questions customers have.

Associated Press contributed to this story.
Jacom Stephens / Getty Image

SCHENECTADY - The 44-year-old father of a disabled teenager who died after ingesting a controlled substance pleaded guilty to criminally negligent homicide on Wednesday, the Daily Gazette reported.

Mansa Wilkerson was originally charged with criminally negligent homicide and manslaughter in August as authorities probed the April death of his son, Jaquez Carden, 14.
ALBANY  The 2001 Ford Excursion involved in the deadly Oct. 6 limousine crash in Schoharie County that killed 20 people repeatedly had its state registration revoked in the months leading up to the horrific tragedy.

State Department of Motor Vehicles documents obtained by the Times Union show that the insurer of the stretch Excursion, Global Liberty Insurance of New York, canceled the insurance policy on the limo six times between January and September.

The DMV automatically revokes the registration on limos and other "for hire" vehicles when liability insurance is dropped. The limo company must surrender the plates from the vehicle if the owner fails to obtain new coverage.

DMV records show that the Excursion's owner, Prestige Limousine of Wilton, was able to get its policy reinstated each time by Global Liberty Insurance of New York. The last reinstatement was made on Oct. 5  the day before the limo hurtled into the parking lot of the Apple Barrel Country Store in Schoharie and plunged into a ditch. All 18 people aboard and two bystanders were killed.

Officials at Global Liberty, which is based in Melville on Long Island, aren't talking. The company's CEO, Scott Wollney, did not return calls seeking comment. Wollney is also CEO of Atlas Financial Holdings, the insurer's parent company.

It's unclear why the Excursion's liability insurance was repeatedly canceled. Insurance policies on commercial limos are expensive and can cost $5,000 to $10,000 a year. In the days leading up to the crash, the Excursion had been put up for sale on Craigslist with a $9,000 price tag.

Prestige Limousine is owned by Shahed Hussain, a Capital Region gas station and motel operator who has a history of shady business deals. Hussain worked as an undercover informant for the FBI after being caught trying to get fake IDs through the DMV.

Hussain is believed to be in his native Pakistan. His son Nauman Hussain, who also goes by Arslan, was operating the company in his absence. Arslan and his brother Haris grew up in Loudonville before the family bought a motel in Wilton in 2006. Their mother died in 2013. It's unclear if Shahed Hussain intends to return to the United States, although in the past he has regularly traveled to Pakistan, Dubai and London on business.

Nauman Hussain was charged with one count of criminally negligent homicide in connection with the crash. State Police and the National Transportation Safety Board have not yet completed their investigations of the disaster.

Although the criminal case is in the early stages, several of the of the families of the victims have started to bring civil lawsuits against Prestige and the Hussains, who are being represented in civil matters by attorneys from the firm Wilson Elser Moskowitz Edelman & Dicker.

Brian Del Gatto, a senior lawyer with Wilson Elser who is in charge of the case, declined comment Friday.

READ FULL COVERAGE: Timesunion.com/schohariecrash

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DMV officials also won't explain what was happening with the limo's insurance and registration in the months leading up to the crash, and if its changes in status had anything to do with spot inspections that the state Department of Transportation performed on the Excursion in March and September.

In both cases, DOT inspectors ordered the limo off the road, citing major safety violations involving the brakes and the emergency exits. A third inspection was done by State Police in August after a traffic stop.

"In light of the ongoing criminal investigation ... it would be irresponsible to comment on any information that could compromise the integrity of that investigation," DMV spokeswoman Lisa Koumjian said.

Like school buses, stretch limos are supposed to be inspected every six months by the state DOT, and the companies that operate them are supposed to obtain a special certification of "operating authority" from the DOT. The certification includes criminal background checks and financial assessments.

Prestige never applied for operating authority from DOT, and was therefore not supposed to be driving passengers in the Excursion.

Although the civil lawsuits being filed on behalf of the victims' families will likely seek compensation from Global Liberty, other insurance companies could be targeted as well, said Troy attorney E. Stewart Jones Jr., who is representing some of the families.

"We hope to tag every insurance company that had anything to do with any component of that vehicle," Jones said. "Any insurer with any liability at all will be looked to for payment."
ALBANY  In January, when the state Senate Democratic conference takes control, all three of Albany's most powerful politicians will have authored some form of the "Fair Elections Act," a dramatic overhaul of New York's campaign finance system.

The Senate GOP, which had controlled the chamber by a sliver of a majority, historically has blocked campaign finance reforms. These include closure of the LLC loophole, which allows companies to pour virtually unlimited funds into campaign accounts, and publicly financed elections to mitigate the influence of moneyed interests on the electoral system.

Incoming Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins of Yonkers has long been the Senate sponsor of the legislation, and most members of the Democratic conference have signaled their approval of the measure. Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo has included it in recent executive budget proposals.

While the Assembly has passed the Fair Elections Act in past years, lack of support from the Senate majority precluded serious examination of the proposal. Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie of the Bronx, who was tapped to lead the conference in 2015, sponsored his version of the bill in 2016, but it did not get beyond the first committee.

Election reform advocates encouraged by the shift given that the two majority conference leaders, who join the Democratic governor in the proverbial "room" during closed-door budget negotiations, are able to leverage their members' votes to push for major policy items.

"With each of the three people in 'the room' sponsoring legislation that creates a public matching system, our expectation is they will pass a public matching program in 2019," said Alex Camarda, senior policy adviser at ReInvent Albany. "There is a huge coalition primarily advocating for a small-donor matching system like the one in New York City and there is going to be an unprecedented push for campaign finance reform."

The opt-in system would be modeled on a similar program available to political candidates in New York City, overseen by the city's Campaign Finance Board (CFB), to stimulate electoral competitiveness in the overwhelmingly Democratic city.

Assembly Elections Committee Chairman Charles Lavine, who was appointed to the post in 2017, acknowledged that many rank-and-file lawmakers are wary of the onerous fines that have been levied by New York City's enforcement body.

"We all know that the practical problems that candidates who have to deal with the CFB encounter," Lavine said. "We are going to have to rely on the expertise of the most knowledgeable people in the field and try to craft a system that really is manageable and does not put anyone at at a disadvantage."

Closure of the LLC loophole remain uncontroversial for Democrats in the Senate and Assembly, who historically did not benefit from donations from limited liability companies to the same extent as Senate Republicans. Lavine said he expects that the measure and other electoral reforms like early voting and no-excuse absentee voting will pass easily in 2019.

Democratic Assembly members representing politically divided districts in the suburbs and exurbs of New York City say they are wary of the complexities that a publicly financed electoral system would present.

"There has not been extensive conversation about it like there has been on LLC loophole and early voting and other election reforms," said Assemblyman David Buchwald, a Democrat from White Plains. But because "publicly financed elections legislation have many details to work through, it seems appropriate to begin with proposals have received more attention."

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Gary Pretlow, a veteran Democratic assemblyman from Mount Vernon, is in favor of lowering donation limits and closing the LLC loophole. But Pretlow opposes publicly funded elections and has voted against them in the past. He says they waste tens-of-millions of dollars in New York City, and cost three or four times that amount statewide.

Pretlow argued that incumbents in New York City nearly always win-reelection anyway, despite the public financing of elections there, and that it would a "massive undertaking" to set up offices around the state to regulate and enforce the new law. He also noted the burdens imposed on New York City candidates by the lengthy post-election audits of campaign spending by the New York City Campaign Finance Board, which can take years.

"Two years after the election, you can be fined $10,000  but because it's two years after the election, you don't have any money left," Pretlow said.

The Senate Democrats maybe also give new scrutiny to the campaign finance overhaul given their that their districts were redrawn to favor Republican incumbents in 2012, and that the Democratic wave of 2018 may not be permanent. But so far, there appears to be broad support in the conference.

According to Bill Lipton, executive director of the progressive Working Families Party, all 14 new Democratic members of the Senate, and most sitting Democratic senators, responded affirmatively on candidate questionnaires when asked if they would support LLC loophole closure and the Fair Elections Act.

"Every one of them has had the experience of being out-fundraised by Republicans," Lipton said.

What ever happens in the Assembly, Lavine said, "It's going to be fascinating. We have the opportunity to do something really good."
Albany

James Hendricks fulfilled his dream to become a police officer without needing to leave his hometown in western Kentucky.

In 1998, Hendricks wanted a new challenge. The FBI wanted new agents.

That year, Hendricks started a 20-year, award-winning FBI career in which he has battled terrorists, computer crime and thieves trying to ship trade secrets to China in the form of rice seeds. It is a career that has brought him to Georgia, Arkansas, Washington D.C. and back to western Kentucky.

And now, the 48-year-old Hendricks is the FBI's top agent in Albany. Hendricks, who started in August, succeeds acting Special Agent in Charge Janelle Miller and her predecessor, the retired Vadim Thomas, atop the bureau's Albany field office.

Neither Miller nor Thomas had long stays in the position. Hendricks and his wife, who have three young children, are not looking to go anywhere, he explained.

"I knew that the community  from just reputation, talking to friends that were here  that this would be a great place to raise a family," Hendricks told the Times Union in an interview in his McCarty Avenue office. "And I have small children. We want to keep the community safe. We live here. We're community members and it was refreshing to come here to Albany because it felt like home."

Hendricks, also the father of two adult children from a previous marriage, has seen many changes in technology and personnel over his two decades in the FBI. He still gets amazed that many agents were not on the job during the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks. Hendricks, who speaks with a slight Southern accent, comes off laid back and welcoming.

He brings a "very calm but consistent leadership style," he said.

Asked about President Donald J. Trump's public criticism of the FBI, Hendricks simply said, "It doesn't affect us at all." He noted FBI Director Christopher Wray recently visited the office.

"The message that he asked us to do is just keep plowing along, keep working and we do that," Hendricks said. "We just keep doing what the FBI does."

The Albany field office covers nearly 40,000 square miles, 32 upstate counties and all of Vermont. Hendricks supervises 84 agents and upward of 150 other staffers and analysts.

Hendricks started following a violent stretch in Albany, which experienced seven homicides in June and July alone. The communication between local law enforcement agencies  and absence of turf wars among them  quickly impressed him.

"These are the best partnerships I have ever seen in the country," Hendricks said.

Counter-terrorism remains the bureau's top priority nationwide and in Albany.

Before coming to Albany, Hendricks was in Washington, D.C. as chief of the FBI's Weapons of Mass Destruction Directorate's Countermeasures Operations Section. He led WMD prevention and preparation programs to make sure the FBI responds to any WMD threat or worse.

"What keeps me up at night are the homegrown violent extremists," Hendricks said. "These are the individuals sitting home online becoming radicalized. Their techniques are they use knives, vehicles. It's not the traditional, 'Hey we'll build a bomb, we'll blow something up.'"

In 2013, the FBI bestowed Hendricks with a Director's Award for Outstanding Terrorism Investigation. Hendricks led an undercover operation that took down two al Qaeda members from Iraq who had relocated to Bowling Green, Ky. as refugees. They planned to transport weapons and cash in hidden compartments to Florida to be shipped to insurgents who would attack American soldiers in Iraq. The fingerprints of one of the men was found on an unexploded IED (improvised explosive device) in Iraq. Both were convicted.

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While working in Little Rock, Ark., Hendricks noted, his office busted two agricultural scientists who stole rice seeds and tried to pass them to China through a visiting delegation. The seeds were considered valuable trade secrets. In August, the FBI charged Xiaoqing Zheng of Niskayuna, an engineer at GE, with using sophisticated techniques to steal digital files on the company's turbine technology, possibly to benefit his interest in Chinese firms that are GE competitors.

Hendricks said if any corporations believe they are being targeted, they should contact his office.

"The number of colleges here and research institutions and corporations that do a lot of sensitive development of tools and research, that concerns me a little bit," Hendricks said. "There's a lot of folks ...non-traditional collectors of counterintelligence with China particularly. They send students, they send researchers over here to collect this information."

Hendricks said it was a desire to help people that drove him to law enforcement. His father spent 20 years in the Army before retiring, he noted.

"Even as a small child I always knew I wanted to be a police officer," Hendricks said. "I had ambitions of the State Police in mind and when I graduated (Murray State University) college in 1991, the Kentucky State Police had a hiring freeze. So I was kind of stuck there."

Hendricks instead became an officer in his hometown of Henderson, Ky., a small working class city across the Ohio River from Evansville, Ind. He served six years there, the last two as a sergeant. He joined the FBI in 1998, assigned to an office in Savannah, Ga. There, Hendricks investigated a wide range of crime  public corruption, crimes against children, street violence, crimes on government reservations.

Following the 9/11 attacks, Hendricks belonged to an evidence response team. He served as a team leader at the Pentagon site. In 2005, he began his management career in the bureau's cybercrime division's executive staff, which battles computer crimes and cyber intelligence.

In 2007, he returned to western Kentucky as a supervisor in Bowling Green. He later worked in Little Rock before landing in the Capital Region.

"I'm from the Southeast. This is the Northeast," Hendricks said. "Everybody was so friendly and so welcoming here that it just really made me glad that I made the decision to come here."
COLONIE  Schuyler Dolton flew across the country Friday, escorting the remains of a great-great-uncle who died almost five decades before he was born.

As Dolton's grandmother, grandfather, aunts and uncles grew emotional on the tarmac at Albany International Airport, the 21-year-old Airman 1st Class stood at attention while the flag-covered casket of Army Pfc. John Martin was carried to a waiting hearse for his final journey to a cemetery in Schuylerville.

Dolton is from the latest generation of a family that can trace its military service back to the American Revolutionary War. On Friday, it was his mission to make sure an ancestor killed on a frigid Korean battlefield nearly 68 years ago finally made it home.

"It's been a very humbling experience," Dolton said.

Martin vanished on Dec. 2, 1950, as U.N. forces battled the Chinese army at the Battle of the Chosin Reservoir  a brutal, protracted fight in a mountainous area where temperatures dropped as low as minus 35 degrees, and casualties were high on both sides.

Martin's remains were lost in North Korea along with thousands of other combatants in the battle. While they were turned over to the U.S. military in 2001, it took another 17 years before DNA tests could link the remains to a sample provided by one of Martin's brothers, who died in 2012 without getting confirmation that his sibling had been found.

The family  including Martin's nieces, nephews and their children  gathered in a quiet waiting room at the airport's fire station and waited for Delta Flight 2401 to land.

"I don't think of it as a mourning," said Marina Wilson, one of Martin's nieces. "It's just extreme sadness for the siblings and his parents because they didn't have the experience of him coming home."

Members of the military, State Police, firefighters, and airport staff stood at attention as an honor guard carried the casket off the plane.

"Everyone's been so gracious and warm and caring for a man who's been gone for 68 years," said Nora Santore, the daughter of Martin's sister Eleanor, as a van brought the family back to the fire house.

Martin's parents and all of his siblings died before his remains were identified. "They're all up there watching the spectacle," Santore said.

The soldier will be buried next to his parents Sunday at Prospect Hill Cemetery in Schuylerville.

The November-December 1950 battle at Chosin Reservoir "had significant, far-reaching consequences," said Courtney Burns, the director of the state Military Museum in Saratoga Springs.

The civil war on the peninsula, at that point only six months old, had already seen a series of reversals  including the June 1950 North Korean invasion across the 38th Parallel, which was repulsed by the United Nations coalition force in the weeks that followed. The U.N. forces pushed back across the border in late summer, and inflicted regular defeats on the North Koreans.

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Gen. Douglas MacArthur promised victory by Christmas, and pressed the enemy closer to the Chinese border. But Burns and other military historians said MacArthur's gambit taxed supply lines and underestimated the possibility of a counteroffensive by Chinese forces, who had entered the war on the North Korean side in October on the orders of Chairman Mao Zedong..

Martin was a member of the Medical Company, 32nd Infantry Regiment, 7th Infantry Division, one of the divisions that were part of X Corp's amphibious invasion of the Korean peninsula at Wonsan in October.

As the Chinese closed in near Chosin Reservoir, both sides faced sub-zero temperatures  explosives were needed to create foxholes  and supply shortages. Veterans of the battle describe themselves as the "Chosin Frozen" and "the Chosin Few."

X Corps was eventually able to escape to the sea; the Marines fought their way south, suffering heavy casualties.

By Dec. 6, the Army had evacuated roughly 1,500 service members. The remaining soldiers  more than half of the original force  had been captured or killed, or were missing in enemy territory.

The history of the battle, Burns said, "just speaks to the individual valor and perseverance of the individual soldiers involved."

Martin's name did not subsequently appear on prisoner of war lists, and no returning POWs reported seeing him among the captured. He was declared deceased as of Dec. 31, 1951. Five years later, his remains were declared "non-recoverable."

His family spent years pleading with the U.S. military in the hopes of learning his fate. Their relatives say they never gave up hope Martin would one day make it home.
COHOES  As "a tornado of fire" ripped through Remsen Street a year ago, Louis Rizzo called 911 from his business, Rizzo's House of Flowers. The flames spread across the street before jumping the roadway to set his store ablaze.

"It was so hot you couldn't open the front door," Rizzo said about the entrance to the his flower shop at 233 Remsen St.

There's a new first floor entrance to the store. But he pointed out where minor damage lingers and said the toughest part was dealing with the water damage inside the three-story building as he has repaired and rebuilt it over the past 365 days.

The Nov. 30, 2017 fire destroyed or damaged 28 buildings and caused $4 million in damages in the middle of downtown. Firefighters battled the inferno for hours before extinguishing it.

Cohoes business owners and residents said the catastrophic fire is ingrained in their memories, but it hasn't stopped them from rebuilding, and they're waiting for the city's plans to redevelop the now vacant lots from Columbia Street to 220 Remsen St. with one large mixed-use building containing apartments and businesses.

The fire began behind 228 Remsen St. where John Gomes was trying to bend metal over a barrel fire in an apparent attempt to emulate the History Channel television series "Forged in Fire" about bladesmithing. Gomes was sentenced in June to a year in the Albany County jail for fourth-degree arson.

Sandy Kershaw and her husband spent six weeks away from their home at 229 Remsen St. The Watervliet-Green Island aerial ladder truck melted outside their residence. Pointing to the doorbell, Kershaw showed where it had partially melted. There is a new door bell ready to be installed.

"The vinyl siding melted and looked like cake frosting," Kershaw said.

Smoke, fire and water damage was inflicted not just on Remsen Street between Columbia and Howard streets, but on blocks in all directions as the flames jumped from building to building.

Since the city began its recovery, the narrative has been rebuilding and reinvestment.

Don Russell's restaurants, Donnie Magoos at 165 Remsen St. and Spindles at Remsen at 241 Remsen, were damaged, but Russell has recovered and is investing on the fire-torn block.

Russell purchased 220 Remsen St. where he's finished work on two apartments and is starting a new Italian restaurant, Anthony's, that will open in March or April 2019.

"That building was slated for demolition. We saved it," Russell said.

The building, which dates to before 1870, is on the north side of what is now a vacant lot where the fire wiped out the buildings, which collapsed into piles of rubble.

Russell relocated to Cohoes from Troy nearly five years ago, saying, "I could see the potential in Cohoes. You have a great walkable downtown with direct access to I-87 and 787."

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Plus three years of no property tax increases is inviting to business, Russell said.

The city has attempted to negotiate the purchase of what is now vacant property at the center of the fire that was whipped by 20 mph to 30 mph winds, Mayor Shawn Morse said.

A deal hasn't been reached because because the property owner is facing tax and legal issues, the mayor said. He anticipates that the city could take title to the now empty land on the west side of Remsen Street between Russell's building and Columbia Street within a year.

Morse said there are no firm plans for the site since the city doesn't own the property.

For the last three years, Morse identified the economic redevelopment of Remsen Street from a reinvigorated Cohoes Music Hall at the north end of the downtown thoroughfare as well as residential development. Both are taking place with the city hiring an outside firm to run the music hall and assisting developers in revitalizing the Cohoes Hotel and empty lots with apartments.

"This end of Remsen Street is starting a renaissance," said Morse, whose City Hall office is within site of the music hall and Canal Square Park, now undergoing redevelopment with space for outdoor performances. He's estimated that new building and office reinvestment will pump close to $50 million into downtown.

The city has been working its way south down Remsen to improve the streetscape with new sidewalks and other developments. The sidewalks south of Howard Street in front of the wiped-out area on Remsen Street won't be touched until a new building is erected because the city doesn't want to rip up new sidewalks during construction, Morse said.

The goal is to repopulate Remsen Street with new residents that will in turn support new businesses, Morse said. Part of the plan is to develop parking within a block's walk to Remsen Street in areas where buildings were damaged by the fire or don't have a productive future.

Becky Chamberlain, who lives on Van Schaick Island, was on Remsen Street Thursday looking across at the vacant lots where the fire was the most intense. She said she's waiting to see new construction start. But with only a year since the fire, she's patient, saying, "It hasn't been that long."
TROY  Rensselaer County has reached a new four-year contract with its largest employee union before the current agreement expired, said a spokesman for County Executive Steve McLaughlin.

The county and the United Public Service Employees Union reached a proposed deal that includes annual raises of 1.75 percent for 2019, 2020, 2021 and 2022. UPSEU represents slightly less than 1,000 county employees.

The union and the county Legislature must approve the tentative contract for it to take effect. The union is voting through Dec. 5. If approved by the union members, the contract would go to the County Legislature.

The contract agreement is a fair one, we believe, and was reached without unnecessary delay and gridlock, McLaughlin said. Both sides worked hard to reach an agreement that works for both employees and our taxpayers, he said.

The contract provided ways for the county to generate cost savings and new efficiencies in the coming months.

The county executives office included provisions in the proposed 2019 county budget of $346.7 million for the contract settlement.

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The County Legislature is expected to approve McLaughlins first budget as county executive Monday at the county office building. The proposed 2019 budget does not raise county property taxes.

The settlement with UPSEU is the first with a county union during McLaughlins administration. The county is negotiating or preparing to enter talks with its other unions.
ALBANY  A Schenectady man has pleaded guilty to stealing a cache of guns from a Glenville firearms store and possessing, concealing and then transporting them.

Federal authorities say 24-year-old Christian Roman admitted that on the night of Oct. 22, 2017, he broke into Target Sports, a federally licensed firearms dealer on Saratoga Road in Glenville and, with the help of Jose Fontanez, stole dozens of guns including pistols, shotguns and rifles.
Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie believes he and his colleagues are long overdue for a pay raise.

Speaking on Friday in Manhattan before a compensation panel with the power to grant that wish before the end of the year, the Bronx Democrat laid out his argument for why state legislators should get their first salary boost in 20 years. He highlighted growing costs that have diminished their purchasing power, and stressed that while the legislative session only runs six months, members of the state Assembly work full-time for their constituents.

"Under any objective measure, our static compensation has failed to keep pace with economic realities," Heastie said. " ... Legislators are not insulated from the financial pressures that are experienced by their constituents."

Questioned by committee members, Heastie waffled on whether he would back limitations on lawmakers' outside income. He said that a recommendation from the committee in this area would be taken "seriously."

Cuomo is calling for such limitations, and incoming state Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins has supported restrictions in the past.

Bronx resident Roxanne Delgado had little sympathy for Heastie's case, telling the panel that she is able to survive on "barely one-third" what the speaker makes. In addition to a base legislative salary of $79,500, which was set in 1999, Heastie also earns a leadership stipend of $41,500 and qualifies for per diems based on work in Albany. Rank-and-file lawmakers earn significantly less.

These competing arguments will be factored in with the five other voices that were heard at the second  and final  public hearing of the committee, which has the power to grant salary increases for elected state officials and executive branch appointees. According to legislation passed in last spring's state budget deal, any recommendations made by the Dec. 10 deadline will carry the weight of law, unless they're overruled by legislative action.

This process was repeatedly called into question on Friday by speakers who believe it was unconstitutional for the Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo and the state Legislature to delegate their authority in this manner.

Constitutional activist James Coll noted that when the state legislators wanted to hand off their power to redesign legislative districts, they needed to amend the state constitution. He said a similar course of action was needed to create the compensation committee. Without an amendment, he said it would only be proper for the committee to make a recommendation that the Legislature and governor would have to adopt into law.

Committee Chair Carl McCall declined to weigh in on the constitutionality of their role when asked at Wednesday's hearing in Albany.

There is also some debate about whether the committee has the ability to address ancillary issues, such as restrictions on outside employment, or whether these changes would have to be handled separately by the Legislature.

The issue of outside income earned by elected officials was a top concern on Friday for good government groups, which support raising salaries by at least 50 percent and limiting special stipends  called "lulus"  paid to legislative leaders.

In addition to limiting the amount of outside income, Reinvent Albany senior policy advisor Alex Camarda called for bans on certain sources of income, such as book royalties and honorariums. Common Cause New York Executive Director Susan Lerner wanted a ban on all outside income, but would accept a limitation.

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While the committee's power over the 213 legislative salaries has dominated the discussion about their work, the four-person group of current and former comptrollers will also have a say in the salaries of statewide elected officials and executive agency commissioners.

Public Service Commissioner Diane Burman asked the committee to give her salary of $109,800 a bump, and noted that 123 of her underlings in the agency made more than her in 2017.

"It's not about the money," she said. "It's really about the fairness."

Camarda, who recommended a 50 percent increase for commissioners, also called for limiting the discrepancies in pay based on agency. Cuomo has maintained for years that the base salaries for commissioners, which top out at $136,000, make it hard to recruit and keep top talent.

Much like the use of leadership stipends in the Legislature, governors have found ways around the salary restrictions for commissioners by paying them for additional duties or having them serve in acting capacities.

David.Lombardo@timesunion.com - 518.454.5427 - @poozer87
Fencing is considered a gentleman's sport. But it's tough to be a gentleman when someone is trying to bop you on the head with a sabre.

That's one of the many lessons taught to me  inadvertently or otherwise  on my first visit to Beaches Sabre Club.

The fencing classes are held on the second floor at St. Paul's Episcopal Church in downtown Troy, where the building's Gothic architectural design provides a neat backdrop to the swordplay. This particular class was an introductory one. And instructor Carolyn Lapham packs a ton into the one-hour session.

First, Lapham gives a brief talk on fencing  its social history, its pluses (colleges give full scholarships to promising young fencers), its terminology and its reputation.

"It's still considered an underground sport," she said to us, "but more people fence than one would realize."

We're shown three types of fencing weaponry, of which we will use just one: the sabre. The sabre is different from the other two  the foil and the epee  because, in short, you don't poke with a sabre. Instead, you slap someone with the side of the blade. You bop them, not skewer them. Fair enough.

After this, we were set immediately to work. We learned how to stand, hold the sabre, move back and forth in a way that can be only described as awkward, and to attack and parry (defend). This proved to be more tiring mentally than anything else. Think of being a drummer: Your body parts are doing things independent of each other.

Lapham, who was on the national fencing team in her native Canada, works mostly with youths, which she enjoys. She likes seeing the changes fencing can bring to kids, especially those who may not be outgoing or automatic team players. "You watch them get more self-assured," she said, "and get a little more self-confidence."

We next don our fencing gear: an oversized glove that's akin to an oven mitt, a helmet complete with its cool steel-mesh visor, and a complicated, straight-jacket-type garment that included a strap to protect your groin, probably easier to put on the second time around. After this, it was back to practicing.

Though Lapham was never impatient with her novices, a student's ingrained desire to please puts pressure on oneself (OK, me) not to screw up. Which means I inevitably do.

"No," she reminded me, calmly, "you need to position your sabre like this." "Don't extend your leg too far." "Keep your weapon pointed down when you are not using it."

This is serious eye/hand coordination stuff. Now think of being a drummer drumming while someone is trying to bop you on the top of your head. Which is what Lapham was doing pretty consistently, since my parrying skills were in need of some calibration.

"Ouch," I thought. Or did I actually say it?

Lapham has been doing this for more than 22 years. What keeps it fresh?

"I really enjoy the sport," said says, "and to see people introduced to it keeps me enthusiastic."

Now it was time to face an opponent and actually fence. (Did I mention this was an introductory class?) We are placed facing an adversary within taped rectangular sections, our tiny playing fields. My opponent, another grown-up, was twice my size and given the chance, could've taken me out of a bar fight in about 15 seconds. But we were fencing, and that meant we were equally incapable of doing anything purposeful to each other.

My unnamed foe and I went through several rounds, and if this was a real tournament, my goal basically would have been to compile points by skillfully attacking (bopping him on the head or arm), defending against him bopping me, while also causing him to avoid me enough where he'd be forced out of bounds, which is never far away.

None of this happened. We were too green, and if I won any points it was through sheer luck. I did bop him once or twice, and he took it well. At least he wasn't waiting for me by my car when I left to go home.

By the end of class, we had learned a ton about a sport that is not always visible in our society, all in one hour. I also felt like I had been through something. And, again, it was as much through the physicality of the class as through the cerebral effort it took to put all of these newly acquired rules and body motions to use.

"Your natural surviving skills don't apply," Lapham said. Meaning a lot of the sport is counter-intuitive. But I felt that the general preservation instinct was still present. To bop or be bopped: That age-old question still applied.
[November 30, 2018] Government of Canada moving towards low-carbon economy

OTTAWA, Nov. 30, 2018 /CNW/ - Public sector leadership is critical to achieving Canada's goals for environmental and sustainable development. The Government of Canada will play its part by taking steps to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from federal operations and by increasing the resiliency of assets, services and operations to adapt to the changing climate.

Following an open and competitive process, Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC) awarded a contract to Canada's Sustainability Solutions Group, a full-service climate and sustainability planning firm, to develop a roadmap that will address the decarbonization of federal operations in buildings and lands as well as in federal leased properties in the National Capital Region. The roadmap, to be developed over the next year, will be one of the tools used to inform capital investment decisions, guide future collaborative work with other levels of government and enable low-carbon federal operations. The roadmap will be designed using input from federal departments, provinces, municipalities, Indigenous communities, academia and industry in order to achieve the government's broader low-carbon objectives. Quotes "Greener practices have environmental, economic and social benefits for all Canadians, including improved air and water quality, and reduced operating costs. This is why our government is taking a broad approach to decreasing the impact of its activities. Through our low-carbon roadmap, we are proud to play a leadership role in designing better and more sustainable government buildings." The Honourable Carla Qualtrough

Minister of Public Services and Procurement and Accessibility "We're committed to a cleaner, more innovative economy that reduces emissions and protects our envronment while providing good, middle-class jobs for Canadians. Making our buildings more sustainable and climate resilient and reducing greenhouse gas emissions from federal operations may ultimately also provide solutions for communities across Canada."



The Honourable Scott Brison

President of the Treasury Board and Minister of Digital Government Quick facts

The value of the contract awarded to Sustainability Solutions Group is $2,024,018 (including taxes).

is (including taxes). As one of the largest real property owners in Canada , the federal government has already implemented a number of initiatives to reduce the carbon footprint of its operations, including smart building technology, green procurement, and more generally, the Greening Government Strategy.

, the federal government has already implemented a number of initiatives to reduce the carbon footprint of its operations, including smart building technology, green procurement, and more generally, the Greening Government Strategy. Most of the federal GHG emissions come from energy required for Government of Canada buildings (88%) and its vehicle fleet (12%).

buildings (88%) and its vehicle fleet (12%). The Government of Canada tracks its energy use and its greenhouse gas emissions as part of the Greening Government Strategy. We are aiming to reduce emissions by 80% by 2050 relative to 2005 levels, building on the 40% reduction promised by 2030. Collectively, as of March 31, 2017 , we have reduced GHG emissions from federal operations by 28%.

tracks its energy use and its greenhouse gas emissions as part of the Greening Government Strategy. We are aiming to reduce emissions by 80% by 2050 relative to 2005 levels, building on the 40% reduction promised by 2030. Collectively, as of , we have reduced GHG emissions from federal operations by 28%. PSPC has already exceeded the 40% reduction federal target by reporting a 54% reduction in 2017, compared to 2005 levels, for its Crown-owned assets. Associated links Greening government

Low carbon in the National Capital Region's buildings

Smart Buildings initiative

Tender notice for roadmap

Greening Government Strategy

Sustainability Solutions Group Follow us on Twitter

Follow us on Facebook SOURCE Public Services and Procurement Canada

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[November 30, 2018] Groupe Media TFO creates a new experience on Google Assistant for families in French Canada

TORONTO, Nov. 30, 2018 /CNW/ - With its new app Boukili Audio, Groupe Media TFO, the Canadian expert in French language digital learning, has created a new Google Assistant experience for Canadian families. Available today, Boukili Audio offers a collection of more than 120 audio books, including more than 70 audio books exclusive to Google Assistant, to enable French language learning for children between the ages of 4 and 8. "We are thrilled to be the first French-language educational media enterprise to work with Google on a Google Assistant experience for French-speaking families in Canada. This experience allows us to deliver our award-winning learning content in French through a fantastic new audio distribution platform that is attracting growing audiences, said Glenn O`Farrell, President and Chief Executive Officer of Groupe Media TFO. While 8% of Canadians already own a smartspeaker, Google with its Google Home represents 55% of smartspeaker owners as of Q1 2018, according to a Media Technology Monitor survey1. We are delighted to work with Google as a French content provider on Google Assistant in Canada". Canadian families with a Google Home or the Google Assistant installed on their smartphone or tablet - set to the French-Canadian language - will now be able to discover Boukili Audio`s educational experience with the invocation phrases "OK Google, parler avec Boukili Audio". Boukili Audio is an interactive game that helps children put their memory and comprehension skills to the test with a dynamic educational experience. This new experience is an addition to TFO`s extensive selection of educational content in French, renowned for its quality and relevance, and is a product extension of the Boukili app. Created and developed to help kids learn to read autonomously while having fun, the tablet Boukili experience has already accumulated over 1 million book readings. * Download Boukili Audio for Google Assistant

* Download Google Assistant for Apple

* Download Google Assistant for Android About Groupe Media TFO

Groupe Media TFO is an essential destination for audiences seeking innovative educational and cultural content in French, at the vanguard of digital learning. TFO serves two million students and 30,000 teachers in Ontario and in Canada, and hosts the number 1 French-language YouTube channel in Canada. Groupe Media TFO has earned two YouTube Silver Play Buttons and over 500 million views for its network of channels. Its content has earned various awards, from Austin to Amsterdam: Kidscreen Awards, Gemeaux Awards, Cassies, IBC Awards, SXSW Film Design Awards, and many more.







__________________________________ 1 Source : http://strategyonline.ca/2018/07/12/a-look-at-smart-speaker-adoption-in-canada/

About Boukili Audio

Boukili Audio is an interactive educational game that allows 4 to 8 year olds to develop their memory, listening and oral French comprehension skills with more than 125 audio books on animals, nutrition, music, travelling and much more captivating subjects. After listening to the stories, Boukili Audio puts the child to the test with a series of 3 multiple choice questions to evaluate, while having fun, their French language comprehension and memory. Boukili Audio is available on any Google Home, Google Home Mini or Google Assistant compatible smartphones and tablets. SOURCE Ontario French Language Educational Communications Authority (TFO)

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Banks Partner to Award $7K Grant to Disabled Texas Veteran

Michael Byrne, a retired U.S. Marine, will receive a $7,500 Housing Assistance for Veterans (HAVEN) grant from Texas Capital Bank and the Federal Home Loan Bank of Dallas (FHLB Dallas). The grant helped fund a home built by Operation FINALLY HOME, a nonprofit dedicated to providing American veterans with custom-built homes mortgage free.

The media is invited to the home dedication ceremony at 9:45 a.m. on Wednesday, December 5 at The Groves at 13714 Overton Wood Drive in Humble.

HAVEN is a unique grant program offered by FHLB Dallas through its member institutions, such as Texas Capital Bank, that reach out to veterans and active-duty service members who have been disabled in the line of duty since September 11, 2001. HAVEN provides grants up to $7,500 to support necessary home modifications. To qualify, veterans must also meet income eligibility requirements.







WHAT: Home Dedication WHEN: 9:45 a.m., Wednesday, December 5, 2018 WHO: Jenny Leighton-Guzman, Vice President, Community Development, Texas Capital Bank Rusty Carroll, Executive Director, Operation FINALLY HOME Michael Byrne Melanie Dill, Community and Economic Development Product Manager, FHLB Dallas WHERE: The Groves 13714 Overton Wood Drive Humble, Texas 77346

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20181129005860/en/
Glancy Prongay & Murray LLP Announces Investigation on Behalf of Nobilis Health Corp. Investors (HLTH)

Glancy Prongay & Murray LLP ("GPM") announces an investigation on behalf of Nobilis Health Corp. investors ("Nobilis" or the "Company") (NYSE American: HLTH) concerning the Company and its officers' possible violations of federal securities laws.

If you are a shareholder who suffered a loss, click here to participate.

On November 9, 2018 Nobilis announced that it is "re-evaluating the Net Realizable Value on its Accounts Receivable and intends to make a significant adjustment to the carrying value of accounts receivable, primarily on out of network claims greater than 365 days old." The Company filed for additional time to file its 10-Q for the period ended September 30, 2018 while the Company and the auditor completed their review of the financial statements.







On this news, Nobilis's share price fell $0.18 per share, or over 25%, to close at $0.52 per share on November 12, 2018, on unusually heavy trading volume.

Follow us for updates on Twitter (News - Alert): twitter.com/GPM_LLP.

If you purchased Nobilis securities, have information or 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 Lesley Portnoy, Esquire, of GPM, 1925 Century Park East, Suite 2100, Los Angeles California 90067 at 310-201-9150, Toll-Free at 888-773-9224, by email to [email protected], or visit our website at www.glancylaw.com. If you inquire by email please include your mailing address, telephone number and number of shares purchased.

This press release may be considered Attorney Advertising in some jurisdictions under the applicable law and ethical rules.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20181129005870/en/
Glancy Prongay & Murray LLP Announces Investigation on Behalf of Tenaris S.A. Investors (TS)

Glancy Prongay & Murray LLP ("GPM") announces an investigation on behalf of Tenaris S.A. ("Tenaris" or the "Company") (NYSE: TS) investors concerning the Company and its officers' possible violations of federal securities laws.

If you are a shareholder who suffered a loss, click here to participate.

On November27, 2018, Bloomberg (News - Alert) published an article alleging that Tenaris's Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Paolo Rocca, was indicted for his role in a graft scheme. Specifically the article alleges that "the judge charged Rocca after the Argentine billionaire testified that one of his company's executives paid an undisclosed amount of cash to government officials in monthly installments from 2009 to 2012." On this news, Tenaris' share price fell $2.64, or nearly 10%, to close at $24.36 per share on November 27, 2018, thereby injuring investors.







Follow us for updates on Twitter (News - Alert): twitter.com/GPM_LLP.

If you purchased Tenaris, have information or 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 Lesley Portnoy, Esquire, of GPM, 1925 Century Park East, Suite 2100, Los Angeles, California 90067, at 310-201-9150, Toll-Free at 888-773-9224, by email to [email protected], or visit our website at www.glancylaw.com. If you inquire by email please include your mailing address, telephone number and number of shares purchased.

This press release may be considered Attorney Advertising in some jurisdictions under the applicable law and ethical rules.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20181129005872/en/
[November 29, 2018] Double honors for Singtel at annual Frost & Sullivan Asia-Pacific Best Practices Awards

SINGAPORE, Nov. 29, 2018 /CNW/ -- Frost & Sullivan has presented Singtel with the 2018 Southeast Asia and Singapore Managed Security Service Provider of the Year and Data Center Competitive Strategy, Innovation & Leadership awards at the annual Frost & Sullivan Asia-Pacific Best Practices Awards Banquet held at the Shangri-La Singapore earlier today. Divya Prasad, Senior Industry Analyst, Cyber Security, ICT Practice of Frost & Sullivan noted that over the years, Singtel has developed a strong domain expertise and R&D capabilities, enabling it to offer various innovative managed security service offerings. This has generated a high trust among customers in the APAC region and across the globe. "In 2017, Trustwave, a Singtel company, continued to demonstrate a strong leadership position during the year despite the stiff competition in the market. Trustwave continued to hold a strong position in the market through its vast and comprehensive MSS portfolio with offerings ranging from perimeter, endpoint to cloud security. The company also offers advanced services such as DDoS protection, Advanced Threat Prevention, threat hunting, deception and threat intelligence. Through these services, the customers have been able to benefit from a strong security architecture and can focus on their main business operations," she added. "We are honoured to receive this recognition," said Arthur Wong, Chief Executive Officer at Trustwave. "These accolades reflect significant advancements we continue to make in the Asia Pacific region and globally to help organisations address an increase in sophisticated cyber threats while contending with shortages of adept security practitioners. Our near real-time threat intelligence derived from our global network of Advanced Security Operation Centres powers our threat detection and response, remote forensic investigations and other managed security services and is a key differentiator we deliver to the marketplace. We look forward to continuously helping organisations refine how they protect data assets and strengthen overall security postures." As a testament to its regional expansion focus and continued innovation in the Singapore Data Center market as well, Singtel was also recognized with the 2018 Singapore Data Center Competitive Strategy, Innovation & Leadership Award. Nishchal Khorana, Director, ICT at Frost & Sullivan, acknowledged that the Singapore data center market is extremely competitive due to the growing presence of global data center service providers. However, it is apparent that Singtel continues to create diferentiation in areas such as optimization of data center operations as well as adoption of newer technologies to create greater customer value.



"The collective measures and initiatives are clearly helping Singtel to effectively stand out amongst the competition. This has also led to acquisition of key customers across multiple industry segments. Innovation continues to be a key priority for Singtel with focus on software defined data centers. Furthermore, Singtel's DC.DX platform enables seamless integration of data center, network, security, managed services and hybrid cloud services," he explained. "Our data centres are key to providing managed services which include cloud, analytics and cyber security services to facilitate our customer' digitalisation journey," said Goh Boon Huat, Vice President, Global Products, Group Enterprise at Singtel. "The award will spur us on to innovate and strengthen our leadership in the data centre space and position Singapore as the leading data centre hub in the region."

The recipients of the annual Frost & Sullivan Asia-Pacific Best Practice Awards were identified based on in-depth research conducted by Frost & Sullivan's analysts. The award categories offered each year are carefully reviewed and evaluated to reflect the current market landscape and include new emerging trends. The short-listed companies were evaluated on a variety of actual market performance indicators which include revenue growth; market share and growth in market share; leadership in product innovation; marketing strategy and business development strategy. About Frost & Sullivan Frost & Sullivan, the Growth Partnership Company, works in collaboration with clients to leverage visionary innovation that addresses the global challenges and related growth opportunities that will make or break today's market participants. For more than 50 years, we have been developing growth strategies for the global 1000, emerging businesses, the public sector and the investment community. Is your organization prepared for the next profound wave of industry convergence, disruptive technologies, increasing competitive intensity, Mega Trends, breakthrough best practices, changing customer dynamics and emerging economies? About Trustwave Trustwave, a Singtel company, helps businesses fight cybercrime, protect data and reduce security risk. With cloud and managed security services, integrated technologies and a team of security experts, ethical hackers and researchers, Trustwave enables businesses to transform the way they manage their information security and compliance programmes. More than three million businesses are enrolled in the Trustwave TrustKeeper cloud platform, through which Trustwave delivers automated, efficient and cost-effective threat, vulnerability and compliance management. Trustwave is headquartered in Chicago, with customers in 96 countries. For more information about Trustwave, visit https://www.trustwave.com. About Singtel Singtel is Asia's leading communications technology group, providing a portfolio of services from next-generation communication, technology services to infotainment to both consumers and businesses. For consumers, Singtel delivers a complete and integrated suite of services, including mobile, broadband and TV. For businesses, Singtel offers a complementary array of workforce mobility solutions, data hosting, cloud, network infrastructure, analytics and cyber-security capabilities. The Group has presence in Asia, Australia and Africa and reaches over 700 million mobile customers in 21 countries. Its infrastructure and technology services for businesses span 21 countries, with more than 428 direct points of presence in 362 cities. For more information, visit www.singtel.com. Follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/SingtelNews. Media Contact Melissa Tan

Corporate Communications  Asia-Pacific

Phone: +65.6890.0926

Email: [email protected] View original content:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/double-honors-for-singtel-at-annual-frost--sullivan-asia-pacific-best-practices-awards-300758076.html SOURCE Frost & Sullivan

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[November 29, 2018] Walton Big Lake Development L.P. Reports Third Quarter 2018 Fiscal Results

Walton Big Lake Development L.P. (the "Partnership"), and its general partner, Walton Big Lake Development Corporation (the "General Partner"), announced today the Partnership's financial results for the third quarter of 2018. Launched in 2010, the Partnership owns a residential project in northwest Edmonton, Alberta. The project is being developed in three phases over a fifteen-year time frame and marketed under the name "Hawks Ridge at Big Lake", (the "Project"). Second Quarter Highlights During the period ended September 30, 2018, the Partnership continued to take steps towards the fulfillment of its Project plan. The key activities undertaken by the Partnership were as follows: Substantially Completed top soiling, planting, and seeding of the Boulevard, Top of Bank, Park / Municipal Reserve (" MR "), and Lift Station landscaping in Stage 2A;

"), and Lift Station landscaping in Stage 2A; Received Construction Completion Certificate for the Lift Station;

Continued maintenance and inspections of Stage 1 Offsite and Stage 2A Storm and Sanitary Sewers;

Maintained commitments and interest with homebuilders for the first release of 56 lots, including showhomes, in Phase 2B;

Requested an amendment to the Phase 2 Facility from the Senior Lender to revise the construction milestones for 2018 based on the current project schedule, increase the Letter of Credit limit based on the security requirements of the Phase 2B Servicing Agreement and adjust the lot price list for the homebuilders based on market conditions;

Received reports from homebuilders indicating 8 third-party sales to date in 2018; and

Refined Phase 3 plan in accordance with the updated slope failure report from June 2018. Based on the recommended setback identified in the original slope stability study completed by the engineering consultant in January 2016 on Phase 3 of the Project, monitoring of the slope has been ongoing with preliminary results released in January 2018 and the final report released June 23, 2018. The results of the final report indicate additional movement to the west of the slope failure, resulting in the loss of approximately 180 saleable front feet from the current Phase 3 design. The loss in revenue will be partially offset by savings from the reduction in assessments and construction costs, as well as an increase in the amount of MR Over-dedication purchased by the City of Edmonton. Management is reviewing alternative layouts and engineering options based on the conclusions of the final report to economically maximize the yield for Phase 3. The final plan is underway and expected to be ready for City of Edmonton submission and review in Q1 2019. Overall market conditions for new residential home construction have not recovered substantively from the recession period over the past several years with new single family permits in NW Edmonton still being below 50% of the 2014 peak. In order to capture market share, increase sales velocity and obtain builder commitments for remaining lot inventory in the project, current and projected lot pricing assumptions have been reduced for Phase 2B. This has decreased the estimated overall revenue for the project. While the Alberta economy has experienced diversification over the past several years, the Alberta economy remains highly dependent on the oil and gas industry, which is, in turn, dependent on a number offactors, domestically and internationally. The adverse impacts of low oil prices to the overall market conditions for suburban single-family residential housing in Edmonton continue to persist well into 2018. Overall, the current sales activity is well behind the original targeted sales pace for the Project. Subject to the timing and extent of the projected economic recovery for Edmonton, the forecasted Project duration for collection of final revenue and receipt of recoveries owing to the Partnership is anticipated to be 2024/25 (increased from 2022/2023). Management will continue to provide regular updates on market conditions and project performance based on the key economic indicators for Edmonton.



Third Quarter Financial Results During the three- and nine-month periods ended September 30, 2018, there were no lot sales recognized and therefore, revenue, cost or sales and gross margin were $nil.

For the three months ended September 30, 2018, total other expenses decreased by $671,594 from $1,294,599 for the three months ended September 30, 2017 to $623,005 for the three months ended September 30, 2018. The decrease in other expenses is due to a decrease in bad debt expense of $797,011, asset management fees of $11,799 and an increase in interest income of $2,112. This is offset by an increase in marketing fees of $41,663, professional fees of $6,775, interest expense of $50,886, financing fees of $22,010, director fees of $13,104 and office expenses of $4,890. For the nine months ended September 30, 2018, total other expenses decreased by $285,507 from $2,015,662 for the nine months ended September 30, 2017 to $1,730,155 for the nine months ended September 30, 2018. The decrease in other expenses is mainly due to a decrease in bad debt expense of $797,011, asset management fees of $24,902, office expenses of $3,018 and a decrease in interest income of $174,569. This is offset by an increase in interest expense of $124,021 marketing fees of $103,407, professional fees of $26,294, director fees of $26,180 and financing expense of $84,953. Interest expense and financing expenses have increased as the principal balance of the Second Mortgage Loan increased and a portion of the transaction costs relating to the Phase 2 Facility anticipated to be unutilized is amortized into financing expenses over the remaining term of the Phase 2 Facility. Professional fees have increased in the first three quarters of 2018 compared to the first three quarters of 2017, due to an increase in audit fees. Marketing expenses have increased in the first three quarters of 2018 compared to the first three quarters of 2017 as the Partnership hosted a show home event to showcase the development, replaced signage in the community and entered into a marketing contract. Director fees increased for the second and third quarter of 2018 as only one director was in place during the second and third quarter of 2017. Interest income was higher in 2017 due to interest being charged on outstanding receivable balances with deferred payment terms from January 2017 to July 2017. There was no additional interest on deferral of lot payments made in the first three quarters of 2018. Project Financing Update The Partnership is operating under forbearance conditions with respect to its debt commitments with a due date of November 1, 2018 for the Phase 2 Facility and February 15, 2019 for the Second Mortgage Loan. As the Partnership has not obtained extensions to the forbearance period of the Phase 2 Facility, the Partnership is technically in default of the Phase 2 Facility. The Partnership has not been provided with a notice of default from the Senior Lender and is negotiating a loan maturity and forbearance extension to February 1, 2019. The Senior Lender is composed of a syndicate of three lenders of which two have approved the extension. Discussions with the Senior Lender continue. Additional Information The Walton Group of Companies ("Walton") is a multinational real estate investment, planning, and development group concentrating on the research, acquisition, administration, planning and development of strategically located land in major North American growth corridors. Its communities are comprehensively designed in collaboration with local residents for the benefit of community stakeholders. Its goal is to build communities that will stand the test of time: hometowns for present and future generations. For more information about Walton Big Lake Development L.P., please visit www.sedar.com. For more information about Walton, visit www.Walton.com. For information about Hawks Ridge at Big Lake visit www.hawksridge.ca. This news release, required by Canadian laws, does not constitute an offer of securities, and is not for distribution or dissemination outside Canada. This news release contains forward looking information, and actual future results may differ from what is disclosed in this news release. The risks, uncertainties and other factors that could influence results are described in the prospectus and other documents filed with Canadian securities regulatory authorities and available online at www.sedar.com. Except as otherwise noted, all amounts are in Canadian dollars, and are based on unaudited financial statements for the nine months ended September 30, 2018 and related notes, prepared in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20181129005882/en/

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[November 29, 2018] Singtel's Trustwave Named Managed Security Service Provider of the Year

Trustwave, a Singtel company, today announced that Frost & Sullivan (News - Alert) presented it with the 2018 Singapore and Southeast Asia Managed Security Service Provider of the Year awards at the annual Frost & Sullivan Asia-Pacific Best Practices Awards held in Singapore. The achievement recognises companies that have pushed the boundaries of excellence to rise above the competition by demonstrating superior performance and innovation in their respective markets. "We are honoured to receive this recognition," said Arthur Wong, Chief Executive Officer, at Trustwave. "These accolades reflect significant advancements we continue to make in the Asia Pacific region and globally to help organisations address an increase in sophisticated cyber threats while contending with shortages of adept security practitioners. Our near real-time threat intelligence derived from our global network of Advanced Security Operation Centres powers our threat detection and response, remote forensic investigations and other managed security services and is a key differentiator we deliver to the marketplace. We look forward to continuously helping organisations refine how they protect data assets and strengthen overall security postures." Divya Prasad, Senior Industry Analyst, Cyber Security, ICT Practice of Frost & Sullivan noted that over the years Singtel has developed a strong domain expertise and R&D capabilities, enabling it to offer various innovative managed security service offerings. This has generated high trust among customers in the APAC region and across the globe. "In 2017, Singtel's Trustwave continued to demonstrate leadership position during the year despite stiff competition in the market. Trustwave continued to hold a strong position in the market through its vast and comprehensive MSS portfolio with offerings ranging from perimeter, endpoint to cloud security. The company also offers advanced services such as DDoS protection, advanced threat prevention, threat hunting, deception and threat intelligence. Through these services, the customers have been able to benefit from a strong security architecture and can focus on their main business operations," she stated. Trustwave Managed Security Services help organisations proactively address advanced information security threats while reducing the pressures created by resource constraints, skills shortages, data regulations and the rapid adoption and optimization of new technologies. Backed by Trustwave SpiderLabs, a world-class team of elite ethical hackers, incident responders, and threat hunters; the services delver the security organisations need without requiring them to install and manage technologies themselves, to retain and train staff to configure and run those systems, or to worry about security programmes becoming antiquated.



Significant Trustwave Managed Security Services differentiators include: Pioneering Actionable Threat Intelligence -- Trustwave actionable threat intelligence is derived from its global network of ten Advanced Security Operation Centers (ASOCs) and the Trustwave SpiderLabs Fusion Center, a leading-edge security command center. These facilities work jointly to identify, track and collect the latest intelligence on malware strains, vulnerabilities and evolving adversary tactics, and distributing new insights to managed security service customers. Security teams then apply appropriate response from blocking and containment to threat annihilation down to the endpoint, a first in managed security services.

-- Trustwave actionable threat intelligence is derived from its global network of ten Advanced Security Operation Centers (ASOCs) and the Trustwave SpiderLabs Fusion Center, a leading-edge security command center. These facilities work jointly to identify, track and collect the latest intelligence on malware strains, vulnerabilities and evolving adversary tactics, and distributing new insights to managed security service customers. Security teams then apply appropriate response from blocking and containment to threat annihilation down to the endpoint, a first in managed security services. Digital Forensics and Incident Response -- In addition to actionable threat intelligence, Trustwave has incorporated digital forensics and incident response (DFIR) into its managed security service delivering the first fully integrated detect and response capability within the same team. Through its service delivery framework and DFIR specialists, Trustwave can launch deep forensic investigations on suspected breaches to any point on the globe in seconds rather than days like many competitors.

-- In addition to actionable threat intelligence, Trustwave has incorporated digital forensics and incident response (DFIR) into its managed security service delivering the first fully integrated detect and response capability within the same team. Through its service delivery framework and DFIR specialists, Trustwave can launch deep forensic investigations on suspected breaches to any point on the globe in seconds rather than days like many competitors. Proprietary Point of Delivery System -- Trustwave leverages a proprietary Point of Delivery (POD) system to help ensure customer-centric delivery of managed security services including management of updates, patches, configurations and threat intelligence. In a POD setting, Trustwave security experts are grouped and focused on a finite number of customers in specific industries, resulting in intimate knowledge of client environments and response playbooks for any given threat situation. The recipients of the annual Frost & Sullivan Asia-Pacific Best Practice Awards were identified based on in-depth research conducted by Frost & Sullivan's analysts. The award categories offered each year are carefully reviewed and evaluated to reflect the current market landscape and include new emerging trends. The short-listed companies were evaluated on a variety of actual market performance indicators which include revenue growth; market share and growth in market share; leadership in product innovation; marketing strategy and business development strategy.

About Singtel Singtel is Asia's leading communications technology group, providing a portfolio of services from next-generation communication, technology services to infotainment to both consumers and businesses. For consumers, Singtel delivers a complete and integrated suite of services, including mobile, broadband and TV. For businesses, Singtel offers a complementary array of workforce mobility solutions, data hosting, cloud, network infrastructure, analytics and cyber-security capabilities. The Group has presence in Asia, Australia and Africa and reaches over 700 million mobile customers in 21 countries. Its infrastructure and technology services for businesses span 21 countries, with more than 428 direct points of presence in 362 cities. For more information, visit www.singtel.com. Follow us on Twitter (News - Alert) at www.twitter.com/SingtelNews. About Trustwave Trustwave, a Singtel company, helps businesses fight cybercrime, protect data and reduce security risk. With cloud and managed security services, integrated technologies and a team of security experts, ethical hackers and researchers, Trustwave enables businesses to transform the way they manage their information security and compliance programmes. More than three million businesses are enrolled in the Trustwave TrustKeeper cloud platform, through which Trustwave delivers automated, efficient and cost-effective threat, vulnerability and compliance management. Trustwave is headquartered in Chicago, with customers in 96 countries. For more information about Trustwave, visit https://www.trustwave.com. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20181129005839/en/

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[November 29, 2018] GLOD makes a dazzling debut and launches its first designer jewelry collection

LOS ANGELES, Nov. 29, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- GLOD (glodjewelry.com) is a new online independent designer jewelry start-up, which believes that everyone has their moments to glow. With artistic design, durable materials, and ethical production, GLOD hopes to bring wearers something unique and fashionable, also affordable. The jewelry of GLOD offers transformable design, ranges from simple elegance, playfulness created by mix and match, and modern chic, available on glodjewelry.com. With its uniqueness in various ways, GLOD makes a dazzling debut with campaign "Ignite Your Aura" on social media to celebrate individuality and the beauty of femininity. Hashtags #GlodJewelry #IgniteYourAura have gone viral among fashion bloggers and influencers. Launch Of First Designer Jewelry Collection -- BE LIGHT Evoked by the journey of light, BE LIGHT collection re-portrays glow in its best hues and forms. Putting a halt to time, pieces are inspired by a serendipitous wander through radiant beams, dancing light, glistening flare, and captures the dreamy moment of glow to the poetically abstract details. The harmonious interplay of duo-color and tri-color tones metals resembles varying shades in glow and infuses this light fantastic realm with timeless grace and simple elegance. Highlighted Design 1. Radiant Beams The radiant beams design sends out melting warmth to awaken the passionate heart, lighting a path for the imagination to traverse between reality and fantasy. 2. Dancing Light Pieces with dynamic curvs epitomize the minimalist aesthetic derived from dancing light, as elvish as aurora, its buoyant hues can only be seen by luck.



3. Glistening Flare Taking flight from glistening flare, pieces convey shimmering movements through circular geometric forms in layers, whimsically connecting optical space in visual illusion to project a sense of romantic modern chic.

More high-resolution photos are available for download at:

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1k-xYO-nKbvDho4z7Zht-XpzIIEcBKHwr?usp=sharing Origins of GLOD GLOD, is originated from the Danish word gld, meaning glow. This evocative glow unfolds a vista of infinite inspiration about light to the brand. The icon in the logo encapsulates the very essence from glowing light in the Danish spirit of Hygge, meanwhile, as a cosmic symbol, embodies the mythical aura glow from the nebula. GLODs develop its own aesthetics in jewelry design by capturing the journey of light, using curves, points and lines, the contrast between abstract and tangible shapes at the serendipitous glowing moment. GLOD uses the language of jewelry design to tell the story behind each piece and ignite the soul-renewing aura power inside each wearer. Craftsmanship & Material Every detail in design is brought to life by GLOD artisans with passion and love. Most of GLOD artisans have spent years honing their art. They are the magicians to visualize the sketch into a piece with functional wearability in terms of size, weight, softness, smoothness and well fitted. And each piece from GLOD is produced in a sustainable and environmental-friendly way. GLOD understands that price is always a concern for selecting a jewelry. But material cost shouldn't be the main reason pushing people away from a nice jewelry. GLOD wants customers only think about the design, the story behind, the wearability, and most importantly whether this piece really makes them glow rather than the price. GLOD carefully selects the most affordable precious metal sterling silver, in its best quality, and plated it with 18K gold to give extra shine and durability. It looks as gorgeous as 18K gold, but cost much less, giving another reason to make customers radiant. Campaign Video Be Light https://youtu.be/TySFwZUY_oo

Meet the Inspirations https://youtu.be/HDR5xmbcCu8 Related Links Website: https://glodjewelry.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/glodjewelry/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/glodjewelry/

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/glodjewelry/ View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/glod-makes-a-dazzling-debut-and-launches-its-first-designer-jewelry-collection-300758113.html SOURCE GLOD

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[November 30, 2018] New Relic Opens Paris Office to Support Leading French Enterprises in Their Digital Transformation Initiatives

New Relic, Inc. (NYSE: NEWR), provider of real-time insights for software-driven businesses, today announced it has opened its first office in Paris to serve the growing number of customers throughout France. Today, leading companies across the region trust New Relic to help solve their most complex software challenges, such as migrating to the cloud, implementing new and innovative technologies, and driving their success through their digital business. Some of these leading local organizations include 20 Minutes, Blablacar, CANAL+, France Televisions, Smartbox, Veolia, Talentsoft and others. New Relic is dedicated to helping France's most innovative companies transform to digital business models. According to a CIO survey conducted by Gartner (News - Alert)1, 47 percent of French CIOs claimed they were responsible for digital transformation and innovation at their organization. And 79 percent of French CIOs consider optimizing enterprise operational experience as one of their core objectives. The new office provides a working space for the growing go-to-market team serving the region. New Relic currently has offices across Europe to support ongoing customer growth, including in Dublin, London, Munich, and Zurich, as well as a European Development Center in Barcelona. "New Relic has seen phenomenal customer success across France and we are excited to formally open an office in Paris," said Serge Froidevaux, Regional Director of France at New Relic. "As our global business grows, our goal for this team is to expand New Relic's reach in serving the incredibly innovative companies across France. We are committed to helping French enterprises transform their digital businesses." Customer and Partner Success in France "By adopting the New Relic platform, we have greatly improved the performance of our services and significantly reduced the number of incidents. The simplicity of New Relic allowed us to create a culture of monitoring within the teams." - Aurelien Capdecomme, CTO at 20 Minutes, a leading French independent news media company. "Our continued growth requires us to improve and accelerate our technical stack to a service-oriented architecture. New Relic has played an important role as it has enabled us to increase observability into all of our services to better serve our customers." - Julien Dehee, Head of Infrastructure at Blablacar, a leading long distance carpooling service. "When we migrated our infrastructure, it experienced a major performance degradation. Dev and Ops were blaming each other. With New Relic, it was easy to identify the source of the problem, which turned out to be a mixed code and proxy issue. New Relic is one of the most important tools we have because we can quickly identify bugs and resolve them promptly." - Guillaume Postaire, Deputy Chief Technology Officer, Infrastructure and Architecture at France Televisions, the French public national television broadcaster. "We are proud to partner with New Relic, which makes our collaboration of more than 3 years on the French market a reality. The priority of delivering the best user experience is no longer negotiable and should be addressed at all levels: the customer journey, IT, and organisation. To support this approach, we rely on the solutions offered by New Relic to optimize our work of development, deployment, and operations of digital experience platforms and omnichannel commerce." - Yannick Olympio, Manaer, Web & Mobile Solutions at SQLI, a leading international digital experience agency.



Recent Success in Europe: New Relic announced the general availability of its first-ever European Region in Frankfurt, Germany.

New Relic acquired the technology and team members of CoScale, a Belgian company with deep experience in monitoring modern container and microservices environments.

New Relic hosted FutureStack: London, featuring AO.com, Trainline, and other customer speakers. Learn more about the upcoming FutureStack events happening across Europe at https://newrelic.com/futurestack.

New Relic opened a new European headquarters in Dublin, Ireland and a European Development Center in Barcelona, Spain. Our EMEA teams are growing! Interested in joining New Relic? Take a look at our open positions - https://newrelic.com/about/careers

Forward-Looking Statements This press release contains "forward-looking" statements, as that term is defined under the federal securities laws, including but not limited to New Relic's success and presence in France, including New Relic's ability to grow and expand its reach in serving companies across this region. All FutureStack events, dates, prices, topics, and speakers are subject to change without notice. The achievement or success of the matters covered by such forward-looking statements are based on New Relic's current assumptions, expectations, and beliefs and are subject to substantial risks, uncertainties, assumptions, and changes in circumstances that may cause New Relic's actual results, performance, or achievements to differ materially from those expressed or implied in any forward-looking statement. Further information on factors that could affect New Relic's financial and other results and the forward-looking statements in this press release is included in the filings New Relic makes with the SEC (News - Alert) from time to time, including in New Relic's most recent Form 10-Q, particularly under the captions "Risk Factors" and "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations." Copies of these documents may be obtained by visiting New Relic's Investor Relations website at http://ir.newrelic.com or the SEC's website at www.sec.gov. New Relic assumes no obligation and does not intend to update these forward-looking statements, except as required by law. About New Relic New Relic provides the real-time insights that software-driven businesses need to innovate faster. New Relic's cloud platform makes every aspect of modern software and infrastructure observable, so companies can find and fix problems faster, build high-performing DevOps teams, and speed up transformation projects. Learn why more than 50% of the Fortune 100 trust New Relic at newrelic.com. New Relic is a registered trademark of New Relic, Inc. All product and company names herein may be trademarks of their registered owners. Social Media Links: Facebook | Twitter | YouTube | LinkedIn 1 2018 CIO Agenda: A France Perspective, Published 29 May 2018, ID: G00346752 View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20181129005848/en/

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[November 30, 2018] Elion Resources Group Wins Green Great Wall Medal for Afforestation and Reforestation Work

BEIJING, Nov. 30, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- China's national forestry and grassland administration has recently honored regional government officials, individuals, and enterprises who have made remarkable contributions to the Three-North Shelter Forest Program. Wang Wenbiao, Chairman of Elion Resources Group, last year's winner of Lifetime Achievement Champion of the Earth from the UN Environment Programme, was awarded the Green Great Wall Medal. The year 2018 marks not only the 40th anniversary of Reform and Opening in China, but also the 40th anniversary of China's mega afforestation project -- the Three-North Shelter Forest Program, also known as the Green Great Wall. Initiated in 1978, the program was planned to last 70 years, creating a 4,480km long green belt along China's north frontiers to hold back the expanding Gobi Desert, and prevent soil erosion, land degradation, and now it has taken on additional importance for storing carbon dioxide to tackle global warming. With an estimated investment of 5.5 billion RMB, the program has created a total afforestation area of more than 30 million hectares in the past 40 years, which has increased the forest coverage from 5.05% in 1977 to 13.57% and has helped reduce 11,479 km of desertified areas in the three northern regions of China between 2009 and 2014 alone, according to the administration. "The greening project of Kubuqi Desert is an important part of the Three-North Program," said Wang. "I think what distinguishes the Kubuqi project is that Elion hascreated the market-oriented Kubuqi model, which boosts the local economy during the process of combating desertification. We have reclaimed more than 6,000 km of the Kubuqi Desert, and this can't happen without the joint participation of the government of Inner Mongolia, local residents of Kubuqi, and Elion, as an ecology company that provides technologies, experts, investment and job opportunities in this project. "



The Kubuqi Desert, located in Inner Mongolia, is the seventh largest desert in China, with a total area of 18,600 km2. It is also the closest desert to Beijing and used to be one of the major sources of sandstorms hitting Beijing and the Tianjin Region. Over the past three decades (the Elion Kubuqi Greening Project started in 1988), Elion has devoted persistent efforts to have restored one third of the desert and lifted more than 100,000 local residents out of poverty by developing eco-industries, such as solar power generation, tourism, and desert agriculture, in the Kubuqi Desert. As evaluated by the UN Environment, Kubuqi has been generating more than 72 Billion USD green wealth based on eco-restoration. The annual income of local residents has been raised from less than 110USD per capita to more than 2,500USD per capita. Kubuqi is now recognized as a green economy model by the Chinese government and the UN Environment Programme.

The Kubuqi model is now being shared in other parts of the world as Elion expands its business in African countries, including Nigeria and Morocco. "Since the reform and opening up, the Chinese government has been encouraging private sectors to participate in public programs," Wang said. "The Kubuqi model is a vivid example of this type of partnership, and it actually helps, because as a private company, we want to make sure every dollar we spend counts, so we are motivated to develop our technologies and enhance the survival rate of the saplings, also to focus on economic crops. Apart from Kubuqi, Elion is also responsible for another section of the Three-North Program in Hebei Province for the 2022 Winter Olympic Games. "China effectively succeeded in not only halting the desert but in reversing the desertification. The Three-North program is the world's largest afforestation and reforestation program and also a resounding success. This program has made a highly significant contribution to the global efforts towards protecting the eco-system and maintaining eco-system security," said Alexander Buck, the executive director of International Union of Forest Research Organizations (IUFRO) during a meeting in Beijing for the 40th anniversary of the Three-North Program. Indeed, tackling global issues such as climate change and desertification requires united efforts worldwide at all levels. Not only China but also African countries are building their wall of trees to fight against desertification. Launched in 2007, the Great Green Wall, is an African-led movement with an epic ambition to grow an 8,000km natural wonder of the world across the entire width of Africa. The Wall promises to be a compelling solution to the many urgent threats not only facing the African Continent, but the global community as a whole - notably climate change, drought, famine, conflict and migration. Photo - https://photos.prnasia.com/prnh/20181130/2314062-1 SOURCE Elion Resource Group Co., Ltd.

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[November 30, 2018] 9F Announces Strategic Partnership with G Capital for Technological Empowerment of Consumer Finance in Thailand

HONG KONG, Nov. 30, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- 9F Inc. expedites its international business expansion into new territories as year-end fast approaches. On the afternoon of November 27, 9F Inc.'s subsidiary 9F International and Thailand's renowned listed financial company G Capital signed an official strategic cooperation memorandum in Bangkok. The two companies are to establish a consumer finance joint venture company, to which 9F International affords its advanced technology and FinTech solutions while G Capital manages local market operations to break into the market of inclusive finance in Thailand. According to the memorandum, the joint venture company is to exploit the 9F's Fintech with 12 years of trial and error to deploy inclusive finance with cutting-edge technologies and solutions and combine it with G Capital's coverage of customers and channels accumulated for over a decade. The company pursues betterment of existing personal credit customer service for higher customer appeal. Online lending products are expected to be launched by April 2019 according to plan to provide 24/7 online consumer finance service to its Thai customers in line with the festivity of Songkran. The joint venture company marks four major breakthroughs of overseas expansion of Chinese Fintech companies in Thailand. It is the first company characterized by comprehensive Fintech empowerment, the first to target at inclusive finance, the first to partner with a listed company in Thailand, and the first to employ joint venture as a means of business expansion. As a well-known listed financial company in Thailand, G Capital has been prudent about its choice of partners overseas. At the signing ceremony, Mr. Spain, G Capital Managing Director, said without mincing his words that 9F International was chosen out of a myriad of Fintech companies from eveloped countries such as the UK and the US because of shared goals and values, one being to provide more inclusive financial services to the general public. Having stood the test of time for 12 years, 9F's stability and advanced nature have been widely recognized by the market thanks to its financial technology and industry experience.



JIN Zengxiao, vice president of 9F Inc. and CEO of 9F Onecard, said that G Capital is chosen as the partner in Thailand for its insight into the financial market in Thailand and research of online business models. Together with G Capital, 9F Inc. is to irrigate its advanced technologies and solutions to foster a healthy and sustainable development of inclusive finance in Thailand. 9f Inc., a pioneer of the Fintech industry founded in 2006, has abided by its creed of making finance simpler to promote inclusive finance in China. The company has persevered on tapping science and technology to empower inclusive finance and provide users with simple, efficient, choice and convenient financial services. It has cultivated a comprehensive layout of core businesses including consumer staging, smart wealth management and big data evaluation based on the development of Mobile Internet, Big Data technology and ecological chain, complementing traditional financial institutions with its own strengths to realize inclusive finance.

With over 68 million registered users, 9F Inc. made the official launch of "9f Technology" as a brand in 2018. The Inc.'s perennial accumulation of data and technology has laid a solid foundation for further advancement of digital finance, scenario-based ecological construction and technological innovation, providing for technology output overseas to facilitate development of local Fintech companies. CEO of 9F International LIN Yanjun said: "Fintech companies bring more convenient financial services to the public and improve service efficiency. The same applies to areas where traditional finance is underdeveloped." Using Fintech as the bridge, the Inc. proactively exports state-of-the-art technologies overseas to provide convenient and efficient financial services for local customers. In Silicon Valley, Hong Kong and Southeast Asia, a "three-in-one" overseas financial service system has been established by 9F International. Bitpay and Wyre are the technology companies that the company has invested in Silicon Valley. 9F Wealth and 9F Securities are the foothold establishments in Hong Kong. A headquarter has been set up in Singapore. 9F has also co-invested with SBI Inc. in Investree, an Indonesian financial company. Cooperation with G Capital this time is yet another instance of the 9F's technology output. LIN Yanjun holds on to the belief that real technological strength is essential for Chinese Fintech companies to truly "make it overseas". Innovation helps improve efficiency, reduce costs, and facilitate global cooperation, which in turn facilitates adaptation to foreign environments. After 12 years of steady development and technology accumulation, 9F is more capable of grasping customers' needs and effectuating Fintech empowerment overseas than ever. The Belt & Road Initiative is expected to bring more opportunities to the pragmatic cooperation between China and Thailand as well as more benefits to the people. 9F aspires to use Fintech as a bridge of friendship between the two countries to disseminate and implement inclusive finance. SOURCE 9F Inc.

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[November 30, 2018] General Dynamics European Land Systems acquires Germany's FWW Fahrzeugwerk GmbH

MADRID and NEUBRANDENBURG, Germany, Nov. 30, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- General Dynamics European Land Systems (GDELS) announced today the acquisition of FWW Fahrzeugwerk GmbH, a qualified maintenance and service provider for the German Army and other international customers. FWW will become part of the newly-established General Dynamics European Land Systems  Deutschland, located in Berlin. "The acquisition of FWW represents a significant step in expanding General Dynamics' footprint, capability and customer offerings in Germany. This acquisition is also a further step in our growth strategy to position GDELS as one of the leading land systems providers in Europe," said Alfonso Ramonet, President of General Dynamics European Land Systems. "FWW has a wide range of services, enabling GDELS to further expand its current customer service portfolio, enter new markets and reinforce the company's position in Germany," said Thomas Kauffmann, GDELS Vice President and Managing Director, GDELS-Deutschland. "Under the umbrella of GDELS-Deutschland, FWW together with GDELS-Bridge Systems will employ around 600 highly skilled employees, demonstrating General Dynamics' strong commitment to our German customer." "We believe the company's acquisition by GDELS represents an excellent utcome with great future potential for FWW, its employees and customers," said Thomas Bockhold, CEO and owner of FWW.



"It was key for us to find a trustful and reliable partner, who will secure and grow the company and will remain committed to the region of Mecklenburg Vorpommern," Bockhold said. "It builds on our strong values and passion for exceeding our customer's expectations and I am confident that the combination of the two companies will create a strong and reliable service provider for the German Army." About GDELS

General Dynamics European Land Systems, headquartered in Madrid, Spain, is a business unit of General Dynamics (NYSE: GD) and conducts its business through five European operating sites located in Austria, Czech Republic, Germany, Spain, and Switzerland. With around 2,200 highly skilled technical employees, the companies design, manufacture and deliver world-class land combat systems, including wheeled, tracked and amphibious vehicles, bridge systems, armaments, and munitions, to global customers.

More information www.gdels.com About FWW

FWW Fahrzeugwerk GmbH was founded in 2001 and is based on the tradition of the defense business in the region of Neubrandenburg, Mecklenburg Vorpommern. The company is an independent maintenance and service provider for various military vehicle systems and military customers worldwide and a qualified, reliable service partner for the German Army. FWW employees approximately 220 highly skilled employees and is headquartered in Woldegk, Germany. For more information visit www.fww-gmbh.de View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/general-dynamics-european-land-systems-acquires-germanys-fww-fahrzeugwerk-gmbh-300758060.html SOURCE General Dynamics European Land Systems

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[November 30, 2018] NWFCU Foundation Gives Back to the Community During #WeekofGiving

NWFCU Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Northwest Federal Credit Union, celebrated #GivingTuesday with a week of giving back to the community and a $10,000 donation to Sterling Middle School in support of the school's AVID Program. The funds donated will be used to support the NWFCU Foundation's new education initiative, titled Aspire Higher. The donation will provide 55 middle school students with opportunities to visit colleges and universities and to learn first-hand the importance of attaining higher education. Students will meet with college professors, deans and the provost, in addition to taking a college campus tour, and participating in a Q&A with members of the Financial Aid Office. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20181130005304/en/



Photographed: Alexzandra Shade, Executive Director of NWFCU Foundation, Raji Ganguli, co-instructor for Sterling Middle School AVID program, Kimberly Greer, Director of Marketing Odin, Feldman, Pittleman, P.C., Jeff Bentley, Northwest Federal's President and CEO and the Chair of the NWFCU Foundation, Agustin Martinez, Principal of Sterling Middle School and Nancy Latourrette, co-instructor for AVID program at Sterling Middle School. (Photo: Business Wire)

"It was wonderful to see our #GivingTuesday donation immediately paid forward to impact the lives of Sterling Middle School students." said Northwest Federal's President and CEO and the Chair of the NWFCU Foundation, Jeff Bentley. "I am excited for the launch of the Aspire Higher program to further support children within our community." "The NWFCU Foundation is committed to equipping schools and teachers with the resources necessary to help students succeed on their path to attaining higher education and career success." said Alexzandra Shade, Executive Director of NWFCU Foundation. "The launch of the Aspire Higher education initiative at Sterling Middle School will provide students who are typically underrepresented and often the first in their families to attend college, with multiple opportunities to visit various institutions of higher learning that would not otherwise be afforded to them. This initiative is made possible through our partnerships with Northern Virginia Community College Loudoun campus and Odin, Feldman, Pittleman, P.C." "Partnerships like NWFCU Foundation bring financial and human resources to Sterling Middle School, which enhance our school's ability to provide quality education and meaningful experiences for students." said Agustin Martinez, Principal of Sterling Middle School. "NWFCU Foundation's support will enable our students to have opportunities they otherwise would not have, such as visiting colleges and universities. I am so grateful to have NWFCU Foundation as one of our business partners, for having such a vested interest in not only preparing students for the future, but in simply letting them know they can be proud of who they are and proud of the community they live in." About Northwest Federal Credit Union Foundation The NWFCU Foundation was established in 2004 to promote and manage Northwest Federal Credit Union's philanthropic activities. The mission of NWFCU Foundation is to empower youth to achieve their goals by helping them learn and celebrate life and supporting their health and well-being. The NWFCU Foundation is a 501(c)(3) organization. Donations are tax deductible to the extent permissible by law for those who itemize deductions. For more information, visit www.nwfcufoundation.org. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20181130005304/en/

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[November 30, 2018] Statement Pursuant to Section 19(a) of the Investment Company Act of 1940: DEX

On November 30, 2018, Delaware Enhanced Global Dividend and Income Fund (NYSE: DEX) (the "Fund"), a closed-end fund, paid a monthly distribution on its common stock of $0.0973 per share to shareholders of record at the close of business on November 16, 2018. The following table sets forth the estimated amount of the sources of distribution for purposes of Section 19 of the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, and the related rules adopted thereunder. The Fund estimates the following percentages, of the total distribution amount per share, attributable to (i) net investment income, (ii) net realized short-term capital gain, (iii) net realized long-term capital gain and (iv) return of capital or other capital source. These percentages are disclosed for the current distribution as well as the fiscal year-to-date cumulative distribution amount per share for the Fund.







Current Distribution from: Per Share ($) % Net Investment Income 0.0063 6.5% Net Realized Short-Term Capital Gain 0.0000 0.0% Net Realized Long-Term Capital Gain 0.0176 18.1% Return of Capital or other Capital Source (News - Alert) 0.0734 75.4% Total (per common share) 0.0973 100.00% Fiscal Year-to-Date Cumulative Distributions from: Per Share ($) % Net Investment Income 0.3760 34.6% Net Realized Short-Term Capital Gain 0.0000 0.0% Net Realized Long-Term Capital Gain 0.5372 49.4% Return of Capital or other Capital Source 0.1739 16.0% Total (per common share) 1.0871 100.00%

Shareholders should not draw any conclusions about the Fund's investment performance from the amount of this distribution or from the terms of the Fund's managed distribution policy. The amounts and sources of distributions reported in this 19(a) Notice are only estimates and are not being provided for tax reporting purposes. The actual amounts and sources of the amounts for tax reporting purposes will depend upon the Fund's investment experience during the remainder of its fiscal year and may be subject to changes based on tax regulations. The Fund will send you a Form 1099-DIV for the calendar year that will tell you how to report these distributions for federal income tax purposes. Subject to the foregoing, the Fund estimates (as of the date hereof) that it has distributed more than its income and net realized capital gains for the fiscal year ending November 30, 2018; therefore, a portion of your distribution may be a return of capital. A return of capital may occur for example, when some or all of the money that you invested in the Fund is paid back to you. A return of capital distribution does not necessarily reflect the Fund's investment performance and should not be confused with 'yield' or 'income.' Presented below are return figures, based on the change in the Fund's Net Asset Value per share ("NAV"), compared to the annualized distribution rate for this current distribution as a percentage of the NAV on the last business day of the month prior to distribution record date. Fund Performance and Distribution Information Fiscal Year to Date (12/01/2017 through 10/31/2018) Annualized Distribution Rate as a Percentage of NAV^ 10.62% Cumulative Distribution Rate on NAV^ 9.89% Cumulative Total Return on NAV* -8.38% Average Annual Total Return on NAV for the 5-Year Period Ending 10/31/18** 3.78% ^ Based on the Fund's NAV as of October 31, 2018. *Cumulative fiscal year-to-date return is based on the change in NAV including distributions paid and assuming reinvestment of these distributions for the period December 1, 2017 through October 31, 2018. **The 5-year average annual total return is based on change in NAV including distributions paid and assuming reinvestment of these distributions and is through the last business day of the month prior to the month of the current distribution record date. While the NAV performance may be indicative of the Fund's investment performance, it does not measure the value of a shareholder's investment in the Fund. The value of a shareholder's investment in the Fund is determined by the Fund's market price, which is based on the supply and demand for the Fund's shares in the open market. About DEX The Fund's primary investment objective is to seek current income, with a secondary objective of capital appreciation. The Fund invests globally in dividend-paying or income-generating securities across multiple asset classes, including but not limited to: equity securities of large, well-established companies; securities issued by real estate companies (including real estate investment trusts and real estate industry operating companies); debt securities (such as government bonds; investment grade and high risk, high yield corporate bonds; and convertible bonds); and emerging market securities. The Fund also uses enhanced income strategies by engaging in dividend capture trading; option overwriting; and realization of gains on the sale of securities, dividend growth, and currency forwards. There is no assurance that the Fund will achieve its investment objectives. Under normal market conditions, the Fund will invest: (1) at most 60% of its net assets in securities of U.S. issuers; and (2) at least 40% of its net assets in securities of non-U.S. issuers, unless market conditions are not deemed favorable by the Manager, in which case, the Fund would invest at least 30% of its net assets in securities of non-U.S. issuers; and (3) the Fund may invest up to 25% of its net assets in securities issued by real estate companies (including real estate investment trusts and real estate industry operating companies). In addition, the Fund utilizes leveraging techniques in an attempt to obtain higher return for the Fund. The Fund has implemented a managed distribution policy. Under the policy, the Fund is managed with a goal of generating as much of the distribution as possible from net investment income and short-term capital gains. The balance of the distribution will then come from long-term capital gains to the extent permitted, and if necessary, a return of capital. Even though the Fund may realize current year capital gains, such gains may be offset, in whole or in part, by the Fund's capital loss carryovers from prior years. Currently under the Fund's managed distribution policy, the Fund makes monthly distributions to common shareholders at a targeted annual distribution rate of 10% of the Fund's average net asset value ("NAV") per share. The Fund will calculate the average NAV per share from the previous three full months immediately prior to the distribution based on the number of business days in those three months on which the NAV is calculated. The distribution will be calculated as 10% of the prior three month's average NAV per share, divided by 12. The Fund will generally distribute amounts necessary to satisfy the Fund's managed distribution policy and the requirements prescribed by excise tax rules and Subchapter M of the Internal Revenue Code. This distribution methodology is intended to provide shareholders with a consistent, but not guaranteed, income stream and a targeted annual distribution rate and is intended to narrow the discount between the market price and the NAV of the Fund's common shares, but there is no assurance that the policy will be successful in doing so. The methodology for determining monthly distributions under the Fund's managed distribution policy will be reviewed at least annually by the Fund's Board of Trustees, and the Fund will continue to evaluate its distribution in light of ongoing market conditions. The payment of dividend distributions in accordance with the managed distribution policy may result in a decrease in the Fund's net assets. A decrease in the Fund's net assets may cause an increase in the Fund's annual operating expenses and a decrease in the Fund's market price per share to the extent the market price correlates closely to the Fund's net asset value per share. The managed distribution policy may also negatively affect the Fund's investment activities to the extent that the Fund is required to hold larger cash positions than it typically would hold or to the extent that the Fund must liquidate securities that it would not have sold, for the purpose of paying the dividend distribution. The managed distribution policy may, under certain circumstances, cause the amounts of taxable distributions to exceed the amount minimally required to be distributed under the tax rules, such excess will be taxable as ordinary income to the extent loss carry forwards reduce the required amount of capital gains distributions in that year. Investors should consult their tax advisor regarding federal, state, and local tax considerations that may be applicable in their particular circumstances. About Macquarie Investment Management Macquarie Investment Management, a member of Macquarie Group, includes the former Delaware Investments and is a global asset manager with offices throughout the United States, Europe, Asia, and Australia. As active managers, we prioritize autonomy and accountability at the team level in pursuit of opportunities that matter for clients. Macquarie Investment Management is supported by the resources of Macquarie Group (ASX: MQG; ADR: MQBKY), a global provider of asset management, investment, banking, financial and advisory services. Advisory services are provided by Macquarie Investment Management Business Trust, a registered investment advisor. Macquarie Group refers to Macquarie Group Limited and its subsidiaries and affiliates worldwide. For more information about Delaware Funds by Macquarie, visit delawarefunds.com or call 800 523-1918. Other than Macquarie Bank Limited (MBL), none of the entities referred to in this document are authorized deposit-taking institutions for the purposes of the Banking Act 1959 (Commonwealth of Australia). The obligations of these entities do not represent deposits or other liabilities of MBL, a subsidiary of Macquarie Group Limited and an affiliate of Macquarie Investment Management. MBL does not guarantee or otherwise provide assurance in respect of the obligations of these entities, unless noted otherwise. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20181130005305/en/

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[November 30, 2018] Xebec Announces Closing of Over-Allotment Option in Connection With Public Offering of Units

/NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION TO UNITED STATES NEWS WIRE SERVICES OR FOR DISSEMINATION TO THE UNITED STATES/ MONTREAL, Nov. 30, 2018 /CNW Telbec/ - Xebec Adsorption Inc. ("Xebec" or the "Company") (TSXV: XBC) is pleased to announce that, further to its recently completed short form prospectus offering (the "Offering") of units (the "Units"), the over-allotment option (the "Over-Allotment Option") granted to the agents to sell up to an additional 15% of the number of Units sold pursuant to the Offering has been exercised in full for additional gross proceeds of $923,475. Including those sold pursuant to the Over-Allotment Option, a total of 9,439,966 Units were issued under the Offering at a price of $0.75 per Unit for aggregate gross proceeds of $7,079,974.50. Each Unit is comprised of one common share of the Company (a "Common Share") and one half of one common share purchase warrant (each whole common share purchase warrant, a "Warrant"). Each Warrant entitles the holder thereof to purchase one Common Share at a price of $1.05 per Common Share until May 7, 2020, being a period of 18 months from the closing date of the Offering. The Offering was conducted by a syndicate of agents led by Beacon Securities Limited and including Paradigm Capital Inc. The Company intends to use the net proceeds of the Offering to fund new project development initiatives in the renewable gas generation sector, potential merger and acquisition opportunities involving potential targets in industrial business segments, research and development, capital equipment and general corporate purposes. The Offering was made pursuant to a short form prospectus dated October 25, 2018, filed with the securities regulatory authorities in each of the provinces of CanadaShort Form Prospectus Distributions.



This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy nor shall there be any sale of the securities in the United States or in any other jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful. The securities have not been registered under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and applicable U.S. state securities laws and may not be offered or sold in the United States absent registration or an applicable exemption from the registration requirements thereunder. About Xebec

Xebec Adsorption Inc. is a global provider of gas generation, purification and filtration solutions for the industrial, energy and renewables marketplace. Its customers range from small to multinational corporations and governments looking to reduce their carbon footprints. Headquartered in Montreal (QC), Xebec designs, engineers and manufactures innovative and transformative products, and has more than 1,500 customers worldwide. With two manufacturing facilities in Montreal and Shanghai, as well as a sales and distribution network in North America, Europe, and Asia, Xebec trades on the TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol XBC. For additional information on the company, its products and services, visit Xebec at xebecinc.com. Cautionary Statement on Forward-Looking Information This news release contains forward-looking statements and forward-looking information (together, "forward-looking statements") within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities laws, respectively. Statements, other than statements of historical facts, included herein, including without limitation, statements regarding the use of proceeds from the Offering, are forward-looking statements. Generally, forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of terminology such as "plans", "expects", "estimates", "intends", "anticipates", "believes" or variations of such words, or statements that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might", "will be taken", "occur" or "be achieved", the negative of these terms and similar terminology although not all forward-looking statements contain these terms and phrases. Forward-looking statements involve risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual results, performance, prospects and opportunities to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, the risk factors set out in Xebec's annual and/or quarterly management discussion and analysis and in its other public disclosure documents filed on SEDAR at www.sedar.com, as well as all assumptions regarding the foregoing. Although Xebec believes that the assumptions and factors used in preparing the forward-looking statements are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on these statements, which only apply as of the date of this news release, and no assurance can be given that such events will occur in the disclosed time frame or at all. Except where required by applicable law, Xebec disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. 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. SOURCE Xebec Adsorption Inc.

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[November 30, 2018] New DFO App helps protect Ontario waterways from Invasive Species

BURLINGTON, ON, Nov. 30, 2018 /CNW/ - The Baitfish Primer, a key guide from Fisheries and Oceans Canada that allows recreational fishers to identify legal and illegal live bait, is now available as a mobile app. The new app allows fish harvesters to take the guide with them anywhere and to easily identify which baitfishes are legal to use in Ontario's waters. Ensuring live bait is neither an invasive species that could damage the ecosystem, such as Asian carps, nor an endangered species that must be returned unharmed to the water, is a critical element in protecting the Great Lakes and all Ontario waterways. The Baitfish Primer has long been one of DFO's most requested publications. The new mobile app has a unique identification tool that can help anyone identify the baitfishes of Ontario. This tool is intended to be used by both novices and experts alike. Many small fishes may appear similar; however, upon closer inspection, most baitfish species can be distinguished from one another with relative ease. The Baitfish Primer App also allows users to directly report any aquatic invasive species they find to the Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters' Invading Species Hotline and their online and mobile tool, EDDMapS Ontario  information is then shared with DFO and the Province of Ontario. Early detection is critical to Canada's strategy to prevent the spread of aquatic invasive species. By reporting sightings, users are assisting the front-line efforts to protect Canada's ecosystems from invaders. Additionally, this app will help fish harvesters and cottagers: Understand the federal and Ontario legislation and regulations pertinent to the use of baitfishes;

legislation and regulations pertinent to the use of baitfishes; Recognize the importance of baitfish habitat;

Understand the potential impacts of improper baitish use; and,

Understand how to minimize impacts from aquatic invasive species and how to protect species at risk.



Ontario . Quotes

"This app gives Ontario's recreational fish harvesters a valuable tool to help keep invasive species out of our waters and to protect endangered aquatic species. It is an innovative way to protect the Great Lakes and all Ontario's waterways." The Honourable Jonathan Wilkinson, Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard "The Baitfish Primer has always been a highly requested guide by members of the Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters as well as the general public. We're happy to see it adapted for alternative platforms so that anglers and bait harvesters are at the forefront of preventing the spread of aquatic invasive species." Sophie Monfette, Coordinator, Invading Species Awareness Program Associated Links Link to html version of guide-

http://dfo-mpo.gc.ca/species-especes/publications/baitfish-poissons-appats/page01-eng.html

http://dfo-mpo.gc.ca/species-especes/publications/baitfish-poissons-appats/page01-fra.html

Download from Android Market

Download from App Store

Aquatic Invasive Species Stay Connected Follow the Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube.

Follow the Canadian Coast Guard on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube.

Subscribe to receive our news releases and more via RSS feeds. For more information or to subscribe, visit http://www.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/media/rss-eng.htm. SOURCE Fisheries and Oceans Central & Arctic Region

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[November 30, 2018] HBC Completes Transaction to Merge HBC Europe with SIGNA's Karstadt

HBC (TSX: HBC) today announced the successful completion of the combination of the retail operations of HBC Europe and SIGNA's Karstadt Warenhaus GmbH and the formation of the companies' real estate joint venture. Richard Baker, HBC's Governor and Executive Chairman, said, "This transaction generates substantial proceeds for HBC and is a clear example of our ability to execute on our long-term real estate strategy, centered on capitalizing on our world-class portfolio through opportunistic monetizations, strategic partnerships, and enhancing the credit profile of our tenants. As we look ahead, we will continue to take strong actions to strengthen our Company and deliver value for our shareholders." Helena Foulkes, HBC's CEO, said, "Combining HBC Europe with Karstadt creates a stronger, better capitalized retailer well positioned to succeed in the German market. This transaction creates significant value for our shareholders and continues the bold actions we are taking to strengthen our business. Over the past year, in addition to this transaction, we have sold Gilt, sold the Lord & Taylor flagship to WeWork and rightsized the Lord & Taylor business, and put in place new, experienced leaders in key areas." Foulkes continued, "Looking ahead, the creation of a stronger operator in Europe allows us to focus our attention on our North American business, ensuring we are making the right strategic decisions to continue to drive profitability and performance and best capitalize on our exceptional real estate assets." In connection with today's closing, which will be effective at midnight Central European time, HBC has received proceeds of 171 million (exclusive of transaction fees and related expenses), which will be used to permanently repay a portion of HBC's term loan. Further, HBC expects to receive additional proceeds of 250 million following the sale of a 50% interest in 18 additional properties in Germany expected to close in January. The transactions value HBC's German real estate assets at a total of 3.25 billion (C$4.88 billion) compared to the Company's total Galeria Kaufhof purchase price of 2.51 billion (C$3.77 billion) in 2015. Baker continued, "This transaction, demonstrates the significant value of our German real estate portfolio, which exceeds the 2015 purchase price we paid by C$1.1 billion. The German real estate joint venture will continue to seek out opportunistic ways of unlocking value in the future." Additional Terms of the Transaction HBC and SIGNA Retail have combined HBC Europe's retail operations and SIGNA's Karstadt Warenhaus GmbH to create Germany's leading retailer, with 243 locations, 32,000 employees, and pro forma annual revenue in excess of 5 billion. HBC owns 49.99% of the retail joint venture and SIGNA owns 50.01%. In addition, SINA acquired a 50% interest in HBC's German real estate assets from HBC and its partners, forming a 50-50 joint venture to own and manage HBC's German real estate assets, including 41 properties owned by HBC's existing joint venture in Europe.



As previously announced, the follow on transactions of the acquisition by SIGNA of a 50% interest in 18 additional properties, as well as the acquisition by SIGNA of the Kaufhof location in Cologne and the Carsch-Haus in Duesseldorf, are expected to occur in early 2019, subject to customary closing conditions. The net proceeds of these strategic transactions, together with the implied value of HBC's remaining interest in these real estate assets, net of debt, totals $8.77 per share.1

HBC investors should refer to the Company's public filings available at www.sedar.com and at www.hbc.com for additional information and details on the transactions. Unless otherwise indicated, figures in this news release assume EUR:CAD = 1:1.5. About HBC HBC is a diversified retailer focused on driving the performance of high quality stores and their omnichannel offerings and unlocking the value of real estate holdings. Founded in 1670, HBC is the oldest company in North America. HBC's portfolio today includes formats ranging from luxury to premium department stores to off price fashion shopping destinations, with 350 stores and more than 45,000 employees around the world. HBC's leading businesses across North America include Hudson's Bay, Lord & Taylor, Saks Fifth Avenue, and Saks OFF 5TH. HBC has significant investments in real estate joint ventures. It has partnered with Simon Property Group Inc. in the HBS Global Properties Joint Venture, which owns properties in the United States. In Canada, it has partnered with RioCan Real Estate Investment Trust in the RioCan-HBC Joint Venture. Forward-Looking Statements Certain statements made in this news release are forward-looking statements within the meaning of applicable securities laws, including, but not limited to, statements with respect to the anticipated benefits of the strategic partnership between HBC and SIGNA, the anticipated closing of follow on real estate transactions, the anticipated use of net proceeds of the transaction, HBC's strategies and priorities to benefit from anticipated opportunities in North America, the opportunistic ways of unlocking value through the real estate joint venture and other statements that are not historical facts. 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. Although HBC believes that the forward-looking statements in this news release are based on information and assumptions that are current, reasonable and complete, these statements are by their nature subject to a number of factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from management's expectations and plans as set forth in such forward-looking statements, including many factors which are beyond HBC's control and the effects of which can be difficult to predict. For more information on the risks, uncertainties and assumptions that could cause HBC's actual results to differ from current expectations, please refer to the "Risk Factors" section of HBC's Annual Information Form dated May 4, 2018 as well as HBC's other public filings, available at www.sedar.com and at www.hbc.com.The forward-looking statements contained in this news release describe HBC's expectations at the date of this news release and, accordingly, are subject to change after such date. Except as may be required by applicable Canadian securities laws, HBC does not undertake any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements contained in this news release, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. 1 Based on 235.6 million common shares of HBC outstanding, assuming conversion of the HBC's preferred shares. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20181130005351/en/

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[November 30, 2018] Vancouver Fraser Port Authority's completed shore power project to reduce air pollution

VANCOUVER, Nov. 30, 2018 /CNW/ - The Government of Canada is developing an environmentally responsible transportation system to protect the environment and health of Canadians. By supporting the development of green transportation solutions, we promote environmental sustainability and foster our country's economic prosperity. The Minister of Transport, the Honourable Marc Garneau, joined Mr. Robin Silvester, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority, at the Port of Vancouver to highlight the completion of a project supporting the Government of Canada's commitment to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, air pollution, and to embrace new technologies to improve Canadians' lives. Through the Shore Power Technology for Ports program, the Government of Canada and the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority have each contributed $3.5 million to the Centerm project, for a total investment of $7 million. The completed project reduces greenhouse gas emissions by enabling ships to shut down their diesel engines and connect to an electrical grid supplied by renewable energy sources. For each large ship at berth for 60 hours, over 95 tonnes of air pollutants and greenhouse emissions will be eliminated from the port through the shore power facility. This amounts to taking 20 cars off the road for one year. By providing ship operators with an alternative to running diesel auxiliary engines while docked, shore power technology also reduces noise associated with running engines, decreases ship owners' fuel costs, and increases the competitiveness of Canadian ports. Quote "Our Government is committed to maintaining a safe, efficient and green transportation system. By taking action to reduce greenhouse gases and air pollution, we ae improving the lives of Canadians while investing in the future of clean transportation. New and emerging technologies are laying the groundwork for Canada's present and future economic growth. "



The Honourable Marc Garneau

Minister of Transport "The Vancouver Fraser Port Authority is mandated to enable Canada's trade while protecting the environment and considering local communities. Installing shore power at DP World's Centerm container terminal represents another positive step towards improving air quality by reducing marine shipping emissions. We are very proud of the collaboration with the Government of Canada and our terminal operations partner DP World to bring shore power to this facility, and are working to expand the program to other terminals in the Port of Vancouver."

Robin Silvester, President and Chief Executive Officer

Vancouver Fraser Port Authority Quick Facts Since 2009, shore power installations at the Port of Vancouver cruise ship terminal have eliminated 524 tonnes of air pollutants and 18,264 tonnes of greenhouse gases.

cruise ship terminal have eliminated 524 tonnes of air pollutants and 18,264 tonnes of greenhouse gases. Canada's Shore Power Technology for Ports program has invested over $19.5 million in Canadian port authorities, terminal operators and ferry operators to support the deployment of marine shore power technology.

Shore Power Technology for Ports program has invested over in Canadian port authorities, terminal operators and ferry operators to support the deployment of marine shore power technology. This initiative also supports the implementation of North American Emission Control Area requirements for marine vessels to use cleaner fuels.

Five additional Shore Power projects have been completed across Canada since the program was launched in 2012. They are:

since the program was launched in 2012. They are: Vancouver Fraser Port Authority's cruise shore power upgrade and expansion at Canada Place;



Seaspan Ferry's Swartz Bay Terminal improvements in British Columbia ;

;

Port of Halifax's shore power system implementation for cruise ships;

shore power system implementation for cruise ships;

BC Ferry Services Inc.'s upgrades of 10 shore power installations, including the addition of two new connections;



Port of Montreal's shore power project. Related Links Shore Power Technology for Ports Program

Transportation 2030 Transport Canada is online at www.tc.gc.ca. Subscribe to e-news or stay connected through RSS, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and Flickr to keep up to date on the latest from Transport Canada. This news release may be made available in alternative formats for persons living with visual disabilities. SOURCE Transport Canada

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[November 30, 2018] INVESTOR ALERT: Law Offices of Howard G. Smith Commences Investigation on Behalf of Altice USA Inc. Investors (ATUS)

Law Offices of Howard G. Smith announces an investigation on behalf of Altice USA Inc. ("Altice" or the "Company") (NYSE: ATUS) investors concerning the Company and its officers' possible violations of federal securities laws. Mass media reported that Altice may have included misstatements in its prospectus and registration statements at the time of its initial public offering ("IPO") in June 2017. The alleged misstatements concerned "the Altice Way," the Company's proprietary growth model that it had previously developed in Europe. Altce reportedly misstated the competitive advantages and obstacles facing the Altice Way, potentially exposing the Company to significant liability. On this news, shares of Altice stock price fell over 50%, thereby injuring investors.



If you purchased Altice securities during the IPO, have information or 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 Howard G. Smith, Esquire, of Law Offices of Howard G. Smith, 3070 Bristol Pike, Suite 112, Bensalem, Pennsylvania 19020 by telephone at (215) 638-4847, toll-free at (888) 638-4847, or by email to [email protected], or visit our website at www.howardsmithlaw.com. This press release may be considered Attorney Advertising in some jurisdictions under the applicable law and ethical rules.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20181130005374/en/

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[November 30, 2018] Global Travel Technologies Market 2019-2023 | Widening Application of AI in the Travel Industry to Boost Growth | Technavio

The global travel technologies market is expected to post a CAGR of over 9% during the period 2019-2023, according to the latest market research report by Technavio. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20181130005451/en/ Technavio has released a new market research report on the global travel technologies market for the period 2019-2023. (Graphic: Business Wire) A key factor driving the growth of the market is the growth of the travel and tourism industry. The travel and tourism industry contributed more than 8 trillion to the global economy in 2017 and is expected to grow at a CAGR of approximately 4% during the forecast period. It contributes a significant proportion to the gross domestic product (GDP) of several countries. The travel and tourism industry is also a key provider of employment, as it provides more than 300 million jobs, both directly and indirectly, across the world. The growth of the global travel technologies market is directly proportional to the growth of the revenues generated by companies in the travel and tourism value chain. Increasing revenues allows travel and tourism companies to spend more on technologies to streamline their processes and adopt advanced technologies to improve their booking revenues. Therefore, the growth of the travel and tourism industry will drive the growth of the global travel technologies market during the forecast period. This market research report on the global travel technologies market 2019-2023 also provides an analysis of the most important trends expected to impact the market outlook during the forecast period. Technavio classifies an emerging trend as a major factor that has the potential to significantly impact the market and contribute to its growth or decline. This report is available at a USD 1,000 discount for a limited time only: View market snapshot before purchasing



In this report, Technavio highlights the widening application of AI in the travel industry as one of the key emerging trends in the global travel technologies market: Global travel technologies market: Widening application of AI in the travel industry

AI-enabled platforms provide the desired outcomes when they have the required volume of back-end data to obtain insights. The volume of customer data generated by the travel industry is high. Hence, AI is suitable for use in the industry. The vendors are introducing AI capabilities in their offerings to personalize products and services. For instance, in 2018, Sabre launched a pilot AI-powered chatbot called Ella using the Microsoft (News - Alert) Bot Framework and Microsoft Azure Cognitive Services. The company intends to help travel agencies automate the resolution of the support and service requests of customers by integrating the chatbot with its travel platform. The use of chatbots is at a nascent stage in the travel industry. Travel companies are making their existing services available through chat channels. Beside chatbot-based applications, AI can also help improve and automate business travel bookings by providing travel managers quick access to the most cost-effective and rewarding options for their travel programs. "The growing penetration of the Internet and the increasing use of smartphones have transformed the consumption of travel services. For instance, the proportion of online bookings through the web and mobile channels is increasing rapidly due to convenience. The increasing use of mobile applications and websites to book travel tickets and hotel rooms is forcing travel services companies to invest in travel technologies. They are also developing applications that are compatible with mobile devices and subscribing to GDS to address the needs of their customers and provide an omnichannel booking experience," says a senior analyst at Technavio for research on enterprise application. Global travel technologies market: Segmentation analysis This market research report segments the global travel technologies market by product (GDS and airline and hospitality IT solutions) and geographical regions (APAC, EMEA, and the Americas). The EMEA region led the market in 2018 with a market share of over 45%, followed by the Americas and APAC respectively. However, during the forecast period, the APAC region is expected to register the highest incremental growth due to the growth of the tourism industry in countries such as China, India, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Vietnam, the Philippines, Singapore, and Indonesia. Looking for more information on this market? Request a free sample report Technavio's sample reports are free of charge and contain multiple sections of the report such as the market size and forecast, drivers, challenges, trends, and more. Some of the key topics covered in the report include: Market Landscape Market ecosystem

Market characteristics

Market segmentation analysis Market Sizing Market definition

Market size and forecast Five Forces Analysis Market Segmentation Geographical Segmentation Regional comparison

Key leading countries Market Drivers Market Challenges Market Trends Vendor Landscape Vendors covered

Vendor classification

Market positioning of vendors

Competitive scenario About Technavio Technavio is a leading global technology research and advisory company. Their research and analysis focuses on emerging market trends and provides actionable insights to help businesses identify market opportunities and develop effective strategies to optimize their market positions. With over 500 specialized analysts, Technavio's report library consists of more than 10,000 reports and counting, covering 800 technologies, spanning across 50 countries. Their client base consists of enterprises of all sizes, including more than 100 Fortune 500 companies. This growing client base relies on Technavio's comprehensive coverage, extensive research, and actionable market insights to identify opportunities in existing and potential markets and assess their competitive positions within changing market scenarios. If you are interested in more information, please contact our media team at [email protected]. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20181130005451/en/

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[November 30, 2018] A.M. Best Comments on Credit Ratings of The Doctors Company, An Interinsurance Exchange and Its Subsidiaries

A.M. Best has commented that the Financial Strength Rating of A (Excellent) and the Long-Term Issuer Credit Ratings of "a+" of The Doctors Company, An Interinsurance Exchange (TDCIE) and its rated subsidiaries, collectively referred to as the Doctors Company Insurance Group (the Group), remain unchanged following the announcement that TDCIE intends to acquire Hospitals Insurance Company, Inc. (HICI) (New York). The Group specializes in writing medical professional liability (MPL) insurance for approximately 80,000 physician members, and was the largest physician-owned and second-largest MPL insurance provider in the United States based on 2017 direct premium written. HICI is a wholly owned subsidiary of FFH Hospitals Trust (1987) (FFHHT), the grantors and beneficiaries of FFHHT being Maimondies Medical Center, Montefiore Medical Center and The Mount Sinai Hospital, collectively referred to as the hospitals. As such, the hospitals are the indirect owners of HICI. HICI provides base hospital MPL, hospital excess and physician professional liability to physicians employed or contracted with the hospitals in New York. The acquisition, which has an estimated cost of $650 million, includes FOJP Services Corporation (FOJP), an HICI-affiliated company providing insurance risk management advisory services to leading academic hospitals, long-term care facilities, and social service agencies in the metropolitan New York area. In addition, FOJP manages the hospitals' self-insured trusts for high excess coverage. By acquiring HICI, TDCIE will significantly increase its presence in New York, and provide it with the opportunity for further growth. Funding for the acquisition, which is expected to come out of existing assets, is expected to weaken the Group's risk-adjusted capitalization and increase underwriting leverage. However, A.M. Best expects the Group's risk-adjusted capitalization to remain at the strongest level and will not put pressure on the Credit Rating (ratings).



The closing of the transaction is expected to be completed toward the latter half of 2019, pending regulatory approvals by California and New York. The following are the members of the Doctors Company Insurance Group;

The Doctors Company, An Interinsurance Exchange

TDC National Assurance Company

TDC Specialty Insurance Company

TDC Special Risks Insurance Company

The Doctors Company Risk Retention Group, a Reciprocal Exchange This press release relates to Credit Ratings that have been published on A.M. Best's website. For all rating information relating to the release and pertinent disclosures, including details of the office responsible for issuing each of the individual ratings referenced in this release, please see A.M. Best's Recent Rating Activity web page. For additional information regarding the use and limitations of Credit Rating opinions, please view Understanding Best's Credit Ratings. For information on the proper media use of Best's Credit Ratings and A.M. Best press releases, please view Guide for Media - Proper Use of Best's Credit Ratings and A.M. Best Rating Action Press Releases. A.M. Best is a global rating agency and information provider with a unique focus on the insurance industry. Visit www.ambest.com for more information. Copyright  2018 by A.M. Best Rating Services, Inc. and/or its affiliates. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20181130005475/en/

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[November 30, 2018] McKesson Announces New Global Headquarters in Las Colinas, Texas

McKesson Corporation (NYSE:MCK) today announced the relocation of its corporate headquarters from San Francisco, California to Las Colinas, Texas, effective April 1, 2019, expanding upon its presence in the Dallas area. "We are excited to strengthen our presence in Texas and make Las Colinas our official global headquarters," said John H. Hammergren, chairman and chief executive officer, McKesson Corporation. "Governor Abbott and the Irving/Las Colinas community have provided tremendous support since we opened our Las Colinas campus last April. Making this move will improve efficiency, collaboration and cost-competitiveness, while providing an exceptional work environment for our employees." McKesson's Las Colinas campus is already a key hub for the company. Employees at the North Texas location perform vital functions for the company in areas such as operations, information technology, finance and accounting, marketing and sales, administration and support, purchasing, and project management. "I'm delighted McKesson, a Fortune 6 company, is making Texas the home of its new global headquarters," said Texas Governor Greg Abbott. "The company has a long record of success in our state. McKesson's expansion is an example of the kind of high-quality companies and jobs Texas has attracted as a result of our focus on economic growth, and I am proud to welcome them to the Lone Star State." McKesson's Las Colinas campus has achieved a LEED Gold certification, recognizing its resource efficiency, as well as a WELL Building Silver certification, the first building standard focused solely on human health and wellness. Elements of the building are designed to support employee productivity and wellness, empowering employees to work the way they like while fostering team collaboration amidst an array of amenities and enhanced technology capabilities. "We are proud that McKesson has decided to make Irving/Las Colinas its official, corporate home," said Irving Mayor Rick Stopfer. "Irving is an amazing city with talented, hard-working people and wonderful amenities. We're delighted to have yet another Fortune 500 company make Irving their global headquarters." Following the relocation of its headquarters, McKesson will continue to have a strong presence in California, employing more than 1,400 people, primarily in distribution operations and sales. The company opened a new distribution center for its medical-surgical division in Roseville, CA (News - Alert) earlier this year. McKesson Ventures will remain in San Francisco, along with a technology development team for McKesson's US Oncology Network. Move Supports Multi-Year Strategic Growth Initiative As previously announced on April 25, 2018, McKesson launched a multi-year strategic growth initiative, inclusive of plans to optimize the company's operating and cost structures. The company expects these initiatives and actions will generate approximately $300 million to $400 million in annual pre-tax gross savings that will be substantially realized by the end of Fiscal 2021. "As part of our strategic growth initiative, we've developed a hub location strategy, co-locating people based on the type of work they do to improve teamwork, advance innovation and increase efficiency," said Brian Tyler, president and chief operating officer, McKesson Corporation. "Bringing employee groups together in key locations will make McKesson a more streamlined and agile company, complementing our investments and improving operating profit growth for the organization." "Weare taking great effort, care and consideration to make this transition as seamless as possible for our associates who will be affected by this transition," Tyler continued. "It is important to us that every employee is treated with dignity and respect, consistent with McKesson's ICARE shared principles. San Francisco-based employees are being offered the opportunity to relocate to Las Colinas and other hub locations. We look forward to bringing even more of our team together in our new, world-class global headquarters."



Risk Factors Except for historical information contained in this press release, matters discussed may constitute "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, as amended, that involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected, anticipated or implied. These statements may be identified by their use of forward-looking terminology such as "believes", "expects", "anticipates", "may", "will", "should", "seeks", "approximately", "intends", "plans", "estimates" or the negative of these words or other comparable terminology. The discussion of financial trends, strategy, plans or intentions may also include forward-looking statements. It is not possible to predict or identify all such risks and uncertainties; however, the most significant of these risks and uncertainties are described in the company's Form 10-K, Form 10-Q and Form 8-K reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission and include, but are not limited to: changes in the U.S. healthcare industry and regulatory environment; managing foreign expansion, including the related operating, economic, political and regulatory risks; changes in the Canadian healthcare industry and regulatory environment; exposure to European economic conditions, including recent austerity measures taken by certain European governments; changes in the European regulatory environment with respect to privacy and data protection regulations; fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates; the company's ability to successfully identify, consummate, finance and integrate acquisitions; the performance of the company's investment in Change Healthcare; the company's ability to manage and complete divestitures; material adverse resolution of pending legal proceedings; competition and industry consolidation; substantial defaults in payment or a material reduction in purchases by, or the loss of, a large customer or group purchasing organization; the loss of government contracts as a result of compliance or funding challenges; public health issues in the U.S. or abroad; cyberattack, natural disaster, or malfunction of sophisticated internal computer systems to perform as designed; the adequacy of insurance to cover property loss or liability claims; the company's proprietary products and services may not be adequately protected, and its products and solutions may be found to infringe on the rights of others; system errors or failure of our technology products or services to conform to specifications; disaster or other event causing interruption of customer access to data residing in our service centers; changes in circumstances that could impair our goodwill or intangible assets; new or revised tax legislation or challenges to our tax positions; general economic conditions, including changes in the financial markets that may affect the availability and cost of credit to the company, its customers or suppliers; changes in accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America; withdrawal from participation in multiemployer pension plans or if such plans are reported to have underfunded liabilities; inability to realize the expected benefits from the company's restructuring and business process initiatives; difficulties with outsourcing and similar third party relationships; risks associated with the company's retail expansion; and the company's inability to keep existing retail store locations or open new retail locations in desirable places. The reader should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date they are first made. Except to the extent required by law, the company undertakes no obligation to publicly release the result of any revisions to these forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date hereof, or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events.

Shareholders are encouraged to review the company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. About McKesson Corporation McKesson Corporation, currently ranked 6th on the FORTUNE 500, is a global leader in healthcare supply chain management solutions, retail pharmacy, community oncology and specialty care, and healthcare information technology. McKesson partners with pharmaceutical manufacturers, providers, pharmacies, governments and other organizations in healthcare to help provide the right medicines, medical products and healthcare services to the right patients at the right time, safely and cost-effectively. United by our ICARE shared principles, our employees work every day to innovate and deliver opportunities that make our customers and partners more successful - all for the better health of patients. McKesson has been named the "Most Admired Company" in the healthcare wholesaler category by FORTUNE, a "Best Place to Work" by the Human Rights Campaign Foundation, and a top military-friendly company by Military Friendly. For more information, visit www.mckesson.com. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20181130005526/en/

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[November 30, 2018] Baton Rouge Community Development Corporation Receives $16K from Hancock Whitney and FHLB Dallas

Representatives from Hancock Whitney and the Federal Home Loan Bank of Dallas (FHLB Dallas) awarded $16,000 in Partnership Grant Program (PGP (News - Alert)) funds to Scotlandville Community Development Corporation (SCDC). This is the organization's first PGP award, which will be used for organizational capacity building, including educational and financial seminars. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20181130005555/en/ Scotlandville Community Development Corporation received $16,000 Partnership Grant Program award from the Federal Home Loan Bank of Dallas and Hancock Whitney. (Photo: Business Wire) SCDC is dedicated to revitalizing the Baton Rouge community through affordable housing, education and economic and social development. The funds will enable the organization to hold seminars to equip local families and individuals with the knowledge they need to succeed. FHLB Dallas' PGP awards provide 3:1 matches of member contributions to provide grants up to $12,000 that help promote and strengthen relationships between community-based organizations and FHLB Dallas members. The PGP also complements the development activities fostered by FHLB Dallas' Affordable Housing and Community Investment programs. p> Hancock Whitney VP and Director of CRA and Community Affairs Sunada Brookins said the PGP is a valuable resource for community-based organizations to contribute positively to the local economy.



"Commitment to the community is at the heart of who we are as a financial institution," said Ms. Brookins. "Strengthening the Baton Rouge community through the PGP reflects Hancock Whitney's core values and reinforces our community partnerships." In 2018, FHLB Dallas has awarded $300,000 in PGP funds through 31 member institutions to assist 32 community-based organizations. Combined with the $114,010 contributed by FHLB Dallas members, a total of $414,010 has been awarded to the organizations.

"One of the unique facets of the PGP is that FHLB Dallas matches our members' contributions 3 to 1," said Greg Hettrick, first vice president and Community Investment director at FHLB Dallas. "Hancock Whitney can leverage that funding to further impact the community." To learn more about the PGP, visit fhlb.com/pgp. About Hancock Whitney Since the late 1800s, Hancock Whitney has embodied core values of Honor & Integrity, Strength & Stability, Commitment to Service, Teamwork, and Personal Responsibility. Part of Hancock Whitney Corporation's Gulf South financial services family, bank offices and financial centers in Mississippi, Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, and Texas offer comprehensive financial products and services, including traditional and online banking; commercial and small business banking; private banking; trust and investment services; healthcare banking; certain insurance services; and mortgage services. The company also operates a loan production office in Nashville, Tennessee. BauerFinancial, Inc., the nation's leading independent bank rating and analysis firm, has recommended Hancock Whitney as one of America's most financially sound banks for 29 years in a row. More information is available at hancockwhitney.com. About the Federal Home Loan Bank of Dallas The Federal Home Loan Bank of Dallas is one of 11 district banks in the FHLBank system created by Congress in 1932. FHLB Dallas, with total assets of $73.7 billion as of September 30, 2018, is a member-owned cooperative that supports housing and community development by providing competitively priced advances and other credit products to approximately 825 members and associated institutions in Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, New Mexico and Texas. Visit fhlb.com for more information. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20181130005555/en/

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[November 30, 2018] $18K in Grant Funds Awarded to Louisiana Nonprofits

First National Bank of Louisiana and the Federal Home Loan Bank of Dallas (FHLB Dallas) awarded $18,200 in Partnership Grant Program (PGP (News - Alert)) funds to Crowley Main Street and Empowering the Community for Excellence (ETCFE). Local dignitaries joined bank representatives in awarding the funds at a check presentation today at First National Bank's offices. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20181130005566/en/ First National and the Federal Home Loan Bank of Dallas awarded Crowley main Street $16,000 in Partnership Grant Program funds to support downtown beautification efforts. (Photo: Business Wire) Crowley Main Street, whose mission is to revitalize and promote the historic, cultural, social and economic significance of Crowley's downtown historic business district, will receive $16,000 in PGP funds to assist with business and fundraising operations, as well as supporting the organization's beautification efforts to revitalize the downtown area. "We believe our downtown commercial historic district is the heart of our city and the center of economic vitality," said Jill Habetz, advisory board vice president of Crowley Main Street. "The PGP grant funds will be put to good use and we're so grateful." ETCFE, a nonprofit that provides free academic tutoring to underprivileged students, will receive $2,200 in funds from the banks to purchase two laptop computers and supplemental materials including language arts, reading and math workbooks.



ETCFE founder Audrey Spencer said she is grateful for the funds. This is the organization's third PGP. "We operate on grants and donations, so without those we'd have to close the facility," said Mrs. Spencer.

The structure of the PGP enables FHLB Dallas member institutions such as First National Bank of Louisiana 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. As an educator in Crowley, Mrs. Spencer dedicated her life to helping children. Upon retirement, she was distressed to see the rate at which Crowley children were failing to advance to the next grade level, so she founded ETCFE, a free community-based after school tutoring program providing academic assistance to students in grades 1-5. The program has now expanded to serve students in middle school and high school. First National Bank of Louisiana has donated learning materials to the program, and donates money to the organization regularly. President and CEO Randy Prather said the bank is proud to support both organizations through the PGP. "ETCFE and Crowley Main Street are both dedicated to improving our community," said Mr. Prather. "Supporting their missions through the PGP is our privilege and is in line with our bank's core values." Greg Hettrick, first vice president and director of Community Investment at FHLB Dallas, said the PGP not only strengthens the community, but also members' relationships within the community. "The PGP is a great community investment tool for community-focused banks such as First National Bank of Louisiana," said Mr. Hettrick. "Our partnership with First National Bank is strengthened by our shared commitment to our communities." About First National Bank of Louisiana First National Bank of Louisiana is an independent community bank whose mission is to ensure that the stability of the communities surrounding Crowley, Louisiana is strengthened by its commitment to delivering courteous, attentive, and personal service. Established in the 1920s, the bank has grown to hold over $380 million in assets. First National Bank is committed to attracting and retaining exceptional personnel who are motivated to serve their customers' ever-changing needs, as well as building strategic partnerships to enhance shareholder value. For more information, visit fnb-la.com. About the Federal Home Loan Bank of Dallas The Federal Home Loan Bank of Dallas is one of 11 district banks in the FHLBank system created by Congress in 1932. FHLB Dallas, with total assets of $73.7 billion as of September 30, 2018, is a member-owned cooperative that supports housing and community development by providing competitively priced advances and other credit products to approximately 825 members and associated institutions in Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, New Mexico and Texas. Visit fhlb.com for more information. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20181130005566/en/

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November 30, 2018

By Paula Bernier, Executive Editor, TMC

Implementing highly customized contact center solutions can be a real bear.

It can require many steps. It likely involves various integrations. And it can take weeks or even months to complete, particularly for contact centers serving heavily regulated businesses.

But solutions and solution providers do exist to help contact centers do quick implementation of environments that support highly customized engagement strategies. And a webinar Thursday, Dec. 13 will explain how.

Click here to register.

The 1 p.m. EST online event How a Teleservices Contact Center Became +60% Faster at Launching New Business Lines will tell the story of how Performant Financial Corp. was able to shrink its speed to market significantly. The companys business analyst Edward Abreau will provide the details.







Hell be joined by representatives from LiveVox (News - Alert), a leading provider of enterprise cloud contact center solutions. LiveVox solutions manage more than 12 billion interactions annually. And the company has more than 15 years of pure cloud expertise.

The contact center industry faces a dramatic shift as tech leaders such as Google (News - Alert) and Amazon accelerate innovation beyond multichannel connections and into new realms of digital engagement such as chatbots/AI. As a result, customer expectations for more personalized, instantaneous interactions across multiple channels are increasing faster than ever  leaving the vast majority of contact centers struggling to keep up, LiveVox noted in a blog last month introducing its LiveVox [U] Series. The LiveVox [U] Series [provides] a comprehensive engagement platform with omnichannel solutions spanning CRM, WFO, and digital  automatically integrated into a single solution.

In addition to the webinar, readers are invited to attend a new event called The Future of Work Expo, which will analyze and introduce new AI- and ML-powered solutions that help businesses improve their efforts related to customer service and the contact center, business communications and collaboration, human capital management, marketing, and sales.

Edited by Maurice Nagle
Image 1 of 2 Image 2 of 2

Dell and HP, two American computer manufacturers, had quarterly earnings calls last night (Nov. 29) in which the companies discussed the effects of tariffs on computer parts coming from China.

Dell didn't address the tariffs in prepared statements, but was asked about them in the Q&A portion of the call. In a response to a question from analyst David Eller of Wells Fargo, Dell vice chairman or products and operations, Jeff Clarke, acknowledged some "headwinds," but suggested they haven't been a huge issue thus far.

"Clearly, we didn't call out tariffs," Clarke said. "There is certainly uncertainty with the tariff picture, but we've successfully, with our supply chain, the optionality that we have, have navigated the current list for tariffs quite successfully." He pointed out that "most" of Dell's desktops are built in North America, which the company claims helped the company navigate the issue.

Clarke admitted that "where we have incurred in higher costs with tariffs, we have passed that through to end users," though he suggested that Dell has seen no issue with demand despite those higher costs.

On HP's Q4 call, HP chief financial officer Steve Fieler said that personal systems helped grow the company's operating profit ("up $37 million versus last year"), thanks to higher volume, but that it was "partially offset by higher commodities and logistics costs and the initial impact of tariffs in the U.S."

That is, HP did well, but it could have done even better. Fieler also said that "plans to mitigate previously announced and implemented China U.S tariffs are on track," and that it expects the issues to be bigger earlier in 2019 and then slow down.

In a Q&A session, Fieler told analyst Toni Sacconaghi of Bernstein that the tariffs had an affect on personal systems, business machines and desktops, though it didn't consider that a huge impact to the business.

HP president and CEO Dison Weisler then stated that the company is keeping an eye on pricing, which could include raising them.

"We are looking at our competitors' pricing very carefully. We tend not to lead the market down on price and sometimes in many cases [we're] the first to take up pricing."

Neither company had comment about potential future tariff issues that haven't been announced, but both seem ready to, if they have to, raise prices and pass the costs on. However, both Dell and HP claim to have supply chain management in place that, if the companies are right, may prevent this from being a huge issue for consumers.
Independence lawyer and former politician John Carnes: Swimming back into the news John Carnes, one of the Kansas City area's most colorful and checkered political figures, is back in the news for alleged shady dealings. And, in typical fashion, Carnes is defending himself with glib and sardonic comments. Carnes, who is in his mid-60s, is a convicted felon who served two years in federal prison more than...

Here's possibly the best post that "Jimmy C" has filed in 3 years . . . Today he shares a great personal and exceptionallyremembrance of an old school Meth Town politico who. . . What's worthwhile here is that this former newspaper scribe brings his personal bias to the table rather than trying to play reporter after years off the job . . . Whilst most of the blogs from former newspaper journos are far too obsessed with their glory days, this bit of writing provides someold school perspective apropos for #TBT . . . Checkit:
The case involving a Chinese scientist who announced he edited genetic material in twin baby girls is stirring up concern among the scientific community in Kansas City. The work could backfire, said Terry Rosell of the Kansas City-based Center for Practical Bioethics.
KANSAS CITY, Kan. - Activists have filed a theft of housing lawsuit against the Unified Government of Kansas City, Kansas, based on a lease deal that KCK's police chief has with the UG. In the suit, Ron and Janice Witt call for Police Chief Terry Zeigler to be removed from his job and turn over the lake house property where he currently resides to the UG.
Deandre Simms has been charged with second-degree murder and armed criminal action in connection with an early morning shooting at a convenience store in south Kansas City. Simms, 24, fatally shot shot Keith A. Michael in the parking lot of a gas station in the 5000 block of Blue Ridge Blvd.
Audis SUV barrage just does not seem to be ending. After introducing its flagship SUV, the Q8, and the fully-electric SUV e-tron, Audi is now preparing to include the Q4 in its range. The automaker says that it will stand out from the other Q SUVs, but we are not sure how.

The Q4 is to Audi what the X4 is to BMW

Audi Seems Confident To Impress The Customers

The Q4 has older siblings in the lineup - the Q5, Q7 and Q8  so, we have our concerns as to how it can be any different, especially after seeing the stark differences between the BMW X3 and X4. Forget about BMW, Audi itself does not differentiate much between its SUVs. To quash these assumptions, Andreas Mindt, Audis head of designs told Autocar, a bit more than a coupe version of the Q3, to my eyes a lot more.

He also said that the Q4s design has been finalized, and this coupe-SUV will have a distinct identity when compared to the other SUVs in Audis portfolio.

The form-over-function trend that is seen on many SUVs these days will be seen on the Q4, What is it, you ask? It is the sloping roofline that eats into the headroom and the cargo room.

Same, Yet Different

Back in 2014, Audi showed the TT Off-road concept, which had a Coupe-SUV design.

Perhaps, Audi has based the Q4 on the same idea. Autocar has imagined the Q4, and from those pictures, it definitely looks like the Q4 has borrowed design cues from the TT offroad concept. The Q4 will be built alongside the Q3 in the automakers Gyor factory in Hungary. It will share its underpinning with the Q3 but is expected to be longer and wider.

Will Be Offered With Multiple Engine Options

The Q4 will be offered with updated 1.5-liter, four-cylinder petrol and diesel mills, new versions of the 2.0-liter, four-cylinder, petrol and diesel engines, as well as an all-new 2.5-liter, five-cylinder petrol mill that will produce up to 400 horses in the top-of-the-line RS Q4 model.

Not just this, but the Coupe-SUV will also be offered as a plug-in hybrid with an electric-only range of up to 31 miles.

That model will wear an e-Tron badge and is meant to cater to the Chinese market.

Wonder Where We Have Seen These Features Before...

On the inside, we can expect the Q4 to be a tech-savvy car, although most of these are borrowed features, and theres nothing new about them.

These include gesture control functions, full-HD instrument displays, inductive smartphone charging, the latest connectivity features, and a 9.2-inch touchscreen infotainment system with navigation.

Final Thoughts

The Q4 will be unveiled sometime next year. The U.S. markets has yet to receive the second-gen Q3, so the Q4 could hit the markets after that. As for the pricing, we speculate it to start around the $40,000 mark. So you think the Q4 will stand out as claimed by the German automaker? Share your thoughts with us in the comments section below.

Further reading

Read our speculative review on the 2020 Audi Q4.

Read our full review on the 2014 Audi TT Offroad Concept.

Source: Autocar
This Twin-Engine, AWD Acura RSX is as Ridiculous as it is Awesome

This is close to what Dr. Frankenstein would put together if he were into cars
The 20th Ordinary Meeting of the Summit of the East African Community Heads of State that was slated for Friday, 30th November, 2018 at the Arusha International Conference Centre (AICC) in Arusha, Tanzania has been postponed to a later date.

Making the announcement at the AICCs Simba Hall, the Chairperson of the EAC Council, Hon Dr. Kirunda Kivejinja, said that the Summit would not take place due to a lack of quorum caused by the absence of the Republic of Burundi.

According to Rule 11 of the Rules of Procedure of the Summit of the EAC Heads of State, quorum is made of all Partner States representation which is in consonance with decision making by consensus under Article 12 of the Treaty, Dr. Kivejinja, who is also Ugandas 2nd Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of EAC Affairs.

The decision to postpone the 20th Ordinary Summit was taken by President Yoweri Museveni of Uganda; President Uhuru Kenyatta of Kenya; President Dr. John Pombe Joseph Magufuli of Tanzania; Hon. Paul Moyom Akec, Minister of Trade, Industry and EAC Affairs representing South Sudanese President Salva Kiir Mayardit, and; Hon. Dr. Richard Sezibera, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, representing Rwandan President Paul Kagame, all of whom were present at the meeting venue in Arusha.

The Heads of State regret the inconveniences caused to the distingushed delegates and guests, said Dr. Kivejinja.

The Summit meeting was preceded by the 38th Meeting of the Council of Ministers which was also not attended by the Republic of Burundi.

Among the items which were on the Provisional Agenda of the 20th Summit of the EAC Heads of State were: the status of ratification of various protocols; the status of resolution of long outstanding non-tariff barriers, and; the progress report on the adoption of Political Confederation as a Transitional Model to the East African Political Federation.

Other items on the Agenda were: the roadmap for the accelerated integration of the Republic of South Sudan into the EAC, and the verification exercise for the admission of the Republic of Somalia into the Community.

The Summit was also to consider reports on modalities for the promotion of Motor Vehicle Assembly in East Africa aimed at reducing importation of used vehicles into the Community, and; the review of the textile and leather sector with a view to developing a strong and competitive domestic sector that gives consumers better choice than imported textile and footwear.

The Summit was also to review a progress report by the Council of Ministers on the Summit Directive on having two (2) Deputy Secretaries General at the Community recruited competitively on a rotational basis among the Partner States.

The Summit had been expected to assent to various Bills passed by the East Legislative Assembly, namely: the EAC Polythen Materials Control Bill, 2016; the Administration of the East African Court of Justice Bill, 2018; the EAC Monetary Institute Bill, 2018, and; the EAC Customs Management (Amendment) Bill, 2018.
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) urged governments in Africa to maximize the positive social and economic power of aviation by working together to promote safe, sustainable and efficient air connectivity.

African aviation supports $55.8 billion of economic activity and 6.2 million jobs. To enable aviation to be an even bigger driver of prosperity across the continent, we must work closely with governments, said Alexandre de Juniac, IATAs Director General and CEO, speaking at the 50th Annual General Assembly (AGA) meeting of the African Airline Association (AFRAA) in Morocco.

Safety was highlighted as a positive example of progress through collaboration. Africa has had no jet hull losses for two years running and is two years free of any fatalities on any aircraft type, its clear that progress is being made. But more needs to be done. We urge governments to recognize the IATA Operational Safety Audit (IOSA) in their safety oversight programs.

Only 24 African states comply with at least 60% of ICAO Standards and Recommended Practices (SARPS). That is not good enough, said de Juniac, who encouraged states to make global safety standards a top priority.

Regarding competitiveness, de Juniac stated that airlines in Africa, on average, lose $1.55 for every passenger carried. Establishing competitive cost structures that enable growth and reducing blocked funds are essential to improving the competitiveness of African aviation.

Africa is an expensive place for airlines to do business.... Too many African governments view aviation as a luxury rather than a necessity. We must change that perception, said de Juniac.

On infrastructure, de Juniac said: In Africa we have infrastructure problems in two extremes. In some cases it is overbuilt and expensive. In other cases, it is deficient and cannot meet demand. Dialogue between industry and government is critical to ensure that there is sufficient capacity to meet demand, that airline technical and commercial quality standards are met and that the infrastructure is affordable.

IATA expressed strong support for the Single African Air Transport Market (SAATM) initiative. To date, 27 African governments have committed to SAATM and IATA encourages the remaining 28 African Union member states to come on board quickly to enjoy the potential benefits of a connected African economy.

Supporting the projected growth of aviation in Africa  a quadrupling of passengers over the next two decades  will require an expanded labor force. De Juniac called on governments to develop policies to build their training pipeline to support growth and tap into the power of women to help alleviate a growing skills shortage in the region.

Remarks by Alexandre de Juniac at the 50th Annual General Assembly meeting of the African Airline Association (AFRAA)

Morocco is a great place for the AFRAA AGA. It is one of the fastest growing economies in Africa. The government has understood the power of aviation to catalyze economic activity. And they set policies that enhance competition and foster the growth of connectivity.

As a result, tourism is a major source of jobs and growth. And Morocco has taken on a regional leadership role, with West-African countries relying on its growing hubs in Casablanca and Marrakesh. Other countries on the continent should be inspired by this successful model.

Cooperation with AFRAA

AFRAA and IATA are partners in supporting a safe, secure and sustainable air transport sector that contributes to Africa's economic growth and development. Indeed we recently strengthened our cooperation with an agreement to reinforce the importance of the implementation of global standards by African governments.

There are already two examples where our cooperation is at the top of the agenda.

The first is safety. The Abuja Declaration committed Africas governments to achieve world-class safety. With no jet hull losses for two years running and two years free of any fatalities on any aircraft type it is clear that progress is being made. There is, of course, still more to do. We are asking governments to drive additional improvements with two concrete actions:

First, recognize IOSA in safety oversight. Egypt recently renewed its commitment to this. And we have made progress with Rwanda and Zimbabwe as well. We need more governments to follow their good example. With IOSA carriers outperforming those not on the registry by nearly three times, we have a convincing argument. The second is adoption of ICAO Standards and Recommended practices (SARPs). Only 24 African states comply with at least 60% of ICAO SARPS. Quite simply, that is not good enough for an industry that depends on global standards for safety. To support greater implementation we are encouraging governments across the continent to allocate resources, ensure the independence of safety oversight bodies and cooperate regionally where pooled resources can improve both speed and efficiency.

The other area of cooperation that I must highlight is on environmental sustainability. The Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (CORSIA) begins on January 1, 2019. From then, all airlines must begin reporting their emissions. If you need help in getting ready for this, please call on the IATA and AFRAA teams who are working together to support your needs.

In parallel, we are working to increase government participation. Encouragingly, nine governments in this region  Burkina Faso, Botswana, Gabon, Equatorial Guinea, Kenya, Namibia, Nigeria, Zambia and the latest, Cameroon  are committed to join CORSIA from the voluntary period. And globally, the 75 pioneering CORSIA states cover about 84% of aviation activity. Thats good, but we want to push that as close to 100% as possible. And our partner for doing that in Africa is AFRAA.

Agenda for Africa

Looking even more broadly than safety and sustainability, how can we maximize aviations ability to catalyze Africas growth and development?

Already aviation is a considerable force, supporting $55.8 billion of economic activity and 6.2 million jobs in Africa. Thats impressive. But we are only scratching the surface of what aviation can contribute to building Africas future. To enable aviation to be an even bigger driver of prosperity across the continent, we must work with governments:

To improve competitiveness,

To develop effective infrastructure,

To modernize the regulatory framework with a focus on global standards, and

To ensure a well-trained and diverse workforce.

Competitiveness

Lets begin with competitiveness. The global airline industry is currently enjoying rather good times. We are expecting 2018 to be our 4th year of generating profits that exceed the cost of capital. It is still, however, a tough business with lots of volatility  including in the price of fuel.

The global average profit per passenger is $7.80. But airlines in Africa, on average, lose $1.55 for every passenger carried. This disparity has many causes. To begin with, Africa is an expensive place for airlines to do business.

Jet fuel costs are 35% higher than the rest of the world.

User charges reflect 11.4% of airlines operating costs in Africa  four times that of North America and double industry average.

And taxes and fees are among the highest in the world.

There is no shortage of examples illustrating the heavy burden that governments extract from aviation:

In Niger $80 from each ticket is paid to the government in fees, taxes and charges,

Cameroon recently added a $37 development tax per passenger,

DR Congo charges every arriving passenger $15 to promote tourism  rather counter-productive if you think of it,

And Ethiopias $24 departure tax undermines the hubs competitiveness.

There is some good news however. In May, Equatorial Guinea removed its 15% VAT on tickets. Still, too many African governments view aviation as a luxury rather than a necessity. We must change that perception. The value of aviation for governments is not in the tax receipts that can be squeezed from it. It is in the economic growth and job creation that aviation supports.

Another important element of competitiveness for airlines is the ability to reliably repatriate earnings  in line with international treaty obligations.

So having 10 African countries blocking a total $670 million of airline funds is a big concern. Many of these countries are facing severe economic challenges. But blocking airline funds puts connectivity at risk. And that invites even broader economic problems.

It is in everybodys interest that airlines are paid on-time, at fair exchange rates and in full. And when problems are on the horizon, urgent dialogue is the first step, with creative and proactive mitigation plans following closely behind.

IATA has had success in Nigeria and Egypt where government actions completely cleared the backlog of funds. We urge other Governments to follow suit, particularly in Zimbabwe and Angola.

Infrastructure

Now Id like to comment on infrastructure requirements which are:

Sufficient runways, terminals and airspace capacity to meet demand,

Technical and commercial service quality aligned with airline needs, and

Affordability.

This is simply said, but not easily achieved.

In Africa we have problems in two extremes:

At one end, when infrastructure is built, too often we see unnecessary and unfit infrastructure with a hefty price tag. Luandas new airport is shaping up to be a case in point. It is probably bigger than what is needed. There are gross cost overruns and delays. The strategy to avoid this is dialogue from the earliest stages of any infrastructure project.

The other extreme is where critical capacity is missing. Ghana, Senegal and South Africa have taken a collaborative approach to infrastructure that is producing positive results for all stakeholders. But there remain critical bottlenecks in Addis Ababa, Dar Es Salaam, Lagos and Abuja. If planes cannot land, the economic benefits that they bring will fly elsewhere.

Even after governments have consulted to build infrastructure that everybody agrees is needed, we can still face challenges in how it is funded. The last IATA AGM passed a resolution that:

Recognized airline disappointments with airport privatization,

Called on governments to be cautious on future privatizations, and

Urged broad and rigorous consultation to make the right decisions.

We are putting the resolution into practice in Nigeria where the government is considering a private-public partnership in the future development of airports in Lagos and Abuja. IATA is consulting directly with the government on this important project. This includes developing economic regulation to make it a success for all stakeholders and provide the connectivity that Nigeria needs to develop.

We hope that the result of this work will be a model for others to follow because it is clear that Africa needs more infrastructure investment. And it is important that we find the right funding and regulatory models.

Harmonized Regulation

Speaking of regulation, we continue our work to achieve the universal adoption of two important global standards:

The Montreal Convention 1999 (MC 99) establishes a modern approach to liability and is a key enabler of our efforts to modernize air cargo by facilitating the use of electronic air waybills. Ghana, Niger, Tunisia and Uganda have recently ratified. We urge the 19 African states yet to ratify  to do so soon.

The second is the Montreal Protocol 2014 (MP 14) which provides an international legal framework for dealing with and deterring unruly passenger incidents. African states were instrumental in its creation. And 8 of the 15 states adopting it so far are from the continent. But we still need to get 22 states to ratify to bring this treaty in to force.

There is also a completely made in Africa policy initiative which we are wholeheartedly supporting. Thats the African Union Single Africa Air Transport Market (SAATM) project.

You dont need me to tell you how difficult it is to get around this continent. Distances that should take a few hours can take days simply because the connectivity does not exist. This inefficiency has an economic cost. The low density of the African intra-continental network makes it impossible to realize the potential benefits of a connected African economy.

SAATM  if implemented  gives Africa the potential for economic transformation.

Twenty-seven states have signed on to SAATM. Now they need to follow promises with action. History has shown that opening markets leads to rapid advances in connectivity. We can be confident that the results of 27 states implementing SAATM will make a powerful case for the remaining 28 to come on board quickly.

To help, IATA worked with the AU, AFCAC and AFRAA to create a guidance booklet on SAATM implementation. This will be launched later today. The aim is to help all stakeholders work together to take the best advantage of SAATM to boost African development on the wings of aviation.

Regulation affects almost every aspect of aviation, so a favorable regulatory environment is critical to the sustainability of the industry, particularly here in Africa. We urge Governments to embrace the ICAO Good Regulatory Practices Guidelines designed to improve the regulatory process and to reduce unnecessary or excessive burdens on the industry.

Workforce

The last point that I would like to address is the human talent that we will need to realize the potential for Africas future aviation industry. If we can tackle the issues discussed today  and I am sure that we can  then the number of passengers could quadruple over the next two decades.

Achieving that would require skilled aviation professionals in far greater numbers than we have today. And we all know that finding and retaining the right talent is a challenge even today.

IATA has long been active in this area. Over 2,400 African aviation professionals are trained each year either directly by IATA or via the International Airline Training Fund. So we are a good partner for governments seeking to develop policies to build their training pipeline to support growth.

A particular focus for us at this time is engaging more women in the workforce. Africa can be proud of its leadership in this area with women at the helm of four airlines. On October 31st this year, the first IATA Women in Aviation Diploma Program was launched in Johannesburg with 22 female airline executives. And we are currently partnering with Korn Ferry and other aviation organizations in a global study that will help the industry better understand what best practices lead to diversity in the workplace at all levels of seniority.

With these and other initiatives, we can be confident that Africa will have a well-trained and diverse workforce to power the industry forward.

The Business of Freedom

The last thought that I want to leave you with is a reminder of why we are here. Aviation is the business of freedom. The opportunities aviation creates to improve peoples lives are tremendous  especially in Africa. And it is no wonder that aviation is an enabler for so many of the UNs Sustainable Development Goals.

It is important that the industry is able to drive growth and connectivity in Africa by working in lock-step with government to achieve:

Competitive cost structures that enable growth,

Effective infrastructure that can accommodate growth,

Harmonized regulatory framework that opens markets and promotes growth, and

A well-skilled diverse workforce that can drive growth.

Thank you.
Fermata Energy and Nissan introduce bi-directional charging for the LEAF. This has interesting implications.

Fermata Energy recently announced a system where their chargers connect to Nissan Leaf cars but also work both ways, using their proprietary software to "demonstrate the potential of bi-directional charging technology that not only receives power from the grid, but also sends power from vehicle batteries back to the building to reduce electricity costs." According to their press release,

As the name implies, bi-directional charging technology means an electric vehicle not only receives power from the grid but has the capability to send power stored in its battery pack to partially power external electrical loads, such as buildings and homes, and even to provide energy back to the grid.



"Fermata Energy has found a way to unlock the code and unleash the untapped value in electric vehicle batteries, Tony Posawatz, EV pioneer and Fermata advisor said today. Now customers and fleet owners can make money while their EVs are parked. This breakthrough technology will increase the adoption of electrified vehicles.



Fermata sees this as a way of making money out of battery storage.

 HomeGrid plans

But there is a much bigger picture here. There was a lot of talk about batteries at the Passivhaus Portugal conference I recently attended. This is a country with a lot of sunshine, and Passivhaus designs don't take a lot of energy to keep cool or warm. So there is considerable discussion about adding electric mobility to the mix, using the sun to charge the car, and then the car to feed back into the home when the sun isn't shining. I was not crazy about this drawing produced by Homegrid, saying they should show smaller panels, smaller batteries, and electric bikes, but that's just my bias showing. I do get the concept and there are some interesting possibilities here.

 Jordan Wirfs-Brock | Inside Energy

Think of the famous Duck Curve. We previously discussed how a Study shows that electric cars could help kill the duck, but Nissan and Fermata are getting serious here.

Suppose you have a 20 mile drive to work from your sprawlish house to your suburban office park. You charge your car under the sunshine at your office during that duck belly time, drive home and still have 80 percent of your 30 kWh battery charge. Plug it into your home during peak duck, use half the battery charge to help out around the house, and and you still have more than enough to get back to the office.

Suddenly that Nissan Leaf isn't just sitting in your driveway, but is significantly reducing your electric bill by using cheap solar power during peak times. This is a serious incentive to get an electric car. If a lot of people do it, it can clean the air, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and kill the duck.

Nissan and Fermata are not aiming this at homes right now. According to the Nissan press release:

Ideal for companies with fleet vehicles, the Nissan Energy Share pilot program will continuously monitor a building's electrical loads, looking for opportunities to periodically draw on the LEAF's "lower-cost energy" to provide power to the building during more expensive high-demand periods.



But if they are as they say, "the only vehicle on the market utilizing bi-directional charging", this is a great beta test to show how they can reduce the ownership cost of the car by time-shifting power, and to make a serious dent in that duck curve.
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TRENTON  Ann Klein Forensic Center has been a hotbed of violence for years.

The Trenton-based facility has documented over 350 substantiated assaults in 2014, and employees say the workplace has become more hostile this year under New Jersey Department of Health administrative changes that give Ann Klein patients more freedom to jaunt through the premises.

Ann Klein houses approximately 200 patients, most of whom come from county jails or state prisons, and each patient receives structured treatment for severe mental illnesses. Data show patients are responsible for the vast majority of violence at Ann Klein.

New Jersey State Police and Mercer County prosecutors are investigating an alleged patient-on-patient gang rape that occurred at the state-run forensic center last Friday. The incident brings renewed attention to the recent string of high-profile crimes that occurred at the facility in recent years. Consider the following acts of violence:

* Ann Klein patient Dwayne Hester, 51, has been indicted on aggravated manslaughter charges on allegations he killed patient Daniel Rodriguez, 55, in a vicious attack earlier this year. Hester launched the unprovoked attack Feb. 13 and the victim died several weeks later from his injuries, authorities said.

* Former Ann Klein employee Kenneth Glover, 39, of Hamilton, is serving a five-year prison sentence for sexual misconduct on the job. He worked as a security officer at Ann Klein Forensic Center and was arrested last year on allegations he sexually assaulted a female patient on two separate occasions. He pleaded guilty to official misconduct and was terminated as a state worker. He is scheduled to be released from state prison on March 6, 2022, according to the New Jersey Department of Corrections. After Glover pleaded guilty, the victim in the sexual misconduct case filed a lawsuit against the state and Ann Klein Forensic Center in December 2017, but a judge later dismissed the lawsuit without prejudice in August, records show.

* Ann Klein patient Alex R. Loscalzo, 38, seriously assaulted an Ann Klein staff member on Oct. 14, 2015. He pleaded guilty last year to third-degree aggravated assault that caused a significant bodily injury and received five years of mental health supervised probation, records show. Typical violent assaults like Loscalzos have occurred at least 79 times at the forensic center during calendar year 2015, according to state data. Of those 79 substantiated attacks, 78 involved a patient who had launched an attack that resulted in a moderate injury to a staff member, records show.

* Ann Klein patient Javier Arroyo, 33, an alleged participant in last weeks gang rape, has been charged in another case with second-degree sexual assault by force or coercion on allegations he digitally penetrated the anus of a male Ann Klein patient while the victim was sleeping on Dec. 27, 2017.

In addition to Arroyo, sources say the following Ann Klein patients played an alleged role in last weeks sexual assault: Jaquin K. Works, 29; Marquese D. Battle, 28; and Matthew Freeman, 36.

Authorities are investigating the sexual assault but released few details and would not identify any of the suspects as of Thursday.

The incident was referred immediately to the Mercer County Prosecutors Office and the State Police, Donna Leusner, a New Jersey Department of Health spokesperson, said Thursday via email. You would need to direct any questions to the Mercer County Prosecutors Office and the New Jersey State Police.

New Jersey State Police and a Mercer County assistant prosecutor on Thursday confirmed the existence of an investigation but did not provide any substantive details on the gang rape case.

Despite being an accredited institution, Ann Klein Forensic Center has been sued multiple times in recent years in connection with assaults or patient abuse. Here is a rundown on some of the active litigation against the state-run facility:

* Medical technician Jojuana Tolbert of Philadelphia brought suit against AKFC, New Jersey Department of Human Services and the New Jersey Department of Corrections in August alleging she was attacked and assaulted while trying to draw a patients blood. The patient was improperly restrained and improperly monitored, according to the allegations in her complaint. Her attorney did not respond to requests for comment Thursday.

* Dr. William Ruda filed suit against Ann Klein Forensic Center and the state in late 2017 following allegations that a patient, Moises Polanco, attacked him in January 2016. Ruda was attempting to give Polanco anesthesia for an electroconvulsive therapy, or ECT, and the patient viciously lashed out at him, leaving him seriously and permanently injured, according to the allegations in his lawsuit, which remains ongoing.

* An assistant social work supervisor, Penelope Mauer, claimed in a lawsuit that she was retaliated against for reporting patient abuse at AKFC in 2016. She claims she notified the compliance unit after a patient was left in his room for more than two hours without a doctors order or a notification to the clinical team. She said she was moved to another unit after she refused to follow an order from a superior who instructed her to keep any alleged violations in house. Her transfer was intended to communicate to other state workers who reported abuse that they were not team players, according to the allegations in her ongoing lawsuit.

Most of the 351 substantiated assaults that occurred at Ann Klein Forensic Center in 2014 resulted in no injuries or minor injuries, according to state data. New Jersey state law requires Ann Klein to report any and all incidents of assaults that result in moderate or major injuries.

A moderate injury includes any laceration requiring stitches, a human bite breaking through the skin and any injury around the eye. A major injury refers to an injury that requires treatment that can only be performed at a hospital facility, such as a skull fracture or broken bones. Ann Klein Forensic Center in recent years stopped reporting minor assaults after The Trentonian began writing news articles exposing the facilitys culture of violence.

Trentonian staff writer Isaac Avilucea contributed to this report.
rchopra@tribunemail.com

London, November 30

The UK government has confirmed an amendment to a new weapons bill going through Parliament to ensure that it would not impact the right of the British Sikh community to possess and supply kirpans, or religious swords.

The Offensive Weapons Bill 2018 completed its various readings in the House of Commons this week and has now moved to the House of Lords for approval.

It involves a new offence of possessing certain offensive weapons in public and places new restrictions on the online sales of bladed articles and corrosive products in an attempt to crack down on rising knife- and acid-related attacks in the country.

We have engaged closely with the Sikh community on the issue of kirpans. As a result, we have amended the Bill to ensure that the possession and supply of large kirpans for religious reasons can continue, a UK Home Office spokesperson said on Thursday.

The All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for British Sikhs led a delegation to the UK Home Office in recent weeks to ensure that the kirpan remains exempt when the new bill becomes law.

I am pleased to see the government amendment and look forward to seeing an accompanying set of documentation, which reflects the importance of not criminalising the Sikh community for the sale or possession of large kirpans, said Labour MP Preet Kaur Gill, Chair of the APPG for British Sikhs.

Gill, the first female Sikh MP in the House of Commons, was accompanied by APPG vice-chairs Pat McFadden and Dominic Grieve at a meeting with UK Home Secretary Sajid Javid and Home Office minister Victoria Atkins to discuss changes to the Offensive Weapons Bill, which would maintain status quo in continuing to legally safeguard the sale, possession and use of large kirpans.

Her fellow Sikh MP, Tan Dhesi, also made an intervention during the Offensive Weapons Bill debate in the Commons to seek assurances about the kirpan, given the Sikh communitys serious concerns.

Large kirpans, with blades over 50 cm, are used by the community during religious ceremonies in gurdwaras as well as for ceremonies involving the traditional Sikh Gatka martial art. They would have fallen foul of the new bill on the possession of large blades without the amendment, which has now been agreed.

The Offensive Weapons Bill 2018 is aimed at strengthening existing legislative measures on offensive weapons, focusing on corrosive substances, knives and certain types of firearm. The Bill will give new laws to ban the sale of corrosive substances to anyone under the age of 18, to target people carrying acid, to make it more difficult for anyone under the age of 18 to buy knives online and to ban certain types of firearms. PTI
editorial@tribune.com

Sumedha Sharma

Tribune news Service

Gurugram, November 29

The Gurugram police late Wednesday night busted nine fake call centres and nabbed 12 persons for allegedly conning consumers across the globe on the pretext of providing technical support under cyber giant Microsofts name.

The action was initiated after the Microsoft attorney approached the police with FIRs filed in different police stations under Sections 43, 66-D and 75 of the Information Technology Act, and Sections 415, 416, 419, 420 of IPC.

Sources claimed most of the victims were based in the UK, US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.

The police were tightlipped about the amount swindled.

The complainant, after an internal investigation, approached us with IP addresses and other details. We swung into action and busted the fake call centres, said ACP Shamsher Singh.

The accused, all tech-savvy youths from Gurugram and Delhi, are being interrogated by five teams. Most of them reportedly told the police they were unaware the call centres they were working with were fake.

Complainant (Microsoft Corporation) has received numerous complaints that a few call centres indulge in fraudulent activities by misrepresenting themselves to be associated with the complainant and extorting money, read the FIR.

Low rentals, lack of awareness, availability of a tech-savvy workforce proficient in English and slack verification make Gurugram a hub of fake call centres, say sources.
editorial@tribune.com

Tribune News Service

Dharamsala, November 30

Universities and institutes of higher education need to evolve according to the changing technologies to meet the expectations of the new generation. Yoginder Verma, former Pro-Vice-Chancellor of Central University, Himachal Pradesh, and professor of management, said this while addressing a conference on A paradigm shift for aspirations of the new generation during the Principals Meet, organised by The Tribune and Chandigarh University at Hotel Grand Raj in Kangra on Friday.

While addressing the principals of nearly 70 schools of Kangra region, Yoginder Verma said teachings and courses in India had to be modified according to the change in technologies and scenario in the country. We cannot avoid change. It is already happening. Many big brands and companies that are dominating the markets are no more relevant today. If in India, we do not evolve with change happening across the world, our young generation will be left behind, he said.

In many cases, courses and curriculum in government universities are old, that was perhaps viable two to three decades ago. However, in todays scenario it has become obsolete. Many courses, which are being taught at present at the universities are going to become irrelevant in the near future, he said.

Giving an example, Yoginder Verma said , At present, unskilled and semi-skilled youth from India are migrating to other countries and providing labour. It is also a major source of employment in states like Punjab. Developing countries are developing technologies where minimum labour will be required and artificial intelligence and robotics will take over. Since the population of developed world is aging fast and India has the youngest population, the manpower here can be trained in heathcare and care of old, which can prove to be a future source of employment, he said.

RS Bawa, Vice-Chancellor of the Chandigarh University, said in his institution he had made all policies student centric. It is the first university in the country where the students have been made part of every major decision, including additions in syllabus, interaction with the industry and even taking penal action against the erring students.

Bawa stressed on the importance of schools in creating base of students. He said universities could just polish or shape the students but, it was in the schools that their base was created. In todays scenario, we cannot force students into accepting something. They can just be convinced to do so, he said.

He said in Chandigarh University, imparting soft skills as communication, spoken English and psychological counselling of students had been made mandatory.

Principals of the school who won the Tribune contest in various aspects were given awards during the function.

What the representatives said...

Education forms the mind. It is the real power that can be manifested and used to change the world. It helps us in making good life choices. Lalit Kumar Gupta Principal, Kendriya Vidyalaya, Palampur

It was wonderful to attend the function. It was an eye opener for us. Education must have three elements  practicality, relevance and focus on personality development. Anil K Ambastha Principal, Army Public School Yol Cantonment

Education is a window to the world and a powerful weapon to eradicate the evils of society. I believe that education means introducing moral values and positive thinking. Vikram Singh Principal, DAV Senior Secondary School, Alampur

Education is the most adorable ornament of a person. It is a power weapon, which can be used to conquer any obstacle in life and move ahead. RS Rana Principal, DAV Senior Secondary School, Nadaun at Bharoli

We were fortunate enough to receive the award instituted by The Tribune group of newspapers. The conference on changing paradigms in education was an eye-opener. CL Lakhanpal Vice-Chairman, Him Academy Public school, Hamirpur

Education system should be meaningful. It should be flexible and responsive. The student should convincingly be inspired and made to feel valued and confident. Sunil Kant Chadha Principal, GAV Pubic School Kangra

Innovations in education go hand in hand with the education system. Raising the quality & scale of innovations in education will positively affect whole society. Meenakshi Kashyap Principal, Rainbow World School, Bhawarna

The school education is basic mould in which the students are cast. A lot of innovations need to be made in school education and this conference was an eye-opener. Navneet Dogra Principal, Bhartiya Vidyapeeth, Public Sr Sec School, Baijnath

Excellence awards

Academics

Aadharshila Sr Sec School, Dehan, Palampur

Him Academy Public School, Vikas Nagar, Hamirpur

Bhartiya Vidyapeeth Public Sr Sec School, Baijnath

Himalyan Public Sr Sec School, Nagrota Bagwan

Government Sr Sec School, Badhera Rajputana, Una

Education

Dr Chhavi Kashyap, Principal, Rainbow International School, Nagrota Bagwan

Mr. Bikram Singh, Principal, DAV Public School, Alampur

Sports

Aadharshila Sr Sec School, Dehn, Palampur

Him Academy Public School, Vikas Nagar, Hamirpur

MCM DAV Sr Sec Public School, Baghni, Nurpur

GAV Public School, Kangra

BD DAV Sr Sec Public School, Dharamsala

Eco-friendly schools

Kendriya Vidyalaya, Palampur

Scholars International Sr Sec School, Ghurkari, Kangra

Rose Public School, Suliali

Paras Public School, Bharwana

Army Public School, Yol Cantt.

Community initiative

Kendriya Vidyalaya, Palampur

Him Academy Public School,

Vikas Nagar, Hamirpur
editorial@tribune.com

Pratibha Chauhan

Tribune News Service

Shimla, November 30

Coming out of the shadow of the Doklam standoff which had greatly impacted ties between India and China last year, the volume of trade between both countries has doubled as goods worth Rs 1.14 crore were bartered by traders from both sides of the border.

The trade that concluded on Friday saw 72 from the tribal district of Kinnuar making more than one trip to the Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR) in China. Last year, the trade had reduced drastically to a mere Rs 59.21 lakh from Rs 8.59 crore in 2016 because of tension.

The trade is being undertaken across the 18,599-ft Shipki La Pass between the two countries since 1992 and it has registered a steady increase in the last four years, barring the last year.

The official trade period is from June 1 to November 30 every year along the old Hindustan-Tibet road. Though till date not even a single Chinese trader has visited India, traders from this side have kept the trade going.

We are so glad that the ancient trade ties between India and China are looking up as the trade this year was worth Rs 1.14 crore after touching a low last year, said Hishey Negi, president of the Kinnaur Indo-China Trade Association.

He said a total of 96 trade passes were issued and 72 traders from Kinnaur crossed the border with their goods. He said it was owing to various factors such as Doklam, the GST and demonetisation which had hit the trade.

Negi said the traders had been demanding the setting up of a quarantine laboratory at Chupan and Namgiya to pave the way for the resumption of livestock trade such as chiku goats, horses and mules. There is great demand for livestock on either side of the border even though its trade was banned about five years ago.

The traders have from time to time been demanding the construction of a mule track to facilitate travelling with their goods. They also lamented the delay in setting up pre-fabricated structures at Shipki with electricity, water, canteen, toilet facility and sheds for mules on the Indian side.

A total of 36 items figure on the export list while there are only 20 goods in the import list. More than 10 new items, including Chinese handicrafts, carpets and herbal medicines, were included in the trade list in 2012 to increase the quantum of trade.
editorial@tribune.com

Tribune News Service

Shimla, November 30

Giving in to the growing demand from various quarters, the Cabinet on Friday approved the Narcotics Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS-Himachal Pradesh Amendment Bill-2018), which will make all offences under the Act non-bailable.

Sources said though the Cabinet was unanimous in making all offences under the Act (in which an FIR was registered) as non-bailable, they turned down certain proposals made by the Police Department to check drug trafficking, peddling and sale of drugs by chemists.

Once the Narcotics Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (Himachal Pradesh Amendment Bill-2018) is tabled during the winter session of the Vidhan Sabha in Dharamsala from December 10 to 15 and passed, it will go to the Governor for his assent. Once the Governor gives his assent, the offences under the Act in which an FIR is registered for possessing more than permissible quantity of drugs, the person will be arrested with the offence being non-bailable.

The proposal of the police to authorise them to check drug stores for their stock, sales and other things on the pattern of Sikkim was turned down by the Cabinet. A majority of the ministers were of the opinion that such a provision could give leverage to the police to harass even innocent chemists.

The rising addiction among the youth, drug trafficking and peddling have become a major problem in most parts of the state. There is a rise in addiction of synthetic drugs like heroin and smack.

The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) has been selected as the national partner for the proposed Himachal Pradesh Investors Summit-2019 to be held in Dharamsala on June 11-12.

The summit is being organised to woo promoters in various sectors like industry, power, tourism and agriculture/horticulture sectors. The Cabinet decided to allow opening of liquor sub-vends at 59 locationson national highways in the state keeping in view the judgment of the Supreme Court. It decided to create a separate Directorate of Disaster Management to support the HP Disaster Management Authority and State Executive Committee under the Department of Revenue. A Ropeway and Rapid Transport System Development Corporation under the control of the Transport Department to oversee the implementation of all ropeways and Mass Rapid Transportation System project is also on the cards.

The Cabinet approved amendments to the HP Protection of Interests of Depositors (in Financial Establishments) Act, 1999, for removing certain infirmities in the existing legislation and to make more deterrent and effective. Consent was given to outsource 2,322 employees to man 517 drinking water and irrigation schemes.

Roerich Art Gallery to be developed: CM
editorial@tribune.com

New Delhi, November 30

The Supreme Court on Friday sought responses from former Inspector General of Police (IGP) Zahur Haider Zaidi and seven Himachal policemen, accused in a case relating to the custodial death of a man, as to why the trial against them not be transferred to a Delhi court from Shimla.

Zaidi and other policemen are to be tried in a local court there for allegedly killing in police custody a man who was among those arrested on the charge of gang-raping a minor school girl in Kotkhai in Shimla district last year.

A bench of Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi and Justice SK Kaul, during the brief hearing, hinted that the court on its own might transfer the trial in the case against the former IGP and others to a Delhi court from Himachal.

If you (Zaidi) are not pressing for the transfer of the case, we will suo motu transfer it to Delhi and we will ask the Delhi court to conclude the trial within six months, the bench said.

The top court also said, It is not a case of simple 302 (murder). You are accused in a custodial death case. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the CBI, said though the chargesheet had been filed, the trial in the case had not seen the light of the day and hence, the case be transferred to a Delhi court for expeditious disposal.

The law officer said Zaidi, being the former IGP, might influence the witnesses in the case and, moreover, other accused are also policemen.
editorial@tribune.com

Kuldeep Chauhan

Tribune News Service

Shimla, November 30

Apart from demanding a probe in the irregularities and poor quality material used in the renovation work of Town Hall, the 34-member House of the Shimla Municipal Corporation (SMC) on Friday unanimously passed a resolution, asking the state government to handover Town Hall and allow them to use it for commercial purpose.

Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur inaugurated Town Hall on Thursday after it was renovated by the Tourism Department for Rs 8 crore. The quality of renovation work of the 110-year-old heritage building of the British era, including the use of unseasoned deodar wood, had raised eyebrows, for which the Chief Minister had hinted at a probe.

Shimla Mayor Kusum Sadret, who presided over the General House of the corporation, which was attended by Deputy Mayor Rakesh Sharma and over 30 councillors, including Municipal Commissioner Pankaj Rai, invited debate on the action plan for the Town Hall, which was moved in the House.

Cutting across party lines, the councillors from the BJP, the Congress and the CPM expressed their solidarity over the possession and ownership of Town Hall. They said it was the property of the SMC since 1908.

The Tourism Department and its contractor who renovated Town Hall should be made accountable for the poor quality of repair work and all irregularities should be probed, the councillors demanded.

Debating over the action plan moved in the House, the councillors expressed solidarity over the use of Town Hall. They said it should be used for the purpose of children and a souvenir shop should be run for the tourists.

The Town Hall should house the office of the Mayor, Deputy Mayor and the Municipal Commissioner while other departments should be retained in the present DC complex, they said.

The councillors said the SMC should get their 30 per cent share in the new elevator coming up on Cart Road. The corporation should get appropriate share in the 13-storey parking lot at Tutti Kandi as it had handed over the land to the Tourism Department on the condition that the SMC would get some share when it became operational, they asserted.

The Mayor said they would submit the resolution of the House to the state government and would submit its action plan to the High Court. The case regarding the use of Town Hall is pending in the High Court and the House refrained from making any comment on the issue.
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Rifat Mohidin

Tribune News Service

Srinagar, November 30

After pictures of students writing exams under candlelight went viral earlier this month, it brought to the fore an important issue of lack of electricity in the majority of schools in the Valley.

Despite harsh winter conditions in Kashmir, majority of schools lack proper electricity and heating facilities.

Parents are forced to appeal for the early closure of schools because there is no heating facilities available, said an insider in the department of education.

Survey School education in India published in 2016 by the National University of Educational Planning and Administration and the Ministry of Human Resource Development had concluded that only 31 per cent government schools in J&K had electricity. Two years after the publication of the report, the scenario is no different.

Recently, the Jammu and Kashmir State Human Rights Commission issued a notice to the director, school education, Kashmir, over lack of basic facilities for students in schools.

The directions of the SHRC came after the submission of a petition by Dr Raja Muzaffar Bhat, an RTI activist. In its notice, the commission directed the department to file a report on the matter.

As per official records, 58 per cent government schools in Srinagar district are without power supply. In Budgam, 1,036 out of 1,294 government schools do not have electricity. In addition, 940 schools are without fencing and boundary walls, while 248 schools dont have water supply.

The situation is no different in Anantnag district, where out of 1,564 government schools, 1,271 are without electricity. As many as 1,065 schools dont have a boundary wall, while 314 dont have drinking water facility.

This is the story of every district, an insider in the department said.

During the session of the J&K Legislative Assembly in January, former education minister Syed Altaf Bukhari had said out of 23,773 schools in the state, 17,901 didnt have electricity. The situation at present is almost the same.

An official said the state needed estimated Rs 3,000 crore to develop proper infrastructure for state schools. During the 2018-19 Budget, some Rs 200-300 crore were earmarked for upgrading the school infrastructure, he said.

Habibullah Shah, assistant professor, directorate of distance education, Kashmir University, wrote in his paper titled School education in Jammu and Kashmir: issues and concerns published in journal Educational Quest in April, Teacher unions/organisations should think about donating at least one or two days salary every year for the development of school infrastructure and teaching-learning material on a voluntary basis.

A senior official from the department of education said providing electricity to schools would be their priority.

"We have already discussed the issue of electricity in schools. We have made the estimates and this problem will be sorted out. There was a problem of funds and now we have a meeting next week regarding the revised budget," Dr GN Itoo, director, school education, said.

Stark reality
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Arteev Sharma

Tribune News Service

Jammu, November 30

University of Jammu on Friday dissociated a senior professor and head of political science from teaching in the varsity after he triggered a controversy by allegedly referring to freedom fighter Bhagat Singh as a terrorist.

The university has already ordered a high-level probe by constituting a six-member panel to look into the matter.

On Thursday, the head of political science department Dr M. Taj-ud-din allegedly made the reference to freedom fighter as a terrorist while delivering a lecture on Lenin (Russian revolutionary).

Students made a written complaint to the Vice Chancellor on Thursday evening and told him about the incident. They submitted a CD as proof, university spokesperson Vinay Thusoo said.

He said the committee has been asked to submit its report within seven days.

Prof Tajuddin has been disassociated from teaching in the university with immediate effect till further orders, Thusoo said.

The incident came to light after a 25-second video clip made during the professors lecture in the classroom went viral on the campus. The video clip was recorded by a student in the class.

Meanwhile, the incident triggered protests from students and drew sharp criticism from social groups who demanded that the professor be dismissed from the service.

The protesting students also locked all entry gates of the university restricting the movement of vehicles and visitors on the campus.

Talking to The Tribune, professor Tajuddin said his remarks were taken out of context and he never intended to hurt the sentiments of anyone.

He even felt sorry if it had hurt the sentiments of people.

He said he just mentioned that the state calls any violence against it as terrorism.

One of students took a 25-second video out of my two-hour lecture. Terrorist word came in that. It was not what I meant. Still, if anyone is hurt, I am really sorry for it, he said.

I also consider Bhagat Singh as a revolutionary. He is one of the people who sacrificed his life for the country, he said, adding that he did not intend to hurt anyones feelings and apologised.

Reacting sharply to the incident, Jammu and Kashmir Freedom Fighter Association (JKFFA) demanded strict action against JU professor for his utterance against Bhagat Singh.
editorial@tribune.com

Arteev Sharma

Tribune News Service

Jammu, November 30

The University of Jammu on Friday dissociated a senior professor and head of the political science department from teaching in the university after he triggered a controversy by allegedly referring to freedom fighter Bhagat Singh as a terrorist.

The controversy led to protests on the university campus with various student groups demanding immediate dismissal of the professor. Various social organisations also slammed the professor and urged Governor Satya Pal Malik, who is the Chancellor of the university, to take strict action against him.

On Thursday, Prof M Taj-ud-din allegedly referred to the freedom fighter as a terrorist while delivering a lecture on Russian revolutionary Vladimir Lenin.

Students filed a written complaint to Prof Manoj K Dhar, Vice Chancellor (VC), on Thursday evening. They also submitted a CD as a proof.

Acting swiftly on the complaint, the VC constituted a six-member inquiry committee and asked it to submit a report within seven days.

Prof Taj-ud-din has been disassociated from teaching in the university with immediate effect till further orders, Vinay Thusoo, official spokesperson of university, said.

The incident came to light after a video clip went viral on the campus on Thursday.

The video was recorded by a student in the classroom.

Talking to The Tribune, Prof Taj-ud-din had said he never intended to hurt anyones sentiments and even apologised.

He said he had just mentioned that the state called any violence against it as terrorism. One of the students took a 25-second video out of my two-hour lecture. Word terrorist came in that. It was not what I meant. Still if anyone is hurt, I am really sorry, he said.

I also consider Bhagat Singh as a revolutionary, who sacrificed his life for the country, he said, maintaining, I had no intention to demean the personality of Bhagat Singh or for that matter hurt anyones feelings. If it has happened, I am sorry, he added.

Meanwhile, the incident triggered protests from students and invited sharp criticism from social groups who demanded that the professor should be dismissed from service.

The protesting students also locked all entry gates of the university main campus, restricting the movement of vehicles and visitors on the campus. However, students from the political science department came in support of the Professor, saying his remarks had been taken the wrong context.

We met the Vice Chancellor, who asked us to wait for the outcome of the inquiry committee. He has assured that further action would be taken on the basis of the report, a protesting student said.

Reacting sharply to the controversial remarks of the professor, the Jammu and Kashmir Freedom Fighter Association demanded strict action against him.

The Shaheed Bhagat Singh Brigade, J&K, filed a complaint at the Gandhi Nagar police station under Sections 500 and 295A of the RPC against the professor for his alleged derogatory remarks. The complaint was filed by Anil Gupta, chairman of the brigade.

The Shaheed-e-Azam Bhagat Singh Foundation also demanded strict action against the professor.
editorial@tribune.com

Rajouri, November 30

A resident of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), who came to Rajouri to meet his relatives, died due to a cardiac arrest on Thursday.

The Poonch authorities handed over his body to PoK officials at Chakan da Bagh cross-LoC point on Friday. The body was handed over by officiating SHO, Poonch police station, Altaf Hussain around 1.15 pm when the cross-LoC gates were opened by the Army at Chakan da Bagh.

The body was handed over to the Tehsildar and SHO concerned in the presence of two brothers of the deceased, Hussain said. Maqsood Hussain, a resident of Mirpur city, had crossed the LoC on October 28 to meet his divided family members and relatives in Rajouri.

The deceased was accompanied by his two brothers, namely Habib-ul-Rehaman and Matloob Hussain.  OC
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Suhail A Shah

Anantnag, November 29

Two militants, believed to be close associates of Hizbul Mujahideen chief Riyaz Naikoo, were killed on Thursday in a pre-dawn gunfight with security forces in the Khrew area of Pulwama district in south Kashmir.

With the killing of the two militants, the security forces have managed to neutralise at least 18 ultras, including some top commanders of the Lashkar-e-Toiba and Hizb, in the last week.

The militants have been identified as Adnan Ahmad Lone, alias Uqaab, and Adil Bilal Bhat, alias Umair-al-Hizbi, both residents of the Awantipora area in Pulwama district.

The gunfight took place in Shar-Shali village of Khrew, located on the outskirts of Srinagar city.

A senior police official confirmed two militants were killed in the gunfight.

We had credible inputs regarding their presence in the area. Following the leads, a cordon and search operation was launched in the area by a joint team of the security forces, the police official said.

When the security forces zeroed in on the house the militants were hiding in, they opened indiscriminate fire in a bid to escape from the site.

The fire was retaliated triggering a gunfight, which lasted a couple of hours before the militants were killed. Their bodies and weapons were retrieved from the site, the official said. Following medico-legal formalities, the bodies were handed over to their families.

Thousands of people reached the villages of these militants to participate in the funeral prayers. Several rounds of prayers were held before the militants were buried. The authorities snapped mobile Internet services in certain areas of south Kashmir, including Pulwama district.

The services on the Banihal-Srinagar rail track also remained suspended for the day.

Meanwhile, the police identified the second militant killed along with top Pakistani Lashkar commander Naveed Jatt on Wednesday. The police said he was Mehraj Khan, a resident of north Kashmirs Sopore town. A shutdown was observed in Sopore over his killing. There were also reports of clashes from the town.

The encounter

The gunfight took place in Shar-Shali village of Khrew, located on the outskirts of Srinagar city. We had credible inputs regarding their presence in the area. Following the leads, a cordon and search operation was launched in the area by a joint team of the security forces, a police official said.
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Ravi S Singh

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, November 30

Leaders of Opposition parties, including Congress president Rahul Gandhi, today used the second day of the farmers protest as a platform to demonstrate unity against the BJP as they underscored the need to oust the Narendra Modi government in 2019 to protect farmers interest.

Earlier, the farmers took out a march from Ramlila Maidan to Parliament Street, where it ended in a rally  culmination of a two-day national protest by farmers affiliated with 209 organisations. The farmers are demanding laws to ensure remunerative MSP in line with recommendations of the Swaminathan Commission and to secure them from indebtedness.

At the rally, Gandhi pledged to work with other Opposition leaders to build a strong fulcrum, especially for farmers, to ensure their progress and welfare. In spite of our ideological differences, we have come here for farmers, Gandhi said.

Gandhi, who shared the podium with Modi-baiters, including AAP convener Arvind Kejriwal and Gujarat Independent MLA Jignesh Mevani, said Modi was oriented in favour of corporate houses at the cost of farmers.

He castigated Modi for not fulfilling the promise of remunerative MSP and loan waiver to farmers, made during the 2014 election. If Rs 3.5 lakh crore of bad loans of corporate houses can be written off, so can the loans of farmers, Gandhi said, stressing that farmers and youth constituted Indias backbone.

He said if chief ministers or the Prime Minister needed to be changed to protect farmers interest, it must be done.

CPMs Sitaram Yechury urged farmers to use the ballot to dislodge the BJP-led NDA government. Kejriwal said the Centres Kisan Fasal Bima Yojana was a misnomer, while former Jammu and Kashmir CM Farooq Abdullah flayed the BJP for its politics of communalism.

Sharad Pawar, Sharad Yadav, Yogendra Yadav and leaders of RLD and SP also addressed the rally.
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Ravi S Singh

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, November 29

Putting the BJP-led NDA government on notice, thousands of farmers from across the country descended on the national capital on Thursday as they embarked on a two-day agitation to press for their demands, including debt relief and remunerative prices for their produce.

The second nationwide stir by farmers here in two months comes in the midst of the Assembly elections and is timed ahead of the winter session of Parliament, building up to the 2019 General Election.

The farmers are demanding enactment of Central laws to ensure remunerative minimum support price to agricultural produce, and insulate farmers from financial indebtedness. Their singular demand is to convene a special session of Parliament to discuss the agrarian crisis and pass the laws.

The protest also seeks to highlight the plight of marginal farmers, peasants and farm labourers, who feel that they have been alienated by the government.

The marches, led by farmers leaders, central trade unions and social activists, including Medha Patkar, besides Swaraj Indias Yogendra Yadav, started from five locations and terminated at Ramlila Maidan, where the protesters camped overnight.

Among them were around 1,000 farmers from Tamil Nadu who arrived with the skulls of two farmers who committed suicide after being under financial duress. They have threatened to march naked if they are prohibited from going to Parliament tomorrow.

The agitation is being spearheaded by the All-India Kisan Sangharsh Coordination Committee (AIKSCC), a platform of more than 200 organisations related to farmers.

Left-leaning organisations are behind the strategic planning of the agitation. Leaders and groups from different walks of life have expressed solidarity with the protesters.

Ayodhya nahi, karz maafi

New Delhi, November 29

It was a sea of red at the Ramlila Maidan. The historic ground, known for hosting big political events, resonated with slogans like 'Ayodhya nahi, karz maafi chahiye' as farmers wearing red caps and carrying red flags started to gather. They spent the night at the ground before marching to Parliament on Friday to put forward their demands.

The ground started filling up from about 10.30 am when farmers from Delhi and nearby Haryana and Punjab started pouring in. About 13,000 people have reached the ground and many are still on their way. The organisers said that while some will sleep in the tents put up on the ground, others will move to nearby gurdwaras.

"The Delhi Jal board will provide us water tanks. AAP MLAs will give us food. Five gurdwaras in the region have extended help. Bangla Sahib, Sisganj Sahib, Rakabganj, Bap Sahib and Majnu Ka Tila will provide accommodation to farmers for the night," said All India Kisan Sabha (AIKS) leader Atul Anjaan.  PTI
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Satya Prakash

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, November 29

Divested of his powers and sent on leave, CBI Director Alok Verma on Thursday asserted before the Supreme Court the Centre had no powers to take such a decision as he was appointed for a fixed tenure of two years and could not even be transferred without the consent of the appointing panel.

Senior advocate Fali S Nariman, representing Verma, told a three-judge Bench headed by Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi the CBI Director was appointed on February 1, 2017, and the position of law is that there will be a fixed tenure of two years and this gentleman cannot be even transferred.

Verma and Special Director Rakesh Asthanawho have been at loggerheads for quite some timewere sent on leave last month and both have filed separate petitions challenging the governments decision.

Nariman said there was no basis for the Central Vigilance Commission to pass an order recommending that Verma be sent on leave even as Attorney General KK Venugopal contested his claim and asserted that Verma had not been transferred and continued to be CBI Director.

There has to be strict interpretation of the Vineet Narain judgment. This is not the transfer and Verma has been denuded of his power and duties... Otherwise there was no use of the Narain judgment and the law..., Nariman told the Bench, which also included Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Justice KM Joseph.

The 1997 verdict in Vineet Narain case relates to corruption probe against public servants. It also talked of a minimum tenure of two years for the CBI Director.

Nariman also referred to the terms and conditions of appointment and removal of the CBI director under the Delhi Special Police Establishment (DSPE) Act, 1946.

However, Venugopal contested his submission that only the three-member panel of PM, CJI and leader of largest opposition party in the Lok Sabha could have divested Verma of his powers and sent him on leave.

Venugopal said Verma was in Delhi living in the same house and hence there was nothing to construe that he had been transferred.

Verma continues to hold the status of Director, and enjoys all privileges and benefits of the post till date, he told the Bench, which posted the case for further hearing on December 5.

The AG clarified that the three-man panel headed by PM only recommended three names for appointment of CBI Director. The actual appointing authority was the government and not that panel, he said.

The Bench, which initially said it would only hear all the parties on questions of law, clarified towards the end of the hearing that it had already gone through the CVCs report of inquiry into corruption allegations against Verma.

It sought to know from the AG if the Centre wanted to file its response or not. As Venugopal said the court had not asked the government to file its response, the CJI indicated that it might have to go through the motion of affidavits and counter-affidavits, if the case was not decided purely on the basis of arguments on questions of law.

Senior advocate Kapil Sibal for Leader of Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge (Congress), senior counsel Rajiv Dhavan for CBI DSP AK Bassi (who has been transferred to Port Blair), and Dushyant Dave for Common Cause questioned the governments decision for sheer want of power. They all contended the decision could have been taken only by the three-member panel.
uttara@tribuneindia.com

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, November 30

Delhi Minister Satyendar Jain accused the BJP government at the Centre of using the Central Bureau of Investigation to target him, saying he refused to be cowed down by these attempts.

I accept the Modi Governments charge that I am working round the clock for the regularisation and better living conditions in the unauthorised colonies of Delhi. Even if they file 100 cases against me, I wont be cowed down and I will keep working in the same manner Jain said in a statement in response to reports that the Centre asked CBI to go ahead with prosecuting him on charges of owning disproportionate assets and being involved in hawala transactions.

Jain claimed Prime Minister Narendra Modis government wanted to raze down illegal structures and render the poor homeless, but he was under oath to protect them.

Its my duty to provide the residents with basic facilities like roads and drains. It is the democratic right of the people staying in these colonies. I dont reject the charges of the Modi-led central government. I accept them. Yes, I am trying to regularise the unauthorised colonies in Delhi. However, I am amazed at the charges made by the Centre; they are saying Satyendar Jain will become richer by regularising these colonies. This is laughable and beyond comprehension. How will I become richer by regularising the unauthorised colonies? Regularisation of the unauthorised colonies will not benefit Satyendar Jain, but will benefit the huge number of people residing in these colonies. This is their democratic right, their life condition will improve and they will be happier, the statement said.
editorial@tribune.com

New Delhi, November 29

The extradition of Christian Michel, a British national and alleged middleman wanted by Indian investigative agencies in the Rs 3,600-crore AgustaWestland VVIP choppers deal case, should be left to the UAE's judicial system, UAE envoy to India Ahmed Albanna said on Thursday.

While sections in Indian media jumped the gun on two occasions about court orders in the case, there is no clarity yet if Michel can be extradited by the UAE to a third country, India, and if the UAE government will have a final word or the courts. I dont know. There is a legal system, there are agreements signed between the UAE and India. We believe in our judicial system. We leave it up to them to decide, he said.

Earlier this month, a top Dubai court upheld a lower courts order to consider the possibility of extraditing Michel, who is currently behind bars in Dubai.

Albanna allayed concerns over oil shortage. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to flag the issue of oil price volatility and its impact on the Indian domestic economy at the G20 summit kicking off in Argentina.

Talking about the India-UAE bilateral ties ahead of the 47th National Day of his country, Albanna said even if the US had not given a temporary waiver to India from sanctions against oil trade with Iran, no major crisis would have erupted.  TNS
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Shiv Kumar

Tribune News Service

Mumbai, November 30

The Maharashtra Governments move to introduce reservations in educational institutions and government jobs for the Maratha community is giving rise to fresh demand from other groups even as affected parties plan to move court.

The All India Majlis-e-Ittehad-ul Muslimeen was the first to announce that it was moving court to demand reservation for the Muslim community.

Party MLA Imtiyaz Jalil told reporters that they would present several fresh facts to press for reservation for Muslims.

We are not planning to challenge reservations for the Marathas. But we want quotas for Muslims, Jalil told reporters here.

However, representatives of other groups in the general category who stand to lose their share in educational institutions and government jobs say they will challenge the reservations in court.

Some parents have already met with officials of the Directorate of Medical Education and Research to seek clarification on the number of seats available in the general category in government-run medical

colleges.

Even while some of them threatened protests they were however told to await the formal notification from the government on reservation for various categories of students.

Parents should first wait for the governments notification on reservations, Dr Pravin Shingare, Director, DMER said.

According to information released by some groups, only 275 of the 3,050 seats in government-run medical colleges would be available under the general category following the reservation granted to the Maratha community.

Dr Shingare assured groups of parents that the government was working on a solution to allay the fears of students in the general category.

Following the reservation for the Maratha community, 68 per cent of seats in educational institutions and government jobs would be under various quotas.

Leaders of several Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Other Backward Classes feel that the Maharashtra Government may dilute their quotas should the courts strike down the Maratha quotas.

The Supreme Court had earlier set a cap on reserved seats at 50 per cent. Messages going around on social media also question the logic of granting a whopping 16 per cent quota for the Maratha community.

Members of SC, ST and OBC groups are calling for a higher share of quotas on the ground that they are more backward than members of the Maratha community.

Questions are also being asked on how the government has estimated Marathas at 32 per cent of Maharashtras

population since the official census carried out every ten years does not enumerate people on the basis of caste. There is just 27 per cent reservation for more than 300 different castes in Maharashtra, but 16 per cent reservations have been given for the Marathas alone, says one message doing the rounds on WhatsApp groups.

With various groups planning to challenge the reservation in courts, the Maharashtra Government is gearing up for a tough fight.

We are already hiring a battery of senior lawyers so that the reservations for Marathas are not struck down by the courts, Maharashtra Education Minister Vinod Tawde said on Friday.
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Smita Sharma

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, November 30

The Maldives foreign ministry has categorically denied media reports suggesting that India had offered a billion dollars in assistance for a military base in the archipelago nation.

This comes just days after the new Foreign Minister Abdullah Shahid, along with two other cabinet ministers, visited India on his first official trip.

In a formal statement, the Maldivian MFA said, The Government of Maldives categorically refutes media reports alleging that it is planning to allow the establishment of an Indian military base in the Maldives, in exchange for financial assistance or other material benefits. The allegations are baseless and aimed at discrediting the efforts of the government as it starts to rebuild good relations with its neighbours and the rest of the international community.

The statement added, The government assures the Maldivian people that it will always act in the national interest of the Maldives and will not undertake any international engagement that will compromise the sovereignty and independence of the country.

After the ouster of pro-China authoritarian Yameen in recent presidential election, new President Ibrahim Solih will travel to India on December 17 on his first overseas visit since assuming office this month. Earlier, during his oath-taking ceremony PM Modi was the highest-ranking foreign leader present at the National Stadium in Male and the two leaders had a meeting soon after.
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Panaji, November 30

Goa Forward Party chief Vijai Sardesai on Friday said there was no question of replacing ailing Manohar Parrikar as Goa Chief Minister.

Sardesai is Agriculture minister in the Parrikar Cabinet.

Parikkar is undergoing treatment for a pancreatic ailment at his residence after returning to the state on October 14 following hospitalisation at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences in New Delhi.

While the ruling BJP has maintained that Parrikar has been looking after the affairs of governance even as he undergoes treatment, the state's opposition parties, and occasionally allies in the state government, have alleged that his health-related absence was bringing administration to a standstill.

Sardesai Friday told PTI he met Parrikar on November 28.

"I had met the CM while coming back from the closing ceremony function of IFFI (International Film Festival of India) (on November 28). He is fine. Where is the question of replacing him?" Sardesai said. PTI
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New Delhi, November 30

An NRI octogenarian from Germany handed over her ancestral land in Gujarat for the Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train project, making it the first stretch of land to be acquired by the national transporter in the state for the project, an NHSRCL official said on Friday.

Savita Ben, who runs an Indian restaurant in Germany, is originally from Chansad village and she shifted abroad 33 years ago after getting married, the official told PTI.

In Chansad, the National High Speed Rail Corporation Limited (NHSRCL) required 11.94 hectare of private land and Savita Ben sold hers for Rs 30,094.

She flew down specially to hand over the land for the project and we are extremely grateful to her for having agreed to it. She returned to Germany where she lives with her son and runs a restaurant.

This stretch of land is the first piece of land which we have acquired for the project in the state, NHSRCL spokesperson Dhananjay Kumar said.

On Thursday, the NHSRCL also bagged 0.29 hectare of private land in Paye village in Maharashtras Thane district and gave a total compensation of Rs 3,32,76,468 to four plot holders.

The sale deeds were signed and amount released today to bank account within three hours of signing documents, NHSRCL spokesperson Kumar.

The 508-kilometre corridor would require around 1,400 hectares of land in Gujarat and Maharashtra, of which 1,120 hectares is privately owned. Around 6,000 land owners will have to be compensated.

Earlier, NHSRCL has managed to acquire only 0.09 per cent of land in Mumbai for the project and has been dealing with protests across the two states over land acquisition issues.

The Railways is now conducting consent camps in districts where it needs land to convince farmers to give up their land.  PTI
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Ravi S. Singh

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, November 30

Ongoing farmers protest in the national capital on Friday became a rallying point for opposition parties.

As thousands of farmers from 24 states converged in the national capital to protest the central governments policies as agrarian crisis deepens in the country, leaders like Congress president Rahul Gandhi and AAP convener and Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal excoriated Prime Minister Narendra Modis government for its policies.

#WATCH Former J&K Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah speaking at farmers' protest at Jantar Mantar,New Delhi pic.twitter.com/JpdhBgea82  ANI (@ANI) November 30, 2018

Gandhi pledged his support to the ongoing farmers protest for loan waiver, and accused Prime Minister Narendra Modis government of being inclined to favour only corporate houses.

Addressing the rally, Gandhi said farmers and youths were the backbone of the country and that their progress and welfare is imperative. He criticised the central government for going back on its word on farm loan waiver and adequate minimum support price for agricultural produce.

"When rupees three-and-a half lakh crore can be written off in the name of bad loan of coporate houses, farmers' debts must also be waived off," Gandhi said, as he called for a change of government.

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal accused the prime minister of stabbing farmers in the back.

The Modi government should implement Swaminathan panel report soon, otherwise farmers will 'wreak havoc' in 2019 polls, Kejriwal said, referring to a panel report on reforms in the agricultural sector.

Leaders of 13 opposition partiesGandhi, Communist Party of India (Marxist)s Sitaram Yechury, Communist Party of Indias Sudhakar Reddy, AAPs Kejriwal, Nationalist Congress Partys Sharad Pawar, National Conferences Farooq Abdullah, and Loktantrik Janata Dals Sharad Yadavaddressed the rally.

Gujarat's Independent MLA Jignesh Mevani was also among leaders at the rally.

The rally primarily aims at loan waiver and better prices for farm produce and is a culmination of a two-day national protest. Farmers want enactment of two Central laws at a special session of Parliament. The rally comes during assembly elections and just months before the countrys mammoth Parliamentary elections.
pardeepdhull@gmail.com

Pune, November 30

Venturing into uncharted waters, Army Chief General Bipin Rawat on Friday said Pakistan should turn into a secular state from an Islamic nation.

Pakistans turning into a secular state is essential if the neighbouring country has to stay together with India, the Army chief said.

If they (Pakistan) have to stay together with India, then they have to develop as a secular state, Gen Rawat told reporters on the sidelines of the Passing Out Parade of the 135th course at the National Defence Academy here.

See this staying together, staying separate, ispe Pakistan ko apni andruni halat dekhni hogi. Pakistan ne apne state ko Islamic state bana diya hai. Hum log secular state hai (Pakistan has to look at its internal situation. They are an Islamic state, we (India) are a secular state), he said.

Gen Rawat said, How can we stay together if you say I am an Islamic state and there is no role for anybody else, he said. If they are willing to become secular like us, then they seem to have an opportunity. Pehle dekhe karte hai ki nahi karte (Let us see if they do so or not). The Army Chief also asked Pakistan to curtail terror activities.

Asked about Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khans statement that Islamabad would move two steps forward if New Delhi took one step, Gen Rawat said the neighbouring nation should first take steps to curtail terror activities on its soil.

I would like to tell Pakistan to initiate that first step (curtailing terror). In the past, India has taken several steps. When we say terror is being harboured in your country, show some action by curtailing terror activities which are used against India, Rawat said.

On Khans statement as to why India and Pakistan could not be friends when Germany and France could be good neighbours, he said the neighbouring nation first needs to see its internal condition. PTI
rchopra@tribunemail.com

Karachi, November 30

Twenty-two Indian fishermen had been arrested by Pakistani authorities for allegedly straying into the countrys territorial waters, a security official said on Friday.

They were arrested on Thursday by personnel of the Pakistan Maritime Security Agency (PMSA) during an operation.

The security official said three boats of the fishermen were also confiscated.

The fishermen who were handed over to the Docks police were presented in a magistrates court on Friday and remanded to judicial custody.

They will now be sent to the Landhi jail, the official said.

Since October, this is the third time that a batch of Indian fishermen has been arrested and their boats seized by the PMSA.

Earlier this month, the PMSA arrested 12 Indian fishermen.

In October, another batch of 12 Indian fishermen was arrested and handed over to the Docks police.

Pakistan and India regularly arrest each others fishermen who inadvertently enter into their waters due to absence of any proper technology to confirm the coastline border between Pakistan and India near Sir Creek in the Arabian Sea. They languish in jails until they are set free on certain occasions. PTI
gspannu7@gmail.com

Buenos Aires, November 30

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said terrorism and radicalisation was the biggest challenges the world was facing and underlined the need for the BRICS and G-20 countries to work together to strengthen the UN counter terrorism framework to stop terrorist networks, their financing and movement.

Addressing an informal meeting of the leaders of BRICS countries on the margins of the G-20 Summit in Argentina, he also asked the countries to work together against the economic offenders and fugitives, who he said were posing a serious threat to the worlds economic stability.

We all agree that terrorism and radicalisation are the biggest challenges that the whole world is facing today. They are not only a threat to peace and security, but also a challenge for economic development, he said.

He urged all the countries, including BRICS and G-20, to work together in implementing the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) standards and to strengthen the UN Counter Terrorism Framework to stop terrorist networks, their financing and their movement.

The FATF is an intergovernmental organisation founded in 1989 on the initiative of the G-7 to develop policies to combat money laundering.

Prime Minister Modis statement on combating terrorism assume significance as China has repeatedly blocked Indias attempts at the UN Security Council to name Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed chief Maulana Masood Azhar a global terrorist.

Apart from Modi, Chinese President Xi Jinping, Russian President Vladimir Putin and South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, Brazil President Michel Temer were also present in the meeting.

Modi said that the globalisation has brought millions of people out of poverty, but we are facing the challenges of equal distribution of the benefits of globalisation.

He said protectionism by the countries was increasing, and currency devaluation and sharp increase in oil prices have wiped out the profits earned over the past few years.

Highlighting the contributions of the BRICS, he said it represents 42 per cent of the world population and has become the global growth engine in the last few years.

However, there are still many possibilities of increasing the share of BRICS nations in world GDP (23 per cent) and trade (16 per cent), he said.

BRICS countries have been contributing to global sustainability and development. We have played an important role in shaping the worlds economic and political structure, Modi said, adding we are eager to cooperate in new industrial revolution in the BRICS.

We have to work together with multilateral institutions like UN, WTO, UNFCC, World Bank, to ensure the rule-based world order. I have suggested reformed multilateralism in the Johannessburg meeting , Prime Minister Modi said.

He said that the G-20 agenda has enriched the discussion of global development.

We are eager to cooperate in BRICS countries new Industrial Revolution.

Modi stressed that the topics of globalisation and migration must be addressed through better multilateral coordination and cooperation.

We need to manage labour issues in the global supply chain, it will be necessary to ensure excellent work in the entire value chain. Social protection schemes for workers and a smooth movement of labours worldwide is important, he added.

He said socio-economic issues like womens empowerment and sustainable food future would be discussed in the G-20 Summit.

Earlier I had suggest the need for disaster resilient infrastructure on sustainable development. We have to work together to take this forward, Modi added.  PTI
editorial@tribune.com

Our Correspondent

Jaipur, November 29

Ahead of the Assembly elections slated for December 7, the Congress on Thursday released its Jan Ghoshna Patra (poll manifesto) and announced that the farmers crop loan would be waived in 10 days and fresh loans would be simplified if voted to power.

Agricultural appliances, equipments and tractors would be taken out of the GST regime. Effective crop loan insurance to farmers and pension to old age farmers would also be ensured, the party said at the joint release of the manifesto by PCC president Sachin Pilot, AICC general secretary Ashok Gehlot and state incharge Avinash Pandey.

Pilot assured of free education to girl child right from her birth and a monthly allowance of Rs 3,500 to unemployed youths, besides creating jobs with private and corporate sectors.

An Accountability Bill to ensure implementation of schemes and job works would be brought and every citizen would have right to get information on his or her work within 30 days, Pilot said, quoting the manifesto, which is reportedly based on the suggestions of two lakh persons. The Congress state chief also promised to work on the acts for the protection of journalists and advocates in a stipulated period.

Gehlot said the government would not stop the BJP governments projects and schemes and would try to complete them on a priority basis. Every BPL family would be provided wheat at Re 1 per kg under the PDS system, a 40-page manifesto covering all aspects, he said.

Whats in Manifesto
pardeepdhull@gmail.com

Satya Prakash

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, November 30

A day after retiring as a Judge of the Supreme Court, Justice Kurian Joseph on Tuesday said the issues raised by him and three other senior judges in their unprecedented January 12 press conference still remained even as some progress had been made.

Maintaining that he didnt regret taking part in the press meet, Justice Joseph said, After we spoke out at there has been more transparency and caution.

Asked if the crisis in judiciary was over, Justice Joseph said, You cant say it fully that the crisis is over because it was an institutional crisis, so it takes a long time for the systems and the practices to change. Hopefully, it would change. Its because one (Justice Ranjan Gogoi) who was part of the clamour for change is also now the captain (CJI)...So things should change.

Besides, Justice Gogoi and Justice Joseph the other two judges who took part in the January 12 press meet were Justice J Chelameswar and Justice Madan B Lokur who had questioned the style of functioning of then CJI Dipak Misra.

Responding to a question on roster issue and senior judges being ignored in important Constitution Bench matters, he said, In matters of larger public interest, it is better if diversity is reflected in constituting benches.

Justice Joseph said, It does not look nice, particularly for an institution like the Supreme Court, to have an individual exclusively taking all decisions. Thats what we have been asking that lets have a consultative processSome sort of consultative process. Such kind of process is at least happening now, he added.

Citing the example of high courts were there were administrative committees to assist the Chief Justice, he suggested that similar practice can be adopted in the Supreme Court as well.

Talking to a group of journalists at his residence, Justice Joseph accused the NDA Government of delaying judicial appointments thereby undermining its independence. He said so far as the judiciary was concerned the Memorandum of Procedure for appointment of judges was final. I wonder why the government says that Memorandum of Procedure is not final, he said.

Justice Kurian celebrated his 65th birthday and cut cake in the presence of journalists at his residence.

Responding to a question on political pressure on judges, he said, There is no political pressure on judicial exercise of powers. But the interference in appointments of judges, transfer of judges, and delay in clearing filesthat is the interference in judiciary.

He denied any government interference in the recent appointments of Justice MR Shah and Justice Hemant Gupta and transfer of Justice A Kureshi from the Gujarat High Court to the Bombay High Court.

He lamented that substantial amount of time was being spent by the top court in hearing PILs on non-issues which were purely academic, while burning issues concerning people got ignored.

Justice Joseph refused to respond to questions on the Sabarimala Temple verdict.
editorial@tribune.com

Vibha Sharma

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, November 29

When farmers today took to the streets in Delhi, they also saw support from common people, youth, students, intellectuals. The recent farmers movement in Maharashtra had also seen similar support for the agrarian community from common people, which appeared to dent the Narendra Modi-led governments carefully crafted pro-farmer narrative (around C2+50 MSP and doubling incomes by 2022 ) ahead of the 2019 General Election.

Apart from full implementation of the MS Swaminathan committee, correct minimum support prices (MSP) and minimum wages, farmers are demanding a one-time unconditional loan waiver and a special session of Parliament dedicated to discussion around the agrarian distress.

And protesters are now flagging shortcomings of the governments flagship Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY), a crop insurance scheme, calling it a big scam benefitting insurance companies and banks, not farmers.

They say while premium gets deducted from farmers accounts, when it comes to paying compensation for crop damage, conditions are such that they cannot claim for the crop loss. The only beneficiaries are banks and insurance companies holding monopoly over a particular district. Sources say several local BJP leaders have also pointed to growing anger in the community over so-called compensation scheme for failed crops.

So far as the MSP issue is concerned, though PM Modi claims to have fulfilled the long-pending demand of farmers by following the C2+50 formula for disbursing the support price, protesters say this is not what the Swaminathan committee recommended. The MSP being awarded is not based on C2+50 formula, but A2+FL, they say.

Activists say not only is the awarded MSP insufficient to cover the real input costs, its benefits fail to reach the small and marginal farmers comprising the majority. As many as 90 per cent farmers are unable to sell crops at the assured price because of lack of procurement mechanism, they claim.

Unwavering on waiver
editorial@tribune.com

Archit Watts

Tribune News Service

Muktsar, November 29

Sadi Rasoi, the subsidised kitchen offering thali (meal) to poor at Rs 10, is proving to be a white elephant for the District Red Cross Society here.

The kitchens monthly expenses are nearly Rs 1.5 lakh, but the collections are just about Rs 50,000. It means the kitchen is being run at a loss of Rs 1 lakh per month. Further, the donations from public are almost nil. For instance, the Society got donation of just Rs 4,100 in the past four months.

At least 12 people, including cooks, are deployed to run this kitchen. Further, a big hall, earlier serving as a library, was converted into the kitchen. Apart from utensils, a chapati-making machine, a big refrigerator, chapati warmer and CCTV cameras too have been installed.

Notably, the Congress, in its poll manifesto, had promised a decent meal for Rs 5. When this kitchen was started on May 1 last year, the meal price was Rs 5. However, after two months, the price was doubled to Rs 10. Notably, the price was once increased to Rs 15 too, but it had resulted in a sharp decline in the footfall.

Prof (retd) Gopal Singh, secretary, District Red Cross Society, said Nearly 200-225 people have lunch here daily. However, the total collection through the meal price is unable to meet the expenses. It is just one third of the total expenditure. The donors came initially, but now people are not contributing towards it. We are buying vegetables and other grocery products from the open market.
editorial@tribune.com

Ravneet Singh

Tribune News Service

Patiala, November 29

Nearly 220 youths, 10 each from every district, were given job certificates at the third mega rozgar mela held in presence of Cabinet ministers on the Punjabi University campus on Thursday.

While the certificates mentioned a congratulatory message, many beneficiaries have no clue about their selection for particular jobs and other details. Besides, a number of aspirants returned disappointed as no recruitment was held.

Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh could not come as he was unwell. The certificates were distributed by ministers Brahm Mohindra, Sadhu Singh Dharamsot, Tript Rajinder Singh Bajwa, Charanjit Singh Channi and Razia Sultana.

The certificates mentioned the name of job fair, the slogan Ghar Ghar rozgar, a congratulatory message along with the name and district of the beneficiary.

When questioned about lack of clarity among a number of candidates, Channi said over 18,672 candidates had been given certificates and they would join jobs in a matter of days. He said another 16,000 had been shortlisted who would be hired by various companies after their skill development training.

Those lacking clarity could be the ones who require skill development training before they are appointed. Companies are continuously holding interviews. We are making sure that all candidates get a competitive edge. They will be given training in their respective fields and hired accordingly.

A beneficiary, Tejinderpal Singh, who holds a bachelors degree and came from Tarn Taran, had no clue about his recruitment. He said: We received a call and were told that we have to go to Patiala to collect our job certificates. But we are unaware what kind of job we have been selected for. I had applied in two companies. I have been given a blank certificate.

An aspirant from Amritsar said: For last one week, we have been told that we should go to Patiala for recruitment, but no official of any company was present here.

Meanwhile, some newly appointed lecturers and junior engineers also participated in the job fair.
harinder@tribunemail.com

Jupinderjit Singh

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, November 29

At the centre of the controversy over posting his pictures with Navjot Singh Sidhu, Pakistan-based Sikh leader Gopal Singh Chawla is allegedly involved in planning terror acts in Punjab.

For the last six months, Chawla, sources say, has been in the forefront of a separate Sikh homeland movement being allegedly run from Pakistan. He twice stopped officials of the Indian High Commission from attending functions of the visiting Sikh pilgrims.

Video-recordings of his speeches propagating Khalistan and supporting the Sikh Referendum 2020 are available on social media.

Intelligence sources claimed he was operating at the behest of Pakistans Inter-Services Intelligence. His name cropped up during investigation of a terror module busted last month by the counter-Intelligence wing and Patiala police following the arrest of a 24-year-old youth, Shabnamdeep Singh.

As per the police claims, Chawla had got in touch with Shabnamdeep over Facebook and succeeded in radicalising him. Shabnamdeep revealed that Chawla had shown him six or seven AK-47 guns during a video-chat and planned to send these to him. He also prevailed upon him to carry out terror attacks during the Diwali festival celebrations.

Chawla is the face of the Khalistan movement and terror plans in Punjab, while Harmeet Singh alias Happy PhD works in the background. We have prepared a detailed dossier on him and shared it with the Indian government to take up the matter. Chawla is inciting violence in Punjab, said a senior Punjab Police official.

Chawla had resigned earlier this month from the membership of the Pakistan Sikh Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee.
uttara@tribuneindia.com

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, November 30

Shiromani Akali Dal Delhi on Friday praised Congress chief Rahul Gandhi for allowing Punjab Minister Navjot Singh Sidhu to push for the Kartarpur corridor.

SADD president Paramjit Singh Sarna said in a statement that Sidhu came out shining in giving voice to Sikh sentiments and emotions around Sri Kartarpur Sahib.

Clearly, Congress president Rahul Gandhi worked tirelessly behind the scenes to ensure the Punjab minister freely expresses what the Sikh faithful collectively feel about a free passage to their historical gurdwaras on that side of the border, the SADD leader said.

The statement however condemned the press coverage of the groundbreaking ceremony in Pakistan as sectarian-minded.

Journalists loyal not to objective reporting but to Nagpurs contaminated ideology went berserk in their attempts to project Sri Kartarpur Sahib as a future hub of militancy. Themselves ultra majoritarian fanatics, they played front foot to the gallery of forces that nurse a diabolical grudge against Indias secular constitution, the statement said.

With their negative narrative on Sri Kartarpur Sahib through sectarian-minded journalists, forces in Nagpur have alienated the entire Sikh community, which will deliver its verdict democratically across the country in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections due next year, the statement said. On its part, the media has once again confirmed itself as an agent of Nagpur.
harinder@tribunemail.com

GS Paul

Tribune News Service

Amritsar, November 30

Amid a debate of sharing frame with Pakistan-based pro-Khalistan activist Gopal Singh Chawla, SGPC president Gobind Singh Longowal on Friday returned through Attari-Wagah Joint Checkpost after attending the groundbreaking ceremony of Kartarpur Corridor.

Clarifying his stance over the controversy, Longowal said that despite the fact that Chawla was associated with Pakistan Sikh Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee (PSGPC) in the capacity of its general secretary, he never recognised him.

Chawla was allegedly in touch with a member of terror module busted by Punjab Police in Amritsar bomb blast case and it was he who had stopped Indian High Commission officials from entering gurdwaras in Nankana Sahib and Lahore on November 21 and 22, respectively, earlier this month.

We were invited by the Pakistan PM for the occasion and sat at the designated place only as per the protocol fixed by Pakistan authorities. How do I know who was sitting next to me? I never met Chawla in my life and never recognised him. The issue was unnecessarily being given political colour, he said.

He said he held a meeting with PSGPC president Tara Singh, former president Bishen Singh and Evacuee Trust Property Board secretary Tariq Wazeer Khan to discuss the dilapidated structures of historic shrines, besides the programmes chalked out for 550th anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev next year.

The programmes have been scheduled continuously for three months. SGPC has offered to meet any requisite service as asked by them, be it sending dhadis, kirtanis and Katha wachaks for the occasion. In Pakistan, a tent city will be built during the occasion.

We have also offered to raise the necessary infrastructure for accommodating devotees or langar facility near Gurdwara Kartarpur Sahib. Similarly, if the Union Government ask, SGPC is all set to perform any kind of sewa pertaining to corridor from Dera Baba Nanak, he said.

Meanwhile, Longowal also visited other historic gurdwaras  Dera Sahib, Nankana Sahib, Panja Sahib  and was pained to find that some significant gurdwaras such as Shaheed Bhai Taru Singh gurdwara in narrow lanes of Naulakha Bazar and Shaheed Bhai Mani Singh in Lahore were in bad shape and encroached upon.

It was disheartening to see that shops were opened on its front side and there was no maintenance. I have scheduled another visit to Pakistan for January 13 to meet Pakistan Punjab governor, CM and PSGPC officials to have detailed discussion over it, he said.
uttara@tribuneindia.com

Ruchika M. Khanna

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, November 30



The cats out of the bag. The internal battle within the Punjab government is now out in the open.

If Punjab Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh snubbed local bodies minister Navjot Singh Sidhu over the latters decision to visit Pakistan for the foundation laying ceremony of Kartarpur Sahib corridor, Sidhurevelling in the fame that came with his initiative to get the corridor openedhas hit back.



On a visit to Hyderabad, as part of the campaigning for Telangana polls, Sidhu when asked by reporters regarding the objections raised by Capt about his trip to Pakistan, asked: Which Capt are you talking about? Oh... Capt Amarinder Singh? He is an army Captain. My Captain is Rahul Gandhi. His Captain too is Rahul Gandhi, he said.



Buoyed by the massive public response he got for his role in getting the Kartarpur Sahib corridor opened at a time when Government of India was not willing to diplomatically dabble with Pakistan, Sidhu has hit out at the Chief Ministerrather, he refused to acknowledge Capt Amarinder as his boss. Not only that, he made it amply clear where he derives his power from (Rahul Gandhi). He also subtly reminded the chief minister whos the boss in the Congress.

Sidhu also said on Friday that his decision to go to Pakistan was backed by Congress president Gandhi and other senior party leaders. Capt Amarinder Singh had turned down Pakistans invitation to the ground breaking ceremony for the Kartarpur Sahib corridor in Pakistan citing his loyalty to the Indian soldiers, but also asked Sidhu not to go. At the ground breaking ceremony of the Kartarpur Sahib corridor held in India at Dera Baba Nanak, Sidhu came to pay obeisance, but did not attend the function. At the same function, chief minister Capt Amarinder Singh launched a tirade against Pakistan army chief Qamar Javed Bajwa, which many in the Congress saw as an attempt to snub Sidhu.

Sidhus controversial hug with Gen Bajwa in August earlier this year too had led to many an attack on Sidhu from the chief ministers camp.

Interestingly, many within Punjab Congress, including state Congress Chief Sunil Jakhar, have put their weight behind Sidhu after his successful Pakistan trip and the accolades he earned there.

It may be mentioned that this is not the first time that the relationship between Capt Amarinder Singh and Navjot Singh Sidhu has reached a flashpoint. The two have not been on the same page on many an occasion, including when the chief minister refused to give him sanction to proceed against the Badals cable business.
editorial@tribune.com

Saurabh Malik

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, November 29

Ludhiana resident Dalbir Singhs efforts to put to rest all uncertainties shrouding his brother Jaswinder Singhs death have hit a dead-end.

For almost two years, Jaswinder Singhs body has been lying in a mortuary in Delhi after being flown in from the UAE following his death in a cylinder blast.

Whether or not to cremate the charred body is the question haunting the family, which has not received a DNA report from the UAE.

An order by the Punjab and Haryana High Court to the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on procuring the DNA report from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the UAE had kindled the familys hope of establishing beyond doubt the victims identity. But the directions were not complied with, forcing them to move the High Court again for contempt proceedings against Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale and another respondent.

Let notice be issued to show cause as to why proceedings for contempt be not initiated, Justice Augustine George Masih asserted, taking up Dalbir Singhs plea.

The ordeal for the family began with a phone call from one Hardeep Mohd that Jaswinder Singh had died in a gas cylinder blast, along with three more Indians, at their temporary accommodation on November 27, 2015, and that his body has turned into mud.

Lawyer Deepak Kundu said Jaswinder Singh was working at a crusher in Ummul Farjan, 50 km from Al-Kharj province. The mortal remains, brought in February 2017, were lying at the IGI airport.

He said DNA samples of the families of all four victims were taken before the bodies were flown in. But a team from India visiting the province later found certain discrepancies, including the date of occurrence.

Justice Rakesh Kumar Jain said a notice was issued way back in March 2017, but the matter was adjourned. Setting a three-month deadline in April for providing the DNA report, Justice Jain had said the respondent was duty-bound to get it from the UAE authorities.

The case will now come up in January.
editorial@tribune.com

Tribune News Service

Gurdaspur, November 29

Sukhbir Singh Badal, SAD president, on Thursday urged the Punjab government to immediately pay dues worth Rs 400 crore to sugarcane growers. He and other party leaders targeted Cabinet ministers Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa and Navjot Singh Sidhu for taking Punjab and Punjabis for a ride by indulging in false propaganda.

The SAD was holding a protest against the anti-people policies of the state government, including non-payment of pending sugarcane payments.

Former minister Bikram Majithia trained his guns at Randhawa and said during the Vice-Presidents foundation stone-laying ceremony at Dera Baba Nanak on Monday, Randhawa spent his entire time trying to figure out who would sit where. He was interested only in knowing which dignitary will sit on the dais and who will not. Later, seeing Parkash Singh Badals name on the foundation stone, Randhawa blew a fuse. Let me tell him that the Modi government had organised the function and hence it was the discretion of the Union government to decide whose name will be on the stone and whose name will not be there. I pity Randhawa because his name was not there. I urge him, in his capacity as the Cooperation Minister, to ensure all the state-owned mills in Punjab to pay the farmers their dues rather than spend his time fighting over trivial issues, said Majithia.

To this Randhawa retorted that Majithia should mind his business. He is one leader who does not know what to speak and when to speak, he said. Sukhbir urged the Punjab government to pay sugarcane farmers their dues at Rs 350 per quintal.
shriaya.dutta@tribuneindia.com

New Delhi

Renewable source of energy can provide more power in much less cost than new coal-powered power plants in India, and it costs more to run 62 per cent of the country's coal capacity than to build new renewable power generation facilities, according to a new study.

The study titled 'Navigating the economic and financial risks in the last years of coal power' by financial think tank Carbon Tracker, states that phasing out coal power would benefit consumers and taxpayers because India is a regulated market where state support keeps uneconomic plants profitable.

However, it is the state which ultimately underwrites investment risk in regulated markets, where coal is sheltered from competition, it said.

In countries such as China, India, Japan and parts of the US typically approve the cost of generation and pass it on to consumers.

Backing coal in the long-term will threaten economic competitiveness and public finances, because politicians will be forced to choose between subsidising coal power or increasing power prices for consumers, the study said, adding consumers and taxpayers are keeping coal profitable in (many) regulated markets by picking up the bill to support uneconomic coal plants.

A phase-out could save them billions, but would hit coal owners' profits, it said.

If plants are closed in line with the Paris Agreement the industry could lose USD 92 billion in South Korea, USD 76 billion in India and USD 51 billion in South Africa, compared with business as usual supported by the state, the study by Carbon Tracker said.

It said governments should phase out coal in an orderly manner and develop plans to close the least economic plants first.

"When it is cheaper to build new renewables and gas than to build new coal power, they should ban investments in new coal power. This point has already been reached in Europe, the US, India and parts of Latin America," the think tank said.

The think tank has carried out the first global analysis of the profitability of 6,685 coal plants worldwide, representing 95 per cent of all operating capacity and 90 per cent (220GW) of capacity under construction, and has published the results in a new coal power economics portal.

In India, the study found that it costs more to run 62 per cent of the country's coal capacity than to build new renewable energy generation facilities and by 2030 that will rise to 100 per cent.

"India has rapidly become the world's third largest power producer, adding 157 GW of coal capacity since 2006 to bring its 2018 fleet size to 219 GW. Coal was responsible for three-quarters of the 1,323 TWh of electricity produced in 2017," the study said.

It also found that new renewables can supply more cheap power than new coal plants in India. Also, phasing out coal power would benefit consumers and taxpayers because India is a regulated market where state support keeps uneconomic plants profitable.  PTI
rchopra@tribunemail.com

Tokyo, November 30

Japanese police said on Friday that they had arrested a Chinese actor on suspicion of assaulting his former girlfriend, causing her injuries.

Jiang Jinfu, 27, was detained on Wednesday when he turned himself in to a downtown Tokyo police station. Police already had an arrest warrant for him after the 25-year-old woman filed a complaint over the alleged assault, prompting an investigation.

According to police, Jiang allegedly beat her in the face, arms and shoulders on October 12, causing injuries that required a month-long treatment. The couple lived together at his apartment at the time but then apparently broke up, police said.

Jiang admitted to hitting the woman, police said, describing it as domestic violence. Japanese media said he had been in Tokyo since April to study Japanese.

Hong Kongs South China Morning Post identified the woman as Japanese model Haruka Nakaura. She posted her own photos purportedly showing bruised cheeks and upper arms on Instagram.

Japanese police refused to identify the woman, citing privacy. AP
harinder@tribunemail.com

Beijing, November 29

Chinas science ministry has ordered that people involved in the controversial baby gene-editing experiment halt their activities, a government official said.

The experiment, which was led by Chinese scientist He Jiankui, claims to have altered the DNA of twin girls born a few weeks ago to prevent them from contracting HIV. The National Health Commission is investigating the claims.

The experiment seriously violates Chinas laws, regulations, and ethical standards if it indeed occurred as reported by media, said Zeng Yixin, vice minister of the National Health Commission.

He Jiankuis experiment has also prompted criticism from the international and domestic scientific community, with some denouncing it as premature and dangerous for the humanity.  AFP
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Shanghai: Global automakers are feeding real-time location information and dozens of other data points from electric vehicles to Chinese government monitoring centers, potentially adding to Chinas rich kit of surveillance tools as President Xi Jinping steps up the use of technology to track Chinese citizens. Generally, it happens without car owners knowledge. More than 200 automakers selling electric vehicles in send at least 61 data points to government-backed monitoring platforms, under rules published in 2016. AP

Ancient Irish sport wins UNESCO heritage status

Dublin: The Irish sport of hurling, often described as the fastest game on grass, was granted UNESCO special status on Thursday, adding it to the register of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. I am delighted that hurling has achieved international recognition, the Irish Culture Minister said. Hurling is known for its brutal contact tackles and during play the ball regularly travels at speeds in excess of 150 km per hour, meaning players wear face masks. Tales of the sport are enshrined in Irish myth and legend, which emphasise it as a form of training for the rigours of the battlefield. AFP

Turkey changes US embassy street name to Malcolm X

Ankara: Turkey on Thursday changed the name of the street on which the new US embassy will be located after the American black Muslim civil rights campaigner Malcolm X. The new American embassy is still being built in Cukurambar district in Ankara on what was formerly called 1478 street. Construction contractors BL Harbert have said the new complex is expected to be finished by 2020. Malcolm X, one of the most influential African Americans in history, was an outspoken Muslim advocate of the rights of blacks and remains a hero today to many blacks and followers of Islam. AFP

Zurabishvili elected Georgias first woman President

Tbilisi: Georgias newly elected President Salome Zurabishvili hailed her victory as a step forward for women. With all votes counted, the countrys election commission said the French-born ex-diplomat, backed by the ruling Georgian Dream party, had taken 59.52% of the second-round vote. Her rival Grigol Vashadze took 40.48%. The election was seen as a test of Georgias democratic credentials as it seeks European Union and NATO membership. AFP
pardeepdhull@gmail.com

Washington, November 30

Marriott International said Friday that up to 500 million hotel guests may have had their data compromised in a hack of the Starwood reservation database.

Marriott said it was alerted on September 8 that there had been an attempt to hack their reservation database in the United States.

The company launched a probe, and discovered that there had been unauthorised access to the Starwood network since 2014.

They discovered that an unauthorized party had copied and encrypted information, and took steps towards removing it.

On November 19 Marriott was able to decrypt the information and determined that the contents were from the Starwood guest reservation database.

Hotels in the Starwood network include Sheraton, Four Points by Sheraton and W Hotels.

We deeply regret this incident happened, said Arne Sorenson, Marriotts President and Chief Executive Officer. We fell short of what our guests deserve and what we expect of ourselves.  AFP
harinder@tribunemail.com

United Nations, November 29

Adding a controversial new element to the stalled UN Security Council (UNSC) reform process, German Finance Minister Olaf Scholz has proposed that France should give up its permanent seat to the European Union.

Scholzs proposal  if Bonn follows through with it  would mark a break from the joint stand Germany has taken with India, Brazil and Japan for increasing the number of permanent seats on the Security Council.

The group of the four countries known as G4 has been a leading voice for Security Council reforms and the members also mutually support each other's claims to permanent seats.

To enable the EU to speak with one voice, Sholz said: Frances seat on the Security Council could be converted into a seat for the EU. Neither German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas nor has the German government publicly endorsed his proposal.

The French government has not formally reacted to the proposal, but its Ambassador in Washington, Gerard Araud dismissed it.

This is legally impossible because it is contrary to the Charter of the UN. The change would be politically impossible, he tweeted.

Scholz called for a common foreign policy approach and said: The EU should also speak with one voice in the UN Security Council.  IANS
harinder@tribunemail.com

Buenos Aires, November 29

US President Donald Trump jets to Argentina on Thursday for a G20 summit, keen to do battle with China on trade and sharpening his rhetoric over Ukraine against Russia.

The weekend summit is confronted with increasingly dire warnings, by the International Monetary Fund among others, of the potential harm faced by the world economy from Trumps trade wars.

G20 leaders, whose countries account for four-fifths of the worlds economic output, first met in November 2008 to forge a united front against the global financial crisis.

A decade on, that unity has vanished as the America First Trump shreds the consensus underpinning international trade and other G20 countries such as Brazil, Italy and Mexico turn to populist leaders.

Trump has already rattled global markets by enacting tariffs on the bulk of Chinese imports, and is threatening to go further in January.

He will press Chinese President Xi Jinping to avert the stepped-up tariffs by throwing open Chinas markets to US competition and protecting foreign companies intellectual property.

On Wednesday, US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer slammed Beijing for failing to offer meaningful reform on aggressive trade policies, and threatened tariffs on Chinese autos.

But how far can Xi go in overhauling the model that has powered China to second place in the world economic rankings? He did vow on Wednesday that China would boost protection of intellectual property. But foreign firms in China complain that such promises are all too routine and ring hollow. At best, analysts say, there will be a temporary truce at the G20 to give both Trump and Xi something to crow about.

French President Emmanuel Macron warned against the risk of a tete-a-tete between China and the US and of a destructive trade war for all ahead of the summit, in an interview with Argentine daily La Nacion. If we do not show concrete progress, our international meetings become useless and even counterproductive, he said.

Taking the world stage at the G-20 is a welcome relief for Macron, who has faced mass protests at home over rising fuel taxes that are the biggest challenge yet to his presidency. But his party dominates parliament and neither faces re-election until 2022.

Other European leaders at the summit are facing domestic struggles of their own. Britain's Theresa May is fighting for political survival as she tries to pull her country out of the European Union. Germany's Angela Merkel is preparing to leave politics after announcing last month she would give up leadership of her party, a post she has held since 2000. Italy's Giuseppe Conte heads a populist coalition that is clashing with the EU and suffers internal divisions.

Meanwhile the US, Canada and Mexico are expected on Friday to sign a revamped version of the North American trade pact NAFTA, which Trump excoriated when running for president. If that negotiation has averted one trade war, others are brewing with Trump threatening to impose tariffs on foreign car imports, targeting Europe and Japan.  AFP

Beijing hopes for positive results

China is hoping for positive results in resolving a trade dispute with the United States at a G20 summit, the commerce ministry said, ahead of a closely watched meeting of Chinese and US leaders

US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping are due to hold trade discussions on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Buenos Aires on Saturday

The ministrys spokesman, Gao Feng, said economic teams from both nations were in contact to implement a consensus reached by Trump and Xi during a phone call this month

Trump calls off scheduled meeting with Putin

US President Donald Trump on Thursday cancelled a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin scheduled for this weeks G20 summit in Argentina, citing the current Ukraine crisis

Based on the fact that the ships and sailors have not been returned to Ukraine from Russia, I have decided it would be best for all parties concerned to cancel my previously scheduled meeting in Argentina with President Putin, Trump tweeted after departing for the summit

Trumps tweet was a sudden turnaround. Earlier, he had told reporters he would probably meet with Putin and said it was a very good time to have the meeting
We wanna live.

That empowering declaration was first made in song by husband-and-wife duo Carl and Carol Jacobs in 1987.

Back then, the pair were championing the resilience of the people of T&T in the face of a crippling economic recession and other socio-economic challenges of the day.

Its an uplifting message that contemporary soca acts Swappi (Marvin Davis) and Terri Lyons believe needs to be echoed today.
As Trinidad and Tobago recorded its highest Covid-19 death rate of 31 yesterday, Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley again appealed to the population to act now and get vaccinated.

In his highly anticipated address to the nation last night, which lasted 45 minutes, the Prime Minister warned that the parallel healthcare system is under immense pressure, and the time may come when drastic decisions would have to be taken. As with any emergency response, as the demand on healthcare resources increases, we may have no choice but to redirect our efforts from providing the highest level of care to a few, to providing the greatest good for the greatest number of persons. This is the reality that we face, he said.
I urge each and every Tobagonian eligible to vote in the December 6 Tobago House of Assembly (THA) elections to come out and exercise their franchise.

The right to vote under Universal Adult Suffrage was not always available to our people until its introduction to Trinidad and Tobago in the July 1, 1946, Legislative Elections and subsequently the October 28 County Council elections held that same year.
I would definitely add an extra day to Cairns region - and not stay in Cairns at all. On arrival, hire a car or shuttle up to Port Douglas (an hour north, and a beautiful dive hugging the coastline). Depending on what time you get in/grab your hire car, you could pop in to Hartleys Crocodile Adventures on the way up and spend the afternoon there, then head to PD in the evening. Have dinner at The Tin Shed or the Courthouse Hotel (or any of the many restaurants in PD).

24 Feb, do your reef excursion - small group tour with Wavelength is the best regarded here, but if not comfortable snorkelling in open water, then Quicksilver is also good.

25 Feb, do a self drive or tour of the Daintree Rainforest (better than visiting Kuranda).

26 Feb, visit Mossman Gorge or Atherton Tablelands. If you did not get to Hartleys on arrival, then MG and Hartleys is a good combo for a day.

27 Feb - fly to Uluru.

If you decide to skip FNQ altogether, you could fly in to Sunshine Coast and spend time in Noosa Heads and a day or overnight trip to Fraser Island, or, fly to Hervey Bay and do FI as well as a day trip to Lady Elliot Island if reef is important to you.

You would need to transfer down to Brisbane to fly to Uluru or Alice but that is easy enough.

Cheers.
Hi Mark

The buses to Liberia - company Pulmitan- do make a stop in Alajuela at a station called Central Autobuses Del Norte - also known as. La Radial. It is less than 10 minutes from the airport. They get there about half an hour after they leave San Jose. There is no guarentee however there will be a seat left

The buses to Liberia from San Jose do not make a stop at the airport.
Re: Visa questions - travelling from UK to Costa Rica then US

3. Re: Visa questions - travelling from UK to Costa Rica then US

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I flew Air China Dec 2018 from Hong Kong to Newark. It costed me US$501 for a round trip inclusive with an overnight stopover in PEK. Hotel nearby offered US$40 including free pick up from/to airport (Eventually found out it is operated by Air China). It is an old hotel, roomy but facility is bad. You get what you paid for is true. The next cheapest airfare at same period was UA non-stop at around US$880. I took the challenge and booked Air China.

The outgoing flight from PEK to EWR was full but service; in my opinion, good (better than UA). Meal arrangement is reasonable - a meal shortly after take off, another meal 7 hours thereafter and a snack before landing. With UA's non-stop service, they serve one meal shortly after take off, a snack (usually a small cold sandwich) and a light breakfast one hour before landing. Considering it is an 16 hours flight that makes me really hungry upon arrival. Drawback of Air China is a lot of mainland Chinese who like to talk a lot.

My returning flight on Jan 4th is another experience. The flight was; again full, delayed in EWR for nearly 45 minutes and due to bad weather, the plane needed to take another 30 minutes detour. I missed my connection and Air China arranged free meal and hotel. Sounds reasonable until I reach the hotel (the same hotel that I booked on departure). They only provide share room, WTF! I have to pay US$30 as single room supplement which is close to what I have paid to book on my departure flight. The meal; it was already 11 pm, was cold - in an outside temperature of -6 degree C. I tried but it was horrible. Luckily, there are a few restaurants nearby offering 24 hours service. Breakfast was far better; at least it was hot.

The service on the CA plane is reasonable when compares to UA - flight attendants are attentive, toilet is clean. The plane in use was a 787 but it will be changed to 777 soon. The 777 is having a 3-3-3 seat configuration whereas UA has changed many of their long haul 777 to 3-4-3 already. I always compare it to UA because I use their service a lot before I retire and is a Million Miler member. Sometimes, I can get very good price from Cathay Pacific Fanfares at around US$600 from HKG to EWR that provides better service when compares to CA and UA.

I have booked another trip from HKG to EWR this April on CA at the same low $500 whereas UA is over $1000 on the same period. Let see what experience I can get next trip.
Need help on JR West rail pass use for our itinerary

Need help on JR West rail pass use for our itinerary

Hello everyone,

We are now planning our Japan trip for a family of 2 adults with 3 young kids (aged 3 to 8) in June 2019 for 12 days. We will be arriving and leaving Japan on the 12th day morning at 10.25am via Hiroshima Airport.

It is our first time visiting these places and driving in Japan too.

We gathered 2 groups of transportation passes for our trip. However being first timer, we really need helps to decide which group has better coverage for our itinerary?

Here are the 2 groups:

 Group 1 passes combination:

7 days Sanyo-Sanin Area Pass plus

Visit Hiroshima Tourist Pass - both the small and wide area (we are not sure if the wide area pass will be made available by June 2019 or not).

 Group 2 passes combination:

5 days Kansai Hiroshima Area Pass plus

5 days Hiroshima Yamaguchi area pass plus

Visit Hiroshima Tourist Pass the small area.

Also, appreciate if you could share thoughts on our itinerary? Any thoughts of suggestion better deals and places not to be missed to replace what we have planned will be much appreciated. Thank you very much.

Here is our planned itinerary:

Day 1  Arrive at Hiroshima Airport morning 9am. Activate the Sanyo-Sanin Area pass. Leave for Wakayama for 2 nights. Visit Marina City, Kuroshio Ichiba Market and the Tama train (Wakayama Electric Railway). If time and energy permit we will have a quick view of Wakayama castle and Ohashi Roka Bridge.

Day 2  Day trip to Kyoto from Wakayama. Visit the Kyoto Railway Museum and Amanohashidate area.

=> Question: will skip Amanohashidate if we are not getting the 5 days Kansai Hiroshima Area Pass that covers this area. Is there any 1 day deal that we can consider if we like to visit Amanohashidate, please suggest?

Day 3  Leaving Wakayama city for Kumano. Staying 1 night at Katsuura. Driving from Wakayama station to visit Yunomine Onsen district, Kawayu Onsen, *Maruyama Senmai Rice Field and Nachi Falls.

=> Question: *will skip Maruyama Senmai if it is not advisable for first timer driving in Japan mountain area. Appreciate anyone could share their driving trip to Maruyama Senmai with us?

=> Anyone could share their driving trip in Kumano? Did you take the inland route or the coastal route towards Kii-Katsuura?

Day 4  Leaving Katsuura for Shirahama sightseeing then to Okayama for 2 nights. Visit Scannbeki Cavern, Senjojiki, Shirahama Beach, Engetsuto. Return car at Shirahama station. Leaving Shirahama for Okayama via Ltd Ex *Kuroshio train before 18:00.

=> Question: *Last Ltd Ex Kuroshio train leaving Shirahama and Wakayama station is 18:19 and 19:49 respectively. Hyperdia shows it will takes 1.5 hour longer if it is not via Ltd Ex Kuroshio? Please share if there are shorter alternative route like Kuroshio from Wakayama to Okayama in the evening?

Day 5  Day trip from Okayama to Kobe.

We have 2 plans. Please share your thoughts which is less hassles and much interesting for the kids? Is it possible to do some of plan A and plan B combination?

Plan A: Visit Arima Onsen town via Rokko cable car ride.

=> Question: Do we need to get the 1 day Arima & Rokko 1 Day Pass @2360 yen as we are not doing any onsen?

Plan B: Go for Shin Kobe Ropeway, Kobe Habourland and Chinatown. Is there any tourist day pass we should be getting?

Day 6  Visit Grand Seto Bridge via the Seto-Ohashi Line. Is Mt Washuzan Observatory worth a visit? Leaving Okayama for Hiroshima. Staying 6 nights until we leave Japan. Try not having to change accommodations too much.

=> Question: Is it possible to visit Akiyoshio cave in the late afternoon after check in Hiroshima hotel? What would you suggest we could do/go if Akiyoshio cave is not advisable on this day?

Day 7  Last day of Sanyo-Sanin Area Pass usage. Day trip from Hiroshima to Yamaguchi. Driving from Shin Yamaguchi station to Motonosumi Inari Shrine and Tsuenoshima Ohashi Bridge. Will visit Akiyoshio cave too if Day 6 not possible.

=> Question: Can anyone share the best route to drive for these 3 places?

=> Question: Are these places worth visiting? Please share.

Day 8 to Day 11  Activate Visit Hiroshima Tourist Pass  Small and Wide Area Pass

Wide Area Pass: uses it to go out of Hiroshima city. Visit Shimanami Kaido via Flower Line b/w Onomichi and Imabari, Tomonoura and Takehara town preserved district.

=> Question: If the Wide Area Pass is not available, what is the economical route to visit Shimanami Kaido and Onomichi from Hiroshima city? Any 1 day pass we could get?

Small Area Pass: uses it to explore Hiroshima city sightseeing tourist spots / Miyajima / Iwakuni bridge.

Day 12  Leaving for Hiroshima Airport. Our flight leaving at 10.25am

Lastly, do we need a ICOCA card?

Thank you in advance for any suggestion and advise which we greatly need and appreciate.
Heading to New York driving then to Florida in January.

Heading to New York driving then to Florida in January.

Hello, and thank you in advance to those who respond. My wife and i truly appreciate any helpful advice.

We live in Ontario Canada and are looking at driving to New York.

Our thoughts are to stop outside city and transit in, stay for three nights then get back to vehicle and off south.

Any suggestions as to where to park n ride in. ?

Jim
Mary Kilobi Atwoli is one of the news anchors at KTN that is loved by many. She has recently been on the news for other reasons because of her new status as Mrs. Atwoli. The marriage of Mary Kilobi and Francis Atwoli has been one that has attracted a lot of attention for the time it has existed considering that Francis is the COTU secretary general, someone that most people, if not everyone in Kenya knows. Atwoli has been in the headline for a number of reasons especially those related to fighting for the welfare of employees in Kenya. He has been at the forefront of championing for better deals for unionized employees in different sectors of the economy. In addition to this, Atwoli is a rich man that is known for enjoying the finer things in life and it is believed that Mary Kilobi will also enjoy these, something that she continues to confirm.

Of concern to many has been the fact that Atwoli and Mary are years apart age-wise. While Mary Kilobi age stands at only 34 years, Francis Atwoli is several years older, with some saying that he is fit to be her father. However, this does not seem to matter with Kilobi confirming that she prefers to date older men because of her bad experience with younger men before. For her, the fact that Francis Atwoli is 68 years old is not much of a concern for him.

So what is the deal with Francis Atwoli and Mary Kilobi?

The two are truly married. When the news first came out, it is true that many were surprised probably because of the age difference. It seemed absurd that Mary Kilobi and Atwoli would be a couple, it seemed odd actually because she mentions in a video that Atwoli is a close family friend that would visit her home in Bungoma. The age seemed to be a huge thing too as the expected would have been for Mary to get married to a younger man. However, Kilobi confirmed that she was indeed married to Atwoli. She went ahead to say that she is happy and enjoying her new life as much of it has changed since she got married to him.

Mary Kilobi husband is the famous COTU (Central Organization of Trade Unions) Secretary General

SOURCE: www.the-star.co.ke

Source: UGC

Many have asked question such as, is Mary Kilobi married? Well, the answer is yes. She is married to Francis Atwoli, the secretary general of COTU and the longest serving one at that. With the demeanor of the man that he is, it is interesting to note that he actually married the TV news anchor. Mary confirmed that he had turned down his proposal for a number of times but it appears as though she finally went with it. If anyone had been eyeing the beautiful news anchor, it is unfortunate that your dreams have been dashed for she is already taken and it is official.

READ ALSO: Babu Owino biography

Many think that Mary Kilobi age is way too young for Atwoli

Well, it is a free world and clearly, Francis and Mary are proof of this. Theirs is a story that seems to prove to all that when two people love each other and decide to commit to each other, then age is just a number. Those who have been asking how old is Mary Kilobi and whether it is appropriate for her to marry an older man, here is the answer for you. Despite the huge difference in their years, since Atwoli is 68 years old and Kilobi just 34 years, the two are still compatible. This is the only reason why they could have come together in union anyway. It may just be a matter of preference and the choices that the heart makes. Clearly, age has nothing to do with such decisions.

Mary Kilobis career

SOURCE: thenairobi.com

Source: UGC

Enough about her married life and choice of husband. Even before her marriage, Kilobi was well known and celebrated in Kenya. The reasons behind this is the fact that she had been in the screens already. As a darling of many, Mary Kilobi KTN presenter had worked with the station for quite a while. This means that she was already a star even before she met Atwoli. Those who have been wondering whether she was motivated by money when marrying Atwoli should probably learn more about Mary Kilobi salary. She earns enough to sustain herself. In fact, she enjoyed shopping in the USA and other countries abroad which goes to show that she was quite comfortable on her own. The only difference now is that the comfort may have just been scaled upwards. It is safe to say that she did not get married for money. After all, Mary Kilobi has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Literature and Kiswahi which means that she can get a good job. She already has one at KTN. She is also a motivational speaker and author of a Swahili book that is selling across borders in Congo and Uganda. She had also worked in Uganda for quite some time. This means that she already has enough money of her own.

The presenter was very private about her personal life until recently when she became forthcoming with some details. About Mary Kilobi's baby, we are still waiting until the day she comes out with the news. Till then, we will be waiting. Mary Kilobi Atwoli is a cheerful soul. With her marriage to Atwoli doing well, it is easy to say that she has everything going for her. If you go through her biography you will learn that she a girl whom life has been kind to, at least in her adulthood.

READ ALSO:

Jalango biography: Wife, family and career

5 Jacque Maribe stunning photos after release on bail

7 times Willy Paul embarrassed the gospel music industry

Source: Kenya Breaking News Today
- Korir said Joshua Kutuny did not plant maize at all yet he supplied to NCPB

- The ex-MP wondered where Kutuny found maize worth KSh 3 million which he delivered to the cereals board

- Korir argued the MP was among those hurting maize farmers and only pretended to help them on the surface

The heated maize debate has taken another twist after former Cherangany MP Wesley Korir labeled his successor Joshua Kutuny among cartels out to finish farmers.

Korir said though he was Kutuny's neighbour in their Cherangany backyard, he did not know any maize farm owned by the legislator despite the latter claiming on national TV that he harvested and delivered produce worth KSh 3 million to the National Cereals and Produce Board (NCPB).

Send 'NEWS' to 40227 to receive all the important breaking news as it happens.

READ ALSO: Kipchumba Murkomen, Joshua Kuttuny air dirty linen in public in heated debate

READ ALSO: Kipchumba Murkomen claims MP Joshua Kutuny being investigated by FBI for drug trafficking

"I am Kutuny's neighbour in Cherangany and I know for sure he doesn't plant any maize. Where did he get maize he supplied to NCPB from unless he is also a cartel? he posed in a tweet.

In two TV interviews, Kutuny dragged the name of Deputy President William Ruto into the maize scandal at NCPB.

Wesley Korir said Kutuny was insincere in his agitation for maize farmers. Photo:UGC

Source: Facebook

READ ALSO: Twalib Mbarak appointed new EACC boss, awaiting Parliament approval

Kutuny and MPs Alfred Keter of Nandi Hills and Silas Tiren of Moiben alleged Ruto was out to kill the local maize sector so that he could import the same from his 500,000-acre piece of land in Congo.

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.

KNEC chairman declares student pregnancy a pandemic in Kenya| Tuko TV

Source: Tuko
Even as matatu operators prepare to occupy new termini allocated to them in the capital city, Nairobians think a move by city hall to lock PSVs from accessing the CBD is ill-advised.

In a separate story, TUKO.co.ke reported that the order would be effected from Monday, December 3, as the Nairobi County governments seeks to decongest the city.

Send 'NEWS' to 40227 to receive all the important breaking news as it happens.

READ ALSO: Sonko's ban on PSVs from Nairobi CBD to kick off on Monday

Since the ban was made public on Thursday, November 29, social media has been awash with reactions and many Kenyans have pocked holes in the order by Governor Mike Sonko. Photo: Mike Sonko

Source: Facebook

READ ALSO: Mike Sonko suspends plans to evict Matatus from Nairobi CBD yet again

Since the ban was made public on Thursday, November 29, social media has been awash with reactions and many Kenyans pocked holes in the order by Governor Mike Sonko.

Taking to Tweeter, Wafula Wamalwa, argued sending PSVs from the CBD had no capacity to free up the city.

READ ALSO: Nairobi's new look as Sonko's regime implements new system to lock matatus from CBD

Congestion, Wamalwa said, was a menace attributed to private cars which had flooded the metropolitan hence PSVs were a wrong target.

"Congestion is caused by private vehicles not PSVs. One matatu can replace up to 30 personal cars but you imagine banning matatus from Nairobi CBD and lowering parking fees is the solution to congestion? Is simple logic so hard to grasp?" he lectured Sonko.

Even as matatu operators prepare to occupy new termini allocated to them, in the capital city, Nairobians think a move by city hall to lock PSVs from accessing the CBD is ill-advised. Photo: UGC

Source: Facebook

On his part, Ibn Kidunduhu Babu echoed sentiments made by Wamalwa where he noted that all actions taken by the government to end traffic congestion for instance yellow boxes and blocking some roundabouts were still worse than primitive.

He suggested that a tram infrastructure be setup if easy traffic was to be achieved in Nairobi.

"The ban of Matatu to the CBD will not solve Nairobi's jam, drawing of yellow lines, putting drums neither is the solution, all big cities around the world have a light tram system," shared Babu.

READ ALSO: Matatus to be banned from Nairobi CBD and TUKO.co.ke has the details

Raymond Nzioka, however, read mischief from the directive interpreting it as a way of punishing people who did not own personal cars.

According to Nzioka, all vehicles contributed to traffic congestion and therefore a fair solution would have been to deny all of them access.

"I totally disagree with the idea. All Kenyans are equal constitutionally whether on matatu or private cars. Just ban all vehicles in town. How do you expect Kenyans to walk to outskirts when its raining? The Blue Economy accent must have affected your thinking. I'm annoyed as a Kenyan," he launched a salvo at Sonko via Facebook.

Gabriel Maunda argued the local administration was punishing Kenyans for its own failure to plan well for the growing population.

Maunda was emphatic that land that would have been used to expand bus termini in Nairobi had been lost to fraudsters and instead of the leaders reclaiming it, they had resorted to cruel solutions.

"It's wrong and immoral for the county government to stop PSVs from accessing the Nairobi CBD. Instead of reclaiming grabbed parcels of land that were initially set aside for PSV terminus within the CBD," he said.

As Sonko's administration continued to be condemned, Magoma Ombwori, on the other hand hailed the directive and exuded optimism it would sanitise the city.

Ombwori conceded to the fact that matatus had become a menace not only associated with congestion but also known for unbearable noise.

"Zimejaa kila mahali (they are all over in the CBD...The hooting and shouting is just unbearable. Good move mheshimiwa," he stated.

Leon Thich joined Ombwori and said the move was noble but called on authorities to step up security in the city.

This, he said to protect citizens who will have to walk for longer distances within the city from thugs.

"Thats okay but let them ensure security of the people as they walk to and from the outskirts of CBD," Thich wrote on Facebook.

Here are other reactions from people who lectured Sonko on the issue:

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.co.ke
- The governor's body guards together with the security officers manning his home were withdrawn

- This was after he stormed a police road block following claims motorists were being harassed

- The police officers had arrested a boda boda rider for allegedly flaunting traffic rules

The government has withdrawn West Pokot Governor John Lonyangapuo's security leaving him in fear.

This followed an incident where the governor stormed a police roadblock, removed the barriers and freed and boda boda rider who had been arrested on the Kapenguria-Lodwar highway on the evening of Wednesday, November 28.

Send 'NEWS' to 40227 to receive all the important breaking news as it happens

READ ALSO: West Pokot governor storms police roadblock to free boda boda operators

The withdrawal of Lonyangapuo's security detail was confirmed by County commander Matthew Kuto.

Source: UGC

READ ALSO: Detective arrested for stealing, selling detained vehicle in Pokot South

The withdrawal of his security detail was confirmed by County commander Matthew Kuto on Friday, November 30.

The move elicited mixed reactions from locals who claimed the governor was protecting them from corrupt police officers who harass them.

"We woke up to the news that governors security details has been withdrawn and we are now worried, he was only defending citizens from being intimidated and harassed by police officers," said one local only identified as Elijah.

READ ALSO: Man whose rubber broke while cheating on wife asked to carry own cross

He argued the police officers were taking advantage of the crackdown on Public Service Vehicles (PSV) to harass them and that was why the governor stormed the check point.

"We have complied with the rules but we are worried because there are corrupt police officers taking advantage of the crackdown to harass people," added Elijah.

The locals further urged Inspector General of the National Police Service Joseph Boinnet and Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiangi to caution police officers against harassing elected leaders.

READ ALSO: Gynaecologist warns women against using wasp nests to tighten vaginas

Lonyangapuo had forcefully released a boda boda rider who had been arrested and handcuffed for flouting traffic rules.

Source: UGC

TUKO.co.ke earlier reported Lonyangapuo forcefully released a boda boda rider who had been arrested and handcuffed for flouting traffic rules.

The angry county chief accused the police officers of turning the roadblocks into extortion spots.

In a viral video shared on the interweb, the governor alighted from his car at Chepareria area and went straight to remove spikes put by the police to block the highway.

READ ALSO: KRA official steals impounded car's engine, bribes guards with KSh 10,000

He then went ahead to make a call to the area police boss telling him his officers were harassing and extorting money from ordinary citizens and termed the operation illegal.

The governor argued West Pokot was a unique county and some traffic regulations developed with focus on urban centres were not applicable in the area, sentiments his constituents echoed.

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

From a houseboy to a member of Parliament | Tuko TV

Source: Tuko.co.ke
- The Alliance Girls' student had been admitted at the hospital's ICU where she stayed for weeks

- Doctors at various medical facilities she was taken to were unable to establish her ailment

- She developed persistent severe headaches to an extent she could not get sleep

Friends and students of Alliance Girls High School joined the family of Nikita Sally K'Oyier in Kendu Bay, Homa Bay county to pay last respect to the young soul whose death remains a mystery to date.

It was the emotional eulogy from Nikita's father, Thomas Oyier, that moved mourners into tears as he described the close relationship he developed with his daughter having lost her mother in 2017.

Send 'NEWS' to 40227 to receive all the important breaking news as it happens.

READ ALSO: Picha 5 za bintiye hayati Lucky Dube ambaye pia ni mwimbaji mahiri

The ever smiling brilliant teenage girl had been admitted at Aga Khan University hospital's Intensive Care Unit where doctors battled to diagnose her strange disease. Photo: Jacinta Mumbi/Facebook.

Source: Facebook

READ ALSO: Tears of sorrow as Alliance Girls' KCSE candidate Nikita Koyier dies in hospital

"Love your children when they are still alive,walk with your children when there is time to walk with them, dance with your children when there is time to dance with them," ended Oyier, a University don.

One could read the anguish and pain on the face of each students, some of whom shared same vision and dreams with Nikita who passed on at Aga Khan before she could write her first Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education(KCSE) exams.

The girls who were accompanied by the teaching staff sang inspirational songs heavily laden with Bible verses.

READ ALSO: Tragedy as KCSE student collapses, dies after completing Maths paper

One could read the anguish and pain on the face of each students some of whom shared same vision and dreams with Nikita. Photo: Mathias Okumu/Facebook.

Source: Facebook

The deceased had been battling a mysterious disease for weeks and succumbed to the unknown illness at the Aga Khan hospital in Nairobi on the evening of Friday, November 16.

The ever smiling brilliant teenage girl had been admitted at Aga Khan University hospital's Intensive Care Unit (ICU) where doctors battled to diagnose her strange disease in vain.

According to information posted on social media sites by friends, her family was required to raise a medical bill of KSh 10.9 million in three weeks in order to have her diagnosed and commence treatment.

Nikita began experiencing persistent severe headaches to an extent she could not sleep while in school and was picked up by her parents for treatment.

Her parents had sampled different hospitals among them MP Shah before getting to Aga Khan but medics were unable to explicitly indicate what the young girl was ailing from.

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.

KNEC chairman declares student pregnancy a pandemic in Kenya| Tuko TV

Source: Tuko.co.ke
- Lonyangapuo stormed a police roadblock and forcefully freed a boda boda operator who was under arrest

- Government withdrew his security detail sparking mixed reactions from the residents

- The residents protested harassment and intimidation of their county boss by government

- They defended their governor saying he was doing his duty of protecting his county residents

Hundreds of West Pokot county residents blocked roads in the area in protest and to demand that government restores security detail of their Governor John Lonyangapuo.

The irate residents wanted the government to restore Lonyangapuo's security which was withdrawn on Friday, November 30, after he stormed a police roadblock, removed the barriers and freed a boda boda rider who had been arrested.

Send 'NEWS' to 40227 to receive all the important breaking news as it happens

READ ALSO: Governor Lonyangapuo's security withdrawn after he stormed police roadblock to rescue boda boda rider

West Pokot residents block road protesting withdrawal of Governor John Lonyangapuo's security details. Photo: Daily Nation

Source: UGC

READ ALSO: Picha 5 za bintiye hayati Lucky Dube ambaye pia ni mwimbaji mahiri

The locals questioned why the government was harassing and intimidating their leader when he was on duty to protect and fight for them.

"We are worried why the government does not want leaders to perform the duty of protecting their citizens? They have withdrawn his security at home and his personal bodyguards, Interior CS Fred Matiang'i should know we elected President Uhuru Kenyatta who appointed him," said one of the residents.

They defended the governor's action saying he was right in helping them as they had been facing several cases of cattle rustling and other security issues which have declined since introduction of boda boda business in the area.

READ ALSO: Chinese SGR managers denied bond, to continue eating beans at Shimo La Tewa Prison

TUKO.co.ke earlier reported Lonyangapuo forcefully released a boda boda rider who had been arrested and handcuffed for flouting traffic rules.

The angry county chief accused the police officers of turning the roadblocks into extortion spots.

In a viral video shared on the interweb, the governor alighted from his car at Chepareria area and went straight to remove spikes put by the police to block the highway.

West Pokot Governor John Lonyangapuo said his county was a unique ones and the traffic policies needed to be applied cautiously. Photo: UGC

Source: UGC

READ ALSO: Tears of sorrow as Alliance Girls' KCSE candidate Nikita K'Oyier finally buried in emotional send off

He then went ahead to make a call to the area police boss telling him his officers were harassing and extorting money from ordinary citizens and termed the operation illegal.

The governor argued West Pokot was a unique county and some traffic regulations developed with focus on urban centres were not applicable in the area, sentiments his constituents echoed.

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

KNEC chairman declares student pregnancy a pandemic in Kenya| Tuko TV

Source: Tuko.co.ke
One of the jobs that has been made very difficult with the advent of COVID-19 is that of teachers.

They have been forced to adapt to the virtual world in order to ensure the success of future generations.
As of November 26, 2018, Ukraine filled ten duty-free quotas for agricultural exports to the EU.

"As of November 26, Ukraine filled the 10th duty-free quota for agricultural exports to the EU, namely for processed starch. The quotas for honey, cereals and flour, malt and wheat gluten, processed tomatoes, grape and apple juices, grains (corn and wheat), butter and poultry meat are also filled," the Association Ukrainian Agribusiness Club reports.

Moreover, Ukraine has almost filled the quotas for starch (95%) and garlic (96%).

October 1, 2018 marked the beginning of the second year of additional quotas for five groups of products. Two of them - for honey and processed tomatoes - were filled at the end of November.

The additional quotas for grains will be in effect by the end of the year. The quotas for wheat and maize have already been filled, while the quota for barley has been filled by 23%.

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Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko and Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman have become the first passengers who bought tickets for an express train from Kyiv to Boryspil Airport.

The head of state said this during the launch of the railway express on Friday, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.

"Here are the first tickets. We travelled not as president and prime minister, but as ordinary passengers. We easily bought the tickets. At the same time, I would like to complain that Infrastructure Minister [Volodymyr Omelyan], Head of Ukrzaliznytsia [Yevhen Kravtsov] and Deputy Prime Minister [Volodymyr Kistion] dodged a fare. And we are the only ones who strictly observed the law," Poroshenko joked.

He congratulated Ukrainians on the launch of this type of transport and those who worked on the project. "Well done, guys. Someone was going to build it for 20 years, someone was about to build it for 12 years, and when I asked them for how many years they built it, they say that it took just nine months. This is a very good term," the president said.

Poroshenko noted that after a few hours, passengers would be able to reach the airport quickly and conveniently.

He said that this railway express was extremely necessary, as passenger flow at Boryspil Airport has grown by 30% in the past two years, and it was quite expensive and inconvenient to get to it.

"Sometimes taxi tickets or bus tickets are more expensive than a ticket to Warsaw. This ticket to Warsaw is good, but we have to do something about it. And now we have checked that for 80 hryvnias, which Volodymyr Borysovych [Groysman] and I paid, [we can get the airport]. We checked that it works," the head of state said.

Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman noted that this is another infrastructure project, which gives a completely new quality of service to Ukrainian citizens. "We are building roads, developing railroad connections. We have a lot of work ahead. But we know how to do it, and we are responsive to the tasks that we face," he said.

The journey from the central railway station in Kyiv to Boryspil Airport takes 35-40 minutes. The fare is UAH 80.

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In 2019, Slovakias OSCE chairmanship will pay considerable attention to the issue of Russia's aggression against Ukraine.

Slovak Foreign Minister Miroslav Lajcak made a relevant statement during the meeting of the foreign ministers of the Visegrad Group (V4) countries in Bratislava on Thursday, the press service of the Foreign Ministry of Poland reports.

Slovak Foreign Minister Miroslav Lajcak said that Slovakia, which will soon assume the OSCE chairmanship, would raise the issue of Russia's aggression against Ukraine within the framework of this organization, the Polish Foreign Ministry reports.

As noted, Polish Foreign Minister Jacek Czaputowicz notified his colleagues from the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary about his conversation with High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini, which took place on Wednesday.

During a telephone conversation with Mogherini, Czaputowicz stressed the need for a clear and decisive response from the EU to Russia's aggression against the ships of the Ukrainian Navy. At the same time, the High Representative of the Union expressed confidence in the need to support Ukraine in the context of recent events in the Kerch Strait.

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The UK will insist on imposing additional sanctions against Russia in relation to its aggression in the Kerch Strait.

British Prime Minister Theresa May stated this ahead of a face-to-face meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin at the G20 summit in Argentina, The Independent reported.

We have always been at the forefront in the EU of calling for sanctions on Russia in relation to its behaviour. We will continue for what we consider to be appropriate sanctions on Russia," she said.

The prime minister called on Russia to release the ships and the sailors it seized after the clashes off the coast of Ukraine.

Our message to Russia is very clear, they should release the ships and sailors, de-escalate the situation, she told reporters.

As reported, on November 25, Russian border ships committed aggressive actions against Ukrainian vessels that set sail from the port of Odesa to the port of Mariupol. Russian special forces fired on and captured three Ukrainian ships and 24 sailors in the Kerch Strait.

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Poland advocates expanding of sanctions against Russia over its aggressive actions against Ukraine in the Kerch Strait.

Some countries oppose the expansion of sanctions. Poland believes that these sanctions should be introduced, Polish Foreign Minister Jacek Czaputowicz said on the air of the Polish Radio on the eve of his visit to Ukraine.

He added that the final communique of the EU regarding the incident in the Kerch Strait did not mention the imposition of sanctions.

Czaputowicz noted that Warsaw understood the stance of Kyiv on the need to expand sanctions against the Russian Federation.

We believe that Ukraine has reason to demand a more decisive stance of the EU and the West. As part of our diplomatic actions at the international forums whether in the EU, or in NATO, or the UN Security Council, we everywhere touch upon the problem of a decisive response to Russian aggression, that is, we share the stance of Ukraine and will defend this stance at the forums, the Polish foreign minister stressed.

Czaputowicz said that his two-day visit to Ukraine, which begins on Friday, took a new meaning in the context of the Russian aggression in the Sea of Azov. Consequently, this issue will prevail at the negotiations in Kyiv.

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A secret transfer of the detained Ukrainian sailors from Crimea to Moscow violates international norms.

Russian lawyer Nikolai Polozov said this in comments to the 112 Ukraine TV channel.

"The Russian Federation already violates the rules of the Geneva Convention, when it treats war prisoners as criminals. There should be no remand prisons  they were to be taken to a special camp for war prisoners in accordance with international treaties. The fact that they are secretly taken somewhere is also the absolute violation," he said.

According to Russian independent television channel Dozhd, 21 Ukrainian sailors captured in the Kerch Strait on November 25 were taken to Moscow's Lefortovo Prison and three others to the hospitals of the Matrosskaya Tishina prison.

Earlier, Verkhovna Rada Human Rights Commissioner Liudmyla Denisova said she had received information that all Ukrainian sailors who were held at Simferopol's detention center had been sent to Moscow.

On November 25, Russian border ships committed aggressive actions against Ukrainian vessels that set sail from the port of Odesa to the port of Mariupol. Russian special forces fired on and captured three Ukrainian ships and 24 sailors in the Kerch Strait.

ish
X-99.15(A)

UMB IT Privacy Policy

Information Technology |

Responsible VP/AVP

Peter J. Murray, PhD, CAS, MS

Applies to Faculty, Staff, Students

Revision History

Approved April 9, 2003. Revised May 25, 2018 (GDPR update).

Policy Statement

To establish a framework for the privacy of sensitive information which is accessible through the use of UMB information technology resources.

Definitions

FERPA: Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, sometimes referred to as the Buckley Amendment, a federal law that gives students certain rights concerning their educational records kept by UMB.

GDPR: European Union General Data Protection Regulation, designed to harmonize data privacy laws across the European Union (EU) and protect data privacy of EU residents. GDPR affects U.S. institutions under certain circumstances that involve processing personal information of EU residents. Some GDPR requirements are different or stricter than U.S. law applicable to: Consent, Breach Notification, Right to Access and Data Protection Officers. GDPR has unique provisions applicable to: Right to be Forgotten, Data Portability and Privacy by Design.

Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (GLB Act): a federal law that applies to UMB when it is involved in awarding certain student loans.

HIPAA: Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, a federal law.

Information technology resources or IT Resources: information technology resources including, but not limited to, computerized information, computing facilities, systems and devices, network systems, resources and devices, software, e-mail systems, and web pages.

IT Administrator: the administrator or academic officer of a UMB unit or school who, as determined by the applicable vice president or dean, is responsible for management and oversight of the UMB IT Resources and Affiliate IT Resources located in, or used by Personnel of, that unit or school.

Maryland Law: those provisions of the Annotated Code of Maryland which pertain to the confidentiality of personal information about employees, students, research subjects, clients or patients of UMB.

Sensitive information: Personal, medical, confidential and otherwise legally protected information which is maintained in, or available through use of, UMB IT Resources.

UMB: University of Maryland Baltimore.

General Policy

The University of Maryland Baltimore (UMB) recognizes and respects the need for privacy of sensitive information. Maintaining the security of sensitive information is one of the Universitys most important responsibilities. UMBs IT administrators or their authorized representatives are held accountable for adhering to strict standards to prevent the misuse of sensitive information. Sensitive information is safeguarded in the following ways:

Employee access to sensitive information is restricted to individuals on a need to know basis for the sole purpose of conducting the business of the University. UMB emphasizes the importance of confidentiality and privacy through a combination of training, operating procedures, and systematically enforced information technology security. UMB strictly adheres to FERPA, HIPAA, GLB, Maryland Law, and other relevant federal and state laws to protect the security of sensitive information. UMB continually tests and updates our information technology resources to improve the protection of sensitive information residing on University servers.

At times, UMB is legally required to disclose sensitive information, e.g., in response to a valid subpoena or to comply with a legally permitted inquiry by a governmental agency or regulatory body. UMB may exchange some sensitive information with other entities in order to carry out normal University business transactions. Legal requirements concerning use and disclosure of sensitive information will be applied to information maintained with IT Resources to the same extent that the requirements are applied to records in other forms.

For detailed information, refer to other pertinent documents such as the UMB Information Technology Acceptable Use Policy, the UMB Information Technology Security Policy, the UMB Policy on the Privacy of Protected Health Information, as well as UMB policies of general application relating to FERPA and HIPAA.
11/30/2018

Contact: Nancy Cicco, 978-934-4944 or Nancy_Cicco@uml.edu and Christine Gillette, 978-934-2209 or Christine_Gillette@uml.edu

LOWELL, Mass.  A new digital archive of materials chronicling the history and experience of people of Southeast Asian origin living throughout Greater Lowell will be unveiled and demonstrated for the public at UMass Lowell next week.

The Southeast Asian Digital Archive at UMass Lowell, a free resource for the community, will launch at a free event on Tuesday, Dec. 4 at 4 p.m.

Lowell is home to the second-largest population of Cambodian-Americans in the country; the city also has large Vietnamese, Laotian and Thai communities. More than 1 million Southeast Asian refugees have migrated to the United States since 1975.

The archive is designed to be used by the public, students, teachers, researchers and scholars. In it, users will find documents and oral histories from the Indochinese Refugee Foundation (IRF), a Lowell-based organization active from 1977 through 1985 that helped Southeast Asian immigrants settle in the region in the wake of the Vietnam War and to escape Cambodias Khmer Rouge regime. The organization was founded by Hai and Lan Pho, former UMass Lowell faculty, and UMass Lowell Chancellor Jacquie Moloney served as the IRFs executive director before joining the university.

The archive also includes works by photographer James Higgins, who documented the Southeast Asian-American experience and life in Lowell in a series of photo books from 1983 to 1997; the books, now out of print, are available on the new digital platform. Other items in the archive include materials from Lowells Angkor Dance Troupe and Burmese community.

The launch event is scheduled to include speakers such as Moloney, UMass Lowell Provost Michael Vayda and archive project leaders Sue Kim, English professor and associate dean of UMass Lowells College of Fine Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences, and Phitsamay Uy, associate professor of leadership in schooling in the universitys College of Education. Kim and Uy also serve as co-directors of the UMass Lowell Center for Asian American Studies.

The archive celebrates the experiences of Southeast Asian-American communities from the Lowell region. The images and artifacts collected detail the rich history and culture of the refugees and immigrants from Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam. We hope that researchers, scholars and community members use this collection to tell the important stories of these peoples lives and to highlight the humanity and resiliency of our collective community, Uy said.

The archive has been created through a partnership between the Center for Asian American Studies, UMass Lowell Libraries and Lowells Southeast Asian-American communities. Collaborators include the Cambodian Mutual Assistance Association, the Khmer Post USA, the Lowell National Historical Park and the Tsongas Industrial History Center. The project has received support from the National Endowment for the Humanities, the UMass Creative Economy Fund, the Lowell Cultural Council, the UMass Lowell Chancellors 2020 Challenge Grants, the Indochinese Refugee Fund, the Nancy Donahue Endowed Professor in the Arts and other sources.

It has been incredibly rewarding to work with the many people involved to make this project possible. The archive is the result of the investment and contributions of UMass Lowell students, faculty and staff, generous local Southeast Asian community members and the public, said Mee Xiong, the projects archivist.

The event will be held at UMass Lowells OLeary Library Learning Commons, South Campus, 61 Wilder St., Lowell. Free parking for the program will be available in the nearby Wilder Lot.

The archive may be accessed at www.uml.edu/seada. Members of the public who would like more information about the project should email seada@uml.edu.

UMass Lowell is a national research university located on a high-energy campus in the heart of a global community. The university offers its more than 18,000 students bachelors, masters and doctoral degrees in business, education, engineering, fine arts, health, humanities, sciences and social sciences. UMass Lowell delivers high-quality educational programs, vigorous hands-on learning and personal attention from leading faculty and staff, all of which prepare graduates to be leaders in their communities and around the globe. www.uml.edu
The UN Office of Internal Oversight (OIOS) audit report into UNHCRs Uganda operation, released this week, contains findings that show clear gaps and weaknesses in risk management in a number of areas during the period between July 2016 and December 2017. The audit followed the massive influx of refugees from South Sudan in 2016  mid 2017, when UNHCRs staffing capacity in key functions and in remote locations was very low, followed by a rapidly expanded operation in the second half of 2017 with many new staff and partners.

UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, is in the business of saving lives and protecting people. Maintaining the trust and confidence of our donors and of the general public is of utmost importance to us. A number of internal reviews and technical oversight missions had identified risky areas in the operation during 2017. UNHCR worked closely with the OIOS auditors, who came to Uganda in February 2018, identifying issues and providing information that was used in the audit. We have accepted the recommendations of the OIOS auditors and have been working to address them well before this report was issued on 27 November, including in conjunction with Ugandas Office of the Prime Minister.

Underscoring the urgency with which UNHCR was seized with these issues, the High Commissioner for Refugees, Filippo Grandi, visited Kampala in January 2018 to assess the complex challenges being faced in the refugee response and meet with the government at the highest level. Amongst other measures introduced, he agreed with the Prime Minister to launch the verification exercise into refugee registration data just completed. He also upgraded the leadership of the UNHCR operation to manage these challenges.

Various corrective measures have been put in place, supported by a plan for ongoing and future actions. There is continuous follow-up. Measures we have taken to date include revising or redesigning and rolling out new Standard Operating Procedures for the reception of refugees, their registration, protection, assistance (food, non-food items  core relief supplies) and case management. The complaints and feedback mechanisms for refugees have been strengthened with a new inter-agency call-centre. We have also strengthened staffing in key operations functions, in particular with regard to reinforced capacities in oversight and management. These include the establishment of a senior post in risk management and compliance. Monitoring and reporting functions have additionally been reviewed, revised and enhanced.

In regard to road construction, an investigation is ongoing and we are pursuing a full recovery of funds from any project partners of concern. Allowances paid to civil servants are verified through attendance records and payment to individual bank accounts with overall responsibility lying with the government.

To address concerns about the accuracy of registration data, a countrywide biometric verification exercise of the refugee and asylum-seeker population was conducted between March and October 2018. The Government of Uganda is now committed to using the appropriate tools for continuous registration, which is their responsibility, and to ensuring the integrity of the registration process. The strengthened registration and case management systems will improve service and assistance delivery, including distribution of food. UNHCR is working closely with the Office of the Prime Minister in the roll-out of these new systems and jointly addressing obstacles that emerge in their practical application at field level.

UNHCR has also closely reviewed its monitoring of water delivery trucking in remote refugee settlements. We are doing top-to-bottom reviews of contracts, invoices and delivery verification before proceeding with any payments. Significant progress has been made in reducing water trucking, which is expensive, from 37 per cent in May 2017 to 7 per cent over the course of the year, following completion of several water schemes in Rhino, Imvepi and Palorinya refugee settlements in northern Uganda. With the new measures in place, we expect a further reduction to 5 per cent in December 2018.

The audit recommendations vis-a-vis partnership management, performance monitoring, procurement procedures, non-food item distribution and warehouse management are being addressed and toughened measures have been put in place, including with partner organizations and the Office of the Prime Minister, where these activities are jointly implemented. Progress will be reviewed regularly.

UNHCR has additionally established a high-level dialogue with the Office of the Prime Minister and other government authorities on the audit findings, including regarding recovery of funds as may be needed. Fuel cards and vehicle tracking have been introduced for implementation in 2019. A task force has been set up to review projects implemented by the Office of the Prime Minister. A preliminary report is due in mid-December.

UNHCR is determined to ensure the full integrity of the refugee response in Uganda and is addressing all issues identified in the audit report.
Russia has illegally conscripted more than 12,000 Ukrainians in Crimea into Russia's military since 2014.

The U.S. Mission to the OSCE has called on the Russian Federation to stop the illegal conscription of Ukrainians into the Russian army in Russian-occupied Crimea.

"We note with great concern recent reports that Russia has illegally conscripted more than 12,000 Ukrainians in Crimea into Russia's military since 2014. This forced conscription runs counter to international humanitarian law and must end immediately," Charge d'Affaires Harry Kamian of the United States said at an OSCE Permanent Council meeting in Vienna, Austria, on November 29.

"We are also concerned by reports that occupation authorities recently blocked access to articles on the website of the Crimea Human Rights Group, claiming it 'undermined the constitutional order,'" he said.

He also mentioned a recent incident near the Kerch Strait in the Black Sea.

Read alsoPutin wants to "annex" another part of Ukraine  Poroshenko

"We condemn Russia's November 25 ramming, firing upon, and seizure of Ukrainian vessels near the Kerch Strait. Russia's actions represent a dangerous escalation of aggressive behavior that includes the purported annexation of Crimea, abuses against Ukrainian citizens there, and stoking a conflict that has taken the lives of more than ten thousand people in eastern Ukraine. Russia has shown no signs of reversing this campaign of ongoing aggression. Impeding the transit of Ukrainian vessels through the Kerch Strait is a violation of international law, and the international community will never accept these actions," he said.

He also called on Russia to respect its international obligations.

"We call on Russia to respect its international obligations and immediately cease obstructing or harassing the transit of Ukrainian vessels in the Kerch Strait, to immediately release the seized Ukrainian crew and vessels, and to de-escalate the tensions Moscow has created. Russian escalation of this kind will further undermine Russia's standing in the world and increase tensions with Ukraine," he said.

According to him, the United States fully supports Ukraine's sovereignty, independence, and territorial integrity within its internationally recognized borders, extending to its territorial waters. "We do not, nor will we ever, recognize Russia's purported annexation of Crimea. We join our European and other partners in affirming that our Minsk-related sanctions against Russia will remain in place until Russia fully implements its Minsk commitments. The separate, Crimea-related sanctions will remain in place until Russia returns full control of the peninsula to Ukraine," he said.
The previously imposed sanctions "have been working against Russia."

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin has announced that Ukraine's international partners have prepared several packages of serious sanctions against the Russian Federation, which could involve crude oil and natural gas sales.

"Military assistance is one thing, and we are talking about this, but in fact Russia does not live in isolation, it sells crude oil and sells natural gas, and tries to borrow some money on foreign markets," he said on Channel 1+1. "And it manages to do it less successfully. Therefore, in fact, several packages of sanctions  these are very serious sanctions  have been prepared, but I cannot give more details."

Read alsoMerkel to address Sea of Azov with Putin at G20 summit

Yet, he expressed the conviction that the previously imposed sanctions "have been working against Russia."

Klimkin also commented on U.S. President Donald Trump's decision to cancel a meeting with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin at the G20 summit in Argentina on December 1.

Ukraine's Foreign Minister says that the U.S. President's decision and a statement by German Chancellor Angela Merkel regarding preventing Russia from seizing the Ukrainian-controlled strategic port city of Mariupol on the Sea of Azov in Donetsk region, Ukraine's east, are "two mega flaps" in Putin's face.
The passage of ships is regulated by the Montreux Convention.

Ukrainian Minister of Foreign Affairs Pavlo Klimkin says that Ukraine has been seeking the closure of the Turkish Straits and has already asked Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to shut down the Bosphorus and the Dardanelles after Russian aggression near the Kerch Strait.

"We have already had a conversation with Erdogan. The Montreux Convention regulates navigation through the Dardanelles. Under the Convention, we have possibilities to have the passage of ships restricted. We are working on this, although there is a question how we will do this and how quickly it will happen. My answer is absolutely honest," he said on Channel 1+1.

Read alsoKlimkin: Ukraine's partners prepare serious anti-Russian sanctions involving oil and gas

The Montreux Convention Regarding the Regime of the Straits is a 1936 agreement that gives Turkey control over the Bosporus Straits and the Dardanelles and regulates the transit of naval warships. The Convention gives Turkey full control over the Straits and guarantees the free passage of civilian vessels in peacetime. It restricts the passage of naval ships not belonging to Black Sea states.

As UNIAN reported, three Ukrainian vessels were captured on November 25 by Russian forces at sea near the Kerch Strait, which is the only outlet to the Sea of Azov and controls access to two major Ukrainian ports. The two Ukrainian artillery boats and a tugboat were heading from Odesa on the Black Sea to Mariupol on the Sea of Azov. Twenty-four sailors were detained and "courts" in Russian-occupied Crimea ruled that they be detained for two months, pending trial.
The aggression the world witnessed is unacceptable, according to the spokesperson.

U.S. President Donald Trump has sent Moscow a "strong message" that Russia may face isolation if captured Ukrainian vessels and crews are not returned to Ukraine.

"The Presidents tweets on the subject were quite clear at what we looked for, and that is the return of the Ukrainian sailors as  and the vessels," deputy spokesperson for the White House, Robert Palladino, said at a Washington briefing Thursday.

"The aggression that weve witnessed this week is unacceptable and a strong message has been sent," he said.

Read alsoReuters: Trump cancels Putin meeting over Ukraine crisis

Asked about what exactly the U.S. message to Russians meant, the official responded: "Isolation."

As UNIAN reported earlier, U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday abruptly canceled the earlier-announced meeting with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin at the G20 summit in Argentina over the escalation near the Kerch Strait where the Russian coast guardsattacked and captured Ukrainian naval boats and sailors.

"Based on the fact that the ships and sailors have not been returned to Ukraine from Russia, I have decided it would be best for all parties concerned to cancel my previously scheduled meeting in Argentina with President Vladimir Putin. I look forward to a meaningful Summit again as soon as this situation is resolved!" Trump tweeted
The Senate "urges members of the international community to unite in opposition to Russia's actions in the Kerch Strait, as they infringe upon fundamental principles of international law affecting all nations.

The Senate cleared by unanimous consent a non-binding resolution Thursday night condemning Russia's "provocative actions" against Ukraine, after Moscow seized three of the country's naval boats.

The Senate cleared the resolution as it wrapped up its business for the week.

Senator Ron Johnson said Russian President Vladimir Putin is "testing the West," and that he was "pleased the Senate spoke with one voice to reaffirm our support for the Ukrainian people, the Ukrainian government and Ukraines territorial integrity," according to The Hill.

Read alsoIsolation of Russia: U.S. State Department says Trump sends "strong message" to Putin

Today, the Senate took action and sent a clear message to Putin that his governments aggression against Ukraine in the Sea of Azov will not be tolerated. We strongly condemn any military action taken by Russia to unilaterally rewrite international rules, Murphy added.

The resolution "strongly condemns" Russia's actions and urges the country to release crew members. It also warns Russia that the confrontation off the coast of Ukraines Crimean Peninsula is "destabilizing" the region and "invites further escalation."

The Senate "urges members of the international community to unite in opposition to the actions of the Government of the Russian Federation in the Kerch Strait, as they infringe upon fundamental principles of international law affecting all nations," the Senate-passed resolution adds.

The passage of the resolution comes as Russia's seizure of the boats is posing a new test for Trump, who has caused heartburn on Capitol Hill for his warmer rhetoric toward Putin.

Ukraine is accusing Russia capturing three vessels and 24 crewmembers off the coast of Crimea, which Russia illegally annexed in 2014 to international condemnation. Moscow's position on the incident is that the Ukrainian boats were operating "unlawfully" in "its territorial waters."

Trump said on Thursday he was canceling a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin scheduled to take place during the upcoming summit for the Group of 20 industrialized nations in Argentina, citing the current Ukraine crisis.
Earlier, Ukraine requested that the Court apply to the captives the interim measures in line with the Rule 39.

European Court of Human Rights issued an urgent decision on the Ukrainian sailors captured by the Russian Federation Nov 25, a source in the Justice Ministry told InfoResist.

Earlier, Ukraine requested that the Court apply to the captives the interim measures in line with its Rule 39 as regards its sailors.

The Court satisfied Ukraines request and ordered that Russia report the whereabouts and condition of the captured military, as well as provide treatment to the injured.

Also, the court ordered that Russia return all captured Navy servicemen to Ukraine.

Read alsoECHR may recognize Russia established control over Crimea even before occupation

One of the main demands was to explain the reasons for the detention of Ukrainian sailors.

As reported, on November 25, Russian coast ships attacked and captured two Ukrainian Navy armored boats and a tugboat near the Kerch Strait off coast of Crimea. All 24 sailors on board were captured. The Russian-controlled "court" in the occupied Crimea's Simferopol ruled to remand the sailors in custody for 2 months. The men are charged with "illegal border crossing."

Ukraine insists that the boats were on a scheduled re-deployment from the Black Sea port of Odesa to the Azov Sea's Mariupol and informed the Russian side in advance about the intention to pass through the Kerch Strait  the only artery connecting the two seas.

Read alsoPutin's spox unable to clarify why Russia attacked Ukrainian naval boats in neutral waters

Russia attacked and seized Ukrainian navy boats in the international waters of the Black Sea, outside the line of the state border of Ukraine at sea, which is temporarily beyond Ukraine's control as a result of the occupation of Crimea, the Ministry of Infrastructure of Ukraine says.

According to Art. 95 of the Convention on the Law of the Sea, warships on the high seas have complete immunity from the jurisdiction of any State other than the flag State, the officials recall.
We have always been at the forefront in the EU of calling for sanctions on Russia in relation to its behavior, the British PM added.

Russia must release the Ukrainian boats and sailors it captured on Sunday, British Prime Minister Theresa May said on Thursday, adding that Britain would continue to push for appropriate sanctions.

This is part of a pattern of Russian behavior," May May told reporters on the flight to the G20 summit in Argentina, which Russian President Vladimir Putin is also due to attend, according to Reuters.

"They should release those ships and sailors, they should de-escalate the situation, she said.

Read alsoReuters: Trump cancels Putin meeting over Ukraine crisis

We have always been at the forefront in the EU of calling for sanctions on Russia in relation to its behavior, Theresa May added. We will continue to push for what we consider to be appropriate sanctions on Russia.

Earlier this week several senior European politicians raised the possibility of new sanctions against Russia to punish it for capturing the boats.
The rule shall be effective pending martial law.

Ukraine has banned entry to all male Russian nationals aged 16-60 for the entire period of martial law, according to Head of the Border Guard Service of Ukraine Petro Tsyhykal.

The entry of "male Russian nationals aged 16-60 has been banned," Tsyhykal said at a meeting on strengthening Ukraine's defense capacities, attended by President Petro Poroshenko, an UNIAN correspondent reported.

There will be exceptions for humanitarian purposes, such as family visits on the occasion of a funeral ceremony. Tsyhykal said that the border guard agency had been put on top combat readiness, while border squads deployed along the border with Russia and the de-facto border with the illegally annexed Crimea were strengthened.

"As for the citizens of Ukraine, there are no restrictions," Tsyhykal said.

Read alsoParliament green-lights martial law in Ukraine: 30-day period in certain districts

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko asked whether these were "measures that prevent the Russian Federation from forming detachments of private armies here, which are in fact representatives of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, and to not allow them carrying out operations they tried to implement in 2014." Tsyhykal nodded affirmatively.

"That is, once again: the restriction applies to males aged 16-60, except for humanitarian cases, which will be clearly written out in the instructions," Poroshenko stressed.

"And I would tighten registration requirements for citizens of the Russian Federation in areas where the martial law was imposed. I am asking you to submit proposals within 24 hours," the president said.
Makei stressed Belarus would like outside players to avoid making some emotional statements, which would result only in further escalation of tensions in the end.

Belarusian Minister of Foreign Affairs Vladimir Makei has made a number of statements to explain Belarus' stance on the situation arising from events in the Kerch Strait.

"We would certainly like to see no steps made, which would further escalate tensions in our region. Because it might have an effect on regional security and international security as a whole. We are convinced that sides of the conflict understand their responsibility for the situation in the region, for regional security," Makei said, BelTA has learned.

Makei stressed Belarus would like outside players to avoid making some emotional statements, which would result only in further escalation of tensions in the end.

Read alsoUkraine bans entry to all male Russian nationals aged 16-60

"We've always said  it has been repeatedly stressed by the Belarusian head of state  that if it is acceptable for the relevant political players Belarus is ready to make its own contribution to the resolution of the situation and the de-escalation of tensions, which are unfortunately present in our region today," he said.

"We've been keeping an eye on the statements made by the parties. But there have been no direct contacts. Certainly, it would be important for us to get objective information from one side and the other one in order to have our own real analysis of the situation caused by the incident," he added.

As UNIAN reported, three Ukrainian vessels were captured on November 25 by Russian forces at sea near the Kerch Strait, which is the only outlet to the Sea of Azov and controls access to two major Ukrainian ports. The two Ukrainian artillery boats and a tugboat were heading from Odesa on the Black Sea to Mariupol on the Sea of Azov. Twenty-four sailors were detained and "courts" in Russian-occupied Crimea ruled that they be detained for two months, pending trial.
There are currently three Orthodox communities in Ukraine, including two breakaway churches.

Ukraine's intelligence service said its officers have searched the home of the father superior of Kyiv's biggest and oldest monastery, which is part of the Russian Orthodox Church.

Ihor Huskov, chief of staff of the SBU intelligence agency, told reporters on November 30 that Father Pavel, who leads the Pechersk Monastery, was suspected of "inciting hatred," RFE/RL reported.

Read alsoEcumenical Patriarchate's Synod drafts Ukrainian church's constitutional charter

There are currently three Orthodox communities in Ukraine, including two breakaway churches.

The Ukrainian church, which has been part of the Russian Orthodox Church for centuries, moved close to forming an independent church earlier this year.

The Kyiv Patriarchate broke away from Moscow in 1992 after the fall of the Soviet Union.

Its bid for recognition as a self-governing or autocephalous institution intensified after Russia's 2014 annexation of the Crimean Peninsula from Ukraine and its support for separatists in eastern Ukraine.

Tensions between Ukraine and Russia have escalated since last weekend, when Russian border guards opened fire on three Ukrainian naval vessels near Crimea and captured their crews.
Earlier, the Russian MFA said the Russian people "could lose patience," which would lead to attacks on the Ukrainian diplomatic institutions on Russian territory.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) of the Russian Federation threatens Ukraine with the occupation of Ukrainian regions where Russian diplomatic institutions are located.

Read alsoPutin wants to "annex" another part of Ukraine  Poroshenko

In particular, speaking at a presser on Friday, answering the question whether a possibility is being considered to transfer Russian diplomatic institutions from Kyiv and Lviv to the occupied Donbas amid constant rallies outside these institutions, spokesperson for Russia's Foreign Ministry Maria Zakharova said: "Regarding what you asked, if there was any idea to transfer these institutions. You know, our recent historical example suggests that sometimes there is no need for such transfer. Sometimes it turns out that it's the status of diplomatic institutions that changes."

"For example, we had our General Consulate in Simferopol, and then it became a representative office of our Foreign Affairs Ministry in our [own] region. Something like this," Zakharova said, according to an UNIAN correspondent in Russia.

Earlier, the Russian MFA said "the Russian people might lose patience," which would lead to attacks on the Ukrainian diplomatic institutions on Russian territory.
Head of the Border Guard Service of Ukraine Petro Tsyhykal on Friday said Ukraine had banned entry to all male Russian nationals aged 16-60 for the entire period of martial law.

Russian lawmaker Frants Klintsevich says Russia will not take tit-for-tat measures on the entry of male Ukrainian citizens aged from 16-60 to the Russian Federation.

Read alsoUkraine bans entry to all male Russian nationals aged 16-60

"Kyiv openly intends to break all ties with Russia, provoking us with such steps to a tit-for-tat measure, which will be a strong 'blow' to the millions of Ukrainians who are working in Russia. Kyiv won't get such an answer from our country," he said, as reported by the Russian news agency RIA Novosti on November 30.

In turn, spokesperson for Russia's Foreign Ministry Maria Zakharova said the introduction of tit-for-tat measures for the entry of male Ukrainian nationals into the Russian Federation might lead to insanity.

"As for Ukraine and the regime that is now at the levers of governing the country, it's scary to talk about tit-for-tat measures, because if someone tries to repeat what is happening now in Kyiv, it will lead to insanity," Zakharova said at a briefing in Moscow, answering the question from an UNIAN correspondent in Russia whether Ukraine may expect tit-for-tat measures from Russia.

As UNIAN reported earlier, on November 30, Head of the Border Guard Service of Ukraine Petro Tsyhykal said Ukraine had banned entry to all male Russian nationals aged 16-60 for the entire period of martial law.
The SBU expressed surprise why the Russians had not encrypted communication channels when they realized they were listening.

Ihor Huskov, chief of staff of the SBU intelligence agency, has said the seizure of Ukrainian warships could be the beginning of a more cynical provocation of the Russian special services.

According to him, the Ukrainian special services have intercepted radio communications of the Russian special services of November 28, i.e. after the seizure of the Ukrainian ships, which dealt with the editing of talks of November 25 announced by the Ukrainian intelligence.

"The information we demonstrate remains a mystery to us. We do not exclude that it may be a prologue to a new, more cynical provocation of the Russian special services," Huskov said at a briefing on Friday.

According to him, on November 28, another radio communications between the officer of the FSB Russian Federal Security Service and Commander of the Russian border guard ship, Captain Salyayev, the commander of the Don ship, which had rammed the Ukrainian tugboat, were intercepted.

Huskov says "it follows from the talks that the FSB officer controls the loudness of two sentences, which are repeatedly relayed from the board of the Don ship, and at the end of the conversation the Russian officer marks the time points 2:30, 2:35 of another recording, which acts as a benchmark for him."

"These marks, as well as the sentences 'We'll get into all reports' and 'Who will say that they will not remove from office now?' are taken from a fragment of other radio communications that were published by the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine on November 26 between officials of the Russian Navy's operational services and the command of Russian warships that pursued Ukrainian ships. This confirms that the Russian leadership gave an order to ram. The talks (announced on November 26) note that two Russian ships collided with each other," Huskov said.

Read alsoUkraine intercepts radio comms of Russian coast guards with Command amid attack on Ukraine Navy boats (Transcript)

He also expressed surprise why the Russians had not encrypted communication channels when they realized they were being monitored.

"Any special service, when the enemy begins to listen to its talks, immediately changes the communication channel, or goes into encrypted mode. It seems that the Russians, following this rule in Donbas, did not react at all this time. We have two versions: this was done deliberately, and the radio talks themselves are a performance to push the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine or the SBU Security Service of Ukraine to promulgate talks as evidence of the Kremlin's criminal actions. Therefore, we do not exclude that the Russian special services can instantly release their own story, how this performance was prepared, and as a result discredit our intelligence services to provoke a distrust of radio intercepts, which the SBU and intelligence had announced before," Huskov said.

Read alsoNew radio intercept proves crews of Russian fighter aircraft received orders to attack Ukrainian boats Nov 25

Another version, in his opinion, is that "the neglect of the rules for countering radio intelligence is either a primitivism at work or ordinary nonsense in Salisbury style."

"Radio talks intercepted on November 28 show that the Russian special services are trying to recreate the acoustic situation in which the Ukrainian ships were rammed: the Russian officer on board the Don added loudness, which was close to the real negotiations of November 25, which is necessary to falsify the new records to veil the Russian attack on the Ukrainian ships as a response to the armed provocation of our ships," he said.

Huskov noted the Russians had already used these techniques to conceal their crimes in Donbas.
Poroshenko has shown Sky News aerial photographs he says reveal more and more tanks on the country's border with Russia.

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has said he has evidence that Russian military tanks are massing along his country's border.

Poroshenko has shown Sky News images of what he claims are tanks lining up along the border, close to where Russia stores its ammunition.

He said: "This is the tank base just 18km from our border, this was happening in September, October, and now.

"This is 18km from my border, this is the same warehouse where they have their ammunition, the same where they have multi-rocket launch systems, we should be prepared to protect my country.

"If the whole world has no reason to trust Putin, Ukraine definitely doesn't have a reason to go with him."

He also used the interview to appeal for help from Western leaders.

Poroshenko said: "There is no red line for Putin and this is the very strong reason why we should be together, the whole civilized world."

Read alsoUkraine bans entry to all male Russian nationals aged 16-60

"Not only the leaders, with whom [we have] a very reliable partnership, but the people of UK, of Europe, USA, Canada, Australia, Japan, the whole civilized world would be together and this is very important for global security."

His comments come amid rising tensions between the two former Soviet neighbors.

Russia seized three Ukrainian navy ships and their crew in the Kerch Strait after accusing them of venturing into their territory.

Russia is continuing to block the strait and refuses to free the Ukrainian sailors.

Poroshenko referred to the captured sailors as "prisoners of war" and called on Putin to release them, asking for pressure from the international community to encourage this.

Read alsoPoroshenko explains timing of Russia's attack on Ukrainian ships near Kerch Strait

Ukraine rejects the charge that they were trespassing in Russian waters and said that two of its ports in the Azov Sea are effectively under blockade by Russia.

Poroshenko said Russia is "strangling" Ukraine with ongoing restrictions.

He said: "They want to hit Ukraine because through Azov Sea, and our sea ports, we export about 40% of our industrial production."

"This is another step for a Russian organized embargo, only buying Ukrainian goods, switching off the natural gas, this is part of the hybrid war that Russia want to attack us."

Moscow denies restricting any shipping.

Martial law has been imposed in some parts of Ukraine over the crisis.

Donald Trump cancelled his meeting with Putin at the G20 amid the ongoing situation with Ukraine. However the Kremlin responded by saying it would mean Putin would have more time for "useful meetings."
Tusk said Russia's use of force against the Ukrainian navy vessels was "totally unacceptable."

The European Union will extend its existing economic sanctions on Russia next month, a top official with the bloc said on Friday after Moscow's action against Ukraine's navy in the Sea of Azov.

European Council President Donald Tusk will chair a summit of EU leaders on December 13-14, which is due to roll over for another year the bloc's measures against Russia's defense, energy and banking sectors, punishment for Moscow's role in the turmoil in Ukraine, as reported by Reuters.

Read alsoKlimkin: Ukraine's partners prepare serious anti-Russian sanctions involving oil and gas

"Europe is united in its support to Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity. This is why I am sure that the EU will roll over the sanctions against Russia in December," Tusk told a news conference in Argentina, where the leaders of the world's 20 biggest economies were meeting.

Tusk said Russia's use of force against the Ukrainian navy vessels was "totally unacceptable." Last weekend, Russian ships fired at Ukrainian ones on the Sea of Azov, and then seized the boats and its sailors.

The EU first slapped sanctions on Russia after it annexed the Black Sea peninsula of Crimea from Kyiv in 2014. The bloc has since stepped them up as Moscow went on to back rebels fighting government troops in east Ukraine.

The EU's Russia hawks have called for new sanctions against Moscow following the latest flare-up in tensions between Moscow and Kyiv but that is not expected swiftly, if at all.
Ukrainian journalists still may enter Crimea via the administrative border between mainland Ukraine and the Russian-occupied peninsula.

The Ukrainian authorities have decided to officially include foreign journalists in a ban on access to Russian-occupied Crimea.

There was "heated debate" on this issue, Ukraine's Ministry of Foreign Affairs told Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty's Ukrainian service.

Read alsoUkraine bans entry to all male Russian nationals aged 16-60

Ukrainian journalists still may enter Crimea via the administrative border between mainland Ukraine and the Russian-occupied peninsula.

As was earlier reported, foreign citizens were not allowed to enter temporarily occupied areas in Donbas, eastern Ukraine.

The bans on access to the Russian-occupied regions were introduced in connection with martial law, which is in effect in 10 Ukrainian regions bordering Russia and along the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov until December 26.
Both ships were en route from Constanta Romania to ports of Russia and Ukraine on the Sea of Azov.

Two foreign cargo ships were damaged while maneuvering in the southern anchorage of the Kerch Strait in the Black Sea on November 30.

"The general cargo ship LADY MARIA while maneuvering in the southern anchorage of the Kerch Strait entangled her propeller in the stb [starboard] anchor chain of the anchored general cargo ship AZOV CONCORD, at 0027 Moscow time on November 30," the portal FleetMon reported.

Read alsoUkraine seeks closure of Turkish Straits after Russian aggression

Both ships were en route from Constanta Romania to ports of Russia and Ukraine on the Sea of Azov, both were waiting for Strait transit on the southern anchorage in the Black Sea, it said.

The LADY MARIA vessel reported the damaged propeller, was anchored and as of 1230 UTC November 30, remained in the same position.

"The AZOV CONCORD vessel reportedly let go the starboard anchor with chain, at 0058 Moscow time, understood (but not confirmed) anchor and chain were lost or marked to be recovered later. AZOV CONCORD moved SE and anchored off Kerch Strait anchorage, NW of Anapa," the portal said.

The Federal Agency for Maritime and River Transport (Rosmorrechflot) on November 30 issued a storm warning for the Kerch Strait and the Sea of Azov and suspended navigation via the Kerch-Yenikale canal.

Navigation is expected to resume no earlier than Saturday or Sunday.

Vessel LADY MARIA (IMO: 8500070, MMSI: 671046000) is a general cargo ship built in 1985 and currently sailing under the flag of Togo.

Vessel AZOV CONCORD (IMO: 9387748, MMSI: 249323000) is a general cargo ship built in 2008 and currently sailing under the flag of Malta.
The Russian president is ready for further contacts with his American counterpart, the spokesman says.

The Kremlin regrets the decision of the American side to cancel the presidents Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump on the sidelines of the G 20 summit in Argentina, noting that Putin remains ready for new contacts with his counterpart, the Russian president's press secretary Dmitry Peskov told journalists Thursday, commenting on Trump's abrupt move to cancel the one-on-one meeting in Buenos Aires.

"We regret the decision of the U.S. administration to cancel the scheduled meeting of the two presidents in Buenos Aires," Peskov said, according to TASS.

The Kremlin spokesman has also stressed that Putin is ready for further contacts with Trump.

Read alsoU.S. Senate passes resolution condemning Russian aggression against Ukraine

According to Dmitry Peskov, the cancellation of the meeting of the two leaders "means that discussion of serious issues on the international and bilateral agenda is being postponed indefinitely."

Earlier it was reported that U.S. President Donald Trump canceled his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin over the capture of Ukrainian naval boats and sailors by the Russian Federation near the Kerch Strait.
The president-elect said that Georgia retains a pro-European stance, and if the country's western partners, EU and the U.S., start a dialogue with Russia, then, of course, Georgia will not stand aside.

Salome Zurabishvili, who won the presidential election in Georgia on Thursday, believes this is not the right time to cooperate with Russia.

"I dont think that given the way Russia is acting now, given what is happening on the occupation line, where people are abducted, while this line is moving deeper into our territory, closer and closer to Tbilisi... given the way Russia is now acting regarding Ukraine, I dont think that all this means that we can proceed to cooperation right now, Zurabishvili told the BBC Russian Service.

Read alsoNew Georgian president elected

The president-elect said that Georgia retains a pro-European stance, and if the country's western partners, EU and the U.S., start a dialogue with Russia, then, of course, Georgia will not stand aside.

As reported, President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko said that Russia, while attacking Ukrainian boats in the Kerch Strait area, sought to provoke a return fire to repeat the 2008 Georgian scenario against Ukraine.
G7 ambassadors say there is no justification for Russia's use of military force against the Ukrainian ships and naval personnel.

Foreign ministers from the Group of Seven leading industrialized nations on Friday expressed their "utmost concern" about the capture by Russia of three Ukrainian boats and their crews near Crimea.

"We, the G7 foreign ministers of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, the United States of America, and the High Representative of the European Union, express our utmost concern about Russia's actions against Ukraine in the Kerch Strait and surrounding waters, which have dangerously raised tensions," they said in a statement on November 30.

There is no justification for Russia's use of military force against the Ukrainian ships and naval personnel, they say.

Read alsoEU will extend Russia sanctions in December: Tusk

"We urge restraint, due respect for international law, and the prevention of any further escalation. We call on Russia to release the detained crew and vessels and refrain from impeding lawful passage through the Kerch Strait," the statement said.

The G7 ambassadors once again reiterated that they do not, and will never, recognize Russia's illegal annexation of the Crimean peninsula, and they reaffirm their unwavering support for Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity.
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China has been working with Pakistan to invite third-party companies to join projects under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), which is in line with China's opening-up attitude.

BEIJING, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 30th Nov, 2018 ) :China has been working with Pakistan to invite third-party companies to join projects under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), which is in line with China's opening-up attitude.

"For instance, China and Pakistan have made clear that they welcome countries like the US, the UK and Australia to invest in the Gwadar industrial zone," Long Xingchun, a visiting senior fellow at the S.Rajaratnam school of International Studies, Nanyang Technological University, told the Global Times on Friday.

For China, the CPEC is an important channel through which Beijing promotes its idea of connectivity and cooperation with the rest of the world and extends its footprint. For Pakistan, the CPEC helps improve its basic infrastructure and eventually boost its economy.

Nonetheless, the CPEC has triggered a debate since its beginning. Such oft-repeated criticisms say that China aims to achieve global domination without caring for Pakistan's development and that Beijing has inflicted a debt burden on Pakistan.

In early November, Prime Minister Imran Khan embarked on his first visit to China, widely seen as the leader's support for the implementation of the CPEC that had slowed down over the past few months owing to the political transition in Pakistan.

Zoon Ahmed Khan, a visiting research fellow at the Institute of Belt and Road Initiative, Tsinghua University, said that China's willingness to welcome the change shows China's broader Belt and Road mindset.

Zamir Ahmed Awan, a Pakistani and non-resident fellow of Beijing-based think tank the Center for China and Globalization said that "CPEC is the decision of over 200 million people of Pakistan. CPEC is an essential element of Pakistan's national strategy. We are committed to CPEC and believe [that] CPEC is the only way forward for Pakistan." "The CPEC has already generated dividends, with Pakistan's economy developing and people's lives improving. The West simply cast doubt on the project without providing any real assistance to Pakistan's economy. China helps Pakistan with poverty alleviation and wiping out terrorism," Long said.

The CPEC, a flagship project under the China-proposed Belt and Road initiative, was agreed between the two "iron brothers" in 2013. The $60 billion corridor is a network of roads, pipelines, power plants, industrial parks and a port on the Arabian Sea.

Five years since its launch, the project has generated 75,000 jobs for Pakistanis, and the figure is expected to multiply 10 times in the next 15 years, largely in infrastructure, energy and transportation sectors. More importantly, it is improving Pakistan's investment environment, according to experts.
(@rukhshanmir)

Poland's GAZ-SYSTEM and Denmark's Energinet energy companies have made final investment decisions on the construction of the Baltic Pipe to transport gas from Norway via Demark to Poland, the Polish company said on Friday.

WARSAW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 30th November, 2018) Poland 's GAZ-SYSTEM and Denmark 's Energinet energy companies have made final investment decisions on the construction of the Baltic Pipe to transport gas Norway via Demark to Poland , the Polish company said on Friday.

"GAZ-SYSTEM and Energinet have both made positive investment decisions and agreed to implement the joint Baltic Pipe project. The pipeline will enable the supply of natural gas from Norway through Denmark to Poland and other countries in the region as well as reverse transmission from Poland to Denmark and Sweden. The investment decisions were announced in Warsaw on 30th November 2018," the company said.

The construction agreement therefore has come into force, it added.

In June 2017, the heads of the Polish and Danish governments signed a memorandum of understanding on the construction of the Baltic Pipe, which is expected to transport natural gas from Norway to Poland via Denmark through the Baltic Sea. The project's cost is estimated at 1.7 billion Euros ($1.9 billion), with Poland paying slightly over the half of the funds.

The pipeline, with the annual capacity of 10 billion cubic meters (353 billion cubic feet), is expected to be put into operation in 2022. Poland has repeatedly expressed intention to import large volume of gas through this pipeline, which is linked to the expiry of the contract on Russian gas supplies in 2022.
Hurriyat leaders and organisations have paid tributes to the youth martyred by Indian troops in Pulwama, Sopore and Badgam areas during the past few days.

ISLAMABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 30th Nov, 2018 ) :Hurriyat leaders and organisations have paid tributes to the youth martyred by Indian troops in Pulwama, Sopore and Badgam areas during the past few days.

According to Kashmir Media Service (KMS) ,the Chairman of Tehreek-e-Hurriyat Jammu and Kashmir, Muhammad Ashraf Sehrai, in a statement issued in Srinagar paying homage to the martyrs said that their sacrifices will not be allowed to go waste.

He said that without settlement of the Kashmir dispute real peace, stability and economic progress of the entire region would remain a distant dream.

A spokesman of the Hurriyat forum led by Mirwaiz Umar Farooq in a statement in Srinagar said that the bloodbath and rising graph of human rights violations in Kashmir was part of India's policy of aggression and military might being followed by the lacs of Indian troops. He also condemned the use of brute force by the troops on the funeral procession of a martyred use Merajuddin.

A delegation of Jammu and Kashmir Muslim League led by Abdul Ahad Parra visited New Colony, Sopore, and another delegation led by Muhammad Rafique Ganai visited Malangpora and Bandina areas of Pulwama and expressed solidarity with the families of the martyred youth.

Addressing on the occasion, the delegation members deplored that instead of taking measures to resolve the lingering Kashmir dispute in its historical perspective, India is suppressing the Kashmiris' aspirations through its military might.

The illegally detained senior APHC leader, Ghulam Muhammad Khan Sopori, in a statement said that killing, arrest, harassment and other brutal tactics by India could not subdue the Kashmiris' freedom sentiment.

The Chairman of Jammu and Kashmir Salvation Movement, Zafar Akbar Butt, in his statement in Srinagar said the sacrifices of the Kashmiri martyrs would not be allowed go waste and their mission would be accomplished despite all odds. He said it is the collective responsibility of the people of Kashmir and the leadership to take the ongoing movement to its logical conclusion.

The Chairman of Jammu and Kashmir Young Men's League, Imtiaz Ahmed Reshi, in a statement in Srinagar said the sacrifices of Kashmiri martyrs would bring positive results soon and the Indian occupational forces would have to leave Jammu and Kashmir.
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Experts and consultants of fertility, gynaecology, obstetrics, genetics and embryology from around the world converged in Abu Dhabi on Friday to discuss the potential for new ground-breaking medical solutions for Assisted Reproductive Technologies, ART.

ABU DHABI, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News / WAM - 30th Nov, 2018) Experts and consultants of fertility, gynaecology, obstetrics, genetics and embryology from around the world converged in Abu Dhabi on Friday to discuss the potential for new ground-breaking medical solutions for Assisted Reproductive Technologies, ART.

The 4th Annual In-Vitro Fertilisation, IVF, Conference was opened by Sheikh Nahyan bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, Minister of Tolerance. Dr. Amal Al Qubaisi, Speaker of the Federal National Council also attended the opening session of the conference.

Organised by IVI middle East Fertility Clinic, the conference titled, "Latest Advancements in Enhancing Success Rates in ART, Anno  2018" brought together some of the foremost researchers to present their findings on key areas pertaining to reproductive medicine.

Addressing the conference, Sheikh Nahyan said, "I am delighted to join you who also live and work in Abu Dhabi and the United Arab Emirates in welcoming our speakers and participants from abroad to learn of the latest advances in enhancing success rates in assisted reproductive technology."

"Your gathering here in the year 2018, happens to coincide quite appropriately with this countrys celebration of the birth centennial of our nations Founder, the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan. In this Year of Zayed, we are reflecting on his achievements and his wisdom. Prominent among his achievements was the education of women and their advancement in the countrys workforce," he added.

"Conferences like this one make it possible for you to give your patients access to the latest artificial reproductive technologies, enhancing the likelihood they will be able to have children," he said.

"Helping others to become parents is also a wonderful way to promote tolerance. There is nothing like being a parent to help one identify with parents everywhere. As parents, we transcend the usual boundaries that keep us from engaging and understanding people different from ourselves.

We see not nationality or religion or culture or ethnicity. Instead, we see other parents like us, other parents devoted to the children that they conceived in love. Go to any playground and watch children from diverse backgrounds play together. Then watch the parents of that diversity sharing the experiences their children are having. You will see smiles, nods of agreement, and signs of mutual understanding. Being a parent is one of a global societys great unifying experiences," he added.

"At this fourth international reproductive medical conference, I want to commend the vision and energy of its host, IVI Middle East Fertility Clinic. Since coming to Abu Dhabi in 2015, IVI Middle East Fertility Clinic has been responsible for more than 500 pregnancies," Sheikh Nahyan said.

"Assisted Reproductive Technologies have come a long way since its evolution, and IVF is a wonderful tool for treating infertility, decreasing the risk for miscarriage, preserving fertility in cancer patients and facilitating proactive family planning. ARTs contribution to medicine has been significant, and conferences as these not only pave way for the introduction of revolutionary treatment solutions but also facilitate access to best practices," said Prof. Dr Human Fatemi, Subspecialist Reproductive Medicine and Reproductive Surgery and the Medical Director, IVI Middle East Fertility Clinic.

Addressing challenges and future directions for IVF, the conference was spearheaded by high profile, scientific international speakers.

The 2018 conference hosted over 300 OB-GYN experts from the UAE and several renowned international speakers. It served as a great opportunity to network with experts from all areas of the field and focused on the major studies and breakthroughs in fertility treatments globally.
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, through the Saudi Fund for Development (SFD), has contributed US$63 million for projects to be implemented in Gaza, the West Bank and Jordan.

ABU DHABI, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News / WAM - 30th Nov, 2018) The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, through the Saudi Fund for Development (SFD), has contributed US$63 million for projects to be implemented in Gaza, the West Bank and Jordan.

Four agreements were signed on 28th November by the SFD Vice-Chairman and Managing Director, Dr. Khalid Sulaiman Alkhudairy, and the Commissioner-General of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), Pierre Krahenbuhl.

The first agreement, valued at $31 million, will support ongoing projects, including the reconstruction of shelters, construction of new health centers and two UNRWA schools, maintenance of schools and fuel supply in Gaza. The second agreement, valued at $17 million, will assist UNRWA in the reconstruction and furnishing of several health centres, camp offices and schools in the West Bank, comprehensive maintenance of UNRWA premises in East-Jerusalem and the implementation of several other ongoing projects. The third agreement, valued at $8 million, will provide funds for comprehensive maintenance for UNRWA schools and Health Centers in Jordan.

While the fourth agreement valued at $7 million, will provide funds for maintaining UNRWA facilities across all its fields of operations.

Dr. Khalid Alkhudairy said: "We are a proud partner of UNRWA, which is doing an excellent job serving Palestine refugees. We shall continue to support UNRWA and we look forward as always to witnessing the impact of these projects on Palestine refugees."

Expressing his gratitude, Mr. Krahenbuhl said: "I am extremely grateful to the government and the people of Saudi Arabia for the sustained support that the Kingdom has extended to Palestine Refugees and to UNRWA services over the years. I would like to express particular appreciation for the role played by the Saudi Fund for Development and recognition for the trust it places in the Agency. Our partnership with the Fund is of high importance and deeply appreciated."

In 2018, UNRWA faced its largest budget shortfall since its founding. Support from dedicated partners like Saudi Arabia has enabled the Agency to sustain vital services to Palestine refugees across the middle East.
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The Arab Coalition, led by Saudi Arabia, today handed over, to the Yemeni Coast Guard, the management of ports and coastal security in Hadramaut.

MUKALLA, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News / WAM - 29th Nov, 2018) The Arab Coalition, led by Saudi Arabia, today handed over, to the Yemeni Coast Guard, the management of ports and coastal security in Hadramaut.

It also supplied Yemeni forces with boats equipped with weapons, communication devices and advanced radars, to guard and protect the coast of Hadramaut.

The handover, at which it was declared that the Hadramaut Coast Guard is fully equipped and ready, took place during an official ceremony in Mukalla, with the attendance of Salem Ahmed Al Khanbashi, Deputy Prime Minister of Yemen, Lt. Colonel Abdullah Al Zuwaidi, Joint Task Force Commander of the Arab Coalition, Mohammed Saeed Al Jaber, Ambassador of Saudi Arabia to Yemen, Matthew Toller, Ambassador of the United States to Yemen, Major General Faraj Salemin Al Bahsani, Governor of Hadramaut, and several Yemeni officials.

Lt. Colonel Al Zuwaidi said that the Arab Coalition had handed over its responsibilities to guard and protect Yemens coast to the Yemeni Coast Guard. It had also trained 26 Yemeni Coast Guard officers and 398 recruits and supplied the service with 32 boats, he added.

He further added that the coalition restored Coast Guard boats damaged by Al Qaeda, and constructed coastal radar stations and provided them with AIS devices and ship identification systems while noting that they have established a mechanism to issue licences for commercial ships.

"Today, we are celebrating the readiness of the coast guard forces in Hadramaut," he stated.

The coast of Hadramaut stretches over 350 kilometres and has seven major ports and dozens of small harbours.

Al Khanbashi thanked the Arab Coalition Forces for training and supporting the Yemeni Coast Guard, to protect Yemen from terrorist attacks and stop all forms of smuggling of people, weapons and drugs, which will achieve the countrys security and stability.

The Saudi Ambassador to Yemen said that upgrading capabilities of the Yemeni Coast Guard comes as part of the Coalition's efforts to restore security and stability in the entire Yemeni territories.

Major General Al Bahsani said the Saudi-led Arab Coalition had made great efforts to prevent any terrorist threats in the coasts of Hadramaut.

The 2nd Military Command in Yemen lately launched 'Operation Iron Fist' to tighten anti-terrorist security measures across the western areas of Mukalla.

The UAE recently delivered patrol vehicles to the Coast Guard in Hadramaut. The vehicles are equipped with the latest tools and equipment, will enable the forces perform their duty of maintaining security and stability.
Crisis Phone Numberspecial noticeIf you are a veteran in emotional crisis and need help RIGHT NOW, call this toll-free number 1-800-273-8255, available 24/7, and tell them you are a veteran. All calls are confidential.1-888-899-9377A Crisis Intervention Hotline has been established by the VA Heartland Network to assist veterans who may be dealing with a mental health crisis or difficult issue in their lives. The hotline will also aid family members or friends of veterans who need help in assisting a veteran in crisis.
Mohammed Ahmed Osman Al Hammadi, UAE Ambassador to Somalia, has discussed with the UN Secretary-General's Special Representative for Somalia, Nicholas Haysom, ways to enhance cooperation between the UAE and the UN Office in Somalia.

MOGADISHU, Somalia, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News / WAM - 30th Nov, 2018) Mohammed Ahmed Osman Al Hammadi, UAE Ambassador to Somalia, has discussed with the UN Secretary-General's Special Representative for Somalia, Nicholas Haysom, ways to enhance cooperation between the UAE and the UN Office in Somalia.

During the meeting, held at the embassy's headquarters in Mogadishu, they reviewed the latest developments in Somalia and the efforts exerted by the UAE and the UN to support the country.

Al Hammadi congratulated Haysom on assuming his new post and wished him success, while emphasising the UAE's support for his efforts which would contribute to boosting security, stability and development in Somalia.

In turn, UN Secretary-General's Special Representative hailed the UAE''s continuous efforts to supporting various humanitarian, relief and development work in Somalia.
The prosecution and Defense Counsels on Friday completed the arguments over summoning all foreign witnesses in a case, pertaining to the murder of Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) leader Imran Farooq which was being prosecuted at an Anti Terrorism Court (ATC).

ISLAMABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 30th Nov, 2018 ) :The prosecution and Defense Counsels on Friday completed the arguments over summoning all foreign witnesses in a case, pertaining to the murder of Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) leader Imran Farooq which was being prosecuted at an Anti Terrorism Court (ATC).

In previous hearing the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) had pleaded the ATC for summoning all the foreign witnesses of the case.

ATC on Friday resumed the hearing and summoned for prosecution witnesses for the next date of hearing.

The ATC judge Shahrukh Arjumand has fixed the next date of hearing as December 13 for finalizing the arguments after which the foreign witnesses would be summoned for expediting the trial.

Three accused Khalid Shamim, Syed Mohsin Ali and Moazzam Ali had been indicted in the case while four others were declared proclaimed offenders.

Two of the suspects, Khalid Shamim and Syed Mohsin Ali have already recorded their confessional statements before a magistrate, alleging that the slain MQM leader was killed because he was a "potent threat to the leadership of MQM".

Shamim confessed that Farooq's murder was allegedly a 'birthday gift' for the MQM founder, while Syed Mohsin stated that he took part in the crime because he was promised a position in the MQM'sLondon Secretariat.

Imran Farooq was murdered outside his house in London on September 16, 2010.
(@ChaudhryMAli88)

The Edhi Foundation has appealed the judiciary and the civil administration to take notice of alleged encroachment over the foundation's plot in Hyderabad.

HYDERABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 30th Nov, 2018 ) :The Edhi Foundation has appealed the judiciary and the civil administration to take notice of alleged encroachment over the foundation's plot in Hyderabad

In a letter written by the foundation's zonal head Meraj Ahmed, the authorities have been informed that some local influential people had illegally occupied more than 20,000 square feet plot in Makrani Para area along Autobahn road in Hyderabad.

"Over a dozen encroachers who are patronized by local influential and political people have encroached over the land," Ahmed alleged, adding that the land had remained under their occupation for around 2 decades.

During the period in question, the squatters made fake cases against the foundation in the court to justify their control of the plots, he added. However, he apprised the authorities that the foundation won cases from the Sindh High Court which imposed penalties against the squatters but still the plots remain in their control.

According to him, Hyderabad Municipal Corporation in 1986 handed over possession of 74,962 square feet plot to Trust for Disabled Persons as an amenity plot.

Though the Trust's Syed Sabir Ali Bukhari constructed a building named Apna Ghar, he could not run the facility and subsequently donated the property to the foundation in June, 1990.

Ahmed said the encroachment on the land began from as early as 1991 and since then the foundation had been confronting one squatter after another.

He expressed the hope that the authorities would take up his plea and would remove encroachment from the land.

Meanwhile, Ahmed told the APP over phone that the Sindh High Court in April, 2018, disposed of 2 separate petitions filed against the foundation over the land while deciding the case in favour of the foundation. "The court even fined the 2 petitioners with Rs200,000 fine over each for making a false claim," he told.

According to him, the SHC's order was not challenged by the petitioners in the apex court following which the foundation approached the district administration to remove encroachment from their land.

"However, despite their assurances the district administration is not taking an action," he lamented.
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Governor of Punjab, Chaudhry Mohammad Sarwar here on Friday visited the mausoleum of the Father of Nation, Quaid e Azam and offered fateha.

KARACHI, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 30th Nov, 2018 ) : Governor of Punjab , Chaudhry Mohammad Sarwar here on Friday visited the mausoleum of the Father of Nation, Quaid e Azam and offered fateha.

Federal Minister for Water Resources, Faisal Vawda was also present on the occasion along with senior officials of the government.

In his remarks on the "Visitor's Book" placed on the premises, the Governor of Punjab paid glowing tribute to the founder of the country and said there was need to strictly comply with his principles of Unity, Faith, Discipline and Honesty.
ISLAMABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 30th Nov, 2018 ) :Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Accountability Shahzad Akbar Friday said the Federal government signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Swiss authorities to obtain information about assets and bank accounts owned by Pakistanis in Switzerland.

He said the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI government is taking step to bring back looted wealth.

Pakistan and Swiss governments have signed an MoU enabling exchange of financial information on bilateral basis which will enable Pakistani authorities to seek details of Swiss bank accounts of Pakistanis." he tweet on his Official Twitter account.

It further said that a high level delegation led by him has also negotiated the up-gradation and implementation of automation of exchange of information on bilateral level and also additional protocols and MoUs for expediting Pakistani requests on preferential basis.
(@FahadShabbir)

Launch of ten new passenger trains, increase number of freight trains, 90 percent of punctuality trains improved, adding of around 20 million passengers in the system and other positive steps by the department was a milestone achievements of Ministry of Railways in 100-day of the present government.

ISLAMABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 30th Nov, 2018 ) :Launch of ten new passenger trains, increase number of freight trains, 90 percent of punctuality trains improved, adding of around 20 million passengers in the system and other positive steps by the department was a milestone achievements of Ministry of Railways in 100-day of the present government.

"This is all done due to the restless efforts of the management of the Pakistan Railways under the leadership of Minister for Railways Sheikh Rashid," an official in the Ministry of Railways told APP.

He said that Sheikh Rashid Ahmed had announced to run around 10 new passenger trains on different routes during the initial 100 days and the department has successfully achieved the target even before the completion of the given timeframe.

The performance report of Ministry of Railways Ministry of 100-day had been presented to Prime Minister Imran Khan in which as many as 18 major initiatives were elaborated, he added.

Giving details of the achievements, he said that in the report, Pakistan Railways had initiated the process for hiring around 10,000 new technical and non- technical staffer to improve the performance of the organization.

He said the electricity supply system of the Railway Colonies across the country was handing over to Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA) that save billion of rupees annually.

The department privatized the operation of schools and hospitals run by the Pakistan Railways to cut the financial burden on the department and the auction of 10 thousands obsolete bogies of goods trains also helped the Railways to generate additional income, he said.

He said that Gwadar was given the status of Railways Division and disbanding the Vigilance Cell for saving precious resources besides repatriating 350 employees to their parent departments.
(@rukhshanmir)

A parliamentary delegation led by Senator Muhammad Ali Saif, expressed support for enhancing trade and economic linkages amongst the Asian countries for shared and inclusive prosperity in the region.

ISLAMABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 30th Nov, 2018 ) :A parliamentary delegation led by Senator Muhammad Ali Saif, expressed support for enhancing trade and economic linkages amongst the Asian countries for shared and inclusive prosperity in the region.

The parliamentarians said this during the inaugural ceremony of the 11th Plenary Session of Asian Parliamentary Assembly (APA) being held in Istanbul, Turkey and was attended by Speakers of the Parliaments of Turkey and Iran as well as a large number of parliamentary delegations, a press release received here Friday said.

The session is being held from November 29 to December 2, on the theme of "Promoting Economic Prosperity in Asia." Delivering a message on behalf of the Senate chairman during the APA meeting, Senator Muhammad Ali Saif said intra and inter-regional connectivity was key to economic prosperity and progress in the region.

He stressed the critical role that parliamentary forums like APA could play in realizing the dream of regional economic integration in Asia.

He also highlighted the important contributions of Pakistan's parliament towards realizing this goal during Pakistan's Presidency of the APA from 2013-2015 as well as its Vice-Presidency of APA Political Affairs Committee and Special Committee for the Creation of Asian Parliament (SCCAP) during 2017-2018.

He also called for the creation of an Asian Parliament as a stepping-stone towards greater regional interaction.

Senator Muhammad Ali Saif said the highly successful meeting of the APA Political Affairs Committee and SCCAP recently held at Gwadar, was a testimony to Pakistan's strong desire to play its due role in the region for enhancing inter and intra regional connectivity.

The meeting helped to bring to international lime-light the numerous connectivity projects currently underway in Pakistan under the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) project. Pakistan's delegation includes senators Muhamamd Ali Saif, Ayub Afridi, Moula Bux Chandio, Mir. Kabeer Ahmed Muhammad Shahi, Nuzhat Sadiq, MNAs Chaudhry Salik Hussain and Makhdoom Zain Hussain Qureshi as well as Secretary Senate Amjad Pervez Malik.

Earlier, the parliamentary delegation also attended the meeting of the Executive Council of APA during which it reiterated the need for coming up with financial contributions for streamlining the affairs of APA on a permanent basis.

Pakistan also expressed its willingness to contribute an appropriate amount to be agreed unanimously by the APA Member Parliaments in this regard.

The Pakistani Parliamentary delegation will participate in numerous APA Standing Committee meetings during the course of the event, in addition to holding several bilateral meetings on the sidelines.
Pakistan Railways Multan has been directed to submit pension papers of retired, invalided employees and widows within 15 days to the authorities concerned.

MULTAN, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 30th Nov, 2018 ) : Pakistan Railways Multan has been directed to submit pension papers of retired, invalided employees and widows within 15 days to the authorities concerned.

According to a official notification here on Friday, taking action on the complaints regarding issues of pension faced by the retired, invalided employees and widows, the Railways Headquarters has directed Divisional Suprintendent Multan to ensure early filing to pension papers of these employees.

The DS Railways has been directed to submit pension papers for encashment and settlement dues within 15 days and pension papers of retired employees of 60 years of age must be submitted before four months of their retirement.
(@rukhshanmir)

Pakistan Railways has removed 384 illegal shops on railway land in Dudial (Chakwal) during anti-encroachment operation launched on the directive of Minister for Railways Sheikh Rashid Ahmed.

ISLAMABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 30th Nov, 2018 ) :Pakistan Railways has removed 384 illegal shops on railway land in Dudial (Chakwal) during anti-encroachment operation launched on the directive of Minister for Railways Sheikh Rashid Ahmed.

"The present government is showing zero tolerance against land grabbers across the country and in this regard Pakistan Railways aggressively is vacating its crucial land from the encroachers," an official in the Ministry of Railways told APP.

He said that Divisional Superintendent along with railway police and local administration has demolished the illegal shops estimated cost of the land is worth billion of rupees.

"Around 12 kanal commercial and agricultural railway land worth Rs 66 million also retrieve from the land mafia in Dudial during another operation against the grabbers," he added.

He said that Minister for Railways had instructed strictly to all the Divisional Superintendents of Pakistan Railways to retrieve all the land belonging to Pakistan Railways from land grabbers and no political interference would be tolerated in this regard.

Giving detail, he said the department owns 1,67,690 acres land all over the country, out of which 90,326 has in Punjab, 39,428 in Sindh, 28,228 in Balochistan and 9,708 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

He said that Pakistan Railways had leased out 15,172 acres land for various purposes across the country and around 3,400 acres land is under encroachments of different government departments and individual.

"Pakistan Railways was using 1,086 acres land for Railway Housing Societies in four provinces and 806 acres land is under the utilization of regular and non-regular Katchi Abadies," he added.

He said the land was leased and licensed out for various purposes including premium shops, stacking, agricultural and parking stands etc.

Giving province wise breakup, the official said that Pakistan Railways has leased out 5,132 acres in Punjab, 833 in Sindh, 470 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and 59 acres in Balochistan.
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Sinohydro Corporation China and Sichuan Energy Industry Investment Group Co. Ltd. China are to take up the execution of 35 MW Toren More Hydropower Project soon.

PESHAWAR, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 30th Nov, 2018 ) :Sinohydro Corporation China and Sichuan Energy Industry Investment Group Co. Ltd. China are to take up the execution of 35 MW Toren More Hydropower Project soon.

This was transpired in a meeting between Pakhtunkhwa Hydel Development Organization (PHYDO), Sinohydro Corporation China and Sichuan Energy Industry Investment Group Co. Ltd. China, says a press release received here other day.

Adviser to the KP Chief Minister on Energy and Power, Himayatullah Khan presided.

The Chinese Companies had already submitted their proposals to the PHYDO KP and a Letter of Intents (LOI) will soon be issued to them.

The meeting discussed issues pertaining to the finalization of said LOI and it was decided that a meeting of the board of PHYDO will be convened next week wherein an approval of it and other such development schemes will be sought.

Besides others the meeting was attended by Secretary Energy and Power and senior officers ofPHYDO. The site is located on river Chitral for which the provincial governmenthad already signed MoUs with the Chinese hydro companies.
WASHINGTON (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 30th November, 2018) The US Department of State said in a statement on Thursday that a public-private advisory body it sponsors will hold a meeting on internet issues in Cuba in December.

"The Cuba Internet Task Force will hold its second public meeting on Thursday, December 6, 2018," the statement said on Thursday.

The State Department explained the Cuba Internet Task Force is composed of representatives from the US government and non-governmental organizations.

"[The Task Force] aims to promote the free and unregulated flow of information into and within Cuba," the statement said.

The advisory body examines the technological challenges and opportunities for expanding internet access and independent media in Cuba, the report added.

The Cuba Internet Task Force publicly met for the first time in February and shortly after its meeting the first mobile internet in Cuba was tested in August.

Internet in Cuba has mostly been available in special public spots via Wi-Fi and in some homes and agencies via a modem, according to the release.
(@mahnoorsheikh03)

The teacher who is surprised and overjoyed by the treatment breaks down into tears.

Lahore (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News  30th November, 2018) A pilot of Turkish Airlines gave the best surprise to his teacher who was on board the same flight.

A video going viral on Twitter shows a pilot of Turkish Airlines making an announcement of his teacher being in the plane.

While the passengers on board the flight watched the teacher getting emotional, the cabin crew walked to the old man handed him a bouquet of flowers.

The teacher, shocked, at the treatment broke down into tears. He accepted the flowers as he wiped off his tears. He then greeted each of the crew members and thanked them for the response.

The last scene where he hugged the pilot will surely makes one emotional at the teacher-student bond people share.

Journalist Ihtisham ul Haq took to Twitter to share the video of the emotional scene from the flight.

"Turkish Airlines pilot thanks his school teacher who was on board the flight. Very moving and shows the ultimate respect to the educators who shape our lives," he wrote as he shared the video.

Watch here:
(@FahadShabbir)

Bulgaria, which generates more than 40 percent of its energy from coal, will oppose any further increase in targets to curb carbon emissions, President Rumen Radev said Thursday.

Sofia, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 29th Nov, 2018 ) :Bulgaria, which generates more than 40 percent of its energy from coal, will oppose any further increase in targets to curb carbon emissions, President Rumen Radev said Thursday.

Radev, who will head the Bulgarian delegation at the COP24 UN climate talks next week in the Polish city of Katowice, said that measures to limit climate change were "necessary and urgent." "But these measures have to be kept within the framework of what has already been agreed, and there should be no increase in the commitments," he said.

Around 1,000 coal miners and power plant workers demonstrated in Sofia on Thursday to protest against calls for increased carbon-cutting measures.

Podkrepa trade union chief Dimitar Manolov said tens of thousands jobs were at stake if Bulgaria is forced to shut down its Maritsa East power plant, one of the most polluting plants in Bulgaria and the 11th dirtiest in Europe.

"We want to preserve the coal energy industry as it is now," Manolov told AFP.

Energy Minister Temenuzhka Petkova visited the plant on Wednesday to try and reassure workers.

The two-week COP24 meeting will seek to breathe new life into the 195-nation Paris Agreement, signed in December 2015, with a number of countries -- notably the United States -- recently backsliding on their original commitments.

The agreement, due to come into effect in 2020, aims to limit global warming to less than two degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels. And countries are being urged to increase their carbon-cutting targets.

In 2017, Bulgaria was reprimanded, but not fined, by the European Court of Justice for repeatedly breaching the EU's air pollution limits.
The number of conflict situations over Baltic states with the participation of NATO fighters has decreased nearly to zero thanks to agreements with Finland, Latvia and Estonia, head of Russia's National Defense Control Center, Col. Gen. Mikhail Mizintsev, said Friday

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 30th November, 2018) The number of conflict situations over Baltic states with the participation of NATO fighters has decreased nearly to zero thanks to agreements with Finland, Latvia and Estonia, head of Russia's National Defense Control Center, Col. Gen.

Mikhail Mizintsev, said Friday.

"The implementation of the reached agreements has reduced nearly to zero the number of conflict situations in the Baltic countries' airspace, including with the participation of NATO fighter jets, and generally improved flight safety in the Baltic region," Mizintsev said at an inter-agency cooperation conference.
The Syrian Foreign Ministry said Friday it had stressed it its letter to the United Nations that the Israeli air attack on settlements south of Damascus was aimed at prolonging the conflict in Syria and at supporting terrorists.

DAMASCUS (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 30th November, 2018) The Syrian Foreign Ministry said Friday it had stressed it its letter to the United Nations that the Israeli air attack on settlements south of Damascus was aimed at prolonging the conflict in Syria and at supporting terrorists.

Earlier in the day, the ministry sent letters to the UN secretary general and the chairman of the UN Security Council in connection with the attack of the US-led coalition on the village of Al-Shafa on Friday morning, killing more than 30 civilians, and an air attack by the Israeli army on Thursday.

"These repeated attacks continue aggression against the sovereignty, unity and security of the Syrian territory, and their goals are similar to regular Israeli attacks, the last of which was carried out by Israel over the Al-Kiswah region south of Damascus. This is more evidence of the fact that it [Israel] supports terrorist groups and is trying to prolong the conflict in Syria," the foreign ministry said in a statement, as quoted by the Ikhbariya channel.

The fact that these crimes continue clearly reflects the United States' disregard for humanitarian values and contempt for international law, the ministry said.

"The creation of the US coalition is completely contrary to the principles and foundation of international law," it added.

A Syrian military source told Sputnik on Thursday that Syrian air defense systems hit several targets in the skies above Al-Kiswah, south of Damascus, without specifying what the targets were. The Israeli side has not not commented on reports about their involvement in an airstrike.

The coalition regularly conducts airstrikes on the city of Hajin and nearby villages in the province of Deir ez-Zor under the pretext of helping the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in fighting the Islamic State terrorist group (banned in Russia). Syrian media have repeatedly reported civilian casualties and the use of white phosphorus in coalition airstrikes. Syrian authorities have repeatedly called on the United Nations to take action against the perpetrators and to stop the coalition's illegal presence on Syrian territory. According to the Pentagon, the US-led coalition does not disclose the type of ammunition used in Syria, but ensures compliance with international standards.

The coalition's presence in Syria are not authorized by the government of President Bashar Assad or the United Nations Security Council.
(@rukhshanmir)

Bulgaria has become the first ever member of the European Union to extradite a fugitive Chinese official suspected of bribery, the Chinese National Supervision Commission said in a statement.

BEIJING (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 30th November, 2018) Bulgaria has become the first ever member of the European Union to extradite a fugitive Chinese official suspected of bribery, the Chinese National Supervision Commission said in a statement.

According to the statement, the extradited person, born in 1956, worked in the Chinese southeastern province of Zhejiang before fleeing abroad in 2005 after facing suspicions of abuse of power and bribe-taking.

In October 2018, the International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol) issued a Red Notice at the request of the Chinese authorities, meaning that the body requested countries to locate the suspect and detain the man with a view to his extradition.

Later in October, the fugitive official was detained by the Bulgarian police, with a local court later granting the suspect's extradition to the Chinese authorities.

China has launched a large-scale anti-corruption campaign after Xi Jinping became the country's president in 2012. Nevertheless, in 2017, China stood 77th in Transparency International's Corruption Perceptions Index, which ranks a total of 180 countries worldwide depending on the level of corruption estimated by experts and business people.

Beijing is currently negotiating with foreign states to obtain extradition orders for other fugitive officials suspected of corruption. Public servants found to be guilty of graft may face a death penalty in China if they have accepted at least $463,000 in bribes, according to Transparency International.
The European Parliament adopted a resolution on Thursday, in which it called upon Serbia to follow Western foreign policy toward Moscow.

BRUSSELS (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 29th November, 2018) The European Parliament adopted a resolution on Thursday, in which it called upon Serbia to follow Western foreign policy toward Moscow

"Serbia should align its foreign policy more with the EU's, also on Russia," the European Parliament said in a press release.

The document was put to the vote during the plenary session of European Parliament's Committee on Foreign Affairs and approved on Thursday by an overwhelming majority of lawmakers (503 voted in favor and 85 against).

European Parliament Rapporteur for Serbia David McAllister commented on the approval of the document, saying that Serbia had made significant progress toward it strategic goal of joining the European Union and the European Parliament would continue supporting Serbia on its European path.

Earlier on Monday, Serbian Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic said that Serbia will not join European sanctions against Moscow. In August, Serbian Defense Minister Aleksandar Vulin also announced that Serbia would never participate in anti-Russian hysteria and impose sanctions against Russia.
Ambassador of the Republic of Kazakhstan to Hungary Nurbakh Rustemov and Deputy of State Secretary of the Ministry of Human Capacities of Hungary Arpad Meszaros signed the Protocol amending the Agreement between the Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Kazakhstan and the Ministry of Human Capacities of Hungary on cooperation in education and science dated November 19, 2013 was signed.

ASTANA, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 29th Nov, 2018 ) :Ambassador of the Republic of Kazakhstan to Hungary Nurbakh Rustemov and Deputy of State Secretary of the Ministry of Human Capacities of Hungary Arpad Meszaros signed the Protocol amending the Agreement between the Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Kazakhstan and the Ministry of Human Capacities of Hungary on cooperation in education and science dated November 19, 2013 was signed.

The document was signed within the 6th meeting of the Kazakh-Hungarian Intergovernmental Commission on economic cooperation held last week in Budapest, the press service of the Kazakh Embassy in Hungary informs.

According to the document, the Hungarian side allocates from the 2019/2020 academic year 250 grants for bachelor, masters and doctoral programs. Kazakhstani citizens will be able to study in arts, humanities, medicine, technical sciences and agriculture.

The scholarship program "Stipendium Hungaricum" was launched in 2013 by the Hungarian government. The main objective of the program is to increase the number of foreign students in Hungary and encourage Hungarian higher education institutions to attract the best foreign students. To date, students from more than 50 countries, including more than 500 Kazakhstanis, study in Hungary under this program.
Reykjavik, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 30th Nov, 2018 ) :Two centuries ago experts predicted that Icelandic would be a dead language by now. But the doomsayers can eat their words: Icelandic is alive and kicking despite an onslaught of English brought on by modern technology.

Currently spoken by the 355,000 inhabitants of this North Atlantic island, Icelandic has repeatedly come under threat through the ages -- following migrations, invasions by Norway and Denmark from the 16th to the early 20th centuries, and the Industrial Revolution.

But it has always survived, with the written language little changed since the 11th century.

With just a little guesswork, an Icelander today can read the Icelandic Sagas, medieval literary masterpieces written in Old Norse in the 13th and 14th centuries.

Yet English usage has in recent decades skyrocketed in Iceland -- as around the world -- thanks to the dominance of American pop culture as well as the adoption of modern technology such as the internet, YouTube and smartphones with lightning speed.

Visitors to the capital Reykjavik need only ask locals for directions to quickly discover that Iceland is in fact bilingual.

For youths here, speaking English is simply a matter of necessity.

"I have to be able to read English because it's everywhere and it's universal," 11-year-old Sigthor Elias Smith says -- in Icelandic.

Here, people watch videos and play games on their laptops, tablets and smartphones in English for the most part. Like in other Nordic countries, dubbing is almost non-existent.

And Icelandic is glaringly absent in the online world.

"I watch YouTube a lot, I learn a lot of English that way, and also on Netflix," says Sigthor's friend Eva Bjork Angarita, 12.
(@ChaudhryMAli88)

US private equity firm Indigo Partners has agreed to buy a stake in Iceland's loss-making carrier WOW Air, the no-frills company said Friday, one day after Icelandair ditched plans to buy it.

Reykjavik, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 30th Nov, 2018 ) :US private equity firm Indigo Partners has agreed to buy a stake in Iceland 's loss-making carrier WOW Air, the no-frills company said Friday, one day after Icelandair ditched plans to buy it.

Indigo, which also owns stakes in Wizz Air and Frontier Airlines among others, and WOW Air did not disclose the terms of the preliminary agreement.

But a WOW statement said its "chief executive officer and Primary shareholder, Skuli Mogensen, would remain a principal investor in WOW upon completion of the transaction." Meanwhile, Bill Franke, managing partner of Indigo Partners, said it had "a strategic vision for the airline, and looks forward to working with its employees and agents to deliver that vision.

" The airline, founded in 2011 and which flies to 25 destinations in Europe and North America, posted a pre-tax loss of almost $60 million in the first half of the year.

On Thursday, Icelandair announced that its planned acquisition of WOW -- which local media estimated to be worth two billion kronur (around 16 million Euros, $18 million) -- would not go ahead.

Icelandair provided no explanation but the airline's financial woes are believed to be worse than previously thought.
Chairman of the Joint Economic Commission of Iran and Russia Reza Ardakanian on Friday called for removing obstacles for Iranian businessmen in Russia particularly in areas of rail transport and trade exchanges

MOSCOW, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 30th Nov, 2018 ) :Chairman of the Joint Economic Commission of Iran and Russia Reza Ardakanian on Friday called for removing obstacles for Iranian businessmen in Russia particularly in areas of rail transport and trade exchanges.

In a meeting with members of Iranian and Russian Business Council, Reza Ardakanian emphasized on removal of intermediary countries for exporting Iranian goods to Russia and organizing Iranian commodity exports based on the standard and quality.

Ardakanian who is in Moscow also pointed out the existence of business councils as a necessity to pursue matters.

The Minister of Energy, as chairman of the Iranian side, traveled to Moscow on Thursday to mull the preparations for holding the 15th Summit of the two countries Joint Commission in Tehran.
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Sraeli jets bombed several areas in southern Syria and near Damascus on Thursday drawing retaliatory fire from the ground, a monitoring group said.

Damascus, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 30th Nov, 2018 ) :Israeli jets bombed several areas in southern Syria and near Damascus on Thursday drawing retaliatory fire from the ground, a monitoring group said.

The Israeli military made no comment on the reported strikes, during which Syrian air defences opened fire for the first time since the deadly downing of a Russian transport plane in September, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

"Israeli forces bombarded for an hour positions in the southern and southwestern suburbs of Damascus as well as in the south of Syria at the border of Quneitra province," Observatory chief Rami Abdel Rahman said.

Syrian state media said air defences downed a number of "hostile targets" close to the capital.

"Our air defences fired on hostile targets over the Kisweh area and downed them," the official SANA news agency reported, citing a military source.

The Israeli military denied that any of its aircraft were hit, while not commenting on the reported strikes.

"Reports regarding an IDF (Israeli military) aircraft or an airborne IDF target having been hit are false," it said in an English-language statement.

It said a Syrian surface-to-air missile was fired in the direction of an open area of the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights but it was unclear if it had hit Israeli-held territory.

Israel has carried out hundreds of air strikes in neighbouring Syria against what it says are Iranian targets, many of them in the area south of Damascus.
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German government aircraft A340 Kondrad Adenauer, on board which German Chancellor Angela Merkel was flying to Argentina to the G20 summit, had a technical malfunction during the flight over the Netherlands, the German Air Force's spokesman told journalists at the Cologne/Bonn airport

BERLIN (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 30th November, 2018) German government aircraft A340 Kondrad Adenauer, on board which German Chancellor Angela Merkel was flying to Argentina to the G20 summit, had a technical malfunction during the flight over the Netherlands, the German Air Force's spokesman told journalists at the Cologne/Bonn airport.

"As planned, we took off from Berlin on board the A340 on time. During the flight over the Netherlands, the first technical malfunction occurred, which was detected by the crew. There was a disconnection of communication and other systems were affected," the spokesman said.
Mongolia's prime minister and his cabinet survived a parliament vote to sack them Friday over a corruption scandal that has implicated high-level politicians in a state fund embezzlement scheme.

Ulaanbaatar, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 30th Nov, 2018 ) :Mongolia's prime minister and his cabinet survived a parliament vote to sack them Friday over a corruption scandal that has implicated high-level politicians in a state fund embezzlement scheme.

"I am not a dictator," said prime minister Ukhnaa Khurelsukh during a heated parliamentary session that lasted more than four hours Friday afternoon.

"Some of you are thinking and are afraid that I might turn into a dictator -- I assure you I won't", he said.

In a council meeting earlier this month, Khurelsukh demanded that several high-ranking officials step down for various reasons, including incompetence.

However, the prime minister did not punish anyone from his own cabinet -- even though several members were implicated in the embezzlement scandal -- resulting in the vote to oust him from office.

The move to boot Khurelsukh comes just over a year after the prime minister was named to replace his predecessor, Jargaltulgiin Erdenebat.

In September 2017, Erdenebat too faced parliament over allegations of corruption, such as providing illegal cash allowances to voters, and was sacked, along with his cabinet.

Political instability has been a constant problem for the young Central Asian democracy, which passed its first constitution in 1992 after decades of Communist rule.

The country has been through 15 different cabinets in the years since, each lasting an average of 1.5 years.
Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) Secretary General Thomas Greminger said in an interview with Sputnik that the recent elections in the self-proclaimed Donbas republics failed to comply with conditions outlined in the Minsk peace accords.

VIENNA (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 30th November, 2018) Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) Secretary General Thomas Greminger said in an interview with Sputnik that the recent elections in the self-proclaimed Donbas republics failed to comply with conditions outlined in the Minsk peace accords.

Under the Minsk agreements, the elections in Donbas should be held in correspondence with the Ukrainian law, in particular, the law "on temporary order of local self-governance in particular districts of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions." The Ukrainian parliament, in turn, should adopt a decree that would specify the territories where local self-governance would be established.

"There's a clearly defined way of holding elections in the Minsk agreements and this type of elections that we are aiming at is not elections that have been organized in contradiction to the conditions laid out by the Minsk agreements. That is exactly the problem: that the conditions that are laid out in the Minsk agreements have not been respected," Greminger said.

On November 11, the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) and Luhansk People's Republic (LPR) held leaders' and parliamentary elections. Kiev, as well as the European Union and the United States, has not recognized the elections. Meanwhile, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has stressed that the elections in Donbas did not run counter the Minsk agreements.

In April 2014, Kiev launched a military operation against the self-proclaimed republics in the Donbas region which refused to recognize the new Ukrainian government that came to power in what they perceived to be a coup. The conflicting sides signed the Minsk peace accords in February 2015 to end the fighting in the crisis-torn region, but the situation has remained tense, with both parties accusing each other of ceasefire violations.
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DAMASCUS (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 30th November, 2018) Over 30,000 Syrian civilians have returned to their homes in the areas under the control of the Syrian government from the Idlib de-escalation zone through a checkpoint located near the city of Abu Adh Dhuhur that was opened in March, Sergei Popov, the spokesperson of the Russian Defense Ministry's Center for Syrian Reconciliation told reporters on Friday.

Abu Adh Dhuhur, located in the Idlib province to the southeast of the city of Aleppo, was liberated from militants in February. The checkpoint located in the vicinity of the city is the only humanitarian corridor which is currently available for the Syrian internally displaced persons (IDPs) to leave the Idlib de-escalation zone.

"Since the opening of the [humanitarian] corridor, over 30,000 civilians have left [the Idlib de-escalation zone]. On November 26-28, over 1,500 people and over 60 pieces of equipment left [the area]," Popov said.

Popov added that safety of the people going through the checkpoint was ensured by the Russian military police supported by the Syrian security forces.
Just like the Sentinelese tribal people who recently killed an American who ventured onto their Indian Ocean island, Amerindians from the Amazon rainforest reject all contact with the outside world.

Lima, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 30th Nov, 2018 ) :Just like the Sentinelese tribal people who recently killed an American who ventured onto their Indian Ocean island, Amerindians from the Amazon rainforest reject all contact with the outside world.

But their way of life, and indeed their lives, are under threat from drug trafficking, illegal deforestation and mineral exploitation.

Peru, half of which is covered by the Amazon rainforest, is one of the few countries left in the world where uncontacted tribes continue to live in absolute autonomy, away from modern society.

The Peruvian Amazon is home to 16 indigenous communities numbering some 4,500 people, according to the culture ministry, that live in voluntary isolation.

Amongst them are the Mashco-piro, Cacataibos, Isconahuas, Matsigenkas, Mastanahuas, Murunahuas, Nantis and Yoras tribes.

Three more communities, around 2,500 people, are in a situation of "initial contact." They all live in reserves in three regions in the east of Peru: Ucayali, Madre de Dios and Cusc.

Contact between these groups and outsiders is rare, but sometimes violent, in much the same way as 27-year-old American John Allen Chau's encounter with the Sentinelese in the Andaman Islands.

Only around 150 members of that tribe remain on North Sentinel Island and all outsiders are barred from even approaching within three miles (five kilometers) of their land.
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Russia will continue its humanitarian assistance to the Syrian people and will provide help in infrastructure rebuilding, Chairwoman of the Russian Federation Council Valentina Matviyenko said Friday.

ST PETERSBURG (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 30th November, 2018) Russia will continue its humanitarian assistance to the Syrian people and will provide help in infrastructure rebuilding, Chairwoman of the Russian Federation Council Valentina Matviyenko said Friday.

"We repeatedly raised a question to the global community about the provision of humanitarian assistance and infrastructure rebuilding, offered to help the Syrian people together. Unfortunately, not all of the civilized countries replied to our proposal. Despite this fact, Russia will continue to follow its course and provide all the necessary humanitarian support to the Syrian people," Matviyenko said during an international conference dedicated to the 150th anniversary of the St. Petersburg Declaration Renouncing the Use in Time of War of Explosive Projectiles.

Matviyenko also said that today international humanitarian law is respected "not everywhere and not by everyone," leading to disastrous social consequences.

She further added that since the beginning of the Syrian war seven years ago, hundreds of thousands of people died, millions of Syrians abandoned their homes, the greatest cultural sites of Palmyra, Aleppo and other cities are either damaged or destroyed.

"As a result, from a once prosperous state, where representatives of different nationalities and religions lived peacefully, Syria turned into a zone of endless hostilities and the main area for terrorist activities," Matviyenko said.

On August 19, US President Donald Trump announced that Washington will not provide financial support for Syrian reconstruction unless the United Nations says there is a democratic power transition in the Syrian political system. In October 2018, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov announced that the United Nations issued a secret directive which prohibits the UN agencies to participate in any projects aimed at restoring the Syrian economy. UN estimates that the reconstruction of Syria will cost more than $250 billion. In September, Lavrov urged numerous UN agencies to prioritize international efforts to resolve the country's problems "in the interest of all Syrians with no double standards."
PRINCETON (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 30th November, 2018) Russian Ambassador to the United States Anatoly Antonov told Sputnik that he will formally request meetings with the incoming members of US Congress who chair the various congressional committees.

"We intend to send letters to all incoming chairmen of committees of both the US Senate and the US House of Representatives," Antonov said on Thursday. "It will be up to them to decide whether they will meet with the Russian ambassador or not."
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Alexey Repik, the founder of Russia's R-Pharm high-tech pharmaceutical company, told Sputnik on Friday that he planned to begin exporting the world's first fully automated cooking robot in 2019.

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 30th November, 2018) Alexey Repik, the founder of Russia 's R-Pharm high-tech pharmaceutical company , told Sputnik on Friday that he planned to begin exporting the world 's first fully automated cooking robot in 2019

Moley Robotics company, which developed the world's first intelligent cooking robot, was established in August 2017. The company is co-owned by Repik, who holds 50 percent of the company's shares.

"We plan to begin the first sales next year," Repik said.

It is planned that the cooking robots will be available for sale in Germany, Saudi Arabia, the United Kingdom and the United States.

According to Repik, the system would become fully operational with the development of IoT (internet of Things, which, in particular, refers to Smart Home technologies) systems to order groceries.

"The key role will belong to the introduction of an alternative system to deliver ingredients because the [cooking] robot stays at home and does not go to the market. Unless this logistics is ensured, the robots' functions will be very limited in performance," Repik said.

Last year, Repik said that the robot's prototype cost over $1 million. The price of the cooking machine indented for sale has not been revealed so far, with Repik saying that he expected the price of the robot to come to about $10,000.
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Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov and Israeli Social Equality Minister Gila Gamliel discussed humanitarian relations of the two countries as well as Middle Eastern crises during their talks in Moscow on Friday, the Russian Foreign Ministry said.

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 30th November, 2018) Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov and Israeli Social Equality Minister Gila Gamliel discussed humanitarian relations of the two countries as well as middle Eastern crises during their talks in Moscow on Friday, the Russian Foreign Ministry said.

"In the course of the talks, which were also attended by Israeli Ambassador to Russia Gary Koren, further development of the Russian-Israeli bilateral relations with a focus on strengthening humanitarian ties was discussed. Some aspects of Middle East issues were also addressed," the ministry said in a statement.

On November 19, Bogdanov and Koren held a meeting where they discussed the latest developments in the Gaza Strip as well as the prospects of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict settlement.

Egypt's intervention in mid-November halted the most intense round of armed confrontation between the Israelis and the Palestinians in the past four years the Palestinians had fired almost 500 missiles and mortar shells at southern Israel, while the Israelis conducted strikes on over 150 buildings and facilities in the Gaza Strip.
A South Korean delegation will visit the United Arab Emirates (UAE) next week to discuss the operational plan for the Middle Eastern nation's first nuclear power plant, the energy ministry said Friday.

SEOUL, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 30th Nov, 2018 ) :A South Korean delegation will visit the United Arab Emirates (UAE) next week to discuss the operational plan for the middle Eastern nation's first nuclear power plant, the energy ministry said Friday.

Senior officials from the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy and state-run utility firms, including the Korea Electric Power Corp. (KEPCO) and Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power (KHNP), will visit the UAE from Dec. 3-6 to discuss issues related to the Barakah nuclear power plant.

KEPCO has been building four APR-1400 reactors at Barakah, with one of the first units getting ready for operation. All four units are scheduled for completion by 2020.

"They will discuss various issues, including nuclear cooperation projects with UAE," Energy Minister Sung Yun-mo said during a parliamentary committee meeting.

Their visit comes after Nawah Energy Company, a unit of the Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation (ENEC), recently signed a long-term service agreement for the Barakah plant with French energy company EDF.

Under the agreement, the EDF said it will provide Nawah with services in operational safety, radiation protection, fuel cycle management and environmental monitoring.

Nawah's service agreement with EDF has raised concerns over South Korea's chances of winning a long-term operation contract at the Barakah power plant amid the government's nuclear phase-out policy.

A consortium led by KHNP has been vying for a long-term maintenance agreement, with Nawah expected to open a bid in the first half of next year, according to KEPCO.

"We are currently operating the prototypes of Barakah nuclear reactors and have expertise in construction and related data," Kim Dong-seop, a senior KEPCO official, said during the meeting. "If UAE trusts our expertise, we will have a competitive edge." Seoul is pushing to gradually phase out nuclear power on rising safety concerns, while seeking ways to export indigenous nuclear reactors to maintain the local supply chain and workforces.

During his visit to the Czech Republic, President Moon Jae-in touted the advanced technology and safety of Korean-made reactors and expressed hope for an upcoming nuclear bid in the Eastern European nation.

South Korea is also vying for Saudi Arabia's first nuclear project after being selected as one of the preferred bidders in June along with rivals from the United States, France, Russia and China.
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Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic on Thursday called on Kosovo Serbs to keep up protests against Pristina's massive customs tariff on Serbian goods, a retaliatory measure worsening tensions between the neighbours.

Belgrade, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 29th Nov, 2018 ) :Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic on Thursday called on Kosovo Serbs to keep up protests against Pristina 's massive customs tariff on Serbian goods, a retaliatory measure worsening tensions between the neighbours.

Brussels, Washington and the UN mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) have all urged Kosovo's government to give up the 100 percent customs tax on Serbian goods introduced a week ago.

Kosovo Serbs have been protesting since Tuesday in the divided city of Mitrovica, which has struggled with tensions between its Serb and ethnic Albanian communities since Kosovo declared independence in 2008.

Kosovo's tariff move came after it accused Belgrade of thwarting its attempt to join the global police organisation Interpol.

Serbia refuses to recognise the independence of its former province and has sought to block it from international organisations, including the UN.

Before meeting Kosovo Serbs representatives in Belgrade on Thursday, Vucic called them to "continue their peaceful protests" against "this decision which destroys regional stability and peace, without mentioning horrible economic consequences.

" The mayors of four majority-Serb municipalities in Kosovo have resigned in protest at the tariff.

Kosovo government said Thursday the move was not aimed against the Serb minority and said Serbian Orthodox churches and other religious sites were exempt.

"This sovereign decision ... comes as a result of the continuing obstacles that Serbia imposes on our country," a government statement said.

Belgrade and Pristina are under pressure from the West to relaunch dialogue on the normalisation of ties.

Majority ethnic Albanian Kosovo is still home to some 120,000 Serbs who stayed there after the 1998-1999 war and remained loyal to Belgrade.

Pristina, which declared independence in 2008, has struggled to exercise authority over Serb enclaves, particularly in the Mitrovica region bordering Serbia.

Pristina's measure has yet to trigger any significant food shortages or price surges.

Belgrade remains Kosovo's top trade partner in the Balkans, with Serbian imports -- mostly food products -- topping more than 400 million Euros ($455 million) annually.
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Six people were injured after a the wheels of a recently delivered Vietjet Airbus plane flew off as the aircraft made a rough landing in central Vietnam, officials said Friday.

Hanoi, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 30th Nov, 2018 ) :Six people were injured after a the wheels of a recently delivered Vietjet Airbus plane flew off as the aircraft made a rough landing in central Vietnam, officials said Friday.

The incident comes as Southeast Asia's booming aviation industry faces scrutiny following last month's deadly Lion Air crash in Indonesia blamed on technical problems with a near-new Boeing 737 that the airline failed to check.

Like Indonesia, Vietnam's airline industry has expanded rapidly in recent years with carriers such as budget airline Vietjet buying up planes and adding domestic and international routes.

On Thursday evening, a plane lost its nose wheels as it made a rough landing in Buon Ma Thuot from Ho Chi Minh City, according to the transport ministry.

The flight "encountered a serious incident during landing, during which two front wheels of the aircraft were lost," according to a report seen by AFP written by the ministry for the Prime Minister.
Slovakia's Foreign Minister Miroslav Lajcak resigned in connection with the parliament's decision not to participate in the UN Global Compact for Migration, Slovak Foreign Ministry spokesman Boris Gandel told Sputnik on Thursday.

PRAGUE (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 29th November, 2018) Slovakia 's Foreign Minister Miroslav Lajcak resigned in connection with the parliament 's decision not to participate in the UN Global Compact for Migration, Slovak Foreign Ministry spokesman Boris Gandel told Sputnik on Thursday.

Earlier in the day, the Slovak parliament voted against the UN-proposed global pact on migration.

"Slovak Foreign Minister Miroslav Lajcak, as he warned earlier, resigned from his post on Thursday in connection with the parliament's decision that the Republic will not join the UN global agreement on migration," Gandel said.

The non-binding deal outlining an international response to migration has been rejected by other EU nations, including Austria, the Czech Republic, Bulgaria, Hungary, and Poland. Italy said it would not attend the UN conference in Morocco on December 10-11 but did not rule out signing the pact.
Skopje, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 29th Nov, 2018 ) :Several thousand protesters from Macedonia's right-wing opposition marched through the capital Skopje Wednesday in a protest against Prime Minister Zoran Zaev, who is pushing through a deal to change the country's name.

The group, waving Macedonia's red-and-yellow flags, was led by the nationalist VMRO-DPMNE party that was ousted from power in 2017 and has seen its ranks weakened further in recent months.

The party has so far failed to thwart a deal that Zaev, a pro-EU Social Democrat, struck with Greece this year to rename the country "North Macedonia".

If the change is finalised in parliament, Athens has promised to lift its veto on Skopje's attempts to join NATO and the EU.

Greece has blocked the road for years because it insists the name Macedonia should apply solely to its own northern province.

Critics of the deal argue that Macedonia is being bullied by Greece.

"We'll show you your place in history, the dark side of history, in the next early or regular elections," VMRO-DPMNE leader Hristijan Mickoski said of Zaev's government in a speech to the crowd.

He added that he wants to fix this "situation of national humiliation" and called for weekly protests in the capital.

The mostly elderly protesters paraded from the party's headquarters to parliament nearby.

"We should not allow the centuries-old name of our fatherland Macedonia to be changed," Marlena Janeva, a 70-year-old, told AFP.

After a dramatic parliament vote that saw several VMRO-DPMNE MPs defect from their party to approve the name change, parliament is now drafting the precise constitutional amendments to enshrine the deal.

A final vote will need to pass with a two-thirds majority.

In another dose of drama to rock VMRO-DPMNE, the party's former leader, ex-PM Nikola Gruevski, fled Macedonia this month to escape a two year prison sentence for abuse of power.

He was granted asylum in Hungary, which Skopje has strongly criticised, demanding his return.
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WASHINGTON (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 30th November, 2018) The Trump administration strongly supports new legislation to increase financial pressure on the Syrian government of President Bashar Assad, the White House said in a statement on Friday.

"[T]he bill provides additional tools designed to deny the Assad regime and its proxies access to the international financial system and to block the financial and other support that fuels the murder of innocent Syrians," the statement said.

The White House explained the new bill would also facilitate the continued use of economic sanctions and visa restrictions to hold accountable members of the Assad government.

"The Administration strongly supports the passage of H.R. 1677, the 'Caesar Syria Civilian Protection Act of 2018.' The bill would add to a robust set of tools at the administration's disposal ... hold Syrian officials accountable for the slaughter of civilians and other atrocities," it said.

The bill would facilitate the continued use of economic sanctions and visa restrictions to hold accountable members of the Syrian government, the White House statement added.
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ANKARA (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 30th November, 2018) As many as 14 members of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) were either killed or captured in an operation by the Turkish Air Force in northern Iraq, the Turkish General Staff said in a statement on Thursday.

"[A total of] 14 members of the separatist terrorist organization [PKK], plotting armed attacks on our military bases, were neutralized as a result of aviation operations carried out on November 29 in Hakurk, Gara, Avashin-Basyan and Metina areas in northern Iraq," the statement, published on the General Staff's Twitter account, read.

Tensions between Ankara and the Kurds escalated in July 2015 when a ceasefire between Turkey and the PKK collapsed over a series of attacks allegedly committed by the PKK militants.

The Turkish forces are involved in anti-PKK raids across the country and in northern Iraq.
Ukrainian martial law, imposed after the incident in the Black Sea, where three Ukrainian ships illegally crossed Russian border, contradicts the essence of the Minsk arrangements and creates risks of renewed fighting in east Ukraine, Russian Permanent Representative to OSCE Alexander Lukashevich said Thursday.

VIENNA (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 29th November, 2018) Ukrainian martial law , imposed after the incident in the Black Sea, where three Ukrainian ships illegally crossed Russian border , contradicts the essence of the Minsk arrangements and creates risks of renewed fighting in east Ukraine Russian Permanent Representative to OSCE Alexander Lukashevich said Thursday.

"Martial law, imposed at Petro Poroshenko's initiative on November 28 in 10 Ukrainian regions (almost half of the country's territory), not only contradicts the essence of the Minsk agreements, but also brings the danger of the renewed combat activities" Lukashevich said during an OSCE Permanent Council meeting.

Lukashevich noted that after the implementation of martial law, Ukrainian law enforcement agencies were granted new authorities, "including seizure of property and personal transport from the population.

"

On November 25, Ukraine's Berdyansk and Nikopol gunboats and Yani Kapu tug crossed the Russian border and were detained by Russian ships. After the incident, the Ukrainian authorities implemented martial law for 30 days in 10 out of 24 regions of the country - along the border with Russia and along the shores of the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov. Martial law allows government authorities to temporarily limit the constitutional rights and freedoms of the people, including suffrage.

Russian Foreign Affairs Minister Sergey Lavrov said that the situation in the Kerch Strait is a provocation, and that according to his opinion, Kiev violated key provisions of international law. He added that the Ukrainian Navy's actions were very dangerous and threatened navigation.
An unidentified fighter jet on Thursday struck a "moving target" in Libya's southwestern town of Awaynat, according to a local official.

TRIPOLI (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 29th Nov, 2018 ) , :An unidentified fighter jet on Thursday struck a "moving target" in Libya 's southwestern town of Awaynat, according to a local official.

The airstrike occurred in the Talawawat region, a municipal council member from the nearby town of Ghat told Anadolu Agency.

The official, speaking anonymously, went on to suggest that the airstrike - the first of its kind in the region - had targeted Al-Qaeda terrorists operating in the area.

In March, a warplane struck a residential home in the city of Ubari, causing a number of casualties.

The US later claimed responsibility for the strike, saying the residence had hosted several "terrorist" elements.

And in July, warplanes targeted the same area again, killing at least one person. No party ever claimed responsibility for the strike.

Since the outer and death of President Muammar Gaddafi in 2011, terrorist groups have exploited the lack of any central authority to expand their presence, especially in the country's south.
PRINCETON (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 30th November, 2018) The demands issued by the US Congress regarding the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START) with Russia are not acceptable, Russian Ambassador to the United States Anatoly Antonov told Sputnik.

US Senator Tom Cotton and Congresswoman Liz Cheney introduced a bill on Wednesday that prevents extending the New START until the US president certifies to Congress that Russia has agreed to verifiably reduce its stockpile of tactical nuclear weapons and include its new weapons systems under the limits of the accord.

"It feels like US lawmakers mix all these issues to make it unacceptable for Russia, so that we reject them at once," Antonov said on Thursday.
A Vietnamese blogger was sentenced to nearly three years in jail on Friday for smearing white paint on the national flag in the one-party communist country where defacing state symbols is deemed an egregious offence.

Hanoi, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 30th Nov, 2018 ) :A Vietnamese blogger was sentenced to nearly three years in jail on Friday for smearing white paint on the national flag in the one-party communist country where defacing state symbols is deemed an egregious offence.

Huynh Thuc Vy, an outspoken activist who is eight weeks pregnant with her second child, has been under house arrest since August after she posted a photo of herself with the vandalised flag on her Facebook page.

She was sentenced to two years and nine months years in jail for "defacing the national flag" after a half-day trial in central Dak Lak province, she told AFP.

The maximum sentence for the crime was three years. The court said she can serve her sentence after her unborn child turns three to give her time to nurse, though her movemnts will be restricted.

"I am not surprised, I mentally prepared for this decision... they want to use this sentence to make me leave Vietnam," she told AFP.

But she said she would not be silenced.

"Nothing could change my mindset, my ambition or the work that I am doing," said Vy, whose father spent 10 years in jail for anti-state activity until 2002.

Vietnam has a long track record of jailing critics, but a hardline administration in charge since 2016 has intensified it chokehold on dissent.

Vy joins at least 55 activists convicted this year, according to an AFP tally.

A co-founder of the Vietnamese Women for Human Rights group, Vy won a Hellman/Hammett grant from Human Rights Watch in 2012 for her political writing on human rights.

The blogger from Vietnam's central highlands has been a vocal critic on a wide range of issues, from ethnic minority rights to a mass fish kill that decimated livelihoods in 2016, and a recent government proposal to install special economic zones in the country.

She has also spoken out about an incoming cybersecurity bill that requires internet companies like Facebook and Google to remove content deemed "toxic" by the government and hand over user data.

Rights groups say the law is aimed at scrubbing out online criticism from activists like Vy who use Facebook a crucial platform in the country where all media is state-controlled and protests are banned.

The controversial bill is set to come into effect in January and has been lambasted by the EU, the US and the UN, though Google and Facebook have not commented on it.

Human Rights watch said Vietnam was the "bottom barrel" when it comes to human rights, decrying Vy's sentence.

"What this sentence means is a young mother will be separated for years from her child simply for expressing views the government doesn't like," said Phil Robertson, HRW deputy Asia director.
Phoenix, Arizona (UroToday.com) A previous prospective, randomized, double blind placebo controlled trial found that mannitol had no impact on renal function at 6 weeks and 6 months post operatively in patients with normal preoperative renal function undergoing partial nephrectomy. It had been hypothesized that mannitol may diminish reactive oxygen species that cause kidney damage. This abstract examined the 3 year long term renal functional outcomes of this previously presented study.At Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, from 2012-2015, over 200 patients with a glomerular filtration rate > 45 undergoing partial nephrectomy were randomized to receive 12.5 grams of mannitol or placebo 30 minutes prior to clamping.The median age was 57.8 years with the majority of patients male and white and had a median follow up of 3.8 years. At 3 years, no differences were demonstrated in GFR between patients in the mannitol and placebo arms. Additionally, across all time points (6 months, 1, 2, and 3 years) no statistically significant differences were seen in post-operative GFR.This interesting study helps disprove previously believed urologic dogma and may continue to guide practice patterns. Multiple other studies have examined other factors which may influence on post-operative GFR including ischemia time, traditional partial nephrectomy versus enucleation, amongst others. Ultimately, confirming the mannitol data with longer term follow up, may alter urologic surgeons techniques to support practice of evidence based medicine.Presented By: Nathan Wong, MD, Sloan Kettering Cancer CenterWritten by: David B. Cahn, DO, MBS, Fox Chase Cancer Center, Philadelphia, PA, @dbcahn, at the 19th Annual Meeting of the Society of Urologic Oncology (SUO), November
People with nocturia dont realize the dangerous impact that sleep disruption can have on nearly all aspects of their health, said Steven Lamm, M.D., internal medicine physician and medical director at NYU Langones Preston Robert Tisch Center for Mens Health. Based on my experience with patients, sleep disruptions can weaken the immune system and lead to increased risk for erectile dysfunction, diabetes, heart disease, depression, and weight gain. Waking up also interrupts your brains restoration process at night, which affects mental well-being. Let me be clear, if youre constantly waking to urinate two or more times during the night, you need to talk to your doctor.

Nocturia is associated with an increased likelihood of depression, especially among men and women in their 30s, 35 to 40 percent of whom have been diagnosed with depression. 4,5

Most night-time falls in older adults are associated with bathroom trips, of which nocturia increases the risk by 25 percent over three years. 6

Daytime drowsiness, irritability, and lack of ability to concentrate are reported in over 60 percent of nocturia sufferers.

Adults who wake three or more nights a week to urinate are 37 percent more likely to take sick leave than those who do not. 7

Nocturia is associated with an increased risk of obesity. 8

Low sex drive and low testosterone levels are linked to poor quality and disrupted sleep. 9

Sleep loss impacts a womans sex drive: one extra hour can increase sex drive by 14 percent.10

San Francisco, CA (UroToday.com) -- Nocturia Awareness Week, part of Bladder Health Month, which encourages people to take control of their urinary health. Nocturia, a treatable medical condition that forces you to wake up multiple times a night to urinate, affects nearly 50 million Americans and is a leading cause of sleep disruption.Nocturia can have mental and physical consequences, including impaired memoryand concentration, moodiness, depression, obesity, diabetes, and a weakened immune system. However, most Americans have never heard of nocturia and think waking multiple times at night to urinate is normal.To help inform Americans so they do not unknowingly endure the consequences of nocturia, Avadel Pharmaceuticals, a leader in urological health and education, has brought together the most influential patient advocacy groups across specialty areas to form the Nocturia Council: American Alliance for Healthy Sleep, Caregiver Action Network, Healthy Women, Mens Health Education Council, Mens Health Network, Multiple Sclerosis Association of America, National Association for Continence, National Sleep Foundation, Simon Foundation for Continence and ZERO  The End of Prostate Cancer.Over the next few months, the Nocturia Council, with support from Avadel Pharmaceuticals, will kick off several educational initiatives to lessen the stigma of night-time urination and promote conversations with a healthcare professional about managing nocturia.According to a recent Harris Poll, 66 percent of Americans who suffer from nocturia have never spoken about it with their doctor, believing its a normal part of getting older and there is nothing that can be done about it. Women are also 40 percent less likely to speak to their doctor about nocturia. According to the Harris Poll and several clinical studies, the sleep loss impact from nocturia is hazardous to ones health:Id always told myself that getting up to pee was just a normal part of getting older, said Neil Cavner of Midwest City, Okla. I was waking up three or four times every single night for 18 years. I work in construction, and if youre getting sleepy on the job, you or someone around you can accidentally get hurt. The day I fell asleep behind the wheel waiting at a stoplight, I thought, this is just not an acceptable way to live. I need to get treated.Cavner says that waking up throughout the night was ruining his sleep and radically impacting his life. Like most people who wake multiple times at night to urinate, Cavner says that he did not realize that he suffered from a medical condition called nocturia due to nocturnal polyuria, which is treatable.Most nocturia sufferers sleep an average of two to three hours before being awoken by the need to urinate, said Susann Varano, M.D., a Yale University-trained physician, double board certified in Geriatrics and Internal Medicine, and medical counsel for the UroToday [Patient Advisory Board]. Restorative sleep is crucial and takes place during the first three to four hours of the night. If this period is constantly interrupted, sleep quality will suffer, which can result in decreased daytime energy and overall well-being.Survey Method: This survey was conducted online within the U.S. by The Harris Poll with funding from Avadel Pharmaceuticals and Serenity Pharmaceuticals, from August 6-8, 2018, among 2,040 U.S. adults ages 18 and older, among whom 724 wake up to urinate at least twice per night. This online survey is not based on a probability sample and therefore no estimate of theoretical sampling error can be calculated. For complete survey methodology, including weighting variables and subgroup sample sizes.Susann Varano, M.D., is a consultant for Avadel Pharmaceuticals.References:1. Van Kerrebroeck P, Hashim H, Holm-Larsen T, Robinson D, Stanley N. Thinking beyond the bladder: antidiuretic treatment of nocturia. Int J Clin Pract. 2010;64(6):807-816.2. Stanley N. The underestimated impact of nocturia on quality of life. Eur Urol. 2005;4(7)(suppl):17-19.3. Marinkovic SP, Gillen LM, et al. Managing nocturia. BMJ. 2004 May 1; 328(7447): 10631066. 4. Kupelian V, Wei JT, OLeary MP, Norgaard JP, Rosen RC, McKinlay JB. Nocturia and quality of life: results from the Boston Area Community Health Survey. Eur Urol. 2012;61(1):78-84.5. Van Der Vaart CH, Roovers JP, de Leeuw JR, Heintz AP. Association between urogenital symptoms and depression in community dwelling women aged 20 to 70 years. Urology 2007;69:6916.6. Weiss, J. P., Blaivas, J. G., Bliwise, D. L., Dmochowski, R. R., DuBeau, C. E., Lowe, F. C., Petrou, S. P., Van Kerrebroeck, P. E., Rosen, R. C., and Wein, A. J. (2011), The evaluation and treatment of nocturia: a consensus statement. BJU International, 108: 6-21. doi:10.1111/j.1464-410X.2011.10175. 7. Ohayon MM. Nocturnal awakenings and comorbid disorders in the American general population. J Psychiatr Res. 2008;43(1):48-54.8. Weiss, J. P., Blaivas, J. G., Bliwise, D. L., Dmochowski, R. R., DuBeau, C. E., Lowe, F. C., Petrou, S. P., Van Kerrebroeck, P. E., Rosen, R. C. and Wein, A. J. (2011), The evaluation and treatment of nocturia: a consensus statement. BJU International, 108: 6-21. doi:10.1111/j.1464-410X.2011.10175.9. Leproult R, van Cauter, E.Effect of 1 Week of Sleep Restriction on Testosterone Levels in Young Healthy Men. JAMA. 2011;305(21):2173-2174.10. Kalmbach D, Arnedt TJ, et al. The Impact of Sleep on Female Sexual Response and Behavior: A Pilot Study. The Journal of Sexual Medicine. 2015;12(5):1221-1232.11. Bliwise DL, Foley DJ, Vitiello MV, et al: Nocturia and Disturbed Sleep in the Elderly. Sleep Med. 2009 May; 10(5): 540-548.Further Related Content:Harris Poll: The Medical Condition 72 Percent of Americans Dont Know About is Stealing Sleep and Disrupting Lives, Survey Shows
Pope Francis meets with members of the Association Missione Shahbaz Bhatti, expressing the hope that they can extend their activity to those areas of Pakistan where Christians and other minorities continue to be discriminated against.

In March of 2011 Shahbaz Bhatti, a Pakistani politician and the countrys first Federal Minister for Minorities Affairs was assassinated in Islamabad for his struggle to promote human equality, social justice and interfaith harmony in Pakistan. Inspired by the thought and vision of Shahbaz Bhatti, the Association Missione Shahbaz Bhatti was founded. The aim of the association is to continue the tireless work of this politician to create a society where everyone can live with dignity and respect.

Seven years on from Shahbaz Bhattis death, the association was received in audience by Pope Francis in the Vatican on Friday. Included in the group was Paul Bhatti who paid homage to his brother in a speech to the Pope. In his words to those gathered, Pope Francis said he was glad to know that Shahbaz Bhatti is loved and honoured by many in Pakistan today, and that his sacrifice is bearing rich fruits of hope.

Building Bridges

He continued by saying that, one fruit of the sufferings endured by Christians is the growth of groups and associations  like your own  that build bridges of fraternity throughout the world, overcoming differences of language, culture and, at times, also of religion.

The Pontiff encouraged the association, to persevere in this evangelical witness, which he said, joins firmness to meekness, in order to assist victims of false accusations and to find concrete ways to combat poverty and modern forms of slavery.

Christian discrimination

It is my hope, the Pope underlined, that supported by the prayers and effective solidarity of many others, you can extend your activity to those areas of Pakistan where Christians and other minorities are mostly present and, sadly, also discriminated against and made a target of acts of injustice and violence.

He went on to say, may your distinguishing feature always be that which shines forth in the witness given by Shahbaz Bhatti and so many other martyrs of our time, namely, a humble and courageous faith in the Lord Jesus and the capacity to bring love in place of hatred.
Pope Francis has sent a message to Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople on the occasion of the Nov. 30 feast of St. Andrew, patron of the Patriarchate.

By Robin Gomes

Despite differences between Catholics and Orthodox Christians, Pope Francis said the two communities are called to be a sign of hope by working together for peace, human dignity and care of creation.

St. Andrew

We can work together today in the search for peace among peoples, for the abolition of all forms of slavery, for the respect and dignity of every human being and for the care of creation, the Pope said in a message to Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople on the occasion of the November 30 feast of St. Andrew, the patron of the Patriarchate based in Istanbul, Turkey.

The Popes message was read Friday morning by Cardinal Kurt Koch, President of the Vaticans Pontifical Council for the Promotion of Christian Unity, at a Divine Liturgy at the Patriarchate in Istanbul, Turkey on the feast of St. Andrew.

The cardinal headed a Vatican delegation to the celebration to reciprocate a visit from the Patriarchate to Rome on the June 29 feast of Saints Peter and Paul, the patrons of the eternal city.

Division and communion

In the first major division among the followers of Christ, the Byzantine Church based in Constantinople (Istanbul today) and the Rome-based Catholic Church culminated in a bitter split in 1054 known as the Great Schism.

However, since Patriarch Athenagoras and Pope St. Paul VI, in the wake of Vatican Council II, Pope Francis noted the Holy Spirit has enabled them to resume fraternal dialogue.

Recalling the progress relations between them over the last fifty years the Pope said they are experiencing communion, even though not full and complete.

Effective response to worlds suffering

Pope Francis said, united we give a more effective response to the needs of so many men and women of our own time, especially those who suffer from poverty, hunger, illness and war.

He recalled Patriarch Bartholomews participation along with other Church leaders and representatives in the day of prayer and reflection for peace in the Middle East, held on 7 July in Bari, southern Italy. It is a source of great comfort to share with Your Holiness the same concerns for the tragic situation of our brothers and sisters in the region, the Pope said

In a world wounded by conflict, the unity of Christians is a sign of hope that must radiate ever more visibly, Pope Francis said.
Bayer swallowed Monsanto in one of Germany's biggest ever corporate takeovers at a cost of US$63 billion in June. (AFP/Patrik STOLLARZ, John THYS)

The planned job cuts will affect about one in every 10 of the group's 118,200 posts, "a significant number of them in Germany", said the group in a statement.

Bayer swallowed Monsanto in one of Germany's biggest ever corporate takeovers at a cost of US$63 billion in June.

But barely two months later, a court ruling in the US left Bayer with multi-million-dollar damages to pay as the judge found that its newly acquired subsidiary Monsanto should have warned a user about cancer risks from its herbicide Roundup.

Announcing details of the restructuring, Bayer said it planned to exit its animal health business, in order to concentrate resources on its core businesses of pharmaceuticals, consumer health and crop science.

It is also looking at letting go of its Coppertone sun care brand and Dr Scholl's foot care product line.

Following the tie-up with Monsanto, the group's crop science division will be among the hardest hit by the job cuts, with 4,100 posts to go.

The company said it expected to complete trimming its headcount by the end of 2021.

"These changes are necessary and lay the foundation for Bayer to enhance its performance and agility. With these measures, we aim to take full advantage of the growth potential for our businesses," said Werner Baumann, Bayer board chairman.

GLYPHOSATE FEARS

Investors gave a muted response to Bayer's announcement, with shares in the group closing down 0.72 per cent to 63.77 against a flat DAX index.

Investors have been nervously watching the group since the cancer ruling in the US over Monsanto's leading product Roundup, which contains glyphosate.

Chemical campaigners and politicians in the US and Europe argue that glyphosate causes cancer, although Bayer points to scientific studies finding no connection.

In October, a San Francisco judge upheld a jury verdict that found Monsanto liable for not warning a groundskeeper that its weed killer product Roundup might cause cancer, but slashed the damages award to US$78 million from the initial US$289 million.

By the end of last month, the US subsidiary was facing 9,300 cases over glyphosate.

But Baumann had stuck to its confident outlook in integrating Monsanto.

He acknowledged that more lawsuits could come, but reiterated that Bayer would "defend ourselves with all means available."
This is among activities to mark the 13th anniversary of Vietnam Cultural Heritage Day on November 23.

A range of distinctive cultural activities were held nationwide on November 23-25 to celebrate Vietnam Cultural Heritage Day, including traditional dances, folk singing and folk games, as well as a calligraphy exhibition at Thang Long Imperial Citadel in Hanoi.

Lam Dong Province organised a festival to honour folk music with performances by ethnic minorities from the Central Highlands area.

Ho Chi Minh City held a meeting and photo award ceremony to praise the winning works that reflect the beauty of the citys heritages.
The Court asked Eximbank to give Chu Thi Binh access to her $10.65 million

According to newswire Vnexpress, besides sentencing the six accused former officers of Eximbanks Ho Chi Minh City branch, the Ho Chi Minh City People's Court also ordered the bank to take responsibility and pay the principal and interest for Chu Thi Binh and the two other claimants in full.

Binh said before the court that Eximbank made the payment of VND245 billion ($10.65 million) in three savings books. However, this money and the corresponding interest of about VND103 billion ($4.48 million) are still kept by the bank and she cannot access them.

According to Eximbank's representative, Binh deposited her savings through civil contracts and must comply with the provisions of the contract. However, Binh made mistakes when signing the letter of authorisation for Le Nguyen Hung (former deputy director of Eximbanks Ho Chi Minh City branch) without fully knowing the contents of these documents.

Eximbank said that each savings book is attached to a separate account. Upon completion, the money in the book will be transferred to the corresponding account. However, Binh did not check the documents during the final payment process, allowing the creditor to transfer the money to another account.

"Binh cannot blame trusting Hung too much for letting her guard down. If she was more cautious, Hung's behaviour could have been detected earlier, at least reducing if not completely avoiding the damage of VND245 billion ($10.65 million)," Eximbanks representative stated at the trial and proposed the panel to reconsider the circumstances to give a fair judgment, according to Vnexpress.

Eximbank did not instruct Hung to persuade customers to sign the transaction documents," the banks representative stressed.

Representing Binh, lawyer Phan Trung Hoai (Ho Chi Minh City Bar Association) said that Binh trusted Hung because he was deputy director of the banks branch rather than a regular employee.

According to the lawyer, despite having Binhs signature on the authorisation letter, if Eximbank's staff strictly followed procedures for making authorisation letters, and drawing up vouchers to withdraw money, Hung should not have been able to appropriate the money.

None of the sides have issued official statements about the court's decision, however, on the stock market, EIB shares of Eximbank opened the first session in red colour.

According to Eximbanks consolidated report for the third quarter available on its website, the banks total assets decreased by 1.6 per cent since the beginning of the year to VND146.991 trillion ($6.39 billion).

In particular, outstanding loans decreased by 2.9 per cent to VND97.362 trillion ($4.23 billion), while customer deposits increased in the third quarter after a slight reduction in the first two quarters (possibly due to the money-disappear case), reaching VND119.168 trillion ($5.18 billion), up 1.4 per cent over the beginning of the year.

With these business results, paying out VND348 billion ($15.13 million principal and interest) to Chu Thi Binh, would certainly be a "shock" to the bank. As published on its website, Eximbank's after-tax profit in the first nine months of 2018 is VND907 billion ($39.43 million) and compensation to Chu Thi Binh would take up over one third of this and would be nearly equal to the after-tax profit in the first nine months of 2017 (VND375 billion  $16.3 million).
Dulux Professional supports Vietnam Property Awards to contribute to its elevation of the Vietnamese real estate market

PropertyGuru Vietnam Property Awards 2019 has officially been launched and is calling for nominations. As part of PropertyGuru Asia Property Awards  the biggest and most prestigious real estate award in Asia  the award is organised to identify and honour credible investors, qualified real estate projects, as well as recognise their positive contributions to the real estate market.

In 2018, a total of 43 categories and 25 excellent winners were awarded. Following this success, Vietnam Property Awards 2019 has officially launched the nomination period, aiming to find the top developers and most promising projects in the Vietnamese real estate market. Bringing the best enterprises to the finals of the annual awards taking place in the framework of the PropertyGuru Asia Property Summit, the awards also contribute to enhancing the influence, credibility, and quality of the Vietnamese real estate sector in the region.

Accompanying the fifth edition of Vietnam Property Awards 2019, Dulux Professional continues to fulfil the desire of creating a prestigious, transparent, and qualified programme to Vietnamese enterprises in the real estate sector. Participating in the awards, enterprises will be recognised and awarded for their efforts and dedication to the community, based on their construction works, corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives, as well as sustainable development activities.

Pamela Phua, general director of AkzoNobel Vietnam Paints Company, said, The Vietnamese real estate market is developing in such an exciting and attractive direction. By sponsoring the programme this year, Dulux Professional is proud to encourage the blossoming in this potential market. With the core value of sustainability, we always want to offer the best support to Vietnamese businesses, investors, and real estate developers. We believe that Vietnam Property Awards 2019 will help connect domestic enterprises with global customers. It is also a great opportunity for us to reaffirm and strengthen our position in the market with comprehensive solutions, sustainable products, and services for customers.

Vietnam Property Awards 2019 provides a premier point of access for Dulux Professional to approach potential customers as well as showcase its latest products, which include exterior and interior paint products offering comprehensive and optimal solutions to customers.

Over the years, AkzoNobel has been consistently bringing out new product lines in the Dulux Professional portfolio, with outstanding quality and features to meet the needs of real estate developers for their projects. With this exceptional product line, Dulux Professional expects to bring new insights and promote green building trends for the construction industry in Vietnam.

AkzoNobel has a passion for paint. It is considered an expert in the proud craft of making paints and coatings, setting the standard in colour and protection since 1792. The world class portfolio of brands  including Dulux, International, Sikkens, and Interpon  is trusted by customers around the globe.

Headquartered in the Netherlands, it operates in over 80 countries and employs around 35,000 talented people who are passionate about delivering the high performance products and services customers expect.
A largely symbolic ban on parents smacking their children has been passed in a vote at the French National Assembly. (File photo: AFP/Patrick Kovarik)

The bill on "corporal punishment or humiliation" seeks to ensure that parental authority is exercised "without violence" of any sort, including "physical, verbal or psychological" violence.

Members of parliament voted it through 51-1 early Friday morning, after a late-night debate, and it will now pass to the senate.

Attempts by previous governments to ban the practice have run afoul of conservatives.

A 2016 bill condemning the smacking of children was later struck down by the Constitutional Council, which vets legislation, because it was adopted in the form of an amendment to an unrelated piece of legislation.

According to the non-governmental Childhood Foundation, 85 per cent of French parents resort to corporal punishment, to the dismay of many European neighbours, including Sweden and Germany.

Schools have long been banned from physically punishing children, but not parents.

Crucially, the bill would not sanction parents who continue to "discipline" their children as its main goal is "educational" - a way to encourage society to mend its views, according to Maud Petit, the MP who sponsored the measure.

But it will slap down a 19th-century addendum to the Civil Code's definition of parental authority, which is read out to couples taking their wedding vows and which specifically allows for "disciplining" children.

It will also bring France into line with international legislation.

In March 2015, human rights organisation the Council of Europe singled out France for failing to ban smacking, unlike most other European countries.

A year later, the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child took up the issue, calling on France to "explicitly prohibit" all forms of corporal punishment of children.

Those in favour of the ban say scientific studies prove that children suffer both mental and physical consequences when smacked.

If the bill is adopted, France will become the 55th state to ban corporal punishment of children, a move started by Sweden in 1979.
GrabFood expands to Danang, aiming to become a leading on-demand food delivery in Vietnam

On November 29, Southeast Asias leading O2O mobile platform officially launched its on-demand food delivery service GrabFood in Danang. Accordingly, people in Danang now have access to a wide range of consumer services, including on-demand transport, parcel delivery, and food delivery through the Grab app.

Soon, consumers can also enjoy attractive promotions on GrabRewards for GrabFood orders. Cashless payments for food delivery via GrabPay by Moca has been beta tested for a group of consumers in Hanoi, and will soon be expanded to all three cities GrabFood currently operates in.

In just six months, Grab has finished expanding GrabFood to Vietnams three largest cities. This not only marks an important milestone in Grabs journey towards becoming the leading everyday superapp that offers consumers the most essential daily services, but also reaffirms its commitment for long-term investment in Vietnam as a technology company.

We are pleased that after just a short period of time, GrabFood has received strong support from Grab's consumers, delivery and merchant partners in Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi. This generated strong motivation for us to launch GrabFood in Danang as soon as possible. We believe that Vietnamese consumers will always support and choose the most reliable food delivery service, which offers the widest selection of food, the fastest speed of delivery, and the most affordable price, said Jerry Lim, country head of Grab in Vietnam.

Since the official launch in June, GrabFood has grown by 20 times and is aiming to become the leading on-demand food delivery service in Vietnam. Thanks to the wide network of GrabBike driver-partners, GrabFood can deliver food within just 20 minutes. Outside of Indonesia, Vietnam is Grab's fastest growing market for food delivery. In addition, as a tech company, Grab has the advantage of using data to thoroughly understand the diverse demand and sophisticated taste of Vietnamese customers.

"By focusing on service quality and speed, we are continuing to grow at a phenomenal rate in this market. Data analytics allows us to better understand the culinary preferences of each Vietnamese customer, therefore providing the fastest and smartest services. In addition, consumers using GrabFood also have the privilege of choosing specialised foods on this platform due to our exclusive deals with merchant-partners," said Demi Yu, regional head of GrabFood Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam and the Philippines.

Yu added that GrabFoods leading merchant-partners, like GongCha and MeetFresh, have co-created exclusive drinks to sell only on the platform. Since launch, these drinks have been among the most popular items. Again, this demonstrates Grabs capability to add more value to merchant-partners, bringing them closer to a substantial customer base.

Also, good news to Danang residents is that Lotteria, the leading fast food chain in Vietnam, has chosen GrabFood as their only and most preferred food delivery partner to support them in delivering thousands of delicious meals each day nationwide. The reason is that GrabFood has the widest supply on the ground to ensure best-in-class delivery, especially in terms of speed. Most Lotteria orders on GrabFood are delivered in only 20 minutes within a 3km range.

"The growth of GrabFood shows that Grab is on the right track in Vietnam, with the strategy of becoming an everyday superapp to cover consumers most essential needs. It also demonstrates that Vietnamese people are ready to support new and useful solutions. As a tech company, Grab is committed to long-term investment to create a complete ecosystem that contributes to improving the quality of life and drives Vietnam faster towards a digital economy," added Jerry Lim.

Grab is one of the most frequently used O2O mobile platforms in Southeast Asia, providing everyday services that matter most to consumers. The Grab app has been downloaded onto over 125 million mobile devices, giving passengers access to over 8.5 million micro-entrepreneurs. Grab offers the widest range of on-demand transport services in the region, in addition to food and package delivery services.

Grabs food delivery service, GrabFood, is the only food delivery company operating across Malaysia, Singapore, Vietnam, Indonesia, the Philippines, and Thailand. Grab Financial increases access to cashless services for millions of Grab customers across Southeast Asia, and connects the underserved and unbanked population to financial services.
Skyscrapers in downtown HCM City. A smart administration centre is among the four measures that will be implemented by the city early next year in order to reach its goal of becoming a smart city by 2025.-VNA/VNS Photo Manh Linh

The announcement was made at a press conference held by the HCM City Department of Information and Communications on Wednesday.

Under the scheme, the city authority has given priorities to four measures including a common-use shared database; a stimulation research and forecasting centre serving the formulation of socio-economic development strategies, a smart administration centre and an information security centre.

According to Le Quoc Cuong, deputy director of the HCM City Department of Information and Communications, the first stage of the common-use shared database and open data in ecology will operate at the Quang Trung Software Park located in District 12.

The city will invite tenders for building of the common-use shared database (the second stage) in the third quarter of 2019, said Cuong.

The operation centre of the first stage will be based at the office of the HCM City Peoples Committee, using database from the camera systems of the citys departments and switchboards.

The city authority will ratify the pre-feasibility study of the project to build the scheme in the first quarter of next year.

The Stimulation Division (under the stimulation research and forecasting centre) will be established at the HCM City Institute for Development Studies in January 2019.

Duong Anh uc, director of the HCM City Department of Information and Communications, said in December of this year the city authority will ratify the scheme to establish the joint-stock company to operate the citys information safety centre.

The city authority is scheduled to sum up the introduction of technological solutions in the management and operation of agencies at the district, ward and commune levels by the end of 2018.

At the same time, HCM City will also ratify the Smart City Architecture which will be introduced across the city in the third quarter of next year.

uc said the city authority is expected to receive feedback on measures to turn HCM City into a smart city from the citys residents and business community.

The HCM City Peoples Committee hosted a conference to call for investment in building an Intelligent Operations Centre and a Socio-Economic Simulation and Forecast Centre on September 15 of this year.

The project (to building an Intelligent Operations Centre and a Socio-Economic Simulation and Forecast Centre) aims to resolve the citys existing problems such as unsustainable economic growth, flooding, traffic jams and environment pollution, as well as enhancing the interaction between the citys administration, businesses and citizens in the building and development of the country.
PM Nguyen Xuan Phuc (standing) attends the 2018 Youth Business Startup Forum, Ha Noi, November 29, 2018, photo chinhphu.vn

The forum attracted the participation of 250 delegates who are the youth, students, and young businessmen with creative startup projects, 50 representatives from the Investment and Startup Club, and other investors and experts in innovative startups.

The forum offers a playing field for the youth and young enterprises with innovative startup projects, investors, and experts to make proposals, innovations, and solutions and contribute to the national innovative startup ecosystem.

Delegates will spend time discussing startup performance in Vietnam over the past years; assess mechanisms and policies; seek experience from other countries for effective solutions to developing innovative startups in Vietnam.

Statistics showed that Vietnam has about 1,000 technological startup projects each year.

Addressing the opening forum, since the campaign on youth business startup support began two years ago, Vietnam has attained initial outcomes in policy access and media support, said First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union Le Quoc Phong.

Funds on youth business startup were founded in various localities. However, there are numerous obstacles for the youth to access to the support.

Via the forum, the First Secretary hoped that the youth would uphold knowledge, technique, nurture motive and determination to be confident in business startups and get rich; and make contribution to national development.
Van Don International Airport has an annual capacity of two million passengers and 10,000 tonnes of cargo. - Photo cafeland.vn

The commercial flights will commence on December 30 with a frequency of one flight per day in each direction.

Vietnam Airlines uses the Airbus Industries A321 with a total of 184 seats, including 16 business class seats.

The HCM City-Quang Ninh flight will depart at 2pm from Tan Son Nhat International Airport (HCM City) and arrive at Van Don International Airport (Quang Ninh) at 4:50pm.

The reverse flight will start at 4:45pm and land at 6:50pm.

The prices for an one-way economy class ticket start at VND800,000 (US$34.19) excluding tax and fees. This is a preferential rate for the first phase and is being applied at the sales agents of Vietnam Airlines.

After three years, construction of Van Don International Airport has been nearly completed. This is the first private airport in the country.

The airport has a capacity of two million passengers and 10,000 tonnes of cargo per year with the most modern signal system, which can operate in all weather situations.
Debt-riddled Spanish department store chain El Corte Ingles announced a partnership deal with Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba AFP/aaron tam, GABRIEL BOUYS

Under the deal El Corte Ingles ("The English Cut"), currently present only in Spain and Portugal, will be able to sell its products worldwide through Alibaba platforms like Tmall and AliExpress.

For its part AliExpress - an e-commerce platform offering smaller-quantity orders and instant online transactions - will gain "physical spaces" in Corte Ingles stores to create "new and attractive buying experiences" and move into the Spanish market.

AliExpress will also be able to pick up products bought online at the stores.

"We are looking forward to joining forces with them to provide consumers in China and worldwide with the greatest products and experience," said

Rodrigo Cipriani Foresio, the Alibaba group's managing Director for Spain.

The debt-riddled Spanish retailer posted turnover of 15.9 billion euros (US$18 billion) last year, with consolidated net profits of 202 million euros, a 25 per cent increase over the previous year.
President Donald Trump and first lady Melania board Air Force One at Andrews Air Force Base, Maryland, to attend the G20 summit in Argentina. (Photo source: AP/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

BUENOS AIRES: US President Donald Trump headed to Argentina on Thursday (Nov 29) for a fractious weekend of G20 summitry, cancelling planned talks with the Russian leader and boasting that his trade war with China was paying off.

Rumblings of resistance to Trump's assault on the international order were apparent as French President Emmanuel Macron said he would convene his fellow European leaders in Buenos Aires to forge a united front on "all the challenges" faced at the G20.

Trump called off Saturday's bilateral with President Vladimir Putin at the G20, minutes after saying it would "probably" still happen despite Russia's seizure of three Ukrainian ships.

"Based on the fact that the ships and sailors have not been returned to Ukraine from Russia, I have decided it would be best for all parties concerned to cancel my previously scheduled meeting in Argentina with President Vladimir Putin," he tweeted.

"I look forward to a meaningful Summit again as soon as this situation is resolved!" Trump added, shortly after taking off aboard Air Force for the two-day meeting starting on Friday.

Ukraine's President Petro Poroshenko retweeted Trump's change of mind and added his own comment in English: "This is how great leaders act!"

The cancellation coincided with a new eruption in the controversy over Russian meddling in the 2016 US presidential election - an issue that also flared up when the pair held their only summit to date, in Finland in July.

Trump again ridiculed probes into the allegations and accused his former lawyer Michael Cohen of lying, after Cohen pled guilty to misleading Congress.

In Moscow, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov reacted frostily to Trump's cancellation, saying it would free up Putin to hold other "useful meetings" at the G20.

Ukraine's government hoped to embarrass Putin at the G20 by erecting a giant billboard outside the meeting, depicting a bleeding Kerch strait off Crimea where Russia captured the ships.

But an Argentine advertising company refused to erect the poster, Emine Dzhaparova, Ukraine's deputy information minister, said in Buenos Aires.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said Ukraine's territorial integrity should be respected and added: "I hope that escalation can be contained."

ART OF THE DEAL

While the Putin meeting now appears off, Trump is still slated to sit down with various leaders on the G20 margins including German Chancellor Angela Merkel, one of his firmest foreign critics.

However, Merkel's plans were disrupted by technical troubles that forced her official plane to make an emergency landing in Germany, and a spokeswoman told AFP that she would miss Friday's opening of the summit.

Topping the billing is a working dinner with Chinese President Xi Jinping, when Trump will press for wholesale reform of the world's second-biggest economy in favor of access for US companies.

After heaping huge tariffs on Chinese goods, and threatening more to come in January, Trump said a ceasefire in the trade war was "very close" - but cast doubt on whether he even wanted one.

"I think China wants to make a deal. I am open to making a deal but frankly I like the deal that we have right now," the president said.

Referring to the China tariffs, he said: "What we have right now is billions and billions of dollars coming into the United States in the form of taxes."

However, economists and critics of the president's trade policies point out duties are paid by importers and thus constitute a tax on US industry and consumers that is not paid by China.

En route to Argentina, Xi vowed on Wednesday that China would "make a lot of efforts to speed up market access, improve the investment environment and increase protection of intellectual property."

But foreign firms in China complain that such promises are all too routine, and analysts doubt that Trump and Xi's talks over a working dinner will serve up much beyond a commitment to negotiate further.

'DISASTROUS'

Trump's tough talking set the stage for a contentious gathering in Argentina with the tensions over Ukraine and trade deepening fissures carved open by the US president on climate change - an issue that nearly torpedoed last year's G20 hosted by Merkel.

It is likely to be to the fore of the meeting of European leaders called by Macron, along with demands to resist the trade protectionism now stalking the world economy 10 years after the first G20 summit was held in the throes of financial crisis.

In an interview with Argentine daily La Nacion, the French president warned against the risk of "a destructive trade war for all."

"If we do not show concrete progress, our international meetings become useless and even counterproductive," he said.

But Trump has repeatedly shown his disdain for international summitry by blocking final communiques at other recent gatherings such as the G7 and the Asia-Pacific bloc APEC.

G20 sources said climate change was emerging as the biggest stumbling block to agreement on a communique in Buenos Aires.

US opposition to collective action stands in defiance of scientists' increasingly urgent warnings that the planetary threat needs policy redress now.

With a major UN meeting on climate change starting next week in Poland straight after the G20, Guterres said "this is a make-it-or-break-it moment."
Deputy Prime Minister Pham Binh Minh told the conference that on the eve of the third decade of the 21st century, the Asia-Pacific region and the world are in a period of transition with fundamental shifts that have given rise to new issues and challenges to the APEC.

The conference on Vietnam's 20 years of APEC membership took place this morning

In a hyper-connected world, we face unprecedented and intertwined opportunities and challenges. The world economy is undergoing profound digital technology-based transformations. Sustainability, inclusion and innovation are top priorities, he stated.

The global economy is growing strongly, but some risks are beginning to materialize, such as the rise of protectionism, trade frictions, and financial instability. The multilateral system now faces a great number of challenges. The World Trade Organisation (WTO) is under the biggest threat since its establishment. Digital innovations have created hope for higher productivity and peoples living standards, but also increased development gaps. Global challenges are growing with greater complexity.

With its strategic geo-economic and geopolitical position, the Asia-Pacific continues to be a key driver of global growth and economic integration. The regions share of the global GDP is expected to rise to almost 70 per cent by 2050. Ten out of the 20 largest economies are coming from the Asia-Pacific.

The growing geo-economic and geopolitical shifts are shaping a new regional architecture. Against this backdrop, the APEC has been and continues to be an important factor in regional integration in the 21st century.

However, the path ahead is not without difficulties. The outcomes of the APEC Economic Leaders Week in Papua New Guinea have revealed certain challenges. We have been presented with difficulties in upholding the core values of the APEC, in supporting the multilateral trading system, and in promoting free and open trade and investment. More than ever, the APEC needs to rise to the challenge to reassert its indispensable role in the evolving multi-polar world.

In this context, Vietnam has also suggested several solutions to further boost APEC co-operation in the future.

First, we need to define the priorities and new elements for co-operation to maintain APECs core values. While undertaking the three pillars of co-operation, we should give our special attention to promoting sustainability, inclusion, and innovation to give fresh impetus to growth, Deputy Prime Minister Minh stated.

The digital economy should be put higher on the agenda, with a focus on digital connectivity, digital trade, financial technology, and connecting centres of innovation and startups. The APECs technical economic co-operation should focus on assisting developing economies to enhance economic integration and strengthen adaptability and risk management.

Second, all co-operation initiatives, projects, and mechanisms should be people-centred so as to bring tangible benefits to our people and businesses. The APEC needs to build strong, inclusive communities with due attention given to the most vulnerable groups. We also need to enable micro-, small-, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) as well as women-led enterprises to increase their participation in the higher levels of global value chains.

Third, it is imperative for the APEC to enhance its adaptability and leadership in the global economic governance. The APEC has the ability and a responsibility to champion efforts to build an inclusive, equitable, transparent, and rule-based regional architecture, which is harmonious with the interests of all stakeholders in the region and beyond, DPM Minh stated.

To this end, the APEC needs to promote multilateral co-operation and plays a leading role in strengthening the multilateral trading system with the WTO at its core. The APEC must champion in co-ordinating multi-layered regional economic arrangements toward the establishment of the Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific (FTAAP). More efforts should also be made on effectively addressing urgent economic issues and emerging challenges.

Last but not least, we also need to put in place recommendations on how the ASEAN can make the most robust and meaningful contributions to the APEC. I strongly encourage Vietnamese ministries and agencies to come up with new initiatives and ideas to play a central role in implementing the APECs long-term agendas and strategies, DPM Minh added.

Recently, Vietnam has been redoubling efforts to perform its commitments to the WTO as well as those made in numerous international economic arrangements. The country will assume ASEAN Chairmanship in 2020 and is currently running for non-permanent membership in the UN Security Council for the 2020-2021 term.

These showcases our strong determination to undertaking comprehensive reform, extensive international integration, and proactive multilateral diplomacy, DPM Minh stated.
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It's been nine months since a gunman killed 17 students at Marjory Stonemason Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. VOA Khmer's Sou Pichchinda narrates.
A faction of Cambodias former opposition party loyal to its detained leader Kem Sokha has said they are unhappy with plans to hold a party meeting in the United States.

The group has said that the plans, arranged by officials close to Sam Rainsy, the former president of Sokhas Cambodia National Rescue Party, would jeopardize the future of the party.

The ruling Cambodian Peoples Party jailed Sokha on treason charges in September 2017 and dissolved the CNRP the following month. Sokha was released into house arrest earlier this year. Legal charges against him remain in place. Sokha has not spoken publicly since his release into house arrest.

The gathering by overseas CNRP members is set to be held in Atlanta, GA. on Saturday and Sunday. A draft program describes the event as the overseas CNRP world conference.

Hundreds of senior CNRP officials and supporters are expected at the conference to define the partys strategy to restore Democracy in Cambodia. Sam Rainsy, who is based in France, and other prominent Cambodian opposition politicians are set to attend, according to a draft program.

Sokhas lawyer, Meng Sopheary, told reporters in Phnom Penh this week that Sokha doesnt support any partys world congress to be held overseas.

Right now the legal procedure reached a standstill, and we are waiting for the court investigation to be closed, said Meng Sopheary, who noted he met with Sokha this week. We dont know when its going to be closed yet.

Several other senior CNRP officials here have expressed discontent with the decision to organize a major party meeting in the U.S.

Soun Sorida, a former CNRP representative of Kampong Speu province, said the decision to meet this weekend did not follow party procedure, which he said requires all party events to be organized through official committees.

Any one-sided action carried out without the whole partys consent is not the partys action, Sorida told VOA Khmer. "This means the other side of the party is not acknowledging the action and leads to an exchange of verbal attacks among officials.

Pon Saory, one of the primary organizers of this weekends meeting, told VOA Khmer that the purpose of the gathering is to try to find the best path forward for democracy in Cambodia. He said Sam Rainsy was attending as an observer.

President Sam Rainsys participation in this event is only to observe the democratic process of organizing a conference by the CNRPs overseas branch, and of finding solutions and strategies to rebuild our party and to push for the release of our leader, Pon Saory said.
Listen in on a lively discussion of the weeks top Issues in the News. Join Michael Warren of the Weekly Standard, along with Emily Tamkin of BuzzFeed News and Richard Latendresse with Canadas TVA Nouvelles as they discuss the G-20 Summit and why President Trump canceled an expected meeting with Vladimir Putin.That story and more on Issues in the News.
The two women in the photograph were smiling, but Halmurat Idris knew something was terribly wrong.

One was his 39-year-old sister; standing at her side was an elderly woman Idris did not know. Their grins were tight-lipped, mirthless. Her sister had posted the picture on a social media account along with a caption punctuated by a smiley face.

Look, I have a Han Chinese mother now! his sister wrote.

Idris knew instantly: The old woman was a spy, sent by the Chinese government to infiltrate his family.

Spies in their homes

There are many like her. According to the ruling Communist Partys official newspaper, as of the end of September, 1.1 million local government workers have been deployed to ethnic minorities living rooms, dining areas and Muslim prayer spaces, not to mention at weddings, funerals and other occasions once considered intimate and private.

All this is taking place in Chinas far west region of Xinjiang, home to the predominantly Muslim, Turkic-speaking Uighurs, who have long reported discrimination at the hands of the countrys majority Han Chinese.

While government notices about the Pair Up and Become Family program portray it as an affectionate cultural exchange, Uighurs living in exile in Turkey said their loved ones saw the campaign as a chilling intrusion into the only place that they once felt safe.

They believe the program is aimed at coercing Uighurs into living secular lives like the Han majority. Anything diverging from the partys prescribed lifestyle can be viewed by authorities as a sign of potential extremism.

Stifling surveillance

Under Chinese President Xi Jinping, the Uighur homeland has been blanketed with stifling surveillance, from armed checkpoints on street corners to facial-recognition-equipped CCTV cameras steadily surveying passers-by. Now, Uighurs say, they must live under the watchful eye of the ruling Communist Party even inside their own homes.

The government is trying to destroy that last protected space in which Uighurs have been able to maintain their identity, said Joanne Smith Finley, an ethnographer at Englands Newcastle University.

The Associated Press spoke to five Uighurs living in Istanbul who shared the experiences of their family members in Xinjiang who have had to host Han Chinese civil servants. These accounts are based on prior communications with their family members, the majority of whom have since cut off contact because Uighurs can be punished for speaking to people abroad.

Uighurs abroad said their loved ones were constantly on edge in their own homes, knowing that any misstep  a misplaced Quran, a carelessly spoken word  could lead to detention or worse. In the presence of these faux relatives, their family members could not pray or wear religious garbs, and the cadres were privy to their every move.

The thought of it  and the sight of his sister, the old woman and their false smiles  made Idris queasy.

I wanted to throw up, said the 49-year-old petroleum engineer, shaking his head in disgust.

The moment I saw the old woman, I thought, Ugh, this person is our enemy. If your enemy became your mother, think about it  how would you feel?

Internment camps

Tensions between Muslim minorities and Han Chinese have bubbled over in recent years, resulting in violent attacks pegged to Uighur separatists and a fierce government crackdown on broadly defined extremism that has placed as many as 1 million Muslims in internment camps, according to estimates by experts and a human rights group.

Uighurs say the omnipresent threat of being sent to one of these centers, which are described as political indoctrination camps by former detainees, looms large in their relatives minds when they are forced to welcome party members into their homes.

Last December, Xinjiang authorities organized a Becoming Family Week, which placed more than 1 million cadres in minority households. Government reports on the program gushed about the warm family reunions, as public servants and Uighurs shared meals and even beds.

Becoming Family Week turned out to be a test run for a standardized homestay program. The Xinjiang United Front Work Department said in February that government workers should live with their assigned families every two months, for five days at a time.

Not all Become Family pairings involve Han Chinese visitors. A Uighur cadre named Gu Li said she regularly pays visits to a Uighur household, staying three to five days at a time.

Weve already started calling each other family, she said in a telephone interview from Xinjiang. Chinas 56 ethnic groups are all one family.

Gu said civil servants of many ethnicities, Uighur, Han and Kazakh, participate in the program.

All government employees in the region are required to conduct such visits in order to better understand villagers needs, according to Gu: Because were always sitting in our offices, we dont know what they really need. Only through penetrating the masses can we truly serve them.
The British prime minister says she intends to talk about the killing of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman at the G-20 meeting in Argentina.

Theresa May said on the airplane to Buenos Aires that the British government wants to see a full and transparent investigation in relation to what happened and obviously those responsible being held to account.

The Guardian, a British newspaper, said Downing Street sources have not officially confirmed a bilateral meeting but have suggested that May and the crown prince would be engaging.

Khashoggi, a Saudi national and critic of the crown prince, was killed last month after entering the Saudi Arabian consulate in Istanbul, where he had gone to obtain documents needed for his upcoming wedding.

Saudi Arabia has denied allegations that Salman played a role in Khashoggis death, blaming the killing on rogue agents. U.S. President Donald Trump has echoed Riyadhs denials and said the matter remains an open question.

South Carolina Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham, a frequent defender of Trump has joined other U.S. lawmakers in demanding a briefing by the CIA on Khashoggis death and has threatened to withhold votes on urgent legislation if it does not occur.
The leaders of the United States, Mexico and Canada have signed a new North American trade deal, underpinning $1.2 trillion in annual commerce among the three countries.

President Trump is calling the signing of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), following 15 months of frequently acrimonious negotiations, a "very historic day" for a "truly groundbreaking achievement."

WATCH: New North American Trade Deal Signed in Buenos Aires

The pact will lock in U.S. market access to Canada and Mexico, expand American exports and includes new measures to ensure fair competition, explained Trump as he stood alongside Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto.

"The autoworkers are a tremendous beneficiary," said Trump, adding that the USMCA will help stop automotive jobs from going overseas, and he predicted many such jobs will return to the United States.

The agreements intellectual property protection will be the envy of nations all around the world, said Trump at the signing on the sidelines of the G-20 leaders summit in Buenos Aires on Friday morning.



The USMCA replaces NAFTA, a pact Trump roundly criticized during his 2016 presidential campaign, terming it the worst trade deal in history and blaming it for the loss of American manufacturing jobs since it went into effect in 1994.

"Weve taken a lot of barbs and a little abuse and we got there," Trump said thanking Trudeau and Pena Nieto. "It's great for all of our countries."

It will be a while, however, before the agreement can take effect as lawmakers from all three countries must approve the USCMA.

"Its been so well-reviewed I don't expect to have much of a problem" getting the pact through the U.S. Congress, Trump said at the signing ceremony.

That could prove to be an overly optimistic assessment.

"It's going to be a very tough sell," predicts Congressman Bill Pascrell of the state New Jersey, who is one of the top Democrats on the House subcommittee that oversees trade issues.

The opposition Democrats take control of the House in January.

The National Association of Manufacturers is calling for swift approval by U.S. lawmakers.

With 2 million American jobs dependent on exports to Canada and Mexico, Congress should move expeditiously to review the USMCA before the end of this year. We look forward to working with the administration and Congress to ensure the USMCA is implemented and enforced in a way that empowers manufacturers in America to continue investing in our people and our communities, the powerful business group said in a statement released shortly after the signing ceremony.

Trump noted the signing in Argentina comes on the last day in office for the Mexican president, who is being succeeded by leftist Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, elected five months ago.

It is really an incredible way to end a presidency, Trump said to Pena Nieto, promoting applause from the Mexican officials in the audience.

The outgoing Mexican leader hailed the as providing more and better opportunities to our people, predicting that North America will grow stronger and be more prosperous.

Pena Nieto also said the new agreement provides improved protection of workers rights and the environment.

The Canadian prime minister agreed that it will protect jobs, strengthen the middle class and create new opportunities for businesses.

Trudeau, speaking in French and English, did not refer to the agreement by the USMCA acronym, instead calling it the new NAFTA. He also said, the task isnt done, more hard work is ahead.

His government is officially calling the pact the Canada-US-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA).

Noting this weeks announcement by top North American automaker General Motors to close several factories in Canada and the United States, Trudeau lamented the factory shutdowns are a heavy blow.

Make no mistake, we will stand up for our workers and fight for their families and communities, added Trudeau.

The signing of the so-called free trade agreement comes at a time when tens of billions of dollars of tariffs remain in place on goods traded among the three countries.

Tariffs on imports of steel and aluminum are entirely inconsistent with the overall goals of the USMCA, according to a letter signed by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and groups representing auto, chemical, grocery, retail and agricultural interests.

Retaliatory tariffs by Mexico have harmed U.S. dairy and pork farmers.

Mexican negotiators reportedly desire modifications to limit future metal shipments to the United States to 80 percent of current levels, while Canada is resisting quotas in the face of inexpensive steel from China entering the American market.
The U.S. Justice Department on Thursday indicted three senior defense contractor executives, accusing them of scheming to cheat the Pentagon out of billions of dollars.



Abu Huda Farouki, his brother Mazen Farouki and Salah Maarouf were charged with major fraud, money laundering and violating sanctions against doing business with Iran. All three pleaded not guilty.



According to the government's case, the Pentagon in 2012 awarded Abu Farouki's company an $8 billion contract to provide food and supplies to U.S. forces in Afghanistan and to build warehouses to store the material.



The indictment alleges the three conspired to submit bids with false estimates of when the warehouses would be finished, took photographs of fake construction sites, and routed trucks and the construction material through Iran instead of more expensive but legal routes, violating U.S. sanctions.

The three defendants have their next court date on Dec. 6.
The leaders of the world's largest economies received alpaca scarfs, silver bracelets, wine from Argentina's Mendoza region and teas from Patagonia as they arrived in Buenos Aires on Thursday for the first G-20 summit to be held in South America.

Heads of the Group of 20 industrialized nations touched down in Buenos Aires, the Argentine capital, for what looked to be a tough two-day summit that opens on Friday, with big differences on major issues including trade, migration and climate change.

But first they were treated to a taste of Argentina.

Women received silver bracelets with a commemorative design, while men received alpaca scarfs woven in Catamarca, a mountainous province in western Argentina.

A spokesman for President Mauricio Macri's office said first lady Juliana Awada had personally selected the gifts. Awada posted a video on Instagram of women hand-weaving the scarfs in Catamarca, using a technique hundreds of years old.

Leaders will also receive chocolates stuffed with caramelized condensed milk  a local specialty known as "dulce de leche"  as well as specially made tea, candles and wine from the western region of Mendoza, which is renowned for its Malbec

red wines.

At a gala dinner Friday in Buenos Aires' world-renowned theater, Teatro Colon, G-20 leaders will dine on a traditional Argentine menu of steak, lamb and choripan, a sausage served between bread, the event's head catering chef told Reuters on

Wednesday.
World leaders are preparing for whats set to be a fiery G-20 summit starting Friday in Buenos Aires. The two-day meeting brings together leaders representing two-thirds of the world's people and 85 percent of the global economy.

The summit is being held against the backdrop of a spiraling trade war between the United States and China that has set the global economy on edge, on top of a series of geopolitical flashpoints from Ukraine, to the Middle East, to the South China Sea.

WATCH: G-20 Prepares for Fiery Summit Amid Trade War, Security Tensions

U.S. President Donald Trump has threatened to raise existing tariffs from 10 percent to 25 percent on $200 billion worth of Chinese imports and has warned of more penalties if no agreement is reached with Beijing on issues like trade imbalances and intellectual property.

The White House believes it holds the momentum for a possible deal.

"Most observers believe China to be in a slump whereas the United States is in a very strong, solid position going into this summit, White House Economic Adviser Larry Kudlow said Tuesday.

Chinas ambassador to the United States, Cui Tiankai, warned of grave consequences if the trade war intensifies.

"In the last century we had two world wars, and in between them a Great Depression. I don't think anyone should really try to have a repetition of history, Tiankai said Wednesday.

The first G-20 leaders summit was held in the wake of the global financial crisis in 2008. Since then there has been a role reversal says Tristen Naylor, professor of international relations at the London School of Economics.

A decade on, the greatest threat to established economic order is actually surprisingly coming from in many ways the chief defender of that order, with the protectionist trade wars kicked off by President Trump and the America First foreign policy.

Geopolitical tensions between several G-20 nations are simmering. The meeting comes days after Russia rammed Ukrainian vessels in international waters off Crimea and seized several of its naval personnel. Kyiv has warned that it faces the danger of an all-out war with its neighbor.

In response, Trump raised doubts about a planned meeting at the summit with his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, telling The Washington Post newspaper that he was "awaiting a full report from his national security team about the incident."

He then abruptly canceled the meeting after a in-flight briefing on his way to Buenos Aires.



Speaking Wednesday to business leaders in Moscow, President Putin blamed Ukraine.

What was the [Russian] border control force supposed to do? Military ships have illegally entered into the territorial waters of the Russian Federation, Putin said.

Also scheduled to attend the summit is Saudi Arabias crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, who the West has implicated in the torture and killing last month of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in Istanbul. Turkeys president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, will also be there.

All are going to be in the same room at the same time. And this is a critical moment for them to at least discuss some of the critical flashpoints, says analyst Naylor.

He adds that its vital the summit is seen to make progress on key global challenges.

How ought the economic system operate? Is protectionism a good thing or a bad thing? Is climate change real or not? If these countries cant agree, it sends a very, very strong signal to everybody not at the table that maybe they dont need to sign up.

Thousands of anti-globalization protesters are gathering in Buenos Aires. Many Argentineans are angry at the governments $57 billion rescue package with the International Monetary Fund, in return for sweeping spending cuts.

About 22,000 police officers are being deployed in Argentina's capital, but some of the fiercest battles could take place inside the summit itself.
U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres says the U.N. is working hard to ensure peace talks on Yemen before the end of the year.

Talks are tentatively set to open next week in Stockholm between Yemeni officials and representatives of the Iranian-backed Houthi rebels.

Guterres said at the Group of 20 (G-20) summit Thursday in Buenos Aires that "a number of setbacks have taken place" and he does not want to raise expectations. But he said he is hopeful something will happen before the end of 2018.

A Houthi spokesman said Thursday his side will come to Sweden for the talks next week if their safe passage is guaranteed.

British Ambassador to Yemen Michael Aron said he sent messages to the head of the Houthi delegation and Yemen Foreign Minister Khaled al-Yemeni, telling them he has already booked his travel to Stockholm and looks forward to seeing both of them there.

"The political solution is the way forward and these consultations are a great step forward," Aron tweeted.

Also Thursday, U.S. Ambassador to Yemen Matthew Tueller said Iran is one of the major forces trying to stir up instability in Yemen and "throwing gasoline on the fire" across the Middle East.

"Step back for a moment and look at what we have in Yemen. We have a non-state actor, a militia, that has overthrown the government, and yet it is receiving arms, equipment and support from a state, Iran," Tueller told The Associated Press.

Iran has denied sending the Houthis weapons through the rebel-controlled port of Hodeida, where some of the fiercest fighting is concentrated.

Airstrikes fired against the rebels by a Saudi-led coalition have killed thousands of civilians.

A State Department spokeswoman announced Thursday the U.S. is sending another $131 million in emergency food aid to Yemen, bringing the total over the past 14 months to nearly $700 million.

"Ultimately, no amount of humanitarian or development assistance will end this conflict. All parties must cease hostilities and support negotiations. ... It is time to replace conflict with compromise and allow the Yemeni people to heal through peace and reconstruction," a State Department statement said.
President Donald Trump spoke to VOA contributor Greta Van Susteren in Buenos Aires, Argentina, where he is taking part in the G20 Summit. Below are highlights of the interview.

Q: Mr. President, were here in Argentina and the United States, Canada, and Mexico has signed a new trade agreement updating NAFTA.

President Donald Trump: Thats right

Q: Now one of the parts of it has to do with auto workers, auto parts. Is that in any way going to specifically address one of the issues the United States has with GM closing plants and 14,000 losing jobs?

Trump: Well it is and its not only that. Its going to keep auto companies from moving. One of the things I really wanted was plants and auto companies, just in general  I mean jobs, factories  I dont want them leaving the United States. That was very important to me, and were not leaving the United States. So, I think one of the strongest elements of the new  and I call it the USMCA  one of the really important things is you wont see companies leaving once that gets signed. We have to get it through Congress and if it gets through, which I think it will, thatll be great, and if it doesnt were very happy the way it is now.

Q: As you call out China as one of the countries, that you say, is ripping off the United States, Chinas global footprint is expanding, theyre already in North Africa, theyre building a huge port in Pakistan, they have great deals-- investment deals in Panama and Latin America. Sort of coming very close to the United States, geographically. Do you trust the strategic goals of China? Are you a little bit worried?

TRUMP: Well I think theyre going to have less money than they have right now, because the deal that I make, and if you look at we have 250 billion dollars right now, at 25%. That means were going to be taking in billions and billions of dollars, plus I can double that up, and then I can double it again, and they could never do what they did in the past with other Presidents, because  and you see whats happening with China. I dont want to do this, but they are not doing very well now compared to what they were doing, and  again I think that we are doing well."

Q: But as a national security point, you know, with their investment in Latin America and all over the world, it does seem that they are making a bigger footprint around the world.

TRUMP: I know, but they have a debt problem and they have to pay for that debt. Its a tremendous amount of money that theyre spending. Do I like it? Probably not, but I also know its very expensive for them, and a lot of those places arent going to work out.

Q: You were going to  or at least you had considered meeting with President Putin and you have declined to. Had you met with him what was your agenda with the President?

TRUMP: Well I just said that, you know, frankly in light of what happened with Ukraine with the ships and the sailors, it just wouldnt be the right time, but I will meet with him. I think we have a very good relationship, and I think were going to have a very good relationship with Russia, and China, and everyone else. I mean, I think its important. So Ill meet with him at the appropriate time.

Q: What do you think his  hes thinking about doing with Ukraine? Why did he seize the sails and the vessels?

TRUMP: I cant read his mind, and nobody can, and he knows what he wants to do, but we cant allow certain things to happen, you know, it happened, and I just cant be a part of it.

Q: "One of the issues of a global economy is climate change. Thats a discussion here. Whats your position on climate change and how it has effected the economy worldwide?"

TRUMP: Very simple, I want the cleanest air and the cleanest water on the planet. I want crystal clean water and thats what we have. Weve been doing very well with respect to the environment and thats what I want. But Im not going to put the country out of business trying to maintain certain standards that probably dont matter. When you look at China, and when you look at other countries where they have foul air, they have not good air that comes over to the United States. People dont want to talk about it, but it comes over. So were going to be clean but theyre not, and it costs a lot of money. Well the fact is, we are absolutely clean, but were not going to spend trillions of dollars and make it good for others but not make it good for ourYou know, I have a very simple policy, its called America First. At the same time, were going to be a great neighbor to the world. But we have to treat ourselves fairly, so thats the way it is.

Q: Are you going to mention to President Xi about climate change?

TRUMP: Well talk about it, were talking about a lot of things. The big thing were talking about is trade, thats what people want to hear and you know, hes gotta to do something with his climate- his climates a little bit though. But- and Im sure he will. I think hes- hes a friend of mine and a good man but you know, we have a little bit of a dispute. And again, our country has been taken advantage of for many years and thats just not going to happen anymore.

Q: Alright now, our domestic economy, next week theres a vote possibly on a government shutdown. First of all do you think theres going to be a US government shutdown and does that have any sort of global economic impact?

TRUMP: Well I cant tell you if theres going to be a shutdown because nobody knows but I will tell you were going to have border security. Were gonna have a lot of border security- you saw what we did with the all of the caravans coming up and now theyre starting to head out, theyre starting to go back. But we are going to have security. Were not going to let people come into our country illegally. Were going to have people come in on merit. We need people, you know? We have the lowest unemployment rate weve had in 51 years. We need people in this country. we have companies moving in, in fact Prime Minister Abe of Japan just told me theyre moving two car companies- theyre going to opening up two massive plants you know, you dont hear that often but a lot of that is happening. You hear about General Motors and I dont know what happened with General Motors but the trend is exactly the opposite. And I will say this  our economy has never done better. Were doing unbelievable numbers, you see that. And a lot of good things are happening.
Fresh fears were raised about press freedom in Hungary Friday over a new centralized structure for media organizations supportive of Prime Minister Viktor Orban.

Some 500 pro-government media outlets, national and regional, will be brought together under an umbrella group, the Central European Press and Media Foundation (CEPMF), said a statement from the new group earlier this week.

Its aim, it said, was to "ensure the preservation of national values", said the statement.

The outlets in question -- which include newspapers, magazines, websites, radio and TV channels -- currently belong to 10 different media companies, said the statement. The owners of those companies will "donate" their outlets to the non-profit CEPMF.

"Such a concentration of media power in the hands of one entity is unprecedented in an EU member," Gabor Polyak, an analyst with the Mertek Media Monitor think-tank, told AFP.

"To do this so openly is a message to both Hungarians and Europe, that the government believes it can get away with anything," he said.

Since coming into power in 2010, firebrand nationalist Orban has transformed the country's public media into a government propaganda organ, while his allies have steadily bought up swathes of the private media sector.

The country's media regulator, set up in 2011 as part of Orban's first overhaul of media structures, is seen by critics as packed with Fidesz loyalists.

Media rights campaigners Reporters Without Borders put Hungary 71st out of 180 countries in it last international rankings of press freedom, down from 23rd when Orban's Fidesz party took power.
Editor's note: We want you to know what's happening, why and how it could impact your life, family or business, so we created a weekly digest of the top original immigration, migration and refugee reporting from across VOA. Questions? Tips? Comments? Email the VOA immigration team: ImmigrationUnit@voanews.com.

Silence in Rakhine

At the site of Myanmar's Inn Din massacre, which set in motion the exodus of hundreds of thousands of Muslims, villagers tell reporters, "I did not know about it."

Death in detention

A Russian man who once said he was scared to go back to his home country died in U.S. custody in November. Activists blame the U.S. immigration agency for his death. Authorities say it was suicide.

Undocumented numbers on the decline

The number of undocumented immigrants in the United States is on the decline, a new report shows  by about 1.5 million. But while President Donald Trump's focus has been almost exclusively on the southwest U.S. border, the bigger issue in terms of numbers is another category entirely: people who enter the U.S. with visas, but overstay their allotted time.

Tear gas at the border

There were protesters. There were U.S. federal agents. Then there was tear gas. "I grabbed my daughters and started running," a woman told Reuters.

The U.S. is using an array of tactics in a show of force at the southwest border "to ensure public safety in response to large numbers of migrants seeking to enter the U.S. illegally."

Trump maintains he is willing to partially shut down the federal government next week if Congress doesn't approve funding to build a wall at the border.

Stripping people of citizenship in Australia

The country's prime minister wants to revoke citizenship for convicted terrorists; but, that could leave felons stateless, lawyers point out, leading to an indefinite legal limbo.
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Segmentation

The Light Olefins Market is categorized on the basis of Product Type, Derivatives, Application and Region.

On the Basis of the Product Type, the market is bifurcated into ethylene and propylene. The ethylene accounted for the largest market share of 60% in 2016, with a market value of USD 152.7 billion and is projected to grow at a CAGR of 5.78% during the forecast period.

On the Basis of the Derivatives, the market is segmented into polypropylene, propylene oxide, acrylonitrile, cumene, acrylic acid, oxo alcohols, polyethylene, ethylene oxide/ glycol, EDC/ VCM/ PVC, styrene, alpha olefins, and acetate monomer.

By the Application, the market is sub-segmented into chemical commodities and refinery.

Based on the Region, the market is segmented into Asia Pacific, Europe, Latin America, North America, and the Middle East & Africa.

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Competitive Analysis

Some of the major players operating the market growth are BASF SE (Germany), China Petro & Chemical Corp (China), Saudi Arabian Oil Co. (Saudi Arabia), Exxon Mobil Corporation (U.S.), DowDuPont (U.S.), PetroChina (China), Honeywell International Inc. (U.S.), Gazprom (Russian Federation), Royal Dutch Shell (Netherlands), Reliance Industries Limited (India), and others.

Key Findings

Global Light Olefins Market is projected to reach USD 475.8 million by 2023 at an expanding CAGR over the forecast period.

Ethylene Type accounted for market share of 60.00% in 2016.

Propylene type valued at USD 101.9 billion in 2016 and is projected to grow at a CAGR of 5.94% during the forecast period.

Asia Pacific is the largest and fastest growing market accounting for 40% share of the global market in 2016. Royal Dutch Shell is the leading manufacturer of Light Olefins.

Intended Audience

Light Olefins manufacturers

Traders and distributors of Light Olefins

Production process industries

Potential investors

Raw material suppliers

Regional Analysis

The Global Light Olefins Market has been spanned across five major regions including North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America, and the Middle East & Africa. Asia Pacific emerged as the leading Light Olefins Market in 2016 and is accounted for 40% of the overall value share and is expected to grow at a healthy CAGR of 6.22% over the forecast period. Furthermore, the increasing demand for efficient and high performance based automotive in countries such as Japan, India, and China is driving the demand for bio-fuel. The availability of cheap biomass and raw material such as corn and sugarcane to produce bio-ethylene in India has augmented the market growth.

North America was the second largest region and was valued at USD 151.1 billion in 2016 and is projected to grow at a healthy CAGR of 5.6% during the review period. The feedstock advantage coupled with the low cost supply of ethane is one of the major driver of the market growth in the North American region. The high demand from packaging industry in the U.S. is driving the market growth positively. The U.S. accounted for around 78% of market share in 2016 and is projected to grow at a healthy CAGR of 5.72% during the review period.

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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.

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Russian authorities said Friday that Vladimir Putin will have a brief meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump during the G-20 summit in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

"There is no scheduled pull-aside," was the only response from a White House official when queried about a Kremlin spokesman saying there would be an "impromptu" meeting on the G-20 sidelines. The U.S. comment, however, leaves open the possibility there could, indeed, be an unscheduled encounter.

On Thursday, Trump said he was canceling his scheduled meeting with the Russian leader following Russia's seizure of three Ukrainian vessels and their crews in the Black Sea region.

"Based on the fact that the ships and sailors have not been returned to Ukraine from Russia, I have decided it would be best for all parties concerned to cancel my previously scheduled meeting in Argentina," Trump tweeted Thursday on Air Force One on his way to Buenos Aires.

The announced cancellation also came hours after U.S. prosecutors revealed that Trump's former lawyer, Michael Cohen, admitted lying to Congress about a Trump real estate deal in Russia.

The revelation signaled the special counsel is focusing more closely on the Trump campaign's communications with Russian officials during the 2016 presidential campaign. When asked about the canceled Putin meeting Friday, White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders emphasized the move was about Russia's action in Ukraine, not the special counsel's investigation into Russia's interference in the 2016 presidential election.

"The Russian witch hunt hoax, which is hopefully now nearing an end, is doing very well. Unfortunately, it probably does undermine our relationship with Russia. However, the reason for our canceled meeting is Ukraine. Hopefully, that will be resolved soon so that productive conversations can begin," Sanders told reporters in Buenos Aires.
U.S. President Donald Trump has challenged car giant GM's decision to close five plants across the United States and Canada just weeks before the holidays. GM says changing car habits are to blame for the closings, which impact thousands of workers across North America. VOA's Katherine Gypson reports from the GM plant in Ohio, where workers say they feel left behind by the global marketplace.
Mexico's government on Friday gave President Donald Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner the highest honor America's southern neighbor grants to foreigners.

The award has caused an uproar in Mexico, where many are angry over Trump's insulting comments about Mexicans and his promises to build a border wall between the countries. The Order of the Aztec eagle award has been bestowed before on figures such as Nobel literature laureate Gabriel Garcia Marquez and the late South African President Nelson Mandela.

Trump attended the award ceremony on the sidelines of the Group of 20 summit in Argentina. Mexican officials said Kushner earned the award for his work on negotiating a new trade agreement signed Friday by Mexico, the U.S. and Canada. The deal replaces the North American Free Trade Agreement, or NAFTA.

Kushner said U.S.-Mexico relations have improved because the countries decided to craft "win-win" solutions to migration, drug trafficking and other issues plaguing relations.

Trump has railed about factory jobs lost to Mexico and the U.S. trade deficit with its southern neighbor  two issues that soured relations with outgoing President Pena Enrique Nieto. On Friday, however, Trump lauded Pena Nieto as a "special man," and congratulated him on ending his presidency by signing the new trade deal. Pena Nieto leaves office on Sunday.

When the award was announced, prominent Mexican historian Enrique Krauze called the decision an act of "supreme humiliation and cowardice."
Authorities have arrested 12 suspected members of the Islamic State group and seized bomb making materials since a suicide attack last month, the interior ministry said Friday.

Authorities have also "dismantled four takfiri (Sunni extremist) sleeper cells in several parts of Tunisia," the ministry said in a statement.

The announcement follows an attack by 30-year-old female suicide bomber Mna Guebla on October 29 that wounded 26 people on the capital's busy upmarket Avenue Habib Bourguiba, in the first militant attack in the capital since November 2015.

The attack went unclaimed but the Tunisian authorities said the suicide bomber had sworn allegiance to IS.

Police have arrested 12 people suspected of supporting IS, an interior ministry spokesman told AFP, without specifying where and when the arrests were made, nor the suspects' links to the perpetrator of October's attack in Tunis.

The suicide bomber had contact with IS officials "inside and outside the country, and liaised with them over the internet," the ministry said in its statement.

The IS officials had taught the bomber how to make explosive devices, and she built the one used in the attack, the statement said.

A laboratory producing explosives and electronic components has also been uncovered in a Tunis suburb, the ministry said.

The four dismantled cells are suspected of having been in contact "with terrorist officials entrenched in the Tunisian mountains to organize a series of attacks ... aimed at sensitive targets with weapons, a car, poison or remote explosives," the statement said.

Investigators confiscated "a very large quantity of explosive and chemical products, along with a drone equipped for remote bombings," the statement added, without specifying where the haul was found.

In a separate statement late on Thursday, the interior ministry said a police patrol had been targeted by an armed group in the middle of Kasserine, a marginalized city in western Tunisia.

A passerby was shot and wounded, the ministry said, adding that an investigation was underway to determine whether the attack was linked to extremist groups holed up in nearby mountains bordering Algeria.

Thousands of Tunisians have joined jihadist groups fighting in Iraq, Syria and neighboring Libya.

In November 2015, a suicide bombing killed 12 security agents on a bus used by the presidential guard, in an attack claimed by IS.

In June 2015, a student went on a shooting rampage in the coastal resort of Sousse and killed 38 people, including 30 Britons and an attack in March that year on the Bardo National Museum in Tunis left 22 people dead, all but one of them foreign tourists.

Those attacks, also claimed by IS, devastated Tunisia's crucial tourism sector.
The number of uninsured children in the United States has increased for the first time in nearly a decade, placing it at 3.9 million in 2017, according to a report Thursday from Georgetown University's Center for Children and Families.



Nationally, the number of uninsured children increased by an estimated 276,000 in 2017, from a historic low of 4.7 percent in 2016 to 5 percent last year. Experts say about 75 percent of the newly uninsured children are clustered in states that did not expand Medicaid such as Florida, Texas and Georgia.



Under President Obama's Affordable Care Act, Florida and other states could take federal funding to help pay for health coverage for nearly 900,000 people, but the Republican-led Legislature in Florida voted against it. The vast majority of states have already expanded Medicaid and increased the number of residents eligible for its coverage.



Joan Alker, executive director for Georgetown's Center for Children and Families, has written the report for the last eight years and said she's never seen the rates of uninsured children go up in all 50 states, which happened last year.

Better economy, low unemployment



She said that what is perhaps most concerning is that the uninsured rate among children increased despite an improving economy and low unemployment rate that allowed more children to get private coverage through their parents.



The study blamed the increases on the Trump administration's repeated attempts to prompt an overhaul of publicly funded health care. There were major efforts to repeal Obama's Affordable Care Act and cut Medicaid, and the children's CHIP insurance funding also ran out and hung in the balance for months before Congress extended it.



There was a lot of confusion among families as to whether these public coverage sources were available,'' Alker said.



At the same time, the Trump administration slashed funding for advertising and enrollment counselors to help sign people up for these health insurance programs. The country's enrollment decline was not just in Medicaid and CHIP, but also in Obamacare, or the federal marketplace where parents can purchase private health insurance and often receive a subsidy to help pay for it.



The report noted that many of the children who do not have health insurance are eligible for coverage but just aren't enrolled.

'More of a fluctuation'



Ed Haislmaier, a senior research fellow with the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank, said the figures were statistically insignificant.



He did agree that there were dips in Medicaid enrollment and through the Obamacare marketplace, but noted there's no enrollment cutoff for Medicaid, meaning families can sign up their children year-round.



It's really more of a fluctuation. There's no policy driver there,'' he said, saying he didn't think marketing cuts had any impact.



In Florida, the uninsured rate went from 288,000 in 2016 to 325,000 in 2017.

Florida has one of the highest rates of uninsured residents in the country, and also has had the highest number of enrollees purchasing insurance through the Obamacare federal marketplace. However, Medicaid expansion in Florida is likely off the table for this upcoming legislative session. Incoming Gov.-elect Ron DeSantis, a Republican, is against it. His opponent, Democrat Andrew Gillum, campaigned heavily on his support to expand Medicaid coverage for more residents.

The report also expressed concern that strict immigration policies and enforcement were making many immigrant families leery of enrolling, even if their children were eligible for health coverage. We think it's really this national unwelcome mat regarding public coverage,'' Alker said.
Russia and China are among several countries attempting to stress-test the resolve of traditional powers, according to a report from the London-based International Institute for Strategic Studies.

It claims so-called challenger nations are persistently testing the tolerance of established powers for different forms of aggression, from proxy wars to cyberattacks.

The researchers cite the seizure this week of three Ukrainian naval vessels by Russian forces in the Azov Sea off Crimea, the territory that was forcibly annexed in 2014. Moscow claims these are Russian waters, in contravention of a 2003 deal between Moscow and Ukraine, which agreed the Azov Sea would be shared.

Ukraine warns its Black Sea ports are being cut off. A bridge built by Russia linking it with Crimea now limits the size of ships able to navigate the Kerch Strait.

Probing for weaknesses

The aim is to change the facts on the ground, said Nicholas Redman, co-author of the institutes Strategic Survey report.

Theyre testing tolerances, probing for weaknesses, getting a measure of the resolve of other states by acts that are generally aggressive but are below the threshold of something that would obviously require a military response, Redman told VOA.

Iran is also accused of conducting tolerance warfare by using its Revolutionary Guard and proxies across the Middle East to destabilize other countries, such as Syria.

Beijings activities in the South China Sea are also seen as part of the strategy to test Western resolve in that arena.

China has used not its navy, but its coast guard or some other at-water capabilities in order to slowly push the envelope in the South China Sea. And obviously, the island-building campaign and the growth of infrastructure around there is about  without directly confronting anyone  nevertheless changing facts on the ground, Redman said.

How to respond

So how should those on the receiving end of tolerance warfare respond? The reports authors praise Britains reaction to the attempted chemical poisoning of a former double agent on British soil earlier this year, which London blamed on the GRU, the intelligence branch of Russias armed forces.

What we saw was a powerful, asymmetric response. Sanctions, a tremendous degree of allied solidarity over diplomatic expulsions, and then an information operation over several months to systematically expose GRU activity, Redman said.

The report warns a new era of geopolitical competition urgently requires new rules governing international behavior but negotiating such a global framework is fraught with difficulty.
A second Republican senator, Tim Scott of South Carolina, has said he will vote against President Donald Trumps nominee to serve as a district judge in North Carolina, likely dooming the prospects of Thomas Farr filling the nations longest court vacancy.

Civil rights groups such as the NAACP have heavily criticized Farr for his work defending state laws found to have discriminated against African-Americans. Farr is nominated to serve as a district court judge in North Carolina.

Scott announced Thursday that he would not vote for Farr, joining Sen. Jeff Flake of Arizona and 49 Democratic lawmakers in opposing the nominee.

Former Helms campaign lawyer

Farr once served as a lawyer for the re-election campaign of Republican Sen. Jesse Helms in 1990. The Justice Department alleged that about 120,000 postcards sent mostly to black voters before that election was intended to intimidate them from voting.

The postcards targeting black voters said they could be prosecuted and imprisoned for up to five years if they tried to vote in a precinct in which they had lived for fewer than 30 days.

Farr told the Senate Judiciary Committee he was not consulted about the postcards and did not have any role in drafting or sending them. He said that after he had been asked to review the card, I was appalled to read the incorrect language printed on the card and to then discover it had been sent to African Americans.

A 1991 Justice Department memo, first reported by The Washington Post, raised questions about Farrs claim that he was never consulted about the postcards. The memo said Farr had met with key campaign officials and had advised them that a postcard mailing like the mailing conducted in 1984 would not be particularly useful except as evidence in post-election challenges.

The 1984 mailing contained an endorsement of Helms from a black minister and included an address correction request so the card would be returned if undelivered, setting up a potential avenue to challenge the legitimacy of a voter.

Memo raises concerns

Scott, who is African-American, cited the memo as to why he would vote against Farr.

This week, a Department of Justice memo written under President George H.W. Bush came to light that shed new light on Mr. Farrs activities, Scott said. This, in turn, creates more concerns. Weighing these important factors, this afternoon I concluded that I could not support Mr. Farrs nomination.

Scott has supported the overwhelming majority of Trumps judicial nominees, but in July, the nomination of Ryan Bounds to serve on the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals was withdrawn after Scott said he had unanswered questions that led to me being unable to support him.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer had repeatedly criticized Republicans in recent days for moving forward with the Farr vote. He said Scott has done a courageous thing.

Thomas Farr has been involved in the sordid practice of voter suppression for decades and never should have been nominated, let alone confirmed to the bench. Thankfully, he wont be, Schumer said.

Earlier Thursday, senators had agreed to postpone the vote on Farr until next week. That decision came less than 24 hours after Republicans needed Vice President Mike Pence to cast a tie-breaking vote Wednesday to move Farrs nomination forward for a final vote.

Longest judicial opening

The history of the judicial opening has contributed to the acrimony. President Barack Obama nominated two African-American women to serve on the court, but neither got a hearing.

Republican Sens. Thom Tillis and Richard Burr of North Carolina both supported Farrs nomination. Tillis said earlier in the week he believed that Farr was being treated unfairly.

Scott is the lone black Republican in the Senate. The NAACP and the Congressional Black Caucus had been highly critical of Farr for his work defending state laws they said suppressed the black vote.

GOP leaders in charge of the North Carolina Legislature hired Farr and others at his firm to defend congressional and legislative boundaries that the legislature approved in 2011. A federal court eventually struck some boundaries down as racial gerrymanders and the Supreme Court affirmed that decision.

Farr also helped defend a 2013 law that required photo identification to vote, reduced the number of early voting days and eliminated same-day registration during that period.

North Carolina Republicans said that requiring voter ID would increase the integrity of elections. But the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the state provided no evidence of the kind of in-person voter fraud the ID mandate would address. The Richmond, Virginia-based court said the law targeted black voters with almost surgical precision.

Farr told lawmakers that, as an advocate, he vehemently disagreed with the argument that the states legislature sought to curtail the voting rights of people of color or any other voter. But, said, I am obligated to follow the decision by the 4th Circuit and pledge that I will do so.

North Carolina Republican Party Chairman Robin Hayes said Farr is fundamentally an honest, decent and honorable man, who did nothing to deserve the assault on his character. We will continue to work to see him confirmed.
More than half of South Koreas university-age students now possess a positive view toward Korean unification. Thats according to a new poll conducted by the National Assemblys Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee. The survey was conducted in early November, canvassing more than 1,000 university students nationwide.

The survey results show 52.8 percent of the respondents answered that unification is necessary, more than twice the number of those stating the opposite (26.1 percent).

One possible explanation for the surveys results, said research fellow Park Ju-hwa at the Korea Institute for National Unification (KINU), could be North Koreas friendlier approach to Seoul and outreach to the global community.

Furthermore, until the [recent] summit(s), people didnt have a chance to see the North Korean leader, said Jeon Young-sun, professor at the Humanities Research Institute, at Konkuk University.

Park also said the absence of nuclear or missile tests the past year, coupled with high-profile meetings between South Korean President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un might bring about change in the minds of young people.

Youth and Future director Jeong Hyun Gon added that the global focus placed on talks with Pyongyang helped to entice university students to become interested, where previously they hadnt paid the issue a significant amount of attention.

The surveys data further showed 42.1 percent of respondents moved from a negative perception to a positive view about North Korea following the Pyongyang Summit.

Its a value more than eight times higher than those moving the opposite way on the spectrum (5 percent) and respondents stated the reason to pursue unification was economic growth (33.3 percent) and to remove the threat of the war (28.7 percent).

Youths needs drive positive outlook

South Korean President Moon has held three summits with his Kim, counterpart in North Korea. The latest, held in September in Pyongyang, finalized a series of military agreements aimed at de-escalating tension on the peninsula and creating new business opportunities through a number of inter-Korean initiatives, such as connecting road and railways and re-opening joint tourism and industrial complexes.

The students appeared to accept Moons assertion that stronger inter-Korean relations would benefit South Koreas stagnant economy and eliminate the Norths military threat.

The authors of the report said the data showed the university students focused on aspects of improved relations with Pyongyang with nearly 7 in 10 saying greater cooperation with North Korea is urgently needed (67.2 percent).

Jeong noted the young generation learned that unification is advantageous to them, so they took this practical approach.

However, unlike the Moon administration, which has called for an easing of sanctions against North Korea to enable the inter-Korean initiatives, over half of the respondents called sanctions useful (55.4 percent) rather than unnecessary.

Those surveyed also said it was important to address North Korean human rights abuses, something the Moon administration has yet to pursue.

Moving forward

Park cautions reading too much into the surveys conclusions because a majority of past surveys only had a few options for respondents to select.

He said while the data indicates the students are paying more attention to the economic advantage of unification, its unknown what their view will be if economic cooperation with North Korea does not occur.

They are predicting an optimistic future, said Jeong, although he notes students dont necessarily expect to reap the rewards of unification in the near future.

You can find from the survey data, they do not want to see the drastic unification with denuclearization first and then a step by step approach to unification, he added.

In the near future, South Koreans may become frustrated with the process because of international opposition; however, looking long-term, the [positive] expectations hold, Jeon said.

Park does note, however, there are some indirect benefits of North Korean engagement.

[Engagement] can be an opportunity to develop North Korea and improve human rights in the North as well as in the South, Park said.

In addition, he said the greater interaction with Kim and North Korea may contribute to peace in East Asia, and that its important to consider the global value of unification.

VOAs Lee Ju-hyun contributed to this report.
Top administration officials are debating whether to create a stand-alone Space Force to handle space defense or a Space Force that falls within the Air Force, officials tell VOA.

Either option requires congressional approval, which could prove difficult with a Democratic-led House and a Republican-led Senate.

An Oct. 26 memo obtained by VOA directs that the Department of Defense create the "optimal organizational construct to meet (the president's) intent."

The memo, signed by Executive Secretary of the National Space Council Scott Pace and National Security Council official Earl Matthews, instructs the Pentagon to focus on whether the Space Force is most efficient as a new independent department or as "a separate service within the Department of the Air Force, along the lines of the U.S. Marine Corps within the Department of the Navy or the U.S. Coast Guard within the Department of Homeland Security."

Support in the House

This latter organizational structure has bipartisan support in the House, but the former has often been seen by Democrats as an expensive solution.

Vice President Mike Pence and Deputy Secretary of Defense Patrick Shanahan met Thursday to discuss how to build the first new military branch since 1947, as President Donald Trump has directed.

A National Space Council official told VOA Thursday the October memo does not represent a shift in White House guidance.

"The direction to create the U.S. Space Force remains exactly the same, and the Space Council is continuing to work with the departments and agencies responsible for implementing the president's direction to develop the sixth branch of the Armed Forces," the official said.

Space Command next?

Officials say the president also intends to establish a U.S. Space Command, a move already directed by Congress.

The U.S. military is organized into 10 combatant commands based on either geography, such as Indo-Pacific Command and European Command, or unified functions, such a Transportation Command and Cyber Command.

This new, 11th combatant command would oversee space defense much like U.S. Cyber Command oversees cyber defense. Space Command is expected to start in mid-2019 with initial operation capability.

Officials familiar with Space Force deliberations have raised concerns to VOA that a new military branch could duplicate the work of the new combatant command. They say a separate military service may not be needed once the combatant command is fully operational.

"You don't see a Cyber Force in addition to Cyber Command," one official said on condition of anonymity.

Cost estimates for the Space Command have been modeled after the creation of U.S. Strategic Command, which was set up in the early 1990s. The biggest expense will be the creation of a new headquarters for the combatant command in order to make room for providing new capabilities, according to one official.
The Taliban claimed responsibility for Wednesday's attack on a British private security company, G4S, that killed at least 10 people and wounded more than 30 others in the capital, Kabul. The Taliban claimed the attack was carried out in retaliation against foreign troops, who they accused of causing civilian casualties. Afghan officials, however, say the victims of the attack were mostly Afghan civilians. VOA's Mohammad Habibzada reports.
U.S. President Donald Trump begins two days of meetings with world leaders Friday in the Argentinian capital, which is hosting the G-20 summit of the worlds leading economies. But one counterpart he will apparently not be sitting down with is Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Trump tweeted his decision from Air Force One on his way to Buenos Aires on Thursday.

Trump had been scheduled to hold a two hour meeting here with Putin despite intense criticism in the United States and among NATO allies following Moscows seizure Sunday of the three Ukrainian vessels and their crews in the Kerch Strait as they tried to make their way to the Ukrainian port of Mariupol, in the Sea of Azov.

White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders told reporters on Air Force One that the decision to cancel the meeting was made on the plane after Trump received an in-flight briefing by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, National Security Adviser John Bolton and White House Chief of Staff John Kelly about the tensions between Russia and Ukraine.

Hours earlier, meeting on

Just two hours earlier as he departed the White House, Trump had told reporters he looked forward to meeting with Putin during the G-20 leaders meeting.

I think its a very good time to have the meeting, Trump had told reporters on the South Lawn.

The reversal came on the same day as the presidents former personal lawyer, Michael Cohen, pleaded guilty to lying to Congress about a proposed Trump skyscraper in Moscow.

Trump told reporters Cohen is a liar and a weak person.

Russians surprised

Russian officials are expressing surprise about Trumps cancellation of the meeting with Putin, with whom the U.S. president has enjoyed a warm relationship despite significant geo-political differences between the two countries.

A cancellation means that the discussion on key international issues is being postponed indefinitely, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told the RIA news agency.

Ukraine seeks NATOs help

Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko asked NATO countries to send naval ships to the Sea of Azov to aid his country and provide security amid tensions with Russia. Ukraine, once a Soviet satellite state, is not a NATO member.

Poroshenkos comments were published Thursday in the German newspaper Bild.

NATO spokeswoman Oana Lungescu responded to Poroshenkos request by saying the military alliance already has a strong presence in the Black Sea region.

She said NATO ships routinely patrol the area and several NATO allies conduct reconnaissance flights over the region.

We will continue to assess our presence in the region, Lungescu added.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel also rejected Poroshenkos request, urging Kyiv to adopt a sensible approach because there is no military solution to these disputes.

Also Thursday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said he could play a mediator role between Ukraine and Russia.

Erdogan has held phone talks with leaders on both sides, and said he would continue discussing the issue with Putin and Trump at a G-20 summit.

What happened in Kerch Strait

Ukraine said Russia used a tanker to block access to the Kerch Strait, which under a treaty is shared territory. Russia said the vessels illegally entered its waters.

Putin on Wednesday blamed Poroshenko for the incident, alleging it is an attempt by Poroshenko to boost his re-election chances next year.

Ukraine has imposed martial law in some of its border regions in response to the incident, and with a growing number of other European countries, urged Western allies to impose additional sanctions on Moscow.

Poroshenko said martial law will help strengthen Ukraines defense capabilities amid increasing aggression and according to international law, a cold act of aggression by the Russian Federation. He demanded Russia release the Ukrainian sailors and vessels.

Poroshenko wrote on Twitter Thursday that his country will impose unspecified restrictions on Russian citizens in response to Russias actions. Ukraine has already denied Russians entry into the country since last weeks incident.

VOA's Chris Hannas and Wayne Lee contributed to this report.
Just minutes after he landed in Argentina for the G-20 summit, U.S. President Donald Trump made clear there were other things on his mind besides the meeting of the world's leading economies.

Shortly after disembarking from Air Force One, Trump sent a pair of tweets slamming the investigation of special counsel Robert Mueller, demanding he instead look into the "real crimes of the other side."

Just a few hours later, as the sun was still rising on the first morning of the G-20 gathering, Trump sent two more tweets on the same topic, suggesting a preoccupation with domestic  not international  affairs.

Of course, Trump is not the first U.S. president to address domestic events while overseas. U.S. presidents travel with an entourage of White House reporters that frequently ask U.S.-focused questions.

But on his international trips, Trump places an unusually heavy emphasis on domestic affairs. When combined with an "America First" foreign policy that downplays the importance of multilateral institutions, Trump's approach can complicate forums like the G-20.

"I just don't think President Trump is interested in the agenda of international cooperation at this summit," said Mark Simakovsky with the Atlantic Council. "He's more interested in having it as a venue where he can promote his own national and foreign policy."

Trump's tweets suggest he is especially concerned about Mueller's investigation that is looking into possible links between Trump's 2016 presidential campaign and Russia, which tried to interfere in the election.

On Thursday, Trump's former lawyer, Michael Cohen, pleaded guilty to misleading lawmakers about the timing of talks for a tower that the Trump organization was trying to build in Moscow.

Rising nationalism

Trump isn't the only thing impeding multilateral cooperation. From Brazil to Russia, rising global nationalism has complicated international efforts on a wide range of issues, including trade and climate change.

But Trump has a unique ability to attract attention often hurling insults at world leaders before, during, and after his foreign stops. That alone hurts forums like the G-20, many analysts say.

In June at a G-7 summit in Canada, Trump engaged in confrontations with his counterparts over his steel and aluminum tariffs, before leaving early and failing to sign a joint communique. On his way out, Trump blasted Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau as "meek and mild."

Earlier this month, Trump skipped a World War I ceremony in Paris, citing traffic and bad weather. While in France, Trump instead tweeted about recent U.S. midterm election results, among other topics. After leaving, Trump noted French President Emmanuel Macron's "very low approval rating."

USMCA success

Trump has scored some multilateral achievements.

On Friday, Trump joined Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto in signing the recently agreed upon trade deal between the three countries.

The deal, which only followed often publicly contentious negotiations, now must be ratified by lawmakers in all three countries.

"This has been a battle, and battles sometimes make great friendships," Trump told his counterparts during the ceremony. But he called the deal a "truly groundbreaking achievement."

Everyone else first, too?

Trump's "America First" approach also is causing other nations to become nationalistic in international settings, however, like the G-20, according to Roberto Bouzas, a professor at Argentina's Universidad de San Andres.

"If the U.S., which is the most influential international actor, publicly states that what matters most and only is its own national interest, then it doesn't make much sense that the rest of the world says something different or acts in a different way," said Bouzas.

White House officials say that's OK, insisting that every country is free to look out for its own interests.

But that approach doesn't work as well for some smaller countries, others insist.

"If multilateral institutions, multilateral rules fade away, that's not good for us, because we are small and we need rules in order to perform better," Bouzas said. "If we are left to power politics only, then we are on the losing side."
Reporters traveling with President Donald Trump to the G-20 Summit in Argentina say he is in a bad mood and distracted after his former lawyer, Michael Cohen, admitted lying to Congress about a Trump real estate deal in Russia.

Cohen pleaded guilty in federal court in New York Thursday, admitting he misled lawmakers about the timing of talks with Russia for building a Trump tower in Moscow.

Special counsel Robert Mueller, who is probing possible collusion between the Trump campaign and Russian election meddling, brought the charges against Cohen. Cohen is already facing prison time for bank fraud and activities related to his taxicab business.

WATCH: Cohen Guilty Plea Signals New Turn in Russia Probe

What Cohen said to Congress

Cohen told the Senate Intelligence Committee last year that negotiations between the Trump organization and Russia to build the tower in Moscow ended in January 2016. The talks actually continued as late as June of that year, after Trump clinched the Republican presidential nomination.

Cohen also admitted to lying to Congress about other details of the Moscow project, including his own contacts with Russian officials and that he never asked Trump to fly to Moscow himself.

According to the charging documents, Cohens close friend and onetime Trump employee Felix Sater talked about giving Russian President Vladimir Putin a $50 million penthouse in the Trump tower as a ploy to get Russian oligarchs to pay top dollar to also live there.

Cohen told the judge he lied to Congress because he wanted to be consistent with Trumps political messaging and out of his desire to be loyal to Trump.

Trump tower in Moscow

Trumps plans to build a hotel-retail-apartment complex in Moscow go back more than 20 years.

The president insisted throughout the campaign that he had nothing to do with Russia and had no connections to the Kremlin.

But earlier Thursday, while standing outside the White House, Trump told reporters he had been thinking about building a building.

There would be nothing wrong if I did do it. I was running my business while I was campaigning. There was a good chance that I wouldnt have won, in which case I would have gone back into the business and why should I lose lots of opportunities? he asked reporters.

Trump landed in Buenos Aires late Thursday for the Group of 20, a meeting of leaders from industrial and emerging-market nations.

Cohen had once said he would take a bullet for Trump.

The president now blasts him as a weak person who lied to Mueller to get a lighter prison sentence for his financial crimes.

Trump also stressed that his Moscow deal was never a secret and that he abandoned the idea because he wanted to focus on running for president.

The talks between Russia and Cohen for a Trump tower appear to be unrelated to the question of whether the Trump campaign colluded with Russia to meddle in the 2016 election.

But the negotiations over the deal were going on at the same time Russia was interfering in the election by hacking Democratic party e-mails.

The top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, Mark Warner, said Cohens plea is another example of Trump allies being untruthful about Russia, asking reporters, What are they covering up for?

Democratic Congressman Adam Schiff, in line to become chairman of the House Intelligence Committee next year, said Cohens guilty plea clearly demonstrates the presidents own denials during the campaign were false or misleading.

Trump has tried to distance himself from Cohen, despite their long relationship. Cohen testified in August that Trump ordered him to illegally arrange payments before the 2016 election to buy the silence of two women who claim they had affairs with Trump, something Trump has denied.
U.S. President Donald Trump is scheduled to meet with South Korean President Moon Jae-in during the Group of 20 summit, where they are likely to discuss stalled nuclear negotiations with North Korea.

Experts said the meeting on the sidelines of the two-day gathering that begins Friday in Buenos Aires is unlikely to resolve the differences between Washington and Pyongyang over the North's nuclear weapons program.

The impasse began when North Korea abruptly canceled a planned meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in early November.

During his meeting with Trump, Moon is expected to push for a second summit between Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, according to South Korean news media reports.

Pressure and dialogue

Washington has been pursuing a dual policy of employing both pressure and dialogue simultaneously, as its differences with Pyongyang have been growing, while Seoul has been prioritizing improving ties with Pyongyang.

"I doubt the meeting between President Trump and President Moon at the G-20 meeting will break the stalemate in U.S.-North Korea talks," said Gary Samore, the White House coordinator for arms control and weapons of mass destruction during the Obama administration.

"Washington and Pyongyang remain very far apart on the scope and pace of denuclearization and sanctions relief, and neither side seems prepared to make major concessions at this time," he said.

Bruce Klingner, a former CIA division chief for the Koreas who is now a senior research fellow at the Heritage Foundation, also believes the deadlock will not end, because "Pyongyang refuses to engage" in high-level talks with Washington and is reluctant to give up its nuclear weapons program.

"The stalemate is due, as was the case of every previous failed attempt at diplomacy with North Korea, to the regime's unwillingness to abandon its nuclear arsenal," Klingner said.

Christopher Hill, a chief negotiator with North Korea during the George W. Bush administration, agrees.

"I think the major challenge is North Korea has not expressed any interest in denuclearization," he said.

Can Seoul move Pyongyang?

Hill suggested Trump should tell Moon that North Korea needs to take concrete steps toward denuclearization.

However, Dennis Wilder, the National Security Council's former senior director for East Asian affairs during the George W. Bush administration, questioned whether Seoul has the leverage to push Pyongyang toward that end.

"The only way that it will break the deadlock is if you believe somehow the South Koreans could convince the North Koreans to do the right thing," Wilder said. "I'm not sure that they have that power."

Some experts warn that Washington and Pyongyang could lose the momentum for dialogue if the current standoff persists.

Klinger said the upcoming summit could "underscore the growing divergence between Washington and Seoul over how to achieve North Korean denuclearization."

US still hopeful

Despite the stalemate, the U.S. insists that it remains hopeful that talks will resume.

Pompeo told reporters Wednesday that he was "very hopeful" that the U.S. will have "senior-level meetings before too long."

During Tuesday's press briefing, State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said, "We are in frequent contact with North Korean officials. That's not changed. We have our special representative, Stephen Biegun, who is leading those conversations."

North Korea accused the U.S. this week of using human rights issues  and a U.N. resolution condemning the country's human rights violations  as a tool to pressure Pyongyang.

According to North Korea's state-run newspaper Rodong Sinmun, "The reason that the Americans are so obsessed with this absurdity is that they want to sully the image of our republic in order to justify their racket for sanctions and pressure, and to extract our concessions in their negotiations with us."
President Trump criticized the probe by special counsel Robert Mueller Friday in a tweet from the G-20 summit site in Argentina, again calling it a "Witch Hunt!" and saying he didn't end up doing any development deals in Russia.

"Oh, I get it! I am a very good developer, happily living my life, when I see our Country going in the wrong direction (to put it mildly). Against all odds, I decide to run for President & continue to run my business-very legal & very cool, talked about it on the campaign trail...," the president tweeted.

Reporters traveling with Trump say he has been in a bad mood and distracted after his former lawyer, Michael Cohen, admitted lying to Congress about a Trump real estate deal in Russia.

Cohen pleaded guilty in federal court in New York Thursday that he misled lawmakers about the timing of talks with Russia for building a Trump tower in Moscow.

Special counsel Robert Mueller, who is probing possible collusion between the Trump campaign and Russian election meddling, brought the charges against Cohen. Cohen is already facing prison time for bank fraud and activities related to his taxicab business.

Cohen told the Senate Intelligence Committee last year that negotiations between the Trump organization and Russia to build the tower in Moscow ended in January 2016. The talks actually continued as late as June of that year, after Trump clinched the Republican presidential nomination.

Cohen also admitted to lying to Congress about other details of the Moscow project, including his own contacts with Russian officials and that he never asked Trump to fly to Moscow himself.

According to the charging documents, Cohen's close friend and onetime Trump employee Felix Sater talked about giving Russian President Vladimir Putin a $50 million penthouse in the Trump tower as a ploy to get Russian oligarchs to pay top dollar to also live there.

Cohen told the judge he lied to Congress because he wanted to be consistent with Trump's "political messaging" and out of his desire "to be loyal" to Trump.

Trump's plans to build a hotel-retail-apartment complex in Moscow go back more than 20 years.

The president insisted throughout the campaign that he had nothing to do with Russia and had no connections to the Kremlin.

But earlier Thursday, while standing outside the White House, Trump told reporters he had been "thinking about building a building.

"There would be nothing wrong if I did do it. I was running my business while I was campaigning. There was a good chance that I wouldn't have won, in which case I would have gone back into the business and why should I lose lots of opportunities?" he asked reporters.

Cohen had once said he would "take a bullet" for Trump.

The president now blasts him as a "weak person" who lied to Mueller to get a lighter prison sentence for his financial crimes.

Trump also stressed that his Moscow deal was never a secret and that he abandoned the idea because he wanted to focus on running for president.

The talks between Russia and Cohen for a Trump tower appear to be unrelated to the question of whether the Trump campaign colluded with Russia to meddle in the 2016 election.

But the negotiations over the deal were going on at the same time Russia was interfering in the election by hacking Democratic party e-mails.
Ukraine's parliament approved an executive order signed by President Petro Poroshenko that imposed martial law in parts of the country, in response to Russia's seizure of three Ukrainian naval vessels and their crew members off the coast of Russia-annexed Crimea Nov. 25. Here is an explanation of what that means.
A new report presents a dire portrait of the lives of hundreds of thousands of children in the Central African Republic. They live in a state of permanent crisis brought on by years of conflict and international neglect, a report by the United Nations Childrens Fund on the Crisis in the Central African Republic found.

The U.N. childrens fund considers the Central African Republic to be one of the most difficult and dangerous places in the world to be a child. And the statistics bear this out.

The new UNICEF report finds that 2 out of 3 children, or 1.5 million children in the C.A.R., need humanitarian aid to survive. It finds that tens of thousands of children suffering from severe acute malnutrition are at risk of death. It says children in this war-torn country live in a constant state of fear of being killed or subjected to abuse and violence.

UNICEFs representative in the C.A.R., Christine Muhigana, says the children are in desperate need of the worlds support.

She says the country briefly made headlines five years ago when fierce fighting broke out in the capital, Bangui. Since then, she says, the C.A.R. has been forgotten, although the situation in the country has worsened.

Children are at risk of violence, recruitment into armed groups, sexual violence, forced labor; malnutrition is a grave concern, Muhigana said. More children than ever are expected to need treatment for severe acute malnutrition next year because displaced families cannot farm.

The lead author of the report, Marixie Mercado, notes that earlier this month, a UNICEF official warned of potential famine in the C.A.R. unless the security situation improves dramatically, and people are able to go home to cultivate their land.

C.A.R.s children should not have to wait for a declaration of famine until the world acts and provides more resources to the country, Mercado said. By the time famine is declared, if it is declared, untold numbers of children will already have died.

UNICEF says it has received less than half of its $56.5 million appeal for C.A.R. funding this year. The aid agency says the money is needed to provide lifesaving food and medicine for severely malnourished children, as well as other needs like immunization campaigns and to provide clean water and sanitation.

UNICEF says the money would also be used to set up learning and recreational centers, to provide a space for children where they can retrieve a sense of normalcy and feel what it is like to be a child again.
The United States is sounding more warnings about Irans malign activities across the Middle East and beyond, urging countries to take action or risk growing instability and conflict.

To back up its assertions, the U.S. on Thursday unveiled what it said was more evidence of Tehrans meddling: pieces of missiles, rockets, drones and other Iranian weaponry, either recovered from Iranian proxies or interdicted on the high seas.

WATCH: US: Iran Floods Unstable Regions With Advanced Weaponry

The new weapons we are disclosing today illustrate the scale of Irans destructive role across the region, U.S. Special Representative for Iran Brian Hook told reporters while standing in front of a section of a Sayyad-2C surface-to-air missile he said had been intercepted by Saudi forces earlier this year, before it could reach Houthi rebels in Yemen.

Tehran is intent on increasing the lethality and reach of these weapons to deepen its presence throughout the region, Hook said. We are one missile attack away from a regional conflict.

This is the second time in less than a year that the U.S. has publicly displayed weapons it claims Iran sent to proxies and terrorist groups. Last December, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley chastised Iran after showing off parts of missiles and drones recovered by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, calling the evidence undeniable.

Weaponry

Since then, U.S. officials say the collection has grown to include the surface-to-air missile, long-range drones, anti-tank guided missiles, AK-47s, sniper rifles, grenades and even a second Qiam short-range ballistic missile, also known as a Burkan-2.

U.S. defense officials said the ballistic missile was fired into Saudi Arabia by Houthi rebels in broad daylight Dec. 19, just days after Haleys rebuke of Iran.

U.S. officials also said Tehran is making little effort to hide the origin of the weapons, even though Iran is prohibited from sending weapons outside the country without approval from the U.N. Security Council.

The conspicuous Farsi markings are Irans way of saying they dont mind being caught violating U.N. resolutions, Hook said.

Iranian officials have previously denied U.S. allegations of weapons transfer, deriding the display at a hangar at a U.S. military base in Washington as a fabrication when it was unveiled last year.

Traced to Iran

But U.S. defense officials said all of the weapons in the collection could be traced to Iran in multiple ways, including the presence of Iranian defense company logos, the type of serial numbers ingrained on the weapons, and design features that align perfectly with evidence from photos and videos that Iran itself has made public.

With the drones, officials said all of them used a vertical gyroscope to help with stabilization. They said Iran is the only country in the world known to use vertical gyroscopes.

In the case of a Shark 33 drone, an unmanned boat used by the Houthis to attack Saudi ships, U.S. officials found the GPS component listed 90 locations, two of which were in Tehran. One of those corresponded with the location of the Self Sufficiency Jihad Organization, a research arm of Irans Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).

Images captured on the Shark 33s computer showed images of a testing facility with an IRGC hat in the background.

While much of the concern focused on Tehrans support for Yemens Houthi rebels, U.S. officials warned that Iranian weapons such as AK-47 machine guns are also finding their way to Shiite militias in Bahrain, while guns and Fadjr rockets had been sent to support the Taliban in Afghanistan.

Officials said there is also evidence Iran is sharing ballistic missile technology with Shiite militias in Iraq.

Its not just Saudi and Yemen, Pentagon spokeswoman Cmdr. Rebecca Rebarich told VOA. Its a story of how Iran is proliferating these various weapon systems across the region.

Training in weapons use

Defense officials contend it is more than just the weapons themselves. Oftentimes, groups getting arms from Iran are getting help, too, from experienced IRGC operators who can help make sure they can use missiles like the Qiam.

You would have to have an understanding of how to launch one of these, a defense official said, dismissing the possibility Houthi rebels could operate the missiles without training or guidance.

Some U.S. officials and experts have also argued that Iranian efforts to develop and spread its weapons have only increased since Tehran, the U.S. and other powers initially agreed to the Iran nuclear deal in 2015, using the influx of cash from the deal to expand its reach.

Irans proxy strategy is relatively low cost, but offers the regime a high reward, Behnam Ben Taleblu, a research fellow with the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, told VOA by email.

Weapons like anti-tank missiles and rockets may not win conflicts in the Middle East, but can bleed adversaries and force a political solution to the regions myriad proxy wars in Irans favor, he added.

Critical time in Congress

The new evidence presented by the U.S. Thursday comes at a critical time. There has been growing concern in Congress about the worsening humanitarian toll as a result of the Saudi-led efforts against the Houthis in Yemen.

U.S. lawmakers and others around the world have likewise been critical of the Saudis for the death of U.S.-based journalist Jamal Khashoggi at the Saudi Consulate in Turkey in October.

I get Yemen. I understand the strategic relationship between us and Saudi Arabia, but Im not going to blow past this, Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina said Wednesday.

No political stunt

But officials, such as Hook of the State Department, denied the rollout of the new evidence against Iran was designed to help sway support for Saudi Arabia in the face of mounting criticism.

I havent heard anybody say this is a political stunt, Hook said Thursday. This is simply putting out in broad daylight Irans missiles and small arms and rockets and UAVs and drones.

Our preference is to use all of the tools that are at our disposal diplomatically, he added, but warned, We have been very clear with the Iranian regime that we will not hesitate to use military force when our interests are threatened.
A U.S. airstrike in Libya has killed 11 al-Qaida terrorists, the military said Friday.

U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM) said the strike Thursday near al-Uwaynat also destroyed three vehicles of the group al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM).

The military said no civilians were killed or injured.

"AFRICOM will use precision strikes to deny terrorists safe haven in Libya  and they remain vulnerable wherever they are," U.S. Marine Corps Maj. Gen. Gregg P. Olson, AFRICOM's director of operations, said in a press release.

This is the third U.S. strike against AQIM in Libya. The last counter-AQIM strike killed one terrorist in June.
The Voice of America has dismissed the former chief of its Mandarin-language service and suspended another manager following a more than yearlong investigation into the abrupt termination of a live interview with a high-profile critic of the Chinese government.



The agency also said independent investigators found no evidence to support allegations the U.S. government agency caved in to pressure from the Beijing government and may have been infiltrated by a Chinese spy.



VOA Director Amanda Bennett announced the action in an emailed message to staff Thursday, saying the agency "has today removed one Mandarin Service employee and given a period of suspension to another."



Two other Mandarin Service staffers represented by a government employees union are awaiting a decision on disciplinary action. A fifth employee returned to work shortly after the incident. The Mandarin Service reaches 40 million people weekly in China.



Bennett declined in an interview to identify the individuals involved, saying it is a personnel matter. However, the long-suspended service chief, Sasha Gong, confirmed that she has been dismissed and another manager, Huchen Zhang, confirmed he has been suspended.



Gong, who has publicly accused the agency of cutting off the interview with Chinese businessman Guo Wengui because of pressure from Beijing, referred questions to her lawyer, Paul Kiyonaga, who said he and Gong will challenge the dismissal "using all available means of legal redress."



"This decision to fire her from VOA is a travesty for anyone who believes in the First Amendment, journalistic integrity and the independence of our federal agencies," Kiyonaga said.



Zhang said that under the terms of his suspension, he is prohibited from speaking to anyone at VOA.

Four investigations



In her message to VOA staff, Bennett said the personnel action came only after four separate investigations "all concluded the interview's termination was a result of VOA leadership's attempt to enforce previously agreed-upon journalistic standards. The investigations found no evidence to support allegations that pressure from the Chinese government, purportedly driven by 'spies' within VOA, had caused the termination."



One of those investigations was handled by the State Department's Office of Inspector General upon a request from members of Congress, and another was conducted by an award-winning professor of journalism at the University of Maryland. An outside counsel also supported the management position after a three-month investigation, and the fourth was conducted by VOA's security department.



Guo, a U.S.-based businessman, had already raised Chinese hackles at the time of the April 2017 interview with a series of dramatic allegations about corruption among highly placed Chinese officials and their families.



Bennett confirmed that China had sought to block the interview  which had been widely promoted in advance by the Mandarin Service  by calling VOA journalists in Washington and Beijing and lobbying for them to cancel it. China also issued an Interpol Red Notice for Guo's arrest shortly before the interview.



The interview, which was streamed live on social media, went ahead in spite of the warnings. But about 1 hour and 20 minutes into what had been promoted as a three-hour webcast, viewers saw the camera cut to a host, who drew a finger across his throat, and then the screen went dark.

Sabotage assertion rejected



Guo later denounced the decision, writing on his Twitter feed that it was the result of "pressure from various parties" and telling the South China Morning Post in an interview that the broadcast was sabotaged by a "liaison person" for Chinese intelligence within VOA.



VOA managers rejected the charge, saying the live webcast was cut because Gong and her staff had been told to limit it to one hour to reduce the likelihood of Guo making accusations that could not be vetted for accuracy or rebutted by the other side.



Bennett explained the decision to let the interview run live for one hour, saying, "Since it was already arranged, we didn't want to cancel it, but we wanted to minimize the opportunity for unprofessional behavior." Managers said the Mandarin staff were told they could record the final two hours for future use after proper vetting.



However, Kiyonaga argued that Gong was never ordered to cut short the interview. "In fact, VOA itself termed the cutoff of the interview the product of 'miscommunication'  not insubordination  in its own press release, issued shortly after the interview."

Bennett insisted in an interview that the order had been given, and an independent analysis by Mark Feldstein, an award-winning broadcast journalist and Richard Eaton Chair of Broadcast Journalism at the University of Maryland, supported VOA management's decision.



The email quoted Feldstein as saying the Mandarin Service's failure to comply with instructions "was a colossal and unprecedented violation of journalistic professionalism and broadcast industry standards." Reached by email, Feldstein confirmed he was accurately quoted but declined to comment further before consulting with a lawyer.



Kiyonaga still maintained Thursday that it was "only after [China] launched an aggressive campaign to silence Guo Wengui that VOA management caved and began its efforts to curtail the length and content of this critically important interview," a decision he described as "a blatant affront to VOA's core mission to provide robust, unflinching reporting and information to its audience worldwide.

State Department IG's report



But Bennett's message to staff said the State Department inspector general's report concluded "that the decision to curtail the Guo interview was based solely on journalistic best practices rather than any pressure from the Chinese government."



The internal security review "found no evidence to support" allegations that elements of the Chinese government had infiltrated VOA and compelled the interview to be censored or cut short, Bennett added.



Asked about those claims in the interview, Bennett said, "Any time you have allegations that a foreign power has infiltrated a U.S. government agency and directed its actions, that is a very serious matter, and we took it very seriously. ... We found no evidence whatsoever" that it is true.



Going forward, she said she hopes the agency's actions "will show that we are a professional news organization that follows best journalism practices, that doesn't back down, that corrects its mistakes, but if it is correct, stands behind its reporting. And that we expect professional behavior from every member of our staff."
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The demand for oil & gas has been unceasing. Rising demand for automotive vehicles, power generation and other end-uses for fossil fuel have greatly influenced an increase in drilling for oil & gas, with robotic drilling taking the spotlight due to the high demand for efficiency. The global robotic drilling market is slated to appreciate at a CAGR of 7.2% during the forecast period from 2018 to 2023. In 2017, the market generated a market value of USD 650 Bn and will continue to grow to reach an approximate value of USD 940 Bn by the end of 2023.

Request a Sample Report @ https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/sample_request/6661

Drilling activities have been on the rise, with a growing focus on onshore drilling due to the reduced investments required to set up a drilling rig. The demand for high efficiency in the extraction of oil & gas in onshore applications has prompted oil & gas companies to adopt robotic drilling systems. Faster production processes and reduced human intervention during drilling are influencing the growth of the global robotic drilling market. The desire for reduced human intervention is primarily due to increased safety regulations for oil rigs as well as an effort to reduce human error in the production process. The efficiency and remote control capabilities of robotic drilling have encouraged increased adoption of automation. Emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence, and IoT have begun to establish themselves, the demand for automation is likely to grow.

Presently, a dearth of interoperability of rig control systems challenges the growth of the market. However, the development of software used in robotic drilling systems is likely to mitigate this in the coming years. Moreover, robotic drilling has several opportunities on the horizon which are projected to assist market growth in the near future. Increasing deepwater exploration activities are expected to increase adoption as manned operations in deep water is highly unsafe.

Market Segmentation

Segmentation of the global robotic drilling market in MRFR's report has been done on the basis of installation type, component, application, and region. Installation types of robotic drills have been segmented into retrofit and new builds. Between these, the retrofit segment has established itself as the key segment with both the largest share of the market as well as highest CAGR over the review period.

Components of robotic drilling systems have been segmented into hardware and software. The hardware segment has captured the most sizable share of the market. However, the software segment is set to grow at a rapid pace and contend for the leadership position in the coming years.

Applications of robotic drilling have been segmented into offshore, and onshore. Onshore applications are growing at a formidable pace, making the segment the most significant as well as the fastest growing one.

Regional Analysis

North America is one of the most significant consumers of oil and market players in the region have been conducting exploration activities for a long time in an effort to build reserves. Moreover, the presence of well-developed infrastructure and developed countries such as the U.S and Canada combined with a high number of motor vehicles has stressed the increasing demand for fossil fuels. The U.S also homes the Permian Basin which is a massive sedimentary basin with large reserves of oil. Increasing onshore oil & gas exploration activities are expected to increase the adoption of robotic drilling. The North American market for robotic drilling is both the most significant among all regions and the fastest growing market.

Key Players

Nabors  Rds, National Oilwell Varco, Huisman Equipments, Automated Rig Technologies, Drillmec, Ensign Energy Services, Sekal, Rigarm, Weatherford International, and Odfjell Drilling are among the leading market players that have been included in the competitive analysis of the robotic drilling market in MRFRs report.

Browse the market data and information spread across 100 pages with 59 data tables and 18 figures of the report Robotic Drilling Market Research Report - Forecast 2017-2023 in-depth alongside table of content (TOC) at: https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/reports/robotic-drilling-market-6661

Regional Analysis

Regions taken under consideration with respect to the Robotic Drilling market include North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, and Rest-of-the-World (RoW).

The RoW had dominated the Robotic Drilling market with a 40.90% share in 2016. It is projected to grow at a CAGR of 7.48% during the forecast period. This can be credited to nations undergoing development in the Middle East, Africa, and Latin America. For instance, Lebanon received its third Robotic Drilling from Turkish firm, Karadeniz, to take care of its energy demands.

The APAC region was the second-largest in 2016 and predicted to grow at a 11.78% CAGR over the forecast period. But the Europe region can surprise the market with a 12.03% CAGR thanks to sustainable energy policies mandated by the European Union.

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President Donald Trump spoke Friday to VOA contributor Greta Van Susteren in Buenos Aires, Argentina, where he is taking part in the G-20 Summit. Here is a transcript of the interview.

----

Q: "Mr. President, we're here in Argentina, and the United States, Canada and Mexico have signed a new trade agreement updating NAFTA."

President Donald Trump: "That's right."

Q: "Senator Elizabeth Warren back in the United States, who may run against you in 2020, says it doesn't go far enough. What do you say to that?"

Trump: "Well, I guess it's easy for somebody like that to criticize because, you know, maybe she's running, maybe she's not. I thought she'd be disqualified by now after she did her whole Native American thing. I really assumed she would have been disqualified, but I can do that with any deal. Any deal you have, I can say, Hey, didn't go far enough.' This deal is much better than NAFTA. It's a great deal for the United States. It's a deal we really like. We've gotten tremendous reviews on it, and I will say we have literally  I have not heard one person hit it. They really have liked it. Now, the other countries, if you're talking about a little bit of a hit, they get a little bit of a hit, but I think they made a good deal also. It's great for the three countries."

Q: "Now, one of the parts of it has to do with autoworkers, auto parts. Is that in any way going to specifically address one of the issues the United States has, with GM closing plants and 14,000 losing jobs?"

Trump: "Well, it is, and it's not only that. It's going to keep auto companies from moving. One of the things I really wanted was plants and auto companies, just in general  I mean jobs, factories  I don't want them leaving the United States. That was very important to me, and we're not leaving the United States. So I think one of the strongest elements of the new  and I call it the USMCA  one of the really important things is you won't see companies leaving once that gets signed. We have to get it through Congress, and if it gets through, which I think it will, that'll be great, and if it doesn't, we're very happy the way it is now."

Q: "The G-20 is about global economics. As you sort of step back and look at the globe, what do you see is sort of the biggest threat, realistic threat, in the near future to the global economy?"

Trump: "Well, you have many threats, but the United States really has been ripped off by so many different countries. I'm not giving you any secrets when I say China, the numbers that China has done on us for so many years, 25 years  "

Q: "Which you've been saying to me for years before you were even ever a candidate for president."

Trump: "I've been saying that for a long time. When I was a young developer, I was saying that to you and everybody else. I mean, I've been talking about it for a long while. Japan, I used to use Japan. Now it's a little bit less Japan, but Japan is very active also. But it's almost everybody. It was almost like we had nobody that knew what they were doing about negotiating, trade, negotiating deals. We have almost an $800 billion trade deficit, and I'm changing that. We start with the USMCA, which is the replacement to NAFTA. We just made a great deal with Korea, South Korea, and I think that you're going to see some very big changes very quickly. We're talking to the European Union. That's been brutal for the United States, and again we're having dinner as you know with President Xi [Jinping] of China, and something could very well come out of that."

Q: "As you call out China as one of the countries that you say is ripping off the United States, China's global footprint is expanding. They're already in North Africa, they're building a huge port in Pakistan, they have great deals  investment deals in Panama and Latin America. Sort of coming very close to the United States, geographically. Do you trust the strategic goals of China? Are you a little bit worried?

Trump: "Well, I think they're going to have less money than they have right now, because the deal that I make, and if you look at  we have $250 billion [in imports from China] right now at 25 percent. That means we're going to be taking in billions and billions of dollars. Plus, I can double that up, and then I can double it again, and they could never do what they did in the past with other presidents, because  and you see what's happening with China. I don't want to do this, but they are not doing very well now compared to what they were doing, and again, I think that we are doing well. We picked up $11.7 trillion in worth since my election, and China's lost a great deal of worth, and we are now a much bigger economy than China. Which a lot of people don't know, but we're a much bigger, and really a much more powerful economy than China."

Q: "But as a national security point, you know, with their investment in Latin America and all over the world, it does seem that they are making a bigger footprint around the world."

Trump: "I know, but they have a debt problem and they have to pay for that debt. It's a tremendous amount of money that they're spending. Do I like it? Probably not, but I also know it's very expensive for them, and a lot of those places aren't going to work out."

Q: "You were going to, or at least you had considered meeting with [Russian] President [Vladimir] Putin, and you have declined to. Had you met with him, what was your agenda with the president?

Trump: "Well, I just said that, you know, frankly, in light of what happened with Ukraine with the ships and the sailors, it just wouldn't be the right time. But I will meet with him. I think we have a very good relationship, and I think we're going to have a very good relationship with Russia, and China, and everyone else. I mean, I think it's important. So I'll meet with him at the appropriate time."

Q: "What do you think he's thinking about doing with Ukraine? Why did he seize the sailors and the vessels?"

Trump: I can't read his mind, and nobody can, and he knows what he wants to do, but we can't allow certain things to happen. You know, it happened, and I just can't be a part of it."

Q: "One of the issues of a global economy is climate change. That's a discussion here. What's your position on climate change and how it has affected the economy worldwide?"

Trump: "Very simple. I want the cleanest air and the cleanest water on the planet. I want crystal clean water, and that's what we have. We've been doing very well with respect to the environment, and that's what I want. But I'm not going to put the country out of business trying to maintain certain standards that probably don't matter. When you look at China, and when you look at other countries where they have foul air, they have not good air that comes over to the United States. People don't want to talk about it, but it comes over. So we're going to be clean, but they're not, and it costs a lot of money. Well, the fact is, we are absolutely clean, but we're not going to spend trillions of dollars and make it good for others but not make it good for our  you know, I have a very simple policy. It's called America First. At the same time, we're going to be a great neighbor to the world. But we have to treat ourselves fairly, so that's the way it is."

Q: "Are you going to mention to President Xi about climate change?

Trump: "We'll talk about it. Were talking about a lot of things. The big thing were talking about is trade. That's what people want to hear, and you know, he's got to do something with his climate, his climates, a little bit, though. But, and I'm sure he will. I think he's  he's a friend of mine and a good man, but you know, we have a little bit of a dispute. And again, our country has been taken advantage of for many years, and that's just not going to happen anymore."

Q: "There's a big vote coming up in the House of Commons in the UK. [British] Prime Minister Theresa May is here. Brexit is a trade issue  how is she handling it? And what's the impact on the United States."

Trump: "Well, it's a very tough thing. I told her I would've done it somewhat differently  actually quite a bit differently  but I think she's a good woman and she's really working hard. I mean, what she's going through, she's  that is a hard situation for her. I would've done it differently. I would've had a much different attitude. I think the concept of what they're doing, you know, separating is good. That's a good thing. They want their own identity; they want their own immigration laws; they don't want to be told who they want and who they don't want. But she's working very hard, I will say that."

Q: "In terms of, though, the impact on the United States, is the United States sort of a spectator to what's going on with Brexit, or is it directly impacted?"

Trump: "Well, we told her, yeah, it is  we are a spectator, to a certain extent."

Q: "It has no impact on the United States?"

Trump: "It's their country. I mean, they have to do what they have to do, and we'll see if they get to a parliament. It's going to be very interesting to whether or not they do. European Union, it's a tough group. I will tell you they are just about as rough as china on trade with us, and they're going to be next. They'll be next, but the fact is they're very bad on trade with us. They have tremendous barriers. They have great barriers, tremendous. They have nontariff trade barriers also, and they have tariffs, they are  we lost with them over the last couple of years $151 billion a year. That's the European Union, you know? You think about it. Sounds so nice, but they've been very tough on trade, so they were tough with her. But we'll take care of our share, I can tell you that."

Q: All right, now, our domestic economy. Next week there's a vote possibly on a government shutdown. First of all, do you think there's going to be a U.S. government shutdown, and does that have any sort of global economic impact?"

Trump: "Well, I can't tell you if there's going to be a shutdown because nobody knows. But I will tell you we're going to have border security. We're going to have a lot of border security. You saw what we did with the all of the caravans coming up, and now they're starting to head out, they're starting to go back. But we are going to have security. We're not going to let people come into our country illegally. We're going to have people come in on merit. We need people, you know? We have the lowest unemployment rate we've had in 51 years. We need people in this country. We have companies moving in. In fact Prime Minister [Shinzo] Abe of Japan just told me they're moving two car companies. They're going to be opening up two massive plants, you know. You don't hear that often, but a lot of that is happening. You hear about General Motors, and I don't know what happened with General Motors, but the trend is exactly the opposite. And I will say this: Our economy has never done better. We're doing unbelievable numbers, you see that. And a lot of good things are happening."

Q: "$5 billion is what you want for the wall, this would go around. So far, Congress is saying that it won't. So what happens?"

Trump: "We'll have to see what happens."

Q: "Are you willing to negotiate?"

Trump: "Look, I'll just tell you this. We're going to have border security. And if we're not going to have border security, some very tough things are going to happen. But we're going to have border security. We can't have people pouring into our country like they have over the last 10 years. And you see what's happening when you have MS-13 and these gang members, and look at the caravan. Now they have over 650 people that are absolutely stone-cold criminals. I don't want them in our country. I'm not going to have it. If you don't have borders, you don't have a country, Greta. And I'm not going to have it."

Q: "One last question, and I'll give you a chance to educate there  at least talk about the American media. What is it the U.S. media collectively doesn't understand about the economy? When you look at things, hear our reporting, do you have any thoughts on our reporting?"

Trump: "Well, I think they understand the economy. They know how well we're doing. They just don't like to say it because that's good for me, so they don't want to say it. Look, I call it fake news. I don't say the media, I say you have so much false reporting. But we have a phenomenal economy, they know that. We have the best unemployment numbers, as a group, that we've ever had. You look at African-American unemployment and Asian and Hispanic American. You look at all of it, they're the best numbers in history, the best  I mean, these are historic lows. So the media knows how well we're doing. They tend not to want to write it."

Q: "So you like discussing economy with these world leaders?"

Trump: "I do. I mean, we have the best economy in the world. Actually, every leader came up to me, virtually, and they said congratulations on the great economy."

Q: "Mr. President, nice to see you."

Trump: "Thank you, Greta. Nice to see you. Thank you very much."
Up to 500 million people may have had their personal information compromised as part of an online security breach, Marriott Hotel announced Friday. The cyber attack occurred at Starwood hotels, which include The Westin, W and Sheraton hotels.

Gary Davis, the chief consumer security evangelist at McAfee, a cybersecurity company, spoke to Voice of America about what people can do.

Who should be concerned?

If you stayed at any of their properties, I would assume that they captured that information about you and that you could have been exposed.

What should someone do?

Go in and change your passwords. One of the big challenges we have with consumers is they tend to use the same password over and over again and so if you use the password you use for this account in other locations, then I would go in and change those passwords as well. Because what the bad guys will do is that this may not be a high-value password to them, but they know maybe it's the same password you use with your bank or a commerce site or things like that where would be higher value. So that's the first thing I would do. Go in and change your password. Super important.

What about bank accounts?

The second thing we would suggest they do is monitor your bank accounts. This is something every consumer should do as a habit. For example, literally every day I open, I have two or three accounts where I keep my money, I go in and check to see if there's anything that looks odd or suspicious in any of those accounts. It's just good hygiene because if I'm the bad guy, that's where I'm going to get the most upside.

The other thing I would do is if you're not using any type of credit monitoring, I would use that. I know that they have provided one as part of their service to help consumers out, use that one, use others that are available, but use a credit monitoring service to see if your data is coming up like on the dark web as being sold on the dark web or otherwise being compromised in the credit reporting systems.

Should I be concerned about my passport?

If they just got the passport number, which looks like the case here, they can't do much with it. I mean the passport only gives you the ability to travel. So without the actual physical document  the passport that can be machine-read at the airport  there's not a lot of value in that passport number. So again, I would look for any suspicious activities if you're a frequent flyer with an airline, see if somebody is trying to access those accounts and maybe use it to fly, but a passport number by itself is not that valuable.

Now, stuff like date of birth, address, social security number, those are the things that you can establish credit with and can be used to do fraudulent activities and things like that.

What do you do if you see something suspicious?

The first thing you'd do if you see suspicious activity either on your bank accounts or with the credit bureaus like someone is trying to get a credit card as you or something like that, contact them first, call the credit authority. Call your bank. Stop that immediately. Once you've done that, then yes, you go to the law enforcement and, and make sure that it's documented and they issue a police report.

Anything else?

I would certainly encourage that they have active antivirus running on their systems because in a lot of cases if they get your email and your password, they will use that to send you a phishing email for example. And then when you click on that, that has a strong likelihood of you downloading malware to your device and at that point they can do a lot more damage than just what they got in this particularly breach.

... If you do those three things, good password hygiene and management, checking your credit on a regular basis and make sure nothing is going on there and making sure that your system is got both the latest system patches and active antivirus running on it, you should be as well protected as you could hope to be in light of these types of incidents, regardless of if it's this organization or any other.

VOAs Masood Farivar contributed to this report.
The Mystery Writers of America withdrew a major honor Thursday from author Linda Fairstein after other writers condemned the ex-prosecutors role in New Yorks notorious Central Park Five case.

The decision, just two days after the Grand Master Award was announced, marked the first time the group has ever rescinded the prize, which recognizes lifetime achievement and has been given to such scribes as Sue Grafton and Stephen King.

MWA cannot move forward with an award that lacks the support of such a large percentage of our members, the group said in a statement that also pledged to re-evaluate its process for selecting honorees.

Fairstein, known for her best-selling novels featuring prosecutor Alex Cooper, was speaking at a conference Thursday and referred an inquiry to her publisher, Penguin Publishing Group's Dutton imprint. It had no immediate comment.

When the award was announced Tuesday, Fairstein called it a thrilling surprise.

Im pinching myself, she tweeted at the time.

But some prominent mystery writers, including Attica Locke and Nick Kolakowski, expressed outrage over the decision. On Thursday, Locke tweeted Thank you (at)EdgarAwards for listening.

Fairstein was the top Manhattan sex crimes prosecutor when five teenagers were charged with the 1989 rape and beating of a female investment banker jogging in Central Park.

The attack became a national symbol of urban mayhem at a time when New York Citys murder rate was nearing its historical peak. The case also bared the citys racial and class divide, painting a portrait of a crew of black and Hispanic youths wilding and preying on a white professional. Donald Trump, a New York real estate developer at the time, bought full-page newspaper ads reading Bring Back The Death Penalty. Bring Back Our Police!

The teens said they were coerced into confessing their involvement in the attack. Their convictions were overturned in 2002 after convicted murderer and serial rapist Matias Reyes confessed to committing the crime alone, and DNA linked him to it.

Prosecutors stopped short of declaring the five innocent but withdrew all charges. The legal time clock had run out for charging Reyes, who was already serving life in prison on other convictions.

Fairstein observed the boys 1989 interrogation, conducted by another prosecutor and police. She didnt personally try the case.

Since its collapse, she has denied the teens were coerced and has defended authorities conduct in the case, explored in a 2013 documentary by Ken Burns.

The city reached a roughly $41 million settlement with the five the next year, while not admitting any wrongdoing.

Locke and Fairstein exchanged caustic tweets after the award was announced. Locke, who is working with Ava DuVernay on a Netflix docudrama about the case, called Fairstein almost singlehandedly responsible for the wrongful incarceration of the Central Park Five and castigated her for not apologizing.

Fairstein responded by tweeting Locke should learn your facts, adding: Your anger and comments are so misdirected.

Fairstein built a reputation as a pioneering prosecutor of sexual offenses during her 25 years of leading the Manhattan district attorneys sex crimes unit. She retired in 2002, but was already established as a crime novelist.

In 1995, she agreed to a two-book, $500,000 deal. Her first novel, Final Jeopardy, came out in 1996 and was the basis for an Edgar-nominated TV miniseries starring Dana Delany. Her other books include Killer Look, Devil's Bridge and Lethal Legacy.
Opposition supporters marched in Zimbabwe's capital on Thursday, demanding that the government do more to fix the sinking economy. The marchers, among other things, want employers to pay them in the same U.S. dollars that government institutions demand for payment. The government said marches would only derail progress. Columbus Mavhunga reports from Harare.
Photo: Larry Busacca/PW18/Getty Images for Parkwood Entert

The moment weve all been waiting for has finally arrived: The SEC dropped the hammer on a pair of celebrities involved in promoting cryptocurrency. The only question has been who would fail to report earnings received from issuers of initial coin offerings, and the answer is DJ Khaled and Floyd Mayweather Jr. Both men have agreed to pay hefty fines  more than $600,000 in the case of Mayweather Jr., and more than $150,000 for Khaled  after settling civil charges with the Securities Exchange Commission. Neither of them admitted or denied guilt, as NBC News reports, but they both agreed not to promote any securities, digital, or otherwise for multiple years.

According to The Daily Beast, This is the first SEC case pursuing violations over coin offerings, which makes Khaled and Mayweather Jr. a pair of alleged crime trailblazers. As Stephanie Avakian, the co-director of the SECs enforcement division, said in a statement today, These cases highlight the importance of full disclosure to investors. She added, With no disclosure about the payments, Mayweather and Khaleds ICO promotions may have appeared to be unbiased, rather than paid endorsements. The founders of the primary company being investigated for fraud, the Miami-based ICO issuer Centra Tech Inc., were indicted in May by a federal grand jury in New York City on charges of having solicited investors to buy unregulated securities, reports NBC. Participating in a possible cryptocurrency scam was not part of Khaleds major keys for success.
Rachel Brosnahan, back at the mic in season two of The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel. Photo: Amazon Studios

The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel is a comedy. But on numerous occasions during its second season, it comes close to turning into a musical.

The dialogue by series creator and frequent writer-director Amy Sherman-Palladino, which has always bopped, bounces back and forth to even quicker rhythms this time around. In one episode, a sequence in which couples dance alongside the Seine in Paris creates a meticulous tableau that wouldnt look out of place on a Broadway stage. In multiple scenes, the camera swoops through its environs as though it, too, is dancing like those people in Paris, or perhaps like Midge Maisel, in a perpetual rush to get to wherever shes going next.

In fact, thats how the first episode of this very fine second season begins: with a tracking shot that gloriously bobs and weaves its way through the main level of B. Altmans department store and all the way down to the basement, where the humming hive of switchboard operators work. This is where we find our Midge (the fabulous Rachel Brosnahan), connecting calls and scooting her chair up and down the line to help colleagues overwhelmed by all the flashing lights and incoming ringy-dingies. This all unfolds to the sound of Barbra Streisand singing Just Leave Everything to Me from the film adaptation of Hello, Dolly!, a song choice whose message supports what were seeing: Even though Midge has been demoted from her previous day job at the makeup counter and also isnt onstage doing stand-up at this moment, you still cant keep this funny girl down. Or to put it another way: Nobody puts Midge in a basement  or a corner. (Did I mention that this season takes a vaguely Dirty Dancingreminiscent trip to the Catskills?)

That opening sequence is a tremendously energetic, ambitious way to kick off what is an energetic, ambitious series of episodes, all ten of which drop on Amazon on Wednesday. (Ive watched the first five provided to critics and am itching for the rest.)

Mrs. Maisel season two picks up its story basically where it left off: Midge is trying to make it as a New York stand-up while keeping her night life a secret from her parents; Susie (Alex Borstein), Midges cynical manager, is still hustling to get her gigs; Midge and Joel (Michael Zegen) are still trying to figure out if they can repair their ruptured marriage; and Abe (Tony Shalhoub) and Rose (Marin Hinkle), Midges parents, are in the midst of trying to revitalize their own union. Oh, and lets not forget Ethan and Esther, the young children of Midge and Joel, who continue to be pretty much left to raise themselves like characters in a Peanuts comic strip. Lets not forget them, since everyone else around them usually does.

As was the case in season one, the biggest assets in The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel arsenal are Mrs. Maisel herself and Susie. Every time the show pivots away from them to focus on Abe and Rose or Joel, whos now living with his overbearing parents, it loses some of its fizz. Fortunately, those detours never last for too long. Sherman-Palladino & Co. seem to know that the great joy of the series comes from watching Midge find herself onstage  and, as she does in episode two, find herself while busting on some dismissive, inferior male comics  and listening to Susies nonstop, New Yorkaccented litany of wiseass remarks.

Brosnahan, who won an Emmy earlier this year for her star turn in season one, plays Midge as a whirling dervish of a woman whos always operating on high speed. When she performs onstage, her voltage gets turned up even higher and Brosnahan makes the electricity that Midge feels fully palpable. And Borstein, also an Emmy winner, is an absolute delight as Susie. Midge may be the comic, but Susies the one who gets the best lines. Hed fuck a corpse if it was less than six hours old, she says at one point of an industry collegue. And when describing Midges appearance, she offers this: Look at you: Its like a dollop of whipped cream grew a head. Borstein delivers every gem with a generous dash of salt, then dips it in malt vinegar. Shes great.

The rest of the cast is very good, too, particularly Shalhoub, who cant go for more than two minutes without waxing neurotic about something. Theres also a very welcome addition this season in the form of Zachary Levi, who plays a doctor with whom Midge gets set up during the family vacation to the Catskills. Where Zegen and Brosnahan have, appropriately, the kind of chemistry most often found between a well-worn jacket and its owner, Brosnahan and Levi zing to a degree that makes you instantly root for him to become a regular presence in Midges life.

Speaking of regular presences, the creative standards set in season one continue to be met, if not exceeded, in season two. The late 1950s is evoked beautifully in every detail of every set, and the costumes by Donna Zakowski are glorious. In case there was any doubt, the hat game on this show is still very much on point, along with the dress game, the shoe game, and the handbag game. (When Midge arrives for a date with Levis doctor in heels whose print is identical to the fabric of her purse, he asks how she did that. Witchcraft, she responds.)

The second season also continues to reckon with the ways in which Midges obvious femininity is an obstacle in the comedy world. When she shows up ready to do a set at a large club in the Catskills, the owner  who, thanks to Susie, was under the impression that Midge looked more like Mamie Eisenhower  almost doesnt let her go onstage because hes convinced its impossible for her to be pretty and funny at the same time.

But, spoiler alert, Midge Maisel keeps proving that she possesses the same qualities as the Amazon series that bears her name. Shes lovely to look at, but also brash, sailor-mouthed, hilarious, and not willing to slow down for one second. As season twos opening moments announce, this lady and this show have places to go. Youd best get onboard or youll miss the ride.
Photo: Netflix

Any holiday movie worth a viewing is bound to contain certain seasonal elements  kissing under the mistletoe, learning that the true meaning of Christmas is love, garish decor. You may call these cliches, but I prefer to think of them as holiday-movie traditions. For whats a holiday movie if the people in it dont treat a tree like its precious gold, or if theres no wise older gentleman who teaches people about the true meaning of Christmas??

With the great holiday-movie pantheon continuously growing, it can be hard to tell which movies really meet your holiday-film comfort-food needs. This year, Netflix has released four new original holiday films, and to help you figure out which will really give you that holiday fix, weve put each up to a Christmas Movie Cliche Checklist to see which one reigns supreme as the most Christmassy of all. Now go, get your holiday spirit on.

A Christmas Prince: The Royal Wedding (on Netflix November 30)

Its been a year since intrepid blogger Amber Moore (Rose McIver) found true love with the now King of Aldovia in Netflixs A Christmas Prince. King Richard (Ben Lamb) and Amber are set to get married on Christmas. However, Aldovia is in an economic free fall thanks to Richards botched modernization initiative, theres a nationwide strike, and Amber might have to give up her blog. Dont worry, Amber uses her journalistic instinct to solve the economic crisis and everyone rallies in time for a wedding party conga line and kissing in the snow.

Do people go overboard with Christmas decorations? The Aldovian palace has a tasteful display of holiday decor, which is to say  no.

Are Christmas trees, like, the Most Important? Richard and Amber are supposed to select the official royal tree for the palace courtyard, but Richard keeps standing Amber up thanks to royal duties and the economy crashing, and it starts to hit Amber that this could be her future. When they do finally find time to go tree hunting, Amber makes a big stink about finding the perfect tree and then picks the ugliest one in the forest. No one knows why.

There are baked goods, right? Ambers dad, Rudy, invites a bunch of kids over to the royal kitchen to make Christmas cookies, much to the chagrin of royal chef Ivanna, who thrives on order. But then, its a Christmas miracle! Shes reminded of making cookies at home and is moved to tears! Rudy and Ivanna do not hook up, and that seems like a missed opportunity.

Do people participate in a snow-related physical activity that everyone loves even though snow is very cold and wet and stings when hurled at your face? Yes, high-speed tobogganing during what looks to be a terrible snowstorm.

Are people kissing under mistletoe as if it is the law of the land? Not even once!

Do people speak wistfully about the dead? The ghost of Ambers mom looms over the wedding proceedings. Not literally  but Netflix can feel free to run with that idea should they want to turn this cash cow into a Halloween trilogy.

Is there some sort of childrens Christmas pageant? If I have to hear one more thing about the tale of Princess Froom! Princess Emily (Honor Kneafsey) is part of a Christmas play that tells the story of the Aldovian princess who gave Santa his powers as a baby (bold claim!), but the show gets shut down when there is a nationwide strike! Like, literally, they just turn off the lights in the middle of rehearsal, unplug a Christmas tree, and go home. Is this how strikes work?!

Does someone take a horse-and-carriage ride? Richard thinks it best they take a carriage to go into the forest for the tree, since last time Amber went into the forest on horseback, she was attacked by a wolf. They all have a laugh!

Is Christmas magic real? Theres no Christmas magic to be found, only Christmas hacking into the Royal Hall of Records in order to figure out where Aldovias money is going.

Santas here?! I love him! Only as a fake baby in a Christmas play!

Is there a wise older gentleman who teaches people about the true meaning of Christmas? I hesitate to call Ambers dad, Rudy, wise, since when Amber goes missing after having second thoughts about marrying into the royal family, Rudy just wanders through a completely empty foyer screaming his daughters name, as if she is camouflaged against the wall. Rudy, dude, there is literally nowhere for her to hide there.

Is the true meaning of Christmas love? With the amount of time spent on discussing the Aldovian economic crisis, I think this movie is saying the true meaning of Christmas is to always make sure your Uncle Leopold isnt using a shell company to siphon money from the national economy.

Final Thoughts: Too much talk of shell companies and royal protocol, not enough reindeer. 2/10 Candy Canes!

The Princess Switch (on Netflix now)

Broken-hearted Chicago baker Stacy (Vanessa Hudgens) travels to a country calling itself Belgravia with her best bud Abs  Im sorry  Kevin (Nick Sagar) and his precocious daughter Olivia (Alexa Adeosun) to compete in the 56th International Christmas Baking Competition. There, she bumps into Duchess Margaret (also Vanessa Hudgens), who is about to marry the Belgravian prince, Edward (Sam Palladio), but desperately wants to learn what its like to be a normal. The ladies switch places for two days and obviously fall in love with the man they are not supposed to. There is a Christmas wedding!

Do people go overboard with Christmas decorations? Belgravias Christmas Village might as well be the North Pole.

Are Christmas trees, like, the Most Important? Not terribly, but Edward does really fall for Stacy-as-Margaret once she demands Edward give the children at the local homeless shelter a real Christmas  and that includes hitching a tree to his royal car and getting it to the shelter.

There are baked goods, right? The inciting incident is Stacy going to a Christmas Baking Competition! And, yes, she bakes a ridiculous multitiered cake and wins the competition right before winning a proposal from the prince. Best baking competition ever.

Do people participate in a snow-related physical activity that everyone loves even though snow is very cold and wet and stings when hurled at your face? Once Margaret starts living life as a normal, she gets a taste for snowball fights  and no one can quench that thirst.

Are people kissing under mistletoe as if it is the law of the land? It happens twice to show the progression of Stacy and Edwards feelings for each other, so honestly it might be the law of the land in Belgravia?

Do people speak wistfully about the dead? Both of Margarets parents died tragically when she was young, so she feels very bound by duty and honor and is afraid to admit shes in love with Kevin. But her parents wouldve wanted her to be happy! Also, they did not see Kevins abs!

Is there some sort of childrens Christmas pageant? The only reason Stacy agrees to the switch is so that Olivia can get into the Belgravia childrens ballet. Its as good a reason as any.

Does someone take a horse-and-carriage ride? Um, how else do royals travel to the local homeless shelter to see the good theyre doing for the community?

Is Christmas magic real? Yes! And I dont just mean buying into the titular switch or Kevins abs  there is a tiny magical man who pops up everywhere and makes sure our four lovebirds are finding their way toward one another.

Santas here?! I love him! Margaret, Kevin, and Olivia take a quick photo with Santa, but there is only room for one magical old man in this movie.

Is there a wise older gentleman who teaches people about the true meaning of Christmas? Dont sleep on the old magic dude!

Is the true meaning of Christmas love? Yes! Two couples find true love  even after Margaret tells Kevin that she wants to be with a normal boy, which I actually think is kind of an insult?

Final Thoughts: Though this ticks a lot off our Christmas cliche list, you could easily exchange Christmas for any other holiday. Its still best to consume with a side of hot chocolate, but Christmas isnt integral to the plot. 7/10 Candy Canes!

The Holiday Calendar (on Netflix now)

Abby (Kat Graham, who should be in all the Christmas movies) is a sad, unfulfilled photographer living in her small hometown and dreading the holiday season. Her grandfather (Ron Cephas Jones) gives her an antique Advent calendar that belonged to her grandmother and may or may not have magical powers  it eventually helps her realize that her best friend Josh (Quincy Brown) is the love of her life.

Do people go overboard with Christmas decorations? Abbys small town looks like an elf vomited all over it, so  yes.

Are Christmas trees, like, the Most Important? Very important! Abby has her meet-cute with Snoozefest Ty (Ethan Peck) when his Christmas tree falls off the roof of his car and almost kills her. Cute, right?! Her dating Ty for ten days and realizing he is terrible does lead her back to Josh in the end, so this tree is totally fine by us.

There are baked goods, right? Not as many as youd think! But Abby does take a cute picture of Josh and Gramps eating Christmas-tree cookies.

Do people participate in a snow-related physical activity that everyone loves even though snow is very cold and wet and stings when hurled at your face? The Holiday Calendar only believes in light outdoor physical activity like non-rigorous ice-skating and some kissing in the snow.

Are people kissing under mistletoe as if it is the law of the land? There is NO mistletoe and that is a travesty.

Do people speak wistfully about the dead? Ron Cephas Jones misses his dead wife, and even the Grinch would tear up when he talks about her.

Is there some sort of childrens Christmas pageant? Abbys niece is a Sugar Plum Fairy in the school pageant and literally her entire family attends this function. Why?

Does someone take a horse-and-carriage ride? Ty takes Abby on a series of good on paper holiday-themed dates, including a carriage ride, but these dates, like Ty, have no soul.

Is Christmas magic real? The whole movie hinges on a possibly sentient Advent calendar sending Abby tiny Christmas-related figurines that may be predicting her future. Or is it just a coincidence? You decide!

Santas here?! I love him! Relax, its just Christmas Village Santa, Bob. Although, Bob does tell Abby she looks beautiful when she shows up for her first date with Ty and that feels very on-brand for Kris Kringle.

Is there a wise older gentleman who teaches people about the true meaning of Christmas? Abby gets three wise men  get it?! Obviously, her grandfather, but she also meets two men at a homeless shelter Ty takes her to on one of their dates, and they tell her all about the importance of how people make you feel. They also warn her that Ty brings all of his dates here. Thank goodness for the wise older gentlemen, otherwise Abby never wouldve dumped Ty and seen Josh with fresh holiday eyes.

Is the true meaning of Christmas love? Uh, two best friends realizing theyve had true love in front of them all along? Yes, the true meaning of Christmas is love. What a question!

Final Thoughts: What it lacks in mistletoe and snowball fights, it more than makes up for by having the heroine get nearly crushed by giant candy canes while wearing an elf costume. 9/10 Candy Canes!

The Christmas Chronicles (on Netflix now)

Kate (Darby Camp) and Teddy Pierce (Judah Lewis) are having a tough time since their dad (Oliver Hudson) died. When Kate wants to catch Santa (Kurt Russell) in the act on Christmas Eve, Teddy goes along with it, and after throwing Santa off schedule, they end up on a grand holiday adventure in which they have to save Christmas. And, plot twist: Santa Claus is, like, super hot. Its a very conflicting feeling.

Do people go overboard with Christmas decorations? This is actually a plot point! Teddy avoids putting the Christmas decorations up because decorations were his dads thing, and now his dad is dead. The teen is not dealing with his grief, to say the least.

Are Christmas trees, like, the Most Important? This ties into the Christmas decorating. At one point, the Pierce kids are fighting and Teddy gets pushed into the tree, and Overworked Sad Mom (Kimberly Williams-Paisley) has had ENOUGH.

There are baked goods, right? Im still crying about it: Kate makes hers with extra sprinkles because thats how her dad liked them.

Do people participate in a snow-related physical activity that everyone loves even though snow is very cold and wet and stings when hurled at your face? Technically, no. But Teddy, Kate, and Santa do crash into piles of snow both during a sleigh accident and while driving a car to escape police custody. This is a wild movie, guys!

Are people kissing under mistletoe as if it is the law of the land? In an old Pierce-family Christmas video, Oliver Hudson waves mistletoe in front of the camera so he can make out with his wife, and then he starts singing O Christmas Tree. Anyway, Im crying again.

Do people speak wistfully about the dead? Dead Oliver Hudson appears in a Christmas ornament so that Teddy can tell his dad that hes proud to be his son!!!!!!! So, yes.

Is there some sort of childrens Christmas pageant? The kids in this movie are too busy saving Christmas for a play!

Does someone take a horse-and-carriage ride? What is this, amateur hour? Kate and Teddy ride in Santas sleigh led by eight reindeer, and then later they ride those reindeer bareback through the sky. They are living the Christmas dream!

Is Christmas magic real? So real.

Santas here?! I love him! Hes not a regular Santa; hes a Hot Santa.

Is there a wise older gentleman who teaches people about the true meaning of Christmas? The ultimate wise older gentlemen: Mr. Santa Claus himself!

Is the true meaning of Christmas love? The Christmas Chronicles teaches us that, yes, the love of your family is the most important thing, but also that if people dont get presents from Santa Claus, well fall into a second Dark Ages.

Final Thoughts: Since its not a holiday romance, The Christmas Chronicles avoids lots of schmaltzy Christmas-movie cliches, but make no mistake: This movie is delightfully overloaded with the Christmas Spirit. I mean, Kate travels to the North Pole by climbing through Santas toy sack, and Hot Santa sings Santa Claus Is Back in Town in a jail cell with Steve Van Zandt playing backup. This movie is Christmas through and through! All the Candy Canes!
An Athens man is in custody after investigators say he took cash and property from a 77-year-old man's home while the victim was hospitalized. The Limestone County Sheriff's Office is still seeking a female suspect.

Jason Gilbert is in the Limestone County Jail with a bond at $5000. He is charged with Financial Exploitation of the Elderly 1st Degree. Amber Roberson has arrest warrants for the same charge.

On September 29, deputies took a report for burglary at Grover Drive. The victim had reported that over $2,500 in cash and property was missing from his home when he returned from the hospital. The man told investigators that a former neighbor, Amber Roberson, checked on him since his wife passed away and had a key to the home.

Investigators say Roberson called the hospital on the day the victim's property was stolen to check on him, which they believe was her making sure that he was not at his home.

Gilbert, Robersons boyfriend, is shown on security footage selling stolen items at a local business. Gilbert changed his story several times before confessing to investigators.

The sheriff's office asks that anyone with information about Robersons location call 256-232-0111.
Governor Kay Ivey and Attorney General Steve Marshall's response to a corrective action plan submitted by the Alabama Board of Pardons and Paroles was released Thursday. The plan was not approved.

This response is a result of Ivey's executive order in October that halted early paroles and gave the board 30 days to come up with a plan to fix its problems. This followed a WAAY 31 I-team investigation into how a dangerous man, Jimmy Spencer, was released after he was supposed to be serving a life sentence for crimes he committed in Franklin County.

In response to the corrective action plan, Ivey and Marshall acknowledged beneficial areas, but stated that overall, the plan leaves unanswered questions about how and if the board will make the necessary changes. These questions are in the areas of "(1) ensuring excellence in executive leadership, (2) cultivating a culture of respect towards victims and law enforcement, (3) ensuring adequate preparation for parole hearings, and (4) maintaining supervision of parolees."

Ivey and Marshall request that the board answer their questions and submit a revised plan within 30 days.
A man the FBI calls the most prolific serial killer of our time, says he strangled Nancy Stevens in 2005. Stevens' mother, Lorene Roberts, shared her final conversation with her daughter before she was murdered and dumped on the side of the road.

Her mom says she gave a fateful warning, all those years ago in Decatur before her daughter's body was dumped in Tupelo, Mississippi.

"I said, 'Come back here. I need to tell you something.' She came back and said, 'What is it now?' I said, "My Spirit and God are telling me to tell you this. Stop getting in cars with people you don't know, because you know they are going to take you somewhere and hurt you, and we aren't going to know where you are.' She just looked at me and said, 'I'll see you later,'" Roberts said.

That conversation happened about a week before deputies found Nancy's body. Now investigators are working to link cold cases to Samuel Little who says he murdered 90 women.

"I had asked the Lord for 13 years to just let me find out who had done it before I died," her mom said.

Roberts is 84-years-old and said she was taken off guard last week when she learned Little confessed to killing her daughter more than a decade ago. However, she still has questions as to how the two crossed paths.

"My first questions was, 'How and where did she meet somebody like that?'" Roberts said.

Even though her family might finally have closure, Roberts said it's bringing up the terrible tragedy from 13 years ago.

"You do hurt even though you get an answer to something you've been asking for for so long. You still hurt, and I am," she said.

Nancy Stevens' case is expected to go before the grand jury in Lee County Mississppi in January.
Madison County Assistant District Attorney, Tim Gann, has a strong message for anyone who threatens a school. His message comes one day after an anonymous gun threat was called into Sparkman High School. The threat shut down two campuses for more than an hour while deputies made sure everyone was safe.

"If the opportunity comes along when something like that happens, we're going to do the best we can to hold people accountable," he said.

The Madison County sheriff's office and school district would only say it was a gun threat. Investigators are working to find out who made the call, and the District Attorney's office is ready to take the case when an arrest is made.

Alle Roper, a twelfth grade student, said she was in the cafeteria, Wednesday, when the school was put on lockdown.

"All they would tell us was to be quiet, and it's really nerve-wracking not knowing what's going on," she said. "Everyone was confused at first, so everyone just stood there for a second and teachers started running and telling us 'go to the kitchen, go to the kitchen,'" she said.

Anyone who calls in a threat to a school or business could face the felony charge of making a "terroristic" threat, according to Gann. If you're caught making a threat and you're 18-years-old, you can be sentenced to 10 years in a state prison, he said.

"My kids are in school. I am keenly aware of the bad things that happen in schools. It's a nationwide issue that we see all the time. We've had them here in Madison County in my tenure at the DA's office, so it's not something that anyone here takes lightly," Gann said.

Gann said juveniles are either given probation or sent to the detention center near Montgomery.

"It's kid prison, and it's awful place to be," he said.

Roper said she hopes her classmates realize how serious the threats are.

"If they actually realized it, then they wouldn't have done it. Maybe if they did, then they just don't care," she said.

The Madison County Sheriff's Office said investigators are following leads and hope to make an arrest in the near future. Roper said a student was taken out of the cafeteria when deputies arrived, however, it's unclear if that student made the threatening call.
An effort is underway to bring jobs and businesses to south Huntsville.

The revitalization program started less than six months ago, and it has three primary focuses. The area was designated a "Main Street Alabama Community" in the summer.

"The first step is promotion and creating a positive image of the district, the second step is economic vitality and helping the businesses that are already here succeed and be the best they can be and the third step is design," said Bekah Schmidt, with the South Huntsville Business Association.

The program received the designation after the South Huntsville Business Association applied to become a part of it and paid $5,000 for the services.

The designation starts just north of Martin Road and includes the commercial development along the Parkway. It means the business association can now track new jobs and growth monthly, with a tool it didn't have access to.

"Businesses added in the district, businesses lost, number of employees added, number of employees lost, public investments, private investments, new homes; and those numbers are very important because that helps us track our success over time," said Schmidt.

The numbers show from June to October, 13 new jobs were created with 3 new or relocating businesses. One of them is the Good Company Cafe, in the Main Street South shopping center.

"I could see a lot of potential in south Huntsville, especially in this small place where D & L Bistro had just gone out. Casa Blanca hasn't been here for three years." said Angela Ozblot, a co-owner of the Good Company Cafe.

Angela Ozbolt says the decision to open up in south Huntsville, for her, was obvious.

"As far of the potential of south Huntsville goes, it wasn't really ever anything I thought about because I grew up here, so I just knew what was down the road," said Ozbolt.

The two owners are also a part of the South Huntsville Business Association. The association is primarily volunteer-based. Business owners and community members are welcome to join.

"We really want to build up south Huntsville, we love the community here, we love the area and we really want it to grow even more," said Molly Jones, the other co-owner of the cafe.

"Next for south Huntsville is a market analysis in January that will help determine a new and unique brand for the district. The re-branding is expected to be announced in June.

To learn how you can get involved and have input on the re-branding, visit http://shba.biz/
British ambassador Jill Morris celebrates the inimitable designer Vivienne Westwood with a private sale at her residence in Rome.

Sifting through luxurious leather handbags stamped with the Westwood Orb (which resembles the Sovereigns Orb, one of the British crown jewels created for the coronation of King Charles II), I feel the rush of being in on a secret.

Its as if Ive been transported to a world where high fashion is cherished and shared. The show stopping fringed jacket I scored, while sipping a glass of prosecco in the cozy salon of Villa Wolkonsky, is now the chicest piece in my closet.

Italy is a country synonymous with fashion, and the Vivienne Westwood sale gives an Italian womans discerning eye the best in British creativity, quality, and culture. Ambassador Morris elegantly shares her imagination for intercultural communication with the Eternal City, with thanks from Romes fashion savvy shoppers.

Parts of the revenue will be donated to a charity chosen by Vivienne Westwood. This year proceeds will go to benefit Sea Shepherd, which works to protect the oceans.

Caitlin Wilber Frost
Day-long birthday festivities at Otherwise bookshop near Piazza Navona.

30 Nov. Otherwise, the English-language bookshop near Piazza Navona, celebrates its first year in business with a day-long programme of celebrations on Friday 30 November, from 10.30 until closing time.

Activities include bookswap, flash writing challenge, readings, live music, and much more. Otherwise also shares its birthday with its sister bookshop on the opposite side of Via del Governo Vecchio, Altroquando, which celebrates its 16th birthday. For details see Otherwise Facebook page while for insights into Rome's English-language bookshops see the Wanted in Rome guide.
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The demand for oil & gas has been unceasing. Rising demand for automotive vehicles, power generation and other end-uses for fossil fuel have greatly influenced an increase in drilling for oil & gas, with robotic drilling taking the spotlight two to the high demand for efficiency. The global robotic drilling market is 7.2% during the forecast period from 2018 to 2023. In 2017, the market generated a market value of USD 650 Bn by the end of 2023.

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Drilling activities with drilling rig. The demand for high efficiency in the extraction of oil & gas in onshore applications has prompted oil & gas companies to adopt robotic drilling systems. Faster production processes and human intervention during drilling are influencing the growth of the global robotic drilling market. The desire for reduced humanitarian intervention The efficiency and remote control capabilities of robotic drilling have encouraged increased adoption of automation. Emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence, and IoT have begun to establish themselves,

Presently, a dearth of interoperability of rig control systems. However, the development of software used in robotic systems is likely to mitigate this in the coming years. Moreover, robotic drilling has several opportunities on the horizon which are projected to assist market growth in the near future. Deepwater exploration activities are expected to increase adoption as well as deep water is highly unsafe.

Market Segmentation

Segmentation of the global robotic drilling market in the MRFR report has been done on the basis of the installation type, component, application, and region. Into the retrofit and new builds. Cf. rt. The Group has established itself as the key segment with both the largest share of the market as well as the highest CAGR over the review period.

Components of robotic drilling systems have been segmented into hardware and software. The hardware segment has captured the most sizable share of the market. However, the software is set to grow at a pace and contend for the leadership position in the coming years.

Applications for robotic drilling have been segmented into offshore, and onshore. Onshore applications are growing at the formidable peace, making the segment the most significant as well as the fastest growing one.

Regional Analysis

North America is one of the most significant consumers of oil and market players in the region. Moreover, the presence of well and developed as the United States and Canada combined with a high number of motor vehicles has stressed the increasing demand for fossil fuels. The US also homes the Permian Basin which is a massive sedimentary basin with large reserves of oil. Increasing onshore oil & gas exploration activities are expected to increase the adoption of robotic drilling. The North American market for robotic drilling is both the most important and the fastest growing market.

Key Players

Nabors - Rds, National Oilwells Varco, Huisman Equipments, Automated Rig Technologies, Drillmec, Ensign Energy Services, Sekal, Rigarm, Weatherford International, and Odfjell Drilling are among the leading players that have been included in the competitive analysis of the robotic drilling market in MRFR's report.

Browse the market data and information spread across 100 pages with 59 tables and 18 figures date of the report " Robotic Drilling Market Research Report - Forecast 2017-2023" in-depth alongside table of content (TOC) at: https: // www. marketresearchfuture.com/reports/robotic-drilling-market-6661

Regional Analysis

Robotic Drilling markets include North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, and Rest-of-the-World (RoW).

The RoW had dominated the Robotic Drilling market with a 40.90% share in 2016. It is projected to grow at CAGR of 7.48% during the forecast period. This can be credited to undergoing development in the Middle East, Africa, and Latin America. For instance, Lebanon received his third Robotic Drilling from the Turkish firm, Karadeniz, to take care of its energy demands.

The APAC region was the second largest in 2016 and predicted to grow at 11.78% CAGR over the forecast period. But the Europe region can surprise the market with 12.03% CAGR thanks to the sustainable energy policies mandated by the European Union.

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Trump clearly wants to be seen as tough on China, but also as an effective dealmaker, said Eswar Prasad, a Cornell University economist and former International Monetary Fund China division chief. It is unlikely that the substantial differences between the two sides can be bridged anytime in the near future, but even a cessation of additional trade hostilities would be a positive outcome at this stage.